Shon and Holly Shuldberg

Las Vegas and San Diego trip

2011-11-15T08:51:00.000-08:00

Our oldest niece, McKinzie got married the first part of November. The wedding was in Las Vegas, a temple I have never been to so we were so excited to go. (Unfortunately, we got to the temple and I realized I had left my camera in the hotel so no pictures of the temple or of them coming out of the temple. So the pics I have are at the reception the next day in Santa Rancho Margarita, CA).

So we headed out on Thursday morning to Las Vegas. The wedding was on Friday afternoon. We did have one mishap in Vegas. Thursday night we met Brian and Alison and fam at a mexican place for dinner. It was a nice place and right after we had ordered, Cam told us he wasn't feeling well. About five minutes later, Cam threw up. Big time. It was horrible. I felt so sorry for the table next to us. I took Cam out to the truck, where I had to throw his clothes away and we spent the rest of the time watching a movie in the truck while everyone else enjoyed their dinner.

The sealing was just beautiful, as was Kinzie!! The bride and groom were soooo excited and it was so special.

Kinzie and Geoff McRae cutting the cake at the reception. Man, California is a beautiful place. It got a little chilly by the end but it was so nice for November.
Brian and Alison's family. I wish we got to see them more often...they live in Ft. Worth Texas.
Two very beautiful girls!! I have a hard time believing that Bailee is now 16! She is such a beautiful person.
Cam kept posing for me all night and wanted me to take tons of pictures of him. At least he was happy.

We stayed the remainder of our trip in San Diego right by where Shon's younger brother Jeff lives. Both he and his wife Claudia go to school there. Oh man I loved the ocean there!! And so did the kids.
It wasn't very warm and it sprinkled on and off all day but that didn't keep our boys out of the water.
Sea Lions are such weird looking creatures I think. But it was still cool to see them.
Wave watching from a pier.

Claudia doesn't really like cold weather. She was so bundled up. We thought that the 60 degrees was a lot better than the 40 it was back in Idaho.

Karlee loving the ocean.

In Old Town San Diego, there is a newly renovated Mormon Battalion Museum that we went to on Sunday. It was really neat. Here is Mason and Tyler dressed up as soldiers.
Brain, Tyler, Mason and Karlee panning for gold at the museum.
Shon and Cam looking for gold.

The San Diego temple is just a few blocks from where Jeff and Claudia live and where our hotel was. Oh my word it is gorgeous!!!

Our last day there, we went to the San Diego Zoo. Huge place!!! I wish we could have had another day to spend there. It was amazing.

I think giraffes are amazing creatures.

He is one cute seal, don't you think?!
My camera died while at the zoo so not many pics :(
That evening we went to the beach. Man, I could have spent days there!! I see why people love the ocean and the beach so much. It is so peaceful and so relaxing. I loved that we saw a bunch of surfers out on the water and coming in. It was exactly how I have pictured a California beach. I could definately live by a beach some day.
The kids loved it too!! It was a great vacation!!

2011-03-19T20:23:00.001-07:00

2011-03-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

Just a cute picture of Cam at Tyler's basketball game. He loved that his brothers played because he got to go to practice too. He just played and played at the gym. They all had a good basketball season (I had a few pics of the games posted but some how they got erased and now I can't post anymore for some reason).

I hung these hooks up on our landing to give the boys a place to put their back packs and coats after school instead of the couch or floor. It has worked well. When Cam got home from preschool the other day, I asked him to hang up his coat and backpack and put his shoes away. While he was taking a nap, I noticed that this was how he put everything away. So cute that he hung his shoes up too.

Will post more pictures when blogger will let me.

February Happenings

2011-02-18T11:49:00.000-08:00

Cam turned 3. My baby is 3. WOW. He had a very fun birthday. Got some monster trucks that he loves so much.

Look at that smile! The kids loved playing with the trucks on the cake. I made them wait until we had a picture of it before they could "VROOM" their trucks. (Ty and Zack have said that forever about cars and trucks. Now all of us say it.)
Zack and Ty both started basketball this month. Somehow I don't have any pics of Ty but here is one of Zack warming up with the team.

Just Cam being cute.

Zack got to go swimming with his class two days in a row. He thought it was awesome. I went to help his teacher. She was very nervous about getting all the kids dressed and back to school. It was fun to see him. Tylers class went too but I didn't get to help with them.

2011-02-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

Wow it has been a really long time since I have blogged. But here are few things that have been going on with us so far in 2011. (I won't bore you with things that happened before that)

We started out the new year pretty good. The first thing new we did was get a new bed. We have had a waterbed forever and we said if it ever broke we would get a regular bed. Well about two weeks after Christmas, it broke. It was a pain to get down, but we got it out, sold the frame and got a new bed! It took a while to get used to it, but we love it now. Not ever going back to a waterbed!!

Then I had a birthday. 33 big ones. WOW. Shon had picked up a yummy ice cream cake for that night. I had gotten a new camera about a week earlier for my birthday, so I wasn't expecting anything else, but Shon surprised me with tickets to a Jazz game and a night in a hotel in Salt Lake. It was sooo fun. We went to P.F. Changs after the game, which is one of my favs.

Other than that, we have just kind of been hanging out. Kids in school, Cam and I keeping ourselves occupied. Shon's work has been pretty good. He has been stressed and sometimes overwhelmed, but is pretty good.

This is Cam and his best friend Elie at the mall. It was so cold, we didn't leave th house much, so this is a good way to get out a little energy.

Happy Birthday to me!!
this is right after the game. It was a good game. The Jazz won.

Cam Dance Central.MOD

2011-02-12T09:04:00.000-08:00

Cam loves to do Dance Central like his mother and Brothers

Fun Pictures off Shons phone

2010-11-14T15:02:00.001-08:00

Zack got this a Tyler's scout meeting he thought it was really funny.
Shon's handy work with the pumpkins for Halloween. Not very spooky.
Can you guess who his is? ---------------- Jeopardy theme song -----------
President Monson

Tyler's Baptism

2010-06-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

Tyler got baptized on Saturday. What a wonderful day! This is a new thing for our little family, with Ty being the oldest. Both Shon and I got pretty emotional, which we expected. The stake baptism program was really nice. With my calling I get to go to the stake baptisms every month which I actually love. The opportunity to witness these ordinances is amazing. But of course it was different with Tyler being one that was making this step. It was so nice, I had a friend of mine take care of the music this time so I could just be with my family and enjoy. Tyler and I played a piano duet for the musical number. I didn't know if I could make it through it because tears were streaming down my face as we were playing, but it was beautiful.
It was so great to have the family there that could make it. Thank you for coming!!

That afternoon, we headed out to Ririe Reservoir to Blacktail. They have a great big grassy area and tables with shade and then this area blocked in by the docks. We have lived here for 8 years and have never been down here. It is only 15 minutes away. It was really fun!!
This is Zack at the far end of the swimming area. Over there it is too deep for an adult to touch and it is pretty cold. It is about 30 yard or so from the shore. Jed swam all the way over also. I am the only adult that actually jumped in from over there. It really took my breath away because it was so cold. But it was fun.

We took our little BBQ grill and cooked some hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner. Thanks Dad for being such a great cook!!

It was a great day!!!

2010-03-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

Here is Whitney's hair before her opera tonight. She didn't have make up on yet so I didn't take one of her face. We all thought her hair turned out good. She is so excited. Will post more later.

Natali's Baby Shower

2010-03-05T16:52:00.001-08:00

Natali's cake that her and I made. I baked the cakes and she decorated them. She even made the fondant. She is amazing!!
Cute booties from Grandma Norma.

Whit and Nat playing a game.
Another shot of the cake.
It was fun. We had a good time and I think so did Nat. We sure missed you that couldn't be here.

Tubes

2010-01-23T12:22:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, Cameron has gotten quite a few ear infections in his little life. It has been really bad the last 6 months or so with about 5. He has been on antibiotics almost straight since before Thanksgiving. So we went to see an Ear Nose and Throat guy this week and he recommends putting tubes in. I have heard about this procedure a lot, but never really knew what it was. So we talked and decided that it was the best thing to do. The only snag we have is that Cam has a raspy cough (that he has had for a long time) and they can't put him under if he has that. And his ears are still infected. So we scheduled the surgery for Feb. 5th hoping that his cough will be gone. The Doc can do the surgery with the infection, but I sure don't want him to be suffering for two weeks, so we had to put him on another antibiotic. That is the 3rd one since Christmas. Poor kid. He is so sensitive to stuff and this last antibiotic has really done a number on him. It has made him kind of sick. Throw up and the runs. His poor bum is raw. Hopefully this different medicine will be a little less harsh on him.

So I just have to share this horrible story with you. I said that this medicine made Cam sick, well it didn't at first, but it was really bad how I found out that it started to. On Sunday, I got the kids all ready for church and got there. Well, I was a little late because we now have 9:00 church so we sat in like the third row. Everything was going okay, the kids were being okay. Cam was a little grouchy, but I just thought he didn't want to sit there. Just after the choir number, I was holding him on my lap and Cam just pukes all of a sudden. Thankfully I had pretty good reflexes and actually caught it in his blanket and made a b-line for the door. He then unloaded everything else on a chair and on the floor out by the bishops office. Nice, I know. We were totally covered. I stripped Cam down to his diaper, wrapped him in Zack's coat, wiped enough off me so I wouldn't drip, cleaned up the floor and chair, then headed home. It was really bad. He was really good as soon as we got home. Long story short, after a few more pukings, I figured out that he needs to eat something when he takes the dang medicine. I am pretty tired on diahhrea and throw up. I think that the antibiotic that we started yesterday is treating him a little better. Hopefully after we get through these next few weeks, things will be a lot better for the poor guy.

Little Mr. Mischief

2010-01-17T16:12:00.000-08:00

This is what I found when I walked into the kitchen the morning after my birthday. I guess that he loved the chocolate cake as much as I did. He just kept saying "Cake, yum. Cake, yum!"

Actually, things like this happen often with this kid. He gets into things all the time. He went through a phase of putting things in the toilet. Thank Heavens he is over that one. (The DSI in the toilet was when I about lost it. I don't know if I have been quite that mad before). Now that he is a little older and can reach the table and countertops, I really have to be careful about what I leave up there. And he loves knives right now. So we try very hard to be careful. He sure can be a trouble maker, but he really has a very cute personality.

I am taking his into a Ear, Nose and Throat guy this week because he has gotten so many ear infections. The pediatrician thinks he may need tubes. Ty and Zack didn't ever go through this so I am a little nervous. But I would sure love it if he didn't have to go through all these ear infections with sleepless nights and darn antibiotics. Wis us luck!!

My birthday...

2010-01-15T13:54:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was my 32nd birthday. It was a great day filled with visits from friends, calls from my family and friends that that night Shon had planned a little pary. Thank you all for making my day great.

Shon got me this sweater and the dress that is underneath it. He did so good picking them out. I love them. My MIL made a yummy cake.
I got an awesome gift from my parents, but I didn't take a picture of it. If you have never tried or heard of a mixing bowl and measuring spoon set called "Pourfect" you totally should check them out!! Mom has some and I used them over Christmas when we were there and fell in love with them, so they got me a set for my birthday. I love them!!!!!! My good friends the Barnes gave me a cute vest and slippers. Thank you.

So my SIL Mary and my brother Bryan made me this book. It is a copy of our Hamblin Family Cookbook. Now if you have seen my original HFC, you would know that this is so great. My copy is totally hammered.
Sorry the pics are sideways. This is the cover. The plastic that was there to protect it was torn off years ago by one of my little helpers, and they added beautiful art as you can see.
This is what most of my pages look like. I am a messy cook, I guess. I just use this book so often.

SO Mary copied all the recipes and put every page in a sheet protector and labeled all the catergories.
She covered the outside with this beautiful cover she made. It is amazing.

Shon is taking me on a date tonight, which I told him is all I really wanted for my birthday. The boys are going to stay at Grandma and Grandpa Shuldberg's, even for the whole night, even Cameron. Hopefully he will do okay. What a great birthday!!

Things I have been thinking about...

2010-01-10T21:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I am not very good at writing or expressing my thoughts or feelings, but I have had a few as of late. Sorry I am not near as good of a writer as my sisters or my mother, so just bare with me.

So I have never been good at resolutions. It is almost like I unofficially set some, and it almost makes me worse at whatever I am trying to improve. I am not sure why. It may be that I try to do too many things at once and not take them just one at a time. Then it seems like I get nothing accomplished, but I am tired from doing a bunch of nothing. How do you obtain focus, does anyone know? Maybe that should be my first thing I try to improve and other things will just all into line.

My birthday is this week and I don't really feel a lot different, which I guess is good. I don't really mind at all getting another year older, I just want to be a little wiser. Don't know if I really am, but that is okay. I do feel different only because my kids are seeming so big to me, which is another one of my thoughts.

