Our Family Fun

Family Hike

2011-06-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we went for a long drive up the mountain. Kevin saw a sign about a lake 10 miles up the road. The mas was on a mission. The kids were a little scared. The road was dirt and filled with large pot holes and occasional cliffs. In the end we didn't make it to the lake because after 8 miles the road was impassable and we had to turn around... but all was not lost. We found snow! And went for a hike. Kevin was really proud of the kids because they hiked up an extremely steep incline. It was a little harder to get back down then it was to get up!

We spent the rest of the day riding bikes, playing at the river, enjoying family time, and the campfire!

Salmon La Sac

2011-06-20T23:39:00.000-07:00

This year we celebrated Father's Day in style. Kevin said that this was his best Father's Day yet!

I have been hearing about Salmon La Sac for several months and decided it was time to check out the hype. Yep, it was AWESOME!

When we went straight from Emma's graduation to the park (with a quick stop at McDonalds-yes Karen, I failed!). A very beautiful and quick drive with s few sleeping children and we were ready to play.

It didn't take long before we were done setting up camp and then we were off to the river.

Emma's Kindergarten graduation

2011-06-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Emma is a first grader!!!

She has had a wonderful Kindergarten year and LOVED having Mrs. Droessler for her teacher. She has been working hard at learning how to read and math.

I'm amazed at how much she loved school this year. I can't even tell you how often she would ask "Is it lunch time yet? Is it time to go to the bus? Is it time for school? Mom! Are we going to be late?? Hannah just went to the bus!!! We have to go NOW!" No joke, hundreds of time a week...

Great Job Emma! We are super proud of you!!

Emma's in the Art Show!

2011-06-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

Emma had 3 pieces of art chosen to be in the art exhibit at Maple Valley Days. (I know only 2 pictures, the third one was really blurry). She is a very talented!

And...

Since we were at Maple Valley days, we couldn't miss out on the opportunity to play...just a little :-)

Grandpa gave them some rides and they loved them. Well, almost all of them. Mayla only liked the car for a minute, then they had to stop the ride to get her off.

Austin's first CT

2010-10-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Austin earned a ticket to the Urgent Care Center and a CT scan. He was in PE and fell hitting his head on the concrete floor. His hands were keeping another classmate from hitting a wall so they were not available to brake the fall and he had a direct blow to the head. After visiting the nurse he was sent back to class and he went to recess. While outside he collapsed with a moderate to severe headache and nausea. The nurse instantly called Kevin at work and he jumped in the car while calling me.

When I arrived at the school Austin was asleep on the bed and as soon as he woke up he was in instant tears. Poor kid. He said that he felt like he was going to throw up and I knew we had to take him in to the UCC asap. He fell asleep again in the car, and several times at the clinic so the Dr ordered a CT scan.

Thankfully the CT was normal and we were told that he had a concussion and told to watch him closely. He had a great day today with a mild headache. He is really looking forward to getting on that plane in a few hours... (that was a close one!)

Austin's first soccer game

2010-09-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

After a long morning of watching Emma play, Austin was more then ready for is game to start.

Since Kevin has been taking him to his practices I haven't been able to see him play much this season. He did awesome! His field is huge compared to Emma's. He started out as a defender and didn't let that ball out of his sight. If it came anywhere near him he was protecting his goal. He is super FAST. It's fun to watch him run. The second half he was goalie. I like to see all of the different positions that he is learning.

Great game buddy!

Check out James's fancy footwork! I wish that I could have gotten some pictures of the boys together but they were on opposite ends of the field the entire game. It's a bummer because they are really good at team work and would have been great together.

Emma's first soccer game

2010-09-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

Emma is a MONSTER! I'm not kidding. She is crazy when she is on the field. She attacks the ball with everything she has. Nothing and no one can stand in her way. Some friends have started calling her a freight train. It is awesome watching her.

She decided that she liked soccer practice but was not happy about having to play in a game. Last night she told us that she was NOT going to play in the game today...and we couldn't make her. Yep, our little girl has attitude. We told her that she was going to play...and she was going to like it.

Well, thankfully she did play and loved it.

Josiah is also having an awesome start to the season. He was able to play goalie for the first half and stopped several possible goals. By the time second half began he was ready to get some energy out.

Check out our cheering squad!

With Emma, Josiah, Conner G., and Conner T. on the same team we make up over half of the spectators.

First day of Kindergarten!

2010-09-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

I look at these pictures of Emma and realize how fast she is going to grow. Time will continue to fly and before I know it she will be having her first day of Middle School.

She has been waiting for this day for so long and I am very happy for her. Finally, she is right where she wants to be. I hope that she is ready to slow down for a little while now!

Her first day went great. It was a little easier because she has 2 little girls from our street that are in her class with her. They all get to ride the bus together, play in class together, go to recess together and come home together. I have a feeling that they will be the best of friends by the end of the year!

First day of Third Grade!!!

2010-09-07T21:51:00.001-07:00

Wahooo!!! Stoked..Excited...Thrilled...

Austin couldn't have been happier to start school this morning. He has his bag packed for weeks and was just waiting for the day to arrive.

Just check out how grown up and handsome our oldest son is!

Mud Mountain Dam

2010-09-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

So much has changed since our last outing to Mud Mountain Dam. I has almost been exactly a year since we have come out here for a visit. Mayla was so little back then. Just look at how tiny she was...

compared to now...

We were very lucky that the Wagner's could join us this year. It was really fun to watch the kids run, and play, and swing, and hike.

Shark tales

2010-09-05T10:22:00.001-07:00

As I was laying in bed this morning trying to get a couple minutes of much needed sleep I hear the following conversation between Kevin and Kadin.

"What happened to your elbow Kadin?" Asked Kevin as he looked at a scab on Kadin's arm.

"I fell. In the water. And a shark bit me. I told it not to. But it did anyway." Answered Kadin as if that is something that happens every day.

The funny thing is that Kevin didn't continue listening after he said that he fell. So after Kadin was done with his story Daddy didn't respond. So as I'm in bed under the covers I start laughing.

"What is so funny?" Asked Kevin

"Did you just hear what Kadin just said?" I respond.

"No, what?"

"He said he got bit by a shark..."

Kevin just started laughing

Soccer!

2010-09-02T20:34:00.001-07:00

We signed Austin and Emma up for soccer a couple of months ago. I didn't even ask them if they wanted to play...just assumed that they would. When I told them that I had signed them up I had a bit of a mixed response.

Austin was thrilled...Emma not so much.

