The Humpherys

What a Loser!

2011-03-12T23:06:00.006-07:00

Yes I'm talking about me.

I love looking back on my blog but that hasn't encouraged me to post anything in the past 8 months. So much has happened that it is pointless to try to cover it all. Hopefully I can hit the big ones though.

Hunter turned 1 in January. Really? Has he been with us an entire year? I can't imagine our litte family without him. He is absolutely my angel. Shawn says he is a brat and that is probably true but he makes my heart sing. I look at that little boy and I know the world is better because he is here. He is a tease already and loves to make us laugh. He is really in to biting me and that pretty much stinks but we are working on breaking that little habit. His new trick is blowing kisses and pointing out all of the noses in the room.

We had several parties for him, one at home on his actual birthday, one at Tena and Gerald's and one in Pocatello. He was all birthday'd out.

We had a bit of a scare at the end of January. Hayden was trampled by a horse. He got bucked off and kicked around by one of his Grandpa's horses. It was very scary for everyone there (luckily I was not). Shawn called me on the way to the doctor and I met him at the clinic. All things considered, he lucked out. He received about 12 stitches above his left eye, a broken left arm and several bumps and bruises on the rest of his body. It was another reminder to us that life is so fragile and so precious. We are so thankful that he was not hurt more than he was and that he is still around to tell the tale. Shawn and Gerald were both traumatized as they saw the event unfold. I'm thankful for good doctors and nurses that took care of him and got him through a very scary experience.

He made it to his 9th birthday in February. His cast was off and we went swimming at the pool here in Blackfoot again. It was a fun time.

Hadley attends a cheerleading class at her after school program. She enjoys it and I like it because they actually perform but only a couple of times a year. She had a performance last weekend at a local dance competition. She was so nervous about the performance. She has decided to grow her hair out again. It is long enough to pull back in a pony tail but not long enough to flip up like she wanted to. I got her a little hair piece that made her hair look a little longer. I think her hair became her favorite part of the day. She showed everyone "her wig". Her little squad did a good job in their performance. I couldn't get the video to upload and and this is the only pictue that I have of it. I hate it when that happens.

That's her the first in lin on the right....

Hadley is doing so well in school. Her reading is improving every day. She received several awards at the last school assembly including being nominated for the principal's award. She is actually the youngest one in this picture. The boys are in the second grade. I forget how tall she is because I'm with her every day but she does have some height on her side.

Hallie was also very fun to as she danced along with the other performers. Hadley's group was he 27th performance so we had several songs to watch Hallie join in.

Hallie loves to dance an sing. She is constantly making up her own songs for us to listen to. She is such a joy in my life. Hallie is the child that starts yelling for you like there is something wrong and when you run into the room to find out what she needs she just needed to tell you that she loves you.

Hadley and Hallie attended a cheerleader camp at Snake River High school. It was fun for them and while I don't expect either of them to pursue cheerleading when they are older, they had a good time at the camp and did a great job performing during the half-time of a varsity game the next week. Again the video wouldn't upload I'll have to try again later.

So I missed about 5 months of fun but I guess I can just try harder to keep up with the blog world. Until next time (hopefully sooner than later)................

Hello? Are you there?

2010-07-09T21:52:00.004-06:00

I have been missing in action the past month or so. I really thought that once I graduated that things would slow down but I was so wrong. I finally feel like I am going to be able to be on some sort of schedule. I started a new job right after graduation at the Blackfoot Medical Center. I really enjoyed it there. I worked with some amazing people who really made me feel welcome and taught me so much. But my family fell apart and I had to quit that position. My #1 job is my family and they needed me. It's funny how things work out, about 2 weeks later, I was offered a position at Portneuf Medical Medical Practice. I work in the float pool which means that I get to work when I am availabe and as an added bonus the pay is better. I started this past week and really think that I will enjoy it there as well. My experience in Blackfoot has helped too because they use some of the same programs and I have been able to show them some of the tricks that I learned at the clinic. Well, enough about me.

My brother came to visit from Texas in early June and my little sister Emily took pictures of our family. Here is one that she took of my little family. Unfortunatley, the only picture with all of us looking at the camera is the one that Hayden decided to scowl in.

The kids seem to be getting bigger every day. Hayden finished the 2nd grade. At the end of the year he received an award for the most improved reader. He wasn't bad at the beginning of the year, about 80 words a minute but still his score improved to 190 words a minute. He got a medal from the Elk's and we were pretty proud of him as well. The only picture that turned out was the one of him getting up from his seat. Oh well, it will have to do.

He has been working with his dad each summer and has earned himself a motorcycle. I have very mixed feelings about my son flying on top of a motorized vehicle but Shawn assures me that some of his best memories are of riding his motorcycle with his dad as a child. We are both adament about the helmet rule which helps but I guess I will just have to continue to feel sick whenever he is on it. Here is a picture of him on the day that he got it.

Hadley finished Kindergarten and will be starting 1st grade in the fall. She is such a good big sister. Hunter loves her so much and she is constantly helping her siblings. Here is a picture of her taking Hallie down a slide during the Blackfoot Pride Days.

Hallie has hit the terrible 3's. She is a little bossy, a little demanding and a lot cute. It's so hard to get mad at this little darling. Here is a pic of her in her "cool glasses".

Hunter is also growing too fast for my comfort. He will be 6 months soon and can balance on his own when he is sat up. He loves his brother and sisters. He has an amazing smile that he shares all the time and is finally sleeping through the night (HOORAY). We are all so happy that he is part of our family.

Shawn had surgery on his little finger at the beginning of June. This is on his "good" hand which means that he had to take time off of work. He was just put back on light duty tonight. It was an injury from work so at least he was compansated while off. We have been so busy yet still have not got much done. Hopefully my next post will be of an amazingly fun get away that and I will have remembered to bring my camera and actually pull it out too.

Kids rolling down the hill at Jensen's Grove.

Just keep swimming

2010-04-09T20:26:00.012-06:00

One of my favorite lines from a movie is Dory from Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming". That seems to be my mantra lately. My head is just above water but that's the side that I want it on.

I have been so ridiculously busy and blogging hasn't even been on the list of things to do. 4 weeks left of school WOO HOO!! So here are pictures of some of the happenings the past few months.

Hunter is getting so big.

He is so smiley and really a good baby

He looks a lot like Hayden but I also see my dad in him too

Hayden turned 8 in February, I'm a horrible mom and didn't post anything about it. He was baptized on March 20th. We also blessed Hunter that day. Hayden didn't even mind sharing his special day with his brother. A special little story about his baptism. We had originally planned on doing the baptism/blessing on Hayden's actual b-day. At the beginning of February my dad let us know that he was having neck surgery and would have to be on bed rest for 6 weeks so would not be able to come. When I told Hayden that his grandpa couldn't come he immediately said, "Then I'm not going to do it. I'm not getting baptized without my grandpa. We'll just wait until he can come." Can I tell you how proud I am to be his mother. He truly understands the importance of family. We had so many show up to support us and I am truly thankful for our wonderful family for the love and support given.

Dad & Hayden

Hayden & Hunter in their matching

outfits on their special day

Hadley decided to cut her hair. I have to say that

when I saw the hair fall to the floor after the first

cut it took my breath away but we love it.

She also lost her first tooth!

Here are some pic's from our Easter egg hunt

at Grandma & Grandpa Humpherys

Hallie had a blast this year

Madison & Carter hid the eggs

Here is my amazing Mother-in-law She is a saving grace. I cannot say enough about the woman that she is. She has helped so much during the past few months by feeding my family and helping watch kids etc. She also has the funnest traditions for our family like the easter egg hunt where she fills eggs with $ for the kids. What an amazing example of unconditional love she gives to us all.

Cousin Trae, our little Easter bunny

Shawn & Trae snuggling. This does not usually happen

so I had to get a picture of it

We had to put our sweet, old dog Lloyd down last week. He had cancer and was in pain. It was so hard on our family and we are thankful for the time that we had with him. Lloyd was 11 years old and we all loved him so much.

We went camping at Downata at the end of March. It was cold but a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of the kids. We didn't get the camera out until after Shane & Nicole left so we didn't get any pictures of Nash & Sloane but they were there too.

Hadley in her bed. She loves that silly hat

Shawn and Hallie dancing in our trailer

These are from a baby shower that my friend from work, Jessica, threw for me and another co-worker who is expecting in April. Here is the super cute cake that she made. What talent...

This is Jess holding a game that we played

So I know that I am missing a ton but these are just a few pictures that I got off my camera in a hurry. May cannot get here fast enough. School is done for me on the 6th. Cross your fingers that I can endure to the end.

Just another week, kind of...

2010-01-31T14:06:00.006-07:00

While I should have tons of pictures of our newborn, I don't. I only have a story of traumatic week for this child. Monday was his first doctor's appointment, he looks great according to the doctor and I am in full agreement. While there, we had our little guy circumcised. Shawn and I both watched. I know that the choice to do this is purely cosmetic but we have chosen to do it anyway. After the procedure, while waiting for the doctor to come back in we checked his diaper and off fell his umbilical cord. What a joyous occasion other than the fact that now because of the circ, we have to wait for that to heal. So on with the sponge baths- which he hates.

It is Sunday and Hunter has caught the goomba that is going around our house. It started with Hallie being sick, Hayden next, and then Hadley. On Thursday I started feeling a little sick and now both Hunter and I are all stuffed up. This is an issue during nursing as he breathes through his nose. It was not a fun night last night. I was up every 45 minutes but it was even worse for my little angel who couldn't breathe. Shawn is back to work and is on graves so when he got home at 7:00 a.m. I went to the store to get some saline drops to help the poor little guy out. I think that my little irrigation job helped some because at least he is not snoring now.

Hayden and Hadley had a basketball game yesterday. It is sure fun to watch them play. Hadley is not actually on the team but because Shawn is the coach he puts her in every now and then. She is in kindergarten and is as tall if not taller than most of the 1st and 2nd graders on the team. Being the amazing mother that I am, I forgot my camera. I only got one picture of Hadley out on the floor with my craptastic phone camera. Here it is (that's Hadley in the red shorts):

School is still going strong. I'm plugging away. I got to watch a lap-band surgery this past week. It was very interesting and I now have a different view on caring for a patient who just had a laporascopic surgery.

Hallie is starting to have some attention issues. She has not acted out at all towards Hunter. The rest of us are free game though. She started pinching for no reason at all. She'll walk right up to you, smile, and pinch you as hard as she can. We are trying to convince her that negative attention is not the kind of attention that she should want. At night she wants my attention even when its time to nurse. She will sit outside Hunter's room and cry for me. This can be difficult when Shawn's at work because I have no one to help detour her attention and Hunter doesn't exactly fall fast asleep when his sister is sobbing outside his room.

Well, I can't decide if I whined too much in this post or not. Sorry if that's the general theme that came across. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with life and am so thankful for my friends and family who have been helping me out. Until next time.....

