Goose Hunt

Cole and Brett have been hunting in Idaho for geese. Idaho has a much better hunt than Utah does. The boys have been going up almost every other weekend since October and it has been terrible! They have shot ducks but no geese. The colder the weather the better the hunt and until recently it has been too warm. The boys headed out about 3:30 this morning and I just received this in a text. Finally, Cole was the only one to get any. Brett and Kelly's guns froze. . . oops, I'll bet they are not happy! It was only 15 degrees yesterday I wonder how they are handling the cold?

Good shootin' son! (The geese in the back are decoys)

Thanksgiving's 2009

Let me just start off with saying how grateful I am for family! We are fortunate enough to spend time with both families. Not on the same day luckily because that just gets to be toooooooo much! The Sunday before we get together with the family we will not be spending Thanksgiving day with and have Thanksgiving with them also. I love it because I think being with family is VERY important.

Stalder Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving Day with my family. It is weird we didn't have any little kids here. My little brother has the youngest kids but they are back east. The skin is one of the first things to go at my mom's house.

See they come running for it!!
My mom had a little mishap with the flour. She was pretty upset but we all just laughed it off and took pictures so she can remember. It's all about the memories right?

I was the lucky one to carve (mallyhag) the ham.

These kids are so much fun. I love seeing how grown up they are becoming. The 3 boys hang out and so do the 3 girls. I am glad my kids have cousins they can hang out with and who are good examples as well. The boys headed out to see "The Christmas Carol" while the girls stayed back and headed to the park and played games.

Ratcliffe Thanksgiving

Brett carving the turkey at his parents house. Cole and his girlfriend. She's a real dog but he REALLY loves her :)

Grandpa and his girls.

The boys and their dogs. It was kind of like a dog kennel with 5 dogs at the house! Grandma's 2 little dogs do not like our 2 big dogs (I think our dogs would just think they were chew toys) and Brett's sister's dog Buddy, was deciding if he wants to be friends with our dogs. Ours are just big and scary to the little dogs. Buddy braved it and hung with our dogs for a little while and then Spade was just to much for him.

The dogs trying to stay out of the rain. . . within an hour and of half of this picture there was 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. Let's just say it was a scary ride home. Madison was in the back of the truck saying many prayers and singing hymns so that we may arrive home safely!

Again I just want to say how Thankful I am for family! We have truly been blessed with love and support from our families!

Showering the New Mommies to be. . .

Sorry for those of you who have been waiting for me to post these pictures. Having a bit of computer problems this weekend and haven't had a chance.

We have such exciting time ahead of us and we were able to participate in a shower for 2 of the babies to be born into our family next year. (which sounds crazy because it is just around the corner).

Cute little GIRL cake Grandma Anderson, Aunt Charie and Aunt Aubree made.

Cute little BOY cake Grandma Anderson, Aunt Charie and Aunt Aubree made.

Lucky for us we are getting a BOY and a GIRL. I loved how they got the same item only one was pink and the other was blue. All the wrapping was similar as well. I am glad these girls planned that out nicely for us! :) Tiffany
Shantai

Aren't these girls darling? I love their bellies! I had to rub them.

Tyson and Tiffany are due in February. Sorry guys I had to put this picture up I thought it was funny, it looks like Tyson has his cut off finger in Tiffany's belly button.

Coby and Shantai are due in January. Not too much longer and we will get to meet this little guy.

I am so excited for both of these couples. They will be wonderful parents and I am looking forward to watching them with their own families. There is nothing quite like being a parent and now they will get to see how worth it it really is!!!

New Moon

A friend had rented out a theater for his wife's "Surprise" 30th birthday so we had the privilege of seeing the movie a few hours early. I knew there was no way I could do another midnight show and get to work again like we did last year so a big thanks for having our show time at a descent hour!

The Movie. . . MUCH better than Twilight! However, I really have a hard time with Bella A.K.A. "Blinky" and Edward. I do not think either of them are very convincing. Again, better this time but for me they are very hard to watch. Edward always looks like he is in so much pain just to get a word out it drives me nuts. Now to Jacob. . . I have always liked him so much better than Edward! He did a great job in the movie and must have spent a lot of time in the gym!

The funniest part of the evening was after the movie, we were visiting with neighbors (since a good portion of our neighborhood was there) and someone asked where Madison was. (Dance performance and yes we are crappy parents and went to the movie instead). As we explained this they asked who was with us which happens to be my niece.

