For the Health of It

 

Before Covid broke out with all the mandatory shut downs and stay at home orders Tony and I were actually doing really well with our eating habits and physical activities.  But then it all went down the drain.  A year ago we joined a local gym to try and turn things around but it ended as does with many people.  No time to go and then we were paying for a monthly service we weren't using.  Unfortunately Carson and Alaina have inherited our bad habits and genes.  They have dealt with the consequences of those habits during middle and high school, which in and of itself it difficult enough.  About a month ago Alaina asked if I would make an appointment for her to go see a nutritionist.  With no prior decision to specifically work with a naturopathic doctor and nutritionist that is where we ended up.  Tony, Carson and I agreed we would do the eating and lifestyle changes with her.  Tomorrow we start.  There is definitely some apprehension about making this change.  We all know the benefits but change is hard.  We have to work through addictions to certain foods and get our bodies moving again.  So here's to drinking lots of water, being more physically active, sleeping better and staying away from sweeteners for the next few weeks.  Wish us Luck!  

Feb-April 2022

 Alaina was invited to join the Middle School Honor Band. 112 kids from 24 different schools. Alaina also got to play her mew flute named “Penny”! She loves it, which is good because it cost a pretty penny. The concert was awesome! #soproudofourgirl #musician #shenameseverything

So proud of this kid! Today was his last basketball game of the season. His team only had 5 players show so that means he played the entire game! Even though he was tired and didn’t make any baskets (he was so close so many times) he kept trying and gave it his all!

My boys did so great in the school musical! #musicman #middletonhighschool #proudmomma

#springbreakproject #imsoexcited #dressingupmykitchen #newtile

it took a bit longer than I was expecting but the finished result is amazing.

Universal Too!

 To say the kids were beside themselves to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is an understatement.  

Disney World!

 For Christmas we surprised our kids with a trip to Disney World in Florida.  We had been talking for years about taking the kids on the once in a life time trip but it just never worked out.  Tony got a much deserved bonus from work last fall and one of the first things we decided to do was take the kids to Disney.  We went the end of January and it was so much fun! 

2021-Getting back to normal, but not quite there yet.

 Celebrated 18 years of marriage this weekend in McCall. Went to Zim’s hot springs because Goldfork was closed (lame). Couldn’t check into our hotel until after 3:00 (double lame). The hotel was not exactly nice and our dinner at Lardos was a bit of a disappointment (triple lame). It pretty sad that our best meal of the weekend was IHOP. But this weekend wasn’t about all that stuff. It was about spending time together and celebrating the life we’ve built. #18yearsandcounting #lovethismanofmine

Started New Job at Howell Orthodontics

March 2021 — Orthodontist Assistant

Meridian, Idaho

So I had been working part time as a waitress at a local Chinese restaurant since Fall of 2018.  I liked it for the most part but I missed spending my nights and weekends with my family.  After one particularly bad shift I decided it was time for a job change.  Tony and I had talked since living in Washington about me going to school to become a dental hygienist.  After looking into the educational opportunities here in the treasure valley the cost was too much.  I found a couple of dental assisting programs and was just ready to pull the trigger when I got hired as an orthodontic assistant.  Dr. Howell said there was no need for me to go to school and that he'd train me on the job.  He is awesome to work for and treats his staff amazingly.  All the ladies I work with are awesome and I really do love my job most days.  Added benefit is free braces for our family!

Yes, I’m one of those people that thinks kindergarten graduation is a bit silly, but it doesn’t make Lincoln any less cute! #growingup

Spent our Independence Day Weekend enjoying God’s beautiful creations! I’ll be celebrating tonight feeling clean and refreshed after a shower. Then I’ll relax my soar muscles in my comfy bed. #enjoyingthecomfortsoflifeintheUSA #themountainsaremyhappyplace #familytime

The first game of the year! Love watching my boy play in the marching band and support our local team! Last year Carson expressed a desire to become a better drummer. After a year of lessons and lots of practiced he earned the snare drum part and section leader as a Junior! This is a big deal and I’m so proud!!! Almost brought to tears watching him lead the band and drum line! It’s going to be a great marching band season! #bandkidmom #lovemydrummer #fridaynightlights

Originally our plans for Labor Day weekend were to go camping. As a cold went through the kids this last week that got canceled. So we went on a 23 hour adventure instead! Tony and I have been looking at getting a third car for awhile now. Our plans were to get Tony a truck but with prices being so outrageous right now we decided to go with a run around car for now. For the last two weeks we’ve been looking locally for the car he wanted with features he wanted in the right price range with no luck. I found this one in Everett Washington online Saturday evening. After Tony’s brother (who just happened to be in the area at the time) looked at it and did a video call with us at the time, we decided to go for it! Using flyer miles we flew to Seattle via a 4 hour layover in Oakland, California. Tony’s brother picked us up and dropped us off at the car lot. We did the paper work and then drove it home. We left our house at 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning and got home at 4:00 a.m. this morning. Right now we all feel like we got hit by a train! But Tony got the car he really wanted, we got to spend some one on one time with our girl, and Alaina got to experience flying for the first time which was hilarious! #newtouscar #mazda3 #adventure! #zzzzzzzz

