Road Trip!

Before we even moved from Seattle, we promised the kids we would go back for a visit when school got out. It was good for all of us to know we would get to see all of our friends again! This last Thursday we hit the road and headed north. It is supposed to be a 7 hour drive but when you take detours to golf shops, extra potty breaks for 3 small bladders, and stop to eat it is more like 9-10 hours.
La-La and Lyla getting ready to sleep; maybe....

Sue and her hubby Darcy

La-La was so excited to see her best friend Lyla so our first night she was able to have a sleepover with Lyla at Na-Na Sue's house. Sue is an amazing friend who was and still is thankfully there for me. The rest of us took over the Hogge's house. I used to baby-sit their boys and Debbie and I loved to hang out. She and I both take things one day at a time and had no problem calling each other for a last minute dinner or a trip to J0-Ann's with kids in tow.

Care Bear, Lyla, and La-La pretending to be a family of birds.

On Friday we met several friends from the Mom's group I was a member of, at the zoo. Care Bear has been asking to go to the zoo since we moved but our little town does not have one so I knew it was a stop we had to make! It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a ball! Lyla was able to come with us which made La-La's day. Jaco's bud Ted was there too. Those two instantly became one silly goofy boy and didn't quit talking and laughing the whole time we were at the zoo! We wish Ted lived here because he is perfect for Jaco!
Ted and Jaco teasing Alex, Ted's brother.

The girls and I made african bead bracelets in the African village at the zoo.



Edmonds Beach

Saturday the kids and I hung out with the Hogge's while Justin golfed his favorite WA golf course before he went to the conference he had to attend to earn his continuing education credits. Debbie asked me what I wanted to do and I said we should go to the beach! I love the Oregon coast but there is something special about the Puget Sound. So many little critters and creatures to discover! We hopped on the bus to Edmonds Beach and were immediately rewarded with something we had never seen before! La-La found this crystal clear blob. We thought for sure it had to be something man made until we found several more and some of them had little rings on them. A Ranger walked by and told us they were Moon Jellies! They seriously looked like sylicone. Debbie and I were joking about who lost their implant!
The Ranger station on the beach had a small museum with a touch tank! We touched tube worms and scared them in to their tubes, had our fingers hugged by anenomes, and saw live beautiful barnacles! Jaco and Care Bear didn't want to touch anything but La-La, Josh, and Spencer touched everything they could! Jaco enjoyed talking to the ranger and learning as much as he could about sea life. He said ocean creatures are the most amazing critters on the planet! I think I agree. My favorite quote of the day was when Care Bear saw a ferry and yelled, "There's the Tooth Fairy!"
Care Bear looking through a Moon Snail's egg case. This is what the Moon Snail lays hundreds of eggs in!

Saturday Night Justin and I went to a graduation dinner for the newest graduates of the residency program Justin completed. It was fun to come back as alumni! Debbie kept all the kids for us and they enjoyed pizza, ice cream, and movies. I was impressed that the kids actually slept together on the same bed! Well, most of them. Jaco ended up upstairs with us but everyone else actually fell asleep and more importantly STAYED asleep on one king sized mattress.
On the way home, we decided to take a detour to go see Mount St Helen's. We were worried we wouldn't be able to see anything because it looked awfully cloudy but amazingly right before we reached the view area, all the clouds and fog disappeared to reveal a beautiful sunny sky! It was pretty cool to see. Mother Nature has quite the way to release her fury! I just hope I am never in her path of destruction!

Chore Charts

About ten weeks ago we started chore charts. I knew I needed to teach the kids responsibilities but to be honest I thought it was easier to just do everything rather than put up with the teaching and learning process. Finally I got tired of being the only one working while everyone else played so the chore charts began. I started small with my expectations because I had never asked more than the kids being responsible for their own rooms. Now that everyone is used to doing more I have added additional chores especially since it is summer and we have more time! I have to say that the charts are working! The kids earn a reward every 4 weeks so that helps motivate them. Plus everyone is happier, especially me, when the house is tidier!

