Miss me?

Hello?! Have you missed us?  There is too much to catch up on so another day I will retrace my steps but for now, here is a little update!

Seth: Working and playing with his dog! Sometimes he makes time for us! Just kidding.  He is liking his job and has tons of time to play with his family (and his dog).  Build our chicken coop this spring/summer (it will probably go into fall as well) and is enjoying 'projects' with Logan and his dad.

Courtney: Helped put on Stake Girl's Camp in June (the hardest thing I've ever done).  Did a sprint triathlon, ran a half marathon and is busy busy busy with 3 growing kiddos!  Loving life and just trying to keep my head above water! ;)

Logan:  Just entered 1st grade!! Holy moly where has the time gone?  He is getting so big and loves to play with friends, drive his monster truck and ride horses with dad and grandpa.  Kindergarten got better after that last meeting (see the post before this).  He is so much fun! Lovin' this boy!

Chloe:  So so sweet and loves to sing!!! She is the little mother hen of the hens and her little brother! She pulls the only girl card every once in a while but can melt you with her simple smile and dimple :-) and her long blonde hair! She is 4 and ready for 'dance or gymnastics'.  Depends on the day which one she wants!

Mason: Growing up so fast.  Talks like he's 5, bosses us all like he's 30 and melts my heart.  He is now a 'big boy' and has seemed to grow up over night! He is so much fun and keeps us all in stitches!


Seth had a class in San Diego this year that allowed us to go as a family a few times.  While daddy went to school/work we went to Legoland, Sea World, the beach, aquarium, museum, water parks and whatever else we wanted to do.  It was so much fun!  We also had the chance this summer to spend some time in the mountains (Alpine and Graham).  It was so nice to escape this blasted heat in Arizona!

That is us in a nutshell this year! ;) No promises on blogging more but I'll try! Here are some pictures of our adventures!

 Sand castles in January in San Diego.  A little chilly there that time of year but totally fun!

 Chloe was in LOVE with the guy at Legoland! She kept giving him hugs.  It was so funny!

 Our boat ride with our hotel.  Again, a little chilly in January but it was so much fun! Kids love being on the ocean!

And what can I say about that face! Even with his bean burro all over it, still so stinkin' cute!

Naughty or Nice?

Logan's class had a 50's themed "sock hop" to celebrate the 50th day of school. It was so cute to see all of these little kindergarteners in their poodle skirts and white shirts and jeans. The party was complete with root beer floats, a conga line and a super cute class picture by the super cute car! Families were invited to celebrate and it was actually fun!

Now, can you imagine this boy being naughty?! Well, after the party we had parent teacher conferences. When I walked in and sat down his teacher said with a smile, "Well, Logan. He's a little bit naughty!" I think the look on my face made her quick on her feet because she quickly said, "I mean, he's a really good boy but he just likes to tease." I busted up laughing and said, "Well, he comes by it naturally. He comes from a family of teasers and our friends in dental school (I was really thinking Matt Petersen and Colton Flake) liked to tease him." So, now we are working on when its okay and when it isn't to tease. Not what my first experience at a parent-teacher conference would be but makes me smile none the less. I love this boy! I love that he does tease and enjoys life. He brings smiles and fun to our house and can come up with some pretty funny things! He is always wanting to be a helper and brings a smile to my face and fills my heart!

101 Update

This has been so much fun to do! I'm doing some of it without even knowing it! What a journey! 21 down!

