The CARTERS

Falling Fast

2010-10-29T21:50:00.003-06:00

My Dad and his wife Cheree left on a mission to Nauvoo and have been there for two weeks now. check out there blog here. They have to dress in pioneer type clothes. My dad is on a restoration work crew and Cheree is working in the family history center. Were already excited to go and visit them. We have been busy with school, work, cows, and kids. I'm trying to get our milk barn up and running before it gets to cold. Were trying to get certified so we can sell cheese without the Federal Government putting me in prison (he he). Kaden Imlay came over and rough plumbed it the sewer and water. Man when you see a couple of pipes sticking out of the ground you don't appreciate whats going on underneath its a lot harder and complex then you think, Kaden is pretty good and I'm glad to have his help. He has admitted to having a thing for our cow Cinnamon. After I get the floor all framed up I'll pour the floor. We bought a industrial size kettle. Basically a huge self contained pot, for making cheese in. So instead of Heather making 3 or four 4 gallon batches on our kitchen stove she can make one huge batch up to 40 gallons at a time. Now what the heck we going to do with all this cheese. I converted an old fridge into a "Cheese Cave" by moving the thermostat into into the freezer so it thinks that the fridge is colder than it really is. It now stays at 50 degrees. We have a four or five wheels in there aging. It takes a little patience because you make the cheese but can't tell if you screwed it up until about 2 months later, and all the while you might have screwed up a whole bunch more. Ill try and get some pictures posted soon.

Welcome. Nellie Eileen Carter

2010-05-12T16:49:00.007-06:00

Nellie Eileen Carter came into this world on 05/11/2010 at 6:29pm. She weighed 8 lbs 5oz and was 21 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great.

New Family Pics

2010-04-13T01:03:00.007-06:00

Our Sister in law Liz Marshall took some family photos for us, I think they turned out great.

Our Goat Having Its Baby Video Two

2010-03-01T11:35:00.002-07:00

Our Goat Having Its Baby Video One

2010-03-01T11:07:00.003-07:00

Bath time in the Jacuzzi Tub

2009-01-13T01:56:00.001-07:00

One of the best things we did when we built our house was to install a nice jacuzzi tub in our master bathroom.

We have never regretted it and have used it a lot.

Once in a while the kids like to take a bath together.

This was Gemma’s first time and she loved it.

I think that she will be like her sister and be a little “water dog”.

The kids were putting bubbles on there faces and heads making for some cute pictures.

Family Pictures by Liz Marshall

2009-01-12T02:34:00.001-07:00

Liz Marshall, Heathers, Brother Jeremy’s wife, took some family pictures for us up the canyon. She has a fancy camera and a good sense with taking photos. Thanks Liz, it might not have seemed like much to you but we won’t ever forget it.

rewind --- Carter Family Christmas Partea Beaver Utah

2009-01-12T02:06:00.004-07:00

This year was Luke and Mandy's turn to host the Carter Family Christmas Party. We had everyone there. It was a lot of fun and we all ate a lot of good food. The highlight was when Randy put on some skimpy Santa shorts and flagged down traffic in front of Luke's house. He also made a surprise visit to Mandy's parents house to wish them a merry Christmas. They got a good laugh out of it.

The kids enjoyed opening a present. Most of the kids showed off a talent, which was really fun.

Uncle Luke pulled the kids around with his four wheeler near his house.

We went up the canyon and fed some deer. The kids enjoyed hand feeding the deer. Randy got one to eat a carrot out of his mouth.

Its not often that we can get the whole family together. I enjoy these times and try to relish them.

The kids are all growing up so fast. We have all been blessed this year. I'm grateful that our parents raised us to be hard working and industrious. Merry Christmas 2008

rewind….. Marshall Family Christmas Party

2009-01-12T00:24:00.001-07:00

Well we had the annual Marshall family Christmas party at our house.

Granny (Eileen) and Tim Boyce were there and brought Gavin and Hallie hatbands and vests for Hallie and Gemma. Also cowboy shirts. I have to admit they make pretty good looking cowboys/girls.

Gemma got another baby and again made out with it. She’s at the “everything in the mouth” stage.

Santa surprised us and stopped by. He was probably the best santas helper we have had.

Jeremy took us on a sledding trip in his new Polaris Ranger. It was a lot of fun. Gavin took a spill out of the sled and hurt his leg.

No pictures but Liz took some, I’ll have to get them from her.

