the goff chronicles

My best buddy’s Birthday!!

2012-01-10T13:57:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Austin’s 22nd birthday. I am so lucky that he is my kid!:)

22 Random Austin ‘isms

He loves food. Pretty much anything
He loves animals, all kinds.
He is so funny.
He does the best movie quotes. (get him and Brecken together doing this, hilarious)
He is definitely NOT a follower.
He is comfortable in his own skin.
The boy has got some moves and can Western Swing like a crazy man.
Cutest mischievous smile.
Likes his mom. (ha ha!)
Has his own flock of registered Suffolk sheep.
Has his own cattle.
Put himself through college with no debt. (huge accomplishment)
Super hard worker.
Very dependable.
Loyal
Gets awesome grades.
Will graduate from USU in May.
Is very clean and tidy.
Self motivated.
Likes to be at home.
He has the best hair. (just a little curly)
Never asks for anything!

Love him, he’s one of a kind and total joy. Makes me feel like I must of done something right in life to be so lucky to be blessed with a son like him.

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-01T09:29:00.001-07:00

Just wishing you a Happy New Year and hoping you all had a Merry Christmas.

Graduation 2011

2011-05-30T09:40:00.001-06:00

Jaycee, Brecken, Me, Dakota and Jacob

The goofy little sister.

Jake and Kota

Paige, Dakota and Makenzie

The Graduate!

Auntie Monique (the best sister ever!) and Kota.

Uncle Ryan(the best brother a girl could ask for) and Kota.

Aunt Lacey and Kota.

Dakota and her sweet great grandma Ada.

Dakota and her grandpa Bob.

Sisters are the best!!!!

Dakota had a super graduation, graduating honor society with honors. So proud of the person she has become. She also is graduating with her associates degree from CSI. She is such a determined, hard working, goal oriented girl. I really admire her and wish I was more like her. She always makes us so proud to be her parents. I can’t thank her enough for the good example she is setting for her little sister.

We didn’t get pictures of Wes, Austin, Grandma Karla or Grandma Rose but they were all there cheering her on.

Prom 2011

2011-04-30T23:57:00.001-06:00

Today was prom and Jake came to pick up Dakota in grand style!!! The cute couple.

Something about this picture I really love. :) And they’re off….I loved the back of this dress . It was so pretty. Looking good.

Brecken

2011-04-23T11:07:00.001-06:00

Breck has had a busy few days. This last week was cheer clinic and Thursday were tryouts. She has been working really hard to get her back handspring before tryouts and I’m happy to report she did not one but three for the judges.

Hurray she made it!!!

Then yesterday she was in a real spring cleaning kinda mood and really helped me out a lot. She cleaned her fish tank spotless.

She touched up the paint on the bar stools. Dusted the tops of the kitchen cabinets.

Then, she cleaned out both hers and Dakota’s dairy heifers stalls and re-strawed everything. (no small task!)

You gotta love this spunky girl!!! So glad I was lucky enough to get to be her mom. :)

Is it Spring yet???

2011-03-26T18:50:00.001-06:00

It really is not spring yet!! :(
I know first hand because we froze taking these pictures today.

I love taking my girls to take pictures because we always make fun memories. (I would love to take my boy too but he doesn’t do pictures!) Today was no exception. We also took my sister who proceeded to make Dakota laugh a lot. We just about got eaten by a big dog that was on a leash, but the problem was the crazy person on the other end of the leash. :) We would have been better off if the dog was in charge! We actually were pretty lucky today however, no cops came and almost no trespassing occurred. Fun was had by all.

Homemade Pizza

2011-03-09T16:09:00.001-07:00

I’ve been feeling very domestic lately and whipped up this homemade pizza. It was super delicious. I split the dough in half and froze the other for another day. I just used bottled ragu for the sauce and we like pepperoni and Canadian bacon on ours. I used two or three kinds of cheese ( just whatever I had in the fridge) It was easy and really tasty!

