Life is more amusing than we thought!

H-O-R-S-E

2009-10-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

With every child I have, I am always so excited when they first start to talk. I think it is adorable to hear them say their own words and try to copy and mimic everyone around them. Olivia has been talking for awhile, but has really started to put together sentences and learn colors, animals, etc. Every day when I drive Tanner to and from preschool we pass by a field that always has 3 horses roaming around. The kids have learned exactly where this field is and want me to drive by it slowly so they can check out the animals. Olivia gets just as excited as the rest of them....so excited that she starts pointing and yelling "WHORE! WHORE!" Every time she says it Tanner gets so frustrated and says "No Olivia! It's not a whore, it's a horse!!" She just looks at him like 'duh! that's what I just said!'. I love the innocence and the fact that it's so darn funny and she has no idea why.

Tears and Tenderness

2009-09-27T11:17:00.001-07:00

Last night was one of the sweetest moments I have witnessed between Julia and Tanner. It was getting late and they were both SO tired. Tanner insisted on having some juice before bed, so he got a little juice bottle out of the fridge. He was trying to pull the plastic cap off and the juice ended up spilling all over the floor. I mean ALL over the floor. I still don't know how he managed to get the juice to fly that far, but he did. The juice also sprayed the refrigerator which is home to all of Julia's artwork. One of her pictures got annihilated. Tanner immediately began crying and said "Mom, I had an accident!" He was so worried he was going to get in trouble! His tears and sincere face just melted my heart. I told him it was okay and I began to wipe up the juice. Then he spotted Julia's picture. He gasped and looked at her as if she was going to be really upset. He was still crying. In the sweetest most tender voice and with tears streaming down his face he said "Oh Julia! I am so very sorry!!" He was devastated that he had ruined her picture. Julia walked over to him and gave him a hug and said "it's okay Tanner, it will dry". They just stood there and hugged each other. I know I'm a pregnant sap right now, but it was hard to hold back my own tears. It's moments like these that make up for all the naughty ones.

We may need an MRI

2009-09-22T16:02:00.001-07:00

This morning was an especially difficult one for me. The last couple of days I have been working non-stop and to say I am exhausted would be an understatement. Exhaustion plus pregnancy hormones is not a good combination...trust me.

Our six year old didn't help matters at all today. I have been talking with her lately about her constant whining. It doesn't seem to matter what it is, she whines about it. The other day I grounded her from the phone for 3 days because of it. (Sad that a SIX year old is punishable by phone restrictions! I swear she's a teenager trapped in a tiny body!) That seemed to do the trick...until this morning. As I was pouring cereal for the kids, she pipes up and says "I think that cereal is disgusting. I don't want it!" It was Life cereal. I understand that it's not Captain Crunch or Fruit Loops, but Life isn't repulsive. It could be worse. She could be eating Grape Nuts or Oat Bran. I told her that this was the only option for breakfast and she needed to eat it. Let me just say here that she has eaten Life cereal a hundred times before...and enjoyed it. This was purely her attitude coming out. I told her several times to eat because we needed to leave for school. She absolutely refused. I was so tired of telling her, so I told her to go to her room until it was time to leave.

I went downstairs to talk with her about why on earth she's being so difficult. This is so embarrassing but I actually started to cry because I was so frustrated with her. Even when trying to reason with her and talk with her about her behavior she continued to have attitude. It really makes me feel like a failure of a mother!! I know I am an emotional wreck right now and this morning was pretty bad. As I type this I am giggling because now that I'm writing it out, it just seems silly that she got to me that bad. I told her she needs to lose the attitude and I left her room. When I went back to get her, she was packing her suitcase. She said she didn't want to live here anymore because she doesn't like making me cry. Ok...it was starting to sink in for her, maybe we were making some progress.

I sat her down and told her how much I love her and that I don't want her to leave. I'm sure there will be a time that I do want her to leave in the upcoming week, but today wasn't the day. ;) ha ha I just asked that she please try and work on her attitude and that I will help her with that. That is when a classic Julia line came out of her mouth...she looks at me dead in the eyes and says "Mom, I really don't know why I have attitude. I think there must be something wrong with my brain!" Ah, gotta love it. I've gotta hand it to her...she's quick with the comebacks. I asked her if she had this attitude at school. She replied "no, my brain must be okay when I'm at school." Even better. I guess I should be grateful that she knows where and when to behave. I am just hoping that someday soon we can go one day without a meltdown from the Princess of the house.

Fourth and Final...

2009-09-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce that the last member of our family is on his/her way. Ron and I wanted to wait until we had our first ultrasound to make sure baby is healthy before spreading the news...well that and our 6 year old feels the need to spread ANY bit of information she gets, so the kids just found out as well. I went to my ultrasound appointment fully expecting to see a "gummy bear" but much to my surprise it looked like a baby! This means I'm a little farther along than I thought and that is ALWAYS good news! The little peanut wasn't very cooperative though and is not very photogenic. Here is our newest baby's "first portrait"...I outlined the little stinker in the 2nd one just to show that there is actually a baby somewhere in that blur.

First Day of School

2009-09-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

Matt, Julia and Tanner started school this week. It was sooooooooo wonderful! I just don't know that I'm cut out to be a summer stay-at-home mom! :) I love my kids and I also love public education. Matt is in 10th grade this year...only three more years to go until graduation! (but who's counting, right?) Julia started 1st grade and is absolutely loving being in school all day. She is quite the social butterfly and has made a lot of new friends. Tanner is in his second year of preschool and I am so grateful he was excited to go back. He has definitely grown leaps and bounds since last year. Now I just need to find a way to stop doing daycare so I can enjoy Olivia alone for a few hours a day. I think she's missing mom. She's turned into a holy terror recently...and REFUSES to leave my side. I don't know whether to be flattered or irritated. All I know is I want to sleep at night...but apparently she doesn't. Here are some pics of the kids on their first day...

Happy Birthday Tanner-Man!

2009-09-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Oh I am such a bad mom....this post is LONG overdue. Tanner turned 4 on July 29. He is such a little man!! I absolutely adore this kid. I have to admit that when I was pregnant with him, I wanted a girl. Growing up with my brothers, I decided that I wanted girls only!! Boys were rowdy, rambunctious and had way too much energy! Sadly when the doctor announced we were having a boy, I was slightly disappointed. I feel so terrible for ever having those feelings because Tanner has truly been a blessing in our lives. It is so awesome to have a boy!!! With him there is no demand to dress up, put on make-up or call everyone he knows on the phone...(yes, I'm talking about you Julia!). He is the most laid back, charismatic, loving little...or not-so-little boy. I can't believe he's 4 already!!

Tanner, you are the sweetest most sensitive little guy I've ever known. You're always wanting to protect your sisters (unless they are bugging you). I love how you like to tell me "secrets" in my ear...even though sometimes the secret is a burp...you little turd. :) I love and cherish our quiet moments together when you'll sit with me and have a one-on-one conversation about your day, things you like to do and what Juju has done to bug you. :) I am in love with those big dimples...all you have to do is flash a smile and I just melt. You have such a big vocabulary and use big words...it cracks me up. You're one smart cookie! I love you T-Man!

Here are some pictures from his big day. Of course he was spoiled rotten!!

Tanner LOVES to do puzzles....one of his favorite quiet time activities!

Tanner's favorite gift...thanks Grammy and Yippaw!!

When asking Tanner what he was doing he said "I'm reading the erections Mom!" I think it's pretty safe to say he meant "directions"...we are emphasizing the 'D' in that word. :)

He was so proud to chauffeur his sisters around in his new ride...

Newest Family Member

2009-07-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

This is Marley...our vicious puppy weighing in at 4.5 lbs. He is AWESOME! So much fun and great with the kids. The best part is he's full grown. I love how tiny he is! He's been a good addition to our family.

Tanner also enjoys Marley's bed...

Happy Birthday Olivia!

2009-06-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today my baby turned 2. I can't believe it!! The terrible twos have been in full force now for a couple of months....whew! She is one sassy little girl! I love how animated she is...she makes the BEST facial expressions. I love how she spins until she's dizzy. I love how when I ask her for a kiss she will shake her head no, only so I will smother her with kisses. She loves to cuddle (when she's tired). I love that she is talking and really learning a lot of new words. We really couldn't ask for a better baby...she is WONDERFUL!! Happy Birthday Via!

Only a true diva can mow the lawn in high heels!

Spinny-spin-spin

Big girls DO cry...

Thanks Grammy Chunk for Via's favorite and most diverse gift...ha ha ha

Catching some rays...

2009-06-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

About a week ago we had some great weather. It was hot and sunny and perfect for catching some rays. The kids and I had stopped over at my parents house after church one Sunday and my mom was sitting on her patio swing enjoying the heat. As soon as we got home Julia changed into her swimsuit and grabbed a towel. I asked her what she was doing and her reply was "I want to have dark skin like Grammy Chunk, I'm going to go get a tan!" She headed outside and laid down on our porch swing (which happened to be in the shade). I explained to her that she needed to lay where it was sunny to get a tan. So she moved to the grass. It was so hilarious as she would run up to me every few minutes to ask if she was darker. Of course she wasn't and I needed to let her in on a little secret...no one gets as tan as Grammy Chunk...no one. I swear the woman gets a tan just by turning on her bedroom light in the morning. Why couldn't I have been blessed with that skin? I don't tan, I burn....and even then I am still pasty. :) Here's the little drama queen catching her rays...(Julia, not my mom...ha ha ha).

Impressive

2009-06-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

The other day I was enjoying a quiet moment...which is rare. Julia and Olivia were napping, Ron was outside and Tanner was sitting in the dining room looking out the windows into the backyard. I was at the computer reading blogs. Ron had the task that afternoon of spreading some poison on an ant hill we found near some trees in our yard. There are landscaping rocks around the trees, so Ron was shoveling them out of the way to be able to pour the poison directly onto the ants. As he was returning the rocks to their original spot, Tanner looked out the window and said "Wow, impressive!" I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. He looked at me and said "what's so funny Mom?" It's just so funny to hear such big words come out of such little people sometimes. It always amazes me how much they actually know and retain. I better be careful about what I say around here. :)

Is that contagious?

2009-05-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

Today Julia had four baby teeth pulled. She's been in a little bit of pain, but is doing so well. I think she's more irritated about having to keep gauze in her mouth to absorb the blood. When Tanner finally woke up this morning he saw her and immediately became concerned. I was sitting on the couch cuddling with Julia and he climbed up into my lap and asked what was wrong with her. I told him she had teeth pulled at the dentist and asked if he wanted to see. He said yes, so he leaned over to get a closer look. I think he was startled to see the four small holes in her mouth. However, when he leaned, his hand slipped and ended up landing on Julia's leg. He jumped off my lap and said "I don't want to touch her mom!" I asked him why and he said "because she will make my teeth fall out too!!" Since then Tanner has kept a safe distance...hoping to avoid catching Julia's disease. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom .

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

Holidays are always fun at our house. Mostly because of the children's anticipation. This year Julia woke up before anyone else...proceeded to the living room to peek at what the Easter Bunny may have left, then tip-toed through the rest of the house informing everyone that he did in fact come. She's such a stinker and exactly like her Dad. Can't keep a secret and can't handle waiting for a surprise. We had a great morning and loved watching the kids get so excited over the simple things left in their baskets.

I didn't get a picture of Olivia with her basket, but man was she enjoying her ring pop!!

Tanner-man...pay no attention to the missing pants.

Super-cute JuJu! Not often we get a picture of her without a fake/forced smile!

And Matt...don't mind the inside-out shirt...sadly many mornings start this way for him. LOL!

Getting their hunt on...

2009-04-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

The day before Easter we took the kids to an egghunt at the church. Sadly it was raining, so Ron stayed home with Olivia. Julia, Tanner and their friend Jaynee had a great time! They got tons of eggs and a crazy sugar high! Nice hunting kids!

Auto/Boat Speedshow

2009-03-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

Every year at the fairgrounds the Auto/Boat Speedshow comes to town. This year we went with our friends Scott, Shane, Nanci and her daughter Karli. It was fun to walk around and see all the vehicles. Juju and Tanner got a picture taken with Diego, although Juju was reluctant because "Diego is for babies". Please. We had a great time and look forward to next year.

Happy Birthday Matt!

