My 33rd Birthday

Wow, I can't believe that I am 33. The years go by so fast. I decided that I didn't feel like sitting around the house. I decided at the last minute that I wanted to go for a picnic. I invited my sister and then Friday night I called Storm and invited him. During the day I was really wishing that I had called Sam and invited him and Jennifer out. I didn't have it planned out soon enough to give them time to plan. So next time I will think a little better.

My day started out waking up early and had the kids get all their chores done for the day so we wouldn't have to worry about getting home before dark. Deten's scout leader called me a couple days ago and said that there was going to be some stations set up at the Ouray bird refuge and the scouts could go pass off one of their badges. There was going to be 12 stations for them to go to. I had no idea what to expect, I asumed it would be 12 stations that we would walk around and look at. NO we drove to each station. There was proboally a couple miles of road. We had so much fun and learned so much. ALL of the kids enjoyed it. It ended up taking us 3 hours to go through the whole coarse. We learned about Aquatic Insects, Ouray Hatchery, Jones Hole Hatchery, Birds and Beaks, Bird of prey, Wetland birds, Invasive weeds (very, very interesting), Song bird mist netting, Wetland metaphors, Build a bird house, Jr. Duck stamp.

After we finally got done at the bird refuge we picked up my sister and her husband. We met my brother at the visitor center in Jensen and then we all went to Josie Basset Cabin. WOW, it was so much fun. You used to not be able to go in the cabin and now they have it open so you can walk through it. There were two trails that you could hike on. The first trail we went on was box canyon. It was perfect weather, just a little breeze. We took a ton of pictures and had such a good time. All of my kids loved it. After we got off the trail we decided we were ready to eat. We had a BBQ right there by the cabin, thank goodness most of the people were gone by the time we came back from our hike. Storm cooked our food for us, thanks to him it was very yummy. The night before I made a potato salad and we had a few other things to eat. It was perfect. Oh I even made myself a birthday cake. It turned out really good. After we got done eating we put everything away and went on the second trail up to Hog canyon. After we got back from that hike we ate cake and went to Grandma and Grandpa Knutti's to share some cake and then home. It was such a fun day!!! Thanks to my kids and my family for helping make it fun. I so wish that Billy could have been there but he was working in WV. When he gets home we will have to plan an outing.

Easter

This is a late post, but I guess better now than never. I decided to let the kids decorate some eggs at our house for Easter, as they were doing them it dawned on me that we usually do eggs at my Grandma Knutti's. So I told the kids that we would only do a few. We loaded everything up and went to Grandma and Grandpas and surprised them to color eggs at their house. Grandma was so excited. She said that she wanted to do eggs but there was no one to do them for. We had a really good time. Ashlee came over and helped. She said that she didn't remember the last time she had colored eggs.

On Easter we went down to the Postma's farm and had a BBQ, egg hunt and the kids played softball. Billy's cousin Charlene made a spot just for Jesee since she is the only baby. All the other eggs were all over out in the field. I think all of the older kids had a really good time. Jesee loved picking up the eggs and putting them in the basket. There was tons of yummy food that everyone brought. I think the food is one of my most favorite parts. One of the friends there had an explorer that had some racks up on top and some of the older kids were sitting on top of it just visiting. Before too long they were begging their mom to take them for a ride in the field. She drove really slow and they looked like they were pretty safe. It was pretty funny, it looked like they were on a safari ride. One of the grandma's was having a heart attack. The kids had fun though. Years ago the whole Postma family would have Easter at the farm before Grandma and Grandpa passed away and they would play softball, it was a lot of fun back then. Deten took all of his baseball stuff with him and all the kids played softball. Grandpa Bill even got in a played for a few minutes. We had a really good time with the Postma family. Billy was not able to be home for Easter because he was in West Virgina working. After we got done we went up to the farm house and visited with Aunt Jill and took some left over food and saw some of her animals. He did get to spend Easter with a family that he met and he had met and had a good time. It beat spending it in his room all by himself.

