it's been documented....

McKay: (while cleaning up after dinner) "I hate kitchen duty. My husband will always do the dishes when I get married."

Remind me to tell her this in another decade or so.

the doctor is .... in

Hannah and Rocky needed an escape from the city life and came and visited us in the country this weekend. Yes, it was still cold and rainy, but we always love it when Hannah comes! Thanks for the games, chats, and fun!

June's birthday is almost over.....

Happy Birthday Katanya! My (not-so) baby turned three today.Katanya is full of life and we enjoy having her as part of our family. (I am also glad that she was saved for being the last.)Because from the first picture and the expression below, you can tell she is also full of attitude.She kept things simple today though. She played on her new tricycle all afternoon and chose to have waffles and strawberries for dinner.

We love you Katanya!

It's been a long time

This past week with all the rain (and no work) I decided to start reading a series that many people were into last year. It's been a long time since I have picked up a book. The last book I read was in 2003, I believe. It was Harry Potter, book 5. If I remember right, it was the day that we traveled up to Yellowstone with Betsy, her family, Karl, Axel and Maddy. I didn't like how they killed off Sirius so I stopped reading it after that. I know, it sounds dumb but I really get too involved when I read. In fact, McKay brought this up today too. She said that the only thing she was going to ask for Christmas was for me to finish the Harry Potter series. What is she thinking? Back to the main plot...

So while my blogging may be slow again, my mind isn't. After reading about 1100 pages in the last 6 days, I've enjoyed it tremendously. My only conclusion is this: After watching the actual Twilight movie tonight I am extremely disappointed. I would honestly rather stick to the books. (And I am so glad I read the book first.) So while they predict yet another week of rain (although we may get into the 70's this week) here's to the next two upcoming books that I will be reading.

A camping she will go

McKay went to camp for a week on Monday. I think as a parent, you never think your kids are old enough for what they want to do. It's good that she knows what she wants and that she has the "courage" to do it, but as her mom, I miss her.

I also got a major "parenting" lesson as I dropped her off. We picked up one of her closest friend on the way into town because both parents were working. When I dropped her off, I snapped one quick picture (only one) and followed the instructions the leaders gave us. When it was time to say good-byes and depart our own ways, it was all I could do to just get a hug from McKay. I'm really hoping in the back of my mind that she was just too excited and wanted to get going on the bus than the option. I really hope she's not too embarrassed or think she is too old to get a hug from her mom in public. Gee, some of the mom's were making there sons give them kisses on the lips. I don't think I was that bad.

I've noticed that when your oldest is gone, that the younger kids are twice the handful. McKay loves to play with Katanya and she is a sweetheart on helping me with all my "little" things that help me get everything done during the day. I will have to remember to give her an extra hug when she gets home and not take her for granted on all the little things.

the first of many

McKay had her first violin recital last night. She played "O Come, Little Children." She looked calm and played beautifully! We are so proud of her!

Sweet Surprises!

I got a phone call on Tuesday afternoon. It was Jake's mom saying they were in Utah and were wondering if they could come up tomorrow and spend a day with us. Of course, I said yes and moments later my kids were jumping up and down. This was a sweet surprise.We had the garden just about ready, and Jake saved the "last" tilling for his dad. I guess this was a favorite of his. (I didn't have my camera and I regret not getting a picture of that.) Katanya took a very quick liking to Grandma and wouldn't let her out of her sight. They colored and played all afternoon.

After bath time Katanya played dress up.When morning came we were sad to see them go. After playing games and talking all night, you realize how much you can really miss your family. So far this summer has been off to a good start with family. My dad has been here for two weeks, my brother and sister-in-law were up last weekend, and this week has been Grandma and Grandpa Kerksiek, and now I am watching my niece and nephew for the weekend, with Grandma Smith coming up later today. Maybe Idaho is finally getting a little more popular????? (P.S. I can't forget that Hannah and Hester started it off a little early and saw us in April. We can't forget that fun visit either.)

living life at it's highest

FIRST: I have to state that Jake made up for his presents last year and any other year that he has forgot or whatever came up. He really outdid himself this year. I'm still shaking my head in wonder and amazement..........