Our little Hunter

2010-01-22T18:46:00.006-07:00

Hunter Dean Humpherys

01-14-10 @ 11:05 p.m.

8 lbs. 0 oz

20 in.

So its taken me a bit to announce him to the blog world. Hunter joined us after a 12.5 hr labor. Hayden was born by cesarean and I have chosen to have my other kids VBAC. There are certain risks and precautions that go along with that which includes not inducing labor. I was so hoping that he would decide to come early but I guess he had other plans. School started on Thursday so at my appointment on Tuesday I practically begged my doctor to do something to get me going. Seeing how they had already stripped my membranes at the two prior appointments, he decided to give it another valiant attempt- for those of you who have not experienced the joy of having your membranes stripped, keep it that way. Anyhow, I guess I whined enough because the Dr came back in to the room and said that if that didn't get me going, that he had scheduled me to come in on Thursday morning to break my water and use the slightest bit of pitocin if that didn't get me going.

I went straight to my school to talk to my instructors and let them know that I wouldn't be at class that week because I would be having a baby. I have to say that I am so glad that I chose EITC for school. My instructors rock. Not only did they help me fill out my medical leave form, they told me that if I needed longer to just take it and they would help me work it out.

The stripping of the membranes did a big, fat nothing to encourage the child to come. The next day (Wednesday) was a get ready for baby day. I went grocery shopping and bought about 2 months of groceries. I will only have to go to the store for milk and fruits/veggies. I spent a small fortune but that's OK.

Here we are at the hospital

On Thursday I got up, got the kids ready and to school and called the hospital to make sure that it was still a go. The nurse I spoke with said that they were busy and that they would call me when a room was ready. So we held off taking Hallie to Tena's house as planned. I sat down to look over my bags & make sure that I hadn't forgotten anything. The phone rang about 20 minutes later and it was the hospital saying to come in for my 9 o'clock appointment. It had snowed and was slick and we live 40 minutes from the hospital so we didn't get there until about 9:30 did the whole check-in at admissions and finally were up in our room around 10:00. My nurse did her thing, history, start IV, evaluate. I was only dilated to 3. The doctor came in and broke my water at 10:40 a.m. and they started my epidural within the next hour. And the waiting game began. As long as I was progressing on my own, they didn't want to start the pitocin. I progressed, but slowly- about 1 cm every 2 hours, but that's still progression. I didn't feel a thing. Now just because I didn't feel it doesn't mean my body didn't. Around 10:00 p.m. the exhaustion set in. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to push, so I slept. I woke up to some pain in my back which was not being relieved by the epidural pca so the nurse anesthesist (not sure if that's spelled right) came in to give me another dose. He aspirated some blood and it was decided that my epidural had slipped out a bit. He put me on my side and fixed it and that's when the pressure started. It was a good pressure though.

Right before I started to push.. don't I look tired?

Wham bam thank you mam, three pushes later Hunter was with us. The kids obviously won the name game but I like the name Hunter so that's OK. He has been such a good little baby. I'm up every 2-3 hours nursing him but that's just part of having a newborn. He hates his diaper changed and really unless he's hungry that's about the only time that he cries. The kids are in love with this child. Hallie is no longer daddy's girl, she is now Hunter's girl. She lives for the moments that we let her hold him.

Here he is.....

Sister loves him

I started back to school yesterday. It was so hard and there were a lot of tears shed on my part but Hunter did great with daddy and with the bottle that daddy introduced. I have been pumping so there was plenty of food for him. Again, the best instructors in the world, have totally accomodated me in a place to pump and storage for my milk. 15 more weeks and I'm done.

Well, this has been much longer of a post than I had planned. Back to the grind. I hope everyone is well and happy because I sure am.

We made it

2009-12-15T14:03:00.006-07:00

Where did the past 3 months go? It has really all been a blur, but a blur that I survived none-the-less. I finished (and passed) my 2nd semester of the nursing program, 1 more to go :) Shawn left at the beginning of October for a 10 week training at the Idaho POST academy in Boise. This is essentially police academy which was required of his job. Shawn was able to be home all but 2 Saturdays and on Thanksgiving weekend so we did get to see him but not a whole lot got done.

I would never have made it through the past 10 weeks without my amazing family. Heather is my personal angel. She rearranged her schedule to help me out. I had to be in Idaho Falls 4 days a week, 3 of those days had me leaving my house around 5:45 a.m. in order to get to my clinical rotation or class on time. That means that I had to leave long before the kids were out of bed and with Shawn being 4 hours away, Heather assumed the role of getting the kids up and ready for school. Many times, she got off of work at 3 a.m. and still got up at 7 to get the kids going. There were some days that her schedule could not be changed and my dad spent the night at my house and stayed with Hallie during the day. Brooke also took a round of sleeping over with her kids to watch my children on a Saturday. What an amazing blessing my family is to me.

So, Shawn's home and it is almost Christmas. This week we are working on catching up on the housework and getting our Christmas decorations up. We are also trying to get ready for this little blessing coming in the next 4 weeks. We are still undecided on a name. The kids want Hunter. I like Hudson and Shawn is pining for Titan. I have trained Hallie when asked what she thinks of Titan to say, "Titan stinks".

Two weeks ago when Shawn was home, we went to a 'Breakfast with Santa' at my school and here are some pictures that we got from our time with Santa. The most amazing part of this is that Hallie actually sat on Santa's lap and had a conversation with him. Everyone was laughing and she did not like that but all in all she enjoyed her time with Santa.

First Day of School (a week or so late)

2009-09-03T20:12:00.004-06:00

The kids started school on Wednesday and I started on Thursday. Has it already been over a week? School is crazy busy for me so far and I've still got 14 weeks left. Enough about me though.

Hayden is my mighty 2nd grader. He came home from school in a great mood and proudly stated that he loved his teacher. I hope that he is able to sustain this attitude all year long. He is so big and so responsible and I am so thankful that he is mine.

Hadley is in kindergarten. It was not as emotional for me to send her off to school, this in part because she rode the bus with her big brother who I know will take care of her and she has the same teacher that Hayden had for kindergarten and she is AWESOME!!

Little Miss Hadley striking a pose

Hadley's teacher asks the parents to make a scrapbook page of the kids to use on the first day as a get-to-know-you tool. Here is the one that Hadley and I made. I am by no means the scrapper that many of my cousins are but I think it turned out OK.

Front (we only got 1 page)

Back

I thought that Hallie would enjoy her mornings without her siblings but she actually gets sad when they leave in the morning and asks where they are all day long. That brings her mommy such joy. It makes me so happy when they love each other the way that I love them.

Hallie posing with Hadley

So we survived the first week and are planning for a great year. We hope the same for everyone else out there too.

Hot dog or Hamburger

2009-08-27T22:25:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was a very good day. Drum roll please..........

It's a hot dog or as the ultrasound tech said "a third leg". Both are a little vulgur but either way it means a boy!! Shawn about jumped out of his seat, Hayden cheered, Hadley burst in to tears, Hallie was already in tears because she thought that I was being hurt. I must say that I am also very pleased because I did NOT want to have another head of hair to do every day. The ultrasound looked good- all parts there, he looked healthy and no definite markers for any deformities/diseases. He would not turn so that we could get a profile picture but we really got the information that we came for so I didn't mind. Here are a couple of picture of his face which I personally think are a little wierd but what the hey, I just posted a picture of his down under so why not one of his face.

His little fist kept grabbing at the air.

Our little alien. He was moving his lips so it looks cool on the video

Last bit of summer

2009-08-23T16:01:00.006-06:00

Seriously, where has summer gone? School starts this week for all of us. Hayden & Hadley on Wednesday and myself on Thursday. Many of my friends are sad because their kids are back in school and they will miss them. I guess that I'm not as kind because I am estatic that my kids are going to school. I love the schedule that school provides, mostly because I don't have to make it.

Here are a few pics of us winding down our summer.

Hallie finally figured out how to pedal her tricycle.

She is hilarious! She puts on her helmet and is off.

Sometime the helmet is right, other times it is backwards.

She is really good about staying right in front of the house too.

It is always amazing to me how much kids pick up on a copy.

Hallie always puts her bike on its side like her brother & sister.

She gets off, picks it up and puts it on its side.

Hadley has kept up on her photography passion.

Here are a few pictures of summer play as seen by Hadley:

Her brother on the trampoline

We've also had fun at the "beach".

Jensen's Grove is 5 minutes from our house and the kids love to

go swimming and play in the water.

Hallie still only likes her feet in the water.

Here she is coming to tell on her sister for getting her too wet.

We've had a great time this summer. It was super short for myself with school and I am really looking forward to next year when I don't have class all summer and will even have a new family member to enjoy it with.

The baby

2009-08-14T14:04:00.004-06:00

Here are a couple of pics from the ultrasound I had last week. It was a quickie, about 5 minutes is all, because the ultrasound lady was backed up and in a hurry. We didn't even get to check "down under" to see what we are having. No worries though, I have another one on the 26th and will find out then. The two pictures look almost exactly the same. I'm mostly just excited to see a viable baby with long legs and he/she had a strong heart beat. My due date is January 16th.

Camping w/ the fam

2009-08-01T16:07:00.005-06:00

This week we went camping in Island Park. We were going to go to Palisades and bring the boat while sleeping in a tent. I put the kibosh on that one. While a tent sounded just wonderful, I prefer the camp trailer. So off we were. We camped at Buttermilk campground near the Island Park resevoir. Our site was just across from a set of docks. We brought Lloyd (the dog) and he had a blast fetching a stick from the water. Shawn and Hayden ordered the book The Summer of the Monkeys and Shawn brought it with us to read. It was really kind of fun sitting around and listening to him read the story.

The next day was a busy one. We first loaded up and went to Big Springs to feed the fish. There were seagulls everywhere trying to steal the food from the fish. The kids had a blast feeding both the fish and the seagulls. I, of course, left my the camera in the car during this so no pics.

We decided to unload the 4-wheelers and go for a ride. Hayden drove his and the rest of us (that's right 4 of us!) piled on Shawn's. Lloyd ran next to us. That poor dog got more exercise in this one day than he has got the entire summer. We wore him right out. He fell asleep sitting up several times that night and the next day.

It was a beautiful ride. We saw so much beauty. While on the ride, we crossed an old railroad bridge where people were putting in to float the fork. Shawn and I had made this float 10 years ago when Lloyd was just a puppy and we thought it would be fun to take the kids on it as well.

So off to Mack's Inn to rent a boat for a float trip. I forgot how long of a float it is. We started out strong. Shawn and the kids attempted fishing while I paddled the boat (we hit the shore several times-oops)

We stopped one time to try and let them fish from the shore but that didn't last long. The weeds were as tall as Hallie but that didn't stop her from exploring. Hadley was so sweet and helped her back to the boat.

We got back to camp with just enough time to make dinner and get to bed. We were all tired. Lloyd could barely it up the two steps in to the camper. The next morning, Shawn made us breakfast. That's right- I said Shawn made it. Now if I could just get him to cook at home.

