Happy Holiday's to our friends and family. We hope you have a wonderful and safe Christmas.
M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S ! ! ! ! !
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Saturday, December 08, 2007
November News... ( and a little of December thrown in here too)
Well we had a very busy November as you might have guessed from the lack of posts on my part. I don't know where the time is going but it is going too fast.
For Thanksgiving we hosted the feast at our house and we blessed to have Mike's parents, his brother and his wife Marta and our friends Ben and Angela Peterson. It was so fun to have a combination of people and to have a house filled with loved ones.
We packed the holiday weekend in with all sorts of family activities. We went to breakfast with Santa on Saturday at the Festival of Trees. Santa come by our table for photo ops - then the girls got to go sit on his lap and tell them what they want for Christmas. It was so fun and actually pretty relaxing.
The following weekend I went to Phoenix to have a girls weekend with my mom. We had a wonderful time just hanging out, shopping and we did a lot of talking. The weather wasn't the best (it actually rained for 2 days) so we were forced to go shopping. It worked out well though since we will be there for Christmas - now I don't have to take any presents with me.
So while I was away getting pampered at a spa and shopping with mom, Mike was home and in charge of the kids. He did a great job and even took the kids up into the mountains to go sledding for the first time. It's fun to show them how much fun winter can be since we never really had winter in Texas.
I guess that should bring you up to speed on the Deely's. I promise to post more often - especially after the holidays when things slow down a little.
Well we had a very busy November as you might have guessed from the lack of posts on my part. I don't know where the time is going but it is going too fast.
For Thanksgiving we hosted the feast at our house and we blessed to have Mike's parents, his brother and his wife Marta and our friends Ben and Angela Peterson. It was so fun to have a combination of people and to have a house filled with loved ones.
We packed the holiday weekend in with all sorts of family activities. We went to breakfast with Santa on Saturday at the Festival of Trees. Santa come by our table for photo ops - then the girls got to go sit on his lap and tell them what they want for Christmas. It was so fun and actually pretty relaxing.
The following weekend I went to Phoenix to have a girls weekend with my mom. We had a wonderful time just hanging out, shopping and we did a lot of talking. The weather wasn't the best (it actually rained for 2 days) so we were forced to go shopping. It worked out well though since we will be there for Christmas - now I don't have to take any presents with me.
So while I was away getting pampered at a spa and shopping with mom, Mike was home and in charge of the kids. He did a great job and even took the kids up into the mountains to go sledding for the first time. It's fun to show them how much fun winter can be since we never really had winter in Texas.
I guess that should bring you up to speed on the Deely's. I promise to post more often - especially after the holidays when things slow down a little.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Sand Dunes
Since we don't have a ocean near by we have to go find new places to play in the sand.
Idaho happens to have wonderful sand dunes in the middle of the desert just 45 minutes East of Boise. So a couple of weeks ago we loaded up the car with the girls and Cowboy and off we went. We had a great time climbing to the top of a mountain of sand (which is a great workout) and we had a blast running down. Mike liked rolling and jumping down and so did the dog. We hiked around for awhile, the kids got some energy out and dog ran free for about and hour and a half. It was great! Here are few pictures of our fun outing.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
When life gives you lemons - Make lemonade...
Well last Monday Mike was in a meeting and it was announced that they were going to be doing some layoffs. By 2:30 that day Mike was calling me letting me know that he indeed got laid off. He has until June to find a new job and we are very grateful for the 8 months.
So after my initial shock wore off, I of course started to worry about what our future may hold. But there was a tugging at my heart it just let it go. But I had a hard time with that. I knew God needed me to let go and I would but then I would take it back minutes later. Well on top of that I had agreed to go on a Woman's Retreat with my friend Emily. I really did not want to go but I had made a commitment and didn't want to let my friend down.
So I spent the weekend in the mountains, getting close to God and meeting new friends. I took the weekend to really work on letting go of this situation and work on some other issues in my heart. The Lord spoke to me and kept telling me we would indeed be okay and this was his plan. To have that put on my heart throughout the weekend really did free me. I feel so much better about the situation and now I can finally get excited about what is to come.
