Stronger than Steel...

The last week in April, I was on my way to a Relief Society activity.  Joe wasn't home yet, so I asked Mark Bigelow if he wouldn't mind watching the kids for about 20 minutes, until Joe could come pick them up, and then Terra and I could go together.  I was loading the kids up in the car, when a big gust of wind came swooping through and slammed my car door shut... on my hand.  I gasped, and looked down, and saw something that disturbed me greatly!!!

My ring was completely mangled.  It was as if someone took a nice round hula hoop and just stepped on it.  Flattened and broken.  My finger hurt, but I realized the platinum saved my hand!  Thanks Joey!  Never thought the ring you picked out would keep me from MASSIVE PAIN! Here's a picture I had to take for insurance.  This was after we took pliers to make it somewhat of a circle again, so my purple finger wouldn't fall off. 

So sad.  Apparently it's fixable...but the jeweler who cut it off said this was a very first for him!  He'd never heard of anything like it.  Maybe I'll get it back on my finger someday!

Rage Rocks

One of my really good friends, Terra Bigelow, is the coach for the Rage recreational soccer program.  Our houses are close enough that our kids can walk to each other's homes and her house is practically as comfortable to my kiddos (Luke loves her and her place) as our own home.  So when she told me she was coaching, I thought it'd be perfect for Kate.  It'd get her excited about soccer and running around. 

So for the past 6 weeks, she's been practicing with her team and having games on Saturdays.  She LOVES it.  She loves the games that Terra plays with the girls, she loves being on the same team as Halle, she has loved the entire experience.

 She has the confidence of a professional soccer player combined with the skills of a total novice.  I love it.  She just cracks me up.  At her final game, I was helping Luke with something and I looked up and noticed she had the ball and she was standing right in front of the goal.  "Kick it in!"  I yelled.  She looked at me and kicked it in, but I didn't realize it was the wrong goal.  Oops.  We told her not to worry about it but were laughing pretty hard.  Couldn't help it.  Joe tried to make light of it, and she was ticked--as were the other girls around her.  They gave him looks of disgust, like, "How could you make fun of your daughter?!"  Do those looks really start at 6-7?  Oh boy.  I told her we've all done it.  I did it in Junior High and my mom laughed so hard, she peed in her pants.  Builds character.   Glad we got that one out of the way while she's young :) 

Here are the boys cheering their sisters on!  It was a fun season!  Looking forward to the fall, Terra!  Thank you for all of the time you spend making it so great for the girls. 

Climbing Tiger--Hanging Sloth

Kate LOVES the rock climbing wall at Club Sport.  The first time she tried it, it freaked her out a little bit, but I promised we'd come back and practice so she could get better at it.  The next time we tried it, she was a totally different person.  She got hooked up and flew up the wall and touched the top like it was nothing.  I couldn't believe it!  She climbed with a bunch of kids not too long ago, and the instructor mentioned that they should have a race to see who could get up to the top the fastest.  Little speedy legs, flew up once again, and all of the boys moaned and she was deamed the "Climbing Tiger."  She was feeling pretty darn good. 

I thought Jake would just eat it up.  A great way to get out all of those boy wiggles...Well, the first 3 or 4 times we tried it, this is how far Jake would go.  And that was with the instructor giving him a bit of a lift to get going.  He'd just hold on to the rocks and hang there.  It was as

 if his legs decided at that moment, that they didn't work.  I started to worry!  What is wrong with my boy!! He's a BOY!  Well, I was determined to get him on that climbing wall even more, so he could get over this hump.  This past Monday, the kids and I went to the club and I signed them up for a time slot and then I took them to the kids club and I went to exercise.  Joe ended up coming over straight from work and he offered to grab the kiddos (I was still sweating like a beast on the treadmill) and take them over to the wall for their time slot.  I told him I'd be there in about 5 minutes.  When I came around the corner, this is what I saw:

The only thing I can guess was that he wanted to show off for his Dad.  Floored...shocked...surprised...ecstatic...I think I squeeled really loud because I noticed a few heads turn to see what was going on!  How wonderful it is to be a parent and celebrate your children's victories with them and be there for them in their times of struggle and trials.  Now, does it make me feel slighted that he wouldn't do it to impress me?  Naaaah...  Ok, a little, but I remind myself that Jake is trying to show off to the man he wants to be like.  How cool is that.  The fact that we are in this together helps a little too :)  It just reaffirms to me how much my Heavenly Father and Savior are standing by my side doing the exact same thing for me.  I am loved.  How grateful I am for that knowledge.  It gives me such strength to try again when I've not measured up. 

