The Balls Family - est. 2005

Update!!!!!!!!

2011-03-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

So here is my usual 4 month update since I am so good at blogging!

Update #1 We are all settled in our new home in Clarkston and we love it!! It has been so fun to be able to have our own home and be able to do whatever we want. The girls love it and have so much fun being able to go play in the yard with the dogs or the kittens. I just brought my horses out on Saturday and it is so fun to be doing dishes and look out the window and see my horses! I can't wait for warmer weather so I can start doing yard work! My sister Niki threw me a house warming party a few weeks ago and it was so much fun. I got some way cute stuff for my house and my awesome mom got my kids a swing set (that we are still in the process of setting up!) and the kids can't wait! Mike got a promotion at work which we are so grateful for. He is still going to school part time and stays very busy.

Update #2 My baby turned 2! I can't believe Lindsey is 2 years old. She has been such a joy! She has more personality than anyone I know! She always keeps me on my toes. She is such an adventurer and is fearless. She is always getting into trouble. Mike's family has nicknamed her the "White Tornado!" She is so funny, she always has everyone laughing. We love that little girl so much and are so greatful to have her in our lives!

Update #3 Last week we got to go on a fun family road trip to visit Erica in California! We had so much fun and my girls were such troopers on the 11 hour ride! Taylie and her cousin Kirsten are only 3 months apart and are truly best friends. We had so much fun and I even got Mike on a dirt bike, it was so funny! We had such a good time.

Perkes Christmas Party

2010-12-19T14:05:00.001-08:00

So yesterday we were able to have our Annual Perkes Christmas Party. It was alot of fun and Kids had fun playing with there cousins. They even had Santa come and even though Lindsey is not a fan, Taylie was excited to be able to sit on his lap and tell him what she wants for Christmas. It was fun to spend time with a great family that we dearly love! Every Year the kids get new P.J's, they are always so cute!
There are several other posts, so keep on reading!!

Taylie and her P.J's

Lindsey and her P.J's

I love this picture of Lindsey and Grandma Balls :) Our girls are so lucky to have there Grandma Balls. She is the sweetest person I know and is always there for her kids. We love you mom and are so greatful for all you do for us!

Lindsey being Lindsey :)

Lindsey is not a fan!!

Trying to get away!

Taylie telling Santa what she wants for Christmas!

Kids and animals

2010-12-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

Growing up in Wyoming, I have developed a deep love for animals. We always had our dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, and sometimes pigs and lambs to keep us busy. I was rarely ever found in the house during the summer and loved it!! I guess I consider it one of my talents to be able to read animals pretty well and makes me enjoy them even more. Mike's family on the other hand it quite the opposite. Most of his family are not big fan's of animals and thinks they are all disgusting (I guess we can't all be perfect!) Luckily, Mike is the black sheep of the family and loves animals as well. Luckily I am able to pass my love for animals on to my girls!! They both love to be outside with there animals and love to go to Niki and Jake's house to play outside with there cousins and there animals. Lindsey literally torturers the poor cats, but they are stupid enough to come back for more :) Put either one of my girls on a horse and you will have a hard time getting them off. We were able to get Taylie a new puppy since our new house has a lot more room. His name is Bodie and he is a chocolate lab/Australian Shepard mix and is the funnest dog. The kids love him.

Taylie and Bodie are so cute together, they can play forever, and he is so good with the kids.

The White Tornado Strikes Again!!

2010-12-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

So Lindsey has officially been named the White Tornado by Mike's family. She is constantly going and looking for the things that she is NOT suppose to get into so that she CAN get into them. She keeps everyone on there toes and is always climbing on everything scaring Grandpa Balls constantly. She is a little dare devil and not scared of anything (except Halloween costumes and Santa Clause!) A couple weeks ago we were in the middle of packing things getting ready to move to our new house. While Mike and I were in our bedroom packing boxes, Lindsey was having her own little fun in the living room. Mind you, this is a PERMANANT MARKER!!!

She was pretty proud of herself.

I was not a happy camper when I walked into the living room and saw my couch. I am just glad it was the old couch and not our new couch. We just flipped the cushions over :)
And of course we ask Taylie why she didnt come get us and she says "I was busy watching my movie!" Kids, you gotta love them!

Taylie at Preschool!!

2010-12-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

SO I have been way behind as usual on blogging, so there will be a few posts to catch up. Taylie started preschool and she loves it!! She has alot of friends and has been able to do alot of fun stuff. Her teacher Ms. Nicole is awesome and Taylie loves her. Here are a few pictures of Taylie at the pumpkin walk with her class.

Taylie's first day of Preschool. She was so excited!!

Taylie and Lindsey had fun on the slide :)

I loved this picture of Taylie, she looks so grown up :)

The kids playing on the play ground and there teacher Ms. Nicole

Taylie and her friend Alyssa. Taylie and Alyssa are best buds. Taylie got to go to her first birthday party at the fun park on Friday for Alyssa and she had so much fun!!

Taylie's class at the pumkin walk :)

Our New Little House!!

2010-10-31T13:13:00.000-07:00

So after Months of looking for a house and a couple different offers (That didn't work out) we found our perfect home! Its in Clarkston (the boonies!) but we can have our horses and dogs, and our kids can pretty much do whatever they want! It is a darling little house with a fun fire pit in the back yard. Its surrounded by beautiful trees and has a lot of room outside to play. Our closing date is set of November 30th and we can't wait!!

New Pictures!!!!

2010-09-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures we just had done of the girls. We think they are pretty darn cute.

Update!!

2010-05-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

SO once again we have been slacking on the blogging thing. We have been pretty busy the past few months. On May 1st we had a fundraiser for Mel. I can not believe how many people showed up. There were so many awesome things donated. It was a great day!

