zoo lights

conversations

Leah: "Daddy, what are you doing?"
Mommy: "He's trying to ruin Kyle's ears so that he can never hear again."
Leah: "Really, Daddy?"
Seth: "Can you hear me, Kyle?!"
Kyle: "No."
Leah: "Yup. Daddy ruined his hearing."

jones orchard

homemade cards

These are the cards we made for Hannah & Beau.
Instructions:
1. color on sand paper (really layer the crayon on thick)
2. place sand paper on thick paper crayon side down (we used poster board)
3. iron (I placed the pieces between an old t-shirt)

good morning, george. how are you?

goodnight gorilla

Excerpts from one of our favorites, read by Kyle:

daddy's 31!!

Nathan's birthday was trumped by his being late to come home and Seth's soccer game. We celebrated on the run.... welcome to parenthood!

seth's first soccer season

And, his biggest fans!!

It was so much fun to go to Seth's soccer games. He LOVED it and now he's excited to try out some baseball next!! Thanks, Nana and Papa; that was a great birthday gift.

fun at the zoo

Watching this grizzly play with the kids was super cool. It's amazing how brave they are when there's some glass between them and the bear.

joy's wedding

thanks, daddy

Just a plain, old-fashioned, family-fun surprise from Daddy.

rocket science

Thanks to everyone that gave Seth some money for his birthday. You are the official sponsors of this fun-filled family day!

seth turned 5

As usual, Seth was blessed to be able to celebrate his birthday surrounded by extended family. We had such fun. It was so suffocatingly hot, we decided to forgo a day at the zoo and use this day to stay around the house enjoying each other's company. Nathan bought a slip-n-slide and everyone had a great time playing that morning, because the slip-n-slide only lasted until lunch time. Later we did 2 rounds of presents and cake. Nathan's wacky schedule made it so that Mikaila and Seth's "parties" had to be separate, but no one was displeased with 2 rounds of cake!! So, another year is over and I can't believe he's 5 and already in the full swing of school. He's like a little man.

mommy's little readers

We love reading in this house and
I'm always catching Leah reading to Kyle!!
LOVE IT!

independence day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!

starlight spectacular

three...

that is all. I only have three children. Three is not a lot, it is very manageable. I have friends that have four, five and six. Three is easy.

However, tonight at dinner, I felt as though I had 20. I know that everyone has things going on in their lives right now, but if you're reading this, please speak a quick prayer on our behalf. Kyle and Leah have been sick for almost 3 weeks now and we are all very worn out. They are cranky, sobby, weak, needy, lethargic... and yes, still, at times, adorably sweet (just gotta love my Leah's affection and my Kyle's giggles). Our doctors haven't figured out what's going on yet, but it needs to be over. Seth has remained fine through this whole thing. This momma better get to bed so that she can peel herself out at 3 a.m. to give two littles medicine that tastes HoRriBLe! Night, night. Sleep tight.

seth's first stitches

Yes, June held many firsts for Seth. While at V.B.S. at our church Seth "stumbled" into a table and sustained a pretty bad injury. (Well, at least it was the worst our family has seen to date. Thank you, Lord.)

Because it happened at night, we had to make a trip to the E.R. We arrived around 6:30 and did not return home until nearly 1:00. (That's why he's sleeping in the center shot.) While there, the E.R. doctor decided to derma-bond it and send us on our way.... after a popsicle. That was Wednesday. By Sunday, the derma-bond had unsealed and we went to see Dr. Susan on Sunday afternoon. She decided to do stitches.... and now I KNOW why the very kind, soft-spoken E.R. doctor decided to derma-bond that sucker. WOW!! That was traumatic for everyone in the office and down the street.


And, apparently, no matter how loud you're going to scream, they give you a cool tattoo before you get started!

just because i love them

Realizing that blog-journaling our families life makes it seem like all is sun-shiny all the time, I'll just say it's not! However, as a mommy, I need to focus on these moments to get me through the not-so-shiny moments:

auntie melissa's visit

Oh I love when Auntie Melissa visits. She becomes my live-in-friend for a week. She's always such a big help to me and the kids adore her. At the end of the week, as she headed for home, Seth wanted to say one last thing. I told him, "No honey, she's down the street already." To which he tearfully replied, "But, I know the way back home." Sure then. Run down the street and out of the neighborhood. Chase her car down and give her that message. NO! We called her.

We love and miss you Auntie Melissa!!

our $41 summer plan...

Since this didn't seem to fit anymore,


We decided to buy them one of these:

SAND AND WATER TABLE
(well, this mommy decided to make it a rock and water table)

and one of these:

SPRINKLER

hiding in the cabinet

I saw this:

Kyle at 17 mos.

and thought of this:

Seth at 2 1/2.

seth's first v.b.s.