Jake's present on his card yesterday stated that it needed to be picked up Friday at 10:45 a.m. in town. I guess what he forgot to say was that we needed to be picked up at 10:45 a.m.Yes, Jake was taking me on an airplane ride. It was a good thing he kept it a surprise because I'm not sure that I would have agreed if I would have known. My first reaction was panic. I was terrified because you always hear of small plane crashes. My second thought was my nerves. My third thought was WOW!!!!Meet Sage. Jake always knows the right people. Jake is Sage's home teacher and a few weeks ago they concocted this idea of flying to Sun Valley for lunch. I think I asked some really stupid questions at the beginning, I didn't know what to think and I was trying to reassure myself. Ha ha. Then again Sage is a flight instructor and probably gets that all the time.I couldn't look up at takeout, much less out the window. But after a few minutes I got the camera out and looked at the view. It was amazing. (I was still a little shaky at this point). Up high, you can see how much lava spreads over Idaho. However, we soon found out that lava causes turbulence.We also saw some of the mountains that like to hide in Idaho.We made it to Sun Valley and at this point it was getting easier for me. We went had a delicious lunch and drove around. On the way back, I was ready to sit in front. However it took me awhile to finally take the controls. It took a little pushing but I handled them for about 3 minutes. The turbulence was stronger on the way back and I realized that I have the roller coaster effect when you all of a sudden go up and down - or side to side - A tiny scream will escape. We even had enough time to do a fly by over our house and over a friend's house. It's so amazing to think that in such a tiny space you can fly so far and so high. So in the end.....

I would definitely do this again without thinking twice.

Turning 3 decades old

I've had a hard time with 30.
I don't want to be thirty. I like my twenties. Thirty is a whole different meaning to me. I don't like aging, or thinking about aging. I don't like it but it's something that I will obviously have to deal with.

Jake surprised me with breakfast in bed. I don't think he has ever done this. He actually woke up at 6:30 and got all the kids up and wrapped their presents and fixed breakfast. I was in shock. The kids picked out wonderful gifts and it was a great morning.For my birthday, I wanted to do a big project. It involved a lot of WORK and LABOR! Jake wasn't too thrilled. Ever since McKay had a garden last year, all my kids want one too. So instead of individual gardens everywhere, I wanted to expand the one we had to have one big "family" garden. I wanted to take the garden up to the well (hose and tap) in the yard. Jake wasn't to keen with the idea. The only way he agreed was if we could dig up the whole right side of the yard, make it 1/3 garden and 2/3 rock so he could put his play set there that he built last year. He doubled the work but of course, I agreed. (The sod we cut out was put around the in-ground trampoline in the other corner.) It was the only way I could get my way.

So for my birthday, this is what I wanted. We have had bad luck with the different sod cutters, and ended up pulling it with the four wheeler. It was also a lot more grass than I thought it was. Our muscles ache, but it's worth it (no matter how much Jake says it's not.) So tomorrow, we will get up early to finish but the kids and I are excited to finally plant our garden this weekend.

As for 30, I guess it's just my first anniversary of my 29th birthday.

It's always fun when grandpa comes....

....when Grandpa comes Hooray!Grandpa's visiting for two weeks and my kids are just eating (sleeping) it up!

Babysitting

Jake and I had to run out of town for a quick trip last weekend so we asked my brother and his wife, Haley, to watch the kids for a day and a half. They are expecting their first in July, so it would be a true test. So while I forgot my camera (and took no pictures as we drove across the Hoover Dam,) my brother captured many for memories.Mike was stoked. He cleaned and planned and prepared. They played with rabbits. (I can already see McKay plotting on how she is going to convince us to get a bunny.)They played on playgrounds and got plenty of "push me highers".They were smart and fed them kid favorites.Cruz was all smiles, and rather easy, as always.Kirsten showed how some girls love to talk, and talk, and talk.You also realize that in a two bedroom apartment (the same one that I once lived in when I had McKay) that it doesn't stay very "neat".

Katanya made a new best friend by the time it was over.... ....And after we picked them back up Sunday afternoon, I'm sure Mikey felt like this. Although I know he will be a great dad!

How high is the mountain?

This week, Jake is back to digging. So far the weather had been cold, windy and just really crummy. Yesterday, I'm hoping was the turn. Today was a beautiful 89 degrees. Whenever Jake digs his "mountains", my kids are in heaven. Tonka Toys just don't cut it when your sandbox is this big.

Jake is wondering, any guesses on how high the pile is?

(One more post will follow, hopefully).

Genius, Pure Genius

Jake didn't want to brag or boast on this, but I am really proud of him. So I will. The second week of May took Jake to finals. All through the year, he would come home after a test and say, "That test was hard, I think I got a B." He never said this jokingly, always serious. I stopped believing him after about the fourth test or so when it came back in the high 90's.

