The Facts of Our Life

A New Post

2011-09-29T14:26:00.001-07:00

OK let's see here...sign in to google, click Facts of our life, click New Post, and type!

I can do this. It's just that, well it's been a while since I blogged, so you see I'm not sure where to begin. Today though, I just feel compelled to sit down and catch myself up on where the past 3+months have gone.

So where were we, oh yes Soren turned 6! Then of course there was all that mayhem that comes in May & June. End of the year performances, teachers gifts, etc. etc. etc. (nice way to catch up huh?)

I must say I was in charge of Hawkin's teachers' gift and I was so excited about it. First off she was a fantastic teacher! FANTASTIC! Which of course made it easy to bless her. This was her first year teaching too so that made it easy as well.

She's a die hard Yankees fan and after seeing a director's chair in Hawkin's 1st grade class I decided Miss Duncan needed a NY Yankees directors chair. It took a little work since there are none to be had. In fact I had to order it and mistakenly bought a great chair with NY Yankees written in RED instead of white! Therefor, I had to fork over extra $$ (again totally worth it) to have the NY team logo silk screened on it! I wish I had taken a picture of the chair. It turned out great!

There were about 11 of the 18 kids whose parents went in on this gift (chairs aren't cheap you know) and we also framed a picture of the class and had the kids sign it!

She was truly a memorable teacher for so many of the students!

In June as we finished up school @ Pioneer we came to the decision to home school the boys next year. Yes, you heard me right HOME SCHOOL! Let me just say I NEVER wanted to home school our kiddos, NEVER. The thought did not cross my mind until I realized as they entered into full time school age David was home when they were at school and they were home when David was at work. This leaves for very little family time. So I prayed and felt confident that I could in fact home school our boys. David was the one on the fence. So I left it up to the Lord. Then one day he came home after talking with a co-worker whose family home schools and said " we should do it" . I thought to myself really? REALLY? You know that feeling you get when you realize you're pregnant? At first you're so excited then you think....what have I gotten myself into! Am I ready for this? Well that's how I felt anyway about both homeschooling and pregnancy!

It made all the end of the year stuff that much harder. Saying goodbye to friends. Finding out who their teachers would have been and who would have been in their classes. It still makes me feel kind of sad. The boys felt a little sad too, I think. They used to be totally for homeschooling. I think they thought we wouldn't have to work. Now that the boys have made good friends they think about missing them a bit more.

However, all that sadness was soon gone as the summer and warm weather rolled in! That's where I will leave off today and we'll see if I can sneak in some blog time again tomorrow!

Bye for now, oh yes,
Tchuess!

May? MAY!

2011-08-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

My last post was in MAY!?!

I don't even know where to begin...or if I should...and if I do, can I make this fit into my life schedule? I mean I like blogging it's a fun way to record lifes adventures but I don't know if it's for me? It used to work just fine and now I'm not sure why but it doesn't seem to work. Could it be FB? Could that really zap my time, I believe it could but I'm not ready to blame my lack of blogging completely on FB. I think there are several factors. I will belabor this no longer and YES, yes I will try to post a recap of the past few months and see if I can continue to keep a record of the Kaurin Family Adventures!

~summer

Six years ago, today...

2011-05-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

...I was given my sugarbear!

You've always been so peaceful when you sleep.

Your smile lights up a room and is a gift to all whom you share it with.

You're my German baby, and a world traveler having already been to Italy, Austria, Norway & Switzerland! Though you probably don't remember it one bit.

above: touching Juliet's breast for good luck...or something.

below: Interlockin, Switzerland

You are generous & kind.

I love how you look up to your older brother.

You're sweet like sugar.

and sometimes awnry like a bear.

Soren age 4

age 5

I love you "this much" (arms stretched out wide)

You'll always be my sugarbear!

Happy Birthday!

I'm back. To let you know...

2011-04-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

I can really shake em' down! Sorry I couldn't resist!

So I wasn't sure how to move on from such a tragic post. But then I realized, ETERNITY in HEAVEN is a pretty wonderful thing! If there's something to take from this tragedy it's to enjoy the time we are given and keep your focus eternal.

SO in lieu of words, which is seemingly my blogging style and since we got a new camera...! I'm going to post some pictures of us celebrating and enjoying the time we've been given.

After 3 months of not having a camera...and the IPOD touch doesn't count....we were motivated by this! Hawkin was baptized @ Calvary Chapel on March 27th, 2011! I'm so excited for him. I really believe he loves the Lord and pray he continues to abound more and more in knowledge and depth of love for our Lord. I was a little dissapointed that I only recorded him in the baptismal sp? and didn't take a still photo. oh well.

Track break...I threw together a last minute pajama day and Kelly was right about the cool mom points for pulling out the beds! The rest of the day was slightly lame though since I decided to do this the day before! :)

This is what the boys do while I mop!

The nice thing about Pajama day is breakfast ALL DAY LONG!

Our family likes some breakfast!

Oh and jumpin' on beds!

And twinkies! They are not as good as you remember!

Ya, it wasn't one of our healthiest days.

And then there was AVIATION DAY! Another idea completely taken from this girl!

Watching for planes...

A little jumping around.

Soren lost his first tooth!

A park day with friends

3 women (1 not pictured), 10 kids!

This is K's special been...guess he thinks he's pretty special! He is!

Family date consisting of Starbucks & donuts!

Oops these are more of the jumping pictures!

OK! I'm done!
Chow!

February 21, 2011

2011-03-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Warning: This is may be sad, it is my recollection and feelings on the day David and Bridger Strong were killed in a car accident.

February 21st is also my brother Travis' birthday. I love him and he is such a special man with a great ability to inspire others. While it may seem kind of sad his birthday is shared with the death of 3 other significant family members; Jerri (my step mom's mother), David (my BiL), and Bridger (my nephew); it's actually kind of nice to celebrate his life on that day.

This year though, it was a rough day.

It started out with a phone call around 8 o'clock from my mom saying she slipped on ice and broke her ankle. Having just gone through he whole broken ankle thing with David this past year I immediately felt a deep sense of empathy. Not to mention my poor mom isn't the healthiest of people; she's blind in her right eye, she's had a heart attack, and numb in one of her hands...yes we're pretty sure she has MS. All that to say she really didn't need to add a broken ankle to her list.

THEN, maybe 4 hrs later my sister Amber called me...I thought for sure it was something to do with my mom again, but she was quick to say there had been an accident in Montana. THEN those DREADED words David and Bridger are dead. Kyle (my other nephew) had survived the crash and was going to be fine physically just a few bruised ribs. He was airlifted to the hospital.

I gasped for breath and said NO about 100 times. I cried out to God and wept as I have never wept before. Can you imagine hearing those words on the phone regarding someone you know and love? I've heard of these sorts of tragedies but never have they been so close.

What was even more awful was that my sister Parrish didn't even know yet. She couldn't be reached. They were searching for her. Amber finally got a hold of her after she was already on the road driving to Helena a few hours after the accident happened. Amber had to tell her younger sister that her husband and stepson were killed in a car accident.

My husband David just held, me so comforting until I could gather myself. Then he went to tell the boys what had happened (they knew something was wrong). I found myself telling him, "no, don't tell them." I think somewhere in my mind I thought they could still be alive. Then I remembered no they are dead.

So we dealt with death for real for the first time with our boys. It was simple and the boys had a sort of curiosity about it. "So they are in Heaven now?" the boys said. "Yes, they believed in Jesus as their Savior and their spirit went to Heaven." I could tell the boys were a little unsure of how to feel.

Life immediately hit the pause button. I couldn't think, I couldn't function. I was so far away and so unable to help. We were waiting, waiting for information to process on the other end so we could know what to do.

It was David's last day of work and when he called to figure out bereavement status for attending the funerals he broke down. He hadn't cried yet until then. It was clear he needed to stay home that day as well. We kind of just kept functioning in this weird sort of state. That night I could hardly sleep. The minute I laid down I wept and wept. I cried so hard my head was hurting. Then when I stopped crying my head kept hurting and I ended up w/a sinus infection.

We found out the funerals would be Friday so we planned to leave Wednesday after my early AM doctors appointment to get some meds. I was so sick that we left with the house a mess...dishes the whole bit. We hardly packed the right clothes even. I mean it's Montana in February. It was COLD & SNOWY!

In fact that was the cause of the accident, SNOW! A semi had been blinded by snow from the semi in front of him and drifted over into their lane. David was killed instantly, Bridger was breathing for another 45 min. being held by a man named Jerry 1st on scene. Kyle called 911 then waited in a bystanders car. After all it was freezing that day.

I only know bits and pieces of the story but from what I hear the 81 yr old independent owner/ operator of the truck wasn't much help at the scene. Perhaps he was in shock.

So we arrived on Thursday, the day of the viewing. So much had happened since Monday February 21st. I didn't want to view them. I did that once when I was in 5th grade and I prefer not to do that.

The time was as they say bitter sweet. So painful to say goodbye too early. So sweet to see family and spend time getting to know David's family. The funerals were Friday, the church was as packed as they had ever seen it. The service was nice and the weather that day was beautiful. The day before and after were overcast, but that day; that day the sky was clear blue the mountain tops white and the cemetery was surrounded by dear. David was an avid hunter and it was as if they came to say goodbye. It was a beautiful day. A sad but beautiful day.

On the way to MT I hesitantly mentioned to David my interest in staying the week after just to be with her. I love my husband. Knowing his job would not being easy working and juggling kids he had the same thought, that I should stay. I TREASURE the time I had with her and the kids. I could do a whole other post just on that time. But I am ready to be done and spend some time with my own kids.

This tragedy definitely has me thinking on what's important and how do I want to spend my time here on earth. My heart is trying to absorb some lessons from this.

Love and serve the Lord w/all your heart, mind, & soul
Live with an eternal perspective
Love others and tell them so

Waitts Lake 2010

David, Parrish, and Kyle are on the upper left hand corner while Caleb (w/shirt off) & Emily are center right. Bridger was not able to attend last years family get together as he stayed with his mom. :( Missed his playful adventurous spirit.

Waitts Lake 2008

Here are the cousins in 2008...can you believe I forgot my camera for 2009! Bridger is the littlest cousin w/o a shirt on. My heart is so thankful for the time I had with them.

Remembering David Strong: You had a handsome smile and a friendly personality. You were the honest hardworking man my sister had longed for. You were intelligent & kind. You were and excellent hunter and fisherman. I LOVED the halibut you shared with us last year and enjoyed trying the new meats like elk and antelope. I'm going to miss getting to know you more. I had hoped the boys could have gone hunting with you. I am so thankful for the time we had with you. Looking forward to Heaven.

Remembering Bridger Strong: You were such a cute and spunky little guy! You reminded me of my boys. You had a twinkle in your eye that was both mischievous and sweet. I'm going to miss seeing you @ family gatherings and listening to your stories. I'm so thankful for the short time we did have with you. You had a spirit of adventure about you. See you in Heaven.

Look who's 1 !!

2011-01-28T20:41:00.000-08:00

Rufus:

You were such a cutie right from the start.

Perhaps that is why you stole all our hearts!

But it didn't take long before you began typical puppy "things"

like peeing, whinning, shedding, and CHEWING!

Again you are so sweet, "Wait...what's that I see in your mouth?"

Grass!

OOO sometimes I swear I could just...!

Thanks for being pretty chill for a lab,

and being one of the

best friends the boys will ever have!

For going camping...

...and hiking...

...and just playing around...

I think for now we'll keep you around! :)

10 things I should buy stock in.

2011-01-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

* 10 Shredded Parmesan cheese from Costco

* 9 Dog chew toys/bones

* 8 Legos

* 7 Milk

* 6 The Y

* 5 Facebook

* 4 Foam soap

* 3 Wii everything

*2 Starbucks

*1 Treasure Valley Coffee Co.

Yup go through these things quite frequently or spend a lot of time there, or have a lot of them!

What should you buy stock in?

