On the move

Weekend Recap

2012-02-06T09:20:00.001-08:00

Its been a while since I've posted, but we finally had a noteworthy weekend, so I'll share a little in this post.

*With the winter comes awesome weekends to get things done around my house. We've finally finished painting the living room area, and it feels more like home. Good luck to the people who buy our house someday when they try to paint over the red. But, oh well, I love it!

*Easton got a faux-hawk, and he looks super cool!

*Ginny's first tooth is about to make its appearance. Probably over the next 2 days or so.

*We watched the super bowl, and my parents came down to visit. Its funny that we live so close, but haven't seen each other in about a month. Obviously, the kids weren't into the football game as much, so they watched a movie in the other room.

*Scott and I have begun doing bodyrock! It kicks our trash on a daily basis. If you don't know what it is, check it out at bodyrock.tv

*I'm also playing in a city volleyball league with a couple of girls from my ward and stake. Its lots of fun, but they are late games. We start at 9:30pm, and so I usually don't get to bed until midnight on game nights.

*Max is starting to get the hang of sacrament meeting after almost 3 years of attending. We only had to take him out twice on Sunday, a new record.

*Easton won another award at school. Go figure!

*Ginny has become quite the mama's girl, and cries when I hand her over to Scott, especially when she is hungry or tired. It is sometimes a pain when I need to get something done, but it is also kind of nice, because Scott was the definite favorite with all of our boys during this stage.

9 and 9

2011-12-30T08:42:00.001-08:00

Scott and I just celebrated our 9th Anniversary! We had a lovely evening of dinner and a movie. There isn't much else to tell about that, except that we still love each other after 9 years!

But one cute little girl in our family just turned 9 months. She is lots more fun to talk about and take pictures of. Here are some notable things about the last couple of months:

*Still no teeth!
*Mastering the finger food thing.
*Crawling and leaving no corner of our house unexplored.
*Pulling herself up to standing!!! Ahh, she is too small for these things!
*Still giggles for her silly brothers everyday.
*Weighs 14 pounds and is just under 26 inches. (Itty-bitty!)

Christmas Countdown

2011-12-30T08:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of all the stuff we did over Christmas break, because that is too many pictures to load onto my blog.

*Decorated 2 Christmas trees (ours and my parents)
*Decorated sugar cookies (twice)
*Watched one school Christmas concert
*Saw Santa (3 times!)
*Watched 2 light show displays
*Decorated Gingerbread houses
*Went bowling
*Played at the arcade
*Watched Christmas movies
*Went on a Jingle Bell walk
*Delivered goodies to neighbors and friends
*Saw 2 reindeer (I believe it was Prancer and Dancer)
*Acted out the Nativity
*Opened presents (twice)
*Had one family portrait session
*Attended an awesome Sacrament meeting
*Celebrated a wonderful Christmas with my whole family!

Shovelling Snow

2011-12-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

Shovelling snow is serious business!

Family Pictures 2011

2011-11-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

Family Picture Outakes

2011-11-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

Did anyone notice that Max is in everyone of these pictures?

Saturday night at the movies

2011-11-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

Movie tickets: $0
Concession stand: $0
"Concessions": $3.50
Money to buy concessions: $0
Movie Theater: $0
Movie Rental: $1

Easton exclaiming, "Mom, this was the best surprise ever!": Priceless!
And all of the boys agreed.

But seriously, it was one of the best, and cheapest, family Saturday nights we've had in a long time. We'll definitely be doing this one again.

Happy Post-Halloween

2011-11-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

This year's Halloween felt like a sprint all day. I took my kids plus one extra to Trick-or-Treating on Main Street (never again!...or at least go earlier next year).
The kids thought it was fun, and I'm surprised I didn't lose anyone.

Ginny was just happy to be along for the ride,

and Max was happy to just sit in the stroller and eat his loot half way through.
One hour of standing in long lines to get about 15 peices of candy was not my idea of a good time, but the kiddos were more than thrilled with what they got.

Later that evening we went around our neighborhood. Max and Luke were already tired and wanted to go back home after visiting the 10 houses in our little subdivision. My friend and I took Easton and her son to one more subdivision though, and their bags got heavy enough that we (the moms) had to carry them back home. What kind of dessert can I make with all this candy to get rid of it faster?

And cheer the Cougars of BYU!

2011-10-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

on the move

2011-10-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

For a laugh

2011-10-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

he lost it!

2011-10-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

Easton finally lost his first tooth. He has been hard at work wiggling that tooth for a good month now. Yesterday he had me give it a try, but then it started to hurt a little, so I told him to do it. He ripped that sucker right out! He was a little disgusted that blood was involved, but he thought it was awesome. He was so excited to put it under his pillow last night. Actually, we didn't put it there, he was nervous that it might get lost, or the tooth fairy wouldn't be able to reach it, so we put it on the shelf next to his bed. At 4am he came into our room to tell Scott that the tooth fairy left him a dollar and a note in a tiny envelope (cute idea I got on pinterest). It was like Christmas morning!
p.s. This is perfect timing. We have family pictures tomorrow.

he's five

2011-10-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Luke is five. I also can't believe that he is an inch taller than Easton, and that he can read like the dickens and hasn't even begun school yet. Yep, Lucas is one smart kiddo. He is also one of the most random, loveable, goofy, and sensitive boys you'll meet. I am enjoying watching my kids NOT grow up in certain ways. I love that he has no idea about larger things in life, and just loves to play and read books all day long. He loves to pretend to be super heroes. He loves to just run around on the field during soccer games, even though he only touches the ball probably twice during the entire game. He loves primary, and he loves to wave at us in the congregation whenever the children are asked to do a musical number. He loves to draw a zillion pictures a day lately, and then find a spot for every single one of them on my fridge. He loves to help me, and when we are baking, he makes sure we've added all of the "ingredients". And no matter how big he gets, he still loves to cuddle, and he loves to be tickled.

He is smart, he is tall, and most people just assume he is Easton's twin. But I'm glad he is not. I am glad he is still a silly 5 year old, instead of a "growing-more-serious-everyday" six year old. I am enjoying watching him grow up, but still stay young at the same time. Happy 5th birthday, Lucas!

"Grampa's cycle!"

2011-10-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

All of the boys finally had their first ride on Grandpa's motorcycle. And in the words of Max: "Its cool!" Enjoy.

If you listen really closely in Max's video, right before I start laughing, you can hear him yell "Woo-hoo!" (I didn't get a video of Luke riding, because he decided that he wanted to ride about 10 minutes later after the other two boys had taken a few turns.)

Ginny 6 Months

2011-09-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Ginny is 6 months old next week, and she has started a few new exciting things. She loves her exersaucer, and I was surprised that she was big enough to touch the floor when sitting inside it.
We've also started to give her some solid foods. Contrary to this cute picture, she is not a big fan.

And this is just a cute picture, because this is how I found them this morning when I was finished getting ready.

1st day of school part 2

2011-09-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

Lucas started preschool today (hooray!) Luke was so excited, that he started to wear his backpack at 7:20 this morning. School doesn't begin until 8:15. It is on M,W,F for 2 hours. If only I could unload Max onto someone, I could get a whole lot done in those 2 hours.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, Scott and I worked on this: And Ginny worked on this:

Playing Dress-up

2011-09-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

My mom gave me all of my baby clothes that she had saved when I found out that I was having a baby girl. Ginny never really wore these clothes, and it is starting to get colder outside, so I thought it would be fun to play a little dress-up and take pictures of her in all of my old baby clothes.

