Me and my crazy boys

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDEN

2009-03-06T20:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, so now its Brenden's turn to have a slide show made after him...Brenden is our happiest child. He's been a goof ball from day one, as you can see from his pictures! He's full of laughs and sunshine and loves to play tricks and be silly...almost to a fault. But he is such a sweetheart and he was such a pretty baby. He still has eyelashes that any woman would be jealous of. Happy 5th birthday Brenden!!

Carter turns 3

2009-03-05T12:29:00.000-08:00

My friend Katie lovingly reminded me of how far behind I am on my blog. Life has been insanely crazy here!!! We had Carters birthday Feb. 6 and here is a trip down memory lane. Carter is such a sweet boy and we are so glad to have him in our family!

My latest project

2009-01-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this took me FOREVER, because I had to do it in small increments, but its pretty much done. We bought this house and really liked it, except for the color of the kitchen. Green walls with black cupboards? What the? I have no idea what they were thinking. So I went and got some pretty red and fixed it up. They even had all the bricks painted that hideous green color. I think our version of this kitchen is definitely an improvement.

Our crazy move...again

2009-01-08T08:25:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I haven't updated this forever. Obviously. Where do I start? We moved to Rexburg in July, sold the house in August (I bawled!) and made our adventure to a new job/career for Justin. I was NOT excited at all to move to Rexburg, or anywhere else for that matter. We loved our home and all our friends here in Idaho Falls. The first couple months in Rexburg weren't too bad, the job seemed to be going well and the kids were fine. Until school started. Sigh. Andrew was ok the first couple weeks but then started having panic attacks every night at bedtime and every morning when it was time to go to school. It broke my heart and made me even more mad that we were in Rexburg in the first place. So we were dealing with that, and the insurance job Justin took started to go sour. Mostly because of his agency manager, who has no business being a manager. The poor economy didn't help things either. So by mid-October we decided to move back to Idaho Falls, if Justin could find another job. He went back into the school district office where he had previously been employed for three years to see if there was any way they could hire him somewhere, with the school year already started. He went in on a Friday and by Monday had a formal contract. Hooray for teaching special ed! He's always needed. So he is teaching again, not at the same junior high he was before, but out at an elementary school. He wasn't sure he would like the age difference, but he really loves it. We had to buy another house, obviously, and got a really good deal on a home just a few blocks from our old one. Andrew is back at the school he attended kindergarten at, with all his little friends. He's MUCH happier and so are all of us. All our friends are still really close since we are not very far from our old house. That has made a huge difference, especially for me. I was so depressed in Rexburg. It's really clique-ish there and people are arrogant. Oh well. Live and learn. Christmas was interesting, we moved into the new house the day after. But we had a great Christmas with the kids and tried to not think about the move. The boys are growing up so fast!!! Carter will be three in a couple weeks, Brenden turns 5 the end of February and Andrew turns 7 April 3rd. I have lots of pictures, but they aren't ready to post just yet. I will get to that hopefully soon, just like I have been meaning to paint my kitchen for a week. It's all taped and ready to go, I just have so many other things going on. Phew! Hopefully that's a decent enough update. Our new address for anyone who wants it is:
1120 Merrett Drive
Idaho Falls, ID 83404.
Just don't send any anthrax-laced letters....

another dose of pure randomness

2008-11-30T15:04:00.000-08:00

Ness of the Randomness Survey

1.What color is your front door? - Its wood, so brown
2.Do you know what time were you born, when? - yep, 1:23 in the afternoon
3.Are you afraid of snakes? - eh sort of
4.Ever tasted dirt? - nope
5.Do you have a theory on why chickens suck at flying? - probably the same reason why humans suck at flying
6.Any Holiday traditions in your family (that aren't shared by the world)? - we all get together and play spin the bottle. hahahahahahaha. No, not really
7.When was the last time you 'should-a, would-a, could-a'? - oh wow. oh that would be July when we moved to Rexburg. So dumb
8.Can you recall the furthest distance you ever ran? - yeah probably 5 miles or so
9.Where do you work, if you have a job? - i work at my house
10.Is money the center of your world, or are you capable of holding onto what is true? - i'm capable but i wouldn't mind a shopping spree
11.What is more important to you; material possessions or the things in life that money can not buy? - oh come on, i'm not that shallow
12.Do you like to fish? - YES
13.Is there a plastic animal anywhere around you? - yeah. one of my kids' toys
14.Would you consider yourself to be creative? - yeah totally
15.Ever peed where you shouldn't have? - lol. have you?
Take This Survey at Quizopolis.comhttp://www.quizopolis.com/survey/5239/Ness-of-the-Randomness-Survey/

Halloween-finally

2008-11-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's been nuts here and I just barely took my halloween pix off my camera and put them on the computer. The boys wanted to be Alvin and the Chipmunks, and boy were they
cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tagged!

2008-11-02T00:58:00.000-07:00

Here it goes:

8 things about me....like you wanted to know more, right?

8 favorite TV shows...
1. House
2. MLB baseball
3. Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy hahahahaha
4. Scrubs
5. Don't really watch TV so the rest of these are gonna be blank
4.
6.
7.
8.

