Catching Up

I posted a while ago about how our computer was on the long list of things the twins have destroyed. We are still waiting to find a good deal on a possible lap top instead of a regular desk computer in the hopes that I can then take it and hide it and they won't be able to mess with it. In the meantime I am thankful for my smart phone and Riley's laptop from work that he has been so kind as to let me use the last work or so. But that's the boring stuff, here's what else has been going on:

Kendle started softball and so we are now on overlapping mode with soccer and Riley's high school coaching schedule. So far, no major mishaps or crazy scheduling conflicts. Helps that Riley also coaches Kendle's team so we can plan practices on days that work with everything else that is going on. Her soccer team has so far been enjoying another hot streak and remains undefeated. She's been enjoying attending the competitive league trainings on Friday afternoons and is looking forward to that starting after regular soccer is over. She's moved up to the age for softball where they actually pitch to each other, so this season should be interesting. Lots of ducking and evading wild balls I'm sure. Her team seems pretty fun though and her coach is nice and very organized. School is going good for her, she had another excellent review at parent teacher conferences and although it's nothing new, it is still nice to hear that your child is excelling and being a star student. Almost makes up for how they act at home right? She stays consistently pretty far above grade level in every subject and currently her favorite subject is writing. Anywho, we love her teacher and wish she could move up to 5th grade with Kendle next year. Kendle also loves their reading buddy days when they get to read to the kindergartners and anything else she can help with at school. She has made some new fun friends this year at school and through sports and just really enjoys life for the most part.

Morgan and the twins have entered the dirty season. It's starting to get nice enough to play outside a lot so they love to dig in the dirt and by the end of the day they all look like pig pen from Charlie Brown. I am constantly sweeping up dirt and doing laundry but at least they are happy and somewhat self entertained. I read somewhere the other day that little boys should play outside as much as possible because they thrive with touching, seeing, and experiencing learning firsthand especially in nature. I guess my boys have that covered! Morgan made a cute bird feeder at preschool today and was excited to come home and hang it up in the backyard tree. He has been anxiously checking it for any bird activity since then. He is also a flipping machine on the trampoline lately. He can do all sorts of tricks and entertains us. Cooper and Kale are SO close to being fully potty trained. It has taken so much longer with them because it is just harder with two of them, but I've tried to keep at it and they've almost got it. I think we need to throw a big end of diapers party here pretty soon! I'm trying to enjoy this stage of life with them, but as many mom's know the terrible two's can be pretty terrible at times. The only way to get through it most of the time is trying to laugh about the crazy stuff they do I suppose. Sometimes I just wish they could both be happy and content at the SAME time, they are always the opposite of each other.

Spring Break --- Her and Morgan both went to Seattle/Tacoma at the beginning of spring break with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law and some of their cousins. They got to go to the science center and the zoo and they had a fantastic time. Last Friday Riley took them on a fishing trip up past Dayton a little ways and they had a blast. They left super early in the morning while I was still asleep. Kendle was the super fisher and caught not only the biggest fish, but the most fish. Riley said she loved it and was so excited every time she caught one. Morgan had fun too, but most of the time would rather look for sticks or cool rocks. They came home and were very hungry, tired, dirty, but happy kids and I'm so glad they had a fun time to get away with just their dad. Later that night we took Kendle to meet up with my mom in Kennewick so she could spend the night at their house and travel to Portland with her the next day for my twin neice and nephew's birthday party. She had a great time seeing her cousins and having one last day of fun before spring break was over. I think the kids had a fun spring break this year.

 


I still don't have much "spare time" these days, but I'm finding that I treasure and enjoy our family time much more now when we are all busy. I'm also finding that I treasure and need my workout time to help me get rid of stress. I think Riley can tell the days I didn't get a run in because I may be a bit more grumpy! I feel like I've kind of reached a stale mate on the weight loss, but I guess something is still working because my clothes are getting looser. Someone commented to me the other day that my "skinny" jeans were looking kind of baggy. I think I lose weight from the top down and the feet up and then it all meets in the middle. The hardest part to get rid of. My mom and I were joking that we needed to market a new brand of jeans called "Big Waist, Skinny Legs". I'm hoping that now that the weather is nice I can take the kids for more walks or run around the track during Kendle's softball practice's. I can't wait to get out and get some more yard work and gardening done and do some spring cleaning to the exterior of the house. I just love spring and how beautiful everything starts to look. I miss the green grass and the flowers. I also have a long list of home projects I want to get started on in the next little while. I know Riley is excited for that! I think at this point he will be glad to do anything that doesn't involve fixing toilets. Ha, ha.

