Lundberg Family

FHE Olympics

2011-05-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

Not part of the Olympics but these two thought they needed to arm-wrestle. I think it went 1-1

I must have told them to raise their arms or something.

We had a fun family night where we had our own Olympics. We had the javelin throw, the shot put, long jump, and races. However they all took place in our living room. The javelin event consisted of who could throw their straw the furthest. The Shot put consisted of who could throw their cotton ball the furthest. Long jump consisted of seeing who could jump backwards the furthest...this was harder then it sounded. You really have to think about it. The the race was a fish made out of paper that you had to fan with a paper plate onto another plate and then back. This was easier than we thought. All in all it was a fun night, with various winners in the events. We did all of the events a few times. In fact it was so fun that when it was Adessa's turn to choose family night, she choose this again because Dad was home this time. We still didn't get to do the 3-legged race since was cold and wet out but summer time is fast approaching (we hope). At the end of the Olympics, we all received medals. I believe I got this packet from a FHE exchange, and it was a fun one!

Brenden's Basketball Season

2011-05-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

Basketball season for Brenden was here and over before he knew it. He loved every minute of it. Brenden has really improved from this year to last year. He has gained confidence and you could see this during every game. He plays some tough defense! He made several boys frustrated during games. His dribbling has improved and is starting to be able to use both his right and left hand. He worked on his shot and depending on the day it was on or off. He thinks a lot about his shot and what he needs to do which slows him down. We worked a lot on just a 'quick' release and paying attention to our follow through. Brenden is a hustler. He worked his tail off in every game. He never gives up and tries his hardest throughout the game...that is all we can ask of him. He is excited for some summer camps this year and to play in a 3 on 3 tournament at the end of the year. God Job B!! We are proud of you! It was so fun to watch you and see how much you have improved.

Sledding Fun

2011-05-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

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We had a free Saturday with no basketball games or coaching responsibilites....so lucky for us we went and bought a few sleds and went out to the Golf Course for some fun! The snow was pretty deep so we had to break trail and make several runs before it was broken in. We still made our own course almost each time we went. It was a blast. The kids loved riding alone and together. We decided we needed to do this more often so it will be on our list for next year!

Carter's special Day 2011

2011-05-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Carter had his special day in his kindergarten class. Each child got their own day to be spotlighted, bring a special treat, and have family and friends come and join in this day. Carter was able to have Grandma Jean, Dad, Brenden, Adessa, and mom join him for his special day. He acts so shy and quiet when those who know him know this is the complete opposite in most instances. He brought his baby book, and his basketball to show as his favorite items. This boy is always, and I mean always bouncing a ball, kicking a ball, throwing a ball, wanting to play catch, dribbling, shooting, etc. He loved showing him a few tricks with his ball. His poster says the following:
Carter Briggs Lundberg
I was born in: Powell, Wyoming
My favorite family activity: sledding
My favorite toy: car
My favorite animal: tiger
My favorite job at home: vacuum
My favorite story: 3 little Pigs
My favorite color: green
I have 1 brother and 2 sisters
My favorite TV show or movie: Polar Express
When I grow up I want to be a: Doctor
My favorite food: steak
My favorite Song: I love to see the Temple
He is such a sweet boy! We love watching him grow and learn. He has learned so much this year, and is reading and writing, adding, and has had a great school year. I am thankful for such good teachers.

Carter's 6th Birthday!

2011-05-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

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Carter turned 6 years old today! Yikes! My baby is getting old. He requested a firemen/eagles cake....I am not the best cake maker and we have limited shopping here so this is what I came up with. Carter loved it, and I guess that is what matters! Carter is so easy to please. He is a good boy, but we have started to realize he is the baby, and gets a way with way more than he should. He whines a little and all is taken care of, so we are trying to stop doing this. Carter has always been happy with what he gets, and never has really requested something he wants. He just says "Whatever you get me!" Carter can always make us laugh. He is always dancing, making faces, or just being silly. We are so glad you are in our family Carter! We love you! Here are some of Carter's favorites this year:
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Song: I Love to See the Temple
Favorite Movie: All Dogs Go to Heaven
Favorite Food: Steak
Favorite Activity:Anything with a ball, and ice fishing
Favorite Treat: Gushers
Favorite subject at school: Soccer
He wants to be a Doctor when he grows up
Best friends: Cameron and Quin

Derby 2011

2011-05-16T07:44:00.001-07:00

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Watching the race! It was a close one!
His car getting ready to race!

Another Pinewood Derby is in the books. This derby was short notice so we had about a week to pick up the car and get it ready. Brenden designed his car on his own this year, he drew it out. Craig cut it out and Brenden sanded it for the most part. Brenden choose a cool silver color. He didn't want anything fancy. He named his car "The Silver Bullet". His car ran pretty smooth so he didn't do any adjustments. He made it into the semi-finals but lost. His car took 3rd. (which was way better than last year). We have one more derby to go with Brenden and then he is done and Carter will be next! We are hoping to do the boats sometime too! Good Job B! It was fun to see your excitement for something you built!

CJ Basketball 2011

2011-05-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

Uncle BJ, Aunt Andrea and Oaklee came to watch a few games too!
Brenden reading during CJ's first game....not too exciting but they got better
Carter's sweet glasses!
Aunt Tammie, Tyanna and Kasen came for a visit and got to watch CJ play b-ball.
Caitlyn is a pretty good defender. She has quick hands and had several steals!

These girls get a long well! It is fun to see and watch, I hope it stays that way!
Caitlyn played 7th grade basketball. She made the "A" team and was a starter the entire season. She worked hard and earned her spot and we were very proud of her. She has a lot of potential if she will put herself out there! She had shin-splints most of the season so that wasn't always fun but she played through it. I know how bad it hurts as I had them as well! Caitlyn was the aggressive scorer but she played great defense and took a few open looks. During tournament a light turned on and she turned into a beast! She was stealing the ball left and right, taking it to the hole, and attempting to score! It was awesome! I hope next year she can find that desire sooner than later! I think the team will be 10x better next year as this is the first year they actually played together rather than against each other. It is so fun to watch CJ grow and develop into a young lady. It is scary but I hope we will all survive! Good job Lady Mustangs!

Cheer Camp

2011-04-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Adessa was so excited this year to participate in the "Cheer" camp. Although before she went she had to promise me she was going to play BASKETBALL though. She had a great time, practiced her cheers and loved it. They sat in a reserved section for the game! Let me just say that during the first half of the game....the Lovell Bulldogs had some cheering fans. And not just any cheering fans....like 50+ high pitched screaming girls! It was so funny. I loved watching Craig's face when they first started to cheer....he told me later he almost had to plug his ears a few times because it was so high! But he thought it was awesome.

Adessa did great! As you can see in the third picture....she is quite the joker. She likes to make other people laugh and she is usually pretty good at it! She is a special girl...and she really can cheer or play basketball (fingers crossed)! Love you Dess!

Special Visitors

2011-02-22T18:21:00.000-08:00

My brother and his family came to visit us in January. It was so good to see them even though it was a short trip. I think we watched 5 basketball games in 3 days. Andrea and BJ live in Denver and we sure don't see them enough. Oaklee turned 1 in October and my kids absolutely love her. It was fun to watch my BJ and Andrea and all their "1st" time parent moves...trust me by the time our 4th came along those moves were long gone! We didn't get too many pictures but here are some of my favorites. Oaklee ended up not feeling to well the last day so wasn't in the best of moods, but hopefully this summer we will get to see them and spend some fun time together. Family time is awesome and I know we made some good family memories! Love you guys!

Carter Lost his FIRST tooth

2011-01-08T21:06:00.000-08:00

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This was a big day in the Lundberg house. Carter has been struggling with a loose tooth for a few weeks. He has been so excited and we have wiggled it and felt it numerous times; however it wasn't really budging. He always likes to eat apples, and every time he ate one he used the teeth on the sides of his mouth. I told him, just bite into the apple maybe it will help loosen it up...but he would never try it. Then on Dec 3rd, Carter came in after a basketball game and said mom feel my tooth. I felt it and I it was hanging by a thread. He was worried that it would hurt so he wouldn't let me touch it at first. I promised him I wouldn't pull it out. I don't do that. I have yet to pull a tooth that wasn't mine out. I sent him to see his dad. Craig has an old trick his Grandpa Harston used to do...the thumb trick....he feels it and the next thing you know he has flicked it out with his thumb. It works typically on the first try, but there has been a few teeth that needed another attempt...not Carter's. His came out on the first try. He came running into show me and was so proud. He told everyone he saw the next day. Neveah his cousin was quite mad that he lost one before she did. She wanted a loose tooth now. He was a big boy and good some money from the Tooth Fairy so it was all good! Another milestone down!

Christmas Ornament 2010

2011-01-08T20:59:00.000-08:00

Carter had a football/jersey ornament. He is always playing catch.
Dess picked a Broncos penguin. Pretty cool if you ask me!
Brenden choose a Broncos Gingerbread man...also a like by mom.
CJ choose a snowman.
Every year my kids pick out an ornament for the tree. I am hoping that when they start decorating a tree of their own they will have all of their ornaments from growing up....if I can let them go! This year we ended up just picking them up at Walmart in Cody. There really wasn't the best selection but they found something the liked. It is fun to do this and I like going through the previous years as it shows what they were interested in.

CJ

2011-01-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

As you can see, Caitlyn enjoys taking pictures. She also enjoys taking pictures of herself. I always laugh everytime she downloads her photos...100s of pictures of her and her friends. She does a fun thing with editing too. She definitely has a talent and enjoys spending her time doing this. She is growing up and maturing more everyday. We love you!

Odds and Ends

2011-01-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Winter picture out our back door. There is beauty all around.
Brenden went in and found these three crashed on the bed....how cute! It was only like 7 oclock
Mr. Lundberg

Craig has finished his Student teaching. He loved every minute of it. The kids in Mrs. G' class loved him and were so sad to see him go. The 5th grade planned a special good-bye party for him. He was surprised. They had all kinds of goodies that day and then all the 5th grade got together and partied it up. They had music playing, laughed, and enjoyed their last day together. I wish I would have gotten some photos. The best thing of all is his "Memory Books" one was done by the children in his class and one was done by the 4th and 5th grade teachers. It had questions like
1) My favorite thing about Mr. Lundberg is...
2) The funniest thing I ever saw Mr. Lundberg do was ....
3)I learned ____ from Mr. Lundberg.
4) I will miss Mr. Lundberg because.....
5)My most memorable moment with Mr. Lundberg was...
6) List five words that describe Mr. Lundberg....
This was so special and he will cherish this always. Almost all of the kids liked when he acted like he was a skunk. He was given a name plate/plaque from Mrs. G. He was pumped. Also, each kid drew him a card. He got a flower, and balloons, and candy. This was a great time for Craig and we are so anxious to see what the future has to hold. He will be a great teacher someday. He also has been coaching. He coached highschool football and is into basketball now. He is one busy guy!

Good news….Craig passed both his final exams with flying colors. He has turned in his portfolio and completed all his coursework. He is set to graduate May 14^th!