8 things I did yesterday:
1. went running
2. lifted weights
3. went down to Idaho Falls to buy Brenden a new coat since Daddy lost the one I just bought him a month ago. GRRRR
4. Went to WalMart and got groceries
5. Looked at a house to buy
6. did lots of laundry. Oh fun
7. talked to my sister becky who just had a baby
8. texted Jason a billion times. just like every other day

8 Things I look forward too:
1. My next doctor appt-NO I'M NOT PREGNANT
2. Thanksgiving cause my dad might come
3. moving back to Idaho Falls
4. Losing more weight
5. running tomorrow
6. making cranberry orange bread now that stores are selling cranberries. I bought a whole bunch of bags and put them in my freezer
7. Christmas break cause I might get to see some old friends
8. The Primary program next week, we teach the best 9 year olds!

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Jamba Juice
2. Johnny Carinos
3. Red Robin
4. This really cute cafe in Downtown Portland my friend took me on a date to once. I don't even know what its called but it was awesome
5. Changs Mongolian Grill in Portland
6. Don't know
7. Yes I'm lame
8. Don't know

8 Things on my wish list:
1. New running shoes. REALLY BAD!
2. Another house in Idaho Falls
3. A digital SLR camera
4. A blender since my sister stole hers back
5. these really fun hot curler sticks since my hair is actually long enough to use them now
6. smaller jeans...hahahaha
7. A garden again
8. A reunion with all my roomies...hi girls!

8 People to tag:
Ashlee...duh. I always tag Ash. And Katie K. HEY GUYS!!!

We're moving! AGAIN!!!

2008-10-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

Only this time to somewhere cool. We're moving back to Idaho Falls in January. For lots of reasons. Justin isn't liking his insurance job, he's not making as much as his manager said he would be, he's losing business to online companies for some dumb reason and people just aren't buying stuff right now in this economy. We can't wait around for 2-3 years hoping it picks up and Justin suddenly starts making a ton of money. Plus we don't like Rexburg. And the kids aren't handling it well either. Andrew keeps having panic attacks about going to school and came home last week because he was so anxious he almost threw up. He cries almost every morning about going to school and I just can't take it anymore. Brenden hasn't gone to his Primary class in 3 weeks because he's crying hysterically. Carter, well, he's got an attitude but that's Carter...So we're excited about the move, we're trying to get a house in our old neighborhood and ward so Andrew can go back to his old school with his old friends. We loved our old neighborhood. Still do! We went to our old wards' Elder's Quorom social on Saturday just to see our friends and that did it for us. We were sold on the idea of moving back. Justin has a job already teaching special ed. for the same school district he was before just at a different school. He starts on Monday. How many people in this economy can get a job in 24 hours?!?!?!?!? We feel very blessed and are wondering why we moved in the first place. But we are being blessed left and right and feel very lucky to even have the option to move back. There's our latest!!!! Hold on to your hats, there's more to come I'm sure!!!!!!!!

Oh the randomness...

2008-10-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

HAVE YOU EVER:

1. Been kissed: well yeah, duh
2. Eaten sushi: NO
3. Gotten hyper: all the freakin time
4. Been dumped: yeah actually. What was he thinking??
5. Eaten an entire pizza by yourself: Like a tiny one.
6. Been a rebel: of course
7. Gotten in a car accident: Yes. It sucked
8. Ever liked someone older: Of course. I've never dated someone younger.
9. Seen the white house: Seen A white house
10. Hiked a mountain: yeah
11. Made home made cookies: i'm the master
12. Cold or hot?: What are we talking about here?
13. Lace or satin?: I hate lace. Too girly
14. New or old?: Um...probably new.
15. Chocolate or Vanilla?: Vanilla yogurt
16. Science or history?: I suck at both but science is more interesting
17. Do you like some one right now?: Of course!

GIRLS:
1. What do you like in a guy? He has to be taller than me. And can't be a wuss or girly-man.
2. Do you want a guy to ask your dad before he asks you out? Doesn't matter cause it didn't happen anyways
3. Do you want your bf to get you chocolate or jewelry? jewelry even though I don't wear it. But chocolate doesn't do anything for me either

GUYS:
1. What do you like in girls:
2. Athletic or not?
3. Hard to get or easy?
4. who do you want to kiss right now?

EVERYONE
1. Who is your funniest friend? That would have to be Irene or Phat Jen. And all my sisters.
2. Who do you email the most? Probably, um, Chris? Jen? Becky?

IN THE LAST 48 HOURS:
1. Had a serious talk: with my oldest son. He's having a hard time.
2. Hugged someone? Totally!
3. Got along with your parents? haven't talked to them
4. Got along with your siblings? yeah
5. Fought with a friend? no
6. Been depressed? sort of.

