Koda

We just couldn't handle the thought of this lil guy still at the pound. I told the girls I really couldn't afford to go get him. The adoption fee is $90.00 considering that covers rabies shot, first shots, and also neutering them I don't think that is too bad. The girls had some Christmas money from my parents and decided they really wanted to get him.

He is unbelievably beautiful. He is bigger than Neiko and has big paws. It took him a little to warm up and he is still pretty shy but he adores Hope. They played for hours and hours tonight. I was kind of surprised that Neiko wasn't really thrilled to see him. I think he remembers him but I am not sure. I think in a day or so they will get along better.

These two pups have made the kids and us super happy. I would have never thought, but we love them. Oh and we still are not 100% on the name, we may change it.

He was so scared when we got him home.

bath time

brushing


yucky tub
little more comfortable
could you resist this face?


STILL PRETTY TIMID
He LOVES Hope!

Neiko

This is our new baby boy Neiko. He is an Australian Sheppard about 4 months old rescued from the pound. We are all crazy about him. He was so scared when we got him. Very little human interaction in his life. He is such a smart boy. He already fetches the ball and most of the time will bring it back to us. I will post his story another day. The girls LOVE having a pup and it is so fun seeing them interact with him.

( p.s. mom and dad you can click on his picture to make it bigger and see him better)


he was so dirty when we got him, he smelled bad.
look at the dirty water
first night home he sleeps with Autumn
Poor guy was exhausted
nosy with the camera

he loves his daddy


He is such a pretty boy.

Grandma Perk

My Great-Aunt Perk is 90 tomorrow. I have so much admiration for her. One day I was thinking who my hero is and she is the person I came up with. I have always thought of her as my grandma. Growing up her and Uncle Jack lived next door to us. Or we lived next door to them, I guess as they were there first :0). I doubt there were very many days in my childhood I did not see them every day. I grew up on a horse, literally before I could even walk. My dad and Uncle Jack were in Posse together and so it seems like we were either at the Posse grounds or in our arena ridding. When her daughter Sandy got divorced and moved back here with her daughters I spent even more time there. My cousin Lynn and I were practically inseparable, especially in the summers. If we were not at the Posse grounds for my dads practice, our own practice,or doing 4H I can grantee we were on our horses in the arena for endless hours.

Grandma would make us the best chocolate milk shakes ever and she introduced me to chocolate chip pancakes as well.

Grandma has been through so much pain in her life, yet she held her head high when her heart was breaking over and over. She has a quiet dignity about her and loves her family with a heart of gold. She had 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. They lost a son when he was an infant. They lost a granddaughter at a young age as well. My Uncle Jack died when I was 17 of cancer. A few months later her daughter Pat, lost her husband to cancer as well.

She continued to live next to my parents. My dad helping whenever she needed anything and her only son John also there everyday checking on her and helping her. Then a few years latter tragedy struck and John was killed. The police ruled his death as suicide, but we know without a doubt he was murdered. That left her with her two living daughters. She moved in town because the yard and acreage was to much for her and they owned the house in town John lived in. Then tragedy struck yet again. Her daughter Sandy ended up with breast cancer. After a very long hard fought battle Sandy lost her life. She was in her 40's or 50's. She left behind her three daughters

Perk stepped up and carried her family through her own grief and their grief. I often wonder how she was able to put one foot in front of the other with all of her loss. She was both Grandma and mother when her grandchildren needed her. Her health and mind was great, she was active. Volunteered at the hospital, went on trips, drove, went to church, went to paint class with my mom. She was a very beautiful artist.

Then she had a stroke and has suffered since. While she recovered some life has not been the same. She no longer could drive, lost most of her vision in her left eye, and her daughter Pat moved in with her. She is now almost all the way blind and life is coming to an end for her.

My hero has lived a long courageous life, always with her family first, always with dignity and so much love. When the Lord is ready he will call her home, where she will joyously reunite with her sweetheart and children.

We love you Perk. Happy 90th Birthday! You have lived a full life, showing us all what an amazing woman you are and how very blessed we are to have you in our lives!

