..........Simply Stokes'

2010-11-08T12:16:00.002-07:00

Jackson turned 12. It is crazy how time has gotten away from me. He loves reading, science, playing football and is getting better everyday in his efforts to learn the cello. He helps me so much and takes on a lot of responsibility. He is such a good example to Orion and Wynne and we are so lucky to have him a part of our family!

Love you Buddy!

2010-11-07T21:44:00.006-07:00

I'm pretty sure most of you had given up on me posting again since my last post was clear back in March so SURPRISE!

I took some pictures when I was at my moms house, I love them and had such a great time taking them. My kids however were a little less enthused with the experience and couldn't wait to get back to spending time with their grandparents and cousins.

2010-11-07T21:05:00.004-07:00

Harvest Break at the Farmstead

Jared and I watching the Pig Races

In the Maize

It was Shad's Birthday and Jefferson got us a killer deal

Jackson realizing he is a bit too big for the cow train

2010-11-07T20:34:00.005-07:00

Our Summer Activities

Patterson Family Reunion Beaver Dick Park

ReNae and Jefferson brought the funnest game.

Jackson

Andrew

Kenz

Yum

Wynne and Kaits

Shooting Archery

Hailee and Andrew

Jared and Ty

Grandpa and kiddos

2010-11-07T19:49:00.006-07:00

Jared was asked to do a black powder gun activity at our stake ym and yw trek. I was luck to be able to go with him. I loved it.

Jared has never found me more attractive, I'm sure.

Playing with my friends

Jenny beat me so bad. She's a strong girl.

I was camp director this year. I had such a great time and hope I get the opportunity to do it again. Loved it.

Jared was so helpful. He really was my assistant camp director.

Jared's twin

Water day

Girls Camp Jr Leaders and Camp Directors

4th of July Parade

Hiking to Lower Palisades

The "Hog Shoot" one of our many archery shoots

2010-11-07T18:40:00.003-07:00

Orion turned eight. He asked for a popcorn party so we did everything "POP"
He was also baptized. We are so happy and excited that he has made the choice to become a member of the church.

Easter in Cascade 2010
It was so cold I didn't get a picture of Orion with the Easter Bunny because he was so cold he had to go sit in the car.

2010-03-15T08:06:00.002-06:00

I had just gotten out of the shower and I had a black towel on my head. Wynne says "Mom I thought you liked pink" and points at my towel. I told her that I liked lots of colors and that Jesus made all the beautiful colors so that we could enjoy them. She then said "and Jesus made pink for me". She is just like candy, I can't get enough of her.

My Birthday

2010-02-28T08:25:00.006-07:00

Jared planned a weekend getaway for my birthday. We went to Harriman State park and went cross country skiing. It was gorgeous and warm. We had such a fun time and can't wait to go back.

Dinner at the Angler's Lodge

Jared and our stuff.

Swans live here all year round. There is a hotsprings somewhere so the water never freezes

The next few pictures make me laugh every time I see them. We had such a great time.

Jared loves taking pictures. He kept looking to see how they turned out so I surprised him a few times.

Bustin' up.

2010-02-03T09:39:00.002-07:00

So I am learning the art of couponing, Any advice would be wonderful. I am so excited and can foresee this as becoming addicting. Yea!

Happy Birthday Wynne!

2010-01-17T11:06:00.008-07:00

For Wynne's birthday we had the ultimate girl party with a pink cake and princesses. She was very excited that her birthday had finally arrived. For months she has been saying "my birthday is coming up". She lets everyone know that she was a baby once but now she is a big girl. She was a delight the entire day and made the day fun for everyone.

Wynne taking her princess bubble bath

She loves us and we love her.

Jared had a custom bow and arrows made for Wynne. She loves it and is a pretty good shot.

Wynne has been such a blessing in our lives. She has brought so much happiness to our home. We love you baby girl.

2010-01-14T12:33:00.005-07:00

Jared and I celebrated our 14th anniversary. I feel so blessed to have him in my life. He is a wonderful husband and father. We have been through a lot in our short 14 years. We are so grateful to our Father in Heaven for his guidance and patience as we learn to trust in him and his plan. Happy Anniversary Jared!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-14T04:54:00.012-07:00

Merry Christmas! I hope your holiday season has been wonderful and full of the spirit of Christ. This year we had many opportunities to serve and witnessed many charitable acts. It was wonderful watching my children excited about helping others and giving of themselves. Jared did the 12 days of Christmas for me. He did some amazing and thoughtful things. I am so lucky to have him in my life. We spent Christmas at my parents. We enjoyed playing games, Christmas caroling and just being together. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of our Heavenly Father's plan, for eternal families and the beautiful gift of the atonement. My hope is that the spirit of giving will follow me throughout this upcoming year. Thank you all for blessing my life and the lives of my family.

