Changes

First off... the weather. So we have only one tree, LITTLE tree, in our front yard. And as you can tell it hasn't even dropped it's leaves. That crazy wind blew everyone else's leaves into our front yard. LOL, I know this is almost everyone's ordeal, because I've heard it before. But when I woke up the next morning, seeing this just made me burst out laughing... we now have plenty of leaves to jump in this fall. Alex said, "This feels like Christmas!!" Simple things can be simple pleasures :).Second off, our pantry door. I've been needing to do SOMETHING with this door... stained or painted, either way. So Jer came up with an awesome idea to splash it with some color. So we took some left over paint and colored it a deep cranberry red. Love it. Before:After: Now just as a side note, I would advise anyone who doesn't have a steady hand, such as myself... use vinyl! Lol. I only say this, because it took me 2 hours to hand paint that phrase. From a distance it looks great. Up close it's a different story. Haha, but that's okay... it has ME written all over it.Third, we now have good tasting water. At times I wondered if our water was one of the reasons I got so naustious, so much chlorine. Even Cami refused to drink it, which became difficult to get her to drink Any water. But now Jer drilled and installed a new filter system, which we can't seem to get enough of. To tell you the truth I was alittle nervous at first when he brought out the drill... metal and drilling aren't my favorite match... but alas, it turned out perfect. Love you Jer.

New Improvements

Our garage is a mess, many people's are, but this picture doesn't even justify what it really looked like at one point. So Jeremy put a fix to that yesterday... woohoo! Our garage had no shelving and so Jeremy did an all day project, w/ the help of Carson in the morning and me in the afternoon, to change that.One whole side of our garage is complete w/ ample amounts of shelving, and I love it!! I was practically jumping up and down when it was almost done ;).We finished it right before home teachers came over, so we had to just stuff things in places for the time being, (organization later). But Now most of our garage stuff fits all on one side instead of all over, it's such a fabulous feeling. Looks like a bit of a mess still obviously, but you get the gist. Thank you Jeremy!
And as for me, I believe my nausea is coming to a slow stop. It's wonderful to have days you feel half normal again! I get so much more done, better said, I Actually get stuff done on those days:).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2011

A Ghost and 2 Jedi's... that's what we've had hanging around here lately ;) And our traditional Halloween sugar cookies... Alot of mess = Alot of fun ;)

Happy Halloween to all!

Undeserved

I had a moment today. Trying to put together some dumb bookshelf that I thought I could do on my own, apparently not... I mutilated the darn thing. I'll spare you the long frustrating story, except for the fact that it brought me to hormonal tears and sharp tones with my kids. They disappeared as I put away the un-put-together boards and started dinner. All through dinner, they kept reminding me to check my room. By the time dinner was over I had calmed down and could laugh about the unpleasant afternoon. I followed the kids into my room and entered into this.... Notes upon notes of love. I totally didn't deserve this. They are MY angels, and a perfect example of Christ-like character. Instead of getting mad about how I talked to them, they showered me with love. I hope I can someday emulate what they have taught me. Thank heaven for children. And I am definitely putting these up on the walls in my room.

Bake N' Bead Sale

Cami and her neighbor friend, Serrell, have started a bug club. And for about a month they've been begging me to help them with some kind of sale that would help them get supplies and other fun things for their club.... I finally gave in/said okay. For weeks after school the girls made some bead bracelets, and the night before we baked some goodies. Despite the crazy wind we set up and the girls put signs everywhere, (they even took fliers to school to give to their classmates and others, with permission from the teachers :). They earned over 20 dollars and feel quite pleased. I was touched by people's generosity too. "Keep the change." "Here's another 2 dollars because you guys are quite good bakers!" Seriously, it made the girl's day. I told Cami we are not doing this for a VERY long time and I'm glad it's out of their system, haha. But I do have to say, I don't regret doing it. Their excitement and smiles were priceless.

