It's official

We are now officially Moses Lake White Trash! I swore I wouldn't let it happen, but tonight it did. We stooped to a new low. Please don't judge me for this post, but I wanted to make note of when it happened! Let me explain...(I think you'll get a good enough mental image, that no photo is necessary)

I had one last Dr.'s appt. in Seattle today, so I was out of town all day. That meant that Lan had to pick the kids up from school and get them to piano. Before Whitley could get done with piano, Colton had baseball practice. Luckily, they practice at the Jr. High right close to piano lessons. So Landon and I ended up meeting at Coltons practice, and then we were going to go get some dinner. His practice lasted almost 2 hours tonight, and during most of it, the girls were in Lan's truck swigging down a cream soda he'd bought for them. Lan and I were visiting in my car right next door. And that's when it happened. Both girls come busting out of the truck with that, I have to pee RIGHT NOW look on their faces. We're at the Jr. High. I've never even been there. I have no way to find a bathroom, and I don't even know if it's open as it is 6pm. There were no good trees or bushed for cover, and I truly thought Kennedy would pee her pants! So we did the unthinkable. I held Kennedy's hands while she stood on the running board of our car and she squatted down right there in the middle of the parking lot and let 'r rip. Full on bum shot for anyone and everyone. The classy part, is that Landon was doing the same special trick with Whitley on the other side of the car! Yep, they peed all over the Jr. High parking lot. But what else could I have done, I ask you?? I did think Landon was going to turn wrong side out he was so mortified:) And that's what I mean by WHITE TRASH

Fit to be tied

This morning I asked Kennedy to fold this blanket for me. And away we went. You talk about a fit. She freaked out screaming that she couldn't do it, she was too little, and needed help. Are you kidding me? You're six! All I asked is that she tried to do it, and then I would help her if she needed it. This fit went on for the space of maybe 15 minutes! Over folding a blanket, WOW! She finally got it done (after being threatened with her life) and then kicked and screamed on top of the blanket for a little more drama. She carried this special treat on throughout most of her breakfast!

She then complained the rest of the morning about a stomache ache. HMMMM, I wondered if yelling and crying and dry heaving would make your tummy upset???

Rock on!

A little before school entertainment!

Sweet Bliss

A little box of heaven arrived for me today! That's all I have to say-thanks Kirsten!

Short and Sweet

Well that was a new experience! We got to church today, and the power was out. The whole building was dark. We figured that the lights would be back on any second, so we made our way in and found a seat. After sitting in the dark for about 10 minutes, they finally announced that we were going to go outside to the pavilion and have the sacrament, and then go on home! Luckily it's a pretty nice day outside, or we would've frozen to death. We had the sacrament and were on our way home within a half an hour of getting there! I was going to have Landon take of picture of all of us with his phone, then decided that that was probably inappropriate:) On the way home, we had a nice little discussion about why we even made the effort to take the sacrament. It turned out to be a nice little teaching moment! Now, what to do with the extra time??? Nap anyone

I Am Thankful For...(#17)

...my blog!

This might seem a little weird, but I really am. It has allowed me to stay connected to many family and friends, that I otherwise would have lost contact with long ago. I am also using it like a journal. I have never been good at keeping a journal, and I'm so excited to have all of these memories and pictures all in one place. I can't wait to have it printed out into a book at the end of the year!

Fun Friday

What a crazy day! It didn't start out that way, and my plan was to have an easy relaxing day at home. (This is a picture of our house)

After my run, Landon came home and I thought we could get some stuff done around the house that we've been needing to do. We had only been home for about 1/2 an hour and my phone rings. It's Kennedy from school. She has a headache, and wants to come home. We load up in the car, and go get her. We're all hungry for lunch, so we head to a place we've never been. Ann's Diner.
The food wasn't bad, and the regulars could not have been nicer. The atmosphere was a little lacking! ANYWAY, we picked up the kids from school, and always on "fun fridays" we go for a treat. We decided to go to Shari's for some ice cream sundays- YUM

On the way home, Colton's friend Matthew called to see if he could come and have a sleepover! This was the first time he's had a friend invite him over since we've been here, so he was WAY excited! I know all about the family, and they're really nice people, so we said he could go. Not to be outdone, Whit decided she needed a sleepover too. So we called her friend Jalin to come sleepover. After dropping off and picking up friends, Landon and I decided to go out to dinner (being date night and all). Since the girls were going to be home alone, we just went up the road about a minute to the steakhouse at the golf resort we live at.It was so nice. I almost forgot we were in Moses Lake. We sat by the window that overlooks the golf course and the lake. It was actually very pretty. The food was excellent, and the company even better. I love going out with Landon. We laugh our guts out and truly enjoy each other's company. We ate so much I thought I'd be sick! What a bonus to have probably the best food in Moses Lake less than a minute from our house!