I found a GREAT deal!

2011-01-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

Until recently my blog has been inspired by the pictures I have taken of the 'this and that' happenings in our life. So you may know about the camera that was placed on the back of the suburban on Christmas day and you may know about it flying off the back (so sad) as I swung into Walmart to grab a few things (the day after Christmas). Therefor, until we replace our camera I've been taking pics with the Itouch given to us by Key Bank (thank you key bank). It's nice to have but just different. So this post doesn't really have a perfect picture to go along with it but since I'm a visual learner I'll see if I can find something that works.

Here's a picture of a few of the great deals I've scored recently in my new found love/hate relationship with couponing! Everything in this picture is $1-FREE! Yes, I love couponing! It's the time it takes among other things that I dislike. A couple times I have found a deal in the store for free products that wasn't posted on the blogs and I get SO EXCITED I just want to shout if from the roof tops! "Hey look this is FREE! You can get these for FREE!" in fact I do tell the other obvious couponers around me hey...check this out. I mean it I get so excited and bubbly inside, I want to tell anyone who will listen all about it!

Now get on with the great deal already, right!

So I thought to myself, why am I so willing to share about this but shy and reserved when it comes to the GREATEST deal in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD?

The gift of Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ!

For some reason I am so shy and so concerned about hurting someone's feelings or ruining our relationship that I don't say anything. Or I fear I won't have the words to say. That's happened before...I fumble for the right things to say.

So I am striving to live in step witht he spirit that I may be able to respond with confidence and share the AWESOME DEAL I've found in Jesus Christ boldy, unashamedly! You want to know the best part? It's FREE! Nothing we have done or could ever do would EARN us our way to Heaven. It is by GOD's AMAZING grace. Completely FREE. He accepts us and loves us just the way we are and that's the best DEAL of all should you choose to snatch it up! I hope you do or have already!

Malta Coast, 2004

Nothing speaks to me more or makes me feel closer to God than seeing His creation.

Reflecting on 2010 & Respiring for 2011

2011-01-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

Respiring? Is that a word you ask? If so, what does it mean? Well I'm pretty sure I made it up. I noticed as I reflected on some of my goals for 2010 I felt RE inspired to strive for some of them again in 2011 thus I am RESPIRED! Hey it's late ok.

So I think what I will do is just go through each of these and just RESPIRE them abit! :) In GREEN it's my new favorite color!

2010 it just sounds cool! 2011 is cool too, I like it.
This reflection thing is good it helps you know where you've come from and gives you hope to change in the future! Hope, that's a great word!

1. Establish consistent time w/God This is definitely a RESPIRE! I have a devotional that comes in on my computer but I would rather curl up on the couch and read/pray/write, so I will pick up a devotional or journal here soon!
2. Date my husband more
(actual dates...maybe twice a month, as well as doing little things that make him feel special and loved at least 2 times a month, hopefully more!) Well that was lofty! We did however have quite a few more day time dates while the kids were in school and 1 was @ G&G's which was nice. A couple hrs here and there just hanging out, running errands, or working out. I did do a couple things to make him feel special but I will have to do more!
3. Blog more FB less! (and by Blog more I'm only really hoping for a couple of times a month) Well there were 4 months where I didn't reach the goal so that means there are 8 months I did! I must say though FB can suck me in so I must develop some sort of super power by which to ward off it's pwr. I've been better lately though.
4. Spend less time on the computer (maybe only on the weekends or something) This is a hard one. May I ask what are your limits. I think I need to set them otherwise I can sometimes burn dinner!
5. Finish projects Yikes! totally botched this one! I guess I need more craft nights! This is the year! I am RESPIRED to do these projects! (boys room, bathroom, rug)
6. Invest in my kids more, be more intentional
(play, listen, read) Ahh I've had many moments this year where I have improved on this but it's just never enough so I will continue to grow in this area!
7. Eliminate or reduce the word sorry from my vocabulary
(I over use it...sorry :P) Hey it's who I am...who cares. Lots of people do it!
8. Loose 20lbs and never find it again!!! ;0) I did this!? Well it's creepy crawling it's way on me lately so Hurray for 2011. I'm shooting for 11lbs! Oh I'll take more if I get it but 11 sounds good to me right now. Maybe 11 plus the 5 I've gained this past month! :P
9. Try to have some "girl time" once a month with girl friends and no kiddos!
(Sometimes I just need a break from this house full of boys :) I'm feeling in need lately so I'm guessing I didn't do this enough this year! But I treasure it every time it happens I have the most ama zing, insp iri ng, and fun ny girlfriends! Those just links to a few of my sweet friends that blog and live near me and are so sweet to include me in on some girl time...even if I'm a crier!
10. Spend less $ (figure out the whole coupon world) Ah ya baby! Thank you Jesus! Seriously, this is so wonderful and yes I have days, plenty of them where I'm overwhelmed or confused but I see the potential and the hope that I will get better...that I am getting better at this!
11. Believe in myself, stop comparing, be confident in who God made me! Eph 2:10 (almost like 2010) We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus. So we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. What a great reminder!
12. Memorize scriptures Um RESPIRE!
13. Write more little encouraging notes. yes I must do this. 1 per month! Be watching your mail box you may just get one!
14. Organize our office...at least a little. I rearranged does that count?! :) I've done a little but not nearly enough. Paper work is not my thing.
15. Eat fish...salmon at least 2 times a month, at least! Hmmm lets try once a month?
16. Enjoy this season of life. I must say I am.
17. Control my temper I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!
18. Eat more veggies I can do all things through Christ! :)
19. try biking to work Ya know I never did this but it was probably on my mind more than any other of my goals, go figure!
20. I really want to be able to run again this year! It's been almost 3 years that I haven't been able to run, this is the year! Thank you Lord! I have been able to run again this year! Not far but it WAS good. WAS? ya, I just haven't been running much lately I need to figure out a new work out routine that includes running I would like to do an "event" this year!

Please do tell me some of your goals.

Oh and a special shout out to my DAD his birthday is on that special first day of the year!

I LOVE that man!

Prelude to Christmas &-1 camera

2010-12-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

Wow this time of year just flies by and when it's over you realize just how fast the entire year went! Our weeks and days before Christmas were filled with probably very similar things as most people and unfortunately I don't have pictures of all the memories, but I do have some.

For lack of writing creativity which has been in short supply this year I am going to highlight a few of moments that lead up to Christmas...

* David teaching the boys Jingle Bells Batman Smells. I'm not really happy about this but if you can remember being a kid and singing this song...there's something fun about it.

*School Christmas Parties: I attended both Hawkin's and Soren's on the same day. Whew that was a long one! Soren's class had a variety of activities while Hawkin's class simply made Gingerbread houses!

*Speaking of decorating...we had a great time decorating cookies at the annual Sugar cookie party hosted by this gal! Seriously, I couldn't do it. 17 kids. frosting. candy. juice. food plates. all over. playing amidst it all. Kelly you are special!
*Here the boys are all dressed and ready to go to the Christmas Eve service but when the Fackler's bailed we all gladly jumped ship! I don't mean that disrespectfully. David has been sick and sleepless and sometimes it just sounds nice to stay home and hang
*For some reason this is one of my favorite things this year! I don't really have a fantastic place to put cards when the come but I did like this. right by our front door and I just love seeing the smiling faces of the people I love!
Oh and there's one very special picture in there! One of most of my family members @ my parents house this summer! I treasure the times we can all get together!

* allong with adding texting to my plan David got me a new phone!

The kids were able to open 3 gifts on Christmas Eve in representation of the 3 gifts from the wise men to Jesus. We choose the figts fo course. The rest of Christmas was really pretty relaxed and sweet. We had a lovely brunch with David's parents. David slept. The boys played ALL day w/o any fights. If that's not a gift from God! We all really enjoyed the day.

On a sad note there will be no more pictures because the day after Christmas I went out to watch Kristian on his new bike and David handed me the camera...after I took some pics I remembered I was making dinner. I set the camera on the back of the suburban thinking (this is not a good idea) David will grab it or I'll be sure to get it in a minute. Well you may have guessed neither of us grabbed the camera and I ran an errand later that evening only to leave camera remenants scattered all over Fairview ave. :(
Looks like this blog could be a little more wordy or perhaps more sparse while we save up for a new camera. :(
Oh well it's just stuff!
Merry CHRISTmas to all!

Snow Much Fun!

2010-12-20T11:54:00.001-08:00

I'm sure I stole that title from someone but it just fits! I'm not sure who had more fun, myself or the kids! I stayed out for a good 4 hours! It was pure FUN! The snow was perfect!

Track Break, ya know back in November.

2010-12-20T11:22:00.000-08:00

So over track break this past November, David decided to take a week off and hang with the family for a little STAYCATION!

This was especially nice since much of his vacation time was used up to recover from his broken ankle!

Here's a bit of what went on over track break!

David tackled his "To Do List"

Kristian & his brothers ate Marshmallows...

...during our Marshmallow fight! warning: do this with fresh soft marshmallows the stale ones hurt!

The boys played and dressed up as crazy super hero's!

We had an Alphabet day! Where we made pretzels, ate snacks, played with letters, made necklaces, etc. I've already forgotten some of the stuff!

The boys had to spell something w/their words before they could eat them...Hawkin didn't want to at first then I spelled Starwars and he decided this would be fun. Soren, had a handful of words he could spell then just told me the letters and the sounds. Kristian, asked what it was, I told him, then he repeated it! So this was educational and delicious!!

All ideas are and rights are reserved and belong to Kelly's Theme days INC.

We also had a Dr. Suess day but I did not take one picture of that?!?!?! My bad. We borrowed a Dr. Suess game from the fornamed co. and I had picked up several Dr. Suess things @ the $1 spot at Target, then we read Dr. Suess, watched Horton hears the Who, and I printed off several activities from the computer. Oh and we made Horton Hears a Who puppets. Shame on me for not taking any pics!

We also, went to the dollar store. I say if you're mentally prepared this can be a fun affordable outing for the kiddos! I can't even tell you what they bought I'm sure it's in the garbage by now but they had fun! OH I remember it the oldest 2 bought pirate dress up stuff and K bought a cheap psuedo transformer! Yes it's in the trash!

We ate out a lot! A lot for us probably 3 times in 3 weeks! None of them were stand out experiences...maybe when you're not used to paying the $ it's more painful?

We had a great 3 weeks off and having David home was one of my favorite things!

It's about time I blog!

2010-12-01T20:18:00.001-08:00

WoW!

Not ONE single blog post in November.

Looks like I'm not very grateful!

Could I propose to you I'm too busy enjoying all that I am grateful for to take a moment to record it?

I suppose that could be true but the reality is I'm just not making the time to blog anymore...maybe I should drop FB!

Regardless, I can't seem to get away from the picture recap method so....w/o further adue, here's what I am grateful for this past November...

#10. Jumping in the leaves at G & G 's house since we have none of our own.

#9. Hours of Lego play

#8. Having 3 boys who actually helped put the tree up!

#7. A system for all the wet clothes from snow play. (I'm trying to be grateful for this...doesn't always happen)

# 6. A Father who plays with his kids...even when he's tired! This could quite possible be #1 but like Who's Line Is It? the points or in this case the #'s don't really mean anything. ;)

#5. An perfectly delicious first turkey ever cooked by ME!

#4. My first very successful couponing venture...all said and done I made $8 when I get the rebate! I've had other coupon adventures just none quite this good...I'm still totalling trying to figure it out.

#3. Great ideas from friends for track break!

#2. A STAYCATION with Russel Crow...i mean my Love

#1. Family both immediate and extended I do love my family quirks and all!

A big shout out and thanks to Andrea Foss for taking our family pics this year! Thank you friend!

OH Honey...

2010-10-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Crisp how I've missed you!

If you must know I just LOVE Honey Crisp apples and can not eat enough of them when they are in season!

What have you been up to?

