The Wolfley Family Howl

Hood to Coast

2011-09-01T20:50:00.001-07:00

We ran the Hood to Coast....It was fun! This was in the parking lot of the Safeway in Sandy before our van of runners started. Notice how happy we look.

Sid waiting for her first leg Friday morning.

And here's the handoff...next to the honey bucket.

There was a group of runners who ran their race in a onesie. It was funny.

Sidnee handing off to the next runner.

Me taking the handoff for my last leg. This one was only three miles but it was the hardest one of all. I was tired and could barely pick my feet up. My other two legs where either on an isolated trail or at 1 in the morning so there are not pics of those. I was running really fast on those legs, I promise.

When you are in a van with five other humans for 36 hours you have to learn to sleep with one eye open.

This was an artists rendition of us running. The last two guys were really skinny, hence the stick figures.

This is Kelly and Rick Dyer. They are our friends who talked us into running the race. We are not so much friends anymore. JK. We love them.

Sidnee waiting for her last leg to begin.

Sid running her last leg.

Us at the finish in Seaside.

Trek 2011

2011-08-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sidnee and I had the pleasure of serving as a Ma and Pa on our stake's Trek this year. We were paired up with a wonderful bunch of kids. We had never done Trek before and we aren't your traditional campers. In fact, we hate camping. I don't see the pleasure in it. You are dirty, tired, bug infested, and sleeping on the ground all the time and that just doesn't sound like fun. Not only does it not sound like fun, it isn't fun! All of that being the case we still enjoyed our three days in the Oregon wilderness with those kids. This first pic is of our "family" at the beginning of the trail.

Sidnee was a little pooped when we got to the first night's camp. She laid right down on that tarp and took a little nap.

Not sure what river this is but it's along the Barlow Trail and we crossed it several times.

This was on the afternoon of day two. The men had been drafted into the Mormon battalion and had to leave camp right after breakfast. The women were left to pack everything up and bring the cart along. This is the reunion on the middle of a huge uphill. The men where just sitting around for an hour or two waiting for the women and the women had been pulling the cart by themselves so I think there was mutual excitement to see each other again.

The aforementioned hill...still going. We pulled uphill at a pretty good incline for about two hours. It was very hard.

Our three oldest girls, Jessica, Kylie, and Victoria.

After we conquered the first huge hill there was a resting area. Warm stew, hair and foot washing stations and some activities for the kids. Sidnee was giving me her best smile.

Me, supervising the first water crossing preparation.

The first of three water crossings. The water crossings were fun. Most of the time we were hot and tired so the cool clean water was wonderful.

Breakfast in the rain on day three. Sidnee described it best as saying it was like being fully dressed, standing in the shower, and trying to scramble eggs all at the same time. Fun!

This is us and the Gillespies. Richie and Erin are good friends of ours and we were lucky enough to be in the same company with them.

Afternoon of day 3 found us at the foot of our stake presidency.

This is a good picture of our entire family. We had two kids from the Dalles Stake and the rest from our stake. We were on the home stretch here and had just had a wonderful noon break of personal scripture study and reflection.

At the first water crossing we had an issue with tying shoe laces together in a million knots so this is me giving instruction on how to do it so we don't have to cut your laces to separate the shoes this time.

Mud hole crossing

Sidnee, riding one of the boys across the mud hole.

Nice clean water crossing after the mud hole crossing.

I like this picture the most. It looks like we are actual pioneers crossing actual plains.

The last and deepest water crossing.

Helping Ma cross the creek.

At the end of day three they held all the companies up so that we were all coming into "the valley" at the same time. This was the scene for a quarter mile. There were a total of 300 kids on this Trek so it was a massive group.

It was pretty chaotic at the end so I didn't get any pictures. Everyone was hot and tired and just wanted to go home. The end.

Mutton Bustin 2011

2011-07-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

We went to the Vancouver Rodeo for the fist time this year and Davis thought he'd try his hand at mutton bustin. That's riding sheep for all you rodeo novices out there. Davis stayed on the longest on the night we were there. Our friends don't agree but when it's close you have to go with the kid who was knocked off because the sheep ran him into the fence.

What a nice clown!

Newport Marathon 2011

2011-06-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had a great adventure. Dan ran the Newport Oregon Marathon! We all had such a great time! We stayed in a great beach house with our great friends the Hansons. Daniel and Chris ran a great race together. Did I mention how great this was? After reading over what I wrote I added two more greats to the paragraph. Pretty pathetic!

Since there were 11 spectators for the two dad runners, we graciously got to ride a shuttle and meet the runners at their turnaround point. We got to throw rocks in the bay, lay on the side of the road, eat snacks, get hot ( it was 85 degrees at the beach)(which is unheard of) eat snacks some more and cheer for the many runners of all ages and sizes.

There they are! Chris' hair makes it look like they are going really fast! But they slowed down to say hi to their fans~

Crossing the finish line! He did it,! Tired, injured, and humbled, but he did 26.2 miles! Way to go Daniel! We are so proud of you!

The groupies

Wanna see what a corndog cooked at 375 for five hours looks like?

2011-01-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

It leaves a burnt yet meaty smell through out the house! Delicious!

Getting our tree and Christmas eve!

2011-01-02T18:14:00.001-08:00

We went to our usual place in Hockinson to get our tree this year and the more we searched the more we realized our tree wasn't here! So we left! I felt bad but their trees have gotten worse over the years! We ended up at Crawfords and after much searching and debating we found "the one"

Christmas eve was very low key for us this year. We had much throwing up in our house the days leading up to Christmas so we stayed home and Ammie and Papa brought dinner to us, left it on the door step and ran for their lives! I am just kidding but we did stay clear of anyone for several days. Those who we came in contact with did get sick and everyone in our house had it at one point. Here is our first Christmas eve at home.

Mary and Joseph and a green donkey.

Angel Kennedy holding the star, Jack the shepherd and Davis as Joseph, Addison as Mary and Luke refused to be the baby! Ugh. He refuses alot of things these days.

Our traditonal picture by the fireplace putting the cookies and milk out for Santa, and the carrots for the reindeer, meanwhile sporting the new jammies.

Twinners have a birthday!

2011-01-02T18:06:00.001-08:00

Kennedy and Addison are now 9 years old! It has been fun to see them grow and everyone always says how fast they grow but with all the warnings it is still a shock when it really does happen! Here are a few pictures from their day!

Jackson is 5!

2011-01-02T16:59:00.001-08:00

Here is a few pictures from Jackson's birthday. He is a lucky boy to have his day on a federal holiday. We spent the morning at Chuck E Cheeses (where a kid can be a kid). He then got to go birthday shopping with his Grandparents who came over later that night to celebrate with us! We love you Jackson and we are so glad you had a birthday!

Halloween

2010-11-16T14:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it is November 16th but I am gettting it out there anyway. Here was our halloween. It was a good one. The aftermath and comparison to see who got the most. Luke was the winner!
Trick or treating in action

Mario

Dash

Toothless or aka "Night Fury" (from How to Train your Dragon)

Vampire

A Witch that goes to HogWarts school of Wizardy

Notice Mario's costume....Homemade if you couldn't already tell. Actually they are all homemade except Dash from the incredibles. Man I am cheap.

Our spooky pumpkins

The masterminds behind those pumpkins

Happy Birthday Anita!

2010-11-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

Our very own Anita Roberts had another birthday! We were so glad to have her come over and be able to party with her! We had the usual and famous carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Yummm! For her birthday she got the book by Dr. Seuss, There's a wocket in my pocket. She also got her very own wocket but the sad thing is that it doesn't fit in her pocket! It is a very soft nice wocket and I think she will learn to love it. See how she looked at me? I don't think it was what she had in mind for her birthday. I hope they are getting along now. The decor

Did I mention how great she looks for being seventy two? Happy Birthday Anita! We love you!

More Soccer

2010-10-17T18:55:00.001-07:00

Addison and Kennedy are playing their first year of soccer! Hooray! We love going to watch them both play. They have really done quite well and have gotten better and better with each week that passes. Go Tigers!

Soccer

2010-10-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

I really wanted Jackson to play an organized sport this year. Soccer is a great place to start. We tried to put him on a team through Parks and Rec. He was put on a waiting list. We waited and waited but they decided not to form another team. I was bummed and I knew he would be sad. I was chatting with a friend that lives in another stake and her son was on the waiting list like us and never got on a team. We decided to create our own teams. We met every Friday in the morning, I formed a team from the Vancouver stake and she formed a team from the East stake. It turned out to be so much fun! The kids really enjoyed it, I think the parents enjoyed it and I loved being the coach and having those kids come up and hug me. It was a great success and I think we will do it again!

Lucas

Jackson

Our team picture

Not all the kids were here for the team picture. We had a great 6 week season!

New school year photos

2010-09-09T19:06:00.001-07:00

The school year is here! Hooray! I am so glad for my kids to leave and get to be somewhere else for several hours a day! We had constant fighting the last few weeks before summer was over, and I was ready for it to stop! There is a lot of love in our home but it became obvious we needed some seperation. The first day of school, the kids got on the bus and I walked back in the house and went straight to the bedrooms and ripped of the bedding, dug out the piles of clothes under the beds and cleaned what I felt was the wrath of summer from our house! oh it was so nice to get done!

The Seattle Mariners Suck!

2010-08-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

One more field trip before the summer is over. I have been to a lot of Major League Baseball games this summer in different ball parks but had yet to visit the one closest to home. Davis and Jackson accompanied me to Safeco Field in Seattle on Saturday to watch the Mariners and Twins play. This season has been bad for the Mariners. So bad, in fact, that they have resorted to putting up razor wire around the stadium after the game starts to keep the fans from leaving. It was needed today as the Mariners only got two hits the entire game and were shutout 1-0. Oh well, it was a beautiful day and the boys got to stuff their faces with junk food and garlic fries. Oh wait, that was me stuffing the garlic fries. Just a few pics from our outing.

We got there early to catch some of batting practice. Davis was in awe. He couldn't believe they could hit the ball so far. Some day Dave, you too, will pound it.
This is the best catcher in the majors, Joe Mauer, and I caught him doing GIRL pushups! Come on Joe, hit the weights man.

This was the view from our seats. Not bad for $9 bleacher seats.

Jackson has issues smiling for cameras. This one is actually one of his better efforts.

Towards the end of the game we started heading for the exit and stopped to watch the last inning in center field handicapped seats. Don't worry, the people who were sitting there had already left. The Mariners finally got someone on base in the 9th but our HR hitter struck out to end the game. =(

We had fun and it sure beats doing chores around the house all Saturday afternoon. ;)

Fun Kid Pics!

