Christmas Tour of Homes

BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes is here! Be sure to go check out the rest of the fabulous tour on her site!

I'll skip a boring intro and get right to the pics...that's what we really like anyway!

When you walk into our living room here is what you'll see:

This is our very tall (real) Christmas tree that Stan and the kids go and get each year. My best measurement of the height of our ceiling is about 13 feet...but I'm not too concerned about accuracy as I'm standing near the top of a 10 foot ladder, being scared of heights and all (which also makes decorating the tree at the top of a 10 foot ladder quite an experience as well)!

Here's a closer look (Ignore the crookedness):

You also have to appreciate that I took the time to unbox all the presents to put around the bottom of the tree for the picture. Because this is how the bottom of our tree really looks:

Yep. And all the gifts are inside the ugly brown boxes because 1) last year the cute 4 year old pulled down the 12 foot tree on top of herself 3-4 times (she was ok), breaking a few ornaments and presents, and 2) there's a 16 month old in the house who I feel would just be too tempted to unwrap everything prematurely, and 3) our dog (yes we still have the dog) comes in the house and drinks the tree water (choose your battles, choose your battles) and would love to help Jake unwrap the presents. It's self-preservation, really. I know my limits and I know with the above combination that by Christmas Eve my hair would be standing on end and fire would be coming out of my mouth.

Moving right along...

As you enter the living room and look around, here is what else you will see:

(Notice the dog and cat bobble heads inside the cabinet. Mackenzie picked those out especially for her mom and dad a couple years ago.)

You cant really tell, but the red lights on the mantle are chili pepper lights...love them! I keep some (plain) greenery and white lights on the mantle year round and get made fun of that it's Christmas leftovers, but it's not...I just like it. Also, I'm proud to say I made the wreath. Oh yes, I did. Aren't I special? No, I'm just too cheap to buy a premade one for three times the cost. It's one of my favorite additions for this year.

This is above the armoire (yeah, I had to do a spell check on that one) that the TV is in. Here's the bigger picture:

You cant really see the bell tree I got from Target that's on the hearth. It's another favorite addition for this year! Here it is closer up (it's a lot cuter in person):

Ok, moving along to the kitchen. When Jessica was a baby (she was born around Thanksgiving) I made the executive decision to NOT put up the big tree (Rebecca was a year and a half old and Mackenzie was 4) so I got a little 3 foot artificial one to put up instead. Now I use that one to put in the kitchen with some chili pepper lights and cowboy decorations (that MIL gave me one year) and some tatting ornaments that mom made. I love this little tree!!!

Above the dining table I have this quilt that mom made. During the year I have a different quilt hanging here that mom also made! Love it!





Finally...yes, I'm almost done! This is my very favorite addition for this year...a Willow Tree nativity tapestry bellpull that I have hanging in the entry way. (I got it from CBD by the way.) It's just beautiful! Oh and I would have shown a picture of our nativity set, but it's the Fisher Price one and I have a feeling that most of the pieces are in the bottom of a toy box. I'll have to get the girls to dig them out so we can display them.

So there you have it. That's the end of the tour. Feel free to hang around, have some coffee or hot chocolate and visit a while. I dont get a lot of adult conversation, so I'd love for you to stay!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

(Yeah, I got that song stuck in my head. And you're welcome for getting it stuck in your head now too!!!)

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I LOVE Christmas!!! And I've been in a happy mood lately because of it and have enjoyed decorating and preparing and shopping and stuff. But last night I got sad. Stan was out of town working and after I put the kids to bed I decorated my chili pepper tree (you'll see it on Monday), finished wrapping their gifts, and got ready to mail the gifts to the grandparents.

That last one is what hit me. Usually at Christmas we go to grandparents house and visit and play and laugh and eat and eat and eat. We havent done that for a few years since we're a million miles away (ok...so it's only 1456 miles, but still...who's counting?). But as I wrapped/packaged them up I thought about what all we'd miss. The kids wont get to play/fight/play/whine/play with their cousins or get all their sweetness kissed and hugged right off of them by the female grandparent figures. We wouldnt get to smell mom making her famous cinnamon candy (but I'm considering buying that red Christmas candle at Bath & Body because it smells exactly like that!). We wont start playing some board games with Stan's family...and then remember why we dont play board games. We wont be rubbing the designated pregnant lady's belly (there's always a pregnant one in the group...usually it's me, but not this time!), trying to feel the baby kick and talking about all things baby. Stan wont go off with the guys to do...um...whatever it is they do outside. And I wont stand in the kitchen and talk girl talk with the women.

