I know, I'm all about my dogs. I hear, "Do you love your dogs more than your kids?" Hmmmm. OF COURSE NOT! But they do come in a close 2nd place! They love me unconditionally and are constantly by my side and never talk back! I couldn't resist taking these couple of pictures. Gunner is getting up in years and has been having problems with his back, mostly from playing too hard with Tank. He got pretty bad this past week and I had to tranquilize him and give him muscle relaxers to settle him down so he could lay still and heal himself. I love how he gets droppy-eyed and notice his one ear standing straight up in the air! Poor dog!

This is a common site you would see in our backyard (minus the snow of course)on a warm summer evening, Tank laying in "his spot" enjoying the cool grass and a good stick. I guess he's getting tired of winter and decided, "What the heck!" He didn't last that long out there and probably decided this was a summer pastime. He's now back in the warmth of the house sprawled out beside me. We'll try again in a few months.

p.s. I think we may see the lawn soon - it's raining today and trying to melt all the snow we have.....yea!!! :)

Introducing Princess Chloe!

Meet the newest member of our extended family. I was at my friend/hairdressers house a few weeks ago when her puppy came running into the salon and I immediately fell in love with her! My friend had stated that they were possibly looking for her a new home and SAY NO MORE!......I knew exactly where that home would be!

My siblings and I have been trying to tell my parents for years that they should get a dog. They've considered it from time to time but the right dog just never came along. When I was growing up we had a Pomeranian named Rebel who was just like a member of the family and ultimately my Dad's best buddy. When he died it was HORRIBLE on our whole family and we never wanted to experience the death of a pet again! But we still looked at Pom puppies for sale from time to time and have always been infatuated with them! When I saw my friends puppy I immediately started taking pictures of her and sent them to my parents who fell in love with her also, even though it took a few weeks to convince themselves that they were ready to become parents AGAIN.

Isn't this just the cutest face you ever did see?

Princess Chloe is an 11-week old Pomeranian puppy who currently weighs 2 pounds and will probably reach about 4-6 pounds. She has the funnest disposition and loves to be held and loved. She couldn't be more loved and is already well on her way to becoming another spoiled member of the family.

Bond, James Bond

Having Daxton around is never a dull moment. Ever since I can remember, he has always pretended to be somebody. For the longest time he was Peter Parker during the whole Spiderman craze and wanted you to call him that. When Kristi was pregnant with Jett he wanted that to be the name of the baby in all seriousness. He's had the Superman phase, Ironman phase and Batman phase. His latest now is James Bond. Last week Doug called and told me that Dax wanted to come over and show me something. When he got to the house and I opened the door, here was this little dude decked out in a suit, shoes a tad bit too big for him, and best of all.....his hair all slicked back. He got his new suit for his Uncle's wedding in May and has been wearing it 24/7 and how sweet is it that he wanted to come over to Elwa's house to show me?!?! :) He even went grocery shopping in it and pulled out a toy gun and told the checker he was, "Bond, James Bond". Hopefully the suit will still be in fairly good shape come May. But then, next week there could be a whole new person he is ready to pretend to be!

Jett's First Birthday Party!

Today we celebrated Jett's first birthday at Doug and Kristi's house. (His actual b-day was on the 16th) He was excited to have everybody over and was running around showing off all his new things he has learned. He is at such a fun age and has been learning all kinds of new things and loves to share them with you. It's hard to believe it has been a whole year since he was born....where did that little baby go? He is just like his brothers, full of energy and ready to conquer the world - he never crawled and was walking at 7 months! He'll be snowboarding by the end of the winter for sure! (wink wink :))Taylir had to keep him from ripping all the paper off his presents before everybody could come and watch and he wasn't happy having to stop!

He saw that it was a riding toy and didn't care if it was all the way unwrapped or not, he was getting on and going for a ride!

He thought the cake that Dad and Daxton made was delish!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Today is the birthday of one of the greatest men in the world.......my DAD! I have never known a more kind, unselfish, giving and loving man than him. He has always put others before himself and his family if probably the most important thing to him.

My sister Kris, brother Shane and I with our parents in front of our childhood home right after they sold it and moved South :(

My Dad's greatest accomplishment and what he is the most proud of, his family

When I was growing up he worked for Kennecott Copper and worked graveyard shift. He would always leave for work after we were in bed and as we were eating breakfast he would come home and go to bed while we were at school. He was always home when we got home and working on some kind of project. He did many remodels on our home and did most of the work himself. He took pride in his home and especially his yard, and they both always looked fantastic. There were times I would leave for school with my bedroom walls one color and come home to find them another color. When I got in high school and learned how to drive, it was him who took me out practicing and was so patient (most of the time :)) with me. He also would have my car warmed up and snow/ice scraped from the windows before I went to school in the morning.

My Daddy and me learning how to ride a motorcycle


He is the best "Papa" any grandchild could ever want. He loves to be with his grandkids and makes visits with him so much fun. Kylie reminded me this morning that one of her favorite things she looked forward to while visiting them was eating "Papa Soulie" for breakfast. (Soulie is what we have always called cereal in our family) To this day we still call Frosted Mini Wheats, "Papa Soulie".

Papa with Kylie on the left and Carson on the right

Papa, Bryson, Jordan, Kylie and Brady

Papa had a marshmellow roast for the grandkids in his backyard the last time we were all down South

I don't have pictures to show of some of my finest memories with him but I am going to list a few in writing:

1. The look on my Dad's face when we finally reached the car in the parking lot of Pearl Harbor in an absolute typhoon. Water was literally dripping from his nose, chin, ears and eyelashes. We were laughing hysterically and as wet as if we had jumped in the ocean with our clothes on.

