Our New House

So we finally sold our house in NM. It is a huge relief and now we feel like we can start on our new house. So we are back to designing our plans and working on deeding the ground. We are hoping to get started soon before the ground freezes and makes it hard to dig and pour concrete. But if we don't get started until spring that is great to. It just gives me more time to plan. We are going to build something a little smaller than we had planned originally. We really want to build something we can pay off really quickly so we can do lots of other stuff besides just pay for a house. It should be really nice though. I will keep you updated on our progress. When it is done we expect all of our friends from NM to come and visit us. We sure do miss you all!!!

Halloween

Jon dressed up like a prison guard for work. All of the girls that work in his office dressed up like inmates. One of the girl's dad is the captain of the SWAT team and let Jon borrow a belt, a night stick, a badge and one of the guns they practice with. So he looked pretty convincing. On the back of his shirt are big white letters that say POLICE. It was pretty funny. When we went out that night a lot of people didn't recognize him with the hair and glasses, including his own brother.

Isabel really wanted to be a scary vampire, but she is so darn cute she came out more like a seductive one instead. Isabel was able to go trick or treating with some of her good friends and that made it way funner.

Andrew wanted to be a hunter and "shoot deers" just like his daddy. He was tons of fun. He would march right up to the houses and say trick or treat with all of the other kids. He really had a great time.

Isabel hits double digits!

I can't believe that it has been 10 years since I first saw my tiny little girl. She sure has grown! I am so proud of the young lady she is becoming. Isabel is the sweetest, most patient, and is truly concerned about others. She is so beautiful both inside and out. I feel so blessed every day to be her mom. I don't know how I was so lucky to have been chosen to be the mother of such a special girl. We sure love her!!!

Isabel was sick on her birthday and spent part of her day in the urgent care seeing the doctor. She had some contagious sinus thing and she was so worried that no one would be able to come and celebrate with her. Our wonderful family decided to risk it for her and they all came anyway. She was truly touched. (and luckily no one got sick.)

New Pictures of my ADORABLE kids.

I have got to be the slowest blogger in the world. I am going to try to do better about keeping up. I am so far behind that I have a ton of things to post. I am hoping to have some time tonight so hopefully I will get caught up. In the mean time I wanted to let you all have a link to these awesome pictures of my super cute kids. I should be getting the proofs on a disk soon and then I think I can post them directly. But until then if you are interested go to katieportraits.blogspot.com and look for the Isabel and Andrew pictures. If you get looking my adorable niece is also there her name is Kennedi . You won't believe how grown up they are getting. Time sure flies!!!

Harvest

Andrew was able to ride in the grain combine with grandpa this year. He really loves all of the big equipment, so he is always super excited to get to ride along. But even as exciting as it was it almost never fails that after a little while the vibrations get to him and he settles in and has a little nap. He is definitely our little future farmer.

My Baby Turned 2!!!

Andrew wanted to have his party at a local pizza place that has a huge play area. He and his cousins had tons of fun running around and sliding. I swear he didn't hardly slow down long enough to sit and open his presents and have a couple of bites of cake.

I can't believe he is already two. Time sure flys by. He is tons of fun and makes us all laugh. He is truly a blessing to our family. He was so worth all of the effort that it took to get him here. I am so glad that we didn't give up and were so blessed to have my sweet boy.

Andrew is talking all the time anymore. He says the funniest things. When Jon came home from work the other day he says to him, "I sure miss you dad!" It totally made his dad's day. He also really likes to say "Mommy watch me, watch me." over and over. He has also started into the whole WHY stage. We sure do love him!!!

Andrew wanted a tractor cake. He really loves anything that has to do with any kind of large equipment. Backhoes are his favorite. I wasn't sure of the best way to make a cake shaped like a tractor so Isabel and I bought some tractors and put them on our Oreo dirt and candy rock cake. It turned out pretty cute and he was really excited about it.

First Day of School

Isabel picked out her first day of school clothes the other day at the mall. She got this cute dress at American Eagle. Holy Cow! How did my little girl start fitting into clothes in the junior section. Her feet are now only a half a size smaller that mine. I miss my little girl, but am so excited to see what kind of young women she will become. She is such a sweet girl.

Isabel had her first day of school on Wednesday. Actually it was kind of a first day of school for all of us. We signed up for The Idaho Virtual Academy for this year. So I am her teacher for this year and we do it all at home. It is a neat program where they send you all of your curriculm and supplies, and you also have a teacher that is always available to help you out. And it is all free because it is a charter school. We just really felt like we needed to try something new this year, and out of the available choices here, we really felt this one was the best one. Isabel is really excited about it. I am a little nervous, but so far it has been great. They also set up alot of activities so you have a chance to meet lots of other families. Isabel is also signed up for Art classes at the art museum. She had taken classes there before we moved to NM and really missed her teacher. So she is super excited about that. She is still trying to decide on one other acitivity. She is thinking maybe karate. I think that would be a great choice for her.
And in case you didn't notice her hair in the pictures. Yes it is hot pink. Last time her and I went to get our hair cut I went dark and she got a little pink. She loves it and I figure it is just hair. It is semi-permenant so it will eventually wash out, but it is lots of fun in the mean time.

