Sweet Nut-things

Early birthday gift

2011-07-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

My amazing husband has been working so hard to build me my dream farmhouse table as an early birthday gift. We started by getting the table below off of Cra*gslist for 25 dollars--at first we were just going to sand it down and stain it a darker color, but we decided to use the legs off of this table and build what we really wanted. We got ideas from this and this blog.

We also found these old desks--a local college was selling them for dirt cheap, so we snagged 8 of them and envisioned using them as our dining room chairs.
Robbie got to work, deciding what size to make the table--we decided to make it a foot longer than the original table top, so he had to rebuild part of the apron that supports the top.

...laying it out...lots of thinking and researching and borrowing tools before we even really got started, since neither of us has done any woodworking before.
The legs and apron were ready--we were hoping they'd support the heavy table top!

Now, out to the garage to glue and screw it together. We borrowed these long clamps from a friend, and Robbie got creative on how to clamp the long side.

Once it had been clamped for quite a while and we were sure it'd hold together, Robbie started sanding it down--for many hours! My hubby is a perfectionist about some things...trying to get it perfectly smooth on top--placing plates and cups on top to make sure they wouldn't wobble, ... We brought it back inside for the finish work--way too hot to stain and polyurethane in the garage!

And after probably 5 hours of sanding, I made him take a hatchet to it!! He was very hesitant, but I wanted some light distressing--we used several random things we found around the house, and I love how it turned out!
We gave it a coat of a wood conditioner, since it was raw wood--I guess it's supposed to make the stain go on smoother.Here's the first coat of an American Walnut stain--we did 2 coats of stain and decided that was dark enough.

In the meantime, we removed the desks off of the chairs, cut off the supporting arms, sanded them down, picked out some fun paint colors, and started painting.
...and distressing...
After multiple coats of polyurethane, it's finished! Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?!? I love it--can't wait to use it. We're leaving on a week-long mission trip in the morning, so we're going to let it cure while we're away. Thanks, hubby, for my amazing gift and all the hard work you put into it--I'm hoping it stays with our family for many, many years!

Best Friends

2011-07-23T20:50:00.001-07:00

SOOO thankful for Sarah's very special friend, Emma, who made this sweet scrapbook page for her today! I'm praying for many years of these 2 girls helping each other grow into all that God made them to be!

Birthday Girl!

2011-07-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Sarah turns 7 today! Sarah, who LOVES to celebrate people on their birthdays (breakfast in bed, backrubs, special plates for every meal, letting them make EVERY decision ALL day long, ...) came out of her room this morning with the biggest smile on her face. She even thinks our puppy Jake is giving her special attention today, and we're going right along with her idea! This kid is soo incredibly precious to us, and we're thrilled to have a day set aside to celebrate her. She's so excited to take her bff with us to KC for the day--mixing work with fun, as we need to be there to see a summer team in from overseas, but we're also going to Chuck E Ch*ese for dinner, and getting a little ice cream later. Should be a fun day! You are loved, little girl! We can't imagine life without you!

Aren't they so sweet, sleeping together like this?
TOTALLY staged! They're a bunch of goof-balls!

Mexican Fiesta!

2011-05-09T18:51:00.000-07:00

My sweet sister Staci just turned 40, and our family decided that was a great reason to get together and celebrate, so we had a Mexican Fiesta this past weekend. SO MUCH FUN!
Several of the men worked on getting my sister's new garage/rec room shingled, and the ladies cooked up a fiest and got the garage all decorated.
Sarah was a great help!
The kids were pumped about the fancy cups, yummy drinks and umbrellas to put in them.

My mom and sister Jody made these fun flowers for decorations, and for all the girls to wear in their hair.

After the meal we had our own "field day"--we've got enough kids for a real competition! The pinata was a huge hit! Our sweet nephew James kept yelling "Whack it! Whack it!" Then he looked at me and asked, "What's whack it mean?" Cracked me up!

Levi just hangin' out on top of the swing set...the kid is such a monkey!

I pretty much adore my family and seriously wish we all lived in the same town.
Love him!

A bad case of stripes

2011-05-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

Sarah's choice of what to wear to her school's carnival. She was so excited to get a rainbow painted on her face and colored hair--pretty cute!

An evening of fishing and skipping rocks

2011-05-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

We headed to a nearby lake tonight for some relaxing family time. It took a while to get everyone settled, and there were lots of tangled lines to help with, but we had a blast! I was the stickler and made the kids wear safety goggles after a fishing scare a few weeks ago, but they didn't complain and had so much fun!

Levi looks so tall in this picture! He's starting to remind me of his daddy every day lately, and I love it! He's got this fishing thing down--a great caster, doesn't need much help at all, and could do it for hours without getting tired.

After the fishing, we moved on to skipping rocks. Rob's giving it his all...
...and this is how into it Sarah got! Cracked me up--she'd barely plop the rocks in...she was much more interested in picking flowers and finding treasures!
The boys looking for the perfect rock-skipping rock...
I love this picture! Jason pretty much lives in this sweatshirt, or "hoodshirt", as he calls it, and these cowboy boots are his recent favorites. He told me he loves them because they're "black and brown"...is that special??? They're usually on the wrong feet--he hardly ever wears socks because I'm never caught up on the wash, so his poor feet get blistered, but he doesn't mind! He is just so gung-ho about life! The only thing missing is his favorite lime green t-shirt cape that he wears constantly...pretty much adore this kiddo!
See the 3 splashes from skipping that rock? The highest number for the night was maybe 7 or 8--Robbie was sooo good at it!
Gorgeous, relaxing night!

Neighborhood Easter fun

2011-04-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love where we live! Here's a picture our of silly neighborhood kiddos and their lovely hats...just moments before they were turned loose for the annual egg hunt.
...and they're off!
Loving these action shots--you wouldn't believe how fast Levi was running! The child does NOTHING halfheartedly! And TWO baskets??? Who is this kid's mother and shouldn't she teach him some manners?!? :)
The look of sheer delight!

And to finish off a wonderful morning...egg dying. I got away with not doing any in our home this year, but I think we all missed it--we'll have to make sure we include that next year.
I realized once we got there that none of my kids had gotten their hair combed that morning! We're just not always the together-kind of family! Yikes...

Two of Levi's close friends and neighbors. He is sooo blessed to have several great boys who live within seconds of his house. I'm feeling very thankful as I look though these pictures. I didn't have my camera out to capture some other wonderful moments on Easter weekend...walking through the stations of the cross with our kids and closest family friends, a delicious meal with a house full of guests, an incredibly special Easter service at our church... Very, very thankful!

House For Sale!

2011-04-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

So...our house is officially on the market. Kinda scary...I love our home and am a little sad, but we're hoping to sell it and build again in our same neighborhood to get our mortgage down a little. ANYWAY...just wanted to let me dear readers know just in case you hear of anyone looking for a home in a great neighborhood in the world's most amazing town! We have a website with pictures and details, but I'm not comfortable linking my personal blog with the house one...if you want more details, leave me a comment and we'll talk!

Family Get-Away

2011-03-28T19:36:00.001-07:00

I was alone with the 3 kids for the first half of Spring Break while Robbie took students to a retreat in Colorado--and we survived! And even had lots of fun! After Rob got home, we decided to take the kids on an overnight trip to Salina. We met up with Rob's parents and his sister's family for a little mini-vacation-it was a blast and we totally wore the kids out! The hotel we stayed at was not fancy at all--actually pretty run down, but it only cost us 50 dollars a room, and the greatest perk was the big waterslide--the kids played on this thing for HOURS and never got tired of it. It was the perfect size pool, and we were some of the only ones there, so the grown ups got to relax in the hot tub and watch the kids play in the pool. Might just become an annual thing!The cousins enjoyed playing games in the lobby. Our kids play so great with their cousins--they're inseparable, and I love it!
Sarah was having fun taking pics with Grace. This was the best shot she got.
Don't Robbie and his dad look thrilled to be on vacation?!? I laughed when I saw this picture--they look so bored! This was while we were waiting 1 1/2 hrs to be seated for dinner! !
The kids enjoying themselves at a fun burger and shake joint.

We spent an afternoon at the zoo (wildlife park, I think it's actually called). It was a little chilly, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Doesn't Levi look so grown up in this picture with his cousin Hope? And ORNERY--that kid is always up to something!

We couldn't believe how this huge rhino could climb! What a riot! He looked like he could climb right out of there!

The kids found a tunnel that led to this observation box--they were giggling like crazy, with their heads popping up and down for our entertainment!
Priceless...

This never gets old...

2011-03-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

...and it never fails to melt my heart. Sure love these four!

