Pickett's Perspective

Utah Trip

2011-06-05T18:46:00.002-06:00

This past Tuesday I just returned home from Utah. I guess I should be more careful how I use my words to express my feelings on my blog. I debated deleting it all together, but I've come to the conclusion that it wouldn't be very fair to our family who is far away and likes to keep updated on our little family in Alaska.

The Latest.......

Tuesday, May 24th, Kolson and I flew on three airplanes to get to Las Vegas and then rented a car to drive two more hours to Hurricane, Utah. I was so impressed with how well he did. He slept from Skagway to Juneau and then took another nap from Juneau to Seattle. From Seattle to Vegas he just played and colored pictures. He was amazing. I was really nervous about the whole trip. The hardest part was getting from the Las Vegas Airport to the rental car center. The Las Vegas airport is a nightmare. As soon as we landed there I just wanted to be back home in Alaska. I used to be such a city girl. I loved going to Las Vegas every chance I could. Now it is just too much chaos and the town is focused on well.... Inappropriate stuff. Kolson then slept in the car from Las Vegas to Hurricane. I grabbed some late night food at Del Taco. That was nice. I haven't had tasty fast food in a long time. I stayed at my sister's house the first few nights. My nephew was nice to let me have his room to myself.

On Wednesday I spent the day fasting and doing everything possible to get in the best focused and mental state possible for the following day. I renewed my temple recommend just a few days before leaving to go to Utah. I was so happy to be able to go in the St. George Temple and do a session. I've always wanted to go into that temple, but I haven't had the opportunity since I first received my recommend. Nick and I were sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple in 2007. It was such a great experience. I sat in the celestial room for quite a long time praying and thinking. I am so glad I chose to spend my day there rather than out doing some long awaited shopping. Here's a picture I took when I got back outside.

Thursday was the much anticipated and yet dreaded day. I was so grateful to have Nick's parent's come down from Idaho to support me. They are the best in-laws anyone could ask for! Kolson hung out with his Grandpa Pickett for the whole thing. They had fun playing at a cool water park near the court house. I was frustrated to begin with because my black shirt had a bleach spot and a couple of holes and I couldn't find one I liked to replace it before court. I'm sure it didn't matter too much what I wore, but I was still freaking out.
I won't get into the details of what went on during the trial, other than I wasn't really happy with the picture of me that was painted. I was under the impression that an oath was an oath to tell the truth. Apparently that doesn't matter to everyone. I was only allowed to state the positive things of the situation, but when I would try to speak and tell the truth it was objected and I couldn't speak. If Braxton couldn't speak for himself I was going to try. It wasn't fair.
I am really impressed that I didn't cry through the entire thing. I know that it was because I had a lot of help that day due to a lot of prayer's and support from friends and family. My mother-in-law told me I did a good job with my testimony and staying calm. I told her it wasn't me.... because I know I couldn't have done that on my own.
Court ended without a decision. Our attorney's need to file some more paperwork that will be due July 1st. After the Judge get's a chance to read through those we should be able to expect a decision sometime near August. I wanted a decision then, but I am praying that this extra time for him to think will help him to make the best decision for Braxton and his future rather than making a quick impulse decision.

Friday I was able to pick up Braxton for the long weekend. I almost wasn't allowed to bring him back to Utah, but my attorney did some negotiating for me. It was the first time I'd seen him in 10 months. I had to forfeit my Christmas break with him because I could either have the money to retain an attorney and hopefully get Braxton back full-time, or I could spend Christmas with him. It was a very hard choice, but I hope it was the right one.
I was so happy to be able to grab him and just squeeze him. He is such an incredible son! We drove back to St. George and met Nick's parents at Pirate Island Pizza. It's a cool pizza place that is decorated like a pirate ship inside with an arcade. They were so excited to see him! They are coming to Alaska to visit us this summer, but Braxton will already have left to go back to Las Vegas. Braxton looks up to his Grandpa Pickett because he is a scientist. Braxton loves to read non-fiction books and learn a lot about different wild-life. Grandpa Pickett is cool because he sends Braxton interesting things from the North Slope at the top of Alaska where the Polar Bears live.
Braxton beat me at a game of air hockey and at a target shooting game. I was under the impression that we had unlimited bullets and he informed me that if the bullets were unlimited then how would the game end. He's very smart. He also beat Grandma Pickett at a few games. I'm not sure if he won against Grandpa. After dinner we went to the house where they were staying and Braxton proceeded to kill us with his farts, but hey, it wouldn't be Braxton if there wasn't gas involved.