4th Grade Volleyball

2011-01-01T17:12:00.000-08:00

Brenden played Volleyball again this year as a 4th grader. He really enjoyed it and didn't seem to mind that he was the only boy on his team. There were 4 boys total playing this year in grades 3-6. Two of the boys were made by their mom since she ran the program. We didn't care, it is fun to have something for them to do and learn about. Brenden as gotten much better this year and more confidence compared to his first year last year. He was able to get his serves over most of the time, which in 3rd and 4th grade is how you win the game. If you can serve you win. If not it goes back and forth and takes forever. Brenden's team won most of their games as they had two people who could consistently get their serves over (Brenden being one of them). He had fun with his team and coach. Thanks for the Lovell rec and those who volunteer their time to coach and manage the program. Now he will patiently wait for basketball season!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Carter-spider, Dad-ghost, Dess-Cat, Caitlyn-bat, Mom- face, B- coffin

Carter and Mrs. Tillett
Black Widow---or spider woman as she called herself
ELVIS
Halloween has come and gone another year. I always enjoy looking at all the different costumes and all the neat homemade costumes. I always thought I would dress up as a mom....guess not. We saw the cutest Wizard of Oz family...it made me think i missed some fun times with my kids. We did the annual Trunk or Treat tonight and the kids got more than enough candy there. It is nice though because then they don't want to go door to door for too long (usually it is freezing cold). This year the weather was perfect and the kids had a good time. CJ is getting too cool for our family so she spent most of the night with her friends--eating pizza, haunted house, and just chatting. This is the first year I let Brenden go Trick-or-treating by himself. Lame I know. We would go all over town for hours by ourselves and it wasn't a big deal. But...guess times change. He went with four other boys and they were told the rules and off they went. They had a great time! Brenden had the cutest costume this year. He told me a few weeks ago he wanted to be Elvis and I didn't know what we would do but we found the perfect costume. He looked awesome. Carter just pulled something out of the dress up box and was content. Adessa liked her costume but the black spray paint and hair pins itched her head so she wanted to go home and shower soon. All in all we had a great Halloween. We have new 'older' neighbors and I wasn't sure if they were expected any trick or treaters but when we got home their lights were all on and they had decorations on so I sent the kids over. They were so excited to see the kids. They told them they were their first trick or treaters and asked if they could do tricks and seemed really happy! I was so glad we went over. I then proceeded to text a few other neighbors so they could go hit the house. When Carter was leaving he excitedly said "The old man said we were his first!" and continued to say something about the 'old lady'. I hurriedly shushed them and told them their real names! Happy Halloween until next year!!

Flag Football 2010

2010-10-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

Look closely at this picture...one of my favorites. Brenden and his opponent smiling back and forth at each other. I love that they are having fun while playing against each other! Hopefully there wasn't any trash talking going on!

Brenden played flag football this year. This is his 2nd year and he has improved. He told me last night that he does ok playing defense, running the ball, and learning the plays but that he has a hard time catching the football. I guess we need to play catch more often! He had a good time. His team went 2-1. He ran in the extra point after his team scored a touch down. His second game he really had some big defensive plays. I thought the other boy was going to get by him, but Brenden is so quick. He was able to pull his flag, or make him go out of bounds. We enjoyed watching him work so hard and learn more about football. Lovell started a tackle football league for grades 5/6 this year. Brenden wasn't sure he would play next year but as of last night be told me we was going to try. He is getting more and more into football, which his dad loves. He has been watching football with Dad and loves going to the games. I think he has been to the same amount of Pro games as me....lucky guy! He loves the Denver Broncos...don't know if that was a good thing Grandma Kerry and I taught him or not! This year...not so good! He has such a soft heart and is a good boy. Congrats on a good football season B! It was so fun to watch you. You even made Papa Steve get excited when he came to watch you!

Carter B

2010-10-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

I was working on the computer at the table and looked over and saw Carter coloring and writing away. I took a few pictures without him knowing! He looked so precious!

I noticed I hadn't had any posts on Carter lately and I surely don't want him to feel left out. He is loving every minute of school. He wakes up ready to go and is still excited when he gets home. I was a little nervous how he would adjust to all day kindergarten but I had nothing to fret. He also made a big transition this year.....wait for it....he sleeps in his own bed!!! Almost all of last year he slept with Adessa in the bottom bunk or occasionally on the top bunk but if he ever started in his bed, he ended up in hers. It worked because I didn't want to fight it and I figured it wasn't hurting anything. But then he slept with us off and on a few nights....that changed my mind. He is a WILD MAN when he sleeps. Toss..turn...kick....turn...blanket...no blanket...get the picture. So I figured Dess couldn't be getting the greatest sleep. He got a full size bed right before school started we talked it all up, I bribed him for the first few nights (he earned a few dollars) and it is history. I also think it doesn't hurt that he gets up at 6:30am goes to school all day, works hard, plays hard, and is just plain exhausted by bed time at 8pm. He is also eating better.
Carter is learning a ton. He is so in to spelling everything, writing his letters, teaching me words in Spanish, showing me how high he can count, and all his interesting facts that "Mrs. Tillett" tells him. I think she could tell him he had brown hair and he would believe her! She is such an awesome teacher. I think it is amazing how much these little minds soak up and how much they trust every word we say and everything we do. I am so glad for the great teachers and examples we have in our lives..friends, neighbors, family! I love my little family and all they are learning (except perhaps 7th grade math!...my brain has forgot how to do a lot of that!) I can't wait to see what they are doing at parent teacher conference in a few weeks!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Dess was home sick so she was in her comfy clothes but couldn't miss out on picking her pumpkin!

This year we had the opportunity to go out to Hyde's Pumpkin patch and the kids got to pick their own pumpkins. I have always wanted to do this but the closest place I thought was near Billings. They used to have one by Bridger but a few years back quit. So we ventured our way out to Hyde's and the kids loved choosing their own pumpkin out of the field. It was way better than out of a box from Walmart. We were a little slow to get out there so we didn't have as many options but next year we will be out there sooner! Carter thought he was pretty cool since his Kindergarten class had gone out the week before and picked out pumpkins for school. He bragged all about how he will have 2 pumpkins. The kids could hardly wait to carve them. Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite things to do in the fall. I have always loved to do them. I used to do two myself but now that I have to clean out most of them I stop at one. This year Brenden did a great job cleaning his out and doing it all himself. Caitlyn whined about how gross it was but finished. Dess and Carter lets just say they gave it a "shot" but we did most of it. Happy Halloween!
CJ dressed up for our YW party. She was a "Black Widow". I thought she looked beautiful. She loved her hair and asked if she could dye it black...we aren't quite game for that. She also hated the black lip stick and covered up her mouth for the first 10 minutes of the party! It was driving me crazy so I had to go stand somewhere else because she was trying to hide by me. It ended up being a great time with the YW. This is my new calling and we have fantastic young ladies! We had 30 YW and 5 leaders show up....all in costume. I am excited to watch CJ and the other ladies grow and support one another!

Mr. Treasurer

2010-10-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

Brenden was brave and decided to run for student council Treasurer. He is in fourth grade. He had to be voted by his class in order to run for Treasurer. Once he won his class he went up against 2 other students from the other classes. They could make four signs and then had to write a short speech and skit if desired.

Here is Brenden's speech:
I Brenden would like to be Treasurer. I am not a bank but I can keep money safe. You should vote for me because I am responsible, respectful, and ready to learn. Also you should vote for me because I will try and get new and better balls. I will try so very hard to get new equipment. I will try my hardest at Treasurer. I won't break your hearts. I won't keep secrets and I won't embarrass you. I'm a proud student of Lovell Elementary and proud to be on this stage talking to you. Remember to cast the vote the makes 'cents'. Just make the right choice and vote Brenden for Treasurer!

By the way HE WON!!! He was so nervous but so excited at the same time. His skit turned out great and he helped come up with the idea. Thank you to the V-O-T-E dancers. We talked to him the night before elections about how proud we were of him to do this, and how it takes a lot of courage and how win/lose it was a great experience and taught him a lot. He replied "yeah if I lose, I'm a loser!" We bashed that immediately and tried to keep it positive. He called the minute he got home to let me know that he had won! HE was super excited. Craig texted me by 10am to let me know he had won...he is doing his student teaching and found out before the kids. We were so relived as even though we talked to Brenden about winning and losing, we knew it would crush him to lose. He says now people call him Mr. Treasurer occasionally at school. I think he likes that. He also is excited to put the school flag up and down, and do announcements. we are excited to see what the year brings. He is a good boy, loves school, loves rules (at school....not so much at home) and is a good friend. We are so lucky to have him in our family! Congrats Brenden!!!

Brenden is 10!!

2010-10-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

Brenden turned 10 on Sept 25, 2010. He and Adessa shared birthday celebrations this year as he went with Aunt Tracy and Uncle Marc and family to Denver. This is the first year one of our children has not been with us on their birthday. It was really weird. I knew he was in good hands and that Aunt Tracy wouldn't let his special day go by without making him fell special. He left Friday morning with Aunt Tracy and Uncle Marc to watch regional tennis in Sheridan. Marshall and Marquette were both playing. He got to swim, hang out, hike, hit some tennis balls and just relax. He said it was so much fun. I was worried he would get bored, but sent me a message saying he was having a "GREAT" time. They went our for Mexican for his birthday. On Saturday they finished watching the Tennis tournament and then headed to Denver to Uncle BJ and Aunt Andrea's. They arrived pretty late but he was so excited to see his cousin Oaklee. On Sunday they hung our for awhile and then went to the BRONCOS vs. COLTS game. He was in heaven. He loves the Broncos. He snuck in his #1 foam Broncos finger so he could take it to the game. The broncos lost, but he still had a great time. The weather was nice...even hot! We were all jealous. Carter tried talking Aunt Tracy into taking him...he told her "I am quieter than Brenden!" but she didn't believe him. Some day our whole family will have to go to a game. Thanks Jim for the tickets! Brenden was so pumped!!! They arrived home to Byron in the wee hours of the morning but by 7:30am B called and wanted me to come get him. He came home and was at school by 8:45am...he wanted to go to school rather than sleep in. What a good boy! What a great birthday!!
His favorite's for 2010
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Song: When the Children Cry (oldie!)
Favorite Movie: Blindside
Favorite Food: Homemade Chicken Noodle soup
Favorite Activity: Hanging out with friends
Favorite Treat: Smores
Favorite subject at school: Wyoming History
He wants to be an architect or teacher when he grows up
Best friends: Carter Krei< Ethan Price

Adessa is 8!!

