She's Here, She's Here, She's Finally Here!!

Hey Everyone, check out the blog page that I have listed under "Destination Desert Oasis". Our friends just welcomed there newest addition to the family last night. She is only 4 lbs 7 oz, and still needs a little help with breathing, but as far as I know everything seems to be alright for the moment. Please keep this family in your prayers, especially this itty bitty one. Thanks! :)
Congratulations Scott and Alisa!

Great Weekend!

We just got back last night from a wonderful weekend vacation! We absolutely had the best time. It all started on Friday night as we drove to Seattle to pick up my cousin and then on to Olympia. We met up with my husband's sister's family and were able to catch the last part of my nephew's birthday party. The next day we drove up to Mason Lake and met my husband's oldest sister and husband there. They are back for a couple of weeks from Kosovo, so it was a real treat to be able to spend time with them. Most of the afternoon was spent just relaxing in the beautiful house while the kids did their best catching fish. My son caught his very first fish!! He was so proud of himself!

It was a fairly windy and cool day, but for a short period of time it was actually warm enough to go for a jet ski ride. My daughter an her uncle hopped on the jet ski and away they went. I was slightly concerned that she might be a little bit scared, but boy was I wrong. When they came back her uncle kept saying" She's crazy! She's insane! She has no fear!" I guess when he let her drive, she put the pedal to the metal and didn't hold back. She had a blast, and I think her uncle was a bit concerned, or at least he pretended to be. ;)

On Sunday we were able to go to the farmer's market. I love it there. The food smelled so good, the plants and produce were beautiful and we had a great time just browsing. We then walked over to an awesome Thai food place and had a delicious meal of Phad Thai. YUMMM! As a short detour, we stopped by a boat sale and browsed through some pretty impressive boats (yachts!). The kids told us which boat we should buy (right?!) and then walked back to the dock and posed for a picture.

My husband, of course, had to do his interpretation of some famous statues. Can you guess which ones?

As we were walking back my husband put my son on his shoulders because he was to tuckered out to keep walking. The next think I know he is actually asleep. I guess those large Swedish heads really do come in handy for some things!

We spent the rest of the day thoroughly enjoying family and even had a few hours to go shopping. On Monday we drove to one of my favorite stores and spent about 3 hours there! Yes, that was 3, but oh so worth it. My husband enjoyed it for the most part, but after about the first hour he lost his enthusiasm. Anyways, Ikea will always be one of my most favorite places to spend an afternoon. We especially loved the fact that it played into our current favorite car game. It has actually become some what of a competition as to who gets the most "slug bugs" during the car ride. My husband actually got sick because he was trying so hard to spot them as we were driving.

Over all, it was a wonderful weekend and I was once again blessed by family.

Views, Vacations, Tea Parties and Fire!

I am so excited that the counter on our blog has reached over 1000 views!! WoooHooo! Who would have ever guessed that it would have reached even 100?! Thanks everyone for taking time out to find out what is going on in our little corner of the world. It's kind of crazy to think about all that has happened since I started posting. Our lives have completely switched gears from plugging right along at a very comfortable pace, to one that is pretty much uncertain, but still good.

We are headed out again for a small weekend vacation with my husbands side of the family. I am so excited to spend time with them. My husband's oldest sister and husband have flown back from Kosovo and will be spending the weekend with us. This will be their last trip back to the USA for quite a while so it we are all looking forward to it. We will be going back and forth between Olympia and Mason Lake. Should be a good weekend and I will post all about it when we get back.

On another note, I LOVE MY KIDS!!!!! Oh man I love being a mom. Funny thing is, almost all of my friends really wanted to be a mom when they grew up. I just sent out one of those "get to know you better" emails and most all of the ones I got back answered the question of "what did you want to be when you grew up" with "a mom". I seriously really never thought about it. Isn't that wieid? So, now that I am a mom I am so glad. What a blessing. On Wednesday I was trying to get yard work done because of the cooler temperature and the kids were playing in the back yard. All of the sudden they come bursting through the front door and with these huge excited grins and invite me to their tea party. So, into the backyard I go and this is what I found!

Everything was perfect. They had coke for the tea and peanut butter cookies, along with a place card for everyone. There was even a beautiful bowl of grapes in the center of the table. I am so blessed!!

So, later that day, my husband comes home from work and decides to pick on me. He was starting up the BBQ when he decided to tease me with the lighter. He thinks it's very funny when he points it at me and then clicks on the flame near me. Well, as he was doing this I was filling up a glass of water from the fridge. He continued in his little game and I warned him to stop, but he didn't. So, guess where the entire glass of ice water ended up?

Yup, you guessed it. My kids were so impressed that I actually threw the entire glass at him! I guess I was too. Ohh, well. Now he knows.

Memory Lane

Here are the rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that we had together. It can be a memory with just Dan or just with Kyla or with both of us. It doesn't matter if you know us a little or a lot, anything you remember. We would love to hear it!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty fun to see the responses

I'm So "Ticked" Off !!!

