The Jeppsens Page

He's coming home!

2011-07-11T20:34:00.002-06:00

The countdown is on! Brad flies in Friday at 1:40pm.......I can't wait to see him!!!!

Engagement photos

2011-06-14T22:22:00.007-06:00

Tod and I had our engagement pictures taken at the end of May. We posted them on Facebook, but for those who aren't connected to me by Facebook I promised to post them here.....

Engaged!

2011-03-22T19:52:00.002-06:00

I know I am being blessed because on my last post I was very frustrated with the whole dating thing and feeling like it was going no where and I would never find a decent guy. Then after giving my frustrations to the Lord within two days I find a truly wonderful, loving,caring and amazing man who rocked my world and knocked me off my feet. He says he is the lucky one and asks, "where have I been all his life" but I think I'm the lucky one.

So I have a ring on my finger and we've set a date for August 23rd in the Salt Lake Temple.

Pictures will come soon.....I just wanted to spread the wonderful news!

A New Year

2011-02-13T21:03:00.002-07:00

I apologize to all my friends and family who have checked in on my blog the past few months and have been disappointed to see that there have not been any new posts. Life seems to get away from me and is going by all to quickly.

Here is an update on our lives:

Last fall I started a new job in Brigham City. I am working at a veterinary clinic as the front desk receptionist. It has turned out to be a fun job. I was very uncertain about it at first because I am not a HUGE animal lover. I tend to like smaller animals such as cats and small dogs. But the job has been fun. I have made some great friends there and enjoy running into old friends who come in with their pets. Holding the new puppies are the joy of the day!
The boys are enjoying school and have made some great friends as well. Nash finished his semester up at BYU Idaho and is now home living with me. He is working at the Ford dealership and spends a lot of time with his girlfriend Jensyn.

For me being single has it's good and bad points. The whole dating thing is an interesting ride. It has been fun to go out on dates and meet new people and yet it gets tiring as well. I'm ready for a solid relationship. I miss having someone to come home to and share my day with. Do any of you have someone you can set me up with? LOL

Brad is doing well on his mission. He has 6 months left to serve! I can't believe how fast it has gone! He is still so enthused and loves every place he has served. When I talked to him at Christmas he has matured so much. My brother-in-law talked to him also and commented on how polite and mature he sounds.

Life is moving on......but I will try to do better about posting throughout this new year :)

2010-09-14T12:28:00.001-06:00

Our Summer

2010-09-14T10:56:00.007-06:00

We moved to Utah the end of June and Nik and Austin have never lived so close to their cousin's before so they spent the better half of their summer playing. They would go to grandma's and mow her lawn, help her pick vegetables from the garden and help out with anything else she needed done, then they would go to the lake for hours and play......

Nash had a blast wakeboarding whenever he came over.....

The slideshow up above is from our annual Family Reunion held in Idaho each August. We had a blast four wheeling/motorcycling, playing games, roasting marshmallows and eating a ton of food, and soaking in the natural hotsprings...

Catching up Part V

2010-08-11T12:20:00.007-06:00

Nash's Graduation- Nash graduated the night before he turned 18! So before the graduation ceremony we went to dinner at The Star to celebrate! My friend Ardis brought the cake out and got the WHOLE restaurant's attention and help with singing happy birthday to him! He was soooo embarrassed! The graduation was held out on the football field and it was raining cats and dogs when we got there! Just as the Senior Procession started the rain went away and it was beautiful the rest of the evening! I can't believe I have another one graduated! Where does the time go????

Catching up Part IV

2010-08-03T20:06:00.004-06:00

Over Memorial Weekend we went to Nat Soo Pah hotsprings and campground with the Frandsen's and McCarrey's and their family. This is becoming our new tradition and we love it!
The kids spent every chance they could get at the pool. Nik and Austin perfected their backflips off the diving boards.

Brad Frandsen and Nash decided it was too cold to sleep in a tent so they slept in Brad's car each night, and along with chasing girl's late each night they didn't get too much rest, so they were always found napping in the trailer after we got up each morning!

We took our usual Sunday drive out to Balanced rock....
These two decided not to make the hike up the mountain....

Austin....cute Austin....

We also drove over to see the Twin Falls Temple

We just happened to catch this view of the sun sitting right behind the spire of the temple with a ring around it....

Catching Up Part III

2010-07-29T15:10:00.005-06:00

We headed to Nat Soo Pah over Memorial weekend with the Frandsen and McCarrey's again, spending alot of time at the pool, taking a drive to Balanced Rock and a stop at the Twin Falls Temple.

By the end of the weekend we were all exhausted, but we had a blast!

Part II in Catching up

2010-07-27T20:39:00.005-06:00

Happy Birthday Vicki (May 2) The boys surprised me by inviting our friends over for cake and presents! What a wonderful surprise.

My older brother Brain, who passed away in a car accident when he was 3 years old, has been buried in a cemetary up in Idaho Falls. My parents decided to bring his body down to Brigham City, closer to all of us. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon we all got together to dedicate his grave. It was a very special moment which left wonderful memories.

Catching up.....Part I

2010-07-26T15:12:00.000-06:00

Thanks to my friend Trulee for proding me to post something I decided to catch you all up on what we've been doing!

After Nash's senior pictures turned out so well I decided to take some of Nik and Austin.....These are before editing them.....

