Horrocks Family

Gobble Gobble

2010-11-23T13:52:00.003-08:00

Last night for family night we had some special guests.

Auntie flew in from SLC for her job interview and The VanBr ewCrew came over to join us.

For family night we have been going over the articles of faith but seeing that it is Thanksgiving week we changed plans.
We made Rice Krispy Turkeys.
Ours may not be as pretty as the ones on the website I get the idea from but we had lots of fun making them!
Sorry about the pictures, I realized after I took them that my setting was off then the battery died, but you get the idea.
Hadley showing off her masterpiece. Hoku and Malia worked together while Aaron and Josh put one piece of candy on theirs so they could eat the rice krispy treat's. It must of been a guy thing because Collin rushed so he could eat his too.

It was the best tasting turkey I have EVER had!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Good bye fall...

2010-11-21T12:08:00.002-08:00

we will miss you!
I know it's not winter yet but here in the NW once the sun is gone it's gone for awhile.
The afternoon trips to the park will have to wait till spring or the extremely rare sunny winter day we might get.

No more leaf fights for the year.

No more trying to find the crunchiest leaf we can. It was fun while it lasted...
we'll see you next year!

2010-11-12T10:30:00.005-08:00

You might remember exactly 3 years ago today I had and incident with this lovely

(sorry I don't have a better picture but she really was lovely) It was a sad day!

I loved my little Trooper.
On the anniversary of having to say good bye to my sweet ride we are saying hello to our newest addition.
This is a picture of Josh leaving the mechanic yesterday after getting a clean bill of health.
Collin got to ride with Josh and LOVED every minute of it.
He is so excited to have a car that has 8 seats in it.
I'm excited that we will have a car that will be able to fit all 3 car seats in it.
So as soon as our loan lady has all the paper work lined up we will be the proud owners.
I hope Josh let's me drive it seeing how I have a history of crashing car's while pregnant.
He might make me drive the Olds till after April.

This is how Hadley does dance class

2010-10-17T15:41:00.002-07:00

Hadley dances around the house ALL day and has been asking to do dance. So I found her a class and this is what she does the first day.

I'm hoping this week goes better.

Collin's First Kindergarten Fieldtrip

2010-10-17T14:46:00.008-07:00

Last Wednesday I signed up to go with Collins class on the field trip to the pumpkin patch.

I had a fun group of 4 little boys. Collin was so excited that morning. He woke up early and was excited to help make the lunches. Josh took Hadley to have a fun day with Aunt Abby and Grandma and Collin and I were off to school.
Here is a picture of my group on the bus.It was Collins very first time on a school bus and the very first time the other boys had sat in the back seat of the bus. (this was a big deal)
I think the last time I was on a bus was my senior party after graduation.
I forgot how bouncy the back of the bus is, it didn't go well with early morning and 3.5 months pregnant, but I had to be the cool mom and let my group sit in the back.
We got to the park and froze while doing a scavenger hunt and playing on the toys. It warmed up a little and we had lunch.
The boys couldn't stand it anymore...they were SO excited to go to the pumpkin patch!

Here are the boys on the hay ride.

Searching for the best pumpkin
L-man found his!
Collin was determined to get the biggest one out of his friends.
I let him pick whatever pumpkin he wanted to but even though I was there he still had to carry it...I know, I'm pretty mean.
After the hay ride back we had some great teamwork and got all the pumpkins washed. It had finally warmed up and it turned out to be a beautiful 75 degree day.
We got to the petting zoo and the boys didn't really get it that the lama didn't want to eat the hay but they still thought it was cool.
Here are all the kids from all three classes.
It was fun trying to get all the kids out of the tunnels and to sit still.
The hay pyramid made me all itchy just looking at it.
And here is the BEST group of boys out of the entire bunch!
Thanks boys for making it such a fun day.

Hadley's New Thing

2010-09-30T09:04:00.003-07:00

Most of us call these tic tac's. At our house they are known as "tic tac toe's" and Hadley LOVES them. I tried to get her to pick the pink ones at the store yesterday but she is staying true to orange. I thought about correcting her and telling her they are just tic tac's but I think it's pretty cute.

YUCK!

2010-09-10T09:34:00.003-07:00

This is what greeted me this morning when I went to take Collin to school.

I was hoping it would be gone when I got back but secretly hoping it would still be there so I could catch it and make sure he doesn't make his way in to my house. I could see him from the road when I pulled up to the house. He hadn't moved at all.
I got my hairspray, cup and paper and went to get him.
He is now sitting in his new home on my front porch till Josh come's home to properly dispose of him.

First Day of School

2010-09-07T09:10:00.003-07:00

Collin had his first day of Kindergarten last week. He LOVES it! He is making friends and having lot's of fun. We have decided to drive him to and from school because all of the kids ride the same bus. I'm just not comfortable having him ride the bus with high school kids yet. We were almost late the first day. We left our house 15 min before school started. It was the worst traffic I have ever seen in here. We got closer to the school and Collin and I decided that we should bail out and walk the rest of the way. We found $20 and got a little wet but we made it to class on time. We turned the money in that we found thinking that it was some poor kids lunch money. Collin got his things put away and started on his activity. I said bye to him and went to leave. It was weird to just leave him there. It was different then leaving him at preschool. I had a little panic if there was something I had forgotten to tell him. Would he remember where the bathroom was? Would he make it till lunch time? Would he eat his lunch? I turned around at the door and waved to him and he was smiling ear to ear he was so excited to be there. I went and found Josh and Hadley. Hadley had been crying since Collin and I got out of the car and it continued almost all day. She was so sad, she kept asking me if she was big yet so she could go to school with Collin. Some of the ladies from church had a back to school breakfast that Hadley and I went to. The hot chocolate and chocolate chip pancake made her stop crying till we had to leave and then it started all over again. We left 30 minutes before school was out so we could get a spot to park. Collins class was the first one to come out, Had was so excited! She ran up to him and gave him a big hug. Collin was really good he hugged her and waved to me but stayed in line till his teacher said he could go. It was a good day and he is still excited to go.

MIA

2010-08-29T15:49:00.007-07:00

Sorry we have been a little busy since moving. July is gone and Josh and I are one year older and wiser too. August came and we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary by hiring the worlds BEST babysitter, (according to Collin) she drives to your house and cleans up while your gone and no you can't have her name or number. We started the night off at Thia Orchid with some Evil Jungle Prince...YUM! Went to try and catch a movie only to find that we missed all the ones we wanted to see or we had to wait almost 2 hrs. So we do what all people do on their anniversary and walked around Ikea and bought toilet bowl cleaners. They are super cheap there...like less the $2. We enjoyed a friday night at the fair with fun friends, dairy women milkshakes and demolition derby. The fair doesn't get much better then that. We all survived Josh's company work party. I had found the camera charged it up but forgot the memory card so no fun pictures of that. It was at Speelyi bay. I had never been up there, it was beautiful! I really wish my camera had it's memory card. Hadley had fun on her very first boat ride. I played volleyball for the first time in like 9 yrs. I was proud to say that we played 3 games and different teams each time and all 3 times my team won! I had to leave the 3rd game a little early due to a ring finger that was swelling and turning purple, more then a week later I still can't bend it all the way. Auntie Karey came to town last monday for a wedding and just left this morning. The kids loved every minute with her. Monday night after picking them up at the airport Karey and my parents took the kids for a sleep over. I had an 8:30 dr appointment but after that I headed over to Astoria to join them for a day at the beach. Karey had her 2 other nieces with her, Abby and Ally. My kids loves those girls! After playing at 3 different beaches we headed to my house for a sleepover. Uncle Barney came in Wednesday. That night we treated ourselves to Country Kitchen. It was the best stake I have had in a long time...it was perfect! Yesterday we had a little family birthday party for Collin. He is so into lego's right now it's not even funny! He could talk about them for hours and hours and hours. So what kind of cake did he want? A lego cake. Karey and I looked up a few pictures to get some ideas and started baking friday night and I finished decorating Saturday afternoon. He loved it and enjoyed having some of his cousins over to play. Collin has a big week ahead of him. Tomorrow we go to meet his teacher for the year and has his first day of school Wednesday. He is so excited to go to the same school as Ally. My little boy is growing up!
Here are a few pictures of some of our adventures.
Hadley deeding the goat at the fair.

Hadley on her first fair ride...she was a little excited.

Collin and Hadley with friend Malia. The girls wanted the pink car.

Collin cheering at the demolition derby.

Auntie with the kids at Fort Stevens

Hadley and Auntie

Had LOVED playing in the ocean.

This was the second beach we went to. So pretty!
The kids found little dunes to jump off of.
Abby was helping Hadley.
Abby started doing flips and hand stands off the dunes.

Last picture before my camera died.
It was a fun day!
Collin loved his cake.

Collin said he wanted the police officer pulling this guy over for speeding.
He calls the little car "Uncle Stan's car".

11:30 pm almost 3 hours after they started putting all the legos together.

Almost Ours

2010-07-19T23:43:00.007-07:00

Almost everything is set for us to close on our house this week. We are all pretty excited! I think my parents might be more excited then we are so they can have their nice quite house back.

It's been awhile since I have posted any pictures of the house. Here are some recent ones.

This is the front room and that is our front door on the floor that is getting installed today ...
I hope.

This is the den and our neighbors house. They are really nice. Hadley and their daughter are just a few months apart and have already played a little when we went over there one day.
The hallway

The kitchen!
I'm very excited about all of the counter space and pantry. It is also the very first working dishwasher that we have owned in our married life.

The family room

The window that I'm not looking forward to cleaning and the light that is even higher then that that I'm not looking forward to changing.
I didn't get any picture of the upstairs but it's just bedrooms, bathrooms and the utility room nothing very exciting.