New Routine

2011-08-29T17:31:00.001-07:00

Easton just begun 1st grade! I can't believe he will be gone all day long. He leaves with Scott at 7:30am and gets home on the bus at 3pm. That is a very long time for me to be away from Easton. He was pretty nervous about eating lunch at school, but I think he had a great first day. A few of his friends from last year are in his class, and he has a cool teacher, Mr. Zimmerman. Next week, Luke will start going to preschool 3 days a week. I haven't decided what I am always going to do with that free time, but today, I made Blackberry Jam! Hooray for a new school year!

Soccer and the big "5"!

2011-08-27T13:55:00.001-07:00

Easton and Luke just started soccer season. This is the first time they have played the sport, and this is the first sport ever for Luke. They really like their new cleats, their new soccer friends, and practice. They aren't too fond of the games, though. Too much running around in the hot sun, I guess. Luke is on the Lightning Bolts, and Easton is a Wild Bobcat. Soccer is going to pretty much run our lives for the next two months.

Max had to join in the fun!

Easton is the smallest on his team.

And Luke is the tallest on his team.

And little Miss Ginny is now 5 months old! It still seems like she was born only about a month ago. She is getting really big, although to others she still looks like she is 2 months old. She is a jabber-mouth, and loves to play all day. She is growing up fast, but not too fast, so it is the perfect speed for me!

She already loves her baby doll.

August Trip

2011-08-24T16:24:00.001-07:00

We finally had the opportunity to take a vacation. It was a lot of driving, but it was well worth it to see cousins and just play all day. Plus it was a bonus to see Scott everyday for one whole week! We first drove to Utah and stayed with Scott's parents for a day. We played with cousins, horses, chickens, 4-wheelers, and went swimming at the Provo pool. Then we drove to Las Vegas for the Nelson reunion (Scott's mom's family). We stayed with his brother and played with even more cousins, and did a lot of swimming. We even went down to the Strip for about an hour and showed the boys the Lions at MGM and the Bellagio fountains. The reunion was good and it was even catered by Cafe Rio (good call, Justin!). We capped the weekend off by being able to see our new neice Delila be blessed in church (she is 5 weeks younger than Ginny). I even got to see my little sister and spend some time with her when we were in Vegas. We were surprised at how well our kids did. Ginny had the hardest time in the car, which surprised me. I thought she would just sleep the whole time, but I guess that wonderful newborn phase has passed. Thanks to everyone in Utah and Las Vegas that made 4 days of driving well worth it. We had a great vacation!

Swimmin' in the river

2011-07-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

This is what Max did for the majority of the time.

The water was pretty chilly.

Ginny was just happy to be there.

Scott surprised us all yesterday by taking the afternoon off of work. As soon as he got home, we packed a picnic and headed down to the river. We've thrown rocks in the river, but the kids have never swam in it. It was pretty cold at first, but then the sun really started to heat things up. Once the kids got used to the water, they loved it! It was such a great afternoon to spend as a family.

The Butte

2011-07-27T08:53:00.001-07:00

On our way to the top

We made it!

Max made it too, with a lot of encouragement (carrying).

Ginny was just along for the ride.

We've lived in Hermiston for over a year now, and we just hiked the Butte for the first time. We didn't know what trail to take to get to the top, so it took a little longer than was needed, but we made it, and the kids loved looking at Hermiston from way up high.

One Fish, Two Fish...

2011-07-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

Easton and Luke finished another successful session of swim lessons. Easton will get to move up another level next year, and Luke is finally comfortable in the water and just wants to swim all over the place now. Looking at Luke this year, you would have never thought he was afraid of the water last year. Max and Ginny did good too walking laps with me around the pool in the double stroller. I am so excited for next year when all three boys will get to do swim lessons and I'll finally feel comfortable taking them to the pool during the day by myself.

Ginny's Room

2011-07-04T13:43:00.001-07:00

I have finally completed Ginny's room. Well, at least 99% finished. I still have to finish one of her letters and hang another picture, but the rest of the room is beautiful and I couldn't be more happy with how it turned out. I have absolutely loved decorating this little girl's room. My final project was doing the letters in her name. I got the letters months ago at Hobby Lobby, and then I finally decided how I was going to display them when I happened across these 3 frames, and 2 wall decorations at Goodwill. They turned out so cute! You can kind of get an idea of what it looked like before the spray paint, and cute scrapbook paper. I love turning trash into treasure!

3 Months Old!

2011-06-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

Time is sure flying by fast, especially since Ginny is such a happy and easy baby. She sleeps 10-11 hours straight at night, and eats every 3.5-4 hours during the day. She naps wonderfully, except in the evening. Every night from about 5:30-7:30 she cries. She doesn't want to sleep, and can't cry herself to sleep, so she just cries. She is getting better at that evening nap, and sometimes can lull herself to sleep, but that is really the only part of the day that she struggles. But we still love her anyway! She is growing like a weed, and these pictures are fun to document just how much she has grown. Pictures are of 3 months, and of her first week.

Growing Pains

2011-06-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

These kiddos are growing up before my very eyes. And somedays I find it sad, not every day, but some of the days. Here are some of the fun things that they do these days.

Ginny is such a sweet girl. She has such a calm and sweet disposition, and I hope that she stays that way forever. She is still our tiny little girl and at 3 months old she weighs only 9 pounds and is about 22 inches long. I wish that she could stay this small forever. She smiles all the time and we are still anxiously awaiting her first little giggles.

My wild boy Max! He keeps me on my toes, and I always know when he is about to do something naughty, because he will close the door of whatever room he is in, or he will come close the door of whatever room I am in, so that I cannot see what he is about to do. His favorite naughty spots to get into involve food. If the frig door has not been latched (yes, we have to lock it), then you can bet to find all the fruit has miraculously disappeared, or that he is trying to pry off the lid of the Worchestershire sauce because he thinks it is "juice." I've also seen whole boxes of cereal dumped out on my living room floor. He still fights us in bed at night, and we have to flip the breaker, and put a child lock on the door knob so that he can't get out. His antics can be exhausting, but then he says "giggla, giggla, Me!" and I just can't refuse to pop in his favorite Despicable Me DVD. That is how Max talks. Everything begins with "giggla, giggla". "Giggla, giggla ball" and "Giggla, giggla swing", etc. But my new all time favorite saying of his, is his new phrase for hooray: "Go Cougars!" For example, Me: "Max, do you want some crackers?" Max: "Crackers?! Go Cougars!" He'll say that for anything that he is really amped about.

Oh my dreamy eyed boy, Lucas. It will take me 30 minutes of reminders just to get him dressed in the morning, but he can remember words of a song that we just listened to on the radio. The other evening as we were making dinner, Scott was singing Usher's song "Oh oh oh-oh, oh-oh oh oh-oh..." and Luke finished him off with "Oh my gosh!" He completely took us by surprise, we'll have to really be careful around this boy of what he hears and sees because his brain is such a sponge. He isn't as rough and tumble as his brothers are, but he loves to just sit and read books in silence. Books are basically the only thing that can keep him sitting still for more than two seconds at a time. And Luke just loves to cuddle and tell people that he loves them. His new thing is to sit close to Ginny and smile at her until she finally smiles back. He loves his sister.

And my ever growing boy, Easton. He came up with his new superhero "Jetpack" today, by putting on this new backpack we recieved from a friend, and then told me that Jetpack pulls up the handle and it makes him fly. This is not the first superhero that he has created, his list also includes "Waterman" and "Fireman" both of which have provided us with oodles of illustrations and explanations on what their powers are. He surprises us with questions that are deeper than most 5-6 year olds think, such as "Do numbers ever end?" He is also so sensitive to others and to the spirit, and he is gaining a real ability to understand the spirit. I am loving to see him grow is such awesome ways.