My Favorite Pizza Dough
*Makes 2 12-inch pizzas or 1 large 16 to 18-inch pizza
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Make the dough the night before or early the morning on the day you want to make the pizza. In a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), mix the water, yeast, sugar, honey and oil. (If using active dry yeast, increase the amount of yeast to 2 3/4 teaspoons and proof the yeast in the water until foamy before mixing in the sugar, honey and oil.) Then mix in 1 cup flour and the salt. Continue mixing in all the remaining flour until you get a nice, soft dough. Knead until dough is soft and smooth, about 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes with a stand mixer.
Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl and cover tightly (with a lid or plastic wrap). Place the dough in the refrigerator to slowly rise until three hours before baking. Three hours before baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature, keeping it lightly covered.
45-60 minutes before baking, move the rack to the lowest position in the oven, place the pizza stone on it and preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Don't be nervous about a hot oven! I used to be scared to death to cook anything above 400 degrees but I promise 500 degrees is the only way to go when cooking pizza. If your oven is a bit sketchy at that temperature, bake at 475 degrees. Also, I think a pizza stone makes all the difference in good versus great pizza.

I can’t remember where I went to get this great recipe or I would love to sing their praises because it is really good. :)

Freshen Up!

2011-03-06T13:07:00.001-07:00

I’ve been thinking I need to freshen my decor. I haven’t done any major changes for quite a while. I’ve always loved my dining room, so that is the one room I’m struck on. I have some ideas for the other areas I’m changing up, but for my dining room I’m thinking I want to do a vintage theme. I really like the vintage feel of some of these fabrics and was thinking of using this as my color palette. Maybe the blue and some green, but I really like the red. This is the red I have now. It’s wallpaper, and I really want to use just paint. I’m hoping to achieve the same kind of textured look as I have now, but in a little fresher red color. So…. do you think this will work with my new vintage theme?? and also I have some accent wood pieces I would need to paint. What color would you paint them???

P.S. I found the coolest kitchen table, I can’t wait to work on re upholstering the chairs when it gets a little warmer. It fits so perfect with the vintage feel I’m going for.

Sweet and Hot Crock Pot Chicken

2011-03-04T07:07:00.001-07:00

Ingredients
1 pound (about 2) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14oz) can rotel tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Pour over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6. When tender, shred your chicken and return to the slow cooker and mix the chicken with the juices from the tomato/brown sugar sauce, let heat about 15 more minutes. READY!!!

I served this with Easy Spanish Rice, black beans and used it for Chicken Taco’s and garnished with sour cream and salsa. It isn’t too hot, but really nice flavor. It has a Cafe Rio, Bajio kind of feel to it.

I got this recipe from Whitney at
http://www.mommymakings.blogspot.com/

Yesterday

2011-03-01T10:18:00.001-07:00

We headed south today. ( I just had to say that, it makes it seem like we were going to be going somewhere warm!!) When in all reality, we actually spent the day with more snow than what we left and colder temps. I just love going to Utah but today it was a little bittersweet. My Dakota is going to be attending Utah State University in the fall and we went to meet with her advisor and get her a place to live. I’m sooo going to miss her. :( Love that girl! It does my heart good to know that her and her brother will both be there. Something about them both being in the same place makes me feel a little better. I can just do my missing them in double now!

A really good recap of how the day went can be found here. :)

Never mind

2011-02-27T13:11:00.001-07:00

Do you ever just want to smack someone up side the head with lets say like a siphon tube??

Then you think……
…..its probably me that needs smacked, so whatever!

Why a siphon tube you ask??? I’m a farm girl and its just what came to mind.

Don’t take life so serious!! :)

2011-02-23T09:14:00.001-07:00

When life starts to look kinda grey and soooo serious, I love to watch this video. It just makes me happy!

Sinful Puff Corn

2011-02-16T15:52:00.001-07:00

WARNING!!!!

Read no further if you are prone to addictions. This stuff is horribly addicting and so rich you will be slightly sick just making it, but oh soooo good! ~~(Thanks a lot Haynes family for turning us on to this, NOT :)~~ You know Chester Cheetah is now making puff corn. It’s really good. Kinda popcorn meets cheetos kinda good. We couldn’t be happy with just these shocking nutritional facts ~~(I’d say not nutritional facts)~~

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 oz. (about 3 cups)

Amount per Serving

Calories 160 Calories from Fat 100

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 11g 17%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 310mg 13%
Total Carbohydrate 12g 4%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 1g
Protein 2g 4%

Vitamin A2%
Vitamin C0%
Calcium2%
Iron4%

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat 61.9% Carbs 30.0%

Protein 5.0%

What do you think the label would look like after you add all of this to it???

