Happy Birthday to my Girls!

With Baylee and Tenlee's birthdays being so close together we usually do 1 family party and 1 big cake. This year I decided to build a castle cake. The girls were so excited. We looked at different cakes on the internet and found one that I figured I could do. I think it turned out pretty cute. The girls loved it! It was kind of fun to make, but I'm glad I only have to do stuff like this once a year!

Baylee did get to invite a couple of friends to go to Monkey Bizness with her for an afternoon. Monkey Bizness has jungle gyms and bounce houses indoors. The kids loved it. Afterwards she chose to go to TCBY for a birthday treat.

Halloween

Tenlee loves Minnie Mouse so when she saw the costume at the store, she knew without a doubt what she wanted to be for Halloween. We had a little incident with some paint on her costume while she was at school the Friday before Halloween, but fortunately I was able to get most of it out. I think the makers of this so called "washable paint" should be run out of business for advertising a bogus product. This paint DOES NOT COME OUT of anything! It won't even bleach out of a white shirt. This was not the first piece of clothing that has met it's death from this paint. I very kindly asked the daycare to not use it anymore, at least not the blue. The other colors seem to come out OK, but the blue is impossible.

Baylee chose to be Sleeping Beauty or as Tenlee likes to call her "Sleeping Cutie". I like that too. I bought the blond wig for her, but she insisted that she looked ugly with blond hair so she wouldn't wear it. Just long enough to get a picture. I have to agree that Baylee definitely is meant to be a brunette! I think both girls looked adorable!

A Vacation with the Pearsons

Last weekend we went to Seattle with Ryan and Kinzie. This was for no other reason than going on a vacation! It didn't revolve around work, little league baseball, family events or kids. Just a real, much needed vacation. This is something that Josh and I have never done since our honeymoom 8 years ago! We have done a lot of fun things, and gone to some fun places over the years, but everything has involved one of the things listed above. A couple of months ago, Ryan found great plane tickets and asked us if we wanted to go someplace. Since they had never been to Seattle and Josh and I haven't really done any of the "Seattle sites" we decided that would be a fun place to go.

We arrived in Seattle early Thursday and spent the day in downtown. We saw some interesting things and people while walking around. Including 3 guys being arrested in the middle of the street right after we walked passed them. I remember thinking as I passed them that I was glad it was the middle of the day and I wasn't by myself. We turned around and they were being handcuffed by police! We also went to a Mariners game that night.

Friday we went go-carting (way fun!). We also went on a 2 hour Lakes cruise. We saw Bill Gates 66,000 sq. ft house and the floating house used in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. After that, the Space Needle and more time in Seattle. Friday night we drove to Birch Bay (100 miles north of Seattle) to stay the weekend at one of the time share condos my parents are members of. Birch Bay is on the border of Canada. Beautiful place, but smells like fish. But it was fun to watch the seals on the dock and see all the awesome birds.

Bill Gates house (the part you can see anyway)

Sleepless in Seattle floating houseBirch Bay

There are 2 bald eagles in the tree

The seals were so fun to watch
Sunday afternoon was full of shopping and then back to Seattle to stay at Josh's sisters house that night. Then home on Monday. We had so much fun with Ryan and Kinzie! This was a great vacation. I hope they had as much fun as we did! Thanks for the good times!

Devin and Kiley are married!

Wow, I can't believe that my "not so little" nephew is married. Devin (Jody's 4th child) got married to Kiley over Labor Day weekend. Kiley is a great girl. She has been part of the family for a while and we all just love her! Their wedding was very beautiful and we wish them nothing but happiness in their life together!

Mr. & Mrs. Devin Pearson

I love my girls!!

This picture looks like they are going to Prom! Baylee and Jaten are the best of friends!

A Rothwell wedding is not complete until the "crazy aunts" arrive (my dads sisters)! They have been doing something a little crazy at each wedding for the last 10 or so years. Love them!

First Day of School

I can't believe my little girl is in kindergarten! When did she grow up? She was so excited to ride the bus. I take her to daycare at the same time I usually do and then the bus picks her up and drops her off everyday. The first day didn't go quite like that. They tried to bring her home, but she knew where she was supposed to go and it was all written down in her bag. We got it all figured out and everything has gone great since then. She is loving her teacher, Mrs. Donovan and loves school. She is in the same class with her friend Spencer and is still able to play with her other friends everyday at recess. I didn't even cry the first day, amazingly enough!

Baylee and Spencer

Rodney Atkins

Every year my work is a sponsor at the Western Idaho Fair. With this comes a few perks. One of them being that we get VIP tickets to all the concerts. The concerts are free anyway, but with the VIP tickets we don't have to wait in line and we are guarenteed a seat. This is great since I'm not a very patient person and hate waiting in line! This year Rodney Atkins came to the fair. I LOVE him! Crystal and David came with us. It was a fun night without the kids! Thanks Cassi for babysitting for all of us!

Best Place on Earth!

