Nats B-Day

Nat turned 25 on Friday and we celebrated by opening gifts after school. She got a new comforter because she's moving into our apartment and her twin version is too small.Freckles was very interested in all the action, as you can see below.

She also got a sewing machine because she loves to watch the show where, according to Dad, "the weirdos make clothes for the slanky gals"... (aka Project Runway). Mom will be teaching her how to make stuff in the coming months. Maybe that will save us some money at the mall. :)

Then we went for a fancy dinner at a new restaurant in Pocatello. It was a gourmet 8-course meal, not for the faint of heart. We ate new things like patte, sushi, quail and really pungent cheese. It was all part of the experience though. Nat even ate mushrooms! We were impressed that Pocatello actually has nice restaurants like this.

Weekend in SLC

Mom cleaning out the property this weekend (no... this isn't a relic from the Museum of Clean)

Mom Dad and Nat went down to SLC this weekend to babysit the kids while Ryan and Heather celebrated their 11th anniversary a little early. It was also Uncle Henry's funeral. We made gingerbread houses and had a great time. Luckily Ryan and Heather live close enough to benefit from our services. Just a little incentive for the rest of you. ;)

Nathan

and Marissa and Mallory

driving home on the I-15

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we are thankful for the beautiful 40 degree weather, restaurants who make Thanksgiving food for us, and having no dishes to do afterward!

We woke up early (well... at least Mom and Dad did) and spent the morning working. We have been keeping busy making room for when Ricky and Eden move here in mid December. I'm switching rooms and we are clearing out our "extra" (aka storage) room for Lincoln.

After our morning projects we drove up to Idaho Falls and went to a Thanksgiving buffet. The lobby was decorated up for Christmas, so we took some pictures in front of a tree.

We had a delicious and relaxing lunch/dinner and then drove over to the Idaho Falls Temple. I'd never been there before so it was cool to see it. Its smaller than the LA temple, but a very similar style. We took some pictures...

...and watched "Testament", which was a nice reminder to all of us of what we are most grateful for--the atoning sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We missed all of our friends and family, but we were happy to be together and feel the spirit in the temple. We all agreed this should be our new family tradition.

House Update

Its amazing to see the progress on our house in just a week's time! Windows have been installed, the sewer system is being dug out, and a fireplace is in the works in the basement. The most exciting update is the loft we've set up above the kitchen. Its going to be the perfect place for puzzles and bean bag chairs. Many big decisions need to be made in the very near future. Does anyone have ideas or suggestions for the exterior? We are thinking of doing minimal stonework with neutral stucco. Let us know your thoughts!

Nat peeking out of one of the new loft windows.

The fireplace

Mom standing (bravely!) on the second story windows. This is what our view will be from inside the main house living room. :)

Nat doing a move from "The Price is Right" to show off the windows in the guest house.

Shes Alive!

In the spirit of Halloween I thought this Frankenstein quote was fitting. People have been asking why I'm never in any of the blog posts, so here are some pictures to prove I'm alive.

This picture is from Pocatello's "Trunk or Treat". I wanted to have some kind of costume, so I threw on Mom's cowboy hat last minute.... Then I realized that in Idaho thats not really a costume at all. I probably offended the local cowboys. Oh well, it was still dang fun passing out candy to all the kids and seeing their cute costumes. I think I had more fun than the kids did. I ate just as much candy too.

This picture is for Lincoln and Erica, who are always more excited to see Freckles than their Aunt Nat or Grandma and Grandpa Tutu.

Most importantly, we had Papa here visiting this weekend! He stayed for a few days and got to see our progress on the house and took a tour of the "museum of clean". We also showed Papa how to Skype and he thought it was pretty cool. We got to listen to a lot of Fox News, which I found particularly interesting around this time of year. I tried not to let it out, but Dad spilled the beans that I'm a democrat much to Papas disappointment. We still had a great time though, thanks for coming Papa!

The Queen Bee... and her growing hive

The following montage of pictures portray Mom in her element...enduring the elements over the past 4 seasons.

(Early October 2008 snowfall)

Mom up on the roof!

This is from about 200 yards away, this is what the house looks like as of last night. In the next month we hope to get the windows installed, exterior stonework and roof completed.

Saturday Night (Idaho) Fever!

One might wonder what fun can possibly be had on a Saturday night in Idaho. Well, some of our favorite city folk (Ricky, Eden and Lincoln) were lucky enough to find out last night! After two days of running all over town, we were all exhausted, so we retreated to the mountains for a little relaxation. We toured the property, had a BBQ, and looked at the stars.

As you can see, the house is coming along at an almost alarming rate.

No, Mom isn't slapping Ricky, although thats what it looks like. She's just explaining plans as Ricky and Eden marvel at the height of the ceiling in the guest house.

Dad proudly showcasing the revision of our once too-narrow stairwell

Ricky and Dad standing on the stamped concrete that will shortly become our entry. Notice the beautiful sunset captured by Nat's photographic prowess! (=

After the sun drifted behind the rolling hills of the Marsh Creek Valley, it was time for the real fun to begin! We set up a bonfire (which was, admittedly a little too close to our house in its current wooden state), and prepared for a weenie roast. Hot dogs and marshmallows are becoming quite a traditon for us! As the unpredictable flames died down to embers perfect for cooking, the boys kept themselves busy playing with toys.

Ricky wanted Dad to teach him how to ride the tractor.

He got the hang of it pretty quick!

Lincoln had already mastered driving a car, and was impressed by Daddy's tractor skills...

So, we thought it was time for Lincoln to learn the tractor too. It took him about 3 seconds to find the clutch. Like Father, like son!

It's been so fun having Ricky and Eden and Lincoln here to visit. Everybody is welcome to come up and we'll show you a good Saturday night too!

Conrad, Connie or Con's dream house

The title is a Seinfeld reference, sorry if you didn't get it. (So, thats pretty much everybody except JJ and Ryan). But... I'm sick of titling everything "Progress in Poky" so thats the best I could come up with.

(Freckles says to say hi to Daisy, Lucy, Kayla, Cuomo, Jango, Yoda, Lizzy, Lando and Leia)



Mom went up to the property Friday afternoon and she's so excited because it's really starting to look like a house! She actually made a video on her camera, but my computer tried to download it for like 4 hours last night until I finally gave up. Any tips on uploading videos would be appreciated. We are so excited to have everyone come and see it! We hope to have the guest house finished by Christmastime, but the big house might not make the cut.














These are both pics of the guest house (aka Nat and Freckles' hosue). Mom uses terms like "tressels" or something when describing what you might know as the roof.























The first picture here is of the basement level on the main house, looking eastward. The second picture is looking southward at the basement's main room. The third picture is of a guy putting the roof on the basement / the floor of the main level. I would definitely not want that dudes job. Nice view though!