The Holfeltz Family

Tess' first day of preschool 2011

2011-09-13T21:39:00.003-07:00

I had such a hard time deciding which preschool to put Tess in. She loved her teacher Janice last year but I really wanted to try something different for this year. I finally decided on a new school and broke up with Janice. Janice if you ever happen to stumble upon this post I just want to say Tess and I love you and "it's not you it's me."

Her poses sometimes... I mean seriously

Shae getting excited to have Tess' room all to herself

Uncle Marvin's Funeral

2011-09-13T21:24:00.000-07:00


My dad's sister Carol with my sister Lisa

My father's only brother Marvin Miller passed away a few weeks ago. He was a great support to our family when my father died. He loved my father unconditionally.

Lisa and I with our cousin Mary

Carol and Margaret (right) dad's sisters

Willow Park Zoo 2011

2011-09-13T21:06:00.002-07:00

Willow Park Zoo is this awesome little zoo that has the "honor system" payment method. It's not too long and not too short. Just right for little ones to be entertained without getting bored. We went this summer with Nat's sister Mary's little girl Vanessa and Nat's brother Jon's little ones Aydan and Amelia.

Fun with cousins!

Pioneer Day 2011 Hyrum Dam

2011-09-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

My brother Greg with his son Luke 8

Greg with his son Alec 6

Cheers Mom

My stylish sista Lisa with Shae and her daughter Morgan 8

32 weeks

Loving Lauren with Tess Bear

Double rainbow; view from my driveway

Holfeltz Family Campout Flaming George July 2011

2011-09-13T16:20:00.002-07:00

Brettlyn and Chase Nat's oldest brothers kids

Tess Bear and Shae Shae BFF's

Grandpa Holfeltz w/the only grandkids that would pose for a pic

Nat and I, our kids, and Jr's kids went on a hike up to the top of this mountain where someone had built a rock marker

Dino Museum

2011-09-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

Nat after painting the basement (not part of the museum visit but needed to throw it in somewhere)

Tess 4 and Shae 2 at the Dinosaur museum

Tess with cousin Eli

Shae and daddy so cute

We went with Nat's brother Will and his family.

Millville Parade

2011-09-13T15:29:00.002-07:00

Tess and Shae got to dress up like princesses and ride in the back of our neighbors truck in the Millville parade with all their neighborhood friends. Didn't get a picture of the whole crew dang it!

Sadly this is a normal occurrence

Summer Fest 2011

2011-09-13T15:17:00.002-07:00

My mother, sister and I have been going to Logan's Summerfest for about the past 10 or more years. It's kind of like Swiss Days but way better! It has less crafts and the art is way better. We usually always go home with a painting or a piece of pottery.

Mair Mair

Tess with her balloon animal that she just had to have.

Cache Valley Tri

2011-09-13T15:09:00.003-07:00

Against my better judgement I'm posting this glamor shot of me and my friends Rachel and Brian Child.

We did the Cache Valley Tri. I think it was in June. They did the Olympic distance and I did the sprint. It was a ton of fun. The water was an astounding 58 degrees!

CHINA!

2011-01-19T22:10:00.020-07:00

Nat had this AMAZING opportunity to go to China for work with his boss and long time friend Sam and his wife Kacie. I was so excited to hear they were going to bring me along for the ride. Wow! What an opportunity. I can't thank them enough for taking me with them. I will never ever forget this experience. I had such a blast! Sam and Kacie are truly a crack up to be around.

I had some wicked awesome photo captions, however when I went to post them alongside the pics they were not syncing up with the correct pic. I'll try and figure out how to use a computer and hopefully add them later.

I was facinated with factory machinery advertising

The bullet train. Everyone's ears were going crazy except mine for some reason

Nat, Sam and Shirley. Shirley is so adorable. She negotiates with the factory owners and does quality control among many other things for Malouf Fine Linens.
Okay...so Kacie told me about these "squatter" toilets while flying over the pacific. I had no idea these toilets even existed and then to find out they were the norm? Oh my... I was in complete shock and horror. When I had to use one of these I actually shed tears. What a baby I know. I begged Nat to come in with me and hold me up so I wouldn't fall in or dampen my drawers. He wouldn't of course.

