Moon Lake

Our family had the great opportunity to head up to Moon Lake in the Unitas with the rest of the Dudley Family. We had a lot of fun cooking in Dutch Ovens, sleeping in our new canvas tent, telling stories around the campfire, and fishing.

Curtis caught over 10 fish in a spot where a stream ran into the lake. But I neglected to take pictures to prove it so it will have to be a fish story that will just get bigger and bigger as its told. Did I mention he caught 20 fish! ;)

The kids had a lot of fun for the three days we were up there. And Jace slept VERY well which helped. Here are some pics!

Kiddos in the Tent

Jace playing in his Porta Crib

Jace in the Backpack

Me in Front of the tent and Moon Lake

Dad and Son trying to get the stove started

Mom in the tent getting ready for the day.

Jace at the end of the day with all energy spent

Change for the Better

As most of you know our family has moved to Lindon. We had not planned on moving this summer but as we were window shopping for a house just for kicks, we stumbled upon our new house. At first we did not pursue it. But it seemed to remain in the back of our minds as if to say, “You want me, you need me”. Curtis and I were not looking for anything fancy. We wanted a nice home, in a nice location, with plenty of parking for Curtis, and horse property for Me. We set up a time to see it and within 3 days we made a huge decision to go ahead and buy the place. This made both of us a bit nervous because owning two homes was new to us. Would our place in Eagle Mountain rent quickly enough?? The answer to that question is yes. Within two weeks of me posting our quaint home in E.M. it was rented to a nice family.

Our new home is about perfect for us! It is a modestly sized home on about a half of an acre of land located at the end of a dead end street. A little less than half of the property is simply a pasture for animals. The other half is a well groomed well maintained large yard in which the house sits upon. The garage is extra wide and deep and has a lot of cupboard space for Curtis. He will of course improve it and make it even better. There is also a large gravel driveway to the side of the house that has ample parking space for the cruiser, truck, trailer, and Jeep. And most importantly there is no HOA. The house has just enough room for our family. The kitchen is much better than the last one I had and actually has enough cupboard space for all my kitchen gadgets. The home also comes equipped with three fireplaces including the one that is in the master bedroom.

Now all the details of the house are fine and dandy, but when it comes down to it when buying a house the location is the key to happiness. I have always said, you can always change a house but you cannot change the location. Our location is prime. We live in a very peaceful neighborhood with great people. Everyone has been more than kind to us and the street is quiet and tranquil. And in my opinion, the best thing about this area is all the hobby farms that surround us. Our neighbor to the right of us breeds miniature horses and pygmy goats. She also has a few other animals such as chickens, horses, a donkey, and a pony. My neighbors behind me have three gorgeous horses, which include Misty the Palomino, Breeze the Arabian, and Ace the 22-23 year old mix (He died a week ago L ). Other neighbors of ours have cows, sheep, more horses, and other random animals. In the evening as you sit on the porch and stare at Timpanogos Mountain you hear neighs, snorts, doodle doos, bleats, and whatever the sound game birds make. I think I am finally somewhere that I would not mind staying put and raising my kids and growing old with my sweetheart.

Anyway here are a few pics of the animals that I get to love! And thanks again to all the neighbors around us for being so amazing! I finally feel like I am home.

This is one of the baby miniature horses.

This is Cookies and Cream the Donkey

A Quarter Horse and her baby, and the other I know is part mustang...

The kids with one of the baby goats. Isn't he cute!

Mom and Baby

Curtis

My husband Curtis is an amazing man. Part of me has no words to describe how amazing he is and the other part of me can not cease to describe his wonderful qualities.

When I met Curtis he was very much single and enjoying his single life. He had a decent number of girls who adored him and would have married him in a heartbeat if he had only asked. I on the other hand was barely single after a heart breaking divorce and thought very little of myself after my confidence had been completely shattered. There were a few guys who seemed to have taken interest in me following my divorce but none of them seemed capable of loving me the way I wanted to be loved. When I was first introduced to Curtis I thought to myself, "this guy will be a good friend to have". But as I got to know him I realized he and I had very similar views on what a relationship should be like and what it would feel like to be truly loved. Why Curtis chose to marry me... I'm not sure I will truly ever understand that answer but he did and I am thankful for that every day if not every minute of my life.

