Merry Christmas

This morning the kids woke us up earlier than we have ever been woken up before. Rachel and Jacob slept in Rachel's bed so I don't think that helped them sleep in. They were waking us up at 7 AM. I made them go back to their rooms till a little before 8. I was so tired and did not want to get up. We finally got up and just as we were getting up Kaelen got up as well. I had figured we would all get up and Kaelen would get up later. The kids were so excited. It was fun too to have them go down the stairs this year. So much easier to make them not to peek. We have always done Christmas upstairs in the living room but because we have our piano now and the tree won't fit upstairs we for the first year did it downstairs.

The kids were so excited to see everything. I love the magic of Christmas. Santa after he eats his goodies always leaves a note to the kids and a small gift to the family. He left an electric sharpener. It is so funny as to how excited our kids get with stuff like that. We then always open our presents from Santa that he places in our Santa bags and wraps as well. Everything from Santa is wrapped in special Santa paper. including the things in our Stockings. It is so fun to open all kinds of little things. This year I think the kids were excited to get their presents from Santa. Kaelen got a little broom and dust pan. After he opened it he right away started walking around the room trying to sweep everything. Jacob got an electric car and Rachel got "the biggest littlest pet shop kit." That is exactly what it is called. The funny thing though is that I think Rachel was most excited about the books she got from Santa. She got the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. She had already read book 1 and 2 and was so excited to read the rest of the series. She is our bookworm. She reads till almost midnight most nights.



After opening all of our Santa presents and stockings we went upstairs for breakfast. I made a ham, cheese and french bread casserole. I make something like this every year because I can always make on gluten free for Enoch and I can make it the night before, have it in the fridge all night and then pop it in the oven in the morning before we start on presents. We once again opened some poppers. The kids liked them more this time because they knew what was going to happen.


Once we were done breakfast we went to open presents from each other and family. This year we really downsized with the gifts. The kids got one present from Mom and Dad, present from their cousin they exchanged with, a present from each other and presents from Grandpa and Grandma. This year when the kids exchanged presents they did it in pairs. Rachel and Jacob got a present for Kaelen, Jacob and Kaelen got a present for Rachel and Rachel and Kaelen got a present for Jacob. This year we really didn't have the overwhelming amount of presents like we usually do. I did though have way more presents than everybody else. Enoch gave more more than my one present. He always goes above and beyond for me. Also Enoch and I decided that since we were going to San Diego and bought a brand new bed that we were not going to spend a lot on each other. Really we shouldn't have gotten each other anything but I am not going to complain about opening some presents. Oh wait I did. Enoch bought me a $100 gravy boat. I wanted to kill him when I heard that. He actually only paid $50 for it but I was so shocked. It was beautiful though. I decided though to return it because after 2 glasses being broken eating dinner and 3 of my really nice home decorations broke recently as well I figured this would break the first time we used it. I love having kids but things break with them it seems. I don't have a place to store really nice stuff. I want to have stuff right now that I can use all the time.

Here is a list of the presents that the kids got and pictures of them opening their presents. I took over 300 pictures and so I have seperated them into pictures of just them.

Kaelen didn't get as much as everybody because he is little and really didn't need much. He loved opening his presents though. He opened them all by himself as well. It was so cute.

• His broom from Santa
• A bowling set from Rachel and Jacob
• A real vacuum that works from Mom and Dad (Kaelen loves to clean and help around the house. We figured if we gave him the real stuff then he could actually clean as well)
• Some really fun books from his cousins
• Books from Grandpa and Grandma Fisher

Jacob would kiss his presents or lay on them when opened them. I guess that he was excited.

• From Santa an electric race car that was broken before he even played with it. We returned it and got an even better one. The new one drives on the walls and floor. It is amazing.
• A disc jammer Frisbee from Kaelen and Rachel
• A bunch of wii games from Mom and Dad. Yes for Christmas we bought the kids a wii. They were so shocked. They had no idea that they were getting one. They screamed so loud when they opened the gift. It was so fun. They both asked for Nintendo DSI's from Santa but we had bought them the wii months ago and so Santa didn't bring the DSI's. They were not sad.
• A cool book that plays music from Grandpa and Grandma Fisher.
• From his cousin, Morgan he got an electric car.

Rachel screamed so many times opening presents. She didn't scream as much as I would have thought when she opened the wii though. She screamed the most when she got her books in her stockings.

• From Santa she got her littlest pet shop set
• From Jacob and Kaelen she got 2 Camp rock barbies that sing
• From Grandpa and Grandma Fisher she got a Webkinz and earrings. Oh yah I need to mention this. We made her close up her ears where they were pierced years ago because she kept tearing them. Well for months she has asked to get her ears pierced. Santa left in her stocking a gift certificate to get them done as well as professional earings for piercing. She was so excited.
• From her cousin she got this awesome rock band bracelet making kit. She was so excited to get started on that and make some large bands to wear.

Enoch didn't get much because I was spending a lot on his gift from me. I didn't even have the kids get him something. They didn't like that but I was trying to not spend too much. Also Enoch is not the easiest person to shop for because he really doesn't want much.

• He got from Santa much needed new garments.
• a pancake grill (well we both did) from Heather and Mike
• From me he got a gym membership. He had no idea about it and was so excited. He is running the Ragnar relay with me in June and so he really needs to get his muscle strength up so he doesn't injure himself like he did before. I am excited for him to go and exercise 3-4 times a week now.

I got more than I needed. Like I said before Enoch always spends too much and does too much on me.

• I got a GPS for the car. So excited to take it to San Diego with us.
• I got much needed garments as well.
• Some porcelain cooking dishes from my Mom as well as a poppy picture that matches my other ones downstairs. Thanks
• Some really awesome cooling racks that I really needed.
• Really fuzzy socks. My feet are always cold and so Enoch was so nice to think about that for me. I love them.
• I also got a bag for church. I am now teaching in primary and needed something for my stuff.

We had such a nice relaxing Christmas. It was so nice to have such few presents and to really take our time to enjoy hanging out together.

