**CHriStMas 2008**

We had a great Christmas and everyone was spoiled. Shawn & I finally bought a camcorder. We have been wanting one for quite some time and we decided it would be our big gift to each other. Clayton's big gift this year was the drum set he has been wanting for over a year now. We happened to get lucky on this gift. My sister Sheila was wanting to sale her old drum set (that is still in great shape), so we bought it from her at a very good price. Thanks Sheila it is a hit. Clayton was extremely excited about the drums and started playing right away and all I have to say is they are very loud and Oscar does not like them (which is not a surprise). Mekenna received a patch for her Judo uniform that she has been wanting as well as her own DVD player. They both received numerous other gifts.

We always get the kids on Christmas Day around 2:00 or so which we look forward to. So when there was all these winter storm warnings for Christmas Eve & Day we became nervous and started watching the Internet for updates and closures. Around noon on Christmas day the roads we needed to get the kids were showing signs of closing. Shawn called the kids and told them to get headed our way and then got in the truck and took off to tackle the bad roads. The snow plow had the road blocked to go around the Palisades. Shawn talked to the driver and explained our situation. The driver said if Shawn hurried and was careful he could go thru, so he did and was able to pick up the kids. Then they turned around to come back and came upon a road block the other way. Well Shawn was determined to get home, he went around the barricade. The roads around the Palisades weren't plowed and covered in about six inches of snow. There were some scary roads but with good driving and determination Shawn, Clayton, & Mekenna made it home. We enjoyed opening gifts, each others company and a good dinner. Oh and a lot of snow!!

Our Christmas Tree (you can never seem to get a good picture of a Christmas Tree)

Three of my favorite people!!

My boys Christmas morning!!

For Christmas Oscar got a bed & a bird toy, both which he loves.

Not a great picture but the only one I could find of me on Christmas ( I am usually behind the camera and I am okay with that)

Clayton sitting @ his drum set for the first time

Clayton playing his drum set while Mekenna covers her ears, not because it sounded bad but because the drums are so loud!

MeRRy ChRisTmaS ALL!!!

Gingerbread Creations

Shawn, Mekenna, & Clayton decorated these big gingerbread men/women. No, they are not homemade. We bought a kit from Wal-Mart that came with 2 men & frosting & candy. However, we used frosting of different colors that we had at the house & some candy at the house as well. They had fun & I enjoyed watching. I think Mekenna was determined to cover every inch of her gingerbread women with candy, but Shawn very lovingly put a stop to the idea. I had to chuckle at the situation, because when Mekenna stamps cards with me we go through the same thing. She wants to use every stamp & every color & cover every inch of the paper. I have learned to only pull out a few stamps & ink colors out at a time, which seems to help. Here are pictures I remembered to take at the last minute. Clayton was already done and back playing the PlayStation 2.

Christmas Party

This years Christmas party for Shawn's work was held at Ed & Barbara Garner's home. The Garner's home was the house Shawn worked on for 12 months or so this last year. We had the kids that weekend so instead of finding a babysitter we brought them along, but only after numerous reminders on how to act. I only say this because the Garner's house is not necessarily child proof, if the kids decided to wrestle, fight, or have too much fun. There are a lot of expensive items that can be broken & us not able to afford to replace. The reminders worked for the most part. It was fun to see Clayton socialize and feel like one of the guys. One of Shawn's co-workers brought his little girl and her and Mekenna had fun being girls. I ate way too much and Shawn was the typical social bug (I love this about him) . We all had a great time and by the end of the evening Mekenna decided to sit on Barbara's lap and was exhausted enough to fall asleep, which is not typical of Mekenna she is usually a die hard when it comes to going to sleep.

These next pictures are of Barbara's Christmas tree and close-ups of the ornaments on the tree. These ornaments are amazing. They are glass blown dipped in sterling silver and then hand painted. Barbara has thousands of these interesting & beautiful ornaments. Plus she has numerous ceramic villages set-up through out her house. It is so fun to see all the different Christmas decorations she has.

Short & Sweet Updates

So to say the least I have fallen behind on posting. I hope to get caught up with numerous short but sweet posts to get anyone who reads this thing updated on the happenings of the Terry Family.

