Happy Birthday Bro!

What can I say about my loveable, huggable brother-in-law?

Jason and I go way back (about 30 years maybe) and that would make us how old? Jason is the cousin of my BFF Lorain, so we spent loads and loads of time growing up together. Then I go off to the military and lo and behold he marries my sister.

When I think of Jason I think of…

…Running around the Priest Lake Sawmill. What were our parents thinking???
…Pigs, pigs and more pigs. How much money did you make anyways?
…Broken arms and football. Enough said.
…Many broken hearts trailing behind you.
…A bear hug that could crush ribs.
…A brother that can put me in my place without losing his smile.
…A wonderful dad!
…An excellent teacher!

But most off all, he is the man who makes my sister happy. We are so blessed to have you as part of our family. Happy Birthday Jason!

Presents, Puppies and the Ugly Sweater Contest

We had a great Christmas vacation. It was a bit of a whirlwind, but loads of fun. We drove to Missoula and spent Christmas Eve with the Strongs. Then it was off to Coeur d'Alene for Christmas with the Workmans. There were lots of kids running everywhere, plenty of noise, and loads of good treats. I am still not sure how Ashlee escaped the picture below...but somehow...

The girls had a blast opening presents. Kendall was Uncle Roy's little Elf this year. I think her favorite part was passing out the gifts!

Kevin even won top prize at the annual ugly sweater contest. He wore his lovely sweater with pride and took home the grand prize of twix and reeses plenty packs. Way to go honey!

One of the sweetest gifts this year went to Hallie. She received a Pomeranian puppy this year. "Beau" is almost 2 years old and quite a beauty. He did not live up to his reputation and refrained from yipping the whole weekend.

One of my favorite moments of the weekend occurred when we arrived at my mom's house. The last time that Sidney had been there, she was probably only 9 months old??? When we arrived all of our arms were loaded. Before we had a chance to put anything down, Sidney was climbing up the stairs directly to the "grandbaby" room. This is the room where mom keeps all of the toys, etc. She climbed onto the little table and chair set and started playing with the little keyboard up there. Did she remember this from her last visit? The answer to that may always remain a mystery. But one thing is for certain, those little buggers are a lot smarter than we think.

Kendall stayed overnight with her cousin Hallie. Thankfully, there was not a tear-filled call in the middle of the night. In fact, she did not seem to miss us at all. Hmph!

It was a great holiday and I am so glad that we made the trip. Thank you to everyone for making it so memorable. Kevin thank you for getting us there and back safely. This was a milestone trip, as we made it there and back without a speeding ticket. WOOHOO!

Happy Birthday Pops!

My dad is one of the most focused people I know. He never does anything half-heartedly:

If he is going to run, he does a marathon.
If he is going to do a triathlon, he does the Ironman.
If he is going to get thrown off a horse, he ends up in a cast up to his hip.
If he is going to hunt, he bugles them in and hunts with bow and arrow.
If he is going to lay brick, he does a masterpiece.

I am sure you get the picture. Growing up, I always appreciated the honesty and wisdom that my dad was willing to share with me. To this day if I want empathy, I call my mom. If I want a kick in the rear, I call my dad. He has always been so real and straight with me. It is refreshing.

I am so proud of my dad and all of the things he has accomplished. He has done things that many people would not even attempt to try. He instilled in me the belief that nothing is out of my reach.

Most of all, I am thankful that he put his family first. My dad was a young father, so I distinctly remember him making difficult decisions so that his family could succeed. Thank you Dad.

He also set a great example of how a woman should be treated. He has always treated my mom with the greatest amount of respect. No matter what the situation – he would back her 110%.

Happy Birthday Dad. You are without a doubt the best father (and grandpa) a girl could ask for!

Silence CAN be golden.

This morning Kendall went into her bedroom and shut the door. My first thought was "YES, silence". But as the minutes ticked away and silence continued to emit from the room, my thoughts turned to images of permanent marker pictures on the wall, or lipstick all over her body, or haircuts ala toddler. Eventually my curiosity got the best of me and I opened the door to find this...She was playing with her flashcards. Who knew...silence CAN be golden. So, I quickly told her that I was going to shut the door so she could finish playing. Phew...don't want to ruin that silence.