I told her that she had to at least try and she got really upset. Austin has spent the last couple of weeks trying to convince her how cool soccer is but no dice. When she found out that today was her first practice she got just a little hysterical. I know it sounds mean but I knew that she would love it once she tried it so I just told her that she didn't have a choice, she had to go and try it as least once.

Well, you tell me...do you think she loves it???

Yep, She certainly does!!! Way to go EMMA!

This year is a little tricky with practices because Austin and Emma have their practices on the same night at the same time at different schools about 10 minutes apart. Emma's is from 5:00 to 6:00 and Austin's is from 5:30 to 6:30. We are fortunate because our friends the Finnestad's are on the same teams with us. Josiah is on Emma's team and James is on Austins. That means that we can do some creative child swapping and get each child to the correct location at the correct times. YEA!

I was able to get to Austin's practice with about 10 minutes to spare. It was great to see him playing but I was sad to miss so much of it. Next time I will be able to spend more time at his practice but less at Emma's. Bummer.

Meet the teacher

2010-08-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

At the end of last year Austin was able to meet his teacher for third grade. I love that their school makes it a priority for the kids to know who their next teacher is and where the class is located before they leave for summer break. They don't have to spend the summer worried about what to expect or be scared on the first day of school because they don't know where their class room is.

Austin is thrilled with the teacher he has this year and he is excited because he gets to move up to Building B. Building A is for kindergartners through second grade and Building B is for the big kids, third grade through fifth grade. Once he is in sixth grade he will be moving up to middle school. Scary, and not something I'm ready to think about yet. He is halfway done with elementary school already!

The school opened up it's doors today for all of the students and their parents to come in and meet the teacher. Austin was excited to show me his class room and it was nice to get to meet his teacher. She is very kind and I think it will be a great year for him. I was able to get a couple of pictures of him in the class room but he is getting too old and shy to get a picture with his teacher. Oh well, maybe later this year...

Emma was lucky to have been able to meet her teacher in the past too. She has the same teacher that Austin had for Kindergarten. Emma was thrilled because the teacher remembered her from a couple of years ago when she was visiting Austin.

At lease she isn't too big to get a picture with her teacher!

Happy First Birthday Mayla!

2010-07-31T22:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Mayla,

Happy Birthday sweet girl. It's hard to believe that you are already 1 year old. You amaze me everyday.

I love how much you are learning. You love eating rocks and can stick an entire handful in your mouth at once. But you know what "spit it out" means and all I have to do is say it in a really low tone of voice and you empty the contents of your cheeks. But it only takes about 5 seconds before they are full again...

You know how to sit down, lay down, turn around, and come. You know how to climb the stairs and how to go down them. You can say mom, dad, do (dog) and uh oh. I think that you have also said Emma and bye bye. I love it when I ask you to give me a kiss and you come at me with that big open mouth...

You have the most beautiful smile, and it captures and melts my heart every moment. My love for you is unending.

Your brothers and sister can't get enough of you. They began fighting over you the day you were born and it hasn't stopped yet. I thought by the time you were big enough to run around the house they would give you some space but I was wrong! You have had to start fighting for your space. My little fighter has learned to run away, scream and even bite occasionally...but who can blame you?? You also really love your siblings. Austin is like a little daddy and carries you around the house. Emma is like a little mommy and takes great care of you and Kadin loves to play with you and make you smile. You are loved very much.

And then there is your Daddy. You have him wrapped around your little finger. When he gets home from work you run to him, flash your smile and stare into his eyes when he picks you up. You cling to him, and he loves it. Some of his favorite moments with you are the nights that he gets to put you to bed. He cuddles you until you are asleep and then continues to hold you tight.

Happy birthday sweet girl!

4th of July

2010-07-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Aunt Laura returned just in time to celebrate 4th of July with us! We spent time at the park together, a fun BBQ at Uncle Raymond and Aunt Desiree's house (without them), then off to the fireworks on the beach. I think that the firework show may have been the best we have ever watched. It was amazing! I think that everyone that lives on the island goes to the beach to set off their fireworks. I love that the emergency vehicles are parked right on the road and ready to help if anything happens and that they are watching to make sure that everyone is safe. I definitely want to go back again!

marshmallows

2010-07-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of a Giant Roaster? Aunt Laura found them at the local store and bought us an entire bag of them. These marshmallows are MASSIVE. I thought that the Jumbo's were big...but these are at

least 2-3 times the size!

We really likes the experience but found out that they are too big to really enjoy.

I didn't really realize how sticky Mayla was after she was done until I picked her up to clean her up. My hand was STUCK to her arm. Like I had to pry it off. Good thing the campground had bathrooms because she got a bath in the sink!

Happy (and clean) girl!

Camping on Anderson Island

2010-07-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

This was our first camping trip this year. We have been planning it for a couple of months now and were really excited because we got to go to Anderson Island. Since Aunt Laura, Uncle Raymond, Aunt Desiree all live on the island we were planning on having a big BBQ on the 4th of July. But...it turns out that they are fair weather friends because as soon as they saw the cloudy weather this weekend they all flew the coup.

But the thought of a little rain didn't stop us!

One of the first things we did was go on the hike down to the beach. I couldn't believe the amount of mosquitoes that came at us as soon as we opened the car doors!

I think it was only about a 1/2 mile hike to the beach but it was worth braving the mosquitoes and mud to get there. We explored the beach finding crabs, bones, and jelly fish. And of course we had fun skipping rocks.

Dancing Daddy

2010-06-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, Emma, your daddy can dance! And he loves it, shhhhhh don't tell him I told you that...

But what he loves most about dancing is dancing with you!

He LOVES the big moment when you run out on stage and he gets to throw you up in the air.

The crowd goes wild...

Dance Recital

2010-06-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

Emma and Juliana were bumble bee's this year! It was fun to watch them buzzzzzz around the stage.

Dedicating Mayla

2010-06-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

This year we were thrilled to dedicate Mayla on Fathers day. To say that it was an emotional time for me would be an understatement. Pastor John was wonderful. He captured our emotions with very little effort. He remembered that Mayla is our Rainbow Baby, Gods kept promise after the storm. He shared about our loss of Timothy and how much we miss him every day, but how we also rejoice with the blessings that God has given us with the birth of little Mayla.

We are extremely thankful for each and every one of our five children. They are all blessings from above and we love every minute that God has allowed us to spend with them...

Auntie Jen

2010-06-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

Yep! I get to be an Aunt again! Uncle Raymond and Aunt Desiree are about to get new names...MOM and DAD.

Congratulations and I can't wait to meet your new little one. I feel so blessed that I have already gotten a time with this little niece or nephew...since I'm the one that gets to do your ultrasounds!