Around 5 we then left to go to the Heileson's. We always spend Christmas evening with them. We went up for dinner, open the rest of our presents and play games. We always have so much fun. For Christmas we got my favorite item. We got food storage. I ask for it every year. To me there is nothing nicer than opening food storage. Even if I know ahead of time what it is. It is so nice to have one less thing that I have to buy. We got powdered milk and rice. So awesome. Our kids got awesome presents but I think that Kaelen got the best. Rachel got a beautiful cardigan/shrug that she can wear to church, Jacob got a game for his leapster that he plays non stop now and Kaelen got a shopping cart. He has loved it. If anybody touches it he freaks out. That is his toy and he knows it. He loves putting his footballs and basketballs in it and pushes them around in it. Very cute.


Madeline and Brytton brought their wii and their wii fit plus so we played that. It was so funny to watch Gloria try to play some of the balance games. We were laughing so hard. We also played a bunch of card games together. It was so fun. I love hanging out with the Heileson's because of how much fun we all have playing games.

I really loved Christmas this year. I think that we all did. We all loved how simple it was but fun. We all enjoyed hanging out together as a family. We wish that we could have spent Christmas with everybody though too. We love you all.

Ears Pierced

Rachel for Christmas got a gift certificate from Santa to get her ears pierced as well as a pair of professional earrings made especially for piercing. They are her birth stone. They are a amethysts. A nice dark purple. She was so excited to get her ears pierced. She had her ears pierced before but she tore them and so we let them heal for the last few years. She has been asking every few weeks about when she could get them done. She was so excited that Santa helped her get it done.

She wanted them done right a way so today (December 28) I took her finally. She had to wait a whole 3 days after Christmas. :) She was so nervous when we went to get them. She got them done one ear at a time. They actually didn't hurt. She was more scared than she needed to be. After she got them done she kept looking in the mirror at her self. She was so excited. She looks cute. She is very excited to get them out a few weeks after her birthday. She is excited to wear different earrings. She has probably40 pairs of earrings that she finally gets to wear again. She is not aloud though to wear dangley earrings especially to bed. We are not ripping her earlobes again.

More Christmas Eve

We had a Christmas Eve stew for dinner on Christmas Eve. That was nice but I think our favorite part of dinner was getting our Christmas poppers to snap open and get our prize and crown inside. These were a regular Christmas tradition growing up and this year I found some. I was so excited to get them. The kids were so scared at first to pull on the ends because they were not sure what was going to happen. I had to keep reassuring them that it wasn't scary. They liked the crowns and toys inside. Rachel was excited as well because I put sparkling cider in wine glasses. Rachel for DARE had been on a no pop challenge for 3 months. Well she went a little farther and decided that she would go a week longer than everybody else and go till Christmas Eve. I think she drank 3 glasses full.

After dinner we did our Christmas Nativity story. The kids changed it up this year and were different characters. Jacob was still Joseph but I was Mary. I think that this was the first time that I have ever been Mary. Rachel wanted to be the angel and wise men. Enoch was the narrator and the shepherds. Kaelen was a shepherd as well as our entertainer. He found it more fun to jump off the couch and yell real loud and laugh oh and he loved to run off with baby Jesus as well. If you notice in the pictures we had no Donkey so instead we used a little train. It was old days meets modern days. It was fun. We usually don't do the pageant with so few of us but we had a lot of fun anyways.

Oh yah before the pageant and after dinner I ran to Walgreen's to get some drugs. Thank you 24 hour 7 days a week Walgreen's. Even on Holidays it's open. I have had a really bad cold and cough and nothing I was taking was working. I had gone to the doctors and they said that they weren't going to get me anything. I wanted to get better before we left for San Diego in a week. I got the strong drugs. Well as strong as over the counter drugs can get. I got a bunch of them. It was nice to sleep that night.

Anyways on with Christmas Eve. After the pageant we opened our Christmas Eve presents. Surprise surprise as to what it was. We always open pajamas. We love it. Enoch and I don't really buy pajamas through out the year so it is nice to get new ones. The kids really love having new ones to sleep in on Christmas Eve and then wear the next morning while we open presents. I got matching ones for Kaelen and Jacob. I love that I can buy matching clothes for them and they are still okay with it. I wish that I could have found ones for Rachel too.

After our presents and getting ready for bed we read T'was the Night before Christmas. Right after we were married my Grandpa sent us some money at Christmas and we bought this book for our family. I grew up with us reading it every Christmas Eve. I now have it memorized because of it. Rachel almost does now too. The kids really enjoyed it. Kaelen loved the moon. He kept screaming MOON and wouldn't let Enoch turn the page. He just wanted to see the moon. He is so funny. I am glad that the kids didn't mind looking at the moon on the page longer than normal. In the pictures Kaelen is screaming at the moon and yelling moon. So funny.

We ended the night with the kids by drinking their sleepy hot chocolate. We have hot chocolate with candy canes and chocolates that they throw into it. Everybody loves it. This year I added candy cane flavored Hershey kisses. They were so good in the hot chocolate. Yum. We of course after left our cookies, milk and vegetables for Santa and the Reindeer. One year we almost forgot to leave stuff out so now the kids really remember.

Enoch and I wrapped a couple of presents before we went to bed. Oh and we had to watch some of a 24 hour Christmas Story. A Christmas Story is on 24 hours on Christmas Eve. It is fun to watch it at starting at any point because when it is over you can start watching again. Still not sure why we watch it on TV though because we own it and we could just put it in and watch it with out the commercials.

We had a good Christmas Eve despite me being very sick and 2 Christmas glasses breaking. Oh yah my kids at dinner broke a wine glass that was a wedding present and very dear to me and then a beautiful Christmas glass that we have had since our first Christmas together. Oh well though after being very upset we enjoyed Christmas Eve together and hopefully our kids at one point remembered why we celebrate Christmas.

Santa Claus is coming..

We finally took the kids to see Santa on Christmas Eve and I am so glad that we went when we did because we had the 'real' Santa. He only has been at the mall twice a week and I figured we had missed our chances. I was at the mall picking some pictures up and walked by and got so excited when I saw that the 'real' Santa was there. The kids were excited to go see him as well. Jacob walked right up and gave him a hug because he was so excited. As you can see Kaelen was not as excited. He was happy watching from a distance but anytime Kaelen got close he freaked out. We had to have all the kids in the picture though and you always have to have one kid at Kaelen's age right now screaming and crying. It just wouldn't be Christmas without the picture of the screaming kid on Santa's lap or in our case Rachel's lap.