Puffed Corn Treat

1 lb butter
2 C white sugar
1/2 C karo syrup
1/4 C water
2 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients. Bring to a fast boil. Boil for 5 – 6 minutes. Pour over 3 bags of puff corn. ( i used only 2 1/2 bags of puff corn because some ~~ding dong~~ sweet HWM ate part of one bag)

An “ahh haa” moment

2011-02-15T14:18:00.001-07:00

Chrissy at Traveling Light had the best story. Go here to check it out. It really makes you realize how lucky we are to be doing “all” that we are doing in this stage of life.

TAG - You are it !

2011-02-12T12:25:00.001-07:00

I have seen this tag on a few blogs so I thought I would join in the copy and pasting fun and tag a few people here too :) In the process of getting to know each other I am going to TAG . . . . Sarah, Charisse, Mindy and Dakota ! So TAG your it ladies, get to work copying and pasting . . . . . . .

Where are you right now? Sitting at my computer desk feeling guilty for not being up cleaning

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Monique.

What was the last thing you ate? Honey nut cheerios

Outdoor or Indoor person? Depends on the day.

Kill the spider or let it go? Die , die and die, no mercy

Favorite song of all time? Too many to choose just one

Would you rather be blind or deaf? Deaf, maybe I could read lips!

What are you most proud of in life? My 3 great kids.

What is the one thing that guarantees a smile on your face? Having all my kids at home and enjoying each other

If you could have one super human power what would it be? I would love to be invisible.

Have you joined the Twilight Kraze? Sadly yes :)

Favorite Movies? How to Lose a guy in 10 days

One thing you are dreading today? Cleaning the house

One thing you are looking forward today? Having all 3 kids home

What is something about you that would shock people? I don’t want to go anywhere on the days I don’t work, I’m a total home body.

Juice and Crackers, or Cookies and Milk? Cookies and Milk
Cats or Dogs? Dogs

3 words you would use to describe yourself? Friendly, Mom, blog addicted

Would you rather be hot or cold? Definitely hot today, but ask me in August and I ‘d probably say cold.

Why did the chicken cross the road? It looked like they were having more fun than on his side.

NOW, I’m adding some extra Q’s

1. Would you rather be on ABC's Extreme Home Make Over or TLC's What Not To Wear?
Definitely Extreme Home Makeover

2. Do you have any tattoos?
None

3. Do you tell your kids about things you did growing up? Oh, yes I’m an open book when it comes to this. Just ask my kids or their friends!

4. If the traffic signal turns yellow, to you stop or speed up? Like any good driver who lived in Utah for 5 yrs yellow means drive faster.

5. What's your preference: Chocolate or Chips? Chocolate, hands down

This one isn’t bad either

2011-02-11T12:59:00.001-07:00

This makes me laugh out loud!

2011-02-11T10:03:00.001-07:00

I think this is soo funny. I probably just have a warped sense of humor. You be the judge.

My February project

2011-02-09T11:05:00.001-07:00

Back when I used to be really organized, (ha! ha! I totally crack myself up) I always did a project a month. I have tons of things I want to do and never seem to have extra time to do them. I thought if I put my monthly project on my to do list it would make it a priority and I would get some things done. My February project is a quilt for my bed. The pattern is really basic and simple (that is a plus for me) its called “ A Piece of Cake”. You make this out of a fabric layer cake. I started with these 10” squares and made two cuts in each of them.The assembly process.

My afternoon boost!

After sewing all 42 squares together I ironed all the squares and separated them into colors. Stay tuned! :)

Friends

2011-01-30T19:11:00.001-07:00

This is me and a couple of friends who I like to get together with. They are sooo fun!! We never have enough excuses to do fun stuff together. Sarah just got a new do and sports this sassy look well , don‘t you think. You can read more about here on her blog here.

I’m lucky enough to get to work with Charisse, we both work in the same salon. She is such a great co-worker and I feel so lucky to have her as my friend. Read more about her here.

My HWM (hard working man)

2011-01-29T11:23:00.001-07:00

January is a busy birthday month for us. This guy has a birthday too.

His favorite homemade german chocolate cake and homemade coconut pecan frosting. Brecken likes it to! ha!

