Happy Halloween

We carved pumpkins last night, well, I carved pumpkins last night!
Jordan struck me a deal, he would "gut" them if I carved them!

Perfect!

While I was carving he was doing our favorite
Halloween tradition; baking the pumpkin seeds!
This year, we tried something new; flavors (rather than just Johnny's Seasoning Salt.)
"Spicy" with hot sauce and "Savory" with garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce.
Very yummy!

Then Jordan said "You haven't made those pumpkin cookies in a while"
(I have only made them once, and that was last year for Thanksgiving).

They are delicious and REALLY easy!
1 14oz can of pumpkin filling
1 spice cake mix (we used yellow cake mix because we had it)
Chocolate chips
Mix together and cook on greased cookie sheet at 350 for 12-15 minutes

They are REALLY moist and REALLY great!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We have also had a number of trick-or-treaters!

Wyatt, Wyatt and more Wyatt

I haven't posted any pictures of Wyatt lately, so here ya go!

We go to a school near our house and play in the large fenced in field.
Wyatt during our play time

We didn't want to leave Wyatt at home ALL day in his kennel during the first home BSU football game, so we brought him down to the tailgate for a while, then I ran him home before the game!
He loved it! So many people to play with and say hello to! Doesn't he just look excited?

At the tailgate Wyatt enjoyed the shade under the vehicle.
It was about 110 degrees that day in the parking lot. Wyatt and Mador (Jim and Tina's dog) enjoying the couch in Hill City (Wyatt isn't allowed on our couch upstairs so this is a treat in Hill City). Wyatt (left) is about 5 months old in this picture and Mador (right) is about 2 years old.... they are almost the same size!

Wyatt sleeps very funny!
He also SNORES a LOT!

Enjoying the sun through our sliding glass door, it was cold outside, but this was a nice a warm spot for Wyatt to lay down after a long walk with me!

Wyatt saying goodbye to me as I was leaving for class last Thursday.
I believe he was saying "Goodbye my looooovvvvveeeeee!"

As you can tell, we love him so much! He is very spoiled and doing well.
I weighed him last night, is now 55lbs at 5 and a half months!

Before & After, 40lbs

Before Wyatt was 40lbs he did just fine in his little "pop-up kennel" as I called it.
Well, now that he is at 40lbs he can push his way out of this little kennel. Jordan arrived home for lunch yesterday to find him "free" in the back yard (for the first time when we're not home) and he had DUG little holes around our back lawn and flower beds..... BAD PUPPY! We thought, we must do something about it! TODAY!

So we did some online research, made a few phone calls to D & B, Home Depot and Zamzow's to figure out what each store had in stock and we were on our way! We found the kennel below at Home Depot. Luckily we still had Home Depot gift cards from our wedding, needless to say, those are now gone!

Wyatt has a "big dog kennel" now. (I guess you're a "big dog" once you're over 40 lbs) We set it up next to our garage where we have rocks so he cannot damage the lawn anymore and we don't have to move his things every day to avoid the sprinklers. I snapped this picture this morning... his first morning in his kennel... he was a little confused, however when I made it home for lunch today he had made a swimming pool out of his water dish. WATER EVERYWHERE on the rocks, all over Wyatt and looked like fun! The good news is there was plenty of water remaining in the jug and it was NOT tipped over! We now just need to get a tarp to give him some shade in the afternoon. Today he has a blanket for his shade, but we'll get that updated soon. He is also needing a dog house... anyone have a dog house they want to donate to the Wyatt fund? How can you say no to that cute & handsome face?!?!

Full time staff, Instructor and Student

As it is week one on Boise State campus and many other colleges around the nation I find myself in three roles this school year:

1) Full Time Staff: Academic Advisor, Athletic Department
2) Instructor: UNIV 101, freshman seminar with our student-athletes
3) Student: Master's of Educational Leadership

Yes, I have decided to "Go back to school"

There are days when I wonder why I have made this choice but other days I am very excited. This program is geared toward current teachers (which I am not) to become certified to become a principal in the state of Idaho. By completing this 2 year program, yes, I said 2 year program, (again, sometimes I wonder about my decision making skills) I will be prepared to not only teach in the future but potentially move into administration some day. The biggest "perk" about my 2nd Master's is that I am able to complete the required courses at a very cheep rate since I am a full time Boise State employee.

Jordan is very supportive of me starting this program and I'm sure he'll be very supportive throughout the 2 years.

