The Boyos and the Girl

Who Needs Flowers?

2012-02-08T11:21:00.000-06:00

Super Bowl Sunday always brings lots of interesting entertainment. The football, the food and the commercials all are excessive. I loved watching Seinfeld and his car commercial, the dog and the dorritos, in fact I laughed out loud at the Voice's ad with Betty White. Teleflora had an ad that caused some controversy implying that if a man were to get his woman a bouquet of flowers that she would do anything for him. This suggestion was presented by a gorgeous supermodel wearing next to nothing and the tag line was, "yes, it's that simple."

Beyond the whole conversation of what is or is not appropriate for family time television (I think this was hugely inappropriate for my little boys who happened to NOT be paying attention at the time) I did snicker, look at my husband and say, "yep, it's just that simple." We had a good laugh about it. I happen to love fresh flowers, whereas my husband thinks they are a waste of money.

This morning while I was out walking my husband picked up the house, cleaned up the kitchen and straighted up the whole main floor. Yah...who needs flowers? Just do me some housework! ;)

Fun At The Park...in JANUARY!!!

2012-01-07T20:06:00.001-06:00

After much blogger inactivity....I updated! Miraculous, I know! The kids and I had a spectacular time at the park today. The weather was a perfect lazy slightly cloudy but mostly brilliant blue day. I wish I could have lain in a hammock with a good book, but instead I had a great time watching my hooligans tear up the playground!

We packed a picnic lunch, played, went for a walk and then hit the cupcake store where I watched as my children devoured some pretty tasty looking treats. Okay, maybe I mommy-taxed them a little. :) Then we came home and played some more! Now we are watching Kung Fu Panda 2 and having popcorn. Pretty good day...

I LOVE these two photos of Harmon and Porter. Such buddies!!

My baby is getting too big!

A Day at the Beach

2011-08-22T10:02:00.000-05:00

Micah had a post-deployment doctor's appointment. Lucky for us this appointment was at Tyndall Air Force Base, which just happens to be right next to the beach and all the beautiful white sand, blue skies, and green-blue ocean that only the gulf coast can offer. So we took the kids out of school and headed to the beach.

Tyndall has a private beach, which is AWESOME. There aren't any crowds, the sand is gorgeous white fluff, no trash, lots of shells and sand dollars. It is heavenly! The only downside is that you have to walk on a 1/2 mile boardwalk to even get to the sand. Hauling gear for 6 people to spend 5 hours on the beach with no facilities is ridiculous, but we did it! Or should I say Micah did it! Here are a few pictures of the highlights of the day!

Porter was in love with this knee board. It was the perfect size for riding the waves with!

Sam was fearless and tried to drown himself a few times! We had to keep an eye on him because he kept trying to go for a swim on his own. He also had an affinity for dipping his chips into the water and sand. Gross!!

I have no idea what ella was doing. She kept doing all these funny poses when I tried to take her picture!

Harmon was showing me his hand stand. The water was a bit shallow but he was getting pretty good at it!

Harmon is like a little fish. He loves the water and I had a hard time getting a picture of him. He and I had a great time looking for shells. We found a lot of sand dollars and really big shells that day. It was perfect shell-hunting conditions. We put all of our sand dollars into a pocket of our beach stroller, only to put a bunch of stuff on top of them and we ended up smashing them. Oh, the disappointment! I think 3 little ones survived.

I thought about not including this picture, but I just loved the chubby buns too much!

Here is a good picture of some our our shells and Ella's foot.

When Sam was trying to drown himself he would hang out with me under our canopy. I was reading a book and just taking it easy. Ella was a bit skittish about the water and spent a lot of time under the canopy playing with the sand.

Sam with sand in his hair. He had sand everywhere! When it came time to eat both he and Ella had a hard time keeping the sand out of their food. Gross.

As we reached the end of our half-mile hike the sea oats and shrubs open up to reveal a massive stretch of white sand. Ella inhaled quickly and said, "SNOW! Look at the snowflakes!" It was too funny!

After Ella had been down to the water she promptly came back up and told me that the water was "yu-ee" And kept spitting everywhere. Apparently she wasn't expecting that salty taste! Sam thought it was pretty yucky too!

Harmon's handstand. Harmon, Sam and I were out in the water jumping with the waves that came in. While we waited we could feel lots of fish swarming our feet and legs. They especially like my toenail polish. It is a bit unnerving to be constantly assulted by 6 inch fish. Harmon had his goggles on and I asked him how many fish were around my feet. He dipped his head in to take a look. When he came back up he was grinning real big and said, "There are hundreds of fish all around your feet, following your feet everywhere. It's like your feet are famous or something!" HA HA! I got a good laugh out of that!

Porter and Harmon

Anticipating the waves!

A Clever Duck

2011-08-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

Kids say funny things don't they? Here are a couple of funnies my kids have said lately!

Sam is 20 months old and isn't really talking too much yet. He likes to point and "ooooh" his way to getting what he wants. Sometimes he will say a word or two, then clap and smile. Yesterday I asked him for a kiss and instead he said, "Ahn-nee." No momma, mommy, mom for this kid. Annie. He is a big goofball!
Even though he isn't verbal, he definitely understand everything being said to him. This morning I was getting him dressed. I had taken his pajamas and dirty diaper off and was putting his new diaper on. While I was strapping the diaper tabs down he said, "ow." Off-handedly I asked, "Did I smash your weiner?" He started to nod his head up and down. I was surprised that he had picked up on what his "weiner" was. It isn't a phrase I usually use. Of course he does have to older brothers though! I kind of laughed and asked him the same question again to see if he really had understood. He gave me a pathetic "ow" and patted the front of his diaper. I laughed and said, "Oh aren't you a clever duck?"
Ella had been overseeing this interchange between us. She looked at me and in all seriousness laced with a twinge of rebuke said, "Sam not a duck, he a boy!"

Porter and Harmon LOVE the Star Wars Wii game. They play it whenever they are allowed and whenever they think they can sneak off to do it. They also enjoy watching the Living Scripture Book of Mormon movies. We only have a couple of the videos, but they will watch them over and over. It had been a while since they had seen Journey to the Promised Land. In this video Nephi is bound by his brothers and stetches forth his hand to shock them with the power of God so that they remember who is suppose to be in charge. The kids were watching this in the van the other day. It came to this part in the movie and Porter, with a laugh in his voice, said, "Look Harmon, Nephi is going to use the Force!' They then laughed and wanted me to repeat the scene so that they could see Nephi "force" them again. LOL!!

Best Friends

2011-07-15T08:42:00.006-05:00

I have the most FANTASTIC friend named Amelia. We have been friends for 15 years!! We both have had four kids spaced about the same time frame apart. Ella and Liesl are the closest in age. They are only 2 weeks apart although were due nearly at the same time. It is so fun to see these little girls becoming best friends just like their mommies! Amelia will make you feel like you are the most amazing, smart, talented, perfect person that she knows and then will also tell you when you are being a complete moron. I love her to pieces!!!

Liesl and Ella

Ella and Liesl age 2, sitting on a stool sharing a bag of chocolate. Don't they look guilty? They were being oh so quiet!

Ella and Liesl at 4 months old.

Feeling Fierce

2011-07-04T07:20:00.000-05:00

Sam took a nose dive off the swing last week. His tooth was impacted and had to be removed and he had about 5 stitches in his lip. I have some other pictures and I might post more about it later. We had a crazy trip to the ER the night before we left town. Very glad that he has recovered so quickly. As of this morning he has only one stitch left to dissolve.

Happy Easter!!

2011-04-24T16:38:00.001-05:00

HAPPY EASTER!! We tried to capture a few pictures before church because we were all looking oh so dapper and I knew that we wouldn't look nearly as lovely after church. I was right. Sam slobbered all over his clothes and Ella threw a fit during church and pulled out her hair ribbons. Oh well, we tried! As you can see we having a fantastic addition to our photos...MICAH! He has been home for 2 weeks now. We are enjoying every minute!! I will post his homecoming photos later.

Porter's Joke

2011-02-20T11:30:00.000-06:00

Porter told a funny joke yesterday and got in trouble for it. But before I share his genius humor let me give you a little background.

The house we are living in needs lots of work. Lots and lots! Fortunately for me my brother, Matthew, has been out of work for a few weeks and has been spending his time over here helping me remodel. Matt has a teensy weensy temper and at times has been know to shout and let off a curse word or two. I have told my boys NOT to repeat anything Uncle Matt says.

So this is the joke Porter told yesterday:

"Why did the frog kiss the house?"

"Because he was a stupid-ass toad!"

I sat and visited with Porter about what was appropriate and what wasn't, etc. Then he pipes up and says, "well how come Uncle matt always says it?" So we asked Uncle Matt. Matt and I were both trying hard not laugh as he tried to back pedal out of that one!

Porter's other favorite word to say is BAM IT! That one is my own fault. Sam has a super love affair with the toilet and is constantly putting his hands in it, dropping toys in, trying to drink with a teacup out of it, sticking the toilet brush in, etc. It is a constant struggle to keep the bathroom door shut and Sam out of the toilet. One day I was walking past and noticed Sam in front of the toilet with something brown in his hand! Three things went through my mind, 1)Stop Sam! 2)Damn it not again and 3) I hope it's not poop. This all jumbled together and came out, "SAM IT, DAMN IT!"

The boys ran around the house laughing their heads off repeating exactly what I had said. And clever Porter is in kindergarten right now and they do work lots on rhyming to make new words! So Bam It was born. *sigh* It's tough being a parent! It's even tougher to be a parent that doesn't curse! As if there ever was such a thing! Oh, and it was just a hair clip...that time!

Meltdown Madness

2011-01-31T23:25:00.000-06:00

Long time no blog, right? Well, life is a little hectic these days. But my dear sweet daughter provided me with material to blog about this evening. She is a dynamic 2 and 3/4 year old little girl. So full of fire, opinion, and gusto.

This is me trying to think of another way of saying dramatic, fire-breathing, she-devil.

Holy Moly this girl is something else!!    But she can melt my heart with a sweet smile.   But back to my reason for blogging.

I almost pulled a "Bobbi." What is a Bobbi? I am getting a head of myself. Read on...if you dare!

I needed to go to Wal-mart this evening. (with 4 kids...that is another post entirely) Everyone was ready to go except Ella...aka fire breather. She was in the bathroom playing with water. I took her out of the bathroom (offense #1), changed her diaper (offense #2...and yes she is not potty trained yet), changed her pants (offense #3 because she had peed in them) and tried to put socks and shoes on her. Offense #4 was insisting that she wear her wet shirt. It was slightly damp. I told her she was wearing it. I tried to explain to her that if she wants to play in the water, then she can wear a wet shirt.   She is a typical toddler girl that insists on changing clothes no less than 10 times a day. She screamed and howled as though deeply wounded at the injustices I was putting upon her. She threw herself to the ground in a fit of rage, flailing her arms and legs about, grabbing her socks and shoes and pulling them off and refused to cooperate. I broke out into a sweat trying to get her clothes back on her. All the while trying to keep my cool so that I didn't lose it on her. I left her on the floor in the throes of her agony and loaded up the rest of the kids. I turned the lights out, shut the door and said, "goodbye."