2009-03-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

Matt turned 15 this year! I feel SO OLD being the step-mom to a teenager. Crazy! We had a great time. To kick off the festivities we had some friends over and celebrated Matt's birthday with them. We then of course had the traditional family party on his "real" birthday. I feel terrible that I didn't get more pictures, but my camera pooped out for some reason. We had a great time celebrating Matt's special day. He really has adjusted nicely to living in our home and we're glad he's a part of our family. :) Hope you had a great day buddy! Just think...next year you'll be able to drive....maybe....if the grades are good. :)

Dancing With Cinderella

2009-03-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

A dream is a wish your heart makes

When you're fast asleep

In dreams you lose your heartaches

Whatever you wish for, you keep

Have faith in your dreams and someday

Your rainbow will come smiling thru

No matter how your heart is grieving

If you keep on believing

the dream that you wish will come true

Julia had the opportunity to make one of her dreams come true and go to a "ball" with her Prince Charming. Her school hosted a Daddy/Daughter dance with the theme 'Dancing With Cinderella'. It was so adorable to watch how excited she was to put on a Cinderella dress and have her hair done all fancy. We even ordered a corsage and boutonniere to complete the ensemble. She had a wonderful time with her Daddy. They danced the night away and had so much fun. She truly felt like a princess for a night!

Happy Birthday Miss Julia!

2009-03-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

On March 10th we celebrated Julia's 6th birthday. How the time flies! I can't believe she is 6...although there are days it feels like she's a teenager with her sassy attitude and mouth. :) Julia got to have her first "friends" birthday party. She invited some girls from school and church and they had a great time!

Julia also had the traditional family birthday party. She was spoiled rotten!!

What a nut...she chose to do this to herself.

Oh Julia, there are days that I am honored to be your mother and other days I wonder how I am ever going to get through it. :) You are one of the most amazing children I've ever known. So smart and witty (which is what gets you into trouble most of the time). I guess what counts it that you're such a polite young lady when in the presence of other people, now if you can just let us know how to get you to act like that at home...we'll be set! At least you know when to be on your best behavior. :) There are so many things I love about you Miss JuJu. I love how expressive you are, and your ability to make anyone laugh. I love watching you when you're in your own little world, dancing and singing to yourself. You are so good to your younger siblings (most of the time) and are such a great help to me. You are always so willing to help out when I ask and when you want something really bad you even take the initiative to do things without being told. :) I love you JuJu Grace! Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!

2009-02-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

February 17th is always a little bit rough for me. Today is the day that we both welcomed our sweet baby girl into this world and also had to say goodbye. Our precious little angel Paige Elizabeth was very premature and God must have had other plans for her. I will never forget her tiny body and how perfect she was. I can't wait to one day hold my little girl in my arms and tell her how much I love her and that I thought of her every single day. I am so grateful for the knowledge that there is indeed life after death and that families are forever. It gives me hope and strength to know that I will see my little girl again. So it's time to dry the tears and honor Paige on her special day. I can't believe she would have been 5 years old! How the time flies! Below is a picture of her tiny hand and feet prints. She was so tiny and perfect. I love you baby girl...Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!

Liar liar pants on fire!

2009-01-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

This was just too funny not to share. A few days ago Matt was having a really hard time falling asleep, which meant it was quite a battle getting him up and ready for school the following morning. I thought to myself, I bet I get a call from the nurses office today...saying that Matt is down there with some sort of illness. Sure enough the call came in later that morning. I happened to be talking with someone else at the time so I just let that call go to voicemail. A few minutes later I checked the message. Now try and imagine the most monotone, unenthusiastic, depressing voice you've ever heard. It was Matt and this is what he said..."Um, it's Matt. Well I have a really bad migraine and the lights are really bright and all the noises are really loud. Um.....well.....ok.....bye." Gosh darn it, I was right....again. :)

So I call the nurses office and say "I think you have my step-son in your office there". The nurse let me know that she sent him back to class because he's not running a fever. What?? Do they check for fevers when you complain of a headache? I asked her why he had come to see her and she said that Matt was complaining of cold symptoms, said he couldn't stop coughing and that the little kids had been sick this weekend, so he must be getting it now. Hmmmm....very interesting. I asked her if there was any complaint of a headache...she said no.

Well being the evil step-mother I am, I had to think of a way to catch him in his own lie. For heaven sakes, if you're going to lie, at least keep it consistent man!! He makes it too easy for us to bust him. Ha ha ha. When Matt walked through the door that afternoon I really laid it on thick. I gave him a hug and told him I was so sorry he had such a terrible headache and that it would be best if he just stayed in his room and relaxed, since the tv would no doubt aggravate his condition and the kids get quite loud as well, so he should probably have some quiet alone time. He looked at me and said "Oh, my headache is MUCH better now!" AMAZING!! HE'S CURED!!! Little did I know I was such a miracle worker! Demons be gone!!! Not to be outsmarted I looked at him and said, well I can't imagine your cold is getting any better, so it's probably best that you still stay in your room, so you can make a quick recovery. He just looked at me with a deer in the headlights look and had no idea what to say. Um hello? Matt?? Earth to Matt! When he finally 'came back' I told him I had talked to the nurse. He looked completely shocked. Ha ha ha. We had a nice chat about staying in class unless he's bleeding or dying. :) With any luck this won't happen again, but if it does, hopefully the kid has learned enough to make sure the lies match up. :)

Happy New Year 2009!!

2009-01-03T21:57:00.001-08:00

We rang in the New Year with our good friends and had a great time. The house was full of good grub and lots of laughs. We basically spent the whole night rocking out to guitar hero and playing wii games. It was a blast and so fun to have our little "competitions" going. At midnight the only ones who shared a kiss were Shane and Heather. I didn't look, but it sounded pretty sloppy! Way to do it right guys!! LOL! Hopefully they are still my friends after reading that. :) I took a few pictures, but sadly none of my own family! How pathetic is that?? Shane and Heather took off at about 1:00am while Scott and Nanci stayed until 3:30am. It was awesome! We're so lucky to have such fun friends! Here are the few pictures I did take...

Here's Shane going for a strike...

We do not...I repeat, DO NOT promote underage drinking....this means you Brooke!! Oh wait...it was only sparkling cider...

This is what Nanci thought of not getting a smooch at midnight...LOL!

Scott and Brooke rocking the guitar hero...

Thanks again friends for the VERY fun night. We'll have to do it again soon!

Temptations...

2009-01-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

The other day I had some errands to run and Matt asked if he could come with me. I said sure and we set off to go to a few places. Once we were in the car he turned to me and said "Leigh, what are some of the worst temptations you've ever had?" I wasn't quite sure where he was going with this, so I asked him to clarify. He wanted to know if I had ever given into temptations and what they were. I gave him an example of when I was single, I hung out with some people that maybe I shouldn't have and it was very tempting to live the sort of lifestyle they were living. I asked him why he wanted to know and he replied that he has been struggling with some temptation himself. I told him if he wanted to talk about it, I would be more than happy to listen. (that was the motherly thing to do right?? I said a quick prayer right then and there that if he did want to talk, that it would be something I could handle! ha ha) He opened up to me and told me about the temptation and his concerns and asked me what he should do. Thankfully it wasn't anything horrific and I actually had to giggle on the inside because his temptation was pretty manageable and I was soooooooooo relieved that it wasn't something more major. I am just in awe of his innocence and his desire to be the best person he can be. It really was a bonding moment for us and I am so grateful that he trusts me enough to share his thoughts and concerns with me. I told him that the temptations he was having was part of being a teenager, and that it's how he reacted or responded to the thoughts he was having that would ultimately prove whether or not he is strong enough to resist the temptation. I let him know that he needs to pray for the strength to push the thoughts out of his mind and that it never hurts to hum your favorite hymn if all else fails! ha ha. I told him that his Dad and I are always here for him and he can talk to us about anything. I know I should be flattered that he came to me and wanted to talk, but I'm secretly hoping that any other issues that may come up get directed to Ron. ha ha ha (just kidding...kind of) Hopefully I gave some semi-good advice...I thought I'd have a few more years before dealing with teenager issues! But I guess these are good learning experiences for me and I will be good and prepared for when my own kids start becoming teenagers.

Santa Claus definitely came to town...

2008-12-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

WARNING: This is going to be a lengthy post. If you have the determination to keep reading, hopefully you won't be disappointed. Also, most of Julia's pictures are quite scary....just a warning. :)

This year was out of control. Of course we all know the true meaning of Christmas, and we were sure not to forget that. The kids actually slept in on Christmas morning. Ron and I finally woke them up at 9:00 only because the rest of my family was going to be showing up around 10:00. We woke Matt up first so he could call his mom and open his gifts from her. Once he was done we woke up the little ones and told them that Santa had come. I have never seen them move so fast! They could hardly contain themselves and started digging into their Santa gifts. Of course they were spoiled rotten!! There is nothing I love more than watching the kids get excited about opening gifts. It just cracks me up when they rip open a package and it's followed by joyful squeals.

Once the Santa gifts were opened, we all took turns opening our gifts from Grammy-too-far-away (Ron's mom). Once again she spoiled us all ROTTEN! She is such an amazing Grammy and mother-in-law. I know that she truly spends a lot of time and puts a lot of thought into the gifts she chooses for us. Everyone loved their gifts from her. (Ron took a pic of me with my gift from her, but I looked so horrific I opted not to put it on here...ha ha ha)

It was about the time we finished opening Grammy-too-far-away's gifts when my family started showing up. Our house felt so small at that moment as we crammed everyone into our living room. The guest list included: Grandpa and Grandma Winters, Yippaw(my dad), Grammy Chunk(my mom), my brothers Gary and Layton, my sister Apryl and some significant others...Mandy(Gary's girlfriend) and John(Apryl's boyfriend). The more the merrier! We all enjoyed opening gifts and laughing. Yippaw and Grammy Chunk went overboard and spoiled us all rotten also. Our kids are so lucky to have such great grandparents!!

I must have forgotten to say "smile" for this picture! ha ha ha

Grandma Winters gave me, Mandy, my Mom and Apryl some Turbie Twists. They are a turban-like towel that you put on your head after you wash your hair. She was so excited for us girls to FINALLY have one of these precious towels. We all had a hysterical laugh over the future cab drivers of Spokane...

It has been a tradition in my family that once all the gifts are open, the girls head into the kitchen to make a big Christmas morning breakfast. My mom and I were cooking the food when my dad walked into the kitchen. I had to grab something out of the dining room and made my way out of the cooking zone. Apparently I wasn't gone long enough because when I turned around I totally caught my dad groping my mom!! Nothing will spoil a Christmas morning quicker than catching your dad going in for a feel! SICK! He tried to play it off like he was just "giving her a hug"....give me a break. Nice try dad...and lets try and keep our hands to ourselves next year. :) Regardless of the touchy-feely incident, we had a great breakfast.

The next comical incident happened when John and Apryl were sitting on the floor building blocks with Julia and Tanner. John was talking about nuts (hopefully in reference to the cashews he was eating) and was making a joke to Apryl that his were bigger than hers. Julia all of the sudden piped up and said "no way John! My Yippaw has the biggest nuts!!" We all about died we were laughing so hard. We have no idea what sparked her to say that and she had no idea why everyone was about to wet their pants.

Julia must have been the queen of comedy that day because my mom told me later about an incident that happened with Julia when no one else was around. My parents were getting ready to head back to their place and my mom and Julia were sitting on the stairs waiting for my dad to put his shoes on. Julia noticed that Yippaw had a wedgie and was pointing and giggling at it. My mom told her to "go pull it out". Julia looked at her wondering if she really meant it. My mom was laughing and shook her head for Julia to proceed with de-wedging Yippaw. Apparently the look on my dad's face was priceless as he felt Julia's tiny fingers reach up to pull out the stuck undies and pants. LOL! My Dad turned around and politely said "Oh, thank you Julia!" We will be teaching her very soon never to go that close to Yippaws rear end....it can be hazardous!!! :) Love you Dad! ha ha ha

All-in-all we had a WONDERFUL Christmas. We are very fortunate to have such wonderful family to spend it with. Now we just need to work on getting Grammy-too-far-away here to join in the chaos!! :)

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T08:21:00.001-08:00

It is currently 8:23 a.m. on Christmas morning. Ron and I are the only ones awake....what's wrong with this picture?? LOL! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Fun with Dad!

2008-12-18T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ron is such a great dad and really loves to play with the kids. The other day Julia was begging Ron to pick her up and toss her up into the air. The looks on her face were PRICELESS!! She looked terrifed, but was having a great time. I hurried and grabbed the camera and had Ron give each kid a turn so I could snap their picture. Even Matt got in on the action (although he didn't fly quite as high as the little ones). I still laugh every time I see Julia's face...