So the story begins. . . We didn't think much of it but Cole and I went into the theater first and Brett stayed out to wait for my niece to show up from work. So there we are just chilling in the theater and Brett and Charie come in. Brett is waving to people and looking for us, they see us and come and sit down. We watch the movie an are leaving when the above happens. Apparently some people wondered who Brett was bringing to a "Ward" function because they had not seen me there. A mistress? They were giving him a bad time after that you don't bring your mistress to a function where a good portion of the neighborhood would be. We laughed pretty hard about this. It was only a few years ago we were at a baseball tournament and took this same niece with us and we were asked if she was our older daughter. Yeah - one we lock up and only let out at special times I guess :) Now as I look back at the two of them walking in I guess it did look a little funny.

Madison does get the opportunity to see the movie. She's going with the same neice and her family. Hopefully she enjoys it.

Congratulations Boys!

Last night 2 of my nephews received their Eagles. What a huge accomplishment for them. One of my older nephews gave a talk and said after he received his he teased that his mother earned it for him. Later my sister mentioned that she did not "get" the Eagle for them but she did "encourage a lot". These two boys are her last ones, With all 4 of her sons earning the rank of Eagle I would have to say she "Encouraged" a lot. Maybe with a little encouragement from Cole's best buddies he may want to receive his.
Way to go boys!!

Was it worth it?

I sure hope so!

Our Pediatrician suggested, and with my hands in people's mouths all day that we get the H1N1 vaccine Oh- and lucky us it so happened we could get it the next day at a mass clinic (this was last weekend I'm a little late in posting). So we got up early on a Saturday and headed out. Needless to say I was amazed at ALL of the cars lining up along the road. There was no where to park. We parked well into a neighborhood and got in line. Now mind you we started at about 6:45 a.m. and the line was winding into the neighborhood. We spent 6 1/2 of the longest hours ever waiting to receive the vaccine. It was a cold morning and some of us did not go prepared for the elements. Let's just say I thought I had frost bite on my toes since I wore flip - flops. I had no idea it would have been like this. My biggest concern was the many people there with health issue and the babies out in the elements for such a long time. Maybe they will have it run more smoothly when the next shipment comes in. Oh- and maybe they could have concessions. I would have been a happier person if I had food and hot chocolate! Cole was not happy at all!!

This was the line in front of us at about 10:00 a.m. or so.

Cole was trying to find somehow to keep himself entertained

Madison trying to have a great attitude!

The line behind us. . . This was where they cut off the line and told these people there was no way they would be receiving the vaccine.

Trick or Treat

This is one of my favorite days at work! All of the employees with little ones, nieces and nephews of employees and the Dr's grand kids come in to Trick or Treat around the office, and yes we pass out candy! I love seeing all the little kids in their costumes and they love to come and show us! At work we are always talking about all of these little kids but we hardly get to see them so today is was fun to hear all of their little voices and see how much they are growing.

The ladies in the front office were the "Tooth Fairies"
We had so many different costumes come through.
A bunny, mouse and a chicken, pirate, rock star, witch, monkey, batman, superman, Dorthy's, Dinosaur and Jack skeleton.
The best part is giving them way more candy than they need and sending them on their way. Lucky parents :)
This little dinosaur (oops I mean T-REX) was in character the whole time.

We ended up having a couple of Dorthy's blow on in. I wasn't able to get pictures of all the kids since I was busy working in people's mouths. I wish I would have been able to.

Us in the back wore our Halloween attire the best we could. One of the other ladies had left and she and I matched. Now I just look out of place. Oh well that is as dressed up as I get!

Frightmares

We have really enjoyed having our Lagoon passes this year. None of us have ever gone to Lagoon during Frightmares so this was our first year. It was interesting how much they decorate for Halloween. Everywhere was decorated for Halloween. The costumes were fantastic as well.
Madison outside of Deception
Not for little kids it said

Cole with the cheerleaders of Hal O ween High

Our family on our favorite ride

Tilt O Whirl

I know Cole is looking a little unhealthy

I really love these two! It was fun spending the evening with them!Feed me she says!

Maddy and her daddy someone that will always be there for her (look at the headstone)

My favorite kids

A few week ago we had Maddy's cousins go with us. I have never seen Lagoon so busy. There was no where to park it was that full. Pushing a stroller through the crowd was interesting and the lines were insane. In the time we were there we rode on 3 rides and one was a kiddie ride. Where the little kids bumper cars are they have turned it into a spook ally for the little kids. (Not scary at all) It was fun to take the little girls trick or treating through the Spook-A-Boo.

Back in September Madison and I headed out for a couple of hours.

The Hurst is really pimped out! Music is blaring from it. Madison wanted nothing to do with the characters that were dressed up even though they kept following her around.

