INTRODUCING................... The Newest Adopted Lewis!




This is Bleu! He is a 85 lb., 8yr old husky. He will be staying with us for about a month while his "mommy" is in Los Angeles, CA. Kristie (his mom) works with Dan. The company wanted her to work on some projects back in L.A. , so she will be working 12 hour days and Dan felt bad for him so................we took Bleu.

We have been discussing getting a dog for about 6 months but were just unsure about how the kids would be. They tell us that if we were to get one they "would totally help out!" Well here's their trial run! If they help with him, we will get a dog of our own.

He is such a beautiful and well behaved dog. He is VERY mellow and deals with the kids great. In the above photos I think he is wanting to take a nap, but Zach and Jayla keep "bugging" him and he just takes it. Had Jake been awake he would have been trying to sit on him.
He will probably love the peace and quiet when Kristie gets back.

PICTURES!!!



Tanners birthday! 9 is so old (only cuz it makes me old). the other boy in the picture is one of Tanners friends

Mom/Grandma made matching bunny cakes (great job by the way) for Jake and Tanner for their birthdays. Jakes was on easter and Tanners was March 28. LOVE THE CAKES and the KIDS!


Dressed in their Easter Best.

Jake blowing candles. Happy number 2!
Tanner had Pinewood derby and took 3rd place in the wolf den, and 5th in the whole pack. Dan and Tanner took a whole 3 days to make the car. It's amazing what you can do under pressure! Love you Dan and Tanner!

What's For Dinner!?

I always hate that question. Well in honor of April Fools Day, this was our dinner. After reading my great friends blog. I felt I need to let loose today and do something fun for my family (thanks Melissa!). I ditched the fixating on having a clean house and getting laundry done, so after volunteering at the school I spent the rest of the day whipping this up.

Yes, it was for "fools" day so don't let the picture deceive you. The "cake" is meat loaf "frosted" with whipped potatoes and cherry tomatoes top it off. The "hamburgers" were made with vanilla wafers, peppermint patties, frosting and green coconut.

The kids thought it was great, except Jake. When he took a bite of his "cake" he started to cry and whine "cake, me cake!" Tanner had 3 helpings of "cake".

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Happy Birthday Jayla!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry it took me a month to post)

I don't know what I would do without my sweet Jayla. It is always us against the boys. She is so studious, and loves learning and drawing. You can usually find her in her room quietly playing or "keeping busy" while her brothers are ransacking the rest of the house. She is so pleasant (most of the time) and is greatly missed when she isn't around. She is a wonderful big sister, and has taught the little boys how to play a "mean" prince and the proper way to dance with a princess.


WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Well, Dans been gone again. He gets to come home long enough to sleep, but then is gone at the crack o'dawn. The one night he did come home it was to watch the kids so I could go to my enrichment planning meeting, whoa- who! He works hard and wants to to a good job. This week he is in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Lamar .... all those places down there. He has another dinner on Fri at Garden of the Gods(click). I am meeting him down there for that.
I feel like I'm being teased when he has weeks like this... "hi, I'm home , I'm tired, going to bed. Gotta leave at 5:30am, won't see you until 11:30pm. I have to leave again early tomorrow. LOVE YA!"

This morning Jake got my cell phone and was "talking" to Daddy. "come home. I wuv you. home!" Zach on Mon. night (Dan was staying the night in Pueblo) came into my room and just needed "to hold your hand until I fall asleep. I'm scared." He only does this when Dan is gone.

All in all, though. I love him! He, himself, never wanted to work this hard. He does like his job and the people he works with and gets to meet.

Tonight I get to do parent teacher conferences on my own. It will be great because my kids are great! It will be quick and easy because I see the kids teachers weekly when I volunteer, so there really isn't anything that goes on that I don't know about.

Being in Relief Society is going to be a REAL learning experience. We (me and my enrichment leader) have decided to NOT do a "super saturday". Oh ya!!! I can't wait to get the back lash on this one. Already 2 of the committee is freaking out.... nicely,but still freaking out. The commitee leader has been in for over 2 years and she tallied up the # of crafts she's done and it totals over 30. I totally back her up!

What are your ideas and some of the HFPE night you like/ remember? (my way of asking for help :) )

The Colorado Rockies are so amazing!! I took this on my way to Grand Junction to meet up with Dan. As many times as I have driven this route the mountains never fail to impress me. It was probably a dangerous stunt to take this while driving winding roads, but .... oh, well. I probably shouldn't have taken the next one either.....