So this happened today! #braces #howellorthodontics #beautifulgirl

Birthday, carving pumpkins, and Halloween all in one day! I’m exhausted, but I love celebrating the wonderful young man Carson is becoming! It’s been such a joy to see him blossom and become so confident! In the last few months he’s done marching band, choir, drum lessons, work, school, church and everything in between! I think this is the first time in 17 years we had a birthday cake on his actual birthday! I guess that’s what happens when your birthday is on a holiday. Carson dressed as a mobster, Alaina a fairy which she made and put together all on her own, Charlie Luigi and Lincoln was Mario! #mykidsaregrowingup #halloween2021

Christmas Festivities.

2020 Coronavirus-Need I say more

 Day 1 of “Who knows for how long” spring break went pretty well. We had few moments but for the most part the kids got along and said it was “actually” a good day! I’ve ordered workbooks for the younger kids. Tony and I are brainstorming what Carson can do that is stimulating and educational. Learning that I need to be involved and 100% committed to follow the same schedule for it to work. I’m excited to see where this takes us. #socialdistancing #homelearning #wecandothis

Day 2: Lincoln got the flu. Throwing up and fever. My shift tomorrow night has been canceled because the restaurant is super slow. I guess they only had 3 tables all night. We stayed as close to our schedule as we could. Lincoln napped through our morning walk and I’m trying some essential oils to ward off any other sickness. #socialdistancing #canitbedonenow

Day 3: We got the bitter sweet news that my parents are being sent home early from their mission. They were serving at the Mormon Battalion Museum and loving it. Lincoln is feeling better and so far no else is sick. The younger boys got their workbooks today and are enjoying them. The boys played chess and Alaina picked back up her Ukulele. I’ve saved our family when I found my “bottle thingy” that I got after having Lincoln. The weather wasn’t as nice today but we still went out for some much needed time outside. After dinner Tony and I took the kids to get ice cream because we’re all going stir crazy. #cabinfaver #socialdistancing

Day 4: another hard one. Got the news this morning that my last surviving Grandparent passed away this morning. My feisty Grandma of nearly 97 years passed away quietly without any suffering. I love her and love that she’s been reunited with my Grandpa. The kids and I took a bit of a long walk this morning through the “country”. We got a new game. My kids played it at my Aunt and Uncles on Sunday and loved it. So we got one of our own. Then this evening we took the family to shoot our bows at the outdoor range. It was pretty busy. I guess everyone is as stir crazy as we are. #familiesareforever #socialdistancing #archery

Day 5: there was certainly a cloud hanging over heads today. We still managed to trudge along. But had a wonderful surprise this afternoon. We got to see my parents! It was so hard not to hug them and have to keep our distance. We got to chat for a few minutes. They’re now up at the family cabin for 2 weeks. Then they’ll be home for real!

Day 7: took the kiddos to Bruno Sand Dunes. It was really busy but thankfully the dunes are big enough that we were able to keep our distance from others. We hiked to the top of the big dune and enjoyed the views. The little boys had energy to spare. We all enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine. Going down was the fun part. Then we all had a contest to see who had the most sand in their shoes. #socialdistancing #familytime

Day 15: rainy gloomy day outside so it made for a hard day inside. We ended on a good note celebrating Tony’s birthday. I wanted to do something special for his 40th birthday but that’ll have to wait until all this is done. #socialdistancing #happybirthdaytomylove #chocolatecakemakesthingsbetter

Day 28: Easter Sunday! Baskets of goodies for the kids. A special Easter program with just my little family. We talked and sang about our Savior. It was pretty special. Alaina and I wore our Easter dresses, she made sure we did. Alaina was a huge help with all the cooking today. I love having my girl with me in the kitchen. Carson helped with the dessert. Typical of a boy I guess. Some video chatting with my parents and siblings. Trying and failing to learn how to knit. It’s one of Alaina’s goals. We may have to call on the skill of someone other than YouTube to help us. Delicious Easter dinner. We had Ham, cheesy potatoes, homemade rolls, asparagus, mini cheesecakes, and made from scratch sparkling strawberry limeade. I really thought that Easter wouldn’t be very special this year because of the social distancing. But it really has been special to intimately worship in our homes and talk of what our Savior Jesus Christ has done for us! #imagoodcookwheniwanttobe #easterdresses #eastersunday

Day 40: finished Alaina’s blanket today and bed skirt. She made a pillowcase to match. I’m not sure if it’s colorful and girly enough. Maybe I should add some sequins. To be honest I feel it’s a bit over the top, but my over the top girl LOVES it!

