Photo Tag

Okay, so I didn't technically get tagged, but I saw this tag on someone else's blog and it was one that I thought really looked cute and fun!!
The rules are to take a photo of each item listed and NO TIDYING UP!!! Housekeeping sucks....I'll just say that now! lol! So, here goes....totally raw and brutally honest...

1- My Kitchen Sink-
Yes, those are sippy cups! But, if I can redeem myself, that pan is clean and waiting to be put away. If we buy this house, this sink will be the first thing to go! It's like a plastic material and it NEVER cleans! I'd like a nice stainless steal sink.

2- My Refridgerator-
Although it looks crazy, there is some order to this. lol. At least for me! And if you'll notice, my to do list on the fridge and a dollar taped to the fridge. That's to remind me to be nice. lol!! I taped a dollar to the fridge so that Landon and Kamber could have a nice contest and well, it just stayed up there and it's a great reminder for me now!

3-My Laundry Room-

Clothes waiting to be washed and clothes waiting to be put away. It's laundry day!

4-My Children-



We woke up early and took Kamber and Landon on a horse ride around the yard. Korbin....well...he's dressed in t-shirt and diaper...good enough, right?

5- My Favorite Room-
Oooo, I have two.
My family room, which I have no problem with it being messy because that means that it's being used and that's a good thing! So, enjoy my mess.
And 2nd would be my ENTIRE master area. It's not really been decorated yet, but it's my place of rest and relaxation that's clear on the other side of the house! lol.
6- My toilet-
Not too bad, even Landon's toilet got cleaned today. :)

7-My Favorite Shoes-
Oh this was hard. It was a toss up between my knee high, black zip up boots, my sequin slip ons, my "cowgirl" boots and these black heels. In the end, the heels won, but dang they hurt my feet!!!

8- Dream Vacation-
Well, your not gonna get a picture of this because I can't be bothered to find one, but Chris once found these huts, somewhere tropical, I can't even remember where, but you get your own hut on your OWN MINI ISLAND. It's a two week trip. They drop you off with food and check in on you now and then. You can even choose to have a maid or chef, stay on the island with you, to care for you! Wahoo!!
OR
I've always wanted to do a dog sledding trip in Alaska...if only I could bare the cold! You sleep in tents a couple of the nights!!

9- Self Portrait-
Yeah, I'm not looking at the camera...I'm looking a little too hott for that!! lol!!

10- My Closet- Well, this is my side of the closet. Notice the big box. That's all Landon's toys. He can't keep his room clean, so he now keeps the toys in my closet and asks to play with them. You know what, though? Since I moved them into my closet, about 2 weeks ago, he hasn't even asked for them!

You Are Loved

Tomorrow we will be saying goodbye to our sweet little angel, Kamber. She is going to a very nice family. I couldn't have chosen a better family myself! They are very sweet, kind and classy. They have 6 children, two of which are grown up and gone. The youngest, I'd guess is about 12. They are very excited to have her.
She went out to the park with them today and they all had a great time. Tomorrow will be her "sleepover" and the plan is that they will keep her from then out, unless something terrible happens...lol...which I'm sure it wont!
Technically, we are still her foster parents, until the papers are signed, but because it is a weekend, papers wont be signed until Monday. But, I wanted to do a little tribute to Kamber and I wanted to do it now because I know if I wait until she's gone, I might cry! So, here it is:

This is a picture of Kamber the day she arrived at our home on April 30th, 2008. She had spent almost two weeks at The Christmas Box House when she came to us. She was very giggly and in desperate need of some love and attention. She thought her new princess room was beautiful and she loved her new buddy, Landon.
This is my first picture with Kamber, on the day she arrived. Her little boots were two sizes too small and her feet were very blistered, but they were the only shoes she had. The few clothes she had were for an 18 month old and very tattered. We went shopping the next day and bought her all kinds of fun new clothes and shoes.
Here she is in her brand new clothes and hair curled. For 3 days I wasn't allowed to brush or touch her hair, she wouldn't let me. But, eventually we got it!
The hat Kamber is wearing, in this picture, was given to her through donations to the Christmas Box House. The Christmas Box House is an amazing place. It is a shelter for foster children in Ogden, while they wait for a placement with a foster family. It really is beautiful. I was overwhelmed, to the point of tears, when they handed me 2 huge bags of donations for Kamber. The bags were full of brand new toys, blankets, toiletries and of course, this cute little, hand-made hat. So many people care about these precious children that have been through so much in their short lives.
Kamber and I went out for a special "Momma Christina-Kamber Outing", after she'd been with us for a few weeks. We got Kamber this gorgeous little dress. She now wears it every single Sunday to church. Kamber loves church and has learned how to say prayers and has been learning about Jesus and Heavenly Father. She loves to look at the Temples and knows that Moroni is the golden statue at the top of the temple. The other day she was playing Polly Pockets and one doll was "Jesus" and the other was "Moroni". :)
When Kamber came into state care they asked her if she needed anything and she said, "I need a butterfly". And hasn't she just turned into such a beautiful butterfly? It has been exciting to watch her grow and transform from a quiet little girl to an outgoing, bubbly and confident child.
When I told Kamber that she'd be leaving us, she asked if she could take her cowgirl hat with her. And of course, I said yes! In fact, she was outfitted with a huge box of toys and three bags of clothes. She should be set for a while!
Kamber has loved being a "cowgirl". She loves the horses and the outdoors. She enjoys listening to "cowgirl music" and it must be a girl singing! lol. I suppose I will always remember her as, "Kammie Girl". From day one, she always called herself Kammie. (I think it's because her mom nicknames her Kambie, but she can't say, so it comes out Kammie.) So, "Kamie Girl" was our nickname for her and she seemed to like it. So, little Kammie girl, it's time for us to let go, so that someone else can enjoy your pure sweet spirit. We will love you forever and ever! We know that Heavenly Father will be looking out for you. Remember, when one one door closes, another always opens. You are never alone and you are loved.

What do bare feet, swimsuits and horses have in common??

Our Pioneer Day!!!
We skipped out on Ogden Pioneer Days this year. I never thought I'd be saying that. We headed off to the lake, instead.
It was so nice! I love the beach at Pineview, and the trees for shade. The water was such a nice temperature. We rented a paddle boat, you know the kind you paddle with your feet. The kids had so much fun. We had a great time paddling around the lake and we even stopped to jump in when we got out to the middle.
On the way home we got a call that our horses were running down the road!!!!!!!!!! AGAIN!!!!! What the heck is going on with our horses?!?!?!?!?!!?!?
We found out that CHRIS LEFT THE GATE UNLATCHED!!! I don't know how you forget to do that...again and again...He just kept saying, well the gate swings shut behind you. Yeah, yeah, but you still have to latch it!!!
We managed to corner Kayden and Thunder on someone's long drive way. Chris hoped on Kayden, barefoot and in a swimsuit...cute..lol!! Thunder followed. We didn't have halters because we'd just come back from swimming!
While Chris took care of Kayden and Thunder, I took off to find Eden. I was able to call her (she was quite a ways up the road, heading the other direction) and she came over to me and I was able to put her in someone's yard. (They said I could...lol..)
Chris would have been so proud of me! I usually don't get too touchy feely with the horses if they aren't tied up, but I was determined to keep Eden in this guy's yard. So, when she came *running* towards the end of the driveway, to get out, I ran to the center of the opening, put my hand out wide and said, "NO!" She came to a skidding halt right in front of me and turned around!! I was so proud of myself....lol....(I saw our friend, Matt, do that when Thunder came running at him the first day we had her.)
So, long story short, I got Eden where I needed her, the guy with me, got a halter on her and I was able to drive back down the road and tell Chris that Eden was now safe at home. I was so dang proud of myself...hee...hee...!!
I think I may post a GIANT YELLOW SIGN that says, "LOCK THE GATE!!"

Thunder's Update

Read the previous post first, if you have not.

