Five Years of Fabulousness!!

Five years ago on November 24, 2006 I was married and sealed to the love of my life, Mr. Rusty James Tuckett.  As I look back over the last five years I see good times, tough times, "I love you" times, and "I want to kill you" times, but mostly I see lots and lots of love and growth together as a couple.

Rusty and I have been through it all it seems like.  I think most couples would say this of their journys together.  As you all know Rusty and I have not been blessed with children yet, and this is often a difficult struggle for the both of us, but in so many ways it is a blessing.  We have been given a unique opportunity to develop our relationship and really get to know one another as a couple.  Plus, we can do pretty much whatever we want and not have to worry about babysitters :)

Beacuse of this "freedom" we have and because my hubby is AMAZING he took me to Destinations Inn, which is a hotel of themed suites.  We stayed in the Athens room.  It was WAY cool!! Here's come pics of the awesomeness!

 

The AMAZING tub that is bigger than 2 or 3 of mine at home!!

(A little scary getting in and out of though)

 

 

 

It was pretty fun!! ;) We had a WONDERFUL "getaway" only 45 miles from home, but hey we felt forever way and that's what counts!!

 

Here's to MANY more FABULOUS years to come!! :)

Oh the Random and CRAZY Happenings of September!

So lots of things transpired during the month of September. I just don't know where to begin . . . I guess I will start at . . . . The Beginning (Of course!) ;)

The month of September started out on a bit of a sad note. On Wednesday, August 31st my husband got a phone call saying that his Father was severely ill and in the hospital.  For those of you that don't the relationship between my husband and his Dad have been severed for about 3 years now, so it was a bit of a shock to receive the phone call.  The next day Rusty and Quin (the brother) went to see their Dad before he went into kidney surgery.  Luckily, the two boys were able to see their dad and my some amends.  Dennis (the dad) came out of surgery well.  The doctors drained 2 gallons of fluid off of a cist on his kidney and placed a stint in.  They were also hopeful about operating on his heart in a few days.  The next morning (Friday, September 2nd), Dennis wanted to get out of bed and so the nurse helped him into a chair.  Sometime in those ten minutes a blood clot released from his lungs, went into his weakened heart, and killed him.  My Father-in-law passed away on Friday, September 2nd around 11:00am.  Needless to say, not the best start to my month.

The middle of the month was pretty uneventful and FULL of preparations for the arrival of my mom at the end of the month.  During those crazy hours, upon hours, of cleaning my brother Mike and I decided we needed to move his things out of the spare room upstairs into the "tractor" room downstairs.  Well my basement is not completely finished and the concrete is well . . . COLD!!! So Mike asked to borrow some slippers :) This is what he got :)

Isn't he stylin' :)

So in order for Mike to move into the tractor room I had to clean the tractor room.  So I spent the day cleaning each, little, individual tractor. Oh yes, oh so much fun!! NOT! Do you think maybe it was a little dusty.

Just a wee bit dusty I think :)

Can you tell I hardly EVER go downstairs :)

So that was the middle of my CRAZY month! Now for the end where it got REALLY crazy . . . AGAIN!! :)  So my Mom came to visit and it was FABULOUS as always :)  HOWEVER, MICHAEL I guess didn't think it was eventful enough for him, so he wrecked his bronco into a small washed out raavine while off roading.  In the process he broke his elbow pretty severely and had to have surgery on it.  They put a plate and SEVEN pins in his arm and 19 staples to close him up (He had me count! What are sisters for? :).  Here is a pic of the gory goodness (Don't look if you have a weak stomach)

He looks like Frakenstein doesn't he?

So my mom, dad, and I got to spend a few days in the lovely Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center with a VERY onry, and in pain (hence the crabiness) patient. Oh joy! :)  But I did get to see my Dad for a few days. That's a bonus!! :)

Now to round out the month.  This technically happened in October, but it was all kinda smooched together and this point.  A visit from my mother would not be complete without two things:

First . . .

A trip to Stockman's Restaurant. Home of the All You Can Eat Steak!!

Yep, that's right, all you can eat of beefy goodness!!

(It's my hubby's FAV!!)

AND . . . 

SNOW!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Luckily it is all gone now and back to FALL weather.

