Jerome beats Blackfoot 24 to 14

Wow, what an exciting game last night against defending Blackfoot state champions! It was awesome! Jerome's defense was amazing! Zach was definitely on top of his game last night! He caught the first interception of the night and was a highlight on the news at 10. We are playing Nampa next week somewhere in Boise. We can hardly wait!

Allie's preschool party

Allie had a little Halloween party and program with her preschool class yesterday. She woke up grumpy and didn't want to go. I think that she was kind of scared because she knew that everyone was going to dress up. Now if she had a class full girls dressed up in cute little princess and fairy costumes everything would be just great but it is the boys that tend to get a little scary. I convinced her that all would be well and after promising her that I would stay with her she relented to going. We got her all dressed up and she insisted on no glitter makeup but that is o.k. because she looks like a princess without it. We went into her classroom and there were all kinds of cute little girls dressed up in frilly costumes then we spotted the Hulk, Iron man, a bat and a ghost. She loosed the death grip on my hand after I again promised that I was going to stay. I tried to engage her in playtime with the other girls and she just stood there with her fingers in her mouth while all the other little girls played with me. I occasionally got a giggle out of her when I invited all the Polly pockets over to my party. She does have a friend MeKenna, who is much like Allie but a little bit more outgoing. When we arrived at preschool MeKenna's mom Jessica, (the teacher) said that MeKenna also didn't want to come to preschool and was hiding out with her grandma in the next room. She did join the party after some gentle persuasion.
I was a bit fearful of going to the nursing home to sing for some grandma's and grandpa's. I was worried that she would cling to me and hide behind me but she did great and sang most of the songs. She wasn't scared at all. I had planned on just taking her home after that but when she heard that there were treats and games at school she wanted nothing to do with going home. So we loaded up and off we went back to school. It was kind of fun to spend the morning with her and to help Jessica out. Eleven 3 & 4 year old's are a handful!
Allie is such a funny girl. People ask me all the time if she talks and believe it or not she does all the time, among her family. When we are out and about people attempt to talk to her and she just looks right through them, as if they are not even there. She tends to warm up to people just about the time we are getting ready to leave.
She is such a joy to have in our house right now. She loves her momma and very rarely lets anyone else into her little circle. Alan gets a little bit exasperated sometimes with her declaration that she only wants mom to do it. I keep reminding myself that I need to enjoy these precious moments because before I know it, it will be just a peck on the cheek and love ya, mom.....

Hannah Turns 12

Hannah turned 12 on Oct. 25th. She had a most memorable birthday. We partied all weekend long. Hannah has been so excited to be 12 since she turned 11. She is mostly excited that she is no longer in primary and gets to go to Young Women's now! She had a few friends over for a sleepover the night before her birthday. Hannah and her friends got all dressed in orange and black and went to the Homecoming game with us where Zach's football team stomped Woodriver. After we got home they opened presents and they all got out in hot tub. We put them up for the night outside in our trailer. That is the only way to have a slumber party. They played games, watched movies and giggled until 5:30 a.m. and we didn't even hear a peep from them. That morning they ate a lot of pancakes and made paper bead bracelets. They watched Hannah open up her family gifts and I am sure some of her nonmember friends were wondering why she got so excited over new scriptures and a YW in armor picture. She also got a few new Sunday clothes and lots of misc. YW stuff. That day we attempted to take family pictures. We will see how they turn out. Later I took Hannah to Twin were we looked and looked for a black skirt with no luck. I can't believe how hard it is to find decent dresses for my girls that aren't too short. We then ate at La Fiesta and came home and had crescent roll cake and ice cream. The next day was Sunday and Hannah participated in her last primary program. She played "Reverence is Love," on the piano while Alana Farnsworth and Rachel sang. They did a wonderful job. She loves her new church bag that my mom gave her and carries it and her scripture case with her everywhere. She is a funny duck. Tonight we head to Pocatello to watch Zach play in the Mini dome against Blackfoot. Should be exciting!!!!

Now, that is the way to do business!!!!!