The kids played and picked me some flowers while we packed up the camp site. It was a short but super fun trip. Hopefully we can do this again soon.

Summer in a nutshell

2009-07-15T19:25:00.009-06:00

Well, it's Wednesday, didn't make it on Tuesday. So much has happened in the last few months and I have had almost no time to write about out. Here is a quick overview of our summer.

Hallie-

She is talking up a storm and wishing that she was older. She wants to be out front riding her bike with her brother and sister but hasn't been able to because Mom has been glued to her computer with school work. She loves to swing and jump on the trampoline. We visited Grandpa Humpherys up at Grand Targhee and she did not enjoy her horse ride with Dad.

Hallie and her friend Kaitlyn earlier this summer

She did not enjoy one second of this ride

Hadley

Hadley turned 5 in May. Unfortunately it was also the first week of school for Mom so it was not blogged about. She played her first year of t-ball and did very well. Mom was the assistant coach (not the best, sorry Heidi). She and her brother have found a group of kids in the neighborhood their age and are little social butterflies. She rode Sheila (the horse) all by herself up with Grandpa this summer and is looking forward to doing that again.

Our cute little softball player

Riding Sheila

Five yrs old- going on 15

Hayden

Hayden finished his first year of coach pitch baseball and unfortunately hated it. He found it boring. We may try one more year just to make sure that it wasn't just a bad year for him. He finished the 1st grade. Mom got to go help with field day the last week of school and she had a blast with him. He finally lost his first tooth in May. He has had fun playing with his friends this summer. He also had fun riding horses with Grandpa and rode all by himself.

Riding Reba

Jungle Day

1st tooth

Shawn

So busy. He is again this summer working 3 jobs. He is still working his regular patrol work week, working on marine patrol- 2 drownings so far this summer in Bingham County, and curbing. The 30+ days of rain this summer have put him behind and he is now doing double time to catch up. No pictures of Shawn, he's way to busy to sit still for a camera.

Hilary

School, clinicals, helping with Hadley's t-ball and trying to keep up with my beloved children. Notice housework not listed? Our poor family has noticed and now that school is out, I have to pick up the pace and get this place put back together. I finished the semester with two A-. I hate that stupid minus.

Look what I've got.....get it??

That is all that I'm writing for now. There is way too much that I skipped but I will try to keep up for the rest of this wonderful summer now that I can fully participate. Until next week.

Just wait, its coming

2009-07-11T17:18:00.002-06:00

The summer semester is over and I am now facing the very messy house that we live in. I am planning to blog on Tuesday's. I have a whole summer to catch up on and I know this so the "catch up" emails can cease. All will be revealed on Tuesday.

Until then......

Lucky Ducky!!

2009-05-15T18:38:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday we went to a safety fair that the city of Blackfoot held. The kids got new bike helmets, got to go through an ambulance and a smoke house to teach them about what to do in the event of a fire. While there they put their names in a free raffle for several things including a bike. Yesterday we got a call from a local auto dealer saying that Hayden won. Hayden was so excited he called just about everyone that he could think of. Hadley about had a nervous break down and we had to have a lengthy discussion on how it is important to be happy when something good happens for someone else. She finally decided that she was happy for him but sad for herself. At 5 I think I probably would have felt the same way.

Anyway, I think that I might have Hayden pick some numbers for the powerball on Saturday.

One down, one to go

2009-05-11T09:55:00.004-06:00

Earlier I had posted that I had failed as a parent in teaching my kids to ride a bike. Well cross that one off the list. Hadley loves her bike. She would ride up and down the road with her training wheels, she couldn't get enough. She finally broke one of the training wheels off. Devastated, she just couldn't stay off the thing and decided to take her dad's advice and just ride with one until we could get it fixed. Shawn noticed that she wasn't even using the one and off they came. Here is the video that Shawn got with his phone.

Boy was Hayden mad. He wasn't even interested in his bike until he saw Hadley without her training wheels. It took him all until the next day to ditch the training wheels. Here he is on 2 wheels as well. Here is the video footage of Hayden. Mind you, he is on Hadley's bike, his is much cooler (he asked that I put that in here).

In celebration, I bought a child seat for the back of my bike. Hallie absolutely loves it. We are bike riding fools. This is good because I need to get off my butt. I have spent much of the last eight months on it studying and it shows. The weather is finally cooperating and we have had a blast. Here's to a fun bike-riding summer.

Hallie's B-day

2009-05-11T09:25:00.005-06:00

Well she's gone and done it. My baby is two years old.

We had a party for her on the Saturday before her actual day at my mom's. It was hard for me to find a gift for her. She is happy with whatever she gets and her older brother and sister have so much for her to play with already. I took her to the store to see what she would want. We got to the isle with the dolls and she went nuts. She went down the isle saying hi and then kissing each one in her reach. She did end up with a lot of clothes and some fun toys.

Here she is with her cake. We couldn't get her to pose.

She kept stealing frosting from it (that's my girl)

Hallie does NOT like the birthday song. She breaks into tears every time we sing it. Even when it is for someone else. Here Hayden is comforting her during the song.

Half of the the bags and boxes are still bigger than she is!

This ended up being her favorite. I got her a stroller for her dolls. She loves to run around the house with it, especially when she can run it into someone else. She also likes to sit in it herself. We will probably have to replace it soon because it is already starting to tear a little from her.

School pics

2009-04-29T18:57:00.005-06:00

I managed to not get professional pictures of my kids last year. I have always hated that there weren't as many pictures of me as my older siblings. Well Mom and Dad- I forgive you. I now understand how life gets in the way with multiple children and I only have half as many as you did. This year I decided to take the girls in to Hayden's school when he had his spring pictures- yes I am that dorky mom. It was nice because I got to be first in line, it took just a few minutes (Hallie was a bit apprehensive), and they sent the pictures home with Hayden- I didn't have to pick them up. I don't think that they turned out as wonderfully as I'd hoped. They used a green screen for the background and the kids look photo-shopped (is that even a word) in to the pictures. At least they are done. Next year Hadley will be in kindergarten so she'll get them done at school and I'll only have to worry about getting Hallie in. I'm hoping that we can get some family pics too.

Coach pitch

2009-04-29T18:33:00.004-06:00

Hayden has started his baseball season. He has graduated from t-ball and is now in coach pitch. His dad is again an assistant coach. I think that this might be his last year of baseball. He really doesn't seem to like it. I think that his father has had a bit of an influence on him because he doesn't like it much either. Anyway, the sponsor for his team is Wake Up Call, a local coffee shop. Hayden was appalled that his shirt has the word coffee actually printed on it. We teased him about being a coffee drinker too (probably didn't help) I guess that makes me happy in a way. He has his own belief about it and knows it is something to stay away from. Here are some pictures that I took of his first game- last week. I'm kind of a slacker when it comes to blogging lately. Life is not slowing down either but I'll try to keep up.

I'm in!!

2009-04-14T17:09:00.003-06:00

Today I received my acceptance letter into the 2009 summer nursing program. Baby steps... this time next year I'll have completed my LPN and then on to my RN after that. I'm so thankful that I have had the opportunity to finally go back to school, for the support system of wonderful family that I have and that everything has just fallen in to place for me. I guess that timing is everything and I'm in the right place at the right time. Yeah!!!

Egg Decorating 2009

2009-04-13T11:04:00.009-06:00

We decorated Easter eggs at Tena & Gerald's on Saturday night. This is a competition and Tena always provides prizes. We had a fun time and there were some pretty eggs that came out of it as well. I would announce the winner, but I don't want to gloat- again.

Madison showing her winning egg

Carter & his egg

Hallie playing peek-a-boo

Hayden and his winning egg

Hadley eating her candy necklace prize & showing her egg

Tena showing her decorated ostrich egg

The work/mess center

The winners (from L to R)

Front row: Hilary, Hilary, Hilary, Linda

Back row: Tena

This is always so much fun and we are so thankful that Grandma hosts it each year. Shane, Nicole, Nash & Sloane are gone for the summer selling again and missed the festivities from a late Easter. We sure missed them when they are gone, especially during fun times like these.

"Making the decision to have a child- it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." Elizabeth Stone

2009-04-13T09:46:00.010-06:00

We attended the City of Blackfoot Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Last year we were late and missed it so we were rushing to get to the area on time. Hayden and Hadley were in the same age group looking for eggs. They are just sectioned off squares with the eggs scattered on the ground. Parents are not allowed to help their children so I sent them to the front of the group and waited for the horn to blow. At 11 the horn blows and the mayhem begins. Kids running in every direction, the lady on the P.A. telling the parents to get out of the hunt area and parents ignoring the P.A. lady and helping their kids anyway. I'm in back of a wall of parents. Here are some pic's of me holding my camera up above the crowd and taking random shots after the horn was blown.

The eggs are gathered and here comes Hadley pulling her friend Abby out of the crowd, right back to me. Where is Hayden? He must be looking for me so I wait, and wait, and wait. Now I'm getting nervous. I have not moved from the place they left me and afraid to move. I'm scanning the crowd and absolutely freaking out on the inside. I cannot show this concern to my two girls because this will not help the situation in any way. The lady on the P.A. is telling everyone to get the items out of their eggs and return the plastic egg shells for next year. I decide to expand my line of sight and move so that I can see both where I was standing and the line to the egg return. Still no Hayden. Internal freak out increasing by the minute. I finally go to the Chamber of Commerce stand and talk to our friends, Curt & Maureen Green who are there. I ask them to help me look for Hayden. They put out the word and start searching for my son. I also talked to one of the officers there, who both Shawn & I work with, and tell him that I can't find Hayden. I'm dragging the girls all over this park looking for Hayden and trying not to let my internal freak out become external. I finally decided to go check my car because Hayden would go back there if he couldn't find me. I leave my cell number with Curt and tell the officer that I am going there & if when they found Hayden to take him to the Chamber of Commerce stand and call me. I take off to the car. Now, I didn't park the car in the Grove, I parked several blocks away, across one busy street and behind a restaraunt. That is why the car wasn't the first place that I checked. Hadley finally got on the stroller because she couldn't keep up with me. I was almost to the busy street when I see Maureen and a posse (including her children and Jon Croxford) walking with Hayden. I almost broke down right there.

When Hayden couln't initially find me, he decided to go and play in the toys on the other side of the park. After a while he got worried that I hadn't found him so decided to go to the car. Maureen saw him crossing the busy street and found him sitting on the grass near the car. Officer Rowland gave Hayden a little lecture (thank you) and we headed back to the car so that I could cry. Hadley was upset because she didn't get a picture with the Easter Bunny or get a balloon because we had been too busy looking for Hayden. We went back to the park and let them get a picture and let Hayden return his egg shells. Unfortunatley, they were out of balloons. Here is a picture of the kids with the Easter bunny. Hallie would not let me get within a 2 foot radius of the him so she is not in the picture.

