Some of This and That

We made it over the mountain for Halloween so Harley's first trick-or-treating experience could be with family. This year she was a Dragon. When we bought her costume we were told to go home and try it on to make sure it was perfect because they would only be excepting returns for one more day. I was a little nervous of making her wear it more than once but I did want to make sure she could walk with a big tail and the hood wouldn't cover her eyes etc. Silly me... We got it on and it was perfect. The only problem was trying to get it off. She kept running to our closet mirror and checking it out! She wore that thing the rest of the dang night!

Halloween Day is also Kamden's Birthday(Harley's cousin) so we had a fun weeny roast and costume party for Him.(He's Alfalfa) Later we went to trick or treat Jen's neighborhood where Harley thought it was actually more fun to go into houses rather than stop at the doorway!

Not much else too exciting going on. Here are some other pictures of the windings down of summer.

Sometimes blessings are like presents wrapped in garbage bags with diamonds inside.

How cute is my family!? I know it's ridicules. I think you'd be jealous except for most of you, they're yours too! Ahhh, This is the first time in a month I even touched my computer. We've been so busy. I spent a week packing our old house up and then crossed the mountain to wait for our new house to be available. While I was home visiting I stayed with Jennis because Justin was actually working on my side of the mountain in Ellensburg. (These pictures are actually from my trip before but I have a lot of catching up! ) After staying with Jen for a few days I headed over to the Howell's and we visited there too! Sunday they had a family dinner and Emily came to join in the fun. Saturday night Harley started to get a fever and she was miserable all Sunday. She wanted to be held and even ate dinner slumped on her Aunt Mary Ann, with her head to the side. She'd whisper, "bite" when she was ready for a little more. It was really sad. Her fever actually broke and she started acting a little better so Emily and I made a trip to the Bald Hills to shake the apple trees. We visited for a bit then went back to Em's farm with our 5 gallon bucket full of huge yummy pie apples. Harley woke in the night burning up at 104.6 , We decided we'd call the hospital and ask a few questions before getting too worried. Em looked up the number and went to call but there was no dial tone! Strange, considering we'd used the phone a few hours before. Quickly I to ran out to my truck to grab my dead cell phone and plug it in, but couldn't find the dang charger to save my life! I decided we'd go to the emergency room, just to be safe. So I packed yet again because I had to be home(in Yakima) Monday no matter what, to sign papers to move in and hoped we could leave from the hospital. Our game plan was that Em was going to grab diapers and call Jennis from her cell when we got on the road and she had reception, and we'd meet at Jen's where I'd borrow a charger so I could get a hold of Bryant and let him know what was going on. Strangely when Em called, Jennis and Justin were awake(at 4 in the morning) because they heard a noise that scared them to death. For no apparent reason, movies on a shelf shelf simply fell off and crashed to the floor. Forcing Justin to grab the nearest weapon and run from their room, assuming there was something much more threatening than a pile a DVD's in the closet.

I left Harley asleep in the car to run and grab the charger. Only to find out when I returned, she'd thrown up. Amazing. About the time I had all of Harley's yucky stuff pulled of and thrown in the bathtub, Emily arrived. She helped rinse blankets and clothes while Jen and I got cold washcloths ,Ibuprofen and Tylenol. Poor baby. While Justin got ready for work, Jen called a neighbor to come help give a blessing. Unfortunately he was already on his way to work but there was a newly returned missionary staying at their house.Only a few short minutes later a tired young man walked through the door, ready and willing to do the lords work in a moments notice. Harley Jane was blessed with strength from our Heavenly Father early Monday morning, and then slept.

Jennis, Emily and I stayed up and talked about the nights events. Why was my charger missing when I new exactly where I'd put it? Why were the phones not working? Why did movies jump from a shelf ? Why was that young man staying that particular night just a few houses down? The answer in simply because I needed them to be. I don't have the blessing of the priesthood in my immediate home and Heavenly Father knows that. He wanted my sweet, sick baby to have a blessing and made it possible. I know I've rambled a bit but I want you all know the blessings that we're showered on Harley and I. I couldn't ask for a better family to take care of us and drop what they're doing. I'm truly moved from the experience and know it was My Heavenly Father watching over us.

I'm going to stop here and force my self to blog and continue filling you all in another day. Love to you all!

"NO NO NO!!!"

