Tuff Cowboy

Well, as of tonight I not only have my own company (Dry Creek Holdings LLC which the condo is bought under) but I now have my own website!
It's www.tuffcowboy.com as well as .org and .net, I think.

There is some policy through Chase bank that doesn't allow Tyson to own his own company. That is why the Dry Creek Holdings is in my name as well as this website.

Tyson came home from riding this morning and had some crazy idea that he wants to have his own website. He is always trying to come up with something new that he could sell that would strike us rich and we would be millionaires. Good for him. I will let him ride everyday if that gets his brain wheels rollin' and he could come up with something. In fact, when we first got our boat in 2007 (or was it 2008? I can't remember.) Ty had this idea of starting a business to have people re-carpet or fix the boards on your boat trailer while you are out boating and having fun. I thought that was a good idea too. Not sure why he didn't pursue that. Anyways, me on the other hand is NOT an entrepreneur. I do not have that spirit in me. I am more like a work horse. You tell me what to do and I will get it done. About 4 years ago I had this grand idea of making hospital gowns and selling them to hospitals, but I didn't ever pursue that. I needed someone to take charge and be my manager and worry about all the nitty gritty details. Maybe one day I will do that. Right now my children are #1 priority and I didn't want to take the time away from them and be in my sewing room missing out on being with them. And I wasn't willing to sacrifice my sleep either. I'm selfish. I know.
So back to my website. Tyson's website really. He wants to sell T-shirts with our logo on it (I will come back to that in a minute) and horse supplies that we have uniquely 'made it our own'. He also had this brilliant idea of making magnetized mats to put on the inside sides of the horse trailer where your horse might kick and cause dents on your trailer. Cool idea, huh?! We looked online to see if anyone else had done this and as far as we could tell, there isn't anything that exists like that.

My week......(May27-31)

Tuesday, May 27
Because the Koi fish Ty bought yesterday died 2 hours after he got it, we took the dead thing back to Pets Mart and got another one. The guy asked where we were keeping it (tank, pond....etc. I said a pond. That wasn't a lie right? It is outside in somewhat of a pond. I just didn't tell him it was in the water that our horse drinks.)

(pic of kids at Pet Mart holding fish)

It was a low key/catch-up day; laundry and cleaning type of day.

Once again just after a few hours the dang Koi fish died again. And then soon after the gold fish died too!! I guess we are just not meant to have fish on Reggie's trough. I don't think we will be getting anymore fish.

Wednesday, May 28
Swimming at Vistancia Pool!
We met my friend Stefanie and her daughter Sofia at the pool today. I can't believe that it is already another summer here. Ugh! I dread summertime here.
We were too busy having fun that I didn't take any pictures! We all enjoyed it.
Emmry wore her life jacket and was swimming around like crazy playing with Tage. Trey broke out of his 'I will just sit on the first step' shell. He enjoyed jumping off the edge to me and splashing and swimming like crazy with me. I better watch out now. He is going to be crazy in our pool now.

Sunrise Mountain Library
After Emmry and Trey took a good long nap, we went to the library.
I got this book (pic of Wonder book)

for Tage and I to read. We needed a good summer read. This book came recommended from my friend, Olivia Montez. She said that it is a must read and a required book for her kids to read. I'm excited to read it. I just now need to make the time to do so.

Thursday, May 29
Today turned out to be kind of a boring day. We didn't go anywhere and didn't do much. Emmry and Trey took a 3 hour nap, which was nice. So I knew they wouldn't want to go to bed early so we all ended up going to Tage's football practice.
Of course I took pictures of the kids while we played on the playground. I can't believe that I got this amazing silhouette shot. I'm in love!
(pi of kids on swing)

Friday, May 30
Summer Movie Day!
Harkins Theatre does summer movies. Basically it is 10 weeks. 10 movies. 7 dollars. These are not 'new' movies. They're already out on DVD, but it is just a chance to come and watch them in the theatre and get out of the heat. (....and to boost popcorn sales at the theatre. hahaha)
(pic of kids in front of movie sign)
(pic of Emmry and friends in front of sign)
We went with a few of my friends and their girls today. Tage wanted to invite his friend, Carson, but he couldn't go. So he was outnumbered with a whole bunch of girls!!