Holy cow, I can't believe I was just 16 when he was born!! :)

2011-01-27T09:42:00.001-07:00

This is the feet of my first born. He just turned 21. I can’t believe it! Who doesn’t need a new pair of Tony Lama’s on their birthday??He loves to get his picture taken, (kinda like I was 16 when he was born) so this is me saying come on Austin give me just one smile, it’s your birthday. I love, love this hair…. He has the best hair, just a slight wave not to thin, not to thick. Its so cute! If he reads this and sees I called it cute I’ll have to cut it off, so lets keep it kinda quiet.

Now this is a genuine smile. Nothing gets to a starving college student like food. So glad I could make him happy. Love, love this kid, better than I could of ever asked for. Happy birthday buddy.

Pirates rock the HOuSe!!

2011-01-25T20:38:00.002-07:00

The Pirate cheerleaders had competition on the weekend. We left Friday and took a car full of excited 7th and 8th graders to Pocatello. We did some shopping, had dinner at Applebees and made some new friends from the college track team from southern Utah. Good times! The girls then hit the pool to work on their form for the next day. Ha!

Here they are shaking it trying to rack up some points. This one is mine! This is what we brought home. Good job girls!

ITs A pArTY!!!

2011-01-21T20:25:00.001-07:00

Its official, the party has now moved to the family room! Kelsey and Dakota are working on there moves and since they are burning so many calories, I’m working on the milkshakes! You can’t get that at Planet Zumba. ha!

Party Meatballs

2011-01-01T14:12:00.001-07:00

Meatball appetizers
We made some really yummy meatballs for appetizers last night. Super fast and easy, just how I like to cook.

2 1lb bags frozen meatballs

2 12 oz bottles chili sauce

1 18 oz bottle grape jelly

Place meatballs in crockpot. Mix jelly and chili sauce together then pour over meatballs. Set crockpot to low and cook about 2-3 hours. Yummy and so easy, Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T13:53:00.001-07:00

Since my last post was Merry Christmas I thought I would show you what Happy New Year looks like! BK is gone to her cousins and I’m entertaining myself on the computer and these three, well see for yourselves! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T22:20:00.001-07:00

Here’s wishing all of you a joyous holiday season filled with family, love and special memories.

Christmas wreath and swag

2010-12-11T20:14:00.001-07:00

Not the best photo’s but I thought I would post them anyway. These are for you Charisse, now we want to see yours!

Breck

2010-11-12T09:57:00.001-07:00

My super cute jr. high cheerleader!! She’s the one in the middle.

More, more and some Friday night football!

2010-10-16T13:38:00.001-06:00

Dakota and Makenzie have been good friends since 5th grade. I really wanted to get some senior pictures of them together. I’m going to miss them both like crazy. They are always willing to try my new and unusual ideas with a smile. :)

When you’re with these girls you are guaranteed a good time! Hopefully as close to in trouble as they will ever get!! Friday night football is wearing down and I’m going to be really sad when it’s over. It’s been a really fun season to watch.

Homecoming 2010

2010-10-03T23:01:00.001-06:00

Oh Boy! It’s so pretty, i love it. :) Don’t worry I won’t stick you with the pin. ;)

You want a picture mom, how about this??

Before you accept an invitation to homecoming make sure your date has big muscles…. so when he brings his big truck and your wearing your nice dress and heels he can help you in like this!!!

BK

2010-05-19T09:55:00.001-06:00

It’s time to order new big prints for the hall. Which is your pick?

Crazy busy life!

2010-04-18T20:53:00.001-06:00

So, we have been very busy needless to say. Dakota got her state degree for FFA and also just finished with Jr Miss. Just a few pic's of both.

Dakota and Grandma Ada at Jr Miss.

Jake and Dakota showing off their guns!

Dakota, Kelsey and Emily. Just missing Jessica! Dakota had such a great Jr Miss experience and made some super great friends. So proud of her and all she accomplished.

Austin and Dakota after the State degree ceremony.

Sweetheart

2010-02-23T12:09:00.001-07:00

Dakota went to the sweetheart dance this weekend. We had dinner at our house for them. It was so much fun. We had burgers, fries and milk shakes. They had a great time!