MORE:
1. Do you like to walk in the rain? Absolutely
2. Ever had that falling dream? Where you wake up and you thought you fell off your bed? Yeah
3. What turns you on? my life, my information...I'm with Daniel on that one. Great answer!
4. Who is your favorite cartoon character? Mandy from Billy and Mandy
5. Do your parents ever make you mad? more now than ever.
6. What is your favorite saying? Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
7. Do you want to get this back from everyone: Yeah answers are fun to see.

Our new (hopefully!) house

2008-10-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we've been in Rexburg for a few months now and we're house hunting again. We decided it would be safer to just rent a place when we moved up here, and take some time looking around. We found a great house for an even greater deal and we are planning to make an offer next month. It's nice that we don't have to count on having a house sell before we buy another, we sold our house 2 months ago. Here's some pix, just for you Ashlee!!! It was great to see you guys today!

Tagged

2008-10-14T10:12:00.001-07:00

Tagged

1. Where is your cellphone? on the computer desk
2. Your significant other? A good dad
3. Your hair? Pulled back in clips, I didn't want to deal with it today
4. Your mother? Wants to be a cat! hee hee
5. Your Father? we share a brain
6. Your favorite thing? running
7. Your dream last night? what dream, you have to sleep to dream
8. Your favorite drink? Cranberry juice
9. Your dream goal? Lose 20 pounds
10. The room you’re in? Living room
11. Your hobby? Running
12. Your fear? Not being able to lose 20 pounds...seems like no matter how hard I work, it just won't come off!!!
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Idaho Falls...ME TOO ASH!!!!
14. What you’re not? Shy
15. Muffins? Raspberry cream cheese or Orange
16. One of your wishlist item? Clothes that fit...here here
17. Where you grew up? Hillsboro, OR (Portland)
18. Last thing you did? cleaned the bathroom
19. What are you wearing?Cords and a pink shirt
20. Favorite gadget? Computer
21. Your pets? A really funny kitty named Jazz after the Transformer
22. Your computer? Helps me keep in touch
23.Your mood? Chill
24. Missing someone? Yes! Everyone in IF and those who used to be
25. Your car? um...just went to Disneyland and back
26. Something you’re not wearing? ring
27. Favorite store? Aeropostale
28. Like someone? Yes!!! Duh..., no I hate everyone...
29. Favorite color? Yellow
30. When was the last time you laughed? 5 minutes at Carter being The Hulk
31.When was the last time you cried? Last week at the Doc talking about why the crap I can't lose weight no matter what. SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!!!!

Ash tagged me so now I'm passing it along to: Jill and Becky Z.

Disneyland Park-Day 3...Goodbye Disneyland!

2008-10-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

Day three...Phew! It was so hot there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My kids were getting funned out, so we went to Dland first, spent most of the afternoon at California Adventures and headed back to Mesquite around 3:30 to beat LA rush hour. We still got to do a lot. But guess what!?!?!?! We ran into a family from our ward!!!!!!!!!!!!! We teach the 9 year olds in Primary and we saw one of our girls with her family. I said to Justin, Is that MiKayla!?!?!?!?!?! TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!! The first thing we did though, is go to Disneyland and try to get the boys into the Jedi training thing they do. We were the first people there and waited for half an hour, and they didn't get picked!!!!!!! I swear, the only kids that got picked were the ones with the most obnoxious parents. Jeesh. But the show was still cool.

Disneyland Park-Day 2

2008-10-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

More and more fun!!!!!!!!! We had an early entry pass this day, so we got to go at 9am and beat the big crowds. On our way down Main Street, there was a group of barbershop singers, they were amazing! We stood and listened to them for a while and they sang a song just for Brenden. Andrew loved watching and listening to them, as you can tell from the picture. He's our artist child, that's for sure. And the boys got to meet Buzz Lightyear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That just made Carter's day. He LOVES Buzz. So much fun!!!!!!

Disneyland Park-Day 1

2008-10-05T08:36:00.001-07:00

We made it! Our hotel was just down the street from Disneyland so we got to just take a quick walk to the park every morning. It was SO hot in Anaheim and really humid, which I'm not used to. We practically melted all three days, but it was so worth it. The first day we were there, we stayed for the night parade. My kids LOVED it. And I include myself as one of the kids, since I had never been before. The parade was amazing. Everything about Disneyland is amazing, but the parade was really cool. I can't believe some of the stuff they do. All my kids' favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear. I think we went on it four times during the three days. Brenden and Andrew started the day off right though, by going on Star Tours. We had such a great time!

Disneyland trip-Day2

2008-10-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

We headed out of Mesquite, NV and made our way from there to Newport Beach, CA before checking in at our hotel at Disneyland. Growing up in Oregon, beaches weren't always warm enough to really swim in. Who am I kidding, they never were...But Newport was so nice, we all went swimming in it. I had never been south of San Francisco so this was all new for me.

Disneyland trip-Day 1

2008-10-04T19:53:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOLLY!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is her sister Jen. I tried to hack Holly's blog but couldn't remember the password.

