Photo Shoot

Last weekend my talented little sister Tamra did a little impromptu photo shoot of the twins for me. I had some really cute little Oregon State outfits for them to try on that my sister-in-law Debbie bought for them. I'm glad they wore them because since they were size 12 months I thought we had a little more time to fit in to them, but they fit them like a glove.


Taking pictures of two babies at a time is really a challenge, but here are three of my favorites:

(the soccer ball was just for Riley)

(Kale and Cooper almost 19 weeks)

Baby Girl's Getting Old

Today is Tamra's 20th birthday! How can that be possible?! I feel like I've fell through a time warp because I feel like I'm still 20 myself sometimes.

I really love this girl and admire her in many ways. She is creative, talented, intelligent, and interesting.

{Picture via her Facebook page -- taken at the Outside Lands Music festival in San Francisco. I love this picture and I think it looks like a magazine ad}

Fun facts about Tamra:

Her celebrity best friend would be Kristin Wiig

Loves Chinese food

Eats leftover mashed potatoes for breakfast

Is a trend setter

Loves Indie music

Majoring in Fine Arts

Talented artist, budding photographer, and interpretive dancer

Had a childhood crush on Jeremy Sumpter (from Peter Pan)

Can sleep (like the dead) till noon

Remembers facts and trivia like nobodies business

Has watched Newsies and the Sandlot 1000+ times

Makes friends easily

Fantastic with witty remarks and comebacks

Has a lovely singing voice

Humors me when I pick out future husbands for her

If I had to pick a piece of "flare" for her to wear it would say:

"I have man calves and I'm proud of it"

Happy Birthday Tam!

What I'm Digging This Week

*Mollee and Jakob's waltz on SYTYCD.
It is my favorite dance of the season and total perfection. Here's the clip. I think I have watched it about twenty times now. Also, Kathryn my favorite girl dancer, made it into next week's finale. Yay!

*Glee's Season Finale.
Could quite possibly be at the top of my list for finale shows with the perfect ending. If you missed it, you can watch the full episode here commercial free.

*I'm loving some of these senior pictures my little sis took for my cousin Mitch.

*My favorite werewolf Taylor Lautner will be hosting SNL this weekend. If you didn't see him on late night with Jimmy Fallon a few weeks ago, you must watch this clip. It is hilarious.

*All the help my husband has been giving me. He did baby duty yesterday afternoon so I could do some much needed baking and then took the older two out for the night to a hockey game with some friends who had extra tickets. I know we are both exhausted and it is hard for him to go to work after being up at night with the babies. I think he gets a super dad award.

*Kendle went to the dentist yesterday and is cavity free. That is a good feeling and sure nice for a mom to hear.

Free Advertising

Need some painting on your house done this summer?

(click on the flyer to enlarge if it is too hard to see, I had to scan it in)

My little sister has been working super hard, driving home every weekend from college to do estimates and try and get things going for the summer. She is getting great experience running her own business and learning all of the different aspects that go with that. Her area covers Eastern Oregon, but her crew can also do houses here in the Tri-Cities. So if you or anyone you know are interested give her a ring, the estimates are free.

Friday Photos

I was impressed with some of the art projects my sister has been doing in college and thought I'd share a few:

My personal favorite is the cow. How cute huh?

Happy Weekend, spring break is almost here!

*Birthday Girl*

I want to give a big shout out to my little sis who is turning 19 today!

I can still remember the day she was born - I was in the fourth grade and I couldn't have been more excited to be getting a little sister of my very own. She was the cutest, chubbiest little baby with big old dark brown eyes and curly dark hair. She was such a fun little thing to be around.

Fast forward 19 years and she's all grown up (almost). Tamra is such a fun little sister to have. We can laugh at the same stupid jokes and movies until we have tears in our eyes. She has an interesting mind, very creative and unique. We like a lot of the same things, but also have totally different tastes on others and that's OK. It keeps things from getting boring. She's very goal oriented which is something I greatly admire - if she sets her mind on doing something she's going to see it through until it happens.