2010-10-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

Adessa turned 8 on September 23, 2010! She has been looking forward to this day for a long time! She couldn't decide between asking for an "American Girl" or a real camera. Guess what!!! She got them both from Grandma Lynn and Papa Steve. She is so spoiled! She was totally pumped though and has been in heaven playing with Kit her look alike doll. She even has angel kisses (freckles) just like Dess. She finally received her on scriptures with her name on it and scripture tote. She was pumped that it was pink. She is such a sweet girl. She is definitely strong headed...she must get that from me! I love her smile and the way she can light up a room with that sweet face. She likes her hair short so that I can't do much with it for school. She likes to play soccer, loves to help me cook or bake anything, does not like to clean her room, especially put her clothes away. She was in trouble the other day for not cleaning her room so she was asked to go to her room and get busy or go to bed. Her reply "Guess I can't do my homework then!!" Dad replied "Guess you will get a walk and think!" She didn't like that so had to do both. She is a smart cookie! She likes to read, she got a designer tablet with body outlines and then you can design different clothes for the dolls. She is loving it. She likes to play the computer and sing. She sang a solo at her baptism. She is also so excited to be old enough to go to Achievement Days! Grandma Lynn talked at her baptism on the Holy Ghost, she did a great job. Her cousin Mitchell talked on Baptism. We are so lucky to have so many friends and family show up to support her! Thanks! I attempted to be crafty this year for her b-day treat. We found a bouquet of #8 sugar cookies. The recipe clearly stated it was easy...well all but three of my 15 cookies fell of the stick. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed and felt bad but Dess loved them anyway. She got a tray full of #8 cookies.
Here are her favorites for the year:
Favorite color: Pink
Favorite Food: Aubrey's potato soup
Favorite Movie: Ice Age-Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Favorite Activity: Playing with friends
Favorite Treat: Root beer Floats
Best Friend: Brooklyn
Favorite song:

7th Grade Volleyball

2010-10-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

Caitlyn is just about to finish her first year of Team sports. It has been so fun watching her grade of girls play together. I always thought they would be a good team once they get to play with each other instead of against each other. Caitlyn has improved a lot in volleyball. She just needs a little bit more confidence and aggression. I guess she didn't get that competitiveness from her mom or dad! Nonetheless it has been fun. She is having fun and loving every minute of it. She is excited for basketball and track too! She has changed so much in a year. She is turning into quite a beautiful young lady.

Big Day coming up....

2010-09-15T21:05:00.001-07:00

Soccer 2010

2010-09-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

Brenden, Adessa, and Carter played soccer this year. It was a fun season but crazy! They had games for about 2 weeks straight and with 3 playing it was hard to catch them all and get them where they needed to go without Craig's help. (He is a high school football coach) Luckily I had Grandma to help, and the coaches were willing to let my kiddos ride with them if out of town in Cowley. It all turned out well and I think all 3 of the kids had a good time. Carter scored one goal. He liked being the defensive player and liked hanging out by the goal even though they weren't suppose the have a goalie. He kicked so hard at the ball a few times he also fell down. His age group is crazy to watch, they just run around in a huddle trying to kick, kick, kick. Or wrestle! :)

Adessa played in the 2-3 grade group. This is her first year in the more organized league and they start teaching you the correct positions and PASSING! She did well. Her first game was interesting. They had been practicing on the smaller fields so when it was time to play and they were on the enormous field....they were shocked. Needless to say they were all out of shape and tired after the game. Plus it was hot...so she was tired, hot, and then went twisting on the swing at Brenden's game and lost her lunch. Poor girl. The weather cooled down for most of the other games which made it nice to watch and for the kids to play. She did well and missed scoring a few scores but inches!

Brenden also moved up and is now playing on the 4, 5, 6 grade team. He loves soccer and is improving more and more each game. I think he scored 4 goals this year...he may correct me after reading this. He goes full board and loves every minute of it. He also is getting good at looking up the field and passing it to his teammates. He is a good defender. He often played all 4 quarters and gave it his all. Our neighbor taught him how to kick a high ball and he loved it. All in all it was a great soccer season. We appreciate all those coaches who took time to teach our kids.

Back To School 2010

2010-09-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

Another year of school has started. Wow how time flies. We didn't even get up to the mountain this summer to camp and here we are....back in school. Carter starts Kindergarten this year! I can't believe my baby is in school. We keep trying to talk him into going to VIP again but he won't! Can you believe it!! He was so excited. Caitlyn got to ride the bus the first day because the Middle school starts almost 25 minutes before the Elementary and I didn't want her to be late (hence the 2nd day of school pictures of her and all 4 together). Once she left Carter couldn't be patient enough and kept asking "Can we go now?" "Is it time now" etc. We finally got down to school and he was in heaven. Mrs. Hoffman was coming out of the building right when we got there so she gave Brenden, Adessa, and Carter a welcome back pencil. Then we went to find friends and Dad. Craig is doing his student teaching with Mrs. Gernhart in the 5th grade. He is so excited and is on the down hill slide! YAY! Carter's favorite thing about his first day "3 recesses!" He just finished his first week of school. He is loving it! He has all kinds of things to tell me, he enjoys lunch, likes Mrs. Tillett, and is making new friends. Today was my first day off from work that I didn't have any kids....boy did it feel weird!
Adessa is in Mrs. Strom's 2nd grade class. She has several friends in her class and is loving it. She has had homework and comes home and does it right away. She is quite the reader. She cut her hair pretty short right before school but is loving it. I still like it longer but hair grows so it is fine with me. I think she likes it shorter so I can't do as much with it! She enjoyed her first week of school, she liked organizing her desk and box on the first day of school. I am anxious to watch her grow and learn this year.
Brenden is in Mrs. Winland's 4th grade class. He is loving every minute of school so far. He loves struture, rules, and routine (just not at home!). He also has several friends in his class this year. He had a lot of favorites his first day this year. He is excited to start history and learn facts. He is a fact boy. He is changing so much. He doesn't look like a boy too much anymore, everyday he is looking older and older. I am not sure I like that!
Caitlyn is in 7th grade. She also had a good week at school. She seems to enjoy her classes. She was singing Christmas music yesterday after soccer and Craig told her she is not allowed to sing Christmas music! She was shocked and laughed saying 'We sing it everyday at school!' Caitlyn gets to play team sports this year too. She has been practicing volleyball for two weeks. Her first game is next Tuesday. She is nervous but once she gains some confidence and practices more she will do just fine! We are so proud of her and the young woman she is becoming. She is a great older sister when she wants to be. She loves to read, and is doing well so far in math! YAY!! We are excited to watch her participate in more activities and cheer her on in sports!
I started work Aug 9th and we have been busy! We are always busy until November. Hopefully I can stay caught up and on top of things. Craig is also coaching football tonight. He loves it! Our life is going well! Here is to another great school year!

Devil's Tower

2010-09-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

Dess on top of another giant bolder
Muscle Man Carter holding up this giant rock! I love his face!!

Brenden trying to find the ladder on the side of tower. They said they saw it but I couldn't find it for the life of me!

We couldn't believe the massive boulder field at the base! The kids would have loved to climb all over them.

I forgot a post from our South Dakota trip. We ventured over the Devil's Tower on Monday evening after Craig worked. I was the only one that had ever been before so it was an exciting adventure. We timed it perfectly too, it was a hot day and we had just enough time to walk around the tower and see what we needed to see before the sun starting setting. It was a beautiful drive back to our hotel. I tried taking a picture of the sunset, but it didn't turn out. We also had a mishap on the way back....we hit a raccoon. I screamed, Craig rolled his eyes, and the kids just laughed at me. Carter wanted to check the van out as soon as we stopped for signs of the raccoon. (because Dad tried telling them he didn't hit it) Caitlyn assured us she felt it go thunk, thunk and saw it roll down the road. It was fun and a great evening with the family!

Water Park

2010-08-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

When we decided to stay a few more days with Craig in South Dakota we ended up going to the Spearfish Rec center. It is fairly new and is awesome! Their water park is so fun. I wish Craig could have come with us. The older three kids could pretty much do it all and I didn't have to worry about them. However, Carter is fairly new to swimming and being comfortable so I had to stay with him. I did have the chance to go on a few of the slides when Caitlyn or Brenden would stay with Carter in the kiddie pool. It was a great day! The kids had a blast and the weather was perfect...it was the hottest day we were there. We will definetly stop there again.

KIDS Photo Shoot!!

2010-08-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

We went on an outing today to get some photos of Adessa for her upcoming baptism. I decided to take all the kids along and get some photos of them too. We are gearing up to start a new school year so what is better than getting some good pictures of the kids? They had fun today and seemed to enjoy our time together. Caitlyn will be going into 7th grade, Brenden 4th, Adessa 2nd, and Carter will be going into Kindergarten. We have all our supplies and are ready to begin. Craig has worked his tail off and will be doing his student teaching this semester in 5th grade. He has had to quit his job and is looking forward to football starting (yes he is an assistant High School coach) next week and then a teachers life from the 23rd til Thanksgiving. We are so excited for this new adventure! Wish us luck!

Kaysen's Dedication

2010-08-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

While we were out in South Dakota we were able to spend some time with my sister and her family. On Friday we went out to Aunt Geri's and Uncle Jim's house for dinner and Kaysen's dedication. Craig and I were asked to be Kaysen's Godparents. We are honored to have this opportunity and have enjoyed watching Kaysen grow and develop, especially since he had a scary and early start. My kids just love him. They played with him every moment they could and Kaysen soaked it up. It was so good to see Tyanna and her boyfriend. It is good to see family! "Together is the best place to be!"

Mt. Rushmore

2010-08-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we got to go to Mt. Rushmore. This is another place that brought back memories of my mom. I have been to Mt. Rushmore numerous times growing up. No matter who visited us in the summers in SD we always went to Mt. Rushmore. I haven't been in years and my kids have never been (CJ as a baby). It was awesome. They loved it and I love the way they have it set up now. We watched a short movie viewed a ton of pictures of how they created it, read newspaper articles, etc. I think they earned like .50 an hour working on that. The highest paid worked I believe was $1.00. Crazy! It is beautiful and it was a beautiful day. Craig and Brenden are really into the history stuff and facts so they soaked it up. They also had a little Native American stop where we learned some fun facts and some some Teepee's.

Tammie, Rich, Tierra, and Kaysen also joined us. When we were done we stopped in Keystone for lunch. Then we decided to go check out this place with a Ski lift and rode the ski lift up and then got to ride these race car things down. We controlled our speed. Everyone could ride by themselves except for Carter. He wasn't quite tall enough. Craig and Carter went first and had a blast. Carter said he wanted to go "a little fast". Brenden was next and loved every minute of it. Adessa was next and we should of had her got last but I was holding up the caboose for our family. She liked it but there were several signs that say go slow...and well she went slow. They warn you that if you go too fast you will crash, rip your clothes, etc. Needless to say when Caitlyn went, she didn't wait long enough so didn't get to go very fast. She was not impressed she was behind Dess and she wouldn't go faster. I waited for quite a while before going hoping I could go semi-fast. They had a beginner line and an advanced line. On the ride up we saw some crazy boys hauling on the fast side...my sister saw a wreck. We didn't dare try the fast side. It was fun and I would definitely go again when we are back in the area. Kids wanted to go again but having to buy 6 tickets isn't cheap! Tammie and Rich surprised us up top! It was a fun day. We didn't' walk around Keystone because we were ready to just be at Tammie's and relax...next time we will. I want some Taffy! We ended the night with a BBQ at Tammie's and Ice cream in Sturgis. It was a great weekend!

Roughlock Falls

2010-08-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

On Friday while Craig was working we drove through Spearfish Canyon and stopped at Roughlock Falls for lunch and a two mile hike. It was a perfect plan until Craig was done with work. I had never done the hike, we usually just drove to the parking lot of the waterfall and walked a few yards and we were there. I remember coming to Roughlock falls with my cousins the Falks. We would actually play in the stream and walk to the falls. However it is all now all blocked off and signs posted saying please stay out, fall restoration. We had a lot to talk about. Of course Carter was his silly self giving us all kind of "What if" scenarios. There were all kinds of flowers in bloom it was a nice hike and had plenty of shade which was cool. In the middle there was a bridge all the way across and you could see fish swimming all over. There were a few fishermen too. It was a nice relaxing day and the scenery was beautiful! Brenden kept taking pictures of himself with his camera so I was glad I caught one of him doing that! It is a fun reminder! I think I take for granted this wonderful Earth and all the creations. I am glad I can be reminded of that after the fact!