Anyway I'm in and wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

cute brenden pix

2008-09-15T17:46:00.001-07:00

Andrew is having school pictures tomorrow so I took a couple "school pictures" of Brenden today. He's sooooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andrew's dentist visit

2008-09-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

Last week I discovered that Andrew's first permanent tooth had grown behind his baby tooth and his baby tooth wasn't even loose. So...I had to take him to the dentist and get the baby tooth pulled and we pulled the other one because the other permanent tooth was starting to do the same thing. He got strawberry flavored laughing gas but he stayed awake and pretty alert the whole time. I was really proud of him!!!!!

All my siblings!!

2008-08-31T10:57:00.001-07:00

Hooray!!! I finally figured out how to photoshop my two sisters that missed the first picture I took while I was in Portland. Now all I'm missing is Jen!

portland

2008-08-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from Portland yesterday, I had a blast! I didn't take my kids so I was able to really spend some good time with my siblings. Which I haven't ever really done since I've been married. I just have to say I have the most amazing siblings in the whole world. I'm so proud of all of them! I went mostly for my sister Becky's baby shower. I had volunteered to make the cake and this is how it turned out. I will post more pix when I get done photoshopping my two sisters into the big picture of the rest of us kids, since the two of them were at work.

Brenden's new pet

2008-08-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

Brenden has a new trick! He LOVES to catch grasshoppers and he's really good at it! They are everywhere out here where we are, pretty much out in the country and he catches them all the time. You would think he would have been spit on by now, but the grasshoppers seem to like Brenden too!

Brittany Speer comes to Utah

2008-08-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

My sister Brittany came down to Utah last week to audition for American Idol. While we all figured they would want her in just for her name (Brittany Speer) she unfortunately didn't make the second cut. Ridiculous! She can also sing really, really well. She's amazing. What a stupid show, huh? Anyways, we went down to Utah to spend some time with her and Jen and her kids. Monday we went down to Provo to see some friends of ours, the Drapers, that used to live across the street from us in Idaho Falls. They moved down there last summer so we haven't seen their kids in over a year. We had a blast! Holly is expecting another baby in Sept., finally another boy! That will make 3 girls and 2 boys. I had my niece, Brynn with me and we got a picture with all the kids together. How cute!!!! Brittany had fun hanging out with my kids, as you can see from the picture of her sleeping with Carter. More like Carter was sleeping on her. She loved it though! I was also there for my nieces' first day of school. They have year-round school and are on tracks, so they started July 28th. They are all growing up so fast!

fun in the sun

2008-08-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

My poor kids went from having their own backyard and a street full of friends to a townhouse with just grassy areas and no friends. So I've had my work cut out for me, making sure they have enough things to do. Yesterday I bought a slip n' slide and after about half an hour I had a swarm of random children over at my house! Hooray! Kids to play with! Had I known all I had to do was buy a slip n' slide, I would have done it a couple weeks ago. Who knew?

Rexburg

2008-08-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

Well, we are officially here in Rexburg, even though we ended up not selling our house like we thought we were. 3 days before we were supposed to close on the house we found out that they guy trying to buy our house has two Social Security numbers and is an illegal. Nice huh? Of course, thinking we were going to close in three days, we had moved everything up to our place in Rexburg. So now our beautiful house that we LOVED is empty and no one is living there. We could have stayed!! It was all a horrible experience and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. Lucky for us, we decided to just rent a place in Rexburg while we took our time deciding to either build or buy. Phew!! I'm adjusting to being here, after having everything you could ever want in a town, without it being huge. We loved Idaho Falls SO much and I miss it!! Not a bad view from our kitchen window though, huh? (the Rexburg temple)

Zoo trip

2008-07-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so these pictures are a little bit behind, but here they are. Andrew's kindergarten class had a trip to the zoo in May and I asked my friend Ashlee to come too. She brought her two little boys along, Bennett and Jacksen. Bennett is a runner! And fearless. I'm surprised we didn't find him riding the lions! We had a great time and the weather turned out PERFECT.

washing the car

2008-07-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

Not only do my kids do dishes, but they also wash cars! I swear, they should start a business. Check it out!

doin' the dishes

2008-06-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

My boys are so cute...They have this thing now, that they like to do the dishes after dinner. Gee, I have it rough, don't I? I had to get some pix cause it was soooo cute.

new car

2008-06-15T06:32:00.000-07:00

Well, Justin needed a new car for work, since he is now commuting to Rexburg while we try to sell the house. We got a great deal on this 2007 Malibu, with 4 years still left on warranty. It's nice! 40+ miles to the gallon, I'm not gonna complain.

My girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

So, two of my best friends from back home live in Utah now and we got together before I left and had breakfast at IHOP. YUM. Phat Jen surprised us all by introducing her HUSBAND!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! They met 3 weeks before they got married. They just decided to elope at the City Hall in Provo! We were all freakin out. But Scott is awesome and he also knows we will all kill him if anything bad happens to Jen. Congrats Jen!

Me, me sister Jen, Phat Jen Nelson, Irene Hoskins-my homegirls

utah june 2008

2008-06-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

So we went down to Utah for a friend's baby blessing and of course I got no pictures of me and Bryan together. Jeesh. He and his wife Lindsay, had a baby boy in Feb. named Brayden. I went to high school with Bryan and spent a year together at Ricks College. I hadn't seen his parents for years and years and it was really fun to talk with them again.

