Students of the Month!

November and December

both brought Student of the Month honors

to two of my cherubs.

We are super proud that they exhibit these

character qualities!

Yay Justin!

Travis getting his hearty handshake from the best principal!

Yay Travis!

Update: Homecoming

January excitement:

Mr. Freshman Homecoming Prince!

Boy #1 got to experience Homecoming festivities to the fullest!

He and his classmates weren't to sure what all the hype was about at the

beginning of the week, but by the end of Saturday night,

I think they thought it was QUITE fun!

Here he is making his entrance at the Freshman pre-dance party...

royalty for sure!

SO funny.

His classmates love him.

I love that they love him.

The WHOLE group!


After a little snacking, and goofing off, they loaded

up in the REALLY cool ride

and headed off to the dance in STYLE.

It was so fun to watch them be so excited and nervous.

They all enjoyed the dance and I heard a rumor that HE actually danced. :)

Freshman Homecoming Week. DONE.

Next year, they are going to be ready!

Christmas Fun

Well, it is over for another year. Didn't quite have to kill myself off trying to get everything done in time, but I came close! I really did start at the beginning of November, but somehow, it just snuck up on me. I managed to get all of the handmade gifts done in time though....even the boys PJ pants that I finished on Christmas Eve morning...just hours before I was due to present them! We had a nice, pretty quiet holiday, which is best.

The kiddos all got some nice things, and I think they were plenty happy with that!

PLENTY of Legos to go around!

New alarm clock for the boy whose day is WAY wrong and messed up if he doesn't get his morning routine done on time!

Notice the bandage? Big guy got a new knife the night before and managed to slit his finger open the next day...oops. Three stiches later...Merry Christmas. :)

Travis especially had a VERY Happy Holiday:

He was SO excited to get on this thing! I am already afraid :)

Miss Kendyl loved her doll bed and blankets...and so did Landon! He promptly climbed on it, and she promptly shoved him off. Hilarious. That kid is a monkey...reminds me of a little Travis!

Now, onto planning for next year...like I say EVERY year. And, I will be screaming in at the finish line again I am sure! Here's to hoping to be ahead of the game...

So I had to veer away from the Thankful posts for a minute...sorry Mom. :)

In case I don't get back to them, yes, I am thankful for you and all you do for me. xoxoxo

BUT...I just had to share this...I got the Pottery Barn holiday catalog a few weeks ago and immediately tore this picture out and hung it on my fridge.

I was THAT in love with the picture.
Not sure why this is labeled 2009, but who cares.

This is my happy place on this UGLY Pacific Northwest Day.

Someday my front porch will look like this...fake snow and all :)

Enjoy!

Still Thankful

Yep, still thankful for this guy.

Poor thing, after 20 years of taking care of us, this

is usually where we find him in his

spare time.

One of the hardest working people I have

ever met.

Great Dad.

Great friend.

Love this guy.

November Thankfulness

I am seeing a trend in blogger world this month...

What are we thankful for?

Why don't I jump on the bandwagon and do my best

to see how many times this month I can post

about what I am thankful for?

Hey, not promising too much...I can't seem to stay

at my computer for very long these days

before someone/something pulls me away,

but I will give it my best shot!

I will start with something easy and obvious, I think!

Even though these three cause me to wonder on a daily (OK, hourly) basis if

I am sane or not, I cannot imagine my life without them. REALLY.

They make me laugh, cry, grumble, growl, smile and be proud.

Emphasis on that last part. REALLY.

They all have their own strengths and weaknesses, and they are

becoming their own "selves" on a daily basis.

They don't "need" me as much as they used to for most things,

but I think I can say that deep down, they kinda like me.

I am trying to embrace this new phase of motherhood,

and trying not to be sad that they are inching out the door SO fast.

But, being their mother has been the BEST job a girl could ask for.

THEY ROCK.


Today, I am thankful for these guys:







Love you guys!

Catch Up

Wow, it HAS been a really long time and I am a little behind on this whole blog thing. Ooops. So, just for my mom, here is an update.
First, I forgot to mention County Fair.

Both boys did really well with all of their projects. Poultry went good for Justin, but Jared ended up NOT showing his chicken...uh, due to it's untimely death the day before. Seems the trip to the fair did not set kindly with her and she decided it was time to go to chicken heaven. We were sad to see her go, but her and her lovely sister were great starter 4-H projects for Jared for the last few years, and quite frankly we were expecting them to exit alot sooner this this! AND, he was happy to not have to show...poultry has never been one of his favorite project areas!


Rabbits went fairly well this year too, the boys both got blue ribbons for their market pens and got good prices at the auction. Justin did well in showmanship and conformation with his little bunny, and Jared did great in showmanship....but conformation was an intersting time! Now that I think about it, Jared seem to have one mishap after another this year. :) When it came time for showmanship, the judge took a look at his bunny and asked him whether it was a buck or a doe...he replied buck, as that was what he thought (and bought)...she proceeded to let him know that she couldn't tell whether it was a buck OR a doe!!!! GREAT. We all got a good laugh, and now we have another pet to feed. :( Actually, hopefully his 4-H leader will replace it with a rabbit that IS a buck or a doe...NOT both! STRANGE.

All in all, a good time, with great weather. The boys are excited to try their hand at the pig project next year.

September arrived and school began with a bang.

Little dude, first day:

Middle dude, first day:

Oldest dude, first day: Haven't tackled him for the obligatory picture yet. Stay tuned.

We are off and running with school activities and busy, busy, busy. AND, fighting our first colds of the season. Bleh.