My Favorite

I was sitting down folding laundry, and wanting to watch something while I did it. I started channel surfing and stumbled upon my favorite movie. Pride and Prejudice. Now I could enjoy myself while doing my least favorite chore. There is nothing better than watching Mr. Darcy strolling across that field. It goes on for at least 4 minutes. 4 minutes of heaven. I LOVE THAT PART! Anytime I sit down and watch this movie, my husband always seems to sit and watch it with me. He hates to admit it, but he likes this movie. He loves to tell me he would have never watched it if he hadn't married me. I just say he has good taste.

Where Is Spring???

Today we woke up with everything covered in snow. It was so beautiful and the flakes were huge! Huge and fluffy. My kids were so excited cause they wanted to go and play in it, but it is March 28th so you know it wouldn't last. Later on in the day, it began to hail like crazy. It was so loud against our windows that it woke the baby from his nap.
My question is, why is this happening so late in the year. I don't remember it ever snowing on spring break. Crazy.
The weather is changing so much that they say we can expect funnel clouds. Where is my nice, warm, rainy spring?

Cosmic Bowling

Let's bowl, let's bowl, let's rock and roll!!!

Last night we took the kids Cosmic Bowling. We had such a good time. I have been bowling before, but not COSMIC. That is when they darken the alley and turn on black lights so everything glows. Even the bowling balls. There are disco balls everywhere and the music is blasting. Ellie and I danced and danced.

Isaac is a pretty darn good player. He and I got very similar scores. Andrew beat us all, but it was a tight race for 2nd. I was very surprised how well Jackson and Ellie were. They had bumpers in their lane, but rarely did the ball touch them.

After a heated competition, we decided to go and get some ice cream. It was a great night.

It's Been Awhile

Being a stay at home mom is a wonderful thing, but is doesn't give your life many eventful things to blog about. This week is spring break, and as I said in an earlier post, we are not doing anything special this week.

My house is the hub for all the neighborhood kids, and at last count, there are 13 kids in my house right now. That is including my own. If the weather was nicer, they would be outside, but it is cold and wet with the chance of SNOW in the forecast. Can you believe that? Anyways, I just follow around, reminding kids to use indoor voices, please shut the door, it is cold outside, make sure to take off your muddy shoes, quit fighting, and so on. I love that there are so many friends to play with, but I also love when they play at other houses.



Yesterday we rented Enchanted. Let me just say, SO CUTE! I loved it. I made them watch it again, although I was the only one watching. I may have to buy that one.




Tomorrow I think I am taking the kids to Horton Hears a Who. I hear it is cute, but Isaac thinks it looks a little young for him. What ever, he is going anyways.

I hope I have a more exciting post soon. I feel like I'm letting my readers down. Just kidding.

Isaac Heads to State

Today was the state chess tournament. Since Isaac's team did so well at districts, they were invited to go to state. It was the first time Isaac's school sent a team to state. It was pretty tough competition, and proved to be more advanced then our team was ready for. But individually, Isaac did really well. He won his first round game and was pretty evenly matched for the others. He was really bummed at the end of the day that his team didn't do better, but I think he should be pretty proud of himself. Now he can look forward to next year and polish his skills.

To help cheer him up, Andrew took Isaac to Ben and Jerry's for a little ice cream. I think it worked. He looks pretty happy.

Spring Break

This half week and all of next week is our Spring Break. I think my kids are expecting us to show them a really great week, since it is a vacation. Well, as we are going to Disneyland next month, there will be nothing special this week.

Today I treated them to an exciting trip to Burger King to play on the indoor playground. Who knows, maybe next week I'll spring for McDonalds? So fun!

House Update

This is a picture of most of the things we chose for our new house. It was a long appointment to pick out all these things, but it's a big house to fill up.
In the picture is the stone for the outside around the garage and columns, above it the green-blue exterior house color with the red door. Hard woods, cabinets, granite, above the granite is our wall color, carpet, bathroom flooring, bathroom counters and that's about it. This picture was taken with Andrew's cell phone so the colors are a bit off. Still, you get the idea.



This is the look and color of our front door.



This is the color of the house with the same stone on the garage. We will not have windows in our garage doors.



The interior paint color.



Our carpet color. Our carpet has flicks of other colors in it, but this is the closest I could find to what we chose. I think the variegated color will hide the dirt. We ARE dirty.









These are all the appliances. Every thing is stainless steel, including the stove top which I could only find a picture in white.



The cabinets in the middle are the ones we chose. There will also be brushed silver knobs.







This is the lighting package we chose. The top is the bathroom, then bedrooms, kitchen and the bottom is the dining room.
The faucet that will go in our kitchen sink.





This is a picture of the granite we chose for our slab counter tops.

I know I put a lot of pictures up. I'm just so excited and want you to share in it.

It's Over

Here is a picture of my BBall Boys and their trophies.



