Afternoon Excitement

Yesterday afternoon brought some excitement when Casey decided to do some burning around the house... he burned weeds for a while then, lit the pile on fire. A few minutes later we looked up to see the Highway Patrol and Sheriff arriving! And once they saw that our house really wasn't on fire and things were under control, they cancelled the fire dept... who was on their way. Tys loved having the cop cars at his house and got to check out Bryan's patrol car!

I Am Thankful For........

For Thankful Thursday I am thankful for so many things and the people in my life. But, today I am even more thankful for my daughter and her girly personality. She loves having parties (ie. today's "hot chocolate party" with her girlfriends) and is always up for a good time! She wakes up in the morning asking if she can have a hot chocolate party or, an ice cream cone party?? And, she usually announces to her brothers that today is "her special day" She DOES have her moments of whining and crying throughout the day but, isn't that just a hazard of being a girl :) So, she's working on that! Katie has become my helper and is good about making her bed, getting things for her brothers and is learning how to set the table. Also, with the Olympics going on she has recently gotten into watching figure skating. She enjoys watching the reruns on the computer then, "skates" around the kitchen in her high heels and ballerina dress. She told her daddy that she wants to be an ice skater when she grows up (along with being a firefighter!) I am so thankful for my daughter and the joy that she brings in our home! Jolena, Katie and Taylor at their hot chocolate party this morning

Reno

To celebrate our anniversary, Casey and I spent the day in Reno yesterday. We left early in the morning and arrived back home late last night... so, it was a big day but SO much fun! We went to Starbucks, did some shopping, went to the movies and had dinner at the Olive Garden. It was great to spend time with Casey, no interruptions and a whole meal without getting up once :) While we were gone Trent learned how to pull himself up on the rocking chair and stand up!! Thanks mom and dad for watching the kids so we could enjoy our day together!!

5 Year Anniversary

Casey and I are celebrating our 5th year anniversary today! I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband and loving daddy to our kids. I am also amazed at how quickly these 5 years flew by... on our wedding day we talked about and wondered where we'd be in our lives on our 5yr anniversary. And, here we are! We have three great kids, are blessed to live in a home & town that we feel is where God wants our kids to grow up, Casey is fulfulling his life long dream of starting his own business and, we are daily surrounded by God's blessings. We have shared laughter, tears, disagreements, fun times, growth in our love for each other and many lessons on "life". Perhaps, one of these greatest lessons has been most recently with Casey getting laid off from his job in April. He and I are such planners and organizers. We knew what we were doing this time next year! Now, we are having to rely totally upon God and His will. With Casey starting own business we are learning how to truly live by faith.... because we really don't know what we'll be doing this time next year!! I look forward to many more wonderful years with my husband and am so thankful that God has given Casey to me!! Casey had to work today so he surprised me yesterday with flowers, chocolates, g.c. for shopping and balloons! And, he and I are going to spend the day in Reno on Monday....

He got three balloons for each one of our kids :)

Clifford The Big Red Dog

This morning Casey, my mom and I took the kids to story time at the library in Elko. Today was "Clifford, The Big Red Dog" day.... the hour included stories about Clifford, an actual visit from a big red dog (and, my, what BIG eyes he had!) and making Clifford ears during craft time. Katie and Tys weren't too sure about the big red dog however, Trent LOVED him! Trent kept wanting to touch him and shake his hand...

Katie making her doggie ears

Trent having fun with the crayons! Below: Tys, Katie and Trent's big red dog ears...

Afterwards we went to lunch and did some shopping; I always love $1 bargains and found these shoes for Trent, a pair of soccer shorts for Katie and 4 pairs of cotton pants for Tys. All $5 or less :)

Waiting for spring...

The weather was so beautiful today (60's)... We spent quite a bit of time outside and enjoyed it! First I went to the gym then, took the kids to the park. Their friends, Eliese, Wesley and Jakob also came with us; they had fun playing "princesses and princes" In the afternoon, Casey and I took the dogs for a walk in the desert... I know that winter isn't over yet however, after today I am ready for it to be!! Katie likes to bring her special sleeping bag and pillow out to the livingroom and have a "slumber party"!

Today I was combing Katie's hair and realized that her barretts were missing from her hair. I asked her what happened to them. She replied "well, they wouldn't sit still so I had to take them out"!!
Today marks a milestone for Tys' potty training... he went all day without any pee accidents and told me everytime that he had to go! He's still working on the #2 part but that's ok. I'm VERY happy with his progress :)

Sweetheart Dinner

Last night was our church's yearly couple's Valentine dinner... this year I hosted it at our house! It was fun to bring out all the fine dishware and crystal and, enjoy an evening of fellowship with our friends. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner, wine and a couple of games. The Wheelers were gracious enough to let ALL the kids go to their house for the evening (supervised of course!) And they had a fun time frosting heart shaped cookies. There were about 18 of us at the dinner and, here are just a few pictures...
Dena and Sharla

Jerry and Sharla

Ken and Judy

Sadly, Casey had to work last night and missed out on all of the fun! I used Joe (aka. OSO) for my "date" :)

Sweet boy

At dinner last night, Tys said "Mommy, you're the best cooker ever! You're my Ha-ro (hero)" He is such a sweet boy and made my efforts at cooking a nice meal so worth it! The way to this little boy's heart is through his stomach :) Tys had a great day of potty training yesterday.. with only 3 accidents, he had more successes than accidents!

