Hamilton Happenings

Piano Man

2012-01-20T12:32:00.001-08:00

The most challenging thing for Carter is anything involving fine motor skills. As he says, “I just can’t make my fingers do what I want sometimes.”

Needless to say, piano is not something that comes easily, he has to work at it. We have had many tears and moments of defeat in the past 9 months.

Carter is also a very determined child when he wants something. He found out that a few kids were playing songs for the Veteran’s Day Assembly and he (on Monday night) decided he wanted to play the Star Spangled Banner (that Thursday). His teacher found him a simplified version and he set to work. I didn’t think it was possible so I encouraged him to practice but told him that if he didn’t get it in time, he could always do it at the talent show. He practiced more in those few days than he ever has, but he still struggled with the timing and a few notes. He confidently brought his music to school and played it for the music teacher Mrs. Nelson and bless her heart, she allowed him to play it as prelude while people gathered for the assembly. It was not perfect but it was such a huge moment for him!

Since then, his teacher and I have seen a different kid at the keys. He still gets frustrated now and then and still thinks he should be able to play a piece the first time he tries it, but I see him enjoying it more and sharing it with family members and friends when he can. Brenda had her 5 students to her house for a Christmas recital and she had Carter open the night with the Star Spangled Banner. He later played 3 more songs: Up on a Housetop, Jingle Bells, and The First Noel. His grandparents and a couple of aunts, uncles, and cousins came to support him. He was very proud of himself and grateful that he had an audience of family who loves him!

Big White Out

2012-01-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

We headed to Big White the day after Christmas with Theresa and Tony. I was a bit worried the skiing would be bad because they hadn’t gotten a ton of snow yet and a few of the chairs still weren’t open. Luckily, it snowed on us the first day and continued to snow the whole time we were there.

We did presents in the condo with Grandma and Grandpa.

What a sad Santa!

Sydney loved this pot holder kit she got from Theresa. They had fun making some very colorful hot pads!Check out the new stairs at the condo! After having to tear out their old ones, they went for the covered version. Theresa was so happy about them. She made comments every time she walked down them.

While Derek did some skiing at Happy Valley, I took the other ones skating. Olivia decided it was much more fun without skates!

Whoa!

Derek is still the child most excited about skiing. He doesn’t do a lot of turning so we keep him on the bunny hill but his attitude is great and he loves doing it. (More than I can say for the older two!)

Gotta love the kids carnival with insane amounts of people smashed into the lodge for some games, mediocre face painting, 20 minute line for cotton candy and lame prizes. The kids love it!

Unfortunately, Tony was feeling very sick while we were in Canada. Fortunately, that meant he was willing to stay in the condo with kids while Garth and I skied. We got to ski together way more than usual. On the last day, it snowed 6 more inches so they opened “the Cliff” a chair that had not been open yet this year. I have never been on the cliff. It is a double black diamond because it is crazy steep. I am not an expert skier, I just try to follow Garth as well as I can without killing myself. When he saw that the cliff had just opened, and we could make fresh tracks on a run, he talked me into going (I’m still not sure how he convinced me.)

So we did it. The pictures, of course, look way less intimidating than in person. When you get to the top you ski to the edge and the beginning is straight down. Your skis stick out suspended in the air. My heart was pounding, but I went for it. I was not impressive down the hill but I made it and I was pretty proud of myself for trying something that I never thought I would do. . . and I will probably never do it again!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-14T11:06:00.001-08:00

We kicked off the Christmas season with the Five Mile Prairie Pancakes with Santa. Derek was really excited to sit on Santa’s lap this year. . .

Olivia was not!For Christmas Eve this year, my cousin rented out a local ice skating rink and all of my cousins and their kids met in the morning for some ice skating and foot hockey. Derek and Olivia could not wait to skate. Olivia kept telling people we were going ice skating. But once she actually got her skates on, her tune really changed. She ended up doing a lot of sitting on the bleachers. Derek started out grumpy and defeated but then he caught on and had a great time. He threw a mammoth tantrum when it was time to go because he did not want to stop. Ouch.

After skating we went to the church for some soup and play time with cousins. My amazing cousin Kelly made these huge hula hoops. Sydney and Addy were the hula hoop queens! Christmas Eve night was spent at my mom’s house for the traditional dinner and nativity reenactment.

We were so glad to have Jordan and Kailee here so we could soak up some baby Georgia time before they headed off to see her family.

Carter played and Derek sang “Jingle Bells”Olivia wouldn’t pose in her new jammies so she grabbed cousin Brooklyn. Derek was a big fan of his fire truck jammies.

Carter was the highlight of my Christmas this year. He truly caught the spirit of giving. Back in October, we were at an Other Mothers quarter sale and he bought this big truck and the stuffed sponge bob for his little siblings then he later bought a bedazzled Hannah Montana shirt for Sydney.The week before Christmas he was stressing because he didn’t have a gift for Garth. I tried to tell him it was no big deal but he was not having that. I dragged the kids along to Macy’s one day (in an effort to find jeans long enough for Garth) and Carter kept disappearing and coming up to me with different things asking if it was the right size or if he could afford it. After many strike outs, he walked up with this golf shirt and it was perfect. The right size, a brand Garth likes, and on mega clearance for $10. Carter was thrilled and it was amazing to see his face light up when everyone opened their presents from him. It was a proud mommy moment!

Christmas day was spent going to church, playing with new toys and hanging out with the Hamilton’s up at the farm. Then we came home to pack up the car to head to Canada in the morning.

Person I Admire #6

2011-12-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

Cami Young

If I could only use one word to describe Cami it would be FUN or maybe SPONTANEOUS. I met Cami when we moved up North and I showed up for a service project prior to a Relief Society broadcast only to find out there was no such service project. I ran into Cami and one other lady who had made the same mistake and so we all hopped in a car and went shopping for an hour.

Turns out Cami was a cheerleader at Ricks and anytime you can compare stories about Shelli (the coach) you bond instantly! Cami wasn’t just a Ricks cheerleader, she is a cheerleader at heart. I’m pretty sure she claps and gives me jazz hands whenever I tell her something exciting. Her enthusiasm and happy spirit are so contagious, you can’t help but be happy around her. Which explains her 5 amazing kids. If I had two sets of twins and yet another child, I would be frazzled, anxious, and would probably never go anywhere. But not the Youngs! They are always doing big fun things together.

Cami’s husband is a marriage and family counselor and a professor at Gonzaga. They took their kids one day to his class so the students could “practice” on the kids. Someone asked them “What their mom looks like when she is mad” and not one of the kids could come up with anything. Can you believe that?! I am afraid of the faces my kids might make or the things they might say about me! I do not believe that Cami has never been mad at her 5 kids but what an amazing example of self-control and handling problems without blowing up!

I could go on and on about her many talents and qualities I would like to emulate. She is an amazing mother, wife, and friend and most definitely someone I admire!

Rocky Road

2011-12-18T11:19:00.000-08:00

My Grandpa Gleyre started Frederickson Fine Candies (a candy store that is still open today in Twin Falls, Idaho) with his brother back in the late 1930’s. I got to visit the candy shop for the first time when I was in college. Our cheer squad happened to be cheering at a game in Twin Falls and I mentioned the family shop to my coach. She couldn’t believe I had never been there so she left everyone else at the hotel and took me and her daughter (my dearest friend and team member) out to find the store. This was before the days of GPS and Google Maps and in true Shelli form, she just knew we’d be able to find it by driving around. Sure enough, we made it and my great uncle Jack was there. He was VERY old and could hardly see but he took me on a little tour and gave me a bunch of free candy. Before my Grandpa and Grandma passed away, they taught some of us a few of their favorite candy recipes. My mom, sister and I learned the Mint Truffles that I have posted about before, my Dad mastered the Tender Cashew Toffee (I can make it now too but prefer to have my dad there to save me from making any mistakes), and my cousin Kelly and her husband Tony got to learn the tricks of homemade marshmallow. This year I decided it was time that I learn how to make the marshmallow to make Gleyre’s Rocky Road.

Opening Weekend

2011-12-14T11:24:00.000-08:00

Garth had to go to Canada for work so we all decided to go with him. Turns out it was opening weekend at Big White so we got to do some skiing and snowshoeing and had a great time.

The kids love this little warming hut in Trapping Meadows.This was Derek’s first time on the snowshoes so we didn’t go down to the trails, we just walked out and around the condo a little. He did pretty good but preferred to knock snow off of trees or throw snowballs at me.

We were all shocked to see the new accessory in Theresa’s condo. Imagine walking into the condo at 11pm and seeing this in the dark. It gave us a little start for sure.

Novels and Nibbles

2011-12-12T15:39:00.001-08:00

I am part of the best book club EVER! We have a type-A, former lawyer, now stay-at-home supermom who organizes us all. We have book lists to choose our next titles from (of course 6 months in advance) that are 25+ pages long that have a picture of the book, a summary, and the amazon rating. . .if you need a new book to read, I could forward it to you. We have a BLOG where she posts what we are reading, links to learn more on topics we have read, great recipes, etc. etc. etc.

In November, we really outdid ourselves and had our best meeting yet when we had an author come to our book club! We were reading Citizen Vince and the author, Jess Walter just happens to have his kids in the same private school as Zibby’s kids (and she just so happened to be hostessing that month.) The stars aligned and he was able to come chat with us. He ate dinner with us (fancy burgers and fries followed by donuts. . .if you read the book, it makes sense why).

Then he sat with us and talked for 2 hours. He was so interesting and witty and fun. I had a total blast. He even humored us and posed for a couple of pictures. What an amazing group I am a part of!!!

You Know You Live in the Boonies When . . .

2011-12-12T15:28:00.001-08:00

. . .recess is cancelled twice in three weeks because this lady is romping around your playground.

*Notice the stop sign behind her. . .this moose was HUGE!

We Are Thankful

2011-12-12T15:26:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was spent at my Mom’s house which means we got to participate in the candy corn tradition. We pass around a jar of candy corns and you say what you are thankful for, take a candy, and pass it on. Here is what we were all thankful for this year (among many other things I am sure!)

“Candy and Mommy and Daddy” (a common kid response when you are staring down a jar of candy!)

“My Trains and Mommy and Daddy”

“The earth and Heavenly Father and Jesus.”