Day 49: was wonderful taking in the fresh mountain air. The trilliums were in bloom everywhere. Took the chance to shoot our bows, ride the 4 wheeler and explore the last few patches of snow.

Day 55: helped out Nathan and Maegen on their house again today. Alaina and her cousin Grace got a little carried away with the paint. Also had dinner with my Brother and his family. #paintingismessyfun #timewithfamily

Day 56: Mother’s Day! Got woken up by the kiddos that couldn’t wait to tell me “Happy Mother’s Day!” Had ribs for dinner as requested. They were delicious. Got to see my wonderful mom today and be there when my mother-in-law opened her mother’s ring from all her kiddos. My kids were pretty sweet to me. They all used their own money to pick out gifts for me. Charlie got me some purple mini roses. Lincoln got me a watering can. He was so excited about it too. Alaina got me my own stash of Almond Joys and remade a key ring she had made me from kindergarten. Carson got me some flowers for my flower bed. My gift from Tony hasn’t come yet, but Charlie spilt the beans. I feel so blessed to be a mother and surrounded by so many wonderful mothers themselves. #blessedbeyondmeasure #happymothersday

Day 64: Celebrating Tony’s promotion tonight by taking the family out to dinner. He is the new team lead at work. He works so hard and it’s wonderful that he’s with a company that appreciates him! #soproudofhim #thehouseofdesign

Day 72: Carson finished drivers ed today. #teenagedriver #prayforme

Tony shooting bows in the Idaho mountains with some of his favorite people! No better way to celebrate him! Happy Father’s Day, we love you! @beardless_bowman #nwmountainchallenge #archery

Took the family to float the river! Two of our tubes ended up with holes in them so 3 of us just floated down in our life jackets. The weather was perfect. The water refreshing. The time together was wonderful. The kids kept saying how fun it was and how come we hadn’t done it sooner. #boiseriver #middletonidaho #fundoesnthavetobeexpensive

A few months ago Tony accidentally killed our front lawn. He was spraying weeds and fertilizing the grass, but used the wrong chemical which resulted in a burnt dead lawn. It made us so sad to see all our neighbors lush green lawns next to our dead brown one. So we replanted, fertilized, and replanted again. The lawn is “mostly” green and we have new grass coming up in areas there wasn’t any before. It’ll still be awhile before the lawn is looking it’s best again but it’s nice to see progress and the fruits of our labors. Life is like this. Sometimes we sabotage something that’s been doing good. We feel sadness and heartache over the loss of that thing. So we get to work. We replant, we fertilize, we water, we nurture until it comes back. It takes time patience and healing but in the end we come out a little wiser and healthier then we were before. I pray that we can all forgive, love, nurture, and have patience in these times for it will grow back.

Spent the weekend on an adults only backpacking trip in the Sawtooths. The scenery was beautiful! The company was wonderful! The food was pretty good. The hiking was hard, sweaty and dirty but so worth it! Will totally do it again. #themountainsaremysanctuary #abrightspot

t’s finally here! The kids were all full of anxious excitement. Carson 10th, Alaina 7th, Charlie 4th, and Lincoln kindergarten. They’re all so grown up! #schooldaysarehereatlast #kindof

Love my kiddos! #yearlyphotos #toocheaptobuyschoolpictures #amaturephotographer

Hunter, Hermione, Batman, and Robin. Least amount of work I’ve had to do on costumes to date is a win in my book! Also my boy is 16 today! Watch out world here he comes! #halloweenbirthday #quitgrowingupsofast

About 2 years ago I was diagnosed with Bipolar Type 2 or in Layman’s terms Depression. It was a long rocky road to get the point of managing my mental illness. Through counseling and medication most days are filled with hope. Thankful for the effectiveness of modern medicine and the stigma of mental health problems being removed. #givethanks

Feeling all festive and ready for church. #merrychristmas

After delivering all our Christmas goodies to friends and neighbors we took the kids out Caldwell to see the lights. It did not disappoint. Although next time we’ll dress warmer! #christmaslights #merrychristmas #brrrr

Took the kids up to Steamboat Gulch by Idaho City for some sledding today. Lincoln was a little apprehensive at first but then would have gone down that hill all day if we had let him. Charlie had some pretty epic crashes and even has some scratches on his forehead. But he went on sledding anyway. Carson and Alaina had a good time but tired out sooner that the little boys. Tony, Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed watching. I learned that I’m not as young as I used to be and my body is already screaming at me. But wonderful memories were made so totally worth it! #sleddingfun #familytime #crashandburn

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