New Blogger

Hi, just mom. Kristin is trying to teach me how to do this blog thing. Maybe I'll get brave and put up some pictures. Love, mom.

Cherish the Moments

I've decided that I need to take pictures when I'm really loving my kids so that I can look at them when I'm about ready to pull my hair out!!! Zoe was helping Zak watch "Super Why" -- her favorite TV show.

Hamming it up for the camera!

Zoe is the mascot for my Achievement Day girls and thouroughly enjoys participating in all of the fun right along with them. Yesterday we painted pumpkins! Zoe's is quite the work of art!

The Leaves are Falling -- Time for Football & Halloween!

Tanner is enjoying (the games, not practice) Football this year! He is a great player and we have really enjoyed watching him! He plays both offense and defense and will be playing Fullback starting this week!

Tanner turned 9 on September 26th and celebrated by inviting two friends to join him for some laser tag at Boondocks! They had a great time!

Zoe is practicing for Halloween by dressing up as Princess Cinderella EVERYDAY! It's a constant battle of the crowns in this house! Zoe may be the princess, but I'm the QUEEN! :)

Here's a picture of our cute little "Spook" Zak! He is getting really strong and wants to stand up all the time. Couldn't resist this quick picture!

Last of the Summer Fun

Just a few pictures now that summer is winding down. Here are the "Three Amigos" and their moms! Zak, Caleb & Luke can't wait for their turns on the swing!

Can't beat a good old picnic at the park! Zoe was in the height of her glory having all the cousins to play with!

We had to make accomodations for the limited number of swings, so Zoe and Riley shared a ride!

Zoe will tell you that she loves her "Diesel Dog". He looks a bit intimidating, but I would worry more that he would lick someone to death before inflicting any bodily harm!

Kotter Family Reunion and Luke

Fun Times at Lagoon!

We took the kids to Lagoon last week and had a blast. We had to pick-up a tractor in Ogden so we rode in the Semi Truck and the kids loved climbing around in the sleeper, watching movies and keeping their snacks in the refrigerator. Zak was a great baby and only cried when he was hungry. Tanner rode all of the roller coasters (Nate and I took turns riding while the other watched Zoe & Zak). Zoe had a blast on all the little kid rides and even took a liking to the Tilt a Whirl (yikes! too much spinning for mom!) I didn't do a very good job of taking many pictures, but here are a couple Zoe . . .

Here are my boys -- don't they look thrilled to be getting their pictures taken!!!

You can purchase this ridiculously large mug at the beginning of the day for $12 and refill it at no additional charge all day long, so we figured that it was more cost effective to buy it and share instead of buying individual sodas -- however, Zoe wasn't really into sharing!

Zoe LOVES pink! At the end of the day we were leaving and saw this pink VW bug, I thought Zoe would be really excited, but needless to say she was still upset that we were leaving the "Gagoon"!

New Additions to the Pancheri Family

I'm finally getting around to posting a couple of pics of our new little boy! We are loving having this little addition to our home (except perhaps at 3:30 a.m.)!

Zak & Big Sis Zoe!

Doesn't he just look like he's too cool for his own britches?!

This is our other new addition to the family! Our new Border Collie pup, Lou Lou (or Lil' Lou) is a bundle of energy and lots of fun. She will actually be a working cow dog and we will start training her next month!

more house!

Matt was at our new house last night to meet with the inspector and he took a few pictures of what it looks like now. {Based on the previous picture, my dad asked me why our grass was dead.} Things are moving right along with the financing and insurance and everything. We should be right on schedule to close on August 22. I can't wait!

got it!!!

Who wants to be the first to visit and stay in our new guest room?

Flat Tanner returns to Idaho -- Can I send Zippy Zoe?

Flat Tanner looked like he had so much fun that I'm sure Zoe would also love such an adventure!!!! :) I'll send her out via FedEx next week! Just a quick note to say that we are still plugging along here on the Farm. All the crops are planted and here is a picture of the third gravel truck we've added to our fleet.

Nate had this thing about having everything match, so he got a little creative "spicing up" the new belly dump trailer. Thanks to Uncle Jeff, the paint was a perfect match. :)

Zoe's favorite activity now revolves around bandaids. This first picture was taken yesterday and the following was taken today. I have no idea why she insists on the stocking hat when it's 83 degrees outside. So, when can I send her to Texas?!?!?!?

We are looking forward to seeing everyone in August for the Kotter Reunion. Hope everyone is planning on the big reunion in 2008. It has been fun to hear back from all the cousins. I'll send out another update in a few weeks! Love you all!

Flat Tanner reports

Howdy!

