Turner Tales

Jessi's 2 year old pics

2010-10-22T14:42:00.001-07:00

So today I went to a friends house and had her take Jessi's pics since she just turned 2. I'm totally mad at myself that I haven't had her pictures professionally taken at all since she was born, but I have taken alot myself. Point being that I just don't know how to take a good picture with my camera. Thanks to good friends I've been able to get along just fine with their good photos. I almost cried today as I looked through these pictures and wondered where time has gone. She's such a cute little girl now and has grown up a ton. I love her to pieces! Sometimes I wish she'd just let me hold her for a while. To all grandparents. If you will tell me which photo you want and what size, I'll develop them and send them off to you. Let me know. The boys' photos are coming soon. These were just a few of my faves of Jessi!

4th and final April 23, 2011

2010-10-06T08:28:00.001-07:00

Austins Field trip to the Portland Zoo

2010-05-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

In April I was able to go with Austin on his kindergarten Zoo field trip. We went along with a few of our friends with kinders too. I don't enjoy all field trips but this is one that I can handle. We had a lot of fun...as did Jessi.

Pick your self out somethin' real nice

2010-04-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

I was looking for our webcam today...

found it.....

You'd think I married CLARK GRISWOLD!!!

Pinewood Derby

2010-04-26T08:31:00.001-07:00

Winner in his Division and you're looking at the kid that received the award for "coolest sleekest car" and the Grand Champion. His car was unbeatable this year. Rich found the design for the fast car and I will admit that I did the wheels with Redden this year. We worked for a few hours before the derby to get them on just the way they're supposed to be. (no secrets disclosed) ;) ;) Dad

Kids Fish-In

2010-04-26T08:16:00.001-07:00

Random April Pics of Jess

2010-04-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

Austins Music Program at school

2010-04-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

I didn't get good pics from this but this was what I got. He's fun to watch.

Lazy or Genius

2010-04-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

This morning after I got the kids on the bus I returned to our bedroom to find my husband laying in bed with his blue tooth in his ear. I said "oh my gosh, are you really laying in bed with your blue tooth in?" He smirked. I said to him "Have you heard from Dave (his boss)yet?" (Thinking, well if he's talked to his boss then that might be okay). He said "no", he hadn't heard from his boss yet. So I laugh a minute and say "Is that what we'd call pure laziness?" and he smirked again and after a long pause says "Sometimes it can be mistaken for pure genius" Gotta love him~

Older or Wiser?

2010-04-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

This post comes with no pictures but stuffed full of brains. Today I was upstairs cleaning the bathrooms going about my motherly duties. I needed to bring something downstairs and was a little startled as I heard something in my office. I came in and much to my surprise found my 9 year old playing games on the computer. I said "I didn't know you were home, why didn't you come upstairs and say something" He said, "I smelled cleaning stuff". I said, "And" and he replied with "I didn't want to clean". Wiser??You decide.

The unveiling of "the office"

2010-04-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

Rich and I have been working hard to make our office a little more functional. 3 weeks later and voila!! I absolutely love it...it makes me so happy.

The best present ever

2010-04-13T21:28:00.001-07:00

Rich will claim still to this day that this is the best present he ever received. I think he's forgotten some things over the years...hehehe. Either way it's been really fun and a good tradition that we've started in our home. We love our firepit and the yummies that go along with it. We try to pull the cover off and do smore's as often as possible. It's so nice on those days that it sprinkled and dried out to go sit outside with a jacket on and be together as a family. One night we played "I'm goin' on a trip and I'm taking a "Apple" "Bucket" "Car" etc. The boys had a lot of fun and we laughed trying to help each other through the alphabet. Jessi wants to roast too but those pointy sticks scare me. So she found her own stick. She picked up the lighter that we used to start the fire and she knows that we wont let her get close so she stood back holding her stick about 1 ft from the edge and pretended to roast her fake marshmallow. She did however realize that she could quietly go missing behind the table and nabbed the chocolate off the graham crackers that I had just set up. The little stinker! Again not the greatest pics but it's documented!

After the viewing of this picture, I immediately marched downstairs and pulled that stupid orange fleece jacket out of the closet and donated it to goodwill! It's terrible...isn't this where friends and family are supposed to come in and tell you the truth? short and fluffy? I should have known, that's never been my type. haha

Cousin Sophie's baptism in January 2010

2010-04-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

I decided that if I don't start somewhere I'm never going to be able to go back and catch up because I'll be so far behind. So to make it easy I'm startin in January of this year. This January we had the chance to drive up to Seattle for cousin Sophie's baptism. We didn't want to have to stay in a hotel more than 1 night so we had to get up at 5 Saturday morning and start the drive. We went in our jammies and got ready in the bathroom at the church. We made it and had an enjoyable time spending time with family. While we were there, we took the kids on a tour of the Seattle Seahawks stadium. It was a long tour but the kids had a lot of fun. I think their favorite part was being able to walk on the "real" field. Here's some pictures of trip. Not the greatest pics but hey it's documented right...

Stupid kids' balloon is right in front of the space needle. It's there I promise!

In one of the visiting lockers.

Down on the field

The press conference room

The seahawks cheerleaders room

The early morning ride to Seattle.

Rich's 37th Birthday

2010-04-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Redden was our photographer this year and he asked us to kiss. So we did...does that make us disgusting parents? Wanted a Tivo Premier for his birthday. Wish Granted!

The famous annual red velvet cake completely from scratch. I have to tell ya. I had some serious competition from my sister in law. She definately made me step up my game this year. I'm so sad no one in his family was here to see it for themselves, but it was by far my best attempt at the traditional cake. I nailed it I must say. Bring it on Danielle! :)

I absolutely love this pic!

Andrea's 31st Birthday

2010-03-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my birthday this year by Rich taking me to a TrailBlazers Game. Our seats were about 5 rows off the floor behind the blazer bench. I love going to the games with him. They are so exciting especially when you're that close to those BIG players. This year for my birthday I got a Garmin GPS Running Trainer and new running shoes to prepare for the marathon I was training for. I was excited to get the things that would help me do better. Here's some pictures from the glorious moment.

My ultimate fav....cadbury mini eggs (I love that my birthday is by easter for this very reason)

We're not talking about it.

2009-11-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

I found something a few months ago and I'm sure no one is going to believe me but I'll put it on here anyway. And just know that...we're not talking about it. Please pardon the dust.

In fact, lets play a game. If you want to guess what it is, leave it in the comments. The winner gets a prize.

New House= New Table

2009-11-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

As I was pregnant with Jessi I had an issue. And yes... another one to go along with the other issues I have when I'm pregnant. I kept freaking out that we only had a table that seats 4 people and there was no other place that we could fit a bigger table even if we had one. (Now we're in a new house so it doesn't matter). But literally I would have anxiety attacks about not having a table for more people. So we moved into our new home and I sold our cute little family table on craigslist thus no table for new house. While we were shopping for a new home I had found a table at world market that I loved but it was approximately $2200.00. Oh man did I love this table. Rich of course wanted to get it right then because it was on sale for about $1500.00 and it was exactly what I wanted. We didn't have anywhere to put it though and they come put together because they're solid wood. I didn't want to have to find somewhere to store it for the next who knows how long. I said no, we'll wait until it goes on sale again and hopefully we'll be in our house by then. So...we moved in and you're not going to believe it but we sat and ate at this table, yes all 5 of us for over a month and a half because that stupid table wasn't going back on sale...take a look
Rich loved it everynight that we had to sit at that table...lol not really. And after seeing it for $1500 I was not going to pay $2200 so we needed to develop some patience. Well memorial day rolled around and my inlaws were visiting. Carol wanted a new patio umbrella from Kohls. I asked if she minded if I ran into world market first just to see what the story was with the table of my dreams. We went into find the last table with a little nick in the top on sale for $100. It was on clearance. I asked the store people what was going on and they said that the table was on clearance. I said because it's nicked and they said the set was being retired. In other words the table of my dreams was going away forever!!! There was another chair normally $129 on clearance for $24 it was also damaged. My worst nightmares were happening when all they had left was dinged up pieces of furniture on clearance. The clerk said no mam, the whole set is on clearance we have more chairs in the back and some at another store, but that is the only table and all of the chairs are $24 not just the damaged one. I was absolutely elated and of course my dear husband was too when I called him. I bought 8 chairs 1 table and another set of 4 folding chairs also on clearance for drumroll please

.

.

.

.

.

.

$350.00
How often does a deal like that ever come around? I counted my lucky stars that day. Just incase you wanted to know that was about 83% off on brand spanking new furniture. I love my table.

The Texans Visit

2009-11-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

We were so lucky to have Rich's brother Ron and his wife Danielle and their 5 little (and big) girls come to our home this summer. They came the end of July and planned on staying just 2 days if I remember right. There was no way that we could pack the last 4 years into 2 days so they extended their stay in Portland which we were so grateful. We did tons of stuff and totally had a great time. They are welcome anytime. Brianne loved being a mother to Jessi, Tiffany just loved Uncle Rich and the 3 older girls were the best helpers in the world!!! Cooking dinner, babysitting, clean up, entertaining, etc. They are the 5 most amazing girls I've ever seen. Ron and Danielle are great parents. We wish that we could see each other more often. During their visit, we...
Went on a date...Thank you Tori, Caitlin and Courtney
Roasted Smore's in the backyard firepit

Played house ;0)

Slammed on the brakes to miss a dear...success!

Picked blueberries

visited the Bangerter orchard

picked cherries

showed off the kids' school and parked illegallly (who's driving this boat?)

went to lunch at Burgerville...oh my gosh isn't my baby cute. She's 7 months in this picture.

Put together the Turner Choir lol...I played, they sang lots of primary songs

Rich treated Tiffany to a midnight snack of oreo's and milk

Played "so you think you can dance" at the park across the street

Austins dance pose

Watched fireworks

Chilled out in the hot summer weather

As you can see we had a lot of fun while they were there. We are so glad they came and felt comfortable enough to extend their stay. Please come back soon!

Aunt Andrea's House

2009-11-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

So we were honored enough to have Rich's sister Melora's kids come stay at our house for a week this summer. They are so polite and well mannered kids that I totally cried when I took them to Gramma's house for the weekend. I loved driving around and looking in m y rear view mirror and seeing all these cute little smiling faces filling my car. I'm not sure why but it was so gratifying. They all are close in age and love playing with each other, perhaps that's why it's so fun. I wish I had more patience as I would love to fill my car with my own kids but that aint gonna happen so don't hold your breath. I love going home and hanging out with all my siblings as it's totally a party now that we're all older. I so want a big family for my kids sake and I know that time goes fast and that it would be over soon if I decided to have a million kids but frankly (thanks for the word referral Gary) I don't want to have 6 kids. Thank you Keith and Melora for letting me borrow your kids for a week. I hope we can make a tradition out of this. I love them and they are welcome here anytime! I didn't take many pictures, but I did manage to get this one.