My Hair

2010-07-17T10:10:00.002-07:00

I have been tired of my hair lately. My amazing hair girl still lives in Utah and since moving from there almost 2 years ago I have yet to find a new hair girl. Since then my hair has not been the same. I thought I could fix it with a perm, I know I should have stopped that thought then and there. My hair is what I like to call Funk-wave. It's not curly but it's not straight it's just funky waves and living in the PNW has not helped it at all. As the saying goes "Your thoughts become words, your words become actions..." my thoughts ended up becoming an action last Thursday. The girl that I found that does an ok job on my hair was busy so she said another girl that she just hired can do it. I said ok and went and sat for almost 4 hrs. When she showed it to me I said...It's not very curly. She replied with "You can put some product in the front and get it to go better, but the back looks great!" She was right the back did look great but I don't often get to see the back of my head so I would prefer that the front of my head looks as great as the back. After waiting the 48 hrs before washing, I washed my hair and then the next day and the next. Every time I washed it the front/top would get straighter. So I call and say I need it fixed. I go in yesterday sit for about 2 hrs don't get charged for the "fix".
My conversation between my husband, my dad and myself this morning sums up the results from yesterday.
Me: I'm going to go and get in the shower.
Josh: I thought you had to wait like 38 hours to wash your hair.
Me: It's 48 hours
My Dad: You have to wait 38 days to wash your hair? Did you get it done again?
Me: It's 48 hours and I can get it wet just not shampoo it and yes I went to get it fixed yesterday
(I take the clip out of my hair to show him that I got it "fixed")
My dad: Is that what it's supposed to look like?

This is what I showed them I wanted my hair to look like and they said that they could. It's the girl on the right in the red.

Let just say it's not exactly the same.

I found my dream bedroom...I think

2010-06-23T23:16:00.005-07:00

Here it is
I saw that my friends Susan's husband made her this bed.
I LOVE it!
So I checkout the website where they got the plans.
Knock-Off Wood
It's the Farmhouse Bed
They have people send in picture of their finished product and this is one that somebody sent in.
I love the colors and the style.
I think I have Josh talked into making it. He has never really used power tools before but I think with my brothers help he can figure it out.

It's a nice clean, classy beach look not cheesy over the top crazy beach.
So in the hopes that the extension for first time home buyers credit passes again I have already started my search to create the room pictured above.

I found the duvet cover on Pottery Barn online

Painterly Paisley Duvet Cover & Sham - Porcelain Blue

I also have a thing for the white fingered starfish these days. I found this fun shadow boxed starfish on etsy.
I like the idea but have something a little different in mind...but still cute idea. I can pick these up in a shop here in town for pretty cheap
I need to figure out what paint she used or something close to it.

"Canning" Butter

2010-06-18T00:23:00.005-07:00

Today I went to a relatives house and they were so excited to show me the cool new thing they just did for a Relief Society class on food preservation.
They pulled out a jar of creamy looking white stuff and a bright red flag goes up!
CANNED BUTTER
I took a canning class this last summer and we spent about 10 minutes talking about the dangers of "canning" butter.
I felt horrible to burst their bubble but I had to.
I got the name of who was teaching said class and my jaw dropped!
I ran over to the computer trying to find something official that warns of the dangers of this.
I found this great information from the "National Center for Home Food Preservation" under FAQ.

Q.Should I use directions for canning butter at home that I see on the Internet?

Answer. (If you aren't into reading it yourself I'll sum it up for you)
NO!
"Indeed, there are some directions for 'canning' butter in circulation on the Internet. Most of what we have seen are not really canning, as they do not have Boiling Water or Pressure Canning processes applied to the filled jar. Jars are preheated, the butter is melted down and poured into the jars, and the lids are put on the jars. Some directions say to put the jars in the refrigerator as they re-harden, but to keep shaking them at regular intervals to keep the separating butter better mixed as it hardens. This is merely storing butter in canning jars, not ‘canning’. True home canning is when the food is heated enough to destroy or sufficiently acid enough to prevent growth of all spores of Clostridium botulinum (that causes botulism) and other pathogens during room temperature storage on the shelf.

Additionally, when you consider the economics of the process (energy costs involved with heating, cost of jars and lids, etc.), even if the butter is bought on sale, it may not be economically viable to prepare butter to store for years in this manner. Good quality butter is readily available at all times, if butter is needed for fresh use. If the concern is about emergency food supplies, there are dry forms of butter that can be purchased and stored, oils that can be used in an emergency, or commercially canned butter in tins (although we have only seen this for sale from other countries). Melted and re-hardened butter may not function the same as original butter in many types of baking anyway.

There are a few issues with the common directions circulating on the Internet at this time (Spring 2006):

Physical safety and food quality: In the provided directions, the jars are preheated in an oven (dry-heat), which is not recommended for canning jars. Manufacturers of canning jars do not recommend baking or oven canning in the jars. It is very risky with regard to causing jar breakage. There is no guarantee that the jars heated in this dry manner are sufficiently heated to sterilize them, as we do not have data on sterilizing jar surfaces by this dry-heating method.
The butter is not really being 'canned'; it is simply being melted and put in canning jars, and covered with lids. Due to some heat present from the hot melted butters and preheated jars, some degree of vacuum is pulled on the lids to develop a seal. It rarely is as strong a vacuum as you obtain in jars sealed through heat processing. The practice in these 'canned' butter directions is referred to as 'open-kettle' canning in our terminology, which is really no canning at all, since the jar (with product in it) is not being heat processed before storage.
Although mostly fat, butter is a low-acid food. Meat, vegetables, butter, cream, etc. are low-acid products that will support the outgrowth of C. botulinum and toxin formation in a sealed jar at room temperature. Low-acid products have to be pressure-canned by tested processes to be kept in a sealed jar at room temperature. It is not clear what the botulism risk is from such a high-fat product, but to store a low-acid moist food in a sealed jar at room temperature requires processing to destroy spores. A normal salted butter has about 16-17% water, some salt, protein, vitamins and minerals. Some butter-like spreads have varying amounts of water in them. We have no kind of database in the home canning/food processing arena to know what the microbiological concerns would be in a butter stored at room temperature in a sealed jar. In the absence of that, given that it is low-acid and that fats can protect spores from heat if they are in the product during a canning process, we cannot recommend storing butter produced by these methods under vacuum sealed conditions at room temperature.
Some other directions do call for 'canning' the filled jars of butter in a dry oven. This also is not 'canning'. There is not sufficient, research-based documentation to support that 'canning' any food in a dry oven as described on this web page or any page that proposes oven canning is even sufficient heating to destroy bacteria of concern, let alone enough to produce a proper seal with today's home canning lids.

In conclusion, with no testing having been conducted to validate these methods, we would NOT recommend or endorse them as a safe home-canning process, let alone for storing butter at room temperature for an extended period. We do know that the methods given for preheating empty jars, or even filled jars, in a dry oven are not recommended by the jar manufacturers or by us for any food. Aside from the physical safety and quality issues, and the fact that it is not canning at all, if there happened to be spores of certain bacteria in there, these procedures will not destroy those spores for safe room temperature storage."

Since summer is when everyone seems to go wild and can everything in site, I think this is information we all need to pass on. For reals, people have died because of this. Be smart and don't just take somebody's word for it because they are called to be the "preparedness specialist" in your ward.

Click HERE for an article form the Daily Herald on it.
Happy and SAFE canning ya'lls!

I Love to See the Temple

2010-06-15T09:09:00.007-07:00

On our week long trip we went to 5 different states and saw lots of Temples. Since we were traveling with my dad, that has a plan and doesn't deviate when it comes to driving, we saw many from a distance. We counted that we passed 16 Temples but actually saw 12 of them.

When we were in SLC we stayed at my sister and brother in-laws place. They live a block away from the SLC temple. It was so cool. Josh and I got to go and do a session there. It was our first time to do a session in the SLC Temple and well worth going. It was so pretty and amazing to think that the pioneers built it and sacrificed so much for the Temple. While we were there Josh and I got separated and I was waiting up stairs for him and he was downstairs with my recommend. After waiting 10 min for him I went and asked the guy at the front desk (Stephen Clarke I think was his name) if somebody could go and find him. I told him his name and he said that the guy that played Santa for his family for 40 years was named Horrocks. I asked if he was from Pocatello, he said yes. I asked him what the guys first name was, he said Burt. It was Josh's uncle that had played Santa for his family. He went and found Josh for me and while talking to Josh they found out it was his Uncle Rodger that had played Santa and not Burt. He remembered Uncle Harold too but didn't remember Josh's dad. Such a small world.

So here are the beautiful Temples we saw on our trip.
(Only the Draper and Rexburg temples are my pictures all the other are from online)

Draper,UT

Rexburg,ID
Jordan River
Provo,UTTwin Falls,ID
Salt Lake City,UTOquirrh Mt
Bountiful, UT
Idaho Falls,ID
Boise,ID
Mt. Timpanogas
Soon to be Payson Temple. This is about a block away from my brothers house.
Their Chapel is going to be the one next to the temple.

Preschool Graduation

2010-05-05T10:39:00.002-07:00

Collin had his preschool graduation party the other night.
He graduated from Doodlebugs Preschool.
His teacher Heidi was amazing and did a great job!
Heidi put together cute scrapbook's for each of the kids of the fun things they did in preschool. Collin loves it and looks at it over and over again.
Here is a clip of the song they sang for us at the party.

...HAPPY...

2010-05-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

This

Plus this

Makes me very happy!
I don't think I have ever been so happy to see a tractor and pile of dirt.
It was 6 weeks later then they said it would happen but it finally did.

National Park Week

2010-04-21T12:46:00.002-07:00

National Park Week
All national Parks are free for this week.
Click on the link and find a park near you

....Spring....

2010-04-18T20:32:00.005-07:00

We are so happy that the sun has decided to come out and dry everything off.
Nothing is worse then going to the park and sliding down the slide and ending up in a puddle of water at the bottom.
I think the kids were happy to get outside too.

Yesterday we headed up north to check out the Woodland Tulip festival.
It was so pretty. Tulips are one of my favorite flowers.

This is one of my favorite pictures I took yesterday.
I love all the colors!

Friday and 70

2010-04-16T10:27:00.002-07:00

Even though we should be doing this

I think we are going to go and do this
This is one of my favorite things about living 2 miles from downtown.
Esther Short park
(It used to be really scary and full of transients but they cleaned it all up and made it really nice)

a weakness

2010-03-17T14:32:00.009-07:00

I have a serious weakness when it comes to bags. Vera Bradley is on the top of my list these days.

The other day I was at an appointment and I had my "Vera in Night Owl" (my cute husband picked it out) on my arm when a gal in the waiting room asked me about my bag.
We talked for a few minutes and she told me about a bag she wanted.
Harveys Seat belt bag
I had never heard of it and thought it sounded kinda weird. So I came home and looked it up...
I don't think it's weird anymore!

(pictures compliments of www.seatbletbags.com)

Oh.My.Goodness.
Who new that seatbelt's could be so stinking cute?!
I think the Lola Ruffle Satchel Espresso is one of my favorites.
Don't feel left out here men...they have stuff for you too!