Boys pretending to Sleep

I recently came across these pictures taken in the middle of November and I love them. Rachel must have taken them of the boys pretending to sleep on the kitchen floor. It's so cute. Kaelen loves to copy what Rachel and Jacob do. He also loves to lay down with Jacob. When we tell Jacob it is time for Bed Kaelen runs a quick as he can and runs to Jacob's bed and climbs in. Jacob and Kaelen will lay in bed together for quite a while but Kaelen is yet to actually go to bed in Jacob's bed. It is so cute though and fun.

18 month Pictures

I finally went and got Kaelen's 18 month pictures taken. I was 2 months past due but I was happy just to get them. I was worried about how he would act but he did good considering he is so shy and really doesn't like a lot of people. I brought him his favorite thing in the whole world, footballs, and he was then happy for most of the pictures. He loved just throwing the footballs at the photographer. He thought that it was so funny. He also loved throwing them at the curtain behind him because they would roll back to him after he threw them. My favorite picture is of him trying to pick up all of the footballs at once. He does that at home and will cry out of frustration because he doesn't understand why he can't carry 6 footballs at one time.

They asked me to get into the pictures with him. I didn't want to but did it anyways. I had zero makeup on that day. I was glad that I was wearing a cute sweater though. I actually ended up liking how they turned out. I actually ordered for me a picture of the two of us. I ordered the picture of him laying down facing straight up to replace the one in my room and then the picture of him looking straight forward as a close up got that to replace the picture downstairs. I also had to get ones of him playing with footballs. Like I said that is is favorite thing ever. He is so good at throwing as well as kicking them. All balls are now footballs and if you say touchdown he lifts his arms like the referees do after a touchdown at a football game. We love it. I still can't believe how big he is. It is so fun.

Our House Elf

Every year we go and look at Christmas lights and while we are gone one of Santa's elves drops by and leaves a present for the family on the kitchen table. It is wrapped as well. The kids have named out Christmas elf Buddy. So buddy is who comes and leaves a gift. This year we got a large gingerbread house kit. This is the 2nd year that we have gotten that. We love it and I am hoping that Santa has the elf drop one off every year. It is something we all have fun doing together. We didn't get back early enough from looking at lights to do it that night so we did it the next day for Family Home Evening. It was so much fun. The kids give ideas and decide how they want to do stuff. This year our steps to our house were peppermint candy's and we also put frosty on the roof like they do in the movie Christmas with the Kranks. We don't get to start eating it till Christmas Eve. We usually just eat the candy off and the throw way the gingerbread. We love it though and I am thinking that this has now become a family tradition.

Letters to Santa

This year we actually sent letters to Santa in the North Pole. North Pole Alaska. The kids really enjoyed writing their letters. I really liked them. In Rachel's she mentions having him help two families. These families are from our ward. They both have had cancer. The Caldwell's had their mom with it but last week was told that she is cancer free and then the Woosley's he has bone cancer so bad that really anything they do is to help by time. They are moving for 6 month to Boston to get treatment there. They have 5 boys. Two with behavior problems and one with Autism. It is really sad. I was so touched with what she wrote. We pray for these families every night and Rachel came up with this all on her own. Jacob's letter is so cute because he wrote it all himself. Kaelen's is very sweet because his sister wrote it but it is funny because of all the spelling errors. I have asked her 100 times how she got the words wrong that she did. It ads personality to the letter. Also on the back he didn't really want to draw. He wanted me to draw moon, star and football on it.

November 2009

November went by way too fast. I still can't believe that it is over with already. Time seems to be speeding up. I am not sure what I think of that. In November we went to Salt Lake City where we took Jacob to Primary Children's Hospital to the Spina Bifida clinic. It had been 2 years since we had gone so we figured we should. It ended up being a really good visit. We found out that Jacob is needing surgery on his ankles. He will have surgery January 22nd on both his feet. They will go in and make a 2-3 inch incision in his ankle. They will then saw his bone's in half, turn them the way they should be and then place pins in them. He will be in casts on both legs for 6 weeks. After 4 weeks we go back and they take the pins out and recast his legs for another two weeks. It is going to be tough for him but afterwords he will walk straight. He now walks on his ankles and not straight on his feet. He is having a hard time having braces made for him and he is getting sores all over his ankles. This surgery sounds worse than it really is. Also this will help him so much in his walking. He will walk straight now and more upright. We feel really good about it.

After the hospital we went to the Mayan. The Mayan is a restaurant that feels like you are eating in a jungle. It has waterfalls, trees and birds around. It reminds me of Disneyland and the restaurant in the middle of Pirates of the Caribbean. Also every little while they will have a show going on and divers diving off 50 foot cliffs while you eat. We really enjoyed ourselves. Jacob was so scared at first and after a while of crying he was pretty happy. Rachel and Jacob would go up after and talk to the divers. We were eating at the front tables and so a few times we splashed and got wet. It was a blast.

Thanksgiving was fun this year. Gloria and Chuck went to Oregon and so we decided to have Rachael and Joseph and their kids and Gregorie come over for dinner. We were all going to go to Chuck a Rama to eat but the day before decided to have everybody come to our house. Before dinner Enoch and Rachel got on the house and put the lights up. Rachel loved being on the roof. Kaelen got to wear his winter boots for the first time. He didn't really like them at first but once he was able to walk around in the snow with them he loved them.

Rachael did the turkey and then I did the pies, sweet potatoes and other things. We all contributed something to the meal. It was actually really fun. We loved eating and many of us ate too much (cough cough Joseph). After dinner we went through the ads for after Thanksgiving shopping. We all were going to go and do it together. After looking at ads forever we all played Liverpool rummy including Joseph. Joseph is not a big fan of games and didn't know what he was doing but of course beginners luck he won. We played all rounds of it. We all wanted to be home early to go to bed since a lot of us were getting up to go shopping. Well that didn't happen. Everybody didn't leave till almost midnight. After we all cleaned up and everybody left I was planning on going to bed but instead stayed up till 1:30 watching a movie with Enoch. I was getting up before 4 to make it to JC Penney's. Yah I was stupid.

In the early mornings I got up and went and got some awesome deals at JC Penney's and then I went and picked Enoch up. We left the kids sleeping and then Enoch and i went to Sam's to buy one of my Christmas presents. We bought a 16 GB memory card for the camera and GPS monitor but shh it's a surprise. After Sam's I went to Target where Rachael and Gregorie were at. They went and waited in line and then ran into the store to get all the door busters we wanted and then stood in line. They were so nice because they got me my stuff I wanted. Also there was enough of us that if one of us wanted to get something we could then just leave while the others stood in line. We were done there just after 6 AM. Target opened at 5 AM. I actually had fun shopping with them. I was home and back in bed by 6:30. It is really fun doing that. I love the rush of it and all the crazy shoppers out that early. Only in the US will you find people up all night outside of stores in the cold waiting for good deals.

