Sent off Grandpa & Grandma

Thursday night we went to SLC to send off Bryan's parents on their mission.  Thursday night we went to Olive Garden for the "last supper".  We all stayed at Scott & Kristin's and didn't go to bed until midnight then we got up at 3:00 am so we could make it to the airport by 4:00 am so they could make their flight at 6:00 am.  It was sad but we are excited for them.  We have already talked to them a couple of times on skype and that has worked really well.  Bryan has even mentioned how fun it would be to go over to Germany and pick them up.  So I guess I am slowly making progress into talking him into it!!!!!  After we sent them off we went back to the house and slept in for awhile then went to breakfast then Scott took us and the kids to an arcade where we played for awhile.  We then said goodbye, did a little shopping and then headed home stopping in Beaver to visit the grandparents and have dinner (yummy chicken noodle soup) - Thanks Grandma!!!  It was a good weekend!

Blue and Gold

We had the Blue and Gold Banquet lastnight for scouts.  Jayden made a cake with airplanes on it.  It was an airport but since he also had a sea plane we made a lake nearby for it to sit on.  His cake did really well and sold for the max amount.  He wanted us to buy it but somebody else beat us to the punch.  I forgot to take pictures of it (I'm an awful mom) but take my word for it - He did an awesome job!!!!

Changes Coming!!!!

Well there are going to be quite a few changes coming for our family in the near future.  Bryan's parents are leaving for their mission to Germany next week!  We are very excited for them but we will really miss them.  Since they are leaving, I am going to try and keep my blog updated so that they can keep up on what are doing.  We are thinking about selling or renting our house.  We haven't decided one way or the other what we are going to do.  It's all so nerve racking but oh so exciting!!!!

Update after 9 months

So I have been a huge slacker and haven't updated my blog in forever but I am going to - soon! I promise. But for now this is it.

Indiana Jones - Please Help!!!

So my Mom & Dad decided that they want to get the kids and grandkids together at least quarterly (every 3 months). Mason volunteered to plan this next get together. So I was asking him about some ideas that I thought would be cool. I suggested Zion's or Snow Canyon and he immediately dashed them and said "I've already been there and seen them. Lets do something different." So I asked him what he wanted to do. He thought about it for a couple minutes then came in and said, "I want to have an Indiana Jones movie marathon." At first I thought - Oh great 8 hrs of moves. How is this doing something different. Mason has them all memorized word for word. And then I called my mom and she was totally excited and then it got me thinking that Mason had an awesome idea.
I don't know if we'll watch all 4 movies but we'll watch at least 1 or 2. But I'm planning on doing a treasure hunt for all of us (there will be 15) around Beaver. I've already made up most of the clues and I've got a treasure box that I already made for a family vacation treasure hunt we did last summer. Then I thought before that we could help the kids make a satchel like Indiana Jones. Have you seen how they make bags with duct tape and patterns cut out of garbage cans. (Christie did this with our kids on our vacation! - Thanks Christie). Then while on the treasure hunt along the with clues they'll get some little things to put in their bags. I already found these cheep cute leather bound notebooks kind of like Indian Jones uses in the 3rd movie. Then I have to come up with a safe whip that the kids won't hurt themselves or others with. I was thinking of maybe cutting a jump rope in half and then spray painting them brown. (Please help if you have a better idea!!!) I was thinking about coming up with some Indiana Jone's hats but I don't know what to do for those. Then I need to find some cheep compasses and some other things (Any ideas?) I'm putting my mom in charge of dinner. We are going to do "Chilled Monkey Brains" of course. Help me come up with some ideas for Goblets and how to turn them into "Holy Grails" that are safe to drink out of. I need to come up with some ideas on how to decorate the table. Mason has all sorts of fake play snakes that I might use. Ashley is going to help with some fun activities. She's a great Sis!!! Anyways I've looked on the internet and found some cool ideas but if you guys have any let me know. I'll let you know how it turns out - We have it scheduled for April 18th at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

8 Things About Me

Here are the Rules:

1) Post rules on your blog

2) Answer the six '8' items

3) Let each person know they're tagged by leaving them a comment





8 Favorite TV Shows:

I Tivo all my favorit shows and then have a marithon and watch them all at once. So some of these I haven't seen for awhile.

