ONE CRAZY LIFE!! But do we ever have fun!!! :)

Back to school and a new job. (Again)

2010-08-25T11:21:00.001-07:00

So we start another school year. My how the time flies! It seems like they just got out of school and they were already whining about nothing to do and being bored. Chelsea is starting the 9th grade and Micah the 8th grade. They were sooooo nervous but excited. Also starting a first day was Lynn. He started a new job with the Jr college here in Cheyenne as a counselor. He quit the director's position at the juvenile detention center because it was not a very great enviroment to work in for him. Hopefully this is a better fit :)

Father's day 2010

2010-06-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

All those presents and he looks soooo excited. Lynn is not one of the most holiday, birthday, special occasion lover but at least he tries ;)

He would pull all the paper out of the sacks and throw them and go "Woohoo" He got a bunch of dressier shirts as he now has to dress up for the new job.

He wanted this gun cleaning kit so we hit the bullseye on that one.

He has an IPod and needed a little system at work that he could connect his IPod to so that he could listen to his favorite songs.

Kaddee had to have a look and see what exactly that was....

All in all it was a good day. After the presents were all opened, we had to get into the car and drive Micah and Chelsea to Rock Springs so they could surprise their dad for father's day. The best part about it was being able to see my 2 big boys.

Saying goodbye

2010-06-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Since moving to Cheyenne we have had the awesome opportunity of having some very special people come into our lives.....The LDS missionaries. The bad thing about this is we get very attatched to them and then they either go home or get transferred to another part of the Wyoming/Colorado mission. It feels like I am loosing one of my own kids, I guess I get too attatched to them. They bring such an awesome spirit into our home and they really enjoy our family as much as we enjoy them. Elder Edwards, in the above photo, was just transferred to the Colorado mission the first of this month. Elder Cruz, in the photos below went home to Mexico the last week of April. He was in our part of the mission since we have been in Cheyenne and it was really hard to say goodbye. These are such amazing young men with the sweetest, most sincere testimonies, and it strengthens our family having them in our home.

Kadee turns 4 *
2010-05-03T10:56:00.000-07:00
Our Kadee turned four on the 28th of April. It's hard to believe that time has flown by so fast and next year she goes to Kindergarten. She loved the movie "How To Train a Dragon" so that is the cake we got her. Not my first choice for sure, I would have preferred Strawberry Shortcake :)
She had a ball opening her presents. Didn't even need a prompt this year, just dug right in.

Strawberry Shortcake and Lemon Meringue miniture dolls for the pool and shower that goes with them.

K who are these two clowns and who invited them!! :0)

She has been wanting this Strawberry Shortcake pool with shower forever, so...........

Shelby sent her a sidewalk chalk maker with we had to do immediately following cake. I think this picture of her little feet is my favorite. Kris gave her this gianormous coloring bood with the princesses on it. It's bigger than she is.

Shelby also gave her this dress which, as you can see, she loved.

Now for the big prize. Don't you just love the look on her face as she spots her bike and runs down the sidewalk to it!!??

The birthday princess on her new bike. I'd say she had a pretty good day! Last on the agenda.....Light the candles, make a wish and bloooooowwwww! Love this tiny girl who is growing up soooooo fast! Happy Birthday teeny tiny love you most!!

Easter and Muscles

2010-04-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

Easter this year was a little different this year. We still had a lot of fun it just isn't the same without the whole family and in a new and different place. Micah's broken arm didn't help matters either. He is doing better but it is still very painful for him.

We hid their easter baskets in the house so that Micah wouldn't have to go too far or work too hard to find his. Kadee found her's first and was sooooo excited.

Kadee got My Little Ponies in her's.

For the 2 older kids I made little coupon books for days out with mom, lunch and other activities for time with mom and dad.

Have you ever seen anyone this excited over Countrytime Strawberry Lemonade!!

So one day I was in the bathroom getting ready and Kadee comes in and starts putting rubberbands on her arms. When I asked her what she was doing, she told me she was getting muscles. She then went in to wrestle with her daddy. (This is a favorite pasttime for these two) She stood up on the chair and flexed her muscles and said, "I have muscles, OH YEAH!!" Lynn and I almost laughed to tears. She then jumped off the chair and tackled daddy.

One of her favorite sayings while standing on the couch or chair waiting to pounce is, "You want a piece of me!" She comes up with the funniest stuff for a little girl!!

Broken arm number 2!! Are you kidding me??!!

2010-04-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

I was just dropping off a patient at the hospital on Tuesday when I got a call from Lynn. He said the Micah had broken his arm again and they were on their way to the hospital now. I had a little bit of a melt down there in the ambulance bay, it has been a VERY stressful month and this was just the "Straw that broke the camels back" This is the sight of my boys arm that met my eyes when they arrived at the ER. I started to cry and so did Micah, he had been so brave and strong til he saw his mommy. This is the same arm and the same place he broke his arm in December only this time he had to have surgery. The surgeon had to rebreak his arm at the old break because it had healed wrong. So he now has 2 breaks, 2 metal plates, and 8 screws in his arm. We brought him home yesterday and he is doing pretty good as long as we keep the pain meds on board.

Headed to Rexburg!

2010-03-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

We headed for Rexburg, on the 12th of this month, for my friends daughter's wedding. There are windmills all over the place here in Wyoming. They are GIANORMOUS!! Each fin on the windmill spans over 350 feet. The pics with the snow are of the Medicine Bow forest and I believe the Snowy Range mountains.

Chelsea decided that this was the mini Teton mountain range. haha She took all of these pics out the window of the car going 80 mph. She took 160 pics so it was a little difficult to decide which ones to publish.

Wyoming is not the most beautiful place to live. It is flat and desert everywhere. This is what most of it looks like except for the Mini Tetons haha!

There are trains everywhere!! I have been told that Cheyenne was the main hub of the west for trains. We do have a huge train depot right in the middle of town. Chelsea caught this one going right over the top of us as we drove by.

Afton Wyoming

Of course we had to stop for cheese curd! My favorite!

We finally made it to Idaho!! We were all excited to see this sign. It has been 5 months since we moved with no trips back. We miss Rexburg.