On Saturday we were able to see Noal and Wendy and their kids. We actually did see Morgan, Ainsley and Noal Friday evening as well. On Saturday we all hung out and then had lunch together. It was really fun to spend sometime together and the kids really loved playing together. Rachael Adams (Rachel's best friend who moved a way a year ago) came over to play too. Her family was in Rexburg visiting family and they brought Rachael to our house to see Rachel. They loved playing. They were so sad to say good bye to each other. They sure love each other and it is so hard to be so far a way. Rachael is actually moving to Utah in January. It will be hard for Rachel not to see her friend when we come to visit but at least they will now be an hour closer.

This is a video of Rachel and Rachael's hand shake that they do when they say good bye to each other. It is pretty funny.

November was a good month. Sad that it is gone but really looking forward to December.

Kaelen So Cute

Here are some really fun pictures of Kaelen taken in November.

I love these pictures of Kaelen and Enoch both sleeping on the couch. When I came downstairs and saw them like this I knew that I had to get pictures right away. Kaelen has not fallen asleep like this in so long. He actually never falls asleep like this. So cute.


I gave Kaelen a bath and then after the bath I got him out and in his diaper. I started to drain the water and then walked out. I came back into the bathroom and found Kaelen playing in the tub again. He was standing in the water (which you can see in the top pictures of him kneeling down). He also started to lick the water out of the soap holder. It's a good thing we don't put soap in it at all. It was so funny. He didn't want to get out even after the water was completely drained. He is so funny.

(Kaelen at almost 20 months old)

Veterans Day

For Veteran's Day today both Rachel and Jacob's school did something to celebrate it. Rachel's school did a flag raising outside and then we all went inside and had a program. Each grade presented something. I was not able to stay to watch Rachel preform her two songs because I had to run over to Jacob's school for his Veteran's day celebration. My friend was nice enough though to film Rachel's performance and gave me a copy of it. I was so glad that I could watch it.

Jacob's celebration was pretty amazing. They had a bunch of veterans come. Grandpa Heileson came. We all went outside and watched as a Helicopter came and landed right in front of us in the school parking lot. The students were so excited to see it land. Kaelen was even excited. After the helicopter landed three men in uniform came out of it and we all then stood for the raising of the flag. Grandpa couldn't stay for the rest of the presentation but Kaelen and I did. After that we finally got to go into the school (it was SO cold out and we were not dressed for the weather very well) and each of the men in uniform talked about things they love about our country and their thoughts on our men and women that have and fight today. All men and women that have been or are in any branch of the military got a really nice pin that said "Rimrock Raptors love our Veterans." It was a really good presentation. It was really nice to have Grandpa Heileson there for most of it.

I am really grateful for the men and women that have done so much for our country. Weather we all agree on the war or not you cannot love the men and women that continually sacrifice so much for us all. So thanks to you all. I always think of my cousin Steve on days like this. I am grateful for his sacrifice and his families as well. He's a good kid who works hard for what is true.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to everybody. We had fun this year. On Thursday Jacob had a carnival at school that I took Rachel out of her school for it. It was really fun. Jacob this year was 3 different things. At his carnival he was Captain Jack Sparrow. In the evening we went to Rachel's school carnival and Jacob was a boxer and then for trick or treating he was a Ninja. Rachel with her friend Makayla was mad doctors. They looked like somebody had blown up on them. It was pretty good. They carried blood bags around that looked like real blood in it. They got everything for their costumes from a friend in the ward.

There was no school on Friday because it was the end of the term, that is why all of the activities were on Thursday. Thursday we carved pumpkins and then on Saturday we went to Grandpa and Grandma's ward trunk er treating. That was fun. They got a bunch of candy and then after we had chili. The weather was amazing as well. We woke up Friday to snow and then on Saturday it was in the 60's. It was great weather for trick or treating.

We rushed home after that to have Rachel and Jacob meet up with their friends Makayla and BreAnn to go trick or treating with them. They went the 4 of them with BreAnn and Makayla's older sister Ellie and her friend who took them around. They were gone for over 2 hours and had so much fun. When Rachel and Jacob got back they wanted to go again so Enoch took all 3 of the kids out to a couple of houses.

While Rachel and Jacob were trick or treating Enoch took Kaelen around to a few houses. His pumpkin was halfway full (plenty for him). Kaelen loved seeing all the pumpkins and was not sure if he liked all the costumes though. He would just stare at people. When he would get a candy from a people he would get so mad when we would take it out of his hand to put it in his pumpkin. He just wanted to hold his candy. We have so much candy now. Everybody has been really good though of not eating it. At the rate we are eating it we might have some for next year. I feel like I have had a headache for a week now with all the chocolate. Time to stop.

Carving Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins this year the day before Halloween. It was really fun. We carved the 4 pumpkins that survived from our garden. We all had so much fun doing it. It was so funny to hear the kids whine about sticking their hands in their pumpkins to clean them out. Rachel and Jacob picked the biggest ones as well. This year Rachel and Jacob both drew their faces on themselves and Rachel even carved her's out all by herself. I was very impressed with both of them. Kaelen loved helping too and loved seeing the "balls" I loved how the pumpkins turned out and how they looked on the front porch.

Another Girl

We are so excited to tell everybody that we have another little girl. Oh she is so pretty. We are so proud of her.

Rachel and Jacob were giggling in the bathroom and when they came out this is what I found. Oh and Jacob loves "boobs" so he had to have some too.

Week of October 18 -21

Sunday October 18th- Enoch was very sick today. He went to the doctors today thinking it was pnemonia but instead they said that it was the flu. Lovely. After church we went to the Heileson's to celebrate Enoch's, Carter's and Gregorie's Birthdays. We had a bonfire and they each had a cake. It was fun to be together. We all hadn't seen each other since the Oregon Coast.

