On the 1st day of Christmas

We are on the countdown to Christmas and trying to pack in lots of fun things. Last night we all jumped in the car, went and got some treats at Sonic and then went to watch the light show at Senske. I had never been to see it but had heard from lots of people that it was a fun thing to do. At first when we pulled up, we were like this is it? But then after tuning into the Christmas radio station it was synchronized with and parking across the street to watch it, we all agreed it was pretty amazing. Our kids loved watching the lights pulse and change with the music. Cooper and Kale were almost absolutely silent the whole time, except for a few excited exchanges about the pretty lights. As usual our fun time was cut short because someone had to go the bathroom........sigh..........but, it was still a very fun way to spend a Tuesday night and we got home right at bedtime.

We also had a little surprise yesterday. While driving home after picking up Kendle from piano lessons, my mom called me. She asked where we were and said she was at our house. She had brought us a Christmas surprise. A whole box of presents - one to be opened each day until Christmas. To say my kids were jazzed up would be an understatement. They were so excited to wake up this morning and open the present for the 1st day of Christmas! My mom labeled them all so we know which one to open each day. She is doing it for our WHOLE family. So all of my siblings are opening their gifts on the same days. It is so fun! I think it is an awesome idea. Our gift today was a box of delicious homemade fudge and candy and a Manheim Steamroller Christmas CD. The kids were stoked! They begged me to give them each a little bit of grandma's fudge before school and I even let Kendle take some in her lunch. She said all the kids in her class would be so jealous. Our family loves Manheim Steamroller as well and I know we will all enjoy listening to the music. (Riley calls it his type of Christmas music)

We are also looking forward to opening our service advent each day and doing good and thoughtful things for others this time of year. Kendle has a project at school to try and do as many random acts of kindness that they can and then they give a little speech about it in class before Christmas break. I think that is one of the most excellent things to do with grade school age children. She had lots of good ideas of things she wanted to do. We are feeling the Christmas spirit!

Cozy Saturday

It's been a white frosty couple of days making everything winter white outside with a tiny skiff of snow dusting the ground this afternoon. Today I managed to do an overhaul on my craft closet and get it all cleaned out and organized before the holiday madness hits. I can safely say now I can find all the ribbons, bows, wrapping paper and bags that I will need in the next few weeks. I made Riley take the kids and get out of the house for a few hours so I could get a little peace and quiet. This is what I did while they were gone:

1. Treated myself to some amazingly delicious hot pumpkin spice cocoa and cookies.

2. Put our family advent calendar together and hung it by our tree.

3. Turned on some Christmas tunes and the fireplace.

4. Put my feet up in front of the fire and got comfy with a good book.

This was exactly what I needed today and the perfect way to relax.

Running

Well, it has been over a year (14 months to be exact) that I have more or less stuck with my running routine. Minus the few months I was sans treadmill and I only ran outside a little bit during the summer, I have been pretty good about running at least three days a week unless I was sick. After getting our new treadmill back in October I felt like I would have to start back at square one, but it is amazing what our bodies can remember how to do and adapt back to what they are capable of and then some. I'm able to run continuously farther than I ever have in my entire life, but I do notice the constant running is hard on my feet and I realize why runners have so many leg, hip, and foot injuries. The bones on the top of my left foot are currently very sore, but not too discouraging. I never thought I would be in better shape at age 31 than when I was 21, but I still have a long way to go. I hope I can continue to say that as I age another year I am also improving my health. As women we tend to make ourselves believe that just because we weigh more than we did when we were younger, that we aren't in as good of shape. But I know that when I was 21 and weighed 20 pounds less than I do now, I couldn't go out and run 5 miles straight without keeling over and dying. Ha!

I saw a good quote the other day that made me laugh. It said "I love dessert, therefore I run."  I think that about sums it up for me.

Not Much

We are chugging along into December and not much new to report. We got our Christmas lights hung after a huge debacle and Riley having to take a trip to Home Depot to give them a little piece of his mind, but they're up now. It's so cold, the kids don't want to spend much time outside unless it is traipsing along after Riley or watching him clean his birds from hunting. Morgan got to help him clean some last night and he thought he was pretty big stuff. He was stoked to show me some blood he got on his gloves. Gross!  Riley's planning on making a big batch of goose jerky soon. Mmm, mmm doesn't that sound good? (sarcasm)

We've had a bit of a bug going around and Kendle stayed home from school yesterday. She rarely misses school, she is such a good student and hates to miss so I knew she must be feeling pretty bad. She lounged around all day and hogged the TV and rested. My dad came up and helped me do all sorts of little repairs around the house that have been making my life miserable. I think he can fix just about anything. The kids loved having him here and following him around and watching him work. I always look at things that need to be fixed and they seem like such a big project, and he just comes up and in a few short hours makes it look easy.