On Saturday, Taylie had her first horseshow! She was so excited. We went and bought her a new shirt, some new boots, and a new cowgirl hat. She looked so Cute! It was Health Days in Smithfield so we started the day out with a parade, and then headed over to the show. Taylie rode Krisann's horse Peppy, Jessie rode my horse Sierra, and Preston rode Cowboy! Then Niki, Krisann, and I rode in the adult classes and had a great time! Taylie was so cute, she would smile at the Judge and wave at Grandpa Balls and Mel. Basically I just lead her around the arena and then we all line up and the kids back there horse up for the judge. The Judge asked Taylie what her horses name was and Taylie got shy but said "Peppy" and then she asked if she new how to back him up and Taylie shook her head yes and then pulled on the reins as hard as she could, it was so funny! With a little help from mom, she got Peppy to back up! Then they say the placings and of course all the kids got first! She got a cute medal with a horse on it and some Taffy. We all got a little sunburned but it was a fun day!

The Best Babysitter!

2010-03-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

Today was such a nice day that we decided to let the girls go ride horses for a little while. Jordan and Jessie came with us. It is so nice because it takes about 5 min to get horses saddled and then we just put them on the horse walker and throw kids on and they will ride forever! All we have to do is have a seat and enjoy the sun :) The horses are great and always behave for the kids. Taylie loves the horses and is fearless. Lindsey on the otherhand, she freaks out in the shopping cart at walk mart, so needless to say she was a little scared!

Lindsey's First Birthday!!

2010-03-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

So my baby girl is going to be 1 tomorrow (March 6th) but we decided to have her birthday party a day early. Taylie was so excited to have a birthday party for Lindsey! She was telling Mike and I where we had to hang balloons and what decorations she wanted to put up, she is going to be quite the party planner when she gets older! We had Niki and Jake with there 7 kids (minus Bryce), Kaden and Grandpa Balls, Cami and her family, and aunt Krisann over for cake and ice cream. Grandma Balls and Aunt Mel watched from the computer (skype). Mike and I were thinking that Lindsey was going to dive right in to her cake and make a huge mess, but she took after her sister in that department and ate like a lady (or maybe she was just scared of the cake) but we had to feed it to her with a spoon but she loved it. Afterwards we opened presents, even though Taylie did 90% of the opening! Cami's family got her a really cute baby and a toy. Taylie got her a glow in the dark sea horse that plays music, and mom and dad got her a little table that has a piano, book, and other fun thing on it. She is funny, she will snuggle up to her baby and hold it over her shoulder and will dance like crazy to the music on her table. She has such a fun personality!

Just a few things we Love about our Lindsey
She is the happiest baby, she rarely ever cries and if she dose its for a good reason. She always wakes up with a smile on her face.
She is so snuggly. She loves to be held and snuggles right in to your shoulder. She is never shy with anyone.
She has her favorite blanket that she loves to snuggle with, when she gets tired she will crawl around the house until she finds it.
She knows how to hold her own and will beat up Taylie if she's had enough of big sister.
She can walk but chooses not to because she is a big chicken! She knows she can get there faster by crawling.
She has always slept through the night. From day one when she gets tired and ready for bed all we have to do is put her in her swing or lay her in her crib with her favorite blanket and she will go right to sleep without a fuss. And she sleeps in (which is nice for mom!)
When she knows she isn't supposed to do something, she will look at you and shake her head no.....then do it anyway.
And finally, she can cut some rug. (Killer dance moves)

WE LOVE YOU LINDSEY!!!

Where To Find Lindsey!!

2010-02-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

Lindsey is such an active child, she is always getting into things she isn't suppose to. She is so close to walking, she has actually taken two steps on her own. She is obsessed with the bath tub, I have to keep the bathroom door closed all the time or she gets into everything. I have found her in the tub, in the bathroom closet, on Taylie's bed, in the entertainment center, in the kitchen drawers, in the microwave stand, and under the bed! She is so funny because most of the time she gets in these crazy places and can't get herself out so she will start crying and I have to look all over the house trying to find her. She is such a fun baby and we have really enjoyed her fun personality! Here are just a few pictures of Where To Find Lindsey!

Christmas (Really Late)!!

2010-01-12T12:55:00.001-08:00

So I am a little behind on my blogs! We had a great Christmas. On Christmas Eve we went sledding on the little hill behind our house with Taylie, she had a great time and wasn't even scared this year!

We then took the girls to see Santa Clause, and Taylie was freaked out trying to hide behind my legs so that Mike couldn't grab her. After Lindsey got a picture with out crying then Taylie went and sat by him but would not sit on his lap. As you can see she was not thrilled about this!

In the afternoon, Jake, Niki, and I went for a horse ride. Afterwards Mike, the girls, and I went to Jake and Niki's house for a nice dinner and watched a scary movie! We had a great time. We got home and tried to get Taylie in bed so "Santa" could come. She was very excited and it took us a while to get her to go to sleep :)

Christmas morning, Mike and I were so excited to get the girls up and open presents. Lindsey woke right up in her usual great mood! She is such a sweetheart! Taylie on the other hand, we woke her up and told her "Taylie, santa came. Come see!" And she rolled back over in bed and said "no he didn't, not yet" and she goes back to sleep. So we finally get her awake and she was excited once we got her opening presents (eventhough in half the pictures she looks really grouchy!)

We had a great Christmas! It was so fun to just have our little family and be able to start new traditions.

An Offical Snorkling Cowboy!!