Spearfish Fish Hatchery

2010-08-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night we went to dinner and then headed to the fish Hatchery there in Spearfish. This is another spot we visited regularly growing up. It is fun to see all the fish. They start pretty small and by the end the fish are HUGE! My kids thought it was the coolest to feed them. We bought a big bag of STINKY fish food and away we went. They loved watching the splashing of all the fish and how they followed us around to get the food. The ducks even liked it too. It was a fun time! We found one big fish caught between tanks but had already finished our food the kids were concerned but we assured them he would be fine. Then we played in the park for a awhile before ending our night with Dairy Queen! You can't go wrong there!

Storybook Island

2010-08-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

Craig was over in South Dakota for work for a week so we decided to join him on Wednesday for the rest of the week and weekend. We had to drive through a horrible rain storm from Gillette to Spearfish but we only had to pull over a few times because we couldn't see (along with 30 or more cars). I was just hoping the rain wouldn't turn into hail since I just had my windshield replaced. Craig told me to watch out for hail...i politely asked what I was suppose to do if it did hail since there are very few turn offs or overpasses to hide under! CJ has turned into my little texter while I drive so I am sure it came out nicer than I would have said! The kids enjoyed swimming morning and night, and during the day we did various things without Craig and then did a few things in the evenings. We spent the weekend with my oldest sister Tammie, niece Tierra, her son Kaysen, and Tammie's significant other Rich. It was a good time. Those pictures to come later!
First day...Rapid City, SD. We went to Storybook Island. This was a frequent stop we made growing up. I think every time we had someone come visit we would hit Storybook Island. It brought back a lot of memories of my mom but they were good ones. In fact being in the Black Hills reminded me of my mom more than I thought. She loved it there, was born there, and we spent a lot of time there. Storybook Island is free too! Could it be better than that. We had a picnic lunch outside on the lawn and then headed in. The younger kids enjoyed it, CJ is getting a little old but she was a good sport. The 3 older kids had their caricature drawn...Carter wouldn't do it! It was a fun day...until we went to the mall. That was a little crazy but we got what we needed and headed home to eat and swim! I love vacations!

Swimming Lessons 2010

2010-07-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

Another round of swimming lessons is under our belt. The kids did great. This is the first year that Caitlyn didn't take lessons, she said she was ok to not take them. Brenden did great and has developed into quite a good swimmer. He likes to swim, especially if he has goggles. That is the only way I think he learned to like water, he was a little unsure of the water when he first started lessons. He learned the breast stroke, and the butterfly this year. He says the butterfly is hard, especially the kick.

Adessa is my little fish. She has always liked the water and has never been scared of it. She was the one I thought would jump off the little kid stand and go under. I think she only did that once! Her favorite stroke is the front crawl. She just likes to swim, as you can see from some of the photos. She always has a smile on her face. She likes to dive for things, she too loves goggles. She likes to jump off the diving boards. Grandma Jean was quite impressed she went off the High Dive with no hesitation. She did well and can't wait to go swimming again and again and again!

Carter on the other hand is quite cautious of water. He did the toddler class for two years and actually did pass it because he wouldn't float with floaties on his own. He was deathly afraid. We conquered that slightly this spring and he moved to level 1. He did pretty good. He is getting braver. He continued to practice boobing under the water, he was excited when he went "most" of the way under. He did get dunked one time by the lifeguard and boy was he surprised. His face was priceless. I just gave him a "thumbs up" and then he smiled. He is a little unsure on his back, I suggest he relax a little as his neck is so tight and he is so tense but he assured me he was. He did do a back float on his own a few times. He is getting braver and braver and as soon as he is a little bit taller I am sure he will become a fish too! IT was fun watching the kids although I melted everyday!! That pool balcany is one hot sauna!

Getting ready to go under!!

Plugging his nose! Being oh so brave!

HE did it! Love his face each and every time!!

Caitlyn's 12

2010-07-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

My baby girl turned 12 on Sunday June 27th. I can't believe it. She was so cute. She was looking at her baby book and saw what time she was born 3:41 am, she set her alarm clock so that she could wake up at the time and be 12! How funny. She said she went right back to sleep after shutting her alarm off. She has changed so much in a year....a year of middle school. They really mature after leaving Elementary school. She is starting to do her hair, mess with curling irons, and is showing some interest in make-up. She is liking to shop for clothes more and more and is caring more and more about what she wears. She loves to read. She is always reading and often gets in trouble for reading when she is suppose to be cleaning up her room. Caitlyn is a good big sister most of the time! :) Sometimes her siblings get on her nerves but she is always willing to help. She really likes music and is always giving Craig a dollar to add a song to her Ipod. She definitely gets the love of music from her dad. She loved track this year and is excited to play volleyball and basketball with her peers instead of against them. I am excited to watch her grow and learn as the years come on. Although I would like to pause life sometimes....seems like yesterday we were just checking into the hospital to have our first child. Caitlyn has made our life better and we love her so much. We are so proud of you and are anxious to see what life brings to you! Happy 12th Birthday CJ!!
Favorite food: Grill Cheese Sandwiches
Favorite Drink:Dr. Pepper
Favorite Candy: Reese
Favorite Song: Never Say Never
Favorite Movie: Letters to Juliet
Favorite Book:Too many to choose from
Favorite Past time: Track Meets or riding bikes with friends
What you want to be when grow up: Author
Excited for: Basketball

T-ball 2010

2010-07-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Another year of T-ball has come and gone. This is our 6th year of being in charge of all the fun stuff that goes with T-ball...painting and marking the fields, painting the fields each week, calling in the scores, canceling games, getting games rescheduled, holding the draft, ordering shirts, picking up shirts, distributing shirts, scheduling pictures, picking up pictures, etc. You get the point. It isn't a lot of work but it is still time consuming. We have coached conoco for that last 6 years as well. We went 4-4 this year. It was fun and it was great to see the kids develop and get better as the year went on. Carter got to be our back up player. If anyone was gone he got to play. He thought this was pretty cool but he didn't always like batting last! He will be excited to actually play next year and not always have to play outfield or bat last. Adessa had a good year. She has a pretty good arm on her and can be fairly accurate when she pays attention. She hits well off the Tee and improved a ton off the pitch. She hit some nice hits. She wanted to be pitcher all the time but settled for catcher, 2nd and outfield. It was fun and not too hot this year which made it nice. We only had two rain cancelations too! Thanks for another fun year conoco!!

Lovell Elementary Fun Day

2010-06-30T15:31:00.001-07:00

My kids absolutely love "Fun Day". They hold this during the last week of school, typically the day before school gets out. The kids go around as grades and do fun activities and compete against the other classes. Carter and I volunteered to help and we got to do the relay races. It was fun. Carter had a good time hanging out with Maddie and being a 'big' kid. We then got to eat lunch with the school and the school kids went to an afternoon movie at the Hyart. Carter was sure mad we didn't sign up to do that as well, but I had some work I needed to get done. Here are some action shots from the day.
Adessa had a great 1st grade year with Mrs. Morrison. She grew so much as a reader and became more confident in herself. She is also very good at writing and doing math. I rarely had to remind her to do her homework or even help her. I would check her work and few and far between she would have to correct something. She loved Mrs. Morrison and it showed. She loved school. She worked her way through all 6 phonics books a goal she made in March. She has Mrs. Strom next year and is looking forward to another great year!!

Brenden had Mrs. J. May for 3rd grade. He has always been Mr. School. He likes all subjects but showed more interest in science this year. He rarely got below a 98 on a math test. He needed to work more on writing with imagination and feelings but got the hang of it. He is very literal and likes rules. He made a cool simple-machine project with his buddy Mejya. The only thing I had to fight him on was his reading log. Not that he didn't like to read, he didn't like filling it out, and complained every month! He did great and also grew as a person. He did well participating in basketball and football and seemed to enjoy them. He has gotten Mrs. Winland next year and we are excited for the year.

Carter finished VIP preschool and had a great year. He is writing most of his letters, recognizing his letters, and is right where he needs to be. He did very well on his Kindergarten screen and is ready to go, although I am slightly hesitant...he is my baby. We received a letter and he has gotten Mrs. Tillett for his teacher next year. He can hardly wait! He is very excited. Here is to another great summer and school year!!

Spelling Bee

2010-06-24T11:30:00.001-07:00

Brenden had the opportunity to be in the Spelling contest this year in 3rd grade. He did his best and now that too much time has passed I can't recall what word he got out on. I am sure he would if I asked but he is out playing. I was proud watching him, he is so serious and I knew his heart would break when he did get out. He was upset but I told him he did a great job and that he has two more years to try and win it. Plus we kept the word list so he can practice and look at the words. He really didn't have a lot of time to study it. We are so proud of Brenden and all that he accomplishes. He is an avid rule follower, especially at school or if he is in charge of a game or play situation at home. He likes to follow rules and make sure others are following too. He is a good big brother. He watches out for his younger siblings at the park and at school, or on the bus. He has their back and I love that. He gave me a Mother's day card and signed it...Love your only child that looks like you! Love it. He always draws or makes card. Here is an example of a book we found at my work while cleaning up. Precious

Title: My family
Mom is so caring she loves us so much.
Dad is a tall guy 6 ft 4. He is so nice.
CJ is always a great person. She'll let you borrow things.
Brenden is modest, oh so modest. You won't catch him without a shirt! (Besides the pool)
Dessa is nice. Oh what a gal. She is such a pretty girl.
Carter is the youngest. Family clown I say!

Love the book. One that I will keep forever! It is finds like this that makes you happy to be a mom and realize that your Kids really do love each other! Thanks for being a part of our family B-Man! We love you!

Performing Artists!!

2010-05-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

The spring Tavaci concert has come again. My kids have really enjoyed this program. Catilyn and Brenden have done it for 6 years. This is Caitlyn's last year so she got a trophy for the years enrolled. It was pretty big. Brenden is proud because he says he is going to do it until his is in 6th grade and his will be bigger because it will be 9 years. Crazy. Adessa told Kelli that she doesn't like Tavaci and it is a fight to get her there every week and that she cries. She is so full of it. She never fights to go, she always goes in happy and comes out happy. She knows all of the songs and actions and sings her heart out. I am not sure what she will do next year. Carter reminds me a lot of Brenden, they are both all business. Carter knows the tunes and actions and sings them around the house. It is good for them to learn how to perform and they always do a wonderful job! My Tuesday's are insane with driving in and out of town for practices but it is worth it when we get to watch them perform and enjoy themselves. Thanks for all the hard work Kelli and Janika and all those who help.

Carter's Many Faces of Preschool

2010-05-21T08:06:00.001-07:00

Carter and his buddies. Nevaeh his cousin in the middle.

Carter and the boys!

Graduate Carter!!

Turkey Carter!!

Chef Carter!! One of my all time favorites. He looks so precious!
Swinging around the campfire!
Carter graduated from VIP preschool on May 13, 2010. He had a fun year with Miss Carol and Miss Lori and all the other staff. They learned so much this year and I can't believe that all these sweet kiddos will be headed to kindergarten. Carter has been asking me the last few days how many days til Kindergarten starts....he has a long wait but is so excited!! It was fun being able to see him at school on most days. He did well most of the time separating me from Miss Tashie and mom. He made some new friends and loved every minute of school. He is quite the ladies man and this had to be discussed throughout the year but he realizes I hope that he can't kiss girls on the check or slap them on the bum!! He also got to attend preschool with his cousin Nevaeh, they are three weeks apart and pretty much act like siblings. Hopefully they will help each other stay out of trouble and not get into trouble. Grandma Lynn may beg to differ!! (He sees me do that to Craig way to often!) We can't wait to watch him grow and learn! We are proud and love you Carter!

