Jared and Amber in Colorado

February

2012-03-04T20:10:00.005-08:00

The month of love...

Valentines Day has always been a family affair. The kids make gigantic love bugs that they hang from the ceiling, and tons of Valentines cards for each other to place in their own Valentines mail boxes. On Valentines morning they rush out to see what gift of love (goodie) Mom and Dad have placed on the table at their places. This year it was a conversation covered bowl with chocolates and fruit sticks.

Something was different this year for both Beth and Joseph. It was Bethy's and Joseph's first experience with receiving Valentine cards in mass from kids (other than family). This year they got to celebrate Valentines day at school by having a party with their classmates. They were quite excited about this new fun activity. The 'in' thing at school are smelly pencils...the 5th graders are selling them to help pay for their eco week and it seems that every kid wants one, so this is what Joseph and Beth gave out. We used the idea from Familyfun and wrapped mad libs around them and wrote something cheesy on their cards. For their teachers they made heart cookie bouquets. They even were so excited about the party that they wanted to make their mailboxes themselves. Joseph made his look like an alligator, and Bethy made hers look like a hippo. What also made Valentines fun this year was that it was spread out over a few days. We got a fun package in the mail late one night from our adopted family (you guys rock!) and opened up a box filled with creative fun Valentines! The box was filled with apple items and their cards read 'You are the apple of my eye!' The items included apple jacks, apple sauce, apple juice (you get the picture). I didn't make dinner that night... the kids were thrilled with eating cereal for dinner!

February has been really cold...and snowy which is out of the ordinary. We have found ourselves like this more often then not...

So...it has finally happened...Scott decided to clean himself up....with a banana.

This is a great little idea I pulled off of a website somewhere. The kids get a hoot out of lunches that are fun and creative. Sometimes we make the kitchen a diner where they come for lunch and order things off a menu...sometimes they have to put on blind folds and try to guess what their lunch is by the smell. The latest fun we had with our lunch included food coloring. They painted their pieces of bread before we toasted them and made sandwiches. I couldn't find my clean paint brushes so we used medicine droppers instead. It turned out quite well. The kids had a blast coloring their sandwiches.

Bears are cute and cuddly...

2012-02-05T18:10:00.000-08:00

They are cute when they are asleep...

They are amazingly creative...

(yes...those are pictures for their walls... a doggie door, address, french doors, and a mail slot)

They are very smart...

And seem like they are cute and cuddly ALL of the time...

but...sometimes they are a force not to reckon with... ;)

Chilly beans...hee hee

2012-01-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

So there have been some fun new changes around our house of late. First though... a moment of bragging. We went to a chili cook-off this last weekend and guess who won??? Me!

I went for the most unique and got it hands down...my recipe is simple...
homemade icecream with jelly beans mixed in...the title I gave it... 'chilly beans'. This is what I found when I went to pick up my container at the end of the evening...

My award...

In the last week both of the older kiddos have had to get glasses. In one year their eye sight has changed drastically...so here are their new additions...

This last week Bethy and I went to have ourselves pampered. My good friend Mishie is going through beautician school so Bethy and I went on over for a inexpensive day of pampering. She got a pedicure and manicure while I got my hair colored. I've never colored my hair before...but decided to take the plunge and try it out....of course I didn't go drastically different, but I do like the enhanced natural colors. Mish did such a great job! Beth (to everyone around) seemed removed and quiet during the pampering, yet when we exited the building she couldn't stop talking about how she wants to go back! It looks like I've started a dangerous thing!

pictures pictures pictures

2012-01-23T18:48:00.000-08:00

So the next few pictures don't correlate...taken at different moments through the last few weeks...some have stories and the others don't...

Bethy has started to sew with me. I'm not the best seamstress but we got a crazy idea in our heads and decided to try it out on some fabric...this is what we got...heat and ice packs.

We each got a nerf gun for Christmas and had a wonderful time shooting each other in the basement. Joseph loves to play with the nerf guns.

This is where we found Bethy one evening before we went to bed...

Christmas

2012-01-22T21:01:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was absolutely wonderful. It happened to land on Sunday...which made it more magical and wonderful then years past. At first I was bummed thinking of all the logistics of having Christmas on a Sunday...waking up, opening a few presents, rushing through Christmas breakfast, getting everyone dressed and presentable to head to church...only to return rather tired to continue with the Christmas festivities...yet because Christmas was on Sunday it made our celebration so much more meaningful and delightful.

We enjoyed our normal traditions up to the big day...gingerbread houses, caroling, parties, baking and such...

We had a tasty Christmas Eve dinner with friends like we do every year. After singing songs, reading the Christmas story and watching Prep and Landing the kids were more than happy to get pjs on and prepare everything for Santa to visit. They all went to sleep and actually let us sleep in until 8 the next morning...

Scott was overly eager to rush up and see what Santa brought. We had to send him back down a few times to wait until after our traditional 'line-up' pictures were taken.

It seems that the kiddos were good again this year because they didn't get coal.

After seeing what Santa brought we had a wonderful, relaxful breakfast. Before we left for church we allowed the kids to open two presents. Like I said before, I wasn't looking forward to sharing our family time but we headed to church and found that if I had to make the choice again knowing what I do now...I wouldn't have changed it for a more selfish Christmas experience... Going and worshiping on this Christmas Sabbath helped us all truly focus on the true meaning of Christmas. It set the tone for the rest of our day. The kids didn't whine and complain about not opening Christmas presents right away after waiting to them what seemed like forever for this holiday to arrive...They were happy and content. I loved listening to the songs sung, and the thoughts expressed. When we did arrive home we had a wonderful Christmas meal and sat around chatting about the day. We didn't even start opening presents until about 5 in the evening...

It was a wonderful day to rejoice in our Lord Jesus Christ, be happy as a family, and sit back and relax.

oh boy...

2012-01-22T20:08:00.001-08:00

Prepare yourself for a mtn of pictures...I think I'm going to divide all that has happened in the last month or so into a few posts...

First a bragging moment...

Beth and Joseph both finished their entire year's worth of material in one subject each at school by Christmas...for you see, they have ability to go their own speed and Beth finished all of her 1st grade history course and Joseph finished his entire 3rd grade English course. Both have now started the next grade's materials in that subject.

That brings me to the next subject...school. Both kids have been doing extremely well in school. They love going into school once a week, and love having the freedom to do what they want and when they want to. I on the other hand am having a much harder time adjusting to the way the curriculum is comprised. It isn't hard...it's just different. Instead of teaching history and science together they have to instructed seperately with takes a bit more time and I find myself bouncing back and forth between the two of them and all of their subjects. The first few weeks were very stressful for me...but we have gotten into a routine and life is much more easier. Scotty has also started his schooling so I'm not juggling the three of them. Scott was content to play trains and such the whole first part of the year but came to me at the beginning of this year and asked to start school as well. I pulled out all of the puzzles, file folders, manipulatives, and art supplies and he now loves spending his time learning right along with everyone else.

Ugly sweater...a blessing indeed.

2011-12-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year...I love drinking hot Ovaltine in the morning...wearing my ugly sweater around the house (the most comfortable one I own) and curling up to read a book. I love the lights on houses, the Christmas music floating through the air, and the moments of peace and evaluation. Our Thanksgiving comes and goes rather quickly because of traveling and visiting with loved ones so I find that every year my time of evaluation of the things and people that I've been blessed to have in my life is around this time...the time between celebrations when the cold weather has us a little more contained in our home.

Looking through the pictures of Thanksgiving I'd have to say that family is at the forefront of our blessings. Our family rocks- we have so many wonderful, and talented people in our family. Every family event is filled with laughter and fun. The kids got to participate in so many exciting activities while we visited with everyone. They had tea parties, slumber parties, fairy house-making parties, birthday parties, bingo games, white elephant gift exchanges, relay games to play, plays to create and perform, and then there were the smaller one on one moments they got to share with cousins, grandparents, and even great grandparents.

On a smaller level our immediate little family loves being together and we feel very blessed to have each other. I love watching how my little family will randomly create spontaneous memorable moments. It may be a dog pile and wrestling match in the living room, a dance party in the kitchen, or just cuddling together in front of the fire. At other times we love to plan fun adventures that the kids will enjoy whether it is going and watching theatrical performances, going to Disney on Ice, throwing stuff into the car and taking a road trip, or just camping in the backyard. On our latest trip out to Utah we took the kids to an amazing little restaurant named Dairy Keen that had trains circling the rooms and a fun Thomas the train table for the kids to play with after they ate. We then took them on the Heber Creeper for an actual train ride where they met Santa and told him what they wanted for Christmas. They all were so excited and Scotty wouldn't stop shouting the words, train, whistle, or SANTA the entire trip!

We also celebrated Scotty's birthday while with family. I can't believe he is already 3! He was most excited to rip open presents, eat ice cream and cake, and blow out candles. He is our train lover and was thrilled to add many new train items to his collection. He spends all of his time playing with his trains. Trains was the only thing he said to Santa when he asked him what he wanted for Christmas so you know what he'll be getting for Christmas! Scotty has been a true blessing in our lives...from the way that he became a part of our family to each and every day.

The day after we got back home all of our Fall decorations got packed up and we pulled out all of our Christmas decorations. We love the Christmas season and are truly grateful for the annual celebration of the birth of the Savior and how his gift to us is the greatest gift of all...as well as the love, and friendship people show each other throughout the season. I love the colors of Christmas, and just seeing the decorations sprinkled around the house brings me such joy. I love to watch how excited the kids get when we set up the Christmas tree and pull out all of the ornaments for them to hang. I don't mind one bit how the majority of our ornaments are hanging on the bottom half of the tree right in front because that is where Bethy and Scott have placed them.

Do you see the ornament that isn't one? It must have been accidentally placed with all of the ornaments last year...and now holds a spot on our beloved tree.