THE cutest grandbaby in the world!! Our first stop after we drove into town was Christopher's basketball game. He played really well and it was sooo fun to watch him play ball again.

The Michael Jordan tongue haha.

It was Micah's friend, Rais's, birthday so we planned a surprise meeting for him and Micah at the motel we were staying at. He didn't really look that surprised, I'm thinking someone leaked the secret. We ordered pizza and let them swim in the pool for hours. They had a BALL!!

This is Sadie,Rais's sister.

The 2 beauty, swim queens. I do make beautiful children :)

Megan, Rais's sister.

Christopher brought Teagen's basketball hoop and they had a major ball game going. Shelby tried to stay dry and beautiful but haha didn't work. She finally succombed to being wet and had some fun.

Teagen wasn't sure what to think at first........

Then started having a ball with dad :)

He really didn't appreciate the water in the face.

Right here was supposed to be pics of the temple and the reception, which is the MAIN reason we came.......guess who forgot to bring the camera?! Brilliant. I'm getting them from my friends daughter so I will add them soon.

Christmas in Cheyenne 2009

2009-12-25T18:13:00.000-08:00

Anxiously awaiting the ok to go upstairs and see what Santa brought.

Trying to decide if this is her's or not.
Micah had a heck of a time opening presents with a broken arm. He had to have some help on some of it.

Kadee wanted a Nintendo DS like Micah's so we got her this little Leapster that looks like one but is much cheaper and more her age.

Shelby's new jeans and....do you think Chelsea likes her jacket haha

An Xbox given to us by a friend.

Micah's shoes were falling apart so he's pretty excited about new ones.

Pretty rings for a pretty little girl.

I love tiny hands :)

A new umbrella from Gramma and Gramps

A new tie from Gramma and Gramps

Loves for the teddy bear from Chelsea.

New shirt from Shelby.

Kris got Chelsea the New Moon boardgame and you would have thought she'd gotten a million dollars.

New boots from Shelby.

Coloring the pretty picture from Kris.

Our family tradition of pajamas for Christmas Eve then listening to a recorded reading of the Christmas story from Gramma Mamie.

The girl's thought it would be funny to wrap Kadee in the paper from the jammies ;)

Group hug in their new jammies.

Kris and Matt came over for Christmas dinner. It's nice to have company.

Our new Christmas tradition that Kris introduced us to. Christmas Mice. They are soooo cute. A marchino cherry dipped in melted chocolate chips.

Then put it on an oreo. You are supposed to use white chocolate dipped oreos but they were not anywhere to be found so we used double stuff.

Add a Hershey kiss for the face and slivered almonds for the ears.

Red and green gel frosting for the eyes and holly berries.

Aren't they just the cutest??? We had so much fun. We had a little assembly line going and it went fast.

All I Want For Christmas.......

2009-12-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

Micah's friend, Brian, had a birthday on Friday and I usually don't let the kids have sleepovers but I decided that this could be and exception. Micah has met some good friends here in Cheyenne and Brian's mom assured me the boy's would be very well chaperoned and so I let him sleep over. On Saturday they went to the gym to play football, Micah went up to catch a pass and one of the boys took his legs out from under him and this is the final result of the fall. Both forarm bones broken. 40% displacement. They were able to reduce all of it but 13%. The Ortho surgeon said he should easily grow into the bone that was not reduced and his arm would be ok. He's doing very well and even went to church today. The truth be known, I think he just wanted to show off the cast haha.

Finally got the tree up!!

2009-12-08T21:49:00.001-08:00

I finally got my tree up and the Christmas decorations put up. I LOVE this time of year. My tree is a peace, hope, and joy tree. It was one I put together when times were tough in my life and it helped me remember where to turn for the peace, hope and joy that I had failed to look. I hope we can all remember why we have this season and be so thankful for a Savior who is there for us no matter what is happening in our lives.

By the way the quilt on the window is to keep the cold air out. It's 12 below zero and this big picture window in the livingroom is old and not very heat effecient.

These three little trees look like one big one in this picture, but they are all decorated differently. These are probably one of my most favorite Christmas decorations.

The stockings were hung..........Merry Christmas all. Hope your season is bright.

Just for Jodi :)

2009-11-21T13:38:00.001-08:00

So my friend Jodi wanted to see pics of our house here in Cheyenne, so here you go Jodi. This is the front of the house. It's really not too bad of a house.

This was the color of the master bedroom. Greenbay Packer green and yellow. I almost cried when I saw it.

This is after I finished painting.

Kadee's room was a faded "Robin Egg blue" perfect for a baby girls room don't you think :) And after I painted.

The living room has this wallpaper that is neutral but very ugly. It doesn't look too bad but I can't handle the wallpaper so I am painting over the top.

This is what I have painted so far. I painted over the wallpaper and painted all the doors and trim black. It really makes it look alot nicer and gives it a little more finished look. The kitchen is another story. It's going to take ALOT of work but that will be my next project. The basement is too much work to even go into so unless we stay here and buy this house that will be something I don't tackle.

Our Trip to Vedauwoo

2009-11-16T20:02:00.000-08:00

We took a family trip to a park about 20 minutes from Cheyenne. Vedauwoo (the "w" sounds like "V") is a park that a glacier used to be. When the glacier melted it deposited all these rocks in random places and stack on top of each other. It really was quite an amazing site to see.

Micah king of the hill. The kids had a ball climbing and exploring the rocks and caves that were here.

This rock doesn't look that big right??

Look again. this is the same rock with the kids standing at the bottom. Amazing how gianormous it is.

Miss Kadee had a ball exploring til she would either get stuck or fall on the rocks.

I thought this was a cool picture of this rock at different distances away. It's just kinda hangin out here.

There were alot of rock climbers out there. I thought they were crazy going that high. They made it look so easy. It's guys like this that keep me in businesss :)

So who's this handsome photographer?? Woot Woot!!

Ready to head back to the car for a picnic. We truly had a fun day!

I thought this rock formation looked like a mama bear and her cub. Just had to have a pic of it.

