Superbowl Sunday

Anyone have plans for the Superbowl? We plan to watch it with Mom and Dad.

By the way, Mom and Dad, can we come over to watch the Superbowl on Sunday?

Just wanted to sign in and say hi and that we miss you all. I found a box of pictures that include several pictures from when we were kids. If I ever get to scan them, I'll post some of my favorites. I have one of the five of us kids standing at the base of a T-Rex in Vernal. Remember that? I think our own kids might think it's a cool shot. I'll see what I can do.

Thanks!

I just thought I'd say "Thanks" to the birthday cards for Teagan. I hadn't checked the mail in a couple of days, so today Teage got 2 cards. One was nice and quiet with a cute picture of a park. The other.... well..... "I'm gonna run with scissors. Running with scissors. No rules. No rules. " Yes, you who sent this one, it has been loved!!! :) In this video is Teagan showing off his new bedding. Of course it had to have "Vroom Vrooms" on it.

An afternoon...

At the Arizona Botanical Gardens last week, we got to see some work of the glass sculptor named Chihuli. This is one of the pictures I took. I try to get our family out to see new things as often as I can.

I have some advise that I give my self and maybe it would be worth passing on. My boys are still young and need dynamics in their lives to help build them into smart, well rounded individuals later in life. I struggle with giving them learning opportunities and even full attention because I am so busy in my own little world. My boys need to be a high priority as these are the years they will remember the rest of their lives. As they grow and gain responsibilities, they will be able to look back at every fond memory of a trip, expedition, discovery, and taste. I try to get them out of their comfort zone (home) and push them selves mentally, and physically. For an example. Cody climbed the most difficult trails in the entire Phoenix valley at 9 years old last year. He has now done it twice more. He struggled along side of me and we had to encourage each other as we passed others who turned back due to difficulty. I liken this to life. When life gets so hard that we collapse at the point of giving up and we see others arround us giving up as well, keep your destination in sight and dig down for that determination... GO FINISH!
Well at 9 years old, that might have been too deep for him but he still remembered it last week. I hope I have opened his mind a bit.
Jabon
Check out my Longs Peak climb on my blog...

Busy times

I just thought I'd do a shout-out now, before next week comes. There isn't much new to report, except we are trying to get our backyard completed. It's been dirt for too long now (over a year).

We are going to have a busy week next week. Jabon and I are back to school and are getting busy with our classes. I have 3 courses I am taking: Computer, Accounting, and Inter. Algebra, all of which are online.
Plus, we'll have company. Jabon's little sister Elin is going to be visiting from Tues-Thur. She is on her way to Washington for her post with the Navy. Friday thru Sunday I have a friend (Amanda) coming down from the Springs. Her family lives in the Springs and she was down here for school. Once she graduated, she went back home. I'm really excited for her to come! How I wish all of you guys could come down here, too. It is the perfect time to visit. The temps are in the 70s and it's sunny, but very comfortable.

Anyway, Grandma is on her way over and since I've spent the day doing homework, I now need to pick up this messy house! Love you guys.

Snakes and Snails and Puppydog Tails

Tomorrow I need to do laundry, so I'll do my usual routine of going room to room to grab the hampers and take the clothes down to the laundry room to sort. I think that's pretty typical.

My issue is that when I go to get Matt's clothes, I have to double check the room for straggler clothes. That's probably not a big deal to most people. And Matt's probably the most consistent of all the kids to put his clothes in the hamper. My problem is that if I don't check the valance across his window, there's a good chance that I will miss an article of clothing. And it's always underpants.

Is this a typical, usual thing for boys? For those underpants to land up on the valance he has to fling them. I don't get it. Is this what I have to look forward to for the next several years? I know what to expect from the girls. They rarely truly surprise me. But am I going to have to double check the valance for flung underpants forever?

