A little down time.

On the 18th of this month I went and had surgery on my foot. They did a Plantar Fascia Release on my left foot. I was excited to get it done!

So I have had a little down time before Christmas.

It kind-a stunk doing it so close to Christmas because it forced me to get everything done...I like to shop even though I should be done. **I love spoiling my kids**

Anyway, this was really the first thing I've ever had done, and it was interesting...To tell you the truth, it was a really good nap and I didn't want to wake up.

All I really remember was thanking anyone and everyone!!

The bad thing about all this is, it has been snowing and I love playing with the kids in the snow. (I can only be on my foot for so many minutes of the day. And Justin has been so protective!)

Justin totally freaks out if I try to get up or do anything. So I have only been able to watch kids from the front window.

They are so cute. They where trying to entertain me by having a snow ball fight and occasionally throwing snow at the front window at me.

They also made a cute snowman. **I snuck outside and took a picture of it**

My foot already feels 80% better than it did before, and it's only been 5 days!

A great Christmas present for me. I did ask them to put a bow on my foot. They just laughed at me. Maybe they thought I was still a little loopy!

The Snowman Justin and the Kids made, Very Cute!

Before Pictures

So here's the old trailer! I had to show pictures for posterity.

You got to love the colors, fresh out of the '70s.

We put a tarp on the top because the vents leak. It's a good thing we did,

because the next day it snowed.

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The front of the BEAST. We are trying to come up with a new name for it.

I hope it isn't bad luck to rename a trailer like it is to rename a boat!?

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I don't know why this picture is next but, here's the huge tub.

At least, as far as tubs in trailers go, it's huge.





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The rest of the bathroom! Just what you wanted to see.
I didn't get much of the potty 'cause who wants to see potties in pictures.
Check out the Wall Paper, so hot. It matches the Kitchen.
I just thought of something Justin would say but, I will spare you.

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What you see as you walk out of the "Dining Room".
Tre Chic eh?

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This is kind of dark but, this is the Sitting room/Master Suite/2nd Bedroom....

That's how the tour in my house sounds too!

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The Gormet Kitchen.

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The Dining Room/3rd Bedroom.

As you can see by the pictures, it does need work and Justin has already started.

We have a lot of good ideas and Justin loves doing this kind of thing.

I'm hoping it will be ready to be taken out in 6 months....

This will actually be a good test to see if Justin and I can handle building on to the house.

Keep checking back for AFTER PICTURES!

Merry Early Christmas!!

On Saturday we received an EARLY Christmas present! I want to say that we have been so BLESSED this year but, I keep saying it and it is starting to drive ME crazy! But we have been blessed.

Anyway, several months ago I was talking to a family friend about her mom's Camping trailer. It has been sitting in her back yard for as long as I could remember (I don't think I've ever seen it moved!).

They where planning on moving so, I asked her to ask her mom how much we could buy it for. Several months went by and we didn't hear anything, and we forgot about it.

Then one day my friend came to me and said, "Do you guys still want Mom's trailer?"

I said "Yes, for how much?", reluctant to hear how much she was going to sell it to us for.

Then she said, "Mom just wants to give it to you."

I was soo excited, I could have done a jig right there!

I have never been so excited to receive a fixer-upper in my life!!

Well, at least since we bought our house!

So, it's a 1977 22ft Terry, Taurus.

Like I said before, it had been sitting in her back yard for at least 10 years

and it need some work.

We need to fix a leaky roof, replace some paneling on the ceiling, upgrade or replace lights, do some upholstery work, replace curtains, and work on the heater.

Other than that it's just some minor cosmetic stuff Justin wants to do.

The kids where so excited, they where looking in every nook and cranny checking it all out, picking out their bed, suggesting places to go camping,

and actually putting in their sleeping bags!

It was probably only 40 degrees out and pitch black, but they loved it!

Justin even did a great job backing it into the backyard with a million obstacles, in the dark.

He didn't hit one thing!

THANKS SO MUCH RENEE! We owe you big time!

Sorry, no pictures yet, I can't find my dang camera.

We will definitely be showing our work in progress.

All I Want For Christmas is My THREE Front Teeth

Today Blake FINALLY lost his 2nd front tooth! It has been really wiggly for the last few days.

He came out to me with a string in hand and asked me to tie it to his tooth and the door.

(We tried this with Tyler two years ago and we wimped out)

So, I tied everything thinking, "This isn't going to happen."

I told him I couldn't do it...this was his idea.

He geared up and slammed the door...

He was to close!

Then he told me to do it, he was nervous.

I had him back up then.....*Pop*... Slam!

It took us a second to find his tooth but, it was out!

I started singing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...."

He quickly corrected me because he has THREE teeth missing in the front.

(He has a lateral incisor missing also)

P.S. I had a hard time getting him to smile without him looking like a goof.

His camera smile is hilarious!

P.S.S. Don't you love his dirty glasses?

Josh and Sydney...

Cousin Josh came over for Thanksgiving and for some reason Sydney LOVED him. She went right to him and wanted to sit on his lap. She would not leave him alone. When he had to go Sydney CRIED because she didn't want Josh to go.

Then a few days later Sydney and I where looking at pictures on the computer. We came across a picture of Brent, Josh's Dad, and Sydney freaked out and said, "Josh!". She then started to cry and kept saying, "I want Josh."

Thank goodness we where going to see them that day for Zach's Mission Farewell, Josh's brother.

When we got to their Chapel, the first thing she did was look for him. He had to pass the sacrament and she couldn't be with him. So the whole time she cried, "I want Josh."

After the Sacrament was passed, Josh sat a few rows up with his girl friend. Next thing you know Syd was crawling under the benches for Josh. When she go there you could see Josh Blush, IT WAS SOO CUTE!