Things have been relatively slow with no sports going on right now, but Riley has been working long hours so I'm still not seeing him that much. I told him the other day, he might as well be coaching right now and I might actually see him more. The winter months drive me crazy with my kids cooped up inside and the days seem really long. The twins can get pretty destructive and are always finding new ways to get in trouble. They can climb just about anything and wreak havoc wherever they go. Today I had to box up all the books in the boys room because they just pull them out every day from the book shelf and make a huge mess and I finally got fed up with picking them up multiple times a day. I hope this is a stage they will be growing out of soon.

On a good note though, they have both started to go potty. We are very excited. They just turned 2 a few weeks ago and are very interested and happy about trying to go most of the time. They still aren't talking very much which can make it much harder for them to let me know when they need to go, but I've been sitting them on there a few times a day and having good luck. I'll cross my fingers that it continues and probably try and hit it hardcore after Christmas. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of not having to buy diapers anymore!

Kendle was excited to sign up for a performing choir they have at her school. I was kind of surprised since she has backed off of her enthusiasm of singing in front of people a bit, but I think it will be fun and she'll enjoy it. They are doing a Christmas concert in a few weeks and might be visiting some retirement homes as well. She's also been learning new Christmas songs on the piano the last few weeks which she gets a kick out of playing for anyone that will listen.

Morgan loves preschool days. Whenever he asks if he has school that day and the answer is yes, he always gives some sort of excited exclamation. He is really improving in learning his letters and numbers and asks me all of the time to let him read letters off of books. He wants to learn addition and always asks me random addition problems. He's really improved on writing his first and last name and loves to draw (or have me draw) all sorts of interesting things that prove what a horrible and limited artist I really am. I think I go down a notch on the "my mom's awesome" scale every time I can't draw a corn combine, tractor, robot, or Star Wars character. He loves doing flips on the trampoline (and in the house -- yikes!) and does head stands and hand stands and all sorts of crazy things. He has so much energy and I'm eager for him to be able to channel that into soccer or t-ball soon.

I love this time of year and look forward to the continuing holiday festivities and spirit of the season.

Thanksgiving 2011

Our Thanksgiving weekend in a few short words:

**The BEST Thanksgiving dinner. Seriously, we have good cooks in our family.

**Pumpkin pie and homemade whip cream (and repeat, and repeat, and repeat)

**Family

**Laughing

**Shooting practice (our family likes guns)

**Snacking, snacking, snacking

**Visiting with relatives at my grandparents house

**Horse drawn carriage ride through the Hermiston fair grounds all lit up for Christmas

**Seeing Santa

**Fudrucker's (or as Morgan calls it, Funnyrucker's)

**Play time with cousins and lots of loud fun being had

**Night at the movies with my mom and little sis

**Getting all the Christmas decorations out

**Putting up our Christmas tree

**Hearts full of thankfulness for all of our many blessings.

Turning 2

There is so much happiness in my heart when I look at those little faces. Sometimes I think back to that fateful day when my doctor discovered two heart beats instead of one. It always felt scary, but I also always felt comfort in my heart that it was right. Cooper and Kale have grown so much this last year. They are busy. They are smart. They are happy. They are mischievous. They are hilarious. They are strong willed. They are learning to be friends with each other. We have tender moments together that I try to hold onto and keep in my heart for those cranky and tired days where there doesn't seem to be enough patience to go around. I am so thankful for all I have been able to learn from raising them. There are nights when the house is quiet and all of the children are asleep that I mention to Riley how I would love so much to be able to turn back the clock for a few hours, just to be able to hold and rock their sweet and snuggly little new born baby bodies once more.  

Their personalities are becoming more and more defined each day. Cooper is competitive and determined to always find a way to do something. Kale is a more soft tempered and a cuddly guy, but also has a quiet determination about him. I think they strike a good balance. At this age they are loving to color, pretend to cook with pots and pans, help their dad, throw temper tantrums, play catch, jump on the trampoline, take messy baths, read books, climb, wrestle, and give high fives. They make us laugh every day and that is such a blessing in a life that can often be hectic and stressful. They give us the ability to slow down and enjoy the little things so much more. Nothing that money can buy is a better compliment to our home than the sound of their laughter.

Cooper and Kale - we love you so much and wish much happiness and joy for you both this second year of your lives. Happy birthday boys!

Great Season

We are officially done with soccer until the spring. Well, minus the end of the season pizza party that is happening tomorrow night. This was Kendle's best soccer experience yet. She came out this year with a new determination and desire that we haven't seen before. She was the teams main goal keeper, but was also a powerful scorer and defender. Riley would usually  have her play keeper for the first half and then send her out to go score some goals in the second half. It will be interesting to see in the future where she wants to end up playing the most. She was only scored on twice during the season. It was a fun experience for the girls to go undefeated and I think Riley was able to teach each of the girls some valuable skills. He did an awesome job as their coach and I can honestly say that even their least skilled player drastically improved by their last game. 