We also celebrated the birthdays of two of my nieces, Katya and Taylor who turned 10, and 9.

My kids and I spent part of Monday in downtown Salt Lake hanging with my brother who has been doing some time in a juvenile facility there. He went home yesterday and hopefully all will go well with that.

Carter strutting his stuff at the Gateway Mall

It's a girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

My sister, Becky is having a girl! They just found out yesterday. How exciting!

Andrew's last day of Kindergarten

2008-05-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

Max Wall, Tyson Baxter, Golden Peterson, Andrew Jeppesen

Andrew and Golden

Golden and Andrew

(back) Madison, Max, MJ, Polina's little brother Meischa, Polina, Sara, Savanna, Carter
(front)Kendra, Camden, Andrew, Golden, Emma, Steven

(back row) Madison, Max, MJ, Polina's little
brother Meischa, Polina, Sara, Emma, Savanna and Syklar
(front row) Kendra, Camden, Andrew, Golden, Carter, Tyson and Steven

I swear, I just posted pictures of Andrew's FIRST day of Kindergarten. What is going on here?!?!?!?! The kids in his class are so cute, and have all grown up a lot. I got to be the room mom this year and I was able to get to know all the kids. I should have been a kindergarten teacher instead of a music teacher. They just make me smile. Andrew and his best buddy Golden got put in the same 1st grade class next year too!!! They were both so happy about that.

I GOT TAGGED

2008-05-09T09:57:00.001-07:00

Who Do You Love? Oh great, now I have that song in my head...I love Justin, my kids, my siblings and my best friend Janers
How Long Have You Been Married? 7 years
Who Said I Love You First? Justin did. I was so freaked out, I just played it off. He said it first in French and when he asked if I knew what that meant, I said Yes, and changed the subject.
How Long Did you Date? about a week, but we knew each other for over a year before that
Where Did He Propose? Which time? Officially, it was in his apartment
Who Is Taller? Justin
Who Is Smarter? Book smart? Justin. Street smart? ME
Who Does The Laundry? That would be me
Who Pays The Bills? Justin makes most of the money, but I do all the paying
Who Mows The Lawn? ME!!!
Who Cooks Dinner? Me...ALL THE TIME

Who Drives? Usually me-I like to drive unless we're on a date and then he does

Thanks to Ashlee for tagging me, I tag Becky Z. and Lisa Y.

Fun with Uncle Jake

2008-04-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

So Uncle Jake got to come for two days and spend some time with us. My boys idolize their Uncle Jake, and I think he's kinda fond of them, too. We've been having a fun time!!! Uncle Jake works at the corporate offices for Hollywood Video in Wilsonville, OR and gets all kinds of stuff from movie promos. So he brought my boys these cardboard cut-outs of Alvin and the Chipmunks. What's weird is that the boys were wearing the colors of the Chipmunks that day, just by coincidence. How cute is this!!!

New house in Rexburg

2008-04-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here are some pictures of the new house in Rexburg. The basement will be finished in a few weeks and we move in June 20, assuming our home here in IF sells before then. It's 3100 sqft., 6B/3b, full basement, on 3/4 acre. And it's only 1 1/2 years old. We're getting a steal on it. I'm excited about the house but sad to leave here. Check it out!!!

100 things about YOU!