The move back to Boise fell into our lap and everything worked out so well that I know this is where we are suppose to be and I take comfort in that. Even with the purchase of our new house God's amazing timing was perfect. Two weeks before we were going to have to make double house payments we sold our house in Texas. I can't express the freedom I feel in that and knowing I can just have peace of mind knowing God is in control and he only wants the best for us.
So now we are on to Phase 2 of our life back in Idaho. I will keep y'all updated on what happens next in Mike's career. By the way - Mike is doing well the news - he handles things so well. It always seems to take me longer to get where he is at. Thanks honey for being so calm and putting up with my Type A personality, you are amazing.
Well last Monday Mike was in a meeting and it was announced that they were going to be doing some layoffs. By 2:30 that day Mike was calling me letting me know that he indeed got laid off. He has until June to find a new job and we are very grateful for the 8 months.
So after my initial shock wore off, I of course started to worry about what our future may hold. But there was a tugging at my heart it just let it go. But I had a hard time with that. I knew God needed me to let go and I would but then I would take it back minutes later. Well on top of that I had agreed to go on a Woman's Retreat with my friend Emily. I really did not want to go but I had made a commitment and didn't want to let my friend down.
So I spent the weekend in the mountains, getting close to God and meeting new friends. I took the weekend to really work on letting go of this situation and work on some other issues in my heart. The Lord spoke to me and kept telling me we would indeed be okay and this was his plan. To have that put on my heart throughout the weekend really did free me. I feel so much better about the situation and now I can finally get excited about what is to come.
The move back to Boise fell into our lap and everything worked out so well that I know this is where we are suppose to be and I take comfort in that. Even with the purchase of our new house God's amazing timing was perfect. Two weeks before we were going to have to make double house payments we sold our house in Texas. I can't express the freedom I feel in that and knowing I can just have peace of mind knowing God is in control and he only wants the best for us.
So now we are on to Phase 2 of our life back in Idaho. I will keep y'all updated on what happens next in Mike's career. By the way - Mike is doing well the news - he handles things so well. It always seems to take me longer to get where he is at. Thanks honey for being so calm and putting up with my Type A personality, you are amazing.
Halloween 2007...
Well we have had a busy week this last week with a few life changes to say the least - I will explain in a different blog when I have more time.
In the mean time I wanted to post our Halloween pictures. Mike brought the girls to HP and they were able to go from cubicle to cubicle to trick or treat. Not every employee participates so the girls had to look for orange balloons to indicant who had the candy! Mikayla would shout out in this normally quiet work environment "there's a balloon"!! The girls got a ton of candy and we only went to three floors! It was fun to see so many kids there and introduce my wonderful family to my new co-workers.
After we left HP we went to visit my Grandma who loved seeing the girls and then we went to dinner with Bob, Irene and my step dad Bob W. (Mom was already in Arizona getting the house opened up for the winter) After dinner we hurried home to get Cowboy dressed in his Halloween costume and we took him trick or treating in the neighborhood. Caitlin went as Super Girl with her Super dog by her side and they were out to save the Princess Ballerina (Mikayla).
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Pumpkin Patch Fun...
Today we took the girls to the pumpkin patch, an adventure we tried to do last weekend and failed but thankfully succeeded in doing today. It was a cold day in Boise, the high was in the low 50's, the winds were blowing but if you planned it right you could find a break in the rain and enjoy the sunshine.
Being out in the country at a farm with the wind blowing can chill you to your bones, but we found relief in the amazing corn maze. Half way through the maze I distracted the kids while Mike hid in the corn and when we walked by he jumped out and scared them. It was hilarious! After that we had both girls take turns jumping out at each other, so hopefully they won't have some weird fear of corn fields.
After the maze, the girls enjoyed a train ride pulled by a big tractor (that Mike thought he should have) and then it was time for our pumpkin hunt. Mike learned early on in our marriage that I love to hunt for the perfect pumpkin and that if given the opportunity I will spend hours searching for the best one.
So here I am in the field with my girls running from pumpkin to pumpkin... if you can just imagine it, the girls are yelling "mommy come look at this one!" and I'm yelling "Mike look at this one, I think I want it - can you come get get?" Then I would see a better one and girls would also see a better one and we keep yelling for each other to come see the pumpkins we found all over again.
