Merry Christmas to me...

Oh, I have had many bad thoughts lately. Mostly about wishing I was a young kid again and getting Lots of presents. And usually, I'm pretty good, I only want a couple of things- but there's so many fun things to get right now, it's a little hard for me. For some crazy reason, I have a wish list that is getting bigger and bigger. I keep thinking up things that I would really love...hmmm, I could probably end up with a few more on my list- My daughter sings a song called Merry Christmas to me, and I think I have it stuck in my head and it won't leave causing this predicament. I want a cellular phone, a shiny trombone, a blah, blah, blah, blah- Merry Christmas to me!!! Don't want pajamas, don't want a toy I have to share, oh Santa PROMISE, don't bring me socks or underwear- (ok, maybe from Marshall) Anyways hope that I get a couple of my items, but we might have to drag Christmas out a few months longer.... but that would be fine for me (-:

Lots to be thankful for...

For some of you that don't know, Marshall's dad is living with cancer, we are so thankful that we had one more Thanksgiving with grandpa!!! Long Live Grandpa Dave

I'm thankful for an eternal companion that I couldn't live without. He makes me happy, makes me smile, makes me crazy, and has a very tender heart. I am thankful Marshall, for all that you do!

Thankful for those big brown eyes who melt your heart with her peaceful spirit and "hugs and kisses store"

I'm thankful for a wonderful family, for amazing food, and to celebrate together. It was a ton of fun!!!!

Thankful for lots of cousins, braces, new great nieces to squish, and building gingerbread houses and making tons of sugary messes!

Thankful for Snow Angels, NAPS, and the return of ginormous fish that have returned to Big

Springs in Island Park.

Thankful for self reflection in the woods, Heidi's makeup, and cutting down trees on ATV's with the family!

Something EVERY girl must have....

This blog is for those of you who offer ideas, lists, must haves or must do's- Here's to you!

Any of you who have done lunch w/ my kids and I know that these little gadgets are heaven sent. We were all at Winger's and we had six kidlets on the bench, moms on the opposite side, and they played and played and played. Education Bliss at its finest! LEAPFROG my children love you (especially the 3 year old who I can take ANYWHERE) Yes, it's worth it! (I have 3 and share wherever we go- they're great!)

Ok, first off, I am overly enjoying pomegranate anything at this point. Those of you who know me, know that I have a very strong sense of smell. I can pretty much sniff things out anywhere. I try hard not to be detected, but I couldn't help myself with a few of these products. Body Cream, need I say more??? Another major exhilarating smelly thing. My kids have also developed my smelling issue, and we can't go anywhere esp. like Walmart w/o smelling stuff. They get upset if they can't sniff w/ me!!!- Softsoap has a few yummies that I drifted off into smelly land, and then snapped back to reality in Walmart, grabbed the bottle and checked out.

This little doozey is hard to find- We managed at Ace Hardware- It is AMAZING STUFF. For crockpots, any type of stove tops, it takes off what oven cleaners won't... Need I say more- Read the label careful, don't use on painted metal surfaces, not a good idea. This is really liquid gold!!

My cousin convinced me to try diet stuff, since she's a drug rep, and I'm needing some encouragement. I am telling you, this stuff is DELICIOUS, and isn't supposed to last long. Can you believe people are selling it on Ebay????? I couldn't find it yesterday at Walmart, I'm on the hunt, cuz I'm not living w/o it....

Ok Robyn, here's another smelling issue I have, I can't help myself from smelling these. I think she has me beat though w/ at least 100 bottles in her pantry. I only have 4. I love them ALL!!!!

So there you have it, some really yummy, great stuff that you should indulge yourselves with- why not, you only live once... Cheers!

Baby Love

Abbie is a unique little girl. She always has something to say, cute, or not, and makes me smile. She brought me this drawing that she did of herself. I just love it. I Love You Abbie Love!

Moto Mahem

Boy had his first encounter with moto racing recently. He's really turning into a motohead by his choice, which is good. He got a motie (new to us) and has not stopped riding it. Last Saturday he entered a moto, his first one, had a few moments in the whoops-got a little dirt on himself, a little packed in the face plate, but dusted himself off and got back at it. He enjoyed it most of all, and that was the important part. Today they rode the Dunes in St. Anthony and he loved that as well. Ride on little boy... (Note to Scott, he wants a few lessons)

Dancy Pants

Here are two little girls who are getting ready to go to dance. Since Halloween was the next day, they went as Fairies w/o all the extra costume- I asked them to smile, they said cheese, and then I said "Let me see your eyes, so hence, Abbie shut her eyes- They are both doing very well in dance and love it. It is so funny to watch Abbie, I usually sit and laugh most of the class, she is a hoot! She likes to SHAKE IT!

