Morford Mayhem

First Camping Trip of the Summer...

2010-06-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in June we packed up the trailer and headed down to Crowe Butte, a beautiful campsite near Patterson. Melissa, Chad, Hunter and Rhyan came with us, and we had a great time. The weather was great - it only rained a little bit on Sunday as we were getting ready to leave. On Saturday we explored around the water and camp grounds a little before heading over to my aunt and uncle's house for their grandson's graduation party. The kids had a good time playing in their pool and on their rope swing, while we enjoyed some good food and good company. Back at camp we made a big fire when we got back and enjoyed some peanut butter cup s'mores and Mad Libs. Our goal this year is to go to as many new camp grounds as we can, and this was a great start!

Farm Days

2010-06-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

The theme for Tanner's class in April was "Down on the Farm." To kick off the end of the unit the kindergarten classes put on a farm show! This was two of the classes, Tanner's and Mrs. Jones's - it turned out so cute! They sang and danced to about seven songs, and of course Kaden loved all of the tractors and farm equipment on display. Another cute program put on by Hilton!

Community Days

2010-06-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Zillah Community Days the way we always do... fishing at the youth pond on Friday night, breakfast in the park on Saturday morning, the parade Saturday afternoon, then a return to the park after the parade. This year the city had set up a bunch of "old-fashioned" games to play and it was really fun to watch. There was a diaper derby, a root beer chugging contest, an egg toss, sack races and a keg toss. It definitely defined small town atmosphere! Another fun weekend spent together... :)

Baseball 2010

2010-06-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

All three boys decided to play baseball this year, which meant for a busy Spring for us! Chase was on a coach pitch team for 7 to 9 year-olds, Tanner was on a t-ball team for 5- and 6-year-olds, while, Kaden was on a tiny tots t-ball team for 3- and 4-year-olds. Since they were each on different teams we had practice or games 4 nights a week! Chase and Tanner did awesome, learning some great new skills and improving their hitting. While Kaden learned a few fundamentals of the game, he spent most of his time begging for popcorn, a drink or a snowcone from the consession stand... that boy! Just a few fun pictures from the season...

Teddy Bear Picnic

2010-03-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

Each month Tanner's class study's something new - they read books on the subject, keep journals, create art projects, etc. Everything looks really fun and turns out so cute. In February their theme was "bears." They got to bring a bear to school to read with for the month, and they read a bunch of different versions of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." He brought home some fun bear math and art work as well. At the end of the month all of the kindergarten classes held a teddy bear picnic, which was supposed to take place outside. It just happened to fall on the only day in February that was cold and rainy! I took the day off and was lucky enough to eat with Tanner and his class in the gym. We spread out blankets, brought picnic lunches and had some fun mommy/son time together. We also got to sit next to Aunt Amber, Uncle Mike, Madison and Michaela, which was fun too!

Howdy Partner!

2010-03-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago half of the first, second and third grade classes at Hilton had their annual Spring Concert at ZHS. This year's theme was all about the country. The kids sang folk songs and did little dances, and the music teacher did a good job of making a fool out of himself by riding around on a stick horse ;). Chase was in the front when the 3rd graders were on stage, so we were able to get some good shots. However, when all of the grades came on he ended up behind some kid in a ten-gallon hat. You'll have to see if you can find him in the last picture - it's sort of a "Where's Waldo?: Concert Edition"...

Tanner's 6th Birthday

2010-03-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

Tanner turned six on Tuesday - crazy, I know! To celebrate on Saturday he first had a few friends over from school, then had the family here later for a bigger party. He had a blast at both celebrations. He and his buddies played the Wii, ran around outside and spent some time destroying the playroom :) After gifts and cupcakes, they repeated the cycle.

As soon as the last car drove out of the driveway the family arrived. Tanner, his brothers, and cousins played the Wii, ran around outside and spent some time destroying the playroom! He opened a lot of cool gifts - mostly cards to go towards that new DS he's been coveting. Then we dug into his Mario cake. Yum!

Tanner and Aunt Melissa - their bdays are only one day and a few years apart :)

On Tuesday I took the day off, so in addition to taking Kaden up to Sears to finally get his 3-year pics, I was able to make some green Rice Krispy treats with green M&Ms (birthday boy request) to take to his classroom. We also took juice and goody bags, and while the kids enjoyed those Tan got to sit in the front of the room and answer questions from the class. It was so cute!

For dinner that night he got to choose the place - and that place was KFC/Taco Bell in Toppenish. We just couldn't convince him otherwise! We topped it off with ice cream from DQ. Such a fun time for our sweet little guy!

3-D Shoot

2010-03-07T21:33:00.000-08:00

Dan took Chase and Tanner down to the 3-D archery shoot at the Eagles Park in Toppenish yesterday. This is the third year he's taken them down, and every year they do better and better. This year Chase shot a 110 and Tanner an 80. They both love it, and Kaden and I had a great time spending the day together. I have a feeling I'll have the day to myself next year though... :)

Tanner found this stick at the shoot and thought it'd make a nice sling shot!

Kindergarten Basketball

2010-03-06T23:33:00.000-08:00

Tanner wanted to play basketball this year, but he can't play AAU until he's in first grade (at least around here). Since quite a few other kids in his class wanted to play too some of the dads started a little "league." The boys got together once a week to practice and learn the fundamentals of the game. Tanner had a great time, especially since a lot of his friends were there, and I think he's excited to play "for real" next year :)

The calm in the storm here...

Waiting patiently?

Not sure what they're doing?

That kid's totally faking the foul! ;)

Can you find Tanner? Hint: He's not going after the ball...

House Projects

2010-02-15T21:48:00.000-08:00

We're always doing something around this house, and the past few weeks have been no exception. Last month Dan tore all of the old, yucky carpet out of the living room and began preparing it for hardwood... yay! It was quite the job, as the hardwood that's in the rest of our house is unfinished and we wanted it to match. Since Dan had already laid some in my scrapbook area, he was an old pro ;). We were so grateful there is a Lumber Liquidators in Tri Cities, as we were able to get all the wood for a really good price. Dan and his friend Tom laid the whole floor (365 sq. feet) on a Saturday. The next weekend Dan spent most of Saturday sanding the floor, then I helped him stain it that night. On Sunday he put down a layer of varnish, which he finished up Monday night. It took a while, but the floor looks AMAZING! We're hoping to do the same with our bedroom when the time comes...

Putting the stain down...

The final product...

I've also been wanting some new dining room chairs, as I felt we had too much light wood and it was all starting to blend together :). I'm not quite ready for a new table, since the boys are constantly getting marker stains, paint, etc. on it. I found these chairs at Fred Meyer and I'm really happy with the way they turned out. It definitely gives the room the color I was looking for!

Chase is 9!

2010-02-01T21:03:00.000-08:00

So my oldest guy officially turned NINE yesterday!! It has just gone sooo fast! He had a great day, starting off with getting his new bike in the morning, then heading to McDonald's in the afternoon to celebrate with his family and friends. The kids had a great time playing, and Chase had a great time getting lots of fun stuff! He got a new movie, a swimsuit and swim shirt, some Mercy movie money, two DS games, and luckily, enough money to buy the DS! We headed up to Toys R Us after the party so he could pick it out (along with some accessories) and he was in heaven! We think he deserves it - he's such a great kid!

The new bike - finally!

Blowing out the candle

Cousins and friends helping him celebrate!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs...

Mercy movie money!

A new swim shirt

In the playplace...

Kaden and Michaela...

Cute nieces! Michaela and Rhyan

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

We spent New Year's Eve at Ryan and Hilary's house this year, and it was, as usual, a lot of fun. Mike, Amber and the girls were there, as well as Dan and Ryan's friend George. The kids spent most of the time downstairs playing with McKenna and Delaney's new Christmas toys (and only breaking one!), while the guys stayed at the table talking and playing cards. Amber, Hilary and I hung out in the living room, chatting and eating to our hearts content :). At midnight we watched the ball drop, then bundled up to head outside and watch some fireworks. Since it had snowed nearly all day it was pretty slippery outside, and the Woodyards have a really steep driveway, so we drove the big ole stinky Suburban over. As much as I hate that thing, we had a much easier time getting up their driveway than Mike and Amber did in their van!
Tanner enjoying some pizza...

The guys playing cards...

Watching the ball drop...

McKenna and Chase trying to see the fireworks...