Our New Home

2009-11-01T13:33:00.001-08:00

This year we were fortunate enough to be able to purchase a new home for our family (Thank you honey). We didn't move far, but to a much larger home where there are more children to play with and more room for us & company. Every once in a while I get choked up thinking about how much I have been blessed with. This last week I took Redden grocery shopping and drove the back roads to a store I don't usually go to for a change. As we were driving we passed an RV Park. But not the kind that people come and go for the weekend. It's right off the road and it was packed - not a single place left. Full of RV's,cars, clotheslines, grills, etc. Where you can tell people live. Not that there's anything wrong with this because atleast they have a roof over their heads but I couldn't stop thinking about how lucky I am to have the life that I do. Tears welled in my eyes as Redden told me he was thankful to have a home. When we got back home he told Rich thank you for working hard so we can have a real house. It doesn't happen very often that kids realize what they have but I hope that this lesson is something I can help my kids remember their whole lives. I thank my lucky starts that I found and married a man who would give his limbs to support his family. Love you babe. I haven't taken any pictures of our home with our stuff in it yet, but here are a few pictures for those of you who have never been here but with the other peoples' stuff.
At the top of the stairs looking toward the master and Jessi's room

Jessi's room

The Master~ Not a good angle

They boys room.

The laundry room also taken at a very weird angle. There's a linen closet in here too

The bonus room..YEAH!!! A place for ALL their crap

From the kitchen lookinig into the family room

Our agent sitting at their table writing up papers.

Living room off the entry

Looking back toward the front door

A picture of the office right off the front door taken at a very weird angle.

Jessi at 6 mo.

2009-10-27T20:31:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of Jessi and her pediatrician Dr. Farley at her 6 month well child check. I absolutely love this picture of both of them actually. She had recently started sitting at about 5 months and didn't actually roll over very well for a while. She still did not have any teeth. She loved to eat anything that we were eating (which wasn't always possible~ more pics to prove this later) She started giggling and laughing histerically at her brothers. She loved ice cream cones ( I know once again I'm proving that my OCD is going away~ never in a million years would I have been caught dead giving my other 2 ice cream cones...way too messy :0) She was a fun little baby at this age but still didn't feel too different for me as a mom. Still a baby that required the same attention- Boy or Girl. She loved to be packed around by her brothers, pulled on a blanket, pushed in laundry basket etc. She absolutely loves Redden.

Pinewood Derby 2009

2009-10-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

This was Reddens 1st pine wood derby event. He looks forward to it and loves to call Grandpa David for advice and tips. We did all the little tricks and stuff that he suggests and he always runs a quick car. I drove him downtown to a little hobby shop and picked up graphite and other materials. The kids and I had an evening out while Rich had a time out at home :) We prepared for a couple of weeks carving, painting, sanding, polishing, weighting etc. etc. Here is the 2009 Turner Pinewood Derby car. It was pretty goodlooking if I must say so myself. We were all pretty proud. He raced well and always had a good time. I think if they would have given places out all the way down he got 4th or 5th. I'm telling you what. There are some people in our ward who build the weirdest shape cars and can still make them go fast. Oh well, it's the bonding that counts right?

This is Jessi with Zoe from our ward.

Next comes my birthday

2009-10-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

wow that's getting to be quite the flame!

This year I turned 30 which felt just like another day. I never feel old because quite frankly my husband is way older than me and like I've said in years past, I've been through it with him 6 years earlier. Rich took the kids and I to a new steak house here in town. It was really yummy! We came home and opened up some presents. I got a jacket from Rich a necklace from Jessi and a key chain that says #1 mom from the boys. It was a good day. Rich even made me my fav...a german chocolate cake. What a good man.

Here we go...

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

This is going to be my attempt at catching up with my life. For some reason once again this blog has gotten way behind and I'm going to do my best at bringing you all up to date with the Turners again. Let's go way back to March when Redden was playing baseball. Redden expressed an interest in wanting to play baseball this year which turned out to be a blast. His coach was the same coach from basketball which was good because he had already developed a repore with the kids. Redden played pitcher at the beginning of the season. It's coach pitch this year but they still have someone play the pitcher position. He also played 1st and 2nd base alot more so towards the end of the season which you'll find out more about later in my update. He was extremely good at baseball and seems to have found his nack with basketball and baseball. Rich was an assistant coach for his team and they asked him to be the pitcher. The coach said he looked for the youngest most athletic looking guy helping and chose him because you have to get up and down a lot and be able to get out of the way quick. (Apparently Rich fit the bill.) Rich didn't know that until Redden started swinging. Every time that kid hit the ball he would hit a line drive straight at Rich (it was very frightening to watch sometimes). They both loved it! Baseball not the line drives of course.

Getting coached my Dad

Yes the is the ball landing in his mit while on 1st.

Running over home plate.

If I blogged about anything...

2009-09-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

it should be this. Jessi slept in this morning so I kept getting my stuff done around the house rather than taking a shower. Which of course left me showering while she was awake. Sorry if this story paints graphic images for you. I was showering and had just jumped in leaving her to play with my jewelery in my bathroom. Jessi bursts into tears. She follows me to the shower waiting very impatiently for the first 30 seconds. Well you see the kindergarten bus is coming to drop Austin back home in 10 minutes so this shower must be quick. First 30 seconds of my shower was me getting wet and Jessi screaming outside the door. The next 30 seconds was the door opening and her sticking her head into the shower while I started to soap myself (sorry TMI I know) next 30 seconds is me pushing her arms out and closing the door with soap dripping all over her. Yes you guessed it, the next 30 seconds is the door opening again and me shampooing my hair and this time I managed to shave my arm pits although I haven't checked to see how good of a job I did. This time a foot enters the shower. Again I spent the next 30 seconds trying to rinse my hands to be able to pick up Jessi and set her outside the shower and close the door. I now have managed to conditioner my hair. Yes but one more time my daughter opens the door and before I can rinse my hands and my hair from conditioner she has entered the shower and yes she is completely dressed. Needless to say I had to hurry even faster now because I had to dry, get dressed and undress, re diaper, and redress my baby in the next 2 minutes to be able to get my Austin off the bus. I love being a mom and thank you to my dear husband who makes it possible. I'm so grateful I was here at home to be able to laugh and enjoy this moment. Wow typing this has made me realize that my OCD has come a long way through these 3 kids.
Just as a side note: Despite what this picture may tell you, she had absolutely no problem with being fully dressed and soaking wet. She didn't cry once. She's crying in the picture because I left her all alone in the shower while I went to fetch my camera------- in my towel! I chee wa wa

Redden's Winter Basketball Season

2009-06-21T16:40:00.001-07:00

Redden (our little #2) started playing basketball in January. This was his 2nd season and he is loving it. He's very aggressive with the ball which was kind of a surprise because he's not so much in soccer. He's always upfield waiting for a pass in soccer but rarely attacking the ball. He's a good rebounder and always thinking ahead of the game and can sink a basket almost every time down the court. His coach this year was a new coach to Redden. He's a high school teacher and he's a great coach and loves Redden. He complimented Redden alot on listening and being very coachable. After the season was over he pulled me aside and told me not to let him quit because he's so good. He said that in his opinion Redden was one of the best in the league! Who gets those compliments? Rich and I were very very proud and of course kept that comment to ourselves...he doesn't need to know that. I just wanted to share with you some of his shining moments. We're proud of him and all of the things he's showing an interest in and succeeding at. He's got great determination and will be good at whatever he wants to be.
This is one of his shot going in.

Getting ready to shoot the ball.

Playing some good offense.

Playing good defense.

Bringing the ball in bounds.

I don't like this

2009-05-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

So I hate posting things out of order because it drives me crazy. But everyone keeps bugging me to post this so I promise I'll go back and fill in the blanks but until then here's what I've been up to. I've decided to get onto th couponing bandwagon and it's sooooo fun. Anyway, by watching for sales, clipping manufacturer coupons and combining it with the stores double coupons I'm "stealing" groceries! Not really but it feels like it. Today I made a trip to albertsons to stock up on snack foods that I'll for sure be using over the summer. Here's the list

2 Boxes of Honey Maid Graham Crackers

2 Bags of Toasted Wheat Thins

2 Bags of Toasted Ritz Crackers

1 Box of Ritz Crackers

4 boxes of Ritz Bitz Crackers (2 peanut butter 2 cheese)

2 Boxes of Wheat Thins

2 Boxes of Triscuts

2 Boxes of Pop Tarts

2 A-1 Sauces

2 16 oz. Nalley Pickle Jars

2 Healthy Choice freezer dinners

4 Packages of Bar S Hot dogs

2 Packages of 6 Hershey Chocolate Bars (12 total! :))

2 Bags of jet Puff Marshamallows

Drum Roll Please................................................................

I Paid for all of this added together 19.87. Add in the chicken and I paid $43.20
If I had walked into the store without a single coupon I would have paid $162.09 (including the chicken)I saved $118.89 by using coupons and store customer cards.

In addition to this I purchased 12 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.88/lb. WOW

Just thought I'd share. I usually try to make my menu around items on sale which I did earlier this week. This was an additional trip that I made in addition to my normal shopping just because I could get so much for so little. So don't worry, we're still eating nice and yummy dinners that I"m getting on sale. I promise we're not eating wheat thins for dinner.

It's Official

2009-04-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

We didn't want to have to explain it to everyone two times forward and once backwards so we didn't tell anyone until we knew it was official. We sold our house (officially) and are just getting ready to close on it next week. We are moving out this weekend into the Bangerters Farm House until we can close on our new one. We did hear bank from the bank (because it was a short sale property) and they accepted our offer. We are upgrading in size!! yahoo. Here's a picture of our new home. It's just a few streets down. Same Ward Same School! We should be in the first week of May or so. We will forward on all our new information to you through email. Until then I'm not sure what amenities we will have hooked up so more blogging then.

Super Bowl Sunday

2009-03-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from our little family super bowl party. Go 3-D

Tubes, Tubes and more Tubes

2009-03-11T16:49:00.000-07:00

Austin's middle name has become "what" lately so we decided to take care of that. He's been having quite a few ear infections over the last year so the doctor recommended tubes once again. He was nervous and totally acting like my brother Blake if any of you know him. They're nervous so they become quiet and very calm. We had to keep telling him that he had it done once before so he believed us when we told him he would be okay. The doctor also suggested that we have his adnoids removed as they were extremely large. He said tonsilectomies are painful and don't help much with the hearing part of things so he's still got those. The day before the surgery we had to go to the hospital and pre register him so there was no wait time the morning of. The some how misplaced his papers and we never got called back into the office. After realizing that everyone coming in after me was going in before me I finally said something....yes it had been 1 hour before I did. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Austin was completely restless and Jessi had been sitting in a poopy diaper. I didn't take the diaper bag in because the told me it would only take 10 minutes. While sitting in the waiting room Austin wanted a smiley balloon from the gift shop. I kept telling him no...because of course he would get it tomorrow. Let's just say it was a bad trip and leave it at that. So here are a few pictures and videos from February 9th.

This was a thumbs up for Daddy! Gotta show him how tough we are at the hospital :)

This was right before they took him back to the surgery room

After the surgery of course!