1. Lost

2. The Mentalist

3. Any HGTV show

4. Dollhouse

5. Any Foodnetwork Show

6. Disney Channel with the kids

7. Some stupid car auction show - Barrett Jackson Aution (I hate it but I love my husband so I watch it.)

8. House





8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Watched Tinkerbell with Madison

2. Read my scriptures

3. Loaded the dishwasher

And that was about it because my back hurt so bad





8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Fridays - they are my day off and I can catch up on house cleaning

2. Reading "39 Clues" with the kids at night

3. Family Vacations

4. The kids going to bed so I can finally have 5 minutes to talk to Bryan about his day

5. Go camping with Bryan and the kids

6. Summer and planting flowers

7. Weekends with Bryan and the kids

8. Growing old with my hubby and traveling the world with him





8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Macaroni Grill

2. Milt's

3. Dinner at mom's

4. Bryan Barbecueing

5. Dutch Oven Dinners in the Mountains

6. Texas Roadhouse

That's all I can think of





8 Things on My Wishlist:

1. My kids growing up to be happy and honorable people

2. A mansionof a house that I have my eye on when I win a couple million

3. No debt

4. Travel, Travel and more travel with Bryan

5. My house to be always clean without the work

6. A closet full of new clothes

7. Grocery shopping to always be done

8. To always know what to fix for dinner





8 People I tag:

1. Sundee

2. Nicole

3. Michell

4. Kari

5. Tina

6. Jodi

7. Jesse

8. Kelly

Well it's about time I update my blog. I'm lazy what can I say. This past week has been a busy one. Mason had his pinewood derby and then on Thursday was the school science fair. Mason's project was on electromagnets and Bryan and him worked hard on it. They figured out that the more times you wrap a piece of metal with wire and hook it up to a battery the stonger a magnet it creates. Jayden's project was on Parachutes and do smaller or bigger one's work better. Jayden and I had fun making the parachutes and then we launched them off Grandma & Grandpa Paxton's back deck and timed them. Anyway Jayden took 2nd place out of the 1st graders so on Thursday he gets to go compete in the Iron County Science Fair.

Thursday on our way to the school to set up the science projects I hurt my back. I have no idea how because I wasn't lifting anything but it just started hurting and then it just kept getting worse. I left work early and by Thursday night I could hardly walk. Friday I got in the car to take Maddy to preschool and it hurt so bad to push on the gas pedal that I just told Maddy to get back in the house and we layed on the couch and watched "Tinkerbell". So that was her school lesson for the day. I think I am now finally on the mend I. Bryan told me I looked like an old man because I have been walking all hunched over, but he has been really good to help out around the house and he even went grocery shopping for me and got everything on the list. I am very lucky to have such a good husband. I think I'll be all better by Monday so I can start up again on my 5:00 am treadmill workouts.

The Old Lady is 50!!!!

Well my mom just turned 50 yesterday and I have to give her a bad time about it. We had a birthday party for her. Ashley, Jared and Dad made homemade pizzas and I made the Salad and cake. We try to give mom a good birthday but we don't hold "a candle" (get it) to my mom and what she did for us on our birthdays. So I'm going to copy Ashley and give you 50 reasons why I Love my mom (in no particular order):

