Jones Journal

20 months old and growing...

2011-06-08T12:55:00.000-06:00

Ok, every post I make is something to do with how fast time is flying by! This one is no exception, so there it is, its going way too fast! I googled my blog the other day and for some reason it brings up the first post I ever made a couple years ago. I spent a few minutes going back through them and it really is cool to have stuff documented like that. And, if a disaster ever hits then its preserved, barring the server at Google is nuclear proof. And in that case, my online scrapbook probably doesn't matter much because we are all, well, you know....

I have --no the earth isn't ending-- started jogging again! Yep, I decided to dust off the ole' runnin' shoes and trot my ever increasing-in-size butt down the road. I push the kids in the stroller and away we go. Its not been to bad, and I have 3 weeks under my belt so it might be a habit for a while, at least as long as the weather holds out.

Rodeo season is here, EHV virus stay away. What a quiet May with EVERYTHING shut down because of it. But, I am entered up and planning on getting some barrels ran and some rodeos entered. Too bad Crash is too sore to be using, but I have others to fill his place while he let's his sore toes heel. Too much mud and rain = sore horses

Boise trip--super fun. We swam and ate good (the Sushi restaurant was a bit of a disaster though) and I gave some barrel lessons on a horse I trained a few years back. It was great to see Kylee & Brodee, Ryker & Stacy. What a beautiful place to live. We are at the 'itch' point for us, we don't seem to stay longer than 4 years anywhere and we've been in beautiful Tremonton for four years (who'da thought I'd have even lasted this long), so it must be time to start thinking about where to head next! That area is on The List. The only bad thing is its getting a lot harder to pack up and go now that we have the rugrats!

Speaking of rugrats, we got them a puppy (puppy, dooggie, puppy, doogie repeat 100 times to see what Teague is saying these days). Chachi is entertaining for them, but I think we jumped the gun a little, they are a little rough with him, and now he's getting a little rough back. He might be more of an outside dog if this all continues! I'm constantly rescuing someone or something!

We went to Cort & Amanda's a couple weekend's ago and the kids all had a ball riding the ponies. Looks like we are in the market for a pony now. Our kids really seem to enjoy being horseback. And that's a good thing since they'll get plenty of time aboard a horse in this family!

At the Zoo in Boise, looking at the Penguins

A short moment of sharing the new puppy

Told ya they liked the pony rides!

Dad getting his exercise trotting the kids back and forth, the faster the better!!

And more trotting...

He kept calling himself Daddy here, since he has on dad's hat & shoes

Ryker, Brodee, Coby & Twins swimming. Teague's not too happy about me getting out of the pool

Me & our little waterdog, holy cow this kid loves water!

At the Zoo

And to recap...

2011-05-09T18:19:00.000-06:00

Easter has flown by. Mother's Day has flown by. My mom's visit in early April has come and went. Apparently Spring has flown by since we are back to 40 degrees and rain and gray. AAAHHHH...time is going by way too fast. This is such a wonderful time of life and its disappearing on me! You really have to stay on top of things so you don't miss a moment of it. When you think about the snapshot you are going to have of your life, after your life is over, I really will enjoy looking back on these precious times. These are the one's I want to have in my memories forever.

Easter--we went to Grandma Jami & Grandpa Bob's and had a fun weekend hunting Easter eggs, frying up a steak and watching a little 3D TV. We also took a beautiful drive though the mountains.

Mother's Day - we went to Cort & Amanda's for the day, enjoyed church and a good Sunday dinner together. It was fun to visit with them. We are all so busy these days we don't seem to get together as often as we used to. When we do, we always seem to have fun.

New baby--my buddy Jodi had her first baby girl a couple weeks ago, I'm so excited to see her this summer! Its so exciting getting your first baby. We've talked a lot over the last several months and it makes me realize how much you forget, even just a year and half after having them. When you get that newborn handed to you its so overwhelming wondering how you'll know how to take care of it (them in my case). I didn't even dare diaper the babies in the hospital because what if I did it wrong? I probably set a record with the nurses asking questions on what about 'this' and what if 'that'. When you are in that moment you can't imagine them being anything but a cute little bundle. Now look, mine are little whirlwinds! I wonder how I'll feel when I'm 50 and they are in high school. I'm sure I'm not the first mother to have those feelings 'oh, my babies are growing up!'

Nursery--now the kids are old enough for nursery I thought it would be so easy, just go drop them off, they have a great time, I get a couple hours break, everyone goes home happy. Instead, there is clutching and grabbing and uncontrollable sobs (and no not from me!) and trying to sneak out (unsuccessfully). Guess we have some attachment issues??!! I don't know, I guess its hard to go from being with mom 24/7 to her dropping us off and leaving us to fend for ourselves with 15 other kids twice our age. Ideas? I don't know what to do to make it easier on them. So, in the meantime, I'm learning the nursery program pretty good.

Word of the week for Teague -- 'Stuck'. Everything is stuck. He gets sssstttttthhhhuuuckkkkk, his foot gets stuck, his toys get stuck, sometimes Taya gets stuck. Lots of stuff around here is getting stuck! Taya has found a real passion for footwear. She is constantly finding shoes and putting them on and shuffling around in them. And, even though you have a 50/50 chance of getting them on the right feet, she pretty much ALWAYS winds up with them on the wrong feet. It has caused me and Coby a lot of laughter over it. There is just nothing funnier than a kid that stomps around so proud of their shoes with their toes pointing out the wrong way.

easter egg'in

2 wrong feet, 2 mismatched shoes, but still havin' fun on the stick pony

chillin' with grandpa bob

huntin' easter eggs

teague & daddy comin up out of the dry bed

Oh, the days are getting longer, which means we are getting less and less sleep. Seems like there is so much to do outside that we keep pushing bedtime back later and later. Maybe a good rainy day or two is exactly what we need--then we don't feel guilty for not being outside working! And to come, we have family visits ahead, some coming here, some us going there. I will be SURE to blog it!

me & teague just for fun

2011-04-05T12:12:00.000-06:00

Twins were in the news a lot last week and it was fun to learn a few interesting things about them. Like,

How much fun they have together & that they have a 'closer' than usual sibiling relationship. Check (every kid needs a twin to play with, they always have a playmate)

How they have their own secret language 40% of the time. Check (it is fun to watch them converse together, it will be interesting to see if mine go on with their language)

They are 50% more likely to be left handed. Hopefully NOT check! (it makes it hard to be a roper and I already own 22 pairs of right handed scissors)

I have been getting cussed for not videoing and posting more of the babies doing their cute and fun stuff so, this week I tried to capture a few fun moments (tried I seem to always miss the best kodak moments). I always wonder how those people that post cool stuff to YouTube do it. Do they just have a camera on ALL the time? I got a few cute things, I'll keep working to get better!