Alan and I recently purchased something used from a company in Sandy, Utah. They were prompt about delivering it when they said they would and it came with a 90 day warranty. After two days of using it, it stopped working. Alan called them and explained the problem and gave them the option of having someone local to come and try and fix it. Alan called them back later that afternoon to find out what they were going to do and they said that they were on their way to Jerome and would be there at 6:30 p.m. that day. They drove all the way from Utah prepared to replace the main motherboard and come to find out it was only a 30 amp fuse. He thoroughly checked things out and said that if we have anymore problems to let them know and they will be back up again. We thanked them for their prompt service and they told us that that is the only way they do business.

All I can say is WOW! We have never had such great customer service on anything like that before, especially something used. I have become so calloused over the years of people not showing up when promised, going through a long phone process to talk to a live person, and people not standing behind their products that I was very pessimistic that they would do what was promised. I know it sounds silly but these people restored a little bit of my faith in humanity. Now, that is the way to do business!

Prop 8

My brother-in-law passed this along to me. This is what he said, "If you have not seen this video, it is a must watch (7 minutes). What you see currently happening in Massachusetts is exactly what Elders Ballard and Cook warned about last week in the satellite broadcast. In particular, notice where the “lack of tolerance” exists in this video. It sounds exactly what Elder Cook taught about tolerance last week in the broadcast."


Please contact every California resident you know and ask them to vote “yes” on Prop 8.

Checking back in

It has been a while since I last posted. Life has been a bit of a whirlwind the last month or so keeping up with Melissa & Zach's games. Melissa finished up her freshman volleyball season yesterday in Filer. She landed hard on her right knee and had to sit out the last 1 1/2 games. We are hoping that it is just a pulled muscle or a deep bruise. She has been putting ice on it and has been alternating that with heat today. I have seen too many kids with knee problems lately. We are hoping that she will be back to normal soon. She really wants to play Club Canyon Volleyball again this year and try-outs are the beginning of Nov. It was such a great experience for her last year. Here are a few pictures of her at her last tournament, including her landing on her knee. (Sorry they are so blurry. My lens on my camera is so s-l-o-w and can't handle the action shots.)



Zach played against our long time rivals, the Twin Falls Bruins last Friday night. It was so cold and my feet were numb by the end of the game. It was probably the poorest performance that I have ever seen from Twin Falls. We beat them 48 to 6. Zach did well. He got knocked in the back a few times and lost his breath a couple of times. It is so fun to watch him play.






Alan was on the chain gang for Zach's game and got in a little bit exercise. He liked it but didn't feel like he got a clear view of what was going on even though he was down on the field. With Jerome's no huddle offense he was running hard. I think he should do this every day!



Hannah can hardly wait to turn twelve. She announced today in her testimony that she was almost ready to go out of YW and she has appreciated all of her wonderful teachers. She later realized she said YW and not primary and corrected herself. She also said that she was lucky to participate in one last primary program. (ha, ha).
Rachel and Abby are doing TaVaci this year. For some reason I keep forgetting Abby's class on Thursday. I really need to get on the ball!!!
Abby is enjoying school more now and is in an advanced group that does extra projects. She is a great reader and seems to be able to understand things easily.
Allie just LOVES it when her sisters are at home!!!!! She is always one step behind them. She is so bored when they are at school all day. She enjoys her preschool class a couple of times a week and is branching out and making new friends very slowly.
We just loved conference this last weekend. We were able to spend a relaxing weekend at my parent's home after Melissa's volleyball tournament on Friday. We played conference jeopardy for FHE last Monday. The kids knew quite a few of the answers. I wish that conference was four times a year instead of two.
Myself and another lady are going to Lagoon pending 1/2 way decent weather next Saturday with Melissa and a few other YW in our ward and Hannah and a friend. I love going to Lagoon in the fall but not when it is winter wonderland outside. I am lovin' this weather. I am anxious to be done with the outside stuff.
Our home teachers just came and brought us a box of apples. I am in the mood for caramel apples now! Have a great week!