Back to work!!!

Its hard to believe that with as much snow around on the ground that its time to get to work. They (fertilizer guys) have called and said its time. Yipee!!! I love and hate this time of year. It is really nice to have Jaren busy again after a few months off. He tends to get a bit bored during the winter and it really wears on him. It is also nice to have some money in our checking account again. We hate it because we don't see him for a good 2-3 months. He is gone from 5-6 a.m. and home around 9-10 p.m. So sadly the boys are asleep when he leaves and asleep when he comes home. They really miss dad. We make several trips to the fields for spredder rides. Not just for the fun of a spredder ride but to see dad of course. Jaren does have a fun new toy to pass the time in the spredder. He (we) got a new camper this week. The boys thought it was Christmas morning again. We are planning the trips as we speak. It will be a fun summer. If the snow ever melts.

We meet a couple from Regina Canada on our cruise this January and today they stopped to see us on there to Phoenix, AZ. It was so fun to see them and introduce them to our boys. They brought us a pineapple in memory of Hawaii and a cool new kitchen tool for extracting the pineapple (less mess). It was fun to see them again.

Here are some pictures of the boys with there new toy and also some of Jaren and Sawyer by the newly painted truck that Jaren tipped over this summer. If you look closely on the step of the truck you can see Kellers toy truck that it was modeled after (for the color)

Well thanks for checking in on us and thanks to all of you who have left comments or sent sympathy cards. Thanks again!

Love ya Grandma!

I just wanted to pay a small tribute to my Grandma Hill. She passed away last night. Just 3 short weeks away from her 86th birthday and 66th wedding anniversary. I have been oh so spoiled to have her in my life for over 32 years. Not many people can say that. My grandpa is still with us and will be 90yrs this June. She had a stroke last May and just has not been the same lady. It truly is a blessing that she has gone to a better place. I am only sad for selfish reasons but happy for her that she is out of pain and with family members that she missed dearly. She has left my family and I with many great memories many of which make me giggle. I have never met a lady like my Grandma Hill. She always said that she was a bit like a gypsie because she love to wear alot of jewlery. (She loved her jewlery) There are several stories I could share but where to start. I just hope that my sisters will read this and share a story or two on the comments so I will always have them.
Thanks for all of your support, love and memories Grandma! You will be dearly missed! Love ya!

Happy 1st Birthday Dylan!

I can't belive that my baby is a year old already. It really is not fair how fast it goes. I find myself saying that way too often. I wish that I could freeze my kids where they are. I love the ages that they are right now. Sawyer is such a good boy and you could not ask for a better big brother. He is so good with both boys. Keller and him play good together. Of course they fight but they get over it pretty quick and are best friends again. He is the best little babysitter for Dylan. Such a great helper. Keller is such a strange boy. Oh my! But you just have to love him. Jaren took him snowboarding the other day and was teasing him of course. Keller kept telling him to stop and finally said "Knock it off old man" He is too quick. It really makes me wonder if he is mine. (Just kidding the poor kid is way too much like his mom) Keller takes picky eating to a whole new level. Yesterday I made him eat some noodles and he pucked with one bite! One bite! Oh I was so mad. I called my mom and asked her advice and she said "paybacks a bitch!" Thanks Mom! and sorry about all the dinner time stress I put you through. I think it is more stress full as the mom than it was being the child that refused to eat. Now to Dylan, what a sweet little devil and I do mean devil. He is really acting his age. Into everything. I finally had to put all the stoppers on the cupboards to try to keep him out. He was not happy with me. His birthday went well. Sawyer had a birthday party with his friend on Dylans day. But when you are one do you really care what is going on, I don't think so. We had a fun weekend. Everyone came home to celebrate (thanks girls for all coming) except Chad but Argentina is a little far away to come home for the weekend. Thanks to everyone for spoiling my boys. We really appreciate it.

Presidents weekend in Island Park

I am really slow with the whole blog thing. Its funny how busy everything can keep a girl. Thats okay, Id rather be busy than bored! We went up to Island Park for the long weekend with the Colvins (Mike, Valaree, Skylar,Jessica and baby Ryan) We went hot tubbing, snowmachining, snowshoeing, and of course we ate at "The Pines" This is Jarens favorite spot to eat. He loves their prime rib. I love there 7 layer chocolate cake. The resturant was so busy that Saturday night that they didnt even ask if we wanted dessert. I am still trying to get over it. Nobody messes with me and my meals especially dessert!! Here are some photos of that weekend. We had a really good time. We cant wait until next year!