Master Word List:

momo = Elmo
bappo = apple
teet = treat
dink = drink
nah = drink
mo = more
hoosy = horsey
moo=Cow

Cowsa=Cows
unky = Mickey
kooky=cookie
seya = See ya
bye bye = Bye Bye
some are getting pretty good! Teague is still a little further along in vocabulary, but Taya will babble on in full paragraph or story form. Some say its typical of a woman, blab,blab,blab!

They had their 18 month check up recently as well, very healthy kids. 33 in tall and 27 & 28 pounds. We are so lucky to have such healthy kids!

This week Grandma Saundra is flying up for a visit. So, we'll be out and about doing some fun stuff together! Coby is headed to the Logandale rodeo so he's got a little fun in store for him too. Now if this rainy weather would leave....

Spring weather, what the...

2011-03-22T11:14:00.000-06:00

Snow, today? Really???? Its the end of March!

Testing out the new rain boots...we came home to so much water and mud I got on the Internet and ordered the kids the cutest little rain boots right away. I got tired of them soaking their tennis shoes 2 minutes after being outside. For the kids, the best part of being outside is playing with the cats, feeding the cats (they are really FAT) and sitting on the 4 wheeler while we clean stalls.

Has put the cat in the food bin

Mud & straw on the new purple boots!

Cuddle Bugs chillin' on a Sunday afternoon

What else have the Jone'ies been up to? Its been crumby spring weather, so not a lot of outside time this week, Sold a couple horses, bought a horse, I guess we've been busy that way. Other than that, just busy with work. Oh, Coby finally got moved to the Brigham Temple so he's only working 15 minutes from home, and that is really nice. Guess that's it for now!

Back To Real Life

2011-03-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Arizona has and came and went for us. What a fun time in the sun! This year Coby was able to come down with us so we got our first family vacation in a long while. Three weeks of fun! He and I did a lot of driving between Phoenix and Tucson (for the rodeo) so we got to catch up on all the lost time for him working out of town this winter. I use the term winter in the past tense now, as far as I'm concerned, it is OVER!

I love how you get a little perspective after being gone. I always seem to come back with a new idea or direction, it seems like you just can't get that living in your same world every day. Maybe that's the deeper side to 'Getting out of the box'. Stress...I just seem to forget the little stuff that was worrying me. I'm so thankful everyday that I only have little stuff, not big stuff to stress.

Mexican food...I ate it almost everyday, to the tune of a few well-worth-it pounds gained. I call it 'Shopping and Lunch' and its one of my very most favoritest things in this whole world! That could go on my headstone, 'R.I.P. she's out lunch'.

Being a rodeo kid SO rocks! Mom dresses you up real cute, takes you where there are lots of people, it smells like corndogs and cotton candy, and you get to play in the dirt all day!

Its way fun to watch with the other kids who's dad's are in the rodeo

Saddle sore...We rode and rode that desert, so simple, but so enjoyable. Jackpots...went to a handful and tried to shake the dust off, its been a while. Horses performed pretty dang good.

Grandma--so much help and so good to the kiddies, I love our visits so much! Taya said 'I Love You' for the first time, not to mom, not to dad, but to Grandma! She has not said it since. hummmmmm....

Outside--Teague & Taya could NOT get enough of going outside and playing. They never touched a cactus, there must be some primal instinct as homo sapiens to not touch weird sharp looking objects. AND...the highlight of their trip was:

They could not get enough of the Mule. Hands down, the best babysitter yet! At every opportunity, they were on this thing, even if it was just sitting in the garage. And it didn't matter who started it up--they came running to catch a ride!

I LEARNED...there is actually a 'trash' cactus that JUMPS at you. Beware to not get close. It is a very mean plant. It didn't get me thank goodness.

It was hard to leave AZ...but we are settle back in at home and I'm just about caught up from being gone. Oh, who am I kidding? There is no such thing these days as being caught up! There is always a little something that needs done. But, I probably wouldn't have it any other way. Good thing I thrive on having a lot of irons in the fire!

And now we are back to real life...I guess they didn't want my beautiful 5 ft tall vase (pronouced voss since it was one of the few elegant things I have I mean had in our house) there anymore...

Faith is the key to all miracles...

2011-02-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

Words I've clung to at times in my life. Maybe you need to hear them today.

Let's see, week in review, actually 2 weeks in review. What have the Jones' been up to. Well, this Jones went to a nice women's conference last weekend, TOFW, Deseret Book's Time Out For Women. It is pretty cool, my mother-in-law, Jami & sister-in-law, Amanda went. Its inspirational speakers and LDS music performers. What did I learn? 1. That so many others face such bigger challenges in this life than me 2. That being a mom is a big job and everyone gets overwhelmed with it at times 3. Not all blessings come in this life. 4. Jesus doesn't care how many trophies we win, don't be too competitive over things that don't matter. I recommend going to one of their tours if you haven't. They are all across the country now.

I fought the vacuum and the vacuum won. So, I had half the house done, and the belt broke. Of course, I couldn't get the new belt on. I'm sitting on the floor, cussing at the vacuum, both kids right there "helping". Taya stands up and turns around and puts her little arms around me and pats my back, like 'mama, its ok'. So, dang cute! It was so precious, it was a neat mommy moment that she is getting big enough to comfort me. Funny, the belt went right on after that! (No, the rest of house isn't vacuumed yet, and now I need to start over again!)

Coby is still freezing out of town in Wyoming. I'm sure I wouldn't have lasted. -50 below. I mean really? Who can work in temperatures like that? He's tough is all I can say. Here we come Arizona!

I've been quite busy with my work these past couple weeks. Makes the cold winter days go by fassstttt!

As I write this my kids just ran into the room, Teague chasing Taya because she has a toy he wants. Yes, they are both screaming, yes he tackles her to the ground, yes, I better go!

New Stuff Fun Stuff

2011-01-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes don't think its easy too be too serious about life? I mean, its so easy to NOT be carefree & fun when you are 35 (middle aged for some), with kids, a mortgage and a constant nag of making your money stretch far enough, working enough hours, cleaning the house enough, it goes on and on. Its like, one day you wake up and realize your not FUN anymore. You are responsible. You are pulled together. You are caught up. But, you aren't...fun. I've been there, I am there, sometimes I wonder where the heck "I" went. I guess I've just got too caught up in the serious stuff and need to sometimes just relax and be fun. I used to be fun, I just feel like I'm in that middle-aged funk that is easy to get trapped in. But, I'm going to work to NOT stay stuck in it. I think its really more a matter of perception than anything. Change your perception, change your attitude. We'll see how it goes...

Anyways, enough of that. Things we are practicing and learning:

Brushing the toofie's

"petting" the kitty

Climbing on any and everything...

But, sometimes things just stop us right in our tracks...

Like Elmo, or a groovin' song on the tv. Sometimes you stop everything to watch, or do a little dance. And, after a full day of fun, its nice to go fishin' in the tub for a little r & r and get ready for a good night's rest...

They seem to know how to have fun, maybe they are a good example to follow!

The Sun Shineth

2011-01-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

Oh, its so warm and nice today, I was able to take to kiddies outside for a 4-wheeler ride and some puddle jumping. JANUARY THAW! Then they were ready for a warm milk and a nap. They are so happy!

