Camara Catch-Up

My camara broke about a month ago, so the whole blogging thing has been a slacker about the whole blogging thing. In the meantime, I borrowed my sister's camara, thanks Kelsie. But, I was still unable to retrieve my pics from my disk. I got a new camara for Christmas and I finally was able to get my pics off the card. So, here is a little catch up.

Marshall's birthday. I made him a doggy cake, he loves dogs.





The Nature Center
We enjoyed some beautiful fall walks at the Nature Center near our house.

Merry Christmas!!!

The Three Wisemen

We are going to Montana for Christmas so we decided to have "Chrstmas Eve", and "Christmas Day" early at our own house, so we wouldn't have to haul everything up there. Last night, we attempted our own reenactment of the Christmas story, starring Sheppard. Marshall wouldn't keep his headress on, it was a struggle to get this picture. Daddy was the narrator, mommy was Mary and Shep was everything else. I have to say, that he was an excellent Joseph. He took such great care with baby Jesus, I was touched by his love and tenderness. He was an excellent wiseman riding his "camel", the arm of the couch, to see the new baby Jesus. And, of course he did a great job as the Shepherd, a role he was born to play.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas, and hope during this time in our lives we can learn the lessons from the manger. May we be like the wisemen. These men were very educated and respected, yet they had the wisdom and humility to seek out the Christ child. May we be like Sheppard and Joseph and be tender and loving with those around us. May we be like the Shepherds in the fields and be willing to leave our fields (our hobbies, or interests) and take the time to to remember our Redeemer. We are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ. And hope all of you, our friends and family have a very Merry Christmas and a great upcoming year.

The Cowboy and the Cow

Shep and Marsh were the cutest little pair for halloween, a cowboy and a cow. When Shep first put on his outfit and saw himself in the mirror he made the best smile. He really liked the way he looked! Aram and I didn't want to miss out on the boys first trick or treating so we left the treats in a bowl on our front porch and went all together. It was great.

A Study in Motherhood

Look at these two pictures closely. The are almost exactly the same, just a different day, clothes and location. These pictures capture so much of what motherhood is. Motherhood is trying to make your kids do something they don't want to do, like take a picture or eat their dinner. Motherhood is holding on to those kiddos and loving them despite their "moments". Motherhood is finding humor in every situation and trying to have a good attitude, like when your kid poops everywhere and you spend the rest of the day clorox wiping down your whole family room, or when he wakes up twice during the night when he's almost one, or when they dump whatever you give them to eat on the floor. Oh the joys of motherhood. But, really it is joyful. I am so grateful for my two wonderful boys, even if it is hard sometimes they bring so much happiness, laughter and joy to my life.

Dinosaur Park

We have been enjoying all sorts of great fall weather at the Dinosaur Park. We meet Daddy there on his lunch break once a week. Last week our cute neighbors Jake and Addy came with us. Sheppard loves all the Dinos, he has an awesome roar.

Maple Bar Madness

I have gotten into a terrible habit of buying Sheppard a maple bar every time we go to the grocery store. It all started as an attempt to get some peace so I could concentrate on the important things in life, like deciding which kind of peanut butter I should buy. I started with good intentions and good parenting, "if you are good, then..." but it has turned to madness. The kid thinks he is entitled to the maple bar despite any type of behavior. My grocery store has awesome carts with cars in the front, and Shep loves to cruise the store while stuffing his face with donuts. This last shopping trip I realized Marshall could sit in the car with Sheppard. This is what I ended up with after the shopping trip was over. Needless to say I think they really enjoyed that donut!

The Moose is Loose

While growing up I would often hear a horrendous noise coming from afar. Whenever we heard this noise my mom would always say, "the Moose is Loose!" When my dad blows his nose, it almost sounds like he is blowing out his brains, he really does sound like a Moose, or what you think a Moose would sound like.
While at Grandma Lu Lu's a few weekends ago. Dylan and Shep found a very fun Moose hat, and we told them about how Pampa sounds like a Moose when he blows his nose. The boys did not forget this. A few hours later in Shep's broken english he mumbled "Pampa...nose...moose". So we asked Pampa to come show the boys how to really blow your nose like a man. They loved it! And, spent some time practicing their moose calls with Pampa.

A Great Opportunity

I am not the type to sell things to my friends. But, there is something that I’d want to know about if I were thinking about buying a home. As you all know the housing market has been a bit crazy for the last few years...it went sky high (too high for many of us to afford a home) and now it’s taken a major downturn. Many of us wonder when is the right time to buy.

My dad was asked by one of his dear friends, owner of Liberty Homes, to help him in a very diffiicult situation. Because, the market did what it did, he is left with high inventory and lots, and no buyers. He is to the point that he will do anything to sell these homes. So, the point I am getting at is if you are going to buy a house within the next year now is the time, and Liberty Homes is a great option.

My dad is going to be giving workshops for homebuyers. During this workshop you will learn how to get a government incentive for homebuyers, $7500 (a no interest 15 year loan. And you will also learn of the many things Liberty Homes is doing to get you to buy their awesome homes. They are cutting thier prices 18-22% (basically, selling them at cost). The builder is also offering incentives with closing costs. You will also learn lots of other valuable things for new homebuyers.