So.....Have you ever had one of those instances where somebody tells you that they have something contagious and then they cough on you and you become completely convinced that you have now caught whatever disease they have? Or better yet, where someone tells you that they have lice going through their home, but now it's "under control"? Doesn't that last example just make you want to itch your head? No, we don't have lice going through our home, but I had an incredibly hard time sleeping well last night because I was convinced that I would wake up with a tic in my hair or somewhere else on my body, or on my children.
Here's the story. My sweet husband was in MN this last weekend. The land of lakes, right? So, he and his mother decided to go on an adventure to find a lake in the middle of some property that she bought a number of years ago. From the sounds of it, it was in a very heavily wooded and boggy area. My husband said that they walked for hours and finally found the lake, which they promptly named after his mom. Pretty good reward to have a lake named after you. Anyways, by the time they hiked back to the car, my husband said he had pulled off at least 30 ticks from himself and his mom had only pulled off 3. He told me this over the phone while he was still in MN. Naturally I assumed that he would wash his clothes and make sure that all the ticks were gone before he packed everything, right? Surely if he didn't have time to wash the clothes he would have at least gone through them to make sure that no bug was getting a free ride back to good old WA, right? WRONG!!! He simply folded up the wet, smelly, tick infested shorts, shirt, socks and shoes and put them in his suitcase. The night that we get back home, mind you it was 1:00am when we were finally able to go to bed, he just dumps all his "dirty" clothes in the clothes hamper and THEN throws his mildewed socks in the bathroom garbage can. (Like I wouldn't notice the thick stench of mildew along with the green fog rising from the small garbage can) I just happened to notice the wet, mildewed pair of shorts laying on top of the hamper and realize, much to my horror, that he had neglected to take care of everything. So, I promptly take the shorts out to the garage and throw them on the floor because I am positive there is a tick on them. The next morning he asks me why his shorts are on the garage floor and I explained to him that there is probably a tick on them and he just smirks at me and shrugs his shoulders. I know he was secretly thinking that I was totally over reacting...until....oh yes, there is an "until", until he comes home from work on Monday to find the kids completely out of their minds over the blood sucking tick that mom found in the house on the door to the garage. As I was cleaning house, I happened to notice a small bug on the door trim to the garage, and sure enough, there it was. So, now the question was, how do you really kill a tick? Aren't you supposed to burn them or something? I think I had heard that they can't be squished or something like that. So I put the silly thing under my sons new bug microscope and trap it there until my husband can get home. He takes it outside and sets it on fire and that was that. I think he just did that for the ohh, ahhh effect, but I don't care because at least it is dead. Well, now the questions is, how many more are lurking in the garage and house. I swear that every little itch or odd tickle sensation makes me sit up and turn the light on next to the bed because I am just certain it is a tick! UGH!!! So, yes, I am ticked off!! (But I'll get over it once I don't see any more of them through the next couple of weeks.
On a different note, I am trying out a new background as you already know. I am hopeful that it will load much faster than the other one. The one that I really liked wouldn't work. :( Let me know if it loads faster for you.

Week 2 in MT

I apologize for the lack of posting these past few weeks. I had full intentions of posting while we were in MT, but the days were full and I was just too tired at night to try and be creative. So, here I am on Sunday night trying to play catch up.

We arrived back home around 1:00am this morning and boy were we tired. It feels so good to be home though. We have not really been a family unit for the past two weeks with me and the kids in MT and my husband traveling all over the place from TX to MT back to TX to MN and finally back home. We did have a wonderful time these past 2 weeks.

Our second week in MT consisted of many great activities. On Monday we were able to go out to my aunt and uncle's home on the river and take a boat ride. It was an absolutely perfect temperature and the kids had a blast playing on a beach that we pulled off to. Don't ya love the sign behind them? The two kiddos next to mine are my cousins kids.

On Wednesday we were able to go and eat at a new restaurant in town called the Macaroni grill. The kids loved coloring on the table and the food was great. We followed that up by going to the movies. My dad took the kids to see Wall-e, and my mom and I saw Hancock. My mom was kind enough to go with me since I really did not want to watch Wall-e again. Hancock was good, but definitely not for kids. I really enjoy Will Smith's movies. This one, however, has pretty rough language in it, but I still liked it.

Thursday was such a fun day. I got to spend the afternoon with my good friend Tobi, (AKA - National Old Time Fiddler Champion! - sorry Tobi, I just had to throw it in there because I am so stinkin proud of you!) and then I took my daughter over to another friends house for some swimming. She loved it and it was fun to watch her confidence in swimming grow. She has really conquered some major hurdles this year. Going off the diving board, going down the slide, treading water, free style swimming and diving. It is miles from where she was at the beginning of last summer. My son on the other hand could really do without water as a whole. He hates getting it on his face and does not enjoy swimming very much. That's just fine with me, because it make my job keeping track of him at the pool much easier and safer.