I think I will always remember this year in particular, as the one where I really saw Kendle become an athlete and get a fire inside of her where she was determined to win. Some switch just got turned on and it didn't shut off. I noticed a new confidence about her that wasn't there before. She can analyze the game and talk strategy. She will even sit down with her dad and watch professional soccer and has posters of her favorite players. We have been lucky to be able to expose her to some great soccer and have awesome high school girls playing that she can look up to and even came and watched some of her games. She loves going to watch the high school games and gets totally enthralled - even knowing when to yell at the reff for not making good calls. (Ha, ha. Ok, maybe I shouldn't think that is funny but I do.) She was thrilled to be able to be a ball girl at Southridge's state playoff game last night, she didn't even care that she was freezing cold and had to sit out on the track by herself. Now that is love for the game.

And you can be pretty sure that while she was out there running as fast as she possibly could to go chase down stray soccer balls, she was telling herself that one day not far from now, that was going to be her out there playing.

This girl is tough. This girl is determined. This girl makes me want to be her biggest fan.

November

Source: google.com via Jesse on Pinterest

Today I:

*Bid October farewell and said a hearty hello to November

*Packed up all the Halloween decorations

*Said goodbye to our jack o' lantern's

*Watched my three precious boys jump on the trampoline in the autumn sunshine

*Ran farther than I thought I could......and now I KNOW I can do more. It felt awesome.

*Lovingly folded laundry and put it away for my sweet children.

*Snuck in some reading from a spooky book. I love a good spooky book this time of year.

*Watched my two year old do a surprisingly good job of sweeping the floor.

*Listened to Morgan and his friend laugh and yell and have a great time playing outside. They kept calling each other "bud" and "buddy".

*Started working on some Christmas lists and thinking about Thanksgiving.


Welcome November! I'm so glad you are here.

Trick or Treaters

These were the best pictures I could snap before our kids headed out the door with their cousins for trick or treating last night. To say they were excited would be the understatement of the year.

Mo was a princess

Morgan was a super hero

Maelin was a lady bug

Kendle was Katniss from the Hunger Games

and Zack was Frankenstein

(Cooper and Kale refused to be photographed, but let me assure you they were the cutest little super hero's around)

They all had an awesome time and came home with loads and loads of candy. It was a super fantastic Halloween!

P.S. I am pretty proud of myself that I handmade a faux leather arrow sheaf with strap for Kendle to carry her arrows in on her back. It looked awesome.

Good Monday

I love Monday mornings that get off to a good start. So far this morning I've got the kitchen clean, dishes done, floors mopped, laundry going, and two happy little boys running around outside in the fall sunshine. I'm sure they are up to no good, but I'll just try and be content for letting them play for a minute and not worry about what they're doing.

On Saturday we went to my grandparents house in Hermiston and the kids got to have a "pumpkin hunt". My aunt Alaina that lives in Heppner has a big pumpkin patch and she loaded up whole bunch of pumpkins to bring down for all the little cousins. They loved going and finding them hidden all over the yard. There were even a few tiny ones stuck up in the trees. I thought that was such a fun idea, we might have to make it a tradition.

After that we spent the rest of the evening at my parents house and had dinner and birthday cake for my brother Richard. The kids also enjoyed some candy apples that grandma Melodee made. Some of the kids got messier than others:

{Kale}

Tonight we are going to decorate some pumpkins and roast some smores for family home evening. Morgan asks us pretty much every night if we can make some, so we figured we would have a nice, chilly, fall marshmallow roast. It's definitely cold enough at night to sit around a fire.

Signs of Fall and Halloween

October is flying by and we (really the kids) are on the countdown to Halloween. I have yet to really even start working on costumes so I better stop slacking and get on that. I'm loving the crisp breezes, the chilly nights, and the baking weather, not to mention the falling leaves and autumn foliage that is the perfect back drop for all of the Halloween decor that's been popping up around town. I love this time of year when our grass is emerald green and Riley is trying to get the last few mows in before the sprinklers are turned off for the winter. (It seems like it was just spring and we were waiting for them to get turned on.) We've enjoyed watching the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, making donuts, and reading Halloween books.

I thought I'd post a few pictures of what fall is looking like around our place:

(My new lights. They cast the coziest glow at night.)

(Cooper couldn't miss out on a photo op. Don't you love his Spiderman rain boots?)