"Talking teror"

2011-03-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

Today Jason and I decided to tackle the boys' room--this is a job that we really have to do while Levi's at school. He's good at "picking up" his room most days, but he never really tackles his "collections". This kid has more collections than you can imagine--piles of old Valentines, piles of dum dum wrappers, piles of cards, piles of legos, piles of papers, and papers, and papers, torn out pictures from magazines, ... and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS A TREASURE TO HIM!! We actually play a game regularly at our home called, "trash or treasure?" I show him different things and have him tell me if they're worth collecting. Sounds mean, but the kid would have his treasures up to the ceiling if I didn't go in and clean it out every once in a while...and always while he's at school. I did find some real treasures, though, as I was cleaning stuff out from under his bed. This picture and what he wrote made me smile...
I love Levi's drawings and his creativity...and some day--many, many years from now, I'll miss his collections!

Our week...

2011-03-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

This past week has been LONG! Poor Levi is on day 9 of having a pretty high fever and feeling miserable--I've never had a kid with a fever for that long, and I'm so sad for the poor guy. They didn't test him for influenza but assume that's what he's had--then he got a secondary infection (bronchitis) on top of that, so hopefully with the antibiotics in his system, he'll start feeling better soon! Jason got it next, but seems to be on the tail end of it already, after just a few days, and now Sarah's home sick with it. I'm kicking myself for not getting them flu shots, but just never got around to it.

I always thought I had way too many medicine dispensers/syringes, but I'm seriously going through each of these and needing more each day!
Oh...and the paint--I decided it'd be a good week to repaint the bathroom, and touch up all the nicks on our walls...at least I can say SOMETHING got done this week!
Next week we get to have 3 sweet nieces stay with us as their parents are going on a trip to Mexico. Can't wait--hope we're all healthy by then! (Also--Mom starts chemo next Friday, the 11th--please be praying for her body to be able to handle the chemo--it's some very potent stuff that they're giving her, and she seems to be so sensitive to any meds. She's finally starting to feel a little better after surgery, and I hate to think of her being miserable again!)

A sweet valentine from a super sweet boy

2011-02-25T21:55:00.000-08:00

I was going through a stack of papers the other day and found this valentine that my oldest made for his little sister. I chuckled and of course filed it away in her box of special papers to keep. I love my big boy's heart so much, and when he's not fighting with his sister, I think he really does adore her!!

Mom

2011-01-08T20:52:00.001-08:00

Mom has had an amazing day, considering that she just got out of surgery 24 hours ago. (Did I mention that they did NOT have to take the entire right lung?!? We were thrilled!) We're amazed at how well she's progressing. She's been working so hard on the goals the nurse has written up in her room. She hasn't gotten much uninterrupted sleep yet, but that's to be expected in a hospital. This hospital is AMAZING--the surgeon was phenomenal, the nurses are wonderful, and we are loving getting to know so many other families and patients here. We met a really special 21 year old guy today who had a heart transplant 5 years ago and has had a million medical problems since he was 8 years old. We love him and want to adopt him into our family!

The big day

2011-01-07T14:38:00.001-08:00

About a month ago, my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer. This past month has seemed like a lifetime, but today is the day of surgery to remove the tumor--possibly the whole right lung. As I type, we're in the waiting room, waiting for Mom to go into surgery. The first surgery of the day took 4 or 5 hours longer than they anticipated, so Mom's was bumped back. It should begin today around 5:00. Please be praying that they'll be able to get all of the cancer, that Mom's body will respond well to the surgery, that her heart and left lung would be strong, ... It's been a LONG day already! I am sooo thankful that we know the Great Physician, the Prince of Peace, and that we have such a wonderful, supportive family!

Snapshots of Christmas

2010-12-25T08:27:00.001-08:00

A special weekend

2010-12-14T19:06:00.000-08:00

I spent last weekend at my parents' house with all 5 of my siblings and my mom and dad. Here's me with 3 of my 4 sisters watching our amazing niece and nephew play basketball. I could get used to watching them every weekend--they were sooo good!!
Our very loved Mom was just diagnosed with lung cancer last week, and we all just had to be together for the weekend. We were soo grateful to hear today that it hasn't spread anywhere outside of the lung and are hopeful that with surgery it could be treatable. My mom and dad are still very much in love...had to capture this sweet moment... Here's my niece Jacquie doing Mom's hair. We all wait our turn for her to beautify us! I'm sure she gets rather tired of it, but she's a good sport about it.And the star of the weekend was my brother's son, James. He was the only little one to make it home with us, and he got a LOT of attention! We kinda think he's a genius...and just a bundle of fun! Here he is checking out some of the first big snowflakes of the year.

Gearing up for the holidays

2010-11-20T09:35:00.001-08:00

We're having lots of fun at our house getting ready for the holidays. The kids and I are crafting and baking! These stars they're making are called "Waldorf window stars"--may be a little early, but they're already making our windows look festive, and the kids so enjoyed making them.

Sarah helped me make 4 dozen cinnamon rolls the other day for Thanksgiving (breakfast) with my side of the family. She did great--we froze them before baking them, so we had to sample a thawed out and baked pan this morning--not bad at all! Sarah is a great help in the kitchen. (I have us wear these bandannas to keep hair out of the food, but the kids think we're the coolest pirate cooks ever!)

I found a tutorial here for these cute no sew flower headbands (I did mine all with a glue gun b/c I didn't have Fabri-Tac). Made a couple last night and Sarah thinks they're fun, so I might have to make a few more--maybe a few for gifts. They're so easy and basically free--I just used scraps of material I had, and I've got plenty of headbands. This is her "gameday" headband...
...and her super fancy pink and green one. She loves it!

In other news, our puppy Jake has become an almost exclusively-indoor dog this past week. (He's spent much of his life in our backyard because the weather has been so nice and his sister--neighbor's dog and litter-mate-- plays out there with him.) He's doing great about not having accidents, and is actually becoming our dream dog! So glad we got him!

Brothers

2010-10-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

Neighborhood Pumpkin Carving Party

2010-10-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

We have the best neighbors ever! Three families had a pumpkin carving/cupcake decorating party the other night.
It was fun to watch how seriously the bigger kids took it.
Jason's "carving" lasted about 5 seconds. He decided he'd rather use markers to decorate his--I was in full agreement--he's a little scary with a knife!
Isn't Shayla adorable?!?
Levi's working so hard...

Sarah had to make sure everyone knew that "I am a nise pumken"

First Day of Preschool

2010-10-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Jason and his buddies did great today--no tears, and they were so excited to tell us about their day on the way home. Highlights from the day included play-dough, apples and rice krispie treats, and trading silly bandz with his mentor, Jacob.

Memories...

2010-10-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Our family was looking at old videos tonight and my heart was so full, yet sad when I watched my babies. Can't believe how big they're getting. My youngest, Jason--now 4--is having his first day of preschool tomorrow morning. This is hitting me harder than most transitions. I am NOT ready for him to grow up yet! Thought I'd post a video of him a couple years ago so you could remember how incredibly cute his was (and still is)!

Apples, nephew and puppy love

2010-09-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

My sweet 2 year-old nephew James came with grandma (my mom) this week to spend a few days at our house. His mommy is about to have her 2nd baby and was a little worn out from chasing her busy boy, so we jumped at the chance to spend some quality time with him. My immediate family--dad, mom, siblings, and their kids is 27, going on 28 people, so pretty much whenever we spend time with family it's chaos (really fun chaos), and hardly any alone time with any one child. We had a BLAST with this little guy! Jason and James became best buddies and followed each other all around the house. The weather was perfect, so we spent lots of time out in the backyard. And...our neighbor gave us tons and tons of bruised but deliciously sweet apples that needed to be used up--3 boxes in all. My mama brought her nifty applesauce press, and we were in business! We had tons of help from James and Jason--I couldn't count how many apples had bites out of them by the time they were washed and ready to quarter! And, of course, water was all over the floor, but it sure kept them entertained! Every once in a while, I have the thought that I should've been a pioneer woman.
We washed and cut and cooked apples for hours, but the end result was delicious! Just like I remember from my childhood. I knew there was a reason I don't like store-bought, jarred applesauce. It really doesn't compare! Not sure it was worth all the work for how much applesauce we ended up with, but it was great fun to work with my sweet Mom and let the kids be a part of it!

Love this one of James and our puppy Jake playing tug-of-war! I think he needs a puppy! Isn't Jake the cutest thing ever? Wish I could get him completely potty trained so I could trust him in the house!

Like father, like son

2010-09-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend at Rob's parents' house, and my mother-in-law showed me this picture of little Robbie. I took a double take--doesn't he look so much like Jason?
Speaking of Jason, my baby turned 4 yesterday! He is such a delight--seriously, my heart melts every time I look at him. We're having a blast spending our days together while the big kids are at school--and I'm soo glad he has a September birthday so we still have 2 years till kindergarten! There's no way I could part with him in just one more year.

Here's Sarah with her grandpa--he and my mom were such a big help at the party, and the kids all warmed up to them like they were their own grandparents!

