Toronto

Gus and I had the opportunity to go to Toronto for a NP conference. I went just for the ride. At first I was very apprehensive to leave my kids for 5 days, but I am glad that I went. Because Gus spent most of the day in classes, I was left to explore the city all by myself.

The first night we were there, we saw the Toronto Blue Jays play the Minnesota Twins. This is how close our seats were to the field. It was AstroTurf, so I felt kinda jibbed! At the beginning of the game, they played the Star Spangled Banner and the Canadian national anthem. The Blue Jays won. Go Blue Jays (although you will never be my Mariners!)

The next day I set out on my own to explore. I rode the subway for the first time and went and saw Casa Loma. It is a house that was built in the 1910's for the wealthiest family in Toronto. They later had financial trouble and the house was abandoned only to be renovated and turned into a museum. It was beautiful! By far my favorite place.

We also went to the Toronto temple. It took us 2 1/2 hours to travel to Brampton, approx. 20 miles away, using public transportation. NOT my favorite thing. We couldn't do a session, but we were able to get a mini tour of the temple.

In Toronto, they have the CN tower which was built as a lightening pole, but turned into a tourist attraction. We ate dinner at the top in a spinning restaurant that overlooked the city.

The thing that I loved about Toronto is that there is so much cultural diversion. We ate a different ethnic food each night. I love Jamacian! There isn't any cultural segregation because there are so many cultures. Toronto is a city where the old meets the new. There will be old buildings towered by skyscrapers.

This was by far the scariest thing I saw:

A black squirrel!!



11 Going Strong

Gus and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary on May 3. 11 years! I can hardly believe that much time has gone by!! Of coarse, we always do our corny gifts that correspond with the year's traditional gifts. This year is Steel/Jewelry. We had to stretch it. We went to lunch at Winger's because they have 'steel' on the walls. We watched the 'Avengers' because, well I don't know, because it was good! The gift that we gave each other was a 'steel' fire pit for our backyard.

At our reception, we had a dance. Tony was our DJ. One dance that we did was the money dance. Anyone who wanted to dance with us had to pin money onto my veil or Gus' jacket. My dad pinned a $50 bill to my veil! It was a fun way to earn some money for our honeymoon!

Here we are today:

Well, last fall at least. Four kids and 11 years later, I love him more now than I did then. I am so grateful for all that he does for our family. I love you Gus!! Happy Anniversary!

2011 Wrap up

Yes, we still are alive. I have not been good at blogging at all. That's one of my new year's resolutions. That and start a scripture journal. And lose weight. And do more family history. Anyway, here' a recap of what has been going on these last months:
We celebrated Halloween:
Yes, we did even though I hate the holiday. Zach and Parker were the Knights who saved Princess Alivia from the Evil Dragon Cooper:

Yeah, REAL Scary!!

We spent Thanksgiving at Mamoo's and Papa's in Rigby. I didn't take pictures of that one, but I usually don't take pictures of us after we have gorged ourselves with good food. We did start one thing that I would like to use as tradition: we did our Black Friday shopping in our jammies, online, while drinking hot chocolate and eating popcorn. So much better!

Parker celebrated his 6th birthday! Wow he went from this to this in like two seconds!!



He got to have his first friend party at Outer Limits. He had a blast with his cousins and friends. His birthday cake was a lego construction sight. Complete with a dump truck and bulldozer. It was really fun to make.

Zach got to play basketball this winter. His team was the Orange Crush. Truley the other teams always crushed them, but they were so fun to watch!! I love when it's not such a big deal to be the best. They just play to have fun. (He totally posed for this picture. He 'acted' surprised that I got him!)

Just before Christmas, GUS PASSED HIS FNP BOARDS!!!! After 2 years of hard work and 4 times taking the test, he finally passed. He is a legite Family Nurse Practitioner. I am so proud of him! I know that there was a lot of help from Heavenly Father!! There is a saying "Trust in the Lord means trust in His timing" that keeps going through my head. This really was one of those times! It all happened when it was supposed to and we did learn a great deal of patience and faith from this. Many prayers were answered. Thank you to all of you who remembered him!

Christmas came and went in a blink!! The kids opened their presents, we went to Sacrament meeting (I love Christmas on Sundays) and then we went to help serve lunch at the Salvation Army. That was a good experience! It was slow and it seemed like the people didn't really want to talk a whole bunch, but it was good to get out of our little comfort zone and help others.