1. She's an excellent cook
2. She can sew. And since I'm learning, I now greatly appreciate all the matching dresses she used to make for me and my cabbage patch and all the doll clothes she made for me.
3. Nobody has a cleaner house than my mom.
4. She takes care of my dad.
5. She's a hard worker - up from sun up to sun down.
6. She's the best Post Office worker in the country. (Well I don't know all of them but I'm sure that she is). I remember growing up people calling her at night after the post office had closed or on weekends wanting her to go in and check if a package or mission call had come in and she would always do it. (I would have told them h#&l no!)
7. She's considerate of others.
8. She loves her grand kids and her grand kids love her (more than their mom). They love going to Grandma Beaver's house.
9. I mentioned that she can cook but she cooks all of the time. I don't cook good nutritious meals like my mom. I try and I'll keep trying.
10. She has a testimony of the gospel.
11. She is an awesome listener. I often call her about my gripes and complaints with the world.
12. She would do anything for me and my family.
13. She gardens.
14. She keeps her yard nice.
15. She used to do my hair every morning. (Now that I have Maddy I appreciate it a lot)
16. She irons (I need to do better).
17. She is computer illiterate.
18. I tease her a lot and she takes it.
19. I like her stories of when she was growing up (especially the ones of when she lived in Manderfield).
20. I love the memories I have of bottling with her and Grandma Baldwin.
21. She takes my kids for walks to feed the ducks down at Kerksieks.
22. She's crafty.
23. She can decorate a cake. I remember all of our birthday and cakes and how cute they were. I know now how much time they must have taken to make.
24. Her house is not only clean but she can decorate. Something I struggle with.
25. She helps my dad out a lot with his construction business.
26. She sacrifices a lot for our family.
27. She cheers for the Utes.
28. She sacrificed so that as us kids we could do dance, baseball, basketball, etc.
29. She took good care of my grandma when she was suffering from ALS. She took care of my grandma's house and made sure that grandma had everything she needed at the LTC facility. I remember going with my mom to visit and she always had something to take to grandma.
30. My mom calls me almost every night when Bryan is out of town.
31. She loves it when we are all together even though it is a zoo.
32. She's smart!!!!
33. My kids love staying over at my parents house because they get too sleep in my mom and dad's room and watch movies.
34. She's honest. My mom is one of the most honest people I know.
35. She's a small town girl (I mean that as a compliment). My mom is modest and humble.
36. She has always stood by my dad. They have had some rough patches (what married couple hasn't) and she has always stood by my dad. I love my parents and the marriage that they now have.
37. I love my mom's raspberry jam. (I don't think there is anything that I don't like that my mom makes)
38. She's beautiful
39. She's organized. My mom doesn't even have a junk drawer - all my drawers are junk drawers.
40. She looks out for me.
41. She's a worrier. I think she worries more about us now then when we were kids and living in her house.
42. She makes a funny face when she curls hair.
43. She makes me feel good about myself.
44. She doesn't like to drive in SLC. I like that she let me take her to SLC when Austin was born. We had a fun time. It is something that I will always remember.
45. She's a sweetheart!!!!
46. I like it when she laughs so hard she cries.
47. She is supportive of my kids and her and dad and Kyle are always coming over for birthdays, dance recitals, soccer and baseball.
48. She exercises and tries to keep me motivated to do the same.
49. She puts up with my dad's very very very very very very loud snoring.
50. She's my example in everything I do.

We Love You Mom - Even Though You Are Now Older Than Dirt!!!!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Bryan's parent's house and had fun spending time with his family. The food was great and the company was even better. Bryan, Vickie, Scott and Kristin got up Friday morning and went Black Friday shopping. Those Paxtons love to shop but I stayed in bed and slept in with the kids. We had fun playing games all weekend and on Saturday we had a pool tournament with Scott Perkins being the big winner. Our weekend was full of good food, games, flag football, pool and video games. What could be better!!!!

Now we have Christmas to look forward to. We almost have all of our shopping done so the stress is almost over. Bryan was gone all week the week before Thanksgiving. He had to go to Valparaiso, Indiana to help out a plant there so of course I was sleep deprived. I can't sleep when he is gone but I did get a lot of Christmas candy made. I tried for the first time my Grandma Baldwin's divinity and it worked. So I made a couple of batches of that and a whole bunch of chocolate covered pretzels and carmels. I still have more to do and Bryan has to go back out to Indiana so I guess I will get it done then.