This week Coby is working out of town in Wyoming, and is NOT happy about it. We hope its only a week or two.

I got a kick out of Taya at church yesterday. Coby had her in Priesthood and she took off and found her way down the hallways to the Relief Society room to find me, she just comes in and sits down and starts playing by me and Teague. She is smart and not scared to be alone. She knows what she wants to do and heads that direction. At church, its ok, at the mall, not so good. Grandma South can't believe how INDEPENDENT she is. Teague is good to stay close. Taya, she doesn't need anyone with her!

Saturday was fun, we went to a little bull dogging jackpot and then lunch afterward at the Dude Ranch. If you've been to Malad, you've probably ate at the famous Dude Ranch. I think the last time I'd ate there was before Coby and I were married. I remember going with his family one day.

Its Grammy Jami's BIRTHDAY today. The significance is this day, 17th, its her day, Coby's day, and the twins day.

MEMORY LANE...I strolled down it this morning cleaning my files out for the year. I came across a file of momento's, probably junk to anyone else, but special to me. Things like a copy of the talk Joell & I gave at our Grandpa Sorensen's funeral, birthday cards from my mom & mother-in-law, Valentine's day cards from Coby, some magazines with articles or pictures of us rodeoing and obituaries or funeral programs of people I was once close with. I hate to say that I have forgot so much about those that are gone. Its sad that things leave our mind, its good to have things to trigger those memories again. I probably need to write things down about my dad, that I still remember, so I can teach my kids about him. There's already so much I've forgotten. I forgot Grandpa Sorensen liked pineapple shakes and always said, come agane (the way he said 'again' sounded like a-gain) when you'd leave. And, towards the end of their lives together I walked in on him and grandma sitting in their jazzies watching tv together holding hands. I forgot until I read my talk how that affected me, seeing how tenderly they loved one another. Its said too often, but TIME goes by so fast. That would have been nearly 10 years ago...

1.11.11

2011-01-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

PROFOUND...The first week of January...so grey. Spring will be here before we know it, so I'm trying to enjoy this hard season. Hard, because its cold and dark. You don't move as fast, cars are cold when you start them, chores take longer, kids can't go outside. My windows have ice on them, the INSIDE. I miss being outside in the dust and dirt. I'm thankful to get to stay inside a lot. Unfortunately for Coby he's outside with work a lot. Good thing he likes the cold.

VISIT...my mom flew up for the week to see us. We visited family & friends in SF, and did a lot of shopping and lunch.

Teague...is a bookworm. Seriously into books. They are his favorite toy. WRECK...at Hobby Lobby he baled out of the shopping cart when we got back out to the truck. I barely caught him before he hit. He still got a little scratch and a little fat lip.

Taylee...likes to play a GAME where she covers her ears and I talk with no sound because she can't hear me with her ears covered, then when she uncovers them, she can hear the talking. You probably have to be there. I have no idea where she figured it out.

WORDS we say...a lot...ut-oh (self-explanatory in every fashion), mmmmm (when eating something), puppy (refers to cows too), dink (drink), mo, (more), kitty (they see them out the sliding door).

1-1-11 Its A New Year

2011-01-03T11:43:00.006-07:00

Its a new year, and I'm making a resolution to get back to blogging, or as you see from my new title JOURNALING. They say you should keep a journal for many reasons, its cathartic (yes, I had to spell check this), it preserves your history (many generations from now my great-great grandkids might want to know what I was thinking), it organizes your thoughts (very helpful), and its something to do during the long, boring winter months.

RIGHT NOW...its soooo cold and snowy, I'm caught up on work & most of the house work, and I'm working on this while the babies sleep.

THE BABIES....aren't really babies anymore. They grow too dang fast. They are little people that do the funniest things. They make messes. They laugh at the silliest stuff. They touch stuff they shouldn't they look at me and say 'no no no'. Those words echo through our house on a regular basis. They take 2 naps a day and sleep 12 hours at night. People think they are tall for their age. They are getting a lot of teeth but they don't have problems with it.

2010...is history. It was a good year. It was filled with parenting and that is a blessing to have in our lives. Lewis died, I'm still super sad over it. We had a garden, a lot of stuff didn't grow and it was pretty weedy. We rode a lot this fall and bought a dun horse that we both really like. One of my best friends got pregnant after being told she couldn't. We bought the kiddies too much stuff for Christmas and vowed to not spend so much next year. We took a lot of rodeo trips but didn't go with each other very much. We had a good year financially and feel blessed since so many around us didn't. We remodeled the kitchen and did a lot of landscaping in the yard. It makes us like our home a lot. We settled into Tremonton, or should I say I settled into Tremonton. I turned 35. The babies turned 1. Coby turned grey. Just a little. We went to church. We sold a couple horses we didn't like. I lost the baby weight. Coby got a new job. Twice. We made new friends. We decided to keep driving the same car and truck. I bottle fed kittens. And now its on to the adventures of 2011...

2010-05-09T19:02:00.003-06:00

Sometimes don't you just love the uneventful 'normal' days?? Just when everything is going smooth and as you'd expect. That's kind of how our last month or so has been. Its nice, but never lasts for long.

The babies are still growing, growing, growing. Teague has crossed over from quiet little baby that you swaddle up and lay on the couch to a little crawler that explores everything and pulls himself up on anything that can support his 20 pounds. He gets real proud of himself when he accomplishes something new and stops in the middle of what he's doing to make sure you are looking. This of course makes him loose focus and since he's generally standing when he does this, he falls. Good thing babies have thick skulls. I hope eventually I stop holding my breath everytime he starts to fall or crash. I just cringe! Taya really enjoys being around other kids. She loves to watch them play, as long as they don't get too rough with her. Teague on the other hand loves his older cousins to rough house. Taya is really a good babbler now, she strings it together like she's having a conversation with you.

We remodeled our kitchen this month and it is so much nicer! Its so nice to cook with 21st century appliances! Coby's been building more fence (for some reason no one believes in fences in Tremonton). Next on the agenda is to start working on the yard. Yikes!! Now that's a project!! Actually, our whole place has been. But, I have to admit I don't know what we'd do with our time and spare change if we weren't putting it into here! Maybe one day we'll go on a vacation or something!

2010-03-21T21:27:00.006-06:00

We're 6 Months Old!

I like eating peaches and sweet potatoes. I am learning how to roll onto my tummy and play, but then I get stuck so mom has to come rescue me. I am a happy baby with a little shy smile that fills my whole face up. My hair is growing in light colored and thick. I have long pretty fingers and narrow feet. I like taking naps and I sleep all night long. Mom and dad call me a sleepy head. I love practicing how to use my voicebox. Sometimes I babble, sometimes I yell, and I scream when I'm really having fun. I like people to make me laugh. I like to watch my brother play.