She didn't believe it for a second, but the boys were concerned. So I went back inside, grabbed her and everything she had peeled off. I drove to my mom's house intent on dropping her off. I even told her that Grandma would spank her if she didn't quit screaming! (Nice of me, huh? :) )   She calmed down after we got to my mom's house, so I took her to Wal-mart.

She did pretty well until we started to checkout. Stupidly I decided to go through the self-checkout line. Hello...bad idea. And I never remember what a nightmare it is until I do it again! How do you control 3 kids who want to help you scan, bag, sit on the bagging area, run the conveyor, etc. and make sure that the 4th stays in the cart?

So meltdown number two ensued. Once again she laid down on the floor kicking and screaming, removing her shoes and socks. I ignored her and finished scanning everything. Then I realized that my last item didn't have a bar code. The lovely attendant who was giving me pity smiles came to my aid. Almost immediately two other workers came running over to help her try to find the code. They couldn't, so one of them ran off to get another one. By this time I had picked Ella up off the floor and put her in the cart.   She was half hanging over the side, screaming her guts out. And there we waited for what seemed like 10 minutes. Steam must have been coming out my ears.

I was tempted to become the token "crazy, cursing, screaming at her kid, spanking them in the aisle wal-mart mom." But i didn't. I thought about it though!

Instead I contemplated the Bobbi. What is a Bobbi? Well, my lovely sister-in-law Bobbi has been known to leave the store....without purchasing anything...screaming kids in tow. I think it is AWESOME! As I stood there contemplating "the bobbi" the worker showed up. I had wanted to purchase a fabric bundle that was on clearance. It was $19...wayyyyy too much. So I didn't get it!!! I had stood there with a screaming kid (did I mention that she made a kid behind us cry too?) for nothing.

It gives me chest pains just to think about it. She screamed all the way out of the store and continued screaming after I loaded her into the van.

What am I going to do when she becomes hormonal?

It is a good thing that Micah is coming home in two months. I may be headed to the loony bin.

After These Messages...

2010-12-01T16:30:00.000-06:00

We'll be right back. Do you remember those famous words from when you were a kid? Or 'now a word from our sponsors.' They always indicated that it was time to make a mad dash to the bathroom, or over to the kitchen for a snack. Commercials. Yuck. Now that I have DVR I hardly ever watch commercials. And I LOVE it!! I don't think I can ever go back. In fact, last year a friend told me she was thinking about getting a dvr and what was my opinion. I told her that they were awesome, but her life would never be the same, so if she was prepared to never go back to watching normal television, then to go ahead and do it. She did. And she admits that her universe is forever altered.

The whole reason behind this post was not to ruminate on the past, or glorify dvr's, it was to record a funny thing that Porter does. My boys love to record shows and then watch them back later. They just haven't figured out how to fastforward the commercials. All the cartoon channels, especially Boomerang (which is their favorite), have the "after these messages we'll be right back." Porter will throw his head back and bellow, "I hate your messages." And then look at me and say, "Why do they all ways give you these dumb messages????" It totally exasperates him and totally cracks me up! You know how it is with cartoon channels, they show the same commercials every cycle and run them about 5 minutes apart. It's ridiculous.

Micah's Latest

2010-11-29T08:18:00.001-06:00

I really need to update my Micah stories, but here is his latest photos. The first two are from doing rocket training the last two are from sling hoist training.

Nothing happens too fast here but I finally got my rocket training

accomplished yesterday. It was very cool and I actually hit the target
every time unlike the first batch of guys who launched a rocket over the
target backstop while they were trying to figure out the sights.

Micah.

Here are some photos from the sling training he organized. To his knowledge he is the first (in recent history) to do this with the Afghans.

We had a momentous occasion yesterday here at the Afghan Air Force Kandahar Air Wing. For the past couple of months we have been gathering equipment, expertise, and doing training so that we could perform sling loads. A sling load is when a helicopter carries a fixed external load in a large cargo net that is attached to the helicopter via a sling cable. There are many advantages to performing sling loads. In our case we are often limited by the space inside our aircraft. On a given day and location we may be able to carry 6600 lbs of cargo but we run out of space inside the cabin before reaching our weight limit. In the first picture our guys are loading 2 boxes (called tri-walls because of the triple thick cardboard the box is made from) in our cargo net. In addition we loaded another tri-wall in the cargo area. Normally we can only carry a total of two in the cabin. So in this case we increased our cargo by 33%. Another advantage of a sling load is the added measure of safety. If we had some type of emergency or if we were engaged by the enemy we push a button and the cargo drops away instantly. Good for us and good for random nomads if it doesn't fall on top of them.

In the second picture I am standing next to the Afghan pilot Abdul Wadoud on the left (Abdul the Dude or Wolfman for short) and the crew chief Shapur in the center. (Micah told me that the Wolfman was conscripted to fly for the Taliban way back when...he was told to fly for them or his family would be killed. Micah says that he is one of the older pilots who really tries hard.)We don't have official mentors for the crew chiefs yet but it was a positive experience being able to work closer with them. Unlike our older pilots they sucked up the info we gave them like a sponge. The crew chiefs play a critical role in cargo sling ops.
They act as our eyes on the load and we count on them to talk us over the precise location where the load needs to be dropped. They stepped up their game and were nearly flawless. It makes me want to work with
them more and push for some younger pilots as well. The old hat pilots might be able to hold things together for a while but the Afghan Air Force is really going to takeoff when we start getting new pilots out of the training base that opens this month.

Mud

2010-11-26T11:51:00.000-06:00

Back in October there was a warm spell. One day is was nearly 80 degrees. My kids were outisde playing in the sunshine. I went outside to investigate and Sam was very muddy. The boys had started a mud hole and let him climb into it. At first I was quite cross, then I figured, Oh well...it will probably be the last nice day, so they had a great time playing in the mud. Seriously, it was like October 14th...way to late in the year to let your kids run around in their swim trunks. My boys love to wear their swim clothes and pretend they are going to the beach so being in swimsuits is not such a stretch around here. Of course usually when they get out their swim suits and play "beach" they also get ALL their blankets off their beds and lay them out on the floor. Their comforters are a nice solid blue on the back and make the perfect "ocean." And all their other blankets are the beach towels, etc. They lay on them and pretend they are "tanning!" It makes me CRAZY!! Because they aren't so good at cleaning up. Imagine that! But i digress...back to the mud. I took Sam in for a bath and let them continue in their mud delight. They sledded in it, rolled in it, buried themselves in it and slapped it on themselves until they were covered! It finally started getting chilly and froze even more when I hosed them off with the outside hose! Harmon managed to sneak past me and climbed into the tub completely covered in mud. He looked like he was bathing in hot cocoa. There was a lot of dirt in the tub after that! And like a typical boy he didn't get why we had to drain all the water and start again.

SPLISH SPLASH!

2010-11-26T11:07:00.001-06:00

I hate mopping. Hate it hate it hate it hate it! Anyway, I also hate this ugly kitchen that needs to be remodeled. The floor is ugly, old and stained which makes me feel like mopping it even less. I was complaining to my mom about the state of my kitchen floor when she recommended giving my kids a rag and letting them help. I've done that before and they get water EVERYWHERE! But I decided what the heck, it needed a good soak. So I rallied the troops and told them we were going to mop. I gave each of them a rag and put them to work. They were excited to be playing with the rags and water. I stepped away to make a phone call or do something (read a book, drink a dr. pepper, have half a box of chocolates, soak in the tub...ya right). When I came back the boys had donned their bathing suits and were sliding across the floor. I had heard their shrieks of delight and laughter but hadn't yet seen what it was they were up to. Sure enough they were putting the rags under their bellys and sliding across the floor. Then they did away with the rags and just slid back and forth the length of the room. After a bit I had them start soaking up the water. This required putting the rag back on the floor, sliding across the room to pick up whatever water would fit into the rag between the bellies and the floor. Then they brought the rag to me to ring out. It actually worked really well!! Go figure! And I had a clean floor when it was over. Now they ask me when we are going to mop the floor again!! HA HA!

Foam Curlers

2010-11-26T10:56:00.000-06:00

I bought some foam curlers for Ella. She was in LOVE! And wanted them put into her hair before she went to bed. I didn't get an after picture...I'll have to do her hair again and
get a curly shot. She looked kind of like a crazy princess! But she lot she was Beautiful!!

Sam wanted his picture taken too but also wanted to grab at the camera. He is getting quite busy!

Swim Lessons

2010-10-19T17:34:00.000-05:00

In August I signed the boys up for swim lessons. They had a FANTASTIC time. Every day for two weeks we packed up and headed to the pool. The lessons were only 30 minutes each but they learned alot and their confidence grew. Next year we will start the swim lessons earlier!

This is Porter trying to smile...it is so hard to smile for the camera when you are 5!

Jumping in!!

The look of happiness on Porter's face makes me smile and wish it was warm enough to go to the pool again!

Harmon's lessons were in the inside poole so pictures of him didn't turn out so well. I am biased but he was the BEST in his class. He really enjoys swimming.

Ella roamed the place like she owned it. I thought the sign in this picture was pretty funny. She wanted to get in so bad!

And my favorite photo....Harmon jumping in. I love this picture!

Harmon the Hatless

2010-10-19T14:11:00.000-05:00

Harmon enjoyed playing baseball this summer too. He misplaced or lost his hat early on so if it was bright out then he looked a bit like this first picture.

Sam got a hold of a chip with nacho cheese on it and wouldn't let go of it. He LOVED that stuff! I was really surprised because it is quite spicy. He does look a bit concerned in this picture. Oh well! Lucky child number 4!

Carsen was on Harmon's team and this is the one photo I had of him playing catcher. They sure had lots of fun!!

Slip and Slide

2010-10-17T09:18:00.000-05:00

Porter's birthday is in June and his Aunt Serena sent him a slip and slide for his birthday. One warm June day my mom and I lined up all the kids to give them a haircut. After the super short summer haircut they rinsed off in the super slide. It was lots of fun!

This is my favorite picture of the bunch!

Porter's 1st T-ball Team!

2010-10-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

I sat down to do a massive "this is what we did this summer and I suck because I haven't posted in months" post. But the first file I went thru were some pictures of Porter at his t-ball games. There were so money funny pictures that I decided I would just try to get got up one file at a time.

Porter was a real crack up when it came to his games. He was so excited to play, but his grasp of the game was quite basic. I don't even know if he had the basics! But he loved to put on his hat and shirt. Quiet often he could be found distracted and laying around. Enjoy!

This was before a game...trying to get some good vibes I guess.

Ready

Get ready to swing...

Nothing...so they bring out the t. I swear he wasn't even watching the ball. He'd get this goofy grin on his face and swing the bat all over the place. Then he'd smack the plate real hard, like "dang, I missed it." Grinning the whole time. It was soooo funny.

Contact!

Running with his sideways hat.

Sam was always a good little trooper. He was getting his first tooth and drooling everywhere!

Ella didn't find the games as fascinating. Somedays she was good other days she was wild!!

I like this pciture!

Harmon sporting some new teeth.

The oh so beautiful "rubbed my hair on my carseat" look.