2010-08-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

So I took the kids this morning to get their yearly pictures for the wall. We go every year to JCPenny and get a new picture instead of the school pictures. August works perfect for us because the kids are tan and healthy looking, and they are cheap if you get the coupon off their website! When we came home the kids were playing in the backyard so I got my own camera out and got a few good shots and a few not. But hey, I am not a professional! It was fun! Man, kids grow so fast!
Davis has hit the jack-o-lantern stage of his growth! Both his front teeth are wiggly. He is not one to work on his loose teeth so maybe by Christmas he will have them out! He is growing so fast. He will be starting first grade this year. He is one smart, talented kid and our house would be quiet and boring without him around! (by the way, he is turning 7 years old the end of this month!)

This kid is a moving target and I didn't get that many pictures of him. He is a stinker and we love him beyond description. Little Lukey is not so little but yet still little because he is so small and cute. (does that make sense?)

The beauty queens that are only 8 yet they could pass for 15 year olds!

I told the boys to look at the camera normal and so they did......

Jack, our lovable, squeezable Jack.

Look and see if you can see the zombie in this one....weird

FEET

I was away from my kids for nine days the past two weeks. I missed them terribly and of course my husband. I love my people. They are so wonderful to be with, I adore them and thank my Father in Heaven daily for them!

Falls Creek Falls

2010-07-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

We went on a hike with Uncle James, Aunt Tiana, and our cousins visiting from Utah. It was fun and a beautiful hike.

Sunshine peeking through the trees.
Children trudging along the trail.

Crossing a mighty river.

Look at the moss on those rocks. Look at it!

This was the waterfall at the end of the trail. It was cool.

The End.

Long Beach Father's Day 2010

2010-07-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

For the second year in a row we packed our bags and headed out to the beach the weekend after school was out. It happened to be Father's Day weekend as well. It's kind of a tradition now to spend Father's Day in Long Beach. We rented a house for the weekend and had lots of fun. The picture above is from atop the Astoria Column. It's a wonderful view of Astoria and the mouth of the Columbia River. There are a lot of pictures below so if you can't handle vacation pics turn back now.

The first day we were there the weather was not too bad. It wasn't raining and got up to 65. I even took a nap on the beach. Davis was trying to hit me with wet sand balls. He did not succeed.

Luke shed his shorts and borrowed his sisters sweatshirt. Poor baby.
Sidnee is a trained Frisbee ninja assassin. Good thing that kite string was in the way or I would have been done for.
After the beach we strolled the Long Beach strip. One of the kids found a quarter on the ground next to this rusty horse and they all proceeded to fight over who was going to ride it. So we threw them all on. Poor horse.

At the end of town is McDonald's. Our favorite. This McDonald's actually had an air hockey table in the play land so Luke took advantage of it. He is actually a pretty good goalie.

A little marshmallow roasting never hurt anyone.

We had to let Luke roast by himself because he was too dangerous around other people with a long sharp metal poker.

What are you to do when you forget the graham crackers at home? Put the mallow between two Oreo cookie halves. It was delicious.

On our way out of town we hit the light house circuit. There are two lighthouses by the Coast Guard station in Ilwaco. We stopped and took the little hikes to see them and play around.

On the trail to Deadman's Cove there was this cool tree.

This is Deadman's Cove. It is this cool little inlet that has rocks to climb on, sand to play in, and calm water that you don't have to worry about your kids getting sucked out to sea by.

Dave on the rocks, looking out over the cove.

This is a lonely tree atop the little island in the cove.

The End.

Baseball Dave

2010-06-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

Davis recently finished his first year of any organized sport. He has been the first of our children to brave sports and he has set the trend. Shortly after the season started the girls where wishing they had signed up for softball. It was mostly the treats after the game that they wanted but I'll take it. Jack is excited for t-ball next year and Luke would not leave the helmets and bats alone. Davis struggled the first part of the year but we put a lot of work in and by the end of the season he was batting first and playing catcher.

What great form. Tony Pena eat your heart out.
Look at that stance. Back elbow up, feat spread, and legs loose ready to drive the ball.

Back foot down, hands through the zone rolling his wrists, and driving with his hips...an all star in the making. So what if his eyes are closed. The really good ones do that all the time.

I would like to say these next four pics are of Davis going through the motions in his mind of fielding the ball and throwing it over to first from deep in the hole at shortstop but he was actually dancing around in between batters. :( It sure makes for a good laugh for the coaches when one of the Dads is yelling from behind the fence, "Davis! Stop dancing and pay attention!"

It kind of looks like he is ice skating.

He's getting ready for his lift off prior to the triple lutz.

and the tuck is marvelous! He stuck it! It's gold for Wolfley!

Next season we work on the throw from third to first and the triple toe loop.

Helvetia Half Marathon

2010-06-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

It's over. We did it. So what if it took us 2:21 to finish. We ran the whole way and did not toss our cookies. Sid and I have been training for the Helvetia Half Marathon for the last couple months and it all came together yesterday on a beautiful Saturday morning on the country roads outside Portland with 5000 strangers. We had never done anything longer than a 5K before so this was a bit of a leap for us. It's safe to say that our long distance running career is over. The side affects of a race of that length on our bodies is not worth the time it requires to train for it. Maybe later in life when we have nothing better to do on Saturdays.

A picture of the happy couple after they crossed the finish line.

Addison was the assistant photographer for the day. Thanks to Aunt Meg for bringing the girls and Lukey to the finish line. It was really nice to have some familiar faces to greet us.

Lucas went a little overboard with the Jamba Juice. He's not used to the hardcore commercial smoothies.

Happy Birthday Lucas Daniel

2010-05-23T21:13:00.001-07:00

Our baby is not a baby so much anymore! Lukey is now a big whoppin 2 years old. He believes he is older and acts as if he can do anything the older boys can do. He did get to go out with his grandparents to shopping and lunch. That is a pretty big boy thing to do. We had a low key family party and this was the extent of our decorations. I guess I need to stock up for the many birthdays to come in 2010! Luke loves to go to Davis' baseball games and the whole time he is there he spends playing with the bats and wearing the helmets! When he is at home he tells me at least 4 times a day that he wants to go to baseball practice. So we got him his own baseball gear and he we so excited! He wears it around everywhere even though he can barely hold his head up in it! Ammie feeding the birthday boy! (the one in the hat) The dish duty clean up guy that did nonstop dishes all day long! Here are all the party animals! We had quite the party, can you tell?

Cousins

2010-05-23T20:40:00.001-07:00

Our cousins just moved to a far away place called Kansas. We were lucky enough to spend the last night with them having dinner and sitting around singing and playing. Aunt Meg brought her guitar and played a song that she played and sang at our family reunion last summer. (It started the tears)

Here is Beach Bum and Mario age 6

Also Brittney, Jeanette and Eleanor (the chippettes)

Here is the whole gang all together! We sure miss our cousins! It just isn't the same without the mass chaos when we are all together! We have a lot of good memories with them and wish them the best in their new home! We love you Allen Family!

Kennedy, Addison, MaKenna,

Luke, Davis, Samuel, Nathan, Claire, Matthew
Jackson

Blue Claws Baseball

2010-05-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

So we have a child playing an organized sport! We haven't had any of our kids playing anything. I think it is because they were just young and our oldest two lack interest in playing. So when Davis agreed to play we were excited. We decided to go with Columbia Little League instead of Parks and Rec. We were told he was going to need to tryout! I have to admit I was nervous for him! It all went well and he was put on the Blue Claws team. I think he is the youngest team member and one of the few who have never played before. The coaches are pretty serious and they have really taught them a lot. Davis has improved so much over these past couple weeks and most importantly he LOVES it!

Notice the ball just to the left of the red chair? He was a little late on his swing in this picture.

He is so tiny and so skinny! I promise we feed him!

The coaches require him to wear a cup! He has spent many innings in outfield punching his cup because.....he can?
There is something that just warms your heart when you see your kids accomplishing something they love and also watching them improve. Davis had one game that he struck out several times in a row. He slowly walked off the field, sat on the bench and put his head down but couldn't keep the tears back. Daniel went and put his arms around him and told him that it is OK because his mom just struck out in her softball game the night before. We took the pitching machine home and went to the park a few times during the following week and now he is hitting like a champ! He is so funny, full of laughter, energy, and excitement. He is a wonderful boy and I am glad he is ours.

America's Finest City

2010-04-25T11:14:00.001-07:00

San Diego, CA; America's Finest City

Sid and I recently took a trip to San Diego to enjoy some fun in the sun without children. Normally, no children is the main ingredient to having a nice relaxing vacation but we added lots of fun sights and activities. Neither of us had ever been to California for anything besides flying into LAX so we had been looking forward to this trip for a while. Sid's mom was kind enough to come stay with the kids while we spent five days running around San Diego County. The marina above is actually in Mission Bay where we spent the first couple days. This was an award trip I had won through work so the first two days was spent cavorting around Mission Bay and Sea World with co-workers. We had an awards banquet the first night and then hit Sea World the next day. The pictures below are from Sea World and are Shamu heavy so if you've seen the show you can skip past them. They are amazing animals and really quite breathtaking in person. Sidnee had a bonding moment with one of the whales so you'll have to ask her about it next time you see/talk to her.

The following pictures don't do the show justice.
Did you know that the Killer Whale is actually a member of the Dolphin family?
I'm not sure why this lady was so scared. The Whale is not going to jump out of the tank and gobble you up lady.
We were sitting around where these people where but then wimped out and moved higher up out of the "Soak Zone."
The whales line up for treats much like our kids do.
This was part of the finale. It was really cool.

One of the other shows they have at Sea World is Sea Lions Live. They have a couple Sea Lions trained to do all sorts of tricks and play with the actors. It was pretty funny.

Sea Lion love. How cute.

Most everyone from work went home Sunday but we extended our trip a few more days. We drove around San Diego until we found a chapel and attended a singles ward meeting. After that we drove over to the temple. It was a beautiful day and we even ran into one of Aubrey's (our niece) friends from Syracuse, Utah while roaming the grounds. Small world. Anyway, the temple was getting a patch job on the roof so half of it was covered in scaffolding.

They have a senior missionary couple stationed at the temple on Sundays to answer questions. He also doubles as a photographer when he's not answering questions.

This is one of the views along the beach at La Jolla. If you've never bene to La Jolla just imagine Cannon Beach on Steroids. Same kind of set up only the shops are pricey and there are BMWs and Mercedes lining the streets. Swap the hooded sweatshirts and rainboots for short shorts and bikini tops and you have La Jolla, CA.

