Justin & Toshia

Babysitting Connor

2010-10-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

Daddy sent Sarah a soft teddy bear from Korea, and she loves it!!
Sarah and I got to spend the whole day with my new baby nephew Conner! He is such a cutie!
Sarah liked giving Connor hugs and kisses!

Pictures from Korea

2010-09-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

These are some huts that Koreans used to live in.
These are some Korean dancers I got to see!
This boat was just sitting out in the middle of the lake. It is an old Korean boat.

Are they windows or doors? They are painted doors inside a restaurant, on the other side is just another room!

Me on a Korean swing, it is harder than it looks.

The End...

Sweet Sarah

2010-09-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

Ok well it has been 4 weeks and a couple days that Justin has been in Korea. He actually really likes it over there. He says it is beautiful and the work is fun and challenging! We miss him like crazy, and he misses us, but he is doing what he needs to for his family and so in the end it will all be worth it! Not much going on except alot of waiting to hear from the Army that it is our "turn" to go to Korea! Here a few random pictures of Sarah! She is still as cute and fiesty as ever!

There are no words!

Yay!! She is drinking from a straw! She drank from a straw while her daddy was home but as soon as he left so did her ability, or desire, to drink from a straw! But that Grape Arctic Rush was just the push she needed I guess! HAHA
Rockin' the sunglasses!
Oh and the fancy necklaces she picked out at the store!
Too bad the sun wasnt cooperating! Her shirt says "I want to be in the Army!" Daddy sent it to her!

I'm a slacker!

2010-08-31T22:17:00.001-07:00

Wow! I have really been neglecting our blog! And the bad thing is SO much has happened since I posted last!! So needless to say this is going to be a very long post! (I mean I have to cover 6 whole months here!) I am going to try to put this as much in order as I can but no promises!
Justin joined the Army, active duty. It was a difficult decision but one that we are both happy with so far! He left to Fort Knox, Kentucky for Basic Training on April 5. From there he went to job training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
I am so proud of him! I am proud of his strength and courage, and all the sacrifices he is making not only for his county but for his family! He is truly amazing and I love him so much!

June 6th was a big day at our house also! Sarah turned one!!! It is still hard to believe that my baby is a year old!

We celebrated at the park. Gramma and Grampa spoil her on a regular day so it was no surprise that Gramma picked this cake out for Sarah!

It took her a minute but once we convinced her it was ok to stick her finger in the cake...there was no stopping her!

She loved her princess cake! She wanted everything nonedible out of the way!

Thats better!!!!

WHAT!?! I turned one today?!?! and all these presents are for me!?!?!

On June 17th Justin graduated from Basic Training! Sarah and I, along with my mom and Kortnie, went out to Kentucky to support him and spend a day with him! The graduation was at 9:30am. The picture above was taken at about 9am. We had just gotten to the field and found a spot to sit. We thought we were hot then...
This one was taken at about 9:25am! My poor baby was so hot and sweaty! At 9am that morning it was 98 degrees and 100% humidity! We were all so hot and so miserable! Thank heavens the graduation was barely 45minutes! Any longer and we all would have melted away!
All those boys in their dress uniforms! It really was amazing! So proud of Justin...I mean PFC Eggleston!!!!

Finally getting to see Justin was great! We both missed him so much. We weren't able to talk on the phone or email, we could only write letters to each other! It was a long 10 weeks but we survived!
Sarah was happy to see her daddy! She had not forgotten him!
No one wanted to say goodbye again! Those 8 hours went by way too fast! It was just enough time for Sarah to get re-attached! Poor baby! She couldn't understand why Daddy was saying goodbye AGAIN!

7 weeks later we got to meet Justin at the Boise Airport! We were so anxious! I was surprised that Sarah was still awake! Justins plane landed at 11:15pm! I think she was almost as anxious as me!

Thats one happy daddy and one happy daughter! They were ecstatic to see each other! In fact as soon as Sarah saw Justin she started pushing away from me reaching for him, and when he got to us and tried to hug both of us Sarah pushed me away!

Since we were in Boise anyway we decided to take Sarah to the Zoo! She LOVED the Monkeys! She kept reaching for them and blowing them kisses! It was hilarious! We had to stay in the Monkey area for about 20 minutes because she didnt want to leave them!
The goats on the other hand...not so much! They were crazy! Justin helped her feed them, which she did not find fun at all!

During the 2 weeks that Justin was home we decided to take family pictures! We thought it would be a good idea to do them outside, Sarah did not! It was hot and she did not want her hair in a pony! She had taken her ponytail out and was sitting on dads lap eating jerky!

Fun day of family pictures...uh-huh! Once we got past this little fit though the rest of the day went pretty well!
I love my Soldier!

She loved daddy's dog tags! She liked to put them around her own neck but put them back in daddy's shirt! I mean that is where they belong, right!?

