Love The Galloway's

Finally Updated!

2011-04-10T21:49:00.002-06:00

Ok, so here is my sometimes annual, sometimes bi-annual updating of our blog. I've been getting enough guilt about not showing more cute pictures of our wonderful, baby McKay that I'm doing the last 8 months at once. So start back in August and work your way forward to the present time. That way you can watch me lose weight in pictures. :) I'm still working on it but at least it's working even if it's more slowly than I'd wish.
As for other news, Cade has an amazing new job that we feel very blessed with. We are starting our landscaping adventure with the house. We've all been sick but are looking forward to Spring and fresh air.
Love to you all and come visit if you can,
Jill (& the Galloway gang)

Carter's Birthday

2011-04-10T20:42:00.002-06:00

Carter's 7th Birthday weekend and we had all the Galloway's together for that, landscaping project, and General Conference. It was fun but this was the only happy shot of Carter bowling. The rest was spent throwing fits because he wasn't getting a strike to make the movie play on the screen. Is there such a thing as terrible 7's? :)

Talking on the phone to Grandma Littlefield who called to chat before the party and he wished she was here. Lego cupcakes we had made, I'm not that good. :)

He's known as "the baby whisperer!" He sings jibberish songs until the babies tire from trying to decipher his code and pass out. :) We love it!

Crazy sock day

2011-04-10T20:40:00.001-06:00

Enough said!

March events

2011-04-10T20:32:00.002-06:00

We got to celebrate Carter's and Grandma Littlefield's birthday's early when we went to see them in Rexburg while they watched Keaton for the week.

Photo opp - she sucks on her lower lip all the time so I put that in too.

All tired out from all the fun. It took me a week to get her used to not being held all the time. :)

Day O' Love!

2011-04-10T20:28:00.002-06:00

This was the Valentine's haul for the family. We got to bring a big cookie cake and help with Carter's class party on Valentine's Day. I helped with Leah's too but didn't get any pictures of it. Oops.

Random winter moments

2011-04-10T20:19:00.004-06:00

After Daddy gets done feeding her, but she's happy.

Cade loves to dress Carter up for church and you can tell he doesn't mind!

Carter changed into "comfy" clothes after school but still had to feed the chickens so this is what happened.

Leah reading the "little kids" a story and they all loved it.

Just dang cute...what else can be said?!

Christmas with my family!

2011-04-10T20:12:00.004-06:00

We were lucky to have my parents, Tianne & family, and Jason & family come for Christmas, tons o' food, and skiing. We missed Polly's family but we'll catch them this summer. Here are some quick pic's of the fun. What you won't see pictured are the attempts by Tianne & I at Dance Revolution which have been sworn into secrecy from ever coming forward. It was fun but it wasn't pretty. :) hee hee

Lego Land / Disneyland Surprise!

2011-04-10T19:05:00.004-06:00

The kids already thought we were cool because we let them skip school to go on a "work trip" with Daddy to Idaho Falls. There we met up with cousin Keaton for lunch. Then we found some pre-Christmas gifts from Santa along with a letter, explaining what the t-shirts in those boxes meant a trip to California and we were leaving right then. What you didn't get to see is Carter's utter disappointment thinking the t-shirt is the only thing he was getting from Santa for this year and he had a good list going. On the way to the airport Leah asked if she could scream because she was sooo excited? We said sure and Carter declared, "I'm not screaming until we get to Lego Land, then I'll be happy!"

So Lego Land one day, Disneyland / California Adventures the next, and we hit the beach before flying home. It was quick and exhausting but we all loved it!
The laser light show was my favorite. It made me cry and was amazing. We did it all though, including me scratching the skin off of a poor girls knee on the Tower of Terror. Never again, I tell you, never again. :)
Even though it was cold, the kids had to get in the water for an hour before flying home to the dark days of winter.

Family Pictures with the Galloway's

2011-04-10T18:55:00.003-06:00

We had Thanksgiving and Leah's 9th Birthday in Montana with Cade's family. We surprised her with an American Girl Doll. It's always fun when we get all together. The boys all made a 12-foot snowman. Well, I don't know how tall it was, but they had to use a ladder to get the head on and I didn't even get a picture of it.

Funny McKay moments 1-4 months

2011-04-10T18:39:00.003-06:00

She had thrush so we got to use the purple staining stuff to cure it. She wore purple for days so we didn't ruin any outfits from slobbery-ness. :)

Carter made her a crown. He adores his, baby sister and she loves him right back.

This was the only way we could get her to take a binky is if it was covering her nose. She's better now but it sure was a battle for the first few months.

So cute in her Sunday dress.