Love Mondays

We don't have anywhere we have to rush off to right after we finish school on Mondays.  They are one of our most relaxing afternoons and I love them.  It happened to be beautiful outside, so the kids were playing out front.  I hadn't taken the camera out in a while to just taken pictures of them... so I did.   

Yep, he was coming in for a kiss!  Ok, he really just wanted to get his hands on the camera! 

 Jake was stoked he found a leaf that looked like the first letter in his name

A little showing off...I'm impressed... don't think I could do that! 

Happy Monday!!

Getting the In's and Out's at In N Out

One of Kate's friends was in the car with her parents one day and said out of the blue, "I want to be homeschooled like Kate."  I'm sure they looked at each other in horror and let a pregnant pause pass before asking why she felt that way.  She replied, "Because I want to go on that In N Out field trip that she got to go on."  Haha!  They were relieved :)  The field trip was fantastic though!  

We got there at 8:30 in the morning and donned our hats.  I was surprised Luke left it on as long as he did!  They had coloring books and crayons and all sorts of things for the kids to do.  They talked about the restauarant and then took the kids back in the kitchen. 

Kate and Elise pumped to go behind the doors!

Here's Jake making the fries!!!

 After the tour was over, they let each child line up and place their own order-- the kids felt so cool doing everything themselves.  The employees even called out the kids names when when their orders were ready.  Everything was free!  They even offered all of the parents free meals as well!  I couldn't do a cheeseburger at 10am, but managed the fries just fine ;) 

We love In N Out :) 

Happy Easter!

We decided to dye our Easter eggs while Luke was napping.  A wise choice, seeing as the only word he says is "Ba," (ball), and anything remotely close to a ball, he throws, I thought it'd be best. 

ALWAYS a hit.  Next year I need to make about 50 more hard boiled eggs!  They would have loved to have filled the carton!  But lets be honest.  We needed to get ready for church and I was in charge of the Easter program in Primary.  I recreated the events of Jesus' last week on Earth and was going to take the kids on a walk through Jerusalem to show them what happened.  I needed to get to church early to set up!!!  

The Easter Bunny did leave his mark on Sunday morning!  We saw the evidence, so we grabbed our ears (Luke refused) and headed out back to have our Easter egg hunt. 

 The search

After a WONDERFUL Easter service, we dropped all of our stuff off and raced out to be with the Berryhill's at Maryanne and Dave's house.  I was so sad when we found out that Grandma (Fran) wasn't there because she was sick, but we managed to have a great time with everyone!  Another egg hunt and YUMMY FOOD and lots of laughter.  I am so grateful for family and so happy that we decided to come back to California so we could be close to everyone!  What a blessing!   

An Unexpected Surprise!

We went to see "Cinderella" at the Bankhead Theater in Livermore the day after Jake's birthday, with our homeschool group.  We decided to stop by our favorite lunch place afterwards, Mr. Pickles, with the McCarns, but the one in Livermore was packed.  We decided to drive back home to the one in Pleasanton and just call in our orders on the way.  Boy were we all ecstatic when we drove up and saw the Firemen at Mr. Pickle's too!  "Is your Fire Engine here too?"  The kids asked as they surrounded the men in their uniforms.

 

 Little did we know we would be so lucky.  It was around back and the kids got a full tour. 

Thank You Pleasanton Firemen for being soo kind to our kiddos!  They were beyond thrilled!

May the Force Be With You, Jakers!

March 22, 2012

 Jake turned four and he knew EXACTLY what he wanted to do on his birthday.  He even knew what cake he wanted. I asked him what he wanted for his cake and gave him all of the options I thought he would love.  "No, I know which one.  I'll show you."  He had never seen all of my pins for desserts on Pinterest, but I thought that might be a good place to starts!  So, he sat down with me and looked at all of the pictures and when I scrolled passed this apple bundt cake, he pointed at it and said, "That's it!  That's the one I want."  I explained that it was an apple, caramel cake and that there wasn't any "cake" frosting on top, but he was adamant.  I have no idea why, he must have really liked the picture.  I was excited, because it looked DELCIOUS!  And it was!