My helper :-)

2010-06-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I began painting on Mayla's wall. It was my first time ever so I decided to go slow. I started shortly after she was born and began with free hand drawing the picture on the wall. Then I picked out paint colors and worked on it after the kids went to bed every couple of weeks.

But as Mayla grew she needed to go to bed earlier and I had to start working during the day. I tried to paint while the kids were busy but it didn't take long for them to catch on.

Then one day I walked into Mayla's room and found...

this.

At first I was really confused as to who the culprit might have been. It looked like Kadin's handiwork but there was NO mess. At all, anywhere. The paint was put away right were I keep it. The painting plate was placed in it's proper place. The paint brushes were washed and put away. And there was no paint on the floor, dresser, crib, or clothes. It even appeared that the wall was carefully and lovingly pained by our young artist.

Austin was at school. I questioned Emma and she denied it quickly. I talked to Kadin.

Me: "Kadin, did you paint Mayla's room?"

Kadin: "No!"

Me: "Are you sure?"

Kadin: "Yes"

Me: "Did you wash the paint brushes?"

Kadin: "Yes" (big smile)

Me: "Why?"

Kadin: A cute little story about how he needed to help paint

Busted!!!

I am SO thankful that he was able to keep all of the paint on the wall and he didn't ruin everything in her room. I'm so busy being thrilled at my good luck that I can't even be upset. Besides didn't he do a good job?!

Enjoying the zoo

2010-06-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Going to the zoo with Aunt Des and Uncle Raymond was a blast. When we woke up this morning we had no idea what we were going to do. Thankfully Aunt Des called and asked if she could spend some time with her favorite nieces and nephews. It was a perfect day to go...

Thank you Des and Raymond! We love you!!!

Happy Birthday Denise!

2010-06-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

I love celebrating PPC style! Red Robbin for some awesome food, playing at the carnival, a little shopping and then ending it with a bang. Couldn't have been any better. Thanks ladies! This is one I will always remember...

It's time to party!!!

2010-06-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

Austin's teacher planned a fun pizza party to celebrate the end of the second grade. Normally siblings are not allowed to come to the school but Ms Clark is so awesome and she let us sneak them in...

Austin and Ryan...one of his best buds

It was fun to watch Austin playing with his friends. Ms Clark must have had at least 15 pizza's there for everyone. It was a huge party that ended with a bang...the school's field day!

The field day is at a local park and all the kids walk there. Thankfully they walk along a trail the entire time and it is a short walk.

Emma and Kadin can't join in the fun yet but they really enjoyed watching!

Celebration of Leaning

2010-06-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

Every year Austin's school has a celebration of learning near the end of the school year. Austin was so excited for us to come and check out all the hard work he has been doing all year long.

We get to see his art work displayed in the halls, look through all of his work books, and talk with his teacher and friends. They also have a ice cream social, book fair and all kinds of other activities...

Austin and his second grade teacher

Showing Dad and Emma his journal

We are so proud of you Son! You are almost a third grader...WOW!

Going home

2010-06-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

We are loving our time at the pool. We have to go home today but decided to get our energy out by spending the last couple of hours swimming.

Then we went over to Grandma Kagan's house to say goodby.

A quick stop to climb around a cute train
And we were ready for the long 14 hour drive home...

Enjoying the pool

2010-05-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

We were able to enjoy the pool for most of the day today. After a long winter with out swimming the kids were a little rusty but it didn't take long for them to jump right back in. Grandma and Great Grandma were able to come and watch the fun. Grandma didn't like Kevin throwing the kids AT ALL...but that didn't stop him. In fact, the more she squealed the higher he would throw!

After a quiet day at the hotel we were able to go to Great Grandma's house for dinner. It was a fun evening filled with looking at old pictures of Daddy when he was a kid and visiting.

Visiting Grandma Kagan

2010-05-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Grandma Kagan moved to Havre, Montana several years ago and we have not been able to see her very often. She came here for a visit when Kadin was a baby but we haven't had a chance to go there for a visit...until now! A couple of days ago we decided to go and visit her and Great Grandma Stieler. We weren't really planning on a 14 hour drive this weekend and I'm glad that I haven't had much time to process because just the thought of taking 4 small kids on such a long car ride was exhausting.

The trip went really well. We left at about 7:00 pm and drove ALL NIGHT! The kids slept the majority of the night and after a couple of potty stops and we arrived at about 11:00 am.

We were able to go to the Green House to visit Aunt Cathy. Aunt Cathy is Grandma's cousin. They have been friends since they were kids and love each other very much. She owns the Green House and spends much of her time growing beautiful flowers. She must have thousands! We loved looking at all of the flowers and it was nice getting out of the cold for a few minutes. Boy, it is cold in Havre in May! In fact I think that we saw some snow flakes earlier today...

Austin took this picture! Isn't it awesome?

So happy to see his mom!

We went to the cemetery that Great Grandpa Steiler and Uncle Brien is buried at. We lost Great Grandpa almost 1 year ago on August 12th 2009. We miss him very much. He loved the kids and they loved him. Uncle Brien is Grandma Kagan's brother. He died when he was 13 years old. He is still missed by the entire family including his mom, 2 sisters, and twin brother. I think that his Daddy is happy to finally be able to hug him again.

Preschool Graduation

2010-05-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Emma has been waiting for school to be over for months...mostly because she really wants summer over so she can start kindergarten. One of the reasons she is most excited to start kindergarten is because she is really wants to ride the bus...

But back to preschool....

She is officially a graduate! She has been practicing all of her songs for quite a while now...and she had them down to perfection!

I love that Juliana was standing right next to her, they just fit together. They have been doing so many things together these last couple of years. I'm excited to see their friendship grow. I heard a rumor that they will not be able to go to Kindergarten together next year. Juliana will be in a morning class and Emma will be in the afternoon. We are very sad...

During the graduation all of the kids were given a bible from their teachers. Emma loves her new bible. Austin received one at his graduation too and still uses it, so she feels grown up like her big brother now.

Walking

2010-05-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Look who's walking!!!

Mothers day

2010-05-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Mothers day is one of my favorite days. Not because I get breakfast in bed or because the children give me gifts but because it is a day for us to slow down and celebrate the children that God has blessed us with.

I love to spend the day with my family doing something we love. We have been going to Salt Water State park since Timothy was with us. When we go there I'm able to remember him, our time with him, and in a way, I feel like we are all together.

blustery kind of day

2010-05-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

We took the wind storm today as a wonderful opportunity to go fly a kite.

yummy!

