late vacation pictures

I always said I was going to put up more pictures and talk about our trip to Indiana and time has passed me by!
I was going to comment on each pic but it is not letting me! The one with Sofia on the ground is her washing herself with the bubbles, it was cute watching her give herself a bath on the side walk during the family reunion!
So I will do a quick summary of our trip:
The kids and I went for 2 weeks with my parents and my sister and bro in law and nephews to Indiana. Dan joined us there after a week.
The main purpose of our trip was to spend time with family. I was born in Indiana and besides my parents and sister/brother-in-law, all of our family lives in Indiana and Michigan. So while there we had 2 family reunions, it was a blast.
Most of the family had never met Sofia or Moses so it was so fun to get everyone together and just be with one another!
My parents rented a lake house that was beautiful and we all stayed there together with my grandparents. We were blessed by family that loaned us a boat and sea dos. Or as my Aunt says Skidoos!
ANyway we spent the time out on the boat and playing cards and eating really good fresh corn and green beans and other yummy foods that make me feel at home.
I miss my family and I was so thankful for the time we got to spend together.
All of my cousins went out to dinner one night while our parents watched all of our kids, it was so fun, I grew up without them close by so when we get together it is a really sweet reminder of the times we spent as kids.
I spent a lot of sweet time with my grandma as well, talking about Jesus, raising kids, and growing gardens. I am so grateful for the legacy my grandparents and parents have left for us, they are amazing people!

the kids

I really need to put pics up of our vacation but every time I look at them it just overwhelms me! I took a lot of pictures and I like to work on them a little before I post them and so I just keep putting it off!
Anyway here are some of the kids looking cute, in my opinion!

Life Lately

I have to be in honest in saying that lately I am just trying to survive! My days consist of cleaning up everyone elses booty butts (as Zeke likes to call it)!
We are in the midst of potty training Sofia right now and I am not gonna lie, it has been terrible.
We are at the end of week two of cold turkey potty training her. There has been a lot of pee on the floor, daily.
We tried here and there over the past 6 months and I never felt like she was really ready. But 2 weeks ago I was tired of 2 kids in diapers and the cost of diapers! So we went for it. Lets just say I have been elbow deep in (insert expletive here) for these 2 weeks! With Moses in part time cloth diapers I have had my hands in the toilet cleaning panties and cloth diapers way too much!
These past few weeks have been super busy for Dan and most days I feel like I am in a fog. It is so hard not having family in town and there have been many days lately where I just want to go hang out at my parents house, just chat about nothing with them, or drop in at my in laws and know I can put my feet up for an hour.
So I have felt sorry for myself.
But God is so good and he always blows me away with his provision! Our family up here sees a need and they step in and help. I have had four different friends offer to watch my kids and so many more encourage me and support me in my loneliness. I know it is a season of life that will pass way too quickly but man it is hard being at home all day with the kids, just trying to survive the mayhem!
Anyway all this to say we had a victory today with potty training! For the first time we went all day without one accident! Sofia woke up with a dry pull up and got up from her nap with a dry pull up! Maybe just maybe we are getting it!

bananas!!!!

I adore my kids but some days they just drive me bananas!!
Ever since we returned from vacation I have had a hard time getting motivated. I miss my family and we just kind of jumped right back into everything here, with school and church, all good things just busy. So all last week I had such a hard time getting things accomplished, well today I finally felt inspired to really clean my house and I did! I worked so hard mopping the floors, cleaning the bathrooms, picking up.
This afternoon a few things have happened to undo my hard work.
First Zeke found a poop nugget on the bathroom floor. No one is fessing up to it and it could be Zeke, Sofia, Moses or the dog!!
Then this afternoon when we were outside Sofia got absolutely covered in mud, Zeke turned the hose on the dirt and Sofia literally laid in it. It was a mess, so I brought her inside where I put her in the tub to scrub all the dirt off. She is mad and yelling, mud all over my floor!! Ugh!
Then I turn around to find Moses playing in the toilet!!
He is helping me with chores by scrubbing the toilet with a hair brush!!!
There is toilet water all over the floor, (luckily it was flushed).
It was unbelievable, all I could do was pound my fist in the air and say you guys are driving me bananas!!!
Life with kids, never a dull moment.

