Thursday, May 29, 2008

Just checking in....

I thought I'd just check in today. Nothing much going on. A little bumbed today.
For those of you coming up this weekend it has been cancelled.
Have a great weekend. Hugs to all.. Danna

Sunday, May 25, 2008

A short but very fun trip.

Thursday night we headed to Boise State for the State track meet. Jeffie went to state for the 1A Discus . I think he did very well out of 16 kids Jeffie placed 3rd in State. All of the kids on the stand were Seniors. What does this mean? Well to start off you have to be really good to go to state. To get to State takes lots of time and your skills are usually not perfected until you are into your Junior and Senior years. Jeffie is a Sophmore, this means he has two more years to become better. So he will be going to state for the next two years. Exciting!! Way to go Jeffie.
After the track meet we headed to Fairview Idaho. A very small almost deserted town. Doug gave us a tour of the town and then drove up to Soldier Mt. Ski Resort. The scenery is breathtaking. We are starting to love these high plain towns.
It was so good to see the family. Kohen is growing up so fast and little Jaxon is so adorable. I miss Doug and Julie already. Thank you for inviting us and always making us feel like the family. Thanks Jason for sharing your game with us. I can't wait to play again ~ no really, it was fun. Jer, I will make it up to you by having to leave early, I promise. We really did want to stay longer. Stef and baby, We love you lots and lots! See everyone soon.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Structure

Its amazing how structure and disapline play an important part in peoples lives. It determines our character, our inner well being. I wonder time and time again how my life would have been if I had structure as a child. Would I have been a better person, I believe I would. I do know for a fact that I would have never done certian things had I had the watchful care of parents over me. I would have known and seen what was important and what I should do to shape my future. I see this with strong LDS families. The structure that they have given to shape a child in the path which they should go. I respect those families and wish mine could be the same. I respect the children that turn into adults and have great families themselves.
I don't believe or respect the parents who say " oh honey, things will be fine , you turned out ok" or "your doing better than your parents were ar your age" . Or better yet, tell your kids the problems you had growing up. The point in life is to make life better, not to make excuses for the actions that happened You can not EVER take that attitude with children. I don't know how many times my kids have brought up my childhood against me. When they know the bad things that you have done as a child/teenager it is just an excuse for them to do the same. They also look at you differently, with no respect for the parent whatsoever. It just shows you that these parents either, 1) have no respect for you as a parent or 2) need to blame the child for the actions because they were irresponsible parents themselves.
We all go through our trials. Some are not necessary but happen because of the path we chose. Some doors will open and some doors will shut, and shut right in your face and hit your nose. Some paths we can never, ever turn back on. The trials that we have have determined our character. I know for a fact the path I was living at 17-18 would have turned out terrible if Mark and I had not gotten together. He is truely my angel. It has been a long hard road to somewhat get our head above water and no one did it for us. We spent 22 years to get here. Had we had structure and disipline when we were younger maybe it would have only taken us 10 years.
So my point ~ Stucture is necessary without it we will just go through life never achieving anything. Sometimes we don't like the structure but it will shape us and our future will be better than if we had none and if we are doing our best the trials that will come will be small. So both stucture and trials help define who we are and who we become, but how long does it take to be the best you can be is determined by the path you choose.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Its finally offical

After a very long process we are finally offical home builders again. It has been a very stressful time the last few months with the on again ~ off again , back and forth, side to side, up and down, upside down and rightside up (well you get the point) rollercoaster ride we have been on. When we started this process we knew it would be difficult, and it was. Never in my right mind would I ever do this again. Doug said it would be hard and I think he had some intuition right off the bat about our shyster builder. So I will start posting about the house again and we can finally be excited again!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Our Road trip to Bluewood.

Saturday was a great Day. After we finished a few errands in the morning I thought it would be a great idea to go on a roadtrip to the Mountian, especially since it was going to be 104 degrees. So we got in the car, went to Boarders for a Washington State Atlas, and hit the road. It was wonderful to go from the desert, to the rolling prairie and then up into the snowy mountians.


Sacagwea, Lewis and Clark Climing the hill.


MJ.. aka Clark. I love this picture of him. He is growing ups so fast.


