President Gordon B. Hinckley

"President Hinckley was known, even at the age of 97, as a tireless leader who always put in a full day at the office and traveled extensively around the world to mix with Church members, now numbering 13 million in 171 nations."
"His quick wit and humor, combined with an eloquent style at the pulpit, made him one of the most loved of modern Church leaders."
For the complete story at lds.org click here

"We thank thee oh God for a prophet." I can't seem to get that song out of my head. What an amazing man. After feeling sad to have lost such a great man, the next thing I thought was how happy I was for him to finally be with his lovely wife again. I can imagine what an exciting reunion that must have been. This gospel is amazing and such a blessing to me. I feel so priviliged to have grown up with Preident Gordon B. Hinckley as our Prophet! He will be missed!

More Ice Cream Please

Thanks T.J. and Erin for the Graeters gift card. We certainly enjoyed it! Elliot did too!

Sweet Pea Elliot

Thanks mom for the cute Jackson Hole P.J.'s! They are so cute and make his little body look so chubby.

Dad's idea of babysitting

I occasionally go to work and J.R. is on baby duty all day. I always come home to pictures of what they did that day. Today was particularly interesting due to the fact that it was -10 degrees outside and our garage is not heated. Notice the dry food all over Elliot's face. At least Elliot is alive and smiling!
- Thanks J.R. for your efforts. You do a great job! :) Elliot always loves his daddy time!

Dinner gone bad

I don't cook that often to begin with, but when it turns into a disaster like this I see it as my excuse not to cook for another week. Luckily we got a Chilis gift card for christmas so we didn't have to starve!
So, I always thought it was okay to freeze cheese. Turns out, maybe not? I used some cheese I had frozen and added it through out all of my chicken enchiladas and it was disgusting! It tasted like the nastiest freezer burn ever. The best part was J.R. and I both tried to eat it but around bite three we looked at eachother and had to spit it out on the plate. In the end it was funny, but I still feel so bad about wasting so much food. We were supposed to eat those for the next several days. Oh well. It made for good pics. ps: Luckily Elliot didn't have to eat it...he just stuck to his sweet potatoes and rice. Yumm.

And So It Begins

Yet another year of American Idol has come...and boy is it awesome! I generally don't start watching till the top 24 or so, but since there aren't any other shows pulling at me right now (thank you writers strike) I've resorted to the next best thing! Hillarious! I'm hooked! ps: Carrie will always be my favorite!

Recap on our Christmas Vacation!

A separated shoulder turned babysitter, an Ashton Kutcher sighting, and 2 bottom teeth later we survived another christmas in Sun Valley. Enjoy the next few posts recapping our adventures.

The long awaited Christmas Day!

First thing that morning our little santa delived a gift to our dear friends, the Wrights. It was so cute! Ty got a kick out of rolling Elliot around in his big truck.
The Wright Family!
Grampa Furch. "Keep me in mind, I'll be ready to be one of your carolers in about 20 years"<

Merry Christmas Mommy & Daddy

Our Sun Valley Adventures

The ice/snow sculptures were awesome! We loved having James and Kristina there. It's so fun sharing our sun valley addiction with close buddies!

Chillin' with dad in the out door HOT pool

Breakfast at the Kneadery! Great food, good price!

We already miss you Shar, Andy, Mike and Brian! Love you guys!

Dinner at Trail Creek! Scrumptous!! We could hardly fit into our costumes that night we were so full!

Lil' Santa

Just preparing for the big day! That face just makes me giggle!

Me and Oma

Thanks Oma. Elliot loved unwrapping all the fun gifts on Christmas morning!

Gingerbread Heaven

Tyrali and I won the prize for best roof icicles. But got cused for using all the icing. OOPS?

Kenz did this all by herself. She has quite the creative bone in her body!

This is the Haynie King-dom! (ha ha) Pretty Cool!

Skinny Dipped in my neighbors pool...somebody snitched on me. (Only 2 crazy men would think of adding this to their innocent gingerbread mansion)

Thanks mom for making Christmas so fun. These kind of memories last forever!

Justin Timberlake?

J.R. has gotten more comments that he looks like Justin Timberlake then ever! I think people in Sun Valley are just "star searching" and with J.R. all done up in his caroling gear and singing etc, it just makes sense. What do you think??

Our little caroling family!

More to come on our S.V. trip. Still trying to get back to Ohio. (I seriously hate flying!)

Why I Love Sun Valley

After 7 straight years of caroling in Sun Valley, I've been wondering why it is we keep coming back. Here are some of my thoughts.

An average day in Sun Valley...

9:00 AM Roll out of bed and throw on ski gear from head to toe

10:00 AM Catch the bus to River Run Lodge, pick up board from storage and HIT THE SLOPES!! Board all over, from Warm Springs lodge to Seatle Ridge. We usually run into some hot celeb while chillin in the lodge. This year was Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. He really is as hot in real life. VERY COOL!