Saturday I trimmed up Braxton's hair as much as he'd allow. At least we got it out of his eyes. We went into St. George and got some shopping done. He was sent without a toothbrush and with a pair of holy jeans and a t-shirt. We ate In-N-Out Burger. He wanted a Double Double Burger and I was really amazed to see him eat the whole thing plus fries and a milkshake. Him and Kolson had a ton of fun playing. That night we went and watched the new Pirate's of the Caribbean 4 movie. His eye's were glued to it.

Sunday we went to church with my sister. I was so happy to have both of my son's with me at church. The only thing missing was Nick and Aspyn. Later that day Braxton and Kolson played with their cousin's while I made a big chicken enchilada dinner for everyone on my last night there. My mom came up to my sister's to see my boy's and spend some time with us. That night we stayed with my friend Holly who recently moved from Las Vegas to Hurricane. She has been my good friend since way before Braxton.

Monday we headed back to Las Vegas. We got in a little early and Braxton wanted to take me to see the Silverton. It's a casino/hotel, but it has a cool aquarium full of sting ray's, sharks, and tropical fish. It also has the biggest Bass Pro Shop I've ever seen. I only wish I would've had more room to buy a couple fishing poles there for Salmon fishing up here in Alaska. Time passed too quickly and I had to take him home. Luckily he will be flying into Alaska this Friday the 10th. Kolson and I stayed the night at the Circus Circus where I got us a room for $23.00. I took him to the circus act on the midway. He was super excited and shaking his arms. Then I realized he wasn't even excited about the performer. He was excited about the drummer. His dad would've been so proud!

Tuesday was the longest day of my life! I got up at 4:00 am. Which is actually 3:00 am Alaska time. I had arranged the night before for a shuttle to pick me up and take me to the airport at 5:00. They either didn't show up or they left me because I didn't get out there until 5:03 am. My suitcase weighed 73 pounds and I had a 30 pound back pack on my back and a 30 pound Kolson in my arms. I didn't realize how hard it would be to get from my hotel room down to the shuttle area. Luckily I was able to catch a different shuttle. I wanted to sit on the floor and cry at the Las Vegas Airport and just quit. I was so frustrated. I had a ticket for a free checked bag in my pocket, but it had fallen out. I had to pay for the full 73 pounds. Finally we made our plane and arrived in Seattle. We had three hours there before our flight left to Juneau. We ate Wendy's for lunch.

When we landed in Seattle I almost cried because I was so happy to see beautiful green again. Southern Utah is beautiful, but in a different desert kind of way. Washington and Alaska have beautiful tree's and mountains.
Waiting to board in Seattle I came across a friend here from Skagway waiting to board as well. My friend Brandy was just returning from a DDF competition in DC. Sadly I didn't know she was hanging out in the same airport as us a few hours earlier. She was also with a friend of hers who Nick and I just hired this past week to work for us. Exhausted by the time I reached Juneau just to find that my Air Ex flight to Skagway was cancelled. Kolson and I were fortunate to hop on a Wing's flight and get home. Our luggage followed the next day. Through all of our 6 airplanes that we went on throughout the entire trip, I was very happy to find that Kolson and I were lucky enough to sit by nice non-child hating people on our flights. Also, Kolson has to be the best baby that anyone has ever travelled with.

I am so happy to be home. I enjoyed visiting family and friends, but I really missed home. I missed my husband and daughter. I came home early because they missed me a lot and Aspyn wasn't doing so well with out her mom.

I can't wait for Braxton to come on Friday. Well actually Saturday. He flies into Juneau on Friday and Nick will meet him down there. They are going to go to a movie together and then fly home Saturday with a bunch of groceries. Nick was jealous that I got to see Brax this last weekend and he didn't.