...at Bellevue that is.

CAMP OUTRAGEOUS!!

This was a hUgE stepping stone for Mommy! I really waffled on this one. This meant I had to drop him off at a building and drive away... for hours!! Well, I took the plunge, because the plunge was made a little easier by him being able to be in Aunt Tami's class! Praise the Lord, my boy was well behaved all week and he LOVED IT!!

daniels' visit

In June, we got to hang out with Mikaila, Greyson and Brianna for almost 2 weeks while Mimi and Bob headed for Scotland to celebrate 20 years!!!

We had tons of fun. Here are some pictures from our ridiculously hot zoo day.

leah vs balloon - updated

Finally got the videos uploaded:

leah vs balloon

stomp - updated

I've updated an old post missing the videos. Just click on the link below to see it.

Stomp

eats like a man - updated

Finally got the second video uploaded. Click on the link below to go see it.

"the boy that eats like a man"

leah vs balloon

If Leah were the last person in the balloon relay, her team would surely lose.

This went on for well over 10 minutes.

relax and enjoy the...

...ah man! Not when you're a mom with 3 small children.

stomp

Kyle has had a thing with stomping. If he wants something or get angry, he'll stomp his little foot. Sometimes he even does it when he's happy. I think it's too cute.

Of course Bubby and Sissy had to get in on it when Kyle got a reaction from Mommy and Daddy.

stop fighting it...

Since he was insistent that he MUST play in the pots and pans cupboard, I decided to stop fighting it and give him something to do with the pots.

It kept him busy for quite some time, and it didn't take to long for brother and sister to join in!!

the boy that eats like a man

Just in case anyone out there thinks that I'm exaggerating, check this out.

He finished the entire McDouble and small fry.

(These videos were shot back in January, but Nate just got them "tailored" to put on the blog...)

a first for leah

Leah Wrote Her Own Name!!!

We were getting ready for the birthday party for a girl in Leah's sunday school class, so the kid's made cards for her. They colored and stickered and Mommy added a message for them. I didn't know if she could do it or not, but I figured why not let her try. I think she did pretty well!! The 'H' was her first attempt at an 'A', fortunately, she left enough room between the 'E' and oopsy 'A' to change it up and squeeze in a good 'A.' (are you confused yet??)

snuggy-bear

If you give Kyle a snuggle, he's going to want a soft bankie to snuggle with. And if you give Kyle a soft bankie to snuggle with, he's going to suck his thumb. And if he sucks his thumb....

This boy loves to snuggle up with a soft blanket! One night while we were at church Jill (music minister's wife) layed Derek (her 7 month old son) on the floor on top of his soft blanket. When Kyle saw it, he bee-lined it over, crouched down, grabbed the blanket into both both of his little fists and worked to get his thumb in his mouth... while Derek was still laying on the blanket.

This is how I found him when I walked into the room, but unfortunately, the light was all wrong. Eventually I got the picture posted above.

crime stoppers

One day, towards the end of January, this was the scene in our cove.

But have no fear...
Seth was armed and ready.

this is how we roll

For Christmas Nana and Papa gave Seth a new camouflaged booster seat. So now, this is how we roll.

After Christmas we kept telling him that he had to wait until Kyle turned one. So on Tuesday we celebrated Kyle's first birthday, and on Wednesday, before we left for church, he was sure to have me install his new ride.

Kyle thought that he was pretty hot stuff too. This was his first time forward facing in the car. Phshew! Yet another transition goes smoothly!

kyle's first birthday

What a truly amazing little boy. This last year has been such a big year in the life of our little family, and he, though so little, has been such a big part of every moment. I can't even believe that there was a time that he wasn't part of our lives. He has completely changed the dynamics of this family, and for that I am grateful to his Creator.

christmas at the barley's

christmas at the fullerton's

January 4, 2010

+ 2 days...

If you remember, when I was in labor with Kyle, we found out that the new batteries we had bought for the camera, SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT MOMENT, were dead.... out of the package- dead. So, we have very few first day or two pictures. We opted to embrace the moments ourselves without a camera.

While we were in the hospital, Seth and Leah stayed with Nana and Papa. After being discharged (which is much harder than it should be) we left the hospital and headed to their house to introduce everybody.

baby's first christmas

It's hard to believe, but this was Kyle's first Christmas. When you picture a baby's first Christmas, you don't think of them opening gifts and walking around playing with their new toys. Apparently, merchants see it the same way; everything that said "Baby's first Christmas" was 6 months and down.

christmas 2010

GoOd mOrNInG, ChRisTMas!

I will never win against this one in waking up early.
But, Nathan had to hold me back so I wouldn't wake up the other two!
I was just TOO EXITED!

"too bright, mommy!"

I always forget to turn off the t.v. before trying to take his picture.

LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN!!