The Big House

Daryl and Rachel, having a great time together.

This is Jennie, Karl's cousin, and Mike, her husband, and their little girl Sophie. In the front is Uncle Kent and Kyle, Karl's one of many cousins.

Kyle and Scott just relaxing.
Hazel taking a break from the crowd. She is getting so big!

This is Donna and Leif, Karl's other aunt and uncle who used to live in the big house, now they live in Sequim. They areso much fun.
Sorry that I didn't get everybody on here from the party. There was just so much going on at once, I thought I could get everyone but it didn't work out.

Winter Storm

This is a picture of Kent Kangley and 132nd Avenue at about 3:45pm on our way to pick up Karl's mom to go to the Big House. Sounds like jail huh? Actually its Karl's Aunt and Uncle's house and we go there every Christmas Eve. This year we, the WHOLE family, decided to have the party today so all the families could be with their own families on Christmas Eve, with all the little grandkids its getting bigger and bigger.

This is a picture right outside our apartment after we got home. We are expecting snow and winds through the night. Hopefully we do not lose power, or its off to Grandma and Poppy's house we go. (Don't tell them it will be a surprise!)
Coming home from the big house it was windy and snowing pretty good. I was very relieved that we got home safely and we didn't ice skate too much with the car. I was very brave and I drove to the Big House. On our way we picked up Diane and the headed over yonder. It took us alittle over 45 minutes to get to our final stop, but it was worth it.

This is a picture of two zones together on my mission. My companion at the time was Chelsea Nash. In every zone there was only one set of sisters and if you got lucky there might be one other set of sisters. My mission president's last name was Peterson, as well as my maiden name, so it was fun to play with elders minds at times. I never completely convinced them but I made them nervous.
I don't remember where we were in this picture but I think it was Fort Smith Arkansas. It always took us over an hour to get to a Zone Conference and so we treated ourselves to Olive Garden after it was done, even though we did eat at ZC, we seemed to have room for bread sticks. Man I miss my mission sometimes.

Our Tree

This is our cute little Christmas tree. Tyler is very upset that the pretties are all too high to reach. I am alittle nervous to even put lights up with Tyler's curiosity burning his hand on Thanksgiving. I am blowing it out of preportion but ya'lls didn't hear the scream that came out of my baby boy's mouth that night. I never want to hear that again.
We need to get more ornaments up but over the years it will be filled.

Tylers ER visit

You guys will have to check out Tyler's blog, we had a crazy night and I am thankful that my family is now safe at home and Tyler is going to heal from the 1st degree burns on his hands.

Still losing more weight

This is todays picture. I am 1-2 lbs to the weight I was before I had Tyler. This is my skinny pants and the shirt I am wearing I was brave and I bought it without trying it on first, just to see if I could guess what I am at.
I am really not trying as hard as I should be and Superwoman told me that if I lose 12 more pounds that she will start with me. I told her that it would be december and she asked me if I could wait for january, we will see.
Yeah me!!!!

I'm a new Auntie!!!!

Karl and Daryl with their babies. (Tyler is saying hello to Avery)

Proud Grandma Diane with the beautiful baby girl.

Check out her hair!!!

Avery Gordon was born November 12, 2008 at 12:15 am.

We got the text message right as we were leaving to go to work on Wednesday. Karl just happened to check his phone and saw two text messages from his brother. Karl called his brother at 7 am and everyone was great. We booked it after work to get down to Auburn to see our new niece and Tyler's seventh girl cousin, he is the only boy.
Avery is the first granddaughter on Karl's side of the family. I believe she is the second granddaughter on Rachel's side of the family. She only weighed 6 lbs 12 oz when she was born and these pictures don't do justice to how adorable she is. I am so excited that she is here. Mom and baby are doing great and Dad is so happy! Congratulations Daryl and Rachel.

Pumpkin Cookies

I have been obsessed with baking lately. I have been making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and tonight I made pumpkin cookies with icing drizzled on top. I do have to say that I bake some mean cookies. I am so tired and I wish I could fall asleep lately but I have not been sleeping well. I think I bake to keep myself distracted from everything else. It really is good therapy and I do enjoy baking. Next month my sister and I are going to be making cookie platters. I have been so excited to try new recipes and I have a few more recipes to try out before I add them to the list.

Feeling Trampled

I feel like every time I feel that my life is calming down, something else happens. People make mistakes and I get that, BUT why is it that they don't see directly who it is that they are hurting before they make the decision to do what it is that they WANT to do. I know that 99% of you know what this is like. It just frustrates me that it keeps happening.

Hanging out

Tyler is so much fun. I will probably have very frustrating days with him. Right now he is playing with the stereo while Karl is playing xbox, but that doesn't bother me. I love that handsome little guy and he is the center of our world.
My diet has been losely enforced. I am still trying to be careful but tonight I had cheesecake, so I am alittle more relaxed. Hopping back on the bandwagon is hard when you don't have the reins in your hands.

