A Beautiful Christmas

Beautiful really is the only word that I could think of to best describe this Christmas. Not only was it a perfect, beautiful sunny day, with the sun glistening on the fresh snow, but the feelings we had and the moments we spent together were beautiful as well. Josten was so busy with school this semester, and stayed really busy up until the week before Christmas, that by the time Christmas came, it was the perfect opportunity to sit back and enjoy each other. We were able to start a lot of fun and meaningful traditions this year with the kids, as they are both older now, and both were soaking in what Christmas is and what it's about. Breck was so fun this year, and he passed his excitement onto Sienna, who probably didn't remember Christmas last year, being just under 6 months old.

On Christmas Eve we did the usual Christmas Light hunting, looking for the most lit-up place in town! We saw some good ones, and even the not-so-lit-up houses got a "WOOOOOOWWWW, Look at that!!" from Breck and Sienna! When we came back we had our traditional Hors d'oeuvres dinner for Christmas Eve. After Dinner, the kids got their "Christmas Bath" where they take a special bath with new bath toys, before we begin the real family time. After the Christmas bath, the kids opened their one Christmas Eve present, which as it is in many families, is always pajamas. They loved their pajamas, though Breck found his before Christmas and was begging for them for a couple weeks prior to Christmas Eve.

Once cozy in the pajamas, we all gathered around Daddy as he read from Luke chapter 2, the story of what Christmas is really about. After that, we read a story that Papa and Grandma Cornett sent us called "Christmas Oranges". We sang Christmas carols after that, and went to bed.

Breck was so excited that he didn't want to leave the tree. So he and Josten slept on the couch together so Breck could fall asleep and wake up next to the tree.

The next morning was so fun. Our stockings "dropped" since they were now full and "ripe". The kids had so much fun, and were so grateful for their gifts. They kept saying "Whoa!!! Thank you!!!" and Breck threw in a couple of "Cool, Dude!"s. It was so fun to watch. Christmas day was full of cooking and starting other new family traditions with the kids. They loved it, and the day ended perfectly when we sat down to eat a big (way to big for our little family) Christmas feast with three pies!

We went to bed full, uplifted, and satisfied as we recalled the day's events, and reflected on all the things that we were so grateful for. It's times like these that you really realize how much you have and are blessed with, no matter how much monetarily you are blessed with. We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed your celebrations of our Savior birth. May we all keep that spirit with us year-round!

Breck decorating the Christmas tree

Though it looks like Josten blinked in this photo, he decided to actually keep his eyes shut. He said he knew he was going to end up blinking anyway, so why not do it on purpose and save yourself the frustration? Anyway, this was our Christmas Eve dinner.

Kids about to open Christmas Pajamas

In the Christmas pajamas

Mommy reading "Christmas Oranges"

"Ripened" Stockings

Sienna tried to wake Breck up, but ended up falling asleep with him Christmas morning

Opening stockings

Sienna is such a little girl, she got jewelry in her stocking and immediately put it all on, with our help. She kept it on the whole day.

One of the wrap jobs I liked best (of my own that is, Josten's are WAY more impressive and detailed than mine, but I didn't have any pictures)

I made Josten a hat he asked for

Breck opening a present, and Sienna is in the background chatting away on a toy phone she got. I didn't post the other pictures, but she's in the background of 3 other pictures of Breck opening DIFFERENT gifts, still chatting away on the phone. I guess it was a hit.

Christmas Dinner


One day I'll get fancy pie plates, but until then, these work just fine. Two pumpkin, and one banana cream pie.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Macca's (Grandpa J's) Birthday!

We were lucky to be able to go up this weekend and celebrate my dad's birthday (affectionately called Macca by Breck for unknown reasons)! We were lucky to be with family, and celebrate just before all the festivities begin! We had a great time, and actually got a lot of things done while we were in the CDA area too! Happy Birthday Macca!


We were also able to open the long-time tradition "Elfie" presents, which are opened by the kids a couple days before Christmas. That's Elfie behind us.

Breck got a little excited right before we had cake and decided to take a big lick on the top of the cake..."ummm...give me a piece on the other side please..."

Christmas Greetings and more...

Our Christmas Greetings to you...

And a few more of our Christmas Pictures, including Sienna in her Christmas dress on Christmas Sunday that I made her!

More Parties!

