We got a new car today

As for us...well the past few days have been an adventure, having car issues. Started out with the oil light flickering on, so Rob ended up putting like 4 quarts of oil in it, and the dipstick was sludgey and just plain yucky....k we haven't been the best at changing the oil in it like we are supposed too....EXPENSIVE lesson learned (and getting lots of grief from Rob's brother about it). So the past few days there has been a clicking noise, had the oil changed yesterday and it made it worse...it sounds like a helicopter, or as I describe it a harley davidson. Rob had to baby it home from work yesterday going 35 on the freeway with flashers on, it was so loud when he got home it woke me up from a sound sleep....FYI, I sleep through nuclear bombs, I am such a sound sleeper. So hmmm...how am I going to get to work, who's going to cover if I can't get in...blah blah blah....the original plan last night was to take my car to Rob's brother in the morning and have him take me to work and look at it (he's a mechanic) but we decided we better not drive it but have it towed there eventually. Montess the receptionist at work was gracious enough to cover me at work today. Rob has a car, but it hasn't been driven in months, needs a new radiator, headlight, tune up, struts etc but it's really old like a 91 Taurus, so we figured we would try to get a loan for a new car. There is a place that is literally basically across the freeway from us that advertised 100% approvals on a lease to own basis, so my mom drove 30 minutes to take us there lol. We told them what we could afford and they gave us a few options on what car we could have. It was between a Ford Focus, Honda Accord, or PT Cruiser.....well the 2002 PT Cruiser won (it has less miles than my 2004 Chevy Malibu), but it smelled like antifreeze so they had one of their mechanics look at it, and it needs a new heating core, they knew we were desperate for a car so they offered us a loaner car (chevy cavalier) until they get the pt cruiser fixed hopefully monday or tuesday. Well Rob 'fits' better in my car (Chevy Malibu) as far as head room goes for comfortable driving, and I was wanting a 'mormon' mom van but not a van if that makes sense....a bigger car for lugging my dogs around lol....so Rob is going to take my Malibu (once it gets fixed) and I am going to have the PT Cruiser. Merry Christmas to us lol. It's basically all our christmas money for the down payment/1st month payment but you have to do what you have to do...we say we are going to keep our Christmas tree up till the end of January and have our 'christmas' with Rob's 2nd paycheck in January. We will have small things on Christmas day and I have 3 Secret Santas from 2 chihuahua groups and a golden retriever group so we will have that....oh the trials and tribulations of life....lessons learned.....have oil changed every 3000 miles, start christmas shopping sooner.... A VERY VERY big thank-you to my mom for coming to get us, an spending over an hour waiting for us at the dealer to make sure everything worked out well.

Re: Family Recipes & More Website

I guess it would help if I posted the link to the Family site wouldn't it? He He...sorry about that

http://family.rnht.net

Briggs & Sims Family Website

This is for the "Ronald & Gilda Sims & David & LaVerne Briggs Families, so if you are one of our friends...ignore :)

Dear Family;

We have been busily working on a family website for both the Briggs (David & LaVerne) and Sims (Ronald & Gilda). We have finally got it up and running. This website currently has a recipe database that has the "Sims Family Cookbook" that Jennifer Sims put together many years ago (the one you have in a 3 ring binder) that you can search as well as a couple of other recipe databases that have TON of recipes in them. On the recipe site if you select "Ingredient Contains" you can enter multiple ingredients separated by a comma. So if you are in the mood for something with cheddar and broccoli just enter "broccoli,cheddar cheese" in the search field and you will get the recipes containing those ingredients from the cookbook selected. Then there is the Blogs Section this is a current listing of all the blogs that I (Heather Sims Thompson) currently have listed for the families, just select the person who's blog you would like to see. If the name is not listed that means I have no blogs for that family. If you have a blog and would like it to included, please send me the link :)

Forums:
This is a COMPLETELY PRIVATE forum, you have to register with a password to view anything on it, and we will moderate the users, so the content and information stays within the family. To register on the upper right hand side where it says login, then under the username click on register. Then fill in the spots that it asks. This is an interactive place where we can 'chit chat' share ideas, recipes, events, family news, prayer requests and anything else you would like to share. There will be a place for an 'address' book so we will have everyones addresses, birthdays and contact information in one centralized location.
For now when you are in the forums if you click on "User control panel" and then "Profile" you can enter your websites, IM adresses, Birthday, etc.

There is a recipes section on the forum for recipes you would like to add, right now you cannot add them directly but put your recipe in a post on the forums and I will get them entered.

We are going to work on a genealogy page with genealogies of our families as well.

Please let us know of any other ideas you may have to make things better. We would love to have everyone join us on the forums, and would appreciate everyones input on the website.

Thank-you so much

Heather & Robert Thompson

RIP Sweet Viggo

I am posting this as there are several who read this blog who have worked at Camelot Pet Resort, and probably knew him:
Yesterday my sisters dog, Viggo, a miniature schnauzer passed away suddenly. My dad let the dogs outside before he went to an orientation at school (he teaches vet tech students), and my mom went to let the dogs in about 20 minutes later and all the dogs but Viggo came inside, my sister was talking about taking Viggo to work with her for her trainee to learn how to groom schnauzers so my mom thought that is where he was so didn't think anything of it, so when my dad got home they called my sister and she had not taken him, so they went to go find him, and found him dead outside. He had an autopsy performed today, and his heart basically ruptured, it had a hole in it. He wasn't showing any signs of having any problems, was always a very active sweet boy, he was our Little Doggie Daycare Mascot at work, so I got to seem him 4-5 days a week, as he came to work with my dad, as well as I lived with my sister for the 1st year of Viggo's life. So please keep her in your thoughts. He was only 5 & 1/2 years old.

More of my b-day pictures

So they went from the little white cage to the black cage that when on the about foot tall wheels/stand is just a few inches taller than I am (5' & 5"). They are loving it. The only thing they are missing right now is a sleeping box, which we are working on making them one. Also a picture of our new electronic keyboard. It's pretty neat!

Pictures of my birthday

Here are some pictures of my new chinchillas, the white/blue cage is the one they came with. The white one for now is named Snowball, the black on is Dexter, we are thinking of Snowball and Midnight or Salt and Pepper for their names. The pile of stuff on the chair is the 'jackpot' they got from Petsmart thanks to my dear sweet husband. And Gotta love the new 'kitty' TV, our cats are completely enthralled with them.

My birthday

I have come to realize that I am married to one of the most selfless, giving men in the world, and I am SOOOOOOOOO grateful to my Heavenly Father for that. Rob is amazing and is always putting me first. Anyways a few weeks ago I went to a dog show with my sister Jennifer, and I met her at my parents house and she has chinchillas in her bedroom she was telling me how someone had brought in a couple of Chinchillas to Petco where she works because they couldn't keep them, well they normally do not take in chinchillas so Jen's ears perked up and she offered to take them home, well we got to talking and it came up that if I could convince Rob to let me have them...I could take them home. Well this was around September 11th, so I've been working on Rob and he's been dragging it out and telling me that "He'll MAYBE think about it, blah blah blah, teasing me about them" Well Thursday he was going to call my dad and have my dad bring them home on Friday my birthday and surprise me with them and he decided to just let me bring them home so he set his alarm clock for 5:30pm JUST so he could tell me that I could bring the 'rats' home as that is what he 'affectionately' has been calling them, as they have 'big ears, tail, runs on all 4 paws, makes them rats....'

Well my darling, loving husband spent HOURS Thursday night researching about chinchillas and came up with the conclusion that they were in a cage that was too small, and were on wire on the bottom which can be hard on their feet and they needed different things. So he researched cages, read reviews about them, and had one all picked out, but Petsmart only sells that one online and we figured the shipping would be outrageous so we just found one that was comparable to the one he found. so Friday for my birthday he took me to Petsmart where we got them a much larger cage, a dust bath house, a HUGE exercise ball, a bin feeder, a hay rack, some more hay and different treats, and chew sticks for them we also go them an exercise wheel as they have chewed a big hole in the one that they had. (Rob has decided though that we need to buy them a different new exercise wheel as the one they had chewed on has ball bearings and is sturdier it was slightly noisy as they have worn it out from running on it.). So much for 'free' chinchillas ;) Rob says that he just wants my animals to be happy and healthy as when they are happy 'momma's happy.' I just love him to pieces.

We also went to Costco together and bought an Electronic Keyboard/Piano, this is a Rob's Birthday/My Mother's Day/His Father's Day/Early Christmas present, it's been fun, it's been years since I have really played the piano and it's been a lot of fun to play and it's bringing back lots of memories for both of us. I even pulled out my flute (which is in BIG time need of polishing) and was able to play a little bit with it.

It has honestly been one of the best birthdays I've had.

My new haircut....

I have been growing my hair out since 2005, and decided since I always have it pulled up and off my neck, it was time to cut it! So I cut off over 12" of hair last Wednesday! Here are some pictures, the first one was taken before, then a few afters, sorry my face is a mess...had just finished shopping and unloading groceries and it was super hot. My hair is naturally curly and shortness REALLY brings out the curls. What do you think? Being it's now almost a week later...my hair has calmed down some and isn't quite so curly.

More Family Dinner May 31st

Here are some more pictures from the Barbeque we had....Brigg and Brayden had fun climbing in our kitties new 'jungle' boat that we had just gotten a few weeks ago....no harm done...they were so cute climbing in it! Brigg was in heaven with the pringles that Lara had brought...he loved them!

Family Dinner May 31st...

EEK I just realized that I hadn't posted the pictures from when we had Family Dinner at our house back in May....I downloaded them I just didn't upload them to the blog. It was a lot of fun, everyone was there (except Danny's family of course), Jen even made an appearance after she got off work :)

Chandler's Visit

I was able to travel to Aunt Joyce's house today to meet Jon's little boy Chandler Jonathan today for the first time. He will be 2 years old on September 2nd. He's a very cute little boy. Is a spitting image of his father. It was a lot of fun to see him, as well as to see him interact with Braden and Brigg (Mike & Nikki's kids). You can see more pictures on my mom and dad's blog (like about 30 pictures :).

Shower Gifts

Tonight I attended a baby shower for my cousin Kristen Sierra, she is having a baby girl in August. I took/made a gift that was a hit, and a lot of fun to make and take :) I made a baby journal, and photo album, as well as took some baby items that I had from when I was trying to have an online baby store (Love N Kisses Baby) which didn't exactly take off like I had hoped. Sandra had asked me where I got the items and I mistakenly gave her the wrong web address it is www.crybabyzboutique.com When I got home and told Rob about it, he said "You have so much stuff you should put it on ebay or craigslist or something to sell it. So I figured why not offer it here if anyone is interested. If you want anything please email me cprcheetah@comcast.net and I can arrange to bring it to work (in Bountiful), you can pick it up in Lehi or I can ship it to you (you pay shipping). Just let me know!

Here's what I have:
Paci Pockets: Has a strap that attaches with velcro to just about anything, purse, diaper bag, car seat, never have to dig a pacifier out of a diaper bag again :)
$10.00 Each (Retail for $12.95 on Cry Babyz Site)
(I have 1 each of the pink ones and 2 of the blue ones)














Diaper and Wipes Cases:
Fits a diaper and a travel case of wipes
$12.00 (Retails for $14.99 on Cry Babyz Site
I have 2 each of everything but just 1 of the pink one














Mini Diaper Bags: Our mini diaper bags hold 3 diapers a travel size wipe container, a bottle, pacifier and go ahead and throw your keys and cellphone in. The outer part is made from geniune soft oil cloth.
$25.00 Retails for $28.00 sale price on Cry Babyz site













Pacifiers $5.00 Each (Retails for $6.99 on Cry Babyz Site):
I have 3 Blue, 3 pink, and 4 yellow ones

Here come the sleepless nights.....

First thing this morning I get a call from Petco, wanting to know if we could take a tiny kitten into our adoption program, of course I said yes, I'm a softie and have a special talent of raising baby orphaned kittens. 2 Years ago I had 12 kittens (3 different litters) that were at the local shelter at the same time. It was tough but rewarding, my cat Sissy LaRue is one of the kittens I raised. Anyways the guy brings the kitten in, she's a beautiful probably medium to long hair probably will be a blue tabby althoug a little hard to tell tabby at this point. She's about 2-3 weeks old and was found INSIDE this guys trucks engine. SCARY and lucky she didn't get eaten up in the engine. So for the next week or two I will have to get up every 2-3 hours during the night to feed this little one milk replacer with a bottle. I've named her Mercedes since she was found in a truck.
The first picture is of her snuggling with 'surrogate' mama a stuffed kitten that has a pouch for a heating pouch, and a 'beating' heart that tends to calm baby kittens, the 2nd picture is of the 'mama' then a picture of Mercedes in my hubby's hand, I should say that my hubby's hands are HUGE, and then just the little cutie, she has a NICE set of lungs on her, she's very noi


Today I was SO excited to get home from work and go get the mail, as Shellie's new "Walking Harness' came today. It's called a Gentle Leader and it goes on their face 'mimicking' how where their mother grabs them when they are puppies, the back of the neck and the nose, they are totally awesome and can curb even the strongest pullers not to pull. (Hmmm....maybe I need to suggest one for Buddy the lab that comes to doggie daycare....we literally have to just let him run to the front without a leash on because he WILL dislocate your shoulder from pulling so hard). I have been using one to walk her, and I ordered her a 'deluxe' one that is decorated and padded, it came today. I was SO excited to walk her my 'excuse' that tonight was the season finale of "Numbers/Ghost Whisperer and Flashpoint" did not even PHASE me (besides, hubby has them recorded for me every day). Here is Shellie in her new 'gentle leader' You can read more about it here: Gentle Leader Dog Head Collar Website (btw, we did 45 Minutes walk tonight)

Our Latest Addition to our family....

Rob's work is doing away with the swing shift, so he had to either go to days or graveyard shift. He really didn't want to go to days so he picked graveyard, well that leaves me home alone 5 nights a week....UH not my favorite thing in the world, I was a little freaked out, so Rob agreed to let me adopt Shellie, a Golden Retriever. For those who really know Rob, this is a HUGE deal as I've been BEGGING for a big dog for 4 years.....While she's not a Great Dane....Shellie is an AMAZING Dog! I already feel safer. I know I have my 'cats' and 'chihuahuas' but what really are they going to do? 2 of my cats would run and hide, DeeJay would show them to the fridge, and Mini Dee would beg for loves and attention. The chihuahuas Sebastian would make a loud fuss but he's all bark and no bite, Zoey might bite their big toe, but that's not really what we need, one kick and they'd both be dead.

Meet Shellie (named after Shellie Elkins---> Golden Retriever who was missing for 4 years then reunited with her family due to being microchipped---my Shellie has the same expressive face).....she is our newest family member. She has something called Osteochondritis Dissecans and will need surgery on her shoulders (once confirmed with better xrays on tuesday). She is 7 months old, and is one of the BEST dogs I have met, so far she knows sit, lay down, heel (needs work), roll over, off, and only chews on doggie or kitty things....no shoes or furniture. She is very mellow especially compared to several 'adolescent' Goldens we have that have been coming for daycare 11 months old, both are boys and are HYPER! (Maybe it's a boy thing). Shellie is such a sweetie. She loves attention and will 'sit' on your feet, she likes to be right where you are, she loves to play with squeaky toys, play tug of war (even if you don't want to, she brings the toy and plops it on my laptop) Here are some pictures of my beautiful girl:
Here she is on her way home for the first time, she's sleeping in my back seat on her bed that the owners sent with her. Then just her happy face, look at how expressive her eyes are

Notice the food on the left, she is trained to sit and wait for food & water until you give the okay, she is up to 5 minutes, you can't leave the room yet but she is getting there.

Just another happy girl shot!

You can see more pictures of Shellie and read more about her on our 'zoo' blog
http://thethompsonzoo.blogspot.com

Frugal Tip of the Week....

I found a link to make your own Laundry Soap off of my friends page on Facebook:
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm
Or a Video made by someone else: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/821928/make_your_own_laundry_soap/
The ingredients are:
1 Bar of Ivory Soap unless you can find the Fels Naptha Laundry Soap then 1/3 bar
1/2 cup of Borax
& 1/2 cup of Super Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
& Water
***We doubled the Borax and Soda for added cleansing power.

It made 2 gallons and we figured out it cost us $1.12 to make 2 gallons which is 64 loads using 1/2 cup which equates to $.02 per LOAD of laundry. Lately I've been using Gain Expressions for $4.75 for a 24 load bottle which is 20 cents per load. I use one of these per 3 weeks. Its gonna save us so much money, and was super easy to do. I estimate that the 2 gallons is going to last us at least 3-4 months.

And if you are wondering if it actually works, I am on my 3rd load with it, my whites came out so much brighter and cleaner, hubbys handkerchiefs are brighter and cleaner! I'm very impressed. They are less stained as well.

Rob & I's Courtship

I thought it would be cool to post some more information about Rob & I's courtship. He first emailed me from LDS Singles on December 18th, 2004 (also my mom's b-day). At first I wasn't going to respond as he didn't have a picture, and call me vain or whatever...but I liked to see their pictures. Then something just nagged at me and I responded to his email. He seemed like a nice guy, and we started chatting on AIM almost immediately.

Here are our profiles:
Mine: I am an RM, Active Church Member, Current Temple Recommend Holder, Honest, Up Front, Cute, Sweet & Fun to be with. Looking for the above + a man who honors his priesthood and respects me.

I'm just your average independant girl, looking for "Mr Right" my man tha tI can depend on , and one whom I can spend time & all eternity with. I love animals Dogs, Cats, Horses and they are a big part of my life, I have plans to become a Veterinarian, so I need someone who's not ot be intimated by a girl who will help bring home the bacon so to speak! I love to watch movies, go shopping but not in a crowd, read books, surf the web. I love the outdoors, hiking, camping...I'm game to try just about anything. I have a good sense of humor and love to smile! I've been told I have an hourglass shape, though it may not be perfect...but I'm working on it! I'm a brunette, with blue/hazel eyes which darken/lighten occasionally.

Rob's Profile:
What I want: I want to find someone to cuddle with while watching a movie. I would like to find someone to laugh with, life is too short to not throw your head back and laugh. It would be nice to find someone to share life's experiences with, it's up's and down's. To have someone help you when you stumble, and to be there for when they stumble.
I want to find somone to be friends with, and hopefully for it to one day move into more. I want to find someone that doesn't have a problem with me cooking for them. Someone that will let me pamper them on occassion, rub their feet, back etc. Someone that enjoys public signs of affection. Somone that can give and accept the little kindnesses in life. Someone that can enjoy the simple pleassures life has to offer:.
About Me:
I am a kind, caring, open, easy going individual with simple tastes. No caviar for me, sorry I (salty fish eggs, YUCK!) but I will try almost anything once, sometimes even twice. I enjoy learning about anything and everything, reading, music, bowling, watching movies, camping or basically anything in the mountains, picnics, BBQ's, and in the winter, I like to curl up with a good book. I love to cook (I'm actually quite good at it) and to do anything with my hands, from woodworking to arts and crafts to home repair (not every weekend though, ok?).
I enjoy a good conversation, if you don't communicate with people you will always go through life misunderstanding them.
I'm just as happy going to a museum or to a symphony as I am going to McDonald's or bowling. I am serious when life requires it, but I also know how to kick back and have fun and laugh, did I mention you have to laugh at life, did I mention that you have to laugh at life? I think I did, yup I said it right up there ^ :-)
My friends and family describe me as "Honest", "Fun", "Smart", "A Smart Alleck", "Kind", "Big Hearted", and "Learns Quickly" (from my own mistakes and other peoples.)
So send me an e-mail and say "Hi", you won't regret it. LOL I hope not anyway
-------------
So can you see what grabbed my attention? The perfect man :)

We chatted for 7-8 hours a night on AIM, we were having so much fun getting to 'truly' know each other. I would go into work so twitterpated and happy I thought my face would for permanent smiles. I started falling for him when he sent me the song "Restless" by Alison Kraus, he just thought it was a cool tune :) He never realized how really neat the words are:

Honey, I know you've been alone some, Why don't you 'phone some, 'cause I love you. An' honey, I know I've been away some, I've had to pay some and you have too. But the one thing I know: that when I, I turn out the light, Visions of you, dear, dance in the night. I've been put down, pushed around, apprehended and led downtown. An' I can't help it if I'm out of sight, 'Cause I'm restless tonight. I just can't stand bein' alone. Gonna have to change that some day. There's a restless feelin' in my bones an' I know, That at times, it just won't go away. So if it's all the same, honey, I can't take the blame, baby, I can't play your game, honey, what's true is true. And if, in the end, the temptation wears you thin, honey, I'll, I'll just pretend that I'll leave it up to you. But the one thing I know: that when I, I turn out the light, Visions of you, dear, dance in the night. I've been put down, pushed around, apprehended and led downtown. Can't help it if I'm full of fire. But the one thing I know: that when I, I turn out the light, Visions of you, dear, dance in the night. I've been put down, pushed around, apprehended and led downtown. An' I can't help it if I'm out of sight, 'Cause I'm restless tonight.

He didn't start falling for me until he got really really sick around New Year's Eve, he was chatting with several other girls online at the same time but I was the only one he missed chatting with for those few days. He lived in Kearns at the time and thought that Sunset was in southern utah, so after he got sick, he looked it up to discover it was only 50 Miles away. He decided to ask me out. I'll post more in another entry...this one is getting lengthy.....

Happy Anniversary to us!

It's our anniversary today! 4 Glorious years. It's my normal day off and Rob was lucky enough to get the day off so we could spend it together. We spent the day snuggled on the couch watching TV, and we had homemade pizza for lunch, are having Steaks w/baked potatoes, salad for dinner. We are going out to eat at Outback Steakhouse on Monday (Thanks Jen--she gave me a gift certificate for making Bandanas for her, and thanks Lara as she gave me some $$ for printing her up some stuff.). We may try to see a movie as well. I have attached some of my favorite pictures from our wedding....not all of my favorites though :)