i will miss...

...you.

i will miss you always insisting upon perfection in my work. You taught me SO much!

i will miss your humor. I loved working with you.

i will miss your WISDOM for life.

i will miss your colored pens.

i will miss your listening ears.

i will miss your practicality.

i will miss my FRIEND.

Ruth J. Ober

June 4, 1936 - May 8, 2009

Trifle

This is my Trifle. Brandon's Aunt Lorie gave us the recipe. It is as good as it looks.

It is so easy to make.

All you need to do is bake an 9x13 pan of brownies. 2 flavors of pudding (I prefer chocolate fudge and vanilla, it looks pretty), milk, and 8 oz Cool Whip. And don't for get your favorite candy bar. I always use Snickers.

Mix each box of pudding with 1 3/4cups of milk and then add 1/2 of the Cool Whip. Set aside each pudding in its own bowl.

Cut the cooled brownies into small squares.

Chop up the candy bar.

Layer like this: brownies, pudding 1, pudding 2, candy. Keep layering until everything is gone.

WARNING... this is hard to resist. Make and eat at your own risk.

Just a couple of cute pictures of the kids...

Easter

Late, I know. But that is how I do everything these days!

Easter morning was a little hectic. We were getting into the car for church when Brandon turned to go back into the house and realized that we had locked ourselves out. He had grabbed the car keys without the house key on it and we have a child with a tendency to lock all doors. Bad, I know. So we went on to church because clearly we had no where else to go. While there Brandon realized that there was one window unlocked. He took Josh and got in. Thank goodness for divine inspiration!

The rest of the day went great. Although it started out cold the day turned out really nice. We were even able to have an Easter egg hunt outside. We had an awesome Easter dinner and a wonderful lesson that I found here. It was a fun night with the entire family.

I was kind of a brat this year and insisted on lavender for Katie and the boys. I thought that they looked great!

They are always so excited for the egg hunt, even Eric! This year was Katie's first time. All of the kids had a great time finding all of the eggs. Grandma prepared 70+ eggs for them all to find! I wasn't able to get ore pictures because they were going so fast! And I was helping Katie get candy candy and more candy!

Enjoying the night

Last week we had a rare night where Brandon and I were home together and the weather was beautiful. We spend the evening at the park.

Isn't this great?

We always take Katie in the wagon, she likes it better than the stroller.

Eric took the dog, but was afraid that she would run away from him. He didn't have to much fun.

Josh is like a maniac on his bike. He loves to ride it. He only receive this bike for Christmas 2007 and he has already outgrown it. It looks like he is getting a bike for his birthday!

My cute little girl.

After the park we took a walk and then, because we didn't want to go in, we all played some basketball at our house.

Well... I guess.

I know that it has been forever since I posted anything. Usual excuse; busy busy BUSY! But I am going to to take a moment now to catch you up a bit.

FEBRUARY ~ The sad state of the economy hit us when Brandon was laid-off from the hotel. His property was next door to another that was own by his company. They decided that they would downsize and have the GM of the other property run both (he had more seniority than Brandon). This was the day after my birthday. Happy Birthday to me.

~Before this all happened, I did have an awesome birthday. Brandon got me a newer camera (our friend was selling his) and I have been taking a TON of pictures with it. I love it!

~ I transfered from my store in east Albuquerque to the one closer to our new house. I get to work with some friends that I had before that store open, which is so fun. I have made new friends there and I am enjoying the shorter commute. Plus, when I needed to go from 20 hours to 30 hours they gave them to me! Thanks Ernie!

~ Started the painting in the living/dining/kitchen area.

~ Katie started to sleep in her big girl bed. Oh my!

MARCH ~ The boys made the jump from their old school to their new one. It is a practically new school and the boys are enjoying that part of it. There are no uniforms here and everyone loves that. They get to ride the bus and they are making friends there and in their classroom. It has been good!

~Grandma came for a couple of days. It was fun to see her and show her the house. The kids loved playing with Grandma!

~ Eric got a new look. He had been going to an orthodontist for the last couple of month. He had to have an expander for his upper jaw and now we are in phase 1 of braces. He has gotten use to them now, but it was hard for him a while.

Did I mention that he ortho's name is Dr. Hurt? Funny, huh?

APRIL~ Early in the month, I know. But last weekend Brandon's cousin Josh came in to town to go snowboarding with Aaron (Brandon's brother). We went up to Aaron and Marissa's house on Friday night to visit. We had not seen Josh in years! Thanksgiving 1999 to be exact, Eric was only a few weeks old.

I think that I took about 6 pictures before I get them all to look at the camera. Boys don't change!

Big Josh and little Josh. Our Josh was not exactly named for big Josh. We really liked the name and had narrowed it down to that and one other. Big Josh did help by being an awesome guy; he tipped it over the edge for us. It was fun for them to meet. It was evident that they were not use to sharing the name because every time someone said "Josh" both answered. We had a fun night with him.

I hope that this was enough to satisfy those who are wondering where I went. I will post more later. I have some great pictures that I want to share.

take a peak at my house

We are in the house. Not only are we in it, but I am unpacking the things that I have not unpacked in years. The things that we had no space for in our previous homes. It is so exciting!

We are all loving the house. The space, the yard, the features that we have never had before, like a laundry room!

I took some picture to share of our lower lever. The house looks bland because the previous owner painted all the walls this very boring cream before they listed it. These will also be my "before" pictures.



I am standing at the edge of the living room looking into my kitchen and dining room. I love how big the space is and how much room there is to move around. 'Cause as you can see, my table is BIG.


The rest of my kitchen/dining area. Can you see the island? It is great to have that extra seating when we have people over! And check out the under-cabinet lighting!

I have turned around and am looking into the living room.

Now I am near the front door showing you the whole living area. I love that I have the tv above the fireplace. To me, it is very HGTV. Plus less to dust!!
This is the office area that I have created behind the living area. I love that I have room for bookcases again. I am still filling them up!

This is the view sitting at the computer desk. Have you noticed all the windows? There is also the one behind me that I didn't get this time.

I hope that you liked your mini-tour. I take more pictures of the rest of the house soon!