Grandpa's Ranch

I know that I was raised in Sandy, Utah, but I'm getting pulled into the country scene more and more if you can't tell.
This is my really tough and rugged husband, Joe (above). He's to blame for all this country-ness. So, I'm thinking he's also to blame for the "twang" that has attached itself to my speech.
This is Matt, Joe's younger brother, he's single, ladies!
Colten and Sam love to go and help out at Grandpa's ranch. There's so much work to do! And it's a great excuse to wear their cowboy boots (when mom remembers to pack them!).
This trip to the ranch was especially exciting. The cows were getting "preg-tested." Apparently, if you're a cow and you're not pregnant, you're looking at a dark road ahead of you!

Grandpa Steve loves his ranch. It's his passion, and he's really good at it.


This is what the vet gets to do all day long! So fun!
That's not chocolate on his glove!
And that's not chocolate on Tony's lip! Sometimes _____ happens!
Sam lost his 2nd tooth this trip! I had been hearing him complain about it and sarve himself because of it for so long, that I finally just tickled him and tickled him and while his mouth was open, I just pulled it out. There . . . problem solved. Somtimes moms are tough.
I'm in love with this old gas pump that looks like it's going to blow any second.
This is Jake's new cowboy outfit! He brought the new "scowl" to add to the "tough-guy" attitude.


We really love going up to Gramdpa's ranch. It's practially all by itself in a big valley, It's just gorgeous and we feel so lucky to have it be a part of our lives. I guess I've gone county.

Happy Thanksgiving!

livin' country

Living up here is pretty good - there's beautiful mountains all around us, practically no crime at all, and best of all, we get to have a few horses with us! I think it's a great little life up here and I just wanted to mention that I love it in a small town. I grew up in Sandy where there is almost no open space, but great shopping everywhere you go, so when Joe mentioned that we should move up here about 3 years ago, I was a little scared! It did take a solid year to really fall in love with this town (there really isn't much shopping at all up here!), but nothing can compare to the security I feel and the fact that my kids can run around in our field for hours without making me nervous. Joe is out of town a lot, and in Lehi I would get really nervous when he was gone even though I had neighbors literally 10 feet away. Now it takes a lot to really get me nervous because nothing very scary ever happens up here! So, this is my little dedication to the joy of living in a small and happy little community!We love horses! This is Joe's horse, Bo.

Joe would just die if he saw the kids playing on the fence even for a minute, but he was out of town! Here's Chloe, Sam and his best buddy, Branson.


We discovered that horses really like Quaker Quick Oats. A lot.

Happy 1st, Jake!

I just love birthdays, can you tell? This year, I found something fabulous! Christina Miller.
She made the birthday cake of my dreams for baby Jake! A few of you have already commented on the cakes, and though I love the idea of letting all of you believe that I threw these together, that wouldn't be honest. So, go look at her blog and you will be absolutely AMAZED by her cakes! As soon as I saw them, I just knew had to have one. When my kids get married (in about 20 years!) she is totally making the most ENORMOUS cake ever for us!! I can hardly wait! The big cake was made with fondant (which is so pretty, but usually tastes awful) , but this cake tasted awesome! It was like a candy-coated cake masterpiece! Then, for Jake (crawl-through cake, seen below), she made it with the soft and squishy frosting so that it could easily fit into all the tiny baby-corners like toes and ears, etc. We had so much fun with these cakes, and I think I'll have to one for every birthday!


Jake didn't really understand what was going on and why the cake was on fire . . .
. . . but he enjoyed eating it!

Since his birthday fell on Thanksgiving, we had his party at Grandma Jackie's house and we got to have a "Turkey Bowl" football game.
At Grandma's, I wanted to get a few shots of his new trick - walking! BUT, he fell on account of the stupid new shoes he got for his birthday! He fell hard, and only used his face to land on!

He was sad, but daddy gave him luvs . . . and then he was happy again!
I can't believe it's been a year! The older I get, the faster the days go by, and he is growing up way too fast! Jake has been my wildest, heaviest, sweetest, smiliest, and funniest baby! He is always cracking "baby jokes" with his silly faces and all of his "tricks." He really thinks he's funny, so he just keeps making the funny faces over and over and over again to keep me laughing. Weighing in at around 26 pounds, he has completely messed up my back, but he's such a cuddly teddy bear, how could I resist holding him every minute of every day? They just don't get sweeter than Jake.


Chubby cheeks are a MUST for the "2008 squishy baby" look that Jake pulls off so well!

Ouch!

Today Chloe got a paper cut.

Yummy and not naughty!!!!

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1 small can of pumpkin,
1 box of a spice cake mix,
1/2 of a bag of chocolate chips

Mix the cake mix and the pumpkin together, add the chocolate chips, then bake in a preheated oven at 350 for about 12 minutes. They are so moist and good - even my kids gobble them up!