“Homes” Garth asked. . . like your friends or the homes we live in? “The homes we live in Dad.” insert eye roll at how lame your Dad can be.

“I’m thankful for my wife for the way she fulfilled her calling and for all that she provides for our family.”

“I am thankful for Primary. . . not just because I was just released and don’t have to do it any more but for the lessons I learned. For the patience I gained, for the kids that I grew to love (even some tough ones) and for the simple basic truths of the gospel that I was able to teach and gain a stronger testimony of.”

We are grateful that our cousins, Jack, Sadie, and baby Lucy were there since we don’t get to see them very often. We are grateful that our other cousins ditched the in-law party and came to Grandma’s because they are our great friends!

Service Minded

2011-12-09T12:52:00.001-08:00

I am grateful for opportunities to teach my kids to be service minded. Our church joined forces with Catholic Charities to do a big leaf raking service project. The first weekend, they raked and bagged tons of leaves for elderly people then the next weekend, they picked up the bags and disposed of them. They took some to a shelter-type place for mulch for their gardens. The people who stay there work in the garden during the spring and summer. My kids live a very cushy life so I was grateful that Garth took them to do this. They both had good attitudes and worked hard. I think it is so important for them to realize that many people don’t have it as easy as they do and how important it is to serve.

Freeze Frame

2011-11-27T14:57:00.000-08:00

For the past 6 months or so, I have wished I could freeze Olivia. I am enjoying this little girl so much and it saddens me just a little to see her get bigger (not sad enough to have another one though :)

Olivia has a great sense of humor. She makes me laugh every day. I love her selectively grown up vocabulary like when we were heading to the lake one day and I asked her if she could see the water and she responded “eet not the water, eet ACTUALLY a lake!”

When you call her silly or a princess or any other pet name, she will correct you and say in the sweetest but tiniest bit annoyed voice, “No, I’m just Olivia!”

She loves her status as the baby of the family. I fear she may never leave the comfort of her crib or brave the toilet. I have tried to bribe her to go on the potty with a new big girl bed (I can’t wait to redo the girls’ room and get rid of that old nasty crib and changing table) but she respectfully declines. “It’s okay, I like to sleep in my crib.”

She has a loud voice! It’s not obnoxiously loud, just loud enough for the youngest in a loud family of four to be heard. She does not let you forget about her!

I love this little girl. She is a special spirit and although I look forward to having her potty trained and a little more independent, I am soaking up these precious moments.

Sipping Cider

2011-11-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

It has become a family tradition to press our own apple cider at the farm. When they are all done giving apples away, we make cider out of the leftovers. It is SO yummy. Sydney wrote about pressing cider for a writer celebration at school, so I will let her tell the story. . .

Bye Bye Birdy

2011-11-26T22:49:00.001-08:00

This is Firework. We didn’t mean to get a rooster, but it happens sometimes. He was a favorite among the kids because of his beautiful array of colors. He enjoyed being the boss of the chicken condo and was growing rapidly. Then one morning, Garth and I awoke to him crowing. It is fall, so luckily the crowing wasn’t terribly early but we heard in nonetheless. We tolerated it for a while but he was crowing all day long and we just knew our neighbors were silently hating us.

One Saturday, I was off in Idaho at a dance clinic with Sydney and Garth decided Firework needed to go. With the help of Google and some YouTube videos, Garth turned our beloved Firework, into dinner. Carter couldn’t watch but later helped pluck feathers off of him. The little two couldn’t stop talking about it (they still tell everyone about it). I was shocked and Sydney almost cried when we came home and saw what was left of him in the fridge. Garth made a delicious orange chicken and fried rice dinner and that was the end of our rooster problem!

Fall Summary

2011-11-26T22:35:00.000-08:00

We had a full Fall this year. Since I was without a computer for a few weeks, I thought I’d throw all of these pictures into one post. . . just to get them done.

Garth is enjoying his pressure washer and recruited Carter to be his helper on the roof one day while he washed our house.

I have been watching Sydney’s friend Carly a couple of mornings a week when her mom has to leave early for work. These two are like peas in a pod. They love to dress alike or at least have me do their hair the same for school.

Sydney is little miss creative. In the mix of figuring out what everyone would be for Halloween, she found this box and made Derek his very own Buzz Lightyear costume. It didn’t make it till Halloween but it was super fun for a day or two.

I did lots and lots and lots of canning. It was exhausting. . . for everyone.

Sunday best. Halloween version.

Halloween, as usual, was super busy. We started with the school’s Harvest Festival Friday Night.

Halloween day, I took the little one’s to Garth’s office for the annual “cubicle trick-or-treating”

A friend from Carter’s football team had a bunch of the boys over for some pizza, fear factor games, and trick-or-treating. The houses in their neighborhood are closer together than ours so it made for a pleasant trick-or-treating experience for the littler ones.

I even got Garth to dress up as a Ricks cheerleader with me. What a good sport he is!

Again, we have Grandma Theresa to thank for the great mummy and Red Riding Hood costumes. What would we do without her?

It was one of those falls that was so hectic, we never even carved our pumpkins! Oh well, there is always next year.

Family Pictures 2011

2011-11-06T21:16:00.001-08:00

I've been wanting to have our family pictures done at Norm & Ele's farm for quite a while. I figured now was a good time. All the kids walk, none currently have weird teeth, nobody has started getting zits (except me. . .you'd think I could stop that nonsense since I'm in my 30's). Anyway, Emily Mikkelson did a great job and managed to catch some pictures that capture the essence of my kids at their favorite place on earth, "the farm."

You wouldn’t know it by looking at the pictures, but Olivia was a total pill. It was hard work to get any pictures of her. When we were all done, Garth looked at me and said, “We’re not doing that again until she’s eight!”

Football 2011

2011-11-06T20:54:00.001-08:00

Winning isn’t everything. Carter had a lot more fun playing football this year, despite the fact that they lost a lot of games. One of the moms is a photographer. . .here are some of my favorites.

Carter is #80

Trying Windows Live Writer

2011-11-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

I am told this makes blogging much easier so I’m giving it a try. . .we’ll see.

Carter is Nine!

2011-11-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

Wow! Carter is 9! As my mother-in-law pointed out, he is halfway to moving out. This year for his birthday, he just wanted to go bowling with a few friends. His one request was that the little siblings not come. I had to oblige because I understand that when they are around, we are on their schedule and they demand a lot of attention. So Garth took him to a very wet and rainy football game then to Deer Park for some glow in the dark bowling. I stayed home with the rest of the kids.

Colby, Gabe, Carter, and Jamison

He also got some exciting presents this year, a bike with gears from mom and dad. This super cool remote control helicopter from Grandma Theresa. (I think Dad likes to play with it as much as Carter!)

Fruit Fly Phenomenon

2011-10-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

As my peaches sat rapidly ripening on my counter, I wondered. . .are these fruit flies already in my house? or do they somehow smell the fruit and find their way inside? Either way, it's really gross. In other buggy news, check out this perfectly preserved bug sauce. . .I mean applesauce. It's hard to tell in the picture, but that black spot in the bottom is little bug. The poor thing suffered a terrible death drowning in applesauce and boiling to death in the canner.

An Unelected Official

2011-10-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended my first meeting as the new PTG Treasurer. It is a little bit ironic that I am treasurer considering I don't pay our bills, balance our checkbook, or ever have anything to do with the budgeting in this household. Garth said it was the perfect job for me to take because I will learn something. I feel like I have a handle on things and I am super excited to work with the other 4 amazing officers!

What comes first. . .the chicken or the egg?

2011-09-29T08:20:00.001-07:00

At our house, it was definitely the chicken.
It all started this Spring when Norm and Ele were getting new chicks and Garth decided we needed a few too. They kept the chicks in their basement with a heat lamp while they were tiny. The kids loved to go visit them!

Olivia didn't really like them. She preferred the safety of Norm's lap.Eventually, she warmed up to them.

Garth meanwhile, bought and assembled a chicken house at the Big R. Norm saw it and was sure it was too small for our chickens and insisted they build a proper chicken house. He and Garth built this amazing house which Garth dubbed the "Chicken Condo."

With the house in place, we went to the farm and picked out four chicks (that were then more like teenagers) to bring home.

My cousin's 7 year old was hatching chicks and selling them to earn money so we bought three more chickens and added them to the mix. It is amazing how there are two cliques. The Bardrocks stick together and didn't want anything to do with the newbies. They picked on them for the first couple of weeks, but now they tolerate each other.

Next Garth built a little chicken wire fence so they could get out of the house without getting eaten and without scaring the kids (or pooping on my porch!)

I am not entirely opposed to pets that have a purpose but it was made clear from the beginning that these chickens are not my responsibility. I have plenty of people to look after. Garth and the kids are the ones that feed, water, and play with them.

As they got bigger, they started to spread their wings, literally. One big Bardrock would fly up and bounce on the top of Garth's fence. After several days of them flying the coup, it was time to clip their wings. It was for their own safety. . .we had to protect our investment!

Turns out that one of the hens we got from my cousin, is actually a rooster. He hasn't started crowing yet and he's really the prettiest one out there so we are not sure what to do with him. His two hens might be lost without him.
After months of anticipation. . .

We got an egg! We are now getting about 4 a day and expect we will get more when the newer hens start laying too.

Yuck.

2011-09-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

It's never fun to wake up like this. . . Poor Olivia has been getting bloody noses. It happens most often when she is sleeping but she doesn't make a peep so we get her up in the morning and her pillow and blankets are soaked in blood and her face is a crusty mess. Poor baby.

It's Still September

2011-09-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am just now posting "back to school" pictures.
Carter started third grade. He is in Mrs. Herbes' 3rd/4th combo class. He was less than thrilled this year about going back to school. The only thing that got him to go was the threat of homeschool which is "way worse than going to school."Sydney started first grade. She is in Mrs. Dunn's 1st/2nd combo class. She transitioned really well to the all day, every day schedule. She is showing all kinds of responsibility getting herself ready for school and jumping right into her homework when she gets home. Derek gets to go to Kindermusik this year. Whenever people asked what grade the kids were going to be in, Derek announced that he got to go to Kindermusik. He did great and walked right into class with no tears or hesitation. It helps that his cousin Payton is in class.