The Journey

2009-11-05T19:06:00.001-08:00

I sat down tonight to sew my Wyoming state patches on my shirt. I started to think about the journey me and my family have made over the past several years to get here. It all started almost 8 years ago when I decided to go back to school. I knew I wanted to go into the medical profession but which field? Emergency medicine seemed a great fit so I started taking all the Pre requisites for that, one class at a time. Anat and Phys, Microbiology, Chemistry, Math etc....then it was time to start the process. Firefighting was the first certification I got. Now that was a lot of fun.

Then came the EMT basic course. That 's what I was going to be for awhile until McKadee was in kindergarten. That plan soon evolved into the Paramedic Program because they had openings that they couldn't fill and needed people now. The instructors told me to go home and have a powwow with my family and tell them they wouldn't have a mom or wife for a year. We talked and struggled over the decision and finally decided we could do anything for a year. Haha it was more like 18 plus months and still going. But we made it all working together.

During the Paramedic Program I went to work for Rexburg-Madison County fire and ambulance. I learned a great deal there and made a little money too.

Finally the coveted gold patch. We all celebrated the day this came in the mail. We had made it thru the worst part. One year of classes from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. Nights of homework and clinicals and ride alongs. Then 2 months of an internship in Great Falls MT with no mom. What an awesome family :)

So now here we are almost 2 years later in Cheyenne Wyoming working for and ambulance company AMR as a paramedic. I couldn't have done it without the love and support of an awesome family. I love my job and the care I can give those that are hurt or ill. What a ride.....onward and upward :)

Chelsea's 14th Birthday

2009-11-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

Chelsea turned 14 on the 26th of October. This will be the first birthday in our new home in Cheyenne. It's been quite an adjustment and I will have pics of the house to follow shortly. I took Chelsea shopping at the mall for her birthday and she had a ball. She LOVES Edward of the Twilight series, so when she saw this poster and t-shirt it was a given that she get them.

A pair of boots and a pair of cute black shoes and oh, did I mention Twilight. Found a mini calendar and just HAD to have it..and to top it all off she got to new pairs of jeans. They were buy one get one for 10 dollars. Now who could pass that up ;)

Then it was time for cake. She wanted the rainbow cake with rainbow frosting.

She for got to make a wish the first time so we had to relight the candles and make a wish. All the crew minus a few. It's a very different house hold with only 3 kids and no dad here. It feels like a whole in the family and in this mommy's heart. Very empty but we had a good night despite that fact. Happy Birthday to a beautiful young lady :)

Family pix 2009 minus a few of the family

2009-09-27T22:01:00.001-07:00

Since we are leaving in a couple of weeks and this will be our last weekend to take pictures, I wanted to get together and have family pics today. Chris and Jordan had previous plans so they couldn't make it so we took them with those who could. Hope you enjoy. I think they turned out really nice.

Back to School!!

2009-09-25T08:34:00.001-07:00

School started on the 26th of August and Micah went off to the 7th grade but Chelsea had to stay at home recouperating from her surgery. She finally went back to school this past Monday the 21st so we called it the official first day of school and got pics taken of my 2 handsome/beautiful children. Chelsea is in Jr High and will turn 14 on the 19th of Oct. They are growing so fast and I'm not ready to have them leave the nest.

Our Labor Day Camping Trip ;)

2009-09-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

We have never had a whole lot of money. We don't have 4 wheelers or snowmachines or motorcycles or a camp trailer or boat. I was coming home from the grocery store on Labor Day weekend feeling kinda sorry for us as I watched the 5th wheel trailers, the motorhomes, the trailers full of 4 wheelers and boats go by. I decided to go out and buy us a tent!! So I turned back and went to Wal Mart and bought us a family sized tent. I told the kids over dinner that I had a surprise for them later. So after dinner I went out and started to set up the tent. I have never set a tent up before and it was a much bigger project than I was up for. I finally conceded that I needed alot more help than my self and went in and got Lynn and the kids. They were flabbergasted. "you bought a tent!!" "Are you going to sleep in it with us?!" They honestly thought their mom had lost her mind. After a little frustration we finally got the tent standing and everything in order. Then we built a fire in our little fire pit and had s'mores. When it was time for bed we blew up all the air mattresses and laid them all out on the floor and covered them with sleeping bags and blankets. We settled in for the night and about 3 in the morning a huge thunder storm rolled in. It was so much fun laying there watching the flash then hearing the boom and listening to the rain fall on the tent. Micah and Kadee slept thru it but Chelsea and I listened and loved it. We got up the next morning and had frenchtoast for breakfast and the kids just kept saying over and over, "That was the funnest night ever. That was the best idea ever mom" Just goes to show that it doesn't take alot of expensive toys to make a family memory. I do believe that my kids will remember the night in the tent as one of their favorite memories. It was worth it 100%!

What a month!!

2009-09-05T06:43:00.001-07:00

This month and the end of last month has been such a crazy time for this family. (When isn't it a crazy time for this family ;) ) At the end of last month Chelsea had a bad soccer injury that ruined her soccer career for the rest of the season. We have had many tears over that. Micah started football as you can see in the pics here. He is number 27. Lynn has changed jobs and I have a job opportunity in Cheyenne WY as a medic for AMR a private ambulance service. Oh, and I had another birthday. I'm to the point that birthday's aren't as cool as they used to be.

Micah making the tackle. He's the one on the ground ;)

This is what Kadee does at football games. Oh the joys of being a child, so uninhibited!

The goofy hat my kids made me wear. Yes it is lovely :)

A new vest!

I really needed a new black purse so guess what.....?

Let's eat cake!! Notice in the picture that I am blowing out the candle, look at Chris and Nick. Nick took the cover for the cake and put it over Chris's head and held it there so he couldn't blow out the candle. We got the biggest chuckle out of these two clowns. Love them sooooo much. Thank for a happy birthday everyone.

Shelby's Senior pics Finally....!

2009-08-20T14:18:00.001-07:00

So Shelby finally let me take her Senior Pictures. She wouldn't let me take them until her jaw surgery and then she wanted to wait until her braces were off but by then it would be winter and nowhere to take pics. I think they turned out really well. She still has no feeling in her lips and chin so it makes smiling a little difficult. She says it feels like her face is made of plastic. I think she's beautiful no matter what!!

