Guns and Gardens

Madison















Caden















Christian








Our three older kids are taking a hunter's safety course. It's 6 days of classroom for 3 hours a day and a Saturday range day which was this morning. The kids LOVED it. Madison is a really good shot! Caden was chosen by the instructor as an example because he said Caden did it perfectly keeping his finger off the trigger until time to pull and then taking it right of the trigger into the correct position. Caden thought he was in trouble when he was called up! I have video of it but can't get it uploaded right now.

Tonight, we planted our garden. We've been trying to plant for two weeks but between schedules and yucky weather, it didn't happen til tonight. We aren't excellent gardeners but it's fun.

Name Rankings

I read an article on CNN this morning that prompted me to do something kind of fun! If you go to www.ssa.gov, they have their annual list of the 1000 most popular names for kids for 2008. I plugged in our names to see how popular they were. Here's what I found.

Madison ranked 4th to come out on top in our family.
Christian ranked 23rd.
Caden ranked 95th.
Ken ranked 136. (I can't believe his was more popular than mine!)
Leslie ranked 147th.
Macy ranked 281.

Macy's name surprised me. I really thought hers would have beat mine and Ken's. Try it out. It's really fun!

The most popular name for girls was Emma and for boys Jacob.

Hood Park

My parents like to camp at Hood Park. It's not very far from home but it still gets them "away" when they don't have a opportunity to leave town to do it....plus they can commute to work if needed.

Last weekend, we went and spent the evening while they were camping. We had fun playing soccer, fishing, climbing trees, and our favorite.....EATING! I do love a good smore!!!!

Almost Brought Me to Tears

Today I had one of those MOMMY MOMENTS that brought me very close to tears. Now, to some of you, your going to go, "Huh?"

Caden had his last regular season soccer game at 8am this morning. I am truly a soccer mom. I love love love love love to watch my boys play.

At 9am, Christian had one of two games he was to play. His team was down a player and, in order to not forfeit, Christian's coach asked Caden to play. Caden is 8 and the boys on this team are 10 and 11 year olds.

Caden was very hesitant to play. He's practiced with Christian's team but he was nervous to play. With a HUGE push from Mom, he played.....and he was FANTASTIC!!! Five minutes into the game, Caden's nerves were gone as he realized he could play with the big boys. It made me so proud!!!! But that wasn't the MOMMY MOMENT.

The MOMMY MOMENT came when Caden made a sweet pass from the right side across over to Christian and Christian shot it in for the first goal. That was my MOMMY MOMENT. Christian and Caden ran up to eachother with big smiles and high fives. They did it....together. They did it two more times in that first game and couple more in the second.

My excitement wasn't so much for the fact that goals were scored....although that was fantastic. It was the common (excuse the pun) goal the two were going toward together and accomplishing....TOGETHER...and then celebrating....TOGETHER.

Fellow Bloggers

Oh, Bloggers, Bloggers, wherefore art thou, oh Bloggers?

Okay, this is my plea to my fellow bloggers who are also on facebook. Facebook is not a replacement!!!! You know who you are! You don't update your blogs much anymore because your too busy finding out what kind of tv mom you are, who your celebrity boyfriend is, or what type of car you should be driving. That's all fine and dandy but...............

I miss you! I miss reading your posts. Please....come back!

"Alice is Hot!"

Christian has read the Twilight books recently and he has seen the movie. We're in the living room and he says to me and his best friend Chandler "Alice is hot!" Chandler says, "Dude, she's like 20!" Christian replies, "So, maybe she likes young men!" I start laughing and tell him that's illegal...keep in mind I'm telling this to a 10 year old! Christian responds, "Yeah, but when I'm 20, she'll be 30 and we can get married!" Chandler pipes in at this point and says, "Dude, you said you were going to marry a kindergartner!" I look at him with this weird look on my face and he says, "I was thinking of you and Dad, Mom. When Dad was in the 5th grade like me, you were only in kindergarten!" I can't even begin to tell you how hard I was laughing at Christian's line of thinking. He's hilarious.

Madison's Cell Phone Quest

Madison has wanted a cell phone for a few years now. We told her she would have a cell phone when we were ready for her to have a cell phone. Well, we're ready. She had to have one for her DC trip so I bought a pay-by-the-minute phone and a cheapy phone. She didn't like the little white flip phone until I told her I would trade with her. I have an ANCIENT Nokia clunker. She changed her tune.

Well, at the beginning of the school year, we told her that we would get her her very own cell phone if she could pull straight A's all year. She brought home her 3rd quarter report card yesterday and for the third straight quarter she has pulled all A's.

You're almost there, Madison. We're proud of you!

Madison's DC Trip

My dad gave Madison some names of people he was in Vietnam with who died. Garrett Eddy was on of them.
The White House group shot.
Arlington National Cemetary
Washington Monument....not as tall as I thought...ha ha
Theatre where Lincoln was killed
Mount Vernon

Madison spent 4 days of her spring break in Washington DC with a group from her 8th grade class. In order to go, Madison earned half of the trip costs which meant she earned and saved up $800. Good job, Madison!

