Family pics

Today when we woke up there was about 6 inches of new snow. The good wet snow for making snowmen. I couldn't keep Hayden out of the window. He kept pulling the blinds and saying snow see dat. I had my dad come over to take some family pictures so I could get my Christmas cards done and I put Hayden down in the snow and he didn't know what to think. He fell and was surprised to find that his hands were cold and wet. We were supposed to go to my sister in laws house this weedend for a Christmas party, but because of the snow in the forcast and Reagan teething (grumpy) we decided to stay home this time. Eric had to work, so it wouldn't have been the same without him. Hopefully we can make it next year. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Putting up the tree

Putting up the Christmas Tree!

We finally got our tree up and decorated! It is usually our tradition to do it after Thanksgiving dinner, but this year we were so busy with the Festival of Lights that our tradition got postponed a few days. We bought a few new ornaments for it this year, so it is looking pretty glamorous. We wanted Reagan out of the way, but still involved so instead of putting her to bed, we put her in her saucer chair. Hayden was out of control. He was handing Logan and Baylee ornaments faster than they could put them on the tree. He kept throwing them, because he thinks they are balls. I put out my other decorations around the house hoping that Hayden and Reagan would leave them alone. Wishful thinking! Hayden hugs and kisses my snowmen that are about the same size he is. Reagan leaves them alone and heads for the little figurines that have candles in them. Nothing is safe around here. We have started our Christmas shopping, but we aren't done yet. Logan and Eric are done. Baylee still needs one more thing. We haven't started Hayden and Reagan yet. I am hoping to have them done by the end of next week. Eric's hours have been cut way back at work so he is working with a friend of ours doing construction. I am thankful not only for the friend who gave him this job, but also for Eric's willingness to work a second job. He is a good provider and never lets his family down. I hope that things pick up for him at work so he can relax and enjoy himself a little more. I love him and I hope he knows that he is appreciated and loved by his family. We hope you all have a merry Christmas!

Festival of Lights Parade

Festival of Lights

The day after Thanksgiving is the Festival of Lights here and for the last 2 years Eric and I have been in charge of it and boy is it a lot of work! We start in October putting lights up, but before that we are in the lighting shed fixing broken lights and decorations. The festival is full of activities for families and kids. There is a free movie, bed races down main street, a children's parade, all the singing and tap dancing you can handle, fireworks, and a lighted parade through town. Eric and I were in the parade so I wasn't able to take pictures, but I gave my camera to my mother in law and she took some for me. The funny thing is that she is used to her point and shoot camera and with mine you have to look through the view finder. It didn't occur to me to mention that to her, so she just aimed the camera where she thought it should be and took pictures. There were a few that turned out okay. My dad also went and took pictures for me and so I will post a combination from the 2. I do need to recognize some of the people who helped us. Chris Beckstead put most of the lights in the trees up town. Chris Groll, Craig and Vickie Golightly, and Eric strung the lights across the street till 4 in the morning, and the Lions Club and a few ladies from one of the banks in town helped us set up the park. Pat Zook is responsible for the trees in the park looking better than they ever have. He rocks! I think that everything turned out pretty good. I do have to give a special thank you to my mom for watching my kids. All the hours that we put into the festival, she put into babysitting. Thanks mom! When you put your heart and soul into something like this it is hard not to be proud of yourself, and we are proud. I am glad that it's over though. Baylee and I got our picture on the front page of the newspaper. Baylee thinks that is pretty neat and I think so too. That will be something that she will have to remember. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Thanksgiving Pics

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We did Thanksgiving at our house this year with my mom and dad and grandma. We had everything! Eric deep fried our 18 pound turkey and injected it with a really yummy marinade. Mom made her traditional marshmallow salad. Then of course we had mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and all kids of other stuff including 6 different pies. Our waist lines grew 2 inches that day. That's what it's all about though right. If you can't get fat with your family then who can you do it with? Logan and Baylee dressed up for the day. And we did get a few pictures of them. Hayden discovered that you can putolives on fingers. I think every kid does that. I know I did. It was good to get together and see everyone that day. We get so busy that sometimes we forget to just stop and enjoy the people who love us. So thanks to my family for loving me, and I hope you know how much I love you and appreciate you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Rose's Pictures

Pictures of Rose

I took Rose out for a day to get some pictures done and here is what we came out with. I can't believe how fast they have grown up. Rose is in 7th grade now. Scary to think that she is Dee's baby and she only has 5 more years of school before she graduates. That is when I start feeling old. To think that I am old enough to have nieces and nephews graduating. It's a hard thought for me. It seems like I have only been out of school a few years, but in reality it has been almost 10 years since I graduated. Wow!