That night we went to a Peter Pan play and it was great! The young man playing Peter was the son of some good friends of ours and the little boy playing Michael was Tobi's son. My uncles brother was also a pirate, so we felt like we practically knew the cast. It was very well done and my daughter absolutely loved it.

Friday we were able to enjoy some shopping time and then we went to the Country Club and listened to a blues band while we ate. The music was great, the food was good and the company couldn't have been any better. The kids had a blast dancing their hearts out to the band. I was really bummed that I didn't have my camera with me to video them, so just take my word for it that they were a hit.

On Saturday we drove to good old Butte, MT to see another good friend. We spent the afternoon with her and her beautiful little girl. We ate lunch and then played at a great old park. Check out this awesome cowboy swing. Bet you haven't seen one of these before!

The kids had a blast playing on all the different equipment and it was really good to catch up with my good friend.

We then headed out to Spokane to pick up my husband and then drove all the way home. What a day, what a week.....and I am so glad to be back home.

Week 1 in MT

It's Monday.....again! I don't much care for Monday's because it is a reminder that I have not kept up with the blog!! We have had a crazy and wonderful week. Last Monday we took off for MT and had a very uneventful trip out here. We made the trip in about 9 hours and it really wasn't to bad. The kids were great and kept themselves busy for the most part. The rest of the week was spent relaxing at the pool, shopping and of course spoiling the kids papa and gamma style. I count it as one of the greatest blessings in my life, to have parents that love my children with a deep and unconditional love. At times I just sit down and think about how wonderful that is and I actually end up teary eyed at the fact that my kids will always have that concrete knowledge of family love. They will never doubt it as it is given freely!! We were at a little summer fair in Billings on Saturday and I saw a sign that said "I didn't do it, It's not my fault, I want to speak with my grandma!" That is pretty much how it is around gamma and papa's house. I love it! We spent the weekend in Billings looking around at different areas and getting familiar with the city. We were also blessed by spending time with my brother and sister in law as well as my little niece. We stopped by the local Harley Davidson dealership and looked at bikes with them. Here are a few pictures of it.








My mom and I and the kids stayed at my cousins new home. What a beautiful home they have. They were so gracious in letting us stay and my kids were able to meet and play with their second cousins that they have really never spent time with. They had so much fun. My daughter was especially enamoured with the beagle puppy that they had. I don't think that the puppy's feet were actually on the ground more than a couple of minutes the entire weekend. She held it, and mothered it the whole time! How cute is that? Who needs a babysitter when you have a new puppy? And, NO is the answer to whether or not we will be getting a new puppy for ourselves, just in case you were wondering. (could you hear me shouting the word "no"?) Right before we left the kids were using the slip and slide and loving it. Renee spent quite a while doing it, but Ryker didn't think it was all that great. He was more interested in the Pokemon trading cards. All in all it was a great weekend!


The first night that we were in Billings, we went out to eat at Olive Garden. It was soooo good! I just couldn't resist taking a pictures of the kiddos with my mom. They were all freezing, thus the arms tucked in the shirt and sharing sweaters.


We did get some sad news, though. My husbands grandmother passed away on Saturday. She was just a couple days shy of of her 94th birthday. He will be flying from Houston to Minnesota on Wednesday for the funeral on Thursday, and then back home on Saturday. It will be a very long week for him and his family. We would really appreciate your prayers during this time.

Camping and Cows

It's amazing how fast just one week can fly by. I didn't realize that I haven't posted since last Monday. Last week flew by and I am literally shocked that tomorrow is Monday yet again. Where is the summer going?

We had a great week last week. The week started off by getting most of the house organized and ready to put up for sale, and then we went camping with some good friends of ours. What a treat. We had a great time and were sad when we had to return home Saturday evening. The weekend was filled with fellowship, food, fishing, lots of great memories, and even an emergency room trip. Yes, I know that just about every mom out there has had to make at least one emergency room trip for stitches in their child's head. It was my son's turn this weekend. He fell off the playground equipment and knocked his head on something. It gave him a pretty good goose egg as well as a cut that did it's fair share of bleeding. I had forgotten how bad head wounds bleed. Anyways, we made a short trip to the ER and he ended up with a couple of staples to hold the cut together and now he is as good as new. I was so thankful that my friend A. was there to help when all that craziness happened. She was super calm and really helped me to not overreact.

Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend.

Camping Kiddos

Fishing

Trying to start a fire, the castaway way.

On our way home, we stopped at a wonderful little place called Small World. The kids all took a ride on the cow train. The guy driving that crazy train was this little old man, who loved to put the pedal to the metal and give the kids a little thrill ride. It was comical to watch, and the kids had a great time.

Once again, we have been blessed by good friends. I am completely humbled by how God provides for our every need.

Tomorrow we are headed out to MT for a couple weeks. I can't wait to spend some good quality time with my parents and other family. God is so good!