2010-10-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Really, when will someone teach me to make a collage....? Until then here's the scroll of photos on what we've been up to. Yes, my new way to blog. More pictures, less words!There has been HIKING with friends whose husbands also have unusual schedules!

There has been swinging on our "new to us" FREEBEE swing set! The boys just LOVE it and Soren finally learned to swing on his own! The thing Kristian is in is a hammock?

The boys have found a couple of these leaf bugs and enjoy playing with them. Poor bugs. :(

There's been field trips! I went to the Zoo and Art museum with Hawkin's class. David was able to go to the Pumpkin Patch with Soren's class!

There's been Sunrise's ...

...and Sunset's

and ton's O fun @ the Farmstead!

There's been HAPPY faces...

...and GRUMPY faces. (remind this guy not to work nights)

There has been pleasant faces...

...and scary faces!

but I think we're finally ready for the fall!

So then why are my flowers still in FULL bloom!?!?!

That's about all we've been up to. What have you been up to?

This is how we roll...

2010-10-02T20:18:00.000-07:00

...on Saturdays!

This is long overdue! I had grand intentions of making a cool video of the entire Saturday morning process. It was often a challenge (even w/preparing the night before) to just get to the 9 o' clock games with everyones uniform, shin gaurds, balls, chairs, waterbottles, snacks, & other misc. items that videoing the process just wasn't an option.

So here you have it a few pics of our Soccer Saturdays, which I LOVED! It was so fun I really did love it. I loved cheering each of them on, watching them play, and spending the better part of our Saturday @ the soccer field.

The boys had fun too. Any time Soren was near the ball he had a huge grin on his face. Hawkin, seemed to enjoy it too. Kristian, was more interested in bumping into other kids or starring at the pretty girls.

Just call me Soccer Mom!

2010-09-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

I was totally going to do a post about being a soccer mom. but I can't find any of the pictures I took of the boys playing soccer ANYWHERE! I'll have to take some more and finish this post later!

School 2010 Day 1

2010-08-27T16:03:00.001-07:00

BACK 2 SCHOOL!

Feeling the pressure from this girl to post a bit about the first day of school, I decided I had better do it before I forget what it was like. It seems time is flying by as they say it does!

We arrived home from our time in WA, had one day, then it was BACK TO SCHOOL!

I was prepared supply wise but just not quite emotionally. I mean, I'm still debating homeschooling... Although, it's not much of a debate when the hubby's not on board. :)

Anyways, back to day 1!

It was overcast, slightly windy, and seemingly fallish back to school weather. Which is good since we go to year round school. Better that than 100 degree pool weather!

We took Hawkin to his door...tooks some pictures...he was jazzed he knows what this is all about and after all his teacher is a cutie so he's going to have a great year!

Soren on the other hand has an interesting way of expressing his emotions and it's rather hard to tell how he's really feeling. Oh how I long to understand him! He wasn't into smiling for the pictures. He wasn't into hugging mama goodbye. Yet, he seems perfectly comfortable in school. Just not telling me all about it! Oh to be the mother of boys!

I think someone is a little tuckered out!

When it was all said and done I got a little emotional...I think having a vacation up until the day before may have been part of it. But I pulled it together and we went on with our day. Before we knew it the time came to pick up Soren!

I guess now I'll be that mom that drives to and from the school several times a day! I'm grateful I can! I LOVE seeing their faces after school!

So that's it. Now we're on week 3 of school and the ball is rolling...OOO nice prelude to my next post.... I'm a SOCCER MOM!

Here's the one still at home! Goofball!

chow for now!

A week in Washington

2010-08-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

I love this city. I know it has it's quirks and the roads are terrible but there is something about it that I just love. The GREEN, the Mountains, the familiarity, the people, the places, and the memories. Spokane and WA for that matter will always hold a special place in my heart.

There's a few things we always try to do in Spokane and River Front Park is one of them. The Big Red Wagon, O'Doherty's, the Garbage Eating goat, Rolling down the big grass hill, rock climbing...the list goes on.

The boys thought it funny to take a picture w/the fountain spraying like well, you know. Garbage eating goat had a tummy ache.

Here's my dad. I take this picture every year. He does such a great job of driving the boat for the kids, encouraging them, giving them equal time, watching out for their safety as well as sneaking peaks to see the smiles on their faces. All this for hours at a time w/a bad back for 12 grandkids and a couple of us kids too. I guess as a parent you never stop longing to bring joy to your kids or in this case grandkids!

Ah these smiles are all worth it!

Here I am about to attempt for the 5th time in my life to ski. I'm a somewhat atheltic person so not being able to get up skiing has been frustrating. Accomplishing this would be a definite bucket list filler!

SWEET! Waterskiing check!

Did you get the picture, good I'm tuckered out!

Hawkin rocked the Kayak this year. In fact he really showed his age this year by catching his first fish, being able to go kayaking/paddle boating on his own, and staying up night fishing untill almost midnight. He's really growing up and I'm starting to notice the changes.

It's almost impossible not to capture God's glory.

Again special moments happen at the end of the dock!

My younger brother Gabe is a natural w/kids. Here he is loving on Kristian.

My lil' sister Ariel jumped about 100 times w/the boys! They loved every minute of it!

Me at the end of my rope with the boys as David was gone a couple days for work.

A very special ALMOST everyone once in a while happens picture!

ALL my siblings!

CRAZY COUSINS!

Sweet Serenity

Oh and I love this place too!

That was our week in Washington!

Camping 2010 Warm Lake

2010-07-31T14:51:00.001-07:00

The last time we went camping was @ Sagehen in 2008. This is how that quick trip ended. It was beautiful but rough. We only lasted 1 night!

After taking a year off for the wee one to grow we headed up this year to Warm Lake w/ another family from our church. After dusting off our camping 'things' we packed up and headed out...only an hour past schedule! I wish I had a picture of this. Our suburban was PACKED! Plus we had a canoe on top and we were pulling a trailer w/2 50 cc motorcycles on it!

The trip wasn't bad however, I was a bit surprised to find much of the area surrounding Warm Lake had been severely burned. UHG! Part of what I love about camping is the green forest. :( Especially, since there isn't much green in Le Bois. I decided to make the most of it. It really made for a nice area for the kids to explore and we could easily see them!

We were fortunate to have only a few hours of grim weather with the rest being sunny and beautiful! Thank you God since the forcast was 30-40% chance of rain! Whew!

Some of the highlights of our camping were...

Camping w/friends
Camp fires/ smores
Swimming
Rope swing
Exploring
Riding the motorcycles
Finding a bullfrog under our tent...Honey (dog) eating the bullfrog! (not a highlight but a memory for sure)
Fresh morning air
Saying hello to the GIANT moon.

I'm so glad we were able to go at least once this year. I hope next year we can go even more! Wanna come!?

hiding from the rain or hiding their cookies i'm not sure
Fort the kids built
Canoeing
dirt bikes
cutie pie
Frog that Honey ate!
3 point buck Soren spotted!
Smores!
Sand
ROPE SWING WAHOO!

Exploring in their barefeet! Get back here!
I asked for wood they brought back a tree!
watching the dirtbikes
LeAnn & the gang... wishing I had a picture of their family and ours. Next year!

Just thought I would end with this tasty treat! I love this guy!

How do you spend your summer?

2010-07-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

We go to Vacation Bible School.

We chill and watch movies.

We go camping. (this years pics to come)

We have rootbeer floats.

We go to the park.

And now we ride a dirt bike at the park!

We slip N slide.

We have friends over.

We grill.

We go tot he pool.

How do you spend your summer?

This is what 7 looks like!

2010-07-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

Happy 7th Birthday Hawkin! You are honest, loving, sweet, good, and CUTE! I love you!

Hawkin acting scared as he climbs the play structure!

Hawkin being silly when I ask to take his picture

Hawkin...I think I caught his eyes rolling on this one!

His "I'm a dirtbike kid" pose. I thought it was cool how the dirt bike's # was a double 7 and we were giving it to him on his 7th birthday!

Unfortunately this is blurry but it shows his excitement!

Another goofy face when asked to take a picture!

Looks like this will be the year of the goofy faced pictures! Why do kids do that to us?

So this year we had no party, no friends....just us. But it was kind of nice we ALL had fun w/ Hawkin's new present! A child hood dream of David's & Hawkin's come true! A dirt bike!

We had him open 1 present in the morning...his helmet, which led to the dirt bike in the garage. Then we went to Ustick Elementary and let the kids ride all over the big grassy field! It's so great having that so close to our home! We came home had some lunch and let the boys play Wii. Hawkin picked Mario Kart with his $ from Grnpa & Grnma Wood. Then we had dinner @ RR, had a motorcycle cake and rocky road icecream :), and went back to Ustick to ride some more!! It was a great birthday and I'm so glad David talked me into it! :)

I had never planned to have a party every year but when your kid asks for one and you think of how short the bday party years are you kindof just want to do it for them. But this year I had battled a stomach flu and I knew we were spending a lot on his BIG present that I just didn't do it. I think we had enough fun as a family to make up for it!

Now we have to lock the door o the garage b/c we kept finding this kid would sneak in there and be sitting on the dirt bike pretending to drive it!

Again not a great picture but shows the fun we were having!

I have some videos too but blogger isn't cooperating.

I think I'll post this pic again, it's one of my favorites! Did I mention I love this kid!

12 Years

2010-06-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

I have been married to this man for 12 years and I can pretty much tell you all his faults but you will never fully know how he makes me feel!

At first I was just attracted to him, I mean look at those eyes. Yes I find him sexy.

But then he ropes me in with his strong arms and romantic gestures. He makes me feel like a fair maiden whom he loves and would give his life for. He is thoughtful and kind, adventurous and funny, he is loving and cozy.

Just thinking of him brings a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. Knowing all we've been through these past 12 years makes our relationship even more special.

I so look forward to every minute I have with him in the future!

He is my modern day Knight!

A Tether ball and so much more...

2010-06-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Here it is the final product! I've been wanting to make a tether ball for some time now and when Grandpa gave us a tire, things started rolling! :)

PS these pictures are in order from starting from the more recent, I was too lazy to switch them around....and short on time!

We've already had tons of fun w/this thing and all together it cost $45 to make! I think it sells for $85 @ Costco.

Making it was a family affair.

YOU ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON SOME FUN @ AUNTIE AMBER'S!

Kristian LOVED the Trampoline (though I'm still not sure if I can stomach one after David's ankle injury)

Hawkin LOVED the diving board!

Soren loved the freedom of going anywhere in the pool even if he had to wear a pink life jacket!

Even though it was a quick trip, we had one FULL day of just relaxing and kicking back by the pool it was awesome. David did some water therapy and we all just had tons of fun! Then that night Amber after having cooked us a great breakfast made us a phenomenal dinner! She's an awesome chef and a wonderful hostess!

Oh and the reason for the trip! Sean and Lisa's wedding! They were both in the Youth group when David was the director and Lisa babysat for us countless times and was paid too little I'm sure! (we were even more poor then) :)

It was a Fun and Unique wedding! She was so thoughtful and even bought prizes for the kids to play with during the reception! They are a delightful couple!

You would think mom cuts the hair but no not in this family, David's the master cutter! He even cuts his own hair! This is suppose to save us $$$ so I can get mine done professionally!

I picked up a couple of robes and Costco and they are so useful! The boys love having them too.

The boys...we just had to get out of the house, David often felt couped up but couldn't do much about it! We sort of have this tradition on Memorial day to go to a cemetery and remember and reflect on life and loved ones.

Let the pictures do the talking. *ok added a few words

2010-06-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Soren w/ his wonderful Preschool Teacher Miss Susan!

Soren's 5th Birthday Wii

B-day dinner @ Fuddruckers!

Preschool Birthday celebrations

Story time w/ Gimpy...I mean Daddy.

Poor Rufus all bored w/ Daddy being layed up.

Mothers' Day Flowers... I scored 3 sets! 1 from my husband, 1 from a dear friend and the third from my inlaws since they were heading out of town and couldn't keep theirs~

David's 35th Birthday~ Wahoo!