Justin left on the 21st of this month. He got orders to South Korea, Camp Humphreys. His orders are for 2 years. We are working on paperwork for Sarah and I to go over with him. Right now we know we will get to go we are just waiting to find out when! We are hoping soon because we have been missing him long enough! Justin was a little skeptical about going at first, just the fear of the unknown really. He has been there about a week and a half and so far he says it is pretty cool! He seems to like it!

I promise to try and update more often because a post this long is just a pain in the butt! There are also alot of pictures on my facebook. We took SO SO many pictures while Justin was gone so that we could send them to him and some of them are on my facebook page! I probably forgot something but oh well! I'll update again soon!

2010-03-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

My messy eater!
She pulled herself up to stand and is very proud of herself!

Just being her cute little self!

Yes she is always this happy!

Getting ready to go for a walk! She loves the stroller!

Sweet giggles!

Sarah was having too much fun playing with Rocky!

Sarah pulled herself up for the first time! She thought she was pretty great!

Awww...getting kisses from Grandma and Grandpa!
(It's still weird to think of my parents as grandparents!)

If you look closely you can see Sarah's two little teeth on the bottom!

Life is pretty good right now! We are just preparing for Justin to leave for basic training! We are anxious and nervous and excited! Sarah is growing like crazy! She says a few words now, and she walks along the furniture, and as you can see in the picture she even has two little teeth! I cannot believe my sweet baby is 9 months old already!

New Years 2010

2010-01-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2010

We just hung out at home as a family, enjoying our sweet baby!
Partyin' with Daddy on New Years Eve!

I love Sarah's smile! She can light up a room!

She has a high pitched squeal she uses now when she wants something! It is such a frustrating sound! But when she smiles like this I can't help but smile back and laugh with her!

I really do love my baby!

I hope that the new year brings love and joy and happiness to you all! I know we are looking forward to what the new year will bring to our family!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

Family picture Christmas Day
Sarah Lynn 3am Christmas morning
Christmas morning with Grandpa!

Oh yeah! PEZ!

It's just not Christmas without PEZ!

Bein' a stinker!

"????" Sarah wasn't so sure about this one!

But she does love the glow worm Grandpa got for her!

The 'Tickle-me-Elmo' tho...not too sure!
Sarah loves her Uncle Ty! She finds him very interesting
She loves to just sit and relax with Uncle Ty. She pushes his face away when he tries to talk to her or play with her!
"You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose...but you can't pick your family" lol
I don't even know!
Pre-Christmas dinner with Justins family
Braxton and Charlie!
Charlie found this hat and he loved it! It was so cute!
Kisses you say? How about I just eat your face!
Payback! hahaha...She really does love kisses!
This is what Santa brought to Justin and Sarah! His name is Rocky, he's a puggle (pug/beagle)
Sarah loves playing with him and he is great with her!
They love playing together!

Sarah loved her glow worm so much she fell asleep hugging it! Of course everytime she moved it lit up and started playing a lullabye! But still it was cute!

Dinner time!

2009-12-15T13:09:00.000-08:00

Sarah went thru a little thing right after we moved...she would not eat anything! She acted like we were feeding her poison on a spoon! It was funny but frustrating!I love this picture! I was feeding Sarah sweet potatoes and Justin was sitting behind me. Sarah was watching Justin and he would open his mouth wide then Sarah would do the same then I would sneak a spoonful of food into her mouth!I love her facial expressions! She has such a personality!
She actually loves sweet potatoes she was just being a stinker!
And she knew it too! I love her!

Angels on Earth!

2009-12-04T21:43:00.000-08:00

This last week Justin and I received a very generous gift! We got an anonymous card in the mail with quite a bit of money in it. All the card said was "Just pennies from Heaven". We are beyond grateful for this much needed gift! I don't think I could put into words just how grateful we are! So if you are reading this thank you for being an instrument in the Lords hands and helping Him answer our prayers. We hope to someday return the favor, but for now you are in our prayers! THANK YOU!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2009-11-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

Sarah's first Thanksgiving! She was happy she got to eat some new foods! She liked that! Her shirt says "Baby's 1st Thanksgiving" and it has a turkey on it! I tried to get a pic of it but she just wanted to eat! Not pose for pics!
Saturday was Grandpa Eggleston's 90th birthday party! This is Grandpa E, Pappa Chris, Justin and Sarah -- 4 generations!
This is Grandpa E, Chris (Justin's dad), 4 of the 6 boys (jason and his family couldn't make it :,( we missed them and our nephew Russel!) and their kids!

Sarah's first time in a swimming pool! (This bathing suit is 12 months and it fits her!!)
The water was a little cold! lol! Sarah didn't mind but Justin did!

TV & Cereal

2009-11-13T20:04:00.000-08:00

Sarah is so funny! She loves to watch TV (specifically football lol)! She stuck her head through the toy bar so she could see the TV better! It was hilarious! I kept putting the toys back in front of her and she kept stickin' her head through! Notice the DROOL!! lolSarah just started eating cereal on Monday! She loves it! She only tries to help once in a while! She kept looking at me like 'Mom put the dang camera away and feed me!'