Happy 18th Shelby!!

2009-08-09T15:49:00.001-07:00

So our Shelby Brooke turned 18 on the 30th of July. It was a bittersweet moment for this mama. I reflected on the past 18 years and couldn't believe the miracle that this beautiful daughter of mine was. At the age of 3 months she underwent heart surgery for a defect that began at birth. Then she had the chicken pox right after that, followed by 2 bouts with pneumonia. At the age of 6 we began the process of trying to get her jaw to fix itself without surgery. She has had more hardware in her mouth than a Home Depot. Finally she stopped growing and just this last Feb underwent double jaw surgery to correct her bite. She has always been such a blessing and joy to our family. After 7 brothers and 2 sons (Which are very much loved) we finally got this beautiful baby girl. She is a bright spot in my life and I love her energy and zest for life. Love you Shelbs!!

Money from Grandma is always a hit at our house.

She's actually wearing her birthday present, as we went shopping for her birthday, so I took all of her receipts and put them in this little bag.

AND....a Hollister hoodie.

This was one of the presents that I really didn't want to do but guess who won that one :) It really is quite cute.

Make a wish and blow out the candles.

She blew them all out in one breath!! YAY!!

Let's eat cake!!

Burning Down the House!!

2009-07-31T20:27:00.001-07:00

The City of Rexburg purchased this house and property to put a new road in. They let the Fire Dept. use it for training. So...... Let's go play with some fire!!

We went into the house thru this door, (That is my foot in the doorway) See the flames rolling up over our heads!

Chuck, the fire inspector for our department is giving me instructions on how to "pencil" the hose and knock the flames back of of the top of us. I'm the one in the red helmet.

Now I'm "penciling the hose at the flame.

I love this photo. I think it's my favorite one that Lynn took. This is Craig, one of the fire interns.

At this point we are just letting it burn. The playing is over.

This is the window we were all sitting in. The entire side of the building is now involved. The plastic on thee wrought iron railing is now melting off.

Almost gone!!!

The power lines and trees got so hot that we had to put some guys over by them to squirt water and cool them all off.

I'm the second one from the front of the hose. We decided to make one more trip in and see how far we could go.

The flames you see coming out of the roof are from what we call "vertical venting." We cut a hole in the roof over the fire and the flames and smoke come out of the hole instead of laying on top of those in the house. Very Cool!!

The back of the house is now completely involved.

Now it's gone! Fire works VERY fast.

Nothing but the brick left.

We knocked the brick down and now this is what is left the next day.

Oh What Do You Do In The Summertime?!

2009-07-19T16:37:00.001-07:00

Lynn took the kids to Rigby Lake and they had a ball, as you can see!!

He had them run and jump into the water and did a continuous take on the camera. It really turned out cool. Notice the tiny one following behind ;)

"I'm going to go play in the water"

"Nevermind!! It's toooo cold!!"

On the carousel. Kadee loved this ride :)

Happy 4th!!!!

2009-07-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Waiting patiently for the parade to start.

YAY!! Here they come!

This big army truck sprayed the crowd with water. Some liked it, some did not, but it was refreshing after waiting in the sun for so long. The Americanas are world renowned for their parade performances. They even particitpated in the inagural parade for Pres. Bush.

And this is why we came to the parade today. The most important event of the day :) They Madison Summer Marching Band in which both Chelsea and Micah participated in this year.

The handsome trumpet player.

The beautiful color guard girl. She struggled a little bit because of her surgery. This really zapped her strength, but she did it.

Waiting patiently for the candy. YAY! go get it quick!! Thanks to big sister Chelsea, Kadee had a fighting chance :)

This has got to be my favorite event of the parade (with exception to the Band). Ray's Car wash guys put on a routine every year and every year it gets better. This year they added the Ray's beauty queen. Isn't she/he lovely :p

A 12th Birthday, a Graduation and an Ordination

2009-05-28T07:28:00.001-07:00

On the 21st of May, Shelby Brooke Olsen graduated from Madison High School. It was a very emotional time for this mommy. I began to go back over Shelby's life and the miracle that she was and is. When she was born, a valve that was supposed to shut at birth didn't, and she had to have heart surgery down at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City when she was 3 months old. That was a very trying time for me to hand this precious baby girl over to the surgical team. Shelby was a dream come true for her mommy because I had 7 brothers and then I had 2 boys before her. (Not that boys aren't wonderful) but I really wanted a baby girl and my wish had finally come true and now, was I going to lose her. She came through the surgery like a trooper, even went home 4 days earlier than they told me. She has been a fighter her whole life because of one health issue or another. Just 3 months ago she had double jaw surgery and we have been working on that jaw and her mouth since she was 6 years old. Shelby has always been a happy little girl with a positive attitude even in all her pain and suffering she has endured over the past 18 years. Love this girl sooooo much!!!

For Shelby's graduation 5 of her 7 uncles, 2 aunts and her grandma and grandpa Feltner came all the way from Souther Utah to support her. Since we had everyone here, we decided it would be fun to ordain Micah to a Deacon instead of wait til Sunday when everyone would be gone. It was a special day for both the kids and having so much family made it even more fun!

The beautiful graduate!

Nick, Shelby, Chelsea, Micah, and McKadee. All we are missing is big brother Christopher. He was missed and there was a big empty hole where he should have been.

Tari and Trent

Tanya and Shelby

Grandpa, Trent, & Tracy

Grandpa, Todd, & Tracy

"MOM This stinking hat looks gay!!!"

P
Patiently waiting to march in. Then.....It's time!!

Going up to receive her diploma YAY!!!

Now for the turning of the tassel. It's official, I am a graduate, now I'm smart and stuff :)

This is our wonderful principal, Mr Hampton. Almost every kid that shook his hand also put a tie somewhere on his person. Can you just imagine how HOT he is?! What a trooper!!!!

YAY!!! It's over now we can go home!! This is Grandma Mamie and behind her Tim, Todd, Trent and Grandpa.