Halloween 2010

2011-01-19T20:07:00.004-07:00

Tess had an assortment of costumes to choose from this year: lady bug, cheerleader, kitty cat and Ariel (my pick since I paid full price for it and had all the accessories to boot.) She opted to go with this cute pirate costume that her friends Fred and India gave her a month or so prior to Halloween...at least she wore the Ariel wig. Tess loves acting the character more than dressing up. She repeatedly groaned some very convincing Arrrrgggghhhs.

Ahh the pig costume...we saw this at Sams Club and Shae was ready to dive out of the cart for it. It was decided...she was going to be a pig for halloween. Shae's love affair with the hooded pig vest continued long after the pumpkins wilted and the last tootsie roll was savored.

December 2010 Holfeltz Family Pictures

2011-01-19T19:37:00.008-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa with all of their grandchildren

My favorite

Target Pics

2010-10-11T20:21:00.004-07:00

Pretty darn cute for Target pics. I found these dresses last minute. So cute! Thanks for letting us borrow the cute hair clips Amelya.

Tess with her cousin Amelya. So cute! She's three months older than Tess. I really hope Tess wants to play basketball.

Shae

2010-10-11T19:58:00.003-07:00

I love this dress. She's pretty cute too. Shae's 1st birthday in her birthday suit. May 11, 2010

Way cute smile. I think she's about 9 or 10 months here.

Swimming Lessons

2010-10-11T19:52:00.003-07:00

Tess took swimming lessons this summer (June) with her little neighbor friend Greta. I just love her in her swimsuit.

First day of pre school

2010-10-11T18:15:00.002-07:00

Tess's first day of school of pre school

She looks so jolly

Tess did so great her first day. She had never even met her teacher and walked right in and told me bye without the slightest hesitation. I was so proud of her.

Wedding dress

2010-10-11T18:06:00.002-07:00

Lauren and Morgan can keep Tess entertained for hours.

This is a wedding dress they made for her from toilet paper. Pretty creative.
So glad they didn't forget about shoes

Princess Ball

2010-10-11T17:58:00.003-07:00

Tess and Nat went to a Daddy daughter Princess Ball fundraiser this summer.

All of the Disney Princesses were there.

Ariel is Tess's favorite princess.

2010-10-11T17:40:00.001-07:00

February 3, 2006

Sealed in the Bountiful Temple

Preggers with Tess

Chunk

2010-10-11T14:47:00.005-07:00

I'm not sure if I see it as much as my sister Lisa,

but she insists that Shae looks just like Chunk from Goonies

when she wears this shirt and I don't do her hair.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-08T19:32:00.012-07:00

Family Pictures

My two beautiful girls

Shae Christmas morning

Pure Sweetness

The Snow Princess
(Mom's favorite gift, a hooded robe from Lisa)

Holfeltz Family Christmas Party

This pic is classic! I love the haphazard placement of the kids,
and it's pretty funny that none of them are sitting by their siblings.
Tommy absolutly refused to show his face... too funny.

The entire Holfeltz Clan at Will and Melissa's house
Can you believe the size of that tree!

Shae's awesome piggy bank from Aydan

Miller Family Christmas Party

Lauren and Morgan get American Dolls from Grandma

Shae opening her Snow Leopard Build a Bear from her Aunt Lisa

Some Serious Tutu excitement, also a gift from aunt Lisa

Tess giving her new baby a ride

Just what Nat has always wanted... a Dew hat with bling
Thanks a lot Lisa... I have to be seen in public with him wearing this

Tess and Rhett at Grandma Miller's

Tess Talking

2009-03-31T16:36:00.003-07:00

Just a lazy Sunday afternoon with Tess performing some animals sounds and saying a few words.

Tess turns 2

2009-03-24T13:23:00.004-07:00

On Saturday March 21 Tess turned 2. Most of Nat's family was able to attend and Tess' aunt CC (Lisa) uncle Giff (Grif) and cousins Rhett, Lauren and Morgan made the trip from Syracuse to be at Tess' birthday party. Chris and Mindy Deets also came and were instrumental in helping Nat make homemade fries and onion rings for the guests.