2009-12-20T15:24:00.001-08:00

Third Person Perspective:
As most of you know, Mike had never ridden a horse until we met, now he comes and rides with me on a regular basis. Today we decided to go for a little ride and Mike got bucked off! He was riding our colt Sierra, and I guess Sierra was just having an off day but took off running with Mike (Mike hates to run!) so Mike was doing his best to stay in the saddle when Sierra started bucking. Mike did GREAT! He stayed on for a few bucks and then decided he was done and wanted off so he let go of the reins and as he goes flying through the air, HE PLUGS HIS NOSE!! It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Mike is a water skier and is used to bailing from a tube into water, not a horse into snow. So as he plugs his nose and goes flying through the air he very gracefully lands on his feet in the snow! Jake and I were laughing so hard we both about fell of our horses. He can now say he is an offical cowboy since he has been bucked off a horse :)

First Person Perspective:
I have never been bucked off a horse. This morning as we were driving in the car to the horses Steph reminded me of this fact. So, I would like to thank Steph for ginks-ing me. :) We got the horses saddled and ready to go. I noticed a problem I had with Sierra's saddle and fixed it. I was confident that there was nothing that would go wrong.... We all took off on our horses to the field across the street. As we went into the snow Sierra was acting really weird. He would turn even when I didn't ask him too. He would even turn away from the other horses which is unlike him. Then I had us go right behind Steph and Jake, so Sierra would be following someone. He was walking really weird at this point. He was going as slow as a turtle and kept turning left and right when I never told him to. Next thing I know I feel Sierra just take off. I really really do not like to run on horses, not only is there minimal room in front of you on the saddle, but there are a lot of things that could go wrong. I scrame "$*#&!!!!" Jake and Steph told me to turn him in a circle, but I had a hard time doing that as one hand was fastened to the horn of the saddle. After about 30 yards I felt like we had the hang of things and I was just going to get him to settle down. Then he turned the other direction and started to buck. I could feel my feet start to come out of the stirrups. I don't know if I was bucked off or if I bailed, but I had the feeling you get when you know that the tube you are on behind a boat is going to tip over. I can't go under water without plugging my nose. So, as I came off of Sierra I unknowingly plugged my nose. I flew to the ground and landed on my feet. I thought to myself "Why are you plugging your nose? I hope no one saw that." I turned and watched Sierra run clear back to the barn. I learned very quickly that Steph and Jake saw my plug before the plunge. If only we caught it on tape. :) Steph rode Sierra after that and he did just fine.

Update

2009-12-11T23:51:00.000-08:00

So poor Lindsey has not been feeling well for the past couple of weeks. It started out about a week and a half ago with an ear infection, so we put her on antibiotics. Then between now and last Friday she has gotten 3 teeth with one more trying to come in. She has been such a sweetheart through it all. She is really clingy during the day and just wants me to hold her but she has still been sleeping all night (which is very appreciated!) It has been a crazy week and my poor kids are kind of getting ignored. We basically had to get Mel moved out and us moved in with in two weeks so I have been busy. Mike and I wanted to say thanks to all those who have come and helped! We have a great family and ward and appreciate all the help. Mike finished another semester of school (GOOD JOB SWEETY!!)I am so amazed at how he dose it all. Hopefully once we finish with the moving we can have a little break from all this craziness!

The Never Ending Trials!

2009-11-19T00:23:00.001-08:00

So this past weekend was not a good weekend. To start the weekend off, on Friday the 13th my sister-in-law, Melanie, was diagnosed with Leukemia. She has been sick for about 4 weeks with what they told her was the H1N1 Influenza. She just wasn't getting better and after a trip to Logan Regional Emergency Room she was transferred to the LDS hospital by ambulance. It was there that they decided she had leukemia. At first they thought it was Burkitt's or ALL, but after getting all the pathology tests back, they said it was BAL (Biphenotypic Acute Leukemia) which is a combination on ALL and AML Leukemia. There is a 70% she will go into remission and a 40-50% chance that she will stay in remission. She has started Chemo and as soon as she goes into remission she will have to get a stem cell transplant. So please keep her in your prayers, we have a long road ahead of us but Mel is a fighter.
Friday my girls and I headed to Heber Ut with Krisann to watch my brother Aaron ride in the RMPRA Finals, he did awesome Friday night and tied for 3rd place. We decided to drive to Wyoming to stay at my parents house and then we would drive back to Heber Saturday since it was a two day finale. Saturday my brother-in-law Jake called to tell me that he and Niki had taken my horse for a ride and Niki got bucked off, dislocating her shoulder and breaking her scapula. She is working on her masters degree, and was suppose to be flying to Alabama on Monday for her finals but couldn't go and now has to take an extra year of school because she missed it.
And finally Saturday was snowing off and on all day in Wyoming and when it came time for us to leave for the rodeo the interstate was closed due to several accidents and weather, so we didn't make it to Aaron's rodeo and I couldn't go home until Sunday afternoon. So it was not the greatest weekend in the whole world but life goes on. On a more positive note, my sister Erica will be here this weekend and I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving. I will have 7 out of 8 siblings home for Thanksgiving!!

Halloween!!

