Andrus Family Fun

Zanders Lids

2012-01-30T13:09:00.000-08:00

Mom made Zander a new toy. He thinks it's pretty cool.

You can see the whole project break down at Come Get Crafty.

Decorating Christmas Cookies

2012-01-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

This year we bought a sugar cookie decorating cook from a local friend. She is raising money to send her two children to Ireland to perform for St. Patricks Day. This took any, and all work out of cookie making and just left all the fun for us!

Abigail worked very hard to spread the frosting on her cookies. She had no problem pouring on the decorations to make them 'beautiful'!

Isabella likes mixing the frosting colors, but mostly just sneaking the cookies to eat. She tried to eat the bags of decorations straight when we were done with the cookies! (never mind the pin cushion and pattern.... Mom should learn to clean up her sewing better!)

Khali made some very intricate cookies. Khali liked that if you were not happy with the end result, you could eat any evidence.

Trouble Maker

2012-01-20T20:38:00.000-08:00

Silly mom put a plate of sliced eggs on the table before dinner was ready. Left unattended! Of course a baby would climb up onto the table and devour all 4 of them. Needless to say, he didn't eat much of his spaghetti dinner tonight!

Balance is Important

2012-01-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

Zander has had a rough day. First he had a little squabble with one of the dining rooms chairs. He gave the chair a good talkin' to, but in the end, he didn't win. Then later he had another go around with the door frame. Mom wasn't too far away and couldn't believe how loud the crack was. Unfortunately, it was also his head. The same eye actually.

We are considering making a bubble wrap helmet for the little man.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2012-01-16T17:39:00.000-08:00

Spending a majority of their lives in Utah (mixed in with high Nevada mountains, and upstate New York), Mom and Dad do not have a particular love for snow. The children however, do not share their opinion.

We woke up Sunday morning and looked out the windows. Got dressed and looked out the windows. Mom and Dad made breakfast, while the children all looked out the windows. We even got our hair all done up, and then Dad checked his cell phone before hustling everyone out the door for church to find a few missed calls from friends letting us know that Church was canceled for the day.

Snow Day!

Abigail and Zander were both adorable in the snow.

The snow was very wet and Abigail learned how to make snowballs quickly. She picked the Earmuffs out of the closet and determined that they were only for her. She called them 'Ear Mops'. It was adorable.

She also learned how to throw them. She followed Isabella under the trees to nail her.

Daddy got in on the action as well. Khali got hit in the knee by this one.

One of the next snowballs hit her right in the face. Doesn't she look thrilled?

Zander was a happy observer for most of the time.

Isabella tried to make a gigantic snowball, gathering up as much as she could.

This snowball? In a moment, it will be flying straight at Moms head. Dad is like that.

Mom tried to make a few snowballs for defense while Khali ran away.

Zander is running toward Mom with a snowball in his hands.

Porter just clobbered someone with a snowball. Doesn't he look pleased?

After the family snowball fight, the kids all worked together to build a fort.

Zander thought eating the snow was the right thing to do. His little hands were getting so red! So were his little cheeks. We took him inside after the first half hour under complete protest.

And this little pouty face? Just one of Zanders many expressions.

The weather forecast calls for a few more days of snow. Perhaps the worst storm to hit the Seattle are in 20 years. We don't mind though. The kids keep playing outdoors, Dad keeps making more fires, and Mom keeps the hot chocolate waiting.

A Beautiful Day

2012-01-16T12:01:00.000-08:00

One of Moms favorite days, is hair cut day. We have a friend who is a fabulous stylist who comes to our home, and makes us all look fabulous. Khali was a very stuidious girl and used a website to choose her haircut. She looked at many options but narrowed it down to styles that worked with thick, wavy hair that also complimented glasses. Such a smart girl! She has gotten continuous compliments from friends and strangers on her wonderful style. Her picture is after she styled it. She loves that it is so simple.

Porter zoned out to a game on the Kindle Fire while Tricia worked her magic. She has over a dozen nephews she's styled for years so his haircut goes super fast! Porter, like always, is an adorable boy.

Isabella wanted to be like big sister and tried to use the same website to design her hair cut. Thankfully she chose a 'do that was very similar to the one she already has so Tricia cleaned her hair up and made her adorable all over again. Bell pulls off short hair so well with her sassy ways. She wants to grow out her bangs to side sweep them. We'll see if she remembers in 2 months when it's haircut day again.

The week before haircuts, Abigail went wild with a pair of scissors. Mom cried. Now before you conjure up the memory of you're child taking the scissors 1/2 an inch from the scalp and going to town on themselves, it wasn't that bad. But Mom cried anyways. Abi cut 4-5 inches off on each side of her hair. Why you ask? Mom asked the same question. Abigail wanted to look like Madeline. Mom was ( and still is ) horrified that Abigail wanted a bob! Thankfully, Tricia was able to do something with what Abigail had left her. Abigail doesn't love things touching her neck but she still behaves so well in the chair so that Tricia can make her beautiful.

Zander did not participate in hair cut day. Mom refuses to cut off his baby curls, even though she can put them in two piggie tails at the back of his head. Dad is supporting a new style for the young man, but Mom is unrelenting. Stay tuned to see who comes ahead in the argument in two months.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T22:29:00.000-08:00

It's been a very long week since Christmas at our home!

Dec. 25th, 2011 11:30am   The kids promptly ran into the house from church in their beautiful holiday dresses to dig through packages to find the ones from Grandma Jamie.
Dec. 25th, 2011 11:45am All children have found package, except Khali, have thanked Grandma via skype and are now on their way to changed out of their dress-up attire and into their new pajamas.
Dec. 25th, 2011 11:47am Khali finally finds package and makes a mad rush to not be beaten by her siblings in the race to be comfortable.
Dec. 25th, 2011 Noon    Commence Operation Christmas. Much fun was had for the rest of the day.

Dec 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 2011   Multiple children stayed in those pajamas or other Christmas pajamas for most of the week. We wish we did it just for comfort, but many of us had bronchial infections. A few days were pretty miserable for Isabella, Abigail and Zander. High fevers, sore throats, wheezy breathing, hacking coughs.

Of course despite Moms best efforts to stay healthy (doing everything imaginable; including drinking vats of fresh ginger tea. Owww!), she succumbed as well. Tylenol and breathing treatments all around! The plans to re-decorate our Christmas tree as a New Years tree will have to happen next year.
The yummy snacks of Fondue, will need to wait as well.

Since most of the population has gotten a bit of spunk back today, we are trying to have a little more fun tonight than the rest of the week has been! The little girls called Grammy Whammy on the phone to read her books. We've organized a family card tournament that is currently in progress. Cartoons and Music are playing. Little ones are running around with glow sticks and blow outs. Snacks are being devoured. We are celebrating what Abigail has dubbed the Calendar's Birthday.