Christmas wrap-up

I am being such a big slacker about getting Christmas covered. Here is a brief breakdown and some pictures of some of the activities we did throughout the month:

Riding in a horse drawn carriage with almost our whole family to look at the Christmas lights at the Hermiston fairgrounds. My grandparents were in charge of the project and it was fabulous and fun. They put a lot of time and effort into it along with the other many volunteers, and my grandpa also received an award for his involvement and spirit of service. We fit about 18 people on that old carriage and going around some of those corners I just prayed we didn't tip over. The kids loved it and had a blast. Here are the cousins while we waited for our turn:

My mom and I took Kendle and my niece Maelin to the Mindy Gledhill concert put on by my friend Marilyn. Although it didn't receive the turnout and support it deserved, it was still awesome none the less. I could listen to Mindy sing for hours I love her voice so much. The girls loved it and so did we. She did a mixture of songs off of her regular album and then also some Christmas music. It was fun to have a girls night and listen to some great music.

Here are the girls waiting for it to start:

And afterwards at Applebee's for some dessert:

At our church Christmas party the kids had the opportunity to take a picture of Santa and let him know what they'd like for Christmas. Well, Morgan was really the only one to tell him that. Kendle opted out of the kid picture feeling like she was "too cool" for that and just wanted to go play games with her friends. I think these are pretty classic:

Always the ying and yang of each other, Cooper looks on happily as Kale fights to get away.

It's kind of become tradition that my family comes up to our house on Christmas Eve. We always take cheesy silly pictures and my sister wears her infamous Rudolph Christmas sweater. I think we all look quite festive. (And yes, Tam is pretty tall but she also has super tall boots on which is why she is towering over me.)

Tuck, Jim, me and Tam. They all make me feel so short.

This is a classic Tovey picture. We totally staged it, but our family is famous for having our eyes closed in pictures so it is quite hilarious to us. I know my friends will get a kick out of it as well.

My mom supplied the kids with some "reindeer food" so before bed on Christmas Eve they all went outside and spread it around our front yard.

Aunt Tamra was the only brave enough to accompany the kids and withstand the freezing cold.

Kale trying on grandpa's glasses:

Wanting to go home with grandma:

 

Cooper

Trying to get all the grandkids to pose for a picture:

That's a little better:

One without the twins who had reached their breaking point.

Morgan and Mo.

The Morgster

Since Morgan is obsessed with all things Star Wars, we bought the movies for Christmas. We had Star Wars marathon movie nights.

I only managed to snap a few pictures on Christmas morning. In the hustle and bustle it gets a little hard to remember to take pictures. We told the kids not to come in and wake us up before 6:30. Kendle came in to wake me up at 6:30 on the dot. No one else was awake so I decided we better let everyone sleep a little longer. Finally by about 7:15 or so I could tell Kendle was not going to be able to stand it much longer so I let her get up and help me get things ready. We turned the fireplace on, cued some Christmas music, got some cinnamon rolls in the oven and hot chocolate warming. By then, the boys had started to stir and sleepily came out to see what Santa had brought them.

Here's Kendle in front of the tree before anyone else got up:

And Morgan with his Darth Vader mask:

Yep, that's it. Pretty lame I know. Next year, I vow to do better with the pictures.

Some of the kids favorite gifts from Santa:

Kendle - ipod, light up boots, books,

Morgan - Star Wars masks, light saber, Millennium Falcon ship

Cooper and Kale - Trucks, back packs, play food and lunch boxes

For Kendle's ipod "Santa" wanted to have some fun with her so he did the old trick where you start off with a big box, that has another box inside of it, and another, and another until you get to the small box. We hid the ipod inside a pair of gloves so when she opened the last box she just stared at the gloves like really? All that for gloves? Then she felt them and realized there was something inside of them and started screaming. I thought she would catch on because I gave her little hints in her stocking with an itunes gift card and some new ear buds. It was so fun to watch.

Well, I think that wraps up most of the major parts of Christmas. Whew!



This Year

We sat down as a family on Monday night for FHE and wrote down some personal goals and also some family goals we wanted to try and accomplish during 2012.

*Family Goal:
Across the board one of our big family goals we agreed on was to read the Book of Mormon as a family this year. So far it has been quite a challenge to get everyone to sit down together, but we have made it 4 nights in a row so far and hopefully we can keep it up. I know it will be crazy once Kendle starts basketball and Riley gets into soccer season so we might have to read during breakfast or whenever we can squeeze it in if there are nights that don't work. I saw this cute idea on pinterest for some fun rewards when a chapter is completed.

Hopefully throwing some of these fun rewards in

will keep us motivated and having fun together.

*Fitness Goals:

Riley and I both set some fitness goals for ourselves and really want to go on a cruise or other vacation if we can accomplish them. (For privacy sake I won't put down what they were, but I'll just say we are aiming high.) I think that is some pretty good incentive to think about on the days I don't want to work out.

