Six Things That Make Me Happy!

1) My family! For a long time I underestimated just spending a quiet day hanging out with my family, now I realize there is nothing better! I also enjoy when all of my family gets together, whether it is for a BBQ or a semi-competitive game of cards!

2) Singing: From the shower, to the car, to church, and choir, there is not much that can cheer me up more than singing! Also, it seems I have passed my love of singing in the car to Layla, who I LOVE to hear belting out songs right along with me on the drives to Burley! :o)

3)SUMMER! I am growing extremely tired of winter and can't wait for the days of sunshine and flip flops! I love going swimming (did I hear something about another pool and mom's?), barbequing, and sitting on my swing, enjoying the summer evenings. Will it ever be here again!?!

4) Great Friends: I am so happy that Rob and I have such a wonderful network of great friends that we can both hang out with, and rely on for help. Thanks to all of my wonderfully reliable and awesome friends!!

5) Gunner! I suppose I should have included him in the family, or even the friends part, but he is just so great, I had to make a category just for him :o) I never thought that I would love my dog, but what do you know, I do! Even though he sheds all over my favorite blanket, I still love getting a big hug from him!

6) Bowling: it's just a great way to relieve stress at the end of the week, and have fun with friends and family. I wish I could go more!

Well I want to thank Julie for taggin me, and in turn, I think I will tag LYNDSEY!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Back to Work I Go!

The job hunt is over, HURRAY! Earlier today I got the call that I have been waiting for all week, someone wants to hire me! I am so happy(and relieved) to have found such a great job, and I start on Monday!

P.S. Thanks to all of our friends and family who have been so encouraging during these last few weeks!

Help Wanted!

As many of you know, I was laid off from my job about two and a half weeks ago. Unfortunately I have not been hired yet, but am hoping to hear back from a couple of places that I interviewed with last week. In the mean time, I have been at home with Layla, and I have to admit, it's starting to take it's toll. Don't get me wrong, I love being home with her, but we are not used to spending so much time together. I think she misses her daycare as much as I do! I can't really blame her for acting out lately, I'd do the same thing if I had to spend that much time with me!Let's hope for both our sakes that I find something soon!

Fun, Friends, and a Pepto Pink Jesus?

With the Lord as our bowling buddy, Rob and I, along with several of our friends took to the bowling lanes on Friday night for an evening filled with friends, fun and lots of laughter!

Unfortunately for Wendy, no amount of kissing up to the Good Lord Himself could help her bowling score!

The Men:

Phil, Rob, Trent, and Steve

The Women:

Wendy, DeAun, Kathy, and Me!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

In an attempt to be more environmentally friendly, I am forgoing the usual Christmas card this year. I know this is a risky move seeing as how not everyone is as acceptant of technology as others. However, I hope that everyone gets the message either way:

Merry Christmas from

The Blackston Family

Christmas Lights

Tonight we took a drive to see the Christmas lights in the south hills, just like we try to do every year. My parents and my sister's family came, so we had a lot of fun.

Layla was so excited to get going, she could hardly contain herself!

Rosanna, Ally, Layla, and Jerrica, being cute and having fun!

The night ended with Jerrica accidentally feeding her candy cane to the camel, we tried to get it back, but that camel was way too fast for us! He ate about half of it, I hope he doesn't get sick!

Christmastime is Here...

Well, the Thanksgiving feast is over *tear* and Christmastime is upon us, although it doesn't really feel like it when there is no snow and sunny weather! Today we went out and found a live Christmas tree with our friends Leon, Erica, Lucas, Hanah, Steve, and Connie. Although I am opposed to almost everything that occurs outdoors, I actually had a lot of fun. I convinced Rob that it was important that we bring the four-wheeler, so that I could go ahead and scout out beautiful trees. Mostly I just wanted to ride around and not have to walk as much! It turns out that it came in handy when it came time to haul the trees to the trucks! Unfortunately, I forgot the camera and do not have any pictures to share, but I will take one of the tree when we get it all decorated :o) All in all, it was a fun time with family and friends, and what can I say, we might have to do it again!

Halloween Cuties!

Ahhh Halloween, the only day of the year when it's acceptable to dress your children up in scary costumes, parade them around town until all hours of the night, and feed them sugary treats until they pass out! Does it get any better than that? I am also thoroughly convinced that Halloween is the brainchild of greedy dentists, who we will inevitable be visiting in less than a month for our cavity infested teeth. All that being said, don't my kids look adorable in their costumes? :o) Rosanna and Layla had a blast running around the neighborhood with their cousins Ally and Jerrica, and were able to collect quite an impressive amount of candy!

I've had enough!!

As most of you know, I have been sick for, well, WAY TOO LONG! I'm sick of being sick! I miss singing :o( and talking :o( Yes, you guessed it, this post is nothing more than a long complain-fest about my current state of sickness. I know my coughing and raspy voice is annoying, but being sick for this long is even more annoying! Well, I'm off to take my nightly dose of Nyquil that drops me into a comatose-like state for 4-6 hours, at which point I will wake up in a fit of coughing. Poor me :o(

Rosanna's School Picture

I can't believe that my baby is a first grader!! This is even more evident when she brings home her school picture and I compare it to last year's. I thought she looked so grown up then, but now she looks and acts so much more grown up! She is reading, writing, and doing math problems like you wouldn't believe. I even catch her up on her top bunk reading by herself, how cute is that? BTW She would freak if she knew this entire blog post was about her, she doesn't like when I tell people all of the wonderful things I think about her!

Technologically Challenged...

I think this whole blog thing has got me realizing how little I actually use my computer to its full potential. The other night, while I was supposed to be studying for a test, I made my first ever video slide show. I wanted to put a few pictures together for my niece Autumn, who is moving back to Montana on Thursday. Of course I got carried away and four hours later I had a one minute video! Follow this link if you want to check it out!

http://www.83318.com/Uploads/Blackston/The-Blackston-Girls.wmv

I know that I will never reach the greatness of those like my father and sister, but hey, I will have fun trying! :o)

I love the weekend!

So today I finally had some time to chill out, literally! I froze my buns off while sweeping the snow off of my car so I could go to work! Luckily I was only there for a couple of hours and then I got to come home and take a nap. There is nothing better than a snowy day when the whole family can hang out in their pj's. The girls wanted to play in the snow, but Layla doesn't have any snowpants yet. I didn't think she would need them so soon! So if anyone else is a thrift store addict like myself, please be on the lookout for some 4T snowpants so the next time it snows like this, we are prepared!

Our New Blog!

Ok, ok, I have to admit that I was feeling left out and like we were the only people left on earth without a blog. So I have held out as long as I possibly could, but have finally broken down and taken the plunge into bloghood. This first post is going to be a little short because it is now midnight and I am seeing double from a long night of homework in front of the computer. I will try to post again soon and am making a personal goal to keep this as updated as possible. So thanks for visiting and keep checking for more posts!