What a crazy week we just had! It seems like there was something everyday of the week! Well... that's because there was...

On Tuesday, in my institute class, we had our holiday dinner party to finish out the semester. I'm going to miss institute over break, it makes me feel like a student again! After that, we had a "Biggest Loser Finale" party over at one of my friends' house, which was awesome!!! Nothing like sitting with friends, eating junk-food, and watching the Biggest Loser!

Wednesday was our Christmas Enrichment, which was also fun.

Thursday, was somewhat bitter-sweet. We had some friends over for dinner, who graduated this semester, and who are moving away as I type this. We are really sad to see the Stoddards go, we will miss their sweetness, and their genuine friendship!

Friday we had our ward party, and unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of that, but we had a really nice dinner, followed by the musical talent in our ward, playing and singing Christmas songs!

Saturday was the annual Naylor Christmas Party, which until this year, I always seem to miss! This year the theme was "White Christmas" so everybody wore white, we ate yummy food, and had a white elephant gift exchange. There were some amazing white elephant gifts too... seriously amazing ;) Josten wasn't able to go because wouldn't you know it, he had drill, so I went to that with the kids by myself. The kids were excited to be out and be with friends!

We're excited to be in the Christmas spirit and to have such fun things to do over the holidays! Hope you are all having a fun Christmas Season!!!


These two pictures are of the night of dinner with the Stoddards. In the one below, Breck found something really funny and threw his head back in laughter... funny little guy!



These are before the Naylor Christmas Party, Breck was posing, so I decided to take a picture, he's always acting like a model, posing for pictures! I curled Sienna's hair, and thought she looked so sweet!


These are some of the guests at the party, and you can see the wonderful Dale Jr. Poster from a white elephant gift...like I said, the gifts were great.



Breck decided to steal the camera, and take a picture of himself after stealing some fudge, and then one of our friends, the Dallings.


My amazing White Elephant gift:



Me, with a couple of my friends, Paige, and Brooke (with baby Paisley)

Turkey, Family, and... 85 degree Sunshine???

Yep, for the first time in about twenty years, we spent Thanksgiving in sunny California, visiting my Grandparents! We couldn't believe the beautiful weather! It was about 80-85 degrees all the days that we were there with perfect, clear sunshine! I don't know what's wrong with me this year, but I have been the biggest grump about the weather getting colder! I was one of the ones that was basking in the late summertime weather we had through up to October this year, and felt tears come to my eyes when the very next week it was 30 degrees. I'm usually so eager to enter into Fall, and all of it's festivities, but this year I just kept dwelling on my loss of summer. This trip was so perfect for me! I felt like I got my summer back, except for the fact that it got dark at 5:00. We were able to sit out in the sun, lounge by the pool. It's just what I needed to let warmth go for another 6 months!

Our real reason for going down there, however, was not the sunny weather, but for a "Johnston Reunion", where all of my extended family shared Thanksgiving, and the largest Johnston Family event EVER! Everyone of my grandparents' posterity was there, and we had a blast seeing eachother again! It was really such a special time, and ot was my grandparents (among others) first time meeting Sienna! All the great-grandkids had a blast together, though I think that my kids overwhelmed the other kids with their intense energy from time to time! A big thanks to Great-Aunt Diney for pretty much pulling together a flawless Thanksgiving together herself! She had help here and there, but she put the menu together, cooked much of the food, and cleaned up the house in preperation for the event! And it really was such a perfect event, we were all so blessed to be able to be together!

My parents stayed at a hotel close to my grandparents' house, and took Breck with the for a couple nights. We were able to eat breakfast with them there. The kids loved looking at the koi fish and turtles in the pond inside, and going up and down in the glass elevator. It's fun to see them enjoy new things!

Speaking of new things, I think Breck found a new obsession in airplanes! He wasn't even hard to travel with because he was so excited to fly in the plane! He kept his face planted to the window for all flights with an ear to ear grin! Sienna found parts of it amusing, but is still a little young to understand what was going on.
All in all, a great, and needed trip. Special, fun, new, and memorable experiences were had by all! We hope all your Thanksgivings were wonderful!

This was the only picture we got of Breck in the plane, it doesn't show his full excitement, but I thought it was cute anyway.


Breck and Sienna out back at Grandpa and Grandma-Great's. They loved the orange tree!


