**Wonderful Day**

Today started out hectic but ended great. We were lucky to be invited to attend my cousin Jerome's sealing to his wife Kelsie and their little boy Hayden. Everyone invited went through an endowment session first, which they had so many family and friends come to support that we filled up a room 50+ people! Then after the session we all went straight to the sealing room for them to be sealed. It was really special to see everyone in their temple clothes. It's such a great feeling to know that we are sealed for all Eternity and will be with our families forever. I was really moved the most when they brought in their little boy to be sealed to them!! It was so special to see the three of them together...the spirit was so strong. I feel so fortunate to live so close to the temple. Scotty and I took more advantage of the situation last year-each of us went weekly by ourselves. This semester we have not done as well...It was great to spend time with family. We will surely miss everyone if/when we move!

First Swim Meet

Today was my first swim meet!! I was sooo....incredibly nervous today! But...it turned out ok. I participated in the 200 medley relay-freestyle leg and the 50 yd freestyle. I think I swam better during the relay since it was the first event and first heat! My time for the 50 freestyle was 50:52. So for any of you swimmers out there...that's not the greatest ;0) I am reminded that it just means I have ALOT of room to improve!! It's great though, my team and friends were very supportive and positive so I had a good experience! Go Titans!!

McKenna's 1st Birthday!

I attempted to make Kenna's great birthday cake...I thought it turned out cute...it could have been better but I liked it. It definitely doesn't compare to my sisters master pieces! She is the baker of the family!
Good morning!! It was cute we decorated the living room and kitchen with streamers and balloons. Talan has anticipated this day all week. When he woke up this morning and went downstairs then I heard him walking upstairs and this was the conversation:
Talan- "dang it..."
Mom- whats wrong?
T-It's Kenna's Birthday tomorrow!
M-no, it's today.

T-today? YA, lets go mom-get Kenna...happy birthday Kenna!!!

Kenna was so excited! She didn't want to even open her presents-all she would look at was the cake! Once we put the cake in front of her she went to town eating it like crazy and laughing!!!

Talan ate his cupcake and wanted more...so he started to grab for Kenna's cake and she gave him 'THE LOOK"

Yummy!
She ate more than I could imagine-we were curious to see how she would feel late ;) Well as she was winding down she started to scratch at the inside of her left arm were she tends to have eczema...so I was thinking since it was covered in frosting maybe it was irritating her skin so I wiped it down then started to notice she was getting hives on her wrists as well! So-we decided to end the festivities of eating cake and gave her some benadryl and a good bath! It did the trick. By the time she was done bathing her arms looked alot better...this poor girls skin is so sensitive! We had a great day celebrating McKenna and can't believe how fast her first year went! We love you Kenna cakes!

Mississippi Caviar

So here is my first recipe! I received this from my Uncle Don who cut it out of his local paper in Rupert! And-we LOVE it!! It's perfect as salsa for chips or side to chicken, beef or eggs.

1 (15oz) can black-eye peas, drained
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
1 (15 oz) can whole kernal corn, drained
2 lg tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 med onion, diced
1 med green bell pepper, diced
3 TB minced garlic (about 8 cloves)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 (7oz) package dry Italian dressing mix (such as Good Seasons)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
Combine first 11 ingredients (peas through seasoning) in a large bowl. Stir well.
Combine dressing mix, oil and vinegar. Pour over pea mixture. Stir well. Chill at least 2 hrs. Serve with tortilla chips. Makes about 8 cups.
ENJOY!
(1/2 cup=130 calories, 7g fat, 4g protein, 14g carbs, 3g fiber)

I Survived!!!

Today was my first swim practice...yep I joined the BYU-I swim team! Crazy I know!!! Heidi has been great over the past few months teaching me how to swim-and I think I have came along way! Well a couple months ago she brought up joining the team and honestly I thought it was totally out of my league. We talked about it off and on and had came to a decision that we weren't going to try out and just continue to meet together each week and swim. Well back and forth, back and forth-yes, no, yes, no-here we both are-team Titans!! I really wasn't sure what to expect and kept asking Heidi several questions. The 'unknowns' are what make me the most nervous! So I went-and I survived!! I didn't make all the times but I just kept telling myself "just keep swimming, swimming, swimming..." ;) (off of Nemo-just in case you weren't sure) I completed about 2000 yds which is more than I have ever swam at one time! I'll keep you posted how it all continues! Keep me in your prayers that I don't drown!!

