The Gustafson Family..

2011-01-18T14:34:00.002-07:00

Wow... It's been a year sense I have updated this blog.. It's time to get back on track and hopefully I will be able to update on a regular basics..

January 2011

2011-01-18T14:23:00.002-07:00

2010-01-06T18:45:00.002-07:00

I took some fun pictures of the kids in front of this really nice house one Sunday afternoon.. I think they turned out pretty good..

Danny's and Jamies Wedding

2009-07-08T20:06:00.003-07:00

Fun Pictures of the kids

2009-07-08T19:56:00.001-07:00

Homemade Tamales

2009-01-08T09:18:00.001-07:00

Christine and I have been talking about making tamales for years now, but have never attempted it (she made green chili ones a couple nights ago that were very yummy).. So last night we decided to try the red chili ones! Christine got this recipe from her grandma Kippy. In this recipe there is not to many ingredients just very time consuming. Mark's sister Sara joined us. I have to say for my first tamale making experience they turned out really good. They can only get better from here! It took us 3 1/2 hours to make around 6 dozen. I want to try green chili next time and maybe even a desert tamale some day.. YUMMY

Look at all that lard

Mixing the masa

It's easier to use your (clean) hands!

Christine put the traditional green olives in hers.. I left that part out LOL!!

Spreading the masa on the cornhusk (this was the trickiest part) if it's to dry it won't spread so getting it just wet enough was the key

Placing the meat on after you spread the masa over the cornhusk then you fold it up!

Steaming the tamales for 45 mins.

Very tasty!!! (Ally ate 3 and I think Georgie had 4) if the kids like them they must be pretty good!!

The Day After

2008-12-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

Christmas afternoon it started to snow. We were all so excited, it doesn't snow in Safford very often. It continued to snow all afternoon, but didn't stick until the next morning.

This is what we woke up to the next morning.. Not much, but just enough to play in and take some pretty pictures. This picture was taken off my mom and dads porch looking across the street.

Simon and the kids having a snowball fight in the back yard

The kids are sticking there tongues out trying to catch some snow..

Mandy, Me and Tracy in the snow! (my sisters)

It just started to snow and it was COLD!!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T13:07:00.001-07:00

This year for Christmas it was our turn to spend with my family. Christmas morning about 6:30am Tyler crawls into our bed. I asked him if Santa came and he said "yeah mom, we really hit the jackpot this year" hehe I thought that was so cute. Tyler went and woke Ally and NIk up and we began to opened presents and one of them was the Wii and some fun games to go along, they were SO excited about that. It was a great start to Christmas day all the kids were happy! We then packed up the car and as we are getting ready to leave Mandy my sister calls and says "bring the Wii to moms". So we through it in the car and headed to my moms. Once we got there the kids discovered some more presents. The kids got rock band to go along with the wii! That game is so much fun, they all get to play a part which is very nice.. Simon got his annual AMC movie card that he looks forward to every year and I am trying to decide what to buy with my gift from mom and dad.. I am really thinking it might be a GPS system.. Thank you mom and dad for everything!

Mandy and David were already there and shortly after Tracy and her family arrived. The next morning my Grandma, Aunt Sheryl and Brittany arrived. It was very nice to see everyone and we all had nice time visiting with everyone and the kids played good which is a bonus! Of course we ate lots of holiday food and played a lot of Rock band. Mandy's boyfriend David and Tyler got along pretty good with all the video games and Davids magic tricks.. We had a wonderful Christmas 2008

One of the many games the kids got for Christmas!

Mandy and her new purse

Look at that Mess! Merry Christmas

More Christmas Pictures

2008-12-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

Checking out the presents

The mess

Ty's Ripstick

Nik's scooter

Ally's pet shop planner

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T09:11:00.001-07:00

Christmas Eve Santa came to visit all the Gustafson grand kids at grandma and grandpas house!

He brought all the kids stockings full of goodies. After Santa left we had some yummy food and visited with the family.

Ally and Santa

Santa and Tyler

Santa and Nik

Off goes Santa to the next house!

2008-12-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

Nikolas had his last soccer game this Saturday. It was a great year, Nik learned alot about the sport and team work. I think he really enjoyed it. We had some good games and bad games where he didn't want to play at all, but for the most part he did really good. Next year he will be even better. After the game the awarded the kids with there trophies and chocolate YUM.. We then went to Extreme Play which was SO much fun the kids LOVED it. They played for a while then had cupcakes and played some more..

Nik getting his trophy and chocolate

He was SO HAPPY!

Playing basketball with some friends

The big slide

Dinner with the Brittons

2008-12-19T21:54:00.002-07:00

Tonight we went over to the Britton's for dinner. Allison prepared a yummy Mexican dinner with red enchiladas, beans and a yummy fruit salad. After dinner the boys played a PS2 fishing game where Kenny, Simon and Tyler were challenged by catching fish under a pound.. It was pretty funny. While the girls and Nik played upstairs. We had a great time. Thanks for dinner!

2008-12-12T14:38:00.002-07:00

We will miss you both. We love you Grandma & Grandpa Jeppson!

Putting up the Christmas tree.

2008-12-06T23:21:00.001-07:00

Well it time to put up the stockings and Christmas tree. Here are some pictures.

1st step it to find all the different colors of branches and put them in a pile.

Then you put each color in the correct slot on the tree trunk.

Even Nik and Hover helped! (can you see him under the tree) hehe
Here is the finished product. I will put the light on then the kids decorate the tree however they want and it always turns out very festive.. LOL

Nik learned to ride his bike.

