The no good, very bad day!

So, I have been meaning to post this since last week. Last Tuesday is the day in reference. Wow! Kyle left for work as normal, but on his way he had a little car problem. He tried a temp fix and it worked. He was on his way again, but later more car problems. We were told that it was probably the fuel pump. Well, fuel pumps are $800 so we started small. Kyle tried the fuel filter and that didn't work. So, he decided to fix it himself, tons of work but worth the money. He started about two and it took him over five hours to fix it and put it back together. I should mention that in the meantime the water heater in the house went out. We were at a loss of what to do. We just replaced the elements this past summer. After unsuccessfully attempting different things we decided a new water heater was needed. Back to Kyle, he changed the fuel pump and put the new one in. He was hoping to run to IF and grab a water heater and come home and install it. Well... the new pump was defective! He had to start all over with a new pump. He was beside himself. He called Chris, and Chris came to the rescue. In the meantime he called Brody to say he would not make YM, and typical Brody called everyone in the ward! Kyle got endless offers of help. Thankfully, Travis and Brett didn't take no for an answer. They drove to Rexburg and then offered to run to IF to pick up a water heater. While Kyle and Chris worked on the truck, Travis and Brett went and got the water heater and came back to install it. By the time Kyle got home it was pretty much in. Travis, Brett, and Brody gave up their evening and came over to our scary basement and gave us an awesome Christmas present- hot water! Poor Kyle he was so exhausted the whole time, and what an awful day. He did say "it started out as the worst day ever, but turned into the best day ever." We were so impressed how quickly and how many people offered to help. I wanted to publicly thank Travis, Brett, and Brody for all their help. I don't think Kyle could have done it without them. We are so blessed to have such great friends. We did find out that the water heater had shorted out and the wires were completely melted. We were very lucky we didn't have a fire. We are also blessed that it happened when it did and not when we were in Utah. Which is why this post is so late. We have been very busy. Kyle said he prayed for a miracle, I guess Travis, Brett, and Brody were his miracle! Thanks guys!!!


A weekly wrap up:
Sunday- Kaitlyn's birthday
Monday- ornaments and gingerbread houses with Mahon, Cindy, Chris, and Chantelle. So much fun and the crafty cute ornaments were Chris' idea, who knew!
Tuesday- fuel pump and water heater- enough said.
Wednesday- "adult" Christmas party at the barn. So fun. Thanks Travis and Sabra. The presents were hilarious!
Thursday- girls night for me. Thanks Cindy I needed a break!
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday- Utah. I will post more later.

I am now working on laundry and Christmas cards, and oh yeah shopping- almost done! I could use another week before Christmas!

8 months old

Kami is eight months old today. She weighs 16.2 lbs. and they have her at 27.25 inches. I think she is taller than that though. She is still not crawling but she can stand by herself and loves to cruise in her walker or hold your fingers and walk. She has seven teeth and has two more pushing through, including a molar. She is a good eater! She loves real food, anything we are eating is good to her. Pancakes are her favorite though. Today is a special milestone. Today we are in Utah at Anna's baby blessing. This is also Kami's first time out of state. Kami did very well on the way down, thank goodness for soy! We also think Kami may be a lefty. What are the odds that we would have tow lefties? Only time will tell. She really is getting so big and fun. We enjoy her so much. It is sad to think she is growing up so fast but we really do enjoy every moment of it. Happy eight months Kami!

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!

Today was Kaitlyn's fourth birthday. I am surprised she is already four, it seems like we brought her home yesterday! Kaitlyn keeps us on our toes. She is always on the go and there is never a dull moment with her around. She was so worried about her birthday. I don't think she quite knew what to expect, but she said "it was the best birthday ever!" She woke up bright and early requesting to open her presents. I found a great little toy train online and she loves it. The train plays music as it goes around and you can rearrange the notes to make different songs. She also got more cars, which she loves. Kaitie is into cars and now trains, she isn't as girly as Ashley. Kaitlyn picked pancakes for breakfast, of course. Then it was time to get ready for church. At church they sang to her and she loved it! When we got home we had chicken strips and french fries. Honestly I didn't know what she would pick for dinner, she loves everything. We had all our family over tonight and had fun opening presents and eating cake. I think all in all it was a very good evening. I am so glad she had such a good day. At one point I don't think she knew what to do with all the attention. We love Kaitlyn so much. She really is such a joy to have around. She is such a sweet loving spirit. She just loves everyone so much. Happy Birthday Kaitlyn! We love you!

Christmas party

We had our ward Christmas party tonight. Boy am I glad that is over! All day I had to listen to repeated questions from Kaitlyn "how is Santa getting there, where will he park his reindeer, maybe he needs a ride and we should drive to the North Pole and get him". She was driving me crazy!!! She is so cute though. They were so excited to see him and I couldn't hardly keep Kaitlyn in line. Even Kami did great and sat for a photo. It was a fun night and I am glad our battery allowed us to get a shot in. Kaitlyn is starting to understand things this year and Ashley is just way excited. Now the fun begins: Christmas Shopping! I order mostly online- helps with the stress. The rest of it I prefer to do childless, and that is a challenge.
On a side note, We finished the Book of Mormon tonight as a family. Ashley now wants to read church history. We are still discussing this.

The countdown begins!

