Shout Out

I need to wish my nephew, Connor, a very Happy Birthday! He turns the big 1-5 today. I just love this kid, and it's crazy to see him growing up. He's one of the cutest kids around and I'm so happy he's my nephew. Bridger really loves playing with big cousins, Connor and Kendall, and they are so good with him. Connor, I love you, I hope you have a great day!

That's What Aunts Are For

I need to give a little shout out to my sister Sharon!! While visiting for Whitt's wedding a couple of weeks ago, she was kind enough to replace Bridger's beloved, but MIA Lightnin' McQueen car. Now a little background on this car...Bridger got this car for his b-day in February. It was one of his cake decorations and probably the most beloved of all his birthday presents. This car has barely left his hands (day or night) since then!! Well, a day or two before we left for Salt Lake, Lightnin' McQueen came missing!!! I searched the entire house and found nothing. I knew it had to be in the house because I saw it in the morning, but by breakfast it was MIA. There were some tears shed, but luckily I found another little toy (Little Miss Sunshine...you know what I'm talking about Michelle) to replace his beloved Lightnin' McQueen. Well, the whole drive to Salt Lake, I thought "Should I buy another car, or just have him find a new favorite toy?" I wasn't sure what would be best, I didn't want to enable this dependence on a toy car, but I felt bad for my little man. Well, after just a quick mention of this ordeal to my sister, she returned from the store with a new Lightnin' McQueen! This was a life saver, keeping B happy during Whitt's wedding and everyday since then! So, thanks again Sharon...look at the grin on this kid's face, he couldn't be any happier! You are a great aunt!!

Once Upon A Time...

there was a beautiful baby girl. The beautiful baby girl grew up to be a funny, spunky little girl. She got into lots of mischief when she was growing up; locking herself in her daddy's idling truck, touching a HOT wood burning stove, and many other adventures not to name. She grew into a beautiful talented young lady; singing, dancing, volleyball, basketball took up most of her time. Then, she met a nice handsome young man, from a rival school, and they fell in love. As they finished high school they were inseparable. One day, after the rodeo under the fireworks, the young man got down on one knee and asked the beautiful girl to marry him...she was so excited and said YES!! Finally, the magical day came...they were getting married. Family, friends and everyone from Coalville came to witness the event. The nice young man was so excited/nervous to marry his beautiful sweetheart that he said "I do" twice, and everyone laughed!! The beautiful girl and the handsome young man exchanged rings, kissed, and will live happily ever after.

P.S. I love you Whitt and Riley, Congrats!!!

Not So Sunny Get Away

So for the past few weeks I have been waiting and counting down until my trip to Salt Lake. I kept saying, "Once I get to Salt Lake and spend a few days with family and enjoy a little sun and warmer weather, everything will be better." Well, I guess that sun wasn't in the cards for me this trip to Salt Lake, but I still had a great time.


I was able to spend time with my family, celebrate a birthday and Whitt's upcoming wedding. We hit a couple of favorite places to eat, Astro Burger and Italian Village, which always makes me happy!! I was also able to go to two of my favorite semi annual events, the Making Memories warehouse sale and the Sunday Morning Session of General Conference, with my in-laws Paul and Laurie. It was great to go to Conference, feel the spirit, and listen to the words of the prophet. I think my 2 favorite talks that session were Pres. Packer's and Pres. Monson's, take time to read them if you didn't get to listen.


I also had some business that needed to be taken care of while in Utah; Bridger got tubes put in his ears. That ended up being an all day event, and probably something that I should block out of my memory FOREVER!! I guess I need to be happy that I won't be taking him to the doctor anymore for those darn ear infections. Oh, we also attempted having Bridger's 2 year old pictures taken, yeah right!! That kid can't sit still for more the 1/2 a second, so we ended up with only 1 good picture and another that just had to do!

Rusty came to Salt Lake unexpectedly to spend a few days with us. He said he missed us, but I'm sure he just really wanted to hang out with Bridger and spend some time at Cabela's. It was so helpful to have him there to take care of Bridger while I enjoyed the bridal shower and General Conference, thanks hun, you are a super daddy!

Last of all I got to enjoy my mom's new kitchen. Mom had her kitchen remodeled during the month of March. It was fun to see how happy she was with her new cabinets, slate floor, built-in dishwasher, and biggest highlight of the kitchen, lots of electrical outlets!! I helped her unpack a lot of her dishes, pots, pans, and food that had been stored away for a month. It's amazing how many cooking supplies a woman can have, especially when she doesn't even cook!!