So here is my system! Every 4 weeks I make a new chart but I have saved the template so it is easy to do. I let the kids choose what they want on the top so they are more excited about it. I laminate the charts and we use dry erase markers to check off the chores each day. The charts go Sunday through Saturday so after one week we total up the points earned, put the total at the bottom, and wipe the week clean so we can start all over again! I add up the total points possible, minus 40-50 points for the 4 weeks because I know it is not possible to be perfect! This sets a goal for the kids to work towards. If they earn their goal points, they get $10. But, if they don't earn their goal points, 10 cents is taken off for each point not earned. So last chart cycle, La-La only earned $6.40 because she was 36 points under her goal. Make sense? Clear as mud? Here is what Jaco's chart looks like! If you click on it, it will enlarge. For the daily chores, I have an envelope with 12 chores in it and every day the kids pick 4 chores each. They are things like set & clear table, unload dishwasher, feed animals, etc... The weekly chores are those things like wiping down walls, scrubbing bathrooms that need done on a weekly basis. The kids are responsible for 4 of these chores every week.
Just to keep everything fair, I also have a chart! It has done wonders for me. It is amazing how having a list to check off each day motivates me to work. I guess I am just a kid in a grown-up body! If I accomplish my goals, I get to buy a new shirt.
Now I know this is not a perfect system and some days are better than others. But, overall it works and my kids are learning responsibility and preparing to be productive hard working adults!

Summertime!

The final school bell rang at 11 today. More importantly I have turned off my scheduled alarms on my cell phone; one at 6:30 to wake me up and the other at 2:30 to remind me to go to the bus stop! Summer, here we come!

Jaco's teacher sent home this letter and I thought it was very fitting for all kids at this time of the year.

Dear Parent,

I give you back your child; the same child you confidently entrusted to my care last fall. I give you your child back pounds heavier. inches taller, months wiser, more responsible, and more mature that before. Although your child would have attained this growth in spite of me, it has been my happy privilege to watch this personality unfold day by day and marvel at this splendid miracle of development. I have thrilled at each new achievement, each new success, and each new expansion of self. I give your child back reluctantly; for having spent nine months together in the narrow confines of a classroom, we have grown close. We have become a part of each other, and we shall always retain a little of each other.

We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned, and enriched our lives together this year. I wish it could go on indefinitely, but I must give your child back to you. Take care of your child, for your child is precious.

Warmly, Your Child's Teacher

Both Jaco and La-La did so good this year in school. It has been fun watching them grow and learn and become confident in their skills. I am so appreciative of teachers and the sacrifices they make for our children. I know I could never do it! I also know I could never home school so I am grateful that there are those who are willing to teach my kids and who love my kids!

Jaco getting off the bus for the last time as a 4th grader! His teacher Mrs Fowler, recognized his gift of a curious mind right away and did all she could to nurture that curiosity.


Jaco says he is planning on fulfilling this prediction on his future!


La-La loved school and is thrilled to be moving on to 1st grade. She is a little worried about having homework everyday but I know she will do just fine! Her teacher Mrs Brown was perfect for La-La. She commented all the time about how sweet and happy La-La is.

and then there was ONE!

8 weeks ago today, four little kittens were born. 4 black, fuzzy, helpless kittens. Now today, we just have mom Aurora and little Onyx. We were worried that people wouldn't want black cats but after just 12 hours on Craigslist, I had more takers than kittens so I pulled the ad! We have had so much fun watching them grow and develop. It was hard to say good-bye. But at least we have little Onny and his mom! They both seem a little confused and meow more right now, especially Onyx. His best friends are gone! It was fun but with 5 cats, the litter box got pretty stinky so I think I will be more than content with just mom and son!


This little lady had the hardest time saying good-bye. All week long she has been telling me that 4 kittens is not too many and that we should keep them all. Lot's of tears were shed as the new owners took them away.

Jaco loved all the babies too. Every night before bed, he was not happy until he had said good night to each of the babies and their loving momma.

