Arizona 2019

In February Ryan and I will have been married 20 years, TWENTY YEARS! The past few months have been L.O.N.G. with several new challenges thrown our way and I've been telling Ryan that I've got to get out of here! We know February will be crazy with calving so we found 4 days we could leave and jumped in a rental car. We had planned to go as far as St. George, UT and it rained on us the entire drive there, but then the clouds left and the sun came out so we decided to just keep going. We made it to Las Vegas the first night and then went on to Sun City and Mesa the next day. We stopped in Sun City to visit our sweet neighbor Luella. Ryan rents her farm and we have become good friends. It was so fun to visit with her and pick some yummy fruit off her trees. We came home with all the oranges, mandarin oranges, lemons and grapefruit we could carry. We then went onto Mesa were we spent 2 days with Ryan's parents who were down at their condo and his grandparents who are still serving a mission down there. It was SO GOOD to just sit and visit. It was nice to feel the sun beat down on us for even just a couple days. I told Ryan when we left my old requirement was that we went somewhere I could wear my flip flops. 😎 We drove the entire way home in one day trying to beat a snowstorm...which was exhausting, but I love road trips with Ryan. We remember why we fell in love. We've had 20 great years, here's to 20 more!

 

Engaged!

In September my nephew Kaden moved in with us. He got a great job just after he got home from his mission and we just happened to live closer to it than his parents. So he stayed with us during the weeks and went home on the weekends. Sometime the end of October he met Abbey who was attending BYU-I and apparently she was the girl of his dreams because in January just after he moved out and up to college they got engaged. He is such a great kid! We are so excited for them. He still comes and stays with us off and on and we love having him here! They asked Rhett to do their engagement pictures. He did a great job. These are the unedited ones...still looking great without editing! 

Bathtub Sledding

The Barrie kids got to come stay with us from January 9-12th while their parents were out of town. On Saturday the boys were bored and wanted to sled behind the 4-wheeler. When they couldn't find a sled they pulled an old bathtub out of the shed and tied it behind. They had a BLAST in that dumb bathtub! and of course as soon as the other kids saw what was going on they had to join in. We even talked Ryan into being the crazy driver for a few rides. So much fun! Such a crazy country life!

First Skiing of the Season

On January 5th we FINALLY got up to the ski hill.  Rhett begged the entire Christmas break. We finally made it happen on the last day of break. We went with cousins Sage, Violet and Memory. The kids had a great time. They paired up and skied all over the mountain. This is the only picture I got of the entire day and it is of the back of Laiklie and if you look really hard you can see the tiniest part of Violet's pink coat in the corner of the window. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day to ski.

College Roomies

On January 4, 2019 these two finally got what they have been dreaming of their entire lives! They became ROOMMATES! They were sooo excited! I am so excited for them. They are going to have a blast together. These two breathe the same air. They get each other. They have an incredibly special bond. It will be an adventure of a lifetime! Their poor roommates. ;) Hahaha!

 BYU-Idaho, Brookside Village Apt.#307

Family Temple Trip

On January 3rd I talked everyone into going to the temple together before Oakley headed back to college. What an incredible, overwhelming feeling of love from both sides of the veil as we sat in the small confirmation room all together. These are my favorite people and my favorite place. An evening well spent. AND....two bonuses.....we ran into Grandma Jacobson at the baptistery. It was their temple day. And we finished the night with McDonalds. 😉

New Years Eve 2018

New Years Eve was pretty quiet at our house. Dallin and Oakley went to parties with friends, Laiklie hid out in her room watching YouTube videos and Rhett had our basement full of friends. So Ryan watched a Hallmark Christmas movie with me until about 11 when he headed to bed and I watched the ball drop by myself. I guess this is what it will feel like when we are empty-nesters. I'm glad my kids have such good friends to make memories with. Here is to a new year and new beginnings!

 2019 HERE WE COME!

Christmas Break

Over Christmas break Dallin and JD decided to ride snowmachines into the ranch, so grandma and grandpa followed them in the radar.  Laiklie and Kiana got invited and decided to tag along. They had a great day in the snow, at the cabin and with their grandparents. So fun! 

 While they were gone Yvonne offered to let us borrow her cross country ski gear so Rhett, Oakley and I took her up on her offer. We didn't get very far, just to the end of the field and back, but it was fun and exhausting! Oakley and Rhett both fell down twice and I fell down once. We were all a little sore the next day. Such a fun adventure together! 

More Photo Shoots

Over the break I took Rhett in by the river to take a few pictures. He got some great ones of the temple and a few of his sisters. He also took the time to do a photo shoot with Oakley. She is absolutely stunning! I can't stop looking at her pictures. Gorgeous!