tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13360375277591864582024-03-18T20:49:59.847-07:00Snips, Snails & MeAngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-61701107955202864622015-03-18T11:44:00.000-07:002015-03-18T11:44:28.180-07:00The BasementThis is for Mom and Dad, who patiently listened to me explain all of the fun stuff I did in my basement, but were not able to picture it. Photos are just taken with my iPhone, not trying to be fancy...<br />
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We have a very long and skinny basement, so I split it into three sections. When you walk down the stairs and turn the corner, this is what you see.<br />
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If you walk to the middle of the room, and turn back around to look towards the stairs, this is what you see.<br />
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<span id="goog_909786335"></span><span id="goog_909786336"></span>The TV viewing section...<br />
Put Curtains along the wall to add some color and texture, bought the buffet table to fit the giant TV from a consignment store.<br />
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Used my awesome silhouette and some reclaimed kitchen cabinet doors to make these Shel Silverstein quotes above my new little couch.<br />
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Two bookshelves flank my office door, and the awesome leather recliner is centered to watch TV.<br />
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The Middle section is the kid's desk, computer stuff, and a little reading nook. I bought the antique desk at a thrift store. I love everything about it except for the idea of ever having to move it up stairs.<br />
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On the other side of the room there is this little reading nook. The table is a hand-me-down from my parents (from the 40s). I put the basket top on it and some magazines and books and such.<br />
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If you are facing this chair, to the left, I have these cute owl canvases. I made the Owl you need... signs with my silhouette.<br />
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At the back of the room, there is another little bench to sit on, and my tread mill. My new tread mill comes tomorrow!!! They are hauling this old one away for me.<br />
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I moved all of my storage cabinets into the hall. It seems narrow in the pictures, but it is nice to have the extra storage, and to have them out of the way.<br />
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And finally, over Thanksgiving, I redid the bathroom downstairs. Painted and changed out the towels, rugs, and shower curtain. I also spray painted my big wicker shelf to add some color.<br />
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<br />AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-1069206224511863142014-09-08T11:54:00.001-07:002014-09-08T11:55:12.518-07:00First Week of SchoolAfter a FUN weekend spent playing as a family, the anticipated first day of school arrived. We had a big meeting Monday evening to discuss the schedule and the expectations. I wondered if my big plan would freak them all out, but they actually all really liked it. Tyler loves that he knows exactly what he can help with. Jack loves it because it helps him stay on task. Sam loves it because he can know what we are eating for dinner every night, and Logan has no idea what is going on :)<br />
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Here are the big successes. The house stayed clean all week. We did not eat out even one night. There was not a lot of screaming or nagging going on in the mornings to get everyone ready and out the door. We were able to pray and read scriptures, and the overall feeling in our home was just better. Other than Logan, we hardly watched any television, and no one complained about that at all.<br />
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The only downside. I was exhausted. I was so anxious the first few nights, that I didn't sleep, but by Wednesday evening I was too tired to stay awake. I slept, but it was hard to get up again at 5:30. I will adjust as I get more used to the early morning.<br />
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It will be another busy week, but I think we are getting into the groove of things. Here are our first day of school pics and some comments about each of their first week adventures.<br />
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Jack and Sam wore matching uniforms on purpose. That was weird, but I decided not to comment. Sam announced the next day that Jack could not wear the same color as him, and they have been checking in each morning to make sure they are not matching. Logan chose his FAVORITE shirt with the hood, and some "clean, tight pants". On my long list of things to get done before school started, haircuts never made it to the top. They were a little shaggy. Logan was in a brace for the first week of school, but it is off now (hooray).<br />
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They were really only interested in taking silly pictures, so I had to promise them that they could if they would take a few serious ones.<br />
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Jack is in the 7th grade. He has new teachers for homeroom and math. He is doing great. He announced on the way home that, "All of my teachers already really like me." He was also excited about some new students that he made friends with. He made sure to introduce Sam to teachers and administrators. He is already tired of math homework. He wanted to change from trumpet to French horn, but mean old mom said no. He is not taking a high school class this semester, but will next semester.<br />
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Photo bomb by Logan. He was pretty much doing this throughout the process which is why the big boys are pulling funny faces instead of natural smiles. I gave up.<br />
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Sam is in 3rd grade. He likes his teacher, and has class with several friends from church. He sat with Amanda and Rosalyn and they got a treat on the first day for being the most well behaved kids in the class. So far, he has done all his homework at school, and has not had long nights. He tells me he does not want to go to school almost every morning, and that it is too hard, then promptly remembers that he gets to build things with Legos and happily gets himself ready to go. I think it just takes him a few extra minutes to wake up and stop being grumpy. He really likes packing snacks and a water bottle. We have many discussions about the water bottle! He also has made friends and has lot of people to eat lunch with and play with.<br />
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Logan's first day was orientation, so I got to go with him. He learned all the rules, and got to meet his teacher who was also Jack and Sam's kindergarten teacher. She was so excited to have Wirick #3 - hopefully that lasts. Logan did great! He listen to everything she said, answered questions, and participated. He did get up and circle his chair a few times, and listening to the playground rules without getting to play just about killed him. He was excited to get home and eat his lunch out of his lunch box, and ready to go back the next day. On the second day he got to ride the bus and go all by himself. He loved it. He is really cute about the clothes he picks out each day, and is great about sharing what he did in class. He says he has lots of friends, but he can't remember all of their names.<br />
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We had our family meeting last night to discuss what went well, what we needed to change, etc. This week we are going to work on Jack not complaining about homework on Friday (he thinks he should have the day off), and Sam not saying that he doesn't want to go to school. I am excited that a friend is picking Logan up from now on, so I don't have to leave work at lunch to grab him. That is going to help me out a lot.<br />
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Overall a successful week, a crazy week, and an exhausting week. We did it!AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-51309664974877287882014-08-27T12:39:00.001-07:002014-08-27T12:39:49.698-07:00I Chose This!I keep repeating this to remind myself that this crazy year to come is our choice, and that there is a reason why we made this choice. Hopefully we will survive. I figure I should document it, so I can refer back when days are bad.<br />
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Last year, we made the decision to put Jack in <a href="http://www.northidahostemcharteracademy.org/">North Idaho STEM Charter Academy</a>. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. In our area, there are three choices for education. #1 - public school, #2 - "Charter", which is a language arts based program for middle school and up, or #3 - "STEM" which is K-12.<br />
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We were happy in our Elementary school. Jack loved his teachers, and always did great. He tested advanced on all standardized tests, and maintained high grades. However, as he got closer and closer to 6th grade, I felt more and more uneasy about the future. Panic is probably an apt term. It was a feeling that grew and could not be dismissed. It was obvious to me that our middle school was the WRONG place for my son. I have never even considered taking my kids from public school before, so this was upsetting to me, and I was lost. I realized that this feeling was actually a prompting from the Holy Ghost, and that I needed to turn to prayer to find the best situation for Jack.<br />
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After research and many conversations with parents at both Charter and STEM, I decided that STEM fit Jack's personality and abilities. Being super nerds around here, the science and technology part of this was something we were very excited about. We put in an application for the lottery, and prayed for the best. I really felt like like I was guided, and that it would all work out. I was nervous when he got wait-listed and thrilled when they called to let us know he made it in.<br />
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Jack came home from his first day of school, and said, "Mom, this is the best thing that ever happened to me." It is almost unexplainable the growth that I saw last year. He learned things that I did not learn until college. We had amazing conversations about history, current events, literature. He competed in FLL (lego league), built robots, engineered buildings, worked with NASA, competed on a state level in NHD (National History Day), and I could go on and on. He was able to maintain all As or Bs in every class, and qualified for the 8 in 6 program which allows him to take high school classes while in middle school, and college classes in high school which will result in a diploma and associates degree by the time he graduates. He completed his first on-line high school class this summer, and also taught himself how to code in Java Script just for fun.<br />
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At the same time, I watched Sam coast. I had nothing to compare it to before, but my eyes were suddenly wide open. He had a fun year and a darling teacher, who I believed did the best she could in her situation. I have nothing bad to say about her or the school, but Sam was not challenged in any way. The difference between the two experiences was vast. (Sam did not make it into STEM last year, he was too low on the waiting list)<br />
