The Snelders

I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas!?

2010-12-17T17:20:00.006-07:00

Performing at the Festival of Trees
The BIG Finish!!

Natural born performer!!
Introducing the STAR PERFORMERS!!

Brittanie had so much fun being part of this singing group that when we heard about the winter show we knew we had to find a way to make it work. After changing bus schedules and calling in a few favors Britt was able to make it to all of her practices. Her 1st performance was at the Festival of Trees. This is a big event in Boise and we arranged to come home early from Thanksgiving to be a part of the show. They sing 2 songs, "It's a Marshmellow World in the Winter" and I want a Hippopotomus for Christmas". I love the hippo song and catch myself singing it ALL the time. The kids also performed at a couple retirement centers and then Britt and the Sosa kids from our ward totally brought the house down at our ward talent show! We were very proud of Britt and all that she is learning. What a super STAR!

Gooooallllll!!

2010-09-26T23:17:00.002-06:00

Nate attacks the ball!
Taking a break and staying hydrated!

Nates 1st goal shot!

Nathan is LOVING playing soccer. He is on a co-ed team--The Tiger SHARKS. He practices every Tuesday and has played in 3 games so far. Not that anyone is proud of their son, but he has scored 8 goals so far. He scored 4 in his last game on Saturday!

He loves to play and run. His coach is pretty proud of Nathan and that he always goes after the ball. He has had some pretty big kicks and laughed when he kicked it over the goal. Luckily that was in practice but he thought it was cooler that kicking it into the goal. He is all about power kicks!

When Nate scored his 1st goal he ran by me and gave me a big smile and a thumbs up. The mom next to me said "That is a pretty cute smile." And I thought yep, but I'm not sure whose smile is cuter: Nates or his Dad's. Right after he scored I looked at Scott and he had the biggest proud Dad smile on his face. Later we talked and I told Scott that watching Nate play soccer was a treat for him much like my giddy smile when Britt performs at a dance recital!
2 Posts in One week--Mom can you stand it?

Up, Up, and AWAY!

2010-09-20T22:10:00.003-06:00

Zach loved watching the Balloons!
Britt was dressed for Alaska in January! She is wearing two pairs of pants!

A very nice man took pity on me and took this picture. After watching me struggle trying to take one of myself and the kids he could tell I needed help! See, people in Boise are SO nice!

Nutritous Breakfast!--You can't see them but Nate's doughnut has gummy worms on top!

The balloon festival has been brought back to Boise!

The best kids in the world, humoring Mom for another picture!
"We're making memories!--Now stop whining and SMILE!"

Boise's Balloon Festival is Back

I was so sad when the balloon festival left Boise shortly after we moved here. SO imagine my surprise and excitement when I heard the announcment that the Festival was back. I immediatly planned to wake the kids up early on Friday and take them into the launch before school. It was fun but a little chaotic. It was run, run, look, look, picture, picture,and sprint back to the car and eat your doughnut on the way! We made it to school just after the tardy bell. But GOOD NEWS. They were not counting tardies the 1st week of school!

Star Stallions back to School!

2010-09-20T21:39:00.004-06:00

Nate and his cubby!
Britt has been counting the days until she GETS to go back to school. Yeah, it's here!

The kids did some cute pictures together before Britt got the idea to do rabbit ears behind Nates head. We narrowly avoided a fight by allowing Nate to do bunny ears to Britt. (So FUNNY, both hands are making the ears but poor kid is just too short to see the ones behind her head!)

Check out this rocking outfit! Thanks to Grandma and Aunt Janelle--Britt is totally stylin' in her high top sneakers!

Kindergarten...Here I come. (Maybe?)

Nathan's 1st Day of School

Nathan was very excited to start school. All summer long he could hardly wait. Then when the actual day arrived I could tell he was feeling nervous at breakfast. This is our child who does not do well with change. I thought it might be a rough day. We walked together to school and dropped Brittanie off at her class. She wasn't reluctant at all to go into her classroom. I think she left smoke as she peeled into class in her new twinkle toe shoes. What--Mom who? Not even a kiss goodbye! Then we took Nate around the corner and he started to back pedal. I had Zach in the stroller and used that to corral him. We went into class with him and he was really starting to freak out and say he wanted to go home. Then once he saw his name on this shiny new cubby, he felt a little better. Then it was time to meet on the rug with all the other kids and he started to climb me like a pole but once again I was rescued when Mrs. Hammons called him by name.

"Oh, Nathan, there you are! Here is your name tag." Big sigh as he makes his way onto the carpet and sits down...carefully keeping one eye on me to make sure I didn't make a break for it. Now I was doing great until Mrs. Hammons reads that stupid book " The Kissing Hand". I'm watching Nate settle in and feel more comfortable as the story is read and I AM starting to feel ALOT more unsettled. This is my tender baby boy and I'm throwing him into the sharks! I make it through the story barely and he looks at me to way goodbye and I'm trying my hardest to fake a smile and give him an excited thumbs up as Zach and I walk out of the room. Two steps later, I'm wiping my cheeks thinking... Crap, I still have to do this with Zach! I think it gets harder with each child!

Boston Vacation--Part 3

2010-08-30T21:32:00.010-06:00

Our new extended family--minus a few

The Scituate Lighthouse

Nancy, John, Catherine, Olivia, and Eva--some of our new favorite cousins!

The whole crew at the 1st Snelder's Family Reunion.
4 generations present!!

Julie S., Julie E. and Nancy. Some of my favorite girls!!

Scott with his brothers and sisters and Scott's grandfathers brother and sister!

Josephine and Tom.

More Scituate Lighthouse--Sorry, I don't know how to put these in order!

Meeting Aunt Helen, Grandpa Johns other sister who couldn't come to the reunion due to health reasons. So we took the party to her and she was worth it! So funny and sassy!

Josephine, Scott, and Tom Snelders.

Our artistic interpretation of a beach picture! Somehow the computer flipped this one and I can't flip it back! Enjoying the sunset on the beach in Scituate.

Scott's not acting! After a short swim in the ocean he is half frozen! Look at the beautiful view behind Scott. This is the beach where our cousins grew up just a block away!

On our tour of Plymouth, we visited this old Mill. It is the 1st mill built in America!

What would a tour of Plymouth be without visiting the Mayflower replica?

Boston Trip (Part 3)

"The final chapter...I Promise!"

Well, here is the rest of our trip in kinda of a jumbled random order. I need to call Julie for blog tutoring skills so I can make my post flow better. But this was the last thing on my list of things I wanted to accomplish today so I'm going to get it done no matter what! We enjoyed so many beautiful places while on the east coast. The beach where Nancy grew up was among one of the most beautiful places we visited. I can't imagine growing up a block from the beach! Nancy's husband John grew up in a town next to Plymouth and so he was our guide when we went there. It was amazing to visit the Old Grist Mill, Plymouth Rock (or pebble), the Mayflower replica, and a Pilgrim cemetary. Thanks so much to John for showing us the sights and being SO patient with this crazy large group of people! The walk to the mill was SO beautiful to me along the creek and through a tunnel. Pretty, Pretty everywhere!! John's kept the touring alive and took us a few days later to tour the Scituate Lighthouse. It was so fun to be inside a lighthouse and I couldn't help but feel kinship toward my fellow Lighthouse keepers from Pete's Dragon! If I would have been alone at the top, you know I would have sang Nora's song, but I held it in so I would embarass Scott!

The reunion we got to attend on Saturday was the driving force behind us making this trip out to Boston. Scott's grandfather was one of four children. All 3 of his siblings are still living and his brother Tom just turned 90 this year. It was a great excuse to get the whole family together. Scott helped Nancy with creating a family pedigree chart so everyone could see how they were related. It was so fun to see people walk in and enjoy filling out their branches of the tree! We are such big believers in the importance of family and it was so FUN to meet distant relatives and find such wonderful, caring, and might I add--Good looking people! ( I can say that because I'm not blood!) Thank you so much to Nancy, Cara, Tom, Vinny and Victoria for taking such great care of us. What wonderful hosts you all are. Cara--thanks for the Yummy doughnuts! Man those were awesome! Nancy and John thank you for opening your home and pool to us night after night! Uncle Tom, thank you for the fresh Lobster dinner (even though I only had steak). I just wished I would have been there to watch them cook! Also thank you for the souvenirs and making us feel so loved and welcome in your home. We can't wait to get you to Boise so we can take you to a game on the blue!!

Dreams DO come true! (Boston Trip part 2)

2010-08-30T14:55:00.006-06:00

We got to go to 2 ball games while in Boston!

Watching the pitcher warm up!

Ahhhh, isn't that a beautiful sight!

Scott and I on our tour of Fenway Park

Proud members of Red Sox Nation!!

Boston Trip--(Part 2)

Ok, SO I know I said I would break our trip into 2 parts but there will be 3. Since the Red Sox are such a big part of our lives I felt like we owe it to the Bo-Sox to devote this post to them. Scott has been a Red Sox fan since he was born..pretty much. His grandfather John grew up in Boston and enriched a love for the greatest baseball team on the planet in his Son. The boys grew up cheering for the Red Sox ever since they could speak. And now as tradition goes the boys are passing on this passion to their kids. Even Brittanie knows "Yeah Red Sox....BOOOO Yankee's!!"

We were thrilled when we found out that Scott's cousins in Boston were arranging a reunion and that we would get to come to Boston to meet them. Not only did they plan a reunion but they planned alot of activities to entertain us while we were in town. A huge thank you to Vinny and Victoria for hooking us up with tickets to the game, a tour of Fenway Park, and a tour through downtown Boston. It was SO much fun!!

We got caught in an unbelievable rain storm in the middle of our tour of Boston. We started making our way back to the ballpark and to get some dinner before the game and it started raining like I've never seen! We made it into a souvenir shop next to Fenway before it really started to pour. I had fought the whole day to save my hair by walking around with a sack above my head and now this! Damp hair and the possiblity of the game getting rained out--I started feeling despair. After about 45 minutes the rain suddenly stopped! Victoria got a new shirt that John Paul helped her pick out while we waited and we went on the have a perfect night for watching baseball.

Didn't I mention we went to see the Red Sox twice? Yeah, this so wouldn't have happened if we had taken any of our kids and that is why this is a story I must tell. Our 1st day in Boston we arrived about 3:30 and checked into our hotel. Then after a walk on the beach and gathering sea shells we started talking about what we should to that night. We were traveling with Scott's brother Craig and his wife Julie...and did I mention we had NO kids with us? It was about 6 :15 when we spontaneously decided to head into downtown Boston and see if we could get into the game that started at 7:00. By 6:25 we were in the car and on our way to find the train station. (This is the part that would never happen with kids!) What a night! We caught the train and rode with some pretty interesting people! We ran into some sister missionaries and while visiting with them got asked by a woman " What is this a freakin' Mormon convention?" She was obviously a little tipsy and headed to the game as well but turned out to be pretty helpful. She gave us a few tips on finding tickets. Once we were outside the stadium we parted ways. (Sigh of relief!) We ended up getting standing room only tickets for $20 since it was already the 3rd inning. We enjoyed a Fenway Frank for dinner and stood behind the seats on the 1st base line. We had great views and after a few innings people started to leave and we got GREAT seats! This game was Also amazing. We watched the Red Sox beat Cleveland Indians--literally! There was a fight in the 7th inning that cleared both dugouts! It was a "Wicked Pissah" of a game! (That is Boston talk for "Really Awesome".) We had a blast!! I will never sing Neil Diamonds "Sweet Caroline" without thinking of my Boston experience!