"Get DOWN! Get out of there! NONONO! OUT!!" This is what I yell all day. Not to my child but to my HUGE dog Duke. He jumps our fence effortlessly and lately I've been rotating him from being tied up to being down in the basement and when he's done that for 10 hours straight then he gets to be free to play with Daisy. Unfortunately his freedom doesn't last long because he's always into something! Everyone on 14th Avenue knows his name because they've either brought him home or heard me yelling it as I run down the street in my pajamas barefoot, clutching a baby. Sadly he killed one of the two big goldfish in the pond and now it's time to find a new home for him before I throttle him to death. Now, I've tried for three months I really have! This yard is just not big enough or our fence tall enough for two dogs, especially one his size. He's a mammoth. I really do love him though and he's sooo sweet that I'm at my wits-end and heavy hearted for feeling the need to be rid of him.

On to other things. Our Land Lords called and said they're thinking of putting the house back up for sale. "Just a heads up" they said, "nothing to worry about" they said. Yea yea. Yesterday I got two calls from interested buyers to come take a look .One for today at 3:15pm and one tomorrow morning at 9:30am. I cleaned and scrubbed the whole house, reorganized and deodorized the basement(because remember Duke's been spending a lot of time down there) and those dang people didn't even show. Not to mention I kept Harley up because I thought they'd want to look in her room and didn't want to risk interrupting her nap. So I ended up with a really clean house and a really tired baby. I've sent two E-mails to available rentals but still no reply. What can I do? "Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.." On top of being stood up, I've been stuck at home for four days now. Not that I have any thing really pressing to do but the option would be nice. Bryant's work car got a flat tire a week ago while he was on the freeway. The lug wrench that was in the car didn't fit the tire so he was a little irritated,( to say the least) luckily he didn't have to wait long. A cop stopped and rescued my damsel in distress! So Bryant's had my truck and I've been waiting for him to work less than a 12 hour day so we can go get a new(slightly used) tire for the dang thing. I know I should be able to do it, but He doesn't trust that the people in our area would give me a fair price for a good quality tire.

But don't worry my family, I don't want to rip my hair out or yell at any one that tries talking to me or anything. Nope I don't have cabin/bad dog/stressed renter fever at all....

"And that's what it's all about!"

Harley's been cracking me up lately. She's so smart and funny it just kills me! Today after I changed her diaper I went into the bathroom to use some hand sanitizer. I saw Harley walk past the doorway carrying her dirty diaper. She rounded the corner, walked straight into the kitchen and droped it into the garbage can. She didn't know I was following her and you could tell when she turned around it startled her! She smiled sooo big and clapped her hands, meaning, "good job to me" I was so amazed I called Bryant to tell him that minute!

Lately we'll see her toys on chairs or the lower shelves in the pantry, just finding a place to set them down I guess. She always turns her motorcycle around so it's facing forward and she stands everything up. I'll go into a room she'll have just left and there will be her animals all standing nicely on the floor. Another thing that kills me is she's a stacker. Today I found a bottle sitting(standing up right) on top of a plastic baby wipe container! I can't believe how big and grown up she is, and how fast it went.

I pruned some of the roses today. I love the rose bushes but they're a lot of work! While I did that Harley picked blades of grass and fed them to daisy. Which also proved to be a lot of work!

(Oh man! I had a picture of the roses here and just deleted it on accident! And there's no way to get if back without messing everything up or starting over... that;s annoying =( )
Carolyn Kay came home from her mission last week so we went to visit and listen to her speak on Sunday. We had tons of fun playing with all the Kay Kids. Some of the games included, 'London Bridge's Falling down', 'Ring around the Rosey', 'Duck Duck Goose' and my personal favorite 'The Hokey Pokey!'

"You put your head in...."

"You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around..."

"And that's what it's all about!"

I'm so happy to have our home and to be able to be spending time together as a family. Bryant's been working hard so I'm blessed and able to stay home and not missing any of these moments with Harley......And that's what it's all about!

Happy July!