Watching the fireworks (while Tanner helps Mads with her zipper)...

Christmas '09

2009-12-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

This year we had our usual four Christmases. The first started at The Cascade Gardens in Yakima on the 20th. We have my extended family's big party there every year, and it's always so pretty and cozy. The kids draw names to exchange gifts, while this year the adults pitched in and adopted a family in need. My sister, mom, and I were able to go shopping and get the kids clothes, toys and stocking stuffers, while the parents got cookwear and blankets. It was so fun to do! The pictures from this party are on my old laptop, so I don't have any to share - sorry!

On Christmas Eve we headed up to my sister's house in West Valley for a ham dinner wonderfully prepared by me and Melissa ;). We watched our usual 24 hours of a Christmas Story on TBS, and enjoyed watching the kids open way too many presents! The boys always have so much fun with Hunter, no matter how much he likes to pretend 'torture' them!

On Christmas morning Chase was the first one up - he was beyond excited. Tanner and Kaden, on the other hand, were just tired. We had to go wake them up at 8:30! When everybody finally made it downstairs the boys dug right into their stockings and gifts. They were most excited for the Wii they finally got! As usual, they made out like bandits and our house is still trying to recover from the toy explosion.

After opening gifts, playing with the Wii for awhile, and finally getting dressed, we headed over to Amber and Mike's house for more fun. We ate cinnamon rolls and drank cocoa while the kids showed off some of there new toys, then we let them rip into the new stuff once again. The boys all got a few more toys (because really, can you ever have enough?), then the adults played the exchange game. Dan and I came away with a new charging station for our phones and IPod and a new Wii game. Chase was most excited about that one :). Mike and Amber made us the most incredible prime rib with au jus, twice baked potatoes, salads and rolls. We were so full! By the time we finally made it home the boys were worn out, but ready to play a few rounds of Wii bowling before bed. Another memorable Christmas we'll never forget!

Some Christmas Fun...

2009-12-23T23:17:00.001-08:00

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School Christmas Program

2009-12-22T23:44:00.000-08:00

Tanner had his school Christmas program last week, and it was so cute! Each of the kids got to come down and sing with one or two other students during each song. Tanner came down twice - I'm guessing the kids who weren't shy were picked to come down more than once ;). All of the kids did a great job and the funniest part of the evening was when Tanner came down with two classmates to sing 'Feliz Navidad.' The little girl singing with them was really into the song. She started off singing at the wrong time, and from there on out it was a comedy of errors. She spent her time belting out the song as best as she could, while Tanner proceeded to cover her mouth, the microphone, and the boy's mouth next to him! When I asked him why he did that, he said he thought they weren't letting him sing (I posted the video on Facebook - it's too cute!). Another great memory of kindergarden we can look back on and laugh at some day!
Song #1

The infamous trio

Kaden was really into the music...

The whole crew...

My handsome guy...

My handsome Rudolph :)

Winter Fun

2009-12-13T20:05:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted, so I figured I'd share a few things we've been doing the last few weeks. We spent Thanksgiving with Dan's parents this year, as well as Mike, Amber and their girls. The kids had a great time playing together and we all ate way too much, as usual! I didn't get very many pictures, since my camera wasn't cooperating... :(

Last weekend we bundled up as best we could and headed down to Sunnyside to watch the Lighted Farm Implement Parade with my parents. Since we had plenty of blankets and hot cocoa the parade was actually pretty enjoyable, and of course the floats were beautiful!

Last Sunday Dan and the boys continued there annual tradition of making a gingerbread house. I've let Dan take over this tradition, as he is much better at the frosting piping than me! The house looks so cute, and the boys really loved that Dan put their initials in the 'snow.' The little gingerbread men that came with the house didn't last long though - Kaden made quick work of those!

Yesterday afternoon we took the boys down to Western Gardens in Zillah to visit Santa. This particular Santa happened to work with Grandpa Mike (my dad), and he looked pretty darn authentic! None of the boys had any problem posing with him for a picture, and Kaden even sat up there and gave him a big ole list of everything he wanted for Christmas! Our niece Rhyan on the other hand wasn't so sure. She made sure she told Santa what she wanted from a nice safe distance :). Now we have a school program, a church program, my extended family Christmas party, my birthday, and finally, Christmas, to look forward to in the two next weeks! Whew! Pictures will follow soon, I hope!

Hunting Wabbits...

2009-12-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, they were hunting ducks, not rabbits. Dan took Chase and Tanner hunting early one morning a couple of weeks ago. The boys had a great time, especially Tanner, though they didn't get anything. The important thing is they had a great day out with dad!

Halloween... finally

2009-11-06T16:18:00.000-08:00

I'm finally posting some Halloween pictures, though it's been almost a week now since the big day! Last Saturday the boys were so excited to head down to our church's trunk or treat candy giveaway, then head out to a few houses in G'ma and G'pa Morford's neighborhood. Melissa and Chad came down with their kids, and we hit the ground running along with Mike, Amber and the girls. All the kids looked so cute in their costumes - this year we had two members of Star Wars in our little clan: Chase as a Clone Trooper and Tanner as Bobo Fett. Kaden has a current Batman obsession, so he of course went as his hero. We ended the night at my parents house, where the kids managed to fill their candy buckets to the top. Another fun Halloween night that sped by way too fast. Seriously, can't time just slow down for a little while...?

Kaden as Batman

Tanner as Bobo Fett

Chase as a Clone Trooper

Showing off his big muscles

Rhyan as Sleeping Beauty

Hunter as a hobo

Trunk or treating

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

A week ago Sunday we took the boys to Schell's Farm for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We met up with my parents, my sister and her kids, Dan's parents, and his sister Amber and her family. We had a terrific time, as usual, and this year we rented one of the bbq areas, which made it even more fun. I liked having our own little space to come back to, and not having to find a log to sit on along with everybody else there...
We made it through the maze pretty quick this year, and we had a little excitement on the hayride too. The kid driving the tractor saw some people coming out of the corn maze where they weren't supposed to, so he stopped our ride to run through the field and yell at them. We were all sure to sit nicely and obey the rules after that :). All that and pumpkin chucking made for one great trip...

Kindergarten Field Trip

2009-10-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Tanner's class went on it's first field trip today to Jones Farms in Zillah. Dan was able to go with him, and they both had a great time. While they were there they ran around the hay maze, walked through the orchard and picked a nice ripe apple, posed for pictures on the bales, drank some apple juice, and, before they left, picked out a pumpkin to take home. Dan was glad he was able to go with him, and I was glad they had so much fun together. Unfortunately, on his way back to his room after recess, somebody ran into Tanner, and he fell and hit his head on the asphalt. He had to go to the nurse and rest while she made sure he didn't show signs of a concussion. The bump looks pretty nasty, especially since it's got a little road rash on top, but he seems fine. Only Tanner!

How Corny

2009-10-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago there was quite the excitement at our house - the corn in the field next to us was being cut! This is the first year in the nine we've lived here that they've planted corn - it's always been alfalfa in the past. Needless to say, the boys were pretty excited when a whole bunch of big trucks arrived, along with a shiny new tractor, to take it all down. After a few bumps - like how to get those big trucks turned around on our narrow road {Dan told them they could use the field behind our house}, and a glitch with the tractor {John Deere RDO had to make a service call}, they were ready to go. It didn't take very long, as the new tractor they were using made pretty quick time of things, and there was always at least one truck ready to catch the corn. And after the boys had there morning entertainment we were able to go retrieve the last few stalks to decorate our front porch - and we can finally see down our road again!

Apple Party

2009-10-08T20:12:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Tanner's class had an apple party - they had been learning about apples for the past couple weeks. Mrs. Bright had the parents bring in treats - apples, caramel dip, apple cookies and muffins, and of course, apple juice. The kids sang a few songs about apples for us too. Tanner got to introduce one of the songs. I'm sure he was all gung ho to do it until he realized he'd be speaking to a roomful of parents! It was a little hard to understand the title of the song, as he said it without pausing or taking a breath :) He's had such a great start to kinder - including being only one of 5 kids on the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree for knowing all his letters and sounds! We're so proud of him!