Saturday, May 31
Tyson started out his day taking Reggie for a ride. I slept in! (as much as I could, that is....) Trey woke up around 7:20am and Emmry shortly thereafter.
I have been looking on Craigslist for a bed for Trey for awhile now, I found a bunk bed I wanted to look at and it was only about 10 minutes away so I got ready and went to look at it. I liked it, but Ty didn't agree. It was $350 and needed mattresses. Tyson is always right. Sheesh, I can't believe I just said that. But he is. We don't really need a bunk bed and so looking at it in the way of getting a twin bed and mattress for $400+ (because we would need to buy a new mattress) was too expensive. So the search will continue.
We all went swimming in our backyard and ordered Jimmy Johns for lunch. (I had a tuna sandwich. and yes, it was good.)
(pic of swimming. Dad throwing Trey up )

The rest of the day was just chill. Tyson and Tage went to the football game of the 2 teams that beat them. (Red Army vs. Raiders)Tage's team (Rebels) will most likely be playing one of them at the playoff games in San Diego Tournament which is in 3 weeks.
I tried to get Emmry and Trey to take a nap, but that didn't happen. Neither of them napped. We just played and played and played. It made it for a long afternoon for me but an early bedtime for both of them, so that was nice.

Perfect Seat

I had to go to The Stock Shop (the kids call it the chicken store) to get chicken food and dog food today. The kids love going there. Trey found a perfect seat for viewing these baby chicks.
(pic of trey looking at chicks sitting on bagged food)

Pretzels

This pretzel filled container was FULL 7 days ago. Tage has eaten them ALL!
(pic of Tage with container)

Memorial Day

Monday,May 26

What a fun day we had!

First we went to Walmart and got 2 small goldfish to put in Reggie's water trough. And also got a Betta fish, small take and supplies for that. Emmry picked out a blue fish and named him Diesel.

(pic of kids picking out fish at Walmart)

First we put the goldfish in Reggies trough then got Diesel all situated. All the fish were in their new 'homes'
Not even 2 hours after that both goldfish were dead. Darn. Tyson ran to Pets Mart and got 1 large goldfish (25 cents) and 1 large koi (that cost $6!) Good thing the koi was guaranteed for 2 weeks because once again, just a few hours later, it was dead.
What on earth?!?!
I will have to go tomorrow and return it and get another one.

We invited Nick and Clenece Thompson and their family over for a BBQ and swimming at 5:30pm. Tage invited his friend Carson over. We had hamburgers, corn on the cob, frog eye salad, watermelon, chips and soda. It all tasted super yummy. After we ate the kids went swimming while us parents watched and chatted. After awhile of swimming we had ice cream and brownies.
It was a very casual and very relaxed evening. I enjoyed it. It was nice to have friends come over and socialize a bit!
(pic with everyone by pool)

After everything got cleaned up and all the kids had showered we all sat down together and watched a movie I had picked up from Redbox earlier in the day called Cowgirls and Angels 2. It turned out to be a late night. Trey fell asleep in my arms when the movie was almost over around 10:15pm. This was my first movie I have sat down to watch with the family in a long time. (But of course I was up and down a lot taking care of the kids needs) I actually really enjoyed the movie, but my favorite part of the whole evening was that at the end of the movie, when the music just started to play as the credits were going, Emmry got up and started to dance and then Tage got up and was dancing with her. It was adorable. Ty and I kind of 'danced' while we were sitting down on the couch and we were all smiling and having a great time. It made my day complete. Having to go to bed at 11:00pm was worth it because of how much fun we were having all together.

Proud

I've decided that today's word is proud.

I'm proud to be an American.
I'm proud of those that sacrificed their lives to serve my country.
I'm proud to fly my flag for all to see.
I'm proud to teach my children about American history.

Happy Memorial Day!)

(pic of flag in backyard

Easter and Mothers Day pictures

Well I finally got Easter pictures of my kids taken this morning. They aren't the best, but at least I made an effort.
Emmry was a complete bear and would not look at the camera or if she did she would squint and cover her eyes and say, "eyes, eyes" (meaning that the sun was in her eyes....which it totally wasn't.)
After almost 20 minutes of trying to get ONE dang picture I gave up. I was done and completely exhausted. It is what it is. I will just have to call whatever I got good enough and be satisfied with them - poor quality or good. Done.
Maybe I will try again next week, but probably not. So I am calling these my Easter and Mothers Day pictures.
Kuddos to all you Moms out there that got pictures of your kids all dressed up on Easter and Mothers Day. You ladies rock!