Rub-a-dub-dub...

2008-12-17T15:19:00.000-08:00

Olivia's in the tub....WITH her clothes on! Tanner was in taking a bath when Olivia snuck in and climbed in with him. I should have known better than to run downstairs to get Tanner's jammies. Olivia LOVES bath time and apparently wanted another one that night! She was having a blast...even in her soaked shirt and soggy diaper!

Holiday Lights Cruise

2008-12-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

Time to catch up on some blogging! On December 8th we got together with our good friends Nanci, Heather and Shane and took the kids to Coeur d' Alene for the Holiday Lights Cruise. It was freezing, but so much fun!! As we boarded the boat, we could write down the kids names on a list for Santa to use later. We then started on our 15-20 minute cruise across the lake. It was pitch black but the kids were loving every minute of it. Once we were across the lake there was a lit up sign that said "welcome to the north pole". Then Santa's workshop lit up and Santa talked with everyone on the boat. He read off the kids' names...it was so fun to see them get excited about hearing their name. They were so pleased that Santa knew them!

After the cruise the whole gang ventured off to the CDA Resort to have killer desserts at Dockside Restaurant. The kids could not believe how big the desserts were. Everyone had a great time!! We couldn't ask for better friends to hang out with. We enjoy their company so much and look forward to many more fun times with them!!

Tanner and Julia with their "make your own cookies"...

Matt with his monster reese's peanut butter cup sundae...

The whole gang...

Family Pictures...

2008-12-02T23:44:00.001-08:00

Last night we had our family pictures done so we can get our Christmas cards out in the mail on time. I love this time of year but dread taking pictures. In years past we have just taken pictures of the kids and sent those out with our cards. This year I decided to be brave and take a picture with the entire family. I turned into one of those mothers who gets frustrated with her kids who won't smile. How hard could it be....JUST SMILE! So, although not everyone has their biggest smile on, at least they look pleasant and that is good enough. :)

The whole fam...

This one just cracks me up. My chins are totally out of control while busting out the peace sign, Matt looks like he is pooping, Julia is showing quite a bit of shoulder, Tanner is looking at the ceiling and Olivia looks like she's going to swallow the camera! So congrats to Ron for being the only one that looks good in this picture...."whoopidy-do"! LOL!

And finally, some individual shots of the kids.

The name says it all...

2008-11-28T18:32:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

FUNNY BIRD

A turkey is a funny bird,
Its head goes wobble, wobble,
All it knows is just one word,
"Gobble, gobble, gobble."

Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends. We are so grateful for all that we have and truly hope that all of you have a very wonderful holiday season.

glitter-graphics.com

Watch D.O.G.S.

2008-11-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

Today Ron had the privilege of going to Julia's school for a half day to participate in the Watch D.O.G.S. (Dad Of Great Students) program. The school loves involving the dads and having them help out at the school. Ron helped with students being dropped off, out at recess and in different classes throughout the school. He had a great time and can't wait until he's able to help out again in the spring. Julia was so proud to have her Dad there with her!!

School Pictures

2008-11-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

When school first started I thought there was no way I'd buy school pictures. They are always so generic and don't really turn out all the great. As the time got closer I started thinking about how much fun it is to go back through my school pictures and get a good laugh. Most of them are horrific and why they waited to take our pictures until after recess is beyond me. I remember my mom spending extra time on my hair when I was younger, probably only to be disappointed that I had messed it up before pictures. Anywho, I made the decision that I would purchase only one sheet of school pictures....to be used solely for entertainment purposes in years to come. Matt missed his school pictures, so there's no blackmail material for him this year.

Julia's picture actually turned out pretty cute...she doesn't have the fake 5 year old smile. However, her teacher thought it would be a good idea to take a wet comb and make sure the top of her hair was in place. Well thanks for nothing because now it just looks greasy! ha ha

Now I'm not sure what happened with Tanner...it must have been a rough morning for him because he looks half asleep! According to his teachers, Tanner was pretty freaked out by the photographer. The man is VERY loud and quite flamboyant and Tanner was having no part of that!! I guess it took a little while to even get this much of a smile out of him. ha ha

Bond....Matt Bond

2008-11-05T21:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight I took Matt up to Kiddie Kandids to take some pictures of him with his viola. He looked so handsome dressed up in his tuxedo. Once he got his giggles out he was able to relax and took some really nice pictures! He asked me if he could design his own "background" after we took the serious pictures. And being the cool step-mom I am, I said of course. I am now re-thinking my decision...as you'll see in picture #4. LOL!

Handsome guy...

The viola man...

This is my favorite picture of him...

Don't ask...

Where a kid can be a kid!

2008-11-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

Today I picked up Julia at school and then headed to pick up Tanner from preschool. This ride from school to school is always an amusing one because it never fails that Julia comes up with something to say...quite honestly the talking never stops. Such was the case today. We drove by a construction site where they are building a new Chuck E. Cheese. This new facility is entirely too close to our home (in my opinion) and I dread the day that it is complete. Julia is fully aware of what is being built and as we drove by, this is the conversation that took place:

Julia: "Mom, is the Chuck E. Cheese almost done?"

Me: "Nope, not quite, they are just starting to put up the walls."

Julia: "Well hopefully it's done soon because it would be the perfect place for
our family to go."

Me: "Why is that Juju?"

Julia: "Because it's the place where moms and dads can relax and kids can play!"

Perhaps it's time to turn off the tv for awhile. This girl picks up on everything!! Julia never fails to surprise me.

Halloween Fun

2008-10-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

On Halloween we had our friends Nanci, Shane, Heather and their kids over for a Halloween dinner. After we all scarfed down some grub, it was off to trick-or-treat. We hit a couple of good neighborhoods and had a great time. The kids definitely got loaded up on candy! In one neighborhood someone set up a mini haunted house. Julia and Karli ran off from everyone else and headed toward the house. A few minutes later I hear Julia crying really hard and thought for sure she had biffed it. It was one of those cries that something is really wrong. Turns out she was just scared by the "dead people" at the haunted house. She frantically looked around and said "where's Karli?!?" I said "maybe they got her!" to which Julia responded "OH NO!" followed by more tears. I am such a mean mom, but I got a good chuckle out of the incident because I don't know how many times I told Julia that night to stay with the group and not take off on her own. Needless to say she stuck pretty close to us the rest of the night. :) After trick-or-treating we drove out to Otis Orchards, where Heather grew up. There is a family out there that carves a TON of pumpkins every year. It was AMAZING! The detail of these pumpkins were incredible! They had everything from religious carvings, to dragons, to celebrities, to cartoons. It was awesome. I wish I would have taken my camera out there! We all had a great night and we're so lucky to have such great friends to spend time with!

Setting up for our dinner....silly me, I didn't take any pics with people sitting at the table! Good grief.

Here are some pictures I took up at Kiddie Kandids. We took Matt's pictures first...he wanted to get out of there and go cruise the mall. LOL! Gotta love those teenagers!

All the kiddos...

Our favorite jailbird...

Our little witch...

Our little giraffe...

Olivia would not cooperate for a picture in her costume...she was the cutest ladybug ever! This picture turned out pretty cute....our little "treat". :)

And finally, some pictures of the 3 youngest kids in their halloween shirts...

Only at Walmart...

2008-10-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

I know that this post may come across as fiction, especially to those who know me, but please be assured I am not bored enough to come up with a story like this.

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from Nanci asking me to print off a school paper for her son and take it down to her parent's house where her son was staying (Nanci is out of town for a couple of days). I had not showered, or even changed my clothes from what I slept in (sad I know). The night before had been a little difficult and I cried more than a few tears...I just needed a good cry I guess. Sadly for me, when I cry my face is horrific. My skin gets all blotchy and my eyes get all red and puffy...it's really quite disgusting. Although it was almost 24 hours later, my face was still red and gross. I figured I was just dropping off a paper, so I made no efforts to improve my appearance. Once I was out of the house with no kids in tow, I thought maybe I would run to Walmart to pick up a few items for our Halloween dinner. I literally went back and forth on whether or not to go because I looked so disgusting. I finally convinced myself to go...it was 8:30 at night, surely I wouldn't see anyone I know and I would just be in and out...real quick.

When I am slobbed out I make it a point not to make eye contact with people in the store. I guess it's just a quirk I have, but when I'm looking so disgusting I don't have the confidence to be myself. So I'm minding my own business, getting the things I needed. I'm walking up and aisle and I see a tall man walking towards me. He obviously saw me look at him then right back down at my shopping list. I didn't want to be rude so as I got a few feet from him I looked up, smiled and looked right back down again. He stopped and said "what's up baby girl?" What? Did that really just happen? I manage to get a quick "hi" out and continue walking. At this point I feel a little sick to my stomach...like I had done something wrong. I know that's silly, but he totally took me off guard! So I blow it off and continue getting my items. I see him occasionally up and down the aisles and am trying to avoid him at all costs. I end up turning the corner off an aisle and turned right back around because he was standing right there. I played it off like I had forgotton something in that aisle and ended up buying a box of crackers I did not need. One of the last items I needed to get was minced onion. I don't buy spices on a regular basis, so I'm pretty handicapped in that aisle. It took me a few minutes to scan over the hundreds of spice jars to find the one I needed. It took a few minutes too long because it gave time for my Walmart friend to sneak up behind me. I'm standing there scanning the shelves when he comes right up behind me, puts his hand on my tush and leans in real close. He asks "hey girl, what are you doing after you're done shopping?" I am frozen. I don't know what to say or how to react. I pulled it together, turned around and said "going home to my family." I backed away from him as he said "girl, don't play me like that, you aint wearing no ring." At this point I'm pretty amused. This guy must be blind or VERY lonely to be hitting on me! I chuckled and said "listen, I'm flattered but I really am happily married." It was then that he backed off and I'm assuming moved on to his next victim.

I hurried and got the heck out of the store. When I got home I told Ron about what happened and I'm not quite sure that he believes me. Like I said, I have better things to do then sit here and make up a story like this. It happened. I don't ever want it to happen again. *shudder*

Phantom of the Opera

2008-10-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

On October 23rd Ron and I went out on a date, which was LONG overdue. I had wanted to see Phantom of the Opera soooooo bad but assumed Ron would not be interested, so I didn't mention anything to him about it. He called me from work earlier that week and asked if I would want to go. What?!? Are you serious?!? I was soooo excited. I arranged for my mom to watch the kids and he went and got the tickets. We were so excited when Thursday night came and we headed downtown. We first had dinner at the Sawtooth Grill and then walked a few blocks to the opera house.

We took our seats and got ready for the show. Of course I would forget my glasses on such an exciting night, so I spent a lot of time squinting to see better. Turns out I didn't need to squint that much, I could have sat with my eyes closed and just taken in the music. It was incredible!! Ron and I both had an amazing experience and were captivated during the entire show. It was so wonderful! (Given the chance, there may be a possibility of leaving Ron for the Phantom...LOL!)

Carvin' it up!

2008-10-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year for the pumpkins to come out. We didn't have much planned this week so we decided to take a couple of nights and carve pumpkins. The kids were so excited until we started gutting the pumpkins. They were so grossed out by the slime and "spider web strings". It was a lot of fun. Ron and I stuck to the patterns while Matt decided to freehand his because "using the pattern is cheating". Ha ha. It cracked us up. Of course we let him do what he wanted, but in the end we were reassured that we made the right decision in using the patterns. Ha ha ha.

Ron and Tanner gutting the pumpkin...

Step away from the carving doo-hickey...I repeat, step away from the carving doo-hickey!

Ewwwwww....pumpkin guts!

Tanner and Mom with their finished product...

Matt with his partially finished product and Ron with his finished product...

Fall Orchestra Concert

2008-10-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

Last night Ron and I had the pleasure of going to Matt's Fall Orchestra Concert at the high school. Tanner being the momma's boy that he is tagged along with us while Juju and Olivia stayed with my mom. Ron and I weren't sure what to expect, but were completely surprised at how good the students played! It was so awesome to see Matt dressed up in his tuxedo...he looked so handsome! Matt plays the viola and did a great job! We could definitely tell he was concentrating hard on his music and playing well. Of course it just wouldn't be complete without some candid pictures!

Mowing the lawn...

