The things kids say....

Recently I have heard some really cute comments and questions from my kids and thought I'd share them with you....

Savannah:

One day we were talking about making good choices like God wants instead of bad ones like Satan wants. This opened up the door for a flood of questions for about 4 days in a row. A few are:

"Where does Satan live? Does he live under the road?"
"Does Satan have hair?"

On our cat and her kittens:
"I know where the cats eat Mom--they eat from the red buttons on Precious' belly!"
"I have milk in my tummy, Mom, but the kitties can't get mine."

Just today:

"Savannah, what are you doing?"
"Sun-Diving"
"Sun-Diving, huh?"
"No, not sun-diving, tanning! I'm working on my tan, Mom" (as she sprawls out on our shaded deck!)


From the mouth of Jackson:

"What's your name?"
"Five"

"How old are you?"
"Five"

"Be nice to me!"

Said to my uncle: "Baby tummy?" to which my uncle replied, "I think now's a good time for that diet!"

We have kittens!!!

Last Saturday night, Chad kenneled up the dog, and the next morning let her out. When he did so, he heard little meows coming from inside the kennel! Apparently the cat had gone in there and Chad didn't know. We had another crate set up for the cat! I guess Sparkles was the "midwife".



Our cat, Precious (can you tell who named both animals?), had 3 kittens. If you are wanting a kitty or know of someone who does, I think the end of Sept. we'll be sending them to new families. But for now, we're all enjoying playing with the kitties and trying to figure out where the cat has spontaneously moved them!

Pictures from Montana

Here are some pictures from our 2 weeks trip to Montana. We had a blast, but it's good to be back home. I know there are quite a few pics, but it was hard to narrow it down, and my cousins wanted to be "featured" in my blog--so here's to you, Whitney (you better get back to work, slacker!) and to you, Landon (have you put away your life jacket yet? haha).


Grandma & the Grandaughters


Key Lime Birthday Cakes I made


More Cousins

Kyley, Jackson, and Emmett are a total of 6 months apart in age.

Kristen, Ashton, Emily, Whitney, Madison, and Aubrey.


Matt and Savannah


Jackson's favorite thing was boating


Savannah & Elaina tubing



Mom's still got it! Her trademark talent--skiing with her foot in the tow rope! Isn't she great!


Looks like cousin, Iwona's got it, too! Way to go :)


Packing up after a fun weekend


Matt giving out a ride


Grandpa Jack and Grandma Betty Celebrating 60 Years!


Jackson and Emmett hung out at the candy table all evening!


Grandpa Larry with Savannah-Banana & Spike as he's named them :)


Jackson in the forklift at my dad's job site


Isn't he cute?


Taking a ride in Grandma's Fiat


Spike's turn--he's siting on his knees :)


Grandma Charlotte (my dad's mom) and her great-grandkids, Gabby, Savannah, Bianca, & Jackson

Family Reunion

This week has been non-stop! Just the way I like it. Let me fill you in(I'll post pictures when I get home next week).........

We got up bright and early last Wed. 5 am to be exact! Did I mention before that I am NOT a morning person? I can probably count on my hands and toes the number of times I've seen the sunrise! And, yes, I prefer sunsets :) haha Anyways.. We were out the door lickety-split at 6:30 and made real good time until 1/2 hr. outside of my aunt's house. There we hit road construction and it took over an hour to go 30 miles. But, who's complaining?!

We arrived, and my younger cousins took the kids off my hands, and I was able to take a nice, hot shower.... How refreshing! Afterwards, Ashton, Maddie, and Krissy watched the kids and I went with the family (I think 25 of us) to Alive At Five--a shin dig downtown with live music and a beer garden. We hung out for 4 hours and got dinner. It was so much fun to hang out with the family.

Thursday was spent making 36 individual cakes with my Aunt Shirley for my Grandma's surprise 80th birthday party. Us girls were putting on a tea party and it was so much fun. Grandma said she's never had a birthday party before! I slept so good that night!

Friday we headed out to the lake, and spent the day boating, taking the kids out on the jet ski, and Savannah tubing with her cousin. Jackson spent the day either in the boat (whether it was out on the water, or tied up to the dock) and on a jet-ski that was out of commission! I've never had such a relaxing vacation.

Saturday was the 60th anniversary party for my grandparents, and we headed back into town for showers and pictures! There were 44 of us in the family picture, and ony 10 family members that couldn't make the trip. I think about 130 people showed up. Good times!

Sunday was spent back at the lake, where we continued to hang out in the water or play volleyball. Oh, and ate to our hearts content---or is that our stomach?! I am still not hungry! I don't think any of us stopped eating. We had so much good food!

