Joy in the Journey

Yet another anniversary celebration.  For our 5th anniversary we hiked the Narrows.  For our 10th we had hoped for the Subway, but decided current situation fit better for a closer, shorter, less strenuous and dangerous activity.  We headed to Kannarraville falls but after finding out they are charging for parking, and again to get in, we drove off questioning the concept of public lands.

We did another hike just South of Kanaraville and it was lovely.  About 6 miles round trip we saw some pretty beautiful and incredible things.

I was not one of them (this is my first pony tail in over a year - go figure).

Lots of water breaks and great conversation, all without child-interruption which was delicious.

This was one of my favorite slots that we went through.  It just glowed orange in a million places and the smells and sounds were amazing.

This is the part where we got wet.  There was no way over this fall that didn't involve water so we thought twice and waded right up to it and climbed right over it.  My camera survived and we saw another good length of canyon beyond.  When it became pretty overgrown bordering on impassable with our packs we turned back after a beautiful picnic lunch.

Date Night

I know - several posts about the anniversary thing, but I figure it's only 10 years once right?  So we decided date night was in order.  We actually showered (ok we shower fairly often) and I put on makeup (more than usual) and we went out on the town.  My husband is funny and we enjoyed our night together in style.  The movie was "The Avengers" and the game was "how many gummy worms can Toni fit in her shirt".  Made myself sick eating gummy worms in a devil-may-care way.  Made a memory at the same time.

Brothers. Buddies.

What cute boys.  Doesn't matter that they have the power to drive me crazy, to make me want to pull my hair out, to make me want to scream and run away sometimes - they are still the most wonderful, incredible, smart and handsome boys out there.  I should know.  I'm their mother.

Mini-Mommy

Ksenya is the BEST helper when it comes to the babies.  She loves to hold them and will even occasionally change them for me.  She loves to sit with Darla when we watch movies.

Here's the biggest and smallest of our sweeties.   

Aren't girls a wonderful thing?  Just love these two and that they love each other so much already.

Random Tidbits

Little Darlin' is getting chubbier cheeks and blonder hair. She's spoiled and definitely coming up on two years old, but adorable and cuddly and very very sweet.

Kabe is a silly guy.  He makes us laugh and love to read Harry Potter and has just learned the magical world of sudoku.  He also likes to build things and is great on his bicycle.

Ayvri is the princess.  She loves to pose and ride her bike.  She loves to play dress-up and her latest game "teenager" involves a paper cell phone (scary).  She is beautiful and tanned and loves to be outside now that it's warming up and avoids work whenever she can.

Brig is quite the little trouble maker.  He and his best buddy Telly Bear get into all kinds of mischief.  Today he painted himself with a red marker.  He watered Uncle Heath's motorcycle (was he trying to make it grow?) and he really doesn't like to fold his laundry.

Silly Daddy.  We all love to have our picture taken.  Check out those arm muscles.

Wacky girl.  This is a freaky face she pulled.  Nope - not choking her, just trying to hold her back far enough from the camera to get it to focus.  

OK - it's only fair to include my creepy photo if I'm going to include Tyler's.  Thanks honey - for documenting how I feel each night at about 8:00 p.m.

 

Here we are - in all our crazy, tired, bedtime glory.

Good morning Darla.  Love those piggies.

A Scout Is . . .

For the first time we attended the Scout Expo.  It was awesome.  I could have spent a couple more hours there - so many cool educational and interactive things to do.  I highly recommend it.

I thought this was a lesson we may need to cover with Kabe before he becomes a scout in a few months.  Not sure he got the lesson, but he thought the signs were COOL.

Ksenya wasn't a huge fan of the climbing wall.

Kabe was, but he liked the helicopter and the falcon better.

Ayvri and Brigham loved the bicycle rodeo and the tongue mapping.

Here's Brigham climbing into the heli.

Here's Darla - happily back in her seat and having handled the "no kettle corn" thing pretty well.

What's a Biome?

For their Spring Festival - Kabe and Ksenya helped build biomes for their presentations.  It was impressive.  I so completely love their school, their teachers, and my wonderfully smart kids.

Kabe's was the rainforest.  He built this cool diorama complete with pop-up butterflies and frogs and cool trees and a great report about the animals and plants and climate in the rainforest.  

Ksenya helped to paint this bamboo forest.  She was also chosen as the scribe for the poster as her group determined that she had the best handwriting (she LOVES handwriting).  She was a little shy but once she got talking about her project she couldn't stop.  She was very excited about all the research and how she got to be a part of several different group's work.