But then we found it - a huge ugly pumpkin - I had to have it! Mike thinks it weighs about 50 pounds (good thing we got to get four pumpkins for free with our admission or this would be expensive). So now Mike is pulling the wagon with a 50 pound pumpkin in it through the mud- needless to say his patience was wearing thin. The girls and I then picked out 3 other large pumpkins - more in the 30 pound range- and then we picked out a few little "baby" pumpkins. Each one a little off. One actually looks like an orange beet. You see my idea of a perfect pumpkin varies. I like to find the ugly, odd and funny shaped pumpkins as well as the nice round plump pumpkins - those are the good ones for carving. The others I just use for decorating. We also picked 10 gourds for more decorating reasons. Good grief how many do I actually need?
Anyway, it was "the best day ever" as Caitlin and Mikayla would say. Caitlin had her last soccer game and received another trophy, Mikayla had her dance class and learned some cute new moves, we went to the pumpkin patch and got the best pumpkins in Boise, then we watched BSU beat LA Tech! The best part was that I was with my family enjoying life.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Dance Demo,Saturday Mikayla had her first dance demo. She performed at the Annual Borah High Chili Festival. She was very excited to dance in front of people and thrilled that she had so many of her fans there.
Mikayla and just one other girl only had 3 dance classes prior to the show and they did GREAT! Her dance class is a cross between hip hop and cheer, so she got to use pom poms in the first part of the show. This is a picture of Kaylie on her tummy in very wet grass during the demo. What a trooper!
After the little kids danced the older kids got their turn. Some did a dance demo and then there were 2 cheer teams. Caitlin loved watching the cheer teams perform and wants me to sign her up for it after Christmas.
Mike has a different view on that and just wants to encourage soccer and other sports. I don't mind Caitlin being a cheerleader, but Mike's thoughts are that it's all based on looks. I agree that most cheerleaders are cute but you have to have to have skill as well. Gymnastics is a big part of cheerleading as well as dance.
I would like to hear what you all think about it.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Fall Fun in Boise...
Sunday was a beautiful day in the City of Trees. The sun was out, the air was cool and the leaves are changing. We woke up late this morning and I made a big breakfast for everyone. After our tummies were full and the dishes were done I thought it looked like a perfect day to go to the pumpkin patch and get our pumpkins. We drove around following sign after sign to find one after another - closed. As we were driving to the last one, Mikayla informs us that it's her best day ever. I asked her why and she said because we are going to the pumpkin patch. Oh - the pressure!! (FYI for those who don't know our girls - we hear "this is the best day ever" several times a week- what a great outlook they have on life!)
Anyway, since we didn't find anything we ended up going to the store and we bought a bunch of gourds to take home for an art project. Once we got home I gave everyone a paper bag and off we went on a nature walk around our house to collect items that we thought we could use to use for decorations.
After about 45 minutes the "gourd people" were born and I am now proudly displaying them in our house. So, it still ended up being a great day for everyone.
To top the day off we ended our day with Mike's dad at our house watching the BSU game and having a great dinner. Ben - you really missed out! Nobody could even taste the onions so maybe you would have been okay. Oh and BSU smoked New Mexico!!
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Kids, Girls Friends and Mojitos
Mike was and still is out of town and so I decided to throw a girls night at my house. We have had it planned for 2 weeks, Caitlin and Mikayla were going to go to my cousins house to play with their little girls for the evening, I had new drink recipes ready to go, people were bringing food to munch on, everything was planned. Well, I think I am able to plan weddings and large events better then a girls night.
At 3:30 Saturday afternoon Mikayla started complaining that her ear hurt and she was getting pretty grumpy, so I decided to go ahead and keep her with me for the evening and just have Caitlin go see her cousins. That decision alone was full of tears and angry faces. Through offers of popcorn and a movie she got to pick at the movie store she finally settled down and accepted the change of plans. So here I am dragging my 4 year old around buying the ingredients for Mojitos and Martini's. Once we got home I juggled between caring for her and tending to her every need and getting the house ready for the "girls night".
In this process I noticed I had forgotten several key items to make the drinks I had planned. So I'm on the phone with two different friends begging them to bring some of the items over since my daughter had since fallen asleep on the couch.
Once the girls arrived I moved my then cured daughter upstairs to watch her movie - I should have guessed she just needed a nap. The kitchen looked like a science lab with me wondering how do I make these things and maybe we should just have wine. I tempted to make one new drink and then it was the Mojito's there after. Nothing else needs to be said about that.