THANKSGIVING

On turkey day Shawn & Clayton went elk hunting. Yes I said elk hunting! Since Shawn's knee is still on the road to recovery we decided for Shawn to put in for a chance to get drawn to hunt the elk refuge in Jackson. Well he was lucky and was drawn. So that he did not miss anymore work he put in for the week of Thanksgiving. Shawn & Clayton woke up very early on Thanksgiving day to get to the refuge before sunrise. Long story short the only cow elk they saw was before sunrise, which if you follow the law you are not allowed to shoot when it is dark out. If I remember right the also saw cow elk far away to far to shoot and on the run.

While the boys were hunting Mekenna and I were busy cooking turkey dinner, watching the parade, and doing crafts. Because Mekenna absolutely loves to do crafty things. The boys returned home mid afternoon after not having much luck seeing any elk. We had a good Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed each others company. I am very thankful for all that I have.

DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING
The day after Thanksgiving started like the day before. The boys were up extra early to go find those elusive elk. With the result being the same as the day before, only seeing the cow elk when it was to dark to shoot. However, the boys had great bonding time and also walked a total of about 10 miles if you add both days together. The girls were once again at home being crafty and bonding. Mekenna really wanted curly hair for the day. So she took a shower we then blow dried her hair and once it was dried we rolled her hair up in curlers. Mekenna was extremely satisfied with the outcome. I would have to agree her hair was really cute all curly. We took a picture to preserve the memory. Looking at the picture I told Shawn how grown up she was looking. Once the boys were done hunting we girls met them to go find our Christmas tree. After a fun hour of searching we found a good tree that we all liked. By the way I would say Oscar had the most fun of us all. He was so happy running around, up and down the mountain side. We took our tree home and had a good time decorating it.

CHRISTMAS CARD

I actually got our Christmas card done early this year. I wanted to use our family pictures and was looking to just order one of those picture cards online. However, they seemed expensive plus I did not find anything I really liked. I decided to create my own using Print Shop. I love doing these sorts of things anyway, it is just a matter of finding time for it. Here is the outcome of my Christmas card creation--

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

We were successful in completing our Christmas shopping the first weekend in December. Yah!! It was a super long day in Idaho Falls, but it was a big accomplishment. Especially when both Shawn & I were limping around. His knee was bugging him and I had a bummed hip. On Thursday morning December 4th I woke up with a really sore right side hip. As the day progressed it hurt more and more. A couple of times to where I couldn't move without tears coming to my eyes. Just a side note I tend to have a very high tolerance for pain. Anyways I called a chiropractor to see if he could help with the pain. He created more pain trying to fix the pain, but in the end a couple visits to him and I was feeling better. It is still a little sore, but nothing like before.

More to come soon . . . .

Judo Tournament = Gold Medal!?!?

Last weekend Mekenna had her first Judo Tournament in Pocatello. It was the kids weekend to be with their mom, but we did not want to miss watching our little girl kick some butt. So we got up nice & early (which I dislike doing especially on the weekend) and got on the road. Mekenna had to be at the gym at 9:00 a.m. to weigh in and then the tournament was suppose to start at 10:00 a.m. but didn't start until 10:30 a.m. Not knowing exactly what to expect at a Judo Tournament we sat there for awhile just trying to figure it all out. I can tell you I figured out the basic rules to it, but not much beyond that. However, we were sitting there watching all this little kids competing and we hear "Will Mekenna Terry's coach please come to the score table". This type of announcement is something we had not heard in the tournament so far. Her coach was informed that there were no girls for Mekenna to compete against. None of the girls her age were in her weight class. So she might have to compete against the boys, but we were informed that was against the rules. Here we sit thinking we drove all the way to Pocatello for nothing and on top of that Mekenna is going to be extremely disappointed to not be able to participate.

After four very long hours later Mekenna got her chance to shine. We were informed that Mekenna won the first round by default. Then for the second round -- I am not sure if the girls were in a higher or lower weight class, but Mekenna had two matches. She was a Judo star! She was aggressive and gave it 100% and won both matches. If you would like to see our Judo star in action watch the videos below. (I tried to keep the camera steady while taping and also trying to watch, so sorry for the amateur bouncy video).