We stopped by the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center on Sunday night in Old Town San Diego. It was interesting. The Sister Missionaries used me to play the new fun game "Mormon Battalion Dress-up." It was a blast.

Sidnee tried her hand at panning for gold. I think her problem was the lime green pan she was using. They didn't have those in the gold rush era.

Sunday afternoon we checked into our second hotel of the weekend. This Hilton is right on the bay front in downtown San Diego and it was a really nice place. It seemed like a great deal on Priceline but then they end up fleecing you for parking and charge you $15 a day to use the treadmill. I will never stay there again. It probably has more to do with the fact that I'm a cheapskate than anything else.

Petco Park (San Diego Padres) was across the street from the hotel. We spent some time Monday morning wandering around San Diego looking at some of the shops but mostly looking for a place to eat. We found a wood-fired pizza place that was delicious. Here is a picture of Sidnee perusing the menu. Isn't she cute?

This shot would never have happened if we had our kids with us. We were actually able to take a moment and look at the brochure and THINK about what we wanted to do next. This was a fountain in the middle of Balboa Park. We ended up visiting the Natural History Museum. It was great.

Sidnee in front of some pond. She is most likely angry because I keep taking pictures of her. She sure is cute when she's angry.

Monday night we watched the Padres play the San Francisco Giants. Attendance for a Padres Monday night game is pretty low so field level tickets are pretty cheap.

This is me next to one of the greatest hitters of all time. Well, a statue of him anyway.

This is David Eckstein and Bengie Molina chatting during warm ups. They used to be teammates on the Angels when they won the World Series a few years back. You probably don't care because you are not a baseball nerd. David Eckstein ended up hitting a game winning home run in the bottom of the tenth inning to win the game that night. I'm not a Padre fan but it was pretty cool.

They have really cool plants in San Diego that would not survive in the Northwest so we took a few pictures to share with our kids. You are free to enjoy.

Sidnee enjoyed the plant life so much she wanted to be a part of it.

It was a good, restful, fun weekend, but mostly restful. I highly recommend San Diego to anyone looking to vacation in California.

The End.

Mossy Rock, Washington

2010-04-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful get-a-way on Easter weekend. Our beloved Aunt Jill (that means all of the Allen family) will be moving to a land far away soon and we wanted to have one last outing with them before they move. We rented a lovely cabin that accomadated our families and spent 2 nights in the middle of no where, doing..... nothing. It was a very relaxing weekend. I can't say we did nothing, conference and final four basketball was on so we watched that on saturday and sunday. The kids asked us many times why we were watching so much tv. I must admit, I do not watch it much at home but it was nice to not have anything else to do.

The kids had their own room to mess up...(and watch movies)

It snowed on Easter eve. The kids kept hearing sleigh bells instead of the Easter Bunny.
We stuffed our faces with lots of good food and treats!

Here is proof of the kind of activity the adults had all weekend long!
Papa and Ammie joined us on Saturday. It was nice to spend the day with them!
We did a little exploring.

We threw rocks!

We dropped rocks on eachother's heads!

It was really a wonderful time away. Thanks Allen Family for a great weekend!

How do I keep him busy?

2010-04-11T10:43:00.001-07:00

How do I keep my little one busy while I make dinner? It is a tough time in the afternoon when you are trying to make the food and little ones are pulling on you wanting your attention. Luke this particular time needed something to keep him happy and I let him play in the sink. He had a wonderful time. It worked out perfect.

Random pics

2010-03-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

I didn't have much to share but I got sick of looking at hot cross buns! I went to our folders of pictures and randomly selected 5 pictures without looking at them and this is what I got. It was actually kind of fun.

Four little kids at the Oregon Coast way back when they were so small!

Dan and Jackson when Jack was a chubby baby. Addison and Aunt Megan raspberry picking. Looks like these two did more eating than picking!Kennedy at the Portland Temple grounds. Wow she is beautiful! Sargent Jackson Wolfley saluting General Ammie during our vacation last summer.

Hot Cross Buns!

2010-03-11T15:58:00.001-08:00

Look closely my friends...could it be "Rhodes rolls" you see? No! I made these... yes, it is my new thing that I have found I can do! So I want to share it with you! My dear friend gave me a bread machine for a present and then I stole a recipie off some blog that I don't even know who it was and there you have it. Homemade rolls that were quick, easy, and delicious! My family is loving it and I have put on 4 lbs in a week so obivously I love them too! You too can have that success!

1/2 cup of warm water

1/2 cup warm milk

1/3 cup softened butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

3 3/4 cups flour

1 packet or 2 1/4 tsp yeast

Add ingredients in this order into bread machine

select dough cycle and let the machine do it's magic

It takes about 1 hour and 40 min. to knead.

When done I let it rise then take out dough and form into rolls

Bake at 400 10-15 min.

slather with butter when done.

* try it! you might like it!

Something

2010-02-28T18:49:00.000-08:00

What to write about!? I don't know.... I guess I check others blogs often to see if there is anything new and decided to try and post SOMETHING....but nothing is coming to mind..... let me check the camera........ oh here are some...

Doesn't this just bring a smile to your face? It does mine.

Oh, and this cute little play dough cake is gorgeous.

But this was so cute.... Our little baby really is getting into his reading.

Great, Simple Joys. Hope your week is FULL of them!

Good News!

2010-02-11T19:06:00.000-08:00

My man has been awarded the Pinnacle Award at work for the past year's performance in 2009! I am so proud of him and he deserves it! He works hard for his money, du nuh duh nuh, so hard for his money! I am breaking out in song because his employer is sending him and a guest (me) to beautiful San Diego California! Yes, that is right! Neither of us have been there before and we are very excited to get away. Anyone wanting to volunteer to watch 5 angel children for a few days? They won't give you any problems and you probably won't even notice them around. They are as quiet as church mice. Please let me know if you are willing! So there is my good news! Dan IS the man!

Green smoothies baby!

2010-01-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

You know that feeling you get from feeding your family healthy food and they enjoy it? I have been trying some crazy new smoothies out since Christmas. The kids were a little leery but now they love them and they are eating spinach and carrots and fruit! It doesn't get much better than that!

To make this cute little smoothie I used these four ingredients. Blended them in my new Vitamix, put them in shot glasses, and served them with pasta dinner. The kids had a great time drinking their vegatables!

Kitchen makeover results!

2010-01-01T21:43:00.000-08:00

Here was our kitchen. We had a nice white kitchen. Black and white tile floor. Some liked it, but it is a pain in the behind to keep clean. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Bead board as the

back splash and on walls. Cute, yet not cute at all. Falling apart in fact. Five cupboard doors had come off the hinges. We replaced them but never got the right ones so the door never closed correctly. It was going down hill and fast. It had to be done...... When you start a project of any kind it is always more involved than you first might think. Here are the ugly pipes in the wall, the dry rot in the floor and wall that needed to be replaced.

Lucas was really into helping and the hammer was his favorite! Mr. Makeover himself sporting his sweat band as he pounds the tile to pieces! Goodbye black and white tile....we won't miss you at all!

Daniel's sister, Jill had to get in on the fun. She loves this kind of stuff and I hope she didn't lose sleep over it!(she likes to dream about organizing and projects like this)

Dan's removal of the old cupboards.

Papa Wolfley and Dan getting the floor boards replaced. Lucas was with them the whole way. All the other kids played and did their own thing, but not our Lukey! He takes after Dan's side of the family for sure! Floor is almost ready for tile! Yippeee! See the one new cupboard in! I was so excited!

The tile layers were fast and did such a nice job!

Here it is! TA DA! I love it, I love it! I love it! I will think back of my month washing the dishes in the bathtub, or making cruddy meals for my family(microwave style) sorry if that is how you cook. But it just wasn't a great experience. I will forever be so grateful for my kitchen! Thank you Dad and Daniel for the many, many hours of thought, sweat and physical exertion you put into this part of our house! I love it!

The end.

Wolfley Christmas Eve festivities

2009-12-27T21:34:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas eve with the Grandparents, the Allen family, Jon and Megan and Jon's Mom, Ellen. Here is the large family around the tables.There is The Littlest Angel story read by Papa of course.

Cousin Nate is always a big help. I thought this was a cute picture.

Ammie put her skills to work making these plush robes for all the grandkids! One thing about me is,I love robes! I think I was the most excited about this gift! They are a portable blanket the you tie on and can do anything in! Our kids now play flying squirrels in the morning when they are wearing their new robes! We love them! Thank you Ammie!

Milk and cookies for Santa of course! I was trying to get our usual pictures we take every year. One in front of the tree with new pajamas and one in front of the fireplace with the Santa goodies. The kids were to crazy and couldn't hold still. It had been one crazy day from the moment they woke up till they finally fell asleep.

Happy Birthday Sid!

2009-12-20T21:12:00.000-08:00

33 years old and still a goofball.

So this is a little late but hey, it's the holidays and we are busy so give me some space. Sidnee requested a low-key birthday party so we just had some presents with the kids and then invited some family over for good ol' Catch Phrase on the weekend. I can't tell you how much I love that game. Sidnee's look of disbelief is due to the fact that I nailed her birthday gift...again! I always get her just what she wants. Truth be told I never win and always get the wrong thing. I showed her this year. I went to three seperate stores and bought armloads of colors and styles in hopes that she would like a few of them and not all. The kids and I had fun wrapping 40 presents and watching her unwrap them all. Happy Birthday Sid.

Twinners Get Baptized

2009-12-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

I wanted to throw up a picture from the girls baptism before I post Sidnee's birthday blog tonight. It happened this last Saturday. Sid's parents and siblings even came out for it. It was a wonderful day full of family, friends, and warm feelings. Thank you to all who attended to show their support for these wonderful little girls.

Twinners have a birthday...

2009-12-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

My girls are growing up! I see them change, they are beautiful daughters of God who are so faithful and have so much in store for them. I feel very honored to be their Mother. How time has passed so quickly and I wonder if I am doing the very best for them. I will try harder each day to be the kind of mother they need. I want them to never forget their worth and stay virtuous, kind and full of so much good.

