Easter 2011

I look at this picture and just smile.  I love these kids!  They make life good.  Hard sometimes, but good.

 The Saturday before Easter I was out shopping for some last minute little things, and I just couldn't resist the clearance, and J-boy needed some new church clothes anyway (justify justify justify), so we ended up with a little Easter outfit coordination. :)

 I made J-boy's bow tie using the directions here - he wasn't sure what to do with it (the only bows he'd seen belong in girls hair), and asked if he had to wear it, 'cause the kids might laugh at him.  But we convinced him it was cool, and he submitted - the Primary chorister complimented his bow tie, and he said, "Thanks, but it's a bow."  :)

Baby A insisted on wearing clunky black Mary Janes that are a size too big for her.  And she also insisted on taking her little Easter goodie basket to church.  Sweet after-church snacks!  Though it made it hard to get pictures of her since her mouth was FULL of chocolate for half an hour or so.

 K-lady was worn out w/ the picture taking and wouldn't let me take one of just her, and only agreed to another group shot if it was silly faces.  The dress has some tulle peeking out there @ the hem, and K-lady says it's horribly itchy, and hasn't worn the dress since then, so this is probably going to be the only photo I have of her in her Easter dress where you can actually see the dress.  So there you have it. :)  Cute dress, though, right?  (curse itchy tulle)

After church we made the drive up to Grandma & Grandpa's for a family dinner and Easter Egg Hunt - these kids LOVE their cousins!

 And we got to meet this sweet baby - she was only 3 days old at the time, our newest little neice (destined to look kinda like Baby A, since her Daddy is Joseph's twin, and her sister looks kinda like K-lady and her brother looks kinda like J-boy).  :)

 And because we didn't get to it before Easter, we dyed eggs for Family Night on Monday AFTER Easter Sunday.  What do dyed eggs have to do with the Resurrection, anyway????  I was a little worried about Joseph dying his fingers - kinda gross if your dentist comes @ your mouth with green and red fingertips, right??  But he turned out okay.  Baby A, on the other hand, was pink for a week. :)

Spring Break

 Back in March we decided to go camping.  I am not a big fan of midwest camping at the height of summer - 104 degrees + 95% humidity = very unhappy momma from the Northwest!  So we went in March!  And we went south, hoping to catch a little more warmth than we were getting here.  We landed in Devil's Den State Park where we enjoyed hikes, crawdad chasing, paddle boats, and a ginormous new tent (car camping just got way more comfy).  Spring was just around the corner - there may not have been many leaves on the trees, but the grass was green, and there were no mosquitoes, no ticks, and no humidity!  And there were beautiful hills and valleys and rivers and lakes.  Here are a handful of pictures from our little adventure.

 Baby A is such a big kid (she needs a new blog alias - "Baby" is just wishful thinking @ this point) - she tore off her shoes and socks and followed K-lady and J-boy right out into the stream.  Joseph tried to get them to herd some crawdads into captivity, but it didn't quite work. :)  They still loved it.  This was the evening of the first day - right after we took these photos, we hopped back into the car and drove a half hour to the nearest town w/ a sports bar - we watched the last BYU March Madness game over dinner.  :)

That's Joseph' pop can stove on the top left, and J-boy looking for fossils on the bottom right. :) We went to one of the park ranger classes at the visitors center on fossils.  5 minutes into the 1/2 hr. presentation, the ranger asked if any of us had any questions up to that point.  J-boy raised his hand politely, and asked, "When is this going to be over?"  :)  Love it.

"I haven't had anything yet, so how can I have some more of nothing?"  "You're killin' me, Smalls!"

 Baby A was in HEAVEN when it was finally her turn on the paddle boat.

 Cheese whiz & crackers, granola bars & lemonade for lunch.  All the essential food groups, right?  K-lady was thoroughly grossed out by the cheese whiz texture.  Can't say that I blame her.

