Adalyn and Hyrum

Adalyn LOVES Hyrum.  She is so great with him.  I can't keep her out of his face.  I just wanted to share this picture with everyone.

Temple

One night we were driving home from somewhere south of Rexburg and it was a cloudy night.  It was really bright outside.  I told James I was going to go take pictures of the temple.  This is my favorite one.  I actually put it on my desktop.  I love great pictures of the temple.  I love that my family is learning about the sacredness of this building.  I am grateful for Adalyn ALWAYS wanting to drive by the temple.  I am grateful for Carl wanting to go.  He told me one day, "Mom you know why I can't wait to get my cast off?"  I was thinking so he didn't have to wrap his arm to take a shower.  No he said, "I want to go to the temple."  It was the best thing a mother could hear from her child.

Haylea turns 9

I can't believe that Haylea is 9.  She is so much fun to have around.  She is a creative girl and likes to be doing an art project.  If she is not painting, coloring, cutting and pasting something she is outside or playing with her friends. 

 

Haylea picked the cake out.  She also picked out the happy birthday letters.  We came home and put it all together.  Her best friend, and next door neighbor, Grace came over for cake and ice cream.

I am so grateful that Haylea is a part of our family.  She is such a blessing.

Flags

 When James and I came in Julyto look for a place for our family to live on the 4th these flags were up in yards all around town.  When we moved here the boys were up early on Labor Day to put flags out.  The scouts go around and put flags in all the ward members yards.  It is so cool to look down the street and see the flags.  This is done on holidays that relate to the flag.  I am thankful to live somewhere that the flag is so respected to be put out on special days. 

Raking leaves

Living in the country we didn't have to rake leaves and put them in bags. Living in town is a different story. The city picks up yard waste until about the middle of November. We had a ton of leaves in our yard. So off we went one day to rake the leaves. The yellow claws were our neighbors, that she let us borrow. There were a ton of fights over them. I think we will be getting some for oursevles for next year.  It was a great fall day, and a great time for us to all work together.

 

 

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween.  I made the boys take the little ones out about 5:00.  The rule was they had to stay in the ward boundaries.  It is easy considering our ward consists of 3 blocks.  They were all gone for about an hour and then came home with a bag full of candy.  The little ones passed out candy while the big boys went out with their friends.  James came home with as much candy as all the little ones combined. 
My rule for costumes is that it has to be something we have at home.  Isaiah was given this costume from his kindergarten teacher and he wears it every year.  Haylea is a witch.  Our neighbors let her and Adalyn borrow stuff.  I am not sure what Adalyn is.  The boys wore their baseball uniforms. 
Big James and I were able to sit and enjoy our evening.  I was able to sit and hold and take care of Hyrum all night.  It was a fun night.

Hair

 I told Haylea that I would curl her hair for the primary program.  I was able to get her hair and Adalyn's hair curled before church.  I am so glad to have 11:00 a.m. church.  I love Haylea's hair when it is curled.  It looks really thick. 

 Adalyn on the other hand was blessed with my thin hair.  Her hair is fun to curl, but it does not have much body.  She does like having her hair curled though.  I was able to snap these pictures of her before she ran off.

Snow

This picture was taken at 4:30 a.m.  I post this so that I can remember.  They said it was a record breaking first snow in October.  We had 8 inches of snow in Rexburg.  My children loved playing in it.  Life around here still goes on.  It is not like the Midwest where everything comes to a stand still.  There was still school.  I really appreciated not having to send my children out to school.  We did go to Mom's School then came home and played.  I made cinnamon rolls while the boys went and shoveled the elderly neighbors drive ways.  There was hot chocolate later after they played and came in cold. 

We will have many more days like this.  In fact, I think this weekend there will be another snow storm.  I hope they are not sick of the snow by March.