Turning 8 means in our house you can put a hole in your ears (if you are female)! We had presents in the morning and then breakfast. I picked them up from school and we went to the mall and did the ear piercing thing. I only got one picture. It was just to dramatic and to many tears to pull out the camera. Kennedy went first. She did great and held real still for the second ear with tears rolling down her cheeks. She was so brave. Then came Addison's turn and I couldn't find her. She was hiding in a wall of scarves! She didn't want to do it after witnessing her sister. She finally got in the chair and it was quickly over! After paying the million dollar bill that it takes to pierce ears these days and reassuring them the pain would stop soon, I walked out with two girls with bright red ears who witnessed one of the first painful experiences of being a girl. We met the rest of the family and Ammie and Papa at Red Robin for the celebratory dinner and that is where we finally got some pictures of the happy birthday girls. Then we had the Girl Birthday Party a few days later! That was quite an event and let me just tell you I learned a lot from this party. Things I will not do again and if you want to know what I learned just let me know and I will fill you in on the details. We did fingernail painting, dress up, pizza, cake and ice cream and then a dance contest. The girls had a great, crazy time!

Happy Anniversary

2009-11-24T22:29:00.001-08:00

I love you Sidnee. That was a fast 10 years. I look forward to the next 10. You are just as beautiful and feisty as the day I married you. Keep up the good work. ;)

Jack is Now the Big 4!

2009-11-15T22:26:00.000-08:00

Jackson lucked out with much party-ing this year! He has the best birthday day in my opinion because it is Veteran's day and so the kids don't have school and the banks are closed so he gets to spend his birthday with everyone surrounding him! We had quite the party with cousins, neighbors and kids from church to party with us! It was boomin' and I am glad Dan, the party animal was there to help me out! whew! Okay, isn't Luke looking like a big boy! I don't want my baby growing up so fast!
Addison and Kennedy were great party planners and did the decorations, the games and this cool chair for Jack to sit in while he opened presents.

This was a separate party at Ammie and Papa's house. Papa and Jack have shared their party for the past 3 years and it has worked out beautifully! These are the weirdos that showed up looking for cake and ice cream. (Thanks Uncle Jon for the cool idea)

What a handsome 4 year old. He got this crown at church and proudly wore it for hours until it ripped from the abuse.

He also got an awesome present in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Beutler. It is a flap book all about the body. They had a great time opening the flap and seeing the waste come out of the intestines.
We love our little Jackson! He is his own man, does what he wants to do, says what he wants to say and cries about anything and everything! Is that a 4 year old thing or what? I can't remember from one kid to the next. He is not a follower of the group. He gives freely of his love and affection. He is always kissing Luke and I (if Luke will let him). I even saw him lean over and give another kid a smooch on the top of the head in primary the other day. I don' t think he really wanted to kiss that kid he just likes kissing and it comes automatically sometimes! Our lives are so blessed because of this boy. Four years have gone fast and we have loved every minute of it!

Blessings in abundance!

2009-10-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

No, it is not Thanksgiving yet but I am feeling so blessed! In church on Sunday we sang the song count your many blessings. I immediately thought of my mother and her singing that song countless times through out my life. The words hit home because I hadn't heard it in awhile.
"Count your many blessings, name them one by one." Well, first of all I am grateful for a companion who I admire, desire, can't live without! He is my world. I am grateful for the relationship we have. We are a good team! He has given me my next 5 blessings. We are a blessed family, not perfect but sometimes feel glimmers of what perfection will be like!
I just am really enjoying this time of year! The beauty, the weather, the food. I love cooking soups and biscuits and cookies and all the wonderful tasting and smelling foods! I want to feed my family healthy and am working on that!(kind of) It is not easy to change old habits and especially things your kids are used to eating. I made some homemade granola bars the other day. I felt good about feeding the kids these. Wholesome goodness!

Coconut Almond Bars

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup each raisins, sunflower seeds, almonds
1 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla

combine oats, coconut, raisins, sunflower seeds, almonds. In separate bowl mix peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Microwave for 1 min. Combine wet and dry ingred. on ungreased sheet. bake for 15 min. @ 350 degrees.
Thank you Emily Hanson for the recipies!

The End of an Era

2009-10-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

It is with heavy heart that I post this blog. My long time commuting companion is gone. The trusted friend to get me to and from work/school for the last 11 years is driving someone else to work today. I'm almost tearing up just writing about it. We froze through winter together and sweat through summer together for so long, and now, just like that, she's gone. :( No longer will she leave oil stains on my driveway. No longer will her window finally defrost only minutes from my destination. No longer will I have to drive home with all four windows down when it's 90 degrees outside. No longer will I have a car that I don't care how many door dings it has. I have parted ways with my 1991 Honda Civic and I'm kind of sad. Those of you who had the pleasure of riding shotgun in her know the bond we shared. We were like a well oiled machine (get it, "well oiled"). I just pulled the Craigslist add and signed the title away. I can only hope the new car in my driveway will live up to it's predecessor. Only time will tell. Goodbye little Civic. Goodbye.

Help!!!! I am drowning in pepto bismol!!!

2009-10-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

So here is my dilema..... I have told my girls that when Luke starts sleeping through the night they can have their room back. All four oldest kids have been sleeping in the same bedroom for over a year. We call it the orphanage because all that fits in the room is the 2 sets of bunk beds stacked on each wall. Luke is now 17 months old and still is NOT sleeping through the night. I was getting impatient and envisioning all these fun things we could do in their new room! So we booted his little body to the guest bedroom and went to the paint store to pick out paint. I wanted the girls to have a say in their room color. Two almost eight year olds idea of paint color was MUCH different than what I had in mind. I spent many hours painting in there room today and every time they would come in and check on the progress they squeal with excitement. "I can't believe this is our room! I looooove this pink room! I NEVER would have thought we would have such a cool room!" Honestly..... I really don't like it! It reminds me of the pink frosting on those sugar cookies you can buy at the store. Ya know, those soft cookies, pink frosting and sprinkles?

So do you see my dilema? What is a mom to do? It is really something I can live with and I am a strong believer in giving my kids choices so they can learn from them. Will it be better when I get the shelves on the wall and their beds in the room? Will it grow on me and I will learn to love it? Or should I go get some different, lighter pink paint at the store tomarrow and paint it while they are at school. Then I can tell them my true feelings and hope they agree? Am I over reacting? Please share your thoughts, ideas, and/or feelings with me!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-11T22:01:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know, it's the same old pumpkin patch from last year, and the year before, and the year before that but the kids are older and the pumpkins photograph so well. I took the kids (minus Davis as he was at a birthday party and will be going with his kindergarden class anyway) by myself this year. As evidented by the picture below it is really hard to get kids to look in one direction without a second adult to supervise the photo shoot. This pic was the best I could do.

I love having kids old enough to take care of the baby.
Lucas lost his shoe and Jackson thought he would sit down and help. I'm not sure how sticking his hand down the back of his pants helps but oh well.
This was almost literally the only picture I was able to get Luke to look at me for. It's almost like the look on his face is saying "Will you please stop calling my name?"

I have no idea. Probably looking to see if it's a girl pumpkin or a boy pumpkin. I think I have a picture from the patch last year with Jackson doing this same thing. Maybe he knows something I don't. Maybe one gender of pumpkin carves better than the other.

Corn? We don't need no stinkin corn.

Pretty, Pretty Princess

2009-10-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

Isn't it wonderful when your kids get to the age they can play a game with each other and not need a parent to play along to ensure the game goes the way it should? During conference I got out every game we own and organized them. The kids were amazed at the billions of games we own! I just don't let them play with them because they would just throw them all over the house and then they would be useless! So, the rule was they had to put away the game they were playing before they could play another and it ended up being a success! They all played Pretty, Pretty Princess together and it was fun to sit back and watch! I knew they were listening to conference because they would comment on things that were said and as long as they were in the room and somewhat quiet, I couldn't complain! Except maybe about that fact that my 3 year old boy was the prettiest princess of all.

Bend It Like Sidnee

2009-09-13T22:04:00.001-07:00

OK, this post has nothing to do with soccer. In fact, it has nothing to do with sports. I just needed a catchy title to rope all of you blog stalkers in and then the pictures/subjects will do the rest.

Sidnee and I just finished our 10th anniversary celebration get-away this last week and we had a great time. Our actual anniversary is not until November but the weather sucks in November so we decided to celebrate early. Sidnee's mother was coming out for a wedding and we talked her into coming a little early to stay with the kids. I'm sure she regrets agreeing to it now but we sure enjoyed ourselves and would like to publicly thank her for her efforts. Thanks Jeanie!

We spent a good part of last week in Bend, OR (Central Oregon, East of the Cascade Mtns). It is a fun little town with a ton to do and see. We took the longer more scenic route down there which winds over the Siskiyou Mountains and through a small little town called Sisters. It is named such after the three mountains you see pictured below. The names of these three mountains are South Sister, Middle Sister, and of course, North Sister. How did they ever come up with those names? Anyway, we caught them at sunset and it turned out to be a nice picture.

This is a picture of Sidnee pouting in the car. She didn't want to get out and enjoy the beautiful scenery. She sure is cute though.
We used the first full day on our trip to drive down to Crater Lake. It is a huge lake in the middle of a dormant volcano. The lake is a beautiful blue and the pictures don't really do it justice.
Some guy helped us out with a picture. We had ventured out onto a ledge where we could have fallen to our deaths if we weren't careful. Don't worry Mom, we were careful (it was Sidnee's idea).
My tree friend and I kickin it.
After staring at the lake for a while we drove to the east side of the crater and proceeded to hike up Mt Scott. It is a hike that rises 1,500 feet in elevation over a 2.5 mile trail. The elevation at the top is 8,900 feet above sea level. There is a sign at the bottom of the trail that tells you to get back in your car if you are out of shape or have a heart condition. After we got to the top I realized I fell into the first category and should have gotten back in the car. Oh well, I lived to tell about it and catch Sidnee in the act of eating this granola bar...

This was taken from the bottom of the trail and you can faintly see a little bump on the ridge line in the middle of the picture. That was our final destination.

The next day we took a drive on the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. It is a loop that goes around Mt. Bachelor winding through many beautiful lakes in the middle of the Deschutes National Forrest. This was our first stop on the drive and there is Sidnee wandering out into the middle of a marsh on the west side of Mt. Bachelor. In case you haven't noticed or have just begun following our blog, one of my favorite hobbies is catching Sidnee in funny poses or taking her picture when she is not looking. Sometimes she catches me in the act and I have only a few seconds to react or it's curtains for me and my little camera.

In this picture she has noticed my actions and is now charging.

She's getting closerrrrrr! Drop the camera dummy, it's not worth it!

Don't worry, she didn't hurt me. That sequence of events did actually happen though. The picture below is how she normally is when not provoked.

Next stop on the "Sidnee Thoughtful Pose" tour was Devil's Lake.

