our Memorial weekend

My family has a tradition that every Memorial weekend we go up to the Whiting Homestead and spring clean our family cabin. All the other Whiting family members go up and all of us families spring clean around the homestead. This year Ronnie got to show off his landscaping skills by trimming the trees. I was impressed he did a great job. This was also the first year that Faith was old enough that I could just let her roam around the homestead with her cousins. She had the time of her life!

Of course it wouldn't be an exciting weekend for Ronnie unless he got to shoot something...poor fox:(


We had fun at the park in Show Low with my sister Lindsey and her two kids Shanay and Matthew.


What could be more fun than going to the carnival in the Safeway parking lot in Springerville? Even Ronnie and my brother Jay had fun sliding down the giant slide with Faith.


Sunday my whole family went to St Johns to clean around my dads grave site and leave some flowers. The picture with Jaylee and my brother Jay is very special to me because this was the first time Jaylee has visited her grandpa Jay who she was named after. This by far was my favorite day of our trip. We left on Wednesday and got home tonight. It was a long trip in the mountains but Ronnie had to satisfy his craving because we leave on Friday for San Diego and wont be home until July 1st. Ill post pictures of our Cali vacation from our laptop while were there.

Anniversary

Today was our seven year anniversary. I think that this will be the best year so far because my lucky number is seven and this is our seventh year of marriage and its also 2007:)Tonight we went to the movies and saw Next. I really really liked the movie and I think Ronnie did too even though I had to keep punching him because he fell asleep three times. After our movie we went to Claim Jumper for dinner. Yummy! Happy Anniversary Ronnie!

"SEVEN YEAR ITCH"

MY LOVE STORY

The first time I saw Ronnie was in 7th grade. He came in the middle of the year. It was 1st hr English with Mr. Hall at Gilbert Jr High. Ronnie walked in that morning and walked down the row of desks with his tucked in rayon button up shirt (that was in style then). My heart honestly did a flutter and now I know why. Ronnie ended up switching classes after only a couple of days and I never really saw or thought about him again. That was until we ended up in the same 8th grade band class. Ronnie and I ended up "going out". We broke it off at the very end of our sophmore year in highschool. We always stayed close friends. We hugged on the football field gradution night and I felt that little heart flutter thing again, but blew it off. Ronnie moved to Utah for a while after graduation, we talked almost everyday (only as friends). When he came back he came to see me, we hugged and there was that flutter again. We dated again for about a year and a half and then he SURPRISED me Christmas Eve with my diamond. We were married May 19,2000 and the rest is history...

MOTHERS DAY

The highlight of my day yesterday was watching Faith sing in front of the church with the primary a special song for the mothers. She is a sunbeam this year and it was her first time to do this. Faith walked right up there and sang that song and wasn't even nervous which really surprised me. Also I was brought to tears when I saw a little boy in our ward who was born with spina bifida being carried up to the front and held by his dad to sing to his mom with the primary too. After church we went to Lydia's for yummy dinner and dessert. Later Uncle Homer, Aunt Connie, Josh, Meagan and Brooklyn came over to visit. It was a special day. Happy Mothers Day everyone.

7 Random Facts About Me

I was recently tagged by Amber. Here's how it works: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their 7 things, as well as these rules. You need to tag 7 others and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

Here is mine:
1.I am obsessed with my eyebrows. They have to be shaped a certain way. If I could, I would pay big bucks to go to an eyebrow specialists (anybody know one)? I have a crazy habit too, when I get nervous I start twisting and pulling out my eyebrow hairs. I am a big fan of the show What Not To Wear. I saw an episode where Carmondi lightened a lady's eyebrows with facial bleach. Am I the only one who tried this? Needless to say, I spent last Thanksgiving with Sizzled Orange eyebrows.
2.I love to do yoga. Something about the warrior posses...I make believe that I am a samurai. Every since I watched the Last Samurai years ago I want to be one.
3.I am a big fan of Kevin Trudeau and his Natural Cures books. I read his first book almost three years ago and it changed my life forever! I recommend every one read his books. Because of him our household no longer has a microwave and I am a picker eater than I was before.
4.I worked for Chase from 1997 until 2006. I worked the first 2 years as a teller and spent the rest in customer service. Because of this I cringe if I see someones money and it isnt bank faced (all facing up and in the right direction). I also love balancing check books and would only charge a small fee for those of you who need assistance.
5.I love my filing cabinet. Its perfect down to every last file. Sometimes when I walk by it I open it up and run my hand down all the files because I like the way they feel and sound.
6.Did you guys ever own a caboodle in the early 90's? I have a caboodle stuffed full of every love letter Ronnie ever wrote me starting back in 1992. They are all numbered too. There are 500 and something.
7.I feel that I have found my purpose in life but not my lifes purpose. I am looking for it every day. I love being a mother and a wife but I'm talking about that BIG change the world thing. Something that I am really passionate about. Something so big that one day I will be telling my story on Oprah. I admire Angelina Jolie for her contributions to the world. And the Asian reported that Oprah has on now and then (the really pretty one). And my sister in law Heather who is living her life's passion everyday. I want to FEEL what its like to be something greater than myself.