News in Woodland Park

Two nights ago, there was a water break in Woodland. If any of you remember where Fortune Dragon Chinese restaurant is, it was in that area. There was water everywhere. Rocks and debris were all over Hwy 24. Yesterday morning we were going about business as usual. Getting ready for school, going to the bus stop on time. Which is a rare occurance. Waiting for about 20 minutes for the bus to come, one of the moms went home to check on the bus. She was the smart one. I was about to just drive to the school. Which I'm glad I didn't. They had a 2 hour delay for our school even though we are not in Woodland. Plus today school is cancelled because of the water pipe. James and I are a little upset that they cancelled our school. We are not in Woodland and our water is just fine. Let our kids go to school like they are suppose to.

Anyway... Now all the people that are connected to Woodland's water has to purify it or get bottled. Glad to say that we are on our own well and don't have to worry about this. The only thing I do not like is that all of the boys are home today and I'm not handling it very well. All they seem to like to do lately is bug each other to death and it rubs off on me. I'm trying to think of things to do today that do not cost money and that can get us out of the house. If only we lived in a warm climate. Then we could have fun outside. Stinkin cold!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Teagan!

I totally want to take this moment to be the first to say to Teagan HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Your card will be in the mail soon (I hope). I hope you have a good day, Teag.

Father-son trip

This is a teaser! You need to go to my blog to get the rest of the story as it is too long to post here. I have gotten Cody to come with me on three trips into the Superstition wilderness. I had a habit of writing about my excursions until we moved to AZ. I am trying to get back into the habit and I decided that now that Tara separated from my blog, I needed to grab some attention back! In a week or so, I will add another trip and so on.

Help, I don't know what I'm doing!!!
Okay, so I am adding to the family blog. I really do enjoy seeing all the pictures of my children and grandchildren. However....I am the world's worst at writing or calling! No matter what I try to do to change this it never works. It took me a while to figure out how to get on and post this to the family blog. Why on earth do they call it a "blog?" That just doesn't sound right to me??!! Dad and I are trying to readjust to being empty nesters after a year of having someone living with us. Dad is taking it harder than I am as he is home all day. I at least have work to go to. We love all of you and miss seeing most of you. Shelly and Josh we get to see at least once a week. I made a comment to Shelly's post about Dad and Abby so check it out. Mom

Dad and Abby

I made Mom create a Google account so she can make comments and posts, but I'm going to steal a story she may have written.

Dad took Abby to go feed Takela the other day. (I don't know if I spelled her name right. All I know is that her name is not Tequila.) And as they were leaving Abby said to Dad, "I think the other horses are talking to Takela and they're saying, 'You're so lucky to have a little girl and an old man.'"

Ha ha. Dad's old.

Brett loves to sing

Last night Brett wanted to hold Ashton and sing him to sleep. So, I took this video (I hope it loads properly). Brett loves to sing songs and often times makes up his own songs. He also changes words when he's not sure what the correct word is. Like last night he was also singing Ring Around The Rosies and he kept said "Ashley, Ashley, we all fall down!" FYI, he adopted my old cabbage patch doll before Ashton was born and he named her Ashley, so I think that's where he was getting the name.

Wii Fit or We fit hee hee

On Wed. we finally got the Wii Fit. It took us this long to get it from Christmas. Every place was sold out. Then Wed. I went to Wal-Mart cause we heard they just got in a new shipment. The last one was bought right in front of me. So I called around and had to go to the 8th street Wal-Mart where they had two left.

If you have the Wii, I strongly recommend getting this. It's so fun. It's a great way to get in shape. If you don't have the Wii....GO GET ONE!! The boys love it. If you're looking to map your progress on getting into shape, it does it for you. I've already lost one pound with it. That could've been a fluke though. I may have just been one pound heavier with my clothes on the other day. But still, it's great. Almost all of the games that kids play on it gets them moving around. We love it!!

Anyone Up For Disneyland?

My visiting teachers came over today and we got on the topic of Disneyland, since one of them is heading there next month. Have you heard of the promotion of free admission on your birthday? Here's my thought: October 8-11 are a bunch of birthdays that would allow four of our family members to enter the park for free. We could have one big family reunion, CA should still be pretty nice weather-wise, it's 10 months away so babies will be older and money could be saved longer, and it's DISNEYLAND!

I found this website if you want more info.

Another alternative would be September 16-17. There are only three birthdays then, though.

