C-R-A-P-P-Y H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N!!!

Anybody that knows me well knows that I HATE Halloween. I'm sorry but I think it is the DUMBEST day EVER!! I do think it is cool that other people get into it, but I have NEVER been one to like it. Even as a little girl I didn't find dressing up, walking around in the cold, and begging for candy very fun! I do feel kind of bad knowing that the previous owners of our house LOVE Halloween and would always deck the house out and make it way fun for the kids who came trick-or-treating. And now that we live here it is just another house. I know my sister knows what I'm talking about since the house she now lives in use to have the town's best Christmas lights display.

Anyway...for Halloween we always have a family fun night and watch a movie, pop popcorn, and eat candy until we are sick. We weren't gonna go trick-or-treating at all this year until Grandma Bowers called two nights ago and told us that we had to bring the kids by because she was dressing up like a witch. So tonight at about 5:00 I decided to pull out the costumes and see what we had. I had only planned on dressing up the little guys, but when we got looking, and thanks to my sister-in-law Melanie, we actually came up with enough for ALL 11 kiddos. We left for trick-or-treating at 5:30 and were done by 5:45 - since we only went to 3 houses. After trick-or-treating we went to the Slades to eat Soup and homemade bread, then we came home, visited with some friends, Travis and Kathy Aldritch, that we haven't seen in 5 years, and then just relaxed. I am grateful that I have kids that really don't mind that we just stay home for Halloween!!

Here are the kiddos...

Tristen - Batman, Michael - Hulk, Amelia - Witch, Eva - Witch, Mallori - Dalmation, Porter - Ironman, Paul - Woody, Morgon - Hulk, Miles - Monkey, Zach - Dragon, Caden - Frog

It was great spending time with family over at the Slades. Amanda and Jessi were here with their adorable kids. I sure do love those girls and think they are pretty dang amazing! I had to include pics of their adorable kids!

Little Miracle Boy Lewis dressed up as a LION

Madden dressed up as DASH

Kolten dressed up as the chunkiest little BUMBLE BEE I have ever seen!!!

Gotta Vent...

I have been wanting to do a lot of this lately....



YES!...I have felt like pulling my hair out lately, and I just need to vent. I'm tired!!!...

Tired of...my photo editing program either not working or running really slow!
Tired of...having a headache!
Tired of...LAUNDRY
Tired of...A filthy DIRTY house!!
Tired of...kids that can't keep their hands & their feet (and any other body part they might use at the time) to themselves!
Tired of...a certain child getting horrible grades at school and him just not really caring at all that he has 3 'F's' right now.
Tired of...not being able to keep up with house work, paying bills, laundry, etc.
Tired of...feeling like I am a horrible Wife, Mother, Sister, Daughter, & Friend because I don't even feel like I have time to breath right now!
Tired of...Politics and the NOT so wonderful president we have right now.
Tired of...feeling like all I do is SCREAM!!
Tired of...being stressed over money...why do we have to have the stupid stuff anyway?!!

The list could go ON & ON, but I will stop right there!

I NOW FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!!

p.s...I truly am grateful for life and all that I have been given!;)

I'm Lovin It!!!

I LOVE waking up to this...



We were all so excited that it snowed (I think I was more excited than the kids were:)! It doesn't snow before Halloween very often, but I LOVE when it does!! I think I might even put on some Christmas music, yep I said CHRISTMAS music!!! I LOVE this time of year!!!!

Love this pic of Miles pointing at the snow!

BRING ON THE SNOW BABY!!!!!

Happy Birthday Morgon!!

I am having a hard time believing that my little Morgon Lane is 4 today!! I remember going to parent teacher conferences for Willie and having contractions the entire time and while Rocky was telling me about Willie's grades I was watching the clock counting how long & how far apart! Where does the time go? If it was possible I would stop the hands of time and keep them little forever!!
Here are just a few reasons why we LoVe our Morgon Lane...
#1 - His will power...I have never met a more determined child in my life!!!
#2 - His honesty...you always know where he stands!
#3 - He's a mama's boy!!...what mother doesn't lover her mamma's boys?
#4 - His love for things....He LOVES his primary teacher, Sister Carole! - He LOVES his cousin Tyton! - He LOVES to sing! - He LOVES watching movies! - He LOVES his younger siblings, especially Baby Mallori! -
WE LOVE YOU MORGON LANE & ARE SURE GLAD THAT YOU ARE OURS!!!!


2006

2007

2008

TODAY!!

Fall Break

Most of our fall break this year was spent taking care of sick kids!! We started with the flu last Sunday, and it literally has spread like wild fire!! Almost everyone of our kids got it, some lasting only 24-48 hours and others lasting 3-5 days!! To be quite honest I am looking forward to a heathly and much happier home!!!

On Saturday, my sister invited us to go on a hike with her family. Our kids were SO excited to get out of the house. Morgon was bound and determined that we were gonna find Coda the Bear (from Brother Bear) on the top of the mountain. He was quite dissapointed when we never did, but we reassured him that he was sleeping in his cave:)

Thanks Aunt Mimi for inviting us along!!!!

Before the Hike!

Brandon and Miles

Eva, Porter, Aunt Jami, & Nate enjoyin the hike:)

The view from the side we hiked up!

Brock, Mary, Nate, Aunt Jami, Tyton, Paul, Tristen, Zach, Morgon, Brandon, Miles, Eva, Amelia, Porter, & Michael on the top of the Mountain!!!

Funny Things

Came in the family room the other day and found this...