Summer is approaching.....

2011-05-07T18:28:00.001-06:00

We have been extremely busy lately! I started a new job in March working for a small airline here in Skagway part-time on the weekends. Nick is working on-call part-time at the Skagway library. We officially opened up the RV Park Easter weekend. Yay! Aspyn finished pre-school a little over a week ago. Kolson is still a sweetheart, but he is entering that terrible toddler stage. Nick decided to call it terrible toddler instead of terrible 2 because the age really has nothing to do with it. It's not magically over when they turn 3. It just doesn't work that way. Braxton moved into another house, now he live's in Henderson, Nevada. I go to court at the end of the month. Hopefully everything goes well and my boy will get to come live in Alaska with our family. We have missed him terribly!

The first cruise ship arrived yesterday. It was the Disney Wonder ship. I've been subbing at the school this week and they had a special assembly yesterday for all of the kids. They had a visit from Mickey, Minnie, Chip & Dale, and Pluto. Every one had the chance to stand in line and hug the characters and get their picture taken with them if they had a camera. It was awesome! They also gave out little stuffed Mickey's to all of the kids. The school also had a visit yesterday from the Governor of Alaska. He shook my hand. Now I can say I've shaken hands with the Governor.

We moved into a new to us house just before Easter. We now live in town and not out on the Hill. It is good for a few reason's, but one being that gas was $4.53 per gallon last week and has been going up 10 cents per gallon for the last few weeks. Other than the cost of living, we are still loving Alaska. It is such a great place to raise a family. It is so safe here and the beauty is incomparable. Our new house is great because it has a lot more space and we are 2 blocks from the school and right across the street from the Rec Center.

Long Time No Blogging

2010-11-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while. Sorry about that. We have had a few big changes in our life since I last posted. We live in Skagway, Alaska now. Nick graduated school in April and got a seasonal police job here in Alaska. He moved up at the first of May and the kids and I got here at the end of June. We weren't sure how long we would be staying here in Alaska. I told Nick I'd give it 2 years, but now it looks like we'll be here at least 5 years. We found out last week that we won the bid to run an RV Park here in Skagway for the next 5 summers. We are super excited to have a business opportunity like this. I was nervous about coming here, but now I have fallen in love with beautiful Skagway. I highly recommend anyone and everyone to come visit this amazing place!

Kolson turned 1 year old last Wednesday! It was so much fun giving him the chocolate cake beater to get messy with. He loved it so much. Here are a few pictures for all of you to see. I will try to get more up later.

Braxton caught his first fish this summer. It was a pink salmon in a stream out in Dyea, Alaska. He was so super excited about this, as you can tell from the look on his face.

Aspyn is still as curly haired and crazy as ever. There aren't too many people in town who don't know who she is. She go's to preschool 2 days a week now and isn't sure how much she like's it.

I have a Family

2010-04-04T19:19:00.000-06:00

My family life has been a bit confusing. I have had different step-fathers throughout my life, but I hardly knew my birth father. He would visit me once in a while when I was younger, but the last time I saw him was when I was 10. Since then I haven't seen or heard from him. We moved a lot so that might of had something to do with it. My mom had tried to find him, but had no luck.

The cool thing is a few weeks ago I had a friend request on my facebook page. It was from a Josefina Munoz. I replied with a message to see if we were possibly related because I knew my father's last name was Munoz. As it turns out she is my Aunt and she has been looking for me by request of my father. How cool is that??? It is so exciting. One day I went from having a mom and a sister. That's it! The next day I find out that I have a dad, 4 Aunt's, 3 Uncle's, Grandparent's, and I think 28 cousins or some huge number like that.

Anyhow, this is so exciting to me and I just thought I'd share with all of my friends my awesome news. I guess now I should invest some time into learning Spanish huh?!?

Long time no posting

2010-02-21T15:15:00.001-07:00

So what's new with us Picketts? Actually, a lot. Nick is in school. He is in the Parks Law Enforcement Academy here in Mount Vernon. He is getting beat up weekly. His graduation date is set for May 12, 2010.

