Good bye old friend we will miss you….

Well its official our computer has died! Her name was Kathy and she joined our lives Christmas of 2001. Kevin used to spend so much time with her; we figured she needed a name. (I know I have pictures, but I think she has taken them to the grave with her along with my Christmas card list). She was with us for almost seven years and in that time, she truly became part of our family. She had a good life with her buttons glowing green, but now there seems to be no way to revive her… RIP Kathy!

Kathy 2.0 coming soon!

Welcome Home Roxie Mae…

We have had Roxie now for almost a week; we brought her home on October 19th. The Original plan was to have her sleep in her Kennel at night; However on the first night when we put her in it. She started to whimper; Kevin looked at me and said “Let’s just let her sleep with us”. All I could think is “Great I am going to be up all night”. I must say I was so surprised she is such a good puppy she slept through the night… I kept waking up to check on her, but she just laid there snuggled up to Kevin. She is such a Daddy’s girl. We are now in full potty training mode, in an effort not to Jinx myself I am not going to say much, expect for the fact that she is good puppy… Izzie and Roxie play so well together, it is a lot of fun to sit and watch them play.

Road trip Day 5… Crazy horse and Jewel caves “Almost”

Today we went to Crazy horse memorial. This memorial is privately funded and is still a work in progress. Work started on crazy horse in 1948 by Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski. The Memorial's mission is to honor the culture, tradition and living heritage of North American Indians. Once completed it will be the largest memorial of it type. Right now all that is done is the head of Crazy Horse, they still have quite a bit to do... But it is still amazing.

The Black Hills

We then drove up to Jewel Caves. However once we arrived we found out that all of their tours we sold out for the day. Due to the time of year they only do three tours a day with a maximum of thirty people per tour.

Wyatt and Davis at Jewel Caves

We also did a little Geo Caching along the way.

Our view through lovely Wyoming, We are coming home! (It is such a long drive)

Kevin and I really had great time on our South Dakota vacation with everyone. We are excited to be coming home though, we get to bring Roxie home for good when we get back {{Giddy}}

Road Trip day 4… Bear Country

Today we went to Bear Country. This is a wildlife park that you can drive through, and see animals such as Wolfs, Bears, Buffalo, and Elk up close. It is a lot like Bear World in Rexburg ID. I have included a slide show of all of the animals we seen. There of course was nursery were we could see all of the baby cubs… My favorite.

We then went to Wall Drug, This is a drug store that has been around since the 1930’s. Their claim to fame is that they offer free ice water. Nowadays it is more of a tourist trap with a ton of photo ops, and a huge jackalope.

The Pickett Men

Kurtis and his BunnyAfter going to Wall Drug a few of us decided to go to a Cave (I am so bad I don’t remember the name of it)… But when we got there it was closed for the season. Of course Kevin and Kurtis had to go exploring and Kevin had to take a ride on the train… (This was a fun day)

Road trip day 3... Mount Rushmore

"A monument's dimensions should be determined by the importance to civilization of the events commemorated. We are not here trying to carve an epic, portray a moonlight scene, or write a sonnet; neither are we dealing with mystery or tragedy, but rather the constructive and dramatic moments or crises in our amazing history." Gutzon Borglum

Today we went to Mt Rushmore. It is so amazing to see the presidents face up on the mountain. The presidents are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodor Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The carvings were overseen by famed sculpture Gutzon Borglum. One thing that I thought was interesting was that the project was planned to include the bust of the presidents as well. Originally they thought that it would take 5 years and $500,000.00, however after 1 million dollars and 14 years later they had to stop, due to the lack of funding.

The Pickett Men!
Garrett after a fun day of sight seeing

All of us...

We then went Cosmo’s Mystery… This place was wild. I am not sure what to say about this place, except your mind kept playing tricks on you… it seemed none of us could stand straight up!

Shawn, Kevin and Jamie

Kevin

Scott and Garret

Brian and Kevin

Kevin and Jamie having Fun!

I had to add this, this is what I got when I ordered a bread bowl with my soup, I got bread in a bowl… Not quite what I had in mind…

Road Trip Day 1 and 2…

The Caravan...

We are finally here in South Dakota. After what seemed like a never ending drive through Wyoming (I told Kevin that we should have flown).
Kevin and I left yesterday evening (Tuesday) and met up with rest of the Pickett’s in Casper WY. I am not going to say much about Casper except for the fact that our hotel was NASTY! I was going to take some pictures but Lynnette said “some thing’s are better, not remembered”. She is a wise woman…

Today we went to Belle Fourche which is the “geo center” of the U.S. This is essentially calculated by taking the furthest points of Hawaii and Maine as well as Florida and Alaska (as well as others…). Where all these lines cross happens to be in this small town in South Dakota. Being the "geo center" is this towns claim to fame and they've built a large granite monument. The "true geo center" is actually about 12 miles outside of downtown and is marked by a U.S geological marker.

All the Kiddies

We also drove through Sturgis, the famous motorcycle town. I imagine that during the bike rally that it is much more exciting because it truly was a "drive through."