Thank you for sending me to Texas to visit Matt and Mandy! I did so many fun things and learned a lot about the Lone Star State! Texas was once its own country for almost ten years until it became the 28th state to join the United States in 1845. Texas is the second largest state in the country, behind Alaska. Texas is home to five of the top 20 largest cities in the country (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin). Texas also has some of the best sports teams around – the Dallas Cowboys (football), Dallas Mavericks (basketball), Texas Rangers (baseball), Dallas Stars (hockey), San Antonio Spurs (basketball) and Houston Astros (baseball).

I went on lots of adventures. The first thing I got to do was visit the longhorns in Fort Worth. They were huge! Some of their horns stretch up to six feet across! I was even lucky enough to ride one! Giddy up!

I also got to experience a real-life Texas thunderstorm. The sky was so black and the thunder was so loud! I even got to see the baseball-sized hail that dinged up cars and roofs. Two tornadoes touched down close to where I was staying, but we were safe. We went to see the damage a few days later – big semi-trucks and buildings were all twisted and torn up. I’m glad it didn’t get us!

Matt and Mandy also took me out to visit the Bluebonnet Trail. Bluebonnets are the official state flower of Texas and they grow along the freeways and in huge open fields! There were acres and acres full of them! They only grow in the wild in Texas in April, so I was lucky to get to see them!

I also went on my first plane ride, to Denver, Colorado. Mandy had a business trip and I got to tag along. The plane ride was fun. I also got to go eat at a really fun restaurant, Texas de Brazil. Did you see how much food I ate?? I couldn’t eat one more thing after that dinner.

I had such a fun time in Texas but I can’t wait to get back home to Idaho. I’ll see you all soon!

Flat Tanner

We Survived!

Over the past week, 8 Tornados have touched down here in the DFW Metroplex. Below are some of the pictures of the damage. That's baseball-sized hail! This Tornado touched down about 2 miles from where we live and it was a little too close for comfort!

Happy Easter from the Pancheri's!

Happy Easter wishes to all! Just a couple of pics to share with you!

Zoe loves the beaters -- and has a special affinity for the brownie ones!

Tanner and Zoe Easter morning

(Zoe was already on her third bag of skittles and her second Reeses Peanut Butter Egg)

She just looks like a sweet little thing in this picture -- deceiving, isn't it!

Silly Stuff from the Farm

I was just organizing a few snapshots on my computer and ran across a couple recent photos that might prove entertaining! Hope all is well with everyone!

Welcome to Redneck Country

We've been trying to convice Tanner and Zoe that this is the result of FAILURE to brush one's teeth! Zoe found these in my make-up drawer and put them in herself, we couldn't resist a quick pic!

Be Prepared!

This picture was taken on our first 74 degree day here in Nampa. I was in the family room folding clothes and next thing I know, Zoe comes out in her boots, mittens and hat and says, "I goin' outside to work on the tractor." Needless to say, I guess my constant nagging during the winter finally sunk in, just in time for shorts and t-shirts!

Never question a pregnant woman's repair skills!

Pregnant washing machine repairwoman available for replacing lid sensors on any Kennmore Washing machine! Due to an unbalanced load, the sensor broke off inside the washer. The kicker was that Tanner had no clean pants for school the next day so I ran into the repair center and at 4:55 p.m. (they close at 5:00 p.m.) a little old man sold me a very expensive sensor and said, "you're not going to do this yourself, are you?" I took it as a challenge and 4 hours later after I had dismantled the electronics, removed the case and replaced the sensor, Tanner's pants were in the wash!

Pancheri Clampetts go to Disneyland . . .

I'm still a little challenged with this blog thing -- the pictures didn't upload in the right order, but since it took 60 minutes to get them on the post, I'm going to leave well enough alone!! Congrats to Matt on your MPA and new job!!

Pancheri Clampetts go to Disneyland

(In Pictures!)

Nate and Zoe enjoying the Ladybug Ride (Kids version of the Teacups, I guess)

Tanner and Nate in front of California Screamin' -- Tanner loved it until the 4th trip and then he almost lost his cookies!

If the California Screamer didn't make him lose his cookies, the pickled octopus from Fisherman's Wharf on Monterey Bay should have!

YUM, YUM!!!

Zoe's entire trip was made when the love of her young life, "Lightening McQueen" rolled onto the scene. As you can see, she was mesmerized and ruined everyone else's photo ops because she simply wouldn't leave the car alone. She kept patting the car and saying,

"I uv oooh, 'itin kween"!

I finally persuaded her to at least move to the back of the vehicle. But, for the record, an hour long crying tantrum ensued when Lighting McQueen had to leave the scene!

Another one of Zoe's favorite rides and one of the few that the pregnant mom could join her on (besides It's a Small World -- and I could only handle that song once!!)

Yes, it was an adventure taking a two year old on a 16 hour road trip and then dealing with the whole "sensory overload" at Disneyland, but I'm sure my trauma will fade as time goes on. (Kind of like women who decide to have more kids after they forget about how much "fun" labor can be!) There were lots of smiles on Tanner & Zoe's part, so I guess in the end, it was worth it!