We broke out the advent calendar about two weeks ago, but today was the day. The girls put up the first ornament this morning. They could hardly contain themselves. I think for Kaitlyn this helps her count down to her birthday. Ashley is just excited to put them up. Sigh... I guess Christmas is really coming.

Another catch up

Our leak proof roof!

FHE

Ashley's pilgrim people and turkey

Kaitlyn's turkey
Ashley's attendance certificate

Sunrises from the deck

YUM!

Well it has been another busy week around here. This weekend Kyle managed to put up the cricket(?) on the roof, no more leaks!!! We also had an awesome FHE making Christmas ornaments. Yes, Christmas! I was listening to the radio on the way home one night and found a station with just Christmas music on it. I thought "wasn't it just Halloween". I have yet to wrap myself around the idea that November is almost over and Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I think I am still stuck in August or September. Anyway, Ashely brought home her pilgrim people today along with a turkey. That prompted Kaitlyn to want one and well... thank goodness Ashley had two. She also came home with a certificate yesterday. Ashley had perfect attendance this past quarter in school. We enjoyed parent/teacher conferences recently and her teacher had nothing but good things to say. She loves having Ashley in class, I think it is in their contract to say that, and Ashley loves school! How could I leave out Kami. She loves her people food. She can eat and boy is she messy! She literally shoves handfuls in her mouth. I have to watch her carefully and not give her too much at a time, don't think I haven't gone in there before either! You would think we never feed her! I think she is going through a growth spurt, because she has also decided to wake up at 4 and 6am to eat. UGH! I have adjusted to sleeping through the night again. In the mean time I did discover that she has popped another tooth, that makes five. I know that there is at least one more making it's way down, and possibly three more. Will it ever stop!! I had to pull out more PJ's the other night because she is growing so fast. So between everything, and this is not the half of it, we have been busy around here. I have also been gathering up birthday stuff and presents for Kaitlyn, my baby is turning 4. I think I have just over a week left. I also realized the baby blessing is sooner than I thought and then Christmas will sneak up on me! We have a ton of stuff planned for this next month including an awesome surprise for someone. I think the year will be over and gone before I realize it. So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and good luck to all those crazy black Friday shoppers. I will be in bed!!!

Catching up

I absolutely love that my girls play so well together. I really thought Kaitlyn would have a hard time with Ashley in school, but she has done pretty well. She stills asks "when is Ashley coming home" usually at the end of the day. Her and Kami play very well together. Kaitlyn can be rough sometimes, but loves her sister so much. She is so proud to be a big sister. How did I get blessed with such wonderful girls?

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Okay, so I need to catch up on my tags.
HUSBAND TAG
1. Where did you meet?
We first met at a Youth Conference dance- I did not like him! But ultimately the credit has to go to Audra. She was first writing Kyle's brother on his mission and then Kyle. Well she bugged and bugged me to write to him until I said "if I write him one letter will you leave me alone!!!" That is all it took.

2. How long did you date before you got married?
We dated for six months after he got home, but wrote for 20 months.

3. How long have you been married?
We have been married 10 years, 11 in March- WOW!

4. What is your favorite feature of his?
My favorite feature is his gorgeous blue eyes. I guess I have a thing for blue eyes, I have only dated guys with them- unknowingly.

5. What is your favorite quality of his?
Kyle is very selfless and will do anything for anyone. I love that about him.

6. Does he have a nickname for you?
He calls me "beautiful" no matter what I look like.

7. What is his favorite color?
He thinks it is blue, but he always picks everything in black.

8. What is his favorite food?
He is a steak and potatoes man! He could eat them everyday.

9. What is his favorite sport?
He is a Packers fan (football), but doesn't watch religiously. He would rather spend time with us! His favorite sport is actually fly fishing, with snowmobiling a close second. I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier.

10. When and where was your first kiss?
On Audra's couch during a movie, sorry Audra.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
We love to spend time together hanging out and just talking. We can still stay up and talk until 2am.

12. Do you have any kids?
Three girls- Ashley, Kaitlyn, and Kamryne.

13. Does he have a hidden talent?
Kyle plays the piano, as many people know. But he also loves to write music too, not many people know that. I think he currently is working on two songs and already has one other one done.

14. How old is he?
He is 32, but I tease him about being 40.

15. Who said "I love you" first?
He did in one of his letters. But he also said it first too.

16. What is his favorite type of music?
He listens to pretty much everything, except rap.

17. What do you admire most about him?
I love how he is with the girls. The girls love him so much. He is so good with them. He plays with them and reads to them. Every night they scream "daddy's home" when they see his truck. I think it is awesome that he puts his family first. Everyone tells him "you need a boy" but Kyle says he is happy with his girls. I love him so much!

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NAME 6 QUIRKS

1. I am a neat freak. Although, I have had to alter a bit with kids. I am learning to live with the mess.

2. I can bowl left-handed, sometimes better than right-handed. This is due to having stitches in my right shoulder the first time I ever bowled.

3. When I am explaining something I will explain it in two or three different ways.

4. I always want a taco from Taco Bell when we are in town. I think it is in my blood from working there so long ago.

5. If I start a book I have to finish it, even if it is terrible. I have read some really bad books too.

6. I am a major night owl. Even if I am dead tired I can't go to bed before midnight. I am often up past one, and I don't even know what I am doing! It is my downtime.

Now I tag: Missy, Audra, and Cindy do one or both you pick.