We're still here!

The past 3 1/2 weeks have been filled with one common theme around our house....sickness! It first started with Evan's questionable H1N1, then the following week Aleah got the stomach flu, followed by Trent, Evan, and Carter. Then for some reason, Aleah decided since she started the stomach flu, she should end the cycle too!! I am proud to announce that at this current moment....we are ALL healthy!! Today I'll finish cleaning the house. Yesterday was cleaning all the bathrooms AGAIN (it's been done so many times in the past 3 weeks, it's quite ridiculous!) and disinfecting all the door handles, light switches, etc...

I'm so glad that I'm pretty much done Christmas shopping. Really only Trent is left...and I can't make up my mind. We continue to work on the "hole" for the boys (that's their Christmas present along w/ a few goodies that come along with it). We got a lot done the weekend after Thanksgiving, but then Trent ended up w/ the flu so it's been put on hold for awhile. Unfortunately, we've got a lot to do still. I'll try to post pictures when it's done. Our goal, 2 years ago when we talked about our "forever" home, was that we would have a place for our kids to bring their friends. A safe place for them to hang out. When we moved into our house, that was the one thing that it lacked. A kid's hangout. So we decided to turn the actual basement, which isn't huge, into a hangout area for them. It will also be a fun family hangout area....we were able to find a really nice fooseball table on craigslist, for really cheap. And Target was clearancing Guitar Hero out, so we picked that up. The boys will wonder what's going on, when they have 2 presents under the tree....and one of them is a set of sheets! :) We're so excited to see the response!!

Sounds like we're going to get our first snowstorm tonight. Is it bad to hope for a snowday tomorrow? :)

We're Back!!

Ok, so we didn't really go anywhere....I just realized it's been 2 weeks since I posted lasted. OOPS....so much for a frequent chronicle of our family happenings!

Halloween was 2 weeks ago....the kids got lots of candy! In fact I'm pretty convinced we'll still be eating it when all the Christmas candy and other goodies start arriving!

Aleah had a GREAT time trick or treating....by the time the night was done, her little bucket was FULL!

Flag football, for Carter has also started. He's having a great time. It's a good learning experience for him and he's able to meet lots of new kids. He has also started basketball practice (Trent is actually his coach) and their first tournament is December 5th. They start playing at 9:00 and will play 4 games during the day, ending around supper time.

We went last weekend to my parents house. Every fall we go to help clean out the woods on their property....taking dead trees down, limbs that have fallen, picking up leaves in the yard, burning brush, etc.... It was beautiful weather and we had a great time together. We always end the day with a campfire, roasting hot dogs and smores! Yum!! Right before we were getting ready to leave, my dad mentioned that they really wanted to get rid of the couch and loveseat from the basement....did we know of anyone that would want it?? Um.....yeah.....US!! We want to turn our "hole" (it's our actual basement - but it's a small area) into an area for the boys. A nice place that they can invite their friends....a safe environment that's fun and in OUR house....especially important as they get older. Well, I've been praying that God would provide a nice, but very cheap couch for us. We really don't have the extra funds to spend a lot of money on a couch for the basement. God provides. They are in very good condition and they are FREE! So I think we're going to go get them this weekend!

Carter learned how to drive the riding lawnmower this year. He thinks he's pretty hot stuff....little does he know that next year his job will be to pick up all the leaves with it! I think it's nearly impossible to get a good picture of all 3 of them!

Evan has kept our house exciting this past week. Last Saturday, while at my parents house he started not feeling very well. By that evening, he had a fever....ran a low grade fever all day Sunday....spiked Sunday night and was gone by Monday morning. Due to school protocol, he stayed home on Monday, but went back to school on Tuesday. Tuesday evening, we took all the kids to get the H1N1 vaccine. Wednesday morning, Evan woke up again with a fever. With Tylenol it went down temporarily, but by 2:30 it was over 103 degrees! By Thursday morning it was gone again, but of course he was home again because he had not been fever free for 24 hours. Today there wasn't school, which was good. He's definitely doing better, but he's very congested, has a little cough, and just isn't back to his normal self. I'm hoping after one more good night of sick-free sleep, he'll be back to his old self! After talking to the nurse on Wednesday, she's pretty convinced that Evan had H1N1....not getting it from the vaccine, but he most likely started with it last weekend and the vaccine kind of "re-fueled" it.