After, at the dinner, she followed him around every where and wanted to hold his hand.
I hope Josh's girl friend wasn't jealous!

My sister Liz has always had an eye for taking pictures. So, I thought I would show off her talent.
Here are a some of the pictures she has taken. The quality on some of the pictures are so-so because they may be a copy of a copy...But, I still think they are great!

Four Sisters Photography

More of what I'm Thankful for.....

Thanksgiving...

The joys of Thanksgiving are coming soon!

When I think back to Thanksgiving,

I remember my family gatherings-sometimes big, sometimes not so big.

I remember great food-old recipes and new.

But most of all, I remember the feelings I felt.

I felt comfort,

I felt loved,

I felt anticipation,

I felt full!

Most of all, I felt the love of my Heavenly Father!

I am so thankful for the things I have been blessed with in my life.

The good times and not so good.

I know that through the Plan of Salvation

the things I am thankful for will last for Eternity!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Marriage Proposal

The other day Kaden came up to me and said,

"Mommy, will you marry me ?"

I thought it was very cute! In response I said,

"Sure but, I'm already married to Daddy.

Don't you want to find a cute little girl your own age to marry?"

He just looked at me a little sad. Then said,

"Okay."

Kaden is soo sweet!

One day he will be totally grossed out by that thought!

Sydney's new friend/Doll..

Sydney has a new friend and doll, LOLA!
Lola gets to come to our house a few times a week while Mom and Dad go to work. We are so glad that Dari and Chris have trusted us to take care of their Little Lady!
All of the kids love having a baby in the house again, especially Sydney! When ever Lola needs anything, she is right there...I totally could have used her when I had my babies!
Justin is also getting into having a baby around. The first day we had Lola I was filling out some paperwork and Lola decided she needed to 'fill out' her diaper. Because Justin could see I was a little busy, he got right up and changed her diaper for me...HE IS SO SWEET!
Blake also loves having Lola around but, he only gets to see her for a couple of hours. On Tuesday she was asleep when she was dropped off. Then when he got home she was asleep. He was soo disappointed that he didn't get to hold her.

He finally got a chance on Wednesday...he was in 7th Heaven. He's going to be a great Daddy one day!
Funny story...Ty was holding her on Wednesday and Blake was there 'gooing' her. All of a sudden, she let out a HUGE fluff. It startled Blake soo bad that he spilled his milk down himself. Everyone still busts a gut over that one!

Justin didn't think babies could fart that loud!!
Thanks Dari and Chris, it has already been a learning experience for the kids and A LOT of fun!
My camera was dying, so here are a few Pics. I'm sure there will be more to come.

Syd loving on Lola.

Lola obviously thinks Kaden is funny.

Sydney's new BFF!

Halloween at the Bettridge house! Sorry I forgot to turn pictures before downloading them!!

Pumpkins and the Park.

Snow in October!

Finally my little girl!

Don't get me wrong I love my little boys but, when I found out that baby #4 was going to be a little girl, I cried!

It was soo fun to have a baby girl to dress up and make smell all girlie. Then the hair...I loved playing with her hair, all the bows, and especially putting the big cupie curl in her hair. Then to find out she had curly hair...I was in Heaven.

It seems like in the last 6 months Sydney has stepped up the girl thing. Last weekend while the boys were playing video games (not watching conference) Sydney got cozy with me in my bed and we watched all of General Conference together. It was nice to see that she had better taste than the PS3 and Darth Vader.

She is also totally into anything Princess. Friday she pulled the Daddy strings and got the Sleeping Beauty DVD and gift set. (She has a way to get what she wants from him). Her gift set included glitter make-up, fingernail polish, strawberry lip gloss, the little toe separators, and a mirror. She spent most of the day putting everything on herself, me, and even Daddy.

Sydney is attached to my hip. She wants to go everywhere and do everything with me....If I am doing it, you can usually find Syd right there...She helps with cooking food, cleaning house, yard work, laundry, the crossing guard thing, doing make-up, and doing hair. If I would let her she would also be in the shower with me.

I have been extremely blessed to have Sydney in my life!!!

I can't wait to do more of the mother-daughter things with My Little Sydney!

Grandma Duke's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Birthday parties are so fun at Grandma's house!

Here's some of what we do...

We sit around and gab.

Tyler had a fit and hid in grandma's coffee table. I eventually was able to get him to smile.

The kids love to play in the Toybox. It was Sydney's turn to climb in.

She is sooo funny!

Grandma testing out some lotion she got from Brandon.

Shaleene with 2T, Grandma's cat.


Ty's bandage job for a little scratch!

There's never a dull moment when we visit Grandma's
house! Happy, Happy, Birthday Mom!

Blake's Road...

Blake found one of his old Shake-and-Go cars in the shed the other day...we hide toys in there so we don't become overwhelmed with toys...and he was having the best time driving it everywhere.

He drove it in the kitchen, under the couches, and in his room.

I guess he decided that the hard wood floor in his room wasn't fun enough.

So, he found one of Dad's Sharpies and decided to draw a road on the floor.

I was able to get most of his road off with a Magic Eraser. Anything that didn't come off we'll sand off when we refinish floors....If our house survives all the kids!

Early Fall Leaves.

The kids love to play in the leaves....They love to ride bikes through them, make it rain leaves, and their favorite, put them on the trampoline and jump with them....The other day the kids kept bugging me to rake the leaves for them. And since the leaves have barely started to fall, I had to
rake half the yard to get this little pile of leaves.





They put the leaves in their shirts (a dress in Sydney's case) and brought the leaves to the trampoline. It took a while but, they where dedicated.









They jumped forever! By the time they got done jumping the leaves where little bits that looked like Wheaties.






I love it when the kids can entertain each other with the simple things in life.

I Love Slide Shows!

I found this old slide show...so cute!