Don't worry it's not blood all over his lips, that's gross. It's the fabulous purple popsicle they gave him that so graciously covers my white living room carpet. Yes still to this day but instead of the fowl odor of vomit it actually smells like cleaners and as an added bonus purple dye. Yeah the joys of being a mom. I actually got him to make silly faces with me before we left.
He was very tough and did a good job. His personality has changed hugely since the surgery. He is a completely different kid. I had expressed a worry to Rich this last fall that I thought Austin was suffering from seasonal depression. He didn't want to get dressed, go out, play with kids, every morning would open the blinds and turn on every (and I mean every) light in the house including lamps and closets etc. He wouldn't talk to other people when we were out unless directly spoken to. He is jumping and hopping all over the place and talking to people left and right. He's asking to play with friends again and it's so nice to have our little Austin back. I love doctors even if they do break the bank. :)

Knock on Wood

2009-03-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

So I'm knocking on wood today hoping that as I update you that I wont get behind once again. I updated in January and announced that I was caught up and then it happened again (knock knock) Starting in January and working my way to today.

Probably most importantly some updates of my baby for those of you (most of you) that don't get to see her very often. She is so precious and loves more than anything to be in the room where the action is at. In other words, she likes to be with her brothers. I'll try to date them so you can see how she's changed.

These pictures were taken on January 18th. So she was just 3 1/2 mo. old and LOVES her bouncer saucer. I must say...I know I'm her mom and I love her no matter what but I do have to admit that she doesn't take the best pictures. Which is partly to blame for my lack of blogging. I keep waiting to get a good picture of her and it never happens. Redden was the same way. Just couldn't get a nice picture of them. Their heads are shaped exactly the same for some reason that doesn't make for the most photogenic person. Anyway...I think she's adorable but just couldn't capture it on camera. I was so relieved to hear Rich's mom come home from their mission and have her say "she looked cute in pictures, but she's sooo much cuter in person". She makes the cutest faces and has the biggest most gummy smile EVER!!! We love it.

This video is being put in not only to see Jessi but I figured a little side show never hurt anything.

Jessi's 5 mo. Pics

2009-03-03T21:03:00.000-08:00

Her and her new cousin Landry

She still obviously had clogged tear ducts here, but still so cute.

More pics of Jessi

2009-02-20T09:11:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more photo shoots I've had with Jessi trying desperately to capture her cuteness.
Here she is just under 4 mo. old. This was the end of January

These pictures we about 4 mo. old. It's also a picture for Grandma Mary. I believe this dress came from you from along time ago. People kept asking me who made it and I had to say..."I have no idea". I had no great story to go with it so you'll have to tell me one.

Jessi's first baby food experience

2009-02-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

So I had to go back and post this because they were so cute. This is Jessi having her first go at solid foods. Well...baby food that is, not really that solid. She loved baby food except for green beans. She hated them! She loved squash, carrots, sweet potatoes etc.

happyarewe4ever.blogspot.com

2009-02-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

Does anyone who reads my blog know of the person who owns this blog address? My sitereader says it's out of the Memphis Tennessee area. As far as I know, I don't know anyone who lives even remotely close to there. I like to be aware of those looking at my blog and have no problem when people want to look, I just like to know who they are. I don't want to have to go private but when you get people looking all the time and you don't know who they are it starts to get a little weird. Anyway, if you know that I know who this person is, send me an email or leave me a message so I don't keep worrying. Thanks.
~The editor

Date night Ponderables

2009-02-01T22:28:00.001-08:00

Wednesday night Rich and I went to a Trailblazer game sitting right behind the team about 6 rows up or so. We love going to the games and have so much fun. The seats we were in were so exciting. The players are sooooo big even the ones that look small on TV are HUGE! It's very fun to watch the players that closely. This night was the first night that I have left Jessi for more than 3 hours. I did fine, but I swear on our drive to the Rose Quarters that I heard her squeak more than a few times. I would catch myself looking back to check on her when I "heard" noises which of course were not her noises. My friend Megan kept the kids and took fabulous care of them while we had our ESPN debut on National Television. I love date nights....there's just something to be said about a peaceful drive in the car, a quiet fast food dinner and the absence of the word mom for more than 3 hours. I love my kids but I love my time too and more than anything...I love my time when it's with my husband. When we got there I dared him to park illegally. What...we weren't in front of a hydrant or anything, there just wasn't white lines on the concrete saying we could park there on that nice little corner. But we did and we didn't get a ticket! I took lots of pictures of things on my cell phone and we'll see if I can figure out how to get them on my computer. Okay now down to business
~ Things I pondered about at the game.~
~ Dancers - Cheerleaders and clothing?
Why is it that Pro dancers and cheerleaders believe that they don't need to wear clothing? Some of their outfits made ME blush and if you know me at all, you know that's hard to do. They had Jr. Blazer dancers that were sweet little innocent girls following these dancers around. Man that's what you want your little girl to grow up to be isn't it??? Don't get me wrong, I love to dance but their outfits and dances are getting pretty dang questionable.

I picked the most modest I could find.

~Players and their manners
So as the game went on I sort of started figuring out that it was really only one who person who made me mad. When the players get called on by the coach to go into the game. They run to center court to check in. Following them are the ball boys. When they run over, they strip off their clothing in a hurry knowing dang well some nice boy is standing behind them waiting to take their clothes as they run into the game. J Bayless actually walked up , took off his clothes and threw them on the floor at the ballboys feet when he could have thrown them right into his hands. Every other player had the common courtesy to do that - just not him. Travis Outlaw and Brandon Roy proved to be the most considerate in my opinion.

~ Are they paying the so-called "coach" that's sitting next to me?
Admit it...you know who they are, they're the ones slopping beer all over your shoes and yelling at the coaches and players for doing the wrong thing. Like they know what's best. I mean come on! You would think that they'd realize their seat said row 6 (which means they don't want your opinion because you're sitting too far back.
~Beer in plastic cups without lids?
Okay so this has to be one of the biggest peeves I have. Beer makes you act stupid once you've had too many and let's get real here, there are a lot of people there having way too many (and some who I'm sure drink sensibly). So let's give all the people who can't walk open cups of beer. That sounds like a good idea.
~Middle Row Tards
There should be a written etiquette about having a seat in the middle of a row and only being able to come in and out once - and if you're late to the game that's your one chance. We had people come in late to the game (stand up once) left at half time for who knows what (stand up twice) come back from snack time (stand up three times) leave for a pee in the 3rd quarter (stand up a fourth time) and come back (stood up for the fifth and final time). I guarantee I wasn't standing up again for those people again. And...to top it off, those stats were just for that one couple. Just imagine.
and last but not least
~ How do all the drunk people drive home?
It's always scary to me when Rich and I go to public events like these. We feel like staying an hour longer and letting them all go first or bee lining in out of there to be ahead of them.

Pictures soon to follow.

You know what they say about paybacks...

2009-01-22T20:52:00.000-08:00

What do these pictures have in common?

I wont publicly mention how long I sucked my fingers out of shear embarrassment but wow...do I hate paybacks.

Notice to all blog readers

2009-01-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

I have now offically caught up with my life. For those of you wanting to read back to the beginning you'll have to go to the bottom of this page and then click on older posts to be able to go back to the beginning of my updates. It's a total of 2 pages. For those of you who don't care...look as you wish.
-The Editor

Eeny Meeny Miny Mo

2009-01-19T22:07:00.000-08:00

As many of you know our house is on the market and so we've had a bunch of realtors coming through. When they come they're supposed to leave a card so we know they've been here. I just leave the stack of them on my desk so the kids randomly play with them. The other day I come into the living room and Austin has 2 piles of cards. He titled one group "Ones I like" and the other "Ones I don't like". Take a look at this. I thought it was absolutely hilarious. Do you think the groups have anything in common? He apparently likes blondes with soft gentle features. hahaha He's the funniest kid.

Family Night

2009-01-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

After everyone left I decided that we needed a little fun time just with our family. We played a game with the kids that I remember playing when I was small. I don't know what it's called but it got a lot of little giggles from the kids. You fill a cup with flour and turn it over and drop a penny on the top of the tower. Everyone has their own knife and you go around in a circle taking turns cutting chunks off the tower. The person to make the penny fall has to go after it with their mouth. It's hilarious. Redden didn't want to get his face dirty so he sat and tried to fetch it with his tongue and all sorts of nasty stuff. Austin was the smart one...he decided to get it done and went right in, smashed his lips down to the cutting board and came right up with it. Redden dug and dug and dug and breathed in flour etc. It was fun to play with the kids. You notice the only person that didn't have to go diving???

Brian and Mallory Stay

2009-01-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

Brian and Mallory decided to just spend their entire Christmas/New Year vacation at our house. We were mostly snowed in so there weren't alot of outings, but we did manage to make it to out to Fred Meyer and OMSI and played some mean games of rock band, with smoke and lights. When they were here Mallory founded one of Austins greatest masterpieces. Lifesaves stuck everywhere in the bathroom. Behind the toilet, on the counter, in the sink and mostly everywhere else was in hand towels. I wont lie, he got a little scolding that quickly turned to laughter when he replied with "MOM...I just needed to dry em' off." How matter of fact is that. He put too many in his mouth and decided it wasn't for him. So...he needed to dry them. Little did he know they may never make it out of those darn bathroom towels. He's such a funny kid.

Jessi definately got her turn at being the singer for our rock band tours

The boys had lots of fun with Uncle Brian -too much actually. This little play date turned into more than these pictures are showing.

Just FYI I say crap in this video a few times so if that offends you...don't watch it.

Don't worry Jessi got her chance too

It was so fun to have family here over Christmas and we enjoyed their company. They were the best kind to have...the kind that's willing to sleep in the trailer outside. Thank you guys for coming, I hope it wasn't too boring for you with no children!

Christmas

2009-01-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

This Christmas season I feel so blessed to be able to provide for our family after looking at these pictures as so many are without jobs, losing their homes, not eating or just plain struggling to make ends meet. To this we are extremely grateful for Rich and his willingness to take care of our family and also our Heavenly Father who has played a signifact part in where Rich and I are today. We had a fun Christmas this year especially havinge Brian and Mallory and my little sister Natalie here. The kids set a trap for santa with pop cans in front of the fireplace and waited all night to hear him set off the trap. Every year Redden gets more frustrated that they can't catch him. I laughed when he said that because every year instead of running out of their room, Redden has to wake Austin and sit and explain that Santa came and set off the trap before they come running out. We'll see next year if they waiste less time. I truly feel that I am doing a good job at trying to avoid spoiling my kids and giving them everything they want. But I was a little dissappointed this year because my kids aren't that exciteable. I used to scream when seeing my gifts at Christmas and maybe it's just because I have boys, but they never seem that excited. I know they are, they just show it in such a different way than say I would. They loved their Santa gifts and many others from family members. Here's a few pictures of the "Oh so awaited for" day.

A few of the gifts I was really excited about this year were:

I made the boys quilts for their beds using Rich's Tshirts that hold memories for him. they love anything that has to do with him. I was even able to incorporate some shirts that Redden made for him in school. It put them to good use where I guarantee they wouldn't have had any.