grouchy

I am grouchy, grouchy, grouchy. The past week I have just been a bear. Autumn asked why I was so grouchy, but I didn't have a good reason. Stress I am sure. So much is going on right now. I am trying to get two finals done this week. I have to write two papers, each a minimum of 1700 words. Ugh, I have no desire to write them, but they will get done by midnight on Sunday. Probably under the gun as usual. The girls are so incredibly busy I am not sure how I am keeping their lives straight. Autumn with the play, school and starting Jr. Miss. I am really stressing about finding time to get her a dress. She did start singing lessons today so that is good. Tymber has a HUGE science project due as well. She wanted to do the project on her bunnies, the teacher said no, so the teacher came up with the brilliant idea of doing the project on goldfish. Great, no problem, oh wait yes there is a problem. The stupid fish keep dying. How can we do a project if we can't keep the fish alive long enough to observe. So the teacher tells her to go to Pet-Co because their fish last longer. BRILLIANT IDEA, because I have time to run to Idaho Falls every two days when these stupid fish kill over. She is discouraged and now I have to help her find a new project, one that is reasonable and will excite her. I nixed her making a robot as well. My house is a mess. Ugh Ugh Ugh, no time to clean, no time to have the girls clean. Every day is full of crap that needs to be done. Hope is feeling neglected I think, or maybe that is just my guilt talking. Plus the day of JR. Miss got changed. It is now on a school night instead of a Saturday. The Saturday they had planned was also the night of prom, that wasn't going to work, so now it is on a Thursday. Which means Autumn will have to miss school. Have I mentioned she has already missed a lot of school and I am always getting these stupid letters telling me she has missed school and I will need to meet with the principal if it continues. The principal can bite me. It is not like she is messing around or skipping classes. She is going to go back to the Dr. on Tuesday. I know it is all stress related and we will get through it. She and I both knew it was going to be a bad few months for her.

This is just one huge rambling post. It doesn't even make sense. It is late and too much is going through my head right now. Thank goodness I am only taking one class the next 9 weeks. I may even take a week off school before the next class starts, to get caught up on my house. Then my math class is supposed to start the week before Jr Miss. Ummm, not going to happen, no way no how. That will be put off a week as well. I was supposed to start math first but knew there was no way with Autumn being so busy, I couldn't put her or myself through it right now. In the grand scheme of things a few weeks will not matter as far as getting my degree goes, but it may save my sanity. Or not. Oh and that is another cross road I am at, do I continue on with my Bachelors Degree? I know I need to but dang, that is a lot of money. It scares me I won't be able to find a good job that pays well, or maybe I won't be good enough to find a job.

Ok then, this accomplished nothing, so I am off to bed.

Permission to Date My Daughter

Rich brought this home from work the other day. Autumn read it and was laughing through the whole entire thing. I can seriously see him puling this out on one of her dates, while he is wearing his DADD -Dad's against daughters dating shirt! Shoot the first one and the word will spread.




FOR PERMISSION TO DATE MY DAUGHTER

NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, job history, lineage, and current medical report from your doctor.

NAME_____________________________________ DATE OF BIRTH_____________

HEIGHT___________ WEIGHT____________ IQ__________ GPA_____________

SOCIAL SECURITY #_________________ DRIVERS LICENSE #________________

BOY SCOUT RANK AND BADGES__________________________________________

HOME ADDRESS_______________________ CITY/STATE___________ ZIP______


ACCESSORIES SECTION:

A. Do you own or have access to a van? __Yes __No

B. A truck with oversized tires? __Yes __No

C. A waterbed? __Yes __No

D. A pickup with a mattress in the back? __Yes __No

E. A tattoo? __Yes __No

F. Do you have an earring, nose ring, __Yes __No
pierced tongue, pierced cheek or a belly button ring?

(IF YOU ANSWERED 'YES' TO ANY OF THE ABOVE, DISCONTINUE APPLICATION
AND LEAVE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY. I SUGGEST RUNNING.)


ESSAY SECTION:

In 50 words or less, what does 'LATE' mean to you?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

In 50 words or less, what does 'DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER' mean to you?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

In 50 words or less, what does 'ABSTINENCE' mean to you?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________


REFERENCES SECTION:

Church you attend ___________________________________________________

How often you attend ________________________________________________

When would be the best time to interview your:

father? _____________

mother? _____________

pastor? _____________


SHORT-ANSWER SECTION:

Answer by filling in the blank. Please answer freely, all answers
are confidential.

A: If I were shot, the last place I would want shot would be:

______________________________________________________________

B: If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my:

______________________________________________________________

C: A woman's place is in the:

______________________________________________________________

D: The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is:

______________________________________________________________

E. What do you want to do IF you grow up? ___________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

F. When I meet a girl, the thing I always notice about her first is:

______________________________________________________________

F. What is the current going rate of a hotel room? __________________

I SWEAR THAT ALL INFORMATION SUPPLIED ABOVE IS TRUE AND CORRECT TO
THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT,
NATIVE AMERICAN ANT TORTURE, CRUCIFIXION, ELECTROCUTION, CHINESE
WATER TORTURE, RED HOT POKERS, AND HILLARY CLINTON KISS TORTURE.


_________________________________________________________
Applicant's Signature (that means sign your name, moron!)


_______________________________ ________________________________
Mother's Signature Father's Signature

_______________________________ ________________________________
Pastor/Priest/Rabbi State Representative/Congressman

Thank you for your interest, and it had better be genuine and non-sexual.
Please allow four to six years for processing.

