THE DYRENG GANG

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-31T12:30:00.003-06:00

The boys had more fun throwing rotten pumpkins at each other

We had a lot of fun at the pumpkin patch.

Talan loved to pick out the baby pumpkins

Talan is 3

2010-10-31T11:27:00.003-06:00

Where did time go? I can not believe that he is already 3 (October 24th). He of course wanted horses and other animals for his birthday. I think he now has over 60 toy horses not to mention the million other animals. He also wanted a horse cake. I did not think I could make a horse, so I did a barn and animals instead! Thanks to everyone for coming!!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T11:02:00.003-06:00

The kids had fun going to the carnival on Friday and then some trick or treating in the rain on Saturday !!!

Some pics!!

2009-03-16T10:36:00.005-06:00

Note to self---do not let Payton back his own church clothes. He was prepared incase of any floods though!

Before the draper temple open house

Got milk---love the milk face on Talan

Cheesy little dirty smiles from my little guy Talan

The kids Valentines boxes---Rilee's is a princess castle and Payton's is an ipod

Some funnny things!

2009-03-16T10:06:00.005-06:00

Well, instead of trying to catch up from 3 months of posts, I am just gonna start a little more current and post some things!!!
First of all, my cute little Rilee turned 4 on Dec 29th. She is constantly keeping us on our toes. She is so funny and so hyper. She always comes up with the most clever things. The other day we were driving to my mom's and we were talking about her as a baby. She asked how big she was when she was born and I said 6'5oz and 17 1/2 inches long....she continued to ask how big both her brothers were and I told her their weight and length. She then asked how big I was when I was a baby. I said I did not know for sure but with my hands I showed her just about how long I thought I was. After a second of silence Rilee resonded, "Mom, you were a 5 dollar footlong baby!" Hilarious--if any of you don't get it you need to watch more TV, or atleast more Subway commercials!
Payton turned 6 this last Friday---actually is you ask him he is 8. He thinks he turned 6 a week ago from Sunday when we did his family party (party #1), then he turned 7 on Friday (his real birthday and party #2), then he thinks on Wednesday he will get to turn 8 (for his friend party---party #3). He is so funny. I am sure that he doesn't really think he is 8, but wants to get baptized so bad he wants to be 8!! We did have a lot of fun parties-and thank to all for the awesome presents, he loves them all!
We went to the draper temple open house on March 6th. My kids were so excited to go and see the inside of the temple. We did a family home evening the Monday before all about temples and the kids did a cute duet of "I love to see the temples". They were both very excited and it was fun to be in the sealing rooms with my kids. They loved to look "forever" into the mirrors. Rilee even had to take her brochure from the temple for show and tell the next week. Unfortunately Cody had to go through the open house with the youth of our ward (he is the YM leader) so he was not with us through the whole thing, but we met up with him in the church afterwards. It was a great experience and I am so grateful that our family will be together forever!!
Well, because I am battling with the stomach flu, I think I am done posting for today. For all you that continue to check to see if I ever update my blog don't give up on me-- I will try to do better!

What we've been up to......

2008-12-07T07:34:00.004-07:00

Well once again I am playing blog catch up, so sorry if you hate reading about 2 months of what has been happening, but here goes.

TALAN TURNED 1 YEAR OLD ON OCTOBER 24:
I know, I can not believe it either. This past year flew by. He is so fun, and still is a good baby (or little boy). He is definitely our "mild" child----and Rilee is the "Wild" child. Payton has a little bit of both in him. He started taking a few steps a couple days before he was one. He prefers crawling because it is so much faster, but hopefully he learns. He says a few words/sounds like "mama", "dada", "baba"(bottle),and "kiki"(I think this is kitty cause he points the the garage where the kitty is.) We had a party for him with both mine and Cody's family. We went out to dinner---mainly because I was too lazy to want to cook for 25 or so people. Dinner was great, Talan slept the entire time, and the best....No dishes for me to do afterward. These pictures are of his party. I made a cake...it is supposed to be a monkey (look careful and you can see the tail), I made him his own little cake that I let him dive in to..and he did. I have done this on all my kids and he was the only one that would really touch it without help. The other two kids just stared at me like "what should I do with this". And then of course presents....he did not get to open a lot of them cause the other kids opened them first. It was a fun night, and I am so luck to have such a sweet, happy, baby boy!!

RILEE HAD HER FIRST DANCE PERFORMANCE:
OK, so it was just at the Gunnison Health fair, but she thought it was pretty neat. They don't even have their costumes yet, but she was still thrilled. Plus a lot of family were down for Talan's birthday, so a lot of people were there watching her. She did a cute job and I look forward to many more dance perfomances.

CARVING PUMPKINS:
Last year we decided to start a tradition of carving pumpkins the weekend of Talan's birthday. Last year I was scheduled to have Talan by c-section on October 27th, but I went to my doctors appointment on the 23rd and I was dilated to a 3/4. My doctor did not think I would last 4 more days so he said, "can you come in tommorrow morning for your c-section." Of course I was excited to have him, but I was overwhelmed trying to get last minute things done in one night. Of those last minute things were carving pumpkins---. We decided to have a "baby's coming" party to fire up the kids for Talan's birthday. We ordered pizza, went to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins, and then came home and carved them.----that is how or tradition got started. Now the kids know that when it is almost Talan's birthday, it is also time for pumpkins!!! Here is our pumpkins this year. I was the washer of pumpkins, and the one who cleaned up the constant pumpkin guts on the floor. Cody helped Payton care his, my mom helped Talan, and my sister in law Emily helped Rilee. You will notice in most of the pictures Rilee is tying to pull the same face as the pumpkin she carved...what a character.

HALLOWEEN---YEAH!!
This year's Halloween was pretty fun. We started off Halloween day by me going to Payton's class to help with his Halloween party....I am his room mother. He was so excited to see me there. He ran up and gave me a big hug and a kiss. What a great kid!! We did some fun activities and all the kindergartners had fun. After school I took all my kids to day care so I could go set up for the Gunnison Halloween carnival. It is nothing very exciting. A few cake walks, a fish pond game and some other games with little prizes, but it is "The Thing" in Gunnison. The kids all dress up and love going there to see their friends, and best of all it is a cheap activity. After the carnival Cody took Talan to his mom's and I took Payton and Rilee trick or treating up her street until we got to her house. The kid's loved T or Treating and it was so cute to listen to them say it at each house. After we got back to Annette's (cody's moms) we were all pretty tired, so we had some caramel apples that Grandma had made and some pop. Then---it was time to go home and attempt to get the kids to go to sleep after all that candy!!! Payton was a bronco's football player, Rilee was a cheerleader (AGAIN). Good thing she is not growing very fast and could wear her last years costume. Talan was supposed to be a football player also, but when I got his costume from the mail it didn't fit him and was already coming unstitched. I sent it back, but did not have time for a new costume to get here, so we dug in to the old costumes and found this little puppy costume. Payton and Rilee wanted him to be the puppy because they said it was like the Gunnison's puppy (bulldog) mascot. They all looked so cute and loved every minute of Halloween......all but when I made them eat their dinner and bedtime!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

KITTY ATTACK:
Well we got a kitty last year that we named "Whiskers". It was a pretty good cat, and had great "mousing" potential. As it grew from a kitty to a big cat, it started getting kind of mean. It would always scratch my kids and other neighbor kids. My kids sometimes would not dare to go outside cause they were afraid of it. It especially did not like Rilee. I think she would swing it by it's tail when it was little...but it would always hiss at her and act like it was ready to pounce. Well one Saturday I was in my house visiting with my friend, and Rilee and her little girl were outside playing. All of the sudden Kennedi (my friends daughter) came in the house and said the kitty got Rilee and she is bleeding, I went outside and there she was her face was covered in blood. It really freaked me out, but after cleaning her up I realized it looked worse then it was. There were a few deep cuts. It scratched her face chest and legs. Needless to say, the minute Cody got home, I had him take the cat to the farm to fend for himself. We did however get another kitty ( I have to for mouse reasons because I have fields all around me). This one is cute with bright blue eyes. The kids named it snowball. It has been a great cat this past month, but went missing 2 days ago, so I will keep you posted on that. Here are the attack pics of Rilee. It was very sad, and her huge tears and the frightened look on her face broke my heart.

