The Art of Pruning with a Saws All and the Woes of Owning a Home:)

'Tis the season of pruning. Two weeks ago we pruned our grape vines, and this weekend we tackled the trees. Logan has done a lot of research on pruning trees lately, and he found that although this style of pruning is not recommended, if it has been done, it should continue to be done. It was a lot more work than we anticipated:) SURPRISE! Everything has:)

Early on Saturday morning Logan climbed into the tree with a Saws All. Many have mocked his chosen tool, but it proved to be much safer than a chain saw, thank you very much! We thought it would be finished with plenty of time to go shooting in the afternoon. Boy were we wrong!

Ah! The last limb! What a wonderful moment for us both, but mostly for poor Logan. Although my job was to haul the limbs away, I slacked off a bit and took a nap:) No judging please, it was exhausting and I am not a Blake who can work all day long without stopping!
And there he is, my triumphant hubby:) Approximately 9 hours later. Yep. NINE!
And finally, the climax of our story. THE LIMB PILE! Just to give you some prospective, that pole is about 10 feet high... See why I wussed out now???

Having a home may be ridiculously difficult, but it's so nice to know our kids will have a yard to play in and that we aren't just throwing our money away each month as we rent. We'll adjust, it's just more than we bargained for:)

SGU Grand Opening

As many of you know, Logan has been working on the new St. George Airport off and on (mostly on) since it began around 50 months ago. So when it opened last week, we decided to go to the grand opening to see the terminal and all of the other exciting things they had advertised.

The airport is a LONG way from town. Around 15 miles one way (Logan will have to correct me if I'm wrong). So we left about 30 minutes early, but we got stopped by traffic about 4 miles from the airport. It was stop and go all the way. It took more than two hours. Another disappointment was all the cool stuff they had advertised, like the Blue Angels and getting to see inside the new SkyWest jet. The truth was that some random planes from Nellis flew over a couple of time in normal boring formations (we were still on the Southern Parkway at the time), and only dignitaries could see inside the planes or even go out on the tarmac.

Basically, the grand opening was a disappointment. We did see Governor Herbert, Orrin Hatch, Pres. Uchtdorf's head, and Fields Mosely from channel 2. But the best part was the scissors:)

We were standing there pretty bored and lamenting the lameness when some giant ceremonial scissors caught my eye. So I grabbed them and told Logan to take my picture. Then Logan wanted a picture. Then everyone wanted to touch the golden scissors. I can't believe they had been sitting there for hours with nobody bothering them...

Dungeon Chic

This is how it started.

and this is how it ended I think it turned out rather well, but we have to remember it is just a "Hobby" room.

LOL

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Graduation Celebration:)

Sorry that my graduation was private. It's because it is in the middle of the year, I will technically be walking in May, but I am officially finished with my studies and will receive my license to teach before Christmas... If I pay a ridiculous amount of money to print it out. Yep, I print it myself. Better buy some nice paper I guess:)

These are the people I graduated with. And the best part is, I still like most of them:) I guess spending six hours a day three days a week with the same people for 2 years can wear on a person, but it can also help you make best friends. Mine are the two closest to me, Moe and Jessica!
And this is Dr. Sandy Petersen. I want to be her when I grow up:) Seriously, she is AMAZING! And I may sometimes still find myself on the couch in her office "therapizing"... Hope she's prepared for that!
Me and Moe. Again I say that Moe and Jessica have saved my life on way more than one occasion! They have got me through the past two years and I KNOW that they will be my friends for life! I love them SO MUCH!
And finally me and Rory, Moe's precious baby girl! Poor baby, I have been naming her since I found out she existed. Some of the very clever names include: Moe-be, Moe-b-won-kanobe, Moe-zilla, Geroni-moe, Moe-seph, and really countless others. I was sure that she should be named after her momma (she wasn't). But anyway, I digress, I think she is a wonderful accessory though, don't you?

Anyway, I graduated and it was fun!

Joren's Song

Goes to the Tune of Poker Face by Lady GAGA

Mom mom mom ma
Mom mom mom ma
I wanna eat em’ like we do at Siney’s Place
Microwave em’ and I’ll cut em’ on my plastic plate (I love it)
Fun and some nutrition then play time begins to start
And after we have eaten we’ll play meat ball in the dark.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh
I’ll eat a lot ,if it’s not to hot
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh
I’ll eat a lot ,if it’s not to hot

[Chorus:]
I put my,
I put my,
I put my ketchup on Joker’s face
(so I can eat my hot dog)
I put my,
I put my,
I put my ketchup on Joker’s face
(so I can eat my hot dog)

J-j-j-joker’s face, j-j-joker’s face
(Mom mom mom ma)
J-j-j-joker’s face, j-j-joker’s face
(Mom mom mom ma)

some day I'll figure out a way to put these to music but for now you'll have to use your imagination.