2. When I was a Senior in high school and had come home for lunch break while he was sleeping from working graveyard and me walking up the stairs from the basement after finishing my lunch, only to find my Dad in his garment top and jeans at the front door with police at the door and surrounding the house with guns drawn. Apparently my Dad mistook me for a burglar and called the police. (Our house had been burglarized several times leading up to this and he thought the thieves had come back for more)

3. While working at Kennecott when the company would go on strikes, he would do a side job cleaning the Visitors Center on Temple Square. I thought it was so awesome when he let me go with him and clean during the night, this too was graveyard.

4. While eating dinner at a really fancy restaurant in Hawaii to celebrate me and Mark's temple sealing, his front tooth falling out and him having fun with that and embarrasing us and himself by acting like we really shouldn't be eating at a place like that looking poor and toothless.


I am so glad I have a Dad who is perfect in my eyes. He honors his Priesthood and works in the temple two days a week. He still goes out of his way to make sure his family is taken care of and happy. What a wonderful Daddy I have!!

I have always been so proud of the fact that my Dad has always taken such good care of himself. He and my Mom have been nicknamed "Barbie and Ken" by their friends. At high school reunions they always win the awards for the most unchanged or youngest looking. Way to go Mom and Dad!! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD/PAPA!!

Elder Brady Cowley

Tonight my nephew Brady was set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He will enter the Missionary Training Center tomorrow morning and train there for a few weeks before going to serve in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission. We are so proud of him and are very excited for what he will experience over the next two years as he serves his mission.

I wish the whole family could of been with us, but we left a sick Carson home and Colton there to help him out. Mark of course is in Oregon, so it was just me, Kylie and Taylir. It was so touching to watch as the Stake President laid his hands on his head and hear his words as he set him apart as a full time missionary of The Lord. Afterward, Brady gave his parents a hug and I got emotional as I watched them get emotional. I have never seen my nephew get teary eyed so of course the waterworks were on for me. It's hard to believe this is the little Brady Boy who I use to love watch play t-ball and now he's all grown up and ready to go out and serve the Lord. I love what a mission does for a young man and am excited for the growth he is about to receive.

We will miss Brady a whole bunch while he is gone, and family get-togethers will not be the same without him, but he is doing what he needs to be doing and I am so proud of him for the choice he has made.

See you in 2 years Elder Cowley! We love you and will miss you!

(The pictures turned out way fuzzy because they were on my cell phone due to the fact that I couldn't find the camera before we left home - I think it added an extra 20-pound look to each body too! :))

Where Did All The Time Go?

I can't believe it's already been 5 months since little Will was born and already he's changing into a little person and not an infant. He has already got his bottom two teeth in and he's starting to crawl (more like an army crawl but he gets to where he wants to go). He can now entertain himself and plays with toys and crawls around to whatever he wants. I was able to babysit him yesterday for a few hours and couldn't believe this was the same little baby I saw at Christmas. Brandt and Elyse are embarking on the next phase of parenting....EXPLORING BABY! One minute you are bringing the baby home from the hospital and the next minute, that little baby doesn't want to be held anymore and has a mind all his own and goes exploring the house. I got a kick out of watching him crawl off his blanket where all his toys were placed, and watching him catch a glimpse of something funner and crawling to it. Most of the time, the "funner" things weren't toys and I would put him back on his blanket and show him more of his toys. I was able to read him a new book he had just got that day and even though he didn't understand what I was reading and maybe not even loving the moment, I was loving every minute of it!

I'm still getting use to having someone refer to me as a "Grandma" but it's starting to grow on me BIG time. I still have friends having babies and I'm having grandbabies!!!! I'm starting to understand more of the feelings Grandparents have. When you become a parent for the first time, you are more worried about not knowing what to do or how to do it, and you want to do so much for your child and have your child learn and do everything so quickly that maybe you don't enjoy the moment as much and always wishing away the time. Then you have another child or two (or more!!) and life becomes more hectic and demanding and you find yourself all wrapped up in the moment of the present and again wishing away the time. Then all of the sudden, you find yourself at a stage in life where you don't understand how you got there and asking yourself, "Where did all the time go?" I'm now wishing for time to go by slower and not wanting the kids to get any older.

With Will, I am enjoying watching him grow and having fun playing with him, without feeling the pressure of the parent of wondering if I am doing things right or wrong. And the best thing about being the Grandparent????? After you've had fun with them and loved them bunches and bunches, you can send them home at the end of the day and you can get a full night's sleep!! :)

p.s. Since Will started crawling, he's lost 1 pound. Did you notice all the chub creases on his arms??!! I predict those will soon disappear, along with all the other ones on his WHOLE body with all his recent and new activity. (I WUV THOSE CREASES AND ROLLS!) What a scrumptious little lovey boy!!!

The Kiddos

For Christmas this year Kristi gave me a bunch of pictures she had taken of the kids in September. They all look so cute and I am so glad to have someone who is better at having the kids' picture taken than I am.

During Christmas break, the little boys (Dax and Jett) spent a night with us. Jett was constantly exploring and I had forgotten just how busy little ones are.

This was a common sight during the break........the kids REALLY enjoyed their time-off from school!