So now you know some random facts about me. Here are the people I am tagging: Ashleigh,Bailey, Sariah, katie, Heather,Meagan and Shannon.

Me A to Z

A - Age: 28
B - Bed size: King...still not big enough. I once put tape down the whole middle of the mattress to keep Ronnie on his own half (didn't work)
C - Chore you hate: laundry, it never ends
D - Dessert you love: cherry cheese cake and strawberry shortcake
E - Essential start your day item: make Jaylee a bottle (this is my alarm clock)
F - Favorite actor(s): Antonio Benderes and Julia Roberts
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
I - Instruments you play: Piano, clarinet (in High School) tried guitar after I had Faith it was too hard
J - Job title: too many
K - Kid(s): Ronnie 28, Faith 4, Jaylee 7mo
L - Living arrangements: 5 Bed room
M- Favorite month: June, usually when we go on family vacation to Cali (it's the most I get to see Ronnie)
N - Nicknames: A-Dawg (Ronnie's the only one who calls me that)
O - Overnight hospital stay other than giving birth: none
P - Phobia: flying, staying home alone at night and scorpions
Q - Quote(s): "Just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do."
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 3
T - Tattoo(s): 0
U - Unique talent:not talented
V - Vegetable you hate: artichoke
W - Worst habit: never can find my keys
X- If you were told to Xerox a part of your body what would you agree to: my hand
Y - Yummy food you make: garlic mashed potatoes
Z - Zodiac Sign:Aries

just in case you didn't believe me...

Ronnie pretending like he is a deer with the two deer sheds he found at "little red" over the weekend.

BREED OF HIS OWN

Ok so I thought it would be fun to share some things about Ronnie that you may or may not already know....

*Ronnie is a real comedian, at least he thinks so
*He drives way too fast and once recked his truck into a tree while driving on a mountain dirt road eating biscuits and gravy
*Ronnie is really good at math and always has to help me with my spelling
*Ronnie can bake the best cookies in the whole world
*Ronnie brushes his teeth for 20 min every morning
*Ronnie thinks he is Celine Dion and we get in more fights on road trips over his singing
*Ronnie is an excellent back rubber
*Ronnie owns and wears a cowboy hat (in public)
*Ronnie is a retired cage fighter
*Ronnie has received his EMT (emergency medical technician)
*Ronnie is an entrepreneur and started his own landscaping company four years ago with our own personal lawn mower in the trunk of his 79 Chevy Malibu. Today he has 30 employees
*Ronnie loves Johnny Cash
*Ronnie is drop dead gorgeous with hair (he says he shaves his head because he's "allergic to it") and he really means it
*Ronnie buys me EVERYTHING on my Christmas list
*Ronnie never answers his cell phone
*Ronnie plays the lottery and thinks every ticket is the winner
*Ronnie is always late
*Ronnie is afraid of dogs (especially schnauzers) oh and don't mention aliens
*Ronnie will race me to the door to see our girls first (after a night out alone)
*Ronnie loves hunting (anything)
*Ronnie is every ones best friend (just ask anyone)

Feel free to embarrass your own husband:)

Fire House Field Trip

Yesterday Ronnie went with Faith and her preschool on a field trip to the new Gilbert Fire House. The class toured the house, they got to see the firemen slide down the fire pole and slide down a slide that they have. They got to check out the trucks and the sirens. The best part was right when the tour was over the firemen actually got a call so the kids got to see them leave on a call. Faith thought she was styling in her red plastic fire hat that she wore. Faith also enjoys the special one on one time with her dad. I just got done writing a thank you letter to the firemen and we will be sending them a copy of both of the pictures above.