What do you think?

Some pictures. Out dated... but oh well.

I decide to post some of our older pictures. Some are not so nice because that's when we found out our camera was broken. Trenton is at wresting practice. He's running while in his stance. Kinda.

It's really fun to watch them at practice. I haven't taken them to any tournaments yet. Maybe soon. I'm sure the season is almost over. Yesterday they learned how to flip their opponent over their side to land on their back and pin them. That was quite interesting. Tyler is getting pretty good at all of the moves. He'll have to try a tournament soon.





Tyler and Trenton and the rest of the primary were the stars of the Christmas program. I was able to get a pretty good shot of Tyler. Though it's still not that great. The boy to the left of him is Toby Mijares. If any of you remember them. They were all so cute. Tyler was a King and Trenton was a Shepherd.


I couldn't post this without putting a picture of Teagan up. For Halloween he was a blue ninja. He looks so grown up. Trenton was Iron Man and Tyler was a red ninja.

Gettin' in shape

James and I are trying to get in shape. That seems to be a common goal with us all. Today we started. It's so discouraging to not see results the very first day. But we will seriously try to stay with it. Our plan is for James to take his CPAT in a couple of months. He hasn't wanted to take it before because he wasn't feeling up to it. But hopefully by the end of March he will feel better and take it and pass. That way he can apply and get hired. I'm hoping on LAFD or somewhere warm. I'm so dreadfully tired of the cold. I've got such plans for living where it's nice and warm. Beach days often are included in those.

I really wish that I had a camera so I could post some pictures. We need to get one soon. I'm applying for a job for an insurance place that you need a camera for. So if I get that, then we'll get one really soon.

My Dream...Power in the Priesthood

So, yesterday when I was sleeping I had a wonderful dream. Like sometimes happens when dreaming I became "aware" of my dream surroundings in the middle of an action (like having a dream that starts in the middle of a battle, but in the dream you remember the events leading up to the start of the dream). I was standing in the tight shoulder to shoulder circle of men blessing a baby. I realized that I was blessing Millie and that the circle of suited men around me was bigger that anticipated. I looked up and surrounding this little angel in white was Dad (Ken) on my left, with Peter to his left, JC on his left, James on his left, Jabon on his left, Jaymen on his left, Justin on his left, Jacob on his left, and my Dad (Curtis) on his left which was my right!! I felt such warmth and power in all these priesthood holders that I truly love. I began to smile and cry and I looked beyond the circle to see Shelly outright bawling. I don't recall what blessing Millie received (in the dream...she really gets blessed next fast Sunday), but I do recall feeling that with so much love and priesthood power behind the blessing great things were in store for her.

I have to admit that when I awoke feeling such joy it was rather disheartening to come back to the reality of things. I want the blessing of the gospel and the priesthood for all our family. I look forward to eternity with our family. I love you all. It was also a wierd realization that Mandi's husband Patrick was not part of the dream at all. Hmmm. Love, Josh

A Visit With Heather

Matt, Heather and me

Matt, Heather, and Aunt Jo

Our cousin Heather has been visiting her parents the last few days. She and Aunt Jo came over to visit today. I had to laugh when Heather played with Millie. If you don't know, Heather is a self-proclaimed non-mother-type and one of her most difficult rotations in nursing school was with the babies. But, she happily held Millie and I thought she was just playing with her, but she was excited to discover all of Millie's newborn reflexes. She really made me laugh. Heather had a lot of fun with Matt too. He loved being thrown around and swinging by his ankles.

Heather seems to be doing really well in Indiana. Her boyfriend James just found out today that he was accepted as a PhD candidate. I'm not sure if that's the correct phrasing, but basically he gets to work on his PhD now. Heather is working the oncology unit at her hospital. Something I could never do.

It was really fun to see her and she'll probably be back this way this summer.

