TeRRy TeRRaiN

14 Month Hiatus

2011-02-15T22:45:00.002-07:00

Now that I have taken a 14 month hiatus from our blog I have decided to start back up recording our lives again. Hopefully I will do much better than the last time I promised to do much better! Stay tuned for a quick re-cap of 2010!! I am not going to start tonight because it is too late and I should be in bed, but soon real soon I promise, for any of you out there that care for a Terry Family update!!!

Update Warning . . . .

2009-12-29T16:35:00.004-07:00

This is a warning for anyone who actually reads this blog. . . I fell way behind on posts (obviously) that I wanted to do about our life the last 4 months or so. I made it my goal to catch up before the new year, and besides the Christmas post I have finally done so. So if you find the time and want to catch up on the last few months of our life have fun (I hope) reading ~~ Mandi

P.S. I hope to do much better at staying up to date in 2010!! My goal is also to take more pictures I slacked on them this year as well.

Family Pictures

2009-12-23T15:18:00.018-07:00

It has been five years since we did a family picture on my dad's side of the family. A lot has changed in those last five years, Sandy was able to organize a time for all of the family to get together for the FAMILY PICTURE. The funny thing about life is it will continue to change. My sister Sheila is pregnant (even though you can't tell) and due in a few months, but at some point you just have to get the picture. I would say the most difficult thing was to get all of the little ones to look at the camera at the same time, let alone get them to smile. The process was painless and in the end it all worked out, we have some great pictures.

I think this was as close as we got to having everyone looking forward

This was do something funny pose, which some of us did better than others.

Sheila, Jackson, & Adalynn

Bob, LauraLee, Chase & Emmalee

Dad (John) & Sandy (Step-mom)

Trevor & Kendra

Chris, Hanna, Chandler, Gabe, & Finley

and then us the Terry Family

Thanks Sandy for all the time & effort it is great to have the pictures & memories.

Kevin

2009-12-23T15:18:00.016-07:00

December 17th

Happy Birthday, best wishes hope you had a great day!!

LauraLee

2009-12-23T15:17:00.004-07:00

December 19th

Thanks for being the great sister you are, hope you had a great birthday!

2009 Christmas Card

2009-12-23T14:53:00.006-07:00

Here is our 2009 Christmas Card, if you did not receive one in the mail I hope this makes up for it!

Christmas Band Concert

2009-12-23T14:52:00.003-07:00

Clayton had his first band concert. We drove over to Driggs on snowy roads to attend. He did really well. He plays the drums, bells, and other related items. We were too far back to get any decent pictures of the actually concert, but I was able to snap this one after the concert. It's a really good picture of the both of them.

Good Job Clayton!

Calendar Pics

2009-12-23T14:51:00.003-07:00

I needed a couple pictures to use on the 2010 Calendar that we make for family for Christmas so I made the kids smile for some. On that weekend Clayton had his friend Dakota over and Mekenna had her friend Madison over for the whole weekend. It was a little crazy, but fun.

Dakota & Clayton

I cropped and used this picture for the month of October on the calendar

I cropped and used this one for November

and this was the one I used for the December picture.

Turkey Day

2009-12-23T14:49:00.008-07:00

Shawn & I went Elk Hunting for Thanksgiving, Shawn's dad Don joined us. I hiked around with them for the first half of the day. Then when all I was doing was slowing them down I hiked back to the truck for a nap and to read a good book "Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks. Since Shawn hunted all day and planned on hunting again the next day and it was over an hour drive home we checked into a hotel. We went and had turkey dinner at The Wort, the dinner was alright but for dessert we shared a glacier pie and it was so darn good. Next time we eat there I am going to just order the glacier pie. I did not feel like going hunting the next day so I stayed at the hotel with the puppies to read and watch tv, while Shawn continued the hunt. After another long day of hunting for Shawn and a long day at the hotel for me we headed home with no elk in the back of the truck. Unlucky for us, but it was not for a lack of trying. Shawn hunted his heart out this season with no luck.

Shawn the morning of Thanksgiving. As you can see it was rather foggy, which didn't help the hunting .

Here is a picture I took while I was waiting in the truck Thanksgiving afternoon.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!

PuPPieS

2009-12-23T14:49:00.006-07:00

Here is an updated picture of our cute little puppies!!

A Gecko & Hermit Crabs

2009-12-23T14:48:00.005-07:00

Clayton has been wanting a lizard for some time now, so as a bribe to stick with football we bought him a gecko. At the same time we picked up 3 hermit crabs for Mekenna. Here are some pictures of the little hermit crabs, not that they are easy to take pictures of. I forgot to get a picture of the gecko for the post.

Halloween

2009-12-23T14:47:00.002-07:00

Clayton & Mekenna spent Halloween at their mom's house. Shawn & I didn't do much. We had a handful of trick or treaters. Shawn went to bed early and I sat up watching creative cake making competitions with halloween themes.

A couple nights earlier I had carved a pumpkin.

Mekenna found this old costume in the box of Halloween decorations.

HaPPy BirTHdaY Emmalee

2009-12-23T14:46:00.004-07:00

Little Ms. Emmalee turned 2 on October 30th as well!!

HaPPy BirTHDaY ClaYtoN

2009-12-23T14:44:00.006-07:00

Clayton celebrated his 12th birthday on October 30th. Since he was at his mom's for his special day we celebrated it at our house a week later.

Birthday cards full of birthday wishes and . . . .

Money-- Clayton was excited to have so much. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa Peterson, Grandma & Grandpa Terrill, and the Gourley Family! By the way he spent his money on some new snowboarding goggles.

A new bass drum skin for his drum. Clayton explained that the circle is suppose to give it more of a rock sound.

New drum sticks as well

A certificate for a season snowboarding pass to Targhee

Let's end with a birthday wish and some cup cakes.

Golf for Free

2009-12-23T14:40:00.003-07:00

In the fall after the golf courses close we can golf for free. We have 3 courses on the Ranch one just down the road from us. They put everything but the flags away. Both Clayton & Mekenna have taken an interest in golf. We have taken them to the driving range a couple of times and they wanted to go on the course, but with the cost and their skill level we thought it was best not to. But with it being free and not many people on the course it was perfect time for them to learn and experience the course. I would say we had fun.

Shawn

Mandi

Clayton

Shawn helping Mekenna, the clubs were a little too long for her. We are looking at maybe getting her some her size for her birthday.

Mekenna

Antelope Hunt

2009-12-23T14:37:00.006-07:00

We went antelope hunting that first week of October and as you can see in the pictures it had snowed. Shawn had two tags for the Big Piney area. Our friend Ed Garner had tags as well and came with us. As the day went on and it warmed up the snow started to melt, which in turn created MUD. Let's just say that Shawn likes a clean truck and after almost getting buried in mud his truck wasn't so clean anymore.

This picture doesn't do it justice, the truck has mud everywhere and this was only the beginning.

Shawn did really well and shot both antelope with only one shot each.

Shawn & Ed

Oreo running around, Oscar was there too. Oscar absolutely hates the sound of gun shots (and fireworks) so after Shawn shot he was trying to hide under the truck seat and was shaking.

This is the truck after we got home, Shawn insisted on trying to wash it. Ed has a pressure washer and Shawn was out in the cold for over an hour trying to get some of the mud off. The hunt was a success, we took the two antelope to I.F. and had them made into jerky.

Last Camping Trip of '09

2009-11-25T16:45:00.004-07:00

We went on our last camping trip of 2009 @ the end of September with part of my family. We went down to Indian Creek, but did not take the jet skis because we figured it would be too cold. It was a fun camping trip to end the season. It was very low key we ate, visited, sat by the fire, etc. My dad brought his remote control airplane and flew it some. There was also fishing and motor bike rides.

My dad was concentrating on fixing that golf ball toss game, not exactly sure what it is called.

I believe this is my brother Cody riding Chase's little motor bike

Chase

Shawn enjoying the camp fire.

Adalynn (just up from a nap) and Sheila

Sandy & Adalynn

Emmalee ready to go swimming, it was warm & sunny enough for maybe an hour or so to do so.

Sandy & Emmalee

Grandma Dutson (came up for the day), Adalynn, & Sheila

We are looking forward to camping next year!

Labor Day Camping

2009-11-25T16:43:00.002-07:00

We camped at Indian Creek on the Palisades for Labor Day. We had a few rain storms in the afternoons but overall the weather was good. We ended up camping by some old friends of Shawn's and met some new ones that were camping with the old ones. It was a great weekend! We drove a little more around the Palisades to a river that is a well known spot to see the Salmon run. We watched for awhile but never did see anything and the kids didn't see the point in waiting any longer so we left. It was about the only time I got out the camera.

The camper with the kids bikes

On a bridge @ the river waiting for the Salmon

Mekenna found a rock and stick that she just had to keep

We went on a small hike to a different section of the river

StUMp LaKE

2009-10-16T16:51:00.009-06:00

We went camping in early September up Greys River so Shawn & Jeff (a friend) could go scouting for hunting season. We decided to go fishing for the first time this year, which I am sad to say. We for some odd reason never bought fishing licenses this year, so we purchased a one day license for this camp trip. We hiked back into a place called Stump lake. It is a half mile hike up hill, but usually is good fishing. Shawn caught the one & only fish but it was a big one. Here are some pictures from the trip.

The start of the hike

Stump Lake

Oscar staying alert

Shawn & I, just remember we have been camping so I might not look so pretty.

Shawn attempting to catch the BIG ONE

Relaxing & enjoying the great outdoors

Shawn took over photographer duties. In these two pictures I had just got done rescuing a bober out of the lake. But while I was trying to carefully walk down this log to get it I fell & got all bruised and scraped up. So I am trying to smile even though I have a rather big cut in my hand that was stinging.

Finally we caught something

the BIG ONE & only one for the day as well

Oreo

Oscar

Even though we did not catch much fish it was a very enjoyable day & camp trip!

Mekenna plays Soccer

2009-10-16T16:50:00.001-06:00

Mekenna played soccer this summer. Overall I don't think her team did well. Whenever we asked how the game was she would say we lost. Shawn & I were able to only make it to one game. Mekenna decided she did not like playing soccer because it was too much running, which is too bad I think she could be good at it if she stuck with it. Watching her play made me realize how much I miss playing. We are proud of her for finishing out the season even though she didn't like it. She has now moved on to gymnastics & cheer leading we will see how that goes.

Clayton Football

2009-10-16T16:49:00.002-06:00

Clayton played football again this year, they had a really good season. They lost one game during the regular season & it was in overtime. We just happened to make it to that game and it was miserable it had snowed all day & kept snowing during the whole game. The football field was covered with a couple inches of snow & everyone was wet & cold. Besides that small bump in the road it looked like they were headed to a championship game and then they lost the semi-final game. We are proud of Clayton and all of his hard work!

I didn't get any pictures of the snowy game for obvious reasons. I didn't want to get my camera wet and I was trying to stay bundled up and warm.

Trevor + Kendra = Forever

2009-10-16T16:47:00.003-06:00

My brother Trevor married the lovely Kendra in August. We were not able to make it to the wedding, but they had an open house in Idaho Falls the next day. It was an enjoyable reception, my job was to take pictures. I hope I did a well enough job, I would hate to not have captured the event properly. Congrats you two, welcome to the family Kendra we are excited to have you.

The two love birds after the ceremony

A family picture before the reception started, not easy to get all 6 little ones to cooperate!

My handsome husband all dressed up

Hanna insisted on Shawn & I having our picture taken together, which I am glad she did I like how the picture turned out.