Once upon a time...

I picked up the kids from school today, and they are all telling me about their days and how things went. Whitley says to me "hey mom, you're gonna love this one". I'm thinking, oh no now what?? She says, while I was eating lunch today, Kennedy's teacher came up to me and asked me if you had had a baby. I told her no. She said that Kennedy had been telling her that her mom had just had a baby named Sally. That she's been up all night because Sally had been crying and yelling. Whit says uh, nope, no baby and Kennedy's teacher says, I didn't think so. Your mom never has a baby with her, and she doesn't look like she just had a baby!"

WHAT!!! I try to explain to Kennedy, again, why we don't tell lies, and that even though she was trying to be funny, her teacher won't trust her if she lies to her. What am I going to do with her!

Colton's Baseball Game

Here are a few highlights of Colton's baseball game last night. He had a sweet catch in the outfield over his head, and by some miracle I got a picture of it. He's having so much fun playing this year. His coach is awesome and is really teaching him a lot about the game. Warming up for the game
With his buddies
The sweet catch
Up to bat (strike 1)

Red Robin YUMMMM

Kennedy and I had a great day today. Again, she was sooo nice. We drove to Wenatchee, which is about an hour from here, and had lunch at Red Robin. She loves to get cantaloupe with her macaroni. She got a balloon on the way out, and that made her day. It's the little things, ya know- After that we made a quick run to Costco, and then it was back home to pick up Colton and Whitley! Today flew by, just like yesterday did. I'm so glad we had these two days to spend together. It would be nice if the other kids just got a random day of every once in a while like that!

Just the two of us

I had the rare opportunity to spend the whole day with just Kennedy today! The kindergarten teachers are having parent teacher conferences, so just the kindergarten has today and tomorrow off! It was just like old times. She had been the only one home with me for the last two years and as excited as I was for her to go to school, I have missed her. She was so nice all day. I took her to the gym with me. They have a small room where there's a tv and a bunch of toys and such to play with. When I picked her up, she told me that it was the worst day of her life! They only had baby toys, and that all the babies in there cried the whole time!

Then we met Landon for lunch. I told her she could pick where we went as long as it wasn't McDonalds (she loves that place). So we went to Burger King. After that we ran to the grocery store. She was a big help. She rode in the cart the whole time, and organized the stuff as I put it in!

Once we got the groceries put away, it was already time to get Colton and Whitley from school. Kennedy had picked out a treat for them and herself at the store, and was excited to give it to them.

We had a nice day together, and I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow. I thought these 2 days would be long with her since the weather is cold and there's not much to do around here, but I was wrong. Today just flew by and I'm sure tomorrow will to. I loved spending the day with you Kennedy and can't wait to do it again! I love you

I Am Thankful For..(#16)

...sports.

I grew up in a family that was very into sports. If one of us wasn't playing in a game, we were watching one. I now have the joy of passing this interest on to my kids. They are also very interested in competing in and watching sports of all kinds. I'm so glad that I am able to give my children the opportunity to try all kinds of different sports. As I watch them learn how to win and loose, and how to be a good sport and team mate, it really makes me appreciate the lessons they learn along with the fun that they're having.

Another Saturday Another Soccer Tournament

Today Whitley had a soccer tournament in Ephrata (aka May berry) all day! They had their first game at 8am so we were up and out the door by 7am. She had two more games, one at noon and one at 2pm. They played really well, and it all came down to the last game. They played a team whose reputation proceeded them. Our girls were very nervous to play against them. They are known for being rough. Within the first 3 minutes of the game, the ref had already called 3 penalties-all on the same girl. They had obviously been coached to play dirty. Their parents got mad and started yelling at the ref, and they had to stop the game, and go get the league officials-it was a nightmare. Our girls were completely psyched out! Every time Whitley came out of the game, she'd come over to me and say they were gonna loose, and that they were hurting her! Needless to say, we lost. I was kinda glad though, because had we beat them, we would've had to play them again in the finals. It was a great opportunity to teach Whitley about sportsmanship and how NOT to play the game of soccer! Pre-game pep talk
Did I mention it snowed in between games!
Whitley playing defense The coaches meeting with the league officials