Soren posing on David's Roll A Bout...he loved that thing.

Hawkin's 1st grade performance.

Kristian....loves to dress up in this costume. I'll turn around and the next thing I know he's dressed like a Penguin, a mighty cute one I might add!

Oh looks like these are out of order. But this is obviously David after surgery. What a crazy month this was!

Here's the boys climbing the walls @ G&G's house! They helped so much so I could go to Dr. appt. and surgery etc. w/o trying to occupy these guys!

Tri Maleallar Fracture, forever grateful

2010-05-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

The next few weeks were a blur. I remember David spent a week on the couch waiting for surgery. We had some Dr. appointments, some "please can you fix my cast it's uncomfortable" appointments, and I'm not exactly sure what happened w/the rest of the time.

I remember David slept on the couch. I would fix the pillows for his foot, get him his meds and try to help keep track. Nothing exciting really, I'm just trying to recall.

SO, we did some asking around and decided on Dr. Kristensen as our Orthopedic surgeon. David broke his ankle pretty good. In fact, his words were "some people break their ankle, and then there's you." Meaning you broke it good! A trimellalar fracture they call it.

Then the surgery. YUK, I hate surgery. My good friend Heather came to visit me and brought me a goody bag. G&G watched the kids and I waited. I'm not going to recall all the details here, I just want to say 12 screws and two plates later I'm glad it's over.

The main thing I recall during this time was the band of friends that offered to help us through this time. I am forever grateful for the friends who offered to help and acted on it! Friends brought us meals, another friend organized the meals being brought, many friends offered to mow our lawn, one friend committed to it till David can, friends picked up milk and pigs ears from the store and whatever else we needed, friends watched the boys so we could get some rest, and lent us movies and their laptop for entertainment since David spends most of his time on his back. I can not fully express my gratitude. I am forever grateful and blown away by the kindness and generosity.

THANK YOU! I'm actually still working on the thank you's!

It's been a long 24 hrs.

2010-04-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

So last night (April 21st) as David and I were laying in bed talking I realized it had only been 24 hrs since he had dislocated his ankle and broken his tibia and fibula. Wow, this has been a long 24 hrs!

The day started off a pretty low key Wednesday. David was off work and was bumming about his decision not to by a motorcycle. The weather was indecisive having rained earlier in the day it was finally clearing up. David wasn't really wanting to go to the softball game that evening. For some reason I thought I would bring the dog to this game. So we went.

All went well till the second inning when David was running toward second base. He decided to slide last minute. His foot caught on the dirt and he went down awkwardly. I thought oh no he must of sprained his ankle. Then I wondered why his shoe was hanging off to the side. Within seconds it became clear that his foot was attached to that shoe and then I heard those words. CALL 911. I'm pretty sure I said a swear word or two.

What happens in the stress response is interesting. I attempted to call 911 and my friend Autumm finished the call for me. In my mind I'm trying to decide what to do with the kids, dog, scooters & chair. You would have thought I would run out to see David but I had the DOG! Another lady helped me focus to get the kids, dog, scooters, & chair in the suburban. Finally, I ran out to see David.

He was laying on his back, white faced and cool a cucumber. His first concern was me and the kids, wondering if I was healthy enough to drive them somewhere. In a shaky voice I said I would be fine. He instructed me to get his ID out of the car and we planned to meet @ St. Al's ER.

I left somewhat frantic, needing to find somewhere for the kids and dog and get back to be with my husband. I was driving 79 on the connector at a couple of points...I just wanted to be w/my husband! I couldn't get through to G&G so I called Bonnie & Troy! They were at my house before I was waiting and ready to watch the kids and the dog! What a BLESSING!

I arrived at St. Al's shortly after David and was with him the remainder of the evening. The most eventful part of the ER was when they gave him the Michael Jackson drug to knock him out for SECONDS literally so they could set the ankle back in place. OUCH!

We hit Walgreens for a bunch of heavy drugs, I dropped David off, took Bonnie home, then picked up the drugs. I was home and laying in bed somewhere between 12 and 1AM.

Yes, that was a long 24 hrs!

PS- here are some pictures I found on the internet very similar to David's injury. Warning these pictures are not for the faint of heart, but remind me of the severity of the event.

Patio Progress!

2010-04-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

David has worked in rain, hail, snow, and sun to get this patio built! First he dug some HOLES!
Soren is in this one. Each boy had a turn in a hole.

Nice work! Thanks Greg Bacon for that summer teaching my husband how to build forms and pour concrete!

Now that's sexy! Working in the hail!

TRACK BREAK!

2010-04-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, I've never seen 3 weeks fly by so fast!

We enjoyed some at home time then I made some star shapes w/the boys with special things we would do during the track break. Some cost $ and some were free. This gave them something to look forward to.

Some of the stars said: A playdate, the zoo, Monkey Business, a hike, Camping day, Pirate day, and a bike ride.

For Pirate day they woke up to Cap N Crunch and their dress ups on the table. We did a treasure hunt, read some pirate books, watched Treasure Island, put together a treasure puzzled and decorated a treasure box. Hawkin even drew up his own treasure map! These are about the only pictures I got though.

We recently purchased some new camping gear. We had sold a lot before we moved to Germany and our family has grown! A tent was one of the purchases so we needed to try it out before we go camping and what better day to do that than with Camping Day!

The tent is huge and seriously takes up our ENTIRE living room! What is life w/o a little adversity? It seemed this day was full of it, nothing major just little things here and there that built up and made us both a little frustrated. I'm sure the boys will just remember the fun!

We also had a little fun with the boys on St Patricks Day by turning all the furniture around, switching their coats/shoes/etc. and other mischievious things. Oh and of course Lucky Charms! But again, no pictures! Note to self take more pics!

Oh and who can forget the trip/bike ride to the park when Kristian pooped his pants right after our Pic Nic and so we didn't get to play! Not to mention when he pulled down his pants and underwear at Monkey Business and I didn't notice until a mom said to me "Is that your kid?" Luckily, he hadn't gone yet but it was sure embarassing. Potty training with him has been much more challenging and much more of an adventure!

Finally, we were wisked away by some friends who have the good fortune of having access to a cabin in Sun Valley! It may seem a bit crazy to most to decide on Monday to drive to Sun Valley on Tuesday and come home Wednesday, but I'm so glad we did! We had fun w/all our 5 boys and 1 baby girl. We found a nice hill to go sledding on and only 3 of the 5 boys were injured! Not bad, not bad! Unfortunately, I had my camera and the batteries in two seperate places so I will have to update this w/pics when I get them from Bonnie! Thanks, Darmody's what a "special" trip!

Sometimes I think in bullets

2010-03-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

These are other titles I thought about using. (Some days are better than others or There's not enough of me to go around.) I guess that let's you know how I'm feeling right about now.
I need to get to the store. Not sure when I'll do that.
Have a spring cleaning list a mile long.

I'm not sure how I'm going to fit in a work out tomorrow, sometimes my 4 hr/wk job really gets in the way.
I've got a little tickle in the back of my throat...it better not be sickness!
Um I better stop there's not a whole lot of happy coming out of my fingers right now.

Here's a little happy for ya!

Our family date to Camel's Back park & then we went to Goodies for ice cream! Yum!

My baby is 3!

2010-02-28T22:43:00.000-08:00

My baby turns 3.

Kristian has been different from the beginning. He came out with dark hair while his brothers had invisable hair. He was my first "happy/easy" baby.

He's michevious and get's "into" trouble!

He's sweet as can be...unless he's grumpy!

I mean how could you not love this kid?

He is the most outgoing of the 3, he loves sports balls, he likes to dance, he's the first of the 3 boys to like praying out loud, and he brings lots of smiles to our life. He was totally unplanned and surprised us but I guess God knew we liked surprises!
I love all of our boys and am so thankful for each of them and the uniqueness they bring to our family.

We celebrated this birthday with G&G @ Red Robin! Happy Birthday Kristian I love you!

<

February, February where art thou?

2010-02-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

This month has been so covered in coughs and snot and I can hardly get my bearing straight!

FEB 1-12

Hawkin and the boys were sick. Hawkin had it the worst missing 5 days of school. Finally, I took them to the Dr. (all 3, that was a nightmare) and he said call me if they are not better in a week! Lovely.

We did manage to get outside for some fresh air but didn't want to spread our germs so we went for a hike up to Table Rock...someone said the fresh cold air would help...I'm not so sure it did but we had fun.

Hello down there, can you see our suburban?!

Again, being cooped up can nearly drive me crazy so I snuck in a girls night with Amanda, Andrea, & Bonnie who I invited on the fly! A,A & I ate some delicious salad at Pollo Rey and then Bonnie joined us for the movie. It was a much need break.

I was inspired by some friends to get all crafty for Valentines day so here's how it turned out.
I'm not gonna lie to you the whole craft thing really stresses me out sometimes and it's hard for me to just let it be what it is...

This is Hawkin's first sewing project, he was SO proud of himself. I was proud of him too! The picture below isn't to great but they are just some heart men w/ googly eyes and according legs!

Feb 16th my baby turned 3!!! I'll give you a picture of him but I hope to do a little post about him too.

And finally, the last thing I will share in this post is our toothless 6 yr old! I hope to do a little post about this too but I'll just get this picture out there for now b/c this tooth fairy needs to get some rest! Oh and then David and I got sick as well but David had the worst of it! We actually still on the mend not quite up to par. P.S. We also snuck in a friendship party at the Atalla's and a afternoon at the Vet pumping our favorite black lab's stomach only to find the bouncy ball later that day UNDER the COUCH! Good times, good times!

2010 it just sounds cool!

2010-01-23T22:44:00.001-08:00

Just saying 2010 inspires me to make some goals, strive to accomplish things and make some memories this year!

So while it can be intimidating to write it out on paper (or computer in this case) it is the best way to keep a record and help hold yourself accountable! So I'm just going to brain storm a little list of things I would like to accomplish this year and hopefully at the end of it I can look back and scratch off a few!

1. Establish consistent time w/God
(I've had different season's in life where I'm better at this than others and recently it's been hard)
2. Date my husband more

(actual dates...maybe twice a month, as well as doing little things that make him feel special and loved at least 2 times a month, hopefully more!)
3. Blog more FB less!

(and by Blog more I'm only really hoping for a couple of times a month)
4. Spend less time on the computer

(maybe only on the weekends or something)
5. Finish projects

(boys room, bathroom, rug, knitting)
6. Invest in my kids more, be more intentional

(play, listen, read)
7. Eliminate or reduce the word sorry from my vocabulary

(I over use it...sorry :P)
8. Loose 20lbs and never find it again!!! ;0)
9. Try to have some "girl time" once a month with girl friends and no kiddos!
(Sometimes I just need a break from this house full of boys :)
10. Spend less $

(figure out the whole coupon world)
11. Believe in myself, stop comparing, be confident in who God made me! Eph 2:10 (almost like 2010) We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus. So we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

(that's from memory so there may be some mistakes)
12. Memorize scriptures
13. Write more little encouraging notes.
14. Organize our office...at least a little.
15. Eat fish...salmon at least 2 times a month, at least!
16. Enjoy this season of life.
17. Control my temper
18. Eat more veggies
19. try biking to work
20. I really want to be able to run again this year! It's been almost 3 years that I haven't been able to run, this is the year!

I think that's a pretty good list! I should be able to accomplish some of those things and be better for it! I hope you've taken some time to write down some goals. It's kind of fun!

2009 slide show

2010-01-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

This took me forever to do and it's not exactly how I want it but it's done!
Hey that's one thing off my list of to do's for 2010!

Merry Christmas and a whole lotta NADA!

2009-12-27T20:12:00.000-08:00

That's right since Christmas it seems we've slowed WAY down and not done much of anything but spend time together. The boys have been playing great and we've been enjoying our new PUPPY!