2009-11-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

Ok, so my third post of the day is Halloween!! We had so much fun this year and it was so nice outside. We couldn't have asked for better weather. In the morning, my sister Niki, her husband Jake, and her two girls Jordan and Jessie, and then Mike and myself decided we wanted to go for a horse ride. So we loaded up her two older horses and my colt Sierra and headed out to Wellsville to pick up their colt Silly. After getting her loaded we headed up Sardine Canyon to Rattle Snake trail. We were a little nervous because Siera and Silly are both really young and inexperienced and its kind of a harry trail, but they did great!! Jordan rode on back of Mike on Misty and Jessie rode in front of Niki on Annie. Mike isn't much of a cowboy, but he was the leader and did a great job. We all had fun and nobody got bucked off or fell off so we were excited!
After wards we went to Mike's parents house and played some games with Greg and Charise, Mel and Kaden, and Mikes parents. We had a great time. Taylie was waiting patiently all day for us to take her home and get her costume on. She was Cinderella this year and she looked beautiful!! She held perfectly still while I put her makeup and jewelry on and she would walk around holding her dress up like so it wouldn't get dirty. She is such a girl! Lindsey was a dragon and looked so cute. We went trick-or-treating with Eric and Tate and it was so much fun. Lindsey stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Balls because she has had a cold but Tate and Taylie had fun taking turns in the wagon and showing each other their candy. Thanks Bodrero's for letting us go with you!
Afterwards we ran up to Niki's to see her kids and Mike was dressed as a scary goblin. He went down and hid in Bryants room and when Bryant came home and went walking in to his room Mike jumped out and literally almost gave Bryant a heart attack! It was so funny. We had a great Halloween and can't wait til next year!
Sorry we didn't take many pictures.

Don't forget to check out the other two posts!

Tate and Taylie's fun play day!

2009-11-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

So a couple of weeks ago Tate came over for a few hours to play. Taylie is in love with Blue's Clues and her favorite episode is Blue's birthday. So after Tate and Taylie got done watching Blues birthday, Taylie came up and asked if they could have a Blue's Clues birthday party. I was trying to think of what I could do that would be like a Blue's Clues birthday party and we decided we could make a blue cake! So Tate and Taylie were my little helpers :)

They were having so much fun, and then came the frosting! I don't think either one of them put any frosting on the cake! They were just sitting there eating it the whole time! It was so funny.

After we got done, we put two candles on so they could sing "Happy Birthday" to "Blue" and blow out a candle, they had a lot of fun! Tate and Taylie truly are best friends and are so cute together. We love having Tate live just around the corner.

Update on Lindsey

2009-11-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

So Because I have been slacking for so long on the blogging department, I have a few updates so there will be a few new posts today!! Here are some pictures of Lindsey, she has been great at eating baby food, and then I tried beans and she was seriously gagging! I thought she was going to throw up.

The rest are just some fun pictures of Lindsey. She is crawling all over and can pull herself up on things so she is standing. Taylie has a storybook chair that plays music and reads a story when you sit on it, and Lindsey loves it!!

Picture Time!!!!

2009-10-23T14:54:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the pictures we had taken of Lindsey and Taylie. Sorry, the quality isn't the greatest because we had to scan them in. :(

Update

2009-10-20T01:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we have been horrible at keeping up our blog. I don't have any pictures, but I promise they are coming! So just for a quick update, Mike is just busy going to school and working. He is always busy doing homework and studying for tests. October is a busy month because he is gone every weekend hunting. He hasn't gotten anything yet, but maybe this weekend he will have more luck.
I have been busy just being a mom. I got my horse back from the trainers so I have been riding alot lately and have been very pleased with my horse. He is only a 3 year old but is so laid back that my niece can hop on and ride him around.
Taylie is such a stinker but a cute one! She is the smartest kid I know. The other day she came up to me and said "Mom, I don't have a brother, I just have a sister." And I said yup, you just have a sister. And then she said "But I do have a brother, Jesus is my brother" She is growing up so fast. I was sitting in primary last sunday and it hit me that she was going to be a sunbeam in 2 months! I love that little girl and can't belive how fast time flies.
Lindsey is the happiest baby ever. She wakes up in the morning and I can hear her talking in her crib so I go in to get her and as soon as she sees me she just smiles and gets so excited. She loves her food! As soon as I put her in her high chair she starts kicking her legs and smiles. She is crawling around everywhere and can pull herself up so she is standing. It dosen't matter how many times I sweep or vaccume, she always finds something on the floor that she is not suppose to have. It dosen't matter how many times Taylie kicks her in the head, throws something at her, or closes the door on her head, Lindsey still loves her big sister.
We have been so blessed, we have the greatest girls in the whole world. We got there pictures done a few weeks ago, so I will post them soon.

Hogal Zoo!

2009-09-12T19:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry, we have been slacking in the blogging department. A couple weeks ago we decided to take Taylie to Hogle Zoo. She loves animals and it was going to be our last family outing before Mike started school and we never see him. Taylie was so excited. We were going to go down Saturday but things didn't work out and we couldn't get away from Logan in time so instead we went down to Greg and Charise's house Saturday afternoon (thanks guys for letting us stay at your beautiful house!)We had a great time, we took Taylie to there little park and went and played pool and horse shoes and Charise's parents house. Sunday morning Taylie was wide awake ready to go to the Zoo (I know we broke the Sabbath!) It was actually a perfect day to go, it was overcast so it wasn't too hot and we didn't get sunburned! Taylie was most excited to see the elephants! Lindsey was so good being in her stroller all day, she loves to be outside. It was so funny, at one point we decided to take Taylie on the carousel and she got on a giraffe and then got scared and kept saying "I'm too little, I need a new one!" Mike moved her at least three times before it started and he told her she had to stay on. Once she got going she loved it! At the end we all went for a ride on the train, and even though Mike got a little nervous when we went through the Buffalo pen (because they were loose right by the track) everyone loved it!! Also there was the cutest baby giraffe and baby snow leopard.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLIE!!!