My budding artist

2010-09-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Sarah's latest drawing...she worked on this for at least an hour today, and I think it's adorable! I did help her a little bit, but it's mostly her creation. You can't see the cute little flower tattoo on the bottom of her leg. I guess this is a Clifford-size dog--quite a bit bigger than the trees--love it!

School time

2010-08-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

Sarah had some fun times the few days before school started. One of her classmates had a spa birthday party--the 6 year olds each got a manicure, pedicure, and an updo. Here she is with her good friend Emma playing princesses after the party!
The day before school started, we decided to let Sarah get her ears pierced. She almost had us convinced around Christmas time, but when she heard how they did it, she decided that she'd NEVER get them pierced. Well, last weekend our good friend Heather came to visit with her not even 2 year old girl who had her ears pierced. Sarah decided that she could sure be brave if KJ could! Not a single tear--and lots of smiles! She's so proud of them, and is doing a great job cleaning them 3 times a day!
First day of school--3rd and 1st grades--super excited faces!
And Jas and I have had lots of QUIET and fun times together since the big kids left. I'm loving having some preschool times at home with him the past couple mornings. Here is his adorable cat that he drew today--he's incredibly proud of it!
...and look how his cute little tongue sticks out when he's concentrating!
And last, but not least--you gotta see how excited Jake and his sister get every time they see us! They go nuts! Love these puppies!

Summer fun

2010-08-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the county fair with some college friends..they loved being so close to all the animals--so sad that these outdoorsy kids don't have a farm to regularly go to!
Here they are staring at the llama while he's getting a bath. He was a filthy thing, but very sweet!
...our growing Jake--he has added so much to our family! I'm convinced we have the best dog on the planet, and find myself wanting to brag about him like I want to about my kids. Who would have thought that I would be a dog lover??? Crazy!

Isn't he the cutest thing EVER, though?

Mr. Bug Lover in bug paradise-outside of my sister's wedding rehearsal dinner--he was beside himself with excitement!
My sister got married last weekend to a great guy! I wish I had more pictures of how gorgeous she looked--but alas, I didn't take a single one--stole this one from your blog, Em! Sooo happy for the 2 of them!
Jas and his 2 neighborhood friends had a craft time and made these crowns...adorable!

Sarah had a fun playdate with her best friend Noah this week--they had it all planned out--made sure he brought his cup with his name on it. They're counting down the years till they can get married--we told them they need to wait till they're at least 21, and no kissing till their wedding day! :)

Poor, Poor Jake!

2010-07-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Poor Jake!

2010-07-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

12 years...

2010-07-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

...and he still makes my heart go pitter-patter. I sure love this man!

Sea World and more San Antonio fun

2010-07-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

We took a little vacation to San Antonio to visit some good friends and have a little fun with our kiddos. We left Thursday am and drove all day, spent Friday at Sea World, Saturday at the Alamo/Riverwalk, went to church with our friends on Sunday and headed all the way back home. Pretty crazy--let's just say we were extremely grateful for our van's DVD player and R*dbox!

Here are our little cutie patooties at the entrance to Sea World. What a cool place! It was hard for me that we didn't have time to see everything, but we had a fabulous time.

Levi of course loved the poison dart frogs--aren't they amazing?
Can't remember the name of this--very strange! Levi and I were wondering if God was laughing when He created them!

Can you tell that this is Levi's dream for how to spend a day? Wouldn't want to meet THIS guy in a dark alley! He does NOT look friendly!
This walrus was doing sit-ups! I loved this show!

It was pretty hot, so we decided to cool off before another show at the splash park. The kids were almost lethargic going in, but a little cold water sure woke them up!

Dolphin and beluga show--can't believe how high they can jump!
Here's Shamu--are they all named that? HUGE!

Jas wasn't quite tall enough for the water ride the older kids wanted to ride on, so I stayed back with him and waited on the rest of them. Isn't he the cutest thing ever? I get such a kick out of his ornery grin!

At the Alamo with Neil and Crystal
A delicious Mexican meal on the Riverwalk. The kids loved the ducks floating by--the grown ups loved the conversation and the yummy salsa! Overall a fun trip--the kids were a little crazy from so much packed into a few days, but hopefully we'll only remember the good times!

Introducing...

2010-07-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

...our new puppy--the most adorable Morkie! We're still not united on a name for him, but the entire family is in love. We surprised the kids with him this afternoon--they were in complete shock. Names that we're considering: Mr. Weatherbee ("the Bee"), Archie, Rockie, Jack, Max, Biscuit, Oscar, Jake (Jacob Pullen), Ulla (Pomele) ... Hoping to nail his name down tomorrow. He's definitely getting socialized--he had 10-15 kiddos playing with him today at a picnic, saw 4 dogs, and spent lots of hours getting passed around between my 3 kids and the neighbors. He's been a trooper--even got his first bath today. We're hoping for a great night tonight and can't wait to wake up and play with him tomorrow!

What's hiding in the back of our bedroom closet

2010-06-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

Shhh...don't tell the kids, but we're getting a PUPPY! I'm so excited--I feel like I'm expecting a baby--it's all I can think about. Robbie and I have always said that we're not a dog family, but the kids have begged and begged, and we decided it's time. We're getting a Morkie--thought it was going to be a girl, but we're switching to a boy, and we still don't have a name picked out for him! Any suggestions? Jack is our best idea so far, but is that too boring? I've made Rob watch a video with me about how to take care of a new puppy--he wasn't too thrilled, but we know very little about this--have always had farm dogs that we really didn't do much for besides feed them our scraps. We're getting him next Monday, the 5th--can't wait!

Busy summer!!

2010-06-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Wow--this summer is flying by way too fast, and I haven't blogged in ages. We've been keeping super busy, enjoying time with friends and family and time at the pool! I've got tons of pictures that I wanted on here, so this will be a hodge-podge post. We had to say goodbye to our dear friends Stu and Heidi several weeks ago. I miss them like crazy--this is one thing that stinks about Robbie's (our) job of investing in students--we get super close to them, and then they have to move away. We had a going away lunch for them, and Levi decorated the brownies--supposed to say, "We'll miss you", but some of the powdered sugar got messed up. I'd love to spend the rest of my life next door to this couple--extremely special people!
Enjoying the KS sunsets--not quite like on the farm growing up, but they still take my breath away.
Helping my little sis put together all her invitations--she's getting married in 1 1/2 months! I'm so excited for her and love her fiance, who she just met in JANUARY!!!
Aren't they cute together? I feel like he's already a part of the family--he'll sit up late and night and talk with all of us girls when we're all home (at Mom and Dad's), so he fits right in!

Helping celebrate my little brother Mark's 30th--can't believe how old we're getting! A group of family and friends surprised him last Friday night at a Royal's game. It was hot, but so much fun! Here he is with his beautiful wife, Emily.
Hot and sweaty Sarah
Me and my honey at the game
Handsome Levi
Adorable, ornery Jason

And once again, the cute engaged couple.
On Sunday after church, Rob and I made a quick trip to Chicago to trade in our dying van for one with fewer miles. A highlight of our trip was getting to spend a few hours with some dear Challenge alumni, Daniel and Rachel. They let us crash at their apartment, fed us a great breakfast, and took us to Millennium Park to walk around a bit, all just days before moving and weeks before having their first baby. We loved our time with them!

Field Day

2010-05-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was field day at my kids' school. Jas was thrilled to get to play with action figures with his friend Cooper while watching his big sis and bro do their events.
Here's my sweetie with a friend and one of the best teachers in the world, I'm convinced. She's going to be SO sad to graduate from kindergarten.

And my handsome Levi. He looks way too old in this picture!
What would we do without Micah? I'm secretly hoping he'll someday be my son-in-law, but we won't tell him that! He might have to fight his cute little brother, though, cause Sarah sure adores Noah. I'm taking random cute pictures of either of them with my Sarah just in case I ever need them for a wedding slideshow. Is it sad that I'm totally serious???

My friend Heather and her 2 babies came to spend a couple days with us this week. They were troupers and came along to Field Day. KJ and Eli are getting cuter by the day--my kids loved having them stay with us!

And I just had to throw in this cute picture of my friend Jenni's daughter, Chloe. She seriously melts my heart!

Cuteness

2010-05-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Miss Sarah has been growing her hair out forever--at once she wanted it "as long as Ariel's", but has recently gotten tired of all the tangles and opted to get it cut. I think I'd like it even shorter next time, but she's pretty darn cute! She's looking way too old lately, though!

And here's a cute one of Jas and Daddy--all tuckered out and needing a little nap!

More Hawaii pics

2010-05-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Okay--here are several more Hawaii pictures in random order. These first 2 are at a coffee plantation that we toured. It's actually the largest one in the States. Robbie, of course, had to come home with multiple bags of it. I'd never toured a coffee plantation before, and I thought the coffee plants were pretty cool--I love how the cherries on some of them grow in little clusters. Inside of each of those cherries is one or two coffee beans. If I heard right, the ones with only one bean in them are rarer and tend to roast more evenly...you learn something new every day!
Here are a few random pictures of our resort. It was so beautiful--we totally felt rich!

