Girls Night IN!

I love my girls! They are so fun to hang out with. They talk about the funniest things and ask great questions! Tonight the boys are at the Father-Son camp out so the girls and I had a Girl's Night In! We ate breakfast for dinner, watched Little Mermaid, sang songs, danced around, painted nails, braided hair, and told stories. And of course we pigged out on junk food like squish-wish (licorice according to Care Bear)! I found some nail stickers and little jewels at the dollar store so I did the girl's nails. La-La told me I am so good at it, I should go work in a nail factory! While painting nails we were watching an episode of I-Carly where the lead character Carly has a new boyfriend. She goes into the boys room and they kiss. I told the girls that they are NEVER to go into a boy's room until they are married especially not to kiss. Well, La-La informed me that boys don't want to kiss her, they just want to be her friend so I don't need to worry about that. As of today she has 5 boyfriends and she just doesn't know what to do with them all. One is kind of a bad kid so she doesn't really want to be his girlfriend and another one is just so cute. One boy keeps asking to take her to ice-cream. It is so funny to hear her talk about boys! Before going to bed, we all lay on Care Bears bed and told stories. When I was younger, I was the designated story-teller in my bedroom that I shared with three sisters. Now my girls love it when I make up stories for them. My favorite part is when I am done and Care Bear and La-La get to tell me a story. They are usually variations of what I told them but it is so fun to hear their versions and realize how well they listened to me! Tonight Care Bear got very silly and talked about bears playing on the monkey bars and swinging on swings on their tummies. She was laughing so hard at herself that she got the hiccups. Every time that girl truly giggles she gets the hiccups. This started when she was a tiny baby! Now my little princesses are sleeping and I get to smile as I go to sleep and think about how much fun they are to be with! Love you girls!

Soccer!

Here are the kids Soccer pictures. La-La plays her last game tomorrow. Jaco also plays tomorrow but then he has play-offs next week. They both have really enjoyed playing this spring. Jaco is ready to try basketball so hopefully this fall we can find him a team to play on. La-La really wants to do dance or gymnastics so I think this fall we will try her and Care Bear in a dance class of some sort. We could do soccer again this fall but I refuse to be "that mom" who runs non-stop getting the kids from here to there and everywhere!

RE-morial Day

Yesterday in church I talked to the kids about memorial day and focused on the meaning of our flag. When I asked what holiday we were celebrating, one boy answered "Remorial Day!" I thought it was quite fitting in that on Memorial day we RE-member those who have died and sacrificed their lives for our freedom in this country.

Here in our little town, there is a huge festival that starts on Friday and goes through Monday called Boatnik. It is a festival to celebrate the river that runs through the area and it just happens to be on Memorial Day weekend!

Our weekend started on Saturday when we went to the parade. There were a lot of cars and boats and a couple actual floats with some marching bands thrown in here and there. Afterwards Care Bear asked if she could please have all the cars she saw and Jaco had a hard time believing that cars were really invented before 1960. Which reminds me that La-La asked me the other day if there was color TV when I was little! How old does she think I am! Anyways, The best float we saw was from Wildlife Images. They had a huge owl, a bald eagle, and a hawk.

The neighbor girls came with us!

Jaco reading between catching candy and watching the parade.
Sunday afternoon we went to the park to watch some very fast boats. They were so loud! The boat in this clip was going 173 mph! We even got to see the worlds fastest speedboat but it had engine troubles so we didn't get to see it in all it's glory.

Jaco being silly with a pink cotton candy tongue!

Cute Care Bear waiting for the next noisy boat!

Then Sunday night, we went back to the park by the river to enjoy fireworks. After the loud boats, the booming explosions sounded almost quiet!
This morning we worked on the garden and cleaned house. We heard that the cemetary was decked out with flags so we went to check it out this afternoon. The kids were having fun trying to find the oldest headstone until Justin's allergies got so bad that we had to go home to get his medicine.
Finally, we ended our long weekend at the movies! We loved the first "Night At The Museum" so we have been eagerly anticipating the second movie. It was pretty good but we think the first was better. Maybe we liked it more because Care Bear wasn't as busy climbing all over and insisting on sodie (soda) and when we wouldn't buy it, insisting even louder that she wanted water from the fountain! She did better than the last movie we saw in the theatre but if there isn't constant singing and dancing, she just can't pay attention!