After they finished up the tournament they presented the medals to all the winners. Well once again for some reason we had to wait until the very last of the metal presentation for Mekenna to receive hers. Maybe I should explain myself the tournament was set up for the matches to go from youngest to oldest, but because of our little situation Mekenna was stuck at the end after all the older kids. Making her and us wait a long, long time; so when they started handing out the medals and started with the youngest I thought hey she will be toward the first. Boy was I wrong, once again she was last! Not only that they gave her the gold medal only to change their mind and take it from her. At this point I was about to go ballistic I had had enough of this chaos. How does our little girl win all of her matches and then take silver? Anyhow before I total embarrassed myself and did a little Judo on someone myself they put Mekenna back up on the podium with a gold metal. The brief explanation that I could hear is Mekenna and the other girl tied in points. I guess part of the rules that I could not make sense of after sitting in that gym for the last 4 1/2 hours.

What an experience!!! We are extremely proud of Mekenna and all of her hard work.

Mekenna's 2nd Judo Match

Mekenna's 1st Judo Match

Tagged twice-- here is 2 of 2

This one is called the Spouse Tag or should I say renamed that by my great sister-in-law Hanna. The questions pertain to your spouse and your relationship with your spouse.

1. What is his name? Shawn Erik Terry, but to me it is baby.

2. Who eats more? I would have to say most of the time he does, unless he is not feeling well than I usually beat him.

3. Who said I love you first? I am not sure, but knowing me it was probably me, but than again it could have easily been him. I know this is something I should know, but I just don't recall.

4. Who is taller? Depends on what shoes I have on. If there are no shoes we are the same height(supposedly).

5. Who is smarter? We are both smart, he just has more knowledge is certain areas and me in other areas and together it makes us a rather intelligent team.

6. Who is more sensitive? Well anyone who knows me knows I win this one hands down. Unfortunately it does not take much to make me cry, which can also be very annoying. I have extremely sensitive feelings. I have been that way my whole life and I don't think it will change any time soon.

7. Who does the laundry? 95% of the time it is me, but while I am doing laundry he is being a total sweetheart and doing other household chores. He really is a sweetheart when it comes to keeping the house clean, sometimes he cleans so much it makes me feel lazy. However, I really am a clean freak as well. Our kids have no chance at being messy.

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Before I answer this question I have to ask how do you figure which side is the right side??? Because the right side can change depending on where you are in reference to the bed. I will just say I am laying on my back on our bed and if this is the case than Shawn does. Occasionally when we go somewhere and stay in a hotel I do, or if we are in the camper I do since I can't handle sleeping on the inside of the top bed. I do not like being that enclosed when I am trying to sleep it freaks me out. What a complicated question!?!?

9.Who pays the bills? I do, since I spend all day dealing with numbers anyway I am use to it. I have a list of all of our bills and do a monthly budget. I know I am rather anal. Also, I would rather stress just me out not both of us. Let's all be honest money and bills can be stressful.

10. Who cooks more? I would say I do, but Shawn does a fair share and when he cooks he does a great job.

11. What meals do you cook together? The first one that comes to mind is Fajitas. I would say there are numerous times that he takes a part of the meal and I the other especially on the weekend. Most of the time are deal is I cook he does the dishes or vice versa.

12. Who is more stubborn? Since most of the time I am pretty much a push over I would have to say Shawn.

13. Who is the first to admit they're wrong? I would say me, however, Shawn has gotten much better at it. I just have to say, "I love you so much baby!" Some of these questions can get you in trouble!

14. Who has more siblings? Me without a doubt. Shawn has 1 brother & 1 half brother. Me on the other hand has 1 sister, 1 half sister, 1 brother, 5 half brothers and 2 step-sisters and I really do enjoy having that many. It makes for a lot of excitement and nieces & nephews that I adore.

15. Who wears the pants in the relationship? I would have to say we are pretty equal on this one. We talk through and discuss most everything.

16. What do you like to do together? Almost everything! We like camping, hunting, fishing, golfing, watching Nascar (Go June Bug), watching t.v., cleaning, traveling, jet skiing, etc.

17. Who eats more sweets? I would have to say we are pretty equal on this one, but there are times I much rather have something salty before sweet.

18. Guilty pleasures? Not sure on this one. Maybe that second helping of a great dinner or a bowl of ice cream or Root Beer Float that neither of us really need. Every once in awhile spending the money to go out to eat.

19. How did you meet? We met while working at Printcraft Press. We found it really easy to talk to each other and became good friends. Don't get me wrong I found him extremely handsome and loved his personality too.