As it SHOULD be!! :)

And that was my INSANE month of September!! Thank heavens it's now October!! :) Can't wait to see what this month brings :)

Going Private

I know this is kind of a pain for everyone, but I have decided to make my blog private.  I will change it to private on Friday, September 23rd.  So if you would still like to follow and read please send me your e-mail address so that I can send you an invite.

Send your request to: desertchick356@yahoo.com and tell me that you want an invite and I will make sure that you are on my list :)

Or you can just leave your e-mail address in a comment.  Whichever makes you feel more comfortable.

Thanks!! :)

First Ride of the Summer

Not long after Rusty and I moved to Mud Lake I had the infinite good fortune of meeting my neighbor's daughter, Maggie.  Since we have become good friends and lucky for us share an uncommonly strong LOVE of horses.  Even luckier is the fact that Maggie and her husband own two FABULOUS horses.  These are some pictures from the first ride we have taken together this summer.  Maggie's niece and nephew had been watching some old Roy Rogers movies that morning so they were pretty stoked to go on a ride with us.  It was too fun having them aboard and seeing how much they enjoyed it!!

Here is Trixie and I

I just LOVE her little grin in this one!!

And I am happy to report that she held onto those flip flops

the WHOLE ride and didn't loose them even ONCE!! :)

Here is Maggie and Mack on good ole trusty Dodger

(Isn't that a cool name for a horse?)

Here is another one of Trixie and I, but a better shot of the horse :)

This is Maggie's "new" horse who doesn't have a name yet.

They are thinking of calling him "Trigger" what do you guys think?

Any brilliant horse name ideas?

Here is the four of us all geared up and ready to go!!

It was a BLAST!!!! I CAN'T WAIT for more rides to come this summer!!!! :)

My Miracle Pup!!

About two and a half weeks ago, on a Tuesday evening I was outside enjoying the weather with my two dogs, Dozer (St. Bernard), and Shasta (Border Collie).  I was raking up some leaves and waved at my neighbor who drove by, when all of a sudden I heard the most gut wrenching sound a dog could possibly make!

My poor little Shasta was hit by my neighbor's pickup!! I was DEVESTATED!!! We both thought that for sure she was not going to make it through the night.  However, she DID!!!! Not only did she make it through the night, but when I took her to the vet we found out that her injuries were MINIMAL!!!

My miracle pup got away with only a scratch on her head and a dislocated elbow!! AMAZING!!!!!! Because of this she has to be in a splint for two weeks.

Look at those eyes!!! How can you not LOVE her?!

Here is a better shot of what I call her "Purple Peg Leg" :)

This is Shasta just a few days ago.  I changed her splint and she now has a "Pink Peg Leg."

The plan was to leave her splint on for another week, but Shasta had other ideas. The other morning Rusty comes into the house and I see him holding Shasta who had torn her splint off AND chewed her leash so that it broke!!!! So, not only was she splint free, but also not tied up anymore.  Gotta love puppies!! ;)

Shasta is pretty much back to normal and just as bouncy and wiggly as EVER!!! I just LOVE my pup and I'm SO GLAD she's ok!!!!! :)

Fun With The Laurels!!

A few weekends ago, Rusty and I, along with my WONDERFUL advisor, Maggie, took the Laurels to Utah for the day.  It was a BLAST, despite the less than perfect weather.

This was our first stop of the day!

The Jordan River Temple to do Baptisms for the dead.

Left to right: Alli, Cass, Me, Sadie, Riley, Kayla, and Maggie (Advisor)

Next stop . . . THE ZOO!!!!

This is a male Orangatan (spelling?).  He was pretty fun to watch. 

Just a goofy bugger :)

This is his daughter (I forget her name), but she was just ADORABLE and only about 6 months old.

Here is the male Ape. Doesn't he look so proud? Nice profile eh?

He was cool to watch because he got mad or something and ran up and pounded the glass with his fist!! Cool, right?!

This is the female ape and she kept picking up these burlap sacks and throwing them on her back,

which would then proceed to slide off of her back.  It was funny!! :)

I forget what these monkeys are called, but there was a little baby one that

would swing from the others' tails and it was pretty funny.  He was cute!!

Keeping with the monkey theme, aren't these the cutests apes EVER?!! :)

(I love that Sadie's eyes are crossed!)