Hayden speaks out!

Hayden saying shhh!

I love how he puts his finger on his nose.

Hayden pointing at his shirt and saying puppy.

It is so funny how fast time can pass when you aren't looking! Hayden is now 21 months old and starting to talk up a storm! He says shhhh and puts his finger on his nose. He says puppy, sissy (only when he is talking about Reagan), up, down, bye-bye, night night, baba, potty, cup, mom, mommy, daddy, blankie, eat, bite, nummy, feet, psst, no, out, door, shoes, light, and he has specific sounds when he is trying to say Logan or Baylee, but he's not quite their yet. He opens our gate that is supposed to cage him in, but at least he shuts it behind him so Reagan can't follow. We are trying to get Hayden to sleep in the bunk bed with Logan, but so far all we have managed to do is make mine and Eric's queen size bed a little smaller. I can get him to take naps still in his crib, but not at night. He has to sleep with us. We are working on it though. I am hoping to get him in his own bed before Christmas so that Reagan can finally have the crib. Then we can hopefully start working on potty training. I am hoping he is as easy as Logan was. He climbs out of everything and has now started falling head first off the arm of the couch or chair. He thinks this is hilarious, but it drives me crazy. Logan had him jumping off the arm of the chair the other night and Logan caught him. I think that is what started it all. Crazy kids! Reagan is walking along furniture and once in a while she lets go and just stands there. She will be walking very soon! Then I am in a lot of trouble! Logan and Baylee both started walking at 9 months. Hayden waited till he was almost 11 months. Reagan is 9 almost 10 months now. We will have to see if she can beat Hayden. The 2 of them have started being a little competitive, so I wouldn't be surprised. I just hope I am able to catch it on video.

Sammy's pics

A day with Sammy!

These are some pictures that I took of my niece, Samantha. She is an awesome girl and really fun to photograph. We took a whole day and went all over the valley taking these pictures. I ended up taking over 100 pictures of her that day! It was a blast spending time with her. We don't get to do it very often. Thanks for letting me do it Sam!

Halloween 2008

It has taken me a while, but here are the pictures from this Halloween. We did the usual stuff this year. I got the kids dressed up and we went to the Halloween carnival at the elementary school. Baylee was a mummy and Logan was a sock monster. Baylee won 3rd place in the costume contest. We managed to get a few pictures of Baylee with her friends, Caroline and Reagan. Reagan was the southern bell and she won 2nd place. Unfortunately they decided that they didn't want to be a mummy or a sock monster for Halloween so we were scrambling to find last minute costumes, which also seems to be a tradition around here. Hayden was a scarecrow and Reagan was Fiona from shrek. She actually kept that wig on. I was surprised! Of course it wouldn't be Halloween without carving pumpkins. This year we did a lot. We went to the pumpkin patch and picked our own and they were a lot cheaper so we got a lot more than we usually do. I was mad that I forgot my camera because the pumpkin patch would have made some cute pictures. The kids got a lot of candy and we all have toothaches so I would say it was a successful Halloween. We hope yours was great too!

Fun Pics 2008

Here are just some random pictures that I feel like sharing. Kind of a summary of our summer and the transision into fall.

Monsters and Warewolves and Chainsaws! OH MY!