I like eating applesauce and sweet potatoes and especially pears. I am a happy little boy that is exploring all the fun stuff around me. I play agressively with my toys and really focus on what I'm doing. I am strong for my age and like to practice standing up. I think I want to walk before I learn to crawl. I practice hand/eye coordination by pulling my sister's hair or my mom's hair. I sleep all night long after a full day of playing. I draw people in with my quick smile and make people laugh with my funny expressions.

Its been so fun having these cute little babies around! They just get cuter everyday. They have such adorable personalities and they are little troopers. They handled me hauling them 13 hours in a truck and trailer to and from Arizona last month, they entertain themselves while I'm trying to work the crazy hours I've been been working the past few months. They were patient while I was helping pack up my mom's house in Spanish Fork that she just sold. They are good to go along with whatever their mom and dad have on the agenda for the day! Everyday is an adventure.

2010-01-16T17:37:00.004-07:00

We had a wonderful holiday season this year with our babies! They are a little young to appreciate Christmas, but we still had fun with them. Grandma Jami & Grandpa Bob came to our house and stayed for Christmas. On Christmas Eve we went to Grandpa Rod's and he and Staci gave the babies ExerSaucers that they already love to play in. Cort & Amanda and Riley and Sunee and their kids all came for a nice Christmas Eve dinner at our house. On New Years I took the babies down to Aunt Ann & Mark's. We had a fun day together and I took a really long nap which was nice since I hadn't gotten much sleep for the past week.

The babies are 4 MONTHS OLD tomorrow, I can't believe it! They are such happy babies and they babble and talk to anyone that will listen. They have started recognizing each other too, they'll look at each other and smile now. Its really cute. There is something about putting a camera in their faces though, they become very serious. I've yet to get a smile on camera! Its amazing to think back to last year at this time all I was going through to get them here. They are such a blessing and everyday I'm thankful for them.

Well, we are half way through the longest month of the year. I am packing me and the babies up and heading to sunny warm Arizona for February! My mom is really overdue for some babysitting so I figured I'd make the trip this time. I'm really excited to get out of Bothwell for a while!! I'm taking one horse with me and have 2 lined up to ride when I get there, so I'll get plenty of riding time out in the desert. I wish Coby could go, but he's a workin' man so he'll be staying home and holding the fort down. Maybe he'll be able to come down for a few days and drive us home. I think that this little 13 hour drive I have a head of me is going to be...interesting with twins! Our pledge is to come home tan and Teague pledge's to come home hair! Happy Winter everyone!

These are a few pic's of Christmas and Coby's new toy to give him something fun to do while we are gone.

2009-12-08T12:21:00.007-07:00

I have twins! (do I need any other excuse for being a bad blogger...)

Sitting up in the chairThanksgiving trying to get them to smile for the cameraGrandma Jami tendingStacie tendingTeague & Taya's Great-Grandma & Grandpa Peterson

The babies turn 3 months old this week. Time goes so fast with them. I've already put away their premie/newborn outfits and they are filling out the 0-3's really well now. They have both found their smiles (although I've yet to capture it on camera) and, as you can see, have gained a lot of weight and are so healthy. Both our families have been so supportive of us and have helped us out so much. My mom has flown in to see them and help me out, Jami has made regular trips down from Rigby and stayed with us, Rod & Staci come over for visits or babysitting duty, Stacie flew in over Thanksgiving to see them. Its been such a perfect time of life, its everything I hoped it would be!

I am looking forward to our first Christmas together even though they are a little young to understand what an exciting time of year it is. Santa is bringing a boatload of stuff for them anyways.

As for blessing them, we aren't sure when we are going to do it. With it being such a nasty flu season we've been really careful about taking them out, they are too little to be catching that stuff. So, we'll see.

2009-09-24T11:41:00.013-06:00

New Beginnings...

Taya Lee Jones, Sept 17th 9:57pm
Teague D. Jones, Sept 17th 9:59pm

Ok, this is an epistal I realize. I am writing this more for me than anything, like a journal so I can have some of the best moments in life documented. So, I won't be offended if you skip the reading and just look at the pictures, they pretty much say it all anyways!

Last Thursday I went from this, to this! (pic above)What an exciting week its been. My mom and I headed down for a 'routine' doctor visit and he was a little quiet when he was ultrasounding me because we weren't getting good fetal breathing on the monitor. That, plus all the swelling, the rapidly raising blood pressure, steady contractions (although I didn't know I was having contractions) and in his opinion, the extra precaution to take with IVF babies since they were worked for so hard, so instead of the usual, looks like another 2 weeks...he said go across the street to the hospital, they'll be waiting for you. We were prepared to talk him into delivering me the following Monday, I just didn't think I had it in me to last clear to 38 weeks, instead, it was going to happen at 36 and a half weeks. We made it pretty close to full term, it was a miracle it all went so good.

So, of course, it completely spooked me that it was happening that night about 10pm. And my mom got pretty nervous. I called Coby and spooked him, I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting me to say that I was at the hospital and he needed to wrap up at work because babies were coming. He finished up some stuff and got to the hospital about 5pm. They admitted me at 3pm. Once I got hooked up to everything I calmed down quite a bit. I think my mom kept getting more and more nervous. They gave me a magnesium drip that makes you not feel very good. The babies looked good on the monitors at that point and I was showing steady contractions, a lot of which I couldn't really feel (but I few I could, bless those women that have babies naturally.)

Everything was going good, so Coby left to go get some dinner and he was gone for a while, he'd went to the mall to buy shoes. (Actually, he went shopping everyday we were in the hospital for a break) It was funny, I guess we all deal with stress differently. He came back ready to go and a lot more relaxed. My mom, Jami & Bob and Rod & Staci were there to wish us well as I was wheeled out to deliver. They took me into the O.R. at 9pm. Our nice Dr. Sumpion stayed in the hallway with Coby while they gave me the epidural (which, in my opinion didn't hurt). They got me laid down and I was pretty sleepy and out of it from that point on. Coby was up on my side of the curtain, pretty sure he didn't dare watch for fear of getting sick, but at 9:57pm when the doctors and nurse all started talking excitedly that Baby A is coming out bum first, he couldn't help but jump up and watch. All I felt was a big pressure relief, no pain, and could here a screaming baby. They brought her up for me to see, she was blue and had blood and white stuff on her and was really loud. They started to take Coby back with her while they cleaned her up and the doctor said wait, Baby #2 is right here, and at 9:59 he was born. He looked and sounded just like her. I think its always a relief when a baby is born when you hear them screaming. Coby then left to the nursery where they were cleaned up and where our family could watch through the glass window. My mom was mad because she thought the nurses were too rough with them cleaning them up. One was crying and Rod made a rocking motion with his arms for Coby to pick the baby up, but he didn't dare pick her up so he held her hand. I of course missed those moments because I was being sewn back up. The whole thing took less than an hour. They wheeled me back to our huge labor and delivery room and I was alone for a little bit. Soon, my mom came in and was really relieved that I was ok. Coby wheeled the babies in with everyone following him. I'm a little foggy on the rest of it, I think we just took turns holding the babies. Everyone left around 11:30, my mom headed home at 1:30am.