FairNDipity

2009-10-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to the fair last Saturday {luckily, when it was nice and sunny} and had a great time, as we do every year. The boys rode rides, had a great time looking through the Sundome and the buildings - our favorites this year were the science and candy barns. Mmmmm. Around 5:00 the big fire at the old Boise Cascade site started, and the fair lost power for about 45 minutes. During this time Dan's parents were stuck on the Sundola, and I was lucky enough to get a picture of them ;). The boys were only turned away from one ride, and hardly noticed anything different. Later in the evening we sent Kaden, Michaela and Derek home with Grandma and Grandpa, while we took the older kids on some of the bigger rides. We also took in a little of the sprint car races, which the boys really enjoyed. Another great time for all at the CWSF!
{For some reason you have to run your mouse over the slide in order to read the caption}

Rock On!

2009-09-22T21:34:00.001-07:00

Jones Farm

2009-09-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after lunch at Dan's parent's house, we decided spur-of-the-moment to head out to Jones Farm in Zillah to let the kids run through the hay maze and feed the ducks. The kids thought it was a blast - they ran back and forth through the maze about 5 times, and up and down the slide about 100 times! They also liked feeding the ducks, though the ducks weren't big fans of them - one too many rocks thrown their way when they were looking for bread! A fun ending to a nice, laid back weekend...

School's Back in Session...

2009-09-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Chase started school last Thursday, but I wanted to wait and post both he and Tanner's first days at the same time. Chase is unbelievably a 3rd grader this year, and Tan is in kindergarten! Time really does just fly by!
Chase was, of course, very nervous his first day. He was anxious about his teacher, about the kids in his class, and about the school work. He's doing fantastic of course! He's even made a new friend, something we've been really worried about since he's so painfully shy. It's a little guy he was friends with in kindergarten at CWC Academy. He also loves his teacher - he told me, "Every year I've had really nice teachers." So far he's been doing awesome with the work he's brought home - he understands place value better than I did in high school! He also has amazing cursive writing - he gets that one from me ;). We're really praying this is the year he comes out of his shell, and though he's had great years before, we want this to be the best one ever!

Tanner started school today, and he was sooo excited. He was ready to start last week with Chase, and he's been counting down the days ever since. He is in the same class as a few of his friends from preschool, a couple from church, and his cousin Madison. I think that made the day even more exciting. His teacher, Mrs. Bright, taught one year at my school, so it was nice for me to know that he is getting an excellent teacher for his first year of formal school. He thought today was just the best - he sang us his morning song {I think the thing he like the most about it is that they get to sing louder and louder, then softer and softer - if he can be loud, he's happy :}, then he showed us his picture he colored - very well too, and how he wrote his name the correct way {at least according to mommy's standards!}. We're so excited for him to have an amazing year. He's going to knock 'em dead!

House Redecorating: Kaden Style

2009-08-28T22:26:00.000-07:00

The other day, while my brother was watching the boys for a few hours, Kaden decided to spruce the place up a bit. He used a dry-erase marker to draw on the stairway, the bench, and the carpet in the living room. We'll have to repaint the stairs and bench, and the carpet is going to be replaced soon, but it was still really annoying. That boy is going to drive me to the brink of insanity! ... and no, dry-erase marker does not come out as easily as you'd think!

Lodgepole

2009-08-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went on what will probably be our last camping trip for the summer. We went to Lodgepole, which is just 8 miles from the top of Chinook Pass. It's one of our favorite campgrounds. The sites are all paved and well taken care of, and the scenery is just amazing. We went up with our friends the Woodyards, so of course the boys had a blast. Chase and McKenna were so bummed they won't be at the same school this year, but they made up for the fun with tons and tons of playing this weekend. On Sunday morning we went up for a hike near Lake Tipsoo, in hopes of seeing the awesome view of Mt. Rainier we'd heard so much about. Unfortunately the fog kept getting worse and worse the higher we climbed, so we headed back down and hiked around the lake instead. We also spent time down at the river where the views were amazing, and where Dan and Ryan both jumped in to the icy water. Crazy guys! Ryan and Hilary could only stay Saturday night, so we were on our own on Sunday night and Monday morning. We made more s'mores, watched movies in the trailer, and drove back to the top of Mt. Rainier for a fogless view. It was a very relaxing weekend. Unfortunately, even after all that, I'm still not ready for school to start!

Chase's New Room...

2009-08-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance to download the pictures of Chase's new bedroom. He absolutely loves being by himself with no little brothers around, and he's done a really good job of making sure it stays cleaned up all the time {at least for now}. His closet is big enough that we didn't have to use his dresser, and we could put some of his games and Legos on either side. The new floor Dan put it looks SO much better than the blue carpet that was in there, and now I'm excited to do the other two bedrooms too!

This says it all...

2009-08-19T22:10:00.001-07:00

I read this today and thought I'd share it. Yes, it's political and it totally speaks to my beliefs, so if you think you'll be offended, don't read it!

From a teacher in the Nashville area:

"We are worried about "the cow" when it is all about the "Ice Cream" The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year.

The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote. To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members.

We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have.

We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot. The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids.

I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia's mother. The day arrived when they were to make their speeches. Jamie went first.

He had specific ideas=2 0about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Everyone applauded and he sat down. Now is was Olivia's turn to speak. Her speech was concise. She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream."

She sat down. The class went wild. "Yes! Yes!

We want ice cream." She surely would say more... She did not have to.

A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream?

She wasn't sure.

Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it.

She didn't know.

The class really didn't care.

All they were thinking about was ice cream. Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a landslide. Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream and 52 percent of the people reacted like nine year olds.

They want ice cream. The other 48 percent know they're going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess!
Remember, the government cannot give anything to anyone --- that it has not first taken away from someone else.

The Columbia

2009-08-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Dan's dad's family had their reunion. It's held every year at the Maryhill State Park on the Columbia River. We've camped there once, but there's not a whole lot to do with little kids unless they're expert windsurfers ;). This year we just went down on Sunday for the main dinner and to let the boys play in the water. Dan was nice enough to get in with the kids, since the rest of us weren't really wanting to put on swimsuits in public. The kids had a great time - Chase spent a lot of time perfecting his rock skipping skills. Another fun summer day down - only a few more to go!

When you just can't get the door unlocked fast enough...

2009-08-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

New Flooring

2009-08-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

For the past nine years we have hated the cream-colored vinyl in our entryway and front bathroom. It would get dirty sooo easily, and with three little boys and one diesel mechanic husband, we were cleaning it all the time. We weren't quite sure what we wanted to replace it with, until we found this laminate 'tile' flooring at the Home Depot when we were looking for flooring for Chase's room {pictures of that coming soon}. Dan had a couple of spots that gave him trouble, mainly trying to get the pieces to inter-lock in tight spots, but it only took him one day to install. Which means we only had the toilet on the porch for one day, but while it was there it sure looked classy...

Before:

After:

They really are little monkeys...

2009-08-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

The other night we took the boys over to the elementary school to play for a while. They had a blast, I got out of the house, and Dan got to act like a big kid. In other words, we all had a good time!

Pool Hoppers

2009-08-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

This summer the boys and I have been lucky enough to hop from one pool to another in order to stay cool. We've been invited to swim with my sister-in-law Amber at her in-laws pool a few times, to my sister Melissa's in-laws pool, to our friends Ryan and Hilary's pool, and last Saturday, to my aunt and uncle's pool in Toppenish for a family reunion. We've had such a great time, and the boys have become such better swimmers this summer! Chase has gotten a lot more confident with swimming under water, while Tanner has been putting his face in more and more each time we swim. Kaden, of course, is our little daredevil in the water. He loves to jump off the diving board, head down the slides {head first}, and swim like a little fish. We're so grateful to have such awesome family and friends that think of us on these hot days - and really grateful they have such amazing in-ground pools! :)

At the family reunion...

Wheeeee!

2009-07-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

My brother bought Kaden a huge Tonka truck for his birthday, and though he has used it plenty of times for loading and unloading toys and rocks, it's gotten the most use loading and unloading him! It started with me putting him in it one day and pushing him around the room, then it escalated to him getting in and yelling for whichever brother was close to give him a push. He absolutely loves it, but for now we've put the truck outside... we're all getting too tired!

Summer Fun!

2009-07-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

Dan's sister Jamie was up for the weekend with her family for her daughter Laci's baby dedication. After church on Sunday we headed over to the in-laws for a great lasagna dinner and some outdoor fun for the kids. We brought over our slide pool, and Carolin had her own small pool. Carolin and Gary had also bought squirt guns and water balloons for the kids to play with. It was a madhouse, but the kids had a blast {at least as long as the water balloons were out - they had to be put away once kids started getting injured}. Another memorable summer day with the cousins!