♪ ♫ friday play list ♫ ♪

2010-03-12T11:07:00.003-08:00

Today is our cleaning day so we can play all weekend while Josh is home. Here is the play list that is going to help us get all of our work done.

Broken Bells - The High Road

Vampire Weekend - Cousins

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass

White Rabbits - Percussion Gun

Dirty Heads - Lay Me Down

Neon Trees - Animal

The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name

Spoon's - I Turn My Camera On

Weezer - Pork And Beans

Happy Friday!

I ♥ baking

2010-03-03T14:01:00.004-08:00

Besides doing dishes I love being in the kitchen. I enjoying making things for my family and friends and teaching my children that you don't have to go to the store and spend a lot of money to get a yummy cake. My Grandma McLauchlin has won ribbons at the fair for her baking and I grew up with a mother that enjoys baking too. My friend Holly introduced me to Amy's Bread but since the book is sold out and I'm not seeing a trip to New York anytime soon I have the next best thing...
I haven't bought this recipe book...YET! I checked it out from our local library to make sure I liked it first and I'm happy to report that it is now on my wish list. I'm a sucker for pictures, if it looks good then I'll most likely try it. They have a lot of great tips and techniques in here to help you on your way. Some of our top picks are the Butterscotch Cashew Bars and the Monkey Cake
(not the exact recipe but close). If you have an extra $30 on hand...buy it, you won't be disappointed. Unless you buy and never use it, then you will be disappointed.

almost official

2010-02-27T18:26:00.005-08:00

After a few days of going back and forth with the builder we found out that the ground breaking on our house will be in 3 weeks! Karey and Barney were in town so we took everyone to go and see where our house will be.We are right about where the driveway will be.

We got a corner lot so we will only have one neighbor.
Scott, Amy, Andrew and Collin checking out the woods in the back. On Monday we will sign the last of the changes. Then only 122 more days till it's done!

...waiting...

2010-02-22T08:30:00.006-08:00

The last couple of weeks have been a little stressful in the Horrocks home. The beginning of February we got our letter of approval for our loan to buy a house. It has been a roller coaster since! After looking at a few homes in different areas we have found one that we like. We put an offer in friday night! It was up there on one of the scariest things that I have ever done but at the same time we feel really good about it. We are excited to have our own home and have a safe place for our kids to grow up. We are meeting with our Realtor and the builder on Tuesday to do the final signing on the offer and then we wait! The builder has till march 1st to decide if he likes our offer or not. Our realtor feels it is a good offer, let's hope they do too.
Here is a drawing of the model, since it's not built yet this is all we have.
It is going to be out in La Center, just north from where we are now.
It a nice community and they have good schools too.
Everybody we have talked to that lives or has lived out there has great things to say about it.
We'll try and keep you posted.

Calling all princesses

2010-02-10T22:53:00.002-08:00

While searching for fun things for my little princess my mom found this website for me My Fancy Princess. They have really cute dresses at reasonable prices. They also have a BLOG where they are giving away one Little Adventure Princess Dress. So for one more entry to win I'm helping spread the word.
If you have a little princess, head over and check 'em out...way cute!

side note:
If you sign up for the emails they often have discount codes to get an even better deal!

Happy Day

2010-02-04T16:05:00.005-08:00

A few weeks ago I got this email:

Katie,

You are the lucky winner of the Verna's Flower quilt featured on the Moda Bake Shop website! Please provide me with your mailing address so that I can send it off to you. Thanks for stopping by my blog, I hope to see you again soon!

Sincerely,
Amanda

The Quilted Fish

This was the best Monday morning email EVER!

As promised I had a nice little pressent sitting at my front door this week and here is what was inside.Here is a close up of the cute flowers. It gives it such a sweet girly touch.
Here is the back side. You can really see the detailing of the quilting she did.

We L.O.V.E. it!
Little Miss Hadley calls it her "pretty B" and likes to play with the ruffles.
So here is a great big
THANK YOU
to you Amanda!

The chosen one

2010-01-31T15:21:00.003-08:00

We have 7 different stuffed dogs that live at our house.Left to right Pinka, Penelope, (BYU shirt) Puppy, Grandpa dog, Baby dog and Rufus aka Rufie. Mama pup that goes with baby dog was MIA for this picture.

With this many doggies in one house you would think that there wasn't much fighting over dogs.
Then this guy came along...

*Penelope*
(yes it's a boy dog named Penelope)
One day when Collin was talking to my mom on the phone he was crying hysterically that he didn't have a dog and he was so sad.
My mom thought she had the answer. She stopped by Target ans found Penelope so Collin could have a "dog". It's call a FurReal Friend. When you pet it's back it moves it's head around and whimpers and if you stop touching it he falls asleep. Cute right? Collin take Penelope EVERYWHERE with him.
This dog is the center of 80% of the fighting between my children.
Technically it's Collins dog so he usually ends up winning. And of course we can't find another "Nelope" for Hadley so Grandma got Hadley Mama pup and Baby dog in hopes that the fighting would stop. It hasn't!
So if there is anybody out there that has a FurReal friend that needs a new home...let us know!

Have you seen this?

2010-01-23T00:18:00.005-08:00

happy tape

I think I need some...yes NEED!

What is it you might ask...?
(straight form the happy tape site)

"Happytape is colored Japanese masking tape, now in the United States. It is made of Japanese washi paper. It's perfect for decorating packages, gift wrapping, scrapbooking, card making, fancy labels, and artsy collages. It's a little transparent, so it looks great layered. It tears nicely, too!"

Here are a few that I really liked

I have a thing for green these days

I have never seen such pretty tape!

I think this one makes me happiest. It reminds me of summertime. The best thing about this is that I found that they have an etsy shop so you can use your PayPal to pay for it verses giving your card info to some random stranger.
Click HERE for the etsy shop.

How we do water parks in Washington

2010-01-19T23:30:00.013-08:00

The sun peeked out on MLK day so we thought the park would be the perfect place to get some of the extra wiggles out.

We got a few looks from the other moms there but I'm sure their kids didn't have as much fun as ours did. You know their kids totally wanted to join in on the rock throwing, stick pulling, puddle jumping fun!

Hadley didn't think they had enough dirt.

Nora has her game face on.

Lane testing out the water.

My sweet little girl...the one who started this big mess!
(little stink)

Collin showing off his new "spots"

Little miss was upset that she had dirt on her hands.
I guess she didn't notice the dirt on her face yet.

Kyle was a little sad his shirt got wet.
He was trying to keep it dry.

Lane has spots too!

*Team SmithRocks*

We had a few cold naked bums on the drive home but nothing a nice warm bath and clean clothes couldn't fix.

....59 more to go....

2010-01-17T23:05:00.003-08:00

My friend Stina invited me to join her in a 60 day challenge.
Read the Book of Mormon in 60 days.
Click HERE to find out how you too can have a free copy of the Book of Mormon in your home.
I'm really excited to add this challenge to my daily routine. We have been reading the Book of Mormon as a family for a few months now. It's so sweet to see the kids get their books out and act like they are following along. We take turns helping Little Miss and Big Brother read verses. As much as I enjoy reading as a family I'm really looking forward to having my own quite study time. Lately I have been reading more books. It's not that they are bad books but I have found that I have chosen these other books over my own personal scripture study. This challenge has made me think about where I'm at with my priorities and my relationship with my Heavenly Father. Often at the new year we make new goals for us ourselves and often the spiritual ones seem to fall further on the list then the physical.
This year I'm going for balance.
Here is a copy of the schedule if you want to join us.

...to do today...

2010-01-13T12:33:00.004-08:00

Since we took the day off and played all day yesterday I have some catching up to do today.

Puffy Apple Pancakes for Breakfast
(The boy has been asking for these every meal for 2 days...I finally gave in)

Crock pot Chicken for dinner. The house smells SO good right now!

Apple Walnut Muffins (minus the walnuts...I forgot to get some)Just came out of the oven and are cooling as I type. Since I didn't have walnuts I doubled the apples. I'm excited to try them!

Butterscotch Cashew Bars. Heidi's thank you for filling in for me in primary. Everything ready I just need to get the kids down for a rest so I can work.

Finish the top of my sisters quilt. I'm almost done with it and only 2 months late!

After that's all done I think I'll tackle the never ending dishes and the laundry.

Our Soccer Champ!

2010-01-10T19:01:00.010-08:00

Collin decided that he wanted to play soccer last summer. He did such a great job and had so much fun. I think my favorite of the season was watching him get his trophy at the end. To say he was excited would be an understatement! .

Water Break

Waiting for his turn

At all the games and practices Collin was always so excited he would be jumping all the time. His coach Norma nicknamed him "Hoppy" his other nickname was "big guy" it might have something to do with the fact that he was about a foot taller then all the other kids on the team.

The treasured trophy

Keepon

2010-01-05T13:53:00.002-08:00

My kids would be happy if I let them sit here all day and watch this.

Collin even asked if he could have Keepon for Christmas.
You can learn more about Keepon and how he and other robots are helping fight autism HERE
Pretty neat stuff!

Happy 2010!

2010-01-04T12:26:00.002-08:00

I know it's been almost 6 months since I have posted anything...sorry! I'll work on that.
I had a few minutes and wanted to introduce you to a dear friend of mine...Holly!
She is AMAZING!
If you need an idea for dinner go check her out and give her some love.
She is just getting started so keep checking for for even more amazingness to come!

Nature...

2009-07-31T14:23:00.003-07:00

worth sharing

2009-07-16T08:37:00.008-07:00

Our dear friends Kenna and Josh are beginning the journey of adoption and have started a blog. I thought I would help spread the word just in case there is anyone out there that might know of anyone that is exploring options for their child. Click HERE check out their adoption blog. They are amazing people and they have so much love to give!

2009-07-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

Oldies but Goodies

2009-06-24T09:45:00.006-07:00

I was trying to find a picture and I came across these ones of Collin and his buddy Carter.
This is how we would spend our summer days in UT. Collin and his melon

Carter and his melon

I'm sure they were watching each other to see who could finish first.
I love carters Little farmers tan!

I miss our cool little pool!
Dang, the grass in UT is greener then ours is now in WA.Daredevil Carter.

I'm sure Collin was trying to get the grass out of the pool here.

Under sea adventures...Horrocks style

2009-06-15T17:05:00.009-07:00

Before the kids got sick last week we actually got to have a little fun.

Here is cute little Hadley after giving the shark some love.

Collin said that this was his favorite picture we took.