But we will have to see if anyone makes it till Midnight.

Happy New Years!

Porter turns 9

2011-12-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

Porter chose to celebrate his birthday by going to Red Robin with the family and having a 3 layer chocolate cake with white frosting and sprinkles when we got home. Mom talked him down to two layers on the cake but managed to do the rest! Grandma Jamie was able to be on skype with us and lead the birthday song beautifully.
Once cake and ice cream were devoured, Porter got to go out to the garage to find his present. Mom and Dad bought him a big red bike! He loves to ride around the neighborhood and to the library with is older sister to get more audio books!

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

Family friends we go to church asked if we wanted to make gingerbread houses together! Their mom was kind enough to do all the research and give us her trusted gingerbread cookie recipe as well as ready made templates for the houses! We've never made gingerbread houses from anything but a kit, but there is a first time for anything.
Mom spent an afternoon baking gingerbread and then several hours after the kids went to bed trying to put together the basic house shape for the morning. She thought it was fun and learned a few things along the way.
Khali stayed up late being a great kitchen helper. She kept the pans rotating for a few hours of baking and also was an extra set of hands for the building process. Mom thought it was fun to spend the time with her.

Abigail really loved cutting the licorice ropes down to size. She wanted to make a face on each side of her house.

Porter was slightly timid with the bag of icing, but tried to put gumballs all over his house. On more than one occasion we had a landslide problem!

All of the kids pretended to eat their houses that afternoon when we got home, but they were all still intact when they went to bed.

Porter tried to make a door with licorice.

Isabella made adorable heart windows on hers.

Khali made an attic window, and a layers chimney with licorice bricks.

For some reason, when they woke up in the morning there were some Giant sized bites taken out of the roofs of their homes.

We are all so glad our friends invited us to share in their Christmas tradition of making gingerbread houses. The entire family munched on gingerbread for a good week before there was nothing left but crumbles on the foundation board. It was interesting to see the different designs and ideas each child had.

This is one Christmas tradition that we'll have to keep going!

A Big Boy

2011-12-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

Zander has recently decided that he would like to sit at the table with the rest of the family and not sit in his high chair. Kolton sat him at the table on Saturday for a moment, and when I transferred him to his high chair he screamed like a banchee! He didn't stop screaming until I took him out of the high chair and he immediately started to try to climb onto the dining chairs.

An Amazing First

2011-11-29T22:12:00.002-08:00

November is National Novel Writing Month. Khali started working on her first novel at the beginning of this month with many other children using NaNoWriMo young writers program. She set a word goal of 1500 words. She locked away her inner-editor. She changed font sizing and alignments a few dozens times. She worked very hard, and now she has the first draft of her first novel.

Wahoo!!! Way to go, Khali!!

Now, to let loose the editor and see what becomes of this story!

Zander is One Year Old!

2011-10-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, we were sent another member to add to our family. Here is Daddy holding him a few minutes after he was born. Mom and Dad had to wait for his heart beat to slow down a touch, and weren't able to bring Baby home for about 3 hours. As we were tired, hungry parents, we stopped at Jack in the Box on the way home. It was the only thing open at 3am!

He was 'Baby Andrus' for the first several days, while there was much deliberation on what to name him. Mommy liked Jasper. Daddy liked Elliot. Mommy like Quintus. Daddy found Quintus translated to 5th child, started to call all the children by their birth number and soon both Mom and Dad had to work together to figure out a new name they both liked. On day 5, an agreement was made and we named him Zander.

Though the first three months were a little rough, with lots of sad faces and tears from both Zander and Mommy, those days passed.
The last nine months were spent developing his wonderful attitude, and sharing it with us all. Zander has a bright, shiny disposition. His smile is contagious not only to other people in our family, but to anyone he meets.

Mom made Zander a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting complete with one candle lit on top. Zander liked being sang to.

We then tried to teach him to blow out his candle, all the while telling the older kids to not blow on the cake and spread their germs. (This picture also shows his lovely black eye the best. Poor boy fell straight into the bed railing two minutes after waking up on his birthday.)

While he didn't really get that part, he did not have any trouble understanding what the next step was.

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He also didn't have any trouble figuring out what to do with the present Uncle Caleb sent to him. He started ramming the cars together the moment he had one in each hand. He also promptly whacked Abigail over the head with one. Boys will be boys!

Happy Happy Birthday, Zander. You're family all loves you!

I Just Plucked A Spider Out Of My Hair!

2011-07-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Title Says Everything.

The worth of a Free Slurpee

2011-07-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today, is July 11th. Also know as national cheer up the lonely day, or perhaps better known as 7/11's Birthday, in which they give away cups of free slurpee.
Mom took the kids to he 7-11 close to our home this morning, on the way out to do errands. Khali was the only child whom had ever even had a slurpee! What kind of family are we running here?!?
Happy, everyone really loved the slurpee machines and combined many different flavors to their own personal taste.
Later that day, Khali was begging to be able to ride to the next closest 7/11 which happens to be a bit over a mile away. After getting permission to go with her brother, she then had to convince him to go. Porter wanted a daily game of Monopoly. Khali managed to negotiate down to one weekly game.

All this....

For this.

How much did your free slurpee cost you?

Kids say the funniest things!

2011-03-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

Khali and Abi are playing elephants.
Porter yells, "Don't eat me!"
Khali replied, "We don't eat people."
Abigail chorused with "Yeah! We eat Worms! and Grass!"

Abigail also loves to do Magic. Yesterday she said "Abra-abracadabra, turn mom into a Potato!"

Some Great Smiles

2011-03-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

These two love each other so much! For months if Zander hasn't been securely belted, he has been quickly moved to wherever Isabella wanted him. On a few occasions, she has even moved his infant car-seat around the house, with him still inside! Isabella is a very STRONG girl!

Happy, Shining, Dripping Kids

2011-03-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Today has been a great day. We all went together as a family down to look at the new house again and get some measurements. Mom even checked Khali out of school for a few hours, since she is the only person who hasn't been there yet! We helped mom use the tape measure, claimed bedrooms, tested the floor layout for run-ability, and even explored the yard for awhile.

Not to shabby for a yard in the city!

After a delicious lunch of burgers and an improptu trip to the Dollar Store, which is only a few blocks from the new house, Khali had to go back to school. The rest of the family headed back to the house where we quickly got banished to the backyard to play in the sun. Mom has told us that it is not warm enough to play in the water and to leave the hoses off. We didn't listen, and Abigail had to have her dress changed within the first 5 minutes. After we had to help get her redressed, we all went outside to play again. Mom reminded us, twice, to not play in the water. So we jumped on the tramp, played in the sand, and ran around on the grass. Porter came inside to ask if he could change into his swimming clothes 3 minutes later. Mom once again explained that it was not warm enough to play in the water. 2 minutes later, Isabella came inside to report that there is no wind, and lots of sunlight. Isabella feels very confident that the weather is perfect for playing in the water. Isabella is once again sent outside to play, without the water on. Before she has gotten off of the patio, Porter has appeared inside to report that there is full sunlight today. Because our heat comes from the sun, and we have direct sunlight, it is very warm outside, he states.