Keep itFresh

 James is in the IBC, Integrated Business Core, this semester.  This is a class that meets everyday for 3 hours.  They started in teams, and then were put into companies.  Their company had to come up with a business idea, get it approved and then run it on campus for eight weeks.  Keep it Fresh was born.  They sell all natural lip balm and lotion.  The guy to the right of James in the top is Heath.  James and Heath built the stand. Much work has gone into this business and I think they have learned many things. 

A grand opening was held the first day of business.  The picture below is the members of the group that were there. I think there are thirteen total in his group.

A lazy Wednesday night

My friend Lindsay asked for some photos.  As we are watching the Giants beat the Tigers in the World Series I took some pictures of my family.  Here you go Lindsay (and everyone else).

 Carl is trying to get Hyrum to stick his tongue out. 

It was funny watching Carl make these great faces and

Hyrum is looking at him like he is crazy.

 I love the picture below.  Hyrum has beautiful blue eyes.  Two blue eyed children out of six are not bad.

 Haylea made a leaf boutque and wanted a picture.  I tried to take Adalyns picture but she turn and ran.

 The boys decided to go play baseball in James' room during the game.  They had so much fun. 

I don't know how they do their games but I love their faces in these pictures.

 Yes, socks are the ball.

 And a stick is the bat.

 James taking a nap.  He stayed up way to late last night doing homework. 

I am afraid it will be another long night tonight.



Wood

Our little house has a wood burning stove to warm the main floor of the house.  The landlord said that we could use the wood outside, but it is not enough to make it through the winter.  We could get a permit for $6.00 to go to the forest and cut wood.  There are two problems with this idea. One is that our chainsaw was stolen in Kansas and so now we have no way to cut wood.  This would give James a chance to get a new one.  The second is when does James have time to go into the forest and cut wood?  He doesn't.  School is keeping him very busy.  We could by wood.  It is about $150 a cord.  I am not sure how long that would last.  Oh, I forgot to tell you that the wood around here is not hard wood like back in the Midwest.  It is mostly pine. I hear that it burns faster.  I think someone told me that we would need about 2 cords to get through winter.
About a week or so ago I woke up to a loud noise.  It didn't click in my mind that my neighbor across the street was having a tree cut down.  I stopped what I was doing about an hour or so later, and ran across the street.  I asked the nice man if I could have the wood if he didn't want it.  He said we were able to have it but we had to haul it off.  This was a day that Hyrum had a doctors appointment, I had a doctors appointment, and about 30 other things were going on.  I am glad that it was just across the street.  The boys tried to haul it our neighbors wheelbarrow, but they didn't like pushing it up the hill.  I don't blame them.  So I would drive the Suburban over and the boys would load it up.  I would drive it home and they would stack it.  James' friend Heath brought his trailer over and moved the big stumps for us.  It took a few trips but we now have wood.  I asked the man if he cuts down many trees and he said no, but when he does he will call me and save the wood for us.
Fast forward to yesterday.  I am going about my day and I see another tree service cutting down a tree on the other side of the street a few houses down.  I run down there and ask if I can have the wood.  The man was nice and said yes.  He would stack it by the corner and we would have to haul it off.  By the time they were done and we were able to go over and start hauling it off it was snowing.  The only downfall about this guy was that he didn't cut them into firewood size pieces.  So we had to haul some long pieces of wood.  We did one load and waited for it to stop snowing.  We went back before dinner and finished hauling the rest home.  Again I gave this man my name and number and hopefully he will call me when he cuts another tree in Rexburg.
What a great way to get firewood.  It is free for the hauling.  Hopefully we will get a call for another tree that is being cut down.  Maybe we can get enough wood to make it through the winter.