Ground Breaking Ceremony

Today Kasidee and Deten's school had their ground breaking ceremony for the new school being built. Kasidee begged me last night to please come. I ended up not have to go to SLC to get Billy so I figured it would be a good outing for Jesee and I. I mentioned in a past post that I moved my kids from the school in Vernal to Eagle View Elementary in Ft. Duchesne. It has been a tough transition, but it made a huge difference on my pocket book. Of course, as soon as I made the decision, the gas prices went back down. Today was a big day for the school and a lot of the Native Americans. The school is very old. It was pretty fun other than the yucky wind, it was awful. The Native Americans played an opening song and a school song. The kids seemed to enjoy it. A lot of them were moving to the drums beating. There were several people who made a comment and then the 8th graders got to turn the dirt over and then the kindergartners, and then they pretty much gave everyone a turn to turn the dirt with shovels. I figured since school was almost over I would check the kids out. They were excited. We went over and had the free food afterwards for the visitors and got cotton candy, hotdogs, chips and soda. When Kasidee told me about this last night she said that I had to come because they were giving away free pepsi, I said "Free Pepsi, I'll be there". She thought that was pretty funny. I got my free pepsi!

What a day

Today, started off kind of crazy. I really must have been tired because I really slept in. I hurried and got myself and Jesee ready for the day. I had to be to Deten's school for a maturation class. I had been to Kylee's a few years ago and it wasn't so bad and I kind of remember mine and it wasn't so bad. I really did not put too much thought into this other than that I knew this was something that I needed to be there for, for my son. Wow, did it make me blush a few times. The instructor just happened to be a close friend and old neighbor of our family. I really do give it to him, he did an awesome job. I won't go into any detail because this is a family blog, but when the little boys would giggle at certain educational things I had to turn my head and bite my lip to keep from laughing. I never remember wanting to laugh at the girls'. I am so glad that I don't have another boy that I have to endure this with. But on the other hand I am glad that I was there for my son. In Vernal they usually have this class in the evening so the parents go with their children. This was held in the middle of class so there were only four parents who showed up to be with their son's and I only noticed three mothers with the girls. I feel that as our children are growing up it is so important for them to understand themselves and changes in their lives as they grow older, so I will always be there for them even in the embarrassing moments to correctly educate them.

After we got done at the school I had to go over to Duchesne to buy some chicken food. The old man that works at the place saw Jesee, usually she falls asleep on the way over so she stays asleep in her car seat while I go in the small feed shop. The man heard me say Jesee's name and asked her if she wanted to see his babies? So we followed him outside and he showed us his baby lambs. Two were twins and the other's mother couldn't produce enough milk. They were so cute. I told Jesee to look at the babies and she kept saying "baby, baby, baby", I tried to get her to pet them because they would lick your fingers but she wasn't that sure of them.

The baby Lambs

Jesee looking at the lambs

UFC Fight night

Ok, so our family really likes the UFC. Billy really likes to go to his friends' house to go watch the event. We have some good friends that we go to their house and the wife's visit while the boys are boys. Well Saturday night Billy decided to go to one of his friends' house and he invited me to go with him. I really did not want to go because I knew it would be all the guys. I knew that I needed to go to town with him so I could be his DD driver. I decided to go hang out with my sister while I waited. I ended up going over to the friends house to pick something up from Billy and there were not very many boys there, so I visited for a bit and decided to bring my sister with me to watch the fights. These boys of course have to make their bets of who is going to win, someone always seems to get a hair cut like the looser. Billy has had is hair cut like Chuck Liddell. I was really impressed (not), but not surprised at the boys' bet. This night Billy's best friend lost the fight and so Billy knew that it was pay back time for his hair cut. My sister and I laughed so hard most of the evening at the boys. Here are some pictures of the eventful night. I really did have a good time with Billy, his friends and my sister.

Jesee's Surgery

Billy and I went out to Salt Lake, Monday night. We got to our hotel at 11pm. Jesee decided she did not want to go to bed because she slept most of the way to the city. I think she finally fell asleep around 2 or 3 in the morning. I had the alarm set for 4:30 so I could get ready. Of course Jesee decided she wanted to get up while I was getting ready. She was not a happy camper because she really wanted her bottle. Poor baby, we felt so bad, Billy was wanting to give in and give her a tiny bit. I told him absolutely not. He is quite the softie with the baby.

We got to Primary Children's Medical Center at 6am. We got checked in and Jesee made a new friend. There was a little girl about 3 or 4 who wanted to play with Jesee. Jesee liked her shirt. It was soft like her blankey's, so she kept grabbing the girl and putting her face on her shirt. It was cute, but Jesee would not leave the poor girl alone after that. I don't really think she minded. Her parents seemed to have most of their attention on their baby whom I assume had the appointment.