2010-05-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

I let Mayla feed herself breakfast this morning. She had oatmeal.

She started by trying to use the spoon...

then her fingers...

then she tried licking it...

And drinking it...

then dumping it!

She was very proud of herself,

And very HAPPY!

(yes mom...I know, I need to put a bib on her!)

9 months

2010-05-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little rainbow has been growing fast these days. She has a mind of her own and knows what she wants. One of my favorite things is when she has something that she isn't supposed to have and we try to take it away from her. She gets a huge smile and takes off...crawling as fast as she can.

She is mastering all kids of wonderful skills like standing, climbing the stairs, and getting into anything she can find.

Our girl is wearing size 3 diapers, 9-12 month clothes (mostly 12 month), and has 4 teeth.

Mayla loves dogs so much that she gets giddy when she sees them. She tries hard to get out of my arms thinking that if I would just let her go she would be able to run to them.

She enjoys making messes and her favorite thing to mess up is the pantry, she pulls everything off the shelves.

She loves attacking Kadin and pulling his hair (it always makes her giggle).

Her favorite foods are fruit, noodles, and puff snacks. She hates babyfood and still loves to nurse.

Family Traditions

2010-03-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that the Currey's have a family tradition that involves markers. It began when Emma turned 2. She started using any marker that she could find and coloring her tummy. It was almost constant. We would go to our friends house and they just knew that if she showed her tummy it would by pretty and colorful.

The tradition continued when Kadin turned 2. He loved to mark on his face...all the time. I tried desperately to hide our markers. But it was inevitable. They would find them...anywhere! It became a running joke. The Currey's should not own markers and the Finnestad's should not own scissors.

Well

Many of you

might love to know

that the

tradition lives on!

Mayla did this herself and she was about 2 feet away from me. I looked away for about 10 seconds.

(Okay PPC- You can stop laughing now!)

movin' and grovin'

2010-03-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

Mayla started creep crawling a few weeks ago and she goes anywhere she wants anytime. Her big sister and brothers even taught her how to climb one stair so she can get out of our living room. She learned how to pull up on furniture this week, so it's only a matter of time before I'm chasing her around the house.

She is like a little vacuum and puts every thing in her mouth and keeps me on my cleaning toes (which would make you think that my house is clean, but strangely, it's not! I must be too busy keeping her from eating everything...)

Just look at her cute little crawl....

Did you hear what Kadin is asking for in this video? I know your just shocked, right??

Camping in March

2010-03-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

Over the last several months we have heard the question; "when do we get to go camping?" over and over and over again.

We thought that it was time for us to join the kids in their excitement and pulled our old tent out and have a good old fashioned campout together.

They were so excited and we stayed up late enjoying our time together. We told a couple of our old camping stories and they loved hearing about our life with this tent in the olden days, you know...before we had children!

It's here!

2010-02-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

Mayla has her FIRST TOOTH!!!!!

(I haven't been able to get a picture yet...hopefully soon.)

I dare you not to laugh...

2010-02-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

I found this video on my camera. I don't even know when it was taken!

Is the sun really out?

2010-02-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

This morning after Kevin graciously let me sleep in for a few extra minutes we enjoyed watching Austin's great B-ball game. It didn't take long for Kadin, Emma and Mayla to need a break and we decided to go outside for a few minutes.

You will never guess what we saw...

the sun!

I quickly ran back in for the rest of the game and presented 2 options for Kevin.

1. Go home and clean the house (our original plan for the day).

2. Head out into the sunshine. After he thought about it for about 5 seconds a decision was made...

We will take our crew to the Zoo!

We quickly realized how long it has been since we have been out on a trek in the wild. The fresh air was wonderful. Grandma and Grandpa were able to come too! Austin helped us by taking responsibility for the stroller. He pushed Mayla for a while and even Kadin was given a ride or two...

We found out that they give camel rides now. They were already closed today but I can see a visit in the near future just for a ride. Boy those camels are huge! I had no idea they are that big.

We only lost Kadin once. He is a quick little boy! Thankfully it only took us a moment to find him.

Senor Don Gato

2010-02-05T09:11:00.000-08:00

We went to watch Austin's second grade choir performance last night. He was so cute sitting front row with a cute smile on his face and singing his little heart out.

Then came his big surprise. He was cast as Senor Don Gato! He didn't even tell us and we were shocked. We giggled when he was given the love letter and I could see him laughing behind his mask. Our hearts swelled with pride as he climbed to the roof top to read his letter and proceed to fall down and break his knee, ribs and whiskers. Then we laughed (with everyone else) when he cried "Ay Caramba!"

Great Job Austin!

waiting

2010-02-01T12:56:00.000-08:00

As Austin has been busy on the court making baskets, defending, guarding, running, assisting and having a great time we have been busy watching and waiting...and a little bit of dancing.

gone

2010-01-31T22:35:00.000-08:00

My tiny infant is gone. I don't know when it happened but slowly over the last couple of months my infant grew up. Even her infant cry is gone. My little baby is now a 6 month old little girl!

I have been able to watch so much personality come out of her in the last month. She is playing with toys, looks for her daddy when he comes home from work and absolutely loves playing with her brothers and sister. She wants to put everything in her mouth and I think that she is starting to teeth. One of her favorite things is taking a bath, she gets giddy when she hears the water start.

I don't think that we are going to be able to keep Mayla from moving much longer. She is getting up on her hands and knees and lunging across the floor to get to her toys.

She is in her 6-9 month clothes now, weighs 17 pounds 8 ounces and is 25 inches tall. Thankfully she is still in her size 3 diapers (I hope she stays in them for a long time to come!).

basketball

2010-01-30T15:49:00.000-08:00

Basketball became one of Austin's favorite spots this year in PE at school. So when we were told about the Upwards program at a local church we were thrilled to sign him up. He started practice a few weeks ago and now he is also having weekly games.

He loves playing the game and loves that his best friend James is on his team. One of the funnest things is when they need to pass the ball and are looking for someone to pass it to. They can hear each other over everyone else and can pick each other out of the crowd. They play together really well.

I am NOT too big!

2010-01-25T22:07:00.000-08:00

Daddy's turn

2010-01-20T22:02:00.000-08:00

5 years...Finally!

2010-01-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

Wow Emma! You sure have grown up...but then again, you have always been grown up to me. I can remember back when you were 2 years old and acting like you were 4.

I am so excited that you are a big 5 year old now. I have really enjoyed this year with you. So much has happened in one short year.

Just a few highlights:

You had your first dance recital; You and Juliana practiced hard and did a great job performing in front of an audience of hundreds of people.