This trip out to see family was filled with wonderful memories...we're so grateful for all the blessings that we've been given and are excited for what the coming holiday season contains.

Halloween

2011-11-13T17:01:00.000-08:00

It's about time...I know! This year we pulled out a TON of old costumes and accessories and told the kids to find and create costumes out of the mix. This is what they came up with...Joseph became the orange (because it is his favorite color) member of the Power Rangers. Bethany became the Rainbow Magic Fairy Princess. I tried to get Scott to pick out something from the pile but he was adamant that he wanted to be Thomas...so we compromised and he became Thomas' conductor. We went to a ton of fun parties allowing the kids to dress up many times. Joseph was out for a good 2 hours Halloween night, and came home with a ton of candy. He says that next year he'll be able to make it around the entire neighborhood if we allow him to ride his scooter. This year Scotty truly was understanding what trick or treating was all about and was vigilant in not allowing anyone to touch his candy...even when it weighed more than him and he was dragging it behind him! They loved the holiday and are ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

The start of the holidays!

2011-10-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

The Fall holidays have sure crept up on me this year...maybe it was because of our trip up to Alaska and the couple of weeks it took to get back into a routine. There is no doubt about the cooler days and the changing of the leaves though- they are beautiful!

One of our Halloween holiday traditions is going to the corn mazes. We went just this last Friday and the kids had a great time! There were so many things for them to do that we couldn't participate in everything before the sun was down. Their favorite activities were the hay bale maze, and the petting zoo.

Jared and Joseph decided to head out to the Haunted Halloween Cub Scout camp out after we went to the corn maze. They both had a wonderful time and Joseph came home with tons of stories to share, and patches that he was able to earn.

We normally have a theme that goes with our Halloween costumes, but not this year. The kids all had different ideas of what they wanted to be so we are ignoring that tradition. We also decided to try something new...we told the kids that they have to come up with their own costumes from items around the house. I bought face paint for them, but they are in charge of everything else...we'll see what they come up with!

Videos from our Alaska trip

2011-10-02T16:29:00.001-07:00

These are the videos from our trip. Make sure you check out the previous six posts for all the pictures and descriptions of our trip.

This video is from when we went whale watching

This is the only piece of falling ice from the glacier I managed to catch on film. We saw some bigger pieces fall but didn't have the camera ready.

When we were in the stormy seas the swimming pool sloshed around quite a bit. The first day which had the biggest storm they had to drain it because it was sloshing around so much. A little bit before I took these videos (and of course when I didn't have the camera ready) it was sloshing around at least twice as much as this.

Victoria

2011-10-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

I have to say that Victoria is beautiful- because it is! Maybe it is because the sun was out and it made everything look bright and colorful...but there is something about all of the small boats and living close to the water that draws me.

The timings of our arrival changed due to the storm and we both wished that we had dropped the Princess excursion and went off on our own because they changed our timings for the excursions not giving us enough time to see the gardens in Victoria as well as this beautiful castle.

After roaming from room to room checking out the architecture and artifacts of this beautiful place we decided to venture into the heart of Victoria and down into China town (the first one on the North America continent)

After walking all over the shopping district Jared and I headed back to the ship for a fancy dinner and dancing up in the sky lounge as we departed Victoria. We were up dancing until midnight and decided we better head to bed before our early departure the next morning.

We had such a wonderful time on this cruise. The food was amazing (the fine dining, big breakfasts, having everything served to us, the desserts, and eating whenever we wanted to). I had to tease Jared when he started acting like a hobbit eating his second breakfast before we headed out on our adventures. The service was amazing- people were constantly asking us if they could help us in any way. We've decided that this trip was just a taste of what Alaska had to offer and would definately have to return for another visit...maybe when the kids are grown so we can spend more time up there.

We were so excited to see the kids...and they were excited to see us! We heard that they had a wonderful time with all of the family while we were away- thank you all!

Ketchikan

2011-10-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

The entire cruise we were in a continual storm...sometimes it would drizzle but other times it was a heavy downpour...

We had planned to visit Ketchikan on Thursday where we were going to be in bear country... we were going to visit the totem pole park and watch the lumberjack show. Unfortunately the captain came over the intercom and told us that a storm was coming in (in my mind it hadn't left) and we wouldn't be docking at Ketchikan to save time so we could take the longer, slower (but smaller waves) route to Victoria. Even on this route there was a possibility of 18 ft swells. This route minimized the open ocean that we had to traverse to try to avoid a repeat of the first day on the ship (where everyone was sick and everything had to be locked down to keep from making a big mess). We would experience rough waters for certain periods of time when the boat was exposed to the Pacific without an island on the west side of it.

To say the least Jared and I were REALLY bummed about not seeing Ketchikan. I also was not looking forward to being sick again so I prepared myself for the moment when I would become so. A little trick that we learned while at sea was eating green apples. They have to be Granny Smith apples- and they help you not get sick. I had downed tons of the medicine on the first night and all it did was make me sleepy...so I was bound and determined to try anything other than drugging myself. So I sat with my ginger ale, and green apple and a couple hours or so into the storm the sickness hadn't affected me (and the waves were starting to get smaller again) ...so Jared and I went swimming and dancing. Being in the pool when the boat is swaying is AWESOME!!! You don't notice the rocking of the ship unless you watch the water. It truly feels like you are in a wave pool! That was a great night- we stayed up dancing and swimming until the early hours of the morning.

Glacier Bay

2011-10-02T15:17:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we stayed on the boat and enjoyed Glacier Bay. It looked like the Captain took the boat right up close (but knowing about how things look in Alaska I'm sure we were quite a distance away) to the glacier...and yes it was REALLY cold! Luckily we were on the promenade deck so we were protected from the rain today.

While we sat out looking at this amazing site we also got to hear what they call 'White Lightning'. That is the sound you hear when some of the ice breaks away. While watching we got to see some of the ice fall from the glacier into the water!

Here she goes!!!

It was mostly cloudy on our trip into and out of the bay...

The water we found ourselves in looked like a glass of ice water. Ice was everywhere! Some of the passengers commented under their breaths a concern about the possibility of what damage the large chucks of ice surrounding the ship could do to it...

The glacier we visited before was not nearly this big...this was amazing to see (and hear) with my own eyes ( and ears).

Skagway

2011-10-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

The second port we came into was Skagway. This cute little town had tons of cute shops, and really fun excursions. We decided that out of the many different types of excursions we'd go canoeing up to an actual glacier, and blow glass. It was early and raining when we woke up and headed out for our first excursion.

We were (we thought) prepared with our rain clothes (put over our normal clothes) as we lined up to head on out for our very wet canoeing trip up to a glacier. We didn't realize (and thankfully they have boots, jackets, wet gear, and the such for us to wear) how cold and wet it would be as we got close to the glacier. We loaded into a large boat with quite a few others and took an hour long bumpy ride out to the glacier. The captain rammed the boat into the beach and we unloaded. We all climbed aboard these old buses and were taken through the brush and forest into the drop off point where we geared up and got into the canoes. I had about 8 layers of clothing on...and I was sure glad I did! It was so cold up next to the glacier...

The one thing we noticed right off was how many plants we were passing in the buses that are edible...rose hips, strawberries, lettuce plants, mushrooms, and the trees. The guides told us how they live off the land in many ways during the summer months while they are taking people out on tours. They even acquire some of the ice from the glacier itself and put it in their drinks for around the campfires...

We also were surprised by how close everything appears in Alaska. We all got in the canoes and after 10-15 minutes on the canoes we came into the large lake where the glacier was off on one side. It didn't look that far away but when our guide asked us to keep our eyes peeled for the other canoes. We couldn't even see them...and when we did they were just small dots on the edge of the horizon. The guide said that the reason why it looks so close is because the air is so clean.

This is the first bald eagle that we were able to see....can you find it?

One fun thing we learned about glaciers is the fact that they are rivers and not just a frozen piece of ice. The ice itself actually flows down the hill. This glacier also had melt water flowing out from under it...and in a canoe we were able to go right up to the glacier and see the ripples of the current coming out of the base of it.

It was pouring on us out on the lake, and it was bitterly cold...but oh so cool! We luckily brought a large gallon sized ziploc bag to place our camera in...otherwise I think it would have been destroyed with how heavily we got dumped on...and yes...the lake was filled with chunks of ice that we were able to just pick up out of it. I almost brought one back to put in our drinks on the way back.

The rain dissipated on our way back and we were able to take these beautiful shots on the way back to Skagway. One thing we loved seeing was all of the waterfalls...everywhere we went there were many.

When we got back from our canoeing trip I'm sure we were a sight- but we had some time before our next excursion so we headed into town to do some shopping and sight seeing. Scotty loves trains so we had to show him the snow blower for the train tracks.

We hurried back to the excursion pick up location and departed to the Jewel Gardens to do some glass blowing. We happened to be the only ones on the excursion! We got to help make glass balls and paper weights, but because we were the only ones we got to see some extra demonstrations done! We loved watching how the molten glass was manipulated into the different shapes. We then got to eat a wonderful dinner in the tea house overlooking the beautiful gardens.

We were sure glad that we got this excursion through Princess (because if you do the excursion through them they can NOT leave you behind) because we were the last ones on the cruise ship. They had removed all of the netting under the gangplanks and as soon as we stepped on the ship they closed everything up and were off.

After such a day I don't think we stayed up dancing that night...

Juneau

2011-10-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

During one of my weaker moments on Sunday I told Jared that when we got to the next town he was going to get me a car and we'd be driving home...I couldn't take the sea any more. Luckily for me our first stop was in Juneau (which has no roads going in our out) otherwise I might have missed an amazingly fun cruise.

It was pouring down rain- but that didn't lessen our excitement...it just made my hair more curly.