Well, part of my heart was gone for a bit and I hope that I never have to feel that abscence again. I think that this was the worst feeling that I have ever felt. I am so thankful to the many people who helped look for him. I was amazed at how many people dropped what they were doing and started to look. I keep thinking of the parents who's children are lost or have been taken and I ache for them. I have been looking at ways to get involved in the center for missing and exploited children. There are tons of little things that can be done is registering you phone to received real amber alerts, not just the fake ones that get sent through your area. The site to do this is:

http://www.wirelessamberalerts.org/

I have also posted a link for Idaho missing children. If you google the National Center for Missing and Exploited Chilren there are several links that you can post for yourself as well.

Spring fun

2009-04-13T09:19:00.003-06:00

Since Spring keeps teasing us with a few warm days here and there, we took advantage of them and went to the park.

Hayden & Hallie playing on the big toy. Hallie had already ran to her favorite toy- the tire swing. She spends her entire time at the park on it usually. I remember loving the tire swing myself. Now I can barely swing on a normal swing without getting sick.

Hayden joined Hadley and some "new friends", as Hadley likes to call everyone that she meets, on the tire swing. I pushed Hallie on the swing. Hallie loves the swing and could easily be on it for hours if she could find someone to push her that long.

I have to say that Shawn and I have failed as parents in two particular things (I'm sure that there are more). Our kids don't yet know how to ride a bike or swim without life jackets. I have no one to blame but myself (but I think that I will blame Shawn anyway :)). At 5 and 7 years old, our two oldest can both drive a 4-wheeler but are just learning to navigate on a 2-wheeled bike without training wheels. We are in the water all summer, but in a boat with our life jackets on. My goal this summer is to get them through swimming lessons and to have them riding their bikes without the training wheels.

Here is Shawn helping Hayden w/out training wheels. Notice Hadley in the background. She likes speed and still has her training wheels on too. Numerous times we had to call her back. She also wrecked into the bushes about 5 minutes after this picture was taken. All of the sudden she was standing on the bike path with no bike. It was way off the walkway. Did she slow down once Shawn pulled it out of the bushes? No, once she got all of the stickers out of her sock and shirt, she was off again.

Hallie was being pushed in the stroller. She does OK for a while but gets tired of just sitting there. This picture is about 30 seconds before her breaking point.

The concert

2009-04-04T00:25:00.013-06:00

For my birthday, Heather bought me tickets to the Blue October concert in SLC. Our friend Kirstin also had her 30th b-day in March so she was also treated to the concert. We left on Tuesday afternoon and met Kirstin there.

The venue was The Depot, which none of us had been to. We were there early enough to have gone right up to the front of the stage, but we are older now and didn't feel the need. We found nice seats at the edge of the room. It was perfect for us. We had a great view of the band and we didn't get smooshed.

I brought my camera but, being the braniac that I am, left it in the car with my coat/purse. We all had our cell phones so we did get some pic's. Also in the attempt to not bring those items in, I wore my cell phone on my belt. This is something that I DO NOT DO but I didn't want to loose it. I made fun of my "bulge" all night. Here it is:

It was a great concert. The opener was not bad, the lead singer was a little dramatic and we laughed a lot at him. That's right- at him. Blue October was great though. They played all of the songs from their new album and several favorites of my favorites from other albums. Here are some pic's of the concert. We had bought the edited version of the CD and so there were a lot of words in the original songs that we didn't realize were there. We looked at each other and giggled every time that he swore in a song. It made me appreciate the edited version though.

Lead singer, Justin Furstenfeld

Now the story of the girl-

After the concert, we went out on the floor to take pictures of ourselves. One of the band members, Ryan Delahoussaye, came out and was signing tickets so I of course went to get mine signed. This girl (totally drunk) came up to the stage and started telling him a sob story of how she had lost her kids (possibly something to do with her being a crazy lush) and that the band was the only thing that helped her get through it and begging him to give her something. He gave her a guitar pick and she thanked him and then asked him if he was part of the band. I bust up laughing and I was right next to her. She said, "you can all laugh at me but I got something that is worth a lot" Again couldn't stop laughing. Here are some pictures of me standing next to "the girl" she is the one on the right.

We laughed and joked and Kirstin did her best to talk the security in to letting us back stage but it just didn't happen. We got t-shirts (thanks again Heather) and were finally told that we had to leave. Here are a couple of pictures of us being groupies. Notice that Heather is not in any of the pictures. She was the photographer. She is the most successful person I know when it comes to staying out of pictures.

As we walked outside it was raining. We looked down the street and low and behold saw the lead singer getting off the tour bus. He decided that he would greet his fans and sign some autographs. Here he is with some of his fans.

drum roll please....

That is really Kirstin and I in the picture with the lead singer of Blue October!! He also signed all of our shirts. He was very nice (and very high).

We then stayed at hotel Bybee again. It was so great. Kirstin & I stayed up half the night talking and laughing. It was absolutely the best birthday present ever. Thank you so much Heather for everything. I had the best time and I really needed it. Thanks Kirstin for coming with us and for letting us stay at your house. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. If I'm going to be away from my kids, I couldn't ask for better people to be with.

Shawn's turn

2009-03-24T11:18:00.009-06:00

Shawn 1-2 days after birth

In honor of my dear husband's 31st birthday I wanted to post some cute pictures that we have hanging around the house. He was not too pleased about some of them. Happy Birthday Shawn, I hope we have many, many more to share together. I could not ask for a better man to share my life with and to be the best father to our children.

Hayden says- thank you for being a good dad. I hope you have a good BIRTHDAY
love HAYDEN
(by the way he typed this himself- no help, almost he couldn't find the period.)

Hadley says-hadleyklpsa (also typed herself). Happy birthday, thanks for all the treats and gifts that you got us. Thanks for being a cop. I love you.

Hallie says- Dad's girl

Shawn 3 months old:

(funny huh?)

2 yrs old

3 yrs old- feeding the elk w/ Shane

Kindergarten

3rd grade

4th grade (nice chain and I do believe this was the era of the tail)

7th grade

Shawn w/Barry thinking they are sexy- 18yrs old

Shawn & Grandma Humpherys- 20something

Happy, happy birthday Hayden dear.

2009-03-03T21:15:00.008-07:00

Hayden's birthday was on February 20th. I am absolutely blown away by this. How he has changed from the little angel that I brought home 7 years ago. Can seven years really have gone by this fast?

Hayden is my little miracle. He came after a long time of trying and a touch-and-go pregnancy. He was born by emergency cesearean. I have said this before but the single-most defining moment in my life was when they placed him in my arms. Shawn left the O.R. with him after he was born but I had to stay in recovery. It was a horrible hour to wait until I could see him but finally they wheeled me into my room and brought him to me. The moment he was in my arms, I had a reason for being and I knew that I would do anything for him and still would.

Hayden has grown in to such a caring little boy. He has the heart of an angel. This year for his birthday I told him he could have a friends party and then we would celebrate with his family the next day. We were on our way to his school and he started naming who he wanted to come. Then he paused for a minute, took a deep breath and finally said, "Mom, I don't really think I need a friend party. My family is way more important to me". From the mouths of babes. I almost had to pull over from the wave of emotion that came over me after that one.

Well we did have a really fun party at the swimming pool. A couple of his friends from school and family members were there. Here are some pictures that were taken that night.

The next day we went to Pocaetllo for a birthday party with the family that wasn't able to make it up on Friday. We went to Arctic Circle, had cake and opened presents. The kids played hard and the adults visited. In the mess of getting everything I forgot my camera so no pics of that one. Maybe I can talk my mom into sending me some to post. It was all in all a good birthday weekend.

Hayden, I am so thankful that the Lord blessed me with you. You are truly one of my reasons for being. I love what you have become and look forward to what you will be.

My sunbeam

2009-01-28T21:37:00.003-07:00

I know, I know, two posts in a row featuring Hallie. I'm not playing favorites but I was just able to catch this on camera and wanted to share it. Our little Hallie will not talk unless it is her idea but she loves to convey herself through actions. Maybe she'll be a speech pathologist or a sign language interpreter. She loves songs and one of her new things is to have me sing while she dances or does actions. This is the song she was in to tonight and yes she was really in to it until I put the camera on.

Where Is Hallie?

2009-01-19T00:42:00.006-07:00

Hallie loves to hide from me. Under the bed, in the linen closet, behind furniture. It is hilarious! She hides and then yells for me to find her. The closer I get, the louder she laughs. I love this game, its my favorite. The other day she yelled for me to find her so I went a looking. This is what I found:

(these are the drapes in our front room)

I kept the ruse up for a little walking around the room saying, "Where's Hallie?" over and over while she snickered. I guess the suspense exhausted her because she had to take a seat.

After an intense search I finally found her!

Dear Hallie- I love you, I love the sweet spirit that you possess. At a year old you have already demonstrated such love and such a wonderful sense of humor. You keep us all on track- reminding us to pray before our meals, telling us to be nice and giving loves when you think someone is sad. I'm so thankful that I'm yours and I'm so glad that I found you. I know that I would be lost without you. Love, Mama

My beautiful girls

2009-01-19T00:29:00.007-07:00

Our dear friend Heidi made the girls some darling hairbows for Christmas. Here are some pictures of the girls with some of them. Thanks Heidi!

Hadley the photographer

2009-01-19T00:15:00.006-07:00

Hadley loves to take pictures. I often find my camera with 50+ pictures that she has taken of herself, the TV, her siblings and anything else . Here are some that she took one day when my dad was watching the girls while I was at school.

Christmas catch up- better late than never

2009-01-18T23:07:00.009-07:00

Christmas came and went, New Year's came and went, yet my blogging never came. So I'm way behind. So here goes a lot of pictures with a little caption. I worked a lot during my Christmas break and now am back in school with no time on my hands so here I am up at midnight blogging. It's worth it though.

Santa visited Grandma & Grandpa Humpherys house. Here is Hayden & Santa (not a good picture but believe me its him)

Hadley & Santa (her sweatshirt glowed with the flash-I seriously need to take a photography class)

Hallie not liking Santa (again crappy picture)

she recovered fantastically and even took a ride on a reindeer later

Cousin Nash riding the horse after a traumatic encounter with Santa (isn't he so darling?)

Christmas morning

These are literally the only pictures that I took. The rest is on the camcorder but I'm lucky to get these uploaded so I'll just deal with it.

The kids peaking around the corner at the presents. We had to wake Hallie up so she was asleep in my arms at the time.

Hayden on the move towards the presents

Jackpot!

SPLAT!

2008-12-04T22:58:00.007-07:00

I have been picking up extra shifts at the Sheriff's Office to help supplement Christmas. I enjoy the people there still and it is nice as I can do some homework if needed.

Well today as I came in to work, I parked as usual, got out of my car as usual, and started walking in to the building as usual. Somehow, I tripped over the curb coming in and before I knew it I was on my knees on the pavement. At first I was concerned that someone had seen me bite the dust but after a quick look around I knew I was safe. It wasn't until I got up that I realized how hurt I was. I could barely walk. Going down the 2 flights of stairs to the basement of the building, I talked myself in to not crying. Many of you know that I am a bawl baby (somehow crying makes it hurt less).