Big Sister's teacher, Mrs. Waldman is amazing.  She is so great and I completely want her to level up with Ksenya and be her teacher forever.  (Brigham wouldn't leave Ksenya's side and was a little intimidated by the crowds of people).  Mrs. W has given the girly all the encouragement and attention that she needs, challenged her when she needed it and helped her remember she's still a little girl.

Kabe's teacher Mrs. Kendall is also phenomenal.  She has really given him all he needed this year - helped him to step up and appreciated his 'humorous' side.  He can be a bit of a class clown and she really steers him in the right direction.  She also notices when he's brilliant (which he is) and tries to make sure he does his very best even when he's trying to sneak around the work he doesn't want.

Our family enjoyed the festival a lot and I was really impressed with all of the different classes work.  I'm so thankful that we have GPA here and that my kids can get an 'alternative' educational experience.

Our Roller-Coaster Ride

In May of 1998 Tyler and I went on our first date.  He picked me up at home, we drove his super cool periwinkle pontiac hatchback which I had named Sparky, into town and headed first to this quirky little carnival they'd set up.  He convinced me to ride "The Zipper" wherein I screamed like a baby and he laughed as I dug my fingernails into his arm.

It was a little bit windy and I ended up wearing his brown leather jacket.  It smelled really good.  (Someday I'll record the story of the leather jacket and the lengths I went to in order to keep it in our family - only to give it away in a mature cleansing moment).

Then we went to the Zooka Juice for a Strawberry Banana smoothie which we "shared" (he learned that night that I'm really good at sharing, unless he wanted some).  Then we went to the movies in Fiddlers and saw "Quest for Camelot".  Back then going to the movies wasn't about watching the movie.

He didn't kiss me goodnight.  But he wanted to.  To commemorate our 10th anniversary we decided to stop by that very same carnival.  It had the very same rides.  After seeing the condition of said rides and the condition of staff on hand at said carnival, our "mature" instincts determined we would not be riding any rides.  We have six children, and a lot to live for.

Still, it was fun to walk down memory lane and remember that first date.  Sidenote- Tyler was bribed to ask me out that first time.  Thanks to our Sunday School teacher we've had a glorious ten years together and plan for at least 50 more together.

Bathing Beauty

I'd like to tell you that these aren't pictures of Leisl's first bath.  Ok, so this was her second.  I'm not great at bathtime lately and the little thing is rather tidy.

She surprised me by enjoying her bath.  I think if we'd been in a bigger arena she'd have enjoyed it quite a bit more.  Unlike her sister who screamed for every bath right up until she was a year old, Leisl just mildly wiggled and kept her eyes on me almost the whole time.   

The biggest problem was that this child is twice the length of a normal baby and so she really didn't fit in the sink.  Her legs had to bend twice and even then she was sitting up, not laying down in the water. It's the tub from now on for her.

Still though, she's absolutely wonderful in every way.  She isn't at all cuddly but will smile and coo if you talk to her . . . she loves to be talked to.  She handles trauma fairly well also, particularly when her siblings and their affection are involved.  What an angel baby!  Oh - and for the record, she may have won the prize for best baby ever when she slept for 11 hours last night!

Rural Livin'

With great anticipation we look forward to the building of our own house.  Since we're not quite ready for that yet though we need to do something to feel like we're making progress.  Enter trees.  These little beauties were acquired from a good friend and transplanted by us (meaning they had a slim chance of living).  Turns out - most of them are doing just fine and someday we'll have a lovely line of pines along the back of our property.  Right now we have a lovely trail from Grandma's to our house where we go every night and hand water the little beauties.  I see a drip system in our future :)

A huge perk of living close to the Oveson's is that we live right down the street from Daisy.  Jeri and I had our first Dairy day and made yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, buttermilk and butter all in the same day.  Most of it came out really well (pictured above is Jeri with our first cube of butter).  What a grand adventure.  So far I'm a huge fan of almost everything we've made.  If you're in the market for raw milk - I know just where to find it.

Lovely Ladies

I loved this picture of these two beautiful ladies.  Ksenya and Grandma Horse have a lot in common.  They are both just lovely and so pleasant to be around.  They are very quick to serve others and when they see a need they are first in line to fill that need.  They are both really easy to talk to and are great listeners.  They give great comfort and encouragement and have the ability to laugh.

I'm so thankful that my kids have Grandma's (and Grandpa's) to grow up with!!!

