2011 In Review

First off I am sorry for not even logging in to my blog for over a year. We have been very busy this year and time and updating has slipped away from us. Here is what when have been up to.

January--

We didn't have any big happenings this month. Shane worked away from home he was in Denver the early part of the year. The boys and I stayed close to home.

February --

Very quiet for us as well. Shane worked in California most of the month, Hadley and Talon and I stayed home, we really should take up a winter sport our winters seem to be boring.

March--

I was promoted to Communications Sergeant. This means better hours and better pay, less time actually taking and Dispatching calls, I love my job and was super excited to recieve this permotion. Not everyone in the family was as excited as I was. Hadley loved when I worked nights, he has called me a nocturnal carnivor. I work mostly dayshift now and he feels he doens't get to see me as much as when I was a night owl half the time. I think he will get used to the adjusment in time. After 6 years of graveyard shifts my body is slowly adjusting to a normal schedual.

April--

Our little cowboy Talon turned 2!  Talon is everything about horses and roping. He is our little free spirit and is very different than is brother and keeps us on our feet. He has found a love for Woody from Toy Story.

May--

Hadley graduated from Miss Terri's preschool. He loved every minute of it, so much in fact he graduated on a Wednesday and woke up extra early on Thursday morning dressed himself and was waiting by the door with his backpack ready to start Kindergarten. He cried when I told him he would have to wait until after summer to go to big boy school.

We visited the Kennocott copper mine, I think Hadley was in Heaven.

We planted a garden for the first time. Hadley did a great job watering and pulling weeds. He kept the garden in good shape.

June--

This was a very busy month for us. Hadley turned 5 and to celebrate we went to California. We did not tell the boys until we where in the car ready to go. We spent the week at Seaworld, the beach and exploring the USS Midway a retired Naval ship.

We LOVED the beach.

SEAWORLD was so much fun

Talon LOVES Elmo....he is a little large in person and it scared Talon to tears. It was a relief to me I didn't think he was afraid of anything.

Both my Grandpa Jay and Shane's Grandpa Wiarda served in the Navy the USS Midway was really neat to see.

July-



July we were off to more rodeos and went to South Dakota to celebrate Grandpa Wiarda's birthday. It was great to see family members we have not seen in years. The boys had a great time with Grandpa Dingy and with their cousin Harrison.

We went fishing at Mill Hollow.

Talon is a future Bron Rider

Talon has way to much fun at barrel races.

September-

The boys had a great time at Francis Frontier Days. Talon has pretty much stole his Dad's horse, Bucky is a Champion lead line horse. I don't think Talon could have been more proud of his trophy.



Finally time for the first day of school, Hadley was so excited to ride the bus. He has enjoyed every minute of school.



Family Pictures

On mothers day, we had family pictures taken. This was the greatest gift I could have asked for I love pictures of my boys forever memories saved. I have always wanted pictures with the horses because they are such a big part of our lives. The story of Royal and I started long before the Story of Shane and I. Shane's family raised Bucky so the history for the two of them go way back, and starts before I met Shane. Both horses were young colts when we met, now they are consistant old men that have been there done that. Of course Newt was added. He is part of the family although he is full of energy and not the best to hold still for pictures. The pictures of Hadley and his pony Badger are priceless along with Hadley roping. Talon shows off his smile and personalilty of the happy baby.  Nichole with Lazy C Photography came and took our pictures and I LOVE them. She caught great shots even when we were not all cooperating. She really captured the boys personalities with her work. Here are the sneak peak shots she has sent.

Monday is our Anniversary time has gone by so fast. We have been married for 7 years! I love you Shane you are a great Dad and Husband.

Shane and I, horses and stuff

Most of my posts are about the boys. Shane and I have been busy too.
Just an update.

A couple of weeks ago I heard about a program for teaching running wimps like me how to run. I am on week 2 of the 9 week program and I am looking forward to my next run. Talon and Newt have made great running partners. Talon loves the stroller rides, I don't hear a peep out of him unless it is a giggle or a whee. Newt likes to make our time in to hunting excursions, earlier this week he found 3 mice and a young fox. I guess his hunting and tracking instinct are coming out.