I told the ladies what happened and sat down to log in to the computers. After sitting for a few minutes I realized just how sore I was. I called my supervisor and told her of the mishap, I then got to go to the patrol sergeants office for an accident report and then off to the medical clinic to be checked out.

Diagnosis: strained rotator cuff, sprained ankle, contusion on my big toe and a scraped knee. The biggest injury was to my pride which the ibuprofen, ice and rest won't fix. I was able to go back to work and finish my shift with just a few friendly comments about my fall and a new nickname of Crash.

Christmas Program

2008-12-04T22:54:00.002-07:00

Hayden's Christmas program was last night. The entire school performed together. It was a little wierd. The whole school was on the stage together. There was almost no rhyme or reason to how they were placed on the stage. Some of the kids were wearing reindeer ears which blocked the kids faces behind them (yes Hayden was behind a reindeer head).
Hayden as always did great. He is such a funny little singer. I only got footage with my camcorder and have not yet downloaded that to my computer. Footage to follow.

I am thankful

2008-11-28T17:09:00.004-07:00

It is Black Friday and yes I did participate in the festivities. IT WAS HORRIBLE!! I got the things that I went for and was able to be finished shopping and home by 9 am. People were already angry just standing in line. They were cursing the store and its employee's. While I got a good deal or two it just saddened me at what the Christmas season meant while there at the store.

Enough of that. Since I didn't post yesterday, I thought I should take the opportunity to be thankful. Obviously I have so much to be thankful for. First off, I am so thankful for my husband, Shawn. What a great man. He works hard, he plays hard, and he is such a determined person. Shawn is the best father. If anything were to ever happen to him, I would be so sad for myself but just devastated for my children. They deserve to learn all of the wonderful things that he will teach them. Shawn excels at everything that he tries. Seriously, nothing can hold him back once he's got it in his mind that he is going to succeed. It started when he was just a baby. Spinal menegitis took his strength, his hearing in his left ear and nearly took his life at just 9 months old. He made it through and became a strong, happy child. His hearing loss never hurt him, he just adapted and became better. In high school when he cut off his arm, they weren't sure if he would make it from Star Valley to Salt Lake, but he did. They suggested amputation but he wouldn't let them. He just adapted and became better. He can fix almost anything, he just finished siding our house- by himself. I am constantly in awe at the man that he is.

Hayden is my miracle. While it seems like so long ago that we had all of those miscarriages. It is amazing to me that we made it through those two years- and then Hayden came along and gave me a purpose in life. He is truly my miracle baby. Hayden is an amazing brother. He loves his family and has such sweet spirit towards others. I can always count on him to help me when I need it, to love me when I need it and to flash that brilliant smile just when I need it.

Hadley is a turd- but she is my turd. She is my best friend. There are times when she walks in to a room and her beauty literally takes my breath away. While she loves to cause problems, she is also a caring little soul. She tries so hard to make sure that everyone is OK and doing the right thing.

Hallie is my little angel. She is my heart walking around outside my body. I love feeling her love- if that makes sense. It is so wonderful to be wanted and needed and Hallie totally fills that for me. Hallie has her own distinct attitude that makes me laugh. She is not like her brother or sister. She likes to sit on the sideline and watch, while the other two like to run in and do. She is a little tease and has a smile that lights up her entire face.

I am thankful for my family. The family I was born in to and the family that I have acquired along the way. I am so thankful to be a member of the Humpherys family. What an amazing group of people. I have never felt anything but love from any of them. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Tena & Geralds and it was so nice. There were members of Tena's family and Gerald's family there. Heather came and it was not awkward in any way. It was just family no matter where they came from. What amazing examples they have been to me of unconditional love.

I have been so blessed with education and jobs. We have been able to provide for our family. We have a home and decent health. We have several good friends who help us out emotionally and spritually. I am indeed thankful for my many blessings.

I give in already

2008-11-25T21:21:00.010-07:00

I have been tagged numerous times, I like to pretend that I don't see them and don't do anything. Alright, already! I give in, I'll do the stinking thing- no more mean comments (you know who you are :))

8 T.V. Shows I like to watch:

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. House
3. The Office
4. Scrubs
5. Desperate Housewives
6. Brothers & Sisters
7. Monk
8. Psych

8 Places I like to eat:

1. Tena's
2. Texas Roadhouse
3. Wingers
4. Red Lobster
5. Craigo's
6. Chili's
7. Olive Garden
8. anywhere I don't have to cook

8 Things I did today:

1. Got up for the day
2. Went to Computer Class
3. Went to A&P
4. Visited Nicole, Shane and their new baby, Sloane Elizabeth, at the hospital
5. Went to Medical Terminology
6. Passed 2 computer tests (ace'd 1 of them!)
7. Drove home and blew up our car in our driveway (smoke seriously coming out of the engine)
8. Went to work (late of course, the car thing kept me busy)

8 Things I'm looking Forward to:

1. Thanksgiving
2. The end of the semester 12/4/08- my brain hurts
3. Hayden's Christmas program at school
4. Christmas time
5. Summer
6. Graduating (someday)
7. Watching my children grow up
8. Improving our house

8 Things I can't live without:

1. Shawn
2. Hayden
3. Hadley
4. Hallie
5. My Heather- everyone needs a Heather
6. The Gospel
7. Good friends
8. Diet Dr. Pepper

Now... Tag 8 people (seriously, I hate to spread this nastiness but it's part of the game)

Colin & Lori, Laurie Humpherys, Heidi, Heather, Jolie, Mary Lynn, Kirstin, Lindsay

Basketball

2008-11-02T17:55:00.006-07:00

And it begins....

Hayden started basketball this week. He played in his first game ever on Saturday. He is number 44. This is significant because his Grandpa Humpherys was number 44 as well. Shawn is his coach for this sport as well. Hayden doesn't really like this because he says Shawn is mean to him.

Truth be told, Shawn is harder on Hayden than the other kids but he still isn't quite as bad as Hayden says.

The 1st and 2nd graders are on a team together. Hayden is already learning a lot. It was so funny to watch them play. The 2nd graders are obviously a little more comfortable with the game the the 1st graders. Here is a little video footage of the game. Hayden mostly skips around on the court. We (Shawn) discussed being a little more aggressive and going for the ball.

It was fun to go to his game- the first of many I'm sure..

Halloween

2008-11-02T17:29:00.005-07:00

Halloween is always way too crazy. I run around all day trying to make sure that everyone gets to see the kids. Hayden had a Spook Parade at school. He chose to be a scary grim reaper and had this yucky mask that had blood flow in it. The school does not allow masks so I had to paint his face. This would all be fine and dandy but I lack in the whole Halloween make-up department (any make-up department for that matter). He looked scary but only because he is such a great little actor. Here are some pictures of him during his spook parade.

Hayden and Jay were right next to each other in the parade.

Hadley was "Dorothy" she looked so cute.

Hallie was a scarecrow. She had a cute little hat that went with the outfit but she wouldn't keep it on. She also did not like pictures on Halloween. She cried and ran to me everytime I tried to take one. Example:

I didn't get any pictures of Hayden with his mask on. I'll post one when my mom sends one to me. ** Thanks Mom, for the pictures. Here is Hayden in his mask

And one more of Hallie. Again sans the hat (it's sitting next to her on the couch)

All in all it was a fun day. Hadley is a trick-or-treatin fool. She ran from house to house like a little trooper. She would have gone all night if we had let her. I think she got double the candy that her brother got. It was a nice night and will always be happy memories.

and the winner is

2008-10-27T02:21:00.009-06:00

The annual Humpherys pumpkin carving contest was last night. I filled in a shift at the dispatch center so I had to carve mine early and send it with the kids. For the first time in four years I didn't win. I came in second to Shawn. Linda was third and Tena fourth. I guess that's not bad, huh? At least the title stayed in the Shawn Humpherys family. Shawn and I have taken 1st/2nd for three years now. I'm mostly bummed that I missed the festivities. It is always so fun and the kids look forward to it every year. Here are a few pictures of the pumpkins entered (Taken by cell phone, so not the clearest).

1st place (Shawn's):

2nd place (Hilary's- see my cute epitaph, not part of the pattern, my own design)

3rd place (Linda) - sorry no picture

4th place (Tena's)

Corn maze

2008-10-27T02:15:00.006-06:00

We visited the corn maze at Swore farms last weekend. It is just for kids. This is the second year that the H's and I have attended. Heather helped me with the kids and Heidi Graham also came with her kids.

There is a farming question at each intersection with a direction for each answer, if you choose wrong, you get a dead end, choose right and you end up at another question. There were also several kids handing out candy throughout the maze as well.

At the end, they had a activity center and the kids got their face painted, did leave rubs and made bird feeders. It was a fun little trip and one we will try to make every year. I was so proud of myself for remembering my camera but when I got it out, the battery was almost completely dead. The best of intentions (blah, blah, blah)

A huntin we will go....

2008-10-27T02:12:00.005-06:00

Shawn took Hayden hunting last week. They went with cousin Barry. Although nothing was slain, they had a great time together. Here are some pictures that Shawn took.

Isn't Star Valley beautiful?

Cutest boy-ever!

The first snow fall of the winter or fall or whatever it is

2008-10-15T13:10:00.005-06:00

It really came down on Saturday night. We woke up to a lot of snow on Sunday. I would give a guess as to how much but I'm always wrong so just know that it was a lot. On Sunday afternoon we ended up at Tena and Geralds (Shawn had to get the snow machines on the trailer as there was a near Search & Rescue mission he had to get to). Anyhoo- Hayden and Hadley played outside and had a blast. Here is the fruit of their labor. They are accessorized with Grandma's things. Thanks Grandma for always making your house so much fun.

Here is Hadley posing with her snowgirl. She named her Sadie. (Hayden was mad at his dad for a snow fight that he lost so he wouldn't pose)

2008-10-05T11:50:00.004-06:00

While blog stalking on Laurie's blog I ran across this survey. I thought it was funny. There is a link at the bottom of this page. See where you belong, I obviously belong in the 9th grade.

You Belong in 1993

With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Hayden I love you too

2008-10-05T11:26:00.003-06:00

Hayden loves to leave us "presents". He draws pictures and leaves them all over for us. He usually tapes them to the front door for Shawn to get when he comes home from work. Or he will leave them on the stove so I will get it when I go to cook a meal. The other night when I went to get in to bed, I found these presents.

(Elf anyone?) His spelling gets better and better each day. I love being Hayden's mother and I know that Shawn loves being his father. We are so blessed with our wonderful children. While it isn't always easy, I wouldn't have my life be any other way.

Playtime

2008-10-05T11:06:00.006-06:00

The Graham kids were at our house several times this week. My children have so much fun with them. Here are a couple of pictures I caught of them playing:

Star Wars is a huge part of my house. Here is Jay (Darth Vader) and Hayden (Anakin)- they are the same person just at different stages in his life.