Tonight we went to a baptism preview. I have been to a few of these because of my calling so I know what they are about. I was pretty preoccupied with all the preparation for this one and setting up and all that I really didn't give it much thought of how important this is for Ty. I didn't even get to sit with my family tonight because I was up on the stand. I did look at Tyler every once in a while, and I think he was really listening to what was being said. I think he realized that they were talking to him. It was after I got everything cleaned up and got home that I really thought of what tonight meant for me. My oldest son is choosing to be baptized this year. You know, sometimes I think we take it for granted that it is a pretty easy decision. Being here where there are a lot of members makes it really easy to want to do it and know that it is what to do at eight. I hope I have taught him what he needs to know so that it will be his choice and something he takes seriously. He is a good kid.

Sorry I don't have any pictures to post. I haven't been very good about taking any. I have plenty more thoughts but won't bore you with them. See ya!

p.S. Tyler's baptism will be on June 26th at 10:00 am here at our church. I told some of you that it would be in August, but we made some changes as a presidency.

Christmas...

2010-01-02T20:52:00.001-08:00

Our day started at 5:00 am with boys giggling very excited. Cam was still asleep so we let him for about 20 minutes while these two took it all in. They soon realized that Santa had visited our house and Zack was so excited that he ate the cookies and even drank the milk we had left out for him. Santa left this fun race track for the boys. Their faces tell it all. Now that excitement is what Christmas is all about, I think.

Santa brought Cam a little 4-wheeler. Man he loves that thing. He only wanted to ride that all morning. He had no interest in the rest of his gifts. Poor Zack kept trying to persuade him to open his others and could hardly stand it that he wouldn't. I thinks Zack ended up opening about four or five of them for him.
So Shon got a very fun gift a few weeks before Christmas. This 4-wheeler has been a hit. He has wanted one for so long and so I had been looking for a good used one for quite a while to get him for Christmas. But I found that the kind he wanted and that was in good shape, the used ones were almost as much as buying a new one. So he actually found this one one day and it was such a good buy that I convinced him to get it. So it wasn't a surprise but he sure loves it. On Christmas day, we took it out to his mom and dad's to pull the kids behind. They had a great time, but there just wasn't quite enough snow.

I love this picture. Cam doesn't really love to ride in the sled behind, but he sure loves this position. He gets really made if Shon goes out without him.
The day after Christmas we headed out on the long drive to Ekelaka, MT to see my family. My two brothers were there and my sister, Whitney. A few days later, Natali and Bryce got there so everyone was there but Emily and her family. We sure missed her but had a great time. The house got a little crazy with 8 loud grandboys, but they loved being together. After chuch, the boys played connect four for quite a while.
There was so much snow in Ekalaka when we got there. We actually got stuck driving there. (We were only about a mile and a half out so it wasn't too bad). My dad and my brothers were behind us in my dad's truck and they got stuck also. Shon unloaded his 4-wheeler from the back and dad headed to get his heavy duty pickup, while the big boys started shoveling. It was about 6:30 pm so it was pretty darn cold. The little boys were a little rattled at first, but they were patient playing DS and watching a movie. Dad come back and after a while, we were back on the road headed into town. Shon had a great time, because his 4- wheeler really saved the day.

We went sledding on Monday on some really good hills. Shon took his toy out and hauled people up the hills. The snow was so deep down at the bottom. In most places it was up to my waste. ut we sure had fun.
Shon was loving it!!
Bryan tried to get a long run at one hill so he could get down and blaze a trail. But the snow was so deep at the top that he just got stuck.
The brave sledders minus mom and Ben's three youngest, who lost interest after about 10 minutes. (The boys that is. Mom took them back to the house because they were way upset.)
These three had a blast.

The boys all lined up to play darts with Ben. I think they did this for about an hour. Ben was done long before the boys wanted to be.
Cute little Austin with Cam's Hulk Hands. These things are almost as big as him. Zack got a pair of these for his birthday last year and the kids love them so much that we got a pair for Cam for Christmas so they could box. There was a lot of that with all the cousins. And there were a few tears also from some rough punches.
So after our fun few days in Montana, we came back to see Shon's brother Brian and his fam. They live in Texas so we don't see them too often. It was so great to hang out with them. Shon's sister Janae and here fam came the day after we got back, so it was a great time with everyone. We have gotten quite a lot of snow these last few days, so we took the 4-wheeler up to Rexburg and did a lot of this. All the kids just loved it. Grandpa has a 4-wheeler too, so both were going. Some of the cousins have never done this before so it was a new fun experience for them. We even got Grandma to get on the sled.

We sure had a great Christmas this year. Being with our families was so wonderful. Now I guess we have to get back to real life. Hope all of you had a very merry christmas!!!

Christmas Eve...

2010-01-02T20:44:00.001-08:00

Since we were going to see my family after Christmas, and see Shon's folks on Christmas day, we decided to have a little party with some of our friends for Christmas Eve. We went to the church and ate some yummy food and let the kids play in the gym. Our new church has a stage so we had a little nativity performance with the kids. I think it turned ot so cute. We had a good time just hanging out.

We all opened our Christmas Eve jammies before we went to the church. I didn't get a picture though. I haven't been too good at taking pictures lately.

December

2010-01-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

Well just like everyone else, we had a very busy December. It was filled with fun family events and getting ready for Christmas. We enjoyed some fun traditions that we have done for the last few years and added a few. I really didn't get a lot of pictures this month. I forgot my camera for most events. But hear are a few pictures of some things we did. The first is of course our beautiful tree. I did something this year that I usually don't do. I let the boys put almost all the ornaments on themselves and didn't even change them. Usually I am pretty controlling with how it goes up, but decided to let the boys do it. They loved it and it turned out great.

Tyler had his first piano recital on December 4. He so loved it. His teacher is my friend Jessica. She teaches piano to a few more students than me. She had a son the same age as Zack, so I teach him and she teaches Tyler. It works out good for both of us. He is really thriving with his lessons and so loves to play.
I had my piano recital the next week. It was Zack very first recital also. He was so darn excited it about made him crazy. He did so well. Hopefully I will be able to upload my videos soon so I can post them.
This is me playing my recital song. My first recital, I didn't play anything but I was asked by some of my students to play one, so I practiced really hard and played one. It was a little scary. I haven't done that for a really long time. It is different then just playing in church. But it was fun and I was very proud of all my students.

I made these cute gifts for my neighbors. They were so fun to make. I just dipped marshmallows in chocolate and packaged them with graham crackers for Christmas Smores. I thought they turned out so cute.

We had a great Christmas season, getting ready for Christmas and enjoying the season. I went and did a party for Tyler's class, made graham cracker houses, bought gifts for eachother at the dollar store and a few more traditions. December was a good month.

Zack's birthday

2009-11-26T21:27:00.000-08:00

So Zack turned six today. This was the first year that his birthday was on Thanksgiving. He was born the day before Thanksgiving six years ago. I got to come home for the holiday though so was very glad. Zack was pretty lucky this year because he got two parties and two birthday cakes. Today I made a dinosaur cake, big surprise, right. I think it turned out really cute. Shon did most of the decorating. He loved it.
Spike JR, which he has wanted for a long time. We have a lot of dinos around our house.
Shark Park car track. All the kids loved this one.
Dino cake. Pretty cute if I do say so myself.
So on Monday, we had a little friends party. For this one he really wanted a lego cake. It was the easiest theme cake I have done.

Buzz wings. The boy loves to dress up.
Oh the anticipation.

Birthday/Thanksgiving Bingo. It was fun for a while, but the kids just wanted to eat the M-n-M's . We had a great time. I think he had a good birthday.

Life for the last few months...

2009-11-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything. I have been a little anti blog lately, just one more thing I have to do. But I know that my sisters and mom and my in-laws love to see updates, so I am going to get back into it and start enjoying it again. Because there really was a time that I really liked blogging, but lately I have not really done things that I like and I have found life to be a little harder. So I am going to count my blessings everyday and make life a little less monotoneous. (I really don't know how to spell that word.)

So this first picture has a pretty funny story. I had gone shopping on Saturday morning and left Shon to get the boys ready for Football and Soccer games. I kind of lost track of time and knew that I was cutting it a little close when I left the store. When I got home, Shon was really grouchy and we both left in a big hurry, Shon taking Ty to his football game and Cam and I taking Zack to his soccer game (the last few games they had happened to land at the exact same time). I thought Shon was just mad because I had not come home earlier. Well, after the games and lunch, he told me what our little menace had done. Cam had climbed up onto the counter and had dumped the whole canister of cinnamon sugar all over the counter. Then he added left over hot chocolate from breakfast. So when Shon came upstairs to get everyone ready, this mess is what he found. He was less that thrilled, to say the least. We were still finding sugar for days.

One of my favorite things of fall, fresh apple pie. Shon's folks had picked all the apples from their tree and I got the fruit to preserve and use. Yummy!! I make a whole bunch of apple pie filling so I can enjoy it more many months!
One thing that we make very often in our house is smoothies. My kids love them and they are getting fruit in them. Much better for them then milkshakes, right? This is when Emily and her kids stayed with us for a week. So much fun.
Cam really enjoys smoothies too. It just isn't too fun to get them out of his shirts. Dang kid won't wear a bib.
A highlight we had was having my family here for a day or so. Everyone of my siblings were here, which hasn't happened for a really long time. Two brother in laws were missing, Bryce who belongs to Nat, and Jake, Emily's husband. It was great, just a very full house.
Shon's sister, Janae and her family came and visited a while ago. We did some hair, had pizza and make sugar cookies. Ty and Zack love it when Kelsey is here. No one can make them laugh like she can for some reason.
Another day of enjoying a bountiful harvest. Mary and I put up about 45 quarts of tomatoes that day.
Zack played soccer again this fall and loved it. I must admit that it isn't too fun for the parents with kids this age. The kids don't get it and they are mostly concerned with the treat that comes at the end of the game. But they have fun and that is what matters.
Ty played flag football this fall for the first time. He didn't really love soccer when he played in the spring so we decided to try football, which he loved!! He played wide receiver and we had a pretty good coach that taught him a lot. I think he wants to stick with it. It was fun. Shon actually took some video of some games, so when I figure out how to upload with that camera, I will post those.

I found this yummy recipe for zucchini muffins that was soooo good. My kids and husband will eat zucchini if it is disguised with chocolate. I frosted these with cream cheese frosting. Very yummy!! (Cam really loved the cupcakes, and he had that bib on for about 5 more seconds after I took the picture and then it was on the floor).

Halloween

2009-11-05T10:07:00.001-08:00

We had a pretty fun Halloween. Ty and Zack wore their costumes for days before the big day so I had to wash them the night before Halloween. We had a party at Grandma and Grandpa Shuldberg's on Tuesday, which was really fun. The boys wore their costumes and Grandma had made a very spooky dinner for us all. I can't believe that I didn't get a picture of it. She had green goblin spaghetti, bat jello, pumpkin guts bread. My kids are a little picky with food and all the weird stuff kind of made them a little uneasy, but it was fun.

Amazing Superman and a partial Ironman.
Natali made these little amazing looking eyeballs. She used mini muffins and white chocolate. They looked cool.

Here are our carved pumpkins all lit up. Nat did the one on the left, I did the one in the middle and Shon did the one on the right, with Tyler's help.
The elementary school had a costume parade after lunch. Zack was already home from school so I took him back to walk with the afternoon kindergarteners. It is always so fun for the kids. Here is mister Ironman who wouldn't wear his coat, of course.
Superman looks a little cold, doesn't he? It was pretty chilly, but sunny.
So I didn't get any pictures of us trick or treating, but here we are at the ward trunk of treats. They did it at 5:00 so it was still light out, which was nice. The kids made a haul in about a half hour, so we headed home to go trick or treating in the neighborhood. Cam was in the stroller with me pushing. He actually got out at most of the houses. He has to do everything that his brothers do. Man they got a lot of candy. We were out for about an hour. They caught up with their friends and then were tired. We came home and started pigging out. Now I have put most of their candy away for rationing sake.

Baker Family Redneck Reunion

2009-08-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was Shon's Baker Family Reunion. The Baker's are Shon's moms family. They have a camping reunion every year. These last two years we have borrowed a nice trailer from a wonderfully generous fellow, my friend Emily's dad, and it has made the camping sooo much more enjoyable.

This year the theme was Redneck. I must say I didn't embrace the idea as some of SHon's relatives did, but we tried. Shon's cousin Chad did amazing at being a Redneck.

This is the welcome rocks the boys and I made for our camp. We actually won for the best redneck welcome sign. It was fun.