Jesee did really good for all the preparations. We finally got to wait in the pre-surgery waiting room. There were a lot of toys to play with. And a barrier wall to lock the kids in with the toys. That was nice for part of the wait. I kept having to chase her down the halls or in the waiting room. She can't hold still for very long.

A nurse came and took us into the hall and told us what to expect and then they took Jesee from me and away they went. It was really hard for me to let her go. I wanted to see them put her to sleep, at least. I understand they have their policy's. When she came out of surgery she was put in a room to come out of the anesthesia. By the time I got back in there she was already awake and a nurse was holding her. She had been crying. I held her for a few minutes and then we got to go into the post op waiting room. They said that both Billy and I could be in that room and wait for her to go home. The nurse went to go find Billy in the waiting room and I waited and waited for him to come back and he never did. I heard them page Jesee's family to the recovery room, but Billy was at the end of the hall waiting to hear something so he could go back. Just as they were letting us get ready to leave Billy called from his cell that barely let him make the call because the battery was dead. I felt really bad that he didn't get to be there for Jesee's recovery.

Trip to SLC to pick up Billy

On Thursday I had to go to Salt Lake to go pick up Billy from the Airport. He finally got to come home. On my way there I talked to my dad and he was getting ready to leave Salt Lake. He had flown in about 11am. I knew that we would make it to Heber about the same time. We met up there and visited with my Grandparents. My Grandma had surgery a few weeks ago so she was resting on her couch. I wish I lived closer so that I could help. But I am thankful that she has a daughter-in-law that is almost around the corner and helps her whenever she needs it. She is lucky to have other close family members in Heber to help also. I took some pictures of Jesee with my dad and standing by my Grandma. Grandpa just waited till she started to warm up the he snatched her up and held her on his lap. She didn't try to get away. I had to take pictures. We had a good visit. I had to leave to go find some flowers to take to Kelli at the hospital in SLC.

We got to the Airport and waited for about 45 min. for Billy. When we pulled up to the pick up spot I saw Billy coming through the crowded people and I pointed him out to Jesee. She finally saw him and she got a scared look on her face, I think she recognized him, but she was not sure if it was him because she had not seen him for so long. When he finally got up to the truck I wondered if she would cry but she got excited and she said "dad". She has not let him out of her sight much since. Jesee has always loves her daddy. We went and ate dinner. At the restaurant they gave Jesee her own plate of goodies to satisfy her till the food came, she loved it. Then we stopped at the University of Utah so I could go see my cousin Kelli on our way out. She is pregnant with twin girls and she started to go into labor early so she is on 100% bed rest till the babies come. Jesee fell asleep so Billy stayed in his truck with her. I visited with Kelli and Alan for about 45 min. We had a good visit.



On Saturday our family went to Vernal to run some errands. We went over to Kelly Reynolds house and the kids were playing outside while we visited. Kelly thought he would be funny and put some ugly teeth in his mouth and just kept talking like it was nothing to have them in. I finally told him that I could not talk to him anymore with them in, it was so gross. It was so funny too. Well, he talked Shawnee into putting her teeth in also. I laughed so hard. You just had to be there.

Last Friday I was on my way to Vernal to do some errands and all the sudden it hit me that I really needed to get away. We have not gone anywhere for a long time. We used to go out to Billy's rigs and visit him. I decided that we would hurry and get all the chores done and go to Salt Lake. It was nothing spectacular but it was really nice just to get away for a couple days (thanks, to my brother-in-law for doing our chores while we were gone). On the way out there we figured out that Jesee must have dropped her bottle before she made it out to the truck. We were already passed Duchesne and she was not very happy. I new that we were not far from Fruitland. I was hopping that the IFA would be open to buy some milk and wash a bottle that had been left in the truck. To my luck it was not. I have an aunt and uncle that have a cabin not too far from there. I noticed that their lights were on. I figured if I could see lights I could find my way up there. I did. They were so excited to have company. They have never had anyone just stop in and they have never had any young kids there. My uncle begged us to stay the night, but I told him that we would definitely plan a weekend to come up. My kids had so much fun running their poor dog ragged, just in the hour we were there. After our hour visit that put us getting to the city pretty late. We had a good time at my brothers. We stayed at his house most the time. I really appreciate you Sam for giving us a place to hang out. We will have to do it again soon.