Uncle Barry and Aunt Diane visit

This picture was taken this last summer, but I forgot to put it up when I took the picture. I got in touch with my Uncle Barry while I was on my mission and we swapped information, mostly he gave it to me, about our family history. It was nice to finally meet both of them in person. The scary thing is is my dad and him look so much alike and their mannerisms are so much alike but they hardly ever see eachother. Its seriously weird.

Busy life

I don't think I have been this busy in a long time. For the last two weekends I went to the Puyallup Fair and I thought that things would calm down, well the busy times just motivate me to stay out of trouble. This weekend I have a baby shower and a baptism to go to and as I just found out tonight, I am also speaking at the baptism. Its good for me though I need the blessings of giving a talk.
Tyler turned 11 months old yesterday and I was so emotional. I can't believe that he has gotten so big. His birthday is next month and after the baby shower and the baptism is over then I am going to focus on Tylers birthday.
I do feel like I have neglected my husband the last while. I let him play some xbox tonight because he will have little man tomorrow during the baby shower. Take care everyone.

Just saying hey

These kinds of pictures are so relaxing to me and I try to take pictures of just nature and I always think about my grandma and the landscapes that she would paint when I was little. She made me appreciate these pictures so much more.

Weight lost

My co worker and I started the weight loss group with 7 of my co workers and everyone but only one more person, other than me, quit when the stress got to be too much. It was a great idea and people lost a lot of weight so it improved our lives, I just got frustrated when everyone else quit.
I am still trying to lose and I have done ok this week, not perfect but ok.

Weigh in week 6

I weighed myself this morning and I lost 2.5 lbs. I am glad that I did lose weight and to make it alittle tougher one of the girls at work dropped out. I don't care about the money part anymore I am glad that I am motivated to lose the weight and get myself back on track.
At least I can see that I am accomplishing something.

Weigh in Nerves

I am hoping that I have done good enough this week to lose weight. I weigh in tomorrow and I am nervous. I think everything should be ok but with gaining last week I think it motivated me to do better this week. We won't talk about the cake I made and ate last night though. Thats just between you and me. shhhh!

Labor Day

This picture was taken at my sisters house on the day we had the bbq with my family. I love that I get to spend time with Tyler. I wish I could do it more.

Weigh in Week 5

I weighed in today and I gained a pound. I kinda expected it. We had a bbq at my sisters house on Sunday and I could not workout as much as I wanted to.
I have still lost 18.5 lbs and that is great for five weeks.

First picture at week 4

What is kinda scary is I have a picture of me in this same shirt when I was 5 months pregnant with Tyler and I do look skinnier, but still scary. We weighed in this morning and I lost 3 1/2 lbs even though we ate at Red Robin and Olive Garden, I really did good.
So all in all I have lost 19 1/2 lbs since I started losing weight. To all of you out there you can probably see a difference but for me it will probably take a few more weeks before I feel it. I am working out and eating better, its paying off!
PS I did want to put both pictures up but I didn't like how close they actually looked so I didn't.

My birthday week

On my mission I called it my birthday month but now its a birthday week. (too many other people with birthdays) I got an mp3 player from Karl and I got picture stuff from my parents. We went to my mom and dads for my actual birthday and then we went out with Superwoman and her clan and the Gordon's and a half(lol).
Thank you to everyone who made it great for me. You know who you are.

I'm old!

thats all

Week 3 Weigh in

I totally shocked myself when I weighed in. I knew that I had lost but I wasn't prepared to see that I lost six pounds this week. Yes you saw it 6 LBS!!!!! What I am worried about now is not back sliding and gaining next week. We will see what happens. I have lost a total of 16 lbs and I know I have worked hard for this.

If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world,
I'd cancel school and boys,
and friends,
street lights, Eli and also
police and haters.

If I were in charge of the world,
There'd be Disneyland in Auburn,
more toys, treats to, and
eat all the times.

If I were in charge of the world,
You wouldn't have school.
You wouldn't have boogers.
You wouldn't have timed tests
Or clothes.
You wouldn't even have haircuts.

If I were in charge of the world
ice cream would be a vegetable,
Chocolate would be ok.
A person who sometimes forgot to flush,
and sometimes forgot to eat,
Would still be allowed to be in charge of the world.

When I was in second grade my teacher read us the book, If I Were in Charge of the World, and as part of an activity to it we had to write our own poem so the words that are in bold are the answers that I put. I knew I did this poem but I didn't know until we went to Oregon to see my Grandparents that I sent the origional to my grandmother. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, my weigh in tomorrow and I will definitely post on here what I lost. Lets just say I ate at Cheesecake Factory, Red Robin, Claim Jumpers and McDonalds (more than once) this week and I still lost weight. Wish me luck.