Getting bigger

They grow up too fast, they really do. Carson has now officially turned 3. We love this boy so much, and it's hard for me to fathom that at the beginning of next year he will be in primary. It still feels like he's my baby. Not any more though, he's full of feisty, spunkiness, and genuine sweetness. And he Loves bugs, particularly spiders. He talks about them all the time. He pretends he's them and wants me to squash him. My favorite though was when I saw him jumping up and down from his hands and feet saying, "Mom, I'm a Jumping Spider!" Haha, cracked me up. :)So I made him a "Spee-ider" cake has he calls them some times.

My mom also added to the fun festivities with spider cupcakes and a giant cookie web... haha love it!

Happy Birthday Carson... LOVE YOU!

Down and Back

I told my sister that we'd come visit her at college since she's so much closer. So we took advantage of a 'No School' day and took a quick trip. My mom lovingly went with me, to help with kids and distract me from any queaziness that might befall any pregnant lady. And of course to go see Jess. Since she's on the pole vault team we got to watch her practice alittle and the kids got to play on the Red Turf. :)During this time, the band was practicing and the Mascot, Scoot, was out performing. My mom told Cami, "I'll give you 5 dollars if you go get a picture with the Eagle...?" "No way! Not even for 100 dollars!", exclaims Cami. My mom kept trying to persuade the kids to do it, then Alex finally says, "I'll do it for 10 dollars grandma...?" "Okay!", grandma agrees. Haha, and off they went to go pose with the Awesome Eagle, Scoot, who was such a hoot! Cami hid around the corner and Carson around my leg. But Alex was in it for the big bucks, haha. Besides my sister I think this was the highlight of the trip for me. :)

After Jess was done with practice, we hit the mall, the mall playland (hence the picture), dinner and then spent the night at her apt. It was so much fun visiting, so much so I forgot to take out my camera to get a pic of all of us together. Anyway though, it was a fun trip. The next morning she had practice again and we headed back home.

But before we got all the way there, we stopped off at the Country Mercantile for some white pumpkins... little did we know they had a whole sha-bang going on! So we decided to participate for as much time as we could...

Even though I might have not felt the best the whole time, I would definitely have to say... it was worth it. :)

While we were Away...

Grandma Elly was our angel this weekend. Watching and loving our children while we were in Idaho this weekend. We left Friday night and they were excited for us to go, haha. They were excited for their weekend with Grandma Elly :). So after pizza, a movie, and some good sleep, they set off for Bill's Berry Farm, featuring their apples this time of year. Here are some pictures Grandma took of their outing...

Petting the animals...

Making their own apple cider, which Grandma Elly informed me is hard work!....

Riding horses....

Going on tractor rides....

After lunch, Carson's nap, off they went to uncle Randell's game! They had so much fun, all day long! Thank you so much Gail...(I even came home to our office linens washed and folded!... like I said, she is an angel :).... for everything.

The reason we were gone this weekend was because Jeremy and I went on an overnight double date with our good friends the Morales'. It was even cooler, because the boys planned it all!! Us ladies just relaxed and enjoyed some good time at Triple Play. :) I was kicking myself, HARD, because I completely forgot my camera! So I do not have any pictures of the wonderful event! But it was definitely memorable. :)

As for some extra news, we are expecting. :) About time right ;). I will have to say though, this pregnancy is beyond anything I've experienced. During my other 3 pregnancies, I was never real sick, most of the time had decent energy, and never really had any weird cravings. With this one, I am sick. Never throwing up, just queasy about all day. I feel like my brain isn't connected to my spinal cord and I'm in a constant fog. I am fatigued easy... I LOVE to workout, but I hardly get in a walk now... haha and if I do, I feel like lead and just want to lay on the floor. And I never really eat anything consistent, food looks and taste different every day. I am sincerely hoping this phase passes quickly, but am ecstatic that I'm pregnant. We were worried I wouldn't be able to, but once again, it's a testimony that children are miracles sent from heaven. I am at the most 8 weeks along. So it'll be awhile before my belly gets real big, hopefully ;). I never tend to keep this kind of news in real long, so finally I can say, here comes number 4.

