New Pictures

On Monday the 29th I went and got the kids pictures taken.  It's been a very long time since all 4 kids were taken together.  I also got really nice ones taken of them individually for hanging in the living room.  They will all match and look really good in the black frames I have.  The last couple of years I've been really disappointed in the school pictures so I thought I'd get some taken that I could approve of before they get printed.  I think they turned out really well.  

                                                           

Potty training...

Potty training.  When do you start?   How do you go about it?  First off I have to admit that I'm a lazy potty trainer.  I don't like having to remind and follow and clean up the messes that underwear leaves.  I've been very lucky with my kids so far.  I've waited until each one was ready and shown interest.  This has worked really well for me.  My boys were potty trained within a day. 


Well, I was planning on starting Brynwen at the end of the summer, but she had other plans.  She has decided that she is ready now.  So, we are going forward.  She has reached the stage where she takes off her own diaper and tries to put a new one one, and all of this she wants to do by herself!  (She is very independent).  She has been doing a pretty good job so far and doesn't seem to have any issues with either number 1 or 2.  She hasn't quite gotten the hang of telling me she has to go. I have to remind and ask, and everytime I ask she will try to go.


We've been using pull-ups that some one gave us.  I have mixed feelings about these.  On the positive side they are great for accidents.  I don't have to worry about following her around with a rag and cleaner, and they're as convenient as pulling underwear up and down.  The negative side is they are very much like diapers.  Which of course is the whole reason for potty training right?, getting them OUT OF THE DIAPER!  They are also expensive.  So, I'm torn.  Do I buy the pull-ups or do I follow her around.  I guess I have to ask whether or not it's worth the cost to save my carpet.  The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning toward the pull-ups. ;~)  The boys were by far much easier.   

In Addition...

Two posts in just as many days.  I'm on a roll!  I realized that there were a few things I didn't write about in my last post.  In addition to having the fun day at Silverwood, which sadly I don't have pictures of, we also had Kades 3rd birthday that we attended.  Bev and Demarco did his party at a jump and play.  It was lots of fun.  Breanne brought Jace, Josh and Jackson up so they could participate in the fun, and then my kids were there and a few friends from his 'school' came.  It was lots of fun.   We had the whole bouncy house to ourselves.

                                            Jen and Ava on a Slide.

                                           Joel coming down after Ava.

                                          Brynwen on the big slide.

                                        
                                           Kids all over the place.

                                            Demarco

                                          The Birthday Boy...Kade!

                                          All the kids at the party.

The Cake!

                                           Jace or Josh...not sure which one.

                                           Gabbie and Cordin in the big slide.

                                           Gideon

The party was a great success.  It's nice that we live close enough to each other so we can all participateed in the family celebrations.  I love having my family close.


Another fun activity we did with the kids on Monday was to take them to see Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows part 2.  It was really good.  I enjoyed it immensely.  The producers did a really good job with it.  It's sad that they are all over now.  I'm glad they did the movies.  It's a great series.  The movies are good, but the books are better.  If you haven't read them yet, you need to.  That pretty much sums up the two major things that happened in addition to all the other stuff we did up until now.   Maybe I will keep this up after all.

June/July update

My last post was a long time ago. Two months and so many things have happened. May found us really busy, as I said before it's our month of everything.

The most significant thing that happened in May was the passing of Joe's mom. We got a call on May 23rd saying that Sally was in the hospital. She had found a lump in her throat and was getting it tested. She was admitted to the hospital that night. She was diagnosed with a very aggressive tumor, Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer.

It was VERY aggressive. On Wednesday the 25Th we received a call that mom was getting a tracheotomy done and if we wanted to be with her and hear her speak again, we should get there ASAP. We made a split second decision to go to Utah to be with family. We left that night around 10pm so we could be in Utah before her scheduled surgery of 2pm. We didn't make it. As we were traveling through Montana about 70 miles outside of Missula, our tire blew out. It was 1:00 in the morning I was driving and it was scary. I pulled over and we proceeded to change the tire only to realize that the spare was flat. Then we discovered that the hazard lights had drained our battery and the car wouldn't start. Thankfully a truck driver pulled over and helped us. He was able to give us a jump and we were able to drive on the flat donut tire to the nearest little town and fill it with air. That got us to Missula where we decided that we would get a hotel for a couple of hours and sleep.  This whole thing took about 3 of our precious hours.  It was rough. We really wanted to be there for Joe's mom. We found out though that we wouldn't have made it regardless because they moved Sally's surgery to 10am.

Joe was able to talk to his mom that morning for a few minutes before she went in for the trach.  He had a nice conversation with her but was so tired it didn't last nearly long enough.  We ended up sleeping for 5 hours and then getting new tires. What should have been a 13 hour trip ended up taking over 24 hours.  Even though it was a long journey down there it was very worth the effort. Joe was able to stay with his mom Friday night.  He had a good experience with her and will always remember that night. As I said before, it was very aggressive. Sally passed away one week after her diagnosis. It was hard. I'm so thankful that we had the means to go though. It was nice seeing all of the family. Every brother and sister was able to be there. It had been a long time since that happened.

The circumstances were tragic but being with everyone that we love was a blessing. Mom was surrounded by everyone the day she passed. All 9 kids and many of the grand kids, and even great grand kids. It was a very spiritual experience. Her memorial service was June 4Th and then we had her burial on Monday the 6Th.

After the memorial service we started the journey home. Thankfully it didn't take us as long. Nine hours from Logan Utah where mom was buried. For the most part the kids traveled pretty well. There was minimal fighting and arguing. It's not a trip I want to make again for a long time.