TALAN FINALLY GOT EAR TUBES:
After about an ear infection every month and a whole lot of different antibiotics, we finally opted for ear tubes. He got them on November 20th. It was such a fast procedure. (I knew it would be since I am in the OR when they do a lot of them, but you always worry when it is your own kid). We got to the hospital at 8:15 am and were home at 10:00. He did really good, and slept a lot of the day after he got them. I am sure that this is mainly due to him not sleeping at all the night before. He couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before the ear tubes, so when he woke up and wanted his bottle in the night he just cried...and cried.... and cried. We both got no sleep. He is doing real good, and his 2 week check up they were both doing well. He also has found a little balance. I think the ear infections were affecting his balance, cause a few days after the ear tubes he was walking so much better. Yeah!! Hopefully we stay ear infection free from here on out.

THANKSGIVING:
Thanksgiving was nice, but I forgot to charge my camera battery so no pics. The Saturday before Thanksgiving we headed to Logan for my mom's side of the family Thanksgiving. It was a long dive from Gunnison, but the food was good and it was good to see everyone. Everyone that was there that is. Most of the cousins my age were either at the big Utah vs BYU football game, or stayed home to watch it. my brother, Cody and a few of my uncles, went to COdy's cousins house in Logan just as soon as they got there food. Atleast we did not have to listen to them complain about missing the game. Left at the dinner were mostly my mom and her siblings and the mom's with their kids!! All in all it was nice and fun to see everyone. On Thanksgiving day we went to Annette's (Cody's mom's). I was on call, so I had to stay in Gunnison. We had a nice Thankgiving, a lot of great food and overall a very relaxing time. Thanks to Annette and Sam (my sister in law) for doing most of the food preparation. It was fun to see everyone--including Cody's 2nd or 3rd cousin cousin and his family from St. George.

SANTA VISITS GUNNISON:
Every day after Thankgiving, those that are not shopping at black Friday take there kids to the City Hall to see Santa. My kids were so excited to see him. They wrote there letters telling them what they wanted. Payton asked for a scooter and star wars stuff. He made sure to tell Santa that he had been very good. Rilee asked for a scooter and dora and princess stuff. She told Santa she would leave him some cookies and some carrots for his reindeer. I think she was kissing butt cause she was a little worried about being on the naughty list. I decided not to wake Talan up from his nap since he would get to see Santa at the ward party. Once we got there we waited in line. After some doughnuts and visiting with friends Payton turn was finally here-- he went right to Santa's lap. Rilee was not so daring. She was scared to death and said "nevermind, let's just go home." Grandpa Dyreng (Cody's grandpa) was there because the Lions club (a community service group)was in charge of the santa visit. Grandpa could tell that Rilee was scared so he came up and talked to her. He told her how nice Santa was and all and he said, "Don't worry Rilee Santa is my friend, I went to highschool with him." Rilee said "really" and just like that she was no longer scared. Thank goodness for grandparents, they make everything better. She would sit on Santa's lap but Payton had to stay nearby. After the Santa thing, they got treats, put their letters to Santa in his mailbox, and we went home. That afternoon Cody and his uncles and cousins went to cut Christmas trees. I was on call so I could not go, but Payton went with him. Rilee and I decided to go see a matinee at the theater of Mr. magoriums Wonder emporium. We both fell asleep but it was still fun. I love Christmas time because my kids are always so excited. And because there is no worse threat then when I tell my kids, "Do I need to call Santa and tell him you are on the naughty list?" Boy do they shape up fast!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

THE WARD PARTY:
On Dec 3rd (I think) we had our ward party. It was a nice time. The kids did a cute nativity thing. Of course mine and the other little kids were animals. Rilee was a pig and Payton a racoon. From what I heard of raccoons it is kind of scary to picture a raccoon by the manger. No I am just kidding, I am sure the Young women were just finding as many costume masks as possible so everyone could have one. It was really cute. And the best part for the kids was Santa came again. Talan really liked Santa as you can tell by his face in these pics. Rilee was not too scared of Santa---more excited to get the bag of treats though. Payton said " why do I need to tell Santa what I want again?" I said "cause sometimes Santa forgets cause there are a lot of kids to remember." He said, "It sucks to get old huh mom...." How funny.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Well I say this every time, but I will try to do better and keeping up to date on my posts....I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!!!

"My PUNKINS" in the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-23T09:11:00.004-06:00

MIA

2008-10-23T08:18:00.009-06:00

I am still recovering from having no husband during the hunting/football season, but I decided it was way past time that I give my blog a facelift. It took me forever to do, and after I finished I was checking out some of my friends blogs and I could not believe it.....I had picked the same background as Kera. I changed it, but I will apologize in advance if anyone has the same one as I do now. (I am not changing again for a while). While I was here I decided I better post a little about what I have been up to, so here goes.......

1) I actually did some canning this year. Cody's mom gave me some canning stuff for Christmas, and since my kids absolutely love peaches and pears, I gave it a try. It went pretty well. Thanks to my mom for taking a day off work to come and show me the secrets to canning. It was a lot of fun and all together I did about 65 bottles of peaches and 40 bottles of pears...Yum I think we are set. Also, I planted a vegetable garden this year and surprisingly grew something other than weeds. I was surprised because I had never done a garden before, so last minute I tilled up a spot, made some furrows, and put down a few seeds and plants. I got a lot of tomatoes (which I canned)...go me, a lot of squash--which we ate and got sick of, zucchini which I made bread with, jalepenos and green peppers which I used for fajitas and salsa, and a few green beans. Overall it was pretty good for my first attempt. I did learn a few things....A) You should follow the guideline of planting your squash the recommended feet apart. My squash plants were taking over my garden. B)plant the bigger items in back. My tomatoes did great because they got all the water, but when they got too big, the back of the garden could not get hit by the water---hence very few green beans. C)Know what you plant where. I had no idea what I planted or where I planted it since I threw it all down last minute. It did make it exciting because I never knew what I would find.

2)Rilee did a little mini G-Gettes camp (mini drill team). I thought she would do awesome because she is always dancing around the house, but the first 2 practice days she would not get off my lap. Finally, by the 3rd day she would dance and actually did very cute. On the performance day I was worried that she would not go out, so I asked a little neighbor girl that is older if she would help get her out. Allie, the neighbor was so nice and made sure she got out.....and then Rilee stood right behind her the entire time. I think she was dancing, but could not really see, so after words I made her pose for these pics. How cute is she!!!!!!

3)I have been dealing with a teething baby. He go his 2 bottom teeth the middle of September,and then at the end of September all 4 top front teeth started coming in at once. He finally found his way of coping with the pain. He would bite on the bottle nipple and pull it out fast. He felt better, but milk was everywhere. I can not believe he is 1 year old tommorrow. Time flies!

4) Busy with a kindergartner. Payton loves to do his reading and homework. He gets excited over the littlest things, and he absolutely loves "being a boy". I am not a bug/frog/spider person, bit I had to act excited because he really wanted me to take a picture of him holding his frog. Did I mention he loves being a boy.....10 minutes later him and a neighbor boy had squished the frog.......Yuck!!

5) Rilee started dance.... and she absolutely is loving it. She is so cute to watch. She could not get her feet to turn out for pliea' (or how ever you spell it), so she figured out she could sit down, turn out her feet to first position then stand up and she was ready. It did take a lot of time, and if/when she lost her balance she had to start all over. I think she is getting better now. She actually has a little performance this Saturday!!

6) Cody's sister Mandi got married on October 11th, and I made her wedding video. I had done a few videos before, but they were always just for myself. It was a lot more stressful when I knew other people would see it. It turned out well though, and I think Mandi was happy. Mandi married Chad Barton, they are such a cute couple. We are excited for them.

7) Other than these things, I have been going to football games (Cody is still coaching), being a patient wife while he hunts, cooking, cleaning, playing with kids and working at the hospital. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, my brother Dave is living with us for a while...hopefully while he gets ready for a mission. He has been a big help and my kids and all the neighbor kids just love him!!!!

Once in a lifetime...or so I am told.

2008-09-16T22:25:00.007-06:00

Anyone that has been to my house has seen this elk hanging on my wall.....
Well, good news.....he has a friend.

After 15 years of putting in for the big bull elk hunt, Cody finally drew out. I was excited for him, because as he keeps saying, "it is once in a lifetime". He has spent a few hours the last month up scouting for the elk, but most of his scouting has been done the last 2 weeks. He has gone up looking and every time he would come home and say "I did not see anything". I was worried, but I am sure, not as worried as he. Saturday was the opening day of the hunt, so at 4:30 am him and many, many family and friends headed up the mountain to help him get his elk (or whatever you do when you hunt). He came home that night empty handed.... He did see a few ,but nothing big enough to shoot on opening morning. He headed back up Sunday, and still no luck. He took off this whole week of work, so Monday morning it was back up the mountain for him. I did not hear from him, but around 10:00 pm his buddy called to tell me that he got one. I am no elk expert, but from the picture it looked pretty good. Cody says that it is not as big (wide as his dad's)-----oh yeah that is the one on our wall now, because his parents did not have big enough ceilings for it. Cody d says that he is happy with it, so as long as he is happy, I am happy. After all.....it WAS "Once in a lifetime."