Sunday night, I followed my "motel"--my parents' camper, back to their house. We got the kids in bed by 11 and my dad and I were talking about the reunion when all of the sudden a transformer blew out across the street! It was so funny to be in the light one minute, and the next shuffling around like a blind person looking for the flashlight. I found one, and a few min. later, it died. Mom said it's a rechargeable flashlight, and I proceeded to ask where the charger was and wanted to plug it in! How retarded am I? Sometimes I wonder how that doesn't automatically "click"! ha So, after I got one out of the pickup, I decided to drive around town to see if power was out all over--yes, I was a little bored, and a little curious. It was out over 90%, but back on in the morning.

Yesterday was chaotic. The kids were bouncing off the walls, and I got selected to do errands for my parents. We were in Wal-Mart looking for oil filters and oil, when much to my frustration, I glanced over and saw Jackson painting his mouth and eyes with my mascara! To make matters worse, it was on my purse--which isn't washable..grrrr... I walked around the whole store with him looking like that and people giving me crazy eye looks. Whatever. Wait until you have kids! Their listening skills are a little better right now, but we'll see how the day goes.

That's a wrap, folks. Probably more than you wanted to know!

Week in Review

This past week has been super busy and exhausting!

• Sunday night-Thursday night: We had VBC at church and I taught 1st graders. It was super fun, but getting up before 7 is not my cup-of-tea! 2 days I came home, put the kids down and we slept until 5 or later!
• Tuesday night we went down to Seattle and took Savannah to John Robert Powers school. A talent scout saw her at the 4th of July festivities in Bellevue, and contacted us to come on down for an audition. We found out later it is a school to train kids how to act in front of the camera and how to audition. She did amazing (yes, I must brag) and when the VP met one-on-one with Savannah, he asked her what tv shows she watched, she said "the news"! hahaha And, when we were being ushered into the camera room, Michael asked Savannah if he should push the stroller or should she. Without missing a beat she piped up(as she was plopping down into Jax's stroller), "Well, you work here!" What a pistol! They did callbacks the next day and wanted Savannah to be part of their company. Unfortunately, the school is quite pricy, but we'll save up and send her in the future--this is a great way for Savannah to exert all her energy into something without driving me crazy! She loved being in front of the camera and is a total ham!
• Friday afternoon I went to the chiropracter in hopes of relieving my headaches, and it was a good thing it went--my neck was so out of whack, I think I grew an inch after the adjustment! I've been on my beloved Ibuprofin for the past 2 days, so we'll see if tonight the headaches come back.
• Friday night was date night and Chad and I went to see The Dark Knight. I loved the movie, but then again, I like psychological thrillers.
• Saturday we went grocery shopping.
• Today we went to church and out to lunch. We came home and took naps! I'm already ready for bed!

We are leaving for Montana for 2 weeks on Wednesday and I have to pack, clean the house, and make cookies for the reunion! I think maybe tomorrow and Tuesday will be TV mornings for the kids. What a treat for them and sanity for me (for those who don't know--they usually only watch Sat. morning cartoons and 1 show during the week, and yes, maybe the news)!

Jackson's Birthday Party

Jackson's birthday party was last Saturday and we had a great time. The weather was perfect for a pool party, and it was nice having a low-key party!








Savannah and her cousins, Taylor and Payton

Ibuprofen

Today I woke up with an annoying headache. Not the pounding one, but the dull constant ache. Usually I don't take anything, but let nature take its course, but not today. I popped 400mg of Ibuprofen. It didn't have any lasting effects, and 4 hours later, I was in the Target parking lot, and happened to see my 800mg tablets. Aha! I decided to knock this sucker out once and for all.

It worked alright, but while doing errands, I found myself dizzy and light-headed. I finally realized why--I had taken the first dose on an empty stomach, and the 2nd, I had just finished a Dr. Pepper and handful of fries. Needless to say, I had to take a nap to get over my "wooziness". After I woke up, feeling much better, I decided "who needs drugs when Ibuprofen does the trick!" Next time I will remember to eat way in advance. Now I can just pray that I get a good night's sleep and the headache stays gone.

eBay--what not to do

Chad and I love eBay. We sell stuff and occasionally we purchase items. Tuesday morning was no exception.

Jackson really likes Donald Duck and for his birthday party, I am making him a DD cake, and Chad had a great idea to fill the kiddie pool with rubber ducks.

I searched on eBay and found 100 ducks up for bidding. Perfect, I thought. Only problem, it closed at 5:15am. UGH. I am so not a morning person, but a party's a party! The alarm went off, and I handed the computer to Chad to have him check the status......