God continues to protect us, provide for us and love us....God is good, we couldn't ask for anything more!

The Chaos Continues

Well, we've had a little break from the chaos of life and now it's time to get back into it. It's been gradual increase in activities, but starting Sunday, everything will have started.......maybe the winter will go by fast if we're busy. So let's see....Sunday is church (which Trent and I are part of leading worship 2 Sundays a month) and basketball practice for Carter and Trent, who is coaching. Monday....I play soccer, Tuesday.....Trent plays dartball, Wednesday....Carter has church, Trent and I lead a small group and worship team practice, Thursday....Carter plays flag football, Friday.....it's empty for now, but starting in December will probably be taken up with travelling to basketball tournys. Now you just need to add in there Trent working everyday, me working 2 days a week, another basketball practice at some point during the week, practicing for a band lesson, homework with the boys, reading with the boys and PLEASE don't forget cleaning the house, laundry, grocery shopping, etc......Oh it makes me tired just thinking about it! Maybe, just maybe we overbook ourselves a bit. :) Oh well, we take one day at a time and believe me....we LOVE nights at home when there is nothing going on! Tonight Trent and I are going on a date.....gotta fill those love tanks! :) And then tomorrow is Halloween. The kids are excited....I'll just be glad when it's done. The amount of money that people spend on Halloween, drives me crazy. We have gotten to the point that we don't buy costumes...instead the boys come up with creative ideas on their own. I refuse to spend 20+ dollars on something they will wear for an hour or two. So this year, they both decided to be baseball players. Tomorrow night, they'll go trick or treating in our neighborhood and we may take them to one of the grocery stores that does "trick or treating" in the morning. It's something a little different and I think Aleah would especially enjoy it.

Please Pray!

Could you please pray for a friend of mine? Her name is Jen and her family is going through a big trial. I don't feel like I should give many details in this blog, but her Dad is being sentenced in court tomorrow morning at 11:00. Pray for leniency on the judges part and for peace for Jen and her family. Thanks.

Delicious Donuts

What is better on a very cool, crisp fall morning than homemade donuts? And who doesn't like the mini donuts you buy for a pretty penny at the fair? Well I for one, love those donuts, but very rarely will be willing to pay the money for them. So we make our own. They are super easy to make and your family will love them. Our breakfast this morning cost $2.35! (I happened to already have the sugar, cinnamon and oil, so it's just the cost of the biscuits). We use the little pillsbury biscuits (the ones with 10 to a pack) and since we love them so much, we'll usually make 3 packs. That's right....30 donuts and 30 donut holes. Yummy. To make the donut holes, I actually take the top off of a baster that I have. Then deep fry the donuts and holes and when they're done, shake them in a bag with a sugar and cinnamon mixture. It was a delicious breakfast and well received by the entire family!

Our New Toy

We officially joined the group of Wii owners last night! The boys worked hard this summer taking care of the dog, mowing the yard, moving rock and doing misc. jobs. They decided to put their money together and purchase a Wii. Then Evan used birthday money to purchase a couple extra games and Trent and I bought and extra controller. We had the option of purchasing just the controller or spending $10 more and getting Wii play with a controller. We chose the latter of the two! So last night we came home and spent almost 3 hours playing games as a family...it was such an enjoyable time. I have to say, bowling and tennis are definitely my favorites although the game of lawn darts that I played with Trent was fun also!! I can see that many cold winter nights will be spent, in our cozy family room, playing Wii together.

Today, Carter has a friend over and so the 3 boys are playing Wii together. Trent is hoping to get the caps cut for our fire pit and flower bed and I.......well, what do I do everyday?? Picking up and laundry. Ugh. I get to throw grocery shopping in there also. But it will all be worth it when tonight, Trent and I get to have a date night. Out for dinner and then to Fanny Hill Dinner Theatre to see the play that my best friend, Deb is in. We're looking forward to a night out together.

Meeting Friends

About a week and a half ago, we took the kids to the Twin Cities for a relaxing day of fun. The boys spent the afternoon with my sister and her husband playing Wii and swimming, while Trent and I took Aleah to the Mall of America so she could meet Pablo from the Backyardigans and Dora from Dora the Explorer. She had a blast! We also rode some of the little kid rides at Nickelodean Universe while we waited for the characters. It was so fun to spend the day with her and focus just on doing things for her. Each of our kids needs that special time with just mom and dad! Here are a few pictures from her special day!

