Happy Thanksgiving

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

DNA

"Mom, I left some DNA out in the grass." Reece tells me tonight. We were standing in the kitchen and he was working on making his dinner.

"What Reece?" I look over at him startled. "Do you know what DNA is?"

"Yep, it's stuff that's in our body." He says, not missing a beat. He looks over at me and smiles sheepishly. "I spit in the grass."

Grace's First Day

Grace at her desk.
Grace with her teacher, Mrs. Porter, outside her classroom.


Grace's first day of school.

I figure Grace can tell you better, about her first day.

A Bit About Each

Grace wore a shirt a few days ago that says, "Daddy's Girl". Reece, Madison and I were at school and Grace was to spend the day with her daddy. Mike had some errands out in Portland to do, so he told Grace to get dressed. She came out with her shirt on and told Mike, "See my shirt, Dad? I'm wearing it because I love you and this is our day."

This kid is insane. I dared him to run through the fountain. I told him, if he did it, I would do it too. He called my bluff and ran through it. Then, trying to really make me pay, he kept running through it and got completely drenched. He figured, that however many times he ran though, I would have to run through. I told him, this Mama only made one deal, he go through,
I go through. That's it. Anyways, I went through and of course, got pretty wet and cold. But, for one evening, I was a cool mom who still played around.

Madison is becoming quite the young lady. She has become a very good brownie baker. I love that I can ask her to make some brownies and she will go and do it all herself. She has opinions about everything. I love to go shopping with her and giggle when she heads to the sale racks to save money or will find coupon and pull it and put it into my coupon folder. She is a great help to keep tally of my spending when we grocery shop. She is very loving and affectionate.

Carousel

I have so many pictures of my kids riding the carousel. It's a classic, isn't it? Every time they come across one, they beg to ride it. Their faces still light up as they go around and up and down. I admit, they are getting to be a bit more thrill seeking, but still love the classics

Fall

As we are struggling to adjust to our new Fall schedule, we like to stop and take notice of a few fun changes and life steps.

The kids had their first day of school this week. It was a smooth morning, we all got up and dressed and out the door by 7:15. We had time to kick-off the first day by going and getting a coffee and hot chocolates at our favorite coffee house.

Mada started 4th grade and got her very first locker. She was so excited and has been thinking of ways to dress up her locker. She is excited to be going to school without glasses, this year. How wonderful it is for her to see. We love her nighttime contacts. What a blessing!!!!

Reece started 2nd grade. He wasn't thrilled about heading back. He would much rather be out riding his bike and climbing on whatever he can find. He is happy about the new playground equipment and has spent all his free time out there climbing the rock wall and playing army men.

Grace has an interesting year ahead of her. She will officially start Kindergarten full time this year. Her first day is Monday. Normally, Kindergartners get out at noon, but Grace will be staying longer and moving up to the Learning Center in the afternoons with all the 1st graders. She is going to be in PE and participate in the other activities the bigger kids do too. She is excited to be going to school, but told me last night that she doesn't like the work part.

Our weekends that we all have off are treasured. We have enjoyed going out and hiking this summer. On our last summer day together, we hit some more hiking trails and enjoyed an evening on the beach. On our hike we came across on old WWII bunker. They used to use it watch the Pacific Ocean for Japanese subs. Reece LOVED this find. Of course he found a stick and he was off in another world fighting bad guys. The girls got involved in his game and Mike and I sat back watching our kids run around and play, knowing that all to soon they will be too "grown-up" to pretend.

David Crowder*Band - Oh Happiness Live - Summer 2010

There's Grace

Our family's favorite song these days, is David Crowder Band's, "Oh, Happiness." The kids always ask for me to play that when we get into the van. Mike noticed the words," . . . there's grace. . . " and he started pointing at Grace. Well, it caught on, and now not only do we sing this song out loud, but we started pointing at Grace every time these section of words comes. She loves it.