Today I got to spend the day with my mom. We don't get to hang out much. I really enjoyed the day. We went to Salt Lake to a Dr. Appointment for Jesee. She has a little cyst on her forehead. I guess it is really common. We are going to have it surgically removed the beginning of March. The Dr. said that if we leave it, it will get bigger and then it will cause a hole in her bone and they will have to repair the hole. So we decided to take care of it while she is little and the scar will be very small. I am really hoping that Billy will be able to be home for the event.

I want to wish Billy a HAPPY BIRTHDAY tomorrow. I know that it has been very hard for him being out of town. It has been very lonely. He has been sick most of the time and had to spend it in bed in the motel room. But he is finally starting to recover. He has not been able to get out and just explore and drive around because it just rains and snows and you can't see much. Hopefully when the other guys get to go out there for work it won't be so depressing. I am really excited for the summer to come so we can go spend some time with him. Billy, I Love you very much, and I do miss you also.

I almost forgot. I really have felt like I need some changes in my life and I just keep trying to figure out what? Well, I was visiting with my sister and I told her I needed to get the kids' hair cut. Kylee and Kasi wanted to get shorter cuts and Deten just wanted a trim. Well I told Ash that I wanted to do something different with my hair. I get it trimmed, but it just is not doing it for me. She kept telling me do it, do it (to chop it off). So decided to go drastic and cut all my long hair off. Know, I have never had my hair cut short. One time after I had Deten I got it cut below my shoulders and I thought that was drastic. I was really worried about loosing my hair. I am really attached to it. Well anyway, I cut it just above my shoulders. It is layered. It turned out really cute. I worried about it making me look fatter, but it's not too bad. I will post some pictures of our new hair soon. I tried to take some pictures of myself, but I am not photogenic at all. After 25 pictures I still was not happy with any of them.

This past month has been pretty busy. I have spent a lot of time over at grandpa Elmer's helping organize papers and going through different things. But mostly just hanging out and sharing company. It has been really hard for him losing Evelyn. He tries to stay pretty busy, but when he is all by himself it is very lonely. I am very thankful that I am in the position that I can help him.

Kylee, Deten and Kasidee are all doing good in school. They all stay pretty busy on our farm. There is a lot of work to do when they get home from school. Kylee is playing church basketball and she really enjoys playing with the girls in our branch. Deten is going to start wrestling here pretty soon. This will be his sixth year wrestling. Kasidee just does whatever. I really need to get her involved in an activity but it is already hard to do the little things we do with living so far from town and the responsibilities of the farm. Jesee is so much fun to watch learn and grow. We all have so much fun with her. She is so cute and smart. She amazes us every day.

On Saturday the 31st of Janurary was Jesee's 1st birthday. We had a party at the community building with some friends and family. We had a really good time. My kids really like to have fun and Kylee thought she was funny when she was helping Jesee eat her cake and she pushed some of it into Jesees' face. So Ashlee and Britni thought that Kylee needed some cake in her face. So they waited for the opportunity and Britni shoved a slice of cake into Kylee's face while Ashlee was taking pictures. It was pretty funny. I got to clean up the mess and that was not so funny. I think everyone had a good time. My dad made sloppy joe's for everyone and they were delicious. He is a really good cook and loves to do it. So we let him.

The oilfield is really starting to slow down and so many companies are starting to see the effects. Billy has been very lucky with the company he works for. He has worked for them since they started their business and he has always been very loyal. He has always did whatever the top boss has asked of him and it has paid off. The big boss told him that he will be with the company till the very end. Since work is so slow and there is not any work around here Billy is being sent to West Virginia to be a Drilling Superintendent. He will be out there for a month at a time and will come home for a month. It is going to be very challenging but we are thankful he still has a very good job. The kids and I will go out and spend some time with him out there. Of all the places for Billy to go, it is the same state my girlfriend that I have been friends with since the 8th grade has lived for the past 10 years. She only lives an hour from where he will be so I am excited to have the excuse to spend some time with her and her family.