We both took novels to relax with, and our favorite spot by the pool was the mini "beach" with the 2 lounge chairs next to the waterfall. Don't know if you can see it, but it even had sand in that area--we loved to lay there, soak up the rays, read our books, doze off for a bit, ... Ahh...quite the life!
This is a plumeria tree--my favorite. The flowers smelled soo good, and each morning there were fresh ones that had just fallen to the ground. I had to join in and keep one in my hair most of the time!

The photo above was taken on our sunset cruise. It was pretty cloudy, so sadly we weren't able to see the sunset, but the view of the mountains was so great. My favorite part of the cruise was having probably 30 dolphins swimming in front of our boat--soo cool! We also saw 2 whales, a mom and her calf, but they were a little too far away for a good picture. A LOT of people got seasick--buckets were being passed out all around us--so Robbie and I escaped to the bow and rode the waves up there. It was a pretty rough ride, but tons of fun.
Here's a little video clip of our dolphins that joined us.

There was an overlook close to our resort with this gorgeous view--these are taro fields. Taro is one of the oldest cultivated foods in the world. They grind it and make a starchy paste out of it called poi--I had Robbie taste test it at the luau. Didn't pass the test, so I decided to pass on it!

Yummy shave ice! I especially liked it with macadamia nut ice cream on the bottom. Sounds strange, but it was delicious.
This is the beach where "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair", from "South Pacific" was filmed. Another one of Kauai's beautiful beaches with hardly anyone on it. We were shocked that we often had almost the whole beach to ourselves!
On our last night, we walked down the path at our resort to a little private beach to watch the sunset. The picture above looks like it's in broad daylight, but it was actually right when the sun was going down. A great ending to our time there.
Here's Robbie enjoying his cup of Kona coffe at the airport on our way home. We had a blast--I want to go back. I'm dreaming of how we can get our kids over there someday--they would LOVE it!

Hawaii!!

2010-05-04T00:43:00.000-07:00

Robbie and I are having the time of our lives in Hawaii. I wanted to get a few pictures on my blog for our kids to see--will post more once we get home. The photo above is at the U.S.S. Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor.

Now on to Kaua'i...we hiked a trail several miles west of where we're staying--gorgeous view, but way too muddy for me! Robbie thought I was a wimp! We hiked 4 miles and I thought I might not make it down!

This beach was at the half way point--wish you could see how crazy the ocean was.

This is the hot tub at the resort where we're staying--possibly my favorite place on the island.
This picture is for Levi--beautiful birds everywhere.
Tonight we went to a Lu'au--lots of fun...great food. Tomorrow we get to go on a sunset cruise. What a vacation!

Sarah

2010-04-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

Sarah had her first dance performance last weekend, and our sweet friend Jade came to do her hair, as I had no idea what to do with it. It ended up mostly falling out, so we opted to stick a flower in and call it good! I'll try to get a video on soon of the cute performance.

She was so proud to get flowers from her Daddy!

I was going through a pile of papers today and pulled out a few cute things Sarah has written recently. Above is a list I found of what she wanted to do with her friends when they came over. Love it!

The note above is what she wrote last night at the Challenge auction. She was being pretty "notee" (naughty), so maybe she wanted to assure herself that Jesus still loved her!

Not sure if you can read this one, but it was adorable and I just had to put it on here!

Fun date with Sarah

2010-04-07T11:14:00.001-07:00

My sweet sis was given 2 tickets to D*sney on Ice a few weeks ago--didn't have a great desire to go, so she gave them to me. I decided to surprise Sarah and take her there. The day we went was blizzard-like conditions outside, so my sweet husband offered to take us--I'm a wimp when it comes to driving in bad weather. We got the kids loaded up, not telling them where we were going. When we got to my sister's to pick up the tickets, I let Sarah read them--the top pic is her "before it sunk in" look. Below is after--she was sooo excited! She's been begging to go to D*sney World since she was 2 or so--I told her this was going to be very similar. :)

Here we are before the show. We were in the 2nd row--amazing seats!
M*ckey and M*nnie came out first, followed by Cars, which we weren't too fond of--not nearly "girlie" enough for my Sarah!
Sarah's favorite was Ariel.
She was so engaged the entire time--soaking it all in.
The Lion K*ng...we have the soundtrack, so this was really special for her, too.
And last of all, Tink...I don't know this story as well, but it was still fun.
Toward the end, all this confetti came falling down on us--for a long time--it was pretty magical, but I just kept feeling more and more sorry for the people that would have to clean it up!
All in all, a great date with Sarah--you can't see the girl next to her, but they became best of friends by the end of the performance...sharing popcorn and asking for each others' phone numbers! I love how Sarah gets so excited to make new friends!
And Rob had to make it a fun time for the boys, as well. They went to the Union Station--spent most of their time in a gift shop picking out a pouch full of rocks. They will treasure them for years!

Family Game Night

2010-03-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

We had a night with no plans, and tried to have a picnic outside for dinner tonight--ended up moving inside...brrr...I think it got 20 degrees colder in 5 minutes! We then attempted to play some board games...all 3 kids wanted to play something different--happens every time. The above Cranium Cadoo was my pick, because all ages seem to enjoy it. I love it that my 2 big kids can play on their own now, reading the secret words with the cool red glasses all by themselves. Seems like just yesterday that Levi started being able to do this, and now it's Sarah--she told me when I was putting her to bed that she was so proud of herself for being able to read them all by herself! Game nights at our house are never quite as calm as I imagine them being in other families. Levi is usually positioned something like the below picture--he's all over the place!

Here's Jason's mustache that he made for us to guess what it was--I thought it was pretty good for a 3 yr old!
And here's Miss Sarah with her picture of a train. Don't know if you can see it, but she's been signing her name on all of her school pictures with a little flower after it. What a doll! An energetic night--fun memories made, but I'm glad they're all in bed! Dad and Mom are tired tonight!

Valentine's Date

2010-02-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

Robbie took the boys to the K-State game this evening, so Sarah and I decided we needed to do something fun and "girlie". I took her to the beauty school in town (where one of her classmate's moms is studying) to get her first manicure. Sarah loves this mom, who helps in her class all the time, and Miss Tanya made her feel like a queen! Paraffin dip for her hands, a good, warm soak in bubbly water with fun rocks for her to play with, an arm and hand massage, and some pretty sparkly polish. Then she requested to go eat at Taco Bell, and we finished it off with a chocolate dip cone. What a sweet date! I love any time I get alone with any of my kids!

Birthday Fun

2010-02-13T16:40:00.001-08:00

Levi had so much fun at his birthday party--there were lots of little boys, and lots of jumping, diving, and chaos, but I think they had a blast. Robbie made it a success--he set up a couple fun games of fishing for gifts and Lego competitions. We paired the boys up and gave them 20-30 minutes to build something special--then each team explained what they built and they got some kind of award for it. There were some pretty spectacular creations!

Even Jas got in on the fun and explained it surprisingly well. All of Levi's friends gathered around him and listened to him, encouraging him on what a great creation he built--he's got such great friends! Jason thought he was big stuff--probably my favorite moment of the night!
Aren't these the coolest looking dudes on the planet? Sooo cute!
And finally one more party with all of Rob's family--here are all the cousins together.

Volcanos and Cakes

2010-02-05T20:21:00.001-08:00

I just love how proud Jason looks in this picture, so I had to add it in here. He got this volcano at his friend Jonathon's birthday party and had so much fun adding vinegar and watching it erupt--again, and again, and again! My vinegar is gone, but it was so worth it to make him so happy!
My little Levi turned 8 years old this week! This was one of his favorite gifts--cost me a whopping 3 dollars and maybe 70 cents--some offer I got in the mail and knew he'd love. I got the binder and some "research pages" (Levi loves to do research on animals), and canceled everything else that was to come--not bad, but they must have given my email address out, because I get about 200 spam messages a day now!
Here's my little Jas licking his first beater ever! I'm a little paranoid about letting my kids eat raw eggs--I decided to loosen up a bit today, and he was one happy kid!

My sweet friend Beth came over and helped me make Levi's birthday cake--he's having a Lego party, so we decided to attempt a lego cake. Since we didn't use fondant, it's not as perfect as some, but we had a great time, and Levi thinks it's the best cake ever!

Of course the kids wanted to help out, so I let them each decorate their own cake with the leftovers. They wanted to serve it to the 20 college guys that are sleeping at our house tonight--I probably should have, but I couldn't quite do it!
And here's the finished product. Can't wait till his party tomorrow night--we're having some major Lego competitions--I'll try to post those pictures soon.

Free skate!

2010-01-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids enjoying the newly renovated ice skating rink this week for their free skate day--thanks for the tip, Keely. They had a blast! Jas just ran around in his shoes, pushing this for probably 2 hours.