*Financial Goal:

We set a goal to pay off our cars. We are really close - so I think it is pretty attainable if we buckle down.

*Some places that the kids said they would like to visit for a family vacation:

Morgan said an indoor water park and Kendle said the Grand Canyon. I think the Grand Canyon might be a stretch, but who knows?

*Some things we'd like to learn or be better at:

Sarah - photography (taking more and better pictures and documenting them better in general)

post edit: I'm also adding that I want to practice shooting my gun more and get more comfortable with it.

Riley - Handy man skills

Kendle - Baking

Morgan - Fishing

Cooper and Kale - They obviously didn't make a goal, but I'll put down getting potty trained for them!

Some bad habits we'd like to break:

Sarah - skipping breakfast

Riley - losing temper

Kendle - talking back to mom and dad

Morgan - yelling at mom and dad

Some good deeds we'd like to do:

Sarah: Babysit for friends so they can go out without having to pay a babysitter

Riley: Help a stranded motorist

Kendle: Help an elderly person clean their house

Morgan: Take cookies to friends

And to help us with all of these great things we want to accomplish day by day, here is our new family motto that I framed and hung by our front door:

I hope this year brings our family closer together, that we learn to be more patient and kind to one another, that we grow wiser and learn from our mistakes, and most of all that we have lots of fun and make memories to last a lifetime.

2011 Highlights

I am really pumped for a new year of fresh starts, new goals, and new memories to be made. 2012 came faster than I anticipated, creeping quietly in as Christmas came and went in the blink of an eye. Before I get to some of my personal goals and also some of our family goals for the year, I thought I would first give some props to 2011 and list some of the higher points for our family:

*2011*

Sarah:

20 pounds lost and going strong

Celebrated 9 years of marriage

Treated myself to a new treadmill

Attended her first ever professional soccer match

Went to see Wicked for the 2nd time and loved it even more

Harry Potter

Turned 31 and feeling fabulous.

Riley:

High school boys soccer team won first ever league and regional titles and capped it off with a 4th place finish at state.

Landed a huge account at work that his company has been trying to get for years.

Took his girls club team to a college showcase tournament in Las Vegas.

Said goodbye to coaching club soccer. (for now)

Turned the big 3-0

Got to see one of his favorite soccer players of all time, Wayne Rooney score a hat trick in person.

Kendle:

Played her first season of basketball and loved it. Dad bought her a basketball hoop.

Played softball for the 2nd year in a row and her team took 4th in the end of the year tournament.

Fell in love with all things Wicked

Was the only 3rd grader in her school to receive 3 awards at the end of year assembly -- 2nd place in AR, Student Council, and an excellence in academics award from her teacher.

Got her ears pierced

Turned 9 with a fabulous girly bubble gum themed party

Rollerblades

Undefeated soccer season

Got to do some shooting practice for the first time on Thanksgiving

Mindy Gledhill concert

Santa bringing her a new ipod

Morgan:

First year of swim lessons and loved it

Turned 4 years old and couldn't be sweeter

Planted his own garden and actually got some peas and potatoes to grow

Got to go on a solo trip with dad to a soccer tournament in Seattle and get really spoiled

First set of stitches right between his eyes

Riding a big boy bike and almost ready to take off the training wheels

Taught himself how to do flips on the trampoline

Was the ring leader for sitting around the fire pit and making smores every night during the summer

Fell in love with all things Star Wars

Got to go hunting for the first time with dad and was a trooper

Cooper and Kale:

No more bottles!

Kale got stitches

Went swimming for the first time

Got to start going to nursery at church (not big fans)

Were my tomato pickers during the summer months

Loved the ocean

Learned how to jump on the trampoline and ride their little bikes

Ate 2000+ popsicles

Loved trick-or-treating

Turned 2 years old and devoured their cupcakes

Played in the snow for the first time

Cooper loved Santa, Kale not so much

Started potty training (yay!)

Family:

4th of July parade and BBQ

Beach vacation

New trampoline

Fire pit and smores summer nights

Family pictures

Christmas carriage ride to look at the lights

It was a great year, and I can't wait to see what's in store next!

*Tomorrow I'll be posting my personal and family goals for the year.*

The rest of the week I hope to do some backtracking and catch up on the month of December and all of our Christmas fun. I have lots and lots of pictures to put on here and get caught up.  

The Day After

I have to say, yesterday was one of my best Valentine's Days yet. Not because of fancy presents or a romantic dinner for two (although Riley did bring me roses), but I just thoroughly enjoyed being with my loved ones and seeing everyone trying their hardest to be nice to each other. The kids were all really well behaved most of the day. Riley out did himself on making dinner. He came home early to get it all going. Along with grilling the best savory pork tenderloin I've ever had {I mean really, the guy has serious skills on the grill}, he accompanied it with garlic mashed potatoes, caesar salad, and french bread. It was delicious and I think it would have been pretty hard to have gone out to eat and had something as equally yummy. I appreciated the effort he put into making it special for me and also doing all the cleaning up afterwards. Best present ever right there. We had a great time during dinner and lots of nice things were said all around. Yummy cupcakes for dessert and then I felt like somebody needed to roll me right into bed. It was such a pleasant and relaxing night that Riley and I nearly fell asleep while watching a movie after the kids were in bed. I love my kids and my husband so much, and I really felt overwhelmed by all the love they have for me. And that is what Valentine's Day is all about!

This morning though was another story.  I felt like I had a big party hangover from all the sweets and treats and fun that has been going on since the weekend, so a good workout was in order. I am glad to say I totally owned Jillian Michael's this morning. Oh yeah. Feeling good -- too bad Morgan brought home more candy from his preschool party today............I think we're good on sugar and sweets until at least Easter. :)

Thanksgiving 2010:

Snowy

Cold

Cozy

Fun

Delicious

Filled with good eats

Family

Laughter

Memories

Hugs

Babies

Full bellies

Wafting aroma's

Cousins

Turkey

Banana/Pineapple Slush

Mom's pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream

Football

Playing in the snow

Black Friday Ads

Contentment

and......

unfortunately a nasty flu bug.

I wish every Thanksgiving could be as perfect as this one. (minus the sickness of course.)

I was so thankful to have every one of my siblings home for the holiday. They are all special people to me. I'm glad to say we still act like a bunch of ten year old's when we're together. They are some of my favorite people to spend time with and I hope my kids will feel the same way about each other when they are older.

**P.S. I have some exciting news to share in the next day or two.

Break Day

It's Friday. What to say? The kids had yesterday off for Veteran's Day and today off for a "break day",  yes a four day weekend around here. Wish we had some exciting plans or a weekend away, but we are sticking close to home. Riley's team will be traveling to Federal Way tomorrow morning for their quarterfinals game against Decatur. The kids and I will be staying at home for this one, but my best thoughts will be going out strong all day long for them. It will be a nerve wracking day since their game doesn't start until 6:00. That is a long time to be nervous!

Our kids were up and at em super early this morning. I wish just for once that on a day off from school there could be some sort of quiet spell that falls over our little house and I can stay curled up in my warm bed for a while longer. Riley was up at 4:30 so he could leave by five o'clock to drive to Cle Elum for work this morning, so I guess I had kind of been dozing off and on since then. We woke up to a white and frosty front yard, but now the sun is shining bright and melting the frost away.

I'm trying to think of what I can do to keep the kids busy and occupied today so that I can get some work done. I literally have 101 projects and things that need to be started and/or finished. I had Kendle and Morgan bundle up and walk down to get the mail this morning since I hadn't checked it in a few days, and Kendle was excited to see the new Children's Friend arrive, so at least that is keeping her busy for now. The babies enjoyed a nice warm bath this morning and I think more water ends up out of the bath tub than in it. Now they are mosying around the house in their matching Batman outifts. Morgan is already asking if it's lunch time yet. It's not even 9:30. Could be a long day.

Well, time to turn some holiday music on and clean up the house.

Everybody's Excited About Something

*Riley's team moved up to number four in the state rankings - he's excited!

*Kendle gets her expander and brackets on tomorrow and she already knows what colors she wants - she's excited!

*Morgan gets to bring the snack this week for pre-school and since they are learning about the letter "D" we have something fun in mind - he's excited!

*Yesterday I received my tickets for a concert I'm super stoked about for one of my favorite groups - I'm SO excited!

*Kendle and I can now play duets together on the piano - so fun!

*Cooper and Kale - well, they are excited by just about everything.


Lots of things to look forward to in the next little while!

What's Going On

I feel like I've been kind of neglecting my blog lately, but I don't have much to write about at the moment. Not much of the exciting variety has been happening around here. Our summer has mainly consisted of lazy days, messy house, and a crazy mom.

Riley has been coaching girls club and high school soccer. We are heading into the last week of that and will have the month of August off. The Southridge girls won their tournament last weekend and that was a nice little victory for Riley going into his first (and possibly only) season of coaching them. He's been swamped at work as well and we don't see a whole lot of him. This week has been especially busy for him with meetings at work and heading up a project for his branch on implementing new selling techniques. When he is home during the evenings he's catching up on the lawn and yard work and trying to spend time with the kids. His ankle has been bothering him again and I don't know if it will ever heal up properly, especially as hard as he goes all the time.

Kendle took two sessions of swim lessons and has kept up piano lessons during the summer. She is improving a lot in both areas. She likes to play on the computer a lot so I have to make sure that she gets outside for lots of bike riding and playing in between. She has enjoyed visiting and playing with her cousins. She is really excited for school to start and be done with summer, but I think she secretly enjoys her lazy morning and has even started sleeping in a little bit. She's excited to be singing the national anthem at the Watermelon Festival next weekend, which is my hometown's summer tradition. I'm always surprised that she doesn't get nervous to do things like this, so I'm crossing my fingers she'll be ok. I know she will. She is as brown and tan as can be and would spend all day in the water if she could.

Morgan is an outdoors type of boy. Summer is the perfect season for him. He loves being dirty and exploring. Every day I can find him out digging in the dirt, looking for cool rocks, or trying to water the plants. He tries to be very helpful, although sometimes that translates into more work for me. :) We've been kind of going through a terrible 3's stage lately, but his sweetness still shines through at the moments he needs it the most. He is very charming when he needs to be, (reminds me of his dad). He has an incredible imagination and will play so well by himself. He loves to pretend he's driving off to work, killing bad guys, and driving tractors at the farm. He is going through a summer growth spurt and getting taller, we'll be shopping for longer pants soon.

Cooper is quite the mischievous little guy. He is always cracking me up. He gives me little smiles out of the corner of his eyes, is learning that it is funny when I tell him "no, no" and likes to try to pull things out of drawers. He hasn't been sleeping very good lately and it has been pretty frustrating, but I try and get through it with the best attitude I can and enjoy the extra snuggling time. He has mastered getting around the house with what we call his "injured soldier crawl". He pulls himself with one arm and gets from here to there in lightening speed. I don't know what will happen when he decides to throw in the use of his other arm. He absolutely loves bath time and is a champion splasher. I put him and Kale in the bath together last night now that they are sitting up so good and he splashed the heck out of Kale. Kale was not amused. Cooper is an enthusiastic eater and will clench his fists and start shaking until you give him his next bite and will even grunt if you take too long. It is quite the site.

Kale is still a teddy bear most of the time. He has been sleeping amazingly well. He loves to scoot up to me in his walker and just hold on to my pant leg or grab onto my hand. He's also crawling really well and getting into everything. I have to make sure the floor is swept twice a day now. Kale gives the best little smiles when he is happy and likes to put his little hand up on my face when he is drinking his bottle. When he gets really excited about something he will start jumping up and down whether you are holding him or he is standing in his walker. When he is sad he will say, "mama, mama" and have the most pathetic little face that will break your heart. He enjoys pulling my dishtowels down and taking off with them around the house.

Both boys are usually very happy little guys and love playing with each other. They have started waking up in the morning and talking to each other through the bars of their crib. They travel around the house together and will tag team me when they need a snack, coasting up to me in their walkers and storming the fridge or pantry the minute I crack it open. They make me laugh every day and are growing up so fast. They love cheerios, graham crackers, pancakes, bananas, oatmeal and rice cereal, veggies, fruit, mashed potatoes, french fries and the occasional taste of fudgesicle.

My summer has mainly consisted of trying to not to go crazy with being stuck home more and my house looking like a tornado has struck every hour. I love my kids dearly but I miss the freedom of being able to throw everyone in the car and go somewhere without it being a major ordeal that takes an hour to get out of the house. It's nice though to not have to worry about having a busy schedule at this moment in time and I know it will pick up soon enough in the fall. I love getting a free moment to sit outside with a good book and enjoy the sunshine. I haven't had much time this summer for gardening or much yard work, I only managed to plant a few little tomato plants and some zucchini and cucumber but that is good enough for right now. I enjoy sitting outside and watching the kids play and run through the sprinklers. I'm looking forward to doing some more fun things in August when Riley is done with soccer and we'll try to pack as much in as we can.

That's about it. Not much to report.

Rocket

For a fun activity to go along with our "space" theme this week we made a water rocket. It was a super fun family activity and everyone got a kick out of it. It was a blast. The best part - it was so easy to make. All you need is:

-A tall water bottle

-paint (spray paint)

-a cork

-a nail

-a needle and pump

-water

-something to prop your bottle up with

1. Spray paint your water bottle. This step is only so you can see your bottle better when it goes up in the air.

2. Make sure your cork fits snugly into the top of the water bottle.

3. Take a nail and push it (lengthwise) all the way through the middle of the cork. This is to make a place for the pump needle to fit through.

4. Fill the water bottle 1/4 full of water.

5. Push the pump needle through the cork and insert cork snugly into the top of the bottle.

6. Attach the pump needle to the air pump securely.

7. Turn upside down and prop against something to help hold it up. (we used the thing that wraps our garden hose up)

8. Start pumping and pumping. The pressure from the air building up inside the bottle will make the rocket fly high up into the air.

We went down to the soccer fields by the TRAC to ensure we'd have enough area to launch them off. We made sure to bring lots of extra water so everyone could have a turn. (Younger children will need help as it gets really hard to pump.) It was really hard to get a picture of one up in the air because it happened so fast, but here are some pictures of the kids launching them.

Riley filling up the bottle.

Kendle just launched it. You can see the water droplets flying.

Morgan got a chance to help too.

He loved chasing and retrieving the rocket.

Make sure you prop it up as straight as you can. This one was leaning and went diagonally through the air.

I give this project/experiment/family activity an A+!

Memorial Weekend

While Riley was coaching a tournament in Seattle over the weekend, I stayed at my parents house along with my brothers and their families that were visiting. It was one big party. It was loud and crazy but fun. We talked, laughed, ate, ate some more, ate some more, .............you get the idea. The kids all ran, jumped, yelled, and played to their hearts content. The kids love staying at grandma and grandpa's. One afternoon we headed to the park and played some baseball. It was so fun and I think my brothers and I enjoyed it more than the kids although I am mighty sore today. My parents have also cleared out a space for their fire pit up in the trees and it feels just like a real camping spot. So one evening we grilled burgers and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and the kids were in heaven. It was so fun. They made sure to give the kids really long sticks so they would stay far enough away from the fire. That was the only night I took some pictures so here are a few:


{Grandpa T. helping Morgan roast his hot dog}

{Morgan declared it was yummy!}

{My nephews Zack and Caleb}

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{My neice Moira and Zack}

{My brother Rich sharpening the end of the

willow sticks. A boy scout is allows prepared with his pocket knife right?}

{My brother Jeremy manning the grill. The burgers were delicious!}

{Morgan just being himelf.}

What a fun time. We came home all tired out last night! It was a great kick off to summer even if the weather didn't cooperate all that much.

New Week

{Peonies from my yard}

I am so glad it's Monday and the start of a new week. I definitely needed a fresh start. Now if I can just get the babies on board and back on a regular sleeping schedule we'll be even better. They have been getting both bottom teeth and have not been their usual happy selves. Riley is done with boys high school soccer, they finished out their playoff run on Saturday, so we are living the normal life for a little while. I enjoy the time I have him home to have normal family dinners, help with the kids and get cracking on the long honey do list that has accumulated over the last few months. :)

The weather over the weekend was so nice. I worked outside for a little bit on Saturday and felt like I got totally crispy. I had to remind myself that as I get older it's not so cool to get baked in the sun and get lots of sun spots and I need to wear sunscreen more. I love the warm nights and how it makes us all want to be outside playing and taking walks. The crickets have been chirping so loud at night we can hear them all throughout the house. It's kind of annoying, but at the same time I love it because it reminds me of summer.

This week we've got lots of things to keep us busy. Kendle has her first piano recital tonight at the church. She told me this morning that she had butterflies in her stomach. I asked her if it was because she was nervous, and she said no, it was because she was excited. We've also got softball games, doctor appointments, and some major deep cleaning to be done. We're also hoping to make it to the open house for the new Parley Street church building. I think it will be neat for the kids to remember what it looked like when it was brand new and we're anxious to take the little tour. I know all the moms are really pulling for a nice mother's lounge in this building. :)

Well, since I have one baby back to sleep I am going to get started on taming our wild Monday morning house and I am going to do my best to stay away from the yummy root beer float cake that is tempting me on the counter.

The Baptism - BBQ - Birthday Extravaganza

The weekend before last we made a trip to Portland to be with my family for the weekend. My oldest brother Jeremy and his wife Molly live in Milwaukee and their twins were getting baptized. Although it was a race to get there in time, we arrived with minutes to spare and it was so great to be there for their special day. They both looked so happy and we are so proud of them. {Despite our screaming kids,} I could feel there was a lovely spirit to be felt and it was wonderful to watch my brother baptize and confirm them both.

(picture via my brother Jeremy)

(Jer, Molly, Caleb and Alia. Isn't their family the cutest?)

After the baptism we all convened back at Jer and Molly's house. We had planned to BBQ and have an early birthday celebration for my dad who turned 60 today. The weather cooperated luckily and it was a perfect and gorgeous day. Jer grilled up some delicious ribs, burgers, and hotdogs. All of the kids had a blast playing out in their big backyard - they ran, jumped on the trampoline, played with the new puppy, climbed trees, played catch and completely wore themselves out. The adults had a blast eating yummy food, visiting, laughing, listening to my brother play and sing us some of his music, chasing kids, and holding our babies. My arms got a much needed break thanks to everyone there. It was fantastic to all be together, I think it has been over a year or longer since that's been possible. It reaffirmed to me how much I love and enjoy my family. We are all different and bring something unique to the group and we always have fun. On top of all of my siblings we also had my grandma and grandpa and my uncle Lester and his wife Jan and a few of their children with us. It was a houseful. When we all get together it is great.

We had planned on doing a little "roast" for my dad and have everyone tell their favorite things about him. Jer got out his video camera and recorded it I think. It was really funny and we laughed and laughed, I could barely breathe at some points. Some of our favorite things about him:

-Summer trips to Idaho where he would always have us stop at the same places (Crater's of the Moon anyone?)

-The fact that he can figure out how to fix anything and walk you through it over the phone if need be.

-He can talk to anyone about anything at any time.

-He can give you a full history lesson and then some.

Then what I didn't expect was that since my birthday was coming up, they all roasted me too. I think they went a little harder on me, but lucky for them I'm tough and I can take it. It was all in good fun. Everyone sang happy birthday to us and we blew out the candles on some cake. I don't think I ever get too old to like making birthday wishes. We'll see if they come true.

We decided to take some pictures while everyone was together and because our family keeps growing and growing.

(Tam, Tuck, me, mom, dad, Jim, Rich, Jer)

(9 grandchildren and one more on the way)

(Maelin, Kendle and Alia)

I wish we could have more days like that where we are all together. It gets harder as we all get older and life gets busy with kids, church, work and sports, but it is so worth the effort to make the time. Hope we can do it again soon! Thanks Jer and Molly for opening up your house and letting us party.

Long Update

Do you know the 80's song "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", I'm sure if you don't your kids do because if they're like mine they love the Chipmunks movies and listen to the soundtracks ALL of the time. I kid you not, that song invades my every thought and I hear it in my sleep at night - they have listened to it so many times. Anywho, that is what my life has felt like the last few weeks. Spinning round and round like a record, totally chaotic and crazy, but with a few fun things thrown in. I guess our family wouldn't know what to do with itself if we actually had normal peaceful lives. Here's what we've been up to:

*Riley*
Work, soccer, work, soccer, work, soccer, soccer, soccer. Usually I don't see him until he gets home after practice at night. Or after games, or after he's travelled really far from work. So we don't see much of each other during the week. Last week he travelled over 500 miles in two days for work. He is pretty much just going as hard as he can go every day to get everything done he needs to do and then tries to squeeze in some time with the kids at night if they are still awake when he gets home. I can tell it is starting to wear on him a bit and he misses being more of a part of the kids' lives and every day going ons. But he still manages to help me with the babies at night and the other little things that make a difference the most. He will always take the older kids with him whenever possible to give me a bit more quiet and I really appreciate that. He's looking forward to summer, BBQing, and a little slower pace.

*Me (Mom, Sarah)*
I turned 30 on Monday and feel like I have reached a milestone. I didn't feel good or bad about getting older, just glad that I am liking the person and place that I am at in my life. I have been feeling like every day is a marathon sprint to keep up and get things done. From the time I wake up in the early morning hours, until I lay my head on my pillow at night I just go as hard as I can to keep up with everything and everyone around here. I think there only a few moments in the day where I am not multi-tasking four or five different things at once. It can get to be kind of a circus at times, but also at odd moments it strikes me as hilarious and I will laugh out loud that I am making dinner, unloading the dishwasher, handing out snacks, pushing a baby walkers off my feet, answering phone calls, looking at homework, listening to piano practice and trying to catch snippets of the news to have some sort of sense of the outside world. Ha. The five o'clock hour 'round these parts can get pretty brutal, it would probably scare most people away with how crazy it can get. To me that is just what's normal at the moment and although I'd wish for more sleep I'm trying to relish these ever fleeting moments. No amount of preparation or organization can prepare you for the onslaught of what I call the 5:00 "cranky time" of the day. The kids are cranky, the babies are cranky, heck I'm even cranky. Once we get through dinner and clean up everyone is feeling much better and it's off to conquer another task, problem, etc.....Super human or super woman I am not -I just use super speed as a coping mechanism in order to survive. I understand a tiny bit more the term "survival of the fittest". I never thought I could be one of those tough pioneer wives, but now I think maybe, just maybe, I could hack it if I had to.

But, in my "spare" time I have been learning that the old saying "necessity is the mother of invention" still applies and I have made some great discoveries. I've mastered using Riley's big old smoker/grill which always seemed complicated and scary. Riley is hardly ever home during dinner these days, so what happens all the times I want something grilled for dinner? I had him walk me through how to turn it on and the other steps, and ta-da I grilled up some delicious dry rubbed salmon and veggies, and found out it's not so hard after all. I think guys like to make us women THINK it's complicated so we seem more impressed. :) Also the fact that I can't always run to the store at a moment's notice has made me more resourceful and more willing to try new things. I needed some tortillas this week and decided to try making my own. They turned out delicious and were pretty simple to make. Now I think I will make them all the time. Had I never been in that situation, I don't think I would have ever attempted making them. I've had more experiences like that and it's a good feeling to know I can rely on myself and come up with solutions. I realize my being "stuck at home" more these days has been a blessing in many ways for me and my family. On the TV front, one of my current fav's right now is watching "America, the Story of Us" on the History Channel. It's fantastic and so interesting. It is great for teaching your older children about major events in our nations history. As I get older I fall in love more and more with the history of our country and the people who sacrificed so much to make a better place for future generations to live.

*Kendle*
I would describe Kendle as a never ending question asker. I fear it will only get worse as she gets older. In her mind, everything deserves an explanation. She loves to be busy and have lots of things going on. She is always reading something, making something, or making plans for something. As I type this she is making a F.H.E. jar filling it with fun activities for our family to do together. She is really into telling jokes, but doesn't like it when we all guess the punch line before she's done. She had her first softball game Monday night and got a really good hit. I think she is more excited about playing now. She's been practicing for her first piano recital coming up as well and has her song memorized. I can't believe she's nearing the end of 2nd grade and will be a big 3rd grader next year. She loves to ride her bike and read, read, read. I can't get her new books fast enough and to her, one day of library at school is no where near enough. She is a typical 2nd grader- slightly sassy, growing out of everything, turns up her music loud when she retreats to her room, and thinks everything is hilarious.

*Morgan*
Morgan is good at entertaining himself. He plays well and has a great imagination at this age. I can't believe he will be turning 3 in June. I want him to stay as cute as he is right now forever. His little face just melts my heart. He loves going outside and right now the cool thing for him is occasionally getting to play out front which I usually never let him do. The other day I gave him a treat and let him eat it out on our front bench where I could see him and I swear that was the most blissful little boy in the universe. His back was to me and he just was rocking out and eating and probably thinking in his little mind, "this is the life". I love watching him because he relishes every little thing that we mostly take for granted. He is adamant about being on a schedule and it will be interesting to see if that is a trait he will keep as he gets older. A few weeks ago, our whole family worked out in the yard on a nice sunny day and Morgan had to have been the hardest working 2 1/2 year old I've ever seen. For over an hour straight with not one whine or complaint, he'd come along after we pulled weeds, gather them all up, dump them in our big garbage container and repeat; all the while smiling and doing a thorough job. It was totally amazing, and he does stuff like that quite often when I need help. I thought back to when Riley gave him his blessing at church as a baby and I specifically remembered him blessing Morgan with a love and desire for service. :)


*Cooper*
Cooper is so mellow and patient. He often will cruise around quietly in his walker without a peep, just checking things out. He is a super champ sleeper and always wakes up happy. He sucks his thumb only when he sleeps and can self soothe himself if he wakes up which is great. I love the way his little eyes pop open wide when he smiles at me and gets excited. He also has started doing this adorable little shy look where he will tuck his chin down and gaze up at you. He is rolling over a little more and starting to really like baby food. He doesn't get mad when Kale (who is quite the grabber) will pinch or hold onto him. He is just so good natured. He also loves bath time and splashing in the water. He only cries when he is really upset about something and will sit and rock with me at night. Quite simply he is a dream baby and about as sweet as they come.

*Kale*
Kale is a wonderful baby too, but he is a "now" baby. When he wakes up, he wants you to come get him NOW. When he is hungry, he wants to eat NOW. When he's mad, he needs to be picked up NOW. He is a feisty little guy, but also sensitive and gets his feelings hurt easily. When I'm feeding him a bottle, he will push and push his little legs against my arms or legs, or anything else in the way. He is a busy body and likes to jump - my arms get quite the workout when I hold him for long periods of time. When he smiles his whole little face lights up and his grin spreads from ear to ear and his little eyes twinkle. I can tell how much he loves Cooper because he will look around trying to find him. He likes to grab and hold onto him. He rolls over a lot in his crib and wakes himself up which is not great because he's not the best sleeper as it is. But he is a good eater, and happy most of the day. He likes to follow me into the kitchen in his walker and pull on my pant legs. I think he likes knowing where I am most of the time.

*Both boys are getting huge and are about 19 pounds right now. Good thing they move around so much during the day.

And that is just a little taste into what is going on with us Dodson's.

*More to come about our trip to Portland over the weekend