I went to Grand Junction (last Fri. 2/29 ) for a district banquet that Dan needed to be at. I jumped at the opportunity to go spend a night with him and away from the kids. I rented a car, a Nissan Xterra, so that we could drive back together. I have never really toured Grand Junction than to stop right off I-70 for a lunch break to or from Utah. It is really a nice town

It's been too long......

literally. Too long since I have posted, and my hair too long. So for Valentines day Dan took the kids for a few hours while I got my hair done at a local salon. The last time I had done that was after Jayla was born. I usually am last minute "I need a hair cut, hope great clips isn't too busy," kind of a person. So here is the before and after.
The after is also after being on the treadmill, so I don't look totally put together but I needed a picture before I lose my time to get things posted. I will post one where I look more like the rock star I am.



And YA! I got a work out in! Tanner and Jayla are home because of Pres. day, so they kept the other 2 busy so I could do "something" to work out. They are such great helpers! I am having a moment of great love for all my kids. They are really great kids.

Well there is now a lot of screaming going on ,so there go my time.

How is everyone doing on their "health"?

Laundry.........


I think the one thing that drives me most crazy about laundry is matching socks. I DESPISE this part of the laundry. Well I decided to try to fix the problem and try to think of ways that would make this chore easier. I found this idea, and so far has worked great (as long as your family members will do their part.) Maybe some of you already knew to do this, but humor me because I think I have reinvented the wheel. I bought lingerie bags and have pinned or tied them to the laundry baskets. When socks are dirty the family is to put them into the lingerie bags together. When it's time for a load of wash, zip up the lingerie bag and wash and dry it with the load. Tada! The socks are together, no matching necessary. YA!
In I and Dan's laundry I bought 2 bags, one for white socks and one for colored.

If you would like pictures I would be happy to share, since I really am excited about this "new" way of being organized in the laundry scheme. I will post them as I figure out my new digital camera.

OOOOHHH What have I done......

I have eaten like CRAP and still no work outs in. I am trying to ignore the life that is going on around me and wish I could be a hermit for a couple of days and not be bothered. I have hit my low for the week and will try to recommit myself for the rest of month.
Added Goal:
I want to feel better in my clothes by my birthday. I won't say how much I want to lose because I tend to think I can lose more than is a reality.

I miss my husband and the kids miss their dad. Usually we get to talk more, but because of the conference he is at he has had 12 hr days and then usually a happy hour after all the meetings. (I hope he is keeping it together and not dancing on tables or anything like that). It hasn't left him much "down" time to keep in touch.

The kids had a great time at school today. Tom Nalen(click on the name) from the Broncos came and talked to them at school and showed them his "gear" and his super bowl rings. They thought that was pretty great.


It's funny because Dan and I went to dinner with some friends about a year ago and saw him in person. He walked right by our table with jeans and a t-shirt on, we were at a really nice restaurant and we were all dressed up. I forget that Dan is just as big as some of these pro. athletes, Tom wasn't any bigger really than Dan. On T.V. though he looks enormous(Tom not Dan). There is a connection that Dan has with the Broncos, namely John Lynch. I'll blog about that later when I have more time.


Namaste ( that's for Dan, I love you!)

So I found this cute website.....

(click on it) Hungry Girl

Wow.... not a good start to my week. I have yet to get in any scheduled exercise this week, and I haven't been eating very well. I know that it is because of the stress of life so far this week.

Monday- I took the car in to check out why the check engine light was coming on intermittantly. Didn't think it would be that big of a deal. WRONG, of course. I got in to the mechanic at around 9 AM and didn't leave until after 2. After they figured out the "why" they kept telling me it'll be about an hour. Dan kept calling me to check in and would say "do you want me to come and get you and the boys" (the 2 little ones were with me). I would say"no they said it would only be about an hour. It isn't worth it." We were at the Sears so we wandered the store multiple times and ate Jr. mints for lunch because it was snowing outside and the closest food place was too far for me to drudge 2 little people through the cold and wet. After that I had to go straight to pick the kids up at school get them to do their homework, went out to dinner with the fam because we weren't going to see Dan again until Fri night. So no work out time.

Tuesday- I volunteered at the kids school for 3 hours and then was going to get in the workout time. Wrong again. Dan was going to stop at home real quick and pack, but needed his dry cleaning picked up, after shave at the store. Then it was time for kids to come home, go to piano, get homework in before basketball, fit dinner in there and then time for bed. No work out again.

Wednesday- Today is a new day! I will get it in, I will think positive and eat something better for me than rice crispy treats!

So here goes nothing........







Oh by the way I am now the enrichment counselor for Relief Society. No stress :)

Did I mention that I hate it when Dan is gone!

