First things first.....

I have gotten behind on posting pictures but I figured that I better start with the oldest ones first....
Vegas was really fun this year. Our party animal Mom really hooped it up and had alot of fun. We all did. Den and I got to Vegas first and then met Mom, Dad, Trina and Amanda at Outback for dinner on Saturday.




After dinner we went back to Harrah's to hang out at the Toby Keith Bar. Everyone had such a good time. Not too long after we had gotten there, Mom already had her own little bunch of groupies. All these young boys were wanting to talk and dance with her. One of them even smacked her butt!!! She's out of control, I know. She even had her own security guard to watch her stuff. Before long he was holding her vest, guarding our drinks and sneaking her out the back door so she could get some air. We danced so much that we could hardly breath. It was sooo hot in there.
We met a really nice couple from California that we hung out with most of the night. They even ended up giving Mom, Dad and the girls a ride back to their hotel.
Mom must have had a little too much fun because I'm sure you all heard about her little accident later that night. Even though she was inebriated, she might have faired a little better if she wasn't so accident prone. We love you Mom, but we should seriously consider wrapping you in bubble wrap like I suggested earlier. It was still a great time and I was glad to see her having fun.

We went to Margaritaville for lunch on Sunday. Mom couldn't make it though. She wanted to rest up for the rodeo. Trina and Amanda took her back some lunch so at least she got to enjoy the food.



That night we took a limo to the rodeo which is definitely the way to travel in that town. The driver was really nice and even told us that he would be back for us after the rodeo. It was kind of eerie though because it didn't seem like there were very many people there. Usually it is really crowded outside and everyone stands around and visits before the rodeo. I couldn't figure it out because it looked like all the seats were full. The rodeo was good as usual and there were a bunch of competitors from Utah. We even took 1st that night in a couple areas. Brooks & Dunn sang the opening song and Lee Greenwood was even there to sing the National Anthem.
After the rodeo we went back to Harrahs and had dinner at a nice restaurant called The Range and tried to hang out at the piano bar for a few minutes but everyone was so tired that we called it a night. At least me, Den, Mom and Dad were tired. (The old people) I think the young ones could have stayed out longer.

Me and Den took off for home the next morning so we could get there before the kids got out of school. Mom, Dad and the girls stayed another day so that they could go to the Cowboy Christmas Festival that they visit every year. Judging from their pictures though, it looks like they got their second wind and did a little more partying!! It was a good trip!

Hello Family...

Hello out there....
Does anybody have any good pictures from Thanksgiving that they want to share? I took a few but nothing too spectacular.
Speaking of pictures..... I know we have only been home from Vegas for a couple days but I still need you to forward those pictures to me. I'm not going to mention any names or anything but you know who you are..... and I know where you live!!
We can't miss the opportunity to post those on here for all to see. Some of them were quite entertaining.

Good pictures... Good cause

I forgot I had taken this from Trina's camera. It looks good except for the spots on it and of course our mother has her eyes closed!
We all went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse for "Pink" night which Amanda organized to help raise money for breast cancer.
It was fun to have everyone there!



Here's the cute thing Amanda made for Mom and displayed by the front door of the restaurant.



I love the pink Wrangler shirt Daddy. Only real men wear pink right?

Thanksgiving

So what are the food assignments for Thanksgiving. Do we want to deep fry some small turkeys again? Please say yes, I have 3 in my freezer and 3 hams too. They are not the good honey sliced hams though that we like so I havent offered one of those up but anyone who wants one is welcome to them. I can bring all the stuff for the veggie tray and rolls from Great Harvest unless we are going to have Sue make them. I can also get stuff for pies. I found this real yummy looking recipe in a magazine for a Turtle Pumpkin Pie. It is a no bake one with carmel and pecans.
I will also be bringing my new cocoa-latte machine. I figured I could save some money and trips to Starbucks by making my own Sugar Free Vanilla Lattes at home. Don't worry. I won't charge you full price for one!