2008-10-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Recently Matt has been especially difficult to wake up in the morning. Ron has been getting pretty frustrated and has forgotten how much he once loved his sleep as a teenager. But as a sleep deprived parent, I understand why Ron is frustrated. When Matt got home from school and finished his homework I talked with him about the morning routine and said it would be really nice if he did something for his Dad to show that he's making an effort to do better. So Matt and I came to the agreement that he would mow the lawn. I'm so proud of him for being willing to help around the house. Ron was thrilled when he got home from work and saw the fresh cut grass. When he walked in the door he looked at Matt and said "whoa, I think someone came by and stole our grass!" Then gave Matt a big hug and thanked him for mowing the lawn. Here are some pictures of Matt's hard work...

Friends, Frosting & Fun...

2008-10-12T00:56:00.001-07:00

Tonight Ron was going on a "man-date" with our friends Shane and Scott. They were taking their sons to a Spokane Chiefs hockey game. Nanci's son Kyran went also. Since the guys were going to be away for awhile, the ladies decided to get together and let the kids have some fun. Nanci and Heather came over for a night of cookie decorating and chaos! We had a great time and the kids especially loved making their own cookies. Sweet Jaynee was a cooking decorating fool!! She whooped all of us!! It was a lot of fun.

The girls....getting their decorating on!

Tanner...bless his heart, he was the only boy in the house...

Working hard on those cookies!

Just a few of the "masterpieces".

And of course a game of Hi-Ho Cherry-O!

Thanks for a great night girls! It was a lot of fun and a nice break from the men!! :)

Carver Farms

2008-10-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

Today Nanci and I took our kids out to Carver Farms in Newman Lake. Ron and Matt wanted to stay home. I guess they were afraid that a little bit of rain might make them melt. :) Ron actually volunteered to stay home with Olivia since it was pretty cold and rainy. We had a great time, rain and all. The kids picked out some pumpkins and ran through a pretty pathetic corn maze. It was basically just rows of corn. LOL! It was a blast and we're glad Nanci and her kids were there too!!

The whole gang...

They didn't have hayrides today due to the rain, but we gave the kids their own hayride in "big blue"!

All the little rugrats...

Julia...

Tanner...

Me and the kids...

Juju & Karli...this pic is SO ADORABLE of them!!

Business in the front....Party in the back

2008-10-03T22:51:00.000-07:00

MUL-LET: (mŭl'ĭt)
A hairstyle that is formed by cutting the hair short on the the top and sides and allowing it to grow longer in back.

Bless her heart...my baby girl has a mullet. Here she is watching her favorite cartoon Wow Wow Wubbzy. I don't have the heart to give her a haircut yet, so here's to hoping that the front catches up with the back....soon. :)

"Bella Notte"

2008-09-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

The other day we came across Lady and the Tramp on tv. I have always loved this movie, so I sat down with the kids to watch a little bit of it. The next day I was making lunch and Julia begged me for top ramen. I'm not a fan of the ramen myself, but we keep some in stock for Matt. He loves to eat it as a snack. Anyway, I made the noodles for Julia. It ended up being a bad idea after the movie they had just watched the day before. I walked into the living room to see this...

Immediately the song Bella Notte popped into my head...
Oh this is the night, it's a beautiful night
And we call it bella notte
Look at the skies, they have stars in their eyes
On this lovely bella notte.
Side by side with your loved one,
You'll find enchantment here.
The night will weave its magic spell,
When the one you love is near!
Oh this is the night, and the heavens are right!
On this lovely bella notte!

So here's to my little Lady and the Tramp. Thank you for a wonderful picture to use as blackmail someday. :)

Mirabeau Park

2008-09-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

After church today the kids were a little restless, so Ron and I decided to take them to Mirabeau Park to walk around. There is a waterfall and lots of paved pathways through the trees. It was absolutely gorgeous there today. Nothing too exciting, just a nice peaceful walk through the park. It was fabulous.

The only family pic we got out there...a nice lady offered to take it for us

Dad and the kids...

Matt...isn't he handsome?

Sweet Little Julia...

Tanner made it to the top...YEAH!

Daddy's Little Princess Olivia

What were you doing back there Matt? LOL!

We all had a great time and the kids definitely got the wiggles out!

Peter rocked my world last night...

2008-09-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

Last night was a girl's night out I'll never forget. Peter Cetera came to Spokane and my BFF Nanci got tickets. We went to dinner first, then headed on out to the concert. When we walked into the INB Performing Arts Center we had a good laugh because we could have sworn we walked into a retirement home. We were surrounded by "older" folks and it even smelled a little like older folks also. Nanci and I were definitely the spring chickens of the group! We got up to our seats and settled in. Of course we had our cameras with us and with 15 minutes to show time I figured it was a good time for a self-portrait. We put our heads together and snapped a photo of ourselves...which will not be posted on here due to my multiple chins. A few seconds later, hall monitor Ruth was standing in front of us telling me I had to check my camera in at the office downstairs. What?? I politely told her that I had no intention of taking pictures of the concert, I was just trying to document girls night out. She agreed to let me keep the camera in my purse. It was pretty hilarious to look over every so often during the concert to see ol' Ruthie keeping an eye on us to make sure the camera didn't pop out again.

The concert was awesome...much better than I expected. Peter was rocking the stage with his fist shakes and hip wiggles. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

After the concert Nanci and I went to the green room to meet Peter. (this had been pre-arranged). We were so excited to get a picture with him. Once we got into the green room Peter let everyone know that pictures were not allowed. Perhaps Peter should learn some manners. We shook his hand and he then announced that we'd be taking a group photo for his website. SWEET! Nanci weaseled her way back next to Peter and I just struggled to be visible. Hopefully the picture turned out ok. Once it pops up on the website, I'll be sure to post it on here.

Thanks again Nanci for a FANTASTIC night. "Even a fool can see" that I had a great time and loved every minute of Peter!

Out of the mouths of babes...

2008-09-27T14:47:00.001-07:00

Today Tanner and Julia asked if they could brush my hair. Of course I said yes because I LOVE having my hair brushed or played with. Tanner was combing through it and said "Oh Mom, your hair looks cute". I thanked him for being so sweet. Then it was Julia's turn to comment:

Julia: Mom, your hair is so soft!

Me: Thanks Juju!

Julia: I'm not kidding Mom, it is so soft and greasy!

I was laughing so hard and she finished up with saying, "Mom, you need to say thank-you because I gave you a compliment." Guess we need to have a chat about compliments. ha ha

A little while later I was making lunch and being the gourmet chef that I am it was corn-dogs. Julia came running into the kitchen and this conversation took place:

Julia: Mom! I just saw something you HAVE to buy on TV.

Me: What is it?

Julia: It's these magical pills that burn away fat!

Me: Oh, that's nice (now re-thinking eating the corn dog)

Julia: Mom, if you get those pills you will go from that (pointing at my belly) to this (lifting her shirt to expose her belly).

Me: Ok Julia, I'll think about it.

Julia: Seriously Mom, it would be awesome.

I immediately put down the corn dog and went on the hunt for something a little more healthy. Darn kids! :)

I want to be domestic....shhh....don't tell

2008-09-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason I have taken an interest recently to making baby blankets. Perhaps it's because my sister-in-law is expecting her first little girl in January (with any luck the baby will come late December for tax purposes...ha ha). I find it funny that I never had the desire to make blankets for my OWN babies, but I'll just run with it for now. My good friend Momma Poff was kind enough to let me come over last week to show me how she makes her infamous baby blankets. I definitely learned a lot and am looking forward to trying one out on my own. Here is the picture of the finished product. I'd be lying if I said I made it myself...in fact I pretty much watched and made mental notes, all while enjoying a few good laughs. (Although I have to take credit for picking out the fabric) It was a lot of fun. Here's to hoping my first "solo" blanket made will turn out as cute as this one...

And of course the matching burp cloths...

National Comic Book Day

2008-09-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

After reading my friend Nandango's blog today, I thought her entry was fun so decided to post something similar here. Apparently there are many national holidays none of us knew existed. According to this site you can look up which national holiday falls on your birthday. Turns out that mine is Donald Duck Day. Who knew?? I guess I know what my party theme will be for the big 3-0 next year! So look up your national day and let me know what it is! The website is: http://www.louderbacks.com/home/dict/days.html

Snail Mail

2008-09-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

The other day I got an unexpected surprise in the mail. I opened the mail box, saw the bright yellow envelope and thought to myself "sweet! something other than a bill or credit card offer!"

It was a card from my wonderful friend Natalie. It couldn't have come on a better day...I was needing a little pick-me-up. There was no occasion for this card, but just her way of letting me know she cares. I've been thinking about this the last couple of days and realized how much I enjoy getting mail. I think I've taken it for granted with the ability to email friends or just pick up the phone and call. Of course there's always the "blog stalking" to keep updated with what's going on with my friends. So I've decided to be better about sending cards or notes in the mail....and not just waiting for a birthday or holiday to do so. So at the risk of sounding completely cheesy and retarded....if you enjoy getting mail please email me your mailing address to landrews1979@yahoo.com so I can try to be a better friend.

Snakes and Rocks

2008-09-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

Tanner has been potty-trained for a few months now, but he still needs help wiping after a #2. One day last week he ran upstairs, did his business, and then yelled from the bathroom "Mom! I got rocks and snakes!" I was confused by this comment from him and went upstairs to check it out. He pointed into the toilet and said "Look Mom, two rocks and one snake. The long turd is the snake and the little turds are the rocks." Wow. Are these the kind of insights I get to look forward to from my little guy? Gross. :)

Take me out to the ball game...

2008-09-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

Well this post is a little late, to say the least. This summer Julia played t-ball. It was pretty comical watching the 4 and 5 year olds run around. Julia's friend Karli was on the team too. They had a lot of fun together. Turns out that one of the girls from the team is in JuJu's kindergarten class this year!

The team:

Our little allstar:

Juju & Karli....so adorable:

We're pretty sure they'll hate this picture someday....LOL!

First day of school....HOORAY!!

2008-09-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

We have had a wonderful, eventful summer but there is something so great about the kids going back to school! Julia started Kindergarten this year on September 4th and Tanner started preschool on September 8th. Julia, our social butterfly is doing so well and making lots of new friends. According to the aide that watches the kids until the parents pick them up, Julia has tried on several occasions to go home with her classmates. She tries to convince the aide that she's going to have a "playdate". Nice try Julia. :) She's a clever little turd though, I'll give her that! Tanner had a rough time during his first few days at preschool. He's such a momma's boy and has never been to daycare, so he would cling to me and even cried a few times. I'm happy to report that he is now a "big boy" and goes to school with no problems at all. In fact he tells me every morning I need to leave and come get him later. Ha ha. I'm so glad he's warmed up to his teachers and is enjoying his time there. Matt started school on September 8th also and has adjusted so well. He says he enjoys it and has made some new friends. Matt politely declined a back-to-school photo shoot, but I'll get him one of these days! :)

First Ice Cream Cone

2008-09-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Miss Olivia had her first ice cream cone today. She always looked so envious of the other kids while they're slurping down their ice cream. So I finally gave in and let her make a mess of herself. She loved every minute of it! Needless to say it was bath time as soon as we got home!

Am I ready for this?

2008-09-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

On September 3rd we officially became a family of 6. Ron got custody of his oldest son Matt. It was a crazy day but all worked out for the best. I have not posted anything about the custody battle until now because the internet is such a public forum and I didn't want the wrong eyes coming across my blog. But now that all is said and done, I can fill in the blanks. We have been fighting for custody of Matt the last couple of months and it's actually moved along quite quickly. We were really trying to get him here to start school. Our attorney notified us a week in advance of our court date in Havre, Montana. We scrambled to get things ready and to prepare ourselves for what could be a long hearing. We got together our documents, discussed our plans for Matt and prayed that everything would go in our favor. I was fine and dandy until our attorney advised me that I would be testifying in court. What?!? Are you kidding?? I had certainly not anticipated that! I just wanted to sit there and be a supportive wife...not be up on the stand! So of course I over analyzed everything and probably got nervous for no reason. The day of court I had to wait outside the courtroom until it was my turn to be called to the witness stand. I felt like I was going to throw up. Combining nerves with no sleep was not pleasant. But surprisingly it went okay. Our attorney asked me basic questions that I had no problem answering. Then it was time for cross-examination. I felt like I was on an episode of Law & Order. The opposing attorney stood up and asked me a couple of questions, that in my opinion were completely pointless, but I guess he had to ask something. Ok, my turn was over...PHEW! Sadly for Ron, his interrogation wasn't as easy as mine, but he did great. The judge came back with his decision that Matt would come live with us during the school year. YAY!! We were so thrilled and so glad that our hard work paid off. Matt was jumping up and down outside the court room once he realized he would be leaving with us that day. We love having him with us!!