Attitude and Underwear

Last Saturday Kendle's soccer team gained another victory. She scored three goals, made some stellar saves at keeper, and played tough defense. Their team is still undefeated and she has a total of 10 goals for the season. She played like a beast and dominated the second half. So why was it a little hard to celebrate after the game? Well, I hate to say it, but her attitude and sportsmanship could use a little bit of work. Her competitive edge came out in full force, maybe a little too much? Sometimes she gets a little frustrated when she doesn't feel like everyone else is trying as hard as she is, which I totally understand, but we tried to emphasize the importance of building your team mates up and leading by example instead of having a major attitude and trying to be the "mini" coach on the field. Her dad and I tried to explain that even when you play your best game, you don't walk off the field a winner if you acted like a loser. I think it is also hard for her to treat her dad like a coach and not dad when she doesn't agree with what he wants her to do. All that aside, if she can work on the attitude and keep playing like she has, I think the sky is the limit to what she can do. She has become a whole different player this season. And I suppose (uh hmmm, throat clearing....) that Riley and I need to work on being better examples of not being so critical and that winning isn't everything.

I took these pictures during the half because I was so entertained by how hard Riley was trying to instill come strategy and instruction to these girls, although half of it was probably over their heads. He tries so hard to make these girls better. I just had to laugh and capture "coach Riley" in action on camera:

Lately Morgan has been obsessed with underwear. The other day while watching The Grinch who stole Christmas, he was sincerely puzzled as to why the Grinch wasn't wearing underwear (or clothes half the time for that matter). Is there really any good explanation you can give a 4 year old about that? I think I mumbled something about the fact that the Grinch was a creature of some sort and creatures don't need to wear it. Then this morning while getting dressed he asked me if Darth Vader wears underwear. Yep, I replied. Then he asks me, "Even when he was getting melted in the hot lava that burned half his body off?" Ummm....yep, I replied. "What about after he became the bad Darth Vader and he was wearing the big suit and mask and he talked funny?" Yep, pretty sure he was still wearing it. I read somewhere the other day that the average 4 year old asks around 400 questions a day. It's crazy, but true. And half of Morgan's questions are about underwear. Ha! He is so funny.

Here are a few pictures I snapped of the boys this morning since they were actually getting along and playing together:

October Is Here

Well, I'm officially slacking on my blog. I can't believe I only posted three times for the WHOLE month of September. I guess I could say I just haven't had the time, but I think more than that I just haven't felt the motivation lately. But, vowing to do better from here on out and into the future. Moving on......so here's what's been going on with the family:

Kendle:

Kendle has been one busy little girl. She has been playing softball games two or three nights a week for the last month. I kind of love the night softball games under the lights, although it is really starting to get chilly. She has really improved since the spring season and has had some stellar hits. Her last game she had some great plays at pitcher and third base - one in particular from third where she ran up on a grounder and just zinged it clear to first base (seriously like the hardest throw I've ever seen a nine year old make) and *bonus* the girl at first actually caught the ball. It was amazing. It was one of those things you see your kids do and your heart nearly leaps out of your chest with pride. This week she has her last two games and although there's been some ups and downs, I think she is really going to miss it. Soccer is also keeping her busy with a few practices during the week and games every Saturday. Her team is undefeated so far and are a fun bunch for the most part. Kendle loves playing keeper and she has been working hard on improving her kicking and getting the ball far down the field with accuracy. She is pretty aggressive and will go out and dive on the ball to make saves and sometimes I have to cringe when someone almost kicks her in the head, but I guess I better get used to it. She is also making some great plays out in the field and consistently scoring goals to help her team. Her last game she had a hat trick - three goals all back to back in the first half. I think it has been hard sometimes to have her dad as her coach, but I hope that she sees that all the hard work and running (lots and lots of running) that he has them do at practice is paying off. I love seeing the determination on her face when she is going after a ball or trying to catch up with someone when she's playing defense. Ok, that is a lot about sports! Her first month of school went by in a flash and she is really enjoying it - her teacher, her classmates, and pretty much everything else. I can't say enough good things about her teacher this year, she has gone above and beyond already in some things she has done for Kendle and I'm thankful for that. In Kendle's "spare" time when she isn't at softball or soccer or reading a book, she's been enjoying learning to roller blade with her roller blades she got for her birthday and also jumping on our new trampoline. She's also excited that at her last orthodontist appointment she got her expander removed (no more metal on the roof of her mouth) and she'll also be getting her top braces off soon. Pretty exciting stuff!

Morgan:

Morgan has been growing like a weed over the last few months. Jeans that I bought him for preschool are starting to already look a little short. He is so skinny though, that it is hard to keep up with the growth and not have him drowning in the waist. He's a little muscle man and has a little six pack. He has loved jumping on the new trampoline and helped his dad put it together. He has figured out how to do some flips, but yesterday he kneed himself in the face while doing one and gave himself a gushing bloody nose. Might need to lay off of those for a while. He also got to go hunting for the first time last week and he was pretty thrilled with himself even if (according to Riley) they only got to see and shoot at a few birds. Just the fun of getting up early with dad, getting his cool camo gear on, traipsing through the fields, and stopping to get breakfast afterwards, pretty much made his day. He loves to help me make cookies, measure the ingredients, and dump them all in. He's also a quiet cookie snatcher when I'm not looking. It would be great if he could learn to play with his little brothers a little better, but for the most part he is still a happy fun boy and I enjoy the quiet time in the afternoons we get to spend together when the twins are napping. He is starting to like to read books with me more and some of his favorites right now are "The Story of Ferdinand" (the bull) and "The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything." We're hoping to get him playing some indoor soccer soon.