lots of EXCITEMENT

Starting with Friday the 13th...It was my 28th Birthday. I was born on a Friday the 13th but it was Good Friday so that canceled out the bad luck. I think? Friday for lunch Ronnie, Faith, Jaylee and I went to Olive Garden. This is one of my favorite places to eat. Its unfortunate that my husband hates the place so I usually only get to eat there once a year on my birthday or when I'm pregnant. He's a little more accommodating during that time:) Then Ronnie watched the kids while I went to the mall BY MYSELF! Then that night we went to eat at AZ88 in Scottsdale with James and Nicole and then to see Wild Hogs. I laughed none stop the whole movie. I had a great Friday the 13th Birthday. Thank you to Lydia for watching our girls!

Saturday was my Grandpa Merls birthday so our whole family went to Mi Amigos to celebrate all April birthdays. There was about 25 of us. Besides the restaurant giving our private room reservation away (previously made a month before) to another party, we all had a great time.

Today Ronnie finally blessed Jaylee. For those of you who know Ronnie he is not a shy guy, but when it comes to speaking in church he turns to jello. It has taken Ronnie 6 months to get the nerve up but he did a great job. Grandma Lydia made Jaylee her beautiful dress. The dress fit great but she was too big for the cute bonnet and booties. The bottom picture is of Jaylee and her cousin Brody taken today after the blessing. We had a busy but exciting weekend.

our Easter weekend

Where to start? Our family and Ronnie's parents spent the weekend at "Little Red". Friday night we ate dinner in Eager with Uncle Homer and Aunt Connie. Saturday we went to Greer and ate lunch with Uncle Homer, Aunt Connie, Uncle Gerald, Aunt Eileen, and Shaunna. After lunch we went fishing there. I am proud to say that I caught the first of two fish that day. Ronnie caught the second one with Faiths little princess fishing pole. Easter Sunday we woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had visited Faith and Jaylee. Later Faith went on a Easter egg hunt in the forest behind our cabin. We stayed up late at night eating popcorn and playing checkers and card games. I am feeling really grateful tonight for the life that I get to wake up to every morning. I am greatful for the Atonement that makes it possible to live again with the family that I love. Im grateful for my family and for Ronnie's parents and extended family. I am grateful for my beautiful daughters and for my husband (who just got done unloading our whole car and bathing Faith). I have never loved Ronnie more than I love him tonight! I had a wonderful Easter! Happy Easter everyone!

P.S. Ronnie and his dad found a huge elk shed while they were driving on our quad

Conference

I really enjoyed watching conference this weekend. I especially enjoyed Saturday because the kids allowed me to pay attention more. This scripture from one of the talks on Saturday really hit home with me. This is something that I am going to try to work alot harder at perfecting.

29 Let no corrupt communica-
tion proceed out of your mouth, but
that which is good to the use of
edifying, that it may minister grace
unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit
of God, whereby ye are sealed unto
the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath,
and anger, and clamour, and evil
speaking, be put away from you,
with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one an-
other, even as God for Christ's sake
hath forgiven you.

EPHESIANS 4:29-32

SCHOOL PICTURES

This year is Faiths first year at preschool. She goes twice a week for two hours at a time. She has really enjoyed it and so have I:) Here is her first ever school picture.

APRIL FOOLS!

"Little Red" is better than ever.If I would have posted this on April Fools day nobody would have believed me. When I pulled my own blog up it made me want to cry. Sorry guys:) The real story of the picture though...we were driving on the ranger yesterday back deep in the woods (there were no roads) by Kitchen Springs we ran into this old cabin. I snapped the picture and when I looked at it I couldnt believe it looked ALMOST identical to "little red". We had a fun weekend the weather was beautiful.

"Little Red" BURNS!

Our family went to "little red" on thursday. Friday around 3:00pm we went to Show Low to eat dinner with my sister. We got back to "little red" around 7:00pm to see our cabin steaming. The only neighbor that we have was out working on his horse stable when he luckly saw the smoke starting to rise from our cabin. He served all his life in the military and is just one of those people who are prepared for anything. He was able to use his truck that had some type of tank on it that has fire fighting chemicals and a water tank on it. We think that we probably left one of our floor heaters on...we really dont know. Our cabin is a total loss. Ronnie is crushed. Im just greatful that we didnt burn down the whole white mountain. I took this picture yesterday.