Tess with Morgan's and Lauren's Build-a-Bears

Guy Love

Had to get a pic, this rarely happens...sigh

Grandpa Jerry captivating his audience

Some of Tess' favorite things, likes and dislikes include:

Loves anything that flies in the air: mainly helium balloons, kites, hot air balloons, planes and of course flies
Favorite TV shows: Curious George, Barney and Elmo's World from Sesame Street
Favorite foods: apple juice, suckers, waffles, eggs, doughnuts, milk, cottage cheese, and any cheese
Hates getting her diaper changed and her hair done
Favorite toys: lambie, books, balloons, kites, and our next door neighbors trampoline
Loves chap stick
Favorite Song: Twinkle Twinkle although Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree is becoming a close second, thanks to her aunt Lisa
Knows numbers 1 through 10 but doesn't always get them in the right order
Knows her colors including Hot Pink, struggles with yellow and white
Favorite animal sounds: elephant, monkey and cow
Favorite thing to do with Daddy: swing, get the mail, and get tickled
Favorite thing to do with Mommy: avoid kisses and sit on mom's stomach or punch it
Favorite phrases/words: come ear (come here), scoot (scoot), Barney room (want to watch Barney in Mom and Dad's room), difent one (different one), kite boken (kite broken), boons (balloons), daddy home, and fly
Very interested in flies and sometimes deathly afraid of them
Current weight: I think 30 lbs but will get back with accurate figure later
Current height: will measure her soon

Recent T-Bear Pics

2009-03-13T02:41:00.003-07:00

Tess has been so sick this week

Sunday Morning (Thanks for the cute hair thing Natty!)

Looks like I curled her hair, rather just the result of pigtails in buns all day

Da Da so funny!

Random Things

2009-03-13T02:09:00.005-07:00

1. Would the "Man in the Yellow Hat" be as patient with George if he were a real child and not a monkey?

2. TEAM CRAMER all the the way!! Jon Stewart, have you ever even watched CNBC?!!!! I do and I find the reporters/anchors the most competent unbiased I've seen, and believe me I'm extremely critical of how the news is presented!

3. Why is juice good for you and bad for you at the same time?

4. Demetri Martin is a comedic genius, but I have this feeling that he is also an academic genius.

5. Oh Cascade dishwasher detergent why do you taunt me so? You're dangers are clearly labeled in large print yet I can't resist your toxic smell. I just want to crunch your chalky powdery texture between my teeth.

6. I met the most interesting woman the other day. She was bald and wearing a bandanna on her head and a shirt that read "Trigger Therapy." When asked about her shirt she proceeded with great enthusiasm to tell me how therapeutic it is to shoot milk jugs filled with colored water with her 22 riffle and pistol.

The woman's name was Buddy, a very fitting name indeed. Somehow we got on the topic of her baldness. She said she had been pulling her hair out since she was 11 years old (now in her 40's). During her happier years she would let it grow a little bit but would always return to pulling it out completely.

This lady was a sheer delight to be around. I had to fight back a tear or two while in her presence. I'm not sure why I became emotional (besides the pregnancy factor), but I think it might be because it was so refreshing to meet such an interesting person. Maybe I realized that there are so many good and interesting people in this world and for some odd reason Vernal houses a lot of them.

7. I thank my lucky stars that I wasn't born in Sudan. (currently reading "What is the What" by Eggers)

8. Does anyone else get annoyed at Kyle Kover brushing his bangs aside after every shot? Get a clip or head band or something!

9. Tess I love you so. Every little facial expression you make melts my heart, yes even the pouty lower lip mad expressions.

Happy 60th MOM!

2009-01-26T13:21:00.006-07:00

My Mother is the best mom in the world. I wish I could make that last sentence sound original and new but I lack the words necessary to describe how amazing she is. She graduated from BYU with her Bachelors in Nursing and has worked the bedpans for 30 plus years. She is a single mom and started completely over at 46 when she divorced my father. She had only a couple thousand dollars to her name and now has her home completely paid for. She is an inspiration not only to her children but to countless others.

This past December 26th my Mother turned 60. Six months prior to her birthday my sister mentioned doing something special for her 60th. Of course I was on board and we started the planning process. Sonora Grill in Ogden was the venue. WOW what amazing food they have. I can't get over their green salsa and amazing carne asada tacos!

