TIMBER!!!!!!

Here's what we woke up to this morning (note the smashed swing set in the middle of the tree!) Our neighbors tree fell over in the middle of the night into our yard. They knocked on our door at 7:00am to apologize (which I thought was very nice of them). Our whole family slept through it! I got up about 6:00am and opened the curtains and still didn't notice. The ironic thing is that we cut down the 10 pine trees that were in our yard for this very reason. Oh well, I'm thankful it didn't fall on a house and I'm thankful it didn't fall while my kids were playing on their swing set. Small blessings . . . .

WARNING: SERIOUS CATCH UP BLOGGING BELOW!

Girls Camp and Jam

I said goodbye to my family last week and headed out to B.O.O.T. (Build Our Own Testimonies) Camp with a group of amazing 12 to 18-year-old girls from our church. It was a great week! There was lots of laughter and tears throughout the week. Most of the week was filled with silliness and practical jokes (I will not mention the names of two of our priesthood leaders who discovered my fear of snakes and used this knowledge to their advantage!) There is also time set aside each day to strengthen the girls' testimonies. On the last night, there is a testimony meeting. There was not a dry eye in the camp ground. I'm thankful for good friends up there to laugh and talk with late into the night, making it our own "girls camp." I'm also thankful my two daughters will each get to have these same experiences.

When I got home, I headed out to check the garden and noticed a raspberries explosion! I think a combination of rain and sun while I was gone really got our garden growing. So, today me and the kids picked raspberries and made freezer jam. It's so great to be home!

New Traditions

Every year for the 4th of July we go to the Tri-cities. My grandparents have the perfect set up. They have a pool/BBQ party during the day and then at night we all take our lawn chairs and sit outside their place and watch the fireworks (the fireworks are let off on a big barge in the Columbia River below).


This year, though, we decided to spend the holiday at our cabin. We started the day with a parade. I love small town parades. First, they're short! Second, there is such a community feel with everyone standing together on "main" street watching their neighbors drive by on their 4-wheelers. It's fun to shout out at people you know! The kids got lots of candy and I got a little teary-eyed watching the veterans walk down the street carrying the American Flag. Thank you - thank you- thank you to the veterans.


We spent the rest of the day water skiing. We're all working hard to master this new sport. Ally and Nicholas are the best by far in our family. They have great form and are already crossing back and forth over the wake. I'll post more on this later.


As darkness set in, we got comfy on our dock and watched the amazing firework displays brought to us courtesy of our neighbors. I swear 2 of our neighbors on the lake were having some sort of fireworks competition. We sat back and enjoyed the show. My favorite part was watching the reflection of the fireworks on the water. It was like 2 sets of fireworks were going off at the same time: one above and one below. It was awesome!


Here are some pictures of the kids on the 4th of July and the yummy cake Ally and I made.

Ocean Vacation

"Who let the dogs out?"
Ally, Nicholas, and Natalie's school mascot is the Prairie Dog. On the last day of school, they blare this song over the PA system. I collected my "prairie dogs" on the last day of school and headed straight to the ocean. We had a great time, collecting sea shells, jumping waves, eating salt water taffy, and visiting the aviation museum. We got home on Father's Day - just in time to make Andrew's favorite meal . . . spaghetti and meatballs. This man is so easy to please! He wasn't able to join us on the ocean trip due to work, but we brought him back lots of goodies from the candy store.

The Graduate

My baby graduated from preschool today! It was the end of 8 years of preschool (2 years for each child, NOT 8 years just for Adam - ha!) All 4 have gone to the same preschool and all 4 had the same teacher. Mrs. Crater is a wonderful teacher who provided a loving and nurturing environment for each of my children as they started their educational journeys. Adam's brother and sisters rallied around him this morning, making him feel VERY special. Here's a picture of him with a cap Ally made from construction paper:


Adam wasn't much in the mood for pictures afterwards (mainly because he was drawn to the yummy cake at the graduation reception). I wish I could have gotten pictures of him with all his little friends from preschool, but here's one I was able to sneak in of him with his buddy Alec.


Kindergarten here they come . . . .

Easter

Before racing off to church, I wanted to get some quick Easter pictures but I only had 1 picture left before my CF card was full. So, here's our 1 picture. We had a wonderful, quiet Easter with our little family. What a glorious holiday to reflect on Christ, enjoy family, and eat jelly beans!