Lastly, another thing about Max, do you notice his lack of pants in the previous picture? That is an everyday occurance. Mostly, when he ventures outside. The pants just have to come off. Oh these kids, I sure do love them, even when they drive me crazy.

Star Wars Party

2011-06-08T19:37:00.001-07:00

(light saber cupcakes)

(one of many star wars lego sets, and I don't know why this picture flipped the wrong way)

(Scott as Darth Vader. This was the best part of the whole party!)

For Easton's 6th birthday, he wanted a Star Wars party. I made him cute little cupcakes that looked like two light sabers were fighting, they played pin the light saber on Yoda, and the best part, was every little boy had a chance to try and defeat Darth Vader. This party was seriously thrown together at the last minute. I was deciding that morning what we were going to do at this Star Wars party. I'm glad that all 12 boys, yes 12!, had a great time. Scott also got a great workout being Darth Vader, and only suffered minor injuries. And of course, Easton was thrilled with his new bike and all the Star Wars themed toys that he got from family and friends.

(New Cars bike)

(And a hug for dad who put it together)

Memorial Day

2011-06-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

We were so glad to have Scott's parents with us for the weekend. They pointed out to us that they have been with us for the past 3 Memorial Day weekends. They finally got to meet their new grandchild Ginny. She loved to snuggle with her Grandpa. We just hung out all weekend, ate food, and tried to enjoy what good weather came our way, although there wasn't much of it. I think the kids' favorite time with them was down at the river throwing rocks and sticks in the water. Our boys could've stayed there all day long if we let them. It was really just a great relaxing weekend.

Blessing

2011-05-31T15:43:00.000-07:00

The dress. (So pretty!)

The bracelet.

Ginny and her namesake.

The whole gang.

The back of the dress.

Ginny was blessed on Sunday in church by Scott. It was so nice having both Grandpas in the circle. She wore a beautiful white dress that my mom made for her, and then I made her a bracelet with crystal and aquamarine beads (her birthstone). She looked so pretty, and then we all ate a delicious, and large, lunch after church at our house.

2 Months

2011-05-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

This sweet little girl is already 2 months old. We can hardly believe it! I just packed away all of her NB size clothes yesterday and it was a sad day. I'm so glad that she came a little early and was really small. That way she'll stay small longer than normal. She is doing good eating and has chunked up quite a bit. We think she is around 8 pounds now. She is also more alert, and has started to really smile at us. It is just too precious. We even think she is cute at 4am when she thinks it is time to play. We just love this little girl so much!

Can you tell?

2011-05-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

Can you tell that I made this?
Can you tell that I got the pieces for it at Goodwill?
Can you tell that I only paid $6.25 for it?

Do you like my new cake plate/stand-up platter?
(p.s. I didn't "make it"-make it, but I used some extra strength durable silicone glue to put a crystal candle stick and this fancy crystal platter together to make it a cake stand. And no, I didn't come up with this idea myself, but I saw it on the Rachael Ray show. Cute, huh?!)

Deal of the week

2011-05-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

Here is another awesome coupon story! I got these products at RiteAid.

Original Price: $33.12

Sale Price + coupons: $8.27

Total savings: 75%!!!

Coupons

2011-05-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Over the last 2-3 months, I have started to coupon again. I don't have many options here in Hermiston, but I like Safeway and RiteAid's deals. I've been able to combine coupons and rewards to get packs of diapers essentially for free, and I am saving almost 40-60% each time at the grocery store. At my last Safeway visit I was able to get:

*2 pkgs. Nature Valley Sweet and Salty bars

*1 cake mix

*3 pkgs. Safeway Applesauce cups

*6 jars 18 oz. Safeway Peanut Butter

*3 boxes Kelloggs Frosted Flakes cereal

*2 boxes Post Honey Bunches of Oats cereal

*2 boxes Ziploc Gallon size bags

All for $21.27! It was originally priced at $52.91, for a total of 60% savings. It isn't a whopping 99% savings like those on the show Extreme Couponing, but I think its a pretty good deal. I'm getting better at it, and it makes me so happy to be saving money.

Girls' Weekend

2011-05-02T14:56:00.001-07:00

Both of my sisters were able to come for a weekend to meet Ginny. It was so good to be together again.

My older sisters' daughter, Lucy, loved her new cousin. And this was my first time meeting Lucy, as well. She was born in October. She is such a smiley and happy baby!

The whole gang together again!

We all ate out at Anthony's on the river to celebrate my parents' recent anniversary, and just being together again. We haven't all been together in two years! Thankfully, we'll all be reunited again over Christmas.

(Big Lucy and Little Ginny)

The rest of the weekend was spent shopping, shopping, and more shopping. It was great! The babies were so good for us, and a big shout out to our husbands who stayed with the rest of the kids for the weekend so that we could have some much needed girl time.

And to top off the weekend, we all got to take a spin around the block on my dad's new ride. It was such a good weekend. I wish my sisters lived closer so we could do this more often.

1 Month Old

2011-04-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Ginny in her Easter outfit.

Ginny and Max are becoming the best of friends.

One week old.

One month old.

I still can't believe that one month has already flown by, and it is even more strange that her due date was yesterday. We're sure glad that she decided to come a little early, because we love having her as a part of our family. She weighs about 6 pounds now, and looks so much bigger to us, even though she still stops people in the grocery store who are wondering how tiny she is, how early she was, and so on. We love our little Ginny girl!

2011-04-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend. We went to the Stanfield spaghetti feed/easter egg hunt on Thursday night; Easton had an egg hunt at school on Friday; We went to a friend's house for a bbq/egg hunt on Saturday afternoon; And we got all dressed up and had our own egg hunt on Sunday. We just had Stake Conference on Sunday, and then my parents came down for my birthday dinner, so we waited until almost dinner time to have our own egg hunt. The boys had a lot of eggs to find, because we re-hid all the eggs that they had got at the other previous egg hunts. They had lots of fun and Max was getting really good at finding "gess" (eggs backwards I suppose). And of course, I had lots of fun dressing my little girl up in a pretty Easter dress. What a wonderful weekend!

The beginning of the rest of my life!

2011-04-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

Tball season has officially begun! Scott is in heaven, and Easton is loving it. Surprisingly he is not the smallest one on his team, and he can hit really well off the pitch. He had 2 good grouders in his last game. It was really funny, because the coach had to come and tip Easton's helmet up so that he could actually see the ball being pitched to him. Next lesson to learn: when fielding, watch where the ball is hit, and actually try to catch it.

Breakfast Video

2011-04-10T10:54:00.000-07:00

Breakfast of Champions

2011-04-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

Each year, the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce hosts the Breakfast of Champions for the schools in the surrounding area. We got a note in Easton's backpack that he was selected by his school to recieve this award for being an all around good kid. I didn't think much of it, thinking that there would be a ton of kids, one from each classroom, and that we might watch Easton walk across the stage and recieve a piece of paper in an assembly line like high school graduation or something. I was totally wrong! They served a nice breakfast, and his classroom teacher and his principal were there waiting for us, who had nominated him to get this award. And it wasn't a ton of kids, but Easton was one of 2 kids in his whole school to get this award. His teacher said some nice words about Easton when she presented him with the award, and then he got a framed document, and took a picture with his teacher and Ronald McDonald, who was also on the scene for the ceremony. I was indeed a proud mother today!! (And I'm definitely glad that we went and didn't blow it off this morning.) p.s. I have a video of his presentation, but it isn't wanting to upload right now.

Max is 2!!!