We took Logan and Baylee out for a night with mom and dad. No babies, just us "big people." Our neighbor, Kelli, went with us too. We went to Iggy's for dinner and then we went to the haunted corn maze. Eric really isn't into that kind of stuff, (haunted, scary, etc.) We talked him into going with us. We got in there and Logan and Eric were in front of me, Baylee, and Kelli. Did I mention that Eric and Logan had the flashlight? So we get going into the maze and we didn't have anyone jump out at us yet, but we could hear screaming throughout the maze. So we are scanning the corn rows just anticipating the scare of a lifetime and nothing happens till we turn a corner and just as we did a guy with a red mask jumped out at us holding a chainsaw. HOLY you know what!! Kelli ran! Baylee jumped up on me holding on for dear life, screaming and crying. I couldn't do anything but laugh. Baylee was very nervous after that. We could see most of the other scary people in advance so I would pick her up and carry her and they would see that she was freaked out and just wave or give her thumbs up. We saw a man dressed plain with a chainsaw and we talked to him. He said he was just a man standing around. So we pass him and Kelli just finished saying he wasn't scary, he didn't even have a mask on. I was just about to say I guess you don't have to be scary when you have a chainsaw when all of a sudden he starts the saw and starts chasing us down the row of corn. I freaked a little. I was proud of Kelli that time, because she didn't let go of Baylee and run off this time. We eventually made it out and asked the kids what they thought and the responses I got were. Baylee "next time I am staying home with grandma!" Logan "I am never going anywhere with mom again" So I guess it was a successful night. Happy Haunting!

Thornley's

Tagged

7 things I plan to do before I die:

1. Become a professional photographer.
2. See my kids graduate (high school and college)
3. See all my kids get married.
4. Hold my grand kids.
5. Have one last bite of chocolate.
6. Grab my chest.
7. Take my last breath

7 things I can do

1. bake a cake.
2. make just about anything (craft wise)
3. Take pictures.
4. Hold my kids and tell them each day how much I love them.
5. Eat a whole pan of brownies.
6. make my family feel important
7. scrub a toilet

7 things I can't do

1. do a handstand
2. sew a straight line
3. pee standing up
4. put my hair in a pony tail
5. hold my breath for 8 minutes
6. do geometry
7. french braid anyone else's hair but my own (when I had hair)

7 things that attract me to my spouse

1. His cooking
2. His willingness to help anyone do anything
3. His ability to fix everything
4. He is a great dad
5. He is funny
6. His gorgeous blue eyes
7. His ability to be so modest about how good looking he is.

7 things I say the most

1. No
2. all right that's it. when we get home it's back in the closet.
3. Get down.
4. I love you so much
5. yeah! Daddy's home
6. knock it off
7. now I know why some animals eat their young.

7 favorite foods

1. white chocolate molten cake
2. brownies
3. Reese's peanut butter cups
4. Margarita chicken
5. Eric's grilled red potato's
6. Steak
7. lasagna

On to the eights

8 favorite t.v. shows

1.biggest loser
2. E.R.
3. C.S.I.
4. American Idol
5. Rachael Ray
6. studio 5
7. Reba
8. army wives (kinda)

8 favorite restaurants

1. chili's
2. Olive Garden
3. Blackstone
4. cafe sabor (mostly I like their salsa)
5. ruby Tuesdays
6. taco time
7. subway
8. Hamiltons

8 things that happened yesterday

1. woke up
2. took Eric to the dentist
3. did a little shopping
4. Got Wendy's photo matted and wired and delivered to her
5. Got some groceries.
6. the kids came home from school.
7. made pizza for dinner
8. cleaned the house.

8 things I am looking forward to

1. Halloween
2. My photography classes
3. Thanksgiving
4. Christmas ( I got Eric the perfect gift)
5. Christmas shopping in Park City (hopefully we still go)
6. lunch
7. a nice family vacation
8. the end of this list ( oh look I'm done)

It's finally done!

The wedding is over! I am finally able to sleep again. It went really well. Better than I expected as far as the cermony and reception. I have decided that you can only plan so much, but then people are going to do what they want to do. We were supposed to have an hour for pictures before the reception started, but people started showing up right away and we didn't get many family pictures or bride and groom photos. I did the best I could. The groom was not in to having his pictures taken so that was a challenge. I hope that they do enjoy the pictures I was able to get. I will put some pictures from the wedding on here soon I promise!

I love Halloween!