Family Fun

2008-08-17T23:51:00.000-07:00

This last week has been pretty eventful around our house. We've had my 2nd cousin Damien stay with us. This is the first time I've ever met Damien, so it was nice to get to know him. Damien is 13 years old and such a funny kid. I haven't seen his father (my cousin) since I was about 5 or 6 years old, but he reminds me so much of his dad! Damien had come up from Vancouver, WA with his grandma to visit my grandparents. He didn't want to go home after his week here, so we decided to have him stay with us for an extra week. (My grandparents aren't used to having kids around their house). We tried to fit in as many activities as we could with him. We went to Riverfront Park, Splashdown Water Park and Ron was able to take Damien to the gym with him several times. Thanks to Grammy Chunk (my mom) for the fun time at Riverfront!!

Look Who's 3!

2008-08-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

Soooooo I'm a terrible mom. Tanner's birthday was July 29th and I am just now getting around to posting his birthday pictures. I just had them done, so I guess I really couldn't have posted anything before today, even if I had wanted to. :) The pictures turned out surprisingly well. I can't believe he is 3 already! Where does the time go?? I can't believe what a big boy he is. He has been potty trained for a couple of months now and it is so wonderful having only one baby in diapers! Yay! I just enrolled Tanner in preschool today...it kind of makes me sad! :) He is definitely my little man and I love him to pieces. Here are some of his birthday pictures...

On July 29th we had a birthday party for Tanner. It was great having his great-grandparents, his grandparents, uncles and aunt here for the festivities. He got a new bike that he absolutely loves. Thanks to our family for spoiling him rotten!

Just say no....to speedos.

2008-08-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night Ron and I decided to take the kids to a local water slide park. It was a ton of fun and the kids always love going there. I find the park very entertaining because you just never know what you're going to see there. Of course there are the women that you love to hate because no one should look that good in a swimsuit. There are the men that really could care less about the slides, but are there to look at those women. On this particular day there seemed to be an overabundance of mid-life crisis or perhaps completely clueless customers. There were the women in bikinis who obviously didn't own a full-length mirror, and were perhaps trying to take 20 years off their actual age. Now don't get me wrong...props to them for having the self-confidence to wear such attire, but still. (I really have no room to be saying any of this...I am the frumpy mom with the t-shirt over her swimsuit, but at least I have the decency to cover up what shouldn't be exposed!) Anyway, there seemed to be a crazy amount of men in speedos that day. Now speedos are never ok, but they were just flat out wrong as these older men were trying to strut their stuff. It was especially entertaining watching these men check out the younger women and those women getting creeped out. I had to chuckle inside. You know, sometimes it's okay to NOT feel desired! There was one man in particular I noticed, mostly because he looked like a walking bear skin rug. He had hair EVERYWHERE!! And to make it worse, he was wearing....you guessed it, a speedo. There's probably a good chance he could have gotten away with wearing nothing due to his nice fur coat. So as my son Tanner and I are waiting in line to go down the slide, this hairy man stands behind us. It's now our turn to go, so Tanner and I head on down. We reached the bottom and decided to sit on the steps where you exit the pool to wait for Ron and Julia to come down. We're watching the slides and here comes the hairy guy in his blue speedo. He was really moving and hit the water so hard he nearly flipped over. All I can say is that the speedo didn't hold its place after such an impact. He stood up, apparently not knowing he was exposed and I immediately gagged. Unfortunately Tanner spotted the shifted speedo also and in his loud 3 year old voice said "Oh Mom! That's a hairy wiener!" I about died and I prayed that no one heard it over the sound of the water crashing into the pool off the slides. Thankfully hairy speedo guy realized his exposure before completely exiting the pool. Perhaps next time he will consider swim trunks.

"Oh, nevermind..."

2008-08-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

Recently I've had to start locking our garage door during the day so the kids can't get into it. In the past I've allowed them to play in there...riding their bikes, making forts, etc. I've never really had a problem with it, we'd clean up before Dad got home and all was good. It was all fine and dandy until they got a little more inquisitive. Tools started missing, things were being taken off shelves, and the messiest discovery was a big bag of grass seed. In the time it took me to come inside and make lunch, they had about half the bag of grass seed all over the garage and proceeded to spread it around with a push broom. Needless to say I wasn't happy, so I decided it was time to start locking up the garage.

The kids hadn't noticed the locked door...until today. They went outside in hopes of playing in the garage. To their surprise they couldn't get in. Of course they come running inside acting like it's the end of the world. It was hard to contain my laughter. I told them that the door was locked because they got into stuff they aren't supposed to play with. Apparently that didn't matter to them, they were determined to find the key to the garage. Julia ran up to my room to look while Tanner started searching in the kitchen. I was sitting here watching Tanner when he looked up at the corkboard and saw a key hanging there. He quickly pulled over a barstool and climbed up onto the desk. He grabbed the key, looked at me and said "Ha ha Mom...I got the key!!" My response: "Tanner, that isn't the key to the garage, that is the key to the neighbor's house" (we keep a spare over here for them in case they get locked out). His devilish smile faded from his face and he said "Oooooh, nevermind". I laughed so hard. Here this little guy thought he had out-smarted mom. Think again Tanner! :)

Bison, moose and deer....oh my!

2008-08-05T09:04:00.001-07:00

On July 17th we took a trip back over to the Seattle area to visit with Ron's mom. It was only fair now that Matt was here on vacation to take him over there with us to have some fun!! Ron had planned the trip a few months in advance and was planning on spending most of the weekend out at Pacific Raceways for the NHRA races. So the kids and I were at Grandma's disposal for the weekend. :) Once again we were all spoiled rotten and had a great time! What a fun weekend!!

On Friday we started off at Northwest Trek. This is a wildlife park where animals are free to roam about in their natural habitat. It was gorgeous!! I have to admit that I was skeptical about this place, but it turned out to be amazing. We took an hour long tram ride where you tour the park and see all the wildlife. The kids LOVED riding on the tram! It was pretty amazing to see the animals up close.

Julia, Tanner & Grandma on the tram

Olivia, Auntie Reva & Matt

Juju & Tanner loving the tram!

Tanner, Juju and Matt enjoying the greenery

Random animals...

Saturday we went to Point Defiance Zoo. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately I didn't take too many pictures because I was dealing with a cranky baby most of the time. :) The zoo puts on a wildlife show using trained animals. It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it!

Sunday was our final day to spend with Grandma. We debated on going to an amusement park, but decided instead to go to the beach. It was a heck of a lot cheaper and we got to spend some quality time together.

Juju looking for seashells

Can you tell we're related? ha ha

The whole gang...

Thanks again Grandma for a wonderful weekend!! We had a great time!!

Simply having children does not make mothers...

2008-07-31T16:50:00.000-07:00

For the most part I try to leave my personal and emotional issues out of my blog entries. I try to keep my posts upbeat, happy and hopefully entertaining. It is so relaxing and almost theraputic to write on here, so I'm going to take a chance on writing down some more personal thoughts.

Those who know me know that I love kids. I always have and am so grateful for my sweet babies...(although not always sweet!) There is nothing more infuriating to me than a mother that neglects or abuses her children. I am not claiming to be a perfect mother, I know I am FAR from it! I'd like to think, however, that I put out a good effort to be the best mother I can. My children always come first and I would do anything for them. I guess this is why I get so lit up when I learn of a child that is lacking the attention or love that he or she deserves.

Today I was reading through some entries regarding a child who is longing for love and affection from their mother. In these notes it indicates that the child is afraid to go to bed at night knowing their mother will talk negatively about them once in bed. This same child has been sent to bed on numerous occasions without dinner because they were being "bad". I'd like to know what it is that is bad enough to send a child to bed without eating. In these same notes the doctor who was talking to the mother and child asked if they do anything fun together during the week. The answer, no. The doctor also asked if they have meals together, talk together and discuss the days events. Again, no. How sad and unfortunate for this child that there is no safety or trust from the one person who should care the most. The doctor challenged the mother to have at least ONE meal together with the child per week and to do ONE fun activity per week. Why does this mother need to be told to do that?? It just baffles me. This child suffers from several issues. Issues that require consistency, organization and effort put out by their mother. Of course she doesn't follow through with anything. These issues are damaging them physically, emotionally and socially. They are constantly picked on at school by their peers. The doctor writes in her notes "I truly feel that unless something motivates mom to make the child her priority, our visits are probably a waste of time". My heart breaks for this child. This mother has been given the greatest gift and she could care less.

Hopefully something will change soon for this child. Until then all we can do is hope and pray that his situation improves.....fast.

Road trip on the 4th of July

2008-07-05T21:53:00.001-07:00

We left at 1 am on the 4th of July to travel to Great Falls, Montana to pick up Ron's son Matt. Julia stayed with her friend Karli so there would be more room in the van for Matt and his things. Thankfully Tanner and Olivia slept the whole 6 hour drive to Great Falls. Ron did his fair share of sleeping as well. :) As much as I give him a hard time about not driving, I really shouldn't. The truth is that I actually enjoy driving and would much rather be in the drivers seat. Anywho, we picked up Matt and have been enjoying him so much. He's very funny and is so great to his brother and sisters. We're glad you're here Matt!!!

I'll probably be in big trouble for this once Ron spots it, but I'm pretty sure it will be worth it...ha ha ha. Love you babe! (don't knock the pictures...all of them were taken while I was driving...shhhh!)

Ron sawing some serious logs...

Me in all my glory...well not ALL my glory. Gross, but what do you expect after 2 hours of sleep and being in a car all day? :)

Here's Matt!! He was trying to avoid his picture being taken...explains why he looks drunk...ha ha ha.

Tanner-Man...passed out!

And sweet baby girl...I'm sooooooooo glad she slept! :)

Happy 1st Birthday Olivia!!

2008-07-02T09:14:00.001-07:00

Where did the time go? I can't believe my baby is already ONE!! She's such a love and such a great baby!!! Here are some of her 1st birthday photos...

Little Beach Baby...

I LOVE PHOTOSHOP!!

Look Who's One!

Sweet baby girl...

Big girl standing up!

Of course Tanner and Julia had to get in on the action! They begged to have their pictures taken too....

Guess I should go brush...

2008-06-24T21:17:00.001-07:00

This afternoon I was sitting at the computer when Julia walked up to me and asked me to get her a glass of water. I took her face in my hands, pushed my nose against hers and sarcastically said "oh I don't think so!" She pulled back from me and said "whoa mom, your breath smells like dirty underwear!" Of course I had to do a quick check and I can assure you she was exaggerating. :) I'm not sure what I should be more worried about....the smell of my breath, or the fact she knows what dirty underwear smell like! Guess I'll be brushing extra long tonight!

A trip to the Emerald City...

2008-06-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we took a trip to Auburn, WA to visit with Ron's mom and siblings. On Friday afternoon we all piled into the car and started off on the 5 hour road trip. To our surprise the kids made it over half way before needing to stop. They did so good! We arrived Friday night and had pizza and played games. Saturday morning we got up early and got ready to head out to Woodland Park Zoo. We were at the zoo for about 6 hours and still weren't able to see all the exhibits. The zoo is HUGE and the kids were such troopers. Olivia did great in her stroller and we could not believe that Julia and Tanner kept up with us. We must have walked about 5 miles that day. At the end of our zoo visit Tanner fell asleep in the stroller and Ron had to carry Julia to the car. They were exhausted! I've posted some pics from the zoo.

Ron, Grammy Too Far Away (as the kids call her) and the kids...

Tanner with Auntie Reva and the Komodo Dragon...

Juju and the Komodo Dragon...

Ron hanging out in his tree basket...LOL!

Olivia chilling in her stroller...

On Sunday we went to the Space Needle, Pike Street Market and the Seattle Aquarium. It was great. Ron was a little woozy going up the elevator to the top of the Space Needle, but he made it! It's definitely high up and Julia was not a fan of that. She wouldn't look over the edge and wanted to stay in the middle part of it and just sit at a table.

Seattle...

Dad and Juju at the top of the Space Needle...

Refreshments anyone??

After coming down off the Space Needle the kids were able to go on some rides. I think this was their favorite part. Here are some pics of their favorite rides...

