HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY KYLE!!

Kyle has a soft spot for this little lady... I think we all do.

Look how much he has grown!!

Our soon to be soccer star!!

Happy Birthday to our strong willed, feisty, outgoing, busy, growing boy. You have brought many smiles to our home, even though they are usually unintended. We admire your determination, it is a great quality to have. Keep up the good work and be the best you can be!! Thank you for the blessing of being your parents.
Love,
Mom and Dad

Summer Adventure of 2009

Warming up at the indoor practice fields at BYU--awesome

Fun at The Ostler's

Visiting life long friends in WY

Meeting with friends from THS

A baby blessing--we love Summer!!

Teela Family Reunion at Lagoon

A birthday party for everyone!!

A visit with Great- Grandma Nielsen

Awesome BYU Soccer camp

A trip to Bridal Veil Falls

A really cool car show, after our Lavendar Days 5K

Girls day out... including getting ears pierced

Swimming lessons and lots and lots of swimming

Fireworks on the 4th of July

BEST VACATION EVER!!

THIS is what I have dealt with for the past week, read it and weep, that is what I did when I walked into my house.

My closet door? Or a cutting board? WHAT???

The horrific tile now adorning my kitchen countertops... my formica may have been cheap, but it looked A LOT better than this.

The grodies hanging from my fan in the front room... not fun to clean when you are looking up. You should have seen the vents!!

My stove... left abandoned in the garage... not even a tarp to keep it warm during the cold Wyoming winters, poor little stove.

still needs some cleaning, but MUCH BETTER!!

Strange bathroom paint and icky stuff on one of the walls... I don't have a picture of the sponged/dripping paint on all of the other walls.

and the after, bland but neutral and CLEAN once again, including more terrible tile on the floor, we just have to live with it for now. .



My front yard before...

... and after

A LONG WEEK!!

Our Return To South Dakota

We had a wonderful time during our overnight return to our old stomping grounds. The four youngest and I cruised around Rapid City on our way to Wyoming. We enjoyed the Mongolian Grill, which was quite a treat for the kids, they have never been to such an exciting restaurant.

We stayed in an expensive, but nice hotel and had a wonderful time in the pool. It was nice to have room to splash and stretch and all that goes along with swimming.
The next morning we took the short but beautiful ride up to Mt. Rushmore. It was wonderful to see and smell the pine trees, go down memory lane and share the fun time we had at all of the tourist traps while we lived there-- Reptile Gardens was a favorite. Here are some photos of our trip to Rushmore...

One of the states we have lived in... we have a shot of each one.

Sparkly dirt the kids wanted to take home... I didn't think it would be a good idea to steal from a national monument, nor did I want to drive all across the country with two little hand fulls of dirt. So, we have a picture for memory sake.

A quick pose on the trail coming down from the mountain.

One of many flights of stairs Kyle ran up and down over and over and over again, while the rest of us plodded along. Well, I am a triathelete, so I ran up a few as well, just not repeatedly like Kyle, the superhuman.

The ABC's of being a long distance landlord:

Anyone can tell you it is not fun Being a long distance landlord. I Couldn't believe all of the Damage, Even for a rental. I Found tile everywhere!! My Goodness!! How do you get rid of it? I was Just speechless!! I Know it will all work out, but it was quite a shock!! Let Me tell you, even my Neighbors were Outraged and surprised. People were happy to see some work being done on the old place, even though there were many times I wanted to Quit. My kitchen is countertops are Ruined, my Stove was covered in spiderwebs and bugs. Thank Heaven for lots and lots of cleaning products. Usually, I would not be Very upset, but the long drive took it's toll. I cleaned and Weeded and painted and scrubbed... all day long. I poured X-tra love into my cute little Wyoming home and Yearned to find an excellent renter. Then, an enormous blessing came my way and they Zoomed in and signed a lease!! Yea!! Now I know my ABC's of renting!!