There's lots more but I wont drone on about them. You get the idea. Things we usually take for granted...or even complain about. That's what I'll miss. So I really dont mean to put a damper on your Christmas spirits. I just want to say...enjoy the season (especially the Reason), enjoy your imperfect families, have a fun time and dont put so much stress/pressure on yourself or anybody else.

Because even though we will miss all of those things...I'm excitedly looking forward to our quiet time here at home with our 4 little munchkins. I love watching Jake gaze in wonder at the tree and trying to touch an ornament without making it look like he's trying to touch it. (He touches it with the back of his hand...as if he wont get a "no-no" since he didnt actually touch it with his fingers! And when he gets the verbal "Jake! No-no!" he snaps around to look at me as if to say "why are you always there when I do this?"). [You also have to know that I sometimes act like I didnt see him because it's just too darn cute and I'm laughing too much to scold him...how's that for consistency?]

The girls will help me make sugar cookies...and I'll try not to be too anal about all the "help" and will pour all my effort into remembering it's for their fun and it doesnt have to be perfect. And we will all scold Stan for coming by and swiping some dough to eat. We will play board/card games and secretly realize that Stan sometimes loses on purpose so we dont get mad and quit. We'll play our Wii and laugh at each other flailing around like monkeys. Oh yes, wii will! And I cant wait to watch the kids open their gifts and shriek. And Stan and I will get up early on Christmas morning, turn on the tree lights and have some coffee before the kids wake up and make a mad dash for the living room. And I'll probably stay in my pj's most of the day. If it snows I'm sure we'll go sledding, make snow ice cream, snow men, snow angels...whatever. But we have yet to have a white Christmas since we've been up here. This is Montana...isnt it supposed to be buried under 6 feet of snow all winter long?! Yeah right. If it were, there wouldnt be so many transplanted Californians!!

I digress. So this post is my tribute to our families. We will miss you and wish we were there. Julie, Jay, Dana, Mom, and Terry...eat extra dessert for me. Haley, rub your belly for me. Mike, Mark, Monte, Dad and Charlie...you just keep doing your guy thing...and try not to wreck any motorcycles. You can eat extra dessert for me too!

Making Up For Lost Time

I promised pictures...so here ya go!







Jake was less than impressed with the whole "bundle up to go outside" bit. (But he liked it once he got outside and saw what all the fuss was about...they had lots of fun in the snow. And yes, those are purple boots that were once Jessica's. Dont worry, since the taking of this picture we've been able to transform them into solid black boots...with the help of a couple Sharpie markers! We're SO upscale citizens here! Hey, at least it wasnt duct tape.)




Out behind the house is a nice sledding hill. The girls would come home from school, drop their backpacks and go sledding. Sad to say that all that snow is just about gone...we've warmed up to the upper 30s and it's been raining for two days. Ick! It's a sloppy, muddy, gooey mess now.




We woke up to this outside the kitchen window one morning. We barely got a picture before the moon disappeared behind the mountains.



Here's our Thanksgiving meal. It's amazing we got a picture...it was one of those hurry-up-before-Jake-pulls-everything-off-the-table pictures. The girls made all the placemats for everyone.

Jessica's birthday!!! Here's her purple cat cake. Thankfully it didnt turn our teeth colors like the last cake we had.


She had lots of help opening her presents!

And here's just some fun shots of the kids. I'll get more pictures added to the Nov/Dec 2007 slideshow link in the sidebar soon.

Holiday Happenings

I'm having a hard time deciding whether to use my childhood Christmas memories or current ones with my kids. Ummm...Ill go with current Holiday Happenings. And since I'm a slacker and was hoping to get this posted this morning and now I'm racing the clock until it's no longer the December 3rd deadline...bear with me!