Happy Memorial Day!

Wildlife Images

I was able to go on a field trip with La-La today. We went to a nature preserve in the area called Wildlife Images. It is a place they take wild animals that have been injured and rehab them. The animals we saw today are permanent residents because either they were handled too much by humans or were injured to severely to live in the wild again. We saw bears, wolves, eagles, fox, and other wild critters. La-La was so excited for me to come. I have noticed lately that she is in need of one-on-one time so I was happy to be able to go with her. It is always a little crazy to be with 40 kindergartners near the end of the school year but we all had fun! After the field trip, I surprised La-La and stayed at the school and had lunch with her. She was thrilled! Jaco gets quite a bit of alone time with Daddy when they do boy stuff like golfing and shooting hoops and Care Bear gets me 5 days a week for 7+ hours. I forget that La-La needs alone time with us too. I need to try harder to give each of the kids special time but especially her since it doesn't happen as easily.

Indian Boy!

When we moved here last summer I noticed how tan everyone was. This summer my boy will be one of those really tan people. It is only the middle of May and I can't believe how dark he already is! Well, not all of him!

Strings

Jaco has been participating in our school's Strings program. Starting in 4Th grade the kids can choose to play the cello or violin if they want. They meet 5 days a week for 30 minutes each day. So for $19 a month (cost to rent the violin) Jaco has been learning how to read music, how to play an instrument, and has gained confidence in himself! He has come so far and I am very proud of him! Last night they had a concert for the young musicians. They were asked to dress in nice clothes which I interpreted as church attire. Jaco did not want to dress up and fought me the whole time. When we got to the school, I realized he was the best dressed boy in the room but I still thought we had made the right choice. There were some girls in dresses but for the most part it looked like a room of kids dressed for a regular day at school. After the program I thanked his teacher for all her work and she commented on how nice Jaco looked. She agreed that he had dressed appropriately for the occasion and talked to Jaco about how if he keeps playing, when he gets to High School he will have to wear a tux and the girls will wear formals. To me, it shows respect for yourself if you look your best when you perform. Why would you work and practice for months on something, just to show up for performance in jeans and a t-shirt? If you dress up you are saying to the audience that they should pay attention because you have something to show them.

Here's my boy in action!

Is HE the Mom or Dad?

I am not sure who is more confused, Cody or the baby kitten. For those of you (Maria) who can't view it on here I also posted this clip on YouTube so here is the link! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOqHy9zAq8M

My top 3!

Top 3 reasons I love being a mom!

#1 Jaco!
I love this boy! He is smart, funny, and so handsome with the most amazing brown eyes with lashes every girl would kill for! He has always loved books and now that he is an accomplished reader, we are able to share books. It is so fun to be able to discuss books together. We both recently re-read Bridge to Terebithia. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it! He is so sweet and will bring me home books from the school library that he thinks I will enjoy and so far I have loved them all! Today for Mother's day, he made me breakfast and a great card from school. Jaco is an incredible boy who will do amazing things with his life and I am humbled to be his mom.



#2 La-La
From day one this little girl has been the biggest sweetheart. She was born with the desire to nurture and care for those around her. At school she always wants to help the other kids and if someone is not feeling good or gets hurt, she is the first one to render aid. If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she will always answer with a MOM! I love her curls and freckled nose and cheeks. She has such a determination to succeed. She has been learning how to do cartwheels, cherry-drops, and how to cross the monkey bars. She does not stop trying until she does it. Her hands prove it as they are covered in blisters and callouses from the monkey bars. She is so proud of herself as am I! I can not wait to show her how to do make-up, dress her up for prom and do all the fun mommy/daughter things yet at the same time I am scared to death for her to grow up.



#3 Care Bear
Where do I start with this little girl. She is a challenge for me but I love her so deeply it amazes me. She is such a ham and loves to be the spotlight. Her eyes never cease to melt my heart and it is a good thing with all the mischief she likes to get in to. I see her being our little athlete as she is so active. Care Bear has no fear and wants to try everything she sees her brother and sister do. The scary thing is she usually is able to do it! She started truly smiling at one week old and I think she knew she needed to so she could make up for all her screaming. I love her huge toothy grin and she loves to share it with me. From the first day I found out I was pregnant with her, I have known she is here for a reason. She has an agenda to fulfill and I just pray I can be guided in helping her achieve her goals.