We had my work Christmas party this weekend. It was a family affair. Here is a picture of Sidney accessorizing before the party.Santa even made an appearance at the party. Despite all of the girls attempts at getting on the naughty list, apparently Santa thought they had been pretty good. Sidney was not about to sit on the Jolly man's lap. Who can blame her? She did quickly learn the fine art of gift opening. I think she was more entertained by the box than the present inside.

Kendall got over her fear of the big fellow and even went back for a second sit on his lap to chat about all of her Christmas wishes.

All of the kids spent the evening dancing the night away. Desiree - I caught a picture of Miley in all of her dancing glory. Talk about a dancing diva.Kevin took this picture of Kendall in our front yard. Every night when we get home from work, she insists on going out front to see Santa and Teddy. At her rate of growth, she may just be taller than these guys next year!

Bring on the Starbucks!

We had our first sleepover last night and have affectionately decided that two children are plenty! It was quite a fun event filled with games, pizza, baths, breakfast and movies. All of these things contributing to the Venti coffees I just picked up for Kevin and I. Mine has already been consumed, and I am asking myself how much coffee is too much as I contemplate running for another. In an attempt to capture a picture of all the kids, this is what I got:It really was a good time. Kevin and I even managed to squeeze in a movie of our own as the kids watched Ice Age 3 (Eli's pick). Movies...they are a parents best friend. Look at the peaceful gaze on all of their faces. Whoever said that too much TV was bad - clearly - does not have children.
My favorite part of having other kids over is to watch my girls interact with their friends. The stories they tell (Kendall mostly), and the things that I realize are important to them. It is sweet to see Kendall's big grin as she tells them "this is my____". And, "I will get cereal for everyone mommy".

This week Sidney has decided that she wants to go down the stairs on her bottom as opposed to sliding down on her tummy. SCARY. The first time she did this I just about had a heart attack. All I could envision was head over feet somersaults down the stairs. Hopefully, she can do this without too many tumbles. She is a pretty careful little girl (unlike our other monkey). She has also found her new hangout place:

It is amazing how fast they grow! On a different note, we have had a lot of snow falling in Boise. Alright it is nothing compared to our family up North, but we are enjoying it. Our neighbor got a new plow for the front of his four wheeler, and we have been fortunate enough to reap the rewards of his excitement. Thank you Rich!

Happy Birthday Kevin!

I do not even know where to begin. Kevin is undoubtedly one of the awesome men I know. After all he has put up with me for 12 yearsJ So here goes, my top ten list:

1. He puts the toilet seat down.
2. He is a romantic at heart and has NEVER forgotten a Birthday or Anniversary.
3. He has never hesitated to tell me the truth no matter how much it might sting.
4. He will go visit my parents even when I am not with him.
5. He has never “let me” win at anything. He will make it a good game, but if I win it is legit!
6. He has always been my biggest fan and has never doubted me for a second.
7. He is passionate about what he does. This one drives me crazy at times, but ultimately I think it is amazing.
8. He has endured countless questions of “Does this make my butt look big?”J
9. He does not care what my hair looks like or if my clothes are trendy (although he DID put his foot down when I wore red sweatpants with a purple shirt).
10. He is the most amazing, consistent, tender, funny, caring, loving father there is!
Happy Birthday My Love!

Happy Birthday Terrell!

For those who do not know already, Terrell is my mother-in-law. For many people that brings up images of “Everybody Loves Raymond”. Not for me. Terrell is the best mother one could ask for. We have been through many things together. She has supported me fiercely as I stumble through marriage and motherhood. One memory I have of Terrell was when she came to visit right after Sidney was born. She was looking to help out. So I thought of our shared love for cooking and asked her if she would bake a few dishes to freeze. She browsed through one of my cookbooks and off to the store we went. She seriously spent an entire day chopping, mixing and sautéing. By the end of the day, my freezer was full. As most new mothers can understand, I was VERY grateful!

Another time I recall is when she came to stay with us in California while Kevin had surgery. We spent 2 weeks at USC Medical Center leaning on each other. That was a very difficult time for all of us and having her there meant the world. It was also during that visit that Terrell and Kevin’s Aunt Sherry talked my way out of a traffic ticket. Now that was impressive.

She has taught me so much about hospitality, kindness and tradition. We are very different in many ways, but she has embraced me for who I am. She has allowed me to make mistakes along the way without watching through critical eyes. I am very lucky to have such a woman in my life. And, my girls are fortunate to have such a wonderful, loving, Grandma!!!