New Beds

Cody and Brett have been sharing a room this last year. We have 5 bedrooms in our little house, which include an office, the master bedroom, Ashton's room, the boys' room, and a playroom. Well, Jabon's mom is going to be moving in with us for an undetermined amount of time to take over the daycare for us. Jabon's dad is having a hard time finding a new job in this market so we are helping out by paying Lee Ann to watch the boys until he can get a job. Because of this, we need to make a room for her so she can feel more at home. In doing this, we are compressing the boys' room with the playroom. I had to go through their playroom and "organize" it, a.k.a. through out broken toys, happy meal toys, papers, etc. The only way there would be room for their toys and their beds is to have the boys on bunk beds. Yesterday, Jabon and I put them together. The boys love it.
Ashton was a good boy during this process. He can sure get to laughing and show his adorable side. Here's a pretty good shot of it. He was flapping his arms with delight, as you can tell!

The Eagar's Christmas

This Christmas was filled with cold, freezing temperatures, and snow storms. Oh, wait a minute. I live in Arizona. Ain't nothing here but desert, cacti, and hot weather.

It was beautiful here this Christmas. The weather was pretty nice with an average of about 65 degrees, I think. It was overcast and actually rained. Jabon's mom Lee Ann, brother Jershon, and Carina came down from CO and spent about eight days with us. Cody and Brett kept Jershon busy with piggy back rides (yes, even Cody) and tons of horse play. Carina kept Brett entertained and danced with him a lot.


While they were here we got to go to the zoo.
We had a lot of fun together. It's a heck of a walk (though not as hard as Cheyenne Mtn.). Here the boys are pushing Aunt Carina around.

We also went to the Mesa Temple grounds. Each year there are a million lights that are put up with nativity scenes all around. The church also shows a short film about the birth of Christ and they play a sound clip at the Christus. Each night a different group performs some form of entertainment. It's really awesome and is a tradition of members and non-members alike.

We had a ton of food, fun, and late nights of movie watching and talking. Jershon and Carina enjoyed it so much, they are going to try to move down here for school within the next year. Lee Ann also enjoyed being here. I think it did her good to be around crazy kids. This was the first Christmas when her kids were so spread out in the country, so she was thankful for the mental distractions her grandkids brought!

Everyone enjoyed their gifts and each other. Brett was understanding a little more the true meaning of Christmas.

Come On Over

I made three batches of chocolate chip cookies today (there goes the New Years' resolution). I'd love to share them with you guys, so if you'll just stop by, I'll have them ready for you. I'll even provide the milk! ;o)

California Christmas

Alright, I'm gonna try this out. The problem with me is, I don't have much to say. We went to CA for Christmas and had a good time. It was nice and warm the last few days that we were there. It really made me not want to come back to freezing CO. We took family pictures while we were there. So once Sherry sends them to us, I will try to post them. I don't have any myself, cause our camera broke just a few weeks before Christmas. Great huh?
Have any of you heard of Bakugan's? Tyler has been asking for some since last year. And this year I finally went to go look for some. They are so much like Poke-mon. It was like $15 and it's his favorite present. We're also changing up the bedrooms around here. Tyler has been asking for his own room since he was 4. And finally I'm going to give it to him. He's so excited. Teagan is going into the room with Trenton and Ty gets his own. It's the coldest room in the house, but he doesn't care right now. He's decided he wants to decorate it in camo. I've got some ideas. Once we get the money, we'll be able to start on it. He's even offered to help pay. WooHoo!!

Yes, here we go!

Well I think this is a grand idea Shelly had! Hopefully I can find enought time to check the blogs now and then. Chat soon!

Here We Go...

Okay, so here's our first posting. I hope this ends up being as fun as I imagine it will.

Here's my challenge to you...tell us about your Christmas break. What did you do? Who did you see? What were your favorite presents? What did you eat?

Or...

Update everyone on what you've been doing since the break ended (or is about to, for JC and Kelsey).

Here's my update: I've been sitting around and doing very little. Actually, I'm feeling a LOT better since Millie's birth. The kids are excited to be back in school (me too!) and Josh is back at work now.

Last night the kids got to have a campout in our family room. We don't have any furniture down there, except for the fetching pair of chairs from Aunt Jo, so they had plenty of space. They even got to have the fire going. They thought it was pretty cool. About the only way you can camp in Montana in the wintertime!