2009-11-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

Sarah dressed as a monkey for Halloween! I put the pink bow on her head and one on the tail so people wouldn't ask if she was a boy or girl!

Heck yes we took her trick or treating! She had fun, she fell asleep after about 20 minutes but that didn't stop Justin! He kept going!

Sarah wanted to share the wealth!Sarah is a droolin' fool! She had only been in this thing like 2 minutes! I love her smiles! She is too sweet!Sitting up on her own! She is growing too fast! But it is exciting!She loves her Daddy! She loves to cuddle with him!It is so sweet!

Sweet things come in small packages!

2009-10-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

So for the last couple of weeks Sarah has been trying to figure out how to get those darn toys into her mouth. Usually she grabs them and pulls herself toward them but she cant quite reach them to her mouth. Today she got it!! She grabbed ahold of the bar and pulled that toward her so she could 'eat' the toys. It was funny to watch her try to eat the Pooh and Tigger because they would dangle around while the swing was moving and she had her mouth open chasing them! She is just too cute!

Lots of Sarah

2009-10-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

Sarah loves to play with her Daddy, but when the camera comes out she gets a little distracted.

A couple weekends ago one of our nephews had his birthday party at Hop-To-It. It was tons of fun for the kids and the adults!

Sarah liked bouncin' up and down!

Justin jousting with the little kids!
Jessi took him down!
Having fun at the bouncy house!

She wasn't so sure about the balls. They felt weird to sit on!

Tuckered out after all that excitement!

She has a fascination with her own hair. Maybe because it is so soft!

I love how precious she looks when she sleeps, like a perfect little angel!

This is a blurry picture because she was swinging, but this is a few weeks back, it was the first time I caught her reaching out and grabbing her toys!!

I was in the kitchen making dinner and when I came out Justin was holding Sarah like this while he was watching TV and she was looking up at him. It was so sweet! She is most definantly her Daddy's Girl!

Some mornings around 5ish I bring Sarah into our bed after I feed her. If she wakes up before Justin she will stare at him and yell and squeal! She kicks at him and gets upset if he doesn't wake up and play with her! Its funny!

Once again distracted by the camera!

Ok...about a week ago I laid Sarah down in the center of her floor gym and went to the bathroom...when I came out she had scooted herself over to the bar so she could play with the toys over there. Now she scoots herself all around it!

She has recently decided that whatever is on the floor MUST be more exciting than Pooh and Tigger! So she hangs over the side of her swing!

Mostly Sarah

2009-09-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

Sarah on daddy's shoulders!She liked it, she just wanted to eat his hair while she was up there!

Sarah is very ticklish!

Playing with Aunt Jessi!

Playing on the floor mat that Grandma bought for her!

Trying to roll over!

She's almost got it!

In her carseat, ready to go...yep you guessed it! To Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Daddy and Sarah playing

She is very intrigued by the camera!
Awww...

Sarah's first pony tails! I LOVE IT!!!!

She LOVES bath time!

She doent like the part about getting dry and dressed tho! I think she would stay in the bath forever if she could!!!

Sarah

2009-09-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

Grandma giving Sarah loves!!

Jessi and Sarah at the fair wearin a Smokey the Bear hat!!!

Sarah's crazy hair! I love it!!!

These are Sarah's monkey heads on her car seat straps! She is our little monkey!!
This was the first time Sarah found a substitute for her binky!! Instead of crying she found her blankie and sucked on that!! This is quite a feat since not too long ago she couldn't even get her hand within 3 inches of her face without smackin herself in the eye!

Joshua Dale Eggleston

2009-08-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have been trying to think of how to write this post and it has been difficult for me. On July 18 Justin's older brother Joshua was killed in a car accident. He was Chief Sheriff's Deputy in Lincoln County, Idaho. While on duty one of his tires blew and he rolled his patrol unit. The local papers hailed him a hero because of the things he did to help his community as a cop and as a citizen. He had quite the send off. Hundreds of police officers from across the state of Idaho attended his funeral. There was an Honor Guard at each end of his casket, 21 gun salute, the whole shebang, just the way he would have wanted it. The services were absolutely amazing!
I think one of the most difficult things in life is to lose a loved one. I am grateful for the Gospel and the comfort it provides in times like these. Josh was more of a brother than a brother-in-law to me and I am thankful for the short time I knew him. He touched so many lives, he will be missed by so many people and his memory will live on in the hearts of so many! We love you and miss you Josh!
Joshua Dale Eggleston
May 23, 1974-July 18, 2009

My pride and joy!

2009-07-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am pretty proud of my sweet baby and think that she is beautiful and perfect! I can't help but take picture after picture of her pretty little self (neither can my mom!!). So here are a few of those pictures... I am pretty sure Braxton loves his new cousin! He is so sweet with her, and so helpful. It is so cute!

We blessed Sarah Lynn on July 5. She looked so beautiful. We had quite a bit of family show up and we were very grateful. Thank you to all all who came to show their support! Four generations...