She saw many of the capital's highlights including the memorial of the flag raising of Iwo Jima in which a cousin, Franklin Sousley, was one of the five men raising the flag. Her camera was dead at this point so I don't have a picture of that, yet.

Cyclist in the Making and Spring Break

For Spring Break, Christian went to the Oregon Coast with his other family, the Hansen's. Madison went on a school trip to Washington DC (she earned $800 to pay for half her trip), Ken worked, and I went to Puyallup and Olympia with Macy and Caden. First stop was Puyallup to my cousins Tim and Corina Hannah's house. Corina is 38 weeks prego and on semi-bed rest so we spent a few days with her and the kiddo's hanging out. My baby brother Mike is a police officer in their area so he would stop by a few times a day on patrol when he didn't have any calls or on his lunch break and visit. Toward the end of our week, we headed down to Olympia to Mike's house and my oldest brother J and his family came down for pizza and a movie. We went to this place called Charlie's Safari with Mike, Julina, and little LIncoln. It's an indoor playland. Very fun and it was busy!

One thing Macy got out of spring break was wanting to learn to ride her bike without training wheels. She saw her cousin Megan do it. So, on the drive home, she asked if I would take of her training wheels. I did so and she taught herself to ride in a matter of an hour. She didnt' want ANY of my help! Good job, Macy! I look forward to many rides with you!

BEWARE OF LISTENING EARS

Most of you have heard my pregnant chalk story. For those who haven't here's a quick recap. When I was pregnant with Macy, I was at church and saw a piece of chalk (fairly new but used) and it looked so good I wanted to eat it. I stuck my head out in the hall to see if anyone was coming from either direction. I didn't see anyone so put the chalk in my mouth and ate like a rabbit would eat a carrot. It was SOOOOOO goooooodddddd! This is the ONLY time I ate chalk.....until I tasted it non-pregnant to see if it had the same effect.....just a taste...and I didn't like it.

Well, the reason for the post....today, Macy and I were at Target to buy a binder. I told her to look for some chalk (for my primary bag so I don't have to go the library on Sundays). Macy says: "Pregnant ladies have to eat chalk, right, Mom?" I asked her what she was talking about and she said : "YOU ate chalk when you were pregnant. Don't all pregnant ladies have to eat chalk?" It dawned on me. She heard me tell the story to somebody and thought it was NORMAL.

Today was a good lesson for my daughter. She learned that her mother is NOT normal.

Happy Birthday Kristie

I grew up in many places...far away places, not so far away places. At the age of 28, I finally had a say in where to live when Ken finished his ER training and we could decide what part of the country to live in. We knew we wanted to move to Washington to be near family but were pretty open to where. The Tri-Cities kept coming to me. Ken interviewed here, we were offered the job, and we turned it down! Well, the Tri-Cities kept coming to my mind. We ended up calling back and asking for the job and it was ours. I could list a million reasons why the move to this place was a good one. However, the most important one to me is because there were women here that I needed to meet and rub shoulders with.

Moving into our house on Van Dyke was not a coincidence either. I met the gal across the street and my first thought was, "Dang, she's beautiful!" It didn't take me long to realize though that Kristie's beauty on the inside far exceeds her beauty on the outside. I was meant to move here. I was meant to be Kristie's neighbor. I was meant to meet her and be her friend. I needed and continue to need her. She is the part I was missing.

Kris, you are the sister I yearned for as an only girl growing up. I am a better woman, mother, and spouse because of you. I love you with all my heart. Have a happy birthday!

Girls Weekend

Top row: Mom, Aunt Judy, Phoebe
Next row: Kristie, Wendy, Ruth
Bottom row: Leslie, Julina, Rosy

The girls in my family (minus a couple) went for a girls getaway to Reardan, Wa near Spokane with a whopping population of 500 people. What was the draw? This adorable little house that was once a shed. It was built specifically for crafting groups. It was perfect!! It consisted of 3 rooms and two bathrooms. The main room when you walk in is the kitchen/dining area. Up the stairs is a bedroom with 10 twin beds and a bathroom. SO FUN!!! Down the stairs is the work room and another bathroom. It was the perfect setup for a weekend of scrapbooking. We laughed so much, had movie after movie on the tv going, and scrapped til we couldn't scrap anymore. DId I mention how much we laughed!!!!!!! These ladies were so much fun! I am blessed to have them as my family. By the way, I beat my 100 pages last time...this time I scrapped 101!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Interview with Madison, Christian, Caden, and Macy.

If you have a kiddo old enough to answer, do this...it was really worth it for the laughs!!

Cut and paste these questions and ask your kids their answers....
These are all direct quotes. Some of them make sense, some of them I have no idea where they came from!

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Madison: Go clean your room.
Christian: Take of your cleats in the house.
Caden: Kick the ball outside!
Macy: Go clean your room.