Also, we have our new edition now. His name is Kolson Zakye Pickett. He was born on 11-10-2009 at 6:27 AM. He weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 19 inches long. He is now 3 months old and absolutely huge. I am so in love! He is wearing 12 month clothes already and he only weighs 7 pounds less than Aspyn.

Braxton is still living in Utah with his dad. We miss him terribly and look forward to his visits. He comes again in March for Spring Break. He is doing awesome in school though and I am very proud of his academic progress.

Aspyn is still spunky little Aspyn. She's crazy all the time! Or maybe I'm the one that's crazy due to her. Probably the latter. She is insanely smart. She talks too much and learns things she probably shouldn't. She amazes me every day.

As for me, I'm just staying at home keeping busy playing mommy, cook, maid, wife, homework checker and Young Women's leader. I am also trying to sell Scentsy on the side to make some small ammount of money. So if anybody wants to buy some let me know. You can look at my website at www.scentsy.com/merinda Nick is in school 40+ hours a week so for now he is only working 8 hours a week on Saturdays. My mom has been living with us since New Year's eve. It has been really nice to spend time with her and teach her the gospel. She also hasn't smoked since she got here and I am so proud of her. Unfortunately she will be going back to Utah next month since things haven't worked out financially like we had planned.

Congratulations to Nick!

2009-09-28T22:41:00.000-06:00

This past week Nick received his acceptance letter to The Parks Law Enforcement Academy. I am so proud of him. He starts in January and it is about a 6 month program. He will be gone from 7AM-5PM 6 days a week. It will be difficult, but the program has a 98% job placement. Some even get job offers before they complete the program and he will be able to work at almost any National Park in the country. He will finally have the opportunity to do something he enjoys and he will get paid well for it. We are way excited!

Current News

2009-09-14T11:40:00.000-06:00

On Friday we took Aspyn to the Allergist/Asthma Specialist. She had a panel of 14 different tests to see what she is allergic to. She is officially allergic to Cats, Dogs :( , Grass, Mold, and Poplar Trees. They can do more tests when she get's a little older, but for now.... We won't be getting a dog. It's so sad because she loves them so much! She also has mild asthma and is on a special inhaler 2 puffs 2X per day for 2 weeks. After two weeks if she is doing better we can take it down to once a day and so on. She has had a nightly cough for about 6 months now so we are hoping this takes care of it. They also weighed her on Friday and she weighs 23 pounds 4 ounces. She has gained about 3 pounds in the last 2 months. We are so happy to see a progress.

Aspyn has also been working hard on potty training since September 1st. She is doing exceptionally well. She loves to wear big girl underwear and is especially a fan of her bikini underwear. She chooses them over her Tinkerbells and Dora's. She is also staying dry at night already. I still put her in a diaper just in case, but when she wakes up in the morning her diaper is still dry. Oh, and she's been going through a new streaking phase. The other day I had to dress her 4 times in ten minutes. She enjoy's running around naked. We struggle to keep anything on her. She just loves the freedom I guess. It is one bright side I have found to Braxton not being home right now. Aspyn is also talking full sentences with quite the diverse vocabulary. She is truly exceptional and we just love listening to what she'll come up with next.

Braxton seems to be doing well. He get's to come visit for a couple days in October. We can't wait to see him. We are trying to plan lots of fun things to do while he is here. He wants to go to the Woodland Park Zoo. He says, "It's not only a place to see lots of cool animals, but it's also a place to learn." He's so cute like that. His favorite lately is the Salt Water Crocodile. I miss taking him to the library because he would always ask the librarian to help him find a book on _____ and he wanted it to be a nonfiction book. He loves to learn. From what I hear, he is doing well in school in Utah. He got 100% on his spelling test and is doing well with reading and math. He is also going to boy scouts there and he's enjoying that. We miss him very much and can't wait for him to get to come home permanently.