In Juneau we planned two excursions. The first was to board a little wood fired steam powered boat and go around the bay listening to the history of Juneau. There were only roughly 10 of us on this little boat that was replica of what the miners would use to cross the bay during the gold mining days. Jared and I thoroughly enjoyed this excursion because our host was very educated and told us story after story about all of the locations around the bay.

After our trip around the bay we went on a boat (with a closed bottom deck and partly closed top deck) out to see some whales. On this trip out to find the whales they served us an entire buffet of food as we spent our time searching for the whales. Jared and I spent our time with some other fun couples up on top of the boat in the pouring rain trying to take pictures of the whales. I'm still amazed (and happy) that our camera survived the pouring rain. We got to see 15 whales (one was a calf) when we were out. It was amazing to see them as close as we did. I actually wish I had better pictures of them...but I'm glad we got something with how heavy it was raining.

By the time we got back to Juneau from whale watching we had a very small amount of time to do some sight seeing in the actual town before we had to head back to the boat. We wish we had more time to see everything...but when its time for the boat to leave...it leaves. So we didn't dawdle on our way back.

The ship...

2011-10-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

The boarding process wasn't bad at all. We got in rather quickly and were escorted to our room. Jared and I were quite taken back at how large our room actually was...

This boat was REALLY long.....

After unpacking we decided to venture out and see what the ship was like. It was beautiful! The entire ship was beautifully decorated with amazing tile work, marble and lights. Each area of the ship was decorated with different colors and details to enhance the different themes or moods they wish to express. In the buffet upstairs they had little flickering lights on the ceiling to make it look like shimmers on the sea or like the stars at night. Each of the pools and spas had amazing and intricate tile work on the walls and pillars around the room.

This is a picture of one of the gathering areas where is located a cafe, bars, shops, and a chocolate store. There were performances constantly going on here.

Another view...

Another view...

This boat had a hamster tunnel that extended up to a sky lounge...

This lounge was one of the many dance floors that were on the boat...

Two nights during the week were 'dress up' nights. There were numerous places to eat on the ship, but for two nights during the week everyone dressed up and went down to the fine restaurants.

Just one deck below ours was the promenade, lounges, stages, bars, pools, and icecream, pizza and BBQ dining areas. We spent a good amount of time on this one deck during the cruise because it was the deck where we could get close to the water, and where we we got off and on the boat.

Jared also used his hiking GPS satellite transmitter to send messages to the kids along our path...so when they checked their email they could follow us (on a google map) and see where we were and what we were doing.

The GPS was the only way to talk to the kids when we were at sea because we had to turn the phones to airplane mode to avoid international roaming charges (the ship has an international cell phone tower installed on it that they would find when we're out at sea.)

It is also where I found myself most of Sunday...

The storm came in and gave us 14-16 foot waves...let's just say that most of the ship was sick the first day out to sea. I have never been sea sick before, but I was sure sick on that day. The waves were quite impressive!

10th Anniversary!!!

2011-10-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Jared and I just celebrated our 10th anniversary! We decided to celebrate by taking a trip to one of the places we have wanted to visit around the world...we went to ALASKA!!! We packed up the family (and the dog) and took off for Utah where three sets of Grandparents couldn't wait to spend time with their grandbabies for two weeks. (Thank you! Thank you!!!)

Timing worked out perfectly and we were able to be present at the wedding of my niece before we headed out on our own adventure. My niece and Scott's Birthmama A have become very close since they were introduced to each other during one of our 'family girls night out' evenings a few years back- isn't family wonderful? I love how open our adoption is...A and her family are intertwined in our family (and extended family). We sure were surprised when A showed up for the wedding when we thought she had to work that night! Jared and I wouldn't have been able to see her on this trip otherwise. The kids got to spend a good amount of time with her and the family, but we were glad to see her ourselves!

We didn't stay long in Utah and were off quickly from the wedding to get up to Idaho where we would stay the night before continuing on the next day. We drove all of Sunday until we got to Spokane Washington. There we stayed with very good friends for the night. How we have missed them and loved to catch up on how their life has changed. Their kids have grown so, and the newest member of their family is as cute as the others. How wonderful it is to meet up with those friends who have moved on and yet your friendship picks right back up like it hasn't been a day!

While in Washington Jared and I stopped in an A&W for lunch...I had to take a picture of their up-to-date intercom that I used when we were going through their drive through....

After we left our dear friends in Spokane we headed over Washington's rolling hills of wheat and ended up in Leavenworth. This cute little town is a German town with all of the beautiful architecture, food, and chocolates you would see in German town. Jared and I found a little Bed and Breakfast in this town to stay at. We enjoyed walking around this cute little town and trying their food and chocolates. I always find it fascinating whom the Lord places in our paths every day. We met a wonderful couple at the Bed and Breakfast who we instantly connected with as we discussed adoption and helping others become aware of the blessings that come with it...

yes, I took a picture of our food...this is the prettiest salad I've ever been given!

The owner of the Bed and Breakfast told us to check out this diner called '59 on our way to Seattle which is what we did. He said it had the best milkshakes around... they were pretty good.
I personally enjoyed the decorating of the place...all 50's style. They had working jukebox on each table, and the bathroom was hilarious... it had old Sear's catalog pages on the wall, a scale in the corner with a sign on it that said 'Broken as it should be' and cute little buckets that offered items such as gum (for bad breath), air purifiers (in case you made a smell), lotion (to keep your skin smooth), and a bucket for uplifting thoughts. Located next to the diner was an area for camping as well as one cabin for rent...well, actually everything seemed to be for rent.

When we got to Seattle we stayed with my sister, her husband and their family. We didn't seem to sit around though....we painted rooms, went shopping, did scrapbook pages for baby books, and enjoyed just playing and visiting with family. While little ones were napping or at school Jared and I ventured out into the area to see some of what the area had to offer. We went down to the water...and had some AMAZING food at Ivars. I think we ate more fish on this trip then we have in years...it was wonderful!

We had to go down to Seattle and see the sights. We went to Pike's Place, took a cruise around the bay and learned the history of the area, and of course we went to the Needle. I think our favorite moment on that day was taking the cruise around the bay and learning the history of the place... the needle wasn't one of my favorite moments...it was way to high...(Jared loved it though).

Oh- this picture is of a cheese making store that they had right in Pike's Place. You can watch the whole process of how they make cheese. It was rather cool. Pike's Place is also the place to pick up bouquets...$10 for a HUGE bouquet of flowers...if we weren't having to tote all of our stuff onto a boat only the next day Jared would have bought me one.

After the few days we had in Seattle we were to board a Princess Cruise ship for the Inner Passage! We loaded up all of our stuff, kissed everyone goodbye and drove over to where the boat was docked...while we were boarding we heard an announcement that a storm was rolling in...

Where did the Summer go?

2011-09-04T17:53:00.001-07:00

That is my big question...it seems to fly by faster each year! After a great Summer of sleeping in, watching movies, having parties, riding horses, camping out, hiding from the heat, reading books, and enjoying many icecream cones, the school year is upon us.

We've never had a normal 'start' of school before. Ever since the kids have been schooled we've gone year round. The only difference are all of the great sales in the stores, and new comfy slippers to start the cooler season out with.

This year was different though...this year they started an actual school. It's the first hybrid school in the area (that is why I felt alright doing it). I strongly believe that kids progress at their own pace (and should be allowed to), and they may progress in some areas faster than others. This hybrid school allows them to do this, and yet I don't have to create and implement all of the curriculum.

The kids have been REALLY excited to start this new school. Some of their best friends are attending with them which makes the days at school all that more fun. They only go to school one day a week, and then remain home the rest of the time. I think the first morning of going to their school Bethy was up and dressed at 6:00am ready for the day.

They both have their own computers to do their k12 program on at home. The first day of school (at home) they both were at their desks working on their computers when Scott kept attempting to push the buttons on their computers...lets just say that I was thrilled when I found a toddler computer on one of the clearance racks at Walmart later that day! Scott now feels like part of the group with his computer out on his desk each morning.

Here are their school pictures for the year (and ones with their best buddies):

With being home we also get to pick the timings to do our work...so in the last week they got to meet up with friends at the park for a party-

Working the program at home they usually are done with all school in the early afternoon allowing them to play or do other activities. Both Joseph and Beth have signed up for Dance this year (which was a total shocker for me- I didn't think Joseph wanted to continue with learning ballet, tap and jazz, but he does). They also want to sign up for Jujitsu, and continue on with their piano and Spanish lessons. Joseph is still excited about Scouts and is now a Bear in the cub scouts and can't wait to earn all of the awards for that as well. I personally am excited to have 3.5 hours (when Beth and Joseph are in class) ever week to go on a date with Scotty...swinging at the park, eating icecream cones, going shopping, or just going on walks...we'll see what the new year brings...

The adventures just keep coming

2011-08-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

Amber said it's my turn to write on the blog this week. So if it's different than normal that's why.

I got to go up to the scout camp a week ago and try out all the fun activities that the scouts normally do. (That was the bribe to get us to come up and do some brainstorming about how to improve the experience for scouts in our area). I got to do some horseback riding, some rock climbing, shotgun shooting, rifle shooting (including a black powder muzzle loading rifle), and try to light a fire with a bow and drill.

We had a wild rabbit that decided to hide in the woodpile. Joseph and Beth decided to evict it, as generally is the case with something like this, a big mess ensued. To their credit, they did put the woodpile back together afterwards and it doesn't appear to be in imminent danger of collapsing on anyone. Bajjs didn't even seem to notice the rabbit or care about it when I tried to get her to smell the rabbit and chase it off.

Scott also had a first this week. We took Joseph and Beth to a dinner theater and he was babysat by himself (kids under 5 aren't allowed at the dinner theater).
He spent his evening doing what he loves...playing with trains.