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To be clear, this was not easy. Not even a little bit easy - it was HARD! Jack spent hours each night doing homework, sometimes he had to skip other activities. Sometimes, he got frustrated and wanted to just have a day off. Sometimes he cried, and sometimes I yelled. It felt like at times, Tyler and I spent almost as much time correcting homework, and helping with projects as he did doing it. I also had to commit to driving 20 minutes to get to the school, and 10 minutes to pickup, and 20 minutes back home. Luckily, we carpooled, so Jack had a ride every morning. We asked him all of the time if this was too much, if we needed to consider a different option, but he loves it and wants to continue.<br />
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This year, we were thrilled that Sam also got in to STEM for 3rd grade. To add to the craziness, Logan starts Kindergarten. STEM has a Kindergarten, but we are sending Logan to the public Kindercenter. Our individual schools do not have kindergartens, instead all students go to one building and there are several kindergarten classes and options. There were a few reasons why I chose not to send Logan to STEM. #1 - I don't think he is ready for that kind of structure, #2 - The extra drive to STEM during the day would really be detrimental to my work schedule.<br />
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Let's talk about my work schedule. I am very lucky to have the ability to work from my home office every day, but that does not mean that I set my hours or that I am not expected to work 8+ hours each day, during regular business hours. I spend most of my day on the phone with my team or with my customers. My kids are getting pretty good at being quiet when I take calls in the car. I have my headset, and there were times last year where I conducted a full hour of business on the drive to and back from STEM. Once I even conducted an interview. I will have to use my lunch break to pick Logan up from school every day. The bus to school is just around the corner, so it will be an easy drop off.<br />
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Extra curricular activites - I am not crazy! This is definitely a sacrifice, however my kids are not very into sports, so they don't care much. We are taking swimming lessons on Saturdays, and both Jack and Sam take piano. Jack also plays trumpet in school. Both of the older boys are in scouts. We could not possibly add anything else at this time.<br />
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Now comes Stake Conference last week which focused on what we need to do to keep our families on the path of salvation (scriptures, prayers, temple, family history, etc). I had been thinking about the number of hours in the day and realizing that there was literally not enough time to make this all work. Add the feeling of importance that I need to be better at having scriptures and prayers with the kids, FHE (family home evening), and all of that jazz, and that is when I began to panic. How will we do all of this? How will I still be able to work? How will we eat? Deep breaths, I chose this! It occurred to me that this is what I am good at. I manage and organize teams, and projects at work. I organize my life, and it is my job to bring those skills home and put together a "project plan/schedule" for my family. I am not naive enough to believe that this is going to go smoothly every day, or that I wont have to tweak this to make it work, but we are going to give it our best shot. We were joking yesterday that I really need to go to the Doctor to have a look at my shoulder, but he would probably recommend physical therapy, and there is no room for that on the schedule. Sad but true, advil will work for now.<br />
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So, after several hours playing around with a schedule, here is our great plan. It is tight. Jack is going to have to get quicker at home work, but it can work if we support each other.<br />
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Here is my schedule as it applies to the rest of the time in the day...<br />
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Here is my plan for the weekend...<br />
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I don't pretend to think that this is the right school for every kid, or the right choice for every family, but for now I know that this is the right choice for us, and I am willing to sacrifice my time to give this opportunity to my kids. I know there are "football dads" and "cheerleader moms" that live through watching their kids play sports. I have to admit that I am a little jealous when I hear about the educational opportunities that my kids get at STEM. -Again proving (as if we needed more proof than the charts) that I am a super nerd. So for any of you that run into me looking like a total mess repeating the words, "I chose this", just pat me on the back or feed me chocolate. I will make it through this year. Having all three in the same school next year will be a lot easier!</div>
AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-83212361119243808612012-05-30T09:00:00.000-07:002012-05-30T09:00:04.472-07:00Memorial Day FunAs promised, Monday was a family fun day. We settled on a bike ride along the <a href="http://friendsofcdatrails.org/CdA_Trail/index.html">Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.</a> There are a ton of places you can pick up the trail, and we went up to the mountains (Enaville) to catch the trail. We rented a tag along bike for Sam. We have a trailer for Logan. When we arrived at the trail head, we unpacked the bikes (which we shoved into the back of the van; we probably need a bike rack :)) Tyler went to attach the tag a long and it the screw heads were stripped. On to plan B, we put Logan and Sam into the trailer and off we went. The trail was amazing. It is nicely maintained, there were people, but it was not crowded, and there were plenty of places to stop, rest, and enjoy the view. We rode for 6 miles before we turned around. We stopped once each direction and got out to play. The highlight for the boys was that the chipmunks would eat their granola bars. Logan even fed one a "fruit by the foot". My favorite was the Logan kept asking me, "Can I talk to them?" I would tell him that yes he could talk to them. Then he complained, "Mom, they aren't talking to me!" Too many Disney movies! I was pretty surpised that I could ride for 12 miles. It has been a few years since I have been on a bike, and I was still pretty sore from the yard work. Jack did great too! Tyler could have gone a lot farther even hauling the two little boys along.<br />
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On our way home, we stopped to buy a few more things for the garden and some groceries for a BBQ. Tyler made a yummy dinner and we ate our first salad from the lettuce that we grew in the garden. We also used some chives from our garden for our potatoes. YUMMY! <br />
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While I cleaned up, Tyler and the boys planted more of the garden. At some point, Logan was getting in the way, so I brought Sam and Logan in to give them a bath. I am not sure that I will ever get my bathroom clean again after three days of muddy baths.<br />
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Here are some pictures of our ride.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zELzyHjnfOpOXme3lzt2WNKXNbfgm1aWKinn7f03PGmf6jiO8cC-asBYzmx_6GqdEC9aKklGLxsED5oIpz1vXuKWZy9ybA57sNoY-A562WT8-NDqx1sU8UZyrxACXi-uvq4prwqPaf8/s1600/Logan-and-Sam-trailer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zELzyHjnfOpOXme3lzt2WNKXNbfgm1aWKinn7f03PGmf6jiO8cC-asBYzmx_6GqdEC9aKklGLxsED5oIpz1vXuKWZy9ybA57sNoY-A562WT8-NDqx1sU8UZyrxACXi-uvq4prwqPaf8/s320/Logan-and-Sam-trailer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-64919077830181134052012-05-29T10:30:00.001-07:002012-05-29T10:30:32.874-07:00Yard WORKTyler and I have been pretty happy with our front yard. I love all of my flowers and work to keep it looking nice. We have hated our backyard for a long time. It is a cool backyard in that there are trees all around, so it feels like you are camping, but that brings challenges of pine needles, dark spots where grass wont grow. The yard is also sloped in strange places, so it has been hard to decide what to do with it. It is still a work in progress, but progress has been made.<br />
Last year, Tyler built a raised garden box and we loved having the fresh veggies. He decided that we needed more room, so he built a second, bigger box. We have limited sunshine areas, so there was only one option for where we placed it. Tyler had been watching the yard for weeks to determine the best area for sun.<br />
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Friday, Tyler had a big pile of dirt delivered. Logan and I got to "supervise" as the dump truck dumped it into our backyard. For a three year old, that is pretty much the best day ever. (Sam had a PJ day at school, so he is indeed playing in the dirt in his PJs and cowboy boots.)<br />
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On Friday night, I developed a scheme. Tyler was going to be fishing all day Saturday. Wouldn't it be fun, to have all of his dirt moved to his garden when he came home? I couldn't sleep, I got so excited. My plans grew into a mini backyard makeover. First thing in the morning, I talked to Sam and Jack. The thing is that my kids don't know how to work hard, they don't know how to finish a job, and they don't have a lot of opportunity to do service. I know this is my fault, and it really bothers me. When I have tried to provide these opportunities, it ends up with 1 - 4 crying Wiricks. I used my best excited voice and attitude to describe how happy Dad would be if we did this for him. I also told them they could earn money for the extra work, and that if we got everything done on Saturday, we could spend all day together on Monday having fun. They signed on, hesitantly, but agreed to the job at hand. I think digging in dirt sold it. We had a few tears and some stop and go activity, but they really worked hard. <br />
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Once we filled Tyler's garden, I landscaped a corner of the yard. It was a corner where grass didn't grow well, it is sloped, and it always looks messy. We used the left over dirt to make a nice little raised garden area. We also have a cool bird house that Tyler's dad built us a few years ago. I have always wanted to build a stand for it. I drew up some plans and purchased the materials. Jack and Sam helped me execute the plan. Jack was hilarious as always. He said, "Mom, I didn't know that you would know how to do something like this." (Honestly, I wasn't so sure myself) We made a cute sign for the front and bought bird seed to attract some birds.<br />
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On the deck, I replaced some over sized patio chairs that crowded the deck, replaced the old faded umbrella, and cleaned up the clutter. I added flower boxes around the edge and planted bright colored flowers. We are having our deck re-finished in the next few weeks, so it will look a lot better. I also mowed the lawn, so that Tyler didn't have to do it.<br />
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At about 7 p.m., Tyler told me he was on his way home. We waited and waited. Sam sat on the stairs with the garage open. He was almost in tears, because it was taking too long. He told me that he said a prayer, but it hadn't worked yet. Jack and I built a fire in the fire pit to get it ready for smores. Tyler finally got home around 8:30 or so. It was dark, which was a bit of a bummer. Sam got him right in the house with a big grin and brought him to the deck. He immediately noticed the new landscaped corner, but had no idea about the garden. We showed him, and he was flabbergasted. It was perfect. It was so much fun. After the kids were in bed, he went right to Walmart to buy some seeds and plants.<br />