We enjoyed, as always, having everyone over. Heather was frantic trying to get everything in order

We had gobs of wonderful, awesome food. We all stuffed ourselves silly and sat around and played games.

A fun time was had by all. Thanks for all the effort from everyone who came and helped out.

rewind--- Christmas 2008

2009-01-11T02:19:00.010-07:00

We can't forget Christmas.

I need to do some catching up so here goes.

We had a good Christmas this year. Things were pretty tight but I think that it was that way for most everyone.

It was actually nice not to worry too much about spending too much. Kind of kept us focused on the true meaning of Christmas.

The kids were up at around 8:45, not bad because Hallie usually wakes up much earlier.

As you can see the kids got lots of toys and goodies.

I guess Santa takes in the totality of their goodness.

Gavin hurt his leg Christmas Eve when Uncle Jeremy was pulling him with his new Ranger.

Gavin woke up to find that Santa had bandaged his leg up for him. He was really excited about that.

Gemma "made-out" with her new doll.

Hallie really liked her dress up set that Grandma Kim made her and had to try on all of the outfits.

I was an enjoyable time. We definitely had a white Christmas with lots of snow.

I ran out of hay on Christmas day and had to get some the next day.

I couldn't believe I could get a ton of hay on our truck but somehow I managed.

Were grateful for all of our blessings and health. Our families and everything else including our freedom and the gospel.

HUNTINGTON BEACH TRIP

2009-01-07T01:41:00.005-07:00

We made a spur-of-the-moment trip to Huntington Beach. I served my mission there and made friends with Doug and Debbie Sillasen. Ive gone back numerous times to visit and when Heather and I got married we continued to do so. Doug and Debbie have two kids that our kids age and they have a lot of fun playing while were there. We didn't make any big plans but mostly spent our time at the beach. The kids loved it and although it was about 55 degrees it seemed warm to us. Gavin played in the sand and had a blast. We went to another beach ??? we Debbie and Justin and Jenna. We checked out a sea cave and checked out all of the sea life in the rocks.

We also visited the Newport Beach Temple.

It was a good trip. It was nice to get away and

enjoy a little warmer climate. Thanks Doug

and Debbie for inviting us into your home.

More Beach Pictures

2009-01-07T00:58:00.000-07:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

2008-12-13T11:26:00.002-07:00

We just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Hope you have a great time this season and are able to spend time with all your loved ones. We love you. The Carter's

CARTERS POST THANKSGIVING THANKSGIVING

2008-11-30T21:46:00.005-07:00

We had a special thanksgiving dinner for the Carters today. This year is usually the odd year the we got to our spouse's family. Anyway we had a dinner at my dads house. Tex and Lisa came from Las Vegas and Tex's kids, Ashley, Weston, Trevor, and Austin were also there. We had a great time. I was working and didn't get to stay the whole time but enjoyed the time I was able to spend. Here are pictures of the event. Some great ones of the kids and of the whole family together. We don't normally all gather at once. Good times...............

Yellowstone Trip

2008-09-28T22:07:00.006-06:00

Kokopelli Triathlon

2008-09-20T21:40:00.005-06:00

Heather has been training since she had Gemma for a sprint Triathlon in St. George. Today she competed and did a great job. They first started at Sand Hollow Reservoir and swam out and back 1/2 mile. They then transitioned onto there bikes and rode around the reservoir for a total of 12.1 miles. They then ran 3 miles. I was very proud of her for doing this and she did a great job. She ran the last 200 feet with Gemma and Hallie.

WERE GOING TO FREEZE THIS WINTER

2008-09-19T09:34:00.011-06:00

We went to my dads cabin to cut some wood. I was cutting a small tree and the blade caught the edge of my pants and sucked the blade into my left thigh. I looked down and knew it wasn't good. I threw the chain saw in the pickup bed and headed up the hill to the cabin. I ran into the cabin and wrapped a couple dish towels on my leg. Heather gathered up the kids and our stuff and we were off. Heather drove down the canyon which she had never done with a trailer on. She dropped me off at the ER and took the kids to my dads. Dr. Wilson came in and gave me some shots to numb the injury, which hurt worse than the injury! Then he cut
out the damaged tissue and started stapling up the injury.
The staples were not holding the cut together right so he ended
up stitching the whole thing together. My dad says that I can't
use his saw any more that I have to use my "kiddie" saw.