Tummy time on her play mat. She was strong right from the start and smart and cute and I'm not prejudice at all. :)

Fall Festivities!

2011-04-10T18:17:00.004-06:00

Halloween!

Carter is Mario, McKay is a Tootsie Roll, & Leah is an elegant, witch!

It rained, so all we did was the neighborhood trunk or treat which turned out to be perfect...
lots of candy in a short amount of time!

Painting pumpkins instead o' carving this year.
Leah's trying to hold her head up, don't worry she's not choking.

We caught a pet snake that we were going to keep until one day it escaped and back out in the wild it got to go. I feel like Carter looks in this picture about our friendly snake.

Last warm days before the long, gloomy winter months set in. We had a picnic at the park with cousins and friends, fed ducks & geese, and soaked up some sun.

Carter was in charge of running the 4-wheeler out of gas so we could store it for winter, while we cleaned out the rest of the garden. He looks like he had the harder job.

Monster, deformed carrots! Awesome!

First Day of School / Baby Blessing Day

2011-04-10T17:56:00.003-06:00

My little poser's! Leah is more than willing but I can't get a normal, smiling, looking at the camera picture of Carter no matter what. I guess that means, this is his "normal". :)

McKay & cousin Taya (LeAnn and Clay's baby) got to be blessed on the same day in our home. Love her cheeks!

Yellowstone

2011-04-10T17:42:00.002-06:00

On the way back from the funeral we drove through Yellowstone Park. It's been years since I've been and the kids never had so it was fun. We threw rocks in the lake, watched Old Faithful blow, saw the mud pots, and a few friendly wildlife as we drove. Fun day with Jason, Meegan, & Keaton too.

Grandma Leah's Funeral

2011-04-10T17:15:00.003-06:00

Many of you may know what an influence my grandparents had on my life and for those of you who don't, it would take more than a simple blog to do them justice. My Grandma Leah, made me feel like I was her favorite. She was special enough that I wanted to name my own daughter after her, in the hopes that she would inherit some of the same strengths and characteristics. I'm incredibly grateful for her influence in my life and even more grateful that the Savior paved the way for us to be together again for eternity!My Leah & the favorite cousin Keaton

Little brother, Jason & Cade

My awesome sisters!
The Littlefield Family below

The quick, activity filled weekend tired us all out.
McKay, slept and smiled through the funeral services, which were sooo well done.

McKay's 1st week

2010-08-05T22:59:00.004-06:00

Introducing McKay Bea Galloway!!!

2010-08-05T20:20:00.003-06:00

Born Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at 8:30 p.m. weighing in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 20" long. I delivered her naturally at a birthing suite in SLC and it was by far the best experience of labor & delivery for me! The kids got to come in and see her at just 2 hours old. We are all absolutely in love already!!!

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T14:26:00.005-07:00

It was pretty low key around here today but nice all the same. Cade left for a work event yesterday and sent these beautiful flowers. The kids & I sent love notes in his luggage. I heart-attacked our bedroom door because the kids slumber partied in my room last night (and probably until Cade gets home). Leah is smiling in front of it but with her face still so swollen from surgery you can't tell. It's already gotten better but she says she looks like a monkey until it goes away. She's really a brave, tough, and blessed little girl and we love our little family to pieces! Hope you all have a "love-ly" day!

Jan Recap

2010-02-14T14:14:00.004-07:00

Mostly, January for me is a nauseous blur spent in bed or on the couch. Thankfully, I have wonderful kids and husband who stepped up big time in the chores and helping area. Leah did have a Daddy/Daughter Western Night at school where they learned country dancing and had fun. We met Cade at the school because he drove back in to town to make the event. You can tell she doesn't mind dressing up or posing. :)

We also gave our cat to LeAnn to use as a barn cat and to see if my allergies would get any better if she wasn't around. Unfortunately not but at least there's one less thing to clean up after and feed, etc... You can't really tell in the picture but she weighed twice what Bella does and yet she'd let Bella drag her around by a paw. We'll let them visit each other when it warms up in Wyoming.