2008-12-06T22:05:00.001-07:00

Nik learned to ride his bike all by his self today. Saturday morning Nik said to Simon " I am going to go out back and practice riding my bike" Simon said "do you want me to come help you"? (after last time he was like noway) "No dad I can do it all by myself". So about 10 minutes later we hear Nik call out " I am doing it, I am doing it". So we run out back and sure enough he is riding him bike. It was so cute the smile on his face was from ear to ear it was awesome. So Sunday morning about 6:30am Nik was no where to be found. I looked out back and this is what I found.

To cute, he is riding his bike all over the place now! I can't believe he taught his self to ride his bike.. GO NIK!!

Family Pictures 2008

2008-12-06T19:46:00.002-07:00

On Saturday afternoon we had Anna's step mom take some family pictures of us. Here are some of my favorites, the main picture above is my favorite I LOVE IT!!! Thank you to Anna and Laura.

2008-12-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

Well I finally seen the movie Twilight. I have to admit i was not real excited to see the movie after the reviews I heard by some of my friends. Some people said it was good and others said it got better the more times you watch it. A friend of mine has seen the movie 4 times. She didn't like it the 1st time but after the 4th she loved it.. LOL

Thursday night a good friend of mine (Michelle) took me to dinner for my birthday. During dinner we decided to go see Twilight. It's funny just a couple months ago we went to dinner and walked over to the book store and I told Michelle, "you really have to read this book, its great". She bought the book that night and was hooked after that. I guess she was the perfect person to see the movie with.

We started off by going to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, we ALWAYS seem to end up there every time we go out. It's probably because they have a book for the menu OH and we really like the food. We have such a great time when we get together and always seem to laugh through out our entire dinner. Thanks Michelle for celebrating my birthday with me I had a blast!

I give the movie 2 thumbs up, but I have to say I was expecting Edward to be much more handsome.

8 Years old

2008-12-01T14:23:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Tyler,

We Love you!

2008-11-26T14:28:00.001-07:00

Yeah the TV is up and we LOVE it!!! What a difference it makes in the room. What do you think???

Grandparents Day

2008-11-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

Today was the Ho Down at Ally and Tyler's school. They invited all the parents and grandparents to the school for a BBQ, music and lots of fun. They had a live country band that played while the kids eat there lunch. The grandparents and Simon were out of town so me and Nikolas went and had lunch with Tyler 1st and then waited for Ally and enjoyed lunch with her. Tyler is so cute he put on all his cowboy stuff and went off to school..

Christmas a little early

2008-11-14T14:36:00.005-07:00

We finally broke down and bought us a 46' samsung flat screen to hang on the wall. What a amazing deal we got on it. I LOVE to get a good deal! YEAH This is were it is going to be hung over the fire place. I CAN'T WAIT!! My cousin promised me that he would hang it up by Thanksgiving and I am holding him to it :)

I am so excited this will open up our front room and allow so much more seating. I will post some pictures after we hang it up!

Deer Hunting

2008-11-14T12:52:00.003-07:00

Every year Simon puts in for deer hunting. He was fortunate and got drawn for the 1st time in 4 years. So Simon and Tyler left on Thursday for the 1st day of the hunt. My dad bought a rhino this year and Tyler was so excited to ride in it.. Me, Ally and Nik went to Safford over the weekend to spend some time with my mom. Saturday night we drove up to camp to BBQ some hamburgers for dinner, take Simon some stuff and of course see how things were going with the boys. My dad said that there were a lot of hunters and very few deer. We came back home on Sunday and my mom came along with us. We went shopping and eat way to much, but had such a great time. Simon and Tyler returned on Tuesday and unfortunately Simon did not get a deer (fine with me LOL). I asked Tyler what was the highlight of the trip and he said grandpa let me drive the rhino and that was the best part.. They always have a great time maybe someday Simon will finally get to shoot his rifle..

Ocean

2008-11-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

This month Nik has learned all about the ocean. He comes home will all these interesting facts. He said to me "did you know that a star fish takes out his stomach to eat and if he doesn't like his food he leaves it there and grows a new one"? Imagine that! He has learned so much it's great Did you know what animals are vertebrate's and which are invertebrates? Ask Nik he will tell you.

Nikolas sitting on the beach

Election Day

2008-11-04T09:14:00.001-07:00

Well it's election time again, but this one is so important! Every elections I work for as a troubleshooter. What dose that mean you ask? Well I start on Saturday Morning when I go downtown to a meeting and to pick up all my equipment, then Saturday afternoon I deliver to all my inspectors. What is a inspector? Well an inspector is the lead person at each polling place they make sure all the board worker know what they are doing and if anyone many need help. I was over 7 polling places this election and had 7 inspectors to deliver to. Then on Monday I have to go to all 7 of the polling locations for there set up meeting to make sure all there equipment is working and they have all the supplies they need.

Election morning I was up and on the road at 3:30am due to an inspector that waited to do there set up meeting that morning GRR.. After that I have to drive around and make sure all my polling locations are open by 6am. Then through out the day I run around fixing problems and meeting new fun people. Then 7pm comes and its time to close down, I then make my rounds again and make sure everyone is closed then I can finally go home. I have been very lucky, I haven't had any major issues on election day so far. This elections was my 6th one I think it's so awesome I can be a part of all this. Before I started working the elections I had no desire to even vote, well this has made me see a whole new light and I want to make sure my vote counts. I worked 17.5 hours on election day, but it is so worth it I really do love working them.. I can't wait until the next one!