I can't believe how fast they are growing and what handsome young men they are turning out to be!

Nash's Senior Pictures

2010-04-20T08:24:00.000-06:00

We are coming to the crunch time of graduation and we still hadn't taken any senior pictures of Nash. We decided that since the weather has been so nice that we would go out and take some ourselves and see how they turn out. If we didn't like them we would schedule my friend from work to take some for us.
Here are the results; Let me know what you think?

Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T09:14:00.000-06:00

We spent a wonderful Easter weekend in Utah with family and apart from the weather not being what we hoped it would be, everyone had a good time.
We missed Uncle Scott and his family coming up so the little ones could do the egg hunt, but grandpa decided to go out and hide 60 eggs for Nik and Austin to find.

After searching high and low and coming to the table to count, they realized they were still short some eggs, so off they went again....
finding some more, there were only two left out there somewhere, so they decided to call in the "big guns"! Here came Nash and Brad to search.

Brad came up with the first one and then it was a race to find the last egg.....

Okay, maybe it was just a race between the little boys to find that last egg, as you can tell, the big boys weren't moving too quickly!
With a little help from Grandpa, Nik snatched the last egg and declared himself winner!

WARNING! If you still believe in the Easter Bunny skip this next part!
The boys were asking me when I was going to hide their easter sacks filled with candy. So just for fun I asked them if they wanted to hide each others sacks. They all jumped on that idea and decided that the big boys would hide Nik and Austins' sacks and the little boys would hide Brad, Nash and Seans' sacks.
With help from mom, Nik and Austin got the sacks hidden really well and started teasing the big boys that they were going to cry because they wouldn't be able to find their sacks.
After the Priesthood session of Conference, the boys couldn't stand it and asked if they could go find their sacks......yes I'm a sucker for those puppy dog eyes and gave in!
Nik and Austin found their sacks within the first 20 minutes, okay.... they also got a couple hints from mom...
Brad, Nash and Sean looked room to room and then room to room again... after 30 minutes Austin couldn't stand it and started giving hints....

Sean's was found first, then Brad's.....

After a few distractions from toys being found in the closet Nash finally found his own sack and they all dug into the candy!

The boys are all still enjoying their Spring Break, as they are staying at Grandma's for a few extra days.
We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter as well!

2010-03-21T01:03:00.001-06:00

Austin turns 12

2010-02-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Austin's birthday was last month on the 21st. He turned twelve which means he is old enough to receive the Priesthood. On Sunday January 24th Nash ordained Austin with the Aaronic Priesthood and Austin is so excited to be able to go to Young Mens now!

Our Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T17:35:00.001-07:00

For Christmas this year the boys and I went to Utah to spend the holiday with my family. We hit the slopes Thursday the 24th for some snowboarding/skiing. I forgot to take my camera but the snow was great and we had alot of fun. We went back to my parents for a Christmas Eve dinner, the nativity, and a movie. After the boys opened their Xmas Eve pajamas, we went to bed. Arising early the next morning we opened presents, then went to my brother, Scott's home for breakfast. While there Brad called from his mission in Ohio! I was able to talk to him for an hour and he is doing great! We then went to my older brother's home for yet more food! Later that afternoon we headed up to my mother-in-law, Paulene's for a visit with family.

On Saturday 26th we had our Annual Pounder Family Christmas Party. I was in charge this year. We all met up a Bert's Cafe for breakfast, then headed back to my parent's to regroup.

We divided into 4 teams and went on a picture scavenger hunt. This is where you have a list of items from around town. You race to get pictures of as many items as possible, along with members of your team in the pictures. You have 1 hour to complete the hunt. Below are items #1: a vanity plate and #2 a nativity scene

After arriving back at my parents with much laughter and fun, we showed everyone our pictures, then decided we need to make this game an annual event at our party! We then ate more food! We have a crazy dinner that consists of everything from chips and dip, to fried mozzarella sticks, to shrimp and crawdads :) Yuck! Then we had a White Elephant BINGO game where we exchanged presents.

We then headed to Temple Square in Salt Lake City, to see the lights. It was beautiful as always, although a bit crowded and cold!!

After freezing our toes, we headed back to Scott's for hot cocoa and cookies.
I was exhausted! But we had a great time!
Here's to a New Year! I hope it's better than the last!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2009-12-22T09:49:00.001-07:00

From my family to yours,
We Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
May you be blessed in all you do!
Love,
Vicki

Nash's Sadie Hawkins Dance

2009-12-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

I am slow getting this posted... This was Nash's Sadie Hawkins Date

Whitney asked me to set anice table for their dinner and her and the other girls would provide the food...

Here is Nash and Whitney...

The whole group....

They wouldn't let the boys see what they were serving for dinner, so here are the boys covering their eyes...

and the girls getting the food out...yum...McDonalds!!

The group eating their food...

They all had a great time. They sat around the table talking for an hour and half, then went to the dance for a while. After the dance they came back over to watch a movie. They were a great group of kids!

It's been awhile.....

2009-11-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

Yes I know it's been a long while since I have updated my blog, for those of you close to me you know why, but with Thanksgiving just past and the Christmas season coming upon us I decided I had better get back in gear and start posting again. Thanksgiving was wonderful. It was so nice to spend time with family and be surrounded by their love. For an update: Brad is really doing well! He is enjoying his mission and spent Thanksgiving with some members and is really loving the Columbus Ohio. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!