After a winter of not doing much Shane and I have started going to some more barrel races and ropings. I am running a young horse this year and I am really excited about the summer. Mister is super talented and the fastest horse I have ran. We raised him and ran him on the track before sending him off to barrel training. I bought my WPRA card this year in hopes of traveling with Mom and Shane. Last year was boring sitting and watching. Royal is sound and ready to go, now if my work schedual will allow me to rodeo.

Shane has been busy roping and is very happy to have a sound Bucky to rope off of. We have spent alot of time trying to get Bucky's allergies under control so he could be rode. We think we have found the magic feed for the poor guy and he is back to feeling great. Another young horse he has been working with is working great also. Socks has really stepped up so Shane has two horses ready to rodeo this summer.

We had family pictures taken on mothers day, I can't wait to see them. Great pictures of my boys is the greatest gift I could have recieved.
The boys and Shane made be breakfast in bed. Hadley ordered me to stay asleep until it was done. Most people think dandalions are weeds, Hadley thinks they are beautiful and picked them for me.

Hadley graduates from Preschool

Last fall Hadley started preschool and has loved every minute of it, this week he graduated . Along the year he has learned colors, numbers, letters and songs. He had weekly homework that he loved to do. I am hoping his enthusiam for learning continues until his college graduation. We are proud of you buddy keep up the good work.

Happy Birthday Talon!

I can't believe how fast the last year has gone by. April is birthday month for Talon. He is the light of my life and always makes me smile with his toothless dimple grin. We spent the whole week celebrating. We went to the Living Planet Aquarium, Talon loved watching the fish swim. Hadley loved the sharks and he and I pet the sting rays. We all loved watching the penguins they were worth the price of admission in it's self. The highlight was the train table, both boys have enjoyed it. Hadley even more than Talon. We had a party and Grandma and Papa's Talon loved all of the attention and the play time oh and the cake.

Christmas 2009

Ok I know it is almost April, I also know Christmas is in December. This is how bad I have been slacking at this blogging thing. I started my Christmas post in January and I must have forgot to post it, as I was attempthing to fix some pictures on my blog tonight I realized my Christmas post was a "draft" and never posted. So here you go, pictures to follow. Apperently I have taken so many pictures in the last 4 years I have successfully filled my photobucket account that takes 1000 pictures! So until I upgrade my account I am limited on creating slideshows.


I think Chrismas is more magical each year. Our house has been very queit without a dog around so we decided to get a Black Mouth Cur. Newt came to us Christmas Eve and he was 8 weeks old. The boys love him. Finally Christmas was here. Hadley had everything planned out. He wasn't leaving cookies for Santa, he wanted to leave his favorite snack carrots. One for Santa and one for each reindeer. It is hard to be three on Christmas Eve but we finally convinced him to go to sleep. He woke up to just what he asked for a red barn. Talon was happy with the paper and boxes but enjoyed the toys too.

Slacker

I know I have been slacking on my posting latley. I really don't have a good excuse. We are all glad winter is turning to spring. It seems this winter has been very long. The boys are growing so fast. One year ago we were preparing for baby brothers arrival. Talon didn't have a name yet. This year we are watching him change daily. Hadley is a great big brother that watches out for Talon and actually loves to play and share with him. I have my fingers crossed this continues.

We have all been sick at our house this month. I took the boys to the Dr last friday and was amazed at the fact they are only 10 lbs difference. Hadley better watch it or he will only be the older brother and loose the big brother title to the baby. Shane thinks they will be sharing the same size clothes by this time next year. I wouldn't be amazed if he is right.

Talon is almost walking and he has started to whistle. It started when he would call the dog. He would yell "Aaaaa" then attempt to whistle. Now he seems to whistle as he does everything. It reminds me of my Grandpa Atkinson.

Breaking news

Breaking News
Hadley is showing intrest in things that are other colors of green and other things than tractors. This is big at our house. For most of his 3 1/2 years Hadley has only wore green and only played with tractors. Usually the month of March works with his green shirt obcession we don't have a problem finding green to wear. The other day Hadley came home from preschool with his schedual for the month. It was noted that the kids need to wear green for St Patricks day, I mentioned it to Hadley and he told me he didn't want to wear green. He also told Grandma green is no longer his favorite color he now likes all colors. Yea! I have been buying boxes of crayons for the green one now we can use the whole box. Today I picked him up from Daycare and he refused to color the shamrocks green, he thought they should be red.