I think I was a pretty good sport about letting him come and go as he needed to to get his elk, but I am glad that he is back and I do not have to feel like a single wife/ mother anymore. I am glad that he had a great experience. Thanks to all of his friends and family for helping him with this. Especially to Casey for spending so much time scouting and finding the elk (and to his sweet wife Sam for letting him come down and take off work). This will be something that COdy always remembers, and I think that I will too. After all, I agreed to let Cody hang it in our bedroom..... I know weird, but hey, it is his house too (and I don't want to pay $1000 or whatever it costs for a garage decoration.) Glad you had fun Cod, you deserve it!!!

Thanks family

2008-09-16T21:57:00.003-06:00

Well, on Saturday morning, my brother called to see if the kids (Payton and Rilee)could go up camping with my family at Payson Lakes on Sat-Sunday. I had a bridal shower that I needed to go to, so I could not go. Glen (my bro) dates a girl from Gunnison and her and her daughter were going to be driving up to Payson to go camping also and so they took my kids. It was so nice of them. Cody was actually gone Saturday and most of Sunday looking for his elk (yes he has a big bull elk tag). I was alone with just Talan. We had some great one on one. We cuddled without being malled by the other 2 kids. He got in some great naps (which usually does not happen because he is always getting woke up), and I got my house cleaned. I keep being told that I should have done something FUN on me sort of free day, but we (Talan and I) still had fun. I am so lucky that he is so happy and healthy. He always has a little sparkle in his big brown eyes----even though he is teething right now he is very happy. I am so grateful for everything that my family does for me and my kids. They are always so willing to help out and I am so lucky to have them all. My kids had an absolute blast camping..fishing....riding scooter...fires....DIRT, DIRT and more DIRT!! Thanks to you all for allowing me a little rest weekend....you are all awesome!! Here are some pics of Talan and his cheesy little grins, along with his chewing on his tongue as he is teething.

3 years going on 18---it's preschool time!!

2008-09-16T21:35:00.004-06:00

Yes, Rilee finally started preschool, and she is absolutely loving it. She started on September 8th, and was so excited. She got a new Dora backpack which she thinks is pretty neat (even though it is as big as her). She has some good friends in preschool with her and an amazing teacher. She is ready for school... it was very hard for her to sit home when Payton went to school. It is weird to think that 2 kids are in school (kind of), but I think it is good for her. I think it will also help with the little teasing that has been going on a lot lately between Payton and Rilee. Payton is at school from 7:45-11:15. Then Rilee is at preschool (3 times a week) from 12:30- 2:30. By the time the 2 kids are together they have missed each other and are a little nicer. I was worried about how Rilee would behave in school..she tends to be quiet the fire ball (full of energy). But I called her teacher for a behavior report and her teacher (Ms. alice) said she is being just wonderful....yeah!! Every day she comes home and tells me how good she was! She also is loving to feel so big. She think that now that she is in preschool she is so grown up and all that. She thinks that she can use knifes, read, just about anything she wants. She will always reply, "I can cause I am in preschool and I am big...huh". Well I am very proud of Rilee. She is my little princess. She brings a joy to our family that I can not even describe. I love her so much and am so blessed to be her mom.

High School Tag

2008-08-30T08:29:00.003-06:00

Thanks to my friend KIM for tagging me on this.....unfortunately I do not have the memory she has about highschool. I can only remember the names of my best friends I still hang out with... I will try though.

High School Tag
1. Did you date someone from your school? I dated a lot of different people, but no one serious.... I think maybe a few months was the longest.

2. What kind of car did you drive? A blue cressida, and when that died a beater truck with a shell....YEAH

3. Were you a party animal? I loved to party the LDS way. No drinking or drugs etc. We just had fun hanging out and playing with boys.---thanks Kim I just copied you answer.

4. Were you considered a flirt? I think so, but maybe not as much as some of my friends.

5. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I played trumpet in junior high, but because of my braces (and lack of skill) I was always in last chair ( last place).... I had no interest to continue on to highschool.

6. Were you a nerd? No.... but me and my friends were our own little group, and I would not say that we were to cool to hang out with "nerds".... we just did what ever was fun.

7. Were you on any varsity teams? I was in cheerleading.

8. Did you get suspended/expelled? Never, but had to do detention a few times.....that was some fun times since my friends and I were always in together.

9. Can you still sing the fight song? Yes most of it. Go Eagles!

10. Who were your favorite teachers? My nursing teacher Mrs. Stewart, and thanks to my biology teacher (don't remember his name) for loving cheerleaders. I think 2 times a week I told him I had to leave to do "Cheer" stuff. He always believed me and he gave me an A even though I did not do much work.---- Yeah, and the cheer stuff meant Einstein bagel run!!!

11. Where did you sit during lunch? Went out to eat some times, in the cafeteria some times... it was always different,but I always sat with my best friends.... we were inseparable.

12. What was your school's full name? Skyline High School

13. School mascot? Eagles

14. If you could go back and do it again, would you? I loved high school it was some of the best years of my life. I learned a lot about my self and met my best friends Tiffani, Kelie, Kim and Melissa (although we have all sort of lost contact with Melissa)

15. What do you remember most about graduation? I was with my bestfriends, and I was sad to be done with highschool...... I loved it!!

16. Where did you go senior skip day? I can't remember, but probably to the bagels place or to Kelie or Kim's house to watch days of our lives and eat totinos pizza. I don't kow if there was an organized activity for senior skip day or not!!

17. Were you in any clubs? I was in pep club as a sophomore, and operation smile and a few other clubs, but I would have to get my yearbook to list those!

18. Have you gained weight? I actually weight less now (yes after 3 kids) than I did in highschool. Even with all the activities I did, I still was not super skinny in highschool.---I think I was growing in to my body back then. Although, in highschool my stomach was a lot better than it is after 3 kids. My friends were super skinny then, and are super skinny now.

19. Who was your prom date? Gosh, I don't remember his name..... I remember that it was fun and he was nice!!! Oh yeah and that I was really sunburned from boating that day.

20. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? No, I still keep in contact with most of the friends that I would care to see, and I did not feel like going and trying to introduce my husband to people whose names I can not even remember....Plus I was 7 or 8 months prego and i did not want to go FAT!!!!!!

Tag: Chantel, Michelle, Akaela, Rebecca, Jayci, Kristyn

San Diego Family Pictures

2008-08-29T10:20:00.004-06:00

">Thanks to my brother Ryan and his wonderful camera, we were able to take some family pictures. It has been a very long time since family pictures, so they were much needed. We went to the beach at 6:00 in the morning and we forgot to take the kids to the bathroom first. Payton is holding himself in most of the pictures, but hey at least it is a picture. We had so much fun in San Diego. I will post more pictures of the actual trip later.

First Day of Kindergarten

2008-08-24T08:20:00.003-06:00

Yes, I know it is weird, but I have a kindergartner now. Payton started his first day of kindergarten on Tuesday. His teacher is Mrs. Jensen and he absolutely is loving it......especially riding the bus. Here are just a few funny stories about the big day.

1) This is what he told me the night before his first day! Of course he had already picked out the clothes he wanted to wear and folded them nicely (even his underwear) on top of his backpack. Ha Ha

PAYTON: "Mom, how about when it is time for me to wake up you come into my room and wake me up. Then I will get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush my teeth and then wait by the door."
ME:" Ok, bud, sounds good."
PAYTON : (a few minutes later) "Actually mom, I am going to wake up, eat breakfast, brush my teeth, then get dressed."
ME: "How come you changed the plan?"
PAYTON: "Well cause if I spill breakfast or toothpaste on my shirt, all the kids will say "Dude, you spilled on your shirt"".

--I laughed so hard. Payton has always cared about looking "handsome".

2) This is after his first day of school...he is talking about a little girl (Kaylee) who he has a crush on...although he does not admit it.

PAYTON: "It's just great mom, Kaylee is in Avery and Jaxon and Spencer's class (these are some of his preschool buddies)."
ME: "Well that is OK Payton."
PAYTON: "Yeah, but now she will never want to be my girlfriend."
ME: "I thought that you did not like girls (I have tried to drill that into his head)"
PAYTON: " Well, I don't right now, but what about when I am 18---she is never going to like me."
ME: "Payton that is a lot of years away, don't worry about it."
PAYTON: "Yea!! (Obviously not paying attention to me) " I will just have to play with her at recess." --as if he is thinking of a plan to win her back.