Thought I was gonna die laughing...Morgon's new attire:)

&

Miles has a new found obsession...MY GLASSES!!!

Could I seriously love anything more?

Whatta Man...

I am sure that people probably get sick of me talking about how amazing my hubby is, but it is what it is!!! I need to tell him how thankful I am for him!!! This past weekend while I was at Time Out For Women (see prior post) he kept ALL 11 kids, got the garage cleaned out, got the house all cleaned, got the wood stacked, & took a haul to the dump. I truly don't know what I ever did to deserved him...actually I wonder most days if I really even do deserve him. He is so in tune with my needs and wants... ALWAYS putting me before anything else. I find myself wondering if I do the same for him. He is truly an amazing husband and father!!! I love you Brandon Wayne Martineau...You will FOREVER be my SEXY BEAST!!!

TiMe OuT...FoR Me!!!!!

This past weekend I got the priviledge of going to my 3rd Time Out For Women. I think it was one of the best. The speakers were AMAZING!!! I haven't laughed and cried that hard in a long time. I am grateful for the spirit I felt and how recharged I feel. Hopefully it will last me at least a couple of days!! And I of course had a blast with the ladies I got to spend time with!!

Things I learned...

My children are unrippened fruit!

If I can laugh at it...I can live with it!

I have an ABUNDANCE of blessings!

There is a difference between SIN & Weakness!

Through trials we can find happiness and peace!

Amanda, Me, & Jessi

Me, My beautiful Mother, & my awesome sister

Nicole, Me, Shawna, Angela, Ginger, & LeAnna

Thanks ladies for making the trip so much fun!!!

What it's ALL about...

(sorry for the blog over load...3 posts in a row)

I have been kind of feeling down the past couple days. I find myself wishing I could fix the problems of the ones I love. It breaks my heart when I know all they need to do it turn to our Heavenly Father and to Our Savior. It kills me seeing those close to me turn away from them and start forgetting what they know and what life is really all about. Too often we let the influences of others and the influence of the world change our coarse. I wish I could take it all away...but I can't. All I can do is be there for them, love them, and offer my outstretched arms to them. Cause ultimitely there is only one person who can heal and mend them and that is our Savior. So for now, I will sit back and be grateful that I have the life & knowledge I have and remember that this is what life is really about...

Had to post this next pic...and I wonder where he gets his dirty looks from:)

Happy Birthday Amelia...

It was Amelia's 7th birthday yesterday...it is CRAZY to think that we first fell in love with this beautiful girl around 4 years ago. It was instant love when we met her and her two brothers. Even at the age of 3 she was always concerned about her brothers, and still watches out for ALL 8 of them. Here are just a FEW reasons why we love our Millie Bean...

#1 - Her sense of humor...she is always making us laugh!!
#2 - Her attitude...she can be as sweet as can be one minute and have a massive attitude the next!
#3 - She is a great big sister...always taking care of all the little ones!
#4 - She loves us...like I said the bond between us has been since the minute we saw her!
#5 - She is total Tom Boy...Loves to climb trees, dig in the dirt, and ride bikes!
#6 - Low Key...she is very easy going, hardly ever giving us any troubles!
#7 - Her endless kisses and her amazing back rubs...you can often finding her kissing you on the cheek or rubbing your shoulders. It always seems to come when you need it the most!!!!

We love you Millie Bean and look forward to watching you grow into an amazing young lady!!!!

Payson Rodeo

I forgot to post these pics back in August. We decided to take 4 of our older kids (Tristen was at scout camp) to the Payson rodeo. That was the first time we had ever gone to the Payson rodeo, and we really is a great rodeo! We had a blast!!!!

Amelia, Mom, & Porter

Mom, Dad, & Porter

Eva, Michael, Porter, Amelia, & mom

And I thought I loved him Then...

I have to admit that I have always had a secret crush on Brad Paisley. I always tease Brandon and tell him that Brad & I were gonna get married, but that I settled for love instead when I married Brandon:) Brandon and I had the AMAZING opportunity to attend the Brad Paisley concert Thursday night thanks to my awesome friend, Tom. We started the night off by going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and had the most Yummy dinner EVER, and then we were off to the concert to meet up with Tom and Kim. Tom had no idea where our seats were going to be since he bought them through Brad Paisley's VIP program. Well, I don't think our seats could have got much better!! We were on the 3rd row during Dierks Bentley, but when Brad Paisley came out they let us crowd the stage and we were at the stage...center stage. It was simply amazing! He is an amazing artist, with an amazing voice, and a very nice looking back side!(not that I noticed:) And it of course doesn't come close to compairing to my hubby's backside:) I swear Brandon, Tom, & Kim and I were the only ones still sober at the end of the night!! We had barely got to our seats when the guy behind me spilt his beer and it got on the back of my seat and all over my feet!!! As I looked around I was amazed at the amounts of alcohol that people were consuming & it was quite sad to me that the majority of them wouldn't even remember being at a Brad Paisley concert!! After the concert Brandon and I headed to a resort in Scottsdale. I have to admit that it was quite nice not having 3 kids in bed with us all night long!!!!

You have to forgive the pictures...I took my camera but found out that the batteries were dead after we had already got to the concert! (this is the camera I never use so I never check the batteries) So I had to settle for Cell Phone pics. Kim had her camera and I will post more pics when I get them from her.

Me & My hot hubby...can you tell by the look on his face that he didn't really want to be there? That is how I know he loves me...he does things for me that he doesn't really want to do!!

Me & My beautiful niece, Kim

Me & Tom

Big Thanks to Tom for the tickets and his friendship...true friends make life better!!