Compromise

2009-05-28T15:28:00.010-07:00

Since this is out of the question...(for now)

I'm thinking this...

I NEVER thought that I would say this but...
I want a van!

Don't get all excited and tell me how cool your MINIVAN is because I don't want a minivan. That might work just fine for you but I'm sorry they just aren't my thing. I actually drove a minivan for the first time in about 5 years just a few months ago and it just didn't do it for me...sorry Janell it's not your Honda...it's me. I know...I'm sure I just offended all of the minivan loving people out there and all of Josh's family, seeing how he is the ONLY sibling in the family with kids that does not have a van. I know that there are tons of Honda Civics out there but just for the record I didn't buy that car...Josh did! But the "Hond" (that's what we call her) just isn't doing it for us. It's great to get Josh to work and getting around town but we like to go places.

Maybe it's all of this fresh air up here in the NW but I LOVE these VW Eurovans! The other day we went on a drive and Josh turned to me and said "Hey, I was thinking that maybe if you find one of those VW vans at a good price we could look into it." It was a good thing I wasn't driving because I was very excited, I'm sure I would have crashed. I know I'm crazy but I saw one of these for sale in Astoria when we were there and I would check it out every time we went into town. They have more cargo room then a suburban even though it's shorter then a suburban.

While growing up our family friends, the Condie family had one and I even thought it was kinda cool then. They took that thing everywhere and it seemed to last forever...I could be wrong but that's what I remember. We had good times with Bro Condie driving us to stake dances and beach trips and girls camp. It looked different then this one but it was the same kind.

Then one of my friends, Jenn Wallace had a really OLD one.
Her's had issues...but we had good times in that van. Once after a drive into town we got back to her house and it was smoking really bad, which wasn't unusual. So we went to go into the house and I turned around and looked and I saw the engine was on fire! We ran and got the hose and sprayed it till we thought it was out. I think that was the last time I went in that sweet van of hers.

I think a VW would fit our family just fine.

Vocabulary lesson...

2009-04-29T11:17:00.004-07:00

Collin: "Mom have you seen my hooker?"

Me: "Your what?!"

Collin: "You know, my hooker that picks up Bob the Builder?"

Me: " Collin show me what your hooker looks like."

Collin walks over to the couch and picks up a HANGER and says:
"It looks like this hooker but a different color."

Me: " Coll, that's a hanger not a hooker."

Collin: " Oh... well have you seen my hooker?"

Silly boy!

My weekend plans....

2009-04-24T08:28:00.004-07:00

(picture complements of pete bakes)

So this PETE is pretty much A-mazing!
He has great recipes and fun ideas and shows you step by step...oh baby...(sorry had to do it)
If you like to cook or looking for something new to try...check it out!
The hopes for this weekend...
challah
a.k.a challah atcha girl, a.k.a challah like it’s hot.
It has been like 4 yrs since I have enjoy some yummy delicious challah.
Oh, I hope it turns out as good at his picture.
Now I'm off to clean the kitchen so I can mess it up!

2009-04-17T15:54:00.004-07:00

Anyone that knows me knows that I love a good deal and $100 FREE is a good deal!
I saw it and I thought of Josh's brother getting married. It's a giveaway for $100 towards wedding announcements - and if you're already married you can pass it on to someone else.

Make it and love it
Check it out.
(hurry it ends tonight)
Here is a sample of the her work. This is the one I liked...

My new kicks

2009-04-10T08:48:00.003-07:00

I'm pretty much in love with these shoes. Sanuk's funky loafers. I think I have worn them ever day since I got them...for real! My little bro and his wife had them when they were here last August and I thought they were cool. Then my big bro Jason got them for his wife for Christmas. I tried Kellys on and loved them! Since Jason and Kelly live by the only Cabelas around here they picked me up a pair. Muchos gracias mi amigos!

Below are the pictures of Donna, herringbone in beige:(that's the one I got)

Our little Curly-Q's

2009-04-02T20:06:00.005-07:00

We love our two little curly headed kiddos and it seems many others do too. I can't think of a time that we have gone anywhere where someone hasn't talked to us about the kids' hair. It truly is attention getting. The question we get the most is "Where do they get those curls?" and then we go into our shpeel of how my grandpa had curly hair when had hair, Josh has an uncle that had curly hair....yadayada! The second most asked question I think is "Do they get their curls from their dad?" (even on days were I didn't straighten my hair and had it curly) I have often thought about saying, "I'm not sure if their Dad has curly hair," or "No, it's not natural...we perm our 1 yr old's hair," or "you can touch it if they can touch yours." But those responses would be kinda awkward...right? But honestly we think it's fun too and enjoy people coming up to us and feeling free to talk to us. With moving to a new ward at church lot's of people ooo and ah as we walk down the hall. But this last Sunday was a first for me. I was out in the hall with curly-q #2, church just got over and she had finally given up her 3 hr long struggle and fell asleep about 10 minutes prior. While I was standing there waiting for Josh an older woman came walking up and started commenting on Hadley's hair. She then started in on a long story about some relative of hers that would come and visit for the summer that had curly hair. Something about the girl had curly hair, the mom cut it, it grew back straight.
That part was fine...here comes the crazy part.
She goes on to tell me about some picnic they had in a park and some guy running and the little girl jumping rope and then she was gone! She was nowhere to be found! Then like 20 yrs later they get some anonymous letter from some man that claims to have her and that her hair is curly again and that he has lot's of money and she is well taken care of.
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT!?!?
Then she says "you hold on tight to those curly headed kids!"
WHAT!?!
Are you for real? Seriously, what do you say to that? I said:
"oh...wow...my goodness!"
"well, enjoy the rest of your day"
(accompanied by an awkward smile)
I then proceed down the hall to quickly make sure curly-q #1 is still in his class.
Wow...I have got to say that was a first and I will now be watching for running men while at the park picnicking!

We are alive!

2009-03-17T09:10:00.002-07:00

This month has been a rough one...but...we are in fact still alive! We moved into our new place the first of the month. Collin got sick on the 3rd (same day the heat was turned on). We went to dinner with my parents where Collin puked all over grandma and the table...yummm. I had an amazing fun filled evening with my sister. Dealing with two children that got very attached to their grandma and grandpa...fun! Went to our new ward were both kids had a complete melt down. Left after the first hour. I got Collins cold...ugh! 2nd week in new ward, Josh got called to be the 14 yr old Varsity coach, that's what happens when too many people know you in you new ward (thanks Bro. Mower)! Finally got our phone hooked up but dealing with old phone lines is fun, so we are hit and miss with phone usage. We can't even call the phone company to tell them it's not work...LAME! With all of that we are trying to unpack and do our daily thing! I have yet to find the card reader to load new pictures. Maybe that will be my goal for the day!

Katie

Pay It Forward

2009-02-18T08:42:00.001-08:00

This sounded pretty fun!

Here are the rules:

1.Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me!

2. Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. Remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER…Pay it forward!

(Fun huh! I am excited that I have another excuse to be crafty!)

House hunting

2009-02-08T00:17:00.004-08:00

We have been a little frustrated in finding a place in the area and price range we want. But today while I was looking at some postings on craigslist I came across a listing for this house...the heading got my attention. It is totally NOT what we want but I thought I would share my favorite picture from the listing.
OK...I have absolutely NO real estate experience but wouldn't you at least ask them to take the nicely arranged Red Bull cans off of the shelf before you took the pictures of the kitchen! As my friend Janel would say..."it's a little country bumbkin" Oh and here is my favorite quote from the listing "Perfect place to lay your head if you are a truck driver" for reals! Are they really paying this women to sell this house!?!

I love,love, love it!

2009-01-30T00:40:00.004-08:00

I saw this stroller and fell in LOVE with it! The best part about it is that while blog stocking Emily I found a link to enter to win one. Check out the sweet ride HERE enter to win it HERE.

Seriously folks....

2009-01-28T16:03:00.003-08:00

my sweet little baby girl has been mistaken for a boy not once, not twice but THREE, yes 3 times in the last month! I don't get! Two of those times she was wearing a pink shirt. Little sister refuses to keep your "pretties" in her hair. I will do her hair and a minute later I find her with her clip in her mouth and her hair sticking out everywhere. People would mistake Collin for a girl all the time, I think because the curls, but Hadley has curls too so you think we wouldn't have this problem.
So for future awkward situations when you just aren't sure here are some suggestions on complimenting ones girl/boy:

What a delightful baby you have.

Your child is darling.

Your little one is so cute.

Come on now...You people are going to give my children complexes!

Oh...and P.S.
Let it be known here and now it's H-A-D-L-E-Y not Harley!

My song for the day

2008-12-22T09:48:00.001-08:00

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! I love Ingrid Michaelson's music.

Not the coolest video but the best sound I could find for the song.

1 Year of Pure Hadley Enjoyment!

2008-12-14T20:06:00.016-08:00

Our little Hadley isn't so little anymore. She turned 1 year old yesterday. Here is a look back at how she has grown up over the past year.

Great giveaway

2008-12-02T17:02:00.001-08:00

I found a fun blog that has a great giveaway right now. Check it out at
www.sherbetblossom.blogspot.com

My new bag

2008-12-02T15:53:00.003-08:00

I've been thinking about getting a new bag to haul all the kids junk around in and I found it....

What do ya think? My friend Megan makes these great bags and sells them on her Etsy shop, MeOriginal.
I just loved the colors on this one and it has lots of pockets.
Thanks again Megan!

Presto

2008-11-21T14:13:00.004-08:00

I am now a proud owner of my very own Presto canner/pressure cooker! I'm so excited to use it. Last Saturday Josh and I drove into Portland to go to the cannery. We had a ton fun (we are lame, i think we need to get out more). Some of Vancouver stakes were there too so we got to see a bunch of our old friends. One of my favoritest people in the world was there, my dear friend Cassie. It was so fun to see her! While we were there Josh's mom called and said that she was going through the attic and had an extra canner that she didn't need. So on our way home we stopped and picked it. I'm so excited for next summer to come so I can do some more tuna and fruit and add more to our food storage. Thanks again Renee!!

Things Change

2008-11-19T23:45:00.002-08:00

I got this fun email and thought I would share. Maybe some of you mom's out there can relate too.

(I looked more into Rebecca Woolf ,because I didn't know who she was, I don't agree with her all the way but see does have some good points)

What changes when you have a baby? A better question may be: What doesn't change? Here, writer and mom Rebecca Woolf lists her most notable post-baby observations. Then scroll down to read our favorite comments from readers about how their babies changed their lives.