Luke heading down the slide...

A lot of kids in a little pool...

Derek hamming it up for the camera...

Filling up the squirt guns...

Water balloons!

Chase and Tanner...

Uncle Keith ready to attack...

Michaela and Kaden {attempting to} fill-up more water balloons...

Chase relaxing...

Vacation Day 4: Dry Falls

2009-07-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

For our last day of vacation we decided to head down US 17 and stop at Dry Falls. It is an amazing spot just off of Banks Lake that is formed out of the coulees all around it. The views were incredible, and they had a cute little visitor's center there as well. The boys were able to spy some ducks way down in the lakes using a viewfinder, and Kaden finished his fourth consecutive vacation day of hurting himself by tripping on a concrete barrier and giving himself a fat lip. This is what happens when he tries to follow Tanner around! Right now his face looks like he took last place in a fist fight. Three falls at or around Silerwood gave him the other cuts and bruises. After we left Dry Falls we headed home through Soap Lake, Moses Lake and Othello. We were glad to be home, but we had such a great time! We can't wait to go again!

Vacation Day 3: Cabelas and Grand Coulee Dam

2009-07-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Our third day of vacation we got up and took our time heading out, since we were at a new park that wasn't in any hurry to give away our site :). Around 11:00 we drove to Cabelas, where Dan and Chad had a great time looking at all the displays and dreaming of all the things they could buy. The kids had a lot of fun checking out the displays and playing in the shooting gallery. For some reason I didn't get a picture of Chase playing - it took forever to convince him to do it, then he got one of the top scores. I think I was too busy watching him shoot to take pictures. He hit 11 out of the 15 targets - not too bad! Dan was a little disappointed in the Cabelas since it wasn't anything like the one in Salt Lake City he went to a few years ago. We actually left without him buying anything!
After we left Cabelas Melissa and Chad headed on home {Rhyan had dance camp} and we headed down highway 2 to Grand Coulee Dam. If you've never driven down Highway 2, just think of driving to Pullman. Lots and lots of farmland as far as the eye can see - and not much else. We went through about four small towns before we reached our campsite just above Lake Roosevelt. The site was gorgeous, with a carport to cover the trailer and a big playground next to our site. The boys loved that! Once we had dinner we headed over to Grand Coulee Dam to check out the structure and the visitor's center. We were all amazed at the stuff we found out - it's a pretty awesome thing to see. I can't believe I'd never been there before! We stopped and got ice cream to take back to the trailer, then headed back into the Dam area around 9:30, since they started the laser light show at 10:00. By this time lightning was filling the sky, and it was sprinkling rain. By the time the show started it was windy as well. We turned the third row seat around in the back of the Suburban and watched the show from back there. It was so cool - they let the water fall off the Dam, then tell the story of how the Dam was built through laser lights. Tanner was the only one who didn't stay awake for the whole thing :). Everyone fell right to sleep as soon as we got back, ready for our last day of vacation to start in the morning...

Vacation Day 2: Boulder Beach

2009-07-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

Our second day of vacation we headed to the other side of Silverwood, which is the water park, Boulder Beach. They have so many cool things to play on, it was hard to decide where to go first! One thing we were really happy we did was rent a cabana. They have them in the middle of the water park, and they are equipped with a frig, safe, towels, etc. and we had staff that brought us things we needed, as well as lunch that we could order from our cabana. It was so nice to be able to come back there and get out of the sun and rejuvenate before we headed back out to play. The park has two wave pools, a toddler section with all kinds of squirting water, a big kids section with slides, buckets, and squirt guns, a huge family raft slide, a current pool {that Chase and I rode around at least five times!}, and about seven HUGE slides that Melissa and Hunter made great use of. Since I wasn't willing to ruin my camera most of my pictures are from the toddler area. We did have a blast on just about every ride. The most fun was the raft ride. Dan and Chad went twice with Hunter and Chase, then Melissa and I went down with the older boys as well. We went back to the trailer just before Boulder Beach closed to change and head back over to Silverwood, where Melissa, Chad, Hunter and Dan rode a lot of the big roller coasters and the little kids rode a few more of the small rides. I tried one big coaster, Tremors, and that was enough for me! I think after riding the Aftershock {in which you ride forward and backward at speeds up to 60 mph} both Dan and Chad were done with rides, but not Hunter - he was ready to go again! We all came away a little sunburned, but it was another fun, fun day for all of us!

Vacation Day 1: Silverwood

2009-07-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we loaded up the trailer and headed up to northern Idaho to spend a few days camping out at the Silverwood RV Park with my sister Melissa and her family. They just bought a new trailer, so it was a lot of fun being able to camp with them. We arrived at the park around 5:00 Thursday night and set up camp. We then checked out the tunnel that leads to the park - it's an underground tunnel that leads right to the entrance. After dinner we had some s'mores, then visited the rest of the evening. In the morning we headed over to the theme park {after Chase got over his fit because Dan wouldn't let him wear flip flops}. We spent the whole day trying out all of the rides, only taking a break to eat lunch at the trailer and cool down some - it was hot!}. I don't think there was a ride at the park at least one of us didn't ride - including Thunder Canyon, where we all got SOAKED! That means we got to spend the rest of the day walking around in wet clothes, but we still had a blast. After lunch we took a train ride through the forest, where we saw bison, authentic tee pees, Bigfoot, and a train robbing - the kids loved it! Once we'd worn ourselves out on rides we stopped in for pizza and a magic show. It was so fun! We headed back to the trailers pretty late, and everyone slept really well that night. Next up was Boulder Beach!

The Yard

2009-07-07T22:51:00.001-07:00

We've been working really hard on the yard the past few months, trying to make it look somewhat decent compared to the neighbors ;). Dan has got our poor grass looking really good - it's even greener than our neighbor's golf course lawn across the street {and Dan is pretty darn proud of that!}. We also dug out about 3 feet all around the side and front of the house and laid down river rock. Then we planted a couple of shrubs and put in some flower pots. Along the front of the driveway where we pull in we had a big spot around the tree cut out and covered with pea gravel. We took all the pea gravel and added it to the driveway and then put river rock down there too. Dan and I hauled a few HUGE rocks from around the yard to the front and added those as decoration. I also added a solar light down there. Along the far side of the driveway we had a bunch of overgrown trees and weeds that were out of control. Dan and his friends spent a whole day pulling all of those things out, then Dan put in a new sprinkler system {as well as the rest of the yard} and we planted 24 arborvitae trees. We still need to put down bark and put in some more solar lights, but it looks pretty good. On the far side of the house Dan and his friend Ryan pulled out all of the overgrown weeds and flowers, as well as along side the garage, and replanted both spots with grass. We're so excited that our yard is finally starting to look good. I'm going to post the few pictures I've taken so far, then post some more when I get a chance.

4th of July

2009-07-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun, relaxing 4th this year... in the morning we headed over to Toppenish to watch the parade. It was soooo hot {already close to 90 degrees by the time we got over there} and it was pretty crowded. But, the boys loved watching the dancing horses, receiving lots of candy, and seeing the cool cars that 'jumped' all around. I thought they were pretty cool myself :). We then went and bought a few fireworks from the stand in Zillah to set off later, then headed home to gather up our swim gear for a bbq at the Carlson's in West Valley. We had a great time swimming, eating, then swimming some more! We then headed back home to get ready for the big fireworks show at Legends Casino in Toppenish. First though, the boys had to let off some of those fireworks we'd bought early - they were going crazy. So Dan lit a few smoke bombs, a couple of hens, and some tanks. That satisfied them until we got to the big show. We were really close to the action, and were covered with soot by the time we left, but it was absolutely amazing. They even had music to go along with it, and before the fireworks began the kids entertained us by dancing to the Michael Jackson medley they were playing. We left there around 11:00 {it took forever to get out of the parking lot!}, then went to Dan's parent's house to light off the rest of our fireworks. By the time we were through we had three tired little boys and two tired parents, but it was a very fun and memorable day for sure!

Tonka Time!

2009-07-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

Kaden had a great time at his party last night - he had so much fun with his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents {and of course his parents and brothers}! He loved his construction cake, all of his cool new presents, and especially his new Banzai pool/slide. It was a perfect evening for eating outside on the deck and letting the kids enjoy each other and celebrating our little guy!