This little roller coaster ended up being her favorite ride. After the first time, she ran up to Trent and said, "ride again??" So off they went!

Happy Birthday Evan!!!!

Seven years ago today, we welcomed our second little boy into our family! Evan James, all 9# 4oz of him, blessed our family at 3:43 pm after only 4 hours of labor! This morning, after he had received a half dozen phone calls wishing him a happy birthday, he looked at me and said, "mom, I really like it when people call to wish me a happy birthday. That's really special!". It got me thinking about him and how special and unique he is and how much I love him. Since I hope that this blog can someday be a journal that our family can look back at together, I wanted to "jot" down all the special things that describe Evan.



EVAN:
* loves to cuddle
* likes to have his back scratched
* enjoys playing legos
* loves to draw
* loves to cook.....he recently said he wants to be a chef when he grows up! :)
* follows the rules
* has an incredibly tender heart
* is loved by girls....better watch this one as he gets older!
* was a terrible sleeper as a baby, but now is great.
* is a big kid....has always been in the 97% or higher for height. He looks like a 3rd grader!
* likes to "dance" with hip-hop wordless music. It's kind of cute to watch.
* was my shortest labor, yet my largest child by almost a pound!
* loves to read
* does math in his head...he'll be just like his grandpa mayo
* is my only child with all dominant traits (brown hair, brown eyes, right handed, etc..)
* always needs a little extra prodding in the mornings....he likes to take his time (aka: he's slow!)
* loves to take LONG HOT showers!
* likes to play catch and baseball with his brother.
* wants a soccer ball for his birthday, so he can practice with his mom! How sweet!!
* broke his finger this past summer, and despite it being his right hand, still played b-ball!
* loves to play games
* loves his special friend Ms. Cripe. She has a very special place in his heart.
* loves his family
* is loved by his family and most of all, by Jesus!!



We love you, Evan!! We hope you have a wonderful day!

It's a War out there!

Yesterday in mom's group, I shared about the struggles we've been having with Carter's anxiety, his poor sleeping, and my increasing LACK of patience with him. One of the moms talked about her own childs troubles and how she and her husband realized that their family was going through a spiritual warfare. She mentioned that many times Satan can attack your family through less than obvious ways, including your children. Standing back now, I can see the spiritual attacks on our family through Carter. We prayed for Carter and I prayed yesterday when I got home....prayed for the banishment of Satan from our home. I'm happy to say, that Carter was much more relaxed going to bed last night. Only woke up once and was able to turn right over and go back to sleep.

We have some good friends that are also experiencing this spiritual warfare. They are members of our small group and because of some issues regarding Wednesday night activities for their children, it is looking like they will not be able to be part of our study. We are studying the Truth Project. We'll be praying for this situation and that Satan's presence will leave, for hearts to be changed and for the Glory of God to be exemplified!

The Door

Guess I forgot to finish the door story. That's pretty typical of me. Anyhow, Monday morning I spent a long time on the phone trying to get a door handle. I called a couple local dealerships and was told that the part would cost about $60, but it would come unpainted and so to have it painted would be another $125! What?? Are you kidding me? Almost $200 for a DOOR HANDLE??????? Forget that option. Onto the next....the salvage yard. If you've never gone on this road for car parts, it's a good one. I found a door handle for $20 and then was able to buy the paint at the auto parts store for $25 and VOILA...a new door handle that matches our car almost perfectly. Hee Hee....saved myself almost $150!! We've gotten other parts for our cars from the salvage yard....you can save yourself a lot of money.

what a big girl.

Just wanted to share this picture of Aleah. She just looks so grown up.

Ouch!!!!

When we made the decision for me to move to a casual position at work, it was so I could stay home more and get involved in more activities. I've done that. Mom's group, helping Trent lead a small group for church, going on field trips with the boys, and now.....I've joined a recreational women's soccer league. Our first night was last night. And boy do I hurt. Oh my word....never thought I'd ache like this. That can only mean one thing. I am definately getting older. I guess I did ok for it being my first time ever playing soccer, not great, but better than I anticipated!