Aunie & Papa, Oregon, and Boise

2009-10-05T16:16:00.004-06:00

Clayton and Mekenna were able to go spend the first 2 weeks of August with Aunie and Papa. The first week was spent on a road trip and the last week was spent in Oregon. It sounds like their two weeks were full of adventure and great memories. I can't recall all that they did, but they visited Yellowstone, rode the train to Portland where they went to a big museum, and they visited their uncle Jason and aunt Christianna. Thank you Aunie & Papa for the valuable time (& I am sure $) you spent with Clayton & Mekenna.

After their two week trip we planned on meeting them in Boise, Idaho to make the exchange. We met Aunie, Papa, & the kids on a Friday night. We sat up and visited and them went to breakfast with them in the morning, but Dan (Papa) had to get back for work so that is where I journey with them ended.

We had planned one last summer activity before school started. We thought it would be fun to go to Roaring Springs a water park in Boise, and it was fun but very cold out. This was mid-August and for some reason a cold front swept through the area for the weekend. It was 70 degrees which is very cold for a swim park. We would hustle to the next body of water, because the water was warmer than the outside temperature. Even though we were freezing we had fun. We went on every water slide that we wanted to at least once and some a couple of times, and spent a lot of time in the wave pool. I guess the positive thing about it being cold was that there weren't as many people there so lines weren't long.

I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want to worry about the camera getting wet or stolen if we left it somewhere to go on the slides and in the pools. By the way the next weekend in Boise the temperatures were over 100 degrees, just our luck.

Group pictures-- the only pictures I took of the whole weekend!!

September Birthday's

2009-10-05T13:33:00.004-06:00

As everyone can tell I am so behind on blogging, but I am trying to get caught up and will do slowly but surely. We only had one family birthday in September--

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS

September 3rd

Sorry it took me so long, hopefully your birthday card made it to you a lot closer to your birthday.

New Truck

2009-10-05T12:58:00.004-06:00

We bought a new truck the first week of August. We have been needing one that got better gas mileage, had more room, and a flat bed. After looking in our area we found one that fit every thing we wanted/needed & more, however it was just over our budget. I tried to get the dealership to work with us on a lower price but they refused to budge, so we started looking online. We found our truck online at a dealership in Clearfield, Utah of all places. After seeing numerous pictures on the Internet and speaking to the dealership many times we decided to buy it. Putting a lot of faith into what we saw online and were being told we set up an evening to meet half way for our new truck. Luckily everything turned out okay, for the most part we got what we expected. So now Shawn has his Chevy diesel 1 ton flat bed white crew cab pick up that he has wanted for a long time. He loves it even though it is the basic model. Maybe next time we can get the truck with all the bells and whistles, will see.

I haven't taken any pictures of the inside, but here is his truck. Shawn even built the side rails, which is the best looking part of the truck if you ask me. Shawn does great workmanship on the stuff he builds.

Stained House

2009-09-25T16:27:00.003-06:00

One of our summer projects was to stain the house and paint the trim green. It was in desperate need of a new staining. Many gallons of stain and trim paint and more hours then I would like to remember later we finished. The house looks great and we were extremely happy to have it done. Big thanks to my husband who for sure put in more hours than I did. Love ya babe!

BEFORE PICTURES

Shawn hard at work

AFTER PICTURES

Not as many after pictures, but we love the finished product especially the green trim!!

Cook Reunion - Heise

2009-08-08T14:52:00.008-06:00

Some how the idea of having a Cook Reunion came up, so I helped my mom notify everybody of it and roughly put something together (this was at the end of July). The main purpose of the reunion was to try and get a bunch of my cousins together, since we haven't done so in quite some time. The reunion was to camp at Heise, go swimming, and to do a family dinner. The camping went well except for the horrendous amount of mosquito's. Swimming was good it was nice and warm out. The family dinner didn't last very long because a huge wind storm decide to break it up, not that very many family members showed up anyway. It was bad enough huge branches on trees were breaking and we were told we would have to leave because of the danger of another branch breaking. Not many of the few that showed wanted to continue the dinner back at camp so most everyone went home. We had fun with those who did show up, but for the most part I would have to say it was not a success. Here are captured moments of the weekend.

Chase & Emmalee really enjoyed playing with Oreo

The many face of Emmalee, such a ham

Gabe was really loving Oreo as well

Cousin Corey and Shawn relaxing in the sun by the pool

Clayton

Mekenna

I promise you she is part fish, Mekenna absolutely loves the water

I love this picture-- I am not sure what was so funny, but Chase was laughing so hard I think he had pop coming out his nose. I love seeing Clayton's face in this picture.

Brooklynn was playing with small branches from the wind storm. You can see by her hair how windy it was getting, and this was calm compared to how hard it did blow.

Chandler & Mekenna

Oreo in the camper

Oscar in the camper

Cousin buddies relaxing in the camper

My mom & Teagan

Gabe - he is proud that he no longer has training wheels

Kayla, Teagan, Brooklyn, & LaRaye (my mom)

Finley Reese

Clayton

Hanna & Chris

Mekenna & Clayton playing with their Nintendo DS's in the camper, it that really camping?

Teagan also had fun with Oreo

Thanks to all of the family who did show and the fun we had!

Grandpa & Grandma Terrill Reunion

2009-08-08T14:48:00.003-06:00

In July my Grandpa & Grandma Terrill had a family get together at their new house in Jackson Hole. We gathered and had lunch, visited and enjoyed each others company. Shawn had to work so I went for a few hours, but we also had plans with friends the evening so I had to get home for that. I didn't do very good at getting many pictures, but here is what I did get.

Chase playing croquet with his cousins

Gabe playing as well

Chandler taking a time-out to smile for the picture

Emmalee wasn't feeling very well so we got out the portable DVD player to watch the Wiggles

Trevor explaining something to Gabe & Chase, perhaps about the game of croquet

Cody, Kevin, & Trevor playing an intense game of croquet

Hanna & Finley- ready for a nap

Chris & Finley - enjoying a little nap on a nice summer day.

Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince

2009-07-29T12:03:00.005-06:00

Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince movie opened in the theaters on July 15th, not that most if not all of you already knew that. Hard not to know with all the hoopla about it. Although we did not get to see it until that Saturday the 18th. I bought tickets in advance online and on Saturday we made the trip to Idaho Falls. We very rarely go to the theater to watch a movie, but being the big Harry Potter fan that I am I wanted to see this movie on the big screen. Shawn is not a huge fan like myself, but does enjoy watching the Harry Potter movies. Thanks for putting up with me babe.

After reading a few reviews by critics and fans I decided to go watch it with the attitude that the movie will not be as good as the book (they never are) and just enjoy it for the entertainment that it is. I believe since this is the attitude I took it allowed me to enjoy it. Would it be nice for it to play out just like the book? Yes, but as we all know that will never happen. Which is why reading or listening to the book and using your imagination is all the better.

The movie is 2 1/2 hours long, but both Shawn & I agreed it did not feel like it, which is a good thing. It shows that we both liked the movie and it had some entertainment value. Now I am back to patiently waiting for The Deathly Hallows movies. In the meantime I have the movie New Moon from the Twilight Series to look forward to on November 20th, yah yah.

OREO

2009-07-28T13:55:00.004-06:00

So on Sunday, July 19, 2009 there was an addition to the Terry Family. We adopted a little Blue Heeler puppy. On the day of adoption he was 9 1/2 weeks old. The shelter had named him Oreo and we thought it fit so we left it. He is the same breed as Oscar only acts totally opposite. Oscar really is a two person dog. He is most comfortable and loves Shawn and myself. He will tolerate others if he is around them long enough for days on end. However, Oreo is your typical puppy is excited to see everyone and loves on whoever will let him, which is great for the kids. I will have to say he has been a lot more work than Oscar was as a puppy. So far he has had numerous accidents in the house, tried to chew on more things than I can count, and for now I have to get up at 1:00 to 1:30 in the morning to let him out to go potty. I just keep reminding myself it is only for a short while and then we will have him trained. We worried about how Oscar would react, since he has been our only puppy and spoiled puppy at that for so long. Let's just say for the most part he enjoys having a little brother. They will play for hours on end, but there are certain times when he wants nothing to do with the little trouble maker. Oreo is full of personality, he is clumsy, carefree, and what we call a knuckle head, but we are all happy to have him.

Oreo on the first day @ his new home, isn't he cute.

He likes to sleep in our coffee table between the blankets. His head had slipped off the table, so Clayton put the little pillow under his head.

Just another cute picture with him under the table, he definitely is full of personality

He does sleep after a lot of playing

Oscar & Oreo playing outside, it is funny to see how similar they can be with their actions & likes.

July Birthday's

2009-07-27T12:18:00.006-06:00

Now that July is coming to an end I have finally found the time to post the July Birthday's. By the way for the most part I did much better with sending out the birthday cards!

Happy Birthday Jackson on the 7th

Best wishes on the happiest of birthdays, my Mom turned the big 5 0 this year on the 14th.
Mom you are as beautiful as ever & the best mom anyone could ask for!

Adorable Ms. Finley Reese was the monumental 1 years old on the 17th

Gabe who is full of personality turned 5 on the 27th.

HaPPy BirTHdaY we love you all!!!!

Independence Day a.k.a. 4th of July

2009-07-19T17:31:00.004-06:00

How to start, but to say that it sure is hard to find time to blog in the summer. Well as we all know we celebrated the 4th of July a couple weeks ago. We decided to go camping for the three day weekend. It was fun, but I sure did get tired of the rain, cold, & MUD. The best day of weather we had was on Sunday, when we had to pack up and get home. Thursday night it down poured so Shawn and a couple friends of ours sat under our awning and visited. While the kids and I put on our PJ's and watched movies in the camper. Both Friday and Saturday had a few hours of sun, which gave us enough warmth to ride the jet skis. Which we always have a fun time with. However, I would say we battled more rain (which in turn created mud) than I wanted to. Plus to top things off we camped just over the state line, so we were in Idaho where fireworks were illegal. If you got caught lighting them off you could get a $200 ticket. We had a good 4th of July, but my request for next year is less rain please!!

Our little camping spot

Brandon (friend), Mekenna, and Jeff (friend)

Mekenna

Oscar- he absolutely hated the sound of fireworks even the ones from a distance

Clayton eat breakfast

The kids lighting little fireworks and fire crackers (as long as they did not go in the air they were legal, supposedly)

Evening of the 4th, the sun wasn't shy for a little bit. That is what Mekenna says when it is raining-- she says the sun is just being shy.

Shawn watching the kids closely with the fireworks

Mekenna pretending to drive the jet ski

Mekenna and her friend Rachelle -- can we say cute but trouble

Stay tuned for more posts. I have a lot to share I just have to find the time!!

Father's Day

2009-06-26T16:22:00.003-06:00

We didn't do much for Father's Day, because we were returning from the Terrill Reunion in Utah which was a 4 hour road trip. Plus both the kids were grouchy & exhausted so when we got home they both laid down for naps. Shawn went over to the Garner's to pick-up Oscar & stayed for a few beers & a visit. I cleaned up & unpacked all the stuff from the trip, boy is that always a job or what. When he got back home & the kids woke up we gave our beloved Dad & husband his cards & gifts. Thanks babe for being you & loving us just the way we are. Shawn, you are a great father & husband & we love & appreciate you very much, even if we don't always do our best to show it!

Reading Mekenna's card

Reading Clayton's card

They really get a kick out of picking out cards for their Dad on Father's Day & his birthday

Oscar just glad to be home and ready for a nap

Shawn trying out his new putter!

Love you babe!!

Terrill Reunion 2009

2009-06-26T16:08:00.008-06:00

Over Father's Day weekend we attended the Terrill Family Reunion. Thanks to my Dad and Sandy for the time, money, and effort spent for all of us to have so much fun. We left after work on Thursday and headed to Layton where the hotel was. We took a scenic detour and stopped along the way for dinner, but made it with no big incident.