You can't really tell in the pictures but the plastic ice cubes in their cups have lights in them that flash. Joseph got blue and Beth got red. I told them they had to leave them off while we drove home. On second thought, we might have been able to get people to pull over and get out of the way with flashing blue and red lights in our car (or maybe had some flashing blue and red lights follow us)

We also celebrated out tenth wedding anniversary this week. We had a nice dinner out and left all the kids at home with a baby sitter. It's hard to believe that it's been ten years already. The time has just flown by. I'm a very lucky man to have had Amber to spend it with. I have a feeling that the next ten will go just as fast and be just as nice.

This week I also had a chance to try out indoor skydiving. They crank the fans up until the wind is blowing past you at about 150 mph and then you just float on the air. I got two 2 min flights. Apparently that's the equivalent of about 5 normal skydives worth of free fall. Two of the videos are from my camera, the other two are from the video that the skydiving place gave us.

What do we do during the Summer time??

2011-07-31T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is what we've been doing...

We love webkinz in this household....

Playing outside

Running...

Campouts...

Naps...

Playing with toys...

Creating new games...

Cooking new things... (yes that is yummy chocolate cake!)

Going on adventures...

Having your Dad teach you how to ride your bike...

Observing all the blessings in our lives...

Man of the House

2011-07-10T17:27:00.001-07:00

Jared works with the Scouts...he is a Scout Master. With this very active and fun position comes campouts in rain, snow, wind or shine, and a week of Scout camp in the middle of the summer. This last week was his week up at camp and he got to do various fun activities with the boys. I'll let him share his week himself but as for us here at home we had a pretty low key week without Dad.

We joined in all the fun festivities that came with the fourth of July and Joseph even got to ride on a float in the parade with all of the cub scouts in his troop! It was such a hot day that Joseph said the boys were begging the driver of the float to go through our town's new McD's for icecream afterwards!

It was a really warm week so we spent most of our time indoors. Here are a few fun pictures of our week without Dad.

Bethy's nice little piece of hair she snipped a bit ago finally was long enough to be considered bangs...so we cut the rest of her hair to match.

After weeks and months of contemplation, Bethy decided to try Joseph's old bike without training wheels...

Since Dad was gone Joseph stepped in...since he was the 'man of the house'.

Even Scotty showed Bethy his support...

Dad finally got home and I slept in rather late this morning...let's just say that the kids were a bit energetic and excited this morning...

Scott spent his week playing trains...really...that was it. After a few weeks of NOTHING but Thomas I would have to say that we have a lover of trains in this household! Scott even found a set of Thomas the train cards that I had forgotten that we had and loves to walk around and tell you who each of the trains are over and over again.

Ok...this is an upside-down picture....turned right side up.

Bethy couldn't get enough cuddle time with Dad this morning.

Let's just say that they were very excited to have Dad home again (me too). They all were true troopers during the week. Joseph and Bethy sure stepped up to the plate and helped out more around the house and with Scott.

You Rock!

2011-07-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

So what did I learn with our month of not buying anything from the store? A few things...first off, we eat a TON of fruit and fresh vegetables in this house. It is rather hard to go from fresh fruit and veggies all the time to dried, canned or frozen...it's just not the same. Second, the kids will devour all graham crackers they find just like every other processed snack. Third, my ovaltine will disappear quickly because everyone wants it in their powdered milk. Fourth, I have to find time to bake/cook a whole lot more to have food in the fridge. Fifth, my fridge is easier to clean since the only thing in it are condiments, powdered milk and what few left overs there are... so there you have it...

We ate just fine actually...even better then usual (minus the fresh stuff) because I made everything we ate. I actually wrote down our entire dinner menu for the month and was pleasantly surprised that I could come up with 30 flavorful/delicious dinner meals that we already had all of the items for. I even used our Sun Oven and was thrilled with how yummy the contents turned out (without heating up my house!). One hour outside and we had yummy strawberry scones to enjoy!

Let's just say that on the first of July I went and bought EVERY fruit and vegetable I had been craving for the past few weeks. All the berries have been on sale and we've enjoyed using them in crepes, desserts, and just plain!

So I really didn't talk about Father's Day...this year the kids and I planned some really fun things for those important men in our lives. Jared got pampered terribly. We made him a crown and truly treated him royally. The kids worked hard on their gifts for Father's day...here is one of the items they gave to Jared....

Yes...those are rocks...each of the kids painted their rock to look like them and then we glued our family rocks together on a plaque with a label stating how our family rocks. The twinkle in Jared's eye came out and he took it to work the next day to show it off.

For all of those wonderful men that our children are blessed to call 'Grandpa' (or Papa =) got something that the kids worked very hard on...yes...rocks again. Each kiddo picked out rocks and painted them to place in their Grandpa's gardens. We of course wouldn't mail them their rocks so we are bringing them out to them when we see them next.

So what else has happened in the last few weeks? Joseph now has his first piece of orthodontia in his mouth...it has started. He thinks it is rather cool...especially since he now has a cool waterpik that he uses to floss with...as well as squirt things with.

Scott has found our big container filled with the Thomas the Train set and hasn't played with another thing for over two weeks now...it looks like this may be his new love for awhile...

Jared also took me to my first concert- Clint Black and Josh Kelley. We had a great time just being there together and dancing to the music!

June...

2011-06-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

Being Prepared...It is important...it is essential. In the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper we try and live like the ants... always putting aside extra for a rainy day or the long winter that may come upon us. The world and life is kinda crazy at times...from losing a job, the car breaking down, to a sickness that costs a lot of money, to a rise in food and gas prices, to a snowstorm that closes everything down for a week...things can happen at any time. We can't prepare for every little thing...but we can prepare as much as we are able to. We store food, and save money. When life's crazy happenings occur we aren't completely thrown a curve ball because we have prepared.

At the end of May we sat the kids down and as a family we decided to try something we've never done before. We decided to not buy anything from the store this month (which is also Joseph's B-day month) and completely live off what we have. We wanted to see what we were lacking in our food supplies. Both Joseph and Beth (obviously Scott has no idea what we are talking about) sat and thought about it for awhile. After some time Joseph said, ' Well...Since you aren't going to buy me any presents this year, would you mind making me a slingshot?' I almost started crying at his willingness to go along with our families plans. What a selfless little one I have. I was blown away. Bethy got all excited and started brainstorming ideas of what she could make Joseph for his birthday instead of buy. Little did he know that I had already purchased his presents months in advance.

Joseph got a wonderful three day long birthday present. He got to go to cub scout day camp with all of his buddies. He was thrilled to be spending those days with his friends and to have one of them land on his birthday was a true treat. He spent most of the day playing sports, doing crafts, hanging with his buddies, and he even got to shoot arrows. By the end of his day camp he was exhausted, but when we got home he was ready for his birthday celebration.

Since he didn't get to run through his b-day banner before he left for camp he got to do it when he got home. Can you tell who made it? Joseph went right from breaking his banner to opening presents. Bethy and Scott were sure excited to have Joseph unwrap their presents. He loved all of his gifts- and was beyond excited for all of his sports equipment. I have heard him first thing in the morning out bouncing balls and running around.

We are half way through our experiment month and I have to say that the one thing we all have missed terribly is the fresh fruit and vegetables. We are so used to eating fresh fruit with every meal, and fresh vegetables throughout the day that it is hard to switch to dried, canned or frozen. This month has sure helped us focus our attentions on tending to our little garden and fruit trees/plants. The first thing we do every morning is go out and tend and water all of our little plants. The kids have helped me in the work, and get terribly excited when they see growth. It has been a good little experement for us all...and it is helping me know what would be nice to have in our stores for those rainy days.

Lazy Summer Days

2011-06-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

After an amazingly fun spring, with visits from all of the kid's grandparents (we are so lucky!!!), dance recitals, pictures, and the end of school, we are enjoying the first few Lazy Days of Summer!!! In fact I've enjoyed the lack of scheduled events on my calendar so much that I've spent my first few days of summer all curled up and reading good books on my kindle. I've been a little lazy (ok...quite lazy) in my blog postings and have spent more time playing with my kiddos. Sorry to all who are anxiously awaiting our weekly posts...I'll try and be better!=)

We've almost put in all of our plants for the season (blueberries, garden vegetables, strawberries, apples, and grapes), cleaned up the yard/house, and have truly enjoyed having a spring this year. Usually the season races by and we get a few days if maybe a week between Winter and Summer...but this year we had months...It was wonderful.

Bethy did VERY well in her dance recital this year. She knew her steps and it was a true delight to watch her perform. Sorry about the pictures- I TOTALLY forgot to bring my camera (what type of mother does that???-a rushed one...we barely got there on time!) and all we had was Jared's phone. A couple of boys are joining up for next year so Joseph wants to rejoin the dancing world...we'll see if this is his desire come Fall.

It has finally become warm enough for the kids to truly enjoy water in the sandbox, running in the sprinklers, and swimming at the pool. We spend most of our mornings outside in the backyard watering our plants, and enjoying the warmth. This year Scotty has loved having the freedom to come and go as he pleases in the backyard. The playground's slide has become one of his new favorite attractions. He can now climb up to the top all by himself as often as he desires. I personally love being able to read in the rocking chair while the kids run around.

What I love about the Summer time is that the kids and I play and work hard in the morning, and then we lay around and relax the rest of the day. In the afternoons we come in from the heat, eat lunch, play games, take naps, read, play computer games, swim or watch movies... It's a hard life...I know...that is why we LOVE summer time.

Red Robin

2011-05-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

First of all I want to wish all of you women out there a Happy Mother's Day. To those women who have showed me what unconditional love really is, to those who have demonstrated amazing courage, and to those who hold fast to their faith and live it. I want to thank my own mother's for all they have done for me, Jared and our kiddos...and one of the most beautiful mother's I know who blessed me with the opportunity to be Scott's momma. You women rock- and I continually am amazed by your talents, abilities, strength and love.

So...this last week was not too unlike all of the others, other than taking pictures for the dance company Bethy dances at. With well over 7000 pictures taken I was pretty tired at the end of it all...I was hoping to get some really cute shots of Bethy...and yet this is what I got....