 Devil's Den was built by the CCC back in the 30's - beautiful trails, cool old caves (closed down so the bats don't all die of some weird bat disease spreading across America that makes them wake up from hibernation early, then starve to death because there aren't enough bugs around to eat), amazing stone shelters & dams.  In the Visitor's Center they had some of the old original CCC newsletters from the camp titled The Voice of Satan.  HA!  Cheeky little Depression boys, right?  :)

The day we got there was beautiful - sunny, about 70 degrees or so.  The next day dropped down to the 50's-60's and drizzled a bit, and that last night we had a HUGE thunderstorm - the kids slept through it alright (amazingly enough!), but Joseph and I stared at each other wide eyed for a couple hours.  It cleared up enough in the morning for us to get up and make breakfast and pack up camp.  The temperature kept dropping and by the time we got home, it was just cold (that's frost on the window on the way home - she was very protective of her junk food even in her sleep :).  That night we slept snug in our beds while it flurried outside. 

Yay for the first camping trip of the year! :)

How to have a lovely campout on Labor Day

Pick you location carefully (state and national park campsites are likely to be overrun w/ party animals for Labor Day).  We find it best to reserve our site far in advance.  We also find it best to camp on private property at Jake's new home: lake view (check), shade trees (check), big fire pit (check), room to play (check), fish for catching (check), ample facilities - showers, stocked kitchen, hammocks, corn hole game, volleyball, tractor rides & slip'n'slide (check), family (check), friends (check), friends' awesome camera (check).   

(that's the morning mist rising off the lake - it was magical!)

Be sure to bring your best friends along.

(We've already arranged the marriage between those two up there.)

Double trouble.

Warnings: We DON'T recommend letting mom get sick while camping (fever, headache, sore throat, loss of voice).  And please avoid stomach flu aftermath by J-boys of all ages (we had to go home a day early and didn't get to see all our OP friends at church on Sunday).  But it was still a great weekend!  Jake and Jen were amazing hosts - we are now officially way to spoiled to enjoy KOA ever again.  :)

I think we'll invite ourselves again next year.

PS - Labor Day marks our blogs 3rd year!  Happy Birthday!  :)

Apple picking

Two encounters with food at it's point of origin!! First the tomatoes and peppers, and now apples! Wow!

Heather and Ryan and L went with us to a nearby apple orchard a few weeks ago -- the apples were so amazingly good right off the tree. We picked Jonagolds and Golden Delicious, and got gloriously wet in the process. It was during an OSU football game (we're quite amazed at how the city comes to a complete stand still for football games!), so we had the place to ourselves for the most part. I think the getting wet just might have been the most fun. Although driving Sadie the Sienna through the muddy mess was pretty fun, too.

I loved it when K-girl asked me if she could eat a Silverjonny appleseed apple. :)

I also love that we get to do these fun things with my sister & her family! They are so much fun!

At the Beach

As far as I'm concerned, the greatest advantage to living here is that my darling sister lives about 5 minutes away. How lucky am I?!
With mom, dad, and three out of the 6 siblings here, my brother Dave and his family in Jersey just couldn't resist - they had to come for a quick visit. :) This meant that all 5 grandkids could play together for one brief weekend! After everyone helped unload the moving truck, we decided it was time for some fun. Heather and Ryan took care of us -- they planned & prepped the food for the entire weekend, and Heather made sure we always had something fun to do. We spent a fun afternoon at the beach of a local state park -- the kids loved the sand!

My baby's getting so big and adventurous -- it's making me really sad this time around watching my baby grow up.


Kendra and K-lady were lovely mermaids while burried in the sand. Not so with J-boy -- he was a shark. You can tell from his grimmace.

I'm so glad Dave & Angela & Bailey came -- it was so fun to be with them again! They helped me relax a little -- just when I'd be getting uptight about the crazy mess and huge amounts of work at home, Dave would tell me to chill out and have some fun. What a smart big brother.
Ms. K just worships her Aunt Kendra. It was so fun to have her around! K still asks if I think Aunt Kendra would like this shirt, or if Aunt Kendra would eat that food. :) Of course, I always answer in the affirmative (apparently Aunt Kendra is VERY supportive of eating vegetables...)

Our "one-lasts" in KC

We had some good bits of fun while Joseph was pedaling his heart out on the Continental Divide -

One last Ladies Night In for digital scrapbooking and chatting. These ladies are GREAT! I miss our late night chats!