As for the baby. We've chosen to name him Kolson. The meaning of it is... Son of Nicholas. We are still trying to decide on a middle name though. I would like something that rhymes with Ty and Skye since Braxton and Aspyn's names already rhyme (unintentionally). I am down to 9 weeks left and am struggling on a decision between a C-Section or a VBAC. My Doctor has cleared me for a VBAC (vaginal birth after ceserean), but Nick is a little nervous about it. Does anyone have an opinion they'd like to share? I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks now depending on my activity or stress level. My hips are killing me and sometimes at night I have to get up and take Tylenol so I can sleep through the pain. So far I have only gained 15 pounds, which I am way proud of. With Braxton I gained 65lbs and with Aspyn I gained 35lbs. This is most likely our last baby. I don't know how much more my body can handle and Nick and I both are unsure of how much I can handle more emotionally. 3 is a good number.

Nick is hating work and trying to get a new job at the college as a security guard there part-time. It pays better than Ross too. Right now he is at the college trying to get his classes and financial aid all worked out. He didn't do very well in his summer semester so we are hoping they will give him a second chance.

Braxton turned 8

2009-09-06T15:02:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was Braxton's birthday and he turned 8. He had his birthday party a few months ago at his other parents house in Utah. Below is a picture of him at that party. The other picture is of Braxton on his first day of 2nd grade in Utah. We miss him so much and can't wait to get him home permanently, but it looks like it's going to be awhile. He get's to come visit us in October for a few days from the 16-19th. We are very excited to get to see him. He's supposed to be getting baptised now that he's 8, but that too will be postponed for some time. Happy Birthday Braxton! We love you so much and miss you terribly!!! It's hard to believe you are 8 years old already. You've grown up so fast.

Gonna Go Private

2009-08-09T20:48:00.001-06:00

I am thinking I will be going private very soon so that I can post more about what's really going on in our lives. If you want to still be able to read, please email me your email address so I can send you an invitation. Thanks! merindajo@hotmail.com

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-25T16:27:00.007-06:00

Today is Nick's 30th birthday. Yes the big 30. He is 30 and still handsome to me! I hope I still look as good as he does at 30. I tease him all the time, but I think it's because I'm a bully and I have low self esteem.
Anyhow, he is working from 9-6ish today and then we are going to a 14-year-olds birthday party. Nick and him share the same birthday and he is having a professional DJ at his party so we will go check it out for a bit. After that I am hoping that I can take him to a movie or something. I haven't lined up a sitter yet so we'll see. I'm a sucky birthday planner when it comes to Nick. I want it to be so spectacular that I overshoot and end up falling extremely short. I also plan on making him some yummy key-lime cheesecake bars for tonight and some chocolaty brownies for tomorrow. He's not much of a cake eater, but he loves his brownies and ice-cream! So, to all of you who know my wonderful husband please don't forget to call and wish him a happy birthday even if it's a belated one. "Happy Birthday Nick! I love You!!!"

A Summary Update On Us

2009-07-24T16:42:00.000-06:00

So a lot has changed in our family since my last post. I am sorry for not keeping everyone up to date as well as I should have. We don’t have internet right now, unless we put our laptop in a certain spot near an upstairs window to get a signal from someone else.

We live in Mount Vernon, Washington. We got our own house to rent on April 1st, 2009. Braxton is almost 8, Aspyn turned 2 on June 14th, and Nick and I are expecting a little boy November 16th. Nick is working at Ross as their Loss Prevention guy while he goes to college full-time. He has 15 credits this summer (8 week) semester. He is way overwhelmed, but doing well for how much he has going on. He was planning on attending the Parks and Law Enforcement Academy at the college starting in December, but now due to new circumstances he is not certain what he is going to do. We’ll keep you posted. Braxton is currently in St. George for summer with his dad and that is not going so well. Last week Mariah (his dad) was awarded full custody of Braxton until further notice. At this time, I am at a loss to do what I need in order to get him back due to $$$. I need to get to St. George and get an attorney. All of which cost money that we don’t have right now. For those of my family and friends that are prayers… please keep us in your prayers.

On a more positive note, Nick and I are loving church. We both have callings now and I love mine. It has helped me over the past week to focus on something else other than Braxton. Nick is the Secretary for Elders Quorum and I am the Secretary for Young Women’s. Our ward is fantastic and there’re a lot of really great people in it. The young women are great, and really fun to have the opportunity to work with.