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For fun, here are some pictures of our front yard too.<br />
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p.s. I have never hurt like this before. My back hurts, my arms hurt, my hands hurt, my legs hurt. I even have blisters. It was so worth it!<br />AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-63324064116268594792012-05-24T09:00:00.000-07:002012-05-24T09:00:00.703-07:00The end of an era!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9fjZti3fUouuUHRo7wK_0nc9Q9u8ODllWrEQv-AIqjN6u1Z6vGyrlCgzbLvs0Qb8jKuwxjn5Qi8uDlzAWrg6q5uyrQrK3-LHZL3CTkf2_knTmViLjngwpPWO1WgNFMnwx75gNncrnmo/s1600/Logan-potty-trained.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9fjZti3fUouuUHRo7wK_0nc9Q9u8ODllWrEQv-AIqjN6u1Z6vGyrlCgzbLvs0Qb8jKuwxjn5Qi8uDlzAWrg6q5uyrQrK3-LHZL3CTkf2_knTmViLjngwpPWO1WgNFMnwx75gNncrnmo/s320/Logan-potty-trained.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Logan is FINALLY potty trained. We had a bumpy start. We picked out little toys to put in a treasure box. We lovingly called them "poop prizes". I filled a jar with hershy kisses for when he peed in the potty. <br />
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He was all in, but then refused to participate. I ate the first jar of hershy kisses, and then we went to Utah over spring break. He had a few successes at grandma's house, so we tried again. It took a few days, but he figured it all out. One night he came in wearing little striped pirate underpants that his Aunt Angela bought him. I told him that he should change into a pull up, so that he didn't have an accident in his bed. He got very serious and in his cute little baby to boy voice, he said, "Mom, I not a little baby anymore. I have to wears unnerwears!" And that was it. No more diapers! He loves his "unnerwears" or "unnies". He changes them several times a day, so that he can enjoy all of the characters. The thing I am having a really hard time dealing with is that he REALLY enjoys peeing outside. This is not something that the other boys did. He doesn't have any problems dropping his pants in public. He can pee and wave at passing cars at the same time. <br />
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Once he was really potty trained, we went to build a bear and bought a costume for his bear. His bear was a baby, because the brothers bought it for him when he was born. Now that he is a big boy, his bear also became a big boy. He got to buy him unnerwears and he chose the Woody (Toy Story) costume. It is pretty cute.<br />
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No more diapers! Such a sweet thought!AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-34868190221622456562012-05-23T09:00:00.000-07:002012-05-23T09:00:04.761-07:00EasterI didnt get a chance to post about Easter this year. It was another hectic holiday like usual around here. The boys had a blast painting eggs and finding candy. I had a blast dressing them up on Sunday. Here is a shot of their outfits. They would not cooperate for a picture, but they are still pretty dang cute!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rMpHIDAJZH-hJ2W2p-Lc8TGsu1QyyIiHh1PM7gSBzyrEaL8LprZzyz6eoCFlyQ87pRx7jIBBIoXEbXmoCLKs8QuUCN1IOtIZGfxfivhY7rgNeJ_LBS1AK1NUzl-1NSYtixP7wDBD7KY/s1600/boys-easter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rMpHIDAJZH-hJ2W2p-Lc8TGsu1QyyIiHh1PM7gSBzyrEaL8LprZzyz6eoCFlyQ87pRx7jIBBIoXEbXmoCLKs8QuUCN1IOtIZGfxfivhY7rgNeJ_LBS1AK1NUzl-1NSYtixP7wDBD7KY/s320/boys-easter.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-20137874717995661192012-05-22T13:30:00.001-07:002012-05-22T14:37:50.680-07:00Double Digits!Jack W has entered the tween years. It is so unbelievable that he has been in my life for 10 years. If has gone by so quickly, and he has brought so much joy to our family. I was thinking a lot about it and realized that the day he was born was one of the most monumental days of my life. We had tried so hard for so long and he was a miracle, an answer to lots and lots of prayers, and a cure for a broken heart. Being his mother is an amazing thing. Enough with the mushy stuff...<br />
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Jack <strike>demands</strike> enjoys pomp and circumstance, so he reminds me a lot when his birthday is approaching. He wakes up and runs to the kitchen table to see if I decorated it. This year, I bought Avengers themed decorations and some sugar cereal. I also bought a lunchable (so gross, but they love them) to take to school for lunch. He was thrilled. He also brought M&M cookies to his class, but he made me buy extras, so that he could pass them out to friends that were not in his class.<br />
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For dinner he wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse. He likes the food, but his real reason for choosing TR was that they don't just sing to you. They make you sit on a saddle and scream and yell and sing. This is the kind of pomp Jack enjoys very much.<br />
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When we came home, he got to open his gifts: Legos, money, Thor club, Harry Potter books, Lego instruction book, and a Nerf tornado squirt gun. He was thrilled with everything.<br />
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After presents we had chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and cookie dough ice cream. We are still planning a party for his friends. <br />
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Sam was thrilled to celebrate Jack's birthday and kept saying, "Mom, can you beleive that Jack is 10?" He sounded like a little old man. He was very interested in telling me what to buy him. Logan kept telling me that it turned into his birthday now. He also sang happy birthday to me the whole day long. Pretty funny boys.</div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-22384576090524400392012-03-19T14:53:00.000-07:002012-03-19T14:53:07.145-07:00I didn't do everything!I was scolding Logan for something the other day, and he sassed back saying, "I didn't do everything!" He meant, "I didn't do anything." I tried to keep a straight face like I do when he says, "You not the boss of me" and other lovely phrases that make me want to scream at him or laugh at him.<br />
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Then I looked around. First, Logan was half naked (pretty normal), he had emptied a bag of cereal all over the floor and stomped on it to grind it all up, he had emptied several containers of toys out onto the floor. He had dumped a bottle of water out onto the carpet after taking a few swallows. There was a soap bottle in the toilet (luckily, not flushed). There were dirty little hand prints all over the walls. Then I realized that HE DID EVERYTHING! <br />
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This is pre-race. Jack is a little nervous.</div>
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Our pinewood derby is serious business!</div>
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A winner!</div>
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In February, Jack had to turn in his Lewis and Clark project. Jack had several options, but he always chooses the most involved project on the list. He chose to make clothing worn by trappers. He had elaborate plans which required me to use a sewing machine. He would not believe me when I told him that I could not sew him an entire outfit. He kept "explaining" it to me. "Mom, just cut it then put it together and sew it like this." Finally I looked online at picture of trappers and mountain men. We decided on him wearing jeans and shirt that he already had with a belt around his waist. We would make fur wraps for his legs, a bag for goods, and some cool necklaces with arrow heads, bear claws, etc. We sewed the bag from scratch! We really screwed up the first one, but the second one was not so bad. This was Jack's project, not mine, so he actually did most of the sewing. We just wrapped "fur" trim around his legs and tied it on with leather straps. We already had the necklaces from other projects. We also already had the 'coon hat. He looked really cute!<br />
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Finally, Jack has had to recent accomplishments that he is very proud of. He graduated from his skiing class and did awesome! He also just tried out for the school play about Lewis and Clark. He had to memorize a paragraph and sing a short song. He practice it for several days. I was shocked at how easily he was able to memorized the part. I was not shocked when he chose to sing the song, "Oh Tom the Toad". If you are not familiar with this classic, it is sung to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree". The words are: Oh Tom the Toad, Oh Tom the Toad. Why did you hop upon the road? You were my friend, but now your dead, with tire tracks upon your head. Oh Tom the Toad, oh Tom the Toad. Why did you hop upon the road? Gotta love cub scouts! It actually was a really good show of his voice and he was really confident when he sang it. He was excited to find out yesterday that he got a part. He is going to be York.<br />
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From Wikipedia: "In 1804, Clark took his slave York when he joined the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition" title="Lewis and Clark Expedition">Lewis and Clark Expedition</a>. York was a large, strong man who shared the duties and risks of the expedition,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-journals_5-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_(explorer)#cite_note-journals-5">[6]</a></sup> and was the only <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American" title="African American">African American</a> slave member of the Expedition."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SlQ_WDM-krd3qUAG183Cvk5OqDSeKv9CwE5KGOzUKOX-vBvrYM5eawNgYEm3Q0YdUfzjoQbBf9iE_8utEotAHR_L-XT6zREAfxwuuQ72IQtNukO1kEGwBUafHlSH2CGxUtotdj_X5aM/s1600/260px-LouisvilleYorkStatue2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SlQ_WDM-krd3qUAG183Cvk5OqDSeKv9CwE5KGOzUKOX-vBvrYM5eawNgYEm3Q0YdUfzjoQbBf9iE_8utEotAHR_L-XT6zREAfxwuuQ72IQtNukO1kEGwBUafHlSH2CGxUtotdj_X5aM/s320/260px-LouisvilleYorkStatue2.jpg" width="183" /></a></div>
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</div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-58290702185227302572012-03-17T09:00:00.000-07:002012-03-17T09:00:03.719-07:002011 Christmas in UtahWe packed up the van and drove to Utah the day after Christmas. We had tons of fun! Here are a couple of highlights.<br />
Wirick Family - We went to the Air force museum at Hill AFB with Tyler's brother Brady and his family (wife + 3 girls). I spent the hour or so chasing Logan from one end of the museum to the next. He loved it, but could not walk in order. We also had the traditional Wirick Family party. Brady's girls loved my iPad. My favorite was when Kelly asked me if she could play ornery birds (angry birds). It is also lots of fun to buy girly toys for these little cuties. They are very cute and sweet when they open them up. I took 0 pictures at the party - dang it. I think Sam looks just like his cousin Katelyn. I snapped a picture after the air force museum for proof.<br />