1. Have a weekend get-away with Seth

2. Share the gospel with 1 person (not just casually but really share it)

3. Make a dress for Chloe

4. Host a holiday party

5. Try a new recipe twice a month for 4 months

6. Have one Shelf-Reliance party once a week for 2 months (Feb & March 2011)

7. Attend General Conference

8. Call all siblings once a month for 3 months, then continue

9. Make breakfast every work morning for Seth for 1 month, then continue (July, Aug, etc)

10. Finish Vital Records binder (sweet, just did this last week 10/2011)

11. Visit a temple I have never been to (Gila Valley in Jan 2011)

12. Post to family blog once a week for 6 months

13. Take an institute class

14. Go to a professional play

15. Read standard works: Old, New, BOM, D&C, PGP

16. Go on an overnight backpacking trip with Seth

17. Plan 5 romantic surprise dates

18. Cook dinner every night for 30 days

19. Run half marathon

20. Do a random “special party” day for kids just because I love them (coming soon!)

21. Join a team (city league volleyball March 2011)

22. Go to education week or women's conference

23. Weekly outing with kids for 2 months, then continue

24. Memorize The Family Proclamation

25. Memorize The Living Christ

26. Hold Family Home Evening for 2 consecutive months (with lesson and all, not just family activity)

27. Kiss Seth every day for 15 seconds for 1 month whenever he comes home and leaves

28. Read 5 classics

29. Plan and carry out a FAMILY service project

30. Take a concealed weapons course

31. Read entire conference issue for November and May

32. One night a week no TV from 6pm to bed 2 months

33. Morning scripture study before kids get up for 2 months

34. Write in my journal weekly for 3 months

35. Acknowledge and celebrate every holiday with kids (not in a consecutive year)

36. Invite a new family for dinner every other week for 2 months

37. Pitch a tent in the backyard and sleep in it as a family

38. Have family scripture study daily, 1 month then continue

39. Go camping as a family 5 times

40. Host a game night

41. Get involved in a community event (PTO Aug 2011)

42. No eating out for a month

43. Watch a sunrise and sunset in the same day with Seth

44. Learn to play 10 primary songs

45. Encourage someone else to start a 101 list (Thank you Rachel Scott)

46. Do the 12 days of Christmas as a family

47. Start and finish P90X

48. Go to Shelf Reliance convention

49. Finish Colorado blog book

50. Friday night date night for 2 months

51. Kiss in the rain

53. Go golfing with Seth

54. Organize food storage and inventory

55. Use kids job charts for 1 month, then continue (July 2011 - ...)

56. Take Logan on a 'date'

57. Catch a fish

58. Go snow skiing without crying ;)

59. Try yoga (Oct 2011 - I still don't like it)

60. Do an ‘arts and crafts’ day with kids once a week for 2 months

61. Go on a family bike ride (Logan rides now, woohoo! Summer 2011)

62. One week, do not go grocery shopping for food and live off food storage

63. Start riding my bike with kids (Summer 2011)

64. Get at least 2 water barrels for year supply

65. Identify 100 things that make me happy

66. Plan a 6-month dinner calendar

67. Plant a big garden and can it and share it

68. Teach someone how to bottle meats (Thanks Michele - Chicken Sept 2011)

69. Get a couple’s massage

70. Get a pedicure

71. Go on a picnic with my family

72. Do 50 consecutive push-ups (hundredpushups.com)

73. Go on a girl’s weekend trip (TOFW 2010, 2011)

74. Make a theme cake for someone

75. Start a new family tradition

76. Set up a Thrive booth at a county fair (Oct 2011)

77. Do a ‘themed’ dinner night once a month for 5 months

78. Do a 1000 piece puzzle with Seth

79. Try every day for 2 weeks to do 1 thing each day to make me a “holy woman” (this is from a talk at Time Out for Women)

80. Help someone start a meal plan for food storage (Thanks Aunt Vicki! Sept 2011)

81. Gut a fish and cook it

82. Visit 3 National Parks

83. Do the 200 sit-up challenge (twohundredsitups.com)

84. Visit 3 states I’ve never been to before

85. Spend a week total (not consecutive days) with Aunt Joyce and gather genealogy information

86. Go to bed every weeknight at 10 for a month

87. Potty train Mason

88. Do an emergency preparedness show (Mar 2011)

89. Learn the Family History website and how to research and submit names

90. Research and submit at least 3 names for the temple

91. Do all ordinances for those 3 names

92. Go wake boarding and get up

93. Submit a food storage recipe to Thrive

94. Organize closets (Summer 2011)

95. Write 101 love notes for Seth

96. Pay for someone's meal behind me

97. Serve 8 people in a month, random acts of kindness

98. Read 15 minutes with kids daily, 1 month then continue

99. Do “Oh Remember, Remember” challenge from stake for 1 year (just completed Oct 2011-amazing)

100. Move back to Arizona! (this is more of a dream than a wish and won't happen for a few years but it sounded good) ;) January 2011

101. Write a letter to self on 1st day of challenge to be read on last day of challenge. Letter should include how I am feeling about self, goals, and where I am spiritually and relationship with family/spouse. (10/22/10)

Holy Blogging SLACKER Batman!

Good grief, I sure wish whoever was supposed to keep up this blog would do it! If I want anything done around this place I have to do it myself! What a summer and fall it has been! Busy busy busy and still livin' and lovin' it! We have done so many cool/fun things but in no particular order (does this sound familiar?) here are a few pictures now that I have a place to put pictures on my computer again!

Summer time with new friends! These people have a huge blow up water slide! It was such a blast to play on! We loved it! The friends are awesome as well! ;) By the way, isn't he so dang cute?!