As a side note: After the game we rode several trains literally packed in like sardines to get back to our car. The idea of personal space was non exhistent! But that's not the funny part of the story. After we make it back to our stop we are walking up the stairs away from the train when we hear a shrill voice screaming "We know you! We know YOU!!!" As we all slowly turn around we find our fellow Red Soxs fans from the earlier train ride. Yep that woman and her husband were there and they remembered us! I guess she wasn't as plastered as I thought!

Our Big Summer vacation (Part 1)

2010-08-28T22:46:00.004-06:00

Visting the Sacred Grove in Palmyra.
The Palmyra temple--So beautiful!

Touring the Sacred Grove with my Sweetie!

Visiting Niagra Falls with all the other tourists!

Touring upstate New York.

So our adventure began July 31st. We drove our kids to Pocatello to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen while we got the vacation of a lifetime to go to New York and Boston without any kids. My sister Janelle and my niece Tyler took Zach and we can't thank our family enough for taking care of our kids so we could go on this trip!! SO Thank You, THANK YOU everyone!

Since it is late and I have been wanting to post this trip for weeks I have had to break it into 2 parts because I don't know how to add more pictures to this post...it's is getting late so just humor me...Did I mention it is late? ( I just edited what I've typed so far and this could be a really funny post! So pardon any rambleing!)

We flew from SLC to Buffalo, New York on Saturday. The next day we crossed the border and visited Niagra Falls. It was beautiful. Then it was back across the border. It took us twice as long to cross the border than actual time spent looking at the falls! No kidding!! Then we drove a about an hour and a half to Palmyra, New York. We met up with Scott's other brother John and his family. It was SO fun to see our nieces and nephews. It had been 2 years for me and I can't believe how much they have each grown and changed. John Paul may be 13 inches taller than me but can still carry him--barely!

While in Palmyra we got to tour all the sites of where the Mormon church got it's beginning. Itwas amazing to tour the Grandin building where the Book of Mormon was published and hear the history of how much was sacrificed so that that we can have this book. I loved going to the Joseph Smith home. The home is 80 percent original and boy did it smell original!! I also loved going to the Martin Harris farm and hearing stories from the missionaries living there. It was an experience I will never forget. When we got home I was on a car trip with Britt a few weeks later and she was keeping me awake while we were driving. So I decided to tell her how our church was started. I must have gotten lost in my own stories but after I had talked for about 15 minutes I realized she was FAST asleep. Huh, I guess it's alot more exhilerating once you have walked in these sacred places. I love that our testimonies never have to stop growing.

Catching the Summer Wave Snelders Style

2010-07-18T21:39:00.004-06:00

Nate shows Mom that with Jared's help surfing is easy!
Britt couldn't wait for her turn to catch a wave.

OH, I got it,wait...Nope, I don't! But every time I fell I did it with style!

Scott is showing off his new found wake surfing skills!

Zach learned to love his life jacket and didn't complain until the end of the trip! What a little trooper!

The hum of the boats motor helped Zach take a nice long nap! Ahh, peace and quiet for all!

Kayden (Nates new 10 year old friend--who is a bug and lizard expert) caught this lizard at the campground and let Nate take turns holding it. The kids all loved "Geekie" and were sad when they had to release him back into the wild.

With a smile on her face, shirt on backwards, and that awesome hair; it is obvious that Britt got the best night sleep on our campout. I guess 80 degrees is her perfect sleeping temperature!

Owyhee Reservoir

We have some awesome friends in Star! The Cheney's invited us to go camping and boating this weekend and we didn't want to miss this opportunity! We drove Friday evening about and hour and a half to Owyhee Reservoir in eastern Oregon. It was a beautiful area that neither Scott or I had ever seen before. We love going discovering new places.

However once we arrived at our camp spot and were deciding where to pitch our tent the kids heard a rattlesnake. Sad to say this time it was NOT their imaginations. Some other adults came over and crushed the snakes head with a rock and then the camp host came over to "finish" the snake off...with a shovel. SO we decided to put our tent as far from the sagebrush as possible!! Luckily that was the only rattlesnake we saw.

Stacie and Jared have a son that is 10 and this kid is an animal expert! He told me so much about lizards and snakes and bugs it nearly made my head spin. He had caught a little lizard earlier in the day before we arrived and named him "Geekie". I was surprised when Nate asked to hold him. He did great as long as the Geekie held still, if the lizard so much as flinched Nate was ready to throw him on the ground. Luckily Geekie was very cooperative. Nate and I also visited the kids that took the rattlesnake body and touched the belly of the snake. We were surprised to find the body still reacted to touch even when it's head was 50 yards away in the sagebrush! Ahh, you gotta love Nature!

After playing cards for a bit we were all exhausted and Britt and Nate were SO excited to sleep in the tent. I didn't realize how warm it would be at night and packed everyone nice warm pj's. By morning it cooled off to maybe 72 degree's. Even little Zach woke up with sweat down his back.

Soon were packed up and ready to hit the lake. First we found a nice cove and anchored down for swimming and lunch. Man, what better way to spend a hot summer day! After lunch it was time to start lessons. This was our second time trying wake surfing and we found some of us and faster learners (Scott) and others (Nat). I drank alot of lake water on my first turn. I got up nearly every time but only stayed up for about 20 seconds! Then Scott has to make me look bad by popping up and surfing on his 2nd attempt! He did great. He got into the "sweet spot" and even had enough confidence to let go of the rope. I should get the "perseverence award" because I tried ALOT! My coaches, Stacie and Jared, say I'm getting better and I could tell I was getting it toward the end of the day. But if I stop now then hopefully we can squeeze another invitation out of the to go boating before the summer is over. So really, sucking at this sport is really for the benefit of my family! HUGE Thank you to the Cheney's for a very FUN and memorable trip to Owhyee! What a blast!

July Summer Fun

2010-07-11T21:50:00.004-06:00

We've had a fun filled last couple of weeks. We spent the 4th of July out in Wayan where we had our annual 4th of July Parade. Reluctantly, I am posting a shot of my patriotism! We had a lot of fun hanging out with family, playing games, and lighting firworks.

The next weekend we had Julie and her three kids come over for the first annual Star Hometown celebration. Saturday morning was a fun run and Natalie ran along with Nathan, Brittanie, Hallie & Brynn. They all had fun running and Hallie, Natalie, and Nathan all took home a little hardware from the event. Brittanie performed with the Star Performers that night at the barbecue. The pic I loaded shows her enthusiasm with singing and dancing. This was the third and final performance for her this year. She did great and loved every minute of it.

I also loaded a couple of pictures of the kids playing outside in the backyard. They loved having their cousins come over to play. They are looking forward to the week in Pocatello with their cousins and Grandma & Grandpa later this summer!

Broadway, Are you ready for this?

2010-06-27T20:21:00.003-06:00

The Star Performers take the stage at the Emmett Cherry Festival
Britt takes to the stage and sings her little heart out!

Solo time...and she Brings down the house! She didn't hold back at all when she got in front of a real audience!

Look at that hip action as she "Washes that man right out of my hair!"

After Britt performed at her 1st grade program and then again in front of her entire school at the end of the year talent show we realized we had a little performer on our hands! I heard about this singing group that does a few performances in the summer and decided to let Britt try it out. She has had a BLAST! So far they have been in a parade and then their first stage performance last Saturday at the Cherry Festival in Emmett. It is SO fun to watch her perform! She really goes all out when she is on stage. I don't know where she gets it! They have 2 songs they perform and it took me a full week before I could get it out of my head!--Oh man, now talking about it has brought it all back!! "I love you, a Bushel and a Peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!...."You bet your 'purdy' neck I DO! Doo-da-loo-da-loo-do-do!! The other day the kids across the street started a lemonade stand. The next thing I see is Britt making a sign of her own. So I'm thinking it's only a matter of minutes before she is asking me to help her make Kool-Aid to start up her own lemonade stand. But she surprised me. In stead she had a sign that read in 1st grade handwriting" "Brittanie will purform "Bushul and a Peck" for $1.00 each show.

Now that cracks me up! So what do you do when you don't have a good agent? You do it yourself because good help is hard to find!

Look out Kindergarten!

2010-06-27T19:43:00.002-06:00

If only we knew how nervous Nate really was standing up in front of everyone!
Handsome little graduate!

Nathan gradutated from Preschool earlier this month. We know how shy our little Nathan is and wondered how he would do in this program. A few weeks earlier he wouldn't go on the stage at church and sing for Mother's Day with all the other kids. I wasn't surprised when the daycare owner told me the next day how scared Nathan was as they were lining up to begin. He went to the bathroom and was in there a long time. It was long enough that a teacher went to check on him and found him in the corner of the bathroom nearly in tears. Luckily we have the BEST teachers at his school and one of them took him by the hand and told him that she also gets nervous in font of an audience and it would really help her if HE would hold her hand when they walked in. That did the trick! Once he got over his nerves he had a wonderful program and got to accept his dipolma. Thank you Stepping Stones for all you have done to help our little Nathan grow and learn. Look out Kindergarten...Here comes Nathan!

What a Girl won't do for the 1st slice of Pizza!

2010-05-11T20:53:00.006-06:00

So this is how she REALLY feels between shots!
Pretty little Ballerina!

I'm pretty proud of the hair. It's not easy to fake a bun with Britt's current hair style. All those hours of styling my Barbie head finally paid off!

This year picture day fell on a Tuesday night about 5:00 pm. So to make my life more simple I ordered pizza from the place 2 doors down from the dance studio. As soon as we got home from dance pictures Britt was dying to dive into the pizza but I REALLY wanted some cute pictures since I had done all this work getting her ready. So we made a deal. If she looked and smiled AT the camera, after 5 pictures I would let her change and she could have the 1st piece of pizza. If you know Britt at all, she has wandering eyes when it comes to pictures but man the PIZZA DEAL had her focused! I was sneaky and took a few extra pictures but it was SO much easier than pictures in the past. So note to self...recital night, have a few slices of pizza as bait!

I love watching Brittanie take dance. I was devastated when she quit in the fall for gymnastics but was thrilled (and a little guilty for enticing her to sign-up again) when she decided to come back. As we were getting her ready for pictures she flew off the chair when she saw me coming at her with (Dun-Dun-DUN) Mascara! She ran from me and told me that is why she quit dance. After some smooth talking I was able to get her back and finish her eyes. I guess what I am saying is that all her therapy needs in the future will stem from MY need to have her take dance!

Move over Johnny Damon...

2010-04-20T17:53:00.008-06:00

...because the hottest baseball player in the league is now Nathan Snelders!!! Get in line ladies, he is only 5 years old!
Nathans smallest...but loudest fan!

Look at the wind up!

He can hit, run, and field the ball after 1 practice. This kid is AMAZING!

Nice hit!!

This is Scott's favorite picture of the night! Look at the power leg move!

Nathan started t-ball last Tuesday night and he was SO excited. He followed me around all day and was anxious to go to his first practice. After asking me four times if it was time to leave to go to practice he stopped and looked at me and said, "What IS practice?" This made me chuckle! We went to a get pictures on Saturday and then stayed and played some games the the Baseball extravaganza they set up to help the program earn a little money. I was pretty proud of myself because I took all 3 kids by myself and we were on time and then played games for an hour before Zach was done.

Then Monday night was the big night! It was game time and Nate was still unsure of what the difference was between a game and practice. He quickly found out that playing the game was ALOT more fun. We were very proud of him because he was aggressive and went after the ball everytime it even got close to him. There was a few times the boys dog-piled trying to get the ball--and not one kid was worried about the runner. It was so fun. Much less stressfull than soccer! We decided we like being t-ball parents!

Our little man is growing up!

2010-04-13T16:54:00.002-06:00

Trying new foods is always a treat!
Zach has mastered sitting up but still tips over occasionally.