I posted the video and song below this post.

Dancing In The Rain

We were visiting Bend on vacation. My husband and I decided a day of caching would be a great way to experience and explore all the many beautiful parks Bend has to offer!! Plus, it would be a fun thing to do with the kids. We started off our morning letting the kids paint ceramics with their cousins. It's a tradition for us to all go.

After they were done, we headed on our way to pick up the first cache, thinking we could probably fit a few in. Finding parking near the park was dreadful. It was a warm, gorgeous day and many people were floating down the Deschutes River, playing Frisbee with their dogs and enjoying the beautiful day. We finally found parking and got out of our car and started over the bridge. The kids climbed up the side to view the ducks and people on the river. A few big raindrops plopped down on us, but nothing us Oregonians' can't handle. I was quick to say that a little rain wouldn't hurt us and it would soon pass. Our gps set us right over to the rocks and after helping the kids up the rocks, the rain really started to pound down. We thought we could wait out the rain, knowing it was just a quick summer rain and would soon pass. The kids climbed under some big rocks and Mike and I leaned over them to help shield them. The kids are used to the rain and don't normally mind, but wow, this was no ordinary rain, the drops were huge and mixed in, was the biggest hail our family had ever seen!!! After trying to wait out the hail, ten minutes later we decided to make a run for our van. Mike and I had enough welts on our backs and couldn't take much more. We dashed back to the van, drenched to the bone!! Everything was flooded. Reece and Grace made it first. By this time, Grace was hysterical. She crouched down by the van and Reece, being a true man of valour, covered her with his own body so she wouldn't get wet or hit by the hail. My heart melted at his sweetness and show of character.

We all laughed (later) and vowed we would come back and get this cache. We did the next day and kicked ourselves! We were sitting right on top of the box the whole time, but were so consumed with trying to avoid the huge hail that we never did see it!!!
This is one cache this family will never forget and still laughs about!!!

Morning News

We are currently on vacation with all of Mike's family. We have rented a big house and each one of Mike's siblings have a room to share with their spouse and kids. So, Mike and I have found ourselves sharing a room with our three kids (plus one).

Reece is sleeping at the foot of our bed on a bed of pillows. This morning he pops up and says, "Dad!!!"

Mike groggily replies, "Yah, Buddy?"

"Did you know I helped build the Eiffel tower?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

Children's Museum

What a busy summer! Is there anything more fun than summertime? I just LOVE this time of year. It's these late evenings, kick-back attitudes and sunny days that make summer so memorable.

The kids kicked off the summer by heading down to Grandma Gayle and Bop's home. They spent an action packed month with them. They went to the library, swimming, golfing and so much more. I was able to come down and spend a week with them.

One of the days we went to the Children's Museum. Before we went, I was thinking how my kids are starting to get "too old" for these kind of outings. But the day was hot and we had free passes, so why not!?

My nieces and nephews came along and we were quite the tornado. The kids had a blast dressing up and putting on plays. Madison and Lyndsea put on a production of the Evil Witch and Princess. That was about all of the plot I could follow. Witch bad, princess good.

Grace enjoyed playing with Garrett at the local pizza place. I was served piping hot pizza. My server informed me I ate my pizza too messy.

Reece loved putting on the fireman clothes. He has been telling me for quite awhile that he would like to be a firefighter when he gets big. Hopping on this firetruck and wearing the gear was wonderful to him. He kept asking me to take pictures of him.

I have decided my kids aren't too old yet for places like these. I'm so glad. Now, next time I'll be even happier to go, after I pack my earplugs.

Water

The kids take a rinse off shower every night. On Saturday nights, the girls wash their hair. Everynight, the girls always ask me if they need to wash thier hair.
Tonight, I tell Grace to go take a shower and put her PJ's on.
"Do I need to water my hair?" She asks.