I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas! Every single thing about it (of course, most especially the birth of our Savior).

Ok...some of the fun stuff we do with our kids is Stan takes the kids every year to go get our (real) Christmas tree. It's always a "secret" from mommy and the girls love bundling up, getting in the old beater pickup, picking out just the right tree, and surprising mommy with it. (I'm sure sometime they will start to wonder why when they get back the livingroom is somehow already rearranged to make room for the tree.) Anyway, I know the kids will have great memories of going out with dad to get the tree.

I love the idea of the kids having their own tree to decorate (from other posters of the Holiday Happenings)! I may have to start doing that! (I do have a little cowboy tree in the kitchen with red chili pepper lights and cowboy decorations.) But what we usually do is I give the kids each some ornaments for them to put on the tree...so they dont fight over them. And I hang the breakables up high with the ladder. Yes, we need a ladder...did I mention they get the biggest tree possible? Our ceiling is about 13 feet tall and we use every inch of it. I love it!!!!! But every year I get each kid an ornament and one for the family and I write the kid's initials and the year on their ornament. Then when they leave home I'll give them all their own ornaments to start their own tree with (and the reason I get one for the family is so when they all leave we will still be able to decorate a tree...and each one will remind us of each Christmas with the kids). I get all the same kind of ornament...like one year I got angels and they were all the same kind of angel but one was holding a tree, one a candle, etc. So they were all just a little different...but the same. Did that make one bit of sense?

One thing we started last year and I really liked was Stan and I each took two kids and gave them each a little money to shop for all the other kids. So each kid got to pick out gifts for their siblings. They loved picking out just the perfect gift for each one and they were so excited for them to be opened. And of course we always have tons of little "presents" under the tree that the kids have made for each other and us out of paper and stuff around the house. I didnt count them last year but I'm guessing there were at least 30 under there.

Well, there's SO much more I'd love to write about but I better stop here. Check out more Holiday Happenings at Conversations With My Hairdryer!

Flight of the Bumblebee

Have you ever done the "Flight of the Bumblebee"? First you have to know the song. I know you know it...it's one of the classics, and I dont mean Lynyrd Skynyrd. I mean real classics...but I dont know who composed it or wrote it or whatever. I'm not that cultured. (You can google it.)

Anyway, I do it quite often...when someone calls and says "I'm coming over" (or 10 minutes before Stan is supposed to be home) and I look around at all the mess and I run around frantically stashing all the clutter wherever it will fit, hoping that I can find the important stuff again later...that's the Flight of the Bumblebee.

So this post will be my Flight of the Bumblebee in blog world because I dont have time to do a full posting of each event right now so you'll just have to get the fast-forward version. Here we go (hum the tune to yourself as you read...that is, Flight of the Bumblebee, not Sweet Home Alabama)...

• (Oh look! Bullets! So easily entertained.) Thanksgiving was good. We didnt get to go anywhere because Stan was on call and by the end of the 4-day weekend I think he had 80+ calls. But we all stayed home, had a traditional Thanksgiving meal, filled our bellies, played Uno, Skip-Bo and Dominos, watched movies, Stan and the girls went out and got our Christmas tree, and we put it up and decorated it. I'll post pictures...sometime.
• Jessica had her 5th birthday this week! Cant believe my baby girl is 5!! *Tears* She asked for a purple cat cake. It didnt turn our teeth colors like the black dog cake did. She got a rescue pet and some littlest pet shop pets and some cold hard cash which she promptly shoved in her piggy bank. I'll post pictures...sometime.
• It's been a busy week of Christmas decorating, birthday celebrating and shoveling snow. Yes, we're still getting more on top of the foot we got earlier. If you're not already sick of them, I can post more pictures...sometime.
• We got a Wii. Oh yes. We did. Even thru the shortage of them...we got one. You have to know I am NOT a gamer. Not one bit. Never was. I mean Atari was fun...but how old was I back then? Dont answer that. I never did get very far in (the original) Super Mario Brothers, although I could do the duck hunt until they get really fast and I get nervous. And Mackenzie beats me all the time in Super Monkey Ball on the Game Cube. But for some reason I'm excited about the Wii. Maybe because it's not a normal game console and they say 4 year olds can do it. I get so tense trying to play that I sweat like crazy and need a nap afterwards. I'm nervous just thinking about it! I probably wont post pictures...sometime.
• I need to end this post soon because Mackenzie keeps coming in and tries to read over my shoulder (I cant stand that!) and the Wii is for their Christmas present...so I dont want her reading that part.
• Ok, I'm really going now. But I'm too mesmerized by the bullets.
• Cute.
• Little.
• Bullets.
• Bye.