Sorry for no pictures. I am currently in the process of uploading them to my computer, so I will get to that soon.

Pregnant!

2009-03-28T02:15:00.002-06:00

Well, I am pregnant. I am 6 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I had an ultrasound on Thursday and there really is a baby in there this time. My due date is November 16, 2009 and I'm hoping for a boy, but will be happy either way. I'd like to leave more info, but the battery is dying on my computer so I gotta go before it's too late! There is much more "NEWS" in our life right now, but I'll have to get back to you later!

The Latest on our Situation

2009-02-22T18:30:00.003-07:00

At 9:00 PM on Valentine's Day Nick and I spontaneously decided to come back to Idaho Falls to visit. We left at 10:30 PM and arrived here at 1:00 AM Monday morning. We knew we needed to come back sometime within the next few weeks to do our deposition reguarding our car accident we were in 2 weeks before Aspyn was born. So we decided, why not just go now.

I just became a Scentsy wickless candles consultant so if you need to order more wax or would like to schedule a party somehow I would be EXTREMELY HAPPY to have your business! My website for Scentsy is www.scentsy.com/merinda For the rest of the month of February everything is 10% off. If you order the Symphony warmer or the Taracco Mint wax you will get 20% off of either of those because they are the scent and warmer of the month. Any questions you can call me (360) 540-7649.

Nothing much is new other than we are here in Idaho staying with Nick's amazing mom and enjoying our vacation.

It turns out Nick's sister, Kadi is pregnant. YAY! I am so so happy for her! I thought she was just from watching all the symptoms, but she didn't believe me. Turns out I was right afterall. Best of luck Kadi!
Anyhow, not much new for now. More updates coming later.

We are Here!

2009-01-19T10:48:00.003-07:00

On Monday, January 5, 2009 we made the huge change in our lives. We moved to Washington! Nick hasn't found a job yet, but we are happy.

It is so beautiful here! On Saturday we went to a beach in Anacortes with our family Kadi, Avery, and Teiya. We ate lunch and searched for shells and even got to see a seal up close. It was so awesome! Then we went to another beach/bay in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island (the same Whidbey Island from The Last Mimzy). We found lots of clam shells and other interesting stuff. It was a great day!

And yesterday after church we went to Chuckanut Bay where we saw oysters, clams, crabs, hermit crabs, a trilabite (still alive) and Nick and Braxton found 4 Eels. Then we went on a nice little hike to get back up to where we parked.

I wish that I had pictures of all of these beautiful places and iteresting creatures to show you, but our camera is still packed. The nice thing is that we live here and when we find the camera we can go back and take pics and I can put them on here for you to see. Now you know that we are here, and though our situation is less than perfect we are still very happy and staying positive. We love and miss all of you back in Idaho!!!

NEWS! Good & Bad! But OK!

2009-01-02T09:16:00.004-07:00

Sorry about no posts in December, we've been really busy and at the same time really not. Here are some updates on our life. As you all know our apartment building has forclosed. We are pretty much squatters at the moment. We aren't supposed to be living here. We're the only one's left in the building, everyone else left months ago. They've taken our dumpster away so we have nowhere for our trash, but no need to fear. Nick lost his job the day after Thanksgiving. He has still been working on trying to get unemployment, but so far nothing. We have been without an income for a month now. Ok, so forclosed home, no job, and two days before Thanksgiving I found out I was pregnant. They say things happen in 3's.

We were way excited about the pregnancy, but stressed about all the other things. When I went to the doctor the following week she said my uterus was huge and maybe I was further along than I thought. I wasn't further along it wasn't possible. So she said I might be having twins! Turns out it's not twins. A week before Christmas I started having complications. Turns out my body wasn't really pregnant. Did you know that their is such a thing as a false pregnancy where your body can gather everything for a baby except for that one important part-- an embryo? Well it can and that's what happened to me. Technically it wasn't a miscarriage, but same as considered it had to come out somehow and oh was that painful!!! But I am ok. Things happen for a reason. I may have a skrewed up body, but I have two beautiful children already so when it's meant to happen again it will. Heavenly Father just realizes this isn't the right time. I think he's right considering our situation.