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

4. You respect your body ... finally.

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.

6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.

10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.

11. Every day is a surprise.

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.

14. You become a morning person.

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

And from our readers...

1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom

2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous

3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte

4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom

5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne

6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye

7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous

8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda

9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom

10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom

11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom

12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." — Kara

13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey

14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom

15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom

16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. — Arizona

17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do! — Ciara

Our soggy day downtown

2008-11-14T09:59:00.006-08:00

All last week the kids and I were sick cooped up in the house for way to long. One of the best things ever is feeling human again after being sick and seeing that there are still other people in the world. The kids and I bundled up and went to check out downtown Astoria. They have lots of little shops. They remind me of my first job at the little jewelry store I worked at. I love little shops, I think it's that the people are more personable and often you can find better deals while helping out locals. After finding a spot that I didn't have to try and parallel park big blue, we went to a kids resale shop. "5 little Monkeys" the owner was really nice and I got a steal of a deal! Collin found the little play corner she has set up for the kids, it was great I could actually focus on looking for things instead of trying to distract him from pulling of the clothes off the rack. The owner asked me what size I was looking for, she then found things in that size that she hadn't put out yet for me to look at, it was great it was like having a personal shopper. I ended up with 4 pairs of pants for Collin and only paid $9. I was very excited! I highly recommend 5 little monkeys to anyone that is in the Astoria area, the only down side was that she doesn't take debit cards so make sure you bring cash or check. While I was talking with her she recommended a great quilt shop around the corner. To get there we had to walk out on the pier over the water. Collin loved it! It was fun hearing the birds and the sea lions. When we got to the quilt shop, Homespun Quilts, I knew it was a good one because it was full of the grandma ladies that you can tell they have been sewing for years. We walked in and they all went crazy over Collins hair. They didn't have what I was looking for but they did have a large assortment fun fabric and I diffidently will be visiting again. We then made our way over to Joann's Fabric where they had a great Veterans day sale. We got a few things that I needed to try and make some little cuddly critter corn bag spider/crab looking things.

They have a little bag inside that you can heat up to keep you warm. Collin really likes the one that my sister-in-law Wendy made for us, so I thought I would try and make him his very own.
His wont's be pink but you get the idea. When we were at Joann's fabric this fun grandma was in line ahead of us and she started talking to Collin. She was a lot of fun and made the kids laugh while we were waiting in a ridiculously long line. She was done before us and Collin was sad that she left and didn't stay to play longer. That's what I like about small towns, people aren't afraid to talk to others or play silly little games with someone's kids that are getting antsy in a long line. We had a great day checking out the shops in the rain.

I've been thinking

2008-11-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago in church the topic was "Finding Joy In The Journey". I really liked what was said and it made me think of the joys in my journey. Then last week we had Stake conference where one speaker talked about learning to do hard things and then President Uchtdorf spoke about making goals and following through with them. With all of those I have thought about some of my goals and joys and some of the hard stuff that I have learned to to in the last few months.

*Canned Tuna. It tastes amazing and no one that has eaten it has died...yet.
*Read the lesson for RS before class AND participated.
*Lost 15 lbs
*Started 2 crafts and finished 2 crafts.
*Won 2nd place for my Chocolate Chip cookies and I even got a ribbon.
*Made a new friend
*Woke up early so I could get Collin into town for story time...on time.
*Made a shopping list and only bought what was on the list and came in under budget!!
*Saved $15 by cutting Josh's hair for the first time in 4 yrs and I didn't even use scissors and it turned out great!
*Have a plan for my 72hr emergency kit.
*Half way done with my visiting teaching and it's only the 3rd day of the month

I have a lot more hard things that I want to learn but this is a start.
Go find the joy in your journey!

Hadley's new ride...

2008-10-22T16:02:00.005-07:00

Collin has found a new way to help Hadley get to where she wants to go. Sorry it's kinda long and please excuse the undies!

A friendly hello

2008-10-16T09:51:00.002-07:00

The other day we needed to go into town to do some grocery shopping. We were about a mile or so down the road and we see a younger boy around 5 or 6 yrs old. We drive past his house often and know that they are usually out playing so we make sure we slow down for them. That day this little guy was sitting on a 4-wheeler in his front yard. As we got closer it looked like he was pointing something at us. In the past we have seen them out there playing guns so I thought maybe he was pretending that he had a gun. Then I realized what he was pointing at us ... his middle finger! This little boy had his right hand up as high as he could in the air flipping us off, with his other hand on his hip. Josh and I looked at each other and just started laughing. We turned around to look behind us just to make sure we saw what we thought we saw and he was still aiming his middle finger at us. That's one little boy that Collin will NOT be playing with!

Blazers vs. Kings

2008-10-12T23:39:00.009-07:00

This last Tuesday night we had plans to go to dinner with Josh's new boss and his wife. That morning we got an email asking us if we would trade dinner for tickets to a Blazer game. Of course we gladly said yes! Josh used to keep up with the Blazers but with school and work he hasn't had too much time. I had been to a few games in the past. When I was working as a purchaser it had it's perks ... every few months one of the companies that we bought from would offer us tickets but that was about 6 yrs ago, so it's been awhile. I really enjoy going down town, there is so much to see and do and people watching is never boring there. Josh had a fun filled day of trimming the trees at his mom's house and then at 6 we kissed the kids goodbye and headed for the game. We had so much fun! Josh was worried that we would be late, we parked about a mile or so away because I wasn't about to pay $10 to park in a lot that looked like my car was going to get broken into, so we walked and we made it on time. Josh's boss had a suite for the night, it was almost right behind the basket. We got to meet a few of Josh's soon-to-be co-workers and enjoyed a great game. We had some other visitors too...here we are with Jerome Kersey. He was around when Josh followed the blazers closer in the early 90's. He makes Josh's 6'2 look short. He was a really nice guy and it was fun to meet him. He was the only one that we recognized. He was with a group of 3 other guys that we didn't know who they were. So if you know who they are (Barney I'm sure you know) help us out. We were too embarrassed to ask them who they were.

Mystery man #1 (the guy that is looking at the camera the other guy is Josh's boss)

Mystery man #2

Mystery man #3 Sorry a side shot was the best we got of him.(this guy we felt bad for, I don't think anyone knew who he was)

I think the next picture was Josh's favorite to take, he won' t admit it but I think it was. After we took it he informed me that he did not put his arm around the blazer dancer, just me!
Here I am with my cheer sticks. I was having a lot of fun with them, then I looked around and I was the only adult that was still playing with them. We brought home a set for Collin and Hadley and they have had fun playing with them.
We had so much fun and it was such a good game that we think we might just have to follow the Blazers this season. Thanks again Renee for watching the kids for us!

It's a gift

2008-10-09T09:43:00.002-07:00

Anyone that has been around Collin knows of his ridiculously over active gag reflex. It has just become a daily thing that we have come to deal with. If we talk about food or he sees food, even if he likes it, he gags. If he gets upset, nervous or scared he starts gagging and we just have to try and distract him or try and calm him down. If he gags three times in a row we know we have to run fast and find something for him. Like I said it's a little ridiculous, but for the first time last night it was a gift. We were driving our hour and a half drive from Vancouver and about 25 min away from home a sheriff pulls out behind us. I kindly remind Josh that our speedometer reads about 5 mph slower than what you are really doing. We get out of the little town we are going through and Collin informs us that he needs to go potty, this has become a thing for Collin. He loves to pee outside and a few weeks ago we told him that we can't stop on the side of the road to pee because the police officer will give you a ticket for peeing outside. It sounded like a good story to tell him at the time because we were almost home and didn't want to stop. So back to last night ... we tell Collin we can't stop to pee because there was a cop behind us. We told him he was going to have to hold it till we got home. Josh was driving and was sure the cop was going to pull him over when he didn't pass us in the two lane passing zone going up hill. Collin is trying to be big and hold it but he is getting upset because he really has to go. Then we see the lights turn on and we pull over. The officer comes up to the car and shines the light in on the kids in the back then starts his schpeel. Asks for our documents. Then asks the burning question of, your car is registered in UT and you have a Washington driver's license, why are you driving in Oregon with and out of date insurance card. We explain, he tells us that our license plate light is out and that Josh went over the lines a few times. We tell him Collin's situation and I ask if I can take him outside to relieve himself. He said I can do whatever I want to after the traffic stop is over. He walks away and Collin gets really upset! He is asking me to hold him and that he really needs to go. I can tell he's not ok so I take him out of his seat and bring him up to my seat. Then it all started, he began to gag. I was trying to get my door open but it was locked. He lost it all over me. I get the door open and set him out, I look up and see another officer that was standing on my side of the car. She looked a little taken back by all the commotion and then shines the light on us, which made Collin more upset and continued to puke all over outside. I apologized to the lady officer and try to comfort Collin. I realize I have no shoes on and go to get them to find that Collin had already thrown up on them on his way out of the car. While I'm trying to clean Collin and myself off, the other officer goes up to Josh and says here are your documents I can see that your family needs you so I'm going to let you go, make sure you get your light fixed and stay in lines. They were very nice and stayed for a few minutes so I could use their lights to find my other shoes and clothes in the back and then they headed down the road. After they left Collin was able to pee and was very excited that he didn't get a ticket for peeing outside. I guess his gagging paid off, I would much rather clean up puke than pay for a ticket.

Collins Birthday Part 2

2008-10-03T11:50:00.007-07:00

'

The party at Grandma Horrocks' house was actually on Collin's birthday. He was so excited because Grandma and aunt Abbie made him a Lightning McQueen cake with sprinkles he had been asking for. Simone's birthday was coming up in a few days and since they were in town they had a joint birthday party. Collin was so excited when we pulled up to the house and he saw his birthday banner and balloons. When he saw grandma the first thing he asked to do was see to the cake.
Here are Collin and Mason checking out the cake. Then we have Collin getting excited so we say he can take Lightning off of the cake. Then he just couldn't handle it anymore and had to have some cake.

He had a fun day running and playing with his cousins. He got lots of Lightning McQueen toys and a Buzz lightyear. Here is a fun video of Collin opening up his present.

Thanks Grandma Horrocks and aunt Abbie and everyone that came for such a fun birthday party for Collin!