Porter's cousin, Easton, was on the same team. Easton is a year older than Porter. Because Porter was so close to his 5th birthday we put him on the same team as the 5 &6 yr olds. You could tell he was 4. He was so funny! But it made coordinating practice and games easier. Harmon and his cousin, Carsen, were on the same team as well. That made it convenient for my mom and I to get everyone where they needed to be.

Looking cool....talking to his fans.

And my FAVORITE picture.......

Yep...middle of the game. Taking it easy. That is my Porter.

Fireman Sam

2010-10-16T10:41:00.000-05:00

One of the boys put a fireman hat sticker on Sam. I was sick with strep and a cold/sinus infection so there were a few things that happened this week without my knowing it. I thought he looked pretty cute!

Spring Activities!

2010-06-05T09:34:00.000-05:00

I have been taking pictures that I intend to post, but it's not happening. So here are gobs of fun pictures from our spring time adventures.

This is a picture of my boys following my brother Matthew while he mowed my parents yard. They marched behind him and then would run as fast as they could while he turned the corner in order to keep behind him and not let him "see them." It was hilarious! Uncle Matt is the grumpy uncle sometimes so it was fun to see him have a sense of humor with them.

The next two pictures are from when we first arrived and were staying the hotel. Harmon fell asleep with the book on him, which is really funny because I LOVE to read at night and enjoy the fact that my kids like to do the same thing.

The boys have had to share many beds recently and they always seem to end up in some crazy configuration of one boy using the other for a pillow. Just last night I heard Ella dreaming saying, MINE...MINE!! I imagine she was trying to pull her blanket on herself and was sleeping on it. Oh kids are funny!!

The following pictures are from a walk we took with my parents and my sister's 5 kids. I was going to title that post "HERDING CATS." That is exactly what it feels like when they are all around. Here's the break down when all 9 kids are together. 11, almost 10, two 7 yr olds, 6, almost 5, almost 4, 2, 6 mos. It's nuts. I am definitely not one of those special women who could have had a dozen kids.

Here they are checking out the big fire ant mounds. Asking for trouble they are!

Part of the herd.

Grandpa was giving them a geography lesson regarding the conjoining of the two rivers. Later on in the walk he taught them to skip stones. That was fun until Ella fell into the river and then threw a massive fit over wanting to walk but I wouldn't let her because she was covered in mud and wet. And she screamed for qutie awhile.

Sam was happy to chew on his fingers and blanket. He is such a sweet baby. Happy and smiling all the time.

Ella turned 2!!!! And oh my she has been a busy two year old lately. That is for another post though!

At first she didn't think she tried to give her unopened gifts to everyone else. She didn't understand that they were all for her and that she got to open them up herself! She figured it out pretty quick though!

Spring Fair!

Every year the schools/town have a spring fair and parade. The boys had a great time getting their faces painted. In this picture Porter is waiting for the fire trucks to come.

Happy Sam!

Porter was amazed that everyone was throwing candy. It was magic! I don't think they have ever been to a parade before! Pretty sad.

Ella did not like the loud noise so much. She stood in front of 3 men who she didn't know. It was funny. She kept backing up into their legs trying to find a safe place. They just smiled and let her stand there, all the while with a terrified look on her face.

And last, but not least, UNCLE SAM!!! The kids get to march in the parade. Harmon thought it was quite fun but was disappointed that he didn't get to collect gobs of candy like Porter did.

Phew...that's it for now!

Kitchen Sink

2010-06-02T08:42:00.000-05:00

Micah sent this last week:

We had a busy day yesterday hauling stuff to and fro. We went out to a Forward Operation Base (FOB) to drop off some troops and supplies. Anytime we land at a remote FOB we can expect swarms of people waiting to get out. I normally do what I can to accommodate requests because we burn the same amount of fuel regardless of if we have a full load or if we are flying empty. Also, if I was stationed at a FOB I would want the same treatment when my time was up and I was ready to get out. This time when we landed they asked for help in moving a demining device(machine used to clear land minds and IEDs). They had been trying to get it out for a couple weeks and even broke it down to its componentparts to make for more manageable loads. None of the helicopters landing before us had been able to help because of their small usable loads (heat, altitude, and surrounding mountainous terrain do that to helicopters). Once they told us how much it weighed I said we could take the whole thing. They seems a little surprised but not concerned enough to talk me out of it - I didn't explain to them how we were very light on fuel for a planned follow on mission . Once they loaded it up with their bobcat they wanted to know if we could take anything else.Again they seemed surprised we could take some extra troops and gear as well as the machine. When it was time to go we had a larger than usual crowd gathered to watch. I know some of them doubted the old Russian birds capabilities so I elected to do a max performance takeoff to highlight its capabilities. It was as if Uncle Rico of Napoleon Dynamite fame did actually throw the football "over them mountains".Looking back it was probably a bad idea because next time we are there they will expect us to haul everything including the kitchen sink.

Sunday Best

2010-06-01T10:10:00.003-05:00

I took a few pictures of the kids on Sunday before we went to church. Pretty cute considering they all had ants in their pants!

And one of myself and Sam. My double chin is hiding in this picture, so it turned out pretty good! :)

Stewed Kebabs

2010-05-24T23:24:00.001-05:00

Kandahar Airfield is a NATO base and there are about 10 different dining facilities catering to the different troops here. The current breakdown on chow halls is 4 American, 4 European, 1 Asian, and 1 Afghan. Most people just go to the dining facility closest to where they sleep or work. Luckily I am across the street from an American facility so I usually have breakfast and dinner there. Where I go for lunch isdictated by work. When we aren't flying we convoy to the nearest American facility. When I am flying things get interesting because of where we are going and what time we take off and land. Our hangar is immediately next to the Afghan compound and so their chow hall is the closest thing if we have limited time. The first time I went they asked if I wanted to eat some kebabs. I didn't know this but kebabs just means chunks of meat and the preparation can include boiled, fried, orstewed. I have eaten with the Afghans about half a dozen times now and the meal is always the same - soup, flat bread, rice, and stewed potatoes and beef. The only thing that changes is the fruits and vegetables depending on what is in season. The good news is you know what to expect and their fruits and vegetables are always the best onbase.

Rumor has it Shish Kebabs were not invented until the Persians introduced the Afghans to the tips of their swords. I am told the Afghans do have Shish Kebabs for special occasions like the elusive dinner the Afghan General is setting up for all the new Air Advisors.

Pantless Screamer??

2010-05-19T00:39:00.000-05:00

HA HA HA!!! Good post title, don't you think? I can't claim it as my own cleverness. It came from my cousin Pam and the comment that she made on my last post:

"For Sale" sign in my lawn!! I don't handle mice AT ALL!!! Growing up on a farm you would think I could handle them better then I do. ONe time I was sitting on the toilet and one came running under the door and down the the heat vent! Needless there was a pantless dancer screaming on the bathroom vanity!!"

Too funny Pam! That story immediately made me think of family reunions at Catherine's Creek. Good memories! Do you (cousins) remember all the mice, rats and bats at that place? I can remember sitting with Rosie and some other people and watching a large mouse run across the tables. And do you remember Grandpa S. telling about his early morning visitor? He got up early to use the bathroom and was on the toilet when a large rat came crawling out of a hole in the wall and that it would have been a dead rat if he had been able to get to it. Oh the funny things that happened there!!

Squirmy Mess

2010-05-18T00:20:00.000-05:00

Be forewarned...this is kind of a gross story.

Sooooo.....as many of you know we are doing a bit of remodeling on the house I will be living while Micah is deployed. A few weeks ago I noticed a mouse run behind some cupboards while I was cleaning. Nothing a box of Decon couldn't take care of, right? I kind of wondered if I would kill that mouse. And Oh I did!

Yesterday I went over to the house and down in the basement was the most wretched smell. We had a pipe in the bathroom leak so there was some residual water left on the floor (the basement is gutted so it is just concrete). I thought maybe the water smelled bad. I couldn't figure it out. I even texted Matthew (my brother) and said, "It smells like there is something dead down here." I was hoping he would offer to come and check it out for me. He didn't. Too busy schmoozing his girlfriend. But that is okay. We want him to marry her!

So anyway, today I go back down to the basement to start some laundry. Same wretched smell again! Only this time it was a bit stronger. I opened up the windows checked to see if the water was still leaking. It wasn't but there was still some damp places. I figure things are fine, maybe some dirty laundry got wet and is smelling. There were a few things left behind in the house that I have been trying to get washed and bagged up so they could have been the culprit.

Later in the day I head downstairs to switch laundry again. This time I notice the water leaking. I leaned over to give the pipes a once over and voila! I found my leak. It was in an unexpected spot. Then I notice something writhing and wriggling out of the corner of my eye. I reached down and slowly lifted a piece of wet fabric. Underneath was a dead, decomposing, maggot covered mouse. Talk about foul. I about puked....and I hate to puke. It was seriously foul. A mouth breathing, hold your breath moment. I'm even holding my breath as I type. Agghh. It was gross.

I called Matthew and my Dad. I figured if I was really smart I would get one of them to clean it up. Eventually Matthew worked up some courage, put his gloves on, and quickly scooped up the dead mouse and threw it and the rotten fabric in the trash. Then we poured bleach on the area. I am hoping that things will smell better tomorrow and that Matthew remembered to take the trash can up and outside. Crap...I sure hope he was smart enough to think of that! I didn't even think of it till now. Had to put the whole experience out of my head for awhile. I thought I would spare everyone a picture of that little treat!!

Afghan Lions

2010-05-15T17:40:00.000-05:00

This picture reminded me of one I saw with a pride of lions camped outunder a parked airplane.

Today we went into a Forward Operating Base (FOB) where shade was at apremium. The aircraft's outside air temp gauge read 43'C - close to110'F. We had to wait (as usual) and it sent everyone scurrying forcover. Although the Afghan's sense of hygiene isn't up to what most ofus would expect, they don't bite and it wasn't too difficult to get themout when we were ready to go.

New Header Picture

2010-05-15T00:36:00.001-05:00

I am trying to decide which I like better. Any thoughts? They are the same, except the first one is "warmed up." Seriously, I really need to learn how to use photoshop....ahhh...one day!

A co-pirate

2010-05-13T08:04:00.007-05:00

This came from Micah today:
This story is for Porter. He thinks I am out fighting pirates. The Air Force has standardized the way pilots transfer the controls when flying an aircraft. There should be a three way conversation that goes something like this:
Pilot wants the co-pilot to fly and says, "Copilot has the controls" Copilot takes the controls and says, "Copilot has the controls." The pilot then visually confirms that the copilot has the controls and says, "Copilot has the controls."
This is the same process that we are teaching to our Afghan pilots. Only we have thrown a translator into the mix. The translators that we have aren't too bad. However, sometimes the translators have a funny way of pronouncing things. I admit that sometimes I do my part to contribute to the language barrier.
I have started saying pirate instead of pilot. It sounds close enought that no one notices except the other american in the back.
So that is a co-pirate over in the right seat. I particularly like this pirate's bandolier cartridge holder. I guess he plans on loading his semi-auto pistol like a single shot. The Afghans have a way of simplifying technology like that.