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<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGUMHneahJdTkcWBin4CSuzljmHQj3n26RsXQ193swXYZ2zOfo422xYN2k4C3T_KsUqIN8gXEkkVFf0PzzjlR1jVMvVkTtuAiYYV3kYPSvv7_zXCiVaQ_WSqZ3V76hhZHhsvZocbRa6I/s320/Sam-and-Katelyn.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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Beautiful girls - When I am in Utah, I love spending time with my beautiful nieces. For their birthdays, we have a tradition with the big girls to do a craft together. I take them to the craft store, and they choose something that they love. Then we go back to my mom's house and make it. Gracie and Rachel have December and January birthday's, so we do theirs over Christmas. They both chose to do 12X12 wooden frames with a scrapbook page. We always have so much fun, and the finished product is beautiful. I am not sure why I have never thought to take pictures of this! I also started a new tradition. We had a "little ladies lunch" with the nieces age 5 and up on the Ballard side. I took my mom too, and we went to the Greenary which is a perfect place for a ladies luncheon. They all looked so cute. We went shopping at the boutique after lunch. It was one of my favorite things of the whole year! I actually planned to take a picture this time, but left my camera home. After lunch we all went bowling with the rest of the family. Here is a fun pic that I stole off of my SIL's facebook. The girls are all in the middle; aren't they amazingly cute!</div>
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I have to mention that while the girls were being crafty, the boys made "Man Crafts" Tyler and his dad helped the Jack, Sam, and Jake make rubber band guns. Mike helped them make wooden knifes complete with blood painted onto the blade. Also, we pretty much steal Jake and make him a brother when we are in town. Jack and Jake can not spend too much time together.</div>
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While Tyler and Jack went rabbit hunting with his family, I took Sam and Logan to my friends home in Bothwell Utah. Sam was pretty sad that he couldn't go with the big boys until I told him that we were going to a farm with real horses. My friend has a private blog and doesn't list her childrens' names, so I wont either, but I will say we loved visiting and had so much fun. Looking at the pictures makes me miss her! It is always fun to visit with long time friends. Jack and Tyler popped in after their hunting trip and Jack immediately asked to ride the horses. They were so nice to get the horse saddled up for my boys. Jack was all business. Sam was a little more reserved at first, but sang and talked the whole time on the horse. Logan was in heaven. He would not come inside. He helped with chores, fixed a fence, played with rocks and sticks, and fed the horse A LOT of apples. It was hard to get them to leave, and they told everyone for days about their trip to the farm. One funny thing, Sam is not a country boy. He got bored really fast and wanted to know if they had any video games. Completely the opposite of Logan!</div>
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Since Jack and Jake got a lot of sleep overs and boy time, Sam wanted to have a sleep over with Isaiah too. They watched movies and had lots of fun playing together. I tried to get them to pose for a picture and this is the best I got from these too goofy boys.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHhQTDc6mmS22C3A-shyphenhyphenLSyxC_easfmxjCZRTKXJt8dQAIEdvaonL14a4O2-t86_XuRC_JV1xakG0CuNwoDi7-0465xH9tUuYEaaBWEp8lDhPsGaWmLNmUaUoZMMXC9Dglu0_M5p-ww8/s1600/Sam-and-Isaiah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHhQTDc6mmS22C3A-shyphenhyphenLSyxC_easfmxjCZRTKXJt8dQAIEdvaonL14a4O2-t86_XuRC_JV1xakG0CuNwoDi7-0465xH9tUuYEaaBWEp8lDhPsGaWmLNmUaUoZMMXC9Dglu0_M5p-ww8/s320/Sam-and-Isaiah.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We also had a lot of fun at the Ballard Sibling party where we ate yummy food, and played games that made us laugh all night long. Tyler and I got to go on a date on New Year's Eve, because my wonderful sisters in law threw a darling kids new years eve party with Minute to Win it games. We came back early and played games with the grown ups. My sister and her family were in town from North Carolina, so we also had fun spending time with her. I always love the time I get with my parents and the rest of my family. It was hard to leave them all!</div>
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</div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-73731839833802090992012-03-16T13:49:00.002-07:002012-03-16T13:49:23.963-07:002011 - Christmas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uQUBEGgty6Ty1vdshsJGc_UxK4ioWMsStE_hyphenhyphen5tvceJD2b189NtgUPeuK7AsOyD_Ztsi8-fPJbJ_oHDWRkrD4nEJOT5XJKEljVGtqXFP0zEzLSIvboUtqCXv-mP7d2ZbJ3hSeSsOUs4/s1600/white-christmas.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uQUBEGgty6Ty1vdshsJGc_UxK4ioWMsStE_hyphenhyphen5tvceJD2b189NtgUPeuK7AsOyD_Ztsi8-fPJbJ_oHDWRkrD4nEJOT5XJKEljVGtqXFP0zEzLSIvboUtqCXv-mP7d2ZbJ3hSeSsOUs4/s200/white-christmas.gif" width="133" /></a>Catching up is getting a bit ridiculous, but I am almost done. I have an issue with posting out of order, so this is just the way it has to be :)!<br />
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We had a new video camera on Christmas morning, so I didn't take as many regular photos as usual. We had a lovely Christmas. We spent Christmas eve afternoon with friends, stayed up late wrapping presents, performed our Christmas Eve rituals of opening PJ's, reading Christmas stories, and leaving cookies and a note for Santa. Then the three little monsters went to bed with dreams of sugar plums dancing in their heads.<br />
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There was enough snow on the ground to make it a nice white Christmas. This is what it looked like from my front window.<br />
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Jack and Sam woke up at 7 am; they were dying to go into the living room. I snapped a quick picture of the presents before we let them loose.<br />
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Then we had to wake up Logan. He really did not want to wake up. He didn't care if "Ho Ho" had been there; he didn't care that there were gifts to open, and he didn't seemed bothered by his brothers jumping and squealing right next to him.<br />
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Then I tortured them by making them sit in front of the tree in their cute new PJ's to pose for pictures before they could open presents. My pics were fuzzy, not sure what I did there, sorry.<br />
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Then Logan fell asleep during the pictures, and that was really funny!</div>
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He woke up in time to open his presents. Logan is really into Lion King this year. He watches it several times a week. He was thrilled with his talking Simba.</div>
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The big favorites for the year were Jack's new bike, Sam and Logan's new iPads (V-tech kid style), my camera tri-pod, Tyler's new windshield and car detail.AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-91117351738373295902012-01-15T20:44:00.000-08:002012-01-15T20:44:31.012-08:002011 Catch Up - Teacher Christmas GiftsIt has been a while since I have had a chance to make cards or do anything creative, but when Jack was in kindergarten, I kind of went a little overboard making his teacher handmade gifts. Since Sam has the same teacher, I felt a bit of pressure to make something cute. Not to mention the fact that my kids have the greatest teachers, and I really did want to do something special for them.<br />
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I made them these cute card sets (8 each) with matching boxes. I used empty envelope boxes and covered them in the same paper that I used for the cards. I included a bag of kisses and wrapped them all up in a cute gift bag.<br />
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I love the way they turned out!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2u-Tb91ExQYi5TJG1YsBkLgT8Mv6YtSy7MFYyw7JdNWnHiM347BsV8Rrk6Td4H-vi2b61ZRCZtv8H-Q-E-S5ltjPH1eiyUMCBG6HoM9txGbJt3T2-73WySB0MeYWLSHD7dXUC40h0zuU/s1600/teachergift1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2u-Tb91ExQYi5TJG1YsBkLgT8Mv6YtSy7MFYyw7JdNWnHiM347BsV8Rrk6Td4H-vi2b61ZRCZtv8H-Q-E-S5ltjPH1eiyUMCBG6HoM9txGbJt3T2-73WySB0MeYWLSHD7dXUC40h0zuU/s320/teachergift1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uyPYggmh-UVZradX0zzycuhfWUifSXdRSCXiTC0KmBJzTfqRwWC2ihfxwRdU7rkAb55rumV5bBBxKNys7fBb_C_u6eyLBL5O8ZtQpc68L-jnqhC7tEqgreqZaXwe1qFtGcSRESvkpA4/s1600/teachergift2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uyPYggmh-UVZradX0zzycuhfWUifSXdRSCXiTC0KmBJzTfqRwWC2ihfxwRdU7rkAb55rumV5bBBxKNys7fBb_C_u6eyLBL5O8ZtQpc68L-jnqhC7tEqgreqZaXwe1qFtGcSRESvkpA4/s320/teachergift2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-68399321729563824292012-01-14T09:00:00.000-08:002012-01-14T09:00:01.330-08:002011 Catch Up - Christmas Card Pictures<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">A Christmas card photo shoot with the Wiricks<br />
narrated by Angela Wirick</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3WywlfSKLveltz-RfKbFquIAB5kaFXIWSAGAo2F4SjcYzYJQd9aw_S3z_RiyYUCM82IETuKsuJ6TJ_2duqV10WaLWDcc6RozgYzmni7BjRbRf3H2T3okqQXYxKIl2hCLhFFrDAsGvLY/s1600/pic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>It’s December 14, my Christmas cards have been done for a week or so, but I have not taken a picture of the kids yet. Since we live in Northern Idaho, it gets dark by 4:00, but today is the day. I will take a fun picture of the boys as soon as Jack and Sam get home from school. It has been a little crazy this year, so there are no matching outfits. They each have a nice dark coat which will be perfect for the chilly outside shot. Logan even took a nap – this is going to be awesome.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We start at the front porch, and I get a few ok shots in, but then I realize that there are garbage cans behind the boys which I don’t want to photoshop out – Logan is whining about playing in the snow. I cannot get all three turkeys to look at me and smile! It is starting to get dark – I have to hurry. I get a case of the rage and tell my kids that Christmas is cancelled. The neighbor is outside and just heard me freak out at the boys, because they will not look at me and smile – at least no one is naked!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvW4JCVDIogAgbp54wrIC5_0a6V-KFbwqVXwFTqNfa8heKKWegEo_Ft_vYbxOA6imAp2Tbt0sldarsFwv-ENAIKjxi20PGAuZf073Q-VEi9_jL8NlRg03zPJVsARCHSpOrjQ3ttk76AiY/s1600/pic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvW4JCVDIogAgbp54wrIC5_0a6V-KFbwqVXwFTqNfa8heKKWegEo_Ft_vYbxOA6imAp2Tbt0sldarsFwv-ENAIKjxi20PGAuZf073Q-VEi9_jL8NlRg03zPJVsARCHSpOrjQ3ttk76AiY/s320/pic1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Maybe it will be nicer in the backyard. I can sit them on the deck railing. I take several shots before I realize that my settings are screwed up and they are all blurry. Not a big deal since Logan is now screaming about playing in the snow, and the boys still won’t look at me and smile.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8Ju72e2YVs1JxjgSQ4ZDW8Nu-Jey3dX26YXUrDrWDaNoE2B4gXGXDWTmmhrgsjrKLHuoVgQTKUtY2WmVepjcIGNybSlYimnoeKDaZaNYjQzcQYxjhP_aRaPrR0LPzKQnGjM1xah1Th0/s1600/pic3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8Ju72e2YVs1JxjgSQ4ZDW8Nu-Jey3dX26YXUrDrWDaNoE2B4gXGXDWTmmhrgsjrKLHuoVgQTKUtY2WmVepjcIGNybSlYimnoeKDaZaNYjQzcQYxjhP_aRaPrR0LPzKQnGjM1xah1Th0/s320/pic3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3WywlfSKLveltz-RfKbFquIAB5kaFXIWSAGAo2F4SjcYzYJQd9aw_S3z_RiyYUCM82IETuKsuJ6TJ_2duqV10WaLWDcc6RozgYzmni7BjRbRf3H2T3okqQXYxKIl2hCLhFFrDAsGvLY/s320/pic2.jpg" width="320" /></div>Maybe just one more shot here on the step. Jack and Sam get their Christmas restored. Logan is a dead man! I give up completely because there is no way Logan is going to act normal, and it is now completely dark outside at 4:00 p.m. I pout and grumble for the rest of the evening.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3FN835lhf_ESs5bXxMH2b6tdfj_QkzrH9fTsgjgsWGTyusaNsfivb4sJrH2lO2CdwGPrMJ6VQdLNcL_LLWZ_1ReEiwrSBeqK-WTfas4dYCcjvJHKvPkPkVJ0wDG_LuY6T9c05-8nDWnY/s1600/pic4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3FN835lhf_ESs5bXxMH2b6tdfj_QkzrH9fTsgjgsWGTyusaNsfivb4sJrH2lO2CdwGPrMJ6VQdLNcL_LLWZ_1ReEiwrSBeqK-WTfas4dYCcjvJHKvPkPkVJ0wDG_LuY6T9c05-8nDWnY/s320/pic4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Christmas card photo shoot - take two (12/17). We just left a nice ward Christmas brunch. Kids look pretty cute. It is warm outside. I want to go to this park; small problem - I don’t know what it is called and I don’t really know where it is. We went there once for scouts. Tyler is not able to read my mind to see what I am picturing. Hopefully he will be more helpful at the shoot. Success – we find the park.<br />