I got about a 40 min. work out in this morning. I was trying to talk myself out of working out, but I didn't want to let you all down since you are all doing such a great job at staying dedicated. I talked to Ellen last night and told her that the beginning of the week is so much easier to stay with it than toward the end. But, I did it! The other reason is because Dan and I are going to Maggianos for a date night. Wow 2 in a row!
This one has actually been planned for a couple of weeks. Thanks to Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jason this one came to fruition.
I also wanted to get a head start on the weekend, because usually I go hog-wild and ditch the really healthy eating. For the last few years Sat. is our family fastfood lunch day. It is more often than not the only day that we get to eat out as a family, and it gives the kids something to look forward to. It has also helped them in not asking to go eat out every night of the week. Really though.... now it has turned into Chick-fil-a day now that one has just opened up by the Target. It is the BEST! They have diet Dr. Pepper, I LOVE their chicken, they give out educational toys in the kids meal and they have a play land! What could be better!
I am going to be eat'n like a queen this weekend!

So here is my daily entry (from yesterday, Tues. 1/29)....

I got 30 min exercise
I had special k, a protein bar, diet dr. pepper, cottage cheese a couple of pickles, 3 hard boiled eggs and a granola bar to eat today.

After typing that I need to work on getting some veggies and fruit in. Thats hard at our house because my kids actually like those things so they get eaten fast. Enough excuses.

I haven't blogged about our night at the Nuggets game last Wed. Through Tanner's basketball team we got some good tickets for half price, so we took Tanner, Jayla and Zach. Jake stayed with Grandma and Grandpa.

Tanner got to go down on the court and hi-five the players as they came in for warm up. Unfortunately, Mello was injured but AI (Allen Iverson) was there. Tanner had been so excited the whole day. I got to take Jayla to go talk to the Cheerleaders and the dancers. She was excited, but of course went mute when they tried to talk to her.
Zach just wanted hot dogs, cotton candy and thought that the lights were really cool.
All the kids had on their Nuggets gear, but it didn't take long for Zach to realize that his jersey didn't have a number on it like the other kids did.
At half time some little YMCA basketball players got to have a 5 minute game against eachother. Zach was angery that they didn't "pick" him to go and play,and again had to tell us it was because his jersey was missing a number.
They played the Hawks. It was a good game, but I didn't get to pay as much attention to it since I just tried to keep Zach enjoying his time there. It was just great to spend time together as a family (minus Jake, we missed him but were glad he wasn't there).

Then thanks to grandma and grandpa Dan and I went to dinner and a movie last Fri. We just went to the movie complex here in Brighton. We had dinner at Anthony's pizza and then went to go see "Juno" ($5 movie through Kerasotes theater company). Dan and I laughed so hard! The girl that plays Juno is so funny. I know the topic of teen pregnancy isn't funny, but THIS was hilarious. I am jealous of Jason and Ellen who have "Paulie Bleeker is Boss" t-shirts. Maybe I'll make on that says "Dan Lewis is Boss".
It was just fun to be Dan and I. Usually when we get to go out it is for some "Farmers" function so Dan has to be all social to everyone and I don't get his undivided attention. But since I had it that night, I found myself being quite the chatter box.

Well today I get to look forward to The Dentist. My tooth decided it didn't like it's filling anymore. I hate going to the dentist! Mostly because I hate trying to get someone to watch my kids so that I can do something I don't want to do in the first place.

I don't think I will work out until this afternoon, after the dentist.
I have read many of your blogs- Way to go on getting serious about health!-

All-righty then! I have some of you on board about this getting healthy thing. I don't know how you want to do this and help keep tabs on each other. The only thing I can think of right now is post your goals so that we can be accountable.....

1. exercise!(at least 30 min)- I will set my work out time as 9am or 4pm (it depends on the days I volunteer at the kids' school)

2. I will try to make better food choices and watch portion.
3. I will try to be more aware and try to manage my stress/boardom eating.

Thats a good start for me. I could list a whole slew of things but I know that would just set me up for failure. I will add more goals along the way.

So far today hasn't been the best start. I was watching kids so i haven't gotten in my exercise yet, other than carrying laundry up and down stairs. I had a small bowl of Special K vanilla almond cereal, but then I had 2 cookies for a mid morning snack.

I will hopefully blog more towards the evening so I can let you know how most of the day went.

If you haven't read moms blog she is making a great start of all of this.

Start little..... achieve those small triumphs.....and keep going. When/if you fall of the wagon, start where you left off. Everyone will have set backs, but that's why we are doing this together! Look to the future of a healthier you and feeling great!

Love you guys!

Mom and I were talking today about her health , my health, everyones health. And decided that we (whoever wants to) band together and start exercising regularly, and try to have a more healthy lifestyle ( I will not give up my every once in a while diet pop, though). We should hold each other accountable by blogging about what we are "trying" to do. Any one on Board?!