This past weekend was a busy one. Trent golfed Saturday morning and then when he came home, we decided to tackle our mile-long list of needed car repairs. Why oh why do they always snowball?? Anyway, awhile back something broke inside the front passenger door, so you couldn't open it from the outside. A bit of a nuisance. But we really hadn't had the time to try and figure out what it was, nor can we go with one car during the school year. Well, Saturday he decided it was time to figure out what was wrong. Now you might be saying to yourself, "Gosh I didn't realize Trent was a mechanic....I thought he was a teacher?!" You're right. He's not a mechanic. One thing that I love about Trent, is his willingness to try. He will find videos or articles about projects and attempt them. I'll tell you...he's almost always successful. He is The Jack of ALL Trades!! Back to the door. He got it all apart and found that it was this little plastic piece on the actual exterior handle. Off to the auto parts store he went. Unfortunately, because it has a painted piece attached, it can only be ordered from a dealer and they weren't open anymore. We needed to replace the whole door handle. AND couldn't do anything about it until Monday. So now the car is sitting with the interior door frame on the garage floor and a hole in the side of the car from the door handle. hmmmm. not very usable in it's current condition. So what does he decide to do? Let's take off the wheel and find the shocks....they need to be replaced also. One Youtube video, a trip to the auto parts store and 1 1/2 hours later, we had new shocks. Wow! Next he's going to try the struts, although he may need to ask his friend Lucas to help with that one.

The boys also had a good weekend. Carter had a sleepover with his friend Jacob and Carter on Friday night and then on Saturday Carter and Evan went with the neighbors to Harvest Fest and then back to their house for playing and a movie. Sunday, we went to church and then came home to finish up work, while Evan went with his cousin to a local waterpark and Carter went to baseball practice.

This coming weekend we're actually going to head to the Twin Cities. Friday night Trent and the boys are going to go to the Twins game and then Saturday, we'll drive back to the cities. The boys are going to spend some time with my sister Amanda and her husband Jayson, while Trent and I take Aleah to the Mall of America to hopefully meet some of the Backyardigans characters! We're also going to get a chance to stop and see one of my good friends my high school, Erica and her family.

A Whole Week Down....Lots more to go!

We've now officially been in school for a whole week! Sorry it's been that long since I've posted...time seems to get away from me during the day. The first day of school went well for both boys. They seemed to both enjoy the time and really like their teachers. So I'm not sure what happened between the first day and the second day, but I got a call 15 minutes after school started from Carter. He was feeling VERY anxious! But after a stop at the school and a chat with him and the guidance counselor, things were much better. It was discovered that Trent needs to take him to school in the morning (he didn't on this particular day), to help with that anxiety. After that little bump in the road, each day since has been great. Evan has started to ride the bus home after school, which seems to be going well, except that the bus driver keeps missing his stop!! Good thing there is one across the street and I stand in the driveway to wave him down!

I decided today was a good day to post some misc. pictures from the summer. Unfortunately, it's telling me that there is some internal error and it can upload my pictures. If anyone understands what this is telling me, please let me know. I don't get it!! I'll try again later.

First Day Of School

The First Day of School is here!! Last week I was very excited and yet today I find myself a bit sad. Maybe it's because my boys are all gone, maybe because I know that means winter is on it's way, and maybe it's just because it truly represents the fact that my kids are getting older. I always knew the day would come....the day that my kids weren't totally dependant on me, yet I think I have been in a little bit of denial all these years. Sending my oldest child off to middle school brought that all to reality! He was definitely nervous. In fact he woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach ache and ended up sleeping on our floor, but this morning he was able to work through all of those nerves and leave for school with his head held high and NO tears! Thank you to all of you that prayed for him this morning! God answered your prayers....his anxiety was manageable this morning! I'm anxious to hear how his first day of middle school went.

Evan on the other hand had a harder time this morning. He was really nervous. I'm sure nervous about not knowing where to go, not knowing kids in his class and most of all.....not being with mom all day! He loves his mom and loves to be at home. So after getting all ready this morning, Aleah and I took him to school, walked in with him, and waited with him until he went into his classroom. He did OK and I'm sure that his first day will go well now that he's there. I'm excited to hear him tell about his first day also!

