FINALLY the last of the reunion photos Part 2

The last day of reunion we went to the Teton Valley County Fair! The kdis got to see and pet the animals and then we let them ride a few rides. They were VERY expensive as only Jackson Hole can be. We had to pay to see the worlds BIGGEST pig! But you get to see it for free! LOL

WE also had to pay to see the worlds smallest horse.

Parker is brushing the cow.

It was a hot day so the snow cones were definitely appreciated. I couldn't believe how BIG they were!


After the kids and the grandparents were wiped out, Rob, Spring, Lars and I got to take a ski lift up to the top of the mountain to see Jackson Hole. It just happened to be me and Rob's 13th Anniversary.

A storm was rolling in so we had to take pictures fast because they close down the lift when it rains.

The ski lift operator. He said he gets asked to have his picture taken a lot. Gee, I can't figure out why. LOL

Trying to get off the lift was fun. Rob used me as his leverage to get off which held me in the chair so I almost got to go around again. Thanks, Rob! LOL

Well, that is it! Finally....It was a fun and memorable time and hopefully we'll do it again....in a couple more years. :0)

That's right....MORE REUNION PHOTOS!

My brother, Alan , left on Tuesday of that week, but my sisters, Teresa and Spring, arrived with their handsome husbands.


Here is Adam. He is married to Teresa and they have the CUTEST little boy named, Dylan. I was so happy to see them!

This is Lars. He is married to Spring. He is the reason my son , Jason, wants to learn Chinese. :0) I'm so glad our crazy family didn't scare these guys off. They are a lot of fun.

Here is Grandpa chasing Dylan. Dylan is such a happy little guy. I love his gap-toothed smile. LOL Reminds me of Teresa when she was little.

My Gorgeous sister, Teresa. AS you can see, no more gap in the front teeth. LOL

Spring holding Dylan.

My brother, Bob, and his wife, Ewa. My grandpa was leaving the next day.

We played hand and foot that night with my Aunts. Here is my mom sporting her SpongeBob Squarepants pants.

Here are my beautiful Aunts. My mom on the left, my Aunt Joann with her adorable dog, Cooper, and my Aunt Marie. These women are amazing. They have come through some pretty great trials in their life and even struggle today with some things. They mean a great deal to me because they have such great strength and that gives me determination to get through what ever trials come my way.

Family has been on my mind a lot lately. I wish we were closer so that we could grow together, but I hope that we try to keep those connections that we formed when we were younger. We may not always agree, but we can still love each other. Those are my deep thoughts for today.

Thanks for stopping by and yes, there are more pictures to come. You DON'T want to miss those. I have some gorgeous pictures of the Tetons and surrounding countryside. B-E-A-Utiful!

GROUT FAMILY REUNION DAY 2

On day two all of the guys went to Jackson to work at the towing company. That left Grandma, Great-grandpa and I with all of the kids. So we decided to visit the Teton Valley Historic Museum. I mean, Why not? The following pictures are what happens when you give the camera to the kids. It was fun to go back later and see what they thought was picture worthy. The BEST part was seeing how Jason posed the kids for the pictures. It was hilarious. So without further ado.....

Click on the photos to get a better view.

You have to click on this one of Bryce being the teacher. Bug's reaction was funny. :0)

This photo is of devices used in the war. The soldiers would leave these little boxes lying around houses and when enemy soldiers took over the house, they would stupidly open these boxes and....

BANG! Jason thought this was pretty funny and therefore, the picture.

Bryce was horrified to learn that they had to use magazine pages to wipe with. He was also acting out that the out house must have smelled bad. LOL

The nice ladies at the counter took this picture for us. That concludes this tour. Come back for more exciting photos of the rest of the reunion. :0)

Thanks for stopping by!

GROUT FAMILY REUNION DAY 1

We finally got most of the Grout siblings together for a family reunion. Not all at the same time, though....My brother, Bob, and his wife, Ewa, flew into Denver and the next day we drove up to Driggs, Idaho, minus my hubby who had to work. I was a little nervous because my brother and his wife aren't used to having so many little kids around and here they were in a van with all of us for 10 hours. It actually went farely well thanks to the Fablehaven books on CD.

My brother, Alan, flew into Jackson Hole on his birthday. I didn't get any pictures of Alan. They went to Burley the next day for a wedding and I went grocery shopping. The next day my mom and I got up at 3AM to drive up to Montana to pick up my Grandpa Reed. It was an 8 hour drive. We got there in time to celebrate my grandpa's 96th birthday with my aunts and uncles and some cousins. That was a lot of fun. Of course, I am a bonehead and didn't think to bring the camera. I got to see some family that I don't get to see too often. Then we jumped back into the car and drove back to Driggs. We got back at 1AM. Needless to say, it was a LOOOOONG day. But well worth it. :0)


Here is my grandpa. He is my only grandparent left. I am amazed at how sharp he is for his age. He is an amazing man and I absolutely adore him. I'm glad that some of my kids will have memories of their great-grandpa.