2009-07-30T21:14:00.001-07:00

Today is Taylie's birthday. She is now officially 3 years old. We had Grandma and Grandpa Balls, Niki, Jake and their family, Cami and her gang, and Mel and Kaden over for cake and ice cream. Taylie was really excited to eat her cake. Steph made an awesome pink sand castle cake. It was really yummy! (Thanks Mel for helping with the frosting). Grandpa had to help her blow out the candles of course. After cake Taylie opened her gifts. She was so excited. Her face said it all. She got a princess dress and some Joni candy from Cami, a Snow White doll and necklace from Mel, some magnet dolls and a dress from Grandma and Grandpa, some My Little Ponies ponies and a movie from Niki and Jake (and a ring from Jessie :) ), and a princess laptop and some movies from Mom and Dad. Thank you everyone for celebrating her birthday with us. It was fun to have everyone over.

Just Something Fun!!

2009-07-28T12:19:00.001-07:00

So Mike and I thought it would be fun to go back through the years and see what we could have looked like! Some of them turned out pretty good :)WARNING: There are alot of pictures!

Thanks Alfy

2009-07-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

So last week I had to put my horse Little Alf down. He was 18 years old. I have had him for 11 years but remember him from a colt at my grandpa's. I have to make a blog about our story just so I have it written down.
I grew up with horses my whole life, my Grandpa Zundel bred and raised race horses. I remember my favorite thing about going to Grandpa's house was having him come wake us up at 6:00 am to go feed all the horses with him. My grandpa had a Stallion he called Big Alf, he was one of my favorite horses to go see at my grandpa's. I was 6 years old when I saw Little Alf ( Big Alf's first colt)he was about a week old and looked just like Big Alf! My grandpa was really excited about him because he had really long legs and my grandpa said he would make a great race horse. So through out the next two years everytime I would go to Idaho to visit my grandpa I would look forward to going to see Little Alf, he loved carrots so I would take him a carrot everytime I would visit. Krisann, Tyrell, and I loved to play horses when we were little. We would tie ropes across the tramp and pretend they were jumps. We would run on our hands and knees for hours and I would always pretend that I was Little Alf! Little Alf was one of my Grandpa's best race horses, he did really well on the track. When Alf was 3 he got cut really bad and the vet wanted to put him down but my grandpa wouldn't let him. I remember going to visit and Alf was in a stall in the barn with a big wooden collar around his head (just like on Black Beauty!) After taking the winter off, my grandpa tried racing him again but he just couldn't do it. My grandpa then gave him to one of my older cousins, which made me really sad because I never got to see him. Finally when I was almost 12 we got a call from my cousin. He said that everytime he tried riding Little Alf he got bucked off and he didn't want him anymore. He knew that I had always liked him and wanted to know if we wanted him. Of course my mom told him yes! So on September 26th of 1997 we drove over to Rigby Idaho to pick up my horse! He was so hyper and I had a hard time controlling him at first but we eventually found our happy ground and did great ever since. I took Grand Champion at the Wyoming State Fair for 3 years in a row in Jumping and also Took Grand Champion in 2004 at the Utah State Equestrian Show. Little Alf loved to jump, he would jump anything that was in front of him. Alf was my dad's hunting buddy, he would pack out a Bull Elk by himself because it was down in a ravine that they didn't dare take any other horse down besides Alf. Finally this past year he started settling down and my neice Mackezie started using him for 4-H. She did great with him! Thanks ALf for being the BEST horse anyone could ever have! I love you.

Our Fun Week With Brycen!

2009-06-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

This week my nephew Brycen came up to stay with me. He is from Arkansas and has the funniest accent ( I don't know if thats how you spell it!). He has such a fun personality, he is definantly NOT shy, that kid can make friends with anyone! He had a blast on the neighbors blow up slide, and we even got Taylie to play on it. At one point Taylie was climbing up and had a hold of the handles on the top but lost her footing, so she was hanging there screaming! It was pretty funny :) Brycen and my nephew Ethan (from Mikes side) became instant buddies. Brycen was wanting to spend every spare second playing games with Ethan. Thanks Ethan for helping him have a fun week! Last night we went to my sister Niki's house and my brother-in-law Jake took Brycen for a ride in his police car. Brycen was so excited. They even got to almost pull my sister Krisann over which she didn't think was very funny but Brycen sure did! Over all it has been a very fun and busy week! Thanks Brycen for coming to visit, we love you little buddy :)

Update!!

2009-06-05T20:37:00.001-07:00

So Mike and I have wanted to get Taylie a bike for quite sometime, but haven't been able to afford it. Finally on Thursday, we found a cute princess bike just Taylie's size! She has a hard time peddling, but with practice it will come! She was so excited. Also we threw in a few pictures of Lindsey since she is growing so fast and a lot of people don't get to see her very often :)

Memorial Day Weekend!!!

2009-05-30T09:26:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone had an awesome Memorial Day! We had a wonderful weekend. It has been awhile since Steph and I were able to spend a weekend together. On Saturday I went with my parents down to West Valley to help Greg move into his new house. It is a really nice house. When we returned home We went to a rodeo that Steph's brother Aaron was riding in:

Steph and Mike

The Walker Clan

Aaron riding a bull

On Monday Niki and Jake invited us to go up Hyde Park Canyon four-wheeling. It was a lot of fun. We followed the road clear up to almost the top. When we returned to the trucks we went around some little hills and through some puddles. I have never really ridden a four-wheeler. There was one big puddle that was a little deeper than I was expecting. I went full throttle through it and got drenched in muddy water. It was a lot of fun!

Niki and her kids riding the four-wheeler

I went through that puddle a little too fast!

Our neighbors bought a blowup water thingy. It has two slides that go into a pool. Taylie is really scared to go up to the top, so she doesn't go down the slides unless we force her :) Cami's kids come over and play in the pool with Taylie. Eli and Tate are like Energizer Rabbits. They just keep going and going! The kids have a lot of fun together.

Who doesn't enjoy dumping water on someone else? Poor Tate.