Even with the failed drink attempts, the night was again a blast. With this group of friends I have learned there are no limits on what we can discuss. I found myself just treasuring the openness and all the laughter that follows. There is really something to be said about having close girl friends and being able to talk to them without being judged. I think as a 30 something year old woman I have learned to truly value those friendships just to keep me sane. I love my husband, I love my kids, I love our families, I have a great job, a cute dog, a cuddly cat, but even with all that I still need my girl friends. I feel so blessed and I feel like God has put the challenges in my life just so I can see what I have and not take it for granted. I pray that when I do face obstacles, I will remember this feeling and remember God has put people into my life to lean on in good times and bad. I know without a doubt that I have friends that will be there for me at 2:00am if I need them. What a comforting thought that is.
By the way the guys spent the evening having a "guys night" and played some new video game and watched a movie - I think the girls probably had more fun. :)
Here is the Mojito recipe Angela wrote out last night- this is word for word-
Sugar
1/2 lime - 4 pieces - mush
3 mint
ice
Rum
Shake, Rattle and Roll
Pour into glass
add club soda
Mike was and still is out of town and so I decided to throw a girls night at my house. We have had it planned for 2 weeks, Caitlin and Mikayla were going to go to my cousins house to play with their little girls for the evening, I had new drink recipes ready to go, people were bringing food to munch on, everything was planned. Well, I think I am able to plan weddings and large events better then a girls night.
At 3:30 Saturday afternoon Mikayla started complaining that her ear hurt and she was getting pretty grumpy, so I decided to go ahead and keep her with me for the evening and just have Caitlin go see her cousins. That decision alone was full of tears and angry faces. Through offers of popcorn and a movie she got to pick at the movie store she finally settled down and accepted the change of plans. So here I am dragging my 4 year old around buying the ingredients for Mojitos and Martini's. Once we got home I juggled between caring for her and tending to her every need and getting the house ready for the "girls night".
In this process I noticed I had forgotten several key items to make the drinks I had planned. So I'm on the phone with two different friends begging them to bring some of the items over since my daughter had since fallen asleep on the couch.
Once the girls arrived I moved my then cured daughter upstairs to watch her movie - I should have guessed she just needed a nap. The kitchen looked like a science lab with me wondering how do I make these things and maybe we should just have wine. I tempted to make one new drink and then it was the Mojito's there after. Nothing else needs to be said about that.
Even with the failed drink attempts, the night was again a blast. With this group of friends I have learned there are no limits on what we can discuss. I found myself just treasuring the openness and all the laughter that follows. There is really something to be said about having close girl friends and being able to talk to them without being judged. I think as a 30 something year old woman I have learned to truly value those friendships just to keep me sane. I love my husband, I love my kids, I love our families, I have a great job, a cute dog, a cuddly cat, but even with all that I still need my girl friends. I feel so blessed and I feel like God has put the challenges in my life just so I can see what I have and not take it for granted. I pray that when I do face obstacles, I will remember this feeling and remember God has put people into my life to lean on in good times and bad. I know without a doubt that I have friends that will be there for me at 2:00am if I need them. What a comforting thought that is.
By the way the guys spent the evening having a "guys night" and played some new video game and watched a movie - I think the girls probably had more fun. :)
Here is the Mojito recipe Angela wrote out last night- this is word for word-
Sugar
1/2 lime - 4 pieces - mush
3 mint
ice
Rum
Shake, Rattle and Roll
Pour into glass
add club soda
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Cabin
So we were invited to spend the weekend at a friends cabin with 3 other couples. Mike was so excited to go since the last time he went up was 12 or 15 years ago. I was planning to throw a party for my friend Carrie on Sunday evening so I was a little nervous about going since I wouldn't have much time to prepare when we got back on Sunday. But I knew how important it was to Mike and I knew I would have fun too, so I packed up and left the house.
Once we arrived at the cabin the girls instantly split off from the guys and started talking and started in on the wine. Jim, part owner of the cabin who is also an amazing chef started in on the cooking. All I have to say is what a treat it was to have such great food the whole weekend and I didn't have to attempt to cook anything. I did however learn how to make a killer Mojito! We spent the first night drinking, playing card games and dancing to the oldies. (which to us was the 80's) The guys ended up playing poker and I am happy to say Mike won!
