Broadheads

Halloween

2011-11-01T11:35:00.000-06:00

Quick Halloween pics for Grandparents to see:

Halloween Ghost craft. Thanks Mawga Galloway!

The spider Princess and the Spider. My better pictures of N.T must be on the other camera.

After Trick -or- Treating.

T was a pro after the first house. She was even saying, "chick cheat" (Trick or Treat) and she went from house to house faster than her big sister.

in the car during trick or treating.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE HALLOWEEN. So sad to see it end. But since we dressed up 3 times this year, it's also a relief that it is over! :)

summer catch-up

2011-11-01T11:27:00.000-06:00

I have neglected the whole blog thing all summer long. Well, summer never seems LONG enough so we stay super busy! Here are a few random pics from some of our summer activities.

Our littlest cowgirl had her first birthday. So, of course we did a photo shoot and had cake. I can't believe how fast the year went.

giant slip-n-slide with cousins at fossilfest.

kids fishing contest the beginning of July.

N.T. had a birthday the end of July. These were from her photo shoot. She is getting so big.

My normally cautious girl had 3 near-emergency-room scares within one week.

1. was a 5 ft. belly flop off of some bleachers at a ropin'

2. was a mis-step on our treacherous stairs. Resulting in the massive scrape from forehead to the tip of her button nose. Resulting in nearly biting through her bottom lip. it got bruised and bloody on the outside, but luckily didn't break skin.

3. was a drive-by swipe from Tonka (the dog) and she fell and hit the back of her head on the endge of the cement walk. It was alot bloodier than it was bad.

I got a steal on this 4-wheeler at a Yard Sale in Jackson WY during a ropin'. $10 with battery and charger and it works awesome! It now has a trailer that they pull behind it. It has come in handy to get the girls to help haul wood and garbage! :)

The girls on Bojangles, the mule, at the beginning of the summer.

Fishing. We love fishing!

That is a brief summary. I have not been good at all at taking pictures this summer. But it's been Real, it's been Fun and it's been REAL FUN!

Random Pics from my phone

2011-06-25T17:44:00.000-06:00

I have been really awful with pictures this last year because my nice Canon camera has had some flash issues. But in April, Clay bought me an old, used Iphone 2, which I love! It has a pretty decent camera so I figured it was time to download some of the cute times we've had over the last couple of months.

Taya, in April. She got crawled under there and couldn't figure out how to get out. It goes without saying that she was a little upset.

I love the messy, HAPPY baby faces. There is just something so cute about it (until you try to wash it out in the laundry!)

These cute girls really are good friends. They have their moments when they want to shout at each other, but they are great little buds.

N.T. after her swim lessons. She definitely doesn't mind having her picture taken!

ummmm. I think this is called the Full Nelson.......

Last weekend we got to go down to Reno, Nevada to watch the BFI (a team roping extravaganza) It was also the Reno rodeo at the same time. N.T. actually chose riding this one ride instead of having an ice cream cone (that's a big deal, if you know this kid!!!)

N.T. having her face painted at the kid's days activities on Sat. at the Reno rodeo. A pink horseshoe and a crown. A preview of things to come???

Clays brother, riding into the roping.

Grand Entry at the BFI. It was so much fun to watch, but we sat there with our girls from 8am to 5pm. Although they did great, I think next year we will leave them home! :)

My beautiful, blue-eyed girl first thing in the morning in Reno.

Baby Animal Days

2011-04-27T11:08:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we considered going to the Baby Animal Days and the American West Heritage Center in Logan, Utah. The weather turned out cruddy so we didn't end up making the trip. However, since then, in has seemed like our very own baby animal days at home. We ended up getting rid of one of our dogs (Stella who we'd only had for about 5 months) and replacing her with 8 other animals! There's something wrong with that picture, I know! Anyway, now we have added 6 chickens ( I haven't taken pictures of them and now they are getting big and aren't so cute!) whose names are; Gladys, Peep, Rapunzel, Yella, Lucy and Tweety. Yesterday we also added 2, very adorable, kittens; Tilly and Tally. The kittens will soon reside in the barn when they are a little bigger and the weather is a little nicer. And the chickens will hopefully be in their completed coop soon! Right now my greenhouse is a menagerie. Nora Tess has been absolutely crazy about all of our animals lately. She spends every minute, it's nice, outside with Tonka taking him for walks and running him around. She checks the chicks 12 times a day and now can hardly sleep with wanting to be out with the kittens. The kittens are a little skittish, but that hasn't deterred her in the least. She is even single-handedly litter box training them! Anyway, last night she brought one of the kittens into the playroom to play with and when I went up to tell her it was bathtime, this is what I found. Keep in mind that these kittens are pretty wary of kids and often try to run and hide.

Reading Tilly to sleep

Closeup - yes, the cat is actually sound asleep on a bed with a blanket on

She was kind of upset that Tilly was actually asleep and not listening to her story!

SPRING BOUTIQUE

2011-04-02T12:20:00.001-06:00

SPRING BOUTIQUE

Last weekend there was a spring boutique (craft fair) here in Kemmerer. I decided to move in on a table with a friend who makes the most amazing hats and headbands etc. craniumcreationsbynatalie@blogspot.com

I did twirly girly skirts which are Nora's favorites. I made bows/headbands to match each one. Here are some of the ones I made and sold.

(sorry, for some reason my pictures wont stayed rotated)

Treehouse Childrens Musuem

2011-04-02T11:56:00.000-06:00

For my birthday, Clay gave me a great present - that is starting to be a little bit of a tradition-and it is my favorite gift that I could recieve. It is a whole day with "Daddy" - no matter what day my birthday falls on. So this year it was a Friday and Clay took the whole day off to do whatever I wanted to do. I would prefer going riding all day, but since we live in Kemmerer and we still have too much snow to even think of it, I had to come up with something else. I decided that weekend that I would be part of the craft fair that would be going on the next saturday, so I needed to make a fabric run which sent us to Ogden. It was a fun busy day. The weather was nice so we walked quite a bit around town (Nora absolutely loves going on walks). We had delicious chinese food for lunch (yum!) and I explored an AMAZING fabric store (which I only purchased a yard of fabric from because it was a little overwhelming and a lot too expensive!) but it was amazing! :) Then we took the girls to the Treehouse Childrens Museum right there in Ogden. We got there at 6pm on Friday so it only cost $5 for all of us. It was so much fun. Nora Tess wasn't ready to leave after only getting to be there for 2 hours, but it was about perfect! Here are some pictures of the museum fun!

8 seconds!

We were pilgrims on a boat!

(it won't let me rotate my pics. I dunno??)

Googaly

N.T. got to be in a little play. She really warmed up to it and was saying her lines and everything - so cute!

She is our little bulldog (she is a determined little monster!)

Presidents day weekend

2011-02-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

So my camera has been broken.......bad news, I know!

This weekend in Logan I borrowed my wonderful Jilly's camera and did a little photo shoot with my newest little niece, London.

Isn't she BeAUtIfUl?

I had so much fun, and I haven't taken pictures in so long, that I decided to get some of my Tater as well.

8 months. I love the rolls and the chubby cheeks. She is our cabbage patch baby.

We had a bunch of fun. Now I just need a photoshop program to learn how to edit them and make them super cute. I would love to learn how to make Taters blue eyes pop out.

HOLIDAYS

2011-01-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

This year, for the holidays,..............drumroll please...................................We Stayed HOME!

I know, I know, we NEVER stay home. But this year we did. And it was fantastic! I love our family get-togethers. I wouldn't trade them for anything. But, since my family all got together for Thanksgiving. Christmas left us open for anything. Add my parents, sister, and niece and it is a recipe for good times, good food and lots of "peanut knuckle" (aka pinochle) We also did some super snowmobiling around with the kids and of course sledding. Clay, Dad, NT and Day all built a snow tunnel through one of the huge banks of snow. And we also had hot chocolate, and a nice warm fireplace to come in from the cold and warm up. We've had a pretty amazing winter this year with tons of snow and lots of cold temperatures. This morning on my way to take NT to preschool it was still 23 below zero!!! That's definitely the coldest it's been so far but we've had lots of below zero temps this winter. Here are some pics of our fun Christmas.

just when I fell off the sled

pulling behind Huckleberry

Kelcy stayed on better

NT had a doll Christmas!

The Barbie house Papa built! He did an amazing job and she loves it! On Christmas morning when she pulled off the blanket, she started running in place and clapping. She didn't know what to do with the excitement! so fun!

NT warming up with hot cocoa and some melted snowman cookies I made that turned out super cute!

October FUN!

2010-11-08T10:19:00.002-07:00

My Halloween wreath that Jill can attest took way too long to make - but I love it.

I love Halloween. It was even more fun this year because NT is starting to get excited about it. It was a little funny this year, because it was on Sunday, so it seemed like a whole weekend of Halloween instead of just one night. With Oktoberfest here in Kemmerer, it actually ended up being about 2 weekends of Halloween festivities - and I say, "bring it on!" Here are some pictures of our fun October.

For a year, anytime I asked NT what she wanted to be for Halloween, she would say a tiger - it never changed - and, of course, we couldn;t just be any old tiger...

At the Oktoberfest Halloween costume contest. There were about 50 kids in the 5 and under catagory

Our wild tigress came in first

The cowboy and the horse were a brother team that came in second - so cute! And Nora's little friend, Dustylynn is the adorable little lion that won third.

Our cute, itsy bitsy spider

Beautiful, full moon over the pond and horses out front

snow and frost on my front window

There you have it! It makes me sad how fast the months are flying. We will miss October but are already packing out days in November with lots of fun - and I am so excited for our fun, family Thanksgiving coming up!

Oh, and we got a new dog - I know, am I crazy? I wanted a friend for Tonka, and I didn't want a puppy, so when I came across this 1 yr old Husky/sheperd I thought I'd give her a try. She's very sweet and easy and she loves Nora. So, Stella, has quickly become part of the family.

enjoying a day outside

my adorable little thumb-sucker.

Photo Shoot

2010-10-13T10:58:00.000-06:00

We had a fun, little, impromptu photo shoot last Thursday. We woke up and the power went out about 7am at our house, and actually throughout Kemmerer and the surrounding areas. Nora was supposed to have her class picture for preschool that day so we got up and got ready and then her teacher called and said that because of the power outage the were rescheduling the pictures. So, since Clay was home and the girls were both dressed, we went out and had a little fall photo shoot.

Of course, NT was never looking at the camera at the same time as Tater, but they're still pretty cute, if you ask me!

NT is becoming quite the HAM, but you have to keep saying, "Nora look at the camera! Nora right here!!"

Cousin Weekend and Daddy Day

2010-10-13T10:41:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I got to watch Leah and Carter from Thursday night to Sunday evening - and we had a ton of fun. I wish their parents would go out of town more often!! :) Carter schooled both Clay and I on the wii and Leah played with Nora (it's sure handy to have a 9 yr old around) and cleaned the playroom - without being asked. She also helped with the baby and showed Tobe who was boss. I didn't take many pictures but here's a few of the girls riding Tobe.

Bows everywhere!

Great Buddies

Leah on Tobe

Nora after she fell off of Tobe. You can't really see it but she has a huge bruise/road rash on her forehead and nose. Her helmet had a chunk taken out of it where she came off into the panels. Thank goodness for helmets and for our Father in Heaven who was definitely watching out for my little girl! She's got a smile atleast, and she even got right back on Tobe and let me lead her around! She's one tough Cowgirl!

So, one day in September, Clay came home with a poem that he had written for us, which basically said that he was giving us a "Daddy Day". He was taking off a Friday from work just to spend the day doing whatever his girls wanted to do. Well, of course we wanted to go fishing! We actually wanted to go fishing and horseback riding, but I only took pictures of the fishing. It ended up being one of the most beautiful mornings I've ever experienced in Kemmerer (and we've lived here for 4 years now) It started out cold, but then the sun came out and for about an hour and a half there was absolutely no wind - I know that's hard to believe but it is true! And we all reeled in a good fish. Nora and Clay had a fish feeding frenzy for lunch ( I had a bite and it was good, but I'm not much of a fish eater!)
But it was such an awesome day - I'm a little prejudiced, but I have to say that my Honey is the BEST! :)

"give me the pole, Dad"

first fish Nora reeled in

The girls and our catch

Clay and his girls\

We love this Daddy

1st Day of Preschool....what???!!!