Micah turned 12 on the 19th of May. It was a very crazy day because of conflicts with baseball and other things that cause problems. He wanted a cell phone and a Dairy Queen icecream cake so I got him a Tracphone with pay as you go minutes.

Mother's day at the Greenbelt

2009-05-13T09:38:00.001-07:00

For Mother's Day this year I wanted to do things a little different so I decided to take the fam and go for a picnic on the Greenbelt. We had a ball rollerblading, bike riding, feeding the geese, and eating a yummy picnic.

I found this island in the middle of the river with a waterfall running thru the middle of it. I sat and looked at that island out there with no people, no kids, no phones or worries and felt myself longing to be there. If there was a way to get there without drowning I would do it in a heartbeat. Just for a moment or two of peace and meditation.

So after our picnic, Chelsea looks up in the tree and starts to laugh at this funny little squirrel that was all stretched out in the sun on his branch. We got quite a chuckle out of him.

So I find this tree that is so fun for picture taking and stuck Kadee up in the notch between the branches. She lays down on the branch and says, "I'm a squirrel, all scrunched up" We started to laugh until we cried. She was trying to be the squirrel that we said was "All stretched out" and instead she was all scrunched up :D

So Jackson wants this chocolate doughnut and OH did he have a fun time with it.

Nick and Jenn came with us and made it all that more fun! Aren't they just the cutest? ;)

Lynn, our official photographer, wanted to take pics of Micah and Chelsea jumping out of this tree so he laid down on the grass and shot as they jumped.

All the girls did a group hug and Kadee goes, "Now we're all squirrels." Another laugh so hard you cry moment :)

Shelby's Prom

2009-05-11T21:25:00.001-07:00

My beautiful Shelby had her Senior Prom this last weekend. She doesn't like this one of her close up, but I think it's gorgeous. Her date was Caleb and his jaw dropped right to the floor when she walked down the stairs to greet him. She graduates on the 21st of this month and I'm really not ready to let her go.

Look how big I am!!

2009-05-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

So Miss McKadee turned 3 on the 28th of April and Mom just got around to seeing how big she is. I have a feeling she is going to be really tall. She is 31 lbs. She is 39 1/2 inches tall. She can sing her ABC's, knows most of them by sight and tells you what starts with each letter. She knows her colors and counts to 13. She can tell you the difference between a penny, dime, nickel, and quarter. She is sooooo sassy and full of spunk. Sometimes it gets her into alot of trouble. She loves to play with her animals the most. Her new favorite is her chihuahua, which she pronounces chew wow wow, not wah but wow. We almost died laughing at that one. She is very polite when she wants to be and then as the lady in the store who got in her way found out- "You watch where you're going!" she can be very naughty. I was MORTIFIED!! We apologized and told her the polite way to get around someone who had the right of way in the first place. She does and says things that a 3 year old shouldn't be doing and saying. I think it comes from growing up with older children and adults. Some good, some bad. She is the Queen of the house in the Scott/Olsen household.

One of her most favorite things is singing and dancing. She is so full of joy and energy. I bought her this mike and a CD player for her birthday and she is in 7th heaven. She even sings on tune and dances with the beat. What a kid :)

OUCH!!!

2009-05-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

So we get called to a possible broken ankle at the football fields in Sugar City. The Madison Lionz are a semi-pro team that plays other teams in the area. I was the first one on scene and when I got to the patient he was lying on his stomach and his foot was turned at a very odd angle. I radioed back to the ambulance and told them that it definitely was deformed and that they would need drugs to help with this guys pain before we could move him. After administering drugs and rolling him over, this is what we found. The bone sticking out is his shin bone that connects the leg to the foot. Not broken, dislocated. He was a hurtin boy!! I found this link that shows how this happens and what it looks like on the inside of the foot: http://catalog.nucleusinc.com/generateexhibit.php?ID=10506&TC=&RF=1 I do love my job :)

McKadee turns 3 :D

2009-04-30T07:50:00.001-07:00

So Miss McKadee T. Scott turned 3 on the 28th of April. It just seems like yesterday we bowled everyone over by announcing we were having a baby :0 ! Now she is a blond haired, blue eyed ball of HIGH energy wearing us out and keeping us young at the same time. She had an awesome birthday and was spoiled rotten.

One our guests was Jaxon who is Nick's girlfriend, Jens' little boy.

Jen thought Nick would look really cute with a big pink bow on the side of his head. I tried to find a decent picture of Jen to post, but they were all silly. Couldn't be the photographers fault now could it?

She was sooooo excited to open all the presents. I think she might need a few more don't you think? haha

Money from Gramma Mamie is always a hit.

She loved her scooter, and yes she has a helmet, knee and elbow pads. Remember what her mommy does for a living.The cd player was a huge hit not only with Kadee but with everyone that was there. They all had to take turns singing into the mikes that came with it. OOOOHHHH what a noisy house we have!!!

She wanted Tinkerbell no matter how I tried to get her to want the Princesses. At least they have a few more clothes on haha. She won as you can see.

Make a wish, baby girl and blow out those candles. Love this precious girl !! Don't know what we would ever have done without her little spirit added to our family. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

My post surgery wound

2009-04-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I had to have a cyst removed from my wrist. So today I finally got to take off this cumbersome splint and shower. What an awesome feeling. This is what I found under the splint and bandaging. Lovely don't you think :)

Up close and personal haha. How many of you got lightheaded? :0

Then back on with this dumb splint. Stitches out on the 25th and then I should be through with this thing. YAY!!!!

I am now a Paramedic!!!

2009-04-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the final test for me to become an official Paramedic. I took the written part of the National Registry Exam on Monday and found out I had passed on Tuesday. Yesterday was the National Registry skills exam. We had 12 stations that we had to pass, Infant intubation and IO, Adult intubation, with 2 different ventilation tubes, IV and med administration, a cardiac dynamic, a cardiac static, a trauma patient, 2 oral stations, and a basic station which was backboarding a patient and securing him to the back board. Well I passed on the first try on all stations and all I could do is cry with relief and happiness. This has been one of the most trying times for all of us but with the Lord's help, we made it through. All 5 of us that tested for medic passed on our first try so we went to Applebee's to celebrate our triumph. What an awesome day!!!