My sister did the sweet invitations shown above. We thought a lot of people wouldn't be able to make it since it was the day after Christmas so we sent out more invites then we had room for in the restaurants banquet room. To our complete surprise EVERYONE rsvp'd! Steve Ballard, Owner/Manager graciously made the extra people work. There were a few people that didn't get to come last minute because of the weather but most everyone was able to make it. Looking back I should have realized how freaking cool my Mom is and that everyone would want to come.

On to the big surprise...we never thought we were actually going to be able to pull the surprise element off, I mean we have some pretty big mouths in the fam ;) me being the biggest one. I almost slipped so many times, but, WE DID IT! Mare-Mare was totally surprised and that was the best part for my sis, bro and I. The middle pic above captures her surprise quite well I think.

There are so many more things I want to say about my Mom but I'm extra emotional when I'm prego so I have to remember to reign myself in or else I regret how mushy I can write.

Snow Blows!

2009-01-26T13:11:00.002-07:00

These pics were taken a few hours ago. Nat was a total baby and quit trying to shovel after 5 mins, okay more like 3 minutes. Will and his crew came to the rescue. I didn't get everyone in one picture but there were 6 guys and two snow blowers. I think it took them all of 15 minutes to finish.

Sledding

2009-01-26T12:56:00.005-07:00

Sledding on the road in front of our house the first week in January. You would never have thought Tess was enjoying it until we tried to take her off the sled.

Halloween

2008-12-12T08:42:00.005-07:00

These are T-bear's Halloween pics. I was pretty sick that day but she had so much fun trick-or-treating with her cousins that it made the day so much fun. Tess was a natural at knocking on the doors; Instead of trying to say trick-or-treat she mooed for her candy.

Back Online

2008-12-10T21:27:00.001-07:00

I changed my blog to private but then I never invited anyone to view it. I just never got around to it. I'm still thinking I might go back to private so in case I do decide on a private blog and you would like an invite please email me at jholfeltz@hotmail.com Email me even if you think I have your email address because I'm just as organized on the computer as I am in my home.

Tess is testing me

2008-10-20T19:09:00.007-07:00

Tess has really been testing me lately. She has gotten such a lil tude. She has been trying to pick my flowers all summer. Finally a few weeks ago when I still had flowers I just gave up and let her pick them. She thought the whole flower behind the ear thing was so funny I had to get a pic.

Tess has discovered the therapeutic attributes of art. Apparently she was so into her painting (penning) she didn't see where the paper ended and where her arm started.

Tess thinks that everything and everyone is a chair if it's on the floor. If you are laying on the floor she will sit on your face like it's no big deal. Then when you protest she will move to your stomach and bounce up and down repeatedly.

Some of you will find this hard to believe but I don't wear lipstick much anymore. Not because I don't like it but because I just forget to get ready most days. Anyway I was truly shocked when I saw that Tess knew where to apply lipstick. She is such a naughty girl I found her like this, lipstick in hand, she knew she had done something very very bad.

Dressing our age

2008-10-10T08:06:00.002-07:00

I couldn't agree more with my sisters post on dressing our age. It's really funny and worth the time to read. Here is a link to her blog http://grifandlisa.blogspot.com/ if this link doesn't work for some reason just click on "Lisa" under "Blogs I read."

Bathtub Trauma

2008-09-26T15:29:00.006-07:00

My stomach is still churning and my body is still shaking from an exciting event that took place about 45 minutes ago here in the anything but exciting town, Vernal aka VernHell. I had just bathed Tess because she puked all over herself and me as a result of a coughing fit she had. When I got her all cleaned up I turned on Nemo in my bedroom and got in the bath. Tess is afraid of the shower and doesn’t like that I have to shut the shower door, so I have baths and leave the bathroom door open so she can check on me. When she’s in the bathroom she’s likes to stick her hands in the water and pat in on her cheeks. Then she hears what must be one of her favorite parts in the movie and runs out and watches it for a few minutes. Then, you guessed it, she’s back in splashing her hands in my bathtub water.