2008-09-19T09:34:00.010-06:00

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7875546485118246418

7-23-2008 Yankee Meadows Fishing Trip with Imlays

2008-08-26T09:43:00.011-06:00

I've got a fellow police Officer Jed Imlay. We decided to go fishing. Jed has a little boy named Gavin that is also my Gavin's age. After the last fishing trip I worked on Randy's boat and thought I had it working better. The first pull of the motor and the cord snapped. I was able to use the cord to get the motor started and we had a blast. Hallie came along and was nervous at first. Once she got her "Sea Legs" she had a ton of fun. She gave up her Princess pole to Jed, as his broke, and was our official net operator. Both Gavin's caught a fish and I did also. We really enjoyed ourselves. I packed a lunch so we pulled into a little cove and had lunch. Gavin and Gavin went off exploring. I hope to be able to fit in a few more of these trips before it gets to cold.

Yankee Meadows Fishing Trip

2008-08-20T08:35:00.004-06:00

We went up to Yankee Meadows to do some fishing. I borrowed my brother, Randy's, fishing boat. I couldn't get it to run very good but we had a lot of fun. Heather and Gemma sat on the shore and watched me get very aggravated at the boat. On the way home we took a beautiful picture of the sunset.

Camping at Big Johns Flat

2008-08-19T21:41:00.014-06:00

When the Carter boys were young we spent one-to-two weeks camping as a family at Big Johns Flat. For awhile we haven't been going but a few years ago we started and have kept it up. Here are some pictures of the trip. It was fun. Randy, Brent, Luke, Me(Travis), and Matt were all up there including our father, Neal. Also my dad's brother "Uncle John" his wife Vicki and several of there kids (our cousins) came up. We drove to the top of the mountain which is over 13000 ft. We hiked a portion of the Bullion canyon and we drove to Mandy's, Luke's wife, "Special Spot". We also visited the "Ice Caves" where the settlers use to come and cut ice blocks out to use in the valley to keep there stuff cool. We now have our own camp trailer. Its pretty basic but keeps us dry and clean, (versus a tent). I put a big scratch down the side of the truck when we were headed back from the Ice Caves. Gavin and his cousins had a blast at a pond near our camp. They caught frogs, salamanders and polywogs. Then they went for a swim in the nasty water.

GEMMA 2-1/2 MONTHS

2008-08-02T18:39:00.001-06:00

GEMMA'S BLESSING

2008-07-03T17:15:00.008-06:00

We had Gemma's blessing on the first of June, 2008. Heather got her all prettied up and we were off to Church. It all went well. She was a good girl and didn't make a peep. Her uncles Luke, Brent and her Grandpa Neal stood in along with our Bishop,Jeff Middleton.

She's officially Gemma Kim Carter. Afterwards we had a get together at our house and as always Heather had a whole bunch of good food. It was a good day and helped us to realize how precious life is and how lucky we are to have such a sweet little spirit.

Belated Mothers Day

2008-05-20T08:55:00.003-06:00

Oh Boy, good thing for a computer. For me to express my feeling for my mother vocally would be a feat, to much sobbing. Anyhow I sometimes tell Gavin about my mom. He was only about 1-1/2 when she died and I'm sure he can't remember her. I get choked up and can't tell him much. My mother was so great. She was always on our side no matter what. I always knew that whatever I got myself into or whatever I did. She would always love me, no matter what. This wasn't something she explained to me, just something that I knew. I miss having her around so much. Sometimes when we need a babysitter I always wish that my mother was around. She would be so happy to watch the kids and would love them to death. This time of year my mom would always be outside planting flowers, working in the garden, etc. She loved to be outside working. She could outwork anybody. She would get up early, sometimes at 4:30 a.m., I think that this was the only time she had to herself. She would get a lot done before we even started stirring. She never wore shoes outside and would get big calluses on her heels that would crack open. My mother never complained. She had cancer for 11 years and didn't complain about it. I makes me so upset when I deal with people that are constantly complaining about little things. My mother fought the cancer to the end, she did not want to go, she enjoyed life so much, and especially her boys.

Gavins Kindergarten Graduation

2008-05-16T13:14:00.007-06:00

Gavin graduated from Kindergarten. I told him the he was lucky because so many don't. He looked at me with that a smile and said "daaaad". That same smile that drove my mom nuts. That same smile that my mom saw and knew that I was up to no good. That same smile that Heather has come to recognize all to well. I can't believe how fast these kids grow. We buy shoes as often as we pay bills. They had a program at Fiddlers Elementary and they all were so cute. My Dad and Cheree were there along with Heather's Mom.