We saw this double rainbow on on drive to Utah and Mekenna wanted a picture. The picture didn't turn out to bad considering I took it while we were moving and through a tinted glass car window.

We awoke Friday morning to a cloudless and beautiful day that the weather website had predicted, which we were ecstatic about after having so many rainy days one after another. On the agenda for that day was Lagoon, an amusement park in Utah for those who don't know what it is. We all loaded up our coolers, kids, and sunscreen and headed to the park for a day full of fun and of course a little chaos.

Clayton & Shawn waiting for the park to open

Niece Emmalee

LauraLee (sister-back of purple shirt) Sandy (step mom), Kevin (brother), Trevor (brother) and Kendra (brother Trevor's fiance) all waiting for Lagoon to open.

Mekenna Jo & Chandler Jo. We got all the girl cousins the same cute shorts to wear that day.

Gabe & Chase watching the roller coasters, while waiting.

Finley hanging out in her stroller. At certain times don't we all wish we could still fit in strollers?

LauraLee, Sandy, & Emmalee

The picture Mekenna took of me while waiting in the long line for the "Wicked" a fun & popular roller coaster

LauraLee & her husband Bob waiting to ride the "Wicked"

Clayton & Mekenna spent their allowance money to go on the Skycoaster, which is a bungee type ride that you have to pay extra money for.

Clayton & Mekenna suite up to take the plunge, both were a bit nervous by this point

Walking to the platform that takes you up

The start of being hoisted into the air

Two thumbs up from both of them once the ride had finished.

We enjoyed all the fun Lagoon had to offer we spent all day riding rides, except Shawn who had caught some kind of bug and was not feeling well at all. He was a trooper he walked around the park for most of the day and watched as we rode rides. He did take a few hour break around lunch time to just sit and relax. I of course carried the camera around for part of the day but was not very good at taking it out and actually using it, which I hate especially when I get back home.

The second day of the reunion we weren't as lucky. The rain clouds had returned. The plan was to go to Cherry Hill water park. We all debated whether to still go or go do something else. We decided to go and gamble with rainstorms, well in the end the rainstorms won out. They closed the pool early, but we did manage to have some fun before that happened. After it closed we went back to the hotel and the Terrill, Terry, Gourley, and Fish families took over the hot tub and pool at the hotel.

Emmalee all wrapped up after one of the down pours.

LauraLee, Chase, and my Dad as you can probably tell it was not warm.

Kendra & Trevor trying to stay warm and dry. Kendra was also trying to nurse her broken foot back to health

Emmalee playing miniature golf

Chase cheesing it up while playing mini golf

Daddy Daughter picture moment

A couple holes behind us in miniature golf

Sandy, Dad, Kendra, & Trevor

Clayton taking a big swing.

Saturday night was spent eating at the Golden Corral with the whole family all 21 of us. We ate, visited and just enjoyed being together. Sunday morning was Father's Day and departure day. We slept in for a little bit, ate breakfast, said our goodbyes and hit the road for back home.

The Terry Family enjoyed the reunion very much, my only regret is I did not take very many pictures (still kicking myself for this one). Well that and Shawn was sick. Thanks again for all of those who make these wonderful memories possible.

Billy's Birthday Bash

2009-06-26T15:56:00.007-06:00

A few weeks ago Shawn's friend Billy celebrated his 40th birthday. They threw a big bash and all of the family was invited. It didn't take long after the band started up for Mekenna to become a groupie. She was a dancing wild child to every song and then she found her way up on to the stage. We all had fun and we took a lot of pictures. Oh yeah the theme for the party was The 60's if you can't tell by the pictures

Mekenna our hippie chick

Clayton to cool to be hippie

Mekenna on stage with the band

Mekenna reading the play list

Shawn trying to get Clayton to dance.

My handsome husband enjoying himself

Mekenna went from groupie to drummer

My baby and me!

The birthday boy and Mekenna

Baseball & a Broken Thumb

2009-06-26T14:02:00.003-06:00

Clayton also played baseball this year. I don't believe his team did as well as Mekenna's did. We planned on attending one of his games, but he broke his thumb playing catch before we could make it over. What a way to start the summer! We have stocked up on lots of bags and tape in hopes to allow him to go swimming & jet skiing some. Unfortunately he will have his black attractive cast for most of the summer. It is expected to come off right before football starts.

Baseball in the Rain Anyone!?!

2009-06-26T13:51:00.004-06:00

Mekenna played coach pitch baseball this year. Her team did really well. We were able to catch one of her last games. However, it was raining so the teams agreed to only playing one inning. I did not realize this until it was too late. Mekenna hit 4th in the line up and I was in the car eating & did not get a picture of her hitting. When it was time for her team to play the field she played catcher and I happened to get 2 pictures. I believe they won the one inning they played. It was fun to watch, I wish they would have played a little longer. We did after all drive for an hour and a half to watch Mekenna play, oh well what do you do.

The part all kids look forward to -- the treats after the game.

June Birthday Wishes

2009-06-17T09:44:00.006-06:00

We seem to have a lot of family birthdays in June so I decided to wish them all a Happy Birthday at once, because we all know how I can fall behind on this blog thing.

Happy 6th Birthday Chandler Jo -- June 13th

The big ONE, best wishes Adalynn Shae -- June 16th

Enjoying Marine life, Happy Birthday Cody (turning 19 if I remember right)

Happy Birthday Lynn -- too old to remember, just kidding

Sorry about posting the Halloween picture it is the only one I could find in my files.

Happy Birthday & Best wishes we love you all!!

Terrill Family Visits

2009-06-17T09:25:00.006-06:00

My brother Chris installs windshields and I had him replace mine. If anybody needs a windshield replacement he does a great job his business is Ace Auto Glass out of Idaho Falls, and he is willing to travel. Any way now that I am done plugging his business. There was a small area on the trim of my windshield that the adhesive didn't stick. So Chris, Hanna, and the kids came up to our house to fix it. See what great service is that. They had not been up to see our new house yet, so they decided it was time. It was great to have them. We ate a little lunch, hung out, and visited. Chandler & Gabe each made a Pixo thing, just don't tell Mekenna I don't know how well she would have liked that.

Chandler

Finley

Gabe

Gabe had a great time playing with the Nerf guns we have

Hanna helping Chandler & Gabe do their Pixo creations, Gabe made a snail & Chandler made a mermaid

Trying to get a family picture with all the kids looking, these turned out so cute

Thanks for coming to visit Terrill Family we enjoyed having you!!

Grass

2009-06-12T16:52:00.009-06:00

Friends of ours Ed & Barbara Garner built a house last year, so they have been wanting grass for their yard. They ordered 13 palettes of sod, and for exchange for helping them lay all that sod they offered to give us 2 palettes of that sod. Even though if you ask them the grass is for Oscar. They said he needs some grass to play & go potty on. So any way, bright and early Saturday morning a few weeks ago Shawn & I showed up at the Garners to lay sod. When we started there were 5 of us, and when we finished 7 hours later there were 8 of us total. It was a good workout, but I was glad to be done after that many hours. Plus, I was already tired from getting to bed at 4:00 a.m. that morning (see why in the post Trevor Comes Home). That was a lot of sod to lay, but it was a nice day and I was able to work on my tan.

The pictures below are of the sod at our house. Shawn and a friend of ours Jeff laid it Friday night while I was making the trip to SLC and back to pick up Trevor. So I missed out on laying our sod, but I am extremely thankful to my husband and Jeff for doing it. Since laying all that sod we have had nothing but rain for 2 1/2 weeks to help water the sod. However, I am sick of the rain I have sprinklers to water the lawn.

side of the house

the backyard, you can see were the sod ends :-(

Now if we just had the money to finish the yard, but the 2 palettes went a lot further than we thought they would. We are extremely happy with the results of what we have it just makes you want the rest of it to be done. Thank you Ed & Barbara Oscar loves his new grass. P.S. so do Shawn & I!

Happy 1st Birthday Teagan

2009-06-10T11:14:00.010-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEAGAN!!!

He turned 1 on June 10th, isn't he a cutie!!

Trevor Comes Home

2009-06-10T11:14:00.009-06:00

My brother Trevor returned from his mission on May 29th. He served a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Russia. The family was way excited to have him back. Instead of overwhelming him with tons of family, it was decided only immediate family would go to the Salt Lake City Airport to pick him up. My dad drove the Suburban with my step-mom Sandy riding shot gun and in the back we had my sisters LauraLee & Sheila my brother Chris and myself. The ride down had some great family reminiscing. We shared stories and caught up on each others lives. Well except my brother Chris was for the most part quiet as usual, he was probably thinking "I volunteered to ride from I.F. to SLC with a bunch of talkative sisters what was I thinking!" He piped in when he could get a word in, but it was a challenge everyone was excited. The plane was only delayed by 30 minutes or so, and we wanted to be there early just in case. So we impatiently waited and played some card game.

While waiting we realized other families welcoming back missionaries had balloons and signs. Well we didn't have either of those. So we improvised and made a small and simple sign while we were waiting. You can see are great work of art below.

Sandy checking on the flight

Group Photo of everybody impatiently waiting

LauraLee, Chris, Sheila (holding the sign we made), my dad John, and Sandy

A close up of our sign

Trevor coming down the stairs

He is finally here

Leaving the airport

That is where my pictures end, because my batteries in my camera were dead. After we excitedly welcomed Trevor home and few tear of happiness were shed we headed to find something to eat. We stopped at Garcia's for some good grub and conversation. Then we piled into the Suburban for the trip home. During dinner and the trip home Trevor was able to share so many stories and some of the things he had learned the last 2 years. It was interesting and entertaining to listen to all of it. I finally got to my house at 3:30 in the morning, and boy was I tired. I could have slept at my parents house in I.F. , but I needed to get home to help lay sod the next day. More on that on the next post. Overall great memories were made with my family!! It is great to have you home Trevor, love ya!!

Only Two Years?!?

2009-06-10T11:13:00.005-06:00

May 26 was our two year anniversary! For some reason it seems like we have been married much longer, but for all the good reasons. I love being married to Shawn. He truly is my best friend. He makes me laugh all the time. He is willing to put up with me and my emotional self. He is a great father. We enjoy doing everything together and are always looking for our next adventure together. I love his smile and handsome face. His personality lights up a room. I feel extremely blessed to have him as my husband. Love you babe!!!

When we first started dating

A few months into our relationship

Happy Birthday Brooklynn

2009-06-05T13:29:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Brooklynn !!

I am a little behind on my posting. Brooklyn turned 4 on May 26th.

Memorial Day Camping Trip

2009-06-05T13:20:00.010-06:00

We decided to go camping for Memorial Day weekend. We finally were able to take the camper out for its first official Terry Camping Trip. Knowing that the weather on Memorial Day weekend is usually rainy we decided to go camping at Lava Hot Springs. That way if it did rain we could still do something like go swimming. You get wet anyways right? Well that is exactly what happened. We left Saturday morning and it was nice until about mid afternoon. We arrived at the RV Park and was not impressed at all, but decided to make it work, and that was only after they offered us two spots for the price of one. We got everything set up and settled and then changed into our swimming suits to head to the pool. We were there for about 30 minutes before the dark clouds rolled in and the down pour started. Side note-- My family had also decided to go camping at Lava this particular weekend, just at a different RV Park. Anyways once the down pour started we all scrambled to gather up all of the families belongings and head for shelter. We tried to wait it out for about a half an hour or so with no success of it stopping. And since there was lightening and thunder the pools were closed. So we headed back to the camper to warm up and watch a movie. We were informed the pool would re-open 30 minutes after the last flash of lightening. After the movie was over we called the pool and we were told it was open. So we hurried to change back into our swimming suits and headed back to the pool. We were able to swim for a couple of hours until the wind picked up and it got too cold, plus we were hungry for dinner.
New water slides

Olympic Pool & Old water slides

Hot Pools

Dinner consisted of hot dogs, baked beans, chips and of course s'mores for dessert. We sat by the fire and then the kids watched another movie before bed.