It's the Simple Things

2009-09-02T09:43:00.000-06:00

Truly it's the simple things in life that we enjoy the most....
This morning we received a phone call from Brad while he was at the airport waiting for his plane to leave. He has been in the MTC for three weeks now, and today he is leaving for Ohio. What a wonderful blessing it is just to hear his voice! He is really doing well! So if a simple phone call can bring me happiness, let it ring!

Our Missionary

2009-08-11T10:08:00.001-06:00

We now have a missionary son!
We went to the Stake Center last night and met with President Shumway. After another interview, and a discussion Brad was set apart as a missionary. What a spiritual experience! I know it's not a sad time, but many tears flowed. Tomorrow we head to the MTC!

2009-07-17T09:43:00.001-06:00

Our 4th of July

2009-07-17T08:59:00.000-06:00

For the last few years it has been tradition to head to Rye Patch Reservoir for a weekend of camping and boating with the Stocking's and Marin's. This year we had to change our plans for a couple of reasons; one- two of our boys were at Scout camp in Idaho and were heading home on the 4th, and reason number two- the Stocking's moved the weekend of the 4th to St. Anthony,Idaho. (I am already missing you Trulee!)
So we had to stay close by and decided to go camp in Lamoille canyon. We had a great time, even though we made many trips back to town for work, and to help with the Stocking's move. Here are some pictures of the canyon and our hike with the boys and dogs up Thomas Creek.

Getting Our Missionary Ready...

2009-06-24T08:41:00.000-06:00

I am really glad that we have a couple more weeks to spend with Brad before he leaves. This month has already flown by! There is a lot of preparation to do to get a missionary ready...
I took Brad to Mr. Mac to shop for suits....

amid the thousands of styles, colors, etc. we found some we liked...

On June 20th we took Brad to the Ogden Temple to take out his endowements. We first met up with family at the Olive Garden's for lunch...

Here Brad is wearing his new suit...

Then we went to the temple for the 6:20 session...

It was nice to have family join us on this special day...

The weather wasn't great and it was getting dark, but if you look close, Brad is on the right hand side...

I am going to have to photo shop this picture!
But we had a wonderful day. I am still shopping for all the stuff he needs, but am almost to the end of the list.
PS. Brad will give his farewell address on July 26th

White Water Rafting

2009-06-15T08:12:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend we went up to Idaho for some white water rafting on the Salmon River! We met my parents and 2 brothers at the camp that my parents stay at all summer long, then headed to the White Otter Rafting Co. in Sunbeam. Here we are all geared up and ready to go.
There were 9 of us; my mom and dad, Brett (my older brother), Scott (younger brother) and my family except Nash (he was with the scouts on a high adventure white water rafting on the Payette River North East of where we were)

Scott and Austin were really concentrating on getting through the rapids!

We went through two Class 4 rapids (the "Shotgun" and the "Dam") and a couple of Class 3 rapids(the "Narrows"and "Piece of Cake"). This was a shot of us going through "The Dam" a class 4 rapid...

This picture was taken a ways away, so it doesn't do it justice, as far as how big the rapids were. Later in the day we watched a raft go through and tip end on end knocking all its' passengers out except one, even the guide fell out!

We were blessed because it had been raining the whole way there and was still cloudy but once we got on the river the sun came out and stayed until we were all done and headed back to camp! We had a great time and would love to go again!

Our Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-28T08:40:00.000-06:00

For the last couple of years our friends, the Frandsen's have invited us to go with them on their annual weekend at Nat-Soo-Pah, a hotsprings/campground in Idaho. We have always had stuff going on, so this year we finally had the chance to go and we had a great time.
The boys swam in the pool alot!

On Sunday we took a drive to Balanced Rock, where the kids all hiked up to the top;

Then we went to Clear Springs fish hatchery and had a picnic in their beautiful picnic area;

We checked out the Trout and HUGE Sturgeon fish in the pond;

Then we took a drive to see Thousand Springs;

And the Falls;

Two nights we were rained on so the little boys gathered in the trailer to watch a movie;

While we were out cooking dinner in the dutch ovens;

Monday turned out to be beautiful,so we all went swimming again before heading home;

We had a great time and will be going again next year!

Brad's Mission Call

2009-05-15T09:06:00.000-06:00

We are so excited! Our oldest son, Brad, just recieved his mission call this week to go to the Columbus Ohio Mission. He reports to the MTC on August 12th.
As a parent raising four boys in the world today, I have hoped and prayed that I have done the right things in teaching my boys the gospel. Helping their testimonies grow and giving them a love for the gospel and a desire to serve the Lord. Your greatest hope is that they will chose to serve a mission. It gives me peace in my heart to know that Brad does have that desire to Serve the Lord.

San Francisco

2009-05-06T09:25:00.000-06:00

This last weekend I helped chaperone Nash's Choralier Trip to the Heritage Gold Festival in San Francisco.
We had a wonderful time sightseeing, shopping, and eating!
On Thursday we took a trolley and headed up to Lombard Street, or the crooked road;

Then we headed to China Town for some shopping;

We found a lot of great souveniers. It must have been market day, there were alot of trucks bringing in fresh fruit and fish. We saw some interesting things to eat! Stuff that I don't think I will mention!
We then went to the Embarcedero where we caught the F-line (cable car) and headed back to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch.