You learned how to snorkel and swim; I never imagined that a 4 year old would grow so quickly in the water. But you wouldn't be left behind so as soon as you saw Austin going for it you quickly decided to join in the fun. I shouldn't have been surprised though since you started riding your bike without training wheels when you were 3!

You started school; You started asking me to go to school when you were 2 years old. My answer was always you get to start school when you are 4. Well I should have known that would be a mistake. On your 4th birthday you insisted that it was time. I had to explain that you needed to wait until September to go. You were NOT happy but did wait the 8 month necessary (all the while asking me daily if today was the day). So you can imagine how excited you were to finally start preschool.

You were an extra in The Nutcracker with the Ensemble Ballet Theatre; It was a small part but you loved it!

You were able to join in the Faith Christmas program; I have been able to pick up on a pattern of performing this year...

School has been so fun for you. You have 2 teachers, Ms Sheri and Ms Merilou. They tell me how much you help then every day. Your favorite subject is craft time but you also like singing, counting and can't wait to learn to read.

You are a HUGE help around the house. You like to clean your room, empty the dishwasher, clean the family room, help with laundry...just about anything, anytime. Not only do you help with the cleaning but you are great with your little brother and sister. You play with them all the time and they just love playing with you.

Your best friends are Abby Finnestad, Julianna Earnhardt and Allie Plett from church as well as Abby, Louise, and Analese from school. But you have friends where ever you go! You have been able to find best friends at the park, the store, and just about everywhere you go.

Your greatest desire is a dog. You have been asking for years and I hope that someday we will be able to get you one, but until then you have about 20 well loved puppies that you play with every day. A couple of them even take a bottle and go potty on a newspaper!

You are filled with sugar and spice. I love when you give me your sweet smile and that we can't leave each other with out a kiss and hug...ever. If you ever forget as you are running into class you stop and run back as fast as you can just for our kiss and hug. You treasure everything and everyone. You have a kind heart and a wonderful personality.

You are MY daughter. I remember as a child my parents would say that I could argue when talking about the color of the sky. And guess what. You. Are. Just. Like. Me. I love that you know what you want and go for it. I love that I don't ever have to wonder how you feel. I love that you are filled with spice. One of my biggest prayers for you is that you never loose that wonderful spirit that God gave you.

First Foods

2010-01-14T21:54:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to keep Mayla a little baby as long as possible. But she made it clear this week that she is ready for food. She has been watching me intently every time I eat. She would stare at the bite as it entered my mouth and then try to grab it and put it into her mouth. So I finally gave in.

She loves food...just like her mommy!

5 months

2009-12-31T10:31:00.000-08:00

Our little girl just keeps growing up. She is still wearing her 3-6 month clothes but I have had to start packing a few away and getting out the 6-9 month stuff. 6-9 month...already!?? Not only is she wearing them but she is fitting them! It is just crazy.

Cheeks. Just about everyone that looks at her mentions her cheeks. I love those cheeks. I just tell them "She LOVES her milk!" they giggle and agree.

I'm so excited because she is loving her giggle now. It took her about a full month to figure out how to get her giggle on but now there is no stopping her. It sounds like music to my ears. She has also found her feet and is learning how to sit on her own. She can only sit for less then a minute right now but her little muscles are getting stronger every day so I'm sure that it's coming soon. She hates her bumbo seat. It makes me sad because Kadin loved it so much that he almost lived in it. She just arches her back and hollers at me to get her out NOW! However she LOVES her jumper. She will sit in it forever just bouncing her heart out.

And just like me she is still a bit of a night owl and loves to sleep in. She likes to stay up until about midnight, get up every couple of hours to eat, then sleep until 10:00 am. To be honest I kind of like this schedule because I'm normally wide awake in the evenings but tired in the mornings. I would love to get a little more sleep but for now I'm glad to have all of these extra minutes with her every night.

Christmas

2009-12-25T21:46:00.000-08:00

Last year's white Christmas really caused a bit of confusion this year. As we have been counting down the days until the big day Emma started getting really concerned that Christmas wasn't ever going to come because we weren't getting any snow.

But even without the snow we had a fabulous Christmas....

Our stockings were all ready...even a few new ones! Mayla, Eric, and Alex all got new stockings this year.

We spent the night at Grandpa's house while we waited for Santa to come. And thankfully he came shortly after bed time because our children were too excited to sleep for very long. They began waking up at about 3:45 in the morning! Yep you read that right...3:45. We were able to keep them in bed until 4:45 but by then they were wide awake with NO indication that they were going to settle down. So we got up and out of bed to enjoy our Santa gifts until the rest of the house joined us.

A few of our favorite moments...

8 years old??!!

2009-12-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

Wow. I can hardly believe that you are 8 years old already. I'm so proud of you. You are growing up to be a wonderful young gentleman that goes to school every day and does your homework almost every night.

One of my favorite things lately has been watching you with your sisters and brothers. You adore Mayla. You love to hold her and cuddle her and can't stand it when she cries. Kadin and Emma follow you around the house like a typical big brother and you like to play the "Big Tiger game" with them. You all turn all the lights off and pretend to find tigers in the house. You run and scream when you find them, then giggle and go back more more.

This has been a huge year of growth for you. First, you learned to swim. At your friend Jordon's party, you swam from one end of the pool to the other all for the chance to jump off the diving board for the first time...you know what, you rocked it and swam all the way across. You then proceeded to jump, dive and flip. That day, among many, filled our hearts with joy. You also learned how to do backflips on the Finnestad trampoline and how to jump your bike off a ramp at grandpa's house. You were able to drive your first car this year! We were so excited for you when you found out that you are tall enough to drive your own gokart. The look on your face was priceless!

Your best friends are James Finnestad, Ryan from your class, and Spencer from our neighborhood. Your favorite thing to play with your friends is Star Wars and wall ball. You had a couple of girls fighting to be your girlfriend and picked the winner by playing eenie-meenie-miny-mo (which sparked a little discussion about girls feelings with me!). And you have brought more then one love letter home from school.

Your favorite toys are guns, lightsabers, and legos. You have been creating some amazing masterpieces.

You have a great second grade teacher Ms. Clark and she really keeps you hopping. You love math and tolerate reading. But as the months have passed this year you have started to enjoy reading more. It has been fun to watch you grow. I remember a few months ago when you didn't want to read anything, but now you read everything around you and have even started reading to Kadin and Emma before bed.

After a year of asking and a year of saving you made your first big purchase. You are the proud owner of a brand new Nintendo DS. $149.00. In cash. All by yourself. And you love it!