I made a a digital scrapbook for my boys called "Oh Happy Day" Full of fun pictures that for sure would never end up in a book

I received a gift from my husband that on many occassions has made me cry (SERIOUSLY). I got a mixer for the first time in my married life. I got a bosch mixer on a steal of a deal and an electric wheat grinder to support my homemade wheat bread habit. I for the last year and a half have been making 100% whole wheat bread by hand. Once I got pregnant and lost the feeling in my arms, I had to start taking my ingredients to a friends house to use her mixer as it caused to much pain to mix it by hand like I was used to. Now that I've had Jessi and the feeling has come back, it doesn't matter because I HAVE A MIXER!!!!! I tell myself all the time that atleast I know how to do it by hand just incase we ever don't have power. It was the experience.

Winter Weather

2009-01-19T16:04:00.001-08:00

As we all were eating after the baptism/blessing we turned on the tv to find out what was going on outside. My dad had decided that after lunch he was going to start heading home after only being here for about 12 hours. But to our surpise, they closed almost all freeways in the Portland area so no one could get out. My sister Natalie's flight home was cancelled, my Dad, my mom and my sister couldn't go home because the freeway was closed between our homes. So...to make a long story short, we had a very very long 4 days as 19 of us were stuck in my home.

Can you say "SARDINES"? Anyway, as we were all stuck here, we saw 12" of snow, interestingly enough rain with 30 degree temps turning it to freezing rain, a few more inches of snow and then it packing in like no other. There was 3/4 inch ice covering anything in sight. It took the guys about 45 minutes to chisel out one car. If you've never seen an ice storm here's a picture.

Anyways...I'm thankful for:

Prophets who have instructed us to have food storage (you should have seen the number of Number 10 cans in my recycle bin)

The knowledge of making homemade bread

Having a wheat grinder to be able to make the bread

Family and the opportunity we had to be together and their willingness to travel despite the danger they were in.

It was eventful, stressful, fun, exciting, relaxing, tiring, and a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget even with the bad mixed in. Thank you to everyone who came to support our family in these wonderful times for our children. We love you all and to those of you who couldn't make it, we miss you.

Wild Winter Turns Baptism to Blessing

2009-01-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

The weather this winter was something I have never ever witnessed before. In the month of December I caught myself many times standing in front of a window, mouth hanging wide open saying "I can't believe this." I've lived in Utah and always thought it was a bit funny when they cancelled school here over 2 inches of snow. I'm telling you what it's a whole different ball game here when you get rain, then temps for snow, then rain and still freezing weather. It's absolutely unbelievable. They don't have the snow plows to keep up because it rarely happens so everything shuts down. It's sure a sight to see. Jenni drove here with her 3 kids all by herself through the hazardous weather. I was on the phone with her every hour making sure that she was okay. It took alot longer but she made it in plenty of time for the baptism and blessing. My mom flew in on Wednesday to help me get ready for the company I was about to have. Brian and Mallory drove here in a caravan with my Dad, Mary and her girls on Friday getting here very late because the roads we so terrible. We got my Dad's family settled in at a friends 2nd home and got Brian and Mallory all set in the trailer on our RV Pad. Jenni's family stayed inside our house in the boys room and my boys and Jessi slept in Jessi's room. Task accomplished - No one sleeping on airmatresses in my living room. In order to stay sain in such a small home I can't stand to have my living areas in a shamble. Saturday came and we all rushed to get ready to head to the Stake Center. They were worried about being able to get someone there to fill the font but we found someone willing. We made it but had been advised from the Bishop to cut the program and just baptize him and get everyone home. We cancelled all musical numbers and speakers and got to business. As we were waiting for Redden and Rich to get dressed and come out of the dressing room, the councelor in the bishopric said "They've cancelled church for tomorrow Andrea...should we just go ahead with the blessing?". I was willing to go along where I was putting so many people in danger as far as driving is concerned. My friend Megan didn't make it because there weren't enough seats for her whole family in the car that didn't have chains. So her husband and daughter attended. My sister Lindsay couldn't make it up here from Bend because the roads were closed between us. Rich's sister Judi couldn't make it as the roads from the Tri-cities were absolutely scary. Rich's other sister Pam couldn't make the driver either. I made the decision to go ahead with the blessing even though it was a hard one. I had no idea so she was just in regular clothes (no cute white dress because it was hanging in the closet at home - waiting for it's first use). My brother offered to go home and get it many times but I didn't want to keep every one waiting as the weather was getting worse by the minute. They announced that we would be blessing Jessi and Rich had no idea!! I was kind of funny but definately a memory that will be talked about for many years to come. In the end, Redden was baptized and Jessi was blessed on the same day. My Dad and Mary and the girls made it from utah, Jenni , Billy and their 3 kids made it from idaho, My brother and his wife Mallory made it from Utah, the Bangerters were able to dig out from their home and my Mom and Jeff made it there from their hotel in Gresham. We had fabulous lunch afterwords in my home instead of the stake center where it was planned. If you can imagine we had 29 people here eating in my 1700 sq ft home. SCARY! It was fun and everyone seemed to have a good time. These are the only pictures I got from both events given the horrible rush we were in.

Fun Family Pics

2009-01-16T16:33:00.000-08:00

Before everyone got here we went outside to get a few family pics in the beautiful winter weather.

Ward Christmas Party

2009-01-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

We had a ward Christmas party and some of these pictures are for my extended family. The kids got to go to the church building on Saturday morning and have lots of fun riding on the "Hay Ride", building mangers and baby jesus, eating donuts and hot chocolate, playing with bouncing balls, a reading from "Mrs. Claus" and of course getting to see Santa. Here are some pictures of the events. Grandma Lyn, and Dad, pay attention to the captions.

The kids making mangers and a baby Jesus Jessi's lovin the ward Christmas PartyThis Anne Leptich from my ward being Santa's helper elf making hot cocoa. She was Ray Yamauchi's old High School girl friend.This is Francis "Pond" Westover. Grandma Janice's friend from Good Ole' Grace High School who is currently in my ward at church. She was Mrs. Claus. It's a small world! The Hay Ride

Redden's Birthday

2009-01-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

I'm back but I'm not committing to anything! Redden requested a friend birthday seeming that he hasn't had one since we moved here to Oregon. He invited 7 of his favorite friends and his favorite brother to a pool party. We took all 8 of the crazy 8 year olds to the Community Pool for an hour of fun and swimming. Keeping track of 9 kids and a husband at the pool was absolutely insane. All Jessi and I did for a solid hour was count kids heads. As I waited outside the dressing room kids slowly started drifing out. After about 3 of them came out, they started saying that one of the boys couldn't find his jeans. 15 minutes later Rich comes out still dripping wet in a swim suit and says that he can't find them anywhere. He said he had opened every locker door, looked in the garbage, the showers, on top of lockers etc etc. I started to laugh and just told him to get dressed and lets go. On the way home I said how can you lose a pair of jeans in a locker room and he said "have you ever tried to keep track of 9 boys flinging clothes all over a locker room at a swimming pool? It wasn't as easy as it sounds". I thought that was hilarious. Needless to say 1 kid ending up wearing a swim suit home. We came back to our house and had cake and ice cream and opened gifts. He had so much fun and it was very interesting to watch how he interacts with his friends from school. All the kids he had over are the boys that the community is keeping together in soccer and basketball. So they are all friends and play all their sports together. He loved his birthday and I'm pretty sure that his friends love him! Happy 8th birthday Redden we absolutely love and adore you. You are a rule follower and get sick to your stomach when people around you are doing wrong. You sometimes believe that you are the only 1 who follows rules therefore you start to think that you need to be bossy. You have always been an example to those around you which we as your parents are extremely proud of. You have a little bit of a temper but we're working on that:) You love to play with people especially your brother and pretty much need someone to spur your imagination (then you can get going). You this year have learned to make scrambled eggs and quesadillas on your own, showing lots of responsibility. You love to follow recipes and ask for "soft cookies" (pumpkin chocolate chip) as you think they're your favorite right now. Your coaches say you're a "coach's dream" because they tell you what to do and they know you'll do it. No complaining and no questions asked. We love you Redden and hope now that you're 8 years old that you can be aware of the choices you're making and continue to strive to shine the light of Christ to those around you. Austin says his favorite thing about you is that you share you tech decks with him. Jessi loves you because you smile and hold her when she needs someone. Happy Birthday, love Mom and Dad

After his "birthday party" he got his gift from mom and dad on his "real birthday"

Thousands of Updates coming soon

2009-01-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

Okay so my life has been absolutely crazy and I've been writing things down so when I can actually take a breath, I can remember what I wanted to blog about. I'm in the process of loading pictures to my computer and just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be trying to catch myblog up to my life slowly over the next week or 2. this paragraph sounds like a run on sentence just like my life! Stay tuned!

More pics

2008-11-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

You've all been bothering me for more pictures of Jessi. She has a lot of fun around here. Here are some fun tidbits about Jessi -
~She loves listening to kids play around her.
~She's constantly smiling when there are kids running around.
~She falls asleep easier when my kids are jamming out to songs on i-tunes than she does when it's dead quiet.
~She likes to be held sitting up so she can see everything around her.
~She will not take a pacifier unless she's extremely upset.
~If she's unconsolable holding her under her armpits out in front of you with her legs dangling will stop her from crying.
~She loves the sound of running water and will lay for hours on the floor if someone were to be in the shower that long.
~She has a big space between her first and second toe on her left foot. In the womb she would rest her right foot on the left one. You guessed it right between her toes. That's how she held it in place. You can see it in her foot stamps from the hospital
~Her nickname is "Squeaks" (she's constantly grunting,squeaking,barking,neighing, growling you name it she does it. A woman in church said she sounded like a baby calf???)
~She has a really big calic on the back of her head.
~She likes to sleep with something pressed up to her face.

Overdose

2008-11-25T21:53:00.000-08:00

I thought this was a very funny picture. I had been working on calling in some prescriptions earlier this day. My kids had fun playing with the empty bottles all evening. Rich had fallen asleep with Jessi and Austin was playing all over the place. I glanced over and saw all these medicine bottles and thought wow that would make a great blog. I'm not sure if he's overdosed on medicine or kids. What do you think?

End of the Season

2008-11-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

Okay so it's been a while, I've been preoccupied. We had the year end party for the U4-5 Soccer kids. We got together after the game and Rich handed them out their trophies and pictures and then got their picture taken with "coach". We had lunch, cake and then everyone went home. It was a nice experience for Rich and Austin to always remember. After the party Rich had a parent said that several of the parents had gotten together and discussed asking him to come back and coach the same bunch of kids next year to try to keep them all together. They went their whole season undefeated and are a good bunch of soccer players. If Rich agrees to come back as a coach, they'll move him up each year with the same kids. I think he's going to do it. At first I thought the parents were just trying to be nice, but at the November soccer board meeting, the registrar came up to me and said "I hope you're husbands planning on coming back, we got alot of calls from the parents on his team that loved him as a coach and want him to come back." I paid the compliment to my husband and he just smiled. We were glad to hear that after an incident that he had at practice. It was the practice after Halloween and the kids were all hyped up on sugar. They would not listen to a thing and wouldn't keep their hands to themselves. They were pushing and shoving and basically playing football. Rich had finally reached his limit and said "If you guys can't learn to keep your hands to yourselves, I'm going to tie your sleeves together." Sure enough it could not happen, he ended up tying a little boys sleeves together and the kids burst out in tears and ran to his dad. He didn't play the rest of the practice, didn't come to the next game and then finally showed up at the next practice and aplogized to Rich for misbehaving. We were so relieved!! Anyway here are a few cute pictures from our party. Way to go honey! I'm proud of you for being willing to donate your time to do this and for being so well liked at the same time. :) Austin loved having you as his coach and the kids/parents loved you!