You will be contacted in writing if you are approved. Please do not try to call or write (since you probably can't, and it would cause you injury). If your application is rejected, you will be notified by two gentleman wearing white ties carrying violin cases. (you might watch your back)

To prepare yourself, start studying Daddy's Rules for Dating.

Daddy's Rules for Dating

Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them..

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a 'Barrier method' of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is: 'early.'

Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process than can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge . Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual themes are to be avoided; movies which feature chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a sand dune near Baghdad . When my post traumatic stress syndrome starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit the car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine

Renaissance part 2

Jesters making us stretch
The jester messing arond as Hames was leading a song
oops looks like Hames got thrown in the stockade
Autumn and Christy


Rich and I went to the Renaissance dinner Saturday night and it was a blast. The food was really good and I loved the entertainment. All of the kids did a great job. I really like Autumns Choir teacher Mr. Hames. He is a fun teacher and has a lot of energy. He is also the comic book club instructor (have I mentioned Autumn is in comic book club? We will save that for another day). The show was lively and fun, there was a queen and king, 2 jesters that were hilarious, and then the kids singing. The jesters were having an election, one was named Repub, the other Demo. They were trying to convince us all night to vote for them. At the end it was time to vote and the queen was reading a proclamation, but suddenly a third candidate was thrown in the race. A baby girl, probably 8 months old came crawling out with a little jester hat on. Oh my, she was so stinking cute, she was crawling and smiling, she crawled right to the one jester. We all voted and the baby won. Come to find out the jesters are twin brothers and the baby belonged to one of them. Autumn said they were in their 20's. It was hard to tell with the make-up.

We will go again. I can tell they all worked really hard to put this show on.I am pretty amazed at the talent our high school has. After the show they all lined up and sang to us as we left. Autumn told me we had to wait because after everyone is gone the kids all start beat boxing and really going nuts on the stage. So we walked back in and they were all singing and dancing and jumping around. There was the teacher right in the middle of the boys, jumping around, singing, and dancing with them all. I LOVE seeing that type of passion in a teacher.

Renaissance

The Morning News— Choir students at Blackfoot High School perform during the Renaissance Dinner Thursday night at the Blackfoot Performing Arts Center. The fundraising event continues tonight and Saturday, with dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m.

This was on the front page of the newspaper Friday Feb. 2nd. It was pretty fun, I know all of the girls in the picture!. Each year the choir puts on a huge renaissance dinner for a fundraiser. This was Autumn's first year participating. It is A LOT of work to get ready for the dinner. She had to stay everyday after school and help. Basically she was at school for play practice at 6:00 A.M. and didn't get home until after 10:00 P.M. for 3 days. Then the dinner for 3 days as well. By the time it ends she is going to crash hard. I think she told me they serve 120 people each day and it goes for 3 days. Rich and I have tickets for Sat. night. There is a queen and king, 2 jesters, and the choirs sing and serve for entertainment. If you don't behave you get thrown in the stockades. LOL. I really didn't want to spend the money on tickets, but I need to support my children in all that they do. I actually am looking forward to it. Rich and I are going for a date.

She is making my head spin as busy as she is, but she loves it.

It's back!

Finally my Expedition is back. After a month in the body-shop. The insurance adjuster was really wanting to total the vehicle out. I was afraid of that. But the guy we took it to fought hard for us. He said there was no way it should be totaled because it was in such great shape (minus the wreck) and had low millage. Finally he dropped his price and the insurance adjuster agreed. It took almost 2 weeks for them to come to an agreement.

In the mean time we were driving a Chevy Impala. It was an okay car and the gas mileage was sure nice, but wow did I miss the room. Especially when I had YW or volleyball and usually take about 8 girls with me.

We took it to Powell's Body Shop and they did an AMAZING job fixing my truck. They went beyond my expectations. We got a new bumper, a new grill, new mirror, new headlights, new taillights, he was able to fix the dent and paint and buff out the side, aligned it,fixed the check engine light. He also put a pin stripe down each side. It has never had one before and looks Super nice. They also did a FULL detail on it. I don't think it was that clean when we bought it. He also added a bug guard to the front. Didn't have one of those either. Plus he gave Rich and I each jackets that will have our names on them. The price tag was still on the jackets, 94.00 each. WOW, talk about service. They were super good to work with. If I ever need to get a vehicle fixed again, hands down I would go there in a heart beat.

