Husband Tag

1. Where we met: My work at Standard Optical in Roy. Ha ha, he couldn't get away!

2. How long we dated before we got hitched: Met in June or July and we were married by the end of January.

3. How long have we been married: 8 years as of 2 days ago!

4. What's my favorite feature about him: Physically, I like his big shoulders. Otherwise, how funny he is!

5. What's my favorite quality about him: He is such a hard worker and would do anything for me and the kids.

6. What's his nickname for me: It started as Karie, went to Keddy, then to Teddy, now it is just plain TED.

7. His favorite color: I really don't know. Maybe red??

8. His favorite food: Anything I make.....ha ha, yeah right. More like anything his MOM makes! He does love chocolate shakes with oreo or reese's PB cups. He is a Roast Beef and Potatoes kind of guy.

9. His favorite sport: He loves football. Luckily I have been able to get him down to like one game a week (after 8 years!) But he also LOVES Jazz basketball!

10. Who said the L word first: Probably me. He was like freakishly scared of me or something. It took him a LONG time to really come out of his shell and let loose.

11. First kiss when and where: I don't know when.....maybe like 3 or 4 dates into it. It was outside his car in front of my Dad's house. Sorry Dad if that is a bad thought for you.....

12. Favorite couple thing to do: Anything without the kids! We never get away from them!!!! (not that we don't love them)

13. How many kids: 2 boys and no fetuses, or feti as my sister pointed out to me. Maybe a fetus in the future though!

14. His hidden talent: Well he has so many.......Ummmm don't you all wish you got to see the kinds of dance moves I get to see at home!? I'd have to tell all the ladies to BACK OFF if they saw that. No, in all seriousness, it is just plain HILARIOUS!
15. His age: 31

16. His favorite music: Just about anything....country, rock, pop.

17. What I admire most about him: How much he loves his family, what a good Dad he is, and how hard he works for all of us. I also love his even temperment and as hard as I might try, he never gives in to fighting with me (except the rare occasion). But that is saying something if you won't fight with me!

18. His favorite pastimes: Looking at guns (ugh!), watching sports, relaxing in his bed, hanging with his fam.-he is just a homebody.

19. Will he read this: He has no idea what I put on the blog.

Tag: Katee, Marnae, Danika (if she ever gets on), Lisa Peterson and Katie Kammeyer

5 for 5

Well, we just found out that my sister Lindsey is having another boy! We are so excited for her! That will be 5 out of 5 between me, Lindsey and Blair. Funny isn't it? But we all just LOVE little boys and they fit us. She is very excited so CONGRATULATIONS LINDSEY AND JARED! We love you guys!

Frontrunner Adventure

The day after Christmas, my Dad and Marnae took the whole family on a fun outing to Gateway Mall to go shopping.

We took the Frontrunner train from Roy to Salt Lake, which was such a fun adventure for all of us. We have never gone on it before.

Dad and Marnae gave us each a bunch of money to go shopping with and set us loose on the mall when we got there.
Once we were done, we met up to have dinner and show each other what we bought! It was so much fun, I wish we were able to spend more time together! Thanks for the fun time guys!

Christmas Day

We spent the afternoon and evening with Doug's family. We opened some great presents from Grandma Caldwell, ate great food and mostly played Guitar Hero with the whole band. It was lots of fun!

I thought it was pretty cute with the kids all lined up like ducklings next to Grandma while she handed out presents. They just love her!

Christmas Morning

We spent the night on Christmas Eve at my Dad's house and woke up Christmas morning to find that Santa had made it with our boys' presents. Carson, Dallin and Drew were up extremely early!

Drew got the red motorcycle he wanted, and Dallin got everything he wanted!

I thought this pic of Drew with his stocking was adorable!

Christmas Eve 2008

Christmas Eve was such an enjoyable time! We spent it at my Mom's house and she always goes the extra mile in making it special. We had some great food, opened some presents, had some of the kids sing, read or play instruments, and even rounded up some costumes to have the kids act out the story of Christ's birth.

Such cute kids....from L to R is: Katie, Matthew, Johnny, Preston, Jackson, Ben, Avery, Drew, Dallin and Aden. Yes, we are male dominated in our family.
Paul, Jared and Lindsey

Doug, Sheldon and Blair messin' around online.

Jared, Michelle and Alisa getting some grub.
The kids had so much fun playing Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the Wise Men, shepherds and angels. They had to take turns with different costumes, it was great!
Looks like they spotted the star....Dallin's face is hilarious! What a fabulous actor he is!
Matthew sharing his musical talents!

Dallin singing us a christmas song.
Drew reading everyone a story.
Grandma had so much fun watching all the kids open their presents and the kids LOVED what they got! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

More Wheelin'

I come home for lunch one day to find Doug playing with Dallin, Drew and some of the neighborhood kids out in the backyard on the four-wheeler. What a great Dad he is!

Banana Bread Anyone?

Here are my cute little delivery boys all bundled up to take our neighbors some hot banana bread. Who wouldn't LOVE opening the door to their sweet little faces? (I guess the sweet bread is a bonus too!)

Our Special Visitor

Before Christmas came, our boys were so excited to find such a special visitor at our front door! This is our new friend, Carl, who works with me. He plays Santa for ward and family parties, so he made an extra little stop one night just for my boys.
Drew was SOOOO serious about telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas as you can see.
Dallin is such a cutie, he loves seeing Santa and enjoys everything about Christmas.....especially all the lights. It was lots of fun and excitement just before bedtime. Thanks Carl!