Sunday morning we got up and going with a fire and breakfast. The pools didn't up until noon so we took walks, colored, and just tried to remain patient for them to open. My dad and Sandy, LauraLee, Chase and Emmalee stopped by to visit , which was fun and helped us pass some time. Then we ate a quick lunch before heading to the pools. However as we were walking to the pool the dark clouds came rolling in once again. We got to the window to pay and was informed since they saw lightening the the pool was closing -- again. We were so disappointed! Shawn and I made the decision to go over to the hot pools with the hope that the Olympic pool would open up later. Spent a couple hours at the hot pools before we were all pruned up and ready for a break. It was still raining so we went back to the camper to watch yet another movie. A little way into the movie skies were starting to clear. Back on the swimming suits went and we headed to the pool in hopes they were open, and they were. Yah!! It wasn't necessarily warm, but as long as you stayed in the water you were warm enough. We played in the water, went of the diving board and down the water slides for the next 4 hours. Lava has these new water slides that you can go up to 38 miles an hour on. They were a blast, however, there are numerous flights of stairs to climb to get to the top, plus the water force going down always seemed to give me a huge wedgie. Maybe to much info., but I had fun and got a lot of exercise. We headed into the showers just before the next storm rolled in, however, we did not beat it back to the camper. Shawn went back early to check on the awning, so Mekenna, Clayton, and I quickly walked back in the down pour. We were soaking wet by the time we got back to the camper. By the way we were running out of dry towels by this time. We were going to grill some burgers but because of the rain we decided to go to one of the burger restaurants instead. Mekenna had swam so much she was too tired to stay awake for dinner. She laid on the bench and slept while the rest of us ate. She wouldn't even open her eyes for her banana milkshake. Once back to the camper Shawn, Clayton and I finished up the movie we had started earlier in the day, and Mekenna slept.

Monday morning was pack up and go home day. We stopped to visit my family on the way out and heard about their adventures. We made it home with plenty of time to clean out the camper and start the numerous loads of wash we seemed to have accumulated over the weekend, a lot of wet and muddy clothes and towels.

The truck and camper all ready to go

Chase getting stuck-- one of those situations that is easy to get into, but hard to get out of. It might not look like it but he was actually smiling for the picture.

LauraLee, Chase, and Emmalee

Sandy (step-mom) and my Dad

Emmalee

Oscar

Mekenna & Chase looking for trouble I'm sure

Ms. Mekenna Jo

My sweet husband -- Shawn

Clayton - chillin' like a villain

Mekenna on the right attempting to climb the wall

Clayton on the diving board

Mekenna on the diving board

Mekenna looking all wet and lost

Alright I debated on posting this picture for quite some time, me in a bathing suit does not make for the best picture. But it is about the only one taken of me this weekend.

My baby and me, the only other picture of me taken. Once again in my bathing suit.

The kids showing how much fun they had swimming.

Jet Ski Trailer Box

2009-05-08T10:29:00.004-06:00

Shawn had this great idea about adding a box to the jet ski trailer, and of course I loved the idea. The box would give us a place to store the life jackets and other jet ski and lake items. We have wanted to make it for awhile now, well our goal was at least before we started using the jet skis this summer. Shawn had a little extra time on his hands this week so he built us the box. It turned out great. Shawn really did a fantastic job. I love his unbelievable talent to build things. He is creative and works hard to make whatever he builds be the best.

We still need to sand the box and we plan on painting it white (so it matches the trailer). I believe we will also coat it with something so that it can hold up to wind, sun, water and whatever else mother nature throws at it.

It holds a lot more than I thought it would. I am excited to have it.

Happy Birthday Trevor

2009-04-29T12:54:00.005-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TREVOR

Sorry I don't have a good picture to go with this post. Trevor has been serving a mission in Russia for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for almost 2 years now. He comes home in a month. The current pictures I do have of him were e-mailed to me and the pictures quality are not allowing me to post a clear photo.

Easter Savenger Hunt & Camping Close to Home

2009-04-27T17:01:00.006-06:00

Clayton & Mekenna were not with us for Easter so we did a little celebration with them the following weekend. They are getting to the age where they are to old for an Easter egg hunt so we put together a scavenger hunt with a little gift at the end. They both had seven clues stuffed in plastic eggs all around the house. We decided to keep it indoors since it had still been snowing off and on and I cannot predict the weather. I was surprised how excited they were to do the scavenger hunt. It looked like they really enjoyed it. The last clue led them to the camper, where in there bunk beds they found a big plastic egg filled with candy and a new (used) Nintendo DS game.

Ever since we got the camper Mekenna had been begging us to sleep in it. So Shawn pulled it out on to the driveway and pulled out the awning. We could barely get them out of it. They wanted to eat, sleep, watch movies, and just hang out in the camper. So we let them eat a few meals in the camper and we all slept in it Saturday night. Then early Sunday morning Shawn & I went back into the house, where I crawled back into our comfortable bed. A few hours later Shawn went out to the camper to check on the kids and they were up watching Grease 2, waiting to be served there breakfast. Overall it was a fun weekend!

The start of the scavenger hunt. . .

Sitting in their bunks in the camper playing their new Nintendo DS games.

The camper all set-up in the drive way. . . camping close to home.

TEA Party Anyone

2009-04-27T16:23:00.003-06:00

Shawn & I decided to take part in a TEA Party in our area. For anyone who doesn't follow the news (or follows the new that refused to take the time to report on this big event) there were thousands of TEA Parties across the country on April 15th. The TEA Parties were an opportunity for proud Americans to express their opposing feelings about the government, politicians and the direction this great country is heading. Since I had to work and Shawn is currently waiting for construction to start on another house we decided it would be more beneficial for us to join our fellow Americans in Jackson, Wyoming during my lunch hour.

Jackson, Wyoming happened to have their TEA Party during a spring blizzard. 775 Supporters held American flags, TEA Party signs and honked their car horns. 500+ thumbs up from cars driving by the event. That’s a conservative count of 1275 supporter in a town of 8,500 during freezing rain and snow. Anyone can hold a rally during nice weather, but we did it during a spring snow storm.

It felt really good to do something and to know that we are not the only ones that are fed up with the government and there doings. We were cold and wet and wanted to stay longer, but we really felt good about participating for the amount of time we could. We also won a gift certificate for the best signs their. This picture was taken at the TEA Party and posted on a website of the gentlemen who put together Jackson's TEA Party.

HaPPy BirTHdaY CHaSe

2009-04-23T16:40:00.003-06:00

Happy 5th Birthday Chase!

HaPPy BirTHDay Sandy & Sheila

2009-04-03T11:46:00.003-06:00

Best wishes on a very Happy Birthday!

Sandy on April 3rd

Sheila on April 4th

OREGON - snow, family, and the camper

2009-04-02T12:13:00.011-06:00

This last weekend we went to Oregon to pick up the camper we purchased a few months back. Who would have guessed the weather would be horrendous, by the end of March we figured we would be rather safe and not have bad roads. But it just happened to be the weekend all sorts of weather warnings were popping up, and not just back home in Wyoming but in Oregon as well. We already had the time off of work so we had to go, we figured we would just have to work it out as we go.

We left Wednesday, March 25th after work and made it as far as Ontario, Oregon before we decide to get a cheap hotel and crash for a few hours. Shawn being excited we were up bright and early the next morning. Given we still had at least a good nine hour drive ahead of us it was a good idea to get going. The drive to Oregon was somewhat uneventful. The wind was horrible through almost all of Idaho, plus the section of the Blue Mountains in Oregon between Le Grande and Pendleton were really icy and slick. Somewhere in this section I remember seeing a turn off for Deadman Pass. The Deadman Pass being the point were most Emigrants on the Oregon Trail recognized that the major difficulties were behind them.

We arrived in Salem, Oregon mid afternoon. We met up with Jason (brother-in-law) to see the huge construction project he has been working on. We had to wear hard hats, safety glasses, and neon orange vests while on the job site. It would have been a ideal picture moment, if I would have wanted to dig out the camera. The project Jason is working on is impressive and it would be fun to see the finished product.

Then we went to Jason & Christianna's (sister-in-law) house, we finally got to see our new camper. After seeing it in person we still feel like it was a great find. It has been well taken care of.

That evening my in-laws (Chris & Dan) arrived. They drove over from Eugene. Jason brought pizza home for dinner. We enjoyed a good dinner and each others company before turning in for the night. We stayed in the camper and all went well, but I did decide that the bed did need an egg crate foam to soften it up a bit.

Friday morning we had an appointment to go to the place we bought the camper to get a run down of how it all works. And also to make sure everything on the camper works like the salesman promised. He went through it all so fast and seemed irritated when we asked questions or brought up concerns. One of our concerns being not all of the running lights were working. By the time we left all the lights were working. Since the camper is a fifth wheel we had to add an attachment to the camper so that we are able to pull it with the truck. We had installed the attachment but there was an area that needed welded. So our next stop was this really nice guy who welded the part for us. Then we were told we would need to go to the DMV for a temporary registration. We were told wrong! We showed up at the DMV and waited in line only to be told we did not need temporary registration.

Next stop was WalMart to get the egg crate foam for our mattress and a few other necessities. After that we went back to Jason & Christianna's house. That evening we sat out by the fire pit and visited. Dan, Shawn, and Jason are die-hards they stayed up until almost 4 a.m., and because the conversation was interesting I stayed up with them, though I don't know how. The camper bed felt 10 times better with the foam added.

To say the least we slept in the next morning and once we did get up we were rather lazy for many hours after that. Shawn continued to dicker with the camper. We decided to go out to dinner that evening before Dan & Chris headed back to Eugene. After dinner we attempted to watch Iron Man, which I hadn't seen yet and still haven't. My eyes just could not stay open, and neither could Shawn's. So we gave in and went to bed.

We headed home Sunday morning. Besides being tired everything was going well, until Pendelton. We came upon the bottom of that Blue Mountain pass and there was chain law in effect and since we were towing the camper it effected us. Well we didn't have any chains and only one place in town had chains, but we would have to buy 3 sets at the approximate cost of $600. That or we could take the chance of getting pulled over and receiving a ticket of $1,500, $500 for each axle. While waiting at the truck stop we were visiting with a truck driver who said if we wait for about 2 hours the chain law should lift. After weighing out our options we decided not to spend the extra money we didn't have and wait it out. The driver was right about 2 hours later it was lifted we got on the road right away. The funny thing about it all was the roads weren't even bad, just wet. They were worse when we came over then on the way home. Plus we see way worse roads in Wyoming for months on end.

We made it as far as Mountain Home, Idaho before we decide to call it good for the night. That put us about 5 hours from home. Plus, we received numerous calls from loving family members letting us know that it was snowing bad and our roads ahead would be snowy and slick. We pulled into an RV Park after visiting WalMart to grab some dinner and a $5 movie. We got on the road at 8 the next morning and all the snow was melting off the roads by the time we were passing through. We arrived home mid-afternoon with our driveway blocked from drifting snow. However, it was nice to be home with no tickets or accidents.