2010-09-13T10:55:00.000-06:00

How can I possibly have a child who is currently attending her first day of preschool? I mean, seriously, where did the last three years go? And do you think she had any hesitations at all? Of course not, I hardly got her to give me a kiss! But, I guess, here's to new beginnings!

NT ready for her first day of Miss Glenna's Preschool:

And one of Taya this morning just because that smile is so dang cute!

We also had Tayas blessing over Labor Day weekend. We were able to do a double blessing with her beautiful little cousin, Mckay. It was such a fun weekend!

I am so grateful to have this great man as my husband and the Daddy to my little girls

What a blessing it is to have so many worthy preisthood holders in our lives. It's amazing the constant blessings that we recieve by being faithful members of the church!

Jill, McKay, Taya and I

Sept. 4, 2010

Beautiful cousins! Taya is 5 weeks older than McKay and their other cousin, Sadie is about 6 months, so I am so excited for all these girls to be the best of friends.

Our little Family

Updates Finally!

2010-08-22T18:07:00.000-06:00

It's about time I got some updating done on my blog. I'm a disgrace to the blogging world, and I know it!

On June 23, 2010 we welcomed our new little, baby girl; Taya LeAnn Broadhead

7 lbs. 2 oz. 20 inches

with Nora at 4 days.

Taya (not super happy about the photoshoot) at 4 weeks

Fossilfest Happenings

Nora was in the Miss Wee Fossil Pageant and won. I wasn't sure about it, but NT loved it! Frankly what 2 yr old wouldn't love going up on stage, singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and then getting rushed by girls in crowns who then put a crown and sash on her and gave her a rose and goodie-bag full of...goodies!

She won the pageant on Thursday and then got to be in the parade on Saturday.

(my good pictures are on the other camera that I left at home.)

3. Nora Tess had her 3rd Birthday:

I always do a little

photoshoot on her

birthday.

Here's my three year old!

I think it's crazy

that my girl is already

On Saturday, Aug. 1st

We had a birthday party

with some of the cousins in SLC. Nora has been

adament that she have a

pink, lion cake - so Mawga, the ingenious, creative woman that she is, provided just that!

She got so many great gifts, I just happened to catch this cute face when she opened the Princess Tiana doll.

4. We've just been living life

We have been enjoying the summer days. Riding horses, seeing family (it seems like we're always traveling!) swimming, and playing.

Nora and Daddy going for a ride. Nora holding Taya on Tobe

NT and Grandma and Grandpa Broadheads new puppy, Tanner Blue

Taya and Cousin Celsee at 5 weeks

Taya, my little blue eyes, at 6 wks.

Daylin, NT and Baby Taya today after church at Mawga's house

We've been busy and we're loving it! We are loving getting to know our little Tay-ta and being a crazy, but happy family!

Random Spring Happenings

2010-06-17T13:18:00.000-06:00

It looks like our little "Googaly" might be making her appearance soon (induction happens Monday afternoon if she doesn't show up sooner) so I thought I better update this with our fun stuff before I'm even farther behind.

Clay and NT watching me burn the garden area

burning

just love this little flour face.

We made cookies and then she got flour everywhere.

This is when she was "cleaning" it all up off the floor.

She loves to pretend to read my books.

Cute picture with Clay, NT and Grandma "Tiger" on Mother's Day

Remember how fun box forts were? This is one that NT and I made and painted up! She's been having a blast with it.

Pop Quiz: How does a "cripple" mend fences?

Put a plastic bag over your cast and tie a sled, with your tools in it, around your waist!

practicing for the fishing derby the night before. Love these two best buds.

NT caught a 12 incher on her first try and then on her second try caught a 15 3/4 incher.

Clay and I couldn't catch anything!

NT with a little fish she caught later in the morning

That has been most of our spring happenings! We've been very busy around the place and getting ready for baby #2. Except for the snow this morning, our weather is supposed to get sunny and warm - could it be summer yet? I hope so!

Tobe

2010-06-17T12:49:00.000-06:00

Braiding Tobe's mane and brushing his tail

The weather has been pretty awful here all spring, so NT has only gotten to ride her pony a couple of times so far. We are finally getting some sunshine so now she's been asking to ride Tobe everyday. I love it, and it definitely is exercise for me to get out there are lead her around our 20 acres! I'm hoping it will encourage our new, little girl to come out and play, but so far she's been uncooperative!

Tobe, NT, me and "Googaly"(still cookin')

Las Vegas

2010-06-17T11:34:00.000-06:00

For Memorial Weekend we decided (well, I decided) that we could really use some sunshine!!!! Our spring has been a long time in coming - this morning we woke up to snow!

Well, it started as a day in Mesquite beside the pool and soon evolved into a full-fledged weekend in the Las Vegas sunshine with some GREAT friends. This was NT's first real big city adventure (that she has been really conscious of) It was quite an experience for her. We stayed with great friends Friday and Saturday night and then got a room Sunday night at the Golden Nugget Casino where they have this amazing pool with a shark tank in it! They also made a mistake with our reservation so we got upgraded to an amazing suite for the night! All in all we did alot of walking, swimming and laughing. It was so much fun. Thanks to Dave and Becca for the awesome hospitality and dealing with our random, spontaneous natures!! You guys are Fantastic!!!!!

NT checking out the lions at the MGM

Clay, Dave and their GIRLS

NT making silly faces at the Atrium in the Bellagio

NT and Beautiful, little Ashlynn. They were such good friends all weekend!

Rebecca and I with the girls - they didn't really want their pictures taken again!putting on the sunscreen

Divers doing some maintenance on the tank Monday morning

NT is, of course, still talking about "swimming with the sharks"

and if Ashlynn is going to come play!

Editing

2010-04-21T12:27:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure why my pictures are cut off and I've tried 30 times and it won't let me edit my post - so sorry if you are trying to see our life in pictures! :)

Kicking off the Spring

2010-04-21T11:51:00.001-06:00

I am so excited for Spring. We have had some BEAUTIFUL days the last couple of weeks and we have been soaking up as much as we can. I have been having a hard time not being able to ride, but so goes it!
Friday we were able to go over to Cokeville and help brand. I didn't get to help much, of course, but NT loves it as much as we do! She loves to ride with Daddy and yell at the cows, "Go on Cows! Go On!" And she LOVES to be outside.

Clay and NT riding down the hill. She wanted to chase the cows. Clay dragging a calf on Qwik. It's so nice to have horses that are just good to go.

Clay and Huck fightin' a calf that they didn't catch with the Nordfork.

NT and Huckleberry. She was trying to feed him a swedish fish. He decided he didn't like it! He mostly wanted to snuggle!

My cheese ball. This is the face I get to see when she's outside hiking, riding, playing in the dirt etc. She's getting so big. I can't believe we will be celebrating her third birthday the end of July!

And THIS, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how Clay will be spending the rest of his Spring and the majority of his Summer:

At the branding, they had a calf get out, so Clay rode out to rope it and drag it back. As he was chasing this calf, the calf darted left and Huckleberry darted left after it and lost his footing. Huck fell on his left side, catching Clay's leg and twisting it backwards. It's called a Calvary fracture because it twisted and broke about 2 inches below his knee and tore his ligaments in his ankle and caused the ankle bones to pull apart. He will be getting surgery on Monday to place two screws in his ankle. He has to have the screws in it for 3 months and he has to be completely non-weight bearing for atleast 6 weeks, and then hopefully he'll get a boot he can walk in. He's pretty bummed! It could have been alot worse though, so I am grateful to my Father in Heaven that I still have my husband and my horse! :) Let me know if anyone wants to swing over to Kemmerer and help me irrigate our 20 acres, til and plant my huge garden, or ride our neglected horses, because at 30+ weeks pregnant I'm going to be BUSY! (and tired) :)

Catch Up - Easter 2010

2010-04-21T11:36:00.000-06:00

**Warning: Picture Overload

This year NT and I got to go to Montana for 10 days, before and over Easter.

We had so much fun with Mawga, Papa, Daylin and Kelcy.

my cute banana mashers

love this picture of Daylin - so beautiful!

cruising in the Escalade

Clay caught a ride on Thursday with Tom, Suz and Fam. Then Cade and Jill and Fam arrived also on Friday.

Needless to say, we had lots of fun doing Easter activities and celebrating Mawgas birthday over Easter weekend.

decorating Easter buckets (Papa was generous enough to eat enough ice cream over the last couple of months to provide plenty of gallon buckets for the kids to decorate! :) )

NT decorating eggs. This one with the little face was my favorite! *Her face is pretty cute too!

had to add this one of Kelcy - my sis is so beautiful!

Mawga and her grandkids at the Party!

Easter Sunday turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL spring day that we tried to take for all it was worth!

NT discovering her Easter bucket that the Easter bunny filled. NT and Trey with their buckets - ready to go hunt eggs! The Easter bunny hid over 200 hard-boiled and plastic eggs. I'm pretty sure we didn't find them all!

NT finding eggs.

Clay's cheesey Easter morning grin

NT was the last one to find her chocolate bunny - love the expression on her face as she ran to show me!

Mom had bought some balloons called Rocket Balloons, and I'm not sure who had more fun with them, the adults or the kids.

I'm pretty sure I won each race for the balloon. Clay wouldn't race me anymore after I dove for one. I guess the image of his 28 wk preggo wife diving to the ground was too disturbing!!! haha ( I think the image of me just running in gen. is pretty disturbing right there!)

Kelcy and Brandon racing. I think Kelcy about knocked him over!

The kids absolutely LOVED the swings. I couldn't get NT out of them, ecspecially when Papa was pushing. He would turn around and let them kick him as they came forward and, I tell you, it NEVER got old! And they would laugh hysterically each time!

Playing in the grass clippings. NT calls Trey, "her Trey" and I love that they are little buddies.

Roasting Marshmallows. The fire was pretty hot!

I love this kids face! NT is in the caddy behind him, after instructing Trey that she needed a marshmallow and a rock. He was so cute when he came over to tell me. I could tell that he totally understood the marshmallow, but was a little confused about the rock part!!

We had so much fun over Easter and we're so grateful for the amazing and wonderful family that we have. Thanks Mom and Dad for hosting all of us and letting us destroy the house!!!

The Shop

2010-03-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

This week I've been trying to do some scrapbooking on my days off, and Nora Tess has been so good about playing by herself in the playroom (I scrapbook in the same room) It's so fun to see her imagination develop and to hear the conversations and stories she comes up with on her own. However, I have been majorly slacking in the clean-up department so the playroom has been a complete wreck all week, with toys strung out everywhere.

Yesterday, I decided I would need to come up with a fun game to play to help us get the playroom cleaned up. So Nora and I went to Alco (our little store) and picked up some prizes. I scored some great stuff in the 70% off clearance section! This morning I made some "price tags" and put out some items in the "shop". I told Nora to grab a purse and then I showed her the items in the shop. I asked her if she had any pennies in her purse (which, of course, she didn't) and then I explained that in order to get pennies to go shopping she would need to do some jobs to earn the pennies. We started out with an easy one, cleaning up the dinosaurs and she got to come over and I "paid" her for the great job. She did 4 jobs, each worth different amounts, and when the playroom was clean (I stayed right there and helped clean up the other things while she did her jobs since this was the first time we've played the game) I told Nora to come over to the "shop" and choose something she would like to buy. She chose a pink heart-shaped pillow we'd gotten on clearance for 30 cents at Alco. It cost 5 pennies so I put the price tag down and had her count out the correct amount of pennies. I put the number and a picture of a penny the correct amount of times on the price tags so that she could set a penny on each picture to help her count the right amount. We've been trying to work on our counting lately also, so I'm loving this game! Anyway, so she ended up getting to choose three items from the shop. One of the items she chose was a voucher for hide and seek with me, so after the shop closed for the day, we went and played hide and seek for awhile. We had a blast playing this game, and the playroom got cleaned and we worked on our counting all at the same time. Although, I don't believe in rewards for everything, this was great for a big job like this. The other nice thing is that I have alot of books and toys that I like to rotate, so I can use a book or toy that she hasn't seen in a month or two and it's just as exciting as something brand-new! I love when a plan comes together and its educational, helpful and fun all in one! Here are some pictures of us playing shop.

the shop

getting "paid"

counting out the right amount of pennies

her three purchases

Random Happenings

2010-03-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

We don't have internet at our new house so I haven't been very good at keeping my Blog up to date. We are LOVING our new place! I haven't taken any great pictures yet, but here's a picture from Christmas Eve - 5 days after we moved in.

that's our little house, barn and windmill in the distance. I took this from the hill at the back end of our property! It has been cold here, but the winter has been so mild that it is amazing! This last week it's still been cold but the sun has been shining and I am getting some Spring Fever. We don't even have much snow left. Last year we had snow and rain until the end of June so I'm trying not to be too impatient, but I really really want it to be spring! :)

This is Nora playing outside in one of our last big snow banks in our yard. She thinks it's pretty fun to play in puddles and not have to get as bundled up!!