Well our new year did not begin as great as we would have liked. On Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 Billy's grandma Sperry became very ill and was flown to the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo. Her liver was shutting down and she had fluid leaking into her stomach and it was infecting her whole stomach and it was so severe that there was nothing that could be done. Evelyn was diagnosed with cervical cancer in August of 2007. Her health had not been the same since. She had been diagnosed with several other illnesses. She fought very hard till the very end. This had been especially hard for me because she and I became very close the last couple years. I helped her get to all of her Dr. Appointments and tried to be there with her during her hospital stays as much as I could. She also had some daughters who lived close by that were able to help out also. Evelyn was my best friend and grandmother in-law. We could talk about anything and we always understood each other. I tried to uplift her and love her unconditionally till the very end. I was able to have some very long heart to heart talks before she passed. The last two weeks of her life I think she had a feeling that it was coming to an end. I will treasure her friendship for the rest of my life. I made a promise to her that I would help her husband, Grandpa Sperry. I think she fought extra hard to live because she was so worried about leaving him. I tried to assure her that I would help with whatever I could. We would not just leave him alone. I am so thankful that I have a testimony that families are forever and that if we live our lives right we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again some day. Rest in Peace Grandma Sperry. You will be very missed by all!

2008

We are so glad this year is over. I hope the New Year brings much better luck. Just an overview of the past year. On January 31st our 4th child was born. Her name is Jesee Joe and she has been such a blessing to our family. We love her so much. We were not sure how we were going to handle a new baby but it has been awesome. She entertains us so much. Now we wonder what did we do with ourselves before we had her. We watch every tiny thing she does. We can't believe what our ages has done with our appreciation for life.

In April of this year we had a micro-burst that hit our house and tore all the shingles off the roof ,onto the east side of the house, on top of the garage and horse trailer. It was an expensive mess. Kylee was just getting ready to walk out the back door to do chores and heard a clink, clink, clink and it landed right in front of her. Thank goodness she listened to that little voice, just before she was going out the door she had a feeling to wait a minute before she walked out the door. Kylee called Billy and I and we were in Colorado and said the roof blew off. It was pretty scary.

In July Billy had a very close friend who dove into the green river and broke his neck. He couldn't move his arms to swim out. He just laid there and listened to the friends on the beach hoping that they would notice what had happened and help him. He held his breath as long as he could before he finally passed out. He was there about fifteen minutes before they noticed that he had not moved, they thought he was playing with the kids around him. He was flown to Salt Lake and was there for two months trying to heal. He is doing well but has a long road of hard work be able to walk again. We spent as much time as we could going out and seeing him. I took the kids to see him a few times and he really enjoyed seeing them. Now Billy tries to help take him to Dr. appointments, and do house visits when he is not working. This same friend has a girlfriend staying with him and helping him. In December of 08' she went to go to her mothers house and she was driving in the dark and she hit and killed a man who was jogging on the side of the road. He was a very well known man and leader to many in our community. It was a very sad tragedy. We keep her and the family's in our prayers.

In September Billy went on a caribou hunt in Canada. It was quite the experience. The Canadians definitely like to take advantage of the Americans who don't speak french. In Montreal it was outrageous for everything. A hamburger cost 30 dollars. Once he got to his hunting destination he had a good time. The first camp they went to they did not have much luck. The caribou were not migrating yet. So a few days into the trip they let them move to another camp. There they had better luck. Billy shot two caribou and got some pictures.

In October I totaled my vehicle. It was not a fun experience. I was not hurt too bad. My insurance did not pay for the worth of the vehicle so I get to pay for a vehicle I don't have. But thankful for my brother Storm he just happened to have an extra vehicle and is letting me borrow it till I get a new one. I can't express my appreciation for my family and their unconditional love.

In November I made the very hard decision to move Kasidee and Deten to a different school to be closer to home. It was starting to get very difficult with gas prices and the baby driving to Vernal twice a day. I hate not being able to go to grandma and grandpa Knutti's everyday. We have went to their house every morning for the past four years. It has been very hard on them also. Grandma and Grandpa have always been so helpful and my kids have very special bonds with them both. I am thankful they get to have the same experiences with them and memories that I got to have with them as a child. They are the most awesome, inspirational, unconditional and good examples I would want my children to grow up around.

In December my little brother Storm got remarried to a really sweet girl named Britni. We are really excited to have her in our family. Our family just feels complete.

In November my dad got ordained a High Priest and all of my siblings were there and both sets of grandparents and my dads twin brother Robert were there. It was a really special experience.

Christmas is finally over. I dreaded it coming but it was a lot better that I thought it would be. I am just thankful to have my family.

I am excited for the New Year and I hope we have many good experience.