School Program

YES, this is my son! He cracks me up. The people sitting next to me were just busting up when he did this.
These are some pictures of Dallin's 1st grade Christmas program. They were cute little reindeer and I had lots of fun listening to their cute songs. Dallin is getting so big!
That is his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Plum, on the floor leading the music.

YW in Excellence

Here are a few pics of our YW in Excellence program.
This is me and my buddy, Danika.

These are the awesome women I work with in YW. L-R is: Emily, Amy, Danika, Me, Brianna and Marilyn. We have lots of fun!

Ward Christmas Party

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Our ward celebrated Christmas with an evening in Zarahemla. We traveled from afar to listen to the ancient prophets testify of the Savior Jesus Christ. (The boys were pretending to be stripling warriors
We wore simple Book of Mormon attire and the "Marketplace" had an abundance of food to replenish us from our long journey to get there.
). The kids had activities and were even given their own brass plates to make their own personal records in the record-keepers tent.

There was dancing and music and prophets and unbelievers taunting prophets in the marketplace.

This was a very creative and fun time for the whole family. Definitely the most enjoyable Christmas party I have been to!

5 Things Tag

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago...
1. Working as a Dental Assistant
2. Having lots of fun!
3. Going to Weber State
4. Playing soccer
5. Gaining an unwavering testimony of Jesus Christ

5 Things on my to do list...
1. Shop for new glasses
2. Make appointments for Doctors (I just got insurance)
3. LAUNDRY!
4. Grocery shopping for Dinner Club
5. Work, work, work.

5 Snacks I Love...
1. Ice Cream
2. Cookies
3. Brownies
4. Anything with Chocolate
5. I am going to get diabetes.....

5 Things I would do if I was a billionaire...
1. Buy a bigger house and hire a maid.
2. Take my whole family on vacation!
3. Buy each of my family members and my Aunt Terry a house and pay off their debts.
4. Buy all the toys....boat, sea-doo's, 4 wheelers, snowmobiles.
5. Buy a cabin to get away any time we want and enjoy spending time with family there!

YAY!

I just got myself a new computer! I am so excited since our last one was born when Dallin was born so it is very old school. I'm just glad that our high speed internet will actually act high speed now! OOOOhhh, and this slick looking flat screen monitor is all sorts of cool for us, we have officially moved up in the world. Thanks to all those who donated to the Caldwell family fund at Christmas to make this happen! He he, love you! I feel like I am giving an acceptance speech....

Dinner Club

So I started doing this dinner club with 3 other families in our ward and I am LOVING IT! It is only day 2, but we are just thrilled! We got together and figured out what day of the week each of us wanted to take, set some guidelines, exchanged dislikes, put together the menu and what time dinner will be delivered, and voila! We have dinner every night of the week delivered to our door except for when it's my day to cook, then I deliver dinner to the rest. We know exactly what is coming for dinner the whole month in advance. It makes the shopping easy and best of all, the rest of the days, I DON'T HAVE TO COOK! Plus, doesn't it always taste better when someone else cooks?? I sure think it does.
So, for all you other folks, I would totally recommend doing this. It is the best, and if you are like us, you won't be heading to the dollar menu at McDonalds every other night, he he....chunky Caldwells.

I wanted to share these beautiful pictures and what the artist has to say about each one of them! You can ALL win a FREE signed 8x10 print of your choice (out of the three prints), by copying and posting to your blog or website this whole post! After you post then send an e-mail to David (contact@bowman-art.com) with your website or blog address telling him you posted it and that you read about this offer on my blog. Also send him your name and mailing address and he will send your signed 8x10 print of your choice. David Bowman: has had a passion for art ever since he could pick up a pencil. He loves creating images of the Savior that inspire and uplift. Along with his Christian fine art, David has also written and illustrated a series of scripture storybooks for children titled "Who's Your Hero". Check out his website at http://bowman-art.com/indexFineart.htm to see more of his precious art.

"Innocence"

The Savior tells us we need to become as little children to inherit the kingdom of God. I've often wondered what it is about little children Jesus loves most, and I think its their innocence. They are clean slates, seeing the world and others through untarnished eyes. Their hearts are pure, without the baggage of cynicism and self-doubt. In this piece, I've tried to imagine how a child would act upon meeting the Master for the first time. Without reservation or inhibition, I think he would simply want to play with Him. He would be at complete ease, allowing his pure little heart to soak in the love and laughter of His pure, infinite heart. Its no wonder Christ delights in these little ones and sets them up to be our examples.

"Security"

One of the greatest human needs is a sense of security. In all aspects of life, we naturally gravitate towards anything that makes us feel safe. In this piece, I wanted to convey a sense of complete peace and calm like only the Savior can provide. It's a security that allows us to rest assured, without fear or worry, when we put ourselves trustingly in His arms. Little children have that inherent kind of trust in their parents, so it's fitting that the man and girl who modeled for "Security" are actually father and daughter. They generatedthe exact feel I was looking for.

"My Child"

This piece conveys an intimate, up-close-and-personal feeling of the Savior's love. Notice how all the lines draw your attention and point towards Jesus' face in the center. I chose the name "My Child" because the only thing that could compare (even remotely) to Christ's compassion for us is the love of a parent for his/her child. This image is also intended to put things in perspective. Above all, we are God's children first. He allows us the privelege of experiencing parenthood for ourselves and we are entrusted to be the mothers and fathers of His children here on earth.