Cooper (on the left) and Kale (on the right):

Our little guys will be turning 2 in November. Where has the time gone? It's been a whirlwind I can tell you. Wow, these boys are hard to keep up with. They have gotten into quite a few predicaments lately. The other day Cooper pulled his trike from the back patio inside the house, rode it through the house to the laundry room, and proceeded to somehow put two or three scoops of laundry detergent into the back compartment on the trike and also dump more all over the floor. Pretty much every day is filled with little surprises like that. Towels pulled into the bathtub, toilet paper pulled into the tub, pen on furniture, flooding the kitchen sink, getting into the charcoal in the fire pit, plugging and unplugging every chord they can get their hands on, randomly recording shows on tv, pulling all the baby wipes out, squeezing lotion everywhere........the list could literally just go on and on and on. Some days I even get tired of hearing myself be a broken record of "No, no's", "Stop that", and so on. They are squirmy and wiggly and fast, and starting to not let me hug them or cuddle as much. They are little jokesters and love to play and tease. I know they are good boys deep down, they do lots of sweet things so that I know they still love me. While I'm changing one of their diapers, the other one will hug me across my back and lean on me. We call these "backwards hugs" at our house and they are Cooper and Kale's favorite thing to do. It is cute too how at night when I am reading Morgan a story before bed, they insist on having books in their cribs to read as well. They are such good boys about always wanting to say their prayers at night, and always fold their arms at church for the prayers. They are also adamant about holding the hymn book at church as if it is some great prize. It is the first thing they want to do after we arrive and sit down in our seats. They must have their own, and they will not share with me. Ha. Cooper is pretty stingy and likes to take anything away that Kale has that is making him happy. He is kind of the bully of the two and is always beating up on  Kale. He always has to be first and has to sit in the front of the tub during bath time. I am trying to get them to share with each other but it is not easy. Kale most of the time is the big cry baby and will come running every time he feels slighted. He is better about sharing, but is also quick to go grab anything Cooper puts down for a few seconds. Kale is starting to talk a little more than Cooper and I'm hoping Cooper will start catching up. I'm looking forward to them getting along better and being good friends. I pray for it every night.

Riley is super duper busy with work this time of year. The fall is always a super big hustle and bustle and even when he is done and home for the day, he's never really done and still is getting calls and making arrangements for sales and setups. I was hoping for a calmer fall with him not coaching high school girls soccer this season, but combined with being Kendle's coach and also being the t-cysa city director this year I feel like not much has changed. But, it's all for good reasons so it's ok. I think he is somewhat enjoying coaching Kendle's soccer team, but I know he gets frustrated with some ideas of things he wants the girls to do and then maybe it's just over their heads just a little bit. He is a great coach though and the girls seem to respond well to him and not get offended when he's yelling instructions to them during the games.  The city director job is pretty tedious and thankless for the most part, (most volunteer positions are) but he has persevered and the hard part is pretty much over now that the season is a month in. He has been getting some little projects done here and there for me in his spare time, we even got one of our new outdoor lights put up and installed on Saturday, now I'm just waiting for the other three to go up. :) We bought half a cow and Riley also surprised me with a pig (isn't that what every wife dreams of?), so we are officially stocked up on meat for a long time. I give Riley a hard time that he is obsessed with meat and he keeps talking about all these different ways we can cook everything and yada, yada......I just try to smile and be glad he at least likes to BBQ and cook a lot of it.

I am SO excited it is officially fall and we are having some cooler fall weather. I think as I get older I enjoy the cooler weather a bit more, it's like a nice crisp refresher after the summer heat. I've been getting out the fall decorations and went and bought some huge containers of mums this weekend. Also found a good deal on some big urns to put them in by the garage and the front door and some smallish pumpkins to add autumn flair.  It sure makes everything look happy and festive. I love all of the oranges and reds and yellows that are starting to be seen in the foliage around here. I love the month of October and all of the fun things it is filled with. Birthdays, holidays, lots of sports and outdoor festivities and next week I'll also be getting a new niece! Can't wait. I loved listening to General Conference over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed every talk. I especially loved President Monson's talk where he told the story of being a young boy and leaving his five dollar bill that he had worked so hard for in the pocket of his pants that were sent to be washed. It was a sweet coincidence that he told this story, as just the night before I had a long conversation with Kendle about how she can start earning five dollars a week to save up for some things she has been wanting. She did not seem to think that five dollars was very much money and that it would take forever to earn enough money for the things she wanted. I'm glad she could listen to our prophet tell his story about how hard he had worked for that "small" amount of money and how sad he was that it would be ruined and that he had the faith to pray for it's safe return. I'm looking forward to getting my new treadmill set up and being able to get back in a really good running routine. I feel like I am going to be starting at square one since my workouts have been somewhat sporadic since the summer, but I know it will feel good just to be doing it consistently again.