North Idaho Limo

2011-09-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Where else but Northern Idaho would you see a truck (taking up two spaces lengthwise) like this one?!?! We parked next to this monster at Silverwood Theme Park and couldn't believe our eyes! The back two seats were full of kid car seats. . .can you imagine a mom driving this around to school/sports/etc?

Labor Day

2011-09-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

Our Labor Day this year was spent with the Hamiltons at their Pend Orielle River property. It was a chilly morning but quickly warmed up.Keith took Carter fishing and Norm took Derek and Syd out for a ride.

Carter showed off his mad slalom skills for his grandpa and great-grandpa.

Sydney chilled.

Karyna (and Keith) learned to surf.

And Aida tolerated the boat while we all played.

Oh Baby!

2011-09-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

My little brother Jordan and his wife Kailee are expecting their first baby! They were here for a short time, in between an internship and graduate school so my sister decided to throw her a shower while she was here. Kailee LOVES black and white then we threw in the pink because it's a girl! It was supposed to be outside but we had a surprise August rain storm that whole day so we had to move it in. I thought Kim did a great job! It looked so cute!

I made the tutu on the left for a decoration she could take home. (I think it looked cuter up close!)

Cousin Jill was the big winner of the shower game.

Congrats Jordan and Kailee! We look forward to meeting your little bundle of joy in November!

Can't We All Just Get Along?

2011-09-04T22:07:00.001-07:00

When I was pregnant with Olivia, and stressing about how close together she and Derek would be, a friend told me that the first year was the hardest part. She said just get through that then it's lots of fun. Her kids were obviously different than mine. The first year was quite easy. Olivia was a good baby, and Derek liked her. It has gotten harder. These two fight like crazy. They want the same toys, they both want to be on my lap, or be carried up & down the stairs, they both want my attention and want the other one to leave them alone. After a somewhat tough summer (Carter and Sydney fought a ton too!) I was looking through some pictures and wanted to post some proof that these two DO like each other, and DO get along occasionally. Lest I forget. . .

People I Admire #4 and #5

2011-09-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

Norm and Ele Hamilton One of the best parts about moving North a few years ago, was being closer to Garth's Grandparents. They have an amazing farm in the middle of the now booming 5 mile prairie. Garth's most fond memories of growing up happened on this farm, and now my kids have the opportunity to experience some of the same things. It is such a blessing.
I admire Norm and Ele for many reasons. There is the fact that they have been happily married for 50 years! They are also some of the hardest working people I have ever met. But the thing that I most admire and want to emulate is their generosity. They are selfless people who are always giving to others. When we threw them their anniversary party, they were uncomfortable having people fuss over them, because they are usually the ones fussing over others. During the summer, I practically grocery shop at their house. Ele has two incredible gardens and she is always giving me what she harvests. They also let us pick raspberries, cherries, plumbs, and apples from their orchard that I preserve and use all year. Ele won't just give me plumbs for jam. . .she will juice them, pre-measure the juice, and give them to me in neat containers. It's those kinds of little things that go beyond simple generosity. Ele spends every Monday quilting with some ladies from church. They donate all the quilts they make. When they learned of Carter's blister issue, they would bring me socks they found that they hoped would be good for his feet. The examples go on and on and they don't just save that generosity for family. I am so blessed to have them in my life and the lives of my children. I hope that I can give of what I have as freely as they do.

Summer Fun

2011-09-01T10:27:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I look at my summer photos and realize that the majority of them are on the boat or of the kids playing at the lake. Here is some evidence that we occasionally have fun in the summer away from the lake.
The older kids got to go with Garth to the old car show to visit with one of his customers. He was showing these amazing cars and let the kids get in for a "test drive."

I have fun preserving and using the bounties of summer. These were the most amazing blueberry muffins I made after picking 8 pounds of berries one day!

We spend a lot of time at the farm. Norm has let Carter drive the tractor this year and he even takes his siblings for rides around the property.

We had play dates with friends (the Youngs are of course a favorite!)

There was art camp at the Corbin Art Center. This year they did "Crafts from Around the World." My counter looked like this by the end of the week so we took pictures of our favorite projects, saved a couple and tossed the rest.

Camping

2011-09-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

Last summer, I vetoed any camping. I just didn't want to go while we had a crawler. This year there was no excuse. My awesome cousin Kelly planned a "cousin reunion" for a Saturday at Porcupine Bay, the place all of the cousins learned to ski growing up. We decided we would take the kids up the day before and camp.

Mmmm. . . smores!

After some snacks around the fire and some late night cribbage, we all went to bed. As my Grandpa Gleyre used to say, "I have never slept in a tent . . . I've spent many nights in one, I've just never slept."

The next day we had a great time playing in the water and catching up with all the cousins who could make it. Thanks to Kelly for the planning, maybe this will become an annual event!

A Vacation and a Life Lesson

2011-08-16T16:30:00.001-07:00

The life lesson? Plans Change. We had big plans for our trip to Seattle to see our good friends. On our way there, we found out Justin was sick in the hospital and we considered turning around and going home but decided to make the most of the situation and go with the flow.
We planned on driving straight through to Seattle. . .plans change. We ended up stopped on the freeway for rock blasting (that started literally ONE MINUTE before we got there) so we danced, and played football and posed for pictures while we waited.

Our plan was to stay with our friends, but instead, we got to stay at her parent's beautiful lake place on Lake Goodwin.

The one plan that remained was a trip to Pike Street Market. We shopped around, had a shrimp cocktail,

some oyster shooters (Garth was the only one), and the kids got to pick out their own dinner for Garth to cook that night.

No surprise, Carter chose Dungenous crab!

We did get to see our friends that evening for an amazing sea food spread from Garth and some fun times splashing in the water.

We had not planned on seeing my brother Jordan and his wife Kailee who live close by but our plans changed and they met us for a really fun day at the Woodland Park Zoo.

They also came to the lake place for round 2 of our sea food cuisine and a little dip in the lake.

The trip was so different than we planned but turned out to be a lot of fun and we were glad to be there to support Heather and Justin and their kids while he was getting well.

New Specs

2011-08-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

This post is very belated. Perhaps you have noticed the appearance of glasses on Carter's face in some of the more recent posts. This Spring, he failed the eye test at school and we found out he is on the road to being like his mother. He is in the early stages of near sightedness and needed corrective lenses. I wasn't terribly surprised, I had noticed (and been in denial) that he was squinting a lot and asking me to read things that were far away.
After searching many stores in Spokane to find a handsome, yet affordable pair of specs, we found these. . .
They are Converse in a cool blue with yellow on the inside. I was amazed at how much better the selection is for girls. Then I started to feel like he needed a second pair, just in case. I heard about this great website Zenni Optical and got him this second pair of glasses for only $15!!!

So far, we have been impressed at how responsible and careful he has been with his glasses. We were also pleasantly surprised that he feels handsome in them and has not been teased at all for having them. Whew.

She made a funny

2011-08-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

Garth was sitting in the living room cleaning his golf clubs and getting things in order in his golf bag. Sydney walks in and sees his dirty equipment and says, "Daddy, your GARTH BALLS are dirty . . . (little giggles) I meant to say GOLF BALLS."

Lost At Sea

2011-08-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

When I graduated from college, my Dad surprised me with my own water ski. From the first time I skied on it, I loved it! I've realized lately how amazing that is. I have tested a bunch of other people's skis in the past 8 years and I have never liked one as much as my own.
Sadly, last week, we were out skiing and I left my ski on the back platform as I pulled in the rope and put my gloves away. I then got distracted by a kid or a friend on the boat and forgot to put my ski in the boat. Garth was up next but decided there were too many boats where we were and drove up the river a ways before he skied. We realized after his ski run that my ski was not in the ski locker. My heart sank. We back tracked, asked other boats, had a couple of false alarms that turned out to be ducks, and eventually gave up. I honestly felt sick to my stomach the whole way home. I feel like I've lost a friend.

One Rudder Man

2011-08-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

Check this boy out!!!!

It is so fun as a parent to see your kids excell. Carter tried to ski on one last year but the ski was small and the weather was cold and we didn't quite get it. He was determined to be the youngest one skier in the family (which I knew he would since Garth was 17 and I was 11 when we learned). So this year, we let him try with my ski and it only took him a handful of tries and he was up!! Days later he even braved crossing the wake. He still has days that he struggles and doesn't get up but he is doing so well! I am such a proud waterski mama!

Keep it up Carter! I hope you remember the joy you felt when you wanted something badly, worked hard, and accomplished it!

Breakfast

2011-08-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

Carter has a new found passion for cooking. He especially likes to wake up before me and make me breakfast. We had to learn a couple of lessons. . .like don't pour the milk onto cereal until people are awake. . .and use a knife to cut bananas, don't just mush them apart with your fingers. Recently he moved on from cereal and toast and learned to cook scrambled eggs and pancakes. One Sunday morning, I heard commotion downstairs and this is what I found.

He was doing pretty well. He plugged the griddle in, he just didn't turn it on so he couldn't figure out why they weren't ready to flip yet. We also had to practice putting the batter a little further from the edge to avoid spillage. It has been an adventure and a growing experience for him and I think his future roommates will thank me for teaching him to cook!

Payton

2011-08-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

My sister had the chance to go to St. Louis with her hubby for a work-related getaway in July. She shipped her kids off to different places and I got her 3 year old, Payton. I was just the tiniest bit nervous about having an extra kid for a week, especially since Payton has a track record of being a bit mischievous. The week went well, however. The boys played, and played and played together. Their favorite thing to do was ride up the hill past my house then fly down. The first time they chose to do this, they were alone and didn't tell anyone where they were going. I came out to the garage to check on them (where they were supposed to be riding bikes) and about had a heart attack because they were nowhere in sight. I ran across the street to check on the docks, and that's when I saw them and the top of the hill with huge grins on their faces.

I was glad the boys had this chance to get to know each other better. They were amazing together and didn't even fight. If only I could get my own kids to play so nicely with each other!

Kunda! Marimba Band

2011-08-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned before that I love our little community library. One of the kids activities they did this summer was this Kunda! Marimba Band. They were an interesting group of people but the kids really enjoyed their music.

The best part about being in a small community is the opportunities. Since there weren't very many kids there, each one got to try out any (or all) of the instruments. It really made the event for my kids.