Here are just some random fun Horrocks Family pictures that we took that day.Hadley being cute as usual.
Cousin Cayla

Josh and Joe wrestling in the kitchen!
Aunt Marilyn

Collins birthday part 1

2008-10-03T10:47:00.010-07:00

I'm so so behind on things. Collin turned 3 a few months ago and reminds us of this everyday. "I do it myself!" "I a big boy mommy" and likes to repeat mommy and daddy like "(fill in the blank) right NOW!" Last night at dinner we tried a southbeach recipe for mashed potatoes. The book said it tastes so much like the really thing your friends won't know the difference. Your friends might not but our 3 yr old does. Instead of potatoes you use cauliflower. It wasn't too bad but anyone that has had potatoes knows the difference. Collin put some on his plate, took a little bite and spit it out and started gagging. "that's not potatoes...that's yucky! I need to throw up!" So anyways back to Collin's birthday. This year he got to have 2 parties one while everyone was here for Andy's wedding and then one on his birthday at Grandma Horrocks'. For his first party we let Collin pick the food: Mac n'cheese with dino nuggets. YUM! After we ate we went to downtown Astoria where the city of Astoria, where my dad works, was putting on a city fair. They had all kinds of trucks and tractors and treats. The kids had so much fun and we liked it because it was free. They had a little scavenger hunt thing and at the end the kids got to pick a free prize. Collin got a free swimming pass from the pool. The down side is that the boiler at the pool has been broken so we can't use it. Leah and Mason won free trolley rides on the trolley that goes along the water front. The kids spent most of their time at the fire truck.

Here is Collin Leah and Mason enjoying their treats. Collin loved the cotton candy.

Then we finished the day with a sunset over the sea lions and Janell and the kids headed back home.

I love Leslie Hall!

2008-09-26T12:27:00.001-07:00

This is for McKenna and Susan, just in case you've missed her.

Jordans Post-it-note video

2008-09-15T11:27:00.003-07:00

Josh's cousin Jordan made it to the top ten for the post-it-note video contest. He's the one with the sweet black wig on.

Go vote for him here you have to sign up for youtube to vote. You can vote everyday till Oct. 3 2008

Our own Animal Planet...

2008-09-14T23:08:00.006-07:00

With my parents house being new and so far out we didn't have TV, Internet or Phone for about a month... yes it is possible for people to live without those for a month. So here are a few pictures of our own Animal Planet...

Here is Collin checking out one of the fawns that come around the house. There are about 5 deer that we have seen that come right up to the house. They usually come around early afternoon and Collin sits at the back windows and watches them eat but this day the little guy was on the side of the house when we got home from shopping.Here are 4 elk that we saw one night while eating dinner. I took this picture off of the back deck. They are about 50 feet or so from the house.
These are the sea lions that we go and see. They have taken over a couple of docks. They are so loud but fun to see.

Here is the fish hatchery that is down the street. We took a walk down there one morning to see what it was all about. The picture on the left are the big fish waiting to be released. On the right is a picture of one of the fish in the creek trying to get back into the hatchery. It was pretty fun watching them. I kinda felt bad for them, they would try so hard and not make it.

We asked the worker that was there feeding the fish if Collin could have a turn. As you can see Collin was a little nervous. The picture on the right you can see the little fish jumping up and splashing to get the food. The worker told us about one of the bigger fish biting his finger ... one more reason to swim in swimming pools. This is what Hadley thought about the fish....

What the dealie yo?

2008-09-14T22:40:00.003-07:00

The Hordocks (that's how Collin says our last name) as of late...

Yes we are living in Astoria, kinda it's not really Astoria but we have an Astoria address. Everyone knows everyone, they know us we don't really know them. When we drive out to get on the main road everyone waves at everyone else... we have no idea who they are but it's fun like that. The guy that lives at the end of the road came up and talked to Josh and my dad and knew about half of my dad's life story yet he had never met him before. We now have to plan our trips into town, Collin asks about once a day if we get to go to town today. The nearest Target or Mall is about 50 minutes away. Collin had his very first experience of returning pop cans and getting money for it. He really liked putting the cans in and watching the crazy guy next to us returning his shopping cart full of beer bottles/cans. Hadley is now 9 months old and working on another tooth. She still won't crawl but she is getting closer to it everyday. While at my little brother's wedding we ran into Brother Kelly (Spencer's dad) and he hooked Josh up with some local guys that he knew that where in similar fields that Josh has been looking for. He had an interview with one of the companies and he was offered a position working with pension plans. He's really excited. He won't start till next month sometime. The company is in Vancouver so he will have about an hour and 15 min. drive from here. He has the option of staying at his mom's house during the week if he's not up for the drive or if the roads are bad. We are going to stay here at my parents for a few months so we can save a little before we move back to Vancouver. Other then that we have just been playing and having fun. We have taken a bunch of pictures, I'll try and get some posted soon.

Now that's entertainment!

2008-09-12T09:27:00.009-07:00

All I can say is, WOW!
Before I update you on all of our fun adventures here in Astoria I'll tell you about the "fun" we had last night!

Yesterday my dad stopped by the house for lunch and handed my some coupons and said hey there is a circus in town if you guys want to go check it out. After hanging around the house all day we thought why not. I'm sure Collin will enjoy it. After he leaves I look at the paper he handed me "Latino's Big Top Circus" hum... maybe it will be in spanish "...Animals from Madagascar, Daredevils, juggling, Trapeze Stars and special appearance by Spongebob Square pants..." Sounds kinda fun right, animals and trapeze how can it go wrong. Well, we found our way to the fairgrounds and pulled into the parking lot there were maybe 5 cars parked (that should have been our clue) Collin got really excited and really wanted to go. So we went and paid the angry lady at the door (I think that she was angry we interrupted her texting) she over charged us and Josh had to show her the simple math (second clue that we should turn around). We bought a ticket for Collin to ride the pony. If you look really close you can see the "packed" stands in the back our little family of 4 made up 10% of the people in attendance (third clue we should have left). After riding around the circle a few times we went to find our seats. Collin looks over and says "I want to go to the trail with food". Josh takes him over and gets a bag of popcorn and a water ... $5! Mommy and Hadley pull out the caramel flavored rice cakes...YUM!
We enjoy our snacks while we wait for the show to start. While waiting we keep seeing the stars of the show walking around and figured out why it was called the Latino's big top circus. It was a family from Lima Peru and two white guys.
The opening act comes out ...

The first picture here is to give you the full affect of the kids costume the second picture is to show you what we think is were the "daredevils" part comes in. The kid was pretty good. He fell a few times and Collin thought it was the funniest thing ever. After he was done we had a special appearance from "ALEX the lion for Madagascar!"

Yes folks ... you are looking at the only animal they had there besides the ponies. Josh and I had fun trying to figure out what role everyone played in the show. They guy that took our tickets at the front door was also the announcer and backstage crew and who was the guy in the Alex the lion costume oh and did a jaw dropping flame in the mouth show "hot lips himself" they called him. To the right her is Miss Lydia the famous hula hooper she was also the angry money taker at the front door. She looks a lot happier doing her true passion of hula hooping. After she was done she was over in the concession trailer selling food. Shortly after that she was the star of the show again doing the helicopter solute.It was a good thing that Collin enjoyed it. It was a rough hour and 20 minutes with a 10 minute intermission ! I felt really bad for the kids, the "6th generation circus starts". They did a good job but just not what I would have my little kids doing on a thursday evening. I think the next time we go to a circus we are going to do a little research before we go.

We are still alive!

2008-08-23T17:17:00.002-07:00

We took a trip to Portland for my little bro's wedding and are finally in touch with the outsdie world again! We got all moved into our new place but we have to wait for internet and phone to get hooked up. But yes we got your emails and we aren't ignoring you we will try to write back. We hope to get internet soon and catch you up on our last few weeks!

That's a little different!

2008-07-30T21:48:00.001-07:00

While outside today I saw some fun things that I thought I would share.

1) I was walking around back to get some things out of the car. As I turn the corner I smell a mix of gas fumes and cigarette smoke. I thought to myself that can't be right, maybe it was the fumes from the Suburban since Josh had just gotten home. But no, I was right. There it was, a man with a cigarette in one hand and a gas can in the other filling up his wife’s car with gas. I guess that's what you call multitasking.

2) I was in the house getting my shoes on while Josh was getting the kids in the car. I hear really loud music and think Oh, did I forget to turn down the radio before I got out of the car last? But the music kept coming. I got out and see another man rockin' out to some sweet early 90's rap. Don't get me wrong I love 90's rap just as much as the next person but I don't park in my driveway and clap, dance and sing along loudly for all to hear. But Josh and I did have a good laugh. I was a little sad though usually I enjoy this man’s Mariah Carey and Celine Dion every evening when he gets home from work. It was kind of a nice change.

3) This one kind of makes me glad we are moving. As we turn the corner off of 1200 we see a man pulled over. That's not uncommon seeing how everyone speeds down that street. But the 5, yes five police officers surrounding his car, that was a little different. I also found out that they have undercover police that drive Dodge pickup trucks ... kind of fun!

4) Another thing that was fun today was 3 people that live on my street, one being myself, had the same outfit on. What are the odds? The first was Emily and I dark brown shorts with a kind of feminine green shirt on. Later when I went out to turn on the sprinklers I see Steve across the street, sporting dark brown shorts and a more masculine green shirt.

Any takers?

2008-07-29T13:36:00.002-07:00

Here is a sign you don't see too often in the Provo/Orem area. So we are turning to our friends to see if we can bribe you with food. With Friday being the big day here at our house, we are hoping some of our friends that have the day free would love to come and add one more memory. If you can lift things (box's, couch ...etc.) and walk up 4 stairs and place it nicely in our trailer we will feed you! Pizza, sandwiches, fruit, ice cream, chips, drinks ... whatever it is you want (that I don't have to cook) I'll try and get it! I'll even take requests! Leave us a message or call us and we will give you the details! Thanks everyone!

Husband 1.0

2008-07-25T20:11:00.003-07:00

I saw this on another blog and that it was pretty funny.

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance -- particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0, NBA 3.0, and Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.
I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?
Signed, Desperate

-------------------------------------

Dear Desperate:

First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an Operating System. Please enter the command: 'I Thought You Loved Me.exe' and try to download Tears 6.2 and don't forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

But remember, over use of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system.)

Also, do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Food 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck,

Tech Support

Little Miss

2008-07-25T14:12:00.003-07:00

The last few weeks our little miss Hadley has had a lot of firsts. She finally decided that she wanted to explore the world a little more and is now loving the ability to rollover when she wants and get the toys that Collin takes from her. Her teeth that have been trying to pop up for the last few months have made an appearance. My sister Karey was over and she was feeding Hadley a little snack when and she found a sharp little tooth peeking out. Even with the pain of teeth pushing their way through Hadley is a very happy little girl!

