tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35021317474587994152024-02-07T12:05:45.559-08:00Our Little FamilyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-91184971893814146722013-03-28T06:10:00.002-07:002013-03-28T06:10:50.536-07:00Sleeping Beauty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sundays are supposed to be a day of rest, and my little girl seems to take that concept very seriously! After church we spend the afternoon visiting with friends and Little Miss gets held...a lot. She's blessed to have many people who love her and are vying for their few moments of time with her, and as a result she gets passed around throughout the day to the waiting arms of one of her admirers who have patiently waited for their turn. I am a lucky mama to have such wonderful friends who love my little girl too, but as you can see being held makes one sleepy. </div>
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So sleepy that I sometimes have to try and wake her up to eat. Sometimes it is successful...sometimes it is not. With two older brothers who aren't exactly quiet this girl can sleep through anything! Making noise, changing positions, and general gentle harrassment are all soothing, sleep inducing activities for this girl...see what I mean?</div>
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So, in the end I just end up submitting to the inevitable, and let her keep resting in the arms of one of her numerous fans. Much to the delight of my friend seen holding her here...she didn't want to be the one responsible for waking a contentedly sleeping child. </div>
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And as she sleeps, literally all day, mom and dad just hope she saves a little for the middle of the night too!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-8508069873806609152013-02-19T13:59:00.000-08:002013-02-19T14:05:08.762-08:00A Baby StoryIt started about 9 months ago when we found out we were expecting our third child. We (and by we I mean me) waded through the first couple months of morning sickness and misery, but surprisingly it ended. With my first two children I was sick the entire time so it actually going away at 16 weeks was something new for me, and a change I couldn't have been happier about! The pregnancy went on uneventfully until the big day when we loaded the family into the car and headed in for the much anticipated ultrasound. Would our boys be getting a new brother, or a sister? The moment of truth finally arrived and to everyone's delight (even my boys both wanted a little sister!) it's a girl! We couldn't be more excited and the preparations for a daughter begin. Fast forward to two weeks before our little lady was due...<br />
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It was Sunday morning (12 days till d-day), we were getting ready for church and I wasn't feeling all that great. The thought kept coming to me I wish my water would break so I could just go to the hospital and be done with it. Sadly it just didn't happen, so I proceded to head to church with my family. Every Sunday morning after the Sunday school classes are finished we have a little tradition at church where they ask if there are any birthdays this week. Then anyone celebrating that week can go up front and get a little happy birthday greeting from everyone. This week when they asked if there were any birthdays I turned to my husband and said, "I'm going up there. If I do will it make today her birthday?" (Her being our little unborn baby girl that I was more than ready to see in person!) He laughed and told me I could try it but not to hold my breath. In the end I kept my seat, but still continued to wish it really would indeed be her birthday.<br />
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The day came and went. No baby. <br />
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The next day I had a doctor's appointment. I went in hoping she would tell me I was 6cm dilated and to go straight to the hospital. Hey why not think positive right?? No such luck. I was however 4cm dilated and 60% effaced. This didn't even get my hopes up though because with my first two pregnancies I walked like that for weeks and ended up being induced. I did however ask my doctor how big she thought my baby was and she guessed 7 1/2 pounds. As she gave me her estimate I commented on a photo she had on her board of her newest deliveries where one baby was 9lbs 12 oz and said, "I'm glad you aren't predicting a baby that size!" (Little did I know that would be the exact weight of my "little" bundle!) We talked about the possibility of inducing the next week, but no final decisions were made. I really really really did not want to be induced again. Pitocin = not fun, but with all three pregnacies I've been GBS positive. Not such a big deal, but you need antibiotics in your system for four hours before giving birth to be sure baby has time for those precious meds to reach their body to keep them safe from anything being passed on to them during delivery. The chances of any problems with baby are small, but IF they do have them they can be very serious and in rare cases even fatal. This has always worried me because if I let myself go into labor naturally and miss the antibiotics I would never forgive myself if anything happened to one of my babies just because I didn't want to be induced. For most women four hours is plenty of time to get to the hospital in time for antibiotics, but I'm not normal. I honestly do not recognize contractions until I'm in the midst of the pretty bad ones. With my first I went in to be induced, they hooked me up, and the nurse is talking to me and says "Oh, you just had a contraction are you doing ok?" My response; "Oh is that what that is? I've been feeling those and didn't know what it was." My husband looked at me like I was crazy. I'm sure he was thinking how can anyone not know a contraction? I mean you hear all about how awful they are. I guess I was just expecting them to be worse by the time you went to the hosptial. When I went in to to have my 2nd baby they hooked me up to the machine and I was having contractions 6 minutes apart (before being induced) and had no idea. I felt a little sick to my stomach, but I had morning sickness the entire time so this was nothing new. If I hadn't already been planning to come in for an induction I never would've come in and I should've been in the hospital by that time anyway. By the time I do feel contractions which I think would be bad enough to go to the hospital I've been hooked up to pitocin and those become almost unbearable very quickly, so who knows what normal ones would be like? My mom barely made it to the hospital with one of us, and never had more than a 3-4 hour labor with the others, so if I was anything like her I wasn't going to have much time. Yet I had never done it completely on my own so who knows what would really happen? Anyway....we decided to wait until my next appointment in a week to make any decisions. <br />
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So I left the doctor's office and went to run a few errands. My husband and sons were having a boys day out so I had the whole day to myself. I ended up at the mall walking, determined to help this baby along. Not only was I done being pregnant, but my mom was going out of town in a week and was very worried she would miss the birth of her granddaugther. This wasn't a trip she could change either. She's undergoing cancer treatments and under the care of a specialist in another state and must go in monthly for visits. Just so happens that her next appointment was right around my due date. I know we both hoped the baby would arrive when she could be here, and for me sooner than later was better. After walking the mall a few times I finally decided to head home. That night I had the urge to clean my house, at least the parts anyone might see. So before I went to bed the bathroom, kitchen, and living room were clean. Including vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping. Went to sleep still hoping for a baby soon...<br />
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About 5:15am I woke up to use the bathroom and when I laid back down I felt a little funny. I thought, "Could that be a contraction?" Because yes, even on my 3rd go round I still dont know. It wasn't painful, just weird sensation of pressure. So I waited, and 15 minutes later it happened again. Continued every 15 min till 6:00am when I decided to get up and start paying more attention. They definitely weren't going away, but not getting much more intense either. I decided to take a shower and by this time they were coming about every 10 minutes. I could talk though them and wasn't in pain, just starting to feel a lot of pressure. My husband got up to get ready for work and I told him I think we may need to go to the hospital. He asked if I was having contractions and I told him I was pretty sure, but not sure if we needed to be at the hospital or not yet. I called my doctor's office and the doctor on call said I should probably go. We got our kids ready to go to grandma and grandpa's house (luckily they live next door so this didn't take long), and about 8:00am we left for the hospital. I told my husband, "I just don't want them to send me home, so I hope this is the real thing." After I finished the sentence another contraction came, this one stronger. And I had another before we reached the hospital. As we walked into the building and get into the elevator now the contractions are about 4 min apart. (Wow that was fast!!) At labor and delivery I stopped to check in. I had pre-registered so I didn't have much to do. As I talked to the nurse a doctor was nearby, not mine, who later told my doctor that she thought I was only going to be 2cm dilated so she didn't stay nearby and left as they took me to a room. Once inside they had me change so they could check me. In just that amount of time the contractions are now coming fast and furious and they finally felt real. I'm still not "acting" like I'm in labor to the nurses though, so she checks me and is completely shocked (and I am too!) that I'm 9cm and just around the corner from delivery! Well, at least they didn't send me home :)<br />
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Only problem now is that I'm definitely not going to have time for those antibiotics. At this point there isn't much I can do about that so I'm just focused on getting through the next contraction. Which are now happening every couple minutes. On a side note, I'd gone through two deliveries without an epidural, not because I'm so tough, but because the thought of an epidural terrifies me...needles in your back, what?!?! Delivering my 2nd child was pretty miserable though so this time I had decided I wanted to go for the epidural. Well, when you arrive at the hospital dilated to 9cm you pretty much rule out any pain control options...dang! Oh well, I've done it before I can do it again right? Next thing I know there's one nurse trying to start an IV, one talking to me and asking me all the questions they need to fully check you in (even though I pre-registered...), and a doctor walking in and telling me, "Let's have a baby!" I couldn't believe how fast this was all happening. The doctor says to me, "Ok you can push!" At that moment she breaks my water and two pushes later it's done! Our healthy and perfect baby girl is here! I hold her a moment and then they take her vitals etc. I overhear someone say "Nine pounds 12 ounces", I turn and ask them to repeat that. Yes, it's true my "tiny" girl is 9lbs 12oz, and born almost 2 weeks early! (and no, I was not diabetic) As the moments pass the nurses continue to check me in as a patient in the hospital, after I've already delivered my baby :) I just cannot get over how quickly this all happened. I walked into the hospital at 8:15am and had my baby in my arms at 8:45am. All this less than four hours from the time I felt my first contraction, craziness! Lessons learned: I really do not know when to go the hospital, and natural delivery is WAY better than being induced. In spite of all my fears about not getting the antibiotics in time our little girl is healthy and has no problems. God took care of what was out of my hands. I prayed for her every day of my pregnancy and those prayers were answered with a perfect new addition to our family. I am truly blessed!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-70435253242344228672012-09-25T10:35:00.001-07:002012-09-25T10:35:51.225-07:00School Days, School Days...I am having more fun than I imagined I would as a new homeschooler. I worried about a lot of things when making the decision to do this, but I know it was the best choice for our family. Technically only our oldest is in school, but his younger brother is joining in every day as well. Pretty hard to keep him out of it even if I wanted to, so he does his own "school" with us. Since he participates every day he has already learned all the letters of the alphabet and their sounds, and lots of other things too. When big brother does math (working on addition and subtraction of simple numbers), little brother practices his number flashcards and counts (coins, cheerios, etc.) He loves it! And I feel good that I'm making time for him too. When it was just big brother around we spent lots of time every day practicing things like that...abc's, numbers, colors, shapes; and so by the time little brother came around he already had a pretty solid foundation in things like that. I didn't want to push it and if he didn't want to do it we would stop, but he was a little sponge and really wanted to learn new things. With two of them it was a little harder to spend the same amount of time with little brother, and I didn't want him to be ignored. Starting school has actually helped make time for him, and he's learned a TON at just 2 years old.<br />
