Our Crazy Whitmer Life

Go 'Stros

2011-07-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

Ben's boss owns the Astros. It only seemed right that we initiated our family. Right? It was one of the first things we did when we moved to Houston. The first game we only took the two older kids, and braced ourselves to only stay to the 5th inning, or so. Imagine our surprise when around the 8th inning we mentioned maybe we should head out to beat the traffic (not to mention it was pretty late for our early bird munchkins) when they emphatically asked to stay to the end of the 9th.

I had never been to a professional baseball game before the Astros, and I was amazed at how fun the atmosphere was! The gimongous screen had little games and funny things showing through out. And there was this funny little race with the (full grown adult sized) Hot, Medium, and Mild sauce packets from Taco Bell, where in they took turns falling, or tripping each other so they could win the race.

It was a great night, and a nice welcome to Houston!

We took Jared a few weeks later, and he did amazing! He loved the game as much (maybe even more) than Makenna and Luke. Watch out MLB, Jared Whitmer will rock your socks in mmmm...20 years or so.

A Mad Libs Goodbye Card!

2011-07-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

Our awesome friends the Johnson's and Nichols's put together a life saving bag 'o fun for our kids to enjoy while we made the 36 hour trek from Oregon to Texas. The highlight? A handmade mad libs card. I'll share the joy...(I'll italicize the "fill in the blank" word.)

A Mad Libs Goodbye Card!

To our pretty friends, the Whitmer's
Love your silly friends, the Nichol's & Johnson's

"Do you know what today is?" asked Eve.
"Halloween?" asked Will.
"Oh my Goodness" I remember! The Whitmer's are moving today," said Gaby silly-ly.
"That's right", said Eleanor.
"Man, that is stupendous news", said Holly.
"I know", said Sam. We've made so many hilarious memories together.
"Do you remember the time we went to The Berry Farm and ate the toilet?" said Ginny.
"That was freaky!! How about the Christmas where we climbed M&M's together?" said Gwyn.
"And it was always so fun watching the 3 boastful underpants play together", said Holly.
"How can we let them go to Food 4 Less without us? said Eve.
"It will be really hard because the Whitmer's are all irreplaceable friends, but because we are such great friends, even being separated by 8972 trees can't end our friendships" said Gabe.
"That is 73 percent true", said Sam.
"Our love for them is limitless and every time we are blessed to be together again, it will be like picking up right where we left off!"
"So our parting words for the Whitmer's...Jared & Luke, good luck sleeping. Makenna and Aimee, have fun crying. Ben, we know you will make lots of humongous basketballs instantly!

"As for us, know that we will pray for you daily & miss you minutely! But this is not goodbye! We'll close by saying we love you lots and we'll see you soon.

All our love,
The Nichol & Johnson families

We were all in tears from laughter and also from realizing how much we are going to miss our dear friends. We love you guys, thanks for the smiles from hours 4 through 28 on the long drive out! (seriously, we re-wrote the card many times after this first initial one!)

A (hot and) Sticky Situation

2011-07-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

Whoa! Where to even begin...

Let's start with we moved. Yup, cross country. Kind of a big move for us, and it's been an even bigger adjustment. Texas, as it turns out is the armpit of the country. Hot, humid, sticky, and stinks (figuratively and literally).

The first two months we were squished in an apartment, now we are spread out in a ginormous house (both corporate housing, and both the same price, imagine that).

The kiddos have been busy this summer with soccer and basketball camps, drama classes, and volleyball leagues. It's been a fun and much needed diversion from the newness of Houston, and the homesickness we've all been feeling.

On the 36 hour road trip out here, we made a couple of stops. The first being a berry farm, well, that's what we told the kids. Bless their little hearts they were such troopers about it. As we pulled into Knotts Berry Farm, though, their expressions were priceless! We were riding a shuttle in, and Luke noticed all the rides poking out from behind the gates first and told Makenna how much fun it looked. Makenna agreed saying, "it looks amazing, but we were going to a berry farm instead. Sorry Luke."

It was so funny to see them realize that Knotts Berry Farm was an amusement park, and not a berry farm. Maybe I won the worst mother of the day award, but it was so worth it! Awesomeness!