Zach just turned 8 months old and we thought this would be the perfect time to brag about all that he has accomplished so far. We have introduced solid foods over the past 2 months and he has some favorites and some...not so favorites. I would say some of his favorites are squash, applesauce, bananas, and oatmeal. Zach doesn't like the prune/apple combo we tried this week. I have been trying for 3 days to get him to finish off 1 container and it's a NO-GO. However, no matter what anyone is eating, Zach notices and wants to taste everything!! (He's like his Mom and doesn't want anyone to eat alone!)

Zach is growing like a weed now with all his new found favorite foods and now weighs almost 16 lbs. He loves his big brother. Nathan is probably the one that gets the most laughs out of Zach when he is being silly. Brittanie treats Zach like her own real life cabbage patch doll and has been caught more than once packing him around when she's not suppose to. It seems like just yesterday we were debating over baby names and now little "Nacho" is here. What JOY this little man has brought to our home!

Brittanies got TALENT!

2010-03-15T20:30:00.005-06:00

This is for you Grandma! Watch it over and over!

Britt is trying out for her school talent show next week. When we told Grandma she wanted a little audition tape so here it is. We did several takes but this one was extra funny thanks to Nate. We all laughed so hard watching it that this was the one we had to post.

We hope you all enjoy. (Mom, Can you believe that I told you I would post and then I did all in the same day! I think I'm getting a handle on my life--maybe.)

First Family Ski Trip

2010-03-07T18:51:00.003-07:00

We took our first family ski trip on Saturday. Having great success with the first trip Dad took with each of the kids, we thought it was time to get all of us up there together. We went up with Kevan & Judy's family to Bogus Basin for a little night sking fun. By the end of the night, we were so thrilled out how far both Brittanie and Nathan had come. They both could ski down the "coach" hill on their own and really started to love going fast.

Both kids are really excited about skiing and can't wait to be able to go again. We hope to get up there a time or two before all the snow melts this Spring.

Nate's B-day Celebration

2010-02-18T21:27:00.005-07:00

" Look how fast I am dude!"
The kiddie pool and playground area

Our b-day BOY!!

The kids love riding the big floating snake.

The Gang is ready to hit the pool!

Nate and his magic wand.
The Snelders family in Washington

Finally--Mom got in the pool!

Great Wolf Lodge Trip:

It has become tradition in our family to do a trip when our kids turn 5. When Britt turned 5 we went to Disneyland. So we have been planning to go again when Nate turned 5 but as his birthday approached he didn't seem too excited to go. So we started thinking of other options and when we showed Nate the pictures on his cousins blog of their trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Washington it didn't take him long to decide. This little boy LOVES swimming and so this was the perfect trip for him. We left early Friday morning and arrived at the hotel at 4:00p.m. We were lucky enough to meet Craig, Julie, and their boys and share a 2 room suite! (Thanks Craig for getting us a deal!) So after a quick dinner the kids couldn't find their swimming suits fast enough! So we got in a couple of hours of swimming before the kids were done and wanted to go to story time in the hotel lobby. After story time, Nate and his cousins used the magic wand we got at the "Magic Quest" store to wander around the hotel and make creatures come to life and open treasure chests. Harry Potter...eat your heart out! It was pretty cool!! After traveling and so much action Nate fell asleep almost before his head touched the pillow. Saturday morning we were back at the pool by 9:30 a.m. and swam until about 3:30 p.m. It was a blast. (Hopefully nobody that works at Great wolf will read this next part of my story) Nate was the only one of the kids that was too short to ride the big waterslides so towards the end of our 2nd day I slipped Britts bracelet off and put it on Nate and we took him down the big slides a few times. (Don't judge me--Nate missed qualifying by 1/2 inch). Can we just say...He LOVED the fast slides and it was totally worth the dishonesty. Britt almost made a scene when I asked her for her bracelet by saying "No Mommy, that's CHEATING!! And then again when I went to take Britt down after she had given her bracelet to Nate, the lifeguard questioned us about her missing bracelet and she looked at me in fear. Luckily she kept her lips sealed and after a quick measurement she was allowed to ride down...and go get a new bracelet. Wheww...that was close. OK, so I'm a bad Mom but if you saw the smile on Nate's face after his 1st time down ANYONE else would have done the same thing. Totally worth it! What a great time we had and a HUGE thank you to Craig & Julie for helping us make it happen!! I don't know if anyone will notice but we hardly ever go anywhere without Craig & Julie...and we are more than OK with that!

IT's a tie-dye Christmas

2010-01-25T12:41:00.003-07:00

Inn Keeper Nate and "Wise Woman" Britt in the Navity Christmas Eve.
Britt wants to be just like her older Cousin Tyler and now she can look the part with matching hats from Grandma!

Our tie-dye family!

We made sure Zach wasn't left out and dyed one of his onesies!

"tis the season to be tie-dying???" Well it was if you were celebrating Christmas in Wayan. This year I was in charge of decorating some t-shirts that our Uncle brought out and I thought tie dying sounded like fun. It was really fun!! Little Britt fell in love with it and made 2 shirts for herself and helped make one for Zach and Nate. I think this will be one of my favorite christmases when I look back at all the pictures and see all of our family wearing their shirts on Christmas Eve! I wish I had gotten more pictures of our aunts, uncles and cousins wearing them because every shirt was unique! We had a wonderful holiday with our family in Wayan and on Christmas eve we drove to my sisters house in Utah and spent Christmas morning there. Since I didn't have church responsibilities to run home to I stayed for another 5 days while Scott came home and worked. It was SO fun to spend more time with my sister and brother-in-law and then a few days with my parents. I wish I could do that every year!! Thanks to everyone (my mom and Craig) for shuttleing me from city to city!! I had a blast. We wrapped up the holiday in Pocatello to celebrate New Years and Scott came back from Boise to pick us up. Now we are back to "normal" and have been spending our days running to and from gymnastics, ballet, work, mutual and our all important family Saturday Activities. I can't believe how fast life is going but it sure is a fun ride!

Nathan's 10 Seconds of Fame

2009-12-01T11:27:00.004-07:00

We needed a little actor for our Toys for Tots campaign for Albertsons in Boise, and our Advertising Director asked if my son would like to be the tot. Nathan was pretty excited about the whole thing. He was great for the photo shoot in the store for the posters. He had a great smile and was willing to try about anything. When shooting the video for the advertisement, Nathan was a little more shy. I couldn'g get him to show the same big grin he had for the photo shoot and he was definately hesitant about giving the Marine a hug.

The ad is currently playing in Boise on ABC:

Here is the poster that is at our Boise Albertsons locations at the toy bin drop-off area:

Do you think he has a career?

Time flies when you've got 3 kids! Am I right Ladies?

2009-11-21T17:37:00.003-07:00

Zach is almost 3 months in this picture!
Hannah and "pepe" go trick or treating.

Isn't Nathan the cutest Super Hero Ever?

Scott wore Britt's Hannah wig for a last minute costume to run the Fun Run here. We added the Bandanna and called him Brett Michaels! Rock ON!

Scott ran the St. George Marathon and did GREAT!

So you may have wondered why can't Nat get a new post more often and here is a glimpse at what is keeping me busy these days! I can't believe how much faster my day goes since we brought home little Zach! Halloween seems like yesterday but here we are already Christmas shopping today! We had a blast having almost all of Scott's siblings here to celebrate Halloween with us! What a Blast!! It is one of our new family traditions that we look forward to. Scott decided an hour before the Great Pumpkin Race that he was going to run so we scrambled for a costume and this is what we got! I think he looks pretty sexy with that long blonde hair! He came in 2nd place and won 3 months at the gym w/ personal training--that he gave to me! So reaaly we were bith winners! That is the other thing that has kept us busy is running around to watch Scott run races this month. He ran the S. George Marathon in early October and another 10k race here in Boise 2 weeks later. He had his fastest 10k finishing in 41 minutes! So other than racing I stay busy shuttleing kids to and from school, preschool, and gymnastics. Oh, and just to make sure I don't get bored I went back to work 1 day a week starting November 5th.

I always love to post a funny story and so I'll finish with my favorite Halloween story. I had gotten this sombrero at DI and thought it would make a fun costume. Half way through trick or treating Britt was at the door and the adults were asking her about her costume. She was very proud that they could tell she was Hannah Montana. I guess she must have felt bad for me because they didn't comment on my costume so she drew their attention to me saying, "And look at my'Mom, She's a (pause)...Chinese thing!" The neighbors got a kick out of that! I think I laughed until the end of the block! Britt wasn't trying to get a laugh but she really enjoys making a good joke!

New Family Pictures--Hurray!

2009-10-18T21:53:00.003-06:00

Just the Girls!

What a cute toothless Smile.

Just the Boys!

Just the OLD people!

The Snelders Family

Nate is voted most photogenic.

Our family (in a) TREE!

We want to thank Judy and Kevan for taking time to help us get some cute new family pictures. I think we got some good ones. Our favorite background spot ended up being in the sun and all of us are making weird faces so we didn't post that one. My favorite picture of the day was the one of all the kids that is our new title picture! So cute!! I know all the Grandmas will be excited to get a copy of that one. THANKS to Judy and Kevan now we have new pictures!! Mom--I know you will want to see all 200 but we didn't think everyone else would so we will send you a CD!

Families are Forever

2009-09-28T21:23:00.002-06:00

Little Zach is 4 weeks old on his blessing day.
This little boys is always moving those hands if he is awake!

Who wouldn't want to be together Forever?

VERY proud Big Sister and Big Brother. Now they have something..or Someone new to fight over! And believe me they do!

We are very blessed! (Pretty busy and tired but blessed all the same!) Little Zachary has been in our family now for 7 weeks today. Somedays I feel like it is flying by and then other times I feel like it has been a FOREVER since I got a good nights rest! But look at that little face, he is worth every minute. I guess I just feel very lucky today and want to express my gratitude for having such a wonderful family. I think I would feel very lost if I didn't know, without a doubt, that I will live with my family for eternity. Somedays I know the kids would like me not to nag them for eternity but its a risk they will have to take. Recently we had some friends comment on how neat they thought it was that we spend every Saturday doing some kind of activity together as a family. I guess this is something I have just taken for granted. I am very lucky to have a husband that makes family time a #1 priority. We don't always do exotic things on our Saturday family day. Often our family activity is going to Sams Club browsing and getting a hot dog. It's about an $11.00 date but our kids love it because Saturday is sample day so they get more than just a hot dog. So thank you to our friends for telling me that you think the Snelders have a fun tradition because it has made me realize how important family time is and I'm grateful that "Saturday family day" is just part of our life style. I'm glad they shared with us that they have totally changed their previous Saturday schedule to now make Saturday their family day. I hope everyone reading this blog knows me well enough to know that I'm not boasting, I'm just as shocked as everyone else to realize we are doing something that others think is right.

P.S. We are truly blessed to have THE coolest friends and family in the world...yeah I mean all of you reading this. (Unless your a blog snooper and then I guess I don't know if you are cool or not.)

"Look Dude, No training Wheels!!"

2009-09-14T20:01:00.005-06:00

Our little artist!! It is definitly in her Genes!
Nate is pretty excited about his new skills!

Look at me GO, and GO....and GO!

Britt has been riding for 5 months and shows Nate how a pro does it!

Nate and Dad at "Art in the Park" building and Airplane out of Cardboard.
The fancy term is "recycled art".

Have we EVER mentioned that we LOVE Boise in the fall? I know we are annoying but Art in the Park is one of our absolute favorite events of the summer. Usually we ride our bikes on the Greenbelt into Julia Davis park but this year with Zach we had to change and walk into the park. Zach can't hold up his own head so he is no where near ready to try out the bike trailer. We did however keep our tradition of packing a picnic and finding a shady spot to enjoy lunch together in the park! Some may think is a little sad that a piece of fried chicken and free art projects makes for such a happy family but that's how we like our Saturdays... SIMPLE.