Thunder was taken to the vet. They can not stitch her up, due to the location of the wound. It would tear open every time she moved her head. They gave her some shots and medication. The wound is open and we just have to keep it clean and medicated. She should heal well. The vet didn't think she'd scar because the wound is such a "clean cut" because of the razor sharp claws. You can see the claw marks going all the way down her neck and then the big open wound is in the front. It's pretty bad.
Chris thinks he has broken his hand, when he fell into the ravine. (not sure how to spell that) But most of all, his neck is really hurting him. Yet, tough Chris is off to work. I am going to send him to my chiropractor, though.
Chris reported the incident to the Division of Wildlife and they said that Chris was the 4th report from our area, this morning. One other horse has been attacked and two dogs have been killed. They sent out a trapper to get the "big wild cat".
The Division of Wildlife just called to let us know that the trapper's hounds followed the cat's sent up through the neigborhood, up North Fork River and up onto Avon. The cat has been found and shot. They confirmed that it was a 120lb cougar!!!
I'm just glad that Thunder will be okay and that Daisy wasn't outside. And more than that, I'm glad Chris is okay. He went out with the horses to calm them down, not knowing the cougar was there. Thunder was going crazy and he went and petted her. He petted her right were the wounds are and at the time, there was no wound. He then left, chasing after Kayden.
After he left, I heard all kinds of crazy noises in the back and the horses, literally, just screaming neighs. They were running around crazy, even our neighbors heard them. I just figured they were upset that Kayden was gone, although I did think it strange. We are positive the cougar attacked right after Chris left.
I've had enough excitment for one life time!

An Unwanted Adventure

Last night, Daisy began barking and growling.(She was inside the house, with us.) Chris got up and checked on Daisy. While he was checking on Daisy, I could hear the horses screaming...not neighing, screaming....it was loud!!!

Knowing that we have a horse that likes to get out, Chris peeked out back, through the window and noticed that their were only two horse...too bad he didn't look a little harder.

Chris hoped in the car and followed Kayden. Kayden jumped a barb wire fence, into a feild and Chris followed. Chris was running after him in the dark, when he fell into a 12 foot ravien. Chris left the horse their and came home hurt. His back and neck hurt and he think he's broken his hand.

So, this morning we got a phone call from our friend, Melisa, saying that Kayden managed to get back down to Kip's house, were we used to board him. (He really seems to like that place.) So, Melisa trailored up Kayden and brought him home.

We hadn't even rolled out of bed yet, after such a long night (and it was only 7am.) When they went to put Kayden back, we all realized what happened.

A bobcat, mountain lion....something...we have those around here, attacked the horses. Kayden managed to literally bust the fence down and escape unharmed. Eden, is also, unharmed, although frightened. Unfortunetly, little Thunder is hurt bad. She has very deep gashes.

Chris and Melisa are on the way to the vet's. She isn't doing okay, but should be okay, if that makes sense. She is usually lively and fierce and this morning she just came over and rested her head on me. So, keep our little Thunder (and Chris) in your prayers. I will update, when I know what is going on with her.

Here she is....

Bailee Kherington Collings ( I was wrong on the middle name.) She is Marc and Victoria's new baby!!! And just as adorable as the rest of thier kids! I can't wait to meet and hold her.

Waiting for Pictures!!

Yesterday my sister, Victoria and her husband, Marc, welcomed their new baby girl. Her name is Bailee and I think the middle name is Kate??? I forgot to ask if that's what they ended up deciding on. She is 5lbs. 6 oz. and Victoria says she's gorgeous! I can't wait to see her!! Congratulations Marc and Victoria!!!