Cold Case

2010-05-09T22:37:00.002-05:00

Have you ever watched that television show called Cold Case? It is a crime drama and the storylines involve unsolved cases. I have seen it a few times. It is kind of fun to watch because the story is always told during the era of the crime, then it flash forwards to modern day. The actors can be teenagers and then *flash* they are adults. And the show usually incorporates music current to the time of the storyline.

As many of you know I am currently living back in the town that I grew up in while Micah is deployed for a year. Talk about BIZARRE!! This is probably the most I have been here since moving away after high school and it has been 2 years since I last visited. I feel like I am in an ongoing episode of cold case. I run into people that looks SO familiar and yet I don't know who they are, or I do know who they are but they look OLD! Which means that I must look old too!!

One day I heard my dad talking to a man and when I walked into the room and saw who it was *flash* I was at a stake dance and R.E.M. was playing. I registered the boys for baseball and ran into a man there. I had to ask who he was because he looked so familiar. He was a grade older than I and married to one of my H.S. friends. *flash* back in high school...STRANGE!! Just yesterday I ran into a woman in Costco. We saw each other and at the same time said, "Hi! Who are you?" Then we laughed. We had gone to girls camp with each other as young women.
I went with my mom to get my haircut, and the woman cutting our hair worked with me during a summer job....and she told me that she had a picture of me. I said, really? And she said, "yah it was with the copy machine...we were messing around.' okay....don't remember that!

Anyway, it is a strange strange experience! But I have to chuckle because it is JUST like that show. Crazeee!

Dust Storm

2010-05-06T09:24:00.004-05:00

Here is another Micah adventure. I was going to wait a day or two to post it but Porter's response to the pictures was too hilarious. That kid just cracks me up sometimes. There are two photos of Micah outside. One is during a dust storm and the other on a clear day.

Why is this funny? Let me refer you to a post/conversation that we had last fall. I can't figure out how cut and paste and the kids are going beserko, so go read this. Then come back.

Okay...ready now? So, Porter looks at this last photo of Micah and with a bit of disappointment says, "Well where are all the pirates?"

Afghan lessons

2010-05-05T21:57:00.005-05:00

An update! Micah has deployed to Afghanistan for a year. In the meantime we are living in Idaho near my parents and doing some work on a house. The house isn't quiet ready yet so we are staying in a friends basement. We expect Micah home in about 11 months and 2 weeks or so. He does have a mid-tour when he will come home for 2 weeks time. While he is away I will be posting our adventures as well as some of his.

Micah sent me an email the other day. Thought I would share it:

"Ok, so these pictures stink, but there is a good story behind them. I took the first picture of the Mi-17 we were flying with in formation with. I then decided that it would be a good opportunity to get a picture of me flying so I tightened up the formation to about 3 rotor diameters and told my Afghan flight engineer (FE) sitting in the middle seat to take a picture of me in the left seat. The idea being to get a shot of my face with the other Mi-17 and the mountains in the background. I then gave the controls to the Afghan pilot sitting in the right seat so that I could look back while the FE took some pictures. The Afghan pilot had flown very well earlier in the sortie but as soon as the FE started yelling at him to make flight adjustments ( I think that is what he was saying anyway) the other pilot started getting really jerky on the controls. Then the Afghan pilot started yelling back at the FE and this went back and forth for about two minutes. Again, I can only assume what these guys were saying and in their defense most Afghan do raise their voice in normal conversation. Anyway, the lone picture the FE took during this two minute ordeal was when I was looking back over at the other aircraft to make sure that we were still in formation and not about to run into something. After I took the controls back the two guys continued their 'conversation' and a couple minutes later they started laughing when I started shaking my head and laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation."

She's 2!!

2010-04-30T17:50:00.000-05:00

Ella had a birthday...shout hooray! She is definitely a 2 year old girl. Sugar and spice (LOTS of spice) and everything nice. I am so glad that I have a little girl. She keeps things interesting. We had a quick little birthday party with her. My mom made some yummy chocolate cupcakes with pink almond frosting. They were too delicious. She opened opened one present and then tried to pass around the others. She didn't quite get that they were all for her, but she caught on quickly!

Exhausted!!

2010-04-29T00:16:00.002-05:00

Totally exhausted these days. We are living next to the folks, sort of. Long story, but we are renovating a house and are working to make the upstairs hapitable. The bathroom was gutted so as soon as it is operational we will be moving in. For now we are staying in a friends basement apartment. Totally grateful for a place to go and sleep every night.

Every day my AMAZING mother watches my kids while I go work on the house. Super amazing because she has my sisters 5 kids too. She watches them, feeds them, gives them naps, feeds us dinner and makes it possible for me to save some money by doing the labor myself. Along with my dad and brothers that is. And with the help of their wives. Bobbi is my design consultant.

AND GRANDMA S!!! She has come over to help wash walls, cupboards, floors, counters, mud drywall and sand. And twice she has brought lunch to all of us. I hope one day that when I am her age I will be as young as she is. She works harder than I do!! AMAZING!!

Sooooo...that is my reason for not posting. Gonna get to it soon.

Got a good post brewing in my head. Too tired tonight to post it. But I will sooon! If any one is itching to volunteer free labor I might know a place... :)

Beautiful Beach Day!

2010-03-18T21:00:00.002-05:00

I need to put kids to bed, but here are some fun pictures from our trip to the beach.

My pretty girl...

2010-03-18T20:57:00.000-05:00

She is probably going to be too spoiled but I sure do enjoy having a girl! I love my boys but there is something fun about a girl!

Beach time...

2010-03-18T20:51:00.000-05:00

Beautiful Day!

2010-03-18T20:47:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures...I'll blog more later.

Thereapeutic Thursday

2010-03-14T22:07:00.005-05:00

Thursday morning I surprised Micah with a couples massage. Talk about heavenly! I have never had a massage before and I have decided that is something that I need to do often!

I don't have a picture of the massage...good thing I should say! But I do have a picture that I promised to take for my friend Jill. Each morning I try to have a breakfast of fruit, an english muffin, and maybe a dr. pepper (shhh....don't tell my mother) while I enjoy the sunshine and scenery. Fabulous!!

The view...

My chair...

Wet and Windy Wednesday

2010-03-14T21:30:00.006-05:00

Wednesday was a windy day but the sun was shining! Micah and I went out to breakfast and enjoyed a "day" date. Then we came back and decided that we had to enjoy the warm beautiful sunshine, even if it was a bit windy. Luckily the pool is heated and the hot tub is hot!

There definitely wouldn't be any confusing me for a swimsuit model, but I do love love love to swim. And I can't even swim very well, but I love the feeling of being in the water. It is a good bet that a few people might have suffered some eye damage from my white skin, but it was sooooooo much fun!

Ella didn't like the chilly weather too much, but she did have a good time running around and sitting with Serena.

Once again, Sam slept through most of the partying...he was even still in his pajamas!!

Harmon...aka the fish.

Serena kept watch over Ella and Sam. And she let us use her waterproof camera to take all teh pictures with!

Terrific Tuesday

2010-03-11T15:37:00.004-06:00

Tuesday was another beautiful day! We ran some errands and took the kids to this fabulous playground. It has swings and slides, but looks like a medieval fort. The kids had a great time. Ella's favorite thing was the swings. Serena went with her and sat in the swing next to Ella's. If Serena tried to move Ella would send out a royal decree (screech and point) to send her back into the swing.
Porter was winking at me from the top of the fort.

Cool man with the sunglasses. It warmed up quickly and soon all the jackets and layers were coming off.

Sam slept through it all.

Harmon loves the swings too. He spent most of his time swinging. Which reminded me of when he was little and we had a swingset in the backyard. More than once I woke up and found him outside swinging, and still in his pajamas!

Ella and Serena.

Seriously, I am in love with this cute girl. She just cracks me up. I am so glad I have a girl!!

Marvelous Monday

2010-03-10T15:03:00.006-06:00

Monday was absolutely GORGEOUS!! We had a picnic at the beach and the kids played in the sand and water. Micah and I went on a nice long walk while Serena, Micah's sister, watched the kiddos. It is marvelous to be able to have some time together. Micah has been flying nights so we are doing day dates or day outings.

Ella had to put her arm up to shield her eyes just like Harmon. she is so funny!

This is Serena's chair and Ella is IN LOVE!! She thinks it is her special chair and no one else can touch it.

Sunny Saturday

2010-03-09T10:23:00.004-06:00

Saturday was a gorgeous day down here! We had a lovely lunch and then spent some time on the beach with Micah's parents. Here are some fun pictures.

This is Harmon looking guilty because he kept getting deeper and deeper into the waves and getting wetter. Little stinker!

Three times the trouble.

A fun picture of Harmon trying to get into the water.

Micah and sam...it is mustache March!

The boys making sand castles. I like the sailboat in the background.

Ella sampling the sand. I think she thought it was sugar. Gag...or should I say gritty.

Happy boys.

Bathtime!

2010-03-08T16:23:00.004-06:00

Our hotel room has a giant bath tub and the kids got in it the other night. They are in LOVE!

Walkabout

2010-03-08T16:13:00.003-06:00

Harmon and I decided to head out on a little walk. We walked across the bridge at to the public access area of the beach. It seemed like it would be a quick little walk but I think it took us 30 minutes to get to the otherside! We walked for a good hour and a half enjoy the scenery and quiet. Harmon has always been a fantastic walker. He can keep up where as Porter is not so much of a fan. It was nice to spend some time alone with Harmon.

While we were walking we saw Micah fly by. That was kind of fun. He was in the second ship.

This is our hotel from the other side of the water.

Harmon and I....poor kid looks to be getting a few freckles. And mine were in hibernation but they are poppin!

We had a good time walking next to the water and saw lots of dead jelly fish, driftwood, seaweed, algae, etc. But not too many shells. We found those at another section of the beach. Not too bad of an excursion...it sure beats being in the snow!

Spring Break!

2010-03-03T19:59:00.003-06:00

Dedre posted a good comment:

"what huh...where are you at? and your hubby hasn't left for his airforce leave business? I'm lost :) But heck it looks like great fun."

So I thought I should explain what we are doing here down in Florida. Back in January when Sam was 5 1/2 weeks old Micah left for training in Albuquerque. Then he came back for a quick visit before heading to his next round of training, which is in Destin, Fl. When he is finished with this training (in a few weeks) he will drive us to Idaho. He managed to get an extension on his departure date to Afghanistan, which should be long enough to help us get settled in Idaho. Basically he was going to be separated from us almost 3 months before he even deployed and we weren't sure he would get an extension to help us get moved.

Micah wanted us to come to Florida to visit while he was down here. A friend of his told him that there was a "really nice hotel" that would accept the government rate. I reluctantly (who wants to fly with 4 kids by themselves???) decided to check out the hotel's website. Let me tell you....this place is the shibbity-dibbity. We have a 1200 sq. foot luxury condo. A full furnished kitchen with fancy dishes, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, travertine tile, a washer and dryer, 3 bedrooms (a bunk room, two king size beds), 2 bathrooms. Our bathroom is bigger than my kids' bedroom. No kidding! A view of the ocean and boardwalk, two fantastic balconies to enjoy the view with and dolphins that regularly swim by. It is called the Emerald Grande. And looks even better here than in pictures! We are going to be here for 2 1/2 weeks before we head home...already it is almost half over. Time is going to quickly!! We are trying to relax and enjoy every minute!

