November 2012

My Small Group's Micah 6:8 Project

(Helping Out With My School's Food Drive)

 The Beginning Of Our Family Service Project

 A Tea Party (Yes, That is my son Asher wearing a dress!)

 Playing Outside on Thanksgiving

(It was  BEAUTIFUL Southern California day!)

 Building a Fort at Aunt Pam's and Uncle Bob's House

Decorating The Christmas Tree



October 2012

A New Project

 Eden's 5th Grade Language Arts Award

 Pumpkin Carving

 The Girls Made T-Shirts At Daycare (So Cute!)

 Halloween

 

September 2012

Final Beach Days

 Astro Camp For Eden

 Anniversary Weekend (15 Years!)

Asher's 2nd Grade Math Award 

 Eden Plays Soccer



Road Trip 2012 Memory List

1. Asher- What are those black things?    Us- Those are cows city boy!

2. Flying Red Jacket, Angry Mom and Dad

3. Us- Hey kids, look at that view.     Kids- (in patronizing voices) Oooooooo.  I could live here.

4. Melted red taffy in Josey's hand.

5. Delicious relaxation time reading under the redwoods at the campground in Humboldt.

6. Crazy Long Distance Bicyclists

7. Asher lost his camera, wallet, and jacket.

8. Cute Coffee/Gift Shop in Florence- Got my gift shop fix in 7 minutes.

9. Beautiful Scenery in Northern California

10. On Columbia River Bridge: Josey- I'm freaking out right now.  Eden- Are they working on the bridge right now? That makes me uncomfortable.

11. Korey (once we crossed the Oregon/Washington border)- Good. Now I can pump my own gas.  That's a weird law.

12. Disturbing Names Like: Lost Man's Creek, Dead Man's Cove, Cape Disappointment

13. Korey adding the letter "y" to words to turn them into adjectives: oaky, piney, wetty.

14. Bikini Coffee Bar in Anacortes.....Creepy

15. Listening to Everyone's Beautiful Memories about Mema: My Favorite- She washed Rhonda's feet.

16. Eden skipped a rock into Asher's face.  Trip to ER....not broken....relief.

17. Crazy Day Trip to Canada: a bus, running to the stinky sky train, Asher almost got off the sky train by himself at the wrong stop, we made it to the train station....relief, wait.....not relief.....last call to get on the train and we're not ready.....phew, we mad it.

18. Abby walked to the train door.  It opened automatically.  Anthony- Oh Crap!!

19. Trail Mix + Fruit Bars = Contraband

20. Du Bomp Bomp, Chick Chicka Chicka

21. Bowling Alley Fish and Chips.....Yummy

22. Lots and Lots of Beautiful Views: creeks, rivers, trees, coast.....love, love, love!

23. Korey- I actually like country music.....I secretly listen to it.

24. Eating so Much Crab that it Made me Full

25. Undergrowth- Thick Ferns, Lush Clover, and Washington Wildflowers

26. Trip Music: Fun.- Some Nights

27. Humboldt Gift Shop- Abby fell in love with a big stuffed bear.  She kept pointing at it and saying, "Bear, Bear."

28. Giggling at the parents who were pulled over cleaning up the mess their kids made after getting car sick.  Fast Forward 15 minutes, not giggling anymore as we were the parents cleaning up the mess our car sick baby made!

Rescue Puppy

He keeps things exciting around here!

There's never a dull moment with Asher!

August 2012

Welcome Home David

First Day of School: Eden-5th Grade, Asher-2nd Grade

Camping at South Fork



 



Awesome Kid Quotes #11

I had been telling Eden that I wanted the hat he won at surf camp.  He asked me why I wanted it so much.  I said, "Because I think it's cool."
Asher responded with, "Mom, you're too pretty for cool."

Escape Adulthood: Challenge #10

Create a memory today with someone you care about that will mean a lot ten years from now.

My boys and I spent the day at the beach together.  Just me and them.  This is a HUGE deal because they so often have to share me with their sisters who, because they are younger, usually get more attention from me.  We had a wonderful time.  We rode bikes to the pier, played in the water together, and sat on the towels and talked. It's rare for them to get my undivided attention like this.  It was so fun.  During one of our conversations that day, we were reflecting on all of the things we had done this summer.  I asked them what their favorite things was.  Asher leaned into me and said, "Spending time with you."

