Back from Reunion-

We went to Family reunion this last weekend, I was a bum and didn’t take many pictures…but we did have lots of fun. We went a day early and played in Ellensburg with Mark and Cory! We stayed at the Super 8 (classy) and swam in the Pool! I Love Ellensburg, I forgot how hot and windy it is there!




Then we drove down to Wallowa, it was great to see all the Andersons and Netty. All the great-grandchildren had LOTS of fun playing and running around. The Three brother-in-laws got some time to hang out and bond! There was lots of Hot-tubbin’, Several of my cousins (and my sister) are pregnant…so there was LOTS of sitting around the hot tub and chattin’. Unfortunately it did rain for the 2 ½ days we were there, so we played lots of card games! Malachi LOVES card games for he was in Heaven! The Best part of the whole trip is that Malachi and I were assigned to a KING bed, it was SO comfortable and it had memory foam on it!! I Love hanging out with everyone!

PS. Our giant queen Ann Cherry tree turned pink while we were gone…so it is almost ready, might be another week or two, so if would like to invite yourself over to pick some for a pie or for a fun FHE activity please feel free!

Side Blogs~

Most of my cousins have “Family Blogs” (Which by the way I LOVE and read daily if not twice a day) they have Family pictures and daily happenings, whatever! However periodically I come across some of your guys side blogs (that I never realized you had) that you guys use to peruse your individual interests of side thoughts. I love it and find it very interesting. I also have a side blog, as many of you know I have been going though Hell with infertility, so I have an "infertility blues" blog, mostly as an outlet for my grief and frustration. So…I guess I want to know….Do you have other blogs that you write that I don't know about? Please leave me a comment with the link so I can look at them and add them to my list!

Malachi in a Nutshell!

Recently I've had requests for more Malachi based blogs, so here is an Update on his daily doings lately!
He has been working A LOT! His Job is going really well and he is there #1 go-to guy for overtime, He helps on Duct cleanings (on Saturdays) a few times a month! He is really trying to show them what a valuable employee he is because we really like this company and want to work at it for a long time!
When he gets home he has two major projects that he is working on! One is he is building a food storage room (YEAH!!) He has never done any framing before you he is literally figuring it our piece by piece, but so far it looks pretty good!

Sorry that is such a bad picture, I didnt realize the lighting was so bad!
He has also been working on getting rid of the rubble that is in our back yard, we had two rotten old sheds, we busted them down and had Jerm build us a new one. However now we have one new shed and two rotten old piles of debris. So he has barrowed his parents truck and is working on loading it and taking loads to the dump! PS. we tried to burn it and someone called the fire department on us, and we looked into a dumpster being delivered, and this is the cheapest way!




We were given this old Basketball head board so he is excited to fix it up and be able to play outside!

Besides that...he is looking forward to getting a calling, I think he wants something with a group, young men or scouts, but anything will work! He is actually excited about my family reunion coming up, only because there will be a lot a game playing there and a pool! He keeps trying to get me to go camping (so if anyone want to take him, You can use my sleeping bag!) We went garage sale-ing last week and he LOVED it! He is So excited to see everyone in his family next Saturday for Isaac's Graduation! He Loves Poker night every month! That is pretty much it! Malachi's life in a nutshell!

Budget

So for a few months now we have been trying to budget ( since My income got cut in half) and can I just say it sucks! I have always considered myself frugal and resourceful...however since we have been keeping track of all the money we spend I have changed my mind. I think I can spot a barging a mile away, but NOT spending, is harder than it looks. I like to shop, and I like to buy things that we need and want at a good price. A few days ago we started discussing cutting out things that are luxury items (things I consider necessities)...it was not a fun idea! I know sacrificing now will be worth it in the long run, I just have to adjust!

Malachi

You know those times in your life when you realize your husband is truly amazing?
Most of the time I make fun of my husband’s quirks and complain about his annoying habits….although I know I still love him… that seems to take a backseat to the irritation. I find that I complain much more than I compliment! I try not to but I get so embarrassed by him, but he doesn’t care what other people think.
However today I realized how lucky I am…he didn’t do grand gesture or anything…I just noticed that recently that he goes out of his way to do things (that he wouldn’t normally do) that he knows will make me happy, or less stressed. Although he may not care about something or think it’s important, he does it because it’s important to his wife and he loves me! He works hard all day long and comes home to work on our house. He supports me in working less, even though I could be working more. And today for no reason at all he asked me to dance, that’s like a sitcom!
I know a lot of you may not know Malachi very well….but he is truly amazing and I love him so much! He puts up with a LOT of crap from me (other men would have been running for the hills) He is funny and smart and I have seen him grow in leaps and bounds since I have met him! Sometimes I forget but he really is the best man I have ever met! Malachi is such a good husband and will be an excellent father some day! I love him!

Holly Homemaker

I am bound determined to become Holly Homemaker…whenever I go to Idaho I feel encouraged to refine my homemaker/Mormon/wife skills….. I want to be the kind of wife and sews and cans and has great food storage and makes dinner every night while watching the children....Now I have got A LONG way to go. However since I have been back I have made a few leaps in the right direction. I made bread (it was in the bread maker, but I did it) I have made dinner Several nights in a row, I made breakfast Saturday morning, I worked in the garden today….okay so that’s all I’ve got so far, but I did go grocery shopping and try to fill my cart with raw ingredients (instead of pre-packaged) and Malachi bought me a dehydrator and I am excited to use it, thats a step in the right direction>>>>>
PS. My camera is currently broken (too much use with those cute kids) so until they send me a new one, you will all have to be board with my ramblings!

Best Friends!

Everyone had so much fun playing together! They played outside, and played Haloballo (sp?) watched movies and danced to Sta-ba-ba-ba-ba-berry and the "OOO OOO" song (I'll explain later)ate lots of snacks and just had a wonderful time....I bet they cannot wait till reunion when they get to see eachother again!