I thought I'd share...

So I am going to use this blog of mine basically as my journal. I read on someones about 2 months ago that her blog is solely her journal...I've thought more about it and really like the idea-it's always been really hard for me to keep a consistent written journal and I tend to post about my family which is what would be in my journal. So you may see more narratives-feel free to skip over if I bore you ;0) BUT...I love going to peoples blogs that share talents, crafts, music, but especially recipes....so I thought I would try and share my favorite recipes and then my blog could maybe be useful or helpful for you! Over the past few months I have cooked more than I have over the past 8 1/2 years of marriage! Thanks to family and friends who have taught me!! Believe it or not...I actually really like to cook now!! My brother would be oh-so proud! One of my good friends and I have been sharing our creations together which has been alot of fun to add some good recipes to the collection! One of our favorites to experiment lately with is quinoa. Scotty has never really cared for rice but he loves quinoa and its so, so, good for you!

Talan's First Talk!

Our little boy is growing up!! He went to his first day in Primary 3 weeks ago as a Sunbeam and he loves it! Well today he gave his first talk! He held up a picture of Jesus with 4 children and he repeated what I read on the back of the picture about how Jesus loves all people and wants his children to be happy. He did such a good job, you could hardly hear him but he didn't act too shy! We love you Talan!

Little prayers!

Earlier this week we noticed McKenna folding her arms and mummbling during prayers! It's so precious. Yesterday when I was putting Talan down for nap I had finished nursing Kenna and was burping her while Talan and I were saying a little prayer and I felt McKenna push off my chest, then I looked down and she had her hands folded with her head down. Even though she didn't see anyone folding their arms for prayer just the tone of our voices she knew what was going on...sometimes I think she says 'amen' :)

West Yellowstone

For the 3-day weekend we went to West Yellowstone. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We of course decided to go Friday evening about 4pm but first we went to the temple to do sealings...so we didn't head out of town till about 7:30pm. We are well known for our last minute planning, but the trips are always so worth it! Thanks Heidi for the yummy cookies that we enjoyed on our drive..thats as far as they made it!
We went to the Discovery Wolf and Bear Center. Talan called it the 'Zoo' The Grizzly Bears were HUGE! It was fun to see them play together and look for the food the keepers hid.

Talan enjoying his cereal-w/o milk lately?!

McKenna did great! She loved being all bundled up in the backpack!

We didn't bring a sled..oops...so

Talan found a pile of snow where we were staying and slid down on his bumby! It was pretty cute.

At the Discovery Center!

I am going to try and be better!

So if you really care to see ALL of our happenings in the month of December you will have to click 'old posts' at the bottom...we will see how I do this month!

McCoy's

Papa and Talan building castles with blocks...

There was a little bit of snow at my parents and Talans first idea was to go make snow angles...he loves it!

Clean up

McKenna helping Grandma clean up the Christmas decorations! Grandmas house is always so wonderfully decorated...it felt so festive-we loved it- as well as the kids!!!

New Years Eve

For New Years Eve we followed Katie and her family to our friend Kim's for a party. It was alot of fun-we ate alot of yummy food and had some great conversation. The kids had a great time playing together-I was suprised that the kids stayed awake until the ball dropped with-out any melt downs!! They all played so well together. Talan loved the airplane...Thanks Reid. McKenzie and McKenna even went to bed in their porta cribs with all the noise!
McKenzie and McKenna having fun together!

Katie and McKenzie-

All the kids watching a movie seeing if they will fall asleep

Christmas Day

Baby Kaleb enjoying his sleep even with all the craziness.

Talan and McKenna taking a bath with their new bath toys...ya

McKenna enjoying eating while we open gifts. She wasn't all too interested. Only in the toys that Talan had. Grandma and Grandpa gave each family a Wii with Guitar Hero and Scotty has sure been enjoying playing...everynight!

Grandma J and Kenna cakes

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve everyone comes over to the Thompson's for Dinner and fun!
Bailey and McKenna enjoyed rearranging all of Grandma J tuperware!

McKenna wasn't too sure of Grandpa! For the first few days Kenna was giving everyone 'the look' which was actually quite cute.