Memories..Like the corners of my mind...

My friend had this on her blog and thought it might be fun...

The directions are as follows:

1. As a comment on our blog, leave one (or as many as you like) memory that you and I had together or a memory of our family. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Weigh in Week 2

We weighed in yesterday and I lost 2 lbs. I was happy because I thought that I lost less than that. It has been a pretty good motivator for me to lose weight and I have worked out alot more than I was. This morning I woke up at 5:14am and I was so worried that we slept in that I had a dream that Chris came to our house to tell us that it was ten minutes to eight and we were late. I could have gotten up and worked out but I went back to sleep.
So far thats 10 lbs in the last two weeks. I hope I can get myself down to what I was when I lost weight before.

Losing Weight

Hey everyone. I know its been awhile since I have posted so I thought I would let you know whats going on. A group of us at work have joined together and we are all trying to lose weight. There are eight of us specifically who are in an eight week competition. In this competition we weigh in every week and if we lose we pay nothing. If we say the same weight as the week before then we pay $1.00. If we gain weight we pay $2.00 for the first pound and $1.00 for every pound after the first. So if I gain 2 lbs I have to pay $3.00.
In my first week I lost 8 lbs!!!!!! I was so excited. I am doing weight watcher homestyle version Karl and I did a few years back and I am looking forward to wearing my skinny clothes again. I will keep you all updated.

Oregon Trip

This is me and my Aunt Sandy.

This is right before we left to come home.

Karl messing with the camera.

I am almost back to normal from our trip to Oregon. I love it down there. It is the one place I can go to and relax and enjoy just doing nothing with my family. I am still mentally down there but physically here. Its a tough life but I do it!

My Thoughts

Like a little child we are taught things little by little. There are things that I won't teach Tyler right now because it is not beneficial to him right now. There are things like teaching him to crawl or try new foods that are helpful to his growth at this time. However, I wouldn't give him car keys and teach him to drive because he needs to learn how to read and decipher numbers, depth perception and other necessities to helping him drive around the block.
As it is with us, there are things that we need to learn little by little. Over time when we have learned more then we are entrusted with more knowledge and responsibilities. If we decide that we know all we need to, the only person we stop is ourselves. Others can encourage and show the path but we need to be open and willing to learn more. There are always good and bad. We have to decide what is right and what makes us better people. That is the challenge.

1930's Wife Test

43 As a 1930s wife, I am Average Take the test!

hello everyone

I like to put pictures up on every post but since I am the one taking the pictures, the only ones I have right now are of little man. I do want to brag about my husband though.
I worked very early this morning and got off early enough to have lunch with all the men in my life, Karl, Tyler and my dad. It was fun. I came home and took a nap with Tyler and then when Karl got home he took me out to dinner, Red Robin, and then we went on a drive to find the best tasting breakfast treat in the tiny world I live in, Krispy Kreme!!!!!! Then we came home and my little man Tyler fell asleep on me. It was a wonderful night.

My new haircut

This is the first time I have had my haircut this short since tenth grade in high school. That was a long LONG time ago. Its short but it will grow out and Tyler likes to pull on it too.I don't mind the length so much now but when I first got it cut it was a hard thing to deal with.

Slow but steady

I'm still trying to get thru all the boxes. I try to at least unpack one box per day but some days are very busy. Yesterday we got the girls from Debbie and then came home for enough time for me to race out the door to go to a baby shower for my friend Amber. I've known her since my family moved up her from Oregon. Thats many moons in case you were wondering. Then I came back and hung out with the chicklets at home and then met my sister at my parents house. We hung out there for awhile and then went out partying with Sunny and James and the kids. It was fun to be all together.

Hey all

So we have moved into our new apartment. I loved living at my parents house and having them so close, but it is also nice to have my own kitchen again. I made dinner for the first time tonight. The past few nights we have been rummaging thru our stuff so its been a hit and miss as to what we find in the boxes. I did try to label the boxes the best I could but some stuff just got mixed up.
I tried to look for a picture to put on here but I couldn't find anything that would have anything to do with this...oh well.

Hey all

This is how I feel. Matt, my brother, took this picture we are really right side up but this is how you see me and the beautiful Booga. There is just so much going on and I feel like I have to do it all but then I get mad if my wonderful hubby doesn't offer to help. He on the other hand doesn't know what to do or what to say to me when I am stressed, so he just holds me and lets me cry.

This is my little family, plus Booga...... she insisted she be in the picture, on Mothers Day. We went to downtown Seattle because it was of course Mothers Day and my brother Louie was up from Arizona and it was nice to spend time with all my brothers and sister (minus Superwoman, you know who you are). It was alittle too crazy with fifteen people but we managed.