Monday October 19th- Enoch was really sick today. He spent most of the day sleeping. I was able to go and run a few errands and get the rest of Enoch's birthday presents. The nice thing with Enoch home even if he is sick is that when Kaelen napped I could leave and run errands on my own. I took the kids to the dentist today and sat and waited for over an hour. They were supposed to be at the same time but a hygienist called in sick and so the same hygienist had to do their teeth. Also found out the our dentist as of January will no longer be our dentist. He is moving to Utah and opening a practice their. A little frustrated because I liked him. Oh well.

Tuesday October 20th- I am getting tired of Enoch being sick. It is hard to have him home all day and to clean the house, make dinner, do dishes and put the kids to bed. I am sure tired at the end of the day. I don't know how single parents do it. They are pretty amazing people. I watched a movie with Enoch tonight. We watched The Proposal edited from Clean Flicks. Wow they cut out a lot of stuff. It was still so good.

Wednesday October 21st-Happy Birthday Enoch. Enoch is doing a little better. Not well enough to go to work but is doing better. I ran some errands to get stuff for his birthday and then I made his cake and wrapped presents with the kids. Gloria and Chuck stopped by for a few minutes and we also had tons of phone calls and email for Enoch. You can read my Birthday post for Enoch to find out more.

Thursday October 22nd- Enoch went hack to work today. He was still pretty sick but he couldn't take more time off of work. He said that if he got up too much he would feel so sick. Poor Enoch. Rachel had her fall concert. It was fun to watch her sing. She did a great job. After her concert I had book club at our house. I love book club. I have been with the same girls for over 5 years now. They have been meeting for 7 years. There is only 6 of us now and the 5 of us who have been together the longest. It was fun. We ate and talked about the book and other things. I feel like I am getting sick now. Kaelen cried till almost 1 am. Not sure what is wrong and he still didn't sleep through the night. Hope he isn't getting sick.

Friday October 23rd- Jacob had an appointment to get his braces fixed so he was able to sleep in as well as me. After his appointment I took him back to school and talked to his teacher for an hour while the class was in music and P.E. We talked about Jacob and how he is bored with homework and in school. He is going to get 2nd grade work that he can do at home and in class if he wants. It was nice to talk to her. I ran a bunch or errands after and returned stuff that I didn't give Enoch for his birthday.

Saturday October 24th- Wow I woke up feeling so sick. Enoch did scouting for food and a little before he got home I left for Super Saturday. I spent the morning and part of the afternoon doing some fun crafts. I didn't get them all done and get to finish them next week. I went to Sam's Club today. The kids had a primary program practice and pizza party. I totally forgot that their program was tomorrow and so they quickly had to memorize their lines for it. I was so sick in the evening. I went to bed before Enoch because I was so sick. My head hurt so bad. I am getting a head cold I think. So nice.

Enoch's Birthday

Enoch turned...36 today. Wow so crazy. We had a pretty good day considering Enoch has been so sick this last week and today as well. Enoch laid around most of the day but this evening his parents stopped my to give him his gift. Well part of it. The main gift hasn't arrived yet and so he got a really nice card and chocolate. Because Enoch has been sick we weren't going to go out any more like we planned so we ordered from Carino's Italian restuarant and I went and picked it up. They now have a really great gluten free menu. It was really yummy. After dinner we opened presents and had cake. He got some awesome gifts from his kids. He got a a bunch of new shirts, a head lamp for camping, some extension cords in sizes that he needed, an awesome Boise State poster and Boise state long sleeve shirt from Rachel, and shoes from his wife. He was excited about everything. He got everything he needed as well.

Enoch's cake was by far the coolest cake that I have ever done yet. I also had so much fun making it. Enoch was so surprised when he saw it. He couldn't believe how amazing it was. I did a camping scene. I figure since he camps once a month it was really appropriate. We have so much cake left over now though so if anybody wants any please come by.

I love all the pictures. After presents and cake he tried on his shirts. Enoch and the kids started messing around doing funny poses. It was so fun and Enoch was loving it. He kept saying "what next, what next." I loved watching them mess around and getting pictures of it all.

Enoch is still sick but tons better than he was yesterday and the days before that. He is hoping to make it to work tomorrow. We'll see though. I am glad though that he was a little better for today so he could enjoy his birthday.

Happy Birthday Enoch. We love you!

Highs and Lows

So a tradition my brother's family does is highs and lows for the day. We do that in our house but not as diligently as them. Well I am going to do my highs and lows for last week. It was a crazy week and so I didn't write each day.

Week of October 11-17th

Low's
Our microwave broke. It was so awful. I didn't have a microwave for 5 months when I lived in Boise with my Dad and sister and am not sure how we did it because I was complaining after day one. It is so hard to reheat pancakes or spaghetti.

Rachel was sick. So wonderful. There were over 72 kids sick from Rachel's school in one day mine being one of them.


Highs
Had my first Scentsy open house and it was awesome. I thought that the place looked great and I had a bunch of friends and family show up.



Had achievement days on the same day as my Scentsy party. Very crazy day but I had fun with it. I had to be extra organized to have everything work out and not be stressed.

We bought a microwave. We got it for $55 less than it was only because we found it at Sears and it was not available at all and so we went to Lowe's. Well they price matched it as well as giving us an additional 10% off. It is huge. It's an above the range one. It is so big it can fit two 9x13 pans in it and it has a shelf. Also it has so many amazing features on it. So excited to get it put up.

We had our family pictures taken on Saturday by my sister. We did them in a pumpkin patch in Ririe. They turned out so well.

Went and watched Monsters vs. Aliens at Rachel's school for movie night. Loved watching Jacob laugh at the "what is your name. Susan....ooh I scared myself." That is his favorite part. I didn't once again get to watch the movie because Kaelen didn't sit. I spent the rest of the movie in the hall talking to a friend while Jacob watched the movie with her kids.

Rachel only missed 2 days of school. I was happy about that. She was so sick on Sunday and then by Wednesday as doing great. Very happy she wasn't sick longer and nobody else got sick in our house this week.

Octboer 5-October11

Monday October 5-Today I to the store in the morning. Kaelen lately lasts only a couple of minutes in the cart and wants out. I can usually put him in the main part and he is happy for a bit. I did a lot of cleaning around the house. I cleaned the basement a bit and other things. In the evening I made Butter Pecan cookies with the kids. The cookies taste like Sandies cookies. They are amazing. My new favorite cookie. I think that the kids and I ate 10 or more this evening. Sorry Enoch they aren't gluten free.