Bailey and Talan singing and dancing to "ring around the roseys"

SNOW!!!

It was FABULOUS! Portland broke records for snow fall in the past 40 yrs!! It was great! Talan loved it especially for the first few days he constantly wanted to go sledding!

Scotty, Jessica and I enjoyed the snowfall in the hot tub, it was great! The unfortunate time happend when after one night of major snow fall the power went out for a couple hours and messed something up with the hot tub...and scotty and Grandpa couldn't get it working :( So no more hot tub for the rest of the month, which was actually pretty sad!

The first big snow fall Scotty and Talan sledding down the culda sac (sp?).

CATCHING UP

So-sorry I am so, so bad at updating 'the blog'. So over the next couple days I am going to try and catch up and then try and not only make 1-2 posts per month...we will see. The downfall I forget I cannot move around posts so you get to read from most current down-sorry or not?! I will try and be better!

Continue our journey-

So in the morning we heard that the pass to Hermiston was closed but as the day went on we decided to head out and hope it opened...we were stopped before Baker about 2 hours and time actually went by quickly. Scotty has a CB radio in the Land Rover and we had a good time listening to the truckers and letting McKenna out of her seat to stretch. We made it to my parents in Hermiston around 8pm that night and felt that it was unsafe to go through the windy Gorge till morning. We headed to Portland in the morning and this is what we saw...the roads were coated in ice! It was a long journey but the worst stretch was from Hermiston to Portland...so I missed my first day of work with Dr. Thompson but glad we made it home safely!

The Beginning!!

So this is the beginning of our journey to Oregon for Christmas. We left Rexburg on Saturday Dec 12, 2008 to head toward Logan Utah to my Uncles for my Grandma's 80th birthday. It was great to see family we don't see too often. That afternoon we headed to Sandy UT to see Katelyn and Dallins house they bought a year ago and their two pups Macy and Max...the kids were a little scared at the Yorkies at first but they soon warmed up. Thanks for letting us stay with you, it was fun! We left Sandy again in another snow storm! We went to my Uncle Don's in Rupert ID for a gourmet lunch that he made (Thanks again) and then to my Sisters in Twin Falls ID where we stayed the night! We love staying with 'Aunt Shell' Talan adores her and the girls. Jonathan and Mr T are playing so well together. Hopefully they will be close cousins.

I can help mom!

McKenna has become quite the little helper!! She loves to sort anything...she picks it up and tosses the item over her shoulder :)

Family Pictures

We had some family pictures taken. Here are a few of our favorites!

The Dentist!!!

Talan had a tooth that the enamel didn't form completely (enamelhypoplasia-for you dental junkies :) on 'T'. We had it looked at during the summer and the Dentist said he would probably be ok to wait another 6 months till he was a little older and could have a better experience....well right before Thanksgiving he started picking at the tooth after eating something and said it hurt!!! oh-no!!! He is really good about brushing his teeth and letting me help everytime but I will have to admit we are not perfect...believe it or not there are some days his teeth does not get brushed!!! I am sure this is REALLY had for a Dental Hygienist to admit-but it is true :) Anyway I look back and behold the tooth has cavitated!!! Not a good sign!!! I get him to the pediatric DDS here in town as soon as they could get him in and they couldn't get x-rays since he kept gagging so talking with the Dentist it was looking like a pulpotomy and crown-I truely wanted to cry and I think the DDS could tell-so he reassured me it wasn't due to neglect! Which I know it's not and I know the caries process but this wasn't supposed to happen to me! Well we were scheduled to come back in the next afternoon to receive treatment and Talan did great! It was funny because I got to experience what alot of my patients parents experience. When I have little kids come to see me at the office I encourage the parents to stay in the waiting room-I have learned from experience that most kids behave better when the parents don't come back so...I wasn't going to come back but I kept walking by the hall to see how he was doing, I really wanted to be there :) Well I went back to see the PA's they took before treatment and they looked great! The Doctor said we were sure lucky-even though it was cavitated it was very shallow-he was able to fill the tooth even without having to use the "sleepy juice." So to make a long story short...Mr. T did great!! And Dr. Mauseth was amazing with him!

Talan did great with the Nitrous Oxide!

My big boy!

His favorite part was the slide in the waiting room!!!