Stuck dime

I went to put my SD card from my DSLR camera into my laptop this morning and it wouldn't go it. I looked in it and this is what I saw....
(pic of money stuck in slot)
Emmry or Trey must have found a special place to put their money. It's a good thing that I got that dime out with not too much trouble or I would have been one mad mamma!

stand against the wall

I made Tage stand against the wall this afternoon as punishment instead of just sending him to his room.
He was bugging Emmry which made her whiny. Tage wan't listening to me when I told him stop bugging her, or to walk away, or to stop teasing her. So I made him stand against the wall so I could see him. He didn't like that. He began to sit down and I told him to stand. He said that it was stupid. Good. I guess that punishment worked.

"Jesus doesn't like that"

This has been happening for awhile now, but I can't remember if I have written it down or not.....

Whenever Trey would hit or do something mean, Emmry would say, "Jesus doesn't like it when you ________(hit, kick, bite....)."
Hummmm, I wonder where she learned that.
Me, of course.
She's using the words right out of my mouth.
I better watch what I say!

primary talk

Emmry gave a talk in primary today. The topic was "The prophet speaks to us at general conference." This was her second talk she has given. She acted the exact same as she did the first time. Wasn't afraid or shy, she would just talk really quietly and mumble the last word I would say. For example, if I said, "The prophet speaks to us..." She would just simple say, "us." I tried to talk loud enough where everyone could hear the talk, but still allow Emmry to feel like she was given it.

Here is her talk:
(although I'm pretty sure that I cut out a few lines or changed a couple things at the last minute.)

There are many ways that Heavenly Father can talk to you. He can speak to you through the Holy Ghost or the scriptures. But one very important way is through prophets and other general authorities. We can hear them at general conference.

Today President Thomas S. Monson is our prophet. He tells us what God wants us to know and do. When we listen to general conference, it is as if God Himself is speaking to us.

Our prophet loves us just as the Savior loves us. If we do the things he teaches, we can be happy.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.


I love my sweet Emmry and I love that she is willing to get up in front of primary and give talks! Her testimony is small, but strong. She loves primary and loves her teacher, Sister Garriss. Her favorite primary song is I Love To See The Temple. Which has been the same song for at least a year now.

Sure.

You would often hear this little word come out of Trey's mouth. Sure. Not yes, yep or uh-huh -it's sure.
Cutest little word ever!

Wet n' Wild

We started our first official full day of summer break out with a bang. We went to Wet n' Wild!!!
Tage invited his friend Carson to come so he would have a buddy to do all the big rides on and I could hang out with my little munchkins in the kiddie area.
But what was completely great for me was that as we pulled into the parking lot and getting our sunscreen on my friend, Brooke, pulled up! Yay! She has 3 kids. Her oldest son, Dylan, is a year older that Tage, then Sydnee is a year younger than Tage. And then Cohen is a year older than Emmry. So none of our kids exactly match up but Tage likes to hang out with Dylan. Brooke also brought our friend, Karolyns 3 kids which the first 2 are the exact ages as Brooke's. Anyway, it was great to have a friend to talk to. Now that I know they have season passes too, we can go together a lot this summer! Plus, Tage would a friend to be with since none of his friends have season passes. Tage ended up paying for Carsons ticket today and that would get expensive to always have to buy a ticket for a friend. ($44/ one day ticket!)
Everyone had a great time and Emmry wants to go back right now!
(pic of Emmry and Trey)
I didn't end up getting a picture of Tage. He was off having fun and he always tells me that "it's embarrassing" when I take pictures in places like that, so I didn't want to do that to him today. Today. You better believe that I will get at least one picture of him this summer.

Last Day of School

Well, 5th grade is over for Tage.
He is a smart kid and made the honor roll almost every semester.
He still loves P.E class the most (go figure)
His best friends this year were Julian and Shawn O. In fact, at the beginning of the year all of 5th grade did a time capsule and the students put in a paper stating their 'favorites'. Favorite color, friends, things to do. Well, Shawn O. has been a favorite all year long. Him and Tage even swapped papers today and took each others home so they can "always remember him." (Yes, Tage really did say that.) I should contact Shawn's Mom so she can take a picture of Tage's 'favorite' sheet so I have record of it.