As you can tell Taylie didn't really want to go down the slide

Tate going down the slide

Eli getting ready to go for another run

Our Sweet Little Girl!

2009-04-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

So last night we were getting ready for bed, and after trying to get Taylie to go to sleep in her bed for about an hour we finally caved and let her climb in bed with us. She was being in one of her cute loveable moods (that are very rare!) and asks me "Mom, do you love daddy?" and I said "yes Taylie I love daddy very much" and she then gives Mike a big hug and laughs "ya me too!" She then leans over Mike and says "Mom, you're my best friend!" She can be such a sweetheart at times. We love our little girls so much, and thank our Heavenly Father everyday for letting us be so lucky to be there parents!!

She loves to play with her friends too. She simply loves playing with her cousin Tate (even though they have their moments after being with each other for a little bit). She had Isabelle over the other day. Everytime she would want Isabelle to come with her she would say, "Come on Jingle Bells!" We would then have her repeat Isabelle's name. She would say it right, but right after that should turn to Isabelle again and say, "Come on Jingle Bells!" Kids! You gotta love 'em. Somehow she got Tate to go in drag!

Taylie and Lindsey Balls

2009-03-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

We just thought it would be fun to show some pictures of both Lindsey and Taylie together. It's fun to see there similar qualities and there not so similar ones! Lindsey's pictures are on the top and Taylie is on the bottom.

Hospital Free At Last

2009-03-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

On Monday Steph and Lindsey were finally able to come home. It seemed pretty dead in our apartment without Taylie around, but it was good that Steph was able to get some well needed rest. The staples used for the incision had to stay in due to the fact that it hadn't healed from Steph's coughing. The first night back was rough. Lindsey had her nights and days mixed up. She was still a little yellow, so she had to go to the doctor a couple times for a check up. I went to get Taylie on Tuesday night. I am glad that my dad was able to come with. We finally made it to Julie's house that night and Taylie was really shy at first, then she walked up and gave me a BIG hug :). Taylie has been relatively good with Lindsey. The first night after we got home Lindsey woke up crying at about 3:00 Am and woke Taylie up. Taylie stayed awake for about 2 more hours before going to bed. I am glad to report that everyone has their nights and days back on track, Lindsey is a little less yellow, and Steph had her staples out and is doing better. Thank you everyone that came to visit Steph and Lindsey. It was really great to see you. Thanks also to everyone that helped watch Taylie while we were in the hospital and when Steph just needed a break. We are blessed to have such wonderful families. Here are some pictures of Lindsey at home!

Welcome Home Lindsey!!!

2009-03-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

Today at 8:08 AM our baby little girl was born. Lindsey Marie Balls weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was 20 inches long. She had meconium in her when she was born, but after they got that all out she was doing great. Steph's C-Section went well. She didn't get nauseated at all, so they didn't have to put her under. In recovery she was wide eyed and ready to see her baby! I am so proud of my beautiful wife and the burden that she bore these last 9 months. Motherhood truly is a blessing.

Here are some pictures that were taken throughout the day. There will be more added to this slideshow in the next coming days and different people come to visit, so keep an eye out.

One Week Left!!

2009-02-27T23:01:00.000-08:00

So we are down to one week left until Lindsey will be joining our family! We have been trying to get things ready as much as possible so that Taylie could have time to adjust to her new surroundings (minus the actual baby)! We got the swing set up in our room, got all of Lindsey's clothes in her dresser, her bath tub out, and a few other things. Taylie of course, thinks that everything is hers (because it all used to be!)and tries to play with everything. We have been trying to explain to her that they are for baby Lindsey and she keeps asking "where's my prize?" I think she is getting a little jelous already. The first night we got everything out, I had to work and Taylie had gone into our room while Mike was doing his homework and got the bath tub out. Apparently she thought it would make a great little bed! Mike came in to check on her and found her sound a sleep in the tub! She has also gotten the binki's out several times and we will find her watching her movie with a binki in her mouth, which is funny because as a baby she hated the things and never would take one! Last night we were all laying in our bed saying goodnight, and Taylie said "Love you mom, love you dad" then she patted my tummy and said "Love you baby sister!" I think she is finally starting to adjust and we are all anxious to meet this new little girl of ours!

Our Last Romantic Get Away!!

2009-02-14T21:13:00.000-08:00

So Mike and I decided that we were going to get a hotel and go out to a nice dinner for valentines/my birthday/last chance before baby comes, type of thing. We were looking around at nice hotels because I really wanted a Jacuzzi but they all costed quite a bit. Then I remembered a place we had went to in Eden UT my senior year in High school, so we looked it up and got a really nice room (well its was actually a townhouse) with a nice jacuzzi tub for a really good price! So we left Taylie with Mikes parents (Thank You so much Grandma and Grandpa Balls! We owe you big time!) and left Logan around 5:00 pm (we wanted to leave alot earlier, but due to problems at the Dr, it took us awhile to get away).

"Mike's lovely 16 oz. steak, some of it mysteriously disappeared. Hmmmm....."

Anyway, we drove down to Layton Ut and went to The Lonestar Steakhouse where they told us it would be about an hour wait but got us back in about 35 min. Mike got a huge 16 oz steak that he claims was by far the best steak he has ever had in his life, and i got a 6 oz steak and a shrimp scampi topped with crab, it was amazing!

Then we headed to Eden UT. We arrived to Wolf Creek Lodge at about 8:30 pm and got checked in. We were enjoying our room and jacuzzi, and then decided to try out our cool fire place. However, when Mike turned the fire place on apparently it tripped a breaker or something and the TV, alarm clock, some lights, and the heater got all screwed up. It got really really hot and Mike and I were dying! So at about 10:30 pm we drove up to the main lodge and told them about it and they were going to have someone come down and try to fix it. Mike and I drove to the Maverik to get us a drink and breakfast for in the morning, when we got back they still hadn't been able to fix it yet, so I decided i was just going to try and go to bed.