Doctor Visit

2009-04-02T11:43:00.003-06:00

A few weeks back I went to the doctor. For those who are not up to date . . . Shawn & I would love to add a baby to our family. However, for some people it is not as easy as others. We have been trying for over a year now to get pregnant without much success. I decided to set a deadline and once that deadline rolled around and if I wasn't pregnant I would finally give in an see a doctor about it. Well the deadline came and went so I set-up an appointment for the first 3 tests the doctor suggested. The tests were an ultrasound, thyroid levels, and also a progesterone level test. A few long days later the test results came back. According to the doctor everything appears normal except that my progesterone level was low. So the doctor wants to put me on a fertility drug Clomid. After that I will have to go back in again to test my progesterone level to make sure it is enough but not too much. Then we try this for 6 months and see what happens. If I am not pregnant after those 6 months we will discuss with the doctor what the next steps are. It will be nice if it all works out with this drug. We will cross our fingers and hope to be blessed.

Random Things

2009-04-01T16:14:00.017-06:00

A couple weekends back when we had the kids we went to Jackson to see the movie "Race to Witch Mountain". I think I was more excited to see it then Clayton & Mekenna were. I remotely remembered the old Witch Mountain movies and wanted to see the modern take on the idea. The movie was good we will probably buy it when it comes out. Just so you know what that means to us is we don't buy many movies unless we really like them. After seeing the new movie I wanted to see the old ones again, so I bought the 2 movie special from the Disney Movie Club. We are trying to finish our membership with them anyway. Of course the old ones do not have the special effects and action of the new one but were fun to watch. If you are looking for a good family movie I recommend "Race to Witch Mountain". Just a side note I also bought "Watcher in Woods", I remember watching and liking it as a kid so curiosity got the best of me. Does any one else remember this oldies but goodies?

TWILIGHT -- what more can I say then I was a little behind on jumping on the bandwagon of excitement for it. However, I am like the majority of people out there and I am hooked. Since I spend so much time driving it is easier for me to listen to the books on CD then it is for me to find time to read the books. Plus I have enjoyed how the reader puts so much character into the story while reading it. I have listened to Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. I am very impatiently waiting for Breaking Dawn to be available at the library. I want it so bad that I have been tempted the last few days to buy it. If it just weren't so darn expensive. I didn't get a chance to watch Twilight in the theater, but was also impatiently waiting for it to come to dvd, and it finally did. But living where we live I was unable to get to a store (without wasting a lot of gas) to rent it. I wanted to rent it to make sure I liked it before I bought it, and I did like it so now I want to buy it (of course). Anyway that Monday I drove all over Jackson looking for a copy to rent. Finally at my last stop I asked at the counter if any had been returned and luck was on my side one copy had. So I convinced my loving husband to watch it with me that evening. I was surprised to hear him say for the most part he liked it, the only thing he didn't like was he felt there were a couple slow spots. I love him very much for watching it with me instead of wrestling. I'll let you know if I give in to the temptation and buy it, anyone who has read/listened to the series would not fault me.

Nintendo DS Lite--
Well my loving step-children turned me on to this fun little technological toy called the Nintendo DS. The Nintendo DS Lite is a hand held device for video games, for those out there who are like me and didn't really know what they were. Any way they both have one and brought them to our house the last two weekends the were with us. I had so much fun playing with them I did something I would rarely do and bought one. Then of course you need games to play. Well I am a sucker for the old Mario Bros games. Our current game collection consists of New Mario Bros, Dr. Mario, and Yoshi's Island. I would like to get the game Professor Layton and the Curious Village it looks like something I might enjoy and I keep seeing advertisements for it. Not sure where I was going with this, but it is a fun way to pass some free time.

Better Late then never HaPPY BirTHDaY

2009-03-25T12:46:00.008-06:00

So I fell way behind in March and never caught up . . .

We sent the birthday cards out in time, but we also wanted to send out birthday wishes to

Tyler on March 10th

Chris on March 11th

John (a.k.a. DAD) on March 25th

HAPPY BIRTHDAY and best wishes for another great year!!

The BIG 3 0

2009-03-25T12:28:00.002-06:00

I fell so far behind I didn't even blog about my birthday. On March 4th I turned the big 3 0. Thirty . . . are you suppose to feel any different when you reach that age. Well so far I don't! Since Shawn & I considered Las Vegas to be one big birthday present to each other we didn't do much. Shawn was a total sweetheart and made me Fajita's for dinner. It was very good! Plus he bought some delicious cheesecake and gave me a very sweet card. Mekenna & Clayton also gave me a card, it was funny it was teasing me about my gray hair. I have had gray hair since High School , but it continues to multiple at a fast rate. Well faster then I am comfortable with anyway I might just have to give in and dye it. I received many appreciated phone calls and birthday cards for my loving family. Some of the cards even had a money in them, which I used to buy some much need new clothes. LauraLee gave me the book Eragon on cd, which I look forward to listening to. I spend 2 hours a day on the road during the weekdays and listen to a lot of books. Thank you to all who made my birthday a great one. Love Ya!!

HaPPy BirTHDaY MeKENNa JO

2009-03-20T16:51:00.006-06:00

Mekenna's birthday was on March 5th, she turned 8 years old. However, we weren't able to celebrate it in our house until March 13th. Our Vegas trip was the weekend before her special day and her birthday party at her mom's house was the weekend after, therefore, leaving our celebration to fall on the 13th. She had to wait to open her presents until I got home from work and when I did finally get home she was bouncing off the walls to open them. She received a couple summer outfits, a pair of jeans, money, and a bunch of Pixo items. She loves doing Pixo designs and is quite good at them. For her cake I had found a recipe that consisted of making cup cakes in ice cream cones instead of paper cups. Then of course you frost them. It was the first time I tried them and they were a hit, definitely something I would make again.

Mekenna reading her birthday cards.

Excited about her cake.

Making a birthday wish.

Clayton counting her presents as she opens them

Shawn recording the event, we love using the camcorder when we get a chance. I will have to start posting some videos more often.

Vegas Nascar Golf

2009-03-20T16:48:00.009-06:00

Where to start . . . we were excited for our trip so we decided to leave early. We left on Wednesday night instead of early Thursday morning. It is probably a good thing we did because we battled fog, snow, and slick roads for the first 3 or so hours of the trip. It was after midnight before we decided to stop and sleep for a few hours. We were just outside of SLC and found some hole in the wall motel. Neither Shawn nor I slept very well, so it felt like a waste of money. We were up early and on the move. We made it to Vegas about 1 o'clock their time. Since our tickets never showed up in the mail like they were suppose to we had to stop at the ticket office to pick up our tickets. It got us all excited being near the track around all the hoop la.

Next we headed to see if we could check in to our hotel room. We stayed at the Sahara. Our room wasn't ready for an hour and a half. We went to the Nascar Cafe for some food. It was crazy and extremely busy in there and took up all of the time we needed until our room was ready. After we checked in we looked over the brochures to see what shows were in town and took a little nap while waiting for Jason (brother-in-law) to fly in. His first flight had been delayed causing him to miss his connecting flight, but he finally arrived around 6:30. Let the party begin.

This picture was taken at the Nascar Cafe.

That night (Thursday night) we headed to the House of Blues to watch Hank the III play. Hank the III is Hank Williams Jr.'s son. Shawn enjoys his music very much and was ecstatic to see he was playing and for only $25 a person, which in Vegas is cheap. The first half of the concert was good he sings what they call cow punk, but the second half he sings more heavy metal like. I didn't care so much for that so we left early. My only other complaint was it was standing room only. After leaving the concert we started walking. We saw so much I am not sure if I can remember what night we saw what. But I do know that Thursday night we did go the Coyote Ugly, which was nothing like the one in the movie. It was small and dark, but we had fun anyway. We also went to I Love This Bar, it is owned by Toby Keith. Cowboy Troy of the Music Mafia was singing in their. Beyond that I can't remember the places we were that night. I do know that at about 1 in the morning I was starving and finally got the Terry brothers to stop at the McDonalds right there on the strip for dinner. After walking numerous miles that night I convinced the boys to catch a cab back to our hotel. Shawn & I ended up crawling into bed around 2:30, while Jason decided to go play some Black Jack.

4 1/2 hours later we found ourselves out of bed getting ready for our golf game. We had a tee time at 8:58 a.m. and we wanted to be there early, plus we did not know for sure how long it would take us to drive there. Jason never did make it to bed that night so we got him from the Black Jack table and made it to the golf course with time to spare. We played 18 holes and it was only the second time Shawn had played, but he did well. I hadn't played in a while and after a few holes I was starting to hit better and by the end I had a couple good holes. The weather was nice and we really had a lot of fun golfing.

Shawn relaxing in the cart.

Jason enjoying the game and me in the background concentrating hard on getting a good hit.

A couple of ducks that were visiting us while we teed off.

Shawn getting ready to hit the golf ball hard and far.

Me waiting to tee off.

Our next guest to join the party was Craig he is one of Jason's best friends. He flew in late that afternoon. So after golf we grabbed some Arby's and headed back to the hotel to wait for Craig to show. I got cleaned up while the boys played in the casino. We then headed to Margaritaville for some dinner. From there we walked many more miles and went to many more places. Once again crawling in to bed around 2:30 or so.

Saturday morning we slept in an hour more than Friday morning. We headed out to the track and were there by 9 or so. What an experience! We took in the sites and sounds of the track. We were even on speed tv. We bought some Jr. gear. I wore a tank top and shorts because it was suppose to be warm, however when the wind picked up and the sun was behind the clouds it was cold. Thank heavens I had my hoodie with me, but I was still cold. The race was awesome it was so loud and when the cars were passing you could feel it in the bleachers. We watched the pre-race show, the practice session for the Sprint Cup race, and of course Nationwide Race. We loved the experience and looked forward to the next day even more. Oh yeah our least favorite driver Kyle Busch wrecked on the 3rd lap. I could not have asked for more, except for it to happen again the next day. It was amazing the amount of cheers that went up when he did. Otherwise he is disliked by more than Shawn & I.

That night we were going to try to see the show of comedian, Ron White, but his show was sold out. So once again we put on our walking shoes to see the sites. We went to dinner at the buffet in Planet Hollywood. I can't recall the name right now, but it had great food and a lot to choose from. Another place we ended up at is the Dueling Piano Bar. That was an enjoyable experience, plus after waiting for about a half an hour we were able to sit at a table. By this time my feet had blisters and were hurting. Once again we found our bed at an early hour in the morning.

We arose early with excitement and anticipation for the Sprint Cup Nascar race. We had been told that traffic to and from the race could take hours so to be on the safe side we decided to leave early. It didn't take as long as everyone said, but we were at the track early enough to enjoy the pre-show and festivities. We enjoyed this race more then the first race. The race was sold out. Being big Nascar fans we thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are hooked. We would love to go to more races. Our favorite driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. actually had a pretty good race and car. Unfortunately things beyond his control left him in 10th place at the end of the race. The biggest and only disappointment of the race was that cry baby Kyle Busch won, but only because of luck. He was at the back of the race the whole time until some of the other drivers mistakes carried him to the front. He might have won, but the boos could be heard over any cheering that might have been going on. The day was much warmer and both Shawn & I sunburned our faces. Shawn had shorts on and also fried the top inside of his legs. The drive back to the hotel was not as horrendous as everyone made us believe.

Our ticket holder with the tickets in it. It was on a lanyard you could wear around your neck. If you left the main gate you had to be scanned in and out.

Pre-race activities-- all the cars were lined up on the track

The Flying ELVI- 10 skydiving Elvis impersonators, not a great picture but it was fun to watch

After the National Anthem was sung the military planes flew by in formation, as weird as it sounds this part is very cool and gave me goose bumps.

We took a picture of all these little helicopters. The heli-pad was right there by the track. We watched them come and go before and after the race. All of the drivers are flown to and away from the track. They are also for other big wigs I am sure. They were fun to watch. I can't remember which day it was but walking to the track one of the helicopters was so close over our heads my hat flew off. Shawn caught his before it did and chased mine down. Thanks baby!

Restart of the race after a caution.