For Mother's day, our primary leaders had the kids make all of their Mom's cookbooks. These are not your every day recipes but the kid's versions. They are so cute and it was fun to see my cooking skills through the eyes of my kids. Here is what they each wrote!

Stroganoff according to Jaco
Take noodles and put on meat and white sauce. Put somewhere on the stove for about 10 minutes at 70 degrees.

Pizza La-La style
Buy bread at the store and put it in the oven for 30 minutes. Take it out and put some stuff on it: spices, white cheese, and tomato juice - that's all on top.

Potatoes by Care Bear
First, mom puts on some make-up and says, "Lets go shopping!" She cuts up the potatoes in big pieces, cooks it, puts it on some plates and puts on some cheese. Then she says "Dinner's all done" and we say "Yeah!"

Happy Mother's day to all Moms young and old!

So Easy and VERY YUMMY!

Miss Care Bear is not a big meat eater but she gobbles this recipe down as fast as she can with lots of "mmmmm this is so good!" between bites and La-La always asks for seconds. I love it because it is really tasty, it requires ingredients that I usually have on hand and EVERYONE licks their plates clean!Salisbury Steak (from Taste of Home Cookbook)

1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 C soft bread crumbs
1/4 C chopped onion
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb ground beef

Gravy:
2 TB flour
1 can (14-1/2 oz) beef broth
1/4 C ketchup
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 jar (4-1/2 oz) sliced, drained mushrooms (I have never made it with mushrooms because personally I think they taste like dirt!)

Mashed potatoes

Combine 1st 5 ingredients. Mix in beef and shape into 4 patties. Place in shallow 2 qt microwave safe dish.
Cover and microwave at 70% power for 5-6 minutes. Meanwhile, combine flour and broth until smooth. Stir in remaining gravy ingredients.
Turn patties; drain. Pour gravy over patties. Cover and microwave at 70% power for 5-6 minutes. Gently stir gravy; cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Randomness continued....

Here are the kitty's at almost 3 weeks old! Their eyes opened when they were about 10 days old and now they are finally able to walk on all fours but not with any agility yet! There are 2 boys and two girls but they all still look so much alike! They all have white spots on their tummies so that is the ONLY way you can tell them apart!

This is Onyx! He is the male we are going to keep. So far he has the most personality and the most white spots so we can tell who he is!

Here are the kittens in action! Right before their eyes opened, Mom cat decided the box she had them in was no longer OK and moved them under the bathroom sink. I tried to put them back in the box and Mom moved them right back to the cupboard.

Jaco has decided that he loves playing basketball. Our neighbors across the street have a hoop so he was always over there shooting away. We found this basketball hoop on Craigslist and Jaco agreed to help pay for it with his allowance so we bought it on Saturday! He is now outside every chance he gets trying to better his game. I love it that he finally enjoys doing something outside! Jaco told me the other day that he is a well rounded person because as he said, he is a nerd, he plays soccer, he plays the violin, and he plays basketball!

Here is the future NBA star making the game winning basket!
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La-La has a new look times two! She has another hole in her smile *and* new glasses! The first pair of glasses were repaired 3 times in less than 2 weeks and then she decided to put them on the floor while there were 4 kids running around. I think you get the picture. Thank goodness we got the warranty so it didn't cost anything. So far this second pair is holding up much better. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that these are Hannah Montana frames.

This is just a fun picture I took with my phone while we were at the Oregon Caves. I finally figured out how to get them off my phone!

Here are some of the funny things Care Bear has said in the past week.
She was playing with the kittens and they were trying to nurse. She moved one kitten and said "Here is a pimple for you!" translation-nipple
She LOVES High School Musical and watches it every chance she gets but she calls it Hi No Noosical.
She always throws her head back so she can feel her hair on her back and then she tells me how long her hair is getting. I ask her if we should cut it and she says no because then it won't be long anymore!
Care Bear was so excited to ride without training wheels but now she has learned that it hurts if she crashes. The only way I can get her to even try to ride is if she has all of her "Lily Pads" on. translation=knee pads, elbow pads, etc...

And finally, this is a short clip of one of the many hummingbirds that frequents our feeder. We were weeding outback when the bird kept coming even when we were right there! It was pretty cool. I had hoped you would be able to hear the buzzing of the wings but the camera didn't pick that up.