The Good news is we're moving. Monday, January 5th we are moving to Mount Vernon, Washington. Not my first choice in towns, but it's where we need to make a start. I am totally relying on FAITH at the moment. It's the only way I can handle this scary change and keep myself from putting dents in our truck (that's another story). Also we just got a call this week that Nick has a test to take to be a security surveliance guy at a very nice casino in Marysville, WA. If he passes the test then he get's an interview and Nick is amazing at interviews.

So that is the news and update on us. I will try to post some new pictures of the kiddo's later. Probably not till all this lovely moving is over with though.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T18:57:00.004-07:00

Today I made a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving. It turned out delicious! The whole pie was devoured today at Thanksgiving dinner with Nick's family. I managed to get one piece to bring home and I decided to take a picture. I got the recipe online and it's supposed to be the Cheesecake Factory's recipe. You really have to try this. It was really easy to make too. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar

Filling:
3- 8oz.pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
Whipped Cream

Mix crust ingredients together, just till coated and crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 2/3 up the sides of an 8" springform pan. Bake for 5 min. at 350. Set aside.

Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl, mix until smooth with an electric mixer. add pumpkin eggs, and spices, beat till smooth and creamy. Pour into the crust. Bake for 60-70 min. or till the top turns a bit darker. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate. After it has thoroughly chilled, remove the pan sides and cut. Serve with whipped cream.

Family Pictures

2008-11-22T13:52:00.004-07:00

On Tuesday we had our family photos taken by a professional photographer. I think she did a wonderful job. If you want your pictures taken too let me know and I can give you her number. "Thanks Jen!"

Moving!

2008-11-21T15:59:00.002-07:00

Well, it turns out that we will be moving. We don't know exactly when other than it will be soon and we don't know where. We don't know if we're moving to another place in Idaho Falls (hopefully not) or if we will be moving to Washington State.

Our apartment building has forclosed and we are at a loss of what to do. The owner of this building of four units hasn't paid his mortgage since April. We moved in here in April and we've been paying $650 per month. It's kind of frustrating knowing that he never paid his mortgage even though everyone in this building has been paying him. It also turns out that we lose our deposit because of the foreclosure. Apparently renters of forclosed properties don't have rights. I am extremely frustrated about this.

It doesn't help that Nick's job is in limbo right now and I don't know from day to day if it is his last. His employer has a thing against men and LDS people, in other words- she hates Nick. They've cut his hours down from 40+ to 35 or less. They also took away his payments for doing music appreciation every Wednesday. That is $200 he used to get just for doing that. They also took his supervisor position away from him and they are doing everything they can to push him out of his job. It seriously ticks me off!!! They don't pay into unemployment so they don't fire people. This is what they do to people they want to get rid of. They (SHE) pushes the person into quitting. The next thing coming will probably be a pay cut. We are barely handling what they've already done to us. Anything more and I will be forced to get a job. Nick has been applying for about 10-20 jobs per week in Washington, but so far we haven't had any luck. My husband is a great man and he doesn't deserve this.
Well, this has turned into quite the negative post, but I really am trying to stay positive about things. I know that things will work out for us in due time we just have to press forward and be faithful. It's just hard not having a plan and know what's going to happen next. Thanks for reading. I'll keep you updated.

Halloween!!!

2008-11-05T15:36:00.006-07:00

This Halloween was lots of fun!!! Braxton was Indianna Jones and Aspyn was a Punk version of a Lady Bug. Nick dressed up as Tony Stark from Iron Man on Friday and as a Gothic Vampire Creepy Guy the next day for a halloween party we went to. I dressed up as a punky gothish girl on Friday and as a Rexburg Girl on Saturday. We had zero trick-or-treaters at our place, but we got a ton of candy trick-or-treating. Aspyn learned how to say trick-or-treat and it is so adorable. We found that people actually gave her more candy than they gave Braxton. It was an interesting night. Also, I was really grateful for the awesome (well, awesome for Idaho) weather that we had!