Crazy huh? With someone so cute how can she take pictures like that!?!?! What in the world!?

Bad day? I don't know... but at least she smiled for her Mother's Day pictures...

Now this is more like it...

Joseph wouldn't open his eyes for anything. He said it was too bright outside and so these are the only shots I got of him.

Scott didn't have any problem with the light outside- I actually was amazed at how well he sat for me, as well as how expressive he was...

My sister was bugging me for a new family picture...this is what we took ;)

Pretties

2011-05-01T20:26:00.001-07:00

That is what we call these things...
Bethy was desperate to have some pretties...so we made some today.

While we were making her pretties Joseph and Jared played this exciting game...which happens to be Joseph's favorite game. He loves strategy games.

Scott was coloring next to Bethy and I until he found something else a bit more exciting to do. He decided he would show off all of his amazing little muscles and he tore the coloring book to shreds. He is trying to look innocent.

Wind of Change

2011-05-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Growing up near the coast I was used to wind...rhythmic, soothing wind...that is not what we have here. We could have a forceful wind coming down on us from the north and then abruptly have it change and come from another direction. It has taken me many years to not wake up from the sudden burst of wind that pounds against my bedroom wall at random moments. I like my wind continuous...rhythmic....but I also understand now how to roll with the punches when the wind jars me as it hits from a direction not expected. The wind has come at us in a direction unexpected...

I'm a homeschooling mama. Plain and simple. I felt impressed when Joseph was rather young that this was the path for him. I say it was for him because anyone that has done homeschooling knows that it is not a walk in the park. Forget the hours of watching TV after a hard day (what is TV?- I thought that box was just there to fill the void in the consul), forget having a clean house...you don't have that many hands, or time, or care....forget sleeping more than 5 hours a night (you are up until the next day's work is prepared and then you wake up with the kids), and forget all of those cute outfits that you blew tons of money on, sweats and a t-shirt work best since you'll likely be doing arts and crafts and someone will smear glue all over you. Oh- and you will be loved by your UPS guy because you are the reason why he has a job since going to the store is not worth your time. Homeschooling is a HUGE sacrifice...yet there are COUNTLESS blessings that can come from it.

I've been teaching over 14 subjects to both of the kiddos using the bucket system for years. Some of the subjects I've had to create and others I've only had to implement. I have bookshelf upon bookshelf of teaching materials. Now I will be cleaning up and moving things out...

For the last little while I have felt a need (not for myself, because I would give all of myself until I had nothing left to give) to change how the kids are educated in our home. I have found the best of both worlds...homeschooling combined with a credited school. I have enrolled both of the kiddos into an internet based school that has weekly on-campus activities with the teachers that teach them over the internet. They will socialize with their classmates, join clubs, participate in sports, theater and the arts. They will be taught the 'basics' online through some of the newest forms of interactive education programs and at the same time I can teach them different subjects that I want to. This program allows both kiddos to experience having other people as their teachers while at the same time allow me to focus more time and energy just being Mom.

I've looked around at different programs and such but felt such great peace when I heard about this program. I know this is the way that we need to go. Joining up with this online school will offer the kids so many wonderful opportunities. They are in a school of only around 100 students. They have two of their favorite families signed up already in the program. They get to work and advance at their own pace...if they are behind in one area and far advanced in another isn't a problem because they are not grouped into a specific grade, rather the accomplishments they have made. They are placed in whatever grade level they need per subject. They also can finish the program early and the school will pay for their college education up to the age they would have graduated at. They get personal attention since there are only a couple dozen kids for the entire elementary level of the school. We also don't have to stop their education if and when we are to find the baby of our family. Their education will come with us (and I don't have to worry about preparing and teaching them). There are so many promising things about this online school and I am very hopeful for the continuing advancement of my kiddos with it.

So there it is...this homeschooling mama is going from working too-many-to-count hours every week to only part time...I'm still helping, and educating all of my kiddos...but I now will have weeknights and weekends off and a clean house to boot. Maybe once in awhile I'll sit down and turn on that thing called a TV.

2011-04-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

Normally I let Amber write our blog updates, but I felt like I should also write about our experiences last week.

A week ago Friday I took the kids to the Museum of Nature and Science while Amber was at the temple. We spent the first half of the time we were there in the the space section. The kids made canyons in the red sand like the ones on Mars, they fired balls into sand to make impact craters, they drove some space shuttle models to get a feel for what it's like to try to drive in space. Then we went to the kids area where they floated pieces of cloth over a fan, snapped together long chains of plastic gears and turned them, excavated fake dinosaur bones, played with puppets, etc. Scott would play with something for just a minute or two before taking off running across the room back to the fish tank, yelling "fish" as loud as he could over and over as he ran back to the fish tank to look at the fish again. He just couldn't get enough of the fish. Eventually it was time to go, so we all got back in the car and picked up a bite to eat on the way to the temple.

Once there Amber took the kids and I took my turn at the temple. It's always very peaceful inside the temple and is a wonderful place to ponder on the teachings of Jesus and how to try to more closely follow his example. When I finished Amber was waiting outside with the kids, she had gone and checked us into the hotel where we would be staying the night and had come back to pick me up so we could go to dinner. We met up with one of the other families that would be attending the FSA (Families Supporting Adoption) conference the next day and had an enjoyable dinner.

We had promised the kids to go swimming, so we headed back to the hotel and got everyone ready to get in the pool. Scott didn't last very long in the pool before getting cold, so Amber took him over to the hot tub which luckily wasn't too hot and splashed water on him to warm him up. I helped Beth swim in the pool and we both watched Joseph swim. I think Joseph's goal was to make as big of a splash as possible each time he jumped in the pool. Which he did time and time again. Eventually we headed back to the room and got everyone dried off. We made some popcorn and let the kids watch a show before bedtime. Getting all three kids to go to sleep instead of keep waking each other up when they are all in the same room is always somewhat of a miracle.

The next day we got everything packed back into the car and headed over to the FSA conference. There were a few things that I picked up at the conference that I hadn't thought about before. However, the main thing I enjoyed was swapping stories and socializing with others and knowing that they understand the struggles and the joys of adoption. For example, the uncertainty of never really knowing what the future has in store, the struggle to wait patiently upon the Lords timing, the mixed feelings that you have when getting the phone call that someone has picked your family for their baby, but knowing that the joy that comes to your family is made possible by the very courageous decision of that birth family, the desire to be "the perfect parent" and to never let down the trust that has been placed in you (both by our Heavenly Father and by the birth family) to provide for and raise the new member of your family. We also listened to stories from other adoptive couples and the heartaches they passed through along the journey as well as stories from birth mothers and journey's they had taken. Then before we knew it the conference was over and it was time to head home. So we got everyone in the car and headed off.

When we were most of the way home, we took a small detour to the house of a good friend of mine, who was celebrating his birthday. We stopped in for a few minutes and the kids temporarily forgot about being tired and joined in the fun with the other kids there. It wasn't too long before we it was time to get back in the car again. This time finally to really get back home. We got everyone in the house and ready for bed. Once the kids were in bed we were not long behind. It had been an exhausting but wonderful two days.

An Edible Backyard

2011-04-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air! Every year about this time I feel the urge to purge and plant. I just spent the last few days cleaning out the house...and I still have a ways to go. I love garage sales and that is exactly what we'll be having in a few weeks to help us get rid of everything! The kids are extremely excited about our garage sale as well. They want to have a stand of some sort out front. What cracks me up is how their little stand constantly is being debated about...should we make lemonade? Or should we freeze the lemonade around sticks to make popsicles? Or- should we make cookies....or sell donuts...or hot cocoa...the ideas continue. They have a bit of time to figure it out.

We've lived in our house for about 10 years now and with each year we add new things to make it 'ours'. I think the yard is one of those areas of the home that is constantly being worked on. Early on we invested in a playground with a 20 x 20 foot sand box (perfect for sandcastles), a large cement porch for summer activities such as water paints, chalk, and bike riding, and a large grassy runway for soccer and games of tag. Yesterday we added something to our yard that I've wanted for quite some time. We finally have put in apple trees! It may sound silly to be REALLY excited over apple trees, but I've always wanted an edible backyard. A backyard filled with ripe and enticing apples, grapes, strawberries, herbs, blueberries, raspberries, and a garden, for little fingers to pick and tummies to enjoy. We didn't put in small little trees...these trees should start producing this year (of course we'll cut off half of the fruit so the tree can become stronger and produce more next year). We bought two Honeycrisp trees and two Galas...delicious!

The kids were too excited to be held back from participating so they helped plant the trees. Joseph was out there digging right along with the men, and even helped lower the trees into the holes. Bethy overheard the men talking about needing to get some water and ran into the house and brought out the watering can ready to do as many trips as was needed to help them out. These trees aren't just mine...the kids have picked out which of the apple trees are theirs and are totally willing to do whatever work is needed in the upkeep of them.

Thinking back about our week...well... it was really a normal week (other than my trees of course)...I also noticed that I didn't really take pictures. I'll try and be better with that. Here is what I found...

Can you tell that Scott is a full Summer-loving kid? He strips all the time and loves to run around as you see here...boy is he happy about it too!

These two love building with legos...I found them downstairs (when they should have been cleaning their rooms) having a great time building ships together. I almost got on them about not doing what I asked but I turned around and quietly left allowing them to continue making memories.

Another Action-packed Week!-how is that for a boring title?

2011-04-10T19:29:00.001-07:00

This last week has been full...wonderful...exciting...and surprising! This last Saturday and Sunday we got to listen to conference. During Conference we listen to God's prophet on the earth at this time. We also get to listen to the apostles and other church leaders as they address and testify to the entire world of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and how to become more like him. When I was a child we had to go to the nearest church building with satellite to listen to conference, but now we listen in the comfort of our own homes over the internet. I was quite pleased with how the kids colored, and played while listening to the appointed speakers. One of their favorite games to play during conference is M&M bingo where they listen to the speakers and catch specific words said by each speaker to fill up their boards and get M&Ms. Something that was most surprising was the announcement of another temple in Colorado! We were so surprised and excited about having another temple in Colorado and the blessings that will come with it!