Labor Day weekend on Mt. Graham. We hiked with all of these kids (don't worry, their parents were there too) up Soldier Rock. What a blast. It made me a little nervous to have my kids climbing on this HUGE rock but we all made it down slowly and safely! We also have picture somewhere of President Kimball's tree! For those of you that don't know, President Spencer W. Kimball grew up in this little valley and carved his name in a tree. Its about a 2 mile straight up hike! No kidding but the kids made it and it was a blast! You can totally still make out his name. Rumor has it Seth's great grandpa's name is in there too!

This boy and Q tips! He loves them. No, really. Love is not too strong of a word here. If I ever can't find him, he is more than likely in my bathroom doing this. I have never gone through so many Q tips! Phone home? ;)

Scary moment here. Chloe was playing at Grandma's one Sunday evening and was stung by a scorpion. She couldn't walk, was salivating like crazy, hot and then cold, eyes darting back and forth and was totally restless. We finally called my EMT brother and he said get her to the ER quick (this was after about 5 hours or 1 am). We hesistated because we 1) didn't know about a trial anti-venom that our hospital happened to have and 2) we are self pay (ER's aren't cheap to be told there was nothing they could do and to let it run its course). She didn't even cry when they put in the IV. She was such a trooper! After 2 doses she was sound asleep and the next morning, NOTHING! What a blessing!

Labor Day on the mountain again. Ahh, we loved this weekend! 5 days of no phones, TV, movies, hardly electricity (except at night to play games or put kids to bed with the generator). Pure dirty mountain bliss! The bike belongs to Seth's uncle and they brought it up to our cabin so we could take the kiddos for a ride. A blast!

Climbing Soldier Rock. He is getting so dang big!

Mud holes with cousins. Isn't this the cutest picture? And no, the shirt was not originally white! Whew! :0)

Dance Class!! I've waited 3 LONG years ;) for this day! She REALLY does LOVE it! She didn't want to text this picture to dad but isn't she cute!? You should see these 7 little girls that are 3 and 4! Monday's are one of my favorite days now!

Ahhh, the BIG finish to the BIG HUGE race! I trained for and did my first (yes there will be more) triathlon! Can I just tell you this was the hardest yet one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life?! I learned how to swim strokes just this summer and did awesome on my swim time. Complete the entire race in 1 hour 57 minutes and my goal was under 2! It was a 625 meter swim (25 laps) 15.5 mile bike and 3 mile run. The run stunk. It was brutally hot! Like late August in Arizona hot! I was totally beat. I felt drained and amazing at the same time! Gave me the courage to train for my half marathon in January. I've discovered a whole new world of athletes and I love it! One word... amazing!

I went with Seth's mom and sisters and all of the nieces to see Cinderella at a dinner theatre. The dinner was gross but the play was a blast!

Skinner family reunion 2011. It has been more than 6 years since this bunch was ALL together. Probably closer to 9 when we got married. It was so much fun to be with everyone. The company, activities and of course the food was awesome!

Ha! Love this picture! T-ball in June (again, AZ heat...ahhh)! He was so nervous but had super awesome coaches and LOVED it after the first at-bat! We got one of these after every inning!

Another one of the hardest things I've ever done. I know, you are probably totally laughing right now and I am sitting here with tears in my eyes! This day was one that I totally looked forward to but dreaded at the same time. He walked on in and didn't look back. He runs off the bus and then slows it down to a cool guy walk. We were totally bored the first two weeks without him. Would sit by the window for 10 minutes waiting for the bus to drop him off. The other kids would beg for him to come home. We are mostly adjusted now and he is learning and growing so much. He's lost that little boy charm and has gained a "kid" adventurers outlook on life. He is so much fun and it is a blast to see how much he is changing. I still yearn for my baby boy, the one we like to watch in family videos sometimes. But, he still comes and cuddles me and now reads to me before I read to him.

Life is busy but good. The two biggest kids are in soccer and dad is the assistant coach. It is so fun. They have lots of little friends and are loving being close to cousins and grandparents. Mason is also growing like a week. He is asking to be potty trained and I am psyching myself up to doing it! ;) He talks a ton and has us all wrapped around his little chubby fingers!

Seth is enjoying work and life back "home". He always has tons of little projects going on and takes the time to take kids with him and teach them. I fall in love with him all over again when I see him on a horse and back to his old tricks and his old self that I remember from when we dated in high school.

I keep busy with the usual house and home and projects and training. We are enjoying being by family and loving the life we are making here.