The berry farm. Mmmm, those are some good berries!

Jared's second favorite thing to do, next to the monster truck ride.

My favorite thing to do. :)

The car ride. This, unfortunantly, was not the norm. Don't judge the car too bad...
all we brought to Houston was shoved in that van!

Jared's birthday, and a good idea of the lovely apartment.

Jared's soccer camp. Riveting.

Makenna's lego creation. She's thoroughly enjoying these bad boys right now.

Our ridiculously huge house. "don't get used to it, don't get used to it, don't get used to it."

I must tell myself this a meeelion times a day, so when we move in

3 months into a tiny house, I won't care tooooo much.

We haven't had our computer set up until last week, so I'm super excited to get back to the blog and catch up on what we've been up to in the last couple of months. We miss our family and friends more than words can say, and send ooodels of love to each of you...

All Things Jared

2011-04-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

A catch up post...

Jared fell of the center island in the kitchen and broke both the bones in his forearm. Ouch, I know. The sad part is that he was so tough, I wouldn't have taken him into the doctor, with the exception that I could see the bones pushing down in the wrong direction.

This boy is seriously tough.

Jared is super attached to his blanket. I wash said blanket every week and Jared hates it every time. I try to distract him with something while I locate blanket, load blanket in washer, and dry the blanket. It usually works. Usually.

This time, it didn't. He sat by the washing machine for about half an hour waiting for it to come out. It broke my heart watching him (and his cast) only wishing for the comfort that a blankey can bring.

Some New Motivation

2011-04-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about pulling myself together enough to start blogging again. After a couple months hiatus, and some changes in my life, I think I have what it takes to jump back on the horse! :)

Luke drew a picture at school the other day...It was a picture of 2 people with swords. When I asked Luke who they were he told me it was him and Satan fighting. I asked him who won the fight, and he emphatically said that he did!

I sure love that boy.

Happy Friday!

Project 365

2011-01-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

When I started my blog a couple years ago I thought it would be the answer to all my problems with never writing in my journal. And that lasted approximately 2 months. Or maybe a little longer. But the point is I've completely lost any interest in blogging. I'm too critical of my lack of writing skilz, my lack of whit, and so I've given up.

Sometimes it scares me that I'm the one who teaches my kids values. That's right kids, never give up!

I love my friend Andrea's project 365 that she puts together. I love the idea of binding it every year and having a day to day account of the big and little things that make up our life.

If anyone has any advice on digital scrap booking, please let me know. I haven't scrap booked since Makenna was like 4 months old and decided she had an attention issues with it, and 2 boys later that hasn't improved an incling.

So, on my quest to not forget these fun packed days of tantrums and melt downs, I'm going to start a new project, and I would love your advice!

Personality

2010-12-28T10:49:00.000-08:00

Ben gave me a box of chocolates on Christmas Eve, and I mistakenly left it in the living room unattended for days now. I just caught sight of it with the box lid laying on the floor, and no sound coming from Jared, who I knew was in there.

I walked in and found Jared hunched over in the corner by the tree obviously hiding, I assumed I'd find him covered in my delicious chocolate, but instead found him fondly and gently holding an ornament that he knew he shouldn't be touching, and with a clean face. huh.

I totally expected to find a scene reminiscent of this one:

This was Luke at about the same age, who found a bowl full of home made almond joys.
But I digress. The plot thickens, since it wasn't Jared, I turned to Makenna and Luke who had both followed me into the room and gave them 'the look'. Makenna instinctively says, "It wasn't me." and throws her hands up. Luke steps closer and says, "Ooo, can I have one?" I laughed and started to walk away protectively holding my goods, and Luke followed me and so sweetly said, "okay, then can I have two?"

Good times. Since I'm posting (surprising these days), I might as well throw some Christmas pictures up too.

Luke has asked for one thing for months now. A remote controlled helicopter.

Santa delivered, but it only lasted about 5 runs, then a small piece broke.

You've never seen a sadder boy. :(

Luke's present to Makenna, Crossfit shirts. So cute!

Makenna knew exactly what she wanted to give Ben this year, rings.

Makenna had no idea what this was, but hasn't broken away since.

Jared found the camera and shared a self portrait surprise when I

uploaded the pictures off my camera.