Holiday Blitz

2010-02-14T13:08:00.012-07:00

Rather than try to go back too far with full pages of stuff, I'm going to blitz through the months of Oct - Dec with a quick re-cap of what happened.Carter started wrestling and this was his first opponent, first meet. The kid turned out to be 3 years old and weighed more than Carter. Overall, he learned a lot and enjoyed most of it. He gets a very serious, growly face whether he's winning or losing which is pretty cute. I think we'll do it again next year.For Halloween, we had all the Galloway cousins and my nephew Keaton's family come for pumpkin painting, carnival, trick-0-treating, and fun. The adults all came for the ribs and brisket that Cade and Chip spent time smoking. Yummy! FYI, that's Chip in the big Transformer suit, what a good Dad.For Leah's baptism, we had lots of family come back in to town to celebrate with us. We made a poster of the family and friends that couldn't be there with us, you'll see in the background. Here's the favorite Keaton posing with her too. He's a hit with all the cousins.Christmas! We hosted the Galloway's this year and slept 22 people, hopefully comfortably in the house. We have an adult white-elephant gift after the kids go to bed and here is a pic of the "Moo-moo's for every day of the week" gift. It's not hard to believe that Melissa can look good even in a moo-moo. We all had a blast and the cousins wore each other out.Lastly, our family picture. It was too cold to do an outdoor one, especially with new baby Sadie so we found what we could that was open and did the best we could. It makes it easier when there's so many cute people / kids in it. :) Of course, I'm biased. Hope your holidays were as fun and filling (literally we all gained weight) as ours.

Slacker / Family Update

2010-01-15T17:46:00.003-07:00

Yes, that's me...a blogging slacker! I haven't posted in 10 months and I'd even forgotten how to log in. I'd love to be so ambitious that I'd post all the fun and adventurous things we've done since that last posting but I'm still not done with a Christmas letter so that's not going to happen. What I will do is post the most recent family pic's, maybe post some pic's from Cade's accident, and then be re-dedicated to keeping the posts updated at least monthly this year. :)

As for our family, we're all doing well. Cade is back to his normal self (or as normal as he was prior to the accident) except for his taste and smell. I count this as a blessing because it's the only thing that makes the accident real to him and it's still oh too real for me. I'm actually writing the experience down like a book so we'll see what comes of that. His business is going well and he'll be traveling out of state a lot over the next few months because of it.

Leah, turned 8 and was baptized (in our religion, children are not baptized until they are accountable for their choices and this is deemed to be 8). This was such a wonderful time with many family & friends making it to support her special day. She also got her ears pierced which was exciting for her. She's so tough she didn't even flinch. Her final palate surgery, the bone grafting, will be March 4th which will be good to be finished with.

Carter, is quite the stinker! He's been experimenting with alternative behavior at home and at school...swearing, not listening, throwing tantrums (most of which are quite poorly acted out), etc. We've started a new system in both places to stop this behavior quickly and get my sweet boy back. The tantrums are slowing, he does not like the taste of soap so no more swearing (darn that YouTube), so we're just working on listening. If he wasn't so cute we'd have traded him in long ago but thankfully he's "stinkin' cute" as we call him.

As for me, I'm an very, very grateful for the blessings of this last year! From Cade's miraculous healing, well that's the biggest one right there. I've struggled with doing a traditional Christmas letter recounting the travels, fun, and accomplishments of the year because quite frankly nothing is as important to me as the daily life together as a family. I appreciate so much more, I am grateful for simple things, and I am especially humbled by the love and blessings of our Heavenly Father. He has drawn our family closer to Him this year and for this I am eternally grateful!

May 2010 be absolutely fantastic for us all!
Love,
The Galloway's (Cade, Jill, Leah, Carter, & new arrival coming in August) That's an awesome blessing too, only 5 years in the making! :) hee hee

Introducing "Super" Bella!

2009-03-12T00:05:00.004-06:00

We got a "Porkie" puppy today, whose 7 1/2 weeks old. That means she's half pure-bred Palmeranian and half pure-bred Yorkshire Terrier. So no barking, no hair, & lots of cuteness! Carter even loves her & he's afraid of every animal. Leah named her Bella but Carter wanted to call her a super hero name like "Super Man." So he started to call her Super Bella and I think it'll stick. I'm hoping she'll potty-train faster than Carter did. :)

Leah has off school for the next couple of days and I'm sure she'll get no shortage of attention. Carter was already wondering when she could sleep with him. :) Cute!

Kids in 20" of fresh snow

2009-03-11T23:57:00.003-06:00

Ok, where have I moved to? Seriously, one day Leah comes home with mud freckles because it rained mud. I can't even see out of my car or house windows. Then it warms up so much that all the snow melts and we're starting yard work. Then in 24 hours it dumps 20" of snow. Aaah! The kids did have a bunch of fun though and that is what it's all about...I guess. :) I did get to make hot chocolate at least. Yes, Carter ate snow until his face was red and freezing.

Cousin Weekend Extravaganza!