My Baby is Three!

2009-07-02T09:13:00.001-07:00

Happy 3rd birthday Kaden!

In the past year Kaden has:
*turned into quite the chatterbox
*become a great little helper around the house
*developed even more of a mind of his own
*stayed our most cuddly boy
*become even more busy {if that was possible!}
*still eaten everything he can get his hands on
*stayed the awesome sleeper he's always been
*come to adore his 'boys' {brothers} even more
*grown way too fast!!
We love you baby boy!

Look Out!

2009-07-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

The other day Melissa came down to visit and help my sister-in-law Amber with some legal things, so I watched Hunter and Rhyan for her while she was there. The older three boys do a pretty good job entertaining each other {though Tanner does get left out from time to time - the bad thing about being the middle kid}. Kaden and Rhyan were eager to drive the toy Jeep, so I pulled it out of the garage for them. Let's just say that two hyper 3-year-olds should not be allowed to drive one of those things. I say this after having my foot ran over, a big flower pot plowed into, and numerous curbs jumped. They had a great time none the less, but I was ready for them to move on to something else pretty quickly!

Playing in the Mountains

2009-07-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

On Monday my mom, my sister Melissa, and I went up to our cousin's family cabin on White Pass with all the kiddos. The cabin is just past Silver Beach on Rimrock Lake, so it didn't take us too long to get there. We hung around the cabin for awhile, looking at photo albums, eating lunch and chatting while the kids ran around and played. Later my cousin Shauna, Melissa and I took all 10 kids down to the river to play around. They had such a great time. There were rocks to throw, sand to dig up, water to splash in, and frogs to catch. I'm glad we got to spend some time with our Oregon cousins- we don't get to see them very often!

Hause Creek Camping Trip

2009-06-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

We spent this past weekend taking the trailer out for the first time. We decided to head up to Hause Creek, just a few miles up White Pass. We like to go somewhere close the first time because we never know how the Suburban will behave :).

Friday night we got there around 6 o'clock and Dan made us all hamburgers and hotdogs. Then we started a fire and roasted some s'mores. If you've never tried a s'more with a Reeses Peanut Butter cup instead of a Hershey's, you've got to try it. YUM! We then walked over to the old bridge and took a short walk around the campsite before calling it a night.

Saturday morning we had a yummy breakfast, then headed out to Lost Lake when Dan's parents arrived. It was quite a drive up there, then another hike to get to the spot where we wanted to fish. Luckily I'd worn Crocs, because they ended up all wet! Chase was definitely the most into the fishing, and he was pretty intent for the next two hours. Tanner was happy pulling the boat around he'd brought with him once Grandpa Gary attached it to the end of his fishing pole. Kaden, on the other hand, was restless. He fished for about 2 minutes, then spent the rest of the time playing in the dirt. He was such a huge mess when we got back to the trailer that it was easiest just to wipe him down with a washcloth and change his clothes and shoes, because we knew he'd just get dirty again as soon as we let him out of the trailer. He got a bath later - and the tub had a nice ring around it when he was done! After lunch we got the boys on their bikes and took a walk around the campground. Tanner hasn't been too keen on riding his new bike since he was so used to his little 12" bike. We pretty much forced him to get on and try it - and once he was comfortable we couldn't get him off! The campground has a big loop on the back half, and we were set-up just before the loop. Tanner and Chase must have rode around that thing 20 times in a row. They loved being able to ride their bikes on paved roads and not gravel like out here! At one point on our walk we went up a hill, and Grandpa Gary decided to try out Kaden's bike on the way down. That was quite the site! We roasted hotdogs (okay, Dan and I had steaks, while the grandparents roasted hotdogs with the kids) and corn on the cob. After grandma and grandpa left we had some more s'mores, then headed in early because the weather was starting to look questionalbe. We got the boys bathed, popped some Jiffy Pop on the stove, and played a few rounds of BINGO. Then the boys settled in to Kaden's bed to watch a movie while Dan and I did wordsearches on our bed. It was a great, relaxing night. And all the boys slept well to boot :).

Sunday morning after breakfast we let the boys take a few more turns around the 'loopty loop' (Tanner's term) and to the other end of the campsite before packing things up and heading home. It was a great first trip out and we had an amazingly fun and relaxing weekend - and the Suburban cooperated too! Next up is Silverwood - here's hoping the Suburban holds out for that one!

This is what I get...

2009-06-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

every time I ask Kaden to smile for me. He's a total ham. He's definitely the most outgoing of my three boys - nobody will ever call him shy!

He's got fashion sense...

2009-06-13T23:14:00.000-07:00

just like his dad!

The Farmer in the Corn...

2009-06-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

For the last 9 years the field beside our house has grown alfalfa. It's been a love of the boys to watch the various tractors, Harrow beds and combines come through and get the field planted, plowed and baled each spring and summer. This year though, Farmer Mike decided to repurpose his field and plant some corn {which means we don't have to take the 4-wheeler to the next field over to get corn stalks for the porch in the fall - we can just walk behind the house :}. This planting has been of the greatest joy to Kaden, who has spent his time at the window for hours watching Mike plow, then plant. Now that the corn is starting to pop up {amazingly fast!} he is excited to see the guys bring the sprinklers out for watering. And of course, sprinklers bring lots of water to dry dirt, which in turn creates - you guessed it - MUD. And what 2-year-old can resist mud? Fresh rows of mud right next to your house, just calling your name and asking to be squished in? Not mine. That's where I found him the other day, happy as a pig, digging and playing to his hearts content. He didn't even mind being washed off with the hose...

It's time for couples skate...

2009-06-07T17:54:00.001-07:00

though Chase wouldn't ask any of the girls to skate no matter how much Dan teased him!
Last Tuesday Chase got to go to Skateland in Yakima for a field trip with all the kids from his school who'd received Student of the Month throughout the year. He was really excited, especially since Dan was able to meet him up there and even take a few pictures for me. Dan said that he was pretty impressed - Chase tried to skate by himself, he talked to the other kids, and he wasn't nervous (and McKenna was there too, which probably helped things)! If you know Chase, this is pretty big, as he is REALLY shy. Dan said he was amazed at how nice all the kids were - I told him that of course they were, they were all the Students of the Month! That's one field trip I'd definitely volunteer for :). It's fun to see Chase slowly coming out of his shell and having fun with his classmates - since he's going to be a third grader soon! Yikes!

Our Preschool Graduate

2009-06-05T23:05:00.001-07:00

Tanner is officially a kindergartener now - I have a hard time even saying that! Everybody always tells you that the time with your kids will fly by, but seriously, I didn't realize it'd go this fast! Last Saturday we went to Tanner's little graduation party at the Children's Center Preschool here in Zillah. The kids sang a cute little medley of songs about animals and the earth, and did a skit based on "The Little Red Hen." Each of the kids dressed up as a farm animal, and even though I didn't know Tanner was supposed to be a dog until 9:00 pm the night before, I think he looked pretty darn cute :). After, his teacher gave each child a little 'diploma' and gave a short speech about the child. She talked about how Tanner had turned into such a leader and good friend as the year had gone on, and how she knew he was going to do great in kindergarten. We're so proud of him! We had a nice barbecue with all the parents, and shared a beautiful cake that two of the grandmas made - and Grandma Carolin ended up with the piece that had Tanner's name on it!

Way to go Buddy - we love you!

