March 2009 Hogle Zoo...

The brown bears need a new home. I wonder when they are on the ticket for this. I sit and watch them and do not feel joy for them. Yes they have food to eat and a roof over their head, but not a very natural place to walk and roam.

ZOO

with Aiden, Tanner, Adylin, Matthew and Bennett...

The weather was very spring and lovely...


The kids were wonderful, or was it that we had 1 adult to each child present !!! Hurrah!!

We all try to measure up to the gorilla. Did Jay measure up or is he practicing his monkey kiss face??? Well, we will need to ask Sarah about that one...

The zebra's were sniffing and nipping just before this shot... So I call them Nip and Tuck... They have wonderful stripes...look at those thighs...similar coloring but not the same striping. Wonderful to watch...

The dad giraffe was separate from the rest of the group as was the baby.

They were having a snack of hay like grass in the food bin.

The doors were open for him to go out,

but he was visiting through the gate with the baby...

I wonder if the baby is a boy also?? hum

The kids were to fast to keep up with, as usual... The best part of this trip to the zoo is that we didn't lose anyone or misplace anyone... It's usually Ady or Matt... They run to fast and I'm to short and round to keep up with them... I keep saying that I need a rope...to tie them to the stroller.

That would be Sarah hiding in the seat that stays still. Aiden told her to go away and let him ride by himself. Oh it's tough being a mom somedays. It's a good thing most mother's love is unconditional... We had so much fun riding the merry go round...most of the pix's didn't do well, but I have to post them anyway. Note that the photographer had never used the camera and I didn't give him good instructions (surprise)...

This is the best "butt" shot of the day...We had many for some reason.

Ady has the cutest short legs and has learned to climb very well in

order to get to the places she wants to be... which are many also!

I had the best time...The warm weather was wonderful.
The heat of the day was still present and my body loved the sunshine...
There was sunshine in my soul that day!!!

I'm pretty sure we all had a good time. Sarah was wonderful with the kids.

I think we should hire her everytime we want to do something fun,

but the plane fare would be difficult.

Thanks for letting us go to the zoo with you. Next time it's Denver with you...

on a less busy day LOL...

My Baby Brother Mark

... MARKIE POO ...

This is like my last real boo boo blog about Mark...

His passing was coming whether I was ready or not...He wasn't feeling very well on February 1, 2009... He told me he was tired and about 9 p.m. he went to bed... He never woke up! We buried him on Friday, Feb. 6 in Rupert, Idaho...

(November 2008 doing the "YMCA")

I can rejoice for him... I can be happy for him... I can also miss him...

He is no longer in pain... his back hurt all the time, his hips hurt, his arms hurt, and he really didn't complain all the time...just when I was tired too LOL...

He is no longer held back by his disabilities...speech, understanding, movements, etc. He is whole and strong... He told me he was going to be tall and have black hair like his dad... I can almost picture him...

I am kinda at a loss... I'm bored, but just a few days ago I was so tired I hurt...so... guess you can't have it all. I have a ton of things to do... no energy to do it... feel pretty lazy... and yet antsy... go figure...

I think the weather is getting me down a bit...the cold and snow and just gunk outside... I am ready for spring and energy and life...

We had a great family reunion with family we hadn't seen in almost 8 years... We ate and visited and just had a great teary party... Of course the tears are not for Mark... they are for us...the ones left here on earth to work on our journey and learn as we go along paths.

I hope to post some pixs soon... Just waiting for someone else to do it heeheehee...

Nah...just time when I do not have little ones around and can leave things out and about as I work on them...

Today Adylin and Matthew got into our See's suckers and hid in the toy room... what pills... I also found the timer hidden in the couch...and let's see... hum... oh yeah more dishes to do piled up with the ones someone dirtied last night...not me...either.

playing broom hockey Nov 2008 with Kade

So...I just need some time without little ones getting into stuff... and when others stop making messes and just leave me to get on with my stuff... haha

LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW!!!