2009-03-11T23:45:00.003-06:00

We got to have several days jam packed with cousins on both sides of our families. We had a blast and the kids all got along great. No drama, no fights, even over toys. Loved it. Mom Galloway watched Tom & Suz's kids while they were gone for a wedding so she brought them up for a few days. LeAnn came over with Nora and then Trish came over with her 3 boys to play too. All the kids played, the husbands worked or snowmobiled, the women worked out and went to "He's not that in to you" movie when husbands came home. Fun! Then my Bassett cousin's came up for a visit and caught up on the last couple years. Cade & Nick re-lived the BBQ fest they had in Lovell. Carter loved teasing Nick until he'd get tickled. Love these guys!

Carter's kissy face lined with pizza sauce...yum!

Draper Temple Open House

2009-03-11T23:40:00.003-06:00

This was awesome! Thanks to Melissa for hooking us up with tickets and planning this. We got to tour with Mom Galloway and the kids did fantastic being reverent. I got choked up a couple of times explaining to the kids the different rooms and their purposes for when they get older and come for themselves. Talk about make a Mom cry! They each got a brochure, cookies, and picked their favorite rooms. A wonderful opportunity that we'll take again.

The Day of LUV!

2009-03-11T23:33:00.005-06:00

What a nice day, and of course Cade made us a lovely dinner. Leah made homemade notes and cards which are always sooo cute too.

Hangin' out with the Hansen's

2009-03-11T23:29:00.002-06:00

It is well known that we love to play with John & Torrie (with new baby Chase to come). We ate at the Czech restaurant (with Chip & Melissa, and Q & Brian too), came to their Super Bowl party, and Cade has been snowboarding with John as well. We like any excuse to play with these guys. Next time, hopefully when Chase arrives!

Bowling - FHE

2009-03-11T23:16:00.004-06:00

Ok, I don't boast of being a great or even good bowler but when my 7 & 4 year old beat me, that's saying something. Once I realized that I didn't get to use the bumper's, then I reverted to my throwing it backwards, between the legs, method and I could get at least some pins down. Cade got lots of strikes and spares which turned out to bother Carter because he didn't get to make any of the movies appear on the screen after he bowled. So he's "so over bowling!" We had a fun night and I'm glad my kids are too young to mock me...yet. :)

Cade & the kids. That is not dirt on Carter's face,

he had Sharpie'd his face earlier in the day.
Fun times, fun times! Leah's crazed bowling face. She did try lots of ways to get a strike.

Moments of Zen & funny kid sayings!

2009-02-11T23:17:00.002-07:00

I think it's from the Kung Fu Panda game but one night at dinner, I was trying to get Carter to calm down and this is what he did followed by the Oooohmmmm sound and deep breaths. He did it so many times, I snuck away to get my camera. Of course Leah wasn't going to be left out of the fun so she started too. Funny sayings the kids have had lately:

When asking Leah which new pictures I should get printed in black and white to replace the old ones in the picture frames she responded, "Mom, I'm only 7, I've never been any older!"
Carter has been getting scared of the dark more lately and if you walk up behind the guy he'll jump and say, "You're really freaking me out!"
In Carter's prayers, he randomly throws in things that he's thankful for. Lately we've heard he's thankful for walruses, toilets, reindeer that can fly, and Jesus doing or not doing any number of things. Tonight he held maraca's while he said the prayer and shook them up high any time he mentioned something about Jesus or the Spirit. Leah & I were bent over laughing so hard we each got a whack on the head from a maraca before he closed the prayer. :)
When asked why Leah had told a lie about not bringing all her homework home to do she said, "I didn't want you to be mad." My response was, "I wouldn't be mad, we'd just need to do the homework but I wouldn't be mad about it." She said, "Yeah but I didn't want to do all that homework." :)
Carter has started saying that I can't kiss him as much as I do. He says, "No kissy, kissy...only huggy, huggy!" To which my reply is usually tickle torture followed by hugs and kisses. Until the boy can stop me, he's gettin' kisses!
Leah's been working on talking nicer to me so when we were looking in the mirror together and she mentioned how long her hair was getting I agreed and said that about my own hair too. With as much as she could restrain her attitude she thought for a second and commented, "Yeah, I bet an ant would think your hair was really long. It would take a year for an ant to climb my hair though."
Carter couldn't explain what he wanted to order from Arby's drive through so he unbuckled, got out of the truck, went up to the sign, and pointed at the picture. I just giggled as the confused people behind us saw me getting him back in the truck and buckled so we could move on. Oh, by the way the mozzerella sticks are good!
Leah was talking about how she's excited to get the Gift of the Holy Ghost when she gets baptized this year and how she just feels empty until that happens. I told her she's not empty inside, she has her Spirit that's why she's so smart and funny. She said, "Well Heavenly Father made me funny, He did!" To that I agreed and laughed.