Once we got home life settled into our routine again. The kids had one week of school left. It was a happy/sad week for them. They were glad they didn't miss all of the fun end of school stuff but sad they had to go to school at all. June pretty much went by with out anything significant. We worked and the kids started summer vacation. June quickly turned into July. We decided that we would have to do some small summer fun stuff since Joe and I both used vacation time for Utah. For the 4th we had family over and had dinner and fireworks. Joe went a little crazy with his purchases so we had a pretty good show. We also went to Silverwood for the day on the 9th. That was lots of fun. It wasn't the warmest day but we spent a good 3 hours in the water park and then headed to the carnival rides. It was a good day. We also had a new member of the family join us on the 1st of July. Brent Jameson Woodard was born to Bryan and Rachel. The cutest baby ever! He looks just like his brothers.

That brings us to now, the middle of July. I can't believe how fast this year is going. Before we know it, it will be December again and we will all be posting about Christmas. I will try to do better, but let's face it I probably won't. ;-) This really is more of a journal for me anyway. Hope you all have a good summer.

May Fun!

With the month of May already half over, which I can't believe, I've been reflecting on all of the stuff that has happened. After spring break the kids went back to school just to start counting the days until their birthdays, at that point it was 23 days, and counting the weeks until school is out, 8 weeks then. As April progress we've had a few excited things happen. First off we bought new carpet and had to get the house packed up and ready for the install. Joe was able to take a few days off to help get it done. Who am I kidding he did most of the work. It was a crazy weekend. We ended up deciding to paint before the new carpet was layed so we painted Gabbie's room from pink to purple...



We painted our room from the white walls that were here originally to blue...


We painted the living room and hallway from chocolate brown to a really pretty light blue/green...




We then had to pack everything into boxes and move it all out of the house. We decided to use this time as a chance to do some major spring cleaning and de-cluttering. It has been so nice to rid ourselves of lots of stuff we never used. We are now ready to have a major yard sale later this summer. The carpet was layed on the 3rd of May so we didn't have a chance to have the kids birthday parties until the 6Th and 7Th. We did have a little family party for each of the kids on their day. Cordin May 1 and Gabbie the 2ND. Gabbie decided that she wanted to take all of her friends to a movie for her birthday. We went and saw Rio which was really cute. We then came home and had cake and presents and a few of her friends were able to sleep over.

Gabbie thought that it would be fun to shove her cupcake into her face...so that's what she did. Then all of her friends thought it was fun so they all followed.

Cordin wanted to have his party at laser quest this year so we did. He invited a few friends and we headed out Saturday morning to play two laser quest games and have presents and brownies with ice cream. It was surprisingly fun and I think the kids had a good time. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me as we kind of rushed out of the house in a hurry, so I don't have any pictures of his party. :( But here are a couple of him at our family party where he was able to open the presents we got him...

After the kids birthdays things have settled down a little, but the next to weeks are going to be full of fun stuff. Joe and I will celebrate 12 years of marriage on the 18Th. For our anniversary this year Joe wanted to get new wedding bands for each of us. He hasn't had a band in almost 8 years and I had to get my original wedding ring cut off my finger when I was pregnant with Gabbie. So, we went to Fred Meyer Jewelers in the mall and I was able to put my old ring toward the purchase of a new one...and this is the ring that we both liked the best...

I love it! I wanted something that was not going to scratch everyone I touch and still had a little bit of a bling factor. This one is perfect! In addition to it being our anniversary gift it will also count as part of my 36Th birthday which will be on the 27Th. I get to spend my birthday night with my sweet sisters. We are going to see the musical Wicked, and then Saturday I get to spend the day with my sweet husband. May has always been our busy month. I love it! I love that so many neat things have been happening and that we are together as a family to do them.

Spring Break

Here we are...April already. I love the month of April. It means life is starting to awaken and things are going to be green again. We are getting lots of rain. I do mean lots. I love it though. The kids are home for this week, spring break, it's been a little crazy having them here. One of the things I do love about spring break is not having to worry about waking the kids up. I love having the freedom of sleeping in for a little while. It's hard getting up at 7 when you don't get home from work until 11:30 and to bed until sometimes after 1. Who can come home from work and go straight to bed? I can't. In the past Joe has been the one to get the kids up and off to school. He has to leave by 5:30am now so he can work and then go to school then work they school again then work. He started his masters program this quarter and has long days.

We are going to do a couple of fun activities while the kids are home. Cousins are coming to visit for a few days so we are going to go to the Mobius Childrens Museum which should be fun. I haven't been there but Gabbie has gone with her class at school and says that it's lots of fun. We are also going to go to a jump and play which I just found out is in Spokane. It's hard to keep kids entertained and active, but if I don't make them do stuff they just sit at home watching t.v. or playing video games. Which is how I think Cordin would like spend his week if I let him. They will also be cleaning their rooms. This is an on going battle in our home. I realize that it's their room and they should be able to keep it how they want to, but when I start getting their clean laundry back in the dirty laundry to wash again after I just washed it, it's time to clean and put away the tornado stricken rooms. We'll see how this goes. It should be a mostly fun week.

I'm glad that the kids are here, but by the end of the week I'm sure that I'll be ready for them to be back in school. I love spending time with them and Gideon and Brynwen love having them at home. It does pose a problem with our schedule since neither 'little' kid wants to lay down when big brother and sissy are home, but it's only for a week. I think we can manage. Here's to spring break and having big brother and sissy home!