LATEST NEWS

The year 2008 hasn't been a good one at all. We lost Packer a couple months ago and that was hard. She has been a part of the farm from the very beginning. This last week-end we lost Call. He left for some reason early last Thursday morning even though Steve was there. We looked all over for him and Steve finally found him on Monday. He had been hit by a car on Highway 40. I don't know why we didn't see him before as we looked all week-end. He is now buried on the hill right by Packer. He liked to ride in the Rhino with me, and followed me everywhere so I will be lost without him. They were such a welcoming party when you got to the farm that it just isn't the same. BLACKS RANCH will very much miss PACKER and CALL.

Suzy's World

My Crazy Office on Halloween

Okay here I am again. Things have been going good for me work has been really busy which is a good thing cause it makes the days go by fast, but it also has made me tired alot lately. Let's see since my last post first Steven has turned 16, look out now. I can't believe how big he is these days. Next my boss made it mandatory for us all to dress up for Halloween then he took us out to the Golden Corral for lunch, then let us all bring our kids in to trick or treat our desks. I of course hate dressing up so I bitched about it but all in all it was fun. Then on Nov. 3rd I got to go to the Metallica concert I had never been to a rock concert before it was awesome I had a blast. I took Joe with me, now for those of you who don't know who Joe is he is Woody's son and currently one of my roommates. Anyway we had a good time at the concert. My work is also starting a bowling league this Wed. so I will be bowling every week for awhile. I conned Joe into joining with me, at least it will be something to do for a few weeks. Yes I haven't bowled in years and I was never very good at it but the crazy guys I work with should make it fun anyway. Then the last boring news of my life is I had to go to the dentist YUCK, my teeth are still in pretty good shape though but I have to have a few things done that aren't much fun but I'm sure I'll survive. Well that's about all that has been going on with me nothing too exciting I know but I figured if I didn't post something on here Mom would start wondering what happened to me. I will put a couple pics on here I have I forgot my camera a few times I wish I'd had it with me but at least I have a few pics for you. Me and Steven went and visited with Dick and Yvette last weekend and I got a couple pics of us with cousin Kristie's little boy Kayden. Okay so that's all I've got for now I hope everyone is doing well and hopefully I will get to see everyone at Thanksgiving. Take care.

Love Ya All

Suzy

San Antonio Texas

Trina and I went to San Antonio on the 12th of October for 4 days. We spent lots of time on the Riverwalk, ate plenty of good food, saw some sights and of course we SHOPPED! .... It was snowing when we left Salt Lake and was 88 degrees when we landed in Texas and very muggy. I enjoyed seeing the missions, the Alamo, the Riverwalk and the historical district. They have great margaritas and Trina developed a taste for sweet tea. She ran into one of her patients one day while we were strolling. He is from Montana and comes down to the diabetes clinic here in SLC. What a small world.... The swimming pool was on the top floor of the resort so Trina had to do some posing for pictures up there. We enjoyed our time there and Trina got to go to TWO Juicy stores!! Those places are too much for this old lady! The salespeople in there actually stand there and re-fold everything perfectly after you look at it. Very annoying if you ask me...as I like to LOOK! We rode the boat around the Riverwalk and just basically soaked up the good atmosphere there. The area at the Riverwalk is very nice but there are some rundown areas around there that are kinda scary after dark---we tried to always be back to the resort before very late. We were finally getting to know our way around when it was time to leave.

WHERE OH WHERE ARE ALL THE BLACKS!!

Is anybody doing anything?? I had a birthday---Jodie had a birthday---Steven has one coming soon and so does Weston. We are a busy family...I think. Macie is walking or running really as we were chasing each other up and down the hallway at the farm this morning. She thinks she is FUNNY! She also has a birthday coming up in about a month. Time is flying by so fast anymore---the kids are growing and changing every day. Please all of you post some pictures and keep everyone up to date on these things. Colton went elk hunting but haven't heard if he got anything. Tammy got in a wreck and totalled her car on my birthday. That was scary-----thank good no one was hurt.
I am doing good I think---have some days that don't go well but I WILL SURVIVE! I got a medical bill the other day for $24,ooo.00-----damn near had a stroke! I can hardly wait to see how much of that I get to pay.
Trina and I are going to San Antonio in the morning. Steve was supposed to go but his boss wouldn't let him. Bet you can all guess how good of a mood he is in about the JOB! I sure hope I don't get lost finding my way around there. Trina wants to go to the JUICY store---who can afford to do that? Will let you know how that goes when we return.