We went out to eat one night at Marie Callenders

They were getting ready for Thanksgiving pie orders, there was this huge table with pies on it, then some next to it, and then three closed-off booths in the back full of them too! It was out of control!!!


Breck and Sienna having a ball with their cousin Ruby!

My grandparents' three kids

Sienna getting caught sneaking the chocolate!

The kids in front of the pond with the koi fish and turtles. They were even given pellets to feed the fish!

The fish

Me and Mary on Thanksgiving Day

Aunt Mary and Uncle Kevin brought some Army toys for Breck to play with, which were obviously a huge hit.

Sarah Marie, and her lunch.

All of us, From Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Grandpa-Great, Kevin Winter, Michelle Winter, Grandma J., Grandpa J., Kevin Smidt, Great-Aunt Diney (Dianne) Pearce, Grandma-Great, Great-Uncle Richard Johnston, Great-Uncle Irv Pearce, Donald Pearce, Ruby Pearce, Claire Pearce, Breck Cornett, Mary Smidt, Sarah Marie Smidt, Sienna Cornett, Daddy, Mommy.

All four great-grandkids


Ruby and Sienna (2 months apart) clicked pretty well

And then this happened 2 hours before regular bedtime!!!

Little Liliana

Well the newest cousin was born today at 2:00 this afternoon! Liliana Rae Cornett came into the world, to her parents, Javis and Chaylia, weighing 5 lbs. 3 oz., and 19 1/2 inches long! You can probably get more info from their blog in a couple days, when things calm down a little, but for now, here's a couple pictures!

Congratulations Guys!!!

Walkin' in a Wintery Fall Wonderland!

We got our first snow!!! And by that I mean, the first snow that actually stuck! On Friday we had blizzards off and on all evening and into the night, and by Saturday morning, we had about a 4-inch blanket on the ground! On top of that, we had beautiful sunshine for much of the day, which sparkled against the fresh layer of snow! It was so beautiful to see! The kids were very anxious to get out there and see what it was like, though Breck seemed to remember a little bit of last year's snow.
Sienna hated it, but Breck loved it. Breck was all about snowballs, and exploring in it. Sienna pretty much just wanted to go back inside. It was cute to get them all bundled up for the first time this year though, and I do have to admit... even though I'm one of the biggest sticklers about not doing anything Christmas-y until AFTER Thanksgiving...it made me feel a little excited for Christmas, and I even busted out our Frosty the Snowman DVD! Shame on me, I know! But I just couldn't help it!

Here's Breck on Friday when the snow started falling. Excuse the nakedness, he had just spilled on himself after his afternoon snack...


Go figure, they would keep their gloves on, so their hands got cold, and we had to go inside before long.

Fun For All the Boys and Ghouls!

Happy Halloween all! Hope you guys had as great a time as we did! I have to say, this was one of the most fun Halloweens that we've had as the Cornett Family! Both the kids are now old enough to participate, and to at least sort of get the hang of what's going on! Our Halloween weekend included:

Thursday:
-Put finishing touches on Breck's costume
-Trunk-or-Treat at church

Friday:
-Drive around looking for pumpkins forever, only to find that there is not a SINGLE pumpkin left in the entire city of Moscow! (I know, that's what we get for procrastinating, but it was one of the first times that Josten was actually home in the evening in awhile, plus it's a tradition in my family to wait until Halloween Eve to carve pumkins, so in the hypothetical world that we could actually find a real pumkin, this really could have worked out.)
-Calling it quits on finding pumpkins, and search through Wal-Mart's $5 DVD section for a good Halloween movie
-Go home and eat Pizza while watching "The Addams Family"

Saturday:
-Get dressed in costumes again
-Take pictures
-Go Trick-or-Treating (or "treating" as Breck calls it, it's clear as to what was really important to him here.)
-Go to the mall to go warm trick-or-treating
-Have a dance party at home with Halloween music including:
The Addam's Familt theme
Ghostbusters
Purple-People-Eater
Thriller
Monster Mash and more...
-Watch Ghostbusters

So I decided to make/put together the kids' costumes again this year, which I love doing because it saves money, it's fun, and gets me into Halloween mode. To see details on what I did, you can visit my Project Blog, though now... I guess you really wouldn't need the ideas until next year...well, it'll be there when you do need it! Anyway, Breck was the Mad Hatter, and Sienna was Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Breck hated his hat, and would only wear it for pictures, and as you'll see from the pictures below, even that was quite reluctantly. You can also see now why I wanted Sienna to have her long hair for this costume, though she was still a cute litlle Alice anyways!