Santa was at the library this year. The kids had fun making crafts and received a free book.

Jared and my mom going out to feed horses before my dad woke up.

Christmas morning. We had to wake up our sleeping children this year. I can't wait for the day when they are more excited for Christmas then Jared and I.

Megan put together a great nativity program. Great job Megan!

Our Stokes Christmas Celebration. We had a fun night and delicious dinner.

2010-01-14T04:43:00.002-07:00

Jackson had a birthday and is now 11. Some days it feels like we were just taking him home from the hospital. He is such a wonderful kid and an asset to our family. He really enjoys reading and is always excited to start a new adventure. We love you Jackson and appreciate all the help and love you bring to our family.

Harvest break see older post also for more.

2009-12-21T00:08:00.004-07:00

On our harvest break we went to the boise zoo. We had a great time. My awesome cousin Kim met ReNae and I there with a few of her kids and her nephew (jill's son). Everyone had a great time. I am so glad Kim has moved back to Boise. I can't wait to get together again.

At the Farmstead. Farmer Jackson and Wynne in about 18 years.

Orion and Me

The sign reads feet first only. OOps

The boys had a blast on this slide. We had a great time at the farmstead.

Stokes' in the fall

2009-12-20T21:50:00.004-07:00

Pig race Winner!

Pig race winner's dad

During harvest break me and the kids went and stayed with my sister ReNae. We had a great time and did some really fun activities. Jefferson totally hooked us up at the farmstead and the kids had a blast. We road a cow train, went through the corn maze, and had pig races and . Shad won a pig race and got a pig nose. Heather and Paige met us there also.

Hunting Season 2009

2009-10-17T09:45:00.003-06:00

Jared was very successful this season he harvested two animals with his bow. He got this buck and an elk. He is excited about his success and that our freezer is full. I thought because he was so successful that hunting season was over, he has informed my since that there are a few more animals he is hoping to harvest. Wo is me...the life of a hunter's widow. ;) Love you babe.

The kids and I went and stayed a weekend at "huntin camp" with Jared and his friends Cody and Tuck. We are standing on the Continental Divide leaning into the wind.

Orion got to spend a few days hunting with Dad. They went several miles and most of it up hill.

Nobody got anything that day except Orion, who came back with pockets full of rocks.

Cute boys headed back to camp.

Happy Birthday Baby

2009-09-29T22:35:00.008-06:00

~Happy Birthday Jared~
I am so glad you are part of my life. Thanks for being a great dad and husband. I love you.

My friend Brittany made the cake. She did a fantastic job. The elk and hunter are perfect and she even made the fondant camouflage. I am so impressed with her talent. She has a few pictures on her blog. Use the "Brittany's cake World" button to check them out or to see other awesome cakes she has made.

Jared in Fondant

This cake could not have been a better fit for Jared.

2009-07-22T09:12:00.002-06:00

We had some fabulous talks on Celestial Marriage on High Counsel Sunday. One of the speakers compared us to instruments and as couples our ultimate goal is to learn to jam together. He said that when we each learn our part we can make wonderful things happen. He talked about this song from Youtube, check it out. I think it's pretty great.

2009-07-12T15:23:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I am playing catchup on my blog. Sorry there is so much stuff all at once but it had to be done.

2009-07-11T14:08:00.002-06:00

Me and the kids went to visit my parents. We had so much fun visiting with all of our family and friends but especially the cousins. On our last day there we went to the Old Penitentiary. I love that place. There is such a cool sense of eerie history. My kids say that it was their favorite part of the trip too. We didn't get to see all of it so we will definitely be back.

I met with my oncologist Dr Montgomery who said I am officially cured. It has been 10 and half years since I was diagnosed with cancer and I no longer have to go for checkups or office visits. Hurray! What a wonderful word "cured" is.

2009-07-11T14:06:00.000-06:00

2009-07-11T13:52:00.002-06:00

We went to Cascade for the 4th and had a great time. The Stokes', Allen's and the Clayson's came up with us. We had a great time at the lake fishing and swimming, we went to the parade and watched the fireworks over the lake. We feel so blessed to live in this country and thank all of those who have fought for our freedom.