2008-11-01T08:58:00.001-07:00

Our YW girls took softball all the way. They won every game but one and we played alot of games. They were the champions of the regional tournament. Way to go girls!! It was so much fun coaching the girls, you get to know there sweet personalities. I want to THANK Lissa and Becky for all there help your awesome.

Lucky, Lucky

2008-10-29T09:45:00.005-07:00

So I am driving down the road today going east in the left lane. I look over and out comes this motorcycle cop from the other side of the road with his light on and moving pretty quick. He cuts across traffic to get into the turning lane and couldn't control the motorcycle and comes right into my car. I seen him coming and said to myself I sure hope he sees me. Well he did but couldn't stop and his front tire hit my back tire. It scared me to death, I could just see his motorcycle all crunched under my car, but he was SO lucky he didn't lay the bike down he was able to kept it up.. He had me pull over and the first thing he said to me was "I just clocked a car going 75 mph down a 45mph zone and I was going to put someone in jail today, but I knew that right thing to do was to stop and see if you and your car were ok". He was so upset that he missed the opportunity to throw someone in jail. There was no damage to my car or his bike but he had to take a report and pictures to document it. By the time it was over there were 4 cops and a special agent van at the scene. It looked like I was the one going to jail. hehe

Trunk or Treat!

2008-10-25T10:04:00.005-07:00

Can you guess what they are for Halloween??

It's time for our annual trunk or treat party with our friends. Chili, soups, cornbread candy and desserts YUMMY! This year they tried something a little different they decided to hold it in the church parking lot and I thought it turned out GREAT. There were several booths for the kids to play games and win some fun toys and candy. Then all the kids went trunk or treating to each car and got a bunch of candy Nik even ended up with a $1.00. My kids look forward to this fun event every year, it's like Halloween twice a year.

It's that time of year

2008-10-25T09:24:00.002-07:00

Time to over seed the front yard. What a lot of work and your house smells like cow poop for 2 weeks, but the out come is defiantly worth it. I can't wait until our beautiful winter grass comes in.

Magic Pumpkins

2008-10-20T09:27:00.004-07:00

Friday night we went to grandma and grandpa's house for our traditional pumpkin carving Halloween party. All the kids were SO excited to see if they had a magic pumpkin this year? After all the kids cut the top off of there pumpkins grandma took them outside to get newspaper to put all the pumpkin gunk on. On the count of 3 they pull the tops off and what did they find CANDY CANDY and more CANDY.. They were SO excited, we love the MAGIC PUMPKINS!! Pulling off the tops to find out what's inside?
What did you find Nik.. "CANDY"
The finished product.. What a AWESOME job they all did.
Left to Right.. Ally, Tyler and Nikolas.

Soccer game

2008-10-18T12:25:00.002-07:00

Nikolas's first soccer game was satruday morning. He was so cute running after the ball. He did get a hold of it once and kicked it down the whole field, to bad it was the wrong way.. hehe The team really come together and scored 4 goals and won there 1st game What a cutie!!
Look at him go!!!

Could it be Santa??

2008-10-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

As me and Nik were walking out of QT this morning. I looked back and Nik just stopped dead in his tracks.

MOM: Whats the matter Nik and no response but the look on his face said it all, I asked again whats the matter?

NIK: He says to me in a quite voice "mom I think that's SANTA" I glanced over and there was this older man getting out of his car with the full white beard and white hair.

NIK: Nik says to me again "mom I really think that's SANTA he even has a read shirt like SANTA"

MOM: I said to him " maybe it is SANTA and he had to stop by QT one more time on his way back to the North Pole to get ready for Christmas".

NIK: Yeah mom he comes to QT just like us.. So as we are leaving he said to me "I cant' believe we saw SANTA that is so cool"!! It was the cutest thing..

2008-10-13T12:30:00.001-07:00

The kids had fall break on Thursday and Friday this week, so on Friday we took the kids to Chili's for lunch.. My kids love that place because they can get a basket of ribs. It is the funniest thing they eat every bite and make a huge mess, but they enjoy every minute of it. A couple weeks ago Simon cashed some of his coke rewards in for a bowling coupon. It was good for 2 hours bowling, shoes and a picture of coke for 6 people, good at any Brunswick bowling alley. I thought it would be fun to take them to the new Brusnwick that Allison is always telling me about. I am glad we did, it was NEW bowling aley with lots of fun stuff to do. I think the best part was that you can tell the computer which players need the bumpers and which don't. The bumpers go up for those that need them and down for those that don't PRETTY COOL! I will defiantly go back to that one! Me and Simon didn't do so well, but the kids did great. Ally and Tyler both bowled a couple strikes and Nikolas was able to bowl all by his self. I was a GREAT day!

2008-10-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

$2.99

2008-10-09T13:37:00.006-07:00

This morning on my routine soda run to QT. I was listening to my radio and talking to Ally. I glanced over and had to take a second look to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Unleaded gas was priced at $2.99. Can you believe that?? Did we ever think we would see it under $3.00 again?? Well I had my doubts after paying $4.19 several months ago. I am so mad I FILLED, yes FILLED my truck two days ago. When do I ever fill my truck to the top?? NEVER I can't stomach paying $80.00 at one time to fill up. But for whatever reason I had a wild hair and filled my truck to the top and paid $3.21 the other day. GRR

Bunko

2008-10-07T23:00:00.001-07:00

The 1st Tuesday of the month a bunch of us girls get together and play Bunko. Our Numbers have been running a little slim lately so we all invited a friend. Hoping that they would be interested in joining our group. What a fun night it turned out to be, lots of dice rolling, good conversation, laughing and eating of course. By the sounds of it all the new girls will be back next month. YEAH!! Well I didn't win the game, but that's no surprise.. I did win a $10 gift card to Cold Stone Creamery! (Oatmeal cookie batter ice cream with toasted almonds here I come) YUMMY!!