There is always a lot of card playing at these reunions. The Baker's love to play and are very good!!
Cam snuggled right up on Grandma's lap by the fire one night and fell right to sleep. Doesn't she look to be in heaven. What is better than that?
Zack with cousin McKinlee. These two played a ton together. They share a mutual love of catching bugs of all sorts. Here they had made a little grasshopper "corral". They played with these bugs for hours.
Our attempt at looking like rednecks. I know not too great. Shon did a pretty good Larry the Cable Guy impression!!
Ty giving the pinata a whack!! THat is the trailer we borrowed right behind the pole. Soo nice.
Cameron even gave it a try and thought it was fun!!
Poor Ty got some battle wounds from our trip. Sunday while everyone was packing up and getting ready to go, the kids were riding there bikes. The place we stayed had a paved road in and a whole big parking lot for trailers and such. Lots of asphalt to ride on!!! The kids really loved it. Well, Tyler and one of his cousins crashed into eachother and both hit the pavement very hard. Tyler got mostly road rash, but Braxton just hit hard. He is only two, and he good a black eye and a big goose egg. He is okay, though, just looks really bad. It took a while to get Ty calmed down so we could doctor him up, but this is right after we got the bandaids on.
This is the next day when I took the band aids off. Pretty yucky. It is looking pretty good today though, no more oozing. He felt so bad about Braxton, just kept worrying about him. But when we told him he would be okay, he felt better. Kind of a scary ending to the fun weekend, but it was a great reunion!!

A fun summer...

2009-08-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

We have had a pretty fun summer. It has actually kind of flown by. It has been stress full with Shon job change and things, but we have done some fun things. We have attended a few family reunions, actually less than we usually do. Made a few long trips, which were fun.

Shon had a conference for his work the third week in July in Boise. We stayed with Shon's sister Janae and it was so fun. They had just moved into a new house and it was fun to see. We went swimming while we were there in a really nice outside pool. It was over 100 degrees there so it was perfect to swim. The kids loved it!! They were so brave and jumped in a ton. Cameron even loved it.

We spent some time the next weekend with our friends Tom and Emily at her dad's cabin in Island Park. Man, it was fun. We rode 4-wheelers a ton. Some how I didn't get any pictures of us doing that. It was so incredibly nice and generous of Emily's dad to let us play with his toys and stay in his great cabin. It was a great weekend away.

We rode the 4-wheelers to Big Springs, which I have not been to since we were married 12 years ago. It is the start of a natural spring coming out of the mountain. There is a cabin there that a man built and a water wheel that he used for energy. Right under this bridge that we are on are HUGE fish. It is amazing how big these guys are. The kids loved seeing them. We fed them and some birds bread and it was so fun.

Checking out the huge fish. This is a much better view.

Hello...to all who might have missed me

2009-08-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a long time since I posted anything here. Sorry to my sisters who are about the only ones who check this anyway. I just haven't felt like doing it lately. And somehow Cam has changes some setting so when I am on the internet, some pages are tiny and I can't even read them. That is why I haven't been commenting on peoples blogs because I can't see anything. I finally figured out how to tweek it a little, but it still isn't right. So here is our summer at a glance. (the pictures are chronologically backwards, sorry) This top picture is at the zoo. The boys love the zoo!!

Shon had a birthday. It was a fun one. He is now 34!!! WOW
Tyler played real baseball this summer. He was so excited. It was pitching machine. I have never watched one of those things working. Those balls come pretty darn fast at those kids, but Ty did so good. He loved it. I think that baseball is his favorite sport. Just wish that the season lasted more than a month in the summer.
Tyler had a birthday!! Big 7!! I can't believe how much he has grown up and matured. He is definitely amazing to me everyday. Man, the kid is smart and such a big helper. Cameron loves him and Ty helps me so much with him. Don't get me wrong, he still whines and complains and sometimes makes me want to strangle him. But he is kind and sweet most of the time!!

Ben and Heidi cam to visit in June when Bryan and Mary blessed Payton. It sure was fun. The boys had a blast all together. We did a lot of outside things. This is at a park where there is a pretty stream that goes through it. This tree limb goes all the way across to the other side. The boys where scared at first to climb on it, but soon lost their fear and loved it.
This is 7 of my parents 10 grand boys. Very cute, I think.

Our summer has been very busy. But we have had fun. It started out really stressfull because of a job change opportunity for Shon. It all turned out just fine. His job now is really good. I am so incredibly proud of him. I can't really explain in words my feeling of how grateful I am to have married such a hard working, dedicated man. He has worked his tail off for as long has I have known him, in school and work. And it has payed off. His new job is a very much deserved promotion and I know he will excell at it, as he has in all that he has done.

2009-06-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Family Reunion

2009-06-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Cameron and his older cousin. Those older cousins were great with Cameron. Cameron liked them a lot.

Shon's wonderful family going on a hike. Except Claudia she was struggling with the altitude change. It made her quite sick.

Rolling the glass sorry the pictures are king of dark.

Glass blowing demonstration. It was really neat to watch. Thanks Brian and Alison for purchasing something so I didn't feel so bad about not purchasing anything.

Here we are at our reunion in CO. It was a small 10 1/2 hours from Ekalaka, Montana. We have been planning this for a year. It was exciting to be with my family. We started this every other year tradition because Alison our sister in law suggested it. What a wonderful Idea it has been. It is so fun to get together as a family and spend quality time together. This is our 4th time having this in 8 years. All the memories our great. Long term keeper type memories. The Cabin was amazing. It was very nice and this last picture is the stairway.

Shuldberg Family Reunion

2009-06-15T19:25:00.001-07:00

We took a trip this last week. Our first stop Ekalaka, MT. We went swimming. We had our first sun on the trip and decided to take advantage of it. Idaho Falls to Ekalaka 9 hours. Just a drop in the bucket compared to the whole week. Tyler ended up having 3 birthday parties. One in IF before we left with friends. One in Ekalaka, Mt with Grandpa and Grandma Hamblin. They were great hosts and try to make everyone so comfortable. We love you Grnadma and Grandpa.

2009-05-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Zack lost his first tooth on Sunday. It has been so loose for a while but he just wouldn't pull it out or let anyone else do it. He said that he needed corn on the cob to get it out. So the store finally had decent corn so I bought some, but that didn't do the trick. Finally he just let me wiggle it and pull it. He could tell that it was going to come out so he did it and got it yanked out. He was very proud.

That night when I put the boys to bed, Zack was just a crying. I asked him what was wrong and he said "I love my teeth!! I don't want the tooth fairy to take it!! Why does she take our teeth? I just want a dollar" Howl, Howl. I tried to get him calmed down, but he was so sad. So he finally asked me if I could write a note to the Tooth Fairy telling he to leave his tooth. This is what he asked me to write "Dear Tooth Fairy, I really love my tooth and would like to keep it. And I really want a dollar. Thank you Love, Zack"
It was so cute. He stuck the note and his tooth under his pillow and finally went to sleep. In the morning, I heard a howl out of him and him saying she took his tooth. Then he laughed and said "She did see my note. Here is my tooth. And a dollar!!" He came up the stairs very happy!!

2009-05-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Tyler has been playing soccer this spring. He can do really good when he focus sometimes he just doesn't want to be there. This day I happened to turn on the camera right as he kicked a goal. The little black thing is his shoe flying off.

This clip may be a little long but I just wanted to show you Zack and him trying very hard to be a good soccer player. No goal caught on Camera but he is getting the idea as you can tell. This is an enjoyable activity for us to watch our children participate in things they enjoy.

Recitals...

2009-05-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

We've been kind of busy around here and I have had some events to post about and just haven't gotten to them yet. I had my very first recital as a piano teacher this last week. It turned out so great. All of my students are beginners so it was their first recital, too. I think I was as nervous as the kids were. We had it at our church in the primary room, which I thought would be less intimidating. They all did so good and I was so proud of them. I am glad to have it done, but it was so fun.
Here are a few pictures of some of the students.

Zack had a "recital" also. It was his Preschool Graduation Program but he liked to call it his recital. It was so darn cute!! He was very proud and did so good!!
The graduate
This was his little part he had memorized. He was not shy at all.

Wrestling at the Shuldbergs

2009-05-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

This is a constant thing at our house the wrestling and playing until someone gets injured. We thought we would share a day in the life of the Shuldberg family.

A new paint job...

2009-04-29T21:13:00.001-07:00

So I have been wanting to repaint my wall in the kitchen that gets so dirty. It didn't matter how much I scrubbed the darn thing, it never looked clean. So I deliberated about the color and decided I wanted blue. Some people really tried to talk me out of it, but I stuck to my guns and did it. It is a little lighter than I really pictured but I really like it. Blue is such a happy color. And my wall looks so clean now. We also painted on the other side of the wall and down our hallway. It changed the look so much. I love it!! Shon was so great and helped me and we did it really fast.

I got the pictures in the wrong order. I just wanted you all to see that I did take down my Christmas Village that I love so much!! You can see the blue paint down the hall in this shot.
Blue, blue wall. I really like it!!
Zack finally got to start soccer this spring. THe poor kid has had to wait and watch his older brother for three seasons. He was so ready. And he loves, loves it!!! They do it a little different for his age. We go at 6:00 on Fridays and they do drills and practice for about 45 min. Then they have a scrimmage for the next 45 min. They play 3 on 3 in a very short field. It is pretty fun to see him. There are two Zacks on the team so he is Zack 7 because that is his number. The little short kid in the bottom of the picture is Zack 5. So fun!!

Nothing too exciting to write about here. We seem to be very busy, too busy sometimes. But life is good.

Fun stuff at Ty's school

2009-04-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

This was a fun performance the whole school did. They showcased some of the songs that their music teacher taught them this year. All the first graders went together, then the second graders and so on. Each group performed three songs. It was so fun to watch. It is no wonder why the kids love their music teacher. He is so great. It was really good to see him and you could tell all the kids love him.

Somtimes I still can't believe that Ty is in first grade, knows how to read and is so dang smart. The kid usually blows my mind. He is a really good boy, despite my short falls as a mom. His heart is so big and is so giving. He is pretty darn intense and sometimes doesn't know for sure how to handle it (him or me) but that is good sometimes. I really can't say enough good about my first born. I am so very proud of him.

In school, they prepared for a Reader's Theater. They performed three stories. Tyler was the Gingerbread Man in his group. All of those kids were so darn cute. And Ty was very proud. He did so good!!

Easter

2009-04-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

I know I am really late posting about Easter, but better late than never I guess. I actually feel like I am late with most things nowadays. But that is a whole post in itself. Easter was fun. We went to Shon's folks on Saturday for a yummy brunch and Egg Hunt. The kids had lots of fun. Grandma had hidden the eggs first, then I had to hide them again a few times for them.

Not such a great shot of me. Hope you can't see my underwear. Just don't zoom in on this one. But Cam was so cute. He had no idea what to do at first, but when he figured it out, he loved it!!
Grandma helping with the last few they couldn't find.
Our friends Tom and Emily have an annual egg hunt at their house the Saturday before Easter. It is so fun because tons of kids show up. We have to make sure that everyone had 12 eggs to be fair.
Cam wanted to ride in their tractor more that finding eggs.
Easter morning was good. The Easter bunny actually brought the boys light savers (as they are called in our house). Pretty excited. Didn't get many pictures that morning, not sure why.
Easter morning we woke up to finding more eggs. Then Shon had to leave for meetings as usual on Sundays. I loved Easter morning and focusing on Christ. I seemed to be so on top of getting the boys and myself ready with out my usual grouchiness. I was a little nervous because I had to sing in sacrament, but it was a great morning. Church was great and I think the song was good and then we had a yummy ham dinner with Shon's folks and MaryBeth, Bryan, Payton and Whitney.

2009-04-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Last night I was finally getting to posting pictures of our trip to Seattle, and I was too tired to write about them so here I am.
Our trip to Seattle was so great!! We headed out on Thursday the 26th first thing in the morning. We really debated whether this was the best time because we were worried about Cameron. But morning it was and I think all the boys did very well. We had to make a lot of stops though because Zack had a serious case of diarrhea (that is a hard word to spell!!) Poor kid. And he wouldn't just go on the side of the road. We took almost all the exits in Oregon, I think. But we did make it that night. He seemed to be better once we got there. But Cam was having problems. Need less to say we went through a lot of diapers.
We did so many things, but it was just so great to see Emily and Jake and their kids. Their house is so cute and they live in what looks like the woods. I love that about Washington. You drive in neighborhoods and it really looks like a camp ground in the woods, but with homes. I never do get used to not knowing which direction I am going though. All you see is trees.
We went into Seattle a couple times and it was just awesome. Seeing that city amazes me. It is so huge, but right there on the water. You see tons on sailboats and stuff right next to huge buildings. We went to Alki beach and flew kites and looked for shells. It was cold but very fun. I love to see the big ferry boats!!
We also went to the Original Red Robin. Jake's sister Jessi is the manager there and it was so cool. It is a very small building, but has all the original stuff from like 1960 or something. Right on the water.
It was so great to take a little vacation. Shon says that we really don't ever go on vacation cause all we do is go visit family, but I still think it is vacation. I loved spending time with Emily and her family. They are always such great hosts and make us feel so welcome. Thank you so much for having us. Wish we could so it more often. We sure love all of you guys!!
P.S. The cool green building I am standing in front of is a place featured on Diner's, Drive In's and Dives on the Food Network. We drove about 45 min to go to it, but they were closed because they were catering a party (you know the Hawaiian kind that I can't seem to remember the word right now. With hula dancer and all that) We went to the Old Spag Factory instead. I was soooo disappointed. That was the main reason we went to Washington.