2009-07-11T08:31:00.001-06:00

2009-07-10T21:33:00.001-06:00

2009-06-10T08:58:00.000-06:00

2009-06-10T08:14:00.002-06:00

Jared and I had a fabulous time on a cruise of the Pacific Northwest. We sailed out on Sunday, May 31st on the Mariner of the Sea and returned the following Sunday, June 7th. The ship was amazing. If you utilized all the activities available there was no way you could suffer from boredom. There was an ice skate rink, climbing wall, mini golf, in line skating rink, basketball court, dodge ball tournaments, ping pong tables, shuffle board, movie theater, a fitness center, 3 swimming pools and too many hot tubs for me to count. They offered all kinds of entertainment such as comedians, singing and dancing groups, an ice skating show, which was my favorite. They also offered dance lessons, how to lose belly fat, whiten your teeth, how to put your make up on right and others. They also had all kinds of gambling within the built in casino and also without. The food was fabulous and overwhelming, we ate way too much. We had a fun time at the ports which included San Francisco, Victoria BC and Seattle. We really enjoyed ourselves and plan to go on another cruise in the future. We are happy to be home to our beautiful kids seven days was a long time to be away from the little ones we love so much.

2009-06-08T14:48:00.002-06:00

Jared and I in Victoria BC

Rock climbing on the Mariner of the Sea

Our last and favorite day on the ship

Jared and Emillee before we went to a show.

Formal Night on the ship

2009-05-17T21:34:00.003-06:00

Update on us...Our fabulous cruise to Mexico has been replaced with a less exotic trip to Canada, Seattle and San Fransisco. We are still excited and will have a great time no matter what but talk about a let down.

2009-03-02T15:22:00.001-07:00

Hello to our friends and family who frequent our blog. I saw this on my Sister-in-laws blog and thought it would be fun to try. So here goes...

OK! So this is how this works...the first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me for you. my choice. made especially for you.of course there are some restrictions and limitations:~
1 .I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. what I create will be just for you.
3 It will be done sometime this year.
4 you have no clue what it will be... it may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure. ;-)
5 I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.The catch? The catch is that you must repost this on your own blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on their blog.The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!! Oh! And be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

2009-02-11T13:34:00.004-07:00

33!

I have always liked that number. This is going to be a FANTASITIC year.

2009-01-18T19:22:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Christmas 2009

2009-01-02T00:43:00.006-07:00

Christmas was awesome. Everyone was pretty good at our house this year so we were all happy with what Santa brought. After opening presents we ate sausage and peaches with the Stokes', Allen's and the Clayson's. We love sharing our favorite Christmas tradition with our very brave and willing family and friends.

Wynne got this Barbie car from Jacks and Orion. She was so funny she kicked Barbie out and immediately hopped in. She was pretty frustrated with the comfort of it (if you could only see her face). She had us laughing so hard.

He's so cute and such a great kid.

Very cool Jacks!
The Stokes'

The Allens' and the Clayson's

2009-01-01T23:54:00.004-07:00

Christmas Eve we spent with the Stokes'. We had a fabulous dinner and enjoyed the traditional acting out of the Nativity. Jacks, Orion and Sam played the shepards and the Wisemen and Wynne played both baby Jesus and the Angel. Jared and I were Mary and Joseph. We were a little short on numbers and missed having Joli and Rob and the girls and Jacob and Yvette and their kids here, We missed you guys. Tessa read us a story called "Teach the Children" and both Taylor and Sam played "Silent Night". Taylor on the guitar and Sam on the harmoinca. We had a great night celebrating and honoring the birth of our Savior.

The Narrator and his beautiful wife

Orion, Uncle Sam and Jackson
Tessa
Taylor

2008-12-15T21:26:00.005-07:00

Jackson wants a Wii and promises if he
gets it he doesn't need anything else

On Saturday Heather, Jill and I ventured out with all the kids and went to see Santa. This was held at the city park where the kids were given free rides on the carousel. They thought it was awesome. It is a very cool carousel so if any of you want to come visit it will be up and running this summer.

Orion's wish list includes one Lego star wars

Wynne loves babies, horses, purses, anything pink and as you can see Santa
Does not like the carousel
She was holding on for dear life

New Kids on the Block, Let's Rock, It's Christmas Time, We're gonna Celebrate with a Rhyme.

2008-12-02T16:45:00.009-07:00

Happy Holidays! Okay I need to do some updating. First, back in November my friend Heather (who is their number one fan) and I went to the New Kids on the Block reunion concert. Okay, Okay I already know what you're thinking, but we had the best time. They were totally entertaining and the concert was way better then the first one I went to almost 20 years ago. It's amazing how I still know all the words from their old songs. Thanks Heather for reminding me that 32 isn't that old. Just so everyone knows Jared did not think it was appropriate for me to post this. He says I am revealing too much about myself.

Johnathon, Danny, Jordan, Joey and Donny

Who's the Pot Head?