And Sarah did great--I told her this might be her best sport! She didn't complain a bit and was such a happy little girl.
Levi's ankles bothered him a little in the skates, but he got the hang of it and wants to go again soon.

And my hubby showed up to enjoy a little of it. This is the last picture he'll ever have in braces--got them off this week and his teeth are amazing! Will have to post a picture of his great new smile soon!

Kei's birthday

2010-01-21T20:10:00.000-08:00

More fun with our friends--we got to celebrate Kei turning 3 a few days before they left. The cake was a disaster, but the kids didn't notice!
Kei got a K-State jersey, just like the one Jason got from Uncle Mark and Aunt Emily--the one that he lives in and cries when I have to wash it! The boys were giving us their "tough guy" pose!

Christmas '09

2010-01-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting around to posting some Christmas pictures from weeks ago. We had a great time with both sides of the family and are already wishing we could see them again soon. The above note was written at Rob's parents' house by Miss Sarah--I thought it was cute!
We went to my parents' house first--I think for our dinner and gift opening time, there were 32 of us--my immediate family, plus our Japanese friends and Aunt Mary and Uncle Kit, who are with us every year for this. It's a houseful, but we just love it.

The kids are mostly always in the garage--my dad put in a new double swing this year, made from an old ab roller. I was a nervous wreck that someone would get slammed into by it, but the kids loved it!

Here's my adorable 16 month old nephew James. I think he's about the cutest thing ever, and his daddy's pretty great, too. One of Sarah's favorite Christmas gifts, and the only thing she asked for besides a princess robot...her own gumball machine! And she's doing great sharing them with her brothers.

This kid could never have too many Legos! He entered one of his favorite creations in to their website and is hoping it'll show up in the magazine.

Here's my Japanese sister Mai and her son opening a gift--it was so special to have them at our family Christmas this year--first time to celebrate Christmas with her since 17 years ago, when she was my exchange student in high school.

Now on to our little family Christmas with just Robbie and the kids and me. We had to rush through this to leave town a couple days early because of the big storm coming in. Because of this, we didn't get to have our tradition of decorating Jesus' birthday cake together, but Levi got to read the Christmas story aloud in his Bible for the first time this year, which was really special. Levi's big gift was his Ripstik--sadly he hasn't had much time to practice it yet, but hopefully it'll warm and dry up soon. His best friend got one, too, so I'm hoping they'll spend lots of time together on these this summer.

Jas was so happy to get another train for his (Levi's) track.

The kids were trying to figure out what recipe to try in Sarah's new cookbook...notice her adorable apron that my mom made her--and I got one to match!

On to Rob's family's Christmas. His mom always makes an amazing meal, and we have a nice, candlelit Christmas dinner.
My hubby playing guitar for some Christmas carols.
Robbie's mom reads a special kid's Christmas book to the grandkids each year, then she gives each of them their own ornament that goes along with the book. Linda is so good at making things special and creating traditions that we all look forward to each year.

Levi was pumped about having his own kickball, just like the ones they use at school.

And here's Miss Sarah's new Christmas outfit from Grandma and Grandpa--too cute.

Sarah and cousin Grace--great friends.

Robbie's grandma gave the boys each their own harmonica and a book to teach them to play. Her husband, who died my first year of marriage, was great at the harmonica and so loved music...she's hoping to pass that love on to this generation.

And last but not least, Sarah's rendition of "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer". I laugh every time I listen to her names for all the reindeer! I guess she needed some space and decided to hang out on the stairs. About 3/4 of the way through it, notice the toy that gets thrown down, then little KeiKei's feet "helping" her play the piano!

Missing these cuties

2010-01-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

After a 5 week visit to Kansas, they're on the plane now, flying back to Japan. We've already switched kids' bedrooms around and reorganized. After they left, we were surprised to smell some of our blankets that they used and realize that they smelled like them (a good smell). When I told Mai on the phone, she said, "Oh--that's Downy!" So funny--and I thought it was some special, Japanese smell!

What Levi is thankful for (in his own words)

2009-12-22T06:52:00.000-08:00

Why I Am Thankful For My Freind Micah

I am thankful for Micah because, he will play whatever I want to play. For example, one day I wanted to play Tag and he wanted to draw and we agreed with Tag. He is also VERY, VERY, FUNNY!!!!! He is funny alot when we are playing Tag. Like when we are playing tag he says come and get me to his brother Dawson. He sometimes even makes a funny face with it. Micah is also responcible. For example in Kindergarten he was, pushing in chairs, closeing locker doors, and he rememberd to bring his coat home, and for that he got a responcibility bracelet. I did to but forget me we are talking about Micah here. He is also very caring. For example one day when we were playing kick ball Alex a freind of ares got skraped. Micah was kind enogh to stop kick ball and help him up and bring him to the nurs. that's all I half to say about Micah right now! BY!! BY!!

Grandma's Popcorn Balls

2009-12-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

I made these popcorn balls tonight for Levi's class party tomorrow. I forgot how amazing they are--the perfect blend of sweetness, and salt, and buttery goodness. I wish the colors would have been a little bolder--tried to make Christmas red and green, and they're more springtime pastels, but I was trying to work quickly and didn't worry much about the color. So fun to have our Japanese friends here to help with forming the balls--they are amazing, and we're having a blast!
Here's the recipe, if anyone's interested--I could eat the whole bowl!

7 cups popped corn--I used more like 14 cups--7 didn't seem like enough. They were plenty gooey with the same amount of other ingredients.
Mix in saucepan:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter

Cook to 250 degrees, using candy thermometer. Stir the entire time. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla. May add a couple drops of food coloring at this time if desired. Shape with buttered hands into balls (press pretty tightly together). Makes 12-15 large balls.

Best Friends

2009-12-12T18:25:00.000-08:00

When I was a senior in high school, our family hosted a Japanese exchange student, Mai. We had a great year together, and have kept in touch, seeing each other 6-7 times since then. Last night, she arrived with her daughter, son, and mother, to stay with us for 5 weeks. The kids couldn't be more excited. Within minutes of being reunited (they last saw each other 1 1/2 yrs ago), they were holding hands, playing ball, playing dress-up, and acting like they'd never been apart. It has been soo much fun to watch them love each other! What a special gift it is to get time with them.

Poor Kei Kei hit the point of exhaustion late this afternoon, and this is how we found him.

Snow Day!

2009-12-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

While Sarah's been inside sick, Levi has been outside for about 1 1/2 hours, playing in the snow, shoveling the neighbor's driveway, and sledding with his neighbors. (Jas only made it 20 minutes or so--came in crying because his mitten had fallen off--his poor hand was purple!) I'm so thankful for our kids' friends!

Thanksgiving in the garage

2009-12-02T15:33:00.001-08:00

I'm stealing my sister in law's blog post and changing it a bit, because I was having a hard time getting my pics to upload. Above is my adorable 14 1/2 month old nephew--my little brother's son. He was so cute following all the "big kids" around all weekend!

So, with 26 people in my immediate family, my parents are always trying to make the most of our space when we're all together. We showed up to find two big rolls of carpet put down in the garage to have a warmer place for kids to play and eat....and sleep! There really is room in the house for the kids to sleep but it was an exciting novelty thing, I think. Nine kids (plus my parents) slept out here one night! Probably not the best night of sleep for any of them, but they sure have some great memories from it--including my dad's famous "Hopscotch" stories that he used to tell me and my siblings when we were little. He is the BEST story teller ever! And they each got an Archie comic book to keep by their pillow so they had something quiet to do after the 7:00 whistle woke them up.

No pictures of our big main meal (a yummy soup dinner with homemade bread bowls Mom made) ... and more pies than you can even IMAGINE--apple, pumpkin, cherry, raspberry cranberry, pecan, key lime, and sour cream raisin!
One morning all the men were in charge of breakfast--it was wonderful!

We had a blast with both Robbie's side and mine--of course my favorite Thanksgiving tradition with the gals in Rob's family is our Black Friday shopping. We are super structured, with it all mapped out and our lists gone over for hours on Thanksgiving day--then splitting up to get the most good deals possible! So much fun!

The Flick Trick

2009-12-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

Today Levi told me, "Whenever I get a thought stuck in my head that I don't want to think about, I just flick my fingers above my head, and the thought bounces up and down in my imagination and then flies out the window into a junkyard." I think I'll try this next time I can't stop thinking about a piece of cheesecake!

First snow!!

2009-11-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

...and I have a very excited little boy!

Post Game Therapy

2009-11-14T16:49:00.001-08:00

After a discouraging football game, our kids set out to make grandpa feel better. Here's what they came up with!

Loving my little helper

2009-11-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Sarah begs me to let her cook with me almost every day. Here she is, making some cinnamon and nutmeg muffins--pretty tasty! I love it that she never gets tired of being in the kitchen. Doing dishes is still a great treat for her. I wonder how many more years it'll be before I can turn kitchen duty entirely over to her???