New church callings

I was being to feel a little forgotten because I had not received a calling yet.  I think it might have to do something with a baby that came early.  I had been praying for a way to meet some more people our ward.  Our ward consists of about 3 1/2 blocks.  We have about 450 people in our ward.  We live on the north edge of the boundaries.  The people across the street are in a different ward.  I feel like we miss out on something.  I am not sure what.
On Sunday both James and I received a calling.  He is a librarian.  The great thing is that he will rotate with someone else so he will be able to go to some of the classes.  What a great calling for him.  He will get to meet people as they come in and out of the library.  He will not have a responsibility that is too much to handle right now. 
I am the Relief Society home bound coordinator.  I am excited about this.  I get to type up the announcements and some notes about the weekly lesson and go visit the sisters that are not able to go to Relief Society.  Today I typed up my announcements and headed out to visit some sisters.  They are truly amazing.  It is fun to get to know them.  One sister said she didn't care about the announcements, she just wanted me to visit.  I am excited to be able to get to know these sisters, some do not come to Relief Society at all due to health reasons.   took Adalyn along with me and one sister gave her a treat.
I am so grateful that the Lord knows my needs, and what I can handle.  I really needed something like this, and thank Heavenly Father for the blessing of allowing me to visit these sisters every week.

Hyrum is 6 weeks

Hyrum finally reached his due date on Sunday the 14th.  I weighed him and he was about 8 pounds.  He is such a sweet baby.  Everyone kept telling me that he would have been a big baby if he had gone full term.  I kept telling them that he would probably been like the others over 8 pounds.  I am grateful for this little person that Heavenly Father has trusted us with.  He is sleeping well and eating well.  His brothers and sisters can't leave him alone.  Isaiah and Adalyn love to give him kisses.  Everyone takes their turn feeding him too.  Once in awhile I can get them to change his diaper. 
I have to say that I am grateful for older children.  I have four great babysitters.  Haylea is the one that really surprised me.  She can feed him, change his diaper and his clothes. 
I can't believe that it has already been six weeks.  Time has flown by.  It is amazing to think that not to long he will be sitting up, and then crawling, then walking.  I will enjoy Hyrum while he is a little miracle and needs me.

Life is crazy around here

What a whirl-wind it has been around here.  It seems like we are go, go, go and I don't stop. Although I know I do.  James goes to school about 10:00 in the morning to do his homework or meet with his group from class.  And he doesn't come home until 5:00 Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, and 6:00 Tuesday and Thursday.  During this time I am running back and forth to the hospital.  I was going once during the day and then at 7:00 p.m. to feed Hyrum again.  I am then pumping milk for the little man about three hours.  In between all this I have 5 other children that need something.  When James comes home from school we eat dinner and then go to the hopsital at 7:00.  I am glad that the children are such a help during this time.
Well I am off to get James from school

Hyrum Hunter Hughlett

 

Hyrum Hunter Hughlett

September 7, 20112

1:01 a.m.

6 pounds 13 ounces

19 inches long

 

Hyrum decided he didn't want to wait to join our family.  On Thursday at 2:30 my water broke.  I went to the doctor at 8:30 to make sure that is what it was. The doctor told me that because the baby was 6 weeks early he would be in the NICU, and explained some things that would go on.  By 10:00 a.m. we were in the hospital being induced.  I have never been induced and it was not fun.  I didn't think we would ever get to having this baby.  About 12:45 Friday morning I was ready to deliver.  They wheeled me to the C-Section delivery room so they could hand the baby through the window to the NICU.  I looked at the clock and it said 12:55.  At 1:01 Hyrum was born.  By 1:15 I was back in my room.

 

Hyrum is a strong little boy.  He has three requirements to meet so he can come home.  He has to maintain his body temperature on his own.  He has to be able to breath on his own. The third thing is he has to eat on his own and gain weight.  He has accomplished the first two.  Because he is on the Beli-light he doesn't want to eat.  This picture is him on the light.  Today the IV was taken out and all he has left is the feeding tube.  Hopefully he can get rid of the Jondus so he can start eating.

 

Most of the pictures are on James' phone.  When I have him email them to me I will put them up.

Thanks for all the prayers that have gone out for our family.