Now for our other big news, Nathan can ride his bike. It was amazing how fast he learned. We knew he would pick it up quickly but we had no idea it would be this quick. Just like Britt he decided to learn when Mom was gone to mutual and had nearly mastered riding a bike in a single night. On Thursday he followed Mom around all day begging her to find time when Zach was asleep that she could go help him riding his bike. After a couple of laps up and down the street with him yelling over his shoulder "LET ME GO"(because I was hanging on to his shirt) he gave up and waited for the real bicycle trainer (DAD) to get home from work. Then that night he was well on his way. So the first night he could balance and ride but was scary to watch. The second night he had even better balance and learned how to turn around and stop with out crashing. And then Friday night, he learned how to start all by himself and now is an expert. He loves to show anyone how fast he can go! It amazes me that he chose to have Dad take off his training wheels and learned to ride his bike in one night! He gets that from Scott. I haven't confessed to the kids that I couldn't ride until I was like 8 or something! I just remember being embarassed that I had training wheels so I must have been pretty stinkin' old!

Back to the Books

2009-09-01T21:09:00.003-06:00

Lining up after the 1st bell and guess who is 1st in line!!
This was the shirt Britt picked out on our Girls only shopping trip.
Thanks Honey, for taking the boys so we could go shopping. It was SO much fun for both of us!

Now you can see the total look. For all the girls, we know it is all about what you wear the 1st day back to school!

Brittanie started back to school on Monday and could not have been more excited!! She woke up as soon as she heard Scott and she quickly made her bed and put on her outfit she picked out the night before and then to my dismay....she did her own hair. In her mind she thought she was ready and now she just had to wait. But the poor little girl has a Mom who is way to up tight to let her do her own hair on the 1st day of School. After some savy negotiations of "extra baby Zachary time", I talked Britt into letting me do her hair! Sigh of relief!! (I have found these two kids will do just about anything if it results in them getting some alone time to snuggle their baby brother.) After a few pictures, she couldn't stand it anymore and we drove her down to school. Nathan was a little embarassed because as we headed out the back door of the house he asked me if I wanted a jacket so nobody would see that I was in my pajamas!! Looking back now on taking her to 1st grade in my pajama's...I must say I am a little humiliated. I was wearing my Rad Racing t-shirt so at least it was my "cool" pajamas AND I had on sunglasses! I'm still trying to figure out where my day goes, but being home with the two boys keeps me busy but we love it. Nate likes having Mom and Zach all to himself for a few hours of the day, I guess that is as long as I don't take him anymore places in my pajama's!!

The Arrival of Baby Zachary

2009-08-10T09:26:00.002-06:00

Zachary William Snelders was born Monday morning at 2:34 am. He weighed in at 6 lb 14 oz and has dark hair. Everyone is doing very well. Thanks to our great nurse & cousin -- Wendy for helping us get submitted, getting things moved along, and making sure we were taken care of. I'm sure Natalie will want to tell the story of the evening/morning so I'll leave that post to her for another day. We are so happy and thankful to get baby Z here!

Pictures from the big family TRIP!

2009-08-07T15:24:00.002-06:00

Britt and Hallie ready to RIDE!
Britt's favorite night...Chocolate Fountain Night!

Cute little fish aren't they?

Nate loves Lake Life!

Nate has mastered the signal for FASTER!

Nate and Britt passed out after a very busy vacation.

Look at that smile! Life is pretty good I think.

Wow, thats all I have to say!

While we are waiting....

2009-08-07T14:59:00.005-06:00

While we are waiting for Baby Snelders to arrive here are a few pictures of what we have done this summer. 2 weeks ago Scott took the kids on a trip to Cour d'lene for a family reunion with all this brothers and sisters. I was a chicken and didn't want to get that far away from my doctor/hospital/ and most important my epidural! I was 35-36 weeks along while they were on their trip. I was so bummed to not get to go but it was the decision I felt most comfortable with. They had a great time. As you can see Britt got to do her own hair! She was very proud of this style and I'm not sure what to call it but I know this toothless picture is going in her wedding video! The bed and breakfast they stayed at had a great tire swing and I love to see the smiles on their faces. I know our kids had a BLAST! I am thankful that the kids did miss me a little. Nate asked me the other day, "Mom when you're not fat anymore, do you want to go on the fast ride at Silverwood?" I feel so loved!

Earlier this summer we were able to take the kids to one of their favorite places in the valley...Roaring Springs! They had such a blast going on the slides and playing in the wave pool. Still their favorite ride this year was the racing slide! It was a great way to spend a hot summer day in Boise.

A promise is a promise.....

2009-07-28T20:49:00.002-06:00

....No matter how much that promise hurts your self esteem! I promised you all pictures from our 4th of July performance and so here they are. These somewhat capture Scott's energy and ability to rock out and play all his notes at the same time. I however was just happy that I didn't tip over from the heat! No wonder I have never really had long hair--I can't take the heat! I hope our humiliation makes someone out there smile! Quick baby update: 36 1/2 weeks and dialated to a 1+. (I'm no doctor but isn't every woman in the world a 1???) I probably have another good 2 weeks so we will keep you informed. Thanks to all who made baby name comments, I liked alot of your suggestions! One thing I know for sure his that baby Snelders legal name will NOT be Nacho but I have a feeling it is a nickname that will stick! SO any one who finds a 3 month old Mexican wrestling costume, that would be a sweet baby gift for Halloween!

Baby Boy Name Survey

2009-07-20T18:00:00.003-06:00

Scott and the kids are away on a trip and I have alot of time on my hands and I thought this might be a fun way to get feedback on some of the baby boys names we have been considering. We usually don't choose until the baby is born but I thought I would put our list out there and let you comment and tell us your favorite.

Zachary
Carson
Luke
Pete
Dillon
Cameron
Eli
Zeek
Or Write in a suggestion.

You will notice I didn't include some of Nates silly favorites like Nacho, Bowzer, or Skippy. Although funny, I would not name my baby any of those names and Zeek is borderline. However, my sister just told me she likes Zeek and so did several people at church. Is this really a name people other than Scott and Nate like? Just curious about the opinions of my family and friends so let us know! I am 35 1/2 weeks pregnant and hope to have this baby in 2-3 weeks so it is time to get fairly serious about names.

4th of July Reunion

2009-07-20T17:10:00.002-06:00

Britt was SO excited to be IN the annual 4th of July Parade in Wayan.

I believe it's Idaho's only parade with more parade participants than spectators!
Friendly competition with Kevan. Let's just say if they make this "golf balls on a string" game into an Olympic Sport I would be on the cover of Wheaties in no time!!

Scott and Kevan didn't want the parade to end!

Pre-Parade crowd!

Scott always finds something unique to wear in the parade. This year Aunt Wendy knew that only one person could pull off the coconut bra and moon boots costume...Scott.

STOOR FAMILY REUNION:

We usually find ourselves in Wayan to celebrate the 4th with family but this year we had many scheduled events that made the weekend extra FUN for everyone. This is the 3rd year of our family parade and like most parades it gets better and longer every year! Thanks to Aunt Wendy's organization it was another great parade! After the parade we had lawn games and a fishing pond for the kids. The big attraction this year was the 1st (and maybe last) Family Talent Show. Scott and I dressed up and played one of our favorite Guitar Hero songs. Scott is a Great performer and Nat--well she can either dance or play..but not both at the same time. Being 8 months pregnant, we spared everyones eyes and just stuck to playing the song. Sadly we were performing and have no visual evidence of that performance...but check back we may get a video or pictures from somebody. Britt brought Mom to tears singing God Bless America along with signing. Nathan was too shy to perform-his talent is just being cute! Scott comes from a very talented family. There were several creative talents by other family members. We had juggeling, dancing, comedians, and even an appearance by Michael Jackson (both the black and white Micheal)! Scott's family is many things but I have never seen so many people that are such hard workers. One day was spent doing several projects all around the house and yard. I made myself useful by helping with lunch...and not alot else. When it came to finding the entrance to the septic system, I felt that was not a project I wanted any part of. It ended up that my brother in law Adam knows ALOT about just about everything and we had a very interesting tutorial on just how a septic system works. There was alot of laughing and jokes made and now Adam is know as "Sherlock" in our family. My favorite new septic system term has got to be: pooh-juice. Now when Nate has to make a sewer system diagram I can help him...but I'll probably have him get help from Uncle Adam!

Run Baby...RUN!

2009-06-29T20:46:00.003-06:00

Could Nate have a bigger smile on his face?
Britt was SO excited to run in her new Pink running shoes...and they were FAST!

We didn't expect Nate to run the whole race but he did and with a Smile too!

Pre-Race picture...everyone has their "Race Face" on!

Boise's Main Street Mile Fun RUN

Britt and Nate were very excited to run their 1st race. Britt was so excited that she slept in her race shirt the night before!! The kids ran a 1/2 mile race chasing a Meadow Gold ice cream truck. It was pretty funny to see. I even particpated running/walking most of the way. Scott was on a team for Albertsons and his race was just 1 mile but he finished in 5 and 1/2 minutes! NICE! Plus he still looked good at the end of the race. Too bad I can't say the same for some of the other runners who ate Pizza and Power Bars before they ran their race in 85 degree weather! One fireman, who ran in all his gear, looked EXTRA green at the end of the race--YIKES! My runners however did awesome and I just wanted to share some picutures of the fun night we had last Friday.

Mini Me Too?

2009-06-07T16:20:00.002-06:00

Since Natalie posted a picture of her little mini me.... I thought I would post a picture of my mini me.

Any guesses as to who this is?

It's captain Phil from the Deadliest Catch! We had a vendor bring him to town to promote a product (not Mac n Cheese) and so I got my picture taken with him. Kind of funny, huh.

Mini ME!

2009-06-02T20:09:00.003-06:00

Mommy and Mini ME!

After--So CUTE!

Before Picture--Hawaii Day at Kindergarten

Today we went and got Britt's hair cut. I wanted a cute little "bobbed" haircut that would not get tangles. Surprisingly when she was all done she looked exactly like ME! I may be biased but I think this is the most cute little haircut EVER! I love it! I knew Grandma's, Aunts, and all girls in general love to see a cute new Haircut so here are the pictures. (Thanks for endulging my silly post, but I'm seriously so excited to get up tommorow and fix her hair again. I hope it's as "tangle" free as I dream it will be!)

Can you stand it???

2009-05-04T21:12:00.003-06:00

SEE YOU NEXT TOUR!

This was Britt's 2nd year of ballet and I have to say the Spring Recital is a bit of a "high" for Mom! It's like playing with dolls...except these ones are sassy and tell you at least once a day that you don't know anything--but that is beside the point. Today was dance pictures so I got to get Britt all dressed up complete with make-up and fake eyelashes.(Hallie--I'll save the eyelashes for you! They are pretty fun to play with!) I finally mastered how to do a bun and I was so excited. After pictures Britt came home and struck some of her own unique poses! I think you can tell which one says "That kid plays too much guitar hero--or as she says 'kuitar hero'". I bet Aerosmith wouldn't have looked this rockin' in a PINK tutu!

1100 miles and....