Our Latest Adventures

On Thursday my mom came up to our house so that Chris and I could go for a horse ride with our friend, Melisa, and a couple of her friends. It was a beautiful ride, just over by Snow Basin. I was able to lead most of the way with Kayden, which was fun. Although, Kayden is a smart guy and figured out that if he went faster than the rest he'd get to stop up ahead and graze on the mountain grass for a while, which I really didn't mind. So, I spent most of the time just me and Kayden with the other 4 horses trailing behind. (There was an old 25 year old horse with an 8 year old kid on him and he had a hard time keeping up.)
The 8 year old boy kept begging his mom to go fast, so finnally part way through his mom took the lead and put her son behind her, with the rest of us following and took off in a gallop. It's the most fun I've ever had on a horse! I do think we scared the living daylights out of a mountain biker, though! He came around the bend on his bike and there we were, 5 horses running towards him. They almost had a collision, but managed to miss each other by about an inch or two!
The first horse in line was *terrified* and ran off the trail, at which point the 8 year old boy lets out a shriek of terror and his horse runs off the trail, too. I was behind the 8 year old and I wasn't really sure what had happened, but good old reliable, Kayden, just stopped and looked around. It was somewhat amusing....luckily the biker didn't get run over and everyone was okay!! lol. The biker looked like he was going to pass out with fear...poor guy!
My mom decided to spend the night, which is good because the next morning we woke up to three horses missing. (Chris forgot to shut the gate the night before when we brought the horses home....and I don't know how your forget that, but he did...lol.) So, we spent the early hours of the morning searching for horses, which we found, AGAIN, at the place were we were boarding them. It's amazing how they remember things!
Chris caught Kayden and I held onto him while he attempted to catch Eden. But I think we've deteremined that Eden knows she's my horse and for some reason she responds really well to me, so after running from Chris, she walks right over to me and puts her head down for me. lol. She's such a sweetie and I can't wait to start riding her!
(The man that we boarded Eden and Kayden with is very nice and has offered to let me go over and work with Eden in his arena. So, he (who everyone knows as "Cowboy Kip") and my friend, Melisa, are going to start teaching me ground work with Eden. I'm really excited.)
But was that enough adventure for one day?!?! Oh no!! Later, that evening, Chris brought a boat home for us to test drive. We headed out with the kids to Pineview. Long story short, we got stranded out in the middle of the lake. The boat totally died on us!! For anyone that knows the lake, we were clear over by the actual dam, where there isn't many boaters. We kept waving our arms up and down, but no one seemed to notice us. After, three prayers some people finally noticed us and pulled us to the dock. The sun was starting to set and I was starting to get a little nerveous that we'd be spending a night on the lake! I think we would have been mighty cold in our swimsuits and towels. Had we not had the kids with us, I think I would have just put my life jacket on and swam to shore. Anyway, we are okay now.
So, there you go. There is the latest McDowell adventures!!

Feeling Down? Saddle up.

I wanted to share with you one of my most favorite pictures...EVER! Jacqui took this of Chris this Sunday. Chris is on Eden.

She was really freaked out because we'd tried to take her across a metal bridge over a fast moving river, something she's never done before. And mainly because Chris was yelling at her and a German Shepard was following them (he's not a pleasant dog!).

Chris was convinced he was going to sell Eden the next day, but he forgets it's not his horse to sell...she's my baby! She doesn't move, is her problem, she stands still and freezes when she is nerveous. (She stops when she sees a mailbox, a bush, a parked car...anything on the road...she's fine in a feild.) Chris felt really bad later that day and has committed himself to riding her daily, which he's been doing so far.

She really is a good girl, she's just really green still. But I was still on her on Sunday....she LOVES me, afterall I'm her momma! She comes when I call her name and loves for *me* to pet and groom her...oh I feel so special! She's a cutie!

Someone suggested that her pregnancy hormones are probably starting to kick in. Chris has put blinders on her and that has helped a ton. But anyway, we got a really great picture!!!

Family Time

This past Sunday my sister, Jacqui, came up to visit. She brought along some of her kids: Tally, Caroline, Dan & Ethan, as well as some visitors from England, Aimee & Craig.

(Kamber, Daniel, Chris & Talmadge)

Chris took Caroline, Aimee, Tally & Craig shooting in the afternoon. I think they had a good time. The girls were so tiny that Chris had to stand behind them to "catch" them after they shot. The videos were pretty funny to watch.  Later, Chris cooked us up dutch oven potatoes and elk steaks. It was pretty tasty!
I asked Jacqui if she'd take pictures of Eden and me, so we headed up the road to take some pictures in North Fork, but Eden was too scared to cross the bridge. We ended up finding a wooded vacant lot to take some pictures on. It was fun and my sister is always awesome at pictures. I can't wait to see them.

That night we headed to bed pretty late, but Chris, Craig, Tally, Dan & Caroline still planned on waking up at 5am to go fishing. That was until Kayden decided to escape!Daisy was barking her head off and Jacqui and the kids, who were sleeping in the camper, were pretty fed up of her. I told Chris to go check on her and when he did he came back and said there was only two horses!! Poor Daisy, she's screaming to us, "The horse! The horse! It's getting away!" and we are all yelling at her to be quiet.
Anyway, Kayden had headed a few miles down the road and had taken himself back to the place we had been boarding him at. ....Pretty smart guy! Chris locked him up in their fence for the night. And by this point we were all awake and managed to get back into bed at 4:30am. But did that stop them from waking up at 5am to go fishing?!?!?! YES!! lol! But, they did wake up at 5:30am! Wow...dedication!