If you look at the top of the hat you can see Dale Jr.'s car. These pictures were hard to get because the cars are going close to 200 mph. Plus, I was trying to take it over this guys head while he was standing.

This is how you know where your favorite or not favorite driver is starting, running, and finishes.

We made friends with the group behind us and they were willing to take a picture of us. Unfortunately I look like I just spent a whole day at the race track (I did by the way). Ya like the sun burnt faces?

I love this picture of Shawn. You can see how much fun we both had written all over his face. Also the smoke in the background is from the Kyle Busch burn out after the win.

Once we got back to the hotel we cleaned up and met up with Jason. Craig had flown out that afternoon. We went down to the Nascar Cafe for dinner, but before dinner Jason and I went on the Nascar Speed roller coaster. It was fun and fast. After dinner we hung out at a club, just enjoying the music and visiting. I do believe we made it to bed at our normal Vegas bedtime around 2 or so. Next morning we had breakfast before dropping Jason off at the airport. Sad that our trip was over we headed home. We made great time on the drive home. Shawn drove at first while I slept and then we switched I drove while Shawn slept. To say the least we were both exhausted. What a great trip with a lot of even better memories.

p.s. I carried the camera around with me the first two nights and never took any pictures. Then I never even brought it with me the next few nights, of course now I wish I would have taken at least a few pictures beyond golf & Nascar.

p.s.s. I am sure I forgot to mention a lot of things, but there was a lot of information to store in my sleep deprived brain.

No we are not still in Vegas. . . we did return home

2009-03-19T16:40:00.002-06:00

I thought I would touch base and let everyone know that we did make it back from Vegas, and we made it back safe and sound. Believe it or not I have been crazy busy and not had much time to blog. So stay posted and in the next few days I plan on sharing about our trip, 2 birthdays, a movie, nintendo ds, and Dr. visit.

Nascar & Vegas baby!

2009-02-25T12:29:00.003-07:00

Shawn and I are bound for Las Vegas. We leave tonight when I get off of work. Sin City here we come again. We were married there just shy of 2 years ago. I am looking forward to taking in much more of Vegas this round.

Nascar craziness and Junior Nation here we come, wearing the number 88 with pride!

This Weekend Short & Sweet-- well sort of

2009-02-24T09:35:00.005-07:00

Shawn ran a temperature of 100-102 on Friday & Saturday. It finally broke late Saturday night and I was relieved. It stresses me out when someone I love is running a fever. So we nestled in at home to give him lots of rest. We made it a movie weekend. We rented three movies -- Nights in Rodanthe which I had be wanting to see since it came out. It was not as good as the book, but I enjoyed it none the less and Shawn slept through most of it. Which is a good thing because it made me cry and Shawn would have teased me if he had been awake. Quarantine was the next one and it is one of those scary movies. It made me jump a couple of times and unfortunately we watched it at night right before bed, which in turn caused me to have weird/scary dreams almost all night. I thought watching the HGTV channel for about an hour after the movie and before bed would get my mind on a different track, but it didn't. The third movie we watched was Swing Vote with Kevin Costner it was good it had some funny moments and tried to prove a point. The relationship and interaction between Kevin Costner's character and his daughter I thought were the best parts of the show.
We watched the Nascar race on Sunday, with not much to be excited about. The race was in California and it had a few rain delays, but they ended up finishing the race in the end. Jr.'s engine went kaput and he wasn't able to finish the race, which of course we did not like. One of the positive things that came out of the race is Kyle Busch (the driver we dislike very much) did not win. Yeah! Yeah!
We leave early Thursday morning to go to Las Vegas and we are very excited. We are ecstatic to leave all this snow behind for a few days, plus it is supposed to be in the low 70's all week. To us that will be a heat wave. We are planning on wearing shorts, but I am packing pants just in case. The big reason we are headed to Sin City is to watch the Las Vegas Nascar race live. Something Shawn has wanted to do for a long time. We have tickets to the Nationwide race (Saturdays race) and the Sprint Cup race (Sundays race) the big race. Shawn found out yesterday that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be in both races, normal he just races in the Sprint Cup races. That news only makes it more exciting to watch the Nationwide race. We would love to see Jr. win either or both of these races. We also plan to golf, catch a show, visit Margaritaville and more. I will share the experience and photos when we get back.

HaPPy BirTHDaY SHawN

2009-02-19T10:42:00.005-07:00

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

I love you for the great person you are and all that you do for me. I feel blessed to have such a great husband. You fill my life full of love, laughter, and happiness. I look back on the memories we have made and it makes me smile and then I look forward to the many years to come with excitement. I appreciate you, your sense of humor, your love & understanding. Thanks for loving me the way I am. I look forward to waking up & going to bed seeing your handsome face for many years to come. I hope I made you feel special on your special day.

Love, Me

Valentine's Day & Nascar's Daytona 500

2009-02-18T12:16:00.008-07:00

This last weekend was another busy one.
Saturday was Valentine's Day and we had the kids. We don't usually have the kids on holidays very often. So we decided to do something a little different and we went to the movies. The last movie we saw in the theater I believe was National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets on opening weekend, so to say the least it has been a long while. Since movie options in Jackson are slim we decided to go to Idaho Falls to Edwards. Clayton's heart had been set on watching Friday the 13th all week long, even though he is only 11 and the movie is rated R Shawn decided he could go see it. However, us girls did not want anything to do with that movie so we went to watch Paul Blart Mall Cop. Clayton thought the movie was great and Shawn said it was the typical Friday the 13th movie and was all right. Mekenna and I both got some good laughs at Mall Cop, for me the movie was good but not great. After the movies were over we went to Garcia's to meet my Mom and Lynn (step-dad) for dinner. We were able to just barely beat the rush of Valentine dates, thanks to Mom & Lynn showing up a little early to save us a table. It was enjoyable to get to see them and visit. My brothers Jeremy & Tyler stopped by for a brief moment to drop off my nephew Teagan. My mom was watching Teagan while my brothers took their sweethearts to a movie. Teagan has gotten so big and is adorable. It was good to see my brothers even if it was only for a few minutes.

Teagan

The 2009 Nascar season has started. To say the least Shawn has been excited for it to start. Our friends Ed & Barbara Garner are also big Nascar fans and invited us over to watch the race, the big Daytona 500. Trying to entertain themselves during the race Clayton & Mekenna decided to turn the Garner's bar area into a restaurant "The Cross" where we could order water, soda, beer, other, pistachios, and candy. It was fun to watch them play together and get along for the most part. Clayton prepared the orders and Mekenna was the cute little waitress that took the orders. As far as Nascar goes we have high hopes for our favorite driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to do well this year.

flickr.com

However in the Daytona 500, after a few mistakes in the pit box he was falling behind. Then on lap 124 he was involved in an incident the caused a wreck. Then the rain started to move in which is not a good thing if the race is past the half way point, because if they stop the race due to the rain they don't finish the remaining laps. Then with 76 laps to go they stopped the race because of the rain and then they called the race meaning where ever the cars were on the track is where they placed. Unfortunately for us June Bug (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) was in 27th, which is not what we wanted. On a positive note we have many more races in the season for him to win. If we are lucky we will be able to see him win the Las Vegas race. Shawn and I are going to Vegas at the end of February to experience our first live Nascar race. We are excited to see it live and get away from the snow for a few days.

Camper Pictures

2009-02-17T16:58:00.006-07:00

We have paper copies of the pictures of the camper, so I thought I would share-- I had to scan each one and they did not turn out very clear, but you can get an idea of what it is like. We are so excited to go pick it up. Even though we won't be able to use for a few months, because we have so much snow.

The couch turns into a bed.

Our bed looks big and there is a lot of room to move, no more claustrophobia

The bunk beds for the kids, we love this cool option.

The table also can also turn into a bed, but for us only as a last resort.

It has a tv, vcr, dvd player, and radio, but we will have to invest in a generator before we can use those lavish options.

One of my favorite things about the camper-- who doesn't prefer a toilet to squatting in the woods?

Happy Birthday Dan & Bob

2009-02-10T09:21:00.005-07:00

Happy Birthday & Best Wishes!!

Dan -- February 9th

Bob -- February 10th

Happy Birthday Hanna

2009-02-03T11:24:00.003-07:00

HaPPy BirTHdaY Hanna!!!

(a day late, sorry I was not able to post yesterday)

Lots of visitors = a busy weekend

2009-02-03T10:50:00.007-07:00

This last weekend seemed busy. We went sledding again, well what else do you expect us to do with all of this snow. My cousin Melissa and her fiance Russ and little girl Kaelee joined us in the fun. At least it was a little warmer this time compared to the last 2 times. Clayton & Mekenna got bored with just sledding down the hill, so Clayton proposed the idea of making a jump. Shawn agreed to a small jump. The kids had a blast hitting the jump and thank heavens nobody was injured (seriously injured I should say). On the last run of the day Clayton & Mekenna went down holding onto each others feet and after hitting the jump Mekenna's head hit Clayton's cheek. There was no visible damage, but it must of hurt because Clayton cried pretty hard for awhile. I will have to admit the jump was fun and maybe a little painful. I went on it four times, twice by myself, once with Oscar, and once with Kaelee. It was also fun to watch the kids enjoy the experience so much.

Then on Sunday we had a friend of ours Jack over to watch the Super Bowl. I was cheering for Arizona, but unfortunately they were not able to pull it off. I don't watch much football anymore but it was a good game and some good commercials as well. In celebration of the Super Bowl I decided to try some different recipes for the game food. I made an Espinaca Con Queso dip that was pretty delicious. I also did some chicken wings, which I have never made before. The wings turned out okay, but I definitely have a few different ideas to try next time and I think they will turn out much better. We also had cut up strawberries covered in yogurt. Of course celery and ranch dip to go with the chicken wings. Yes Ranch not Bleu Cheese neither Shawn nor I am a big fan of Bleu Cheese. For the sweet tooth we had a bowl of regular & peanut M&M's to munch on.

So I guess if you throw in visitors and the Super Bowl the weekend seems to be busy, maybe I should just say busier than usual.

CaMPer UpGRadE

2009-01-23T09:30:00.008-07:00

Our camper has been a good one for many, many, many years, like 45, but we have decided to upgrade. So we purchased a 1994 fifth wheel trailer with bunk beds. The layout is so cool and it will fit us well for many years to come. It was a really good find we just have to make a trip to Oregon to pick it up. The camper was in Salem and we had it delivered to Jason & Christianna's (brother & sister in-law) who are in Jefferson, which I guess is close or so I am told. So we are going to go during the kids spring break in March and visit Aunie & Papa and Jason & Christianna and pick-up our new purchase. It will be fun and we are excited. We are not only excited to get the camper, but for the time off of work as well.

The camper is loaded with all the fun stuff. I am most excited for two things 1) the bathroom! No more hiking 1/2 mile to hide in the woods to relieve myself when I am camping/hunting with the boys. Also, when it is 3 o'clock in the morning and freezing out I don't have to try to find my glass and shoes. That is way to much work. 2) our bed!! In the old camper you had to step in the middle of the table to step up into bed, which requires skill that I am not always possessed with. Then once there don't even think about sitting up definitely not enough room, which does not work well when you are claustrophobic like me.

I will have to share pictures in March when we actually get to see the camper in person. All we have seen are pictures over the Internet and I didn't think to save them to my computer before they were removed from the website. Don't worry we did not buy this camper blind we did have Jason go look at it before giving them any money. So with the help of Jason's approval we went forward with the purchase, which I of course stressed about. However I am extremely happy to have a new-used and updated camper. Now if we could just have it here in Wyoming with us.