Jaylee Joy

Create a Free Slideshow

FAITH is FOUR!

My baby turned four today (going on fourteen). This picture says it all...she's full of it. Lots of fun and lots of work. Today Ronnie took her to work with him for something FUN to do. Later Jaylee and I met up with them at the mall. Faith likes to ride the "horses" and play on the dirty play area toys. After that we went to Peter Piper Pizza (thats where Ronnie wanted to go for Faiths birthday) with some of her cousins. We finished the day off at the ball field watching Ronnie play softball. HAPPY BIRTHDAY FAITH!

Jaylee

It's been an exhausting 2 1/2 weeks at our house and three doctor visits later. Yesterday I took Jaylee back to the doctor for the third time because she has had a really nasty cough and her breathing treaments havent seemed to help. The doctor listened to her and said it sounded like she had pneumonia but he also wanted to test her for whooping cough. So off we went, first to a lab where they did some tests on her blood and then to EVDI to have xrays on her lungs. About 20 minutes after we left the imaging place the doctor called and said that Jaylee does have pneumonia (not whooping cough). He perscibed her a mixture of 200mg of Amoxicillin & 200mg of Augmentin and she has to continue with her Pulmicort and Albuterol breathing treatments. She sounds terrible but she still has a smile on her face.

IT'S MY PARTY...I'LL CRY IF I WANT

Faith & Kiley

too much partying

Saturday was Faith's birthday party, her real birthday is on Wednesday. Originally her party was going to be at the park. The weather was warm but it was super windy, so we moved it to grandma Lydia's house. We ate lunch and cake and opened presents. Faith's favorite part about her birthday this year, is she gets to celebrate again on wednesday:) Faith had fun with her cousins and friends!

Ronnie is a Chihuahua


No bones about it, you're an energetic, devoted Chihuahua. For your breed, size definitely doesn't matter. After all, sometimes the best things (diamonds, car keys, Godiva truffles) come in small packages. Honest and straightforward, you're never afraid to speak up for what you believe in, especially if it's a cause near and dear to your heart. Having such a passionate personality can come with a few drawbacks, though. You can be moody at times, and people often find it hard to live up to your high standards. But once you make a friend, it's for life. Saucy and intense, your energy and unfailing loyalty make you a great companion. Woof!

Here is the test if you would like to take it! What Breed of dog are you?

Aleia you are a Pekingese

No bones about it, you're a trendy, A-list Pekingese. Classy and fashionable, you love to be admired. Sure, that means you can be a bit high-maintenance at times, but you're worth it, right? You shine brightest in the company of other chic, well-groomed doggies like yourself — as long as they don't steal your thunder. Full of more gossip than Entertainment Tonight, you're always up on all the latest news. You're somewhat untouchable, a definite trend-setter, and can be a smidge intimidating. You're the Ivana (or Donald) Trump of dogs. Everyone (everyone who's anyone, that is) knows that. In a word, woof.

I decided to take Heathers dog breed test and here where my results, Im not so sure that Im a Pekingese?

FOUR MONTHS OLD!

Four days ago I turned 4 months old. Today I went to the doctor and I got four shots. As you can see tonight I am still smiling even though I don't feel good. Smiling is what I do best (next to puking and pooping)! I weighed 12lbs 8oz and I am 23 3/4" tall and still growing....

FYI

Over the weekend we took Faith to see Arthur and the Invisables. If you havent taken your kids to see it yet, dont. Besides from the movie being really stupid (my opinion) instead of the characters saying "oh my gosh" they said over and over again "oh my _ _ _". We should have seen Happy Feet instead.....