CoLoReD eGgS

Nora Tess loves scrambled eggs for breakfast. Lately, she's been asking for colored eggs. I can only guess that it comes from Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham. The first time, she asked for green eggs (hence the Green Eggs and Ham assumption) but now each morning she asks for a different color. Green was mild compared to her next requests. She asked for pink eggs next - which looked disgustingly like bloody eggs. Then she asked for purple eggs, which looked like gray brain matter. Clay was not so excited about it when Nora insisted that she share her breakfast with him! He thought they looked so gross, and they did! This morning Nora asked for black eggs. I told her I didn't think I could make black eggs and she responded with, "You can if you try, Mama" oh the faith! :) I proceeded to pretend I was trying to make green eggs and came out with something like turquoise eggs. I'm hoping this colored egg thing doesn't last too long! I will probably have to start only doing colored eggs on Sundays or something!

The purple "brain" scrambled eggs. See how excited Clay is to eat them?

Bad Dreams

2010-01-21T08:59:00.001-07:00

Lately Nora has been getting bad dreams. Not often, but occassionaly, and this week she has had a little bit of a cold so I think it's made them worse. I hate waking up to my little girl sobbing - not fun. Anyway, last night I ran upstairs and she curled up in my lap, so sad. Here is how our conversations went:

ME: "shh, it's okay, honey, did you have a bad dream?"
N.T.: "yeah" *sobbing*
ME: "It's not real, it's just a dream. Why did it make you so sad?" (thinking she would maybe tell me what her dream was about)
N.T. : "because" *sob* "because, it wasn't happy!"

Well, Duh, Mom!! It does help the tears dry up when you can have a little giggle together!

***I will eventually update and get some recent pictures up when I have time to come into the office on my own time and bring my laptop. We don't have any internet at the new house so I'm a little cut off the blogging scene. Hope everyones holidays were as fantastic as ours!

Oh the MANY things I am Thankful for....

2009-12-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

It was fun to reflect the past month on all the things that I am thankful for. I wish that I would remember to do that more the rest of the year around too, but I always tend to be less grateful then I should be.

Of course the biggest things that I am thankful for are my incredible little family and my faith in the Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the family that I grew up in and what a blessing they are to me in so many ways through each stage of my life. I am also extremely thankful for Clay's family. I know, I know the IN-LAWS. This Thanksgiving we got to spend the weekend with Clays brothers, sister and their families. It was a chaotic, hilarious, and very special few days, of FOOD (I was reminded, more than once, of a plague of locust, as we descended on meals) roping, cousins, laughter and fun! I am so grateful that we were able to all get together and be a family! And a special shout out to Brett and Tricia who let us all descend upon their home and leave our wake behind us - You guys are truly fantastic!

THE BURNT DAISY

2009-11-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

So, I don't normally do this stuff. But I found this site, and I love it. I'm all about decorating with these beautiful letters/words. This talented lady is doing a giveaway, so check it out!! I'm definitely going to be ordering some Holiday decorations from here. http://www.theburntdaisy.blogspot.com/

Some cute examples of the magic she creates!! :)

Conversations with a 2 year old.

2009-11-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

I'm always having these conversations with N.T. and I never remember to write them down, and they are always so funny, random, and/or enlightening.   This week there were two conversations that I really wanted to remember.

1.    N.T. : Mama, I have two papas.
      Me: That's right, you do have two papas, and you have three grandmas.
      N.T. : Yeah, I have three grandmas and three papas.
      Me : No, you have two papas and you have three grandmas; Grandma Broadhead, Grandma Lyon and          Grandma Galloway.
      (Silence for a moment, and then to herself)
      N.T.: Oh, yeah, I have two papas, and Grandma Broadhead, Grandma Tiger and Grandma Gallop!

I don't think she understood why I started laughing!!

2. This conversation just took place on Sunday.   We had just walked into the church building Sunday morning.
     N.T.:   (sniffing the air) Something smells really good.
     Me: (now sniffing also) It does?   I wonder what it is.
    N.T.: (sniffing again) Yeah, it smells good. It's Jesus!

The last was said like it had just hit her, she knew EXACTLY what that smell was!!!   I just laughed and told her she was right.  But right then, I really wanted to smell Jesus for myself!! :)

HALLOWEEN

2009-11-10T13:51:00.001-07:00

Halloween was really fun this year. I'm a BIG Halloween fan. I think it's one of those Holidays that there isn't alot of pressure, like Thanksgiving and Christmas but it's so fun to dress up and there are tons of fun decorations around! So, now that I'm really to old to dress up on my own, I live vicariously through N.T. Last year, Nora was just over 1 so Halloween was fun for us, but she didn't totally get it. This year however she thought it was the best thing ever. We started trick or treating and after every house....."next house" she'd say. She wouldn't even put her coat on because she wanted to show everyone her Minnie dress. She dressed up as Minnie Mouse this year. She LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and she spent the month of October, in her Minnie dress. She has an older friend that keeps asking her what she is going to be next year, and she keeps saying, "I'm Minnie!" I have to say that she makes the CUTEST Minnie Mouse that I've ever seen.

We did have a few moments where we had to review good Halloween etiquette. 1. You can't just walk right into everyones house. (This happened because the first few houses we went to specifically to trick or treat and visit for a minute so we went in there houses. The first house we went to just walking down the street she tried to just walk right in their house) 2. Refusing candy is rude (This happened when someone tried to give her a chocolate wrapped as an eyeball. "No, Thank you" she said as she put it back in his bowl, "Mama, I didn't want that eyeball!" I'm pretty sure I turned bright red! The next time a woman was giving her a bag of skittles, and she had spotted some starbursts so she said, No, Thank you and reached in for the starbursts - Oh man!) 3. Sometimes people only give you one piece of candy, instead of a handful - and that's ok! (The first few houses of people we knew, of course gave her HUGE handfuls of candy so if someone only gave her one candy she just stood there with her bag open waiting for more.)

Minnie and all her Loot

Lickin' Her Chops

(and yes that is a small bottle of pepsi that someone gave her - which I did NOT allow her to drink!!)

HUNTING '09 PART II

2009-10-27T08:44:00.003-06:00

Wednesday I dropped N.T. off with Aunt Jill and cousins and Clay and I went back into Springcreek to hunt for the rest of the week. We went in really early on Thursday and hunted out Butts off! Our Horses definitely got a workout and so did we. On Friday morning I spotted a bull about 1000 yards away and we got down and watched him until about noon when he went down and bedded in the trees. We hoped he would come back out to that spot later in the evening so about 4pm we got set up about 80 yards away from where he had been earlier in the day. We got all set up and I went to jack a bullet into the chamber and the shell wouldn't go in. I tried and tried and I looked back at Clay to tell him I had a problem and when I looked back, all of a sudden the bull was standing right there about 80 yards away!! I look down at my rifle to figure out why the heck my bullet won't go in and I realize it's a 300 win mag shell instead of a 280 (this is the last time I trust Clay to load for me!! :) so I pull it out and try to put the next cartridge in and it slides right it. The Bull is facing me and sniffing the air, so I decide to take my shot straight on. Clay is set up ready to back me up, but it wasn't necessary, the bullet went right in the bulls neck and crumpled him where he stood. It was super exciting and my first elk, let alone my first bull! It was lucky that it only took me one shot because the next shell in my rifle was also a 300 and the one Clay had given me to put in my pocket for a back up was also a 300 win mag cartridge. So out of the 4 cartridges I had, only one was actually a 280!

One Shot

With my sexy hunting partner!

HUNTING '09 PART I

2009-10-25T21:22:00.004-06:00

last weekend we went huntig up Springcreek near Star Valley. We decided, since it was going to be a nice weekend that we would take N.T with us. We had a blast. N.T and I didn't do much hunting but we played, colored, explored and whacked "bad guys" all weekend (and probably drove Papa Broadhead nuts!!)
COLORING

COLORING WITH PAPA

DANCING AROUND THE CAMPFIRE

I LOVE TONKA

WHACKIN' THE "BAD GUYS"

SUPER GIRL FIGHTING CRIME

MONTANA

2009-10-13T09:34:00.005-06:00

Last week N.T and I spent the whole week up in Montana with Mom and Dad and Kelcy and Cousin Day. We went up to watch Conference ( I know, a long trip just because we don't have t.v.) and to go on Day's first field trip with her to the Pumpkin Patch. Day was so excited to ride the bus. She didn't much care about the Pumpkin Patch, it was all about riding the bus!!! It was so much fun and we had a blast the whole week.

The GREAT car search

2009-10-02T09:01:00.005-06:00

So, we've decided to get serious about a NEW CAR. Or, more correctly, a new car to us. We have gone back and forth about what we want. I've come around to the minivan and love those, but we're thinking of something nice that will get us 4 or 5 years, before the minivan. Something, that gets good gas mileage, because we DRIVE a TON, that is comfortable, with a 3rd row, if possible, and that is higher off the ground then a regular car. I really like the Buick Rendezvous and have for a couple of years, so I've been looking at those recently. (This picture is of a Rendezvous that Clay was calling on today - they haven't called him back yet)

The New Enclaves from Buick are amazing - but they'll cost ya about $40k + so that's just slightly out of our price range!

This week I found a Rendezvous in Tooele, Utah that I really liked, and seemed to be in the right price range. Clay called and we ended up driving all the way to Tooele last night. The car was BEAUTIFUL - in immaculate condition, and THEN......Clay took it for a test drive. The tires were awful, which we knew. But, he said that it rattled and something in the back end was grinding and it just didn't feel right at all (We drove a friends yesterday morning, so we would have a reference) and so he handed her the keys back and we drove all the way back home "empty-handed". So, we're still shopping. Let me know if you know of any good deals on a nice Buick Rendezvous/crossover vehicle!

Nora's 1st Haircut

2009-09-27T21:25:00.003-06:00

Friday, I finally took Nora in for her first haircut. I was starting to get frustrated that even when I fixed her hair it still looked messy and it was because it was a lot of different lengths all over. I love the woman that cut her hair. She did such a great job and N.T's hair looks so pretty. I, of course, had to take my camera and document the occassion.

Cousin Cash and Raking Grass

2009-09-15T22:07:00.006-06:00

Last weekend Nora Tess and I got to go to Cousin Cash's birthday party. I got a little distracted eating the delicious barbecue and visiting with my AWESOME sister-in-laws so I didn't get many pictures, and none of the birthday boy (I know I'm getting bad) but we had a GREAT time.
Nora Tess being a Super Hero

Nora and Cousin Trey visions into the future - I hope they are great buds.

SO CUTE!

MMMM........delicious Batman cupcakes

what a silly cheeseball!

My Super Girl

********Funny Quote for this picture. I asked her if she wanted to go make a mask. She said, "no, I sit here and watch you make a mask for me!" needless to say I didn't agree so she finally went over and made her own mask! :)*********

I took these pictures today, after I mowed the lawn - I LOVE that I have a lawn. I don't even mind the yardwork because I am so glad that I have yardwork!! While we were raking the clippings (I am buying a lawnmower with a bag next year!) Nora Tess was doing a great job of helping me. I thought she was so cute helping me clean up the yard. After raking she cleaned up all the crab apples and even picked some from the tree for our friend. She loves the outdoors and I can always count on her to be raiding my garden or trying to "work" outside.
Helping me rake
This is when I caught her spreading my piles out.
I'm too cute to yell at!