2008-04-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

100 Things About Me

1. I like to dye my hair red
2. I teach voice lessons
3. I earned a full-ride music scholarship to Utah State for singing
4. Turned it down to finish putting my husband through school, yes I am still bitter
5. I have perfect pitch
6. I have eight siblings
7. I can free-hand cross-stich anything
8. I hurt all day, every day
9. It's called fibromyalgia
10. I have pain doing every day tasks
11.I think Zoloft is the world's best drug
11. I wish I would have been on it before college
12. I have anxiety
13. I love to exercise
14. I work out every day
15. My cat just had kittens
16. My children are beautiful and wonderful
17. I don't want a daughter
18. I look like my grandma
19. I can play the organ
20. I was given my grandma's organ after she died
21. I love to be outside
22. I hate gas prices
23. We are moving to Rexburg
24. I don't want to
25. I love serving in the Primary Presidency
26. I always have my toenails painted
27. I think I'm smart
28. I was in Talented and Gifted in Elem. school
29. I have thought about running for City Council
30. I love photography
31. I once worked as a journalist for a newspaper
32. I was on yearbook staff in 9th grade
33. I ran track in high school
34. I have never been east of Denver. How lame
35. I will go to Disneyland for the first time ever in Oct.
36. I love to fish
37. I love swimming
38. Dance Dance Revolution is my PS2 game of choice
39. I can sight-read any piano piece you give me
40. Homemade bread is my weakness
41. I can cook anything
42. I love the smell of bleach, cause I know it means clean
43. I hate snow
44. I don't wear any makeup except mascara
45. I look younger than my actual age
46. I can type really fast
47. I am a low-maintenance kind of girl
48. I am somewhat tom-boyish
49. I love riding dirtbikes
50. I could drive one myself with my dad on the back when I was 13
51. I LOVE driving stick-shift
52. I coach my son's soccer team
53. I've never played soccer in my life
54. I get a new house this summer
55. I am not good at staying up super late
56. I'm allergic to animals
57. I have broken both my feet, on separate occasions
58. I once spilled Mountain Dew all over my brother-in-laws dashboard in his car
59. I don't do well eating sugar
60. I passed out during labor with my first two kids
61. I didn't with my third because they put vitamins in my IV drip
62. Epidurals are the best thing ever
63. I love teaching
64. I like speaking in front of big groups
65. I once sang a solo in front of the entire student body of Ricks College at a devotional
66. I am friends with Elder and Sister Bednar
67. I have been to their house
68. I have sang in General Conference
69. I have met Gordon B. Hinckley
70. I have been to Canada
71. I am going to the Vancouver Olympics in 2010
72. I went to my high school prom with my best friend, Jan. YES a guy.
73. We had prom on a yacht along the Willamette River
74. We changed out of our prom clothes into regular clothes on the sidewalk next to the car in downtown Portland
75. I like playing sports
76. I want to learn how to fly fish
77. I once jumped into an outdoor swimming pool on Thanksgiving
78. I have never been skinny-dipping
79. I am a good singer
80. I majored in vocal music in college
81. I was a student conductor my sophomore year in college
82. I really want to learn to play the violin
83. I'm not the biggest socialite
84. I'm better than I used to be
85. I love the beach
86. I like the color yellow
87. I love sunshine
88. I miss my younger siblings that I hardly ever see
89. I don't enjoy living in a land-locked state
90. I have seen the musical Les Miserables live in San Francisco
91. I love playing with my kids
92. I want to be in a small opera someday
93. I own more pairs of running shoes than dress shoes
94. I love to mow my lawn
95. I love the smell of cut grass
96. I have amazing friends
97. I am good with money
98. I don't own a cell phone
99. I'm getting one this summer
100. I am done with this huge long survey!

I'm tagging Becky and Gina

Andrew's bday party

2008-04-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

Wild party! We had 22 kids there. But it was really fun and everyone had a great time, even me.

Andrew's 6th bday!!!!!!!!!!

2008-04-07T17:39:00.001-07:00

I can't believe Andrew is already 6 years old! He's so big and has learned a LOT in Kindergarten this year. His teacher, Mrs. Moss, is an incredible teacher. He brought all his friends in his class treats for his bday!!

Pheasant hunting

2008-04-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

Justin and his dad and uncle took Andrew and Brenden pheasant hunting! They had a blast and never once complained about all the walking they had to do. Awesome!!!

I could take on 17 5-year olds!!!!!!!!!!! Watch out!!!!!!

2008-03-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

ABC's of me...Thanks Gina!!!!!!

2008-03-20T07:38:00.001-07:00

A-Attached or single? Attached!
B-Best Friend? Jan-he's the only person I talk to from high school
C-Cake or Pie? Neither
D-Day of Choice? Um, probably Friday cause I don't teach that day
E-Essential Item? water bottle
F-Favorite Color? Yellow and green
G-Gummy bears or worms? Neither, not a sugar baby
H-Hometown? Born in Tacoma, WA. Raised in Hillsboro (Portland), OR
I-Favorite indulgence? working out-is that an indulgence?
J-January or July? July
K-Kids? 3 boys!!!!!!! Andrew, Brenden and Carter
L-Life isn't complete without? Love and service
M-Marriage Date? 5/4/2001
N-Number of Brothers and sisters? 5 sisters, 3 brothers
O-Oranges or apples? Oranges
P-Phobia and fears? Being away from my kids-I LOVE being with my kids. I also have a phobia of being physically limited, I'm already kinda on my way, LONG story.
Q-Quote? "God does notice us, and he does care about us, but it is usually through another person that he meets our needs." -Spencer W. Kimball
R-Reason to smile? When my kids are sweet to each other
S-Season of choice? Spring, I love the smell of rain, and Fall, I like changes
T-Tag someone? Uh, what??
U-Unkown facts about me? I have perfect pitch, I have a particular friend that liked to tell EVERYONE (Hi Christian!!!!!!!!!) I can cook ANYTHING-Yum
V-Vegetable? Asparagus
W-Worst Habit? Oh jeesh, I dunno
X- Xray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound!! Cause you get to see babies
Y-Your favorite food? Fruit
Z-Zodiac sign? Virgo

Brenden turns 4!!

2008-03-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

Brenden had a blast at his 4th birthday. Jen, Joe and all their kids (Brenden's cousins) came up from Utah and he was so excited! The only people he wanted to invite were his cousins and his friend, Spencer. They are buds. He had a great time and I made the best cake!!!!!!!!!!

Brenden the pro ice-skater

2008-03-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

When the streets turned into an ice-skating rink, Brenden decided to take advantage of it and practice his ice-skating. He is such a crazy kid! He has some real ice-skates, just for kids. Check it out! He's nuts!