Mada's Geocaching

I do relize that this post is "off." I will come back soon and finish it up. Apparently the video didn't load and a few of the explanations for the pictures are messed up. Plus, I had a few more pictures to add. In the meantime, enjoy the the raw blog ;)


We decided to go out again and try and do a little geocaching after church. Madison brought her camera and took all sorts of pictures. As we were looking around for our treasures, I kept seeing Mada taking pictures of leaves, stairs, moss and such. Here is a glimpse of our day, taken from Mada's point of view.





This is a geological marker. You'll find these all around. They are the official longitude/latitude.





A light that has interested Mada, on a stair near the Court House.


Our 2nd time to a spot that we knew had a cache, we looked and looked. The kids climbed trees and scrambled around the bushes. Finally, we spotted it hidden under a tree in some moss. Mada's commentary.

Geocaching

We tried our hand at geocahing again today. We had tried last year and had a horrible time. I was finally able to figure out our gps and how how off it was. We found a couple geological markers and took the known coordinates from those and subtracted how off our gps was.
After we got all the technical stuff figured out, we went out on our own. Never having found a cache /treasure before, we were unsure what to go looking for.
Mike actually figured out our first clue and found the cache. After that, we were hooked. One of our caches actually took us into the library to locate a fake book! It was a lot of fun looking for clues in the library. Felt like characters from the movie National Treasure.

Right Around the Corner

Only 6 more weeks of school left before summer is upon us! The kids and I are counting down the days. We can't wait for lazy days spent in the backyard having picnics and reading books, running through the sprinklers, bike rides, hikes, pool trips, Sun River vacation,Camping, Twin Rocks Camp, Hoopfest and all the many things we have talked about doing. The kids are most excited about going down to Grandma Gayle and Grandpa Bop's house. This trip is the highlight of their summer and it's all they are talking about these days. I'm excited for them and quite frankly, myself. I'm hoping to knock out a few home projects while they are away. Can you imagine painting a room and being able to work till you are done with no interruptions?! Oh, sweet bliss! ;) Our only problem is the kids are so ready for summer, they are starting to check out at school. If I can only help them stay focused on finishing up the year. While I ponder how to most effectively do that, I'll leave you with a fun video of what I'm sure the kids will be doing again in only 6 short weeks.

How We Pass Our Days Away

So, I finally figured out how to add video to my blogs again. Be ready, my friends, the video's are going to start rolling now!!! *side note* I hate when people update an already good program. Facebook keeps changing their page and then blogspot did the same, getting rid of options that I loved and used.** I know you have been dying to know how this family likes to spend our downtime. In summer, we often go for bike rides and hikes. Living in this beautiful part of the country, we have many spots to choose from. In the winter, those options just aren't options. What do we do, you ask. It's simple really. We dance, jiggle, glide and shake our booties. We need exercise, but it's too cold to go outside . . . so . . . this is what we do . . . .

Park Hopping

It was a beautiful day up here.  We spent the day hitting up our favorite parks in our county.  We didn't get to all the ones we wanted, but we were pooped out at the end of our day.  We topped our day off with spending the evening with our dear Krista and Jason plus family.  It was a wonderful evening bonfire on the beach and playing around in the water.

We hope you all get a little glimpse of our spring weather and some sunshine!

Tres Leche

It's always fun to bake with my kiddios.  I decided early on, that when the kids are in the kitchen I'm going to sit back, relax and enjoy the moment.  Of course, I try to teach them to clean up as they go and not be complete little Tasmanian devils.  But, overall, I let that egg yoke dribble onto the counter and giggle with my girls as we make a flour puff that reaches the highest cabinet.  Aren't those the memories they will remember?

My dear friend, Jenn, made a Tres Leche Cake the other day and it sounded downright yummy.  I just had to make one too.  I texted my Honey to pick up a few things on his way home and the girls and I set off to work that evening.

I found my Tres Leche Cake recipe online and poured over the comments while picking Jenn's brain too. 