Nora Tess

2009-08-30T18:09:00.004-06:00

This is something that I was planning on doing on Nora's 2nd birthday, but I'm a month late...don't ask. Anyway, I decided that I still wanted to do it. It is amazing how fast the last two years have gone, and I know everyone says that it just keeps going faster. YIKES!!!

Nora; When you came into my life you changed my whole world. What I knew about love was nothing in comparison with what I felt instantly, that first time I held you in my arms. Daddy couldn't look away from you. I almost thought he wasn't going to let me hold you. You have filled my life with spit-up, dirty diapers, worries, and fear. You have also given me such hope and incredible joy, with your smiles, your precociousness, your happy nature. You are such a fantastic little girl. You make me feel good about being a mom, because most days you make it so easy for me. I know I am not always the most patient, and I have high expectations, but you are always patient with me and I'm so grateful for that. The last two years, have been the most fulfilling years in my life. I am so grateful for your beautiful nature and your wonderful spirit that fills our home. I love you so much, my little love. Happy Belated Birthday!!

5 years!

2009-08-30T17:35:00.006-06:00

August 25, 2009 was our 5 year Anniversary

I don't have a wedding picture on the computer. Is it sad that this picture from January is our most recent picture together? :)

Year One: Little apartment, was way too big, woke up wrapped up in each others arms, nothing makes you angry because you're so IN LOVE (or lust :)
Year Two: Still an endless honeymoon. Money is tight, but we've got love - and really that's all you need.
Year Three: Embarking on the great family journey. Neither of us was prepared for the love that we would feel for that little, special spirit. Roles changing, things shifting, we weren't prepared for how our lives would change either.
Year Four: Who could ask for more? Money is still tight, but that's life and we enjoy what we have.
Year Five: What a roller coaster ride. Our love continues to grow stronger and stronger. My life would not be complete without the wonderful family that we have.

I am so blessed to be the wife and companion to Clay. He picks up the slack where I fall short, and he has such amazing love for me and our little girl. I am so blessed to have been married in the temple these 5 years ago and to be sealed to him and our little family for eternity - what a fantastic gift from our Lord and Savior.

We don't normally do much to celebrate our anniversary. However, I told Clay that we should atleast celebrate the big 5 year marks and since this was our first 5-er I dropped a few hints about the Anniversary Inn or something to commemorate it. Anyway, the cute sucker pulled through and got us a room at the Anniversary Inn - the Jesse James Hideaway. It was so fun. The picture is from the website-no pictures were taken of our Anniversary activities :) Thanks, honey for these five fantastic years. I love you so much!

August 2009

2009-08-29T10:55:00.009-06:00

What a crazy month this has been. As most of you, the few that check this blog, know, that my oldest brother, Cade, came off his longboard while here in Kemmerer, and ended up with a serious head trauma. So, needless to say, I haven't been keeping up with the blog, or even taking many pictures. He is doing so much better and so we're all getting back to daily life. This is going to be a pretty HUGE post with a few pictures so BEWARE!!!

I'm not sure how I ended up not posting pictures of this, this was actually in July. I was in charge of organizing the Kemmerer Little Buckaroo Rodeo in July. It was a pain, because I didn't know anything about the Rodeo, but I think it ended up turning out okay. We had fun anyway. Here are a few pictures of when Nora Tess did the Stick Horse Barrels. She certainly wasn't the fastest but if you ask me she was definitely the cutest (actually I think it was a tie between her and Trey who is so stinkin' adorable it hurts!!)

Next, it was Nora's 2nd Birthday. We had her Birthday party on August 1st which is when Cade's accident happened to I am way behind on her birthday post. On her actual birthday we ended driving down to Provo, Ut. early in the morning to pick up Nora's birthday present. It was not really something we had planned until Clay came home after playing around on KSL Classifieds. He made me sit down and watch this video of this little girl riding a shetland pony. I told him, "oh, that's the kind of pony we need to find next year for Nora!" He told me that he had bought him. Nora was watching the video with us, but I didn't think she'd really understand, it took me a minute to actually understand! But Nora whipped her head up and ran around me, grabbed Clay and said, "oh Thank you Daddy!" Clay immediately started to tear up. It was so sweet. Nora talked about her New Pony the rest of the day, and night. She woke up at 4 the next morning asking about her pony. So, here he is, presenting TOBI the newest member of our family:

We had Nora's party on the Saturday after her birthday. We brought Tobi and had pony rides. We invited a few friends from around here and all our family. I really wasn't trying to have a party per se, but I love having my family here one weekend a year. The Oyster Ridge Music Festival was going on so I thought it would be a great weekend to be together. I didn't get many pictures because I was trying to orchestrate everything but here are the few I got. Thanks to my wonderful family for coming and for all the great, fun gifts. FYI: We are not having any more parties in Kemmerer. I think if my family is going to get together we better do it in a place where we don't have to use life flight!!! :)

We've also been busy on the house: We've gotten sod for our backyard!! yeah! I absolutely love going out in the backyard and playing on the grass instead of that awful dirt. We redid all the walkways in front of the house and a patio pad in the backyard. We oiled and sealed our asphalt. And Clay is out replacing the big windows on our sunporch as I type (I'm actually feeling kind of guilty that I'm in here doing this, but he just hollers when he actually needs me, otherwise I'm in the way!) We've been busy and the summer has just flown by. Here are a few pictures I have of our various projects.

Weekend Fun

2009-07-27T04:30:00.005-06:00

Last weekend Clay wanted to go to a ropin' in Driggs, Idaho so Friday we loaded up in the truck with the horses and headed over to Cokeville where some good friends live. We took poles and rods and fished their pond. It was so fun. It doesn't get fished much and so as soon as our spinners or our nymphs hit the water we were reeling one in. Nora had a great time fishing. The biggest fish we caught was on her little Barbie fishing pole that she got to open early for her birthday. She was pretty die-hard too. She took off for awhile "exploring" trying to chase down her buddy, Tonka (the dog) but she mostly stayed right there for 2 hours and fished. opening her early birthday present.
fishing
the fish Nora Tess reeled in.
getting rigged up

We stayed that night in Cokeville and took off the next morning for Driggs. The ropin' was good. It was close to 100 degrees so it was hot, but the horses did great and Nora Tess loves to go watch. She always says, "oh darn it, they missed 'em" or "Mama, they catched his toes!" she played in the dirt with a little boy about her age, for so long that I was afraid she was going to get heat stroke! That night we found a campground on our way over the pass to Jackson and spent the night. Clay and I jumped in the river, which was so cold it was painful. It was so much fun to go and it's nice that Nora Tess loves the outdoors as much as we do, so she's easy to go along.
This is me running out after dunking myself in the river. It was so cold!
This is how I found Nora the next morning at 9am when I finally had to go in and wake her up so we could take down the tent.

Fishing

2009-07-11T00:43:00.003-06:00

Tuesday evening, after Clay got home from work we took Leah and Nora Tess down to the kiddie fishing hole. I am not having very good luck with cameras lately, and my camera battery died after about 5 shots, but I got a couple really cute ones. Nora reeled a fish in and about killed it she kept holding it (another dad and his son, that we know were there also and they had a bucket with water so we could keep looking at the fish) Leah also caught and reeled one in. We actually brought Leah's fish home and Grandma cooked it the next day. It had swallowed the hook and wasn't going to make it. It was a lot of fun and we all really enjoyed it.

I was taking pictures and I told Nora to kiss the fish! She about did it and then started laughing and saying, "no, yucky! yucky! yucky!" when I snapped this picture.

FossilFest Family Fun Night

2009-07-11T00:17:00.004-06:00

I love a small town. There are two big summer events in Kemmerer Wyoming and they are attended by most of the town of Kemmerer and Diamondville. Thursday night happened to be the kick-off for Fossil Fest. It's a wholesome weekend full of crafts, fair food, music, skits, carnival games and of course the little buckaroo rodeo. Thursday was the Fossil Fest Family Fun Night, with carnival games food and etertainment. My mom and my neice, Leah were here so we all went down together to have a little fun. I love times like this!

Today we also got to take a fun trip to Salt Lake for Samantha's Birthday Party. Happy Birthday Samantha - thanks for the fun afternoon!!!

Willow Park Zoo

2009-06-28T22:38:00.004-06:00

This week Jill had girls camp so N.T. and I cruised over to Logan Monday night so that we could play with Leah and Carter for a couple of days. On Tuesday we decided to make a little picnic and head over to Willow Park Zoo. It was alot of fun. The kids had fun on the playground and then we went into the zoo and had our picnic on the lawn that happened to have some cool climbing trees. I didn't get to climb because of my ankle but I had fun getting pictures of the three little monkeys that I was "hanging" around with!

No better time.....

2009-06-28T22:12:00.004-06:00

...to catch up on a little reading!! Nora Tess has been wanting to use the bathroom all by herself lately and I usually peek in on her to make sure everything is going all right. I honestly was laughing so hard when I opened the door to find this:

Atleast she has good taste in reading material!

Yeah Sunshine!!

2009-05-28T23:52:00.005-06:00

Just some fun pics.
on the train at Hogle Zoo on Mother's Day
DAddy and Nora at Hogle Zoo
Nora Tess face to face with a lizard
Nora Tess on the carousel. She had to ride the Zebra!
Mama and Nora Tess on Mother's day.
What could be better than falling asleep on a hot day in Logan after a bowl of bright blue Cold Stone ice cream?
I still want to kiss her, even when her face is sticky and blue.
Nora Tess helping me paint her new bed.
Love this girl!!

The New Car Dilemma

2009-04-26T22:27:00.004-06:00

Since my last post was about our old car, I thought I would throw out there my new car dilemma. I WANT a new CAr. I want want want want want a new car. Specifically a minivan - Toyota Sienna and Dodge Grand Caravan are on the top of my list. The dilemma however is that I currently have a car that runs just fine. Better then fine it runs good and it's a good car and I should love it and I don't. I hate it. I have put 120,000 miles on it and whenever I have to drive somewhere I die a little inside (ok. a little dramatic). The other problem with this car (some people, like Clay, would see them as positive things) is that is is completely paid of and has been for 4 yrs. is low maintenance and gets 30+ miles to the gallon HWY. Now, I ask, you how can a new car compete with that crap if it's not a little car/hybrid??? So, needless to say, this is my dilemma: I desperately WaNt a NEW car but I can't say that I NeEd a new car. hmmmm. Somebody cry with me, or atleast bring me some cheese to go with my whine. Is that the world's tiniest violin playing somewhere in the background?? :)

the Old Car

2009-04-14T17:07:00.003-06:00

When I was a kid we had an old 70-something Chevy Impala in the pasture that we LOVED to play in. This thing was cool. It was a sort of metallic gold color and inside it had white pleather seating and door to door green shag carpeting. I LOVED it. We could play in that thing for hours, because we could go anywhere and everywhere in that car. It wasn't just an old car, it was a time machine, it was anything we wanted.

So, yesterday, Nora Tess and I were playing outside and having fun. Well, we have an old 1973 Gremlin in our backyard that "came" with the house. The thing is in pretty bad shape but it only has 50k miles on it, so we can't just get rid of it, of course. I'm actually pretty excited to change the brakes and drive it around this summer. Well, anyway, Nora all of a sudden looked at the Gremlin with new eyes yesterday. She runs over to me and says, "Mama, I drive!" I didn't know what she said at first and then she ran over to the Gremlin. Well, I threw her in there and she drove her baby doll all over the place, for about 30 minutes. It was pretty fun. It reminded me of those days in the old Impala. What happens to our imaginations as we get older?

mid-April in Review

2009-04-14T16:47:00.005-06:00

Mid-April Review:
First off, Last Tuesday, during Spring Break in Kemmerer, Wyoming. A friend of mine, her mom and her three kids, Nora Tess and I all packed in the car and drove down to Hogle Zoo. I called up my mom and Mom, Melissa and the Boys, Suzanne and her kids all met us at the zoo. It was a wonderful day, and it was beautiful, it felt like summer and I loved it.