We took Sarah Lynn in and had pictures taken when she was 1 month old (July 4). They turned out really cute!

Lots of Sarah Lynn

2009-06-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

Love this last picture! She is always just full of smiles! I love it!!!

The last few weeks we have just been hanging out enjoying our perfect Sarah Lynn.

Today is Justins birthday! He had to work, so we are waiting til tomorrow to celebrate, he decided he wanted to go through the Temple here. Its like right down the road from our house and we have yet to go through.

Crazy Hair

2009-06-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

I love this picture!!!

These are my two favorites so far! I love them both!!

More Sarah Lynn

2009-06-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

Just more pictures of our sweet baby girl! We love her so much!

Sarah Lynn

2009-06-09T23:07:00.000-07:00

Sarah Lynn born June 6th, 2009 (her due date!). She was 9lbs 4oz and 20 inches long!!! She is absolutely perfect! We could not be more in love with her! We can't stop staring at her!

I'm sure that my mom and dad have and will have more pictures on their blog!

Crazy Weekend

2009-01-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess its been awhile since we posted, so...

I guess I'll go way back to November and work my way forward!
Kortie turned 19 in November. My parents took us all out for lunch (except Jessi, she doesn't like Mexican food). They sang Happy Birthday to Kort in Spanish and English then covered her face in whipped cream! It was funny!

We spent Christmas Eve with Justin's family and Christmas Day with my family! It was very fun! I don't have any pictures because I forgot my camera(that seems to happen alot!). We didn't do anything special for New Years Eve. In fact, Justin had to work all night and I babysat while my dad was livin' like a rockstar!

This weekend was a busy one for us! Friday night I went to Ty's basketball game with my parents. He's a stud. Again I forgot my camera but I have some pictures from one of Ty's other games I went to a couple weeks ago.

Saturday morning I went to Jessi's game. She plays basketball too. And once again, yes I forgot my camera. My mom had hers though, so I am sure she will have pictures up before too long.

Then Saturday night after Ty's game Justin and I, and Justins brother and sister-in-law, went and watched my dad and his band Rough Draft play. My dad looked so rockstar. I am very proud of him. My whole life both my parents have been supporting me and helping me realize my dreams. It was so awesome to see my dad living his lifelong dream. I was very, very proud of him!! Justins favorite part was when my dad played his guitar behind his head! I must admit even though I have seen him do it literally hundreds of times I am still impressed everytime!!

2008-12-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

I wrote a paper for my health class. The assignment was to write a journal type essay on the one thing that I was most thankful for. I chose my family. After that we were supposed to decide which dimension of health it applied to and blah, blah, blah...Anyway, I wanted to share it. Its kinda long so... I just thought it was important to make sure the people I love know it! (sorry no pictures this time!)

Ok well Justin says the hormones have officially made me crazy, which is scary because it is still so early! Anyway, maybe he is right. Maybe it is the hormones, or maybe it is this most amazing time of year, I don't know, but either way I feel like I have so much to be thankful for.
First of all, I have the most amazing husband a girl could ask for. I know without a doubt that he loves me; he shows me that every minute of every day. I know that he will be a great daddy.
I guess I really want my family to know how much they mean to me. I sometimes forget to say it or even show it. Some people say that you can't choose your family, but I believe that I did choose my parents and that they chose my sisters, brother and me.
My mom used to tell my sister and I that people would always come and go in our lives but we would always be sisters. I used to hate when she would say that, but now I think it all the time. It's not right to say that my sister is my best friend, instead she is my sister. I don't think a best friend even compares to the relationship between sisters.
Then there is my brother. I know he can be a pain, but hey I love him. Even though we used to literally torture him until he would explode, he still looks up to me. I only hope that I can live up to his expectations. He was always proud to be my little brother. I hope that he will always feel that way, because I certainly feel proud to be his big sister.
My baby sister, do I really need to say more? I think anyone who has a baby sister knows how I feel. She taught me so much. She lovesme unconditionally, no matter what I do or say. From the day that she was born, she seemed to be my reason for living. She is and always will be my baby sister!
Not only was I blessed with an amazing family, but with some pretty great in laws. I have some of the best brothers and sisters in law. They are truly an inspiration to me (even if some of them live hundreds of miles away!) Their faith and courage strengthens me everyday. From day one they treated me like a sister, not just the girl who married their brother. And when I married Justin I gained some pretty neat nieces and nephews, who I love very much!
Now I know I didn’t say much about my parents. I am very thankful for them. I just don’t think there are words to describe how much they sacrificed for me and how much I truly love them. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. All I can say is that I love them very much and I am thankful for every thing they have done and continue to do for me.

Havin' my baby!

2008-11-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

Two nights ago Justin and I went to the movie with my mom and dad, and little sisters and brother!It was fun. We saw Four Christmases! It's about spending Christmas with in-laws(the crazy kind!) After the movie my dad made a comment about "Now I feel bad for being an in-law!" Justin wanted me to clarify that we don't think we have crazy in-laws! We just wanted to set the record straight!