2008-10-06T19:14:00.002-07:00

Oh, I so wish that this video had sound. For FHE we played this game that Simon had learned at Cub Scouts. You pick a fruit and you have to say your fruit name and then another persons fruit without showing your teeth.. It was the funniest thing, hopefully you can see when you watch the video

General Conference

2008-10-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

It seems like the new tradition is to watch conference with the family. We usually end up over at Jake and Jodi's house early for breakfast. When we got there Jodi had lds bingo for the kids to play while watching conference, the kids were really excited to watch for about 5 mins , needless to say nobody won on the bingo game. We enjoyed conference with a little of football and good conversation mixed in.

1st attempt

2008-10-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

Well the 1st attempt to teach Nik to ride his bike didn't go so well. Tyler came and asked his dad if he would take the training wheels off of Nik's bike so he could help him ride it. Simon just can't leave it at that he has to take over. So they go to the front yard and attempt to show him how. Now I love my husband to death, but he has NO patience for stuff like this. So he puts Nik on his bike and tells him to hold on and pushes him really fast and tells Tyler to run next to him, well by this time Nik is crying and Simon is mad and I am mad at him. After falling of his bike several times Nik says "NO MORE" while in tears. Poor guy, well finally Simon gave up and the next time Nik wants to ride his bike, we all know who will be teaching him :)

Haircut

2008-10-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

Tiny went to Pet Smart to get groomed today. She received the works, haircut, conditioned, nails clipped, teeth brushed, and ears cleaned. She looked and smelt like a new dog. She is such a awesome dog, we really are very fortunate to have her. Simon asked me today "why do I like this dog so much"? He was the one that never wanted a small dog. I guess he's not so tough after all..:)

Before

After, but she beat me to the water dish before I could take her picture.. grr

Soccer Practice

2008-10-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

Today was Nikolas's 1st day of soccer practice and 1st time playing soccer. He is playing with the 4-5 years olds. His little friend Abby is on his team. Hmm that is a good thing and maybe a bad thing. A little bit into practice I look over and see Abby and Nik sitting on there balls on the side lines, and all the other kids are playing the game. So Simon walks over there and says "what are you guys doing" and they say "we are resting were tired" LOL.. It's going to be a fun season.

Family get together

2008-09-28T10:08:00.005-07:00

Sara and Tyler
I think the chair is a little small dad!What a good looking bunch

My parents and Mandy came up this weekend to have a BBQ over at Tracy's house. We had all day to waste so we decided to go to Cabela's. It's a really neat store the kids loved all the different animals. We then went back to Tracy's were Mandy and David meet us for a BBQ. The kids tried to swim but that didn't last to long the water was a little cool. They played in the backyard most of the time while the adults were able to visit. It was great to see my parents it's been a while and the food was great. Thanks Tracy for the invite we had a great time!

Dog Sitting

2008-09-28T09:54:00.001-07:00

This is Hoover. Mandy and David's puppy and yes he is full of energy. We had the pleasure of watching him over the weekend. My kids were so excited for Hoover to come stay with us. I don't think he sat down from the time he got out of the car until we gave him back. He is on the go constantly and wants to play all the time. Hoover and Tiny (my Yorkie) didn't get along very well, Hoover wanted to play and Tiny wanted to hide from the wild puppy that wanted to jump on her so he jumped on Nik instead and he loved every minute of it. LOL.. Mandy we would be happy to watch him again if you need us.. He is differently loved over here!

Night Games

2008-09-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

This was the winning team!

I was laying on the couch and this piece of paper came flying down the stairs over my head. I pick it up and it reads "Mom can we play night games tonight PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE we love you SO SO SO SO much". Now how could I say no to that?? So Ally and Talynn made a list of all the possible games they could play with all there friends, then they started to call everyone they knew. Usually when they play night games it starts at 8:00pm and ends at 9:30pm. All there friends started to show up around 8pm and play the games started. They played red rover, tag and another game me and Simon never did figure out.. Even little Nik was able to play until he was closed lined during red rover, so after that he decided to sit with me and watch.

What a fun night!

Parent Program

2008-09-25T11:57:00.007-07:00

Nikolas had his parent program this morning at his preschool. All of the kids wanted to show all the parents what they have learned in school over the last month.

They have been studying the solar system. They learned all about the different planets, what it takes to be an astronaut and why Pluto is not a planet anymore. They showed us all around the room and sung songs about the solar system.

How cute are these astronaut they made out of tin foil

What a fun little preschool Nikolas goes to 3 days a week for 2 1/2 hours. He asks me every morning if he has school and when I say no he says 'Oh Man". He just loves it. Next week they will be learning all about the ocean.

Don't forget to Vote November 4th!!

2008-09-24T15:33:00.003-07:00

Prop 102 literally speaks for itself: "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state." So, when you vote, you know that at least one choice will be easy: saying YES for marriage! Find out more at http://www.yesformarriage.com/

Value of a Dollar

2008-09-17T19:20:00.007-07:00

Today I decided to teach my kids the value of a dollar.. They always get money and it burns a hole in there pocket. They beg to go to the store and buy something they play with one time or breaks shortly after they buy it. They are always asking me for Nintendo DS or PlayStation games but they don't want to save to buy them, they just want me to fork out the money.. Well I am not going to, if they want something they can save until they can buy it with there own money.