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We are almost to the end of our kindergarden curriculum. In only 6 weeks my oldest will be done with kindergarden and ready for first grade. I had intended to do this as a preschool since he was so young and then do kindergarden again (maybe with a different curriculum) when he was done, but he definitely doesn't need that. I've been trying to match up what we are doing with the state standards. I've spent a lot of time lately on the Department of Education website to see what the kids in our state are supposed to have learned by the end of kindergarden and for the most part we've covered everything already. The curriculum we have doesn't get all the standards, but by adding in just a very few things we will get everything in. As a former elementary school teacher I spent way too many years focusing on those standards to just use a straight homeschool curriculum, even a good one. I love having the freedom to do the things I think are best in conjunction with those standards though. Now that we're almost done with kindergarden I have some decisions to make about where we go from here. My son will be done well before his 5th birthday (which is normal for homeschoolers...we can go at the pace of the child and sometimes that's faster than in a regular classroom setting). I don't want to move him ahead too fast, but I don't want to hold him back either. He's ready for more though. His reading and writing are right where they should be for the grade level he's in now so I don't feel any need to stay where we are. Moving forward seems like the best option. I just need to decide now if I'm going to stick with the same curriculum or try some other options. There are a lot of choices and their price ranges vary a lot too. Lots of decisions to make that I wouldn't have to if he were in public school.<br />
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I'm so proud of both my boys and am impressed with how much they're learning. I can't wait to see what their little sister will be like. It's going to change things a lot around here to be doing school with a 5 year old, a 3 year old and an infant when that day comes. I look forward to it though and will continue trying to give all of my children the best education possible.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-33735143010235261072012-05-24T22:11:00.000-07:002012-05-24T22:11:24.304-07:00School Stuff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've been sounding out a lot of words in school lately, but the curriculum we use started to introduce the word "the" in with a few simple three letter words. Of course this is a challenging concept for a kid who has been trying to hard to use those letter sounds to read words. So a couple weeks ago I was sitting there and an idea popped into my head, and a poster was born. I hadn't hung anything up on our walls yet. I put all of his school work for the week on the side of the refrigerator, along with our calendar and hundred chart but haven't really put any permanent visual aids up so far. I'm pretty excited about our first transformation of kitchen to classroom though. I tried to explain that with certain words the letters actually don't help us out all that much and we need to just memorize them. There are words that we see written all the time that we have to have in our mind and just know them without getting very many clues from the words themselves. So we made this poster of some words we just have to know. Hopefully this little visual will help him master these seemingly simple words that can actually be pretty tricky for a beginning reader. He's still working on trying not to sound them out. We're starting to refer to our poster during school and throughout the day, and maybe seeing the words over and over throughout the day will help trigger that memory so he can be on his way to becoming an independent reader.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-66242039520849191942012-05-04T08:15:00.001-07:002012-05-04T23:02:23.820-07:00My Crazy KidSo I was thinking this morning as I got my littlest guy out of bed after he was calling "Mama, maaaaammmmaaaa!" (He can actually get out on his own, but always calls for someone to get him. Both my boys did at this age.) But moving on to what I was actually thinking about this morning...<br />
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Lately my youngest has been repeating the last sound of some of his words several times in a row. Mostly words that end with "s" or "t". For instance:<br />
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light becomes light-t-t-t<br />
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cars becomes cars-s-s-s<br />
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This is on my mind this morning because I was changing his diaper and said, "Your diaper is really wet today." He replied "Ah, (that's what he says for yes, even though he can say yes if you tell him too, weird) mama wet-t-t-t."<br />
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My baby is growing up and talking so much, even if he does repeat a sound or two at the end of a word :)<br />
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He is also completely obsessed with Cabelas right now. That goes for both my boys at actually. He calls it the "fish store", a term he got from big brother. Last night he kept saying, "Mom, fish store." and then going to the front door. At dinner he repeated it over and over again. "Fish store. Fish store. Fish store." And then looking back and forth from mom to dad hoping someone would get the hint. Anyone who knows my son knows he's very one track minded. If he gets an idea in his head he keeps saying it over and over and over again. If you're reading a book and he really likes the giraffe he will just say giraffe over and over again until he feels it's been properly acknowledged.<br />
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As I look at him right now exploring the room while I type I can't help but think how much I love this kid!<br />
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(FYI this has actually taken me a lot longer than it should have because his explorations resulted in me having to jump up and get him out of some potentially messy situations...several times)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-45173096737165615972012-04-25T14:49:00.000-07:002012-04-25T14:49:21.478-07:00Blessings in DisguiseBack in January my husband and I found out I was pregnant with what would be our third child. Things seemed normal except for the fact that I wasn't quite as sick as I normally am when I'm pregant. I was still not well, and still having trouble with morning sickness but nothing like usual. With my first two I had A LOT of trouble with feeling sick pretty much the entire pregnancy, and even needing medication to be able to keep any food or liquid down with my second. I still felt sick though, and was just happy it wasn't as bad a usual. I went in for my first ultrasound and they saw the baby didn't seem as far along as we thought. No one was woried though because we just figured the dates were off and they wanted me to come back in for another ultrasound in a couple of weeks.<br />
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During this time I had been a little apprehensive about the next ultrasound just because I'd never been off on my dates like that before. I waited anxiously for it because I knew I would feel better once I saw things were progressing. The day of the next ultrasound came, and as the technician looked for the baby I immediately knew something was wrong. She didn't say anything and was very kind and professional, but she couldn't locate the baby. When she finally did it hadn't changed as much as it should have in that time and there was no heartbeat. She left the room to find the doctor and the tears I had been holding in as she let me know what was going on could be held no longer. I sat there waiting, and praying, and hoping that the tears would stop before she returned; they didn't. I know they deal with these things all the time and thankfully the ultrasound technichian at my doctor's office is wonderful and she did her best to make me feel better. The doctor didn't see me immediately that day, but had me do another blood test and scheduled an appointment for a week later.<br />
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So, I went home.<br />
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On the way I called my husband and at work and told him the news. The tears that had dried before I left the office were back in full force. Probably not the best idea to make that phone call while driving home on the freeway, but I wasn't thinking about that at the moment. He tried his best to comfort me, and he did. He reminded me that everything was in God's hands and whether the baby ended up being alright or not we would be ok. I knew he was right, but it was still a hard day. But from the moment my ultrasound ended I had begun praying, and didn't really stop. We told a few close friends and family about what we were dealing with and I have no doubt they all began to pray for us immediately, and continued to until we knew for sure what was going on.<br />
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Over the next few days I met with my doctor several times and she let me know my pregnancy was not progressing normally. My hormone levels weren't rising as quickly as they should be and there was still no heartbeat. After a final blood test the results showed the hormone levels beginning to drop, and that along with no continued growth or heartbeat determined the fetus was not viable and I had had a miscarriage. They told me to talk with my husband and decide which route we wanted to take...wait for the fetus to pass naturally, take medication that would cause my body to pass the fetus within a few days, or schedule a surgery to have everything removed. We opted for the surgery. I was still feeling very sick and it was much harder to deal with that when I knew it wasn't leading to a healthy baby, but was just my body's reaction to hormones that still remained. We decided we just wanted to put everything behind us and not continue to wait for the fetus to pass on it's own; which could've taken anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to happen. It had already been 10 weeks since I found out I was pregnant and continuing the process any longer would've been difficult.<br />
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You're probably reading this and thinking, "You titled this <em>Blessings</em> in Disguise??!" But it's true, even though things didn't turn out the way I had hoped it was still a blessing, and God was still with us. He deserves our praise when we get the answers we want and when we don't, and I don't want to deny Him that which He is worthy of. There are some specific blessings we had during all of this though.<br />
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First of all, I decided to get a new doctor with this pregnancy. I'd had the same one for my first two deliveries and although I didn't dislike my doctor I didn't really love him either. So I looked for a new one. I didn't want to ask any of my friends for recommendations because we weren't ready to share the news yet, so I did an online search and found a doctor with great reviews right near my house. The reviews were right and she is wonderful. I'm so glad I had her during this time instead of my old docotor, I just know he would not have had such a good bedside manner.<br />
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Second, I was administered to before I found out the end result of my pregnancy and I know I was immediately blessed. I felt a peace I hadn't felt before and knew no matter what happened that everything was ok. And after that I was willing to accept any answer God chose to give even if it meant the baby wasn't going to be ok. My husband's grandfather was one of the ones who did the administration and he told me when it was done he didn't know what the Lord had done, but he had blessed me because he could feel it. He was right.<br />
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Third, my surgery went very very well. It was quick and simple with no complications. I had been warned of possible pain and other side effects from it and I didn't have a single one. I didn't need the pain prescription and never needed any pain medication at all.<br />
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Finally, I am so blessed to be surrounded by loving friends and family who were there to support us through it all. God knows who we need in our lives and puts them in our path if we allow him to guide us. I could not be more blessed with a caring husband and the best friends I could ever ask for.<br />
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These thoughts have been on my heart and mind today and I just felt I should share them with whoever might happen to stop by and read it.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-6970342351418529122012-04-14T16:25:00.000-07:002012-04-14T16:25:14.098-07:00"O" is for Octopus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the most fun themes we've had in school so far is definitely the "O" is for octopus. Probably because the teacher learned as much as the student. I knew the basics...an octopus lives in water, it has 8 arms and no bones. But I guess I missed out on the marine biology lesson that taught about all the super cool other things that an octopus can do. So needless to say we watched A LOT of youtube videos about octopus camoflage! (They were just so cool I couldn't stop!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>You must forgive my horrible photography skills here. I have a point and shoot camera and kids who are trying to "help" me take pictures so I'm basically looking at them and aiming the camera somewhere at the table. That being said even if they weren't there it probably wouldn't look any better. But alas, I digress...I'll get back to the point. This is a picture of a few of the things we did to help us learn more about the octopus as well as the letter "O". Since you really can't see any of them up close I will try and explain them a bit. Next time I will try and plan better and get some individual pictures up close to really show what he's learning.<br />
