Christmas 2010

All of us together at grandmas to make out annual ginger bread house the only difference was that it was a train this year, it is always fun to do something kind of different.

Trevin and Teagan in there Christmas eve PJ's.

Teagan with her new toys.
Trevin with his new toys.

Teagan and Emmery showing off the new night gowns that got from Nana and Papa Sheppard.

This year we had such a wonderful Christmas season, we spent a lot of time with family and friends doing all types of fun things. Jay and I also had a great time with everyone and were reminded how fortunate we are to live so close to all the people in our life's that love and support us. We are so grateful for all the blessings that we have received and for all the joy that is brought into our life's on a daily basis from our two wonderful children.
We are looking forward to a new year and are excited for what it might bring.

Puppy Love

So the day finally came that Jay was able to get another lab pup. Her name is Maggie and she is 10 weeks old. We are loving having her around, she is the most cuddly puppy we have ever been around.
Shaddy wasn't to fond of her at the beginning but is finally warming up to her, it is so cute. Maggie grabs Shaddy by the collar and leads her around the house. What a patient dog Shaddy is.

Joy

Oct. 9th was one of the most joyous occasions of our lives. We were so blessed to have the opportunity to be seal as a eternal family in the Draper temple. We were also blessed to have so many family members and close friends attend this joyous event. Thanks you all for all the love and support you have shown our family as we started this journey.

Carving Pumpkins

Once again we did are annual pumpkin carving with the Peterson family, We had so much fun and the pumpkins turned out fantastic. The only thing that didn't go so well was the weather it was so cold that we by passed doing s'mores this year and my sister made these delicious cupcakes instead.

Excitement

I haven't been the best about keeping my blog updated, but there has been a lot of excitement and work going on in our home. We are so excited because we have finally made the decision and have been working really hard to take the steps to enter the temple. This is such a huge step for our family but one that we couldn't be more happy about.

Yellowstone 2010

I finally got the time to upload some of our pictures from Yellowstone. I actually took some pretty good ones, We stopped in Rexburg ID at Bear World and we were able to get pretty up close and personal with some of the animals, this was probably my kids favorite part of the whole trip. We also toured Yellowstone national park for two days and we were able to get some good photos there, my kids thought it was cool but they hated the smells that came along with it. This was a really fun trip and we would like to do more trips similar to this in the near future.

Yellowstone

We were fortunate enough to be invited by some of our close friends to go to Island Park this past week. We were able to stop in Rexburg Idaho at Bear World were we saw several different animals and we were even able to feed some bears, this was probably the kids favorite part of the whole trip. We then went on into Island park were we stayed in a really nice cabin at the pines. The next day we went into West Yellowstone and went around the lower loop. We were able to see Bison, Elk, and a wild Grizzly bear along with lots of geothermic activity. The next day we just hung around the cabin in the morning and then we went on a four wheeler ride down to the river, once we were there the kids saw people river rafting and they really wanted to go so we hurried back to Mack's Inn and rented a raft to head down the river. The next day we headed back to West Yellowstone were we went up to Mammoth Hot Springs. We had a really good time, and I think this was probably one of our most relaxing trips we have been on. The kids loved being able to see all the wild life and just hang out and play. Thanks to the Little family for thinking of us and allowing us to tag along. I did take a million pictures but haven't had time to upload them yet so as soon as I get this done I will post more of our trip.

New baby

This morning after several long hours of labor my darling niece delivered a beautiful baby girl. We are so excited for there family to start growing and that there is a new baby in our extended family. The only draw back to all of this is that I am now legally a great aunt, who would think that at the young age of 30 that I would be a great anything. Oh well I forgive them just because of the wonderful gift that it has brought into our families life. By the way this makes Brandi a grandma ( isn't that funny).

Flowers on Mothers Day

I was really excited that it warmed up enough on Sunday so that I could actually plant all of my container pots. I really enjoy doing this and it was so nice to do something I enjoy on my day. My kids even helped me out and it was fun to spend time with them.

Franken Fingers

Sorry this may be to much for some of you but here are some of the current pictures of Jays recent surgery. He thinks he looks like a part of nightmare on elm street. Oh well this is how we all get better right. We are hopeful that this will be the last surgery, but only time will tell.

Update

We took Jay to the hospital today for a check up and they removed all the staples. They said everything is looking good and that we should return in a week. At that time he will start physical therapy and wearing compression gloves. He is being such a trooper, nights are hard and he has been having some scary dreams about the accident but with time they will probably subside. He has a new found lease on life and is excited about some changes that he wants to under go considering he feels like this is his second chance at life. We as a family are so proud of him and we love him so much. He still has a long road ahead but we will be here to support him through it all. Thanks again for all the support, we couldn't be doing this with out it. There are so many people that have touched our lives and we want you to know how much we love all of you.

Viewer Discretion Advised...

On February 14 Jay got the shock of his life. He had gone into work to finish up a job so that he wouldn't have to do it alone on monday. He was standing on a tall ladder hanging up some wide face when some how he was shocked from a high voltage power line that was running about 8 feet away. He remembers being shocked and thinking this is it, I'm done then being thrown off his ladder. Next thing he knows he is hitting the ground face down and can't move. Luckily his good friend and work partner was there and was able to get him into his car and we proceeded to take him to UVRMC. After a assessment of his wounds they transferred him up to the University of Utah Burn Center. They did surgery on him on Tuesday the 16th and were able to do skin grafts on his left and right hand, he also had burns just below his belly button and they took all the bad tissue out and did a small tummy tuck.( Lucky him I know at least five or more of my friends that would die to have that done). He came home from the hospital that night and is know being treated as a out patient. We will have to take him back up there every other day for the next couple of weeks. His first visit back was good they said it is still to soon to know for sure if the grafts will take only time will tell. He may eventually need more surgery. This whole thing has been a major whirl wind. We have experience so many emotions and it is really hard to take it all in and still stay strong for our family. I can't express to everyone the gratitude we have for all the support out there. He is really over whelmed and doesn't quit know how to express himself. Although he knows he is lucky to be alive he still struggles with wanting to be here. This whole process is really exhausting and we are just starting. I for one am just grateful to have my husband, we haven't always seen eye to eye but there is one thing that I have never questioned and that is how much he loves me. He is my pillar and he keeps me strong. He always knows just what to say to give me a boost when I am ready to through in the towel and here I am doing that for him. We are definitely a team and will continue to be. I will try and keep updates on my blog and face book as often a I can. Once again thanks to everyone for all the support we love you and are blessed to have you in our life's.

Quick Get Away

I was lucky enough to head down to sunny St. George for a long weekend with my kids. We have been working so hard this past year just to stay a float that I felt we deserved a little brake. Unfortunately Jay couldn't join me ( he ended up having to work that weekend). My good friend and her daughter went with us and we had a really good time. I think the thing the kids loved the most was that they could actually play outside at the park and we also went swimming every night. My favorite part was hitting all my favorite stores down there and spending time with my good friend.

Annual Outting

Jay and Trevin playing some hunting game at the arcade

Danielle and her to darling girls, they have grown up so much this past year.

Teagan riding one of the silly merry go round rides

Jay and I (can't you just see the excitement in his eyes)

John and Danielle

For the past couple of years we have gone out and done something fun with our close friends instead of exchanging gifts. This year we went and saw the princess and the frog and then we took the kids to Pirate Island. The place was a total zoo, there was so much noise and kids were running around everywhere. To say the least I think the kids had more fun than the adults but over all it was a success. We are so lucky to have such good friends.