What A Trip!

We just returned last week from a fun filled trip back East. Our niece was being baptized which we wanted to be a part of. So we decided while we were back there we would make the most of it and see some sites. We covered a lot of ground really quick. We ended up in states I don't think we were supposed to be traveling through but we did and yet we still made it to all our destinations safely! There are so many more pictures but this post would be extremely long, it's already long enough. Enjoy!

Day 1: A LOT of air travel!

With the weather not super good we ended up having a lot of turbulence which made for some wild rides. I thought Maddy was going to budge her onions. Fortunately she didn't and the rest of the flights were fairly uneventful for her.

When we arrived in Connecticut (well actually we landed in New York) my little brother Steve was there to pick us up. My mom, sister and nephew had flown in earlier in the day so they were also waiting for us to arrive. We were welcomed with some great news . . . my brother and sister in law are expecting . . . but not just 1 we are getting 2 babies. Wow- How exciting. I think this may be the end of my parents grand kids and what a way to end. . . Twins. I am so happy for their family but I am sad they live so far away!

Day 2: New York, New York, New York

We rode the train into the city which was fun, not a way I would want to have to get to work each day but for a day it was cool. We headed straight for the Empire State building and then to the Staten Ferry for a ride out past the Statue of Liberty. We had an interesting adventure on the subway to get to the ferry! We had to ride the subway to get there, while we were on our way Brett happened to notice a guy with a tool that is used everyday on an elevator. He inquired why this man had the tool to which he replied "cuz that's what I do for a living" Brett said "me too" and they were instantly friends. They talked about different things and then asked where we were headed. When he replied we were headed to the Statue of Liberty the whole car GASPED. We were headed the wrong way, we were headed to the Bronx to which they told us we would not want to. At the next stop they quickly got us off and directed us in the right way. The whole car so kind to us, who says New Yorkers are not polite? (just kidding we did run into a few) but Thanks to those kind people for getting some tourists headed in the right direction!)While we waited for the ferry to arrive we decided to get a little snack. Cole HAD to have a piece of Mississippi pie @ $3.50 a for a slice of heaven he said.

We went to go on the NBC tour but it was sold out so we wandered through the store, checked out Rockefeller center, and seen Alec Baldwin filming out on the street. We headed to the financial district to check it out. Went and walked through the Trinity church and wandered over to ground zero. Mind you there is not much to see but construction however, there is a sense of awe and wonder in the area. How was there not more destruction? While we meandering around we were stopped and Maddy was asked answer some questions for a XM radio show (Kind of like jay walking on Leno). She even got the question correct :)

Then we headed to Madame Tussuad's wax museum. Amazing is what I have to say. I also have to say it freaked me out somewhat as well. They looked so real it felt like they should have been talking to us.
I wonder what these people's families think of the ones who have past on? See what I said about freaky.
We stopped in lots of different stores checking things out. M & M store was fun but there was no way we were going to pay what they wanted for a pound of M & M's. Heck we could have got them at the store down the street for a lot cheaper!

Wicked

I was really looking forward to this part of the trip! I am not a OZ fan but when friends of mine had mentioned how much they loved this play I thought maybe it wasn't so bad. Then I got the soundtrack and fell in love with it! I was not disappointed in the show. It was also fun to have Steve and Kirsty come into the city for the evening as well! (I was really glad when they got us on the right train to get back home and didn't have to worry about being on the wrong train)

Time Square at night. It was amazing how different it was from day time to night time. I could not believe that at midnight people were sitting in the middle of the Time Square chatting, drinking coffee and bustling about. So much activity!

Day 3: Hanging out with the family and West Point Military Academy

The boys were enthralled with Owen's bugs. He had a caterpillar the boys were playing with. The kids played games and kept each other entertained!

We headed to West point which should have been only a 45 min drive. LOL- we had a GPS to help guide us "Wanda" as in we wanda where we are. I think Brett was slightly frustrated by the time we finally arrived at our destination but we did arrive and were able to go on a tour of the grounds and spent time in the museum. Amazing! Brett could have looked at the different weapons all day long! We thought of leaving the kids behind, after listening to the structure these cadets endure we thought the kids could really have learned some discipline! May we could get a congressman's recommendation for them and start working of signing them up :) There is a chapel on the grounds that was amazing! Nothing was out of place, the hymns books were lined up exact. There was no variation. Chairs were not out of place either. Man if I could have my house that in tacked it would be great!