Thanks, Jared!

Needless to say, Christmas was perfect. We are so grateful to have a healthy and happy family and a season set apart to just focus on the Saviors birth. Hope your Holidays were fantastic as well! Merry Christmas!

Sibling love

2010-11-29T20:37:00.000-08:00

At the store tonight Luke and Makenna were driving each other bonkers (shocking, I know) when I finally had enough I made them apologize and give each other a kiss on the lips. (Okay...don't judge. It's pretty much the only punishment that works for them).

Makenna rolled her eyes and tried protesting before realizing it was futile. Luke just wiped his lips and got ready for the "punishment".

M-"this is so gross."
L- "I know, but we might as well get used to it, for when we get married."
M- (giggling) "we aren't even close to old enough to get married, and besides you can't marry your own sister.
L- (paused, obviously mulling this new idea over in his head) "Who am I supposed to marry, then?"

Ah, melts this mama's heart. Just when I think there is no hope for these two to exit childhood mere acquaintances, let alone friends, I catch a peek into Luke's mind, that his love for his sister is beyond comparison to any other feelings he has for others.

At least that's my theory.

Incentives

2010-10-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Leaving Jared alone in a room is dangerous. I found this out the hard way today, while I was getting dressed and ready this morning Jared was playing so great by himself downstairs. I later found out that him "playing great" entailed him unrolling a brand new roll of toilet paper all over the family room.

And being the genius that I am I rolled it all back up (frugality at all costs). That only took about 15 minutes and a lot of lost sanity.

Enter a tall glass of Dr. Pepper at 10:00 in the morning. Wish me luck today.

2010-10-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

Today Luke was drawing a picture of our family camping. There were the essentials, like our family, a tent, a tree, campfire, and grass. And some extra bonuses, like brown lumps in the grass that he clarified was poop.

When I asked him about it he matter of factly told me that there is poop in the grass when we go camping. Sometimes I marvel at the things that make an impression on my sweet boy, it wasn't the majestic mountains or roaring rivers that lingered in his memory...it was the poo. :)

Slick!

2010-10-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

I gave Jared a hair cut today, and after his bath I decided to throw some gel in there, just for fun. I live on the wild side, I know.

You see, I never really style this guys hair, just spray some water in it and give it a quick brush in the morning. So when he caught sight of himself in the mirror he very exuberantly exclaimed, "OH, CUTE!" and gave himself a motherload of a kiss in the mirror.

Sweet boy. ;)

Disneyland!

2010-10-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Full disclosure: This post is overloaded with pictures. Let me remind you that this is my journal, and I must have a gazillion pictures of Disneyland! Thankyouverymuch.

22 hours in the car.
5 days in Disneyland.
A handful of meltdowns.
Equals total family vacation bliss. Really.

The highlights, according to each member of our family:

Makenna: "I loved everything. But if I had to pick one thing, I would say...I don't know! It's SO hard to pick just one. I just really liked doing it all with my family. Okay, maybe Autotopia was my favorite." (she's dying to be 16 and behind the wheel of a real car!)

9 years old going on 16.

Gotta love that excitement!

The Mickey Ferris Wheel had puke bags...just in case.

Waiting in line for Mulhound Madness, for the 6th time.

Ahhh...If I could only freeze time.

Main Street decked out for Halloween!

Makenna rocked the Jedi training.

She was a total pro when she went up against Darth Vadar!

Luke: "Does it have to be my favorite ride, or favorite thing there? My favorite thing was making my own Mickey Mouse ears, and the zip line (inside California Adventure's Bear Park). My favorite rides were Buzz Lightyear., Space Mountain, and Monsters, Inc."

He also loved Indiana Jones, but not during the ride. During the ride he was too busy either hyperventilating, or possibly peeing his pants. But as soon as the ride was over he would say things like, "was that IT? That was AWESOME!" or "That wasn't scary at all", and then I'd ask if he wanted to go again, and he'd quickly answer NO! Funny boy.

I love this picture of Luke, it is so perfectly him!

Total enthusiasm for everything he does!

It was a blast to ride this ride as a whole family. Jared rode with me and was
NOT a happy camper when he realized the ride
was slowing down for us to get off! :)

The zip line that Luke zipped down like 40 times. No joke.