Here is some of the kitchen help. It’s amazing what my guys will do for food! :)

New pic’s of Dakota

2010-02-16T14:12:00.001-07:00

Which is your favorite? We need one for the Junior Miss program. Help me choose.

Cheer Competition

2010-01-26T22:06:00.001-07:00

Brecken had cheer competition on the weekend. It was lots of fun to watch. They did so well for there first competition of the season. 1st place!!! Congrats girls, looking forward to the next one.

Back to a family blog

2010-01-01T10:06:00.001-07:00

My blog has been sorely neglected!! I have been busy, but that is no excuse. I have now created a photo blog, which you can get to by clicking the image to the right. I have great expectations of myself in the fact that this will be back to the casual family blog it started out to be.

With that said out loud, check back soon for holiday update!

P.S. Don't you just love the snow falling softly on my blog! I guess that long graphic design education was good for something. haha!

The strong silent type

2009-11-06T21:48:00.002-07:00

What a nice and handsome guy. My favorite personality type, the strong, silent type. Thanks for a fun afternoon, and good luck!

11 days old, what a sweetie!

2009-10-24T20:44:00.001-06:00

Oh What a sweet baby! She was the picture of perfection to photograph. A model in the making. Thanks guys, for this super fun afternoon.

Faithful assist!

2009-10-23T09:25:00.001-06:00

I’ve been keeping really busy taking lots of fall photos. You can do so much more if you have an assistant. This is MINE!

So is this the one?

2009-09-23T12:47:00.001-06:00

Just the girls!

2009-09-18T19:54:00.001-06:00

Jill brought her girls over for a quick shoot. Lots of personality in this one.

Fall is the best season!

2009-09-16T21:44:00.001-06:00

At least for picture taking.

Here are a few of my favorites from Bentley’s shoot. She was sooo happy, and willing to do whatever we wanted, as long as we let her wiggle a little.

Fun with my sis!

2009-09-13T22:46:00.002-06:00

We had some fun tonight! I laughed and laughed. My sister and her family were up for some picture taking. I had so much fun taking these. They make it so easy, they’re all very photogenic

2009-09-09T21:32:00.002-06:00

I'm working on some new textures. Any of you photographers out there, help I need some serious opinions. What do u think of this faded look with just a touch of texture?

Perfect weather for photo’s

2009-09-01T23:02:00.001-06:00

I love black and white,

and color,

and a little of both.

Wanna guess who is in this photo???? I loved the vibrancy of this shot, and the idiot in it!!

Just a couple more

2009-08-30T22:18:00.002-06:00

I have so many cute ones I can’t stop. Just a couple more for tonight.

Sophie

2009-08-30T19:24:00.001-06:00

Sophie is the sweetest happiest toddler ever! She was willing to do almost anything we wanted as long as we had animals for her to play with or other fun distractions. What a fun time. Thanks Heidi for setting this up. There are lots more to come.

Just a couple more..

2009-08-16T11:10:00.003-06:00

What a cute family.

Boyz R Fun!

2009-08-11T22:53:00.004-06:00

We had a really fun night. My friend Kim and her boys came over and we took lots of pictures. Boys are so much fun! Here's just a few.

Don't you love that mischievious grin.

Winners!

2009-08-07T09:35:00.004-06:00

Dakota won the Reserve sheep showman overall and qualified to compete in the Round Robin. In the Round Robin competition you have to show a pig,

a horse,

a steer,

a sheep,

and a dairy heifer.

She was awesome!, and the winner is;

Dakota.

Good job, she is an awesome showman and did a great job paying attention to the animals that worked well and making sure she choose the right ones. Well deserved!

Blue ribbon bonanza (and purple too)

2009-07-29T08:47:00.004-06:00

Don't you just love this "sheep eating grin"! I'm sure it's pure excitement for what's to come and not the fact that the boy in front of her is really cute, and nice.

Dakota won the Senior fitting and showing in the FFA class. Of course she was the only girl.
Brecken did so well. She got a blue ribbon and finished 3rd in her class. She was so proud of how good her lamb looked. Austin re-sheared it for her before the show, and it looked really great.

Dakota held her own and finished as the Reserve sheep overall showman. She really knows how to turn it up when the going gets tough. She had some awesome competition.