Here are some more fun facts about Tamra, I took these from her 25 random facts page on Facebook so imagine her writing this:

*I absolutely hate scary movies. I don't understand why people like to be scared. It's not meant to be fun. It's meant to be scary. That's how people have heart attacks.

*Growing up, it was an unwritten rule that if you didn't beat me to the mashed potatoes...there wouldn't be much left. I always strategically sat/stood next to them so right after prayer was over I could go in for the kill. I always won.

* If I ate Chinese food one day, and Mexican food the next, and then Chinese again, and Mexican again....every single day...I would be happy.

* I looove to dance and I don't even care if I look like a fool...'cause I will do it anyways. I love to krump.

* It's rare that I care what people think about me. And I'm not just one of those people that says that to try to be cool...remember 'cause I hate when people try too hard. I just really don't feel like wasting the energy to be the way people think I should be. It's not worth it.

*When I was little I hit my head a lot, stepped on the same nail twice, fell off a swing set and cut my bum open on a screw, fell off the trampoline a time or two, crashed my bike over and over and over again, and shaved my tongue...just a few of many spazzy injuries. My family said I had Exploding Syndrome...where I would just explode and lose control of my body and whack into stuff. They also thought I was going to have some sort of brain damage...and I turned out just fine :)

* Mayonnaise just isn't right. It just shouldn't exist. Condiments freak me out.

* I'm honest, but I don't like to hurt people's feelings. I don't like to confront people because I think it's rude. If someone asks me what I think, I will tell them. If I know someone said something mean about someone, but it's unimportant, I wont tell them because I wouldn't want someone to tell me if someone said something mean about me. Stuff like that hurts peoples feelings, and I'm not really into that.

These are just a few reasons why we love Tamra. We think she's an A++++++++++

Happy Birthday!

Busy Month

I can't believe January is almost over. I love the Month of February because it seems like it goes by so fast and then it's March and we start feeling some spring weather. Although looking out my window today it looks like spring with the sun shining away.

Looking ahead at next month, here are some things that will be keeping us busy:

*February 3rd is Riley's birthday. We don't have any big plans, maybe just go out to dinner or something like that. I am really lame when it comes to having good birthday plans. Every year I say that I am going to plan far ahead of time something really cool, and then I never do. I think it is because I always think I have more time than I do, but February really sneaks up on you.

*February 14th is of course Valentine's Day. I got really spoiled last year, I think this year will be a bit more low-key. I don't know about anyone else, but I pretty much leave Valentine's Day up to my husband to plan. I told Kendle that she could have a little Valentine's Day party a few days before with a few friends from school and she is really excited about that. They can decorate cookies, make some Valentine's, and be silly girls.

*February 18th is my little sis's birthday. She's going to be 19 which is so crazy to me. She can't be turning 19 because that would mean that I am going to turn...................gasp.................29 this year! I still picture her running around with her little rug-rat neighborhood friends and getting into my makeup. Just kidding Tam. I will always remember what a cute little girl she was with her chubby cheeks and glossy, curly black hair. Oh wait, until she chopped it off and had to have it cut like a boy all because she wanted bangs. Ha! OK, I will stop razzing her now - but it is so fun.

*February 20th is my awesome sister-in-law Debbie's birthday. She is one cool chick and lots of fun to be around. As a girl in a family with lots of boys growing up, I always wanted more sisters. I'm so glad to have two fantastic sister-in-laws now that help balance out the testosterone in the family. A few great things about Debbie - She's a wonderful listener, great cook, and a great mom.

*February 24th is the Blue and Gold Banquet for scouts. I have no idea what that entails, I just know I'm helping plan it - so hopefully that all works out. I don't think they could have found another person less knowledgeable to be over scouts in primary. I'm definitely learning a lot.

*February 27th - March 1st we will be here. Our anniversary is on March 2nd, and since that is a Tuesday, we decided to go before that. I am really looking forward to a relaxing weekend away. We have not been back to Coeur d’Alene since our honeymoon almost seven years ago. It should be fun and since I'm ever the list maker, I've already mapped out some fun places to go-see-do.

