One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four...

Most everyone knows that we grow primarily alfalfa around here, but this year we added some potato's to the harvest. Keith and Ben decided to give away these fine spuds to anyone who wanted them. A Saturday was planned for people to come out and help dig and take their fair share...and boy did they. I think Keith said we gave away around 6 tons of red potato's. One of the days, I decided to take a few pics and I thought it would be fun to share. I hope you enjoy and if you are in need of potato's give us a hollar.

The Mighty Hunters

This year Ben decided that Jesse was old enough to go on the hunt with Ben...not sure who was happier, Jesse or me. I was pretty proud of the pictures that Ben took on their adventures. Enjoy! PS-you will notice that there is not a picture of a buck. I wonder if that will be the excuse for why Jesse is staying home next year ;)

James Gang 2009

Here they are...I have been anticipating these pics for soooooo long! I called my super, fabulous, artistic, cousin up north and we made a deal. I asked if she would take the pics and I would do the editing. Well, she couldn't resist editing some...photographer thing :) I added some of my grunge/dirty background stuff to my liking, but dug the originals too! Michelle...you are amazing and I am so grateful for you and the time you took out of your busy life to create a part of mine. Thanks again. Much love-The James' PS-I could no way decide on one so I am going to cover a wall in different shapes and sizes of all the pics!

Jesse's undefeated record finally broken...

I have to explain this a little. Four years ago, my sisters and I were all pregnant. We found out they were all boys...how exciting this was! I thought 3 little buddies to grow up together. Well, things are not that pretty lol. There is always a fight and my guy Jesse is the meanest of them all. Let me remind you that he is also the smallest. I am hoping as they grow up they will become pals and Hunter will back Jesse's mouth! Between the both of them they should be tuff...Hunter has the mass and Jesse has the attitude. I am sure the future holds some trials for Ben and I as parents. Back to today...Jesse lost this battle for sure. I had a long day at the dentist office and was so excited to be home. I stopped at Grandma Beth's to pick up Jesse and he was playing on the trampoline with Hunter. Five minutes later I was on my way back to Dr.Howards to extract Jesse's two front teeth :( Let me remind you all...Paige knocked out hers on the tub when she was 3 and has been missing them ever since. My poor toothless kids...I hope this pattern quickly changes! After looking at the broke in half root, I then turned my focus to his GI-NORMOUS permanent teeth. For real...he is going to be the biggest geek ever lol! I was worried about the girls, but I don't think we will need to worry about that now :) Anyway, the other picture is of Hunter's head with the two holes from Jesse's teeth. I think I will call it a day...until next time...the good, the bad, the UGLY signing off.

My Girls, my girls, talkin' bout my girls...my girls!

Road Trip

I always look forward to our trips to Wyoming. Ben and I used to travel to Green River often. When my parents retired and sold the home that I grew up in, I will admit...it was hard. I felt like a huge part of my life was gone. I actually made Ben do a drive by so I could see it. I have so many memories of GR, and so many people that I love so much. Most of 'mi familia' is still there. This particular trip was a quick, but so much fun. We decided to ride the motorcycle up Thursday for the cage fights and turnaround and drive back Friday. Ben loves UFC...probably more than me ;) Anyway, we got a ringside table and thoroughly enjoyed the bloody brawls...sick, but true. We woke up Friday to pouring rain and pondered what we were going to do. We decided to hit the road and go for it. By Delta, I really wanted to die! My butt hurt sooooo bad! A new seat is definitely in the plans...actually we are considering getting me my own bike (watch out lol). That could be very scary! I promised Ben some new chaps for Father's Day, so we stopped in Orem and bought them. I am thinking SEXY!!! I have found they can be used for more than motorcycle riding...sorry, I could not resist. It is that untamed wild heart coming out...lol. I have so much more to tell, so I will be posting soon. C-ya

Animal Rescue 911

These last couple of days have been a little on the traumatic side. First, I will tell you about our little friend the burrowing owl. I went on a hike in the East hills Saturday and found this injured burrowing owl. He had a broken wing and I could not just leave him to die, so instead I brought him home to die. Not really, I contacted the bird rescue man in Cedar and was going to drive this owl half way to meet him, but unfortunately he died before that happened. Paige called my mom to tell her of our sad news. My mother asked her what we were going to do and Paige told her we were waiting for Ben to get home so we could have family prayer...this is too funny. It only gets better. We decided to bury Owl in our pet cemetary (our like 7th burial...farm life). Ben got the shovel and was thrilled he found a soft spot to dig, well little did he know, he was digging up Bunny Foo Foo. I heard Ben say "oh crap" and start covering up something before the kids could see. I am dying laughing...as I type this. We finally laid owl to rest and decided to start marking the graves, so that does not happen again. That was the end of our friend Owl's story. On to the next...Scarface. Last night, Paige came running in the house yelling for me to come and see. I could tell it was serious, so I ran out to find a kitty missing half of its face..for real. I was freaking out! Ben came out and was like what is hanging on its face...I said "its face". It was totally disgusting! Ben got some scissors and removed the mass of nastiness off of her poor face. We are not sure what happened to this kitty, but I could not let him end her life if she survived this already. So today, the kids and I made a trip to the vet. Yep, $75 bucks later we now have a new member of the family. I'm sorry about the picture, but I had to show to prove how bad it really is. I hope I am teaching my kids compassion, but Ben said that Jesse is going to be a sissy because of it. Oh well...we will love Scarface until he gets hit by a car.