Hadley cannot be left out. She decided that she was Padme. (look behind the chair and you can see where Hadley peeled the paint in our front room. She is so my child I love to peel too. I just wish it wasn't something that I have to fix now)

Hallie and Kaitlyn are still deciding that they like each other but they want to do whatever the other is doing. Here they playing on the piano bench.

I somehow erased the pictures of Sarah and Hadley dressed up as princesses, so I'll have to get some more to post later.

Fall fun

2008-10-05T10:53:00.004-06:00

I took the kids to the park the other day and we had a blast. I love making these memories with them. I remember how much I loved to swing at Ross Park when I was small. Hallie may have me beat. She was in that swing for probably 30 minutes when I finally had to pry her out of it. Hayden was such a good sport he pushed his baby sister as long as his 6 yr old attention span allowed. Hadley had fun playing on the bar where the old teeter toter's (sp?) were. Hadley can make a toy out of anything.

All time caller!

2008-10-05T10:40:00.002-06:00

I am amazed that it is already October. September is always a busy month for me. It is Shawn's hunting month. He takes almost the entire month of work to pursue this passion. This year I lucked out. The very first day that he left he harvested. Yes that's hunting lingo for made his kill. Much to my suprise he sent me a text that very night that he was now all time caller. I should, after 10 years, have known what that meant but had to ask. Here is a picture of the poor elk that crossed his path.

Shawn still went up several times with his brother but it was not a 2 week abscense as it usally is. Thanks to Heather who is always there to help fill in the gaps so that I didn't have to stress about a sitter while in school, clinicals etc.

Eastern Idaho Fair

2008-09-07T01:03:00.009-06:00

Living in Blackfoot makes the Eastern Idaho Fair a big deal. More people, more cars, and if you work in law enforcement- more trouble. Now fair week is over. It wasn't so bad this year. I can say that because I didn't have to work it!! We went to the parade last Saturday and sat with Shane & Nicole. We rode the rides on Wednesday- actually Shawn, Hayden and Hadley rode the rides. Hallie and I watched. Hadley is only 46 inches tall-just a couple of inches too short to ride most of them. Hayden on the other hand hits 48 inches and only missed out on a couple.

Hadley measuring herself for the slide.

Climbing

Hayden Won!!

Hallie was so good, she sat in her stroller and watched the kids ride the rides. Here she is at lunch. She is such a happy little girl.

Here is Shawn riding the tilt-a-whirl with Hayden, Hadley and their cousin Carter who we caught up with at the fair.

Here is a crazy ride that both of the kids were able to go on. Hadley went as many times as she could.

Here are the kids, they are in the background. You wouldn't believe how had it is to get a good picture while these rides are going at mach speed with my fragile little ones holding on for dear life.

We went back on Saturday to eat one last time and to let the kids look at the animals. Of course, I forgot the camera this time so had to take pictures with my craptastic cell phone camera. Here are some blurry pictures of the kids with the animals at the petting zoo. Hallie did not like them up close and personal, not one bit. Hadley and Hayden on the other hand LOVED them.

Mighty, mighty preschooler

2008-09-07T00:39:00.003-06:00

Hadley started preschool this week. She loved it. She only goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays which happen to be the same days that I go to school. Shawn got her ready for school (yes, even her hair) and I'm so glad that he even remembered to take her pictures. True to Hadley style she made some pretty great poses:

My baby is in the 1st grade!!

2008-08-27T08:53:00.006-06:00

Hayden started school today. He is in the 1st grade and it just kills me. Shawn woke him up this morning before he left for work. Here is the conversation that I eavesdropped on while they were getting ready in the bathroom:

"I have a really nervous feeling in my stomach."

"Get used to that feeling, you'll have it a lot in your life- every year before the first day of school, when you start a job. Remember to listen to your teacher and do what she says. Be nice and watch your mouth, other kids might say bad words but that doesn't mean you say them"

"I know, I won't"

I'm so glad that Shawn remembers to give him those little reminders. He is such a good father. Hayden decided what he wanted to wear, he got dressed, we took pictures and he was off. He wouldn't let me walk him all the way to the bus or take picture of him getting on the bus because he's "not a baby this year".

He wrote his teacher, Mrs. Price a little letter last night that he made sure to take today with an apple. He is funny. I can't believe that he will be gone all day. I should be happier about that but I'm not. He is a good boy and I know he will do well in school. I'm so lucky that the Lord trusted me with that little spirirt, he is better now at 6 than I could ever hope to be in 100 years.

"I'm in grade #1"

Walking

to the

bus

Back to school (after a LONG break)

2008-08-23T12:42:00.005-06:00

Well it's official- I'm a student again. I've made it through my first week of school. All I can say is that I hope my 30 year old brain is capable of retaining all of the information that it is expected to. My friend Heidi went back to school a few years ago and she said it took her about 3 weeks for her brain to get back in to school mode. Well I'm holding her to that- one down, two to go. I really like being back in school. I'm excited to learn again and to start a new chapter in this thing called life. My first class is at 7:30 in Idaho falls so I have to leave the same time that Shawn does to be to work 10 minutes early. As we were leaving on Tuesday 8/19 (my first day) Shawn got the camera and took my first day of school pictures just like we did Hayden last year. It was funny. I am so lucky that he supports me in this decision and I couldn't do it without him. Heather is watching my kids while I am at school. She gets off work at 3 a.m. and sleeps on my couch so she can get up with my kids. I am so thankful that I have such a great support system.

My friends and family are the best!!

Great story- bad ending

2008-08-23T12:19:00.001-06:00

We went boating on Palisades lake on Monday 8/18 with Tena and Gerald. Gerald is still up at Grand Targhee so he met us in Swan Valley. He was so funny when we pulled up- he was in his shorts and a cowboy hat. He's lost a lot of weight and Tena had to make fun of him. We got out on the water and Shawn did some wake boarding, we stopped at a beach for some lunch and then got back out of the water. Shawn, Tena, Hadley and I all took turns on the tube. Hadley loves to ride the tube. She was out there on every ride. I brought my camera but true to fashion, left it in the car. So here are a few with my crappy cell phone camera. This is Shawn, Hadley, and Tena. Gerald's cowboy hat had blown off and Shawn had picked it up from the tube. He had it on his head and that is about the only thing you can see in this picture.

Well right after this picture was taken the hat blew off Shawn's head and in to the water again. Gerald circled around to get it again, missed the first try and then ran over it the second time. This time it sunk. Shawn tried to save it but couldn't dive with his life jacket on. Gerald was none to pleased to lose his hat that he had used all summer but at least it was just a cheap $15 hat.

We found the hot spring that empties in to the lake. I wish we had a picture of this. It is a tiny little area where the hot water comes in to the lake and we were all huddled in this tiny spot trying to keep warm in the cold water. Gerald, Tena, Hayden, Hadley, Hallie and I all crammed in a little spot. Tena had the best spot and she kept laughing telling Gerald "I'd really like to give you my spot but I just can't". Shawn was out in the cold water in his wet suit splashing us. He said we looked hilarious.

It was getting dark and we decided to head back. We were about 10 minutes from the dock at full speed when we suddenly lost power. The boat was still on but it wouldn't move. Shawn was smart enough to flag down a boat that was following us immediately. Luckily he did because it was the last boat out there besides us. The nice couple in the boat towed us back. It took about 1/2 and hour. Shawn is used to doing this but is usually on the other end- the saving side. We got the boat out of the water (by we I mean Shawn and Gerald) and got the kids packed in to the car.

No this story is not over. The lights on the trailer would not work. Apparently a fuse in our car was not working. We had no light to check it. Again luckily a few campers came by to dump their garbage in the dumpster by the dock. They were on 4 wheelers and were able to shine their headlights on the fuse box. They got 1 brake light working and we were able to use a jump pack to get the lights working in Swan Valley. That did not last long but we made it home in one piece, without being pulled over. It was much later than planned but it all worked out.

All in all, it was a fun trip and makes one heck of a story.

Seattle or bust

2008-08-23T11:49:00.008-06:00

Being the Twilight groupie that I am, I had to attend the latest Stephenie Meyer book signing in our area. Unfortunately, the closest one in our area was in Seattle- an 11 hour drive away. Luckily, I have the best sister's in the world. Heather said that she would drive, and Brooke watched my children so that I could go because Shawn was scheduled for 12 hour days each one of the days I would be gone.

Heather, Brandi Hunter (our co-worker/friend), and I left on Monday 8/11 for Seattle. It was a long drive but was not a bad one. Heather did the driving, I read and Brandi slept. We talked and laughed. It was actually fun. It's a good thing Heather likes to drive so much. I was the navigator (ie: read the mapquest directions to Heather) and a poor one at that- I think. We got to our hotel at 11:00 p.m. When we pulled in to the parking lot, there were 2 police cruisers lit up. We were all wondering what kind of hotel this was. Not to worry, it was just an accident that had pulled in to the parking lot. We got in to our room and turned on the olympics. Heather and I had the giggles and were making fun of the commentators for the gymnastics. I'm sure Brandi thought we were crazy.

The next day 8/12 we got ready and headed into Seattle. We went up the Space Needle, to the market on the pier, and out to lunch. I would love to live by a market like that. The fresh fruit and flowers alone would have me there all the time. The book signing started at 7 so we left early so we had plenty of time to get lost, etc.

The signing was also a concert. It was a signing with singing. Justin Furstenfeld, the lead singer of Blue October, sang songs on a acoustical guitar. It was awesome. Justin came out first and sang a couple of songs, then Stephenie did a Q&A and then Justin came out again. He and Stephenie told about the songs he sang- which characters the songs related to for Stephenie and what the song meant, or how it came about to be for Justin. It was great!! Then it was over and Stephenie had over 2,000 books to sign. We had to wait about 2 hours for our turn to stand in line. It wasn't bad, they let us sit in the nice cushioned auditorium seats to wait. It was air conditioned in there and we just sat and read our books. Heather and I had made shirts- the front said "Team Nessie" and the back read "more than my own life". That won't mean anything to you if you haven't read the books.

We left first think in the morning 8/13 and drove all day back home. Again, not a bad drive. Heather and I each took a turn driving (mostly Heather), we slept and read too. I personally had a blast and am so thankful to those that made it possible for me to do it- Brooke, thanks so much for taking such good care of my kids so that I could go and Shawn wouldn't have to miss work. Heather, thanks for donating your car for the drive. Brandi, it was so fun to have you with us. I hope we weren't too wierd for you- at least you got a good laugh. I now have a signed copy of all but one book that Stephenie Meyer has written. Some day I will get my Eclipse signed. I am a nerd!!!