The next day, 3 of the 4 girls drove into McCall and did some shopping and cabin hunting. In the process we saw a baby bear! We didn't see Mama which is a good thing. The guys and our long lost girlfriend met up with us for lunch on the lake.
We spent the evening back at the cabin and again drank, played games and talked. It was such a great weekend! Mike told me that when the guys were all together they talked about how cool it was that after all these years they are all back up at the cabin and now their wives are also good friends and can hang out without the men around for support. I had a good laugh about that today with Angela (who was on the trip). We actually were a little bummed the guys ended our shopping day so early. I agree with the guys that it's pretty rare that school aged friends can come back and pick up where they left off and their wives start new friendships with each other.
I'm telling this story for several reasons -one- I am so happy to be home and be able to go into the mountains and see bears, elk, bald eagles and even chipmunks. This is something I took for granted 4 years ago before our move to Texas, but I never will again. Two - I have really enjoyed getting to know "Mike's friends" over the years and especially since we've been back. I am so blessed that I can call them my friends too. They are all wonderful people with so much to give. It's so fun to hear stories from their past but more fun to make new memories - like dancing to 80's music in a nightgown and moon boots. I am so excited about our next weekend adventure as I know it will be a blast!
Thank you Jim and Jaime for inviting us to your cabin, cooking for all of us and being good friends. Ben - I hope some day you will find some good feet warmers, Angela- we have so much in common and I am so blessed to have you as a good friend, Becky- I know we are different in a lot of ways but you make me laugh and I love getting to you the real you, and Lance - you are a hard one to figure out and I hope one day you will be brave enough to try the Mojito that Jim taught me how to make.
So we were invited to spend the weekend at a friends cabin with 3 other couples. Mike was so excited to go since the last time he went up was 12 or 15 years ago. I was planning to throw a party for my friend Carrie on Sunday evening so I was a little nervous about going since I wouldn't have much time to prepare when we got back on Sunday. But I knew how important it was to Mike and I knew I would have fun too, so I packed up and left the house.
Once we arrived at the cabin the girls instantly split off from the guys and started talking and started in on the wine. Jim, part owner of the cabin who is also an amazing chef started in on the cooking. All I have to say is what a treat it was to have such great food the whole weekend and I didn't have to attempt to cook anything. I did however learn how to make a killer Mojito! We spent the first night drinking, playing card games and dancing to the oldies. (which to us was the 80's) The guys ended up playing poker and I am happy to say Mike won!
The next day, 3 of the 4 girls drove into McCall and did some shopping and cabin hunting. In the process we saw a baby bear! We didn't see Mama which is a good thing. The guys and our long lost girlfriend met up with us for lunch on the lake.
We spent the evening back at the cabin and again drank, played games and talked. It was such a great weekend! Mike told me that when the guys were all together they talked about how cool it was that after all these years they are all back up at the cabin and now their wives are also good friends and can hang out without the men around for support. I had a good laugh about that today with Angela (who was on the trip). We actually were a little bummed the guys ended our shopping day so early. I agree with the guys that it's pretty rare that school aged friends can come back and pick up where they left off and their wives start new friendships with each other.
I'm telling this story for several reasons -one- I am so happy to be home and be able to go into the mountains and see bears, elk, bald eagles and even chipmunks. This is something I took for granted 4 years ago before our move to Texas, but I never will again. Two - I have really enjoyed getting to know "Mike's friends" over the years and especially since we've been back. I am so blessed that I can call them my friends too. They are all wonderful people with so much to give. It's so fun to hear stories from their past but more fun to make new memories - like dancing to 80's music in a nightgown and moon boots. I am so excited about our next weekend adventure as I know it will be a blast!
Thank you Jim and Jaime for inviting us to your cabin, cooking for all of us and being good friends. Ben - I hope some day you will find some good feet warmers, Angela- we have so much in common and I am so blessed to have you as a good friend, Becky- I know we are different in a lot of ways but you make me laugh and I love getting to you the real you, and Lance - you are a hard one to figure out and I hope one day you will be brave enough to try the Mojito that Jim taught me how to make.
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