2011-04-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

It seems like only yesterday that we were headed to the hospital after Priesthood session to have Max. His labor was so calm, and delivery so easy. He has been such a good boy ever since. Although, he has learned how to use the favorite 2 year old word, "NO!" I love to watch him explore the world around him, and learn how to communicate with us. He loves to play outside and has recently learned how to climb on the teeter-totter by himself and push it by himself too. I always giggle to myself when I watch him do this, especially when he starts exclaiming "Wee!" He also likes to mimic anything his brothers do and follows them around all day. He also calls both of them "Lu-Cas!" He is growing so fast, and I love to watch him grow into such an awesome little boy. We love our Max!

Who is the real doll?

2011-04-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

I think it is safe to say that Ginny won't be playing with her baby doll for quite some time.

First family photos

2011-03-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

Grandma Virginia and little Virginia

Smiling for the camera

Ready for her hospital photo shoot

Max petting Ginny

Easton and Ginny

Lucas and Ginny

Grandpa and his tiny new granddaughter

The whole Pingel family!

The proud grandparents

Daddy and his daughter (wow, that is weird to say!)

Mommy and her girl

Ready to go home!

It was so much fun introducing Ginny to all of her brothers. Max still refuses to hold her, but he pets her and says "nice". And my dad couldn't believe how tiny she was. Which compared to him, she looks crazy tiny! We finally came home from the hospital yesterday and she only weighed 4 lb. 12 oz. It feels almost illegal to be able to take home a baby when they are that small. But we feel so blessed that she was healthy enough to take home. We remember leaving our little Easton in the NICU for 3 weeks and it was so sad everyday coming home from the hospital without him. It was a little surreal leaving the hospital, but it was quite funny seeing 4 carseats all strapped in the back of our van. We are ready for this new adventure.....I think.

Meet Virginia

2011-03-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

Virginia Marie Pingel

5 lbs. 2 oz.

18.5 inches

March 27, 2011

9:48am

She was born almost 5 weeks early, and so we've had a few glitches along the way, but she is healthy, and beautiful. She looks a lot like Max, and has brown wavy hair which is pretty long in the back. She has already stolen our hearts, and we can't believe how tiny she is. She'll be wearing some preemie clothes for a while along with preemie diapers. We love her so much!

Showered with love

2011-03-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

My good friends in Hermiston gave me a baby shower this last weekend. It was so much fun, and all of the girly stuff was so cute. It makes me feel a little more prepared to have this little girl enter the world. And, for everyone's viewing pleasure, here is my 8 mo. pregnancy photo.

Spring weather

2011-03-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

Can I just say how glad I am that we've received some warmer weather! It was still only in the low 50's, but it was warm enough for the boys to play outside all day, and they even enjoyed their picnic lunch outside too. Hallelujah, I'm ready for spring!

Almost done!

2011-02-24T10:53:00.000-08:00

This tuesday will mark 32 weeks for my pregnancy. I am getting ready for it to be over. There is still a lot of preparation that needs to be done before this little girls' arrival, but at the end of March, we should be completely ready. It is strange to think that I only have about 7 weeks left, give or take a few days. I have never been past 38.5 weeks, so hopefully I won't have to go much further past that point in this pregnancy either. I've been feeling pretty good up until this last week or so, and now I have started the uncomfortable stage. I am just mostly uncomfortable at the end of the day, when my tailbone feels like it is going to crack in half, but other than that I am still plugging along just fine. I'm just starting to have some trouble getting shoes and clothes to fit properly, and putting on socks feels like an Olympic event.

Here are some fun stats of this pregnancy, and my past ones:

*Delivered Easton at 34 weeks (too early); delivered Lucas at 38.5 weeks (felt like an eternity especially after 2 months bedrest); delivered Max just past 37 weeks (perfect!).
*I have recieved 16 shots so far this pregnancy, and I have 4-5 more to go depending on how long the medication lasts.
*Tomorrow is my 14th dr. appt., and I'll continue to have them weekly until I deliver. (BTW, that is a lot, considering most normal pregnancies have 13 visits total if you go all the way to your due date).
*I've had 7 ultrasounds, but have never seen her face. She is extremely shy.
*At the end of this pregnancy, I will have spend 3.25 years of my life being pregnant.
*Scott and I were married in Dec. 2002, and of those years since, I have been pregnant at some point in the calendar years of 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. Lets just say that 2007 was a very good year!

p.s. Can you tell that I am done being pregnant yet?!

Max's thoughts

2011-02-06T19:39:00.001-08:00

Max is becoming a good talker, but still can't communicate much, so I will elaborate on his thought process this Sunday evening.

"Hmmm....Mommy and Daddy are busy talking with their friends and watching the Super Bowl, and my brothers are all acting crazy running around playing with their friends. What should I do to entertain myself? I know! I'll get into the closet in the office because Mommy isn't here to tell me no, and then I'll get out her super sharp Gingher scissors and play with them. Ooh, I think I've seen mommy cut things with this before....I wonder how that works. Let's see! If I hold them pointing down like this I can clip my shirt a few times without clipping my belly. All done, that was fun! Now I'll go run back to Mommy and show her what I did. Uh-oh, Mommy looks confused and not very happy. Oh, but now she is back holding those awesome scissors and laughing a little. I must not be in very much trouble. Now she wants to take some pictures?! I guess I'll say 'cheese' and put on my cutest smile for the camera."

The End.

Baby girl's room: 75% complete!

2011-02-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

My dad came down this morning and helped us put up the major addition of bead board in her room. We had already completed the pink paint, and repainting all of the furniture white, 1-2 weeks ago. Next steps: caulk and paint the bead board, finish curtains and crib skirt, then put up cute decor and pictures on her wall. I think it is turning out to be the most adorable little girls' room ever!!! (Don't you just love the bedding?!)

Craft Crazy!

2011-02-01T16:28:00.000-08:00

I've been having fun hunting down cute craft blogs and copying their stuff. I originally started doing this looking for a cute thing that my Mia Maids could make for mutual, and then it just exploded from there.

I made these tissue rosettes (you can't really tell they are 3D in this picture) and then used an old frame I had and put new paper behind the rosettes. (Tissue streamers: $1.25, paper for backing: $0.85, everything else I already had).

These are the blocks we are actually making for mutual this week. The first side is valentines, the back side is St. Patrick's Day. (This is costing me nothing, because it is a church thing, but it is costing the church about $10 total to make 6 sets of these). A big thanks to friends in the ward for letting me use their Cricket machines, and table saws.

Then I got on a St. Patrick's Day kick. I have nothing in that category for my home holiday decor. The wreath is just a styrofoam wreath wrapped in twine, and then hung with some cute green ribbon. (Wreath: $1.00, twine $2.50, and ribbon $2.00).

And last, this cute little garland that I made. These packs of glittered foam shamrocks were found at the dollar store, and then I punched the holes and strung them on some leftover twine. (2 packs of shamrocks: $2.00, twine: leftover).

And the best thing about these projects, is that I have leftover supplies to work on other crafts for more upcoming holidays! Let the crafting continue!

The letter "i"

2011-01-19T13:24:00.000-08:00

I've been participating in a co-op preschool group with a couple of moms in my ward. We just do it one day a week, for an hour and a half. We aren't following any curriculum, but have decided to just focus on one letter each week, and then let them run around and play. Today we had the letter "I". We traced the letter I, cut out pictures that start with the letter and pasted them to paper. Then we decorated the paper with "ink" stamps. And last, but not least, we made igloos with mini-marshmellows. All I did was glue a bowl upside down to a plate, and then you start at the bottom and glue the marshmellows all over. Finally, you take a few marshmellows and make a door. These activities kept 5 little kids occupied for almost an hour. Amazing!!

More weekend projects part 2

2011-01-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

Our office desk was starting to look a little gross from a certain little boys' scribble marks all over it. So we decided to take the rest of the black paint and paint the top board, and we also got an extra piece of plywood that fit nicely behind the desk, and painted it too, so now it hides all those silly cords. I think it looks great!

