Hogle Zoo Fun

Matthew is getting so tall-He is almost as tall as me!! Yikes!

I am always telling Mckay to stop acting like a monkey!!

During Spring break we went to the Zoo. We have never taken Madelynn so it had been a few years since we had been. We had a good time-we went with the Johnston Cousins. We got to ride the Carousel and the train and see all the wild animals-What a Fun time!

Seven is great!

On April 12 Marcus turned 7 years old! He is such a sweetheart! For his Birthday we opened presents and had cake and ice cream and he got to pick were we could go for dinner. He picked Carl's Junior-not my pick but he wanted to go play at the indoor playground so we did! I can't believe how fast he is growing up! Marcus is such a fun little boy, he is VERY social (like Matthew) and has lots of friends. Marcus has such a contagious little laugh which is something I love about him! He is in the 1st grad this year and seems to enjoy it. However he has a very hard time waking up in the morning to get off to school!(I think he gets that from his dad!!) He ALWAYS has a smile and is fun to be around! Happy Birthday Marcus-We Love You!!

Madelynn Is 3!!

Happy Birthday to my girl Madelynn!! It was Madelynn's Birthday on April 2-what a big girl she is now!! She is such a blessing for our family. We celebrated her Birthday by opening some presents and then we went to grandma Boren's house for an Easter Party. Madelynn thought the whole party was just for her-and we let her think that because it was her special day. We got her a PINK Scooter which is what she has been wanting ever since she seen it at the store! She loves to ride her scooter and is really fast at it-just the other day I chased her down the middle of the road and could not keep up!! This girl is a BUSY one!! She loves to ride her scooter around the block with her brothers-she thinks she is so so BIG! Another exciting thing that Madelynn has been doing is (finally) going potty!! Yeah-no more diapers! She is doing really well and is constantly telling me she is such a big girl! We love you girl-and you are becoming such a "Big Girl!"

A Quick Update

Here are a bunch of posts! We have been pretty busy and this is what we have all been up to lately!

Abe Lincoln And Basketball

It has been a busy couple of months for us! Matthew has been pretty busy-he has had basketball, science fair, wax museum, and scouting pow-wow's. He loved playing basketball and was even more excited that he got to be on his best friends team. It was alot of fun-this is the first year he tried basketball and he liked it better then baseball. We will definatley be doing that again. He was a pretty good player-being one of the tallest helped with that!! LOL He also had to do the Wax Museum. That was alot of fun! He had to pick a Historical figure and memorise a 2 minute speech about that person and then dress up like him. He chose good old "Honest Abe". I took a few pictures of him and his friend Zach who was Bill Clinton. Parents were invited to come see all the kids and listen to there speech. It was alot of fun! Good job Matthew!!

Mighty Marcus

Marcus had a school play the other day-it was so cute!! He got to be a Dragon which he loved and even had a small speaking part. He was very excited and did such a great job. It was the cutest play I have ever been to- one of those "Priceless" moments I enjoy with my children!! Good job Marcus!

Sleeping Beauty

One evening I lost Madelynn........................were or were could she be???????? I looked EVERYWHERE and was starting to feel a little panic. I thought what if she got outside and is half-way across the neighborhood (needless to say she has done that before!!)thank goodness I have patient neighbors! There was a large lump in my bed and that is were I found her after 20 minutes of looking...................my very own Sleeping Beauty! She did not have a nap that day and apparently needed one! I had to take a quick picture it was cute-she finds herself many a nights in my bed-unfortunately for me!! What a silly girl I have!!

Smarty Pants Mckay!

I had to put a picture of Mckay in here somewhere!! What a GREAT boy he is!! He is very smart and very kind. He did basketball but it was "Mickey Mouse" basketball. They just taught them how to play and then they got to play two games. He loved it and can't wait to play "REAL" basketball next year!! Mckay is very competitive and loves to try new things. I did not take any pictures of him playing (mostly because I was a slacker and Jake went go to all his practices with him) Next year I will get some!!

Jake's Fabulous Winter Campout!

Jake took his Priests on a GREAT winter camp out!! I say that because afterward they decided not to do that again!! Jake HATES being cold-it was 8 degrees when they woke up. His partner and him agreed not to do a repeat unless they are required to!! Pretty funny! They had a good time- as much fun as you can have in VERY cold weather-here are a few pictures: Can you believe the snow height? They actually slept in those "Snow Caves."

Birthday Time!

Happy Birthday to Jake!! It's Birthday time at our house it all starts with Jake then Me then Madelynn and then Marcus. So here is a quick Birhtday post for Jake! Hope you have a good Birthday we all love you-you are one of the BEST parts of our family!! Love You!