My first class is tonight and then tomorrow the Cohort is going to McCall for a retreat I am sure will be filled with learning and leadership!

Last night was an experience in it's self.... I BOUGHT SCHOOL SUPPLIES!
WOW! I honestly never thought I would have 1 Master's Degree let alone be in pursuit of a second.

You never know when you're going to surprise yourself.

W's

W's :
Weddings, Weddings, more Weddings and Wyatt

What have we been up to?
Weddings and Wyatt

My cousin Scott Holbrook married Laci High in Dillion Montana Saturday, Aug 6th.
We had a great time!This picture was too cute to leave out! Mom was holding William and Dan scared the crap out of him! Sorry William, you're scared, but it's still cute!

It was a very nice wedding, beautiful bride, handsome groom and one hell of a party for their reception.

Saturday Aug 13th a great friend of mine from college, Dana Withers married Chance Peila.
The wedding was at a Bass Pond on Dana's parents property.
The picture below was our method of transportation to the ceremony!
The wedding was in Dana's home town, Paisley OR.
This wagon was used by Dana and her Father as their grand entrance into the ceremony and used by the Bride and Groom as their exit from the ceremony and their grand entrance into the reception.

This wagon was built by Dana's father for her mother when they were married. Very special!

Classic picture, Dana usually does have whiskey in one hand an a beer in the other! She is much tougher than I! Love you Dana!

It was great to see college friends! Pictured above, Me, Dana, Kellie Frank and Katie Williams!

Jordan was farming for his dad and my father was farming at home so Mom and I attended the wedding together. (Sorry mom, you're not in any of my pics!)

What a beautiful setting, gorgeous bride, grinning groom and another great party! We had such a good time. My mom was able to meet lots of people and see the lay of land.

We couldn't be happier for our fellow newly-weds!
Congrats to both Scott & Laci and Chance & Dana.

And of course Wyatt has been growing so fast!
Here are few recent pics!

It's all about Wyatt

It's all about Wyatt!!!!
Wyatt is SO SPOILED!

He has been sleeping in our bed the past 3 nights because otherwise he isn't sleeping through the night without 2-3 potty runs and Jordan and I were to point of needing sleep! So, we'll see where this goes! Yes, he likes to sleep on his back and yes, I am watching The Bachelorette on the lap top!

Wyatt also loves to be in my flower beds, I try to keep him out of them, but we often put him outside while we are doing things around the house, so we are not always watching him..... look at my flower bed! The iris's are flattened and the other flowers aren't looking good either. I took this picture on Sunday and they are worse today! The good news is he is only doing it to ONE bed!

Wyatt has gone camping, swimming, ran around at Rice Farms and has played hard. As a result, he was becoming a stinky puppy! We gave him his first bath on Sunday. It was successful. I wouldn't say Wyatt liked it, but he didn't hate it. We couldn't snap a picture mid-bath, but here is a picture post-bath. Sad wet puppy!

Wyatt has also been helping me water my flowers each day. He helps me pull the hose around and plays in the water while I'm watering. I snapped this picture the other day! LOVE IT!IT'S ALL ABOUT WYATT! He is so spoiled!

My 1st Garden

We decided last minute this year to plant a garden. We planted June 5th. A little late, right? Maybe not?
I purchased 5 tomato plants from the green house in Vale (total bargain) and then bought 2 squash plants and 2 zucchini plants from home depot with our wedding gift cards!

We pick our first cherry tomatoes a few days ago and we have LOTS of green tomatoes!We can't wait for them to start turning! We also have a good amount of zucchini and squash coming in.

What have I learned in planting my first garden?
1) Plant the plants MUCH FURTHER APART! I can't believe how much they grow! Haha!

2) Make sure to have a cage for EVERY tomato plant, I thought the cherry tomato plants might be able to go without, putting a cage around it later is very difficult!

3) Plant in a raised bed, after planting and watering for about week, my plants sunk about 1"-2", they might be doing better if they were slightly raised!


I have learned a lot in planting my first little garden and we are looking forward to eating the rewards along with planting a better garden next year! Are you wondering what kind of tomato cages those are? They are ghetto-home made cages. I stole them (they were given) from my parents. I remember using them as kids! Thank goodness too, I purchased 1 cage for our last plant (the cherry plant I thought could go without), the purchased one was $8! Thank goodness I didn't have to buy 5 cages! YUCK! I hate buying things like that! But now we have 5 cages for next year!