Carter's 2nd Birthday

2008-02-10T16:56:00.001-08:00

Carter is 2!!!!! Crazy! He is talking a lot now and becoming very very silly. And smart. Which is good and bad...Here are some fun pix! Justin's parents and brother and sister came and "Aunt" Katie, who is my brother-in-law's sister. She goes to school up at Ricks and we adopted her. Carter had a great time!

Fun Winter pictures

2008-02-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

We have had snow ALL winter. Snow, snow, snow. We haven't had a winter like this in a few years. It's been fun but a pain at the same time. At least the kids like it!!!!!!! Check it out!!!!!!!!!

Christmas pix

2008-01-30T07:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's almost February. I know...Here are some Christmas pix anyway. Check out the Transformers!!!!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!! This year has been especially busy and I didn't get card sent out. So I will just give everyone a rundown of what has been going on this year.
Justin is still teaching 7th grade Special Ed at Taylorview Jr. High here in Idaho Falls. He likes it for the most part, but is getting tired of all the paperwork and legal requirements set forth by the government. Teaching Special Ed, you have to be very careful to dot all your "i"s, so to speak. He is really good at his job and all his students just love him. You should have seen the stash of presents he came home from school with yesterday, as it was the last day before Christmas break. His outlet though, is coaching 8th grade girls basketball. He loves doing that and is an excellent coach. It's in his blood too, since his dad has been a coach for years and years. They talk every night after a game. His basketball girls really enjoy him and the parents are always impressed with how level-headed he is. He is very professional and inspires the girls instead of yelling at them. He currently serves at the Scout Master in our ward, which is a perfect calling for a teacher. He gets to spend the entire week with the boys up at Scout Camp during the summer. If he could do that year-round, I'm sure he would.
Speaking of Scouts, I was called last November to be the 2nd Counselor in the Primary Presidency in our ward. My responsibilities are Cub Scouts and baptisms. So between Justin and me, we are responsible for all the boys in our ward ages 8-13. Fun, huh? My calling keeps me really, really, REALLY busy. But I am blessed with loads of little opportunities to serve the children in our ward. It's been wonderful to notice all the little things that are put in my way to help others.
I am even more busy taking care of our three crazy little boys. Problem is, they are beginning to be not so little. Andrew (will be 6 in April) started Kindergarten the end of August and is thriving. He is in the top group for reading, handwriting and math. He is one of the more silly kids in his class though, judging from what I see when I help out in his class. He has a "best buddy" named Golden, yes, that really is his name, and they love seeing each other every day. Golden is a sweet kid. It's fun to see all the papers Andrew brings home from school about what he has been learning.
Brenden, well he's Brenden. He is SO cute. He is sweet and thoughtful and caring and REALLY SILLY. He is always doing little things to help me and it's so sweet. He is also my shopping buddy and always wants to go to the store with me. He loves to snuggle too, which I LOVE. I don't care if he wants to snuggle when he's 30, I would love it. He also is very polite and always says please and thank you and you're welcome. He is also very kind to his little brother, Carter. He is a big jokester and loves to make us all laugh. He's just a fun kid and a total goofball. He will start preschool next fall at the school Andrew attends. He will do really well. He turns 4 in February.
Carter is getting bigger every day, darn it. I wish he would stay little. He is so cute though. He talks a lot and is very smart. Which can be good, and bad. He loves to rough-house with Andrew and Brenden and is actually very tough. He can tackle them both to the ground. But I think that has to do with his rage. He has a lot of rage...and attitude. Yes, the mother's curse is true I'm afraid. He is also very sweet and will throw all his garbage away himself and clear his dishes from the table and put them in the sink. He LOVES our kitty and would probably turn himself into some kind of animal if he could. He loves all animals. He will be 2 in February.
I am staying very busy keeping the house together and keeping track of my boys. They take a lot of energy!!! I also teach voice lessons almost every day after school and I love doing that. I have six voice students right now. They are very talented and it has been fun to see how they improve. I also have four piano students which is nice. I had a recital for all of them last week and one student and I played a really fun piano duet of Sleigh Ride. It was a blast and she is only 12 1/2!!!!! It's amazing. Along with my kids, teaching and my Primary calling, I have no time hardly at all. I suppose it keeps me out of trouble.
All in all, we are doing well here in Idaho Falls. We love our neighborhood and all our friends here. We seriously live on the best street in the world!! Seriously! Come see for yourself!! Hope all is well with everyone and we wish you the happiest of Christmases.
Love, Holly, Justin, Andrew, Brenden and Carter

sledding

2007-12-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

I took the boys sledding the other day.
It was perfect weather for it.
Overcast so it wasn't FREEZING.
These pictures aren't really great but you get the idea. Even Carter climbed all the way up the hill. We just went to a park here in town that has a massive hill. It's awesome. They all had a blast!!!