Ahh, that feels good! Maybe I will stay a little more caught up now on blogging. No promises though! Love to you all!

The NEW House!

So I'm finally getting around to blogging about this (or blogging anything for that matter). I've tried so hard to get the pictures in order and with only a little frustration, I did it! So here is your tour!

The front of the house. Like my project in the driveway? Hand me down dresser that will be refinished black and put in our bedroom. This picture was taken last week and it still looks like this out front. I'm waiting for Seth to fix a side that was broken. We live in a small cul-de-sac. There are only 5 houses in it! LOVE IT! Its so quiet and the kids can play out front without me having a panic attack when I see my 18 month old half way down the street! ;)

This is the living/dinning area. It is one big great room. Pros and cons about that but overall we are really loving it.

A small kitchen but very functional! I am really liking it. Lots of cabinet space and they are deep which is working out nice! It is usually a little cleaner than this but oh well.

My first pantry! I've always had cabinet space for a pantry and now that I have one I don't think I'll ever go back! I am in love with this little room! My cansolidators just came in so I am currently working on making it functional and cute of course!

The office. This is right off of the dining room table. This door is closed for a reason. It has been since we put all of those boxes in there. Seth wanted to do this room. This door might remain closed for a while.

Seth's other room (not the laundry, are you kidding?)! The laundry is mine, unfortunately and the garage belongs to Seth. There are lots of cabinets and a counter top behind the laundry room door that is great storage as well. That basket, has been there for a while. I'll have you know I did fold it before blogging this post.

Kids/guest bathroom. LOVE the calming colors in here. We need some calm. Again, lots of cabinet behind the bathroom door that gives tons more storage!

The boys room. All things airplanes. The quote is my favorite! It says...
Brother will you...
build forts,
skip rocks,
shoot hoops,
tell me stories,
Always be my best friend?

LOVE IT!

Chloe girl's room. Slowly coming. I'm going to make a headboard eventually for her bed out of bead board so this will change a little.

Our room. The project on the driveway will one day makes its appearance in here. Until then...
I am really loving our room. The Forever, Promise saying has some meaning. We always used to write that to each other. Great reminder some days!! Just kidding honey!

We are still unpacking and reorganizing but we are loving it. The back yard is huge and we share a wall with the stake center which makes getting to church on time convenient! More post to come soon about our quick Vegas trip and our night in the ER with Chloe!

Homeless No More!

I know pictures are always the best part of a blog but my computer died and I haven't uploaded anything to the laptop. That being said, I will get on with this post.

We have been busy busy here in Arizona. The kids are loving being around all of the family and so are we! Logan just turned 5 on Sunday (that deserves its own post later) and we just signed him up for Kindergarten (sniff, sniff) yesterday. Mason is walking and can open the door to sneak outside! Chloe is as sweet as ever and provides much entertainment for the rest of us! Seth is loving his job. They keep him really busy and he comes home exhausted but only having to work 3 days a week, he can handle that! I'm still selling Shelf Reliance and it is paying for my loans until something opens up. I'm loving teaching and getting our own stuff prepared as well.

Now, on to the BIG news! We have finally found a house! It is smaller than what we wanted but we are really happy with it and we close May 5th! We are so excited! We are looking forward to finally being settled and feeling like we can start life here.

Until next time.... Cheers to you!

Feelin' the LOVE!

Wow! I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long! I can say to my defense that life has not been exactly normal around here though! As I'm sure most of you know by now, we have moved back to Arizona. Just before Thanksgiving Seth got a call from the office he had been driving the 7 hours from Farmington to work in every three weeks and an offer of a full-time position. We always knew we wanted to come "home" but planned on being in New Mexico for at least 4 or 5 years. I mean come on, we bought a house!!!! But, that is not what was to be for us and we packed up and moved right after Christmas.

Now, some have said that buying our house in New Mexico was a mistake but let me share a miracle with you. When we went to look at the home it felt so good. We knew it was special and as often (which was often) as we tried to talk ourselves out of buying it (even the day before we signed I went and looked at 2 rentals) it just felt so right. So, we did it. Then, when we decided to take the job in Arizona we knew that somehow, it would all work out. We had 2 families in one day come and look at the home but never heard back from them. Kind of scary but we had faith. We didn't want to get a Realtor because of their 7% commission so we gave our key to a neighbor and the office manager at Seth's office there. Through a round about way, a woman tracked down the office manager, went and saw the home, made an offer and we are set to close in two weeks. We haven't lost any money on the home and only about 1/4 of the money we put into the carpet and laminate that we installed. I still cry to think about it.