Abbie's Third Birthday

Our little baby girl aka "babe-a" is now three. I can't believe she's already so big. She wanted a pink strawberry cake. I have yet to perfect my baking skills, but I gave it a shot, (I miss Jill's cakes) and had to tube on the frosting with a small ziploc bag. Oh well. She loved it, and she really enjoyed the frosting, she told me it was "Beautiful and lovely mommy." So that's all that really matters right? We were lucky to have Grandpa Dave, Grandma Anne, Rachel,Brian and the boys. It was a fun night for my dolly. Happy Birthday Babe-a

Heaven is a nest on the beach

It's Knott that Scarry, I promise...

Loving the Mining Ride- 1 of Paytie's faves


Auntie Susan and the girls, ready for some fun!


The Vipor, back, down, around and again...

Hold on tight you guys!!!

We love our Snoopy! He's the best!

Five things that I love about Knott's Berry Farm:


1. The nostalgia from being a nine year old and reliving it through my nine year old.


2. The Charlie Brown Gang


3. The look on Payton's face before, during and after the "freaky" rides.


4. Being able to walk onto every ride without waiting in lines.


5. The FOOD- have you ever ordered a Knott's Chicken Dinner? YUMMY-make sure to get berry pie added to that for pure satisfaction!





We had an amazing day, the weather was awesome, there were no crowds, we did walk right up to every ride over and over again, and it was priceless time with Aunt Susan! The kids could have passed on the Knott's Scary Farm theme however, but they have a whole new appreciation for skeletons, and "dead guys." Really honey, it's just a stupid plastic thing they buy at the dollar store, it's ok!! I promise! And, hey mom, why are all of the fake worker dudes heads covered with sacks? Well, you really don't want to know do you? No, that's ok mom, thanks.

Love those babies

Taadaa~! She was telling me that she felt like such a star there at the beach, having it all to herself. Everyone else in the vicinity was donning a sweatshirt, while my littlest babe's lips were turning blue. Not to worry, we had nice warm fuzzy towels waiting after they took their freezing ice shower to remove partial sand. Thus, pure heaven, perfect day at the beach, aah such tourists!

Back to Business

Well, I re-read my whining and changed the post to "Cleaning Sucks!" Brief, to the point, there it is. But I did really relate to this cartoon, and my moment for the day was, it's always great to have a special niece call you and ask you for your yummy recipe, she really made my day! Thanks Christine, your'e a sweetheart~

SNOW- Oh NO!! Not already.....

Guess what? As I'm sitting in sunny California, it's in the 90's, and was in the 100's for our Magical Kingdom day, I just got word last night from the father-in-law that it's supposed to snow in IDEEHO! Oh good, it will be good, no more mowing and watering, we'll watch to see what's to come..... Wish me luck on a few more husband at home days, cuz it's going to end real soon. At least a couple of my friends will get theirs back from farming. So, let me know what happens...

Oh Man, Disneyland

Well, our week has been really fun, and still a few more days to go. We headed to Knott's Berry Farm, well, Knott's Scarry Farm. It was a Ghost Town literally, so we walked up to all of the rides. That is always a bonus, I think my kids really had fun, there were too many skeletons for Lindsey, but she loved Lucy's Tugboat, and the Camp Snoopy. Abbie is such a daredevil, she hasn't been afraid of anything. Lindsey on the other hand has been afraid of most of the "things." Poor girl, we keep telling her, "Don't worry, this next ride will be better," then it's either faster, or creepier. She's survived, but has probably has some trust issues at this point. Marshall's brother and family met up with us at Disney on Tuesday, and Anaheim had record breaking heat wave 104 degrees, Whew! We bought one of those water/fan thingies and sprayed everyone down, it was great, then we laughed a bunch, screamed like chickens, and chased the kids all over Disney. It was great! We were lucky/in the right place/right time, and won passes to a special give away- there were 35,000 in the park that day, and they handed out 500 passes to stay an hour after the park closed, just the pass holders. Wow, I ran all over the place my legs killed the next day. It was so worth it, and I needed to burn off the days calories and the cokes I drank, so ya, I needed the jog. We were able to get 7 rides in an hour. We got stuck on Indiana Jones, and I thought Payton was going to die. I made the huge mistake of saying- wow, what if we had to stay here all night- he freaked out, when they finally turned it back on, they told us we could go again- we told him to stay and he pushed and punched my nephew to fight his way off the ride. He waited with the attendants, and was very glad to get off the freaky jeep. We ended up being in the park for 12 hours, the kids were troopers, and we had a Magical Experience. Yes, wait in line for Dumbo if you have little ones. It was worth every penny. Cheers!!!