Big and little

2009-07-26T07:08:00.002-06:00

We were excited to have Ry's kids over for the day. Karsen and Austin became fast friends. They really worked hard building fence, and changing water. Us girls kept them supplied with treats and cool drinks since it was so hot.

They even found a little time for some fun!

Nelson reunion

2009-07-21T22:07:00.003-06:00

Brecken, Karsen, and Kestley after a dip in the cold pool.

Brecken, Natasha, and Dakota ready to dive in.

Ehlie zonked with a handful of cheetos. The pool just did her in.

The get together with all the family is always fun. We really missed Grandma being there. I hope her broken ankle heals fast. All ready looking forward to next year.

Hi8us...

2009-07-14T10:36:00.003-06:00

I have been completely shut down. Since graduation, and the end of school, I have treated myself to some seriously needed down time. I haven't done anything! I mean next to nothing. I finally feel like being amongst the living again. So this sorely neglected blog, as well as a bunch of other things, are up and rolling.
Just a few pictures I shot this last week. This was the first I picked up the camera in over 6 wks!

This one of Wes is so true to how his life is. Phone up to his ear, strolling through the field checking the water.

Evil stepmother, Not!

2009-04-24T20:50:00.003-06:00

I took a quiz on facebook today. What evil disney villian are you? The anwser, The evil stepmother from Cinderella. Truely this quiz must be mistaken. I feel much more like Cinderella. The one without the pretty dress, scrubbing the floor, while someone else goes to the ball. (No fairy godmother in sight!)

A few of the photos from today's pre-prom photo shoot.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T20:26:00.004-06:00

The hunt.

The loot!

Serious business

Woo Hoo!
We had a fun Easter party today. The weather was pretty ok, just some wind. We played games, ate lots of good stuff and had a great Easter egg hunt. It's alway so nice to have the family over.

The Baby

2009-04-04T12:17:00.002-06:00

What a pretty baby. I got a few shots of Kimbrey in her blessing dress. She is an awesome baby model. Kestley wanted in on the action too, so we snapped one of the new sisters. So sweet.

Sisters

2009-04-04T10:44:00.006-06:00

It'a a rare moment when you catch the feelings of one sister for the other!!

Dead or alive

2009-03-29T20:10:00.008-06:00

Thursday night Dakota got asked to her very first prom. So fun, and so sad for the mom! She received a really cute fish bowl of 3 live fish and a clever poem in the asking. It was very creative and fun. She was super excited.

Friday also started out exciting, but not in the same fun way. Around 6:00 am, "mom, my fish are DEAD!! "Oh Dakota," I consoled, "that isn't a very good sign." We are wondering if her biological clock is off two weeks and thinks that this might be Friday the 13th.

Then finally good news, the asking prince had the fish receipt. You know if you keep your receipt you can return almost anything to Wal-mart and by chance fish are no different they will reward you with a new live fish for upto 90 days.

So, now this story becomes quit upbeat, as the asking prince and the wanna-be princess take the 3 deceased fish along with the reciept to the local Wal-mart. After leaving the poor deceased in their final resting place( a ziploc baggie) with the mortified service clerk they return not only with 3 live fish but a frog to boot!!

The end.

Last chance to be 10!

2009-03-17T10:25:00.002-06:00

Its Breckens birthday tomorrow. How time goes by! We are enjoying today and making the most of her last day as a 10 year old. We took her birthday pictures a week or so ago, then had to decide which one to use on her invites. She's such a spunky little thing. Can't imagine

how dull life would be without her.

What is your title?

2009-03-13T09:01:00.010-06:00

Dakota-cheerleader, dancer, socializer, babysitter, friend, fitness enthusiast, sister, health nut, crazy, runner, scrapper, fun lover, daughter, cutie, welder, tool identifier, tool sharpener, ag mechanics aide!

Do I have big ears???

2009-03-07T09:44:00.008-07:00

Is it because she's so perky??

A random little survey with the kids. Quite the eye opener. It was a challenge from a friend and now my challenge to you. You will learn alot about yourself!

1. What is something mom always says to you?

B-I love you!

D-How was your day?

A-What did you do today?