(Caroline, Nana, Mom, & Auntie Jacqui)

(Mom, Korbin, Nana, & Kamber) 

The next day the older ones took turns riding the 4-wheeler in Avon. Caroline and Aimee ran out of gas. They ended up just "rolling" down the hill in nuetral. When they got to the bottom of the mountain they pushed the 4-wheeler to the nearest house, but the people wouldn't help them! They knocked on 3 doors and no one would help them, not even give them a ride back to my house!!

After a bit of pushing the 4-wheeler, they decided to say a prayer. The second they said, "amen" the 4-wheeler started up and they drove to my house, literally on no gas. Oh the power of prayer!

It was a lot of fun having them visit and I think they have a few adventures to remember now! lol! Enjoy the pictures...somehow Ethan and Landon managed to escape every picture!

The Horses are in Town!

Last Sunday we headed over to Wyoming to pick up Kayden and Eden. Eden was quite the little monkey to get loaded, but eventually the rope around the butt trick did it for her! lol.

We boarded them down the road for the week while Chris finished building the fence. Chris built a beautiful Aspen log fence, with trees that he cut himself from the Raft Rivers.

Chris finished the fence today. He wanted to ride Eden back to the house seeing as she's green broke and needs miles, so he saddled her up and "ponied" Kayden behind Eden. About half way home Chris was so sick of having to continually kick Eden to get her to move, that he ended up hopping on Kayden bareback and ponying Eden the rest of the way.

Eden is very gentle, but you need spurs to get her to move!! lol!

Once we got home, I was able to have a little ride on Kayden. He's such a good boy! I'm very inexperienced and he just did everything I asked him to do. He did pick up pace a little quicker than I wanted, but he slowed right down when I told him to.

After, Chris decided to go get his little baby, Black Thunder. Eden almost attempted to jump the fence to get to Kayden as they were leaving. The fence is normal sized, but she's always been like that. She hates to be alone, especially in a new place. (She jumped a 6 foot fence when she was just a tiny foal!) So, Chris had to tie her up in the trees, which seemed to entertain her for a while Kayden was gone.

Little miss Thunder was ponied back to the house with Kayden. As she came into the yard she tripped over a basketball, but suprizingly just kicked it out of the way and kept going.

The three horses are now getting to know each other. Thunder is running around like yearlings do, throwing her head around, sticking her tail up and just running! Eden is somewhat happy to see Thunder, but is pleased to have Kayden back by her side and Kayden is just making sure they both know that he's the boss!

Tomorrow we are all heading out to buy cowboy hats! The kids are excited for a ride and Chris is taking Kayden out in the morning and then I'm going for a ride in the evening, so I'm sure thier will be many more pics to come!

Window Help Needed

Well, I'm posting this mainly for Victoria because she's awesome at decorating, but anyone suggestions will be welcome.

Okay, so my three windows in the family room will have floor to ceiling drapes, puddling at the bottom *slightly*, so that makes them 8ft long. The rod across the top will need to by 12ft. That'll give a 6 in space at the out side of the two end windows. Then, of course, there will be four drapes. I think the copper pipe idea sounds cute, any other ideas let me know.

Now what about the window to the left? Does it need to be the same material as the three windows in the family room? I can't do floor to ceiling because the ceiling is so high. A valance maybe??? This is the window with the weird grapes. You can kinda see marks on the wall above that window, that's the grape vine. If I make my own curtains, I can get material either totally the same or coordinating. What do you think?

Now this is the window behind my family room. I'd hoped to do the floor to ceilind drapes again. Would you stick with the plum or do you think a brown would be nice? (I have the brown couches.) I bought some silky brown curtains. I loved the color, but I got them home and they looked too "delicate". I want something a little more rugged and with a little umph!

I don't have a picture of this, but the room on the other side of the dinning room, the front room is beind decorated (eventually) in an old Americana style. I was thinking I'd do a rustic brown curtain in their...b/c anything red, white or blue would like pretty nasty with the pink walls. So, *honestly*, what do you think????? Does brown go with the americana theme? I want it to look like a classy americana, not cheesey....but then again, by the time I get around to it, I may have changed my mind. lol!!