Seattle Vacation

2009-04-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

New Nephew

2009-03-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

My sister in law Mary had her baby yesterday!! She went into labor all by herself and just did so well. He came at 7:15 last night and all is well with both of them. He weighed 7 lb 13 oz and that is all the stats I have right now. Pretty darn cute. Here are a few pictures I got before my camera died. His name is Payton. His middle name will be either Bryan or Joseph.

Video of Cam

2009-03-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

So here is a little video of our big boy walking. Sorry it is so dark. My camera isn't actually designed to take video but that is all I've got. Hope you enjoy!!

Walking baby and a few boring thoughts

2009-03-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

Well, Cam is doing it. He is walking. But sad to say I have no pictures or videos yet of him doing it. I am not very good lately with taking pictures. But he is so darn cute and very proud of himself. Just this week he really figured it out and now is off to the races. He sticks his chest out and keeps his arms up for balance and just goes. He loved walking the halls today at church.

My mom is here for a few days. She made a spontaneous trip to Idaho yesterday because Whitney has a performance tomorrow. It is fun to have her here. I was very thankful she was here today for church because I did singing time and it would have been impossible with him walking all over the place.

Tyler and Zack are doing well. They got over their influenza (hooray) and are feeling back to normal. Tyler is getting a little burned out on school, I think. Sometimes he just doesn't want to go and makes a fuss. And I found out he hasn't been doing his work in school. Hopefully he is just going through a phase. But I think he is a really good student. It is weird that he knows so much. He is just getting so big. Zack was so excited the other day because we got to go and register for kindergarten. He had a lot of fun. But now he thinks kindergarten starts right now. He doesn't want to wait the summer.

Soccer is starting soon. Ty and Zack will be playing this season. Zack is so excited that he is finally old enough to get to do something. It is still pretty cold, so I am not to excited yet. But it is fun to watch them.

We are going to Seattle in about 11 days to visit Emily and Jake. I am so excited. It is spring break for the kids so we get to stay for a few days. I think we are all ready for a break from reality for a while. It should be a fun little vacation.

Life is pretty good. Not too exciting right now, but at least it is not bad, right.

Our life right now

2009-03-03T23:35:00.000-08:00

I know it has been along time since I have posted anything. I just haven't felt much like doing it and nothing has really been going on. Shon has been sick for a while, about a week actually. He has taken the last two days off work, which he never does. It started out as a little annoying cold and just had gotten worse and kept hanging on. I know he is sick of being sick. Ty has also been sick. He started coughing about a week ago, which isn't unusual for him. Because he had asthma, he gets coughy even if he isn't sick. But on Saturday he got a really high fever. Sunday it was worse so I took him to the doctor and they told me he had influenza. Now I didn't ask her but now wonder if the flu is different than influenza. Anyway we have to let it run it's course. He has been one sick little boy that coughs all of the time. Today his fever came down a bit and he actually looked alot better. But that cough. My mom told me, and I can actually remember this, that I did this as a kid. Coughed and coughed and coughed and coughed. I think he spends about 90% of the time coughing. Right now it is 12:43 am and I can't sleep because I just listen to him cough. Medicine doesn't seem to touch it, oil that my mom gave me doesn't either and neither does vicks. I just spent about 10 minutes outside in the cold with him in a blanket to see if that would help. I don't know what to do. It really stresses me out. At least I know that his lungs are clear and that he doens't have pnenomia, but oh the coughing. I feel so bad for him. So sorry that you who are reading this have to hear about my complaints. Any ideas??

Cam is almost walking. He gets so excited to go that he doesn't wait to get his balance. But he gets braver and nore steady everyday. I think that he would really like walking if he would do it. He doesn't like to try very much, gives up to soon. It's okay though. Less bumps and bruises, right.

I am really trying to loose weight right now. I really watch what I eat and excercise everyday. Yesterday I really wanted a big, juicy hamburger with onion rings, but I didn't. I really don't like dieting, but I love feeling better about myself. So wish me luck and send encouraging thoughts my way.

I don't even have any pictures to post. So here is a video of us trying to help Cam walk.

2009-02-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

Just a cute pictures of Zack.
Life is pretty good here. Not much to report. The boys are excited that they don't have school tomorrow and Shon is excited he doesn't have work tomorrow. I am excited because I get to mend pants tomorrow. Yippee for me!! Man, boys are hard on pants. How does it happen so quickly. I swear, I turn around and all their pants have holes in the knees. We'll see when I get done tomorrow how much I need to go shopping. Ty is growing so fast that I am afraid everything we have for him is just to short. See, you can tell that not much is going on if I am blogging about my boys pants situation!! How exciting am I, right?!
Tyler loves to entertain Cameron and tonight he had him laughing about as hard as we have ever heard. Zack and I were doing a puzzle and Cam was mad at me because I wouldn't let him "help". Shon put him on this chair and Ty started teasing him with an umbrella and he thought it was so funny.

2009-02-10T21:13:00.001-08:00

Cameron's birthday was on Sunday. I am having a hard time believing he is actually one. Has it really been a whole year since I had him? Wow!! Well, we had a little party for him and he seemed to have fun. Cake and ice cream and presents!! Who wouldn't have fun, right? He's not walking yet. Seems to not be interested at all. Crawling works great, I suppose. He is actually a little bit of a chicken. But he sure is wild, just like his big brothers. He has had a bad cold, though and ear infection in both ears. Poor kid. But it seems he is on the mend so I am so glad.
I have been a little under the weather myself, so the post is a few days late. Happy Birthday Cameron!!!

Things I have done (alot I haven't)

2009-02-06T17:52:00.000-08:00

Bold the items you have done:
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band I am actually a certified band geek
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Been to the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
20. Slept on a train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish Community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - do those kid's playgrounds count?
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke -Very, Very Fun
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa- #1 on my list of places to go
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain- was one of the most romantic times in my life!!
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Tied a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a Bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book -
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy - would love to!
So I tag all who wants to do this. Come on, you few readers of my blog. I would love to know this stuff about you. But, I must tell you, when I did this, I realized how boring I actually am!!

Pay it Forward

2009-02-04T21:05:00.000-08:00

I usually don't do this kind of thing, but I really loved the idea.

Pay It Forward Exchange is based on the concept of the movie "Pay it forward". I will send a hand made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join the PIF exchange. All the gifts will be made and posted out 'sometime within the next year'. How exciting to not know when your surprise package will arrive! What you need to do in return, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This Exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROMISE TO POST THIS SAME 'PAY IT FORWARD' MESSAGE ONTO YOUR BLOG, WHICH MUST BE ACTIVE IN ORDER TO PLAY. YOU WILL PAY IT FORWARD TO THREE PEOPLE WHO COMMENT ON YOUR BLOG. I'd love for you to join me! Will you? Other comments are welcome, but only the first three will be my Pay It Forward recipients. Come and join me who doesn't love a gift or giving gifts???

Girls night near disaster

2009-02-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

So the other night, my friend Emily and I decided that we needed a girls night to watch girlie movies and give each other pedicures. So Shon and the boys went to her house and Emily, her daughters Shaustia and Eli and her sister Heidi came over to my house. We got out the pedicure bowl and all the polishes and stuff and started High School Musical 2, which I had never seen. The babies (yes, I did keep Cameron so I could put him to bed) were just playing around and trying to get everything they weren't supposed to get. We stuff kind of all over for a while. After I had my feet, Shaustia's feet and hands and Heidi's all done, we were just about to start Emily. Shaustia said "Uh, Holly. Look at this." I looked and my heart fell to my knees. A bottle of BLACK polish had broke on the floor and got flung about 2 feet and then sat and spilled. Holy Crap!! I immediatley got some acetone and what ever else I had to try to get it out. Emily ran to her house to get what she had. We worked, not expecting too much. I actually wanted to cry, but I didnt'. We were ready to send Heidi to Walgreens to get more acetone when she remembered talking to some gals at work about using Windex to take polish out of carpet. So we tried it, figuring it couldn't hurt. WOWOWOWOW. It actually started coming out. SO Heidi went and got acetone and some more Windex. We worked for about and hour or so and were actually pretty darn impressed with how well it came out. It is actually hard. I know it is there so I see it, but Shon couldn't even tell. I had to show him. Thank goodness for Windex.
So we put in another movie and finished our toes. It was a fun night, minus the hour or so of stress.
P.S. I don't have a picture of it to post because I didn't take the time to take a picture of the mess we had at first. I can't imagine why.

Guess the boy!!

2009-02-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

The other day I was going through some pictures that I haven't put into albums or anything and I came across a pic that if I didn't remember the circumstance, I wouldn't have been able to tell which of my boys it was. It made me realize even more that I need to label who is who on my pictures. Everyone always says that I have three little clones, but pictures really show how much they really do look alike. Can you tell who is who?

P.S. So I know you can tell which ones are scanned from photos and which are off my digital, but pretend you can't. My word I have cute boys, don't you think?

An "Okay, this is worth it" Moment

2009-01-23T14:47:00.000-08:00

You know how sometimes when you are in church and you have 3 very rowdy boys that are not being quiet and 2 of which are saying "I don't like church. Let's go home" "I don't want to go to class today" and the like? Okay so this is almost every Sunday. And I wonder, "Now why am I here? Am I getting anything out of this today? How can I possibly feel the spirit?" And I think "My kids need this. I do need this and somehow you will get something from this." So I stay and make it the 3 hours, sometimes feeling a little frazzled when I get home.

A conversation in the car made me realize that it is worth it. Zack was in the back seat and Cam was too, asleep. And Zack gets talking (those of you who know this about Zack, I groaned just a little). But this is how it went:
Zack: "Mom, do you know what CTW stands for?"
Me: "No, honey. What does it stand for?"
Zack: "Choose the wrong."
I didn't even think he knew that wrong started with a W.
Me: "That's right, honey."
Zack: "I know you know what CTR stands for. It is easy. Choose the Right."
Me: "That's right, honey."
I know I say honey way too often!!
Zack: "Satan stands for the wrong Mom and I know who stands for the right. Jesus and we should always choose Jesus."
My heart was full and melting at this point. This conversation went on for about ten minutes till we got to the store. Then after the store he went on. He asked so many questions and it almost amazed me at how much he understood. It was really cool!!

Goings on in the our home

2009-01-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

So not much has been going on around here lately. Cameron has actually been a little under the weather. Poor kid has had diarrhea for what seems like 2 weeks. I think that there are a couple different instances but still. I can't get the poor kids bum healed!! (he is still been a darn good kid though). I have two new callings. I am now a teacher to 12 Sunbeams. WOW!! I have never taught that age before so it is a fun experience. I also got a stake calling as the Primary Music Leader. I think I can figure that one out pretty fast. I as kept busy, which is good.

Last week we went to Red Robin a couple of times. It is a brand new restaurant here so they had their training days and we got to go two nights in a row. Yummy!! It was fun and even better because it was free. We will patronize it in the future.

We threw Mary a baby shower a week and a half ago and I am very slow about putting pics up about it. It was fun. Mary's sister, Amy came from Boise to help put in on. I think Mary had a good time and got some great things. Not as many people were there as she expected, so she was a little disappointed, but it was still great!! The boys played downstairs and tried to stay our of the women space. But they still ate the yummy food. (She is due on march 19th and is having a boy to add to the Hamblin clan. He will be my folks 9th grandson! Only one granddaughter. This is Bryan and Mary's first baby, for those of you how don't know!)

P.S. Piano lessons are going well. I have 8 students. It has been really fun so far. I love music and I hope that I can help my students develop a love for it also.

Interesting Story from the days of our lives.