*I'm going to try to post a video of one of the songs they sang on Facebook. It's so cute watching the kids try to keep singing while one of their classmates screams for his mommy :)

Baseball '09

2009-06-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

This year was extra busy with baseball, as Chase was playing coach pitch and Tanner was playing t-ball. Dan decided not to coach this year since he wanted to be able to watch both of them play. Their practices started out with Tan practicing Mondays and Wednesdays and Chase practicing Tuesdays and Thursdays. That was a busy few weeks, at least until their games started up. Then they only played on Tuesdays and Thursdays - unfortunately, they played at the same time! That meant Dan and I did a lot of hopping back and forth between fields trying to see both of them play. And play they did! Chase did an awesome job for his fourth year of playing and second year of coach pitch. He is now able to bat really well both left or right, but does better from the left. He's not quite as scared of the ball anymore when he's in the outfield or playing catch, though I think if he actually went for the ball rather than stepping back from it I'd be surprised :)
Tanner had a lot of fun for his first year playing. He too bats from both sides, but preferred the left. He also wasn't really big on the outfield, which is pretty normal for his age. He spent more of time picking grass or goofing off with his friends than paying attention to what was happening around him. But we all got some good laughs at the kids as they "played" their games!
Tonight was the last game of the season for both of them, and since Tanner wasn't feeling very welll {they've all had strep throat this week}, he sat out most of the game. Next Tuesday night is the year-end banquet, then we're free for the summer! Chase is done on Wednesday and I'm done Thursday - woo hoo!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

We had a fun, relaxing Memorial Day weekend this year... sooo nice. Saturday we headed up to my sister's to help put up Rhyan's new swingset. I was really helpful on that one, sitting on my rear talking or eating chips. For some reason I never remember to take my camera, and I feel like I don't have any pictures of the boys and Melissa's kids. That's on my to-do list. More pictures of the Bemis cousins together! The kids had a great time, with the older boys running around with Hunter like madmen, as usual. Maybe that's why I can never get any decent pictures - we can't get them to slow down long enough! We stopped at Home Depot, our home away from home, on the way back to Zillah, and picked up some arbovidas for the side of our driveway. The people who bought the property to the north of us have been working on their orchard nonstop, and they have managed to kick up more dust than ever before, so we needed some kind of blocker to keep it down. They're just baby arbovidas right now, but we know they'll grow fast and provide a nice barrier.

Saturday night we hung out at home, then went to church Sunday morning. Once Kaden woke up from his nap the boys played like crazy in the kiddie pool and sprinklers. They have a blast with those things! Dan's friend Tom also came down, so they shot some clay pigeons, then pulled out a few of the old trees and shrubs from the area where we're going to plant the arbovidas, before Dan had to come in because he couldn't breathe any more. This is the worst time of year for his allergies, but all year long is my worst time!

On Monday we decided to make the drive out to Fort Simcoe. It's only about a 30 minute drive from here {though you do have to drive through White Swan} and the kids love it. They had all the houses and barracks open to look through, and the kids got a mini history lesson while we were there. They can never escape the teacher in me! They were all well worn out by the time we left, which made for a nice, quiet ride home for all the parents. Now I'm just so ready for SUMMER!

Zillah Community Days

2009-05-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

We had a great Community Days last weekend, but boy was it busy. We started off the weekend on Friday at the fishing derby. All three of the boys did a great job - Chase and Kaden both caught two, and Tanner caught one HUGE fish out of that little pond! Madison and Michaela both caught some too. Afterwards we headed over to Dairy Queen where Chase spent most of his time being giggled at by two girls from his class. They wouldn't leave him alone - am I in trouble already?!

Saturday morning we were up bright and early for breakfast in the park. We had an extra long wait this year because the griddles weren't working right, but the pancakes, eggs and ham were still good. I even scored one of Clayton's blueberry pancakes...mmmm. After breakfast Kaden wanted to ride one of the horses at the park. He requested the 'blue one.' Unfortunately buddy, we weren't in Oz...

We headed up to the parade a little later and watched the same procession of people we watch every year, but it was still fun. Tanner and Madison handcuffed themselves together with Tanner's new police toys while we waited, and Kaden and Michaela raced Kaden's new trains up and down the sidewalk. The toys were courtesy of grandma and grandpa - that's what happens when you leave your kids with them for a few minutes to run home and grab lawn chairs, and they take them down to the drug store! Most excititing of all we got to meet Laci for the first time just before the parade started. The Kesslers had pulled into town very late Friday night and had all slept in Saturday morning, so we didn't see them until 11:00. I was lucky enough to be able to hold Laci throughout the whole parade. She slept the whole time - what a good girl :).
And no parade would be complete without seeing at least one of your relatives in it; this year it was my cousin Darrin's boys. The three of them were riding their dirtbikes and four-wheelers in the parade with one of their friends. We headed down to eat lunch and jump in the bounce house in the park after the parade, then headed home for naps before we met up with everybody at Docs on the Green for pizza and mini golf. It was a "Meet Laci and Celebrate Derek and Mason's Birthdays party." We had a great time of course, especially with the little scooters they have down there to ride around - I think my sister had the best time of all on those :). Needless to say, by the end of the night we were all worn out!

Sunday, after pulling mounds of weeds out of the yard, we made our way to Dan's parents house for our first bbq of the day. We even attempted to get a picture of all nine of the Morford cousins, but Derek was having nothing to do with that! Later that afternoon we headed up to my sister's house for another bbq. We had a blast visiting with everyone and the boys had a great time playing in the pit of a newly dug foundation {the benefits of living in a new housing development!}. I forgot to take my camera, but my dad is supposed to be sending me pictures {hint, hint}, so I'll post some later. Overall, it was a great, busy, event filled weekend!

It's a bird...

2009-04-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

it's a plane! Lots of planes, actually. On Saturday we took the boys out to a model airplane strip that's here in Zillah. The people that own it have the ultimate set-up, with their own take-off/landing strip and huge field to fly them around in. I had never been out there, so I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. The owners host a big get-together every year for fellow plane fanatics, and I was shocked by how many people were there. There were at least 40 RVs lined up on the outside of the fenced flying field. They have a spot to drive up to as well, so you can get a better view of the planes. Talk about obsessed! Not that I can say anything, since I'm married to someone who takes his hobbies very seriously :).
Since it was so windy on Saturday we were only able to take a tour of the planes, where I asked the boys to pick out their favorite so I could take their picture. Kaden immediately wanted his picture taken with the plane that was driven by SpongeBob. Tanner wanted his picture taken by all of them, because they were all 'just so cool!'. And Chase, well, if you know Chase you won't be surprised that he couldn't find one he liked the most. Apparently that was just too much pressure for him. He would need at least another few days to make up his mind {seriously, could this kid get any more like his dad?!}. The boys also thought it was hilarious when we found a plane being driven by Woody from Toy Story - I'm telling you this place was a little boys paradise!
We were only able to watch one plane fly on Saturday, but our friends Rob and Kerri called and told us that they were flying again on Sunday. Dan loaded the boys up and took them back out. He said he was bored with watching them after about a half hour, but the boys couldn't get enough. Chase wanted to watch every one of them fly. Dan let them stay for about 2 hours {way longer than I would have!}, and they came home with little particle board planes one of the men there gave them. I think Kaden had his broke in two before they got home. I'm pretty sure he's destroyed Tanner's too. And I'm pretty sure Chase has found a new obsession. This will definitely be an annual trip from now on!

Where the Dinosaurs Roam...

2009-04-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

is in the Yakima Sundome!
Yesterday my mom and dad, brother, sister, nephew Hunter, Dan, the boys and I headed up to see the amazing creatures. It was an awesome show - they all looked so real {though Chase did point out it would have been better if you hadn't been able to see the guy's feet in the small dinosaur}. Tanner got scared in a couple of places, but mostly from the loud music. He asked why they had to play that scary music every time there was a dinosuar. He also said he knew they weren't real because they were EXTINCT! He yelled that last one really loud, in typical Tanner fashion, so I'm sure everyone around us knows that fact now as well :). Kaden got really excited when the baby T-Rex was being chased by two other dinosaurs. He kept asking 'Where's his mama?'. When the HUGE mama T-Rex came in he yelled 'Go get 'em!'. I thought he was especially cute when he asked Hunter if he could sit on his lap and Hunter was more than happy to oblige. Those cute boys made it totally worth the hefty price!

Rough Riders!

2009-04-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

The boys have caught the dirt bike riding bug - to a point. They love the whole idea of riding the bike, but are still trying to figure out the whole control issue. Don't get me wrong, they can both keep the bike really steady, but they have trouble remembering which is the gas and which is the brake. Not always good. But oh, they looked so darn cute and had so much fun! The only one who didn't have a good time was Kaden, since he DESPERATELY wanted to ride too. Don't worry little guy, your time will be here long before mommy wants it to be!

Which is worse...

2009-04-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

the fact that my 8-year-old drew this picture, or the fact that I laughed so hard when I saw it that water almost came out my nose?

You've got to admit there's some true artistic genius there... magazine, t.p. holder, even a smiling toilet. I've just got to say thank you dad, for blessing me with my warped sense of humor, and passing it on to my children :).

Happy Birthday Derek!

2009-04-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

We hope your 2nd birthday brought you everything a boy could wish for! We miss you and hope to see you soon!

