It takes someone visiting to put a picture up?

We are so excited that my parents are coming to see us in Jersey! About a week ago Zach said "We need to get pictures on the wall!" The reason we haven't is we have been trying to decide whether or not to paint and we know this house is temporary (yes 2 years is temproary for me!) so I really don't know if I want to spend a lot of time decorating. And we haven't had family pictures in a long time so I really want to get new ones so they can be put on the walls. Then I realized his real motivation.....my parents visit! Honestly they don't care if there are pictures on the wall, but for some reason it bugs Zach. He also got his peg board made for the garage so my dad would see how organized he was! Again my dad loves tools, and stuff, but does he care......no. So I guess I need lots of visitors so Zach will get all the projects done!

Ryan earned the Unity Award!

Our camera is very old especially for a digital, but since our TV completely died on us the camera will have to wait! Plus I never have good luck in gyms with the lighting and such so this is the only picture that turned out and it's not that great. Anyway Ryan was presented the Unity award at school this week. His teacher said a few words about him then the principal did as well. Ryan has had a rough year and is currently undergoing a series of testing to see why he is not progressing. His grades just get worse and worse, well if they can! He is a good kid, but just needs some help. We have really been working with him at home and he said he cleaned his desk at school so he can find papers! Of course in the process I had one less week to do the next project with him so this weekend we are going to work hard to get it completed. I told Ryan his next goal is to get the star awards for improving his grades so I can come to the next assembly.

Snowy days

Zach took a few pictures of the storm that hit while I was in Cheyenne with Cody. They got almost 2 feet of snow! Another storm hit the day after I got back and then yesterday we had yet another one! From what I hear this is not a normal winter for Jersey! Guess they wanted to welcome us the right way!

And finally.......

Sunday evening Jennifer was set apart as a missionary! It was a great experience and again I am happy I could be there for her. She will be gone 18 months serving in the Fort Worth area and I am so happy for her! She has spent months preparing for this and was more than ready. We will miss her!

from left to right: Cheryl (Zach's mom), Jennifer, me, Jenn, Teale (my neice and Jenn's daughter) Christen (Zach's sister) and Scott (Zach's brother)

Denver Temple

One of the main reasons I chose this weekend to make a trip home was to be there to support my sister in law, Jennifer. She reports for her mission tomorrow and I am so happy I was able to go through the temple with her, help her pack and have nice long conversatons. I know I don't have many pictures, but I have a history of either not having batteries that are good or forgetting the memory card. I had the memory card, but the batteries were dead! The best place to get a picture is in front of the temple, but a bride and groom were out front and we didn't have time to wait for them to be finished. I was also happy my sister, her husband and my parents were able to down to Denver with us as well.

My grandparents and great grandparents

My parents took me to the cemetery where my grandma was buried last March next to my grandpa. My great grandparents are also in that same cemetery so I was able to see both since I was not home in 1998 when my great grandma passed. It gave me some closure since I was not able to be there last March to attend the funeral. I was very close to my grandma and we wrote letters back and forth throughout my life. I would call her on the phone when letters became too difficult for her to write and she would listen when I needed advice or just someone to talk to. I am grateful I was able to call her one last time about a week before she passed away and will always remember what she told me in that short conversation.

Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandmas and Grandpas!

Cody and his cousin Wyatt. I am not sure Wyatt was so thrilled to be sharing nana's toys with Cody. He sure is a cutie and a bundle of trouble just like Ryan was!

This is my nephew Brandon who is absolutely amazing on the piano! I was in the other room and thought the kids were hitting the prerecoded buttons on my mom's piano, but it was Brandon playing! I can't wait for him to give a concert when we come back this summer!

Cody and Tiny. Yes the name does not fit and in fact Cody asked "Mom why is her name Tiny when she is big like a horse?" He did get on her back one night all by himself although Tiny wasn't too into that!

Cody and I have made it back to Jersey after our quick weekend visiting family back in Wyoming. We had a good time even though the days were few and are excited for July when we get to go back! Cody did really good on the first flight, not so great on the one coming home. As soon as I got on the plane I realized I had forgot his blanket at home! This is a big deal since it's his comfort to sleep or just when he wants to "get away". He will cover himself up and that makes him feel better. So Zach called his mom who talked to my sister, who called my mom who then called Zach's mom to figure out what could be done. In a matter of hours my mom had made a new train blanket that was the exact fabric of the first one she made that he is so attached to! Of course he still didn't sleep well since it wasn't his own bed and he would wake up in a panic looking for me. Beyond all that we had lots of fun!