After lunch we took a bus to the Golden Gate Bridge, where we walked along the bridge. The views of the city were fantastic!

On Friday morning we walked up to Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory to taste the goodies there. Who can resist chocolate?

Then we had to leave to St. Ignatius Church for the Choraliers' Festival performances, where they took 3rd place out of thirteen schools. Congratulations Elko High!

Saturday gave us some more time shopping. We spent most of the day at Pier 39.

P.S. We also saw the Broadway musical "Wicked" which was awesome!
I am ready to go back and see it again! Anyone want to join me?

And yet another injury...

2009-04-27T17:47:00.000-06:00

As most of you know, Nik is not the most outgoing, carefree, or reckless person in our family, and yet he keeps injuring himself. He asked, "Why does this keep happening to me?" I said, "Maybe you're just trying to get out of doing dishes longer!"
Last Tuesday evening as he was playing basketball in the back yard, he tried to slam dunk the ball and ended up with the whole basketball hoop coming down on him. He fell back hitting his head on the cement and cutting his right hand pretty badly. We ended up taking him to Utah to the ER where he had a cat scan done on his head (everything turned out good) an xray done to the hand (no broken bones) and plenty of stitches (we don't know exactly how many, though they had to numb his hand 5 times!) Then we went to see an orthopedic surgeon to make sure everything was good. On the good side he had his cast taken off the left arm 2 days early, but still has to wear a brace for protection of that arm. Today was his first day back to school, and as you can see he is doing pretty good! Hopefully we are done for the year with injuries!

Just when we thought spring had sprung....

2009-04-16T20:24:00.000-06:00

Easter Sunday woke with beautiful blue skies and glorious sunshine streaming through the windows. Nik and Austin came in early searching for their baskets hidden the night before by the Easter Bunny. (Yes, they know the truth, but love to play along) After searching high and low, and getting a few hints, they found their baskets along with their brothers' baskets. They had so much fun searching they just had to go wake up their older brothers, who were trying to sleep in and got them up to search for their own baskets. After a wonderful sacrament program and much Easter candy, the day ended in all it's glorious spring splendor. According to Elko tradition, we have this saying; "Elko has 2 seasons, Summer and Winter". We definitely followed tradition. Monday came in cloudy and cool, Tuesday was the same until afternoon when the rain and wind started up, then Wednesday hit with four inches of snow. My tulips and daffodils bowed over from the weight of the snow. A day later and the snow is gone but the daffodils are still hanging their heads.

Our first cast!

2009-03-30T17:38:00.000-06:00

I am surprised with four boys we've gone this long before one of them ended up in a cast! We have done stitches a few times, but this is our first cast!

Nik was riding his motorcycle when he hit a rock and went end over end. After picking himself up and coming in the house we cleaned up the few scrapes and bumps he had, gave him some tylenol and iced his wrist where it was hurting. It wasn't swelling so we just watched it for a while, because it was not an obvious break. By the next morning it was starting to swell, so we took him to the ER. After an X-ray the doctor thought he had a fracture in the growth plate of the wrist, so they decided to send him to an orthopedic surgeon. The first appointment we could get was Wednesday afternoon. We immobilized it with a brace, luckily it was his left hand, so he was able to write, etc. As soon as the orthopedic Dr. saw the xray's he immediately put a cast on it. I am glad it wasn't any worse, from the scrapes on his helmet he could have done more serious damage! Have I mentioned that I love having boys?

Nash's Prom 09

2009-03-25T09:32:00.001-06:00

Nash asked Whitney to their Junion/Senior Prom,which was held this last weekend. They doubled with their friends, Mason and Miriam. The day started out windy and cold, and turned rainy by afternoon. The guys left to pick up their dates around 6pm, then they were having pictures taken by our friend, Kari Bates, shortly after. The following 4 pics are Kari's (thanks Suzanne, I stole these off your blog!)

This is a close up of the corsage Nash gave Whitney.

After having pictures taken the couples came over to Mason's house where his mom, Marianne and I made them dinner. They got there earlier than we planned so we had them hang out in the living room for a little bit.

We set the table in a beautiful burgandy and white which coordinated with the dinnerware.

We started with a chilled strawberry soup. This picture shows the bowl as it was given to them, then after it was placed before them we poured the soup into the bowl. (I didn't get a picture of the soup in the bowl) but everyone loved the soup.

Then we served a nice salad...

Oops, so I forgot to take a picture of the main dish :(
But it was equally nice to look at and also delicious. We served a Malibu Chicken (similar to a chicken cordon bleu, but the ham and swiss was on the outside and we served it with a honey mustard sauce),mustard glazed carrots,rice pilaf, and a parmesean crusted croissant. Then for dessert we served a strawberry tartlet...

After dinner we took some more pictures, then they headed off to the dance.

They had a wonderful time, and looked beautiful together.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

2009-03-17T10:17:00.000-06:00

There's a dear little plant that grows in Ireland.
'Twas Saint Patrick himself sure that set it.
And the sun on his labor with pleasure did smile.
And a tear from his eyes oft-times wet it.
It grows thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland,
And it's called the dear little Shamrock of Ireland.
That dear little plant still grows in our land,
Fresh and fair as the daughters of Erin,
Whose smiles can bewitch, and whose eyes can command,
In each climate they ever appear in:
For they shine thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland,
Just like their own dear little Shamrock of Ireland.
That dear little plant that springs from our soil,
When its three little leaves are extended,
Denotes from the stalk we together should toil,
And ourselves by ourselves be befriended.
And still thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland,
From one root should branch, like the Shamrock of Ireland

Each leaf on the four leaf clover has a special meaning; the first is for HOPE, the second for FAITH, the third is for LOVE and the fourth for LUCK!