Trent also had his first day of school today! No tears, no nervousness, just bummed that summer is over! This should be a better year for him than last year was.....hopefully it is, or else I could see very early retirement in his future! :) Good thing he shaves his head, because I'm pretty sure that the number of gray hairs doubled last year!

Moving Day

Today is moving day! Ok, not for us, but for my brother and his wife!! They just bought their first home and so....we are helping them move! The kids and I are going to go and help clean and unpack boxes while Trent helps move the stuff.

Yesterday we took our kids and the neighbor kids to Irvine Park. It was a beautiful day to be outside. Unfortunately, the petting zoo had closed the day before so there was a little less for us to do. But we still saw the animals, played at one of the playgrounds, took the scenic drive and played in the fountains. Overall a very good day! I'll try to post pictures next week sometime.

THE RUN!!

Well, I've officially started running....again! This time I really want to stick with it though. My lower back is bugging me and I know that with exercise and stretching it will get better. So Trent, who does a better job at sticking to something than I am, and I are going to try to get in shape this fall and winter and run a 1/2 marathon again next spring. If all goes well, we may try a sprint triathlon next summer. It will be fun to do it together and hopefully we'll both reap some benefits from exercising...aka losing my last 10-15 pounds of baby weight. Yes, I know she's 2 and he's 6, but I still have weight on from both of my last 2 pregnancies....about 6 from Aleah and then another 9 from Evan!! Grrrr. Anyway, so today was day #3 of running. Oh, I really had to talk myself out of bed this morning, but I did it and now I'm done for the day. It feels good. And the best part....my back did not hurt this morning when I woke up!!! The exercising is working and that's what moved my butt from the bed to the treadmill!

Today we also went as a family to help Trent get his room ready for school. I'm soooo ready for school to start. The boys need to get back to some structure soon. They just pick at each other constantly and Aleah needs a little less brotherly influence and "guidance" :). We'll just spend lots of family time together this week doing fun things and preparing to start our school routine! Guess that means going to bed a bit earlier....that's such a hard habit to change.

Incidental Happening

Ok, well the event of two days ago with Aleah was an incidental happening! She hasn't done it again and is back to her up and down actions! It's ok. She is only 26 months old and I certainly don't want to push her. I waited until the boys were ready and they were both trained in 3-4 days. This doesn't need to be a neverending process. So I'll wait a little longer and try again. It might be easier once school starts and no one else is home during the day.

So today I decided to do a fun activity with the boys (the 3 neighbor boys that we babysit and my two)....we tie-dyed shirts. I'm excited to see how they turn out, and I'll be sure to post pictures once they are dried! It was quite messy and very interesting how the oldest child was the messiest and it worked it's way down to the youngest, who made the littlest mess! Hmmmm, go figure. I think it would have worked a little better if there had been two adults, but we managed just fine and the boys had a great time. That what matters most!

Tonight Trent and I are taking the boys school shopping....they're excited. We'll treat them to dinner and then we'll hit the stores. Supplies and clothes...especially for Carter. We cleaned out his closet last night to find he has 2 pairs of pants - a pair of jeans and sweatpants. And 4 long sleeve shirts! Hmmmm...guess he's grown since last spring! At least Evan acquired some new clothes. Thank goodness for hand me downs!

WHOOHOO!!

I'm sure you're wondering what all the excitement is about.....We had a successful trip on the potty chair with Aleah!! She has been very willing to sit on her princess potty chair for a long time, but she's always up and down, a lot. Today she again told me she needed to go potty and she ran into the bathroom and sat down. I stearnly told her to sit and go pee and not to get up until she was done. No more than 10 seconds had passed when I heard the music from her potty chair.....she did it!!! Yeah! Now if she can just do it again. Oh to be in the world of NO diapers!!

Dentist Day!

Today was Dentist day for the boys! They both did great and the dentist said their teeth look great. Evan has a little cross-bite, but the dentist is thinking it may correct itself once his adult teeth are in. Could we possibly have 2 children that won't need extra work done?? I'm knocking on wood! To celebrate a good visit, we stopped at Sonic for their 1/2 price slushies (from 2-4 pm). Unfortunately, we arrived at 4:08. Bummer. Oh well, a small is still only $1, so it's still a yummy but CHEAP treat.