Picky, picky, picky

2011-07-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

For me, one of the best parts of summer are the fresh berries! I took the kids up to Greenbluff on a drizzly day to pick strawberries. I had gotten a flat from Norm and Ele, but we ate so many so quickly that I wanted to get more for jam and for flash freezing. Sydney, Derek and I each grabbed a box and picked until they complained.

This farm only charged 99 cents per pound, but I think they should have counted mine as a few extra pounds. . . the little ones would pick one, then eat a few.

Then we got to pick Norm and Ele's bing cherry tree while they were out of town. Sydney was the best little picker. She loved climbing on the ladder to get the high ones.

Olivia mostly ate them. I have found a few cherry pits in the diapers this week, yuck!

Look at the harvest! We got three flats to leave for Ele then we took home 10 gallon bags for ourselves and our lucky friends and neighbors to share! I feel so lucky to have access to this. On the way home Garth stopped at the store for a couple of things and said that cherries were "on sale" for 2.99 a pound!

They invited us back this week to pick their raspberries as well. Those are my favorite! No pictures that time but we have had raspberry pancakes, raspberries on cereal, raspberries with a little milk and splenda (my favorite!). And I still managed to mash enough for a batch of jam. Mmmm. . .the yummy tastes of summer!

My Little Tree Hugger

2011-07-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

As I was trimming my roses the other day, Derek took a big wiff and said "I love these flowers. . . and these flowers love me!"

Man Down

2011-07-27T15:28:00.001-07:00

Sacrament meeting can be tough on little boys. Lately, Derek cannot make it through our one o'clock church. He ends up sleeping on Garth's lap through sacrament meeting then often stays asleep through much of Nursery. It's a little ironic because I can't get this three year old to take naps in his own bed during the week.

4th of July

2011-07-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing 4th of July! We had such a cold, windy, and rainy June so we were thrilled that the day was finally hot! We invited a bunch of friends and family to come celebrate all day with us at our association park and we filled the place up! There was never a dull moment for the kids. They played bubbles. . .

Played in the water. . .

This was Carter's first experience in a kayak, and he really caught on! He gave all of the kids rides and a couple of adults, including a lady who is 7 months pregnant!

There was an abundance of good food. Garth and Cameron smoked ribs for 6+ hours on the BBQ had a huge batch of pulled pork for sandwiches (thanks to the Rippys for slaughtering the pig for the occasion!). Olivia, as you can see, was partial to the chocolate covered rice krispies someone brought.

The kids spent hours on the beach and never grew tired.

We ended the night out on the boat to watch some fireworks. On our side of the lake they are illegal, but the other side is Steven's county and fireworks are legal so we cruised out and watched as people along the water put on a show. It was lots of fun!

Happy Birthday Olivia!

2011-07-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

Olivia, I hope you know how much we love you! Even though you got left with your Grandma all day on your birthday, even though your mom didn't make you a cake, or wrap your presents, even though all we have to show for your second birthday is some iphone pictures of eating ice cream at McDonalds.

Grandma Theresa was an angel and took all three younger kids while we spent the day with Carter at Hoopfest, it just happened to also be Olivia's birthday. We got there at 10 in the morning and there was a tower of presents and a homemade cake. Obviously she was well taken care of. After the last game, we all went to Livie's favorite spot for a burger and some birthday ice cream. Pretty lame but that's the life of the youngest child in this family. We Love You Olivia!

50th Anniversary

2011-07-16T15:25:00.001-07:00

In June, Norm and Ele celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Garth and I worked with his Dad, Step-Mom, Brother and Sister-in-law to throw them a party! The Hamiltons have an annual picnic that used to be held at the farm and for this special occasion, we brought it back. There were over 100 people there that were somehow related or neighbors of Norm and Ele. We had lunch catered by Red Lion then a program. It started with a slide show of pictures that Karyna put together, then I sang the Rooster song (I even played the guitar. . .first time since high school). Then Keith told some funny stories about spending time on the farm. At Grandma's request, Carter sang a solo then the kids and I sang "Grandpa" by the Judds. Garth ended the program with some more memories and thoughts about Norm and Ele. Good times were had by all. Congratulations to Norm and Ele!This is Ele's wedding dress that she made herself!

Sad News

2011-07-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

I recently found out that my friend Brooke lost her husband. We were friends briefly when we lived on the south hill and they were here for law school. They moved to Yakima so I have run into her a time or two and I get updates occasionally from my brother who lives there.
Mark came home early from their family trip to Utah so he could return to work and died in his sleep of a brain aneurysm. This hit way too close to home for me. They are about our age, with 5 kids about the ages of my kids, healthy, happy, wonderful people. You just don't expect something like this to happen to someone like her. I have had feelings of sadness and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my own husband since I found out. I am so grateful for all he does, for the dad he is, for his hard work, his humor, his decisiveness. I think of how heart-breaking it would be if he didn't get to see Livie growing up and saying funny things or if the boys never got to go golfing or on a Home Depot run with their Dad. My heart has been so full this week just thinking about how quickly life can change and how grateful I am for what I have at this moment. I have so many reasons to be happy and I feel so blessed.

Hoopfest

2011-07-10T19:51:00.001-07:00

Believe it or not, Spokane is the host of the world's largest 3 on 3 outdoor basketball tournament. It is quite the event here, they shut down half of downtown and there are basketball hoops lining the streets. It is actually in the Guinness Book of World Records! This year, there were 7,ooo teams and nearly 20,000 participants ranging from a 2nd grader bracket all the way up to the over 60 bracket. Players are guaranteed two to three games on Saturday and if they win, they play Sunday. I didn't want Carter to have to make the tough decision to not play on Sunday so I wasn't going to encourage him to play. However, one of his friends' dad called and said they wanted him to play with him even though they knew it would just be on Saturday. I was glad they included him and that there was no pressure to play Sunday.

The "Giant Killers" (not sure where that name came from or what it means) lost their first game. They hadn't really practiced together and they are new to the half-court rules of play. They did much better and won their second game so they got to play one last game.

The other kids were at Grandma Theresa's house all day but she had plans in the evening so I had to pick them up before the last game. It was fun for Carter to have a cheering section but it was SO hard to have the little ones in that crowd. They estimated 250,000 spectators for the event. Unfortunately, the Giant Killers lost their last game on a last second two-pointer from a kid on the opposing team. Fortunately, that meant they didn't play on Sunday so Carter didn't miss out on anything.

The next day, Carter could barely walk. When we were soaking Carter's feet and he counted 12 blisters (although I think he had a couple of those before hoopfest started) and he announced that he doesn't think he will ever play in hoopfest again.

Sewing With Grandma

2011-07-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

I love it when people teach my kids things that I cannot teach them. Recently, Sydney had a sleepover at Grandma Theresa's house and they sewed together. Now I can sew a straight line but it is not a real talent of mine and it is something I do out of necessity, not enjoyment. Together they sewed this cute strawberry sundress and she even got to experiment with a decorative stitch on the bottom.
Then when they were at Grandma's house while Carter played hoopfest, They made one for Olivia. Theresa has some serious sewing skills and I'm always impressed at the things she does with no pattern. I would be thrilled if this was a skill she passed on to my girls!

Spring Training

2011-07-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

It seems that when Spring finally hits in the Northwest, everyone is training for something. This year alone, I had friends and family training for half-marathons, full marathon, Olympic triathlon, Iron Man, Ragnar relays, and century rides. I am impressed at the time and dedication people put into these endeavors but I'm just not that into it. I officially gave up running last year because of knee problems (which cuts out most of these events) plus I am too cheap to buy a road bike and I feel like if it's a nice enough day to be riding a bike, I'd rather be skiing.
The one thing I miss from training for an event and completing it, is the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes along with it.
This Spring, I single handedly moved 13 yards of river rock, one wheelbarrow load at a time from a huge pile into the long beds that go along the side and the back of my house. Okay, I know that is nothing like these events but I felt pretty proud of myself for setting my mind to it, and getting it done!

The only bad news is, 13 yards didn't quite cut it. I need several more to fill in around the hot tub and in three beds with trees.

All that Jazz

2011-07-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

We made it through another year of dance. I really think this is Syd's "thing." She participated in a Jazz class this year and loved it (so did Mom!). She was the youngest one in her class, there were two 8 year olds and a 9 year old but she really held her own. She had a great teacher, she learned a lot, and performed well enough to earn herself another invitation to be on the competitive team at her studio. Last year she vehemently refused because she did not want to tap again (which is required of the Little Jewels). But this year, she decided to give it a go. She just got done with a Tap/Jazz/Musical Theatre camp and the last day she told Garth "I just realized something today. . .tap is actually fun!"

Muscle Confusion

2011-07-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

So I am sitting in the office working on the computer and Derek is next door on the living room couch. I hear him grunting and breathing like he is working hard and he is making some sort of attempt at sit-ups. He comes into the office with his head low and a defeated look on his face and I asked him what was wrong. "My nipples aren't bigger," he said. "Your nipples?" I ask. He lifts up his shirt to show me his stomach and says, "I want big nipples like Daddy." Muscles, Derek, you mean muscles.

This little encounter reminded me of a 4 year old Carter on a sunny Spring Day on our way to preschool. A Mead High School P.E. class was running down the road and leading the pack was an African American young man with VERY large muscles and no shirt on. Carter says to me, "mom, when I get bigger I want to look like that guy. . .(then in a suave sort of voice) DARK SKIN, AND BIG MUSCLES!"

Good luck with that Carter.

"Shock"ed

2011-07-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here in Spokane, we have an arena football team called the Shock. They've been around for a few years and they even won the national championship last year. Though we had never attended a game, Garth was pretty sure that arena football would be lame (based on the scores, there is not a lot of defense in the league). However, when you are offered free tickets on the third row. . .you take them. We were "shocked" that it was actually a lot of fun. It was an intense and trashy crowd, as you can always expect in Spokane, and we were right in there yelling and cheering with the best (or worst) of them.

Father/Son Campout

2011-07-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

Obviously I wasn't at the Father and Son campout but based on the pictures it looks like an extra large helping of food, fire, friends, and DIRT!

Kindergarten Graduate and a Person I Admire

2011-06-28T21:02:00.001-07:00

Let's just say that I was NOT one of those parents who cried when my kids started kindergarten, unless it was a tear of joy. I love having my kids attend school. Instead of being sad and nostalgic about Sydney graduating from kindergarten, I am looking forward to her being in first grade and having no half-day committments for any of my kids for a whole year (then we get to start the preschool and kindergarten show all over for the little two.)