On our drive back into Bend we stopped at Lava Butte. It was a large lava flow that erupted thousands of years ago. You can see Mt. Bachelor and Broken top in the background. Check out the video below. It's kind of funny.

Thanks for reading (and watching)!

Happy Birthday Davis!

2009-09-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Davis celebrated his sixth birthday last week and here a few pictures from one portion of it. We figured waiting until he was six was long enough before we allow his brain to be poisened by video games. The way he plays Mario Kart though is a pretty good workout. I played with him once last week and he is dancing around so much while he drives that I had to keep pushing him out of the way so I could see my own kart. Silly boy.

Are you close enough Jack?

Davis really loves the Wii. Either that or he is training for the national nose picking tour.

Hello?

2009-09-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hellooooooo! We really have no explanation for not blogging. Did we get sick of it? Did we lose interest? Did we get real busy and priority didn't fall on blogging. Yes, Yes, and Yes! But it is a rainy Sunday afternoon. The kids are playing in the playroom. Dan is out Elders Quoruming. So I guess I will blog a bit.

This was the First Week Of School for us. I have to admit. We were ready and we had a great week. Davis just turned 6 on August 30th. He was so cute his first morning of school. He was nervous that he wouldn't do everything right. He had a great morning, and came out grinning from ear to ear!

and...BYU beat #3 Oklahoma 14-13! That was for you Dixie.

Grandpa Wolfley

2009-08-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

This is Luke with his Great Grandpa, Alma Darwin Wolfley.

Preston Biathlon

2009-08-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Sidnee and the kids left me and went to Utah/Idaho for visiting relatives and doing a biathlon. They all had fun and here are some pictures. The end.

I think I see some smoke coming off their shoes. Dinner at the DeSpain's
Visting the Morehouse clan in Boise.
Sheriff Davis on patrol. Betsy and her kids followed Sidnee back from Idaho for dinner in Vancouver.

I played three rounds of golf while they were gone. :)

Fort Worden

2009-07-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

Last post in the family reunion series, I promise. This is for posterity sake anyway so I guess it doesn't matter if you enjoy it. The house we rented was actually an old Army barrack on the grounds of Fort Worden. Fort Worden, along with the heavy batteries of Fort Flagler and Fort Casey, once guarded nautical entrance to Puget Sound. These posts, established in the late 1890s, became the first line of a fortification system designed to prevent a hostile fleet from reaching such targets as the Bremerton Naval Yard and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett. Construction began in 1897 and continued in one form or another until the fort was closed in 1953. The property was purchased as a state park in 1955. Fort Worden is named after Rear Admiral John L. Worden. Here are some pictures from our afternoon of exploring the old bunkers that look out over the Strait of Juan De Fuca.

Here is the forest side of the bunkers and the kids all marching in a row, except Jack of course.

Jack needed a little boost up the ladder.

Once inside the bunkers it is pretty neat. You can't see much unless you bring a flashlight. This picture was lit up by the flash on my camera.

I turned the flash off for this one. You can see the exit in the distance.

Addie and her cousin peeking out through the slit in an observation tower.

This is where one of the big guns were located. You can see the scale of the guns by comparing the base to my Mom on the platform.

Papa droppin knowledge.

This is on top of the bunkers looking out over the strait of Juan De Fuca. you can see Whidbey Island, WA directly across and then faintly in the distance part of the San Juan Islands (also part of Washington). Victoria, B.C. is out of the picture to the left.

That's it. The next post will not be family reunion related. You made it through. Nice job.

Kickball and Randomness

2009-07-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

In part three of the Wolfley Family Reunion blog series we find ourselves playing kickball. There are some other random pics as well so enjoy (or not).

See if you can kick this curve ball kid.

This is Davis's idea of playing the field.Sidnee's version of playing the field is only slightly better. At least she is upright. After the game the kids all clamored up on this old anchor for a pic. We used to play on this anchor all the time when we were kids (25 years ago). Point Wilson Lighthouse. Addie and her friend Sebastian.Lucas working on his sea legs.Chetzemoka Park is where we played as kids and has this awesome tire swing. You can load a bunch of kids in it, push it around in a huge circle five feet off the ground, and watch the madness. I'm sure the park neighbors were glad when we finally left the park.Private Lucas catching a few Zs in the shade.Diet Coke and Mentos. Need I say more?

Kiddie Boot Camp

2009-07-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

In part two of the Wolfley Family Reunion blog series we find ourselves looking in on Kiddie Boot Camp. Uncle James and Aunt Tiana did a fabulous job creating a fun, yet challenging, course to whip the kids into shape. Here are a few of the pics.

A little dissension in the ranks.

Addison displaying her half rabbit mutant genes in the sack race portion of the obstacle course.
Kennedy ripped through the course posting one of the best times out of all the grand kids.

Jackson looks a little apprehensive about this whole deal but he got through it and had fun.

I'm not sure who taught Jack to go through the ropes course like this but he looks darn cute.

Davis doing his Heisman pose.

Luke and Sidnee did a lot of this. And by "this" I mean standing around looking cute.

Wolfley Family Reunion

2009-07-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

We had a great family reunion last week. Unfortunately not everyone was in attendance. Chad just graduated from boot camp and Kelly was visiting him. We had our own little army assembled in Port Townsend, Washington. General Ammie and Papa planned a busy and fun filled 3 days which included a memory lane scavenger hunt, a treat at elevated ice cream shop, story time with Ammie, bike rides, picnics, kick ball, playing on the beach, hiking, exploring the old army barracks, talent show, treasure hunt, ping pong, fussball, lots of snacks and good food. We really had a wonderful time. Here are just a few of the pictures.

This is the whole crew except General Ammie who was taking the pictures.

Sail boats and seagulls

The dining hall where we ate some great food.

Cute baby Lucas. 13 months old.
All 14 grand kids standing at attention by order of General Ammie.
I don't have the time to spend tonight posting but there are lots of pictures to post so I am sure there will be more to come!

WolfWii Fathers Day School's out Getaway

2009-06-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

We took the chance this weekend to escape to the coast and celebrate the start of summer. It just so happened to coincide with Fathers Day. This is a really long post so if your interest in our family is only so-so you should probably stop reading right now. Still here? OK, buckle up because these are some good pics.

Our first stop was at the end of the Lewis and Clark trail in Astoria, OR. Astoria is a little town built on a hill overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River as it flows into the Pacific Ocean. You might remember it from movies such as Goonies and Kindergarden Cop. At the top of the hill there is a historical song and dance about Lewis and Clark and some Native American paraphernalia. This is a picture of the kids dinking around by a replica canoe. I'm not sure if it is a L&C canoe or a Native American canoe. I was too tired from the drive up the hill to walk over and check it out.

Kenny is getting a good look at the Astoria bridge that crosses the Columbia over to Washington, Addie is getting a good look at Davis' head, and Jackson is getting a good look at Kenny's bum.
Our second stop was in Long Beach, WA where we got to check out the 2nd annual Doggie Olympics on the beach. You might be able to tell from the pictures but it seemed more like the humans were competing than the dogs. They were always the first ones through the hula hoop tunnel and had to drag the dogs through most of the rest of the course. I would be surprised if there is a 3rd annual Doggie Olympics.

Uh oh, someone's in trouble. You can bet his younger brother has sand in his hair and undies.

Click to enlarge this one and you'll see the kids are practicing their Thriller dance routine.

This is a classic Pacific Northwest beach picture complete with long pants, sweatshirts, and a bunch of kids running for their lives away from a skiff of freezing cold water.

Luke loved the water and could hardly be restrained.

He did finally have to be rescued or he would have turned into seagull bait.

The house we rented was actually 10 miles north of Long Beach in Ocean Park. At the end of the street there was a cute little trail that led through the dunes out to the ocean in a more secluded spot of the same beach. This shot is looking back towards a few of the houses near the shore.

Sidnee and I finally broke down and bought a Wii. We pulled it out to surprise the kids the first night we were there. As you can see it was a hit and we have regretting buying it every day since. I do enjoy having another bargaining chip in the constant battle to motivate snotty kids to do stuff. "I'll take the Wii back to the store..."

Two of my favorite people.I think this pic should go on my Father's Day resume.

My wonderful wife and I.

I asked Sid to give me a thoughtful pose and this is all she could come up with. It should come as no surprise that Sidnee was voted senior class clown in high school.

Jack hard at work.

Poor Lukey.

My Father's Day rubdown. If any of you have ever received a rubdown from a 5-7 year old you'll know that I was going for quantity over quality here.

Davis and Luke enjoying some Father's Day smores.

A beautiful Father's Day sunset.

I just really like this picture.

I must say this was my favorite Father's Day ever. There were no distractions to keep me from spending time with my family and enjoying their company. Thanks to Sidnee for putting this weekend together. It was a blast.

All In A Days Work

2009-06-14T15:36:00.001-07:00

Saturday was a busy day and I love those days. I love to work all day long and actually see the fruit of our labors. (maybe I should give credit where credit is due, I am going to be bragging a bit, just so you know). The day started early for me, I had a lot to do. While I was off doing the things I needed to do, my better half was holding down the fort! He did the breakfast and clean up plus kids dressed and beds made. Then he helped me cut up fruit for the Relief Society lunch, loaded all the kids in the car, got two birthday gifts purchased and wrapped and was out of the house by 9:30 am. His goodness does not stop there my friend, oh no! He went to the farmers Market downtown and brought back these for me! What did I do to deserve these you might ask? Nothing. He just loves me and all my faults I guess.

Later after all outings were done we began the work on the yard. Dan's dad brought over his new, all wheel drive, fully loaded pressure washer and that is where the dirt hit the fan. Daniel got dirty fast. I am sure if you asked him, he had a blast (ha ha, get it)?

I got to go out with my girl friends at night and he was still working outside. I told him I would be home in time to help with baths and bedtime. The kids go to bed at 8pm and I didn't get home till 8:40. This is what I came home to.......

A kitchen with all the dishes done,A yard mowed and edged beautifully,
the front step and driveway clean as a whistle, and looking like new,

the back yard mowed, pressure washed patio, and all clean and ready in case it rained in the night, and the playroom all picked up.

I don't know if you can see this but it is Davis in the window on the top bunk. The kids were all in their beds, clean, teeth brushed and tucked in for the night.

And this cute Hunk shoveling the sludge off the street. (notice the neighbor's yard behind him..... he mowed that too!) Let me just say we had a nice evening together. We watched a movie, ate marrionberry pie and folded laundry together.... it was so romantic.