10 Years.

Seriously?  10 Years?  Where did it go?  We decided to mark the 10 year anniversary of our family we should go back to the place where it finally began. 

10 Years ago this not-so-little-anymore family was established when we made the best decision ever.  10 Years ago we made it officially permanent and permanently official.

10 Years ago I got the love of my life - for keeps.

 

A lot has happened in the last 10 years (obviously) but there are a few things that will never change.  He still gives me butterflies, still holds my hand when we walk, and still makes me laugh a dozen times every day.  He still lets me cry on his shoulder, still appreciates my efforts at greatness and accepts my imperfections.  I still adore him completely, am still amazed by his strength and integrity and still can't wait for him to get home to kiss him and ask how his day went.

We still disagree (occasionally).  We still love to kiss and make up.  We have a lot less time to spend together now than we did 10 years ago and we try ten times as hard to make more time for each other and make the most of every minute. 

10 Years later and still completely in love.

Hamburger

We've witnessed a lot of farming adventures over at the Oveson's house lately.  The greatest?  The birth of Daisy's baby - Hamburger.  Yes, I'm totally blogging about someone else's adventure, mostly because they let us come and watch.  We all lined up against the fence and whispered as Mama cow licked and pushed baby cow around for a couple hours.  So. Freakin. Cool.  Seriously - everyone should live on a farm.  I'm happy to have their farm down the street for now.  Yes, my sister took this awesome picture and I stole it right off her blog :)

Our other cow adventure happened when a cow went down at the dairy and my husband and brother went and got said cow, strapped it with tie-downs to the trailer (a little white trash) and left it in the driveway overnight until they could deliver it to the butcher.  So funny.  Then my crazy brother brought Bessie's hide home and is learning how to tan leather (with lots of icky chemicals also used to make Meth).  What amazing things we're learning in rural America!

Oh - and Dude's fine.  I knew you were worried.

Movin' & Shakin'

Leisl is my little mover and shaker.  I should know better but I assumed that she would be like Darla - cuddly and snuggly.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  This baby likes to see, to watch, to move and to stretch.  She HATES the sling that Darla still loves and lived in for the first 9 months.  She doesn't particularly love to be swaddled and the only way that she will cuddle is if she is on her tummy on my chest.

She has LONG legs and LONG arms and a LONG body with LONG fingers and LONG toes.  She is very lean all over - but long.  She sleeps and eats great, doesn't smile much, but is a pretty calm baby for the most part and has adjusted to a schedule very well.  

She is getting a chubby little face though and has quickly outgrown her newborn clothing - not width, but length.  I even put her in a pair of pajamas that Darla just outgrew and they are almost too short for Leisl.  

She gets held a lot by all the little and big helpers in our house and is pretty good when I have to take her to work or need to get something done.  She likes to be moving and can cry herself to sleep rather quickly.  Darla is still her champion and she's pretty patient with all her sister's attention.

Bedtime Status

Funny looking baby girl.  She's gone 2 nights without getting her Mother up - sleeping like a champ and on a lovely little schedule.  She's a lot cuter than this picture.

This one has gotten better about bedtimes but still gets us up almost every night.  She likes to 'read' and the bigger the book the better.  She's still in a playpen but I'm considering moving her to a twin mattress, just not sure she's ready for that kind of freedom.

This one loves to organize things after bedtime.  I tuck her in and the next morning I notice her babies are dressed differently, her art projects are lined up nicely in their basket and sometimes her clothes are even folded differently.  She also loves to read and loves her blue nightlight.

Ayvri is a bum at bedtime.  She likes a lot of things in her bed with her -babies, books, toys and kitchen stuff.  She knows in order to get hugs and kisses she has to be in her bed when we come in, but she still pushes the envelope by hiding under her covers so we have to find her to kiss her.  She gets very upset if she misses out on hugs and kisses and tries to make bedtime go later if she can. 

Brig has had a little trouble being reverent during prayer time lately.  I think he just sees it as his opportunity to have everyone's undivided attention and so he plays it up.  He likes to read in bed and likes for me to pick his one book.  He has been bed wetting lately and when we get him up in the night to take him to the bathroom he staggers down the hall like a drunken man - so funny.

Kabe stayed up for 2 1/2 hours last nigh reading.  I kept checking on them to turn their light off and he'd ask for 10 more minutes.  "I want to finish my book Mom".  And he did - the whole thing.  What a happy, smart guy.  He is very good about getting himself ready for bed and making sure his chapter book is ready for him - no picture books for this big boy.

Aaah - Mommy loves bedtime!