As for me, they had a hard time that first few days getting my temperature up to normal, I would drop as low as 94 degrees. And, my blood pressure was all over the place, super low to fairly high. As for the babies, they were perfect. They laid oxygen by Taya while cleaning her up and that is all that had to be done for them. They were born very healthy.

We enjoyed visits from family and friends over the next few days and enjoyed our time together as a new little family in the mornings and evenings when everyone went home.

Here is a picture of our Candlelight Dinner that the Layton hospital does for new parents. It was so cute. They brought the babies in from the nursery at the same time our dinner arrived and we made it through our meal about half way before the babies decided it was dinner time for them too. It was our first family dinner.

I was in the hospital Thurs thru Monday. On Sunday I was pretty scared about having to go home. I felt like I was just starting to figure out how to take care of them in that environment and was pretty sure I wasn't ready to do it on my own yet. But, Monday came and we were discharged and headed home. Here is the babies in their car seats for their first ride. My mom drove Coby's work van home for us so he could drive the babies and me home.

Now, its a week later (I can't believe my babies are a week old!) and we still marvel at how cute they are. Teague has the cutest expressions on his face, he has big eyes. Taya is still so little! Through all the days at the hospital until now we still can't believe how small she is. She is so precious. Grandpa Rod is sure proud of her.

They are good babies. The first night home I was up pretty much all night with them, but we let them sleep all day (lesson #1 learned). Ever since they've been pretty good to sleep at night. We're only up 3 or 4 times a night for feedings, so we are actually getting decent sleep. (wish us luck that it continues). So, anyways, I could blog all day long about them, its been the greatest experience in our lives to have them here. And, having two is definitely a lot of work, but we wouldn't want it any other way. Twins rock! So, from this point forward this blog probably needs renamed to Teague & Taya since I'm sure that's mainly the focus from here on out!

As for who they look like, I'm happy to say that we see a little bit of my dad in Teague and we think Taya looks alot like my sister did when she was a baby. Her hair is fairly light colored. I think they both have Coby's lips. Everyone (including us still) can't believe how little she is. She's so petite featured with long skinny legs and long fingers and narrow feet (she obviously didn't get the Jones' feet!). She must get the fine bones from my mom, Grandmother Curlock and Grandma Jami.

2009-07-27T17:14:00.004-06:00

July is about history...

Well, we've just about made it through July. This summer seems to be going by so fast, but they all do. Its my favorite time of year. I love all that goes on in the summer with all the rodeos and celebrations and family stuff. I like the heat pretty good too, except I don't do real well in it this year.

Coby's been gone a lot rodeoing and working, for the most part he should be back to rodeoing on the weekends again instead of all this through the week stuff. I'm pretty easy to track down since I'm home ALL THE TIME. Working from home is great and all, but sometimes its nice to have an excuse to go to town. And I don't mean Tremonton town. My mom is on her way back to Utah next week, so that will give me someone to hang out with. Lewis (my dog) is great company and all, but I get tired of the one sided conversation, but it is nice that he agrees with everything I say.

Jami and Amanda threw Sunee and me a combined baby shower last week at Grandma Peterson's house. It was fun. We were given some nice things for our babies and had fun hanging out with Coby & Riley's aunt's and cousins. We are both pretty close to being ready for the babies to come, they were hoping to have their little boy on the 24th but it didn't happen. She's pretty close so he could come at anytime. I sure wish I was that far along! I've reached the stage of constant swelling up and if something is on the ground or the floor I have to really want to pick it up since bending over is getting tough! I have lots of kicking and turning going on in my belly right now. Funny though when they are moving around I tell Coby to hurry and feel, but when he puts his hand on my belly they stop instantly. Maybe they are shy. So, he's figured out if he wants to feel them kick he pokes my belly a little and they'll kick at him.

I've been pretty busy with my own work, I'm an Independant Contractor for three companies right now so its been good. I'll probably cut back to one once the babies come, I want to slow work down, not be ramping up.

Sorry this has kind of been a boring post. I can't think of anything exciting to blog about today. Life is good and being bored isn't always a bad thing...

2009-07-01T09:38:00.005-06:00

JUNE Birthday's, Family Visits, Weddings & Showers

We've had such a crazy month that I got behind on my blogging! First off, it was Coby's 35th birthday on June 17th!!! Holy cow, luckily for him he's aging gracefully and still as handsome as ever. We didn't do any big celebration for it, just some presents and his much requested ice cream cake.

Stacie and my mom have been in town for a couple weeks, Stacie has headed back to Texas for her 4th of July rodeo run. Mom is staying up here for the summer. We had a great time together, its not very often you get us all in the same place at once. It was fun and we'll all be back together again this fall once the babies are here. We stayed super busy while they were here, we spent quite a bit of time in SF, came to Tremonton a little too. Stacie bought a barrel horse from me so we all went to a jackpot in Preston and did a little baby shopping. Wow, who knew baby stuff was so expensive!

I had a nice baby shower thrown for me this month too, it was so fun to get together with old friends and everyone was so generous with their cute little pink and blue outfits and blankets. It's a big help to us to have so many nice things given to us. There again, who knew baby stuff was so expensive!

The crazy amount of rain we've had this month sure kept this pregnant lady comfortable. The couple of hot days we had I seemed to swell up a lot, so I consider myself lucky to have got another good month behind me. So far this whole being pregnant thing hasn't been too tough. Seeing all the baby gifts really makes things seem real that we'll be parents here in just a couple more short months! Time is going by really fast right now since we are so busy and that is good!

Bryson and Kristen tied the knot last week and we had a good time visiting with family during it. They had a nice wedding dinner and ended up moving the wedding indoors because of the rain the next day. They say rain on your wedding day means good luck, so even though things didn't go quite as planned for them, they'll have a great marriage. They looked beautiful together and it all worked out great. This family picture documents me at 6 months pregnant!

This week and the next few weeks Coby is on the rodeo trail, I'm just going to hit and miss a few with him. Fighting huge crowds and having no where to sit at rodeos is no fun as I found out at Lehi's rodeo last Saturday night. I ended up sitting in the stairwell and the committee people were nice enough not to evict me from my 'seat'. He was up in the slack at Oakley last night and 6 hours of slack sitting in bleachers was not real comfortable, never mind the ride home. I ended up sleeping on the way home, and I know that isn't smart since Coby isn't much of a late night driver. That was always my shift. Not this year I guess!

2009-05-28T10:26:00.005-06:00

Oh Boy....

Well, after the 'big' ultrasound yesterday we found out that the doctor's initial findings were wrong, we were surprised with a girl and A BOY! So, looks like we get one of each! At 16 weeks he was sure it was two girls, and at 19 weeks he again confirmed baby A was a girl, but baby B that is up high was transverse, looking down and he couldn't get a clear shot to verify it. I didn't really think anything of it, then when we went in yesterday the tech wiggled my belly around until she got a good picture of it, and sure enough, its definitely a boy! We're really excited and it will be fun to raise one of each. He is really wiggly in there, it took a long time to get all the pictures because he's so active. Its funny watching them push each other around in there trying to get the space they want. Its going to be pretty cramped for them here soon! Everything appeared to be healthy and where it needed to be with no concerns. Now its time to start a list of boy names...