"The bedroom and bathroom of our first room."

At 12:00 midnight, someone came knocking on our door and told us that they weren't going to be able to fix it that night and that they would put us up in the Honeymoon Suite in a different lodge! So we had to pack up all our things and drive to a different Logde (the Red Moose Lodge). It was really nice (also had a jacuzzi) and the tv actually worked but by the time we got settle in it was almost 1:00 am and we were both beat! So we basically just got to enjoy the king size bed!! We tried to sleep in but we were both awake by 7:30 am. So we got up and enjoyed there continental breakfast and decided to leave a little early because it had been snowing all night and was still snowing! The drive home wasn't too bad, the canyon's were actually better than the freeway! We had quite the adventure and it felt really good to be able to get away for a night!

"Here is our second room :) "

A Spittin' Image

2009-01-24T15:45:00.000-08:00

Steph thought it would be fun to compare photos of all three of us. (Steph, Taylie, and I) So, here are some pics for everyone to compare.

A Name Vote!!

2009-01-16T09:38:00.000-08:00

So both Mike and I like the name Lindsey, however, I like it spelled Lindsey and Mike likes it spelled Lindsay. We decided to put it to a vote!! So far Lindsey is winning 5 to 2!! Let us know your preference!

Christmas a little late!

2009-01-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I am a little late at posting our christmas blog, but better late than never right!! This year we went up to Wyoming for christmas, it was a lot of fun to spend time with my family. We had plenty of ping pong tournaments and had fun playing the wii. Taylie got a kitchen (which we gave her before we went to wyoming) and she loves it. She got up a little early (for her) on christmas morning but eventually woke up enough to be excited about what santa brought. I woke up christmas morning with the flu and didn't get to enjoy much, but overall the trip was very fun. At home we decided to make some cupcakes and take them to our neighbors. Taylie was a great help and really enjoyed eating them afterwards.

Sledding with Balls Fam!!

2009-01-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

So we decided to take the kids sledding at Lundstrom Park with Cami's family, Angie's family and Mel and Kaden. It was Taylie's first time sledding, and I think she liked it! We would stick her on the tube with someone and she would smile (most of the time) while sledding down the hill, and at the bottom she would say "that was fun!" But when we asked her if she wanted to go again, she would scream "NO" until we put her on the tube again then she would smile. I think she had more fun helping dad build a giant snowman, which we didn't get a final picture of because when Mike was trying to punch in the eyes he sort of knocked its head off!! Afterwards we went to Grandma and Grandpa Balls' for Hot Chocolate and Lazagna. It was really fun!

More of Taylie's Funny Stories!!

2008-12-23T02:51:00.000-08:00

So the other day, we put Taylie in her high chair and gave her a bowl of Ramon Noodles. After a few min of her being in the kitchen "eating" her noodles, she says " I'm done". Mike and I being suprised that she ate them so quickly, Mike asks if they are on the floor. Taylie being the honest child that she is says "yes" so we walk into the kitchen and there are noodles all over the floor. So we get her cleaned up and make her start cleaning up the noodles. For the first few min she cleaned up fairly well, but when she got about half done, she looks down at the remainder of the noodles and says "I'll just go to timeout, K mom" and she started walking toward her room! Mike and I were laughing so hard that we couldn't get upset at her, we just laughed and told her no timeout, you have to clean up all your noodles! She is the smartest two year old I have ever met. We love her so much, her fun personality adds so much to our home :)

Another funny story with our Taylie, She burped the other day and said "Excuse me, I farted in my mouth!" Where she comes up with some of these things we will never know :)

The Appendectomy of all Appendectomies

2008-12-13T04:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I am laying in my hospital bed with nothing to do, so I figured I would put my story on our blog! :) Wednsday at about noon I had a sandwhich with expired lunch meat (not a good idea). At about 4 my stomach started feeling weird. At about 5:30 it started hurting. I had a paper due the next day and a final, so I was a little bit stressed about being sick at the wrong time. My stomache hurt until about 9:30 and my dad and Scott Fife came up to give me a blessing. I had been trying to throw up or do anything to get whatever was in my stomache out. I had little success, but about 5 min after my blessing I finally puked (I know, Hurray!!!!!). My stomache (organ) quit hurting, but my lower gut was still being rambunctious. Well the next day I woke up and my stomache still hurt. In my blessing my dad said that I would be able to get my paper done and take my final, so I went ahead and made plans to do that. (I got an A in the class) Steph and I made plans to go to Instacare right after my final and they took my blood. They said that since my stomache was hurting where it was and my white blood cell count was high they figured I had appendicitus and sent me over to Logan Regional to have a CT Scan. After speaking with the stupid billing people over the scan (I guess I needed to actually have my appendix rupture before they would just let me in) I finally was able to go get my CT Scan. They said I would feel like I was peeing my pants when they put the x-ray dye in, but it just made my butt feel like it was on fire. They determined my appendix was sick and I needed an operation. I finally had my operation and I guess my appendix did rupture, but my body somehow sealed it so the infection didn't leak out. As soon as my white blood cell count goes down then I can go home! I will scan in the pictures of my surgery since I think I will have a lot of free time for awhile :) That will be up when I get home.

As you can see here the color of my appendix was not very good.

Elf Dancing

2008-12-07T13:46:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Some of Taylie's Funny Stories!