Teddy Bear Picnic

2009-11-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Sarah's classmates each brought their favorite teddy bear to school for games, stories, measuring and graphing--a day full of fun! Their wonderful teacher read them a story about a teddy bear picnic, then surprised them by having any available family members join them for a pizza party for lunch. It was soo much fun seeing their surprised faces, observing Sarah include her friends who didn't have a parent there, and just watching my little princess smile. She just kept giggling and smiling and clapping like it was the greatest thing she'd ever experienced! Here she is with one of her best friends, Emma...
...and another college-aged special friend, Jade, who came along with us...

...and her favorite teddy bear bride...
...and of course we had to stay to watch her play at lunch recess. Robbie and I stuck around to watch Levi play kick ball--his new favorite recess game--but I forgot to get any pictures of him...bummer! He's really getting into this game, and comes home lots of days will stories of who made the highest kick (I guess Zachary kicks the highest), when Levi caught Zachary's ball and got lots of praise from his teammates, and the like. Love these kids!

Song for Veteran's Day Parade

2009-11-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a cute video of the kids practicing one of the songs they'll be performing in the upcoming Veteran's Day parade. I can't get enough of these singing videos!

Weekend fun

2009-11-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

We had a fun weekend at Robbie's parents' home--Robbie and several other family members re-roofed his Grandma's house, the kids got to play with their cousins (whom they ADORE), we went trick-or-treating, I attended a training seminar for my Challenge work, we participated in a celebration for Robbie's parents' church's 50 year anniversary, we ate lots of good food, ... My kids BEGGED me to let them

go through a haunted house, and I was mean mommy and said, "No way. Probably not even when you're 15!" Took a while for them to forgive me, but I didn't lose sleep over it! Aren't these kids and their cousins beautiful? I love every minute we get with them! Okay, my pictures aren't moving around the way I want them to, so here's my hubby roofing in the middle of the kids--hard working man!

Dogs don't...dogs do

2009-10-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Jason got this hilarious book for his birthday from aunt Shari and family, titled, "Dogs Don't Brush Their Teeth". We laugh every time we read it, and it's becoming Jason's favorite. Here's a long video of him reading it to me, with lots of, "What's that called again?" He's like me--can never place the words he's looking for. Sooo cute!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch with our church on Friday night--hayrack ride, pumpkin picking, corn maze, bonfire, chili feed, ... I think my kids were made to live on a farm. Levi loved throwing sticks and hay in the fire and making sparks fly up into the dark sky. Fun times!

Homemade laundry detergent

2009-10-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

So I've always been curious about making my own laundry detergent--I go through a big bottle of that stuff in no time, and I hate to keep forking out the money for it. I was talking to a friend the other day who makes her own, and her recipe only calls for 3 ingredients, plus water. Sounded simple enough--thought I'd give it a try, and I actually think I'm going to like it. The recipe I used is posted online here--The Duggars on the TLC show use it and seem to be super thrifty, yet clean. I figure that if anyone knows how to make laundry soap, that mama probably knows better! (She's going on her 19th child, so I hear!) I used the recipe for the liquid detergent--she says it's the best deal, so I believed her! So, it took me all of maybe 5 minutes to melt the grated bar of soap in water and mix it all up. I then let it set up overnight--made a congealed, strange texture which looked a little strange, truthfully, but it smells nice and clean. I stirred it up and poured it into a used laundry soap bottle that I had, and tried it out this morning. My clothes look and smell clean enough for me, so I'm happy! Best part--I didn't do the math, but I read that this stuff costs 2-3 cents per load. I seriously think if might even be less--it made sooo much detergent! I'm going to be using this batch alone for probably a year! If you're interested in making your own, I couldn't find the Fels-Naptha bar or the Washing Soda at Walmart--had to go to Dillons to get them, but these are cheap ingredients--under 10 dollars for lots of months worth of detergent. Oh--and if you're looking for a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, I've heard Walmart has them to give away in the bakery dep't--they get their icing in the buckets and like to get rid of them after it's used up.

Rag Curls

2009-10-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

This is how Miss Sarah went to bed last night--she was sooo excited to wake up and see her curls!
Here's what Daddy and the boys were doing while I put the rags in Sarah's hair...
Gotta love that laugh! Robbie gets his braces off in a couple months, and I'm hoping to see a lot more of it! (and his smile, which he's lost somewhere in this braces journey.)
Here's the only pic I could get of Levi--the boys thought it would be so funny to keep sticking their hand in front of the camera--I wasn't laughing...
Here's the finished product--a little crazy, but she LOVED it and feels like a princess, so we'll definitely keep experimenting with it. I envision doing this for all my nieces at Christmas! Look at that happy smile...

Christmas picture

2009-10-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

Sarah could spend every minute drawing, reading and writing these days. She's such a little sponge lately, soaking new things up like crazy--I love this age--I catch her playing school so often, either teaching her brother, or some imaginary friend. I can totally picture her being a teacher some day, and when she teaches, she sounds exactly like her kindergarten teacher, who is phenomenal. Here is a picture/story she made for her very loved teacher, Miss H--I was a little jealous--have never received anything with so much writing, so I had to take a picture of it to keep forever before parting with it! It says, "Wuns I had so much fun at krismis bekuz I plab (played) with mi dolez! Wut kan yoo find at scol?" (Not sure how the 2 sentences go together, but it's adorable, none the less!) I love how when the line on her "a" doesn't connect with the circle, she adds a mark to connect the 2 together--you can see it better if you double click on the pic--not sure how she thought of that, but she's pretty consistent with it.

Book it

2009-10-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

Book it has been a great motivator for Sarah--I've been trying to get her to try to read these beginning reader books for months, but she had no interest until she brought home her book it papers. Now she's a reading machine! I love how expressive she is! Good job, Sarah!

Can you believe...

2009-10-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

...this guy has grown an inch and a half in the past 2 months?!? He is soo excited--wants to measure himself all the time. He's growing up so much--seeming incredibly responsible lately. I love having a 7 year old!

The big 3

2009-10-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

Jason is now 3 years old--I can hardly believe it. We were busy preparing for a trip at the time, so he got a 5 minute cake decorating job. (Extra candles are for his cousins who celebrated with him.) He thought it was perfect! Jas is incredibly easy to please, and is really my little buddy lately. We're having fun running to and fro with the big kids in school. He thinks everything's an adventure. Jason wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. His favorite color is red. His favorite food is spaghetti, and he loves candy way too much. He loves to play his spiderman game and c*ndyland. He's almost completely potty trained. He loves to draw and color and play with Play-Do. He still hardly ever plays by himself, but if the big kids or Daddy or I sit down with him, he's super excited to play with Legos, cars, balls, ... He's an amazing dancer--looks just like his big brother on the dance floor--they're so flexible! The other day I was watching Robbie dance, and it dawned on my that the boys dance exactly like he does! So cute. He loves to ride his bike or scooter in our circle drive. What a fun guy you are! Love you, big boy--I can't wait to see what kind of man you become! I think you're going to be a wonderful husband someday--yesterday you told me you would cook food for your family, and help wash dishes, too! Your wife's gonna love me!

Pledge of Allegiance

2009-10-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Now I've got 2 Lee Gr*enwood loving kids, thanks to their wonderful teacher! A couple years ago, the only thing Levi asked for for Christmas was an mp3 player filled with his songs. Brings me back to my high school days of riding the lawn mower on the farm, with Lee or R*ndy Travis blaring in my walkman...I'd go to their concerts, secretly dreaming they'd call me up on stage for a duet! That would've made my decade! Isn't Sarah a cutie, though? Those are some big words for her!

My little chef

2009-09-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

Sarah loves to experiment with her food--calling them her her "secret recipes". Here are just a couple ways she ate her food this week.

First, you'll see her chicken/cheese/corn/peas/salsa combination. She thought it was amazing. Another day for breakfast she asked for oatmeal, and while it was cooking, she decided she was hungry for banana bread. Her secret recipe consisted of banana bread, with a thick topping of oatmeal, with peanuts sprinkled on top. It was so good that she's asked me to make more banana bread so she can try it again! Aunt Emily, I think she may be taking after you in the kitchen!

Just the two of us

2009-09-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

Robbie and I got to spend all of last weekend together, just the two of us! We went up to a wedding in Iowa that Rob officiated, and had our kids stay with my sister and some great friends. They had a blast, but I think we may have had more fun. A 7 hour car ride, with no interruptions, only a couple potty breaks, and great conversation...we had such a fun time! The rehearsal dinner was on a riverboat, and we got to catch up with some KSU alums that we haven't seen in a while. Went shopping, ate out, relaxed most of the day Saturday, then a night of fun at the wedding/reception/dance. The pic above is of us at the reception--I couldn't get one of Robbie smiling--hopefully he'll look happier when he get his braces off in a few months! Of course we were excited to see the kids again, but I think we could handle a weekend like this every year or so!