2009-05-26T20:37:00.016-06:00

Coby's Bum Ankle

Last weekend while practicing Coby had a fresh horse buck and he twisted his foot in the stirrup and tore the ligaments in his ankle. It swelled and bruised up pretty bad. We took him in for x-rays to make sure nothing was broken. We probably looked pretty funny with the pregnant lady helping her limping husband into the doctor's office! He got some crutches to get around on after that for a few days, but is walking pretty good now. In fact, he even rode tonight, so it must be healing fast. He still has an occasional limp, especially if he steps on something and twists it a little. I understand the ankle stuff all too well, I know how hard it is to get them feeling really stable again. Hopefully, its going to be strong enough he can start entering some rodeos in a few weeks. Time will tell.

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day weekend this year, we didn't have any jackpots or rodeos to go to in, well I don't know how long. Years and years, that's for sure. This year we spent Saturday working in our yard and the horses and that evening Cort and Amanda and the kids came over for a little hot dog fry. We were going to go out and do some more work, but we got a major rain storm that kept us inside all night. It was a crazy rainstorm, we don't get rain like that in Utah very often. The next day after church it started raining again, so we quickly packed our bags and headed up to Rigby and stayed with Jami & Bob. Cort & Amanda were up there too, and we had a fun stay. The weather was decent, so Monday the guys did some roof work on their outdoor dining area. I sat in the sun watching and before I realized it, had really sunburned my legs and especially the tops of my feet. Ouch!! I think I'm sunburning easier than usual this year. It was a nice little get away and a lot more fun that sitting and watching it rain here!

This month has went by fast and here towards the end we're doing a little celebrating. My mom's birthday was on the 20th, so we'll do something fun for it when they get here next week. Haggon (Staci Sue's son) graduates High School, which is a neat and monumental time of life. He also comes and mows my lawn for me which is nice. This coming weekend we are headed up to Ryker & Stacy's to help them produce their first Team Roping at their arena. Should be a good and busy weekend. Coby is shaking the dust off his ropes and I'm shaking the dust off my secretary skills. We go in for the 'big' ultrasound tomorrow to make sure the babies are really girls and that they are growing ok. It will be Coby's first chance to see them moving around in there. So far all he's seen are the blurry still shots. It will be fun for him to see them.

Baby Bump

2009-05-15T13:40:00.007-06:00

Well, as you can see, my belly is growing. Unfortunately, so is my butt. Maybe its so I don't get too front heavy and fall forward.

These are before and after pic's of our remodeled back bathroom. The before pictures don't do it much justice just to how scary that little room was. The floor pretty much had to come out completely before we could even tile it, and the little vanity was barely thigh high and the sink was all chipped and broken. Now its a cute little room.

Its been a crazy week, I'm officially on my last day of work today. Supposedly, signed contracts are coming in today for a buy out but its hard believe because that's what we've been told for 2 months now. I'll still be doing a little contract work for them. Not sure exactly how its going to work out, so we'll see. We've got 3 horses we are actively working on selling and its been a full time job just fielding calls on them and putting videos together to send out. We've had great response so maybe we'll get them moved soon. In fact, we have two people coming to look at the same horse this weekend. Not sure how that's going to work out! Guess first one to write the check gets him! Its pretty hard to sell barrel horses when the barrel racer is under strict 'no riding' rules. I've never had to sell horses like this before, usually I'm the one getting on a horse to tune it or show it. Now, I get to stand at the fence and watch. Here a couple pic's of the cute horses we're selling. I don't have one of Charley, but he looks just like Kinney. Cute, huh!

2009-05-07T13:16:00.012-06:00

The results are in....

Since we never gave our blog address out to many people to get many votes, I am combining these results with results from my office.

Overall Votes:

10% Girl/Girl
50% Boy/Girl
40% Boy/Boy

I have the exciting "unofficial" results from the doctor, Girl/Girl! So, in this vote, majority loses! I have the 'big' ultrasound in a couple weeks and they'll confirm. The doc was quite sure, so shopping for little girls has begun! I realize why so many people were for sure that they would be boys, no one in Coby's family has produced girls yet and he has no sisters. The only thing I can say bad about this situation is Coby might expect me to go through this again one day to try for a little bull dogger. As for now, we'll start with these two and see how it goes.

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This week I am posting a really good dinner recipe. I adapted it from a cooking show to include/exclude stuff we like.

Steph's Cheesesteaks

Meat:
1 lb. flank steak (or some sort of steak)
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1 TBSP hot sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire
salt & pepper

Combine all this and let sit for a half hour or so while prepping other stuff. After it marinates for a bit, pan fry the meat, then slice on the bias into 1/4" strips.

Cheese Sauce:
1 TBSP butter
3 TBSP flour
1 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped (2 if you like a lot of kick)
1 1/2 c. cream
1 c. grated cheddar cheese

Melt butter in sauce pot. Add flour & chipotle, stir to combine (makes a roux). Add heavy cream slowly, stirring. Add in cheese and stir until melted. Let sit on low until ready to build sandwich.

Other ingredients:
1 sliced avocado
Gyro bread (round greek bread located at the deli counter in the grocery)
more cilantro & lime

Build the Sandwich:

In a warm pan with a little butter, warm the gyro bread. Then put some of the meat on it, be generous with the cheese sauce, add some avocado slices and more cilantro. Maybe squeeze a little extra lime on it too. Serve with homemade french fries or potato chips. Yum!

Now, if you like grilled onion and/or red bell pepper you could add that to the sandwich, it could also be built on a hoagie roll, but we love sandwiches on the soft gyro bread. Happy cooking.

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Here are some old pictures of the ImPRA finals I just found while cleaning up my work computer. We both won the round and averages that night.

2009-04-29T10:09:00.006-06:00

HEDGE YOUR BETS

Ok, anyone want to weigh in what they think we're having?

Baby A: boy/girl

Baby B: boy/girl

Post a comment and I'll tally them up and show results in a week or so!

Other stuff going on, ummmm, in my last post I was saying I didn't think I was showing that much. This week, I'm definitely showing! My belly started really sticking out and its hopeless to try and do my regular pants up now. Thank goodness for long shirts to hide my elastic bands and un-done zippers! But by hell I'm in a pair of Wranglers and my cowboy boots today (nice office attire, huh? I told you my wardrobe was shrinking!) Probaby dumb since my ankles have started swelling. Hope I can get my boots off tonight...

