I'm feeling old....

I got a phone call from my niece Tiffany this week, with the news she is engaged! How can that be, wasn't it just a couple years ago that she was a 2 year old in our wedding??? Wow, how time flies when you're having fun!

I want to say a big CONGRATULATIONS to Tiff and Nate, and looking forward to their wedding this summer. Thought I would post a picture of her and I at my wedding, and one of her and Nate the night they got engaged. She's changed a bit, but tell me I haven't aged at all....right?

Making Memories...

My favorite time of year has arrived, so I put our early Christmas gift to ourselves to good use and snapped a lot of photos and video while we were out getting our Christmas tree. This is the first year that Jaelyn has got anywhere near Santa without crying, so that made for good video:) The girls delivered their handwritten letter to Santa, which was filled with creative spelling. Here's what they asked for, along with the interpretations (every line began with Santa I want....):
~ a keD....a kitty
~a b geb....a Barbie Jeep
~a dog....no explanation needed
~and a picture on the back of the Barbie Glamour Camper




Santa with his letter....

Having fun....

Who's the Scrooge in this picture...

We want this one...

Josh showing his skills....

That's better....

Timber....

Cheap labor and a beautiful view of the harbor...

Great family fun....

Our Veteran's....

Spent our Veteran's Day thanking our own veteran in our house. Thanks Mike for your years of service! Josh called my grandpa to interview him for a class assignment, as my grandpa served in the Army during WWII. He was thrilled that Josh wanted to know about it, and shared some stories from the time he was stationed in India. I love hearing my grandpa's stories from when he was younger, and I hope my children cherish those stories as much as I do.

In honor of the day, Josh had his Pass and Review this week. He was selected to be the Guide-On for his platoon, which is an honor, and means he gets to carry the flag.

Orphan Sunday!

Today is Orphan Sunday. What are you going to do to help the millions of orphans in the world?

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Seasons end....

So today was the girls' final soccer game, which I missed, because it was my volleyball team's sub-district day. We ended up playing three matches, and lost the last one 2-3, with the final game score being 13-15. Couldn't have gotten much closer than that! It was heartbreaking, but the girls played tough. The upside now is seeing Mike for two weeks before wrestling begins, and just being able to spend more time with my family. Wouldn't coach if I didn't enjoy it though, and I really did have a great group of kids and parents.

Check out this cute video Mike took at the game today. Kaia scores, but that's not the highlight:) Was a soggy field following a solid week of rain, but that makes it more fun, right? The girls were anxious to be back on the field after having to miss last week's game with the flu.




The girls spent the evening at our church's Trunk-or-Treat and trick-or-treating the neighborhood. Jaelyn was a kitty fairy, while Kaia was an angel. Mike said Kaia didn't want to keep the halo on because it was uncomfortable. Hmmm, could it be her little horns were getting in the way???

Homecoming....

Josh is at Homecoming even as I'm posting. He has had a busy couple of days, and thankfully he is the only one in the family who has stayed healthy! Kellen is recovering from bronchitis, the girls are going on four days of fevers, Mike is recovering from his cough/fever, and I am beginning to feel as if I may be losing the battle!

Josh was voted homecoming prince for the freshman class, so that involved a photo session, assembly, alumni tea, and football game (in the first big windstorm of the season) yesterday.


Tonight he, his date, and a large group of kids went out for Japanese food, then now, at the dance. Can't believe he's already old enough to be on a date!

shhhhh.....44!

Happy Birthday to me....love my family!

45!!!

Yesterday we spent a wonderful day as a family, celebrating Mike's 45th birthday. The day began at the girls' soccer game where they each scored a goal. Yeah! We then went to a Fall gathering at some friends house, where we made carmel apples, decorated pumpkins, played volleyball in the beautiful sunshine, and played in the dirt (guess which ones did that???).

Birthday dinner was a family favorite, my yummy chipotle macaroni and cheese, followed by a blizzard cake to cool down our mouths! I think Mike couldn't have had a better day of celebrating:)

Don't you just love a man in uniform???

Josh's first day in his ROTC uniform....

One Amazing Girl....

Thought you might want to see our amazing girl in action. She has been so determined lately to learn to tie her shoes, inspired to keep up with her sister. The pride on her face is such a joy to witness. I'm sure you'll see what I mean....

Soccer and Surgery....

Last Saturday I remembered to take my camera to soccer, and even got a shot of Jaelyn scoring (albeit, a bit blurry). Unfortunately our team scored more goals for the other team than they did their own, but in this shot Jaelyn was actually scoring for her own:) Go Blue Bandits!


Speaking of soccer, Kaia is not going to be very happy that she doesn't get to play in this Saturday's game. Today she had surgery to reconstruct the wall of her left nostril. It was a one day surgery and things went really well. We started our day there at 7:45, and were out the door by around 12:30. The only hiccup was the puking she did on the drive home, a result of the anesthesia. She is definitely not full speed tonight, but she has not complained of any pain whatsoever, which is especially surprising since they sent her home with Oxycodone. Hopefully we won't have to use it. Tomorrow she will stay home again, but other than a little bruising and swelling, I suspect you won't be able to tell by her actions. We will wait for soccer until she heals a bit more, so Saturday she will have to cheer on her sister.

Busy Week....

The past week has been a very full one. First, a wonderful visit with Jeff and Lorrie on Sunday, where we dined on the last of Mike's wonderful salmon, and the family played Josh and Kellen's birthday present, Rock Band.

Since my first day of school is always followed by an evening Back to School Open House, and it was also Josh's 15th birthday, we decided to have his family celebration on Monday night. Can't believe he is old enough to begin driving!

Josh also had his first football game as a Wildcat, and started high school on Thursday. Tuesday was the girls first day of kindergarten, and as you can see, they were most proud of their My Little Pony lunch pails! I can't believe how grown up they are looking...

Bittersweet reunion...

I have been following this amazing story on the web these past few days. Julia used to work for our adoption agency back when we adopted Kaia, and has two adoptive children. Watch this video for her son's story, and check out the blog she is keeping while in China. Oh yeah, have a kleenex box nearby.

Embedded video from CNN Video

18 already???

What 18 year old wouldn't want to be surrounded by 11 girls on his birthday?! What a way to celebrate, topped off by a Power Ranger cake and Rock Band for the wii. Doesn't get much better than this:)

Testosterone Time...

Mike and Josh made it home safe and sound today from a week spent in Oregon hiking in the Strawberry Mountains. They had a great testosterone-filled time with Mike's brother and son, where they could male bond all week without any women telling them to take a shower and quit flexing their muscles! Seriously, they had a great time and saw some beautiful scenery. We are happy to have them back home though:)

Oops, she did it again....

Last night as I was sitting next to Kaia eating dinner I was suddenly struck with deja vu as I realized she had done it not once, not a second time, but given herself a haircut for the third time! Come on folks, this is really getting old, and it's definitely not "cute" anymore! And you're not going to believe what she did it with this time.....she got her hands on Josh's pocket knife and cut her hair with the teeny-tiny scissors. Thankfully it's not the job she did last time, but it was enough for me to notice (and for her to get in trouble). Now let's hope this is the absolutely last time I post about Kaia's haircutting days for a long, long time!

Priceless!

I have now moved up to the Best Mom in the World status in the eyes of my girls! Yesterday I took them to the Island County Fair where they could get their fill of animals, their latest obsession (Jaelyn tells me she is going to be a veterinarian). According to them, their favorites were the pigs, dogs and the cats. However, their absolutely most favorite thing was riding the ponies! Jaelyn had her beautiful smile glued on her face! The $5 I spent on each of them was the best money spent in a long time...absolutely priceless!