We are sure mom gave up at this point, because she just smiled at us. We went back outside, happily.

About 10 minutes later all of us; Porter, Isabella and Abigail appeared at the back door, dripping wet, with sand caked all over us. It was a bit chilly after all.

Mom would have taken pictures of all of this, but she was trying to pack boxes, and then had to switch modes to get all of use dried off and warmed up in new clothes. Sorry!

Cocoon Sleeping

2010-11-17T23:42:00.000-08:00

Zander, at 6 weeks, still sleeps well in his baby hammock after we've made a few adjustments. Abigail loves to swing in it too... but that is another picture for another day.

All Dressed Up

2010-11-17T23:36:00.000-08:00

Halloween was great this year! We made our first costumed excursion into Seattle to trick-or-treat at Amazon on Friday. Mom did a great job that day getting 4 of 5 kids in costume, and only had one shoe-less child upon arrival. On Saturday, our Ward did a huge Halloween Party at the church followed by a Trunk-or-Treat which net the children gobs and gobs of candy. Sunday was the actual holiday, and the children once again, dressed in costume for the third time, and went to the neighbors homes and took pictures.

Moms Best Friend helped design the Zoo Logo that was used for the Zoo Keeper costumes. She is amazing!

I love that she represented each child! Thanks Jeanine!!!

Way to go Isabella!

2010-11-17T23:07:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, while we were on our weekly library outing, one of our favorite Librarians told us about the contest they were holding. They wanted children to draw a bookmark and the winners would be from 3 categories, Preschool, 5-7, and 8-12. Each child would be in their own bracket! The bookmarks were due back by 6 that evening, so we went home and got out the art supplies and let each child get to work. Khali drew a wonderful picture of Brian, our favorite Librarian, reading stories to the children while they sat quietly at the table and listened. Porter drew something... I'm not honestly sure what it was, he really didn't have much interest in this project. Isabella drew her big sister with a book in her hand,and a book bag on the other arm. Isn't that sweet of her to think of her big sister when she thinks of books?

I got a call a bit ago letting me know that our family needed to attend the Library meeting held last night for some important news.

Isabella Won!

They presented her with a certificate and her bookmarks are now printed and in the Library for all everyone to use! The Librarians even had a cake made with the bookmarks printed on the frosting! Our little girl is so very excited!

Isabella's in on the far left.

2010-11-17T23:02:00.000-08:00

Mom is in LOVE with this dress for Abigail.

Why you ask?

Well, It is not because of the beautiful deep color.
It is not because of the awesome gathering around the chest that looks so stinkin' cute.
It is not even because it is courderoy.

It is because, once Mom had put it on her, she cannot take it off by herself! No matter how much she cries, pulls, or tugs, the girl stays clothed.

This small insurance policy that ensures there will not be a nudist episode allows Mom one less worry when taking the children on errands. That my friends, is why mom LOVES this dress.

Halloween Mayhem

2010-10-31T16:53:00.000-07:00

Friday October 29th, 2010
I had such great hopes for today. I was going to have the kids in costume and take a picture of them on the porch with their pumpkins to post for all the Gramma's. Alas. It never happened.

Amazon held the company trick or treat activity today. Kolton now works in the pac-med building that currently holds 7 floors of company candy-giving goodness. This was the first debut for the kids costumes which of course means it your last chance to take care of the final costume details. Khali's Nez Pierce costume really needed a wig, Porters Mario costume wouldn't be as authentic without a mustache and classic "M" can, also Abigail's Giraffe costume had a velcro closure hanging on by a single thread that needed to be fixed!
Knowing that all of that needed to be done, I of course enlisted my trusty best friend to design a special Logo for last minute costumes for Kolton and I while I ran around town with my kids buying up said supplies. We hit up two costume stores to find the right mustache, but were unable to find a wig for under $20 so I resorted to a trip to Michael's for black yarn to create one!
Thankfully, I had a new package of iron on transfers that I utilized for Porters hat. I tried to use a basting spray to stick the circle onto one of Kolton's Utah hats, but ended up putting in a few stitches to keep it in place.
I forgot to buy dark felt to base Khali's wig on, so I used a strip of what I had which was white. That was far from ideal, but we managed, and it worked out pretty well for a first time home-made wig. Abigail's costume was a quick fix thankfully!
Thankfully my best-est friend in the world had my Logo and Nametags done by that point and I spent 5 minutes ironing them onto the adult costumes! They look absolutely adorable if I do say so myself.

Now, did I get all this done with flying colors by 2 o'clock so I could take pictures and leave with the clan for Seattle? Nope. I did manage to leave by 3 o'clock with the house a disaster!
So, an hour later at 4 o'clock, with a dead cell phone and no pre-printed maps, I managed to actually get to Kolton's office! Got to love Seattle traffic!! Then after asking a very nice man in the parking lot if I could borrow his cell phone and call my husband to come find us, we were about to finally go trick or treating!
Upon getting everyone out of the car, I noticed a couple things.
1. Isabella did not put on any shoes, and for once, there were not a pair of her shoes stuffed under a seat in the car.
2. Because I dressed all the kids before getting into the car and Zander was sleeping, I completely forgot his costume! Arg!

All things considered... that wasn't too shabby for an outing!

Thankfully, my awesome Sister-in-Law sent Zander an adorable little onesie that I had him dressed in when we went to Amazon... So he was at least festive for office trick or treating! Thanks Britany!! He was even wrapped in a pumpkin receiving blanket that was Khali's for her first Halloween, when she was 6 days old.

**Update Saturday October 30th, 2010

We dressed the kids up again for the church trunk or treat activity, and once again, failed to get pictures! Don't loose faith! We'll try again tomorrow!

Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

All the kids are excited about creating Jack- O'lanterns! Khali is well versed and knows to dig right in with her hands to pull out the gunk and she kindly showed her younger siblings the way. Abigail is slightly concerned about cutting into her pumpkin and Isabella thinks its disgusting and spent more time cleaning off her hands than cleaning out the pumpkin.

Of course we all know who actually cleans out the pumpkins though. Let's have a cheer for Dad!

Hip Hip Hooray!!

Khali worked hard to lay out her pumpkins face with simple to cut shapes because she wanted to carve her own face this year!

Zander slept through most of the evenings festivities. He opened his eyes a few times to see what the commotion was all about, but overall was unimpressed and went back to sleep quickly.

Zander is 4 weeks old today!