Trunk-Or-Treat



Breck got caught eating his candy prematurely on the way to the mall

Trick or Treat at the Mall

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow!

Yesterday was a tough day for us. Josten and I both shed some tears, but now I think we're coping and ready to move forward. The beloved firstborn of my loins got a hold of some scissors... I'm sure you can see where this is going... and cut not his own, but the beautiful long locks off the top of my little girl's head! We wanted to wait until she was about 2 for her first haircut, but I suppose with a 2 and a half year old around, that's a bit of an impossible dream. So I had to finally pull out the scissors and chop the rest off. I almost had a panic attack every time I snipped. I think she still looks cute, but I was counting on her long hair for Halloween. Why couldn't you have waited just one more week Breck??? Anyway, so here it is, everyone, Sienna's very first haircut, at 16 months!

BEFORE:

And just to show you how long it actually was in the back:


After:

Wisdom from Sienna

...Sometimes you have to chew through the trash to get to the sweet stuff...

Party Season

Though I'm still mourning the loss of BBQ season, I have to admit that I've had a blast with, and am really excited for the onset of PARTY SEASON!!! This is the time of year where we get together and celebrate virtually EVERYTHING! Harvest, friends, all we're gratfeul for, food, costumes, and we top it all off with the celebration of Christ's birth all through December! How fun!

Here in Moscow, we really like to find excuses to have a good party, and we've been very successful so far, and we've only just begun! Last week, we had an October Birthdays Party where we celebrated Alyssa, Brooke, and Nicole's birthdays. This was a girls-only party, which is sometimes very nice to have some good ol' girls time.

The second party was 2 days later, where we had a Halloween Party! That was for everyone, and it was so fun to see everyone's creativity in their costumes! My favorite was the naylor family, who came as the "Jeffs" family. I hadn't finished the kids' Halloween costumes at the time, so we got a little creative with them. Josten and Breck went as wounded soldiers, Sienna was a "flower child" and I was a black widow. VERY makeshift for my costume! We were all asked to bring a fun and scary halloween dish. There were some great ones from deviled eyes, to homemade bat and pumpkin chips, to mummy faces appitizers. I brought a "graveyard" with a creepy hand sticking up out of the dirt! They had fun activities for the kids, and some goos socializing for the parents!

Happy Party Season everyone!

October Birthday Party: (Left to Right, Top to Bottom) Paige, Me, Alyssa, Debbie, Sandi, Lindsay, Nicole, and Brooke.


Halloween Party

179th Semi-Annual General Conference

This weekend was the 179th Semi-Annual Conference for our church, where our leaders speak to us on what they feel would be most useful to us, and what will better us.

Whenever I was to write about this, I always feel weird, because I feel like "What more can I say to expound on these talks? Enough has already been said." But I also feel that if I don't record what it means for our family, that I'm ungrateful for what I've recieved, and that I won't keep those feelings from the conference with me.

So, I will share a little bit of my feelings on the conference, and my favorite highlights, and if you haven't seen it, then I'll post a link where you can see them for yourself.

This was actually the first conference since Josten and I have been married that we actually just watched it at home. We usually go to a stake center, or down to Utah to watch it. My reason for doing this was that Josten was gone this weekend with the Army, so I didn't quite feel up to doing it all on my own this year, plus Sienna was sick. It was nice hearing the messages in my home, because I felt like I was in the actual place where i would need to apply these principles I was being taught. Kind of like on the job training...

Well I absolutely enjoyed all four sessions of conference. I missed Josten not coming home from priesthood and giving me a report of that, but I suppose we can read it in the Ensign. It seemed like there was an overall theme of bringing us back down to the simplicity of just listening to the spirit, and being worthy of that spirit.

I feel like this was stressed because we need to apply that now, more than ever. We live in a world that is decreasing it's moral values by the second, and calling what used to be considered moral values ridiculous, or even evil! There's so much that goes on, so much that fills our brains, and so much forced into our brains from so many different directions these days that it is now more important than ever to find time to strengthen the Holy Spirit's influence in our lives. It is such a time where every value is debated both in the world and within the church, that it is absloutely necessary to have the Spirit with us to help us make the right decisions, and to help us distinguish between what actually is right, and what is wrong. The Spirit will never lead astray.

