and the WINNER is.....

Mark has been in a weight loss contest at work for the past 6 months. He started off really good and lost a little weight. Then summer came, and well....we all know how that goes. He didn't really start getting serious about the contest again until the final month. He exercised everyday (sometimes at midnight, because that's when he could fit it in), and he ate really good. He was determined to win, so the last 5 days of the contest he didn't eat any solid food. He was on a "Hollywood diet" and boy did he shed the pounds. The last month he lost 14 pounds! He won the contest and the $108 prize money. I love when he gets his mind set on something...he gets so excited about it, and so determined. Congratulations Mark....now go get something to eat!

Grammy takes 'Breast Cancer Pink' to a whole new level!

I can't stop smiling over what I'm about to post. As most of you know, Mark's Mom Nada (Grammy) is fighting breast cancer right now. She had to leave her home in Idaho Falls to be treated in California. We e-mail back and forth with her regularly. She sent us an e-mail 2 weeks ago that said she still had her hair, but that it was really starting to thin out. Sawyer sent her a response and told her not to worry about her hair. He said to enjoy it while it's there, and have fun with it. Then he suggested that she dye it pink (that is SO Sawyer)! Here are pictures that we received today. This will give you just a small glimpse of why my kids adore their Grammy SOOOOO much. She is in the middle of the biggest trial of her life, yet she still has it in her nature to be positive and upbeat. She can still manage to put a smile on our face....okay, more than a smile...we were down right cracking up!!! We love you Grammy...you are truly THE BEST!!!

Blonde hair, pink hair, or no hair...it doesn't matter...you are beautiful!

I Love my Handyman!

When we built our house, Mark had the framers rough in a storage room in our garage. It was really just a last minute idea, that turned out pretty cool. Mark loved this storage room and has been excited to finish our garage for 4 years now, but life just kept getting in the way. Our friends (the Temples) moved to Utah, and gave us most of the stuff we needed to finish the garage. That finally got the ball rolling....and the project is well underway. Mark started in the storage room. He went all out....and it turned out AWESOME!!! He insulated, sheet rocked, textured the walls, painted, and even trimmed it out. He designed and built shelves inside that are going to be SO great. YEAH...NO MORE STUFF ALL OVER THE PLACE! He finished the storage room today, and tomorrow we are diving into the rest of the garage. We are so excited for it to be all finished. As most of you know, I am an organization freak, and our garage has been everything BUT organized for the past 4 years. Not for much longer! We'll take pictures when it's all done, but for now, here are some of our great little room. They don't do it justice, but that's the best we could do. Thanks Mark....you really are quite the handyman!

This is the room before shelves.

When you walk in the door, this is the little section to the right.

Apples! Apples! Apples!

Mark's parents have 3 apple trees, and they are in Arizona for awhile. We tried to eat and give away as many as we could, but it was no use.....we weren't even making a dent! We couldn't stand to see so many apples falling off the tree, and going to waste. My friend gave me a great recipe for freezer apple filling. Tonight the boys are camping, so me and Bailey went to work. We made 7 bags in no time. You make the filling and put it in gallon freezer bags. Then, whenever you want an apple crisp or pie throughout the year, just pull a frozen bag out of the freezer. It's so easy and your kitchen only gets messy once! Here's the recipe, and also a recipe for the top of the apple crisp. Enjoy!!!

Freezer Apple Filling

7 cups apples

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

pinch of salt

3/4 C. sugar

1 T. lemon juice

1/4 C. flour

Place all ingredients in gallon freezer bag. Shake and work bag until all ingredients are mixed well and apples are coated. Press air out and seal. Lay flat in freezer. Good for pie or crisp.

Apple Crisp Topping

2/3 C. oatmeal

1/3 cup flour

1/4 C. butter

1/2 C. brown sugar

pinch of salt

Mix until crumbly. Lay foil over pan and bake apples for 30 minutes. put crisp on top and bake for 15-20 minutes more at 350 degrees.

(My friend says it's better to 1 1/2 this recipe)

We LOVE you Grammy!

Grammy,
You are our hero....our inspiration! We love you, miss you, think about you everyday, and can't wait for you to come home! Remember, when you conquer this....you will be able to conquer ANYTHING!!!

Hurray for Reeses!

Okay, let me start by saying that our dog is a spaz. Now, on with my story. It's Mark's Friday off, so we got the kids off to school and decided to go for a jog along the canal road behind our house. We decided that Reeses needed to get some energy out, so we had her go with us. Part way down the canal road we had the idea to let her off her leash. Yes, I know...not a big deal for most dogs. But when your dog has "issues" like ours does, then it's a HUGE deal. Well, she went crazy with excitement. She would run down and jump in the water, go flying through bushes, the whole nine yards. But, she stayed with us the whole time! If she lingered in the water too long, all we had to do was call, and she came. For those of you who have met Reeses (and know how truly ADHD she is) you understand my excitement. I smiled through our whole run because I was so proud. There may be hope for her after all. She got lots of treats when we got home.

Patriot Day

It's been 7 years since the terrorist attacks on our country. I went about my day like I normally do....in fact, I had a great day. But when I get a quiet moment, I still remember everything about September 11, 7 years ago. I remember getting Sawyer ready for school and Scott calling to tell me to turn on the TV. I remember being on a treadmill next to Kara Jo, watching the TV at the exact moment the towers fell. I remember being sick to my stomach at what I saw and heard, yet not being able to pull myself away from the news. I had the same feeling as a lot of others...that I wanted my family to stay together. There was always a sense of panic when we had to separate to go about our normal lives. I'm not writing this to relive that terrible experience. I'm writing it because I'm glad that I can still reflect on what happened. I can reflect on it, but I don't have to dwell on it. That's what I love about this country. Even after such a terrible thing, our country is so resilient, that people can remember, but still have a great day, just like I did!

Devil's Staircase Hike

We took the kids on an 8 mile hike up Devil's Staircase. It's in the Tetons. Bailey fell and bruised her knees pretty bad, but other than that, it was a wonderful day. We plan on doing a lot of hiking next summer (in Yellowstone and the Tetons), so it was a good way for us to see what the kids could do. They did great.

Eastern Idaho State Fair

We took the kids down to the Eastern Idaho State Fair. That's always a fun place to people watch. The fair can bring out some real weirdos. We went to a hypnotist show. It was pretty funny. We tried some interesting food too. We had a battered and deep fried snickers bar, and oreos. I guess someone thought they weren't already bad enough for you, so they wanted to add a little extra pizazz. They were yummy. Bailey rode the mechanical bull. She stayed on the whole time. She's such a little cowgirl!

Bailey is a Rock Star!

School is back in full swing, and both kids are doing great. Bailey started guitar lessons this week. She loves it! She is such a little rock star....watch out Miley Cyrus! She has a Christmas recital on Sat. Dec. 20th, at 10:00. I'm so glad that she loves to try new things.

I Did It...I'm A Blogger!

I've wanted to start a blog for a long time, and I'm finally doing it! I hope this ends up being a good way to get back in touch and keep in touch with friends and family. Check back often, I will post a couple times a month.