Along with watching conference this weekend we also were visited by some of our most FAVORITE people- Honey, Papa and D. Unfortunately for us A. (Scott's Birthmom) couldn't come...but wonderfully for her and the Army she now is in Boot Camp! She is one of our heros and the Army is lucky to get her! We spent the days that they were here laying around, playing games, watching movies, eating good food, shopping, reading, playing out in the sunshine, and spoiling the kids terribly! I loved hearing Scott address Honey, Papa, or D. He is still working on Honey and it comes out more like Nana...but D. and Papa are right on- his vocabulary is growing quite rapidly (and it is so stinkin cute to listen to!). The kids got surprised by not only an Easter Egg hunt, but also got to go to Chuck E Cheese. Amongst all of our goofing off we also celebrated Bethy's sixth birthday. The morning of her birthday she was dressed in princess attire and ready to go. She walked through her birthday banner and spent the rest of the day doing what she pleased. She loved opening presents (what kid doesn't?) and spent the day (and following days come to think of it) playing with her new toys. The boys (thanks D.) were good sports and actually played tea party with her! To tell you the truth, I can't believe she is already six! It has seemed like a moment in time since she first joined our family. Joseph is on the hunt...and he has spied an egg.

Bending over he picks it up...

He is obviously excited...and probably counting how many he has...ready to start searching again...and yet hasn't noticed what is behind him!

Not as fancy as her last one...but still as good.

I loved watching Scott bring book after book to Honey- he was in heaven!

After our family departed we headed to the temple for our Stake temple day. We spent the day worshiping in the temple and then stayed over night to attend an adoption conference the following day. The stories shared about the different adoption journeys others have made amazed me. Each of our stories are different. There are different characters, trials, miracles, heartache, and pathways but adoption leads to the most important thing...love. As adoptive parents we desire most desperately to be blessed with children to love, and yet can't do it on our own...the birth parents love so much they choose to place their babies into the arms of others. The main characters that weave an adoption tale are the adoptive parents, birth parents, and the child... but all of those people (grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Siblings, Parents, Friends) who love, support, and care make the pattern so much more rich. We have been blessed to have an open adoption...and with it comes another dimension to our little family of five. The kids have three sets of grandparents, great grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, a bazillion cousins, and we all have wonderful friends who support us. We love having a REALLY open adoption...but realize that with an open adoption the level of openness depends on the needs of all involved. We understand that this next chapter of our lives may unfold differently then our last adoption...but it will be just as amazing, and the love connected with this next adoption will be just as powerful. We are excited for the opportunity to have another child placed in our arms, and to complete our family.

Wheels are Turning

2011-03-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

This last week sure has been crazy. We've been on the run the whole week...so here is a taste of some of our activities....

Joseph and Jared participated in the cub scouts derby race...super fun, new track, and awards.

Bethy went to Disney on Ice with a friend. (Thanks Kristy- she had a blast! Actually she won't stop wearing the shoes you got her...she even tried to wear them to church!)

We also have had some beautiful weather. With that said, the kids have spent a good amount of time acting like it is already summer.

Bethy had her sixth birthday party...within a few weeks I'm going to have to change my heading to 862 and running! She wanted a Princess Tea Party...all those attending had a marvelous time.

Even Joseph helped out- he made a 'Pin the Horn on the Unicorn' game and he was the server during the tea party!
Bethy wanted a Rapunzel cake...this was the best I could do...

Treats a plenty-

Silly Games-
Wishes made-
Feeling the love-

Fun Presents-

Dressing up like a princess+Awesome food+Giggly Friends=One Happy Girl

...and one exhausted mom!

I'm Watching You....

2011-03-20T20:03:00.001-07:00

I have a secret closet...a closet that my children know NEVER to touch...for if they do everything within it may disappear. This secret closet contains presents...birthday, Christmas- it doesn't matter. At any time of the year I may have presents hidden in it. It is a HUGE temptation for them...for if they look within it (and get caught obviously) they may see something magical, something amazing just for them and then it will be gone...so they curb their desire and so far in the 3 years I've had the 'Secret Closet' no one has looked within it.

This secret closet happens to be in my study where I also have within it teaching supplies. I needed to get something out of it and Bethy was in the room. I asked her to leave so I could get whatever it was out of the closet without her seeing her birthday presents. She looked directly into my eyes and pledged to turn herself around and not look towards the closet while I retrieved the item needed. After turning herself to face the other wall I teasingly asked if she could see the closet. Pausing for a moment she then replied that she isn't old enough to have grown eyes on the back of her head. Stifling a giggle I asked her how old she had to be...she thought about it for a moment and said... 'You should know Mom- you have yours...'

EEK! Caution- fainting may occur when viewing this material...

2011-03-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

Jared and I like to rotate our family membership between the Denver Zoo, and Denver's Nature and Science Museum. Both of these locations are wonderful to take the family to. This year we decided to focus our attention and money on the Nature and Science Museum because they have a GREAT Real Pirate's Exhibit. They also have some amazing 3D movies playing in their Imax theater. We have taken the kids to the museum for the last two Saturdays. Each exhibit usually takes a few hours to walk through and by then the kids are done. We couldn't finish the human health exhibit last week so we finished it yesterday. This place rocks...

I had to put this one in...Scott's face is classic!

Each of the kids are given a card as they enter. Using computers they enter their information on it and then proceed throughout the exhibit taking measurements of themselves...everything from their heart rate (resting and target), arm span and height, body temperatures, pupil enlarging and shrinking, walking speed, brain wave activity, balance, and the yuckiest of all...the aging computer. Along with taking measurements they also get to learn how their body works.

Prepare yourself for some scary sights...
The aging machine allowed us to see ourselves at 70 years of age and under effects such as UV exposure, smoking and obesity.

In this exhibit there is a section in the far back that allows the kids to do real experiments (glasses, lab coats, drugs, microscopes, the works). Bethy LOVED this area. She promptly told me that she now wants to be a scientist when she grows up....or a ballet teacher.

We also went and watched a 3D movie about that which lives in the oceans. I had a hard time focusing on the movie while the kids were reaching for the fish and jumping with the sudden movement of the crabs, sharks, and eels. Bethy and Joseph loved feeling like they were in the ocean with the sea life, but the movie didn't capture Scott's attention for long and we found him deeply sleeping when it was over.

Out of this World

2011-02-27T20:49:00.001-08:00

We are REALLY big into the Scouting program in this household...Jared is the Scout Master of our ward's troop and Joseph has hit the floor running in the cub scout program. Many of our weekends are filled with Scouting camp-outs and outings. One of the normal activities on Sunday is for the guys of the family to gather around the kitchen table and work on the various scouting belt loops that Joseph is working on. This last week our troop celebrated the Scouting Program's birthday with a blue and gold dinner. The scouts were asked to bake and design a dessert for the evening. Joseph decided that he wanted to make the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. Joseph is a VERY big Star Wars fan (his bedroom says it all) and so the Millennium Falcon is what we did...

You can see why Bethy hung around to watch....

He got the 'Out of this World' award...
Other things that happened this week...hmmm....instead of going into all that we did I'll share a few more cute pictures instead!

Lazy Sunday

2011-02-20T21:21:00.000-08:00

Yes...it has been a beautiful day...as you can see I've put up a few posts...on the SAME day! It is amazing. Let's just say that today was a good day. I was sitting in the Livingroom trying to get some shots of Scott's eyes (which is VERY hard since he loves to run...not pose like Bethy!) and was able to take some 'this is what we are like on a lazy Sunday afternoon,' shots.

This is our miserable dog...who will soon be set free tomorrow! She can't wait...the kid's can't wait. I can't wait because then I don't have to take her out every time she has to use the grass. I'm glad her little operation is behind us! I'm sure she can't wait to stop looking like a clown.
Do you see his hand on the door handle??? Scotty is the first out of the three who has no fear about opening up doors and taking off- freaks me out! Locks are up and are being used because he is too smart for his own good!

A scientist in the making???

I have many pictures of Scott because I was trying to get him to just look at me for a decent picture...got one!

Joseph loves to spend his Sundays reading, playing games or working on his Scouts...

Now this is funny...Bethy was more then happy to help Scott get his shoes off so he could sit on the couch...

She even offered to take off his socks...

Then being the big sister she is, she decided that she loves to hear Scott giggle...and so she helped herself to some of his most precious sounds as well...

Eyes for you...

2011-02-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

We got home only a few days before Valentines...(thankfully I had everything prepared WAYYYY before hand). The kids love this holiday.

They look forward to making love bugs (monsters if you are Joseph, and Princesses if you are Beth) to hang in our front room. They love making Valentine cards for their friends, and receiving them in return. When they wake up on Valentine's Day morning they usually rush up to see what mom and dad have left for them on the kitchen counter...sometimes it is goodies...sometimes it is flowers...this year they all got sunglasses and chocolates.

Jared always takes me out to eat on Valentine's Day. This year we chose to go to Texas Roadhouse...one of our favorites. We LOVE their ribs...bread...salads...desserts. You could just say we love their food...yum! This year we shared a meal and enjoyed the crazy atmosphere that was there at the restaurant.

So why the post heading...eyes for you??? Ten years ago these eyes

met these eyes...

and there was love at first sight...
and I've loved looking in these eyes ever since...

and these...

Open Arms...

2011-02-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

This last week contained a whirlwind of a trip for us out to Utah...We traveled for one day...stayed one day...and left the next to return home. It wasn't an easy trip on the kids but it was well worth it.