Tuesday October 6- This morning we went to the Mom and baby story time at the library. Kaelen wasn't sure what to think of all the babies. He sat on my lap the whole time and showed no face expressions at all. After went to Walmart near the river. After we called Enoch to see if he wanted to see us. We went and picked Enoch up from work and we went to Freeman park for a while. Kaelen loved running around but it was pretty cold so we didn't last too long outside. Kaelen loved seeing his Dad. He was so sad when he left. Kaelen took a nap after while I sewed some of my many unfinished projects. I got three done and while I sewed I watched BBC's 2007 Persuasion. I love that movie. In the evening after dinner we went an booed the neighbors. We left amazing Butter Pecan cookies on their doors with the note they have to hang on their door. It was really fun to watch Rachel run up to the doors, leave the stuff and run and hide. We sat in a darkened car. We love to be the first in our neighborhood to do it. We were this year again.

Wednesday October 7th- I spent most of the day on the computer. I worked on Scentsy stuff and then I started to work on my blog. I figured out Picasa (thank you Wendy) and then spent most of the time playing with that. Oh how wonderful my life is now. Blogging now has officially become a breeze. If only I could now figure out photo shop. I cleaned up the house in between but really for most of the day I spent it at the computer.

Thursday October 8th-I officially updated my blog today and that was just one of the nicest feelings. I love it. I cleaned bathrooms today and then I also read the 2nd book to The Hunger Games series. It was so amazing. I read most of the day because I read it all today. Wow what a great book. I suggest everybody take the time to read these books. The only problem now if I have to wait for who knows how long for the 3rd book to find out how it ends. I am so excited though.

Friday October 9th-I went and helped out in Jacob's class today and there was a substitute. She kept asking me things like I should know everything. I was only supposed to be there for a half hour and then ended up being their for over an hour. She wasn't the nicest teacher. I felt bad for the students. I babysat in the afternoon for a friend. I watched her 3 year old and 15 month old. Kaelen hated it. He would go up to the 15 month old and tackle her to the ground, grab any toy she had, hit her, and sit on her. She cried anytime Kaelen was near her because he would hurt her. I got a bully for a son. No Kaelen is never around kids his age and so he doesn't know how to act or even really share right now. I ran errands with Enoch today and that was nice. I enjoyed spending time with him. I bought paint to fix some chips and other spots on the wall and after i painted the walls I realized they bought me the wrong color. I was so frustrated knowing that I was going to have to go back and get it fixed and then repaint. Ahh. Oh well.

Saturday October 10th-I did a lot of errands today and didn't even get as many as I wanted too. I have decided that weekends are nice but man I hate how messy that house gets. Everybody in my house seems to get lazy on the weekends so I have to really clean up Saturday night. The house gets cleaned on Saturdays during the day but then in the evenings I have to clean it again. I got my paint taken care of and painted my walls again. Luckily all they had to do was add color to it. I finished delivering my Scentsy invitations today. I have given out for 60 invitations. I am having my party on Wednesday. I am excited. In the evening Enoch and I watched a movie after the kids were in bed. Oh yah Rachel was feeling sick in the evening and spent most of the night a sleep on the couch. Just what I don't need right now is to have sick kids.

Sunday October 11th-Rachel was really sick today so she stayed home from church. Church was really great today. When we were driving today Jacob asked if it was testimony meeting today. I told him it was. He then went on to say that he wanted to bear his testimony today. I was so surprised. He has never asked to do that. I told him that he had to do it himself. He said that he would. We really want our kids to bear their testimonies on their own with out help and do it when they are ready. After sacrament I leaned over to Jacob and told him that if he wanted to bear his testimony he should go now. He went up with Enoch. Enoch walked up with him and sat with him till it was Jacob's turn. Jacob then went up and bore his testimony all on his own. It was the most amazing thing. He spoke loud and clear. Oh it was so sweet. This is what he said. "I'd like to bear my testimony. I know the church is true. I know that I can be good in class. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen". He was amazing. It was so cute. I was so proud of him. He came back so happy and with the biggest smile on his face. Today Kaelen also went to nursery for the first official time. He wasn't too sure if it all. He didn't really want snack. He was more wanting to play with a chair. He didn't show much emotion either. Enoch and I stayed the first half and then sneaked out for the second hour. I haven't been to Relief Society in so long that I was excited to go. I guess soon after we left Kaelen realized that we were gone. He started to cry. One of the Mom's in their picked him up and he cried for a little bit and then fell asleep for the rest of the time. I knew that he was tired and would probably want to fall asleep. I was a little sad that he cried but was not surprised. I hope it doesn't take long for him to get used to nursery and actually enjoy it. He should have been going for the last month or more to get used to it. Oh well I made it through all of Relief Society and that was nice. Rachel is still feeling sick but seems to be getting better. Her throat is really sore. I hope it clears up soon. If she is sick tomorrow she will be staying home. I just don't want the rest of us to get sick. Today though was a great day. I am so proud of Jacob and so happy that Kaelen can now go to nursery. I am proud of all my kids.

Grandpa and Grandma Fisher

My parents had the chance to come and see us for a few days towards the end of August. We loved seeing them and spending time with them. We all went out with Annelise and Boyd one of the nights they were here. That was fun. One of the funnest things was to watch Grandpa on the trampoline with Kaelen and Jacob. They spent a lot of time on it playing, jumping, running around or just sitting. My boys really loved it. We also had the chance to visit Gloria and Chick (Enoch's parents) with my parents. My parents love Enoch's parents and so they enjoyed visiting and spending some time together. Grandpa and Grandma Fisher also took Rachel and Jacob to a movie while they were here. The kids loved that and then they went to the park to play. We did quite a bit in the short time they were here. I wish that we could have done more though but I was so happy that they stopped by for a few days. I love seeing them only if it is for a short time. My kids really love it too. It is hard to have them live so far a way that when they do come we love every minute of it.

Ross Park

We had the chance to go to Ross Park twice this summer. We went once with Heidi and her kids. Rachael, Joseph Lindsay and Josh came the same day and we hung out with them later in the day. The second time we went with Angie and her kids, Rachael and her kids, Lindsay and Lucy, Madeline and Evie and Gloria. It was so much fun both times. Kaelen wasn't sure what he thought of it the first time. He never really wanted to get into the water. The second time we went Kaelen wouldn't get out of the water. The second time we were there the kiddie pool was contaminated twice and the kids couldn't get into the water for 45 minutes. It was so hard to keep Kaelen running into the water. Kaelen also loved stealing the lifeguards shoes and running off with them. He would put them on his feet before he ran off with them. Kaelen loved playing in the deeper water. He would also go up to the stairs and put his hands on the stairs and float. I loved playing with him and watching him in the water.