The Case of the Missing Purple Deedee

On Wednesday evening, we realized that we could not find Aleah's purple blanket (which she affectionately calls her deedee). She LOVES her purple blanket and it's an extra special blanket because her great-grandma made it for her. The missing blanket stressed me out A LOT! And I spent a lot of time looking for it, knowing that it had to be in the house somewhere, because I knew we had it Monday evening at bedtime and we didn't take it anywhere on Tuesday or Wednesday. But where was it? It was like it had disappeared. So Friday afternoon, I called my grandma to ask about having another one made. That evening I was in her room, looking through everything again.....the play kitchen set...of course....she put her blanket under the sink!! Yeah. When I showed it to her, she grabbed it, snuggled with it and said, "oh, my pupo deedee". How sweet!

SPLASH!!!

Here it is...8:58 and I'm up. It's the earliest Aleah has been up all week and the latest that the boys have slept. Carter just got up and Evan is still sleeping. Not complaining, just amazed that we've had a little role reversal. Today we're planning to hit up the water parks and the rest of the family will be joining us at some point today. Amanda and Jayson will be here until Saturday and if Josh and Amanda come, it will be just for the day. (For those of you that are slightly confused, yes...I have a sister and a sister-in-law named Amanda! And to really get you, my mom and my mother-in-law are both Sue and my sister-in-law Amanda is married to my brother Josh and also has a brother Josh....ok, ok, I'll stop). :) So back to activities....water, water, water.

Yesterday the five of us, along with my parents went on a jet boat tour of the upper dells. Wow!!! It was a bit spendy, but the kids LOVED it and I have to admit, so did I. Instead of the traditional Wisconsin Dells Ducks, this Jet Boat goes fast....supposedly 40 mph. Fast enough that my hair was constantly in my face! But it doesn't just go fast...the driver does fast stops, 360 degree turns, etc...plus you get to see the beautiful scenery! I would definitely recommend it if you come to the Dells! Even Aleah, our squirmy 2 year old did great!

Last night the kids and I went to the waterpark until it closed and they kicked us out! So after a few games and showers, we all hit the hay a little earlier than normal (or normal for this week). Trent and Carter both had upset stomachs and just weren't feeling the best. Hopefully it's just a combo of sun and lack of sleep. Pray for them, though....it's awful being sick on vacation and it was a year ago that Trent ended up with Rheumatic Fever!

Off to make breakfast and convince Aleah that she does not need any Oreo cookies yet!

You know you're a parent when....

Every once in awhile Trent and I talk about how we should write a book titled, "You know you're a parent when...." Well I probably won't ever write a book, but I do think it's time to keep track of them. Feel free to comment and add more to the list. Parenting is fun and full of adventures and sometimes we just need to laugh to keep ourselves sane! So here it goes.... by the way, everything on my list has occurred in my household, so they are all REAL!

You know you're a parent when...

1. You climb into bed after a very long day, ready to crash, only to be greeted by little green army guys. Guess we invaded their camp!

2. You find not just a little bit of toilet paper in the toilet, but instead the WHOLE roll.

3. Your laptop has red crayon scribbles all over it. Grrrr.

4. Wearing a shirt to Target that has food particles on it and dirt smudges doesn't bother you as long as it doesn't stink.

5. Everytime you have a conversation about food, you start singing the Wiggles songs...Hot Potato or Fruit Salad.

6. You know which episodes the Backyardigans songs belong to.

7. Over 3/4 of your DVR is filled with kids shows.

8. You have permanent bases in your lawn, for the daily baseball game. By the way, these "bases" are not the plastic ones you buy....they are just areas that have no grass!

That's just a little start. I know there are hundreds more and I would love to hear how you know you're a parent! I'll add more later, but now it's off to change the wash. Yes, I'm washing while on vacation. But it's in the condo and that just means I have to pack less!!

Games, Games and more Games

I think after this week, I may be completely gamed out for awhile. Evan is taking full advantage of having me around with nothing to do. He LOVES to play games and so he and I have played lots of Racko, Farkle and Pass the Pigs (this is a great little game for school age kids, though I'm not sure where to get it).