Heather & Brandi in front of the Space Needle:

Heather & I in the Space Needle:

The auditorium full of over 2000 people:

We in our auditorium seats (I'm taking the picutre):

Me in my homemade t-shirt:

Hadley

2008-08-23T11:36:00.005-06:00

Hadley brings our family such happiness. She is about to start pre school in a week and is so excited. Hadley has such a good heart and loves to learn. She loves to attend primary and sing the songs. The other day I heard her belting out "I am a child of God" and asked her if she would sing it for the camera. She told me she would love to. So here it is, the lighting is not very good but she still sounds great. (you'll need to pause the music player on the right to hear her)

I love you Hadley!!

2008-08-23T11:02:00.006-06:00

I love the Twilight books! And I'm not ashamed of it. I was so excited for the final book in the series, Breaking Dawn, to be released. Heather and I went to the midnight release party on 8/2/08 in Idaho Falls at Barnes and Noble. We got there at about 11:30 and there were already SO many people there:

Many were dressed up in their prom gowns:

Some more goth:

And some just plain funny, this girl was dressed up like Bella in the hospital:

We got our books at 8 minutes after midnight and went straight home to read them, over 700 pages and one day later, I finished my new favorite book. Luckily, I have several people in my life that also love these books- Heather, Kirstin, Heidi- thanks ladies and may there be many more discussions to follow.

Our famous Father

2008-07-23T11:51:00.006-06:00

Gerald was recently featured in the Idaho State Journal:

Teacher takes to the trails

DRIGGS � During the summer, Gerald Humpherys trades a school house for a bunkhouse and a team of hoopsters for a herd of horses.He’s the head boys’ basketball coach at Blackfoot High School, where he also teaches physical education and weight training. And to make some extra cash and pass the time during his summer break, he’s assumed the role of Grand Targhee Resort’s resident cowboy.This is Humpherys’ first summer of offering trail rides at the resort. His corral is filled with seven of his own horses, four horses that he borrowed from his brother Ken, of Arizona, and three horses on loan from a friend in Blackfoot.
He started the rides in June and plans on continuing them through most of September, and he’s convinced Grand Targhee, with its wildflower-laden meadows and panoramics of the Tetons, is about as gorgeous of a place to ride as any.“Horse riding is probably one of the best attractions here. Of course, I’m prejudiced,” Humpherys said. “We have a really beautiful one-hour trail, and we have a really spectacular two-hour trail. Every time you go around a corner, you’ve got a different view.”
On Saturday morning, Gerald and Ken looked the part of cowboys from an old Western movie, relaxing on the porch of their bunkhouse in wooden chairs awaiting the next group ride.Humpherys, a burly Star Valley, Wyo., native who stands 6-foot-3 and wore a red button-up shirt, boots, blue jeans, a big belt buckle and a cowboy hat, grew up on a ranch. His childhood chores included milking cows and cutting and bailing hay.
“You learn a lot of work ethic from the farm that carries over to your teaching and coaching,” Humpherys said, adding his coaching skills also carry over well into teaching novices to be comfortable on horses.Prior to coming to Targhee, Humpherys spent 16 years driving the stagecoach throughout Jackson Hole, Wyo.

“When I quit driving the stagecoach, I figured the dude business was over, but this opportunity came about by word of mouth, and here I am,” Humpherys said.His family also sometimes provides Christmas wagon rides in Blackfoot as a public service.
Until school starts, Humpherys and his wife, Tena, are living in their fifth-wheel at Targhee. Ken has laid claim to the bunkhouse.“I enjoy the scenery just like the visitors do,” Humpherys said. “It’s a little added income for a school teacher in the summer, and I enjoy it as well.”

(This document was originally published online on Wednesday, July 23, 2008)

"Why did Jesus create wasp's?"

2008-07-23T11:29:00.004-06:00

"M-O-M-M-Y" and he meant business. There it was, the scream that makes every mother's heart stop momentarily. The scream that is more than I'm mad or I need your help. Hayden came running in to the house, unable to speak, face red and tears pouring from his eyes. I grabbed him and asked him what happened. He had been playing out back so it could have been anything. He finally whispered, I think a bee stung me. Sure enough, he had a wasp bite on his left ear. For those of you that have not recently been stung, it hurts like a bugger with every heart beat. While he had his momentary freak out, I got some ice (because ice makes everything better at my house) and just held him. Once back under control, he asks me "Why did Jesus create stupid wasps?" I didn't have an answer for him at that moment. I hate it when that happens- cross pollination, maybe I could have taught the concept of opposition- if you never knew the bad you wouldn't understand the good? A perfectly good teaching moment lost. Well, Hayden was much better after he was able to call his cousin, Carter, and tell him the gory details.
Here's the swollen ear:

Hayden survived and I could barely get him to sit still for a recovery picture:

Hayden's Island

2008-07-23T11:24:00.004-06:00

Shawn, Hayden and Hadley went camping last Thursday. Shawn took them out on Snake River to camp on an island that Hayden has deemed his. Well the name stuck and it is now known to our family and friends as "Hayden's Island". Unfortunately, the island was already occupied when they got there so they camped on a different island but had just as much fun I'm sure. I stayed home with Hallie and finished painting my bathroom. Shawn texted me pictures that night. Here are some pic's he took with his other camera:

Rooster kisses

2008-07-08T21:53:00.015-06:00

So Hadley comes running in to the house today to tell us that there is a turkey in our front yard. Shawn and I go out to see what she is talking about and this is what we see (sorry its a little blurry, not until later did I notice my lens had a smudge on it):

Apparently our neighbors across the street recently got a pet chicken. Hadley was enthralled. She wanted to try and catch the poor thing- she said she wanted to eat it. Here she is chasing the fowl little guy (ha, ha):

Here is a little video of her in action:

And the grand finale:

Long story short it pecked at little Hadley, scared her and made her cry. She was quite upset at us for letting it happen. That's me you hear cackling in the background. I really shouldn't have laughed at the situation but I couldn't help it. Afterward, she was embarrassed and didn't want anyone to know about her "rooster bite". I tried to convince her that it was trying to kiss her but she is smarter than that. She also would not let me take a picture of the injury (it was a pink mark that went away almost immediately).

When we got home later that day the rooster was still loose. Hadley followed it home and made friends with it. As for rooster kisses, she said she'd rather just kiss her mommy and I promised that I wouldn't bite her.

4th of July

2008-07-08T20:44:00.007-06:00

It was another great Independence Day. Every year we go to Ross Park swimming pool at noon and have a picnic with the Christensen's. It is always fun, the cousins have a blast swimming and playing. Hallie still hates the water so she hung around the picnic table. Her cousin Aria is just a year older and Hallie just wanted to hold her hand. She got a little bossy pulling and grabbing at her.

Here the boys are playing with their float noodles/light sabers.

After swimming Dad and Donita treated us all to a movie Wall-E. It looked like a good movie and I was told it was a good movie but unfortunately I was out walking the hall with Hallie who is not at a sit still stage in her life. As much as I would have like to see the show, I actually had a lot of fun with her in the hall. She was in a playful mood and kept hiding from me in the different theatre doorways and would laugh so hard when I found her.

Later that night we (including Heather and Tena) went out on the Marine Patrol boat and had dinner with Drew and Jessica Lusk. Drew is on Marine Patrol with Shawn. Jessica had bought chicken and graciously invited us to eat. We were the only boat out on the Grove because they had kicked everyone else off in anticipation of the fireworks.

We then went back to our vehicle and watched the display next to Heidi Graham, her kids, and her parents. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my camera so no pictures of the kids. Blackfoot has a nice display, it is not huge but decent and it is so nice not to get stuck in traffic.

After the show, we went to Tena's for our own little show. I stopped in Fort Hall and got a "family pack" on the way home from Pocatello. It was a little scary. Our friends, the Graham's, came over too. Marcus and Shawn lit one that went flying in to the neighbors yard (across the street) first nearly decapitating the group in lawn chairs and then it exploded in the middle of their yard. Oops.

I love the 4th, it is probably my favorite holiday right behind Christmas. I'm so happy that I got to spend the entire day with my family.

CATCH UP

2008-06-30T23:26:00.001-06:00

There are SEVERAL new posts on here... I got a little behind as we have been busy (you'll see look through the posts)

Kids in a ditch

2008-06-30T14:15:00.007-06:00

While at work today Shawn sent me these pictures on my cell phone. He was helping his mother irrigate the field since Gerald is still up in the mountains. Of course my kids would end up in the ditch. If you look closely you will see that Hadley is still in her pajamas and her hair is not done. Shawn came to visit me at work afterwards and Hallie was also in her pj's with hair all amess. Just another reason why I need to be home with my children.

Quick trip to Targhee

2008-06-30T09:57:00.008-06:00

While packing our camp, I had the bright idea to park the camp trailer and go visit Grandma & Grandpa Humpherys up at Grand Targhee. We stopped at a house on antelope flats and Shawn asked them if we could leave the trailer there for the afternoon and then we drove up to Driggs. It was a lot of fun. Hadley misses Sheila (she says its HER horse) and just wanted to ride her the whole time. She even just sat on her while she was eating between rides.

Hallie had so much fun playing in and on the deck of the cabin. She likes to take things and put them in another spot ie: pens, nails etc.

She also took a little/reluctanat ride on Sheila with Dad.

Hadley also took a ride on Reba the horse (Hayden's according to him).

Hayden was more interested in the 4 wheeler again, here he is helping Grandpa feed again.

Grandma was going home as well so the older kids wanted to ride with her. It was a nice drive home with the fighting kids with her. Actually they fell asleep in Swan Valley so she too had a pleasant drive. It was an all around great weekend. Once again, thankful for a wonderful family, the safety we had during our travels and the opportunities we have to see the beauty of the area we live in.

Humpherys Family Reunion 2008

2008-06-30T09:30:00.010-06:00

We attended the Humpherys Family reunion this past weekend at Heise Camping ground. I really was not looking forward to the reunion this year (no offense Mary Lynn). We have been so busy and out of town for the last few weekends I kind of just wanted to get some things done around the house. I am so glad that we didn't miss it though. Every year I am amazed at what a wonderful family that we are a part of. Everyone is so nice and fun to be around. I have never felt anything but welcome around the Humpherys. Gerald and Tena were not able to attend as they are busy with a new business. Shane, Nicole and Nash are in Boston (we miss you guys) and Linda was just finishing up with girls camp for her ward, so we represented the Gerald Humpherys family on Friday night. On Saturday after breakfast we all went swimming, it was a lot of fun, the kids loved the slide there (a big green hydrotube). Hallie hates the water. After fighting with her for an hour crying in the pool we took her out and let her play on the grass. This she loved. Here are some pictures of her in her swimsuit eating licorice. Notice her black eye, she fell down and hit her head on the door jam. Shawn told everyone that I back handed her (not true):

Shawn got to do a little fishing (very little-poor guy) and I got to visit to my hearts content. Linda, Carter, Madison +2 friends got there around noon. We had a really nice lunch and then there was a pie eating contest. I don't know if I should be proud or embarrassed that my husband won. He ate the pie in about 30 seconds. It was hilarious. Here is the video of the contest.

and the aftermath (isn't he dead sexy):

This is Hadley filling up water balloons with her cousins Mercy, Ian and Porter (hope I spelled them all right).