Went to the dr

Found out I have an ear infection and a touch of the flu. The dr called it gasterointestinal virus...I was stumbling over myself to try to remember that and when I looked it up online it said the flu. Why can't they just say you have the flu go home and sleep. Instead the doc tried to give me two different medicines for the flu and an antibiotic for my ear. I will take the antibiotic but I will just try to relax with the flu bug.
We took some great pictures of the kids tonight thought I would share a picture of the little ones.

This is what I feel like I want to be doing all the time. If someone told me to get as much sleep as I could before the baby was born I probably didn't fully understand. I feel it now. Tyler is 6 months old this week but I am feeling so tired now.
I last 4 pounds this last week.... thats the first weight loss since Valentines day week. I am very glad and I hope I can do better on my weight loss.
I feel like I am trying to run as fast as I can up an escalator and I am not going anywhere. I don't usually write when I am having a hard time for fear of regretting what I say will hurt someone else. No matter what I still love those around me and I want to be the best mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, aunt, niece and granddaughter... I am sure there is more but I am tired and I can't think of them right now.

So Tired

I have been so exhausted lately. I have tried to do different things to help me sleep better. My son is sleeping better than me. I do think that last night I slept better than I have in a long time but I am still tired.
On the other hand I have done awesome on my diet today. I haven't had this good a day in a long time.

Hello

What a great picture. I love my little family. This picture was taken a week before Easter and I just haven't had time to put it up. Tyler makes me look good in any picture.
We have had snow off and on this week and it has been very pretty to look at but I don't have the excitement I had when I was younger. I remember when I was little I would pray that it would magically snow over night and we would miss school. I still miss work when it snows but I am less interested in playing in it and going outside when its falling.
I lost a pound this week. Thats the first time in a few weeks the number went down. I do feel the need to lose weight but I think I have been Karl's cheerleader more than anything lately. There are a few girls at work who do the weight loss together, but I just haven't worked out like I used to.

Twenty pounds!!!!

I am so happy. I have lost 21 lbs since January. It doesn't feel like it yet but I know that my pants are alittle looser and my appetite is shrinking. Its alot easier for me this time, losing weight, but then I know how I cheated before so it also makes it harder. I need to completely cut out chocolate and soda but its alot harder than it seems.

Pictures like these where my son is so adorable and I look pregnant, are very frustrating. Hopefully I can get rid of that big belly and look half way decent again.

Day to day

My favorite soap opera is As the World Turns. I started watching it when I was working from 8- 5:30 and I had an hour and a half lunch so there was enough time to watch a whole soap when everyone else went back to work. I am spoiled now because my wonderful husband brought a TiVo into my life and it protect my little world of a soap opera so I can watch it when ever I want to. Just having the time to watch it is like.... oh I forgot so I watch five minutes here ten minutes there. The only time I really get to watch it is when I am folding laundry on Sunday afternoons and now I have to compete with Nascar....ggggrrrrrr...... Heavenly Father must love Nascar.

Lately I have been trying to find the motivation to wake up 15 minutes earlier to workout, but all thats come of it is sleeping in. I can't count sleeping as a workout can I?

Today I went with my co-workers and I got a free massage for 40 minutes.... Ohhh it was so nice!!! I almost fell asleep it was wonderful and sorta painful at the same time but I do feel so good.

Losing Weight

It has been so hard for me. Last week I lost 6 pounds and I was so excited. One rule of thumb is that when your "friend" comes over for a week you don't lose weight as much because of water weight gain. Well this week I only lost one pound. I also have the cravings of sweets and salty. It would be easy but I stop myself by buying snacks and leaving them at home and munching on them constantly. Days like to day where I am not at work, Tyler had a dr appointment, are REALLY hard because I eat more when I am bored. I have been VERY bored today and so I have probably killed my diet for the week.
The best thing that I can do is portion out in my head how many points I get throughout the morning, then how much I will allow myself for lunch. Mid afternoon is the worst and then I scrounge my points at night just to eat. I lost 50 pounds a few years ago, I know I can do it again I just have to retrain myself.
This little man is my inspiration!

Cold Days

If its going to be this cold why can't we have snow? I love the cold because I don't get sweaty, but at least make it pretty. Last night was my brother-in-laws surprise 30th birthday party. My sister did such a good job hiding it from him and my niece's did wonderful as they didn't even peep a clue to him.
I am finally getting over strep throat, but I am still on the meds which make me have a metallic taste in my mouth. yummy!

You Are 50% Boyish and 50% Girlish

You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch. Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes. You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them. You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

You can't see the top very well but it said 50% Boyish 50 % Girlie. It was a fun test.

My start

My little man has his own blog so I thought I would start my own. Have patience with me, its a process.