Trent and my dad went golfing again this morning and are planning to golf 36 holes, so my mom and I are on our own again with the kids. It was nice to sleep in this morning until 9:20! The boys are in a separate bedroom and are old enough to stay quiet and entertain themselves until I get up and Aleah.....she is an awesome sleeper!! Love it!! So now that we've successfully passed the morning...what to do this afternoon? I'm guessing swimming will be on the agenda. Maybe a bike ride and more swimming this evening when Trent returns.

So a quick story before I play another game of Racko....

This morning after I changed Aleah's diaper I handed it to her and asked her to go throw it away in the garbage can by the toilet. She's normally very reliable when it comes to throwing her diapers away, so I didn't question where she had put it. That is until about an hour later....Carter came out of the bathroom (after using it) and said, "Uh mom, I flushed the toilet but there's a problem." I said, "what's the problem?" and he responded with, "well, there's a diaper in the toilet!" I was a bit dumbfounded....really???....my 10 year old not only decided he should pee on the diaper, but then attempt to flush the toilet? I really thought I taught him better. Grrrr. Hopefully after having to fish it out of the toilet, he learned his lesson.

What A Week!

This past week has been a busy and exciting week for us! We finished the lovely brick retaining wall - I'll post pictures later, we have a new addition to the family and we left for vacation. On Thursday, my brother Josh and his wife Amanda welcomed their baby girl, Ellisha Ann, to their family. Isn't she cute?? The kids think she's a keeper for a cousin and Aleah, who has only seen her once, recognizes her picture and knows that she is baby Ell!

After the excitement of a new baby, it was time to head off on vacation! A good majority of our time in the Dells, will be spent in the water, but today (Sunday) we decided to make it a day of horses! Aleah loves horses and Evan really wanted to go horseback riding. Carter was indifferent, but ended up having a great time! First we went on a wagon ride around the grounds....then it was time to go for the real thing!

Carter was old enough to ride his own horse - which was cool for him to experience! Evan opted to ride with Trent, but after riding double for an hour, he quickly made the decision that next time...he'll get his own horse!! The trail guide even let us trot quite a bit and each time we finished, Aleah would quickly say, "again". All of the kids got a thrill out of trotting!! It was so fun to see them excited and lovin' it!

After the trail ride, we were able to visit their petting zoo. Aleah would walk right up to the goats and look them in the eye and talk with them. It was really cute.

Evan was able to hold a baby goat. Aleah tried also, with a little help from the owner.

They also had a llama that was very friendly. He didn't spit, but instead would come up to you and get really close to your cheek and smell you. Then he'd kind a nuzzle in. Odd!!

Baby bunnies. The boys liked them. Aleah was more interested in the buckets of water nearby. She thought the bunnies needed to go swimming in the buckets.

We had a great day as a family, making lots of memories!

A Girls Night

The 3 boys went to the Twins/White Sox game tonight, so it's just Aleah and I. She's doing one of her favorite things....taking a bath, so I thought I'd sit down and add pictures of our landscaping project. I tried to upload a video showing the "before" picture, but couldn't get it to work. Just imagine the entire dirt area filled with rock. When all is said and done it will probably be half the original size. We're hoping to be done with the wall by the end of the week. We'll see.

These are the only 3 plants we're actually keeping (besides the little tree in the middle)

We're now realizing we probably have too much extra dirt. Anyone need a little dirt? It's really good black dirt!
The start of the wall. It took me the same amount of time to get my one brick level as Trent's 6! Entirely too frustrating for me. I am getting a bit faster. When we went out to work this morning, the dirt was like cow manure consistency mud! And then it rained a ton today. I know we need the rain, but could it hold off now until the end of the week? Hopefully it's dry by morning, because that's how we're spending our day tomorrow.

Aleah

I should have posted on Thursday, but obviously didn't.....no excuses...I just didn't. Well the pink Backyardigans bag made it and Aleah thinks it's great. She loads it full before we leave the house each time and then hands it to me and says, "heavy". :) She is such a little girl. In fact just the other day her uncle Josh and aunt Amanda came over and brought her a bag full of dress up clothes and shoes!! She tried some of the princess outfits on and almost all of the shoes! She loves shoes!! Jewelry, doing her hair, mommy's makeup, smelly lotion, painted toenails, dresses, and babies. Loves them all!!