It might be fun to start at this cute wood fence. This isn’t going as I expected. The kids really want to climb this fence, Logan still will not look at me and smile – whoops, the sun is in their eyes.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzM5vLDJwZ6qLSZ39AEokjAActLuY97vRMUvGwE-6F7mtMrPJcp7dZur7Oesg-wtR2QdggUdsxE5_Lu4_xvofbjjWLtMhj4VqrJKSGAE2o33rZPEW9flg0XwEgXXyjJJukrmHU9uwOxk/s1600/pic5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzM5vLDJwZ6qLSZ39AEokjAActLuY97vRMUvGwE-6F7mtMrPJcp7dZur7Oesg-wtR2QdggUdsxE5_Lu4_xvofbjjWLtMhj4VqrJKSGAE2o33rZPEW9flg0XwEgXXyjJJukrmHU9uwOxk/s320/pic5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> And then an airplane flies by.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqG1WxjIusvAMY8_Mmlk0oyxUNDG6u5gPGpXEzuvDAIaeQpzBaeJxQdaCByPhchk0NLSAcCdO-c-SMn-F-68LY9zEgQsQfZjQ8IkSPmN3BhzmZGxWh6kb04qEMHGzPKP7Tt6wfWR02NU/s1600/pic6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqG1WxjIusvAMY8_Mmlk0oyxUNDG6u5gPGpXEzuvDAIaeQpzBaeJxQdaCByPhchk0NLSAcCdO-c-SMn-F-68LY9zEgQsQfZjQ8IkSPmN3BhzmZGxWh6kb04qEMHGzPKP7Tt6wfWR02NU/s320/pic6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Maybe if I move them to the corner where Jack can keep his arms around Logan…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another fail!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZH08FTxzI3jUqdHOjC67SNfhUXyEfb6XO9H6abbcibG7uJMW-imf1dNIu9D8WheCkwyQT1D9E7K7m1UwqcsXtfgAPIgkHDOwS6UyWAgRWtrdMI_J9ZjFKpVmmVfYeZ3DTp1j__vK9T4/s1600/pic7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZH08FTxzI3jUqdHOjC67SNfhUXyEfb6XO9H6abbcibG7uJMW-imf1dNIu9D8WheCkwyQT1D9E7K7m1UwqcsXtfgAPIgkHDOwS6UyWAgRWtrdMI_J9ZjFKpVmmVfYeZ3DTp1j__vK9T4/s320/pic7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Over to the rocks – Logan decides to smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously?!?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looks like he is constipated.</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFAT4z90_n4hmeXmb_RWrUD8HDNGX3Y8tH9hcESdfTMfM6HZtQmMb2fsIwxthyxlxojS9i2C5qxOfJAHli8q3auN3IyCMA36DO7HH0UobOGNzSuxO_ag7g3ooZVyCXvr71J8yrF2dHZU/s1600/pic8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFAT4z90_n4hmeXmb_RWrUD8HDNGX3Y8tH9hcESdfTMfM6HZtQmMb2fsIwxthyxlxojS9i2C5qxOfJAHli8q3auN3IyCMA36DO7HH0UobOGNzSuxO_ag7g3ooZVyCXvr71J8yrF2dHZU/s320/pic8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here is a cool wall, too bad Logan wants to get up so that he can climb the hill behind the wall.</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEM_js5kOus_2YpKu_GjWq-KJ6CoOHWzInM0QVnmdL9S-Mm6vQ2s_MVXMZSZCs3hCp714mOBL0ghs58KdbY5s-BziOKnCTv0IXl0ZZsH2izehwTYM8EfPAbs7v2w13gGgr7athVqCttLM/s1600/pic9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEM_js5kOus_2YpKu_GjWq-KJ6CoOHWzInM0QVnmdL9S-Mm6vQ2s_MVXMZSZCs3hCp714mOBL0ghs58KdbY5s-BziOKnCTv0IXl0ZZsH2izehwTYM8EfPAbs7v2w13gGgr7athVqCttLM/s320/pic9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I tell Logan to put his hands on Jack and Sam’s necks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He decides that I just gave him permission to pinch them on the neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is also the time where Jack becomes a double amputee (hands), but I don’t notice this until I am home editing the photos.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe0jmzWEShX0aQ66a65-lndvrtOya0d-j0Pe4_Zd9HWZ_opFMVtLD1mPxzzvnmozZcyGiB10CiSckuQeyx3yIKAGR7my5gWnENsTLJPDD-ix7dCXPm_CacQhRItFPN2axKKc_fou-mGU/s1600/pic10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe0jmzWEShX0aQ66a65-lndvrtOya0d-j0Pe4_Zd9HWZ_opFMVtLD1mPxzzvnmozZcyGiB10CiSckuQeyx3yIKAGR7my5gWnENsTLJPDD-ix7dCXPm_CacQhRItFPN2axKKc_fou-mGU/s320/pic10.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Maybe we can get some cute pictures on this bridge – Not so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Logan sees a bug, rock, stick, who knows.</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5NKyuStP7plZTttYxBXh589Nw3rElXOjg0-a239MPJ83g-eF8DJhpqKosohUjRvBbWv6Qz3g-2Dum6ErtLKwOmdw3Asw78kVXhGQQ2FJmsZe88h1sZ2KKb7jUSnqa-Tx4raYGAFtcwM/s1600/pic12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5NKyuStP7plZTttYxBXh589Nw3rElXOjg0-a239MPJ83g-eF8DJhpqKosohUjRvBbWv6Qz3g-2Dum6ErtLKwOmdw3Asw78kVXhGQQ2FJmsZe88h1sZ2KKb7jUSnqa-Tx4raYGAFtcwM/s320/pic12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7397JYdojB3ColV4_Er9YEdY0D5KHH3x7479_E7pOjBavNKgVSPbAq28qWG7dcZW_ka2-B8m6L5HXGY-kvBPibu_jnlPLGwk7JL3yVfUA2dt6KIzrxdqeYyvif9NYdaH8KWgmA81f9c/s1600/pic11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7397JYdojB3ColV4_Er9YEdY0D5KHH3x7479_E7pOjBavNKgVSPbAq28qWG7dcZW_ka2-B8m6L5HXGY-kvBPibu_jnlPLGwk7JL3yVfUA2dt6KIzrxdqeYyvif9NYdaH8KWgmA81f9c/s320/pic11.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Down by the water... OK, what was I thinking? I did not get one shot with them looking at me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then Tyler my lovely assistant goes bonkers and Jack begs me to use this photo for the Christmas cards.</span> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBudntLdFtV4LNEAjjt5ws_X5DIdwXZtsiTxQ4HrWPJXmb0WZU1NrDhevOGDNbZx0zjwKC2e4ZsTxiukUqMm9PxNJ_PuNtuV2lNs7wYR7J5WHdXWZEd6NgmeEyvAFoqgJHBugZvp9hFfY/s1600/pic16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBudntLdFtV4LNEAjjt5ws_X5DIdwXZtsiTxQ4HrWPJXmb0WZU1NrDhevOGDNbZx0zjwKC2e4ZsTxiukUqMm9PxNJ_PuNtuV2lNs7wYR7J5WHdXWZEd6NgmeEyvAFoqgJHBugZvp9hFfY/s320/pic16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I tell Sam to hold on to his shirt.</span> </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7KkomcBtg63jcnzqXmXan0Rgw2VaRFzkLEftuWrte2HQ6O0qWJFu409YcknnnkXUaRs9F5tjrqRTZDwJkpwfpCNtiL1Y46mWGjXCUTsCxqNyFmA-ZErQ0Alh6ApeQ1PM38rgdH2-9Cs/s1600/pic15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7KkomcBtg63jcnzqXmXan0Rgw2VaRFzkLEftuWrte2HQ6O0qWJFu409YcknnnkXUaRs9F5tjrqRTZDwJkpwfpCNtiL1Y46mWGjXCUTsCxqNyFmA-ZErQ0Alh6ApeQ1PM38rgdH2-9Cs/s320/pic15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Logan fights. Sam Persists</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4OUwP51LU_dpN67NuaBP_Ye7Q_ssHSdVmcV-6kDEDb-ohyui3Bj7rJEUM_4mHE1WCd4HdgjMWEPlzT6IVEfAzDTKSSIS24p7UxjyzDyWpWP7CebCjId2lr6qvJiT7F9wN4bYMrllrPDg/s1600/pic17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4OUwP51LU_dpN67NuaBP_Ye7Q_ssHSdVmcV-6kDEDb-ohyui3Bj7rJEUM_4mHE1WCd4HdgjMWEPlzT6IVEfAzDTKSSIS24p7UxjyzDyWpWP7CebCjId2lr6qvJiT7F9wN4bYMrllrPDg/s320/pic17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And this is as good as it gets folks!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I give up, 2 out of 3 aint bad. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scenery is beautiful, and it is a good thing I only attempt this once a year.</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCHX69Upqw81Dtqt2CknxuanuiXGT5PsvESTH8e3gHNk3RXxdKWwmLsPomoXpHHO4K1O3rzc1Lgn5PAIC57dhDb36lTfgYY8Slmb5t6rcb9OxTCRhacUkwZuiI_8FsxOWSN6KX8NdHOY/s1600/pic18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCHX69Upqw81Dtqt2CknxuanuiXGT5PsvESTH8e3gHNk3RXxdKWwmLsPomoXpHHO4K1O3rzc1Lgn5PAIC57dhDb36lTfgYY8Slmb5t6rcb9OxTCRhacUkwZuiI_8FsxOWSN6KX8NdHOY/s320/pic18.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In case you are curious, I took a total of 164 shots, and I still had to use one where Logan had his tongue out!</span></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-14780913533152174302012-01-13T09:00:00.000-08:002012-01-13T15:33:48.569-08:002011 Catch Up - The first Snow<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
We got our first (and pretty much last) snow while Grandpa and Grandma Wirick were here for Thanksgiving. I was working while they all played out in the snow. They had so much fun. Grandpa pulled Logan and Sam around in a sled, and Grandma helped Jack with the snowman. They had already played in the backyard and made the cutest snow dog family. We used the darling snowman set that <a href="http://sweetpeafamily.blogspot.com/">Kierste</a> sent us a few years back. I was most excited about that part. Logan would not wear a hat, but look at those beautiful rosy cheeks!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WPhHRDsQZGYq0yoLOFkD52Qgf-EiMT95AMVk60fSaoGaIpvtlDWqZHNY1gmzpHkEcUFGdWmpRO4ld7w3OccKkwOf4H1M7gZt54tIhRUcKOlm1Z9vCCqlMDpeGI1898DfP6D_ZQjtPLI/s1600/samandlogan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WPhHRDsQZGYq0yoLOFkD52Qgf-EiMT95AMVk60fSaoGaIpvtlDWqZHNY1gmzpHkEcUFGdWmpRO4ld7w3OccKkwOf4H1M7gZt54tIhRUcKOlm1Z9vCCqlMDpeGI1898DfP6D_ZQjtPLI/s320/samandlogan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolzDkZK0bx-y24ltjKLYZkDqXC_KEEijr48b7SHSssgsEemVUeZoqLWqJPwCaO3yRMNhi0hOmp_If1ayrPATeWR7otYcX-jWGkGzmbSHtC7BZIRHWP1QEqRuJOavQ7-TO_sCOgk4bqUc/s1600/snowman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolzDkZK0bx-y24ltjKLYZkDqXC_KEEijr48b7SHSssgsEemVUeZoqLWqJPwCaO3yRMNhi0hOmp_If1ayrPATeWR7otYcX-jWGkGzmbSHtC7BZIRHWP1QEqRuJOavQ7-TO_sCOgk4bqUc/s320/snowman.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-13898417156543513482012-01-12T09:00:00.000-08:002012-01-12T09:00:09.596-08:002011 Catch Up - HalloweenHalloween was an extravaganza this year! Long before Halloween, we told Logan that he got to be a chicken, and this resulted in various conversations throughout each day where Logan would say, "I be a chicken for Halloween?" He was thrilled and excited, and has not gotten over this. When we asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he replied, "I be a chicken for Halloween!" When he realized that people were going to give him candy, this quickly became the happiest day of his life!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8SAnnFyqWfD-ZWZw8OucK2baRz1i4FT1WVpBaGZJIIrSeGcXwe_LYxVc5AC3HExH3Aolm2LtgHNA6TwZ8irkI2xBOaNdqT2r-49Gf4iBPIR4y73rQ9y2LaEmleAtaCYcVt7RaVKnl0g/s1600/LoganChicken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8SAnnFyqWfD-ZWZw8OucK2baRz1i4FT1WVpBaGZJIIrSeGcXwe_LYxVc5AC3HExH3Aolm2LtgHNA6TwZ8irkI2xBOaNdqT2r-49Gf4iBPIR4y73rQ9y2LaEmleAtaCYcVt7RaVKnl0g/s320/LoganChicken.jpg" width="172" /></a></div>We started the Halloween fun on October 28th. There was a carnival at Jack's school. The kids got to dress up, and I volunteered to help at the bounce house. It was fun. Sam dressed up as Mario. The store bought mustache was too itchy, so I painted one on him. He is easy to impress and was certain that it was amazing. At the carnival, there were 5 or 6 other Marios and one Luigi. I would watch Sam walk over to Luigi and just stand by him with the biggest grin ever. He would not speak to the kid, but loved standing next to him to complete his costume. It totally cracked me up.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FN9jy9E3JsQdYHuMjoGvRFccXvW0wqJpEqmd2Kt2QArYz1af-PZVylMav2UH43ADsa6tUiWNKBPUpeEu2bTECg2JzDqn795qSsIrvNTbLEsDYNbJkLfhOqbrgTGey8jGuunkrZHCFVg/s1600/Sammario.