Our New House

We are just getting ready to start constuction on our new home. My dad was so great and gave us five acres to build on. It is the first house we have completely designed and we are so excited. We almost have the plans finalized and my dad should be harvesting the barley off next week. Then we just have to get it surveyed and get our permits. Then we will be underway. It will probably get started mid September and be done sometime in January. (If the weather cooperates.) We will keep updating with its progress. And when we finally move in we expect lots of visitors. So start planning your vacations now!

Jon climbs Mt. Borah

Jon, his brother Kenny and his dad took a group of scouts to the top of Mount Borah. In all it took them about 11 hours round trip. Only a few made it all of the way to the top. It was quite an accomplishment. We were all so proud of him.

The Top of the Mountain

Jon and I on top of the world!
The veiw was amazing!
There is one peak that there is piles of shale rock. People have stacked it up and made huge piles. Someone had made a fort out of it since we were there last. It was really cool. It was a huge round tower that was probably at least 8 ft. in diameter and 8ft. tall. It had to have taken along time to do. And some of the rocks were really big.
Here are some more of the piles of rocks. Some people have taken up paint and wrote their names and a date. We will have to do that one of these days.

Jon and I went to the top of the mountain above our cabin on the 4-wheeler. It was a lot of fun to just get away. The view from the top is spectacular. You can see into Montana, all of the way to Island Park resevoir, and back to Idaho Falls. It is a great trip!

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July. We got up early and went to the parade. Isabel, who is always looking for a way to make money, decided to take a wagon and sell bottles of water and otter pops. So she walked up and down the street before the parade and sold quite a bit of stuff. She made almost $40.00. Not bad for about a half an hours work. She thought it was a lot of fun. The we watched the parade. It is a big one. It lasts for about 2 hours, but the kids thought it was cool. Especially the horses and their big pile of candy that they collected. Then we went to my grandparents house for lunch. It is something my family does every year. But this year was special because they were celebrating their 60th Anniversary. It was nice to be a part of that. Then that night we went with Jon's sister and two of his brothers and their families down to the river to watch the fireworks. For such a small city the really know how to do a huge fireworks show. It was a great holiday. It really makes me so glad that I live in this country and am so proud to be an American.

Isabel's highlights

Isabel got her hair done today. She really wanted to put highlights in her hair again and she got a new cut. I think that it turned out so cute. She is sure growing up fast.

This Weekend at the Cabin.

We went to my family's cabin in Spencer this weekend. Two of Jon's brothers and their family came with us. It was alot of fun. Jon taught Isabel how to shoot a BB gun at some pop cans. She was pretty good at it.
We are just hanging out by the campfire. Jon with a Mountain Dew in his hand and a Diet Coke in mine. Some things never change!
Isabel had a great time fishing. She caught four fish the first time she went down and gave it a try. One of them was when her hook was just sitting in the water while they released the last fish. She really liked it and would do it all day given the chance.

Jon hanging out with the kids and our neice Emily. This is one of Isabel's many fish that she caught.

Andrew and I went for a walk to look at the wildflowers. He thought it was pretty funny to smell the flowers and then crush them in his hands and throw them. He is such a boy!

Isabel's Goats!

Isabel and Andrew with Isabel's goats. She has a mama named Amy and a baby names Jacob. The kids are having a great time taking care of them.
Andrew feeding baby Jacob.
Andrew and Isabel with the farm dog Sparky in front of a lilac bush that is on the farm. The lilacs are amazing this year.

We're so HOT... We've got to wear SHADES!!!

Isabel and Andrew sporting their new sunglasses.

Our Last Days in New Mexico

Andrew at the Rio Grande Nature Center.

Jon found a horny toad while golfing and brought it home to a very excited Isabel. She loved it for a couple days and then released it into our backyard.

We took my mom to get a pedicure for her birthday. It was a fun girls day.

Isabel at Old Town.

Getting Settled (well sort of)

I finally got my Internet hooked up tonight so I can update what we are up to . Our stuff got here yesterday. So we are in the process of trying to figure out what we really need to live for the next while, and what we can just store. It is amazing to see how little we really need to live and how much stuff we actually have. It is a process sorting through boxes and trying to get stuff put away. It has made it feel way more really that we really do live here now. Up until our stuff got here it still felt a lot like we were on vacation and should be going back home any time now. We are all feeling home sick for NM. We sure do miss everyone. On Sunday we were able to go and see Jon's youngest brother bless his first baby. I am really glad that we are able to go to stuff like that again. Well I hope all is well in NM. I will keep you posted I hope you all do the same.

We are coming back- by Isabel

Hi family and friends. I can't wait to come back and see you all. Be ready for me and my crazy bother. Andrew and me have changed a lot. Andrew likes the garbage truck and I like animals. My mom got a golf set for mother's day. Well bye.

We Are Moving

We are going to be moving back to Idaho by the end of May. It is very exciting to be back by our family. We have really missed them. But at the same time it is really sad for us to be leaving all of the great friends that we have made here in New Mexico. They have made our short time here full of great memories. I hope they all know how grateful we are for letting us into their lives, and being so kind and thoughtful to our family. I especially am going to miss all of the great friends that I have made here. I have never been involved with such a wonderful, caring and amazing bunch of women. Thank you so much for including me in all of your fun activities. I hope that we can stay in touch. I will miss you all!

Isabel's Leprechaun Trap

Isabel had to make a leprechaun trap for school. She designed a roller coaster where the car would unexpectantly fall in a bucket and would catch the unsuspecting rider. It turned out super cute and worked like a charm.

Andrew our superstar.

New at blogging

This is my first blog ever!!!