We finally put up our Halloween decorations last night. It is so fun going through boxes and finding all the stuff you have but forgot about. Every year we buy a new decoration, and this year we got a face ripper. He freaks me out! Especially at night. He is in the corner of our living room by my bedroom door. I walk out in the dark all the time and when I am tired I forget he is there and then I see his sihloett and have to stop and catch my heart. It's a good thing that we turned him off before bed, if he would have started talking to me then this would be eric posting my obituary on here. I need to go stock up on candy for the many trick or treaters that we get, but I am afraid that I will eat it all before Halloween. Logan and Baylee still haven't decided what they are going to be yet. We will probably put it off till the last minute like every year, and all the good costumes will be sold out and we will end up putting something together. I have a great idea for one of them, but I have to see if I have what I need to make it. Baylee is still into the cute costumes, but Logan has started to like being scary. I hope that the kids enjoy themselves and that everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

Our Face Ripper with his face on.

Our Face Ripper with his face off.

He is so creepy!

Parent Teacher Conference Already?

These were taken in Thatcher ID.

It seems like school has just started, but today I went to parent teacher conference. It went well like usual. Baylee talks a little too much in class, but hey she comes by it naturally. (I think she gets it from her dad.) It has been a strange beginning to fall this year. It has been quite a bit warmer than I remember in past years. The leaves in the canyon are beautiful though. I love looking at them and stopping to take pictures.

Eric hasn't shot any animals yet this year, but he still has many tags to fill. He has been working so much in the month of September that he hasn't had time to go out hunting, but I know he is going to get me my mountain lion!

The happy couple!


I have been pretty busy trying to plan my friends wedding for her. She gave me a month to do it and I think we are just about done. The wedding is on the 14th of October and I can't wait for them to make it final. They are just one of those couples that you know should be together. I couldn't have done her wedding without my mother in laws help I must admit. She is even more talented than me. We did the flowers for the wedding. Bouquets, corsages, and boutineres. She made the wedding dress. I did the engagement photos and I will be doing the wedding photos. We managed to save the couple a ton of money. It made me feel really good to be able to help her out like this. I have had many people do kind things for me and it was nice to pay it forward.

Well that is about all that has been going on here. The road work in front of my house is almost done. (I can't wait!!) I guess it is also time to decorate for fall and halloween. Halloween is my favorite holiday and I really don't know why. I think it's because I love fall and Halloween is in the fall. I also like candy and scary movies. Well that's all this time.

Wow! What a summer!

Wow! I can't believe that summer is over. It has started getting cooler, the kids are back in school, and all the stores have thier Halloween supplies on the shelves. This summer was great. We started off by going to Island Park for a family reunion. While we were there we took a day and went through Yellowstone. Eric had not been there before so I was excited to show him and our kids. We saw lots of animals and of course Old Faithful. On our way home we stopped in Jackson Hole. That was also a first for Eric and the kids. Then in June we took Logan and Baylee to Lagoon for Eric's company party. It was really fun. They are big enough to go on all the BIG rides. Even the ones that I won't go on. In August we went to California for my cousins wedding. It was gorgous. Baylee was a flower girl. We went through the red woods and up to Santa Cruz then to Monterey. I didn't really think that the kids would enjoy seeing all the trees, but they actually were in to it. Now Logan and Baylee are back in school. Logan is in 3rd grade and Baylee is in 2nd. I am kind of sad to see summer end, but it is nice to have 2 kids in school so that I can spend more time with my 2 little ones. I can't believe that Halloween is so close. I guess it is time to start Christmas shopping. Now that is something that I am good at.

This is Logan and Baylee in Jackson Hole

This is Baylee and me in Yellowstone. One of the few pictures that I am in as I am usually behind the camera.

Baylee and Reagan in our front yard. They are so beautiful!

This is one of my favorite pictures. I love photography.

AHHH! It's BIGFOOT!

Us at the redwoods. Now that is a big tree!

Me and my beautiful cousin. What a gorgous wedding.

Pretty flower girl

My little Hayden. I love taking pictures of him because he is so photogenic.

This is also one of my favorite pictures. This is Logan at Uncle Todd's house.