The next day, Wednesday the 8th, was Clays birthday. We don't do much for birthdays around here (ours anyway) but this year he actually got a birthday present and even more amazing was that it was actually something he really really wanted!! ha. I'm not very good at hitting the nail on the head when it comes to gifts but this year I got it right!! hehe.
Last weekend was Easter weekend, and of course, I forgot my camera, so I will have to post those at a later date. It was sure fun. Thanks everybody!!

Catchin' Up

2009-04-04T22:16:00.003-06:00

I have a little catching up to do, it would seem. I had some technical difficulties between my camera and my computer and then I went on a trip with my girl to Montana for my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary! That was tons of fun and should have pics of that soon. Anyway, I just had some random pictures I thought that I would post on here. A good friend of mine and two of her kids, Nora and I all went to Ogden one Saturday in March and while there we went to the Treehouse Childrens Museum and then the Dinosaur Park. Both were fun fun fun! The slide below is made up of some of our fun times.

I had some other random pictures to post too just cuz they are cute/fun.
Flowers and Chocolates from my good friends for my birthday!
St. Patrick's Day eggs!
St. Patrick's Day Bow that I made.
Getting so big.
A glimpse into things to come. What a sense of Style!

LOVE THIS!!

2009-03-13T13:15:00.003-06:00

Why Mormons Build Temples.
I don't know how to put a video onto my blog - Couldn't figure it out, I guess that tells you how computer savvy I am. But I saw this video on LDS.org and I thought it was really neat. They also have a statement out about an HBO special called "Big Love" I'm not sure what it is all about because I don't have TV and have never heard of it, but I love how the LDS church doesn't argue an issue, they simply, firmly and lovingly state our views for the world. I love it. So if you have about three minutes click on this link and watch the video or just go to www.lds.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8

Now Taking Donations!

2009-03-05T20:25:00.005-07:00

I have recently discovered an artist who has swiftly jumped to my all time fav. art list. This man is truly gifted. As many of you well know, I love to draw. I don't do much of it and I am not very good. But it is something that I love. I love to look at art and I love to explore it. This artist, James McLaughlin Way is amazing. Take a look at his website and see for yourselves. I added his link on the right hand side of the blog. www.waystudios.com He is very original, and I love the way he thinks and sees the world.
There is some of it that is a little overboard for me, but I love his Equus series and I really like most of his Mystic Circus, especially the All Is Well picture (The Polar Bear riding the swan chariot). I wish that I could copy some pictures, off his site, here to this post but it's not going to let me.
His cloudscapes are also amazing, I want to be in a room and surrounded by them. (This isn't my fav. cloudscape, he has amazing ones on his website)
I want to fill my walls with his work. Each room a different style/series!! So check it out and see what you think. Let me know if this guys work appeals to you as much as me, let me know what you think.
Oh yeah, I am Taking donations for my art fund to buy his original work, The Bow. hehe

Something new!

2009-02-24T15:21:00.002-07:00

So, I know that basically my blog is all about Nora Tess. This time, however, It's all about the love of my life. We had a busy and extremely fun weekend in Logan with lots of cousins. We got back Sunday afternoon and I had New Beginnings for Young Womens at 6:30 that night. N.T and I had been sick all week, plus we'd been gone the weekend before so, I must admit, I'd gotten a little behind in the house-keeping area. Well, I took Nora with me to New Beginnings (which as it turned out was not a super successful decision) and when I got home at 8:30pm Clay had cleaned the entire upstairs! It looked so wonderful and it felt so nice to come home to a beautiful, clean home. I am often too hard on my wonderful husband and he deserves much more gratitude then he regularly gets! So, Here's to you, my sweetheart, thank you for making my life so much more fun, and wonderful to live!!! I love you!

My Little Helper

2009-02-12T22:02:00.005-07:00

Lately, my little-miss-independant has been driving me crazy with her not-so-independant play. She used to play so good on her own for bits of time, but now for some reason, I can't get anything done without tears and a fit taking place (sometimes my fit and my tears!! haha) So, in order to get the dishes done, for example I set up a chair next to me for Nora to stand on and she gets to take the soapy dishes and put them in the rinse water, etc.
Anyway, so while Clay was gone on the Box Y trip (snowmobiling) I thought I would surprise him by getting atleast the second coat of mud on the room we're finishing downstairs. I got everything but the ceiling done Monday night, so Tuesday afternoon, after Nora woke up from her nap, we went down to finish the job. I got out a piece of extra sheetrock for Nora to color on, with some apple slices to snack on and figured she'd be set. She colored for a minute, the girl loves to color, and then she set to the task of helping Mama out. I ran upstairs for my camera and captured my little helper in action.
When you KnOw it's been a good time...

The NAME GAME

2009-02-09T13:20:00.002-07:00

Ok, This Is Fun - I found this on Suzanne's blog. I like my Rap name (I could go big time with a name like that!!)
The NAME GAME. Has anyone seen this?

1. YOUR SPY NAME (middle name and current street name)

Leo1222 (I don't have a middle name so I used my nickname)

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side and your favorite candy):

Leah Neccos

3. YOUR RAP NAME (first initial of first name and first three or four letters of your last name):

L-Bro

4. YOUR GAMER TAG (a favorite colour, a favorite animal):

Blue Horse

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, and city you were born in):

Leo Kalispell

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (first three letters of your last name, last three letters of mother's maiden name, first three letters of pets name):

broncehuc

7. JEDI NAME (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards):

oelecnav

8. SUPERHERO NAME ("The", your favorite colour and the automobile your dad drives):

The Blue Ram

9. YOUR ACTION HERO NAME (first name of the main character in the last film you watched, last food you ate):

Alex Soup

Now...you try

Precocious

2009-02-06T23:57:00.004-07:00

Now, everyone thinks that their child is a wonder. And each child is. Children are amazing to me in everyway. They way they grow and they absorb and learn all the time. I wish I was more like that. I try to let my days with my sweet, independant, little girl go at her pace. It is not easy, and not always possible, but I try to slow my step and not rush as much, because everything is truly amazing to her and she takes the time to look, and touch, and explore everything around her. That said; The grocery store is always an adventure for us. The grocery store is exceptionally fun, as of late, because Nora Tess loves to walk around with me, either helping me push the cart or just dawdling along behind, and say, "hi" to everyone she passes. She then proceeds to smile and if they choose to engage her, will launch into a conversation about her shoes, my shoes, her hat, her blankie, or whatever else she can think of. She has also quickly discovered that "I want it..." is a good phrase - and "I doh want it" is the bane of my existence!!. And therefore likes to walk down the aisles carefully look over her options and proceed to grab something, say, "I want it" and try to place it in the cart. (side note: Nora is very good about putting things back when I tell her that we aren't buying that this time and assure her that the next thing we need, she will get to put in the cart. She is very willing to obey as long as I yield to that incredibly strong independant streak!! :) I wonder where she gets that hmmmmmmm.)
Anyway, the last time we were at the grocery store, things were going along as usual. We passed the same gentleman a few times on our trips up and down the aisles and around the store. He seemed to watch Nora and get more and more amused each time we passed, which is not unusual (she's pretty funny, and she knows it) but as we were heading to the checkout, we passed him one last time (or I should say, he passed us) as he did, he looked at Nora Tess and then he looked at me, "She's very precocious, isn't she?" I laughed and said, "Oh, yes, yes she is" He laughed and said something else about her being precocious that I can't remember. Now, in my mind, I was thinking Precocious meant something like, independant, stubborn, intent on doing things her way, etc., which Nora is all of these things. I decided to look it up in the dictionary tonight. This is what it said:
pre·co·cious (prĭ-kō'shəs) Pronunciation Key
adj.
Manifesting or characterized by unusually early development or maturity, especially in mental aptitude.
I just had to smile, of course I think she's a beautiful, extremely bright, little girl, but I'm her mother. It made me grateful to have a complete stranger see that in her. It was definitely a memorable experience and I hope she will continue to be my shining, PrECocIoUS, little star.

Snow Days

2009-02-05T22:40:00.002-07:00

We've had such a mild winter this year that it was actually a blessing and a pleasant surprise, a week and a half ago, when we got about 8 inches of snow. Nora Tess loves to be outside and so we got all dressed up and headed out into the snow.
The day was bEAuTIFuL!!!
Nora still isn't so sure about walking around in the snow - which in her credit was up to her waist - but she spotted her "fourwheeler" and just had to have it out. It was not quite as easy to navigate as in the summer, she kept telling me it was stuck! But with a little shoveling and packing down in front of the back steps we had a small area that she could atleast move a little bit. Then the real fun happened. Nora discovered Icicles!!! We don't have gutters on our house and so we have huge icicles all over.
This girl LOVES ice. I believe that has more than a little something to do with Grandma Lyon who starts all the grandkids off on an ice craze from an early early age. It was pure JOY as she proceeded to eat as many icicles as I would let her!! What a fun day. It was so much fun for me to watch all the smiles and giggling and happiness from my sweet little girl.

DIET

2009-02-03T20:45:00.003-07:00

So, I'm on a diet! YUCK! I hate it! haha. I guess dieting is not supposed to be fun! I've never really dieted before. I'm counting calories and starving myself! I tell ya; I don't like it! :) I'm trying to lose pounds!!!(I figure that's a good place to start!) I'm also trying to come up with something that will be a big motivator for me. I'm not sure what the prize will be when I reach my goal. If you have any ideas, let me know!!

The Broken Arm Saga....

2009-01-20T19:42:00.004-07:00

So, on Friday the 2nd of January, while we were in Smyrna Delaware, Nora Tess fell off a stair, twisted her left arm under her and fractured her elbow, just above the growth plate!!! At first it didn't seem like it was that bad, I thought maybe she tweaked her shoulder a little bit, but she wouldn't really settle down and she is generally a easy kid to calm down. So we got her back to the place we were staying and thought we'd wait and see how she felt in the morning, because she wouldn't use it at all and we considered taking her in to urgent care (but this was all at about 7 o'clock at night) so I had officially decided that we'd wait until morning when she went to lay down on Clays chest and put pressure on that elbow and just started screaming. So I grabbed her and Amy rushed us to the Urgent Care center there in town at 7:45pm (the Center closed at 8pm) There was not a physician there but a Nurse Practitioner finally agreed to see her. Amy had to fight for me (Thanks Amy!!!) because the Nurse didn't want to see her, she thought Nora had fallen down the stairs and was unconscious (N.T. had fallen asleep in the car) but the took an x-ray and the Nurse told me she though there was an area on the x-ray that she wasn't sure about so the radiologist agreed to look at it that night and they would let me know the next day (Saturday) whether it was actually broken or not. So they sent us home with an ace bandage and a sling. Nora was quite a trooper. Saturday I called twice and finally the radiologist told me that it was indeed fractured. So, we packed up the car and went to the National Zoo in Washington D.C.!! ha. No sense in sitting at home and not being able to do anything. It was actually perfect because Nora was entertained while mostly remaining in a stroller and not having to bother with her arm!!! Sunday we flew home and on Monday afternoon our Doctor here in Kemmerer put a big red cast on her little bitty arm. She wouldn't use it for the first couple of days - I imagine the thing is super heavy - but now after two weeks it's like her arm has always been that big. She still calls it her owie occasionally and refers to the signatures on it as "pretties". Shes got a couple of signatures and she has also been 'branded' a couple of times with Grandpa Broadheads brand and our friends brand. Needless to say, it's quite a bummer. However, it did probably keep us from missing out plane out of Philly on Sunday. They weren't going to let us through to get on the plane (Delta was having serious issues that morning) but I played up the fact that my tiny baby girl has a broken elbow and we just have to be able to get home! Finally the guy let us through! Anyway, I included a couple of pictures of Nora Tess with her cast the first day she got it on.

The CaSt!!
The pRiZE for being such a good patient!
Playing with her new toy! Not willing to use the 2lb. arm yet!! :)
Nora Tess and her cute little friend Laynee playing in the tent.
Nora and Laynee laughing at each other!