While my mom and I were away, Grandpa Grout took the kids on a hike. The babies were in the stroller. Emi was running with Ty and the stroller tipped over. Ty got a little banged up. But he's still smiling. What a happy little guy.

I had to get a pic with Grandpa and the babies.

Fortunately, my dad was able to get this little camper to put the kids in. They had a great time sleeping in there. Unfortuantely, they used the toilet which wasn't hooked up. Ooops. But really, what do expect kids to do.....?

Here are the cousins playing and having a great time. I had to capture this while I could since you know how towards the end they start having little spats.

Here we are at a park that is close to my parent's house. We took a picnic and let the kids play. The babies had a blast tasting the pinecones and pine needles.

There was a sprinkler running nearby so guess who found it, in his white socks and no shoes.

Well, then EVERYONE had to join in, of course. :0) Except McKenna who just watched.

She loves to pose for pictures, though.

Tori had fun playing with the babies and they loved the attention. This was a sweet picture.

Great-grandpa and Grandma

Later that day, my dad had the kids go around in the empty lots nearby and find these rocks.

What are the rocks used for??

He uses them to make a border for his landscaping. My dad isn't above using children for labor. LOL

Here they all are finding the rocks and carrying them back to the house. I will mention that they did get paid....in quarters. AND they were very excited about it.

Even Josh got in on it. I think his contribution was the smaller rocks. LOL

It was a long but fun filled day.

Stay tuned for more pictures from the following days!

How'd I do it??

That is the main question I have been asked over and over. I just wanted to post here exactly what I did for my exercise routine. I am a firm believer that it doesn't matter WHAT you do as long as you are doing something! However, I have found that Turbo Jam had everything that I was looking for and it gave me the results I wanted. I want to be lean, but toned.
So, I make sure I do cardio everyday. That is what really helped me burn the fat. I try to do 40 minutes. Then I will alternate between working my butt one day, my abs the next and twice a week I work my whole body using weights. I also mix in some pilates to help strengthen my back. I have had bad back problems ever since Highschool and my chiropractor told me Pilates is the best thing for it. Then I throw in some extra crunches for good measure to really tone my poor stretched out tummy muscles.
So there you have it! Anyone can do this....all it really takes is for you to DECIDE you are going to do it, COMMIT to doing what is necessary, and you will SUCCEED!
So, I want to hear other people's success stories. :0)
Thanks for stopping by!

WEIGHT LOSS PHOTOS! FINALLY....

Okay, so posting pictures is soooo embarassing! But I am pretty proud of myself. I didn't honestly know if I could do it or not, especially after having a c-section. I mean, how many times can your skin be stretched out before it finally says, "That's it. I'm staying right here."


So just for a reference, this is me at my HEAVIEST! I weighed over 200 lbs. Granted I was pregnant with twins, but still. Not pretty.

Here I am 7 months later. I am wearing my skinny, SKINNY jeans. The pair I thought I would NEVER EVER get back into because I didn't think my HIPS would ever shrink again. You know what the best part is?? My husband gave me the greatest compliment today while taking this photo. He said, "I am amazed by you. I can't believe you had the will power to do it!" Probably in reference to me getting up every morning and exercising...It felt soooo GOOD to hear it from him! :0)

Here is a picture of my tummy. I thought I would never show my tummy to anyone again. My sister wanted to see the difference. So, Spring, this is for you even though I am mortified!

I am trying to convice her that Turbo Jam is WAAAAYY better than Tae Bo. :0P

I'm hoping that my skin will shrink even more. I'm giving it a year....

So there you have it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Teacher Gifts

So ever since my last venture in learning how to sew, I have gotten to be a little more confident, thanks to NOT breaking any needles in the first five minutes. YAY! So I saw a friend with this gorgeous bag and I thought, "I HAVE to make one of those!" She was kind enough to take the time to teach me. Here is the first bag I did. I LOVE this bag! It is so pretty and there are pockets inside to hold a water bottle and pens and another pocket to hold other items. So I made one for my mom for Mother's Day. It got easier so I decided to make one for my elementary kids teachers, 4 in all.
Here is one of the bags I made for the teachers. Different fabric. I can now make one in less than a day, easy! My hubby is rolling his eyes because I have yet ANOTHER hobby that costs money. Still cheaper than paying for therapy... :0)

I also made these little thank-you note holders using Lauren Meader's Timeless Timeplate, Captured Card Case. So easy. I just print, cut, score, assemble and decorate! The sentiment was perfect. It's from PTI's Teacher's Apple stamp set.

Inside are 10 little thank you notes and envelopes to match. I made the envelopes myself using Lauern Meader's easy instructions. I also made a pen to match that can be kept inside the box.

The little envelope holds mongrammed lables to seal the envelopes with.

The kids are giving them out today. I hope they like it! Mostly I just wanted to give them something that would be useful and NOT fattening. I'm sure they get tons of goodies at the end of the year. :0) Anyway, just thought I would share what I do with some of my free time.

Thanks for stopping by!