Mason turned nine last week. He is such a great kid!!! He is our biggest helper. He is also a big sweetheart and is considerate of every body's feelings. I can't believe how fast kids grow up. I remember bringing him home from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day and Bryan's parents brought Thanksgiving Dinner to us and then my mom came back over that night to stay for a couple of days and to help out with Mason. We have such good families. We are truly blessed.

Five Friends Tag

I've been tagged by Sundee so here goes -

10 years ago I ....
1. I was married to Bryan and hoping and hoping to get pregnant.
2. We were dirt poor and didn't know the difference.
3. I was in New Orleans at an Ophthalmic Convention for work.
4. We lived in a trailer at Country Aire trailer park.
5. Loving Bryan


5 things on my list to do today.....
1. Exercise
2. Fix Dinner - (We had barbecued steaks and funeral potatoes)
3. Laundry
4. Update the "Sister to Sister" for Relief Society
5. Finish wrapping Christmas presents


5 snacks I enjoy......
1. Chocolate covered raisins
2. Twix Candybars
3. Barbecue potato chips
4. Ranch dressing (it's not really a snack but I love it on everything).
5. Mountain Dew

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire.....
1. Build a new house. Bryan and I have house plans that we've had forever and I have a book that I keep decorating ideas in. It's a dream home that I love and will never build unless I will millions.
2. Take our families on a Mediteranian Cruise.
3. Save for kids college.
4. Buy Bryan a new corvette to go with his current one.
5. Donate some to a worthy cause.

5 places I have lived....
1. Beaver
2. Cedar (College)
3. Cedar (apartments we have rented)
4. Cedar (with Bryan's parents waiting for our house)
5. Enoch


5 jobs I have had.....
1. Waitress - Arshel's Cafe in Beaver
2. Beaver Valley Hospital - Front Desk in High School
3. Sizzler - College
4. Mountain Eye Institute - Insurance Biller
5. State of Utah (Currently)


Now it's your turn. I am tagging Nicole and Ashley and anybody else who would like to give it a try.

I'VE BEEN TAGGED - 7 THINGS

So here are my seven things:




7 Things I Can Do:


#1 I can read!!!! Yeah I'm literate. I love to read. Ask Bryan I read 3-4 books a week. I love mysteries and suspense but I also like to read LDS fiction and anything historical.


#2 I can cook!!! I'm definately a lot better cook now, then when Bryan and I were first married. Ask Bryan how he likes Hamburger Helper now and he'll tell you. I especially like to make desserts (and eat them)!!!!


#3 I can do laundry. Loads and Loads and Loads of it.


#4 I can unload our trailer from camping (with help from kids and Bryan) in less than a half hour. We have it down to a science. We average about 30 days of camping a year so we know how to pack and unpack.


#5 I can make my bed. It's the first thing I do every morning.


#6 I can pass expert on Guitar Hero and Rock Band. - Useless talent but Bryan and my kids are jealous!!!

#7 I can always try to do better.

7 Things I Can't Do:

#1 I can't update my blog in a timely manner.

#2 I can't talk to strangers. The older I get the shyer I get.

#3 I can't speak in public. Huge Huge Huge Ginormous Phobia.

#4 I can't sing. Breaks glass.

#5 I can't tell a joke. My mom says that my Grandpa Baldwin used to be the best at telling jokes or stories but I didn't inherit that gift. I always forget the punch line or the best part of the story or get it twisted around so it doesn't make sense.

#6 I can't think of 7 things I can do. It was really really hard.

#7 I can't sleep when Bryan is gone. Last year he traveled a lot. It was the first time in our marriage where we have been apart for a significant amount of time. I couldn't sleep so I got really good at Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

7 Things that Attract me to Bryan:


#1 He's patient.

Bryan is the most patient person in the whole wide world. He has to be to be married to me. He takes the time to show are kids how to do things and learn. He doesn't just tell them he shows them.