2009-04-15T16:22:00.004-06:00

ALOT of vomit! Sorry this is a graphic post but I have to tell it like it is. Our little Nathan is getting more and more sensitive in the car as he gets older. We traveled to Dillon, Montana to visit Grandma & Grandpa Snelders and then on to Helena to visit my brother Jer and his wife Tami and their kids. We were lucky on our drive Friday because it required only 1 pit stop near the craters of the moon. But we must have used up all our luck because Monday was NOT Nate's day. We had to stop 5 times!! After alot of wipes, one air freshener, a change of clothes (for Mom and Nate) and a diet 7-up we found out that if you stop putting food in ---it will stop coming out! Nathan was SO happy to see Mountain Home and know that we were getting back on a straight road that would lead to home! We had a blast with our families in Montana--thank you for showing us such a good time! We got to go to 2 easter egg hunts, play guitar hero-mario kart-bowling, play at the park, AND collect rocks and crystals! We had so much fun. We made memories to last a life time. And we would wade through "IT" all over again to be with the ones we love. Hopefully this post didn't leave anyone feeling sick! Happy Easter!

It's a.......

2009-04-01T21:06:00.004-06:00

BOY!!!

Not to worry, I don't think Nate will get his way and name our son Nacho! I was successful in getting Scott to make a guess last night. And the story of my life continues that Scott is always right and beats me at everything (even my own game!). I was so sure this baby was a girl because EVERYONE I know is having a boy as well! I guess it will all even out somehow right? We are all totally excited. It is funny that I have done this twice before and still when they scan across my belly and I see this little person I am just amazed! It is so incredible that this little guy is in there!! I know it sounds wierd since I've had 2 kids but it is more unbelievable to me the older I get. What a miracle. Even more amazing was when the nurse asked us which side of our family had the "tall" genes and Scott and I both laughed! Then she went on to tell us that our little boy has long arms and legs that measure about a week ahead of his head and body! She said this could all change but at week 20 we can say for now that our son is Tall! That's our Nacho! Thanks everyone for your comments and guesses. It made me feel very loved today!

Pink or Blue

2009-03-30T16:54:00.002-06:00

We are counting down to Wednesday when we find out if baby Snelders will be wearing Pink or Blue. I think it is fun to guess but I'm too computer illiterate to know how to make one of those cute little poles that I've seen on other blogs. So just make a comment and let us know what you think. Today Britt told us if it's a girl she wants to name her Macy and if it's a boy she wants to name him Luke. Nathan however had more creative names. If it's a boy he thinks Nacho would be a great name and if it's a girl we should name her Daisy or Peach!! (Do you think someone has been playing too much Wii? For those who don't know those are Mario character names!) Hopefully we get alot of comments because I think it's just fun to guess and I can't get my husband to play these little games with me so I hope you will!

Spring time in Star

2009-03-23T20:59:00.003-06:00

World's best DAD! He had to fly the kite the most--and do all the running to get it in the air!

I thought my jacket would mask my rapidly expanding waistline better than this! (18 1/2 weeks but whose counting?)

Britt is such a good girl for letting me get at least 1 picture for the scrapbook before

she ditched us for the monkey bars!

Notice the level of the string...not a successful flight!

Tonight for FHE we took the kids to the park to fly kites. We were all very excited as we loaded everyone in the car... and then it was the same story as last year. They were all excited to go fly kites until they got to the park. Once the kite was in the air the kids quickly disappear to play at the playground. Then Scott and I feel very manipulated as we stand there flying the kite and we realize Britt & Nate used "kite flying" to trick us into going to the park!! Kid's are not dumb. They realize quickly that swings and slides are much more action packed than holding onto some string. SO, the pictures I got of the kids "flying" the kite lasted approximately 30 seconds each! But at least I had something to post on my blog. The real fun was Dad kept them playing at the park for another 45 minutes. Britt now is an expert at the monkey bars. She wants us to buy some for our backyard so she can practice. I bet she can't wait until Spring Break is over so she can show her Kindergarten "Peeps" her new found skills.

B-day Batman

2009-02-28T21:39:00.005-07:00

Nate got Batman PJ's from Grandma Gog and Grandpa Beard. He loves to be Batman. If these pajama's need to be washed he is counting the days until he can wear them again. The kids had a babysitter last Saturday that brought crafts and they made these masks...how perfect. Now his Batman costume is complete thanks to Shelby! Star is a much safer place to live now that we have our Pint-size Batman to protect us!

Wii are having the time of our Lives!

2009-02-28T20:54:00.003-07:00

Nate LOVES Doughnuts so here is his Krispie Cream Doughnut Cake!

Britt chose Lemon Cupcakes and her friends mostly liked the sour watermelons on top!

Britt and her BFF's Sadie and Jennie! (Nate has a little crush on Sadie-in blue)

We got a Wii for Christmas and it has turned us into video game junkies. Scott is ready to go on tour either as a Rock Star or part of the PGA!! Britt has a blast just creating new Mii characters...it's like paperdolls but better. And Nathan is our most passionate Olympian. He follows me around all day "Mom, you want to go running?....or Swimming?" He has a world record in the high jump and he is barely 4! It is amazing to watch the kids navigate their way through the games without being able to read. I am the want-a-be Wii player. I have too many new responsibilities for much Wii time. I have still been pretty tired in these first months of pregnancy or I am driving youth to dance festival practice, mutual, or other meetings. It is such a fun calling but I can't wait until I feel like I know what the heck I am doing!! Our new family passion is Mario Cart that Nate got for his birthday. The kids both recently celebrated their birthdays. Britt , now 6,had a blast taking 2 friends to Planet Kid in January. In Nathans mind there is only one place to celebrate your birthday: Chuck E. Cheese!! Here are a few random pictures of how we have spent our time these last few months.

HOLY Guacamole!! (As quoted byNathan)

2009-02-10T21:12:00.002-07:00

Well, I wished I had gotten more rest in 2008 because 2009 is already shaping up to be a "DOOZY". A few weeks ago I got the shock of a lifetime and was called to be the Young Women's President. I still get stomach cramps if I think to hard about it. I have ALOT of growing to do if I am going to fill the shoes of what a YW president should be. I am very lucky, however, to be sorrounded with amazing women who already know the ropes. I tried to get out of the call by telling the bishop I was pregnant and he smiled and said that is why you have great counselors. So I guess it's to girls camp for me in June about 6 1/2 months pregnant.--I know my sister already feels bad for everyone that will get to experience "Pregnant Nat" in nature. It should be interesting. Yes, I was trying to think of a clever way to break the news but that was it. I thought of taking a picture of my positive test...but then I thought--euwww! I am currently 12 weeks and still feeling a little yucky. Our due date is Aug 20th. Now the real question in my mind besides--will we need more pink or blue, is will I get to go on the big family vacation with Scott's family in the end of July. So far, my doctor says it's "iffy" and we should wait and see how I'm feeling. I am already preparing myself for the disappointment if I don't get to go by promising myself tons of scrapbook time and lots of popsicles. So for those of you out there who have been wondering where the Snelders have disappeared to, that is a nutshell of what has been happening at our home. SO I say, 2009 Bring it ON!

Brittanie the Lady Bug

2009-01-19T20:58:00.005-07:00

Brittanie had her winter dance recital on Saturday night. She performed a Ladybug and Bumble Bee dance that was awesome! She had a practice at 4:00 in the afternoon, and her dance partner Bumble Bee didn't show up so she was a little lost out there trying to figure out what to do without a partner. She did a great job during the performance that night even without the Bumble Bee. Here are a few pics and a short video of the dance.

It's not everyday you see this at the Bowling Alley!

2008-12-30T22:13:00.003-07:00

Britt was really into the holiday spirit and did alot of dancing in between her turns to bowl. I hope this video makes you laugh as much as it makes me laugh. (Warning: there are risky
spanking moves that she gets from her Dad!)

We Had a Holly Jolly Christmas!!

2008-12-30T21:14:00.004-07:00

Our Christmas Present from Nathan...and he took our picture!

The Snelders spent another Christmas as nomads across the southeast of Idaho and northern Utah. We would have liked better driving conditions in ALL areas we traveled but we feel very blessed that we reached each destination safely. Scott feels that his "Wayan" driving skills really paid off this year! We spent a few days in Pocatello visiting friends and family. Britt decided to let our friend Cory pull her loose tooth so she could have a visit from the toothfairy before Christmas. Plus Cory told her that if you lose a tooth when your staying at Grandma's house you get an extra dollar! She was more than cooperative to let him go to work and take out that wiggly tooth! (I have a bachelors degree in teeth I have not gotten to pull even ONE of her teeth!Does that seem right to anyone else?) We made a quick overnight trip to Preston so I could get a haircut. I know my husband loves me because he tolerates all my trips home to get my hair done. He has seen the damage when I have gone to someone new and it is not good! I could go on and on about my "lesbian" A-line bob hair cut of 2007! Next we were off to Wayan to spend 2 days. We got to do ALOT of things in the snow. Between all the shoveling and sledding our backs were pretty sore. I got an extra ride this year when my anxious photography obcession found me in the sledding path and before I knew it I was flat on my back in the road!! I don't bounce nearly as well as I used to but I didn't drop my camera and I still got a great shot! After celebrating Christmas Eve with Scott's family we drove to Mountain Green, Utah. We got to spend another few days surrounded by cousins and lots of food. We even got to go to Janelle and Quinns Baskin store and order anything we wanted on the house!!! Britt and I were in HEAVEN! Between sledding, sleeping with kids everynight, my accident, ALOT of guitar hero, and family bowling my body said it was time to come home on Saturday. Thanks to EVERYONE who hosted us and gave us delicious food and a warm bed to sleep in. We are so Thankful to be able to spend the holidays among so much family that we love with all our hearts! The memories we make on these trips are the presents I will cherish for a lifetime!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

2008-12-18T19:18:00.004-07:00

So getting ready for Christmas has been a little bit crazy this year. It seems like we have had two or three things we had to juggle every day. From parties, to trips, to shopping, and to fun familiy activities, here are a few pics of our December.

Santa was kind enough to visit our Ward Christmas Breakfast. This was the first year both Brittanie and Nathan were brave enough to sit on his lap. Brittanie was amazed that Santa knew her name and that she likes to dance. Brittanie requested a "Pet Shop Store" from Santa this year. Let's see if she has been good enough.

I was impressed that Nathan sat on Santa's lap. I had to be very close to him, but I convinced him that if he really wanted a present from Santa, he needed to tell him. Nathan got enough courage to say he wanted "Thomas Splash" for Christmas.

Brittanie comes home from school with a craft or artwork almost daily. We really enjoyed the "Rudolph" costume. This could be a picture she regrets when she gets to be 16. I love being the evil parent who plans these things out....

Of course, Christmas time has to include a varitey of treats. These next three photos show how the Snelders enjoy the season... WITH FOOD! Brittanie and Nathan love a good spatula full of brownie mix!

You can't get through the Holidays without making sugar cookies. Mom wanted to make a batch to take to work. We had both Nathan and Brittanie help frost the cookies. After realizing they licked their fingers in between frosting each cookie, we decided to not take the cookes to work to share. Not to worry, we were able to finish them off in a few days.

Mom got really ambitious this year and decided to make ginger bread houses. Of course there are kits you can buy at most stores, but no, Natalie wanted to spend all day making ginger bread from scratch. They turned out pretty awesome, but it was a lot of work.

Grandma Gog asked to see the finished work on the Christmas lights. I didn't really get a good picture, but you get the gist of it. We have a lot of variety and a lot of lights. I guess growing up in Preston where the whole town goes nuts for lights makes you like to see the yard lit up.

We made a quick trip last weekend down to Utah for little Teigen's baby blessing. Brittanie and Nathan got to meet a couple of second cousins they haven't met before. They all had a lot of fun playing together in Adam and Julie's house.

While in Utah, we took the train down to Temple Square to see the lights. All of the kids loved the train rides. I quite enjoyed them as well. It was pretty convenient to ride the train down, hop on the light rail and hop off in front of Temple Square.

