Monday, March 30, 2009

Spring Break Kickoff...


The first trip to the beach this year turned out to be quite cold but lots of fun. The kids and I left Friday night and were followed by an Aunt and Uncle and cousins. Saturday evening Rick made it down. It was an early clam tide which Paige and I didn't participate in but the boys loved! On the second day Trace even cought his limit! I felt bad for them on Saturday morning though - it was really cold and stormy. They all came back drenched! Sunday was very pretty but with strong wind which brought its own problems! As usual it wasn't quite long enough but typical of the West coast the cold and rain drove us home anyway! Maybe by August it will actually be warm on the beach and if we're REALLY lucky it won't be windy!
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Another great looking kid who unfortunately just can't seem to take a decent picture! He was so excited to be on the beach again. Definately my beach lover kid!

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Isn't he a handsome guy? Even freezing cold and wearing pajamas on the beach! For those who are now curious why such a great mother as myself would allow her 7 year old to wear pj's on the beach...
Friday was pajama day at school, so he wore them Thursday night, all day Friday (this pic was Friday evening), Friday night, Saturday am, Saturday night and Sunday am(for clam digging). He wanted to stay in them Sunday and I drew the line and told him absolutely not!


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Paige was there too, but not happy about it! She wanted to be carried, she was cold, she wanted to hold my hand (which was stuffed seeply in my pockets for warmth), and she wasn't about to stop screaming and crying!

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Thursday, March 26, 2009

Busy Busy Busy again...

Last weekend we were gone, yesterday we had Jump Rope for Heart at the boys school (which is a huge event and one their school has won highest donations 20 years in a row for!), then open house last night! Today and tomorrow kick off Spring Break with 1/2 days. I am so dreading excited about having the boys home for a whole week of fighting togetherness! We don't have much planned for the vacation except a quick trip to the beach. Hopefully we don't kill each other! I'm sure I'll be back with lots of pictures!

Monday, March 23, 2009

A quick little getaway...

We were finally able to get away for a weekend and make a trip to visit friends. We only live about 3 hours away but we still hadn't had much of a chance to see each other since we moved back. It was great to get away from everything here but even better to get caught up on everything and see how all the kids have grown!

They live on 5 acres which, of course, is paradise to little boys. Caden was muddy pretty much the whole time and went through three changes of clothes in one day. We were very blessed with a beautiful day on Saturday and NO rain (until Sunday at least)!


Caden and the other boys found the mud right away!

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Watching Trace try to catch his first chicken was pretty good entertainment for everyone!


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But he was SO proud when he was finally successful!Posted by Picasa
Saturday night we built a campfire to roast some s'mores.

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Caden and his new friend were rarely seen without a stick in hand.

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Paige and her buddy didn't like the smoke from the camp fire.



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Getting out the mini quad was a dream for our boys! Trace was a little big for it but he still loved it!


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Caden fit perfectly and LOVED it!



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The happiest kid on earth!



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Thursday, March 19, 2009

What could be more fun?


Than an entire airplane hanger (big enough for 3 or 4 commuter jets) and two rolling mechanics chairs? Seriously, could there be anything better? I admit I might have taken a spin if there weren't other people around! It is also a great way to wear two boys out right before bedtime!
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This is only half of the hanger and look how small Caden looks over there. He practically blends in with the equipment!


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They had a few minor mishaps.

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It was mostly nothing but good old fashioned fun!


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A spring walk


The kids and I went back to our favorite place to be from last summer. I had really wanted them to see the differences in nature from summer to winter/spring. It didn't disappoint. The pond that was completely dry had water in it, the "bridge for no reason" had water and mud flowing under it and most exciting was the creek itself. It was a little higher than the summer but mostly it was moving noticeably faster! We had fun throwing rocks and sticks in and the boys loved to see how fast their sticks disappeared. Paige was tired (OK exhausted) but managed to walk almost the entire time which is a huge improvement from 6 months ago. We were only able to spend an hour but it just amazes me that these kids who are bored in our own backyard could spend hours there! It is definitely a bit bigger than our backyard though - but not too much farther away thank goodness. Everyone slept well last night!
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The kids were in awe that under that waterfall is the same log we used to cross the creek last summer!
The water was really running fast too.

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Playing a game of "Pooh Sticks"

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Aren't they just the cutest kids ever!