Last night Justin and I went to my parents house for a fun family game night! It really was fun! I put a family slideshow together with a bunch of pictures from when we were growing up. I set music to it and everything. Not to brag, but I think it was pretty sweet! I think the best part of the slide show was the last few slides. I'll post those three on here so you can see what I mean! (the whole slide show was over 20 minutes so I'm not posting the whole thing!)

Their reaction was great! When that first slide popped up at the end both my parents were like "wait, what?" and then after a second it sunk in and my dad was like "seriously? thats awesome!" It was way cool! So yes, Justin and I are having a baby. Our due date is June 6, 2009. We are ecstatic. So far we have had one ultrasound (8weeks) and we have heard the baby's heartbeat and movements. On Monday we get to hear the baby's heartbeat again. We are thirteen weeksright now! We don't know yet if it is a boy or girl. We don't know yet if we want to know! We both kind of want to be surprised. I guess it will depend on our mood when we have our next ultrasound!

Pumpkins and Baptizms

2008-11-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

Ok this was supposed to be posted last Sunday (11/2)...but our internet was being weird, so it is a little late!

Justin and I didn't really do anything for Halloween. We just hung lights and carved pumpkins. Here is a picture of our pumpkins. The silly face is mine, and the pirate skelaton head is Justin's. We had fun carving them together!

Yesterday, Justin and I went to Burley and Justin had the privilage of baptizing his nephew, Braxton. He was a little nervous (actually, I don't think nervous is the right word, he was more anxious and excited! After all this was his first time baptizing anyone.) He did so good, I was very proud of him. We are also very proud of our nephew for choosing to be baptized. Today we went back for Braxtons confirmation. His dad confirmed him. It was great! Justin kept saying how honored he felt that Braxton asked him to be a part of this special event.

"My Wish"

2008-09-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Ok so the other day I was on my way to work and I was listening to the radio. This song that I had heard at least 100 times came on. As I listened to the words of the song I had this thought. I could just imagine our Heavenly Father saying something similar to this. It just reminded me how much He loves us, and all the things He wants for each and every one of us. So, I just thought I would share my feelings about this song with everybody!

"My Wish" -Rascal Flatts
I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you’re faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin’ till you find the window,
If it’s cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you’re out there gettin’ where you’re gettin’ to,
I hope you know somebody loves you,
and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God’s grace in every mistake,
And always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you’re out there gettin’ where you’re gettin’ to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

My wish for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you’re out there gettin’ where you’re gettin’ to,
I hope you know somebody loves you,
and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big

Too Tired To Sleep

2008-08-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

Ok so some of you might know that our cat, Stretch, ran away about 4 or 5 months ago. It was very sad, Justin still misses him very much :'( We decided to get a new kitty. He was very cute at the pet store. Now he is just kinda mean. The top picture was right after we got him when he was still cute and cuddley and fuzzy. The other ones are within the last week or two. His name is
"Chevy". He is kind of a mean spirited little stinker. I have the cuts and scratches to prove it!!! He does like Justin though and thats what counts I guess.

This was the weekend after the Fourth of July when Justin and I went fishing at Milner Dam By Burley. It was fun we could see the huge carp jumping in the water. We don't really have heavy duty poles or fishing line so a couple of the big carp got away with a hook or two. Justin was trying to reel in a big fish he caught but it just snapped the line and took off with his hook, line and sinker. It was pretty funny. I also was lucky enough to catch the biggest and the littlest fish of the day. I would say the littlest one was about:

[_______________________________] and my biggest fish was probably about this big:

[_____________________________________________]

Haha those are probably pretty acurate measurements!!! My brother-in-law caught 3 fish and he was pretty sure it was the same little fish all three times!!! LOL We did have fun though. We love to go fishing with Justin's Brother and Sister-In-Law, and niece!!

Last week two of my nieces, Jaxi and Tori, and my little sister Jessi, came and stayed a couple nights with us. We had fun. Justin and I took them to the Temple Open House. All three of them had already been through it. I was amazed at how excited they were to go through again. I was a little worried that they would get bored and start misbehaving, but they didn't. They just kept saying 'wait til you see the next part' or 'there's this one thing that's really cool'. I thought it was great that they were so intrigued. I also took them to the park that is just down the street from our house. They had fun playing. I love when the kids come over and play. I also noticed the other day that I only ever post pictures of like 3 or 4 of my nieces and nephews, just so you know we have around 22 nieces and nephews total. We don't get to see all of them as much as we would like but they do exist!!

Justin and I went fishing again last weekend. We didn't catch anything! My neice and I decided that the fish just aren't hungry this summer! We tried some new bait because we got a tip from a guy who was catching tons of fish on the dock next to us. Sadly, it didn't work for us!

I started work on Thursday. I am back at the same pre-school I was at last year. It is a little bit of a commute, but I just love my job too much to leave. CSI classes start on the 25th of Aug. So Justin will be starting his last year! In case you haven't checked our countdown at the bottom of our page, he has 8 months and 21 days to graduation!!!! Only two more SEMESTERS!! I am so excited!!!!

I heard something interesting the other day that I thought was worth mentioning. It turns out that the "gates" were open the same day the Temple Open House started so the Shoshone Falls are Full Flow, just like in the paintings and in President Hinkley's vision. And they will be shut the last night of the open house(and this was not planned by the city or the church it just happend that way). Last winter everyone here was complaining about all the snow we got, but it was because of that, the dam could be opened so early. I just thought it was cool that the Falls could flow the way they are painted in the Temple and the way the Prophet saw them in his vision of the Twin Falls Temple. I will try to scan the picture of the temple that has the falls in it. Anyway...

I finally decided!

2008-08-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ok so over there on our little 'About Me' paragraph thing it says that Justin is going to school to be an Auto Tech and that I haven't decided. Well, good news! I HAVE decided! I want to teach preschool! So I am going to get my Early Childhood Special Education Blended Certificate. It sounds like a lot but really it just means I can teach preschool through 3rd grade special ed or not. Anyway...the plan is as soon as Justin graduates we are moving to Pocatello so that I can go to ISU and finally finish school! So, I am pretty excited that I finally know what I am going to school for!

I've been tagged!

2008-07-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Where were you 10 years ago? Justin: It was summer before my Junior year. I was just working at Wal Mart and hanging out with Thomas.
Toshia: Wow, ok 10 years ago I was, ready for this, enjoying my summer before I started 6th grade! I don't really remember much about that summer except the neighbor boy, Ryan, and his friend Andrew. They used to come over and jump on the trampoline everyday! I do remember 6th grade tho, the friends I made that year stuck and we had fun together for the next 6 years!

Five things on today's to-do list?
1. Pick up the house a little
2. Get some pictures developed
3. Make Visiting Teaching Plans
4. Feed the Missionaries
5. Clean the Kitty litter box (that's on Justin's to-do list!!)

A snack I enjoy: Jusitn: Oreos
Toshia: a snack? hmmm, I dunno, baby carrots & animal cookies... not together, but as two different snacks.

Things I would do if I were a millionaire: Justin: Start my own business.
Toshia: Oh man I think the real question is what wouldn't I do? I would probably buy a cute little house somewhere beautiful, so I would have somewhere to call home. But then I would just travel. Travel everywhere! I mean EVERYWHERE!

Places I have lived: Justin: Burley, Heyburn, Pocatello, Boise, back to Pocatello, back to Heyburn, to Wendell, and now to Twin Falls.
Toshia: Wendell, Jerome, Wendell, Coos Bay then North Bend, OR, back to Wendell, then Hagerman, Wendell, Rupert, Wendell, and then Amon/IF and back to Wendell, then two different houses in Newport, OR, back to Wendell again, to Provo, to Pocatello, Heyburn, BACK to Wendell AGAIN, and now Twin Falls! Sadly when Justin graduates we are planning to move again, but this time hopefull we will stay a while!
Ok so now we tag all of you! (NO TAG BACKS!!! hahaha)

Camping

2008-07-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

Justin and I went camping over the 4th of July weekend. The only downside was that we missed the fireworks. We did get to see some while we there, they were a little ways from us but we could still see them. We went to a place called Hayspur, between Shoshone and Sun Valley. Justin and I had never been there, but one of Justin's brothers was there and told us how to get there. So we camped with Justin's brother Chet, his wife Teresa, and their daughter Taylor. We fished all day, and I mean ALL day, Saturday and didn't catch a single thing!!! The sad thing is that this particular stream is stocked (it is part of a fish hatchery). We could see the fish in the water, they were huge, and we watched them swim right past our hooks! We used every type of lure and bait we had (which was a lot)! Anyway the weekend was alot of fun, we enjoyed capming with family! Here's Justin PRETENDING he caught a BIG fish!!!Yes, that is a PINK pole AND a PINK princess chair!! ha ha!And yes that is a pretty pink bike!! It was beautiful where we camped. It has been so long since I enjoyed the beauty that is truly all around me! (Unfortanately that nice fifth wheel and truck overe there are not ours! We slept in a tiny little tent!)

Splish Splash...

2008-07-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

A couple saturdays ago Justin and I went to Dietrich to visit with his brother, Josh, and his family. Actually I went to visit, Justin went to help Josh out with some "Automotive Technician" stuff. Anyway, they barbequed (thanks for dinner by the way!) and we ate dinner outside. After dinner Josh was watering some strawberry plants in front of his house. Charlie (he was exactly 11 mo that day) decided to run through the hole in the hose! Well he ran as fast as his chubby little baby legs would carry him. It was so adorable!

Jaxi and Tori had just finished swimming and changed into dry clothes or they probably would have joined him!

Caught a fish!!