A Sick Visit From A Friend

2008-10-17T21:01:00.002-06:00

This past week my really good friend Holly came to visit me. I haven't seen her in over 2 years since I last went to visit her in Las Vegas. Normally we would've had lots of childish and reckless fun, but unfortunately we all got sick. It started the morning before she came. Nick and Aspyn had started puking at 4am. At first we just thought it was food poisoning, then that evening Braxton started puking and my stomach got really sick at a volleyball game that Holly and I went to Tuesday evening. We thought the coast was clear until her 3rd day here when her little daughter, Rylee started puking. On the morning of Holly's departure day she finally started puking too. In those four days my house saw a lot of puke!!! Except for me who can't puke even when I've tried, I just had a really sick tummy for 2 1/2 days and got off puke free. So when my poor friend left Friday afternoon I sent her with a bucket and some brownies for when it got better. There couldn't have been a worse time for us to get sick. Sorry HOLLY!!! Here are some pre-puke photos for you to see.

This is a photo of her 6-mo-old chunkster (she weighs more than Aspyn). She's a real cutie and a great puke sport. She never cried once. She even fell asleep with her head in a McDonalds cup to catch the puke. I wish I had a photo of how Sad/Cute that was. Sorry to you too Rylee.

The New Bed

2008-10-17T20:36:00.003-06:00

On Wednesday we found Aspyn a toddler bed at the D.I. for $15. She was so excited when we got it set up. She has been sleeping on her own much better now that she's no longer nursing. What a relief. She's been sleeping in Braxton's room for almost a week now on her crib mattress so it is so nice that she has her own bed. Braxton is really happy to share his room with her. I mentioned to him that we might get a bigger place to live so he won't have to share his room, but he said he wants to and we should use the extra room for storing junk. He is such an awesome brother! We are so proud of him!

This is a picture of her praying. She had her eyes closed before we snapped the picture.

Read It

2008-09-18T19:46:00.002-06:00

I highly recommend these books to anybody. I haven't been much of a reader for a few years now, but I found it absolutely impossible to put these books down. You've probably heard about them or at least seen them in stores. It's the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer and the movie to Twilight will be in theaters November 21, 2008. Even Nick, who never reads and even hates to read has been reading the first one, Twilight. Give them a try… You won't be disappointed.

New Photos From Sunday

2008-09-16T19:30:00.002-06:00

This last Sunday we went and took pictures of the kids again. Our camera isn't nice so they didn't turn out as well as we would've liked them to. Aspyn moves a lot and our camera isn't fast enough to keep up with her.

Da Boots

2008-09-12T00:00:00.004-06:00

Aspyn got some new boots today at Once Upon A Child and she just adores them. She has been wearing them around the house all afternoon and she doesn't want me to take them off of her. I finally got them off for a while when she fell asleep for a bit, but as soon as she woke up she wanted them back on again. Also, check out the troll hair.

Balanced... Happy vs. Angry

2008-09-09T21:33:00.008-06:00

Why can't both kids just be happy at the same time? As you can see, Aspyn was extremely happy today. She had a lot of fun in the bath this morning and she's been exceptionally good all day. She has enjoyed reading her little board books we found today in Braxton's room.

Braxton on the other hand has been whiny and rude all day. At dinner he refused to eat. He doesn't understand why he can't just have something else, but he's starving because he never eats lunch at school. He throws his food away so he can go outside to play with friends. He is so wasteful. I try to explain to him that there's kids in other countries who don't have food to eat, but still he doesn't get it. So after yelling that he hates me and I'm so mean he ended up going to bed hungry anyways. I did give him a haircut after he showered since it was still early and he had the guts to say that he didn't want to have to shower again to get the itchy hair off because it would be a waste of water. WHAT??? Any suggestions on what I can do to make him grateful and less wasteful?

She really did have fun in the tub today!

New To Blogging

2008-09-08T22:25:00.010-06:00

This blogging thing is pretty new to me, but I figured since some of our family just moved away to Washington and Alaska it might be a good idea to help them keep up with our little fam. We miss you all terribly! So, while you guys are off enjoying yourselves please take time to remember us once in a while and check our blog.

This Sunday we went to the new Snake River Landing and Taylor's Crossing and Nick took some adorable pictures of the kidders. Enjoy!