Huckleberry picking

The boys went on a scout camping trip over the weekend.  There are 12 deacons in our ward.  They went up to Island Park and camped, and then went on a canoe trip.  They had a lot of fun.  While they were gone our neighbor asked us if we wanted to go huckleberry picking with them.  We said yes.  We drove for about an hour before we got to our spot somewhere in the Targhee National Forrest.  Heather our neighbor showed us what we were looking for.  Huckleberry's are small berries that remind me ob blueberries, only a lot smaller.  We didn't find a lot of huckleberries.  We were able to get maybe a handful.  We did have fun though.  We learned that we should have gone a few weeks earlier. 

 The weeds were as tall or taller than Adalyn.  She was such a trooper.  She didn't complain once about being in the forest.

 Isaiah was great at finding huckleberries.  I would hear him ask Heather, "Is this one?"  We had to be careful that we didn't pick the berries that would make us sick.  She was amazed at how easily he found them.

Haylea had fun too.  She would find some huckleberries.  We followed Heather and got lost in the woods.  OK.  We didn't get too lost.  We did find our car.

After picking berries we stopped and fed the trout.  Isaiah would find the food on the ground and would throw it to the trout.  It reminded James of Roaring River.

We then went to a grocery store to get some huckleberry ice cream.  While there we ran into Beth Higginson Day and her family.  What an odd place to see someone from Joplin.  We sat and visited with their family.  They were passing through from Twin Falls to Yellowstone while on their way back home.  It is amazing where you can run into someone you know.  By the way the huckleberry ice cream was delicious.



Haircuts

JC Penny's did free haircuts in the month of August.  I wish I had taken my camera but I didn't.  I decided to cut Adaly's hair and hopefully it will grow.  All five of the children got a FREE haircut.  It was awesome.  So when you see their hair from here on out it is cut.  The boys were looking shaggy and needed one bad.  I think they enjoyed someone else cutting their hair besides mom or dad.

Celebrate Youth Day

The great thing about Rexburg is that it is a family friendly city.  Everywhere you go there are children.The day before public school starts in Rexburg they have a Celebrate Youth Day.  This is a day where there are free games, food, books, and bags.  They set up games for every age.  Here the cosmetology school set up a bowling game.  The four older ones did it.  They threw the head with the hair at the other heads.  It was fun to watch.

 James went with Carl and James to do some older things while I took Haylea, Isaiah and Adalyn to do some younger games.  Here Isaiah is feeding the animals.  They had play food  and threw them through the holes.

 Adalyn figured out how to do it and made it in a few holes.  Haylea did great too.

 Then the children dug for dinosaurs.  They each found a little toy dinosaur in the swimming pool.

 All the children wanted to play on the inflatables.  Here James and Carl played basketball against each other.  When one gets close to the basket it pulls the other one towards the middle.  It was so much fun watching them compete against each other. 

 Here Carl pulls James to  make a basket.  I have more pics but it takes awhile to load them.

 Haylea, Isaiah and Adalyn road the merry-go-round.  Isaiah decided to sit on the other side and I was unable to get a picture of him.

We all got free cotton candy, free ice cream and free dinner ( a bag with a sandwich, carrots, brownie, and milk). 
After we got our dinner we took the children to Idaho Falls to a Chuckers baseball game.  They are the minor league for Kansas City Royals we found out.  People were standing outside giving tickets away, so we all got in for free.  Free is my favorite word these days.  We all enjoyed our day.

Adalyn turns 4

 Adalyn turned 4 this year.  How the time flies!  She wanted a Dora cake, and as I drove around town looking for a small toy to put on a cake there was none to be found.  Her dad saw this design the day before and loved it.  She ended up liking it too.

 We decided to wait for the Holgates to have cake and ice cream.  So a few days after her birthday we celebrated.  As you can see after singing to Adalyn she didn't want to blow out the candles.  Paige helped her.  I don't think Adalyn blew out any candles.  She was scared.

For Adalyn's birthday we took her to Idaho Falls.  We treated her to Dickey's Bar-B-Que.  All she wanted was macaroni and cheese.  The owner gave her some for free.  Then she got an ice cream cone. 

Adalyn is a fun child.  She thinks that she can do anything that her siblings do.  She likes to be held by mom.  She will cuddle once in awhile with dad.  She is a great blessing to our family. 