Is it Summer yet?

2010-03-03T14:31:00.003-06:00

The locals down here think it is a bit chilly still, but we are loving this warm weather. Here are some fun swimming shots!

I LOVE this girls baby bottom. Tooo cute!!

Sam slept on April (soon to be sister-in-law) like a cat lounging in the sun.

Ella thought the hot tub was awesome...can you see the ocean in the background?

Harmon is our little fish. He doesn't care what the temperature is, he can stay in the water for hours.

Oh captain oh captain....Porter was warming himself up. Goofy kid wouldn't take these cheap goggles off his head. He had a nasty imprint and those goggles conveniently disappeared.

happiness.

2010-03-03T12:40:00.001-06:00

Porter ran up and down the beach. Bliss.

Sunset

2010-03-03T12:37:00.002-06:00

We went to the beach at sunset. It was GORGEOUS and just a mite chilly.

Ella was happy staying with Dad.

Sam snoozed thru the whole thing.

Fabulous!

We couldn't keep the boys out of the water.

Ooops

2010-03-03T12:21:00.002-06:00

I have a funny story to share. A week and a half ago Sam was still running a fever and I was concerned that his first round of antibiotics had not cleared up his ear infection. We have a fantastic pediatrician at the base and he made a house call to check Sam's ears. Sure enough they were still infected. It was a Saturday so he gave me a written prescription. I loaded the kids up and we headed to town.

Our local CVS has a drive up pharmacy window. I dropped the rx off and then ran an errand to a friend's house. While we waited for the prescription I decided to feed Sam. I sat and nursed him while the kids ate their McDonalds. After he was finished I loaded him back into his carseat and headed over to the pharmacy. Once again I used the drive up window. This time the tech and the pharmacist were acting weird. Just a little off. I didn't think too much of it, I just figured they were busy or annoyed that I was a little early.

Nope.

They had a better reason. I figured it out as I reached to grab the bag. I realized that I had forgot to button up my blouse after nursing the baby. Nice....and the best part???? I was wearing a NUDE colored nursing bra. Fabulous...I tell you.

Blessed

2010-02-11T11:34:00.002-06:00

We have had some colds running through our family recently. It started off with Porter, quickly moved to Ella and on to Sam. Eventually we ended up taking Sam to the Dr. Monday morning and then he earned himself an ambulance ride to the hospital. He tested positive for RSV and was having a hard time breathing.

We have the most amazing pediatrician here on base who acts quickly, is compassionate and is always attentive. Sam responding quickly to the breathing treatments and the oxygen. We only had to stay in the hospital for 24 hours. He also has a double ear infection. Ella's cold lodged in her ears as well and once again the pediatrician came to the rescue. We had taken Sam in for him to look at (he was just squeezing us in) and he checked out Ella. She had an ear infection too and has been wheezing herself. As luck would have it I also have come down with this cold. We have lots of pink antibiotics and breathing treatments at our house right now.

Here comes the good part! Micah was home for a few days in between training (he was suppose to be here for about 24 hrs and came home early). Sunday he went to leave again and his flight had been booked incorrectly. What a blessing, he was able to be home and then rearrange his schedule to stay here for a few more days until the baby came home. He left again yesterday. To my rescue came one of my friends with dinner. Another has offered for tonight, two other friends have offered to go to the grocery store. Yet another friend offered to let the boys go play at her house. The nurses in the hospital were fantastic. Many many blessings all around. I feel so grateful!

Two Months Already!

2010-02-01T20:20:00.000-06:00

Sam is 2 months old! He is a pleasure to have in our home and becomes more animated each day. The kids are enjoying him. Harmon is becoming quite the helper and baby minder. Porter is in love and is always saying, "Isn't he cute? He is much cuter than Ella." That might have something to do with the fact that Porter and Ella often irritate one another. Ella loves to kiss and love on Sam, but just as quickly she will turn and smack him on the head. After she has made him cry she will pat his chest and say, "shhh." There certainly aren't many dull moments around here.

\

Breakfast Diva

2010-02-01T19:43:00.002-06:00

Ella insisted on this little ensemble for breakfast the other day. Cracked me up. Harmon was not quite so chipper. He was pretty tired that morning.

Hi!

2010-01-26T15:50:00.003-06:00

So...my computer is on the fritz ready to impload and die, hence the lack of pictures lately. Hopefully we will get a new one soon. I know all of you have been just dying for updates and photos of all our scintillating activites, but alas, you will have to hold on for a bit longer. But they should be coming soon!!

6 Weeks!

2010-01-14T21:53:00.001-06:00

Sam is 6 weeks old! Here are few pictures we took tonight after our little parade around the house. Ella had so much fun with the boys she had to come and take Sam's clothes off of him...too bad he can't march along yet. See the last post to find out what shenanigans my kids were up to!

He's getting some chub on those legs!

Blackmail

2010-01-14T21:45:00.000-06:00

The boys were came dancing down the stairs tonight with just underwear on. Underwear on their bottoms and their heads singing "we are underwear guys, we are underwear guys. Soon Ella disrobed and the boys helped her get a pair of underwear on her head. They thought they were hysterical marching around the house in their underwear parade. So I took some pictures. Oh the sweet slide show I will have when they are older.

Do you like Ella's Spongebob smile? She's got Spongebob teeth right now.

This must be a ghetto underwear pose. Go figure.

In this shot they wanted me to take a picture of their "hairy" armpits. What goofballs!!

Mr. Teddy

2010-01-14T21:37:00.000-06:00

Porter's preschool class has a traveling Teddy bear that goes home with the kids. We play a game with him and document our adventures in Teddy's journal. Porter had loads of fun with Mr. Teddy and was quite tickled to see Sam dressed up in his teddy bear suit.

Two Week Sugar

2009-12-22T17:40:00.000-06:00

These pictures are from last week when Sam was two weeks old. Ella was giving him some "sugar" as Micah likes to say. She loves to hug and kiss him and occasionally smack him. He looks a bit terrified don't you think?
"

Chick Fluff

2009-12-22T17:35:00.000-06:00

The next three pictures were taken when Sam was one week old. He had had a bath and his hair fluffs up like a baby chick. It is pretty funny. The only problem is that it stays puffy on the sides and the top gets slicked down from all the head petting he gets. Not the most flattering photos but they make me laugh.

And this picture is from the boys getting to visit with Santa Claus. He flew in on one of the helicopters and brought the kids a treat. Ella was too scared to get anywhere near him.

Who do I look like?

2009-12-22T11:24:00.000-06:00

Micah took this picture about two weeks ago...pretty cute! And now the baby is fussing...no wonder I don't get anything done!

Ella Graffiti

2009-12-07T17:05:00.001-06:00

Not certain, but we think this roughly translates to "send that baby back."

Getting to know you shots...

2009-12-07T17:00:00.000-06:00

Harmon was pretending to sleep next to Sam.

Then Porter joined in.

He didn't like his bath. I wouldn't either if I had an audience as big as he did.

Ella likes to hold him and give him kisses.

Micah Samuel West

2009-12-03T19:01:00.000-06:00

Drumroll.....

2009-12-01T04:27:00.002-06:00

It is the middle of the night...or so it feels. I guess I should actually get use to that feeling of not knowing night or day. I am going to be experiencing it alot soon!! We are up and getting ready to head to the hospital. I know what you are thinking...Who in their right mind takes the time to blog before they leave, right? Well, that is the beauty of a planned c-section and while Micah enjoys a tasty bowl of cereal I sit here and type.

Can you believe it is actually time for another baby? I sure can't. I am still a little dumbstruck that I am even pregnant much less having a baby in a few short hours. BIZARRE!!! But we are very excited to welcome this little one into the world. He is going to be the cutest baby ever...right??? He does have a fantastic gene pool to pull from. *wink* Ahhh the humor from 3 hours of sleep. Better stop while I am ahead!! We will try to introduce him soon!!

Soups on!

2009-11-17T12:08:00.002-06:00

Porter and Ella had chicken noodle soup for lunch today. Porter kept whining that he didn't want to eat it. I wearily looked at him and said, "Okay...how about if I put some whip cream on it? Will that be gross or good?" I thought he would say gross.

His smile told me that he thought it would be good. So Porter and Ella had chicken noodle soup with whip cream. Gagaroo. But I didn't have to listen to any whining and he ate. Nothing like a little pregnant desperation...although it could be considered inspiration because everyone is still happy, alive and fed.

And now it's nap time!!

A Memorable Sunday

2009-11-16T07:32:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was quite the day! Be forewarned that this is a lengthy post. Without any pictures to break it up! It started out well, by that I mean we woke up on time. But as most Sundays go the time quickly evaporated and we were going to be late. I realized we couldn't be late because it was the Primary Program and if I wanted to be able to watch my kids then we had to be there as close to on time as possible. We have a HUGE ward that takes up 1/3 of the gym every week. My pelvis gets so sore while I am pregnant that I can barely stand to sit on the bench let alone one of those hard metal chairs.

I was hurrying out of my bedroom with wet hair and no make-up and ran into Micah with an armful of gifts. Apparently the boys were feeling quite zealous about going to church and decided to get into the van early. Great...unless you have the back end of the van filled up with Christmas gifts!! I am determined to have all of my Christmas shopping done before this baby comes...well that backfired on me! And most of the stuff they saw was the "Santa" items. What a mess!! I think they are young enough that I can spin a story about taking all the stuff back and that Santa felt bad for them and replaced it all.

We get to church and the only available bench is the front row on the side in front of the handicap ramp. All was going well until the middle of the sacrament when Ella decided to run up the handicap ramp. I coaxed her down with a sippy cup. And then a few minutes later she was up the ramp again. This time she smiled and crooked her little finger at me like "come on...come and get me." The boys were dying to go chase her but I knew if I let them then it would get loud quickly. This time I coaxed her with goldfish...and she came running down the ramp saying, "whooaaa" You might remember several months back when Porter did something similar, only he was MUCH louder. Obviously my children can't be trusted near the handicap ramp.

Next we had the Primary Program. Harmon hurried up to the stand and Porter suddenly developed stage fright. He said he was not going up there. I sat him on my lap and tried to bribe...coax...but no, I didn't threaten! :) him to go up there. He wasn't having it. Then his teacher came to get him. She tried to pick him up and he started screaming bloody murder. I hope all of you who have never met Porter get to hear him sometime. That kid can really wail. Eventually I persuaded him to go up if I sat with him. So up to the stand I went with wet hair, no makeup, and a button had popped off my shirt. I am sure nobody cared, but I certainly felt unattractive. The program was great, Porter had me share his portion as he was suddenly mute, but all in all he was very reverent.

Ella is now 18 months old and gets to go to nursery. So far she isn't much of a fan. On this day Micah took her. I looked in the back door after they had been in there for about 10 minutes. Ella was standing between Micah's legs glaring at all the kids. A few minutes later Micah tried to leave and she started screaming. After several minutes of crying, Micah went to rescue her. She was doing the deep hyperventilating sobs. Poor kid. I stood up to hold her and *ping* there went another button off my shirt. Seriously...when you are pregnant you feel fat enough but really...two buttons in one day? Off the belly area no less.