Face Lift

I have been sprucing up the blog this evening... or shall I say morning since it is now 1:15 am. What do you think? Do we like it, hate it? The background is a little dark but hopefully I got all the font colors changed so that everything will show up. I am still working on designing a new header so hopefully that will be up soon. If you have any suggestions or comments let me know.
Love your tireless, hardworking and devoted daughter, sister and blog administrator!!

A Prayer for the Stressed

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the couragee to change the things I cannot accept,
and the wisdome to hide the bodies of those people I had
to kill today because they pissed me off.
And also, help me to be careful of the toes I step on today
as they may be connected to the ass that I may have
to kiss tomorrow
Help me to always give 100% at work.....
12% on Monday
23% on Tuesday
40% on Wednesday
20% on Thursday
5% on Fridays
And help me to remember......
When I'm having a really bad day,
and it seems that people are trying to piss me off,
that is takes 42 muscles to frown and
only 4 to extend my middle finger and
tell them to BITE ME!!!

AMEN

Frogs Anyone?

So I have a very funny frog story to tell but I already typed in out on my blog and it was quite long. You will all have to check it out.
They are for sale now. Unfortunately the kids will probably have to come too.
2 kids, 4 frogs for $20.
I will even throw in another kid for no additional charge.
What a steal!

Suzy

Hello all, well I just thought I'd drop a line and say hi and put some more pictures on here for you to see. I am doing good the worst is almost over Oct 3rd and I'll be done no more 9pm curfew and dealing with a bunch of stupid people thank god. I hope everyone is doing well. Work is going pretty good it's up and down and I'm always looking for more business the busier the better right. Well here's some more pics for you to see. I don't really have any more news nothing exciting happening for me at the moment just working but I'll let you know if that happens to change.

Love ya

Suzy

Mistakes Quote

"It's always helpful to learn from your mistakes because then your mistakes seem worthwhile."

Garry Marshall

Quote

"Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose"

Lyndon B. Johnson

I guess I'm boring...

I haven't posted much on the blog lately and I guess it is just because I have been so busy. My phone rings off the hook all day, I have to help the kids with homework and get them fed in the evenings and by the time I get a minute to myself all I want to do is bury my face in a book for a few minutes before bed. I have been out of town every weekend for the past 3 months except for last weekend when we took the kids to the fair. It was a nice change to be able to sit home and not be pent up with the kids in the truck. I have bought them all earphones to listen to their movies in the truck but they wont wear them. It is very nerve racking to listen to their tv blaring and them arguing. This weekend, I decided that I was going to be the one to wear the earphones and they could play and scream in the backseat to their heart's content, which they did, and I didn't hear a damn thing!! It was wonderful to just listen to my music and pretend that they weren't there!! The drive went by so fast! All was well until Garrett was having convulsions in the back seat because he said he had to go to the bathroom. Of course he waits until I am on I-15 in Orem to tell me this and only 10 min from home. I had to get off the freeway and find an empty parking lot for him to go. I know that sounds bad but pulling into a gas station and having to go in with him takes too much time. Then I always feel like I have to buy something. So I guess I should be glad I have boys and they can pee wherever. It saves me time AND money!
The kids all enjoy going to Hanksville and riding their motorcycles. Garrett got a new 4 wheeler a few weeks ago because his motorcycle had a bunch of problems and it was going to cost more to fix it then it was worth. He loves to be able to cruise it around and especially likes that it has reverse! He is doing very well in school as usual and is reading way above his level. He loves to play basketball and he is practicing everyday. He always asks me if I can move my truck out of the driveway so he can "shoot some hoops"! He is definetely an antaganist and takes every chance he can to annoy his brothers.
I can never get Weston off his motorcycle. He is riding so much better this year. He is growing so big!! I can't believe he will be 9 soon. He acts like such a grown up sometimes. Other times, it is a little too extreme. Just a little bit ago, I heard Garrett crying downstairs. Weston was telling him that he was sorry and that it had been an accident. Garrett kept crying thinking of course tht I would come running, which I didn't. Then what do I hear next..... but this from Weston's mouth, "Stop crying or I will give you something to cry about". Apparently Weston had shot Garrett in the back of the head with something from his sling shot (not entirely an accident like he had said it was I'm sure). Garrett of course had hit his brother back, and then proceeded to cry until his mother came running. Good thing, I have this game figured out. But I was pretty surprised when I heard those words come from Weston's mouth. He still loves to play with his toys and is pretty much off in la-la land when he does. He doesn't hear or understand anything I say when he is playing. He is also doing good in school and loves to play soccer and football at recess with all his friends.
Braxton has begun to turn into the dreaded teenager!! I'm assuming that is what has brought on the eye rolling, forgetting his brothers at school and the in-one-ear-out-the-other syndrome. I sure hope this won't be as bad with boys as I have heard it is with girls. He seems to be doing better in school this year and I have tried to stay more on top of his assignments. (He got behind a few times last year and wasnt doing and turning in all of his assignments like he said he was) He spends a lot of time in his room with the radio on playing his video games, plays sports in the backyard with the boys and hangs out with his friends whenever we will let him! He will be 12 at the end of this month, so stay tuned for all of your invites to the birthday party.
I spent the day with Mom last week which was nice because I haven't gotten to do that for a while. I was so used to just running downstairs at England when I had something to tell her. The day spent together wasnt really planned though because she ended up stranded in Lehi longer than she had planned. Dennis, Mom and I went to breakfast in the morning and then she had to suffer through my errands with me in the afternoon but she was a good sport.
I took the boys to Party Land last week and let them all pick out their costumes for Halloween before all the selection is gone. Time is going by so fast!!! I guess I need to start making my lists for Chistmas!!! AAAHHHH I shouldn't say that. I don't have time for Christmas and I'm sure you all feel the same way.
Wow, that was a lot from me and in between kids fighting, their reading time, snacks and bedtime...... I have finally finished!!
WHEW!!!
Here are some pictures from the fair.