And you want to see the finished pumpkins all lit up with smiling kids next to them?

Yup, that's for another day :)

Giving Loves

2010-10-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

Abigail loves to kiss Baby Andrus. When she's not beating him up for Moms attention that is!

Lazy Saturday Afternoon

2010-10-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

Zander is 16 days old! Everyone is still gaa-gaa over him. Abigail and Isabella will oft get into a tizzy when one of them thinks they are taking care of Zander, and the other needs to leave. Porter is patiently waiting to share what he can, and Khali is enjoying being able to help take care of him when she is home.

The kids are all playing noisily at the kitchen table, while Zander is sleeping in his Cocoon. One of moms favorite newborn gadgets! If you look in the very back corner of the Living Room, you can see Z's cocoon. He sleeps so well in there!

Helping Hands

2010-10-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

Isabella is such a great helper she holds Zander and gives him lots of love when Mom needs an extra set of hands.

Another Outing

2010-10-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

It seems like each day this week, we have feared the end of the lovely sunny weather. So, we took the kids to Log Boom Park yesterday to get some Vitamin D and have some fun. The playground there is pretty non traditional with lots of spinning toys and other things you can fall off of. Dad and Mom both took turns making themselves dizzy on a few apparatuses, and enjoyed swinging a bit too. Abigail took a big spill off of the toddler swing straight to her face. She was a sight to see with sand in her mouth and nose and covering her wet little neck. Good thing for spitting lessons and some baby wipes! We walked out on the dock to watch the ducks and look for fish for a little while but ultimately the kids wandered back to the playground for round two fairly quick.

Abigail has a great time climbing up the wall on the toddler play structure. She got pretty good at it!

Some nice children brought a great big bag of sand toys and were very kind to share with the kids.

Mommy caught Daddy who thought Zander needed to store up some sunshine.

Issy prefered to try to walk around this ring rather than sitting down for the ride. I can't blame her really, she fell off a few times. The best playground toys are things you can fall off of, and this park was FULL of them!

Zander was worn out by his long excursion to the park and needed a big nap when we got home. Honestly, so did Mom!

Later that evening Daddy spent time with Porter and Issy building a great train layout in the Library while Mom ran to the grocery store with the other children to stock up on some more juice and water drinks. This train set up lasted about 4 days in the Library with multiple children playing with it through out the days and nights. It was a great design!

One Week Old Today!

2010-10-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

We can't believe its already been one week! Zander has been such a good little guy, we've decided to keep him indefinitely.

Zander wasn't a fan at first, This is a shot of his short lived protest.

He promptly decided that protesting wasn't worth the effort and fell back asleep so mom got in close.

He is quite the little wiggler so Mom just waited for a minute or two for him to change positions.

After a few minutes, we covered him with a blanket, both to keep him warm and to give him something to grab with his little fingers.

Getting Ready for Fall

2010-10-05T13:59:00.000-07:00

Today after mowing the front lawn, Daddy spent some time picking all the Apples from the tree. Of course, the little girls were his helpers.

Daddy shows the girls how to sort the good apples from the bad apples.

Abigail is very curious about the 'Gross' apples.

Isabella is keeping track of all the Yummy apples that Dad picks from the tree.

Abigail helps put a few into the box with Isabella. She liked carrying around the apples that Daddy told her not to eat till they were washed. She always has the cutest look when she is being Mischievous.

Zander Elijah Andrus

2010-10-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

3 days old

Daddy Play Time

2010-10-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

The little girls love when Daddy is home because he is so much fun to play with! Today they were playing with the rhythm toys and having a great time!

Abigail has a sixth sense for camera's. Isn't that a cute little smile?

Fall Pictures by Isabella

2010-09-24T23:52:00.000-07:00

Porter started his Big Games class and his Science class at the Center on Tuesday. It was a fun day for all the kids, but Porter enjoyed his Science class quite a bit! It was a nice day outside and Isabella took some photo's while we played outdoors waiting for his classes to be over.

A few fallen leaves that were pretty colors.

Isabella's most perfect looking pine cone.

A changing tree.

A few of our favorite leaves.

Mom read a family history blog that talked about the importance of making sure mom was present. We all realize who is behind the camera, but how will anyone remember that without mom in some photo's! Mom is 38 weeks pregnant, and very miserable, but there none the less :)

Comatose

2010-08-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

We all feel a bit like this after stuffing ourselves with Indian Food.

Space Needle Excursion

2010-08-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Today, after taking the kids to the Optometrist to fit their new glasses, we grabbed some drinks and headed into Seattle. Its a good thing we bought drinks, because an hour later... we still hadn't quite arrived. This is the number one reason why we do not venture into Seattle very often.
We had arranged to meet someone selling a double stroller in downtown, just a few blocks away from the Space Needle, so once we picked that up, we were on our way!
Parking as always, was an issue, but the double stroller came in handy for Isabella and Abigail. Abigail loves strollers and was a very happy little clam sitting up high in her new stroller. Isabella either thought it was a cool new thing, or was tired, because she just sat in the front seat without any escape attempts the entire time.

There was an event at the Space Needle today, which left lines extremely long, but we managed to get through the hour long wait to enter the building and another 20 minute wait to board the Elevators. While we were waiting ever so patiently, some workers volunteered that we were nearly the 6000th person going through the building today! WOW!
The elevators are very neat. The have glass fronts so as you leave the bottom 5 floors of cement and continue to head upward, you can look out over the sound or city, depending on which elevator you are riding. This happened to worry Porter very much because he is afraid of heights. (In fact on the way back down, he burrowed past a few other groups of people to hide in the very back so he would not have to see out the window fronts.)
The kids all had a great time once we were at the top. There is an open vantage point that is over 500 ft high surrounding the upper level the kids were able to explore and look through many different Telescopes at the city buildings and the surrounding waters. Inside there were computers that let you use camera's to do nearly the same thing which of course interested some of the children much more than the telescopes. Sadly, its so much more user friendly to the younger generation that trying to adjust the lenses on the scopes, and seeing as there was only one mom trying not to lose 8 little legs, we spent more time inside at these screens. From one side we had a wonderful view of Lake Washington.
After a successful adventure, we stopped on the way home for Gigantic ice cream cones. Even though everyone heard mom specifically order very small cones so they would be less messy. Its a group consensus that sometimes mistakes are wonderful things. Thankfully everyone but Abigail did a good job not making a large mess.... Abi? Well, she just needed a bath, and her car-seat isn't far behind.
Overall, it was a fun family adventure, and we are looking forward to doing more this fall with our new double stroller.