Fun in Deleware

2009-01-20T18:52:00.003-07:00

I'm finally adding some pictures from our trip to Deleware. I still have Zoo pictures also and this isn't even close to all of our pics. We had so much fun!! It was a long time to be away from home but it couldn't have gone by more quickly. We were sad when it was over. We spent a day deep sea fishing, a day in Philadelphia, two different days in Washington D.C. and a day in Baltimore. Not to mention the Christmas day and New Years day that happened in there somewhere. It was a blur and I am incredibly grateful to our wonderful friends there in Deleware that made it a blast!!!

Deep Sea Fishin'

2008-12-26T20:12:00.003-07:00

Greetings from Delaware!!! We had a great Christmas day. Clay, Nora and I flew into Philadelphia on Christmas Eve and enjoyed Christmas day with our wonderful friends, the Burnetts. Today Clay, Jonathan, Richard, me and some other friends of theirs went fishing down in Maryland and Virginia. we were fishing for Striper and were not that successful. We spent all day on the water and only reeled in 3 fish for 10 guys. I have to proudly say that I was one of the three "guys" that reeled in a fish and I landed a Monster!! It was great fun and by the time I got him to the boat I was completely spent. Of course the rod it hit had about 300 feet of line out and the fish was almost 44 inches long and as unconfirmed 30+ pounds. The guys were all proud of me cause I wrestled it in like a pro.

HALLOWEEN AND ROPIN'

2008-11-05T17:40:00.003-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

This year was pretty fun. We ended up going to Logan to spend the Halloween weekend. We left Thursday afternoon and spent Friday ropin' and ridin' and then went trick-or-treating Friday night. Nora Tess wasn't sure about trick-or-treating until the first house where she got a sucker. She proceeded to trick-or-treat the rest of the houses with a sucker in one hand and sticky all over. I have to say it was pretty darn fun. Hope everyone had fun, safe Halloweens. Can't wait to see all the cute pictures.

Star Valley

2008-10-28T18:12:00.003-06:00

Last weekend, Clay, Nora Tess and I went to Star Valley to visit Gma and Gpa Broadhead. Uncle Phil and some of his family were there also and we had a great time. We go there Sat. morning early and played all day. Nora Tess got to go on the four-wheeler a couple of times and loved it. The pictures I have are from Sunday, after church. I couldn't get her to go inside to change her clothes - she loves being "owside". This was even after we had been the heeling team while Clay, Gpa and Uncle Phil trimmed the donkeys. I wish I would have gotten pictures of that. the guys would tie the donkey up and knock it over and then put a rope around his back legs and then Nora Tess and I were in charge of keeping that line tight so he couldn't kick loose. We were on the four-wheeler so that didn't require too much effort, but N.T. thought it was pretty funny.

The FAbUlOuS WorLD of ShAVinG CrEaM!!

The other day I decided it would be fun to let N.T. play with Shaving cream so I got out a towel and a Cookie sheet and put five dollops of shaving cream on the cookie sheet. At first she wasn't sure what to do with it. But it didn't take her long to figure it out and shortly she was covered from head to toe with it! It was a great time, until she decided to play "catch me if you can" while Mom tried to take pictures! I was cleaning shaving cream off of the carpet and the doorjambs and the couch - she's getting fast!! But it was a ton of fun!

Getting Dressed!

2008-10-16T23:45:00.005-06:00

Nora Tess has started taking an interest in getting dressed and undressed. Although, eventually this will be a good thing, I have to exercise patience when it's just not okay for me to help her. This morning I decided to grab my camera and 'catch the moment'. By the end of it, instead of getting frustrated, we were both giggling hysterically! What a fun time!
N.T. Thinks that is really funny to get as close to the camera as possible. It is pretty funny!
Starting a new fashion trend. Soon everyone will be wearing their t-shirts as hats!
What a funny kid!
This gave me a great idea for a low-cost halloween costume: Elephant!
What a complete goofball! I love these laugh-til-your-sides-hurt moments!!

Helena Montana

2008-10-16T23:06:00.004-06:00

Last week, Clay had a title class/continuing education class in Helena Montana, so Nora Tess and I packed ourselves into the car and went with him. We left on Wednesday morning and had a room in a great Best Western there in Helena - on the company for two nights (ya can't beat that!!) By the end of our two days, Nora Tess had completely won over the hotel staff (ecspecially the front desk personel) They were truly upset when we were leaving. And she even snagged herself a free carousel token from a hotel guest who thought she was just "too cute". We ended up leaving on Friday morning. Our plan was to stay, but it got cold and started snowing so we thought we'd make some progress and maybe stay in Dillon Montana instead, but the weather reports were looking pretty bad over Monida and were just going to get worse so we thought we should make it over MOnida pass before they closed it and that maybe we would stay in Idaho Falls (I was really not liking that my hotel stay was cut short - we never stay in hotels) But when we got to Idaho Falls we met up with some good friends and followed them all the way into Star Valley where we stayed with Clay's Dad and Mom. So, needless to say my hotel stay was cut short, my vacation was cut short, and I was not too happy about it, but Clay made it up to me and let me sleep in until 11am on Sat. morning and it was wonderful!!!

Does your nose 'beep' too???
Going in for the kiss!
What a funny bear!
Going on the Carousel:

I'm so blessed to have such acute and sweet husband and daughter. Aren't they adorable?

Yeehaw, Buckaroo!

Our little family on the Carousel.

The Volkswagen Routan

2008-10-08T19:20:00.004-06:00

So, I am all about the minivan but lately, and more specifically, I am all about the Volkswagen Routan. Today I finally went on the internet to check out this beautiful piece of machinery and was crying I was laughing so hard at the video. If you want a mindless piece of funny click on this link. http://www.vw.com/routan/en/us/
I realize that I will have to wait like 5 years to find a used one of these beauties that might be semi-affordable but a girl can dream.

CAUTION!!!

2008-10-03T16:21:00.001-06:00

HUGE POST AHEAD!

It's Been Awhile.

2008-10-03T15:31:00.007-06:00

So, It's been awhile - over a month in fact. I have been staying at home with Nora Tess and so I haven't had much access to my computer. It's been nice but startin' to feel a little out of touch. First of all, I am a sucky communicator, but CONGRATULATIONS to you beautiful sister-in-laws who are pregnant!!! Also we have a new little nephew/cousin; Ryker and he is just adorable!! We haven't been up to a whole lot new. Last weekend N.T and I got to go to Salt Lake with a friend and her three kids because she had an extra ticket to the Circus at the Delta Center. It was really really neat and N.T. was captivated throughout the entire 2+ hour show!! We also got to go to the Discovery Gateway. I had never been there before but we spent 2+ hours there also and had a blast. Nora Tess loved it. She especially loved the water area where she got to put the little ping pong balls into the tubes and watch them float down. It was very exciting!!! :) Thanks Jamie for letting us tag along!! I've got a few pictures to post from there and then a couple of pictures of Nora with her Dolly. I think it is amazing but N.T. is totally obsessed with Babies. I didn't think she'd really get into it for awhile but she is all about her babies - ecspecially a giant baby doll that I had as a girl. It is almost as tall as she is and she tries to pack it everywhere. She loves to put the baby in the umbrella stroller that we have and push her around. Today I watched her pack the baby into her room and proceed to put her on the rocking horse and then rock her. It was so funny. She loves to share he Binky and her Blankets with Baby and has to have her sitting with her if she's watching a movie. It's pretty funny and adorable. So here are the pics: (be prepared - there are alot!!)
At the Discovery Gateway:

Having so much fun!!

She loved this Elmo Rocker
a couple of months ago we found the best set of horses at a garage sale. There are about 50 different kinds/sizes of horses and a big barbie corral/stable and then a truck and horse trailer. Clay and I were more excited about it then Nora, of course, until we got it home and cleaned up. Then Nora Tess went to town!
In the Corral
All Loaded up.
Daddies Fav. Game

Are these on right?
These photos are of our last adventure out shoeing our horse Qwik. Nora Tess wants to be alot more helpful then she can right now. She loves going shoeing with Daddy.
Here's your hammer, Daddy
Geez, Mama! I'm workin' here!
Watching how it's done
Qwik and Huckleberry
And last, but not least, Nora Tess and her baby, as of today. It's no surprise that she's getting a baby stroller for Christmas.

it's not easy fitting them both on the horse!
snuggling with baby a couple of mornings ago
Cute Hairdo

Time for an UpDaTe/MonTana

2008-09-02T10:55:00.004-06:00

Well, I guess that it is time for an update!! And of course who else would be the featured subject.....None other then my beautiful Nora Tess!! :) Nora and I have been in Montana for two weeks now. It has been wonderful to be here visiting Grandma, Aunt Kelcy and Daylin. Nora Tess wakes up each morning saying, "Day Day" and wanting to play with her fun cousin. It was even more fun for a few days while Tom and Suz and their kids were here visiting too. Samantha, Seth and Daylin played until they literally dropped of exhaustion and Nora Tess absolutly LOVES her cousin, Trey. We have also done some fun things while we've been here. We did a little photo shoot with Nora and Daylin up at Conrad Mansion, had Daylin's 4th birthday party. Went for a hike at Lone Pine State Park, and conquered the maze at Coram as well as braved the bumper boats. Nora loved the bumper boats but had a hard time with the life jacket she had to wear!! I've also found a new craft/obsession.....BOWS!!! I purchased about $$ (I can't actually disclose the amount because my husband reads this blog!! haha) of ribbon and have been creating bows and ponytail ribbons etc. and it is so much fun. I will post some pictures of my bows when I get home. here are just a couple of pictures of Nora that I love and haven't put on here yet. These were when Nora Tess discovered the Tomatoe plants in my garden. She pulled off three green tomatoes and was having a blast trying to eat them and playing in the dirt.

BREAKING DAWN!!

2008-08-07T13:48:00.005-06:00

I realize I am doing two posts in a single day, but I'm just so excited!!! I have finished Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.

I was so upset this week because I had preordered the book from Amazon (not on my good list right now) and the book came out on Sat. I did not receive the book on Sat. I did not receive the book on Sun., Mon., or Tues. either. I had still not recieved the book Wednesday morning while I was yelling at some Indian guy @ Amazon.com, whom I could barely understand, about the fact that I still did not have my book!!! I mean, really, who would pre-order a book when they could have bought it a dozen times over by the time it finally arrives??? Exactly!
So, anyway, I am bugged and ticked off and annoyed.....when I walk in my house at about 1:00pm on Wednesday afternoon, and what, to my wandering eyes should appear; a package!!! I ripped it open and immediately sat down and started page 1! I read for an hour before I forced myself back to work. Read during Nora Tess' nap (the stinker only slept for 40 mins. of course!!!) and while I was making dinner and making sure N.T was in no immediate danger :) Then I had to go to Young Womens for an hour and a half, but as soon as I got home I hopped right back into it. I had the occassional and expected interruptions (no, not from Nora - from Clay) who can't stand the silence and who kept going on and on about our new asphalt driveways (I know, Honey, I love the driveways too!!!!) but soon he headed to bed and I proceeded to read until 2:30am. Book Finished......Case Closed......The End!!!!
Whew! Stephenie Meyer did it again; My heart fluttered, My Jaw DROPPED, and I was thoroughly entertained! the following pictures are of my daughter "getting into" the Twilight frenzy!! hehe (With just a little help from her mama!!)
She actually sat really still while I let the tattoo soak!
Tough girl attitude to go along with the new tattoo!!!

***No children were actually tattooed during/before/after this post! :)

Fun in the Sun Summer Daze

2008-08-07T13:33:00.004-06:00

I found some pictures from just a couple of weeks ago when we took a fantastic little trip over to Bear Lake for an afternoon of sunshine! Nora Tess loves the water and so do Mom and Dad so we all had a blast playing in the sand and "sea" and soaking up the rays. We borrowed a fun floating crab from Aunt Melissa and so Nora was set to just float and float and float and....well, you get the idea. She was mad when we finally got her out. The pictures were just too cute to not put on our blog!AquABaBy
Daddy and Nora Tess @ the Beach

Building a Sand Castle with Daddy

Loving the H2O!
Swimming with Mama and Daddy

Nora Tess' 1st Birthday BBQ Bash!