Yes he came as a bit of a surprise to me, but I'm adjusting to the idea quite rapidly. I figure you're never really ready for a puppy you just have to take the plunge!

We weren't sure if we could keep a puppy quiet the first night away from mama so we decided to pick him up Christmas Eve after church. It was a surprise and Hawkin was most curious where we were going! Once we arrived they were quite shy but had to fight back their grins of excitement once they saw the puppies. I carried him home in my lap (a little bonding time).

We threw around names all the way home, such as Buddy, Champ, Cooper, Austin (Hawkin's choice), and Rufus (the name the original owners had given him). David and I liked Buddy a lot but Hawkin stopped for a minute and said "I think we should call him Rufus b/c he's used to that name and he likes it." David and I weren't so sure but the boys kept calling him by that name and pretty soon it just fit. We did however develop a nick name of Rufy or Ruffy?

We are adjusting to life w/a puppy and enjoying the new addition to our family!

The rest of Christmas was lovely as well. The boys also got RC cars (which they love) and G & G came over for brunch! The boys have had lots of fun playing w/ their new items and I'm enjoying their happy play time!

Kristian was cute....every toy he opened he held onto until he couldn't hold on to any more. It was very cute.

I know this sounds terrible but I was handed down some games from a friend so I wrapped those up for Christmas too! The boys don't seem to mind one bit!

OH and here's a few things we were busy doing before Christmas! Kelly's annual Christmas cookie decorating party. I'm so glad we've been welcomed into this 11 year tradition!
The mastermind!

Hawkin just up and made this beard one day!
Then he totally surprised us by making this snowman all on his own! Well we helped a little at the end but we were both taken back when we looked out the window and he was really doing it all by himself! This was a first, hallelujah! Nice work Hawkin!

OK well I've got to get some sleep I have puppy duty!

December 20? Part 2

2009-12-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

Apparently my husband thought I was done and published my post....isn't he sweet!

Well I just have a few more pics to post of what we've been up to this December.

We've made snow angels, visited Santa (for our first time I might add), and drove around looking at lights.

We still plan to look at lights some more, make a gingerbread house, Christmas Sugar Cookie party, Christmas Eve church service & hopefully view the garden a glow...maybe not all before Christmas but definitely before the new year!

Oh and sadly this is the one picture I got of our little Christmas get together w/a few of David's work buddies but it's a keeper...The Snuggie was a hot little item in the gift exchange!

Chances are I won't post anything till I hopefully put together a year in review slideshow...that's always a challenge for me but worth it! SO...Merry Christmas and as you may already know Jesus is the best present of all!

December 20?

2009-12-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

You can see I'm behind since I posted Thanksgiving on Dec. 5! But really it's December 20th already? Blogging has taking a back seat in my world but let me see if I can't recap a few memories this month!

* First we pulled out the Christmas decorations, that's like opening a present right there! It's so fun to see what you have and what you forgot you had!

Every year the boys put the stockings on their feet and walk around saying "Ho Ho Ho". This year they added the tree skirt as a cape and became Super Santa!

Here is our entry way mirror w/last year's little craft wreath.

This is my favorite nativity scene we have. We bought it while in Germany from a Polish mission to help support the women & children living there. It's the one the kids can play with but I'm fretting that more and more since it's sort of irreplaceable and I hope next year to get my hands on one of these for the kids!

Here is this year's craft project inspired by these two ladies. I'm not sure I like how mine turned out completely but there is something so gratifying as as SAHM to see something you accomplished, STAY accomplished!

and....Here's our tree! We had to get new lights this year seems all our lights burnt out this year. Seriously, I tossed 4-5 strands! Anyway, David likes the colored ones so I appeased him.

Next it seems we made gingerbread men. Soren has been asking me for a while if we could make these after seeing a picture in one of my cookbooks. So we not only made gingerbread men we made gingerbread man PIZZA!
To be honest I have to gear up to make these sorts of things and realize it won't go exactly how I plan. All in all I think the boys had fun.

*Next I think we stayed inside for a few days and tried not to freeze when we ventured out!
*Finally, it warmed up enough to snow and we went sledding. If there's one thing I've learned about Boise snow is you have to get out in it right away or you'll miss playing it the white fluffy stuff b/c it all melts away! So we did! Our friends in the neighborhood had the same idea and came cruising by on this which took our sledding adventure from fun to Awesome!

Here's the gracious driver!
Here's the aftermath. Cold kids and hot chocolate.

Giving Thanks!

2009-12-05T08:59:00.001-08:00

I know I'm totally way behind but I just wanted to take a moment and remember this year Thanksgiving and what I am thankful for.

I am so very thankful for God's patience with me, my wonderful husband who makes me feel so very loved, our 3 adventure filled boys, our extended family, and all of our health (all things considered we are mostly healthy...or at least we're alive ;) I am thankful for our jobs, and all the little things that make our life a little bit easier. I am truly grateful for friends and family....and the family that are friends!

We traveled to Wallace this year for a Thanksgiving at the Red Light Garage! My mom and her husband Jamie bought this gas station a few years ago and turned it into a curiosity shop/dinner. The kids had fun playing in the space ship and it was so nice to have everyone together...at least on this side..(my parents are divorced so I sort of have two sets of families).

The trip there wasn't too bad but we stopped in Spokane and stayed the night. It was the 10hr trip home 3 days later that got to us!

Anyway here are some pics to help me remember. I actually took a bunch of pics with my sisters camera and only a few with mine.

Here's my mom...she never lets you take a picture so you have to steal one!

My sister Parrish...isnt' she cute!
SiL Jennifer over from Seattle area and my other sister Lacy came with her 2 kids.
Shannon tending the fire...he's married to my oldest sister Amber who I don't have a picture of on this camera.
Cousins! most of them are older than my kids.

Track Break

2009-11-22T21:45:00.000-08:00

So this is our first year being a part of a year round school and this November was our first track break...I think I like it. It's a nice break 3 weeks to hang out w/friends, take a trip to see family, and just enjoy some time off as a family. I think it's especially nice for us since David's days off are in the middle of the week so it gave us some good family time.

We had a "special theme day" inspired by my friend Kelly.

The first time we had Dinosaur Day and it was a blast. We actually did this one on a 4 day weekend. We woke up to eat dinosaur oatmeal, played with ALL their dinosaurs, colored a dino felt picture, went on a dino hunt for their dino sandwhiches, did those dino-H2O-grow things, and watched Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs @ the $1 theater.

This time it was Race Car Day! Unfortunately, the couple weeks prior the boys had been playing tons with ALL their race car stuff and unbenounced to me David ordered Speed Racer which inspired all this so once Race Car Day came along they were bored with the free stuff we already had and were constantly asking for the next prize....which drove me a little crazy! None the less I think they had fun and here's what we did.

We ate O's (race car tires) and I picked up afew things at the $1 store...like these giant pencils with race cars on them. And they drew race cars and tracks.

Then I had them go play with their millions of cars....

Then they played on David's ol' Dukes of Hazard board game, that's right Dukes of Hazard! Remember that show...it's Rosco Pico train!

I gave them a few $1 things throughout the day...like this sun catcher craft. Which btw I don't recommend buying @ the $1 store the paint was all dried up!
I also gave them a Cars themed jump rope since we don't own one and they practiced jumping rope...this idea was inspired by Amanda!
Then we watched HERBIE! and had a race eating our popcorn balls!

Finally Daddy took them to the indoor kart races to race RC cars... but they didn't have them anymore! So they just watched the big boys race!

They also had a Day at the Discovery Center! We had a free pass and had never been before and boy was it fun!

I would say it's been a pretty great first track break!

From Fall to Winter in the blink of an eye!

2009-11-14T21:50:00.001-08:00

From beautiful fall leaves to bundling up, playing in the snow, and drinking hot cocoa!

Thank you Veterans

2009-11-11T06:46:00.000-08:00

Take time to say thank you to all the veterans you may know!

Watch this

My FIL, Father, brother, uncles, many friends, and husband have all served in the military. Beacause of our time working with the military we have many friends who sacrificially serve as well, to all of you THANK YOU & WE LOVE YOU!

I can't get these videos posted on here so just click and go to the link, sorry!

Oh and here's our Halloween pics!

2009-11-02T14:24:00.001-08:00

Our boys were storm troopers this year No scratch that Clone troopers! They loved it

The Sky was awesome! We stopped and Grandma and Grandpas and Kristian decided to stay...so we let him. He loves those guys.

Here we are trying to carve pumpkins....does anyone else wonder why we do this..it's gross and not really a kid friendly activity here take a sharp knife and cut in this pumpkin?

So we got them all prepped and the great pumpkin carver came while the boys were asleep!

Boys Playing!

2009-11-02T13:41:00.000-08:00

Here's a few pictures of our boys playing! We built some lincoln log structures and then the boys kept bringing cars to "the party" they said...I hope this isn't foreshadowing!

We took the boys to Wahooz for the first time the other day...some time in October to ride go karts! We were actually going to go for a hike but I think they were all hiked out b/c they kept whining so we surprised them with this....I think we may go again for track break...maybe RACECAR day!!! Yes I shamelessly copy my friend Kelly who has theme days for her kids (she's full of great ideas). I've only actually done it once but it's a blast for everyone!
Poor Kristian had to ride w/ Spiderman

Hawkin was soooo serious, really focused on the task at hand.
Here he is receiving instructions

Here he is running to tell us all about it.

And here he is trying to keep from smiling...can you tell he had fun?

Soren got to go on the bigger track with Daddy which was fun but he can't wait to drive his own!
Here are the boys playing with their backugons' from McDonalds! They loved it...until one broke :( Go figure!
And that's what we did in October!

SERENA!

2009-10-27T07:42:00.000-07:00

Serena! Looks like you've won you and your family a day at the West YMCA! We can go together and play or you can pick a day that works for your family and I'll get you signed in!

I recommend swimming or reserving a raquet ball court and just going wild w/ balls, or you can even rock climb!

A Give Away!

2009-10-17T07:13:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's post #200 (well I think there may be some drafts in there) and it's time for a Give away!

Last year I gave away a year subscription to a magazine...this year I've been racking my brain to figure out what and for some reason this idea keeps coming to my mind.

A fun family day at the YMCA!

I love the Y and this month marks my second year there as a swim instructor. Each year I get 6 guest passes and have just 1 left till Jan. On one hand I thought....that's cheesey Summer it doesn't cost me anything. On the other hand we have tons of fun as a family at the Y and I think it would be great fun to share the love!

Obviously this is a local give away since I won't be flying anyone in and I have to be there to sign you in...however, if you're not local and want enter...and you win, I'll find something to bless you with ;0)

So to enter all you have to do is tell me what sort of ACTIVE things you like to do as a family. Each ACTIVE entry will count as one entry....so the more active you are the more entries you'll have. All entries will go in a hat and my kids will pick the winner. That's it, easy prize, easy entry!

The winner can spend the day with us at the Y or I can simply sign you in and let your family go for it! (in case schedules don't match up).

Here are some of the things we've enjoyed as a family both at the Y and in the great outdoors!

Rockclimbing, Raquetball (or ball madness inside a raquetball cort), basketball, swimming, laps around the track, hiking, and biking the green belt. (for example this would count as 7 entries)

Truly the Y has been a great place for us, I work 4-5 hours a week and pay only $21/mnth for a family membership which includes 2hrs a day of childcare (so if I'm not working I can workout). We have so much fun as a family there, I hope you will too!

The Farmstead!

2009-10-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

So tuesday night we went to The Farmstead courtesy of David's work, which was nice b/c with snacks, cocoa and all it would have cost us about $50! We had a great time and stayed out WAY later than we planned! When we started it was a warm & sunny Autumn afternoon.

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I think this was our boys' first encounter w/cotton candy!
We ended all bundled up cheering on the pigs racing. This is Kristian saying Go piggy's go!