Laci Joy Kessler

2009-04-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

She's here! Dan's sister Jamie gave birth to a little girl today at 12:11 pm in Lebanon, Oregon. She weighed in at 7.5 lbs. and 20.5 in. and is the first girl for Jamie and Keith after three little boys!! Mason, Luke, and Derek are beyond excited and are going to be great big brothers!
We can't wait to meet you little girl!

Easter Eggcitement!

2009-04-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun, busy Easter weekend! Bright and early Saturday we headed over to Dan's parents house for brunch before they left for Oregon. They had baskets for the kids and eggs hidden around the backyard. The kids had a blast hunting and playing with the 'squirters' that were in their baskets. Everyone present managed to get wet at some point! We visited for awhile, then headed up to our brother-in-law Mike's parent's house for their annual egg hunt. The boys had a good time, and Chase and Tanner both found one of the 'golden' eggs - and scored big chocolate bunnies!

That night we came home and colored some eggs. Aunt Melissa and Uncle Chad had bought Tanner a camo egg dyeing kit for his birthday and we thought we'd give it a try. What a mess! It didn't work quite as well as we'd hoped, and it stained everything {especially Kaden's hands}, but the boys had a lot of fun and the eggs looked pretty cool too.

Sunday morning the boys were up and digging through their baskets bright and early. After the excitement of candy and treats wore down we managed to get them into their Easter outfits. We headed to church at 9:30 for ANOTHER egg hunt. After listening to some great songs and a wonderful message, the kids were split into age groups. Of course, our boys were in three different groups! Dan went with Kaden, I went with Tanner, and Chase headed over by himself. Once the 3-5 year-olds cleared their field in record time, we headed over to Kaden's side. Since there weren't very many 0-2 year-olds, there were still a lot of eggs. Tanner and Kaden both filled their baskets to the top! We then found Chase, who managed to find quite a few himself :). We headed inside for an amazing message from our wonderful pastor, then on home for brunch with my family.

We were going to let the kids hunt the eggs they'd dyed, in addition to the few we'd filled with candy, but the weather took a turn for the worse. Oh, well, it wasn't like they hadn't hunted anywhere else! We had a great time visiting with everyone, and enjoyed some good food. After, I spent close to an hour sorting through the four Easter baskets each boy had received, taking over half of the candy to school for treats that will last me throughout the year! It was a great weekend, but it went by way too fast!

He is Risen

2009-04-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

Matthew 28:1-10
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." (NIV)

Have a wonderful, blessed Easter!

A Walk in the Sunshine...

2009-04-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

We took a family walk the other night down the road to our usual spot. The boys love walking to the canal where they can throw rocks and sticks. On the way there they got an even bigger treat - a bulldozer! Kaden was in heaven :). The county is reinforcing the sides of the canal right now, so in addition to the bulldozer there was every boy's dream - dirt piles and huge dirt clods. After the boys threw a few of those in we figured we'd better head back - we didn't want anyone sliding down the side or falling in because they'd thrown half the dirt into the water!

Our walk back was breathtaking. The sun was just setting, and there was no wind to speak of {a rarity these days}. Oh how I love the quiet, peaceful corner of the world I call home.

Cooped Up...

2009-04-02T15:26:00.001-07:00

Spring Break + Nasty Weather =

Seriously, this wind needs to blow out of here!!

She's 5!

2009-03-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Madison! May all your birthday wishes come true!

Sticker Pickin'

2009-03-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

Today has been one of those absolutely crazy days with Kaden - and of course, Dan's at work. First, this morning, as he was running around in his usual diaper-only glory, he fell against the small space heater we have in the family room. He was left with two heater shaped marks across his leg, and a little bit of peeling skin. He said it hurt, but didn't cry or fuss much. A little burn ointment seemed to make him feel much better.
I finally got him to lay down for a nap this afternoon so I could get in the shower {I don't know why, but I just don't trust that guy when he's left with just his brothers in charge...}. Not two minutes after I got in the shower did Chase come knocking on the door. 'Mom, Kaden is out of his crib!'. What? Okay, so now he can climb out of his crib {Dan and I had secretly been hoping he'd sleep in there until he was about five, but we knew it was wishful thinking - he has lasted much longer than the other two though}. I just let him run around - I wasn't going to cut my coveted shower time short to put him back in bed.
About 15 minutes after I got out of the shower I noticed his nose was running and he was sniffing a lot. I assumed he was getting a cold, though nobody else around us had had one. A couple minutes later he came to me with tissue in hand, wanting me to blow his nose. I wiped it, then he sneezed. And what came out was not what I expected. A little wad of sticker out the left nostril. Another sneeze, another sticker. Yes, the same stickers I had let him stick all over a piece of paper earlier. Apparently he had pulled them all off and decided to use them elsewhere. I looked up his nose to see if he had any more up there, and sure enough, more sticker in the right nostril. I took him into the bathroom, dug out my tweezers, and pulled out a nasty ole tractor sticker. But I still wasn't done, as there was one more behind that one. I'm pretty sure that was all. I can't see anymore up there anyway, and he's stop sniffling. I asked him if he put the stickers up his nose. His reply? 'No, I eat them!'. Oh, Kaden...

Kid Quotes

2009-03-17T21:07:00.001-07:00

Just a couple of funny things some kids in my life have said in the past few days that gave me a good chuckle...

I was rinsing my newly colored hair out in the kitchen sink:
Tanner: 'Momma, what are you doing?'
Me: 'Rinsing out my hair - I just colored it.'
Tanner: 'Oh, is it going to be a rainbow?!'

A conversation with one of my 1st grade students:
C: 'Teacher, I'm moving this weekend.'
Me: 'You are? Where to?'
C: 'Africa.'
Me: 'What? Africa? Are you sure?'
C: 'Uh... yes?'
Me: 'Africa, like the continent?'
C: 'I think.'
Me: 'Do you think it could be Yakima?'
C: 'Yes, that's it!'

*He was still at school on Monday ;)

Kids are just so darn cute!

Happy Birthday Tan Man!

2009-03-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

Tanner is FIVE today!! Wow, time sure has been flying by way too fast! We celebrated with a fun Transformers birthday party Saturday night at our house. Tanner was pretty excited to have all of his cousins here, including the ones from Oregon. The kids spent the night playing upstairs, while the adults visited downstairs. He received some really cool stuff, including a new "Bumblebee" bike from us. Now if only the weather would cooperate so he could ride it!
I hope you have the best birthday my little man - you deserve it!

monster trucks, Monster Trucks, MONSTER TRUCKS!

2009-03-15T22:28:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to the TRAC building in Pasco on Saturday to see the Monster Truck Nationals show. Now, it's not Monster Jam, and we did go to the 2:00 show, so it wasn't quite as exciting as it could have been, but to quote Chase, "That was AWESOME!". In addition to the monster trucks they had motorcross bikes, quads, and tough trucks (Tan's favorite). They also had Transoraus Rex - the truck that changes into a fire breathing dinosaur that eats cars. The boys thought it was really cool, even though Tanner hid behind me while he watched it ;). After a quick stop at the HUGE Pasco Wal-Mart for helium we made it home just in time to finish making the cupcakes and snack food for Tan's birthday party. I'll post some more about that tomorrow - on my big guy's 5th birthday!! And of course, I have to wish my wonderful sister a happy 32nd today!! Love you Sis :).

3-D Shoot

2009-03-09T23:07:00.000-07:00

Dan took Chase and Tanner down to the 3-D archery shoot at the Eagles Park in Toppenish on Saturday for a cold day of shooting. He said that Tanner liked it for a while, but of course he got pretty restless about two hours into it. Chase though, had a great time. He shot 14 of the targets, and even shot another perfect 10 on the buffalo {he's pointing out his arrow in the picture}. Kaden and I ran to Toppenish to order Tanner's birthday cake at Safeway, then to Yakima to buy a few party items. Dan and the boys came home once the wind picked up, since Tanner can't stand the wind. I'm just looking forward to next year when he can take all three of the boys and I can have a day all to myself :).

Got Doughnuts?

2009-03-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

Tanner's preschool sold Krispy Kreme doughnuts last month as a fundraiser. They came in on Monday - and ours were gone by Tuesday :). He did pretty well, selling 19 dozen, while the school as a whole made a good little profit for some new classroom materials. Not a bad fundraiser - quick, easy, and YUMMY!

It's About Respect - Check It Out!