Gardening carrots

2010-07-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

My Crop Of Carrots,

yesterday i went to the garden to thin the carrots,after weeding and a lot of hard work this is my crop

Weekend Adventures

2010-07-13T21:10:00.000-07:00

With all the lovely, extremely warm weather, that we had last week, Dad wanted to take the kids to go hiking. After deciding on a general area to venture to, we loaded the family in the car and were off! After a trip around the block (about a mile) we got back to the house, grabbed the sunglasses, and tried again.

We stopped along the way at a roadside stand that was selling fresh Ranier cherries and buffalo jerky which was a great snack for the family. Abigail wasn't a fan of the cherries, she kept spitting them out, but everyone else devoured them. We ended up going up a Canyon at Index Point on Highway 2. We stopped in the little town trying to see if there was a neat place to hang out, or go down into the river at but since their wasn't, we headed further up the canyon. There were signs saying there were campgrounds 10 miles up the road, and we thought we'd find some hiking trails there. About 2 miles up the road, the road abruptly ended.

We got out to explore and found out the road was no longer intact as the river had decided to switch its path, and didn't mind taking the road out on its way. The kids all had a great time playing in the river where it was shallow and were amazed by the power of the river. Some of the family even hiked up some trails on one side of the 'road'. Isabella did it barefoot! She's a tough cookie, or crazy, maybe a mixture of both. Abigail and Mom stayed down on the 'road' and splashed in the water the entire time. We had to drag the little girl back to the car. The older kids weren't so hard to convince to head back, since they remembered Mom and Dad has said that we could play at the rock pile. All the kids are good climbers and enjoyed seeing who could get to the top. For not having a final destination in mind, we stumbled upon a pretty neat area to visit. Dad and the older kids will be heading back later this season when the water is a bit calmer to hike through the river and on up the trail to explore the area more.

The big girls took off their shoes so they wouldn't get wet, Porter had on sandals, Lucky him!

Abigail is happy as a clam.

Abi loves splashing in puddles, and this had to rank with the coolest puddles she's ever seen in her life. She also left her little shoes on. She was wearing her adorable UMI shoes. Thankfully its a washable leather so her little feet were protected. The road had many tiny pebbles that were rather sharp.

Mom would have climbed as well, but someone had to graciously opt out and stay behind with little Abigail.

The rock pile is the what blocks the road, its actually 5-6 feet high and the kids are already near the top. Isabella dressed herself to match Khali all on her own.

Porter rarely shows up with the camera is around. It's almost as if he is always behind the lens! This is a great shot of him, proud that he climbed up the rocks and is higher than Khali. At least for the moment.

Washington has some crazy mountains. They seem to pop up out of nowhere! This is the mountain you see as you come off the canyon road and head back into Index Point.

Wild Waves - Family Style

2010-07-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to take the kids to Wild Waves amusement park here in Washington on a home school day for $70.00 for the entire family. It was too good of a deal to pass up, even if Mom wouldn't be able to ride any rides. It happened that in the days before our day of play, Isabella got another UTI, and Abigail had terrible fevers for some unknown reason. Of course, when you buy your tickets in advance, you go regardless :) We just packed the bottles of Tylenol and hoped for the best.

Khali was very excited because she was now tall enough that she could go on pretty much any ride she wanted to. She kept her dad running from one ride to the next and had a blast the entire time. She is the thrill seeker in the family, and was much to busy to be captured on film. Sorry!

Porter, is much more timid and concerned about his safety. This goes for playgrounds as well as amusement parks. We did get him to go on a few rides, mostly voluntarily! After Isabella got off the frog hopper and enjoyed the ride, we talked Porter into going on with her. You can see that on the way up we even got him to raise his hands! Notice the unsure look on his face?

This picture is after the ride got up 3-4 stories and started to 'hop' back down. Mom and Dad thought this was pretty funny, but he didn't want to ride again. Isabella took a few more turns on this ride before heading on, but Porter was already asking if they had the water boat ride.

Of course, they did have the water boats, but Porter was about 11 inches too tall to ride them. Abi however was just tall enough! Daddy put her in the boat and she was off! Here she is signing boat while riding around in circles.

Abigail and Isabella took a turn or two driving around in the car together. Isabella takes her driving very seriously, but Abigail just had a lot of fun tagging along for the ride. Other than the Carousel, these were the only two rides that Abigail was big enough to ride, but she really did have a lot of fun on them. Mom and the little girls rode around on the Carousel 4 or 5 times waiting for the big kids to go on a roller coaster. It was the only line of the day that was outrageous, taking more than 30 minutes to get onto the ride. Mom and the little 3 kids were a little bored waiting, but Dad and Khali thought it was a good ride.

The day was coming to an end, after being at the park for 4-5 hours, the family was just about done in, especially Mom and the two little girls who were under the weather. There was one more roller coaster that had yet to be ridden, The TimberHawk, so we took that path on the way out of the park. Luckily there was a kids train ride right next door that entertained Porter and Issy while Khali and Dad rode the roller coaster twice. That corner of the park was relatively empty, so the little kids got to ride the train back to back 5 time straight. Can you guess what Porters favorite part was of the entire day?

There were a few other moments that Mom would have loved to capture on film. Porter and Khali went on a water log ride together while the little girls were driving cars. They both got a bit wet on the ride, but when they got off, the ride instructor told the kids to make sure to stop at the bridge and watch the logs come down the hill. The kids didn't realize that this is where you recieved your soaking. Khali got drenched from head to toe as did her brother, but Porters reaction was the best. As soon as the wave of water hit him, he was completely off balance and went running away from the wave. Mom got a great laugh out of this. In fact, Daddy could hear Mom laughing and knew which direction to head to find the rest of the family. It was a pretty funny moment.

We are all excited to go back next year and ride some more rides. If the weather is above 60, we might even brave the water portion of the amusement park.... or maybe not, the amusement park had a lot to offer without it.

wierd weather

2010-07-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

this weather is very wierd, yesterday it was very hot. i was in a tee shirt and shorts. now it is cold and i am in a long sleve shirt and jeans.and is stil cold.how does weather do that?

Blowing Bubbles

2010-07-05T14:40:00.001-07:00

Baby loves when Dad blows bubbles! The rest of the kids are right there on the patio as well of course. Its the Dad effect. Dad steps outdoors, and the kids all race to follow to see what is happening. They wouldn't want to miss out!

The Troublesome Boys

2010-07-05T11:23:00.001-07:00

As soon as we got home from church, their were explosions. Fire crackers here and there, a few bottle rockets, some snaps. The usual fare. Dad promised some bigger ones after we had nap time. Before naps were even taken, Porter was already pulling out the 'Parachute Man' from the cupboard! This happens to be an awesome firework that a GI Jo guy parachutes back down from the explosion! There were two of these so we set them off seperately. Porter ran over into the field by our home to try to catch/retrieve the jumper when Dad lit it off. He came back with a big smile after the man did indeed go into the field, and actually straight over our neighbors house as well!

