Not Quite a Year

I have been looking back on previous posts and it seems the general theme is how busy our lives are.  We run from one activity to another and never take the time to stop and smell the roses.  That is what I want to do.  I want to slow down enough that I can enjoy what the Lord has blessed me with.  Today is an absolutely gorgeous weather day.  The sun in shining, the sky is clear of any cloud, the thermometer reads in the upper 70's.  I can think of at least 10 little things I should really get done today while there is no work or seminary.  Instead, I seem to get caught up in "procrastination". 

In the grand scheme of things, is it really going to hurt for the laundry to sit clean in the baskets?  Probably not, but my problem is that the baskets of clothes have been there for 2 weeks now.  Is the house going to fall down because it is not spotless?  No.  Maybe procrastination isn't my problem.  Maybe my problem is laziness.  I have a lot of excuses as to why nothing is picked up and why the laundry isn't put away and why I don't want to get up out of my chair.  I don't want to be lazy.  I desire the laundry to be done and house clean but I don't want to work for it. 

How do I get past this?  How can I be a better housekeeper?  It seems so overwhelming right now.  I want immediate results.  Instead, I will be patient.  My goal:  be a better housekeeper, one room at a time.  Utilize the tools (ie. the kids) I have on hand to help me accomplish this goal.  Don't be way laid and distracted away from my goal.  Starting tomorrow.

Sleep? What's that?

I was eagerly anticipating the start of summer vacation with dreams of lazy mornings and sunny skies. Boy was I dreaming! So far this summer has been a whirlwind of activity that has left me exhausted!

We did manage to take a 2 week trip out to Utah. The kids all had fun especially at my cousin's house in Southern Utah. It was good to see all the kids reconnect and enjoy the time spent visiting, riding ATV's, and eating. I enjoyed the time visiting with my parents although it was hard to adjust to their work schedule. I wish we had more time to play but they needed to take their vacation time to visit my brother in AK.

When we got back from UT, Connor, Bryce, and Hunter began their raspberry picking jobs. Shortly after they started, Keith and Hunter left for a week at Boy Scout Camp. They had a good time and Hunter even earned a few merit badges. Once they came back from camp, I decided I would pick berries with the boys in the morning. I grab a different boy's punch card every time I fill my half flat. I'm not making huge amounts of money for them but I figure every little bit helps. Keep in mind that we leave the house at 6:30 AM. So much for sleep in time!

Friday night I helped the Band Booster club work at the Tacoma Dome during a concert. Our group gets a certain percentage of the profits. Since Connor is in band and Hunter will be in the fall, I am trying to help out where I can. I thought the night would never end. I couldn't understand why people would pay that much for a cup of beer. And it wasn't even one cup. They would come back multiple times. Good thing I don't drink. I could never afford it! We didn't get home till midnight and I was up the next morning for berries.

I am not the type of person who can go back to bed once I am up and running but Saturday, WHEW! After berry picking, I went back to bed and managed to crawl out around 1PM. I would have slept longer but was having a guilt attack. Berry season is almost over so then maybe I can get those lazy sleep in mornings I dreamed about at the end of the school year.

There are still a number of things on the calendar for the rest of the summer. Connor, Bryce and Keith are going to the San Juan Islands for a biking High Adventure. Connor and Bryce are headed to AK to spend a couple of weeks with my brother. I have also promised the 3 youngers a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge when the boys are gone.

Not to complicate matters, we added another member to our family. Daisy, the puppy. What was I thinking???? It is like having a baby in the house again. We have to take her out in the middle of the night and again around 6 AM. Hopefully she will start sleeping through the night soon. I know I can use the sleep!

It's About Time

Wow! I really stink this year on the blog front. You would think from the lack of posts that we lead a boring and mundane life. Not so!

This Spring has really been trying. The weather has been awfully rainy and cold. If the calendar didn't say April, I would think it was January. Last weekend we did finally see some sun and what a difference! I am hoping for more bouts of sun and less of rain!

Since I haven't been keeping everything up to date, I'll have to give a quick run down of what has kept everyone so busy.