Who wouldn't want a ride?

2008-11-05T19:56:00.000-08:00

This is my kids most recent past time. It's her regular afternoon taxi ride. I'm sure she loves it.

Halloween

2008-11-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

This Halloween I failed a tradition. It was a tradition that I started about 4 years ago and have done it every year since. I'm so sad that I didn't carry it on, but we will definately pick it up again next year. I usually purchase a medium size pumpkin and make "Dinner in a Pumpkin". As pictured below. We got Krispy Kreme's and hot chocolate for after trick or treating though. That's gotta make up for something. This year Redden chose to be a punk skateboarder. We went to party city to give the kids some ideas of things they could be. Redden found the "punk skateboarder" and I told him I could make one cooler and cost less than if we bought it. It came with a mohawk wig and saggy shorts and boxers to hang out the top basically. I told him I would let him have an honest to goodness real mohawk for Halloween if he'd let me cut it off the day after Halloween. (Anyone see my alterior motives here?) After school we shaved Redden's head into a mohawk, sprayed his hair, painted on his owies, dressed him up and off he went. He was definately the coolest around. It was so fun to walk around the neighborhood having adults, high schoolers, and all the kids from school yelling "Awesome hair Redden". Even passer-bys that we didn't know were commenting on his hair. I was very glad that he felt cool. Last year Austin was the one getting all the comments feeling special. This year it was definately Redden's turn. Austin picked out your plain old boring silky jumpsuit of jango fett from star wars. He looked very cute in it and check out his nose pressed up against the plastic. The kids were awesome. We wrapped up Jessi in the jogger stroller and away we went. The boys were troopers we made it all the way to the end of our neighborhood. We ended at my friend Megans house and finished watching the trail blazers win by 1 point. They drove us home and we slept like babies. The weather was enjoyable and amazing that it cleared up just for Halloween.

Ward Halloween Party

2008-10-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night was our ward halloween party. We got to go and have a donut eating contest, drink homemade rootbeer, jump in a bounce house, do the cake walk, go through a spook alley, go fishing, do a ring toss etc. etc. The kids got to dress up and we had alot of fun.

and yes I won the donut eating contest! I was up against my friend Megans 2 oldest kids, Kenny & Susie and Redden. I ROCKED at this!

The Carving of the Pumpkin

2008-10-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why I continue to purchase pumpkins year after year. For some reason in this house of boys I (the girl) am the only one that will actually gut the pumpkin. I threaten every year that I'm not going to buy pumpkins if they don't gut them but I never follow through. You can't have Halloween without carving pumpkins. Once again, I'm sure for the 8th year in a row gutted both pumpkins for my kids. Austin was better than anyone. I made Rich help me with both of the boys where I'm still trying to get the feeling back into my wrists and hands. As you can see from the pictures we can see where my young boys get it...from their dad. He said to me under his breath, I hate doing this. haha. I'm telling you what I'm not sure where theses boys all came from? Rich even tried to convice Redden that his pumpkin would be scarrier if he left all the stringy stuff hanging down inside the pumpkin. I think that goes to show how much he doesn't like getting out the guts too. He helped but he was not happy about it. At the end of the evening we did end up with 2 carved and gutted pumpkins haleluja! This is him being totally grossed out after pulling out his first handfulLooks so happy doesn't he? Good thing he loves me because I'm pretty sure he was real mad!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-27T21:51:00.001-07:00

My how this month has flown. It seems like just yesterday that the beginning of October was around the corner. I rushed and rushed through the end of September trying to get things finalized for our Stake Super Saturday. This was my 3rd year of being in charge and things go more smoothly every year. 1 more year to go. I was worried because it was on the 18th and I was due on the 15th. I wasn't sure how I was going to pull that one off. Luckily we had our sweet little "squeaks" (her new nick name) on the 3rd. The next thing I knew, it was the Saturday before Halloween and I realized that I hadn't even purchased pumpkins for the kids yet. Last year we grew them so I guess it didn't dawn on me like it should have this year. Austin keeps telling Rich and I every time we drive through the neighborhood that everyone has cooler decorations than us. I've been a total slacker this year with Halloween and I'm sad because I usually have our front porch all decked out in glow in the dark spider webs and all. Oh well, maybe next year. Anyway, we (and by we, I mean me and Rich agreed to go along :) you know I love you honey!) decided take the kids to the pumpkin patch after the soccer games and lunch. We got to ride a little train out into a field where they had a petting zoo then load up on the train again and ride out into the field through haunted tunnels and out to a hay pyramid with mazes inside. You were able to walk around and pick the pumpkin of your choice and load it up on the train and head back to the station to have it weighed. I left my memory chip in the reader at home and only had my spare in my purse. It saved me but I had to be very selective of the pictures that I took as it only holds like 10 pics but I'm glad I had it because 10 is better than none. We bought some carmel kettle corn and sat in the beautiful sunny weather as a family and enjoyed a huge sleeve of popcorn together. We love our times like this together. And...despite my husbands non excitement about going, he loves it once we're there. Then I make sure that my kids tell Daddy thank you. Why do I do this? I'm not sure. I guess because I love him. We ended up at home with 2 adorable pumpkins and another story to follow.

The Seahawks are Playing!!!

2008-10-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday I was in the kitchen cleaning up lunch and realized that it had gotten quiet in my little cozy home. I realized I couldn't hear Rich anymore and no noise from my kids usually means trouble. I turned off the water and still couldn't hear anything. I went back to my business deciding that I would finish what I was doing and then go figure out what was going on. I mean, come on, their dad is with them - what's the worst that can happen??? As I was finishing my motherly duties, I heard noises once again coming from the muchkins that live in my home (so I assumed everything was normal). Once finished, I went into the living room and found my husband dressed in a Seahawks shirt, Redden with a Seahawks hat on, Austin with a Seahawks shirt and yes you guessed it...Jessi with a build a bear Seahawks football jersey and football pants on. It was absolutely hilarious.

You asked for more pics!

2008-10-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

So here they are. Random pics of Jessi in her 1 1/2 weeks of life so far. By looking at these pictures, one would probably think that there is no way she's being fed because there's no way that her mother ever gets a chance to hold her! Don't worry I get my turn too!

Gma Chris loving on Jessi

A shot of her full head of golden brown hair!

Isn't that sooooo cute?

Ahhh...how precious...how do I get one of those?

Jessi loving on "Aunt" Megan
Daddy and Jessi veggin in the bedroom watching tv.

Austin loves his little sister

Austins 5th Birthday

2008-10-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

Up until today, I would have said that my children are getting old. Well, now I have something to keep me from saying that - a new baby. I absolutely can not believe that we have an 8 year old and a 5 year old and now an infant- boy where does the time go? Way to quickly is what I have to say. This year Austins birthday wish was to go to Chuck E Cheese with his family. My mom was still here and we invited Uncle Jay and Aunt Pam to go along. We celebrated with Pizza, and a "white cake with gray frosting" per Austins request. What a weird kid! By the time we finished there, we were finally throwing coins at the kids saying hurry put them in all the machines. Our kids were putting in 1 at a time walking around taking a look trying to spread out their fun, little did they know how many coins they actually got to have. Austin came back to the table and took the last 4 from his "location". He said "I have 4 more left". Rich and I burst into laughter and showed him his cup that was entirely full of coins. His eyes got huge!

Austin at the age of 5 you are a very fun loving child. You roll around on the floor playing and pretending anything you can imagine. You are extremely self entertained and can keep yourself busy for hours although you do love playing with friends. The little friends that are girls like to have you over because you don't mind playing ponies or barbies - you're just the "boy" one. You're very into having everyone help you with things because for some reason you think you can't do them anymore. Adjusting to having a baby in the house, you have become a little whiny but that's just more for mommy to love. You love your baby sister and try to surround her with fun things to play with. Your brother plays with you pretty hard sometimes and you are a very tough kid and rarely cry even if you do get hurt. You're tender and your feelings get hurt more than anything even though you could be bleeding. The one think I love about you, is you always, always tell me you love me back. Mommy and Daddy love you Austin - you bring so much joy to our family!

Daddy & Jessi

2008-10-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

Who says that babies don't smile at particular things at such a young age? I don't believe it. Every time this guy talkes to her she finds it in her to smile. These were all at different times, not a snap snap snap type of picture.

Funny Kid Quote of The Day

2008-10-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

So today Redden had some information to share with Rich when he got home from work. Rich was at the computer and Redden walked up to him, pulled his mouth wide open with his fingers and said "Hey dad, look, I got another loose tooth and I'm gettin' a mullet". Of course he meant to say molar, but he had no idea what one was until I said today after school, "sure enough, you're getting a molar". Funny kid!

Welcome Home Jessi Mae Turner

2008-10-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

Friday morning started off slow with an IV and the PIT. The Pit dialted me to a 4 and 50% effaced after 2 hours. I pushed off the epidural wanting to wait until the very last minute so I wasn't numb for so long. I've never sat through contractions like I did right before I received the epidural. Unfortunately right after I received the epidural they checked me and found out that I was at a 10 and ready to push. If I had known that, I would have tried to go "Pioneer Woman" but it was too late. I pushed for 1 hr and 15 minutes before we had a little girl in our arms. (they had to turn off the epidural right after I got it so I could feel something to be able to push properly, otherwise we probably would have had her about 2 hrs earlier) We left the hospital today after lunch and are both doing well. We've noticed some fun little things about her since she's been home. We'll try to blog about them soon. Until then, here's some fun pics.

Baby Jessi Arrived!

2008-10-03T23:24:00.000-07:00

Andrea asked me to post some pictures of Jessi. Jessi weighed 7lb 8oz and is 19" long. She was born at 4:17 on October 3, 2008. (Same day as Aunt Laura's) I am sure Andrea will update them when she is feeling a little better. But here are some to enjoy until she does!!

I dont think I am partial in any way, but dang I have cute grandkids! (3 boys & 3 girls, way to even things up)

Jessi's Room

2008-10-02T14:52:00.001-07:00

Okay so if it's not a girl I'm in big trouble I know. But if she is a girl like they say, then she should be very content in her new little bedroom. Here is a picture of her cute little home. It's so fun having a business that allows me to do fun stuff to my house!

October 3rd, 2008

2008-10-01T03:03:00.000-07:00

I promised I'd post when I knew something a little more concrete. Today I went to the Dr. and he confirmed that he was confident in his decision to induce me tomorrow Friday October 3rd. I was dialated to a 3 and he's been trying to break up the scar tissue from my 2002 surgery to prevent the extremely long labors I've endured in the past. He says I look great have gained 14 lbs so far (I know...I've been losing the last couple of weeks which is awesome!), feeling good and being tough. Our baby will join our family sometime tomorrow and we'll keep you all posted. Here are a few photos I promised. I'm laughing as I look at these pictures. You can totally see where I scratched the sides of my stomach because it was itching. I know sexy and probably a little TMI but you all asked...okay most of you asked.