Track

2010-05-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

Caitlyn had the opportunity to participate in Track this year as a 6th grader. She only got to participate in three track meets due to the weather and scheduling but she enjoyed every minute of it. She was so upset when she came upstairs Thursday morning and saw snow! She didn't want another track meet to be canceled. When asked what she liked about Track she replied "Everything". She likes competing against people she didn't know, and see how fast she was. Her favorite event was the long jump and 4x100 relay. Her least favorite was the 4x200 relay because she had to be the last runner and didn't like to run in front of the stands. She improved each and every week. It will be fun to watch her next year too! She is already looking forward to it. She is also looking forward to playing with her classmates in volleyball and basketball instead of against them.

At her conference meet she placed 2nd in the long jump with a personal best jump of 12 ft 6 in. She placed 5th in the 100 meter dash...although it was a pretty close finish I would have liked to see the camera to determine actual finish. She ran the 4x100 but they got DQ and she wasn't happy about that. This meet was the only meet they lost in. They placed 3 in the 4x200 and just missed placing in the 200. It was a long day but well worth it. It is amazing how proud you are of your children when they got out and work their hardest and have fun doing it. I will admit Craig and I both had tears in our eyes at different times during the season because we were so proud of her! Good job Caitlyn!

Silly Kids

2010-05-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

It was crazy hair day this past Friday. Here is what Brenden and Adessa came up with. They had a great time. Caitlyn and Carter were just being silly so I thought I would share. Caitlyn is really into taking pictures right now so she has a lot of silly ones. School is getting close to an end. Carter has preschool graduation this Thursday. The kids end the last week of May. Can't believe another year is almost over. Sure love my kids!

Brenden's Simple Machine experiment

2010-04-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

Brenden had a "Simple Machines" science project in school a few weeks ago. They worked on their project for weeks. They changed it up many times but finally were satisfied with the results. The project had to have three exchanges. Their project was a car rolled down a ramp, hit a marble, which hit dominoes, which hit something else causing a cookie to fall out and fall down into a carton of milk. Their run through was great but during parent time they ran into some trouble. It did however work for the other shows which is important. Brenden likes to experiment and was proud of his project. He is a good student and works hard but doesn't like it when things don't work like they are suppose to. He was a good sport though.

Easter

2010-04-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

We got the opportunity to spend Easter with my brother BJ, his wife Andrea, and their sweet baby Oaklee. It was fun. It stormed the night before leaving but we ended up with good roads. It was nice to get out of town and hang with the family. BJ took the kids and Craig to "How to Train a Dragon" at the IMAX in 3-D. They all said it was the best movie they have seen. We did the typical Easter stuff...dyed eggs, went on Easter egg hunts (way windy as you can see in photos), saw the Easter bunny, played some games, ate too much, and were lazy. It was a great vacation. We had good weather to drive home in too. We even had the chance to stop by and visit with Craig's Grandpa Lundberg for about an hour in Douglas. It is always good to see Beth and Stan. Our kids are at a good age to travel so we didn't have to make too many potty breaks, or food breaks. I enjoy spending time with my family and extended family too! Family is so important! My kids just loved Oaklee! They always wanted to hold her, she was giving them all kinds of smiles and sounds. It was so fun to watch. They all assured me we should have another baby but I quickly squashed that. We will just have to get our baby fixes through Oaklee and any other babies that come our way! Wish BJ and family lived closer though!

2010-04-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

Caitlyn played in her last year of Junior Girls Basketball. Next year she will be playing with her peers in 7th Grade! Wow how time flies. She had a good year. She was excited to have her Dad coach and actually listened to him more this year. She was more agressive and her shot is starting to mature! She jammed both of her wrists in track towards the end of the season so had to miss a game. She did great and we are so proud of her. Of course Craig and I are hoping she loves basketball and turns into a baller!

Brenden played in his first year of organzied basketball as a 3rd grader. He had a good team, they went undefeated. He had some good 4th graders so that made it good. He scored in many of the games. He plays good defense and is aware of the ball. He is getting more confident in his dribbling, catching, and shooting. We are looking forward to many more years of basketball. We do not coach Brenden as he is one that does better with someone else besides us telling him what to do. He is very stubborn but will listen to others. It was a fun season running back and forth between the two gyms and keeping the girls season organized and running smoothly!

Brenden at the pinewood derby. He liked his car, but did not like the fact that it didn't weigh exactly 5 oz. He was not impressed that his car wasn't the fastest. Oh well...our first derby car. We will learn as we go. He painted his car Bronco Blue with an orange and white stripe with a Broncos emblem on the front. I liked it...his dad not so much since he is an Eagles fan.

Anniversary

2010-03-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

Today is our 12th Anniversary. I can't believe it was 12 years ago that I married Craig. It doesn't seem like it has been that long. Time just flies! We have been lucky to have a pretty good run. We had some set backs and trials a long the way but together we can make it through anything. Craig is a great husband, dad, and friend. He works so hard. He is currently going to school (taking 25 credits), working full time, helping me run the Jr. Girls basketball program, coaching CJ's team, in the Elder's Q presidency, and being a dad and husband. He is willing to do anything for his family and I think that is evident right now. I keep telling him all his hard work and effort will pay off and I truly believe that. He is a talented man and I am lucky to have him as a husband. Just wanted everyone else to know how lucky we are to have him, I don't think he believes me when I tell him...so I am telling everyone! Happy 12th Anniversary Craig! I love you!

alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448532395608244674" /> An assignment for Craig's college class. Create a bulletin board. His was on the Scientific Method. I thought he did a great job...he just needed a little bit of a woman's touch.

Craig changing our photos on our curtain rod. This hangs over our stairs and there isn't an easy way to change them. This is how we do it. He stands on one end, I stand on the other and we carefully lift it down, change the photos and put it back up. His side is much more scary. We haven't fallen down and broke our neck yet..hopefully we won't. He hates this time of year but we love the way it looks.

The wall after being completed. We hung a new curtain rod this year as our old one was really a bugger to change. We skipped a whole year of changing pictures because it was such a pain in the butt. It will be much easier next year.

Our great kids! We have been so blessed with the sweet spirits we have been given. For the most part they are great..they have their typical kid moments but who doesn't. I am proud of each one of our kids. They have their own strengths and weaknesses but this makes them unique and special in their own way. They are growing and changing so much. Caitlyn is almost taller than me. She will probably have me by the start of next years school. Brenden and CJ are both in basketball right now, games start this week we are excited to watch them play. Dess is getting excited about turning 8. Carter can't wait to go to Kindergarten because of Recess! I love my family so much! Here is to another 12 great years and more!!

Catch UP

2010-03-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

So I was a big slacker and didn't post anything on here for quite some time. So I am going to try to catch up somewhat. I have enclosed a few collages from Christmas time. We had a lot of things to celebrate this year. We missed my mom. It was on my mind more than I thought it was going to be but she was missed. We enjoyed a good break and made lots of memories.

This is from the Tavaci Concert. This program is great. The kids love going once a week and learning all their fun songs. I enjoy it as well, except when they get their CD to practice the songs...the ladies voice is not one I like to listen to again and again. I encourage them to practice but to please close their door (and turn it down). The middle picture is right after dress rehearsal. We woke up to a beautiful frost so I had Craig take a quick picture after picking them up. The boys and older girls got new costumes this year and I love em! Much better then the old bow-ties.

This is from our annual ornament party. The kids each get to pick out an ornament to hang on the tree. We then put their initials on it and their name so when they go on their own way they will have a box of ornaments to take with them too. It is fun to look back over the years and see what they picked. This year Caitlyn picked a Clarinet and music, Brenden picked a Broncos ornament, Adessa picked a sparkling frog, and Carter picked Santa.

Just some fun snap shots of various school programs. They all did a great job. Brenden is in 3rd grade and they had the play in the program. He played a cousin at a sleep over. He did a good job. He even got his picture in the Lovell Chronicle. He told me after it was over that "Dave took my picture so I think I am going to be in the paper". I assured him that that was cool, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was going to be in the paper. Wednesday rolled around and who was on the front page in color...B-man. It was fun.

Carter is 5!!

2010-02-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

Uncle Marc and Mitchell playing Spiderman Memory

Carter Briggs turned 5 years old on Feb 21st. I can't believe our baby is 5. It seems like yesterday Caitlyn was born and she is almost 12. It will be weird to send all 4 of my kids to the bus next year. Carter had a great weekend. We had the opportunity to have just Carter home most of the day on Saturday the 20th. We played "Duck, Duck, Goose" (with 3 people it is pretty interesting), Hide-n-seek, football, had a lunch date, played at the park, and took a nap. Then we ended the day by going to China in Powell with Grandma Lynn, Grandma Jean, Aunt Kristen, Neveah, and us to celebrate. It was a great day. It isn't often we get a day alone with just one of our children so I am glad we made the most of it. We have been blessed with 4 great kids. They all have their own unique qualities and personalities but we love them each so much! It is definitely a trial being a parent but most days it is so worth it. Tracy and Marc and their family and Teri Jo and Robbie came over to help celebrate. Carter and Tracy are birthday buddies..almost. Carter missed it by one day. We love living so close to them.

cuddly cousins (25 photos), by Tashie lundberg

2009-12-03T19:14:00.001-08:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

We went to my brother BJ's house. He and his wife, Andrea, just had a baby in October. We had so much fun hanging out with my family and their new baby. Our kids could not get enough of little Oaklee. They all did very well with her and loved holding her! She is such a cutie and we can't wait to see her again. Caitlyn especially thinks we should have another baby. However since this is not an opiton she thinks we should adopt!! Crazy huh! I told her we just get our baby fixes from other people now...neighbors, relatives, friends. Thanksgiving was great. Andrea's family is so welcoming and treat us just like family. We had a nice break from life and just hung out. I wanted to try and get some photos of the kids for Christmas cards this year so I was getting ready to go and my brother decided he would do it. He was so good with the kids and they loved it. He is a character. It is hard to get 4 kids to cooperate but we will take what we can get...plus it was the coldest day there when I decided to do it, not when it was 60 degrees! We made it home safe and sound but are so glad we got to spend some time with my brother's family...it has been too long! I love the Holidays!

Flag Football

2009-11-10T18:36:00.000-08:00

Brenden is in 3rd grade and this is the year he can start to play organized sports. He was hesitant at first but decided to give flag football a shot. It was a short season but he enjoyed it. He needs a few games before he is confident and comfortable in the game so it is too bad that it was over before we could blink. He had fun and said he wanted to play again next year. We play catch and he got a new football for his birthday. It is fun to see his competitiveness come out. I enjoy watching our kids grow and play sports. I hope they keep it up so it gives them something to do in High school instead of getting in trouble!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-09T20:19:00.000-08:00

I am a little late getting these one, but what can I say. We have been busy. Caitlyn didn't want to dress up...she's getting to that age....but I turned her into a Bulldog fan! She was fine with it. Brenden was a vampire, he looked pretty good. He did all his own makeup. Adessa wanted to be a corpse bride. At school she didn't have the white paint and just wasn't satisfied but she looked good. Her flowers had spiderwebs and a spider in them. Carter was a magician. He was the cutest ever. He had a rabbit hidden in his hat and could do a magic trick but never would...too shy! He said people would laugh at him but in reality were laughing at his trick. Hard to explain. It was a pretty uneventful Halloween. The kids got tons of Candy.