I had so many favorite talks, as I usually do, but 2 that stuck out most to me were President Monson's talk on Service on Sunday morning, and of course, Elder Jeffery R. Holland's fiery testimony of the Book of Mormon.

President Monson is such a loving person, and he delivers his messages in such a way that you feel his love and concern for you personally. No one is MORE qualified to speak on service than he. I was so touched by all of his examples, and insights. I want to always remember the things he said, and to practice them in our home.

There's not much I can say about or add to Elder Holland's testimony, other than ask you to watch it, if you missed it. This is something to be seen, though the words will be powerful in written form as well, to really appreciate this, it needs to be seen!

I loved this conference because Breck is finally old enough to listen a little bit and participate. He loved hearing President Monson open and close conference, and his beautiful talk on Sunday morning. He sat still and listened everytime President Monson spoke until he was finished. He loves the prophet so much, and was so anxious to see when I told him that "the prophet was going to speak to us today!" Sienna was sick, and not quite at that age to sit still, but hopefully she could feel the spirit that these leaders brought with their words!

If you missed it, I strongly encourage you to see it. You can go to byu.tv and view it there. There will be a little box in the upper right hand corner that says "Watch General Conference". It was amazing, and I'm so grateful for Leaders called by God Himself, so intune to the spirit as to actually know what each of the church's members need to hear. What a wonderful weekend!

More Family Visits!

After a fun, family-filled weekend in the Tri-Cities, we went straight up to Coeur d'Alene to drop me off at my parents' house to visit my sister, Mary, who had come up for a couple of weeks with her little baby girl, Sarah, who we hadn't seen since they let her out of the hospital! She is so big now! And such a laugher! You just look at her funny, and she busts up laughing! So cute!
Well, it was a fun little visit. Mary and I went shopping a couple of times (something I NEVER seem to have time to do), my mom took a couple days off work to hang out with us also, and we went up to Stoneridge and had lunch with my dad, where Breck and Sienna were able to take a ride in a golf cart! We got a lot of good quality time in!
On Tuesday, we went to the park with my sister-in-law, Shawnte', and little Vance. We later met up with Jessy Maus and her little girl Lexi. Lexi, Vance, and Little Sarah are all about the same age, within a couple of weeks of each other, so they had fun hanging out together on the blanket. My kids, meanwhile were crazy about Ft. Sherman, I don't think they've seen such a large park! They played so hard, and slept VERY well that night!
Wednesday, we decided to muster up enough strength and courage to get a good grandchildren shot, though there weren't quite so many children to coordinate for in our family, as there was the weekend before! Later that night, Mary and I went to a girls' night, which was a blast. It was sad to leave!
Breck was able to work on a little project with Grandpa, a little race car that they made with scrap wood. Breck helped with everything, the drilling, painting, glueing, and even a little cutting! He was pretty excited about having a new toy car!
We had a blast, and came home ready to see Daddy and have some good family time at home!

Jovi and Tracen's Weekend!

This last weekend we went over to the Tri-Cities for two very special events: our Elder Jovi's (Josten's brother) homecoming party and talk, and baby Tracen's blessing! What a fun weekend! We actually had ALL 12 GRANDKIDS together at the same time! We somehow managed to get them all to somewhat participate in a big grandkid picture! It was so good to see Jovi after two long years of being away in Pittsburg for his mission for our church, and to see the man he has become! On sunday, Jovi gave an excellent talk, recounting the blessings, inspiriations, and experiences from his mission. He delivered it so well, and I think we all felt the spirit in his words. After Jovi's ward, we headed over to Karen's ward, to bless baby Tracen, who we met for the first time as well! (On top of FINALLY meeting Brody, Jonbrock and Sheri's new little boy!) What an amazing blessing he was given by Grandpa Cornett! We're so excited to see him grow and turn into a little boy, then a big boy, then a man, and watch him turn into the man that we all felt he would become that day. We were so grateful to be able to have the opportunity to visit with family, especially for two very special events! Congratulations Jovi and Tracen!

Uncle Jehkiah playing with Breck, while Sienna looks on covetously

The Grand Kiddies: (From Left to Right) Braden Baisden, Sienna Cornett, Colby Beaver, Mackenzie Beaver, Brody Olsen, Kaelynn Baisden, Zoey Olsen, Breck Cornett (only wanting to play), Shyane Beaver, Vance Morton, Tracen Thorn, and Makenna Baisden

Sienna and Grandma Katrina having a ball!