The bid for these ducks was at $34 and I didn't want to go above $40. With 3 min. left, Chad placed a bid, only to be outbid by someone else. I stressed the importance of waiting to bid until the last 15 seconds. He kept hitting the "refresh" button and the price kept going up. Wierd, I thought, that rubber ducks would be going for $55, no, $60, no $65! What the heck? You can buy them online for $40.

Right when it skyrocketed, I told Chad not even to think about bidding.
Well, the auction ended, and the bid was $75! Who in the world would pay $75 for little rubber ducks?! Someone who desperately needed them. As I was contemplating this, Chad made a nonchalant comment like "good thing we got them for his party". Being 5:20am it took me a couple of seconds for this information to register.

Wide eyed I looked at him and said "WHAT?!?! You paid $75 for RUBBER DUCKS?????"(no I was not yelling, just shocked). He was so proud of himself, I was not. After kindly letting him know how ridiculous that was (and thinking how much gas that would've bought for my car), there was nothing left to do than ask him to "email the seller and fix this mess because there is no way I'm paying that much for stupid rubber ducks" we just laid in bed, laughing.

When I asked Chad what possessed him to bid that much, he said he doesn't like to lose-he has to win. Better not go to casinos, I commented. Casinos are fine, he said, auctions (live and silent) are not. He just gets a rush out of being in a bidding war and feels the need to win. Great, I thought. I volunteered to host a table at Antioch Adoptions Auction this October. Chad will be banned from all bidding! haha

I am thankful Paypal doesn't immediately withdraw the funds, and the seller compeltely sympathized with me, and isn't holding us to the auction.

So, no ducks for the party this weekend. The kids won't even notice. It would have just been some cute pictures for Jackson's scrapbook.

On that note, I need to head out and get last minute stuff for his party.

A Parade, Music, Fireworks, & Cotton Candy

Our Independence Day started with a parade in Everett. It was fun and the kids especially liked the vintage cars and dancers. Afterwards, we headed a few blocks away to a Basptist church street fair, and the kids were determined to get their hands on some free cotton candy. We waited in line for 40+ minutes! I kept telling Savannah "This is just like waiting in line at DisneyWorld!". I hope it was good! They sure seemed to enjoy it.

After some LONG naps, we headed down to the park right next to Belle Square and participated in the festivities! We got there at 6:30 and got a great parking spot, and an even better spot on the lawn--close to the stage, and in perfect view of the fireworks. After hanging out for a few, we decided to walk around and see what all was going on.

The kids decorated foam visors, got to climb in 2 different firetrucks, sat on a police motorcycle (yes, Jackson screamed and pitched a fit when Chad took him off the bike), and got to walk through a fire-ambulance. She even got to wear a firefighter outfit! That was hard work, so we made a bee-line for the elephant ears and cotton candy, again!

We spent the rest of the evening at our spot on the lawn, and I read a book, and we tickled the kids. Most people didn't mind, but a kid and his dad were sprawled out on a blanket in front of us, and I was teasing Jackson, and he backed up right onto them! I grabbed him right before he landed on the kid's head. I thought it was hilarious, but they did not. Jackson has loved music since he was born, so he danced his body out all night long!

The Bellevue Symphony played during the firework show, and the kids loved every minute of it! I was wondering how Jackson would do, but even this evening, he was pointing to the sky asking me to watch more fireworks.

The symphony didn't play only traditional songs, but also the Superman theme song, and the Star Wars theme song. I leaned over to Chad and said, "They must be playing this for all the Trekke's out here tonight." He laughed, and told me it was Star WARS, not TREK! Then he proceeded to pat my hand and say "I'm so glad to know you'll never be a nerd!" haha I thought it was so funny! I crack myself up sometimes!

I attempted to take pictures of the fireworks, but my camera must not be fast enough to caputre them, but I had to post my best ones. At least you get an idea.

The Twins

Lindsey and Chad welcomed twins, Alex and Andrew, into the world on Friday, June 27.

I've been dying to see Lindsey's babies and finally Sunday night we got the opportunity to go see them. Yes, I must brag right now, because I was the first friend to see them!!!!! And I loved every minute of it!

They are soooo cute! And so little! Alex and Drew were sleeping side-by-side in the crib. I could've watched them forever :)

Lindz, her mom, Cathy, and I hung out and visited while the guys made dinner--yes, this is a first--going to someone's house who just had TWINS and getting served dinner! If we weren't such good friends, I wouldn't have let them feed us--hmmm...I guess I am special (just say yes, Lindsey)! The hot dogs, chips, and drinks were so delish (yes, Marisa, I stole the word from you)!

I'll take my camera next time, and will post pics of me holding the little guys. But this visit was mainly to see how Lindsey was doing-- I was going through withdrawls of not talking to her almost daily! And Cathy is so much fun to visit with!

Until next time..........