So if next month I'm running around like a chicken with their head cut off you'll know the reasons why.

Girls Weekend

Friday morning Riley's appointment in Grandview got cancelled so he encouraged me to go with my mom and help my sister move. I had about a half-hour to take a shower, pack a bag, and make sure everything was in order for me to leave him and the kids for the next three days. He's never had to be with the kids that long by himself, but he assured me everything would be fine and he felt confident in his fatherly skills. :)

I got to my parents, helped load up a few more things and we snapped a few pictures before we left.











(way to slouch down in this one to make me feel tall)

We caravanned down the road to Corvallis and made it there by late afternoon. The traffic through Portland was horrible so we didn't make as good of time as we wanted to.

Tamra will be living with one of her good friends from high school and their apartment is not too far from OSU's campus. It looks kind of old on the outside, but the inside looks pretty good. New carpet and flooring and fresh paint. Besides the ugly orange counter tops, and nasty cupboards, the kitchen isn't too bad and they have almost all new appliances. It is easy to find, and right by a nice little park with sand volleyball courts and softball fields.

(Gotta love college furniture)

We unpacked the cars and then started helping Tam unload her "stuff". We got the bed set up, furniture arranged, a few pictures hung, clothes put away, and almost all of the boxes unpacked in an hour or so. Not bad right? We were joking that if we would have had the guys with us, it would have been a million times more complicated.

We decided to take a break because it was about 100 degrees, and no apartments have air conditioning down there. The humidity was unbelievable and we were sticky and sweaty and we needed cold air FAST! Chinese food sounded good and we ate really slow to enjoy the cold air before heading back to the heat. We needed to do some shopping, and at least the car felt good while we drove around. We hit quite a few stores and got some big fans, which probably ended up saving our lives and our sanity through the weekend.

When we got back to Tam's apartment we were completely exhausted and ready for bed. My mom and I were "roughing" it and had brought sleeping bags to camp out on the floor. It sounded good in theory, but after about half an hour we were complaining. Then, just as we started drifting off to sleep with the fan blasting on us, the guys in the apartment upstairs decided to turn their music up and the bass was thumping so loud it sounded like they were stomping up there. So at one in the morning we were laying there, hot and uncomfortable and listening to loud bass. Oh, the joys of being in a college town. We were also sleeping with one eye open due to the large spider we tried to kill before we went to sleep that escaped under the baseboard heater. Yikes!

Saturday we did some more shopping, looking for cheap furniture and a table mostly. I can't believe how much Corvallis has grown in the last few years. We shopped all over Corvallis and Albany and then headed back to the apartment to help Tam's friend unload her things and put together furniture. Later that night we got a nice surprise that these guys were in town at my sister-in-law Debbie's parents' house there in Corvallis. They came over to see the apartment and then my mom and I went back with them to enjoy some cool air and watch the Olympics for a bit. Deb's parents are so nice, and it is great to have people like that close by in case Tam ever needs help.

That night my mom and I were drifting off to sleep when BOOM - a huge clap of thunder woke us right up and made us sit up thinking a bomb had gone off. There was a huge thunder storm and it poured down rain. Lightning lit up the sky and the apartment windows. It was nice to have some cooler weather rolling in and the rain smelled good. After the storm started fading away, the people upstairs (must be their one a.m. ritual) started blasting their loud music with the bass thumping away. It was a long night.

Sunday morning we woke up to some cooler weather, it was such a pretty day. There was a hint of fall in the air. I tried to straighten my hair for church, but the humidity and the curl in my hair just don't mix. I even used some non-frizz stuff in my hair, and it didn't help. We got dressed for church and took Tamra to the student ward on campus. We met the Bishop who was very nice and discovered his son is in my parents ward back home. It's a small world. The ward was packed and it seemed about 1,000% cooler than when I was there ten years ago. A super cute returned missionary gave a great talk (good first impression for my little sis) we enjoyed a somewhat strained version of "Amazing Grace" on the harp, and then listened to an excellent talk by their assigned High Councilman who encouraged them to befriend each other and become a close ward family while there at school. It was a really good meeting. One of the other really cool things is that the Institute is right on campus and when you sign up for Institute classes they give you a parking pass sticker for your car, so Tam can park there during the day if she wanted and be that much closer to her classes elsewhere on campus, and for all of the football games, which is what my dad and brothers really care about. HA.

I really love Corvallis, and I know that Tamra will love it too and have a fun time there. I love driving around and seeing orange and black, and OSU stickers, flags, and signs everywhere. I wish I could be as big of a WSU fan since I've lived in Washington for the last eight years, but I don't think it's gonna happen. My mom and I had a great visit on the drive back home and I knew my family had been missing me while I was away. I didn't get home until about 9:30 Sunday night and I was so excited to open the front door and give them all hugs. It's amazing what a little time away can do for your attitude and really makes you appreciate coming home again. My kids both looked older and Riley looked relieved. He had done a great job with Kendle and Morgan and the house was clean.

So now that I know what a great job he can do, I'm already thinking about another girls trip...............................

Lots to share, so little time

I have a ton to do today, but hopefully I can post a more in-depth recap later tonight about my weekend.

I helped my mom move my little sis down to college. No, I did not go to my ten-year reunion. It was a spur of the moment decision. Here are a few descriptive words I'll throw out there about it until I can wrote more:

-HOT

-77% HUMIDITY

-SPIDERS

-BASS

-THUNDER

-HARP MUSIC

-FRIZZY HAIR

-ORANGE and BLACK

I'm glad to be back in my air conditioned home!!! And yes, Riley survived having the kids by himself for three days.

Graduation weekend in pictures

Before the Big March:













With the kiddies:

Tamra was one of four speakers and spoke about continuing community service and involvement. One of their graduation requirements was 20 hours of community service, and she encouraged them to stay active and involved in making a difference in their communities, local schools, and families. It was an excellent speech and had a very good message.

After she received her diploma she posed on stage for a few pictures:

Trying to act composed now that she's a real graduate with a signed diploma:

Conspiring:

Her walking partner who was their class valedictorian and is a good LDS buddy of hers ( also a state champ wrestler) threw her over his shoulder as they were walking out and carried her down the aisle. I was laughing too hard to get any decent pictures of that.

Tamra and my brother Jim:

Kendle couldn't be happier for aunt Tamra:

The Whole Crew:

Proud Grandparents:

Happy, yet relieved parents. After 20+ years of that high school they are finally done.

The protective brother-in-law isn't ready to loosen up just yet:

Done with the cap and gown and blue and black:

Ready to take on the world:

The kids' reward for being good during graduation:

What a great way to celebrate!

When did time decide to speed up on me?

So I had to have a good cry this morning while I wrote this. I don't know what I'm more upset about, the fact that my little sister is old enough to be graduating, or the fact that I'm old enough for her to be graduating. Hey, wasn't I just in high school a couple of years ago? That's a big no, more like ten years ago to be exact. Since we're ten years apart in age, I've always felt very protective of her and kind of like I had to be a second mom.




























That wasn't always the best tactic I'm sure, and most likely she's sick of everyone giving her tons of unsolicited advice, and being the baby of the family she's had to listen to the whole family telling her what to do her whole life. Maybe that's why she turned out so well though? HA.













Over the weekend, we were just laughing about all of the accidents and mishaps Tamra has had growing up. Accidents from the trampoline alone could make a long list. It's a miracle she never broke a bone or seriously injured herself. She had what we used to call the "explosive" syndrome, where she would just come running, stumbling, and crashing into a room.











Funny, I think Kendle inherited that same trait.

She was a fun kid and grew up playing sports and was always very involved with academics and school responsibilities. Tam is the type of person that would stress out about getting an A-, she was always striving to be the best and stay at the top of her class. She's never been afraid to walk to the beat of her own drum and she is an original person not afraid to branch out and do something or wear something different. People really admire that about her. It's been an asset to her through the years as I've watched her friends go down wrong paths, and their clothing becoming more and more questionable. She's been a pillar of light at that high school and for everyone around her. Her teachers, church leaders, coaches, friends and friends parents respect and enjoy her. If there was ever an activity in question, most of Tam's friends' parents would call my mom to see if she was letting Tam go before they made their decision. That to me says a lot.


















Recently she had a pretty low moment where she was the last person up to bat in their state playoff game, and she struck out. She was so disappointed in herself and was so upset. She felt like she let her team down when they needed her the most. It was hard for me to sit back and let her have her moment of being sad, but I know that life dishes up some pretty mean disappointments at times and part of growing up is learning how to deal with them. This was one of her times and I knew she'd come out of it OK. In true Tamra fashion she stopped beating herself up about it and even managed to laugh about it a little. Life is hard sometimes, and everything doesn't always come our way, but we dust ourselves off and try to learn something from our mistakes and failures.

With her successes and achievements, it would be easy for people around her to be intimidated or envious but she is so humble and down to earth and will be the first one to compliment someone else for what they've done. Here are some highlights of her senior year:

-1st team all-league for Volleyball

-Homecoming princess

-1st team all-league for Softball

-Prom Queen

-National Honor Society President

-Presidential Academic Achievement Award

This is a girl who could have been studying Nuclear Physics or pre-med in college, (man, I wanted a doctor in the family) but has chosen to follow her true desire of art and photography. Having a photographer in the family has it's *perks* too.













I know she will do great things in her life and be successful at whatever she chooses. And even though she refused to change any of my kids dirty diapers for me, I still love her so much and will miss her being gone next year. I hope she still feels like she needs little old me and doesn't forget to drop us a line once in a while, even when she's having fun and doing the college thing. I know that little town is too small for her and she's dying to leave, but I hope she enjoyes her graduation this weekend and her last summer at home. We are so proud of you Tam, and we will always be there for you through your ups, downs and whatever.


*One last request, Father Time please slow the heck down.*


.

Family updates

Here are some of the latest happenings in our family:

Little Man, aka the Morgster, has started walking a few steps at a time on his own. He's getting a little more daring and independent and finding his balance.

He's becoming such a big boy so fast! He is so giggly and happy.

Kendle has been playing tee-ball and had her first games last week. She wasn't too excited for her first game, but I could tell during her second game on Saturday that she was enjoying herself a lot more. She got to play catcher for a little while and loved it and was running really fast around the bases. She did great.

I found out this morning that my little sis was crowned prom queen on Saturday night. Congrats Tam, wish I could have seen you all dressed up.

I'm bummed I haven't been able to attend as many of her games as I would have liked to since this is her last year of softball, but I was able to snap a few pictures at their game against Nyssa:

Her team beat Umatilla 39-0 on Friday. Yikes!

Riley's soccer teams are still doing pretty well, I've missed their last couple of games too because of tee-ball, but he continues to be passionate about coaching.

*picture via Natalie. Sometimes he's a little too passionate. I think he was trying to get carded. He's been so busy lately that he hasn't even gone golfing. (gasp) That' s unheard of for him this time of year.

I've been busy with the usual mom duties and running around. I just seem to chase after everyone else. Last week I planted some new flowers and did my pots for our covered patio out front. Not as easy to do with a 10 month old, but hopefully he only downed a minimal amount of potting soil. I have a few surprises this year, some of my plants that I thought just didn't make it last year are coming back. I planted a lilac bush last year that is starting to get some green. Oh how I love lilacs! I've also been trying to help Kendle with her song she is singing for the Talent Show, which totally reinforces the reason that I cannot teach her piano lessons myself. I have to pray for patience. It is coming along pretty well though.

~So there are just a few updates on what we've been up to.~

Terrific Tuesday

Today is bound to be a great day. If the weather cooperates that is. I will be attending my little sister's first softball game of the season. Tam plays center field and has an amazing throwing arm.