Curtis can do anything he wants to do. He is a very capable man. So when he chose to be a father and husband he took the role on seriously.

I have watched Curtis as he has tried so hard to be the man he knows he should be. I have watched him become a father to two kids that needed him as much as I needed him. I watched him give up a lot of his play time so that he could be home to help raise them. I saw him take total and complete legal and emotional responsibility for Sage and Ashton when he did not have to. I mean lets think about the life change here... single with very little responsibility to married with two kids and soon to be one on the way. That is a hard step to make and he has made it with little complaint.

Curtis loves me with all that he has. He tries hard to put me first before other things. He tries so hard to make me happy. He loves his kids too. He is a strict father and the kids get away with very little, but you can tell he loves them and you can tell that he has made a positive impact on the kids lives. He may not be down on the ground playing with the kids but he is there for them and will never let them down as long as he is living. He is a father that a child can depend on to always protect and provide. For this reason our children respect Curtis and love him dearly.

Curtis is a softy inside. This may be a secret that I am not to reveal but its true. He can be very sympathetic, romantic, and yes, even silly. He really is a sweet man despite the fact he comes off a little hard sometimes.

I am thankful for my husband. I am thankful for the fact that he chose to love me when to some I was unlovable. I am thankful that he loves me even when I am having a bad day and get a little snippidy... (Is that a word?). I am thankful for the fact that I know he will always love me and the kids and would never push us away. I am Thankful for My Curtis. Curtis I love you.

Being the best dad he can be!

Curtis being Cuddly

Curtis being a good Daddy

Curtis in is playful splendor

Cali and Back in 10 Days

Our family just took our trip to California with Mom and Dad Dudley so that Mom and Dad could take their grand kids to LEGOland. We had a great time! Legoland is the perfect place to take small children because they can ride all the rides. Even Jace could ride a few. The best thing to an adult about Legoland Is that everything is made out of millions of legos! Both Curtis and I grew up LOVING legos so it was fun to see what could be done with them. Here are a few picture of our adventures in Legoland.

Roller Coaster with Grandma, Grandpa, and kids.

Jace getting some shade from Dad's hat

Jace sleeping in Dad's hat... made a lot of people smile.

New York made out of 2.5 million legos.

Grams and Sage on the Lego Cruise.

Curtis RAN to get to the yellow one that said rescue Patrol. He would done anything including chucking a kid out of it so he could ride it. Silly Curtis.

I have a thing for Wookies. Everything of course made out of legos.

Dad and Baby Jace having fun.

Im sure the kids feel like this when I tell them they have to clean their rooms before they can come out.

This is one of the kids favorite rides. It just bounces up and down.

While we were there we also went to the legoland aquarium. It was not bad for an amusement aquarium! Here are a few pics.

Grandpa Dudley in a bubble looking at the fish.

Sage feeling the starfish. She even got to feed the red one that is attached to the rock.

Ashton loved all the little Nemos!

Curtis insists on taking pictures of me because I generally hold the camera.

Like Father Like Son

While we were there the kids also went to the beach with Grams and Gramps a few times and collected plenty of shells. Grandpa even went as far as getting wet to get a few sand dollars from the ocean to give to the kids. Ashton was afraid of the beach at first because he thought it was filled with sharks but got over that fear thanks to Grandpa.

On another night we visited the open market and walked on the largest pier in the United States. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous but I forgot my camera :( So I have no proof of it and you will have to just take my word that it was rather romantic. On the pier we saw fishermen catch a few sand sharks. That was neat but I could not help but feel sorry for those sharks… guess it’s the animal lover in me that hates to see things killed.

On our last day there my little family took off to visit some relatives of mine that lived about 40 minutes north of where we were staying. Sage got to meet her cousin Hannah. The two hit it off right away. They loved each other. My Aunt Donna then took all of us out to eat. Thanks Aunt Donna!