Connor - still really into shooting and has had some really successful matches. He is shooting well enough now that he has been moved up to "Expert" class. He's not happy about the move as it puts him at the bottom of his class. He is still young and has time to work his way up the ladder. He also joined the biking club at school and is looking forward to biking adventures with the group.

Bryce - joined football. Here they play middle school football in the Spring. He is having a great time and is really committed to the team. As a side bonus, his grades have been really good since joining and the missing assignment problem that has plagued him most of the year has all but disappeared.

Hunter - surviving middle school. I think the favorite part of his day is running home from school and beating Connor who rides a bike. Currently Hunter is not involved in any school activities but he is enjoying going to Young Men's.

Lauren - still dancing! She is wrapping up her year of ballroom dance. She only has a month until the end of the year recital. She plans to try out for the older performing group in the fall. She is also trying out with a couple of friends for the school talent show. I think they are doing a Taylor Swift song.

Kiersten - growing and learning so much! She is really becoming a good reader and I am impressed with how well she can sound out words. She has learned to ride a two wheel bike and loves to ride around the neighborhood. She is also in swimming lessons. I may try and put her in a session or two this summer. I haven't decided yet. She also had her first "wiggly" tooth. Not bad enough to fall out yet, but she keeps wiggling away.

Keith - working hard. Even though Keith gets to work from home a lot of the time, I try to keep him busy with "Honey-Do" lists. The last stretch he was home was spent building trellis frames for garden boxes, procuring soil for the boxes, trying to get the lawn looking better, fixing the lawn mower, and adding to our growing collection of camping gear.

Me - counting down the days till summer vacation! (Which are 34!) I have also been busy building our food storage. I have spent many hours since the Fall canning oddball stuff. My friends and I have canned chicken, butter, cheese, and hamburger. I love learning new things! Our next venture will be butchering chickens for meat. One of our friends is keeping 3 chickens for us that should be ready for butchering the end of May.

As you can see, our life is never dull. Most nights I go to bed exhausted and hope that dumb cat, Morgan, doesn't wake me up with his meowing! One of these days, I will actually post a picture or two on here even if it means making more than one blog post every couple of months. That's about it for now. Here's to more sun in the upcoming weeks!

Lost and Found

Sometime back in August Keith lost his keys. For those of you who know Keith, this is nothing unusual. He was on his way to work and realized while he was on the train that he didn't have his keys. He called the Transit Authority to see if his keys had been turned in with no luck. He checked the parking lot the van was parked in, no luck. He checked with businesses around the parking lot, no luck.

Under normal circumstances, losing your keys means getting copies made from the other set. The keys Keith lost were to our cars, one of which is a computer chip key. To replace that key was going to cost $80. We decided to forgo that expense and make due with switching keys back and forth between the 2 of us. We did make a copy of the van key which somehow I misplaced as I was headed out of town. We made another copy and everything was going almost as before.

Several times Keith called the Transit Authority to see if his keys had been turned in. Each time he was told no and they only keep keys for 10 days before throwing them away. A couple of weeks ago, Keith stopped by a King County Library to check out a book. They told him the Transit Authority had reported to the library they had found his keys. Keith called again and was told they didn't have his keys but then he mentioned the library said they had his keys.

Finally, that triggered a memory of his keys and YES! they did have them. This was almost 5 months after he lost them to begin with! The employee said usually they throw keys away after 10 days but since this key ring had 2 car remotes attached to it, they were sure somebody would be looking for it. My question is why every other time he called and described his keys was he told they didn't have them?

In any case, I am thankful Keith's keys were returned to him and we didn't have to spend the $80 on a new car key. I'm also thankful he had one of those annoying key ring bar codes attached to his keys that was his library card. I am convinced without that library card, we would never have seen his keys again.

December Already?

Every time I look at the calendar, it seems like weeks have slipped away without my knowledge. I suppose we are keeping busy enough that we aren't marking the passage of time.

Thanksgiving week we had a snow storm that closed the schools for a couple of days. Fortunately those days off fell before Thanksgiving. I was so thankful for the extra couple of days even if it means we will be making them up later this year. I was able to sleep in most days and prepare ahead of time for our Thanksgiving feast. It was also nice to be home bound. Every "normal" day involves running here and there so it was a blessing to be forced to stay home.