2. What makes mom happy?

B-A hot bath with a book.
D-When no one is home.
A-

3. What makes mom sad?

B-When Austin moved out.
D-Sunday nights when Austin goes back to school.
A-

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

B-When she laughs.
D-When she laughs at dumb things.
A-idk

5. What was your mom like as a child?

B-Crazy
D-I didn't know her then.
A-

6. How old is your mom?

B-42
D-43
A-I'm not sure but I can figure it out.

7. How tall is your mom?

B-5 foot 3
D-5 foot 5
A-5 foot 4

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

B-Read
D-Play on the computer.
A-Ask me what I am doing.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

B-Play on the computer.
D-Play on the computer.
A-Wonder what I am doing.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

B-Graphic design
D-Winning the lottery. (funny dakota, you have to play to win!)
A-Interogating people

11. What is your mom really good at?

B-Graphic design
D-Doing hair
A-Interogating people

12. What is your mom not very good at?

B-listening (what???)
D-being patient with the little things (what???)
A-

13. What does your mom do for her job?

B-hair
D-hair
A-cuts hair

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

B-taco's
D-mexican
A-idk

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

B-When she makes cool stuff, like for my b-day party.
D-How she goes to school, works and takes care of us.
A-That she is going to school.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

B-Minnie Mouse (HuH?Big black ears!)
D-Minnie Mouse( She did not hear her sisters anwsers. What is up with the mouse?)
A-What?

17. What do you and your mom do together?

B-Shop
D-Drive in the car.
A-Nothing!! (I will say in my own defense, it takes two to do together.)

18. How are you and your mom the same?

B-Thick hair and dry skin.
D-Same white and I mean white skin.
A-Both have green eyes.

19. How are you and your mom different?

B-I'm blonde and she isn't.
D-Different color hair.
A-Girl and I'm not.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

B-She tells me.
D-I don't. :) (she is such a little rebel!)
A-Cause she bothers me all the time.

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

B-idk
D-To get a facial.
A-some place to interogate me

Sugar and spice and everything nice!

2009-01-26T08:03:00.005-07:00

What a pretty baby. We are so excited to have Kimbrey finally here. She is a lucky baby to have two sisters and one big brother to come home to. Congrats Ry and Lacey.

A great family with loads of personality.

2009-01-06T20:27:00.002-07:00

All boy cousins and now finally a girl. She is probably the luckiest little girl ever to have four older boy cousins to look out for her. It looks like they kinda like her too.

This is my favorite! What a bunch of cute little personalities.

Harvest

2008-11-23T21:27:00.005-07:00

Yesterday was the Harvest dance and Dakota's first date. Great fun for her and a little sad for me!! They played Amazing Race for their day date. Brecken and I set it up the day before and had as much fun as they did playing it. I took their pictures. It was a really fun group. Here are some of my favorites.

Photo testers.

2008-11-15T22:21:00.002-07:00

Had to have the girls test out the photo local before my photo shoot this afternoon. Nice girls, real nice.

October 11 !!

2008-10-13T08:49:00.004-06:00

You might have heard there was a huge storm in the area over the weekend. Most places received about 4-6" of snow, but.... we ended up with 16++ inches. What a crazy "fall" day!

Vintage project

2008-09-27T21:08:00.002-06:00

These pic's are perfect for the vintage actions I have been working on. I can't wait for them to be printed so I can put them up.

The Bachelor Pad

2008-09-12T22:35:00.003-06:00

Austin actually did it.... he moved out!

He along with his buddy E.T. found a nice place.

Although my heart will never be the same (sigh) I am sooo happy for him and really anxious to watch him evolve into whatever his little heart desires. You go Aust!

Vacation

2008-08-31T19:11:00.023-06:00

I was still having "a moment" because Austin didn't go on our trip with us when I spotted this.....
I hung out the window and snapped numerous shots to ensure a good one. Somehow, I feel better now.

We went here........

... and saw this.

They did a lot of this ...........

..and he did alot (some) of that

We went here......and here....with them.

We also went here..

with him.

Brecken did this..

and Dakota did that.

while Wes did this.

We stayed in here....

right next to this..

so we could play on this...

and enjoy watching that.

We laughed at this...(mostly glad it wasn't ours)

We hiked from here.....

down to enjoy this. A good time was had by all!
(Even Austin :))

What a week!!!!

2008-08-06T12:54:00.002-06:00

My kids are smokin.....