One last trip to the KC Zoo -- to bring our grand total of visits to a whoppin' 3 in five years. We had fun with three other families of friends. The Kangaroos just roam around wherever they want -- I was tempted to drag Joseph back with his cap and gown to get a picture of him with his alma mater's mascot (what kind of a feirce mascot is a 'roo???)

Once Joseph and my parents & sister made it to KC we had one last extended family night at the park with all the KC crew -- one last hurrah with cousins! Good food, good people!

One last get-together with school and church friends -- popsicles, bubbles and side walk chalk always make for a good time.

Obviously, one last hug and one last FLEX with best friends

I didn't get pictures, but we also had one last dinner at OK Joe's BBQ with my parents and sisters -- I still dream of their Z-man sandwich and crack fries! And one last dinner with the Bills' at their house -- I think we actually did take a picture at this one, but I sure can't find it now.... And, of course, we had to have one last Mormon Village BBQ in the backyard. (Why do all my memorable moments involve lots of yummy, not-so-good-for-me food??)

It's interesting to be at the end of this phase of our lives. I keep waiting for the 'vacation' to be over, and to head back to OP Estates to dig into another semester. :) Part of me feels so grown up, but part of me feels so inexperienced and unprepared. I'm thinking I'd better get used to this feeling -- I'll probably be enjoying it for the next 50 years or so. :)

Side note -- this is my 100th post! Happy blogging, everyone!

Goodbye KC!

We've lived here for a month and two days! So I guess it's time to post the move pictures. :) This was our 8th move in almost 8 years of marriage. You'd think I'd have it down by now, but it was a lot more complicated this time -- probably has something to do with the 2 additional children and all the STUFF we've accumulated over the last 5 years in Kansas...
Thankfully (SO THANKFULLY!) we had my parents & sister to help us! I can't believe how much work they did, and how much time they spent helping us. Thank you so much!!
It's been a pretty smooth transition - we miss our friends and family in Kansas, but we're feeling pretty settled. Joseph is enjoying his residency - he got to do a jaw reduction yesterday (peel away gums & shave away jaw bone to prep for dentures). He's lovin' the crazy stuff. The kids have made some good friends, and I'm almost done getting the house organized. Maybe I'll finish before we move in 11 months (ugh).... And if I don't, then maybe there's hope for my perfectionistic obsessiveness. I suppose that could be good. Sounds like a win/win to me. I probably won't need the stuff I can't find, right?? :)

The vehicle line up -- Joseph drove the Penske, I followed in our van, then came mom in her van (with continental divide bikes on the back!), and Dad in Joseph's car. Whew!

Heidi to the rescue again -- she showed up Thursday morning and helped with all the last minute stuff that is just kind of hard and icky -- getting the last of the junk out of the house, cleaning, keeping kids occupied. She is such a saint!

That's our Penske heading out of KC (my sister was riding with me and the kids to keep the kids happy -- she was a life saver!! But she did make a few comments on my driving skills as I took pictures along the way...)

And our first good view of an interstate sign that said COLUMBUS OHIO!!! (yes, that was at sunset, and we still had about 5 hours ahead of us...)

Thanksgiving, 2008

 

 

(Yes, I'm well aware of the fact that it's nearly the end of January.... did I mention that one of my New Year's goals is to blog more regularly so I don't get behind like this?!)