1:00 PM Stop for lunch at Roundhouse at the top of the mountain for unbeatable tomato soup and grilled cheese. Jump back on the board and take a few more sweet runs.

3:00 PM Store board and catch the bus back to Sun Valley

3:30 PM Hit the pool that is 102 degrees of soothing relaxation

4:00 PM Grab a bite to eat and get ready for caroling

5:30 PM Run down to the limelight room for caroling call, warm up and devotional

6:30 PM Jump in line and head out on rounds with the rest of the gang to surround ourselves in amazing chords and musical sound that I just can't get any other time of the year. We stop at about 6 different restaurants caroling to all sorts of different people. Frequently we run into families that we have seen year after year because Sun Valley is such a tradition for so many people. It's fun to see familiar faces and even funner to hear the excitment in people as they see the carolers walk through the door. It's amazing the feelings music can bring to people. I like to imagine what might be happening in someone's life when I see them start to tear up as we sing "Have yourself a merry little christmas" or when they lean over and whisper to their spouse durning "mistletoe". It seems to always be the same reaction from everyone when we sing "It happened in Sun Valley" You can almost see the memories of past holidays in sun valley with their friends and families. At the end of rounds, whether my voice was tired, my nose was stuffy or I had the best vocal day of my life, I come back to my room happy to be there and happy to have brought a little bit of the saviors love to each of the people we sang for.

9:30 PM Back to the room for a quick dip in the pool again or out to the lobby for a crazy round of "Chuck Norris" or "10,000"(card and dice games) We usually end up laughing our guts out till we are so tired we can hardly keep our eyes open

1-2:00 AM Off to bed...FINALLY. Only to do it all over again in the morning. With occasionally substituting boarding with movies, ice skating, Wii tennis matches or just lounging around the room doing a whole lot of NOTHING! VACATIONS RULE!

Sun Valley is so beautiful. Surrounded by snow covered mountains and beautiful buildings. Lights on every tree and a bell tower playing christmas music. It's so sureal. The rooms are beautiful, the restaurants are fancy, the service is impecable and the feeling so relaxing. It's no wonder we can't pull ourselves away from this family tradition. Hopefully they'll let us come back for another 7 years!

I just have to tell you...
Last night Santa's wife babysat Elliot while J.R. and I caroled and she said that as soon as Dave put on the santa suit Elliot started into his laughing fits. (I wonder what he thinks is so funny?) I really need to get it on film. It's the funest thing to watch! Love it!

5 Crazy Haynie Cousins

Can you believe it? 5 Boys. What's even more amazing is getting them to sit still long enough to take a picture! Whoosh!

Santa is my new best friend!

Elliot is in LOVE with Santa. Santa comes out caroling with us every night and any time santa even looks at him, Elliot is busting out laughing louder and harder then I've ever seen. It's the cutest thing! Hopefully it stays that way!
Christmas is just around the corner and we couldn't be more excited!
Sun Valley is treating us well. The snow is awesome and it feels great to get back on my snowboard again. Talk about FUN!! More pics coming soon!

Merry Elfin' Christmas!

HILLARIOUS!
I stole this from Erin's site. I just couldn't resist. It's so holiday appropriate too! Enjoy....Shanae, This one is for you. I hope it cheers you up a bit and lets you laugh for a minute! I love ya!

(I couldn't figure out how to get the link to show up on this post so click on the link to the side called "Elf Yourself")

Off we go to Sun Valley Idaho!

Hooray! Another year has come for our annual trip to Sun Valley. We just love it so much we can't stop ourselves. This year will be our 7th year and we couldn't be more excited! For those of you who don't know about sun valley- we go up there for 2 weeks and carol around the village at night with our old sunburst group from Utah State. In exchange, during the day, it's all the skiing, snowboarding and hot tubbing we can handle. Hopefully I'll be on the hill most of the time so I won't have much time for blogging. If anyone is looking for a great vacation, come see us in Sun Valley! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I've Been Tagged

I have been tagged twice so I'll combine them into one. These thoughts are in no particular order, I just type as it comes to me. Enjoy!!

4 Jobs I've Had: 1. RN (I love being a nurse) 2. LPN/Secretary at Hospice Alliance (one of my fav jobs. Justin is the best boss ever! I learned a lot about how to be a good decent person from him) 3. Medical Assistant for my dad. (I loved getting to see the Docter side of my dad. He was sure good at it. His patients loved him sincerly, and I know why. He's one amazing guy! I feel lucky to have been able to work for him) 4. Can't leave out Pickleville - cookout, box office, sound and lights (back when it was just a few switches), on stage, choreography...you name it, I've done it! Got to love PVP. What sweet memories!