I wish you luck in everything you do!

Catching Up!

2009-02-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

We have had many important events happen in our life since getting back from our cruise and so I thought I had better blog them all in this one post since it has taken this long to even get it all down.

First we had Austin's 11th birthday. I can't believe my baby is already 11! That means no more cub scouts,pack meetings, and etc. that goes along with that, almost out of Primary and moving into the Middle school/ Jr. High age! Does it also mean I am getting old? I don't feel old!
Here are some pictures of his party:
First he opened presents from us at home on the day of his Bday (Jan. 21st).

Then on Friday he wanted to go bowling for his party with friends.

We opened presents, two of Austin's best friends gave him a surprise barbie doll! Eww!Yuk!
We had birthday cake:

After the party we went out to dinner to celebrate his and Jason's birthday;

Notice you don't see Jason wearing the Sombrero!
Another happening is at the first of the year the wards in our Stake were split and we had another ward added. That means new callings. We were put in the new 5th ward and I was released from Stake Primary and put into our Ward Primary. Jason was released from YM's Presidency and put into the Elders Quorum Presidency. One of the first things we did as a new Primary Presidency was hold our Quarterly Primary Activity. A "get to know you, Love One Another" activity:

I have found that my Stake calling was really laid back and relaxing compared to this new calling!
The following Monday I took Nik and Austing to Utah for an Orthodontics appointment. Nik had braces put on:

He is our third child to have braces put on. (Just for the record; they do not get it from me!) Austin is scheduled to get his on in 6 months, maybe!
Of course our lives are full of other happenings, but these are some of the most important that we wanted to share! Have a Good Day!

Mexican Riviera Cruise Part VI

2009-02-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

Our Last Port; Cabo San Lucas (and the last report on our cruise!)

Cabo was really pretty. We pulled into the bay around 7am, just before the sun rose. The sky was a dusky pink and we could hear the sea lions barking from their spot on the beach. There were a lot of fishing boats heading out of the marina, making it look like a race to the best spot.

This was the only port where we were tendered out in the bay. We took these tender boats from our ship to the pier.

When we got to the pier we hired a guy to take us on a glass bottom boat tour, whale watching, and parasailing. While on the glass bottom boat we saw Lovers Beach, the Sea Lion Colony and the Arch at Land's End. The beaches and water was beautiful. Then we went out to see the whales. After watching for a few minutes we saw some a few hundred yards off. We had to chase them around for awhile to get some good shots, but we finally got to see them close up. When we got tired of that they took us to another boat where we went parasailing. That was one of my favorite things, next to zip lining. It was so beautiful up there and very peaceful!

Mexican Riviera Cruise Part V

2009-02-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sunny Matzatlan

Our second port we stopped at was Matzatlan. The ten of us chartered a private boat to take us out to see the sights and then take us snorkeling. First we saw some small islands with birds, caves and sea lions.

Then our guides took us to a spot where we could snorkel. The water didn't look too clear but the guys all jumped in to try it out while the girls decided to wait and see.

After about 10 minutes with no luck at seeing anything more than a foot in front of you we decided to pull anchor and try somewhere else.

They took us to this cove in the rocks where the water was clear and we were able to see lots of colorful fish and sea urchins stuck to the rocks. We also searched for seashells. After snorkeling for a while we went into town for lunch and shopping. These are the taxi's that we took, they look more like golf carts.

Matzatlan was definitely more authentic mexican and not as built up touristy.

We stopped at this road side grill for some lunch. It was really cheap and pretty good also! Then we walked around and did some shopping. We found another taxi driver that was willing to take us to some other shopping areas as well as show us some sights. We went to this beautiful cathedral.

We had a good time in Matzatlan. On the way back into the ship Trulee and I had to stop and get a picture with one of the guardsmen. Check out his gun!

Beautiful Puerto Vallarta

2009-01-28T16:06:00.001-07:00

Mexican Riviera Cruise Part IV

2009-01-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Our Day in Puerto Vallarta

When we got off the ship we had an hour until we were supposed to go zip-lining, so we walked over to some shops to check out the merchandise:

Then we met our guide who took us to this small boat and we headed across the marina:

Then we loaded into the back of this open aired truck and headed up into the mountains:

Where we got suited up with safety gear:

And hit the zip lines!

We had a blast! I would recommend it to everyone!
After coming down the mountain from ziplining, we ate lunch then hired a guy to drive us around to see the sights;
(Check out the slideshow following this post)
And then we went shopping some more:

We had a really good time in Puerto Vallarta and would love to go back for another vacation!

Mexican Riviera Cruise Part III

2009-01-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

Our Formal Night

We had two formal nights while on board, this is where you dress up and meet & greet the ship's captain. There is a cocktail hour where you get drinks and hordourves and can dance, then go to dinner. We only stayed at the cocktail party for about 5 minutes then went to take group pictures;

After dinner we went to the dance club to boogie down!

Mexican Riviera Cruise Part II Continued...