2009-01-14T19:50:00.000-08:00

I have known for a while that the stake was interested in calling Holly to a stake calling. This is the advantage of being in the bishopric I guess. The call never came week after week. For anyone who doesn't know our stake was split and we are in a brand new stake newly created stake. Sunday arrived as business as usual. I was on the stand preparing for sacrament meeting when the High Counselor for our ward came up and sat by me. We asked is there any stake business. He replied, "Yes we are putting your wife in as the stake primary person." I must have looked a little puzzled then I ask don't you think you should ask her first before you sustain her. The High counselor then looked very puzzled. We debated back and forth about whether she had been called and finally the only resolution was ask Holly. Holly was having a ruff morning at home with the boys and had not yet arrived at church. Finally with minutes to spare she came rushing in and Bro Dupree went to meet her. As I watched from afar I could tell that I was correct and she had not spoke to anyone from the stake presidency. Bro. Dupree returned to that stand and reported that he had no stake business but that Holly would be getting a call from the stake presdiencies office very soon. As far as I know Holly was sustained in all of the wards in our stake that morning with the exception of ours. Upon returnng home the phone rang to set up a meeting on Tuesday for a stake calling. We had an idea it maybe coming. All is well she is now called as Stake primary music director. She will be sustained in the last ward our ward on Sunday. We thought it was a unique and humorous story that everyone may enjoy.

Holly's Birthday

2009-01-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

Holly's birthday has come and past. She is a year older and a year wiser. We had a party for her. Marybeth and Bryan brought the cake. The cake was better then " " Cake. It was really yummy. Holly got everything she had ever wanted. Clothes, Decorations, and a temple clothes bag. The kids were less than impressed. They tried to act excited about the unusual gifts adults seem to desire. We were surrounded by friends and family and I think that is the way Holly prefers it. It was a good day by all reports. We wish you all could have attended the celebration.

Back to reality

2009-01-05T19:31:00.001-08:00

We had a great holiday!! Christmas was great and so was new years. We got to spend time with Family and friends, old and new. We rang in the new year with some great friends. Tyler was the only one that stayed up for all the festivities, though. (child, that is). On New Years Day we went and watched Tale of Despareaux in the theater, which the kids loved. It was an okay movie. Cam had fun climbing up and down the stairs in the theater. As long as he is happy, right. It was so great to have Shon home for a break. He had to work a few days in between holidays, but got some good vacation time, I think. I was glad to get Christmas stuff all put away. But I couldn't bring myself to put away my beautiful nativity so it is still out for me to admire a while longer.

Today we got back to reality. The big boys went back to school, which they were excited about and Shon went back to work, which he was not excited about. I went back to doing laundry and that sort of stuff. Today I also started someting new. Piano lessons. (Me teaching them, not taking them). I had my first three students today and will have three more tomorrow. I have been really nervous about it actually, but am pretty excited too. I hoe to be a good teacher for these kids. Hopefully it will help me continue to develop my talents. Wish me luck!!

The boys got this game for Christmas called Facebreakers. It is a boxing game. Ty and Zack really love it, but Shon and Bryan sure love it, too. It has been played a lot!!

P.s. Cam is getting better everyday. I think he is about over his sick. Yeah!!

Future Missionaries

2008-12-29T18:13:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, these boys got some new church clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Hamblin. It was really fun to put them on for church yesterday. The little tags say Future Missionary on them. THey were very proud to say that they would be missionaries someday. Tyler said he really wanted to be a missionary right now so we had a talk about how he could do that but had to wait until he was 19 to actually go on a mission. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!! Not only do they look so darn cute, but is a great teaching tool. (this is after church so it was pretty hard to get a good picture of them.

Poor Cameron has had a rough few days. He was grouchy Saturday night, had a fever of 102 and then was up most of the night, which is really out of character for him. He usually sleeps all night and has for a long time. So we woke up Sunday and he was pretty good. Not much of a fever and a little happier. So we got all ready for church and he started getting grouchy but we had to go because Shon was speaking in Sacrament and Ty was speaking in Primary. So we went and Sacrament meeting was rough, followed by the rest of church pretty rough. But he did fall asleep during Relief Society so that was good. When we got home, he was really cross but then tok a nap. After his nap, he was not feeling good at all so I took him in to an Urgent Care down the street. An ear infection and tonsilitis. No wonder, right!! I felt pretty bad for the kid. He has been pretty cross today and now has a bad case of diarhea from the antibitics. Darn!! Hopefully they work fast and we get our happy baby back.

2008-12-27T18:14:00.001-08:00

Christmas!!

2008-12-27T08:19:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve Festivities

2008-12-24T18:49:00.001-08:00

New Jammies!!
New Game
Graham Cracker House Building

Cookies for Santa!!

Cameron Shuldberg

2008-12-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

Our Cameruinicus!

We think he is very cute

Very proud of his two teeth

This like a little game of wheres waldo. If you go to the bigger picture of this last one of Cameron you can see his 3rd tooth coming in in the top. Where is Cameron's new tooth?

Family photos.

2008-12-20T11:04:00.000-08:00

Right to Left Jeff & Claudia, Todd & Janae, Alison & Brian, Holly & Shon
Larry & Julie
Shon's Siblings and their wives.

"All Because two people fell in Love"
Shon's Brother's and Sister's and Nephew's and Niece's

Larry and Julie

Jeff and Claudia (from Peru)

We were able to get together on Thanksgiving with Shon's family. All his siblings were in town for most of the week. It was really fun. We got together and took photos of everybody. Some of them were really, really cute so I thought I would share.
I also wanted to play another game if you look closely at Zack's nose you will see a red line across the middle of it. Can you guess what happened? Tyler and Zack were playing with there cars like usual and Tyler decided to jump them of the track that Uncle Ben built for them. Tyler asked Zack to watch and Zack decided to go to the end of the jump and look really closely. Tyler without hesitation launched the car at a blistering speed up the ramp and "smash" right into Zacks nose. Tyler laughed and Zack cried. Obviously by the line being perpendicular to his nose Tyler hit him squarely with the front bumper of the car. To live and learn.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2008-12-09T09:47:00.001-08:00

Well, I think we finally got all of our Christmas stuff up. I sure love to bring out all our beautiful Christmas decor and set it all up. The kids were really excited to do it this year, too. On Sunday Whit came over and we set up our village. I just love all the little buildings and the cute figurines. We put all the pieces on this table to start out with because the whole thing doesn't fit up on my ledge so I have to pick and choose. When we got to the part of putting the lights in the houses, we realized they didn't work. So Shon worked and worked to get them to work and he did. Yeah. It looks so great. I will post a picture of it later because I forgot to take one of the finished product.
I was getting Cam's jammies on and he escaped. He really wanted to help "Da Da Da Da" up on the ladder.
After the kids were in bed and the village all up, we played a mean game of Ticket to Ride. (We got the Europe version, Jake and Em)
Our Christmas tree. We added some more balls this year. Nat, you will be proud of my tree. It looks more decorated this year.
I have always loved the Willowtree figures and nativities. I have a little collection of some angels too. For a few years I have admired the nativities but have been too frugal to purchase them. This year I noticed the ones with more color to them and fell in love. Shon knows of my love for them and last night he surprised me with this beautiful set!! I don't know why he did because I have been a little grouchy lately. Before he could even get them out of the box, I was crying. They are just so beautiful, and so is my wonderful husband. I don't know what I did to deserve him, but am truly thankful every day.

This kind of shows how big they are
My favorite part of the whole thing. How amazing Mary was to be chosen to bear and raise to Savior of the World.

Birthdays, Family visiting...What more could we ask for?

2008-12-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted anything. I think sometimes I get in a rut and just don't want to do things, and blogging was one of those things. But I get scolded by my sister so I better shape up and blog. Sorry Em.

Well, life hasn't been too exciting around here, but we have had some special occasions. Thanksgiving was a great time. All the Shuldbergs were in town so we got in lots of visiting and playing. Getting all of Shon's siblings in the same house doesn't happen very often, so we took full advantage of them being here. Brian and Alison came from Texas, Jeff and Claudia came from California, and Janae and Todd came from Boise. The cousins had a blast all playing together and the adults just had a great time talking and playing games.
Had a pretty mean game of spoons going. It was really loud!!
Zack and his Volcano birthday cake. His birthday fell on the day before Thanksgiving this year. We had a little friends party during the day and a family one that night at Grandma and Grandpa's. I think he had a great day.

What is better than presents. Zack loved every minute of it.
Pizza and koolaide. Zack's party had a dinosaur theme. We set up a treasure hunt where the kids found pieces of dinosaur posters then put them together. This is the only thing that Zack really wanted, except he thought we were going to hunt for actual dino bones. It was still fun.
Erupting volcano!!

Whitney also had a birthday. The big 21!! Legal for all sorts of stuff now. She had a party the night before with her roommates and friends. The night of her birthday she came to our house and we had sushi and a cake and ice cream. (for all you sushi lovers out there, what is up? I do not like it. Maybe if I tried the right kind I would, but not for me!!) And the most exciting thing of that night was the Twilight premiere. Yes, we went at 12:30am. Whit and her friend Stacey, Mary, Mom, my friend Emily and her sister Heidi and me. I really liked it a lot. I know there are some that were a little disappointed, but I sure wasn't. I want to see it again, but will probably wait till it comes out and just buy it.
Fun times for us.

A little vacation

2008-11-12T09:36:00.001-08:00

Shon had to go to a conference in Jackpot Nevada last week so the rest of us decided to tag along. We had a hotel room for Tuesday night and Wednesday night there, and then went on to Boise for the next few nights. We were planning on going to Boise that weekend anyway because we had tickets to a BSU game and a hotel stay there that we had won from a work thing. So when this conference came up, we decided to make a little vacation of it. It was very fun to get away. The kids loved it. The hotel in Jackpot was of course attached to a big casino and we had to walk through the casino to get to the room. Ty and Zack were a little mezmorised by the lights and sounds and would ask us when they could play them. But they loved the room and just the novelty I think. There was only an outdoor pool at the hotel but not too far from there was a rec center that we could get into for free because we were hotel guests. The pool was a hit with all of them. It was a little cold so they actually didn't stay as long as I thought they would, but still loved it. The center had all sorts of water things for them to use so it was great.

Here is the blue field that looks so weird to me on TV. It actually doesn't look so weird in person. It was very exciting to be at the game. I could have cheered for the Aggies because I really like Utah State, but I didn't. Actually I probably would have gotten beat up if I did. Boise won 49 to 14 so it was a blow out but still very fun.

2008-11-12T09:03:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we had tickets to the BSU game. Shon and I are the only ones that went, actually. Janae, Shon's sister, so graciously tended the boys. It was so great to be able to sit and enjoy each others company without being interrupted. I felt a little bad because Ty would have really loved it. We got them a t-shirt and ball for them to make up for it. But I think they had a great time playing with their cousins. The game was awesome. I love the whole feeling there is at college games. Tons of excited people, tailgaters, noise, I just love the atmosphere. I haven't been to a game for a long time and I loved it.
Now for the most exciting part....the band!!! Look at all those sax players!! I now I am totally a band geek, but I loved seeing the band. They marched all over the parking lot with all the fans and tailgaters before the game and just help hype everyone up. When we got to our seats, they all came out on the field and did their formations and stuff. Awesome!! Shon just laughed at me because I got so excited, but I love bands!!
Cam is just growing like crazy. The day we left for our trip, I took him to the doctor for his 9 mo check. He is 21 pounds, actually a little less than I thought he was. Just perfect, the doc said. But when he looked in Cam's ears, he said they looked terrible. Come to find out he had a double ear infection and I didn't even know. So I had to get him an antibiotic before we left. It gave him diarrhea so he had a sore bum while we were gone. I think it has done the trick though. He is just getting bigger every day. This is what I found him doing yesterday so now he thinks he is so big and does it all day.

The Shuldberg's Halloween!

2008-11-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

Where is the great Pumpkin?

2008-11-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

Went to a local Pumpkin patch to search for the perfect pumpkin. Zack was determined to find the exact one he had in mind. It took some searching by the family but to Zack's enjoyment we found the right Halloween pumpkin.

A whole new world (revisited)

2008-10-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

Before Cameron was born, my two boys were pretty easy. They were at the age of entertaining themselves and could even get themselves a snack or drink for themselves is needed. I could even take a little nap without them napping if I wanted to. Ty was 6 and Zack was 4 and it was pretty easy. I guess I kind of forgot that a baby is a little more work. Now that he is here, I remember a whole lot of things that aren't really easy (but fun and great, though). Crawling is our new thing and I remember the things I have to be on top of to protect the little guy. Anyway, I love all these baby stages. This is how I found Cam after his nap yesterday. Pulled himself up an everything. WOW. He was very proud of himself. I was making pizza for lunch later and before I knew it, he found the flour bucket. Oh man he thought it was fun.

