So I guess I am averaging 1 blog per month.. Hope everyone has a Happy New Year. We have been busy with school, work and Church. We had a wonderful Christmas in Lovell with the Emmett's. Everyone was there and that was really nice... We have been thinking of all the projects we could do when the weather starts to heat up. If only money was as abundant as our ideas are.

A little boy in Clayton's pre-school brought a horse for show and tell. All the kids got a ride.

James is into everything. He is my biggest helper when it comes to throwing things out of baskets!

How they love their Great Grandma C.

This was our Christmas tree. We were all ready to head to the mountain when Joe was told that the College was selling trees for $10, Well the permit to cut one is $8 then a two hour trip to and from the mountain. My cheap won out.. So We went and we "hunted" for a tree that wasn't already sold.. It was fun, and the kids were able to make it to their primary activity.

Over Thanksgiving we went down to Mom and Dad's. While Dad was having back surgery Joe and I remodeled his bathroom that was in need of a remodel. It has been lime green for 20+ years. It took some serious primer that was very toxic, but it covered the lime green oil based paint. We also put in a vanity and medicine cabinet and removed the carpet and put down laminate tiles.
Crystal won this frog "froga froga" at school right before Thanksgiving.
The kids Favorite thing to do with Grandma. Making Pizza and Cinnamon rolls.. Clayton got a well needed hair cut from Joe after Crystal tried her hand at cutting other people hair. It wasn't to bad.All the boys after Clayton's hair cut.

We went to the annual parade of lights It was really cold. The wind was blowing and the snow was gently falling. It was magical. And one of the best things we got a parking spot within 1/4 block of the parade route so we could quickly return to warmth.

Just a little review of my birthday.. Ugh 30 oh well there's nothing that I can about it. I spent Saturday morning in Cody and got my hair cut, She cut it shorter then I asked, but it's cute and my hair grows fast. I got a hand held sander. I love it. I have 5 projects waiting to be done. My cake was half chocolate Bavarian cream filled, half white with raspberry filling. It was AMAZING. Clayton picked out the matching sweaters for the boys.

We have had a great weekend.

Update on our little family. James went in for his 6 month check-up and is getting taller and skinner by the day. He is now above 95% for height(28in -That makes 8 inches total growth) then dropped to the 10% for weight (15lb 10oz, still has not doubled birth weight), He dropped from 50% to 10% in weight since his 3 month check-up. He also has a ear infection, first out of all our kids. Joe has his Masters license now just waiting on the Contractors licence to make him completely legal. Joe went hunting and got a buck this year. After several evening it is all processed and put away. Crystal is doing great in school with the exception of their timed math tests, but she is improving. Clayton is loving preschool and asks everyday if it is a school day. He went to the Ped. Orthopedic surgeon and he doesn't think Clayton will need surgery on his leg, so that is a huge relief. So we just have to go again in 6 months to see if it is correcting its self. The kids had their Primary program on Sunday and they did great. They both had their parts memorized and said them during the program. I spent the afternoon on Tuesday rescuing Mom, Gram, Aunt May and Lauri from the side of the road taking them to Wal-mart then back home safe and sound. Had a great time at the trunk-r-treat and the kids loved going to the Colleges party as well. Now just getting ready for all the November/December things.

VEGAS BABY!!!

Joe and I won a trip to Vegas so we went over our 9th anniversary. We had a great time, did a lot of walking the second day all day doing some site seeing. The last day we spent in our hotel at the amusement park. It was lots of fun. Joe was braver then me and road the roller coaster. Joe is the guy in the second row. He went on it twice and loved it. We went on a 3D and a 4D ride, did a couple ones that made us want to throw-up. We had a great time but are glad to be home with our kids again. Thanks to Grandma Bingham who came to our house and watched all three kids for the 5 days that we were gone (two of those days were driving to and from SLC where we then flew to Vegas). It is amazing how fast you can make a trip when you don't have kids needing to potty every 10 miles.
This was on the Hot air balloon Ferris wheel, we figured this ride might help sooth our troubled stomachs after a couple crazy rides. We stayed at Circus Circus and it was really fun. We went to the midway above the casino and played carnival games and watched some pretty amazing circus acts. WE won the kids a couple toys each. This was the view out our window. I had never been on so many escalators just to cross the street. Concrete jungle? Some kind of jungle! We are glad to be home.

fall or winter?

I really should update the blog, Dang you facebook for taking up all extra computer time. Joe passed his masters test!!!!! Now we are in the process of figure out all the licensing garbage. James is growing like a weed. He is now 5 1/2 months old.

Crystal is loving 1st grade, even though she passed out during a field trip last week (very scary call for me to get). Clayton is loving pre-school. We are headed up next week to the pediatric orthopedic surgeon to get a second opinion before we consider the drastic surgery the regular orthopedic surgeon suggested. So we should know by sometime next week what we will be doing. Joe was ticked to say the least when our early winter snuck up on us and caused total destruction of out well pump. I am hoping for a warm up so that we can get all the hoses drained and put away. I also need to do a days work with the plants outside. Looking forward to this weekend. Joe is going hunting with a friend. I don't like wild game meat but Joe and the kids love it. When we see a deer by the road the kids ask it we can run it over so they can eat some more deer meat since we ran out a while ago. Kids do say the darnedest things. Crystal is taking a baking class this week after school. She is loving it so far. Then she will have a cake decorating class next month.The kids loved the Firehouse open house. They get to go and get in all the trucks. It is a nice thing done annually.

Joe Had a class in Rapid City a couple Weeks ago and since my digital camera was on the fritz I had to wait for my 35mm film to be developed. Crystal stayed with Grandma Emmett (thank you) and we took the boys and hung out for three days. We went to the dinosaur park and Roosevelt park. One night we went to Pirates Cove miniature golf. Clayton loved it and it was fun for Joe and I as well. It was 18 holes and they weren't very easy and lots of water traps, and pirates shooting cannons at you while you were trying to putt. We had a great time. We also went to Joe's sister house on the way home and Clayton had a great time riding their Mule. All and all it was a great fun. Now we have to go back with Crystal so that she can do these things. We felt bad that she wasn't with us but she didn't want to miss three days of school. I love how much she loves school. Now we are home for a week or so. Joe will be gone two days next week. Then the last of the month he and I are headed to Vegas for our anniversary, My mom is coming to watch the kids. She has to spend a s much time with them as she can before they go on a mission. The outside of the garage is done with the exception of the soffeting. Have to save up more money for that. The rest of the garage went over the budget and through the just in case extra money.