It is so cute to watch Payton get excited about school. He is a great student and he is very patient and excited to learn. He will do wonderful. In preschool he would ask the teacher for more homework papers!!! I love you Payton and I am so proud of you.

SHE'S 3

2008-07-22T09:35:00.003-06:00

Well this past weekend I was up at my mom's house and I was getting ready to leave on Saturday morning. I really needed my hair trimmed. The girl who normally cuts my hair is back east selling security systems with her husband, so I decided that I would quickly run to Fantastic Sams and get my hair trimmed. I usually take Rilee to Cookie Cutters...a children's hair cutting place, but I decided to take her with me. After all we were just getting a trim. Well, we get there and after a short wait they took me to one chair and Rilee to another. I told the lady, I just want you to trim up her ends. Well the girl cutting my hair was busy cutting off my many split ends, and when I was finally done I looked up and could not believe it. No...my hair was fine, but when I looked at Rilee she had bangs....and kind of ugly ones. I walked over and grabbed her out of the chair. I was very mad. I said, I did not say to cut bangs. The lady cutting her hair said, "Oh, she told me to." I replied, "She is 3." I was furious, I didn't even let her finish cutting them, I just took her and left. Luckily Rilee is soooo cute that any hair style looks good one her, but I had been growing them out for a year and they were finally almost as long as her hair. I will have to post some pics later of them. I did however finally break down on Sunday and trim them a little better and at a little of an angle. So the moral of the story, don't leave your 3 year old alone when she is getting her hair cut!!! Thanks goodness she did not say that she wanted to be BALD!!

Lake Powell

2008-07-22T08:57:00.003-06:00

Another fun vacation that we had this summer was Lake Powell. Cody's family has a house boat there. This year about all the aunts, uncles, cousins etc went and we had as many as 50 people on the houseboat at one time. It made for little room but a lot of fun. To make it even more exciting our house boat was parked next to the Madsen's (another equally large and crazy family from Gunnison). It was a blast. I always love Lake Powell. It is so relaxing. The kids had fun although Payton and Rilee were kind of afraid of the water. Talan was just his normal self and just hung out in the water and did not make a fuss. Cody and I decided to bring a tent so that our family could sleep in it at night and we would not have to worry about the kids waking everyone else up. Well on the last day we packed up out tent and there were 3 scorpions under it.. Freaky!! We did some tubing and skiing, played a lot of games, ate a lot of food, and had tons of fun. Lake Powell is something that we look forward to every year!!

Martin's Cove

2008-07-22T07:59:00.012-06:00

Oh wow, it has been a really long time since I have posted. Sorry these posts are a little out dated, but summer has been kinda busy. The first exciting adventure of the summer was Martin's Cove---the pioneer trek. We took Talan on it with us, and he (and I) both did well. It was an awesome experience. I would recommend going to any one who has the opportunity. Cody and I were Ma and Pa's and we had some big strong boys that pretty much pulled our handcart the entire way...it was nice. Our "family" was so helpful with Talan also which made it even better. We did see 6 rattlesnakes, one of which was camping under one of the girls tents...AHHH! Luckily though no one got bit---I was the medical personnel, so I was very grateful to not have to perform any first aid or IV while there. The pioneer trek made me appreciate so much what the pioneer went through. It really was a great experience.

I have been TAGGED

2008-06-08T08:31:00.003-06:00

I have been tagged by my friend Jayci, so I guess I am supposed to post 8 random facts or habits about me. This is going to be hard cause most people that read my blog now almost everything about me. Well, here goes!!
1) Before I got married, I wanted to have 8 to 10 kids. I have now settled on between 5 and 6. The main reasons for dropping in the numbers is a) to compromise with Cody b) they are so dang expensive and c) I am getting too old to still fit in 5 to 7 more pregnancies. I have always said, "I don't want to be the mom that has too leave Payton's (my oldest boy) highschool football games to go breastfeed." I do love kids and hope to still have 2 to 3 more kids..... I know I am crazy!!
2) I am extremely afraid of mice!! When we first moved to this house 5 or so years ago we had some mice. I remember being at home with just Payton and I saw a mouse run across my kitchen. I called Cody all hysterical telling him he needs to come home. Of course I was sitting on the kitchen table....which is where I stayed for about 1 1/2 hours until Cody did come home. (Try keeping a 1 year old entertained on the kitchen table for an hour ). Cody---as well as the rest of his family still tease me about my fear. Cody said to me, "Nona, I am sure that they are more afraid of you then you are of it." Forcefully, I said, "Oh... I don't think so."
3) I am addicted to CANDY. I try all the time to cut back on my candy intake, but I just can't. I think when I go without candy I seriously go through withdraws. I am more tired, awnry, and unhappy. I don't crave all sweets like cookies, cake etc.....just things like licorice and gummy bears. YUM....anyone have any good ideas on dealing with my addiction?
4) I have always wanted to adopt an African American baby. I don't know if I ever really will, but I want to. Cody is OK with it, and there are actually some adopted black kids in Gunnison, but it is sooooo expensive to adopt. My good friend Tiffani hs 3 adopted black siblings. I remember in highschool i used to tend them a little, and just play with them when we were at her house----they were so cute. I wish it was not so expensive. I guess I have a hard time reasoning paying 20,000 + to adopt when I have no problem getting pregnant and having healthy babies on my own....Oh well, everyone can dream and who knows, one day maybe it will happen.
5) I am named after my Grandma (my mom's mom). I never met her because she died from blood clots when my mom was just 10 or so. "NONA" actually means Grandma in Italian, so a lot of people ask if I am Italian....which I am not. I had a neighbor who's step Grandma was italian, and it was weird because she wanted the grandkids to call her Nona instead of Grandma....kind of confusing. I am grateful it means grandma because in elementary my parents bought me a book called Strega Nona. It starts off by saying....Far far away there lived a little old lady named Strega Nona, which meant Grandma Witch. Just translating straight across, I though that my name meant WITCH. Needless to say I was happy when I found out it meant Grandma!!
6) I did not get my drivers license until I was almost 17 years old. I had a June birthday and did not plan ahead to take drivers ed through school the last semester of my sophmore year, so I had to take it privately. I started the course in July and was done with class in about 6 weeks. I had a hard time finding time to do the early morning driving practice, because in August started early morning cheer practice. I finally completed all of my training by about January....I know crazy! Then of course, I went to go take my driving test, and I failed. So I had to wait 1 more month to re take it. Then I failed again......Damn those DO NOT ENTER ZONES!! Luckily I was just on a course, not on real roads. Finally the third time was a charm. I passed and began driving. So I know you are all scared to ever drive with me again, but I am much better now. Back then you didn't have to do any practice other than the hours for the course-- so I was a newby on the roads. I must have paid attention well cause I have yet to get a ticket! Thanks to all my highschool friend who halled my butt around until I could drive!!
7) I really enjoy cooking, but have a very hard time deciding what to make. I usually make the same old things over and over again. (So any recipe ideas from anyone are greatly apprecited). One time I decided to step out of the box and try this new recipe. It was for Honey Mustard Chicken. Well I made it according to the recipe (I think), and when I got done cooking it, it looked and smelled so gross. I said to Cody, we don't have to eat it. Because he is so sweet and frugal he said, we can eat it, I am sure it is fine. We started trying to eat it....he was trying harder then me. Finally I said, let's just go out to eat, and Cody said, "this is OK." My reply was , "Yeah, if you like to eat SH**". Needless to say, we went out to eat. However, that has been my only real food disaster, most of the time when I try new things now they are atleast edible and sometimes very tasty.
8) I am running out of ideas, so I will just post this fact although most of you already know it. I was vegetarian from when I was 9 or so until about 2o. I was not vegetarian for the animal cruelty thing, I jsut had a real hard time with the texture of meat. My mom woud make vegetarian meals for me and my sister.....she was and still is vegetarian. When I met Cody I started eating a little meat, after all how would I get Cody the dairy farmer/meat with every meal guy to fall in love with me if I did not eat meat....so yeah the rest is history I ate meat, we got married and lived happily ever after.
Well that is the end of this very long post....I guess I get to tag 8 people now. I tag Tiffani, Kelie, Kim, Chantel, Michelle, Akaela, Sue and Teisha. Here are the rules: 1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.2. Peoplethat are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.3. At the end of your post tag 8 people and include their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment on their blog to tell them they've been tagged, and to comment back and read your blog for the whole story.