Once again, I'm very behind in posting to this blog! This summer has been so crazy with work and vacations, I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with Redfish trip. This was a perfact vacation! The weather was great, family was awesome, food was amazing! The kids all had a great time. It was so nice to not have to worry so much about Tenlee this year. As she gets older, it is easier to camp with her. It was just go great to spend time with family. I wish everybody could have been there this year, but with so many people its just hard to make it work for everybody. Unfortunately my camera was dead and I was not able to take any pictures :( I hate that! Oh well, hopefully I will remember to charge it before we leave next year!

Summer

Wow, it's been a really long time since I last posted. A lot going on I guess. Summer is always busy for me at work. We have a lot of events that we are at for work to promote Project Filter. While I love it, I'm always relieved when summer is over. My busy schedule doesn't leave a whole lot of time for fun family stuff, but this has been, and will be, some good times. In June we traveled to California for Josh's grandparents 75th wedding anniversary! Amazing! Not many people can claim that accomplishment. It was a great time with the family. We also went to Six Flags while we were there. Baylee LOVED the small rollercoaster. She could have ridden that all day! Tenlee also loved the rides, but her favorite was the train.

We went out to Mackay over 4th of July weekend. I love going out there and spending time with my family, but unfortunately I ended up with a sinus infection or something and was sick the entire time were there! For some reason it always happens when we go out there. But I still love it. The girls also loved being out there. On July 2, my new "great" niece Jordan was born. Jaris and James have a beautiful baby girl. It killed me to have to wait a week before I could see her because I was so sick! But she is just perfect!

Next week we will be going with my family to the best place on earth, Redfish Lake. I can't wait! I am very ready for a vacation, sun, and relaxation! I will post again after the trip.

Preschool Graduation

Tonight was a big night for Baylee. She had her preschool graduation! She was so excited. The kids were all so cute. They sang "Love Story" by Taylor Swift and also performed the chicken dance! So cute. Baylee has just loved her school and all of her friends. It has been so good for her to be in this environment. It's been just as good for Tenlee. I'm amazed at what she knows. I can't believe that in a few short months I will be sending Baylee to Kindergarten! How can that be? I still look at her as my baby girl.

All Put Together

Here is Tianna all ready for Prom! Isn't she just beautiful?

Tianna's Prom

Last week I offered to do something so out of character for me and way out of my comfort zone. I offered to make sleeves for Tianna's sleeveless prom dress. I am not a seamstress at all. My sewing ability consists of blankets and curtains. The only sewing of clothing that I have ever attempted is Barbie clothes when I was 9 or 10 and a shirt and pair of shorts in my home ec. class in Jr. High. I'm not exactly sure what possessed me to offer my very limited sewing services to Kim and Tianna, but I did. Then I panicked. What the ___ was I thinking?

So I sat at work after saying I would do this thinking of ways I could possibly make this work and look good. I had an image in my head of what I thought the sleeve should look like, but I wasn't sure what Tianna was thinking. I remember being a teenager and having a very clear idea of what I wanted something to look like. If I didn't get this right Tianna may never forgive me! Fortunately when I asked Tianna what she had in mind, it was exactly what I had pictured. Whew, one hurdle out of the way. Now I just had to figure out how to do it. I had Tianna put on the dress and I did some measurements. Kim brought the fabric over Thursday night (prom was Saturday). After some thinking (and praying), I figured out how to make the sleeves. So I started sewing. By 10:00 Thursday night I had the sleeves sewed and pinned to the dress. Now all I needed was Tianna to come put the dress on again. That didn't happen until Friday night at 9:30 because of her crazy (but normal) teenage life. Luckily for me, I got the sleeves right. Tianna was thrilled, I was overjoyed, and Kim was relieved! I got the sleeves sewed on that night and the dress was ready for her Saturday morning. Here is a picture of how they turned out. I hadn't ironed them yet, but you get the idea. I'm really proud of this accomplishment. I still can't believe that I did it and that it turned out so well. Now maybe I will attempt something other than blankets or curtains.

It looked a lot better after I ironed it but I forgot to get another picture

So the dress is done, now to make the girl look more beautiful than she already is. I did her hair for her for the Sweetheart dance a couple of months ago. She loved it so much she asked me to do it again. Now THIS, I am comfortable with!. I love doing this kind of thing! Especially with her hair! So here are a couple of pictures of her hair. I'm hoping she sends me a picture of it all put together soon so that I can post it too.

Beautiful Tianna!

ABC's About Me

A - Age: 33
B - Best coffee: not a fan, but do love the smell
C - Chore you hate: Just one? Cleaning the bathroom
D- Dog's name: Sadie
E- Essential start to your day: Local/national news online, and People Online
F - Favorite color: Red, at the moment
G - Gift you love getting: Anything that is a surprise
H - Height: 5'4
I - Instruments you wish you play: Guitar
J - Job title: Health Program Specialist and mom/wife
K - Kid(s): 2 girls.
L - Last CD listened to: Toby Keith
M- Most memorable Christmas present: puppy
N - Nicknames: Poison, Ives
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Just with childbirth
P - Pet Peeve: people who take the elevator up one flight at work!
Q - Quote from a movie: I'm your huckleberry - Tombstone
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 1 Sister 2 brothers
T - Time you wake up: 6:10
U- Ultimate vacation destination: Some super warm island
V - Vegetable you dislike: Onions
W - Why you run late: I hate to be late, but if I am it's because of the kids.
X - X-rays you've had: teeth, ultrasounds, knee, foot, elbow, back
Y - Yummy food you make: All the food I make is yummy!
Z - Zoo favorite animal: Lions and monkeys

Easter Sunday

Getting the girls ready for church is always a struggle, but when I want to do something a little more fun and different with their hair, it's nearly impossible! But I did manage to get them to hold still long enough to make it cute. Too bad it doesn't stay like this for long!