Two words: Haunted Mansion.
One word: Loved (Luke, not me. The Halloween version is lame-o)

Buzz Lightyear. It was a toss up who loved

this ride more. Ben or Luke.

Luke's really only asked for one thing while at Disneyland.

A light saber. He saw one on the last night we were there,

while we were waiting in line for the World of Color show.

And we'll just say he was perssssissstant!

Jared: loved the Pirates of the Caribbean (while I took a little nap...sad they couldn't do something better with that when they revamped it a few years back!) the Tarzan Treehouse, and Pooh Bear's ride. And he absolutely loved the World of Color water and light show! Which we saw on our last night there, what a great way to end the week!

World of Color. Amazing!

Holy moly. I love these guys!

So loved this moment. Way better than any ride at Disneyland!

Mickey came up and just grabbed Jared's hand and walked

down the sidewalk with him. Jared didn't seem to

mind one little bit. He blew him kisses and gave

huge hugs to Mickey!

Jared had a major soft spot of Pooh Bear, too!

This picture cracks me up for a few reasons. First, hello awkward sitting position.

Secondly, any time we needed to get Jared to a happy place we would give him

a bag of trail mix. He would spend 30 minutes carefully picking out the M&M's

and then move onto the raisins until all that was left were the nuts.

It was a price we were all willing to pay!

The highlight for me? Caption EO. 100% I must have been a little nostalgic about Michael passing away or something, but I couldn't help but rocking out to it. Like 3 times. Sweet.

I could have gone on this ride 50 times, but I only got to squeeze it in once.

Makenna hated this ride, but she went a second time with me anyway.

She's cowered over in her seat thinking happy thoughts and

trying her hardest not to throw up on the ride. She made it to the bathroom

in time once we got off the ride, though. Poor girl.

I must not be a teenager anymore because the other highlights were the Tiki Room and It's a Small World. I think it really has more to do with the fact that I could see the magic in my kid's eyes while they watched. I think I spent more time watching them, than I did watching the show/ride. Seriously so perfect!

What made the trip even better was that my Mom was able to come along. It made the whole trip do-able. She would take Jared back mid afternoon for a nap, or hang out with kids if they wanted to swim at the hotel. It made things so much easier with an extra set of hands, and made the trip so much fun! Her favorite ride was California Screamin' for sure! Okay, not really. She only went because Ben was so darn persuasive!

Here's proof that she was miserable the whole time!

Makenna also hated this ride...her face tells no lies!

This was such a perfect trip! I had major concerns about the 11 hour drive each way, but everyone did great! It helped tremendously that my Mom was in the back of the van with the kiddos and that she packed fun activity binders for them! Thanks Mom! :)

Coast Trippin'

2010-09-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

We were able to stay with my Mom for about a week this summer while Ben was at a conference and we did some really fun things! On the list of great summer memories was our trip to the coast.

We loaded the kids into my Mom's TINY car, and endured 90 minutes of of sibling "love" in the back seat. We all were on the look out for the first sight of sand knowing that we would then be just minutes away from a perfect summer afternoon. It was so fun to watch my little sand monsters play the same ways I fondly remember playing when I was their age. This has really been their first trip to the coast and all things considered (2 hours of sitting in standstill traffic) it couldn't have been more perfect!

Luke and Kenna make "best friends" so easily, the little girl in the pink suit was

their new bestie this day.

Our Emergency Plan

2010-08-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

Luke informed me tonight over dinner that just in case a bad guy came into our house, he had a plan.

First, he would go hide, and make Dad go fight them...such a brave soul.

Next, he would come out and stomp on their feet and squirt them with a water gun...fearsome, I know.

And lastly, he would kick them until they left us alone...one tough dude, yes?

I'm an just glad that we have a plan, as it turns out this is not the first time he's been mulling over this problem. When Ben asked him what he was thinking about the other day he told him that he was just thinking about what he would do if a bad guy came into the house.

I've been stressing about this one, and it's good to know that we have a plan in place...just in case.