Day 4: The reason for the vacation - Cora's Baptism

What a great day for Cora! We are so pleased we were able to attend such a special occasion with her! Thanks Cora Jane for letting us be a part of your special day! We Love You!

Madison was asked to play the piano during the time Cora and Steve had to change and she did a wonderful job! Cora's school teacher leaned forward to tell me how impressed she was that Maddy did not look nervous. Cora and her family are such an example to us in that they are wonderful missionaries. They invited so many people not of our faith to celebrate in Cora's special day and I would think the majority of them came, which also shows how important their family is to everyone else! The spirit in that meeting was something I have never experienced before.

After the baptism we went "duck pin bowling" What a blast. It is so much harder than regular bowling. The ball is tiny (no finger holes) and the pins are short and fat.

Day 5: Checking out Connecticut, Relaxing and General Conference

We had a very relaxing day. I know I took a nap that lasted longer than it should have but I was worn out! We drove around Connecticut for a little while. The trees were beautiful and yet they had not yet finished changing. The trees are so thick on the side of the roads you kind of feel like your in the canyon constantly waiting to peak and you never do. Julie and I had a great time playing "play doh" with the kids. At one point I think we were the only 2 left at the table and we were having a great time. It was such a nice day just being with Steve's family watching the kids interact. I also found I have a greater appreciation that we are able to just turn on the T.V. or the radio and bam conference is right there. Not so much when you live in a different state. We had to listen to it on the computer and then the boys were able to attend the priesthood session at their stake house. I thought it was cool for Steve to have family to attend with!

Day 6: Palmyra , New York

This was our longest adventure of the trip and we were very much relying on "Wanda". I am pretty sure this was when we ended up in states we were not suppose to. It was to be a 5 1/2 hour drive but it took us a little longer than that. We ended up with some nice toll rode attendants who helped us on our way which was very appreciated!

Our first stop was the "Hill Cumorah". We went to the visitor center and looked around and then the missionaries told us to head on out to the monument. Before we left he told the kids (with a wink) to roll down the hill. It was amazing to think that not only the prophet and Moroni were on this very spot but to think that so were the Nephites and the Lamanites. We have never done any church history sites expect for around here so it was a neat experience for us. OK so we are getting ready to head out when the kids decide to roll down the hill. The boys had gone down the hill a couple of times and Maddy had only half way. We told them one last time they were getting tired from going down and walking all the way back up. So we are at the top laughing at the way their bodies are rolling and bouncing back up off the ground when all of a sudden you see Maddy's flip flop fly back behind her foot. She lands and yells up "uh- Mom, were in trouble" remember the flip flop the shop teacher fixed? Well it was the other foot. So our sweet little darling had no shoes the rest of the day and we had just begun. She was a trooper and had one shoe off and one shoe on the whole day. We then headed to the Smith farm and the Sacred Grove. Humbling is all I can say! It was a neat experience to have my family together at such an important part of our church history. Could I have done what they did for the church?

The missionary who took us on the tour was from Bountiful so Brett asked him where and very quickly found out that this missionary knew Brett's dad. He told him how much he looked like his dad, he was older and had hung out with Brett's dad's older brother. It is such a small world. By the time we had walked through the Sacred Grove Maddy's foot was so dirty she went into the bathroom and washed and wrapped it up in paper towels.

After that we headed to where the book of Mormon was first published. Our missionary asked an interesting question to our kids. . . "why wasn't the Book of Mormon published now when it would have been much easier to print, with computers and the simplicity of things now?" I had never thought of that but she went on to tell them it was because things on the Internet and emails are so easy to change that the truth would have been corrupt. It was much harder for them to print and such but it is correct! Thanks goodness they did not give up.

Day 7: Boston

This was our easiest driving adventure until we actually got in the city and "Wanda" was telling us to turn left when we were in a tunnel and a left would have been a wall of cement. She was having a rough day she kept checking out on us but by this time we had learned not to believe everything she said.
I love this town! This is one city I would love to go back to and spend a lot more time. There is so much history and so much to take in. There is a great shopping area there that I think we could have spent more time in. We didn't buy much except Cole bought his cool looking belt buckles but it was sure fun to look around. We went into the State House and looked out a window with a balcony that the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time. So much of our countries history started there. We needed more time to accomplish what we wanted!!

Day 8: Heading home

We were sad to leave! We spent the day just hanging around with Steve and Kirsty and little Owen (the girls were in school). I was amazing how quickly Kirsty's belly grew while we were there. She is so cute pregnant! I'm sure they were ready to have their house back to normal but it is hard to leave!!!!! I love this family so much and I miss them. Thanks for letting us invade you for a week We Love You!!!