After the rides it was off to Pike Place Market where Ron got his 5 minutes of fame. He was picked to catch a fish at the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market. They had him go behind the counter and catch a big ol' fish. It was great. The part that was not so great was when they showed him how to catch the fish, they threw it from back behind the counter out to where I was standing. When the guy caught the fish, fish juice sprayed all over me. Not pretty, but a small price to pay for my husband's excitement.

Last but not least the aquarium. It was very fascinating seeing all the different sea critters. The kids loved it!

Juju and Grammy touching the star fish...

Juju and Tanner in front of an aquarium...

They even got their faces painted...

The kids were so great over the whole weekend. They did so much walking and just took in everything they got to see. It was so great. Ron's mom spoiled us all and we enjoyed every minute we got to spend with her. What blog entry would be complete without some candid family photos??

Grammy, Auntie Reva, Juju, Uncle Ryan, Dan (Reva's husband), and Ron's foot...

Olivia taking a swig.....of rootbeer...

And Tanner-Man passed out after a long weekend of fun!!!

No more playing with beads...

2008-05-09T21:44:00.001-07:00

Last night was quite an eventful one. We started the evening with attending Julia's end-of-the-year preschool concert. It was held at Central Valley High School and was quite a big deal. I was so proud of Juju when she went up on stage with her classmates and sang the songs they have been practicing for weeks. She was so animated, knew every word and every hand motion. What a little character! Good thing the lights were dim over the audience, so no one was aware that this blubbering mother had shed a few tears. I guess it just hit me all at once that she is growing up...and way too fast! I can't believe she will start kindergarten this fall! After the kids' performance they had cake and punch in the cafeteria. They also had several booths set up for the kids to play games and win prizes. One of the booths was for making bracelets. Each child was given a baggie of large beads and pipe cleaners...the rest was up to them. This sort of stuff is definitely Julia's cup of tea. She sat there almost the entire time creating her new "jewelry". After the kids were done playing the games, we drove home and settled down for what we all thought would be a nice relaxing night. We were wrong.

The kids were up in Tanner's room watching a movie, I put the baby to bed, and Ron headed out to the gym. The kids continued to play with the beads and created new jewelry items. I curled up on the couch, ready to enjoy some TV shows. After about half an hour of TV, Tanner came down the stairs screaming and holding his nose. I asked him what happened and he said "something up my nose!" I tilted his head back and sure enough I could see the bead. I had him sit on my lap and proceeded to have him blow his nose, over and over. It didn't budge. I tried the nasal aspirator, aka booger bulb, still didn't work. Last resort was the tweezers. I barely got them inside his nose when he pushed me away and started to cry. I realized I wasn't going to get it out and we needed to go to the ER. I called down to the gym to have them page Ron so he could come home. He did immediately and Tanner and I left for the hospital. When we arrived the staff was so good to him and got us in without too much of a wait. The male nurse (who was extremely good looking) took the light and shined it up my little guy's nose. He then said "are you sure there is something up there?" He instantly became unattractive now that he was questioning my intelligence. Ok, so he was still hot and I let him know there was for sure something up there. He left and got a doctor to come in and take a look. All the while Tanner sat on that hospital bed like such a big boy. The doctor came in and asked Tanner what was up his nose. His answer was "a big booger!" The doctor poked around and saw the bead. The next part was the worst. They strapped my sweet boy to the bed and then velcro'd him in, making him look like a human burrito. He looked at me and said "I scared Mom." Oh it broke my heart, but this had to be done. He was such a trooper as the doctor poked and prodded around in his nose. Tears streaming down his face while the nurse held his head still. I stood close, talking to him and assuring him everything was ok. The doctor took a break and had to go get a longer tool to use. Apparently Tanner had it lodged way up there. Again the nurse held Tanner's head and the doctor started really digging for the bead. Tanner was crying so hard and screaming "MOMMY! HELP ME!! IT HURTS!" It was heartbreaking! Tears were streaming down my face and the doctor kept saying 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!' I knew Tanner was going to be ok, but he didn't know that. I felt helpless as he stared up at me, not able to move his body, crying out for help and there was nothing I could do. He just looked at me like 'why aren't you stopping them'. Finally the bead was out and they quickly unstrapped Tanner so I could hold him. It took a good 5 minutes for him to calm down and be assured that this ordeal was over. He fell asleep on the way home and slept like a rock that night. This morning when he woke up I noticed that his face was freckled with little purple dots, apparently from crying so hard last night. Poor guy. Hopefully that will be the first and last time for objects up the nose.

Goodbye, wisdom teeth!

2008-05-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since my last post, but I've had a good excuse....honest. I recently had all 4 wisdom teeth plus one molar pulled. What a nightmare. The day of the proceedure my good friend Nanci drove me to the office since you have to have someone there during the entire extraction. Ron was home with the kids. The doctor had talked to me about anesthesia during my initial consultation, so I knew exactly what to expect...or so I thought. After sitting in the waiting room for some time, they finally call my name. I am ushered back into the proceedure room where there are 3 nurses. What? Does it really take that many people for an extraction? I don't know that there were that many nurses present during my c-sections. Anyway, they sit me down and start hooking me up to monitors. The nurse that put the IV into my arm starts talking to me about random things, asking me silly questions, and waiting for the meds to kick in. I started to feel dizzy and could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness. I no doubt startled the nurse when my eyes shot open and I blurted out "Call my mom!" What?? Not sure where that came from, but the last image I remember is that nurse having a good chuckle about my spaz out. As I came to, the doctor was removing the last tooth and he was talking to me, I guess trying to keep me relaxed just in case I freaked out as I woke up. He finished up and said everything went really well. The nurses removed the IV and heart monitors. They told me to lay back and relax for a few minutes and that I would be moving into the recovery room shortly. When it was time to move, I slowly stood up with the assistance of one of the nurses. I was dizzy and lightheaded and just took my time. Now the nurse was going to be escorting me to the recovery room. I had to laugh, even in my sedated state. The nurse holding my arm was not even 5 ft tall and maybe weighed 100 lbs. I am not a small woman, and standing next to her made me feel even more gigantic. I thought to myself, 'this poor woman...if I start to go down, does she really think she could stop that from happening? How on earth do they expect a tulip to catch a falling oak tree.' Thank goodness I made it to the recovery room without any incidents. After about 15 minutes of being in recovery, they had Nanci come back to get the post-op instructions. I was then released to go home.

Ron was very good about keeping the kids away from me as I slept off what was left of the anesthesia. After a day of changing bloody gauze and rinsing with salt water, I was beginning to feel a little bit of an improvement. My biggest concern was how numb my face still felt. I remembered the doctor telling me that there was a good chance he may bump the nerve or even bruise it. Apparently that had happened. So over the next week there were countless times of drooling on myself and having "leftovers" on my lips. Cute.

It was now the day of my post-op visit. It had been 10 days since the extraction and I made my way to the doctor. My lower lip and right side of my face were still numb, but I'm trying to remain optimistic. The doctor informed me that I am ahead of schedule with my healing....good news! I then asked about the numbness. He did a little test to see if the nerve is still working and it is. Thank goodness! The bad news? Oh, it could take several months for the numbness to go away. He asked that I make an appointment for September to check the progress. What?!? I couldn't believe it!! Here's to many more months of drool and leftovers.

I hate carnies!

2008-04-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today I had the brilliant idea to take my kids to a carnival that had been set up in the mall parking lot. I'm sure you've all seen these, and while I would never attend one for my own enjoyment, I figured the kids would have a blast. I was right, however the day didn't start off real well. So I'll start from the beginning. This morning my precious sleep was interrupted at 7:30am by the phone ringing. Now I understand that 7:30 is not all that early, but when you have a teething baby that struggled through the night, every minute of sleep counts. Today I didn't have a daycare child to watch and had no reason to be up until my kids got up...until the blasted phone rang. Anyways, the call was semi-important so I got over my irritation. Oh, and the kids slept until 9:30 by the way....rude. Within 5 minutes of the rugrats getting out of bed, I wanted to send them back there. I made the mistake of mentioning the carnival the night before and they were completely wired and out-of-control. We all got through what was left of the morning and barely made it through the afternoon. The kids were being especially naughty and I used the carnival as leverage more than once. So it was now time to leave for the carnival. A quick stop at the bank to get some cash and off we went. The kids were more than excited as we pulled into the mall parking lot. We purchased our tickets and to my surprise there was only a handful of people there. Yes it was cold and rainy, but I figured there would be a bigger crowd. Unfortunately for me, every carnie was able to approach us and try to 'make a deal' for my kids to play games to win a 10 cent prize. "Everyone's a winner! Guaranteed win for the kids!" Give me a break...you want my $5.00 in exchange for 2 crappy stuffed animals that goodwill wouldn't take as a donation. What bothered me more is that every one of them felt the need to pat my kids on the head. Normally that wouldn't bother me, but when people look like they haven't showered for a week and their hands are as black as tar, it tends to gross me out a little. I am ashamed to say that I finally gave in to one of the carnies and agreed to let my kids play a game. This was about them and I wanted them to have the full carnival experience. Of course I chose a game that was guaranteed to get them something...even if it was just a crappy stuffed animal. It was a bunch of rubber ducks floating in a big tub. All they had to do was pick a duck and on the bottom was a colored dot. The color of the dot determined which prize you would get. Of course this is rigged and of course they got the smallest prize possible, but it was fun for them. After giving my kids their prizes, the carnie asked them for high-fives. Julia gave her high-five first, then Tanner. This carnie was no exception to the dirty black hands and when he gave a high-five to Tanner, part of that dirt got passed on to him. Tanner immediately said(in a high whiney voice) "oh come on! my hands dirty!" He then walked over to the tub of floating ducks and washed them off. Pretty pathetic when a 2 yr old understands the concept of washing your hands, yet the carnies couldn't seem to catch on to that one. Lucky for me it began to hail and it was the perfect excuse to get outta there.

Sunday, Monday...Happy Days.

2008-03-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Ron and I took Julia and Tanner to the Auto/Boat Speedshow at the fairgrounds. It was a lot of fun looking at all the cars and watching the kids get excited about the new things they were seeing. In addition to the cars, there were also some celebrity appearances by the cast of Happy Days. So we jumped in line to meet The Fonz. As we inched closer in line, sign on the table caught our eye. It was a price list for the items they were selling. We had no intention of buying any items, but then we noticed the fine print. $20 per autograph?? What?? I couldn't believe it! I told Ron, maybe we'll just ask to get a picture of the kids with him....using our own camera. That's when he pointed out that photos with The Fonz were $20 a pop...even when using your own camera. Decisions, decisions. When it came our turn to meet him I was pleasantly surprised at how nice he is! He shook our hands and was very personable. I asked him if I could take a picture of him with Ron and our kids. He said "sure, but you need to be in the picture as well." Great, just great. After the picture, he knelt down and was talking to Julia one-on-one. He then kissed her forehead and thanked her for coming to see him. That made her day. After we walked away Julia said "Mom, the football coach from that movie (Waterboy) gave me a kiss!" It was adorable.

Of course we could not leave the speedshow without seeing Dora and Spongebob. The kids were so excited and couldn't wait to see them. Of course we got to their area just as they had left for a 15 minute break, so we walked around for a little while to pass the time. When they came back, we quickly jumped in line to let them have a turn. I had no doubt that Julia would snuggle up with them for a picture, but Tanner is a different story. He likes to take a look, but won't get too close.

This is as close as Tanner would get to Dora, and he looks less than thrilled in the picture....but he really was having a great time!

And again with Spongebob...he's standing at least 4 feet in front of him. We all had a great time.

No, I haven't seen your baseball....

2008-03-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

One of the funniest movies I have ever seen is "There's Something About Mary". It's been awhile since I've watched it, but anyone who has seen it remembers the line "Have you seen my baseball?" as Mary's older brother Warren is searching for his most prized posession.

That being said, when I woke up this morning, I didn't know I would be laughing harder than I have in a long time. Tanner woke up and the first thing he did was put on his new baseball helmet and glove. He walked into the living room where I was feeding Olivia. He cocked his head to one side and said "You seen my baseball Mom?" I held in the laughter for a moment and replied, "No, I haven't seen your baseball Warren". He looked at me confused and said "I not Warren, I Tanner!" Oh, I haven't laughed that hard in a really long time. What a funny guy.

Happy Birthday Julia!!

2008-03-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Today is Julia's 5th birthday....well she's 5 going on 15. We celebrated it yesterday with family and friends. Once again, she was spoiled rotten. We all had a great time.