Well, I guess this super long post can make up for my lack in posting last month.

Wreaths

I did a little experimenting with some different kinds of wreaths this year. I'm not sure if you could call this first one a real "wreath" per se, but while I was shopping at a home improvement store this week I saw a whole bunch of ceiling medallions and thought they'd look pretty spray painted a pretty pumpkin color and hanging on my door. I'm still playing around with it and tweaking it a few different ways but here was the first way I had it:

I think it really pops against my black door. I just added a few leaves tucked into the bow for some extra garnishment. The medallions are really light weight plastic and you could even add some Velcro to the back to keep it from hitting against your door when you open and close it.

This next one is my wreath I used last year, the difference is this time I hung my little chalkboard behind it (it usually hangs on the outside wall by the front door) and scrawled the word Fall onto it. I guess I could also write Welcome, or Dodson's, or Hello, or Trick or Treat, or all sorts of other things. Pretty easy.

I'm sure I'll rearrange and add and subtract a ton of different little things from my fall decor as the season goes on. I've seen lots of pretty yarn wrapped wreaths that I'd like to try making one if I get the chance in the next little while.

My kids are begging me to decorate the house tomorrow and I've been dragging my feet because it just hasn't felt like it was really fall yet, but after our chilly night spent once again at the ball park and the need to cozy up in my sweats when I got home, I figure it might be time after all. I love pumpkins, gourds, mums, pretty colored leaves, corn husks and all of the other fallish looking backdrops the season has to offer. Sometimes with small children in the picture however, less is definitely more. :)

September

September so far:

I'm glad to report we made it through our first week of school without a glitch. Kendle is LOVING her new teacher and that is a huge relief to me. Her teacher seems absolutely fabulous. So far every day has been wonderful for Kendle and I think it's going to be a stellar year. She loves meeting up with her friends that aren't in her class at recess and likes that they get to eat lunch in their classrooms this year. She is in full swing of soccer and fall softball and I don't think there is an afternoon to spare in our near future.

Morgan starts preschool tomorrow and is totally stoked for another school year with his wonderful teacher. We purchased his little school supplies this morning and he has them all packed up in his back pack and ready to go for tomorrow. He is growing up so fast, and I don't like it one bit. He is still the sweetest when he wants to be though.

I was looking forward to some fall weather, but this week mother nature has decided we're not getting off the hook after all. Temperatures are going to be in the high 90's all week and get up to 101 by Friday. I guess it's one last shorts and flip-flops hurrah for everyone. And just when I thought I could start packing some of that stuff away.

I saw some mum's being put out on display after exiting the store this morning and it reminded me of how much I love fall. I've been wanting to get out all of my fall decor, but this weather doesn't have me in the mood quite yet. I always get in project mode in the fall for some reason and feel really motivated to get things done. Next on my to-do list is going to be repainting my front door a super fun color, and also installing some new outdoor lighting. And planting some mums........as soon as it's cool enough to not sizzle them away into droopy stems of nothingness. This weekend we power washed the exterior of the house and I gave all the windows a good washing. It feels good to give the outside a little spritzing up.

This week we are going to be on the go a lot and hopefully we can stay cool with the A/C cranked up and a good supply of popsicles still in the freezer. I'm glad September is here hot or not!

Back to School: 4th Grade

up and at em super early

scrubbed up like a new penny

cute outfit

new back pack

painted nails

lip gloss

 a little taller

a few butterflies

an apple for her teacher

excitement to meet back up with friends

All set and ready to go for a fantastic  school year!

Party Pictures

We capped off  Kendle's birthday week with a little get together with some of her girl friends last night. We had all the girls wear their pajamas and had kind of a mock slumber party with out the sleeping over part.

Dinner consisted of pizza, watermelon, chips, and  ice cold strawberry crush. Then  they were welcome to the candy/treats buffet I had put together to snack on the rest of the night.

They painted their nails, made necklaces, and watched a movie along with lots of laughing and being silly. Lots and lots and lots of giggling and smiling.

It was a lot of work, (especially with all of my kids underfoot the whole day) but it was so much fun and worth the effort. My favorite discovery was finding the polka dotted crepe paper at the party store. It is so cute when you see it in person.

Ok, here's some pictures in bad lighting taken on my phone because my real camera needed new batteries:

Nine

Today my first born turned nine years old. Nine years have flown by in a flash and I could never have imagined as a new mother holding my sweet little baby girl, what a unique and wonderful person she would be growing into at this stage of her life. Challenging, stubborn, willful, outspoken, and utterly determined and dead set in her ways -- but absolutely wonderful just the same.