Church was pretty uneventful after that. Until the end. I stood in the hallway waiting for Harmon to show up. I leaned to my right to shift my weight to my other foot when I sank. My three inch heel just bent right in half. I think that is a sign! A sign that this baby needs to come out!

That was our fun day. Mostly I was quite bewildered at all that had transpired. But on the way home from church I told Micah that it was a good thing that he had come home otherwise this day might have just sent me over the edge. With him home it was mostly funny.

And I have to tell you quickly what happened Friday night when he came home. I had spent most of the day trying to clean up my house and I was totally exhausted. It had been a long busy week with 3 late nights. I was pooped and I decided Micah wasn't getting a nice home cooked meal...unless he wanted eggs or oatmeal. Literally as we were walking out the door a neighbor' son brought over a large sandwich ring and a bag of chips. The amazing thing was that she didn't know Micah was coming home or even that he had been gone. She had seen me at the grocery store, where she works, with all 3 kids frazzled and pregnant a week earlier. I took the sandwich from her son, came in the house and cried. What an amazing blessing. I couldn't even tell you this woman's first name. I know she's told me but I didn't retain it. Seriously, what a miracle. I was so grateful this woman felt inspired to bless us this way. I felt very humbled and grateful to my Heavenly Father for sending her my way.

That's it...hopefully the next eventful day will be in 2 weeks...or sooner...but not too soon. I still have some cleaning and prepping to do. It seems to never end.

Late September Outing

2009-11-09T09:04:00.003-06:00

Late in September we went to the splash pad in town. We had a little picnic and the kids played for awhile. I have been meaning to post these pictures just because they were fun. So I indulged myself and here they are...completely the wrong season, but they made it up nonetheless!!

Spooktacular Halloween

2009-11-02T07:20:00.008-06:00

Get ready for a long one! Here is the run down from our Halloween fun. The boys and I made these cute lanterns. Talk about an exercise in patience. It was hard to let them do what they wanted to do. The modge podge was kind of messy. I think it would have gone better if Ella hadn't been on my lap modge podging everything in sight. All in all it was fun. Technically you are suppose to put some ribbon or something along the rim of the jar to make it look cute. We were lucky to get their faces on. But they did look very cool all lit up.

Our next project was shrunken apple heads. We cut these up about a week and a half ago and then let them dry. The first few days they looked pretty terrible, but the drier they got the cuter they became. We used some wild rice to decorate their faces with and I think they turned out pretty well. The boys did a great job cutting the apples and decorating them. This was a fun activity.

Harmon and his pumpkin. He did a good job and carved most of it himself.

Porter was a totally sissy and wouldn't put his hand in the pumpkin without screaming. So that pumpkin was left up to me.

Harmon and Porter were Transformers for Halloween. I sewed up a super cute pettiskirt for Ella. It is stinking cute watching her walk around in it. The only problem was that I couldn't get her to hold still long enough for a good picture.

Ella is a girl that likes chocolate. She was guarding the bowl from everyone else and then would put candy into her bucket. She threw a big stink when I took her away from the bowl to go trick or treating.

And...happy at last. Nothing like a little sugar to sweeten her up with.

A Good Cry

2009-10-23T16:39:00.003-05:00

Today when I got Ella up from her nap I had moment of feeling very overwhelmed. Micah is gone for training and won't be home for another 3 weeks. Then shortly after the baby is born he will go back for two other training trips, only to be home a few days before heading to Afghanistan for a year. Most days we do all right and are looking forward to all the blessings we are going to receive while he is gone. But today I had a good cry. Ella sat on my lap and looked at me and hugged me while I rocked her and cried. Then at one point she was watching me and I started to boob again...only to have a large tear roll down my face. She opened her mouth really wide, stuck out her tongue and tried to lick it off my face! Little ones always have a way of blessing our lives. She made me smile and I am grateful for all the little silly things that my kids do....most of the time.

New Shoes

2009-10-23T08:48:00.000-05:00

Porter is not a morning person. In fact if he were a chinese buffet dish he would be sweet & sour with a big dash of stubborn. Every morning he takes FOREVER getting dressed. Shoot, anytime he has to do anything he t a k e s h i s t i m e. A few times I have started out the door to take Harmon to school with Porter bawling behind me trying to get his shoes and socks on. In fact, anytime we are going anywhere I need to tell him to put his shoes on about 30 minutes before I actually want him to leave. Part of the problem is his shoes. They are a bit narrow and difficult to get on. They also have laces. I decided I was done fighting that battle and we were going to go buy new shoes.

The one thing I did not want in his shoes? Shoes that lit up. I just think they are a dumb. Well guess what??? The one store that we went to only had his size in a pair of light up shoes. And they were $10 more than the normal pair. But I was determined to walk out of the store with shoes. It had been a long afternoon and I was not going to another store. Both boys got new Skechers and Ella was trying to convince me to buy her a pair of pretty pink shoes. That girl LOVES shoes.

The boys are in love with their new shoes. They are taking good care of them and wearing them everywhere. The first morning after we purchased the new shoes I was in bed and it was pitch dark when suddenly I noticed a strobe light flashing down the hallway. Here came Porter, miraculously dressed for school. And up before anyone else. I rolled over in bed and told Micah I would have paid $100 for those shoes. It was worth it not to fight with him anymore. So far the shoe love has continued and even funnier...

I have to go into his bedroom at night to remove his shoes!! He keeps trying to sleep in them.

Grandpa Ray and the Orange

2009-10-17T08:01:00.003-05:00

I made a comment on Facebook yesterday about how badly I wanted a chocolate orange...I'll send out my address if you want to send me one or a box of chocolate orange sticks. :) Anyway, I haven't seen any in the stores yet and love that chocolate/orange flavor. That sparked a conversation between Brett, Andrea and myself how the love of this candy flavor might be a Schulthies thing. I told them it was because of Grandpa Ray and asked if they had heard of Grandpa eating the orange peels. If they had heard it they couldn't remember...so here it is according to the best of my memory ( which is admittedly sketchy these days) of what my mom remembers. I thought it would be fun to see how many cousins love this candy too so I decided to put it on the blog as well.

This is how the story goes according to my memory from what I remember from my mom. When Grandpa was a child during the Depression he saw that another boy had an orange. He asked the other boy if he could have the orange peels when he ate his orange. He gave them to Grandpa and it had been a really long time since he had had anything like that so he ate the peels. My mom thinks he must have really been craving some vitamins! She also thinks that is about the same time that Grandpa's family butchered a hog for Christmas and he and his brother got to use the pig stomach for a ball. They also got a red wagon and it was a fun Christmas.

My mom said that no matter what the circumstance that every Christmas Grandpa always would buy a box or bag of oranges for Christmas and that was his contribution to the day. Every year his mother, Grandma Schulthies to my mom, would send a box for Christmas. It always held the same things. A quilt made from Grandma Evelyn's scrap pile. When Grandma Schulthies would visit in the summer she would always take the scraps back to make the quilt. My mom said that she would also bring a phone book from the salt lake area so that they could use it for toilet paper. But back to the box...it held a quilt, candied orange slices for the kids, a box of Sweet's chocolate covered orange jelly sticks for Grandpa Ray, some of that old fashioned holiday candy (my mom has a name for it but I can't remember what it is) a small toy for each kid, nuts, and candy from their Mercer cousins. I might be missing something, but I think that is it. My mom says that Grandpa just LOVED those orange sticks.

It all makes sense now, doesn't it! Our parents probably all grew up watching Grandpa eat his box of sticks and wanting some! So now our parents all do the same thing. Isn't it interesting to be connected together by a love of a candy that our Grandfather loved? I know my mom has to buy several boxes of those candies because they never last long! My mom still makes sure to buy a box of oranges for Christmas, nuts and candy. All because they are what she had as a child. Micah always think I am nuts because I like to buy nuts and candy for Christmas too.

My mom also said that she remembers every time that they visited Uncle Rendell (Grandpa's brother) he would always have those candied orange slices too. She also says that Grandma Schulthies was always so good to Grandpa because Grandpa had been so good to his parents. I think we were born into a family that has a strong heritage. How fortunate we all are!

I know that love of family was important to our Grandparents...all three grandparents. Not too many people have the opportunity to have such a fantastic family. My mom has always told me how important that was. Recently many of my Aunts, Uncles and Cousins have been especially loving to my parents and I don't have the words for my gratitude, but I am grateful! I feel especially blessed to have such a wonderful extended family!

Conversations with the Boys

2009-10-16T07:51:00.003-05:00

I have been meaning to post these funny comments from the boys.

One day during breakfast Porter was sitting quietly when out of nowhere he said, "Actually Plankton is a pickle."

Okay.

**********
Harmon whispering to Porter when they were looking for a treat:

I know where she hides them.

***********

My OB is a very good doctor. He is also a large man. Two weeks ago Micah came with me for the first time. As the Dr and his nurse entered the room Porter said to Micah:
"See Dad...he's fatter than you!"

And yesterday while we were waiting again, Harmon was with us (everyone has sick kids around here and I would rather take kids with me to the Dr than get sick) for the first time. Again, Porter was filling Harmon in on the Dr.

"Harmon, this Dr is just really fat. He has really big legs and a really big belly."

Fortunately the Dr had not come into the room yet and we had a little visit about not commenting on people's size.

*********

A little explanation to my favorite boy conversation so far. Micah is being deployed to Afghanistan for a year next spring. Prior to the actual deployment he has a lot of pre-deployment training and will gone A LOT! Fortunately he will be home for the birth of the baby. There was some question of that for awhile. Anyway we are trying to prepare for this baby, Micah being gone and packing up our house for yet another move. I will be moving close to my parents while he is gone. We have been talking about where we should go while Micah is away. This is how our conversation at the dinner table went:

Me: Where should we live while Daddy is in Afghanistan?
Porter: We should just go live where ever he is going to be.
Me: I explained that it wouldn't be safe for families to go there because they had real bad guys that would be there.
Harmon: Real bad guys like Pirates?

A little laugh from me and then "Yes, kind of like Pirates."

Harmon digested this for about 2 seconds, looked at Micah and then said,

"Dad...you better take your machete."

A Girl?!?

2009-10-14T22:43:00.004-05:00

Ella is a very busy girl. I am her mother, so I am slightly biased, but I also think she is a very determined, very bright little girl...who can throw a mean temper tantrum. But I digress. I had to share these three little busy girl tidbits. And wonder....where does this come from?

First...we were all sitting in the computer/piano room when in strolls Ella with a nearly full and open package of chocolate chips that she had conveniently snuck from the pantry. I suspect one of her brothers left it within reach. Oh the tantrum that ensued when we removed said bag. Isn't it a bit early to be so attached to chocolate?

Second...we cut the boys hair tonight which meant that I had tiny bits of hair all over me. ITCHY!! Ella was filthy from dinner, so I took her to my bathroom while Micah supervised the boys' bath. This is actually a two part befuddlement. I put her in the bathtub with me and put in some greenish blue bath mineral stuff. The water was beautiful and here is this sweet little girl sitting next to me when suddenly she starts passing gas. A LOT of gas. My first thought? This is like bathing with Shrek. I quickly gave my legs a quick pass with a not so sharp razor. Better to do it while I could actually reach my legs than to risk falling over to get around this pregnant belly. I put the razor up high, got out of the tub, turned around and little Missy was attempting to shave her legs. *sigh* Again...a bit early, right?

