Monday, November 28, 2011

C is for Carter, B for Brielle...

A great big birthday wish for Carter Jaron Simonson....age 9 on November 23rd!  Carter is such a sweet and considerate young man.  He is quiet and polite and always thinking of others.  I can't think of a bigger sweetheart!!  We love him and miss him so much!

On November 30th, little miss Brielle Lynn Larsen will turn 2 years old!  She is such a beautiful little girl!  We want to wish her a very Happy Birthday, also.  She has a mind of her own...but is generally happy and sweet and is such a little doll.  We love her so much and miss her a ton also!  

It's never fun being away from your grandchildren...We are grateful for the chance we had to spend with each of them this year in our travels, and their visits here for the wedding.  I hope they will all be back closer to home very soon!!  Happy Birthday!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

My Family....

My family never cease to amaze me!  I don't think anything I do myself is very amazing, unless you count the amazing love and pride that I have in my family!  My kids get it from their dad...Brent, who has always been a busy guy.  He is a little of a workaholic!  Throughout our lives together, there have been many times that he will say, "I can do that!"  And I think, "????"  and then just to prove me wrong...he does it!  He takes on jobs that seem impossible and makes them possible...he does anything he puts his mind to!  Now I must say in this spot that he isn't always great at it...he sometimes comes up with some shoddie things, or 'half baked' ideas that don't quite pan out the way he wants...and he's not a perfectionist, but his ambition makes up for the lack of skill! 
  In his life I have seen him build toys for the kids, sew, build trailers, have a welding business, build a house, make a canoe from scratch, repair cars, trucks, snowmachines and other machines and maintain them, build shops and garages, start businesses, make concrete countertops, remodel homes...etc, etc, etc.  He always seems to have a new project going and never seems to get tired!
Most of our married life he has risen before the sun, sometimes 5:00 or 6:00 and gone to work, and then gotten off work early, like 2:00 or 3:00 and gone on to another job, remodeling, or working on countertops until 10:00 or 11:00 at night!  He makes things, he builds things, he fixes things!
All of which I am grateful for immensely!  Most of all, I am grateful for the example he has set for our kids. 
I see Brent's work ethic in Jaron, who puts in timeless hours of work and still has ambition for other interests as well, who loves to cook and is an amazing chef, and who has made things for his own home and kids.  Whenever he is around, he is always willing to pitch in and help me when it comes to getting food ready for big groups and such...he can get it done!
I see Brent's drive and creativity in Trisha, who pitches in and helps with ANY project there is...loves to put things together and work with tools.  In her first house she spent countless hours tearing out the old floor and helping to put a new one in.  She has started her own craft business now working with tons of tools and things that I couldn't even imagine doing, turning out the most remarkable things!  She is also an amazing homemaker, cooking wonderful dishes, decorating and painting her house!  
 Clinton also takes after Brent, loves to build things, helped build his own house, did all the rock work, has taught himself to do amazing tile work and has his own little business doing it.  He also encouraged his dad to enter into the concrete business...learning, working, and being a great partner in that with us!  He also is great at cooking and making things for his home and boys!  While working in Boise, his car broke down, and he didn't know anything about it, but he looked it up, talked with his dad, and went and got the new part and fixed it himself!
Tanessa is so talented and ambitious as well.  She often takes on projects of making quilts, clothes, accessories and other things for her home and kids.  She taught herself how to make and decorate beautiful wedding cakes, creative cupcakes, and is an excellent chef herself.  She made a Simonson family cookbook for all of us with our favorite recipes.  And when asked what she wanted for Christmas, she said, "A chop saw!"  With buying a new house, I think she will be following in Trisha's footsteps as a decorator and crafter! 
 And lastly, Jacob is probably the very most like his Dad.  He is diligent as a worker, never shirks any kind of work, he is good at everything he does, and he IS a perfectionist!  He has developed quite the talent in his school work for art and architecture and has created so many projects of drawing, models, and such.  Each one has endless hours of work in them and are remarkable!  He is also good at building things, remodeling things, working on cars, and projects of crafts and household things.  He was a great help to Brent in many jobs these last few years of remodeling, countertops, etc.  The other day he ordered a printer, that came broken...so he took it apart and fixed it!  
Just something my husband would do also!
My family truly amazes me! 
I am so proud of them all!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Happy Birthday, Addi and Grant!

Happy Birthday to two of my beautiful grandchildren!!  
I love you both so very much! 

Addisyn Larsen, Oct. 29th - 5 years old
Smart, Precocious, Charming, Sly, Adorable, Inventive....LOVED!!
 

Grant Evans, Nov. 1st - 4 years old
Sweet, Talented, Handsome, Ambitious, Smiley, Fun....LOVED!
These two are delightful and a joy in our lives!!