Thanksgiving this year was spent in Missouri with Joseph's oldest brother's family. We had a good crew present: Grandma & Grandpa L, Uncle Jared & family and Uncle Jacob & family brought our grand total to 23. My sister-in-law Heather enlisted the help of her wonderful Aunt to feed the crew, and feed us they did! They were completely amazing. Heather made an amazing turkey roll in place of a traditional roasted turkey -- she deboned an entire turkey the night before, rolled it up with sausage and stuffing and cream from her cows and butter from the cream and all kinds of goodness. They made a fantastic sweet potato dish, a fabulous corn casserole, cooked the ham on the grill outside, had 5 different beautiful gourmet pies, fantastic mashed potatoes, scrumptious green beans, and the list goes on and on. This family amazes me -- they moved to MO from Puerto Rico (literally from a sandy beach to a muddy farm) a few years ago, and have been experimenting with small scale farming. They use all organic fertilizers, & their produce is fantastic. Then they also raise their own meat (food storage on the hoof!), have their own milk cows and all the products they can derive from that (Heather makes butter and just about every kind of cheese I've ever (and never) heard of. They currently have two milk cows, a handful of sheep, pigs, beef cows, chickens, 2 dogs, a variety of cats and occassionally have goats, donkeys, horses, you name it. I have always been impressed with this family's industry, but now I'm simply amazed. Joseph dreams of having a few acres some day, but I just don't know if I could handle all that WORK!  In any case, along with all those fantastic raw ingredients, Heather is an absolute wonder in the kitchen.  She and her aunt really made an amazing meal.

About the fried turkey -- last year, Joseph fried up his wild turkey that he'd shot earlier in the season.  He tried to share it with everyone, but after Jacob got a piece of breast meat with buck shot in it, no one was very interested.... :)  So this year he was determined to redeem himself.  He BOUGHT two nice little birds, and fried them up to PERFECTION.  He did get a leetle carried away with the injecting of cajun marinade -- there were pockets of soupy juice in a few spots that were a little weird.  But it was so yummy and moist and flavorful, and I just wish I had brought a second stomach so I could have eaten more...

So Thanksgiving this year (and, really, every year) was all about the FOOD. I didn't even manage to get a picture of all the beautiful people there. Oops....

After dinner we lounged around and enjoyed one anothers' company while we digested.  The boys all went off to the back of the property to play with their guns.  The kids enjoyed exploring the barns and watching the milking of the cows.  It was a really pleasant holiday.  We came home, went to bed, and 4 hours later I woke up to go to WalMart.  Crazy.  The portable DVD player is a piece of junk -- should have slept. :)

Make that a Family of Six....

In November, on National Adoption Day, our family grew by 4 boys! Joseph's brother and sister-in-law adopted these beautiful boys, and we're so happy to have them be a part of our family. It was so sweet to be there with them - I felt the Spirit in that courtroom as this family was united legally.  It was a strong testimony to me that Heavenly Father knows and is pleased with this family.  From the sidelines, watching them come together over the past few years has been amazing.  I'm so impressed with my brother and sister-in-law. They are loving and good and courageous, and their sons are lucky to have them as parents!

Family Pictures....

October Camp Out

The hot 'n' humid midwest doesn't make for much good camping during the summer months (I'm biased in the direction of mountain-range and on-the-beach camping). But if you time it just right, enjoyable family car camping is possible in the Fall or Spring. The first weekend in October was just such a time! We went with two other families, and had a great time. We lucked out with a site adjacent to the playground, and far enough from the lake to keep it from being a temptation to little would-be-swimmers. All three families had babies (a 10 month old, a 6 month old, and a 2 month old!), but the babies did really well overall, and the weather was great -- it rained just before we got there, so the kids got filthy and wet on the playground - a proper beginning to a campout. Then it was a little chilly and damp in the morning, but it made you appreciate the fire! We had fantastic food -- cobbler, tin foil dinners, s'mores, sausage/eggs/pancakes, & hot chocolate (Kim brought two giant cans of Stephens' - YUM). There was an old-school playground (merry-go-round, swings, tall metal slide) and a newer playground. Joel tied a glow stick to his son to keep track of him once it got dark -- it was funny to see the disembodied glow stick floating up and down about the playground. :) The kids fished for a little bit Saturday morning, but didn't get so much as a nibble. We missed the Saturday morning session of conference, but got 3 or 4 phone calls between us letting us know about the KC area temple announcement. How exciting!!
I think my favorite part was sitting around the camp fire in the morning, chatting with the grown-ups and watching while the kidlets played. And I loved that Joseph let the kids stay up as late as they wanted to, playing late into the night. Good times
Little Ms. A enjoyed the adventure from the comfort of Heidi's sling -- I'm LOVIN' the sling thing. I decided I shouldn't hoard Heidi's, so I made my own two days later. :)