2. What makes mom happy?
Madison: When I offer to do the dishes
Christian: When us kids care for eachother and clean our room
Caden: When we do what she tells us to do
Macy: Doing what she says

3. What makes mom sad?
Madison: When I don't listen to her
Christian: When one of us kids are sad she is usually sad
Caden: Saying bad things to others
Macy: Disobeying her

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Madison: By singing the Madagascar theme song
Christian: Tickling me and threatening me with funny things
Caden: When she makes sentences up for Macy's spelling words and it ALWAYS has the word carrot in it. (This is true...it's a running joke)
Macy: If she toots or burps (Let me clarify that Macy says this right after she herself toots and makes herself laugh----didn't want ya'll to get the wrong idea!)

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Madison: Permed hair, funky clothes, and liked a lot of boys
Christian: I don't really know
Caden: She had blond hair
Macy: Little

6. How old is your mom?
Madison: 34
Christian: 32
Caden: 34
Macy: 34

7. How tall is your mom?
Madison: 5 feet 3 1/2 inches
Christian: 5 foot 6 inches
Caden: 6 foot 5 inches
Macy: 6 feet

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Madison: Read or play piano
Christian: Scrapbook with her girlfriends
Caden: Play with the kids
Macy: Go to Chuck E CHeese's with me

9. What does your mom do when you're
not around?
Madison: Read and hang out with friends
Christian: Usually scrapbook or clean
Caden: Works on the computer
Macy: Clean up the house

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Madison: Composing and playing music
Christian: Singing or scrapbooking
Caden: Volleyball
Macy: Piano

11. What is your mom really good at?
Madison: Playing piano and solving problems.
Christian: Loving us kids
Caden: Volleyball
Macy: Piano

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Madison: I can't think of one.
Christian: Being mean
Caden: Picking up a table
Macy: Huhhhhh...can you come back to it? She's not very good at doing what kids say.

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Madison: NOthing...she stays at home
Christian: She is our mom
Caden: Alot of things...uuummmm...cooks
Macy: Clean

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Madison: Nice juicy steak with chocolate dessert
Christian: Reese's peanut butter cups
Caden: Enchiladas
Macy: Cookies

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
Madison: Mostly everything
Christian: That she's so kind and caring to others
Caden: When she takes us to McDonalds and gets McFlurries
Macy: Taking me to Chuck E Cheese

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Madison: Roadrunner because she's always on the go
Christian: I don't know, I don't watch very many cartoons
Caden: Cinderella
Macy: Wanda from Fairly Odd Parents

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Madison: Get dip cones
Christian: Go to movies
Caden: Play
Macy: Shop

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Madison: We wear the same clothes (Madison wears mine!)
Christian: We're both smart
Caden: We have the same color of eyes
Macy: Eye color

19. How are you and your mom different?
Madison: She won't wear my clothes
Christian: I'm younger and I'm a boy
Caden: I don't have long hair
Macy: Hair color

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Madison: She lets me borrow her clothes and she takes us out to get dip cones
Christian: By the kind and affectionate things she does for me
Caden: By taking care of me
Macy: She takes care of me

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
Madison: He's got brains and bronze.
Christian: Ooohhhhh, uuhhhhhh, ummmmmmmmmm....how he's handsome.
Caden: His accent....no, he doesn't have an accent....she thinks he's a good kisser!
Macy: Kissing him on the lips

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Madison: Olive Garden
Christian: On a scrapbook weekend
Caden: Granny's Buffet
Macy: On trips

JAMIE'S HEART FOUNDATION DINNER

My ONLY girl cousin Jen who is Jamie's Aunt and on the foundation board.

My cousin Tim who is Jamie's dad and founder/president.
My Gma, Aunt Judy, Corina (Jamie's mom and founder of the foundation).


My cousin's little girl passed away a little over two years ago (she just turned 2) from a congenital heart defect. Tim and Corina (Jamie's parents) immediately started a non profit organization to help other families who have children with congenital heart issues. The website is www.jamiesheart.org.

This weekend, Ken and I drove over to Tacoma to attend the annual GalaDinner. We drove over Snoqualmie Pass which was getting pounded with snow. We saw 3 accidents, several stuck cars, and had to put our chains on but we made it safe!

TO EVERY TIME THERE IS A SEASON

This is Grandma...my grandma....my children's great-grandma. She is the one and only that I knew really well growing up and I cherish her dearly.

Grandma has spent her life in the service of others. She speaks kindly of others and looks for opportunities to give support.

Like all of us, Grandma is getting older and with that comes the need to receive service from others. It is hard to accept.

Well, this is my time and my season to give service to my grandma and it makes me so happy to do it...to take care of her. I enjoyed taking her to the hair salon to get her perm. We spend one morning a week playing cards together.

This week, her older sister was visiting from Walla Walla. I had such a great time spending a few hours with these funny ladies playing a dice game called Farckle. Aunt Marge didn't know how to play and by the time it was her turn again, she had forgotten how to play the game but she still managed to beat us a few times and we're seasoned pros!

If only everyone could have this kind of opportunity. I love you, Gma!