The kids were so sad to leave on Sunday because they had so much fun playing with their cousins. It is so great that even if we only see one another once a year they are all buddies by the end of the visit.

Crooked Canyon Stables

2008-06-30T08:28:00.006-06:00

Grandpa Humpherys has a new business this year- Crooked Canyon Stables. He is doing trail rides at the Grand Targhee Resort. Shawn, Hayden, Hadley and I went up there to retrieve some trailers for him on 6/22. It was a good little trip. We left right after church and Hallie stayed with Grandma. There was still quite a bit of snow up there. The kids instantly loved the place. Here is a picture of the corral area and the little cabin on the property:

Hayden had fun riding the 4-wheeler around the corral area. Shawn got a GPS that is also a 2-way radio for anniversary/father's day and he and Hayden had fun talking between it and Hayden's "walkie-talkie". Hayden had the radio while he was on riding around. We were sitting on the porch of the cabin when Hayden get's on the radio and says "Dad I'm stuck, Dad I'm stuck" (he has to say everything twice on the radio). He really was stuck too- right in the snow.

Dad and Grandpa were busy doing.. something but don't worry Mom to the rescue. Once free it was put to good use again by our children. They helped Grandpa feed the horses and had a blast doing that as well.

Before we left Grandpa was able to give us a tour of the resort and introduce us to everyone that he had met thus far. We are waiting for him to hook us up by the end of the summer with freebies.

10....big ones

2008-06-30T08:18:00.008-06:00

On June 20th Shawn and I celebrated our anniversary. We have now been married for 10 years. Wow! I can hardly believe 2 things. 1- that we actually made it this long and 2- that it's really been 10 years. It seems like we just got married. Anyhoo, we decided to spend our anniversary at Lagoon. Now we just couldn't go to an amusement park without our kids so we decided to take the family with us. Heather came along as our babysitter for Hallie. We had a blast. The kids loved the rides and we snuck them on as many as we possibly could. We had snacks, visited the beach and just had a great time together. Shawn and I received a lot of slack from our co-workers for not doing something more romantic but we can do that at 20 years when our kids don't care about being with us. But for now I want to spend every chance possible with them. We spent the night in SLC and then did some shopping on Saturday before we went home. It was a great weekend and I'm so happy that I have such a great family to spend time with.

The kids with their icees:

Getting tired:

On our way out (more treats):

2008-06-16T00:41:00.005-06:00

I wanted to take a moment for Father's Day and let you know of the wonderful father that my children have. The H's are so lucky to have such a great man for a dad. He works so hard to take care of our family-3 jobs in the summer (the jail, marine patrol, and curbing). Plus he makes sure to take time with each of them each and every day. He takes Hayden 4-wheeling, dances with Hadley and cuddles with Hallie. Yesterday at church he had Hallie laughing so hard just kissing her. Our children can depend on him and trust that he will always be there for them. He makes them laugh, keeps them honest, and has earned their respect. Thanks Shawn for being the best father for my children that I could have ever asked for.

T-ball 08

2008-06-15T23:12:00.006-06:00

It's T-ball season again.

Hayden is on team Red Sox this year and Shawn is the assistant coach again. Hayden loves his dad being his coach even though he gets yelled at more than the other kids.

It's amazing to me how much his coodination has improved since last year. He is growing way too fast.

Shayla Graduated

2008-06-01T21:29:00.004-06:00

I am so old. Shayla, my oldest niece, graduated from Meridian High on 5/31/08. It is absolutely ridiculous. Heather, Mom, Grandma Verda, Brooke and her family and the kids and I all went down on Friday. Brooke & Chet drove in there car. Heather, Mom and Grandma were in Heather's car, and I drove mom's van with Hailey, Andrew, Carley, Hayden, Hadley and Hallie. I know that sounds bad but I had the DVD player and head phones for each of the kids. Meanwhile Heather had Mom and Grandma telling her how to drive and counting the seconds between her and other vehicles the whole trip.

The kids had a blast playing and swimming. The actual graduation was Saturday and then we went out to dinner with Shayla afterwards. Dad & Donita came up on Saturday for the graduation and dinner. It was a nice little trip but it was a real emotional experience. My oldest child is the same age as Shayla was when I graduated. That hurts!

My pictures are still on my camera so I will update those when I can.......

Zoo field trip

2008-06-01T20:31:00.011-06:00

I was so lucky and got to go on a field trip with Hayden this year. We went to the Tauphus park zoo. We met at his classroom and were assigned our groups. I got Hayden, Jayden and Aidan (ha, ha Mrs. Crane). We got to ride a bus all the way to Idaho Falls- these are Hayden's words not mine. Jayden and Aidan told us ghost stories all the way there. Here is a picture of the boys on the bus.

Once at the zoo it was a free-for-all. We saw all the animals there and the boy's really seemed to have fun.

When we got to the zebra exhibit it was empty. A zebra decided to make itself know, it was hilarious because Hayden broke in to the zebra song that they learned in school, Jayden and Aidan quickly followed suit. I was not fast enough with my camera and only caught the very last part of it but here it is:

This final picture is at the exit of the park. We had a fun bus ride home and played, "I'm thinking of an animal that...." all the way home. For those of you that never played that game, we each took a turn describing an animal until someone else could guess what it was. These kids are so smart!! I had such a great time and am so thankful that I was able to share this experience with Hayden.

Kindergarten Program

2008-06-01T19:25:00.011-06:00

Hayden's end of the year kindergarten program was on May 20th. They sang several songs and we realized just how animated Hayden can get when he is singing. He also does NOT experience stage fright. Here is a picture of him. I had a hard time with my camera getting a picture that was both clear and light enough to see. Hayden is wearing the gray vest with a white t-shirt under it. I can't believe that he is almost finished with kindergarten. What happened to this year? Here he is almost a 1st grader. How did we luck out with such great kids?

Here is a clip of Hayden dancing. Its kind of a long clip and its shaky because I am both laughing and holding a baby on my lap. He really starts getting in to it about 50 seconds in. You will hear Shawn and I giggling in the background. Remember Hayden singing "The Wiggles" songs when he was little? This is very reminiscent of those days.

Hadley's Birthday!!

2008-06-01T18:23:00.011-06:00

Hadley turned 4 on May 19. We had a celebration at Jensen's Grove again. Hadley refers to this park as her "birthday park". We had pizza and cake and opened presents. A lot of family and friends came rom Pocatello and Idaho Falls and the kids had a lot of playing together.

Here we are singing Happy Birthday!

She loved her presents:

The kids had fun swinging with Grandpa after the party.

I can't believe our little girl is already 4 years old. She is such a bright light in our family. Her little personality is a blessing to everyone around her and we love her.

We saw Stephanie Meyer!

2008-05-18T22:20:00.009-06:00

Stephanie Meyer,author of the Twilight Series, came to Salt Lake on a book tour for her new book The Host. Heidi Graham, Heather and I were able to go. It was a really nice trip. We drove up on Friday evening. We stopped at Chili's in Layton to eat and ran in to my aunt Teresa, cousin Tana and her kids. What a small world. Then it was on to Orem to stay with one of my best friend's growing up, Kirstin Bybee's house. Poor Heidi had to listen to Heather, Kirstin & I reminisce until she finally went to bed around 10 or 11. We sat up until 2:30 in the morning talking and laughing (mostly laughing). Whew! morning came fast yet I still slept very well. We got to the venue at about 10:00 for the doors to open at 10:30 and found an already huge line waiting. Everyone was dressed in their Twilight and The Host shirts. Everyone was so excited to be there and was so nice. We asked some complete strangers to take our pictures and they were more than happy to help us out. Here is a picture of us waiting in the hall:

The doors opened and we finally got in to the auditorium. We were group 11 and were hoping that our group would make it to the first signing. Our hopes were not enough as they only got through group 10 and took a break. Oh well, it made our wait after the signing close to nil. There was a box up on the stage during this time to put in questions for Stephanie to answer. Here are some pictures that I took while we were waiting. The first one is her walking out on the stage as the crowd went wild, the other two are of her signing the books of groups 1-10.

Stephanie took a 1/2 hour break and then came out to do a quick Q&A. She answered about 5-10 questions and guess what? She picked one of my questions out of the huge box... I asked what her kids favorite characters of her books were. Too bad that once I realized that she had picked my question my mind went to mush and I didn't even hear the answers. Here are some pictures of the Q&A.

After the Q&A we has about a 15 minute wait to get our books signed. We each got our copy of The Host signed and we were also able to get 2 of the Twilight series books signed too. Stephenie was really real and just nice, she apologized for talking so fast. I really felt like when she was talking that she would have fit in really well laughing on the couch at Kirstin's house the night before. So with our books signed, we were off.... after a quick lunch, we headed straight for Tai Pan and then to IKEA for some shopping. It was so fun. Thanks Heather for driving. Thanks Heidi for coming with us. It was a blast!

Mother's Day

2008-05-13T22:16:00.009-06:00

We celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday. We drove up the Blackfoot River and had a picnic. Tena & Gerald came along too. We had the 4-wheelers and the spot that we stopped at had a horse shoe pit. Tena & Gerald played first and Gerald won. Shawn and Gerald went next and Shawn won 21-20. On Sunday, Heather & I took our mom, grandma, and aunt to lunch in Pocatello. (Shawn had to work) Hayden and Hadley both insisted on sitting next to Grandma Verda. It was a nice visit and we all survived my children and their energy. Later that night we had cake & ice cream at Shawn's parents. It was such a wonderful weekend. I'm so thankful for all the wonderful mothers in my life!!

The kids had so much fun. Hallie loves the 4-wheeler and was able to take little rides around the campground with her mommy and daddy. Hadley learned how to make the 4-wheeler move (watch out!!) and Hayden drove by himself.

We built a fire and roasted marshmallows. Hallie hung out with grandma while we went on a longer ride. She just loved walking around the camp ground. It was a great day and I'm so very thankful to be the mother of such wonderful children.

Hallie's Birthday

2008-05-06T21:26:00.011-06:00

Hallie turned 1 on April 26th. We had a party in Pocatello for the Christensen's. Hallie walked around eating a chicken strip and drinking everyone's pop, which she threw up on Aunt Heather later (note to everyone too much pop) There was a little boy there celebrating his 2nd birthday with his family and he kept coming over and giving Hallie hugs. We had a princess cake with a tiara on it which Hadley was super jealous of. Hallie got to wear it for about 5 minutes before her big sister commandeered it.

The next day we had a cook out at Tena & Gerald's for the Humpherys. We cooked hamburgers and Shawn made dutch oven potatoes. It was a nice little celebration.

In the beginning....

2008-03-31T17:19:00.007-06:00

So this is the only picture we have of our entire family and it is 5 months old. We still desperately need to get new ones taken.