The weekend of the 4th Bryant and I came home to celebrate the holiday and Harley's birthday. We cleaned his parent's house and moved the dining room table and chairs outside so we could spend the warm afternoon and evening in the shade of their big oak trees. Bryant and I were in charge of hamburgers and everyone else brought a salad of their choice. We spent the earlier part of the day at the river and came back to the house to eat grilled burgers piled with sauteed onions and cheese, and lots of yummy salads and sides.( Good job on the burgers hon!) Emily came to join the fun and withstood the Howell's really well!
Harley was really worn out from a long day in the sun but played along so good. I don't think I got a smile in any birthday pictures though!
She loved her cup-cake cake...strawberry on strawberry and she shared with any one who came close to her!Unfortunately last year she missed fireworks by days and this year she was WAY to worn out to stay awake for any. We'll try again next year.
Bryant and his cousin were in charge of fireworks and they did a marvelous job, as always!



Here's something to leave you with. Bryant's niece asked me, "What do we celebrate on the 4th of July anyway? Jesus or God or something?" I said "What?! It's Independence Day!" She said, " Huh." shrugs her shoulders and walks away. I think she's probably still trying to figure out what that means!

Utah-Land

Sorry for the confusion. I tried posting this darn slide show at least six times, then deleted it, went back to edit it a hundred times and it STILL didn't download right ! So forgive the errors, I just give up!

Father's Day!

Fathers Day weekend Bryant's Ma and Pa came to stay! Uncle Roger and Aunt Zennie(pronounced Zeenie) came to say hi for a few hours and we all visited late into the evening.


Saturday we went to a birthday party for a kid we don't know but somehow related to. We ended up having a really good time.The fact that they had a pool might of had something to do with it!Harley had a blast, she was very sad every time we took her out to warm up.

Sunday Bryant and I made yummy french toast, bacon, sausage and cheesy eggs(I had these at Jen's and can't stop eating them) for breakfast. After we all loaded into the Blazer and Dad Howell took us for a drive around the Yakima her grew up in.
Later we had dinner and visited with more family. Too soon it was time to call it a night. Monday morning Bryant was off to work and the Howell's headed back across the mountain.


That's all for now!

I was there, I swear!

I realize now that when you're behind the camera it doesn't look like you were there at all! Yesterday Aunt Zennie, Uncle Roger and their grandson Jeffrey invited us to go miniature golfing. Jeffrey's a good boy and was practically raised by his Nana and Papa. For some reason he has really latched on to Bryant, Harley and I......I say "some reason" because he's very shy and doesn't get close to people. He calls from his Nana's phone almost every day,( he spends every afternoon there during school and lots of weekends(some times weeks) there in the summer) and asks" Do you want to come over today?" Needless to say, we spend a lot of time at the Millers. Strangely though he'll only visit for a few minutes and then disappear into the computer room, where he spends most of his time. Then suddenly he'll run back into the room to make sure we didn't leave, pick Harley up and hold her for a while, then run back to his computer game(Just in case it decided to up and leave too!) He's very soft spoken and very sensitive. You have to watch his mouth if you want to catch every thing he says..... I have to hardest time telling him no, for fear he'll be crushed. So of course, we went.

Any way, we had a great time and I can't wait to go back because there's bumper boats, go carts, batting cages, an arcade and tennis courts too!

Harley was very helpful carrying our golf balls and picking them out of the holes!

In a miniature world Harley fits right in!

Home is where the heart is......aka Yakima!

Here is a glimpse of our new home it was built in 1920 and has lots of charm. We moved in on the 1st of June and were was a little scared that it would be a tough adjustment but we're all settling in fine. I feel like we've lived here forever!

Our cutie home is Two bedrooms, one bathroom. Living room , dining room Kitchen, mud/ laundry room and full-unfinished basement which became our storage and workout place. Things are looking up (finally) and it's sunny and warm. We live 10 min from every thing, (shopping wise) about 4 blocks from a pool, museum and park and still have enough distance that we don't feel like we're directly in the city.

Harley has a nice fenced yard and we we're blessed to have roses lining our fence on both sides of the house. There's a huge tree in the back yard with swings on either side and a pond and tricking stream(man made) in the front.

One trailer full of possessions in a ditch: x dollars. Two adults sanity and one infant crying for one out of three hours drive to Yakima: x-dollars. Getting there safely, having a home and getting along beautifully: priceless.

Auntie Em came to visit our first weekend here. She left bright and early Sunday morning and came to church with us. After church we had a french toast and egg brunch(stuffing our selves completely), put Harley down for a nap and settled in to a Lifetime movie that neither of us watched because we fell asleep too!