Out of the 10 of us that started the Paramedic Program there were 5 of us that went on our Interships and finished the entire program. From left to right, Jessica Withers, Lacy Reese, Jason McGarry, Brandon Earl, and me in the back. Jessica and I went to Great Falls together and we had an awesome time together. Jessica has taken and passed the written. Lacy went to Great Falls as soon as I came home. She takes the written exam tomorrow. Jason and Brandon went to Atlanta GA. Jason has taken and passed the written and Brandon will test in a week of so.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

So Easter at the Scott/Olsen house is maybe a little different than at other's. I have never been one to let my kids believe in the Easter Bunny but they do get easter baskets and candy and egg hunts. Here I am trying to let them know through my testimony how important the Atonement and our Savior are and what He did for us. I hope that one day they will have a testimony of the greatness of our Savior's love for us and how much the Atonement impacts our lives every single day. I love my Savior! Now after mom gets done with her rattling on, it's time for the fun of the candy and treats.

Of course we have to have pictures of the Easter dresses and how pretty everyone looks for church.

And our only handsome boy. Isn't he a good lookin kid :)

2009-04-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

I am updating Shelby's pics finally. This is 2 months out of surgery as of the 3rd of April. She is healing really well and she can now chew soft foods. She has regained most of the feeling in her face but still can't feel her chin or top lip. The Dr. said she should regain most of it but there is the off chance that she won't. I couldn't help adding the Pic of Kadee and her bear, it was so cute I had to add it.

2009-03-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

So this is a beautiful Spring day in Southeastern Idaho. The wind is blowing 28 mph sustained and 43 mph gusts and it's snowing like crazy. The blob on the radar is huge and doesn't look like it's going to be letting up any time soon. The poor cows and horses are all trying to huddle in the straw barrier that they made for them today, but there are too many of them to fit in such a small shelter and they ran out of straw bales.

Home from Great Falls

2009-03-07T17:46:00.001-08:00

So I'm home from Great Falls. Very mixed emotions. I loved it there and the people that I worked with everyday for almost 2 months. Great Falls is a wonderful place with very interesting people. I missed my Hubby and my kids soooo much but if I had my way we would move the family there and then I could have my cake and eat it too. Lynn would be swamped with work up there because they have no childrens' mental health specialists or therapists. We had to take all of our children's mental health cases, by ambulance, to Helena, and hour and a half away.

These pics Jess and I took of each other the day before I left. We are sitting in the jump chair in one of the ambulances. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to go up to Great Falls with. Jess is the most awesome young lady and such an inspiration to me.

Here are some pics of the crews that I worked with. I can't say I had a favorite crew because they are all so awesome to work with and for. This top pic is of Amanda and Garrett Cameron. They are husband and wife medics and are some of the best that the ambulance service has.

The group pic at the top is the Saturday crew. This was a fun day to work, very relaxed and busy at the same time. The one on the right is the Tue Thurs Crew. Cami, standing by me, and Justin kneeling in front are both BYUI students like me that are 2 classes ahead of me that went up there for their internships and stayed on to work for them. They are very awesome medics also. My supervisor, Justin Grohs, is on the very far left, standing by Roger in the flourescent coat. He is an amazing leader and supervisor. He is a very busy guy running the ambulance department.

For some reason I can't find the pics of the Monday and Wednesday crew. I do have this pic of Ron the Shift Supervisor. He was a great medic and I enjoyed the Mon Wed crew a ton. It makes me sad I don't have their picture. I am going to go up and work some part time shifts for them. I can't stay away. Great Falls got into my heart and I can't seem to let it go.

2009-02-21T12:51:00.000-08:00

Ok so I finally got this before picture off of my phone. This is the picture that I took just minutes before Shelby went into surgery. Now you can see the difference in her before and after.

Update week 2

2009-02-16T21:51:00.001-08:00

So here we are almost 2 weeks later. Isn't she lookin fine :) She is soooo happy with her surgery. The swelling in her cheeks has gone down and now just her upper lip has just a slight amount of swelling in it. She still hasn't regained the sensation in her face yet and she still eats with her bag and straw although she can now drink liquid from a cup or carton. She is progressing like a champ.

One week later....

2009-02-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

So here we are a week after surgery. We had the followup appointment with the surgeon today, he said Shelby was healing exceptionally well and was very pleased with her progress. She still has alot of swelling in her upper lip and cheeks, but it will continue to go down as time goes on. She has been a trooper with only 2 breakdowns. Eating is a challenge and she gets soooo hungry and then has to watch us eat real food and she has a little emotional time then she's back to being strong again. When asked if it's worth it and if she would do it again, she answers with a very emphatic "Yes". She decided to put on some makeup today and try to smile, she did a pretty good job for only bein able to feel half her face. That to will come in time.

2009-02-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

So Shelby finally got to come home on Thursday afternoon. She had to stay an extra day because she wasn't eating or drinking and they were afraid of dehydration.

There is one thing that I think everyone needs to be aware of, Shelby is not as miserable as she looks in the pictures. Her jaw is banded tightly shut and she hasn't regained the feelin in her cheeks and lips. She can't smile or show emotion because her face is basically frozen. She will regain the feeling in her face in about a week to 10 days.

So this is how Shelby has to eat, if you can call it that. She has a bag with tubing attached to it. We put food in the bag, whe puts the tubing in between her cheek and teeth and squeezes the contents of the bag into her throat and then attempts to swallow. It's not the funnest or most appetizing way to eat but she says she doesn't regreat it at all. Just wants to be back to normal .

Shelby's Double Jaw Surgery

2009-02-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

So yesterday, the 3rd of February, we got up at 4:30 and got ready to be at the hospital by 6 am for Shelby's double jaw surgery. She was sooo excited, but afraid of what was to be. Her surgeon is Dr Hicks of Idaho Falls. He is the best of the best. This surgery was 6 hours long and very intense. He had to bread her lower jaw and remove some of the bone to shorten it, then break her top jaw and put implants in to lengthen it. There was also such a bone deficit above her upper lip that he had to fill it in with bone putty. Come to find out her jaws also needed to be rotated left on the top and right on the bottom because they were not centered. Here is a picture of her before the surgery.

