New Years Resolutions

I make these every year, sometimes kept sometimes not. Usually when they are kept it's by coincidence. Jim just rolls his eyes, but here they are.
1. Get better at managing money, I really really stink in this department. Great at many things and a complete failure at this one.

2. Get organized. I don't feel like I have enough room for cloths and stuff that has been acquired in the last 6 years. I have a friend, yes Karrie, that lives in a 5th wheel trailer for goodness sakes. I can fit our crap in this house. I need to start with the girls closet. It's full of cloths they don't wear. Moving quickly onto Jim's then even more quickly onto goodwill so Jim doesn't know what I have taken.

3. Get fit. Hopefully that will get my weight down, and back into my very favorite pair of jeans. I can here Jim's sigh and eye roll from here. I seem to make this one EVERY year.

4. Continue to be a better communicator, with everyone. In other words find a filter that fits and use it!
That's really it. Not too much to set myself up for failure. I looked at last years and did quiet a few of them and it made me laugh so this was my life last year.

a. going to Sunday School AND Relief Society in the SAME day!
~I am still working on this, I do MOST of the time but I get side tracked sometimes

b. not getting a speeding ticket (that doesn't mean slow down, that means NOT getting caught)
~ I DID it! I swear, and I did actually slow down A LOT! Don't laugh, I did, and this meant I didn't get ANY tickets. I did get pulled over a few times, on my birthday and maybe once or twice at other times.

c. not sweating the small stuff. Who cares if my house is a little messy, I have 4 kids in a cracker box. Who cares if EVERY pair of socks in the house are clean AND folded? Who says dinner can't be cookies once in awhile? Who cares if I neglect my home once every couple weeks to just blog and play?
~ This is the one that I did without meaning to. Yes laundry finally got better towards the end of the year but it was a long wait. But I do have to say this is why #2 this year.

d. I AM going to sing in front of people, besides my kids... although I have the sweetest thing I have ever heard in my WHOLE life that made ME cry! Trever is so much my favorite this week! I will blog on that later!
~ I did it. Thanks to Mindy Young. The first verse sucked so bad, but when I finally realized if I would stop being nervous it would sound a lot better I got through it.

e. I'm going to try not to procrastinate, but I will probably work on that one later, after I master the others.
~ I'll still work on this later. hahahaha

Kayak's head a few days later

So I go out to Dr. Jim's horse and his head looks worse. Along further inspection it looks like it is probably healing but not soon enough for Jim or Kayak. I am worried about the poor horses skull and hope this isn't worse than we thought.

Kayak (Jims horse)

Jim loves his horse Kayak. I think it is probably his best friend (besides me, and Keith). The other day Jim and Tim and Nick went bird hunting on the horses and when they were done they were loading the horses in. Kayak always goes in first and he's a little bit of a jumpy horse and something caught his eye and he reared up. He gashed his head open about 6 inches or more. It's really gross. Jim took Kayak up to the Porters (The Mule Makers) to get him Dr.d up. They showed him this neat little lip twist trick so that Kayak will let us wash it out and Dr. it up every day. These pictures are from the second day, and today is actually the forth and it looks a little better and a little worse. It's cleaner now so you can see skull, but it looks like the swelling has gone down. We pray Kayak will be his old self and will heal with no problems. And I know this makes Jim love me even more because he doesn't have the stomach for shots (I had to give him his tetanus) or cleaning out oozing wounds, so guess who gets to play vet? I don't mind I just want Kayak to get better.

I'm going to take pictures when I go out tonight because this looks good compared to what it does now.

Christmas at the Hurley home

Christmas was great. We all had a good time. First we had a sing a long party on Wednesday night with Nick and Mindy's family. There were like 50 people there and it was a lot of fun. The best part was Mindy's dad and laughing song at the end. Mindy's sister in law cut my hair for me and I like it. Then Christmas eve is when all the Hurley's get together and open the gift exchange gifts. Lindsey got me a really awesome A.E. shirt and a necklace that is super neat with a key and a pearl and a heart all different lengths in one necklace. LOVE IT! Then Friday morning Santa came and we opened all our presents and the ones from my family. The kids got spoiled. So did Jim and I. My parents got us a 32 inch flat screen TV that will go into our NEW room. (as soon as it's done) but for now it's in the living room. Jim got some much needed jeans, and I got an iPhone! I love my new phone/camera/computer/game system/everything else I could possibly want to use it for! Boys got PSP's Jimi got a Zune mp3 player and Sami was supposed to get a laptop but Santa's elves forgot it at the North Pole. It came a day later but I think we are sending it back... I'm mad at the ebayer I bought it from! Anyways... we had lots of fun and I am really glad it's over. Now onto New Years and I'm thinking of my resolutions already.