The Birthday Boy's Weekend

Andrew's birthday was last weekend. When I asked him the week before what he wanted for his big day, he told me he wanted a long weekend at the cabin with the family. So, we got crazy and pulled the kids out of school on Friday and headed up. He also agreed to a ski trip. Of course, we didn't anticipate Andrew skiing with us! For the last couple years Andrew has been a great sport and came skiing with me and the kids, but he usually hangs out on the bunny hill with Adam or in the lodge. He has always declined skiing, claiming it was too cold of a sport for him. But this weekend, he surprised us and skied too. It was an awesome day with our whole family skiing together and basically no one on the mountain but us. Happy Birthday Andrew and thank you for giving me the gift of skiing with my whole family. All those years of teaching 5 people to ski finally paid off!

More reverence give me!

My last post revealed some of my personal New Year's resolutions, now I'll discuss our big FAMILY resolution, which is to be more reverent at church. For those of you in my ward, let me just apologize now for all the years of having to endure our circus. I've been feeling especially motivated lately to step up our reverence after sitting behind the most amazing family the last few months. This family has 6 kids, ages 15 to 4 - they all sit perfectly still for 1 hour 10 minutes and they don't even bring a church bag! I feel like I bring LUGGAGE to church!


So, in my quest to increase our reverence I decided to stop bringing a church bag (my kids just spend the whole sacrament meeting fighting over the stuff in the bag anyway) and just bring a "church pouch." I made this pouch based on an idea my friend Christianne gave me last year. It is super easy to sew, seriously the hardest part was sewing on the button!

This Sunday I'm going to try the "church pouch" and see how it goes. Do any of you still bring a bag to church (my youngest is 4)? Or, do you have any reverence tips?

"What manner of men ought ye to be?"

As my children have grown older and, consequently, began spending more time at school, I've found myself with more spare time than ever. Slowly, I feel I've started to redefine myself and what fills my time. I wasn't so sure I liked the direction I was taking though . . . I found myself bored and killing time in malls trying to "fill the time." But, at the end of the day I felt like I wasted my day. Why was I feeling so unsatisfied? The scripture "What manner of men ought ye to be?" 3 Nephi 27:27 kept coming to mind.

Last month, I was released from the Stake Primary Presidency. This ended 7 awesome years of primary, or so I thought. I was soon called as the Primary Music Leader. Many of you know - I CAN'T SING. Consequently, this calling now fills a lot of my spare time. What a blessing! I spend hours each week teaching myself the songs (not the words per se, but the NOTES!) Our piano and I have become good friends as I work on my pitch (I can only imagine what Simon Cowell would say about me!) I've also spent a lot of time on my knees, praying for help with this new calling. So far, the experience has been so enriching to me. I feel more fulfilled.

I've also been working lately on my homemaking skills. I've been sewing more and trying new recipes. I've also been preparing some of my oldies, but goodies. Here's a picture of Adam helping me make our favorite chocolate chip cookies (it's the recipe from the Crisco butter-flavored cubes container). I'm sure Adam's thinking, "when are these cookies going to be done!?!?!"

Today, I went skiing while the kids were at school (and Adam was at a friend's house). It felt so good to be exercising and the mountain was breathtaking. And, tonight I'm attending a Japanese cooking class. Ally is obsessed with all things Japanese right now and I thought it'd be a great surprise to her if I made our family a Japanese meal (other than just sushi, which is the only Japanese food I know how to make!)

I'm feeling better lately with how I'm spending my time. I would also love to fill in the gaps with more service, family history, and temple attendance. But, for now I feel like I'm making strides by being more conscious about how I spend my time and trying to ponder more what type of woman I ought to be.

My First Quilt

I've been dying to write this post, but wanted to wait until after Christmas because I didn't want to ruin the surprise.

I finally made my first quilt! I made it for Nicholas with a Boston Red Sox theme (his favorite team) for Christmas. He was actually excited when he opened it (I was worried he'd think it was a lame blanket instead of a cool lego set). I have to admit, though, Nicholas is a sweet, sweet boy and wouldn't do anything to hurt my feelings so it's likely he actually does think it's a lame blanket instead of a cool lego set. :-)

The whole process was so fun. I can't believe how satisfying creating something from scratch can be. I can definitely see quilting as a future hobby! This whole project, however, would not have been possible without the help of good friends. Thank you Kariann, Andrea, and Andrea's mom for all your help!