Indiana pics

Mom, my sister Krista and the kids at my grandparents barn
Moses' first birthday!
Grandpa Olyer with Moses Everett , Mo's middle name is from grandpa!
Grampy and Sofia at the Soda shop
Dan tubing with the kids, there was some crying...
The cousins at the old family farm
Zeke Sofia and Moses in the corn
The family
Brothers

I am still processing the trip. I will write about our adventures soon. It was such an awesome trip, some really sweet times with my family. I miss them already.

more yummy food

First cucumber!
Our garden is crazy right now, it is on the verge of everything being ready, right in time for the kids and I to go out of town for 2 weeks!
We have had a few cherry tomatoes that we have eaten but all the big tomatoes and cucmbers are almost ready!
I don't even know if this one was ready but it was huge so I picked it and we are gonna eat it tonight!
There is so much that I am learning and so much I will do differently next year! I am loving this process and it has been fun for the kids to see the garden grow and turn into things we can eat!
Yay for gardens!

yummy morning

I love the Farmers market and I love WIC.
Every summer (well the last 2 since I have gotten WIC) they have vouchers for us to go to the farmers market and spend $20 for fruits and veggies! It is amazing, I am so grateful for this little perk!
Today the kids and I went and used our vouchers! Dan had a meeting so we braved it alone, Sofia in the stroller, Moses in the baby hawk, and Zeke helping me push the stroller over the gravel!
We got peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, green bell peppers, green beans, corn, and 2 different kinds of squash! All for FREE!
I am so excited!!
I think WIC is such a great program, I never had to look into any extra help until we moved to Redding, and it is so cool to see all the great programs they have for women and children in Shasta county.
It is hard sometimes to use the vouchers in the grocery store, when I happen to go anywhere other than Winco. People seem to stare and huff in impatience, but it is worth it when I see the benefit and money we save for our family!
So yay for WIC and yay for farmers market!

campin it up!

Moses is getting 4 teeth right now, so he had a runny nose and didn't sleep, but what's new!
Roasting mallows, a nightly tradition
Payton wearing her mallow
The kids would sit around this gopher hole and watch him poke his head out all week, he was not shy at all!
Dump trucks are a tradition with Jonah, Zeke and Davey, it would not be camping without them!
The boys being cute with their pose!
The girls. I was going to post the pic of us in the morning, but they might be mad at me! I think we all look pretty good for camping!
Our family. we look pretty clean in this picture, the kids were pretty much always dirty or sandy, but that is the joy of camping!
Leave it to Adam to bring something fun that entertains the kids all week, last year it was the tree swing, this year bubbles!


Camping 2009
I think we figured out that we have been doing this camping trip together for about 7 or 8 years now! Crazy!
It started with just 2 little babies, now between our five families we have 13 kids and one on the way! (not mine, don't read into that statement)
It was a great trip the weather was amazing, 75 degrees!
We had so much fun just being together, the kids running around playing and singing, riding scooters and dump trucks, the adults telling stories ( really it was just Sam and his crazy stories, they are so hilarious!)
One bummer thing about the trip happened on the morning of day one, I get my camera out to take some shots of the kids and realize my battery is not in it! ARGH!!!
I never have a chance to take pictures, I miss it so much, and the one time I have the perfect opportunity I can't!
Dan had his camera but I barely took any, so sad.
Besides that we had a great time, I love these friends, we went through ministry together and through so many life changes, hard ones and good ones. I love you all and am so thankful for your friendship and for our time together to camp!

One down, a lot more to go!