2008-11-12T20:12:00.010-07:00

A Pot Head at 22 months.
Thank goodness her dad is a drug and alcohol counselor.

2008-11-12T19:21:00.002-07:00

David, Naomi and Teagon came for a quick visit. Naomi had a Lia Sophia show and a bridal shower for some of her cousins. The boys enjoyed playing with Teagon. He liked Orion scaring him. He'd laugh and laugh. What a cutie. It was good to see you guys. We'll miss you at Thanksgiving.

Spooks at the Stokes'

2008-11-12T18:57:00.005-07:00

Orion

Jackson

Wynne

2008-11-12T18:31:00.001-07:00

Sugar Cookies

Yummy

2008-11-12T18:08:00.003-07:00

Look at this sunrise! Heavenly Father reminds us of his love in such beautiful ways. We are truly blessed.

We took these pictures right out our back door... Amazing.

2008-10-27T06:25:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday Jackson!
Jackson decided he wanted to have a birthday party with his 10closest friends. Jared and I did a mission impossible treasure hunt where the boys had to shoot guns, bow and arrows and gut a pumpkin to get the next clue. Everyone seemed to have a great time. That night Grandma and Grandpa Stokes, our friends the Allen's and the Clayson's came over for pizza and cake and ice
cream. Thanks to all of the wonderful people who bless our lives and treat our children so wonderful. Jacks we love you and are so glad you are ours.

2008-10-05T21:05:00.003-06:00

Orion lost his front tooth

His whole personality has changed since it fell out. Spooky

We went to Island park and had a great time. The weather was terrible but we had a lot of fun

We went to Island park and had a great time. The weather was terrible but we had a lot of fun. Playing cards

Riding bikes, there were some really good muddy trails.

Wynne loves her dad. She is such a sweet girl

She is practicing her elk call so that she can someday call a big one in for her dad.

We went fishing we didn't catch anything but it was fun

Wynne has a handful of dirt and rocks. She's really good at entertaining herself wherever she goes.
(there was a little dog there and between Wynne and Orion tormenting it I am pretty sure it may need therapy now. They both love little helpless animals).

Jackson and Orion freezing but loving every minute of it.

Say "cheese" boys.

Jared and Me hanging out in our camper. It was a super week end.

2008-10-02T08:14:00.000-06:00

Yea! Archery season is over Football has come to a halt and we have two days before spud harvest begins. To celebrate we are going camping in our new to us camper. When we decide where we are going I will post it so that if any of you want to join us you can.

2008-09-28T19:17:00.000-06:00

Hanging out on Sunday. Our Blond Babes.

2008-09-28T17:56:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we went to a pumpkin party. Our neighbors have a contest every year. The winner grew this pumpkin which weighed over 1000 pounds! There was a watermelon there that weighed 94#s. We had a great time. Maybe we'll enter the contest next year (the family who has a hard time growing grass). The boys were there too but had left with Uncle Sam before I took the picture.

Our Baby Girl

2008-09-26T17:39:00.000-06:00

Wynne makes us smile everyday. She loves her thumb, hair, ice cream, babies, horses, dogs and cows that say "noo". She is talking a lot and loves all the primary songs (especially the ones with actions she is very good at those). Everyone asks me if she looks like I did when I was a baby and tell them No Way she is way cuter then I ever was. She is adorable. I can't get enough of her.

Broncos Rule!

2008-09-26T16:51:00.000-06:00

The boys were on separate teams but they were both "Broncos". They were awesome. Jackson was a maniac on defense he pulled a lot of flags and gained a lot of yardage. Orion got some flags too and made a touch down. They were both really fun to watch and we can't wait for next season. Jackson will be 10 October 17th. WOW! He is enjoying4th grade and loves Idaho History. His class went to Craters of the Moon and he couldn't tell me quick enough how awesome it was. His teacher says he "learns for understanding". Genius! Genius! Orion is 6 and has started Kindergarten. Everyday I ask him what his favorite part of his day was and he says "all of it". I assume that means he likes it. He is always so positive and happy. I'm going to be like him when I grow up.

2008-09-26T16:10:00.000-06:00

This summer Jared and I got to take a few motorcycle trips. This is one we took to Salmon. We stayed at "The Grey House Bed and Breakfast" We stayed in the "Lewis" part of the Cabin and our friends (the Allen's) stayed in the "Clarke". It was a very fun trip. We've also been to West Yellowstone for a day trip and went around Quake Lake. We've really enjoyed having a motorcycle during the short Eastern Idaho months that allow us to use it.

2008-09-14T17:53:00.000-06:00

The Stokes Family
Jackson, Wynne, Emillee, Jared and Orion.