Turkey Time 2008

I feel very blessed that the majority of both Andrew and I's families are in one area. And, those that don't live in the area usually come "home" for Thanksgiving so we get to see as many family members as possible. We're also fortunate that most of our close friends whom we grew up with usually come home for Thanksgiving too. So, that's how we usually spend Thanksgiving each year - spending time with those we love. We tend to pack in as much as we can over a 4-day period. This year was no different.

Thanksgiving morning we usually do the "Turkey Trot" - a 5k fun run along the Columbia River. This year, however, they raised the entrance fee to $20 per person. Yes, that would be $120 for our family! So, we made up our own "Turkey Trot" with funny games and contests like who can run backwards the fastest, who can run and whistle, etc. We also got a spirited game of "follow the leader" going. We just did it around my grandparents' neighborhood. I'm sure we looked a little silly (did I mention half of us were still in our PJs!?!), but we had a blast.

Next, we had 2 amazing meals - one at each side of the family (technically, we only had room for dessert at the second stop!) It was funny because one side was casual and the other was a more formal affair with china and crystal. Both were wonderful, although I was a bit nervous with Adam sipping sparkling cider out of an expensive crystal goblet. I just knew at any moment that glass was going to turn into a light saber. But, luckily we made it through without any broken dishes.

Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving were filled with shopping, movies, sleep overs with cousins, and a trip to the temple for Andrew and I. I had been working on some family history for Andrew's side of the family the week before Thanksgiving, so we could take the names to the temple. We were able to get work done for Andrew's grandparents. During the sealing, I was reminded again just how much I love my husband. :-)

Sunday found us at church at my home ward, which I love to visit. It always touches my heart to see my old Young Women's leaders, who now have gray hair but the same warm smiles. These were the women who were first on the scene after my mom died and their kindness during that difficult time will forever stay with me.

Last, we had one final grand meal. My grandma put on one more turkey dinner Sunday afternoon so we'd be loaded up with leftover turkey for the coming week. Have I mentioned before how amazing my grandma is????

Well, that's the Thanksgiving summary. I'm counting down now until Christmas, which will be a much smaller, quieter affair.

My Grandma, my cousin, and Baby Angelo (my cousin and her husband lived in Italy for several years; hence, the Italian name)

Me and My cousin. We were like sisters growing up and were "maids of honor" at each other's weddings.

My aunt and Natalie. This is my mom's sister and looks a lot like her except my mom had blonde hair.

Grandpa and Adam after a long day, both were almost asleep when I took this picture.

"AN UNNORMAL AMERICAN"

Yesterday, I was reading an article in the newspaper about the Mormon Church and California's Proposition 8. The article explored why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the target of angry Prop. 8 opposers instead of other churches who, like the Mormons, supported the constitutional amendment. One sociologist reasoned that Mormons were easy targets because they're still seen as kind of "weird' and not "normal Americans." Hmmmm . . . let's see, here's a small glimpse into my life, you decide how "weird" or how much of an "unnormal American" I am.

I spend my day cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring, mentoring, cheerleading, and kissing boo-boos. I even throw in a little "law-making" when time permits, upholding the oath I took as an attorney 11 years ago to uphold the laws of my country. I attend church on Sunday and hang my American flag on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Veteran's Day. I'm the daughter of a Vietnam vet and the granddaughter of a World War II vet. I love a good deal, whether it's at Nordstrom or Walmart. After a tough day, I hit a carton of ice cream. And, after a great day I hit a carton of ice cream. I'm most comfy in a pair of jeans and a soft cotton t-shirt. My family loves baseball, apple pie, and I even drive a Chevrolet! So, please tell me am I weird or an unnormal American? Hopefully we can press forward and change these crazy stereo types.

Why I Love Fall . . .

I love autumn, and I'm blessed to live in a region that has spectacular fall foliage displays. This past month has been the most beautiful ever. Every day was filled with blue skies, temperatures in the 50s, and delightful color all around. I feel such gratitude to my Heavenly Father for blessing us with such a marvelous time of year. Here's some pictures of our family's fall follies.

Taking a train ride near the Canadian border.

Little pumpkins.

Big kisses.

Funny friends! (and, yes, we spent a WHOLE day raking these leaves at our lake house!)

We also had a little fun while raking.

Go Nick!!! We attended many soccer games this fall, but we were warm and cozy with the nice weather.