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We traced those cute little four year old hands to make an octopus and then found pictures of other sea creatures to make a collage.<br />
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The sheet with the letter O and picture of an octopus in the left corner is a sound discrimination worksheet. Several pictures are given, some beginning with the "o" sound and some that don't. Circle the ones that do, x out the ones that don't. I think this is incredibly boring, but this is always one of his favorite things to do each week. He says the name of the picture and then "YES! it does!" and cirlces it. Or, "NOOOOOO, it sure doesn't!" and x's it out with a big flourish!<br />
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One page is a math sheet where he chooses a number from a cup, writes it and then draws an object of his choosing that many times. For example he picks the number 4: He writes a 4 in the space provided and then draws 4 balloons. During math we also do story problems. I tell him a story and each time he hears a number he writes it down. Then he solves the problem by drawing a picture. (Seriously need pictures here instead of all these words!!)<br />
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The little yellow book you see there is the first book he read all by himself. It's called "Pam", and has a total of five words. He was SO proud! (And so was mom!)<br />
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We also made an octopus out of a paper plate and put an octopus fact on each arm, and did an octopus quiz. I know I know, quizzes at only four years old?! I'm quite the task master! He loves it though. He gets excited when I can't "trick" him. If he gets an answer right I didn't trick him, he was too smart for me. By the way the quiz was just YES/NO questions like: An octopus lives on land. YES NO Then he circles the right answer.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR19MkG-vBkOhSNj5tPIn998PZY3EUTeramTU56nENgI8285hjQAahKVPHr98gmbtMPLZEeeNWRVJIyrcKogop92B7GbJIXRkJRIVdFhU243Rip-y0UIaH6fu9bu_HK9PjV9S-dA7_lqxj/s1600/281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR19MkG-vBkOhSNj5tPIn998PZY3EUTeramTU56nENgI8285hjQAahKVPHr98gmbtMPLZEeeNWRVJIyrcKogop92B7GbJIXRkJRIVdFhU243Rip-y0UIaH6fu9bu_HK9PjV9S-dA7_lqxj/s320/281.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I did get one photo up close, and yes another horrible picture. Professional photography is not in my future! Anyway...this worksheet is one of the begining reading activities in our curriculum. He reads the words aloud without my help. Each one he gets right on the first try he gets a sticker or a star. (This week he couldn't decide if he wanted stickers or stars so we did both!) He's doing so well with his reading. He only missed one word, and that's because he read it doll-l-l (with the 2 "l" sounds separately at the end). Then as soon as he finished he looked at me and said "That's not a word." I told him the way he said it wasn't and that when two letters are together in a word you only say the sound once. (We had never talked about double letters before that day.) So he looked at it again and said "doll". I should've given him a star, but since the rules of the game (we call it a game...pretty fun games we play at our house huh??) are you have to get it on the first try he didn't get the star this time. <br />
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That's just a small look at our how school has been going so far this year. It's been so much fun, and little brother likes to join in too. He's learning a lot of his letters and numbers and likes to be a part of things as much as he can be. As much as I loved (and sometimes didn't love so much) teaching as a career before I had my first son it can't even compare to teaching my own children. I love watching them grow and learn. I'm so thankful I have this opportunity to stay home with them so I don't miss a thing!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-89692110844488770772012-03-23T23:03:00.002-07:002012-03-24T13:18:11.283-07:00Another Birthday??!!<div style="text-align: left;">A couple of weeks ago my oldest turned four years old. I know I say it over and over again, but I can't believe how quickly these four years have gone by. Recently I was looking at pictures of the day he was born and now here he is far from that tiny bundle I held in my arms that day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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Here he sits with little brother anxiously awaiting the "singing" candle; a family tradition my mother began that my husband will never let die! The only thing better about this photo would be if they were looking at the camera. I love how they're sitting together sharing the same chair. Brothers and best friends!<br />
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Even though he isn't the birthday boy this picture was just too cute not to share. The cupcakes apparently passed the taste test!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For months my son told me he wanted a baseball hat cake for his birthday. Two days before the party he tells me he decided he wants a sword birthday cake instead. Too bad kiddo I already bought the stuff for a baseball theme this year and your "frugal" mama (we won't say cheap, although it's totally true!) isn't about to go out and buy whatever it might take to make a sword cake. There's always next year!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOAgwc5_UHUDz1RdrbDq77Kola-JwOfKSI7NSpDSBfea63CsJULMzQK0B1SEGtOQ1Hr5_SJzmPT1k7LmU3BxJMhsHFMD_vOC2AkTAfsGLrTA5kkMwDOmGQurmVJ0tpcrQwcNbEacNIz7z/s1600/IMG_4670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOAgwc5_UHUDz1RdrbDq77Kola-JwOfKSI7NSpDSBfea63CsJULMzQK0B1SEGtOQ1Hr5_SJzmPT1k7LmU3BxJMhsHFMD_vOC2AkTAfsGLrTA5kkMwDOmGQurmVJ0tpcrQwcNbEacNIz7z/s320/IMG_4670.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So here is my attempt at making a baseball hat cake. I love making birthday cakes for my kid's birthdays but I am far from artistic and cakes require a little of that to turn out just right. So mine are personalized with imperfections but that's what makes them special right? So far my attempts have included a police car, airplane, lion, and frog. But this cake was by far the easiest one I've ever made. <br />
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For the cake I put 1 1/2 cake mixes in a 3 quart round oven safe bowl and added extra time to cook it all the way through. Mine ended up baking up nice and flat without the usual semi rounded top that usually occurs on cakes that you have to cut off to make flat for decorating. Not sure how that happened, but won't complain about something that makes my cake making attempts easier. Cake cooled and removed from bowl and ta da, the beginings of a hat. I baked the remaining 1/2 of the cake mix in an 8in round cake pan and used that for brim of the hat. This unfortunately did have a rounded top that had to be cut flat, oh well you can't win them all. I cut about half of it away to form the shape of the brim and much to my surprise and delight it fit perfectly around the rest of the cap. Cover with frosting and a hat begins to appear. I used red Twizzlers pull and peel pieces to make the stripes and red M & M's for the center of the hat and the letter E. Easy as pie, only it was a cake! <br />
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The cupcakes were a little more labor intensive, but still super easy. After they were frosted with white frosting I used more of the pull and peel pieces to make the seams of the baseball. Even though it probably took longer than just using red frosting it was less intimidating to me. Frosting and I are not friends when it comes to drawing straight even lines. They always end up looking like they were made by a kindergardener; all wavy and thick on one end, thin on the other. No offense to kindergardeners out there, who are probably much better at decorating cakes than I! <br />
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The best part of all though was when my son, who had wanted a sword cake, saw what I had made and said, "Wow! That's really cool!" And for that son, I will make you another cake next year. Maybe even a sword!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-41086908759475798582012-03-06T20:53:00.001-08:002012-03-06T20:54:55.934-08:00"Because a Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart"I've been thinking today about how thankful I am for the things I've been given in my life. For those who know what kind of day this has actually been you may be surprised to read that. But today my heart is not filled with sadness, but with joy. I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to live in a country with heathcare that I can take advantage of. I'm thankful for a husband who is employed and can care for our needs when so many families are without that. I'm thankful for a God who sees me and hears my prayers. I'm thankful for two healthy and wonderful children. It's amazing to actually see them learning everyday. Each day they discover something new, or master something they used to struggle with. I see my almost 4 year old (only a few days left of being 3!!) sounding out words and starting to spell. How did that happen so fast? My nearly 2 year old (still have a couple months to go for that one at least!) putting together sentences and saying so many new words. I watch him mimic everything his older brother does and love to see how they play and grow together. How did I get blessed to have such awesome kids? I have a supportive and loving husband who cares for me more than I think I even realize sometimes. He sacrifices his time, energy, and heart not only for our family but for others. What better example could I have for my sons to look up to? So today I say God is good. I thank Him today for all He has given me. And if I never have another thing, I have enough. If I never have a bigger house, a newer car, more stuff, it will be enough. I pray that in my heart I always know that the gift and sacrifice of Jesus and my relationship with him ins enough.<br />
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So many times we focus on the sadness we see in this world, and forget to look at the beauty that still remains. This is a broken world, and will continue to be until Christ returns and makes it right again. Until that day, I hold onto the knowledge that even though I may not see His face God is there. He is a part of my life, and he cares for each of us idividually and knows us, even me. So today I want to praise Him for He is worthy to be praised. And as I do I hum this little Veggie Tales tune in my head and know the words are so very true...a thankful heart is a happy heart! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvPmCaRhDWo&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvPmCaRhDWo&feature=related</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-78994307295817066832012-03-03T14:48:00.000-08:002012-03-03T14:48:43.438-08:00The Origins of Grandma SaladI mentioned today that I wanted to make some Grandma Salad, and had someone asked me if it was made with kleenex, peppermints and overpowering perfume. I laughed. Then I realized that Grandma Salad needs a little explaining. Since getting too long winded on Facebook is frowned upon I figured I would use this handy dandy blog here to share my thoughts on Grandma Salad.<br />
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First of all let it be known that I am opposed to almost all forms of what I consider "midwestern jellowy-ish salads". You know the type; the ones that use various combinations of jello, pudding, cool whip, cottage cheese, nuts, and various fruits and vegetables. Oh and don't forget the marshmallows! For all my midwestern friends who make or like these particular concoctions, and for those from anywhere else who also like these I know you are not alone. I'm often in the minority when it comes to my opposition to such foods, although I honestly can't understand it. FYI I have tried many of these salads over the years just to make sure I still don't like them...I don't. But I don't want it to be said that I'm not giving food a chance. Just for fun I looked up some jello salad recipes online and came up with such fabulous ones as these..."Cucumber Lime Salad" in which lime jello, mayonaise, and cucumbers are combined (gag!), or how about this delicious little number..."Green Olive and Lemon Jello Salad" where you put lemon jello, onions, green olives, mayo, and the all important cottage cheese all in the same bowl!! (seriously disgusting!) These are the actual names of the recipes by the way...who would read those titles and think, hmm that sounds good? And what's with mixing mayonaise into everything? I just don't get it. I thought I should also add that I found these recipes under the title "POTLUCK FAVORITES". What does that say about the other food being served at these potlucks if these things are favorite items?<br />
