Busy Day!!!

Today we had a lot of family fun!!!
First, Mike replaced all the boards that go on the frame of the kids jungle gym, making it much safer. We extended the height of the original walls and thickened the floor boards.
Ethan had a grand time playing apprentice to his daddy. Even when Mike used his mouth to hold a few screws, Ethan had screws in his mouth, too. More than once I had to stop him from applying nails to random places throughout the outside of our home. He was in little boy heaven!


Then we fired up the new firepit and roasted hot dogs for dinner and smores for dessert. This was sooo much fun! We've wanted one for years and finally gave in and got one. We are so thrilled and wish we would have gotten one sooner!!! What a great way to spend an evening! I still smell the campfire on my clothes as I type...=)

T-Ball Tuesday

*Ethans the one in the blue and white speckled hoodie, making it to home first*

Boobies

Danissa came in from playing outside with her siblings and said
*very dramatically* "GREAT! Now everyone knows what boobies are!"
I asked what happened....
Apparently Ethan said the word boobies to the twins, and that was just letting the cat out of the bag...

Phone Conversations

Mike "called" Cohen on his toy cell phone and had a very exciting conversation apparently...

A Coin In Your Ear

You know that joke, when you pretend to pull a coin from someones ear?
Well, Ethan walked up to me today saying... "Mom! There's a coin in my ear!"
So I laugh it off and go back to what I was working on...
Then he said "Mom....the coin...."
So I look...and sure enough...there is a little pretend coin that goes in
a "pirates chest" of playmobile toys he has....LOL

After some very careful maneuvering, we had a discussion about
things that do not belong in ears and up noses....

New Website Banner

I'm in the process of building a website, and in doing so, revamping/finalizing my ideas for logos/business cards, etc. This is the banner that I made today that will possibly be across the top of my website- when finished...
My friend Beth has been a great support in helping with ideas and letting me pick her brain a bit =)

Big Brother Envy

Cohen has been lovin' on his big brother...repeating everything he says (OH, GREAT!) and trying to keep up with him in every way....today he even dressed himself in Ethans clothes.... I'm so greatful that each of my boys and each of my girls has another one in the family to be close to!

Weekend Getaway

My inlaws rented a cabin in Ronald, WA (close to Cle Elum) for the whole family (them, mikes sisters family, and us) to spend Friday-Monday together. The house is built perfectly for large groups of people. We (us and our kids) have two rooms upstairs joined by a bathroom, and TV/DVD players in each room for some quiet time, when needed.
The kids have enjoyed having time to play together and very few arguments have erupted! Pretty good for 7 kids!
Uncle Danny read a book to Chezney

The daddy's had some ball time with the boys...

Grandpa Dennis has been playing kids music on the computer and singing with the crowd of kiddos...

The house...

The table built for 20!...

The bonfire that Grandpa built for the boys to play with....
This was just the beginning...this thing grew to heights you wouldn't imagine....

Speech Meet

Danissa did SO GREAT at her speech meet today!!! I was so thrilled! For her, this is a huge event...one that is painful to watch as a parent of a child that is so shy. For those of you that don't know what the speech meet is, the students at the school have to memorize a pre-approved scripture, poem, or fable to recite from memory. They are judged on different things like posture, voice, memory, animation, etc.
They recite their piece in front of their classmates, parents, and judges and then the top 3 students go on to compete against a school in Seattle.
Danissas poem is called:

The Little Whistler by Francis Frost
My mother whistled softly,
My father whistled bravely,
My brother whistled merrily
and I tried all day long.
I blew my breath inward,
I blew my breath outward,
but all you heard was breath blowing
and not a bit of song.
Then today I saw a bluebird
a happy young and new bird
whistling in the apple tree-
he'd just discovered how!
So quick I blew my breath in
And gay I blew my breath in
And gay I blew my breath out
And suddenly I blew three wild notes
and I can whistle now!

We're not allowed to take pictures or video during the recitations but I snapped this one right after she was done.

The judges scoring her...