Ladies night

2008-07-23T22:10:00.003-07:00

Here it is girls....
(Me, Janel, Leslie, Mckenna and Ashley)
Since Ashley, Leslie and I are all moving and Janel is now in Europe for two weeks, we thought yummy food would be the best way to celebrate. We went with Janel's suggestion of Brickoven. It was amazing! I had only had take out pizza from there so this was my first time having the pasta and it is highly recommended. The balloons topped off the night. After asking about 3 times, Justin came and shared his balloon bending talents with us. Me with my sword, I'm not really that into swords it was more a present for Collin when i got home, Leslie with her Spider Man and my favorite Mckenna with her penguin.
Thanks for coming ladies ... I had a great time!

Collin has a new love!

2008-07-10T22:04:00.005-07:00

We Took Collin to his very first parade a few weeks ago and he hasn't stopped talking about it. Our niece Avea was dancing in the Provo Children's parade so we woke up and headed down to Provo center street. Avea got a little camera shy when she saw us.

Collin and Jack LOVED the firetruck and police cars. They got pretty excited when everyone started throwing candy at them. We were at the very front of the parade so the boys got ton's of goodies.

Here are the boys waiting patiently for the parade to start.
Hadley saying "Hi!"

For Laurel...

2008-07-10T21:56:00.004-07:00

This post is just for Laurel ... In hopes that she can find it in her heart to forgive us for not stopping by when we ventured down to Payson. If it's any help we took the exit before yours. So I have decided that next time we head your way I will have an ice cold Diet Coke in hand to make up for our thoughtlessness.

Payson Lakes!

2008-06-30T18:25:00.004-07:00

We had heard about Payson Lakes but never made it up there. Since we are having more family time these days with Josh being home, we decide to see if we could find our way up to the Lakes. It was the perfect day to go up there. It was during the week so only a hand full of people were there. It kinda reminded us of home with all the green and pretty water.
Collin LOVED the water ... it was hard to keep him away! The lake was pretty clear you could see the bottom of it for a few feet. We saw about 10 fish just swimming along. Collin enjoyed throwing rocks at them. We tried explaining to him that the people there fishing didn't appreciate it but he still had fun.
This was Hadley's first time riding in the pack ... she did great! I think her favorite part was pulling my hair.
Here is Collin throwing more rocks in the water. We made sure no one was fishing near by.
Collin did a great job on the "hike." He made it all the way around the lake without being carried. We had to stop and take a few water breaks for him. When we got in the car he was asleep in about 5 min. He was so tired!

Fathers Day Fun!

2008-06-19T13:43:00.008-07:00

We had a fun filled weekend to celebrate the wonderful fathers in our lives! Saturday we met up with our friends the Bodners in Manti. We had a little picnic and sat in our great seats that Jake and Jenn saved for us...thanks guys! The pageant was pretty cool. The Temple was amazing! That was the first time I had seen it. I can't believe that such and amazing building was built more then 100 years ago. Just the setting of the Temple was amazing...I loved it!! Just a side note...If you are going to the Manti pageant BRING BUG SPRAY!! I could not believe how many mosquitoes there were!
The kids were really cute too...they were all so excited about the actors they had been seeing walking around all day. But I think the best one was when "Jesus" came out. LOOK...LOOK...JESUS!! Jenn had told Jordan(3 yrs old) that the Temple was Jesus' house. He kept asking if he could go in side and see Jesus...so he was pretty excited when he came walking down the stairs. The second best part was the fire and the fighting. The Boys loved it! We didn't get home till about 2 am. After we put the kids to bed we stayed up talking with Jake and Jenn. It was so fun to have them over and catch up on all they are doing! So about 4 am we thought we should get some sleep since Josh had to speak in church in a few hours. Josh did a great job on his talk. It was on blessings of fatherhood. It was a difficult being less then a year since his dad passed away and being the first fathers day without him. He did a really good job I was so proud of him! After church we had some of Josh's awesome specialty hamburgers! When Josh and Jake get together we have some great food! They both worked in restaurants back in the good ol' days in the 'Couv. We called Dads and grandpas then got the kids to bed while the parents played Rockband and I got dinner going. We had some yummy fondue! How could you not like food dipped in cheese!?! Then after a nice walk to the park we topped off the night with Josh and Jake's father's day cake! It's a huge cupcake but with the german chocolate frosting I think it looks more like a hut...but it still tasted good! It was such a fun weekend! We are glad that Jake, Jenn and the boys could make it...we always have so much fun with them!
Here are a few more pictures from our weekend.

Here we are with the Manti Temple behind us. They had huge lights on so it was kind of messing up the picture.

Waiting for the pageant to start!
Jake, Jenn , Jordan and Mason (and Josh's elbow)
Here are the Bodners again!
Walking toward the Temple after our picnic...so pretty!!

Cooking

2008-06-19T13:25:00.002-07:00

I have decided to do a cooking/recipe blog. I love trying and sharing different recipes. Feel free to email me if you would like to be able to share some of your recipes and I'll add you to the blog. So far I only have 1 recipe up...but it's a good one! I'll try to add more soon... Check out the "Cooking Corner"

Yo Gabba Gabba!

2008-06-14T07:05:00.002-07:00

When I first saw Yo Gabba Gabba I have to admit I thought it was the lamest show. It was up there with Doodle Bops! But I only saw like the first 3 min and quickly turned the channel. One day I was in the kitchen and forgot to run in and change the channel...That was the day Collin fell in LOVE with Yo Gabba Gabba! It's actually not as bad as I thought. It teaches good things through fun little songs. Some of our favorites are..."Don't bite your friends!" and "Pick it up!". and the "sugar bug" game. Brushing the teeth time has been a lot happier since we have introduced this game to Collin. But the song that has really done it for us is "Party in my Tummy"! Collin was having a hard time with vegetables. Now all we have to do is remind him that the veggies want to go to the "party" too! (Except for green beans...we are working on that) Anyways...hope you enjoy the party!

Little Hadley Who!

2008-06-13T22:20:00.006-07:00

Hadley is 6 months old today! She is such a sweet little girl... we just love having her around!

Here are a few things Hadley has been up to...

1. She is working on getting two chompers in. They are so close you can see them trying to pop up.

2. She has discovered Collins hair!! She can be so upset and screaming if Collin comes over and puts his hair in front of her, her screams become laughs as she grabs two handfuls of fun curly hair. Good thing Collin thinks it's funny too!

3. She LOVES food!! That could be the reason she is topping the scales at 21 lbs 6oz!! Bananas seem to be at the top of her list these days.

4. She has mastered sitting up unassisted! YEAH!! Not rolling yet...but we are working on that.

5. She smiles at EVERYONE!! It's the cutest thing! If you look at her, talk to her, smile at her or just about anything in her direction, she will flash the cutest gummy smile this side of the Mississippi. Collin was crying today and Hadley thought it was the funniest thing. The louder he got the harder she laughed...suddenly Collin forgot what he was crying about!

Photoshop

2008-06-11T22:59:00.008-07:00

I got Photoshop a while ago and I'm just now starting to figure it out. My friend Emily has been trying to walk me through it. So here are some of the before and afters....let me know what you think!

This one is from Josh's graduation. We stood there for a while waiting for these people to move but they never did

We went to a little Mexican place for dinner and they gave Collin a balloon. This is him dancing in the parking lot with it.

Collin in the back of Josh's old truck.

Here is Hadley in her little tutu I made for her.

My mom and dad. I just changed the letters.

Where we're at

2008-06-09T12:32:00.003-07:00

I read this quote recently in a talk given by our prophet Thomas S. Monson:

"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way.'"

So this is pretty much what we are doing....
Everyone is asking "When are you moving?" the answer is...we don't know. Josh has been interviewing with a couple of different companies but nothing is set in stone yet. We just keep doing our thing and hope a door opens soon. We will update when we know more.

Tag form Tasha...

2008-06-07T23:51:00.006-07:00

****4 Things****

4 Things I was doing 10 years ago...
June of 1998 I was 16
1. Just got done with my Jr. year at Battle Ground High
2. Worked at Golden Creations Jewelry (one of the coolest first jobs ever!!)
3. Dating Ben Whipple
4. Crusin' in my 1979 Cadillac De ville (I've had a thing for Cadi's ever since..I loved that car!)

4 Things I was doing 5 years ago
1. It was 2 months before I was married so I'm sure I was doing something for the wedding
2. Working as Office Manger at FBSS Tech.
3. Living at Karey and Barney's ...Thanks guys!
4. Hang out with Josh

4 Things I did yesterday
1. Went to J-Dawgs!! Amazing real beef hot dogs...and the owner, Jason, pretty cool guy. He's from Oregon...we got to support our fellow North westerners! And he called me miss not ma'am..thank you Jason! Oh and you got to get the secret sauce.
2. Got an excersaucer for Hadley
3. Check on flights for Andy's wedding
4. Went to the bank

4 shows I watch regularly
1. Deadliest Catch
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Dora
4. Jay Leno

4 people I tag...
1. Laura
2. Claudia
3. Wendy
4. Cassie H.

WOW...it's June!

2008-06-01T17:19:00.003-07:00

I can't believe it...where did May go?
The weather was so nice so it's been hard to stay home and blog.
We had so much going on and with Josh home a LOT more we have been out exploring Utah and getting together with friends.

Memorial Day weekend was beautiful the weather was great! We went for our first bike ride of the year. My brother Aaron, Josh, the kids and I decided to try out Hobble Creek Trail. We got the trailers hooked up and only made it down the street a little when Hadley decide that she was done! So we turned around and Hadley and I hung out in the car. Some things are just easier to do without kids, but all of them had fun besides Hadley. After a few minutes she fell asleep so we drove down the trail and waited for the guys at a little park about half way into the ride. It was a good thing that we stopped there. The rest of the kids were kinda done by then too and Aeva needed to find a restroom. After a little rest and playing in the rocks the kids piled in the suburban and we drove to the end to wait for Aaron and Josh. They were determined to finish! After a few minutes waiting two very tired daddy's finished the nearly 5 mile mostly up hill climb.