A pinch to grow an inch! edited

2009-09-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

*Um if you read this post please realize that....when measuring your children make sure the same person or the same routine takes place each time* ;0) Sheepishly, I admit that David measured the boys the first time and then I measured them the second time and while the kids have grown in the past month it is not as much as what we once thought ;) ;)

We finally found the SPOT in which to mark the boys height. So we started in Aug. and thought lets measure them again to see if they've grown any in the last month....

...the answer is, YES they have! We were surprised to see that each of our boys have grown an inch in the past month! YIKES! Time to go shopping!

Here's a little video from our most recent Hidden Springs hike...really they are just nature/explorer walks in hopes that someday our kids will like hiking and we will struggle to keep up with them! But for now we stop, we look, we listen, and we play w/grasshoppers!

Just some pics b/c they make me happy!

2009-09-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Soren's first day of 4 year old Preschool! Ms. Susan is fantastic!

Here the boys are w/their tiedye shirts and swirl push pops after Art in the Park!

This was too funny, our boys one by one decided to spike their hair Hawkin first, then Soren, and finally Kristian! too cute!

Goodnight! what a goofball! love that kid.

Some videos...just for fun.

Oh and if you think of it, please pray for me I'm struggling trying to adjust to this new schedule. I feel whimpy saying that but...ya it's just been hard. thanks!

*just to clarify the adjustment is to David working swings*

I run therefor...

2009-09-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

I am in pain!

You may or may not remember but over a year and a half ago, I developed some foot/heal pain
which enabled me to run. I mean I can take the pain of running but this was much more than that and continued long after my run, which caused me to limp around.

I met w/a specialist who tried some conventional methods of healing and really just told me to stop running or get surgery and I AM NOT A FAN of surgery, so I stopped running and guess what it eventually went almost completely away!

But this summer I've been day dreaming about running again. I see people out there in the early AM to beat the sun, or the mid day just sweating there butts off and think man I wish I could do that!

Finally, I just gave in. I told myself it's mind over matter and I CAN RUN! SO, I tried it...

Day 1 ....OK

Day 2....not so good

Day 3..... lots of pain! Which stays with me everyday.

I know, I know I'm doing it to myself but biking doesn't feel the same as running, swimming doesn't feel the same as running, nothing gives me quite the endorphin satisfaction that running gives me.

So the question is do I stop and just surrender this love for running that has somewhat taken me by surprise? I mean I never really knew I loved it so much, perhaps it's b/c I can't that makes me love it more now. Perhaps, I'm just greaving the loss of a once fun and healthy activity. Regardless, I am grateful for the health I do have. You see I have dear people in my life who live daily with pain and have had to sacrifice far more of their active lifestyle than I have, so I will continue to do what I can and enjoy what I can do.

And maybe every once in a while I'll go for a run.

Do you run, walk, swim, laugh?

It's a Great Day for flying a Kite~

2009-09-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

Way to go Boise nice perks!

2009-09-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

I must say, David's job does have it's perks!

There's really much more to the job than I had ever appreciated but today I would like to celebrate the perks! I can't tell you how many times some one has bought my husband's meal or coffee in the last two years. Through David's work we have gone to Roaring Springs twice, a carnival hosted at ZOO Boise, and the Farmstead Corn Maize & pumpkin patch twice....all this for free! Today the Olive Garden catered their lunch...just to say thanks. Last year The Human Bean donated free drinks. I mean seriously I'm impressed!

*P.S. I didn't mean to sound boastful I am truly grateful and inspired to recognize hard work when I see it and pay it forward a little more frequently when I can!

The FAIR!

2009-08-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be honest here...and tell you the truth. I don't like the Fair. It's hot, the smell of greasey food, the crazy rides, and some of the meth heads who opporate them, people everywhere...bleh.

However, the smile on Hawkin's face as he walked right up to a "big kid" ride made me forget all that I dislike about the fair. I enjoyed watching our boys as they experienced the thrill of rides, eating a fair corndog, and checking out all the animals!

I suppose I can enjoy it once a year!

I probably shouldn't have.... but I did.

2009-08-23T23:24:00.000-07:00

So I woke @ 6AM to my husband calling to make sure all was well (he heard a sound as he left the house). I probably shouldn't have stayed up after that but I did.

I probably shouldn't have got on the internet after that but I did.

So I made a to-do list and started with one of the items at the bottom of the list.

I organized the closet in the Airplane room, spray painted one of the tables, cleaned the back patio, and touched up the walls around the house.

Which made me late, no absent from church so I probably shouldn't have gotten on that roll but I did. Then David came home & lunch came around and my fung shway got messed up. SO i paused to feed the people!

Then it was back to work, I put Kristian to bed and set the boys up with a doable craft. Of course I did the dishes, some laundry, & started working on dinner. As is turns out the craft wasn't all that doable for Soren so I offered to play a game with him. I thought tic-tac-toe, he thought chess!

Alright, I'm game! As it turns out he knows a little bit about chess from his dad I guess. It was kind of fun just letting the pieces pick up and kill whoever you wanted!

BUT, I had to tend to dinner so Hawkin joined him. I enjoyed overhearing the boys pretend to play board games and come up with the rules. I probably shouldn't have started dinner so early but I did. The boys were soon getting restless and so we had a delightful meal in which we made everyone take one bite...and eventually they ate all their chicken. Then we enjoyed some yummy cookies from our neighbor! YUM, YUM! I love neighbors that bring you goodies. If you haven't brought your neighbor any goodies lately I suggest you do, they'll love you for it.

Oh so we did sneak in a little homework and then Daddy and I attempted to talk... it went alright. It's funny b/c we're both tired and forgetful and....sometimes our conversations are just well you would have to be there to appreciate them.

Anyway, I was telling David we need to get these boys out to a park or something when the phone rang! It was some friends of ours inviting us to the park, imagine that! So we went.

We probably shouldn't have let them play in the sand but we did.

After an enjoyable time at the park getting some energy out we came home for some baths! I enjoyed hearing Hawkin read his short story and was grateful to see him proud of himself too. Usually, he's not in the mood to work on it and easily frustrated. (which makes me frustrated)

We put them to bed and then I finished up the dishes, enjoyed some time with my husband and then....I got up!

I made lunches, cookies, bannana bread, cleaned up, & swept & mopped the floor!

I probably shouldn't have blogged all about this till the wee hours of the mornin' but I DID!

I haven't been bloggin much lately

2009-08-23T06:04:00.000-07:00

FB has sucked me in! I'm trying to pull myself away and set some limits b/c truly it's not good. Plus I've been sick so mindless reading of other people's thoughts is easy!

I really do have much to blog about. A girls' weekend with my college roomies, a family reunion, a trip to Roaring Springs...but believe it or not I forgot my camera for each of these events :(

So I leave you with this b/c it's so darn cute! I knew he was talking about the yellow pillow I just wanted to hear him say it again!

Oh and I forgot to share these pics with you! The mud bath! David did this of course while I was away at my girls weekend! As you can see Hawkin thuroughl enjoyed it while the other two watched from the sidelines! Which is funny b/c Hawkin is the cleanest of them all (in general)

We get our sod on tuesday! I can't wait to have a back yard to send the boys to, even if we have no toys back there! I'll give them a ball or something!

Entering a new phase in life

2009-08-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

We are entering a new phase or season in life. One in which my oldest son, my first born, the one in which I spent the last 6 years with day in and day out is off to school & away from me for 7 hours 5 days a week!

Now, I used to think wahoo 7 hours a day that's going to be awesome! I can't wait! But now that it's here... it's 7 hours of did he go to class when the bell rang, is he listening to his teacher, being kind to others, are others being kind to him, did he find the bathroom ok, is he lolly gagging on the way back from the bathroom, does he have someone to sit with @ lunch or play with @ recess and boy do I miss his cute little chubby cheek smile.

I have to say that first day, I ran around the house a bazillion times looking busy yet not getting much done at all! Then finally, it was time to go pick him up! Yes! 3:30 we were gone, ready, there, early even! I was so excited to greet him and ask how his day was...and he in his shy little way was excited I was there, I think. But ya know what his first words were? Nope not hi mom I love you & missed you all day, oh no! It was "can I go play @ "Jimmy's" house?" I think not! He was somewhat bothered that I asked how his day was, even to the point of saying why do you always ask how my day is? B/C I love you and care about you and spent many a day with you the past 6 years and would like to know how your day went w/o ME!

I glanced down and saw his forget me not bracelet was still on, that's a good sign. But I could tell he was just wanting some down time, some alone time, some "nothing's required of me" time. Boy is he just like his father! ;0) He even asked for some alone time and when I asked why he said "b/c his class was too noise".

Prayer, that is what I have decided to do, not that I haven't done it before but sometimes you put more faith in it than other times. SO, I am going to pray and trust that God will help walk him through those 7 hours a day that I am not there and that He will continue to walk us through this most challenging experience in life called "Parenting".

And while I have 1 school aged kid who needs lunches, has homework, and all that goes on with that there are still 2 precious little rascals at home. Which leaves me in this new phase in life, this middle ground. My babies are no longer all at home yet they are not all in school so it's this middle ground where I am starting to realize they really DON'T stay little forever!

What have we been up to?

2009-07-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Lets see,

We've been to the pool plenty but one day we wen to Roby Creek w/some friends!

NEXT, we played lots of Starwars Clonewars with some friends and enjoyed hosting a REAL live F15 Fighter Pilot and his family! I think David and I were more excited than the boys! David was stationed w/ West in England and they volunteered w/Club Beyond together. We enjoyed the privlege to visit and catch up!

FINALLY, we've been moving DIRT, ROCKS, & MORE ROCKS in an attempt to finish up our back yard! It's been a hot time of year to do it but when you're ready you're ready and we are READY for a back yard! Little by little and step by step we will get it done!

Next post I'll show you what it looked like when David turned on the sprinklers and let the boys play in the back yard! I was gone of course!

The Library! Uhg.

2009-07-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago I decided to give the Library another try...

You see, I've tried the library numerous times before and find it quite challenging.

First I tried taking the oldest two when they were little for the preschool reading times.

But with a toddler and an infant you could guess what happens.

Yes, the baby cries while the toddler runs around excitedly, stopping to play on the computer only until that doesn't work, all the while I'm sweating bullets grabbing books not even looking at the titles thinking, I can't wait in line to check this out. I drop the books gather the toddler, passify the baby and get the heck out of there!!!

That was my initial visit anyway, they really have not gotten much better. So the other day I thought, I should really be taking my kids to the library. We walked in the doors aquainted ourselves with the Library and of course the boys had to play the computer, which stresses me out trying to help 3 boys play on different computers, but I did it. I had the same problem trying to keep track of the boys while trying to find books, it just wasn't happening. We grabbed some books, movies, books on CD and began to check out. When all was said and done it was so nice that there was no bill for checking out all those items, just a refreshing change ya know.

That brings us to today, which was a bit different. Today when we went to bring back 2 movies I overlooked when making our returns earlier I was surprised I owed $21 to the library in fees!!!!!! What! I can buy a movie for that price! That's it! I said in my head we are not coming here again! (Not to mention it's been a rough day with the kiddos anyway). But, I say to myself just return them on time next time. So we check out some books and 1 movie (b/c it's hot out).

I'm not sure why everyone thinks it's such a great place it's given me nothing but trouble!

I would rather go to Barnes & Noble read the kids some stories there, play the trainset, buy a book once in a while and call that the LIBRARY!

Oh yea, and on the way home I gave the boys some gum, you know the chic lit kind and they passed the container to each other. All the while I'm getting us out of the parking lot, etc. Well wouldn't you know it a few blocks down the road I realize someone's still getting into that gum...... KRISTIAN!!!!!!!!!! His cheeks were soooo full of chic lits, if I had a camera w/me :)

At least it made me smile!

Happy Birthday! Hawkin

2009-07-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

First things first he got to open his presents! He's still way into Starwars so it was a lightsaber (now we have 3, so each boy can defend himself) and a couple different SW lego sets.
Then it was off to watch the F15's take off! Those things are awesome! We hosted one of David's friends from his AF days who was in town flying some of those overhead... to have a fighter pilot in your midst is just coooooool! the jets take off around 10 & 2 if you want to check em out!