LauraLee, Chase, & Emmalee come to WY

2009-01-20T12:57:00.007-07:00

My sister LauraLee and her two little ones, Chase & Emmalee, came to visit us. They hadn't had a chance to make it up to see our new house yet. For those who don't know we finally were able to buy a house in April of '08. LauraLee braved approximately a two hour road trip with a 4 year old and a 1 year old. We haven't had any storms lately so luckily the roads we good. We planned a sledding trip. So we got Clayton, Mekenna, Chase, Emmalee, and ourselves all bundled up to go play in the snow. Unfortunately the curse of extreme cold weather was upon us once again. So we did not stay out long because we were all getting frost bitten on our cheeks. Not really but after coming inside it looked like it. Plus the kids were getting tired quickly from climbing up the big hill, and I was getting tired as well. You would think running 2 miles on a treadmill 4 to 5 days a week would help with that, but I guess not.
Once we got back to the house we made hot chocolate with mini marshmallows for everyone that wanted some-- Yummy, Yummy. Then we visited and let the kids play. We made lasagna for dinner, which was an adventure on its own, but it turned out delicious. After we filled our tummies the kids played a little longer, before LauraLee got Chase & EmmaLee in there pj's in hopes that the would sleep on the way home. Chase was having so much fun he did not want to leave, he want as far as to go hide in our shower in hopes of prolonging his time with us. It was enjoyable to see them and spend time with them. We appreciate LauraLee taking time out of her busy schedule to come visit we all had a great time. I will have to post the cute pictures of the get together later. I do not have my camera with me here at work. I know, I know I should be working not blogging, however, it is slow and I do not feel like doing the projects I have on my to do list.

Lava Hot Springs

2009-01-12T09:58:00.006-07:00

Shawn & I were by ourselves this last weekend and he said he wanted to do nothing but relax. Well I proposed the idea to go to Lava Hot Springs. We woke up Saturday morning packed and made the 2 hour drive. Once in Lava we found a motel & checked in, so far every motel room we have been in in Lava is lets just say not top of the line. Anyway we got settled and than headed to the hot springs. We spent about 2 1/2 hours relaxing in the hot pools. The water was hot & relaxing which was nice and just what Shawn had ordered. After 2 1/2 hours we were quite prune like and decided to go back to the hotel. We had an all day pass so we intended to come back for a couple hours after dinner. Oscar came on the trip with us, so we decided to go for a walk with him. Then we went back to the hotel for a little while and relaxed while watching t.v. Now it being early evening were getting hungry so we went to dinner. If we would have had cash on us we would have played bingo while we ate, but we didn't so we just enjoyed our meal and watched others play for awhile. Instead of going back to the hot springs we decided to go to the Blue Moon Bar to see if the band was playing country music. We thought we might kick up our heels a little, but the band was not playing anything you can two-step to. We did stay a little while and listen to the music. After, returning to our room to try to attempt to sleep. I did not get much sleep between the uncomfortable bed, to being able to hear traffic outside our room, to trying to share a full size bed with Shawn & Oscar, and for the first few hours I was freezing cold. We talked about going to the hot springs the next morning, but decided against it when we got up. Instead we decided to take a bath in this huge 2 man tub that was in the room. We packed up the car and headed home, which I slept for about half of the trip. Once we got home I started laundry and laid down for a nap. So minus the bad nights sleep we had a great time. Nothing like a short & sweet getaway! We took the camera, but failed to take any pictures at all.

Sledding in the freezing cold

2009-01-12T09:57:00.006-07:00

We took the kids sledding and it was freezing cold out but we still had fun. Oscar thought it was fun to chase them down the hill and we thought it was funny until he got too excited and tried to bite at the kids. Amazingly we stayed for 2 hours even though we were Popsicles. We did get some cute pictures to share out of the extremely cold outing.

A New Year. . . what is in store?

2009-01-02T09:48:00.006-07:00

First off, I have to confess I took our Christmas tree down earlier than normal. I took it down two days after Christmas. I usually wait until New Year's day or the first weekend after New Year's, however, we did not have room for the tree to begin with and Shawn & I were both ready for normalcy & room to move. Just a side note Oscar was also ready for things to return to normal. He enjoys running around the living room & the Christmas tree made that impossible to do.

Ringing in 2009--

I had a doctor's appointment in Idaho Falls on New Year's Eve. We got off work at noon & headed to I.F. I went to my doctors appointment & then we ran errands that we can only do in I.F. After that we went to O'Callahan's to meet my mom & step-dad to pick up Christmas gifts. We had planned to go to dinner & catch a movie after that, but our plans changed. We stayed @ O'Callahan's for dinner & rang in the New Year there. It was great to see my Mom, Lynn (step-dad), Aunt Sharlene, & Ted(family friend). Instead of driving home at 1 o'clock in the morning we stayed at my mom's, she has a guest bedroom. Shawn & I got up the next morning & went to breakfast before our track home. On the way home we hit bad roads so the second half of the drive was slow. We were both tired from staying up so late & I fell asleep for awhile on the ride home. Once home we showered & were completely lazy until Shawn went to go pick up Clayton & Mekenna.

It took him over 2 hours to get the kids because of the bad roads, but once again they made it home with no incidents. Thank heavens! I am looking forward to what adventures the new year brings. I am happy & feel blessed to have a great husband- Shawn, Clayton, Mekenna, Oscar, & a loving extended family to spend it with.

CHriStMas 2008

2008-12-30T11:56:00.006-07:00

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

2008-12-30T11:53:00.002-07:00

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

2008-12-30T11:51:00.004-07:00

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

2008-12-12T14:23:00.013-07:00

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!?!?

2008-11-21T11:36:00.010-07:00

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

2008-11-21T10:07:00.006-07:00

Mekenna's 1st Judo Match

2008-11-20T15:50:00.008-07:00

Tagged twice-- here is 2 of 2

2008-11-13T16:44:00.006-07:00

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

2008-11-13T14:45:00.006-07:00

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!?!?

2008-11-13T11:28:00.005-07:00

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

2008-11-11T15:42:00.009-07:00

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...

2008-11-05T10:35:00.004-07:00

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

2008-10-30T16:33:00.004-06:00

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?

2008-10-27T21:10:00.008-06:00

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?!?!

Someone has to take 2nd

2008-10-20T15:02:00.003-06:00

Well, maybe you can tell the outcome by the title. Clayton's football team (Teton Redskins) finally lost, they lost the last game of the year the championship game:-( The score was 33-13. I think the loss was almost more difficult on the parents then the players. The team almost seemed scared to play, which most likely had nothing to do with the size of the other team. Almost every player that Clayton had to defend was at least a head taller and not to mention wider. However, Clayton did well and continuously tackled his opponent. Toward the first of the game he got smashed between two players while making a great tackle and hurt his elbow. He was down on the ground long enough to make all of his parents panic. Shawn wrapped knee and all hobbled down the steps rather quickly in case his "little boy" just might need him. However, Clayton was back on his feet and ready to play after a few minutes on the sideline. Clayton's team made some small mistakes and the team they were playing (Eagle Rock) capitalized on them. Toward the end of the game and not having scored yet, Teton had nothing more to lose. They put some great plays together and scored twice in a row. One time getting the extra point and one time not, hence the score of 13. Congratulations to Clayton and the Teton Redskins for a great season!!!
Just a side note on Mekenna. She could care less about the game, but sure likes to socialize. I wish I would have gotten a picture of her because she had the cutest outfit on. However, she is so busy socializing to hang out with her Dad and Mandi. She was wearing one of Clayton's orange football jerseys with the white number 17 and Terry on the back. Her hair was in pig tails and had these barrettes covered with curly ribbons that consisted of Teton's colors which are orange, maroon, and white. It was adorable and would have made a great picture.

I love visiting family

2008-10-17T16:17:00.010-06:00

My little brother Cody left for boot camp on Monday. On Sunday we went to my Dad and Step-mom's house in Idaho Falls for a little farewell party. What I loved best about it is seeing my family. Most of my siblings were there and a bunch of my nieces and nephews. I finally was able to meet my niece Finley who was born July 17th. I know nothing like waiting so long, but we were in California when she was born. She is also the niece who gave us a big scare and had to spend two weeks at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. We are all blessed that she is a fighter. It is amazing how fast all the nieces and nephews grow up. I greatly enjoyed seeing and visiting everyone. We wish the best of luck to you Cody.

Chandler(niece), Chase(nephew), & Gabe(nephew)

Adalynn(niece)

Emmalee(niece)

Grandma Magnusson & Adalynn(niece)

Finley(niece)

Chris(brother) & Dad(John)

Jackson(brother-in-law), Grandpa Magnusson, Hanna(sister-in-law), & Finley

Sheila(sister), LauraLee(sister) & Adalynn

Cute Picture of Oscar

2008-10-17T16:08:00.005-06:00

I just wanted to share this cute picture of Oscar. Sometimes we find him sleeping in the most odd positions. So we usually laugh about it a take a picture, if he doesn't wake up while I try to get the camera.

Surgery, Snow, Strep, & lets not forget Antelope

2008-10-17T14:10:00.013-06:00

So once again I have fallen behind . . . I have so much to share. Where do I begin??

How about Shawn's knee. Well to start off they moved the surgery from the 9th to the 13th. I used one of my vacation days at work so I could be by my sweethearts side. On Monday the 13th we had to be at the hospital at 8:00 a.m. and surgery was suppose to be at 9:00. However, a friend of ours had mentioned to Shawn that he thought it was okay to have something to drink before surgery. So Shawn awoke that morning around 5 and had about 1/2 cup of coffee. Well when the nurse asked if Shawn had drank or ate anything since midnight Shawn replied yes. By the look on the nurses face you knew that wasn't the right answer. The nurse decided to confer with the doctor on what he would like to do next.
Good news is he was still willing to do the surgery that day the bad news was we had to wait around until 11:30 for the surgery. What was nice was the little room that we were able to wait in. It had a recliner chair for Shawn an uncomfortable chair for me and a little flat screen t.v. , plus all the other things a recovery room would have. So there we sat Shawn in his hospital gown, the hair on his knee shaved, and me in my uncomfortable chair watching the History channel of all channels. When it was closer to time for surgery the nurse started an IV which I would have to say is one of Shawn's least favorite part of the day since he absolutely hates needles.
Right around 11:30 the rolled out a gurney for Shawn to lay on. The anesthesiologist gave Shawn something to relax. Then Shawn says they got to the operating room and gave him the medicine to knock him out and he said it happened fast. A half an hour later he was done. The doctor came to inform me all went well and that Shawn had torn his meniscus. Finally an answer to what was wrong and now fixed.

Shawn was rather loopy coming to-- he was asking me the same questions over and over and telling us the same things over and over. I tried not to laugh at him, but it made me giggle. Plus he was having a hard time focusing on me. His eyes would go all funny and he would say "I am seeing two of you baby".
Shawn is on the road to recovery. He goes to physical therapy 3 times a week and that started quick. His first session was on Wednesday. If all goes well Shawn should be able to return to work in a month or so. Meanwhile he can't wait until he can take a long hot shower or bath. He still has a couple of days until he can get the operated area wet, and the sponge like baths are just not cutting it. I am thankful that the surgery went well without any complications. Love ya babe.

Snow!! Snow!! . . .

Yes we had our first major snow fall in October, October 11th to be exact. Last Saturday the snow fell all day long. We ended up with about 8 inches, just a sign of what is to come. Don't get me wrong to an extent I like the snow, especially around Christmas time. However, what I don't like is driving on bad roads, which for me there is no way around it. I drive approximately 110 miles a day round trip to go to work. Shawn is excited to see the snow because it brings the animals down and usually makes for good hunting. By the way for the most part hunting is all that Shawn wants to do. Most of what has fallen has now melted, but without question more snow is bound to come. The big question now is when does it fall and stay for the long haul??