Now I just have to figure out how to store all the dress up stuff (and I know my mom and dad have more for her that will probably come at Christmas time!), so she can actually get to it and play with it. I did a little research last night and found something that I think will work, and the best part is....instead of paying the $189 for it, Trent is going to make it! Yeah for a husband that loves to work with his hands.

Speaking of working with his hands, time to head out to our favorite flower garden to start laying the bricks of the retaining wall. The bricks are on sale until Aug. 9th, but we leave for vacation on the 1st. Guess what we're doing this week? Hopefully getting it close to being done.

oops

In my last post I meant to say that now that we're done with the demolition we CAN put it back together and start seeing the improvements. Guess I need a proof-reader!

Does anybody else have children that live for the Backyardigans?? Aleah LOVES them, can name them all (Tatash - Tasha, ooo ooo - uniqua, Toe - Tyrone, Aus - Austin and Poe - Pablo), and loves to "sing" the songs. In fact the newest is to lay in the pack 'n play (which was originally set up for Miss Geneva) and watch Backyardigans! Really. She'd rather lay in a cramped 3x3 area, than on my bed. Whatever. Anyway, so knowing her love for them, I decided a couple weeks ago to go on ebay and see what they had. I quickly found this cute little pink Backyardigans tote bag. Bidding was done within the hour and no one had bid on it, so I graciously bid 99 cents! Guess what? I won. Sweet. So imagine my surprise when now almost 2 weeks later, I still haven't received it. Hmmmm. Check the email. Oh, it's been shipped.....from where?....China???? The seller says, "if you haven't received it within the month please let me know". A month? Ok, maybe I need to be a little more observant when I buy off of ebay. A little less impulsive. Hope I get it soon!

The rocks are gone

WE'RE DONE!! We finished moving all of the rock out of the flower bed! Trent estimates that both Monday and Tuesday we moved between 1000 and 1500 pounds of rock! 2000-3000 pounds total....no wonder I feel as if I've been hit by a truck. My body just aches. Not sure if we'll do much work on it today because of other committments, but now instead of demolition we can't start to put it back together and start seeing the improvements. I'll post pictures as soon as I figure it out. My plan is to have Carter help me with this blog - he really enjoys the computer and learning how to do new things (or figuring them out by himself). He is growing up so fast....he's starting middle school in a little more than a month. When did that happen? I know he's nervous and has a lot of anxiety about moving to the middle school. Please keep him in your prayers....that God will surround him and calm him in these last days of summer and as he starts school. Well, I guess that's it for now...I'm off to find a "puple dede" (purple blanket) for Aleah. She now distinguishes her blankets as her pink and purple one!

One Rock at a Time

Well, here it is...the first Moss family blog entry! I've wanted to start a family blog for a long time, but struggled with a name and whether or not I really should do it. So I'm jumping in feet first and going for it. You may notice the name changing eventually if I come up with something better! But for now, here are...."The Moss Minutes".

So far I do have to say, that this summer has been much better than last. Last summer we did have the excitement of moving into our new house, but we also dealt with myself and the kids all getting hand, foot and mouth disease (of course, I got it the worst!), 2 of the 3 kids getting the stomach flu, me getting another virus that layed me up for almost a week and we rounded out the summer with Trent getting that same virus (or so we thought), that actually was strep throat - which went untreated (b/c my test was negative) and turned into rheumatic fever!! Ick. Never to repeat that summer again!!! So onto this summer....no moving and NO sickness. We've had a fun summer of lots of baseball, a trip with the boys to Valleyfair, some swimming, lots of grilling, campfires, and just plain old relaxing. Now that we've done the fun stuff, it's time to do a little work. We have this rather large flower/plant garden that has gotten out of control. It's hard to mow around and wasn't very symmetrical, so......we're tearing it apart! I'm sure that our neighbors will be glad when it's done, too! Taking out all the rock, getting rid of plants, shrinking it, putting up a retaining wall, replacing the matting and putting in mulch. Errrr. Way more work than I anticipated. But I'm not much of a green thumb, so smaller and less plants will be good. We have worked for the last two weeks moving rock. Everytime I help I get so overwhelmed because there is so much, but today I remembered a devotional that my mom did recently. The whole point of it was to take things one at a time, because if we look at the whole picture, life or a particular task can get overwhelming. We have to rely on God's strength to be able to break things down and do them one step at a time. And so....today, as a family we moved one rock at a time!