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FN9jy9E3JsQdYHuMjoGvRFccXvW0wqJpEqmd2Kt2QArYz1af-PZVylMav2UH43ADsa6tUiWNKBPUpeEu2bTECg2JzDqn795qSsIrvNTbLEsDYNbJkLfhOqbrgTGey8jGuunkrZHCFVg/s320/Sammario.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>Jack was dressed up as either Obi Won or Anakin depending on how he had me do his hair and what color of lightsaber he was carrying. These boys of mine come up with the funniest things!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvLVNKzM9-sBvs90ugo8j9FOUVsfWmKuF3TGyFezOV9otGmNS-lI1FAzwivA88kErLHMOS4BgQkh_HxBBKZhgEro0-yHpf64jYTumZh-Ah1_Ra93xN9847zXXE4vI4X1_ucqsiW-OQG8/s1600/Jackforce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvLVNKzM9-sBvs90ugo8j9FOUVsfWmKuF3TGyFezOV9otGmNS-lI1FAzwivA88kErLHMOS4BgQkh_HxBBKZhgEro0-yHpf64jYTumZh-Ah1_Ra93xN9847zXXE4vI4X1_ucqsiW-OQG8/s320/Jackforce.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>On the 29th, we had a trunk or treat at the church. Tons of candy! On the 30th we carved our pumpkins. We didn't make it to a big pumpkin patch this year, but we got pumpkins from scouts, the carnival, and our garden. They were very thick skinned and difficult to carve, so they turned out, how should I say this, different than I would have planned if I could control the universe of pumpkin carving. Tyler got out the power tools and had a blast. I spent several days cleaning up pumpkin dust. You can see that they are very happy with the results.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-sm75ZlmR-47obdJH2v_bAr1MNQEvB7e2_CF6q_-DJ9vEenSIGQqqeRa9FQIr-mv8MO_sX1pTJzqB3jyWfTcIuWyeH7KDci5NhLY8AcR2HA0YSRyvCq6EissEyl19HtPaEba0vFtaQ9I/s1600/boyswithpumpkins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-sm75ZlmR-47obdJH2v_bAr1MNQEvB7e2_CF6q_-DJ9vEenSIGQqqeRa9FQIr-mv8MO_sX1pTJzqB3jyWfTcIuWyeH7KDci5NhLY8AcR2HA0YSRyvCq6EissEyl19HtPaEba0vFtaQ9I/s320/boyswithpumpkins.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>On the 31st, they trick or treated their hearts out and came home with very full bags of candy. I stayed home and passed out treats, and Logan came home half way through to get warm.<br />
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I was really glad when the Halloween Extravaganza was over.AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-39839959947381547992012-01-11T09:26:00.000-08:002012-01-11T09:26:47.266-08:002011 Catch Up - September/Silverwood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jack reads a ton of hours during the school year to earn a ticket to Silverwood. This summer went by way to quickly, so we went on the very last week possible! The weather was perfect, and the kids had a blast. Sam was just too short to ride the big rides, and Logan was finally big enough to ride the little rides with his brothers. Tyler and I always divide up and one goes and rides coasters with Jack while the other stays with the kids and lets them ride the kid rides. There are a few fun ones like the log ride that we can all do together. Sam was really funny this year. He loved everything, and he would make new friends at each ride. Logan got scared a few times, but enjoyed most of it. We even ran into some friends from the ward and the kids got to ride some rides with them. By the end, Logan was completely wiped out and Sam and Logan were both zonked before we even got out of the parking lot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jack was a great sport - he rode all of the little kid rides with his brothers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4xlDpvED91RPMuh_b7YmOamYHg_7-Gs65ocOqKZnp0RpeJQQp7Vh-myXNu4Ui09vJm_7fdNn-oiWyfGTWtiw4BwUjs69_l1a5AkO499yxTy-J1_3cvH6Xvs_-YpuPauk3BztvIWfyX8/s1600/JackandLoganSilverwood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4xlDpvED91RPMuh_b7YmOamYHg_7-Gs65ocOqKZnp0RpeJQQp7Vh-myXNu4Ui09vJm_7fdNn-oiWyfGTWtiw4BwUjs69_l1a5AkO499yxTy-J1_3cvH6Xvs_-YpuPauk3BztvIWfyX8/s320/JackandLoganSilverwood.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> This baby roller coaster was Logan's favorite. We rode it over and over again!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsuMAfk2Sze2YjuJFpauIlsJIYzCeE6KPKbpM5V1aKUng622P08oV4iXaPaeUQDTA-W7ol0ty138oKgLOX0MDH7gRgY_aBMsF3ulwFNrRLWvQQZ3NiMu5dobWPkcVTjCz8t7zXS_Y49gk/s1600/silverwoodmomandlogan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsuMAfk2Sze2YjuJFpauIlsJIYzCeE6KPKbpM5V1aKUng622P08oV4iXaPaeUQDTA-W7ol0ty138oKgLOX0MDH7gRgY_aBMsF3ulwFNrRLWvQQZ3NiMu5dobWPkcVTjCz8t7zXS_Y49gk/s320/silverwoodmomandlogan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Sam and Coen getting ready to fly in the helicopter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkW2b5vhJp9H2RONaOJ373TVA2f2jz1zEn-Iq1SfxFuUF8y0f_9vhEDUSAiBV6ZbJoLTwDzWs7fvMAQUijLsDEmzMYdM6YcE3rCdLZj-cH6prFXUiXWwEh8glbACJou4rADBhqGEV2-U/s1600/SamCoenSilverwood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkW2b5vhJp9H2RONaOJ373TVA2f2jz1zEn-Iq1SfxFuUF8y0f_9vhEDUSAiBV6ZbJoLTwDzWs7fvMAQUijLsDEmzMYdM6YcE3rCdLZj-cH6prFXUiXWwEh8glbACJou4rADBhqGEV2-U/s320/SamCoenSilverwood.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Tyler trying to convince Sam that is OK that he lifted him up in front of himself, so that he got most of the water from the log ride.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOLqLG9V-AQhsliU_S9PESGIV9Q8CzjBfRmulEqafrC3pmSsirnkVnVGLUT_AVyrY58vq2tfEUovmephOl_iCWrqROMj5ZBoDbjxuKETWceUd5pNqeiL1BA7JxtEvQYQ5lzxRWJhHkp8/s1600/DSCN0729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOLqLG9V-AQhsliU_S9PESGIV9Q8CzjBfRmulEqafrC3pmSsirnkVnVGLUT_AVyrY58vq2tfEUovmephOl_iCWrqROMj5ZBoDbjxuKETWceUd5pNqeiL1BA7JxtEvQYQ5lzxRWJhHkp8/s320/DSCN0729.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> How can this be comfortable?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrK-uxO1bctWA2aUH9k6rYT0V-pwSINj6kc0Lf5xOqkG87PphxqcD7JU6-Lto6d5xYgAGmVTWx__9u-XWHM-QHSHesRiRLpxNQo-E-Ljw5aCovlTiBdhmHSj2q7oMG1u6gYGvItvSp1Os/s1600/wiped-out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrK-uxO1bctWA2aUH9k6rYT0V-pwSINj6kc0Lf5xOqkG87PphxqcD7JU6-Lto6d5xYgAGmVTWx__9u-XWHM-QHSHesRiRLpxNQo-E-Ljw5aCovlTiBdhmHSj2q7oMG1u6gYGvItvSp1Os/s320/wiped-out.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div align="left">That's it for September - bring on October!</div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-2827854867663531772012-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:002012-01-10T08:00:05.094-08:002011 Catch Up - September/First Day of SchoolJack was an old pro and very excited for his first day of 4th grade. His teacher is Mrs. Graybill. She is fabulous and it has been a great year for him so far. He has already participated in cross country and special choir. He is getting all As, and thriving.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzXiiEfE54LBfyWcALGGWTokhhWv6XZpqLmrF7aAsvgmIn9KF1pIeKUN9iY3oJH3HTUBehNdwz1tpsmzYzQm5GrGuAWEK_VPBVzYD1B0C33STLteRMsHDTz9njanJoP4h4soBp_YVmBI/s1600/Jackfirstday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzXiiEfE54LBfyWcALGGWTokhhWv6XZpqLmrF7aAsvgmIn9KF1pIeKUN9iY3oJH3HTUBehNdwz1tpsmzYzQm5GrGuAWEK_VPBVzYD1B0C33STLteRMsHDTz9njanJoP4h4soBp_YVmBI/s320/Jackfirstday.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> I had to let the kids do a silly pose before I could get them to pose nicely. They are such goofballs!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYgjIXNcKvdlz6vUu_0XC3ebrol6vJcpzxnwlrMZ2-Nps3xzouf7GC4-4s0bg-HiBXiO4b3Yjfsu6mKRM5-bCp7juwpczajc1SK7oxRm7uCzHRqs2rwu24Jf7MOYTYrgwt3Wds_VxZE8/s1600/boyssillyfirstday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYgjIXNcKvdlz6vUu_0XC3ebrol6vJcpzxnwlrMZ2-Nps3xzouf7GC4-4s0bg-HiBXiO4b3Yjfsu6mKRM5-bCp7juwpczajc1SK7oxRm7uCzHRqs2rwu24Jf7MOYTYrgwt3Wds_VxZE8/s320/boyssillyfirstday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvahe9aT4TjqN__gdSOYNFZUcZBD7Ri39VWt8ixwyRUX5g5n_L1aL6NMxUkUF8dl41N-hgC8Ni_S-HXXeDtMuUBfFLnKeMv9lJw-W8wey5jGUBWHg6WPJJGK3UDmdcD2gDhxZgF3el4O0/s1600/boyscutefirst-day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvahe9aT4TjqN__gdSOYNFZUcZBD7Ri39VWt8ixwyRUX5g5n_L1aL6NMxUkUF8dl41N-hgC8Ni_S-HXXeDtMuUBfFLnKeMv9lJw-W8wey5jGUBWHg6WPJJGK3UDmdcD2gDhxZgF3el4O0/s320/boyscutefirst-day.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Sam started Kindergarten. It was hard to believe that he had already gotten so big. He was ready and very excited about it all. We were thrilled to get Mrs. Sevedge who was also Jack's teacher. She is amazing and we love her. She loves my kids and gives them the best kindergarten experience imaginable. In Post Falls (the city we live in), all of the kindergarten kids go to one school called the kindercenter. It is so fun to see them every day, just as excited as the day before, with their giant backpacks flopping around on their backs. They laugh and hug and chase each other until the doors are open. Sam goes to the afternoon session and then rides the bus home to the elementary school. Jack picks him up from the bus and they walk home together. Sam is also doing great and continues to test right at the top. He can read and write, and he does it all with a grin.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVcxa-3RyM1tqriFBAG1BtixGHR-FAR9MdoWkR45BazLuVvdZIpKl9vZOXijBNLG8X4aF6VYOy7wSxQoDSh_GSvadvntTofyFGViwt4V7cOVHhOsx7DZz0zbneBbR3baJkZktqMzatYkM/s1600/Samfirstday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVcxa-3RyM1tqriFBAG1BtixGHR-FAR9MdoWkR45BazLuVvdZIpKl9vZOXijBNLG8X4aF6VYOy7wSxQoDSh_GSvadvntTofyFGViwt4V7cOVHhOsx7DZz0zbneBbR3baJkZktqMzatYkM/s320/Samfirstday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMcSnqHDdZmRFsPgRl6p8BISph3C-LKFftoFWYXwRwUGwxIY7ZA7IpFgmY1A3Ym9pfNzjDG2TFxQlvptkBRM0_J7wOctk78brVplmWO4Xfu2yMa7JdjM0fPpgXjZjkMWEjNiKHOq9d3M/s1600/samkinder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMcSnqHDdZmRFsPgRl6p8BISph3C-LKFftoFWYXwRwUGwxIY7ZA7IpFgmY1A3Ym9pfNzjDG2TFxQlvptkBRM0_J7wOctk78brVplmWO4Xfu2yMa7JdjM0fPpgXjZjkMWEjNiKHOq9d3M/s320/samkinder.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-72299003577638839412012-01-09T14:17:00.000-08:002012-01-09T14:17:49.902-08:002011 Catch Up - September/Labor Day WeekendBefore I start blogging about 2012, I have to get caught up a little. I have some great pictures and activities that I have to record - starting with a really fun visit from my parents over labor day weekend. It was extra special because they brought Jake with them. We had a lot of fun. We spent time at the Spokane River (swimming), Riverfront Park in Spokane, "The Lake", and hanging out having a blast. Here are some pictures that I love.<br />