2008-07-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

Justin and I have been fishing a few times over the last week or so, and haven't had a single bite. Yesterday we went and we weren't having much luck. I told Justin we had to go fishing every night until we caught something. He was getting tired and wanted to go so I was just dangling my line over the dock waiting. And then out of no where a big fish tried to eat my dead worm and I caught one!!! It was crazy! The one time I didn't take my camera with us we caught something! We just do 'catch and release' so we didn't keep it. But still it was fun, our first fish this year.

Justin's Birthday

2008-06-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Justin's golden birthday! He turned 26 on the 26th. I bought him stuff for fishing and camping. Fishing poles, full tackle box, sleeping bags, a tent, and bug spray! We went fishing and had a picnic when Justin got home from work.

I also bought Justin a smiley face cake. He didn't know about it until after we got back from fishing. I told him to wait in the bedroom while I got the cake ready (he didn't know what I was doing). So I got the cake out and lit all 26 candles, then took a picture.
When I went in to the bedroom to tell him I was ready he pretended he was sleeping because it took me too long. So by the time I got him to stop faking and come out I turned around and the cake was on fire!!! Yeah, on fire!! The candles melted to fast and caught the plastic glasses on fire. So I had to run over and blow out all the candles! After we picked all the wax and burnt plastic off the cake it was still pretty good!
By the way...if anyone is curious we have a counter at the bottom of our page that counts down to Justin's graduation day.

Sunday Afternoons

2008-05-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Justin and I stay so busy through the week that when Sunday comes around we don't know what to do with ourselves! We try to catch up on sleep but that only gets us so far... we get really, really bored!

Random

2008-05-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

WOW! I can’t believe it is the middle of May already! This year seems to be going by so quickly. Justin only has one year left of school! I am so proud of him for working so hard and doing so well in school so far. He got a B in his Chemistry class! (At mid-term he had a D…so a B is AWESOME!) He is going to be working at his sponsoring dealership for the summer! One of my favorite things about Justin is his desire to be such a hard worker. Even though he doesn’t HAVE to start working until the first of June he went in the day after his last day of class! He doesn’t want to miss a second of learning (he has a mentor who teaches him on-the-job stuff).

Anyway…enough about Justin, lets talk about me! Ha Ha just kidding…but seriously… Thursday was the last day of preschool :'( Out of 23 preschoolers 17 will go to kindergarten next year. I am going to miss them so much. Thursday was kind of bittersweet because I am relieved that school is almost over but it was sad because those kids really grow on ya. It was still fun though. We finger painted!! Talk about fun! I still have to work for two weeks though, doing screenings and testing for kids who will come in next year. Oh and we have inventory and cleaning. So the next two weeks will be hard work.

Last weekend we went to Jerome and celebrated Ty’s birthday with my family. He turned 15. I can’t believe my chubby little brother is a superstar teenage athlete! We went and watched him play baseball today. It was hot!(It was over 90 degrees out there and his game started at noon!!) When we first got there my mom offered us sunscreen and being total idiots we said no thanks. (I wanted to get a little color…unfortunately the only color I got was red!!) So now we are sun burnt! Anyway Ty did really good. His team lost but Ty did good! Sometimes I am so jealous of my little brother! He is so cool and he has so much talent. I wish I could have had half the talent he has. I am so proud of him for working so hard to be such a star. Today he pitched, caught and played a little shortstop.

Two weeks ago our cat, Stretch, left and hasn’t come back since. I keep telling Justin he will come back, but…Justin has had Stretch for over 5 years, since he was a kitten. I hope he comes back, for Justin’s sake.

April...

2008-04-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

So here’s a post to let everyone know that we are still alive!! And to give a little update on what happened with us in April.

Well, at the first of the month we moved! We live in Twin now, in a cute little one bedroom apartment. I don’t have any pictures of it yet because we haven’t actually finished unpacking so…it’s kind of a mess! We like living in Twin. We are just a couple of blocks from The College, so that’s nice. Plus we don’t have to drive 25 miles to go to a store!!! Our Cat wasn’t too happy about the move though. We kept him inside for the first two weeks; we didn’t want him to run away! All he did the whole two weeks was stand at the door just like that!!

Two days after we moved I turned 21! My parents took us out for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. It was nice.

A week later we went to Jerome and celebrated Jessi’s 10th birthday with her! She is growing up so fast! I remember the day she was born. I remember my dad calling from the hospital and saying “You have a new baby sister” I was so excited! And now she is 10! I can’t believe it! It doesn’t matter how old she gets though, she will always be my baby sister!! I love you Jess!