Overall, it was a good trip but I was happy to come home. It seems like when I finally make it to Salt Lake I am overbooked with family events, doctor appointments, pictures, and shopping (because there in NONE here) that I am so exhausted and I don't get to see all you good friends that live there too. Sorry, maybe one day I'll come to Salt Lake with nothing on the agenda...probably not, but we can wish for things anyway!!

Another Arrival

Just another update on my growing family. My niece (yes I typed that right, my niece) just had her fourth baby, a BIG boy. My beautiful niece, Brianne, had a 9lb 11oz baby in the wee morn o' St. Patty's Day. They named this half grown boy Gavin Thomas Seamons. Congrats Bri...you are one super mom!!

Breakfast...

is my FAVORITE meal of the day! The other morning I was sitting at the table with Bridger and Rusty eating French Toast, and I thought to myself "There is nothing better than breakfast." I love it all, you name it, I love it; french toast, cereal, pancakes, biscuits & gravy, oatmeal, waffles, cream of wheat, yogurt, crepes, milk toast (a Prescott thing), eggs, hash browns, bacon...my list could just keep going.
I must have gotten this love from my dad (and my mom who cooked for him every morning). Dad always had a hot breakfast. I can remember sitting at the table with him watching him pour precisely the right amount of sugar and milk into his cream of wheat, it was almost science. I can also picture him building his tower of pancakes and fried eggs with jam oozing down the sides.
So, thanks to my dad, I'm going to pass this love of breakfast down to my family. I miss you dad!

Wrapping It Up

So, I'm finally back and ready to blog again. I have been home from our little holiday travel for over a week, but I am just barely getting back into my routine, which includes blogging. :) Here's a quick update on the holidays for the Kaiser clan.

We spent a few days before Christmas, Christmas Eve, and Christmas morning in Utah with the Prescott family. It was so much fun to spend time with my mom and the rest of my family...it made me realize how much I really miss them. Thanks to Dean, Maddy, and the kids for traveling to Salt Lake so much just to hangout with us...it really meant a lot to me.




Christmas morning was good with Bridger, except that he wasn't interested in anything that Santa had brought him. All he wanted was the 30 year old Disney dominoes that my mom has in her toys drawers.




We then headed to Kemmerer for the Kaiser family celebration. This always includes lots of wrapping paper, tons of food, and games of all sorts. Bridger was thrilled with the gifts Grandma and Grandpa got him, especially his Elmo Pillow Book. I was so excited to open one of my presents and find a crepe maker, thanks Laurie!! We even tricked Rusty with one of his gifts. Now let me explain this...Rusty has this intuition, or gift some may call it, that he can always guess what gifts he is getting for Christmas. Well, me and Laurie went in on this together and tricked him this year...it was really fun to see his face!!

We spent from Christmas through New Year's Day with the Kaiser's. Rusty had a great time hanging out with his brothers, fishing their hearts out...and I had a great time AFTER I had a complete emotional melt down. I guess I had been away from home far too long, was tired, and emotional. Thanks to Amy for helping me out of the rut and having fun with me...and by the way, I am going to win Phase 10 one of these days!!

So, there's my holidays in a quick minute (or two)!! I hope you all had a memorable holiday. Happy New Year to you all, may 2008 be better than 2007 (even if 2007 was great)!!

Full of Thanks

As this week is Thanksgiving, I've been reflecting on things I'm grateful for. Here's my list of a few blessings I am thankful to have in my life.

1. My Boys...
I'm thankful for Rusty and Bridger because they bring such joy and adventure to my life. If I didn't have them, my life would be just like any other average life, but because of them I have memories unlike any other. Thanks men, we have lots of living left to do!!



2. My Family...
I'm thankful for a mom who takes care of me, even though I'm out of the house and far away. I often get small packages with things my mom thinks would be helpful for "her little girl". I love you mom!


I'm thankful for my brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews. I know that when I go home and see my family that I will always be accepted, no matter what. I love going home because I always find true happiness with my fam. Thanks guys!!






I'm thankful for the Kaisers. This family is a truly GREAT bunch. They have taken me in and treated me like gold since day 1. We have lots of great memories and fun times together, thank you.