The last year has had many ups and downs for Kendle and I've watched her learn some important lessons that I hope will stay with her always:

That friends can be fickle, you don't always get what you think you deserve, just because you gave it your all doesn't mean you'll always win, and sometimes you have to make the best of the situation you are in because whining doesn't get you anywhere.

On the other side of the spectrum she's learned:
That mom and dad are and always will be her biggest supporters, family comes first, good friends sometimes pop up in unexpected places, and that most of the time even if you don't win but you still gave it everything you had it still makes you feel pretty darn good.

There are so many things I love about Kendle, but I think my most favorite thing is that when she smiles and laughs, she sparkles like the 4th of July. She has an energy about her that is so happy most of the time. It is hard because these days I feel like we have many disagreements and are constantly butting heads, but when we can share a laugh about something and I see her light up like she does, it reassures me that it will all be ok and we can find a way to work out the kinks.

I love watching her interact with her little brothers when they are all playing and getting along and am so proud of the high bar she has set for them to follow. I love that she is goal driven and has high hopes and dreams for her future. I know that along with a positive attitude will carry her far in life.

I hope she knows how much her father and I love her, and it's not for scoring the winning goal in a soccer game, or getting 100 percent's on tests, or for getting awards or doing all her chores. Those things are fun and make us proud, but we'd be proud no matter what.


Kendle is a never ending wisher and dreamer. I hope all of her wishes come true this year.

Coming to a Close

Next week is our last week of summer break before school starts. Things are wrapping up and the nights are starting to get cooler and darker earlier. This time of year is always filled with highs and lows. We're trying to hang onto summer for a little bit longer, especially now that we are finally having "real" hot summer weather. But, I am also at my breaking point that I reach every summer where I am ready for school to start again. This is the time where I start organizing and cleaning out with a vengeance. It's time to clean out the closets and dressers and get set for a new school year. Next week is Kendle's birthday (she'll be turning 9!), the fair, and sports practices are starting. Here is a little more of what we've been up to:

*Kendle's team competed in a 3 on 3 soccer tournament last weekend at Columbia Park. Her team did extremely well and although they didn't get to play in the championship they really impressed us and played super hard. We were there all day playing in the hot weather and we only had four players so those girls ran their little legs off and never gave up. They won three out of their four games outscoring the teams they defeated by at least six or seven points. One of the most ironic moments was when the coach of the team that beat us went to complain to the people running the tournament that our team was being "too physical". As if it wasn't enough that they beat us, but I think he was just kind of scared because we outscored them in the second half and if we would have played like that in the first half we would have smoked them and he knew it. Just kind of funny how a lot of the other coaches took it so seriously and were just yelling and screaming at their players. I'm so glad Riley does not do that with Kendle's team. We were wishing we could keep all the girls together for their team this fall because they would be so awesome. I think the highlight of their day was going for ice cream afterwards and they more than deserved it.

We are also attempting to let her play some fall softball. I don't know if it's going to work out that well or not to be doing two sports at one time, but I told her coach we would have to just play it by ear and make whatever we could that didn't interfere with soccer. It is pretty laid back and mostly fun though so it's not that big of a deal if she misses something here and there. Just fun to keep her skills going from the spring and get some more game time in. Kendle's favorite part of summer is staying up late at night. She thinks that is a real treat.

*Riley has been doing lots of soccer related extra work lately. What? That's nothing new you say? I know, I know. He's started doing private training sessions for goalie's and is training two high school players in the evenings and mornings whenever he can squeeze it into his busy work schedule. He also is volunteering as the team coordinator for Pasco's tcysa. The spot was vacant when he called to check on Kendle's team and with all the problems we've had in the past he decided to just step up and help make the organization a little better. So now he also serves on their board and goes to their meetings once a month and hopefully can help impact some positive change. Needless to say, it is a LOT of work to put together every team from Pasco and there had literally been nothing done when he assumed this responsibility three weeks ago. Despite all of that,  he is pretty stoked to be getting to coach Kendle's team this fall and helping her team rebuild their skills.

*Morgan has been growing this summer and is a skinny, muscly little guy. He plays hard all day long and helps me by being my "garden monitor". He checks every day for veggies that are ready to be picked or need water. He always has interesting questions to ask, or cute little stories to tell me throughout the day. His favorite thing this summer has been sitting around the fire pit at night making smores. He asks us every night if we can make a fire. I think that boy has eaten his weight in marshmallows this summer. We've tried taking his training wheels off his bike a few times and will keep working with him on that because I think he is going to get it really soon. He loves riding his bike and racing Kendle. He is excited for preschool to start in a few weeks so he can go school supply shopping with me to pick out his own things just like I did with Kendle. He is a rocket of speed and jumping and playing all the time.