A family favorite

2009-09-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

Tried to put a picture of the cover of "The S*ven Silly Eaters" here, but it didn't work...

If you moms out there have never read this book to your kids, you need to run to the library and check it out. (Unless you live in my town--won't work, 'cause I've got it and will keep it for a couple more weeks!) My kids are crazy about this book--it's adorable--I really never get tired of reading it to them. My sis Shari told me her kids loved it years ago, and we probably check it out every 3rd or 4th time we're at the library. I should really own a copy of it, but I'm cheap and just keep checking it out. The story is so cute--makes having a crazy household of picky eaters seem normal. I love how the mom, Mrs. Peters gets progressively more frazzled with each new babe--I can identify with this woman! The kids love the rhythm of the book, and the great illustrations, and following each kid through the pages as they get older. I can't imagine anyone not loving it. So, my question is, what's your favorite? I'd love to get some new great book ideas, especially with just Jas at home with me these days. We're taking much more frequent trips to our great library!

A new song

2009-08-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a cute song that Sarah learned her first day of school--she sang it constantly for a few days, and as you can see, the other 2 have learned it as well.

My helper

2009-08-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

Jason is really becoming a great helper around the house, with big brother and sister at school all day. Here's his newest accomplishment--he can now sort laundry (for the most part). He thinks he's big stuff!

School Days

2009-08-19T12:54:00.001-07:00

Well, I survived letting my kids go off to school. The were both talking a mile a minute afterwards, telling us all about it over an Appebee's celebratory meal. Sarah says she was the "goodest" one--she only talked when she raised her hand. I guess she did this 3 times--once to use the restroom, once for a drink, and once because she needed to get the pebbles out of her shoes--I'm guessing these were the only 3 times she opened her mouth this morning! She helped a little girl tie her shoes, and she's already made lots of new friends. She exclaimed, "Kindergarten is AWESOME!" Miss Horan said she was a little shy, but other than that, she was great. Levi loves his new teacher--says he'd give her 10 thumbs up if he had that many thumbs! He's so excited that he gets to sit next to Micah and Isaac, and he thinks this teacher doesn't mind a bit if they talk. He said she even turned off the AC some so that they could hear each other better when they were chatting with each other. I've tried to warn him that the rules might change soon, but he's convinced that this year's going to be a breeze! He looked all over the room, and could find no cards to be turned (this is how some classes handle discipline issues--start out on green, then go to other colors of cards when you get warnings.) I'm afraid he might be in for a rude awakening, but so far, he's feeling lots of freedom! I so love to hear these kids talk about their days...hope they never get too cool for mom and dad!

Butterflies...

2009-08-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is the first day of school--we went there tonight and got to see who their teachers will be/who's in their classes--we were soo happy to have them placed with great teachers and their closest friends. Everyone's pretty excited--Sarah has been squealing all day, "I get to go to Kindergarten tomorrow!" She's most excited about her new school socks and shoes...shoes with rainbow colored lights on them. Not this mom's first choice, but she was so in love with them, I couldn't say no. They about give me a migraine every time I look at them--talk about sensory overload! Sarah says she's excited to start school, but she has butterflies in her stomach--I don't tell her mommy does, too. I had a good cry in the shower this morning, trying to picture what it's going to be like to leave her there. Oh, I hope she doesn't cry--I don't know if I could handle that. Levi's classroom looks so cool and big kiddish--their desks are set up in little clusters, and he's already chosen to be next to 2 of his best friends. I think he might just be on his best behavior so the teacher doesn't move him away from them! Pictures to come...

CORN!!!

2009-08-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

I spent a day this past week at my Dad and Mom's house freezing corn, with the help of a couple sisters, my Mom and lots of nieces and nephews. What a messy job--but we did all but the cooking in the garage this time, so it was a super easy clean up with a broom and the hose. Lots of memories of doing this on the farm growing up--I just never got quite as into the worms/caterpillars as our kids did. They were a huge help--even got in on stomping the trash can down so we add to it. After dividing the corn all up, I'm not sure it was worth the time and effort, but we sure had fun!

How do you rotate these pictures? I can't figure it out.

Homemade pie...

2009-08-09T17:39:00.003-07:00

...at least that's what the kids called it! They could've done this for hours!

Water fun at the zoo

2009-08-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

The zoo had free admission for kids last Sunday, with firefighters providing fun water games, and Baskin R*bins providing free ice cream. Sadly Robbie was sick and couldn't join us, but the kids had a blast!

Oh, the things he's learning...

2009-08-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

So we were at a youth camp all week, playing outside a lot, and Jason's nose was pretty runny. At one time I didn't have a tissue on me, and he really needed his nose wiped. I tore off a piece of a coloring book page that I had folded up with me and said, "Jason, see? You can use paper to wipe your nose if you don't have a tissue." I think we even used a leaf from a tree once. I guess he thought that was pretty cool, because this morning while playing Candyl*nd with his brother and sister, he decided to fold one of the cards in half and wipe his nose on it! Of course that was followed by a howl from big brother, and "Gross! Why'd you do that?" My bad...

Future Paleontologist?

2009-07-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

Levi got to take a trip with his Grandma and Grandpa (Rob's parents) and his cousin Hope to the Creation Museum in Kentucky this past weekend. Although the 12 hour car ride there and back may have gotten a little long for everyone, it was a trip that he'll remember forever--he is such a little sciency guy--this was right up his alley! Here's a little video clip of what he chose to purchase with his spending money--I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was how he spent his future!

While he was in Kentucky, the rest of us went to Tulsa to visit our amazing friends, Caleb and Amy Jo. We had a blast going to see the traveling Bro*dway production of W*cked (words cannot describe how wonderful it was!), and spending a night away from the kids in a nice hotel to celebrate our 11 year anniversary--we loved the Riverwalk and having a long, relaxing date. We sooo appreciate these 2 and all that they did to make us and our kids feel welcomed/loved! Thanks, Coltranes! Miss you already!

Vacation pics

2009-07-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

We got home Sunday night from a 10 day vacation--the longest trip we've ever taken with our kids. We had an absolute blast-- spent a few days with my family, then a few with just us and the kids, and our last few with Robbie's family. I don't know how to make a slide show, so I just attached a ton of pictures for our friends and family to see. Here are my beautiful flowers just before we left--so sad they were all done blooming by the time we got home, but I loved them!

I guess I didn't take many pictures of my family's time together--tried to insert some from siblings/parents, but they were all messed up. We had a little church service together--26 of us in our immediate family, plus one aunt and uncle. Baby James was sleeping in the next room, so we had to pretend like we were in a country closed off to the gospel and sing quietly!

Robbie gave a mini-message, and had the kids all participate by reading scripture, drawing/coloring a map, and making little Paul, Timothy, and Silas caricatures!
Here's Jason hoping he's getting the answer right!!

We celebrated 4 birthdays on our trip--Sarah was definitely the most spoiled by gifts!

Here's her most special Chrissa doll from both sets of grandparents--love at first sight!

We spent most of one day on 2 pontoon boats--other than getting pulled over for bow riding and the nice ticket that went along with it, we had a great time.

After we left my family, we went to T*blerock Lake for a few days, and Rob's family joined us there later. We got to go to Silver D*llar City--a first for the kids. We told them it was a little like D*sney World, so they were thrilled!

Jason was scared to death of all the rides, but after a talk with his daddy, he decided he wanted to be "tuff" and got more and more daring throughout our time there.

Enjoying the late night country music show with cousin Hope--my hubby tends to ge a bit obsessed with things, and has had our radio on 106.9 ever since that night! Funny man.

Sarah saw this picture and said, "Hey, where's all the flies?" They were out of control this evening!
The little boys reading together--cousin Ryan is 3, and really tries to take care of little Jason!

Next, a day at the water park

Not sure how to turn this pic, but Levi looks too cute to leave it out!

We celebrated Robbie's parents' 40th wedding anniversary on our trip--all the kids and grandkids made a scapbook/memory book for them, which they opened on their "40 yr cruise", which we provided for them! (pontoon boat, again)

We also had a little program for them, and the kids prepared some songs to sing to Grandma and Grandpa. Here's one--they worked so hard on it!

Fun times at Marion County Lake

2009-06-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

We spent Father's Day at the lake with one of Rob's closest friends from his younger years and all of his family. The kids had a blast--Levi tried out the training skis and got up the first time. I was so proud of him for trying--he would have been perfectly content just looking for bugs and fossils and snails the whole time, but he tried something new and did awesome! He looked so big out there, it about made me cry!
Here's one of Levi and Sarah tubing--our friend Jeff was horsing around with them, bumping into them with his tube, and I guess Sarah decided she'd had enough--notice the terrified face.
Here's one of the 2 little boys (the other boy is a nephew of our friend Jeff's) and the 2 big boys! They had a blast! Oh--I forgot to mention that we were poured on as we were trying to fall asleep in our tents, along with 50 mph gusts of wind--and our tent wasn't so waterproof. I was miserable, but Robbie insisted that we wait out the storm. It eventually let up, and we got a few hours of sleep. If only we could have the camping out experience (breakfast included) without having to sleep in a dreadful tent! Maybe we'll rent a cabin next time!