Before....

After!

More weekend projects

2011-01-17T16:36:00.000-08:00

Another 3 day weekend, another chance to get some stuff done around the house. I completed Max's quilt (although I still need to clip and wash it to get the fray), hemmed the curtains, refinished some of Max's letters, and we finally re-painted their dresser to match the rest of the black furniture.

I forgot to take a before picture because I though I had one already that would be good enough, but you at least get the idea that it was old, banged-up, and white before, and now it looks nice, shiny, new, and of course, black. Besides hanging pictures on the walls, the boy room is all done! Now to start on this little girls' room.....its gonna be fun!

6 month bump

2011-01-16T16:27:00.001-08:00

I'm 6 months pregnant now, and I just took my first prego picture. Usually I take one each month until the very end to document for my scrapbooks the growing belly. But, 4th kid, and I haven't even given it much thought. Oh well, she'll know she is loved.

Sunday Crafts

2011-01-16T16:18:00.000-08:00

With our new church time of 9am, it can seem daunting to entertain small kids all day long after church, without the use of TV. At least it is for me. I saw this idea on a blog, and it came to me when the kids were done with puzzles and reading the Friend magazine and needed something to do. Make Crayons!! You just take all your old, broken up bits of crayons, remove the wrappers, put them into a muffin tin, and heat for 10-15 minutes in the oven at 250 degrees. Voila! New crayons that your kids can actually hold. The sorting, unwrapping, and baking took us a good hour and a half, and the kids loved it. Now I'll need to find something just as fun for next Sunday to keep them busy.

Weekend Painting

2011-01-03T08:17:00.000-08:00

With baby girl on her way, we decided to finally get to work on all the home projects lining up. All the boys will bunk in one room soon, so we got to that room first. We painted the boys room a nice tan color called Warm Caramel. It looks great, especially with the red accents. A bookshelf is coming this week for their room, and we still need to re-paint their dresser black to match the bunkbeds, but it is starting to come together nicely. And yes, I know that the curtains are short, but they are supposed to be. I will be hemming them to the length of the window eventually. Just one more project on my to-do list.

The painting in the boys' room went so well on Friday, that I decided we might as well get going on the bathroom on Saturday. We went with a darker brown color called New Chestnut. It matches their shower curtain perfectly, and makes the bathroom feel so cozy. It will look even better once I get a nice shelf put in above the toilet for more storage space, and put other cute decorations on the wall.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first painting projects in our new home. And I think Scott enjoyed it even more that I did the bathroom all by myself on Saturday so that he could watch some bowl games. P.S. I have no idea what I did when editing this post to make these words appear as a link. Just ignore it.

Christmas

2010-12-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year! Scott's parents were able to come up from Utah for the weekend, and the boys loved having Grandma and Grandpa here. We had a semi-white Christmas too. It had snowed here the weekend before Christmas, but it stayed on the ground all the way until Christmas eve. We had lovely snowmen in our front and back yards, and Easton has become a snow building pro!

On Christmas Eve, we read the nativity story out of the scriptures, watched "Joy to the World", and then opened up our new Christmas Eve pj's. All the boys were matching, and then the girls had matching ones too. Christmas morning was festive, and all the adults loved their stocking stuffers from Santa's helper who works at Nordstrom. The boys got lots of good stuff and they were pretty happy with what Santa brought them this year. We didn't get around to Christmas dinner on Christmas night, but we had an awesome feast the day after when we got home from church. It was a very merry Christmas!

Early Christmas Present

2010-12-21T08:14:00.001-08:00

Is it a bunkbed set, or a jungle gym? We haven't figured that one out yet.

The Polar Express

2010-12-19T15:32:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we made the journey over to Hood River, OR and experienced the Polar Express. Since my parents are vacationing with my sister in Albuquerque this year, they decided to give this to us as an early Christmas present before they leave to NM. The kids wore their brand new pjs, watched the Polar Express in the car on the ride over, and we read the Polar Express on Friday night for their bedtime story.

When we boarded the train, we found cute collector's mugs waiting for us. Our "chef" made sure to point out to us which side of the train the kids should sit on so they could see the North Pole when we approached it. As soon as the train started moving, we listened to the sound track of the Polar Express over the intercom, and then they brought out steaming cups of Hot Chocolate and yummy ginger cookies. The conductor came by and punched their tickets (although not as fancy as on the movie) and we even had a few surprise visits from the Hobo who had boarded the train.

When we got to the North Pole we saw Santa and his Elves, and then we were told the story of the Polar Express. Our chef sat right down with the kids and showed them the pictures while the story was narrated over the intercom. Then we waited patiently for Santa to come. When he came, he greeted each child, took pictures, and then handed them each a bell from his sleigh. All of the pictures, videos, and memories that we got from this event were priceless. It was well worth the drive on a snowy Saturday afternoon.

Easton's Concert

2010-12-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

It was so memorable to go to our very first Christmas Concert! Easton did a great job and was doing all of his motions with such exageration and singing his little heart out. I also had a little snicker to myself when I saw them walk in and Easton landed on the front row, second to last. (My old place!) The whole thing was darling and I can't wait for it again next year.

It's a girl!!

2010-12-07T11:25:00.001-08:00

It still seems a little surreal, and I'm sure we'll keep the tags on everything just in case, but it definitely showed a girl, and we are REALLY excited!

(It isn't the best picture, but after 3 ultrasounds, and scanning the parts over and over again, it is a girl.)

D-Day!

2010-12-06T08:33:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow we find out what we are having! Please make a vote quickly in our boy/girl poll.

Deck the Halls

2010-12-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

We put up our small fake tree last week, but it was just too small for us this year. Well, it was at least too small for all the new decor I bought last year at the after christmas sales. We let the boys go all out and decorate the little tree by themselves with all the unbreakables. Then we decided to buy a real tree this year. Our house smells delicious!

While stringing the 13 strands of lights that are on the tree, the tree fell on top of me, and all the water spilled out over my carpet. Boo! But it seems pretty sturdy now, so we finished decorating it last night with all the glittery, pretty ornaments and bulbs. I love the finished product, but I still want to find a few more items to finish it off nicely. Too bad Dec. 26th falls on a Sunday this year. Hopefully there will still be stuff to rummage through on Monday the 27th.

Let it snow!

2010-11-23T08:47:00.000-08:00

We just had our first snowfall of the year. I was prepared this year with snow gear for the boys so that they wouldn't freeze to death. The first day we only got about an inch or so, but last night we got another 4-5 inches. Max loved his first experience in the snow. He didn't last long playing in it though. Easton and Luke loved having snowball fights, making snow angels, and we attempted a snowman today but the snow was too powdery. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Saturday's ER visit

2010-11-13T16:03:00.001-08:00

Max was running around the house, when he fell face first, mouth open, into the corner of the end table by our couches. There was a lot of blood, a lot of crying, and then I saw it...the tooth. It wasn't knocked out completely, but was pushed up and backwards into his gums. So now he is snaggle-tooth Max. It isn't the best picture of his teeth, but you can tell that his front two teeth are no longer in line with eachother. We'll be heading to the dentist this week to see if there is anything that needs to be done, but the ER doctor didn't seem too concerned since it wasn't wiggling, he isn't in any extreme pain anymore, and after all, it is a baby tooth. Poor Max! We still think he is cute though, snaggle-toothed and all.

Child-proofing

2010-11-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

Just imagine the locks aren't there, and that is the actual speed at which this lovely child went from one thing to the next. Locks were finally essential to my everyday sanity.

Nervous

2010-11-07T15:24:00.000-08:00

The worst part about pregnancy for me (besides the throwing up, of course) is the needles!