"Black Sunday"

As my sister and I (and Kevin) were standing in line at the absurd hour of 4:30am on Friday, we began to ponder where the term "Black Friday" came from. We were coming up with a lot of ridiculous ideas, when the lady behind us was kind enough to interject. She told us that black Friday refers to the day when retailers go from the RED to the BLACK on their accounting books.

I have a different sort of holiday on Thanksgiving. I refer to it as "Black Sunday". The day in which everyone leaves to go home. It is a very sad day! The house goes from stuffed to the gills and noisy to empty and quiet. UGH.

Speaking of Black Friday, we did score lots of loot. Most of it I cannot mention due to sworn secrecy. But, we did get ALMOST everything we wanted. The one item we did not get was a real bummer. Apparently Target had maps. We did not get one of these maps because we were not there early enough. Let me tell you, the line at Target was seriously wrapped 3/4 of the way around the building. So as Kevin ran to electronics, my sister and I watched carts full of "the item" passing by. Unbenownst to us, they had the item set up in the women's apparel department. Go Figure!

This was the first year that I decided to brave Black Friday and I must say, it was a blast. Everyone seemed to be in great spirits. I did not witness any fist fights or hair pulling. My sister does have a nice bruise on her heel from repeatedly being run into by shopping carts.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots of food, family and friends. Sidney is now up to 7 words. Let me see if I can remember them all: mama, dada, Emma (her dolly), banana, bye-bye, up, and Papa. Grandma is pretty bitter that Papa keeps getting first billing.

The one part of our holiday that was not quite complete was the absence of one our of "regulars". Terrell was not able to make it this year. GRRR! Her coworker decided to snatch the day off after Thanksgiving, so she had to work. The nerve:) We all really missed her. Black Friday was just not complete without her!

The scene of the crime

Here is a picture of the scene of the crime. What crime am I referrring to? The crime of the missing cherry cobbler.
When I came in from my morning walk, Kendall was bouncing off the walls. Kevin even made the comment that maybe she should have gone on a walk with me or maybe she should go run a few miles. As I was getting ready, she came into the bathroom and said "this is sticky mommy" pointing to a spot of red gooiness on her pajamas. As I leaned in for inspection, I asked her where the cherry cobbler that was on the counter had went. It was in her tummy, of course. She quickly followed with "I could not get the bagel bag open, mommy". Makes sense to me and it solved the mystery of why she had so much extra energy. Let the holidays begin!

The concept of time

My dear Kendall woke up at 5:10 am this morning. I was down having my first cup of coffee (crazy I know), when I heard this cheery voice. "Good morning...I don't wait for Hallie to come". I think what she meant was "I cannot wait for Hallie to come". Hallie is Kendall's older cousin whom she adores. This was followed by "I will watch out the window for her car". That was all she talked about all morning. My efforts to explain "not today honey, next week" were lost.

Just last night we had told her that her cousin Hallie was coming next week. Next morning, next week, it is all the same to a 2 year old.

Here is a picture taken at approximately 5:15 this morning. Don't you wish we all woke up this happy? Apparently she is very excited about Thanksgiving and family coming to visit.
One more thing to add. As Kevin was telling Kendall everyone that was coming for Thanksgiving, he accidently left Papa off the list. But no worries, Kendall quickly corrected him. "...and Papa too?" Cannot wait to see you guys!

...Twelve

Becky asked me last night about the number of teeth that Sidney has. So, what did I do when I got home? ...count them. She has twelve chompers. Beware!

We had a great time last night. We went to our friends, the Brandt's, for dinner. The Parson's were there also. Kevin said it best "Times sure have changed since three years ago." When we get together now there are 4 little rugrats running around with one more on the way (courtesy of the Parson's). The girls seemed to have a great time. This was evidenced by Kendall sleeping in until 7am. WOW! I did see a couple of flashes last night, so hopefully Kristin or Becky captured the moment. I was not thinking ahead.

Kevin and Kendall spent the morning putting the lawn furniture away.While Sidney and I cleaned up (aka: stayed warm) inside.

I am including the picture below just because I think sidney looks adorable in her little outfit. I estimate that I have at least 6 more months of dolling Sidney up before she decides that she will be picking out her own outfits:)

He's home, He's home!!!