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But moving on to more important things like Grandma Salad. Grandma Salad is one of those things that if I saw it at a potluck before I had tried it I wouldn't have touched it. It looks like one of "those" salads, a salad a grandma would make. Not my grandma of course, my grandma's culunary delights included Little Debbie's oatmeal cream pies and microwave mac 'n cheese. My grandma wasn't a cook, but she was amazingly wonderful in many other ways. Anyway, Grandma Salad as I began calling it, is actually a recipe from the old Church of Christ cookbook that my mom decided to try. Which is surprising since I grew up in a house that remained mostly unscathed by such types of foods. Anyway, she made it and I immediately told her something along the lines of..."Ick why did you make that?" or something equally as kind. She told me just to try it because it was really good. After doing a thorough check to make sure no cottage cheese or vegetables were hiding anywhere (I draw the line and those two items mixed with pudding or jello) I decided to try it. And to my surprise my mother was right. Who knew that when you take vanilla pudding, cool whip, pineapple, fruit cocktail, mandarin oranges, buttermilk, and fudge stripe cookies and mix them together the result would be such deliciousness?! I for one did not, but after one bite I was hooked. And now it has become one of my "potluck favorites". So now you know everything you ever wanted to know (and so much more!) about Grandma Salad. Which I think is actually called Fudge Cookie Salad and was a recipe by Dianne Brockman. I want to give credit where credit is due because it is seriously yummy and it's always gone at any of our church potlucks before the last person in line goes through!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-17640572831529192532012-03-02T18:48:00.000-08:002012-03-02T18:48:00.377-08:00School uniform: Not exactly...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxREP9IKfvLANRkDjCu5Ltt6GF7wXw9F3uiSSvQF-riA-rM9SPEk42LcEMbaR0a7T0P7C5itcosPDVBJtT1AID9wAAUtvUC7I5g7-OSg-67z62RpFs7-5UPHw7FvAjwiwJr-CitgIJffs/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxREP9IKfvLANRkDjCu5Ltt6GF7wXw9F3uiSSvQF-riA-rM9SPEk42LcEMbaR0a7T0P7C5itcosPDVBJtT1AID9wAAUtvUC7I5g7-OSg-67z62RpFs7-5UPHw7FvAjwiwJr-CitgIJffs/s320/002.JPG" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div>As superintendant, principal, and teacher for my son's school I am lucky enough to choose our dress code. I do not let him wear his pajamas, I want us to be dressed for school even if we are at home. Although today I was in my sweats...not exactly professional, but we'll keep this between the three of us (the number of my readers and myself...hee hee) and hardly anyone will know. But today this is what my son chose to wear. Meet Robin Hood :) No worries he still got all his work done in spite of his outfit!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-87148310408815924382012-02-10T16:09:00.000-08:002012-02-10T16:10:29.853-08:00Footie Pajamas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UD5Njo3kyjfm-sFPL6-T1XvQmuOCbsReURYmfw-QSMzVRl8Fe9xSdIS3xN1vSjBul1Oi7bBtDsejuFeOFVYywc51FTEaPPf1U22GHkPBFzy6S6lmErRTEbsZW0Lr7u0gKhQpV_YZEfKZ/s1600/189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UD5Njo3kyjfm-sFPL6-T1XvQmuOCbsReURYmfw-QSMzVRl8Fe9xSdIS3xN1vSjBul1Oi7bBtDsejuFeOFVYywc51FTEaPPf1U22GHkPBFzy6S6lmErRTEbsZW0Lr7u0gKhQpV_YZEfKZ/s320/189.JPG" width="176" /></a></div>What is it about footie pajamas that is so adorable? Is it the the fact that the entire outfit is one piece? Is it that you can't see their feet, because those are actually quite adorable themselves? I don't know what it is but every kid looks cute in footie pajamas. Take an average looking kid, put them in a pair of footie pj's and instantly transformed into cuteness. Put an already cute kid in them and the result is just downright irresistable. I can't put my finger on it, but I love footie pajamas. It's rarely ever cold enough to wear them here, but I still have to find one or two opportunites a year to bundle my baby up in a pair. And there you go...adorable! Am I right or am I right?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-4978385900874381482011-10-21T10:20:00.001-07:002011-10-21T23:06:41.114-07:00First Week of School!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIB7830a2dAW_D_4vlqvRux9CCkOCEg0uyyZvjOBjPrQOZjjBFctyR3dimmSWIbinPCIYtb1OnAsu8CZbUmuoggksMeT0Ut3ZNi94QSMxHSdt3wr8S3aWICIJkTlKizSuPdD5DmqxaHyq/s1600/041.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666065177616807730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIB7830a2dAW_D_4vlqvRux9CCkOCEg0uyyZvjOBjPrQOZjjBFctyR3dimmSWIbinPCIYtb1OnAsu8CZbUmuoggksMeT0Ut3ZNi94QSMxHSdt3wr8S3aWICIJkTlKizSuPdD5DmqxaHyq/s400/041.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div>We made the decision to homeschool awhile ago, but I never really thought about when we would officially start. I figured he would be in public school when he turned 5, so we would start sometime around then. I had decided that after he turned 4 we would probably start that year in August when the regular school year began for everyone else here. We have already worked on letters, numbers, colors, etc just for fun, but nothing intense or structured. I started looking into homeschool curriculums and felt completely overwhelmed with all the choices. I have many friends who homeschool their kids and they have different curriculums they use, but I didn't want to pick something just because someone else was using it. I wanted to get something that would match my teaching style, keep my son engaged, and cover the state standards for what a child should know in each grade of school. A tall order for someone who has zero experience with homeschool curriculum. As an elementary teacher for 5 years before staying home with my kids I'm familiar with curriculum choices, but still felt in over my head without having been to a curriculum fair where I could get my hands on materials. As I was considering all these things a good friend of mine, who also homeschools, offered me a couple of different kindergarten curriculums. This happened just as I had started my research, and was one of the ones I had been looking into. I happily (and gratefully) accepted it! I needed to order the student materials, but had the teacher guide and entire curriculum plan for a year. I still wasn't going to start it right away, but as I looked through it I thought...my son can do this. So, we began our journey into homeschool this week. And he LOVED it. We are taking it slow. If he doesn't feel like doing it one day, then we won't do it that day. Like I said he wouldn't even be starting kindergarten in pubilc school until he was almost 5 1/2 (2 years from now) because of where his birthday falls, so we don't need to be in a hurry. But I have a feeling we won't be taking many days off. He loves to learn, and hasn't complained once about anything we've done. He even gave me a huge hug when I told him he was going to start school and said, "Thank you mom! Thank you for doing school with me!" I know it's only been a week, and we just in the introduction stages but I'm having a great time too. It's nice to have a routine during the day, and get back to teaching. I guess I really have missed it since I've been home. Here are a few pictures of how we spent our week.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLrFBX3fSAXGPWyRj2dqHVA5f-8IgpGlExB-B2UW-uaqnEbHWTINMCn8rF7xqSeyOSwdx9vRtwFCElZDFdbHGW0YjVK0-UTZYQS3o9hk23nulHarYOJ45Blz-CrmEz5GzfOLcqBabdRbq/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 362px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666001678774746770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLrFBX3fSAXGPWyRj2dqHVA5f-8IgpGlExB-B2UW-uaqnEbHWTINMCn8rF7xqSeyOSwdx9vRtwFCElZDFdbHGW0YjVK0-UTZYQS3o9hk23nulHarYOJ45Blz-CrmEz5GzfOLcqBabdRbq/s400/005.JPG" /></a> Getting ready to start our day of learning!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjYMi2-qgS8Uy_JcFd-9dgtJFdBTcGe1HlNDp6V0g5t-zAJlvV8sLiKprLPBsVgKzHLizKpzgXwW_LEIwXAw8NF2HWFV5P7yjdCOEAscVrJAFr9V_gCYQpMnTRXuexbGVrNZ0zOcZSdGk/s1600/009.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666001671275171618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjYMi2-qgS8Uy_JcFd-9dgtJFdBTcGe1HlNDp6V0g5t-zAJlvV8sLiKprLPBsVgKzHLizKpzgXwW_LEIwXAw8NF2HWFV5P7yjdCOEAscVrJAFr9V_gCYQpMnTRXuexbGVrNZ0zOcZSdGk/s400/009.JPG" /></a> Here we played a game where I showed him capital and lower case letters. If he knew it, he got to keep the card. If he didn't, I got to keep it. That's his pile and my pile. Oh, you only see one pile there? That's because I didn't get any.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFj6djAXrTEGqVn6TUeaxH9aQaR3bv0P2wEAvIoybhz2tTxqXhTLOZe0buabUyVXcjSWCyTp2Ta7O_5wEjl5uxW2vEEM0ija64xH3tcbhNOAFUEFnA3us_wpk98z7S0Z6zmj3Hh_zUIOO/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666001660486331602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFj6djAXrTEGqVn6TUeaxH9aQaR3bv0P2wEAvIoybhz2tTxqXhTLOZe0buabUyVXcjSWCyTp2Ta7O_5wEjl5uxW2vEEM0ija64xH3tcbhNOAFUEFnA3us_wpk98z7S0Z6zmj3Hh_zUIOO/s400/010.JPG" /></a> Each day we focused on a number that corresponded with a day in the creation story. For example on the 3rd day God made the trees and plants. After he learned about the number he would look for it in the grocery store ads and circle that day's number.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5MG8rNKcAGj5OeMswG-FKc1baJBdpQcpCIH-kygTNKkL9Y07PR9Z0CkA_zJgoJNpGZ3jVhwY0YCvKC6vrZDulT2GNCdEx9V21-XyMR1YTRzA3KwPshqLuu8tmDbr4VOFMMD5YqRzIPxk/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666001650046325106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5MG8rNKcAGj5OeMswG-FKc1baJBdpQcpCIH-kygTNKkL9Y07PR9Z0CkA_zJgoJNpGZ3jVhwY0YCvKC6vrZDulT2GNCdEx9V21-XyMR1YTRzA3KwPshqLuu8tmDbr4VOFMMD5YqRzIPxk/s400/012.JPG" /></a> He wanted to cut out all of his numbers by himself. He does pretty well. Still needs a little help on some of the more detailed cutting, but overall not bad!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWS4R-Yci7D-dQON2wS89fAm3hGBT8lKrOgHOGdiVbYMqq6nhAt26KNeRrQKNgfAK_GD4zZhmkYY4CpsejPpSS7v53IUu81ygoMr96qgBADupwUfbfcZK9ZqABK5TGTslEF2kpS9MIPLVl/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 356px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666001649461143538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWS4R-Yci7D-dQON2wS89fAm3hGBT8lKrOgHOGdiVbYMqq6nhAt26KNeRrQKNgfAK_GD4zZhmkYY4CpsejPpSS7v53IUu81ygoMr96qgBADupwUfbfcZK9ZqABK5TGTslEF2kpS9MIPLVl/s400/007.JPG" /></a>As part of the letter recognition the curriculum includes this ABC chart. I would tell him a letter and he would cover it with his coin. It's nice to start school out with activities he can be successful doing. He liked this game, especially when we found the first letters of the names of all his friends.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kU7q0sk0aN0Gj2yJn8HsfaLnH7esZ2Xo-GibZzIxhf9iurkBdb-JhnJjurebPUWzvs5GHvRZp9IGEMpnozMjex7wODlOzCS4cMUKNbOgvFQtJrAeNfZRG7eXqiE1_zdFBKl-OdIV48mL/s1600/032.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665999385541115218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kU7q0sk0aN0Gj2yJn8HsfaLnH7esZ2Xo-GibZzIxhf9iurkBdb-JhnJjurebPUWzvs5GHvRZp9IGEMpnozMjex7wODlOzCS4cMUKNbOgvFQtJrAeNfZRG7eXqiE1_zdFBKl-OdIV48mL/s400/032.JPG" /></a> This is a game we played on the last day of school this week. He would pick a card out with a number on it. Then count out that many cheerios. He did great!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_22-2RWi5g80-jGOrQ-s6vNiRavUzrHnyVElAnZHunURiReWxUrId363qT_v0hazzeHdBBIzBrv-FA1T1RxU5MhjmYYXPN2DZthk8N1UwfHAZvXByuM-ic6eSmuad9OXGaE_orXXGA5e/s1600/035.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665999378754258834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_22-2RWi5g80-jGOrQ-s6vNiRavUzrHnyVElAnZHunURiReWxUrId363qT_v0hazzeHdBBIzBrv-FA1T1RxU5MhjmYYXPN2DZthk8N1UwfHAZvXByuM-ic6eSmuad9OXGaE_orXXGA5e/s400/035.JPG" /></a> Goofy kid!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSugYFHnmqriw1HsT0n44DTWd_8r4ykBvIkO5yauGq70KHPsliXgm1IhpbaCiXeIZHDfAi8gRz5JfdJn9tSvdnzRBl-4ofJ3pt_hPdOnVn7H-i3jUFp9WZ2HTyEMqvcV2D7BscmeOWAnD8/s1600/039.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665999370132876754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSugYFHnmqriw1HsT0n44DTWd_8r4ykBvIkO5yauGq70KHPsliXgm1IhpbaCiXeIZHDfAi8gRz5JfdJn9tSvdnzRBl-4ofJ3pt_hPdOnVn7H-i3jUFp9WZ2HTyEMqvcV2D7BscmeOWAnD8/s400/039.JPG" /></a>He counted all the numbers we learned this week. (We doubled up on numbers a couple days. He wanted to keep going, so we did!)<br /></div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mvEJWp9CrVKgFqn1FnO9ovXbpvUk-1amvOjRoTmFyLRycrH2bRr4Rs7-8KoZBDTcz68lo5IdXruLggHiqjZRvAo2GDWx_lf52-45qn1G_ouMTN8k4CXZTBzV2pHsCbSqbGSIrgHfgRSE/s1600/040.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665999368082772242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mvEJWp9CrVKgFqn1FnO9ovXbpvUk-1amvOjRoTmFyLRycrH2bRr4Rs7-8KoZBDTcz68lo5IdXruLggHiqjZRvAo2GDWx_lf52-45qn1G_ouMTN8k4CXZTBzV2pHsCbSqbGSIrgHfgRSE/s400/040.JPG" /></a> And for those of you wondering what baby brother has been doing while we're in school. Today I put him in his crib with some books and toys. When we went in to check on him this is what we found. Long week of school for all of us! :)</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>I'm so thankful I have this opportunity to stay home with my kids and teach them as well. I know it won't always be easy, but I look forward to watching my children learn and grow. I'm already so proud of both my boys. We'll all have lots to learn as we go; from choosing the right curriculum, to sticking with it and not giving up! But I know with God's help we can figure it all out!