Where a kid can be a kid!

I'm in a hotel room right now blogging! Yes the title is true, we caved and gave into our precious little daughter's birthday wish. Actually, we surprised her because we had to travel on her birthday. We asked her if she wanted to know where we were going for dinner and she wanted to be surprised. Lindsey, when she was only 2 1/2, said the funniest thing- It went like this...

On our way home from church in Marysville, she said " I want to talk to Jesus," (two year old talk of course) or that's what we thought she said. Both Marshall and I were very impressed by our little girl, and I responded, "Oh, you sweetie, you want to talk to Jesus?" "No! I want to chalk to cheesus." Again I said " Oh, you want to talk to Jesus, that's so nice honey." "No, Mommy! I want Chuck E. Cheeses!" Oh, you want Chuck E Cheese, that's great... Isn't advertising a special thing? The other day I told Des. "Man, they torture us parents here in Idaho Falls, they run all the ads for big cities, and our kids beg to go to and we don't have it." Then we decided to end the begging and take her last night. It was the normal thing, delicious pizza (was Marshall's comment-kidding of course) and chocolate cake- Lindsey said "This cake is a little different isn't it mommy?" We had a great time, won lots of tickets, and let them run all over. Today is swimming, exploring in Salt Lake if we have time and then on to Disney Land. I can't wait to go myself. I can't wait to see the expression on the girls' faces when they see the castle. For Payton, anything with trains will be his fav., and for Marshall, we'll just work on crowd control. He's not a true lover of waiting in lines. Does anyone else see phobias creep up on their husbands when they get thrown into crowds? He has interesting quirks that only show up in certain situations. Of course, that's not how he sees it, but it makes me smile, and remember all the silly things that he does that I love. Especially when he travels and I miss his magazine inserts thrown on the floor, his socks in endless places, and his scratchy face kisses that seem to make everything better... So we should have some interesting adventures, we've conquered Chuck E. Cheese, and we're off to Disney Land... Stay tuned for more of who knows what...

Oh, Ya, it's Raining Again!

I looked at the lyrics at the classic "Supertramp" song after thinking about this blog and the rain today. I remember listening to that song when I was pretty young and singing my lungs out w/ my teenager sisters when we'd be out cruisin'. Yes I was a cruiser at a very young age, mostly asleep in the back seat while my fluffy, feathered-haired sisters would hang out on the "cruise." Eat your heart out Supertramp!! Just for memory lane...

Oh, it's raining again Oh no, my love's at an end. Oh no, it's raining again and you know it's hard to pretend. Oh no, it's raining again Too bad I'm losing a friend. Oh no, it's raining again Oh, will my heart never mend.
Didn't you just love singing those old songs, and now looking back you can't believe you'd sing those out loud, let alone now that you know what the lyrics actually mean!!!!!!!!! Yikes. The eighties/nineties stuff- ya, but the overall favorite of mine was oh course... Grease!! I know, most of my young adult life I really believed I was Sandy, and one day I'd turn that slick talking Rick into "Danny" w/ the letterman jacket and we'd fly in the love bug away forever and ever...
Wake up Bev!
Anyways, this blog was for all you Seattlians, because we enjoyed the parade in the rain. You'd be so proud, no umbrella for me, just a light-weight jacket w/ my hood- I was prepared. Today was Shelley Spud Day- they have a festival devoted to a tater! All the floats had to have something "spuddie" on them. My kids were on a float for singing. Lindsey thought she'd become Hannah Montana, and was all drama- She's so fun. She said it was the best parade she'd ever been in (since it's her first)- Well, Spuds or no spuds, I thought of my rainy weather girls and held them in my thoughts while it poured down, w/ a little thunder and lightnin'. So here's to Spud Day, and to you, rain-lovin girls!!! Cheers!