The kids performed all of their color songs, weather songs, months and seasons songs. Then they got called up and received a diploma. Quite a bit of pomp considering they will be coming back to this same school in a few short months, but they felt important.

This is Sydney's best little bud, Carly. These two girls are so much alike it is freaky. They've got the same sass, love of dance, silly humor, and sweet spirits. She lives just a street away so it will be fun to see this friendship grow.

Sydney's teacher, Mrs. Hare is people I admire #3. She is a truly amazing teacher. She has every bit as much energy as these 5 and 6 year olds. She talks a million miles a minute and can change pace as quickly as her students. She had the dream job this year, 15 kindergarteners and she took them so far. I enjoyed volunteering in her classroom and seeing the growth, both academically and socially throughout the year. With the last name Hare, she plays it up in her classroom (filled with bunny things). She teaches the kids that they are all someBUNNY special. . .she has even told me and other parents on a regular basis that we are somebunny special too. She taught Carter in first grade last year then moved down to kindergarten (where she says her heart belongs) so she had my kids two years in a row. I might go through Mrs. Hare withdrawal next year and I hope she sticks around long enough to have my other two kids!

Go Fish!

2011-06-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

The second grade classes this year put on a musical called "Go Fish." I was actually very impressed with them. They all could have slowed down and spoken a little louder but they sang several songs, with choreography that were adorable. Everyone knew where to go and when to be there and it was super fun to watch.

Carter played the Tuna fish who couldn't carry a tune. He got to sing off key and he did a great job!

The Needle fish on the right was Carter's partner on one of the dances. She told her mom that Carter's hands are made for basketball. . . not dancing!

Of course, I had nothing to do with his amazing costume. I asked Theresa what she would do (their only direction was that he needed to have a yellow tail) and she graciously went to work to make this amazing tuna fish costume. WOW!

A Fun, Simple Family Night

2011-06-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

I came across these pictures the other day and they made me smile. Prophet guess who was the easiest family home evening ever and it was a big hit! Everyone got in on the fun. Just have a pad of sticky notes, write the name of a prophet and stick it on someone's forehead. Then the rest of the family gives them hints (starting out vague and moving towards obvious) as they try to guess which prophet they are.

Oh Happy Day!

2011-06-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

It's finally warm enough to go on the boat! We went Memorial Day then the following Saturday. That day, the canal water was so low that when we lowered the boat off the lift, we weren't floating. The kids were a little bummed as you can see. Garth wasn't going to let that defeat him so he pushed it off the lift (harder than it sounds) and we were off for some fun! The river is moving so fast that when we pulled out of the canal, Garth didn't even turn the steering wheel and the water turned our boat downriver. We went way further down than we usually do before we skied or let the kids jump in. It is definitely wetsuit weather and water still. . .it might be 4th of July before I dare take it off this year.

Carter loves his new wetsuit because I will let him ski earlier. It only took us 5 minutes to get it on him. . .that bugger is tight!

Wicked Awesome!

2011-06-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend our friends, the Andersons came to visit and to see "Wicked" with us. I have been looking forward to this for so long! I bought the tickets a year ago and have been excited to go ever since. I really didn't know much about the show except that it was about the Wizard of Oz witches and that everyone I know who has seen it raved about it. The day of the show I was a tiny bit worried that it would be like that movie, or book, or whatever where you hear so many rave reviews then you are disappointed because you expected more. I was NOT disappointed. It was a truly amazing show. . .the costumes, the set, the music, I loved it all!

Dinner at Anthony's was the only so-so part of the evening, but there was this incredible view of the falls!

Blogger Troubles

2011-06-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

I am having trouble with my blog. I have about 10 different posts I need to do but for the past week, blogger has not been behaving. When I go to make a new post, the toolbar is not there, hence, I cannot add images. I feel like there is probably a simple solution, but I have clicked on everything I can see and have not figured out how to get it back. If you've had this problem, or know what is going on, please help me. Give me a call or leave me a comment, it would be much appreciated.

It's a little depressing

2011-05-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

Water skiing with my cousin Cameron for the past several years, there has been an unwritten rule that there are no wetsuits allowed after Memorial Day or before Labor Day. Obviously you can wear them whenever you want on our boat, you will just get made fun of for not being enough of a "man." So here it is, Memorial Day weekend, and we have not even gotten in the water. It has been freakishly cold here, in fact last week we were about 20* below average for this time of year, not to mention the water just hit 50* last week. We put the boat on the lift so it would be ready if there was ever a dry or less than frigid day and it has been sitting there empty for a week. There is also an unusual amount of runoff this year and I have never seen so much water pouring over the dam. The water is moving so fast that there are whirlpools. I am DYING to get on the boat and I consider myself pretty die-hard when it comes to getting in the water in less than perfect conditions, but this is just crazy!

An Unwelcome Guest

2011-05-26T13:19:00.001-07:00

I was headed out to go visiting teaching and I opened the door to the garage to get the kids in their car seats. I realized I forgot my purse and walked back into the house. Derek and Livie came running in saying "it scares me" I asked what and they said "the bird" right about when I noticed there was a bird fluttering around my living room. I ran like a maniac to all the doors and threw them open so it would fly out. Unfortunately, it flew upstairs instead. We all went upstairs wondering where it would end up since I have 6 rooms up there all with their doors hanging wide open. Then I heard Derek announce "there's the birdy!" Can you see it in the left hand corner of the window?

Cue me. . .acting like a freak, throwing socks at it to try to get it to fly off the windowsill, climbing on a ladder and trying to brush it away with a broom (it may not appear so, but he is WAY up there. I have an extra tall front door, plus the ledge, then the window). When the bird flew at me, I lost all sense and fell off the ladder when I tried to jump down? run away? dodge the bird? who knows what I was thinking. Then I decided I would leave it alone and see if it would fly out on its own if it wasn't being harassed. It didn't.
So I called Grandpa Norm and he saved the day! He raised the ladder higher than I dared and asked me for a towel. I asked if he was going to catch it and he said "no, I'm going to knock that bugger unconscious." I wish I had a picture of my two little ones on the stairs watching and Livie repeating over and over "the birdy scares me" and "grandpa get him out." He wacked the bird three times, it fell on the floor in a daze but perfectly okay and Grandpa climbed down, scooped him up, and carried him outside. I had been fighting with that thing for two hours and Norm is here for two minutes and solves the problem. I hate to be a helpless little girl but it sure felt good to have a guy like Norm around to save me!

People I Admire #2

2011-05-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

Brenda StoudtWhen Carter was in preschool, one of my "preschool mom" friends told me that her friend from church moved into our neighborhood. I kept meaning to go meet her, but life was busy. So Brenda (the new neighbor) invited my whole family along with the preschool friend's family over for dinner. That is when I began to admire Brenda. She made the most amazing dinner and had a gift for the recently born Derek (whom she had never met). Through other neighborhood gatherings I came to find out how incredibly talented this woman is. Not only does she cook like a gourmet chef, she plays piano and bass guitar in her church band, teaches piano (she is Carter's teacher), and is a house call pediatric nurse practitioner.

The thing I most admire about Brenda is her genuine concern for other people. Her chosen profession is a tell-tale for how her life revolves around helping people. I can't tell you how nice it is (especially in the wintertime) to call her when one of my kids are sick and she just comes over and checks them out. Recently we discovered that my new insurance considers her "out of network" which means they will only cover her once my $1700 deductible is met UGH! I found all of this out when I got explanation of benefits saying I was going to owe over $550 for the four times she checked out my kids' coughs, sore throats, and ears this winter YIKES! When I told her about it, she just cancelled the bills and let me pay her the copay I would have paid at our paediatrician's office. I told her sorry about the mix-up and I wouldn't use her anymore since she wouldn't get paid and she told me to please still call her. She said she loves my kids and wants to be a part of caring for them and making my life easier. I called her the other day when Sydney was having an "issue" and she not only gave me free medical advice and talked me through what to do, she also let Carter stay way after his piano lesson to play the Wii so I would have one less thing to deal with while helping Sydney.

Brenda inspires me to look for ways to help other people. Though I am not a doctor, I can lend a hand by babysitting, or making a meal etc. and I should do it all with a willing heart like she does.

Utah

2011-05-17T15:11:00.001-07:00

It all stared here, packed into the Suburban at 6am headed to Richfield, Utah. 16 hours later we reached our destination. All things considered, there was very little whining, crying or fighting. . .thank heavens for the DVD player! The day after we arrived was Easter Sunday. A couple of my Aunts and Uncles and cousins came over for dinner, decorating eggs, and a quick easter egg hunt between downpours of rain.

My Uncle Steve (sown here teaching techniques) is an artist and decorating eggs with him was serious business. He showed up with two big boxes of supplies. The kids had great fun!Carter's favorite used a rubber band technique.

Syd's favorite used a feather brushing technique (my fav too!)

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very cooperative while we were there. We only got about a day and a half of good weather. . . the reast were cold and rainy. So we entertained ourselves with indoor activities.

A sing-a-long with Grandpa Russ (all my kids call him Grandpa Howdy). The favs were "Skinny Minny" and "You are my Sunshine."

Syudney got to spend an afternoon with Mackenzie at my Qunt Larisa's dance studio for a little private lesson. She also got to pick out a leftover costume from the closet there. They came back to the house and performed for us, it was so adorable! Kenzie is so great with my kids.

On the first day Olivia was leery of everyone and wouldn't let anyone but me hold her or help her. Kenzie walked in (she had been in Salt Lake and was late to the gathering) and Olivia ran straight into her arms. There must be some sort of bond from when Kenzie came to help me when Olivia was a newborn.

The kids spent hours playing "chicken foot," a domino game my Grandma Sharon taught them.

Finally, the sun came out and we got to play outside!

I've always loved their brick wall around their porch.

My grandparents currently lease their land to a sod farmer. It was gorgeous to see their house surrounded by 7 acres of lush, green grass. Plus, it was the perfect place for Carter to finally test out the golf clubs he got for Christmas.

Grandpa Howdy is almost 80 but he is still super fun for the kids to be with. He got out his side by side 4-wheeler and took the kids on some rides.
This thing can go about 60 miles per hour but as they were heading down the canal back to the house, they were going much slower than that.
I realized as they got closer, it was because Carter was driving! So fun!