All ready to go! Josh with Jack and Collin and Aaron pulling Aeva. Aeva couldn't take Hadley's Crying anymore so we took her out.
One of the many rocks that Aeva foundJack, Collin and Aeva playing in the rocks! They were making snow angels in the rocks...so I guess that would be rock angels.This is where we waited for the weekend warriors. Jack was passed out in the car...he was super tired.

Hadley also hit the 5 month old mark and had her first swimming experience. We went up to my sister Karey's place in SLC. Collin and Hadley LOVED it!! The best thing about it was they both slept really well that night.
I have more but I'm going to bed! It says it might rain tomorrow so maybe I'll find some time.

Mud is getting married!!

2008-05-26T14:56:00.002-07:00

We got a call last night from my little brother Andy (aka Mud) that he just got engaged and is going to be married Aug. 23 in the Portland, Or. Temple. Her name is Lilliana she is super cute and we are very excited to meet her!

HA!

2008-05-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

I saw this today and thought it was funny!

More of Josh's Graduation

2008-05-20T13:16:00.006-07:00

I have had so much to catch up on since we got back from our trip and with Josh being home and the nice weather I've neglected our blog. So here they are.... some more pictures of Josh's graduation.
This is what Collin thought of graduation!
Collin and Daddy
Hadley and Auntie
Hadley and Daddy
YEAH!! He's done!

Josh and His sister Julia

Josh's graduation

2008-05-07T23:04:00.009-07:00

On April 24th & 25th Josh graduated from BYU in Actuarial Science and minors in Business and Spanish. We are so very proud of him and all of his hard work! It was a long road and we are glad to be done (for now...eventually he wants to get his Masters)! On Friday Hadley and I went to the big commencement. We knew Collin would not be able to sit still that long so he went to play at his friend Spencer's house. Josh got to sit with two of his buddies Blake and Regis. I saw them walk in on the big screen and tried to follow them to their seats.
Here are a few more pictures from Thursday. It was nuts during the commencement it was snowing like crazy. You would never know that looking at these pictures taken afterwards.

We will miss you guys!

2008-05-07T22:49:00.005-07:00

Last week when we got home from our trip we turned the corner to find James and Amanda's U-haul parked out front. We knew this day would come that we would have to say good bye. We had ton's of fun being neighbors with them! I was looking at some pictures and found this fun one of little Max. I think it was taken the month they moved in. So he was like 2-3 months old.
Now here is a picture that I got of Max last month playing out side. It was so fun to watch him grow up! I had forgotten how little he was!
We will miss you guys...we wish you the best!

We made it!

2008-04-28T15:08:00.002-07:00

Josh made it through and graduated! After two long days of fun...we packed up the car and drove ALL night to Washington. We will be here for a few more days and then head back to Utah. It has been so nice to be "home"! It's wet and green and we LOVE it!! I can't even count how many different shades of green I have seen! We will post pictures from Josh's graduation and our fun trip when we get home!

Hadley is 4 months old

2008-04-20T18:58:00.005-07:00

I can't believe it Hadley is now 4 months old! It has gone by so fast! She had her check up on Friday. She is growing like crazy! She is 25.5 inch and 18lb 15 oz. Hadley is so much fun these days! She laughs all the time and loves watching Collin run around. She loves to be on the floor playing with Collin and chewing on everything! Here are some recent pictures of her....

Conference

2008-04-11T13:51:00.011-07:00

Oh how we LOVE conference! It was such a great weekend! Josh and I got to attend the Saturday afternoon session. My parents came into town and offered to watch the kiddos so we could go. It was nice to sit and listen and not have to worry about chasing Collin around. We didn't think we were going to make it in. Traffic was kinda crazy and when we got in line to get in it was 1:30. My favorite part of going to conference is when the Prophet walks in and everyone stands and it is completely silent(You could hear a pin drop)! The picture above is one I took from my seat. If you look hard you can see Elder Eyring's cast on his right leg. We heard that he broke his ankle around the time President Hinckley died. Josh's cousin Ann walked by and we got to talk to her for a few minutes. It was fun to catch up with all the happenings of the Lovelands.
This was our least favorite thing of conference....

We took pictures of them so we could see what they said without going up to them to read the signs. Don't these people have anything better to do with their time like maybe go to their own church and worship? But whatever floats your boat! It was still an amazing conference and I'm glad that I was able to go and hear the words of our church leaders! I can't wait for the Ensign to come out so I can read over the talks. After we left we went and got the kids. All of my family that lives in UT. got together at my grandpa Mitchell's house and went out for dinner.
Here are a few pictures from dinner..

We went to The Old Spaghetti Factory...Collin's favorite! We got some great pictures of my brother Aaron's little guy Jack! All the kids had so much fun with Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Gary.

The calm before the storm

2008-04-06T22:03:00.004-07:00

Last week was a rough week for all! It started out with Collin going to the Dr. Monday finding out that he had croup. Little sleep for mom and dad and a cranky 2yr don't mix very well. Wednesday came around and things were looking better. We were only waking up with Collin once or twice during the night and we were seeing improvement in him each day. Here is a picture of Collin, so sweet taking a nap on the couch.
Things were going great! He was going to be so nice and rested....I think it lasted about an hour after he woke up. He did something so I sent him to his room for a little break. After a few minutes I heard a loud crashing noise. This is what I found....His room was clean when he went in. This is what a 2 yr old can do in less then 5 min. Every single book that he has was on the floor, toys everywhere and humidifier tipped over. All I could do at the time was take him out and close the door and wait till Josh got home from work to deal with it. We are so glad Collin is finally feeling better!!

Fun With Cousins

2008-04-01T22:26:00.014-07:00

Last week my sister-in-law Keri came down with the kids during their spring break. We all got together and took the kids to Discovery Gateway. The kids LOVED it! My sister Karey took Collin there a few months ago and he was so excited to go back. His favorite place there is the "service station" where you can fill up the jeep with gas and put air in the tires. After a few hours playing we went and got ice cream and cookies. Collin was so tired, he was asleep before we got out of the parking garage. It was so fun to see Keri and the kids! Here are some of the pictures from our fun day!Here is Collin working the lift at the construction site and then off to the farm to drive the tractor

On the roof they have a full size Life Flight Helicopter. Collin and Scotty are trying out their flying skills.

Scotty at the grocery store getting some produce.The cute little bird house in the 3 and under area. Perfect size for Collin.

Amy on the horse!
Here he is at the Service Station. We always knew where to look for him if he ran off.
Trying out some rock climbing with uncle Barney

This is how Hadley spent her afternoon. She LOVES her little glow worm that Aunt Elli sent. When ever she is upset and screaming we push the button and she just stops and listens to the songs. We use it so much we already need new batteries.
We had the hardest time getting Andrew to leave the construction area, he played there most of the time.

Interesting!

2008-03-21T23:11:00.002-07:00

What American accent do you have? Your Result: North Central "North Central" is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw "Fargo" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot.
The West
The Midland
Boston
The Inland North
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I thought I would take this because Josh has been looking into jobs on the east coast and I thought it might be fun to see if I would have an "accent" if we went there.
Maybe that's why people think I'm from Vancouver Canada!

YAHOOO!!

2008-03-20T18:34:00.004-07:00

It's official...Josh ordered his graduation stuff today! YEAH! Only 35 more days till graduation(but who's counting)! The last two years that we have been here have seemed to fly by.

Jason, Cassie and Caleb visit Utah!

2008-03-20T13:18:00.013-07:00

Our friends Jason, Cassie and their little guy Caleb came to visit us the other day. Collin had tons of fun playing with Caleb. The next day he was so sad that he wasn't coming over to play again! We decided that them coming to town was a special occasion so it gave us an excuse to go to one of our new favorite places, Tepanyaki. It was lots of fun. If you haven't been I highly recommend it. The food is fabulous and all of the cooks we have ever had when we go are lots of fun. Only Josh and Cassie caught their shrimp in their mouths. Collin was a little sad that he didn't catch his and that it hit him in the cheek. Here are a few pictures from dinner. Collin was covering his mouth almost through most of dinner, he would only move his hand a little to put food in, he was a little nervous because of the flames right in front of him.

After dinner we took them to the creamery (one of my favorite places to go for ice cream). Collin and Caleb had fun eating everyone's ice cream! It was so much fun to have them come and visit! Last time we saw them Caleb was only 3 months old. Oh, and here is a video of our onion tower...it tipped over so it was more like a onion blob of fire.

My Cute Husband!

2008-03-14T21:48:00.006-07:00

1. What is your husband's name? Joshua Horrocks

2. How long have you been married? 4 years and 7 months

3. How long did you date? 4.5 months

4. How old is he? 27...wow!

5. Who eats more sweets? Depends on the day...I would say about the same

6. Who said I love you first? Josh told me and I quote "I think I'm in love!" So I guess that counts right?

7. Who is taller? Josh

8. Who can sing better? Even though I was the alto section leader in the concert choir, Josh is better. I love to hear him sing especially to the kids...it's cute!

9. Who is smarter? Book smarts hands down that's Josh. But I got my subjects! We would totally win if we were ever on Cash Cab!

10. Who does the laundry? Me unless I'm behind on it and he needs something then he'll do a load.

11. Who pays the bills? He brings the money home, I spend it. He has enough to remember to do with school and stuff.

12. Who sleeps on the right side? If your at the foot of the bed looking at it Josh does. He's next to the window. Crazy story about a doped up guy shooting a gun in the air next to my window when I was about 8. I don't sleep by the window!

13. Who mows the lawn? Right now neither. But I LOVE to mow the yard! At our last place Josh would get mad because he thought the neighbors would think he was a dork for having his woman mow the yard but I love it. I would sneak out and do it while he was gone so he wouldn't come out and stop me. At our last house I would sometimes do our neighbors too. When Collin was like 5 weeks old I put him and the snugglie and we went out and mowed the lawn. I like to make the nice pattern in the grass.

14. Who cooks dinner? We both like to cook so we trade off. Josh worked in a few restaurants before we were married he picked up a few tips. He's a good cook and he likes to cook too.

15. Who drives? I like driving. I use to drive all the time till my family pointed out to me that I always drive. I think it's a control thing...but Josh drives a lot more now.

16. Who kissed who first? After a 2 hour wait of him trying to...he did!

17. Who asked who out first? Joshed asked me out. Our first date was 5 yrs and 1 day ago!

18. Who proposed? Josh

19. Who has more siblings? Josh, his amazing mom bore 8...yes 8 children! Beat my mom by 2.

20. Who wears the pants? Um...depends. Let's just say we share the pants!