Thanks for being my big, little boy.

Mommy

The Nutcracker

2009-12-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

Being the actress that I'm not, I knew nothing about being in a real performance when I signed Emma up to be an extra in the Nutcracker this year. She loves the stage and couldn't wait for the big show. Well, it has been a little bigger commitment then I thought.

She had auditions with a long wait to find out if she received a part. Then we found out then she was cast as a Page. The Pages give gifts to Clara in the second act. After many weeks of long rehearsals and getting her hair just right for every one of those rehearsals (she has been in full costume for most of them). It was time for the full dress rehearsal.

So last night we had her dress rehearsal at the Ikea Performance Center. She got out of school at 3:00. We ran to my Dad's house to drop off Kadin and get her ready, then we arrived at the center at 4:00. After a very long evening in the green room, getting the dress make-up on (I helped dress up 45 tiny faces!),and getting everything just right, she finally had her few moments on stage. We were finally able to leave at 9:45 pm!

She was so tired. But she absolutely loves watching the real ballerina's. She wants to grow up and be one of the big girls...and I can't wait to see her.

She has 4 performances this weekend. And when we add in Austin's birthday on Saturday, it's going to be very busy!

4 months

2009-12-01T16:40:00.000-08:00

Mayla is 4 months! She is growing up and getting bigger every day. I have slowly started putting away the 0-3 month clothes and start pulling out the 3-6 months stuff. I quickly figured out that I would need more then I had in the drawers and just had to go shopping for more...bummer right?!? She is also growing out of her size 1-2 diapers and going into a full size 2.

She is really starting to love toys. She likes to try to hold them while she checks them out and it only takes a minute before she is trying to put them into her mouth. Speaking of putting things into her mouth...that is where she wants everything right now. My fingers, my nose, my cheeks, her hands, her clothes, her blankets...well, anything that gets anywhere near her! She even grabs my head between her hands and tries to shove the entire thing in her mouth! She has also started to drool. Cute little drips of drool all over the place.

I often wonder if she can get any cuter. She wakes up every morning with a huge smile on her face and she is really trying to get the hang of the giggle. She has had a couple of real giggle moments and it sounds like the sweetest music.

She did get sick this month. Poor girl had the croup. We packed her up to the Doctors office and she gave us a couple of tablets of Dexamethazone. She was a tad bit grumpy for Thanksgiving but we are so thankful for her that it didn't even matter! The medicine worked wonders and she started feeling better pretty quickly.

Mayla rolled over this last month! She rolled from her tummy to her back once for her daddy and wouldn't do it again for me until tonight. She even showed me twice in a row! Her oldest brother used to suck his fingers like this too...

3 years old...

2009-11-14T18:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Little Dude!

This year has been super fun with you around. You always know how to make us laugh and giggle.

Your favorite toys are still keys. I think that you have at least 4-5 sets now (of real keys), and you love them all. You also like to get your little hands on mine, or dads, or Aunt Janelles, or Mrs Finnestads... you have even been known to go up to strangers at the store and ask them for their keys (They always give me a little crazy look). One thing that has been funny has been watching adults (those that don't know you well) take your keys from you and tell you that keys are not toys. We chuckle as we tell them that those keys very much are toys and they are yours!

Your second favorite toy is the ride on trucks/cars. You know, the ones that you can use with your keys!

Alyia is your best friend. When I asked you what kind of birthday you wanted this year you kept telling me that you wanted an Aliya party. You love when she is in your class at church and love playing at her house or when she comes to ours. I have really enjoyed watching your friendship grow this year. I must add that she was your first kiss.

My favorite thing with you this year has been watching you in the water. Water baby doesn't even begin to describe you! You love it. We had to make sure that you had your jacket on every second of the time because you would literally jump off the end of the dock. You didn't even wait until we were ready to get you...

I'm not saying that you haven't come with a couple challenges. You love markers (not as much as your sister...thank goodness) and like to get your own way, but normally everything that you do includes a great big smile.

Laundry day

2009-11-13T00:04:00.000-08:00

It seems like everyday in my life is laundry day. Today instead of folding all those socks I put Mayla down for her nap on them! I guess that I have gotten good at finding creative, safe, places to keep our new daughter away from tiny sibling fingers. They didn't even think to look in the laundry basket for her!

cute!

2009-11-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

Trick or treat

2009-10-31T23:41:00.000-07:00

The last three months has gone by super fast! I can hardly believe that Mayla is 3 months old already. Not only is she 3 months today but we also get to dress her up in her first costume!!!

I love getting the kidos dressed up, because they love getting dressed up! I don't know what they like more the fun costumes, Grandma and Grandpa coming over to our house, or the candy. I think that I'm going to go with the candy!

Pioneer farms

2009-10-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

Austin had 2 exciting things happen today. First he went to Pioneer Farms for his first field trip this year. But even better then that was that fact that his daddy was able to go with him. This was the first Field trip that Kevin has been able to chaperon and he was it was a blast. He loved getting to know Austin's friends and see his teacher for a few minutes. He said that it was really cold!

Time to carve

2009-10-24T23:28:00.000-07:00

Since it has been almost 2 weeks since we bought our big pumpkin to carve we thought it would be a good idea to actually carve it. The kids have been patiently waiting for us and only asking about it several times a day.

Kadin was a little freaked out about putting his hand into the pumpkin and pull the guts out but he quickly learned how fun it is. I think that this will be our last year to get one big pumpkin to share. Next year we will be getting one for everyone... it should help out at least a little bit with the joyful communication that occurs as they are all wanting to gut it at the same time.

Since Mayla was too little to help us carve it we thought she might look cute in it!

Yep...she does!

Pumpkin Pickin'

2009-10-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

Many years ago a tradition began. It started 5 years ago with 3 families and 7 children.

What began by accident one Sunday afternoon has become a one of my favorite traditions. We have grown to include a couple more families and a few more children.

This year we returned to Schultz farm. The weather was wonderful! I love the weather in the fall. I love the cool evenings and the warm (but not hot!) days.

I never get tired of watching the kid's excitement. And they are really good at getting excited. This morning Kadin wouldn't go into Sunday School because he wanted to go to the pumpkn' patch! Now!!! Thankfully he only fussed for a few minutes then enjoyed church until it was time to go.

We enjoyed the farm but most of all we enjoyed just being with our friends.

Preschool Orientation

2009-10-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day for Emma. Her family was invited to an open house at school. She called up grandma and grandpa and off we went. Austin was also excited because Ms. Marilou and Ms. Sheri were his preschool teachers and he couldn't wait to see them again.