*Cooper and Kale have been wild little boys this summer. They love playing outside and getting really dirty. Also, if there is even an inch of standing water anywhere they will find it and wreak havoc. I've taken to letting them sit at the picnic table and eat whenever I can because they are SO messy. It gives us all a good excuse to eat outside though and it's fun. Except for the bees and wasps have been really bad this year and Kale got stung a couple of weeks ago when we were eating dinner outside. They love to go on our morning walks and cruise the neighborhood. They are still the biggest cry babies I've ever seen and super clingy. I keep thinking they will grow out of it, but maybe I'm just destined to have super clingy mama's boys? They are getting to be good helpers though and love to help do little tasks like wiping down the table or putting their dirty clothes and shoes away. Their favorite thing this summer has been running around naked in the sprinklers and eating a gazillion popsicles. If that is all they got to do in a day they would be happy boys.

*My summer has been pretty great for the most part. I made it a goal to do at least one fun thing with the kids every day even if it was just something little like going for a milkshake or letting them help me make some treats. This is the first summer in a long time that I have been able to be outside a lot and take the kids to go and do more. I've gotten super tan and am almost as dark as Kendle and Morgan. I've tried not to let the constant messes of summer and my untidy house stress me out like it usually would. I've loved my daily walks with the kids and also just having those lazy afternoons when the twins are napping where I can sneak out the backyard and put my feet up in a comfy chair and soak up the sun with a good book. I've tried to just enjoy my children more this summer because they are growing up way too fast. I need to work on being more patient with all of the little voices around me wanting my attention. Yesterday I went to my parents house and my mom and I made strawberry and raspberry jam. I am trying to get stocked up for the year and keep Kendle in good supply for all of her peanut butter sandwiches she eats. My favorite thing about this summer was having Riley home more and having our schedules be a lot more laid back.

Hopefully we are can try and fit as many more fun things in as we can before school starts on the 30th.

Homemade Oreos

This is another family favorite and I can never seem to make enough of these. While making these for a church activity yesterday afternoon, I heard many grumbles of disappointment from my family that all of these cookies would be going with us. This is worth doubling the recipe to either have more to share, or to freeze/save for later. At first I thought these sounded really complicated to make, but they are not and the frosting in the middle is REALLLLY good. This is a crowd pleaser for kids and adults alike. I've brought these to different get togethers and at one family get together in particular my grandmother offered her compliments and asked for the recipe which is about the highest seal of approval you can get in our family. You can also make these "mini" sized if you're trying to stretch the batch a little more. I would highly recommend chilling the dough before baking and also the recipe says to pipe the cream filling onto the cookies which is great, but if you're like me and more low maintenance, I just plop some on one cookie with a spoon and the press the other cookie on top of it until it is evenly sandwiched. Easy right?

The recipe I use is from Smitten Kitchen and if you click on their link you can read the full post relating to the recipe. Enjoy!

Homemade Oreos

Adapted from Retro Desserts, Wayne Brachman

**Let’s talk about the sugar for a minute, shall we? This is a sweet cookie. A good, sweet cookie. Yet, if you think of an actual Oreos, the wafers are fairly un-sweet and actually on the slightly salty side, which contrasts with the super-sweetness of the filling bringing harmony, happiness, yada yada. If you want your cookie closer to that original, you can take out a full half-cup of the sugar. If you want to make the cookie by itself (as I did a while back for ice cream sandwiches), go ahead and use the full amount.

Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies

For the chocolate wafers:
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg


For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


1.Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.

2.In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

3.Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

4.To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

5.To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

More Vacation Pictures

Cooper

Kale

Morgan



Kendle

 

Summer Vacation 2011

This was our second time staying in Long Beach and although it was a bit more of a challenge this time around with two more kids and even more STUFF to squeeze into the car, we made it! We had been wanting to buy a car top carrier for a while and it was one of the best purchases we've made in long time. But still, we were packed to the gills, and I thought we were packing light. Ha. We stayed right by the Bolstad Beach access point and everything was within walking distance. We loved being able to walk anywhere we wanted to go and also being able to pack a picnic and go drive along the beach with our car to find the perfect spot to hang out for the afternoon. The kids (and mom and dad) were absolutely worn out every night and we tried to pack in as much fun into one week as we absolutely could and I think we did.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

*Flying kites on the beach

*Building huge sandcastles

*Going for ice cream at Scoopers almost every night

*Walking the boardwalk

*Staying up late having checkers wars

*Spending an afternoon in Seaside

*Watching the look on the twins faces when they saw the ocean for the first time

*Taking a hike to an old lighthouse

*Having a big bonfire/hotdog/smores roast on the beach with the Trevino's

*Beach combing for shells

*Fresh caramel corn and fudge from the candy shop

*Mini golf, go-karts, the arcade, and Kendle went for a horse ride on the beach

*Kendle got to get her ears pierced

*Listening to the kids playing and having fun together

This has been such a crazy busy year for our family and we definitely needed a good long week away to spend time together and just have a break from it all. I have a lot more pictures to post but blogger is being funny about posting them sideways so I will try and fix them and post some more later.