Somehow, I got talked into making the wedding cake with my Aunt Bonnie. The bottom two layers were styrofoam so it was no problem but I had to make a top layer that was 6" tall that they could cut and feed each other at the reception. That proved to be difficult. I made cake 3 different days, and ways to try to get the perfect rounds. Luckily, it was covered with these Piroline cookies so it was very forgiving.

I thought it turned out pretty amazing all things considered. I can't take credit for the flowers, my Aunt Larisa did those, but the rest was me. . .hard to believe. It's not a trip to Utah without a horse ride. My Grandpa sold his horses recently, but luckily he sold them to friends who say he can come ride them any time.

Sydney loved riding and took several turns.

Carter also loved it and ended up trying it on his own without my mom leading the horse.

Derek prefered to ride with Grandma Julia.

Olivia just hated it. She kept telling me "He scares me, horsey."
In between turns, the kids played on this gravel pile. I love the look on Carter's face as he sleds down. Who needs toys? Just give them some sunshine and a bunch of space, they'll figure something out.

I couldn't get enough of Olivia in her jeans and cowboy boots. It was too cute!

This is where we ate lunch EVERY day we were there (between Taco Time and the cake rejects, I think I gained 5 pounds that week :) Carter even got to go there for breakfast a couple of times. Grandpa goes in to get the paper and throw out trash some mornings so he brought Carter and let him have crustos and Coke for breakfast. . .he's the great-grandpa, what can you do?

The last day we were there was the wedding. They did the reception the night before the temple wedding (weird, I know) but here are some pics of the reception.

They had a table with a bunch of cute clear candy jars all filled with black and red candies (the wedding colors). They also had this table of amazing cupcakes. The kids were in heaven!

The Manti temple is one of my favorites. It is so big and gorgeous, what a fun place to get married. My cousin forgot her marriage liscense though, so we all waited 2+ hours while they went down to the courthouse and got another one. I was not very patient and worried about my kids in the ansilary with Mackenzie but we all made it through and it will be a funny story for them to tell when they are old!

This is What Mother's Day is All About

2011-05-05T21:01:00.001-07:00

I hesitate to admit that I don't like the pressure of small holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day and Valentine's Day. I always celebrate with the obligatory card/gift/whatever. But am I the only one that feels like it is often contrived? If my kids pretend to be nice and loving just one day of the year, it really doesn't do much for me.

Last week I drove down to Utah with my mom and the kids to attend my cousin's wedding. I was gone for 8 days. I got home hours after Garth left on a business (and golf) trip to Palm Springs. When I walked into the house, it was spotless (granted he didn't have any kids messing things up) but honestly, I expected that. Garth loves to come home from a trip to a clean house. What made me smile and eventually tear up is all of the things I noticed that he did while I was gone. He weeded, barked the front yard, transplanted hostas, planted at least 10 new plants around the yard, purchased lilacs that I mentioned I would like in the back, mowed the lawn, started building our chicken coup, planted my pots in the front, hung new flower baskets on my porch,and got the builders going on our new shop! I never asked him to do any of this. . .no "honey do" list has ever been made in this house and yet he thinks of the things that need to be done, and does them. I am so grateful and it (along with the super sweet card he left for me on the counter) made me feel loved, valued, and cared for. So much more than flowers or a card would have done on the designated day for Mothers.

Yesterday Sydney came downstairs with a stuffed bunny and a book called "I Love You, Little One" (that has been on her shelf since she was born) that had this note inside.

Later she realized that Mother's Day is coming up this weekend and she was all upset that she didn't save her special gift for Mother's Day. I very truthfully assured her that it meant just as much or more to me on that day as it would on Mother's Day. It is these kind of loving thoughts and gestures that I hope I do frequently enough for my husband, mother, and father that when their "special day" comes around, they already know how much I love and care for them.

Canadian Spring Break

2011-04-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

We headed to the condo the first week of April looking forward to some spring skiing. You know when the sun is shining and you don't have to wear lots of layers. What we got instead was snow. . .lots and lots of snow. It snowed over two feet in the five days we were there !

We took our friends the Youngs whose 11 year old twins discovered skiing this year. Their other three kids had never tried it so we spent the first day on the magic carpet where the experienced kids "taught" the new skiers.

Not surprisingly, their kids caught on like pros! They were ready for the real chair lift in no time!

Sunday we tried to do some "churchy" things in the condo then we did some snowshoeing in the afternoon. The Easter bunny hopped by early at our house and brought Carter and Sydney some new snowshoes. I also borrowed a few pairs from a friend so we had almost enough for everyone (Garth gladly stayed in the condo with the two littlest).

Snowshoeing with kids involves lots of flopping in the snow and snowball fights.

Sydney was really in her element here. She loves hiking all around the trees and through the thick stuff. She lasted longer than the other kids and had a great time! It was fun to see her really enjoy something (skiing is not exactly her passion.)

The kids were gassed by the end and as you can see, I ended up carrying their shoes.
Monday and Tuesday were spent on the big hills.
I got to spend one afternoon with Cami and her older twins. We ended up spending quite a bit of time at the Telus terrain park. It seems like every time I go to Big White I get to do something new. This was a new one for me. I am not a dare devil and I like to keep my skis on the soft snow but we played around in the halfpipe and raced each other several times on the snow cross course. It was super fun and it was nice to do it with kids so if I wanted to throw in a snowplow or two to slow myself down, it just looked like I was sticking with my kids.

Carter was a lot more brave than usual. I think because Maci and Cooper (also twins) weren't afraid at all. They tackled a bunch of blue runs and went at moguls like they were no big deal. Carter stuck with them and surprised himself that he could do some runs he didn't know he could do.

Sydney had a hard time keeping up. She is super cautious and she snowplows so big she is almost in the middle splits. She would complain of her legs hurting after one run and she watched the backs of everyone skiing away from her the whole time. One day, we took a super long run across the mountain to another lift and it was full of tears and drama. When we got to the other lift, all the kids (including her best bud Preslie) headed for a blue run. Syd was devastated that nobody wanted to do the green with her and wanted to quit. I took her alone and started making our way back to the condo. When we were on the lift alone, I asked her why she was so upset when we were skiing with the group she said "Mom, I have lots of talents. . . but every time I share them with a friend, they are better than me at it." It seriously broke my heart for her.

We were quite the show with all of these kids. One lady asked my if we were some sort of ski school. Nope, just two families (minus two kids).The condo was bursting at the seams with all of us. It sleeps 10 people in rooms, 12 people if you use the futon by the living room. We had 13 people but Olivia is in a crib so everyone got a bed!
We were also a little short on seats at the table so Olivia sat in a booster seat on the floor for every meal.

Nothing beats a post-ski soak in the hot tub. . .
and a good movie.

The kids did great together. They played lots of wii, lots of games, and had a wonderful time together. I am afraid Garth and I created a monster for the Youngs. Their kids LOVED skiing and could not get enough. Mark might need a second job to pay for their new expensive hobby!

People I Admire #1

2011-04-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

Shelli Abrams
(If you wonder why I am writing about Shelli, you can read this post)

When I first met Shelli, I was honestly a little intimidated. We worked together in the Young Women organization at church and she was a hard read for me. Although very friendly, she was pretty quiet and private. I would sit in meetings and wonder "does she love my ideas or hate them?" She had recently had her 4th baby and was super put-together all of the time it seemed.

For the last two and a half years, Shelli has been one of my counselors in the Primary presidency. She is just as put-together as I once thought she was, but I now know how warm and wonderful she is as well.

Shelli DOES so much. She is the mother of 4 boys and a beautiful baby girl. She has a vinyl lettering business and participates in a co-op preschool. I admire her incredible food storage, her couponing skills and the way she bakes her own bread.

What inspires me though, is the person she is. She knows and truly cares about each child in our Primary. She always seems to know what is going on in their lives but is the furthest thing from a busy body. I am impressed by how smart her children are, which she would never take credit for, but I know that she constantly teaches them about the gospel in her home. The thing that most inspires me about Shelli is her commitment to her family. The first time Garth and I went out to dinner with Shelli and her husband Conrad, we asked them what they do for fun. Their answer was "family." They spend so much quality time together and truly enjoy each other. Because I know Shelli, I want to be more loving, and I am striving to have the level of Christ-like life and Christ-centered home she creates.

Scripture Power

2011-04-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the year, we were challenged to read the whole Book of Mormon with our families. We decided to take on the challenge (with the older two. . .we usually lay the little ones down for bed before reading so we can actually hear what we are reading.) I truly believe that there are many blessings when we take the time as a family to read, study, pray and try to do what we are asked. There are the expected blessings of guidance and direction from prophets of old, closeness to your family, and increased spirituality. One of the benefits I didn't count on was significant improvements in Sydney's reading. We let her read one verse each night and it can be a struggle. She tries so hard to sound out words and I have seen her get better. The other night, there was a moment I have been waiting for. She read an entire verse without any help from me!

Here is what she read . . .

Mosiah 2:6 And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which King Benjamin should speak unto them.

Changed Perspective

2011-04-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

A few years ago when we moved up North, I went through a strange time. I met all these new and wonderful people but all it did was make me feel inadequate. I had lived in the same area my whole life (except for a couple of years of college). People knew me, knew my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, they knew that I was a good gymnast back in the day, that I could sing, that I was someone. I fell into a habit of comparing myself to everyone around me. Of course, I usually compared their strengths to my weaknesses so not surprisingly, I never measured up. I felt like the epitome of a mediocre mother. I was mediocre at a lot of things but not great at anything. I scrapbooked, but not as well as my friend. I sing, but not as well as other amazing singers. I did triathlon, but only short distance ones. I didn't bake my own bread, or home school my kids, the list went on an on. So then to make myself feel better, I would see someone that was amazing at something and I would immediately find some fault of theirs, be it physical, social, or emotional. Guess what? The only person who suffered from my lapse in character was. . . yep, me. So I stopped comparing myself so much to the people around me (which is not very easy). I have tried to be inspired by people and what they do amazingly well and not feel like I am less of a person if I am not equally amazing at that certain thing.