Carter climbing up the hill

Santa came to our house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-12-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

Every year, we get a personal visit from none other than the great Santa Claus. Ok, it's our neighbor, Kevin, but my kids love it. He goes around to all the homes in our ward that have young kids and takes them a treat. It's his favorite thing about the holiday. Last year he just came into our front door, unannounced and yelled, Ho HO HO, I about had a heart attack. This year he knocked and then came in. So I had at least SOME warning. My boys loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The future of the NFL

2007-12-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

Lately my boys have this thing about taking my clean dish towels out and using them as shoulder pads when they play football. It's hilarious. They flex their muscles and show me their "shoulder pads". Looks like we need to get them into football...

Not sure it worked for me...

2007-12-07T12:54:00.001-08:00

You Are Smores

Unusual and unconventional, you make your strange ways work for you.
You've got personality - no one's denying that!

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

random pix

2007-11-25T15:23:00.002-08:00

Well, I really couldn't group these pictures all together except to just stick them here. But they're cute!!!!!!!!!!

Andrew one day decided he wanted to give
Carter piggy back rides and now
he does it all the time.
It's pretty fun. Brenden
did this Beavis and
Butthead-esque
pose cause Daddy told
him to.
If my kids go a-wall,
I know who to blame...

Carter wants to be a motocross racer when he grows up. He loves anything to do with motorcycles, real and pretend. He has some of my Dad's genes in him, fo'sho'.

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

So we attempted to take a family picture this Thanksgiving over at Grandma's house. We got a couple that turned out pretty well, but for the most part Andrew wouldn't smile. Kinda like in every other family picture we have ever taken. Grrr...

But Carter enjoyed face painting, I mean, eating Thanksgiving dinner. I think he wanted to save some for later. And then the boys thought it would be fun to see how many times they could jump on Dad before he threw up. Luckily, that didn't happen.

Callie's engagement pix

2007-11-24T08:22:00.002-08:00

I've always taken pictures as a hobby and this was my latest stint I guess. Justin's cousin Callie is getting married Jan 4 and these are a few of the pix we took. I don't have copies of the colored ones yet dang it but these are cute.

Andrew's school picture

2007-11-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

Andrew Jeppesen, Sept. 2007

I am officially a Mom. You know why? Cause my kid has SCHOOL PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, I feel old. But they turned out really really nice. I love them. I had to take a picture of the actual picture though because I have to reload the software for my scanner. Oh well. It's a bit washed out because of the camera flash but he's still cute!!!!!!!!! So grown up and handsome.

Summer 2007

2007-11-04T19:46:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to add some random pictures from this summer. We did a lot of family things this summer since it was the first time Justin didn't have a part-time job through the summer while school was out. My kids are water babies and pretty good fishermen too!!!!!!

Halloween 2007

2007-11-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

The kids all wanted to be someone from Star Wars this year so I enlisted the help of my older sister, Jen, cause she had a couple costumes from last year when they were Star Wars characters. Thanks Jen! Andrew was Darth Maul, Brenden was Darth Vader and Carter evened out the dark side by being Yoda. How cute is that!?!?! Andrew face is NOT a mask, believe it or not, but it's face paint. I sat him by the computer, pulled up a picture of Darth Maul on the Internet and proceeded to paint his face like Darth Maul. Not bad, huh? Oh, I was Princess Leia, but I'm behind the camera of course. I was never a big fan of pictures anyway...

Andrew's first day of Kindergarten!!!!!!!!

2007-11-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I have a kid in school. Crazy. Andrew LOVES kindergarten and he has a really good teacher, Mrs. Moss. There are a couple kids in his class from Primary and that has really helped. He's learning quickly and is in the highest group for free-centers. He knows how to read a few words and can do lots of other things. I am the room-mom for his class and work at lot with the Parent-Teacher-Organization (PTO). It's weird to be a "PTO Mom" but Andrew likes having me come help in his class. Brenden, Carter and I walk Andrew to school every day along with my neighbor and fellow Primary presidency member Melinda. Her daughter is in Andrew's class.

Pix to right: Andrew and Brenden-happy bros

Oregon trip July 2007

2007-11-04T19:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I thought I would play super-mom and take all three of my boys to Oregon to my best friend's wedding. Justin was in Alaska fishing, poor guy =), and I couldn't miss the wedding so I packed up all the kids and drove 800 miles all by myself. I lived to tell the story and everything! We had a good time and my kids got to see lots of aunts and uncles. We spent a day at the beach while we were there and had a great time. I took the kids to the Portland Temple where Justin and I got married and walked around a bit. We went up to the front door just so the boys could peek in and the sweet temple worker at the door said we could come in. He let us walk through the atrium there in the waiting area and I have to say that was the best minute I have spent in the temple. My boys even felt it. Their faces were priceless. It just reminded me that families are the reason for temples and it was a great experience to have all my boys there with me. We stayed with my sister Becky and her hubbie and had a blast. My kids love Aunt BekBek and Uncle Jake. We were there for a week. Needless to say, I was NOT looking forward to the drive home but my kids were troopers. I have the best boys in the world. I would not have taken the trip if I didn't think they could do it. I have to say though, in-car DVD players are a small miracle. It helped to break up the monotony of the drive. All in all, it was a wonderful trip, but I don't think I will do it alone again...