If you are interested in attending one of these workshops you can either call my dad directly. His name is Kelly Sheppard, and his number is 331-8322. Or you can email me your info. and I’ll have him call you.

Another thing. If you end up buying a house from Liberty there is a $300-500 referral incentive that both you and I will recieve. And, if you know anyone who is the market to buy a home you can refer them and if they buy both of you will get $300-$500. This a an incentive where both the referrer and the referred are rewarded.

The reason why I am telling you all about this is I honestly think it’s an awesome deal and I’d want to know about it if I were buying a home in Salt Lake or Utah Valley. I suggest visiting their website libertyhomes.com, they have some really cute houses.

"Cow"ifornia

We just spent a fabulous week at Newport Beach with the Sheppard side of the family. We spent lots of time at the beach lounging and playing in the water, we spent a day at Disneyland (which Shep surprisingly loved), and we did lots of bonding with the fam. While on the plane we told Shep we were going to California, he started pointing out the window and saying "Cowifornia...moo, moo, moo" I am afraid we didn't see any cows while we were there but I think that he wasn't too disappointed by what he found. He still calls it Cowifornia and adds a little moo everytime we talk about it.

Moondoggy and Gidget

All growing up I was obsessed with Gidget movies. I wanted to be a girl surfer so bad, and I always had a good crush on Moondoggy (Gidget's surfer beau). This week my dreams came true. We rented surfboards for a day and taught ourselves how to surf. It was soooo fun!!! Aram made a great little Moondoggy, he caught on to surfing really well. It was a great day at the beach.

The Things I Make My Husband Do

Aram fell in love with a young, spunky and sometimes cheesy 19 year old. Since that time six years ago, I wonder if he has wished he married someone a little less silly. He says that my spunkiness is one of the things he loves about me, but over the last six years he has gotten dragged into a lot of things he probably wouldn't choose to do on his own. One of which was very recently. On our trip to Newport Beach we attended a little Jazz concert by the pool. All of my siblings were egging me on to ask Aram to dance, so I did. While were were dancing Aram kept repeating "Everyone is staring at us." My only response was to explain to him that no one was looking at us because there was a much better act going on: the senior Floridian lovers who looked like they stepped right out of a movie. These people could actually dance, in fact they were little risque considering their age. I am glad Aram danced with me and continues to make me happy by going along with my cheesiness. Hey maybe forty years from now we can be the main attraction with a little hair dye, some high heels and penny loafers, and if Aram shrinks a bit.

Football Game

Suiting Up

We've upped the anty at our house. The nightly rough and tumble football scrimmage between Aram and Shep has officially added shoulder pads (dish towels stuffed into their shirts).

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There is a twinkle in Aram's eyes lately which could only mean one thing-- football season has officially started. And all the hopes and dreams of a undefeated seasons consume my sweet hubby. I tell Aram if he spent as much time studying his scriptures as he does reading Cougar Board and other BYU blogs he'd be a teaching CES classes by next year. In spite of his obsession with Bronco Mendenhall, one thing I do have to give credit to Aram for is being the best dad. He is so patient, sweet, and fun to be around. When I feel like I'm losing it, he always compensates for me. He and Shep play football nightly on our family room floor. Sheppy has the best moves, Aram says he'll be a great QB someday because he always gets rid of the ball before he's tackled. Our boys are so lucky to have such a fun dad who plays with them. I am so grateful for this blessing in my life. Oh, by the way GO COUGS!!!

Take a Hike

What can I say I love the mountains!!! It's not the easiest thing to carry two little boys on hikes, but I cannot resist the call of the wild. Sometimes it just sounds so nice to sit in our family room and just watch TV all the time, but I know if I just make an extra effort to get us out of the house and into the outdoors we will feel so much better, and enjoy the change of scenery! Almost every Saturday this summer we have done something new and fun thanks to the Weber County RAMP program which funded fun free activities around the county every Saturday. So, we've checked out the Train Museum, the Treehouse Museum, the Nature Center, the farmer's market, ect... But, I realized summer is coming to a close and although we have had a very fun and busy summer we have not enjoyed the mountains nearly as much as we should. I must admit I have complained that the Ogden Area does not have as nice or as convenient hikes and amenities as the Salt Lake, but that's because I hadn't discovered them yet. So we have spent the last month exploring the area and found some great spots; Waterfall Canyon, Wheeler Creek, and Snowbasin (Green Pond). These pictures are actually from an old Salt Lake favorite-Donut Falls which we did with all my sisters and their kiddos.

Fun on Flathead

The Happy Hippo

Gramma Judy and Papa Dude were so sweet and watched the babies while they sent us on a fun adventure on The Happy Hippo. The Hippo is a amphibious vehicle that goes on land and water. We drove along Main St. Polson, then took a cruise on Flathead Lake. The Hippo then got out of the water and drove up a big hill and then sped down the hill into the water which was quite exhilerating. Everyone got super wet between the water fight and the big splash. Thanks mom and dad for a the fun memory.