Tummy Tempters

Edited: Ok so we've heard of re-gifting (I wont ask how many of us have actually done that...that's a whole 'nother topic!)...I'm re-posting. BooMama is doing a Soup-Tacular! Yum! Go check it out! But I had just posted this recently and I'm too lazy to actually create a whole 'nother post so I'm just re-wraping the old one and giving it away...again. Obviously the Soup-Tacular is just for, well, SOUP. But since my old re-gifted post had two recipes...the BooMama crowd gets a bonus breakfast recipe too! Enjoy!

I got nervous when I saw BooMama's Cheese Potato Soup recipe...but then I relaxed because mine is different from that one! Whew!! Thought I was actually going to have to go and find another recipe!

Ok....going Christmas shopping now. Be back...sometime...maybe!



It's recipe time! I got this first recipe from Terry when we went down south for a visit this summer. It's a fun change for breakfast and we have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Terry's Sausage Rolls

1 lb. hot sausage
1 8-oz cream cheese
2 Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 egg white, slightly beaten
poppy seeds (optional)

Brown sausage and drain. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Flatten crescent rolls into 4 rectangles, pressing perforations together. Spread sausage mixture down center of dough. Roll up and seal. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. Brush with egg white and sprinkle poppy seeds on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until browned. Slice and serve or freeze.

To serve after freezing, thaw slightly enough to slice. Place slices on cookie sheet (standing) and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until hot.

*********************************************

I got this next recipe from Mom. Gotta love recipes from the momma! Stan made this for me when I was sick and it was sooooooo yummy! (and I'm NOT a cabbage fan)

Cheese Potato Soup

8 c. water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
2 lbs. red potatoes, cubed
1 1/2 c. onion, diced
1 1/2 c. carrots, diced
1 1/2 c. celery, diced
1/2 small cabbage, diced
1 lb. Lite Velveta cheese, cubed
optional - 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

In large pot simmer all except cheese for 30 minutes or til potatoes are tender. Add cheese.

Let It Snow!

It's here! Our first big snow of the season! Last night we got about 8 1/2 inches of snow and today we are expected to get another 3-6 inches. It's not very cold...just above freezing, so I dont know how long it will stay around this time. It's already starting to melt and it's only 8AM. But it sure is nice to get some moisture. I vision sledding, snow men, snow angels, and snow ice cream will be in store for the day! Pretty soon I need to go out and knock as much snow off of the tree so that the branches dont break. (No, I didnt wait for it to get light enough for pictures.) Stan and a friend from church are out elk hunting this morning...hope they get one!

Oh...and yes...school is running on time as usual. Are you kidding? If school closed everytime it snowed here we'd have to go to school all summer to make up for snow days! This is our 4th year up here and the school has never closed for the day. Never. There has only been one delay. Our first year up here there was one day where we started school at 10:00AM because it was below -20 degrees...yep...negative twenty...and the building needed time to be able to get warm enough. And if you're wondering about recess...kids just put on their snow clothes and go on out. The school rule is that if it gets below 10 degrees the kids stay in the gym for recess.

Last night church was at our house and we'd already started getting some snow...about 3 inches or so. All the kids went out and made some snowmen (after the snowball fight of course). But like I said...it's not that cold so they started melting and drooping. This poor guys looks down on his luck. We'll have to go cheer him up...after a bowl of hot oatmeal!

Better get going. We've lost power some during the night and the lights are starting to flicker again. Dont worry...we'll be all roasty and toasty, with or without power!