OH and you can tell we stopped @ Krispy Kreme on the way there for a birthday donut!

That evening we had a cool party...I mean pool party and the weather was a little coool! But I think all 11 boys and 1 girl had a good time!

Oh and for his 6th birthday Hawkin got to learn to shoot his first BB gun! He and daddy had an absolute blast shooting cans!

It's hard to believe it's been 6 years. I'm finally starting to realize how fast it goes. Hawkin can make his bed, get his own drinks, use the bathroom by himself, help out with chores... He's really growing up! Next month he will go to school ALL day! YIKES!

We're back!

2009-06-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

We're back from what has now been our longest vacation ever, 20 days! We had a great time and saw family and friends. It's also GREAT to be HOME! Where did we go you ask? WA, AK & Canada! I'm going to give a little recap just for keepsake but if you want to read along well that's fine too!

Let's see, it all started the night before our trip....

...we were packing in our new and oh so cool luggage! We bought Hawkin and Soren their first suitcase; Hawkins' has an airplane and Soren's has a motorcylce. It was nice b/c they could pull their own which gave us one less thing to do! We also, bought them all new sheets H,S, & K (Starwars, Spiderman, & Lighting McQueen) in hopes they would want to go to sleep that night. It worked like a charm (plus they needed new sheets I had only one set for each of them and Hawkin's was ripped in the move.

Departure Day
We wake the boys up early in the morn' and load them up in the Suburban. Soren so sweetly say's "Mom, I'm not afraid of the dark". Our early out of bed trick didn't really work since they were all so excited about the trip but fortunately I had a bag of prizes for along the way which came in handy when our left rear tire blew just near the La Grande exit! 2 hours, some silly putty, and 4 new tires later we were on our way again!
The Lord must have been looking out for us b/c we were right behind a 10 car accident upon entrance to Spokane. I mean RIGHT BEHIND! David pulled over to hold the ladies head in a stabalized position. Again, perfect time to pull out a prize and explain a little bit about accidents.
On our way up to my dad's we stopped at the Hollingsworth's and the Main's for some good conversation and the boys enjoyed playing, especially the 4 Wheeler! All in all I think our total time from point A to point B was about 14+ hours including all the stops!

Ariel's Graduation

Our first destination was Chewelah to celebrate my baby sister's graduation from High school!

She is an amazing young woman, straight A student, athletic, a graceful dancer, Miss Chewelah, and very pretty (just like me of course ;0) I am very proud of her to say the least and loved getting to spend some time w/ family!

Leavenworth

On our way to Vancouver we decided to break the trip up with a stop @ Leavenworth. A small town replacated to look like a Bavarian village. We have spent many a trips camping along Icicle Creek and since we lived in Bavaria for 2 years we wanted to go back and remenice. We put some leaderhosen on our German born babe and took a few pictures. That night we tried to eat at a nice German restuarant but decided to leave when it was obvious we were going to ruin everyone else's dinner. The waitress even suggested Mcdonald's! We got pizza instead.

The Cruise

We met up with the rest of the family kind of surprisingly in Monroe, WA. We were driving through and gave them a call and we happen to be in the same town at the same time so we all ate at BK and caravaned from there. The cousins went wild! I'm pretty sure the first thing JJ said to our boys was "Let's play ARMY!" and play army they did for an entire week!

I'll keep the rest of this short and sweet and try to share some glimpses of the beauty we enjoyed while in AK.

ON Second thought there are so many pictures I'll try to make a slide show and post that in a few days or so hopefully.

We stopped at Juneau, Skagway, & Ketchikan. We spent one day in Glacier Bay. Alaska it gorgeous and RAINY! Skagway was probably my favorite stop b/c it was fairly sunny that day and David gave me an hour that morning to tour the town myself w/out any kiddos to keep track of! We also road the White Pass train up to the Canadian Border and enjoyed over 100 waterfalls and other awesome views! We also panned for Gold in Liarsville, which David was quite good at!

We saw totem poles, Mtns, glaciers, sea lions, dolphins, bald eagles, & whales. One morning I got up early to catch a glimpse of the whales. The Cpt. had said they would be on the port side and they were, it was like fire works on the fourth of July watching these humpbacks blow there spout and then their tales as they dove down to the depths! Each sighting took my breath away.

The Return

On the way home we made 3 stops Lynden, Seattle (area), & CDA. We first stopped in Lynden just a quick 20 minutes from the Canadian border to visit w/ my good friend Joy. The drive that day was so quick & Joy was working we decided to go see UP with the boys @ the movie theatre. We discovered there's a reason why 2 year olds are free! We had a nice time visiting while the boys played the WII.

Next we made it 2 1/2 more hours to Kent where my brother and his wife live. We enjoyed some time there just hanging out with family and again the boys played the WII! We also went to IKEA, the Rainforest Cafe' and failed at an attempt to go to the zoo! (they were wipped out from the first two events, so we went home for naps).

The final stop was CDA where we spent 3 nights with the Martin's who blessed us with good food and great hospitality! We hiked Tubs Hill on father's day, watched a bit of the CDA Ironman, and watched Jaunel practically salivate as she invisioned herself competing in this very same event! (she's an inspiration!) The boys played effortlessly (on my part) with Pyper & Squish.

We spent a day in Wallace with my Mom & Jamie then returned for a BBQ with friends from the area! I think there were 15 kids and 11 adults all running amuck! Good times, good times!

There were still many friends we did not get to see :( hopefully on the next go around.

After much diliberation on whether or not we should leave @ 9pm and drive all night or the next morning we left CDA @ 9:30 AM and drove an easy breazy 7 hours w/ only 1 stop this time straight home. Kristian slept from Grangeville to Eagle, which was a miracle if you ask me and one of the main reasons the trip was so swift! Thank you Lord for the the speed and saftey of that trip!

After 20 days of no real schedule it's nice to be home and trying to reestablish our routine!

Just some pictures

2009-05-29T14:25:00.001-07:00

Happy, last day of MAY!

THIS week we'll be finishing up Tball, the last few days of kindergarden, swim lessons, and packing for our trip to WA and AK! Hope it's smooth sailing! I'll see you all in a while. Until then here's a few pics just because.

May 29th A LOT to Post about!

2009-05-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

First let me say I got a bit of a sinus cold while I was recovering from strep throat and whew what a SLOW recovery it has been!

I took the boys to the Park for Memorial day. We did the splash pad, played in the park, took a nature walk, and had a picnic lunch! All w/o Daddy (I impress only myself)

OK, let's see what else have we been up to... Oh yes, Soren turned 4! So my kids went from 2, 3, & 5 to 2, 4, & 5 and eventually for about 6 months will be 2, 4, & 6. Not sure why I'm sharing that? Anyway, we had a nice family birthday for Soren with G&G. We decided "party" bdays would start on the 5th bday and not sure if they will happen every year after that for a while or not. He choose hotdogs and chocolate cake, I haven't raised the healthiest of eaters!

Soren is a pretty great kid. I think his smile is his best feature but it's hard to catch a "normal" one! He's a real goof ball, shy, sensitive, yet playful and intelligent (he knows how to work a situation to his advantage). He makes me smile and challenges me a 100 times a day! Soren thrives off of quality time and touch like his Dad. I love this kid!

We played on the slip N slide (after being denied by the Pool which was closed for repairs grhh!)

And finally my oldest graduated Kindergarden! Which is kind of a big deal! I had no problem sending him half day somewhere but ALL DAY, that's going to be tough! I'll just enjoy the time we have this summer and deal with the all day thing when we have to!

Well I think that brings you up to speed! Have a great day enjoy the sun!

May 24 Memorial Sunday

2009-05-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today started out with church, I chose to go to Calvary Chapel halfway hoping I would see this girl there but should have known on a Holiday wknd I would not. Though she wasn't there I stayed ; ) and church quite frankly is a whole other blog post.

We came home to find my husband not a work but home SICK. Poor guy, he was so sick that even though they were low manned today his coworkers said GO HOME! He thinks he's going to go to work tomorrow to cash in on the DOUBLE time and half pay but I don't think he'll make it. I'm thankful I'm well enough to care for him and the boys!

While I'm much much better my ears are kind of plugged and my throat is still aware of the recent pain it went through.

So after naps we went on what has become a tradition in our family The Memorial Sunday Drive. We drove the boys through Veterans cemetery and talked about the soldiers who fought & died for our freedom and visit Officer Mark Stal's head stone (the only officer of BPD to die in the line of duty). We also talked about the different branches of service to the country.

I know it may seem like a weird for us to take our kids their even though we don't really visit a grave site of a loved one but it really is quite normal and the kids are very interested. I love how the cemetery is lined with flags and the view up their is lovely.

You want to know what was weird though? We were walking along in an area where no one was around and all the sudden I hear this tune playing, I'm looking around for someone, something and find hidden in the grass some one's cell phone! I answer, through David's prompting and sure enough it's the person who has lost it is calling it! What's even more weird is that she asked me to leave it on a head stone and she would drive back in from Nampa and get it! OK, whatever.

After our lovely drive we rented a movie, ate some dinner, and I tucked all my boys in bed and made some banana muffins for the mornin'!

Happy Memorial Day! May you take the time to reflect and appreciate.

I'm Up and Running!

2009-05-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

Well not running exactly but I did get a shower!

Since I haven't done much the past few days I haven't much to blog about.

How about 5 on Friday, started by my friend Kelly.

David did great w/o me! He even bought flowers for Soren's preschool teacher on the last day of school w/o any prompting from me! Thanks couldn't have made it without you!
Soren finished Preschool! He has the best teacher I'm so glad all my boys will get to go there, even if Hawkin only went for 6 months.
Hawkin got in at Pioneer Elementary!!! Yahoo! we are so excited. It is a modified year round school of the arts. He has always been interested in music so we are excited that it's part of the curiculum to practice keyboard 2x a week! PTL!
I still haven't unpacked all the boxes in the house, I've got to get on that. Which is why there are no pictures with my blogs b/c I haven't found the connector thingy.
I am working on obedience in my life and with the boys! Finding out I should have started long ago. But I'm gonna keep on working at it. Yes Mom (with a happy heart)! ;0)

I know it's "everybody's Memorial Day" weekend that doesn't really affect us other than overtime pay on Monday! So to all you out there who are on a normal schedule Happy Memorial Day!

I'm Sick!

2009-05-20T14:20:00.001-07:00

Just thought I would let the whole world know that I am sick!

Came down with it last night, fever/chills (their the worst), sore throat, head ache!

David has been so kind to keep things running, please pray along with me for

a speedy recovery, I did visit the Dr. and get some medicine.

Hope your day is healthy

May 17 Camera Strap

2009-05-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, I forgot about these great little creations to personalize your camera!

My friend A.T. is busy, busy, busy creating, check out her stuff, it just might make you happy!

May 16 Have you ever been sooooo excited...

2009-05-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

...about something you can't hardly stop thinking about it?

I have. (once in particular). I remember the night before I was going to pick up a horse someone let us barrow for the summer. Dolly was her name, she was a beautiful bay (brown w/black maine). I showed horses in the summer and played in Western games. I always wanted to be a rodeo queen a race a horse around an arena just as fast as we could go waving as we went by the spectators. ANYWAY, the night before we picked her up I couldn't sleep I was so stinking excited more than I've ever been for Christmas or anything.

Well David is applying for the motors unit for BPD and is SOOOOOO excited that he can't seem to concentrate! He was backing out of the garage and whoops, accidentally nicked the passenger side mirror! Well it's actually ruined! But how could I be mad...he's just a little kid day dreaming about riding around on a motorcycle doing the job he loves, right?

Have you ever been so excited about something you can't concentrate?

May 15 A pretty great day!