Don't Lick the Snow! Yeah Right...

2009-02-11T23:13:00.003-07:00

We got the snow outfits and gear so the kids had to try this stuff out. Carter kept trying to get it to stick to his face like bubbles would to make a beard. That's what he did until his little face literally has cuts on it from the snow. We didn't have a sled so I pulled them around on a tote lid in a huge garbage bag. Plus, I'd pick them up and chuck them into the big fluffy piles. This all lasted 30 minutes and then we were done. Cade took a lot longer than that to shovel all of it. :)

Misc Moments of Jan '09

2009-02-11T23:02:00.004-07:00

We got a late night, one hour fix of our friends the Jackson's who came up for a funeral. Hey, we'll take what we can get of our AZ buddies. Leah made pictures and packed travel snacks and Carter got to wrestle and torment Lucas. We're glad they let us keep them up on an exhausting whirlwind trip for them. Love ya!

My Misty!

Same weekend we got to hang out in our sweats / pj's all weekend in a Bear Lake cabin with the Broadhead's to celebrate Trish's bday. Leah loved playing with Nora.

Take a look at Casen's sledding shiner! Ouch!

Ryker is the best baby! So happy and cute!

New Year's!!!

2009-02-11T18:56:00.003-07:00

Bring on a New Year, I'm sooo done with 2008! (as long as this new one is better financially and health wise that is!) :) We got to spend the night at Brady & Holli's family cabin at Bear Lake while the kids slept over and the wonderful Parkinson's house. We bought goodies for each sleep over and had a great time playing games and visiting with old friends that we haven't seen for a while. Brian, Cade, Monica, Brady, Holli...she's counting like that not giving someone the bird. :) We're getting ready to party.

Travis & Monica Bright
Cade got in on Brady & Holli's (with new baby) self-portrait shot of themselves. We made fun of Q's fear of PDA when after having these guys as best friends for 10 years, traveling many times with them, this was the first time we've ever seen them kiss and this was their response. I think Brian was happily surprised! hee hee

Who is this masked man you ask? The man that I love...
let the good times roll babe!

Misc. Moments at the end of '08

2009-02-11T18:48:00.002-07:00

My little buddy Jillian from Lake Chelan, Washington. We got together for some lunch and catch up time after a doctor visit for Leah at Primary Children's Hospital. We had a great time catching up since the mission days and meeting her cute little boy. I love her!

Leah, Casen, Carter, and Daxton sliding down the stairs at the Broadhead ranch. :) They play pretty well together, until someone gets hurt. :) Then they cry a bit and get right back to playing. :)

We got to see Santa and get some pre-Christmas goodies. Carter wanted nothing to do with him but Leah got her present requests in just to be safe. :)

TWILIGHT MOVIE PREMIER!

2009-02-11T18:41:00.003-07:00

I can't believe I forgot to put this on before now. It was sooo much fun to go with a bunch of ladies from Providence that I'd gotten to know in the short time being here. They got my ticket and waited in line for an hour before the show. I went and got Little Ceasar's Pizza and walked it right in. The assistant manager didn't like this since our group was so big and only 20 people from the front of the line. I told her that it's better if we eat so we don't throw up all the popcorn and pop that we'd be buying for the movie. We weren't going to be in trouble because the manager is the one who hooked us up with tickets.

We had so much pizza left over we offered it to the poor guys that were dragged to the movie with their significant others. Then the pizza box floated up the rows of the theater like one of those bouncy balls until it was all gone. That was really funny and could've been the best part for those guys surrounded by sooo much swooning girliness!

The Polar Express in Heber City

2009-02-11T18:26:00.005-07:00

Although our tradition started in AZ, we wore the pj's, slippers, and brought the book. I was shocked at how many people didn't get into the festivities like we did. We had fun being here with our Broadhead family / friends. Leah couldn't get enough of snuggling little cousin Nora who was trying to figure out what was going on. She really like the cookie part of the ride.

My Trish, Dax, Casen, and Brett-head. He's probably the only person I know that can fall asleep on a moving train with kids climbing on you and all around the car making noise. He woke up in time for Santa though. :)

SANTA!!!

Ringin' the bell!

Getting tickets punched.

Singing songs on the way back to the station and we even got to meet Mrs. Claus who handed out cookie recipes.