I love softball, it's in my blood. Always has been, always will be. I can remember the way my cleats felt in the dirt, and the smack of the ball in my mitt. Next year around this time, I will be suffering from withdrawals. No more softball to watch. Of course I'll have tee-ball and soccer, but it's not the same.

Kendle loves going to games with me and getting to see her grandma and grandpa. There are usually a few other rug rats to run around with too, so she has a great time. Morgan on the other hand, might be an entirely different story. He hasn't spent a whole lot of time outside, so he might not like it very much. Especially if that cold eastern Oregon wind is whipping us in the face.

Well, I have to go dig out my chair, get some warm blankets gathered up, and make sure my umbrella is in the car. Being a spectator is hard work!

*Enjoy your Tuesday*

Some of my favorite photographs

Not only does my little sis have a brilliant mind, but she is also really interested in photography and is a pretty good amateur. She is very creative and thinks outside the box. These are three of my favorites that she has done.

This first one she took a year or two ago of Kendle for a photography assignment or contest, I can't remember which. I think they were supposed to try and replicate a famous picture or other piece of art. I LOVE this picture. I have it hanging in my home. I feel like it captured Kendle in such a delicate way and I love that her hair and dress are blowing in the breeze. It is such a contrast to her usual personality. She was still a "wittle" girl then.



















This picture was taken on Christmas day as we were seeing my brother off. We were standing outside in the cold and I wrapped a blanket around Morgan to keep him warm. I was giving him a little kiss on the forehead as he was snuggling into me.



This is my favorite. She actually has this mounted on a board and did this one for a school project as well. I wish my sister could make me a duplicate to hang in Kendle's room. My sister loves Converse All-Stars and did an Andy Warhol-esque tribute to her favorite shoes. I look at this and it just shouts "Tamra" to me. I think a little part of her soul is in this piece.



Now that she has a new camera, I have some projects I would like her to do for me. I would really like to have some pictures of my hometown "landmarks" to hang in my home. If you've ever driven through Irrigon, (emphasis on the IF) chances are you've passed Fred's Melons, the old High School, the old little league field where I played years of softball, and perhaps you've been to the beautiful park there. Or to the locals "The Marina". Another project I had in mind was some family pictures maybe in the spring. (Hint, hint Tam if you're reading this.)

So even though I want her to be a doctor or microbiologist, I do love her photography and her passion for it. She has an old soul. Thanks for the pictures Tam and keep them coming!

Best News

My little sister called me last night to tell me she made 1st Team All-Conference! I was "woo-hooing" all over the house. This is the icing on the cake to what our family has been trying to tell her all along: that despite her lousy coach and awkward team mates she still shines. I'm so glad she persevered and kept a positive attitude. I love how humble she is and what a good leader she was to her team. Way to go out in style Tam, I am SO proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Homecoming Night

Well, Tam wasn't crowned queen, but in my opinion she was still the most beautiful girl on court. It was a huge surprise who queen was, but a good surprise because the girl is very nice. There was really only one girl that I was really hoping would not be crowned queen. OK, do I sound like I am back in high school or what? Really, this is not very important in the grand scheme of things.

The presentations were very well done, the girls rode out in a beautiful white horse drawn carriage and it looked very classy. Then they introduced each couple and read a little information about each girl and guy and what they planned on doing after high school. Tam cracked me up because she was the only one that gave a life-long description of what she planned on doing. Go to college, travel the world, write a book, own a bakery, and get married. I'm sure there were other things that I forgot, but it was so cute, and so her. She just stands out to me because of her confidence and maturity, and her definite individuality. And she was also about three feet taller than everyone else. She is 5'9 without heels and with them she was about 5'11 or more. In one picture I'm standing on tiptoes next to her and she's still inches above me. I'm glad she was able to have such a fun, memorable experience her senior year. She certainly makes me proud to be her big sister. My sister's dress was a really pretty green color, but in some pictures it looks lavender, not sure why. My coat that was also dark green looks purple in a couple of pictures too. Go figure. I think it had to do with the lights and the flash. Here are some pictures to enjoy:

What a fun night! We love our princess Tamra!