A piece of Heaven...

April 18th, 2009 we became sealed for all time and eternity in the St.George temple. I have really been pondering about how words could possible describe this experience. As the days led up to our special day I was feeled with a mix of emotions...for the most part I was anxious, excited, nervous, not sure what to expect, etc. Then there was the part of me that felt like I did not deserve such an amazing promise. I have put this post off for so long because I knew I would bawl the whole time. As tears roll down my face, I want my friends and family to know that the gospel really saved me from a long hard road. I know with all my heart and soul that this is the way. As soon as I walked into the temple I was filled with the overwhelming power of the spirit. Truly, I felt like I was walking around Heaven. I personally that that we are all on our own journey, and that there is a time for everyone to decide what is best for their own life and family. I will forever be grateful for the people that influenced my life for the better. To this very day I do not think of myself as better than an individual struggling with whatever it may be, but instead as a chance to help them better their lives. My husband has one of the most sincere, genuine hearts of any man that I have known. He has been through so much during his life here on earth, but has become an amazing person from it all. How did I ever get so lucky to have him for all eternity is beyond my comprehension. Here are a few pictures of our special day. I love the one of Jensen knocking on Heaven's door. When Jesse was asked how the temple made him feel, his reply "I felt perfect" Wow!

Wild Hogs

Those who know me well...know that I have an untamed wild heart. One of my life dreams was to be a biker babe (the nice "b" word lol). There was always such a free spirited feeling that went along with the whole biker image. Well, lucky me...I married a free spirited, wild at heart, biker hunk...together we have truly fullfilled many of our dreams. This last weekend we rode the bike through the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I am still amazed at the beauty! We went through Cedar, Toquerville, Colorado City, Fredonia, The Kiabab, Jacob's Lake, Kanab, and back through Zion. We hit rain, snow (and no we don't have all the gear...yet), strong winds, and sun. Even though the weather was not cooperating, I was sitting behind the love of my life taking it all head on. Ben is everything I could have ever wanted in a man. He gives me so much security and I know with him beside me I can do anything I ever wanted. I love life and I definitely love LIVING life!

Slacker...

Yes, I am talking about me...the one who was overly excited about entering the blog world. I have so much to post and tell everyone about, but time just slips right out from under me. I once thought I had no life and no friends, but little did I know...I was so popular in cyber space lol I may be delirious because I am now laughing at myself. Anyway, be prepared...I have devoted some time to catching up on my blog this week. Peace out :)

Spring time

I believe it to be true, spring is FINALLY here. This weather has been much anticipated, so we took full advantage and started the yard work. I don't know about other kids, but mine love the water. I actually get so frustrated because at least 3 times a day they either take a bath (flood the bathroom floor), or dispose of all clothing and run through the sprinklers. Sprinklers and I have a love hate relationship. I get so tired of all the laundry! Instead of coming in and getting suits on they just ditch the clothes wherever the dirtiest spot is and then proceed to run over them with their wet bodies. Here are some pics of our family the other night playing in the yard while Dad worked on the sprinkler system. Note 1: Jensen is eating her cheeto with snot all over her face...I apologize. Note 2: The wedgie is my fav lol

PS I am having issues with the pictures downloading. I will put them on after I punch my computer about 50 times.

Help...please!

I am not sure what has been going on around here lately, but I am ready to throw in the towel with this whole motherhood stuff. I must vent...it really helps me release these demons inside of me lol! I am starting to understand child abuse...really! Jesse is the chicken butt around here for sure. EVERY night he crawls into my bed (bad enough), but what really gets me...his diaper leaks onto my nice new bed 99% of the time. If anyone has any idea on what to do about this, let me know. He broke my Mother's Day present that I never got to use :( Paige and Jesse told Ben and I they hated us, church, and their stupid clothes. I am sitting here laughing, but really it is getting to me. Paige told her grandma that I don't love her and she didn't miss her family at all (this after I let her go where she wanted for 3 days). We were always told that when you are preparing to go to the temple, Satan really works his magic on the family. The crazy thing is we never felt anything bad, as a matter a fact, it was all too good. Well...little did I know, we would be slammed with the true everyday trials. I knew this was not the easy road :) I must start going to my quiet place more often and pleading for help from above. Until then...you wise, perfect moms, help a sister out lol!

Out with the old...in with the new...

Sand that is! We finally dug out the horrible dirty free sand from the river bed and replaced it with new super awesome sand (I think I wanted it more than anyone lol). I love the texture of it and will spend my fair share of time playing in it. Jesse was sure proud and loved helping Dad get it in the sand box.

Happy Easter!

I can honestly say this was one of the best Easter's I have had in a long time. I had around 30 family members come to the farm and we had a blast. My sister's husband had a bunny suit and I dang near peed my pants laughing so hard. I grew up very close to my cousins. I think of them more like siblings and I am so grateful for the childhood memories that I have of them. I want them to know how important they are in my life and that my heart is filled when I am around them. Thinking of them brings that saying to mind..."We may not have it all together, but together we have it all"...not sure if that is how it goes, but you get the picture. I hope your Easter was enriched with gratitude for the amazing sacrifice our Savior endured for us to feel peace in our hearts. I love the gospel and what it has done for my family!