For the last day of school Tage said that he just wanted to hang out at home and not call a friend (which I thought was weird). So I went and got him a Jimmy Johns sandwich and he just hung out the rest of the day. He played Clash Clans on the iPad alot and stayed up late - playing Clash Clans.

Happy Summer Break!!

Good job on a great school year Tager.
I love you
xoxo,
Mom

Pink Bag

As I sat down during quiet time today to catch up on my ever so far behind documenting I went to go find my 'pink bag' that I had hard copy notebooks and papers of monthly letters to my kids as well as doctor stats (which I can most likely replace from the Dr.) but anyway, I could not find that 'pink bag' anywhere. This is a bag that I only use when I went on road trips-- like to Utah. As we would drive I would catch up on my monthly letters that I would write as well as other documents of my family. Well retracing the last time I had it was in November when I went to Las Vegas over Thanksgiving. I know for sure that I brought it home and it was on the floor of my closet. I remember debating as I was packing to go to Utah for Christmas as to whether I should bring it or not. I decided not to because I was doing so much documenting on my laptop and doing stuff with pictures and wasn't using the information in the pink bag. So I know for sure I left it on my closet floor. 2 months ago when I went to Utah I briefly looked for the pink bag but couldn't find it. I thought, "I must have taken it upstairs or its in the office. I don;t have time to look for it right now, we need to get in the car and just go." Now fast forward to today during my quiet time. I needed Treys stats for his 7 month and his monthly letters. Ive checked everywhere and I can't find that pink bag with irreplaceable journaling and personal letters to my kids. I'm feeling completely sick and so sad. The only thing I can think of is that the bag was taken when our home got broke into on Christmas Eve/Christmas morning. Not sure why they would have taken it, but they took a small jewelry box that I have had since I was a child ( A very non expensive one that I got from Christmas or Birthday or something from my parents.) But I kept it just because it was a childhood memory. I know that there was nothing even in it. All I can think of is that they grabbed the bag off the floor to carry the jewelry box in.
I have seriously looked everywhere and have gone through a lot of emotions from mad to sad to grateful. yes, grateful.
Right now I am feeling grateful that even though I don't have these irreplaceable documents (with by the way most of Emmrys is written here on this blog. Feeling so blessed that I documented them here!!) Anyway, I'm feeling grateful that though those papers are gone I DO have what is even more important that that.....I HAVE MY CHILDREN! They are with me. Safe. They love me, I love them. We will create more memories and I will write more thoughts and feeling down about them. The most irreplaceable items I still have. Feeling so, so blessed right now.

On a little side note, Emmry could tell that I was sad and asked what was wrong. I told her that I was missing a pink bag and can't find it anywhere and that it has very important papers in it. I told her that the pink bag looked just like my yellow bag I have and put my makeup in when we go on vacation. She said very sincerely, "I will help you find it. Um....is it at Target?" Me: "No, sweetheart, it's not at Target." And then later on this evening when I came back from going on a walk alone she said, "you happy now, Mom?" Me: "yes, I'm happy. I have you and I love you."

I love my sweet Emmry. Love her so much.

Once again, I am feeling a lot better now. I have so much to be grateful for. I may not have the 'things' in life, but I have what matters most- my family.

All this gratefulness is probably because I am reminded of this last conference talk by Pres. Uchdorf. - "Being grateful in any circumstance"- or something along those lines. Anyway, I'm feeling very grateful.
Also let me just add the thoughts of what I will call the "grateful cycle" Just imagine this in a circle:
Grateful - happiness - obedience - blessings - back to grateful.

another month went by since i blogged

And I serious this time.
I am writing EVERYTHING DOWN!!!!!!!! Right here on this stupid blog.

I can't find my pink bag that has all of Emmrys first 2 years of life monthly letters that I wrote her as well as some of Trey's information - mostly stats that I could most likely get from the Dr. office. I found a notebook that had his first 10 months. not sure where his 11-13 months are. But I think I have his 14-current here on my computer in documents.

I want to have at least 3 places where things are written. blog, printed, external hard drive in documents.

I am more than ever committed to document. more than everrrrrrrrrr!!!!!