The kids really had a great time. They were a little hesitant at first to just go. They didn't really understand what exactly we were doing. I am glad they said it was one of their best trips ever. As soon as we headed up the mountian the temperature dropped into the 60's. It was so nice to have a break from the hot weather we were having at home. Thank kids for going with us.


Due to the higher temperatures there was lots of waterfalls from the melting snow. On the way down we stopped to look at. Another great picture. I am so glad we went on this adventure. We now know where Bluewood (Ski resort) is and look forward to some hiking and skiing so close to our desert home. I can't wait to see where our next adventure will take us.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Parental Help!!

OK, So we all know parenting does not come with a manual. I have always loved to read the self help books and I love listening to Dr. Laura, but I have a problem and need some advice from the ladies in the house.
My eldest who will be 18 this month is wonderful and I could not ask for a better daughter. In fact I have several times called her " Cinderella " , which she does not like. She is obsessive about cleaning , which I have several times told her to stop and let the other kids handle the cleaning for a while. But she is so happy doing it , thats why I have called her " Cinderella" . But this is not my problem. My problem is that she doesn't seem to put the importance of herself in front of others. She gets distracted , especially with "the boy", and gets way off track with homework. At one point she had a standard not to be exclusive with any one person. She has been with "the boy" for the last 5 months now, He has been very persistant, which I don't like. He is going to be gone for 2 years and where does that leave her? Alone again. I think he is being very selfish and only serving himself here in this situation and is very unfair for Steph. This has also caused major issues with getting her homework done. We have explained this several times to both of them but their little "puppy love eyes" just cant see the big picture.
She also wants to be treated like an adult and make up her own mind. How can I sit back and let her do that and not have her priorities on order. I once talked with a sister in our ward ontime and asked her, " how do you just let them go and do what they want with out letting them fail?", She said " I just let them govern themselves and I would step in if needed so they didn't fail. I have done this. It's not working for me. I have exausted all the resources I have. So, do I let her go and hope things will work out for her? What about her future? I am really scared for her and the struggles she will have without her education.
As you can see I am rambling on and on here but clearly need your advice.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

O ~ U ~ C ~ H

OK, I am really trying to get fit this year. My goal is to be able to go hiking again. I am planning a trip to the Wallowa Mountians next year.
It is a 12 mile hike into the wilderness with beauty beyond imagination. Anyways, so since I am trying to get in shape I see a personal trainer twice a week who is really working my butt off (literally)!! This last week I noticed knots in my back. Not wanting to delay progress in my workouts I went to see my Physical Therapist who gave me the torture treatment from hell. A deep tissue massage.. OUCH! I feel like I have been run over today. It's ok. I will survive. so Lesson # 1.. Dont neglect your body!!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Motorcycles, Piercings and Cha~ching....

It was a fun weekend and I thing the pictures say it all. The cousins came to play. Saturday was a fun filled day. Big Mark got a brand spankin' new motorcycle this last week so Saturday he took the kids for a spin at the Motorcycle park. Stephanie, Jayden and Emme were in Heaven and of course had to go faster, do lots of wheelee's and go on the whoop~tee~doo's.
After Dirt Bike riding Emme Wanted to get her ears pierced (she has been planning this for two weeks). The rule in the house is that when you turn 12 you can have your ears pierced. Emily is 12 in November. I told her no that I just didn't think it would be fair since Ang and Steph had to wait till 12 but if they said it ws ok then she would have to gt it approved through dad. Dad said Sure... When your mom lets me get my dirt bike you can get your ears pierced. We'll I didn't agree that Mark got his dirt bike but he did get it and so Emme gets her ears pierced. The cousins watched and Jayden was especially excited and wanted hers done too... So we did. jk .. Daddy made her wait. Dana and Jayden have a special piercing day coming really soon. I love her come on Mom, I can't wait anymore look as she sits in the piercing chair.
After all this excitement the Big kids (Mark, Jason & Danna) went to try a new casino. We have been playing Roulette, Its kinda fun. Mark and Danna came home with a big L on thier forehead while Jason was a lucky winner..... I think those four leaf clovers came in handy for someone..
Another great day filled with fun and excitement... Barkley style..