While being in Rexburg we get to see the temple every time we go somewhere.  It sits on the hill and she is excited to see it every time.  She wants to drive by it every day.  It makes me happy to know that she loves seeing the temple and knows that it is a special place.

Haylea's Eye

On our first real Saturday of being here we decide to venture to Idaho Falls and look for a washer and dryer.  We sold ours because we didn't want to haul them half way across the country.  We thought we would be able to buy used ones here in Rexburg.  There is no used appliance store anywhere.  We also had to take an elders parents a box he wanted to send home.  It is fun to meet elders parents. 
Anyway, back on track.  Haylea's eye was red and watering.  The first thing I thought of was pink eye.  I figured while we were there I would take her to an Urgent care.  A lady we were sitting by recommended a  Ready Care not far from where we were.  So James dropped Haylea and I off and took the others to Sears.  About a half an hour later we are done with the diagonsis of an infection in her eye.  We get our prescription and off to Wal-Mart to have it filled.  
Haylea and Carl stay home from church because of this infected eye and us not wanting to get anyone else infected.
On Tuesday her eye is still not better.  So I take her to the Urgent Care here in Rexburg.  Within a few minutes he says that Haylea has a small piece of metal in her eye.  He calls the eye doctor and within 30 minutes of being at the Urgent Care we are at the eye doctor around the corner. 
The eye doctor was great.  He numbed her eye and pulled the small piece of metal out.  He put a contact in to act like a band-aide and sent us on our way with another prescription.  He told us to come back the next day and a different doctor would take it out and look at it. 
The second doctor said that she would have a little scar that is not visible to the eye but could be seen with their microscopes. 
Within a few days she was much better.  She never complained a bit about this bothering her.  When the doctor numbed her eye she didn't flinch.  What a trooper she is. 

Side note: I will post about Adalyn's birthday next. I am out of order because I don't have time to sit and download pictures.  The bishop is coming to visit and I have to get home and make dinner.

IDAHO

We have been in Idaho now for a little over 2 weeks.  We arrived on the 10 of August about 9:00 p.m.  I have to say I love Idaho.  I love that you can go places and there are families everywhere.  There are babies and pregnant women everywhere.  I told my OB doctor yesterday this must be a great town for his profession.  We have done some fun things while we are here.  I will try and post some of them and pictures. 
The children are doing great.  Isaiah made a friend up our road the day after we got here.  We have 4 families that live on our road with children Haylea, Isaiah, and Adalyn's age.  James and Carl's friends live a few blocks away. 
Our ward consists of about 450 people in about a 3 block radius.  Last Sunday I counted 60 women in Relief Society.  That is almost more than the Parsons Branch.  There are 2 Sunday School classes that teach the same lesson.  There are 12 deacons.  The boys have already been on a camp out and froze through the night. The next day they went down the Snake River in canoes.  I am grateful for this experience for them because I believe it gave them a great bonding experience with the other boys their age. 
I will post pics of some of the things that we have done.

Graduation Day

James finally did it.  After 7 semesters or 3 1/2 years of plugging along in school, working full time and taking care of a family he graduated from Labette Community College with an Associates in Business Administration.  James graduated Magna Cum Laude with a GPA of 3.8.  He is a great example of someone who works hard and loves his family. 
We will now move on to the next stage of life and go for his Bachelors.  Hopefully it will only take 2 years and not 3 1/2 years.  We are excited about the adventures that are coming our way.

Weather and life's tidbits

WEATHER
What crazy weather we have had here lately.  The other day we had a 70 degree day.  Don't get me wrong I loved this weather and got a lot done.  But the next day was freezing cold.  I don't enjoy this up and down weather.  I wish it would be either cold or warm.  It could even be cold for a week, and warm for a week.  As long as it doesn't change everyday.