Birthday Girl

Ok, so I went ahead and put away the Halloween costumes...after they sat in my bedroom floor for weeks. But here are some pics we did take in honor of Halloween. All four of us girls had these teeth in one day when Daddy came home from work. He laughed and said, "So I take it Nana sent a package?" Yep! :o) Jake didnt get any teeth...and he wasnt sure what all the fuss was about.

Now for the birthday girl...I cant believe my baby is 9! She's getting so grown up, despite the occasional Hannah Montana mannerisms ("Momma say what?"). This year we broke free from the 3 year stint of doll cakes and ventured into other things. She decided she wanted a dog face for a cake. A black dog. Black. So, being the good and venturous mommy that I am...here's my stab at a dog cake (maybe I shouldnt have said "stab"). Go ahead...laugh! I did. Oh and you should also know that her second choice of a cake was a pink flower. Hmmmmm.

And here she is opening her gifts. She also got money (she's saving up to get her ears pierced, much to Daddy's dismay). This picture just really cracked me up...was she checking to see if it's real or not?! Bwaaa Haaaa Haaaaaaa!!! (Actually, she'd just gone on a field trip to the local bank so she was testing what all she'd learned.)

Remember that BLACK cake? But of course...black icing = black teeth and lips. Well, I guess at least they brushed their teeth REALLY well after eating the sugary cake! I dont mean just brushing of the teeth...I'm talking scrub-the-living-daylights out of those pearly whites! You know me...always looking for a plus side. Oh and something I learned...black icing = purple tongue. Go figure.

I'll try to get a new slideshow link in the sidebar started for November/December soon.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is half days here, so I get the pleasure of dropping everything in the middle of the day and load 3 kids in the rig, run to town, drop one off, and come back home (or try to beat my last record time at the grocery store so that I can get back, get the kids fed, put the baby down for a nap, and not be late for tutoring). I complain but I guess secretly I don’t mind so much because I get an extra half day with my little girl!

I get so tickled at the Kindergarten drop off routine. Parents and day care providers show up with their appointed children. The kids run around the school yard for a while until the adults have them go get in line. The line forms on the sidewalk and there’s a little wooden fence right next to it to keep kids off of the landscaping. The kids line up along the fence and the adults line up in the grass, just off the other side of the sidewalk…each one standing across from their child. So now we have 2 lines! And I’m just waiting for someone to start yelling, “Red Rover, Red Rover!” But no one ever does.

The parents smile with pride at their big girl/boy going to school…and scold them when they climb on the fence or push in line (I’ve actually learned a few kids’ names this way because of the repetition). Some parents know each other and they visit, oblivious to anything around them…including their child who is climbing in the fence which makes all the other kids want to climb on it too because so-and-so’s mom lets them do it. Some parents stand all rigid and look like they’re on a mission. Some stand nonchalant like they’re just too cool for school. And then there’s the rebel parents who refuse to stand in the parent line like the others. They are sure to stand a few feet away…two or ten…or even all the way across the school yard so that they are the first ones back to the car. The men are the funniest. They feel kind of awkward being there but they secretly really like it and are resisting the urge to run thru the leaves with their child.

Shortly, someone from the school comes out and leads the line of kids to their appointed classroom. After the parade of waves and kiss-blowing the parents and day care providers flood out from the school.

Halloween Pictures!

Here they are:

















What? You can't see them? Oh...we must be having some technical difficulties....


Oh who am I kidding?! You cant see them because there are none! Yes, we're horrible parents who withheld Halloween from our kids. No...actually the kids were still sick...or at least some of them were. Now those kids are well and other's are sick...and so is mommy (gives new meaning to the phrase "I dont care who started it, I'M going to finish it"). It's such a vicious cycle! Someone get me off this roller coaster!