20. Who asked who out first? I know this is bad but I can't remember, but most likely it would have been me.

21. Who kissed who first? I would have to say it was a mutual thing, it was just one of those moments.

22.Who proposed? He did, in the townhouse in Alpine. After we had lived together for a couple of years and talked about going to Vegas to get hitched.

23. His best features? I love so much about him! I find him extremely attractive, he has the best personality, our friendship, his playfulness, our common interests, the way he makes me feel special and important, etc., etc. I love you so very much baby!

Once again I am going to tag anyone who is daring enough to share information about themselves that others might enjoy and find interesting. Because I know I really enjoy learning new things about people! Plus if you have the time this one takes a few minutes.

I got it done Hanna . . . . do I pass?

Tagged twice-- here is 1 of 2

Okay, I was tagged twice with two different tags in the last week by my loving sister and sweet sister-in-law. So here goes tag #1--

10 Years ago I was:
19 years old living in Boise @ my Aunt Denyse's home going to college in Caldwell @ Albertson College and playing soccer for the Yotes and working @ Deseret Book

5 things on my to do list:
1. Workout - 2 miles on my treadmill
2. Clean House/Do Laundry/Pay Bills - but those never leave the list
3. Get our passport pictures done
4. Pick out & order which family pictures we want printed
5. Design & Order our Christmas cards

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Root Beer floats
2. Crackers (of all kinds)
3. Cinnamon Bears
4. Swedish Fish
5. Whoppers

5 things I would do if I was a millionaire:
1. Pay off all our debt- house, cars, student loan, cards, etc.
2. Help family members
3. Quit Work
4. Savings & Invest
5. Build a bigger house with a fenced yard and land for Wrangler (our horse)

5 places I have lived:
1. Boise/Meridian, Idaho
2. Idaho Falls, Idaho
3. Rexburg/Plano, Idaho
4. Alpine, Wyoming
5. Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming

5 Jobs I have had:
1. Office Manager of SDI
2. Activities Director of River Rock Lodge
3. Owned my own Daycare
4. Office Assistant for Teton Apartments
5. Purchasing Agent for Printcraft Press

Now I tag:
Whoever would like to take the time to share some information about themselves that some one might not know about them, but would find interesting.

Back to Work!?!?

Shawn went back to work on Tuesday. He is suppose to be careful and do light duty work. However, I do not know if he knows how to work at a light duty level. He goes to the job site and just wants to dive in and get the work done like nothing has changed. Unfortunately when he gets home his knee is extremely sore and a little swollen. Last night I reminded him how important it is for his knee to heal. Hopefully he will listen to what I (and the doctor) is saying and do as I (and the doctor) is saying. I love him and do not want him to continuously have knee problems down the road, because he hurried back to work. I know he enjoys being back to work and being busy, but it has also been an adjustment for him and Oscar. He spent the last 2 1/2 months in a warm home, taking naps, watching t.v. , playing on the Internet, and doing chores. Now he is outside where it is cold, wet, & muddy and is on his feet for 8 hours moving, lifting, & being physically active. The last few nights when I have gotten home from work I find my loving husband on the couch tired and exhausted, but I don't blame him one bit. There are some nights I feel the exact same way and I sit at a desk all day!!

The dreaded family pictures, @ least for my family

Family Pictures -- for those who have noticed the new picture at the top of our blog, we finally had family pictures taken. Something I have wanted to do for a few months now. However, I being the only one excited to have them taken. We even had to bribe the kids to be good just to get through them. Plus, I was informed by Mekenna that I was the "boss" that day per Shawn's instructions. Not the "boss" any other day just that day! However, thanks to my Dad's patience and great work with the camera the family pictures of 2008 were a success. There are so many good shots it will be hard to decide which ones will hang on the wall and which one will be our Christmas card (yes I said Christmas). I would like to give a great big thanks to my dad for taking the pictures for us and to my loving family for putting up with the "boss" and smiling for the pictures. Love Ya!

I had to post this one of Mekenna being reminded of what was expected of her. This shot is priceless!!

Just a quick update...

Yesterday--
November 4, 2008 I voted for the first time. As you can probably tell I am proud of myself. I am surprised how passionate I have become with politics. Not passionate as in becoming one, but I realize I have very strong opinions when it comes to politics and government. Don't get me wrong I still need to educate myself on many levels before I do a debate or something, but I am working on obtaining more knowledge. That is far as I am going to elaborate on this subject at this time because opinions on this matter are still very emotional today.