Suggestions please!!!

Christina's Saddle

Last night we headed home from picking up our horses and Chris said we better start looking for a saddle for me. So, we hopped on E-Bay and I saw this pretty little thing. Anyway, Chris got up in the middle of the night and found out that we'd won the auction! We paid only $150!!! I can't wait to see it. It is made of leather and has a pretty floral design in it and a suide seat.

Independence Day

This was probably the best 4th of July, ever! We went to Liberty Days in Liberty, of course. My mom and dad came over for the day, too. It was nice to have them with us.   We woke up early for "Breakfast in the Park".  It was sooooo nice going to the park and meeting up with the other residents of Liberty. Everyone is so friendly and so willing to chat to you, even if they don't know you.

After breakfast there was a parade. I went to ask the people in charge if they did a kid's parade, too. They told me yes, so I asked if it was before or after the main parade and they said, "That is the parade." lol! It really was so fun!
There were lots of little girls with their horses all fancied up and little boys on dirt bikes, as well as the occassional tractor with kids sitting in the bucket. And of course, there were pleny of kids on decorated bikes, which is what Kamber did. Landon was the only skate boarder! People couldn't believe he could just hop right on and head down the big hill with such ease.

It was the best dang parade ever! No setting out lawn chairs 4 days in advance, no fighting crowds, no sitting in hot sun (our weather is about 12 degrees cooler in Liberty than Ogden-it was actually chilly in the morning) and best of all....it was over with in like 5 minutes!!! And the kids got more candy at this parade than any we've ever been to.
After the parade, Landon did Mutton Bustin'. He was the second to last kid, so he had plenty of time to watch the other kids fall off, some which came off crying, two which got hurt (both sisters, ironically). I figured he'd get scared out of doing it, but he insisted and not only that, but insisted that his dad not help him get on the sheep.
Well, he did awesome! Unfortunetly, I don't have any pictures. My dad had my camera and cam corder because I was chasing Korbin. Well, my dad didn't take any pictures because he was running the cam corder. The only problem is, he recorded the wrong kid! lol!! He felt really bad, but it's okay...we'll just tell Landon that it was him in the video. j/k!
Then we watch a greased pig chase and chicken chase. I believe this section of the day was called, "Animal Cruelty". After, we headed two minutes up the road to our house for a giant 2 hour nap. It was such a relaxing afternoon.

Later that evening, we headed over to Huntsville to see what they had going on. We watch performers on stage. Of course, our kids just made themselves at home with everyone. Landon and Kamber found some really nice teenagers to play with. They totally entertained them for an hour or more, playing ball, tag, relays, etc. I wished they lived around here so that they could babysit!

Korbin found himself a nice family that just loved him coming up and saying "Peas, peas" for popcorn. He found his own little resteraunt, which was a plus for us.

After another little break at home, we headed back to Liberty Park for a dance and fireworks. For those of you that don't know what Landon's two best talents are and two most favorite things to do, are missing out on some great entertainment. Landon is not only killer on a skateboard, but a fantastic dancer!

When he was 2 years old he started watching "So You Think You Can Dance" with me and my sister in law, Joy. (She was staying with us at the time.) Since then, he has been hooked on break dancing, popping and any other "cool" type of boy hip hop dance styles. He has been getting dance moves off of youtube, but after last night.....it is soooo time for lessons!!! He was soooooo flippin' awesome!!
The song was "Crank that Soulja Boy". I think the Soulja Boy dance is kinda fun, so Landon and I have watched it a few times on YouTube, so when he heard it come on, he went into full dance mode. His face just got really serious, then his body started pumping, and then he just went with it! He doesn't know the Soulja Boy dance or any specific break dance moves, but he does pretty good at imitating them.

When he first started dancing, some teen boy yells, "Holy crap, look at this kid!" For the first few minutes a group of people circled Landon and cheered him on. He was quite the entertainer. Kamber enjoyed dancing with him, too!

After the dance, they quieted everything down for a patriotic tribute. It's the first time I've been to a 4th of July where they've actually done something patriotic. They showed a very well prepared video about the battle between the British and the Americans. They finished it with singing the Star Spangled Banner and when they said, "Bombs bursting in air", they shot the fireworks off. It was pretty cool. Korbin was amazed....