But thankfully we're past the stomach bug part (Lord willing!!!!) and on to some kind of viral thing. You hate to say it's just a "cold" because then it sounds so minor. But a near 15 month old with a cold isnt minor at all. It's just plain crappy! And it's even more crappy when he got it from the other child (not to mention names but it starts with a J and ends with an -essica) whom I'm always yelling to "cover your mouth!" or "dont cough/blow in his face!" or "dont put his toys in your mouth!" And it's even more crappy when you've seen nothing but sick kids for 2 weeks (it's only been 2 weeks? seems much longer). And it's even more crappy when you've got the very same cold because he likes to lovingly share his pacifier with you by taking it out of his mouth and shoving in yours whether you like it or not. And yes, I said "crappy" so dont tattle-tale on me! If the kids read this, I'm in trouble! And yes, I'm whining shamelessly. And yes, I know you're not supposed to start a sentence with the word "and." What was this post about? Oh yeah...Halloween. Sorry, no pictures. The End.

P.S. So, how long did you wait for the pictures to "load" before you gave up? LOL!

What A Week!

Warning: If you have a quick gag reflex do NOT read this post. (I figure all two of my readers wont mind!)

Well, a week ago today everything was going well. The kids were healthy and happy. The air was crisp and the leaves were beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow from fall. It was the last day of school for the week because of teacher in-service stuff. Such a happy time.

Now, a week later, I’m cleaning up throw-up from the 4th child because the kids have been good little helpers who shared and shared alike…the stomach bug. The good: it seems to only be a 24 hour bug. The bad: well—you know—throw-up. The ugly: one exhausted mommy. I am also thankful that we’re getting it over with and not dragging it on for weeks and weeks (praying there’s only 1 round per child…and that Stan and I don’t get it). And I’m thankful that they weren’t all 4 at the EXACT same time.

As I was cleaning up the latest round this morning I guess I went into auto pilot (or dementia). I reaffirmed to myself that there’s no way I could be a CSI. I mean, I was pretty good at keeping the contamination from spreading to the rest of the crime scene (although I didn’t always watch where I stepped…but I won’t go there). And I’m pretty good at analyzing the evidence (note to self: remind Jessica to chew her food better). However, I have too hard of a time keeping from adding my own contamination to the current crime scene. Ever since that first pregnancy the whole gag reflex thing has been an issue. I’m sure it’s something I could overcome if I wanted to and tried really hard. I’ll be sure to put that on my list of top 10 things I want to accomplish.

From Baby to Little Boy

After bath.

Day after bath.

After Daddy.

Mommy wept.

(For more pictures of this event, go to the Sept/Oct 2007 Slideshow link on the right.)

In Perspective

If you haven't already seen this...



(This is called "New Again" by Brad Paisley and Sara Evans, with scenes from the movie "The Passion.")

Whiskers

No, we didn't get a cat. We got stitches...or at least Rebecca did. As Rebecca told the ER doc...she was standing on a rocking horse sideways (the horse was sideways not her) and she fell off and her tooth went thru her lip. And, as she said, "Well, it was Jessica's idea."

It wasn't real bad but she had a little gash on the outside of her lip that didnt look so great so we took her to the ER. She got 2 stitches and was so brave. It broke my heart to watch but we made sure Jessica was there to see it too...just in case she had any more of those "ideas." (Which it wasn't the first and I know it won't be the last...but like all good parents, we just cant miss a chance to put the fear of God in our kids...yes, I'm being sarcastic). That was the quietest she'd been all day and I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Maybe it left an impression...for at least an hour.

So anyway, Rebecca says she has "whiskers like Daddy" now.

Bi*ker Ba*bes (and Dude)

(had to edit the title to keep it from showing up on inappropriate searches)

We had a very fun visit from Stan's aunt Debbie and uncle Mike. [a.k.a. Aunt Jessie and Uncle Jessie, according to Jessica...Little Jessie. I guess it's only appropriate that this Aunt Jessie is the sister to Uncle Neck. (B-pa, you have some strange siblings, ya know!) If you come to our house, you're likely to leave with a nickname coined by the infamous Jessica.] Anyway, Mike and Debbie (er, I mean Aunt Jessie and Uncle Jessie) are in the process of roaming the country on their hog. They were in Idaho and so they came on up to see us and got to stay a few days! Of course the girls had to check out the bike:




And had to don the customary b*iker duds:




Being the lame mom that I am, I didn't get my camera out until the last day but Aunt Jessie promised to send me some she took on hers when she gets home...whenever that may be! She got some cute pics.