2009-03-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

Chase's school held their "spring" concert last night with half of the student body. They split up the grades so that half of the first, second and third grades are singing one night, and the other half the next night. The main reason for splitting them up is room. The Performing Arts Center at the high school is brand-new, and really nice, but it's not very big. It was a tight squeeze fitting in the parents, grandparents, and siblings of 7 classes - so there's no way 14 would fit! I made sure we got there extra early so we could get good seats, and save some spots for both sets of grandparents. Luckily we were all able to sit together. The theme for the concert this year was "Together We Can," which is the school motto. All of the songs were about friendship and respect. Dan kept teasing Chase, asking him if they were going to sing R-E-S-P-E-C-T by Aretha Franklin, or the theme song from Friends. Chase didn't find the humor in that as much as I did, especially when I pictured all of the kids clapping the part in the Friends song ('So no one told you life was gonna be this way, du du du du du')! The last song the second graders sang was a cute little rap, and I caught it on video. It's funny to watch Chase, because about half way through he notices I'm filming him and he keeps glancing over while he sings. He did a really great job; he thought it was so much fun! It's good to see him finally getting into these sorts of things and not being quite so nervous or shy about them. He's slowly coming out of his shell :).

The "Movie Theater"

2009-02-25T22:06:00.000-08:00

Tonight the boys decided they were going to make the playroom into their movie theater. They turned off the lights, laid their beanbag chairs and blankets down on the floor, and came downstairs long enough to get bowls of popcorn. They then watched the movie everyone's been dying to see... 'The Tom and Jerry Movie.' Dan and I let them enjoy the movie by themselves. We figured we'd watch it alone some night -it's so romantic and all.

The lights were turned off in this picture - I just forgot to turn the flash off...

Tan Man

2009-02-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

I just had to post this picture of Tanner because 1)it's just so darn cute and 2)I know I'm going to turn around and he's going to be wearing a shirt that says the name of a college name rather than 'Preschool.' Just trying to take it all in before time flies away from me...

My Little Valentines

2009-02-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

We had a fun Valentine's Day yesterday, giving the boys a couple of treats, then sending them off to Grandma and Grandpa's for the night :). Dan and I then went out to dinner at the Ranch House in Yakima, then to the movies. We saw 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' and it was sooo good. Best movie we've seen in a while {and the 3 hours we were in the theater flew by!}. We always enjoy the day of love around here :).

The pancakes Dan made us for breakfast...

The Bench

2009-02-10T20:53:00.000-08:00

I fell in love with a bench and coat rack from Pottery Barn Kids, but obviously there is no way I am going to spend the money on them. The bench is $299 and the rack $119. Also, they only come in this strange green color, which doesn't go with my decor at all. So, I convinced my awesome husband to make me one. Using the picture out of the PB Kids catalog he managed to make me an exact replica. I also got to paint it a color I love. I bought the bins underneath at Target, and painted the little stars that I found at Craft Warehouse and put our initials on each one. (It looks shiny in the picture, but it's not. It's just the reflection of light from the camera). I think Dan did an amazing job, and it's already come in so handy!

The Pottery Barn Kids version...

Dan's version...

Um... Thank You?

2009-02-09T20:46:00.000-08:00

Today I received the most random gift I've ever received in my 12 years of teaching. Now, don't get me wrong. I know this gift was from the heart, and that the student that gave it to me was trying to do something special. It showed me how much she likes me {especially when she pulled it out of her backpack in a very dramatic fashion}. Are you ready for this? Dum dum dum dum...

Oh, yeah. They're used. Wonder if mom knows they're missing from her closet.

{Party Time}

2009-02-02T23:04:00.000-08:00

Chase had a great time on Saturday partying with his cousins and friends. We had all the grandparents, the great grandmas, lots of cousins, and McKenna and Delaney over. He received lots of awesome gifts {including more Star Wars Legos!} and lots of money to spend on more stuff :). Wall-E was busting out everywhere, and everyone had fun trying on the Wall-E glasses. It was even nice enough for the kids to play outside for awhile while the guys shot them with the Nerf Blasters. Tomorrow I'm taking half of the day off work to take Chase up to his 8-year well-check and to Toys R Us to spend some of that birthday cash. I'm looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with him. Time is just flying by way too fast!!

Our Birthday Boy

2009-01-31T22:52:00.000-08:00

Chase turns 8 today! I can't believe how fast the last 8 years have flown by! He's gone from a sweet, round-faced, happy baby, to a sweet, loving, smart boy. We couldn't ask for more in a son. We're so proud to call him ours :)

Crazy for Cupcakes

2009-01-29T21:59:00.000-08:00

Tonight the boys and I made cupcakes for Chase to take to school tomorrow. It's hard to believe he's going to be 8 on Saturday! He loves WallE, so that's the theme we are going with this year. I made him WallE invitations in Photoshop, and found all kinds of cool party stuff at www.toyhunt.com. I found WallE cupcake liners and rings to go on top, as well as some flags to go on top of the cupcakes I'm making for his family party. I decided I didn't want to make his cake this year - too busy with report cards and three kids :). So, we ordered a WallE one from Safeway - they can do a much better job than I can for a small price. Tomorrow night Gma Carolin and Gpa Gary are meeting us in Yakima for dinner, then taking Chase to Toys R Us to pick out his birthday present. They like to do this with the grandkids - it gives them some special one-on-one time. We're partying here on Saturday - just a small thing with family {and of course, McKenna :}. All I want to know now is, why is my baby growing up so fast?!

Licking the batter bowl...

'WallE' rings for the boys...

'Eve' rings for the girls...

The invite...

Bunk Beds!

2009-01-24T14:25:00.000-08:00

Chase and Tanner have had a set of bunk beds ever since Tanner moved out of the crib, but we've never set them up. Tanner was too little at first, then we sort of got used to them being down and forgot that they were bunk beds :). The other day I asked the boys if they were ready for bunk beds yet, and of course they said yes. Tanner wanted to know when he could be on the top bunk {we told him when he and Kaden shared the beds - whenever that may be}. We've only had to rescue Kaden from the top about 15 times, and he's only fallen off the steps twice, so not too bad! The boys are having a great time, and they have room for one whole side of their bedroom to be a GeoTrax town; according to Chase they've now built Zillah, Yakima and Toppenish. They're working on Granger next. I think with the amount of GeoTrax they own they just may be able to create the whole valley :).

Happy 3rd Birthday...

2009-01-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

to our adorable niece, Rhyan!

Morford Mayhem

First Camping Trip of the Summer...

Farm Days

Community Days

Baseball 2010

Teddy Bear Picnic

Howdy Partner!

Tanner's 6th Birthday

3-D Shoot

Kindergarten Basketball

House Projects

Chase is 9!

Happy New Year!

Christmas '09

Some Christmas Fun...

School Christmas Program

Winter Fun

Hunting Wabbits...

Halloween... finally

The Pumpkin Patch

Kindergarten Field Trip

How Corny

Apple Party

Fair*N*Dipity

Rock On!

Jones Farm

School's Back in Session...

House Redecorating: Kaden Style

Lodgepole

Chase's New Room...

This says it all...

The Columbia

When you just can't get the door unlocked fast enough...

New Flooring

They really are little monkeys...

Pool Hoppers

Wheeeee!

Summer Fun!

Vacation Day 4: Dry Falls

Vacation Day 3: Cabelas and Grand Coulee Dam

Vacation Day 2: Boulder Beach

Vacation Day 1: Silverwood

The Yard

4th of July

Tonka Time!

My Baby is Three!

Look Out!

Playing in the Mountains

Hause Creek Camping Trip

This is what I get...

He's got fashion sense...

The Farmer in the Corn...

It's time for couples skate...

Our Preschool Graduate

Baseball '09

Memorial Day Weekend

Zillah Community Days

It's a bird...

Where the Dinosaurs Roam...

Rough Riders!

Which is worse...

Happy Birthday Derek!

Laci Joy Kessler

Easter Eggcitement!

He is Risen

A Walk in the Sunshine...

Cooped Up...

She's 5!

Sticker Pickin'

Kid Quotes

Happy Birthday Tan Man!

monster trucks, Monster Trucks, MONSTER TRUCKS!

3-D Shoot

Got Doughnuts?

It's About Respect - Check It Out!

The "Movie Theater"

Tan Man

My Little Valentines

The Bench

Um... Thank You?

FairNDipity