#2 He's a bad boy at heart. (in a good way)

Bryan loves to get a "raz" out of anybody. He will say things just to get a reaction. Which can be good and bad. He doesn't just do things because others do them or believe things because that's what he is told to believe. He learns things for himself. He also loves fast cars. He now drives his dream car a 1993 40th anniversary corvette. He has saved for this very car forever. It's the car that came out when he was 16 and he looked and looked for it. He finally found the perfect deal last winter and we drove with his parents to Reno, NV to pick up. He bought it for a song and dance and now drives it whenever possible.


#3 He's the smartest person I know.

I am book smart but Bryan is everyway possible smart. He can fix any computer problem, fix or remodel anything in our house, he put a new engine in our Tahoe on his own with some help from his dad, tell you about politics with facts to back them up, build a mean and and nasty spreadsheet or database that dazzles me and confuses me how he did it and he'll learn and do anything he puts his mind do.


#4 He's a tall, dark and handsome.

Bryan is hot!!! Have you seen him. Not only is he tall, dark and handsome but he drives a sports car, has an awesome job, is brilliant and is athletic and can out snow and waterski anybody. How did I get so lucky?


#5 He is a provider.

Bryan is a hard worker - the hardest worker I know. He works 60 hours a week to provide not only food and a home and the necessities but for all of our toys. He goes to work at 6:00 am and gets home at 5:00 pm. And when he's home - he's home. He plays with the kids and helps them with homework and helps me with housework and provides love and support to our family.


#6 He is hillarious.

Bryan is very very very very shy at first but when you get to know him - he is down right funny. When I'm ticked as hell at him he will make me laugh and I can't be mad at him anymore.

#7 He loves me.

Bryan knows all my faults and still loves me. He is patient, kind and caring and never raises his voice to me. When I am crazy and mad he is always calm and patient with me. We are complete opposites in some ways and completely compatible in all the ways that matter.

#7 Places I want to see before I die (I can count - there's more than 7 and they are in no particular order) :)

#1 Santorini, Greece

#2 Lichtenstein

#3 The Maldives (go snorkling)

#4 See a polar bear in the wild

#5 Australia

#6 Lake Tahoe

#7 Mount Rushmore

#8 Great Wall of China

#9 Angkor Wat, Cambodia

#10 Geiranger Fjord, Norway

#11 St. Petersburg, Russia

#12 Abu Sinbel & The Pyramids, Egypt

#13 Petra, Jordan

#14 The Giants Causeway, Ireland

#15 Niagra Falls

#16 Multnomah Falls, Oregon

#17 Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

#18 Devils Tower, Wyoming

#19 Yellowstone

#20 Bridalveil Falls, California

#21 Giant Redwoods, California

#22 Dead Horse Point, Utah

#23 Monument Valley, Utah & Arizona

#24 Grand Cayman

Nothing new at the Paxtons

Well I am finally updating our blog.
We don't have much to say because we lead pretty boring lives. Bryan got a deer on the 2nd day of the hunt. It was a three point and a nice deer. It is his biggest deer yet. He's pretty excited. He decided that he would have to start hunting the big ones. In the past he has just shot "forked horns" on the first morning so he could enjoy the rest of the deer hunt camping and playing games with the bunch. But now he has "buck fever". He has a pretty good deer story that involves tracking the deer for awhile and finally finding at the Crimson Hills Motel in Parowan and having the owner yelling at him and telling him he was going to sue. But good old Bryan and his dad got the guy smoothed over after cleaning up the deers guts from all over and they left the motel owner as palls.

I have been trying to do more exercising and losing some weight but I'm not losing much. I have exercised every day religiously for a month and a half (almost two) and I at first gained 2 pounds and now I'm back to my starting weight. Hopefully soon I will start losing weight. I'm just trying to be consistant with my exercise and my next goal is to start drinking less pop and start drinking more water.

So wish me luck on losing weight!!!

Sundee

Sundee called me tonight and told me to get a blog going so that all of us Baldwin cousins can keep in touch. I think it's a great idea so here is my first blog!!!! Yeah!!!! I'll write a bit more later but here we go!!!