My Stats at 37 weeks

2008-09-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

Last Monday when I went to the Dr. he told me that I was dialated to a 2 and 30% effaced. This morning he said that nothing had really changed that much. Other than having numb arms and no nerve endings in my hands or any of my 10 fingers and the slight swelling that's bothering my ankles, I'm doing great. This pregnancy has been wonderful. I'm carrying completely different this time compared to the last 2. Both other times I just felt big everywhere! This time, I feel like I'm just totally carrying that little ball right out front. I had a baby shower on Friday night the 19th and everyone was joking about how not fair it was that the pregnant lady still had a waist from behind. You can't even tell from behind me that I'm pregnant but boy when I turn around is it hilarious. People in church keep saying that I'm the cutest pregnant lady they've ever seen and that I do pregnant well. I'm telling you what, this pregnancy I needed those comments. I'm not sure if they're being nice or what but frankly I do not care. You need those comments when you feel ugly and huge. I've finally hit being uncomfortable with only a mere 3 weeks left which is pretty impressive in my opinion. At 9 months pregnant I've gained 18.5 lbs which I also thing is pretty swell. People keep wanting to know if I'm tired of it and ready to be done. For those of you who don't live close and can't hear my answer, it is this...I'm not an anxious pregnancy person. Once they're here they're here and you can't send them back. I enjoy my time alone in the evenings with my husband and that will go by the wayside for a little while once the baby is here. So, no I'm never wishing a due date on myself, the baby will come when the baby will come and I'm good with that. If there is ANY change from this Monday to next Monday, the Dr. will schedule me to be induced. I asked why he's offering and being so nice without me fighting him and he said I have history and numbers that allow induction. Most people that want to be induced are people who are just sick and tired of being pregnant which is not reason enough to do it. So, we'll find out on Monday if we'll be scheduling or waiting another week. Since I haven't hardly written anything about being pregnant, I just filled you in on ALL of the details. Sorry for the novel. When Rich gets home from work I'll include some pictures of me so that everyone can see.

Vain People - Gheesh - If I was a boy...I wouldn't care

2008-09-18T08:40:00.001-07:00

Okay really, I'm guessing that I would, so that's probably why I'm blogging about this.

Okay for my dads sake I'm going to take a few minutes to make a correction to something I posted about a month ago. When we went to Utah to visit, my dad had a booth at the fair for his insurance company. So that is where we spent most of our time. When talking to my dad about the pictures I posted of our visits with him at the fair he was very dissatisfied with my picture selections. So to my dads dismay, I'm letting everyone in the world know that reads my blog, that my dad DOES NOT WEAR BONNETS. He in the picture below is perfectly situated in front of a oscilating fan which makes him look like he is...BUT HE'S NOT! Your thoughts of the way my father dresses may now return to normal. Sorry Dad but it IS funny! If you think my dad would look great in a bonnet, leave me a message - I'll let him know. LOL

You may click to enlarge.

Fall Soccer

2008-09-10T09:08:00.001-07:00

This summer I was voted onto the Oregon City Soccer Club Board as the Secretary. My duties are to take minutes at each monthly meeting, attend executive soccer board meetings when necessary and checking the Oregon City Soccer Club Voicemail. In doing so, I'm allowing all my children the opportunity to ref soccer games at 15 bucks an hour when they turn 11 and also allowing them to play in the soccer organization throughout their childhood at zero expense to me. I feel privledged to be a part of something my children love and know what is going on at all levels. I'm grateful for having the opportunity to give to our community in such a way while allowing my kids to create wonderful childhood memories. Being on the board however has it's downfalls, like knowing we still needs coaches. So...I'm sure you can all guess, there is a new coach for the U4-5 year old co ed soccer team. His name is Coach Turner. He's has also volunteered his time as well to coach this young group of kids for their first ever experience in soccer. We've had many compliments from parents of our team who think we're (meaning me) super organized and doing a fabulous job coaching their children (meaning Rich). It's fun to be involved. Both the kids have had a game and several practices so far. So until the middle of November you probably wont catch us home alot in the evening as we're at the soccer field! Redden has a really good set of coaches for him this year who will be able to teach him a lot. He's come so far in just 1 year. He's not so timid anymore and has shown an interest in being a goalie as well. I think the coaches like that he's pretty versatile. Their team name is the Green Dragons and Austin team name is the Tigers. Austin thinks he's pretty hot to trot because he made 3 goals his first game and 1 in the 2nd game. We all love it and enjoy spending time getting some exercise not to mention that they sleep really really good and by they yes my husband is included.

Austin getting ready for a corner kick This is Austin closest to the camera with the really good form!!

Rich congratulating his team on a well deserved goal!!!

2008 Canning Season

2008-09-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it's actually begun. I've been picking strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, carrots, peas, beans, zuchinni, summer squash and coming up on grapes. My canning season has actually begun. Although, my friend has finally forbid me from climbing the orchard ladders. She's such a bossy friend. She thinks that maybe I shouldn't (for some dumb reason! lol) I've given into her request so last week I officially became the "box holder". I taught Rich's boss's wife how to make and can sweet pickles (which she called and said she absoutely loved). So far this year I have made 8 freezer pies, 2 raspberry, 2 strawberry, 2 blackberry, & 2 peach. I have canned 25 quarts of pears, 15 pints of sweet pickles, 12 pints of dilly beans and lots and lots of jam. My peaches will be ready probably next week and I'll be sure to get those done, because that's what we eat the most of. Spaghetti sauce is this week! And grape juice and applesauce proabably next. Rich keeps telling me I'm going to have to start to take it easy but I'm not sure that's going to happen, because last time I checked...I'm the only one around here that would do it, so swollen ankles and all, here we come! Okay so I do have to give my husband a little kudos here. He came home from work at 3:00 the day I was doing pears and I'd only been going for about 30 minutes. He actually helped me until I was finished which was 9:00 pm. He peeled all 50 lbs of pears for me. Bless his stinking little heart. I appreciated that more than he knows.

September 2nd was Back to School!!!

2008-09-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

We got ready for back to school and boy did Redden's bus come 25 minutes earlier than last year. They were trying to conserve gas so they changed the bus routes drastically. You can tell as well as I can, that I don't think he was quite awake. We've had him start showering again before school so that's seeming to help slap him around a little more in the morning. It really helps with waking him up and also with his attitude. He was so grumpy if he didn't shower before school, so that's what we do! He's adjusting well, didn't have a hard time, didn't care that I left or anything. This was my first non-tear year! Yeah for me. It's coming again next year though. This teacher is going to be fabulous for him. She's super structured (which he loves) and is very loving at the same time. She's an older lady and is going to work well for Redden. He's been talking about a boy at school named Dean that he really likes and is his "new" best friend. We'll have to see! So far this year he's seeming to be a very good speller and still has great penmanship and an interest in reading books that are WAY to big for him to read, he'll learn right? I've had lots of parents that he's been playing with tell me how glad they are to have their kids have someone to play with that has manners and is kind and loving and sets a good example for their children. I'm so proud of him that he knows what's right and when to stand up for something that is wrong. Hopefully those will be characterists that stick with him throughout his life as you can tell people are already noticing this great quality about him. I miss having him around home, Austin says he just misses his dad (lol) but he's an intelligent boy and strives for doing what's right. So I'm happy to have him somewhere where he's safe and can keep learning and growing and set a great example to those around him.

End of Summer Celebration

2008-09-10T07:47:00.001-07:00

As our summer was winding down, Rich and I decided that it would be fun to do one last fun event before we dug into school again. I forgot to put new batteries in my camera before we got out of the car so there are no pictures and I apologize. We decided that we would suprise the kids and take them to something they've never ever been too. We took them to the Rose Garden and went to opening night of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. We had a yummy dinner and headed out to the circus. They loved watching 9 motorcycles race around inside this little tiny metal sphere. It was absolutely amazing that they could fit that many riders inside. They loved the dancing elephants and all that other good stuff. On our way home we stopped and got ice cream and put them to bed. We had a good time and really enjoyed spending time together to wind down our summer of 2008.

Summer Vacation to Utah

2008-08-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

Okay so I've totally been slacking on the blogging bit, but not in any other way - Guaranteed! In the middle of August Rich and I decided to have me pick up real quick and take the kids on a little road trip to visit ALOT of people. The boys and I left Monday morning early and drove to Wendell Idaho which is an 8 hr trip. (now I must brag a little...some think I'm crazy...I think I'm awesome. We stopped 1 time in Pendleton Oregon to get gas and lunch and that was absolutely the only stop we made in 8 hrs. Now considering I have a 4 year old and a 7 year old and a 7 month pregnant lady that's pretty darn impressive. Yes Austin did have to pee 1 other time, but an empty water bottle worked just fine. (80 mph, cruise control and a rear view mirror work great for that.) When we got there, the little cousins played and played and played. Riley was super excited to have someone to play with and Madi I don't think knew what to expect but by the time we left her nick name was "shadow". She followed Redden all over the place, he rode the little 4 wheeler she was his passenger. Boy did she love him. Lily loved me or atleast I try to tell myself that she did and Austin was just happy to be there and play with everyone elses exciting new toys. I had a good time with Jenni and Billy and we enjoyed our time there so much. Thank you Jenni for letting us stay with you for a few days. Here are some pics of our 2 1/2 day stay in Wendell Idaho. Then we went onto Sandy Utah where we stayed with my mom. She took lots of time of to spend with us. We went school shopping, played fast scrabble, made good food, shopped for blessing dresses (we were in Utah, can't find a better place - because I was being super picky) and stayed up late chatting and laughing too many times. Here are pics from my moms

While we were down at my moms we saw a bunch of my brother Brian and his wife Mallory who live close by. We visited Brian one day at work and he gave the kids rides on his wheely chair. They loved seeing where he works and we're very proud of him. Here's some pics of that!

We spent a day and night at our good friends Brent & Kathy's house. The kids played and had a blast. Brent actually took my kids on his wards Father Son Camping Trip. So Kathy and I had a girls night with Kaiya. We were supposed to watch a movie and stuff but we have this problem called gabbing...instead we stayed up talking and laughing until I think about 2:00 am. It was so fun to see them. Sorry no pics from that outing.

When we came back we stayed at moms for a few more days. Thank heavens for my brother Brian who rescued my kids from boredom. They got flat tires in wendell from some thorn bushes. Brian came one evening and fixed their bike tires for them with only one little mishap. Do not exceed 40 PSI??? How the heck does someone do that on a bike tire? Ask Brian, he did it and needed a clean pair of underwear after the explosion! hahah. Thanks Bri

We then went back up to our old stomping grounds...good ole Logan Utah. We love it there and miss it in so many ways. We stayed at my dads and helped him a bunch at the fair with his booth for his insurance business. Jenni decided to come down to dad's and we spent a very long....fun day at the outdoor city pool. It was a blast and the kids couldn't get enough of the slides all by themselves. At the pool I ran into one of Rich's old Deacons from our ward there. He's returned from a mission and asked about Rich immediately. He couldn't stop telling me how much of an example Rich was for him and how much he helped him and wanted to see him. So we arranged a time and he met us for lunch so they could chat. They had a good time.