Last weekend was our weekend to have the kids, but Clayton had strep and Mekenna wasn't feeling well either. Since we did not want to chance Shawn getting sick and chance the long awaited surgery getting canceled we decided to switch weekends. We get the kids this weekend, which is good because we are missing them something fierce. However, our big event this weekend is Clayton's Grid Kid Football championship game. His team is still undefeated!!! We will let you know if it remains that way. It is a great little feat that they have achieved. We are proud and Shawn jokingly said that Clayton will brag about this when he is an old man. He then pretended to be Clayton as an old man using his best old man's voice and said "back when I was in 5th grade my football team set a record for an undefeated season and the first in the schools history". Anyways you would have to be there, but it sure made me laugh.

Finally, lets not forget the antelope. The first weekend in October seemed like one of the only times that Shawn would be able to go hunting for his antelope. Plus Ray(our friend and Shawn's boss) wanted to go and get his antelope. So we packed up our cute, little, old camper and headed to area 89 which is by Big Piney. We left Saturday afternoon and by Sunday afternoon we had 4 antelope in the back of the truck. Shawn & Ray each had two tags. It was a quick hunt, but successful. My only complaint was I did not feel well and had come down with a cold of some sort and the cold had intensified by Saturday night. However, it was an adventure with good company!! Shawn had the antelope made into jerky. He picked up the jerky today and we ended up with 22 bags of it. And that is a good thing because we all love the jerky especially Oscar.

Undefeated Season-- Congratulations Clayton

2008-10-02T09:03:00.005-06:00

Our football star in the making. Clayton's team won their last regular season game. The first playoff game is Tuesday. With last nights win Clayton's team is undefeated this season! It was exciting to see happen and Clayton was so happy. Plus, he was able to play a great game with family watching. Grandpa Terry, Uncle Jason, and Aunt Christianna were all there. Along with his proud dad (Shawn) and step mom (Mandi). Mekenna was there but was too busy socializing to watch the game.

Clayton & Shawn-- by the smiles on their faces you can see how happy of a moment it was. Shawn is so proud!

Grandpa Terry

Mekenna with Uncle Jason

The spoiled puppy, Oscar, I mentioned in the previous post. This is our bed and he is laying on my pillow all tucked in the covers. When he is tired he will stay here for hours, if we let him. Good thing I love him or I might have to stick to my old rule of no dogs on the bed let alone in the bed.

UpDaTE on LiFE. . . .

2008-10-01T11:12:00.007-06:00

I wanted to give a quick update on the happenings of the Terry Terrain---

Shawn went to the doctor today to have his knee looked at. His knee is not doing any better than it was a month ago so the doctor is going to scope his knee and if they find something wrong fix it while they are already in there. Surgery will be next Thursday, October 9. Yes, yes I know a week out, but what do you expect we live in Star Valley, Wyoming. It might sound funny but I hope they find something wrong to fix. So then they can fix the problem and maybe his knee will start to heal. It is so hard to not see any improvement as time goes on. Plus, I know Shawn is sick and tired of sitting at home. (And watching the OJ trial on Tru TV, well maybe not so much that, because he finds that whole thing fascinating).

Other updates-- Shawn shot his deer! He drove the truck up Greys River somewhere and was able to drive up close enough to a bunch of deer. He watched a group of deer with numerous bucks for about an hour and found the one he wanted. He took a small hike and was successful at shooting the biggest 4 point he has ever shot. He was extremely excited!! I am proud and very happy for him, plus it puts meat in the freezer. There will be pictures to come once the antlers return from the taxidermist. Now he just needs to get his elk and 2 antelope. The kids and I will go with him on the antelope hunt. We did last year and had a great time. Hunting season has just begun!

Clayton is in 5th grade and is playing football for school. Let me just say who knew 5th grade football was taken so seriously. His team is currently undefeated, which has been a very exciting accomplishment for the team and him. Clayton plays almost the whole game on both offense and defense, he only sits out a few plays here and there. It has been a great confidence booster for him. His last regular season game is tonight. We are headed to Driggs to watch. I will let you know the outcome. Plus after regular play they will be going to the playoffs. Not exactly sure what that is about as of yet. Like I said I will let you know the outcome plus post pictures.

Shawn's brother, Jason, and his wife, Christianna, are going to be stopping by to see us on their way back to Oregon. I believe the drove to Tennessee to take one of their dogs to a jumping competition. I could be wrong on numerous facts there so don't quote me on any of that. They are going to come to Clayton's game, then go visit other family in the area, and then come stay with us on Friday. We are looking forward to having them visit. Shawn and Jason don't see each other very often, so it will be good for them to catch up.

As for me the same old same old -- work. As for Mekenna she is excelling in school and judo. She is getting so big, but still says the darndest things. Oscar, what can I say about Oscar besides he is 100% spoiled and loved by the whole family. He does whatever puppies do- sleep, eat, play- must be nice!

Not able to hunt?!?!

2008-09-19T16:00:00.002-06:00

The doctor is still concerned with the soreness, tenderness, and Shawn's ability to not straighten his leg. Therefore he was not cleared to go back to work. His next check-up with the doctor is October 1st. If there is no improvement by then I hope the doctor re-evaluates Shawn's knee for something else being wrong. That or maybe we will need to get a 2nd opinion. I would think a strained knee would slowly start to heal itself and if it is not doing that than there is something more wrong. He has appointments set up for therapy until then. Plus, in his mind he can go hunting by being the driver. He really is having a hard time not being able to climb and hike to find that perfect deer, but hunting season is long and he still has time. Mean while he is going crazy trying to find things to do and maybe just maybe catching up on soap opera's (you never know!?!?)

Shawn's painful experience

2008-09-16T16:17:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday, September 6th Shawn and I spent some quality time at the hospital in Afton. Don't worry it was not an emergency, but I was starting to think so the more he started to hurt. We are still not sure exactly what happened, but that Friday night Shawn woke up around 11:30 or so with intense pain in his left knee. He got up and took some ibuprofen and watched t.v. for awhile until he fell back asleep on the couch.

Saturday morning his knee was still hurting, but he was not ready to see the doctor yet. Plus he had plans to go shoot his gun with a friend and did not want to miss the chance to shoot. But by the time we were done shooting his knee was hurting more and I had finally talked him into going to the doctor. However, living in the remote area we do the only place open with a doctor is the hospital in Afton. Well that or Jackson or Idaho Falls both which are further away plus no one in Jackson takes our insurance. So process of elimination brought us to Afton.

While at the hospital the pain really started to intensify. A couple of times I felt the tears coming to my eyes. I have such a hard time seeing anybody in pain. The doctor couldn't really tell us what was wrong, so he ordered x-rays. Upon seeing the x-rays we were told that the knee cap was not where it was suppose to be. The doctor wrote a prescription for oxycodone, put a brace on it, gave us crutches, and set up an appointment for an MRI. Which we were told was the only way to know what exactly was going on with his knee.

The MRI was scheduled for Monday so in the mean time we kept Shawn doped up on pain killers and rested. It was a long weekend with not much sleep. We went to the hospital Monday for the MRI, but was told it would be a few days before the whole MRI process would have an answer.

Shawn saw the orthopedic specialist on Wednesday to find out what exactly the MRI said, but living in the remote area we do he was told that it had not been transcribed yet. But the doctor said that it appeared to him that Shawn strained his knee and nothing more. Strained what in his knee exactly we don't know. So unless the transcribed MRI says something different that was the prognosis. The GREAT NEWS was no surgery. That doctor gave him a much smaller knee brace and sent him to therapy. Shawn has since quit taking the pain killers had a couple more sessions of therapy and will do a follow-up appointment tomorrow (Wednesday the 17th).

All we can figure is he injured his knee while working on his knees that Friday and not sure why it waited numerous hours to start hurting!?! Meanwhile he is looking forward to going back to work and for his knee to feel good enough to go hunting. I will keep you posted on what the doctor says at the upcoming appointment.

Aunie & Papa Visit

2008-09-16T14:04:00.006-06:00

Aunie & Papa a.k.a. Chris (Mom) & Dan finally made it out to Wyoming for a visit. We hadn't seen them in just over a year. Not since we had been out to Oregon last August for our summer vacation. They had been wanting to make it out for some time to see our new house, but have been very busy as have we. It was a great visit minus their flat tire issues. They brought their camper and stayed in our driveway. Clayton & Mekenna were so excited to stay in the camper with Aunie & Papa. We had all sorts of plans, but the weather decided not to cooperate with those plans. It was labor day weekend and instead of one final weekend of warm weather the rain and cold decided to roll in. So taking the jet skis out for one last time this summer didn't happen.

However, we packed the fishing poles and Dan had brought his canoe and we headed up to Soda Lake for a day of fishing. If I remember right everyone caught at least one fish if not more. It was a good time even though we got rained on a couple of times. Well that and Mekenna coming an inch or so away from tipping her, Clayton, and Papa out of the canoe. We made memories by watching movies, playing games, and just spending time together. Thanks for coming to visit Aunie & Papa!! We love you and hope to see you again soon!!

P.S. We did have one causality. . . . my fishing pole :-( On the bumpy ride home it got caught on a tackle box or something and the tip of it cracked. Hopefully it won't be to hard to fix.
**Another side note more pictures from Aunie & Papa's visit to come later. I have some more that are still on the roll of film in my 35mm camera

TeRRy TeRRaiN

14 Month Hiatus

Update Warning . . . .

Family Pictures

Kevin

LauraLee

2009 Christmas Card

Christmas Band Concert

Calendar Pics

Turkey Day

PuPPieS

A Gecko & Hermit Crabs

Halloween

HaPPy BirTHdaY Emmalee

HaPPy BirTHDaY ClaYtoN

Golf for Free

Antelope Hunt

Last Camping Trip of '09

Labor Day Camping

StUMp LaKE

Mekenna plays Soccer

Clayton Football

Trevor + Kendra = Forever

Aunie & Papa, Oregon, and Boise

September Birthday's

New Truck

Stained House

Cook Reunion - Heise

Grandpa & Grandma Terrill Reunion

Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince

OREO

July Birthday's

Independence Day a.k.a. 4th of July

Father's Day

Terrill Reunion 2009

Billy's Birthday Bash

Baseball & a Broken Thumb

Baseball in the Rain Anyone!?!

June Birthday Wishes

Terrill Family Visits

Grass

Happy 1st Birthday Teagan

Trevor Comes Home

Only Two Years?!?

Happy Birthday Brooklynn

Memorial Day Camping Trip

Jet Ski Trailer Box

Happy Birthday Trevor

Easter Savenger Hunt & Camping Close to Home

TEA Party Anyone

HaPPy BirTHdaY CHaSe

HaPPy BirTHDay Sandy & Sheila

OREGON - snow, family, and the camper

Doctor Visit

Random Things

Better Late then never HaPPY BirTHDaY

The BIG 3 0

HaPPy BirTHDaY MeKENNa JO

Vegas Nascar Golf

No we are not still in Vegas. . . we did return home

Nascar & Vegas baby!

This Weekend Short & Sweet-- well sort of

HaPPy BirTHDaY SHawN

Valentine's Day & Nascar's Daytona 500

Camper Pictures

Happy Birthday Dan & Bob

Happy Birthday Hanna

Lots of visitors = a busy weekend

CaMPer UpGRadE

LauraLee, Chase, & Emmalee come to WY

Lava Hot Springs

Sledding in the freezing cold

A New Year. . . what is in store?

**CHriStMas 2008**

Gingerbread Creations

Christmas Party

Short & Sweet Updates

Judo Tournament = Gold Medal!?!?

Mekenna's 2nd Judo Match

Mekenna's 1st Judo Match

CHriStMas 2008