Makin' the Best of a Bad Situation

On our way to our little Get a Way in Coeur D'Alene, we got the boys all excited by telling them that there was a pool and we would definitely go swimming! Oh...they were excited! However - when we checked in - the front desk told us that the pool was currently down and not working and would not be up for days/ weeks. BUMMER! Clay and I looked at each other and thought...what do we do now? We promised the boys a trip to a pool??? Well, when we got to our room, there was a nice Master Suite with a large tub!!! SOLUTION presented itself! Hey, we will all fit in there right? We can at least try and we did! We had several "pool parties" in our own private room with warm bath water! We brought in toy cars, balls, etc. and had a great time! Not much leg room or breast strokes - but lots of giggles!!! Hey, what do you do when you promise your kids a pool and that is not possible? HAVE A BATH PARTY! Hey, it worked! (If you look closely you can see the water line...yep, we had it filled to the tip top!)

Time to GET AWAY!

We got some good quality family time in by sneaking away to Coeur D'Alene, ID for a couple of days! It was beautiful weather, gorgeous country, great hotel/resort, and the greatest company..... Here are a couple pictures of the highlights of our little get away! We attempted several hikes with the boys...however, we only accomplished 1 FULL trail....and that one was 1/2 mile! The other trails were steeper and much longer but also full of distractions...such as bushes, logs, water, rocks, bugs, fun plants...and the curious boys that we have - kept stopping to take a peek, throw rocks (which Clay keeps telling me is a normal boy thing...all boys throw rocks! News to me!). So with all the extra "sight seeing" and having to pack Preston for most of the trail, we didn't make a lot of progress before the boys were exhausted and we were forced to turn around and head down the mountain. Clay and Laura have promised that the two of them will go back "kidless" and finish those hikes! Even though we didn't make it far, we all had tons of fun - !

On one of the hikes CJ found a old pair of glasses with the lenses popped out - which became his hiking glasses and then when we were done hiking they became his glasses that made him become just like Papa! He even wanted to sleep in them!

The weather men called for rain and cool weather the whole time we were in Coeur D'Alene, but instead it was sunny, beautiful and semi warm! Perfect hiking and sight seeing weather - we are so blessed!

Daddy's Home

Deployments are NOT fun! But, it sure makes for a great reunion! Yes, Clay is home!!! Yipee. We are all excited to have him back! Laura and the boys went and watched his plane land and then met him on the flight line! It was a very exciting day in the ward house! (PS..Laura got the sign custom made from a company in Vancouver! If you want details on the company, let her know!!!)

Strutting his Stuff

Preston has been practicing for his next photo shoot! He came out wearing these glasses and thinking he was hot stuff! When we grabbed the camera and started taking pictures...he just kept posing! Silly Man - yes...we think you are cute!

The Candy Bandit

Ok...today was just ONE OF THOSE DAYS at church! Trying to wrangle two boys, keep them in their seats, keep them semi-quiet, all the while trying to listen.... yeah, I really don't think I accomplished any of those (plus, it didn't help that the speakers went 20 minutes OVER!)....then it got worse! When I went into nursery to do singing time (yes, I am the primary chorister and usually the funnest time is singing with the nursery)..well, today the kids seemed to be off the wall...and yes, mine was THE worst...what the heck had gotten into this kid? I even jokingly said "who has been feeding this kid sugar?" The nursery leader immediately pipped up and said, "we just fed him crackers and water, promise!" I thought back to what he had had for lunch and nope...no sugar either. What was going on? This kid was going crazy, he couldn't/wouldn't sit still, was running all over the place, he was literally out of control...I haven't seen him like this, I was beside myself! I was mortified when I thought.....oh man, I still have a meeting after church, and I have this out of control child....(so I stood in the doorway for this very informal meeting, while CJ walked up and down the hall...he couldn't stand still...) When we finally got home, I was exhausted, the kids were tired, we were all STARVING, so...we set to work getting everyone happy. While I was trying to be super mommy, I decided I needed a little extra pump of energy because my tank was soo low - I reached for my stash of mini Reeses peanut butter cups (I keep them up on the counter in a dish) -it is used for such occasions as this..when I need that extra boost on the go. What did I find? IT WAS EMPTY!! That little dish had several pieces left in it... I know. I looked at CJ and asked, What happened to the candy? "I ate it" When? "When you were on the phone" Lights turned on! I had received a phone call not long before we left for church, he must have gotten a stool, climbed up and ate all the candy before heading to church. No wonder he was out of control! So, my question was finally answered, Who has been feeing this kid sugar? HE HAS! I stood there in the kitchen looking at CJ, and all I could do was laugh. Goodness, gracious. What a day. I'm beat.

A Year Already?

I can hardly believe my baby is not a baby anymore...has it really been a year? That being said, I can hardly remember what life was like without Preston around. It is so fun to see Preston's little personality! He is such a joy! He is always smiling, laughing, or giving kisses. But, oh is he stubborn! (I don't know where he gets that!) He will clutch those little fists so hard and his whole little body shakes - it is hard not to laugh - oh..the passion! And as you can see from the pictures...that tongue is always sticking out! Here he is...our funny little man Preston who we love! We were all playing in the bedroom, when Preston got a hold of the cowboy hat and as I looked at him, I thought...oh, that is the cutest picture ever, he kept smiling, playing with the hat, scrunching it around his face...oh, those moments when I wish I just had a camera attached 24/7...but I ran and got the camera knowing full well that the moment was gone...but I still managed to get a couple cute ones!