This last Sunday was quite eventful for us. It started out nice and quiet. We went to our new ward here in Twin, it was…small and…loud, very loud! We came home and put in a movie and were planning on taking a nap. About 3 o’clock there was a knock at the door. Apparently, we had a new neighbor. She is…different. After introducing herself she asked if we drank, we said no and she was taken aback. “Well then, do you smoke pot?” was her next question. When we said no, she said “Oh, so you guys are like perfect or something?” again we said no so she asked, “So what do you do then? Crack?” Ok now we were starting to get freaked out!! We kept trying to politely go back inside but she just kept talking! Finally we just jumped on the motorcycle and left! We came back and tried to sneak in the front door. About 5:30 there was another knock on the door. We weren’t going to answer it (ok I wasn’t going to answer but Justin is just too nice). It was her friend this time. She needed to borrow our phone because our neighbor had fallen down her stairs and thought she broke her arm…oh and she thought she had a stroke! Come to find out this lady is a raging alcoholic. She was so drunk she couldn’t…she just couldn’t. The ambulance came and took her away! We have tried to keep our distance and be very quiet so she doesn’t know we’re home…ever!

So that was April for us, just as boring as the other 11 months! We stay pretty busy with work and school and crazy neighbors, but I am going to try to post more than once a month. This post was way too long! And if you read all that I’m sorry it wasn’t more interesting!

This is the last time I let Justin take the picture! HA HA HA!!

A Baby's Laughter

2008-03-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Charlie is our 8 month old nephew. He is absolutely the cutest thing I have ever seen, and he just loves Justin. They played together and had a great time. This has got to be the best sound in the whole world, a baby's laughter!

Twin Falls Temple

2008-03-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago Justin and I drove by the Temple and decided to stop and take some pictures. These pictures don't even begin to capture the beauty of this Temple. It is amazing! The best part is that no matter which direction you come into Twin Falls that spire with the Angel Moroni is the first thing that is seen. It is so cool to have a temple so close! We can't wait until it is finished so we can go through it!

Living in Idaho

2008-02-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

I guess living in Idaho isn't ALL bad! There really is beauty all around! (That's the Temple across the Canyon... by the way!)

Valentine's Day!

2008-02-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Day this year Justin took me to dinner and to a movie. We had fun. He gave me a teddy bear, a picture frame, some chocolate, and a single red rose! I sent him balloons at work! Justin also ordered me an amazingly beautiful bracelet! It was supposed to be here on Valentine's Day, but I still don't have it yet :,( I can't wait to get it so I can wear it! Anyway...We had a fun Valentine's date!

US!

2008-02-23T14:00:00.000-08:00

So I was looking at our page today and realized that there are no pictures of Justin and I, and it is OUR page! So here we are. Life is pretty good for us right now. We are just hangin' in there, counting down the days to Justin's graduation (15 months!).
Not much has changed recently. Our dog, Skooter, got hit by a car a few weeks back. Justin was heartbroken, it was terrible. We still miss him.

Other than that everything is good. Justin is working on a remodel right now. He is doing a kitchen, family room and dining room. I know, like he isn't busy enough as it is. The good thing is that he doesn't really have a time limit. He can work on it at his own pace, but anyone who knows Justin knows that he will work his butt off to get it done in good time. So between the remodel and school, he will be very busy!

Tennessee Three

2008-02-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back Justin and I took our niece, Jaxi to the Tennessee Three concert. For those of you who don't know, Tennessee Three is the same band that played with Johnny Cash. The girl in the red shirt is Scarlett. She first sang on stage with June Carter. The man is Bob Wootton. He was Johnny's lead guitarist and good friend. As some of you may already know, Jaxi is a huge Johnny Cash fan. She was so excited! She had a huge grin on her face the whole time. I think that those are the moments that parents must live for. The moments when their child’s smile shines brighter than the sun. It feels like, for just that single moment in time, the world has stopped and everything that was bogging you down is nonexistant. At least thats how it felt when I watched Jaxi enjoy the concert. And I like to imagine that it will feel like that when I have my own children. Anyway, we had fun and it was as close as Jaxi (and Justin & I) will ever get to seeing Johnny Cash play live.

New Job

2008-02-13T20:49:00.000-08:00

I started a new job about three weeks ago. I am working in the Pre-School at our elementary school in Wendell. I love it. I work with 3 to 5 year olds all day long. It is so great, the kids are so much fun. I think I learn as much, if not more, from them as they do from me. It is the most rewarding job I have ever had. I absolutely love it!
Justin is working for his sponsering dealership right now. He goes back to school March 10th. He will finish out the semester at school and then work through the summer. For now he is loving working at the dealership. He gets to work on cars all day! Its great to see him come home from a hard day at work and know that he doesn't dread going back the next day.

True meaning of Christmas

2008-01-10T12:18:00.001-08:00

This year Justin and I got to spend Christmas with Justin's brother, Josh and his family. It was so much fun. It was amazing how excited ALL the kids got about EVERYTHING Santa brought them. It was hard not to get lost in all the child-like enthusiasm and excitement of the morning. Charly, the baby, had more fun eating the wrapping paper than anything else. It was very adorable! I think the highlight of the morning was when Tori pulled a handful of pony-tails out of her stocking, stood up and started shouting "PONYTAILS! MOMMY LOOK I GOT PONYTAILS!!" She was so excited about ponytails, it was so cute! She reminded me that it is the little things in life that I need to be thankful for, that it is ok to get excited about 'pony-tails'. We really did have a wonderful Christmas!