These are the last pictures I have of them all together. I sure am glad our Father in Heaven designed humans to stay together forever! I would have a hard time never seeing my siblings or mom again and having no clue who my dad is!
The two little girls. They were much feistier than the boys!

No school = Bowling!

A couple weeks ago, a friend let me know about a free summer bowling program. I signed our family up right away figuring it would be a great option for those "I'm Bored" summer days. Little did I know we would be able to take advantage of the program before school was even out! Wednesday of this last week, I got a call about 10:am from the school asking if I was Jaco's mom. That made me nervous! The caller then told me they were shutting the school down due to no water and she needed to know if Jaco and La-La should ride the bus or if I would come get them. I opted for the bus route and then wished I would have picked them up after waiting for nearly an hour at the bus stop! I guess there was a leak somewhere in the water lines under the school so they had no water to wash dishes, get drinks or flush the toilets. School was cancelled for Thursday so I decided to try the free bowling with the kids. I figured since our little elementary school was the only school out in the whole district that the bowling alley wouldn't be too busy with all of the other "bored" summer kids. The girls have never been bowling, Jaco had done it once with scouts and I am far from good at it so I was a little nervous to attempt it by myself. But the kids did great! The program pays for 2 games and we had to pay for shoes which was $8 for all of us. Next time I think we will only play one game because the kids, especially Care Bear got bored with the second game. La-La got a lot of lucky shots and if it weren't for the bumper pads, we all would have had a ton of gutter shots! Jaco got really mad when Care Bear hit the reset button so he didn't get to roll his second ball. He also discovered that he scored better when he took a terry cloth wrist band off his arm! Once I accidentally bumped Care Bear's head with her ball as I helped her roll it and she informed me that if I ever hit her again with a bowling ball that she will never bowl with me again. Like I meant to do it! I got in trouble for passing the "do not cross" line while trying to retrieve a ball that wasn't going to make it all the way to the pins. Oops! I just didn't feel like waiting for the little old lady to come get it for me. But she sure moved fast when she was getting after me!

p.s. The kids missed school again on Friday, which was supposed to be La-La's last day of kindergarten, but from what I have heard, the leak is fixed and school should be back in session tomorrow!

Here we go! Game on!!

Phew! Are you sure this ball just weighs six pounds? It is HEAVY!

Mom, Me can do it by myself!

I can do it! Plus look at how great my curls look!

Check out my form! And take notice of the wristband that did not help my score!

Here is a video clip of the funniest moment of the game!
On a side note, if you have ever recorded a video with your digital camera only to discover that you recorded it sideways, I have the answer for you! I found this and it is so easy and more importantly FREE!

http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-Video-Flip-and-Rotate.htm

Happy Birthday Miranda!

Where do I even start with my memories of Miranda. She and I are only 15 1/2 months apart and we did EVERYTHING together when we were younger. We both had the most amazing imaginations and some how we were usually able to get our imaginations to work together! Don't get me wrong, we had the typical fights where we literally wrestled each other to the ground until someone cried. Then whoever was the non-crier would run to shut the door before Mom heard the screams and beg the crier to stop crying while pleading for forgiveness.

My birthday is in February so I always got indoor toys. Miranda always got the cool swimming pool and outdoor toys for her birthday since it is at the start of summer. She always had hamburgers for her birthday dinner.

For Christmas we usually got the same presents. One year we both got dolls that we called our big dolls. They had "real" eyelashes and their eyes opened and closed. For some reason Miranda decided to cut her doll's eyelashes off. Then she was mad because my doll still looked pretty so she cut my doll's lashes off. Then she had the nerve to lie to me about it! I remember being outside by the rhubarb plant and strawberries and being so angry at her.

Mom always made us matching summer outfits. People even asked if we were twins because we were so close in age and we loved pretending we were twins.

One year we got matching red 10 speed bikes. They were awesome!

One time Miranda had a dream that she was able to pee longer than anyone else so she won a great prize. This dream sparked a morning competition where Mir and I would see who could pee the longest! We would literally count to see who could drag the process out the most.