Carter FInally Did IT!

2009-10-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

Carter finally did it! What is it you may ask....well we have been trying to build up confidence to swim with floaties on his own. We have completed two summers of swim lessons and with no luck. We have been swimming numerous times and he literally clings on to me for dear life. We watched countless peers jump in, swim around, and NOT SINK! I kept reassuring him that mommy wouldn't let him sink, or lie to him but he would not budge. I was getting frustrated every time we would go swim because he wouldn't do anything, freaked out every time I tried to show him, etc. However today while everyone else was busy Carter and I went swimming at the pool. I put on his floaties and added my aqua belt. He swam with me for probably 10 minutes and I talked him in to trying! HE DID IT! He swam all over the place! He loved every minute of it just like I knew he would!! When we finished he told "Mom, I am so brave!" I couldn't of agreed more! When he told Adessa what he did she replied "Wow Carter! You are getting to be such a big boy, a big big boy, a 5 year old boy!" (he turns 5 in Feb) I am so glad we went today! We sent a video to Dad, Grandma and Aunt Tracy to show off! He was so proud of himself, and smiled the whole time!

Brenden's 9th Birthday!!

2009-10-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

Brenden's birthday was two days after Dessa's so we have been busy...but it has been fun. We had a crazy week with football so we had a family party with cake and all the fixings and then he had a tiny treat on his actual birthday. He had his friend birthday party Saturday a few hours after Adessa's. It was a fun filled day. Brenden is a good boy, he loves to read, he loves facts (he must get this from his dad) and if he wants to can be very helpful and nice. We are so happy to have him in our family! Happy B-Day B!!

Adessa's 7th Birthday!

2009-10-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

Adessa turned 7! She had a week long celebration. We started celebrating with family, they she had a special treat on her actual birthday since the week was insanely busy. She ended with a friend birthday party this Saturday. The girls had a blast, they enjoyed crafting and all got a long really well. Adessa is so excited to be 7. We are so lucky to have her as part of our family! Happy Birthday Dess!

Harvest TIME!!

2009-09-19T08:23:00.001-07:00

It has been so fun to have a garden this year. We actually had some time to tend and take care of it so we were blessed with some yummy food! Next year I think it will be even better! The kids enjoyed going out and finding all the veggies and picking them to show us. I really enjoyed the Corn on the Cob...I think Craig gets sick of it but I could eat it everyday! Yum! We also grew some watermelon and they turned out pretty tasty too! Next year I am hoping to learn how to can...I would love to learn how! Hopefully we will get tomatoes too..we just grew cherry tomatoes for some reason, I know that is not what we picked out...oh well. Happy Gardening!

Soccer 2009

2009-09-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

Adessa and Brenden just finished soccer a week or so ago. Brenden is all game, he is so serious but loves it. He worked so hard this season, I am very proud of him. He didn't have too many helpers on his team so he got frustrated but never gave up! He scored a few goals too! He always had to run the full field so he was tired! I keep telling him that one of these years he won't have to play against his friends but rather play together and how much fun it will be. I loved organized sports! He starts flag football soon, it is his first year being old enough to play. I hope he enjoys it. He has been playing catch with dad lately.
Adessa has played soccer for two years and likes it but isn't in the meat of it all yet! She has the game down, knows where she needs to be but doesn't really care if she stops the goal or not...drives me crazy! She did score two goals, I bribed her with money! It is fun to watch her. She did great!

Carter's 1st day of preschool!!

2009-09-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

My baby has officially started preschool. How old am I? Old I guess. Carter started VIP preschool on Tuesday September 8, 2009. He goes from 10:15-12:15. His teachers are Lori Scheffler and Carol Fink. He knows them well since this is where I work too (we share a building CRC and VIP). He acts so shy around other people but he is SO NOT shy! He attends preschool with his cousin Nevaeh (yes she is quite a bit taller than him...hopefully he will catch her one day!), she is three weeks younger then him. They are just like siblings...they either love each other to pieces or fit like cats and dogs! It will be fun watching them grow up together as long as they stay out of trouble!

Window Frame

2009-09-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

Wall before Windows

We got family pictures taken last fall! I absolutely love them. I had an idea in my head how I wanted to hang them but could never find a frame that even came close to what I wanted. I looked online, I looked in tons of stores nothing. I was about to settle when I saw a window frame idea on Lindi Anderson's blog. I loved it! I had tons of windows in my crawl space....future craft things that Craig loves to move! Anyways with Tracy Bassett's clue I made one of my own. I absolutely love it. Craig just said it has to stay like that now..change photos or what not but he put huge holes in the wall to anchor the windows in! It turned out great!

Trip to Idaho

2009-09-11T20:02:00.001-07:00

The kids had a blast in the water. The pool at the bottom of the slide was actually filled up with "HOT" water...it was their mini-hot tub as the real hot tub was not full at the time. They had another pool with cold water they would jump in and out of but mostly hang in the hot tub! It was funny. They got a long great. They also had the slip in slide to play with, our kids loved it...the Christensen's weren't so sure! Give kids water and that is all they need to have fun!!

We were lucky enough to make a quick trip to Idaho to visit some friends. We miss our friends and fun times in Pocatello. We had decided Friday night to not go to Idaho as Craig had just gotten home from South Dakota and our trip hadn't gone as planned. However Saturday morning our friend Tanner texted bright and early and asked if they should expect us for breakfast, and where we were. I didn't have the heart to tell him we were still in bed...four hours away. Craig decided we should go so he went and got the 4-wheeler and I got everything else ready quickly. We let them know we would be there late lunch. Our first stop was West Yellowstone...they were camping, we didn't pull the camper so didn't know what we were doing that night. Yellowstone Park was insanely busy..it just happened to be the "FREE" weekend but I still think it would have been busy! We think we saw Pres. Obama's helicopter landing though..at least that is what we think! We made it and had a great time! It is so nice to see old friends, especially the Christensen's! They rock. As you can see from the pictures when we are together we have 8 kids running around from 11 years old to 2 yrs. We crashed at their house and the kids had a ball...until Carter and Adessa got sick....puked all night on the hour. Needless to say I had one kid and a trash can and Craig had the other and a trash can and we were to drive home the next day on no sleep! We made it though. We look forward to another trip to Idaho or visitor's from Idaho. REMEMBER anyone is welcome at our house at anytime!!! Call first so we can make sure it is presentable...sometimes this is not the case!

Bed Time

2009-09-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

This is where Carter is suppose to be sleeping....in his bed!

This is where I often find him! Snuggling with his sister Adessa.

This summer we deemed Adessa's room the Party Room! This is where not one of the kids but all of the kids spent most of the summer nights. She has a bunk bed...full on bottom, twin on top. Often three kids would sleep the long way on the bed and CJ would be on top. Or sometimes two children would be on top laying the opposite directions and two on bottom. Although Adessa liked it most of the time sometimes she would request a night in her room to her self. Now that school has started it was time for everyone to sleep in their own beds so they could get a good nights rest. Carter tends to still sneak in her room or into ours.

One night at bed we were tucking Carter into his bed, he was not happy he kept telling Craig "I don't like my bed." or "I am scared of my room" or some other excuse. Craig kept saying "I don't care" "Love you" and tucked him in. When I got in there to tuck Carter in he says "Mom, did you know that Dad doesn't care about me anymore?" I assured him that Dad did care for him and he kept shaking his head "NO!" So I went downstairs and told Craig what Carter was saying and he told me their conversation and how he kept saying he didn't care and goodnight. So Craig had to go up and tuck Carter in again and let him know that he does in face CARE! Thought that was cute! Sweet Dreams!

School Time 2009

2009-09-06T10:07:00.001-07:00

The school year officially started on August 31, 2009. This is a little late but the kids didn't seem to mind. I could totally tell it was time for them to start school again because they were starting to get on each other's nerves for the smallest of things.
Caitlyn has started Middle school. She is in 6th grade. We had orientation and things went well. She initally had trouble with her locker but I couldn't get it open either. We figured it out and she was good to go. We decorated her locker minimally but she seemed happy with it. She is going to play the clarinet in Band too. She is excited. She is currently helping with 8th grade volleyball by being the manager, she also gets to participate is some of the drills. She is getting so big. She will be taller than me soon!
Brenden is starting 3rd grade. He got Mrs. J. May for his teacher and reported that he had a great first week. They are learning dinosaurs and he is excited about this. He is a fact kid. He is currently reading a book about the history of our Presidents and continues to ask me "Did you know" questions. (most of them I did not know) He just finished soccer and did a great job! He loves it.
Adessa is starting 1st grade. She has Mrs. Morrison and also reported to have a good week. Although she did have to come home sick on Friday for a tummy ache. She also just finished soccer and did well. She is enjoying reading and tries to read words all over the place.
Carter starts VIP preschool this Tuesday and is very excited. Although he probably thinks he runs the place just like all my other kids did as that is where I work and they are there a lot on non-school times! I can't believe he will be 5 soon! Crazy how time flies. We are hoping to teach him to ride a bike without training wheels this week, our road isn't very easy to teach on being gravel so he is scared. Happy school adventures. Our schedule is crazy with Craig working full time, attending NWC full time and coaching plus being the great dad and hubby that he is! Good luck in all the school life crazies!

Lake Fun!!

2009-09-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

We got to spend a few days out at the lake this summer with friends! It was so fun. The mosquitoes didn't even eat us too bad! The kids loving digging in the sand and making all kinds of sculptures and creations with water. This year they found a ton of baby frogs and made homes for them! The water was cold but once you got in you were good to go. We never did get out on a boat this year, papas boat had something going on with it but maybe next year. Can't believe summer is over.

Another Funny

2009-08-05T00:23:00.000-07:00

So tonight we had 7 11 year old girls at our house celebrating CJ's birthday. Craig could take it no longer and had to go to bed since he has to get up in the morning. He took Carter with him as he was still ready to go at 11:00. Craig put Carter in our bed and came and gave me a few quick kisses goodnight...this is what Carter says

" They are Kissing!"
"They're in Love!"
"Daddy has to duck"

Haha..it made me laugh!

Yellowstone

2009-08-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

On July 3rd we traveled to Yellowstone National Park with my sister Tracy and her family. My mom's brother, Tom, was still here and hadn't been to Yellowstone in a long time so we decided to go see the sights. We had a two car caravan party! IT was fun. The kids traded back and forth, thank goodness Marquette, Marshall, and Matt didn't care b/c I think my kids wanted to ride w/ Aunt Tracy because of the snacks! :) We made the loop, watched Old Faithful, saw Buffalo, Elk, Deer, a black bear, and three wolves.

About the bear...we had hiked down to Lower falls and on our hike out, Marquette came running back down the trail with CJ and said, "There's a bear behind the bathroom, hurry give me the cameras!" So Tracy and I handed her our cameras, I asked "Where are my other kids?" and she replied that "Matt had them." We had to be close to the top so Tracy, Craig, Carter, and I started jogging to get to the top. Plus I had to make sure my babies were being smart. I didn't figure Brenden would get to close as he has a fear of bears. It was pretty cool, but nerve racking at the same time. People were closing in around the bear and I was worried he would freak out but didn't. I was a little too close for comfort. The falls were beautiful as was the canyon. Ice cream was delicious...thanks Matt. We ended up getting home around midnight. It was a fun filled day. Thanks so much Uncle Tom, and McArthur FAMILY. We have an annual pass so we are planning a trip to Grand Tetons once the tourists leave....hopefully September!