 I made swedish pancakes for breakfast and Jake opened his presents that morning (which mostly comprised of Star Wars toys) and he and Kate and Luke had a blast playing all morning long!  I love to hear and watch them have fun together.  They couldn't get enough of it!  When Kate went to dance class, I took Jake to the toy store to pick out something.  What did he do?  Pick something out for Kate too, because she wasn't there.  He is so sweet.  After dance class, we rushed over to the movie theater and met Mom, Dad, Chris, Kalei, Jen, Brett and Gracie for popcorn and candy and the Dr. Seuss movie, The Lorax.  Jake had been waiting to see it ever since he saw a preview last November, and heard it was coming out for his birthday.  It was really cute.  Even though we were stuffed with sweets, we all drove over to Jake's dinner of choice--Sweet Tomatoes--and Joe met us there.  Afterwards, we came home and had dessert and played with a few more toys and

 had a LOT more fun. 

 Jake was in love with the shirt that Aunt Kalei and Uncle Chris picked out for him.  He wouldn't take it off, and slept in it for a few nights straight!

Don't worry, Luke wasn't forgotten :) 

Happy Birthday, Jake!  We LOVE you so much!  I am so so so blessed to have your unique self in my life.  You are one who LOVES to be "siwwy" and make people laugh.  The doctor was giving you your 4 year old check up and he asked some basic questions which you passed with flying colors.  Then he said, "Now for the hard one.  What would happen if we didn't have a roof over us?"  You thought about it while standing on the exam table in your undies and said, "Well... I guess that birds would just poop on our heads!"  You had him in hysterics.  Classic Jake.

 You always have a "Pwoject" going on and it usually involves rocks, sticks, playdough, water, food coloring, food, a cup and the freezer...;  You are completely in awe of scotch tape and use it for EVERYTHING!  In fact, Bryant Bigelow gave some to you for your birthday as a gift!!! (Loved that, Terra! It was PERFECT).  You are extremely sensitive and worry that you'll forget what I look like when you go to bed.  You've walked right up to adults (male and female), and have said, "I like how you did your hair today."  You can talk to absolutely anyone.  You are so so so cute.  You make horrific messes and then look at me and say, "I pwomise, I'll never do THAT again."  You are working on not giving up so easily.  You love to tape your toys together and creative new machines and lifeforms....what more can I say?  Just a few things when I think of you now.  Life wouldn't nearly be as colorful without you.  xoxoxoxoxoxox

Slithering Smiles

I was cleaning out the car after swim lessons, and went to throw some stuff away, when I heard Kate and Jake squeel, "A baby snake!"  I heard nervous laughter (from Jake) and "Oh how cute's" from Kate.  I yelled over my shoulder, "How Cool! Just let it be.  Don't touch it!"

 I was too late!  Kate had already picked it up.  That girl is so cool.  She has no fear when it comes to bugs and reptiles and animals.  Wow!  I'm so impressed. 

 Jake was happy to be in the picture and smile big, but didn't want to touch it. 

It does look cute in her hands, doesn't it? 

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

At the beginning of the school year, I took Kate to dance and met a cute mom whom I hadn't seen before.  We introduced ourselves and realized that we both lived in Pleasanton and drove to Livermore for dance.  Since it was already a homeschool dance class (we have a ton of homeschoolers in our area), I was excited to meet a new friend who homeschooled who lived less than 5 minutes from us!  Little did I know what a blessing the McCarns would be in our lives.  Not only did we start carpooling to dance right away, but we developed friendships that I will be forever grateful for--the kids and me!!!

  The 8 of us decided to get together and celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday at the beginning of March. 

Kimber, Reagan, Quin and Skylar came over for a Dr. Seuss brunch (can you guess?), books, and beautiful hats.

Luke was thrilled to have everyone over

 Skylar, Jake and Quin listening to "Green Eggs and Ham"

 Kate and Reagan making those green eggs and ham

 Everyone LOVED them and asked for multiple helpings. 

So grateful for Kimber and her creativity.  We had a blast. 

Jake LOVES playing with his buddy, Quin.  If you can tell, they have turned their Dr. Seuss hats backwards and upsidedown and have grabbed car tracks for swords...

Surprisingly, I wasn't surprised :)