Christmas 1990

We had so much fun together imagining everything possible. Our bedroom closet was the most elaborate baby nursery with everything a mom could ever dream of for her baby. The swing set was a ship. Our house was a giant cruise ship and the grass outside was the vast ocean. We lived in an orphanage and had the meanest master just like on Annie. Summers were spent outside playing war, cops and robbers, playing Barbies at the Hays home, riding our bikes, playing kick the can, and watching the thermometer until it hit 80 degrees so we could go swimming or run through the sprinklers.

I think I was 11 and Miranda was 10 when we saw an ad for anatomically correct baby dolls and we wanted those babies more than anything! We saved the ad and saved our baby-sitting money and ordered those dolls. She got a girl and I got a boy. (I just realized that I had a boy first and she had a girl first...Interesting!) We loved those dolls! Mom wouldn't buy us those doll diapers that were like the real thing so we made cloth diapers for our babies and covered the cloth with saran wrap so they crinkled and sounded like real diapers!

Egbert girls KaLawnie and Emily 1991

Miranda and I were the babysitters that everyone wanted. We babysat together so families got two for the price of one! We even made a grab bag just like the book series "The Baby-Sitters Club" We started baby-sitting when I was 11 and she was 10.

We were so mean to each other when we started to mature and would hit each other in the chest as hard as we could. Just in case you didn't know this, new breast tissue is very tender!

Miranda is famous for her Freudian slips. Like having zits because she just ended her masturbation (menstruation) cycle. Or calling someone a gonad (nomad) because they move around a lot. What about a man having a double mastectomy? According to Mir it happened! One more, someone had an autopsy (ultrasound) to find out the sex of their baby!

Miranda and I were room mates in college. We had a ton of fun together! At one point I was engaged and she was brave enough to come to me and tell me that she felt that I should not marry this person. At first I was so mad at her. How dare she question my judgement and tell me what to do. But her conversation got me thinking and more importantly, praying, and I too realized I would make a huge mistake if I continued with the marriage plans. She was there for me the night our engagement came unraveled. I am eternally grateful to her for all her love and support, especially at that time.

Miranda, I hope you have the best birthday ever and that this year is your happiest yet. Thanks for everything you do for me!

Happy Birthday Annie!

Annie, Marianne, JarJar Binks, Sister, Daughter, Wife, Aunt, Mom, and Cousin! Those are the many names my baby sister answers to.

Annie is the baby of 9 kids but she is the tallest girl! Maybe Michelle is taller but I don't think so!

She had the advantage (maybe disadvantage) of having 5 older sisters to lead the way!

She is goofy in her own little way but is able to laugh at her goofiness!

At one point during the awkward teen years, she strongly resembled JarJar Binks. She even had a poster of the Star War's character on her bedroom door. I remember coming home from college and seeing the poster and thinking someone was being very mean to my baby sister but then even I could not deny the resemblance. Plus Annie thought it was hilarious!

Annie is very loyal to her friends and family.

I remember being at the Hays' home (neighbors from church) when Annie was born. Dad called to say it was another girl and told me they were going to name her something odd like Millicent. But then he said he was kidding and asked if Marianne would be ok.

I remember Annie being a garbage collecter with Maria. Those two would fill baggies full of trash and stuff them in the corners of our room which was literally bursting at the seams with 4 girls in it!

This is a song I remember singing to tease Annie!
Annie Pannie Puddin and pie, kissed the boys and made them cry. When the girls came out to play Annie Pannie ran away!

Annie is pregnant with her 3rd girl and is the only one in our family to have more than 2 girls and to have kids all of the same sex. Maybe she will get a boy someday!

Annie is on the medical school journey with her husband and I wish her the best of luck! It is not an easy thing to do. But I know she can do it and I just pray she will learn from some of the mistakes I made on the same journey so it will be easier for her and her family!

Happy Birthday Annie! I hope today is a great day for you and that this year will be awesome with a new home, new baby, and one year closer to being done with school! Love you!!

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.