Can you guess who is loving the songs- Look right in the middle w/ the pink hood over her head- Isn't she sweet, it's soaking wet, but she doesn't give up...

The boy is on the back row w/ the black jacket on, with a smile on his face. "It's Spud Day mom, and it's what farming and this community is all about." That's my boy! "Hopelessly Devoted To You!"

Oh where to start...

Well, the animal craziness has dwindled a bit. We are just doing fine w/ that electric fence. I put some feed over the "crappy wire" and it got my arm a bit. I was like "Oh, I just laid my arm on the wire." It was nothing! I'm back to my crazy over scheduled life again. It's good, my kids are loving it- Football starts this week, then I'll add another post and see if I'm loving it. School is going great for Payton and Lindsey and Abbie who gets to join in on my week for preschool. I love my ward and my friends have been great. They love to do lunch which is very fine with me. I love that! And guess what, I'm still in activity days for the girls. I think I'm going on 7 years now. Each ward, same calling (-: I'm still learning I guess. I love that age group though... They are fun to be with, fun to laugh with and progress with. So it's really a great thing. Here are my girly girls that keep growing like the weeds in my yard.



Two sisters that are cute and sweet, two little girls with pink toe-nailed feet.
Love to laugh and sing and play, only to fight over toys every other day
Are moms little helpers each busy day, I sure love them in every single way!


This is my nine year old boy who worked in the

field all day. From 8:00 am to 9:30 pm who drove the SEMI all by himself that picked up the hay. When mommy went to check on him, he said he'd be okay. But mommy's heart was not so well she'd thought she'd have to stay IN THE HOSPITAL!!!!!!!
Yes it's true, he thinks he old enough to drive. See all you city folk what us mom's in the country have to deal with. Don't worry mom, it's only a semi, I can handle it. I'm doing just fine. Ya, until he tries to drive my car to his friends house... He seems to wiser than his years, like 40!! My little man boy, is what I call him, he came that way and hasn't changed since the day he was born. Oh how I love that boy! Here he is ready for 4th grade, and off to school at 7:10 am to catch that country bus that HE LOVES!! Trust me he's upset w/ mom if we have to drive to school, cuz that's no fun!!

Cows are not fun!

Today has been an interesting Sunday. Instead of getting to church on time, we had to chase cows again. To get the full effect of living in the country, one must do a few things: First, one must purchase country type animals. This does not include your average mutt, but a little more rural savvy would lend to "cows," "horses," you get the picture. Second, learn how to install fence. Not the nice, hide your crap fence, but just plain old metal wire to keep those rural pets retained. Third, be prepared to chase those pets at all hours of the day/night when they jump the crappy wire fence and love it out on the open road where motorists put their fists out the windows and shake their hands in not so friendly gestures. This is truly a great experience on Sunday. So, to fully appreciate the greatness of country living- you also need to chase the cows in the pasture, slipping on wonderfulness, and remember that those really weren't your cute flip flops, because they are not now. So Sunday is a great day for prayer, and praying that the Lord will answer your prayers and steer those cows in the right direction before they get shot. I hope all of you know how wonderful it is in the country, and you are welcome to visit anytime. We always have a fun agenda planned in advance. Love for now you city folk, come visit!!!!

Family Fun

This is the big pic with all of Marshall's family. We had a great time seeing everyone finally, since we have them scattered in: Hemet, California; Nevada City, California; Idaho Falls, Clermont, Florida; and Annandale, Virginia. (All four corners) And it was really great to see the cousins!

We were happy to have Marshall's siblings and all cousins come this summer for a big Holtom reunion. We are hanging in there with Marshall's dad who's dealing w/ cancer, so we decided we needed some really cool pics. Since Grandpa Dave loves tractors, and loves John Deere's, we have a distant cousin in the ward who happen to own a combine, and tractor!! They were so generous to let us have them for a night and photoshoot away. It was great fun trying to chase kids around, and get everyone to smile, and Lindsey my dear, who needed to use the bathroom. NO luck in a stubble field, thus her "pee-pee" dance is in included in a few of the shots

(-: Oh-well, we did get some really good pics however...

Here I am, what I always do best... Chasing my little girl around. At least I wasn't the only parent running that night. There were 5 others under the age of five that didn't love getting their pics taken either.