Trever also got a high power pellet gun and he is such a good shot. He is having a good time with it and so far no windows have been shot out with it. (knock on wood)

My nieces and nephew... well the 3 I miss most!

Jim has a HUGE family here and I get to see most of these nieces and nephews pretty much whenever I want, and even sometimes when I don't. (ok that's not true, I never mind seeing them, they are all fun in different ways) The bad thing is that I have 2 other nieces and 1 more nephew that I almost NEVER get to see, so this post is ALL for them.

Kaycee is the oldest. She will be 15 April 5th and I can't believe how beautiful this girl is. She has grown so much. She is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. (Coleton and her would have great conversations) She isn't just smart but she is so musically talented. She plays the violin and I think the guitar. She is on the debate team and participates in the school drama productions. She goes to the high school I graduated from because it is the best in the city they live in but is a little ways from her house. It's worth it for her to get a chance to grow the way she needs to. She has had a boyfriend for awhile but they just broke up. I think it's because she is just way too smart to let a boy get in her way of success at this point in her life. Last time I went out to see her I got to watch her in a track meet and I was so proud of her. It was her first and even though she didn't finish first she looked beautiful crossing that finish line. My sister and her lived with me for a short time when Kaycee was a baby and I was pregnant with Alex and this baby had me wrapped around her finger. I love her so much and can't wait to see her again, and this time not in pictures!

That's my sister behind her, don't they look a lot alike?

Rory is my nephew. He turned 14 September 12th and hit his growth spurt. He is tall blond and so handsome. He is a computer gamer (like Alex) and is a great soccer player and starting to be a great basketball player too. He goes to a private Christian school and from what I hear he is doing amazing. He is doing great in school and doesn't really care what people think of him. He's going to be a heart breaker but I think he's going to wait. He makes great decisions about what movies to watch and what music to listen to. It's awesome to see him following Christ and hanging on to that iron rod!

Rory and Kaycee

Now Courtney, she's my youngest on my side. She shares Jimi's Birthday March 13th and is a year younger so she is 11. All I can say about Courtney is that she is identical to ME! She is outgoing and try's everything and loves boys and is so active in everything. She does good in school but only so she can go be social. I can't imagine this girl failing at ANYTHING. She wraps everyone around her finger. My mom said that she loves when Courtney cleans the kitchen because she is very thorough and pays attention to detail. From my own experience I know this girl can probably read people in about 30 seconds and knows how to play them in that short time. When she was little she really really loved her aunt Dany, we loved to spend time together, maybe because she saw how I could make her mom so mad (cuz we're sisters) and get away with it. I think she was trying to figure it out, I hope she didn't. She just reminds me of me, so of course I love her.

These are just a few pictures my mom gave me from her phone. I hope I get more soon, and this time in person.

My Parents Visit

It's been a really long time since my last post so I'm gonna try to catch up. I think we all know that when December comes around the theory of time goes out the window.

After about a weeks notice my parents flew out from Colorado... boy I bet their arms were tired. (ok and in December I do loose my mind and pray it comes back in January). They brought with them snow... and lots and lots of it.

They took the kids shopping, only 2 at a time but I think that's still when my mind got lost and it's wandering around lost in Bakersfield and I don't want to go to that DEVIL city to find it.

This is Jimi, my dad Wes, and Alex being a dork in the back.

Jimi's shirt is cute huh? It's mine!

One night we went to Kernville to look at the lights in the park. I've decided that they do a really neat job. I LOVE the ice cube snow man thingy! And they have one of those blow up thingies that the Grinch comes up and then goes back down the chimney. It was super cold but still fun. Then we drove around Kernville and looked at lights, we saw a REAL deer and a few neatly decorated houses.


Trever, Sami and Jimi

Trever acting like the snowman.

Yes, my mom and dad, Jim and Alex were there but they were big wimps in the car. Not my mom but she was the one taking the pictures.

Sami, me, Jimi and Trever with his cheesy grin. (devil child)

Things went great and we had a good time, except that it was cold. And one day Trever decided to be the brat that he is and go on and on to my parents that I NEVER cook for them HE always has to make dinner or he won't ever get to eat. When I almost killed him I took him to his room and spanked his butt (hasn't happened in a long time, but probably needs to happen more often) and he starts screaming at me to STOP BEATING HIM! I was so mad! That's my kids for ya though.