I try everyday to enjoy and love all these stages of my children. Sometimes it is hard to just sit back and take it all in. I seem to always think that my house isn't clean enough, I have to get the laundry done, I don't have time to play a game with Zack and I really wish that I would just forget about those things for awhile and take advantage of them really wanting to spend time with me. Man, I love being a mom. I hope that my kids love me as much.

A little update on the rest:
1. Ty is done with soccer, which is good because it is pretty darn cold here. He loves school and is doing so well. I am impressed with him every day.
2. Zack is loving preschool and wishes he could go everyday. He loves that he has that is his now, that he does by himself. What a sweet spirit he has.
3. Cameron, as mentioned before changes daily. He is such a happy kid. I don't know how I got so lucky to have such a good natured baby.
4. Shon is really busy. His work he loves but is very busy. But he is managing it very well. The church calling is very busy also and takes a lot of his time, but blessings come because of his diligence. He is amazing.
5. I am trying to live life better everyday. Happy and healthy.
2. Zack is lov

What a week!!

2008-10-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

Zack took this of Cam. Pretty darn cute, I must say.

We have had an interesting week. Last weekend, we went to Utah to see some friends. We sure had a great time visiting and getting a chance to catch up. But on Sunday, I woke up feeling a little strange. By about 10:00, I was down for the count. A flu bug bit me hard and it was pretty miserable. I could hardly move, except to head to the bathroom. Let alone just feeling terrible, I felt worse that I was at our friends house and I couldn't even visit with them. All I did was curl up in a ball. (Thank you Pam for letting me be such a bum and for playing with my kids!!) That evening, I was feeling a little better so we headed home. But I was still sick. The only thing I hoped was that the rest of my family would not get it.

So we went through the week, with me getting stronger everyday, and nobody else getting sick. Well, Friday night it hit Zack and Tyler. They were up most of the night throwing up. I felt so bad. But by Saturday afternoon, they were feeling better.

Then Cameron somehow got pink eye. Poor kid could hardly open his eyes Sunday evening and night. But I had some antibiotic drops for that and they are looking good now. Just hope nobody else gets that.

I was feeling pretty confident that the sick had passed Shon by. But today he came home for lunch and was very achey. Poor guy has it now. Dang.

Well, that is my story. I hope nobody we were around gets this because it isn't fun. Sorry if anyone else gets this darn flu. Maybe it will stay in Utah.

Crawling!!!

2008-10-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

I don't know why this is so dark. But you kind of can see him crawling. He's all over the place!!

Crawling Baby = better cleaning

2008-10-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

He is so excited that he can get where he wants to go. "Look how big I am , Mom!!"

Aside from the fact that these two faces are incredibly adorable, they are a little frustrating sometimes. I knew this day was inevitable, but hoped it wouldn't happen. These two have very short haircuts because, yes, you guessed it... THEY CUT THEIR OWN HAIR. It's really not too bad, pretty easy to hide, but still. I always thought just girls did that to themselves!!
This is a usual activity for these two while Tyler is at school. Cam will actually sit there for quite awhile.

So Cam is crawling all over the place. Now I am in the mode of making sure there is nothing on the floor that he might choke on, which is hard!! And man it is hard to keep track of the little guy. He is pretty darn content, though, which is nice. But I do remember how much they love to hang out at your feet when they figure out how to get around. I almost step on him a lot.

I have been making salsa lately with tomatoes from my inlaws garden. Yummy. But my house smells like salsa for a few days after and I get a little tired of that. I sure am not a good gardener so I am so glad that my inlaws share with us. I love fresh produce, not only for the taste, but it is so pretty!

All in all, we are pretty happy. I got sick over the weekend and am praying that I didn't share with the rest of the fam. So far so good!! Shon is on call this week and that makes him pretty stressed, but we make it through. Things are good.

I was uploading a video to go on this post, but waited for 2 1/2 hours and it never finished. Does anybody know why that would happen? I will try again tomorrow cus it is really cute!!

Cute Cam videos

2008-09-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Long time, No post...

2008-09-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

I realize I haven't posted for awhile, (even though you sisters are really the only ones who check this often I think and I talk to you) so I will post a few things about the goings on in the Shuldberg house.
We have been keeping busy with school, soccer, work and just life. Ty is loving first grade. I was a little worried about him before school started but he has done great. I am glad he is loving to read. At first, he didn't really want to do it too much but now he does.
Zack is finally in preschool and wishes he could go everyday instead of just two days a week. He loves his "school friends" and loves to tell me all about his day.
Cam is just getting big by the second. Milestones seem to be reached daily and I kinda wish he would stop growing for a while. But he is a joy to have around. He is so close to crawling it is scary, and got his first tooth this week (which has been a little hairy because of the grouchiness).
Shon is very busy with work and his church calling. I don't know how I got so lucky to find and catch him but I am eternally grateful I did. He is such a wonderful man (I could get mushy but I could go on forever so I won't).
Well, I am just trying to be a good wife and mother. Sometimes I feel like I have it and most of the time I don't. But I just keep trying. My life is good. I love my kids and husband and they love me, too. What more can you ask for, right?
Here's a few pictures of the kids. I seem to never have any of Shon and I (I guess someone has to take them, right?).

Where's Waddles?!

2008-09-02T21:17:00.001-07:00

Whenever we go to the library, it takes Tyler about 30 seconds to pick out a few books. He just doesn't really care too much about what he gets. But Zack is a whole different story. I takes him forever and he picks out about 20 till I tell him he can only have 4 or 5. This last time we went, he picked out a Where's Waldo book. I remember really liking them when I was younger and he loves activity books so I knew he would like it. We habe spent quite a bit of time trying to find Waldo!! It was so cute, tonight after dinner, Ty and Zack got that Waldo book and searched. Ty kept saying "Waddles, look I found Waddles!!" I told him how to say Waldo, but he just couldn't quite make it come out right. It was really funny to see them so intent.
"Look Mom! We found Waddles!!"
Concentration
The Eastern Idaho State Fair came into town, well actually Blackfoot (about 30 miles down the road) so we decided to give it a try. We went on Saturday anticipating hot weather and a ton of people. It was very hot and there were a ton of people but it was still fun. Our kids are now old enough that they really love the carnival rides. So we decided to get them wristbands which got them on all the rides as many times as they wanted for the day. Shon and I have always pretty much hated the rides because they are about 3 or 4 dollars per ride and they last a minute. So we decided to just buck up and let the kids ride what they wanted this year. They loved it!! When we went into the actual fair part to look at the animals and booths, they kept saying, "Let's go back to the fair!!" We didn't do the things I really like to do at the fair, but the kids had a blast. Our friends Tom and Emily came with us and we had so much fun!!
This was Tyler's favorite ride. It was a small roller coaster but was really fun. They went on it a lot!

Best friends Tyler and Austin
This is Tyler a few days after he got the black eye (refer to the earlier post). It looked pretty bad for a while.

Cameron sure loves to eat real food. He likes almost everything. This is how he likes carrots.

2008-08-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

So I was looking through my digital camera pictures and realized I have taken quite a few and not blogged about them and the recent happenings of the Shuldberg Fam. We have enjoyed a busy summer, which is winding down quickly because school starts on Thursday. Kid of amazing actually. It doesn't seem like it should be time yet. But we have had a good summer anyway. We have had visits from family, family reunions and fun trips and lots of enjoying life. I sometimes wish that we would stop and enjoy life a little more, not that we are stressed all of the time, but we could do more enjoying, I think. Anyway, Bryan and Mary (my younger brother and his beautiful wife) were sealed in the Idaho Falls temple a few weeks ago, bringing my family around. Everyone was here except Nat and Bryce, whom we saw a few weeks before that. It was great to have everyone around. Thanks, Jake and Emily, for coming and spending some extra time with us. We really enjoyed your visit. (You too Whit. We are so excited to have you home pretty soon!) Shon's family had a couple reunions and they were fun. We saw some relatives we haven't seen for a while.

Tyler has had an interesting last week or so. He started getting sick after the Baker family reunion. He had a pretty high fever that just made him feel rotten for about 4 days.

Black eye from playing softball with the big boys!!
First tooth to fall out. I realized that his permanent tooth was already coming in. Darn

Ty and Zack slept on the couch one night. This is how we found them in the morning.
Ty climbed in the crib to take a nap the other day when he was sock with a fever. Don't know why.
Watermelon eating contest with cousins.

Taylee with our Sunday treat chocolate cake. We frosted part of it pink, just for her.

Just Cam being really cute!!

Catching-up

2008-07-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

We have had a few excited times around here since the last time I posted. Natali and Bryce came and that was awesome to see them!! Natali suggested we go to the zoo one day while she was here. I remember when her and Bryce were dating, that was one of their favorite things to do. So we went, the boys, me, Natali and mom.
We saw this cute family of ducks. They got out of their little pond and started walking down the path. The mommy was really quite nervous but the babies were very curious. They got within touching distance of us. It was so cute. Zack thought it was great!!

My two cute birdies. Zack loved his map. He kept directing us all through the zoo and everything on the map, we had to see.
Of course we had to brush the goats. Look how brave Ty is. He looks a little freaked but he actually did it really well. He is getting so much more brave around animals.

The majestic king of the forest! (My favorite part.)
Here we are enjoying the warm weather we had while Nat and Bryce were here. This is Bryce and Bryan playing Redneck golf or Chux golf. Pretty fun!!
Tyler showing of his mad Tramp tricks
I think she was doing a cheerleader move. WHAT?!

My Beautiful mother and amazing husband enjoying our bountiful shade!
So that evening, our friends Tom and Emily and their kids came to visit. The day before, Shon had moved the tramp next to the pool and the boys loved jumping into it. Tom told Keaton, their kamakaze boy, to go jump in the pool and of course he did. That started a pool party in undies! They sure had fun. (We don't usually let the boys swim on Sunday, so they thought it was a treat.)

A line of boys in their undies.

A little catch-up

2008-07-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

I realize it has been a long time since I have posted. Maybe it is because I have been so incredibly busy, but that isn't really the case. I just haven't done it. But we have had some fun things and done quite a bit since the last time I posted. So here is a little catch-up:

Shon had a birthday. His 33rd!! He said that he wanted to skip this one, but I refused to. Now he says he is in his mid-thirties, but most people agree with me when I say he is still early-thirties. I think he had a good one!!

July 3rd and 4th fun

2008-07-08T12:06:00.001-07:00

What a fun holiday we had!! Our fun started on the 3rd at Tom and Emily's house (they are such great friends of ours. I'm so glad we are neighbors!) They throw a big shindig for the neighborhood. Everyone comes and brings food, games and we have a great time. Tom had got a big bounce house for the kids to enjoy. They loved it. All the ladies played Volleyball and the guys played basketball and the kids just ran around and did whatever. It was great fun.
When it started getting dark, Tom started setting up his big show. And I mean BIG SHOW!! It was great. By far the best driveway display ever!! I think he enjoys putting it on as much as everyone enjoys watching. Zack was so excited to watch, but then got a little scared of all the loud booms so he went inside to watch. Tyler loved it and Cameron did better than I thought. He just sat on my lap and watched with his thumb in his mouth. There were a few times it got really loud and I just plugged his ears. Thanks Tom and Emily for the great night!!

On the Fourth, we got up early and went to the parade. This has become a tradition with us and the kids sure like it. We got there a little later than we usually do so our regular spot was taken, but we still got a good place. We left a little early so we could beat the crowd because we were heading to Pocatello to a water park they have there. We have never been, and the Barnes asked us to go. It's called Ross Park and they have a little kid area with a slide and waterfalls and a great shallow area for them. There is also a lazy river, a few big pools and a big tube slide. We didn't know if the boys would go on it, but we bought them a pass anyway and they loved it!! That was Tyler's favorite part by far. I even liked it and I usually hate tube slides. We went on it tons. But we got pretty tired by the end of the day. Zack and Tyler fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep after we transfered them to their beds. It was a great day.

How blessed we are for our country and our freedom. I am so thankful for it and for those who have defended it and those who are currently defended it. What a great place to live!

Summer fun!!

2008-07-07T20:40:00.001-07:00

Cameron is just getting so big. He has really got such a cute and loving personality. He smiles at anyone who will talk to him and he is quick to laugh. I don't know what I did to get such a good boy. He is so pleasant most of the time. It is hard to believe that he is five months old!! Tyler and Zack love to make him laugh, which he does a lot for them. He sleeps all night and doesn't even wake up very early. My, what a ray of sunshine he is in our home. Such a blessing, I am so grateful for. We sure love him.

He has started rolling over. This is at the beginning of his roll. He just rolls one way and can't quite get from is belly back on his back. He kind of uses his head as a pivot and moves around it to face other directions. I think we are at the point of no return. He will be all over the place in no time at all!!