Sorry about the earlier post being so dramatic, but I do not apologize for how I feel.

It's time to get REAL......

OK, so on the outside I am normally a pretty up beat, happy person, just living life as it is thrown at me. Inside is the complete opposite of what everyone else sees. I am someone struggling to keep herself together and not break down crying, because my thoughts of inadequacy are looming up and trying to take over my every thought. Making me think that I am not doing a very good job as a mother, wife, friend or whatever role I am put in.

I have been feeling like a "loser" lately and it didn't help going to HFPE. It was one of those "feel good" nights and the speaker asked us to write down 5 things that I do good and then we were to share one of those. I thought and thought and couldn't think of anything! I didn't write anything down and then it was time for me to share. I held in the tears and the urge to run out of the room yelling "I hate you all! I am not like all of you cookie cutter women who have it all together and are always perfect!" I didn't want to look pathetic and quickly said "loyal" and that was it.

Now 2 days later I still can't think of 5 things I do well. I can think of a hundred things I WISH I did well.... keep a clean and tidy house, laundry isn't the size of Mt. Everest, was 20 lbs lighter, yada, yada, yada! And here I am making a "booby blog" when I should be doing......

National Western Stock Show 2008

We did the yearly visit to the stock show on Fri. Jan 18. I always love going probably as much if not more than the kids do. We went with Karla and her kids and Rachel and hers.
My kids missed Grandpa Lewis this year because, "he knows all about the big cows and animals. He will ask the people if we can pet the really fat ones and they always say yes."

The Big highlight is always the tractor races. They are the ones you pedal, like the one Uncle Jon had. I can't get the clip, but all the kids got to race multiple times. Jayla had to whisper to me after it was over " I won 5 times mom. No one beat me!" I am so proud she has found her calling in tractor racing.

My kids didn't want to leave. Jayla wanted to see the Rodeo Queen, and see if she would give her a plastic tiara to wear on her cowgirl hat (Jayla doesnt' have a cowgirl hat). She also said that when she grows up she wants to be at least a Rodeo Princess. I guess it's time to try to get her over the fear of touching a horse first. When Kaitlyn took us to the horse barn over the summer she wouldn't go near Gary. I guess we all need dreams though.

DREAM ON!...........

Christmas decorations are down and now it's time to put up Valentines. WOW! Another holiday season come and gone. I wanted so bad to bake up all sorts of delicious treats but as usual I never found the time. I think I will bake for Valentines Day instead, not quite so hectic. Our Holidays were great.
Dan got to stay home the week of Christmas until after New Years. I wouldn't say he really had it "off" because his phone continued to ring and he had to return emails almost every morning, but at least he was home! He was probably ready to go back and get some piece and quite at the office (comparatively).

I love having the kids home, but was ready for the structure that school brings.

We got to visit with Charlie, Raenie, Dallin and Kenzie for a couple of days. They flew to Utah and visited Reaenie's family and then drove here to come visit Grandparents and us. They have a wonderful family and Dallin and Kenzie are so beautiful. Char and Raenie look great too. What's your secret Raenie?!

Most of our break was spent playing Guitar Hero II. I am a rock star in my own mind! The kids didn't get to play it until about 2 days later when Dan and I started feeling guilty for not sharing. Sorry kids! They stayed busy shooting each other with their Nerf guns, Jayla included (she has to have something to protect herself from her crazy brothers).

Well life is back to "normal" now and time to think of what's coming up in the next year!

So, Uncle Dave returned home from Kenya safe and sound after a 2 week visit with Bob and Renae. He said the riots started the day he left. Bob and Renae are safe so far in their apartment and say that the riots aren't as close to them.

Dave brought home some shirts for them, thats what these pictures are. Thank you Dave!

We continue to pray for the Lewis' in Kenya that they will continue to be safe there amidst the chaos!

( Sorry the pictures are sideways, I'm to lazy to try to figure out how to fix it. Just turn your head ;) )

I have changed my blog. Do you like it?! The Broncos tried to lose on Sunday but their desire to lose wasn't great enough.

So I have a confession to make....... (those who are going to judge, stop reading!)

I am still excited about the Broncos because Dan had company tickets to the game against the Vikings and had to meet a District Manager there, but had one more ticket for me! YA! Included with the tickets was entrance to a VIP Party before the game at the Comcast building exactly next to the stadium. It was all you can eat and drink before the game. It was so much fun! We didn't have to spend any $$ and was full to the brim. It was great! It was cold and windy but didn't start snowing until after overtime was finished. Perfect timing.

There's always next year Broncos!