I do not like to have my blood drawn. The poor nurses always have to use the butterfly pediatric needle, and I have had a few miserable experiences with the poking and then searching for the vein. The searching hurts, and it gives me the heebie jeebies. I always have to concentrate on taking big deep slow breaths, and I more often than not have to end up laying down, sipping juice, to get my color to come back.

I don't like IV's either. Giving blood is bad enough, but now having to keep a needle inserted into my arm/hand is the pits. I can't look at it. I usually cover it up with a towel or something, because I would faint if I saw the needle sitting under my few layers of skin. I have had a nurse blow a vein trying to insert an IV, and if you ask me, it hurts worse than natural labor. Well, at least it would hurt worse if the feeling lasted as long as natural labor does. It feels like someone literally took a hammer and whacked your hand with it. Not good at all. As soon as I give birth, my usual first question is "Can we take the IV out now?!"

And last, but not least, I don't like my progesterone shots. Regular shots I can actually handle just fine. These shots are not regular shots. Usually a shot is given with an extremely thin needle, and the nurse can administer it in about 5 seconds or less, depending upon the amount being injected. My progesterone shots are like shooting corn syrup into your skin. Even with Scott's strength, he is usually pressing down on the needle with all of his might to inject it, and it still takes about 30 seconds to go in. They are not fun. Plus, I usually get a sight reaction to them, leaving a warm itchy red bump on my bum. By the time it usually goes away, it is time for the next shot. Bummer!

At the end of this pregnancy, I am looking forward to a very long time without any needles.

A very happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, where to begin! It all started on Friday with Trick or Treating on Main Street here in Hermiston. All of the businesses get really into it, dress up, and hand out candy to hundreds of local kids. It was fun to see Main Street bussling with hundreds of kids in costume. The boys had a great time, until Lucas got freaked out by the "haunted house" (aka An old house transformed into a business with a ghost hanging from the door way where they were handing out the treats). After that he just wanted to go home.

On Saturday, we attended the Stake Trunk or Treat. Yes, I said Stake, not ward. It was huge! I handed out 2 costco sized bags of candy, and then our kids had to wait in line for a good 10-15 minutes to play one ring toss game. After the game, we were done. It was just too crowded for our liking, and the kids were ready for bed by that point.

On Sunday our kids just did our neighborhood loop (15 houses), and only 4 of them were home to hand out candy. They still had a good time though, and by the end, Max figured out how to say "Trick or Treat" with the other boys. It was adorable!

Happy Halloween! (Can I start listening to Christmas music now?!)

Pumpkin carving

2010-10-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

We carved Max's pumpkin first, and when Scott held it up to show him, he backed away from the scary pumpkin face. But then he got closer and saw that it was okay.

He kept wanting to take the tops off all the pumpkins and look inside. Whenever we go out our front door now, he has to look inside each one and growl at all the faces.

Luke instructed me to make an angry face and drew a face on paper with slanted angry eyes and a frowning angry face. I did my best to interpret his drawing. Easton took more initiative this year, and actually helped me gut his pumpkin (I'm usually left to do this myself because no one wants to touch it, even Scott). He then drew his own face onto the pumpkin and Scott carved it out exactly how it was drawn. He did great!

Here they are in front of each of their pumpkins. Things like this get so much more fun as they get older and can be more involved in it.

Do you like Max's "cheese" face? Happy Halloween!!

Birthday party....a little late!

2010-10-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

spider web cupcakes

spider hats

playing a game

The whole gang

The happiest birthday boy ever!

Luke had his birthday party almost 2 weeks ago, but I've been lazy with my blogging. He had a great time at his "Spider" party. (Whats easier than a Halloween-ish theme for a birthday party in October?!) They made cute spider hats, played "pin the spider on the web", opened presents, and ate spider web cupcakes. All the kids had a blast!

Happy 4th, Lucas!

2010-10-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Lucas is 4 years old now! Usually a parent reacts with "I can hardly believe they are this old already", but not with Lucas. He is finally the age that suits him. Lucas is so big (already taller than Easton), so smart (already reading), and they do everything together anyway, that it is hard for us as parents to remember that he is almost a year and a half younger than his older brother.

Lucas is a special kid! He is definitely our goofball. He does and says the most random things, usually followed by "I'm just joking!" and his big giggly laugh. He has quite the imagination and usually is the one to spur on the interesting dialogue when playing with their toys. He is also our stubborn one, and he can dig in his heels like no other, but we know that will be a strength to him as he gets older too. Like I mentioned above, he is really smart. He knows everything he needs to know for Kindergarten already, and he can read really well, almost just as well as Easton can. It is going to be hard for him next year when Easton goes to 1st grade, and he still has to wait one more whole year before he gets to go to Kindergarten. I don't know what I'm going to do with him! But he is starting to become a really good big brother. Easton took that role when he was at home, but now that he is in school, Luke has stepped up and is Mom's big helper with our crazy one, Max. They are starting to play together too!

We love that Lucas is a part of our family, and we're glad that he came when he did, we wouldn't have it any other way. Happy Birthday Lucas!

Camping for Conference

2010-10-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

This was our last hot weekend of the year (I think), and so Scott decided to camp out in the backyard with the boys. They had a blast! They got treats, watched a movie in the tent, and then slept the night away in the cool night air. The boys love anything they do with their dad, but this one I'm sure they'll remember for a very long time.

News Flash!

2010-09-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

We are expecting another sweet Pingel baby to grace our household in April 2011!

To answer the questions, here you go:

*Are you hoping for/were you trying for a girl? Absolutely not! The church tells us not to gamble. But honestly, we are completely fine with another boy (way less expensive at this point).

*How are you feeling? Like poo that someone stepped in. I am always like this for the first 4 months or so. I am just happy for the moments I get to rest on the couch, and for the days that all the food stays down. I'm on the downward slope now, and it should be over soon, hopefully.

*Is this your last one? I'd like to say yes, but never say never. Put it this way: after we have this one, and we don't have another one in about 5-10 years, then we are probably done. (p.s. Do not ask this question to someone in their 1st trimester, or last 2 months of pregnancy, because the answer will most likely be a firm "YES! I'm never doing this again!")

18 months old

2010-09-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Max isn't 18 months old for another two weeks, but he had his Dr. appt. today, so I thought I'd post while the info is still fresh in my mind. Max has graduated from being a baby, into looking like a little boy. He had a big growth spurt and is now in the 60% for both height and weight.

Here are some things we love about this little boy:

*His blonde hair!
*His big brown eyes. (The feature that everyone notices first).
*His laugh. It is never loud, but sweet and between his teeth.
*His love of games, especially peek-a-boo and chase-around-the-table.
*His never-ending energy.
*His love of his older brothers. He follows them around and wants to do everything they do.
*All things new to him. I love watching him explore something for the first time, or study and observe something so intently. It must be an amazing world for an 18 month old!

Things he can do:

*Walk backwards and spin in circles. (Newly discovered talents).
*Say 15-20 words.
*Sit nicely at the table like a big boy to eat some of his meals.
*Climb onto everything!
*Jump; both on the floor and the trampoline.
*Drive his mom crazy with the "never-ending energy".
*Give the best snuggles before and after naps. I would let this little boy be permanently attached to my shoulder if he wanted it that way.

Happy 18 months to my little boy Max!

Labor Day Vacation

2010-09-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

We decided to take one last summer trip and go to Utah. We left on Thursday when Easton got home from school. The trip was going great and we had finally made it to Orem around midnight, when some crazy guy lost control of his vehicle and side-swiped us on the highway. Thankfully, Scott was able to control the car and we didn't hit any other traffic, and no one was injured. It sure scared our boys who were asleep, but they were able to calm down, and an hour after the crash, we finally made it to Scott's parents' house.