A FIRST for ADESSA!!

2009-07-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

Adessa has been waiting for this moment for several years now. She got invited to spend the night at her friend Brooklyn's house. Adessa has thought she was old enough since she could talk. She didn't understand why Caitlyn always got to stay at friends or have friends over and she couldn't....it just wasn't fair. She didn't like it that she only got to spend the night at grandma's, Aunt Tracy's, or Jen's. Last night made her day. She was so excited. They were going to watch America's Home videos and hang out. I just called Aubrey and she said it went well and they have been great. They were just getting dressed and doing their hair! Fun. I am only worried now she is going to want sleepovers every weekend! Thanks Brooklyn and Aubrey!

Camping Fun

2009-07-29T07:37:00.001-07:00

We went camping last weekend for the first time this summer. I can't believe it is almost August and this is our first camping trip. We had a good time though. We didn't bring up the 4-wheeler this time, so we drove around, checked out some rock formations, walked in creeks, hiked to Bucking Mule falls, visited with friends, and most important...hung out together. We enjoyed smores too! One night by the fire Carter yelled and it echoed. So he contined to do this as well as Craig. It made a dog down the way from us bark and the next thing we heard was a coyote and then a whole pack of coyotes. It sounded pretty cool, but pretty close too. Imagine Carter's cute little face going from having a ball smiling, to huh what was that, to holy crap I am so scared and in Craig's arms crying in an instant. We tried to assure him that we were ok and that the coyotes were far away but it didn't work. We had to put out the fire and head to the camper!

Saturday we hiked to Bucking Mule Falls (we had never been)...this was quite the adventure. It took us at least 45 minutes to get there and then when you arrive you basically walk on a cliff with no rails or anything to keep you from plummeting to your death and look down on a waterfall. It is cool, but I was not enjoying this time with my little ones up there. I made them sit on their rears unless they were holding our hands. I could just see Carter throwing a rock or something, slipping, and off he goes. It was a beautiful hike. We stopped on the way out and the bridge/creek and the kids played in the water. When we got out we were all hot, and out of water so we got a little wet thanks to the water spout on top! We had a great time and most of all we were together! Little fighting between kids, no phone, no TV, just nature at it's best.

CJ's accomplishments!

2009-07-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

CJ's awards

Seems like I am posting a lot about Caitlyn lately but she has been busy! Caitlyn ended her Elementary years with a bang! She received a few awards on the last day of school. She was a peer mediator and did a great job. I was told several times by different people at the school that they were very impressed with her skills and meditations! She enjoyed it and did a good job. She worked her tail off this year and ended up getting all A's except for in math. She kept her math grade at a 'B' which took a lot of work. Mrs. Hessenthaler and Mrs. Gernhardt really pushed her, and made her realize that she can do a lot of things on her own! I really appreciate all they did for her! Thank you again!

We received a phone call a few days before the final assembly at school that Cailtyn would be receiving an award but to keep it secret. So Craig, Carter, and I, along with Gma, Gpa, and Nevaeh were in attendance. Only a few students received this certain award and she had to be nominated by a teacher. She received the "Zestful Award" for her zest for life, trying new thing and standing up for what is right. She also received a President's Education Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement for 09 signed by the US secretary of Education and President Obama (She thought that was pretty cool!) We are very proud of her!

Receiving her "KEY"
Giving John a "High-Five"
CJ and Julia

Caitlyn's floor group photo!

She attended Key Camp June 14th -20th at Casper College. We were a little worried about leaving our baby down in Casper for a week but we did. It ended up that she had a fabulous time! We sent her a care package for her and her roommate Hannah from Newcastle and they called to say "Thanks!" What good kids. She also assured us that she was fine, she was having a great time, but loved us so. I didn't leave her with a cell phone but I had to check up on her the first night with Dillon's phone. Saturday when we went and picked her up,it was amazing. This program is outstanding. She was sad to be leaving and cried, needless to say so did I! Craig almost did too because he thought something was wrong until he realized what were doing. She is excited for next year and hopes she gets to go to KEY Camp again!

Happy 11th Birthday CJ!

2009-07-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

CJ and her ice cream cake!

Sleepy head opening her present

CJ's birthday pictures are not that great this year! Sorry Caitlyn. We found out the night before that my mom had died..needless to say we didn't get much sleep the night before her b-day. We tried as much as possible to make it her day and we did an okay job. She couldn't wait to open her presents so she wanted to open them first thing, we didn't object and let her open her main gift. She got an IPOD. She was so excited. She has since asked her DAD to add music and movies. We then got ready for the parade. Adessa and Caitlyn rode on the TAVACI float and the boys sat with us. After the parade we hung out for awhile with the family and then headed out to Horseshoe Bend with Tracy and her family, BJ and Andrea, and Aimee and her family. We had a BBQ out there and celebrated CJ's b-day. I forgot the camera though. The next day we went to Gma Jean's house for supper and celebrated there. She wanted an ice cream cake, it is so easy to eat and appears to be yummy(I'm not really an ice cream bar fan). Caitlyn is a good girl. She is very loving, and helpful but she is also developing that "middle school" attitude already. She loves playing on the computer, writing, singing, and camping. She is a blessing to our family and we love her so! Happy 11th B-day Caitlyn!

Carter....what more do I need to say!

2009-07-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

Carter is all boy. He likes mud. He likes to turn on the hose and make mud. He likes to be covered in mud. Look at his face, I think he knew mom would not be happy with him, since that was his 2nd or 3rd set of clothes for the day. Oh well...he's just a kid. I actually didn't get upset this time, I figure there are worse things he could do and to let him have some fun. We do only live once!

Carter makes us laugh all the time. These two photos of him were just random pictures I was taking and when he realizes the camera is pointing at him...this is his reaction. Craig and I seem to be shaking our head a lot lately at him in disbelief, wondering what is wrong with him! He is our joker. The other day we were setting up our badmitten game and I was telling him to wait his turn and to practice with the birdie. He looks at me in shock and says, "I'm not going to hit a BIRD!" Ha I had to explain what a Birdie was and that I didn't mean an actual bird. The kids got a laugh out of that one!

This is Carter....yes he is sleeping. Guess what he is suppose to be doing? Cleaning his room, or more specific putting his clothes away. Yes, he can do this. We have walked through this chore together several times, but lately he whines and cries "I can't do it all by myself, I need help". Yes, he has completed this chore by him self to perfection. Well the last few times he has said this I have told him to go to bed then. They have all ended like this....Nice. Guess I need to do something else!

Scouts!!

2009-07-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

Brenden received his "Bear" at Scouts this May. He is enjoying scouts and has done well to get all his requirements done. We have great Scout Leaders. They put a lot of time and effort into scouts and we really appreciate it. Good Job B! WE are proud of you.

5th Grade Music Concert

2009-07-21T18:38:00.001-07:00

So I am starting my back log of events. Caitlyn had her last music concert for Elementary in May. Craig was out of town but Grandma Jean and Grandma Kerry both attended. I'm so thankful for that now. Caitlyn did a great job, she likes to play the recorder and sing. She has a beautiful voice but few know that because she is "shy" around other people. Mrs. Bischoff does a great job with the kids, and she makes it fun. The 5th graders also play the guitar all year but CJ said their song was boring! They did some fun stuff at the concert: sword dance, spoon drums to a song, and the crocodile rock! Good job CJ. We are proud of you and love you so much!

Summer Swimming Fun!

2009-07-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

Fun photos of the kids swimming at the "Whale" pool on Saturday. Craig's dad brought down Nevaeh down too and they had a blast. I am so thankful that the kids/cousins know each other so well and get along well (for the most part). Caitlyn and Brenden were soaking their feet b/c they are technically too old to swim here but ended up getting a little wet. It wasn't too busy and they were in and out...it was a hot day! Have a great summer day! Make some fun memories!

Co-ed Softball Champions

2009-07-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

Members: Back: Jordan Brown, Mitchell McArthur, Craig, Ben Walker, and Marc McArthur
Front: Ashley Brown, Marquette McArthur, Tashie, Aubrey Walker, Tracy McArthur
Not pictured: Greg and Becky Rael, Matt McArthur, Jason and Jen Schneider

CRC has repeated as co-ed softball champions in the Lovell Rec. League. It was a lot of fun this year! We have gone undefeated for two years now. I enjoy playing and interacting with other adults, and playing with my sister and her family. Craig is an outstanding pitcher and I like it when I bat before him and he hits home runs...then I don't have to run too fast! Thanks to all our friends who played another year with us! See you next year!

A wish from Carter!

2009-07-13T21:50:00.001-07:00

Caitlyn is in the process of getting braces and at her orthodontist on the wall it says "You don't have to brush all your teeth...just the ones you want to keep!" So we have been talking about this a lot during our daily brushing time. Adessa repeats it often. Well, tonight at bedtime we were all gathered in the living room, talking about the day, and getting ready for family prayer. I asked each of the kids if they brushed their teeth, they all reply "YES". However, Carter looks a little guilty so I ask him again. He replies with a head nod but I know instantly that he hasn't. I reply "Remember you need to brush your teeth" and Adessa says the phrase from the ortho office. Carter points to his front tooth and says "I don't want this one!"

I reply "Yes, you do"

Carter says "No, I want a loose tooth!"

Guess he is sick of everyone loosing teeth and getting money except him! What a cutie! I love how literal they think!

CJ at her Finest!

2009-07-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

We ran across this video of Caitlyn (that she made herself in the bathroom) while we were looking at her photos. Make sure you pause my music and turn it up so you can hear her! I laughed until I cried. I guess it surprised both Craig and I but we needed a good laugh after last week! What a sweetie! I can't believe she is starting Middle School soon....my baby is growing up and will soon be taller than me! Yikes! Wish me luck!

Kerry Terry

2009-06-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Kerry Jean Terry, 60, of Lovell died peacefully Wednesday June 24th at her home. Kerry was born October 14, 1948 in Lead, South Dakota to Marguriete and Manfred Falk. She is the youngest of three children. She graduated from Lead High School in 1966.
Kerry went to Black Hills State where she graduated with a degree in Special Education. She taught in the Lead-Deadwood School District from 1976-1981. In 1981, Kerry moved to Lovell, Wyoming with her family where she taught in Big Horn County School District #1 for 20 years. She started the Special Olympic program in North Big Horn County. Kerry was named the Educator of the Year for the State of Wyoming in 1994.
She spent her life raising her children: Tammie, Tracy, Teri Jo, Tashie, BJ, William, and Jennifer. She spent countless hours supporting her children and grandchildren at school and sporting events. She has eleven grandchildren: Tyanna and Tierra Thompson, Mitchell, Matthew, Marquette, Marshall McArthur, Robert Nowak, Caitlyn, Brenden, Adessa and Carter Lundberg.
Kerry was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church and Delta Kappa Gamma where she spent hours serving others.
Kerry is survived by her children – Tammie of Sturgis, SD., Tracy (Marc) of Byron, WY., Teri Jo of Longmont, CO., Tashie (Craig) of Lovell, WY., BJ (Andrea) of Broomfield, CO., and her brother, Thomas Falk (Sandy) of Livonia, MI. She was preceded in death by her parents, sister- Norma, her two infant children – William and Jennifer and nephew, Keith Falk. She is also survived by her 11 grandchildren, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and other relatives.
Arrangements are by Haskell Funeral Home in Lovell, Wyoming. Services will be held Wednesday at Haskell Funeral Home at 10:00 A.M. The family suggests memorials be made in Kerry’s name online (www.specialolympics.org) or mail to:
Special Olympics
Attn: Web Gifts
1133 19th Street NW, 12th Floor
Washington, DC 20036‐3604.