Kennedy's Closet

Does anyone else's child do this?? This is Kennedy's closet. I find it like this all the time. I don't know if this is her trying to get a shirt, and she pulls on all of them until one finally falls off the hanger, or what? Miss independent

Small act of kindness

This morning, the girls woke up and came downstairs before Colton was awake. That NEVER happens. When Colton came down, he told me that he had made the girls beds for them while they had been relaxing. This happens at our house every once in while. The nice part is, is that it can be any one of them that will do this for the other two. None of them had done it for a while, so I was glad to see that they hadn't forgotten about this little kind act that they do for each other. I went upstairs later to get some hangers, and thought it was so cute how Colton had folded and laid out the girls' blankets! He knows how special they are to them.

Phobias

I have 3 very real phobias. The first one is of snakes/worms. Anything that can move that fast, without legs, is NOT normal. I have been afraid of them for as long as I can remember!

My second phobia didn't start until I was an adult. Heights! I was never afraid of heights as a child. We use to go swimming at a place called Butler Jr. High in Salt Lake when I was little, and they had platforms to dive from. I'm talking Olympic style platforms. My cousins and brother and I would launch ourselves from the top platform without thinking twice about it! I was also a cheerleader in high school, and between my friend Liz and I, we were always at the top of the pyramids, or being thrown around. NO FEAR! Now, I don't think I could ever ride on Landon's shoulders without being paralyzed with fear.

My last, but certainly no least phobia is spiders. Now I know that most people don't really care for spiders, but I'm talking panic stricken fear of them. Every shape every size! Which leads me to the purpose of my post!

I left to day to meet Lan for lunch, and about 5 minutes into my drive a thick, furry spider (I swear baby tirantula) came crawling across my dashboard. I flipped. I look around for something to try to squish it with, and luckily still had my towel from my run that morning in the car. I double up this towel and go for the squish. As I went to pick it up, to make sure I had it, it fell!!! I slammed on my brakes, and slid to a stop. Jumped out of my car, and tried to find it! NO GO. I was far enough from home at that point, that I couldn't walk back but was too far from Landon to walk to him for help! I decide to climb back in the car, and procede to drive like a maniac to where I was meeting Landon for lunch. I was hunched up against my door, and I kept stomping my feet so it wouldn't get on them!

Landon checks my car, and cannot find this dang spider. I'm like, we're trading cars until you do! I think he thinks I'm kidding, and I'm NOT! He keeps telling me that he thinks I probably killed it, and that it's dead and curled up in a ball. I KNOW IT'S NOT! It's totally waiting for me it get back into that car so it can attack me when I'm not expecting it. We have our lunch, and get back to our cars and I make him start to look for it again. I'm sitting in the middle seat, and all of a sudden it comes crawling across the floor, and into the heating vent under the driver seat! I scream for Landon. We crank up the heat-nothing. We crank on the A/C-nothing. I go to his car to get a screwdriver to see if I can flush him out because Lan can see him in there. Just as I get back to the car, it's coming out of the vent, and Landon crushes it! Instant relief! I really didn't think I could drive my car again until it was found.

Let the games begin

Last night was Coltons' first baseball game. They lost 5 to 4! He played right field and left field, but never saw any action. He did, however get a hit. Why is it, that watching your kids do things, is way more stressful for you than it is for them. Maybe it has something to do with my competetive side? Who knows. I was not smart enough to take my camera, so I'll have to post a picture of him later.

Band Aid Addict

Yep, those are band aids. She claims she bumped her eye. This is why we never have a band aid when we "really" need one

Bug Bites

Friday night, Whitley wakes me up and says that she has some bug bites on her legs and that they're really itching. I sleepily get out of bed, and find some Hydrocordisone cream to put on them, and send her back to bed. By morning, she has these huge bug bits on both of her legs, and 2 on her arm! She counted 28 total! We continue with the Hydrocordisone cream throughout Saturday, thinking that by Sunday she should be fine. She is almost hysterical during church they are itching so bad, and we decide to try and give her some Benadryl. That's what they told us to give her for her bee stings because she's allergic. I thought that maybe she was allergic to whatever bit her since they didn't seem to be getting any better. We did the Benadryl thing throughout the night, and I gave her a dose in the school parking lot, thinking she should get in a good 6 hours of relief. Also hoping that they'll start to go away!