So as I look back on this year, I see that the Lord's hand is in all things. I am so truly blessed with my wonderful family and friends. I am so grateful for my Savior and all that He has done for me. I love the Lord and know that through Him all things are possible!

 Happy 2012!!

Summer 2011

So I promise that we did have a summer this year! Here is a top 10 list of things we did this summer:

1- Had a baby (and a very cute one, may I say!)

2- Celebrated the 4th of July. (Pocatello is not my favorite place to go, nor will we stay here again. The parade was awful, but the fireworks were all right.)

3- Spent some time in Island Park with the Jones' and some really big ANTS!

4-Parker and Alivia took swim lessons.

5- Played in the water- a lot!

6- Had the Blad reunion at Steadman's in Raft River.

7- Played with cousins.

8- Blessed the cute baby.

9- Visited the Dinosaur Park in Ogden.

10- Visited Temple Square.

I know that sounds like a pretty lame summer, but we didn't have the funds to go somewhere extravagant. I have to admit that this summer has been very stressful. Gus is waiting to take his boards again after he didn't pass. He is studying like mad!! Money has also been tight because we had that cute baby. My hospital bill was $6000! Thank goodness for insurance and thank goodness my husband works at the hospital. I am very grateful for his job. All in all, the kids didn't let anything deter them from entertaining themselves. Oh, to be a kid again!

Graduation!!!

I am so proud of this man: (Don't mind the fat preggo lady)

Seriously, he is one hard worker. He knows what he wants and he goes after it and NEVER gives up. That is one thing that I absolutely love about him. After he graduated with his Bachelor's he knew that he wanted to go back to get his Master's. All I thought was "Crap! More school???" Two years ago he started back to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. School hasn't always been easy for him. He learns best by doing and not by reading. That's what makes him a great nurse. There were times that he struggles with the program, but he came out on top. I must admit that this last semester was HORRIBLE! He was gone all of the time either doing clinicals or working and it was hard to be a single parent! I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished.

So what does this mean for our little family?

I don't quite know yet! Gus has to take his Boards before he can apply for any job-which will be within the next month or so. He has some options rolling around for a job. I'm just glad that he can diagnose and treat our kids when they get sick! We'll see what the future holds and I am just going to pray that he doesn't want to get a Doctorate now!!!

Wickedly fun!!

So for each anniversary we have, we like to get gifts or do something that goes with that year. The 10th anniversary is tin/aluminum. I thought it was a perfect fit that this was coming to Boise this year, and even on the week of our anniversary:

For those who don't know the story, it is about the witches of Oz before Dorothy came. So of coarse in it you will find:

The tin man!! It was so awesome! We went over to Boise and stayed the night. We were able to go to a session at the Boise temple. Then we ate at Tucano's. The next day we shopped a little and went to see Wicked. I'm lucky to have great in-law's who took our kids for the night and let us get away. All in all it was a great little jaunt over to Boise and I'm glad we went.

10 Years!!

10 years ago I married this handsome stud: I know! He looks so young, doesn't he?? I can't believe that it has been 10 years already. Since this is kinda like my journal (that everyone can read) I thought that each year I should start sharing some of my memories of our wedding day. Then when I get old and senile I can read all about them.

Here is a funny memory ( I apologize for the quality of theses pictures. Digital photography was not used back then!)

We are cutting our lovely cake. I warned him that he better not try anything funny with shoving the cake in my face. I trusted him and let him go first:Totally shoved it!

So I had to shove it back. He knew what was coming (notice the napkin).

Typical wedding cake eating scenario until....

If you really know Gus, you know that he has to have the last whatever...last word, last laugh, last anything, so he couldn't be outdone. He kisses me with a mouth full of cake and actually regurgitates it back into my mouth. If you notice, my look is of disgust in this picture. It was nasty!

Looking back on these last 10 years we have been through a lot. He has always been there for me no matter what. We have had some wonderful memories and also some very challenging ones, but I wouldn't trade them for anything. He has loved me no matter what. Through very trying pregnancies and a very emotional miscarriage. He has given me 3 beautiful children and another on the way. He has taught me patience and love and service. I can't imagine my life without him. He is my best friend and I didn't think it was possible, but I love him more now than I did on that day 10 years ago. When I don't think it's possible to love him anymore, I can't wait to see how I feel in 10 more years!! I love you Gus!! Happy Anniversary!!