We have had an abundance of warm, sunny days here, which has been awesome!! Tyler and Zack have almost lived in their swimming suits. Between our house, the neighbors and our friends Tom and Emily's, they have spent a lot of time enjoying the sun. I know you can't tell from the pictures, but they are so, so tan. It is pretty darn cute.

Zack here chillin' on the slide. His friend Katon was over on this day and they were playing lots of games on the swing set. They are really good at make believe. Most of the time I can't figure out how they come up with their stories. Rachel (Katon's sister) was in the pool with Tyler. Both of them are little fishes. The love the water.

Rachel has taught Tyler some cool tricks this summer. It is good to see Tyler loving the water this year. It is the first year he isn't scared. I attribute some of that to Rachel and her tricks.

This is Ty as he is going in for a cannon ball. All the kids line up and go one after the other with their cannon balls. It is pretty fun to watch.
They have also loved putting the sprinkler under the trampoline. But I don't have any pictures of that. The have loved that so much that we haven't bought a new slide-n-slide. Fun times!!

Summertime...and the living is easy

2008-06-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that we finally got some summer here!! There is really something about warm weather and sunshine that really boosts your mood. It has with me. T-ball games have been so much more fun now that we don't have to bundle up. And all those other summertime activities that we have finally been able to do are so fun also. We haven't been too busy around here. One thing I thought I would do before now though, is plant more garden. All I have planted is three tomatoes and a patch of potatoes. Oh well. I'm not a very good gardener anyway. Hopefully my tomatoes will do well so I can make some salsa. We love it around here and I didn't make any last year so we are totally out.

We finally set up our little pool and the boys and neighbors think it is great. We also got a fun new thing. A TRAMPOLINE!! Ty and Zack have been wanting one for a while and so we finally bought one. It has been real warm since we set it up so it has a sprinkler under it most of the time. They think it is grand. (Hopefully we don't get a broken arm or leg or something). One thing about this warm weather that I discovered is that sunscreen must expire. I have never thought about that before. Earlier in the week, the boys went over to our neighbors and played in their yard with the sprinkler and slip-n-slide and things. I lathered them up with sunscreen and sent them out. Well, about an hour and a half later, I lathered them up again and they stayed out for about another hour. When they came in, I could tell that they were a little red. Anyway, that night, they were so burned. I felt so bad. I thought I had done well but sure hadn't. The sunscreen that I used has been around for a few years, and I didn't think that it wouldn't be good anymore. Well, needless to say, I through it out and bought some new stuff.

Shon had his first ever experience with Girl's Camp this last week. On Thursday, he and the Bishop went up for Bishopric night and cooked the girls dinner. He actually went about noon so he spent quite a bit of time there. They dutch ovened their dinner and it turned out really good, he said. That night was the night when they give out awards, do skits and those things and then have the testimony meeting. The first thing he said when he came home (at 1:30 in the morning, by the way) was "Girl's camp is quite a bit different from boy's camp". But he was impressed by how organized it was and the things that they did. He noticed that girls are loud and they sing and laugh alot. Oh, and he mentioned they cry a little, too. He had fun getting to know them a little better and see them and the leaders outside of the church environment. I think it was a good experience for him. It made me think about the fun times I had a girl's camp. I actually really liked it.

Sorry I don't have any pictures. I keep forgetting to take any. But life is good.

Cameron and his funny noises

2008-06-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

I think I finally got Cam to talk to the camera. He likes to make some pretty funny noises now a days. Very cute.

We finally got some warm weather here. It has been so nice. Today we actually went to the park and played for a while. I really love the summertime. All the flowers and birds just make me happy. We actually got to sit at a t-ball game and not be bundled up on Saturday.

Shon and I were looking through some of our cookbooks the other day and Shon came across a recipe that was entitled "Wacky Cake". We couldn't really determine what made it wacky though. I guess the only reason it is wacky is that you mix it a little differently. A few of the ingredients are a little different, but nothing I thought constituted wackiness. So yesterday, Shon decided to give it a test. It turned out very, very good. Actually the perfect chocolate cake.
Very moist, heavier than a box cake but not too heavy and the texture was great. I was very impressed with my husband. (which isn't rare, because he often impresses me. He is amazing!!)
So I thought I would share the recipe with you all.

Wacky Cake

3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp soda
1/2 c. cocoa
2/3 c. oil
2 T. Vanilla
2 T. Vinegar
2 c. water
Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl, mix well. Make 3 holes in mix. Pour oil in first hole, vanilla into second hole, and vinegar in the third hole. Pour water over mix. Stir until smooth. Don't beat. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 40 to 45 min.
Hope you like it!!

Tyler is six!!

2008-06-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

Friday was Tyler's birthday. Actually, it was the 13th, Friday the 13th. I hadn't even thought of that until just now. Huh. Obviously we are not very superstitious people. It was a great day. He came upstairs in the morning very excited. I was feeding Cameron on the couch and Ty came and sat down by me and we had a little chat. This is kind of how it went:
Ty: "I am six today. I am getting big."
Me: "Yes you sure are."
Ty: Holding out his arm "Mom, look how big my arm is."
Me: "It is pretty big."
Ty: Holding out his leg "Look how big my leg is. It looks like a six year olds leg, doesn't it?"
Me: "It sure does."
Ty: "I feel six."

It was very cute. I just smiled and gave him a big hug. He is sure getting big and getting so smart.
We had a little party for him and his friends during the day. Ty invited his best friend Austin and his siblings and them our next door neighbor Katon. We had a little treasure hunt that I had set up for them. They really had a good time. They played with the present Ty got from his Grandma and Grandpa Shuldberg, which is a "Whac-a-mole Tower". Both Tyler and Zack were so excited for this. They have seen it advertised on TV and have wanted it for a while. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa. It was a fun party. That night we had our friends Tom and Emily come and my brother Bryan. Bryan's wife was in Boise because her sister had a baby. Tyler wanted a Cars cake again this year so Shon baked the cake and I frosted it. I think he had a wonderful day.

He really wanted me to write Tyler is Six on in so that is what it says on the top. I thought it turned out pretty good.

We got him this remote controlled truck that was really cool. He was so excited!! But when we got it out and he started driving it, it didn't work right so Shon took it and Tyler back to Toys-R-Us and picked out a different one. It is really cool, too. He loves it!!
Zack was almost as excited as Ty was for this birthday. But notice that kid in the red shirt that doesn't look like us but is there in every one? That is Austin, Tyler's best friend. He is such a great kid. He belongs to our good friends, Tom and Emily. Happy Birthday, Ty!

T-ball and other stuff...

2008-06-12T15:04:00.001-07:00

This is what Cameron looks like most of the time. He always has his hands in his mouth so he drools and is wet most of the time. His whole hand fits in his mouth just right.

Tyler started T-ball last week. This is his second year playing. I play Volleyball with his coach Hayley. She is a fun coach for all the boys. He was with some of the same kids last year but they go to different schools so they usually don't see each other but they have fun. Tyler really likes to play. But the other day he asked me when he could play "real" baseball. I didn't understand at first but then I got that he meant without a tee. He thinks he is old enough to do it without and he is actually a pretty good little hitter. Next year he will get to play "real" baseball.
Zack just likes to go play on the playground at the games. We have sure had to bundle up for all the games, though. Summer hasn't quite made it here yet.

The tournament for the Volleyball league I have been on is next week. I have really had fun. It has been so long since I have played, but I remember that I really like to. Improvement and some exercise are what I was going for and I think that that has happened. We played against a team on Monday that was really good. I think that shortest on the team is probably 5'8". Most are about 6' and played college ball. They are amazing. Last time we played them, we pretty much got clobbered and a couple girls on our team got hit in the face pretty hard. This time we stayed with them pretty darn well. I was quite impressed with us. And we had a lot of fun. Sorry I don't have any pictures of us. Maybe Shon will takes some next week in the tournament.

Tagged...........by Emily

2008-06-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged a couple of times and I have forgotten to respond. It is because there is so little exciting about me!! But, here goes...

The player list 8 random facts/habits about themselves

1. I am not a morning person at all. If I could stay in bed until 10:00 or so, I would love it. Every night before I go to bed, I think that I will get up, feed Cameron, get ready for the day and have my house picked up by 9:00. But everyday, that doesn't happen because I can't seem to get my motors running.

2. I love baby stuff. Every time I am in a store, I have to go to the baby aisle and just look around. I have a baby now but he doesn't like a pacifier, doesn't need a bottle and doesn't really need too much right now. I look anyway.

3. Pizza is my favorite food!! I could eat it everyday.

4. I Don't like to do laundry at all!!

5. I usually cut my own hair. Yes, I am a stylist but I should really have someone else cut it. But when I have someone else do it, I usually tweak it a little. Shon should hide the scissors from me!!

6. I have finally kicked my nail biting habit that I have had most of my life!!

7. I am a hair stylist that doesn't color their hair. I think it is more out of laziness, but I can't remember the last time I colored it. I used to all the time.

8. I have completely run out of facts or random things.

I tag my friend Emily, Alison, Janae, and Claudia and whoever else wants to.

Just some cute kids

2008-05-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

Zack brought me this black glove the other day and wanted to wear it. It is actually one of my gloves I use when I am coloring hair. But he said it was his working glove. So I put it on him and went on with what I was doing. I came upstairs a little while later and he had a bunch of cooking utinsels out and was stirring up a batch of something. It was just so cute. He even had the Hamblin Family cookbook out to the side of him. I think he entertained himself for about 2 hours then again later in the day. It was just really cute. I am still finding utinsels around my house.

Cameron loves his bouncer. He will stay and play in it for quite a while. I was doing the dishes and he was having quite the conversation with the little spiders on it. But of course as soon as I got the camera, he stopped talking. He was still pretty cute so I thought I would show you all. Sorry my voice is so weird. I have had quite a cold.

I know it has been a while....

2008-05-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

So I haven't done anything on this blog for a while, I know. Have you ever had times when not much is going on except life and you don't feel very excited? And sometimes it feels like you don't have a lot of motivation for much? That is how I have been the last little while. Life is fine and nothing is bad, just nothing too exciting. I am sure that it is because of me and my attitude, but that is how I have felt. But when I think about it, we have done some fun things. So I guess I will just feel you in on a few of our happenings.

Tyler had his Kindergarten Graduation Celebration. The two morning classes performed the songs that they learned this year in music. It was really cute. Tyler is one of the tallest in his class so he was on the back row, which is probably good because he is kind of shy and doesn't like to draw attention to himself. Then the teacher got up and gave them each a diploma. What a fun time. It is amazing that he is just growing up and how much he knows. Very fun.

Don't they all look so excited! This is right after they got their diplomas.

Tyler has been playing soccer for the last couple months. I always seem to get to the game without my camera. He has sure enjoyed it. His team is just boys and they are all pretty darn good athletes. Some of the boys have played for 4 seasons so they know pretty much what they are doing. This is Tyler's 2nd season. Our friend Tom is their coach and he is great!! All the boys love him. It has been really fun.

Emily and Elie all bundled up. This was just last Thursday and it was sooo cold. Spring soccer in Idaho. What do we expect, right?

Tyler is the one in dark red that just kicked the ball. This game he scored a goal. His first goal ever. It was very exciting. We had actually told him that when he scored a goal, we would take him to McDonald's for a happy meal. So that is where we headed after the game. Tom and Emily came with us and all the kids had a blast. Hurray, Tyler!!

We had a fun weekend a while ago. Shon got a call from his friend Travis with an invite to a Jazz game. It just happened to be game six of the playoffs so we couldn't turn it down. We left the older boys with Grandma Shuldberg and took Cameron with us. I know what you are probably thinking, "Wasn't that the game that put the Jazz out?" Yes, it was. But we still had fun. I left the darn camera in my suitcase so I have no proof that we were there. This picture is of Cameron in the hotel that we stayed in that night. His first Jazz game and first hotel stay. What a night!! (he did extremely well, I was so proud of him.)

This is Tyler's graduation. I couldn't get very close so you can't see the kids but this is what they sound like. (I actually posted this to see if I figured out how to do videos with my camera and put them on here. I did it so hopefully you will see more videos from me!)

Funny boy

2008-05-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Zack and I were talking to Cameron this morning and he was just being so cute. His laughing and talking are so funny. He had Zack rolling on the floor he was laughing so hard. Very, very cute!!

Notice the shirt Jake and Emily. He is wearing it just for you! I think he is actually cheering them on.

Baby animal day at the fairgrounds

2008-05-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we went to the fairgrounds in Blackfoot to a baby animal day. It was a nice day (finally) and it was really fun. Our friends Tom and Emily came with us. There were lambs, goats, calves, piglets, chicks, ducklings, baby miniature horses, a hayride, there were even snakes. I didn't care too much for the snakes. Zack and Tyler wouldn't touch them either, smart boys. They had a boa that was 4 or 5 feet and it looked just like my brother Ben's friend Otis. It brought back terrifying memories of waking up with him in my bed and things like that. We enjoyed it very much.