We recently had the opportunity to hear General Conference where the leaders of our church speak to us. I had an amazing little personal prophetic epistle from this talk by Lynn G. Robbins. He talks about the difference between DO and BE. We are so concerned and focused on what we DO (our profession, our talents, hobbies, etc.) and we often forget to think about what kind of person we ought to BE (humble, kind, patient, loving, etc). I was so grateful for this message because I feel like I have more help and direction now in my efforts to BE a better person and to allow others to BE their own version of a great person. I DO lots of things but I don't want that to define me. I am really looking forward to working with my kids on this idea as well. I think it will make them happier and better adjusted as they focus on the Christlike attributes they want to emulate instead of focusing on what they DO.

Maybe this is all too personal but I have recently been thinking about some incredible people in my life. They have talents and faults just like the rest of us but of late, I have been able to admire what they are good at and allow them to inspire me to make little improvements in myself. I want to share some of these people on my blog in the next few months and I felt like I should share the back story.

That's Just Crazy!

2011-04-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

The day before Spring Break was CRAZY DAY at school. This is what my kids came up with. Sydney's outfit started crazier (with a green tank over the shirt and bright orange shorts instead of the jean skirt) but when we went into the bathroom to do her hair, she started to cry and said, "I don't look crazy, I look stupid!" So we did some adjustments to make her happy. Garth, not knowing it was crazy day saw Carter put his shirt on and said "Uh, did you know your shirt is on inside out AND backwards?" Why yes, yes I do!

It's a Love-Hate Relationship

2011-04-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

No, not with my kids, or my husband, I'm talking about Spring Cleaning. We have Spring Cleaned every year since we moved into this house. It seems like each year it gets harder. More kid grime, more junk to sort through and more kids to try to entertain while I deep clean. But, I LOVE that there are no cobwebs in the corners.

I LOVE that there are no hand prints on my walls.

I LOVE that I know that there are no dust balls, food spills, or anything else behind my appliances (even if nobody will ever see back there).

I LOVE that there are no broken toys or toys with missing pieces cluttering the toy boxes.

I LOVE that my cupboards and closets are tidy and organized.

I LOVE that it forces me to replace things like old rugs or dingy towels.

I LOVE that it motivates me to do little projects like finally putting up this vinyl lettering in my mudroom.

I LOVE that my kids are learning about taking care of your stuff (even if they spent more time watching than doing).

I just HATE doing it!

The Indy Speedster

2011-03-29T18:17:00.001-07:00

Carter got to participate in his first Pinewood Derby this month. Garth wanted to make sure it was Carter's car and not one of those cars that clearly the dad made while the child watched. Carter got to choose the shape and aside from the actual cutting of the wood, he did the rest. He sanded it, painted it, and decorated it with these stickers from the scout shop.

Garth made a truck for fun and when the race was over, the boys were challenging his truck to races (he beat every car there).

Carter won some and lost some and I wasn't sure how he was doing but when they tallied it up he was tied for second place. This is him cheering on the Indy Speedster against Issac's car for the 2nd place title. He won! Since he got second, he could have gone on to the district derby but he chose instead to go to Liberty Lake for his friend's baptism. A great choice if you ask me.This is what happens when you don't pay attention to Olivia. While I was cheering for Carter, she dug in my purse, found some hand cream and smeared it all through her hair. Nice.

Potty Update

2011-03-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

Derek has been a rockstar at potty training. After the first week or two, we have had no accidents. In his words, "The pee goes in the potty. . .no problems!" He does, however fight with me about how to put his underwear on. He insists that the cool picture go on the front so he can see it. No big deal in the front, just a little baggy. . . Hilarious from the back.

Baby Shower

2011-03-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

My cute cousin Erin is pregnant for the first time and we had a baby shower for her last weekend. I am not a huge fan of showers and must admit I wasn't thrilled to go on a busy Saturday afternoon but it turned out to be a lot of fun. I got to see a lot of my cousins and many of the girls that I taught when they were Laurels in my ward on the South Hill. I also got to see lots of old friends from that ward. It's funny that just moving North to Nine Mile really cut me off from so many people I knew growing up. I suppose it's because they weren't really that close of friends, it was just the convenience of seeing each other at so many church functions. My cousin Amber (Erin's big sister) surprised everyone and came all the way from Utah! It was so fun to see her because I don't get to very often. I also got to chat a long time with my friend Tia who lives in Colville. She and I have been friends literally since she was born (she was born on her Mom's birthday and since my mom was good friends with her, we brought her a cake in the hospital. . .I was less than 6 months old.) These are all the girl cousins that came that day. . .Kailee, me, Amber, Erin (the pregnant one even though you can't tell in the picture), Kelly, Jill, Kimberly, Kelly, and Stacey. I brought Sydney along and boy was she glad! They had decorated with a bunch of jars full of candy. The kids could go fill up these little red boxes with all the candy they could fit!Can't wait to meet baby Hudson in a couple of weeks!

Join the Party

2011-03-25T13:01:00.001-07:00

Sydney has been going to a Zumbatomic class on Saturday mornings at our YMCA, and loving it! So when it came time to decide what kind of birthday party she wanted, it was a no-brainer. My friend Kimmie is an instructor so she taught the girls some Zumba dance. I ordered each of the girls these hip scarves. It made it that much more fun to have the tinkling sound of the skirts fill the studio.

The skirts came straight from India and they sent these jewels to put on the girls' faces. From Left to right: Zoe Steinbaugh, Paige Strom, Preslie Young, Addy Rippy, Sydney, Jamie Katz, and Carly Wickwire.

This was my first experience with fondant. It doesn't really count because I bought pre-made, pre-colored fondant from JoAnns and just rolled it out and used and exacto knife to cut out the Zumba symbol.

Although it was super fun, Garth and I are reconsidering how much time, money, and effort we put into our kids' birthday parties. Perhaps they should be an every other year affair.

Sydney's is Six!

2011-03-25T12:53:00.001-07:00

Sydney shares a birthday with one of her new friends in Kindergarten so we really drug out the celebrating so they could attend each other's parties. The morning of her birthday, she woke up to find her new bike (mom thinks it's too big but dad is convinced she can make it work). I am really hoping she can learn to ride without training wheels soon! She also got this adorable rain coat and a new spring outfit from Mom and Dad.

I told her I would make whatever she wanted for her birthday breakfast and she requested crepes with strawberries and whipped cream. This was a first for me. I had never made crepes before and I must say they were quite delicious (thanks to an easy Giada DeLaurentis recipe).

Of course, the celebrating continued with cupcakes at school then Friday evening Grandma Theresa and Grandpa Tony took her out to dinner and shopping. She had told Theresa that she wanted skinny jeans so they decided to shop together to make sure they got a pair that fit right. She then got to spend the night and met us at Carter's basketball game the next day just in time to head over to her friend Jamie's b-day party.

Sunday was dinner, cake, and presents at my mom's house then there were two different present drop-ins from John & Lori and from Norm & Ele. What a spoiled little six year old! We waited a whole week to do her friend party (I'll post that later) and by the time that was over. . .I was so done!

The Blue Thunder

2011-03-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

We have another successful season of basketball under our belt. Garth coached again this year and based on all the compliments I got on his behalf, I'd say he did a great job. One of the dads, Dan Dunlop assisted him this year. Dan doesn't know much about basketball and his personality is quite different from Garth's but they balanced each other well. Every time Garth would get on one of the boys at a game, Dan would follow up with lots of clapping and encouraging words. I don't know if it was a conscious thing but it made me laugh how opposite the two were. Whatever they did, it worked. They only lost one game (by one basket) and the boys improved immensely. They even ran real plays this year! Carter worked really hard at home to learn to dribble between his legs. Garth discouraged him from doing it in a game because he said there was no purpose for it and he would more than likely loose control of the ball. At one of the last games, Carter was bringing the ball down the court and I saw him slow down a little. . . he dribbled between his legs then drove toward the hoop. In the car on the way home Carter asked Garth what he thought of the between the legs move and Garth told him he didn't really like it. Carter responded with "yeah, but did you hear the volume in the gym when I did it? I like doubled." Garth had to agree with that, then Carter added, "It's okay to warm up the crowd a little, isn't it?"
As Carter narrows down what sports he is interested in, I hope basketball stays on the list. I love watching him play and I think it's great for he and Garth to share the sport.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T14:40:00.001-07:00

Excuse Olivia's face, she wasn't feeling festive this morning.

Olivia

2011-03-11T14:54:00.000-08:00

Oh-Livia, it is hard to believe you are approaching two years old. Try as I may, I can't seem to find the time to scrapbook your birth, enter every new tooth that appears into your baby book, or document all of your firsts. Since the baby book entries are few and far between, I thought I'd do a post about the things you do that make me smile (okay and some that make me want to scream!)
You are a girly girl like your big sister. These mardi-gras "necknace" are your favorite and you wear them every day. I love how you rub your tummy and say "fretty" every time I get you dressed. You are beautiful. You are a great little talker. I started to list all of the words and phrases you say but the list is so long it seemed silly to put them all down. I work hard to get you and big brother Derek to be polite and you so a very good job of saying "seez" when you want something. You also like to tell on your big brother. I hear the phrase "he hit me" over and over. Until about a month ago, you wouldn't say "yes." Instead you would nod your head but it was a full body nod. It was adorable the way you'd give us a yes all the way down to your toes. Now, you still don't say yes but you say "yeahm" I'm not sure where the extra M came from but it is totally adorable (that's what you are saying in this picture).What's more memorable than the words you say, is the way you say them, or should I say YELL them. You are a very loud girl! You will stand at the top of the stairs and yell "Darder, c'mere" or you'll yell "MOM" when you can't see me, and you frequently yell anything you can think of at Derek. Your daddy teases that every party has a loud fat girl, and right now that's you. (Mom is sure you'll grow into your big belly and is praying you learn to control your voice.)I often find you here, weighing yourself in my bathroom. You are fascinated by the numbers that pop up and mom is happy you entertain yourself so she can shower. You like to give kisses and you go at them tongue-first just like you do with chapstick. Mmmm.There is no question you are turning into a toddler. You know exactly what you want, but can't always express it. I'm not sure who that frustrates more. . .you or mom. You have started to be a little mischievous, coloring on your face, taking toys from siblings, climbing where you don't belong. Every day is like a 13 round fight with Derek but you manage a few intermissions for a nap, and for complete preciousness wherein mom forgives and forgets completely.