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-84217438966531229272011-09-14T07:39:00.001-07:002011-09-14T07:41:11.641-07:00Giveaway!For all my MANY (hahahahaha) followers in the <a href="http://ourjacobsenfamily.blogspot.com/2011/09/making-time-for-me-how-manicurepedicure.html">Phoenix area Our Jacobsen Family</a> is offering a free manicure and pedicure for 2. Check it out and enter...I just did. But don't enter too many times because I wouldn't mind winning this :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-24973713221545922192011-08-07T12:59:00.000-07:002011-08-07T13:12:42.944-07:00Grandad's Hat<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUj5c5FNOt7P2aR5UvFiz61nKqc5g1RhhgL2mFlP-UFxrbSUCHwoC9CHHAaftRLAwz-SRRO_kEWmZn6XoCgSKkL2M9gmkPsYQwkB8GNXdcMr_5I3r4j0TaCIrRQ6Kwi9wt0gIPTwiRFWHA/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 242px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638206422237516546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUj5c5FNOt7P2aR5UvFiz61nKqc5g1RhhgL2mFlP-UFxrbSUCHwoC9CHHAaftRLAwz-SRRO_kEWmZn6XoCgSKkL2M9gmkPsYQwkB8GNXdcMr_5I3r4j0TaCIrRQ6Kwi9wt0gIPTwiRFWHA/s400/002.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div>Handsome little man sporting Grandad's cowboy hat, and let's not forget the Spider Man pj's! In the weeks following the passing of my father in law we've been slowly collecting some of his things. He wasn't a man of many worldly possessions, but everything he had carries with it fond memories for my husband. He has a story for each item and has spent time sharing them with our sons as each new item was brought into our house. Some brought laughter. Some brought tears. But all brought joy in their own way, helping us remember time spent with Grandad. Even though my boys did not have much time with him, they will be blessed to hear his stories from their daddy. When we finally get Grandad's "things" sorted out we will have some of them to later remember him. And the stories will continue to be shared. The legacy will go on not because of a cowboy hat, but because of the memory of him wearing it. I am proud of the man my husband is, and the father he is to our sons. His example is one I would gladly, and gratefully, have my children follow. And I know I owe that in part to the example his father set for him through his successes and his mistakes. So today I remember time spent, and enjoy looking at this picture of the next generation as it shares a memory, and creates a new one to add to our family heritage.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-84397659069534964882011-07-19T22:23:00.000-07:002011-07-19T23:04:10.095-07:00Swimming!We've been swimming a lot this summer and the boys have loved it. I would've put some of these pictures up sooner, but I didn't download the pictures right away and then I lost my camera for awhile, but thankfully it has been found. Thanks to my oldest son who found it between the front seat and the door of our car. I thought I had looked there, but apparently not well enough. Here are a few pictures from earlier this summer. I didn't take any during VCS when all the kids were swimming because why would I remember to do that? Anyway here are just a few of my boys and a couple of their cousins. <br /><br />The sweet goggles on my neice!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-rdo7h4ulUcrTEupQQpHP6PzVTXrZ_LIwr8Zbquvcl7mX6nceB2ZA_j68yPhZZ2g6V_bCU5nswSuw4ZjnDAkPdRB2TJrwayARK5fjJcXCv7VKCDO-k3WAB1NiN1EO_SBPoCWXQ7nMHWg/s1600/038.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631307215205816450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-rdo7h4ulUcrTEupQQpHP6PzVTXrZ_LIwr8Zbquvcl7mX6nceB2ZA_j68yPhZZ2g6V_bCU5nswSuw4ZjnDAkPdRB2TJrwayARK5fjJcXCv7VKCDO-k3WAB1NiN1EO_SBPoCWXQ7nMHWg/s400/038.JPG" /></a> My little guy got cold pretty quickly. He'd warmed up enough after getting out of the pool to lose the blue lips, but his teeth were still chattering when this picture was taken.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApRBj4ZGpOZLGAXnyUzUskt3b9zflzYTNjoV1svbbFIaqo8zjYX1svPFrXGmBrmkBLx1A1f71wjA6EE_Bxox_ON-xcka11HlMPWh-ZYsVaa5bljWWk9yBCwj7Ill2kCBl5yZvv2q58Gpa/s1600/021.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631307210205867778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApRBj4ZGpOZLGAXnyUzUskt3b9zflzYTNjoV1svbbFIaqo8zjYX1svPFrXGmBrmkBLx1A1f71wjA6EE_Bxox_ON-xcka11HlMPWh-ZYsVaa5bljWWk9yBCwj7Ill2kCBl5yZvv2q58Gpa/s400/021.JPG" /></a> My newest nephew's first time in the pool. It made him very tired, and he was soon asleep in his mom's arms. It amazes me he can fall asleep like that in the pool, especially with all those kids out there!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYqlKmjPUQjOUQhDXg-3D5NP69ivdkluOV1lMjNJgBcg2VtFBvZUh1FAw1c6oa9b5rsZHUkDHWVFXMciekqP4wuddR7PRLp_PdJV3RPEcmKGcMsE-Vtilo-_Vgb71cZhcWD_dEdvmtSut/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631307207425046450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYqlKmjPUQjOUQhDXg-3D5NP69ivdkluOV1lMjNJgBcg2VtFBvZUh1FAw1c6oa9b5rsZHUkDHWVFXMciekqP4wuddR7PRLp_PdJV3RPEcmKGcMsE-Vtilo-_Vgb71cZhcWD_dEdvmtSut/s400/011.JPG" /></a> As soon as he threw the first kid the line began to form. He tossed those kids pretty high a few times and they had a blast. Hard to get the action shots, but this one definitely shows how much fun this was!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtOIe3xyrUv7zkVSZ5NnAuHvQSSz69_CSwaztDW0v6Ra0jC2NeclB-_gJmD-joUbRDiuxurWRKi4KYAxLdASvibLYhCC1JotHl4VuKWvQAN7M_MS_eAUwgy2KIL1-8Vwth7BU7ZBO8prI/s1600/026.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631304576396079266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtOIe3xyrUv7zkVSZ5NnAuHvQSSz69_CSwaztDW0v6Ra0jC2NeclB-_gJmD-joUbRDiuxurWRKi4KYAxLdASvibLYhCC1JotHl4VuKWvQAN7M_MS_eAUwgy2KIL1-8Vwth7BU7ZBO8prI/s400/026.JPG" /></a> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Getting ready for take off!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGLBSTY7n3i0pMqbEX0uaMMZnMpjibimZduMISwja-k43GhN4dp44wm94q8d2a3NkaeW22cl3BQJpPNWaUXGCx7UlD5zZVc5RK6M4TSFiS5BBLKo6k8bPlhWi_BXXjGtFPZs11kD-MsDiZ/s1600/025.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631302771271110338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGLBSTY7n3i0pMqbEX0uaMMZnMpjibimZduMISwja-k43GhN4dp44wm94q8d2a3NkaeW22cl3BQJpPNWaUXGCx7UlD5zZVc5RK6M4TSFiS5BBLKo6k8bPlhWi_BXXjGtFPZs11kD-MsDiZ/s400/025.JPG" /></a> </div>He got some definite height in that one, and pretty impressive distance. Almost a perfect 10!<br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CxCDx7WVn7VtchBwDl3hTqGBr6VNqOY2AL5jW2ngKyXcj1ifkuMVAoBk7YhWLqTL6uUv8oNlPeN7zQmfQySxO_2hEgYQuCkzT7wWu5cDs8ujHeLQqEOMlW_ypNweAFGRzDRlB0n7Mtza/s1600/029.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631302762126541842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CxCDx7WVn7VtchBwDl3hTqGBr6VNqOY2AL5jW2ngKyXcj1ifkuMVAoBk7YhWLqTL6uUv8oNlPeN7zQmfQySxO_2hEgYQuCkzT7wWu5cDs8ujHeLQqEOMlW_ypNweAFGRzDRlB0n7Mtza/s400/029.JPG" /></a> </div><br /><div>Jumping in the pool to daddy. My little boy is growing up so fast. He started swimming lessons this year, and is doing so well. He can swim quite a good distance, but now we just have to get him to remember to come up for air!<br /></div><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlUZChwAtOXQDj7q4RPuVUnZ2b4rMlcD5f9N6Egbau-Vwmjp98Mjrj-AmFxSUjGJxk3DqenRGi9N03od2maZebOkstUC4HZJUQl6GbpzeKxysQu3gOviD48YBKIO4kx1dR56r5G_41dTG/s1600/024.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631302756454720226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlUZChwAtOXQDj7q4RPuVUnZ2b4rMlcD5f9N6Egbau-Vwmjp98Mjrj-AmFxSUjGJxk3DqenRGi9N03od2maZebOkstUC4HZJUQl6GbpzeKxysQu3gOviD48YBKIO4kx1dR56r5G_41dTG/s400/024.JPG" /></a>The slide is always a favorite!<br /></div><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1b3d2w_dtUQqFd1s9HzxPrVnai0dvMqKSfGJ23JO2CdfUzmdlZpGoLlk2KHXp7zw8UKqwAkqWkqcRXqlaEeDY4GntNyzr4tzYvAFtyCy_ldvXcFFzS4-pl_b4R7AjrnBivPf-k03at1ss/s1600/022.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631302754695829842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1b3d2w_dtUQqFd1s9HzxPrVnai0dvMqKSfGJ23JO2CdfUzmdlZpGoLlk2KHXp7zw8UKqwAkqWkqcRXqlaEeDY4GntNyzr4tzYvAFtyCy_ldvXcFFzS4-pl_b4R7AjrnBivPf-k03at1ss/s400/022.JPG" /></a><br />My three favorite boys ever, and all so handsome!<br /></div><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgikFEzeC0yY9pzgpByz6V653wFi2hGnDWMhy3AaIjVo0uQE3TNa9EzVaU7f5UI8Pk0I-DGkZ0uxarwYnfspCyoRjEgNapS3S2Ykql8crOKrZjFidFoTECMuuNlcR5JwTUHCkTQpN0yCOt7/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631302746796697218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgikFEzeC0yY9pzgpByz6V653wFi2hGnDWMhy3AaIjVo0uQE3TNa9EzVaU7f5UI8Pk0I-DGkZ0uxarwYnfspCyoRjEgNapS3S2Ykql8crOKrZjFidFoTECMuuNlcR5JwTUHCkTQpN0yCOt7/s400/008.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div>Thankfully I was the one weilding the camera so there are no photos of my in a swimsuit! Works out nicely for all of us that way :) Glad we still have some more hot days of summer left to spend in the pool, and thankful for family and friends with pools close by! I don't have to worry about my kids getting into one in our yard, or keep it clean. Pretty much a win win situation!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-49528340759409038002011-04-11T21:59:00.000-07:002011-04-12T22:27:35.707-07:00(Note: I redid this FIVE times and it still has the pictures and words all lined up weird, and refuses to put a space in between my paragraphs at the beginning. I have no idea why, but obviously it isn't going to work correctly so I give up. It also doesn't show two of the pictures I uploaded. Don't know where those disappeared to in cyberspace but they're gone. Maybe this is blogging karma coming to punish me for ignoring it for too long!) I have been seriously slacking in my blogging lately. You know it's bad when your last post was four months ago! Joining facebook has sometimes made my blogging seem redundant. But I definitely miss being able to tell the whole story and not be bound by maximum character number restraints. Fitting everything I want to say inside that tiny box can sometimes be a challenge for someone like me. We'll just call me someone with a love of words. That sounds much nicer than some of the other descriptors for a person who enjoys talking. I'm sure my husband sometimes wishes he could honestly tell me "you say it best when you say nothing at all". Really though, I'm not giving him the credit he deserves. He's very good at letting me gab away and then responding with more than just a nod or a single word. I'm blessed with a husband who actually enjoys talking with his wife. But I digress, this isn't supposed to be about what a great husband I have. Even though it's true! A few weeks ago I was able to take the boys to the Luke Days airshow. It was my first time there and I'm so glad we went. Unfortunately dad didn't get to come with us because he had to work. But we got to take our best bud Shell, and met up with Uncle Gary, Aunt Sissy, and the cousins while we were there. It was a long day and all of the kids, except the oldest, ended up in tears at least once but we still had a good time. And even took some naps in spite of all the noise. I of course in my hurry to leave left my camera on the kitchen counter, but luckily Shell saved the day and got some cute pictures of the kids since I was ill prepared. We started out here in a very long line waiting to get through security into the base. Not only did that take forever, but I forgot I had a tiny kids backpack in the bottom of the stroller from church and since the rule is NO backpacks they threw it in the trash at the entrance. I was a little annoyed by that, but guess not much I could do about it. Although dad later said I should've called him and one of his buddies would've come and taken it for me to give him later. Easton was a little stressed they threw his bag away, but he didn't freak out which was good. They also tried to throw away all my food for the baby, including the plastic containers it was stored in (that was a little much I thought) because no outside food or drink. But their online rules specifically said you could bring in food for infants. I had to put my foot down on that one and they finally let me keep it. Then later we saw people who had packed sandwiches and brought them in. Guess we picked the wrong entrance line! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3FBc8Cc3oS1m95R4YIFovVknByZtz6IVmoRISS3bwH_Glse-JocYtYjAY-UTAdKvX0GA8lDcRmFNK4uz7TkAcHkPJHrOFeqZH0RsbuZupyiQQ49zabUhjlH3hash5NbuQS-KhoNxICtX/s1600/146.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594566764032325298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3FBc8Cc3oS1m95R4YIFovVknByZtz6IVmoRISS3bwH_Glse-JocYtYjAY-UTAdKvX0GA8lDcRmFNK4uz7TkAcHkPJHrOFeqZH0RsbuZupyiQQ49zabUhjlH3hash5NbuQS-KhoNxICtX/s400/146.JPG" /></a> <br /><p></p><br /><p>When we FINALLY made it inside we found our friends and set up chairs where we would watch the show. This is a helicopter that did some amazing tricks. He's even upside down here. Which was pretty cool considering how much power it takes to turn back around compared to an airplane. </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlS97a9LM2fFwrl7mpGtYhNWSQg4Uj7zvL9JsonAofPwT5gySonOlZQF7PralYuP1Unk2lNI_nwP6R3vpBH12jyGcTQ73WghyEA6CId7C4Vfw7IL_79OPLeLEUb81qEF7zvabkABkvxaDk/s1600/172.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594566758557989618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlS97a9LM2fFwrl7mpGtYhNWSQg4Uj7zvL9JsonAofPwT5gySonOlZQF7PralYuP1Unk2lNI_nwP6R3vpBH12jyGcTQ73WghyEA6CId7C4Vfw7IL_79OPLeLEUb81qEF7zvabkABkvxaDk/s400/172.JPG" /></a> Trying to keep Asher's ears covered was pretty much futile. He didn't care for the earmuffs, or the earplugs we tried later. He had his tongue out in almost every picture. (He got a new tooth the next day so he was constantly moving his tongue and lips over the spot where it was about to come through.) Still cute even with the long tongue action. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid6C8xSRyl2t3xCwS7aQSXEv7wZCj8SA8TxznDONyRlJ3kFDTxDuJDXtj54hRBesIMEQSr0wv92nJ5kTryY4Bu0kuFrfneVv_LE39VxpJxBsKw5TXlMYhtWyXBt3sXUYF6PciFmIEpvrTN/s1600/154.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594566749830002610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid6C8xSRyl2t3xCwS7aQSXEv7wZCj8SA8TxznDONyRlJ3kFDTxDuJDXtj54hRBesIMEQSr0wv92nJ5kTryY4Bu0kuFrfneVv_LE39VxpJxBsKw5TXlMYhtWyXBt3sXUYF6PciFmIEpvrTN/s400/154.JPG" /></a> All the kids had these earplugs at first, but Easton couldn't keep them in his ears so we eventually swapped them for the earmuff style which he thought were pretty sweet. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIkky4XmrDRhqoIonpOVhdPrYXC1K6Zb9zYIzNeRf1YUuB3ffgvkrvcPLozgOXBAMmYK2cYP4AMu3P3drErFEjRcM-cvkWRxg8N0t5iEDqRK5mjcIevIcDx152TRSaDUzUBUca5sF5_diL/s1600/165.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594566744310714034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIkky4XmrDRhqoIonpOVhdPrYXC1K6Zb9zYIzNeRf1YUuB3ffgvkrvcPLozgOXBAMmYK2cYP4AMu3P3drErFEjRcM-cvkWRxg8N0t5iEDqRK5mjcIevIcDx152TRSaDUzUBUca5sF5_diL/s400/165.JPG" /></a> They were obviously pretty effective since he napped in that chair during some of the loudest parts of the show. I love the skinned knees. He was bouncing around all over the place that day and kept falling on the asphalt, and went home with skinned knees and hands as souvenirs. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApGtIKohpFvSwflZdJSmOaUrxJeIVCkP9wiZPln-LsI_wfbzzJiglQdZgqehBU7SEJgw6afYFJZulIWOOmm2w3E93DJJR-NmJTYeXHTA0cGJSaM02-VbmzqkOd-n0SSwOlGD5JHo3-mOf/s1600/167.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594566738893815074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApGtIKohpFvSwflZdJSmOaUrxJeIVCkP9wiZPln-LsI_wfbzzJiglQdZgqehBU7SEJgw6afYFJZulIWOOmm2w3E93DJJR-NmJTYeXHTA0cGJSaM02-VbmzqkOd-n0SSwOlGD5JHo3-mOf/s400/167.JPG" /></a> The boys got antsy during the show so Shell and I took them to see the airplanes. They LOVED being able to touch them and even go inside some. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVkE_z5NQgEGB8jEGjPZOsFLVesEtYRodaecJVIgPTtdbv_lLDGEy-W_jIEuBC-nR80oWWjsV9vMjeEAq1v_7GeJofpbfW-MZPv9uQlIsYmhvUIgcSQYUNTeoebmdXzVVPwRGVAy5HHxk/s1600/200.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594564715061502178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVkE_z5NQgEGB8jEGjPZOsFLVesEtYRodaecJVIgPTtdbv_lLDGEy-W_jIEuBC-nR80oWWjsV9vMjeEAq1v_7GeJofpbfW-MZPv9uQlIsYmhvUIgcSQYUNTeoebmdXzVVPwRGVAy5HHxk/s400/200.JPG" /></a> Here we are waiting in line to see an F-16. The line only had about 5 people ahead of us when we got in it, but it took almost an hour to see the cockpit. The pilot literally talked to each person for 15-20 minutes each. It was awful, but the boys were set on seeing the inside of that plane so we had to find ways to entertain ourselves in line. This is us jumping and spinning in circles. It entertained us and the others in line with us :) <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxUxYwNunOE9aFDULz0977HnxYpLSf_GHT8qhHHrmwI7Tgdq96OYOkaAAQrNnMQnOThUKh4oyn9VNob_ajT87_pmFNat37cZUn5u0pCrh54L1JQocnNYlKyQZXy_jXXeFcqT-W4_VA-fh/s1600/211.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594564709900280706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxUxYwNunOE9aFDULz0977HnxYpLSf_GHT8qhHHrmwI7Tgdq96OYOkaAAQrNnMQnOThUKh4oyn9VNob_ajT87_pmFNat37cZUn5u0pCrh54L1JQocnNYlKyQZXy_jXXeFcqT-W4_VA-fh/s400/211.JPG" /></a> After jumping got tiring (for me!) the boys got their turn with the camera. They got several interesting shots, including these of each other. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhVcetwYRkpvV0p9TLwDwsXq5ecEj4jXsfttZwNI-DKlxGCJtU4DeSqqkKBJo7odFWcqQIpn94G23hiXoZj0gAz2jWRVU2q_IjW-un4EzTDdW4CPMFP2IGMgCXdOflWq1cUimHyI-7LP-/s1600/203.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594564704340504386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhVcetwYRkpvV0p9TLwDwsXq5ecEj4jXsfttZwNI-DKlxGCJtU4DeSqqkKBJo7odFWcqQIpn94G23hiXoZj0gAz2jWRVU2q_IjW-un4EzTDdW4CPMFP2IGMgCXdOflWq1cUimHyI-7LP-/s400/203.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiew2NR2Rqiz_MNZ6ZD3tbU9EPW20YwWiweZQ2mJ3YzkCafjFtuEIRKLc5UUFnJdWJszD2ykDgfsn50SCVEFM0wqNSVTPBS-IaSu3Op2C8NS7K1I6m9ar3Itordb9PYcgv-ZaBUIFJHKAbH/s1600/204.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594564699670254610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiew2NR2Rqiz_MNZ6ZD3tbU9EPW20YwWiweZQ2mJ3YzkCafjFtuEIRKLc5UUFnJdWJszD2ykDgfsn50SCVEFM0wqNSVTPBS-IaSu3Op2C8NS7K1I6m9ar3Itordb9PYcgv-ZaBUIFJHKAbH/s400/204.JPG" /></a> (In the background of this one you can see the very wordy pilot) And I'll end with another of the cool stunts they did for us at the show. This was awesome, one plane flying upside down over the other in perfect formation the entire time. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQnf2kK8Iph8FMpDQDO5TrPm35GdqiZ0qAbLkLxkhvl7as_IjmZP9VoGD7nbbD7l-IsOgJ6ji9hQqSkZSCz-qmJNx2sz_GlcesC4YmsbqE2MxiCPoBuJMDDkHrUgOvSdX4eaO6b5GUXT0/s1600/225.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594564691911724674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQnf2kK8Iph8FMpDQDO5TrPm35GdqiZ0qAbLkLxkhvl7as_IjmZP9VoGD7nbbD7l-IsOgJ6ji9hQqSkZSCz-qmJNx2sz_GlcesC4YmsbqE2MxiCPoBuJMDDkHrUgOvSdX4eaO6b5GUXT0/s400/225.JPG" /></a> Definitely a good day!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-32273700394649840932010-12-25T20:50:00.000-08:002010-12-25T21:28:19.227-08:00SNOW!Since there had been a fairly decent snowfall up north this week we decided to take the boys up on Christmas Eve. The day was overcast and a little windy which made for some chilly temperatures, but it was a great way to star off the holiday and give our little guy his first look at the snow. Easton recently watched a movie where the made a snowman and ever since he's been wanting to go to the snow and make one. He says we needed to have a hat, a scarf, and buttons so the snowman won't be cold (also from the movie). So first thing we did was build a snowman complete with buttons. No scarf and though, sorry Mr. Snowman hopefully you aren't too cold out there without them! Here are a few of the pictures we took while we were out.<br /><br />The snowman begins to take shape!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjko5e2xx8xMykekUVKLgMD9DKs0pu1AI_SNkkYRpU9u6rBxypkXrOg_BnLYCcJiDgtRcYCl_XWhd3kz8EbjqV6-pwqq_12ajVfoQ1TZbRoPuol7dsHa2TN20Zx8fSM4JhxO7GnFxpJhftC/s1600/036.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554852537246480706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjko5e2xx8xMykekUVKLgMD9DKs0pu1AI_SNkkYRpU9u6rBxypkXrOg_BnLYCcJiDgtRcYCl_XWhd3kz8EbjqV6-pwqq_12ajVfoQ1TZbRoPuol7dsHa2TN20Zx8fSM4JhxO7GnFxpJhftC/s400/036.JPG" /></a><br /><br />No snowman is complete without a little facial hair.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4XRSFdiGsxmFR8HlO2ccFMJvcCmDc_XiHTp92pN6M3dDzn5ENhPLloxAHqYsrbO_7F-gR3oMEAiIhRfrYUcTiO4UgCtJrGqdn304Q54Jw5KsZvv7JzBQu169HYhPKXI7Uyw_JZPP1XK8i/s1600/040.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554852537665446258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4XRSFdiGsxmFR8HlO2ccFMJvcCmDc_XiHTp92pN6M3dDzn5ENhPLloxAHqYsrbO_7F-gR3oMEAiIhRfrYUcTiO4UgCtJrGqdn304Q54Jw5KsZvv7JzBQu169HYhPKXI7Uyw_JZPP1XK8i/s400/040.JPG" /></a><br /><div> </div><div>Meet Nebuchadnezzar, the snowman (which incidently is the name of our next child according to big brother).</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguqHx1otZyAw0KW9ZmInEp-mK_FgkEK6pmVwfReNW4rYcHprpndGYoDpi-hHmpiQsRHBL6M1W2xkzCilE7gmZUx0ClFr9iHTYOx82-yEkV7cagOCQSp66oePl26wZBlMU4vEZGUhXfmbG/s1600/043.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554852530120520946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguqHx1otZyAw0KW9ZmInEp-mK_FgkEK6pmVwfReNW4rYcHprpndGYoDpi-hHmpiQsRHBL6M1W2xkzCilE7gmZUx0ClFr9iHTYOx82-yEkV7cagOCQSp66oePl26wZBlMU4vEZGUhXfmbG/s400/043.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>Mom and Asher didn't get to help much, but had fun posing with Easton and Daddy's creation. Well, at least I did. The baby was pretty much exhausted at this point and not long after we had to head back to the car to warm up a little before braving the elements again.<br /></div><div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheovHFQ04NFqD5mzgszOAtYDUTp14toKFncVJTQbjpLQu9-3XgZy0R4iDK23xpnjnp-Vth2ZcexzhrBFNA755eQPHJmYCB9X_qLdfdWm3hrzT5YPHZ5kRnIeY16cnMIhkbw9MN5LbSYR5F/s1600/046.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554852528463971010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheovHFQ04NFqD5mzgszOAtYDUTp14toKFncVJTQbjpLQu9-3XgZy0R4iDK23xpnjnp-Vth2ZcexzhrBFNA755eQPHJmYCB9X_qLdfdWm3hrzT5YPHZ5kRnIeY16cnMIhkbw9MN5LbSYR5F/s400/046.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>A goodbye kiss!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1r9yeN7tMVzr8-4iFfS-NHLLdxOFn_t849QZWDbGozBmYfTbylnwbUTrwYwXmhtPoCN-f6K7Az2PFVjH9IK7mOJLNEmFOiz1rhjSenk0s1d4Nr4ynIHwUBu0YQxqT3j8GHe_hBCtJnzz/s1600/050.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554852524702139186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1r9yeN7tMVzr8-4iFfS-NHLLdxOFn_t849QZWDbGozBmYfTbylnwbUTrwYwXmhtPoCN-f6K7Az2PFVjH9IK7mOJLNEmFOiz1rhjSenk0s1d4Nr4ynIHwUBu0YQxqT3j8GHe_hBCtJnzz/s400/050.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>My big boy all bundled up and ready to play!</div><div><br /><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG91m_RZ4qZhuDU8Zpzhmjl0WvDdCeX0O866wXyM1PModQ8RXQ0ODPZh1VKerGFhwrc33JLgdg-VUP_i4NjTKNc5rCwk4_KIJ1cJUGr2oAEtB0RU8LIMl6KicN_gZHqGTvFox_aTzilsj9/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554851188313317410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG91m_RZ4qZhuDU8Zpzhmjl0WvDdCeX0O866wXyM1PModQ8RXQ0ODPZh1VKerGFhwrc33JLgdg-VUP_i4NjTKNc5rCwk4_KIJ1cJUGr2oAEtB0RU8LIMl6KicN_gZHqGTvFox_aTzilsj9/s400/002.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>We decided Asher looked like the Michelin tire man. He couldn't really put his arms down with all those layers, but soooooo cute! </div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wT0IfNLFFq9hIT-rnc10WaExHO8mvgZXkcwbbntE2XlXXs11iO58PbafNcAPUimThg7IqugNpxDPONqlKtnlJKgp6ft5EWERNtzw8L_gCVNrQn6ZWtDV_uYdFRYxWGnLfvMqVU1gR5J_/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554851186430689506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wT0IfNLFFq9hIT-rnc10WaExHO8mvgZXkcwbbntE2XlXXs11iO58PbafNcAPUimThg7IqugNpxDPONqlKtnlJKgp6ft5EWERNtzw8L_gCVNrQn6ZWtDV_uYdFRYxWGnLfvMqVU1gR5J_/s400/012.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>A few more family pictures!</div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAGi1ME2RH5FsTvCVyKVfJSVp9iWa5Zg7ygiclU5st-lcYSIS4sQRSx_CNEleFg9yNbcUZp_3SlZDtU1b6QuYxa2dKg1V98iF4W7MoLNNF0aeoGgV612dFvOaEqz3JxstD2F8lf60OWqj/s1600/073.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554850115100406818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAGi1ME2RH5FsTvCVyKVfJSVp9iWa5Zg7ygiclU5st-lcYSIS4sQRSx_CNEleFg9yNbcUZp_3SlZDtU1b6QuYxa2dKg1V98iF4W7MoLNNF0aeoGgV612dFvOaEqz3JxstD2F8lf60OWqj/s400/073.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9n3vcDUZhsCQfTCEM7RJV2ABXR6KnBfp2zBYh_yoWrEfiacZ347aNQoJu-ezubqfYTf5VyPY9F-gCr0fIjN9Hj_NuW0mWMnN2PKU6LyVMG_1pYFihyphenhyphenkPNtdN29uc7mkDOYhJo5oDx1Z5/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554850115322558930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9n3vcDUZhsCQfTCEM7RJV2ABXR6KnBfp2zBYh_yoWrEfiacZ347aNQoJu-ezubqfYTf5VyPY9F-gCr0fIjN9Hj_NuW0mWMnN2PKU6LyVMG_1pYFihyphenhyphenkPNtdN29uc7mkDOYhJo5oDx1Z5/s400/007.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3qu1xXmGzyDmKXMs9oV15xy2CWY3NWxVXLZZbBdSNFoeL1nEa97BqpE0RI3HzBtwO8EIk-sAde9AL0sQgk0deTqZe8R8R7fhFSEkOBUVLiddhBaQHE8fQ-pFdzRAW5xc5GTuN2kQoJG-/s1600/053.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554850107849557010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3qu1xXmGzyDmKXMs9oV15xy2CWY3NWxVXLZZbBdSNFoeL1nEa97BqpE0RI3HzBtwO8EIk-sAde9AL0sQgk0deTqZe8R8R7fhFSEkOBUVLiddhBaQHE8fQ-pFdzRAW5xc5GTuN2kQoJG-/s400/053.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAFOhi8NQMjWlj177nEouq2F9ZWFefR4b5Ae4J2yuUhWU_bYIsuZ12MDnsr0XOqU7gMVMXCSBgUGgEdDlh4tvmxkH_W-zmgh7GP03zyCK78z0uMESvcrUqdggUv3_vYNaJwYH2BsgDF0rW/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554850110569610322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAFOhi8NQMjWlj177nEouq2F9ZWFefR4b5Ae4J2yuUhWU_bYIsuZ12MDnsr0XOqU7gMVMXCSBgUGgEdDlh4tvmxkH_W-zmgh7GP03zyCK78z0uMESvcrUqdggUv3_vYNaJwYH2BsgDF0rW/s400/003.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODKoirHWMX1X5_DpjgROTX0QKN5Md5e2DIwxqj5LTevrUcUQ8VyfKs2Zd8_am1FI6oJnSOD0inbIk-z4b5s3bLVnyQoYrqVVJY6P6sdYIIdn2MrDR9JqnjWdXxfDTa3h1k2qlcIzREsmx/s1600/056.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554850105577462146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODKoirHWMX1X5_DpjgROTX0QKN5Md5e2DIwxqj5LTevrUcUQ8VyfKs2Zd8_am1FI6oJnSOD0inbIk-z4b5s3bLVnyQoYrqVVJY6P6sdYIIdn2MrDR9JqnjWdXxfDTa3h1k2qlcIzREsmx/s400/056.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div>A long day of playing and driving, but one of many great memories we've enjoyed together as a family. Can't wait till next year when the littlest one can help build the snowman too! </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-47710830754383997062010-12-19T20:47:00.001-08:002010-12-19T21:42:37.344-08:00December Fun!December is a long month, and it's not even over yet! But here's just a look at some of the fun things we've been doing so far. This doesn't even come close to including everything we've been up to. But with fun like this you can see why I can't seem to blog more than once a month. I really need to be better about it though because I miss it, and love seeing everyone else's!