CLOTHES
Since I had nice weather to enjoy I decided to out to the big garage and start going through things.  As I started going through clothes I couldn't believe how many I had.  I have saved almost all my children's clothes.  When the seasons changed I went out dug out the totes and did the dreadful going through clothes to see what fits.  Sometimes my children were given enough clothes that we didn't have to go through the totes.  Guess what I did! I got rid of all those clothes.  Haylea, Adalyn and I put them into bags and took them to St. Vincents, the local thrift store.  I didn't even look in the bags,  I know there might have been something that I needed to save, but I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  I also have a lot less things that will go to the next house with us.  We will go to the thrift store and get clothes, and then give them away when we are done.  I think I might like this a lot better.

SCHOOL
James got an email from his school yesterday.  They have received everything and we have up to six weeks to hear back from them.  That would make it the end of February.  The school says that they get about 15,000 applications so the selection takes awhile.  We will wait, me being patient, and see the results.  So much of what I get rid of depends on if he gets into this school.  I feel as though I am in limbo.

CLEAN HOUSE
I have to clean the house again so someone can look at it.  I am grateful to have 24 hours notice.  Not that it takes me that long, but it is great.  It is kind of nice because we end up having a super clean house once in awhile. It really keeps me on my toes.  The first time we had to do it I was nervous and didn't really want to do it.  Now for the third time I think of what a blessing it is to have to really clean the house.  I throw the old papers away  and weed through things.  I have realized that the toys don't really get played with so they will go to a family that would love to have them.  One less thing.

PING PONG
The rec center here is having a ping pong tournament.  For those of you that know my husband, you know that he loves ping pong.  He went last night and had a lot of fun.  His first game was against Blake.  I didn't get to watch it all.  But when I cam back an hour later he was still playing.  I am glad that he as found something that he enjoys doing.  He is really looking forward to next week.

Enough of my rambling.  Have a great day.

Family Update

Another year has come to an end and I bet you are saying to yourself, "What is up withe the Hughlett family? Have they fallen off the face of the earth?"

No we have not fallen off the face of the earth. We have been busy, and I lacked motive to post anything. My goal is to be better at this so that family can know what is going on in our lives.

Let me go back to September. Our friends moved to Idaho and offered us their house until they are able to sell it. (A little note: big houses are not selling well around here.) James and I prayed about it. He stressed over it selling before he finished school. I told him that I felt as though the Lord knows our needs and he is one: helping us get out of our little house into a bigger one, and two: maybe the house won't sell until May, if not later, if that is what we are in need of. So we moved in October. I spent October moving our things. I am glad I moved a little at a time, but in some ways I wish I didn't. It is great having children old enough to help. We moved out of our little farm house by the end of the month into a giant house with more room than we can ever dream of.

November Haylea celebrated her 8th birthday. Her birthday fell on Sunday so we invited family to the primary program and then after church she was baptized. What a great day it was. Later in the month James and I celebrated 14 years of marriage. Where has the time gone?

December brought the Christmas season. I really wanted to teach our children about service. We decided to do the 12 Days of Christmas for a family with children and a Sister in our branch. The boys didn't want to do it the first day, but when they figured out what they were doing they all joined in the fun and loved it. The family with children thought it was everyone else but us. We revealed who we were on he 23rd of December. They enjoyed cookies, candy canes, and popcorn. Christmas was at our house this year. It was great to have all the space. I think this was my favorite Christmas season yet. I only hope that the years to come bring more joy and memories to become my new favorite year.

January brings a new year. We are working on school still. James will start his last semester at Labette Community College. I can't believe that we are about ready to move on. The prospects are great and I will let you know when we find out if he is excepted where we are going. I have much to prepare for the transition. Where ever we go there is much to get rid of. So I will spend my time this winter going through things and weeding out the essentials, and what we can get rid of. I thought about how hard this might be, then I read my scriptures and realized it is all worldly possessions. We can get it again.

Isaiah's birthday is coming up, and the James will turn 13. I will try hard to keep this up to date. I enjoy reading everyones blogs. I bet they like to read mine. I just do a lousy job at keeping it up to date.