Zoo trip

We went to the zoo yesterday with my Mil. We had a blast. Here is our first official family photo since Daniel has been born. I can't express how grateful I am to have such a wonderful family. They have been a joy to me and have saved me from myself in so many ways.

Jason's Birthday Cake

They have done it again! Here are the pics.

Camping with a large family

We lasted 24 hours exactly! We made it through the night and that's what's important right? Ok, so here is where things went wrong. Why do I assume that the great outdoors is going to be this smorgasbord of fun to kids? Maybe it is for those that haven't had their brains changed by instant entertainment. I didn't think about the fact that there will be other campers there and well, I have 2 little ones that love to be loud. We left because we didn't want to disturb the other campers. It was pretty evident that naps were not happening and when there isn't a nap, there is trouble. And we had some. So, here's some tips that I learned. By the way, we had a lot of successes!
~Water. 3 gallons of water was not enough for my family in a 24 hour period.
~Don't be under the impression that you will stay clean. It's not going to happen.
~Camp near the bathrooms unless you bring a port-a-potty. We were near the bathrooms and that was a success for us!
~Bring protection. Camping can be scary! In the middle of the night I heard something in the woods and Dh got out with the hammer and flashlight. Whatever it was went away(we think it was a deer) but I was scared the rest of the night.
~Bring foods that you can eat without having to start a fire. It didn't rain on us but I was thinking about how hard it would have been if it had.
~Bring games! We didn't bring but 2 games and that was definitely a bad decision. Bring games that can be played inside the tent in case it rains
~Bring whistles for the children(and you) for safety. (We did this)
~Bring trash bags so that you can take your trash to a dump station. We used our grocery bags but it would have been easier to put it in one big bag.
~Bring things that have multiuse. Cups can serve as bowls for a meal. A cast iron pan makes great oatmeal. We didn't have to bring a pot. A knife can serve as protection and you can use it to make skewers out of the limbs of trees.
~A clothes line would have been nice. We could have hung up the kids clothes when they got wet.
~Bring a Bible. We got to have a prayer time and that was precious.

Will we go again? It is very likely. I enjoyed so many things about it. I am sure we will start feeling the need to get out there. I hope that we can make some progress with Alex before we go again. We had a difficult time with him. Here is Summer. This is the skirt I sewed for her. It is getting well loved. :)

Zoo video of the kids

Picture updates

Avocado seeds. Waiting to see what they do :)

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So much for 52 week pics!

Well, it seems I have skipped a couple of weeks. It has been CRAZY! We have had house renovations going on(okay, maybe that's an excuse:)) One neat thing that has come about is that we got a bird! It's a love bird. His name was originally Blue Boy(he is 12 years old) but we are going to call him Blue. I got his wings and nails clipped today. I think he will be a sweet bird once he gets used to everyone.

I do not want to post

Ok, I am making myself post. It has been a doozy of a month! From my dental surgery(which I still hurt from) to the car getting broken into, I feel a little tired :) Today has been a wonderful God worshiping day! Praise God that we can say he is risen! We had a very emotional time at church. The music was fabulous, can't wait to praise God like that in heaven! Can you imagine the choir in heaven? No bodily limitations, no sinful pride, no condemnation, completely selfless praise. Wow. Anyway, we got to ride our bikes all together today, something we have been wanting to do. I almost made it all the way home until I threw my quadricep out(again). It was still fun, and hard. Carrying an extra 80 pds. up steep hills is no piece of cake. I am so grateful that we were able to enjoy this beautiful day and celebrate the gift that was given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Here are some pics of the little ones. I was watching them at the park while Jason took the older ones bike riding.

Loving the Outdoors

Here’s the kids at the local zoo. We had a picnic and they got to play around the roots of the trees.

Jason and I got to go off and bike around a local park.It was awesome! We spent and hour and a half riding around. So fun.

Organizing books

I am in the process of organizing our books by author. I got up to print my spreadsheet out and Charlotte took the opportunity to enter the “circle of knowledge” LOL I just had to get a pic.

And then Toby came in…

And then Summer came in…

And finally(the 2 youngest are asleep) Kaitlyn came in…

Visit with my sister

We had a good time talking with her. It’s been forever since I have seen her. She is in the Arm, stationed in Hawaii. I can’t believe she turns 20 this week! Time flies. Stay SAFE and CAREFUL Col! We love you.

Party Pics

Can you believe I didn’t get any pics of the party girl? She was busy with her friends(after all, she is 16 now:)) I did get pics of my family that I haven’t seen in FOREVER. So, this is my cousin Ashley and her sweet family.

 

This is my cousin Shelly’s daughter, Cassidy. Beautiful!

 

This is my cousin Shelly-crazy! My sister is standing in the background. Love you booney!

Zoo Pics

We went to the zoo as soon as everyone was well. Here are some pics :)

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“Can we have one Mom?”

The kids have fallen in love with my Mom’s little parrot. Here are some pics.

Some pics

We are all tired today. Here are the three of us hanging out in the living room.

Summer’s Birthday

Summer and her pink poodle cake made by Grammy and Aunt Nana. Thank You!!

I am about to cut into the poodle’s bottom…weird!LOL

Summer and her ”chunky munky”(it’s really a cat) she has wanted for a while.

Dh and Andrew butting heads

Zoo in winter!

One thing that I love about Columbia is the weather. I know many people don't like how hot it gets but I love it. I love the fact that it gets warm enough in the winter for us to go to the zoo with our freinds. This is a pic of the kids and our friends. We had such a blast!

Presents from Papa and Mama Sue

Toby loves his knights!!












I think Charlotte loves excitement more than the gifts! Oh, a child after my own heart. :)












Kaitlyn loved her shirt and earrings!












Here they all are waiting for me to open them. I only had a pencil and a pair of kid scissors.