<br /><br />We deocorated our tree at the beginning of the month. As soon as we opened the box of decorations Easton says "Mom I really like Christmas!" <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmryeLohXsCw3-kW88IMMWUSLA8Yq1te7ONo53Mxd1ozF23_LGj0aSQrCmrXr3UFH5Osj59vg8UcLaF0sw5tmO68gsByqwuJmcuOv17pFRrEc2TBmz9c0pBW5Ofk8UlnUZ8z0CmYxf0_v/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552627747889636370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmryeLohXsCw3-kW88IMMWUSLA8Yq1te7ONo53Mxd1ozF23_LGj0aSQrCmrXr3UFH5Osj59vg8UcLaF0sw5tmO68gsByqwuJmcuOv17pFRrEc2TBmz9c0pBW5Ofk8UlnUZ8z0CmYxf0_v/s400/003.JPG" /></a><br /><br />He put about 3 ornaments on, all in the same area. Then he decided it was just more fun to unwrap them all and hand them to me to put on. That works!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi544YblVzWwPx8YeGBCyjJRB8YoJIWvC9oLFKB41wUmm8DGMSF1K0li4NMjBXiiFwh07cCpGsNAVyGDgJLVo-CW5bXafaAgtQVz3Yim5YO0V86ewqZ_EXyHCL66Xlv8K4apye2MCkLmF8q/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552627744786514386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi544YblVzWwPx8YeGBCyjJRB8YoJIWvC9oLFKB41wUmm8DGMSF1K0li4NMjBXiiFwh07cCpGsNAVyGDgJLVo-CW5bXafaAgtQVz3Yim5YO0V86ewqZ_EXyHCL66Xlv8K4apye2MCkLmF8q/s400/004.JPG" /></a><br /><div><br />Asher was very fascinated with the lights. He really wanted to eat them. He was completely covered in drool in just about every picture. Most of them didn't even turn out of him because the seat he's in bounces. So he was in action 90% of the time.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpAroSsHGyfQRviIihPkVyDXgcom4rbIeIJd3qvEIk7E0I7RLgfeZlz34teud8XRt-amYvlqwhhYWLb3FwJ-ZDLqiZjkzTMd8Jmva7rjfnD7FSqvkcFkc5l0F1cG16pSnpg4XTFaAvpBy/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552627738072156018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpAroSsHGyfQRviIihPkVyDXgcom4rbIeIJd3qvEIk7E0I7RLgfeZlz34teud8XRt-amYvlqwhhYWLb3FwJ-ZDLqiZjkzTMd8Jmva7rjfnD7FSqvkcFkc5l0F1cG16pSnpg4XTFaAvpBy/s400/001.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>Just look at those lashes! :)</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMW72NdX6suUtj3TzHxC3gskhFiHUAkhQaGNNjXmbMuNXirEghTZlz2Tm0woeuuGwF1uyu93HWhkixj0KrL-z3pwKPxwh1IrMjaeUUu8DlrUYuLu7knOs3IPrE4WBB2WX44s9CT_0gSKl/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552627736729266386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMW72NdX6suUtj3TzHxC3gskhFiHUAkhQaGNNjXmbMuNXirEghTZlz2Tm0woeuuGwF1uyu93HWhkixj0KrL-z3pwKPxwh1IrMjaeUUu8DlrUYuLu7knOs3IPrE4WBB2WX44s9CT_0gSKl/s400/005.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Unloading the box was the best part!</div><div> </div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRS2UHQ-QQ358uPT_eFurcMIrIP36UYue6JiwBM61vFATJlSjfWklhQR2rx3GMG_jlhBHeNfH-pwCtQMrJq9ONG2fdhZK0GGBYjL_CJXHbgW31LVGSpZlNypmQcX3EjZO-ntu6EiKhedcm/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552627732556478418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRS2UHQ-QQ358uPT_eFurcMIrIP36UYue6JiwBM61vFATJlSjfWklhQR2rx3GMG_jlhBHeNfH-pwCtQMrJq9ONG2fdhZK0GGBYjL_CJXHbgW31LVGSpZlNypmQcX3EjZO-ntu6EiKhedcm/s400/007.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>Then the fun part became wrapping himself up in the ribbon.<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaZsosorVulVDdK8MSsBD3w-78csxi1eh5KEYrpwnqv6mNja0fpUdQtMI0KVQnDxYkan1Lcbr7ChqYu2KWyJvqtPhw-mg5JVsEq-IAkJS6njGOM3IH7cbDL_nq3Yl7OJRZrIYN05C1PZe/s1600/009.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552625527570862466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaZsosorVulVDdK8MSsBD3w-78csxi1eh5KEYrpwnqv6mNja0fpUdQtMI0KVQnDxYkan1Lcbr7ChqYu2KWyJvqtPhw-mg5JVsEq-IAkJS6njGOM3IH7cbDL_nq3Yl7OJRZrIYN05C1PZe/s400/009.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>Asher just chillin!</div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNEF4cnRnasqFtsdQD92d6mE54dytEvg62ob7RtW_xhp9clLQaN6y5NI_vLKZIO6gbvGEAKisiZbToa-XM6eea9uDjklnEFdo5vdd4gXhTHnAU3GKtNMOzEIDWA5ZJ42zwwenEGJzSfAN/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552625520536041170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNEF4cnRnasqFtsdQD92d6mE54dytEvg62ob7RtW_xhp9clLQaN6y5NI_vLKZIO6gbvGEAKisiZbToa-XM6eea9uDjklnEFdo5vdd4gXhTHnAU3GKtNMOzEIDWA5ZJ42zwwenEGJzSfAN/s400/011.JPG" /></a><br /><br />My handsome boys!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgHVnJs6V2yTjGbbN6h0x37TbKTAsT8MJybFvCd3Bxn6_oXqDnQVRyQWb3JwAdLrfUuvqsxG4xCej9R2v5KMKpXODu64r9x2__8iAMXiEK8nvjOMqThdktC-wqKNbkp-DIMxQD8CypePd/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552625509723001010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgHVnJs6V2yTjGbbN6h0x37TbKTAsT8MJybFvCd3Bxn6_oXqDnQVRyQWb3JwAdLrfUuvqsxG4xCej9R2v5KMKpXODu64r9x2__8iAMXiEK8nvjOMqThdktC-wqKNbkp-DIMxQD8CypePd/s400/012.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Next stop in our December of fun was the ice skating rink! Easton went skating for the first time when we took the young people's group earlier this month. As our official mascott he tags along most of the time.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQ2Nxt83g2QzV1XI4_-Iu1jnd4YzIxvv3_GCXFhyphenhyphenFQoh0VVKD414ubOeCWlC2onUFPDDingJD8lrd9dBRoJNMwgpTy2C6JRSRQw6xcm5hRsC6qkGXelvuEcAxcOSNivVwxGajtWsgdqs2/s1600/033.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552625507574446626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQ2Nxt83g2QzV1XI4_-Iu1jnd4YzIxvv3_GCXFhyphenhyphenFQoh0VVKD414ubOeCWlC2onUFPDDingJD8lrd9dBRoJNMwgpTy2C6JRSRQw6xcm5hRsC6qkGXelvuEcAxcOSNivVwxGajtWsgdqs2/s400/033.JPG" /></a><br /><br />He loved it and had a great time. By the end he had gotten some pretty good balance, but kept a good hold on daddy.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4qOxsCcTehyNRdOAxXYob2wdRWefjPB-tHUIX-MLbu0JdKGsPeCy-lfw5s3Qul1837NaEMLcGIpwxYsqGoiXwIGFqLPvE316GkqPURQ0u-_YyxIzQwjSPIfmB3WUNGlEZX7dc_HeupVZ/s1600/031.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552625500677271634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4qOxsCcTehyNRdOAxXYob2wdRWefjPB-tHUIX-MLbu0JdKGsPeCy-lfw5s3Qul1837NaEMLcGIpwxYsqGoiXwIGFqLPvE316GkqPURQ0u-_YyxIzQwjSPIfmB3WUNGlEZX7dc_HeupVZ/s400/031.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>Here he is with dad and Uncle Nathan. So adorable!!<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8pafFFAoBROMs2MoI_raRvs-oL6itvkuDyaIcDFzDdIxexr8kU7VAtTc9W75NtAQ8iKsUyafEnm6ckDB7_cdraDggh63LRuVo_RkvtXr2UZxX3sOPI7ajTmai4tldEQoGQZ2YqYhqPlk/s1600/039.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552624144334142834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8pafFFAoBROMs2MoI_raRvs-oL6itvkuDyaIcDFzDdIxexr8kU7VAtTc9W75NtAQ8iKsUyafEnm6ckDB7_cdraDggh63LRuVo_RkvtXr2UZxX3sOPI7ajTmai4tldEQoGQZ2YqYhqPlk/s400/039.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Finally our last stop in December fun was the Christmas light display at the Mormon temple. Beautiful lights, a short outdoor concert, and of course some invites to future church services. I didn't get talked to by anyone, but a few from our group did. The opening prayer to begin the concert included thanksgiving for the chance to live eternally with our families. Other than that it could've been said by any number of people I know. Even though I don't agree with their church I have to give them credit for coming up with a great community outreach and not being afraid to witness. </div><div> </div><div>Didn't get a lot of pictures here (for which you're probably thankful!) It was very crowded and stopping for even a few seconds for pictures blocked narrow sidewalks. Or got you separated from your group pretty quickly. But here are a few of them.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Really cool camel light display.</div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQd7Jv_LhJxqvKOHLl63ilvUwTgc8E7noWO0Xk4Bcfg-AJQGvipn4dAU8L5ZXAWcCO-pqAK35eEuzb7uqgHA3oynYx28Dl3H9j-z8a9E7pUgoZTMkf3bOFX4wK4nmYwGKe9z2ap5n50fjj/s1600/047.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552624138862572754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQd7Jv_LhJxqvKOHLl63ilvUwTgc8E7noWO0Xk4Bcfg-AJQGvipn4dAU8L5ZXAWcCO-pqAK35eEuzb7uqgHA3oynYx28Dl3H9j-z8a9E7pUgoZTMkf3bOFX4wK4nmYwGKe9z2ap5n50fjj/s400/047.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>A small view of the garden.<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_O9YLIMKlbaTOt4psx3Wv2FwqwQlPkfODrEJe33HWT-j0Trhyphenhyphenfji6HP4zjIJ2v-iwQbOzQxQh2EgbV2IBFwoHyAHrlhotM39NeWyK__ePbSIlFBN1YKFNTQixwWVSQRS3P-R8LKD26PS/s1600/048.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552624136080526658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_O9YLIMKlbaTOt4psx3Wv2FwqwQlPkfODrEJe33HWT-j0Trhyphenhyphenfji6HP4zjIJ2v-iwQbOzQxQh2EgbV2IBFwoHyAHrlhotM39NeWyK__ePbSIlFBN1YKFNTQixwWVSQRS3P-R8LKD26PS/s400/048.JPG" /></a><br /><br />My cuties! Easton had been in the stroller for about a minute at this point and already wanted OUT! He had to endure it at least till we got out of the parking lot and had somewhat of an idea where we were going.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDh3rGhVQ5tCs4HXtFN5GjVLQd1o20oBbIP1diu_eRHd6z-KlvbW4H-YNhZnYBXgjncqF2ZWJq_1wCfdU5_MFvIr7O1mF7yoFTKFZDY4YWJSu4W5Wg9_dFGuI1mMc7OAERkSe9usujMZC/s1600/045.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552624134889792530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDh3rGhVQ5tCs4HXtFN5GjVLQd1o20oBbIP1diu_eRHd6z-KlvbW4H-YNhZnYBXgjncqF2ZWJq_1wCfdU5_MFvIr7O1mF7yoFTKFZDY4YWJSu4W5Wg9_dFGuI1mMc7OAERkSe9usujMZC/s400/045.JPG" /></a><br /><br />This was Asher's favorite spot of the night!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6dWKY7ZMWDLqZGaYq6JWVoo2Wg9hvAm1JrY3nC967BTbonf2rrwiNDX4CUYS0SSMG_niWjFQrh00VI_5_zi77tEWSp4xetHkMPR0SLcF9UsgcWTOx2kGf-qL_hqOxZ09htx93yvJoHEZ/s1600/050.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552624131481119442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6dWKY7ZMWDLqZGaYq6JWVoo2Wg9hvAm1JrY3nC967BTbonf2rrwiNDX4CUYS0SSMG_niWjFQrh00VI_5_zi77tEWSp4xetHkMPR0SLcF9UsgcWTOx2kGf-qL_hqOxZ09htx93yvJoHEZ/s400/050.JPG" /></a><br /><br />It's been a busy busy month and Christmas is still a week away. We've got things to do every night until then, but it's a wonderful time of year to spend with friends and family. I'm incredibly thankful for each one. I am SO blessed!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-14342497929679170692010-11-05T16:00:00.000-07:002010-11-05T18:24:59.568-07:00The PeriscopeThis is a project we did awhile ago and am just now getting around to posting pictures. Grandad gave us a leftover kit from one of the kid's workshops they do. So we got to break out the tools and transform our kitchen into a workshop and make our very own periscope!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCl9WDqOwM6Vk_QQ4KcDvi0_hEsLtMPLaJ-XpDHPrAIYtLT1nmrudwxVKxBgTwY5aKMC5nLxTBSf1cvx480wFYKiWxCBnX67xBqw-DvJDVvYgO7ieKIcH39YqH3Gd_3ArwHs38yKACrBkk/s1600/099.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536238810019862530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCl9WDqOwM6Vk_QQ4KcDvi0_hEsLtMPLaJ-XpDHPrAIYtLT1nmrudwxVKxBgTwY5aKMC5nLxTBSf1cvx480wFYKiWxCBnX67xBqw-DvJDVvYgO7ieKIcH39YqH3Gd_3ArwHs38yKACrBkk/s400/099.JPG" /></a><br /><br />First things first, read the directions...some people may skip that but this mom needs them!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnoxO13ImCMyebEwrGXBoBNyhjmh5ibWnA1HCDN9JWAqwS5c_WOlP2Fdqa-OECCAjjZa1NZojzxK60Xf3uP8r_bzS7co8PrJKZJyY-WXiVIFeGXNHOG2OoZYPGJHnVO3qrxy4wIG0iN_w/s1600/100.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536238800987204018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnoxO13ImCMyebEwrGXBoBNyhjmh5ibWnA1HCDN9JWAqwS5c_WOlP2Fdqa-OECCAjjZa1NZojzxK60Xf3uP8r_bzS7co8PrJKZJyY-WXiVIFeGXNHOG2OoZYPGJHnVO3qrxy4wIG0iN_w/s400/100.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Next make sure you have all your materials.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBGRNJMMcnkSghMdXzaxa3FTJtZv1X_vkqr7mhl9gtGfBV7-YOe26R-2zZ5GOITvli7bamhoJdd76H65uj8saQCIV1TmnFxV8wOM6MNAnH8UAi4cozo7zc65wAEQ3b2AvrNMkLRF0aOWTM/s1600/103.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536238795418539458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBGRNJMMcnkSghMdXzaxa3FTJtZv1X_vkqr7mhl9gtGfBV7-YOe26R-2zZ5GOITvli7bamhoJdd76H65uj8saQCIV1TmnFxV8wOM6MNAnH8UAi4cozo7zc65wAEQ3b2AvrNMkLRF0aOWTM/s400/103.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Yes, I let a 2 year old use a hammer by himself :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDK8wCWVafFnZ5XpMXEtBh35FDOTndwxgcVNImMLMU9oxDdlP3Ix1YyGMXU9R_8ON6GA4u9fNino1OR9P7Pb_ov7iHkaZY3V3N8pErHvih5trUn7H61Ld6zB5OKFANULiEK-HGsA4Tkjx2/s1600/107.JPG"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpF3DU6Rp2i_ChuNey42iBilZMng5clC4oWUMcBWHMPTxorDJw7-AZOBQZyQJ1GF30Y4ELvqp-bBvAvCVqaONXGNwywrAcwptJmOce5l-d5LYxqgt782M0KExgFuKdAwEUDrJOVWRfdLH/s1600/107.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536237417278214978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpF3DU6Rp2i_ChuNey42iBilZMng5clC4oWUMcBWHMPTxorDJw7-AZOBQZyQJ1GF30Y4ELvqp-bBvAvCVqaONXGNwywrAcwptJmOce5l-d5LYxqgt782M0KExgFuKdAwEUDrJOVWRfdLH/s400/107.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Getting the nails put in correctly. There were guide holes so he could do this step on his own.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oBOyI1LhNKrJsgq2Oy2PTtDanCMT50jOz2WM0z63D32qZAHvH_maBisp2LGIZLDlOv14_xJBYTQ-9oCcXuXTCGKxLBxBO1zKSiRDVtuA0ZgxHNwK0C-iaDQf2tWPlzon231Y9opBIvsI/s1600/108.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536237413123285410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oBOyI1LhNKrJsgq2Oy2PTtDanCMT50jOz2WM0z63D32qZAHvH_maBisp2LGIZLDlOv14_xJBYTQ-9oCcXuXTCGKxLBxBO1zKSiRDVtuA0ZgxHNwK0C-iaDQf2tWPlzon231Y9opBIvsI/s400/108.JPG" /></a><br /><br />More hammering!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dZnWaT4AdIj4SHS6wSsE93FdCwVIZUX36oXWGMSmYifm-xT6pKynW9HIHzg4nFDFFgcS2udsz0yG2757PiIDazf9TZwNDRslTbwEUfanWct7e8PnCr5Nf2WHtAzmYLt1xThOHaolXAC-/s1600/104.