I have to say...I agree with him. 

 

Challenge ideas take from "The Escape Plan" written by Kim and Jason Kotecki

Awesome Kid Quotes #9

When Asher was in kindergarten, I received a call from his teacher.  She informed me that he and some other students were saying the phrase, "Kick his a**."  She said that upon further questioning, he admitted to saying that he was going to, "Kick the devil's a**."  She told me that she had to work really hard not to burst out laughing after that comment.  She explained to him that, yes, the devil is a bad guy, but maybe we shouldn't be having these kinds of conversations at school.

Wow!  I do not know where he comes up with this stuff!!

Awesome Kid Quotes #8

Asher's kindergarten teacher wrote this on facebook. (He is "other kid")
so I'm telling my class that we are all going to ride the bus to the pumpkin patch this month....
kid: even you? you're gonna ride the bus?
me: yep, i'm gonna ride the bus
kid: don't you have a car?
me: well, yes, I have a car
kid: how come you don't just drive your own car??
other kid answers: because if she was by herself, she wouldn't have anybody to play with!

My boy is so thoughtful and clever.

Awesome Kids Quotes #4

Best tattle ever. 
Josey came up to me and whined,
"Asher said I'm not going to Awesome-town." 
Ba ha ha ha!!!

What makes it even funnier is that fact that Asher really did say that to her.
Side note: Awesome-town is my dad's house.

First Family Camping Trip

OK.  So I promised more info on our first camping trip.  Here it is.  We had so many things go "wrong" on that trip that it is now such a great story.  I wish now that I had taken pictures of our issues so I could post them here.  Oh well, live and learn.

#1- Car Sick Dog: Daisy gets car sick.  So, on the way to the campground, Eden had to catch her...ahem...vomit in a plastic grocery bag and hold on to it until we arrived.

#2- Asher almost lit the Cleveland National Forest on Fire: Oh yes he did! Once we got our camp set up on the first night, Korey lit a camp fire.  The kids were playing in it with sticks.  It was all fine and good until Asher lit the end of his stick and proceeded to walk around with it, right by some trees.  Woo boy.  Our voices raised in unison over that one.

#3- Our Air Mattress had a Leak: That made for an interesting first night of sleep...or lack of it.  First, the mattress kind of turned into a taco shape, with Korey and I smashed together in the middle.  Then, Daisy proceeded to get into bed with us and bounced us all around.  Finally, we woke up in the morning with Korey's side almost flat, and Abby and I raised up really high.  Looking back, it was quite comical.

#4- Vomit Covered Baby: Our second night there, Abby got a little sick before bed.  I didn't think anything of it.  We put all the kids to bed, then hung out by the campfire for another hour or so.  When we went into the tent to go to bed, I turned on the light and glanced at Abby in the playpen.  She was covered in vomit.  Apparently, she got sick and rolled around in it.  It was EVERYWHERE; matted in her hair, covering her clothes, everywhere.  Lucky for us, the campground had free, hot showers. 

#5- Car Sick Dog, Take Two: Daisy got car sick on the way home, too.  Unfortunately, Eden didn't catch it that time.  We were literally pulling into our driveway at the time. 

The really crazy thing is, that we truly did have a great time and can't wait to go again.  Here are some photos of our good times.

Hiking

Tree Climbing

Playing

Cooking

Sitting

Reading

Would you like some toast with your cinnamon?

Um...that's a lot of cinnamon.

 

At least he made his own breakfast, right?

May 2012

Mother Daughter Tea at Mrs. Yolanda's Daycare

Abigail's Birthday Party at the Park

It was a beautiful evening, and everyone had a BLAST!

First Overnight in the Treehouse

Mother's Day at the Beach

The best way to spend mother's day is at my favorite place!

Memorial Day Weekend at the Beach with the Jackman Family

Duffy Ride with my Dear Friends

Joseyah Turns 4

April 2012

 Sick Kids....lots and lots of sick kids

Easter (we look so raggedy in this picture!!)

Visiting with Mema and Papa

Abigail Turns 1

Joseyah's First Trip to the Ballet (Cinderella)

Side Note: She talked the whole time: both during the card ride, and the ballet.  Oh, and every sentence started with mom-meeee.

Asher's First Grade Field Trip to the Zoo

First Family Camping Trip

We had a blast, even though we had some disastrous moments. 

But, more on that later.