I bought them jars they could decorate. Any money they get from birthdays, chores, Taylor (he always gives the kids money for the fun of it) and for what ever else they can put in their jars. They can watch there money grow and work towards buying something they worked hard for. They are very excited, they started off by helping me trim the bushes in the front yard. :)

Play Time

2008-09-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

Nikolas and I went to Tracy's house today to pick up a dishwasher and visit. The weather was great so we sat out front and watched the kids play. Sara has this electric 4-wheeler that Nik just loves he would ride it all day if he could. When we got home he says to me "I wish we lived over at Sara house" I said why "because they have that 4-wheeler" I said ya but we have 2 big 4-wheelers and he said to me "It's not the same its just my size".. He is so cute! It was nice visiting with Tracy and thanks for the dishwasher.

What a deal!!

2008-09-14T10:27:00.005-07:00

I have been helping my cousin Lori buy a house out in Desert Hills. It went under contract today and what a AMAZING deal we were able to get!!! After all the countering back and forth we were able to get this house for $105K off list price.. Shows you what persistance and hard work will get you! Congrats Lori it's a beautiful home.

Should It Stay OR Should it Go?

2008-09-13T10:58:00.002-07:00

Today I got the wild idea to dye my hair. I don't know why I always do this, the out come is never what I want. Well I bought Mahogany brown and it turned my hair almost black with a tint of red. So I washed it about 10 times and nothing.. So then i decide to buy one of those hair color removal kits and it turned my hair red, then i put the new color light brown on and this is what it looks like. I think I like it but it might have a little to much red for me.. I will give it a couple of days and maybe I will end up in the salon where I should of went in the first place. GRR

Girls Night Out!

2008-09-12T22:48:00.001-07:00

Simon and the boys went to father's and sons camp out. So me and Ally went out for a girls night. You would never believe my skinny little ally can eat steak like no one else. So of course she wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse. She ordered a 6oz sirloin and steak fries and we shared a salad and the yummy rolls. She almost managed to eat everything on her plate. Afterwards we went to Walmart to get some ice cream to take home and eat. It was an awesome night, can't wait until we do it again.

Facebook

2008-09-12T11:27:00.002-07:00

My sister Tracy told me about this site called facebook, it's a little like myspace and classmates where you can find and catch up with old friends . There seems to be a little bit more security then myspace, which is good, you have to invite your friends to see your page. We will see how long I keep it up. We all know I tend to fall off the waggon a lot with this blogging stuff..

Softball

2008-09-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had YW softball at Cooley park. I am the new sports director for our YW. I had to find an umpire for our team and lucky me I know right where to find one. Simon is such a great sport he was more then willing to help me out! What a great guy!

We started at 6:00pm and at about 6:30pm out of the blue this huge wind and dust storm. It was blowing so hard you couldn't even see the girls in the out field.. And of course there was a lot of wind and no rain. but it did cool the temp down and that was really nice. It finally settled down and the girls went on with there game. We won the 1st game and lost the 2nd. We had to combine 4 different wards into 2 teams so there were a lot of girls, but you know teenagers they always find a way to have a good time. I brought some yummy drinks for the girls after there game.. What a fun night. We play again on next Thursday!

Low Carb

2008-09-10T19:26:00.004-07:00

Low carb does it really work?? Yes it does, me and Simon have been on the low carb diet for about a month now. Simon has lost 22lbs and I have lost 8lbs. I have to say it really hasn't been that hard to stay on it. We eat a lot of veggies and chicken, then we take a day off here and there. As I am writing this I can smell the popcorn Simon and kids are eating while they watch Alvin and the Chipmunks HEHE. We both started exercising again and are really dedicated this time. It won't be long until we reach our goal.

Playdate

2008-09-09T13:03:00.001-07:00

After school today Nikolas had his friend Sean come over to play. It is so cute listening to them talk to each other "your my best friend", "your my best friend too".. SO CUTE! These 2 boys play so good together. Sean was here for about 3 hours and I didn't hear a peep out of either one of them. Now thats my kind of playdate.

Primary Election

2008-09-04T14:31:00.004-07:00

Today I worked the election in Mesa. I work as a premium troubleshooter. My duties are to deliver the packet to the inspector which is the person in charge at each polling place, go to every set up meeting to make sure all equipment has been delivered and working. On election day make sure all my polling places run smoothly and if they need anything I can help. I had one inspector quit last minute so they found me a new one. This inspector had never worked the election before and had no training, then come to find out no one on his team had ever worked either. I was a little bit nervous about this, but with my help there polling place ran smoothly..

This election I had 7 polling places and I am happy to say all 7 did a awesome job. It's a very long day I started at 4:45am and returned home at 9:45pm, but I really enjoy it. My mom works for Graham County and introduced me to this and I am happy she did. I just recently went to a class and received a raise in pay :) This election was very slow, however the November Presidential election will be a different story.

PreSchool

2008-08-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today Nikolas started PreSchool. He was so excited to go with his friend Sean. They are learning about space this week.

1st Day of school!!

2008-08-11T13:50:00.002-07:00

Oh my! I can't believe my daughter is in the 5th grade already. Seems like yesterday when she went off to kindergarten. And Tyler is heading into the 2nd grade. They were so excited to go to school this morning. I sure hope that attitude continues through out the school year hehe!!

Summer Vacation!!

2008-07-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

We went to Utah for Simon's family reunion. We stayed with his sister Kari along with 4 other families.. We had such a wonderful time and of course I forgot my camera WHATS NEW!! Saturday we went to the park for the reunion, it was so nice to see all of Simon's family. Uncle Les built this cannon that shot out candy. The kids were all diving for candy and then the sprinklers came on it was so funny.. Then on Sunday we went to Lagoon theme park with Danny, Jamie, Shane and Jodi's family. I love Lagoon it so much fun with out all the people and long lines.. What a great trip!