2009-05-15T22:28:00.000-07:00

Today turned out to be a pretty great day!

It started out with a trip to the zoo with A & E. Which was special by itself but also H got to skip school to go, though I'm not really sure he has any real sense of comitment to school and therefor has no idea how really special it is.
Then we came home for some naps and I was able to spend some time reading and praying which was quite nice!
After that I made dinner while the boys played in our back dirt.
I made a few enjoyable phone calls.
A lovely game of Tball on a lovely 68 degree night
Finally, a surprise evening out with some girlfriends! (my other ones, I like to keep you all seperate)
Now I'm all tuckered out and ready for bed, got lessons in the AM!

may 14/Not tonight!

2009-05-14T20:39:00.001-07:00

I can't do it,

not tonight,

just don't feel like it!

may 12/Ten on Tuesday details on the mishap

2009-05-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

I've never done this before and I'm not sure if there are rules but I'm going to play by my own rules!
Here's 10 things that I just want to make a mental note that have happened over the past weekend or so.

An embarrassing mishap with the packaging of the cookies for the officers. (OK, there were about 5 of us ladies figuring out how to package cookies for about 300 officers! So one gal (A) to remain unamed was in charge of buying the cookies. We thought 2 ea. So she bought 13 boxes of oatmeal raisin and 13 chocolate chip from Costco. She arrived at my house baffled she came under budget and then thought maybe we only have enough for 1 cookie in each bag. So WE ALL were there when doing the math and WE ALL saw the cookies sitting on my counter but for some reason we only multiplied 13 boxes by 24 cookies in each box! So we worked and worked putting one cookie in ea. bag and we still were not finished after 3 hours! We had to call it quits so (A) looked at the 13 boxes of cookies left and said we're only half way done!! (none of us realizing we thought we only had 13 boxes to begin with). We then thought we were short on cards b/c we ran out so we called the gal in charge of the cards and said hey you only printed us half the amount we need! She swore she printed all 300 cards! It wasn't until that night did (A) figure out we were nearly done we just needed to add one cookie to each bag!!!!! So she stayed up way too late I'm sure, fixing what 5 ladies had spent 3 hours doing! And one of the gals admitted to being a math major!
Mother's day- painting the BLUE Airplane room and trying oh so hard to have a completely happy day from start to finish with the boys. Oh and I did let the boys help me which was as hard as you might think! (not Kristian though)
A visit to the Farmer's Market ending in me locking my keys in my car... I don't like when I do that, loved seeing the booth though.
Soren's almost bday at preschool.
Atalla's for dinner on a whim!
David's excitement for an upcoming Specialty assignment.
Coffee, Krispy Kreme, & Cracklin Oat bran for David's bday breakfast!
Productive day reorganizing and cleaning up the play room.
Movie w/ hubby
Workout @ 5:30am (always feel great after, not so much when the alarm goes off) ;0)

I know it's not exciting and it may not make sense to you but it's a little record of my weekend. Which is really just beginning since David's off!

May 12th Happy Birthday to...

2009-05-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

this guy!

He is the love of my life, my night in shining armor, my friend, and plug your ears A.F. my lover!
I do love him dearly, he makes me laugh and cry, he challenges me and makes me feel special!
I am more smitten today than when I met him 14 yrs ago!
I love you babe!

May 10th Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T05:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, it 6am on Mother's Day and I'm blogging! For some reasons the boys woke up early and David works today so... I've attempted to put them back to sleep, hopefully it works! I guess Mother's Day doesn't mean you get to take the day off. It just recognizes you for all the early AM's and late nights, the rocking to comfort and magic mending kisses , the watch this and solving of the fights, the perpetual sweeping, feeding, tidying, laundry, etc.

I must say Motherhood has not been an easy transition for me and I struggle daily with wanting to become a better more loving, patient, creative, and all around great mom. I know I often post many a challenging day I had with the boys but today I want to remind myself and any other mothers how Priceless this job is!

I love my boys! I love when the are telling me a story about something they did or saw and the are really into it. I love when we turn on the music and dance around (they are super funny dancers). I love when they play and imagine together so well. I love when they eat a good meal. I love watching them scooter or bike up and down the street. I love when they share and take the time to help each other out. I love when they hear a jet plane passing rush outside to see it. I love their sheepish grin when they are caught doing something they weren't supposed too. I love watching them grow, learn, and explore their way through this life and I am thankful for this privilege to be a Mother.

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mom's out there! You are an inspiration to me!

May 7 How bout every other day in May!

2009-05-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

Some days just fly by. I'm not sure how this happened but we hit WARP speed when May came along and I'm sure June will be no different!

So we used to do Hi's and Lo's when we worked with the youth at our church so today that's what I'm going to post.

My Lo...I lost my cool with the boys. We were coming back home from a family walk, when Hawkin (on foot) taunted Soren (on bike) to stop. Hawkin then proceed to race to the finish (home). Soren was so upset (he doesn't like to race) he got off his bike and chased him to the front yard to tackle him and attempt to bite him. I was tired and tired of this scenario...

I sent them to their room and they proceeded to whine and not really go, which only frustrated me all the more. Anyway, in the end we were laughing but it was a little ugly in the middle.

NOW for my HI! David and I went out to lunch today courtesy of G&G and Andrea T. You see A.T. informed me of the Mom's eat free promotion @ Carino's and G&G watch the boys all afternoon! They even picked up Hawkin from school so we could run around after lunch and get a few things done. David was nice enough to look around at Cloverdale Nursery and let me pick out some Geraniums (my favorite)! Which I hope to post some fotos in my next post! Until then here's a glimpse.

Well tell me, what's been your most recent HI & LO?

I taste paint...

2009-05-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

...is that bad?

So David was called away for some overtime tonight and I found myself with a little time on my hands! If only I had all the supplies I need I could have accomplished so much more.

I did however manage to spray paint a chair we have near our entryway but, I did not wear a mask and should have b/c now I'm tasting paint and it's awful...I hope I won't die at least not tonight!

I didn't blog yesterday, oops but there wasn't much too blog about other than it was a rough day with the kiddos. The funny thing is I got out of the house to run some errands and when I came back David said the boys were great for him. They played play dough for the entire 2 hours!!! Which is great but the craft room isn't really set up yet so the yukky rug isn't put down and of course the boys left a decent PLAY DOUGH mess!

Today went much better, I prayed (imagine that) and just started to focus on all the things I love about my boys rather than all the whining and crying and PTL today was much better.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo here's 5 things that have been going on the past few weeks that I didn't get a chance to blog about:

We moved
One of the many Kelly's in my life blessed me by watching the boys so David and I could move things, then when we returned she sent us home with dinner. THEN, she rallied a crew of really great women to help me clean the old house. Now, if that doesn't make you cry I don't know what does...especially with all the emotions and sleeplessness when moving.
3 days after Ray from Sears installed our fridge our hallway was wet, hmm??? Oops, Ray you forgot to make sure the connection was secure! Fortunately, our home is under a one year warranty and CBH came in and fixed it all up good as new! (though living with you new home torn up isn't fun)
Hawkin missed an entire week of school due to strep throat. I had it a ton growing up and had my tonsils out when I was in 6th grade so hopefully this isn't the beginning of that for him.
I've come to realize that this house gets messy just like the other house did :( My MiL said to me once, "living is so daily". Does it really have to be, I mean I JUST swept that floor!!!!!!!!

Well there you have it 5 things that have been going on in my life these past two weeks, how bout you?

MAY 3, I need a NAP! And I got one!!!! revised

2009-05-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

yep, that's right I'm tired! Stayed up to late on Face book talking with a friend, then worked on a project, then that silly little guy came in my bed about...I don't know too early! (I've gotta stop that). Anyway, now I'm tired and need a nap.

I just thought I would write down a quick snip it of what's floating around in my head.

I need to get the the store
and the bank
I need to buy some card stock for the Peace Officer Memorial cards
I need to call C.F. re: the above
I would like to go to Lowe's and buy some flowers for my pots and some paint for a few projects i have around here.
What should I do for Mother's Day?
How bout David's Bday?
I seriously need a couple days to get some errands done!
OK, I'm going to sneak in a nap.

What's on your list?

Oh what a sweet afternoon! After a quick trip to Costco (thanks for the tip A-) we all took GREAT naps. I have to say when I layed down the boys were still in there talking and I thought to myself... this isn't going to work. The next thing I know I'm waking up to rain POUNDING on my roof! Only to pull the covers on and rest a little more. It was pretty sweet.

Then David came home and was sweet enough to take us all to Smoky Mountain Pizza since kids eat free on Sundays. THEN, we had a coupon for the new Ben & Jerry's that opened up down town!

So all in all it was a pretty SWEET afternoon!

May 2, not as I expected.

2009-05-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

I woke up today with a little one (Kristian) in my bed, that was not as I expected.
My private lesson called in sick this AM so I could leave a half hour later for work, that was not as I expected.
Hawkin's Tball pictures were postponed due to rain...(which I kind of saw coming once I woke up to all the rain, but I didn't get the final notice till late, so that was not exactly as I expected.)
No visit to the Farmer's Market, again due to rain which like the above, I kind of saw coming, but was not as I expected.
I made grilled cheese and tomato bisque tonight and since I've been slacking in the meal planning arena, that was not as I expected. (I'm not actually sure what I was expecting?)
Got on the scale today and had dropped 5 lbs., that too was not as I expected. (but I'll take that unexpectedness any day!

The rest of the day was pretty low key. The boys had a blast sliding down the stairs in their sleeping bags for probably a good 2+ hours...no one was seriously injured ;0) I should have taken their picture.

Anyway, not sure what my EVERYDAY in MAY is going to look like, I'll just take it one day at a time! ;0)

tchuess!

The Facts of Our Life

A New Post

May? MAY!

Six years ago, today...

I'm back. To let you know...

February 21, 2011

Look who's 1 !!

10 things I should buy stock in.

I found a GREAT deal!

Reflecting on 2010 & Respiring for 2011

Prelude to Christmas &-1 camera

Snow Much Fun!

Track Break, ya know back in November.

It's about time I blog!

OH Honey...

What have you been up to?

This is how we roll...

Just call me Soccer Mom!

School 2010 Day 1

A week in Washington

Camping 2010 Warm Lake

How do you spend your summer?

This is what 7 looks like!

12 Years

A Tether ball and so much more...

Let the pictures do the talking. *ok added a few words

Tri Maleallar Fracture, forever grateful

It's been a long 24 hrs.

Patio Progress!

TRACK BREAK!

Sometimes I think in bullets

My baby is 3!

February, February where art thou?

2010 it just sounds cool!

2009 slide show

Merry Christmas and a whole lotta NADA!

December 20? Part 2

December 20?

Giving Thanks!

Track Break

From Fall to Winter in the blink of an eye!

Thank you Veterans

Oh and here's our Halloween pics!

Boys Playing!

SERENA!

A Give Away!

The Farmstead!

A pinch to grow an inch! *edited*

Just some pics b/c they make me happy!

I run therefor...

I am in pain!

It's a Great Day for flying a Kite~

Way to go Boise nice perks!

The FAIR!

I probably shouldn't have.... but I did.

I haven't been bloggin much lately

Entering a new phase in life

What have we been up to?

The Library! Uhg.

Happy Birthday! Hawkin

We're back!

Just some pictures

May 29th A LOT to Post about!

May 24 Memorial Sunday

I'm Up and Running!

I'm Sick!

May 17 Camera Strap

May 16 Have you ever been sooooo excited...

May 15 A pretty great day!

may 14/Not tonight!

may 12/Ten on Tuesday *details on the mishap*

May 12th Happy Birthday to...

May 10th Happy Mother's Day!

May 7 How bout every other day in May!

I taste paint...

MAY 3, I need a NAP! And I got one!!!! *revised*

May 2, not as I expected.

A pinch to grow an inch! edited

may 12/Ten on Tuesday details on the mishap

MAY 3, I need a NAP! And I got one!!!! revised