Above: Trent showing off his new "Dutch Bros Baby" t-shirt

Below: Trent showing off his new talent of getting into mommy's purse

We were happy to see Casey arrive safely home on Thursday evening and, were able to spend Friday morning with him before he went on nights last night. There were a few adjustments made to the work schedule at Dyno... all of the guys that are going to be laid off in April (that includes Casey) were put on a straight days Mon-Fri schedule. Casey was the ONLY man not put on this new schedule and left on the current, regular shift work. If Casey had went to straight days he wouldn't be able to finish his welding class in Reno... We are so thankful for God's continued care and blessings!

Briana and Michael are staying with us this weekend and, they're such a big help with the kids and fun to have around! I will be busy today preparing for tonight's couples Valentines dinner, which is at our house..... look for future pictures from tonight's fun evening!

This Week So Far...

We enjoyed a relaxing, quiet weekend with Casey and, are now missing him this week as he's at welding school in Reno. I have been getting up early in the mornings and going to the gym around 6. Going this early gets me home earlier, which enables the kids and I to still get a good start to the day. Another thing I've added to my already busy day is watching the reruns of the show 24; my mom and I have gotten addicted to them and find it hard to not just sit and watch them all day :) So, we've allowed ourselves to 2 episodes during the kid's nap times... Tys is doing SO good with his potty training! A couple of times he has told us when he needed to go but, is mainly just waiting and going when we put him on the potty... and, he's still having a few accidents throughout the day but is really improving this week. I just love the excited look on his face when he goes potty and gets M&M's :) Katie is quite the social butterfly these days. She had her friend, Taylor, over to play yesterday morning (they had an "ice cream cone party"!) and, is having Marisa over today. Trent has been a crabby, clingy little boy lately! I'm pretty sure its from having Casey gone so much; when Casey is home Trent is his daddy's boy and wants to be with Casey all the time. We are "fish sitting" for Taylor & Dalton these next 2 weeks. The kids are loving it! They take turns feeding Rufus and talking to him.

You Know You Have Kids When

You know you have kids when you find Barbies sleeping in your bed, a bottle filled with milk in the cupboard, Princess dishes amongst your canned foods and HotWheels tracks hanging from the counter!!

This Week

This last week has gone by both good and quickly! I began potty training Tys on Monday so, our days were spent at home and living around the timer. He is picking it up well and going potty a couple of times a day on the "big toilet"! Yesterday morning Katie's friend, Jolena, got to come over and play. They had a great time and it was so neat to see their vivid imaginations at work! Last night, Casey took the late night train from Elko to SLC and, is picking up his new truck this morning... I'm looking forward to seeing it! Here are a few pictures from this last week: There was lots of silliness going on yesterday!

Jolena's "GOT MILK" impersonation

Trent is learning how to climb or, I should say has already learned how to climb. This is one of his favorites although, I don't usually let him stand on the rocker...

Trent also enjoys getting into the cupboards and dragging out food... in this case, it was Ranch

Matt & Justine's wedding

We were blessed in being able to share in the wedding day of our friends, Matt & Justine! We left for Boise on Friday and arrived just in time for the kids to participate in the wedding rehearsal that evening. Katie was the flower girl and Tys, the ring bearer. They did great during the rehearsal and Tys learned how to NOT hold the ring pillow (on his head or, squished between his hands!)

At 9am on Saturday morning, we arrived to the church for pictures and, the wedding was at 11. Katie did a great job at throwing her flowers down the aisle and, Tys, well, he was so tired from the night before that he ended up falling asleep right before the ceremony! It was a beautiful ceremony and we are so happy for Matt & Justine!

Tys skipped out on his duty as ringbearer!

Trent, Casey and Nathaniel

The happy couple!

Birthday dinner

On Saturday night, we went to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner. We celebrated 4 birthdays: Marie, mom, dad and myself! It was fun to have Meredith, my brother and Brian & Monica there too! I stuffed myself on their yummy butter/cinnamon rolls, salad, portebello mushroom chicken and garlic mashed potatoes :)

Happy Birthday to the "ole man"!!

Sunday morning we woke up to a beautiful layer of snow! This is the Vissers backyard... We headed home in the morning (instead of the afternoon) because we weren't sure when it was going to stop snowing and wanted to get home before dark.