Now we are in Arizona, staying at my parents until our home in New Mexico is officially sold and we can get into something here. My parents are gems. They are so easy going and it has been nice. Some days are rougher because the kids feel like they are on permanent vacation but we are making it through. Seth loves his new job. We miss New Mexico and the friends we made the short time we were there. The office there was great and we miss them too. But, we know this was the right choice for us and we are so glad to be "home". The Lord has something in store. We are slowly learning not to question why or when but to answer, "I will go, I will do" and then doing it was complete, total faith. For those of you that know me best, not having a plan has been rather challenging but receiving the blessings of being obedient and faithful has been so rewarding.

I've been a slacker at taking pictures of our adventures here but will get better. We've already had a ball with life and I'll try and stay updated a little better. Thanks for helping me to feel the love and telling me we are missed! Love and miss you all as well!

Mason helping with the laminate install in the New Mexico house.
Seth and the kids (yes, the dog is like a kid) taking a break. We really miss this house. We loved it there!

my right hand man

Logan has become my right hand in the kitchen lately. He is always wanting to help with breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is starting to become a lot of fun. I will admit that my patience is sometimes tried during these times but I try to keep in mind these moments won't last forever.
On this particular night we were making tortillas. He got pretty good at flipping them over. I love this kid. While it isn't always easy being the mom, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It is moments like this that make it all worth it.

The Problem.

The Culprit.

This happened twice in a 12 hour time span. You can't tell by the picture but the floor was SOAKING wet. Its a good thing he is so cute!

Another LONG catch up post

Here I am playing catch up again. Oh well, I guess that's life these days. Where has November gone? It has been such a whirlwind month and December isn't looking to slow down any. But, we are still pushing through, smiling and enjoying the journey together. The weather has officially turned cold and Christmas is in the air! I LOVE this time of year! Love the holidays and the spirit that comes with them. But, before I get to Thanksgiving (no pictures, sorry) I better fill you in on what we've been doing. And, in true to myself fashion, I'm way too lazy to go back and put the pictures back in in the right order so I'll just tell you how it went!

While in Arizona, we did a little combined birthday party for my mom, my little brother Collin, Chloe and Mason. Chloe loved her cupcakes.
I tried to make Mason a huge cupcake but since I had very limited time and I was too cheap to buy the $30 giant cupcake pan at Wal-Mart this is my attempt. I LOVE this picture. Look at his eyes!
Apparently my brothers Pork and Collin thought it was taking him way to long to dig in so they decided to help him out.

Ummm, Pork........

Collin?

I don't think so! Mason has gotten super shy around crowds and my brothers were slightly too much for him to handle. Daddy tried to step in and help but....
It was over. No cake, no ice cream. Just huge tears! I thought this was the funniest thing ever. Pork and Collin kind of felt bad but it was too funny to see Mason react to them.

Presents however, were another story. Tons of kids helping out but it was fine. In fact, for this kid, the paper and bags were fine.

Logan and Mason got Chloe a microphone. For those of you that know her, she is our little singer girl. This has been perfect.

Some dolls from mom and dad along with a sit and spin, a doll from granny, puzzles from Chandler, Emily and Jared and way cute hats from Aisley and Rigdon. Don't forget the jammas that saved us on the way home from the Hawkins crew!

So here is the snow we got about two weeks before Thanksgiving. There was a little more but not much.

The kids still played in and ate it.

Before all of that jazz our Maser Racer boy got his first haircut. This kid is a champ! He just sat so still, never cried. It was awesome!
I know this doesn't look like much but there was tons more on the floor. I just wanted a picture of how long it was.

Is this not the cutest thing ever?! LoVe this kid!

The weekend before Thanksgiving Seth had to work in Arizona so the week before the kids and I headed down with my mom and the girls that had spent the previous weekend at my house (I know, totally confusing right?). It was such a blast to have most of my sisters here as well as my mom. Seth was gone to Utah for a conference and we just hung out, shopped, late night run to Dairy Queen and just spent time together. Love my family.

So for Thanksgiving we stayed in Pima and had our big meal with Seth's family. It was so fun to get together with everyone that was there. We played games, the guys went shooting, and just got to spend some much needed time together. Our families are getting so big and busy that it is rare that we get to just be together. It was such a nice weekend. Friday we did family pictures with my family and Sas and Kolby blessed baby Carter Grace on Sunday. We headed home in the ice and snow and are now trying to get back into somewhat of a routine.

We are so excited about Christmas time and the spirit that comes with this season. We are looking forward to time with extended family as well as with our own little family. Love to you all!