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The first group is from Riverfront Park. The kids love this place. There was a food festival going on the weekend we were there, so the boys got free slinkys from one of the vendors. They then spent the whole time at the red wagon posing with the slinkys and begging me to take pictures. The park also has this great old Carrousel that only cost $1, plus you can grab rings as you go around. We also rode the gondola over the river, and watched an iMax show about elephants. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfxXBDBoBzvRhuIFW7RfEQ0xrLc6nsgHvU8pUlCzRVbafbyemWveZtdvwLbN8s3mHWSm9kNk8JuwM6S-IbMpiSvNNJNr3m-JJUO4gFljL3xd0nkTcKwEdXX2EDkWVBukebuE_f8LYLfI/s1600/wagon2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfxXBDBoBzvRhuIFW7RfEQ0xrLc6nsgHvU8pUlCzRVbafbyemWveZtdvwLbN8s3mHWSm9kNk8JuwM6S-IbMpiSvNNJNr3m-JJUO4gFljL3xd0nkTcKwEdXX2EDkWVBukebuE_f8LYLfI/s320/wagon2.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUO4rrHwEtNt2vAuEUWs8FYvaMzWaR7GRVOBIcRIQGX8C7AAphSQea3PkXfBKZQMrHadHaCf5nAg0LPzQD4kwV6x6CuifeHMxEB8iCpH3lfjQlZ1z97VG9IOUwMIjgoGIlD1He2tgbs6k/s1600/blocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUO4rrHwEtNt2vAuEUWs8FYvaMzWaR7GRVOBIcRIQGX8C7AAphSQea3PkXfBKZQMrHadHaCf5nAg0LPzQD4kwV6x6CuifeHMxEB8iCpH3lfjQlZ1z97VG9IOUwMIjgoGIlD1He2tgbs6k/s320/blocks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw16deHS4t6Gwlk5P1M8u6-pqnzbA84pVuhmqqR3znJyCkd5DGpKjLCExLoESNcoSovgOqDl0fBD5bcWLh9UieAF8vijyxLR05kNENrbxx3dLsWvMidMVfvnrpS2D9JmBu8N22xMhDayk/s1600/wagon1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw16deHS4t6Gwlk5P1M8u6-pqnzbA84pVuhmqqR3znJyCkd5DGpKjLCExLoESNcoSovgOqDl0fBD5bcWLh9UieAF8vijyxLR05kNENrbxx3dLsWvMidMVfvnrpS2D9JmBu8N22xMhDayk/s320/wagon1.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJljyZ7DX88PY6ubGaZpPofqsVs4ivLfJqHUW8yGzDxp6otNcLmKmn99tVsoo-9leTV6b2kPAYg8LfNwuZ6ggFTCVgg_LhT0Kcmt7gIy3Bo_JZHRKoSNUBiGpmo6ECpoYnpsd04Q07VY/s1600/horse3boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJljyZ7DX88PY6ubGaZpPofqsVs4ivLfJqHUW8yGzDxp6otNcLmKmn99tVsoo-9leTV6b2kPAYg8LfNwuZ6ggFTCVgg_LhT0Kcmt7gIy3Bo_JZHRKoSNUBiGpmo6ECpoYnpsd04Q07VY/s320/horse3boys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISHjATKTdG8AnU_L6Ivn0zwejX1UjlpEPQwWIj7biZdK6JiOXNa9Q_QH-zlQxasal3Irji-yhet7JZoyA01nG0W8kJYqxNxyC6xLPp5CRtTWwMXFF84r7d99mLWcguDoMACMD1HE9hG8/s1600/horseLogan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISHjATKTdG8AnU_L6Ivn0zwejX1UjlpEPQwWIj7biZdK6JiOXNa9Q_QH-zlQxasal3Irji-yhet7JZoyA01nG0W8kJYqxNxyC6xLPp5CRtTWwMXFF84r7d99mLWcguDoMACMD1HE9hG8/s320/horseLogan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On to the beach! Jake wanted to swim in the lake and go fishing, so we made this trip a "2-fer". The double stroller came in handy to pack everything down to the lake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbKaYz2D8SIXF8VmWlnkNfXpq_PnW8T8b0mZOg31bYwukRofDSiPvK4hqOfOTMPz5CJ1zmD1D8ZCzh2zKokxoGSBdw5ZRtkZDGR6bixyz4sA0BpQvfhClmsnmaHC5D8P-siebzxBbghPQ/s1600/tothebeach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbKaYz2D8SIXF8VmWlnkNfXpq_PnW8T8b0mZOg31bYwukRofDSiPvK4hqOfOTMPz5CJ1zmD1D8ZCzh2zKokxoGSBdw5ZRtkZDGR6bixyz4sA0BpQvfhClmsnmaHC5D8P-siebzxBbghPQ/s320/tothebeach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This is why you need to come visit us in the summer. The lakes are gorgeous and warm enough to swim in. The boys dared Tyler and I to jump off the pier and we did. We spent the rest of the trip jumping off with the boys and swimming in with them. Logan loves the water is totally fearless. It was really good that we had 4 adults to keep track of him. We met an extra little boy (green shorts) that hung out with Jack and Jake the whole time. We really played hard with a water balls, tonka trucks, tubes, kick boards, swimming, fishing, climbing, and FUN!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxoe4Yrnkeg4265Na20cZ9TyjYjLzQ2Rba-rlGVHG_lxt2ZoYLK62OCRaEtcaO7ry4W2AXEQRofl94MQ6QnpvQCmQtX7WeajTkYOlK5HHzD7V2rzmpdtZOefgcSfW575tAyAArFIsbKU/s1600/theview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxoe4Yrnkeg4265Na20cZ9TyjYjLzQ2Rba-rlGVHG_lxt2ZoYLK62OCRaEtcaO7ry4W2AXEQRofl94MQ6QnpvQCmQtX7WeajTkYOlK5HHzD7V2rzmpdtZOefgcSfW575tAyAArFIsbKU/s320/theview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3m7wqhnpVc4NoLb4gG-toU14AupXN_4XgU8kT7sZIvZU-sSgNxowKUOs6oL7waWKxH88Wv544Q55UZU_0Di-geZJSQgH3RMJXJFJCsLJ4er10A0v-6ACVgc9ODKcILa7AktJk8Qs_Nhc/s1600/fishing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3m7wqhnpVc4NoLb4gG-toU14AupXN_4XgU8kT7sZIvZU-sSgNxowKUOs6oL7waWKxH88Wv544Q55UZU_0Di-geZJSQgH3RMJXJFJCsLJ4er10A0v-6ACVgc9ODKcILa7AktJk8Qs_Nhc/s320/fishing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-90140303952368209332011-12-06T14:54:00.000-08:002011-12-06T14:54:19.243-08:00Out another hotel window<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-scAlZFsrRzLORqNgor34JvDB6mlZY2Crn58ZmNIvH0jVUcmw29aK4shxOFPNagswmxtDOcQ1sXpQxbZMkWx7jf69Kde3AFtBp0ugdhPijhOdi4PW7tUBvh7Fi3iJDviM8M8cJZ8VsKY/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-scAlZFsrRzLORqNgor34JvDB6mlZY2Crn58ZmNIvH0jVUcmw29aK4shxOFPNagswmxtDOcQ1sXpQxbZMkWx7jf69Kde3AFtBp0ugdhPijhOdi4PW7tUBvh7Fi3iJDviM8M8cJZ8VsKY/s320/photo.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Out of town again. This is the view from my hotel window. Can you guess where I am? I am in sunny Yuma Arizona. I am spending a week here going to meetings on the Marine base. It is in the 70s, but there is a cool wind, so it doesn't feel as warm as I expected. Still a lot warmer than what I left. My Aunt and Uncle (Sandra, Don) are here, so we are going to meet up for dinner later tonight. I am looking forward to seeing them. I talked to the boys yesterday and they were doing great. Logan is staying with the Taggarts during the day and is always excited to go to "My Kate's house!" Good news is that he knows that when it is time to go to the Taggarts, he has to wear pants. Hopefully he remembers to keep his clothes on! Sam and Jack are going to the GAP program at their schools. Jack loved it and Sam said that no one was mean to him. I am scheduled to get home on Friday, but I am going to try to get home Thursday night. Somehow, this whole Christmas thing needs to happen. I really need an assistant!</div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-23748768283015092272011-11-30T11:44:00.000-08:002011-11-30T11:44:16.219-08:00A week of Thanksgiving<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPk35Bqz4oNBjC0kX4Dg_sf_B001ExJuWmWKCcNKy8dlrHevld5vVTeWFh_IPW8_rCuMcct8DBxwsTOyN6bV3qH8DnbxTWMIyqP4u-jXzleLFkZk4HFikW55_y_I7EIzVvJ8IlP-z1a8/s1600/gobbleon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPk35Bqz4oNBjC0kX4Dg_sf_B001ExJuWmWKCcNKy8dlrHevld5vVTeWFh_IPW8_rCuMcct8DBxwsTOyN6bV3qH8DnbxTWMIyqP4u-jXzleLFkZk4HFikW55_y_I7EIzVvJ8IlP-z1a8/s320/gobbleon.jpg" width="240" /></a>Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. First of all, I took a week of vacation time - and I actually didn't work during my vacation. A new world record for me! Tyler had the brilliant idea of taking me away for a few days, just the two of us. Sadly we have never done this since Jack was born. That is 9 1/2 years folks. His parents were coming for Thanksgiving and were happy to watch the kids overnight so we could run away. We stayed at the Northern Quest Casino in Spokane and enjoyed some great meals, fun shopping, a movie, and some much needed non-kid time. It was all Tyler's idea and it was amazing! I even got to play around on pinterest and find some ideas for my Thanksgiving table. We also went grocery shopping (a luxury without kids) to get all of the Thanksgiving fixin's.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>When we got back, it was time to start cooking. Judy (Tyler's mom) and Jack were great helpers. Jack wanted to do it all, so he made cranberry sauce, dips, helped with stuffing, sweet potatoes and rolls. When we were done cooking, Jack also helped me with my centerpiece, boxes, and place cards. Judy also helped with food prep and Steve (Tyler's dad) helped gather up chairs and get stuff ready for the big day. While Tyler was not working, he was on Logan duty (full time job).<br />
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Thanksgiving morning was stress free as I finished up the prep until the sink clogged and overflowed. Tyler and Steve fixed it up fast and it only put be behind a little bit. Our friends the Rahlfs came for dinner. They have three kids and another on the way. Ashley brought the most beautiful rainbow jello that I have ever seen and it was so yummy. Seriously people, I can't make regular jello, so I was VERY impressed. The food turned out great, and it was just a wonderful meal with family and friends. Everyone cleaned up dishes and let me take a rest - very nice. I looked through some ads to see if there was any reason to get up early the next morning. Answer - NO.<br />
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Later that evening we had the 9th annual Wirick pie night. This Tyler's favorite tradition that we started while we were living in Nebraska (law school days). He got so excited that he posted it on facebook. I was a little worried that we would not have enough room for everyone, but it turned out great. In attendance were the Rahlfs, Wiricks, Taggarts, Olsens, Nick (attorney from Tyler's office) and girlfriend, Zobels, Calkins. That makes 16 adults and 21 kids. I think there about 15 pies plus other goodies. We sent the kids to play in the basement and had a great time visiting. The pie was awesome, and I was exhausted!<br />
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On Friday, I spent the day putting up my Christmas decorations, we ran a few errands/shopped a little, and we got a babysitter so that the grown ups could go to dinner out at the Cedars. The Wirick's left Saturday morning and Tyler and I spend Saturday cleaning up the pine needles in the yard left by the last storm and hanging Christmas lights.<br />
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Here are some pics of he Thanksgiving festivities (I forgot to take pictures of people, my focus was definitely getting it all ready to go. The people were cute too :) )...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0APa8NeW8ms3u1ud6UmKXrPuu3_MPEpuaCpNZ0KmSsl3A5kcn_mCJlcpiBOeSyxD0fJhgIi_rQ4yt07ulJosv3UfzY2fYsXCmEbAqo1qw9ha2bYjRXoW0K4RM-R1Zy81j_nWLuSZDDM/s1600/centerpiece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0APa8NeW8ms3u1ud6UmKXrPuu3_MPEpuaCpNZ0KmSsl3A5kcn_mCJlcpiBOeSyxD0fJhgIi_rQ4yt07ulJosv3UfzY2fYsXCmEbAqo1qw9ha2bYjRXoW0K4RM-R1Zy81j_nWLuSZDDM/s320/centerpiece.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiiVR7QcLllk2xdyDW33GMw2Br86Rxe3EtVA1-5WBMJIChhpD-8JJKF6SzPKa6yu5-UEeg9bZlk6jEio3B4WQbEBRcBmar2pCY21bBq1-51xqnOiC6PFWJ2WMuF5L2jztLuew_XzmrmLI/s1600/grownup-table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiiVR7QcLllk2xdyDW33GMw2Br86Rxe3EtVA1-5WBMJIChhpD-8JJKF6SzPKa6yu5-UEeg9bZlk6jEio3B4WQbEBRcBmar2pCY21bBq1-51xqnOiC6PFWJ2WMuF5L2jztLuew_XzmrmLI/s320/grownup-table.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6ccUqpL4Avwd6qqG2NYMQ4e5gRknpr6HWzudlrnewGuAngy_fuCp7UnDeYYLsF5Hs_iFyqFE4tyBieJhPQVzXctHzJUTkDbq6Bw8Qgr8ulSHSzgL-hRQ53oyGppjoJyeROk68RtohkU/s1600/kids-table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6ccUqpL4Avwd6qqG2NYMQ4e5gRknpr6HWzudlrnewGuAngy_fuCp7UnDeYYLsF5Hs_iFyqFE4tyBieJhPQVzXctHzJUTkDbq6Bw8Qgr8ulSHSzgL-hRQ53oyGppjoJyeROk68RtohkU/s320/kids-table.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8un8VPofr6OuG8ni-TyRQ7kdnAcvowWX5S3m76OINGD9evo1QpQcLTaYwetGOJAmnLSwabZtVl2aANDLuOE_42nOGR7kU6Xy3qXrO1XMjeN7NLw1I8YsShsDPy6cOwzo59VXnb-Hn6ZE/s1600/table-setting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8un8VPofr6OuG8ni-TyRQ7kdnAcvowWX5S3m76OINGD9evo1QpQcLTaYwetGOJAmnLSwabZtVl2aANDLuOE_42nOGR7kU6Xy3qXrO1XMjeN7NLw1I8YsShsDPy6cOwzo59VXnb-Hn6ZE/s320/table-setting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPIBK1Hjee9n2iD85m4W_mPWHla3_BkoD5G4yZb_XVVbFN9Sf8O1bSygG1wl1kJewl2hV6bB4GuK-uUfEallz250JXyaBAZdW2MmKBCHcZkWwc0FhYA6BxEHF752lR8ZytYO80lnhsRA/s1600/pie-table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPIBK1Hjee9n2iD85m4W_mPWHla3_BkoD5G4yZb_XVVbFN9Sf8O1bSygG1wl1kJewl2hV6bB4GuK-uUfEallz250JXyaBAZdW2MmKBCHcZkWwc0FhYA6BxEHF752lR8ZytYO80lnhsRA/s320/pie-table.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Too bad I had to go back to work on Monday.</div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-85154677556990945802011-10-26T08:41:00.000-07:002011-10-26T08:42:29.693-07:00A future in show business<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Aw3AfmDsY1U1UBKqxUaWNShxxySXSl5BCxbe2PlIuPInhjrIZBPsUrw13LwGw8zAn38_-oS90vj_PIvMoonYUvVIOSdLvresA_OCVab0OoQiSYxZjJKm5MvONh4Fvfqpxw3x8U5qsBk/s1600/Logan7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Aw3AfmDsY1U1UBKqxUaWNShxxySXSl5BCxbe2PlIuPInhjrIZBPsUrw13LwGw8zAn38_-oS90vj_PIvMoonYUvVIOSdLvresA_OCVab0OoQiSYxZjJKm5MvONh4Fvfqpxw3x8U5qsBk/s320/Logan7.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>I took Logan to Kiddie Kandids this weekend to get some pictures. I knew that this was not going to be fun, so Tyler kept Jack and Sam and Logan and I went alone. We went shopping first and picked out a cute new outfit. Then we went to get his pics. <br />