Thoughts on my dad

2009-06-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

So my dad is a pretty cool guy. I had some fun pictures from the past
picked out, but our scanner wasn't working, so more recent ones will
have to do. My dad is an incredibly hard worker, yet he also knows
how to have a good time. He is a man of many interests--he enjoys life
to the fullest! He's forever getting interested in a new hobby (bird
watching, horseshoes, ...), learning about something (1000 days at Sea
website, watching eagles hatch on online webcams), coming up with fun
activities for the grandkids to enjoy (swings hanging from the garage
ceiling, building a fort, fishing trips), teaching the kids something new
about nature (bluebird trails, where sunflower seeds come from, how
to dress a fish). I love to hear his stories, marvel at his garden, look at
the thousands of pictures he sends us, ... Life is never boring with my
dad around! Dad, I am so grateful that you're my dad and for all the
ways that you hold our family together. I'm so glad there's a day to
celebrate you! I can't imagine life without you!

Here are a few random pictures that Dad has sent us in the past couple
years--I love to look at life through his eyes!

My happy husband

2009-06-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

Robbie finally got to see Zach Greinke pitch the other night--not a great game, but he was there with 2 of his closest friends, and he acted like an excited little school boy getting ready to go!

Business was good!

2009-06-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Levi and his friend Micah decided to have a Kool-a*d stand today, and made some Rice Kr*spie treats to go along with it. The neighbor kids all joined us, and they had a grand ole' time! Several of them rode their bikes around, attracting business. If a car drove by and didn't stop, our neighbor Kaden would say, "I already attracted that car." Not sure what that meant--he's full of interesting expressions! Levi called out at the top of his lungs, "Ice cold Kool-a*d and Rice Kr*spies!" to every passing car/bike/walker. Grand total of sales: $4.75. Not a bad start to their business endeavors!

Whadayathink?

2009-06-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

I think they could totally pass for twins!!

Fun in the sun

2009-06-01T19:45:00.001-07:00

We've spent lots of hours at the neighborhood pool the past week or two--I'm loving that the kids hardly ever fight in the water! Two out of the last 3 nights we were there till 7 or so, and came home pretty hungry. I've decided to plan lots of meals and have them in the freezer or easily accessible for these fun summer days. Today I spent hours planning meals and getting groceries--tomorrow I'll get some cooked up and in the freezer--also got lots of easy stuff to grill and things I can throw together last minute. If anyone has any great and easy summer recipes, pass them on!
Oh, Jason--how can you be so incredibly wonderful?!? This kid has a grin on his face all the time! He is a breath of fresh air to me, (unless he's whining!) He's so happy to have Daddy back after being gone all last week. Doesn't want to let him out of his sight.

And here's our fun news for the week--Sarah has finally decided to go underwater! I've seriously given the girl 3 summers of swimming lessons, and up until 2 days ago, she hadn't gotten brave enough to go underwater. This week I decided to coax (bribe) her by promising to make her this cool cake and letting her have a party to celebrate if she learned to go under.

That did it--she's loving it! I'm so proud of how much fun she's having! But swimming (and giving up her nap, which I just couldn't let her give up until now) sure makes her tuckered out! Here's how I found her the other day on our living room couch.

Why Levi loves summer break

2009-05-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

...frogs, frogs and more frogs. Every year I wonder if his love will continue, and it hasn't let up a bit! He is sooo interested in frogs, and he now has all the little boys in our cul-de-sac helping him track them down. They probably had 15 of them in this nifty frog catcher--including one tree frog, which thrilled them! (There's a short video below of them--couldn't get move the pictures around today for some reason, so they're out of order. Paprika--I'd advise you not to watch--you may have nightmares tonight!)
...no structure. He's loving having his afternoons free while Jas and sometimes Sarah are napping. He and his neighbor Kaden got our deck all set up with Kid's Bop music, games and more. I'm pretty sure this game is mouse trap--felt like they were playing it for hours, totally content. They'd take a dancing break every once in a while to stretch out a bit, then it was back to the game.

And here's the video--I got a kick out of watching them hop around, but made sure to tell them to let them go after observing them!

Field Day

2009-05-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

Levi's school had field day this week--so much fun! We loved watching him get pumped up for his "races"--he thinks he's the fasted one in his class and was disappointed when he didn't get first place, but he actually improved drastically since last year. So cute to watch!

Their whole class would pick a favorite for most of the races they watched and would chant in unison that kid's name. Oh, they're growing up!
Even little Sissy got to join in the fun.

And here's how Jas spent most of his morning--curled up in an old blanket, rolling around, laughing, pretending to sleep, playing dead, ... He's so easily entertained!

Why is it?

2009-05-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

Jason--I can't figure out why he'll play with toys for hours at a garage sale, but I can barely get him to look at them in our house! He loved these cheap McD*nalds toys. Funny kid.

Spring game fun--the kids had a blast! I love living in this town!

Missing my babies

2009-04-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

When I was tucking Jas in bed tonight, he said "Can I be your baby, Mommy?" (I was telling him earlier that I wanted him to stay my baby forever.) So I explained to my 2 1/2 yr old how babies talk ("mama"), and how they love to be rocked. He wanted me to sing him baby songs, and he wouldn't let go of me. For about 15 minutes, we cuddled and I pretended that he was still my baby. I want to freeze that moment forever--how is it possible that my babies have gotten so big so fast? I think knowing Jas is my last one makes every new thing he learns seem bittersweet. He's doing great being potty trained, which I'm thrilled about. I really don't think I'll miss changing diapers at all, but the loss of having a baby is still a little sad. Today he learned to ride his first bike, with training wheels. He is so not a little toddler anymore. I find myself staring at him so often, just amazed at how he went from baby to big kid in a flash. These kids are such a source of joy to me--I cannot imagine life without their noise and messes and excitement for life. I spent a couple hours tonight looking through old pictures, just reminiscing about when they were smaller. Many are not the best pictures, but I love them. So many great memories. Here's Robbie with Levi on the day he was born. I love this pic of Rob reading his Bible, enjoying having his new little baby in his arms. The hat head is hilarious, but I love it, none the less.
Levi at 6 months--playing at his cousin Elena's 1st birthday. This was always one of my favorites of him. His eyes are so beautiful!
I think my friend Heather took this one--she must have been babysitting and watering her grass, letting Levi play at the same time.
My friend Jeff took this years ago--it looks so artsy to me--I love how big his feet look.

Thinking he's the Hulk.

And here's Miss Sarah. She's totally a daddy's girl.

Love those pigtails and that happy face.
Here she is at an Easter egg hunt with her friend Roe. Adorable.
In Colorado for Spring Break--we've spent lots of fun weeks here.
...forgot to pack boots for her, so we got creative and used plastic sacks.

This was also taken by Jeff Moore--have always loved it.

The kids found a baby rabbit in our window well and Daddy rescued it. Notice Sarah's cheesy, excited smile. They were sooo sad it ran away, and thought of it as their "first pet".

Right after Jason was born. Amazing day.

Levi was/is so in love with him. Here he is cuddling up for a nap with him in our bed.

2 weeks old--another Jeff Moore pic.
Gotta love the laundry basket entertainment!

I'm going to bed so incredibly thankful for my 3 amazing children! Oh, but I really hope they sleep till 7--I enjoy them so much more after that magic time!

Sarah's online tutorial

2009-04-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

Sarah's so excited about what she learned in preschool today! She's practiced a million times, and really wants Jason to learn.

Circus

2009-04-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

The circus was in town, and we surprised the kids and took them there this evening. The acrobats were amazingly talented, and the kids loved it. None of the indoor pictures turned out, but here are a couple of them enjoying their snow cones.

What I saw when I got Jason up from his nap

2009-04-19T21:34:00.001-07:00

...and yes, it's permanent!

Carnival

2009-04-19T21:20:00.001-07:00

Levi's school carnival was Friday night, and the kids spent some of their tickets on hair dyeing and face painting. They were soo proud and didn't want to wash it off for a couple days. Their pillows were filthy the next morning!

Levi messed with his too much, so it's mostly worn off in this picture, but look how proud his friend Micah is of his! I love this picture! These kids have been best buddies since they were tiny, and they're now getting old enough that they can walk/ride over to the other one's house--they live about a block away from each other. Their 2 favorite things to do together are playing basketball and reading--they have a "reading club" with several other boys in the neighborhood and get so excited about it! Right now they're reading the same book at the same time--they even try to read the same page, chapter and word at the same time. Sure love these kiddos!