We bought a new used car that looks just like our old car we wrecked a couple of years ago a blue VW Passat. This made Hadley very happy. He has thought I needed a blue car and mentioned it over and over every time he saw a car commercial or we past a car lot. I am glad to have a car again it is fun to drive but I miss my truck too.


Talon is a busy body pulling up on everything and even standing on his own. It is just a matter of days and he will be walking...maybe he dosen't seem to care much. I think Talon is going to be our little cowboy. He can sit for a long time on the rocking horse (one of the best buys I have ever found at kid to kid) he knows that he is suposed to rock and tries his hardest. The cutest thing I have ever seen is Hadley climging on the back to "help" Talon. They are so cute togeather, they now play and I can only imagine the trouble they are going to cause in the years to come.

Talon is quite the eater, he has taken to real food and can out eat Hadley. He loves veggies just like Hadley they must get that from Shane I am the sweet tooth and non veggie eater in the family. He eats and eats then gets the look Shane gets that he is so full then eats more. I think Hadley will always be the older brother but he won't be the big brother for long.

It is getting warm outside, I am ready for spring. I finally have weekends off and went to my first barrelrace since November. I have been working with Mister our young horse all winter. He aquired a new name from me "Whoa son of a B" at the last race we ran at when he wouldn't stop at the gate.I hope we can go back to just calling him Mister. I hope we can continue his winning ways of last year when Edria was riding him. He is a fun horse and by far the fastest horse I have ever ran. Royal, Einstein and I are all out of shape we are all getting a little older and found our metabolism is slowing. I am excited about this year and the talented trailer full of horses I will have to ride.

I turned 30

I know it has been a long time since I have posted. I will get you all caught up tonight with several posts. Not much has changed with us. The new year has brought more travel for Shane and his work. We have set new goals we hope to acheive in the new year. I turned 30 at the end of December. As a little kid 30 was that number that made a person old in my mind. I decided as I turned this magical number I was going to make myself happy this year. The new year brought me Lasik surgery thanks to my hubby and his great job connections. My life as I knew it changed on Jan 7th. In less than a half hour my life of glasses and contacts and part of what had always described me was no longer needed. The surgery was less than 20 minutes and I sat up and could see foggy faces. They asked if I wanted to leave my glasses and donate them and I didn't have to think about it. My vison has improved everyday since and I am so happy I did it. I have also made it a goal to get myself and Royal back into prebaby shape. We have both become soft in the middle and not what we used to be. I have been working hard since right after Christmas and been happy with the results. So far it is Jan 26th and my New Years resolutions are still in place, we will see how it goes.

South Dakota

December was filled with family and fun at our house. We were able to make the trip to Sturgis, SD to celebrate the College graduations my brother and sister in law Trent and Beth. It was great to see everyone and Hadley was very excited to see his Papa Dingy. Talon had many firsts, he made his first trip to South Dakota, meet his Great Grandpa Wiarda and swam for the first time.

2009 Polar Express

We started the Christmas season with a ride on the Polar Express. This is one of Hadley's favorite movies, we are fortunate to have it so close to home AKA the Heber Creeper. We bundled up and the boys wore their PJ's, Hadley insisted they match. We went to the Northpole and talked to Santa. Hadley told him he wanted a red barn, a tractor with a plow and a choo choo train. This was Talon's first look at Santa but he was curious by the jolly man and his white beard.

Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Unfortunatly I had to work on the big night but it takes us weeks to prepare so I did get in on some of the fun. Hadley worked very hard on carving his pumpkin, he cleaned out the guts all by himself. He rememberd he needed a big spoon and even thought to get his gloves out when the inside was a little cold. I helped him carve it just how he liked it a tractor. I am pretty sure it is the first tractor pumkin and if you didn't know that is what it was you may not have guessed.

