Little bit of this, little bit of that, and the family artist

Life has been insanely busy the last few weeks with work. I've been traveling at least two days each week and often more, and been putting in a lot of late nights and weekend time writing reports. In fact, I should be writing a report right now! I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything I've got going on & not sure how to handle it all and get it all done well and attempt to stay on top of things. And then I heard about a friend who is waiting to hear if her job is being cut and if she'll be let go from her company. And that made me stop feeling sorry for myself for being so busy. I am so grateful for a good, steady job that I really enjoy. I'm grateful for the chance I have to work from home and be here for my family and be involved in Josh's life and activities to the extent that I'm able to be. I'm grateful to be associated with companies in my job that are strong and solid. They have ethics and integrity and are like families. I'm grateful for their confidence and belief in me.

The one benefit of traveling is that I get to see some pretty things and places. And when I go to Sun Valley or Jackson, I see some ski hills that I would much rather be skiing down than working!











Josh is taking Ceramics at school this trimester. I have to admit that I have harassed him a bit about it. But he's really good. I picked up a couple of his pieces for him and brought them home last week. I was really impressed at how good they are. He's just a fount of hidden talents! The tall red piece is going to be in the local art show at the library sometime next month. I'm really looking forward to going in to see it on display!!

Simplot Games

Every year, there is a huge high school indoor track and field competition in Pocatello. The Simplot Games is the premiere high school event in the country. Josh decided to run this year and did the 1600 meter(also known as the 1 mile). There were 19 kids from Snake River running. Two of them were running the mile--Josh & Tylo. As Josh found out more information about Simplot, he realized that this was really a big deal. The Simplot Games record for the mile is 4:10, which is crazy fast. He decided he wanted to use the experience just to set a baseline to start the Track season with. Probably wise, since Josh talks about running a whole lot more than he actually does run. He ran on Thursday night and set a starting point of 5:38 for the track season & has set a goal to finish the season at 5:00 flat. He did a great job & I was proud of him! Track starts next week...I can already see that those first track meets promise to be as cold as they were last year!!

The best friends

I have the best friends in the world! The last month or so has been sort of hard for me for various reasons. I have discovered in that time that I am probably the luckiest girl in the world, because I have the very best friends ever! Whenever I'm having a bad day or going through something rough, they take time out of their lives, which I know are busy and full, to make sure that I'm ok and to let me vent & to commiserate with me. They take my side but aren't afraid to give me the kick in the butt I so often need. The other day, it meant so much to me to pull a card from my dear friend Jen out of the mail and know that I mattered enough for her to take the time from her 5 kids to send me those sweet words. My parents always taught me the importance growing up of good friends, so I realize how fortunate I am to have such amazing friends & count myself double lucky that two of them have been friends for about half my life!

Thanks you guys! I love you all so much & hope to be as good a friend to you as you are to me.

Happy Valentines Day!

Our Valentine's Day started with heart shaped pink pancakes for Josh & Emmett. We had a nice dinner that my mom made for us, and then finished the meal off with a yummy, double layer, heart shaped red velvet cake for dessert.

I hope everyone was able to spend their day with those that they love the most and if you have a special Valentine, that you were able to be with that person on this day as well.

L.O.V.E the Olympics!!!

I so, so, so love the Olympics!! I seriously am a huge Olympics junkie. I watch them every night, I'm checking out the website as often as I can. I love them. The winter Olympics are my favorite. Ice skating, snowboarding, skiing, moguls, aerials, I just love it all! So for the next two weeks, I'll be attentively watching the Olypics & cheering for Team USA!

Winter Fest

Josh got his Winter Fest pictures back yesterday & they were so cute! Of course, that's because these four kids are so danged cute!

The highlight of a very bad night last night was sweet Hannah and her wonderful mother Peggy visiting us last night & bringing cookies. They knew we were having a tough night and wanted us to know that they were thinking about us and came and shared their friendship and love with us. Thanks Hannah and Peggy! We love you guys so much!!

Ch. Pembroke New Way to Fly February 17, 2002-February 1, 2010

Ever had a day that you wished you could just skip over and not have? Today was one of those for me. The entire day was pretty rotten. I did have the highlight of visiting briefly with Jen & her kids. But the day got exceedingly worse on the way home, when I got a call from Josh that there was something wrong with Garth. Indeed, when I got home, Garth was in a bad, bad way, and I was afraid that we were going to lose him. I called the vet, who happens to be a very good friend of mine from high school. After talking to Tony and giving him the symptoms an telling him how Garth looked, we determined that I would bring him in, but that most likely there was nothing we could do for him. We did end up losing this sweet, sweet boy tonight, before his time. Tony believes that he had a fast moving cancer and that he'd gone downhill so quickly he wouldn't survive treatment.

Garth was only not quite 8 years old. I absolutely adored this boy. He was so sweet and so kind. He loved to give hugs and kisses and always wanted to please me. He always, always made me happy and always made me smile. I will greatly miss his hugs and kisses--Garth was not a licker, but would touch his nose to your cheek to give you a kiss. Rest in peace sweet boy. We love you and we will miss you.

All is Right in my World Again....

This was the scene around my breakfast table this morning. After 2 weeks of restriction for both Josh & Emmett after a New Years Eve incident, Emmett was back at our house for the weekend. My two favorite teenage boys are back, eating all my food and making me laugh almost non stop! And since there's no school tomorrow, I get them for another day.

Winter Fest & Birthday lunch

Yesterday was a good day. It started off with lunch with two of my best friends. I have known Jenni & Amy half my life, since my parents moved me to Idaho in 8th grade. I met Jenni my first day at school after we moved here & we because immediate friends. One of the biggest regrets in my life is that Jenni and I drifted apart after high school and lost each other for a number of years. And one of the biggest blessings in my life in the last few years is that Jenni and I have been able to find each other again and settle back into our close friendship. So the three of us went to Bajio's for lunch. If you've never been there, you should--it's a really good Mexican grill. Lunch was good, but the company was awesome! It was fun to be able to sit and relax and have some girl time! Thanks guys--I love you!!

Last night was the Winter Fest dance at Snake River. Josh took a good friend of his, Hannah, and they doubled with Josh's best friend Emmett and his date, Whitney. They went bowling & then came here for diner & to Emmett's house for dessert. They were such a fun group--they laughed the entire time they were here.

They enjoyed dinner & then decided to play "the spoon game" which isn't really so much a game as it is a chance to pick on the one who doesn't know what the joke is. Emmett was the "dummy" last night. Once he realized he was being conned & whacked on the head by Josh, he decided to try to get even.

Love him!!!

Josh always makes me laugh! I love that boy. He always seems to be able to sense my mood & know what I need sometimes even before I do. Yesterday, he sent me a text that said. You've seemed sad. I just want you to know I love you. He's such a good guy.

Sunday, he made me laugh so hard. He was wearing old sweats and a pair of nasty old work boots with a wife beater undershirt. I told him to get dressed for dinner before he came to the table. So my goofy guy comes out "dressed for dinner" Yep, this is really what he wore!