We have lived in our house for about 8 months now and with three kids it has been hard to really settle in and "decorate". Whatever that means.
Anyway my parents have come up to visit numerous times and work themselves to death helping us! This last visit Dan and my dad hung two new fans and moved an old one to Zeke and Sofia's room. (It might surprise you to find out Zeke broke his old ceiling fan by climbing on his bookcase and hanging on the blades!)
Then my Dad and mom and Dan worked on our sprinklers all day as well. They are amazing and do so much to help us!
Anyway last week I finally finished one room completely in our house! Moses has been really wanting his room to be done and look put together so I did it! (that is a joke, he is only 10 months old, he doesn't really care!)
I am happy with it and the curtains came out good and it is simple but cute!
Next up is Dan and I's room, I was working on a shelf but the wood got warped after I had been distressing for a week, awesome.
Someday it will get done, for now I have one room down!!

oh what a night

Last night's events are in real time ( that is a 24 reference!:)
Dan and I decided to be crazy and stay up late to watch a movie last night.
Went to bed at 11:45
12:10, 12:30 Dog barking crazy at cats outside, get up to close our door so she stays in our room
(side note Dan is threatening her life again)
2:13- 2:30 Moses crying, got up to listen, forgot to close the door
3:24 Dog barking again, run out to grab her so she doesn't wake the kids, stub my toe on a chair, almost said a bad word
4:45 Moses crying ready to eat
5:10 put moses back to bed
6:30 Sofia wakes up pounding on her door to come out. Get up put her back to bed
6:40 dan's alarm goes off for early prayer
7:10 Sofia up again
7:15 Start the day, definitely having coffee today!
Needless to say it was not a very restful night!!!

camping

Last weekend we went camping at Siskyou (sp??) Lake with the Gafners. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!
We were amazed by the constant beauty all around us, trees, water, Mt. Shasta right in our faces! The weather was perfect and we had so much fun!
We went on bike rides, caught butterflies by the water, swam in the really cold water, went on a boat ride, and ate yummy camping food.
It was a great camping trip.
In about 2 years it will be even better because the babies will be older.
We didn't get much sleep but when do you ever camping with a 10 month old!
Sofia was in her element, dirt everywhere, snacks all around, and friends to laugh with, she had a blast!
Zeke was in heaven with bikes and scooters all around, he would have slept on the bikes if he could!
Moses didn't sleep but what is new right, he did ok, next year will be awesome with him!!
Anyway it was a blast, thanks Gafners for making it a great weekend!

graduation!

So today Zeke graduated from kindergarten!!
What in the world I cannot believe how fast time goes by! He is so big and somewhat grown up! Whenever I get overwhelmed at the calamity that is life and my kids are not listening I think back to when Zeke was 2 and life was literally insane! My sweet six year old gave us a run for our money all the time. We always joked that he was in the terrible two phase from age 1 until age 4!
Those close to us I am sure remember some incidents!
But today watching him cross the stage with his shirt tucked in (he didn't go to school that way), I was so proud of how far he has come and what he has learned and accomplished in his little life.
He has an amazing talent of looking at things from a different perspective, seeing something in a way we never would have if it were not for him. Everything is new and he wants to learn how it works and I am constantly learning from him.
He has so much passion for the things he loves, fans lights, bikes!
I am constantly realizing how huge my role is as his mom, to help shape him and steer him toward Jesus, I long for his passion to be for the heart of God.
All this to say that today was awesome, I have a 1st grader now!
And man are my kids cute or what!

Finally finished the garden!!

So we finally finished the garden!!!!
Who knew what a huge project this would be!! I thought sure no problem throw a few seeds back there and watch them grow, right? WRONG
The only full sun place in our yard is against the back fence which is a slope, so we had to dig it out and level it off, that in itself took us a few weeks, whenever we actually had time to get out there and dig it up. It ended up being full of granite rocks the size of beach balls. Let's just say Dan got a good work out!
Then we had to dig trenches around the plot to put the wood in. When we finally had time to get the wood, we had to paint it to protect it and getting it set up was not easy!
Then we had to find time to borrow the Gafner's truck(thanks you guys!) and go get the dirt!
We finally finished that Monday morning and the kids all got up early today so we headed out in the cool of the morning and planted!
I am so annoyed I didn't get pics of them planting the seeds!
Anyway You may look at the pictures and say, um why did you only plant 2 things ??
The rest are seeds, we planted green onion, green and red peppers, cucumbers, carrots, a tomato plant (more to plant soon), jalapeno plant and some basil!

I am so excited to see what happens, I can only hope at least one thing will grow and produce!!