2008-08-05T13:14:00.004-06:00

On Saturday we had a Birthday BBQ for Nora Tess at the park just down the road from our house. It ended up being lots of fun with great family and friends. Here is a slideshow of the guest of honor:

Nora was a little apprehensive about the cake destroying. I really thought she would be up to her eyeballs in it right away. She did a fair job in the end of getting it all over. I ran her home afterwards for a quick bath before the horseshoe tournament commenced. She also really enjoyed opening her presents - she had lots of great help from her cousins; Samantha, Seth and Daylin. Thanks guys!!
then came the real fun: Ice Blocking Anyone?!!

This was an impromptu activity that turned out to be a ton of fun. We got 10 blocks of ice and everyone took turns and had a blast we had a couple of big races from top to bottom of the big hill at the park. Not to boast, but I have to say I rocked it! Tom had me on speed but I stayed on longer!!! ha. Dad topped it off with a wicked back somersault of of his ice block. I got one good pic but Melissa scored the great ones!! It was such a blast!

We also had a quick horseshoe tournament! Dad and Marisa Hartmann were the big winners!
Clay managed to do this twice in pretty quick succession so I had to take a picture the second time.
of course he had to celebrate!
Uncle Matt (Clay's oldest brother) stopped in to say Happy Birthday! Nora Tess was laughing at the troll doll he gave her.
We had to hurry up with the tournament as it was starting to get dusk. I'm so grateful for such fun family and friends. I don't know what I would do without them. Thanks everyone - for making the trip over and for the great gifts you gave to Nora Tess - she's been in hog heaven for days!!! :)

Birthday Girl

2008-07-30T10:27:00.008-06:00

I'm a little late on this one. Nora Tess' first birthday was yesterday; July 29th. It is impossible to believe that it has already been one year since she blessed our lives!! The changes have been rapid fire and I've loved every minute of it.

One year ago!
My little Monster this morning; 1 year later

She has such a fun spirit and I hope that she will always be a little fun and carefree. There's always a thin line to everything you wish for you children, I've come to realize. I want her to be a little carefree and always fun, but responsible and intuitive. I want her to be confident and self-assured, but not proud or boastful. I want her to be athletic and tough, but I also want her to be creative and sensitive and love to read! The list goes on and on and I know that it will be my lifes mission to try to encourage all of these things in my little girl. And she definitely is a little GIRL!! haha. I was a little nervous when I found out we were having a girl. I love girls but I wasn't sure I would be the best mother for a girl (Thankfully we have great Aunts to help out!!!) I'm not super girly, although I find I am drawn to more feminine things now more then ever. But I shouldn't have worried because no matter how much I dress N.T in Wranglers and t-shirts (she does get plenty of time in dresses etc. because they're so stinking cute) she is still all girl. She loves necklaces and bracelets. I hardly ever wear makeup, but she was totally into Aunt Jodi's Makeup and somehow knew it went on her face. She thinks that she needs chapstick on her lips all the time. She giggles and screeches/screams like a little girl, and she's even starting to dance like a girl - all graceful hand movements instead of the ghetto-bob. And you know what I've found myself thinking about all this; I love it!! I love that she is snuggly and sensitive and loves to give kisses and play with her dollies and jewelry. And just as much, or more, loves to pet and ride the horses, or sit for an hour, or more, just to watch dad shoe a horse. I love that she always picks out bright colors and thinks that Huckleberry (the horse)'s name is 'Duck', and that every dog's name is Tonka. I love that she has her own personality. I even love that she is trying to exercise her own independence and agency. Granted it is frustrating at times saying, "no, thank you" for the billionth time in a single day about the same thing. But, I love that she just has to try it again to see if I'm going to stick to my guns. I love everything about my sweet girl and I only hope that I can help her through the rough patches, as well as share in all the joys, in life through her years to come. I love you baby girl.
Birthday Girl Kisses:
Kisses for Daddy:

A Few more Pics of our Packtrip

2008-07-30T10:13:00.003-06:00

Here are a few more pictures of our packtrip. We really didn't take many pictures. I was too busy relaxing and fishing!! :)

A little Packhorse Attitude!!!
RePacking Molly Mule on the Continental Divide
A close up of One of the many flowers. Because of the wet Spring the flowers were amazing. I didn't get any of my favorites, the Indian Paintbrush and the wild lillies which look like these beautiful, small, white tulips
Clay's dad goofing around at Thorofare Creek while we were waiting for the mighty fisherman, aka Clay, to return.

Our Wilderness Adventure!

2008-07-22T13:27:00.009-06:00

As most of you (who read this) know, Clay and I spent two summers and one fall working for an outfitter out of Jackson Hole Wyoming. Clay knew the owner of Yellowstone Outfitters from growing up in Star Valley and had worked for them during High School/before his mission. It was like a dream come true for me. I spent everday on a horse - I learned so much. I even learned how to cook (which was fortunate because that was my job!! :) I was the camp cook and Clay was the fly-fishing guide and Head-man-around-camp! We worked in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Our basecamp was north of Moran Wyoming at Turpin Meadows and we rode in, on horses, 30+ miles to camp for 6 day trips (2 days to ride in and out and 4 days in the wilderness) After our first summer we did the fall hunting camp as well where Clay and I both managed the horses and were packers. We packed elk to camp and out to the road, managed the horses and became extremely proficient with a cross cut saw (how I long for those biceps again!) It was so amazing to have that opportunity to do that. I long for those summers and the dirt and hardwork that we endured and the beautiful nature that we were a part of. We got to meet some pretty neat people as well on most of our trips. We took the Owner of Breyers horses on a Roving trip once and he ended up sending me like 5 different Breyers horses. There were wrecks and scary times but there were a lot more laughs and great experiences then the latter. Anyway, to get to the point...After our second summer Clay got offered a great job opportunity with Northern Title and we made the decision to finally grow up, leave the cowboying and outfitting behind, move to Kemmerer Wyoming and get real jobs!! :) Since we were growing up we decided we might as well throw a little monster into the mix and Nora Tess came along the next summer. I was 8 months pregnant in June last year when Clay, his Dad and Uncle Phil took their own personal pack trip back into the Wilderness. Man I was jealous and if they would have let me I would have been in that saddle and up at Hawks Rest 8 months pregnant and all!!! I met them in Jackson when they came out (I had to make sure my horses were okay) and It didn't diminish my jealousy any. Well, this year was my year!!!! We scheduled our very own packtrip for July 4th but there was too much snow still and so we ended up delaying it two weeks. We just got back Sunday night late and it was Fantastic!!!!!! This was the first time that Clay and I have gone into the Wilderness together just for ourselves! We rode in on Wednesday and spent three glorious days fishing (Cutthroat Trout the size of Salmon) and resting and riding. I missed my little monster but knew she was in GrEAt hands with Grandma Galloway (they are the best of buddies) and it was nice to sleep in and read a book and do whatever I wanted to do. I have alot of new bruises and one close call when my horses foot connected with the right side of my head but all was well and I can't wait again for next year and ecspecially when we'll get to the point when we can take our own kids up to that beautiful country that feels like home to us.
Here are some pictures of us fishing:

The fish were so huge - my shoulder was so tired that I finally had to quit.

This was actually Clay's fish. I look like a HUGE dork so try to focus on the fish. It was a tie between this fish and the very first fish that I caught for the title of the biggest. I think this one won - it certainly was the best looking/best picture!

Yellowstone National Park

2008-06-26T10:28:00.003-06:00

I forgot to mention that on our way home from the Vance Reunion in Montana, Clay and I decided to go through Yellowstone Park. It was a straight shot for us, but because it was the park we didn't go through it on the way up because it inevitably takes longer, even though it's a shorter distance. Well, when we left Sunday morning we just figured we might as well. It had been a few years since either of us had been that way. The traffic was okay most of the way we got to stop and go traffic outside of Old Faithful for about a half an hour but it put us at the geyser 10 minutes before it erupted so that worked out great. Nora Tess got to 'stretch' her legs and watch Old Faithful for the first time in her little life. In truth she was more excited by the various dogs that were around! It was fun for us though. We stopped and had supper at Colter Bay (In Teton National Park) with Doug, Cindy, Kristi, Brooks, Kacee and a few friends and then we were on our way again. Going by the Tetons and through Jackson always makes me miss our old summers even more accutely - but that's for another post!!!

Vance Family Reunion

2008-06-25T14:31:00.004-06:00

What a fun weekend!! If anyone out there needs a great Reunion spot - the Vance's found it. It's not a short little jaunt over to the Solberg Pine Creek Cabins in Montana but the long drive was way worth it. It is this beautiful, secluded, little place with about 8 cabins and a creek runs right through the property. The perfect little creek for floating down, wading in and fishing.
Getting ready for the hand off to Grandma
Nora Tess loved the floating. She went down with Clay quite a few times. She's also become quite the little camper. We took her pack 'n play to sleep in and she slept great all bundled up in her sleeping bag and blankets. The first night, it was cold, but the second night she pretty much slept with just a blanket. Peeking in the Tent Window
I think everyone spent most of the day in their bathing suit (especially the kids) playing in the water and enjoying the glorious sunshine. I even got a little sunburned with is a rarity for me! Clay, of course, got red (that's the only color he gets) but didn't end up burned too bad, which was good. I actually didn't get many pictures because we were all just too busy relaxing, and enjoying ourselves. One of the highlights, that I wish had been captured on film was the family float. Tom, Suz, Chip, Melissa, Kelcy, Clay and I all hiked up river past the property line to the next fence and floated the creek clear to the bottom of the property we were staying on. It was alot of fun with a few soakings, some good natured bumper boats and just being together. Mom and Dad ran herd on the 6 grandkids while all of this went on which is exciting in itself when they are all under 4 years old!! Thanks Mom and Dad!!! The Reunion was a hit complete with good times, lots of laughs, an immense amount of delicious food, and Fun-Loving Family.
I swear Nora Tess never quit eating the entire weekend!!
Kudos Uncle Maury for pulling it off and to everyone else for making it so much fun.

This was the 'sisters' inducting Maury into the "Old Folks Gang" He is the gorgeous dark haired "woman" in the middle!

The MiniVan

2008-06-17T11:25:00.007-06:00

What's that you say, "the minivan?" Let me tell you a little something about the minivan. I have always been anti-minivan. I thought, "I will always choose a stylish, cool SUV over the ugly, stereotypically wussy minivan. Who would drive a minivan?" Well, let me be the first to say, that over the past few months I would stand proud in front whoever, whenever and shout at the top of my lungs, "I!, I would drive a minivan and LOVE it!"
The reason for this change of heart? Well, first of all, they look much cooler now then back in the day when my parents hauled us around in one. Second, gas prices make me cringe. Third, they are so freakin' convenient, comfortable and filled with tons of cool stuff.
I mean if you really stop to think about it (i.e. the many people who still drive them around) it's just SMART. They are more fuel efficient. They have a great ride. Easy in and Easy out. They Configure to all sorts of different situations. They sit you higher up then a little car and they have lots of room. I'm sold!

Especially after this weekend when we spent half of Saturday driving around in a loaded 2008 Chrysler Town and Country.

I may never be able to afford one of this caliber but it just refueled my love for the minivan!
Can't you tell that they just love their minivan? :) I LoVE their MIniVaN!!

A Happy Father's Day

2008-06-17T10:42:00.007-06:00

Sunday was Clay's first official Father's day. He did get a gift last year, because I was enormously pregnant! ha. But this year he actually has the kid to show for it :). He got to sleep in. We made him breakfast. He got to take a nap after church and then we went out and rode our horses. It was a beautiful day and I'm so glad because it was fitting for the wonderfully fantastic father that he is. Nora Tess is always asking for Daddy and as soon as he walks through the door, I am invisible, which hardly seems fair - and yet I love it. I am so grateful for my own amazing father and for the great father that I acquired when I married Clay. They are just amazing men and I love you all. Thank Heaven for the Dads in our lives! and thanks Honey for being such a GR8 one, yourself!!
when it all began:<strong>Daddy and his brand new baby girl.

Daddy and Nora Tess just chillin'

Riding Buddies. An Aweseme Father's Day for an Awesome Father.