Tempe Beach Park

2008-07-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today I took the kids to the Tempe Beach Park. I was so hot, but the kids had a great time splashing around in the water.

Busy, Busy

2008-06-15T08:31:00.001-07:00

WOW.. I have been so busy I haven't had any time to update my blog.. I promise an update is coming soon.. :)

Woman's Conference

2008-05-02T13:40:00.001-07:00

Every year me and my friend Allison go to woman's conference in Uath. We have such a great time and come home refreshed and ready to become better mothers, friends and spouses. I am looking forward to next year..

Ally's Gymnastics Recital

2008-04-19T17:00:00.003-07:00

Saturday was Ally's Gymnastics Recital. She has been working very hard all year long. She has gymnastics every Wednesday from 2:45-4:15pm at Mrs. Debbie's house around the corner. She teaches out of her garage and its amazing what Ally has learned, from a not so good kart-wheel to a round-off back-handspring (and he legs were even straight) hehe.. Ally is excited to start gymnastics again when school starts. Good Job Ally!!!

Our new little buddy..

2008-04-17T15:11:00.006-07:00

Today we were blessed with a great new family pet named Tiny. She is a Tea Cup Yorkie. Tiny was given to us by our awesome neighbors Becky and Taylor ( Thank you!! ). My kids are so happy to have Tiny living with us she loves to snuggle and follow you around the house and she even likes to go for rides in the car. She is a great little buddy for Nikolas when the kids are at school.. We are happy to have her..

Whole Wheat Pancakes

2008-04-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite recipe.. Enjoy

Whole Wheat Pancakes

2 c. whole wheat flour
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2-2 c. milk (depending on how thick you like your pancakes)
3-4 tsp. baking power
2 eggs
5 tbsp. oil

Mix dry ingredients together. Beat eggs well. Add milk, oil and eggs to dry ingredients. Mix well.

These are so yummy!

Tyler's Field Trip

2008-04-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I went on Tyler's field trip to the Phoenix zoo. Tyler's class were learning about the rainforest. The kids had a tour guide take them thru the rainforest. Then we walked around looking at the rest of the anamils.. It was a really hot day, but we had alot of fun..

Here is Tyler in a tree..

For Sale

2008-03-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

This is my newest listing.. So a little bit has been going on in my Real Estate business. I am also in the process of helping Jess and Allison buy a house and move back to Mesa.. Yeah!!

Hannah Montana

2008-03-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

Here is the NEXT Hannah Montana. HEHEHE

Easter 2008

2008-03-23T10:18:00.001-07:00

Easter 2008 came pretty early for our yearly camping trip with all my family and lots of friends, but we got lucky and the weather was beautiful. Besides the really cold sleepless nights ;). I was so sad to realize I had forgotten my camera so I had to borrow my moms and the only pictures I got was of the kids coloring the Easter eggs, which they look forward to. The kids had a great time. We borrowed our neighbors little quads and the kids rode all day long. We all love camping and the kids love getting dirty (really dirty) hehe. Here we are coloring Easter eggs and Mandy and Georgetta helping..
Mom, Dad and Jake just chilling out!
What a cute little boy.
This is what Chloe's face looked like 5 mins after we got there. hehe

Park Day

2008-03-21T11:44:00.001-07:00

This hill they are going down was huge and they were going very fast..

It was funny!

During spring break we met up with Allison and her girls at freestone park. It was nice to have the kids play together its been a long time. I brought Nik's big wheels for the little ones to ride and Ally and Tyler decide they were going to go down this huge hill on them.. It was so funny they were going so fast.. All the kids had a blast and I enjoyed chatting with Allison. We will have to get the kids together more this summer.

Ally's Field Trip

2008-03-18T09:23:00.002-07:00

Today I went to the phoenix zoo with Ally and her class. These girls are a good group. It was a fun day we were even able to see and touch the stingrays and sharks that was the first time we did that.. They were really neat.

New addition to our Family

2008-03-01T11:33:00.003-07:00

This is Roxi our newest family member. She loves her head petted and it is the the funniest thing, you call her and she will really come to you.. She just walks around our back yard during the day and sleeps in our shed at night and during the winter.. She is the best pet ever..

Ally and Grandma

2008-03-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

I just love this picture!!!

A day out riding.

2008-02-18T09:15:00.002-07:00

On Monday we went out riding with the Yost's (our neighbors). We went to Usury Pass which is about 1 hour away. We had our 2 quads and they had there 4 plus a buggy, which Nik loves to go for rides in the buggy with Taylor. We had a great time! We rode for a while had some lunch and rode some more.. It was a great day and can't wait to go again!!

Basketball Class

2008-02-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Tracy and I decide to put Nik and Sara in a basketball class where they learned to dribble, shot and have lots of fun on the fun scooters. They both had a great time and gave me and Tracy the opportunity to caught up with each other.. What cute kids.
Almost made the basket..

Go SUNS!!

2008-01-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Simon was given 3 tickets to the Suns game last night. They were great seats in the 10th row I wasn't able to find a babysitter so he decided to take Ally and Tyler. Simon asked Tyler if he had fun and he said "ya dad thanks for taking me I had a great time" Ally response was "ya it was ok" so Simon told her that next time, just say you had a good time so we want to take you again and she said "but dad if I say I had a good time that would be lying" hehe.. What a honest child.. Me and Niko needed have some fun as well so we went to Cold Stone Creamery it was Yummy!!