Here are some more pictures of Gemma. She is growing fast. They seem to lose that newborn look pretty quick. She is gaining weight and isn't yellow any more. The kids love her and can't stop touching and kissing her. Heather is also doing well and is "looking well" to.

Announcing Our New Baby Girl Gemma Kim Carter

2008-04-26T14:17:00.020-06:00

On Wednesday, 4-23-2008, at 11:27 a.m. our little girl Gemma Kim Carter was brought into this world. She weighed 8 lbs and 4 ounces. She was 20 inches long. She has brown hair with a red tint. She was delivered C-Section because Heathers placenta was partially covering her uterus. They took Heather in to the operating room and after a while I was allowed in. I could see a big cut in her belly. I didn't dare look to much as I though I might pass out. I held Heathers hand and in a few minutes I looked over the partition and Dr. Winward was holding Gemma in her hands. I went over and took a bunch of photos of Gemma as they looked her over. They were surprised and glad at how much she weighed as she was 18 days early. They finished up with Heather we all went into a room where Heather gave Gemma a good looking over and mauled her to death. They eventually took us to our room where we spent the next three days. Gemma did not have a scratch on her as she didn't have to endure a natural birth. She didn't hardly even whimper until the second day. Gavin and Hallie came and were so excited. Both of them held her and were all smiles. We had a few visitors and got a little sleep. The hospital stay was pretty nice. Heathers friend , who works at the St. George Womens Hospital, came and helped us out. She really made Heather feel good and showed us all of the tricks. This was probably the only time in our life when we both got excited when Heather was able to fart. She needed to pass some gas before they would let us leave. By the third day we were ready to leave. We had Heathers staples taken out. Put the baby under the lamps for 3 hours, packed our belongings and we were ready. Heidi, Heathers sister, and Liz Heathers sister in law watched the kids at our timeshare during the whole stay. They enjoyed swimming but they were ready to go home to. Heidi took the kids to my dads house and they met us at ours around 6:00 p.m. I was good to be home and all of our animals were still alive. Now were just taking visitors and trying to get sleep. Were grateful to have a happy healthy baby. It seemed we had a lot of trials to get Gemma here but she is definitely worth it. Take a look, she's beautiful!!

Gavins Birthday and Heather Almost There

2008-04-14T21:02:00.005-06:00

Our little boy is now 6. I can’t believe it. He has grown up so fast. We record the kid’s heights on the wall on their birthdays. We did Gavin’s today and he is growing like a weed. He is one of the tallest kids in his class. We did Hallies also and Gavin was almost 4 inches taller than her at 3. We had a birthday party for Gavin at the Canyon Park. Gavin invited a bunch of his friends and they had a fun time. We gave Gavin a new Bow and he was really excited about it. He did Archery last year at the Summer Games and won a gold medal. He is excited to do it again this year. I can’t believe how fast they grow up. I love to tuck them in at night and maul them both to death. I hope that I don’t let them grow up to fast and that we take time to enjoy the time that we have now.

Heather is ready for the baby to come. She says that she has “cankles” now as her feet are so swollen. We are going to have the baby checked today, 4/14/08, and then Wednesday, 4/16/08, we are scheduled to have the baby C-Section. The placenta is still covering the uterus a bit so they are going to have to take the baby C-Secti

Were all excited for the baby to come. We think that were ready, I’m sure that were not. But we’ll get by I hope.

Hallies Birthday and Easter

2008-03-25T14:28:00.013-06:00

Our little Hallie Margaret Carter turned 3 years old on March 23, 2008. I can't believe that she is that old already, although she does act like she is 17. We had a big family shindig at our house and invited both sides of our families. It was also Easter, one of the ealiest Easters in history. The kids got to much candy, again.
Heathers Grandpa and Grandma (Tim and "granny" Eileen Boyce) were in town before the party and visited.
All of Heathers family came and My dad and Sheree came along with my brother Luke and his wife Mandy and there daughter Brindee. We had a good time. I cooked hamburgers and Heather made her "famous" potato salad. Everybody filled up and we watched a slide show of our family pictures and Hallie opened all of her presents. She was very excited to get a scooter, like her brothers.
We then hid Easter eggs in the back yard and all of the kids had a good time finding them. Gavin found most of the cash eggs and collected $15. It was a beautiful day and we all spent time outside in the back yard.