*Side note, I have found allrecipes.com the best place to pick out a recipe that I know nothing about.  I love all the comments from those more experienced bakers.  They do a great job reviewing the recipe and suggesting hints to make it better.  Perfect for a recipe I know nothing about.   

Next, we got started:

We measure out our flour.

Butter.

Sugar and eggs.

Creamed them together well.

Then spread our cakes into two circle pans.

Of course, we had to taste our work. ;)

After the cake bakes, you have to poke it full of holes.  We used toothpicks.

The girls thought this part was the best.

After the cake cools, you mix the three milks (whole, sweetened condensed, and evaporated) together and pour over the cake. Make sure you don't pull out an old can of sweetened condensed milk.  My can was from 2005.  It was hard as a rock and disgusting.  I think I ruined my son for life.  Of course, at this point, my hubby got sent to the store again and I finished it up after the kids went to bed.

Top with Whip Cream and Cherries. Of course you can use strawberries, mangos, pineapple . . . the choices are endless!

Let it sit overnight to soak up all the yummy goodness.

Enjoy my cultural friends! 

Sparkle

It's been a long week.  Seriously, I haven't had a week feel this long in FOREVER!!  What's funny, is that I spent the week actually doing nothing.  I had been sick all week and beside working on Tues, spent the rest of the week on my back watching tv.  Funny, how I finally get to rest and try to relax and the week dragged by so slowly.  Perhaps there is something to be said for being busy, at least the work week flies by.

I did get to paint some cute little toes this week.  Keep in mind, I was incredibly dizzy when painting these, so it's quite an accomplishment that I actually got the paint on the nail.  Of course there was paint on their little toes too, but hey, I can't always be perfect! ;)

Aren't these just too cute!!! Girls are fun!  I love sharing these little girly things with the girls.  It's always fun to listen to the girls talk about what colors they like and their opinions on how they look.  Throw in some sparkle top polish and it the evening couldn't of been more perfect.

Savings

I have couponed for years.  It all started back in the early baby days when I figured out if I saved my diaper coupons for big sales, that I could stock up at a great price.  Those diapers are already expensive enough, right?!
Recently, my sister-in-law, Krista, cousin Dianna and I have really been going crazy.  It's so much fun to find great deals and be able to share them with someone who gets as equally as excited about them as I do.  We share good finds and help each other out.  SO FUN!!!
Today, I hit Safeway.   It was a perfect kind of savings storm, so to say.  Safeway is running huge deals, throw in some Catalinas, and top it off with coupons and the savings were huge!

This is what I got:
5 boxes Reese's Puff (Reece loves these things)
5 boxes Apple Jacks
2 Gallons Milk
3 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats
2 boxes Raisin Bran
10 boxes Fruit snacks, fruit by the foot
5 bags Nut Clusters
5 boxes Granola Bars
1 bag string cheese
4 boxes Hot Pockets
4 boxes Hamburger Helper
Subtotal = $150.93
After coupons = $24.92 - that's all I paid!!!! That's an 85% savings! 
Pretty nice, don't you think?

Happy Birthday, Mom

It was my mom's birthday last week.  The kids and I decided to go and surprise her for her birthday present.  We did it!  She had no idea we were arriving till we appeared.  It was a wonderful week and it went by way to quickly.

I was able to take my mom to go see Wicked in San Francisco.  We had a wonderful time.  The drive up the coast was lovely and it sped right by since we were able to just talk without any kids or distractions.  Wicked was phenomenal!!!  By far my favorite musical so far!

My brother took some time off and he took us shooting.  We had a blast. 

Would you believe I actually hit the clay pigeon on my second try!!  I know, unbelievable!

We spent many evenings playing cards (which my sister-in-law clearly owned us at) and talking. 

The kids spent many hours playing with thier dear cousins!  Time flew for them!

A day at the park flying airplanes and playing hillbillie golf.  Every moment down there was cherished and much needed.  How I miss my family!