Memorial Day Fun

2008-05-29T20:10:00.004-06:00

Our Memorial Day started out kinda slow, but ended up being pretty fun. To start off, I was on call which meant that I had to stay with in 15 minutes of Gunnison. We ended up going to Pallisade lake, about 10 minutes away, with Cody's family. After sitting in the car for about 30 minutes waiting, and hoping it would stop raining, we finally got out of the car. We had a nice little picnic spot right next to a park. The equipment was soaking wet, not to mention the mud puddles everywhere---the kids were in heaven. Some people fished, some played and some slept, but we all ATE!! The best part is that I did not get called in (although time and 1/2 plus extra time and 1/2 for holiday pay would be nice). Cody took the kids on a little hike. As they were walking away, I snapped this picture. I think it is priceless. The slide show contains some more pictures of our little outing. Hope everyone had a good memorial day!! Another exciting thing is that Cody's 2 cousins and 2 second cousins are returning safe and sound from Iraq with the 145th!!! YEAH!

Payton's Preschool Graduation

2008-05-29T20:04:00.002-06:00

WOW, I am getting old! I can't believe I really have a little boy going to kindergarten next year. Payton loved his 2 years of preschool. He learned all his letters, number, and is learning how to read and write. Overall, he just had tons of fun and made a lot of friends. He will miss his teacher and his class, but he is excited to go to kindergarten. Way to go Payton, we love you!!!

TALLY BUG

2008-05-28T14:11:00.005-06:00

I can not believe that Talan is already 7 months old. He is growing up so fast. Every stage is fun with babies, but I really enjoy when they start doing all their funny faces. Talan loves to blow spit bubbles, which makes for a real disaster when he does it as he is eating his squash!!! Since he was born I have called him Tally Bug. I used to say, "Talan, my little love bug"- and it got shortened to Tally Bug. Cody has always made fun of it saying it is a "gay" nickname. Although, at times I hear Cody call him that also. Well Talan is so cute. Watch this slideshow to see some of the cute faces he makes!!

Our Newest Addition

2008-05-28T13:53:00.003-06:00

This is the newest addition to our family!!!! Some of you might be surprised, because if you know me you know that I do not really like cats. Well with all the fields around my house, mice have become a problem. I definately like cats more than I like mice!!! Someone brought us a wild full grown cat about 1 month ago.....that did not last very long. As soon as we took it out of it's cage thing it ran away. That was the last of that cat. Finally, Cody's cousin Darren called and said that these kitties were ready to be taken away from their mom. He brought it up, and it was soooo cute. It was really scared the first couple days and it would not let you hold it. Now it is pretty content, but does scratch a little. Unfortunately we will not be declawing him...after all what kind of mouse killer would he be??? I kinda like the kitty. We have been feeding it some kitty food and farm milk. It seems to be growing well. I also invested in a lot of mice toys to start teaching it to hunt them. Well I sure hopes that having a cat helps. Otherwise I do not know what I will do. Oh yeah the funniest part of it was when we were trying to decide on a name. Rilee said, "Mom since our kitty is a baby like Talan I think that we should name him Baby Jesus." HA HA HA We laughed forever...it was funny. Well we did not use that name. Instead Payton and Rilee agreed on Whiskers. Hopefully he will be as good of a cat as he is as a kitty!!

My cute kids

2008-05-26T13:16:00.002-06:00

About 1 month ago, my brother Danny's friend (hopefully girlfriend)- Sarah came and took these pictures of my kids. Her mom is a professional photographer and Sarah has been working with her mom a lot. She does a great job and I get so many compliments on the other pictures she has taken that are displayed throughout my house. I love these pictures. They were taken at the park in Gunnison. I love how she turns my pictures into collages. My kids are all growing up so fast-----It is fun to have pictures like this done. Payton just graduated from his second and last year of preschool. He is so excited to move on to kindergarten, but will miss his teacher. I am a little emotional about the thought of him going off to school. It seems like just yesterday that I had him. He is a very smart boy and is so loving and sweet. He also amazes me with his patience and determination. When he decides he wants to do something he puts his mind to it and does it. Last year he wanted to learn how to ride his bike without training wheels. He spent hours that day practicing how to balance..then off he went. He has been that same way with learning to tie his shoes, puzzles and anything else he wants to accomplish. I am sure that he will do wonderful in kindergarten. Rilee is still our wild child, but also has a way of melting my heart. Her sweet little smile just makes me happy. Even in the middle of her tantrums she is still adorable. She will be starting preschool and thinks that she is soooo big. Her response for everything is, "cause I am so big, huh!!" Don't try to tell her that she is little or too small to do something or her emotions start flying. She is very smart. She learns very well. Her challenge is going to be sitting still long enough to do things...especially cause her best friend is in preschool with her. They are like twins.....adorable and out of control!! Talan is already 7 months old. How time flies. He is sitting up, eating baby food, and is full of the most adorable smiles and laughs. He is pretty cuddly and over all just a very chill baby. I will have to say that these last 2 nights have been hard because he has been very fussy. I think that he is teething, but have yet to see a tooth pop through. He is my sweet little guy. I think that god gave me him as a reassurance that not all of my kids will wear me out like Rilee does. He has big brown eyes that melt my heart--he is a big boy and I love him so much. Cody and I are going to go on Martin's cove with the youth, and I am carrying Talan. I did not want to stop breastfeeding to go, yet they needed another couple to go to be a ma and pa. After thinking about it I realized that even if I was not still feeding him I could not leave him yet. He is so sweet and innocent and I lvoe feeling like he is dependant on me. It makes me feel important. Well that is a little update on my kids. Cody just said we are going to go for a ride and cook a hot dog so, I will have to do more posts later. Happy Memorial Day!!!!!

Any ideas?????

2008-04-30T21:36:00.002-06:00

I have Bonco club at my house on May 8th and I am struggling to think of something good to make for dinner. I feed 12 ladies, and I want it to be something that I don't have to do a lot of last minute cooking. Crockpot things are great, or anything that can be somewhat prepared a head of time. That way I can just put it in to cook, and it will be ready when we are. Any ideas???? I also need a recipe for a yummy desert. I would really appreciate help. I am struggling to figure something out. Thanks, NONA

Push hard and push fast!!!

2008-04-12T16:01:00.003-06:00

As part of my job as the quality coordinator at Gunnison Valley Hospital, I run the CPR training center. CPR is always changing....new guidleines and recommendations. I think it has changed 3 times in the 6 years that I have been a nurse. Well the newest change, and the way that I teach CPR now is PUSH HARD AND PUSH FAST. The compression/ ventilation ratio is 30:2. The American Heart Association has proven just how important compressions (or pushing on the chest) is. For any of you that have performed CPR, you know how tiring it can be to do CPR this way!!! Thank goodness our adrenalin kicks in, or I don't know if I could make it.
Well, last week the AHA came out with yet another change. It is called "Hands only CPR." It is designed for the lay person---or any bystander. It teaches to just keep pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest.....about 100 pushes per minute. You do no ventilations (mouth to mouth) This type of CPR is only approved for adult victims as of now. The American Heart Association determined that many people will not perform CPR on a victim because either they are not sure if they remember how to do it correctly, or they are worried about giving mouth to mouth on someone they do not know incase of diseases, etc. This Hands on CPR has been proven effective in saving lives when it is done for the first few minutes until a more trained personnel can take over. Just remember to send someone to call 911 or call yourself then return to the victim and begin chest pushes. For any healthcare professionals or people certified in CPR that feel confident in their CPR skills, the AHA still recommends providing ventilations with your compressions.
I think that this hands on CPR is kind of neat. Now, I hope that none of you ever have to do CPR, but if you do and you don't remember how to do CPR or you are not trained, just push hard and fast on the person's chest......you might save their life!!!!

A friend like that

2008-04-08T14:04:00.007-06:00

I was reading this article on the MSN website. This navy seal had a grenade bounce of his chest and land on the ground next to him. Rather than letting it go off and kill him and his buddies, he jumped on top of it taking most of the force. He died 30 minutes later. His friends only sustained minor injuries
How many of us could really do that and pay the ultimate price for our friends, our kids, our families???? I would like to think that I could and would. Fortunately I haven't had to give up my life for anyone, but I hope people remember me and think of me as the type of person that would do anything for anyone. Cody has 2 cousins in Iraq right now. How grateful I am for people willing to risk their lives so that we are free. If you would like to read the entire story click on the little box at the top of this post. If I did it right, the link should be there.