Karen this post is dedicated to you... "It's a virtual post card"

My Corner in the World…

Here is my Sewing area; yes it is in the corner of our basement… And yes it gets very cold in the winter. Kevin has always promised to build me my own room for all of my Scrapbook and Sewing supplies. You may ask yourself why not lug your machine up to the Kitchen table… Well that is easy I don’t want to give the perception that I am ok with doing that… So this way Kevin gets to see me go down to the basement and work in the cold; thinking that someday he will feel bad enough for me and start building my room. (I know it’s probably a long shot, but in my head it is a great plan).

Finished sqaure YAY!

Three years ago I started attending a quilt square of the month club (Quilt School), with my sister in-laws (Kim, Karen, Christie, and Megan) and Mom in-law (Lynnette)… First off let me just say I hate procrastinating, I would just rather get what I need to get done, done… Well that being said, I admit I am a hypocrite. I always seem to start my quilt square the Friday night before quilt school; and this past class was no different. Of course I did not start until 9pm; and of course my machine was giving me fits, and of course my rotary cutter was malfunctioning; some how I finished my square by 1130pm. Saturday at quilt class I was telling Karen and Lynnette about my rotary cutter and telling them I needed to get a new one. The quilt shop was giving away a cutter (every month there is a little drawing)… So I decided to “place my bet” and keep my fingers crossed that I would win it rather than buying a new one… Oh happy day I received a call from the quilt shop I won the cutter… {Let’s got to Vegas baby I am on a roll}Oh the little things in life that makes me happy.

Happy Birthday Keith…

We celebrated Keith’s birthday on Saturday (His birthday was on Sept 24th, I know we are late). I have said this before but I love family get together’s. It was nice to see everyone. With Karen and Ben and Shawn and Megan living in Utah and Cache counties; we don’t get to see them that often… HECK we don’t see Scott and Christie or Kim and Bryan that often… (I admit Kev and I are pathetic). It was nice though to finally meet our newest niece Maiya (Karen and Ben’s newest addition she is so sweet and cuddly).

***We are all headed off to Mt Rushmore and South Dakota… We will miss you Karen and Ben. Posts to come! ***

UGH!

This is what we woke up to on Sunday morning. I HATE the snow; I am so much more of a beach and palm tree type of girl! Where the heck did the fall go? I thought I would share some pictures of our fist snow storm of the year for those of you that are lucky enough to live in warmer climates.

Who knew that 27 could be so grand…

I absolutely love my Birthday; to me it might as well be a national holiday. After all it is the day I graced the world with my presence {Giggle, Giggle}
And this year was no different, I had such a wonderful day, I am still giddy! First of all my Grandpa Jimmy came for a visit… Yes - for my Birthday! And then with my family getting Roxie for me could it get any better… You bet!

I decided I would go into work on my birthday, I know what you are thinking “What work on a national holiday” well; I tend to be frugal with my PTO, and this year I could not justify taking the day… Let me just say my coworkers did not disappoint. When I walked into the office there was this huge sign that said “Hey everyone its Jamie’s birthday” How cool it that? (I realize that some of you would have shuttered at such a sign, but I loved it!)… and of course my desk had been decorated. They had a cake and every thing for me I work with the greatest group of people ever… I so feel the love!

My Desk

My Cake

Proof that I can share the day, this is me with my friend Angela it was her Birthday too!

Later in the day Kevin sent me a dozen roses and my parents sent me a flower bouquet as well! Seriously this was the best day ever, I love getting flowers at work, and two delivery’s in one day, “Oh my!” I am not sure much work got done; it was my Birthday after all… {Giddy}

Later that night my parents took the family to The Timber mine after dinner we went to my parents house for Cold stone cake (Cake batter Ice cream with red velvet cake YUMMY!)

I truly feel so blessed to have such amazing family and friends! THANK YOU, to everyone that made my birthday so spectacular!

Love Ya!

Grandpa Jimmy

(Jamie, Grandpa Jimmy, and Justin)

My Grandpa Jimmy is here for a visit; he is from Texas and we don’t get to see him very often so it is always special when he comes for a visit. Last night I had everyone over for potato soup. I always enjoy having family over, after diner we sat around and talked, played and of course I had to go and get Roxie to show everyone.

Montana and crazy Grandma Vicki

Silly Brandon

Sweet Little Roxie

If you are looking for a great fall/winter recipe, this is it! This recipe is one of my favorites. It always seem to be crowd pleaser, when I make it for a group, it is even better when you serve it with bread bowls YUMMY!

Potato Soup

1cup celery (chopped small)
1cup carrots (chopped small)
1 cup onions (chopped small)
4-6 Tbsp butter separated
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup milk
2 Cups peeled and cubed potatoes
Dash of garlic seasoning, salt, pepper basil and parsley
1 Can Campbell’s cheddar cheese soup
2-3 Tbsp flour
1 cup sour cream

Saute approximately 1 cup of each celery, carrots and onions with 2-3 Tbsp butter. Add 2 cans of chicken broth and 1 cup of milk bring to a boil. Add 2 cups potato’s (I usually add more) peeled and cubed. Add a dash of garlic seasoning, salt and pepper, basil and parsley to taste. Boil for about 15-20 min until potatoes are tender. Add 1 can cheddar cheese soup. In a small sauce pan melt 2 Tbsp butter and 2-3 Tbsp flour to form a creamy mixture (not pasty, if it is pasty add more butter) add to large saucepan, add sour cream and simmer for 10mins.