After church we have dinner at our house. Mike's family, Josh's parents and brother, and Ryan, Kinzie and Kambree all joined us. It was a good day to spend with family. Plus it was a beautiful day outside! I think spring is finally going to come!

Thanks for spending Easter with us! We love you all!

Easter Egg Hunt

I took the girls to the community Easter Egg Hunt Saturday morning. McKinzie and Kambree and McKinzie's sister and her daughter also came. It was kind of cold, but the girls had a great time "finding" the eggs. As you can see in the picture below, it took a lot of hunting to find the eggs!!

Project Filter Proudly Presents...PBR rider Wiley Petersen

My program, Project Filter, has been sponsoring Wiley Petersen for the last couple of years. He is the first (and currently only) cowboy to ever refuse Smokeless Tobacco sponsorship and instead be a spokesperson for a tobacco prevention program. He is so great to work with. Better yet, he is currently 4th in the world standings for PBR! So we are getting a lot of publicity! PBR is in Nampa this weekend so we held a radio remote at Double D Farm and Feed today and had Wiley there to sign autographs. It ended up being a great event. Hopefully he continues to ride well and hopefully keep riding his way to the top of the standings!

Project Filter team

Liessa and Kiarra with Wiley

Easter Chicks

This puts a whole new meaning to coloring Easter eggs! These chicks are so cute! They injected dye into the eggs just before they hatched. They end up hatching in their various colors. We were assured that the dye they use is not harmful or toxic to the chicks. They will lose the colored down in about 3 weeks and their normal feathers will appear. I seriously wanted one of the greens ones! I wish they would stay small like this instead of growing up into chickens!

Just a Few Pictures

I haven't posted many pictures of the girls lately so here are a few fun ones.

Supermodel documentary hour!

Little Miss Model

Ready for Spring

After weeks of being sick, everybody is finally starting to get well again. And now I could not be more ready for spring! I even went through both girls closets and started hanging up spring and summer clothes in anticipation of good weather. A girl can dream right? It's just time!

I am in the process of potty training Tenlee. Wow, this has been a chore! Baylee was so easy to potty train. It didn't take any time at all. But Tenlee has been a struggle. She gets the concept and wants to be potty trained. So I know that it's not that she isn't ready. She definitely is. The problem is she does so well at daycare, but at home she just gets lazy and won't tell me. Even if I ask her every 20 minutes and take her in to go. But she will still go in the pull-up. So today I decided that I was going to let her wear big girl underwear in hopes that if she had an accident, it would make her realize she can't just go when she wants to anymore. 3 pairs of underwear and pants later, I went back to pull-ups. I know that she will get it, but I just wish she would hurry! Someday...

Baylee is growing up so much. I hear her say things that just blow me away sometimes. She is such a good girl and very sweet. She goes in for Kindergarten registration in a couple of weeks! I can't believe she will be going to school next fall. She is so excited! She's ready. I think it will take me a little longer to be ready for that, but I'll get there.

Josh went snow mobiling for the last time this year (or so he says). I think he has really enjoyed going with David, Ryan, Mike and others. I'm glad he is spending time with them. Work is still going good for him. He loves what he does.

Work for me is good. Starting in May I will be a lot busier. We have so many events that we are sponsoring and attending. It will keep me busy for sure. But I look forward to it. It the part of my job that I truly love. Josh and I will be going to the PBR in Nampa next week to watch Wiley Petersen ride. My work, Project Filter, is one of his sponsors so we will be there to support him. He is currently ranked 4th in the world standings. He has been such and incredible spokesperson for our program. And he is truly one of the nicest people I've ever met. I'll post pictures next week after the event.

Well, that's it for now. I'll post pictures another time. I really need to get better at taking them!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

For months Baylee has been begging me to cut her hair to her shoulders. At first I was a little reluctant to do it, but then I realized it's just hair and her hair grows supper fast. Plus, it might just be cute and so much easier to take care of. So I agreed to let her cut it. But we just never go to it until this weekend. I was getting my hair done so I called my stylist to see if she could do Baylee's too. She was so excited to go to the salon! I've always just trimmed her hair myself, but this was definitely not something I wanted to tackle on my own.

I have to admit, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Baylee's new hair! It made her look so grown up. She loves it too and can't wait to go to school on Monday to show it off to everybody. Here are a few pictures from the salon. I will post more when I have a chance to do some cute, fun things with her hair.