This was a cool bird I saw that was in with these MASSIVE turtles!

Look at the beak on that thing!! :)

Here is one of the MASSIVE turtles I was talking about and this picture really

doesn't do him much justice because he is truly ENORMOUS!!

Ok, so believe it or not this is a porcupine!! Look at his tail!!

Call me crazy, but I think this gur is just so dang cute!!

So this "guy" giraffe was seperated from all the other giraffes (which were ALL girls).

Why you might ask? Well . . . because its Spring and "Love is in the air"

(Nod, Nod, Wink, Wink)  (;

And here are the might TIGERS!!! Grrrrrrrrrrr!! :)

They were SO LAZY!!! But still cool to see :)

And what is this rare species?

Why it's the Alli-o-saurus being hatched by the Sadie-o-saurus :)

(He he aren't I so clever?) (;

Herre a couple of Prairie Dogs. I think they are SO CUTE!!

But these Prairie Dogs are even CUTER!! :)

Our last stop at the zoo? . . .

THE GIFT SHOP!!!!!

Having WAY to much fun!! :)

This was such a GREAT trip and I have to say that I am married to the BEST man on the planet!! He was the ONLY guy with SEVEN GIRLS!!!!!! He was such a good sport and I really appreciated and loved having him there!!

Thanks girls for a WONDERFUL trip!!! I hope they had as much fun as I did!!! :)

A Budding Relationship

As a treat to myself I bought some fabric to make a handbag.  Luckily, my mother-in-law (Mama T as I affectionately call her) is an EXCELLENT seamstress and a saint!! So she agreed to take on the LARGE task of helping ME sew my bag together.  And . . . I DID IT!!! I think the sewing machine and I could really be starting a good thing here :)  Here are some pics of the fabulousness!

Isn't this fabric fun and cute?!!

Here is an up close pic of the front showing all of the cute little details!!

This is the back of the bag.

The inside linning.  I even put a pocket in there!!

Every time I look at this bag it just makes me smile!! It's just so happy!! :)

Water, Water, Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink :)

Every year over General Conference weekend Rusty's family likes to take a drive and listen to conference over the radio.  This year was no exception.

For this year's excursion we went to a city called Twin Falls, Idaho.  Why you might ask.  Becuase this town is home to some of the most SPECTACULAR water falls I have EVER seen!!! Take a look at some of Heavenly Father's WONDERFUL water creations!! :)

This is the MARVELOUS Shoshone Falls!! It was pushing SO much water

that day and look at that cool rainbow!! And the lonesome birdie in the middle :)

Another shot of the falls.  It was really awe inspiring to see such a sight!

Rusty and I in front of the Falls.  He was a little reluctant to have his picture taken.

What?! My husband camera shy?!! ;) he he

This is another cool spot we found called "Thousand Springs."

It's called that because all of these tiny little springs just randomly pop out

of the rocks.  There are also some bigger ones that create big waterfalls and feed into a

river full of the most clear water EVER!!

Another shot of Thousand Springs

And . . . a random pic of my ADORABLE puppy Shasta who is getting SO BIG!!!!

I saw this pic and HAD to include it.

I get a little distracted . . . SQUIRREL!!! (For you Bobi!)

I Feel Her Pain

My sister miscarried her baby.

My heart BREAKS for her!

I LOVE you lil' sis!!

We Are Now Friends :)

The sewing machine and I . . . are now FRIENDS!!!!! 

I have done VERY LITTLE sewing in my life and that is mostly due to the fact that the sewing machine and I have NOT been friends!! IF you want to hear a sewing machine cry when someone sits down to it and snarl while in use, come to my house!! If an "oops" can be made in sewing I can make it!

However, this is all starting to change.  Last fall my mom gave me a crash course in sewing when she was up here and I am slowly getting the hang of it.  This last week I made a couple of carseat covers (way cute pieces of fabric that attach to infant carseat handles and go over the whole carseat to help keep your little one sheltered from cold, sun, rain, snow, etc). 