This is when the miracle occurred. Instead of being his naughty little self, he turned on this whole other personality. The lady would ask him if he could put his foot up, and he would say "yes!" and then pose and smile. He did this for every pose she asked him to do. He put his hands in his pockets, folded his arms, crossed his feet, and even turned sideways and looked back at the camera. He was charming and darling. The pictures turned out amazing. I bought the CD, so I can post some of them here on my blog.<br />
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Here are a few things I want to remember about Logan at this age.<br />
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He calls school buses "school cars". He calls people he likes "my" Sammy or "my" Kate. When he runs, he makes fists and really runs with as much gusto as possible. When he wants to make me happy, he sings happy birthday to me. He loves cars, airplanes, and "cycles". He loves Lion King and Dumbo. He loves to dance. He can climb anything. He is really good with a cell phone and iPad. He randomly yells out "slug bug blue". He calls band aids "ouch stickers". When his nose runs, he freaks out and tells me, "I bleed, I bleed." We have friends with boys named Greyson, Easton, and Noah. He has a Noah's arc book, but he calls Noah, "Easton". When I am not watching he sings along with the television; he is awesome at Elmo's world.<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhUzYfEpwGS2W9XMSqi1rlLLPKYki0oGobArybYrB-oeGKUOTvmgIsbT5Rj5WLeUHvwa3oC4S6qeWYRnw7vEU8acsz6HwH5s26w0EDDVAHg-X_uFCG2t8pd0eoiyKXt4M7PUr9c6xJzc/s1600/Logan6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhUzYfEpwGS2W9XMSqi1rlLLPKYki0oGobArybYrB-oeGKUOTvmgIsbT5Rj5WLeUHvwa3oC4S6qeWYRnw7vEU8acsz6HwH5s26w0EDDVAHg-X_uFCG2t8pd0eoiyKXt4M7PUr9c6xJzc/s320/Logan6.JPG" width="256" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrfwqtOPdGMtJnomi8czb-g35aRvBtSIRye2GdTPlV7JwZoCFY0szvJ61P1aAm6GFjJ0qGR1HEoJhIiOmhNcKBAwMVK4fYBU41EXKjzM7ea1DUB461IwIqrQCPWFVbcUAPI60_IdqZ48/s1600/New+Image.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrfwqtOPdGMtJnomi8czb-g35aRvBtSIRye2GdTPlV7JwZoCFY0szvJ61P1aAm6GFjJ0qGR1HEoJhIiOmhNcKBAwMVK4fYBU41EXKjzM7ea1DUB461IwIqrQCPWFVbcUAPI60_IdqZ48/s320/New+Image.JPG" width="256" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvyVBuhP-K1CwV9O7iFrMO81IWIDoSx4c0RhFWZfbAqCeK7WAiHlJPsHR2rKZS_xG7V-373BmPuMARtTRWcsHczDkQinMIkyB6FALa3CoTLpZ-gtNSCbuM6Gof6IfYBx3gp8TLd4fx3Y/s1600/Logan8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvyVBuhP-K1CwV9O7iFrMO81IWIDoSx4c0RhFWZfbAqCeK7WAiHlJPsHR2rKZS_xG7V-373BmPuMARtTRWcsHczDkQinMIkyB6FALa3CoTLpZ-gtNSCbuM6Gof6IfYBx3gp8TLd4fx3Y/s320/Logan8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfF8KV6LDmBOP1OYpLCG0pbAbqEkQRu3WONV9cOyqnS2LJ__TT9EqVD0AvyttDWvCTnvm1n1lrVgEjtJP0fSljkVpA0TR0J9traZYPBNgqBOO5mLLhVmbVN8DweTUOXBXSznGoS7p-2eg/s1600/logan3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfF8KV6LDmBOP1OYpLCG0pbAbqEkQRu3WONV9cOyqnS2LJ__TT9EqVD0AvyttDWvCTnvm1n1lrVgEjtJP0fSljkVpA0TR0J9traZYPBNgqBOO5mLLhVmbVN8DweTUOXBXSznGoS7p-2eg/s320/logan3.JPG" width="212" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVebyMHbJxzdw1UtPz7SGB7Af8suCjr9yE2rlR8ovge6YUR61v-7fS9_qT_11sE2G3_Ph1IVBwyj35SuW8oS6Rqy0ecnZoiaggK6Fe1kKeMoxr5kQMhh81w4yVQBVJS93qkt2gfjcmxoU/s1600/Logan2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVebyMHbJxzdw1UtPz7SGB7Af8suCjr9yE2rlR8ovge6YUR61v-7fS9_qT_11sE2G3_Ph1IVBwyj35SuW8oS6Rqy0ecnZoiaggK6Fe1kKeMoxr5kQMhh81w4yVQBVJS93qkt2gfjcmxoU/s320/Logan2.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-86270344466801448912011-10-01T17:29:00.000-07:002011-10-01T17:29:22.580-07:00EmbarrassingIt is embarrassing each time your neighbor rings the doorbell and when you answer, she is standing there with your 2 year old, because he was playing in the front yard close to the street.<br />
<br />
It is way more embarrassing when your neighbor brings home your two year old and he is naked! At least, he had a cute little Pottery Barn elephant towel hanging on his head. Even if it does say Sam across the back - he doesn't know.<br />
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I think I am going to run her over a Mother of the Year recommendation form to fill out and send in for me. <br />
<br />
THREE BOYS!!!! REALLY!!!!AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-42019095217763642932011-09-14T15:45:00.000-07:002011-09-14T15:45:53.213-07:00Jakes Baptism<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2WINadGc-ybvmUkSmN5CNf0pxUSyUDeKQQQynHJhYfoXkh92DTqNbHJ7ELhXVr2rYiq1oud3KYNkNjmVlEJMn3AN-AYoGOitcFi_CJGrDDGddftg6tDMrlYMSEqC5ODMgG5Su4fwpS4/s1600/Jakes-Baptism2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2WINadGc-ybvmUkSmN5CNf0pxUSyUDeKQQQynHJhYfoXkh92DTqNbHJ7ELhXVr2rYiq1oud3KYNkNjmVlEJMn3AN-AYoGOitcFi_CJGrDDGddftg6tDMrlYMSEqC5ODMgG5Su4fwpS4/s320/Jakes-Baptism2.jpg" width="320" /></a>Jack and I flew to Utah to attend Jake's baptism. You can read about it <a href="http://ballardbanter.blogspot.com/2011/08/jakes-baptism.html">here</a>. Jack and Jake are BEST friends, and I was so excited to find cheap flights and Angela planned this on a prefect weekend. My sister Karen was there with her darling baby Lily, and my brother Dave just moved back to Utah with his family. That meant that all 5 of us kids were there at the same time. Jack loved the airplane ride and talked to me all about his theories of flight. He was also thrilled to fly through storms and see lightening. He even got to buy something at the gift shop in Phoenix (cheap flights = strange routes).</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Jack spoke at the baptism and it was really cute. He told me that he really felt the spirit and that he learned something new when he gave the talk. I left on Sunday night, but Jack got to stay in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa until the following Thursday. Then Jake, Jack and my parents drove up here to visit us for 5 days. We had a great time, and that will be the next thing I blog about.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dbEJzSucyBZaOLcim2iuciL23rtI-G-UVVZGRTGLPCWqJxc7eUpXuXHWMY_dIiaHNOvWHKbekRCVOJ_3ihj4ZNCtW6EePSubuAWeK1VMUDsfTNvGn5hoyeENWfpDoxHv_rW5PqwRuAM/s1600/Jakes-Baptism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dbEJzSucyBZaOLcim2iuciL23rtI-G-UVVZGRTGLPCWqJxc7eUpXuXHWMY_dIiaHNOvWHKbekRCVOJ_3ihj4ZNCtW6EePSubuAWeK1VMUDsfTNvGn5hoyeENWfpDoxHv_rW5PqwRuAM/s320/Jakes-Baptism.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Here is Jack's talk:<br />
Jack Wirick<br />
<br />
<br />
Talk on Baptism for Jacob Ballard<br />
<br />
8/27/2011<br />
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are baptized when we reach the age of eight. Our prophets teach us that the age eight is important because this is when we become accountable and responsible for our actions. <br />
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Baptism is important because our Heavenly Father commanded us to do this. When we are baptized we receive many blessings from our Heavenly Father. Through repentance and baptism, our sins are washed away. The person being baptized must go all the way into the water. This is called being baptized by immersion. The person who baptizes must be someone who has the priesthood authority.<br />
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Being baptized is a special time of our lives. We covenant with the Lord to serve him and keep his commandments. We covenant to remember Jesus and to try to be like him. When we do that, he promises to send the Holy Ghost to help us.<br />
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A covenant is a promise we make with our Heavenly Father. When we make covenants, we show our love for God and promise to obey him.<br />
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Each time you take the sacrament, you will be reminded of the covenant or promise you made when you were baptized. As you follow Jesus’ teachings, you will be keeping your promise.<br />
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You will also be an example to those around you. When people know you are a member of the church, they expect you to behave well. When I was at scout camp, a leader there saw my CTR ring. She told me a story about when her son was a boy about 50 years ago. He collected toy cars. He went to a shop to buy parts for his cars and when he went to pay, he realized that he did not have enough money. The man at the counter told him that he could take the parts and come back later. He went home and told his mom, and then returned with the money. The man at the counter was not a member of the church, he told him that he saw his CTR ring and knew that he would make the right choice. Also at scout camp this year, someone from our council came up to our group of boys and asked if we were Mormons. When we said yes, he asked if someone would be able to say the prayer for the next opening ceremony. All of the boys in our group were willing and able to do this. Most of the boys at our scout camp would not have been comfortable praying in public. You never know when someone is watching you and when you can set an example or share your testimony.<br />
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Being baptized and having the Holy Ghost has helped me in my life and made me happy. I am proud of you for making the choice to be baptized.AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336037527759186458.post-67225589107113012912011-09-14T15:34:00.000-07:002011-09-14T15:34:33.521-07:00Scout Camp<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf3q8O9U_-E-W3-X7LHUyvHw6SvE0BIf1ZIG6RNupn5gBhN5pbG4hC-BUvF5U98gXzCTCj-VmpEmN7sPlvsOHInU65BmHmFElBk2TceIgAPiBACuNUH3A72P2dEgCiojOVqVJaB-Bvx7g/s1600/DSCN0613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf3q8O9U_-E-W3-X7LHUyvHw6SvE0BIf1ZIG6RNupn5gBhN5pbG4hC-BUvF5U98gXzCTCj-VmpEmN7sPlvsOHInU65BmHmFElBk2TceIgAPiBACuNUH3A72P2dEgCiojOVqVJaB-Bvx7g/s320/DSCN0613.jpg" width="320" /></a>I love Camp Easton! I have been helping out there for the last 5 years when I can. Last year Tyler went with the kids, but this year I couldn't miss it. There was a jungle theme and our boys were cobras. We had a fun cheer and skit. The water front activities at Camp E are the greatest! The boys also love the BB guns and archery. I just love listening to their funny conversations and being outside with them where they can run and play and be stinky little boys. I also enjoy bribing them with cookies and candy.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><br />
Other activities include: songs, skits, geo-caching, hikes, cooking, fire starting, stories, games, relay races, swimming, fishing, canoing, and much more!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlABqsJIt2L4nNt3rA_rfmKzbVBT8r_WfCQ1Vh7maAtjAO_7gvCYPEkOrvrAgMl1xkBlA6n8USSPb2EHpm37J1tcNRKIV4BW-Ku7PKk8C9gs0LaFpq1OwIXFViEVohjKSYVTaozDbAl9k/s1600/DSCN0608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlABqsJIt2L4nNt3rA_rfmKzbVBT8r_WfCQ1Vh7maAtjAO_7gvCYPEkOrvrAgMl1xkBlA6n8USSPb2EHpm37J1tcNRKIV4BW-Ku7PKk8C9gs0LaFpq1OwIXFViEVohjKSYVTaozDbAl9k/s320/DSCN0608.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tyler, Isaac, Elijah, Jack, Zach, Gavin, and Jarett</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5UaLeMvoAc1FNMzRwsAhmHEO7NMlf87F3yNyFAhZuMMQa9UIeY5utIXwEWvBlFOxEvU6jBm6F_WdY1G1COrMfZe8jDeFE2MpxK9GmSOnylH-I1XngcC1h2OCTjhK3sdCs3B1p7g3mhU/s1600/DSCN0626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5UaLeMvoAc1FNMzRwsAhmHEO7NMlf87F3yNyFAhZuMMQa9UIeY5utIXwEWvBlFOxEvU6jBm6F_WdY1G1COrMfZe8jDeFE2MpxK9GmSOnylH-I1XngcC1h2OCTjhK3sdCs3B1p7g3mhU/s320/DSCN0626.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>AngelaWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13536247029152056424noreply@blogger.com0