While we were in Logan, Rich flew into the SLC airport on Friday morning and my mom picked him up met me in Ogden. We went back and my sister had planned a surprise baby shower for Rich and I. It was so fun to be able to see so many members of my extended family that I would not have had time to see otherwise. Thank you Jenni and Mom for putting something together for me.

The day before we went home Rich, I and the boys went to visit our old neighbors Pat & Jennifer who we love. They've moved and it was so nice to be able to visit them. While at the fair the last day we ran into a couple of couples that were good friends of our in our old ward. Rich also ran into 2 of his really good old roommates from before we were married. We also maintained our friendships with them after we and they got married. My brother begged Rich to stay another day so he could see him because we had already left the SLC area when Rich had gotten to Utah. My mom is the only one that saw him down there. So Rich decided to stay an extra day. We drove home on Monday instead of Sunday and stopped at Jenni's on the way home to break the trip in half.

We had an awesome trip -thank you to Jenni and Mom for making it possible for us to have an unbelievable time with all our family in friends in Utah that we miss so much. I am so extremely grateful for my parents and siblings who show us absolute unconditional love at all times and who love my husband just as much as they love me. I wouldn't have it any other way. My family couldn't ask for a better family to belong to. We love you guys and miss you tons.

Raspberry Season

2008-07-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

This morning bright and early, I woke up the kids at 7:30 fed them toast and orange julius and headed out to the raspberry fields. Teaching your kids to work is so important to me and I think this is a really good way for them to learn this and then benefit from their labor. They worked hard and it was hot but they loved it and were a huge help to me. The raspberries were thin as this was the last pick of the season so you really had to hunt for them. In 2 1/2 hours we were able to pick 11 lbs. compared to our 30 minute pick for 14 lbs of strawberries. Just thought we'd share a few pics from this morning.

6 1/2 months pregnant

2008-07-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Seeming that I wasn't in any of the saturday activity pictures, I thought I'd post this picture of me that my friend took of me after church. I wore a really cute top I got in Vegas over the top but she thought we needed to see the WHOLE thing. Doing great, feeling great, if I could just ditch a few of the callings that I have I'd be even better. This ward is very interesting as far as giving people multiple callings and not releasing you from others. But I'm managing and doing fine. I'm going to paint my crib tomorrow, I have my crib bumpers all sewn and have my first 250 diapers in the closet. I'm trying to get all this stuff ready before canning season hits. I've got a garden full of vegetables that have to be done. I'll probably take my kids to the free movie on Tuesday and hopefully get to spend a day this week with some good friends who are coming to visit us from Utah. Here's my 6 1/2 months pregnant picture. Wow...I know - good looking huh?

July 24th Primary Pioneer Day Celebration & They Mystery Melon???

2008-07-19T22:10:00.001-07:00

This morning at 9:50 as I was wiping up the counter from melon that I cut for breakfast, I realized that the kids' primary activity was this morning at 10.

(Now I must side track for just one moment. When I went grocery shopping at Costco the beginning of this week, I wanted to purchase cantalaupe. They sell them in 3 packs because they're costco. Next to the cantalaupes were individual cantelaupes...I was so excited that I didn't have to buy 3. There's no way my family could eat 3 cantalaupe before they went bad. So this morning for breakfast I slice up the gorgeous so called "cantalaupe". To my surprise as I cut into the cantalaupe bright green was the color of the flesh. It looked exactly like honeydew melon inside a cantalaupe skin. I was so disappointed, I hate when I buy fruit and feel like I wasted money because it was no good. It smelt good so I decided to give it a try. The bite was dripping juice and tasted absolutely fabulous. So I turn this thing over trying to figure out what it was and this is what I read "CRENSHAW - This popular melon has a golden pink flesh that is tender and juicy. A squeeze of lime enhances it's flavor". So now our mystery melon is even more of a mystery because it says on the label that it's supposed to be golden pink? What the crap? Whatever it is, it's good and we've eaten half. Hopefully we're still here to talk about it tomorrow. Anyone got any newsflash for me about what this mystery melon is?)

Okay so we showed up a little late because we don't move a whole lot or very quickly before 10 am on Saturdays. I know...I've totally been spoiled over the last couple of years but the tables are going to be turning very quickly in the near future. They had a lot of different little pioneer games and activities planned for the kids to do. It was a lot of fun and effort by the presidency to pull something like that off, they did a great job.

The raw egg toss. Which ended up broken in Austin's shoe after several throws back and forth
The watermelon eating contest...Austin was the only one that didn't cheat by using hands
Making butter by shaking heavy whipping cream in baby food jars

Eating homemade bread with homemade butter on it! YUM!
The Joseph Smith Stick Pull

The gunny sack race The watermelon eating contest

Our 10th Anniversary

2008-07-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

Rich and I celebrated our 10th anniversary by going back to the place where we stayed for our Honeymoon. We went back to the coast in Seaside and stayed in the same hotel room and did the same activities. We slept in, played miniature golf, shopped the outlets, layed on the beach, got elephant ears, ate together in the little shops downtown, relaxed and had a wonderful time together. I love him more today than I ever could of dreamed of the day I said "I Do". Here are some pics of us together over the course of the last 10 years. Love ya babe!

Family Camping trip 2002
The birth of Austin October 2003
Austins Baby blessing on Reddens 3rd birthday December 2003
Vacation to Houston Texas

Vacation to Seattle Washington 1999

1st Christmas 1998
Beaver Mtn Winter 1998
Vacation to Hawaii October 1999
First Family photo January 2001

Wedding 1998

Wedding 1998
Wedding 1998
Honeymoon Seaside Oregon Summer 1998
Wedding announcement picture Jan 1998

Family Pictures Spring 2005 Mac Park Smithfield Utah

Silver Falls Hike Labor Day 2006
Disneyland Vacation Summer 2007
Camping Indian Henry 2008

Allergy Season For Andrea

2008-07-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

Okay so as a final note to all of my blogging, I just have to add this. If I was really really picky I wouldn't have put in any of the pictures of myself from these last several posts because I think I look totally retarded. However, because I'm pregnant I figured that my sibs and fam would like to see me and how I'm doing and looking. What I need to clarify for myself to make me feel better is that I have had my terrible terrible no good allergies since the middle of April. Starting in April I can't wear make up which then makes it extremely worthless to do my hair. Besides Austin claims he likes my hair in a pony tail best. Anyway, my allergies are gone now and all the posts of me from here on out I promise I will look better. Wanna see what I'm talking about...about me looking real sexy...here ya go! Our 4th of July celebration. Giddy UP!

Molalla BMX Track

2008-07-16T21:30:00.001-07:00

Tonight we took the kids to the Molalla BMX Track. We've just in the last 2 weeks been riding with Austin without training wheels. Redden has been wanting to get a little more daring asking Rich to build jumps and things of that sort. We figured it would be something fun to do as a family. We invited Megan and her kids and ourselves out for dinner and a fun time at the track. The kids can't stop talking about it and want to go back tomorrow. I think Redden bit it once and Austin twice. They both came out with blood and no tears so that's really good. Daddy encourages no crying anyways...something he's been scarred with from being a young child. My kids want Uncle Brian to come do it with them! Come on Bri and Mal...get up here, it's time for another vacation - Right?? Enjoy the pics and the movies.

4th of July

2008-07-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July was fun and laid back. My kids had a sleep-over on the 3rd of July at Aunt Pam's house with Aunt Judi and Corinne, Natalee and Harrison. They got up on the morning of the 4th and went and saw Wall-E. They came home and said they loved it. They came home with a bag full of stuff from the dollar store! What the heck. I hate that! Oh well they loved it. I think almost everything they bought is already broken and thrown away. Supposedly they did chores for Aunt Pam and earned money to buy themselves some toys. We picked them up at lunch time and took them to the Mt Scott Community pool. I didn't take my camera and I'm so mad about it. They have a big twirly slide and boy did Austin and Redden use the heck out of it. Austin wanted to go down all by himself which really was amazing. He always wanted Daddy to catch him at the bottom not mommy. Oh well...maybe the next kid will be a mommy kid. They played and played and played until Rich and I couldn't even breath to keep up with them. We took them home changed our clothes and went straight to Gramma B's house (aka Gramma Dirt - quickly becoming Gramma Cookie). For those of you who don't know, this is my friend Megans mom who has been so kind to take in our family as her own. We get invited to everything that they do as a family including family reunions. I love their family and are forever grateful in their efforts to make sure that on holidays we have something to do with people we love. Thank you Bangerters!!! Words cannot express my gratitude towards your family. We had dinner there, and Grampa Dirt washed up the tractor for the bike/tractor/candy parade. They have a big long driveway and have the kids decorate themselves and their bikes in 4th of July gear and drive around and around then the tractor does it throwing candy at everyone. We then went home and lit some of our own fireworks before we put the kids to bed.

Swimming Lessons

2008-06-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Next came swimming lessons. Every year my kids look forward to taking swimming lessons at the Oregon City Pool. They did so well this year and both were extremely excited that they passed their classes and get to move on. The only thing that motivated Redden to pass is that the next class up (level 4) gets to use the diving boards. Austin was just excited to not have to use the tot docks anymore. They did very well and we celebrated with icecream later that night.

Boy if the above picture doesn't show their true personalities I don't know what does!!!

Spray Park

2008-06-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

After school was out I took my kids to the spray park with my friends and had a picnic dinner while all of our husbands went out and played golf. They love this place. It started to cool down as you can tell from the look on Redden's face.

My baby on 2 wheels instead of 4

2008-06-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

When we returned from Vegas we taught Austin to ride his bike without training wheels. He's loving it! Rich and I feel like pro's and have down the perfect system for teaching kids this. It's the grass! If you teach them on flat short grass they're not as afraid to try because they know it wont hurt if they fall. Once they do the grass 2 or 3 times they all of a sudden develop a confidence in themselves that makes them think they're ready to go. Then we move on to smooth ground that's long as in the track at the high school behind our house. This is where we were in the movie and boy does our method work. Redden picked up starting on his own better than Austin did. Right now we've taught Austin to curb start and then get up on the sidewalk. It's so fun to watch him. Because he's so little, it's hilarious to see this tiny little thing riding on 2 wheels out of control. He gets lots of smiles and people cheering him on in the neighborhood. For those of you who don't see Austin in person or on a regular basis. I'll give you an idea of how small he is. His 5th birthday is in October and we're still trying to get him to weigh more than 36 lbs to get him out of his 5 point harness carseat. In the state of Oregon your kid has to be 40 lbs to move to a booster with the regular seatbelt. Poor kid...we weighed him yesterday and he was up to 37 lbs. Yahoo!!!! He's such a little runt. Cute though. I think if he doesn't weigh 40 lbs by the time he starts kindergarten we'll move him out of it just as a courtesy to him....hahaha.