Primary Program Day!


And last but not least . . . Halloween

Our Ally Cat

Last week Ally turned 11. Is it really possible that I've actually been a mother for 11 years? Is it really possible that I only have 7 more years with this amazing girl in our home?

Heavenly Father has blessed Ally with talents that will allow her to either change the world or marry someone who will! She's smart, driven, and desires to serve. She spends 4 days a week for 3 1/2 hours a day at the gym, striving to be the best gymnast she can be. She gets up early to be a crossing guard at school because, as she tells me, she wants to make sure her friends make it safely to school. Ally has served on the ASB at her school for the last 2 years. And, she recently told me she can't wait to turn 12 so she can be "Beehive President." Holy Cow - I don't think I even knew what a beehive was when I was 11, let alone that there was a president.

Ally is also very maternal. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up she always says, "a mother and a teacher." Ally is blessed with many future homemaking talents. She loves to cook, sew, and scrapbook. She's not so hot on cleaning, but we're working on that! :-) Ally also loves music, playing both the piano and viola this year.

But, my very favorite characteristic of Ally is that she is forgiving. Being the oldest, she's had to endure many of my parenting mistakes and yet she loves me anyway. A matter of fact, she recently wrote me a letter just to let me know when she's a teenager she will still allow me to hug her in public. You can bet I'll be keeping that letter for future use!

Thank you Ally for being the wonderful girl you are and I thank my Heavenly Father for allowing me to be your mom.

It's Finally Adam's Turn

After waiting for a whole month, watching his brother and sisters put on their backpacks and head out the door, Adam finally got his turn to be the one "going back to school." This is Adam's last year of preschool. And, my last year of having a preschooler. I say this with a sad tone. Older mothers always warned me it would go by too fast . . . I guess I never believed them, but I believe them now.


Anyway, Adam marched right in to his favorite thing in the WHOLE room - the fish tank. He loves watching those fish.

Here's a picture of Adam with his buddy Alec in their, unplanned, matching-green shirts on the first day of school. Adam is so blessed to have several great friends who live nearby. I'm so thankful Adam will have such great boys to grow up with!

BTS

Back to School! I'm a little late on this post, but our 3 oldest went back to school on September 2. I'm so exited for this year. I love their school and all of their teachers. Not to mention the fact that I've passed the baton this year to a new PTG president, so this year I can relax a little more and just enjoy being a parent. Here are some pictures of the big day:

And what will I do with my time now that the 3 oldest are gone all day???? Spend the day with this cute little guy, of course. :-)

The Cabin

Some of you may have caught my subtle comment in my last post that we probably wouldn't be making our annual trip to Priest Lake anymore. Well, the reason for this change is that we'll now be staying in our OWN cabin (which is on a different lake). YIPPEE!!! We've been looking for a lake place for almost 3 years now. And, finally we've found the perfect cabin for our family. I've waited to blog about it though until we closed - I didn't want to jinx it. :-) But, we closed last Friday and we just got back from our first vacation at the cabin. Here's some pictures of our new "family spot."

A Fun, But Cold Week at the Lake

Last week we made our annual trip up to Priest Lake. As always it was breathtaking! It seems every one of our prayers last week included the phrase, "thank you for the beauty around us." The whole week was perfect, except for the weather. Each year our family spends the last week of July in Priest Lake and we've never so much as needed a sweatshirt. This year we could have used our winter coats! One morning we woke up to 55 degrees and raining. Nevertheless, we made the most of it and discovered the Priest Lake Museum, the Priest Lake Library, and Priest Lake Elementary (where we played on the playground toys). We also did other warm activities like hiking and picking huckleberries.

We were able, however, to spend one day out on the boat we rented. I've discovered a new passion - water skiing. I really, REALLY stink but am obsessed with getting better. Here's a picture of me with, yes, a wet suit on in July! Luckily Andrew, Natalie and Adam are also excited about water skiing so a sport that interests 4 out of 6 isn't bad! (But, just give me time I'll have those other 2 on board soon!)

Speaking of sports, we also went golfing in Priest Lake. Seeing my kids carrying their little, tiny golf clubs was so adorable.

I'll conclude with some miscellaneous pictures of our week. I will note though that this week was a little bitter sweet because our family loves this lake so much, but it will probably be the last time we stay at Priest Lake. More details to follow . . . .