We had a good time and I hope they made it down to where there is some warmer weather. We tried to talk them into going on up into Canada but Debbie was already uncomfortable with the fact that she was closer to the north pole than the equator. Maybe next time. Here's the little b*iker dude:

School Days

School days are here again and we've survived the first week! (I had full intentions of posting after the first day of school but it seems I wasn't as prepared for this crazy year as I thought I was). Rebecca is doing great in K this year and seems to be really enjoying it. On the first day of school when I asked them how it went Mackenzie said "Third grade is kewl!!!" and Rebecca said "We got chocolate chip cookies for snack!!!" Rebecca has been reporting to me every day what they have for snack...but I have to dig for other details like...what she learned that day. I hope third grade stays "kewl" for Mackenzie...she wasnt too impressed with second grade since they actually had to do work and didn't get to play as much (that's actually what she said last year).

Ok so...no, mom didn't cry. Rebecca didn't cry, and she loves riding the bus. Mackenzie predicted that Rebecca would have to go to the principal's office the first day of school (gee, thanks for the torment, big sister) so Rebecca was very relieved to get home that first day without going to the principal's office. Jessica seems to be in hog heaven with sisters gone. And I think I'm going to have to duct tape Jake to a chair...that's legal, right?

The River Wild

Ok, I just have to have this little confession here. As it was happening I was swearing that I'd never tell a soul what happened, but here I am posting it on the world wide web. The other day we had this great idea to go down to the river and let the kids and dog play in the water. We get down there and of course other people are there too. I am holding Jake and holding Jessica's hand. Stan had Rebecca's hand and had the dog on a make-shift leash (she's not leash trained, by the way, and was not liking life at the moment).

So we step into the water...it's pretty shallow and we decided to walk out to the sandbar (technically it was a rock bar...all the sand gets washed away). We get going and at that particular place the current is stronger than we anticipated. Halfway there, Jessica looses her footing and so I'm trying to hold Jake in one arm and lift her up to get her footing again with the other arm. She starts freaking out and wont put her feet down. At the same time Stan is trying to get the puppy across and Rebecca (who had decided she could cross without holding Stan's hand) looses her footing and she gets carried away by the river. With Stan's "cat-like reflexes" he quickly gets (throws?) the dog to the little island and he jumps out and grabs Rebecca, who had stopped freaking out and I think was actually liking it...for a split second.

Mackenzie gets across (amazingly) successfully and I'm still dragging Jessica who's feet were now floating down river and all I have ahold of is her hand and I'm thinking that any moment my foot is going to slip too and the three of us will be floating down river together (we dont have swiming suits on either...just our regular clothes). So, I'm yelling at Jessica to put her feet down, she's crying and still freaking out. I holler at Mackenzie to grab Jessica's other hand and between the two of us we got her up there. But not before she looses her shoe. Stan has just gotten Rebecca on dry ground and once again with his "cat-like reflexes" he jumps back out in the river and saves it. The other people who were sitting there watching this whole scene...start clapping.

I was mortified and thoroughly embarrassed and ready to go crawl under a rock. I know we looked like complete idiots out there. But I guess at least we were entertainment for those people. I'm sure they are still laughing about it. Life lesson number 58 - humility. Sorry, no pictures were taken of this event....at least not that I'm aware of.

Wow! Two posts in one day...guess I'm making up for lost time.

The End of Summer

Well, it's happening. Summer is coming to an end and here in Montana we covet our short summers and try to make the most of them. I cant help but feel a little cheated this year, though. This was a bad year for fires and as I posted earlier, with the air quality poor we were limited in what we could do. We have enjoyed this past week of clear skies, but unfortuneately the smoke is back again like it was before. Hey, Idaho! Get yer fires under control already! Also, July went on record as the hottest month in Montana...ever! Thankfully we got to miss most of that since we went down south. While it was up to 107 here, we were enjoying a cool 86 degrees down south. That's just mind boggling!