Thanks for all your hard work and love for your family. Because of you, I have it all! (That is the end of my bragging. )

Luke Man Walking

2009-06-06T22:19:00.000-07:00

We coaxed Luke into taking a few steps the other day but it was pretty short lived. Today he was a little more confident and cranked out at least five steps all by himself. We were having some technical difficulties with the video camera but we'll get it figured out tomorrow and post some footage.

I caught Luke peering over the keyboard the other day just trying to see what had monopolized his older brothers for hours. He didn't spend too long there as his brain is still young and not zombized (not a real word).

So the other night I was at the computer and it was around 9 PM. The kids had been asleep for about an hour. The next thing I know, Addie is standing right next to me with this silly grin on her face. I could tell she was only semi-functional/conscious by her glazed over eyes. I asked her if she needed to go potty and she shook her head. I sent her back to bed. Sidnee had been out partying (again) and didn't come home for another hour or so. When she went in to check on Luke, this is what she found...

Our psycho sleepwalker had climbed into bed with Luke and looked quite comfortable. Weird.

Portland Starlight Run

2009-05-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Starlight Run is the first event of the annual Rose Festival in Portland, OR. It's a 5K (3.1 mile) run through the middle of downtown Portland. The run is the opening act for the Starlight Parade which also runs the same route beginning around 9:00 PM and concluding after 10. It is a "fun-run" in nature with all kinds of weirdos dressing up in costumes and trying to run the course. The picture you see below is from the Rose Festival website. No, that is not Sidnee in the coconut bra and no that is not me with the pasty white chest and green grass skirt. Sidnee has been running a lot lately and wanted to enter an actual race so I said I would do it with her. It was a really fun evening and the 250,000 people that lined the parade route were not intimidating at all. The costumes included a family dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Pacman and their kids as the ghosts. There were also numerous iPods and cross dressers running the race and no fun-run is complete without flashers in trench coats! Only in Portland (well, maybe not only in Portland but I am for sure not surprised to see it in this crazy liberal town).

A group of friends of ours were downtown that night for a birthday at a restaurant and decided to linger to check out the run and parade. Sidnee and I were hoping we could just do the run and not be seen by anyone we knew but it didn't happen that way. We passed them towards the beginning of the race so we were still looking good but the route brought us back by them a second time towards the end. I made sure to let Sidnee know so we could pick up our heads and knees and pretend like we weren't suffering. We ended up finishing the three miles in just over 33 minutes. One of them said they got a picture of us so I'll post it as soon as I get it.

Happy Birthday Luke!

2009-05-24T21:11:00.001-07:00

Sidnee took care of the thoughtful/sentimental post yesterday so I will take care of the birthday pic post today. Here are a few shots of our darling baby boy from his birthday party yesterday. All the guests had arrived and he was still enjoying his mid-afternoon nap. You can tell by the look on his face in most of the pictures.

Who doesn't get excited about cute little Sesame Street books?

By the time the Mickey Mouse, twirling propeller, loud and obnoxious scoot bike came out he had started to warm up. Thanks a lot Ammie.

Kennedy was kind enough to help Luke blow out the candles. I'm sure he will find that as he gets older his sisters will have hot air to spare.

The frosting you see on the tip of his finger was about all he would do on his own. He had no interest in his cake and was, in fact, trying to fling off what little frosting he had on his finger. He gets that from me. Frosting is of the devil and I'm sure had no place in the great plan of happiness put forth in the pre-existence.

Happy Birthday Lukey!

one year old

2009-05-22T22:02:00.001-07:00

I've been reminded by my sister that I need to get a new post. If she posted frequently and kept us up dated on her life in cow country then maybe I would feel like she had room to say such things. But it worked anyhow and I am here writing this entry while everyone is asleep in their beds dreaming away. (yawn)

This is the eve of my little baby's 1 year birthday. What was going on this day one year ago? It was memorial day weekend like it is now and I had four days till my due date. Many emotions going on, excitement, impatience, discomfort, anxious feelings knowing that the time is soon here. Contractions were 20-30 min. apart so I told Daniel to go to his softball game and I would call him if things picked up. My labor pains got a little more intense so I called him home. He had to run off the field in the middle of the game and tell everyone he was leaving cause his wife was having a baby! He thought that was pretty cool. Knowing what we know now he could have stayed for the whole game and one after that. I should have just walked to the hospital and had him meet me there cause the hospital was just a few blocks down the road.

My contractions never got closer together and so the evening was long. We waited around for the contractions even down to the very end with the last push. But he came and all went well. Lucas Daniel was born May 23, 2008. What a joy and a blessing to have another child. How grateful I am for these beautiful gifts from a trusting Father in Heaven. We are glad you are here with us Lukey! We love you!

And here he is today getting his first haircut. What a handsome man. Is it obvious how the two other people in the picture feel about this boy?

A New Post!

2009-05-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

I figured it was about time for something new on this here blogspot. What then do I write about? What do I want the whole world, who wishes to peer into our lives, to know about us?

Well world, what better to write about then the thing you adore, and are amazed by. What is that you say? Children I answer. They are truly amazing. This whole journey is quite amazing. We have our share of ups and downs. We have the pig flu... just kidding we don't, but there always seems to be a cough, fever, or something going on with us. But we are enjoying what life has to offer and we know we must have the bad days to recognize the good ones!

First off.... Lucas Daniel, oh how we adore our sweet baby. He grows and does new things daily as all children do. But we kiss him, fight over him, maul him and he takes it quite well.

Jacky the lover. He is still cuddly and loves affection more than your average three year old. He will tell you he loves you and then he doesn't love you anymore all in the same breath. Still idolizing Davis even though Davis makes him scream. Jackson is a joy to us all!

Saturday night as the house got quiet and the kids fell asleep I told Daniel I felt bad for the choices that I had made in the day. Several times the kids came and asked me to play pictionary with them. My answer was "when I get this floor mopped!" They also wanted to do a puzzle together and for me to sew their dolls some new clothes. Kennedy even said, "Can we do something fun together as a family?" The hours ticked by and I was able to put off their requests all day. The regret in knowing those sweet kids won't always think I am cool and want to spend time with me. So I told Dan how I wanted to change and to put my wants aside so that I don't regret my time as a mother. So here is a picture of Sunday after church and lunch, Addison said "Can we make clothes for our strawberry shortcake dolls now?" Daniel looked right at me not having to say a word, and I knew exactly what he was saying with his eyes. "Here is your chance to redeem yourself." So we sat at the sewing machine and the girls listed their orders of what they wanted me to make for them. It was fun and I surprised myself at how well the clothes turned out! (I am not a seamstress by the way) It is amazing how the littlest things can make them happy! Kennedy came to me while I was sewing and asked if there was anything I couldn't do. My answer was yes but at the time I couldn't think of one thing!

Our Davis is the last I'll write about. He, in this picture, is showing some attitude because I told him he had diaper duty. Two diapers in the trash outside, that's it. He wasn't happy about it! So I ended up chasing him around the yard and pegged him with the diapers. It was fun but he didn't see it as fun and he even told me he didn't want to be my mom anymore. I said "oh good I don't want you to be my mom anymore either!" I like to think of it as a phase. I really can't get it right for this kid. He is hard to please and will let me know about it! I do have to share how sweet he can be. On Sunday while sitting in Sacrament meeting he was sitting on my lap. Every once in a while he would hop off for a few seconds and sit next to me on the bench. After a couple times doing this he looked up and said, " I keep getting off because I don't want to toot on you!" How kind and thoughtful is all I have to say!
We are happily doing our everyday thing, feeling the blessings that come from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hope you to are loving life and what comes your way! (This makes it sound like a Christmas card)

Good Luck Chad! We'll Miss You!

2009-04-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Chad reports to boot camp (Army) on Tuesday and we will miss him. We got one more quality bonding experience before he left. You can see by the picture below that it involved knuckleheads and guns. Not always the best combo but when someone who has the training Chad does it turns out alright. After some instruction and basic info we were feeling good. Notice my sexy blue plastic gun.

We drove out to Jeremy's brother's house in Yacolt to set up shop. Here is a nice shot of my ear. Ha, "shot", get it? Maybe not. OK, I'll move on.
Jeremy seemed to be having a little trouble with his gun. That seemed to be a common theme throughout the session. If it wasn't the gun it was those dirty targets moving around.
Shooting with my eyes open got to be too easy so I decided to try it with them closed.
One handed? Yeah, I got that.

Hold it right there Mr. Box. Just give me an excuse to pump your guts full of lead.

Thanks CHAD! You'll be in our prayers.

Sonic giveaway

2009-04-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

Many years ago my friend Marne and I spent a summer in Houston Texas selling pest control door to door. I have many memories of that summer. Marne now has a blog all about getting good deals and living frugal. There is a giveaway on her blog for Sonic drive in..... We had many chocolate banana milkshakes together that summer from Sonic and boy were they good! Check out the deals and the giveaway at http://www.wantitall4free.blogspot.com/

Bridal Veil Falls and Robin

2009-04-19T19:20:00.001-07:00

Aunt Robin jumped on a plane Friday morning and came to visit for the weekend. We loved having you and kind of wished you could have stayed a day or two more. It was nice while it lasted.

We have had sun and seventies the last two days so decided to take advantage of it. We started off with the intentions of visiting Multnomah Falls but the wait to find a parking space was ridiculous so we did an about face and went to Bridal Veil Falls. One nice thing about the Columbia River Gorge is there is no shortage of fun/cool things to see.

This was waiting for a parking space. I'm not sure what Davis did to cause his sisters to flee to the other side of the van but he is quite pleased with himself. This was the river flowing away from the base of the falls. I'm not sure why we didn't take a picture with the falls in the background.This is Bridal Veil Falls.So we are just sitting there minding our own business, admiring the falls, and this guy in a kayak appears at the base of the first falls. I thought he was tethered to the rocks and just practicing his paddling.But then he turned around...and WENT OVER THE FALLS! I missed the picture in the middle but it was cool. He obviously came out alright as you can see. His friend/brother/fellow crazy person thought it looked like so much fun he ran off to the truck to get his kayak. Several people in our party had to pee so we left before the second guy went over but it was an interesting trip to Bridal Veil Falls. So it turns out this guys name is Todd Wells. Check the comments of this post. He happened to stumble across our blog and here is the link to his site with better pictures and a video of his Bridal Veil Falls drop that we witnessed. Thanks Tood. keep up the good work! http://toddwellswhitewater.blogspot.com/ All the rushing water takes its toll on young bladders.