2009-01-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

While on board there were many activities going on...

We took a couple of dance classes;
country line dancing, an Austin Powers dance class and they also had a disco class, but we didn't make it to that one:

We took a towel folding class where we learned to make towel animals:

And we played cards, hand and foot, any chance we got (even at midnight!):)

We kept very busy with all that was happening, staying up late and getting up early (where's the visine?)!

Mexican Riviera Cruise Part II

2009-01-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

This will go out of order a little (only you who went will know the facts though!)
Here are all the fun and crazy things we did while on board the ship:

We ate alot! The food was so good and you could have unlimited amounts!

It was very nice to look at also!

We watched a guy carve an ice scultpure, he went from this:

To this, in under 30 minutes.

My computer is running slow, so more to come later.....

Our Cruise to Mexico Part I

2009-01-21T08:07:00.001-07:00

For our vacation this year Jason and I decided to go on a Mexican Riviera Cruise with four other couples. We drove to Salt Lake on Saturday January 10th and flew out on Sunday the 11th. Here we are hanging out in the airport waiting for our plane to board. They couldn't find a flight attendant and so we had to wait a bit.

When we got to Long Beach,CA. we divided up. The guys took one van and headed to the port terminal. The girls took another van and went to get cases of water. We had an asian driver and after asking him to take us to a grocery store (thinking american grocery store) we ended up at a foul smelling chinese grocery store where there were no cases of water whatsoever. So we finally got him to take us to a Costco. After about an hour we caught up to the guys. After boarding the ship we found our rooms and then went up to the Lido deck for lunch. Here are some pics of us checking out the ship.

This is our room with a balcony.

To Be Continued......

The many things we did last week!

2009-01-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of Christmas break the kids were getting bored so we got together with friends to have a Family Home Evening night at the church.
We ate and then played games of course,. Here is a game I got the little kids playing. The object is to pick up as many cottonballs with only your nose and transfer them to a bowl. You use a dab of vaseline on the tip of your nose to make them stick, then the fun part is trying to get them to come back off!

Nik and Denny are jamming out to guitar hero,

They really are jamming out! Can't you see how excited they are?

We got the other kids playing another game called "help your neighbor" while the adults played "Imaginiff",

On New Years Eve the adults all got together to play games, we held a husbands vs. wives scavenger hunt which was alot of fun! Check out link to zimmerman family blog to see pictures of the scavenger hunt.

On New Year's day we all got together again at April's house for dinner and can you guess?.... more games. The kids got bored after awhile and started a fashion show. Check out link to howard family to see those pics.

Also earlier that day we got together with Trulee and her kids and went bowling;

Kylee was having a hard time so Nash, ever the gentleman, stepped up to help her.

On Saturday the Marin's came over from Winnemucca and we got together again for games. We must really love to play games!
Sunday we started our new schedule of church, in a new ward, with a new bishopric, as our boundaries were all re-aligned the week before. We are waiting to see what new callings we might recieve.
Needless to say we had a busy week, but kept the kids all active until school started again!

Pounder Family Christmas Party

2008-12-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we had our Pounder Family Christmas Party. We usually hold it on Christmas Eve, but this year we decided it was too hard to get everyone together that evening, so we held it later. We always start off by going somewhere for breakfast, this year we went to The Country Market in Willard:

Scott brought Brett his IOU for winning the weight loss contest, $20 in pennies:

After breakfast we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's (or mom and dad's if you prefer) to play games and hang out until it was warm enough to go sledding:

Of course then the boys all had to start wrestling:

So we decided it was time to go sledding and we all started getting ready:

Then we hit the tubing hill! Check out the slideshow below to see our pics!
When we were all tired out we headed back to Grandma's for our CRAZY dinner (which consists of everything and yet nothing good for you! (mostly snack food items) Grandpa gave in to Easton and let him eat off the serving spoon for the jello salad:

Afterwards we played our traditional game of Present Exchange Bingo:

We had a fun family weekend!

2008-12-29T18:01:00.001-07:00

Building our Gingerbread House!

2008-12-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Nik and Austin have been asking to build the gingerbread house since the 1st of the month, so finally on Sunday I told them we would do it after church. We had a great time and I think we did a pretty good job too! Notice the black and white pics - this is where I asked Jason to grab the camera and take some pictures of the kids. He is not very adapt at working the camera so he didn't even notice that it was still on the black and white setting. When we were done I started taking pictures and we came out in glorious color!
We hope you all have a wonderfully Merry Christmas!

a pizza party

2008-12-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, enough of looking at my trees, here are some pictures I took when we had the Stockings over for a family home evening :) pizza party!

Here is Nik and Kylee rolling out their own personal pizza crusts!

Here is the rest of the crew creating their own pizzas with the help of Trulee.
This is adorable McKay, who's dad wasn't thinking he was too adorable at the moment because he spilled his soda all over his dad! "Nash, Nash, where are you?"

And now that the kids are all full and the parents fed Trulee can relax!

The trees are now trimmed and the stockings are hung!

2008-12-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

Last week was fairly crazy with a billion things I needed to get done before leaving Saturday morning to Salt Lake City for a weekend of shopping with my girlfriends. With the help of my boys I was able to get all of our Christmas decorations up and the trees trimmed. At the day after Christmas sale last year I bought new decorations for the three trees so I am showing those here as well as my one in the formal living room. It's fun to have something new to look at!