Temple Square was beautiful. With a fresh dusting of snow, the lights lit up the night. The kids loved looking at the trees, all of the Nativity Scenes, and seeing the SLC Temple. I think Natalie liked this picture the best out of the ones we took.

The Journey of our Christmas Tree

2008-12-02T22:04:00.005-07:00

Every year we cut down our Christmas tree in the woods around the Wayan Valley. This year, with so little snow, we got to drive further up the mountain to search for the best little Charlie Brown tree we could find. Here is a little log of our adventure....

Setting out for the hunt. Natalie and I in the forest up Lanes Creek in Wayan Idaho. How sad, we are at about 6500 feet with very little snow.

We found the perfect tree! The tree is pretty thick and tall, but we think it will fit in our house.

After a good 10 minutes of hacking at the tree, I finally got the beast cut.

We had to carry the tree about 200 yards to the road. From there, we took it back to Wayan and had my cousin, Kevan bring it back to Star for us. Thanks Kevan, I don't know if the tree would have made it back strapped to the top of our van.

After I cut the tree and jammed it through our door, Natalie hung the lights and started with the ornaments.

Both Nathan and Brittanie soon got into the action. I think they liked climbing up and down the ladder more than hanging the ornaments, but at least they had fun.

The finished tree. We think the beads kind of look sad, so they will likely be taken down tomorrow. Natalie also thinks she needs to buy more ornamanents. We have a huge tree with little ornaments. What do you think?

A little Thanksgiving Fun Slideshow

2008-12-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

The Man's Way to Hang up Lights!

2008-11-22T17:55:00.004-07:00

It's good to have a cousin live so close with a bunch of cool man toys. Kevan brought over is man lift to help us put up our Christmas lights this year with some fun. Natalie took a little joy ride above our house to check out the neighborhood (No naked sun bathers today!)

Grandpa gave us this big blow up train last year. Nathan and Brittanie thought it was pretty cool to put up this year

Kids going for a little ride with uncle Kevan

Uhm....does this look right?

Daddy like....

All I want for Christmas is....

2008-11-04T13:23:00.002-07:00

...To know WHO I'm shopping for!
We drew names for Christmas and here is a break down for the kids and adults.
Name: & WHO you have:
John Paul---Hallie
Millie---Brynn
Max---Ethan
Gretchen---Brittanie
Brittanie---Millie
Nathan---Gretchen
Hallie---Nathan
Brynn---John Paul
Teigen---Peyton
Peyton---Max
Ethan---Teigen

Here is the breakdown for the Adults:
John & Bonnie---Craig & Julie
John & Heather---Julie & Adam
Scott & Nat---Amy
Craig & Julie---John & Bonnie
Julie & Adam---John & Heather
Amy---Scott & Nat

With our little rotation this is how if worked out this year. If anybody has questions lets us know! Hints for what you want are always welcome in the comments sections! Happy Shopping!!!

P.S. This is not an exciting post if you're not a member of this side of the family but it was the easiest way we could think of to get the list out there. I promise to post something clever soon!

Halloween BASH!!

2008-11-03T19:44:00.005-07:00

I didn't know Lucifer lived in STAR!!!
Trick-or-Treat here we come!!

Yeah, if someone got this picture without a hand, I would really like a copy. Thanks!

Nate doing the Cake walk.

Pre-party smiles. It kills me that Nate won't wear his hat.

Isn't that the essence of the Thomas costume?

Isn't that a sweet spider hat? Another reason

that Britt LOVES kindergarten...Crafts! She also made her

necklace.

We have found living in Boise to be a great mid-point stop for alot of visitors. This year we had Scott's parents, brother, and 2 sisters + spouses and kids visit us for Halloween. (We know John and Heather would have loved to be with us but that's a pretty spendy trip for some cheap halloween candy! Maybe next year it will be worth the trip.) We began celebrating even before the family got here with an awesome kids party at the club house hosted by my friend Shantel. The only bummer was that Scott sat on my camera. (It would have probably been ok if he didn't have such a rock hard buttocks!) So I hope you will understand that we were a little handicapped in our photo taking abilities on Halloween night. The camera still works but the viewing screen does not. I was pretty happy with the pictures I took once I could see "what" I had taken. I can't remember the last time I looked through the little hole when taking a picture! We had a great Halloween none the less. It was a blast having alot of Scott's family with us for the holiday. I think this was a great warm-up trip for thanksgiving because we ate ALOT and played games! Thanksgiving here we come!

We can't get enough Halloween!!

2008-10-26T18:23:00.007-06:00

Nobody is interested in a nice fall picture...they just want candy!

Isn't that one Pretty Pumpkin?

I know it is still 4 days until Halloween but we have already been busy celebrating...and we still have alot more Celebrating to GO before Friday! We were invited to a halloween party for the kids with some friends from our ward. Brittanie was by far the most interested in the organized activities. They had a table for painting and decorating pumpkins and another table for decorating your own sugar cookies. Britt was torn about where to start! After decorating her pumpkin then she decorated cookies for everyone in our family. Then she went back and added more "embellishments" to her pumpkin....and then she went back and decorated another round of cookies! Her princess costume was splattered with alot of paint and frosting but it all came off in the wash. Nathan had no nap and was a party-pooper for the 1st 30 min but he soon warmed up and put several coats of paint on his pumpkin. The highlight of his night was play vaccum he found and played with all night!! (Note to self: Get Nathan trained on using the REAL dust buster!) Saturday morning brought an event that Scott and I both vowed we would never do again and that was Boise's Boo at the Zoo. We went last year and it was wall-to-wall people/strollers and hardly any candy. Well, this year Albertson's was a sponsor and Scott got FREE tickets...so we all know how he feels about getting Free Stuff! We decided we had nothing better to do so we washed Britt's costume and headed into Boise with the masses! It was still wall-to-wall people but since we got in for Free we didn't feel as pressed to get our money's worth. We loved seeing the new African exhibit with the Lions and Giraffes. Britt showed us how smart she is. She would trick-or-treat to the people handing out candy on BOTH sides of the person that was dressed up!!! Her Dad has taught her all about VALUE! Britt and Nate came away with a bag of loot that made them smile. It was a much better Boo at the Zoo this year.

Our new home....

2008-10-12T20:51:00.003-06:00

It is our new home, but we are not moving.... at least not yet. We made sort of a sad, but happy decision this summer. We felt it was finaly time to sell our first home. Our little duplex we bought in Pocatello in 1999 was a sweet rental for us since we moved out in 2003. We've debated every year whether or not we should sell it. We finally felt this year was right. The market in Pocatello had remained fairly strong, and we felt like there was opportunity to find a good deal here in Boise. We ended up selling the home in August and rolled the equity over into this home. It took us a while to find something we liked, something we thought would work for us in the future. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. The best part about the home is that it has an unfinished basement. We have really missed the wonderful breakthrough builders have discovered in East Idaho called basements. For some reason builders don't build many houses in Boise with basements.

We closed on the house just over a week ago and had renters move in the same day we closed (I love Cragslist). We plan on renting it out for at least a year and then go from there.

I like that the locataion of this home would cut my commute time in half every day. We also like the grade schools in the area it is located. So someday this may be our new home, but for now I hope it is a good investment (anything seems to be better than the stock market this week...)

Who Knew: Kindergarten can be stressful!

2008-10-11T22:41:00.004-06:00

So I signed up to go with Britt on her 1st field trip. We were walking to the fire station and I thought Nate would love it too, so he came along. It ended up being the coldest morning we've had in a long time with a light rain. Nathan walked about 1 block before he started complaining about his legs hurting. So I carried him nearly 1 mile to the fire station. After a fun visit where we learned STOP-DROP-ROLL and Don't hide-Go outside, the kids got to take turns sitting in the drivers seat of the fire truck. As we were about to leave Nate said he needed to go potty so I quickly found a bathroom and told Britt to stay with her class and we would catch up soon. Well Nate heard me say we were going back to the school so he refused to use the potty at the fire station because now he wants to wait and go at Britt's school. He was pretty cranky at this point and I tried to force him to go at the station--but I was not successful. So we are walking back to school in the cold rain and Nathan made it about 2 blocks before he starts to squirm (I'm still carrying him on my back) and he says "Mommy, I need to go potty. Can I pee on those rocks?" I knew that traveling in a long line of kindergartners that we could not sneak in a quick wilderness potty break. So I'm trying to distract him by talking about other things when suddenly I hear Britt screaming. I turned around and she was face down on the road. While walking with her hands in her jacket pockets she tripped on a rock and couldn't get her arms out to catch herself. She scraped her little nose pretty bad and kept screaming at me to "Get the rock out of my NOSE!" Well, there were no rocks in her nose but it did start to bleed. So now Nate is screaming at me "Mom...Mommy...MOMMY I gotta go Potty!!!" and Britt is crying hysterically that she has a rock in her left nostril and we still had to walk another 5 blocks before I could really help either one of them. Once on the school grounds Nate,who is now riding on my shoulders because Britt needed to hold my hand, is really REALLY squirming and starting to panic that he is not going to make it to a bathroom. So now I'm REALLY, REALLY starting to panic that he is not going to make it to the bathroom either and that he is going to pee down my back and I'm wearing a new shirt! Needless to say, once the teacher opened the door to the classroom, I think I mowed down a few kids to get to the bathroom ASAP. After Nate went potty, and I cleaned up Britt's nose, I felt like I had really earned my honorary fire fighter badge today. Because it was only 11:oo a.m. and I have already put out 2 fairly serious fires!

This one's for you, Mom!

2008-09-28T20:51:00.004-06:00

Pre-cooked. Isn't it beautiful?

Thanks Britt for taking this pretty picture of Mommy!
Post-baking. It smells as good as it looks! No more "veggie tray" assignments for me next Thanksgiving!!!
This beautiful pie and my kids had ice cream instead!

I am really growing up. As a teenager my Mom always wanted me to do 2 things for her. 1.) Wear a nice dress to church with high heels. 2.) Learn to cook. Lucky for me, she is a VERY patient mother! Dressing up on Sunday came alot faster than developing my cooking skills. I have been a late bloomer in the kitchen, but recently I have been cooking up a storm. Today I made my 1st ever --all homemade apple pie. And I have to say it was delicious!!! I made my crust a little too thick and my apples were sliced a little too thin but other than that it was perfect. Brittanie took pictures of me as proof that I really am becoming quite the little homemaker! (Plus, I know my Mom needs to see visual evidence. I bet she will want my recipe for pie crust once she sees this bad boy!)

Are we Mormons...or What!

2008-09-27T21:43:00.007-06:00

Scott and I have felt strongly that it was time to seriously focus on getting our food storage. So this summer Scott has created spread sheets and gone to the cannery several times buying food in bulk and calculating how much we need. This weekend we checked out a canning machine to use at home. So we started Friday night thinking it was going to take us all weekend to get everything canned. It turned out that we were more efficient than we thought and finished our work before 8:30p.m. on Friday night. I was allowed"mini" breaks to take some funny pictures to show how much fun it is to be a Mormon. ( Maybe the surprised look on my face is from inhaling too much powdered milk--but after 4 hours of canning I was glad we were both still smiling!) The next challenge in finding space to store all this food!!!

How old are we? Oh yeah, 31 going on 13!

2008-09-16T15:56:00.004-06:00

This weekend was designated long ago as "SNEL-COE". Translation=date night/game night with (Snelders-Briscoes). We started this grand tradition when we lived in Pocatello and got together to play games or go camping on the weekends. Then we moved to Idaho Falls but have kept "Snel-Coe" alive. Cory and Leslie always make us laugh until we cry! They are so fun to hang out with. We fueled up at Wingers and then it was GAME TIME. The Briscoes have a Wii and introduced us to the Wii Olympics that last time we got together in December. Leslie and Scott have been planning their "trampoline" rematch for months. Leslie was victorious beating Scott by 5 tenths of a point!! They both are very competitive and there will be more Wii trampoline competitions in the future. We played guitar hero (mostly Nat and Leslie), Olympics and some game with funny rabbits that burp and fart alot! So like a bunch of 13 year old kids we stayed up playing video games and overdosing on Candy until 1:00 a.m.!! It was SO much fun! Thanks Cory and Leslie for such a FUN weekend! We hope to host the next Wii Olympic on our home court in Boise, so start practicing!