The ultimate question, is this a learned behavior? inherited through genetics? Probably some of both. Here is Dad and one of his friends lighting the sparklers for all of us kids.

kitty the hunter

2010-06-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

First a bird, now a mouse(the bird was a month ago). My cat is quite a hunter! But I wish she would keep her stuff outside. Mom raised the alarm and as soon as I heard what had happened, I ran upstairs to post this. Sorry no pictures this time, I was too late to get them as Moms alarm woke up dad and he disposed of the mouse quickly for her. Not to mention it was too disgusting to take pictures. I found mom by the stairs with her hand cupped over her mouth trying to not be sick.

(written by Khali - edited by Mom)

Puzzle Girls

2010-06-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

Isabella was quite proud of herself after putting this puzzle together all by herself. She had to restart a few times because that adorable little sister of hers kept taking off with a piece or two of the puzzle, or completely tearing it apart despite moms best efforts to keep her away. Of course when the time came to take a picture of the finished project, trouble maker wanted to sit next to sister and look sweet.

Entertained Baby - Priceless

2010-06-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

It seems recently that the late afternoons have been the hardest time. Abigail wants mommy attention and Mommy want to get ready for daddy to come home and cook dinner. Today, the simplest solution presented itself. We have a bowl of water on the back porch for little ones to clean up their sandy feet in before coming into the kitchen, and Abi has been sitting there playing in said bowl for the last 30 minutes :) She's all wet, but happy!

Opinionated Children

2010-04-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

Often times, on Saturday night, the girls will pick out coordinating dresses to wear to church on Sunday morning. Isabella and Khali decided to wear the black dressed that I had made them earlier this year. Khali hung everyones outfit complete with tights and socks before going to bed on the closet door fronts. She even picked out the boys shirts and ties to keep with the theme.

This morning, Abigail did not want to wear her black dress. She kept opening the closet doors, pointing up to the rod, and saying 'Purple'. Fortunately, one of the multiple purple dresses in the closet was her size.

So, we took the girls to church today, with two in matching black dresses and the little opinionated baby, wearing purple.

scoobydoo abracadabra doo

2010-04-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Porter and Issy and I watched Scooby Abracadabra Doo. It's very funny.

I found a caterpillar!

2010-04-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that I found a caterpillar! Sadly its a moth caterpillar not a butterfly caterpillar. I had really hoped it would turn into a beautiful butterfly. Unfortunately, it's a tent caterpillar. You can go here to learn more about it.

I created a habitat in a glass mason jar so I could observe it behaviors and keep it as a pet. Since its a pest, when we are done, Dad said he would kill it for me, because I don't want to kill it myself.

My Dandelion Septor

2010-04-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to get the mail for our family and pick some dandelions for the vase on the table. When I got home, I told mom that I saw dandelions that were nearly 2 feet tall! She asked me if I was exaggerating a bit, which I really wasn't, so she told me to go and pick the biggest one I could find to show her.

This dandelion is the longest one I could find. It is 24 inches long! I am only 57 inches tall, which means 2 and 1/4 dandelion would be as tall as I am!

-Khali

2009-12-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

Khali love watching tmnt.(teenage mutant ninja turtles) thank you will for showing me tmnt.
i found it at (4kidstv.com)now i am watching winx club it is also on (4kidstv.com)bye bye.

2009-11-30T15:19:00.000-08:00

Khali LOVES to blog
its raining its pouring the old man is snoring the little girl is blogging! i am still a book worm the end.

A Large Family Outting

2009-06-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today we got to go to the Hogle Zoo with our cousins! Grammy and Papa drove down to Salt Lake to meet up with us for the afternoon. We all had alot of fun! Papa rented an extra double stroller that never had the same combination of kids inside, and rarely where there ever only two!
Khali had fun running in the lead with Kaity Jo. You'd never guess they are the oldest! They constantly had the zoo maps in hand to find out where we were going next. Dusty and Porter teamed up often, and she really liked helping to push Abigail stroller. Since the zoo has alot of ups and downs, this was very helpful. Isabella was right at home hanging out with Ayden and Garrett. Ayden didn't want to put a sun hat on like the rest of the kids; which helps in spotting them; but he was tired when we showed up so thankfully he was calm and liked to ride in the strollers most of the time. Garrett and Isabella on the other hand had no trouble keeping up with the bigger kiddo's. Its so cute to see little legs running so quickly! Those two cuties where the hardest to keep track of throughout the day. Little minds need to explore after all!
We ended the afternoon at the Zoo's playground. Garrett was so excited to see the big round slide he completely skipped looking at the little desert animals! All of the kids had alot of fun playing on the spider web that is made with ropes, and of course every little boy was happy to see the train travel its track down the side of they play area. Overall it was a great afternoon at the Zoo! Thanks Grammy and Papa for taking us!

Starz Unlimited 2009

2009-06-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

The kids have been practicing hard to learn their routines and are excited to show off what they've learned tonight! Our family was at the rehearsal for Four hours! This is everyone's first year in clogging classes and boy have they learned alot! Khali being the oldest has a very technical dance, done to a song from Camp Rock called "Start the Party!", that most of the kids in her class have had to work very hard to learn. Khali has improved her understanding of rhythm, as well as passing off numerous new steps! She will often lead the other kids in practice without being told to.

Porter is dancing to "The Crazy Dance". They twist and jump around like they have bugs in their pants! His class loves the song, and so does Isabella! She really wanted to be in his class doing his dance with him! They even get to air guitar! Mom wishes she had a girl in this class because the polka dotted dresses are so adorable! The girls that finish in the front row with him have missed practice for the past three weeks, so he is a little confused at the end, but he has come such a long ways since starting in February! The first two weeks of practice Porter was as stiff as a bored! Boy, has he loosened up since then!

Isabella's class is dressed as bunnies and is dancing to "Hippity-hop". This is the youngest clogging class the studio offers and is aimed for 3 and 4 year olds. After the first week Bell really wanted to participate like her siblings so mom asked the teacher if she would mind Bell joining even though she was too young? The teacher replied if she wanted to participate she'd allow it! Wahoo!!! So Isabella is the youngest in her class, but she has learned the dance well. It took a very long time to learn any of the dance steps that involves crossing the midsection, but she does know them. Now, whether or not she'll perform them is entirely a different matter! The first time through the dance at the rehearsal she did pretty well! The second time, she was busy playing with another bunny, and the final time, she had decided she dien't want to march back out on stage and stood pouting in the curtains till half way through! Man is she entertaining! Can't wait to see what happens tonight!

What every baby needs

2009-06-08T13:12:00.001-07:00

Every baby needs a tummy tub bath bucket, and something to chew on!