Jake took a total of 39 credits this year (17 first semester, 22 second semester) and got straight A's. He's starting out right with this year's GPA of 4.0!

I've said this before, but he always says he is a genius. I really think he is one too.

What have we been up to?

Wow. Where does the time go? Here's a little May update. We started off the month with friends over for dinner and we introduced them to Rock Band. How could you not have played Rock Band?This leads me to another story. For the past 9 years I have used the same hair stylist. Even when we moved to Idaho, I've kept going back to Utah to the same great girl that I trust, (and she is a good friend.) So after I had inches of roots showing, and getting sick of the "grow-out" stage, and not knowing how long it was til I could make it down, I tried a friend and old neighbor for a cut and color. This is HUGE for me. It turned out great and I'm happy with it.

Stay tuned throughout the day to see more.......(It gets better, I promise.)

"Roger darling...."

McKay played Anita in her "101 Dalmations" play yesterday. She did a great job and her sweet personality fit the role perfectly. Way to go!

Desperate Housewife No-No

I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. These pictures don't even do the damage justice. Jake is going to look at our blog from school and I know he won't be happy. Maybe I'll just start by saying, "Can anyone guess what color of crayon with through the dryer? You can't tell? Let me get closer.
Maybe this will help. Or this.

Like I said before, these pictures really don't show just how GREEN everything is.

Now, I have a few things to sort out. Who put the crayon in their pocket? There are only three people's pants here.....Jake, Kirsten and McKay. That should make it easy.

It's sad but funny. It's sad because Jake's nice (for school) pants were in this load of laundry. Sad because Kirsten's favorite pants were the only one to go in this load. It's funny because they are just so green and because I don't dry my pants that I was saved from this disaster.

P.S. You don't even want to know how green the inside of my dryer is. I've got a lot of scrubbing to do.

Fire engine red

McKay got her wish....sort of.First it was black hair, then it was blue highlights. Blue highlights require bleach and after last year.....the rule was no bleach. So McKay talked her aunt Haley into red highlights....and then asked her mom. I love changing my hair color myself so I said, "Yes, just a few." The best thing is, when they fade out her hair will be back to normal. It turned out cute. What a spoiled girl.

A very happy birthday

McKay is a very simple girl. She had two things on her list this year.

1. 3 Webkinz
2. Black hair

It's really too easy, but I'm not a fan of black hair, and she already has dark brown hair so that was sort of out of the question. Then came the tough part. What to get her. A couple weeks ago she came home with a paper saying that her grade was learning bike safety and they would go on a 12 mile bike ride at the end of the training. Jake had told her we would fix her tires and she would have a bike. McKay was upset. Her bike is pink and she firmly told us she is a tomboy and that she wouldn't be seen with a pink bike. She was so upset. We had decided beforehand to buy her a new bike since her tires were shot and it was too small anyway. It was so hard not to say anything when she got upset that day.

Then a couple days before her birthday she snooped through the garage and found her present. She wasn't upset anymore. (She was looking for something else and came across the hidden bike in the corner, it wasn't really snooping.)McKay opened presents, ate her birthday dinner, and blew out the candles on her cake. She wanted a blackberry cheesecake. I have been running around like crazy the last couple of days since the weather is nice and business is picking up. McKay kept everything simple and I really appreciated it. What a sweet girl! One down and 5 more to go this year. It wasn't planned but all of our birthdays fall in line. From April to September we have one a month and then they are done til the next year.

P.S. Stay tuned for the upcoming header change. It's about time.

double digits

Happy Birthday McKay!!!!McKay is 10 today. We are now into the double digits. I still can't believe how fast kids grow up. We are so lucky to have such a great girl. McKay enjoys playing her violin, teaching herself gymnastics (right now she can do a running round off followed by three back handsprings,) reading, and playing with her friends. She is such a beautiful girl. We love you McKay!

Be a man

On Saturday, Jake was helping a friend in their attic hook up there ceiling fan.

On Sunday morning, (before church) he (accidently) showed me a big scrape caused from a nail in the attic.

Sunday at noon, I finally convinced him to go get a tetanus since it had been at least 10 years. I think the kids did a better job of convincing since they heard all the bad things that can happen.

Sunday evening, he complained of a little soreness in his arm.

Monday evening, he says,

"If I have to get another tetanus shot, I'll die."

It's been awhile since I've had a shot, but if I remember right, it's a lot less painful to take it in the hip (or butt). Why would you opt the painful way?