Oh yeah, and Davis lost his first tooth!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! We had a great Easter weekend full of eggs, candy, overcast weather (not raining), candy, ham, candy, and a very warm chapel. We did the three Easter egg hunt tour again this year because we just can't get enough. The more cheap plastic eggs laying around on the floor to step on and break the better, right? Sidnee is the Activities Director in our ward and the egg hunt on Saturday was her first official act in office. As you can see from the picture below she was concerned about drowning in a potential downpour hence the life vest and boots.

I don't want to brag but look who's kid that is leading the pack. Those other kids don't even know which way is up and Jack is almost out of sight. He gets his blazing speed from his mom.
"What kind of egg is this?"
I was just going to put one picture of a kid with their bucket full of eggs but feared the wrath of Sidnee for not putting one of the other kids on too so you get to enjoy all four egg hunting children in all their commercialized holiday glory.

Luke is happy with two.

Good eye Jack. It takes a special talent to spot anything in ivy. I must have lost a hundred whiffle balls in that same stinkin ivy patch when I was a kid.
The Easter Bunny lounging after a hard afternoon of pooper scooping the yard and hiding eggs.

The whole crew, cousins and all.

Cute kid coloring eggs. Go Cougars!

This picture was taken just after the entire cup of yellow dye was spilled all over the table and on the floor. I enjoyed cleaning that up. Highlight of the morning.

Which one is which? Check the pole question.

It's spring break and raining. What shall we do?

2009-04-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

What shall we do on a rainy spring break day? We went to OMSI and out to lunch with dad, but now what? I was teasing when I said we could jump on the tramp in the rain with our swimsuits on. But that is the idea they were the most excited about! (Duh?!) So, that lasted all of 5 minutes and it was over! Fun to do, for only a few minutes!

These two only watched and wished they could be out there too! Can we come in now? We are freezing!

Birthday full of March Madness

2009-03-20T07:40:00.001-07:00

Guess how old Danny Boy turned yesterday?

The day consisted of a lot of this....(notice the 4 different games being watched at the same time)

This is what you get when you let the 3 year old hold the pizza in the car.....floor mat flavored pizza anyone?
The 5 year old had the perfect gift idea for his dad, A Slip and Slide! Why didn't I think of that?

The girls got birthday boy a nerf gun that is a 6 bullet loader with a laser pointer. Pretty cool stuff! Can you see the excitement? They can't wait to be birthday boy's target practice! yahoo!

Birthday boy loathes frosting so naked cake is his cake of choice.
We ended the fun filled day with a spanking machine (thanks to aunt Dixie). The kids line up, legs spread for the birthday boy to crawl through.

Birthday boy plows through the spanking machine destroying everything in his path. Three year old sees the danger, turns around and decides to make this a kicking machine.

Poor birthday boy!!!

We love you Birthday boy! May this year find you happy, healthy, wealthy and wise!

Spring Has Sprung!

2009-03-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

We have had some beautiful days here in Vancouver. The bees are buzzing...and pouting?

The Beautiful Northwest

2009-03-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

Our little family decided to go away together for a few nights while Daniel had 2 weeks paternity leave. We used vacation time when Lucas was born not knowing about the change in policy at work. We had to use it within the year so what better time than March? Our getaway ended up being such a wonderful time together. It almost makes me want to have another baby for the paid two weeks off!

We drove up North and stayed in Port Angeles and visited the Olympic National Park. Most of the park was still closed, but from what we did get to visit it was well worth the trip. Here are a few of the many pictures we took on our adventures.

This is a map of where we were last week. Our trip spanned from Port Townsend at the tip of the Puget Sound to the Olympic NP coastline.

Looking west across Lake Crescent

Moss encrusted trees hanging over a small river feeding into Lake Crescent

Some weird type of rainforest monkey

Looking towards the north shore of Lake Crescent

Dan dead lifting a tree

Wild animals peeing in the park

This was kind of cool because you can see two trees that sprang up from a fallen tree

Forrest fires can burn out the inside of a tree but the tree still lives

Again looking towards the north shore of Lake Crescent

Addie and Kenny on a log

A snapshot from the side of the highway leading out to Rialto Beach (just north of LaPush)

More Rialto Beach. You can't see it in this picture but this was the largest surf I have seen on the Oregon/Washington coast.

Near sunset at Rialto

The beach was littered with these old dead logs. You have to climb over about 20 yards of them before you actually get to the water.

I love this picture. It almost seems like a fake background.

Waterfall up the Elwha River Valley (north end of the park not far from Port Angeles)

This is the front side of the old army barracks at Fort Warden, WA (2 miles north of Port Townsend)

Coastline of Fort Warden and the boys on the roof of the barracks.

Fort Warden light house

Jack and his snot/sand mustache

Crossing the Tacoma Narrows bridge was so scary I could barely watch. I was driving so it made it even worse.

View from the Tacoma Narrows bridge

It Wasn't a Pilgrimage!

2009-03-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

We recently completed a tour of the Washington Olympic Peninsula. We drove from Vancouver up to Port Angeles, across the Northwest tip of the state, and ended at Rialto Beach. Our main motivation for the trip was to see some of the Olympic National Park. Along the way we happened to pass through a few towns that have recently been made famous by a certain vampire based FICTION novel. Because I did not want the beauty of the national park mixed up with these rogue pictures I wanted to throw them up before Sidnee got to the main post. So for all you Twilight fans out there, yes there actually is a little town in NW Washington called Forks, no there are no actual vampires there, and yes everyone in that town is milking it for all it's worth. We even stopped at a hamburger joint for some dinner and they were hocking a Bella Burger T-shirt. Can you say LAME?Even the City Chamber of Commerce was getting in on the act with Bella's truck parked in front of the city offices building. I think the truck was suffering from a Valentine's Day hangover.
A wrong turn took us to LaPush and a warm welcome from Jacob's tribe.

Will the passenger assigned to 12b please return to your seat, you need your diaper changed.

2009-02-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

Lucas took his first plane ride today. Sidnee and he flew from Portland to Dallas and then from Dallas to Omaha. Here are a few pics from the flight.

"Mommy! Is there, by chance, any milk in those white fluffy clouds?"

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all stretch out like that in coach. Nice cow bag sidnee.

Recipe Worth Trying

2009-02-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

Black-Eyed Pea Salsa (also called Texas Caviar)

1 can black eyed peas
1 can white corn
2 avocados chopped
4-5 roma tomatoes chopped
1/2 bundle of cilantro chopped
juice from 2 limes
1/2 bottle of Italian dressing

mix ingredients and serve with "hint of lime" chips

I am making this tomorrow for a family birthday get together. My friend, Rendy, made this a couple weeks ago for a football game that has become almost like a holiday. You may be familiar with that game. The salsa was really good and was the only thing that was completely eaten. I highly recommend this because it is good for you, gluten free, and fits into vegetarian and vegan diets as well. There are some ingredients missing from the list that you can see in the picture but they have been left out on purpose because they are vile and disgusting. If you want the full recipe you can google it yourself. This blog will not support some vegetables no matter how pretty they look in a picture.

(I don't know why this post is all bunched together, it looks different when I write it but it posts like this. Daniel will fix it for me. Your wish is my command honey.)

Sweet Hearts Ball

2009-02-14T08:48:00.000-08:00

Friday night was the annual Sweethearts ball put on by our Stake. One of us was really excited to go, the other person didn't want to go at all. After much teasing, taunting, and even a comment over the pulpit last sunday that person decided to be a good sport, let down his pride and go with his sweetheart. I believe that the person that didn't want to go really did have a good time and if that person didn't have a good time, the person who did want to go is really glad that the person who didn't want to go went, because the person who did want to go knows how much the person who didn't want to go loves the person who did want to go. The person who did want to go wants the person who didn't to know that she thinks he is a nice husband, and was proud to be seen with him shaking his bootie on the dance floor. I Love You for all the sacrifices you make for me.......Happy Valentines Day!

I'm pretty sure the chair is full.

2009-02-14T00:09:00.000-08:00

This is the scene almost every afternoon. Whenever I need to use the computer for anything I have to fight four kids for it. Maybe it's time for a second computer.

Something worth writing about

2009-02-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

I started off this entry with a negative title and started to write about how there is nothing worth writing about. As I reread my entry I had an attitude adjustment and then I got the pictures off the camera. There was more to write about than I was aware of.

Like these two girls for example.... missing their 2 front teeth, talking with a lisp, almost always willing to help, and really enjoying the 1st grade. We had their teachers over for a play date last Friday after school. We played with fresh, still warm homemade play dough and had cookies (those were fresh, still warm and homemade too!). Their teachers are these young spunky gals that are friends in real life outside of school. It was fun to get to know them. I wish I would have got some pictures. I know that Addison and Kennedy will never forget that play date! We will have to do it again sometime.

And this little ball of butter. I could go on and on about him. Eight months, 4 teeth, big people food eater. Lucas loves rice. Is that weird to like grains of whole rice at this age? He eats real textured foods now and turns his head to soft mushy stuff. I guess it's because he's got those teeth for a reason. This baby also has attitude. He loves to pull my hair and if I take it away he gets angry and does this grunting protest at me. When he wants me to hold him he crawls up to me and begins banging his head on my leg until I pick him up. Hmmmm.. this little boy is already being a turkey to me, but I love him so.

One afternoon I went into the play room and the kids had made their dad. They had dressed different objects in the playroom with his clothes and made a face on the head and were sitting on his lap. I wondered if they were trying to tell me that they missed him or if they had just stumbled upon the idea. It was funny to see anyhow. One last picture... This is what it is like at our house every morning. The kids and I gather around the heater and fight for warmth. It reminds me of a pack of animals around the water hole. They are all there for the same thing but someone usually gets hurt. The kids were actually being nice to each other this morning and I am the one taking the picture so usually I am there too, holding the baby (Our house is cold in the mornings by the way).

Our lives can really seem boring and not worthy of notice. We may think that the usual is uneventful. I hope that I can look for the good everyday and make note of the blessings in my life so that I won't miss out.

Photo tagged!

2009-01-31T20:57:00.000-08:00

This is Jackson's blessing day and it was January 2006. Wow, how fast these little ones grow and what a blessing these beautiful children are! This tag has been nice to get me to reflect on my past and what wonderful things our trials are in our lives. Jackson's birth was great but I had struggles after he was born. But I am here to tell about it and that boy is one special kid as some of you know. One thing I like about this picture is it looks like Daniel is leaf man with all sorts of greenry coming out of him! I love you babe, you are my green thumb super hero!