ABC's and 123's

CJ has been working hard learning his letters and numbers! He can now sing all his ABC's and can count to....about 12 (sometimes he still misses a number or two, but he does really well!) Here is CJ's "F". Isn't it beautiful! I was so excited - I ran and got the camera! CJ kept wanting to write "F"s all day long. He has really caught the fire....just the other day, when we were in the parking lot, he stopped me and said, "Mom, look...an A." As I looked, it was some lines painted in the parking lot in diagnals, but right there at the top, where the lines met was indeed was an A! I was thrilled - and impressed that he would pick that up! Now, He is pointing out letters everywhere. Good job CJ!

Hittin' the Road

Half way through Spring Break, we all hoped in the car and headed to Nana and Papa's house. As you can see from the pictures....everyone enjoyed themselves! Preston LOVED Nana's jello, CJ LOVED Papa and Shane's Motorcyle, and I loved the company! We had some pretty late nights - talking, laughing, watching movies, playing games, being silly - I think I am paying for it now, but it was well worth it! It is always a treat going to Mom and Dad's house. I love my Dad's barbecue...yum..and my mom and I love to go shopping together! It just not as fun to go shopping by yourself, plus Mom was a great helper in the stores for ideas, opinions, and taming the wild animals (the kids). Thanks for letting us come! It was a lot of fun!

Shaner Dude

Growing up we always called my "little" brother, Shane, "Shaner Dude"....but Shane is not a little boy any more! We were all very excited when we found out that he was willing to come to Spokane and spend some of his spring break hanging out with his older sister and two crazy kids! We had so much fun having Shane stay at our house for a few days. We played board games, watched movies, played in the snow, went on walks, talked, and laughed. While Shane was here we had an unexpected snow storm! The weather went from sunny and beautiful to snowing...crazy Washington weather!
With seven kids in our family, an opportunity for the youngest and one of the oldest siblings to get together one-on-one doesn't happen very often. I enjoyed every minute. Shane also helped a lot around the house while I was busy with the boys.....yes, I am very proud to tell you that my 16 year old brother cleans...and well! I was very impressed - thanks for all your help Shane, we loved having you here...CJ still talks about you and asks where you are! Come back anytime!

The Easter Bunny Came!

The boys were sooo excited....the Easter Bunny came. They woke up bright and early, ran out into the family room, went straight to the window checked the front yard...and after so doing CJ then confirmed "Yep, the Easter Bunny came" (which is funny to me, because it rained all night and all morning, therefore, the Easter Bunny spread the eggs and baskets out in the family room, not outside...but nonetheless, he had to check the window to confirm that he did indeed come! Who knows..).





















After getting all ready for church, we thought we would take a quick picture...well the thought was there. Let's just say, Laura, the camera timer, and two squirmy boys aren't the best combination for a perfect picture! We really tried hard...but all of them were blurry, had heads cut off, weird eyes, etc..so here is one of the funny, yet unsuccessful pictures of Easter.

Dogs and Bunnies...what else do you need?

CJ and Preston had a great time at the base Easter Festivities. CJ helped Preston get some eggs in the 2 and under "race" and then, CJ was all warmed up for the 3-5 age race (mass chaos)! Tons of kids and their shouting parents on several tennis courts getting eggs. I think some of the parents were a little more in to it than the kids! It was so fun to watch CJ - he was so excited that we would B- line for an egg and pass all the eggs in between - he was focused on specific eggs...it was hilarious.




CJ enjoyed meeting the fire dog and the Easter Bunny. Preston was a little nervous about the Easter bunny until big brother came over and reassured him that the bunny was friendly!

Easter Egg Excitement

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One of the most beloved Easter traditions...dying eggs - Beloved by both kids and adults alike. This year, we had extra help dying our eggs! Some of our good friends, the Scheel Clan, came over and did a fabulous job dying the eggs with CJ. Ta-Daa. Here is the hard working crew and their end result! Now, we will be eating deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches for the next month!

Deployment for Kids to...

No.. I didn't ship my kids off over seas or anything crazy like that.... there was a fun activity for the kids on base this weekend. They had a program that taught kids about deployments - so they could understand where mommy and daddy go and what they do when they are away. It was great! The kids went through each step of pre-deployment, the aircraft, being deployed and coming home. CJ loved walking around the KC-135 and sitting in the pilot seat. He kept saying... "I want to fly the airplane... I want to take off." It was like pulling teeth getting him out of that cockpit....looks like we might have another pilot in the family!! I don't think Preston was as comfortable as CJ in the cockpit...as soon as we placed him in the copilot seat he started crying. On the way home after the program had ended, we asked CJ how he liked the activity. He said "Good, but I want to fly the airplane ...and take off in the sky" I tried to think of what to say... so I said, "Well, honey in order to fly the airplane and take off you need to go to school for a long time like Daddy." Well, as you could have probably guessed, that satisfied our three year old for oh...a minute than he continued to say " I want to fly it in the sky now..." But, other than that minor disappointment, I really think he enjoyed the day. The military staff did an excellent job and had things very organized....here are a few pictures of today's activities.