Computer Savy...I am Not!

2008-09-08T22:54:00.002-06:00

I just have to say that I spent the last 2 hours messing around with the background and fonts on my blog!! My husband is so sweet to stay up late and hold my hand and help me when I don't know which button to push next. They say you learn something new everyday and today I learned how to cut and paste by using the cntrl+C! Soo Excited! I am easy to please! I also need to give credit to my other blog mentor , my sister in law Julie, for giving me the "dummy" lessons over the phone of how to change a background! I'm so computer illiterate that I need 2 tutors! It took a few weeks to get the look I wanted but now I love it!

Britt's 1st day of Kindergarten

2008-08-25T15:24:00.002-06:00

Today was Britt's first day of kindergarten. She has been counting down for the last 2 weeks! We started her education off right with a surprise breakfast of her 2 favorite foods--chocolate milk and chocolate doughnuts!! She met her teacher last Friday and we both love Miss John already! Britt insisted we bring her teacher something special on the 1st day of school, so she brought her a rose. This teacher has taught at Star Elementary for 17 years, so Britt is in excellent hands. We got to go into Britt's class today and say the pledge of allegence and listen to a story. Mrs John read the story "The kissing hand" and almost had me in tears before it was time to say good bye!! Soon it was time for us to go and as we walked away from the school Nathan kept asking where Britt was. He was a little lost this morning without her. For now we are all happy that kindergarten is only half-day! (P.S. Doesn't she look cute! My favorite part of the day was dressing her from head to toe in her new school clothes! SO much fun!!!!)

Brittanie Melting Mommy's Heart

2008-08-06T20:11:00.003-06:00

Guess who loves primary.....

Oh What a Busy July...

2008-08-06T19:37:00.004-06:00

So, we've been a a little busy in July and are behind a little on our posts. We've been busy swimming, visiting family, playing at the lake, and selling our first home in Pocatello during the last month. Work has been also been a little bit crazy lately with a lot of new projects keeping me hopping at Albertsons. Here are some of the highlights of the last few weeks...

Are you two twins?

Brittanie loving the yellow slide

Superstar!

Daddy looking for an enima

Mommy and Nathan in the tube

Mommy surfing the wake for the first time

Daddy not surfing the wake for the first time

The big race at Roaring Springs. Daddy's weight helped him waste the kids

Cuzn's loving the parade candy in Preston

Saddlebrook Neighborhood 4th of July Parade

2008-07-06T22:23:00.003-06:00

Our neighborhood has a 4th of July parade for kids every year. With all of our family traveling this year, we actually got to stay home this year and attend our local events. We jazzed up Brittanie's Jeep and Nathan's 4-Wheeler for the parade. Here is a little snippit of the exciting event (watch out for Natalie trying to sneak by around the photographer).

We had the opportunity to have all our parents here sometime around the 4th of July. Nathan and Brittanie were excited to have so many grandparents around. We were even so lucky to have two dogs visit our home. As most of you know, we are not animal people. We had one of the dogs leave a little treat in our back yard, and unfortunately, Brittanie was the first to find it. She stepped in the fresh treat, reached down to grab whatever squishy thing was between her toes, and then let out death scream once she realized what it was. Tramatized, we rushed her to the hose, washed of the doodie, and took her straight to the bathtub. Still whimpering, she melted dad's heart when she said, "and that's why we will never have pets, right?"

We all hope you had a wonderful 4th!

Redfish Lake & the Sawtooth Relay

2008-06-16T21:36:00.005-06:00

We had an awesome Father's Day weekend. We headed up to the Stanley area for the Sawtooth Relay - a team race from Stanley to Ketchum. We stayed in the Redfish Lake area and really enjoyed the three days we were there. Natalie's parents, Brent and Goldia came up from Preston to spend the weekend with us.

Friday was a lazy day around the lake. We fed some hungry chipmunks and squirrels some nuts, went fishing, and strolled around the metropolis of Stanley.

Saturday was our race. We started at 4:45 am in Stanley and finished at 1:55 p.m. in Ketchum. Each member of our team ran between 8 and 12 miles. Although not as difficult as Robie Creek, the relay was challenging and fun.

Brent and Goldia were real troopers to hang out with us. Goldia has a walking cast on her foot and despite the on-slaught of nicknames, she kept right up with grandkids.

If you haven't been to Redfish lake...it's worth the trip.

Redfish Lake

2008-06-16T21:09:00.001-06:00

Trying to Redeem Myself

2008-06-09T18:47:00.003-06:00

Now I've got to redeem myself. While I'll admit I kind of slacked a little bit the night I fell asleep with the kids, I usually keep the house about at 80% clean when Natalie leaves me in charge. Not too shabby if you ask me. Here is the proof..... Natalie had to run down to Utah on Sunday for a funeral on Monday. I got to stay home with the kids (way to long and quick of a trip for Brittanie and Nathan). So while Natalie was out, I spent Monday trying to work from home while entertaining Brittanie and Nathan. Not only was I hiding in closets for conference calls to keep the noise down, I managed to keep the house fairly in order. I washed 5 loads of laundry, mowed the lawn, fixed dinner for the kids (lunch was at Carls Jr.), and kept the kids from taking naps (okay, maybe not the best thing... kind of paid for it that night). Anyway, here is video proof of my effort:

Now Natalie may think I'm the world's best dad, but I still don't compare to how great a mom Natalie is. The only reason I try so hard is to attempt to keep up with her. I was told once to marry someone who always makes you want to be the best you can be. She definately brings out the best in me.

If this was any way your attempt to try and get me to buy you a new bedroom set...it almost worked. Keep trying sweetie.

Truly the World's Greatest Dad

2008-06-05T13:15:00.005-06:00

I know it's a little early but hopefully that will only add to the element of surprise as we wish a very Happy Father's Day to Scott. We are amazed everyday at what a great husband and father he is. He goes above and beyond for each of us everyday. When I 1st married Scott I thought he was cute and funny but I had no idea what a great Dad he would become to my children. Scott loves spending time with the kids. I never worry when he is left in charge. The 2nd Photo is my absolute favorite and I have to share the story that goes along with it. I went scrapbooking at a friends house and I didn't get home until about 1 a.m. When I first walked in I was shocked that Scott was still awake because almost every light in the house was on. When I came in the kitchen I felt sand on my feet and notice toys and the kids clothes were everywhere! When I peeked in Nates room to see him sleeping I was a little surprised to find his bed empty. Then I checked on Britt and she was M.I.A. too. I could hear ESPN blasting from our bedroom and was not prepared for what a found. My sweet husband snoring with his mouth wide open in the middle of two sleeping kids. It was too perfect. Once I stopped laughing , I had to take a picture and I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it. I slept on the couch that night because I didn't want to break up the party. When Scott woke up the next morning and found the house clean, he knew he was busted. He told me how he innocently laid down with the kids to get them to sleep and quickly fell alseep too. He had intended to get things cleaned up before I came home but that plan didn't work out. This picture is so much better than a clean house. So today, while eating lunch I thought it was time the world knew what at great dad Scott is. He'll probably be mad about the picture at first but I hope he sees the humor and love in our heartfelt tribute to the World's Greatest Dad. We all love you very much and hope this will be the best Father's Day ever. Happy Father's Day!!!! (Oh, and GO RED SOX!)

Nat and her big Spud

2008-06-01T22:24:00.003-06:00

Natalie doesn't know I'm posting this, but I think you all must see her hanging out with the famous Idaho mascot. She ran the famous Idaho Potato half marathon a couple of weeks ago. I was cooking breakfast at our Ward's Father & Son outing, so I couldn't be there to support her. I guess she had to find her new big "spud" to support her...

By the way, Natalie ran her best half marathon time ever. She broke the 2-hour mark for the first time in her 13.1-mile running career. Nice job sweetie.

I guess this is the year of races for us. It seems like that is all of our postings lately. We have a couple more coming up that should be a lot of fun. The famous Star Mule Days fun run is next week (no, you don't race against mules). The following week we'll be running the Sawtooth Relay -- a 60 mile team relay jaunt from Stanley to Ketchum. We expect all of you to come see the start of the race as our team is scheduled to leave Stanley at 3:45 a.m. Nothing like sleep running in central Idaho.

Grandma & Grandpa's Little Princess

2008-06-01T22:12:00.003-06:00

Brittanie had her spring recital a couple of weeks ago and Grandma Gog and Grandpa with the cows came over to watch. She had a lot of fun on the stage and it was exciting to see the improvement she has made since her winter recital back in January. We'll have to see what she decides to do next year -- tap, ballet, jazz, or break loose Scotty free-style....

Our Part to Save Second Base....

2008-05-11T10:27:00.009-06:00

Natalie and I ran the Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday. There were nearly 14,000 runners / walkers all supporting a great cause. Natalie posted her best 5k time ever at just over 25 minutes, and I finally ran a race as fast as did back in the day. I finished in 18 1/2 minutes -- a time I haven't seen since my days at Soda High. It's good to feel young again....

Start of the race. Can you find us?

The best part of the race was seeing all the creativity of the runners. We had quite the variety of team names, t-shirts, and attire. Here are a few of our favorites...

One of the local tv stations videod the entire race. We were dorks enough to tivo the event and look for ourselves. Unfortunately, we found ouselves, and we're sharing it. Here is the small clip of Natalie's & my second of fame. (We slowed down Natalies so it lasted longer - she's behind the guy in the white hat)

Scott near the finish line -- 20th place overall

Natalie in slow, "chariots of fire" speed (hum the tune in your mind as you watch)

Apostle Song

2008-04-23T11:28:00.001-06:00

Entertaining way to memmorize the apostles....

"The Toughest 1/2 Marathon in the Northwest"

2008-04-20T19:08:00.008-06:00

Natalie and I ran our first Robie Creek half marathon here in Boise on Saturday. This fun race is Boise's most popular running event of the year and claims to be the "toughest 1/2 marathon in the Northwest." I think Natalie and I would agree. The race is 8 1/2 miles up hill (over a 2,000 ft ascent) and then finishes with 4 1/2 miles downhill. The group that puts on the event, the Sailtoads, creates a fun theme each year for the race (see website http://robiecreek.com/ for more of the Sailtoads story). The theme they chose this year was to honor Scottish heritage. They put on a great show before the race with a bagpipe band and some weirdo chick riding a horse and cutting off the head of paper statue to start the race (they are known for their unique starts. You can check out the start and other videos here http://www.ktvb.com/news/robiecreek/ One of interesting features of this race occurs just before you hit the top of Aldape Summit. In all other aid stations along the race they have volunteers handing out water, oranges and bananas. On the last aid statioin just before you finish the grueling 8 miles up hill, and during the steepest part of the ascent when you are feeling the weakest, they have what is known as "temptaion station" -- the aid station with shots of alcohol, beer, spiked little jello cups, and ho-ho's. Some of the volunteers handing out the goodies were also dressed a bit unorthodox (we'll leave it at that). If nothing else it provided a nice distraction from the aching legs.

