Wednesday, April 29, 2009

One week in Moses Lake!

We left the house by 6am so there was no rushing, just me doing a lot of pointing...they should make mom statues with their arm extended & finger pointing. I do it way too much.Layover in SLC

Taking off was everybody's favorite








no child was scared for take off's & landings (just James)





James always lucked out and had the one next to him fall asleep



3x! (we had a lot of layovers)





but we did finally arrive!






The first couple of mornings they did a lot of this...













don't forget about the 'little' pretty in pink...she got plenty of turns.










they waited patiently by skipping around...




but 4 wheelin' is way more fun than skipping.

(we should really call it 4cruisin' for our little gang)





Grandpa Bruce just chillin'





Here is James with his BFF, Sean (he thinks BFF sounds too girly for a couple of guys that hunt & fish but he's not the one typing here is he?)



they took all their girls fishing & you can see who has raised their girls in farm country & who has not.





although Liza did attempt to gut the fish by holding the knife & poking at him, she gladly let the more experienced, take over.








Then on Thursday night Grandma put together a production of the manger scene b/c we had plenty of cousins to fill the parts...& I guess it really does make sense to do it closer to his actual birth. It just took a little more effort to get everyone enthused about it...




I don't want to name names or anything

(hey, at least he was holding the scriptures!)





here is our little herd of animals





We almost got a picture of all the cousins together but we are missing Summer and Amelia





Amelia's favorite part of the evening was having Jordan play with her all night...she loves her big cousin!






She didn't have her usual dose of Little Bear while we were gone but she was able to sneak some alone time with her friend on the ipod.





On Friday night we had dinner at James BFF's house & they had a pony for the girls to ride & Summer got the most time on it but she had to pay for it the next day b/c she couldn't walk.

Aunt Chris had the most sympathy for her b/c she carried Summer in & out of the movie theater so then she became very attached & decided to get a little more one on one time with her Aunt by falling asleep on her lap:)





Grandma got the paints out for all the girls to have some fun, they loved it





Here is our main attraction, since he can't fly out to visit good ol' St. Louis we just had to bring all the little ones to him...Great Grandpa!!! (Summer wasn't feeling good that day so she missed the group picture) The sweetest Great Grandpa ever...we needed our girls to have a memory of him that we hope they'll always cherish. I love having a picture of me & my Great Grandma even though I was just a baby.





Just like that and the week is gone so it looks like I better get busy with this...
home sweet home.






  • It's great to look at a week in just pictures b/c it leaves out the long day we had with Amelia being sick & throwing up.

  • The first couple of days when the girls took turns sleeping all day from supposed jet lag?

  • The crying at the end of our plane rides when Eliza had ear pain (chewing gum didn't help the girl).

  • A pregnant mom with aching legs & just simply being pregnant.

  • and any other details that are long forgotten b/c I didn't take a picture of it:)






Friday, April 17, 2009

Miscellaneous...

This picture was taken to fulfill the request of you...Tammy:) Now do I get those chocolate covered cinnamon bears that you promised??? Yeah!
(I swear I didn't even ask Summer to stand next to me & she just happened to cut off the area where I've stashed 20lbs)I finally found something I've been wanting forever, at an Estate Sale!
$15 bucks & the napkins & place mats still have price tags on from Dillards...I didn't know that napkins & place mats could have brand names but these are by GUESS so I suppose we will be picnicking it style.

I think the basket is made of oak so should I paint it, stain it or leave it alone???
Looks like Mom will be the first one out here to enjoy a real picnic with us (b/c all of our past picnics were fake w/o a basket) See you in May mamacita!



Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Happy days continued...

My Easter feast looked nothing like Jody's spread but here are the pictures of our meal...
rolls browning in the oven, I even let the girls help me roll them...delicioso! and homemade Reese's peanut butter eggs, they were sooo good. Very easy meal.


We had beautiful sunshine to show off the tulips James planted




I quickly took the above shot before church & said "okay I got it"& they turned around to walk off to church but their lazy folks picked them up around the corner to their dismay.


I will take a picture like this every year b/c a picture like this never gives you attitude or whines




Happy days...

We went to the annual Easter egg hunt that a friend has been doing for years (she filled over 3,000 eggs!) You never have to worry about your kids not filling their baskets but if you learned from last year...you bring a bag b/c no basket is big enough.








Some eggs held prizes like these...




and this was a favorite but they had to wait 3 days for this egg to hatch in water





and wait...




until this thing grew to maturity
kind of freaky but entertaining to say the least.








Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Zanadoos and don'ts of parenting.

DO keep one room empty of furniture for free play (it's for the kids, has nothing to do with not being able to let go of your cash...I think.)
DO let your little one suck their fingers if they look cute. Don't tell other parents you have a finger sucker when you tell them it's time their child drops the bad habit.


DON'T teach your child that it is okay to mix salty with sweet at once. There must be a waiting time of at least 5 minutes. (This boy belongs to Laura...the sister who does not believe in artificial colors & hates fast food...we find it funny, she doesn't)



DO think about how you've reacted in the past when your child starts crying before you've even had time to explain that you're not mad.
(They had a pen in the shape of a candy cane & Tessa didn't think it was really a pen that worked until it was too late. This couch really is amazing how everything can be cleaned off with a wet washcloth but I still wish it could fit in the basement)




DON'T let your child think they can justify a pair of floods by saying 'they look like capri's mom'





DON'T forget to hide last summer's flip flops from a 2 year old b/c it's really difficult to explain that she has grown too big for the shoes...her response 'i tiny, let's go'
To be continued...for the next 20 years.