I may just be shot for posting that picture, but I tried to get him to smile - Really! After a long string of tournaments and Guard weekends, Kevin is finally home for the weekend. It is nice to have him home. From what we are told, he can put in his retirement paperwork in a few weeks for the Guard. We hear it is quite a long process, but what would one expect from the government?

A few months ago we thought he might be staying in for awhile. The C-130's were going to be recommisioned for a new flying mission. As it turns out, that is probably going to happen but about 2 years later than we had hoped. In the meantime, Kevin has taken a temporary position in the Audio-visual department (AKA base theater). No matter how much "Oh this could be kind of cool" talks we have had, the excitement has never produced itself. Retirement is looking pretty good!

So, what did we do on a weekend with Daddy home? A whole lot of nothing (at least that is what Sidney would tell you). She stayed in her pajamas ALL day yesterday. The little cutey has started this very annoying habit of screaching. The mouth opens and it comes from the back of her throat. It is very LOUD. She does this whenever she is upset. Think nails on the chalkboard:) It has motivated Kevin and I to really start working with her on words. However as most parents of young ones know, it is not entirely up to us...

On one hand, it is really neat to see her personality emerging. She is so easygoing that it is somewhat humorous to see her stating her position. We have been trying REALLY hard not to laugh and encourage the screaching, but sometimes it is too hilarious.

Miss Kendall and I went to the mall on Friday night. We had a good time. She is very into "walking" now. So, I let her walk. She did great except for one minor incident. At one point we were walking along and out of nowhere she slid face first onto the floor - no obstacles in her way. I could hear the sharp intake of people around us. It definitely looked like it hurt. Kendall jumped up, shook her shoulders, brushed her hair from her face and said "WOOPSIE". That's my girl. She definitely takes after her Aunt Stephie in the grace department:)

What do you get when you let a toddler try to take a picture...

Pretty good for the first time - don't you think???

Pridefully Opposed - No More!

Below is my new minivan! What??? Yes, a minivan. All the years of saying "I will never own a minivan" and look what happened. I LOVE IT.

And the girls love it too...Kendall in particular thinks we are pretty cool in our new hooptie!
It has a DVD player in it, so as we were heading to Trunk or Treat last night the girls watched their new Clifford Video from Grandma T. My favorite part is the leather seats, so easy to clean. We are styling now:)

For Grandma Karen, here is a picture of Sid in her birthday outfit.

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

To my crazy, wild haired, fun loving, speed talking, fly by the seat of her pants sister. You are my best friend in the entire world. There is no one on earth that has stood by me through thick and thin like you have. As the pillow you gave me so appropriately says "I love you because you're my sister, I laugh because there is nothing you can do about it".

Thank you for the great example you have given me on how to be a better mom. I have learned so much from you.

Thank you for making me laugh so hard I almost peed my pants when we went to watch "13 going on 30". I seriously thought you were going to jump in the aisle and start doing the thriller dance. Thank you for being my breath of fresh air. You have such a way of bringing light to the most serious of situations. Not to mention laughing in the face of pain (to the detriment of our husbands and father). I hope that you have a very special day!!!

A Little Piece of Heaven

Enough said.

A whole lot of firsts...

Well here we go. It has been a weekend of FIRSTS. For starters this is my FIRST time posting to our very own blog. I struggled with this for a long time. I am not much of a writer - never have been. One would suggest that is why I became an engineer. That being said, there is part of me that wants so much to share our lives with our family and friends. It is that part of me that won out!

Other firsts that we experienced this weekend...

Sidneys FIRST Halloween costume. Yes, I know it is not quite Halloween yet. But, we had the pleasure of going to one of our friends "costume" birthday party.

Both of the girls FIRST pony ride. Pictures of that will come later as I neglected to brind my camera. My friend has vowed to email me the photos.

Kendall's FIRST game of pin the nose on the pumpkin. My little girls WON. I was one proud mommy as the littlest one of the bunch managed to put the nose right smack in the center of the pumpkin (with a blindfold on).

Kendall's FIRST game of musical chairs. It was great to see her scrambling for the chair with kids 3 times her age.

Sidney's FIRST time at hamming it up for the crowd with her cute little self.

"Our" (by our I mean Kevin) first shot at raking up the leaves. Go Kevin! Here is a shot of Kendall planting herself in the middle of it.