My work has been really hectic, I've been full time in the office for about 3 weeks now (no telecommuting). They laid-off just about the whole company and production has been shut down at all facilities across the country. Here at corporate we are down to 7 of us (at one time there were 130), so I've been involved in all sorts of stuff I wouldn't normally do. They are close to finalizing negotiation to split the company and merge with two more stable ones, if that goes through I'll be the Project Manager on both buy outs as well as 1 of only 2 of us here that know how to programmatically extract data out of our mainframe. Its way busy for me, but its nice because it makes the time go fast. Luckily, I've felt up to the challenge too. A month ago I'd have never had the stamina to work at this pace!

It sounds like Stacie has put an offer in on a really nice house in Texas pretty close to where she is living right now. Sounds like you can find good horse property and houses in TX a lot easier than in UT. Hopefully she gets it bought, she's been looking for a while now. My mom and John will be back up in Utah here in a couple weeks for a stay, they've got some Senior Pro's in NV.

I need to post some picture's and a couple awesome recipes I run across, I'll try to do that this weekend.

2009-04-20T10:25:00.004-06:00

The 2nd Trimester is here!

I made it. It was touch and go for a while there. I was starting to be convinced this was going to be the longest 9 months of my entire life. I was unconscience a good part of the 1st trimester, because all I did or felt like doing was sleep! I couldn't even get up and shower and do my hair without having to stop for a nap afterward. And on the days I'd go into the office, I would have to take a long nap in the sick room or in my car and I could barely make it home before heading straight to bed to sleep 14 or 15 hours straight. I swear I have never been so tired in all my life! And cooking dinner for Coby, that was rare. I couldn't stand raw ingredients or the smell of food cooking (in fact, I still don't dare cook with onion or garlic). I couldn't even browse a cookbook without getting nauseated. But, the good news is I have emerged from my winter slumber and I have new energy and am finally feeling great! I haven't felt like napping and I've been up and going and even cooking again! So, maybe all the books and magazines are right, you do get a renewed sense of energy and the nausea goes aways with the second trimester. Now THIS is much more like it!

And, for those of you that haven't seen me since becoming preggers, I am sporting a little baby bump. Coby thinks its so cute to see me with a belly. I keep thinking that any day I'm just going to wake up and look 8 months pregnant, I would think I'd be getting big since there are two little babies in there to poke out. But, depending on what I'm wearing, I don't really show that much yet. I have had to switch to longer, looser shirts so I can cover my pants button and zipper since I can't do them up anymore. I am prepared for when I can't squeeze into my jeans any longer though. When my mom was here visiting a couple weeks ago her, my Aunt Ann and I went maternity shopping, so I'm prepared for that day that nothing fits. We had so much fun shopping and laughed our butts off at how I looked in all the frocks. They even had a fake baby belly you could strap on to get the full effect of how 'materal' you soon look and we had a great laugh over it. Next big shopping trip will be for the babies. Two of this, two of that, two, two, two!

Other fun stuff going on, we just about have our back bathroom remodeled, I'll post some before and after pictures soon. Its been a long project for Coby since I haven't been much help with it. Something about adhesives and paint and toxic stuff not being good for the babies. With spring finally springing in Tremonton we have lots of work to do in the yard, and we have a spot ready for a garden. Normally, I'm not into the whole garden thing, but since I'm not riding this year, we figured it would be a good excuse for me to go outside and give me a project to work on. My mom doesn't think its such a good idea, since I really probably will be huge by the time the major weeding and harvesting needs done and I might be able to get down, but may not get back up! So, this summer if I am lost, check the garden first. We've been working on some of the horses and they are sure starting to look better. Coby rides every chance he gets, which hasn't been much with his crazy work schedule lately. Rodeo season is right around the corner so that is always good incentive to get them in shape.

Other fun stuff, we've had some fun family visits. Ryker and Stacy and the kids have come and stayed a few times and we went to dinner with Riley and Suni the other night. Like I mentioned before, my mom flew up for a few days and we spent some time in S.F. visiting the Sorensen's which was fun. They are so excited about the babies and hope they have some of my dad's funny personality in them. My mom and John will be spending a good part of the summer in Utah this year which we are appreciative of. I'm sure we'll need a helping hand and all the support we can get!

We have a great year ahead of us with lots of fun stuff in store. We are looking forward to weddings (Bryson & Kristen) and wedding receptions (Riley & Suni), preparing and shopping for the babies and getting them here, a few parties and baby showers and visits from family & friends (Jodi & Stacie are coming to UT this summer), and as always RODEO SEASON!

The Bread Blogger

2009-02-13T10:21:00.009-07:00

Ok, so I'm not the best at keeping up on my blog. I have found something else that seems to take up the little bit of spare time I spend on the computer--Facebook. Its been so fun getting hooked up with old friends on it. Wow, its amazing who can find you! Good thing?? Maybe not always, there are some people out there that you just really would prefer to leave in the past. But, all in all its been fun. See, I'm on a computer approximately 8 hours a day for work, so I have a hard time wanting to sit down at my computer to blog for entertainment when I do this sort of stuff all day everyday, blah, blah, blah. But, here to the new and awesome post!

This post is dedicated to a little something I've been trying to figure out. HOW TO BAKE BREAD. Its been fun, I'm striving for fabulous artisan type bread with crusty crust on the outside and chewy, dense middles, and of course yummy sourdoughs. So far, I haven't quite acheived that texture and consistency, but hey, its bread, its edible, so how bad can it be. I found a couple cool blogs for out bread bakers that make artisan bread sound like any idiot could bake it. http://www.thefreshloaf.com/ is a good one, really more than a person needs to know about baking bread.

The second part, the sourdough part, has been more successful. Jami (my mother-in-law), knows quite a bit about 'sourdough starts', so she helped me get one going. Its been pretty fun to mess with. If you don't know what a 'start' (the Mary Jane magazine calls it Mother) is, its so simple. Take a glass or plastic bowl, 2 cups flour, 2 cups water, couple TBSP of sugar and cover with a towel and leave on your counter for a few days. Stir once in a while. It will get bubbly and yeasty smelling, just like sourdough. It can last indefinitely. To slow it down I put it in the fridge after a few days. Ok, so Coby requested Sourdough Pancakes like his mom used to make, she couldn't exactly remember her recipe so I went online and found an old Cowboy site that had a stellar recipe. Its so awesome I'm posting it here for you all to try. We were a little skeptical at first, but loved it! I made a little adaption to it the berry part of the recipe, to make more of a sauce, but you can use whole berries if you prefer.

Sourdough Pancakes w/SourCream & Berries

Originated: Pampa, TX circa 1910

2 cups Starter (let this 'grow' for 5 or 6 days before using, so plan this recipe ahead)

1 Egg

2 TBSP Oil

1/4 Flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 TBSP sugar

Blend well, have a thin pancake-like batter texture. Cook hotcakes on a hot griddle (or a cast iron pan if you have one).

Berry Topping

1-2 cups of mixed berries

3 TBSP rasberry or grape jam

3 TBSP sugar

3/4 cup cold water mixed with TBSP of cornstarch

In a sauce pan, heat berries, sugar and jam. In a cup blend the water and cornstarch (to remove lumps). Once berries are warm, stir in the thickener and cook over med-low heat. Once it starts to gel up, you can adjust the sweetness with more sugar or add a little grape juice (or red wine even works). Its actually really hard to mess up.

Then, serve with a dollop of sour cream and a couple spoonfuls of berry sauce and of course, bacon or sausage! MMMMMMM!

Its cheap and easy and if you are feeding a large crowd its easy to adjust the size of the recipe. They've turned out everytime I've made them--proof that they are foolproof!

So, that's it for now! Stay posted to my blog, I'll have some really fun and exciting stuff to post soon! Happy Cooking!

Stacies update

2009-01-16T08:11:00.008-07:00

What a start to the 2009 year. I have already put $1400 in my truck to make it run smoother. 2008 was a great year, nothing major happened-that I can remember. I had a a great year at the rodeos. I made all the year end finals I was a member of. I have two horses to rodeo on, and I am going to team rope more often-heeling. Mom bought my head horse so I am forced to heel steers. I went a USTRC in Waco and heeled for the first time this year. No money won, but my end was not the problem. I love my new school. It seems to be a good change. I still have the famous grulla horse Artie, he is retired and 25+. He just gets fed and hangs out at the Hoover ranch. I have my dunn horse Scooter I bought in 2000, who is 15 now. He works great every time. I bought a paint horse I call Hildago in 07. I spend alot of time on him, but it is paying off. I have won several checks on and hope to have him 100% finished by this summer. He has a huge motor and you have to get him super tired before you rope. I like my dunn horse cause you can lope a few circles and be ready to go. T-bones my blue heeler is 16 this year. She gets around alright, her hips seem to be her problem. Once she is up she loves to go. She rides in the back seat to every rodeo. I have to help her in and out of the the truck and trailer. She even has a handicap ramp for trailer. She is mostly deaf and blind so I have to watch her closely. Things are great here in Texas. I love the weather and dont miss the snow. They cancel school here if it is below 25-so funny. People freak when they hear the words "cold front". So different then Utah.

Its A Wikipedia Life

2009-01-14T16:48:00.005-07:00

This is a VERY important link for everyone to review:

http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Days_Of_Our_Lives

I love Wikipedia. It is so fun and you can learn so much. Like, I learned a proficient explanation what I do for a living:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Analyst

And, of course, I was able to learn interesting things about 'my show'. Days is a family tradition, passed on from my Grandmother Curlock & my mom, down to me and Stacie. We all still watch it. We've been there through the good storylines and the bad. That's what good fans do. If you aren't already a Days' fan, then jump on the bandwagon. Its the best way to spend a morning-waking up, Tivo-ing Days, and drinking Hot Apple Cider (since I've quit coffee and green tea). And, that way you can skip the commercials so you watch it in half the time. (P.S. Coby is standing over my shoulder MAKING me type this: HE HATES DAYS AND REFUSES TO WATCH IT)

I encourage you all to take a look at www.wikipedia.org and have fun surfing the online Encyclopedia! I'll post more interesting links here later!

2009-01-03T11:12:00.005-07:00

Since its cold and snowy out and not much going on, here's a couple pic's from our trip to TX last May for Jodi's wedding. This is the bridemaids & bride at the rehearsal dinner/party. The other pic is Laurel and Trish getting Jodi laced into her dress.

It amazes me how I can sit at my computer for 8 hours a day working keeping my creativity alive, but when I sit down to work on this blog I can't seem to come up with anything interesting to write about! So, I took a break and went and watched Coby through the sliding glass door. He was turning all the horses out so they can run and play for a few hours. The sun's shining today and its nice and warm here at the window. Outside I can hear the roads are crunchy with ice, its probably only in the teens. That means its an indoor day for me. Its always such a kick to watch the horses after they've been stalled up for a while. They love it, they roll and run and play and eventually find one to pick on (today it's Cort's colt). They get around good in the deep snow. They can race back to the bottom of the arena and burn around the turn and they never seem to hurt themselves. I feel like I've been stalled up for a while too, I don't spend much time out in the deep freeze. I think if I were to go tearing through the snow and run my butt off I would most likely 1. hurt myself 2. definitely regret it in tomorrow 3. hurt myself. I've worked very hard at getting this out of shape. It doesn't just happen overnight. That's what I get for not riding this winter. Riding in the winter keeps you in pretty good shape because everything takes twice as long in the snow and cold. I just haven't had it in me this year to get out there yet. I think my horses needed a break from me anyways. They are all young horses and I trained on them pretty hard this year. It seems like they come back more solid after a break so the time off shouldn't hurt them any. Coby's horses were due for a break too. They are getting a little age on them and he hauled them hard this summer. They all look good, just really hairy because we didn't blanket this year. So, today, we'll just let them play and save the real exercise for another day!

2008-12-26T10:01:00.003-07:00

This was SUCH a crazy Christmas Day for us this year. We were pretty much snowed in! I can't remember a storm this bad--ever! And, it never let up, it just kept going and going all day. Wow, when the locals said the snow drifts pretty bad in Bothwell, they weren't kidding! Thank goodness we have the Duramax, it seems to get through it pretty good. Here are a couple of shots of what it looked like Christmas morning. Oh--I forgot, the power went out from 12:30pm until 6:30 that night. Luckily, we had most of the dinner already cooked, we just had to skip the last minute stuff like the green beans. We didn't have any way to cook them. We ate a nice luke-warm Prime Rib dinner. It was an adventure to say the least. Since we didn't have TV to watch, we worked on a puzzle for our entertainment. We had fun, nonetheleast.

Lewis & Cuervo

2008-12-22T12:20:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of Lewis (my dog) and Cuervo (mom's dog) having fun in the desert when we spent Christmas down in AZ last year. This year we are staying in Utah and having dinner here at our place, then going to the Homestead resort for a couple of days to snorkle in the Crater and X-country ski. All I had to mention was snorkle and Coby was in! Hopefully the water's as warm as the say it is! Jami & Bob are going with us.

Winter Wonderland in Utah

2008-12-22T12:13:00.001-07:00

I took these this morning--it was snowing like crazy. It was actually kind of pretty. I like it when the ground is all white and clean.

I Broke My Wedding Ring

2008-12-20T14:01:00.001-07:00

So, since Coby works 19 hours a day, I am in charge of all the chores, so the other night I was trudging through the snow, feeding the STARVING horses (at least they always think they are starving) and I was breaking ice in the steer pen. Well, we have one steer that is a little bit 'hooky', so I was trying to break the 6" of ice through the fence and the post I was using was kind of heavy and I dropped it on my hand and smashed it against the panel. Yes, it hurt, and yes it bruised. Coby had to get the pliers and unsmash it so we could wrench it off my finger. It broke the band away and broke the setting so a diamond fell out. We are very much hoping its not a sign where our marriage is headed in 2009!

Steph & Stacie

2008-12-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

Sorensen, South & Jones's Family Blog!

2008-12-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here is our attempt at our little family blog.