Basketball

2008-01-12T18:10:00.000-07:00

Tyler had his first game this Saturday. He played very well and we won the game. Hopefully this year we will have a winning team.. HEHE Thanks Grandma, Grandpa and Danny for coming to support Tyler he loves it..

Freshly painted

2008-01-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

With some motivation from my sister-in-law Robyn I finally got around to painting my planter wall and mailbox. After finishing my mailbox we started on the planter wall and about 1/4 of the way done my neighbor Becky comes over and says "now you have to paint you house to match" I said WHAT?? so me and Robyn backed up and looked and to our surprise the wall was not the right color. (Thanks Becky I probably wouldn't of noticed until we were done) I guess the color I matched was the color on the side of my house not the front. GRRRR I refused to go spend anymore money on paint so I decide to do a little experiment I grabbed some leftover paint I had from painting my front room. I stared mixing them together and I was able to match the paint on the house pretty darn close I was so excited. So we finished the wall and hopefully next week I will re-paint the mailbox.. ;) Thanks Robyn for all your help!

Dinner with Michelle

2008-01-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

Thursday night my friend Michelle took me out to dinner for my belated birthday? We always end up at the Cheesecake Factory. This time we tried the new one out at the Superstition mall, conversation and food were great. Thanks Michelle for dinner!! Can't wait till we do it again.

HALE SUPER HEROES!

2008-01-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

Ally and Tyler were recognized for there outstanding work for the second quarter. Hale super heroes was based upon their effort in academics, behavior, and citizenship. We are so proud of Ally and Tyler for setting good examples for all of the Hale Heroes. Congratulations!

Parent Teacher Conferences

2008-01-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Today Simon and I went to Ally and Tyler's PTC. We visited with Tyler's teacher first Mrs O'Neill. She said Tyler is doing GREAT he know how to ready over 65 words a minute. She also said he has a heart of gold always making sure everyone is happy.. Man I love that kid!!

Ally's teacher is Mrs Martis and Ally just adores her so much. She said that Ally is doing good and improving in many areas. The one we are most proud of her is that she is asking questions. Most of you might not know this about Ally she is deathly afraid to ask questions if she doesn't understand something, but Mrs M. said she is really trying hard in that area. WAY TO GO ALLY! Ally is such a blessing in our lives she is just going to have to try a little harder then most, but I know she can do it.. We love you..

2008-01-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!

Make this year a memorable one!!

Christmas at the Gustafson's

2007-12-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Santa stopped by Grandma Gustafson's house on Christmas Eve to visit all the little kids (and a few big kids too). All the kids were able to tell Santa (grandpa) what they wanted for Christmas this year (a couple times Santa said "So little one tell "Grandpa" I mean Santa what you want for Christmas" it was SO funny) . Christmas morning we woke up and opened presents all the kids were very happy with what Santa brought them this year. Then we went to Jake and Jodi's house for a Yummy breakfast.. Thanks guys.. Later the afternoon we ended up over at Grandma and Grandpas for dinner it was a great end to a wonderful Christmas day.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Holiday season we had this year. We went to Safford the weekend before Christmas to celebrate with my family. We exchanged gifts with one another, the kids were so excited to see all the new toys. We enjoyed each others company and enjoyed lots of yummy food..

Ally Orchestra Concert

2007-12-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

Ally had her first Orchestra concert.. She decided to play the violin this year. We are so proud of her. Congratulations Ally you did a great job.. We love you!!

Super With Santa

2007-12-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

Last week the kids had super with Santa at school. Grandma and Grandpa Gustafson joined us for dinner.. We had pizza, salad, soda and cookies. Grandpa tried to get nik to get him more cookies hehe it didn't work. Nik stood at the cookie table and just stared at the girls and then came running back with NO cookies.. It was so funny.. Then the kids had a chance to tell Santa what they want for Christmas.

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-12-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

This year we spent our Thanksgiving day in Safford with my family. We had a wonderful time visiting with family we haven't seen in a couple years. The weather was great and the kids played outside most of the day. We came home that night so I could go shopping on black Friday. YEAH!!

New Front Yard

2007-12-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

Yeah!! We finally put in our new front yard. One morning we got a knock at our front door when I opened the door there stood my neighbor. He said he was getting ready to redo his front yard and wanted to know if we were interested in doing ours at the same time to save a little money. I was all over that!! So the work began. And what a project it was. Our front yard originally had rock and bushes. We moved a bunch of rock to the back yard and ripped out all the bushes. We decided to put in sprinklers and grass along with a brick mailbox and a planter built up against the house (hopefully I can keep some pretty flowers alive in it hehe). We also poured some concrete to put our swing on so we can watch the kids play in our NEW beautiful green grass!! LOVE IT. So here are some pictures of before and after and a little play in between..

BEFORE This is Taylor and Nikolas horsing around in the bobcat.
Simon is having so much fun.. hehe
Work in progress Almost DONE.. Still some more work to do! It won't be long

The Great White Hunter

2007-11-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

Simon and Tyler went Deer hunting with my dad over they weekend. The hunted all day Friday-Monday. Hiking all over the mountains. They found a couple of doe and 1 spike but nothing worth shooting at.. Tyler decide to show those old men up and go out hunting himself.. and this is what he came back with "a bird" he was so excited he had shot something with his bb gun.. Next year Nik gets to go along with them. YEAH! Hopefully Simon will get drawn to hunt..