Nash's Sadie Hawkins Date

2008-12-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

Nash was asked to the Sadie Hawkins dance by KayCee McCarrey. They went to the church to have dinner, where they made pizza and then played games. They had a group of about 24! They had so much fun they stayed at the church until 9 pm, then went to the dance. What a fun evening!

Another wonderful soup recipe

2008-11-24T08:54:00.001-07:00

Mom's Brocolli Cheese Soup

This makes a large pot and is great served in bread bowls.

4 qts. water
12 chicken boullion cubes
3 cubes butter
1 1/2 cup flour
16 oz. jar cheese whiz
3 pkg. frozen brocolli

Bring water and boullion to a boil. Add brocolli. In a seperate pan melt butter and add flour to make a rue, gradually stir into water until thickened. Add cheese whiz.

Makes 5 qts.

Time to plant bulbs!

2008-11-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

After a couple of cold rainy weeks we are now having beautiful fall days with weather in the high 60's. So I decided I had better quit procrastinating and get out there and plant this huge bag of bulbs that Jason's sister Yvonne gave me last June. I guess they came from the Utah State Capitol Building Grounds. There must have been about 200 bulbs because I was able to cover all of my flower beds. After about an hour and a blister forming on my palm I had to call in reinforcements (Nash, Nik, Austin and 2 of their friends) to help dig the holes We have really hard and rocky soil here, if you can even call it soil! So now I am hoping to see lots of color in the spring! If it all turns out I'll publish a picture!

To Kiss or be Kissed?

2008-11-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

I have heard this story from a couple of my friends, who think it is pretty funny. So I decided to let the rest of you see how crazy my boys are. The Monday night before the elections, Sarah Palin came to Elko to speak. She was due to be in at 10pm that night (although she didn't make it until 11pm). I had a headache and Jason had to be to work early the next day so we didn't go,but Brad and Nash went. They sat across the gym from our friends who also went. Nash and Trulee kept texting back and forth (that's how she knew what they were up to). Anyways, the boys and a group of their friends were next to the Secret Service guys and they were trying the whole time to get them to smile. When they finally succeeded, they proceeded to convince the Secret Service to get Sarah Palin to come over and give them a kiss! Of course they weren't allowed that option, but from what I hear it was pretty funny watching these crazy boys try to get a kiss from the beautiful Sarah Palin!

Thanksgiving Question?

2008-11-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here is my question to all of you: "With Thanksgiving just around the corner, (this year has gone by so fast) what is your favorite thing about the holiday? Is it the food? The overall atmosphere of warmth and family? The football game on TV? The crazy shopping spree the day after? Or a combination of them all?"

When I think of Thanksgiving of course I think of the food but it's not what I am looking forward to the most. What makes me look forward to that day is the thought of spending time with our family and friends, the warmth and coziness of a house flowing with people and the wonderful aroma's of the Thanksgiving Feast surrounding us, even the sounds of the game on tv, just makes me feel comforted. I love this time of year! I also look forward to the crazy day of shopping afterwards!

Have a SPOOK-TACULAR Halloween!

2008-10-26T20:39:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween

From our house to yours!

Recipe of the Week #5

2008-10-26T20:20:00.000-06:00

Chicken Noodle Soup and Dumplings

2 quarts water

4 cans chicken broth

2 chicken breasts

Bring to boil and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and chop into bite size pieces.

Meanwhile chop desired amount of carrots (I use about 20 baby carrots)

and 3 stalks of celery, add to chicken broth. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Add chicken back into soup and add egg noodles. I like the Grandma's Brand egg noodles (found in the freezer section) or you can use homemade ones. (I'll post that recipe another time). While noodles are cooking make the dumplings:

Bring to boil 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Add 1 cup flour all at once, and mix well. Add three eggs, one at a time, mixing each one in well. Spoon dumplings into soup by rounded spoonfuls, when the dumplings start to float they are done.

This is one of my families favorite soups, and they fight over who gets the most dumplings!

Recipe #4

2008-10-23T07:45:00.001-06:00

Creamy Pesto Chicken and Bow Ties

3 cups bow tie pasta

1 lb. boneless chicken breasts,cubed

2 Tablespoons butter

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup pesto sauce

1/2 cup milk

Cook pasta according to package. Drain. In a large skillet, cook chicken in butter until browned. Add soup, pesto and milk. Bring to a boil. Cook over low heat 5 minutes. Stir in pasta and heat through.

Beautiful Mornings

2008-10-21T09:57:00.000-06:00

I love to get up and go run early in the morning. Some mornings the stars are still so bright in the sky, or the moon is out full and lovely with shadows of clouds wisping (is that a word?) across it. If I go a little later I can usually catch a beautiful sunrise. I wanted to share this one with you. It is straight out of the camera so it doesn't catch the full beauty of it (I am working on getting photoshop to enhance my pictures, so for now you get these). I hope you can have beautiful mornings too.

My 1st Tag "6 on 6"

2008-10-15T16:57:00.000-06:00

6 TV shows I like to watch:
*Amazing Race
*Survivor
*American Idol
*HGTV's House Hunters International
*Cold Case
*King of Queens

6 Restaurants I like to eat at:
*Olive Gardens
*The Star
*La Fiesta
*Quizno's (does fast food count as a restaurant?)
*Olive Gardens
*oh and Olive Gardens (did I mention that?)