SNOW STORM

my three little campers
CHANCE
Over the weekend we went to "Little Red" again with my aunt Coleen and her two kids Mariah and Chance. It was quite the weekend. We got into the "Little Red" area around 1:00am saturday morning and got stuck shortly after. We were going up a hill in my tahoe and pulling a trailer with the Ranger in it when we started sliding backwards. Our trailer jack knifed and came just inches from pulling our tahoe off a ledge. That was just the start of our adventure. We spent the next three hours trying to get our trailer and tahoe out of the snow without it falling off the ledge. It was freezing and snowing. My aunt and I both slipped, my aunt hurt her knee and spent the rest of the weekend limping around. We finally got to bed around 5:00am in the morning. Saturday was a much better day, Gerald, Allison and their kids, Brandon and January and their kids and some of January's family came to "Little Red". Everybody had fun sleding and ridding in the snow. Sunday, here we go again....... we woke up and started packing up because the weather was bad, dark and snowing (ALOT). We left "Little Red" around 12:30pm and just as we were leaving we stopped to lock the gate and STUCK AGAIN. After unloading the ranger and everything in the trailer again we finally pulled out about an hour later. We made it to Show Low in amazing time, two hours (noramlly its only about 45 min). The roads were crazy. When we got to Show Low the roads were closed both ways so we checked into a hotel and went to a movie. Yesterday we finally made it home. It sounds like a bummer weekend but I still had a blast.

Last weekend we went to "Little Red" with my Aunt Coleen and two of her kids, Mariah and Chance. Ronnie and my brother Jay went up on Thursday and we met them up there on Friday. The first night we got there Ronnie got stuck five times in the snow trying to meet us in Show Low. It was storming that night so we got a Hotel. Our room was so cold that at 10:30 that night Ronnie and I drove up to Wal Mart to buy a floor heater. On our way there we slid on some ice and crashed into a curb pretty hard. I was greatful that Ronnie was driving. As you all know my driving record hasnt been so great lately. Saturday we finally made it to "Little Red". It was the first time I have ever slept there and it was actually really warm dispite the hole in the cabin from the wood pecker. The kids had fun playing in the snow and sledding. I even had a really good time:) You can tell from the picture above that Jaylee also enjoyed herself or maybe its just because she loves her GREAT Aunt Coleen. For those of you who dont know my Aunt Coleen, she isnt just my aunt she has been a mother figure to me as well as a sister and best friend. My Aunt is beautiful inside and out, she's strong, brave, a provider, and a great mother. I can only hope to be half as wonderful as she is.

FAITHS DANCE CONCERT

Lexie and Faith in their dance costumes

Faith had her dance concert today. I know that I was more excited about it than she was. I love to watch her dance, probably because I didnt dance very long as a kid because I was too shy. I didnt think Faith would even make it up on the stage because sometimes I have a hard time getting her to even go to practice. Faith can be very shy and also has a bad habbit of biting her finger nails when shes nervous. Faith surprised me today, she got right up on that stage and did her little dance. She did great and was the cutest reindeer up there.

LONGHURST CHRISTMAS PARTY

Landen, Landon, Jaylee, Brooklyn, and Brody
Faith with cousins Kira, lexie and Kiley

After Faith and Lexie's dance concert we went to Josh and Meagans house for our annual Longhurst Christmas party. For dinner we had a potatoe bar. There was a cookie exchange and for dessert pie. Every year I look forward to this party because we play the white elephant game. This family is really fun to play with because no one hesitates to steal from each other and family members team together to get what they want (guilty as charged). This year I made out good. I got just what I wanted, a cute cowboy snowman and a bottle of Xango juice. Oh and the kids had a great time too:)

FYI

Faith and Lexie have their Christmas dance concert tomorrow at the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center. It starts at 2:00pm and tickets are $5.00 at the door. It should last about an hour.

GRANNIE PARTY

Sunday night we had our "grannie party". My grandpa Merl's mother was named Natalia which means Merry Christmas in italian. Grannie Natalia loved Christmas because of this so every year we have our "grannie party". We all stuff ourselves with great mexican food. This is a family photo. It is tradition every year for Ronnie to ruin the picture, this year he's not the only funny face:)

SCARY FACE

Last night while we were at Ron and Lydia's, Faith found an ink pen. Faith came out of the toy room where she was playing (too quitely)to show us her "scary face". This picture fails to show how she also colored her stomach from her belly button to her neck. At least it wasnt on the wall.

NEVER EAT YELLOW SNOW!

(Jaylee's cute hat was a gift made by Sariah)

( Me above Ronnie below)

Over the weekend we went to our "Little Red Cabin". We had quite the trip... The first night we were there Lydia locked the keys in her truck and we waited about three hours for a lock smith to come unlock the truck. The next day I was listening to the radio in my tahoe and ran the battery dead. For those of you who don't know "little red" is in the middle of no where land. It was freezing ( our dash read 3 degrees) but it made perfect weather for sledding. Faith had never been sledding before and its been about 15 years for me and its still as fun as ever.