On Friday, we went to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa and cousin Grady. We had a great time, and the Bird show was a hit. The rest of the weekend, we played outside, swam in the kiddie pool, played with the animals, and had fun with family.

First Day of School

2010-08-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Newest student to Rocky Heights Elementary.

Luke helping Easton put away his supplies.

Sitting in his chair all ready to go.

Poor Luke! (His face as we left Easton).

Such a handsome boy!

Easton went off to school today. He is such a big boy! We drove him to school, because the bus comes at 7:05 am, and that is just too early. We helped him put away his supplies, and find his chair, and then we left. Lucas cried. He said "I don't want to leave Easton. I'm going to miss Easton." I'm sure Easton is going to have a fantastic time in Kindergarten. I can't wait until he reads a big book out loud to his teacher. I wish I would be there to see her reaction. And I can't wait to hear all about his first day when he comes home on the bus at 11:15. We will definitely miss Easton during our morning hours.

Swim lessons

2010-08-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

Easton and Luke finished 6 weeks of swim lessons on Thursday. During the summer they made great improvements. They were both able to move up a level. Luke, who wouldn't even put his face in the water and cried at the beginning of the summer, was learning how to actually swim, and go all the way under the water for dive sticks by the end of the sessions. Easton has greatly improved his free style stroke, and is starting to get the hang of side breathing. He is a natural fish in the water and loved every minute of swim lessons.

Swings

2010-08-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

The perfect addition to our finished backyard, was the swingset that our neighbor gave to us. His kids had out grown it, but he thought he'd offer it to us before junking it. We gladly accepted. Easton has already learned how to swing himself (hooray!) and they love going outside and playing on it together. Max could go up and down the slide all day if I let him.

Kids are so smart.

2010-08-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

Easton is a smart boy. And I think he knows he is smart. But I don't think he knows that he is spiritually smart. I was showing him a blog about a family who just had a perfect little baby, born without any arms or legs. He asked "Why does that baby not have any arms or legs?" I said "I don't know why." Then he said something very profound and it brought tears to my eyes. He said "Maybe because the mommy wanted a little baby without arms or legs."

Oh yes, my precious Easton, that mommy did want a baby without any arms or legs. It made me think about the things I must have known about my life before coming here to earth. That mother must have known that she would have to raise a baby with physical challenges. That tiny baby must have known that her life would be a little difficult because her body would not be whole. And yet, they chose this life, and they chose to face those trials. I must have known some of the challenges that I would face, and I am glad that I chose to go through them, no matter how hard they have been or will be.

I'm thankful that my children often remind me of my spiritual role here on earth, because it makes the physical role of being a mother much easier, and well worth it.

Triathlon

2010-08-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

Easton's personal transition zone.
Done with the swim. Getting ready to ride.

Peddling as fast as he can!

All finished! Thanks for helping, Dad!

Easton participated in the Hermiston Kids Triathlon last Saturday. He swam 25 yds., biked 1/2 mile, and ran 1/2 mile. He had a ton of fun! He did so good too. He was a little hesitant when he started each portion of the race, and had a little melt down when he started the run because he was tired, but he finished and was so proud of himself at the end of the race. We were so proud of our little athlete.

We've got grass!

2010-08-15T16:06:00.000-07:00

As of Friday evening, we now have a lawn. Our kids love it! They spent Saturday running around in the grass in the sprinklers. Scott wanted to take a nap on the grass. I just loved the feeling of grass under my bare feet. It is great! We obviously aren't finished with the yard yet, but we are done for this summer. The other landscape projects and garden will have to wait until spring.

Old things made new again

2010-08-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

I have wanted a china hutch ever since the day I inherited my great grandma's china. My mom almost gave me her buffet, but she decided to keep it for herself. Then one day on craigslist, I found it. It is beautiful! It is a black, distressed, refinished, antique Drexel china hutch. I loved it the minute I saw it. I replied to the post and asked if she would come down another $50 from her price. She didn't want to, and someone else was coming to see it that evening. About a week later, she emailed me back, said she'd drop the price for me if I still was interested. I went over later that afternoon, and now it is mine. It fits perfectly along the blank wall of my dining area, and it isn't too fancy, which is perfect. It has a country look and goes great with all my rooster decor. Can you tell I am excited about my china hutch?

More progress

2010-08-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

Over the last week we have accomplished a lot, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have completed one entire side yard,

pulled the weeds from about 2/3 of the yard,

layed out most of our main sprinkler pipes including a drip line system,

and completely finished one of the sprinkler runs last night and now we have working sprinklers. We just have to finish up the sprinklers this weekend, clean up the yard, finish the other side yard and put up landscape barriers, and then we'll get to lay the sod. Our goal to be complete before Labor Day is on track!

Easily entertained

2010-07-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

While I was on the phone this afternoon, all of my boys were busy entertaining themselves. Easton and Luke were playing nicely and quietly in their room, but shut the door so Max couldn't disturb them. Max was wandering around the house happily, and didn't come whining to me at all during the phone conversation. When I got done, I saw why it was so quiet.

The cookie cutters.

The office.

The diaper bag.

The bedroom.

The kitchen. (Don't you love his "what did I do?" face?)

And lastly, when I checked on Easton and Luke in their room, I saw that they also had fun "entertaining" themselves. They all had such a great time, and probably didn't even notice that I picked it all up while they were eating lunch. Aren't they fun?!

All day long!

2010-07-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

This is what we were up to all day Saturday. Earlier this week we had set the posts, and then put up the fence boards, but we finished it on Saturday. We started by about 9am and kept going until lunch time. We took a 90 minute break for lunch and put the kids down for naps, and then went right back at it until 3pm. We came inside to escape the 100 degree weather beat-down, ate dinner, put the kids to bed, and then finished the rest of it by 9pm. We just need to saw the boards now where the gate goes, build the gate, and put it up. Then my kids will be locked in, and we won't find Max wandering in the middle of the road anymore!

p.s. How do you like our dead sod that we swiped and are trying to revive?

Summer Reading Program

2010-07-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

Our summer reading program just ended. It was 5 weeks long, and it was the first time that I had our kids participate. They earned points for the books they read, and earned bonus points for attending library activities. At the end, they exchanged their points for library dollars and were able to buy stuff at the "library store". A bunch of it was junk (i.e. toys from Oriental Trading Co. that will break in the next week), but they got some cool stuff too. They each earned a free ticket to the County Fair in August, a free meal at the Chuck Wagon, and bought some books, pencils, and other fun stuff with their points. I even won a prize! I got a coffee mug with 2 free coffees/espressos from McDonald's. Just what I always wanted!! I did get a free admission coin to the aquatic center, though, so at least that is worth something to me. Overall, I'd say the program was a success. We'll definitely sign up again next summer.

Nothing is safe anymore...

2010-07-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

....because he can climb!

More backyard progress

2010-07-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

We're coming along with our projects, but we wish it were coming along much faster. Our retaining wall is complete, we've had our cement patio additions poured, and we're almost done leveling off the side yard by loading tons of dirt into our backyard. We hope to start the fence this week, so that we can finally turn our kids loose outside. In another month it will look like a real backyard, and you would have never guessed that at one time it was just a sand pit.

10k

2010-07-17T15:05:00.001-07:00

Today I ran my first ever 10k. I had been training for the last 8 weeks, but I was still very afraid of the distance. I had awesome cheerleaders at the 2.5 and 4.5 mile points, and then they all cheered me on at the finish line. Scott deserves a lot of credit for my training. He got up with the kids 4 days a week for 8 weeks so I could run at 6am. I finished with the time of 1 hour 13 minutes, and I was very proud of myself for never having to stop and walk. That was the goal, to run the entire distance, and now I can say that I have. Will I do it again? Ask me in a few days when my body has fully recovered.