We went for a funeral. My Grandmother's funeral. This amazing woman married my Grandfather later on in life after they both had lost their first loves. My Grandfather died a few short years later. She remarried again to an amazing man. These two people widened their family tent and we were included within...we had always been and will ever be touched by their love. I think the singular thing my Grandmother taught me was how she unconditionally loved people and thus included others in her life...It is something I strive to do.

When we first looked down the road of adoption (before we adopted Scott), I was cautious of open adoption. I was ignorant of the true blessings that could come and only focused on my illogical fears. After learning more about open adoption Jared and I knew that we wanted it. It opens the door to including amazing people into ones family just like my Grandmother has done in her life...

Over the last two years Jared and I have felt very blessed to have Scott's Birthmom and her family in our lives. We text, email, send packages, skype, and visit. We look at how each of us have been blessed with these amazing people in our lives and we wouldn't change it for the world.

Family is a blessing...and open adoption is like adding more people to the party- it just makes it more fun!

A hole in one...

2011-01-30T21:06:00.000-08:00

I thought I would give you a picture of what we do every day...just one little snapshot amongst the many. One of the beautiful things about our life is that we wake up when we want to. We don't have to race to get anywhere so we take our time in the morning. More often then not we eat a big breakfast and then start our day. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day...so naturally we enjoy incredible meals to start our day. We switch between waffles, pancakes, muffins, eggs, oatmeal, and (my favorite) french toast. After kissing Jared goodbye we all head downstairs to start school. The first thing we do is pray and read our scriptures. The whole day seems to go so much smoother when we pray for the Lord's Spirit to be with us. After that we go over and say the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the kids start their work buckets. I found out about work buckets last year and implemented them in our school as soon as I could. Joseph and Beth have responded so favorably towards the work buckets. Each bucket holds what they need for a given subject and when they accomplish it they can remove the number of the bucket and place it on their finished assignment chart. Some of the subjects we do all together like History, or Science. During those subjects we combine and either cuddle on the couch to read, go upstairs to perform experiments, or venture outside to do some observing. Scott isn't left out of the action. He has his own desk (just like the other two) where he holds his various items that he is working on...like his puzzles or books. Bucket by bucket the kids work on their material until it is done. After school the kids do their chores. They then get to spend the rest of the day doing whatever their little hearts desire to do...play outside (like the last few days- boy, the weather was beautiful!!!), read books, play with legos, play Barbies, take a nap, dance, play the wii, ride bikes, play star wars in the backyard, or cook.

So why have I been going on and on about homeschooling? Because it is a part of who we are. I get to be with my children every day, and I feel blessed to see the excitement and hunger for learning in their eyes as they discover truth. When the subject that I homeschool comes up with others I receive all sorts of opinions on the matter whether requested or not. Some shake their heads and think I'm crazy. Others are amazed and congratulate me. Others think I'm trying to smother and coddle my children. Some believe that I'm not allowing or teaching my children how to stand on their own two feet. I can always tell which one it will be when there is a pause in the conversation, a diverted eye glance, before they clear their throat and try to address the fact that I am wrong in my viewpoints (without coming out and saying I'm insane). So why do I do it? Because I love my kids. That may seem like a text book answer but the true answer has too many factors to eloquently address them all...and what it comes down to is...love. I don't believe I am the best teacher at any of the subjects I teach...but I am the best when it comes to knowing my kids and being able to receive the revelation needed to teach them the way they will learn the best. So am I opposed to school? Not generally. Are their great teachers out there? Yes... There is no denying that...having some who are in my own extended family. If I feel that one of my children needs to attend a school would I put them in? Yes...but at the moment I don't. Whether in schooling, or just every day affairs, I know that every parent can receive the guidance from God on how to help their children become the best they can. Right now homeschooling is what is best for my kids...can it change?-of course...but for now I take the bumpier and harder road and try to walk with God in training my children in truth and right.

On a messier note...Bethy lost her first tooth this Saturday! She was tickled pink! It all started with trying to eat a cookie..she thought I had put rocks in it (????) and found instead her tooth. She was thrilled that the tooth fairy visited her last night and left her a whole dollar!

Scott was in the bathroom watching Beth with great interest and came right up on my camera for his picture to be taken...he wouldn't show me his teeth though.

The culprit- a mint chocolate chip cookie...oh ya- it is as good as it looks!

The cookies are so good she didn't put hers down...probably afraid of who would swipe it.

Famous

2011-01-24T10:34:00.001-08:00

I came across the kids discussing something and had to write it down...

Joseph: 'Act out someone who is famous....who is that?'
Beth: 'Ariel.'
Joseph: 'Ariel is NOT famous.'
Beth: 'Yes she is.'
Joseph: 'No she isn't famous.'
Beth: 'I don't even know what famous means!'
Joseph: 'It means an awesome person.'
Beth: 'Then Ariel is famous.'
Joseph 'No she isn't.'

Belated Christmas Presents...

2011-01-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

Around Christmas time I get these crazy 'I can do anything' ideas for presents (which more often then not takes much more of my time then what I in vision) ...this year was no different. It all started when the kids started bringing books into bed. They are avid readers and I would find them sleeping on and around 20 plus books every night when I checked on them before I retired for the night. Jared and I tried giving them their own bookcases...but the ones in their room never were used for books. This arrangement was starting to pester me and then I saw an amazing idea in FamilyFun (one of my favorite mags) and decided that I could easily solve the books in bed problem. So here it is... with two brackets, two dowels, and some fabric this is what I made...

This next pic is what I bought for Scott...he needed something a bit bigger, and more sturdier but based on the same idea...

This wasn't the only thing I decided to make for Christmas...I decided to make Joseph his own comforter (and yes, I just barely finished it this week). This isn't a normal comforter. I designed it a bit differently then other blankets that I've made in the past. The top layer is quilted with two different fabrics and sewed onto a sheet. The center is a basic black comforter from Walmart, and the bottom layer is a basic sheet. Sounds weird huh? Read on.

I was tired of always having to clean Joseph's and Beth's comforters because they would never use their sheets. I would always find them pulled out, in a wad stuffed into the corner of their bed unused while their comforter was the only thing on top of them at night. So after thinking about it for awhile I wondered why I couldn't just attach their sheets to their comforters. So I attached buttons to Joseph's new black basic comforter (I'm going to see if it works for him before I go through the effort of making this for Beth) and made button holes in all of his sheets. I placed a basic sheet on the bottom, and a quilted thicker sheet on the top for warmth and decoration and this is what it turned out like...

So far it has worked! It is even easier for him to make his bed since there is only one large blanket to spread out instead of various parts.

This week (other then finishing projects that were suppose to be given as Christmas presents) we moved Bethy into her own room and got it spruced up just the way she wanted! I love stickers on the walls, and found some super cute ones at the dollar store. A dollar! It's a steal compared to the $20 plus ones I found on the net. Adding these to the matching bedspreads we have for her bunkbed she now has her own fairy/butterfly bedroom... She loves it!

For Narnia and Aslan!

2011-01-16T18:01:00.001-08:00

Joseph loves the Chronicles of Narnia...Jared and I took him and his best friend to watch The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3D during Christmas and he can't stop talking about it. He loves to clear out the entire school room and line up all of his dinosaurs, transformers, cars, animals, and little toy story army guys to reenact the war scenes in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Jared picked up a catapult set that the two of them could put together and they did this weekend. Joseph loves the catapults and can't wait to try them out.

The Layered look...

2011-01-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

Scotty is styling! He was dressed for the day and yet he went back into his room and picked out specific articles of clothing to have on. I tried to explain to my 2 year old that he was already dressed and he didn't need his Mickey Mouse pants on...but I could tell it meant much more to him then it did to me. I told him to go ahead and put it on...which he did! He needed help with the second shirt he brought out, but he did a great job dressing himself. Even with the second pair of pants. He was so proud of himself that he galloped around like this for the whole morning!

Occupational Hazards for a five year old's barbie doll...

2011-01-16T17:34:00.000-08:00

Beautician in the making...

You can see where this is going. I found Bethy hiding in her room yesterday. Being the perceptive mother I am I walked into her room and pinned the exact location of the item she was trying to conceal. Poor Cinderella...oh poor Cinderella... how can she ever stick her face out in public again?

Bethy decided that she didn't have enough princes (I guess one is not enough) so she was going to make another one. I was a little perturbed by this discovery and therefore removed the scissors she had smuggled into her room as well as any crayons, pens or pencils in view (just in case she wanted to enhance her artistic talent and start drawing all over the beautiful bed we bought her days before). I also sat her down and explained (yet again) that she is not suppose to cut ANY form of hair. As we were talking about her new desire to be a beautician I realized (yes it took me a moment to realize what I was looking at) that she had cute the under part of her hair off! ARGH! hmmm what to do?

One thing was for sure...it had to be cut!

I found a fun little website just up her alley....
http://www.mary.com/great-hair-fashion.html

I didn't want to buy a little doll that she could practice cutting hair on...and I DON'T want her to continue on herself so I found this site and she can do it in the computer world! She can't wait to become like Aunt Katie and learn how to cut hair...but has promised to wait (practice on the computer) until she is much older ( I hope!). As for Beth...well, her hair will grow back out...but as for poor Cinderella...well, that is just an occupational hazard of being a beautician in the making's doll.

Gophers...

2011-01-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

As I'm sitting here looking at my computer I realize I don't have much to say...I also don't have anything to show (as in pictures). We started this New Year running...which is a speed that we won't be keeping up much longer. My honey do list (which is longer than any man would like to see I think) has started to shrink. They are all little things, but they are things right in the center of where we work and play which make them hard to accomplish. In the last 2 weeks most of the window sills in our home have been refinished. A door or two as well. In my laundry room I FINALLY (after 10 years) have a shelf and bar above my washer and dryer. Insulation has been put in place all over the house. Basement windows have been waxed and cleaned, walls touched up with paint, and plumbing has been done. Window wells have been cleaned (yes, unfortunately we found a frog, a mouse, various bugs, and two gophers within them...on the plus though, Joseph was thrilled to see, write. and describe them all in his science booklet) We have many more that will be accomplished in the next week or so and then we can relax.