Later we went outside, played with the pups for about an hour and soaked up the warm afternoon. Too soon it was time for Autie Em to head back to Kansas(Yelm) She caught a twister ( Jumped in her rig) around 4pm. A perfect ending to a crazy yet fun week.

Harley had a blast at the pool on Wednesday and was a little upset when I took her out to warm up!

Well friends that's all for now, but I'll keep ya posted!

READ THE SECOND ONE FIRST FOR THIS TO MAKE ANY SENSE

Now lets get to the Lemon of the weekend. Because Bryant recently got a job in Yakima we are relocating! He came home this weekend to help pack and take a load back with him. This is what happened to that plan. The black truck that you see here was pulling a trailer with almost EVERYTHING we own including, washer, dryer, range fridge etc...... Luckily Bryant was only going about 45 when the trailer started fish-tailing and he was able to slow to about 25 before he, followed by a trailer full of really heavy stuff, ended up in the ditch. This was Tuesday. Now rewind. Lets re-cap so you can get the whole picture. Friday -up late. Saturday-up early, Howell shin-dig all day,and up LATE. Sunday- up early cleanup, take down , start packing. Monday- pack ALL DAY, up late( At this point I'm not sure if we've slept a wink)and my bonding(a tooth colored build- up on my FRONT tooth) pops off, yeah it POPPED off. Very attractive.Tuesday -finish loading and He's off in the evening. Tuesday night- phone call, wait up till 1am when Bryant gets home after re-loading all of our belongings in relatives trucks. And now you're up to speed.

At this point I threw my hands in the air and really just wanted to scream, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!!"

Wednesday morning- Go to dentist to repair my retarded tooth and tell Carrie Garner( a woman who's known me my whole life) the story. Who tells her husband and daughter who give us a brand new washer and dryer. And find a dresser they were willing to part with also. Dale( Carrie's Husband) calls the relief society President, who calls our bishop who consents to get us a new range if there was one at the distribution center(they didn't end up having one). And this is why every thing( like my tooth buildup popping off) happens for a reason.

The most important thing is that Bryant is 100% fine, not a bump or bruise on the guy. And once again we were blessed in adversity( an ongoing theme in our lives) to be reminded what really matters in life. Family, friends and the Gospel. With these thing we are able to be back on track and have every thing we need to continue on. Satan CONSTANTLY beats us down. Every time we get close to doing something good we get met with some crazy obstacle. But I am actually really happy that we do because it reminds me that there must be something really amazing and special about our family for Satan to work so hard on us.

When life gives you lemons, make a puckery face and cry. Cry till you can't cry anymore.

I was reading Jennis' blog and she mentioned that we've been slacking on updating so here goes nothing. This past Saturday was the Howell parent's 50th wedding anniversary complete with the renewing their vows. I didn't have any thing to wear so of course I waited until the night before and after cooking all morning, and decorating all afternoon, and hauled Harley to JC Penny and shopped and shopped until closing. We had Aunt Zennie and Uncle Roger staying with us( they're the ones Bryant is stays with when he's in Yakima) and Jeffrey, their ten year old grandson. I didn't get our pooped out baby home until 10:15pm and then she visited with then for another half hour. Needless to say it probably wasn't the best way to get the weekend started but Friday was over. So In the morning I got Harley dressed, packed food and we were off to the church to finish setting up. Did I mention that the day before 20 more people called to say they were coming and we were 3 tables short? So we had to get more table cloths, candles, flowers and center pieces. Long story short it turned out fine. The food was awesome and we had more than enough of everything.

Hello Sunshine!

I'm so happy spring is here. I really think I'm a much more optimistic and happy person when I can see some sun peekin' through the clouds. I'm back to working part time and soon will be at the office four days a week. Two with Harley and two without. Bryant's been working steady which is such a blessing with all the lay-offs in the construction business. but is having to drive to Kelso( about an Hour and a half away) every day. Nevertheless, things are good and we seem to be getting some projects done(and others started) around here.

Eggs, eggs and more eggs

April's been a busy month. We've been working out side in the green house and garden, painting a little, planting and re-planting flowers and this weekend we're transplanting some veggies. The week before Easter we had our Monthly family dinner and had an Easter egg hunt. And Easter weekend Bryant and I stayed at the Howell Homestead and had a BBQ and Egg hunt!