Ashton, Hannah, and Sage. They love each other.

On our way back to Utah we stopped at Vegas where Grandma/Mom treated us to a Vegas Buffet! I loved trying different fish, sushi, salads, and deserts. Curtis filled up on crab legs, meat and sushi. Sage tried clams and mussels and decided they were not all that good. She then filled up on what was familiar to her and of course the sweet stuff. Ashton ate mostly Italian and Mom and Dad got the comfort food that they love. Even Jace got some sweet potatoes from the buffe:).

The trip was a lot of fun! Thanks to Mom and Dad Dudley for taking us! But we are glad to be back. So much to do now! Now to get back to work packing.

Together Forever

On May 21st our family had the great opportunity to be sealed together as a family in the Timpanogos Temple. We are so overjoyed to know that our family will be able to be with each other for an eternity. Curtis and I were rather emotional about the whole thing and the kids were just too darn cute dressed all in white. Ashton being the character he is, asked a lot of questions including, “This is Jesus’ house… where is he?” He also told the sealer that he was going to get to go to Texas Road House when we were done. He had everyone laughing in the room. I am personally so relieved to be sealed to my eternal companion who adores me and I him. It really is an amazing thing to be truly loved. We are grateful to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for making it possible to return to them as a family unit one day. For those who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and would like to learn more about Temple sealing’s, you can find out this information on www.lds.org.

A few things the sealer mentioned struck me deeply. I would like to share them. He quoted President Gordon B Hinckley in saying that you have to be “fiercely loyal” in a marriage. Your spouse should always come first and you should always have their back. He also said that the two words “thank you” will help keep your marriage strong and should be used on a regular basis. What a wonderful thought! Such a great way to uplift your companion letting them know how much you admire them and appreciate them! Finally he mentioned Faith. Faith Faith Faith. We need to have faith to get through our rough times. Rough times will happen… there is no doubt about that. But if we have faith and hold on to our beliefs in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, everything will work out in the end and we will be rewarded. I can personally testify that is true.

We would like to thank all those who took time to come and support us on this special day. Special thanks to the Manwills for taking video as we came out of the temple and another special thanks to Andrew and Cami for taking pictures of us in front of the temple. As of now I do not have picture of this day but hope to track down some soon☺. When I do I will post a few.

Did you know?

So I am at home... the baby is sleeping yet again... kids are watching a movie... I should be doing more laundry and cleaning but I feel compelled to write. So I thought it would be fun to list a few interesting facts about members of my family. Lets start with Curtis.

Curtis: Loyal, stubborn, perfectionist, passionate.
1- Curtis has been involved in Search and Rescue since he was 16 years old.
2- Curtis craves wings on a daily basis.
3- Curtis is not a fan of ordinary sports that use a ball.
4- Curtis is a certified rescue diver.
5- Curtis is allergic to everything under the sun except dogs.
6- Curtis hates dogs.
7- Curtis will however love Becky's future dog:).
8- Curtis does one thing at a time, and does it very well.
9- Curtis loves solving puzzles.
10- Curtis will stop and help anyone who needs it.

Becky: Loving, overly trusting, stubborn, spunky
1- Becky loves to learn and feels stressed if she is not learning something new.
2- Becky can get overly silly and will tease those she loves till they beg her to stop.
3- Becky loves animals and would like a small hobby farm one day with horses, a donkey, a goat, and maybe a pig.
4- Becky has a hard time letting go.
5- Becky loves throwing parties.
6- Becky gets bored easily.
7- Becky thrives best when she is with her family in the outdoors.
8- Becky loves weird food.
9- Becky does not like to be alone.
10- Becky loves growing her vegetable garden every year.