"I Believe" Poem

I Believe...
That just because two people argue,
it doesn't mean they don't love each other.
And just because they don't argue,
it doesn't mean they do love each other.
I Believe...
That we don't have to change friends
if we understand that friends change.
I Believe...
That no matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.
I Believe...
That true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
I Believe...
That you can do something in an instant
that will give you heartache for life.
I Believe...
That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.
I Believe...
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I Believe...
That we are responsible for what we do,
no matter how we feel.
I Believe...
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I Believe...
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I Believe...
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I Believe...
That my best friend and I, can do anything,
or nothing and have the best time.
I Believe...
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.
I Believe...
That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
I Believe...
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I Believe...
That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others.
sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I Believe...
That no matter how bad your heart is broken
the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I Believe...
That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but, we are responsible for who we become.
I Believe...
That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret.
It could change your life Forever.
I Believe...
Two people can look at the exact same thing
and see something totally different.
I Believe...
That your life can be changed in a matter of hours
by people who don't even know you.
I Believe...
That even when you think you have no more to give,
when a friend cries out to you -
you will find the strength to help.
I Believe...
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I Believe...
That the people you care about most in life
are taken from you too soon.
I Believe...
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything.
I Believe...
That what You say is not as important as what You Do.


Okay a friend of mine had this poem posted on her myspace so I thought I'd share it with you since nobody else ever posts anything on here anymore.
I hope everyone is doing well. Talk to you soon.

Love ya
Suzy

Suzy's World

Hello everyone! Just thought I'd drop in an give you another update. First I have decided that I am not moving in with Tracy after all we are just gonna be friends and if something happens later then it does if not then were still friends. Other than that things are going pretty good so far. I went to the Ritchie Brothers auction for work last week and got at least one new customer so it turned out ok. Steven of course is a teenager and I have to track him down to learn what's up with him. He is also bugging me to get a place for me and him as soon as I can so I will start working on it soon. I am staying busy and out of trouble just working mostly so nothing too exciting happening for me just living life. Well since I never got to put pictures of my tattoo on here before I am going to throw them on here now along with pics of me and Whiskey fishing at Utah Lake and me and my nieces so you can check it out . I will keep taking pics and be back to give you another update if anything interesting starts happening for me.

I hope everyone is doing well and I would like to hear from you once in awhile. Bye for now

Love you all

Suzy

FINALLY!!!!