It all comes down to this

4 1/2 years, 9 semesters, 2 colleges, countless hours and tears (just ask Logan) and it all comes down to this.

1 binder, 59 pages, and 1 chance achieve the goal.

Tomorrow I officially end my bittersweet relationship with Dixie State College.

Tomorrow I officially complete my Bachelor's of Elementary Education.

Tomorrow I become a "grown-up".

YAY ME! I am finally going to GRADUATE!!!

It's Been a Long Time!

Since about 2001 to be exact. Yep, that's right. I haven't had all naturally colored hair since I was in 7th grade. A couple years ago, Brittney did a great job matching my natural hair color and I was able to grow it out. Then a few weeks ago she cut off the remaining dyed ends. It was an exciting day! Now I'll probably start going grey and have to dye it again:)

A Child at Heart

Logan calls it childish, I prefer childlike. Apparently it's a condition many elementary school teachers suffer from, and I guess I'm no exception...

Look at my new toy!

The Fisher Price Little People Nativity! I think it's AWESOME! Now we have a big people and a little people nativity to enjoy! Merry Christmas!

Fall Leaves

Sort of... Our leaves didn't turn colors, but they sure did fall down:) Early on Thanksgiving morning the boys came over to help us rake and to play in the leaves. It was really fun! One thing I love most about Logan is that everything I do with him is fun, even things like raking leaves. Here are some pictures I stole from Anisa. I didn't take any pictures of my own, as usual:)

Terek kept saying, "Wo-wo's turn!" (That's what he calls Logan).

It was so chilly that me and the T snuggled most of the time!

And since I never posted about this, and since I've been stealing pictures from Anisa's blog, I thought I'd post some pictures of us carving pumpkins with them as well. It's been awesome to be able to "borrow" the children and pretend they're ours!

Terek is my little buddy, once I even got him to admit that he wants to come and be my baby!!!

Turkey Shoot

Winner!!!

Logan is on a roll this weekend! First, he passed his test to inspect Reinforced Concrete for work, and now he won us a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner! Way to go Logan!

Boys Night In

Parent's night out means boys night in with "Ninny and Wo-Wo"! We dined on gourmet mac and cheese with hotdogs dipped in ketchup. All topped off with a grape gatorade:) They are currently enjoying cutting up and gluing colored paper. This house just feels happy to have children in it again, even if it's only for an evening.

PS notice my table which has been thoroughly salted. That was the work of the little one:)

Happy Halloween from the Blake Family

Some of you may remember this from elementary school:)

"Witches sailing through the sky, on their broomsticks way up high,

Black cats howl as they go by for this is Halloween.

Jack O' Lanterns, big and round, on each step they can be found,

Ghosts and Goblins all around, for this is Halloween.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ohh! This is Halloween!

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ohh! This is Halloween!"

Update

I just thought I should write an update since some of you who read our blog don't talk to me everyday:) Things have been crazy for the last couple of months and I will try to sum things up briefly...

• We moved! (Everyone knows that).
• I started student teaching (Very fun, very stressful).
• Logan has been out of town working almost continually since we moved!!!! (Horrible).
• I wrecked my car. (OOPS).
• We bought a 2010 Toyota Corolla. (Nice!).
• I have finally convinced Terek that he wants to be my baby:)
• Our washer broke. (We're fixing it cuz it's that good!).
• I write lesson plans non-stop.
• Logan and I never see each other!
• Our air satellite doesn't work very well on this side of town so we have to watch Grey's online a day late:(

Sorry, I have so many things to blog about, like the before and after of my cars and Logan's new addiction to reading on his phone. I also had Halloween with my class today and it was AWESOME! Too bad it would be illegal for me to post pictures of their adorable-ness. I really do enjoy it most of the time.

Well, that's it for now. My life should slow down about mid-December when I GRADUATE!!! And then maybe I'll blog more:)

A Red Robin Birthday:)

Today was Logan's birthday. Since his favorite place to eat is at Red Robin I signed him up for their birthday club a few months ago, and apparently Red Robin is the place to eat on your birthday because you not only get a free gourmet burger of your choice (Logan picked the most expensive), but you also get your free sundae:)

And just because I'm mean, I will include this video;)

Happy Birthday! I love you:)