Sage: Energetic, intelligent, social, emotional
1- Sage LOVES animals
2- Sage reads more than most kids do her age.
3- Sage can get very angry.
4- Sage seeks for acceptance by all.
5- Sage is very kind to everyone.
6- Sage's favorite color is blue.
7- Sage is very loyal to her friends.
8- Sage loves to climb rocks and wants to be a rock climber like her dad.
9- Sage understands concepts that some adults don't understand.
10- Sage recently learned to swim but still struggles with floating on her back.

Ashton: Sweet, thoughtful, helpful, has no sense of personal space.
1- Ashton loves to play with small figures for hours.
2- Ashton is very very... very touchy.
3- Ashton has the best smile there is.
4- Ashton is very forgiving.
5- Ashton's best friend is Sage.
6- Ashton randomly tells his parents he loves them all the time.
7- Ashton is very good with his hands.
8- Ashton is learning his ABC now and has about half of them memorized.
9- Ashton skin burns faster than Sage's.
10- Ashton's favorite thing to do is go for rides in his dad's jeep, and on the motorcycle.

Jace: Adorable, talkative, loud, Big
1- Jace is a tall boy.
2- Jace recently started solids and ate over a 1/2 cup on hir first day.
3- Jace is happiest when he wakes up from a nap or a long sleep.
4- Jace likes to be tossed around.
5- Jace screams so loud it hurts his parents ears.
6- Jace is stubborn.
7- Jace licks everything with his pointy tongue.
8- Jace is an excellent napper!
9- Jace is starting to get interested in books.
10- Jace has olive toned skin.

Gumba: Loud, picky, sweet, excitable.
1- Gumba was caught in the wild and was not hand raised and fed.
2- Gumba we think is a male bird
3- Gumba is a blue fronted amazon parrot.
4- Gumba loves redheads.
5- Gumba loves children.
6- Gumba prefers woman over men.
7- Gumba will scream in the mornings.
8- Gumba loves to have his neck rubbed and under his chin.
9- Gumba will attack you and draw blood if he feels threatened.
10- Gumba was abused by his formal owners.

Honey- Old, sweet, loving, mouser
1- Honey is the cat
2- Honey was found at Goshen Pond being chucked out of the window of a mini van.
3- Honey was extremely mal nourished when we found her.
4- Honey fetches milk rings and brings them back to you.
5- Honey disappeared last summer to reappear when it got cold months later.
6- Honey makes Curtis sneeze.
7- Honey loves strong smells like stinky feet.
8- Honey will pee on the clothes of people she does not like.
9- Honey is a superb mouser but leave the bird alone.
10- Honey is over 10 years old.

Ok so I think that is about it. Random facts on all of us. I think its great that a family that is so different can get along and love each other the way we do. Curtis and I have a lot of common interests but our personalities are very different too. I would say that Sage and Curtis are the most alike. But somehow we all fit well together like puzzle pieces to make a great picture.

Dandelions!!!

Today while my adorable baby slept I decided to head out and wage war against my dandelions that are wreaking havoc upon my lawn. Because it had rained recently they were pretty easy to dig up and the temperature was perfect so I comfortably dug up maybe 80 of these beloved weeds! As I used my weed digger to uproot these pesky flowers, my thoughts turned to why we have these flowers to begin with.

Dandelions are not native to the Americas. If you dare to believe it, they were actually brought over by some of the first settlers and planted near their villages as a source of food! That's right Dandelions were actually used as a source of food and are really quite nutritious. You can make dandelion coffee, salad, tea, wine or just eat the root raw. I bet the settlers appreciated this invasive weed a lot more than we do!

Maybe my neighbor appreciates them as well... because looking at her lawn I sigh in frustration knowing that my weed free front lawn will not last for long if the wind blows my direction... which I am sure it will. I wonder if she will know its me if I leave her some Weed B Gone on her front porch?

To end this small blog I would just like to thank the dandelion for helping out the settlers when this land was still fairly untouched. I would also like to tell the dandelion that although it has done great things in the past, I would really rather it go somewhere else so I can be like all those old people who due to the lack of things to do, have perfect lawns! Oh and all the kids in the neighborhood, go somewhere else to make your wish! (Ha ha I sound like an old grumpy man).

That is all.