Elder Jovi Olsen, Last time he saw Breck he was 5 months old!!! And of course, Sienna was non-existent

The girls hanging out in Shyane's room. Shasta's getting reacquainted with newborns in preparation for #4 in May!


The Men from the blessing circle.

4 Years! Wow!!!

I'm torn between saying "I can't believe it's been 4 years already!" and, "Has it ONLY been 4 years???" In reality, it feels like longer, because so much has happened in those 4 short years, that it seems like a lifetime worth of events, rather than something that could be forced to fit into 4 years. I also feel like Josten's ALWAYS been a part of my life, and it feels hard to imagine life when he didn't exist to me. On the other hand, wow, that went quick! I still feel like the awkward 19-year-old girl that Josten somehow saw potential in, when we both made a decision that would change our lives for the better. Though maybe still a bit awkward, it's hard to think to myself how much time has passed, and that I'm now not only a wife, but a mother...of two!
We have so much to be grateful for, so much to celebrate as we celebrate our four years together. We have a wonderful little family, which fact brings us so much joy, it's hard to contain! We have truley been blessed in so many ways, in so many little instances and so many huge instances as well!
We definitely feel the blessings we have reaped from a temple marraige. We feel the Lord has been on our side, has helped us, and blessed us beyond anything we could have ever thought possible. I love you Jos Sauce, for all eternity!






Our anniversary was sort of funny this year. Josten was changing out the liscence plates on our car, and cut his finger open. He had to go get 7 stitches, which they gave him some pretty heavy drugs for. After DRVING to school, his classmates in ROTC sensed his weakened condition, and drove our car home with him. I, meanwhile, had no idea that anything had happened, that he had even hurt himself, and driven himself to the hospital gushing blood, as I saw Josten emerge from the passenger side of our car, ana a little loopy at that. He hurried and got ready to go out (thanks so much to the Thackers for taking on our kids for the night!) and told me the whole story as we were driving to dinner! We had a great time, though Josten would occaisionally drift into lala land here and there. It was just nice to get out just the two of us, and reflect on the last year, and make goals for the years to come. We had a great anniversary, and have had a great 4 years!

Tracen Nicholas Thorn

After a very long day full of labor, Josten's sister Karen and her husband Travis, welcomed their seventh child, Tracen Nicholas Thorn last night around 7:45! Those boys sure give Karen a run for her money! Her labor with her girls were always super-quick, but her boys just seem to want to stay in a little longer through the labor! Anyway, from what we hear, Karen did great, and both mother and baby are doing well! We are so excited to meet you Tracen!!!! And congratulations Karen and Travis!

Mother and Child

Daddy and the Tracenater

His oldest sibling, Shyane, who was there the whole time as a support

A beaming Grandma

Nana's Annual Tea Party!

Another year of the annual "Pride and Prejudice" Tea Party has come upon us, and it was sure fun this year! Once again we found ourselves dressed in our best Pride and prejudice attire, while Mama Cornett hired a carraige driver to come pick us up at the church in Post Falls, then over to her house! It was just like taking a good ol' ride up to Penberly to see Mr. Darcy! We arrived at her house, and were escorted back to the backyard where we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and fresh squeezed orange juice from Gary! The food was of course exquisit as usual, Mama C. and Gary did an AMAZING job (they always serve breakfast, lunch and 3 tea times)! We switched up the movie-watching this year, though, and instead of watching Pride and Prejudice, we watched "North and South". It was a great movie; a lot darker than the frivilous and excited gossip scene of Pride and Prejudice, focusing a lot more on realities of life during an industrious period in Northern Endgland. There was of course, a romance blossoming in the midst of it though, and the ending...oh so romantic! It was just nice to be able to spend time with sisters, and have good old fashioned girly time! All in attendance were: Mama C. Shasta and Kaelynn Baisden, Shawnte' and Vance Morton, Amy and Mylie Reynolds, and of course me...kidless! Josten was so kind to take over the kids for the day, while I relaxed and enjoyed good company! Mama C. sent us off at the end of the day with soaps, candies, and a copy of the dvd we watched! Thanks Mama Cornett for another great tea party!