Trenta y dos

Yep, my sweetie had a birthday. It's crazy to think how life keeps trucking forward, and the stuff we stress about seems to turn out just fine. And I think, "don't sweat the small stuff" so much ya' know? Anwyay, Jer had a peaceful birthday and hopefully a good one. I think his favorite part about the day was his afternoon with Carson. :) They went to Tri-cities and went to all sorts of stores and treated themselves to ice-cream, singing all sorts of different versions to the "itsy-bitsy spider", haha... they later sang them to us, it was hilarious.My biggest preparations was dinner, kinda worked on it throughout the day because of timing. But the final dish was grilled marinated flank steak, twice baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli.Topped off with some homemade coconut cream pie. A new found favorite for Jeremy, all though I never seem to cook it quite the same, oh well. Lover you Jeremy, hope your birthday was filled with acknowledgement of love!And we also had another special treat... our sister-in-law came down with her baby and youngest daughter Kali. Carson Loved it! I think he's been getting bored without his brother and sister at home.

Kids, Accomplishments, N' Food

Cami and Alex are thoroughly enjoying school. In fact, I woke up Alex today and said Alex it's time to get ready. He asks, "Is it school day, is that why?" Me: "Yep, sure is." Alex's response, "YESSSSSSS!" Made me laugh, I love that he's still enjoying it, despite the early mornings, extra work after school, and long school days. Cami loves her teacher, and has made some good friends here. Friends I'm grateful she has. I took this picture the morning of 'Picture Day' at school. Jeremy has been hard at work. He has been spending many long hours at his office trying to spruce up some things. And his parking lot has been needing a fresh coat of black top, several years overdue. It looks fresh n' pretty now. I went to his office during lunch one day, brought him a sandwich, and kept him company while he squeegeed away on his parking lot before having to get back to work. This picture shows the difference between the old and the new. And as for the food part, I wanted to try something different.... waffle toast! French toast cooked in a waffle iron. It was kind of fun, especially since we did it for dinner instead of breakfast. I LOVE breakfast for dinner. It happens more than it probably should here, haha.

Pre-Halloween

Yep we're breaking 'em out... now we just need to decide if we're going to use the costumes we have or go with the creative ideas the kids are coming up with??? Haha, we'll see ;).

Lion vs. Karate Kid... it was a tie, (big brother was being nice :).

Last Resort

Every parent has their own style of discipline. We tend to use the timeout area when needed. We usually put them in a corner, but yesterday Cami and Alex were going at it and I sent each of them to their room, just for my own peace of mind. Jeremy was home by then and I was getting dinner ready and going about my business. Well, I have to make a confession. It is not uncommon that Jer and I forget that we have put one/both/all of our kids in timeout, and they end up staying there... for a long time, 10-15 minutes... Ooops! They have, gratefully, learned to stay put, stay quiet, until they are excused. Yesterday, was one of those days that I forgot. Well Tanner came around the corner and I noticed he had something in his collar, "Tanner, what is in your collar??" You can hardly tell because of the lack of contrast with white n' white together, but it was a note to me from Cami...... "Can I come out yet?" it read.... I just burst up laughing! Classic, Cami! I finally told her she could come out and we all had a good laugh. She had called Tanner in her room, tucked it in his collar, and told Tanner, "Go get mom."... he dutifully fulfilled his messenger responsibilities. I just didn't want to forget this one... too funny. And yes, I remembered to get Alex out too ;).

Every Once in Awhile

Every once in awhile, I like to try something new. So the other day I went for it, a homemade key lime pie. It always sounds so enticing! I have decided key lime pies are to be eaten in slivers... it's strong rich flavor can be enjoyed in small doses :). I will have to conclude though, I am still a raspberry pie lover, through and through.

Weekend at.....