Along with all of these projects Bethy's room will finally be finished. She has been using it to store her barbies and clothes in, but not anymore. Bethy has been on cloud nine ever since Jared and I bought her a bunk bed for her room with matching comforters and such. She can't wait to have a room to call her own. During all of this commotion school still continues. Joseph and Bethy spend their time on their studies and Scott runs up and down the stairs enjoying his new found freedom (because he learned how to go up and down the stairs without issue). He also loves to 'play school' and work on his puzzles, and coloring pages as the older kids work on their subjects.

For us life is full...and busy. We are constantly working towards our goals, and focusing on our children. We decided that this year we were going to take time to enjoy new things. Jared has wanted to play the guitar for quite some time...has he had time to do it? No...This year he is making time. I also would LOVE to learn how to paint...not just stick figures but actual Bob Ross type of paintings...so I'm going to take a class. We are also taking more time for just the two of us... We just got back from time up in the mountains, and later this year we are planning on going to Alaska on a cruise. We love to go out on dates and have found an amazing dinner theater to go and enjoy together and with friends. So are we busy? Yes...life can't be anything else with three kiddos, one dog, a house to constantly tend to, school to teach, church to participate at, friends to hang with, and family to visit with...but things will slow down some as we focus on priorities and simplify our lives. Life is as enjoyable as you make it...and we love our life.

Christmas bells are ringing...

2011-01-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas seemed like a blur to me...but a wonderful blur.

We went to parties, caroled, made gingerbread houses, watched all of our Christmas movies (and some of them more then once), did Christmas crafts, made tons of cookies, went hunting for Christmas lights, had Christmas music playing on Pandora most days, visited with family and friends, and we all found ways to fill our Christmas box with different ways we served others. The kids couldn't wait for Christmas to come...and I wanted more time to enjoy every moment of it.

Joseph and Beth were very relieved to find that Santa hadn't given them coal this year (because they hadn't been perfect and a few years back Dad got some). They each got what they asked Santa for...

I'd have to say for Joseph this was the year of the legos...for Bethy it was the year of the Disney princesses (when is it ever not???)...and for Scott it was the year of the vacuum. Yup- you read it right...he LOVES to vacuum! Scott left all of his presents sitting there wrapped until a few hours after the rest of us were finished unwrapping because all he had eyes for was the vacuum. They loved all of their gifts- from their cousins to their great grandmas- thank you all!

It was a wonderful time just being together. Jared had the next whole week off to just be with us...it was awesome!

Now it is a brand new year...we shall see what fun adventures await us!

Traditions

2010-12-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

Everyone has them...whether they are elaborate, funny, simple or down right bizarre... Jared and I were raised in families where we had many fun and wonderful traditions that came along with the Christmas season. When we got married we had to combine two worlds into one thus give and take between all of the traditions and come up with our own. We have some wonderful traditions but as the children grow we have been adding new ones to the bunch. There is a reason for this new tradition addition...As I was looking at our Christmas season I realized that the speed of my time quickens as my kid's time slows. We try to fill our days with parties, caroling, crafts, present making, cookie making, Santa visits, on top of all of the normal things we have to do like cleaning, school, dance, church...and the list goes on. For them Christmas doesn't come fast enough, but it seems like to me we fly through the season to get to Christmas day. After all of the presents have been unwrapped, and toys are being played with I sit back and love to watch the happiness on my kid's faces...but I think of what the season is truly about and whether my kid's understand it...and have felt the true joy of partaking in a Christ-filled season.

This year before all of the other gifts are opened we will be opening a very special present filled with gifts from the heart. The kids are always playing, loving, and doing service for each other and others not of our family. I wanted them to realize that those small acts of love are true gifts by themselves. So whenever they do something for another they can write it down and place it in the box. On Christmas we'll open the box and find out all of the 'gifts' that were given throughout the month of December.

As the years go by I hope that my kiddos will see Christmas as the season where we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and focus on his teachings. I hope it will be a time of true joy, and love because of what they do for others and not for what they get.

New Adoption Blog Button

2010-12-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

We have made this button, the instructions below will allow you to use it to link to our blog.

Click on design, then click on "add a gadget" and pick "HTML/JavaScript". Give it a title (this is the title that will show up above the picture). Then paste this into the content box

<a href="http://amberandjaredincolorado.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sztDN4lzcGg/TPxjFk6GHFI/AAAAAAAAARk/thD_IgIxJLU/s320/jmbutton2.jpg"/></a>

Click on save and you should see the new button.

The Ups and Downs of Traveling...

2010-12-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

We love being with family and like every Thanksgiving we were going to travel to share this holiday with those we love. We did share our time with everyone (and hopefully nothing more)...but I don't quite remember much of it. Three of the five of us came down with the I-hate-you-please-go-away-and-don't-forget-to-let-the-door-hit-you-on-the-way-out flu. This was a horrible flu. I'm so grateful for all that helped us through this yucky time. I felt robbed actually...robbed of the small amount of time I get to share with everyone. I do remember a few things though...just a few. Before we all came down with the-horrible-no-good-very-bad-flu, we went and met up with my sister and her family to take pictures and get icecream... here are a few of the cute shots taken.

Looking back at the pictures being downloaded from my camera I feel at a loss since there are only a handful of pictures on it (which is VERY unusual for me to find). I have NO pictures of our time spent with Jared's or my side of the family. To top it all off, I have only a few taken of Scotty's birthday!

Scotty turned two and I'm so glad everything was taken care of, since I was completely out of it. I don't remember much...I'm just glad Honey and Papa (and Jared) took charge and handled everything while I was hiding- THANK YOU!!!

A good time before we went out on our trip, Bethy had sent out invites to all of her cousins, Aunts, and Grandmas to come and watch the soon to be released Tangled movie. She was SOOOOOOOOOO excited. Before the movie we met up with all of her girl cousins and styled their hair like different Disney princesses and then we went and watched the show...we all loved it!

We had to leave early from family because of the snow storm coming through the area. We got home before the 1st of December...I can't tell you the last time we were able to make it home from traveling, put up our Christmas tree and decorations, buy presents and be all ready for the amazing season of Christmas before the 1st of December. I feel on top of my game...I feel like we have a good amount of time to focus on the true meaning of the season, do things together as a family, and enjoy the memories we make together.

Scotty didn't quite know what to do with the candle...so Bethy helped him blow it out...as well as eat the frosting off the bottom- what are sisters for?

He didn't need help opening his presents..yet Bethy helped anyway =)

These are only a few random pics I had on the camera before we left...the first snow of the season- the kids just had to go out and play in it...as well as the dog!

I am not a seamstress...but I saw this cute material and I just had to make something with it! so I made this dress for Bethy...
The kids love putting up ornaments. We lay them all out on our coffee table and then they put them up with the sweet sounds of Christmas songs filling the room...

Joseph was in charge of all of the breakable ones which were put at the top...and as you can see...Scotty handled the bottom of the tree. He got up quite a few before Bethy and Joseph cleared off the table!

Narnia

2010-10-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

I love the autumn...I love crunching the leaves under my feet as I walk under gloriously colored trees, going on brisk refreshing walks with the fam, and pulling out all of those cool temperature recipes that I put on the shelf until the right time. I love to watch how excited my kids get when they put on their costumes and run around the house pretending that they are that specific character.

This year the kids decided on the Chronicles of Narnia...do you know how hard it is to get costumes of movie characters when the movie isn't playing at the time?? Really hard...I almost wasn't able to get Joseph's character, and they don't even make Scott's...so we improvised on that one. I couldn't find King Peter so Joseph settled on Prince Caspian. Bethy wanted to be Queen Lucy, and we decided Scott would be Reepicheep. We LOVE the Chronicles of Narnia in this house.

This year the kids were overly excited about trick or treating. They couldn't wait for the days to pass until they could go around the entire neighborhood. Jared and I had to inform the kids what our family would be doing because Halloween lands on a Sunday. I think there was an initial disappointment, but once they realized all of the fun activities we had scheduled for the holiday they were cool with the outcome.

The last week has been filled with Halloween parties, work trick or treating, and family spooky movie nights on the big screen. The kids have had a ball! They have loved getting into character. Whenever we put Scott (our little mouse) into his costume he instantly starts running and sword fighting anyone and everyone...you can imagine how long he had his sword in his posession. I loved watching Bethy curtsy and declare who she was to everyone who wanted to know. Joseph got a whole bunch of knight attire at one of Jared's work parties which added to his costume making him quite prepared for full battle. He loves that Scott will sword fight with him since Bethy won't dressed as a queen.

Jared's work has trick or treating and the kids look forward to going every year. This year Scott really started understanding what he was doing and he kept up with all of the older kids as they filled their buckets. Afterwards the kids were exhausted from hauling all of their candy so we grabbed dinner and watched Halloween movies together.

Our Church has pretty amazing Halloween parties, and this year's was awesome. The place was packed, the kids were running around all over the place playing games, eating treats, and trunk or treating. The kids and I decorated our trunk and Joseph was the one coming up with all of these creepy-yet cool, ideas. He wanted to figure out how to rig a Spider that would fall down on the kids as they entered or exited our 'inn'. We also put up a strobe light so it would look pretty freaky as I emerged from the painting on the wall to hand the kids their candy. We pulled it off and we scared some of the older girls and guys as they entered our lair. It was a fun night!

Great memories...I love how the kids don't just use their costumes once or twice, but they will play in them regularly for months and months just like their costumes from last year, and the year before.

2010-05-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our adoption blog! We're hoping to be verified soon... we'll let you know when we've got the green light!