Third, lastly and most shocking to me...yesterday I was sewing on her Halloween costume. She sat on my lap messing with every conceivable nob and pin, driving me nuts in the process. I sent her to get some toys from the boys room. She was gone about 2 minutes and I thought to myself...perhaps it was a prompting...what is she doing? I tipped my head back to look down the hallway. There she was, with my flat iron half plugged into the socket. One hand had a fist full of hair the other was angling the flat iron up to her forehead. Fortunately it doesn't turn on automatically. How do they figure these things out?

I think this girl just might be a girl and I have to admit I am a little frightened! :0)

Warm September Weather Fun

2009-09-23T15:46:00.004-05:00

This September has been quite nice and warm. Warmer than it was in July. We are enjoying the warm afternoons. The kids love to play outside with the neighbors, but since school has started we have been busy busy busy. Here are a couple of pictures from some free time outside.

Okay, this one is different. It is Porter's first day of preschool. He has really surprised me with his enthusiasm for preschool. He would love to go everyday and can't wait for Harmon to get home from school in the afternoon. He also makes me laugh because after he has been at preschool for a few hours he comes home and often goes into his room and just plays quietly for about an hour. Decompression begins early I guess. LOL!

Ella was in love with these goggles. Although she wouldn't keep them on but for only a few seconds, then she'd take them off, hand them to me and insist that I put them on again.

Brothers and buddies...most days.

Harmon and Porter were wrestling on the front lawn. Ella always tries to make her getaway when she gets into the front yard. Down the street or over to the playground.

I wanted to water the plants one day. Ella INSISTED upon helping me. She loves to play in the water. I think the water was mostly saturated into this one area. I could not get the hose away from her so I figured I should just hope that the water would seep around and get to everything.

She would water the plants, then take a drink, water, drink, water, drink.

Watering the air.

And herself.

This smile cracked me up. She was so pleased with herself.

And I just liked this picture. I liked the little water ring on the sidewalk from the droplet coming off her fingers. Cute cute!

Pumpkins

2009-09-07T18:44:00.002-05:00

No picture this time, just a funny story. I am sitting here on the couch checking email while Micah cleans up the kitchen from dinner. We have had a busy tiring day and I am kind of delaying the bedtime routine. I just told him I would come and help him soon. His response to me? "You've got me until 7 o'clock. *pause* I'm like a pumpkin." That made me laugh. Micah always says funny things to make me laugh...it is one of his endearing qualities.

Why is that funny? Football game comes on at 7. Even funnier...I knew exactly what he was talking about. It's good to be married to someone I like.

Harmon's First Day of School

2009-08-28T10:37:00.000-05:00

Yahoo...it's that time of year again! Harmon had his first day of 1st grade yesterday. He was very excited to go and insisted on wearing camoflage shorts to match his camoflage backpack. I'm grateful that boys are pretty simple. I haven't bought him new shoes yet and his old tennis shoes are looking pretty dirty. I said something about washing them and he looked me like I was crazy and said, "why?" The best thing he said though was this:

Me: Let's go take your picture.
H: Why?
Me: Because it is the first day of school.
H: Oh, so you want to have a picture of me to look at so that you don't cry all day and miss me too much?
Me: Yep, that's right. I don't want to miss you too much.
HILARIOUS!!!

He had to stand next to his tomato plant. He LOVES tomatoes and loves to eat them.

Harmon and Porter

At his desk...wanting me to leave.

And his classroom! Porter starts 3 day preschool on Monday. Yahoo!

What you been doing?

2009-08-21T14:04:00.005-05:00

My SIL Bobbi is a very talented individual, always coming up with new fun creative projects. She recently posted about what she had been doing lately and asked that other people share what they had been up to as well.

I have been making flower barrettes for a squadron fund raiser. The other wives are going to get together and have a craft night, but I know that I need to do a bunch ahead of time, because a project always takes twice as long as you think it should, right? The barrettes will be sold at the "Fall Festival" at the end of September so I have picked out some fallish colors. I usually put Ella in pastel or bright pink flowers so I am wondering if I need more springy colors included, or if I should just stick with fall colors. I really like the fall colors and hesitate to make too many. I am not sure if they will even sale very well. My other question is what would you spend on one of these, or if you would even buy one. I think they are adorable in little girls hair, but I'm not the most "fashionable" individual. Help me out. I would love to hear from anyone with an idea or an opinion. Thanks!!

Don't mind the lack of makeup, pregnancy sheen (sweat) or the massive amount of freckles from neglecting to wear sunscreen. Harmon took the picture for me, I would have taken a picture of Ella but she is asleep so I had to do.

I really like this orange one.

I tried to get Harmon to model for me. I got one picture. He wasn't going for it. I don't blame him. I am glad he is a boy! But his eyes sure do look cute. LOL!

What do you think of the zinnia's? I have them in purple and yellow too. And the sunflower looks a little washed out. It is quite vibrant in person. Last year there were a ton of sunflowers in all the fields around here, but this year they have grain in them. I bought the sunflowers thinking that they would be everywhere again, but now I am wondering if they would be too 1995.

Here's a good smattering of the colors I've got. Because it is a fundraiser and we want to make the most money we can I haven't bought really nice flowers...some of them can cost several dollars a piece. I think I spent $4 on a bush of 8 or 9 flowers. What do you think?
And one last question...I like to put a button or a jewel in the center. But I've seen some with the normal flower center. What do you like better?

Grasshopper Baby

2009-08-19T22:42:00.002-05:00

The boys have become grasshopper catchers. They both are a little skittish when it comes to picking them up, but when they do they feel pretty proud of themselves. They think the best method for catching a grasshopper is to get a hold of one of its back legs. Having once been a grasshopper catching specialist I think it is easier just to cup them in your hand, but I haven't convinced them of that.

We have an 8 year old neighbor boy who also likes to catch grasshoppers. But he likes to rip their heads off and watch them still kick. Gross I know. Although I remember my siblings doing that also. Sick...I shouldn't think about such things when I am pregnant and eating a bowl of soft ripe peaches.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I went outside and the boys along with their friend came running up to show me their baby grasshopper. The neighbor found a grasshopper and when he tore it's head off out came a little baby. In his hand was a wriggly little white worm. I looked at it for a half second and the first thing I said was, "Are you sure the grasshopper was alive when you caught it?" They said it was...maybe.

I just shook my head and said, "Nope, that is a maggot, not a baby grasshopper." Of course I didn't know anything and the next thing I knew they had named the maggot Tiki. Then Tiki moved into a fancy condo (i.e. plastic container) to come and live on our front porch. Decorated tastefully with grass clippings, a rock, and a few leaves. That night the boys wanted to bring Tiki in the house. No way was I letting them bring a maggot in the house...even if it was a baby.

Too Old

2009-08-17T13:33:00.001-05:00

I'm tired! I have decided that I am too old to be pregnant. I'll be 34 in 6 weeks. I don't know how these crazy women do it in their late 40's. They are NUTS!! Just thought I'd share that deep scintillating thought.

Third times a charm?

2009-08-11T17:09:00.003-05:00

Well....baby #4 is going to be another BOY!! We are excited to see what he will look like. I think the boys may like the wii too much. Harmon suggested we name him Bowser Jr. Right. Don't think so!

and more

2009-08-05T20:30:00.001-05:00

2009-08-05T20:30:00.000-05:00

a couple more.

2009-08-05T18:17:00.000-05:00

Beach Preview

2009-08-05T18:12:00.000-05:00

I should be unpacking, instead I am messing with my pictures...here are som cute ones!!

Family and Floating...

2009-07-30T10:01:00.005-05:00

Blogger drives me nuts. I hate it when I load the pictures backwards. AHHH!!! Oh well. I'm not spending the time to try and fix them.

We spent one evening at Micah's grandma's house. The whole extended family showed up to visit and have dinner. It was lots of fun to see all the cousins and family. We also had lots of good food. Crazy wierd southern food, but still tasty after you get accustomed to the idea. A new one this time was swamp cabbage. Pretty tasty actually...nothing like okra. Okra I do not like.

The next day we went floating down the Ichnetucknee River with Micah's cousins and family. It was fun, the most entertaining part watching several of us (not me, thankfully!!) fall out of their tubes and then try to get back in. It was a busy day on the river and we decided that next time we should do it on a weekday instead of a weekend. Lots of fun!!
Porter and Harmon on their rafts. They were each tied to a parent. Porter was terrified to try and get into his tube, but we threw him in and he stopped screaming pretty soon after he figured out he wasn't actually touching the water. His tube had a bottom to it. He eventually had a really good time and even let us dip him into the water a few times while holding onto us.

Harmon loves the water and wanted his tube untied from Micah's. He was pretty confident he could do it himself. He flipped and flopped all over his tube and took a few dips into the water too. He even wanted to get in and float himself, but that wasn't happening!

Who puts a picture of themselves pregnant, plump and in a bathing suit on their blog? Apparently I do. Nuts, but thankfully I am mostly hidden. Here is a fun picture of Porter and I enjoying the float. The water is very cool and refreshing.

Harmon loving the ride.

Micah tried to dive right into the water....CHILLY!! I think the water is about 70 degrees.

This is the whole crew.

This is a picture of Ella exploring Granny Pansy''s yard. Ella's hair really curled up in all the heat and humidity. It was amazing.

The rusty looking contraption in the middle is a cane grinder...that they use to grind sugar cane and then boil the liquid into cane syrup. A pretty fascinating procedure.

Great Aunt Dessie and Granny Pansy.

Sea World

2009-07-28T21:23:00.003-05:00

We arrived in Orlando Wednesday night....about 9 hours later than we had planned on. Our original flight was canceled and we had to wait for another one late that night. Not a lot of fun. We ran out of diapers...Ella seemed to completely empty her bowels that day, we ran out of milk and we all ran out of patience. We were happy to get here. It was a warm muggy night. As Harmon climbed into his aunt's truck he said, "Why am I sweating?" Welcome to Florida.

Thursday we went to SeaWorld. I have taken command of Serena's computer and her pictures, as I have not downloaded mine yet. But here we are some pictures of us at Seaworld. We had a lot of fun, although while in the ticket line both boys were whining about the heat and wanted to go back to North Dakota. Go figure! For Shamu's show we were in the splash zone and just about everyone around us got drenched, except us. Not a drop. By the end of the day they were both going crazy about how much fun SeaWorld was. Ella stayed at home with Grandma and enjoyed a nice long nap.

Another West Baby??!!?!?!?!

2009-07-24T10:05:00.002-05:00

Yep, it's that time again. We are expecting another baby! We were quite surprised but are excited to have another baby coming to our family. Today is the day that we are going to tell Micah's family. We are in Florida visting them and have never been able to tell them in person that we were having a baby, so we saved this bit of news to share with them. The fun part?? I am almost 5 months along!! Keeping a secret that long is pretty stinking good! Unfortunately we weren't able to schedule the ultrasound before we left, so we will have to do that when we get back.

T-Ball!

2009-07-15T08:17:00.001-05:00

These are picturs from Harmon's first T-ball game a week or two ago. He thinks he is a real hot shot. Last night his game got rained out. It is pretty funny to watch these little 5 and 6 year olds try to play. They are pretty clueless.