Soccer games

2008-04-07T08:59:00.003-06:00

Well Saturday was Payton and Rilee's 1st soccer game this year. For practice on Friday Payton tried to back a backpack full of treats and water and a chair. I said, "Payton, what do you have all that food for?" He replied," Incase I get hungry." Then I said, "why do you have a chair?" He said, "incase I get tired." Well needless to say I was worried about how the soccer game was going to go. We got out to the game and Payton was pumped. He said, "Mom, I am going to make 91 goals." Truthfully I was thinking, "I just hope you just stay in the game instead of running to the playground this time like last year." Well the game started and Payton started off as goalie. He did really good and no balls got passed him. He was really cute to watch and every time he stopped the ball or kicked it he would look over at me and give me thumbs up. It was sooooo cute. After playing goalie he was on the field and he scored 2 goals!!! I was so proud of him. Cody couldn't be there because he is coaching the 7th grade basketball team and they had tournaments out in Delta. Payton has told Cody over and over again just how well he did. Way to go Payton we are proud of you!!! Unfortunately, I got to the game and realized that my camera battery was dead, so no pics this week, but I will get some for next week. Oh I almost forgot to say how Rilee did....... She was also pumped up for the game, but when it started that was a whole other story. She wouldn't stay in, she kept running in and out to me. One time I said Rilee if you go in and get the ball you can play at the playground after. I meant kick the ball, but she took me litterally and went in and grabbed the ball with her hands and brought it to me. OOOPS!!!! That was about as much game time as she had. To make a long story short, towards the end of the game she said, "Mom, I think that next week I just want to be the soccer cheerleader." How cute---and what a great cheerleader she is!!!

Family Gopher Hunt

2008-04-07T08:30:00.002-06:00

Well this post is going to sound crazy to about everyone that reads this, except maybe my brothers and uncle Brian (sue's husband). Last night after conference we decided to go shooting gophers with the entire family. Cody's family bought some new farm land in Axtell and Casey and Connor said it was sworming with gophers. We loaded 12 people into the suburban and headed off. Of course the boys were by the windows so that they could shoot at the gophers. There were alot of gophers and as sick as it may sound it was funny to watch them get shot. Sometimes they would get hit just right that they would fly in the air.-----gross, I know!! I used to feel bad for them until they made holes and mounds in my newly planted grass. I guess now I am out for revenge so I am fine with shooting them. More than anything it was fun to be together as a family. Payton thinks it doesn't get any better than shooting gophers. He has kind of claimed Cody's pellet gun as his own, although I am against him having a pellet gun until he is 8. Gun's still really scare me and sometimes I think that Cody is to lax with him about guns. I guess I am the one to ruin Payton's fun, but at least he will be safer. Well to all my highschool and college friends, I am sure that you are shocked that I enjoy this stuff. I guess this is what the rural life does to you. Well, maybe you would really like it if you tried it, so whoever wants to come visit me and do some gopher hunting, I am ready!!!!

Primary Presidency Here I Come

2008-04-05T07:23:00.003-06:00

Well I just got called to be the first councelor in the primary presidency. I was teaching Rilee's primary class. She was my only 'student' that came regularly. It was kind of fun cause primary was mommy -Rilee time. I would try to teach her about the creation (or whatever the lesson was on). Not more than 2 minutes in to it she would say, "let's just color and eat treats." Fine by me---especially on fast Sunday j/k. We spent most of class time coloring and taking frequent trips to the drinking fountain and bathroom. I will miss that special time with her, but I think the new arrangement will be best for her. She will join up with Payton's class. That should make her primary experience better, because she will actually get lessons and have a "primary class". I am glad that I still get to be in primary though. I would miss seeing her and Payton trying hard to sit reverently, and all the cute little things the kids say and do in primary. I am quite nervous for this new calling, I feel slightly inadequate to do it, but I will give it my best. At our first presidency meeting I joked that I have only bore my testimony 3 times in my life......once when each of my kids were blessed. Sadly it is true, although I might have done it once at girls camp. I can speak to a group of doctors or nurses about my work stuff without feeling the least bit intimidated, but when it comes to teaching the gospel (even to little kids) I feel very nervous. I hope everything goes well. I have a great president, 2nd councelor and secretary, so everything should go ok. Wish me luck and if anyone has any great sharing time ideas let me know. My first sharing time will either be on, "The prophet hold the priesthood keys" or "the Prophet teaches me to forgive and love others." Any ideas would be appreciated.

The greatest family ever!!!!

2008-04-04T10:26:00.012-06:00

I say this over and over again, but I have the greatest family ever. I remember as a little girl I would complain when I didn't get just what I wanted. Whether it was the expensive name brand jeans, a car when I was 16 or just cash- I was a little brat when I did not get what I wanted. My mom would always say, "I guess you were born in to the wrong family." Well mom, I am here to say that I am so grateful that you didn't give me away to another family when I was so bratty. I love hanging out with my family.

My parents are the greatest with my kids. So kind, patient, understanding, and fun. My mom is willing to listen to Rilee talk for hours and hours on end, and each time she has a smile on her face while Rilee is talking. She is also so great to offer to watch the kids when I go do things. She is great to take time to make each of her grandkids feel so special. Thanks mom for all you do for them

My Dad is so fun. My kids have so much fun spending time in his radio room, going to the park, and little hikes. He also doesn't get mad when they trash his house when we are up visiting. Thanks dad for being a great grandpa!!

I don't see my brother Ryan and his wife Jules much cause they live in San Diego, but it is always so fun to see them when they are here. They make each family function a party. They have the cutest little boy Sammy--I wish they were closer.

Akaela and Jason are always so good to my kids. My kids absolutely adore them. We are looking forward to sweet little McKynlee getting older so we can teach her all the naughty things they teach our kids. We love them anyway, and Akaela is my best friend. They blessed there baby this past weekend. She is so precious.

Glen is so willing to let my kids tag along with him. We went to my mom's house for about a week over spring break and he was great to come to Carl's Jr with us, take the kids to the library, even come swimming with us. He is awesome

Steve and Emily are so fun with my kids. They live in Ephraim which is close to Gunnison so we get to have them down often. My kids love it when they come over. They are also so willing to help with my kids. Watching my kids while I go shopping, coming swimming or just hanging out.

Danny is on a mission right now in Florida. His letters are always so fun to read. He is still as goofy as ever. He thinks he is going to learn to play the banjo, and wrestle a crocodile while out there. Sounds like he is getting a little red neck blood in him!!! My kids are so good to pray for "Danny and the other missionaries" in their prayers. Love ya Dan

Dave is awesome. He is so fun with my kids. He lets them take naps and even sleep by him at night. He is crazy and teaches my kids all about teasing, but they love him. He is so kind and caring, even when they eat all his candy.

CC is so great. She has been such a help down here, and we will all miss her when she goes back to Alta. My kids always get in to her stuff, yet she is so kind to them. She comes places with us and we all have so much fun together. She even helped take my kids to the Easter egg hunt at my mom's house.

Well that is it for my family. Thanks everyone for being the greatest family ever!! Here is one more picture. It is missing Danny, my parents, and Ryan, Jules and Sammy. It is hard to get everyone together these days.

Just like Dad used to make

2008-04-04T10:16:00.002-06:00

Well, I made these cinnamon rolls last night for dessert. They turned out pretty good, but I just can't seem to make them taste as good as my dad's. He has made cinnamon rolls as long as I can remember and his cinnamon rolls are to die for (anyone who has tasted them would agree). I got he recipe about 6 months ago when I got my bosch. I having been trying ever since. I will say that my cinnamon rolls are getting better, the first attempt was horrible, the second edible, and now they are actually pretty good. Something though is missing---maybe more cinnamon and sugar--I don't know. Well, Dad just wanted you to know that one day I will make great cinnamon rolls like you...oh yea, and run a marathon like you. My Dad is 55(ish) and is still running marathons. Way to go dad!!!!

Our Easter Fun

2008-04-04T10:05:00.003-06:00

All holidays are so much fun when you have kids. We always love Easter, because it is finally starting to get warm outside. We did a lot of fun things this year. We went to the community easter egg hunt, colored easter eggs, went and had a picnic and rolled easter eggs with the Dyrengs, and of course went to Church- easter Sunday!!! I had never heard of "rolling" easter eggs, but it is a tradition that Cody's family along with a lot of Gunnison people do. It actually turns in to more of throwing easter eggs---regardless it is fun. I was Payton and Rilee's primary teacher on Sunday and we were taking about how Jesus died for us and then was resurrected. When we got home I told Payton to tell Cody what we learned about at church. He quietly said, "Jesus died for us and then he was re-corrected." OOOPS. Should of spent more time teaching them the right word and less time coloring and eating treats in class. I hope you all had a great Easter!!!

Dinner Help

2008-04-04T09:08:00.002-06:00

I was reading my friend Tracy's blog and she asked for some help with some good recipes. I too feel like I am in a bit of a slump on new dinner ideas. If anyone has any ideas for some healthy and good recipes please let me know. If anyone is looking for some good ideas check out the rowe blog under my links below. I posted two recipes under the comment section of her post called "Hello" Good luck!!

A much needed weekend.

2008-03-24T16:53:00.009-06:00

Life has finally calmed down a bit, and we were all able to sneak away to St. George for a much needed weekend of relaxing. We got to St. George Friday early evening. We were able to catch one of CC's softball games (she is on Gunnison's softball team). It was fun to watch, but the weather was cold. When we left Gunnison it was snowing, so not as bad as Gunnison but still cold. Not really short weather. I was able to get a hold of one of my best friends from high school Kelie Adams (Stanclift). We went to dinner with her and her husband and little girl Ariana. Then we went back to their new beautiful house. The kids had a great time playing together. It was so good to see Kelie, and it made me miss all the things about highschool.....so many fun memories!! That night we were able to meet up with Cody's cousin Kelsie and her fiance Brian. We met them at McDonalds and were able to chat for a bit. They are so cute and are a great couple. The next morning Cody took Payton and Rilee swimming. Payton had a blast, but Rilee clung to Cody really tight. She was pretty scared, not to mention it was kinda cold outside. After that we loaded up the car and decided to give our college friends Amber and James Davis a call. I felt kinda bad just dropping in, but we didn't really know out plans in advance. Once again it was a great visit. Our kids enjoyed playing with their kids, especially on their fun playground set. Amber was my roommate at college and James was cody's room mate. We did a lot with them at college. Again, it made me reminisce of college days. After the visit we got lunch then headed out to the ball fields for another softball game. This time it was a little warmer. Before heading home we decided to squeeze in one more visit. We visited Cody's cousin (2nd actually) Mark Neilson. It had been a long time since I had seen him, and I had never met his cute wife Jen. It was fun to get to know her a bit. We finally decided that we better head home. On the way home, we made it to about Beaver and it started to snow so hard. We went about 20 miles an hour the rest of the way home. It made for a long drive, but most importantly we made it home safely. It is always kind of nice to get home to your own bed after a little vacation, but it sure was fun to spend time with all of our friends.

Grandpa's are great!!!

2008-03-24T08:12:00.006-06:00

In early March, my Parents were down in Gunnison for CC's drill team spring show. My dad decided that while he was down here he would fix some problems with the computers at the Capital Reef visitors center. He kindly offered to take Payton and Rilee with him. I was a little nervous cause they can be very tiring, but he insisted that they would have fun doing a little hiking. The kids were super excited! These pictures are of their little hike. On the fifth picture down, Payton climbed out onto that ledge and then realized how high it was.....Grandpa says he got a little scared----so scared he had to go pee (outside of course). The kids had a wonderful time and grandpa survived. Thanks Dad for everything you do for my kids. You are an awesome dad and grandpa. My kids cherish every little activity that they get to do with you. Love ya!!!

Payton's 5th birthday party

2008-03-21T10:23:00.005-06:00

">I can't believe that Payton is already five years old. He is going to go to kindergarten next year. It is a weird feeling. Anyway, for payton's party he wanted a batman theme....obviously. By the time he invited cousins, neighbors, preschool friends and church friends, we were up to 16 kids (with Rilee and Payton). I will not lie, it was crazy and I was exhausted afterwords. The kids each got there own Batman cape...thanks to my mom's great sewing skills. We had cupcakes and ice cream and took the kids on a treasure hunt. It was fun, but 2 hours with 16 kids was more than I could handle. Anyway, all the little kids had fun.

What a great dad!!

2008-03-04T08:52:00.007-07:00

I love watching Cody interact with the kids. Lately our nights have been pretty hectic. Cody has kind of been the one getting the 2 older kids to bed. I actually think it goes better when he puts them to bed. He kind of has his own system going. He reads them books, helps them say their prayers, and tucks them in. Last night our family home evening was on Prayer. Cody talked about how we act and what types of things we say in our prayers. Cody had to go to dance practice with CC (he is stepping up and dancing with her for the daddy daughter spring show for the drill team). That meant last night I got the kids to bed. When we had finished reading stories I went to tuck them in, and suprisingly both kids climbed off their bunk beds and knelt down on the ground next to the bottom bunk ------they were ready for their prayers. It was humbling for me to see my little kids being so obedient and reverent. It made me want to cry!!! I am so proud of them and for being such great kids. Also thanks to Cody for being such a great example and dad.
I have to post this cute picture of Cody holding Talan. It must have been a long day cause Cody is zonked out and Talan is wide awake, just chillin.

Baby Brown Eyes

2008-03-03T08:51:00.010-07:00

Talan is already 4 months old. I can't even believe it. He is still a great baby, but has found his voice. He is constantly screaming (playfully) and making all sorts of other cute noises. Also as his eyes have started to change, we think that he will have brown eyes like Cody. The other two kids have blue eyes. Talan is a lot of fun. I enjoy every phase he goes through. I will keep you posted on rolling over!!!!

Spotted..... Rainbow Bright

2008-03-01T08:12:00.002-07:00

Well, for the most part I have had friends watch Talan on the days I have had to go to work. There was one day though that I could not find a sitter so I had to take him to day care. Well he cried for the first 1 1/2 hours there, but immediately stopped when I came over and held him. After getting him calmed down, I headed back to work. When I picked him up he was no longer in the outfit that I sent him in. Instead he was wearing this outfit. He had had a blow out all over his clothes and the teacher that was holding him.......AAAH! I just had to laugh and take some pictures because it reminded me of Rainbow Bright......or something like that.

15 reasons I have been a slacker about posting.

2008-03-01T07:53:00.004-07:00

For all of you that are wondering why I have been so bad at posting lately, here is a list of what has been happening at our house the last month or so......I think you will understand why I have been busy!!! 1) Talan got his first ear infection 2) Talan got RSV 3) Rilee got an ear infection and early pneumonia. 4) CC fell at her friends house and busted out two of her front teeth....causing a late night dentist trip. 5) I started back to work. 6) Busy going to CC's region and State Drill competitions. 7) I overflowed my laundry sink and flooded my basement and my bedroom closet....we had to pull up all the carpet. 8) Valentines day 9) Talan got another ear infection 10) Cody started coaching the 7th grade all star basketball team. 11) I taught prenatal class every Wednesday. 12) My kids flooded my laundry sink, causing yet another basement flood and having to pull up my bedroom carpet. 13) I started Talan on rice cereal, cause he is always hungry. 14) My sweet little niece McKynlee was born, so we traveled up to Idaho for a visit. Congrats Akaela. 15) I dislocated my left thumb and have to wear a splint.....that is why this post is in a list form. I can only type with one hand and a list is shorter.

Well, that might be all. Hopefully things calm down a little bit. I will TRY to keep you posted.

Precious pictures

2008-03-01T07:38:00.002-07:00

Rarely is their a Sunday that all my kids are ready and waiting to go to church, but amazingly the other week we were actually on time. I got the opportunity to snap a few pics of my kids all dressed up. I think they are so cute and the orange juice mustache on Rilee is a common thing for her. They are all getting so big. I am loving every minute of it........well almost every minute.

WATCH OUT RABBITS

2008-01-21T12:28:00.001-07:00

Cody just packed up Payton and Rilee all dressed in their camo/farm wear. They are headed down to the farm to hunt rabbits. It sometimes blows my mind how many things my kids do that I never did growing up. They absolutely love to go to the farm. Even Rilee who is a girly girl loves to go to the farm. I am still trying to learn the different types of farm equipment...tractor, loader, bailer. To me they are all the same, but Payton always tells me otherwise. "No mom that is a loader." I guess I have too much of that city blood (according to Cody). The farm is a fun place for the kids to go and it is even better because it is special time with dad for the kids. I am sure that Talan will soon enough be packed down to the farm for the hunts. It is ok with me though cause it gives me some free time. Here are some pics of the 3 of them bundled up ready for the massacre!!!

The kids

2008-01-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

Payton is staying very busy with preschool. He absolutely loves it. He was at preschool when most of these pictures were taken. He is a good boy, but is learning all about teasing from his dad. He is always teasing Rilee. She cries and he thinks it is funny.....until she bites him. He wants to be just like Dad. It is so cute how much a little boy can pick up on. He is still tenderhearted and very sweet. He is a great helper with Talan and loves to be the "biggest brother".
Rilee is so full of life. She keeps me hoping. She is such a girl....total drama. She throws tantrums like most 3 year olds, but still has a way of melting my heart when she looks at me with her pretty little eyes. She loves having CC here, and imitates everything CC does. She also is great with Talan. She likes knowing she is the boss of someone.
Talan is such the perfect baby. He rarely cries or throws fits. Sleeps pretty well at night and is just overall great. He is getting so big. He is already almost 13 pounds and is only 3 months old. He smiles and gooes and I could hold him and cuddle him all day (of course I can't cause I am busy chasing Rilee). He is pretty bald, but his new hair is starting to come in. Talan is a great addition to our family and he makes me remember the great things about being a mom when I am in the middle of breaking up fights between Payton and Rilee.
Cc, our other kid, just turned 16. Her friends down her threw her a surprise party at my house. They had alot of fun. We all love having CC here. She is a great help with the kids, and is kind to them even when they eat all her candy, mess up her stuff, color on her homework, and make a mess of her toothpaste and lipgloss. Thanks CC

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The Birthday Girl

2008-01-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Rilee is 3. She had a birthday on December 29th. She had fun having parties and getting more presents (as if x-mas wasn't enough). She had a party with the Dyrengs at Wolf Creek Mountain when were there with Cody's family. On our way back to Gunnison, we met my family at Chucky cheese and had another party. It was a lot of fun for everyone. Time has flown by. I can't believe that she will start preschool next year. She is such a special part of our family and definitely keeps me busy. She will always be our princess.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-05T12:17:00.001-07:00

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Here are a few pictures from Christmas eve and Christmas morning. We all had a great time and it was so cute to watch the kids get excited!!

Santa's "Nice" list!!

2007-12-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas time- for many reasons. One reason is that my kids seem to be more well behaved. I am pretty sure it is my reminders to them that if they are mean they will be on Santa's naughty list....which means they only get dirt!! We had our ward Christmas party on Dec 5th. The kids were so excited all day because they new that they were going to get to see Santa. For Payton it was his chance to make sure that he WAS on the nice list, as well as telling Santa a few things that he wanted. Well, the Santa finally arrived and Payton was thrilled. He followed Santa around the gym like a lost little puppy. Rilee, on the other hand, was freaked out. She wanted nothing to do with Santa and hung on to Cody's arm as tight as she could. Even the bribery by Santa for a bag of treats wasn't enough to make her sit on his lap alone. As you can tell from the picture, Cody held her on Santa's lap---pretty much against her will, but I really wanted a picture. Payton was so excited when his turn finally came to sit on Santa's lap. He told him that he wanted football clothes and basketball clothes, and then kindly reminded Santa, "I have been good, so I am on the nice list huh!" It was cute. I do have to say, if there were any kids at this party that were kind o f trying to decide if Santa was real or not they probably figured it out at the party. Santa showed up in a sling...I think he had carpal tunnel surgery a few days before. When kids were telling him what they wanted he had no idea what they were talking about. One kid said he wanted a nintendo DS and Santa said," I am sure we can bring you a nintendo EX"---oops! Another little boy said he wanted a playstation 3. Santa said why do you want 3 of them? Anyway, I guess that was the best Santa we could find in Gunnison. HA HA!! It was fun to see the kids so excited.

My little snow angels!!

2007-12-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

I can't even describe Payton's and Rilee's excitement when they looked out the window and realized there was snow. For days they had begged to go outside and make snow angels. I explained there had to be snow outside to do that. However, they actually did get all dressed up a few days before these pics and played in the mud in their snow clothes---that was a mess. Anyway, these pics are taken the first real good snow day in Gunnison. I think it took longer to get the kids bundled up in their snow clothes then they actually lasted outside playing in the cold. It was fun for them regardless. It is fun to see something so little as playing in the snow bring so much excitement to a kids face.

Talan's Blessing

2007-12-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

On Sunday December 2nd we blessed Talan. We had a lot of family and friends there-despite the nasty weather. Cody did a wonderful job, and I was emotional like I always get when my kids are blessed. Talan wore the outfit that my mom made for Payton. He looked so cute!!! Here are some pictures so you can all see. Plus you won't believe how fast he is growing. He is already almost 10 pounds.

CARVING OUT MEMORIES

2007-11-10T23:37:00.001-07:00

Halloween is such a fun time of year. It is one that my kids look forward to for a long time. They like to dress up, go to all the fun carnivals, and carve pumpkins. This year we had to rush our pumpkin carving. I went to the doctor and was dialted to a 4, so instead of keeping the original date for my c-section, the doctor said, "lets do it tommorrow". I had to rush to get all the things ready for a new baby, but I made it a priority to have one last party with Payton and Rilee. We had pizza and ice cream, drove to the farm to pick out our pumpkins and then carved them together. My kids did not like scooping out the "guts". I was actually surprised because usually they jump at the chance to get messy. We had a lot of fun, and when we spend time together as a family it is always memories worth making.

A whole new world

2007-11-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

For those of you that do not know, my sister celisse (CC) is living with us and going to school at Gunnison High School. Since she is like part of our family for a while, I thought that I better post a few pictures of her. It has been very fun to have her down here, although raising a highschooler is a whole new world for us. Her schedule alone keeps me hopping, not to mention keeping up with the other kids. She is on the drill team and stays very busy. My kids love having her here, and I am glad that she would even want to live with us. Love ya.

BABY FACES

2007-11-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

Talan is growing and changing so fast. I thought I would share these pictures so that those of you that don't get to see him often can watch how he is growing. He is such a sweet little boy. The cute little smiles, the silly little facial expressions and the bright eyes that melt your heart. It honestly doesn't get any better than this. I LOVE BEING A MOM!!!

LIKE FATHER.....LIKE SON.

2007-11-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

Payton loves his Daddy. He wants to do everything just like DAD. He eats the same breakfast cereal as him, dresses like him for church, and just always looks up to him. It is no wonder that he is so excited any time he gets to spend time with DAD. One of their favorite things to do together is go to the farm, whether spotlighting, getting milk, hunting, or just going for a drive. Well on Saturday October 4th, Cody took Payton pheasant hunting with him. It was cold and Payton got a little tired of the 3 hour hunt, but he was as proud as could be when he got home. He climbed out of the blazer holding up this pheasant. To be quite honest I was kind of grossed out by my little boy holding up the dead bird. You think I would be used to it now being married to Cody. For goodness sake, who would have ever thought that I would have an elk head on my wall? Anyway, I took the picture of my proud little hunter. It is fun to watch him grow and want to be just like his DAD. Later that night Cody, Payton and Rilee enjoyed a nice barbequed pheasant breast. YUCK!!!!

Our Superhero!

2007-11-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Payton knew since August what he wanted to be for Halloween. He was so excited to get his Batman costume and wore it around the house many times before Halloween. Payton was so fun to watch in his costume. He was determined he could fly higher when jumping off the couch when he had on the costume. The costumes body is full of muscles, and Payton said to me, "Mom, I think that you bought the girl batman costume because this one has boobs." It is sad that he knows about them, but oh well it was sure funny. Payton really is our superhero. He is a great brother and son. He tries so hard to be an example to others and so many times I wish I could be as sweet and innocent as he is. We love you Payton!!

JUMP, JUMP, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!!

2007-11-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

Rilee is our sweet little princess, but sometimes I wonder what we are going to do with her. She is a ball of energy....or as Cody calls her, " wild child". Since Cody is still coaching football, the kids and I spend a lot of time going to football games. Rilee loves to watch the cheerleaders and the bulldog mascot. She is often dancing in the stands, trying to imitate the cheers. It is absolutely adorable to watch. Well, this year we were online trying to figure out Halloween costumes. I was trying to get Rilee to want a nice warm costume like a carebear or something. She wanted nothing to do with it. She said to me, "I want to be a cheerleader, so instead of saying "trick or treat" I can say "jump. jump, shake your booty." Well as you can see from the picture, she was a cheerleader- probably the cutest one I have ever seen. She had so much fun showing of her costume and performing for everyone. Who knows, one day maybe she will be on the side lines cheering for the Gunnison Bulldogs!!

And that makes three.

2007-11-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

My sweet little baby boy Talan Richard Dyreng was born on October 24th at 7:26 am. He is absolutley precious. He weighed 6 lbs 6 ounces and was 20 inches long. He had a little dark hair, but nothing compared to Rilee. He is a great baby, and I am loving doing the new baby thing again. Payton and Rilee are adjusting well and love their new baby brother. They are both a very big help.....sometimes more than I want. Talan was jaundiced and was under the bili lights for 10 days. Any one who is a mom can imagine how hard it is to have a new baby and not be able to hold them. Those 10 days seemed like forever. I am glad he is now out of the lights and I can cuddle him. Life is great as a mother of 3 (4 if you count my little sister CC who is living with us). I am getting little sleep and my house is messier than I would like, but I try to remember a wall hanging that is at my mom's. It reads:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tommorrow...

For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow...

So quite down cobwebs... Dust go to sleep...

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep!!