The next 4 pictures are just about an hour after the surgery. Look at the difference in the length of her chin and how her upper lip is filled in. Her lips were soooo swollen but they will go down.

This is today after he took out the drainage tubes out of her cheeks. She did not like that at all.

This is after the NG tube was pulled out of her nose. She was very glad to get that out. It was really hurting her throat. They had to leave it in place until her stomach started to wake up from the anesthesia. It took getting up and walking around (much to her chagrin) to get it awake and growling.

I just took these of her sleeping with her little pink monkey I got for her. I remember when she had her heart surgery, Trent got her a little pink, fuzzy platypus and I wanted to get her something soft and cuddly for this one. She is really swollen but taking it all like a champ. Stay tuned for more updates and pics.

Great Falls Montana

2009-01-19T10:06:00.001-08:00

There are actually 3 different airport/airbases in Great Falls. The Army National Guard base, the Great Falls International airport, and Malmstrom

Airforce base. Then you enter Great Falls coming down the hill. It's a very spread out city and feels more like a smaller town than a big city of over 70,000.

This is the house that I live in with Jessica, Cami, Jenn and Carol. Carol is the owner and Jen is her daughter. The rest of us are renters and roommates. It has been an awesome experience to be with these awesome people.

This is the Great Falls Ambulance company that I am doing my internship for. I really love it here and this is a great department to work for. We average about 5-7 calls a day each one of us. That includes 911 calls and private ambulance calls. So far I have been on several really good calls, but Jess seems to get most of the good ones. My white cloud seems to have found me in Great Falls all the way from Rexburg.

Of course there has to be a Real Deals to make my day :) Gotta love Great Falls!

The great Missouri River. It is quite a magnificent site and you cross it all thru the city and also several times on the way to Great Falls. The river divides the city and the old timers like to say that one side of the river is better than the other. The picture below is the Black Eagle hydroelectric project. It is really a beautiful sight with all the ice frozen on it.

Christmas

2009-01-04T14:52:00.001-08:00

Christmas this year was a bittersweet time. It was sweet because of the season and all the fun, excitement and celebrating the birth of our Savior. But bitter because two days after Christmas I left for Great Falls MT to start my 2 month Paramedic internship. I will be posting pictures of that later this week if I have the chance. Merry Christmas and a very Happy, Prosperous New Year to all of you!!

It is tradition at our home, that on Christmas eve we open one present, that present being pajamas. Then we sit and listen to a tape Gramma Mamie made for us about the Christ child and his birth out of the New Testament. We love this tradition.

Waiting to come upstairs to see what Santa had to bring. Maybe a big lump of coal, haha

Shelby loved her new snowboard gear, Chelsea was soooo excited to get a snowboard, boots and bindings, Micah had a ball with his remote control laser battle helicopters and Kadee wouldn't get off her horse to play with anything else.

Last but not least was the surprise for Lynn. He thought that he wasn't getting anything until after Christmas because that's what we do for him and I. I got him a new tripod for his camera that he had been wanting for a long time. See the look on his face, he was trying to look mad but he was really excited.

It's official, I'm a graduate of Paramedicine! YEAH!

2008-12-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

Here we are the graduating class of 2008 Paramedicine. It has been the hardest thing I have ever done. I couldn't have pulled it off without my Heavenly Father, Lynn and my kids all supporting me and helping me thru some really tough times of frustration, tears, joy and tons of homework. What a feeling accomplishment I have but with alot of help :)

The Pipes and Drums band from the Idaho Falls Fire Department opened our ceremony. They are soooo awesome. It was an honor to have them at our pinning ceremony.

Lynn did me the honors of pinning my badge on my shirt, I think he deserves that and much, much more. What a trooper he has been thru this year of Hell and back.

Here we are with our new, shiny badges. Don't we look official;)

An update on the fam

2008-11-27T18:18:00.000-08:00

It has been a very busy, crazy time in our lives. Lynn just changed jobs, after 12 years with the State of Idaho, he now is a supervisor for a PSR company in Rigby and loves the change of pace and the new people that he works with, it has been a very good thing for him. I will be finished with the class part of the Paramedic program on the 10th of December. I then leave for Great Falls MT. for 2 months for an internship, (I still don't know how I'm going to leave my family for that long) on the 15th of December. We will all be sooooo happy when mom is finally done and life can go back to semi normal, whatever normal is:).

Chris, Jordan and Teagen are back from Florida YEAH!! Chris is working for Taylor Cheverolet here in Rexburg as a salesman. In the first week and a half he was there he was the top salesman they have, Go figure. Jordan is a stay at home mommy with Teagen who just turned one a week ago.

Nick just returned home from Florida YEAH!! where he was working as an installer for APX alarm company. He now is working for a window and door installation shop here in Rexburg. He turns 20 on the 29th of this month and I can hardly believe how fast the time flies by, you blink and they are grown up:(

Shelby is a very busy senior, who was just made shift manager at Subway. She is a hard worker and is the manager over college students and people much older than her. We have set her jaw surgery for February 3rd and she is very excited but scared. It will be a very trying time for us all.

Chelsea just had a birthday and has now entered teenagerdom. She is, for the most part, a very pleasant teenager, and loves her 7th grade teacher Mr. Mitchell. Most of her time is spent watching McKadee for mom, which she will be very glad to be done with:)

Micah just started the second trimester in the 6th grade. He is doing very well in school and has some awesome teachers and friends. He is looking forward to playing basketball in January and loves to play his Nintendo DS.

McKadee is 21/2 and full of energy and mischief! She is so smart she scares me sometimes. She knows most of her ABC's by sight, counts to 12, knows her colors and shapes. Most of her conversations sound like she is an adult thanks to growing up with alot of older people in the house.

Teagen's first birthday

2008-11-19T15:52:00.000-08:00

So, Teagen turned one on Sunday the 16th. What a bittersweet moment. Time goes soooo fast. It just seems like yesterday he was born and now he's one, the next thing you know he will be in Kindergarten, then baptized, then a teenager. Life flies by whether we are with it or not. Teagen really wasn't too excited about all the attention and got a little overwhelmed with all the people and chaos, but he got some really fun gifts that I am sure he will love once all the hub bub dies down.