4 Movies I can Watch Over and Over. 1. Almost all the super hero flicks, I'm a sucker to my husbands passions 2. Mr. Deeds (Makes me laugh everytime) 3. Phantom of the Opera (I watch it once quietly then again while singing the whole way through) They really need to make more musicals into movies...speaking of... 4. HAIRSPRAY! (so cute...can't wait till Nov.20 when its out on DVD)

4 Places I've Lived: 1. Guatalahara, Mexico (sp??) 2. Detroit, Michigan 3. Logan, Utah 4. Columbus, Ohio

4 Guilty Pleasures: 1. Ice cream 2. Ice Cream 3. ICE CREAM 4. MORE ICE CREAM!! (I just can't live without it...thanks dad for passing that gene on to me.


4 Favorite TV Shows: 1. The Office 2. House 3. Scrubs (occasionally) 4. American Idol

4 Favorite Places I've been on Vacation: 1. Cancun with Jess and Becca 2. D.C. with J.R. 3. Sun Valley every christmas! 4. Cruise with the Fam!!

4 Favorite Foods: 1. Costa Vida (in utah) 2. Chipotle (in Ohio) 3. Olive Garden($5.95 soup and salad) 4. Quaker Stake (awesome hot wings) 5. Wingers (stickyfinger salad) 6.good old fashioned CEREAL (sorry, I can't stick to just 4 - it's food we're talking about)

4 Places I'd Rather Be Right Now: 1. Utah 2. sleeping 3. Just finishing working out (it means I'm done and it feels great!) 4. Shopping with someone elses money

4 Websites I Visit Daily: 1. Email 2.Blogs 3. Hummm...can't really think of others, Elliot limits my surfing time

4 Authors I Love: Wow. It's been a while since I've read a good long book, but my all time fav will always be 1. Dean Hughs (Children of the Promise) 2. any "how to be a good mommy" book 3. Stuff by Sheri Dew 4. Joseph Smith history books

4 Things I would Like to Know How to Do: 1. Sew - J.R. bought me a sewing machine last year and I thought it would be self explanitory, little did I know I stink at it...I don't even know the basics 2. Play the Guitar 3. Play the piano (better) 4. Be pregnant without throwing up for 9 months

4 Happy Moments: 1. Peeking over the crib at Elliot first thing in the morning (He's so happy and smiles so big when he sees me...that's when I know he loves me back!) 2. Cuddling with J.R. as we're falling asleep. 3. Working my butt off at the gym while starving myself and Finally seeing the scale drop!! Only 10 lbs left! 4. Getting off the plane in Utah seeing my mom waiting for us! I sure miss her!

4 Favorite Memories: 1. Sunburst!!! There wasn't a happier time in my life. I felt great about myself, got to do what I love (sing & dance), and of course meeting and falling in love with my sweet husband! 2. Any Summer at Pickleville. It was always great to again, do what I love, while spending time with family and getting to chill at Bear lake 3. Sun Valley. Particularly the first year...everything was brand new, we had an awesome sound and I was love sick for J.R. 4. Sitting on grandma Larsen's knee on her bouncy swing singing "I'll build a bungalow" and "Chingaling Chang" and "I love you a bushel and a peck"
Geez, I guess all my favs have to do with me singing - I guess I need to find more opportunities to keep doing it.

4 Greatest Blessings: 1. Landon, Lydia & Elliot. There's nothing better then being a mother. Land and Lyd have truly taken my testimony to a new level. And Elliot shows me everyday what true love really is! 2. J.R. We've been married now for 5 years and looking back I've realize we've both changed dramatically - for the better - we're just simply MADE FOR EACH OTHER! 3. My mom and dad. I definitly gave them a run for their money as a kid, but they stuck with me day in and day out. And now with dad being sick I get to watch them continue to be my greatest examples of love and endurance! It's all worth it because the prize at the end is worth a million "rough" days here. 4. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'm trying my best to be the kind of person my Father in Heaven would want me to be!

Well, there you have it. A little peek into the life and thoughts of Chelsea.

I guess I'll tag 4 more people... Erin D., Becca H., Liz R., Kathy J.

Lovely Solids

This is Elliots first attempt at solids. Not too bad for a big boy. He's still not totally sold on the idea, so we're just taking it slow. Breastfeeding was so easy compaired to this. I can't believe how fast he is growing.

Best Buds

Some of my friends here in Ohio got together for my bday. We ate dinner at Olive Garden and ended up staying and chatting for about 3 hours. We definitly don't get together enough. It was so fun! Thanks Emily for pulling it together!

Happy Early Christmas!

I bought this awesome exersaucer on craigslist yesterday and it is a huge hit! Elliot loves it! I think he was sick of playing with toys on his back. He had slobber from head to toe after about 10 minutes in it cuz all he does is suck on the toys. Good thing I sterilized them the night before.
He's such a cutie! I love having such a happy handsome baby!