Natalie Finishing Strong

Scott Finishing Exhausted

In all, 2400 runners ran Robie Creek this year. It's fun to run races with that many runners. You always have somebody running with you. Natalie finished the race around 2 hours and 26 minutes and looked great in here plaid bandana. I finished the race in around 1 hour and 48 minutes. We'll post some pictures once we get them. It was a lot of fun running the race with Natalie. It's great that we have found something that we both enjoy doing. Now that we have ran Robie, we look forward to running it again. If your looking for a great quad cramping, calf burning, knees trembling good time, I recommend running Robie Creek. If nothing else, you'll appreciate your car more....

We've been tagged (apparently Mexico is not "base")

2008-04-15T21:16:00.007-06:00

10 years ago I was.....

We were Newlyweds and almost married 1 year. We were both going to ISU, and Scott was serving it up at Sizzler while I was the grunt worker in Dr. Mooney's office in Pocatello.

5 Things on my to do list today

Take my antibiotics, Run 5 miles, Pick up my race number for the Robie Creek 1/2 marathon, pray that I suddenly get over my sinus infection so I can survive 13.1 miles, and cross my fingers that David Archeleta doesn't get voted off American Idol.

What would I do if I became a billionaire?

I would buy a vacation home in Maui! Then I would make some additions in Wayan that included more bedrooms and bathrooms!! I would also buy my Dad a recycle warehouse in Preston and invent something that disolves cardboard. I would kidnap my Mom and take her to see a Broadway show. Then while in NYC we could be on her favorite gameshow--Cash Cab! (Scott would buy the Yankee's and turn them into a triple A team--No joke!)

5 of my secret bad habits

I drink way too much diet coke for a "runner".
I am the queen of unfinished craft projects.
I always make us late for church. (Scott did say I'm getting better now that church is at 1:00.)
I love to dance to Erasure in the kitchen! (It qualifies as a bad habit for those of you who have had the rare opportunity to see me dance.)
I am addicted to reality T.V. Amazing Race, Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, and American Idol fill my Tivo. Don't forget the bowl of popcorn + chocolate:)

Places I have lived

Preston, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, and Star (Yes, all in Idaho. I'm afraid to cross the border)

Jobs that I have had

Pizza maker, spit sucker (dental assistant) and now the UBER glamourous tooth scraper (Dental Hygienist)

5 things that people might not know about me

I love to do Laundry. There I've said it! I like to watch Hannah Montana with my niece and nephew. I think it a really funny show! I can't open pop biscuts because they scare me. I was lucky enough to marry a man who has brought out the very BEST in me. Tonight I fulfilled a life long dream of being a cub scout and raced my 1st pinewood derby car. (lets not dwell on the race results because they weren't pretty).

Tribute to the Red Sox

2008-04-09T14:33:00.005-06:00

The Red Sox 2007 World Champions Ring

The Red Sox opened up thier home season yesterday by giving the team their World Series Rings. Here is a picture of the masterpiece. They also paid tribute to Bill Buckner, the 1986 Boston Redsox first baseman who let the ground ball slip between his legs that ultimately led the the Redsox losing game 6, and eventually, the World Series (I didn't see the game back in 86; we really didn't have much of a tv or reception in Wayan back then. Luckily, ESPN likes to revisit the game at least a couple of times a year so I've become quite familiar with the play). Bill now resides in Boise and has done quite well as a real estate developer and car dealership owner. It was nice to see the fans give Bill a standing ovation helping erase 22 years of pain Bill has gone through from that tragic missed play. The perfect home opener ended with the Japan pitching sensation, Dice K, pitching a great shut-out game (with the help of a couple of releivers). For those Boston fans out there, I hope you enjoyed the day. For those Yankees fans out there, mom, I hope it stings a little.

The first Yankees/Redsox series of the year starts on Friday. It's gonna be a good weekend.

Spring Break '08

2008-04-02T20:17:00.001-06:00

Mexico Retreat!

2008-04-02T15:51:00.011-06:00

Here is a little diary of our Mexican vacation in Puerto Morales....

Tuesday, Day 1: We spend the day around our condo playing in the swimming pool and on the beach. Mom and the kids barried Dad in the sand, Brittanie loved playing in the swimming pool, and Nathan had the most fun wheeling around his wheelbarrow along the beach.

Wednesday: Day 2: We went on a snorkling trip to the coral reef in the morning. Don't we look lovely in our gear? It was fun to see all of the colorful fish around the reef. In the afternoon, we took a drive up to Cancun to check out the city and the beach. The sand and water was beautiful. Brittanie loved collecting seashells with mom and grandma and Nathan discovered the joy of waves rushing up against his legs.

Thursday, Day 3: We spent the day at El Cid, an all inclusive resort with a nice swimming pool, beach toys, lots of food, and uncle Craigs favorite, a swim-up bar with all you can drink Pina Coladas (sure they were virgin...). Dad even helped Brittanie catch a wave on the body board. Nathan loved the kids swmming pool and slide while dad liked the cliff jumping and body boards. Natalie's favorite was lounging around soaking up the rays sipping on a cold Mexican Diet Coke

Friday, Day 4: Grandma and Grandpa spent the day with kids around the pool and beach while Craig & Julie and Scott & Natalie took a road trip to see Chichen Itza, the great Mayan Temple. We enjoyed visiting the historical sites and learning about the culture and civilization the Mayans created. Our trip home was quite the experience as we took the back roads through a bunch of Mexican Villages. Natalie started getting hungry when we passed a local on a bike pulling a small trailer with a dead pig hanging off the side. Yummy!

Saturday, Day 5: We enjoyed the all inclusive resort so much we went back. Another day of playing in the pool, sipping tropical drinks, and enjoying the beach.

Sunday, Day 6: We all took a road trip down to Tulum, another Mayan historical site along the coast. It was fun seeing and learning about this area. The kids really liked seeing all of the Iguanas around. On the way back, we stopped at a restaruant next to the beach to enjoy enchiladas and tacos.

Monday, Day 7: We played around the condo again swimming and playing in sand before we left for home in the afternoon.

It was a most excellent vacation. We enjoyed being able to spend vacation time with some of our family. We'll post a slide show with other pictures soon. Que bien es el sol y la playa en Mexico!

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T11:21:00.004-06:00

We love the local Church of the Nazarene in Eagle for their Easter Celebration. they have a large Easter egg hunt, inflatable toys, pony rides, and free hot dogs, cotton candy, and drinks. The kids had a lot of fun there on Saturday.

Brittanie Lost a Tooth!!!

2008-03-05T19:36:00.005-07:00

The Tooth Ferry dropped by our house last night to leave Brittanie a little surprise for her first lost tooth -- leave it to Natalie to have a stuffed tooth to leave the extracted tooth in for the Tooth Ferry. The tooth fell out with a little help from her pre-school teacher yesterday. Brittanie had wiggled it back and forth with her tongue until it was hanging on by a thread. Her teacher saw that it was just about out and gave it the last little pull that it needed. Brittanie is pretty excited about soon getting her first "parent" tooth.

Nathan Turns the Big 3

2008-03-05T19:24:00.003-07:00

Nathan enjoyed two birthday parties this year. We first celebrated his birthday out in Wayan. Grandma made him a train cake and we enjoyed playing in the snow. We then celebrated his birthday by spending lunch time at Chuck E Cheese and having cupcakes and opening presents at home. Nathan was pretty excited to get his new four wheeler. He's having fun riding it up and down the sidewalk by our house. It's hard to believe he is already three.

Sledding Wayan Style

2008-02-19T20:43:00.002-07:00

Enjoying the Snow in Wayan

2008-02-19T20:32:00.002-07:00

Natalie wanted to take me to the "jumps"
We are the snow princesses of Wayan

Scott attempted to snowboard behind the snowmobile....the snow won

Nat hanging out in the tunnel to the house. Good snow in Wayan this year
Natalie and the kids getting pulled behind the snowmobile

We had a great time in Wayan over the weekend Kevan wanted to take his snowmobiles over for a spin on the Wayan snow. We were more than happy to head over with him. Julie & Adam, Amy & her boyfriend Josh, and mom went out also. It was nice to see all that snow out there.

Our Disneyland Trip

2008-02-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

We became a "bug" family

The magic of Mickey Mouse

Our Princesses found their castle

Nathan's just happy riding a horse

We found out who Nathan really likes. Ariel was the only character Nathan felt comfortable enough to get close to. He screamed around all of the others. Look at the little boy flirt with the mermaid.

A Princess Dream Come True

2008-02-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

We took the family to Disneyland to celebrate Brittanie's 5th birthday. We thought she was the perfect age to meet all of her favorite princesses. I believe it was a "magical" birthday...

Mia Hamm Protege? Brittanie's First Soccer Game

2008-01-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

We signed Brittanie up to play on our local Star soccer team yesterday, and today, she played her first game. I'm not sure how Mia Hamm started her soccer career, but if it involved several sobbing jaunts to mom and dad for comfort, then we have a super star in the making. Brittanie even got to try being goalie for a little while (coach thought less running around might reduce the risk of another "injury"). She thought it was pretty cool that she just had to hang out in front of the net. No one informed her that the goalie tried to "stop" the ball from going in the net. We'll work on that this week. Towards the end of the match I started to wonder if Brittanie would want to play again. Luckily there were juice boxes and cookies at the end of game. I guess soccer is pretty cool after all.

Tip Toes Brittanie Dances on the Big Stage

2008-01-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

"Superstar"
Mom is so jealous...
What stage fright?
You like my moves?
So happy to dance for Grandma

2008-01-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

Brittanie's debut as the "little Princess Ballerina"

Christmas 2007

2008-01-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

Due to technical difficulties we have no pictures of Christmas--yet. Our card some how got deleted and we are getting copies of Christmas pictures from any family members who will take pity on us. We do, however, have some very entertaining video of extreme sledding in Wayan where my neck was sore for 3 days after Scott and my brother-in-law assured me it would be worth the ride! Despite no photographic evidence of Christmas, we had a wonderful holiday surrounded by family--and WAY too much food! Brittanie & Nate had a blast playing with their cousins. We were able to visit a few friends along the way. We must thank the Briscoe's for hosting an unforgettable Wii tournament that left us sore for days! You are amazing friends and we look forward to the next trampoline challenge! Sometimes I wonder what we did to have such awesome friends and family but we sure love you all. We wish you all a very Happy New Year! (Maybe my next post will include Christmas reenactment pictures...so stay tuned!)

Cutting Down the Christmas Tree

2007-12-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

With little snow in Wayan this year, cutting down the Christmas tree was a breeze. We thought Brittanie was old enough this year to join us. She loved eating the snow off her gloves until she tasted dirt. "I told you mommy that it was a bad idea," Brittanie said as she was spitting out dirt.

Super McQueen?

2007-12-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

The kitchen provides the perfect race track for Nathan to practice his driving skills. Watchout Nascar -- Nathan's coming for ya.

Bring on the Candy

2007-12-16T19:25:00.001-07:00

Brittanie wanted to dress up as Cinderella. She is all princess! Nathan was going to be a train conductor, but Peyton (cousin) showed up with a Thomas the Train costume. Nathan decided he was going to be Thomas. I guess he knows he is three months older than his cousin and can be the bully.

Oh Sweet Halloween

2007-12-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

Peyton and Ethan joined Brittanie and Nathan trick or treating this year. They all had a blast.

Natalie pulls up a 50lb Halibut!!!

2007-11-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

Fishing was great in Alaska. Natalie loved the thrill of pulling up Halibut the size of a Kia. Besides Halibut, we caught several silver salmon, link fish, reef sharks, rock fish, a sting ray and even a star fish. Now if we can only get Natalie to eat fish.

2007-11-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

This is our family in Valdez, Alaska on vacation this summer. That is a glacier in the background and yes, we did a taste test. --Not bad! What a blast we had visiting Scott's older brother and family in Alaska. It was an action packed trip.