6 Things that happened today:
*more laundry
*body conditioning class at the college
*work
*read through a bazillion emails
*tried calling AGAIN to win that Alaska cruise, but couldn't get through
*gas in my car and air in the tires

6 Things I am looking forward to:
*Thanksgiving
*Christmas
*Cruise in January with friends
*Presidential Election to be over with
*Going Shopping and seeing 'The Forgotten Carols' with friends in December
*Skiing this winter

6 Things on my wish list:
*Happiness
*Retirement by the Ocean
*Success for my children
*A cleaning lady
*Size 8
*Wonderful daughters-in-law (someday! maybe in 10 years:))

6 People to Tag:
*April
*Mary Z.
*Kari Pounder
*Suzanne
*Kari Bates
*Trulee (are you out there? Get that blog going!)

Boy O Boy!

2008-10-13T16:37:00.000-06:00

Here is Nash and his friend Jon. They were going to a church dance with a western theme. Why the matching outfits? I have no idea! They went to Cal Ranch shopping for these lime green shirts. Can you see their belt buckles? They made them. :) They are lime green stickers with the Nike swoosh symbol on them. Teenage boys! They are sooo cliche!

Recipe of the Week #3

2008-10-12T13:52:00.001-06:00

This is our favorite snack for camping or game night.

I have changed the recipe from the original slightly to my preference.

Muddy Buddy Chex Mix

1 box Rice Chex

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup Peanut butter (creamy)

1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pour cereal into a large bowls, set aside. In a microwavable bowl add chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir until creamy, then add vanilla. Pour over cereal and gently mix until coated. Sprinkle powdered sugar on and gently mix until coated white.

Homecoming 2008

2008-10-07T18:42:00.001-06:00

Nash's Homecoming Dance

2008-10-07T16:32:00.000-06:00

This past weekend Nash took Whitney Welch to the Homecoming Dance. They went with 3 other couples and had a great time! After the boys picked up their dates, we went to the High School where our friend Kari Bates took pictures of them. They all turned out so cute! Thanks Kari!

Here it is again....

2008-10-07T16:13:00.000-06:00

I took this first recipe off my page because I didn't like where I had it. I also thought the picture was too big. Since then I have had a few people ask about it, so.... here it is again.

Ground Beef Italiano

2 lbs. Ground Beef

4 T. butter
2 teas. salt

2 teas. sugar

1/2 teas. pepper

2 lg. garlic cloves, minced

Brown ground beef in butter, with the above.

Add 4- 8oz. cans tomatoe sauce

1 teas. oregano

1 bay leaf

Add and simmer 20 minutes.

Boil 1 pkg. angel hair pasta. (12 oz.)

Mix together:

6 green onions, sliced small

1- 8oz. cream cheese

1 pint sour cream

In buttered 9x13 inch pan, layer noodles, cream cheese mixture, sauce on top. Then sprinkle with cheese (3 cups monterey jack, colby mix.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.

Note; makes 2 9x13 pans. Freeze one for later.

Recipe of the Week

2008-10-06T09:48:00.001-06:00

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

This is one of my husband's favorite soups, even the kids like it.

12 spicy sausage links (I use ground sausage and crumble it)

2 med. potatoes, diced

3/4 cup onions, diced

6 slices bacon

1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic

2 cups kale leaves, sliced (or I use 1/2 pkg. frozen chopped spinach)

2 T. chicken base

1 qt. water

1/3 cup whipping cream

Brown sausage links and cut in half length wise and then into 1/4 " pieces (or brown and crumble ground sausage).

Place bacon in a large sauce pan and cook until almost ready to crumble, then add diced onions and finish cooking. remove bacon and crumble it. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1-minute. Add chicken base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale (or spinach) and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

This is great when served with breadsticks!

Las Vegas

2008-10-03T17:01:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago Jason and I went to Vegas for four days to hang out with his brother. We walked a billion miles at least, hung out at the pool and ate! The weather was perfect and we had a great time! This picture of Jason and I was taken right after we got off the "Big Shot" ride on top of the Stratosphere.

More Laundry?

2008-10-02T17:25:00.000-06:00

I swear that's all I do! Having a family of six it's a never ending battle to keep up with the laundry. Someone is always throwing dirty clothes on the floor, in front of my washer saying, WASH ME! Every morning I go around the house picking up at least 10 pairs of dirty socks! How can that be? We only have six household members! Are my dogs trying on clothes while we are away? Do we have ghosts? So to get to the point....because we do so much laundry I don't like to spend a ton of money on detergent and fabric softner, but I do like my clothes to smell yummy( not that I want to eat them, just revel in the smell of them) when I put them on.

My Question: What is your favorite laundry soap and fabric softner? Do you spend more for the scent or do you think some just wash better than others?
Give me your advice.

It's official, I'm finally blogging!

2008-10-01T07:57:00.000-06:00

So... It seems that I have been slacking in this whole BLOG thing. It is the new "in" thing and I am falling behind. Actually I wasn't that interested until my friend introduced me to 'thepioneerwoman.com' and I am now officially hooked. I spent three whole evenings glued to her web page and my family was beginning to wonder if they were going to starve! I did fix them dinner (all three nights!), so they better not complain. So now I am officially a blogger. Yippie!