It's Photo Tag: here are the rules- 1. Choose the fourth folder you store your pictures in on your computer 2. Select the fourth picture in the folder 3. Explain the picture 4. Tag four people to do the same. I tag... Betsy, Jill, Natalie and Stephanie. This is a fun one! You should do it!

Facebook...is it worth all the hype?

2009-01-25T20:37:00.000-08:00

Sooooo, I have been a facebook member for several weeks and I have to admit, I don't have the time to spend on it! It was fun to see people from my past and have a few comments from them but I have spent to many evenings after the kids went to bed on the computer instead of hangin out with the hubby or just doing the usual pick up around the house. As you can see I have nothing to blog about except my feelings and that is pretty boring for the rest of you. Oh there is some big news worthy of writing about... We are now cellular phone people! We did it, we got our own phones with unlimited texting and I will say this, all the teasing can stop now. We have joined the rest of you in the 21st century.

The kids are all healthy and happy. Poor Lucas has really taken a beating this week. He was left on the chair in the family room and I was in the kitchen making lunches and heard a big thud. Come to find him crying his mad cry on the hard wood floor. Then he fell out of his high chair the next day.... don't know how the tray came off but I looked just in time to see him slip right out onto the floor (hard wood again). The same day the pantry door was opened onto his head leaving a red line down the middle of his forehead. Later, I stepped on his fingers while he was quietly crawling through the kitchen. A few hours later Dan did the same thing. I came home last night to find Luke with a huge red circle mark on his forehead. Jackson threw a softball to his little brother at close range! These beautiful children get hurt, cry it out and then smile and forget what has just happened. Good thing they don't look in the mirror to often!

2009-01-17T10:54:00.001-08:00

I haven't written on my blog lately. Dixie (my sister from Iowa) came to town, (a christmas gift from her husband). We spent a few nights playing cards, a few nights falling asleep while watching movies and we had a great time together. We drove out to Battle Ground and had Rockies Pizza, the best pizza place in the world according to Davis and Jackson. We drove down to our old house in Hockinson and went on the roller coaster by the elementary school. It was fun to go back and see where we grew up. I am now going to spend a few hours preparing my talk for sacrament meeting tomarrow. Wish me luck!

OMSI and BIRDS

2009-01-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Dan's mom gave our family a membership to OMSI! I don't know if I went more than once to this museum when I was a kid. Let me just say it was WAY COOL! There is more to see and do than we can do in one day. Here are a few pictures from our adventure!

Okay, this was a crazy morning... Thursay there were birds all over the place. All the worms must have come up to the surface because in our neighborhood was a bird bonanza! The pictures don't do justice but it was quite a sight to see! Any bird brains out there know why they are here and pooping all over my car?

2009-01-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

So I am here in my "robe" and it is 11:15 in the morning. The boys are in the tub and I am doing nothing, can't say that I hang out in my robe very often but I feel guilty. Why? because, I just can't decide if I should shower, go find some "comfy clothes" to put on or wait until I have to get dressed because the haircuts will be here. Hummmmm.... I guess I will just update my blog.

We have redone our front room and I love it. Daniel and his mother were in on getting me a new couch and chair for my birthday/christmas/anniversary! It was supposed to be a big surprise but with crazy snow we've had here over christmas it didn't quite happen that way. We painted with the help of Dan's mother, and also got a new rug (which I love). I adored having a red living room and I felt sad to see it go but it has been four years and it was time for a change. What do you think?

Here are some before and after pictures for you...

BEFORE

INBETWEEN/primer applied

AFTER

Christmas Day

2008-12-26T15:59:00.001-08:00

Is anyone else ready to throw the tree out in the front yard. Christmas is nice and it is wonderful to spend time with family but there is only so much pine needle sweeping a person can take. It is still better than messing around with a fake tree though. Christmas day came and went. The kids were happy, the parents were tired, and the snow is still annoying. I love having Christmas with little kids. You don't have to get them very much and they love it. Lucas is happy to just roll around in the paper.

Jackson and his new pet.

Now that he is done cuddling with his chipmunk it is time to shoot some things with his new ray gun.
I love passing off needs for Christmas presents.

A nice relaxing game of checkers. I thrashed Addie. I came back later in the day to play her again and Aunt Robin had taught her a few tricks and she almost beat me.

Lucas and Ammie enjoying the new bath toys.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T21:45:00.001-08:00

We had a very nice Christmas Eve time at Mom and Dad Wolfley's house. Wonderful dinner, stories, a few presents, and then home to put cookies out for Santa.

Christmas Cookies!

2008-12-23T23:45:00.000-08:00

we went over to Mother Wolfley's house for the annual sugar cookie decorating bonanza. I'm not sure what to call it so it gets labeled bonanza. Mix frosting, sprinkles, and dough with 10 kids and you have a bonanza. Jack was a little possessive of the sprinkles.

Kenny posing with her beautiful plate of cookies. I never have to beg her to pose for a picture.

Davis licking the sprinkles.

Christmas Cookie nome.

Addie caught with her hand in the cookie plate.

I think this picture speaks for itself.

Happy Belated Birthday Sid!

2008-12-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

We finally celebrated Sidnee's birthday last night with some family. You can tell she was really excited about it.

Arctic Blast 2008

2008-12-21T18:07:00.001-08:00

For those of you reading this who have spent any amount of time east of the cascades, just relax. I know you have seen more and better snow than what you will see here but for us West coasters this is about the most we will ever see. Arctic Blast 2008 (so dubbed by the local news stations) is a week old and only half done. We have seen 8-12 inches of snow in the last seven days and are not out of it yet with more predicted for the coming week and Christmas. Thank you to Canada for that nice batch of arctic air to go along with our normal wet winter. Below is a picture of the girls playing in the preliminary flurries that cancelled school on Wednesday. Notice the bare road behind them and the grass still poking up through the snow.

Addie and her disappearing snowball trick. This is actually what is called a "500 ft. snowball." Get it? 500 ft. above sea level? Come on, that was funny.

This is after the second round of snow that cancelled school on Friday and the church Christmas party on Saturday. It's as if Heavenly Father knew that BYU was kicking off at the same time our party was scheduled to start.

This is what's known as a West Coast sled. You take your average Fisher Price kid picnic table, flip it upside down, tie some twine to one end, hitch it up to dear old dad, and "mush!"

I quickly discovered that if I just stand in the middle of the road and pivot real hard the sled would fly around in a circle pretty fast. Notice the snow kicking up as I whip Jack around.

No worse for wear.

Waiting for their turn on the Daddyhorn.

I got tired quickly and tried hitching the sled up to Addie. That didn't work out too well. I'm not sure what Davis is doing.

Here are some cool pictures from around the house courtesy of the freezing rain.

Because church was cancelled we decided to turn on the Christmas devotional this morning. Sidnee and Lucas went into General Conference mode.

This is Sunday night. Another 1-4" of snow expected again overnight. I can only imagine what the commute will be like tomorrow.

He's On His Knees!

2008-12-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

Lucas has been very hush hush about his crawling desire. Every now and again we'll catch him on his knees rocking back and forth but the moment the camera comes out he flops on his belly. After weeks in the wild I finally caught him in the act. And so it begins!

Country Christmas

2008-12-15T16:10:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Disco Christmas

2008-12-14T19:22:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Deck the Halls!

2008-12-07T12:35:00.000-08:00

We found time on Saturday to venture out to our favorite tree farm in Hockinson. I was in a bit of a rush so we could get back in time to watch Florida beat Alabama in the SEC championship game but the beautiful weather, cute kids, and mass of trees to sort through somehow made me forget about the game. It's amazing how a labyrinth of trees that all look the same can make you lose all track of time.

We looked far and wide. The kids liked this one. I convinced them to keep moving.

I tried to talk them into this one. We could take it home and just through it out in the front lawn to be picked up by the scouts in January and save ourselves a lot of trouble. They didn't bite and we kept looking.Kenny liked the nobles.

There has got to be a tree around here somewhere.

Here's a nice plump fir.
Enough talk, let's saw. Look Mom, I'm cutting down a tree!

Either I'm out of shape or this trunk is made of steel.
Almost there.

Maybe I can just push it over.

Whew! I thought it would never come down. How's the view kids?

OK, who get's to haul it to the car? Where's Sidnee?*

Yeah, you grab that twig Davis. Thanks for the help.

This is the finished product. I left out the pictures of the yelling, screaming, and throwing of ornaments. Once we got Sidnee to go do something else we finally got it all decorated.**
*Sidnee would have cut the tree down and hauled it to the car if her husband wasn't so prideful. She was busy taking the pictures.

**The kids where actually the ones screaming, yelling, and throwing of ornaments. Sidnee did a majority of the decorating work.

Happy Birthday Twinners!

2008-12-01T08:24:00.000-08:00

The girls turned seven on Sunday. We enjoyed their favorite dinner ("some type of meat and mashed potatoes" pictured below) and some cake and ice cream with Anita.

Sidnee outdid herselft with these tasty lemon and strawberry cakes garnished with gourmet skittles.

They joined the 21st Century with their very own iPod. Best kid gift ever. It doesn't make any noise and keeps them busy for hours.

Addie rockin out to High School Musical.

Everytime I tried to take a picture of Kenny she stopped dancing and posed.

What blog posting is complete without the gratuitous cute baby photo.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

2008-11-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

This picture doesn't really go with the Thanksgiving theme but it was taken yesterday and I thought it was cute. Luke is now six months old. He is really into watching his siblings and he loves to dance. The minute a song is played his whole body gets a rockin'. We sure love our baby!

Okay here is our Thanksgiving day at Mom and Dad Wolfley's house. As you can see Mom Wolfley had beautiful table setting for a large crowd. All the Wolfley people that live in Washington were in attendance.
Davis sat next to Papa and enjoyed a homemade roll. Sadly that is all that he ate. I forced some sweet potatoes down his throat and that was all we got him to eat, besides dessert of course. He is our pickiest eater. What's a mom to do? After dinner the Dan Wolfley Kids did a homemade puppet show. Addison read a story from school about the Pilgrims and Indians. The Pilgrims first winter was a bad situation. The following year the Indians taught them to care for their crops which resulted in a bountiful harvest and the first Thanksgiving. Davis and Kennedy were the puppetiers.

Here is the woman who did all the work. She is a great cook and it all turned out splendid! My mother in law doesn't read my blog so I am not saying this for any kind of extra brownie points. I am just Grateful I have a wonderful family and for a load of great food.

All in all it was a great day. Some of us have to be coaxed into saying so but it is true! We are a blessed people with so much to Thank our Father in Heaven for!