Mom loves this bucket for my baths. My bath today started out in the kitchen sink while the family unloaded the dishwasher, and then I was carried in my bucket to the basement to sit and watch my brother and sisters practice their clogging! Do you see how happy I am sitting in my little bath? Sometimes I pull my toes up to play with, other times I try to stand up and lean over the edge!

How well we know our Father

2009-06-08T12:33:00.001-07:00

Respondents are Khali (8), Porter (6), and Isabella (3)

1. What is something Dad always says to you?
K- Help your Mother
P- Go Kill the boats! (from Warcraft 3)
I- We can't ride the motorcycle right now, I'm going to work.

2. What makes Dad happy?
K- When I read alot
P- When I'm nice
I- Me dancing around, singing Hippity Hop!

3. What makes Dad sad?
K- When he has to take my books away from me for punishment
P- When I hit my sisters
I- Going to work.

4. How does your Dad do to make you laugh?
K- He tells me really good jokes.
P- I like him, so he makes me laugh
I- He laughs!

5.How old is your Dad?
K- Twenty-seven?
P- I think, Twenty-four? Twenty-five?
I- I don't know, I'm older though

6. How tall is your Dad?
K- Taller than Mom
P- 18 inches I guess?
I- Big like Mom!

7. What is his favorite thing to do?
K- Play Settlers of Catan, at the moment.
P- Chat with people when he goes to work
I- Go on his Motorcycle!

8. What does your Dad do when you're not around?
K- Work and Play Warcraft 3
P- Play WOW
I- He goes to work

9. If your Dad becomes famous, what will it be for?
K- For being a very smart computer person
P- Chatting
I- I don't know.

10. What is your Dad really good at?
K- Using the computer
P- Making lunch with Bacon!
I- Going to work on his motorcycle

11. What is your Dad not very good at?
K- Keeping his temper
P- Dancing
I- Going on the merry go round

12. What does your Dad do for his job?
K- He works on computers
P- I think he should go make games.
I- He goes to work!

13. What's your Dad's favorite food?
K- Chinese, Japanese, or Seafood
P- Tempura, and I love it too!
I- Ice?

14. What makes you proud of your Dad?
K- He's so good at computer stuff.
P- He goes to work alot
I- ?

15. If your Dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?
K- Mario
P- Homer
I- Mickey (notice mom and dad are the same character???)

16. What do you and your Dad do together?
K- We read together, and watch movies together. Sometimes he takes me to the library, just me and him.
P- We play video games together
I- Get Drinks!

17. How are you and your Dad the same?
K- We both like Tai Kwan Do, and we both read alot.
P- We both like to play games
I- We look the same

18. How are you and you Dad different?
K- He's a boy
P- I don't like to talk so much.
I- Dad wears shirts, and I wear dresses.

19. How do you know your Dad loves you?
K- He spends time with me a lot.
P- I've always known he loves me.
I- He shows me with his eyes.

20. Where is your Dad's favorite place to go?
K- Camping or Hiking
P- To Play Baseball
I- For a ride on his Motorcycle!

How well we know our Mother

2009-06-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

Respondents are Khali (8), Porter (6), and Isabella (3)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
K- Be nice to your brother and sister
P- Listen to your sisters
I- no!

2. What makes mom happy?
K- When I cut her a fresh bouquet of flowers
P- Me doing something good, like playing in my room.
I- a rainbow

3. What makes mom sad?
K- When I complain
P- When I hit someone
I- rain drops

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
K- By tickling me
P- By Tickling me in my Arm spots
I- She goo's and ga's at me

5.How old is your mom?
K- twenty six or twenty seven, I'm not sure
P- I don't know, twenty-one?
I- not as old as I am.

6. How tall is your mom?
K- I do not know
P- More than 19 meters
I- Big! Huge!

7. What is her favorite thing to do?
K- nap
P- play with Abi-Woo
I- Use her needles in her office.

8. What does your mom do when you're not around?
K- talks to dad and friends
P- talk with Grammy-whammy
I- She plays with Abigail

9. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
K- being a good mom
P- fashion, or Abi taking care of
I- for being mad and grumpy.

10. What is your mom really good at?
K- having little babies and taking care of them
P- She is good at making Food!
I- Needle-ing!

11. What is your mom not very good at?
K- punishing Isabella
P- You're good at everything mom!
I- Painting

12. What does your mom do for her job?
K- looks after the children
P- have little kids, like Abi-Woo!
I- Clean up Abi

13. What's your mom's favorite food?
K- I'm guessing, Fried foods - because none of the children complain and eat them
P- Soup
I- Noodles

14. What makes you proud of your mom?
K- She can take care of really long hair
P- She knows how to make my favorite soup, with Bacon!
I- a rainbow!

15. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
K- Marge Simpson- She finds a way to keep it all together
P- Marge Simpson
I- Mickey Mouse

16. What do you and your mom do together?
K- We cook, and sew together
P- We eat lunch together, and sometimes I like to play with her.
I- We change Abigail!

17. How are you and your mom the same?
K- We both like to cook
P- We both like taking care of Abi
I- We both have purple shirts

18. How are you and you mom different?
K- Her hair is red
P- I play video games a lot, and she doesn't
I- My hair is not red

19. How do you know your mom loves you?
K- She used to read to me, before I could read
P- Cuz she tells me so.
I- She signs it to me.

20. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
K- To eat out
P- Southern Utah, Zions national park
I- Hamburger Store!

Precious

2009-05-27T16:48:00.001-07:00

The only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping baby.

Aren't those little cheeks just calling to you? Also, take note of the little bracelet Mommy made. It fits right into my wrist fold!

This is so much Fun!

2009-05-25T15:56:00.001-07:00

Kolton and Khali worked on taking off the shingles on the back patio together over Memorial Day weekend. She thought being up on the roof working with the hammer was a lot of fun! Porter soon found out that his sister was on the roof and got his shoes on in record time to be able to climb up and start working on the demolition project as well.

Slobbering for a Reason?

2009-05-23T17:50:00.001-07:00

Abigail has been slobbering up a storm for the past month. She can soak the front of an outfit in under an hour. Even Grandma Jamie gave up trying to dab her dry and let the drool just run over her arm last weekend! We've tried Oragel without much luck, so today when we went grocery shopping Mom bought otter-pops. We put a small chunk into her little feeding contraption and she went to town! It didn't take her long to figure out how to use it either! She was a very contented little baby for a good while after that.

2009-05-23T16:14:00.001-07:00

Today we went to our Cousin's Reception at Copperton Park. They had a really cool playground with a roof structure to climb and slide down. Grammy played ladder golf with Isabella on the grass while we were eating lunch. Our uncle Shayne drove down from Montana so we got to see our cousins Katie Jo, Dusty, Aiden and Garrett as well! The little ones kept Grammy very busy pushing swings, catching at the bottom of slides, and continually counting to 8 to make sure she didn't lose one of her precious grandchildren!