After a few “in-and-out’s” I noticed Tess was back in the bathroom as I had my head under the faucet to rinse the shampoo out of my hair. I didn’t look up to see her and continued on rinsing my hair. I then noticed that I wasn’t just hearing Tess’ voice. My first instinct was that Nat had come home for a minute like he often does throughout the day so I continued to rinse my hair. When I was done I looked up, and, to my horror, I saw Tess and my neighbor’s little boy Jett (3 years old) looking at me with huge smiles on their faces I screamed so loud I scared all three of us. Jett was only scared for a second and then started giggling and said “Hi Jah-chi!” I then proceeded to scream “Jett! Get out!” I was trying to cover my body and still have a free had to point to the door. His face melted from his normal happy go lucky smile to a scared, sad, worried look. I felt so bad but it was just my instant reaction.

After he fled I hurried and got out of the tub and called Annie, Jett’s mom. I didn’t want her to think I was exposing myself to her child. I’m sure “hey mommy I saw Jah-chi naked” wouldn’t sound quite right. Luckily Annie is way cool and would never suspect anything weird, she apologized profusely and we had some laughs.

For Jett's sake, I'll try and remember to lock my garadge door the next time I have a bath. I just hope Jett won’t have too much permanent damage from becoming witness to my doughy physique.

Annie's Porch...where I've spent my summer

2008-09-12T19:49:00.012-07:00

My neighbor and good friend Annie has such a fun porch. She has sacrificed putting in a flower garden so Tess and her kids can play in the dirt and sometimes mud. Here are a few pics of where I have spent a lot of time this summer watching Tess play with Annie's adorable children Kelli and Jett. If I mention Kelli, Jett or Annie, Tess gets soooo excited and starts looking for her shoes (shoe-ezz as she calls them) so she can play with them.

Annie being camera shy

Jett and Kelli
Kelli insisted on wearing her hood for the picture
Not really sure why Jett is holding a squeegee

So Cute!

Annie refusing to cooperate, again.
I'm usually in the sweet rocking chair next to her looking through the pages of her latest tabloid magazine.
I refuse to walk the 10 yards to her house hence the scooter.

Not sure what this is about, pretty darn funny though.

This day should be a post all on it's own. Annie and I did not plan to let our kids go crazy in the mud. It started out so innocent with the kids just kind of digging around in the dirt, and then it escalated into the kids bringing water over to the flowerbed in solo cups from the swimming pool across the driveway. Before we knew it the kids were covered in mud. It was seriously such a fun day.

Tess in her element...dirty and naked.

WalMart

2008-09-09T21:26:00.005-07:00

I just got back from WalMart, well more like an hour ago, its taken that long for me to calm down enough to write this. I had a hundred dollars cash (I know, who carries cash anymore) in my pocket and I thought for sure that would be enough for groceries, diapers, batteries, etc. Well the grand total was $274.66. I got in the car and actually started to CRY. I haven't cried real tears in a long time; I was actually BAWLING, red face, runny nose, you know the feeling. When I brought the groceries in the house I think Nat was a little scared of me. He asked me why I was crying and I responded with "HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK I SPENT ON GROCERIES!" "uh..$130?" Yeah I wish! Except for milk, eggs, and bread I'm not going to buy any more groceries until we are completely out of food! Canned food that has been lurking in my cupboards for way to long... say good bye to Susan comma lazy.

"Save Money Live Better" uh... more like "Spend Thousands Die Crying"

Scooter!

2008-08-19T12:15:00.003-07:00

My sister-in-law Melissa entered Nat's name into a drawing for a scooter and he won! He was so excited that he had actually won something but his excitement soon ceased after he realized the scooter only goes 25 mph (top speed). Needless to say I ride it more than him. Here is a pic of my wonderful neighbor Annie and I posing for a "Dumb and Dumber" pic (her idea, I'm not that creative). Check out my sweet house behind us. The third car garage comes in handy for parking the scooter!

HOLFELTZ FAMILY REUNION

2008-08-18T15:03:00.010-07:00

Some pics from the first (not sure if it's annual yet) Holfeltz Reunion July 18th-19th. We camped in Massy Meadows in Dry Fork (Vernal). Notice the fish below...yes that is a fish not the bait!