The motto on the front of his shop says Powell's Auto Body, where we met by accident. LOL

Rory and Lorie

My brother Rory and his wife Lorie have been to some amazing places and experienced some fun things. They went to Indonesia to dive in 2009. They went to Fiji last fall to dive as well. They have been to the Middle East. Jordan, Israel, seen the river Christ was baptized in. Walked the same path that He walked as He carried His cross. They have traveled to Guatemala to get my nephew Josh off his mission. Peru to get my nephew Jason off his mission, Boston when Jake came off his mission. Have been to Hawaii, traveled extensively over the past year all over on their Harley, etc. My brother built a very successful business he has worked his behind off for. A lot of stress, hard work and sacrifice. There is nothing in this world he would not do for any one of us. He is one of the most humble men I know. He has started letting his boys take over the business and the past year has been working less and less. They were with us EVERY step of the way as we went through the Temple. Lorie was my escort. Rory was Richards. They bought our Temple clothes and everything we needed. On our special day they hired a photographer for family pictures. They will be starting on a new adventure soon. For a while he has had a very strong feeling they need to go on a mission. Lorie wanted to wait until the grandchildren were older. They are both still young. Very early 50’s. Lorie basically told Rory when the Bishop came to them and told them it was time to go on a mission she would go. She knew Bishops don’t ask senior companions to go on missions so she was safe. HAHA. That Sunday he called and asked if he could come over… Guess what he said. I was sitting in Church and had an overwhelming feeling you 2 need to go on a mission NOW. She immediately started to bawl. Knowing this is what they must do and the Lord needs them NOW, they got their papers ready and put in. The call came, they are going to South Africa.!!!! Rory kept telling me he knew they would be called to Africa, Lorie kept saying no way. It will be tough because their youngest son and his wife are expecting their first baby in July. They are scheduled to leave June 18. Rory and Lorie are amazing grandparents and I know It will be everything they can do to leave their family. But they will go, knowing this is what their Heavenly Father needs them to do at this time of their life. He has huge plans for them, I can feel it. I am so excited to see what the next 2 years bring for them. They have decided on a full 24 month mission. While they had the choice of 18 months they knew 24 months is what they needed to do. Good Luck Rory and Lorie, we love you and are so excited for you!

Blackfoot Distinguished Young Women!

Life is crazy for Autumn right now. She is in her school play and about to start Jr. Miss. it is now called Blackfoot Distinguished Young Women. We went to a meeting and my head is spinning. It is a lot to take on. But she really wants to do this and is dedicated. For part of February and all of March she will have play practice from 5-6 and Jr Miss practice from 6-7 every MORNING. Yep that is A.M.Boy I am glad she can drive. Then school until 3:30 and homework, etc. The play will end the last week of March and Jr Miss is May 5th. I have to find her a dress and also a dress for her talent. She is going to sing, I am thinking I may put her in voice lessons for a few months as well. She has a good voice, but I think lessons will really benefit her. Time to get my taxes done so I can get the money to support her in this. The girls are also asked to go to local businesses and ask for donations. They had to sign up for certain businesses. The thing I REALLY LOVE about this is that ALL of the money donated goes to scholarships for the girls. 100% and it stays right in the program. I usually struggle with fundraisers, but this one I am 100% for. It is going to be a crazy few months but she can do this and I am super excited for her and all of the other girls involved. I think it will really build character and confidence!

National School Choice Week

Yesterday (January 31st) part of Tymber's school was invited to Boise for National School Choice Week. The bus left at 4:30 A.M. and they went to the Capitol. They were fed a quick breakfast of muffins and juice, then because they were late getting there about 15 minutes latter were given lunch. My neighbor went and said the whole thing was really unorganized. I think about 450 students attended throughout Idaho. I believe it was to support more charter schools. Tymber said they stood outside around the Capitol steps while some of legislature was speaking. They did not bother telling the kids they would be outside, it was raining, and most of them had left their coats on the bus. All of the girls were in a dress. I guess they handed out some rain ponchos to some of them. Tymber said she kind of had a hard time because there were so many people and she hates, hates, hates crowds and loud things. It is too much of an overload for her. She is really hoping the charter school has a high school in place by the time she gets there in two years. She does not want to go to BHS. I am torn, while I love the charter school for her, I don't want her to miss out on opportunities the High School offers like marching band, plays, dances, etc. and of course we will have to figure out seminary as well. I guess I will cross the bridge when we get that far. We need to do what is best for her and her education. Anyways they got home about 7:30 last night. It was a long day but I think overall it was kind of fun for her.

Be our Guest! Be our Guest!

The school play this year is Beauty and the Beast! Autumn decided to try out for the play. She was pretty sick when they did try outs with a nasty cold. There were 47 kids that tried out and they all will be in the play, 22 received a call back for the main parts. Autumn is cast as one of Gaston's girls that are crazy for him. it isn't exactly the part she wanted (she wanted the feather duster)but she is really excited for the play. BHS really does a great job with their plays and I am excited for her.

Christmas Pictures

How funny is this shirt?

Girls got a sewing machine








Christmas Pajamas
Bears Zoey gave the girls

My dad wearing Tymber's funny glasses. I adore this picture