Piano Recital

2009-06-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Brenden and Caitlyn had their first piano recital with Mrs. Bischoff. They did great...although I still have to nag them to practice. They have to share a spot as she didn't have an opening for both of them. However this summer they each have their own spot...although we forgot lessons yesterday! Oops! Brenden got a little stage fright and didn't go through with his attempt the first time but did go back in after most of the people left and played his two pieces. A few people were still there and they sat back down and listened to him and then made sure to come and tell him how good he sounded. He was so nervous. Caitlyn did great. She memorizes her songs quickly so I hope she is learning keys and notes and all that jazz. Adessa plays by ear and I have taught her the little that I could. I think she is really going to like piano when she finally gets in there!

There is Beauty All Around!

2009-06-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

A few images of our beautiful world...while we were driving! Sometimes I take for granted what is all around us....these made me stop and think!
Foliage between Park City and Wyo border

Mountain was while driving somewhere between St. George and Provo

Rainbow was between Greybull and Lovell on Sunday...if you look close you can see it is a double rainbow!

Lake on the Tensleep-Buffalo Mountain

Night sky as we are pulling into Lovell. I thought it looked pretty cool.

Tavaci

2009-06-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

I just downloaded pictures from my camera and realized I have some back posts to do. The first happens to be photos from the kids' Tavaci concert in May. We have been doing Tavaci for 5 years now. My kids absolutely love this program. They were really bummed when we found out that it would no longer be offered. Carter was really excited about joining. Then we got an exciting letter in the mail and found out that Tavaci will indeed be offered again next year. Too many people told Kelly that we really needed a program like this, and how good of a job she did and I guess it worked! Hip-hip-hooray! Caitlyn is always so serious during the concert but does enjoy singing. She has a wonderful voice when she really sings. Brenden too is all business but smiles and looks like he is having fun. Adessa was surprising this year. She too was serious but so into her actions and facial expressions. It was fun to see...it was the best Tavaci concert yet.

T-ball

2009-06-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

Brenden running to 1st base!
Brenden playing 2nd base!

B-man! What a handsome boy!
What a look of determination.
Brenden getting ready to hit!
Adessa getting ready to hit off pitch.
Adessa smiling for Aunt Tracy.
Adessa and Kailei
Matt and Carter watching the game~
Adessa watching the camera instead of game!

Well our T-ball season for 2009 has come to an end. Craig and I coached the Conoco team again this year. I believe this is our 3rd year. This was Brenden's last year and he really improved. He liked playing 2nd base and when he was relaxed he could really hit the ball. He is also very fast which was good because he often made it to first base before they could throw it there! This was Adessa's first year of T-ball. She seemed to enjoy herself but often didn't care if she played, where she played, if she missed the game because she had to go to gma's to potty, or if she batted last. Our first game I was talking to Dess and said "Guess what Dess...you get to bat last today!" She replied "Whoo-hoo, yes!" I guess I talked it up more than I thought. Brenden always got made if he wasn't in the top half! Not Dessa...I moved her up a few spots and she cried because she was suppose to be last! Needless to say, she wanted to bat last every time! She did pretty good this year when she was watching the ball. She had a great stop at third and even threw it where it was suppose to go. Brenden hit a home run in the middle of the season! It was awesome! Carter can't wait to play..but he has another year! It's fun watching our kids grow and develop, and change!

Odometer Reading

2009-06-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

I was just going through my email and found a few pictures from our trip that I had to add. One is of our odometer.(2456 miles...56 hours driving time) It told us our total number of miles and hours in the car. It is pretty close but we didn't always have it on in town. The next was a fun picture Craig took on his cell phone of the kids somewhere in Cali during a break! I still have a few pictures from our vacation to post!

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What a way to start the day!

2009-06-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

We dropped Caitlyn off yesterday in Casper at Casper College for KEY camp (Knowledge Enrichment for Youth). I have to say it was very stressful for me, especially leaving her there....4 hours from home without any family! It was a good way they pretty much got called and gave hugs and were on their way or I think I would have bawled. Yes I am a wimp. I almost cried yesterday morning before we even left! Caitlyn told me MOM! Don't cry yet! I pulled it together again. It is just weird that she is getting that old, I'm sure it is the first of many. She is probably having a great time but I wish I would have left her a cell phone. It seems weird not telling her good night or hearing about her day! Anyway, we will have an update when we go get her on Saturday! So yesterday we drove to Casper and back. We arrived home about 11 o'clock, carried the kids in and I ran over to Byron to get my Nephew Marshall as he was watching the kids today because we both bad to work. By the time I got home and settled down it was close to midnight. Then I kept thinking about CJ so didn't fall asleep for some time. Then at around 6am (yes to me this is early! I am not a early bird). I am wakened by a plane! It sounded as if it were literally in my room! I was so mad! Stupid crop dusters! Every summer we are wakened at the butt crack of dawn by this crop duster...over and over. I was not impressed this morning! So I think I started off my day grouchy! Oh well. Guess there could be worse things. I wish they could start at 8am though...more on my time schedule! Make it a great day! I love sleeping in, not waking up to an alarm clock, and feeling well rested! I don't get many days like this and am looking forward to a few this summer!

2009-06-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

Craig and I went for a walk last night together and when we returned home the kids were so excited. They had been playing on the computer and found this video we had to see...well we both thought it was pretty funny so I thought I would share. I know how bad that hurts as when checking for teeth as babies I have gotten bitten many times. I can't believe how big my kids are getting. Another school year is over and the summer schedule/season is upon us. We just finished swimming lessons, are almost done with T-ball, just started co-ed softball, and hopefully camping season will soon be upon us! I am thankful for my family and friends and for all that we have!

Just another day in Paradise

2009-06-06T08:05:00.001-07:00

Phil Vassar - Just Another Day In Paradise (Official Music Video) - The best bloopers are a click away

Vegas

2009-06-03T18:50:00.000-07:00

Our next stop after Salt Lake was Vegas. Craig and I were excited (at least I thought we were). We hadn't been to Vegas since I was pregnant with Brenden so along time ago. It is not the best family friendly city but it wasn't bad when we were last there. Needless to stay we will not be staying in Vegas with our family again until they are much older! It was great to see all the amazing architect, lights, people, etc. However it was not nice to see half naked women all over the place...huge billboards on trucks driving down the street, plastered all over in front of the casinos..everywhere you looked. I guess Vegas is now catered more to the business men. Our room key even had half naked women on it and our kids love to fight over who gets to open the door. I didn't even notice the naked cards all over the ground until Craig told me to tell the kids to walk with their head up and to not look at the ground! The kids absolutely loved our hotel. We stayed in a giant pyramid! The inside of it was amazing too and it had a tram...even cooler. Our kids were troopers! They walked close to five miles and really didn't complain. When you look down the strip the next place you want to go doesn't look that far but boy is it conceiving! We loved the water show..it was awesome. We should have just stayed there all night and watched the show plus it was the closest one to our hotel. The Mirage had a cool volcano show. Treasure Island used to have a pretty cool pirate ship show but now it is pretty much the strippers vs. pirates. Again, I had to do lots of explaining about immodest dressing, etc. The kids seemed to enjoy M&M world, we just missed the movie. My camera died so most of the pictures were taken by Caitlyn. We were close to the hotel w/in a mile and Carter had been riding on Craig's shoulders as we were walking pretty fast as it was getting late and the drunks were coming out...finally at New York New York, Craig asked if Carter could walk awhile..Carter said yes. So Craig set him down and Carter preceded to take a step and fell. Craig just thought it was an accident so he helped him up, stood him up and started to walk again. Carter fell again. By then I was thinking that that was odd...so I asked if his legs were asleep. He just looked at me confused like..what is going on...why do I keep tripping. Then he shook his head yes and said "But I think they are coming back to life now!" It was pretty fun and we had a good laugh at that. We slept well in our room, enjoyed a quick swim in the "No splashing" pool and were on our way to sunny CA! (PS CITY TRAFFIC SUCKS! I COULDN'T DO IT EVERYDAY!)
We learned a lot in Vegas and had a lot of explaining to do as well! Did I mention I loved the water show!

Adessa's Future Job

2009-06-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

So in preschool and most of this year when Adessa talks about what she whats to be "When she Grows up" she usually replies a FASHION MODEL in New York. Well after my nephew Mitchell's wedding yesterday, she came up with a new dream! My sister gave Carter and Adessa the perfect job while we were cleaning up after the wedding. They were given dish brushes to scrub the frosting out of the carpet so Marquette could vacuum it up. I came in and noticed what a good job they were doing. I praised them both and talked about how good of a job they did, etc. Then Adessa comes up to me and says with a huge grin "I know what I want to be now when I get older!" I replied, "You do, what is that?" She says "A JANITOR"! I wasn't quite sure what to say!

It reminded me of when Caitlyn was in Kindergarten she told Craig and I that she wanted to work at Red Apple when she was older. She just kept talking about all that money you get from everyone buying the food. We then had to explain that she probably wanted to own Red Apple not just work at Red Apple and that she could work at Red Apple in High school or something!

I love how kids think! I wish I would have been better at writing their stories and sayings down! I'm kicking myself now!

BEACH PLAY

2009-05-31T10:16:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed our day of relaxation on the beach and at our condo. It was great. The kids absolutely loved the ocean. It was only about 85 degrees so it was still pretty cold to swim but they waded and dug in the sand. Carter tried hard to out run the ocean but it caught him, he was a little scared but loved it. The waves knocked Brenden under when he waded out a little further, Caitlyn tried to body surf. Adessa would dig a hole and then it would fill will water and sand and she just kept doing it over and over. It was beautiful. A fun day was had by all, we found sea shells, walked on the Pier, saw people night fishing and catching like 5 fish within 4 seconds.

Sea World

2009-05-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

What can I say...Sea World was awesome. The kids absolutely loved this day and so did we. The animals are amazing. The kids were mesmerized by the shows. I wish I could have had a camera on them and the show. Caitlyn was very worried that I was going to get wet and ruin the camera so we had to sit on the last row of the soak zone and even then she kept telling me ok...put it away. We had three cameras going so this is just some of the photos. I didn't want to bore everyone with millions of photos so will just do a few. We got to see a whale catch a bird before the show. The fish tried to take the whale's fish and well the whale got him...he played with it for awhile before the bird met his doom. It was the perfect day not too hot or cold. The kids didn't even complain about walking all day..they didn't even notice. If you look close there is a picture with the kids holding an animal. That is what the all bought with their own money, plus the shirts we got them. It was a great day. I am so glad we went.

I'm Back...start of vacation stuff!

2009-05-29T17:05:00.001-07:00

I have been insanely busy but am going to try and catch up! Happy Summer to all~!!