The majority of her gifts from us were sports equipment to get her all ready for t-ball this summer. I am looking forward to being the parent on the sideline cheering on my kiddo. Of course we had to get Tanner a helmet and glove too....(the helmet more for safety concerns when they're hitting balls in the back yard). It was a lot of fun and I can't wait till it gets warmer outside so we can be out there playing.

She's coming on a jet plane....

2008-03-05T22:59:00.001-08:00

Yay!! My old roommate Natalie is coming for a visit. I can't wait! April 2nd is the big day. It's been awhile since we've seen eachother, so it will be fun. Although I can't imagine that coming to a house with 3 small kids will be much of a vacation for her. Ha ha. I have made an appointment for us to get pedicures and hair treatments the night after she gets here. Little did I know that Natalie is not a fan of pedicures, but this will convince her otherwise. There is nothing better than a good pedicure...and she'll learn to love them too! :) We are going to be pampered and it will be wonderful! Too bad we don't still have our teletubby pj's!!

It's just....a little crush...

2008-03-05T22:26:00.000-08:00

I have been a dedicated American Idol fan since season one. If I'm not home to watch the show, I make sure it's set to record on the dvr. After Tuesday nights performance by David Cook, the song "Hello" is on my top ten list. When I watched it for the first time, I got goosebumps and had to rewind and watch it again. I'm a little embarassed to admit that I have developed a crush on this wanna-be idol. I have since watched his performance at least a dozen times and sheepishly admit that I have thought about how steamy and sexy it would be to have a guy sing a song like that. For whatever reason I can't get it out of my head!! What a silly fantasy, but the more I watch the video, the hotter he gets. Perhaps its time to stop watching the video.....*sigh*.

What's that smell?

2008-02-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I was accused of doing something that is so not me. My lovely coworker "Butch" who I referred to in my 'tagged' blog is at it again. I have recently started closing the store and I love working that shift. I have all day with my kids, I work all by myself at night, thus, no more issues with "Butch"...or so I thought. Last Thursday I worked the closing shift and as the night was coming to an end, I went through my usual routine. Count out the till, clean up the bays, empty the garbage, shut down the printer and last but not least, wipe down the bathroom. So I leave work, thinking everything is just dandy. The next night when I arrived at work, the assistant manager immediately pulled me aside and said she needed to tell me something. Apparently "Butch" had shown up first thing on Friday morning, after I had closed the store on Thursday. She went into the bathroom and said it smelled like someone smoked weed in there. She immediately started telling the other employees that I had been smoking pot the night before during my shift. What?!? All I could do was laugh. It was either that or seriously freak out on "Butch". Luckily the manager and assistant manager know me pretty well and know that smoking pot is not a hobby of mine. I have friends that do, and half the staff where I work does, but I'm not one of them. Good grief. Can she not come up with anything better than that? I'm not sure why she is trying so desperately to get me in trouble....it's not going to happen. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what her next accusation is.

So grown up!

2008-02-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Since Julia's self-haircut, she has learned how cruel kids can be. At the age of 4, I would hope that they are just being brutally honest, rather than intentionally trying to hurt her feelings. Either way, she has come home from preschool on occasion saying that her friends said she looks like a boy, etc. Part of me wants to say 'well, it's your own fault darling' but of course I don't. It makes me so sad to see her hurting, so I figured I'd do something to lift her spirits. Last night I took her to the mall to get her ears pierced and today took her to get her hair evened out. I never expected the cut to turn out so cute!! Yes it's still very short, but the hairdresser cut it so that something can be done with it! It is ADORABLE!! She feels very grown up with her new earrings and sassy hair-do.

Tagged!! Darn you Natalie!

2008-02-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

So I was tagged by my friend Natalie quite awhile ago, so I am finally giving in. Although I'm quite sure that I am a very uninteresting person, so I apologize in advance. The rules are below, but I don't have enough people on my blog to send tags to. LOL! Wow, I'm pathetic!

The rules are:
* link to the person who tagged you
* post the rules on your blog
* share six non-important things/ habits/ quirks about yourself
* tag at least 3 people at the end of the post and link to their blogs
* let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

1. I am obsessed with the movie Cool As Ice. Now this was by no means a box office hit, but for whatever reason I cannot get enough of it! I've always had a crush on Vanilla Ice, so this movie was a must see for me! Not only is it the cheesiest movie ever, it also wins the award for most ridiculous tagline: "When a girl has a heart of stone, there's only one way to melt it. Just add Ice." This guilty pleasure started in highschool or maybe college, but hasn't stopped. What can I say? Vanilla Ice is a terrible actor, but he's sure easy on the eyes.

2. Tickling is not an option for me. I am so ticklish that it's almost painful if and when I do become a target. Growing up, my dad, brothers and I would have wrestling matches that eventually turned into tickling wars. During one particular war, my brother had me pinned down and my dad and other brother were tickling me to the point of almost wetting my pants. I remember yelling at them "I'm gonna pee, I'm gonna fart!" Almost instantly they backed away from me. I was sure to remember that line for the next time I was getting tortured. They eventually caught on that my line was B.S. and it no longer worked. So one afternoon, I was laying on the couch reading a book when my dad came in and for no good reason grabbed my feet and started tickling them. Well reflexes took over and I kicked him right in the eye. I certainly did not mean to do it and I felt terrible. He wasn't mad because he knew it was his own darn fault, but I still felt bad. I must have leaked this ticklish info to my roommates at college because somehow one of our guy friends caught wind of it and basically attacked me one day in our apartment. It was bad. The pictures make it look really bad. Ha ha. I just remember hoping that I wouldn't pee or fart on him.....although he would have deserved it.

3. I love theme dinners. Let me explain before your imagination takes over. First of all I love having people over for dinner. I like to cook for people and enjoy being a hostess. It is extremely fun for me to do theme dinners for holidays. I like being crafty, and this is one way for me to do it. I have to admit that I really haven't done many since college, so perhaps it's time to get the ball rolling again. I have included a picture below to give you an idea of what I'm talking about....this is from college. I haven't really taken pictures of ones since then.

4. Wallyball may just be my all time favorite recreational sport. I got introduced to it while in college and fell in love with it so much, I decided to take a Wallyball class....more than once. Ha ha. For those of you who don't know what Wallyball is, you put a volleyball net in a racquetball court and basically play volleyball. The cool thing is that you used the walls to play...just like in racquetball. Hours of fun and probably hours that should have been spent on homework. Oh well, can't change that now. I would strongly recommend giving it a whirl....at least once. More info can be found at www.wallyball.com. I am laughing so hard that I even put that website on here...yes, I'm a dork. I have included a picture for this one below....also from college, which is apparent since I am not nearly as fat in the photo as I am now. Lovely. Not sure what was happening to me in the picture either. :) Natalie...not sure why you're not in the photo....perhaps you were taking it?

5. I dare you to dare me. That's right, if you dare me, more than likely I will take you up on it....within reason of course. My most memorable and humiliating dare took place at the snow covered sand dunes near Rexburg Idaho. My roommates and FHE brothers decided to go sledding out at the dunes, which was an absolute blast, if you wanted to know. :) So long story short, one of my roommates dared me to take off my shirt behind a saucer sled. I'm not sure why she dared me to do this, maybe it was because she didn't think I would do it with our FHE brothers there. How wrong she was. The guys had just gone down the hill on their sled, so this was the perfect time. I thought to myself 'I'll show you!' So I quickly popped off the shirt and before I could make a smart remark, the flash of a camera blinded me. I was shocked and had to really bust a move to get my shirt back on before the guys came up the hill. I remember thinking 'holy crap, i sure hope that picture doesn't turn out!' Well, not only did it turn out, it's pretty hard to miss my black bra against the white snow. My old roommate mailed me this picture a few years ago, and I'm hoping I now have the only copy.....which I definitely won't be posting on here!

6. Last but not least....I despise one of my coworkers. This particular person is a she-man and is always on a power trip. For the sake of privacy, I'll call her "Butch". She is without a doubt the lamest person I've ever met. And if anyone ever comes to my place of employment, you'll understand why I call her "Butch". :) So this person is in her mid 30's and considers this job her life. Wow....pathetic. There is nothing wrong with liking a job, but to live for it is a little much. She loves it so much that she will come in on her day off and sit there ALL DAY. I finally told her the other day that she needed to get a life and if she does choose to sit there, I don't want to hear anything from her about what I should or shouldn't be doing. She's not my boss, and I would quit before that ever happened. Part of me feels bad for her, but it's a very small part. There is nothing worse than a 30+ year old tattle tale. I could go on and on but thinking about her gets me in a bad mood, so I'm done. :)

I don't think she likes it....

2008-02-02T22:05:00.001-08:00

But the sparks are so pretty Mom!

2008-01-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

Last night started out pretty uneventful here in the Andrews home. Ron and I put the kids to bed and had just stretched out on the couch to watch a movie. A few minutes later I smelled an overwhelming stench of fabric softener, but tried to ignore it, figuring it was just the laundry that was going. I got up a few minutes after that to use the bathroom. I flipped the lightswitch, but no lights came on....hmmm....weird. I assumed the lights were burnt out and asked Ron where the extra lightbulbs were. He said he had just replaced them a few days before, so they should be just fine. He suggested pushing the 'reset' button on the electrical outlet....that did the trick, the lights were back on. A few seconds later they were off again. Ok, now that is just too bizarre so we went downstairs to check things out. As Ron and I were making our way down the stairs, we heard the unmistakable sound of Julia's small feet running across her bedroom floor and jumping into her bed. Busted. The smell of fabric softener was nauseating and consumed her entire bedroom. She was trying so hard to pretend she was asleep....nice try. Ron and I were looking around her room, trying to find the evidence of what she had been doing. That is when he spotted the Febreeze bottle tucked behind her dollhouse....and then he noticed that the electrical outlet near the dollhouse were missing the childproof plugs. So much for being childproof....she popped those suckers right out. It didn't take long for us to put two and two together when we saw that the outlet was wet. She had been spraying the Febreeze on the outlet!! This is why our bathroom light kept shorting out. I said the shortest prayer ever, asking for help in composing myself and not losing my temper. I was appalled that she would even think to do something like this. After taking a few deep breaths, I sat on her bed and asked why she would do this. I explained to her how dangerous it is, that she could have hurt herself, or started a fire in the house. Her response....."I was just watching the sparks Mom, they are so pretty!" Now I'm praying that she will grow out of this phase.....sooner rather than later.

HO-HO-HO.....get me outta here!

2007-12-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

So this year I took the kids to see Santa at the mall. I actually put some effort into it and dressed them up, hoping to get a good picture of them. We arrived at the mall, and as we approached Santa, I was thrilled to see there was no line. Little did I know that it was now Santa's "dinner break" and he would be gone for an hour. Great, now I get to entertain the kids for an hour in a crowded mall, in their nice clothes. One of Santa's elves was very sweet and gave us a "front of the line" pass which meant that even if there was a line when Santa returned, we were able to get right in. So the kids and I went window shopping for awhile and got something to eat. When we returned I was shocked to see a long line of parents and kids waiting for their turn with Santa. I didn't have the heart to just cut in front of all those kids, even though I had the pass, so we headed back to wait patiently in line. When it was finally our turn, the kids were excited and Julia immediately ran in to sit on Santa's lap. Tanner started running also, but stopped dead in his tracks when he looked up and saw the big guy in the red suit. He turned to me and said "get me outta here!" Ha ha ha. I was laughing so hard, but was determined to get a picture after standing in line that long. So, needless to say the picture did not include Tanner......maybe next year.

What do you want?

2007-12-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

It had been a less than pleasing day at work today. The Christmas rush is in full force and I find myself surrounded by gobs of cranky parents and kids. I was so glad to be home and just wanted to be left alone. Realistically I know that will never happen, but just the thought of it made me a little happier. So I return home, say hi to the kids and hubby, and go to the computer to check my email. All I needed was a little time to unwind and relax. After a few minutes on the computer, my husband hollered from the living room, "Leigh, come here." My first thought was 'are you kidding? What do you want?' Of course I didn't say that out loud, and being the good wife that I am (ha ha) I went to see what he needed. When I walked into the living room, this is what I saw...

How adorable is that? Apparently Tanner had climbed up on Ron's back to play horse, but was so tired he fell asleep. Ron wasn't able to get him off his back, which is why he had to call me in there. Talk about feeling like a jerk! :)

Headbands to the rescue!