Zions Trip

2008-03-23T19:26:00.003-06:00

Heather had a doctors appointment in St. George so we all went with. While Heather was at her appointment Gavin, Hallie and I went to the temple and walked around the grounds and through the visitors center. It was a beautiful day and the temple grounds were already a bloom. We walked back to the Womens clinic and Heather was done. Everything seems to be going well. Heather now sees the doctor every week until she has it. Well find out in the next week if we will be having the baby C-Section or natural. So we will have the baby within the next 3 to 6 weeks.

We then decided to drive through Zions National Park. It was very nice in the park. Gavin and Hallie had never been through the tunnel so we took them through. We stopped near the Lodge and Gavin and I hiked up the to a waterfall.

We all then went and watched a movie, Trip Around the World. At the giant screen theatre near the entrance to the park. We all had a very enjoyable day. Not to much bickering and fighting. We bought a pass for all of the National parks so we can use it at Yellowstone this fall and hopefully several other parks during the summer.

Heathers Birthday

2008-03-18T11:50:00.001-06:00

Today is Heathers 35th birthday. Where has the time gone. Heather and I met when she was 27 and I was 25. We lived just 2 houses away from each other but somehow we never saw one another. I know this because I would have remembered.

The first time I saw Heather was at Church. It was fast and testimony meeting and Heather got up and bore her testimony. I don't remember what she said. But I do remember saying to myself " Why couldn't a guy like me, end up with a girl like her". Lo an behold Heather taught our gospel doctrine class.

At the time I was pretty disappointed in the selection of young ladies I had association with. I had gone on a mission and wrestled 2 years in Wyoming. During this time it seemed most women my age had married. I felt that I was left to choose from younger girls that seemed immature to me.

Heather was not immature at all and was so positive and sure of herself. She had lived in Hawaii, served a Mission to England and had been very busy. She knew what she wanted and was well on her way.

I tried to have a friend of mine have her call me. She told him that if I wanted to talk to her then I should call her. I did and our first date was at my families Cabin. We had a great time and Heather kissed me. She will deny this but she was rather aggressive. From that moment on we have been inseparable.

I joke with Heather that when her Dad died I felt bad and asked her to marry me. I knew I wanted to marry her from the get go. Heather has helped me to achieve so much. We are a great team. We fit together and where I'm weak she is strong and vice versa.

We have two beautiful children, and one on the way. I love her so much for going through the pain of having our children.

Heather, thank your for all that you do. You are me best friend. My lover. A wonderful mother. A great companion. And a million other things.

Happy Birthday, you only get more beautiful to me as time goes by. Love, Travis

What the Heck!!!

2008-03-16T14:45:00.001-06:00

Well yesterday was like a spring day. I worked in the yard and got a lot of stuff done. I was excited as it seemed that Spring was on its way.

We woke up this morning and we couldn't believe our eyes. There was about 1" of snow on the ground and it was snowing steadily. It has been snowing non stop all day. So far we have about 4" of snow.

Heather and I cleaned out our Study, along with our bedroom dressers and nightstands. We threw away about 5 trash bags of old college papers, textbooks etc. and we filled up a big box to give the DI.

I was going to be out with my brothers near Indian Peaks huntin horns. We usually go out this time of year and pick up shed antlers. I told Heather I wasn't going to go this year as she is so close to having our baby. I'm kind of glad I didn't go now. Usually its sunny and nice weather. I'm sure they didn't have to much fun.

Our First Post

2008-03-14T19:50:00.001-06:00

Where to start. Heather is on the brink of "popping". She only has about 4 weeks left before our little girl bundle of joy arrives. Gavin is loving kindergarten. We thought it would wear off but he comes home excited every day. He loves to learn and is crazy excited about learning to read and write. Hallie is a handful. She tears up the house, her room, everybody else's room, the bathroom, etc, etc ........ But she's so darn cute about it. She is excited about the baby coming. She tells her mom "just pop that thing out mom".Travis is nearing the end of his three year stint as a School Resource Officer at Canyon View High School. It keeps him very busy and he loves working with the kids. He will be back on Patrol just after school ends, it will be an adjustment.Heather is working at Real Estate like it ain't no thing. Things are slower but there are still many opportunities out there. The time seems to be right for those who have been waiting for that good deal to come around.Spring is a welcome sight. Were excited about getting a few more chickens to add to our two. Travis revamped the chicken coop and is ready for the new additions.