I made one for a friend who is having a baby boy and one who is having a baby girl.  I am REALLY HAPPY with how they turned out!! Over the course of this project I have mastered threading my machine and refilling and re-threading the bobon.  I am still trying to master the sewing a straight sem :) It's a work in progress, but with no MAJOR screw ups the sewing machine and I are now friends and I hope that this is the start of a beautiful relationship. :)  Here are some pics of my projects.

Here is the boy cover. Aren't those jungle animals cute?!

Here is a close up of the fun buttons I put on the straps that attach to the carseat handle. T

he buttons are just for decoration.  The straps attach with velcro.

Here is an up close pic of this CUTE fabric.  Look I even put on some rick rack!!

This is the girl cover I did.  Don't you just LOVE those flowers?! I DO!! :)

Here's a close up of those dang cute buttons!!

I LOVE the polka dots with the flowers!! I also did some cute rick rack on this one.

I am beginning to be a HUGE fan of rick rack!! So cute!! :)

 

Why Wasn't It Me?

Yesterday I found out some exciting news.  At least it will be exciting.  Right now, I have mixed feelings. 

My younger sister (18 yrs. old) just found out she is pregnant with her boyfriends baby.

I have smiled, I have been excited, and I have cried . . . a lot.

Last night I recieved a phone call from my mom and after some chit chat she announced the real reason for the call.  To tell me that my younger sister is pregnant.  It hit me like a ton of bricks!! I have mostly been in a state of shock and disbelief.  I WANT to be happy for my sister and I AM happy for her.  I know that she will make a great mother.  She is the sweetest girl I know and is so much fun! She has so much potential for good and is already proving to be willing to sacrifice for her unborn baby.  But I can't help but acutely feel the loss of my own baby and my lack of fertility. 

I cried to my husband last night and said, "It's NOT FAIR!! When is it going to be OUR turn?! We have lived our lives righteously!  We are good people!  Why not US?!"  I know that it does me no good to ask that question of "WHY?" but I can't help but look to the heavens and wonder what the bigger picture is here. 

I am excited to start making car seat covers, name blocks, and other cute crafty things for my sister to use with her new little one, but I just can't get over the sting of it right now. 

All of these senarios and questions keep running through my head:
~ If I hadn't miscarried I would have an almost 7 month old baby right now.
~ What am I doing wrong that I can't get pregnant?
~ What is it the Lord wants me to learn?
~ Haven't I learned the lesson yet?
~ How do I keep going through all of this?
~ When will the pain stop?
~ When will the stinging feeling I feel when someone announces their pregnancy go away?
~ Why can't I just be happy for them?
~ When is it going to be MY turn?

I know a lot of these questions are irrational and I know all of the perfectly logical and spiritual answers to each one and I know which ones have no answer. 

I don't write this to get pitty or to even get answers because I know there aren't any.  I write this for me.  I hurt right now and this is the only way I know of to make me feel better.  To send my thoughts and feelings out into the cosmos. 

I know that the Lord loves me, has blessed me (TREMENDOUSLY!!), has a plan for me, and that my turn is coming.  Tomorrow is a new day I will take this one day at a time.  I WILL get through this.  The sun WILL rise and life WILL go on. 

But for right now . . .

IT'S

NOT

FAIR!

Fun Family Weekend

This last weekend was a lot of fun and full of family.  On Saturday most of my in-laws ended up at my house hanging out while Rusty and his brother Quin changed the oil in our vehicles.  Luckily it has warmed up here in the Arctic and the SNOW IS MELTING!!!!! Here are some pictures of my cutie-patotie nephews playing in the mud/ice puddle in my driveway :)

Nothing better than a mud puddle and a stick! :)

We were supposed to be watching this little guy for my sis-in-law while she went on a date with her hubby. Aren't we great?! he he ;)

Later that weekend we took a road trip up to West Yellowstone for the Snowmoblie Expo.  We only caught a few races because they were pretty much done for the weekend, but here are a few pics of the awesome jumps I caught on film!! :)

Pretty sweet huh?!! :)

On the way to and from West Yellowstone Rusty's nephews took turns riding with "Uncle" (Rusty) and I, along with my mom-in-law and another sis-in-law in our car.  As a result I was able to catch the cutest moment on film.  This little guy just passed out on the way home!

Kids really can sleep ANYWHERE can't they?! Too cute! :)

I hope everyone else had a GREAT weekend too!! Because I sure did! ;)