The day after Hawaii

Hey here are some pictures of home the day after we got back from Hawaii. Jaren had to use the backhoe to get a snowblower up on the porch. There was soooo much snow here when we got home we could not believe it. I got stuck in our drive way trying to take Sawyer to school. I love it. It has been a bit warmer so the snow has settled here a bit but still alot more than the past few winters. Even the dogs are a little overwhelmed on what to do with this much snow. We are headed to Island Park for the weekend. We have rented a cabin at Philips lodge. The boys are really excited. I am sure we will have a blast.

Polynesian Cultural Center

Here are more Hawaii pictures. While back on Oahu we meet a new friend, Summer Batini. She is from St. Anthony and moved over to Oahu around 8 years ago. She was our personal tour guide at the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center) and Oahu. So Summer picked us up and and to the North side of the island we went. We got to the PCC just as they opened. If you have never been to the PCC there is alot to see. We started in Samoa. That is the best island to go to. The guy who climbs the coconut tree and puts on the little show is sooo funny. He also does the fire dance in the main show. He was the best!!! Jaren had a companion on his mission from Samoa and this guy new him. That was cool for Jaren. Next we went to Tonga where they beat the drums. That was pretty cool too. We also went to New Zealand, Hawaii, and Fiji. Jaren and I learned to dance while we were visiting Fiji (no thanks to Summer's connections) Just kidding, we love ya Summer! We (me and Jaren) dont do real well at the self-embarassing thing but we did have fun learning to dance. Jaren even got thumbs up from the Fijian girls. Hands off girls he is all mine! We went to the luau and ate pork cooked in the ground, purple rolls and of course pineapple. Then we went to the night show. It was really cool. The Samoans were the best (again) They are just such a happy people and quite funny. They do a great fire show that has to hurt. It was a fun day for sure.

The next day we went to the swap meet at the football stadium. That was the best. We got most of our gifts for people at home there. Great t-shirt prices,shell necklaces etc. It was great. Then we headed for home and crazy weather. We had no idea what we were in for. But we didnt care. We were so homesick for our kids that I dont think anything could have stopped us.

To finish up our trip...we had a great time, but next time no cruise and we are taking our kids. So Hawaii since you never say "goodbye" how about "til we meet again" Hopefully that will not be to awful far away.

Aloha!!!

Aloha! We are newly back from a 10 day cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. We really had a fun time. When we left home it was -25 below 0. When we got to Hawaii it was around 74 degrees. We flew in to Honolulu and had a day to explore the north shore. We were lucky enough to do a temple session at the Hawaii temple. It was a little different from home but still a good experiance. They are soooo much more laid back over there. A girl could get used to the low level of stress in Hawaii. We went to the Dole Plantation and had my first taste of pineapple?!?! I know 32 years old and yes it was my first taste and I loved it!!! I am so addictied. I eat, sleep and dream of pineapple. While we were at Dole we were eating lunch and these little birds would come and eat right out of your hand. It was pretty cool. We got on the ship and went to the big island (Hawaii) on the Kona side. We had rented a car and drove around the island a bit. Sooo different from Honolulu. Alot less people. Open fields and room to explore. Then we went to Maui. We have friends that live in Maui (Richard and Brittany Tomlinson) Hey Guys! They gave us a very local view of Maui. We visited Jaws (if you have seen pictures of someone surfing on a calander or magazine it was most likely taken at Jaws) It requires a 4wheel drive pickup to get to. And not good for pregnant girls. Brittany is due early March and was not feeling her best after this ride. But it sure was fun getting there. We also got up early and watched the sunrise on Haleakala Crater. I think that that was our favorite part of our whole trip. The only downfall was...it was sooo cold up there. I think around 34 degrees when we went. I can handle 34 degrees if I am dressed for it. Shorts and flipflops would not be considered dressed for it. but it was so beautiful. After Maui we tried to go back to the big island of Hawaii so we could explore the volcano but the ocean was way to rough and we had to stay on the boat for an extra day. We next went to Kauai and if we ever go back that is where I say we go! What a beautiful place. And the people were so nice on Kauai. We went on an innertube ride down this old irrigation ditch that has been carved into the mountain for sugar cane fields. We went through a few tunnels and really had some breath taking views. What fun!! Then back to Maui. This was our first day to just lay around on the beach. It was a fun day. Jaren's idea of a vacation is sometimes different than mine. I love to just lay around and do nothing. Jaren loves to explore. So for me it was a fun day. Then back to Honolulu!!!