3. My Religion
I'm thankful to have a Heavenly Father who loves me and has given his Son for me. I'm thankful for the priesthood, the temple, the Book of Mormon, prayer, repentance, Visiting Teaching, the Holy Ghost, and everything else about the Gospel. I wouldn't be the person I am today without the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What a blessing.


4. The Small Things...
I'm thankful for the small things in my life too. Like the beautiful sunrises I see each morning out my window, my dishwasher, reading books with my little boy, eating ice cream with Rusty, taking a drive to see the beautiful world we live in. These are just a few of the simple things in my life that I love each day.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, enjoy your great Thanksgiving dinner, and take a second to remember how blessed we are.

Just a minute

Well, I'm visiting the Kaiser's this week and have found just a minute to make a post. I'm going to give a quick Kaiser summer report. It has been crazy, fun, stressful, and everything else, but as I am looking back I'm happy to survived it!!

July ended with a bang! I was able to spend the last 10 days of the month with my mom in Salt Lake. July 24th is our "Annual Turk and Utahna Frantz Reunion" so I was able to visit with my brothers and sisters and their families. It was great to see them all, as well as my cousins and their families. I will admit that it gets a little crazy with all of them, but it is definitely worth it. Thanks to Rex who provided the cotton candy for the event...I think this will definitely have to become a regular treat at the event!!!







Early August was filled with days in Pinedale. Most of my days were spent at the trailer and at the beautiful Pinedale Library. Life in the camper trailer has not been as bad as expected. I think the only thing that I would really wish for out of trailer life is more than 3 minutes of hot water for a shower. Bridger, on the other hand, couldn't ask for anything more. He gets to run around outside as much as he wants and when he is inside he plays with toys or watches "Shrek 2" and "The Backyardigans". We have meet some really nice people, some really weird people, and a couple scary people while being camp host at the Warren Bridger Campsite. All in all it has been a great experience and a little bit inside of me is sad to leave that place. :)

Towards the end of August Rusty was called up for a 10-day wildfire duty with the Elko, Nevada Hot Shots crew. He and the Elko crew were called to the Castle Rock fire just north of Sun Valley Idaho. Rusty had a good time and learned a lot as he was "thrown to the wolves" on his very first wildfire. Rusty was helicoptered up the mountain where he stayed for a few days looking for hot spots and doing other crazy fire stuff. He said it was amazing to see those Hot Shots at work...they were animals packing chainsaws, gas, and other equipment up the mountain on their backs!!! After it was all said and done, Rusty came home with some fierce blisters and great connections for another fire duty next year.

September came and so has the cool weather. The temperature swings in Pinedale are just unreal...we go from high 20's at night to mid 70's in the day. It really has been beautiful and I have actually liked the cool off. Bridger and I are meeting some nice people at Storytime and playgroup, so that is helping with the loneliness. With the cold weather we have been getting really serious with house stuff. Our home arrived September 4th in Pinedale and things have been moving along since then. The house is now on it's foundation and electricity is ran to the house. Our septic system should be done soon as well as our garage/outbuilding. This means that we may be able to close on the house and MOVE IN some time the second week of October!!! All this is tentative, but I am very hopeful.


Thanks to the Kaiser's and my mom for being wonderful and patient with me and Bridger as we have been wanderers since July. Although our families have been great and taken care of us since July, I still can't wait for our own place. Hopefully soon I will be blogging from home, until then enjoy!!

An Old Favorite

Today I was thinking about a favorite cake my mom and grandma used to make. It's Grandma Shorty's Oatmeal Cake with this delicious brown sugar frosting!! I decided rather than just daydream about it, I better go ahead and make it. So I pulled out my kitchen aid (which by the way was my Grandma Shorty's) and grabbed all the ingredients! It was simple to make and even more delicious than I remembered. My camera batteries died last night so I couldn't get a picture, but here is the recipe.


CAKE

• Mix 1 cup oatmeal with 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Set aside and let cool.
• Mix together
  1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar
  1 1/2 cup flour 1 tsp. baking soda
  1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon
  1/2 cup oil 2 eggs
• Blend oatmeal mixture into other ingredients. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Cover with topping when cooled.

TOPPING

• Bring to a boil
  1 cup brown sugar
  1 cube butter/marg
  2 1/2 Tbl. canned milk or cream
• Stir in
  1 cup coconut flakes
  1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Enjoy!!