2008-12-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

So I have a few funny stories about Taylie that I wanted to post so that I have them written down somewhere and won't forget them. The first one happened a couple weeks ago at church. Mike's friend is in our ward and he has kind of longer hair and a beard, he fell away from the church for a while and is trying to get his life back in order. Anway, he got up in sacrament to bare his testimony. It was really a good testimony and of course everyone is really quiet. Taylie stands up and yells "Look mom there's Jesus!" It was so loud and everyone around us is trying really hard not to bust up laughing. Greg and Charise were there visiting and all of us were trying really hard not to start laughing while I tried to explain to her that he wasn't Jesus. Then for the closing prayer (on the same day) an older lady got up and started saying the prayer and Taylie says "There's Grandma Lamb!" Once again really loud. I am afraid at this point we all lost it and busted up laughing :)

The second story just happened the other day. Taylie has been on this "just kidding kick, thanks to cousin Kaden! She kept bringing her chair out of her room after mom and dad asked her not to several times. She brought it out and I told her that she needed to go put it back in her room. She said "no mom I going to sit on it" So I told her she had to a count of 3 or she was going to time out. I started counting and when I said 2 she said "I just kidding I putting it back!" and hurried to put her chair back in her room. It was really funny and cute and of course I couldn't get mad at her. And now she says just kidding after almost everything!

Our New Church Calling

2008-11-23T22:10:00.001-08:00

So Mike and I got called to be Primary teachers!! We are teaching the CTR 5 class. Today was our first experience in teaching and lets just say it wasn't pretty!! We have 3 boys and 2 girls that come on a regular basis. The whole primary pretty much warned us about one of the boys, and we understand why! He is a handful and eventually gets the other 2 boys into it as well. The girls are both pretty good. We're excited about our calling and will at least learn some patience from this experience!!

Halloween Goodness!!!

2008-11-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

Halloween sure was a fun time. Taylie was the cutest skunk! In all actually she looked more like an Ewok with a huge tail.

I was a.......well, something with a greeen face, a sword on my back and a staff. We will call it a sad wizard ( ;) at Cami). Steph didn't dress up this year even after the pregnant nun suggestions. There were a few things that we didn't have a chance to take pictures of from trick or treating. We took a wagon with us to pull Taylie and Tate in, and Tate decided that he would pull the wagon with Taylie in it. It was pretty darn cute. At one point I put Taylie in the front of the wagon and forgot about her tail. She ended up laying down in the wagon because she didn't have the balance to keep sitting up. She was laying there and looked like she was thinking, "Ummmm, is anyone going to get me up?" You probably had to be there, but try to use your imagination. Then there was the time Taylie face planted it, she kept telling EVERYBODY she was a skunk, and even told a lady not to step on her tail. After she got over my mask, she was still my little buddy.

Were having another girl!!

2008-10-21T16:16:00.001-07:00

So we had our ultrasound today, and though she was not 100% sure due to the fact that the baby did not want to cooperate she is 95% sure were having another girl!! Were not set on a name yet but so far we are leaning towards Lindsay Marie Balls. Due date around March 6th! The picture at the top is suppose to be pointing to the fact that its a girl!!! AKA: Lack of something important if it were a boy!

Smithfield Canyon Picture Extravaganza

2008-10-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday me and Steph, Greg, Charise, Steve, and Dad went up Smithfield Canyon.
Here are some pictures we (Me, Steve, and Dad) took. Enjoy!

Joanie Candy

2008-09-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

We decided to get some Sourpatch Kids for Taylie so she will be good in sacrament meeting. They work very well by the way. I think it would definitely be difficult to focus on anything when your cheeks suck in and your eyes squint. For some reason this never happens to Taylie. Anyways, today Taylie asked Steph for some Joanie candy (aka Sour Patch Kids). When Kim and Joanie were here Joanie had Sourpatch Kids and Taylie loved them. So, from now on Sourpatch Kids have taken on the name Joanie candy. Thanks Joanie for the memories. :)

The Computer Guru and The Cowgirl

2008-09-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

Mike was born and raised in Hyde Park Ut. He loves playing his guitar, working on computers, and playing video games. He had never ridden a horse until he met me! I was born and raised in Lyman WY. I love being outside with my horses and grew up a cowgirl. I moved to Hyde Park UT with my sister in June 2004. Mike and I met in the Hyde Park singles ward in Febuary of 2005. We both have a slighly different story about the first time we "noticed" eachother! Mike says it was when we were at FHE playing volleyball and I beat him and he thought to himself "Wow, she can really play volleyball! And she's pretty cute!" My story is when some other girl some how conviced mike to go country swing dancing (which if you know Mike, that is a big accomplishment!) and me being a country girl always went dancing, anyway, one dance together and Mike forgot someone else invited him and we danced the whole time! From that night on we saw eachother every single night until he we got married!!! Whoever says opposites attract, was right!

Our Beautiful Taylie

2008-08-26T22:57:00.001-07:00

Here's a slide show of some of Taylie's better moments :)

Our newest adventure

2008-08-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

I am new at this blogging thing so here we go. My husband Mike, my daughter Taylie, and I recently (as in the past two weeks) moved to Hyde Park into a nice spacious two bedroom apartment. Then again after our last apartment anything is huge (Taylie used to sleep in the closet)!! I got a new job working two 12 hour night shifts at Cache Valley Specialty Hospital as an ER Clerk, so far I have enjoyed it. Mike is still working part time at Thermo-fisher scientific and just started school yesterday. He stays busy and Taylie and i miss him alot. We are also expecting our second child! We had our first ultra-sound today, everything looks great and Dr. Noorda said if it was a boy he would put him back for me and ask for something else! JUST KIDDING I WOULD LOVE A BOY!! Life has been busy and were just waiting to get settled into a routine :)