Emma dressed up in her best dress and was thrilled to introduce us to her teachers ans show us her classroom, playground, and all her artwork.

sweet cheeks

2009-10-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

When Mayla was born Daddy nicknamed her sweet cheeks. He couldn't have picked a more fitting name. She has the sweetest cheeks!!

Scrapbooking!

2009-10-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

For the last 5 years I have had the pleasure of spending at least one weekend per year scrapbooking with 7 wonderful friends.

These weekends have been a blessing for me in so many ways. There are moments in motherhood that I feel overwhelmed and alone. God has placed these women in my life as my support system and my friends. We have spent countless hours together laughing, debating, and scrapping. They have given me a breath of fresh air in the moments when I need them most.

This year was quite a bit different. Three friends couldn't come. We missed them...a lot! But we were thrilled to bring in three new friends to join us (one was my awesome sister!). The other huge difference was the table full of computers! In the past we have had 8 women fighting over table space as we created cute paper scrapbooks. This year almost everyone has switched to computer scraping. We were left with just a single paper scraper. I'm not making a permanent switch though...you just wait until I have time again...I'm going to knock your socks off!

2 months

2009-10-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

Mayla is growing so fast! She is 2 months now and doing great. She is officially out of her newborn clothes and is wearing 0-3 months size now and using size 1-2 diapers. She still loves mommy very much and likes me to wear her all the time. If I try to put her down she will normally only sleep for about 5 minutes before she figures out that I'm not holding her and "calls" for my return. She is so cute that I just love hanging out with her and showering her with kisses. When I talk she will look around for me and smile when she finds me. She can stay awake for several hours at a time and is starting to drink in everything that she sees around her. She loves to smile at everyone in the morning but not so much in the evening. I think that she has stopped using the pacifier and still nurses every 1-3 hours around the clock. Austin, Emma and Kadin all still fight over who gets to hold her and when daddy gets home from work he joins right into that fight!

What she loves the most... Cuddling with me on the couch while she sleeps and trying to make little cooing sounds while she is awake.

What she hates the most... alone time!

She is now 12 pounds 8 ounces and 24 inches long

Lets compare with her older brothers and sister at 2 months old:

Austin-11 pounds 8 ounces. 23 inches long

Emma-12 pounds 3 ounces. 23 inches long

Kadin- 13 pounds 0 ounces. 24 inches long

Terrible two's?

2009-09-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

Nope! Not me. I have never had a child that I would consider a terrible two. They are always sweet and quick to do everything that I ask in a moments notice. And if I did have a breakdown moment I would never document it with pictures! Nope...not me!

First Smiles!

2009-09-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

I just love the moments when I begin to see personality start coming out of my children. Mayla began showing me a hint of how much she is going to like to laugh yesterday. We were having a conversation about how cute she is and she quickly agreed by giving me a big smile. I missed getting a picture of that one but thankfully she has given me a few today and I had the camera ready.

And it begins...

2009-09-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

2 children in school!

Emma had her first day of Preschool today. She had a really hard time waiting until 12:30 for school to start and we finally left the house early just so we could wait in the parking lot. She got a little nervous about me leaving her there so I told her that I would stay as long as she needed me. I only had to stay about 15 minutes before she was ready to fly solo.

Boots

2009-09-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

I bought these boots for Kadin yesterday. He has been wearing them for 24 hours now, yep, that includes sleeping in them. Good thing he has socks on or they would be really stinky right now!

Preschool orientation

2009-09-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

Emma has been asking to start school for a full 2 years now and she was so excited to finally get to go into her class room and meet her teacher(s). She has 2 teachers this year, Ms. Sheri and Ms. Merilou. Austin had them both for his teacher's while he was in preschool at Joyful Noise. They both remembered Emma from a couple of years ago when she was a bouncy little 2 year old with cute curly hair. Ms. Merilou especially remembered how excited Austin and Emma were to see each other every day after school. They would jump up and down with excitement as they met at the door each day and Austin would say "Oh Emma! I missed you SO much!!"

Emma and I are both excited that Juliana would be in her class this year. They had such a great time in dance class together that I know that preschool will be a blast. I also get the pleasure of seeing Denise every day...bonus!

Second Grade!

2009-09-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

Since we have been so busy having fun at the ocean, Austin missed his meet the teacher night last week. So yesterday we went to the school to find out who his teacher will be and where his class is. He was thrilled to find out that his new class is right across the hall from last year with Mrs. Fisher. His new teacher (Mrs. Clark) wasn't there for him to talk to but Mrs. Fisher was! We were able to show off his new little sister and catch up on all the summer news. He found out that a couple of his friends from last year will be in his class again this year and he couldn't wait for school to start.

Austin has been waiting to wear these clothes for over a month now. He is all decked out in his new Tony Hawk gear...all the way down to his shoes. He loves everything about the first day of school...daddy going to work late, seeing everyone at the bus stop, getting on the bus, going to class, lunch, recess and most of all NO HOME WORK!

1 month

2009-08-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

Malya is one month old now. She has mastered several things already. She is great at getting my attention and uses several techniques like; crying (or maybe screaming as needed), moaning and groaning, squirming, rooting, wiggling and making the cutest faces imaginable. She is a great cuddlier and I really think that cuddling is her favorite activity....I enjoy it too! She is also good at sleeping, a little better during the day (in the moby) but she only wakes up every 1-2 hours all night long after going to be between 11:00 and 12:30... (okay, we still have a little work to do for night time but she is only 1 month!) .

Did I ever tell you how cute she is? Cuz she totally is you know (even when she is crying!)

Going home...or maybe not!

2009-08-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

As we were driving home today I told Kevin that the vacation didn't feel complete to me. I'm fairly sure that is because I had mastitis on Friday and spent nearly 30 hours in bed with a fever of 102+. Kevin (the wonderful husband that he is) quickly turned the car around and we set a course for Longbeach!

I was thrilled to get a few more hours of vacation and so was the rest of the family! Washington state beaches are very different then Oregon's. Our beaches are state highways with speed limits and all (although I couldn't tell you what the speed limit is...we just enjoy driving on the beach). We also have horses! I can't tell you how excited I was to see the horses, but I can say that there was a bunch squeals from the back of the van. "Can we ride them mom??!!"