I get a call from Whitley at school today around 1pm saying that her legs were itching so bad that she couldn't take it any more! I decided to take her to her Dr. to make sure they were just innocent bug bites. She is very sensitive to these types of things, but this was going on a little long, even for her! We don't have a pediatrician up here yet, so we go to the Moses Lake Clinic! YIKES. I think we were the only white people in there. Anyway, we saw the Dr. and he said yes they're bug bites, and he prescribes her some suped up cortizone cream and some kind of oral medication to help with the itching. He then tells me to pick a couple of the bites, and put clear nail polish on them. That sometimes the little microscopic bugs that bite will still be in the wound, and that's maybe why they're taking so long to heal. By putting the nail polish on, it will suffocate them! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!

From pouting to pooped

This is a picture of Kennedy on my floor last night. She started out pouting because Colton wouldn't move and let her sniggle in the bed next to me-we realized after about 10 minutes of silence from her that she had fallen asleep! This is her favorite position to sleep in.

I Am Thankful For ... (#14 & 15)

...my parents and my in-laws. I am so lucky to have my parents. They have always been so supportive of me in everything I've done. Even when I didn't always make the best choices, I knew that no matter what I two people in my corner! They are the best grandparents a kid could have. I grew up knowing and loving all 4 of my grandparents, and wanted nothing less for my kids. Having them as a part of our lives is truly a blessing.

Not to be outdone, I totally lucked out with my in-laws! They are two of the most sincere, loving people I've ever met. They accepted me, and have loved my as their own since the day we met. I'm so grateful for the job that they did in raising their son. He is amazing, and I know that he is who he is, because of the way he was raised!

The really cool part about our parents, is that they're great friends. Landon's mom has been sick and my mom has been taking in meals, and they chat on the phone on a regular basis. Neither of them has any other family in AZ. so on holidays, we all get together, together. We are like one big family. How blessed we are to not only have 2 but 4 of the most amazing people influencing us on a daily basis! We love you both.

RIDE ON!

Landon and I are kinda on a health kick. Not that we don't usually eat pretty good and exercise, but we want to get the kids moving more and we can always do better. So we decided to go on a bike ride this morning. The weather was a perfect 65 degrees. The sun was shining, and we just had to get out in it! It's so nice to have all 5 of us be able to ride without any training wheels! We all decided afterwards, that we were gonna do that more often. We're even talking about going out again before dinner! It felt so good to get our metabolisms going, and hopefully we are teaching our kids to take care of their bodies!

Home again Home again, Jiggity Jig!

We are back from our trip "home". Here are just a couple of shots of our trip. I started out so strong, and then totally forgot to take any pictures after the first day!

The kids watching a movie on the drive to the airport at 5am
Kennedy was a ton of help with the luggage!
Waiting to take off (Holy fat arms-free weights, here I come)

Colton with his bff Preston trying to find something to destroy!
The girls making up a song and dance

We had so much fun, and loved seeing so many of our friends and family.

Light Sabers and Port-a-Potty's

Sitting in the car at Whitley's practice with Colton. He leaves to use the port-a-potty. There's a little boy playing with his light saber. By playing, I mean he's at war with the air and a tree!! Colton comes back, and here's how our conversation goes...

Colton " Mom, how come port-a-potty's smell so dang GOOD?"

Me "What the- GOOD, what are you talking about?"

Colton "You know that little blue thing they have in there, that makes them smell good."

Me "Every port-a-potty I've ever been in smelled like everyone and their dog had just gone poop in them!"

Colton "Hmmm, I kinda like the way they smell with those blue things"

A few minutes later, after watching the little kid with the light saber...

Colton "See that kid?"

Me "yeah"

Colton "He thinks he's at war!"

Me "Yep, he's cute huh"

Colton "Do you know that if Jedi's were "real", I would be a "real" Jedi"

Me "You think so"

Colton "Yeah, you know why?"

Me "I can't imagine"

Colton "Because, one time, when we lived in Arizona, Uncle Jimmy shot me with my Nerf gun that shoots a whole bunch of bullets, and I blocked them all!"

Me "Wow, you really are a Jedi"

Colton "Yep"

I had just had the thought this morning after measuring to see who was taller, and learning once again that Colton had me by an inch, that he's growing up so fast. I am starting to have to look up at him, and he was starting to act pre-teenish! This little conversation blew that theory right out the window. He's still just the goofy little boy we love!