The tree is up. The cats have pulled ornaments off the tree. Keith's Christmas village is set up. The lights are up on the house. Most of the Christmas shopping is done. Only 7 more days of school till a 2 week break. I don't think I would be very sad if we had another snow storm that closed everything down again. Slow life down again.

Life as we know it

Every week I hope it will be slower than the last but it only seems to get busier. Between work and managing the kids schedules, some days I think I am going crazy! This week has been especially hectic. It is Parent/Teacher Conference week and the kids are expected to attend the conferences so they can be accountable for all their work. So far I have been to 2 conferences. Fortunately, both conferences went well and I am proud of how hard Hunter and Lauren have been working in school. I have Connor and Bryce's conferences tomorrow and Kiersten's on Monday. I am sure those conferences will be good as well.

Yesterday while I was still serving lunch, I sent Kiersten to the library to check out the book fair. She would come tell me how much the book was and I would send her back to find a cheaper book. Finally she settled on a book that I agreed on based on the price. I only had a $20 bill, so I sent her back to the library to pay for her $4 book. She came back so excited and said, "Now I have lots of Park City money!" I told her it was my money and she said, "But they gave it to me in my bag!" Of course it looked like a lot of money too because they gave her change in all $1 bills. It was so funny and just goes to show how much this girl loves to shop. She is saving her pennies for Utah this summer and shopping at the outlets in Park City.

The kids are excited for Halloween. Any excuse to dress up and get candy is a winner in their book. I will have to post pictures later when they are all in costume. Hunter is reusing Bryce's costume from several years ago. Not sure what it is but some sort of spook. Lauren is going to be a vampire. We talked Kiersten into wearing Hunter's old undead pirate costume from a couple of years ago too. She went from wanting to be a fairy princess to a pirate. I'm glad she could be accommodating. I'm not sure if Connor and Bryce will dress up.

I am headed to bed. Lucky for me and Kiersten, we don't have school again until Monday. I am really looking forward to sleeping in! The older kids have half days the rest of the week but still have to get up in the morning. I hope they are considerate and leave me to my slumber!

Reflections

I am always amazed at how quickly time passes. When you are in the moment, it seems to take forever to get through the day, the week, and even the month. Afterwords, you look back and wonder where the time went.

I have spent a lot of time thinking today. What is special about today? Connor and Bryce turned 14 years old. On one hand, it makes me sad that they are getting so old; but on the other, it is rewarding to see them grow and develop their unique personalities.

When Connor and Bryce were born, I was so overwhelmed with the thought of 2 babies. Due to their prematurity, they had to remain in the NICU for a couple of weeks. From the beginning, Connor was the stronger of the two, a definite leader. I never worried about Connor while he was in the hospital. He did everything he needed to do as a premie, he just needed to gain more weight.

Bryce worried me from the beginning. He had to be placed on a ventilator for a couple of days. Then his sucking reflex wasn't working right. Finally it all came together and he came home two days after Connor.

I still see some of these traits in the boys. Connor is still very much a leader. He is ahead of the game and school is a piece of cake for him. He is still skinny but is starting to "grow" muscles. Connor has been very involved this past year in competitive shooting. He has won many matches and plans to continue improving his scores so hopefully he gets invited to the Olympic Training Center. Also he wants to earn a college scholarship with his skills. He is also trying to get an online aquarium store going. He sells aquarium supplies and just received the first order from his website today.

Bryce is a follower. School isn't easy but the social aspect of it makes school bearable for him. Bryce has tried many different activities and just can't seem to settle on one that makes him happy. He is hoping to take up archery and wants a bow for his birthday. Bryce is very much in the "now". He doesn't want to think about the future, the everyday stuff is enough for him.

No matter what happens today, next year, or 10 years down the road, Connor and Bryce will always by my sons. I will always be proud of their accomplishments, big or small. I will always love them.

Heat Wave

Connor eating a popsicle in the shade.


Kiersten loving the sprinkler.


Lauren showing how it's done.

First Job

Connor and Bryce officially joined the work force this week. Their job consists of picking raspberries a couple hours every morning. For this, they are rewarded a whole $3 a flat which is about 6 1/2 pounds. They both have plans to use their earnings to buy shrimp for their aquariums. Hopefully the shrimp will breed and then the boys can sell the shrimp for a large mark up. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Gotta pick the berries first!