"It's time" (low voice)

2008-07-25T21:14:00.008-07:00

All of my High School friends at TGI Fridays. What? Not Red Robin? We kept RR in business from 1996-1998. Little do you know...Andy Garcia was our waiter/photographer. I'm serious, this guy was like Andy's clone minus 20 years. Anyway, here is the the group of girls that made High School such a memorable experience. I'm going to steal a little bit of Lisanne's format from here blog and mention a little something about all of the friends.
Melina (blue shirt left) AKA: Mel Mel, Shmel Shmel, you were always the one the boys wanted. Your nails were always long and beautiful. I will always remember your hands being cold and purple :) You are like the sweetest, and most kind person ever. You and Matt make such a cute couple! By-the-way, love the agressiveness with the sweet potato fries.

Liseanne (brown shirt middle) AKA: Fleece. You were by far the most wild of the bunch, next to me of course. Stealing your grammy's car in the middle of the night, altering your report cards, and donning scantily clad outfits were some of your best moments. No really you were a blast to hang with. You're such a great Mom and homemaker.

Natalie (black shirt left) AKA: Natty, Patsi, Nancy, Genitalia, oh my the list could go on forever. I'm seriously laughing out loud right now thinking of your "Sewing with Nancy" face. Nat, I married my husband because he has your name. Not even lying, you are that cool. You were close with all of us. It just didn't seem the same unless you were around. Love that little Gracee by the way, her butt is the cutest thing ever.
Karalee (blue shirt left) AKA: Shi Shi. Okay who decided to spell it Shi Shi and not Shy Shy? Your brows look amazing by the way. Shi what can I say...I love that Shane Tribe gave you that nick name. This is going to be really long and maybe cheesy but I just have to tell you... I remember one time you didn't have your homework all the way done for AP English and you were going to hand it in anyway; for some reason I knew you could easily get the answers from your classmates but you were like oh well if I fail I fail. You felt better to fail then to have cheated. I gained so much respect for you that day. After school special? Yeah I know but I have thought about that experience many times especially during college.

Kerri (black shirt middle) AKA Corina, Ker. You had the coolest car! (Nissan Pulsar) I loved that you could always get into your car from the sun roof. Came in very handy when you locked your keys in there ;) Ker, you would do anything for anyone, that is actually an understatement. You are so creative and talented. Thanks for doing my "make-up makeover" project for Ms. Chandler's class. I would have never put it together as cute as you did.

GAS

2008-07-17T18:22:00.003-07:00

Can everyone just stop talking about how high gas prices are right now!!! I'm so freaking sick of it! It's like some people act like they are the only ones on the planet that have to fork over the bucks for transportation. EVERYONE has to pay the same for gas so enough already I want to punch some people in the face! Especially the whiners that have these huge ozone depleting gas guzzler vehicles. Get a bike, or just shut up already.

Annie

2008-07-15T12:28:00.005-07:00

Believe it or not Vernal does have some culture! Here is Luke, Lauren and Morgan (nieces and nephews) at Annie over the 4th of July weekend.

They loved it, including Luke! Lauren sang along with all the songs and Morgan was intrigued by the lady/man sitting next to her. Vernal is full of interesting people.

Some older pics

2008-07-15T12:04:00.010-07:00

I haven't updated my blog for an entire year, (except for the last entry) so I wanted to post some older pictures from this past year.

Andrea and Zach Sudbury Wedding March 2008Don't try this at home! Sponge curlers do not equal cute! Except for when they are IN the hair.

Tess' 1st Birthday March 08

First time at Lagoon with 2nd cousin Beckham. Tess rang the bell the entire time!

Before she was crawling

Tess in Nat's "Joe Dirt" wig

Halloween 2007

DinoTri

2008-06-29T22:33:00.002-07:00

Me with Rocky and Brian. So much fun, not sure that I would do this again however.

The triathlon consisted of a .5 mile swim in Red Fleet Reservoir, a 12 mile bike ride and a 5K run.

Second time around

2007-06-20T23:56:00.001-07:00

All about baby.

2007-06-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

Tess' #1 Fans Grandma Miller and Aunt Lisa

2007-06-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

Mom in absolute AWE of her new baby girl

2007-06-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

Our second honeymoon in San Diego January 2006

2007-06-20T23:14:00.001-07:00