Family

2008-06-12T09:34:00.006-06:00

Grandma Galloway with Daylin and Nora Tess on a covered wagon in Kanab

What would we have without family? I can't even begin to imagine what my life would be like without such a wonderful family. I have been so blessed with my own little family - my super, hunky, cowboy who would give me the moon, and a beautiful, fun, happy daughter whose innocence and unconditional love reminds me everyday of heaven, and my ultimate goal.
Leah and Nora Tess @ the splashpad. More like long lost sisters instead of cousins!

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family around us that do so much for us. I am so grateful for my family and for their love and support and examples to me in my own life as a wife and mother and individual. Thank you all.

Sunny Arizona

2008-06-11T13:59:00.003-06:00

Oh, how I have missed sunshine! Last Thursday night, my mom and I (with Daylin and Nora Tess in tow) started our trek to the sunshine-y splendor of Arizona! It was a short trip and a long drive but 90+ degree weather and getting to spend time with Cade, Jill, Leah and Carter made it more then worth it. We stopped and slept for a couple of hours in Kanab on Thursday and then Made it the rest of the way on Friday morning. That night we went to a play that Leah was in - the youngest cast member - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I thought it would be a struggle to get Daylin and Nora Tess to sit still after being so long in the car, but it was so entertaining and fun that they both sat through 2 hours of it, totally enthralled! Nora Tess tried to sing along a few times and Daylin kept asking, "Why his brothers being mean to him?" and then afterwards, "Joseph's Dad got him his coat back!" It was really fun! We helped Cade and Jill pack up stuff in the house on Saturday and then had an outing to the outlet malls and played on the playground/splashpad there for awhile. Sunday, Mom and I took the kids to a different splashpad where they had a blast. What a great way to spend an afternoon. Cade and Jill were good and went to church! Monday morning came all too soon and found us back on the road again. A 10 hour trip inevitably becomes a 12 hour trip with a 10 month old and a 4 year old. But the girls did so good, I can't really complain. When we finally got to Salt Lake about 8:30pm we played outside for awhile, Nora Tess and Daylin had a bath together and then about 11 pm Nora and I got back in the car for the additional 2 hours home. It was way passed bedtime so Nora slept the whole way thankfully. It was a rough drive but we made it and it was so good to be home and to see my super wonderful husband who stayed up waiting for us! What a good guy! I wish I was back in AZ now though, because Tuesday night it snowed and Wednesday morning there was actually snow on the ground again! I just want to scream!!!

Bruiser

2008-06-03T12:55:00.003-06:00

So, Nora Tess keeps getting funnier and funnier and also more and more active/mobile. She LOvEs to be SiLlY. Well, we were playing Saturday night in her room and she would bodyslam her blanket and I would crawl over and tickler her and we'd both laugh. Then she was making me laugh so hard my cheeks hurt, by head slamming her blanket over and over really fast and laughing hysterically about it. My poor cheeks finally couldn't take it anymore so I started wrestling her and tickling her. Well, right then, Clay called and as I was 'taking a break' and talking to Clay, Nora started pulling the blankets off of the bottom shelf of her changing table. There were a couple of beautiful crochet blankets that we got from family and friends when N.T was born and as she was reaching for another blanket, her other hand slipped on one of the crocheted ones and she ate the bottom of the changing table really hard. She hit her lip, top tooth and side of her mouth really hard. She mangled up her lip and her gums and lip were bleeding pretty bad and, of course, she was sooo sad. The next morning she woke up with a fat lip and purple bruise that started at the corner of her mouth and extends in a straight line to about the middle of her cheek.

Sunday, she fell again and hit her eye on something (I can't remember what it was now) and ended up with a red bruise under her eye! Luckily there are no pediatrician appointments coming up soon - they'd probably think she was being abused. I thought I had a girl? Aren't boys supposed to be the banged up ones?!

The Crawler

2008-06-03T12:18:00.003-06:00

I almost forgot to mention:
Nora learned how to crawl!! She finally did it about 3 weeks ago. She's been able to move around and get to stuff and she's been super close for months but for some reason we just couldn't keep that cute little butt in the air!! :) So, anyway, I've tried bribing her with my cell phone and even with my glasses but I should have figured (since I know my own daughter) that all I would have to do is put a bag of Twizzler Nibs 5 feet away and off she would go!! What a nut! She's figured out now that it is pretty cool to be able to go wherever she wants and I am loving it (so far- other then eating her first bite of dog food - she hasn't gotten into anything too bad) But I have found her doing some pretty funny/cute things. A couple of days ago I was cleaning and she was playing in her room and it was pretty quiet so I went in to check on her and she was over by her book shelf 'reading'. I watched for a little bit and she would pull a book out, open it, 'read' a page, and then throw it off to the side and repeat! It was pretty cute and when I started to take a couple of pictures she just looked back and smiled and went about her business!
Yesterday she got this puzzle down and she is just starting to get the idea that they go back in after you take the pieces out. And she would take the pieces out, throw them and then crawl over and get it so she could try to put it back in the right place. It was pretty cute. It's so funny to try to figure out what is going on in that cute head of hers.

Camping

2008-06-03T12:08:00.004-06:00

For those of you who know us - We LOvE Camping!!! I was so excited over Memorial Weekend to be able to go camping, however the weather was not very cooperative. We did end up going on Sunday in Logan. We went with Clay's brother Brett and his family and met up with some good friends at the campsite just outside of Logan. Clay and I set up our trusty old tent - which we practically lived in for two years. And enjoyed burgers and bratwurst around the campfire followed up with some good ol' peach cobbler - not my greatest cobbler, but sufficient nonetheless! :) This was Nora Tess' first camping experience and she was a little trooper. She loves to be outside so she enjoyed crawling around in the dirt and at bedtime she snuggled down into her sleeping bag with all the 5 extra blankets tucked in around her and promptly went to sleep! She's my outdoors girl. She may look nothing like me but she does like to be outside and play in the dirt and camp like me!! The other thing that was really fun about camping was the sleeping bag for Nora Tess. I've had this My Little Pony sleeping bag since I was little and it was fun to pass it on to her. It's probably worth some money on Ebay (or so I'm told) But I'm more sentimental and think it's more fun to keep it around. The pictures are from when I was airing everything out once we were back home. I wish I would have taken a picture of her sleeping in the bag - it was so stinking cute!! haha.

finally....a bEaUtiFuL Summer Day!!

2008-05-20T14:01:00.008-06:00

Finally, not just a beautiful summer day - but an entire weekend and then some!!! I'm so excited!! We spent Saturday in Logan - with our horses. Clay got to rope - and even started our two horses in the ways of ropin':) - and Nora Tess and I just got to ride around the arena which made us both very happy!!

Clay roped off both of our horses, Kwik and Huckleberry, for the first time and they both did great. This is Clay lead steering on Kwik.

Nora Tess had a blast just being outside. We rode horses and played in the dirt, ate, and even napped outside. The back of Gpa Broadheads truck made the perfect, cool, outdoor crib! Now we just need many more weekends just like this!!

Friends

2008-05-16T12:14:00.005-06:00

This week Nora's Babysitter and husband had to make a quick trip to California so their two youngest kids (they have 7), Jasmine (9) and Isaiah (7) came to stay at our house for a few days. Nora Tess absolutely loved it. She has a major crush on Isaiah. He and Jasmine are always really good to play with her.

Nora Tess, Isaiah, Jasmine and their older sister, Mariah

Isaiah found some little glasses that were on a couple of stuffed animals and they had fun putting them on Nora Tess.

Remind you of any famous Book characters? I haven't laughed this hard for a long time which insured that Nora wore them because she thought it was great to get that good of a reaction.

Family Home Evening

2008-04-29T13:10:00.014-06:00

Finally, some B-E-A-U-TIFUL weather!!

We got to get out the Fishing Equip.! We loaded up the truck and headed out as soon as Clay got home from work. It started out windy but ended up wonderful!

note: You will not see any pictures of me catching fish. Clay caught 2 and I ended up with the goose-egg. Not a good way to start the Summer Fishing Competition.

Nora Tess thought the fish were great! She actually burst into tears when the fish fopped away from her and Daddy put it back in the water. There's nothing like a little fish slime to make a girl happy!

We had so much fun. Nora Tess loves to be outside and to do whatever we do. She's going to be our tough little outdoors girl. And of course we had a blast trying to get the fish to bite and just enjoying one of our first really nice days!

the little, laughing midget just snacked on her crackers and watched Tonka dash around like a mad-dog (which is why she was laughing in the first place)!!

Isn't he cute?

April SNOW Showers 4/24/08

2008-04-24T09:08:00.002-06:00

UNBELIEVABLE!!!! We finally are seeing the faint light of summer at the end of the dark winter tunnel and then all of a sudden this morning we wake up to two inches of snow!!! It's completely and ridiculuosly DISGUSTING!

It continues to be a distressing game of Hide and Seek with Summer, and I am to the point where I am yelling at the top of my lungs: "Olly Olly Oxen Free.....Come out Come out, Wherever you are!!!"

Nora Tess Playing in the Dirt...

2008-04-23T16:48:00.003-06:00

Last Friday we drove to Logan and met Grandpa Broadhead and our horses, Quik and Huckleberry, at Brett's house. Friday was really nice there so we got to play with the horses and rope a little bit and Nora Tess got to play in the dirt/sand in the arena. She had a blast and her once white skirt was very quickly brown! She also played with the tractor and dump truck that her cousin Casen shared with her. She of course enjoyed the fine delicacy of the dirt itself, and many of the various rocks that she found. She's very good at "spitting it out" if I ask! Casen informed me that she was, "...not making good choices..." because I kept having to tell her not to eat it (and subsequently telling her to spit it out!) It made me even more excited for summer! COME ON SUMMERTIME!

Mama's Little Helper

2008-04-23T14:54:00.007-06:00

Last week, I was feeling creative and so I decided to start a couple of sewing projects. I had some crazy "cowboy frog" material that I think is super cute/hilarious so I thought I would make a couple of outfits out of that; a dress for Nora and a summer outfit for her cousin, Trey. I was able to accomplish most of it while the little monster was asleep, but these were a few fun pictures I couldn't resist taking of when she was "helping" me!

She loves to play Peek-a-boo and she thought that it was great fun to peek out from under the material - each time she had a different expression.

She just cracks me up all the time.

These were the finished products - Maybe she's good help after all. It certainly was more fun!!

Photo Shoot or Laughing Gallery?

2008-04-09T10:59:00.009-06:00

So, I made Nora Tess a dress. I love how it turned out, so I decided that I wanted to get some pictures of her in it. I enlisted the help of my darling Clay, we had some tulips from Easter, and a couple of pink daisies from my birthday that I thought would make great props! Well, it didn’t quite turn out the way I had pictured in my mind (I obviously have an overactive imagination not at all based in reality) but it ended up being a lot more hilarious then cutesy! So here are some of my favorites:
In the Beginning.....
It was all just great and exciting to begin with before the props came out!!

I had some hope initially that I would get atleast one perfect shot.

And Then There Was…….
"This is My flower, Mama...." This is when i was trying to help her hold it up instead of pick off all the petals! She thought her idea was much more fun.

If Babies Could Talk…….
She would be saying. "Don't Mama!" I was simply trying to take the flower to fix it and this is what I get. She wanted me to have nothing to do with it, anymore.

This one says, "I just want to hold it! Why can't you just leave me alone??"

Happy Easter!!

2008-03-25T14:18:00.003-06:00

We spent the Easter weekend driving about. Friday and Saturday we were in Star Valley with Grandma and Grandpa Broadhead. Sunday we had Easter dinner in Logan with Family and Friends. It was a lot of fun. We love to be anywhere with family and good food! Nora loved watching the kids hunting for Easter eggs and even got to "find" a couple for herself that were hiding in a tree. She was very excited to discover that they made noise when she shook them (Daddy was excited to eat the 'noise')
The other great thing about Easter in Logan was NO SNOW!! Nora Tess finally discovered what hides beneath all our snow - GRASS! She had fun patting, touching, picking and, of course, eating the grass. She also managed to terrify an unfortunate earthworm that was soaking up some sun. Luckily I got to that before it made it into the mouth, so we just looked at it instead of trying out our other sense on it!! I'm so glad it's Spring!