Gus turns 31!

Gus had his birthday last week. We celebrated with his family on Sunday, the on Monday we went with his parents and some friends up to Scout Mountain and had a hot dog roast. I made him a Brazilian flag cake for his birthday. He's 31, I know so old! He is the best dad and husband in the world!!

Endless Days of Summer

I was just wondering where summer goes all the time. There really is no endless days of summer--it goes by way too quickly! August is almost here and we haven't even gone swimming once as a family yet!

Our camera broke at the beginning of the summer and I have had to resort to using our old one so we didn't take that many pictures. This week we finally broke down and bought one at Costco. It is waterproof, dustproof, freezeproof and shatterproof. I asked Gus how many more 'proofs' could it get, and he said it wasn't childproof. Anyway, I snapped a few pictures at Gus' last softball game. His team really stunk this year. One win. The games were boring. This one was no different. They played at 10:00 at night and it was trying to rain, but I didn't care because my camera was waterproof!!

We also spent the whole week last week up in Island Park at the cabin at Scout Camp with our ward. It was a blast! I sooo wish we had a camera there! Boys are so much fun. The kids had a blast with all the other kids. We also our family reunion for the Fisher/Parker side which turned out really nice (way to go Mom). Zach played his first season of Tiger Ball and did great! It was coach-pitch. He loved it. Now we are trying to enjoy the last month before school starts again!

Happy 9th, Babe

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. Really, 9 years!! Where does the time go? We like to celebrate using the traditional gift ideas. This year it was pottery and willow. Last year it was pottery and bronze, so we painted ceramic pottery last year. We really didn't want to do that again so we had to use our imaginations!
For the pottery part, I decided that pottery was made from minerals. And a great way to enjoy minerals is to go soak in the mineral pools at Lava. It was so great and very relaxing! We then went to an amazing Thai food place there in Lava. I've only had Thai food one other time, but this was definitely a place that we are going to go back to. Then we watched the movie "Willow" for the willow part--you know that corny 80's flick with the baby. Anyway time sure flies by! I am so grateful that I married Gus. He truly is my best friend. I love him more now then I did 9 years ago, and I can't wait until we're married 50 years to see how our love has grown!! I am so grateful for all he does for me. I love you Gus!

Gus Turns 30!

Okay, so I forgot to grab the memory card for my camera this weekend. Of all the lousy things to forget! Gus turned 30 on Sunday. We spent the weekend in Island Park with my family. It was nice and relaxing and probably the last nice weekend we'll have of weather!! We went to West Yellowstone and also played in the river by Big Springs. The kids had fun and it was nice to get away. Gus is so old now!(As old as me) Happy Birthday Gus!

Gus

Gus had his 29th birthday on Saturday. I know..he is so old! Here is a top ten list of things that we love about Gus: (with help from Zach and Parker)

10- His sense of humor

9- His wallet (Parker's answer)

8- How he teaches the gospel. (Zach)

7- How he plays with us. (Zach & Parker)

6- He is a handy man (although plumbing is not his forte)

5- He loves to shop! (We fight about who gets to go out the day after Thanksgiving!)

4- He cleans my house and does laundry.

3- He always looks at the glass half full.

2- He tries new things.

1- He always puts his family first.

We love you, Gus!!

We got to spend the weekend in Island Park for his birthday. It was so beautiful there. My parents, in-laws, and sisters all got to be there with us. We had so much fun riding 4 wheelers and little dirt bikes. We also went to Big Springs and on a picnic at Red Rock. Thanks everyone for a fun time!!

Alaska

Gus got to go up and spend last week fishing in Alaska with his dad. I guess it was his early b-day present! It was 10 years ago that he last went with his dad and that is when we met. Time flies. He was feeling pretty bad for leaving us for a week, but I absolutely LOVE fish. Then he was nervous that he wouldn't end up with any, but they came back with about 100 pounds of fish each. We have some halibut, some rockfish, and lots of salmon. I am sooooooo excited! If anyone has any great recipes for fish, please let me know. Gus hooked lots of shark and that is what the boys thought he was bringing back! We really missed him last week and sure are glad that he is back!