Bad news --
It snowed and rained yesterday. Combine those two things together with the cold and that equals extremely slick roads. I knew this last night so I left for work extra early this morning and it is a good thing I did, because I needed all the time I could get. I was slipping and sliding and fish tailing numerous times. Boy am I not the least bit excited for this weather to continue. This is the first time I have driven our Uplander on these kinds of roads and I wasn't sure what to expect. Let's just say that as soon as I was parked at work I called Shawn to inform him that I think snow tires might be a very good idea, and he agreed. Even though I do not want to spend the money on them I know I would feel much more safe with them. As I say to everybody who asks I like winter but I hate driving on bad roads. Living in the great state of Wyoming I have many months of this to look forward to.

Halloween--
Unfortunately we did not have the kids for Halloween, however, we talked to them and it sounded like they had a great time. Clayton dressed up as Freddy Kruger (not sure if I spelled that right) and Mekenna went as a bat princess (whatever that is). Hopefully we will get a picture of them. As for Shawn and I . . . . well I get excited for the trick or treaters to come to my house so we stayed home. We cooked dinner and watched Fear Factor Psycho Edition and then put in a scary movie, The Strangers. During a particularly scary part our door bell ring (trick or treaters) and it made us both jump. So for the most part our Halloween night consisted of snuggling and enjoying the time together.

Sorry no pictures to attach to this post!

HaPPy BirThDaY CLaYtoN & EmMaLEe

Birthday wishes to Clayton who turns 11 today and also to Emmalee who turns 1. We love you!!!

Alone. . . how was I ever use to this?

So I find myself alone tonight, which does not happen very often. I am glad it does not happen very often, because I am missing Shawn very much. Since I am by myself with nothing more demanding to do I thought I would share the latest.

I will start with an update on Shawn's knee. The stitches are out and he is religiously attending physical therapy and really seems to be on the mend. Last week was a little rough-- he was sick with a little flu/cold bug which made him more miserable. He is now feeling better all around and it is a good thing because I really do think Shawn is ready to go back to work. He will see the doctor on Wednesday for a check-up and maybe will get an idea of when he can return to work. But the reason I find myself alone tonight can anyone guess . . . I will give you some hints it is a four letter word that starts with an H ends with "ing" and yes to me is a bad word. For those who guessed HUNTING you are correct. Ray has an antelope tag for the Casper area and wanted Shawn to go with him. Since Shawn is bored and has nothing better to do plus Shawn and I hunted that area last year and kind of know the area why not go help Ray get his last antelope. I still miss him no matter the reason he is gone.

This weekend was our weekend to have the kids and we got them for one extra day, which was great because we haven't had much time with them this month. We had a pretty busy weekend planned. I love to carve pumpkins I would say it is my favorite thing about Halloween. Clayton & Mekenna also get excited to carve pumpkins. On Saturday it was a nice enough day to enjoy the weather and create are master pieces at the same time. We gathered together all that is needed to carve pumpkins and when you think about it there is quite a few items needed. We then immersed ourselves in our pumpkin masterpieces and the mess was all outside, which was the best part. Yah!! We helped the kids with there pumpkins and then I had fun carving mine.

Shawn hard at work helping Clayton perfect his carving.

I am busy taping and tracing the pattern on Mekenna's pumpkin.

Clayton's Alien Invasion

Mekenna's Scaredy Cat

All 3 Pumpkins lit up that night.

Also, we had a birthday to celebrate. Clayton turns 11 on October 30. Boy is that a scary thought!! However, since we won't get to see him on his special day and next weekend is spent at his mom's house we had to celebrate a little early. Shawn made his birthday cake which was German Chocolate with the Coconut & Pecan frosting. The cake was so, so good. Great job babe! Since we went halves with Clayton's mom on a season ski pass (which was not cheap) he did not have many more gifts to open. But he also received a new PlayStation 2 game (that we bought on clearance), a new very challenging puzzle (that will only be completed with my help), and a new Bionicle. Clayton collects Bionicles. He also received a birthday card from Grandma & Grandpa Peterson that had money and a whoopee cushion, which he thought was the coolest thing.

Just a scary thought Christmas is just around the corner, anybody ready for it yet?!?!