Christmas

2009-01-26T11:25:00.004-07:00

Christmas!!! We got to see a lot more of Cade, we were mostly decorated after the move the week before, and it was a white Christmas. The Christmas tree before it's ravished. You can't see the homemade picture / gifts from Leah which are sooo cute. My stocking even had a sticky note picture with a $1 bill stapled to it and she said she didn't need it and thought I'd have more fun with it than she would. You can't see the picture below are the presents and note which Jesus left. This was my favorite part of the day, I got choked up because of it. :)

The green light to come in and see after all camera's and video were set up. Santa did well...this was the reaction that was always hoped for.

Cade, I mean Carter got laser tag guns for Christmas. It was on his Santa list and I have to say we played with these the most throughout the day. Note in the picture above this, Carter was clutching as much as he could while Cade explained how to work the guns. :)

Leah had a great time as well with all her presents! A music box and a make-up kit from Grandma Littlefield was a hit.
The oh so talked about Madagascar 2 game for his xbox! Thank goodness Santa got this but the reaction live was way better. He looked like he'd just won the most important thing ever, he shook and everything! What a nut.

Even though we tried to steer Leah to wanting other toys she was determined to get a "Fashion Puppy" I think just because the word fashion was in the title. :) The rubber-band peg board from the Galloway's is fun too. It's like one of those zen games of just relaxation with countless creations. Yes, I play with it, what's the matter with that? :)

At the end of the night, the snow was swirling around in a storm that had the lights flickering so we turned them off, lit some Christmas candles from the Broadhead's, and sang Christmas carols. A very peaceful way to end a wonderful day!

Leah's first bus ride

2009-01-07T00:01:00.003-07:00

So here's Leah walking the crosswalk in Anthem by herself. For any of you that know this was a big deal for her to be old enough to do this and she has her own special walk for it too. :) She pretty much insisted that I not pick her up at the curb so she could walk with the big kids. Then she'd get picked up on the other side.So when we moved, she got to ride the bus to and from school which is also very exciting for her. Notice the difference in clothing from these 2 pictures. Shorts and flip flops to full length everything and a jacket.

Leah & London waiting for the bus.There she goes. Look at all those older kids and they're all boys! Leah did fine & I'll be ok.

Logan Canyon Adventure

2009-01-07T00:01:00.001-07:00

Logan Canyon is b-e-a-u-tiful! So we decided to go for a nature hike along the trail to the Nature Center that is very kid friendly. We had a wonderful leisurely time, stopping at any little thing of interest. You can't see very well that Leah is holding a butterfly by these flowers.

That's one huge pinecone! There are tons of hands on activities that the kids tried.

What's a nature walk without a little walk in the freezing stream? Carter has my tender feet but Leah could've done this for hours.

I love little feet and toes!

People I want to be like when I grow up!

2009-01-07T00:00:00.002-07:00

We had to have a quick going away dinner with some of our favorite buddies. I could go on and on about the different people that have taught, served, and impacted my life in Anthem. Let me just say that when I think of people that I want to be like, raise my kids like, treat others like, it's the Killebrew's, Woods', Wood's, Christensen's, Wright's, Jackson's, Willden's, Brandon's, Gurr's, Hallsey's, holy cow I shouldn't have started a list because there's too many people still to put on. So let me just say, I love you all, and if you're reading this, you're on the list!L to R in couples: Wright's, Woods', Jackson's, Us, Wood's, Christensen's, & Mary Killebrew

THE MOVE! Also makes me cry! Beware this is mushy.

2009-01-07T00:00:00.001-07:00

I LUV everything about Anthem, Arizona...except the scorpions! I love the weather (yes even the heat), the cactus, the food, the community, the wards, and especially the people. There are so many fun community parks and regular events that make this place one, I will always call home. There are sooo many wonderful people that I didn't even get pictures of.

Here are just a few, and to those I missed, I miss you still.My Sally Wright or should I say "Companion". Hee hee, that's only funny to the 2 of us but it's my blog and I can say what I want. :) So many people, like her, that make me happy and want to be a better me.
MY GIRL'S! I love these guys so much!
Kameron and Kelsey you better keep in touch!

Leah actually took this picture. I don't have pic's of most of my YW,

so please send them to me if you're reading this.Attention all the high school boys at Anthem: Eat your heart out!!! Carter's been kissed by the 2 cutest girls in the school. (Brad, he's only 4 but you better watch out!)

One of the Easton buddies in Carter's life. He insists that our next child will be named Easton.

I echo Carter's sentiment to the move. Blah!No, that's not the tears in my eyes, it's just blurry but it's all I've got of my best bud Misty. Thanks for all the packing and emotional help! You rock!

The Jackson's were our first great friends here and the last ones we saw before driving away at midnight. We'll love ya forever and let's face it, you're stuck with us.

Sea World! It makes me cry! Beware this is long.

2009-01-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

We started out our Sea World experience with feeding the dolphins. Carter wouldn't do it but Leah and I got some good pets and feeding time. Look closely in the next ones and you can see us doing that.

Flamingo's on parade.

At the Sea Lion / Otter Show, Carter got picked out by the opening pantomime act. He pretended like there really was something that got put in and taken out of his head. I couldn't believe what a good sport he was and the mime was really good.
He giggled and held his hand to his head all the way back to sit with us, like he was stopping the bleeding or something. Very cute! Shamu, Shamu! This show actually made me cry. It was so well-done and high-tech, I was moved to tears. Plus, being there with my little kids...magic. :)

Ok, this Sesame Street, 3-D, interactive movie was AWESOME!!! We had gushes of wind, water sprayed on us, chairs vibrate, and more. I think I was more of the kid during this one for sure. I could've gone right back in to do it again.
This is as close as we could get Carter to touching anything that day. I even had one of those wonderful Mom moments where I was like "This is fun and you're going to experience this mister!" I snapped out of it quickly though.
If you look closely at the sign it says "Please don't take the starfish out of water." We didn't read that until after the picture was taken. We got to pet so many things, it was awesome. Leah is very brave in these situations. The sting ray literally came out of the water and inches from her face and she didn't even flinch. She would've kissed the thing. :)

Carter's favorite part of the day, besides getting a Sea World sword, was the shark tank. You start out looking at them from above and slowly move through an in tank tunnel where they can swim over you. Pretty cool and eery at the same time. No cute little penguins or petting starfish, just show him a shark. :)

We ended the wonderful day with the rides and playground area. It was a magical day and I would love to do it again anytime.

Random Moments in Oct.

2009-01-06T23:47:00.000-07:00

No explanation necessary! 1st snow and tongue catching attempts!

Cade hits a deer and totals the little Nissan. Blessing in disguise!

Switched Halloween Fashion Show

Hotel pool swimming with our favorite cousin Keaton. My camera died so this is all I got for the weekend. My Mom & Dad came over and we all loved the quick visit.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We actually had great weather, Dad G. handed out candy while I took the kids trick o' treating, then to a carnival at the Elementary school, LeAnn (& family) took the kids trick o' treating afterwards, while Cade & I got things ready for our annual Halloween BBQ (tradition carried over from AZ). It was fun and we all hung out, ate, and laughed the night away while the kids ran off the candy high. I bought waaaay too many hot dogs though!

My AZ fix & trip with Dad week

2009-01-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

Oh how I miss the sunshine, so when Cade mentioned he'd be a day and a half in northern AZ, I said, "Can I come?" So we kept Leah out of school for a week and took off. We got to be in Anthem for a quick 24 hours, (long enough to see lots of awesome people, outlet shopping, and to try to get the secret recipes from Dara Thai). Then toured around southern Utah and Colorado while Cade set up shows for his sales teams. Plus, I re-read Twilight right before the premier so it was a great trip and the kids were awesome.First sign of snow and the kids want to play in it.

So there's a mini snowball fight outside the hotel.

Colorado is gorgeous! I wouldn't want to drive these windy roads in a snow storm but seeing the wind whisk the snow off the tops on a sunny day was fantastic!

"You wanna piece of me?"

This is the picture after being warned that playing in the snow in her flip-flops won't be fun. She walked quite a way in and then turned and said, "It's freezing, come get me out of here!" We are cruel parents and made her stand there for this beautiful picture. :)

We LUV the Aunties

2009-01-06T23:23:00.000-07:00

Just random moments that haven't been put up yet that are too cute. We didn't get a pic with Aunt Suz but she took the little girls on a shopping and treat trip that they all loved. I'm really thankful for all these Galloway women!

My little monkey's and me

2009-01-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

Here's our little photo shoot. My kids are poser's.

I didn't put the kissing ones in of Cade & I, they just aren't the same post wedding pictures. :)

We Are Family - featuring the Galloway's

2009-01-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

This needs very little introduction. We love to get together and I think this is one of my favorite photo shoots of the family. Pretty good lookin' bunch even if Kelly's in the picture... hee hee just kidding Dad, you're pretty too. :) LeAnn, Nora, & Clay
Melissa, Cash, & Chip

Tom, Seth, Trey, Samantha, & Suzanne

The bunny ears!

The "Look...up in the sky"

I think this was make a funny face but I'm not so sure, on some of them. :)

Leah's 7!!!

2009-01-06T22:36:00.001-07:00

We headed to MT early to have a High School Musical birthday with the Galloway Grandparents. They put together a fun little party for her and although it took us a lot longer to get there, we like to think it just added to the suspense of the day. :) Thanks to Grandma G and Nora (with grandkids) for being our party people. :) Note: the "real diamond necklace L... my very own bling" from Grandma Littlefield is around her neck that we opened earlier.

Rock Band w/ the Galloway's

2009-01-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Chip there were hours of Rock Band rotations through all the adults and a few future rockers. Although Chip brought the game, he got very little play time overall and the true addicts were LeAnn, Tom, and whoever else would stay up in the wee hours of the night to ROCK! Jack Black would be proud. :)

Thanksgiving Means Deep Fried Turkey to Galloway's

2008-12-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

Some people stick to tradition every year for the holidays...not Cade. He dreams of what new ways have been invented to make the traditional foods different. He made menu's and agenda's, it's the most organized I've seen him in a few years. :) He looked at the pic's I took of his turkey adventure and grunted and laughed to himself at "what a good lookin' bird that was!" Everything was sooo delicious and we all over ate which is also part of the fun.
Any time Cade's family gets together there's a plethora of food, fun, and games until 2 a.m. Even all the cousins played well together with very minimal fights.

Christmas Letter - beware it's long!

2008-12-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, rather than the usual travel log or personal statistics letter I am providing the:

Things You May Not Know About the Galloway's This Year:

Silly Human Tricks - Cade and the kids have the ability to touch their noses with their tongues but I cannot. I do get mocked by my little family but I'm ok with my inabilities. :) Also, they are loud belcher's and I'm not sad about not being able to do that either.

Hobbies - I'd say that based on results in the last 6 months, packing and unpacking would be a new hobby for me. I don't want to develop this talent any further so let's skip this one. Leah's new hobby was performing in the local theatre production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Very fun and we're proud of her for being the youngest in the all youth cast. Carter still loves video games but he's been asking me on lots of dates lately, which I love. I'd say that Cade's hobby lately is driving around the western US and sampling local cuisine. :)

Culture & Diversity - We have learned a lot and enjoyed the diversity in landscape, culture, food, and people that we've experienced from AZ to DC to the beach in CA to the snowy mountains of western CO. Now back again in UT. What blessings we have!

Going Green! - Many of you already know of my green habits but both of Cade's business involvements are in companies that are eco-friendly. Either by using natural products for pest control in DC or energy saving products in the western states.

Addictions - Oh yes, I'm addicted to Twilight books / soundtrack! I resisted as long as I could but indulged myself after moving from the Anthem, that I love, and got hooked. 4 books in 10 days, while moving in. Impressive I say! This addiction doesn't win me any Mother of the year awards but I sure had a wonderful time. We're also addicted to Thai food (thanks to Anthem buddies) and Indian food (thanks to the Hansen's). Yummy!!! Cade's addicted to deep frying turkey's, also very yummy. Only now he's searching for all the things that he can fry in his huge fryer. :)

Emotions! - Jill gets weepy at SeaWorld. I know it's weird but true. Carter cries over action figures, the appearance or sounds of dogs or 18 month old children, and little spanish boys left behind in fast food playlands. Leah has a "funky fresh" attitude over clothes and room decor. Cade, while not an emotional guy, really ranges from happy to asleep which can shift in seconds. :)

Life Lessons #10,132... - Although I hope to never repeat some of the "not so fun" lessons and choices of this 2008 year, it has brought levels of Spirit, closeness, peace, and blessings like never before. If there is one word for me this year it is "REMEMBER!" Remember why we're here, Who sent us, and to Whom we want to return. Remember Who is there to guide, assist, lift, relieve, strengthen, and forgive. Remember gratitude and patience for answers and blessings that at first appearance may not look like what we need. Remember the powerful spiritual beings we are created to be, by a Heavenly family, Who, when we choose Them as companions, in our daily experiences, there is nothing we cannot do or handle.

May we all Remember in this upcoming year and many to come. REMEMBER, Remember, remember...!

We love you all and wish you a very peaceful and abundant New Year,
The Cade, Jill, Leah, and Carter Galloway Family

Updated contact info

2008-12-22T16:12:00.000-07:00

Just so we don't lose anyone for any holiday letters or phone calls.

65 W. 3335 South
Nibley, UT. 84321
Home: 435-754-7462
Jill's Cell: 435-890-9079
Cade's Cell: 435-770-6070
Leah's Cell: 435-770-7828

lovethegalloways@gmail.com
leahpickle@gmail.com

Yes, we moved again! The house we were renting, although in a great neighborhood, wasn't one we loved and the owner was giving back to the bank. So we found a place we love and moved quick to be settled before Christmas. We have plenty of room for visitors so come on over!