So, how many people does it take to put a ride-on lion together? After many people took turn trying to get it right, Teagen finally got to ride his lion:)

When it was time for the cake, Teagen was not going to have anything to do with it:) He didn't want to touch it, eat it, or even look at it. He just wanted Daddy.

Chelsea's 13th birthday

2008-11-15T21:17:00.000-08:00

You've had a birthday, Shout Hooray. Chelsea is now a teenager. She celebrated her 13th birthday on the 26th of October. She is such a beautiful young lady.

Chelsea wanted a cell phone worse than anything in the world, so we got her a pay as you go phone. No overages on minutes or texting. Gotta love it. Birthday dinner at Applebee's was so much fun! Teagen and Daddy share a french fry. Cutest thing I've seen in a very long time :)

Make a wish and blow out all the candles, which she did with a little help from her biggest brother. ha ha ha

The Fireman's Ball and yes I'm the firefighter:)

2008-11-11T02:05:00.000-08:00

This is me and my handsome hubby getting home from the Fireman's Ball. I wanted to make it a romantic night out so I bought a ball gown and had Lynn fitted for a tux. We had a wonderful dinner of Filet mignon, then a dance which it's been forever since we danced. Soooo much fun! When the photographer asked who the firefighter was and I told him it was me, he looked at me like I was kidding, then realized I wasn't, he was a little amazed.

Halloween

2008-11-11T00:40:00.000-08:00

So here we have our kitty, vampire, and a very beautiful she devil with her angel kitty. They had sooo much fun at the Trunk or Treat in our church parking lot. Kadee wasn't so sure at first with all the scary ghosts and goblins, but she soon found that if you are really cute and say trick or treat you get candy:) She had a ball.

And here we have the cutest little sailor man ever. Teagen, was such a cute little guy and loved all the attention that he got. After trunk or treating we went to my house and Chris decided to dress him in Kadee's kitty costume. Isn't he the cutest you've ever seen:)

Our crazy lives, this is just the weekend:0

2008-09-28T10:18:00.001-07:00

This is the T-shirts we had made up for the game. VERY COOL!!

We had our Hoses vs Guns barbecue and softball game on Saturday. Which translates into the firefighters vs the cops. It turned out to be the firefighters vs the firefighters cause none of the cops showed up. They knew they would be defeated.

This is our new Chief, on the right hitting the ball. He started the first of Sept. and we really have liked him and his leadership. He gets things done and quickly. His name is Corey Child.

McKadee just plays on the swings and enjoys life thru all the chaos.

Then we have Micah playing football, he is number 27 on the red team for Madison, he practices 3 nights a week and has a game every Saturday.

Chelsea is on the JV team for Madison, as I mentioned before, and she plays once a week and practices twice a week. This is her game in Idaho Falls. She is the one running, in red, closest to the goal.

Tristen and Jerica and 5 generations

2008-09-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

So on Friday the 12th of Sept., Me, Christopher, Jordan & Teagen take off for St. George. We have 2 very special assignments for the weekend. First is the sealing of the baby of the family, Tristen, to his beautiful wife Jerica. We wish them the happiest, most prosperous, awesome life. Then we rushed back to Tropic to get pics of the 4 grandparents and the 4 generations after them. What an awesome experience. I love my family and I am so proud of the wonderful people I call my own. I love you all!!

The two dads.

Who are these two clowns?

Can you believe we have 4, 5 generations in our family today. We start with Great Great Grandma and Grandpa Riddle, Mamie Great, Grandma Tami, Christopher and Teagen. Now that's a feat not seen very often. What a great feeling that was to do this for posterity sake.

In this photo we have Great Great Grandpa Feltner, Great Grandpa Feltner, Grandma Tami, Christopher and Teagen.

Here we have Great great Grandma Feltner, Great grandpa Feltner, Grandma Tami, Christopher and Teagen.

The fire physical test

2008-08-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to apply for a full time position at the fire department that I work. I work as a paid per call employee right now, and I was applying for the Fire/EMT position along with 16 men. I was the only female and I knew I wouldn't get the job, but I wanted to let the upper ranks know who I was and that this is what I wanted and where I stood. I only wanted to do well and prove I could do it. There are 5 different parts to the application process, first a written test, which I passed, then the physical test which is posted here, then a fire skill and an EMT skill, then the interview. I passed the written, and did really well on the physical until the dummy. I hate that thing and he proved tougher than me in the end.

This is the first event, here you pick up the hose bundle and carry it up to the top of the stadium. Then you have a rest then you pull 50 feet of rope hand over hand which is attached to 50 feet of hose which you pull up 25 feet of the hose.
You have 20 seconds to make 15 chops with the axe on the railroad tie.

On this part of the course you pick up the hose bundle and walk on the rails of two roof ladders. If you touch the rungs or the ground with your boots it is a 5 second penalty. You have 40 seconds to go down and back.

So this is our brand new ladder truck!! We have only had about a month. On this part of the test you climb 75 feet at a very steep angle as you can see. This one scared me just a little :0

On this part of the test you have to drag 75 feet of hose to the truck, connect it to the fire truck, go back, get 25 feet more and connect it to the truck, then hurry back to the start within 90 seconds.

So this is the dreaded dummy. My Goliath that got me in the end. You have to get this guy on your shoulder and carry him up to the top of the stadium and back. I practiced this for two weeks before and thought I had it down. I was so tired after doing everything else the dummy won. He weighs 120 pounds of hard, unbendable dead weight that I could not lift. I was soooo disappointed I just sat and cried.

Back to School!!

2008-08-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's that time of year again?! It seems like the kids were just out of school for the summer, and here they are going back to school already. Not sure I like the way time flies. Shelby is a senior this year, and I am definitely not ready for her to graduate and leave me. She is such a joy, ( most of the time) to have around. Chelsea started the 7th grade and loves her teacher, thank goodness, and Micah started the 6th grade and just loves everybody.