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Monday, March 16, 2009

Ahhhh a bath, my favorite place to be!


So I got to take a bath this morning. A nice warm bubble bath with no interruptions. Doesn't it sound wonderful? Well it was but not in the way you are thinking! There were no interruptions because the boys were at school and the only other interruption was in the tub with me. The water was warm but definitely not anywhere near hot since the little interruption deemed anything warmer as "too hot". We had bubbles - Baby Magic bubbles that is. As I lowered (wedged) myself in to my half of the tub, someone else had the other half, I realized two things; I'm not as flexible as I used to be, and bathtubs seem to have shrunk -ahem-. So I sat there folded up for a while, until my upper half was near frozen and the lower half nearly asleep. Finally I decided to lay down for a minute to warm up relax. As I did a large spoon wedged itself under my back (it's used to make pretend blue, cinnamon cakes apparently). Dislodging the spoon I lay my head back against a Fisher Price seahorse, not especially comfortable. Removed the seahorse and about that time the little interruption decided to use me as a stool. Next she decided she wanted to lay like mommy, so with her head in the crook of my arm and that arm wrapped around her middle to keep her from sliding there we sat. I wasn't warm anymore, or particularly comfortable but as I laid there and watched her tiny little toes float up out of the water, I realized something. This won't last forever. Heck if that tub doesn't stop shrinking it may not last another month! Seriously though, we were showing our last house and as the couple came out of the master bathroom (with it's huge clover shaped tub full of what else - toys) the wife said her husband was getting choked up seeing all the toys in the tub. It had been a long time since their kids had had bathtub toys and he missed those days. So for now I'm going to cherish the fact that we still have toys in the bathtub and as I sit in there with things floating all around me I'll try to remember that all too soon they will drift away.
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Every day


for this entire school year this is what I see when the boys get home. Those sweatshirts have been loved to death! Unfortunately I don't think Traces' will survive to be handed down to Caden like the one he is wearing. These were a gift from my second cousin and his wife (Thank you Rob and Bonnie!) who live in Seattle. They sent them several years ago and they were far too big at the time, but eventually Trace grew into the smaller one and now Caden has. They rarely get to see us but have always been so generous in sending the kids something at Christmas. It's my only tie to that side of the family and I really appreciate them. It just always makes me smile to see them get off the bus - you know they are brothers.

Now for those of you who are looking into the background of this picture -I know you are! That is NOT our driveway, it's not even our street. It is a couple blocks from our house and not representative of the whole neighborhood! No, we don't live next door to the Beverly Hillbillies!
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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Miscellaneous


Paige is ready for "pee-school". She found a pair of kid scissors the other day so I sat her down with some junk mail and let her go to town. I never showed her how to use them, she just figured it out - probably from watching us in the past, but still! Of course now I have to keep all scissors out of reach now that she has discovered the joy of cutting things up.

As for the rest of us...
We are all doing fine. Everyone is healthy for the time being and all extracurricular activities are done for now! I'm hoping that will give us all the chance for some down time. I fear though that it is just going to allow more time for the boys to figure out ways to torture each other. Guess I'll need to have a few things in mind to do. I know it is perfectly normal for them to argue with each other but what really gets to me is when they start in on their THREE YEAR OLD sister! Especially watching a ten year old harass a three year old - seriously. She isn't exactly innocent though. I will give them that. One of her favorite pass times is to stand in front of the t.v. when they are watching it or playing the Wii. That really gets their goat - every time - and she knows it! Clearly they are bored but the other problem is that I can't get them to go anywhere either. If I mention going out they immediately start the groaning and whining and begging to have Grandma come over so they can stay home. So, does anyone have any great ideas for entertaining bored kids? (oh-yeah, it can't cost any money - makes it a little harder doesn't it?) Maybe it's time to pull out the list I made last summer?

Rick is continuing to fly. So far we have been so blessed with no furlow! We re just praying that that holds out. Since he has been with the company for 9 years we don't know what they would do with him if they furlow pilots (he only has one year in that position). It could get interesting. I just pray it doesn't become an issue.