The Cub MASTER!

2011-03-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

So Garth is the cub master for our ward. Not a job he really loves, and yes it is partly my fault since I am primary president and I suggest names to our bishop for jobs such as these. The problem is. . .he's really good at it so I have no motivation to change things up. He teases me that I just love a man in uniform! (I'm not sure scout uniforms count)

We recently had the Blue and Gold banquet and he rocked it! There were hand made centerpieces that he and the boys created at a pack meeting, a lovely spaghetti dinner for all who attended, and they boys decorated "scout cakes" that were judged and then happily eaten by the families.
Carter and Garth went with a "fire pit" cake. You can't tell very well but the fire was made with hot tamales, black licorice and Pirouette cookies (I'm not sure if that is their real name but that's what I call them.) The letters don't spell anything, it is the first letter of each of our names. I sate there for a minute trying to make a word out of G-K-C-S-D-O-H. They won 3rd place woo-hoo!Derek was so excited to finally get to go to scouts with Carter, but the cakes were oh-so tempting!!

Girly Girl?

2011-02-25T16:17:00.001-08:00

Sydney is as girly as they come. She loves to do hair, paint her nails, put together outfits, and dance. Once in a while though, there is evidence that her big brother has some influence on her. The other day in the car she announced from the back of the suburban, "Man, I wonder why I'm farting so much today. . .I didn't even eat beans!"

Little Fishies

2011-02-25T15:58:00.000-08:00

For the past month, we have spent our Monday and Wednesday mornings at the YMCA pool. I discovered that weekday, daytime classes are the best because they are so sparse. Syd's first 3 lessons were private lessons then a little boy added for the remainder. Derek's class only had 2 other kids in it as well. I loved how much attention they both got!
Sydney loved every minute of it and really improved as a swimmer. I don't quite trust her to swim on her own yet but she is SO close!

Derek, on the other hand, didn't love lessons. He refused to jump in and I would often hear him tell his teacher "I'm not blowing bubbles today." or whatever else he decided he didn't feel like doing.

Olivia and I hung out in the pool during their lessons and got to play with all the noodles, toys, and kick boards since they were out. That beats coming back for another lesson time and paying for a "lesson" for a baby.

Three Down. . .One to Go

2011-02-20T09:25:00.000-08:00

For the record, I still HATE potty training. Derek has been the easiest of the kids thus far but it still sucks. Here's how it went. When school started, I decided to start working on potty training him. He was afraid of the toilet and would cry and scream "I can't try it" or "I'll do it tomorrow" every time I put him on it. I would give up and try again in a month. No progress. Then the weekend before his birthday when we went skiing with John and Lori, they gave him a bag of jelly bellys (one of his favorite treats that Norm always has at his house). The next morning, he wanted to have them for breakfast and I told him if he sat on the toilet without crying he could have ONE but if he peed, he could have TEN! For the first time ever, he sat on the toilet without crying. We did that several times with no results but by the end of the day, he successfully peed in the toilet. Much to my surprise, we only had a few accidents that first week. He hated pull-ups and refused to wear them so early on, I risked it and took him to the store or to the gym with underwear on (always with backup pants just in case). I knew we were golden when a week into training, we were at a McDonald's play place with friends and he stopped playing three times to tell me he needed to pee or poop! Even though the process was fairly short and painless this time around, I still loathe the peed laundry, the pee on the walls, rugs, etc. I don't like the stress of needing to know exactly where every toilet in Spokane is, just in case he needs to go. I don't like getting interrupted while eating lunch to wipe some one's butt. I must say though, it was a beautiful thing to go to Costco today and only buy ONE size of diapers!!! I am so close to being diaper free I can hardly wait!
(Looks like Derek has been watching Sydney pose for pictures. . .what is with the hand on the hip?)

VALENTINE'S DAY

2011-02-17T15:03:00.000-08:00

I have a friend who likes to make a big deal out of minor holidays. Although I don't feel the same way, I am always amazed at how much time and effort goes into minor holidays. Valentine's Day was no exception. Unfortunately, most of it was for the kids. Garth and I hardly acknowledged it.

Here is what we did.

The Friday before, the kids' school put on a Valentine's Family Dance. It was actually pretty fun. I loved watching all of these uninhibited kids cutting a rug with their friends. They also had karaoke, which of course Carter was all over! He and his friends chose "You Belong to Me" by Taylor Swift. It really cracked me up to see these 4 boys singing such a girly song.

Saturday Garth and I got to sneak away to Coeur d' Alene (thanks to Jordan and Kailee for free babysitting). We went to dinner with Scott and Judy, some friends we met over the summer. It wasn't overly romantic but there were lots of laughs over dinner.

Then of course there were various heart hairdo's and matching pink outfits.

Finally on Valentines day I was in charge of Carter's class party. We did a Valentine spin on Minute to Win It games. . . don't blow the heart, balloons in the air, fanning a ping pong ball with a valentine plate, lifting lifesavers with a toothpick etc.
They were all fun, but the most entertaining was "face the cookie." I laughed so hard watching the kids twitch, wiggle, and scrunch their faces to try to get a cookie from their forehead into their mouth.

Laker of the Month

2011-02-13T21:58:00.000-08:00

Each month the kids at school focus on a value or character trait at the end of the month, they award a few kids in each class a certificate for exemplifying that quality. They also choose one child who most exemplified the quality to be the Laker of the Month. Back in September I posted about "Sydney Carter" being given a self-manager award.

Well this month, she was chosen for Laker of the Month

and they actually got her name right! Way to go Syd!

Here she is receiving the award from her amazing and fun principal Mr. Freidman (or coach Scott as we all call him because he was Carter's soccer coach before he was their principal.)

This picture was in the little local paper the next month. She felt pretty cool.

Another Birthday

2011-02-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I am now 31! I have to admit that 30 was not kind to me. I am actually starting to feel some age creeping into my body (my back and knee to be exact). I noticed little wrinkles forming around my eyes. I am done procreating which makes me feel like I've moved into a new phase of life thus making me feel older. Although age is starting to show it's ugly face, I really had a great year. Lots of fun with my kids, an amazing trip with my husband, good health, stable job. I am very blessed. Since my birthday fell on a busy weekday, Garth made me a great dinner the Sunday before. (Thanks to Julie for the cute skirt!) Then on the weekend after I got to celebrate as well. Friday night I went to a Zumbathon. This is something new I discovered this year. Zumba is a super fun workout that I do once a week now. I like variety so I do boot camp, pilates, weight lifting, precor and Zumba each week. My friend Amina (in the blue) and my favorite instructor Alicia (in the teal next to her) told me about this Zumbathon for charity. (I am not in this photo, none of mine turned out so I stole one off Amina's facebook). There were 100+ people there and they made $1040 for a local crisis nursery. The pictures I had turned out too dark because they had the lights out with just some Christmas lights and a disco ball. My mom and sister came and we had a great time. Then Saturday my mom, sister, and I went to the Valley to do our annual birthday shopping and dinner. We had a great time! I found the black pencil skirt I have been wanting forever plus some super cute things that I didn't really need but love to add to my closet!
One of my favorite days of the year, shopping and dining with these ladies!

A Year of Couponing

2011-02-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

About a year ago, I decided I wanted to try out this couponing thing I had been hearing about. I never took coupons to the store but I did frequently watch the ads and make dinners with ingredients that were on sale that week. I decided to start following a couple of coupon blogs to help me along and jumped right into this crazy world of couponing.

I put a folder in my kitchen to hold current coupons and current ads. I also bought a small coupon holder that fit in my purse that I filled with coupons for frequently purchased items like yogurt, cereal, and lunch meat. Already feel like a circus at the store with multiple children so I wasn't ready to take on the "coupon binder" that serious couponers take into the store.

I downloaded a savings spreadsheet that kept track of how much I spent and how much I saved with coupons, club cards, and rebates. The last time Garth and I had done a budget, was a few years ago. . .only two kids, a better economy, and no coupons. I was spending a little over $600 a month, yikes!

The Results for 2010:

I spent $6,194. (That includes all groceries, household items, cleaning supplies, diapers, wipes, etc. Basically everything but clothing and toys).

I saved $3, 420. Not too shabby. I spent an average of $515 a month.

Now, serious couponers would still say that is too high. I have discovered that WA prices are higher than Utah and Texas (two places that I have followed blogs). I also don't buy coupons on ebay to score huge amounts of good deals. I did it once or twice last year to score 80 boxes of pasta for 23 cents each and 20 boxes of free cereal. However, after reading some articles, I'm not sure I feel good about getting coupons off ebay any more.

What I learned this year:

1. There are many items that I would buy at full price when I ran out or would buy at Costco in bulk thinking it was a good deal (toothpaste, deodorant, contact solution etc.) Now I know that if you pay attention and stock up when the couponing stars align (sale + coupon) you can score these items for free or nearly free (I have a stockpile of toothpaste and deodorant that I paid 50 cents or less for.)

2. I still love Costco. They still have the best prices on a lot of things and sometimes the convenience of the place wins over running around town.

3. To save money, you must consider what is on sale at whatever store you are going to and plan your weekly meals accordingly.

4. Know your price point for items. Know if the sale price is really good by comparing it to Costco or Wal-Mart. If you find something for 50% savings or more, buy a month or year supply.

5. Rain Checks are the best! I used to think if the store was out of something, I was out of luck. Not so. I have even paid for things on a certain day to get the sale + coupon deal then picked them up the next week when they restocked their shelves.

6. I Love Rite Aid! Many of the best deals I have scored were from Rite Aid. I almost never went there before but now I realize that many of the items I would grab here and there when I was at the grocery store really added up. By taking a trip to Rite Aid every couple of weeks, I can get these items for a much better price. Once I even got 6 Covergirl face make-ups completely free (BOGO sale matched with BOGO coupon). They are the most coupon friendly store I have ever been to.

7. It takes time. Lots of people say they don't have time to coupon. I believe that we all have time to do what we think is a priority. There were many months where I made this a priority and there were other months that I went to the store with no coupons at all (to protect my sanity.)

I still have a lot to learn although I don't know if I am willing to spend much more time couponing than I currently do. It is hard to explain the rush of purchasing 15 items for $5 then getting $11 rebates and $9 off your next purchase coupons (that actually happened last week at Rite Aid!) That excitement is what keeps me clipping!