Grandpa's! Right after school on Friday we picked up the kids and headed to Corvallis, OR to spend the weekend with Grandpa Steve, Jer's dad. It was full of good memories and the kids were begging to stay longer. Darn school/work, haha , jk ;). On the way there we broke up the 5 1/2 hours of travel with a dinner stop at our favorite, Baja Fresh!, where Aunt Launa came to join up with us in Portland. What a treat that was! Now, In the event of this weekend I also participated in a marathon photo shoot, (aka I took many, many pics ;) So I hope to portray this wonderful visit with descriptive pictures that limit the need for words.After a good night's sleep we were off to the Oregon State Fair...The rides and the animals were the kids' favorite attractions. Can you imagine having THAT many hoodlems??? I don't know why but I love pigs.We had been walking all day so the kiddos and Gpa decided to check out the 'Jiggler Foot'... a nice rejuvenation for the next couple of hours.We ate fair food, met up with Uncle Dave, Aunt Sherri and her boys for a couple of minutes, looked at booths, kids went on some rides, ice cream, did I mention fair food??, and of course the tractors... what boy could resist the temptation to sit upon the throne of a real live tractor! ;)Stuffed Snake vs. Inflatable Squeaky Princess Hammer... hmmmm... eh, we'll take 'em both home, they earned it ;)What? Alex isn't riding that Dora toddler bike anymore???? Yes, Gpa Steve upgraded Alex with an early birthday present... a new bike! Grinning from EAR to EAR! (Which translates into, 'Thank you So much Grandpa!')Haha, of course the 'Real' big kid has to take it for a spin ;)Gpa didn't want Cami to feel left out so she too was gifted an early bday present. Necessities for her on a bike: 1-pink 2-streamers 3-bag or basket up front for needed travel size items :). Now the real question is, how in the world are we going to take them home?? (No worries, they fit, we got 'em home ;)Instead of trying to keep up with the big kids outside, Carson found a new love, Stair sliding, belly first.On Sunday Steve took us to a near by park. It had a real train parked in the middle of it! Thought that was pretty cool and so did the kids...Up on top, so adventurous :)It also had an area with big man made dinosaur bones, which created some fun climbing. Alex looks exhausted though, haha.And of course the swings... but these swings were even big enough for Jer....And me????Hahaha, not really. Just gave Jer a mouthful of hair. Sorry hon, hopefully it at least smelt good ;).In Oregon you will find many of these. Blackberries seem to grow freely in good ol' OR. Not my favorite, but man the kids like them! On the outskirts of the park they had a trail to walk along, lined with thousands of blackberries!S-T-R-E-T-C-H! Gotta get the good ones :)By the end of the trail this is what was produced, black fingers, black tongues, black faces... and well, I didn't take a picture of what was produced in Carson's diapers afterwards, figured it would be a little Too graphic ;)Gpa Steve not only spoils our little hooligans, but also our dog. Special food, special treatment... Jer caught a good picture of Tanner's little heaven :). On our last day, we headed to the coast. Newport Harbor, it was misty and still so beautiful. I loved seeing all the fishing boats docked on the harbor and the smell of the ocean! But not so much the smell of the fresh catch being gutted nearby, bleh. We even took Tanner with us shopping... haha, I was out-voted to just leave him in the car. But boy did he love all the attention from the other passer-by-ers! He too liked all the new smells the ocean harbor brought :).
Sea lions were everywhere! It was pretty cool to see them all. There were also several up close.One of Cami's main desires for the coast was to see and touch a Starfish, and so she did :). Inside a little aquarium, but still, she loved it just the same.After being downtown we found a restaurant called, Flashbacks. I thought the old classic automobile kids box was the coolest! Defenitely will 'flash-back' there next time we go the OR coast, wink, wink... haha, couldn't help from saying it... pulling a "Craig" there. :) (My dad is notorious for his little play-on words jokes). Then my favorite place here at the coast, the beach. The OR coast water, isn't all warm and cozy like Hawaii waters, but we still went to dip our toes in. I loved all the fog around us too, sure it made it even cooler, but it was just beautiful.Digging in the wet sand...And some toe messages :)As you can tell, Tanner isn't the biggest fan of water, haha. But he was such a good sport anyway. After awhile Jer, Tanner, and the kids made a little game out of the upcoming waves. They'd go wade out shin deep, (or for Tanner, chest deep :)....And then make a run for it before the next wave came to engulf them more!We all got a little wet. Cami actually fell all the way in and Carson wanted his shirt off despite the cool weather. It was a lovely day. He still swoops me off my feet... As Jer's dad puts it, 'Get a room' :)It really was a wonderful weekend. Thank you Grandpa Steve for making this weekend unforgettable.