Bend, Oregon

2010-07-17T14:19:00.001-07:00

Scott and I were able to enjoy our first vacation without the kids this last week. Scott had a conference in Bend, OR so I decided to come along with him. My wonderful mother took the kids for us. (Thanks, Mom!) It is such a cute place with lots of things to do. It is located in the Mt. Bachelor ski area, and right on the Deschutes River. Our first day there, we rented a deuce coupe and strolled it along the river in the historic Old Mill area (a mill that was converted into a shopping/eating plaza right on the river), then we ate dinner at Flatbread pizzeria. It was the most amazing pizza that I have ever tasted, so of course, I took a picture of this masterpiece. We also went to Eclipse that night.

The next two days, Scott was in meetings from 8-3, so I went shopping, worked out at the gym, and lounged by the pool. I had brought my scrapbook stuff with me, and a few books, but that was too much work. I didn't want to think at all on this vacation. I got a great tan! On Wednesday night, we went to the historic downtown area, and browsed by all the shops and then ate at Bend Burger Company. The best burger I ever had with a hand made patty, and homemade french fries to go with it. Maybe food just tastes a whole lot better when your kids aren't there to distract you from the flavor or the experience. After we ate, we drove up Pilot Butte, which stands in the middle of the valley. It is 1 mile up, but you can see for hundreds of miles in every direction, and it had a map at the top telling you which mountains you could see in the far off distance. It was beautiful!

On Thursday night, we ate at Anthony's on the river. Delicious seafood, and fabulous creme brulee. Then we saw Knight and Day. Don't believe the reviews, we thought it was really good. Just think Bourne Identity/Mission Impossible with a little comedy and cute romance thrown into the mix.

We were definitely sad to see our vacation end, and have to be parents again, but it was the perfect amount of away time. I just wished Scott could have been with me all day, instead of only at night, but I'm sure he was glad to miss out on all the shopping and pool-side sunbathing.

Cousins and the 4th

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

We've had a fun filled week! My sister Erin, and all her kids came up last week and are staying through the end of this week. My kids have loved having their cousins around, and its really nice to see my sister again (once a year just isn't enough). We've seen the Reptile Man at the library, played at the spray park, had a few picnics/BBQs, saw Toy Story 3, went bowling, went swimming, and have just run around having fun. Our 4th of July festivities were fun this year. Scott's little City of Stanfield holds an annual 4th of July shindig, complete with parade, blow-up toys, and big fireworks at the park. He had to work at the event almost all day, but we were able to join him for the parade and some of games set up in the park. That evening the whole family came down for a dinner at our place, and for some awesome fireworks. I gave an Indepedence Day quiz to the adults, and Scotty won (thank goodness he learned something with his Political Science degree). I gave the adults a good laugh because I think fireworks are more fun when you know the names of them before they go off (American Heartland, Old Glory, Mother Nature, The Razzle Dazzler, etc). We combined our efforts with our neighbors and it was a slammin' good time. It was the perfect amount of razzle dazzle to entertain 8 kids ages 5 and under. It was a great Independence Day celebration.

Talking

2010-06-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

Max is quite the jabber mouth these days. All non-sensible talk, of course, but he can now say a few words, including: Mom, Dad, Bye, Hi, Shoes, Uh-Oh, This, and That. And I really mean that he can say the words "this" and "that". He says those the most as he wanders the house all day and points to things, or brings me things, or wants something that I have that he can't have. It is so fun to watch him grow his own little personality and voice.

Home Progress

2010-06-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

We have gotten a lot done lately on the house, so I wanted to share some of the progress we've made since moving in 2 months ago.

Sprinkler pipe.
Sprinklers: New valves installed for the runs in the backyard. Still need to finish laying pipe and installing sprinkler heads. Oh, and can you see our pretty gate that is finished too?!

Retaining Wall: only 15 more bricks on the bottom row left, and then we can stack like legos!

Master Bedroom: pictures hung and curtains up. (Still need to finish the valance).

Office: pictures up and computer set up, with a new valance just completed today. Done!

Boys room: pictures up and curtain up. Done!

Max's room: cute shelf up. Done!

Kitchen: Found some places for my decor, but I still need to line the curtain over the sliding glass door, finish the valance that goes over the sink window, and finish putting the rest of the decor and pictures up where they belong. I haven't even begun thinking of what I am going to do in the Living room yet.

Projects that still need to be completed:

Sprinkler system
Retaining wall
Extend cement patio
Finish fence
Build raised garden beds
Build sandbox
Lay sod and bark and gravel
Finish valances and curtains for the rest of the house
Finish living room and kitchen decor

And hopefully, this will all be finished before Labor Day. We've got our work cut out for us, but we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Boys and bugs

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

Easton found this on the trampoline, and then raced to get his bug pincers. When I went outside to see this bug, I was immediately disgusted by its size! Where did this thing come from, and why was it on the trampoline?! Oh well, at least it wasn't in my house. (Poor thing was waddling around with half its insides squeezed out of him. Easton was a little too vigorous with the pincers, whoops.)

Slip slidin' fun!

2010-06-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

It was finally hot enough to break out the water sports. The slip 'n' slide was our water sport of choice. The kids had a blast, but even more fun once Dad started to throw them down the slide. I think they thought it was pretty cool that even Mom joined in on the fun (no pictures necessary). Afterwards we all enjoyed a nice cold popsicle. I love the summer time, if only it would stay for good (we're back down the 60's and windy today).

Saturday is a special day....

2010-06-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

Its a "do whatever Dad is doing" day.

My kids make me....

2010-06-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

Laugh.

Sigh deeply in frustration.

All of the bleach spots that Max created on his pants and my new bathroom rug from shaking around the last bits of an empty toilet bowl cleaner canister.

Wonder in amazement.

Although Luke has more energy than all of us put together, his memory astounds me, and he soaks up information like a sponge.

And cry tears of joy.

Written while I was at mutual and Easton missed me. He kept telling Scott that he loved me so much and I take such good care of him when he is sick (strep throat).

But mostly they just make me happy that I am their mom.

Superhero for a day

2010-06-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

Easton had his birthday party today, and it was a superhero party. The craziest thing to me, was that no one ate anything. We provided lunch, just simple pb&j's with chips and pop, and then had cake and ice cream for dessert. No one ate any of it. I think Easton and Luke had cake, but no one else wanted cake, and no one at all ate any lunch. Odd. Very, very odd.

But the rest of the party was a success. The boys all enjoyed training how to be superheroes. The best part was stomping out the bad guys (balloons). I think they could have done that all day if I had enough balloons.

Easton just loved having friends over at our house, it didn't matter what we did, he just enjoyed them being here.

Happy 5th Birthday Easton!

Happy late birthday!

2010-06-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

We did celebrate Easton's birthday on Wednesday, his actual birthday, but the day was so filled with fun stuff, that I never had a chance to blog about it.

We had to wake him up before Scott went to work so he could open presents and eat his requested donuts for breakfast. He was surprised to find an Iron Man, his new obsession, although he knows nothing about him and hasn't seen the movie. Easton and his brothers played with toys all morning, and then we went to McDonald's for lunch. I fed them an early dinner, and then as soon as Scott got home from work, we all went bowling. Easton, of course, beat me again! It was a great birthday, and he went to sleep completely satisfied at the end of the day. He told me it was the best day ever!

Pre-birthday fun

2010-06-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

My parents came down yesterday to help with some backyard stuff, and to spend Memorial Day with us, so they decided to give Easton his presents early. One of these gifts was Balloon Rockets. They love it! It is so fun to watch little boys get such enjoyment from something so simple.