The invites made by Mama C.


They were even sealed with a wax seal!!!


The carraige


Coming to a stop

TERRIBLE Twos???

Now WHAT is so terrible about this???


Oh boy, having a two-year-old ROCKS! He is SO helpful! This video doesn't even do justice to his helpfulness!

Breck LOVES to:

-Sweep the floors whenever he feels like it
-Grab a wet cloth and start wiping down the table after we eat
-Retrieve diapers for Sienna when needed
-Throw away garbage, and knows EXACTLY what is garbabge and what isn't
-And of course, vaccuuming

I'd love to take credit for his tidyness, and tell you that I thoroughly taught him how to do all of these things and when to do them, but I didn't! He just picked it up on his own, and has become such a helper around the house because of it!

Coeur d'Alene, Family Fun and Drill

Having Josten home again has been so great. With him being gone, we realized there was a lot we wanted to do once he got home. Josten was of course eager to see his family again, and with him being gone, we hadn't been to the temple in awhile. Then, of course, Josten got a phone call telling him that drill weekend (in Post Falls) had been moved to this last weekend, so we decided to kill 4 birds with one stone and make a trip out of it! We saw Josten's family, went to the temple, Josten went to drill then visited with my family!
We were able to spend some quality time with Josten's family, and have a little belated birthday celebration for him at aunt Shawnte' and Uncle Cameron's house! Shawnte' and I worked on a clever little army battlefield cake for him! The kids were able to play in the pool and I think that Breck made some monumental steps toward getting over his fear of Koda, the dog. The morning that Josten went to drill, Mama Cornett made a big breakfast for all of us, including Cameron and Shawnte' who were able to come over, and we ate to our hearts' content!
We went to the temple early friday evening which was of course, so great. I always love the feeling I get when I go there, to get away from intruding thoughts of the world, and to focus on things more pertaining to our true goals in life. It's also nice to be able to be alone with Josten, not to mention it being just he and I in the most holy place on earth!
On saturday afternoon, I headed over to my parents' house, and we had fun just hanging out and relaxing! As usual, my mom and I decided to take a walk around our neighborhood after dinner with the kids. Breck is really into pushing Sienna around in the stroller, so he enjoys the walks as well.
Sunday, Josten got back from drill, and we had a belated stake birthday dinner with him. It was the first time my parents had seen him since he'd been back, so more happy reunions!
We came home Monday morning, happy to be home, but happy about the trip we had had.


At Cameron and Shawnte's house enjoying company



Breck and Sienna following TaPa around in the garden

I got Sienna's hair to go into a fairly triumphant ponytail, of course I had to document the momentous occaission


Breck helping Nana clean

A pretty heated fight between Breck and Sienna, it was pretty even, but we had to step in and break it up shortly after.

Breck with his newest prized posession: a Lightning McQueen backpack from Grandma. He carries it everywhere!

Bathtime at Grandpa and Grandma's!

Daddy Comes Home! Just in Time for his BIRTHDAY!

Well it's true... DADDY IS FINALLY HOME!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!! It was so good to finally see him again! The kids were so thrilled to see him, and anxious to go and start playing with him, even though it was 11:30 at night! It was so fun, and it's been SOOOO nice having him back home! He had an interesting time, to say the least at his training, which he promised to write about in a later post. But just to give you a small preview, they actually had to go into a gas chamber for one part, and take all protective gear off, and TRY not to freak out and endure the pain. Sick. Hearing some of the things they did made me feel guilty for having pity on myself for being home alone without him. He definitely had it worse off! I was completely comfortable, got a full nights sleep every night and full meals, which is WAY more to say for his conditions! Well, I won't say too much more, I'll let him tell you.
So anyway, Josten came home on the 31st of July, and his birthday is the 30th, so we celebrated his birthday yesterday. He's the big 2-7 this year! We celebrated by going to Robinson County Park just outside of Moscow. We cooked hot dogs over a fire, and let the kids play around for awhile. We played ball, and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. We went back home afterward for cake and blueberry shakes (which shakes we didn't have until today because we were so full) and presents. It was a fun carefree day, and mostly fun because we were all together again! Thanks to everyone who sent gifts, cards and messages wishing him a happy birthday! We love you all!







And this picture below is just a fuunny random picture I caught of Sienna the day Josten came home. She had gotten into the refridgerator and helped herself to some grapes.