2009-05-23T16:11:00.001-07:00

After working together as a team to clean up the little kids room, look how well we set up and played trains together!

Chalk Paint on the Cheap!

2009-05-18T16:45:00.001-07:00

While aimlessly wondering the web mom came across a fantastic blog! She found a recipe for Sidewalk Paint! Armed with a box of cornstarch, food coloring paste and many glass baby food jars, we set out as a family to make some. We had half the neighborhood over painting on our driveway in the morning and everyone loved it. Mom was amazed when round 2 came after lunch for another hour+ of entertainment was had with the same paints on the back patio in the shade! Porter did well drawing tic tac toe boards to play on and also his letters. Isabella had a blast tracing her feet and hands to color in, and also used her legs as additional canvas. This was a fantastic, CHEAP! craft for the kids.

From Snaggle Tooth to Toothless!

2009-04-07T07:48:00.001-07:00

"I really loved going to the dentist. He let me play a video game on the ceiling! I chose Lego Star Wars. I had a hard time figuring out a part of the mission, but Dad said we could get the game and play it together soon. The dentist made my lip feel really funny, so I didn't want to talk much. When we were finished pulling mmy front two top teeth, I got to choose a little prize and mom bought an icy cold drink.
I put my teeth in a little pillow last night and the tooth fairy left me Two Dollars! I can't wait to go back to the dentist again."

2009-04-01T10:48:00.001-07:00

Porter got a dinosaur excavation kit for Christmas this year. He decided to crack open the egg and start to hunt for the bones. He enjoyed hammering each piece of plaster to dust to make sure he would not miss a piece of the dinosaur. I am not sure where most of the mess ended up; the table, the floor, or his shirt. Learning can be so messy!

2009-03-31T17:01:00.001-07:00

Khali got our her watercolor set to make a beautiful picture. She used circles and squares and rectangles in many different colors to come up with some geometric artwork.

2009-03-27T10:58:00.001-07:00

See? I told you Bell thinks its her toy!

A New Toy

2009-03-25T15:46:00.001-07:00

Today we went and got Abby a new floor toy. We got one with all the bells and whistles. It lights up, sings songs, and rocks back and forth. I think Isabella likes it more than Abby right now... but Abby is entertained all the same.

Spring is Springing!

2009-03-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

Now that it is Spring time, Daisy likes to go outside and play with the kids. Bell found an old wrapping paper roll and kitty thinks its great fun!
Meanwhile, Khali and Porter went with some neighborhood kids to pick up trash in the area. I wish I had a picture of the four kids wearing their mothers big over sized green and yellow latex gloves carrying trash bags down the street, it was adorable. They found quite the jackpot of trash when they went to the empty lot on the corner.
Good Job doing service Kiddos!

Khali's playing basketball.

2009-03-18T17:51:00.001-07:00

Jon and Kala, our neighbors, came over to see if the kids could play after dinner tonight. Aunt Amy can be so proud, Khali's made three shots already!

Such a good little baby

2009-03-18T08:36:00.001-07:00

Abby fell asleep on the changing time while mom was doing laundry. How cute is that? She slept through an entire wash load.

Just taking a bath

2009-03-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

Isabella often ends up as the biggest helper with Abby. She loves to help bathe her. Abigail is sitting on her own in her Tummy Tub. This is the first time Abby has been able to sit in her bath bucket without any extra support from mommy. The Tummy Tub is one of those items you wish you knew about with your first child, instead of your fourth. The little girls played together in the tub for quite awhile. Daisy also came in and tried to play with the floating ducks. Silly Kitty.

We can cliimb!

2009-03-16T17:33:00.001-07:00

Porter says "This is the first time I've climbed a tree. I tried my best and got pretty high. When my shoes slipped, I caught myself by holding on to the branches. It was alot of fun! I'm going to keep climbing trees"
Khali says "This is the first time I've been able to sit down so high in the tree! It was nice to go outside and play today in the warm weather. I'm excited Porter has learned to climb trees with me."

Look!

2009-03-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

Abby found the toys that turn around the top of her swing today! She was well entertained while mommy prepped this soup for dinners. When the toys stopped turning she made a whole other face.

Khali's poem

2009-02-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

I like to make poems too

snow is fun
snow is white
i like it a lot
its cold though
its not a bit funny when your dunked in the snow
its cold

5 Random Things about Porter

2009-02-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

1. I LOVE to play Video Games. I've played through most of Final Fantasy III, and V, Zelda and am not playing the Lego Games for Indiana Jones and Dad is going to play Lego Batman with me!
2. I also love to play trains, and one day I'm going to be an Engineer!
3. I am the only boy beside dad. I have three sisters.
4. I don't want any more sisters.
5. My favorite foods are Cheese, Pizza and Chinese!

10 Random Things about Khali

2009-02-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

1. I LOVE books. My favorite kind of books are mysteries! I have read the entire series of Magic Tree House, and a lot of the ValueTales Series, my favorite is Kindness - Elizabeth Fry.
2. I am Best Friends with Eva
3. I like to climb trees
4. I like fruit more than than vegetables
5. I love to play outside with my friends, especially on our bikes.
6. Sometimes I have a hard time controlling my temper, and I go Koo-Koo!
7. I love stories with Fairies
8. I have three younger siblings that sometime annoy me.
9. I used to take Ballet classes, but I'm starting Clogging this week
10. I love to learn about History. I like the Romans, the Greeks, and am currently reading about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Family Reunion

2009-01-06T20:04:00.001-08:00

The quiet that has seemed so odd for the past week has now been broke. Grammy and Papa brought the kiddo's back home tonight. One by one they ran in the door. Khali was the first in and couldn't wait to see Abby. She delivered a kiss and a giggle before running up to see her room. Porter was through the front door next. He cooed at his little sister and had to be told it was ok if he wanted to kiss her. He's such a sweetie, he whispered to her since she was asleep. Isabella was the last through the door, demanding to see the baby. She was very excited to see that now we are both moms. She has a baby doll (from Christmas) and I now have a baby Abby.
Grammy and Papa stayed for dinner and a short visit before heading back out to brave the winter weather.
As happy as it made me to see each of my children, and have them back home; I couldn't help but to let out a big ole sigh once we had the kiddo's in bed. The few hours of all 6 of our family home was a nice little insight to how life will be for a while. Noisy, Chaotic, Stressful but full of fun I'm sure. How all of this would work without such a wonderful husband and father, I haven't a clue! Thank you darling. :)

And the baby is......

2009-01-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

A Girl!

Miss Abigail Dawn was brought into this world January 4th, 2009 at 11:09 P.M. She was born at Great Expectation Birth Care with Mom, Dad, and Rebecca Williams; our wonderful midwife. She weighs in at 8 pounds, and measured 20 inches in length.