This was a big year for Austin. He was able to drive the Go Karts! No more riding in the passenger seat, he has moved up to the captain chair. They went racing around the course at record speeds. Austin told me several times since then that the only thing he wants to have is a Go Kart and he is willing to give me all of his money and his Christmas presents as well as birthday gifts. I only wish it would be that easy!

time to rest

2009-08-29T23:27:00.000-07:00

After this wonderful week filled with so much activity our children are exhausted! We are bummed that we have to go home tomorrow but are thankful for the time that we were able to spend with our wonderful friends and family.

pool time

2009-08-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

Swimming in the pool has been one of our favorite activites this week. Daddy loves throwing the kids up and I love watching them laugh and giggle while he does!

This week has been wonderful pool practice time. Not only has Austin been able to practice and become a stronger swimmer but Emma was able to learn how to swim on her own.

Loving the sand and the shopping

2009-08-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

We hit the shops this morning looking for the perfect keepsake items. There was an awesome toy store and we spent over an hour hunting and looking at every single thing that they carried. Emma chose a bag of marbles, Kadin got another set of keys and a new phone (that makes a ton of cool noises), and Austin decided on a new boat that he can use in the pool, or the ocean, or the lake, or the bath tub. I was really impressed by all of their great finds.

While we were walking down the boardwalk we came across a cool train yard. The kids begged to take a ride and at just 2.00 per child we couldn't say no. And the race was on!

Since the weather report shows that it is supposed to get cold and possibly rain tomorrow we used this as possibly our last chance to enjoy the beach. Kevin was the only brave enough to swim and he really enjoyed body surfing for a little while. And although I really wanted to get some pictures, there was NO WAY I was going to go out far enough to get them.

Cannon Beach

2009-08-26T23:03:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we found out that both the Crawfords and Starrs would be at Cannon Beach the same time we would be vacationing. Since Cannon Beach is close to Seaside (about 15 minutes) we decided to join up. And today was the big day. And just for fun lets review of how many people make up these 4 families.

Currey's-6

Finnestad's-7

Crawford's-8

Starr's-4

We have 17 children between us, and they all really enjoyed playing together!

I must say that it was one of my favorite days so far. I absolutely love the pictures that I was able to capture.

Running and jumping in the surf was one of the funnest activities. The waves were huge! Some must have been at least 10 feet. There were a few surfers and know that Kevin was wishing he could join them. Since we didn't have a surf board (or wet suit) he raced the waves with his kids. Hand in hand with Kadin they laughed and giggled each time one would come at them. Austin ran so fast that the water could hardly keep up with him. And Emma was thrilled to jump until she was too exhausted to continue.

We did a little rock climbing, hunting in the tide pools, kite flying, sand playing, and we also had some time to rest, eat and visit.

We were able to get almost all the kido's into one picture (only missing the 3 babies), and most of them are even looking at the camera! I think that is some serious photography skills (okay, to be honest there were 4 moms all taking pictures at the same time. I guess one of us was bound to get a good one!).

A great day that was topped off by one of the best bubble baths in history. Note to self- only add a very small amount of bubbles to a jet tub!

Tilliamook

2009-08-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered where they make the yummy Tillamook cheese that we eat in our house almost everyday?

We decided to make a trip over to the town of Tillamook to find out. We learned some cool new facts. It takes 10 gallons of milk to make 1 pound of cheese, the cheese factory uses 170 million gallons of milk every day, and they celebrated their 100th anniversary on August 1st 2009.

Mrs. Finnestad is a very smart mommy and brought a stroller. Thankfully it is a sit-stand stroller and can hold a bunch of children because that is just what she had. As daddy and I were busy getting Mayla ready, the Finnestads started the short walk to the factory with all 5 of their children and 3 of ours. She was cracking up when we approached. She said that she had many many heads turning and she watched people literally counting all the little heads that were trailing behind them 1...2...3...4...5...6...7! No wait there is one more...8!!!!

We enjoyed watching them make our cheese and cut it into different size blocks. We also thought it was a lot of fun to try milking the cow. Then we were off for a lunch with happy face french fries and yummy ice cream, but we couldn't leave without a wrestling match in the grass!

Seaside

2009-08-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

We are having a great time! The kids couldn't wait to get here and the drive was a piece of cake. We only had to stop once to feed Mayla then back on the road. The Finnestads arrived a couple of minutes after us and then we had the excitement of getting everything up to our rooms. I didn't feel like we packed too much stuff with 4 children but then I saw it all on the loading cart. WOW! I only wish that I had thought to take a picture.

Grandma and Grandpa were able to come for today so we packed it full of fun. We started by hitting the pool at 9am. The ocean air is cold so we were thankful that they heat the pool a couple of extra degrees. I wasn't able to get in today because I was enjoying Malya but everyone said that they didn't want to get out of the water because the air was much colder then the water.

Then it was off to the beach. Aunt Janelle and Uncle Eric came to Seaside for their getaway and we had the joy of playing with them for a couple of hours. Uncle Eric is a great sandcastle builder and Kadin really enjoyed cuddling with his special Aunt Janelle.

And while we did enjoy getting our feet wet for a couple of minutes we really spent most of our time doing things like flying kites, making sand castles, digging big holes, and covering the boys in the sand...just for the fun of it!

Father and husband- I'm very thankful they like each other!

Grandpa enjoying the surf with the kids

Jimmy and Kevin had a blast digging huge holes! And of course all of the boys joined in...

Just check out how deep it is

How high can YOU fly a kite? I think Austin won today!

The girls loved building the sand castle...

Where's Jonathan?

Mayla really enjoyed sunbathing for a little while

I bet you can't guess what we wore for dinner...I mean ate!

The Plan

2009-08-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

1 year ago.

The idea...

The Finnestads and the Currey's at Seaside for an entire week...together.

The planning started.

Date set: August 23, 2009.

Oops: Due date: August 6th, 2009

But NOTHING was going to stop this trip!

summer hike

2009-08-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

We were very excited to get out of the house today and go for a hike.

I truly love living in Washington State. We have beautiful lakes and wonderful mountains in our back yard, and we are only a short drive to the pacific ocean or the hot dessert. I love that we have 4 seasons with rain, snow, sun and even a few clouds. The green trees and blue skies remind me of Gods wonderful creation and strengthen my soul.

I also love that our children thrive on being outside and are thrilled when we get out of the house. (Which we have to do when we are not loving the wonderful rain that comes with living in Washington!)

8 lbs 10 oz

2009-08-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

Mayla went in for her 2 week check today. She is already 8 lbs 10 oz! The doctor had to ask twice what her birth weight was. He was amazed that she has already surpassed her birth weight by 8 ounces! She is also 21.5 inches long. What a big girl!

(However, she is not my biggest child. Kadin takes that prize with 8 pounds 10 ounces at birth)

Can you say...Incredible Hulk?

2009-08-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

Kadin can!