Yesterday was the last day of Basketball. I want to say that makes me sad, but it doesn't. I'm thrilled. This has been a draining last few months. After the last game, each team has a pizza party to hand out their trophies. That means we went to 3 PIZZA PARTIES yesterday. I don't need to have another piece of pizza for a long time.
The boys really enjoyed playing. They learned a lot and discovered new talents. So much so that Jackson wants to play spring basketball. Isaac will start up with flag football, Jon will start swimming lessons, and Ellie is still in gymnastics.

Terminology

The other day, we had a discussion with Isaac about changes he will be going through now that he is getting older. We sent the other kids upstairs cause we didn't think they were old enough for the conversation. I guess upstairs wasn't far enough because yesterday my neighbor called to tell me something funny that Ellie said while she was at her house. Their dog was licking Ellie on the leg and then proceeded to sniff her crotch. Ellie kept telling the dog, "Quit smelling my penis!" My neighbor had to tell her that she didn't have one. My poor neighbor. She must wonder what goes on at our house.

Discipline

So today the primary discovered what a strict and creative disciplinarian I am. The primary president asked the kids what happens in their houses when they get in trouble. Jon raised his hand and said that when they get in trouble, I make them eat broccoli. Ellie then raises her hand and says that if we lie I BARF ON THE BROCCOLI and make them eat it. Nice! I can't tell you how many people came up to me after church to tell me what my kids said. I am getting a bad reputation.

Future Engineer

Jonathan loves to build. Anytime there is a gift to give him, we give him K-nex. You cannot believe the things he can build with them. Anything from working robots to guns and swords, roller coasters and cars. He is very creative. I'm amazed how fast he can create them. He's pretty smart and he sure loves to do it. He loves to get on You Tube and watch video's of people building things with their K-nex. It gives him lots of ideas. He's pretty impressive.



By the way Tanya, this one is for you!

What A Cutie

How could you not love this face?





Happy or sad, he's a cutie. I sure love him!

Who's Your Favorite

Isn't it always the case, that the first word your baby says is Daddy? That is the only word Gavin says. I keep trying to teach him Momma, but it's a no go so far. He does like to say Daddy though, and it is cute.

A Free Weekend

This weekend my sister Leigh and I went to the beach. Alone, meaning no kids. It was great. We stayed in a hotel and took advantage of the hot tub and pool. We played put put golf, we stayed up late, ate lots of naughty food and took in the beautiful scenery of the Oregon coast. We started in Seaside, then headed south to Cannon Beach, Hug Point and then on to Lincoln City. A lot of driving, but you don't notice it with such an amazing landscape and great show tunes to sing to. I did put a kink into it. I ended up with a tummy issue, so I wasn't my usual chipper self. Still, it was a fun time and a great weekend with my sis.

He Takes After Amy

One of my favorite spots to eat is at this little place called Jazzy Bagel. I love to order a bagel sandwich, and with it comes a wedge of pickle. I'm not a pickle fan, but Gavin is. I give him it and he sucks and chews on it till it is a pulpy mess. My Mom says that my sister Amy loved pickles and she used to go to peoples tables and ask if they were gonna eat their pickle. I hope Gavin doesn't go to that extreme, but I'll keep giving him my pickle as long as he wants them.

Magic Eraser

When you clean your house, do you scrub the walls, and if so, how often? I DO scrub my walls, but never as often as I should. Today, I was picking up the house and seeing all the things I need to pay more attention to. Man alive, are my walls a wreck. I think I need to take stock in Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Those things are miraculous. I remember when Ellie was into her coloring on the wall phase, I used a sponge a day. You can't believe the walls in the stairwell. Sooo dirty. I don't know if my trusty magic eraser will do the trick. A new paint job is what it needs, but I'm not painting a rental. No way. I'm saving my painting energy for the new house. So scrub the walls I will, but I anticipate sore arms.

In Need of a Girls Weekend

I think I need a break! We all need them from time to time. I would like a weekend of just girls and NO KIDS! I love the men and kids, but I need to recharge. A little shopping, eating and laughing sounds good to me.
My sister Leigh is coming on Thursday and I'm planning a trip to the beach with her. We are taking recruits, so if you are in need of a break, there is room in the car. I think Lincoln City is calling. A trip to the outlets does a body good.

Decisions

Next week, Andrew and I go to the Design Center, to pick out pretty much everything for our house. What pressure! Everything from the cabinets to carpet color, flooring, paint color for the interior and exterior, counter tops, to how many outlets to put in a room, and on an on. My biggest hang ups are how many cable outlets to put in, do I put one in each room. It is so stupid, they charge like 80 bucks per outlet. Do I put a fan in the master bedroom or just have them pre-wire and do it myself later. What about garage door openers? Now or later? It's a tough choice. If you have them do it, it will cost more, but it will go in our mortgage payment. Who knows how much extra money we will have to put these things in once we move in. So this is my dilemma. So many decisions.

A Day at the Park

We took all the kids to the park the other day. The kids loved taking Gavin around and showing how to navigate the play structure. It was a beautiful day out and we had lots of fun.