Well today was my last radiation treatment. I will now move on to the next phase of this cancer ordeal. This has taken a toll on me both mentally and physcially but they tell me that I will start to feel better in a couple of weeks. This will be my last update on this as I move forward with this treatment and hope for the best. This has been a very difficult time for me and emotionally I have struggled. I hope to put my best foot forward as they say and regain some sense of peace and "feel good" now. Hope all is well and that everyone had a great summer!

Liberty Land

Yes, I have been a slacker lately and havent posted much but I have always had good intentions. The summer has gone by so fast and I can't believe my kids went back to school today. Crazy!! I have to admit the house was a lot quieter today but I still missed having them around. They were so excited that they wanted to go to school 45 min early!! I'm sure that won't last long. By next week I will be dragging them out of bed. I took my kids and Tammy's kids to Liberty Land here in Lehi a while back and it was pretty lame. Most of the rides were geared towards little kids and so Colton was not that impressed. They finally started having fun in the bumper boats and ended up soaking wet. At least they found something that was fun.

More Suzy News

Well hello everyone. Since my last post a few things have happened first I unfortunately had a miscarriage so no new baby on the way, it sucks and I was pretty upset about it but we will be ok. We will try again when we get settled and before I get too damn old. Tracy and I have found a place to live in South Jordan so we will be moving this weekend. I haven't seen my stuff in so long I'm sure it's going to take some time to go through everything but we will get it done. One day at a time is all we can do. Other than being sad about losing the baby we are doing ok, Tracy has been there for me all the way which has been nice even though it's something I'm not used to and he tells me I'm stubborn and bull headed all the time cause I'm used to doing everything on my own and trying to take care of everyone and not letting anyone take care of me. He said the other night we make a good team because we take good care of each other, yeah I think he may be right. He's as stubborn as I am so hey I think I may have met my match, but don't tell him that. LOL!

Well that's all for now I just thought I should drop an update an fill you all in on what's been going on with me. I will post again soon I still have pictures of my tattoo and such to put on here for you to see, so I'll be back soon. Bye for now.

I love you all

20 Down 10 to Go

Just a quick update to let you all know how things are going. I am hanging in there but have some bad days now----really really tired and the pain and discomfort has increased. I am getting to the end though and counting down each day. This every day to the hospital does tend to get old. Steve, Trina and I took Boyd up to the Black Reunion on Saturday. He is always afraid it will be his last one so we try to accomodate him. It was a long day for me but he enjoyed himself so I guess that is the important thing. As always the food was great and everyone was glad we came up. The second crop of hay is up, the corn is growing and we work every day---not much exciting to write about in our world.

Suzy's News

Okay Mom has been on me to post on here since I haven't seen some of you since I got home. So here I am. I am working for Frankco Transportation, brokering freight no surprise there I suppose. Anyway I really like my job I am the only female broker in the office and I work with a bunch of crazy guys they manage to keep me laughing all day and make my job fun. I am doing really good I was only there 60 days and got a $500 a month raise so apparently I haven't forgotten how to do my job.

As far as Steven he is growing like a weed and right now in California. Him and his Dad went there last week for the baseball championships but they lost their first two games so were out of the tournament fast so him and his Dad have been playing in CA all week and will be home Sunday.

I have a boyfriend his name is Tracy and he is great, he works for Star Paving hauling asphalt and heavy equipment he's a hard worker and treats me good. So things in my life are going pretty good. One more piece of news that was as much of a surprise to me as it's going to be to you is that I'm pregnant. Tracy and I are happy about it so things are going to be okay. No we are not running out and getting married or anything but were gonna be ok. Oh yeah and I also got a tattoo, no I didn't lose my mind either.

Now as for Jodie, Dennis, Dirk and Chavon, why haven't I seen any of you or since I've been home? Jodie I'd really like to see the boys so I'm thinking maybe you guys should find some time to see your big sister, and Dirk I haven't seen Macy yet so come on guys.

Well that's all the news I have for this post I will attach some pictures and you can see how I'm doing and who Tracy is. Okay I am officially pissed at this site it won't let me upload more than one photo for some reason so Jodie or someone is gonna have to let me know what I have to do to get the rest of the pics on here and as soon as they do I will put the rest on here.

I love and miss you all. Bye for now.