This year Hadley was very vocal about what decorations we could have. He thinks almost everything is scary. For the record only pumpkins and itsy bitsy spiders were ok.

Hadley decided months a go what he wanted to be. Anyone that knows him could guess...a green John Deere Tractor. He is very specific too. This year it had to have a cab, I drew the line at a bucket. I say this year because he has been a tractor before. Shane and I spent hours on his costume. He had fun at his preschool party then ditched the costume to run door to door with friends. So pretty much he looked like Hadley all of the other 364 days of the year.

Talon went as the most adorable pony. He was happy just watching everyone. He is now crawling. He took his costume a little to serious and tried to eat grass as I was trying to take pictures. He didn't know what to think of the grass.

I love my boys

Talon is not quite crawling on his hands and knees yet but he can get where ever he wants to be. Hadley is so sweet to Talon he loves to read to him, he likes to share his toys and I am enjoying every minute of it. I am sure there is a day coming soon when they will fight over those same toys, for now there is peace in our house and the sound of giggling boys instead of fighting.

Shane has surgery yes this is a new post

Shane had knee surgery on Friday he is getting rebuilt by the Orthopedic Surgeons he works for. This surgery went well and he was a much better patient this time around. Talon is almost crawling. He gets on his tummy and kicks his legs and moves his arms I know soon he will be off and moving. Talon now loves his Johnny Jump up. He can spend an hour jumping non stop. He loves to scream and make noise, he is still as happy as ever and a cuddle bug (I love that). I have just been working this week, not much sleep when I am working nights and the boys are home during the day, when I am not working I have been trying to catch up on sleep. I tried decorating for Halloween but Hadley thinks everything except pumpkins and itsy bitsy spiders are scary. I put a witch and bat in the window and he cried until I took them down. We will be starting his top secret halloween costume. I bet no one can guess what he wants to be ummm it is green and always on his shirt. Pictures to come later.

Shane flys out

We had a week where we didn't get to spend much time togeather as a family. Shane had to work all week, I know normal for most people many more working days than he is used to latley. He worked in state on Monday then found out he was to fly out to Wisconson Tuesday early morning. He left for the airport before Hadley woke up. Hadley is always full of questions. The word why is half of what he has to say anymore. He didn't know Shane was leaving and asked why, what is Wisconson, what color plane is he on? It also snowed this week. I HATE snow, so I was really depressed. The first day it was just a little bit that melted as fast as it fell. Hadley couldn't wait to go out and play. I really wanted a picture of Talon with the first snow but he was asleep and by the time he woke up it was gone. The next day there was enough for Hadley to play in. He insisted on wearing his snow pants, snow boots gloves and ugly old hunter orange hat. He had fun, it made me sick to have snow on the first of October. Hadley came in from playing and wanted to start his Dear Santa list. I guess in the mind of a three year old snow means it is close to Christmas. I reminded him of halloween so we then had to draw out his costume. He dosen't want a store bought costume so Shane and I better get building I am sure everyone can guess what he wants to be and yes he has already been this before we should be getting good at building it.

Talon has figured out how to jump in his Johnny jump up and make his activity center go around. He thinks he is pretty cool. I switched him to a bottle with handles and he thinks it is neat to hold his bottle to eat and be able to play all at the same time.

I am finally on weekends off so I can barrel race. I decided to leave Royal home and only run Einstein in Ogden this past weekend. Royal was not happy about it. I hit a barrel the first night then had two clean runs. Not as fast as I would have liked but I was clean.

Mom and Edria both had a good time in Gillette last week. Mom placed in the 2D two days and out of the money in the 1D the other. Mister had a great showing placing 10th in the Average against 130 of the top futurity horses in the country. We are excited for him to be coming home after the American West Finals and are very Thankful to Edria and Russ for making him such a super horse. Now we get to decide who runs him. Right now we have 5 nice horses running and sound ready to go and only a 4 horse trailer. I guess there are worse problems in the world, I am thankful to have that kind of horsepower to choose from. Now if I only had the time to ride them all and do them justice.

Poor Jake

We lost Jake on Saturday. I am not sure we are ment to have a dog. RIP Jake you were with us for a short time we will miss you.