Rachel played with her cousin Hallie the second time and they would run off and we wouldn't see them for over an hour. They spent most of the time in the lazy river. They never used the tubes though they swam around on their own.

Jacob loved being with his cousins. Jacob when he would get cold would go and lay down on the cement. The first time we went to Ross Park he fell asleep on the cement. So many people would stop and look at him and make sure he was okay. He just laid there fast asleep.

The weather was so hot both times. It was really nice. We had to make sure that we put sun screen on all the time and drink lots of water. It actually didn't help completely because we all still got sun burned somewhere on us. We stayed the whole day both times as well. We were then at noon when it opened and then stayed till it closed at 8:00.

I am glad that we took the time to go this summer. I am hoping to go more next year. It is too bad that it is in Pocatello and not closer.

Ross Park

Heidi and her kids Visit

In July we were very fortunate to have Heidi, Hailey, Adam and Grace come and visit us. They drove down all by themselves from Canada. I was so impressed with Heidi. They stayed about 3 weeks. They divided their trip between our house and Noal and Wendy's house. Heidi came just before the 4th. She had heard about how amazing Idaho Falls fireworks are and wanted to be apart of it. While she and her kids were here we went to Rexburg to see Annelise and go to the splash park. Heidi also had the chance to go to the Rexburg temple. We also went to Ross park which I don't have really any pictures from that, not sure what I was thinking not taking tons of pictures. It isn't like me. This was the one thing too that we were really looking forward too and I never really took pictures. We also took the kids to the Zoo which was very fun. For the most part we just hung out. We did though get sick one day after the other. It was awful. We all had the flu on different days and then Heidi got pneumonia. Despite all of that we had a really great time. The kids loved playing together and Heidi and I loved just hanging out. I am so glad that Heidi spent the money to come and visit us and to spend all that time with us.

Happy 4th of July

At the splash park in Rexburg. We also spent money to go on the carousel and then to get cotton candy. The kids really loved this day.

The Zoo

Pendleton Oregon

Our trip to Oregon ended with us stopping in Pendleton and seeing Grandma Severe and Aunt Pam and the kids cousin Caymen. While we were there we had the opportunity to take all the kids on the tour of the Pendleton Undergrounds. Kids under the age of 6 are not allowed on the tour but because Grandma Heileson (Gloria) was taking us on the tour it was okay. To keep the kids happy we gave them all large suckers. I am not sure if that was a good thing or not. The kids were so sticky that every 20 seconds we were wiping their hands. The Pendleton underground tour is so worth seeing. You are taking underground to where the bars were during the prohibition. There was also the Chinese laundry facilities, the butchers where the best meat in town was kept, the Chinese prisons and more. It was so cool to see the glass in the sidewalks reflecting down underground and then to see the bullet holes on the ceiling. We also went up to the brothels. It was funny to hear Grandma change the wording to make sense to the kids and to not give too many details. Every year the underground does comes to life where the mannequins are replaced with real actors. I would love to be a part of that one year. We also loved seeing Great Grandma Severe and letting her see the kids. It was a really great way to end our trip in Oregon.

Picking Blueberries

Another of our favorite things that we did while we were in Oregon was picking blueberries near Madeline and Brytton's home in Albany. We went to a blueberry farm to pick them. IT was really beautiful out but we were also in the middle of a heat wave in Oregon. It was 103 degrees outside when we picked. The kids didn't last very long. After about 15 minutes they stopped and went and sat in the shade. I was sweating so bad but it was so addicting. I kept telling Enoch okay lets stop but then we would keep picking. Brytton came along with us and was so nice to sit in the hot shade and wait for us. I really appreciated him doing that. Thanks again Brytton. The blueberries we picked were large and so sweet. We picked 5 lbs. I was so sad that we didn't pick more after we got home. I froze them all and now we have blueberries to make smoothies and blueberries muffins and pancakes with. We got them for $1.25lb and oh they were so worth the price and the picking in the heat.

Gloria's Birthday in Oregon

While we were in Oregon Gloria had her birthday. Enoch and I made the cake. We thought that it would be appropriate to do something along the lines of the coast. We figured a crab would be the best. We had so much fun making the cake. It turned out great. We unfortunately forgot to bring candles and so the only thing we found was one big one. So Gloria got to blow out her one big candle on her cake. The kids all loved sitting around her while she got her cake and and then opened her gift from her whole family. Happy Birthday Gloria we love you.

Hug Point

One of our favorite places that we went to while we were in Oregon was Hug Point. You have to see hug point at low tide. At high tide most of the beach is covered up. Hug point is called hug point because before the highway was built the stagecoaches had to use the beach by way of travel. You can still walk along the original trail carved out by the stagecoaches. The wayside was named after this trail because it hugs the point. It was amazing to see the wagon wheels in the rocks. In the picture of Enoch helping Jacob up the rocks you can see the wagon wheels still on it. This whole area is covered up at high tide. There are also some caves that you can go into that have been carved out by the water. We loved seeing the stat fish in the tide pools as well as all the tiny clams. At hug point you actually walk around the point to another beach. If you aren't careful you'll get stuck at the other beach. While we were there the tide was coming in a bit and Enoch and Jacob were standing on some rocks not paying attention and a huge wave came up on them and got their shorts soaking wet.

Our family pictures were taken at hug point but at a higher tide.

Rockaway Beach

At the end of July we had the opportunity to go to the Oregon Coast with Enoch's family. We do this every few years. We all rent a beach house for the week. This time we got a beach house at Rockaway beach. The house fit all 22 to us. It was really nice and we were right next to the beach. The kids loved playing in the sand and water. Kaelen really loved playing in the water. We had to keep an eye on him because he loved to run towards the water. The week while we were there we had amazing weather. We all even got sunburned many times. A few things that we loved doing was playing Boccie ball in the sand, running in the mornings on the beach (at sea level you can run forever), watching movies and playing games in the evening. The kids pretty much spent all day at the beach if we weren't going places. I am wishing we could go back.