We are pretty snowy...UTAH has the best powder on earth!!!

Which is good cuz the heavy snow is harder to blow and shovel...

I am really hating the snow ... I'm done with the snow... Yet it keeps coming and coming...

Today we got another storm, only about 3 inches on top of the 4 feet we already have on the grass... Note the pix...taken Jan. 6th...

This is from 4 storms since Christmas Eve...my poor baby boy Rusty has to have his area plowed or his belly freezes along with his yellow snow spots... heheh

Our cat, Lucy Lu, has found digging in the snow for her potty spot is ok too... I've had to shovel off the large patio to keep the animals from sharing their yellow snow with the rest of us... EW................................................ I hate the snow right now!!!

I think the snow would be nicer if it wasn't followed by the artic freeze going on right now...burrrrrrr.... the noon news told us a place up by Bear Lake, UT was -53 degrees...and then I thought ok... I'm complaining about 10 degrees above zero...what a cry baby I am :) LOL

New Year!!! 2009 What are your goals??

I have thought about making a new year goal... and all my goals are really the same as last year... Do better each day... Lose weight... Economize... Get caught up with the dirty house... Be kinder...

Guess I could be a bit more specific...but then I would be held accountable to myself for those goals... ugh...

I would like to be a better Visiting Teacher to my 4 ladies... I really do love them and want to serve them better this year... Last year was horrid...

Oh well... right now I'm just shoveling snow...again... and doing laundry... always... Mark changes his clothes like he did when he was 5... Oh man!!!

Christmas Eve with Holly's Family

Ady shared a strawberry with Uncle Alfie....

Alfie and Mark opening their one gift...thanks to the dollar store... We couldn't do gifts for Holly's family and not have something for Mark...You know he still believes in Santa...

We decided to do dinner on Christmas Eve this year... It worked out best for both of our families to exchange gifts and have dinner together...

Ady was so excited she has been glowing for days...but couldn't figure out why her tree didn't have any presents under it...and couldn't figure out why my tree didn't have a present for her under it!!! I then explained that if there was a present for her under my tree she would take it and hide and open it thought even thinking about it...so for her sake and my sanity...no presents until Christmas Eve..

I was met at the door with bubbly excitement... Did you bring my present???? Can I open it now??? etc... She almost didn't eat due to her excitement... She was so much fun...this was her year for Christmas... Matt's will be next year LOL

Dinner was great... Ham and baked potatoes both white and sweet... We went easy and tried to make it simple...but when you have "Christmas Dinner"... what is simple LOL We had far to much food...again...plates piled high (and I'm on a diet??)haha {now you know why I need to be on a diet!!!}

No sooner did Ady finish eating she was up and at the tree... of course I just sat down and my plate was getting cold... (thought those days were over...hehe) We talked her into waiting for me to eat...and then we would meet in the front room by the tree...

We went in order...meaning Matthew first...Ady second...Tanner...and up line age wise... We made sure that everyone got to open at least one present... Mark, Alf, Davis, Holly...Mike and I, Bennett was the only exception...he really didn't care or need anything either... milk and dry diapers and warmth and all his needs and wants were met LOL

This is Matt's first real Christmas...he wasn't sure what to do at first...with a little help from Ady and Tanner...he soon went to town ripping...gently...until he saw the backitball...then he jumped up and down

I took about 10 pictures of her opening her gift... she was so excited and really ripped the paper off....

The stove talks and the foods break in half... so she can share part of the orange... I see hours of play when the basement warms up and I get more batteries for the talking part (LOL)...

Tanner was surprised to get the new leapster...

After we opened up the gifts, the kids went to the basement to play with their new toys...from Gramma and Poppie...

Christmas day was quiet, power outage, left overs and a warm nap...

We woke to 2 feet of heavy snow piled out every door...

I was on tv as was John... using the snowblower and me taking thyme to Holly's house...she needed it for her soup...

Well... off I go to start dinner and relax the back... it snowed today and we are piled up higher!!!