Election Day

2007-11-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

Nov 6th was election day. My mom thought I would be interested in working an election. So yesterday was my 1st one. It was a slow election only one item on the ballot which was the Mesa Waveyard.. (looks like it's going to pass) YEAH!! Anyways I went to the polling place at 5:30am and finished up at 8:00pm it was a LONG day.. I had to opportunity to work with some really neat people. Lucy was the best.. she is a little old lady with a HUGH sense of humor. She sure made the day go by quickly.. I plan on working a couple elections next year is should be fun.

Day out with my mom and sisters.

2007-11-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Toady my mom and sister Mandy came up for the day to hang out. Simon and Tyler went deer hunting with my dad. We started the day off at Sara's game then went to lunch at Rubio's. Brett offered to take my 2 kids back to his house to play (so nice) Thanks Brett.. We were able to have a girls day out. We went to several stores and had lots of girl talk :) We ended up at the Orange Patch were we found these goofy glasses LOL!! We had a great time I wish we were able to do it more.

Halloween

2007-11-01T16:21:00.001-07:00

Christine and Georgie came over to go trick~or~treating with us. We started at 6pm and went around the neighborhood until about 7:30. Nikolas was getting tired so we dropped Simon and him off at the house to hand out some candy. Over on Hale St. every year they decorate a spookey hunted house so we walked over there the kids enjoyed that and then finished the loop and headed home. We had a great time gathering a ton of candy and a couple bags of chips HEHE. We are very glad that Christine and Georgie were able to come over. Tyler bought his funky glasses at country store at school.. He is so cool. Ally the sweetheart bat girl, Nikolas the cute batman and Tyler the Motor cross rider..
Happy Halloween!! We are ready to go trick~or~treating..
Holy cow!! Can you believe all that candy. YUMMY

Trunk or Treat

2007-10-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Last night we had our annuel trunk or treat and chili cook off. All the kids dressed up in there halloween costumes. Ally was a Sweetheart bat girl, Tyler was a Motor cross rider and Nikolas was Batman (sorry I forgot the camera, but don't worry I will have some pictures to post from Halloween night..) We all ate some yummy chili minus Simon he went to that ASU football game with a friend. After dinner the kids went from car to car trunk or treating. They all had a ton of candy after the night was over, expecially Nik our neighbor Taylor decided he would give him handful after handful of candy.. Looks like I am stocked for Halloween night.. HEHE

Halloween Party at Grandma's

2007-10-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Friday night we went over to grandma and grandpa's house for a spooky Halloween party. All the kids were so excited to see if they bought magic pumpkins this year. So after dinner we began to carve our pumpkins and on the count of 3 they all lifted there tops off and what did they find? Yes, they all had magic pumpkins again this year they were all filled with yummy candy the kids were so excited.. Some of us carved some really cool pumpkins and some of us not so cool(notice I didn't take any pictures of our carved pumpkin LOL). Grandma helped the kids with a fun graham cracker house decorated with candy and all the kids danced around the room to the fun kid toons.. We had a great time..

Phoenix Zoo

2007-10-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

Me and Nikolas went to the zoo with some friends on Tuesday.. Nikolas said he wants to be a Giraffe and a Elephant rider when he grows up.. :) We had a wonderful time.. Thanks to Rebecca and Debera for inviting us..

Park Day..

2007-10-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

We have had lots of park days now that the weather has been so nice.. Me and Nikolas love park days.. He gets to play with his friends and I get to have some adult conversations.. LOL

Coronado Island

2007-10-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

This year for fall break we went to Coronado Island with the Britton family. We arrived Thursday afternoon and we all hung out on the beach for the rest of the afternoon. Friday we went to Sea World with the Britton's. This was Tyler and Nikolas first time to Sea World I think they all had a great time exploring all the different animals and what they are able to do. Saturday morning we woke up to rain:( but we made the best of it and went to see the movie Ratatouille (very cute). Then Allison and I took the girls and Tyler to see High School Musical on Ice we all had a great time. Sunday morning me, Simon and the kids walked down to the beach early and hunted for sea shells there wasn't many but we did manage to find a few. The kids played on the playground for a lot of the vacation it was so much fun. Thanks to the Britton's for inviting us..

Dinner with Michelle

2007-10-15T12:36:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I had dinner with a friend of mine Michelle. We went to the Cheesecake Factory, funny we always seem to end up there. It was great to catch up with her. We planned a park play date for next week to let Nikolas and Chase play. It should be lots of fun!

Super Craft Night

2007-10-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday we had a super craft night for enrichment. Becky and I went together and had a great time making our crafts and visiting with all the ladies in the ward. I made wooden blocks that say "Thankful" with scrapbook paper, ribbon and other fun stuff... It looks pretty good I put it on my mantle in my living room..

Bunko

2007-10-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

Last week I had my monthly bunko group. We alternate between each others houses and this month it was at my house.. I cooked dinner and dessert for the ladies and we ate, visited and played bunko. I had all 3 kids because Simon had his concealed weapons class that night.. grr. But they had fun also.. I won some rubber cutting boards that are great.. Can't wait until next month..

Tyler's Football Game

2007-09-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

Man you should of seen this little boy run. Tyler had a double header on Saturday. Tyler played quarterback and running back. He scored 3 touch downs and had 3 interceptions. On one of the interceptions he jumped up about a foot off the ground and landed on his head - OUCH- but did he drop the ball NOPE he landed on the ground gripping that ball as tight as he could.. Tyler is such a sweet boy but when you get him on the football field, you better watch out :).. They won the 1st game 26 to 13 and the second they lost, but only by 1 touch down.. GO EAGLES!!!