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536237409517045570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dZnWaT4AdIj4SHS6wSsE93FdCwVIZUX36oXWGMSmYifm-xT6pKynW9HIHzg4nFDFFgcS2udsz0yG2757PiIDazf9TZwNDRslTbwEUfanWct7e8PnCr5Nf2WHtAzmYLt1xThOHaolXAC-/s400/104.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Checking out how everything works.<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7a5-5Bclfo6q-DZ4-n90VIqpCpyh9aLwat4L3uUIjsjfITCs6XDPtikpPQIue_NBRS9SjklIpzAH7MLgaGwB4xFK7NGWeGnxT93EVslxJT4dAjEUGnsILKwB2ZK8t56zWcRBg3Dn1Kd_/s1600/110.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536237400488422002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7a5-5Bclfo6q-DZ4-n90VIqpCpyh9aLwat4L3uUIjsjfITCs6XDPtikpPQIue_NBRS9SjklIpzAH7MLgaGwB4xFK7NGWeGnxT93EVslxJT4dAjEUGnsILKwB2ZK8t56zWcRBg3Dn1Kd_/s400/110.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Now time to add some personal touches.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7n2kTBBnFmVOw4WlK_57J1RDeiRUIet8Vp7tQkQEEJWjot4_i1fCgCGLJP_EvikcCiZhnRAvIZkVFlSJ3o6UKT4yBJeHK8HOh9en-Tpd9GAM3d45vhLl6_Nb5FmvdQlzkRMeJfNDD9XVm/s1600/112.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536237398274075506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7n2kTBBnFmVOw4WlK_57J1RDeiRUIet8Vp7tQkQEEJWjot4_i1fCgCGLJP_EvikcCiZhnRAvIZkVFlSJ3o6UKT4yBJeHK8HOh9en-Tpd9GAM3d45vhLl6_Nb5FmvdQlzkRMeJfNDD9XVm/s400/112.JPG" /></a><br /><br />This project was great because it involved glue, nails, hammers and markers. Who wouldn't have fun with a supply list like that??<br /><div> </div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-24278012011859286002010-10-21T06:39:00.000-07:002010-10-21T06:56:59.857-07:00Sooo TiredSo I recently joined "The 30 Day Shred" bandwagon. And no I am NOT going to post before and after pictures of my body. For one, the before is way way way too scary. Two, the after may not be all that impressive and then it wouldn't do any favors to the marketing of this DVD. And I could go on with the many reasons I do not want to do that, but those are probably sufficient. Although I have found several people who have bravely shown pictures of themselves along the 30 day journey. I was pretty impressed with some of them, which is why I decided to give it a try. So this morning I finished day 10. I've done it everyday except for Sunday. I'm giving myself that day off. Everyone needs a day of rest right?<br /><br />Well, anyway there are 3 levels to this thing and I've only ever attempted level 1 so far. Tomorrow I brave level 2. I decided I would try and do each level for 10 days, but I'm not sure if that's going to work for me or not. Level 1 alone has been a good workout for me. It's doable, but I'm definitely tired when I'm done. It's only a 20 minute workout they say, but if you go from the warm up all the way through the cool down it's more like 26 minutes (but who's counting right???) So far I have yet to see any amazing body transformations, but I will say I think my rear is jiggling a little less than it was when I first started :) Ah, small victories!!<br /><br />I've been wanting to start working out again for awhile now. I know I need to take better care of myself and set a better example that way for my kids. I don't want them to have the mom who doesn't want to go outside with them or do any kind of physical activity at all. I'll have to leave the actual sports up to daddy, he's the athlete in the family. I'm completely inept at things that require hand eye coordination. But I can kick a soccer ball around in the backyard or play tag. But if I continue on the sedentary path I've settled into lately I won't even be able to do that. So, 30 Day Shred I'm counting on you to motivate me to keep it up by transforming my body...ok ok I will settle for just improving it!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-5693938767042006962010-09-15T22:33:00.000-07:002010-09-15T23:03:15.912-07:00My Baby is Growing Up!It seems like only just a few days ago this was my little boy.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIKNo7kMNpCRX3Hibls-gSz9VqqzRevZYW4oEKw-Vgy9uZqdktk50d_MGJG5TlcC3HrCrZ1OuutBuxzlG__nyQlQEHxJ3DAD62g0RD_d37vAiwsPPG-rffUvwrjADjnILFBK19ujp0O6K/s1600/29952_133557009987800_100000005057665_408118_4754125_n.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517387366790866994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIKNo7kMNpCRX3Hibls-gSz9VqqzRevZYW4oEKw-Vgy9uZqdktk50d_MGJG5TlcC3HrCrZ1OuutBuxzlG__nyQlQEHxJ3DAD62g0RD_d37vAiwsPPG-rffUvwrjADjnILFBK19ujp0O6K/s400/29952_133557009987800_100000005057665_408118_4754125_n.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Then before I know it, this is the face I see looking back at me. How did that happen so fast?!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VlFejFBjALBBY7-x2M6aQDL59wdkpweUbvvB-UZVbiN8ooxYqjrIQn7h03pJ88SmBISzwaJBZ4-LoYOGSXSt3A-dSncz-Eju0W7MOZvJea3JAZqH7UzMGM-oXW5JFxEGLM1vPQRGltDD/s1600/59360_160820077261493_100000005057665_578992_1084680_n.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517381153913160306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VlFejFBjALBBY7-x2M6aQDL59wdkpweUbvvB-UZVbiN8ooxYqjrIQn7h03pJ88SmBISzwaJBZ4-LoYOGSXSt3A-dSncz-Eju0W7MOZvJea3JAZqH7UzMGM-oXW5JFxEGLM1vPQRGltDD/s400/59360_160820077261493_100000005057665_578992_1084680_n.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Now that our new nephew has arrived I see just how big my baby is getting. He's still just a little guy, but seems huge next to his latest cousin. It doesn't seem like that much time could've gone by since he was born, but it obviously has. Even though he's had his fussy moments he's starting to get such a great personality. He laughs out loud now, and it's so fun to make him giggle.<br /><br />Looking forward to what the future holds for this boy as he grows. He's growing so fast with his big brother leading the way! When they're both walking something tells me this mom will need eyes in the back of her head and lightning quick speed to keep up with those two.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-86610292029061174022010-07-17T09:04:00.000-07:002010-07-17T09:33:58.736-07:00Green Eggs and HamEaston has been bugging me for awhile to make him green eggs and ham. Whenever I ask him what he wants for breakfast or lunch he says "Ummm green eggs and ham." So this morning when he asked for it I decided why not? So here is his breakfast of green eggs and ham. Except it's actually green eggs and turkey since we don't have any ham, but close enough!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpk8Al8wfTKXN_HpACxCUrYUaIvG0MDE2Fy-u7qgQsF_93CaAX2dWcv8Fzhn3RVX1e_jTg-YwxJpJlcwurjFx8r6srwUrupholeYwAYSSqLytX8E0TyO4TfBvCW_xLBNK6UOuhQswnUvDa/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494911011746476674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpk8Al8wfTKXN_HpACxCUrYUaIvG0MDE2Fy-u7qgQsF_93CaAX2dWcv8Fzhn3RVX1e_jTg-YwxJpJlcwurjFx8r6srwUrupholeYwAYSSqLytX8E0TyO4TfBvCW_xLBNK6UOuhQswnUvDa/s400/003.JPG" /></a><br />The green plate and green eggs looks even grosser, but he thought it was really cool.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNWwcz1KkaccHxFnDDm6ycUEs-DdSZYp2X3ipU-0NOnP5rjOfS1nAIJSUaw_b5VCYlcwqkc17Hc-SCnHxd9bx7Llnv4bU7V_dOsIgK9FojHeLSXGuO1lvADg2cPRgmskARYxSr_NeFxRd/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494911001123039522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNWwcz1KkaccHxFnDDm6ycUEs-DdSZYp2X3ipU-0NOnP5rjOfS1nAIJSUaw_b5VCYlcwqkc17Hc-SCnHxd9bx7Llnv4bU7V_dOsIgK9FojHeLSXGuO1lvADg2cPRgmskARYxSr_NeFxRd/s400/004.JPG" /></a><br />Tastes pretty good!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmKB0N-1MrKNC6uqrg_Aq3UbqJWr97aICuxWw4esn_39l94Qicy99PbEiEAqxX54l1riVhE2hvkghmsGCrvd1Qj5BmWq8Lmmj4W06EIIbP0p9EPSz2fmxYcrg4CRm0EI7IkddGBF-Orfu/s1600/003.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00zK0GESR1fd2ieqQNAzYsaS1FAr-tnP-Sfw_MMZI6sCfuZ0IhfJ5XgdetNi7EdoGjDnhUJpBAjykkOiiQ7PAwsNmx3xxOiOQiJafMzUVdg6glsY0Yv_sTNrwhVZ3fca07Wvupcz06uBb/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494910995463628546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00zK0GESR1fd2ieqQNAzYsaS1FAr-tnP-Sfw_MMZI6sCfuZ0IhfJ5XgdetNi7EdoGjDnhUJpBAjykkOiiQ7PAwsNmx3xxOiOQiJafMzUVdg6glsY0Yv_sTNrwhVZ3fca07Wvupcz06uBb/s400/008.JPG" /></a><br /><br />And another big bite!<br /><br />This kid is already quite the Dr. Seuss fan. His favorites are <em>Green Eggs an Ham</em> and <em>Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You? </em>He loves to say "Boom boom boom Mr. Brown is a wonder. Boom boom boom Mr. Brown makes thunder." Wonder if we can figure out how to make thunder for breakfast?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-26969727218009266892010-07-10T21:37:00.000-07:002010-07-13T20:53:15.654-07:00Words of Wisdom DinnerTonight we had an awesome young peoples activity, our first Words of Wisdom dinner. We invited some of the members of our local to share a meal and some of their advice with our youth group and it was awesome. I don't know what everyone else got out of it, but I loved it. It gave some of our youngest and some of our most seasoned a chance to visit and share their life experiences with each other.<br /><br />We talked about the future of our local and our church, good decisions we've made, and shared some mistakes and how they might be avoided. We discussed things that have shaped our lives, and ways we've grown spiritually. Tonight made me appreciate even more the wealth of knowledge we have available to us and how blessed we are to be part of this amazing group of people from the youngest to the oldest.<br /><br />Some of the words of wisdom I heard shared tonight:<br /><br />Allow God to direct your life. He may have something in store you never considered, but is best for you.<br /><br />Look for ways to be of service. Make yourself available for work that needs to be done. Starting in small ways can prepare you for greater responsibilities in the future.<br /><br />Choose you friends wisely they greatly influence who you are.<br /><br />Think globally, how do the choices we make as a church and as individuals affect the spreading of the gospel. Focus outside of yourself. Realize the impact your actions have on others they can be much more far reaching than you think.<br /><br />A successful life requires hard work.<br /><br />Don't allow entertainment to be your number one focus. Distractions come in many forms that take our hearts away from the things that matter most.<br /><br />I hope some of these are words of wisdom you can use as well. This will definitely be a dinner we do again!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3502131747458799415.post-66611843902175208372010-06-28T21:59:00.001-07:002010-06-28T22:19:14.418-07:00It's been awhile...It's been almost a month since I've updated my blog. As you can imagine it's been a little more difficult to find time for this since the baby was born. I can't believe he's a month old already and growing like crazy. At his two week appointment he was 90th percentile for weight and 95th for height. Not that anyone is surprised by that if you've seen his older brother. At 3 weeks old he had already gained 2 pounds, grown 2 1/2 inches, and moved up a diaper size. I don't know his exact height or weight right now, but I know the outfit he wore a week ago was tight when I put it on him for church Sunday. He's starting to fill out and look like a chubby baby now. He's still got that newborn look to him, but it's fading fast. I love the cuddly phase of newborn, but I really do like it more when they get a couple months older and start interacting and getting their personality. Right now his personality is angry...he's pretty fussy in the eveings but we're trying some new things hoping it helps. We aren't sure exactly what's causing this fussiness, but hoping it passes soon. His big brother was never like this so it's a new experience for us. Tonight though he hasn't shed a tear and it's 10pm, well past the time when he normally would've started his crying hour(s). But he's wide awake so I am too, but that's ok. I will take awake and content over awake and screaming any day. <br /><br />We are starting to settle into a regular routine again which is nice. It's good to feel like a normal house again. As much as I liked taking a break from housework, I didn't really like the results it left. It's crazy how quickly your house can turn into a disaster zone. I had forgotten how much space all the stuff for a baby takes up. As they grow you start to rid yourself of some of the extra things that take up space: bassinets, bouncy seats, swings, boppy pillows, etc... With all of that the house pretty much looks cluttered all the time, especially considering the size of our house. Those extra things fill up what little space we have pretty quickly. That's ok though they are well worth the space they take. The bouncy seat and swing are definite life savers!<br /><br />In other good news number one son is now potty trained. He's in underwear all the time, except for at night, no more pullups to buy yay! He's had a couple of accidents since his little bro was born, but he hadn't had any at all for a long time before that. He's also now telling us when he has to go which is what I was waiting for!! I still remind him throughout the day because they get distracted playing, but he's doing so great. He told me the other day I don't go poo poo or potty in my pants mommy, that's yucky. His big motivator has been that he can't go camping or hunting with daddy until he only goes potty in the toilet all the time and not in his pants. He can't wait to go do all those fun things with daddy.<br /><br />Wow when I go so long in between posts I get pretty wordy! I guess I should update more often so it's in a little more reader friendly length :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4