Crabbing at the Orgeon Cost

We were able to go crabbing while we were at the coast. It was so much fun. This year we actually caught crab. In the years past we were lucky if we caught 6 between us all. This year we hit the jackpot. We caught over 18 crabs and that was just our boat. Everybody else caught just as many. The day was really foggy and so it made it even funner because we couldn't really see anything around us. Rachel and Jacob loved it. Kaelen stayed at the house with Grandpa and Grandma Heileson. Rachel and Jacob loved helping pull in the crab nets and then would scream when all the crab would crawl into the boat. While we were out in the boats there was this island and on the island were tons of sea lions. That was really cool. It was scarey though because at times it seemed like they were ready to jump in the water and attack us. None did though. We were so close to them though. This year crabbing was absolutely the best. I am so glad that we spent the money to get our own boat and that we could spend 3 hours out crabbing. We were actually a little sad when we had to finish.

September 28-October 4

Monday September 28th-I ran this morning and got my but kicked. I ran almost 5 miles but ran with two other friends who are training for half marathons. They ran so fast especially for 6 in the morning. The last half mile I had to stop and run slower with one of my friends because my knee was hurting again. I think I just pushed myself way to much too soon. Stupid me. I picked tomatoes today from the garden and I spent the whole time freaking out because of how big the tomatoes were. I had about 8 the size of a grapefruit. It was awesome. I washed all the bedding today and then remade all the beds. Monday is bedding day in our house. So if anybody ever wonders what I do on Mondays you now know. I am usually washing bedding. signed up as a Scentsy consultant this evening. https://sundryscents.scentsy.us

Tuesday September 29th- Kaelen woke up at 5:30 this morning and never really went back to bed. What is going on. I spent most of the day canning Salsa. I couldn't believe how much salsa the few tomatoes were that I picked. Also I don't know how people can cut tons of jalapeno's. Wow when I cut them I couldn't breath and my throat and nose hurt. Ahh. I did enjoy canning though because it was fun to watch a good movie while canning. I watch Mansfield Park. Kaelen played outside most of the time I was canning and then took a nap for almost 2 hours which was so nice. I know why he did though too. With this batch I did 14 1/2 pints.

Wednesday September 30th-woke up this morning wondering if I would run and saw how hard it was raining and chose not to. It was freezing today compared to yesterday. Yesterday we were in shorts and today pants and sweaters. It rained and snowed off and on all day. It rained most of it though. The snow melted though before it hit the ground. I spent a lot of the day doing things around the house like cleaning bathrooms and cleaning other things. The weather sure make it feel like a gloomy day. In the evening Enoch and I went outside in the rain and picked the rest of our tomatoes and peppers. It is supposed to really freeze tonight and so we wanted to pick it all. It took us about 45 minutes. We now have 6 fruit boxes in our garage full of tomatoes. Once those become ripe I will can more salsa. It was sure cold outside. I was so excited when we were done to come in the house and get warm. Oh yah we had to turn the heat on. We haven't had the heat on since May and now we have to have it on. So sad. I think that fall is officially here.

Thursday October 1st-Rachel and Jacob didn't have school today. They actually don't have school today or tomorrow. It is a state wide teacher in serivce. I was hoping to sleep in this morning but nope didn't happen. Jacob woke up at 7:30 saying he was hungry. I spent a lot of the day working on Scentsy stuff and trying to get my sister in Canada signed up. What was supposed to happen at 8 am didn't happen till 5 pm. Don't you love technology. The kids helped me clean the basement in the morning. I ran a few errand to Roberts crafts in the afternoon. This store will cause my marriage to fall apart and us to loose our home. I love everything in that store. I did find some fun fall decorations. In the afternoon the kids and I decorated the house with fall decorations. Oh I love the colors of fall. I love the way my house feels and I love the smells especially the fall Scentsy scents. I will post pictures of all the fun things I did.

Friday October 2nd-Enoch and I tried to sleep in again but Jacob woke up early again asking to get dressed. I did a few things around the house this morning and then went to the dentist. So I grind my teeth. Yay. I hope that I still have my mouth guard. After the dentist I went to Roberts again and ran into three friends from church. We spend a while talking and then running into each other again to ask advise. I came home with some more fall garlands. When I got home I finished decorating. I cleaned a lot around the house and then Enoch and I went outside with Kaelen and planted bulbs. Today was a little warmer than yesterday or the day before. Still had to wear long sleeve shirts. For the last two nights Enoch's made dinner. Rachel has been a wonderful help to him. It has been really nice not to have to cook.

Saturday October 3rd-Happy birthday Heather and happy 18 months Kaelen. Can't beleive that Kaelen is 18 months already. This morning I was able to sleep in and I actually slept in till General Conference this morning. I woke up at 10. I didn't know that I was that tired. Must have really needed the sleep to sleep in that long. So conference today was amazing. My favorite talks were David A. Bednar's and Boyd K. Packer. Loved them. In between conference today we all did a deep cleaning of the house. All of the kids helped as well. Walls were washed upstairs, baseboards, windows, doors and even under the fridge and oven. It was so nice. The kids also loved working. After the afternoon session and before the Priesthood session the kids went outside with Enoch and played snag ball (a fun game made up by Enoch when he was a kid, I'll explain later). After playing outside we all went to Reed's Dairy for ice cream. None of us had been there before but man it was so worth it. I am not an ice cream fan but wow I could eat that stuff everyday. It was so creamy. I guess that Reed's dairy was rated as the best ice cream in the nation by some food magazine. I totally think it is. It was a fun treat after us all working so hard. The rest of the evening we hung out and watch football on TV. It was a good day.

October 4th-Conference was once again really good. I loved hearing President Monson talk about his birthday and the wonderful cards and gifts he received especially the jar full of 'warm fuzzies'. Our kids seemed to listen pretty good during conference as well. Other than conference we didn't really do much today. Enoch and I tried to play Bananagrams but Kaelen likes the game as well and just as we were about done Kaelen got on the table and destroyed all my word tiles. The game ended then. This evening the kids and I watched some missionary movie on BYU TV. It was not one that I want to watch again. The kids seemed to enjoy it though. Today was a good day except the weekend always goes fast on conference weekends. There is not much you can do between conference and it really isn't much time in between sessions so the days go by really fast. I feel like now that I have tons of cleaning to do even though we really cleaned yesterday. Going to church on Sundays gives us three hours of not messing up the house. Oh so Rachel got a new book in the mail on Friday. It is over 250 pages. She has now finished it. She has almost read her 400 minutes required for the month. You go girl.