I started thinking about my first "official" job. Although I babysat a TON and worked at my parent's medical clinic every Saturday for several years, I think my job as a bagger at the grocery store is my first job. I don't remember how long I worked there but it must not have lasted very long. Also as a teenager I worked for 3 summers in a fish processing plant and a school year at the movie theater.

I hope the boys have a good experience with their first job. I'm glad they have a job even if it is only for a couple of weeks. Hopefully it will teach them some valuable lessons like money doesn't grow on trees, it grows on raspberry bushes!

Happy Birthday Kiersten!

I can't believe my baby girl is 5!! She was so excited for her birthday to come. We started counting down the days 2 weeks ago. Yesterday at Church, she told me to make sure the leaders knew her birthday was "tomorrow" so they could sing to her. Today, my normally shy girl told everybody at the mall and Walmart that it was her birthday today.

We love having Kiersten in our family. She is really smart and is a friend to everyone. This past year she has learned to count to 39, count by 10's to 100, she recognizes all her letters, knows how to log onto the computer by herself- even entering her password, she can play games on the internet like Club Penguin and Nick Jr., and she loves to be a girl! It is hard to believe that she will be in Kindergarten in September but I am sure she is ready for it.

We missed celebrating with family this year but I'm pretty sure she has had a good day so far. By request, pancakes and bacon for breakfast, lunch at Wendy's, and tuna noodles for supper. Lauren even helped her take a "deep" bath.

We love you!

New Project

I saw this project on the internet and thought I would give it a try. I took a pair of jeans with holes in the knees and cut them off right below the back pockets and front zipper. I added fabric to the bottom and WA LA! A new skirt for Kiersten! I will soon be making a matching one for Lauren. Right now though, I'm going to start dinner!

Happy 4th of July!

Today I am so thankful for this great country we live in. I'm thankful for the freedoms we enjoy. I'm thankful for the freedom to worship Heavenly Father. I'm thankful my kids can go to school and not have to work. I'm thankful for the freedom of speech. For Connor, I'm thankful for the right to bear arms. Most of all, I'm thankful for my family and that nobody told me how many kids I could have or not have.

The girls and I took pictures before Church in our 4th of July finery. Happy fireworks!

Late Night Visitor

The kids were in bed, Keith and I were vegging in front of our computers and TV when I heard a commotion in the dining room. Usually this time of night our cats, Morgan and Misty, get into a tiff. That is what I thought was happening. The only thing different about the sounds was the banging of the screen door. I got up to investigate and found this new friend on the back porch.


I went upstairs and got the older kids, who were still very much awake, to show them our visitor. The raccoon stayed around for quite a while even though 6 people were looking at him and we kept taking pictures. None of the pictures turned out very well through the screen so I had to do a little photo editing. It was pretty neat but now I am worried about my tomatoes when they start growing later this summer. Keith looked it up online and it says raccoons will eat tomatoes. Maybe he will give up and find a new friend!

Ballroom Dance Take 2

Here are the videos of Lauren's spring dance recital. The first dance is the Quickstep and the second is the Rumba. She is taking the summer off but is looking forward to the fall session. Lauren really enjoys ballroom dance and she is doing great!

Time To Let Go

From the time my kids have been babies, I have looked forward to the next milestone in their development. Rolling over, sitting, crawling, walking, talking....all the things that kids do on the road to independence. In the past couple of weeks, Connor has taken a few more steps with more to come in the upcoming weeks.

Last weekend Connor had a rifle match in Wenatchee. Due to scheduling conflicts, neither Keith nor I were able to take him for the first match on Friday. Fortunately, we have some great friends whose son is also on the team and they willingly let Connor tag along. Granted, Connor was still supervised by our friend and in the fold of his rifle team, but I have a feeling Connor experienced some sort of freedom. Keith did make it up to the match on Saturday and they both returned home Sunday with 1 medal and 2 trophy plaques.