The Miracle

It's been a busy 6 weeks at our house!! Just a few days after Christmas Jake's mom became very sick. They ended up calling an ambulance and rushing her to American Fork Hospital. She spent nearly 7 days in a Comatose state. They discovered she had Bacterial Meningitis, which can be live threatening. It is an infection that runs up the spine and into the brain. It was very scary! The ICU at any hospital is a very terrifying place. Sandy (Jake's mom) was very sick and a few times we thought we might lose her. Jake spent many hours at the hospital with her and his family. About day 12 she finally started to come around and eventually went in to kidney failure which caused her to be put on dialysis. She started improving and was able to be moved to a Rehabilitation Center in the Provo hospital. She had to learn to read, write, walk and even speak again. She is finally home and doing great she also just stopped Dialysis but will have to see a kidney specialist on a regular basis. We feel so blessed to have her!! Sandy has a 11 year old daughter (Jake's sister) named Anna- I get tears in my eyes thinking about what it would have been like for Anna to lose her mother. They are a neat family. It has been a rough month for our family.It is hard to see someone that you love be that sick. We are so glad she is feeling and doing better and can't imagine life without her! Life is truly so precious!

Our Sweet Marcus!

I just love my Marcus! He has such a soft heart and is such a good boy. It has been a hard COLD winter for him. He has a very hard time with all this cold weather and it literally brings him to tears on a daily basis. I have made several trips to the school because he gets so cold and needs dry clothes. Marcus needs some extra padding!(fat) He is so skinny that he has a VERY hard time staying warm! He asked Santa to please leave him some pictures of his Reindeer for Christmas that was all he wanted. So Sweet! On Christmas night he said one of the most sweetest prayers I have ever heard a child say, he has a sweet spirit. On Christmas night we could hear him playing in his room after we put him to bed this is what he said "OOHH Dad I am just so so Happy! I love my new castle and I am trying really hard not to play with it-but it is really really hard!" SO Cute-I just love this boy and all he brings to our family! Here are a few of the pictures Santa left him:

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

Christmas this year was amazing! My kids were all so excited! This is such a fun time of year! We went to Temple Square, Seen The Lights, Had lots of parties, and got to see Santa twice! Madelynn was scared to death the first time we seen Santa-then by Christmas Eve when we got to see him again she ran right into his arms! Now she keeps asking me when we can see Santa again. I am so thankful for this time of year when we can remember the Savior and all he has done for us. Marcus said it best last night during family prayer "thank you for Christmas and thank you for everything you have done for us". I hope you all had a "Good One" also! Some of our favorite presents this year were: Lave Lamps (the boys cannot stop talking about them), Lego's, Nintendo DS, IPODS, WII Games, Mermaid doll, Toy Puppy, and the nice Camp Chef and Grill we will use over and over again. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Back to Work........................

In September I went back to work. It has been nearly 8 years since I have worked this was a tough decision. With winter coming and Construction slowing down I decided we could use the extra income and I got a job in September. I am working at the Beehive home that is about 3 miles away from our house. This job has truly enriched my life!! It has been VERY hard to leave the kids (especially my baby-Madelynn) and go to work. I only work part time so its not to bad. I take care of 7 elderly women who are all like my grandma!! They are great ladies and have had amazing lives-they truly inspire me to be a better woman! They can all walk and do most tasks-but most of them have all-timers disease. I have really enjoyed getting to know them and when I don't work for a day or two I wonder how they are doing! Just recently we had one of them pass away in a matter of days she went from walking to being bed bound and then one quite night with her daughter by her side she passed away. I sat with her daughter for a few hours and listened to her tell me about her amazing mother. What a humbling experience that was and one I will never forget. Life is so precious! All though it has been difficult I have learned alot about myself and about life in general. Jake has really pitched in and is doing alot of babysitting. We are all still adjusting to our new schedules but all in all we are surviving.

A Very Thankful Heart!

Its that time of year-were you start thinking about all the things you are grateful for! I feel so blessed and lucky and wanted to share a few things I am so very thankful for this season. So here they are:

**I am thankful for a Wonderful husband who works so VERY hard to support our family!!

**I thankful for our good health-and no major illnesses.

**I am Very thankful for the 4 GREAT children Heavenly Father has trusted me with!

**I am thankful for my Heavenly Father who I know is watching over me and loves me!

**I am thankful for my Sweet little girl who reminds me daily to be a "better" mother, because I realize that I am her constant example.

**I am thankful for my GREAT sister-whom I love and adore! She always sees the best in the worst situation and always has my back!

** I am thankful for my parents who support and give me good advice-even if I don't want to hear it!! Love you!

**I am thankful for (this is a hard one) My BIG Ford Truck!! Although I would rather drive something else it gets me were I need to go safely!!! LOL

**I am thankful for my beautiful home that I can be happy and warm in.

**I am thankful for Utah's beautiful Mountain's and that we get to enjoy them!

**I am thankful that Jake's family made it to Utah-Safely! And are doing Great!

**I am VERY thankful that Jake has managed to stay some what busy in such a "Bad Economy".

**I am thankful for a nice cold PEPSI when it has been a long day!!!

I could go on and on actually-I am just feeling very blessed this year and wanted to share my thoughts! We are truly so Blessed- if we just take a minute tho think about it! Happy Thanksgiving!