But, all in all it was a good summer, despite the smoke. We really, really enjoyed our trip south and it was SO good to see everyone! The girls got to take swimming lessons. They also went to VBS (Rebecca and Jessica) and basketball camp (Mackenzie) while Jake and I went hiking on some trails. As a family we only got to go hiking once and you can see pictures of that in the May/June 2007 slideshow. It was also a real treat to see our friends from New Mexico as they traveled up on their way to Washington.

Now, school starts on Tuesday and I guess you could say I have mixed feelings on it. It's going to be hard sending sweet Rebecca off to Kindergarten but I'm glad she has older sister with her. I remember how hard it was sending my dear Mackenzie off all by herself. However, I think the girls are trying to soften the blow for me because they've been fussing and fighting a lot lately! By God's grace I wont kick them out the door as I drive by. (I'm kidding. Of course I'll stop the car first.) Also, Jake has been working on cutting 4...yes four...teeth at the same time! It's not easy to catch a look at them (just imagine trying to hold onto a fish out of water) but from what I can tell, I believe the last one has finally broken through so hopefully the bear that has taken over will leave and I'll have my sweet, happy little boy back again!

And now for the best news I've heard in a while...drum roll, please...Beth Moore is coming to Billings!!!!!!!! Doin' the happy dance! Ok, so it's not until next September, as in 2008, but still. I can celebrate now, cant I? Yes, I'm a Beth Moore fanatic. Admittance is the first step, right? Hey, I'm just thrilled that I can get excited about things other than the tooth fairy actually remembering to come on the correct night, Hannah Montana marathons, and successfully changing a poopy diaper without getting it everywhere because the boy will just not be still for a second.

And while I'm on the tooth fairy topic...I never knew that monitoring the tooth fairy could be so stressful. Right, Jenni?! LOL! (I'm glad I'm not alone!) It's just another one of those things I never really put any thought into 10 years ago.

So there you have it. Our summer in a nutshell.

Did you know...

...that if you accidentally step on a tube of Balmex that it explodes out the bottom?

Just thought I'd pass that along. *sigh*

Blue Skies Again!

Some of you may know that this part of the country has been dealing with lots and lots of fires for several weeks now. Praise God that there aren't any around where we live, and not too many that have affected the railroad. In some areas people have been evacuated off and on, but there has been minimal house losses even though the fires have swept through peoples' properties. God has been with the firefighters!

Since we live in this valley the smoke comes in and settles but wont leave and we're getting smoke from fires from the north and the south. Last week was the worst of it and we've been in "Unhealthy" and "Very Unhealthy" air alerts which for our family means that either the kids cant be outside or they cant be outside for very long. This is how things looked all last week:

So of course we've been dealing with cabin fever and an irritable mommy in the house. I've been in desperate need of some relief...and feeling very selfish for that since we're not actually having to deal with the fires. So this past Sunday while our family was resting and taking it easy we notice the sky is orange. Come to find out, since a front was pushing in it was pushing smoke and we were told it was going to get worse before it got better. Here's the worse:

Then Monday we woke up to the better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you, LORD!!! It's been SO nice to *see* beyond a mile and to *breathe* clean air again!!! Here's a picture I took just a while ago from the same spot the previous two pictures were taken...out of our back door:

Meet Coffee

Yep. Coffee. That's her name. She's the newest member of our family and so far seems to know who she's supposed to impress (not like that last dog we brought home who walked right up and "marked" my coat that was hanging on the back of a chair...he went directly back where he came from after that...did not pass Go, did not collect $200).

Coffee is a Lab/Newfoundland mix and she's about 5 months old or so. She is real sweet, smart, and is great with the kids. Jake is not so sure about sharing the lime-light and I think he's gotten more swats/scoldings than she has, but she's really patient with him and wants to be his friend...even though he just yells at her and pulls her hair. (Oh and she especially loves him right after he's eaten...I guess he tastes yummy!) She's mostly an outside dog but we let her in for a while each day. So far she's behaved and has let us know when she needs to go out...good girl!

We just got her Friday and has been adapting really well...or should I say that "I've" been adapting really well since it's no secret that I'm the only stick in the mud who didnt really want a pet right now. So, we'll see...