Then on Tuesday, Connor wanted to go to an aquarium club meeting in Seattle. I had other commitments that night and Keith did not have time to drive the hour home and turn around and head back to Seattle so we found a solution that actually worked very well. I drove Connor to Sumner, bought him a train ticket to Seattle and Keith picked him up at the station when he arrived. Connor made it safely and is looking forward to the next club meeting and a ride on the train. I'm sure it helped somewhat that we have ridden the train in Utah so he sort of knew what to do.

I know I am able to handle these excursions, letting go of the apron strings and all, because my parents did the same for me. Anytime I wanted to go on a school trip to Washington DC or Europe; visit my aunt and uncle in Germany; fly to Anchorage for a date; or any of the other great adventures I had, my parents always supported me and my hair-brained ideas. Even though I worry about Connor when he is gone, I know I am providing opportunities for him that will hopefully make him a better person and fulfill another one of his dreams.

The Kitchen Sink

I can't believe it has been 2 months since we posted anything on the blog!! It's not that we haven't been busy or anything! We decided it was time to move to a new rental and much of March was spent moving our household. Once everything was moved in, we left for Utah the next day for Spring Break.

One of the highlights of our trip this time was a visit to Angie's in Logan. It was here that we ate The Kitchen Sink, two of them actually. And for this feat we were rewarded with bumper stickers. Thanks to Grandpa for taking us for this treat!

The Reptile Man

Tonight at the Elementary School, The Reptile Man put on a show. I took Hunter, Lauren, and Kiersten. We learned some interesting facts about snakes, turtles, lizards, and alligators. The presenter brought tons of reptiles to showcase. After the show, he had a tortoise, burmese albino python, and a rock iguana out for the kids to touch and in the case of the burmese python, hold.

Hunter, Kiersten, and Lauren all took turns with the reptiles. Kiersten said her favorite part was when the tortoise peed on the floor.

Epic Saying Take Two!

As we were getting ready for Church on Sunday, Connor was very vocal about needing new clothes. He continued to complain as we loaded up and drove the the Church building. Kiersten quickly put an end to his complaining with a, "Too tight, huh?".

We all started cracking up including Connor. The only one who was not happy was Kiersten who thought we were laughing at her. One day she will understand if you say something funny, people will laugh with you.

Where does time go?

Here it is, halfway through January and I still can't write the correct year on anything. I look back at the last post and realize it has been a month since I have updated the blog. It seems lately, time has been flying by. So much has happened in the past month, I will hit the highlights.

* Keith's mom came to visit for Christmas. We had a fun time with lots of sleep in days. Grandma took Lauren, Kiersten, and me to the Nutcracker ballet. Lauren really enjoyed it but Kiersten not so much. Afterwords, she thought it was good but it was hard for her to sit still and watch.

*Keith had surgery on his knee. The doctor removed some torn cartilage from his knee. Thankfully he recovered quickly with no complications.

*Connor took 1st place Prone in 2 shooting matches. One of his 1st Place finishes was for the whole state of Washington. Lately he has been building rockets and finding things to solder together.

*Bryce is also doing well in shooting. He has participated in 1 match so far and placed 5th, just a couple of points out of medalling. Bryce also got a metal detector for Christmas and hopes to find something valuable in his treasure hunting.

*Hunter added 2 more hamsters to our menagerie. They are pretty cute dwarf hamsters named Buddy and Cutie. He is really showing responsibility taking care of his pets.

*Lauren started another session of ballroom dance, this time working on the Cha Cha and the Waltz. Lauren also started reading the Twilight series. Will she like Edward or Jacob?

*Kiersten really enjoyed Christmas break, especially the sleep in days! She is back in Preschool and is doing really well learning her letters. She learns scriptures in her Preschool and can quote John 3:16 for you!

*As for me, I am staying busy. I just got back into couponing and had a very successful day of grocery shopping last weekend. Keith and the kids were way impressed!

There you are...all updated. For now.

Lauren's Ballroom Showcase

Make sure you wait about 25 seconds for dance to begin. This first one is the Viennese Waltz to the song "Once Upon A December".


Again, make sure you wait for the video to run 25 seconds or so before the dance comes on. This one is the Mambo to the song "Mambo!".



Lauren really loves ballroom dance and will be continuing class in January learning the Waltz and Cha Cha.