On the hayride. Come to think of it there actually wasn't any hay on the wagon. So just wagon ride. Tyler thought it was great but Zack just wanted the team to run.

Tom and their three oldest, Keaton, Shaustia and Austin. Emily waited at the gate with Elie and the strollers.
A fun hay bail maze. I don't know how many times the boys went through this.

Zack loved holding the baby's more than Ty did, not a real surprise. But Ty did pet a few and he actually held the chicks 2 OR 3 times, but I didn't get a picture of it.

Stuff and a funny story

2008-05-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since I have posted anything. I have been kind of busy with just stuff. I have been going to Ty's school everyday to help out with teacher appreciation week and he has thought that it has been grand. Zack loves it too because he gets to do puzzles and things. Today I was there for about 3 hours and he was so done. But Ty has really loved it.

We are getting over our sick. The lingering coughs are annoying, but everyone if feeling much better. Tonight Shon and I are going to Rexburg for an employee appreciation dinner for his company. Grandma Shuldberg is very excited because she gets the boys. The older two are going to have a sleepover and are very excited. I think that they miss me going to work because now they don't see their grandparents as often. I know the grandparents miss them a lot.

Here are just a few cute pictures.

Zack had a fever for about three days. This day he didn't do much but lay around. I came up stairs and he had made a little bed for himself on the couch and zonked out. Notice he still has his jammies on. I don't think he took them off for three days, they are his favorite.
Cameron loves to sit up lately. I sit him in the joint of the couch and he gets so proud of himself that he is sitting up. I love this face. It is as if he is saying "Look how big I am!"

So this is my funny story: Last night Shon and I both had to go to Enrichment at the church so the boys were going with us to play in the nursery. I was feeding Cameron on the couch and told Zack to go change his clothes so we could go. When he came up the stairs, I could hear him walking slowly and kind of giggling. As he came up, he was backwards walking up. As I looked, he had his shirt and pants on backwards. It caught me as so funny I couldn't help but start laughing. He then laughed and said "I am backwards boy!" I laughed pretty hard. Then Tyler noticed what he was doing and he went downstairs, switched his shirt backwards and then he walked up the stairs backwards. I could hardly feed Cameron I was laughing so hard. Sometimes I wonder how they come up with these ideas!!

Life

2008-05-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty good around our place. Nothing too exciting but nothing horrible either. Just life. The boys have caught a cold somewhere. Tyler has had it since Monday but has still been pretty much himself. Now Zack has it and it seems to be effecting him the same way. They sure cough a lot. I just put Cameron down and he was coughing and sneezing and blowing snot out of his nose, so I think he has it too. I hope that it doesn't get too bad.

It is snowing today. It started yesterday and hasn't really stopped. I feel a little depressed about it. Sunday and Monday were so nice. We spent a lot of time outside. I even got a sunburn. Now we have snow again. I just want it to be nice outside!!

Tyler has been playing soccer and it has been fun. I would post pictures but I don't have any because I keep forgetting to take my camera to the games. I think that he is having fun. But we need to figure out how to get him to be more aggresive. I thought that he would never have a problem with that but he does. He really likes to run and fall on the ground. I think that diving on the ground is his favorite part.

I have been playing volleyball lately. My friend Emily told me that a bunch of people play at a stake center close by so I have been going. I also play with Emily on a league on Monday nights. It is weird to play because I haven't played for so long. And I always loved to play but was never very great at it. But it is fun and good exercise. And it has been fun to do something outside of the house for a change.

Shon is pretty good. He kind of has the cold too and isn't feeling 100%. But still going to work. Work has been a little stressful but fine. His calling is busy but has been great. He is such a hard worker. I am so proud of him.

Sorry is this is boring. This is what is going on in life. Life is good!!

Our little thumb sucker!

2008-05-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

I have always loved pacifiers. With Zack ad Tyler, it wasn't an issue because they just took them fine and I was so glad. So when I had Cameron, I had a few different kinds of pacifiers to try. In the hospital, he took one pretty well. When we came home he did a little. But as he has gotten older, we have come to realize he just doesn't like them. But he sure likes him thumb. Shon and I both were thumb suckers and we both know it is a hard habit to break so we haven't been thrilled with his choice, but it sure is cute!! He puts himself to sleep and stays asleep all night no less, so I won't complain. He is such a sweet boy!!!!

This is the face that I get when I try to take his picture. He was laughing and smiling like crazy just seconds before this. But I pull out the camera and he is enthralled.

New shoes

2008-04-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went on a family outing shopping. The older boys both needed shoes and Zack needed a pair of pants that didn't have a hole in the knees. I probably should have went before Shon got off of work, but it was nice to have him with us. We went to the store and headed for the clearance rack, hoping to find some shoes the boys would like. I measured their feet and they had grown a whole size. So we looked. It is so funny how different they both are. Tyler was done after about five minutes, and could have cared less which shoes we picked out, just some that didn't tie. But Zack is much more opinionated. After trying on about 5 shoes, he found a pair he liked and he was done. He was very excited, just carried the box around with him until we were done. When we got to the counter, the lady rung us up and she charged us full price for Zack's shoes, which we thought were on sale. She went back and looked and said the blue ones were on sale, not the red ones that Zack had his heart set on. But we decided to give it a try with the blue ones. We got out to the truck and Zack realized we didn't have the right color and the tears just started flowing. But Shon is such a smooth talker that he changed Zack's mind and all was well.
Then we went to Kohles and found some pants and of course a few more things. When we got home, the first thing Zack wanted to do was try on his clothes. It is so fun to watch him get so excited over new clothes. It is like pulling teeth to get Tyler to do it. Anyway it was a good nighjt!!

Sunglasses

2008-04-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know about all of you, but sunglasses are an essential part of my wardrobe. I blame it on being a contact wearer. But I always have to have sunglasses on when it is sunny or I think that I will probably die. I don't have to have expensive ones. Walmart cheapies are great for me. Shon doesn't like to wear them. The last pair he bought was on his mission 12 years ago, and he only bought them because the cute girl at the counter told him they looked good on him. Sunglasses annoy him more than they help.

But there are people who need sunglasses like me. Taylee and Rohne won't go outside at all without theirs. It is really cute. They have sensitive eyes and very fair skin. I love it that there are people that need them as much as me. But I did have to go out and buy my boys some after Emily and her kids were here. Tyler and Zack now think they need them everytime they go outside. They put them on their heads like I do when I am inside and then when they go outside, they forget they are there and leave them in the same place. I just laugh.

Wishing and Hoping

2008-04-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

When Ben and Heidi were here a few weekends ago, we had a great sunny and pretty warm day. So we played outside and then went to a park that is within walking distance. Man it was nice to be outside without freezing. I have had cabin fever. I also really enjoy walking (outside is much better than my treadmill). But we haven't yet had any consecutive nice days. It is warm one day and the next it snows. Idaho springs leave much to be desired.

I just thought this was cute all the boys lined up ready to cross the street. The one in the yellow helmet is Katon, our neighbor that I tend. Heidi and I were behind with the strollers. This was a great day with warm weather.
Now this is the next week. I really wanted to get out of the house so we walked to the same park. We only stayed about 10 minutes at the most because we were freezing. The wind comes a howling and it gets cold fast. Well, we tried. I am just wishing and hoping to have some nice warm days!!!
Tyler loves monkey bars or anything like that. And he is pretty good. I can remember as a kid loving the rings and bars and my hands getting so sore until I got big callouses on them.

Visit with the cousins

2008-04-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

We had a great fun week last week. Emily and her two kids came down from Seattle and it was so great to see them. We did a lot of visiting and catching up and the kids just played. Man I loved seeing them. Taylee and Rohne have gotten so big and changed so much since I saw them last. I really, really miss seeing them.
My mom was here too so she was loving having all of her grandkids around her. Ben and Heidi came up for the weekend, so all eight grandkids were here. We had pictures done of them all together with Grandma. It was so fun.
These pictures are of us at Leo's Place. It is an indoor playground with arcade games too. The kids love it. Tyler and Zack have been a few times. Emily was nervous to take her kids there because she has never taken them to public play places. It just hasn't been real possible for her to. But mom and I convinced her that she needed to let go a bit and go and she did. Rohne had a blast but Taylee got scared and wouldn't do the big playground. But there was things that she enjoyed. It was fun.

Rohne up in the playground
Zack coming down the big slide

Little boys do the craziest things!

2008-04-13T17:59:00.001-07:00

This weekend Emily, Holly's Sister, came to our home. It has been to long since we had seen her and her cute children in person. The Shuldberg home was full of Hamblin's and all their children. Grandma Hamblin was here just soaking it all in. The boys played and played and played until they finally stopped at the kitchen counter to refuel on food so we thought, we quickly realized they both fell asleep and needed to refuel on rest instead of food. They must have slept there for about an hour just sitting on the kitchen stool with the heads rolling back and forth. The whole situation was really cute. I am so glad that my wife has a wonderful family that loves to be together and they really enjoy in each others company. What a blessing it is to be apart of 2 wonderful families. The late nights, no naps and continuous movement finally caught up with them. P.S. In the back ground we are playing a rough game of Carcasonne. Ben, Hiedi, Holly and Shon.

A super fun weekend!

2008-04-13T17:52:00.001-07:00

This is the Buttar's cabin in Island Park. Our friends Tom and Emily invited us up for the weekend to snowmobile and play games. It was really fun and we are lucky to have good friends like the Barnes. As you can tell this is April 6th and the snow is still as tall as Tyler. It was a lot different then my Texas relatives pool party about the same time. We had a really good time and the boys came back exhausted. (please read bonding experiences on Tom and Emily's blog just click the link in our friends list.)

2008-04-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

My sweet uncles funeral. Shon recently attended his uncle Dave's funeral. He died of pancreas cancer at the young age of 67. He and his wife are the sweetest people. It was sad to see my aunt Diane so sad. Dave was as good as they come. That is Shon's aunt holding the blonde girl on her lap keeping her warm.

For your information!

2008-04-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

Please click on Tom and Emily's link and read the story entitled "Bonding experiences." You can read my latest escape from the clutches of death. It is rather funny now but it was not really funny then. All my family and friends please go read the story.

Shon

Whitney's recital

2008-03-31T13:35:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, Whitney had her first recital. She has to take private lessons from a voice coach for her major. This recital was all of the students of this voice coach. When the recital started, I was entertained. Her turn was near the end though. She sang one song in English and one in another language. I could hardly believe my ears when she started singing. I knew that she was good, but she was actually mesmerizing. No nerves at all could I detect. She looked totally relaxed and in character. Listening to the others I was sometimes impressed, sometimes not, but when she started, I was blown away. I had a hard time believing this was my little sister. By far the best one, even if I am a little biased. Wow, she is amazing. I am so glad that she decided to stick with Performing Arts. Not only does she love it, but she is so talented. Wow, again!!! I am so proud of her.

Football.....Tackle

2008-03-31T13:23:00.001-07:00

Tyler and Zack love to play tackle or football. I am not sure how it starts, one or the other. They use whatever they can find for the football. Very seldom is it actually a football. This time it was a bear. My Grandma Hamblin actually gave this bear to Tyler and she would probably gasp at the way it is played with. Many of her bears just sit and look pretty. This one is loved very much and is played with often. Sometimes it is snuggled, sometimes it is hurtled through the air over and over or used as a football on this occasion. I was actually sitting on the couch feeding Cameron and the game began. They would run from the closet door on one side of the room (one goal) to the couch (the other goal). Many tackles happened in between. These two can play this for hours. Now there are usually injury timeouts often, but they don't last bery long. Two rowdy boys, but I love it.
Touchdown Zack!!!

It looks like Zack is about to be clobbered. They tackle pretty hard but usually come up laughing.

A tribute to a great man and his Granddaughter

2008-03-27T13:21:00.001-07:00

This is Shon's Great Grandfather, Garrick Filmore. He is 103 years old. For the past 4 1\2 years he has been living with my in-laws. We have had the opportunity to get to know him and hear his stories. What a life this man has lived. He never misses a chance to share his testimony and love of the gospel. Even now, a hospice organization comes to help and he talks to the nurses and who ever else about the gospel. Great man.

Now he has a great and wonderful care giver for these years he has been here. Julie and Larry willingly took him into their home and has cared for him. Julie is amazing. She has definitely been his angel, I think. She is one of the most caring people I have ever had a chance to be around. No wonder I fell in love with her son. He was raised by such wonderful parents. Larry and Julie have sacrificed and I know that they have and will receive many blessings. I know I am blessed to be in their family.

It is really cool that when we are visiting, there is 5 generations in that house. Pretty neat.