Armpit-itis

Ethan has just been really funny lately...I feel like my blog has only been about him, but here goes another one!
I just can't believe that I already have a child in need of deodorant, but alas, Danissa has her own deodorant she uses daily. While packing today for an upcoming trip, Ethan grabbed a small travel deodorant and said "Mom, can I bring this in case I get whatever Danissa has?"...as if it's an illness or something. That just made me laugh!

T-Ball

Ethan started T-ball today and I have to say that even being a practice, I was so proud to be able to stand there watching one of my children participate in a sport! Parenting Milestone!
In practice, we:
Saw how fast we could run....(Ethan is the red blur leading the pack)

How far we could hit....

How far we can throw...(Ethans ball made it into the bucket!!!)

and how high we can jump...

Rain-man

I've decided that Ethan either has more indian blood in him than I realized, or he was a rain-man in a past-life. He has been sitting around lately (probably over the last two weeks or so) chanting random gibberish to the same tune over and over and over and over. It gets to where we finally have to tell him to stop...then about five minutes later he absentmindedly starts up again...then is reminded again and stops for good....for at least 1/3 to 1/2 a day....and then it starts again. LOL....how weird is that?!?!

Ethan turns 6!

Today my precious first born son turns 6 years old! I've had fun looking back on the past few years of pictures of him and just seeing how big he has grown. Those pudgy baby cheeks are gone now, and that blond sun-bleached hair.... but he still has the same mischievous twinkle in his eyes...

2006

2007

2008

Cupcake Reactions

The reactions from some of these kids were just hilarious. One girl never did warm up to eating hers, but the rest of the class quickly dug in after a few long moments of hesitation.

Spaghetti n Meatball Cupcakes

These are the cupcakes I just made for Ethans class tomorrow =D....I'm excited to see the kids reactions!!!

Why?

That's all I can say.....

Wedding Fun

I had the fun of doing another wedding with Mary on Friday. These are a few of the images I've gotten to work on...but haven't been able to even tackle a fraction of them. Still...just had to post a could of my favorites so far...

Sibling Love

I love small and fleeting moments like these....

Visiting Reindeer

We have recently had the privilage of reindeer visits....
at least....that is the conclusion I must come to by the amount of small pellet sized poop I've been finding in wandering trails through my home...
Or maybe it was Hansel and Gretel....trying not to lose their way....

Or...maybe...just perhaps... it was Chezney...potty training....
pooping in her underwear....and then dispersing them through our house as she meanders around....

Slumber Party

Tonight is Danissas first slumber party...and it's not here! It is her classmate - Jadens- birthday and so all the girls have been invited to stay the night. She was very confident that there would be no problems and wasn't even really needing a hug goodbye. My- how she has grown!
Even as painfully shy as she is, she definitely has started going on out her own a little bit this year and is gaining more independence and confidence by the day!

Mommy

Ethan told me today that he and Danissa would no longer be calling me "mommy". Apparently this is because a "mommy" is a person wrapped in white cloth, that walks around with red eyes. I informed him that this is actually called a "mummy". =)

Consequences- Trampoline Style

As many of you know, Ethan has already destroyed our trampoline...not really...but he did SHRED the protective foam that covers the poles that hold the protective netting up. So in one day (due to a variety of things) he lost privileges to leave the yard, to jump on the trampoline, to ride his new bike, and to use a pen.
As far as the trampoline goes, he is now looking for jobs (more like I'm looking for jobs for him) to earn the estimated $100 to replace the padding.
If any of you have weeding, smallish wood piles to move, etc., I've got a boy that can do it, and I'll be the one paying him...
Just let me know....
It is going to take a community to raise this child....

A Consolation Bounce

We had been planning a week long trip down to Disneyland and up the Oregon Coast, set to start at the end of this month. We were so excited but financially just decided this isn't do-able. Soooo, as a consolation prize to the kids for there tramendous disappointment, we got them a trampoline. In the pictures, the enclosure isn't on yet, so fear not grandparents reading this! There IS a great enclosure now securing your grand-kiddos from bouncing to broken bones!



I had to include this one....Danissa is rarely "goofy" and to capture it on camera is a once in a lifetime opportunity!