2007-12-08T08:36:00.000-08:00

So we have had a few days to recover from Julia's haircut and invest in some cute hats. Problem is, she doesn't keep the hats on...go figure. Thankfully I had set up a time to meet with a lady that makes headbands. I was originally meeting with her to purchase some for Olivia, but my focus had since changed and I needed to find a way to cover up Julia's haircut. I could have kissed her I was so happy to have something that would help our daughter look like a little girl again! :)

This picture was taken after the JC Penney "fix". Not much fix, but I guess at least it was evened out.

This is the fix with the headband....it takes a lot of hairspray and ratting. Yes, there is a slight resemblance to Aunt Jemima as well, but I'll take what I can get. :) Tanner's look says it all....

OH......WOW!

2007-12-03T11:33:00.000-08:00

As parents of a 4 yr old girl, we have heard several times that little girls will experiment with cutting their hair at least one time. About a year ago, Julia found Ron's beard trimmer and took a small chunk of hair off the front of her head. No big deal.....she didn't have bangs at the time, so it was an easy fix....we gave her bangs. Problem solved. At the time I thought to myself ' that wasn't so bad, it certainly could have been worse'. I was right. While I was at work, Ron and the kids watched Catwoman on tv. I myself have never seen this movie, but later that evening we would find out which scene was Julia's favorite. After dinner that night, Julia went down to her room to play and Ron headed off to the gym. I was relaxing upstairs, talking on the phone with a friend. I heard Julia come up the stairs and looked up to see what she was doing. I was in shock as she walked closer, scissors in hand, no hair left. I told my friend I would need to call her back and hung up the phone. There were no words for what I was feeling at that very moment. She looked at me with big sad eyes and said "I don't want to be a boy!" My first thought was 'too late!' I asked her why she cut her hair and she said that catwoman did it on the movie and her hair looked nice when it was short. I'm sure it did look nice, I'm also sure that it was a professional that cut it. When Ron got back from the gym, he saw the damage and we immediately hid every pair of scissors we could find. The next night we took Julia to JC Penney to try and at least get her hair evened out. The hair stylist had no idea where to even start. The best she could do was to just make it as even as possible. After that we went on a mad hunt for hats. Julia did not want her picture taken after the incident, but I insisted.....after all, this will be funny.....someday.

That's not permanent is it?

2007-11-15T22:04:00.000-08:00

It has become a ritual lately when I get home from work the kids greet me at the door and jump up and down screaming 'mommy's home!' It is adorable and so fun to see that they actually missed me. However, tonight I was greeted by Tanner only and I immediately noticed something on his forehead. As I hung up my coat I saw Julia sheepishly poking her head around the corner. Upon further examination of his forehead, I saw T-A-and part of an N written on him. Now I consider Tanner to be a smart boy, but to write the first 3 letters of his name, on his own head no less, would be genius. I asked Julia to come around the corner and she immediately tried to convince me that Tanner was the mastermind behind the whole incident. I let her know that I was happy she likes to write and is practicing her letters, but little brother's head is not the place to practice. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time. Luckily the pen wasn't permanent!

Candy pants

2007-11-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

Sadly we still have Halloween candy left and I made the mistake of leaving the bowl on the counter one day. I was sitting in the living room feeding Olivia and this is prime time for Julia and Tanner to get into things they know they aren't supposed to have. They have learned that mommy isn't too quick to respond when she's holding a bottle. I had forgotten about the candy and when Julia came up from her room she spotted it. I told her not to go near it. She tried to convince me that she was just 'looking at it'. Hmmm....right. Did I think my parents were that dumb when I was her age? So I didn't say another word and figured I'd bust her when the time was right. Sure enough she attempted to tip-toe across the kitchen as if I wouldn't see her pass by the living room. Oddly enough a piece of her shirt was tucked into her pants. Hmmm, it hadn't been like that before spotting the candy bowl. I politely asked her to come into the living room and sit with me. She at first declined but when I asked again I could see the look on her face that she thought she won this battle. Miss Smarty Pants came and stood in front of me. I kindly untucked her shirt and heard the crinkling of wrappers (surprise, surprise). Her look of victory quickly turned to one of defeat. I told her to take the candy out of her pants and give it to me. It was hard not to laugh as she reached clear into her underwear to remove the 2 pieces of candy. I politely declined taking them from her after seeing where they had been. I let her know no one would be eating those and asked her to put them in the garbage. Nice try Julia.

I do my own stunts

2007-11-10T14:32:00.000-08:00

Tanner has become quite the little dare devil lately and has given meaning to the phrase "boys will be boys". He loves to dive bomb off the couches, climb up on the counters and jump on beds. His new "trick" is to climb up on our bed and make his way over to our dresser. The problem is, once he's up there he can't figure out how to get down. As I was making dinner one night I heard him saying "let me down, let me down". I walked upstairs to see what he was getting into and saw this......notice what it says on his shirt....."i do all my own stunts".

Dancing With the Stars

2007-11-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

One of our guilty pleasures is watching the tv show Dancing With the Stars. Julia and Tanner have also taken an interest in the show and find it fun to dance around and immitate the professionals. The other night Tanner came upstairs with Julia's dress up shoes and tutu on. I immediately commented on how 'pretty' he was and his response was "I'm dancing with the stars mom". Oh poor guy...I guess we need to explain which of the partner team he should be dressing as. Ha ha! I was able to capture a couple of pictures, but after the first one was taken he got embarassed and ran away. These pictures may come in handy some day. :)

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

Last night we took the kids to trunk-or-treat at the church. It was a lot of fun and the kids loved it. Tonight I had to work and it was insane!! The mall has trick-or-treating in the evening so a lot of parents just pop in to have a picture of their kid taken in their costume. I was off work at 7:00 so it gave me enough time to race home and take Julia and Tanner trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. They loved it and couldn't wait to get home and show Dad all their candy. They were dressed as cows this year, I had to get in one more year of being able to have them match. Ha ha. I'm sure next year they will be picking out their own costumes. Hopefully the candy will be gone soon!

Working girl

2007-10-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

So I have started working part time at Kiddie Kandids in the Valley Mall. It took a little adjustment and patience as I again entered into the working world again. Not that this is a difficult job, but the patience was needed when meeting and getting to know my co-workers. This is by far the most unorganized group of people I've met in my life. The majority of people I work with are single, no children, and I just have to wonder why in the world would they want this job. Not that there is anything wrong with being young and single, but it has been awhile since I've been in that circumstance, and I had forgotton how truly irritating and lame they can be. My only thought is that perhaps they need a good form of birth control. I definitely feel like the old fart around the place, and I'm sure they find my rolling of the eyes at their stupid conversation irritating as well. My job is to photograph children, families, etc. There are a lot of fun props and it's fun to get creative. Being a mom I have a pretty good idea of what parents are looking for when they walk through our doors. As a mom, I have come to the conclusion that I have more patience for the screaming child, the kid that won't stop picking his nose, or the lovely child that flat out refuses to smile. This being said, I get a lot of phone calls from my youthful coworkers asking me to take their shifts. This was meant to be a part time job, however I have found myself being out of the house and away from my kids way too much. I have since cut back on hours and it is becoming more manageable. I was hired as a seasonal employee, so hopefully after the holiday rush I will be back home with my kids full time.

P.U.

2007-10-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight Tanner had a very stinky dirty diaper. As I laid him down to change him I said "whoa Tanner, P.U.!" He giggled then said "oh, P. Me!" Ha ha ha. I love their interpretation of words.

Fixing the leak...

2007-09-29T23:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight Ron and I were trying to locate the source of a leak below our sink. We cleared everything out of the cabinet below and wiped up the water. I was laying on my stomach, holding a flashlight, looking for the source. I got up to answer the phone and when I went back to the sink, Tanner had taken my place. Laying on the floor exactly as I had been, with flashlight in hand. What a good little helper!

New toy...

2007-09-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

Today Olivia got a new toy. She absolutely loves it when the music and lights are on. What a great investment we made.....she is not the only one that loves it....so does Tanner. Ha ha. He was so patient in waiting for his turn to play with baby sister's toy.

Julia's first day of preschool!

2007-09-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

Julia's first day of preschool was September 17th 2007. She was so excited to go and didn't even say goodbye when she got there. She loves carrying around her backpack and doing her homework assignments. There are 17 kids in her class, so she has made a lot of new friends. She was star of the week from September 24th - 27th. She's growing up so fast!!

Valleyfest 2007

2007-09-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

Today I took Julia and Tanner to Valleyfest out at Mirabeau Park. They had the city buses providing a shuttle from the Valley Mall to Valleyfest. We parked at the mall and rode the bus. It was the first time for the kids being on the bus, they loved it!! Once we got to the park, there were so many things to do. We walked all over, looking at different booths. The kids jumped in a big fire truck, made necklaces and played all sorts of games to win different prizes. Julia got her face painted and loved looking like a clown. Too finish off the afternoon, we all enjoyed a snow cone, then rode the bus back to the mall. It was such a great day!!

Falling in love....

2007-09-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

Julia, Tanner and I were playing hide and go seek. I had a couch pillow pressed against my face "hiding" from Tanner. Julia walked up to me and said "what are you doing Mom? Falling in love with the pillow?"" Oh how I dread the teenage years with her....ha ha ha.

All girl...

2007-09-15T23:12:00.000-07:00

In preparation for Julia's first day of preschool, Grammy Chunk took her to get her nails done. Julia was such a big girl and loved every second of it!

Privacy....

2007-08-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

Tanner is now starting to take an interest in going to the bathroom on the toilet. The problem is that he is quite shy about it and there is rarely a moment of privacy in this house. He has his own potty chair and one day apparently decided he needed more privacy than what could be offered inside the house. I looked out the back door to find that he had taken his potty chair outside. He was sitting on it looking into the neighbor's yard....so peaceful, so content. Enjoying every moment of quiet. He is so funny....definitely has his own little personality.

Husbands and Prisoners...

2007-08-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

Julia was watching me make dinner tonight and said "Mom, is Daddy your husband?" I said yes. She said "is he your boyfriend too?" Again, I said yes. She then asked "So you are Daddy's girlfriend?" Another yes. She thought about it for a minute and then asked her final question, "so you are also Daddy's prisoner right?" I guess wife and prisoner have the same meaning to her. Ha ha.

Pacific Raceways

2007-08-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

On August 18th when we were visiting in Auburn, Grandpa Winters (Yippaw) happened to be in Kent, WA at the NHRA drag races. He was there with his Hemi Cuda and photographing vehicles from the starting line. Although the weather was rainy, Ron and I decided to take Tanner and Olivia and drive to the track at Pacific Raceways. Julia and Matt stayed at Grandma Andrews' house. We got to the track, found Yippaw and was able to visit with him for awhile. They weren't running any cars at that time because they needed to dry the track. After a few minutes of visiting and looking at old cars, we heard some cars start up, indicating they were going to race again. Yippaw wanted to show Tanner the race cars and walked towards the track. He put earplugs in Tanner's ears and got him ready to see his first drag race. As the cars took off from the starting line, the ground shook an Tanner jumped. It was so sweet to see him latch onto Yippaw even tighter. What an awesome moment to see a Grandpa holding his first grandson watching the drag races. Tanner absolutely loved it and was able to watch 4 or 5 races with his Yippaw. What perfect timing....we showed up right as they finished drying the track, and after those 4 or 5 races we saw, they called it quits for the night due to rain. On the way back to Grandma Andrews' house, we asked Tanner how he liked the cars. He would say "oh cars loud!" and then cover his ears. I'm so glad we made the last minute decision to go and find Yippaw at the track.

Auburn Washington

2007-08-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

On August 17th 2007 we all drove over to Grandma Andrews' house in Auburn, WA. Matt was flying out of the Seattle airport, so it was a good excuse to go visit family. The night we got in Auburn, Grandma took us to see Uncle Ryan crabbing out on the pier at Point Defiance. It was neat to see all the crabs he had caught. Some people even caught a shark which they ended up using as bait. We all then went down to the beach to play near the ocean. Julia kept wanting to jump in, even though it was freezing outside and high tide. Tanner had fun throwing rocks into the ocean. Grandma took us to the Lobster Shack for dinner. It was delicious, although Ron forgot he was allergic to shellfish, and tried some crab legs. Ha ha. It was a pretty itchy night for him to say the least.

Grandma Andrews comes to visit!

2007-08-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

Grandma Andrews came to visit and see Olivia for the first time. Of course she spoiled us all rotten...she's such a good Grandma! We all went to Cat Tales, a zoo near Spokane where they train tigers, bears and other animals. Grandma was even a good sport and got in the pool with Julia and Tanner.....it's always fun when she visits!