Brecken , miss Junior I showman.
Austin and Dakota were both seniors this year, and Dakota wasn't sure if she liked that. Both of them are always tough competitors but not to sure if they wanted the compitition of the other in their very class. So..... will it be Dakota, or Austin.

Lets just say it came down to the Bingham sisters and the Goff's. It was back and forth and a tough win but.......

Austin came out on top. Dakota, however, was third overall not to shabby.

What a champ!

Go out with a Bang!!

2008-08-06T12:34:00.004-06:00

So, since Austin was the Grand Champion, he now was eligible to compete in the Round Robin. He would have to show a lamb....

A March calf.....
A steer.....
A horse.....

and a pig.

And the winner was......

Austin!!!!! YaHoooooo. What a great way to end his last year. The cute little girl is Austin's newest fan.

Another fun photo opportunity!!!!

2008-07-21T21:58:00.004-06:00

Come on, it will be fun!!!

2008-07-21T12:02:00.011-06:00

Memory Tag...

1. Add a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. Forever ago, or even a good one from last week. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Dakota and the all star cheer group at the parade.

2008-07-06T10:20:00.005-06:00

This is such a fun group. They have a great bunch of girls this year. They are anxiously waiting for cheer camp. It is a specialty stunt camp and they are going to learn to do 3 layer stunts. Scarey!!!!!

Austin weighing the 4-H sheep

2008-06-26T21:23:00.002-06:00

This is our very technical way to weigh the 4-H sheep. We hold our breath and Austin stands very still, hopefully the lambs cooperate.

What we do for fun on the weekend!!

2008-06-22T22:16:00.005-06:00

We played at taking some fun pictures and here are just a few.

Weekend at Eaton's

2008-06-14T21:53:00.004-06:00

We had a great time with the Eaton's over the weekend. They are so fun to hang out with. Thanks for everything guys. Come and stay with us now!

MHS Prom 2008

2008-05-19T21:57:00.003-06:00

Here are the official prom pictures. What a handsome guy! Oh---, and the girl is kinda cute too.

Happy Mothers Day

2008-05-11T19:51:00.005-06:00

Grandma Ada is 88. You would never guess it.

We know exactly who Karsen takes after!

Schools out for the summer!

2008-05-06T22:05:00.007-06:00

This is the poster.

This is my final project for my Typography class. We had to be creative and think up a restaurant and design the menu with logo, business card, stationary, advertisement ect... The catch was, we could only use type and it was supposed to be unique and catch the instructors attention. Loads of fun!

This is the menu.

2008-05-04T11:24:00.001-06:00

Austin and Hailie are the couple on the far left.

Prom

2008-05-03T09:44:00.003-06:00

Just a few quick shots of the tux and the corsage. More to follow later today.

Spring branding

2008-04-27T21:15:00.005-06:00

We had a great day branding. The wind didn't even blow! I always look forward to the spring branding. We had a great time helping and playing with the kids.

Yard work.

2008-04-22T08:12:00.007-06:00

We have a ton of leaves every fall and spring. It is a huge job to keep them all raked up. Thank goodness for the kids and their help or I would never be done!

Happiness is a choice....

2008-04-12T19:58:00.002-06:00

Finally!!!! A day above 60 degrees. Yaaa!

2008-04-12T18:55:00.004-06:00

We took full advantage of the great 60 degree weather today and played in the sun. We met with some friends at the park and of course I took this opportunity to shoot a few more photos. Love the beautiful lashes Meg!!

Ehlie

2008-03-28T13:37:00.000-06:00

This was so much fun! Thanks Trina for letting me take these fun shots of your sweet baby. I wish you lived closer!!

Shopping Dakota Style

2007-09-19T08:02:00.001-06:00

Dakota is so fun to take photos of. She is almost always willing to do what I want to get a shot. We always have so much fun. She's definately one of my favorite subjects to shoot!

Dream

2007-09-14T10:02:00.000-06:00

One of my many dreams is to get my degree.

I have been working toward that the last year. I'm so excited about the classes I am taking this semester. They are some of the main reasons I chose this program. I have a photography class. Woo hoo!!! One of my favorite things to do, take pictures.. So far we have shot tons of photo's , developed our own film and played in the dark room. It so fun, I am just loving it. Now you know why I think school is fun!!