Harmon was running for home plate here. When I showed him this picture he was astounded at just how cool he looked when he was running...what can I say...I think there might just be some lucky photography there.

Little Miss Princess herself. She loves to have her own chair. Her budding personality is a constant delight these days.

Porter doing who knows what.

Harmon waiting to bat....with his glove on. Got to be prepared, right?

Road Side Service

2009-07-10T13:21:00.000-05:00

I decided to take the boys to lunch (i.e. didn't want to make pb&j again). As I was rounding up Ella the boys ran outside to get in the van. It took me a few minutes. I went outside and found this:

Apparently the front tire looked a little low so they had gotten the bicycle pump out to air it up. They even had it attached to the car. Good little mechanics! Hopefully they didn't let too much air out.

Do you like Porter's ensemble? Very ND wear. Not quite warm enough for a short sleeve shirt and shorts!

Holy PettiSkirt!!

2009-07-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

This is Annelise, my good friend Amelia's daughter. Amelia asked me if she thought I could make one of these pettiskirts. I had looked at them in a couple of catalogs and thought they were pretty cute. So sure...how hard could it be, right??? Holy cow. It took me a few months of some serious thinking (who needs a pattern, right?), a few new gadgets for my machine and lots of patience. My serger broke in the middle of it. My sewing machine gave me fits as well. It actually went together quite well after I had done all that serious thinking and finally figured out what I should be doing. The first set of instructions I read were crap. The second set were much better.
What a lot of work for such a pretty skirt. But these pictures make it ALL worth it.

Corn on the Cob

2009-07-09T08:12:00.000-05:00

We had a pretty yummy dinner the other night. Corn on the cob, watermelon, and BLT's on homemade wheat bread. Delicious!! Ella really liked the watermelon and corn. Harmon loved it all but especially the corn and the tomatoes on his BLT. That kid just cracks me up because he likes tomatoes so much.

Ella liked it all but sure made a huge mess when she ate. I stripped her down before we even began, anticipating the massive mess she would make.

And yes, that is watermelon gel running thru her hair. She was getting impatient while I cooked, so I gave her watermelon to chew on. She would get mad when her piece was done and well, you can see what happened. No more cute ponytail for her.

Goofy Hman.

Porter, sitting next to the filthy door, and with a couple of toys next to him on the table. That is a big rule at our house...no toys on the table. You see how well he listens, or it could have been the fact that we were so excited about our BLT's that we didn't even notice.

Clown Litmus Test

2009-07-05T18:09:00.001-05:00

Ever wondered how to tell if a clown is really a clown?

Here's how you tell...compliments of Porter. And I should mentioned that he has tested this in the field and it is a proven method.

Get the clown to bend over and give you a high five, then quickly reach in and give his nose a test honk. If said nose does not honk proceed to pull as hard as you can and try to remove nose thereby proving that the clown is indeed just a man dressed up to look like a clown.

Bikes and Scrapes

2009-06-26T22:20:00.000-05:00

These were taken last week. The boys were riding their bikes and Ella did not want to be left out. We pulled out Porter's old bike and Ella sat on it while the boys rode up and down the sidewalk.

Porter took a tumble off his bike and scratched his lip and nose a tiny bit. There was a tiny tiny drop of blood coming from his nose, but Harmon was quite concerned. Blood=tragedy. I tried to get Harmon not to say anything so that Porter wouldn't freak out. Harmon disappeared into the house and the next thing I knew he was doctoring Porter up. Pretty sweet. Of course Porter then had to come to me to find out if he was going to live. I think the cowboy boots might have played a role in his wreck.

And this is just a funny picture of Ella. When you ask her where her nose is she scrunches up her face like this.

Retro Outfit

2009-06-26T21:40:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I put Ella into an outfit that my mom made for me with I was about 6 months older than Ella is now. The elastic is a little shot in the legs, but it sure was cute on her! My best memory of this outfit? Putting it on Matthew (my youngest brother) when he was a baby. It has a matching bonnet that he wore also. HA HA HA HA!!! Oh he'd kill me if he read my blog. Should I mention the mascara too???

And this was just a cute picture of Ella and Harmon.

Pool Time

2009-06-24T21:57:00.004-05:00

Harmon came and asked me if he and Porter could play in the backyard in the water. I said sure. Two minutes later I walked outside and miraculously the pool was already filled! Ella escaped while I was making dinner and I found her next to the pool trying to get in. At first I didn't let her because it was only about 80, windy, and the water was FREEZING. But she insisted and in she went. She was in heaven. All three of them had a great time in the water..

**I figured out that if you "click" on the collage it should enlarge.

Happy Birthday Porter!

2009-06-21T14:08:00.006-05:00

Happy Birthday Porter!! Porter is a big four years old now! Here are a few of my favorite pictures of him.

Vocal from the beginning. The nurses asked us to keep him in my room at night because he screamed so much that all the other babies would start crying also.

Porter is very strong. From birth he could lift up his head, he rolled over at 2 weeks old!! and was walking by 8 1/2 months.

I've always liked this little sweet face.

Porter was about 3 1/2 to 4 months old here. He couldn't crawl but he managed to maneuver himself about 3 feet over to Harmon's french fries. We had been having a "picnic" in the living room. I left the fries while I put Harmon down for his nap. This is what I found.

For a long time we couldn't get a good picture of Porter. He always shut his eyes.

Porter's greatest love?? His train blankie that he packs around no matter how filthy it may get. I've started calling it "Frankenblanket" because it has so many random stitch tracks on it now. One day it will just *poof* disintegrate.

At the beach in Florida at 16 months old.

Matching mustaches.

Caught in the act! Hiding under his blanket while he pretended to be asleep so that he could eat his Halloween candy.

And....the big 4 year old birthday cake. He wanted a Transformer cake. I was pretty sure I lacked the necessary time, skills, and patience to create such a thing. Harmon and Porter like to pretend they are at the beach. In one of their favorite Backyardigan episodes the backhooligans (as micah likes to call them) go looking for Tiki beach to surf. So we created a Tiki beach cake. Thank you dollar store! They had all the accessories. t Happy Birthday to Porter!! We sure do love him!

Ella's First Piggies

2009-06-19T16:25:00.000-05:00

She didn't feel like having her picture taken. But this is our first attempt at piggies. What an ordeal!

Porter was trying to help her look forward.

She doesn't look convinced, does she?

1-800-CARCASS Removal

2009-06-18T10:58:00.004-05:00

North Dakota seems to have an abundance of prairie dogs, a.k.a. dakrats, ground squirrels, burrowing rats. There is a large population of these little rodents living on the Air Force base. They burrow and make huge ankle twisting holes everywhere. When we moved into this house we had a few living around the base of the house. Technically you are allowed to remove them by trapping them for relocation. Yah right. We have some little traps that we occasionally use and a certain pellet gun that "stuns" them into sleeping! *wink* Micah has successfully sent a message via the prairie dog grapevine that a certain corner lot isn't the safest place to try and live.

Two months ago Micah started his mission to rid the yard of these pesky little creatures. Around that time I had come home one morning to discover a large mostly dead dakrat in the front yard. It's guts were hanging out and two crows were picking at it. I walked around near it and it's little leg started kicking. I was pretty grossed out. I called Micah to have him come dispose of the wretched little animal. If half it's guts hadn't been pulled out I probably could have picked it up. But I didn't. Micah wasn't at his desk so I left a very nice message telling him about the grossness of the situation and sometime at his leisure could he could and dispose of the carcass for me. Little did I know that his message system at work is like an answering machine and everyone in his office could hear me leaving this message. They had a great time laughing at my request.

Yesterday I was out watering the grass early and noticed that we had two dead baby prairie dogs in the backyard. They looked like they had been dead quite awhile. I called Micah and told him that he had some more carcasses to remove. He said he would do it at lunch so I left the little bodies where they were. Later that morning we were leaving to go to cooking club and I had Harmon go into the back yard to turn off the water. He saw the dead bodies and decided that he had better take care of business. I was waiting in the van and could not figure out what was taking so long. I went around the side of the house just to see him taking off Micah's big work gloves.

I was so tickled that Harmon thought he should get rid of those dead animals, and glad that he wasn't too squeamish to do it. They were a little bloody. Too gross for me. It is pretty handy to have boy or two around. That's 1.800.Harmonator...your trusty resource for carcass removal.

What's my name?

2009-06-15T16:05:00.000-05:00

I bought the boys some letters for their names. We decided to be ambitious today and try to get them painted. I let them paint each letter a solid color. Then they had to endure me doing the "finishing" work. It is tricky business painting with two wiggly chatty kathy's shaking the table at every opportune moment, intent on watching every brushstroke. We surivived and have some pretty cute letters to hang up in their bedroom. The colors match their striped comforters. As I painted each letter we discussed what we should do to decorate it. At one point, Harmon said, "yah, that's a good idea, all your ideas are good." What can I say...I must be a genius. LOL!!

Dirty Words

2009-06-10T21:17:00.004-05:00

Tonight I heard Porter uttering a few choice words. Very unattractive, if I do say so myself. It was the GD phrase and I am not sure where he heard that one. He told me that he heard it from a clown...what??? I told him not to do it again or I would wash his mouth out with soap. Of course he said it again...and again. So upstairs to the bathroom we went.

I grabbed a bar of soap and told him to open up. He would not separate his lips for anything so I rubbed it along his lips a little. Then I talked to him about how it was inappropriate to say bad words and that Heavenly Father didn't want us to talk like that. I reassured him that I knew he was a good boy, that he had a special spirit and that I knew he wouldn't talk like that again. For good measure I also told him if I heard it again I would be sure to get his mouth open and wash his teeth and his tongue with the soap. This is where it gets funny. Porter then had this choice little morsel to say to me, "what will HE do?"

"Huh?" I had to think about that for a half second and then asked Porter, "do you mean what will
Heavenly Father do?"

Porter replied, "yah, what will he do?"

I looked at Porter, sighed, and said, "He will just be very sad."

That seemed to be good enough because then he started talking about his toys. Every once in awhile they sure take the wind out your sails. At least he won't be swearing like a sailor now...at least I hope not!

Van Gogh? Oh No!!

2009-06-07T09:25:00.000-05:00

Micah saw this beautiful art drawing on the wall and was a tad bit mad. He asked the boys who was responsible for this mess! Their response?
H: "I don't know...maybe it was Porter!"
P: with a shoulder shrug "Uhhh...maybe it was Ella."
Micah: "Yah right, now tell me who did it!"

At this point I stepped in. "Uhh..it was Ella. I saw her scribble on a box the other day and those look just the same."

And voila...a masterpiece! Good thing it was washable marker.

Then Friday night Micah took the boys camping for the father and son campout. Ella was pretty mad about not getting to get in the truck with the boys. We waved goodbye and came in the house. She was still pretty hot and wanted down. As soon as I let her down she crawled over to the magazine holder and proceeded to empty it out and what did she find? A topless brown marker...that looked suspiciously like the one she must have used earlier in the week. She showed it to me, dropped down to her hands and knees and crawled as fast as she could (yep, she's not really walking yet) over to the wall. And this is what happened: