I hope they call me on a mission......

We have been dreading and have been excited for this day to come. Dreading because we are going to miss him so much. Especially those of us living in my house. Layne is not going to know what to do with out his best friend and same with Ellie. Me, I just love the kid and will miss him tons. But we are excited because he is doing what he is called to do. When you ask him why he is going he will say "don't you think he has done enough for me?" What a true missionary!!!!

Brad is going to a far far away land with millions of people in South America. Brad Darrington has been called to serve in the Buenos Aires, Argentina Mission where he will be learning to speak Spanish and will be leaving December 16, 2009. CONGRATS BRAD!!!! We love you... (Look it up, he is going to an amazing place...)

Sky Diving "Brothers"

Yesterday was such a fun day. We headed to Jerome around 11 to watch the boys and girl sky dive. And by boys and girl I mean: Brad, Jacob, Drew, Blake, Kaylen, Kacey (friend), Simco (friend), and Keylee Ward.

They were suppose to "JUMP" at noon and apparently be out of there by 3:30 to 4 at the latest. Well, things did not quite go as planned. According to the owner this was the busiest day that he has ever had since he opened up for sky diving. And it just so happens to be the day our boys and Keylee decide to go. Which doesn't matter cause they all jumped and we had a good time but it didn't get going till almost 3 o'clock. We had watched a few groups go and they jumped at 4,000 feet which seemed really high to us but apparently it wasn't. Our boys jumped from 10,000 feet. It was REALLY HIGH!!!
Kaylen and Keylee were the first to go up... Aunt Marva was a nervous wreck and paced and paced and paced until it was all over. But when Kaylen was on the ground everyone could breath easy cause the first group went and everything went smoothly. Second group was Blake and Simco, then Drew and Kacey, and last but not least were my "BROTHERS", Brad and Jacob.
I would never admit this to them but deep down I was a little freaked out and could throw up at any given moment. I love these two boys to death and WOW scary for those sitting on the sidelines. But it all turned out all right and was glad that they got to go up together. I have alot more pictures but just wanted to make sure Brad and Jacob know how much I love them and am VERY glad they made it down safely... I wish I could of got a close up of Brad after he jumped he was WHITER then a ghost, he looked like he did right after many of his surgeries... Thank goodness at dinner the color started coming back and he looked almost alive again. Overall it was an exciting day and they made it sound like so much fun that maybe I'll have to do it next year when they go again.

Swimming with Breken

Ami and I have been wanting to do something all summer and finally the week before school started we got our chance. We took Ellie and Breken out to lunch and then over to the swimming pool so they could get their last swim in before they closed up for the fall. Ellie loves swimming there and would go everyday if I let her. Breken on the other hand has never been there and soon became a HUGE fan. He was nothing but giggles and splashes. My favorite part was when he would get up on all fours and chase his shadow. We just love Ami and Breken and were so gratful to spend the day with them.

Big Girl Bike

A few weeks ago I decided it was time for Ellie to have a big girl bike to ride. She thought it was a great idea and couldn't wait to get it home. Until she realized it's really hard to ride. She would try for 2 minutes get really mad and give up. Try again and give up. So a few days later Kenna called and said let's take the kids to the church to go riding, I agreed and thought it would be fun for Ellie and maybe Kenna's kids could motivate her to ride. NOT A CHANCE! She wanted to ride Kendrie's bike and all they did was fight. But by the time we were all finished she kinda figured out how to ride and liked it. Now, two weeks later she is "attempting" to ride like a pro. She likes it and actually always wants to wear her new "DORA" helment. We'll just keep practicing till the snow comes...

100 Days to go!!!

I cannot believe in around 100 days our second little one will be entering this world. I can say that I am excited and ANXIOUS to see how our world is going to fit together with two little ones. I hope that it is an easy transition and Ellie learns to share her mommy. We have been having issues with her and not wanting to share in general. I think that she knows something is coming and isn't ready to handle it.

I have been told with this one that I will probably get a shy little girl. I don't know what I will do with shy?!?! Ellie is without question outgoing! She will wave at anyone and love on them with out ever seeing them before in her life. She will go up to other kids and tell them her name is Ellie and proceed to be their "BEST FRIEND". Because everyone is her best friend lately. I assume that to some extent I believe this to be true. Baby #2 is non-aggressive, she moves plenty but in a totally different way then Ellie ever did. She is gentle and "quiet" except when her Daddy is trying to play with her (she winds up and gives him everything she's got). By quiet I mean she never try's to get my attention, it's just so different then Ellie.

I cannot wait for baby "Dora Boots" (according to Ellie) to get here. Sometimes the anticipation about kills me. But I don't have time to worry about it with school work to do, volleyball to coach, and subbing to do. I am plenty busy all on my own. And will completely feel better when I get the two girl's rooms cleaned out and set up. DI here we come.

That time of year Again!

So like I mentioned before volleyball has started with tryouts on Friday and regular practices starting Monday. I love this time of year and especially this year because right after the season is over my little baby girl will join our family. On top of that excitement I feel as though we have a very good chance of going to state. I hope that the girls want it as much as they say they do and are willing to work for it. Here's to a good season. Wish us all luck!

Fair Week

The Rabbit Show
Ellie taking a picture of everyone watching the Rabbit Show!
Wanted a picture with her tongue sticking out like her mom.

Ellie showing off her photography skills... I think she did pretty good!

The Parade


Brad in the parade with BLM.

This year at the fair Layne and I had quite a few responsibilities with being in charge of the Stake booth for our ward. A month ago Layne and I were called as junior chairmen over our ward and accepted the calling. We were suppose to be learning our job this year and not be in charge until next. But it just so happens that the people in charge this year decided that they had other things to do and Layne and I got to be in charge after all. So for our training we had to work in the fair booth all day Tuesday from 8 am to 4:30 pm. We learned what needed to be done and how to make the Maple Bars. It was an exhausting but we were grateful for the calling. Thank goodness for Kenna for watching Ellie and making sure she was taken care of.

Wednesday we went to the Parade and also went back to the fair that night to watch the girls show their rabbits. They both did amazingly well and we had a great time enjoying all the food and watching them show.

Thursday was our day to be back in the fair booth and be in charge of making sure everything got done. We were in their again from 8am to 4:30 pm. Again Kenna took Ellie all day and made sure she had fun. They went to the carnival and the pig show. When Layne and I got to the carnival to pick Ellie up she did NOT want to go with us. She wanted to stay with Kenna and the kids. Eventually she got over it and fell asleep standing up in the pickup.

Friday was the only day that we did not make an appearance at the fair which was great cause I had volleyball tryouts and really was tired and just needed to rest.

Saturday we went to the rodeo and enjoyed the last night of the fair. I love the nights at the fair because you can always tell that FALL is in the air or as Layne would call it "corn chopping weather".

Sunday Racing

For the past few weeks all the Darrington boy cousins and friends have been getting together at Val and Teresa's to race their 50's (mini motorcycles). It has turned out to be quite an event. Alot of the Aunts and Uncles have also been coming over just to watch... The boys wreck all the time, but they sure have alot of fun doing it. Along with racing, everyone takes a break half way through for Val to make hamburgers for everyone to eat. I hope that they know it is much appreciated maybe we should all start donating a few bucks to help feed us all... I'm sure it gets spendy. It is great fun and it's always nice to look forward to spending time with family!

Nielsen Family Reunion

This year for the Nielsen family Reunion we decided to change the date and go camping instead of what we usually do. Which turned out awesome. We haven't been able to go as a family yet and so we were happy to use this opportunity to go up a day early and just spend time as a family. Everyone started showing up Friday afternoon and the festivities began with alot of RAIN and HAIL and kids playing in the mud. Friday night we ate dutch oven and watched a video of old pictures that grandma had made. When the adults went to bed (including me) the rest of the kids stayed up to watch Napolean Dynamite on the projector that Kelly had brought up. When we got up in the morning we ate muffins and omelets. After we were done eating everyone just ran around and played and rode on all the toys that were brought up. At 2 we ate lunch everyone packed up and we were home by 5:30 pm. It was great to spend time with family and even greater to be home in my own bed.... (can someone please tell me how to unlink this whole post it's really bugging me)

Under the Trailor

Ellie and Tank are in separable when they are playing outside. So while I was packing the camper Ellie and Tank made themselves very comfortable playing in the dirt under the trailer. I thought it was so funny that "BIG OL TANK" crawled up under there just so he could be with Ellie. And what does she do but start covering him in dirt. He obviously didn't mind he just layed there and let her do her thing...

Doing Laundry

The other day when I was doing laundry Ellie decided she would use the basket as a resting place to watch TV. I thought she was pretty clever using her "mama" Teddy bear as a back rest since it is huge and holding the other one on her lap. Oh the things kids do to get comfy!

Kayla's PhotoShoot

These aren't anywhere close to being what the other person did but just a few pic's that I took from behind her back. I thought for my point and shoot they turned out pretty good. She was a really good photo dummy to practice on! I Cannot believe my baby sister is going to be a senior. It is really hard on my to know that she is turning 18 in February, Graduating and going to live on her own in May. That is just crazyness! I'm glad that I got to spend a few weeks with her this summer and see how much she has grown up. I love my baby sister and only hope and pray for her all the time that she will grow up to be somebody amazing!

Mom Visiting

My Mom has been planning to come visit for a few month now and finally got here on friday afternoon. When she got here we had decided to have a certain someone go and do a practice photo shoot with Kayla as pre-senior pictures. Which turned out awesome and I'll post a few of those later. Jacob also came to visit while the rest of the clan was here so he was able to spend some time with them since he works out of town all the time.
Saturday morning we had been planning on getting up and going to the temple to do a session with my mom since she hasn't done it since I took my endowments out almost 5 years ago. She doesn't like to go alone so I decided everytime she comes to visit we'll run and do a session. Which it turned out beautifully I of course dozed off a little since I have a hard enough time staying awake in general but it was a great day with my husband and my mom. After we were done at the temple we met Matt and Jessica (whom had Ellie while we were at the temple) for lunch. We did a little bit of shopping and then headed home around 5. When we got home we had just enough time for a little break and packed up again and headed to the Minidoka Rodeo. We had a really great time with everyone including Granny and Grandpa Bob. We got home pretty late and went to bed.
Got up the next morning for church so that Layne could be in the blessing circle for baby Haygen. After I made a huge lunch we went over to Granny's so Mom could visit with her Brother and sister-in-law and niece's. While Jacob and Layne went out past Oakley scouting for Elk. In the mean time the engine in Layne's pickup BLEW UP AGAIN!!!!!
So today is there last day here and we have been super lazy. We have just sat around and watched movies. This evening we are headed to Twin to do a little bit of shopping and go to my Coaches meeting.
I love it when my mom comes and we get to have some quality time together. I know the next time I see here will be when we go to state for volleyball (if we make it) or when she comes down after I have the baby. Thanks for visiting Mom, I love you!
Just a few Pictures from the RODEO!!!

Mom and Kayla

Matt and Jessica

A blue mouthed Ellie and her New Friend