2008-06-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Busy Busy Busy

2008-06-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

Life seems to be extremely busy right now and I have a lot of things on my brain not to mention all these things that need to be done are a little more difficult when you're 6 months pregnant. Anyhow...we'll see what I can inform you all of in a proper timeline. This is a very very sexy picture of me before we went to Vegas. I had been working in the yard so my face and hair are seriously like hollywood quality, but atleast you can see my little bump.

Vacation, Babies & Vacation!

2008-06-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

We're back and it was so much fun. I love getting together with my family. We ate good, played good, stayed up way too late (like 4:30 am late), walked miles and miles, won some, lost some, saw good shows, layed at the pool drinking pina coladas, and giggled and laughed till our eyes would water. Vegas was fun and a much needed girls trip for me. I left on Friday and came home on Tuesday. As most of you now know, I was waiting to show up in Vegas with a big surprise for my family. I showed up 5 months pregnant hoping there would be no question as to wether or not I've just gained weight or was actually pregnant. It took them a while to say something or for someone else to just blurt it out but eventually everyone did. We found out right before we left that it's a GIRL!! We're very excited and feel so blessed to be able to experience the girlier side of life ( I think :) ) Here are some pictures.

This is in front of Ceasars Palace
We were haning from the back of the bus...not really we just thought it looked funny

Some new "Bling" I found at a shop on the strip
This is at the Tournament of Kings Midevil Show and Dinner

My Self Reliant Masterpiece

2008-06-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

Okay not really because some of it is store bought but it was just fun to say. I just wanted to show how proud I was of myself today as I prepared dinner. I thought to myself- Wow, I'm good. I cut spinach and leaf lettuce from my garden this morning, soaked dry black beans and pulled down a jar of my home canned salsa and started preparing our food. This is what we had for dinner. My kids even loved it...although, I don't have picky eaters, thank heavens!

My version of a "Southwestern Chicken Salad".

In layers:

Lettuce/Spinach
Black Beans
Corn
Cubed chedder cheese
Salsa
Ranch
Crushed Tortilla Chips
Southwestern seasoned chicken (optional) this made it super good. It was chicken breasts topped with southwestern seasoning and then baked.

The best dog ever!

2008-05-28T08:30:00.001-07:00

The best dog ever!

2008-05-28T08:24:00.001-07:00

Okay so Rich and I were flipping channels last night and ran across a show that we love to watch but it always gets booted if something else is on. We spent the evening laughing and reminiscing of how much Tyler Labine aka "Sock" reminds us of my brother Brian. His build, his hair, his personality, and the way he speaks. He has us rolling constantly. Here are some pics and a little vid to help you understand. Love ya Bri!

Camping at Indian Henry

2008-05-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

The weekend before Memorial day, I had approached Rich and told him I was tired of sitting around on holidays feeling sorry for myself that we didn't have family ordeals to go to. Something I was taught by a wise sister-in-law is that being away from family forces you to create traditions and memories with your own family. This memorial day it had occured to me that just because we didn't have family to do things with didn't mean that I couldn't plan something fun for us to do. We took them camping to Indian Henry about 50 minutes from our home and had an absolute blast as you can see. We had good food, lots of fun, discovery hikes, scenery hikes, bmx bike riding, and lots and lots of smores, oh and we must'nt forget the famous skit featuring Rich, Redden and Austin Turner. Here's some pictures of our fun. I wish my family could have been there, I do miss all the little holiday get togethers and traditions that we always did. Labor day campouts at grandmas, family camping reunion every July, everyone go to grandma's house for the weekend to party, lunch dates with my mom and sisters and aunts etc etc. I miss those the very most. We love you and miss you all!
The beautiful scenery at the top of our hike. Smores Smores and more smores, we didn't even eat lunch one day because no one was hungry

Our Scenery hike. It's so convenient to have a kid old enough to hold the camera still long enought to take a picture. Now we can actually have some of us! What do ya know?!

Enjoying the warm fire after the rain storm
Roasting more marshmallows for smores and more smores!
Dinner at camp
Did I mention we had smores?
My Austin on our scenery hike along the trailhead.

The famous "Caribou County Fair Skit"

Quote of the Day

2008-05-21T10:25:00.001-07:00

So about 9 months ago while I was in Utah, my step dad found a dollar store that was going out of business. They were selling everything for super super cheap, if you can imagine. I figured since I had driven to Utah that I could stock up on cleaning supplies and have a year supply of them for about $35. I got laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, dishwasher soap, fabric softener etc. I was ecstatic! Anyway, we've been working our way through the laundry detergent which happens to be powder. Well, the last box of detergent happens to be a cardboard box and anyone whose been to Oregon knows the air is a little moist, which has turned my laundry powder into a big brick. The other day I had asked Rich to start a load of laundry for me while I was doing something else. I walked down the hallway to put something away in the boys room and heard the water to the washing machine running into the tank. In the midst of me walking by and the water running I hear this mumbled underneath Rich's breathe, not for me to hear though...

"Are we really this freaking poor".

(said as more of a statement)

I continued down the hall busting up laughing. Of course we're not poor - The 1 time I ask him to start laundry is the time that I found detergent at the dollar store that hardened into a brick that he was having to break apart with a pencil that was conveniently located in the box. All for a year supply of cleaning products. He loves me!

Enjoying the 90 degree temps

2008-05-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I got up with the kids and started some yard work in the back yard. Rich was sleeping in...it was part of our deal because he took his sister to the airport at 4:45 am Saturday morning. As I was working in the back yard loosing all sorts of energy in the sun, I looked around and realized that we had no water toys for the kids to play with to keep them cool in the summer. So...after waking up dad, we had a fun little outing to get some fun things to cool them down. Here they are. I just have to clarify my heavy breathing for you all. I have terrible spring time allergies and boy can you tell in the videos...I sound terrible breathing into the camera...Darth Vader...here I come. I also should inform you that, just because you don't see me doesn't mean I didn't get attacked. I was jumping on the trampoline with the shooting-bouncing wet ball and got soaked, not to mention that all 3 boys ganged up on me and launched squirt guns on me at the same time. I was dripping taking these videos.

My Garden

2008-05-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

This is the most recent picture from this morning. It was raining so the pic is through a window. I am so dang excited this year to accomplish something I've been wanting to do for years. Putting in a garden is something I'm trying to do to hopefully encourage my family to eat healthier and save money also by providing to my family things I would normally buy at the grocery store right out of my garden. My deal with the kids is that their snacks in the day will be from the garden, which means no more gold fish or yogos or graham crackers/cookies etc. during the summer. Our garden came up lickity split and looks gorgeous so far. I'm trying something new called square foot gardening. It has less maintenance and helps you continually keep something in each square foot for each season of the year without having to till, because you never step in the planting area. I've also planted a much larger garden at my adoptive parents home who have acreage to do so. At their home I've planted things that I will actually can. Everything at my house is to have on hand. My garden consists of tomatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers, red potatoes, red, yellow, and orange peppers, walla walla onions, green onions, carrots, winter squash (to have throughout the winter to store and eat) summer squash, zuchinni, lettuce, spinach, radishes and stawberries.

Reddens Track Meet

2008-05-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

We signed Redden up to participate in the "Little Legs Inivitational Track Tournament" to give him a little exposure to other not so hyped up sports. He chose to do the 400 m, the 4x1 relay and the 2oo m, I think. Below are some pictures of him giving it his all. I think he was a little nervous showing up at a huge stadium to do something he'd never been taught to do, but all in all he was brave and did his very best. We are so proud of him. Redden is in the brown hoodie or green shirt. depending on the pic or video.

Here he is lining up for the relay.

They were having problems with the starter gun, so they were waiting very patiently.
Listening carefully to all instructions.

Thieves on my Hands?

2008-05-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

Last week as I was going through my desk, I finally decided that I needed to attack my piles of expired credit cards. I began cutting and cutting and cutting. Now, when I say cutting you should know I don't cut it into 4 pieces or 5 straight pieces. I cut zig zag, diagonal, little ones, big ones trying to make someones potential job of putting them back together to get the number virtually impossible. As my mound of expired debit/credit cards begins to dwindle and my shards pile is growing I see my kids out of the corner of my eyes. I was seriously so shocked and surprised that they were able to do what they were doing.
I'm worried!

To My Mom and My Best Friend

2008-05-11T18:10:00.000-07:00

I had a conversation with a friend yesterday about how our mothers made Motherhood look so easy. After having a few of my own, I wanted to tell my dear mother how much she means to me and the difference she has made in my life. So many times recently I have caught myself wishing that I lived closer to my mom:

*for her to rub my temples when I had a headache

*for her to be here and wake up with my suffering children in the middle of the night and sleep with them like when they're infants so I can get some sleep

*to be a little more forgiving to my children

*to give the comforting hug of an unconditional loving mother when it's needed so badly

*to make my husband laugh and feel like he is the best thing in this world

*to lend her listening ear to an ever complaining daughter

*to have the 1 person that you know is always on your side.

My mother isn't perfect, nor is any other mother in this world, but I'm telling you...she got something right. She has lived an interesting life and most definately not an easy one. I admire her strong will and desire to rise when times are hard, to pull through and look at the bright side of things, and trying very hard to not complain about the things that annoy her. I believe that looking on the bright side is one of the many great qualities I received from my mother...(along with the 2 other bad ones we talked about last week mom! haha). She doesn't have all the answers and doesn't claim to, but she will be there to help you reason out and make the best possible decision for you. I hear of lots of people say "I never want to be like my mom". I hope if I can become more of someone it would be more of her. She has set the perfect Christ like example of how I want to be for my kids and my grandkids (heaven forbid). I love you, my husband loves you and my children most definately love you. You mean everything to me and I could not imagine my life without you. Happy Mothers Day Mom...I truly love you and admire you and want you to know...that despite all those teenage years YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE!!!

Twilight Preview

2008-05-09T08:43:00.001-07:00

Check out this video: Twilight

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...and there was a break in the rain

2008-04-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it stopped raining for a little bit after dinner and the kids were dying to show us some of their new moves on their skateboards. You'll see they definately are "special"...my kids that is.

Redden's getting pretty darn good on his skateboard. Each day he pulls out a new "trick"

This video cracks me up. Austin is going to compete in the Louge in the 2022 Olympics. Practice makes perfect right?

Who knows...maybe they'll even pick up skydiving.

It started to rain and 4 minutes later, this is what it looked like outside. Hail, Hail, and more hail...Good ole' Portland.

Our Sunday Afternoon

2008-04-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon Rich and I had promised the kids we'd ride over to the highschool and let the kids take their bikes and scooters and skateboards etc and play around for a while after church. Austin refused to take his bike because he "doesn't like it". We figured out why. His training wheels were a little high so he wobbled quite a bit back and forth. I also this week found out he wont jump on our friends trampoline because he says it's gonna tip over. It's on the slightest hill ever!! Rich fixed up his bike and off he went never looking back.

Listen closely...as he's passing and I tell him to wave...you can hear him say "I can't right now" in the mousiest voice he has.

The next video is pretty good actually. You get to see Redden attempt riding his bike with no hands for the first time and watch Austin struggling to take off his helmet because he refuses to un-snap it.

The last clip here is of my sexy husband off in the distance showing the kids how to skate down a steep hill. I'm pretty sure he started with hold on tight and close your eyes...he's such a natural.