That's kind of it for now. Not much I guess we are back into a boring phase!
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Friday, March 06, 2009

In someone else's shoes


It's a beautiful day today. My wonderful husband goes back to work tomorrow. We're down by one kid tonight. Life is good.
I wasn't feeling so good yesterday and made the mistake of saying so. Now, remember, everyone in this house has been sick so far except Trace and I. I've been feeling congested for the past week which in it's self can be a little more tiring than normal. So I may have mentioned not feeling great a couple of times. I haven't collapsed on the couch or stayed in bed for days on end, just casually mentioned I wasn't feeling great. Well yesterday I said it again. This time I really was feeling extra tired and achy. All of you wives out there will appreciate this when I say I wanted to wring my dear husbands neck and it was all I could do to bite my tongue when he replied, "You haven't felt good for a week! You definitely don't have what I had." (interpretation: Get over it already you could never be as sick as I was!) OK, maybe I wasn't dying. Maybe I didn't need to say anything. Heck, maybe I really will be stuck in bed by next week! Does it matter though?! I wasn't feeling great, is it too much to ask for a wee bit of sympathy? Let's see, within two weeks, I had one child with seven teeth pulled, a "dying" husband (who followed the flu up with a "horrible" head cold), a child with a long term infection that finally got diagnosed only to have it seem to be returning (same child with seven teeth pulled), another child with 2 teeth pulled (thank goodness he is a trooper and required little from me), and the last child be sicker than she ever has been in over two years. Of course at three that meant I needed to be holding her every waking minute. Naturally that makes it really hard to keep up with laundry, changing beds, cleaning the kitchen, etc, etc. Add to that crummy weather and being cooped up at home and you've got a complete recipe for depression. So what's the harm in needing a little extra attention myself? Does anyone ever notice how mom's just give and give and give? Sometimes I just want to yell - look at me I'm giving up something to make my child happy! Unfortunately no one will probably ever know (or care) but I have to believe they will be changed in some small way. Because if they aren't I'm going to really regret missing out on all those Italian sodas I've sacrificed in order to pay for happy meals! Or, the ultimate hope - when I'm gone they are really going to miss me.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Can I brag a minute?


Of course I can, it's my blog! Ha! Before Trace was born we had talked about and agreed on limiting t.v. and movie selections to enable our children to grow more in accordance with biblical teachings. That's not to say they could only watch Bible shows, just that we didn't want them watching things involving witchcraft and sorcery or encouraging un-Christian attitudes. Naturally as they grow we have to revise what is allowed and what isn't based on their maturity and understanding. Trace was recently allowed a show he has wanted to watch for years simply because he has shown us he is ready and understands the difference between fantasy and reality. Caden won't be allowed to see it for a few more years. Both boys are dying for the day they turn 13 so they can see Star Wars III which was rated p.g 13. Most all of their friends have seen it but we felt that it was a little graphic and there was no reason to allow it while they are still so young. In time they will obviously be allowed to make their own decisions, and Trace is getting more leeway already, but we hope to guide them slowly as they grow. All that is background to what I'm really getting at though. When we moved from Illinois Trace was disappointed to find that the kids out here didn't trade and collect baseball/football cards. Instead Pokemon was the thing. Unfortunately that was something we had said no to. That was hard because he wanted to fit in but eventually he discovered that not ALL the kids were allowed Pokemon. In fact, the ones he most wanted to be friends with were the ones who didn't really like them. With time that has mostly resolved. The next biggie was a computer game. Supposedly, ALL the kids played it. Trace had gone so far as to pretend he had an account so he could fit in to the conversations. We had several tearful talks about this. When Rick and I spent some time on the Internet researching (and Rick even played it one evening) we only felt more strongly that it was not appropriate and were even a bit appalled that so many of the other kid's parents allowed it. We had to stand firm but we did allow him to play Pirates of the Caribbean on Disney which he really liked. Well, Monday Trace came home from school really excited because he had talked one of his friends into trying Pirates and now that was all the other boy wanted to talk about. He told Trace it was way better than Runescape! Naturally they piqued the interest of the other boys and last night one of them called Trace to get help setting up an account. They played together for 15 minutes or so and the other boy was loving it. I was making dinner in the kitchen with the best feeling inside. Not only was it a wonderful lesson for Trace on sticking by your beliefs and doing the right thing, but it was also confirmation for me as a parent that we are teaching them the right things. Not often in this life will you see the benefits of taking the more difficult path. I am so grateful for this chance and what it has done for Trace!

On a completely different note... Look at the difference in the boys legs in that picture! Holy Cow! I really can't see Caden's legs ever being that thick - let alone in only three years! Talk about different as night and day.
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