Summer lovin'

2010-07-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Since it seems we've officially hit summer weather here, it only seems appropriate that I dedicate an entire blog post to it. (Thank you Summer, for finally joining us this year...better late than never, eh?) This is what summer means around here:

Yes, this picture is actually one from last year, sorry to those who care. Saweet goggles, Kenaroo!

Dripping in watermelon juice is one of my most favorite things about summer!

Notice the bandaged up knees? You can't see the bandaged elbows,
but believe me, they are there. I heard about them for days.

1st: The lovely shade of pink that Makenna picked out for me,

and then gave me the best ever manicure. :)

2nd: The dyed hand from making play dough. Awesome.

Did I mention my adoration for all things summer. I really love everything that summer brings (well, maybe I'll throw in an escape clause for the 102 degree weather.)

66.6%

2010-07-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

We have officially become a family with 2/3 of our children being proficient (I use the term loosely) swimmers. Luke, as of today, swam across the pool by himself and was beaming proud doing so! He rocked it, really.

This is what he will not be hanging onto for dear life again this summer! (I know that was an awkward sentence, but I'm too tired to figure it out, so there.you.go.)

Dear Sugar,

2010-06-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I've missed you.

We are on a no sugar diet, have been for 3 weeks and 1 day (but whose counting?).

The kids and I decided to try to make cookies without sugar today and I would rather eat bark. Seriously. If anyone has any good no sugar recipes that would help us get through this rough spell, let me know!

Lame.

2010-06-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

That is what I have become as a blogger as of late. So lame in fact that all I have for you today is my favorite thing Luke did today (which is, in my opinion, not lame.)

Luke, while sitting in the back seat singing to himself, "If you like it then you should have put a ring on it, whut ut oh, oh, oh...if you like it than you should have put a ring on it, whut ut oh..."

I am giving credit to the Chipmunks, and not Beyonce. Thankyouverymuch.

Memories of Grandma Wanda

2010-05-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

My Grandma Wanda passed away on the 17th of May. Here is a picture diary of her life...

Grandma as a young girl

Grandma Wanda and Grandpa Alvin (Al)

Their wedding day

Their family (my mom, Ruth is in the middle)

Photo collage of Grandma in her earlier years.

She was quite the bowler, who knew?!

Grandma (second from the left in the back) with her 6 out of 9 living siblings

Grandma with her children (my Mom, Ruth is on the left)

Photo collage of Grandma in her later years.

Grandma was a remarkable woman, with the will of an ox! We've always blamed our stubbornness and strong will on her, but I will always be grateful for what she taught me about sticking up for what I feel passionately about and always fighting for what I believe in.

Love you Grandma...

#5

2010-05-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

The Luke-in-nator turned 5 on Sunday, which also turned out to be Mothers Day this year. It was awesome to share that special day with my little man.

He asked for a carrot, chocolate chip cake (his own concoction) from Aunt Sarah, but we weren't able to make it up to Eugene for the weekend, so he reluctantly settled for a monster truck, double chocolate cake from me...

This year Luke has become such a different boy. Well, let me rephrase that...Luke seems to have returned to more of himself this year. (that sentence was awkward) Last year seemed to be a bit of a challenge, but I am happy to report that things are on the up and up for Mr. Luke.

Things I've been loving about Luke lately:

-His excitement about being strong and tough (just like Dad) that he will do just about anything, such as eat a tomato. As in, just take a bite out of it. Let me point out that Luke HATES tomatoes.

going for it...

and the aftermath

-Luke's love affair with t-ball

Don't you just love those ears poking out? Or maybe it's just me?

-How amazing he is at playing Shrek Cart on my ipod. I totally agree that this is nothing to be bragging about, but really, you should see this kid. It's amazing. And scary.

-How much he loves Makenna and Jared. And, just 'cause Luke can't read yet, and therefore will not be reading this I can point out how flippin much Jared idolizes him and will do anything Luke tells him to (or better yet, shows him).

-What an absolute "bringer of light" he is. Yes, there is a story behind that. When we were picking out a name for Luke, we decided we really liked the name Luke, and looked up the meaning, because meaning's are important for us. And, lo and behold, Luke Daniel meant...you guessed it...bringer of light, God is my witness. A little tidbit for journal purposes. :)

Happy Birthday Lukey Dude! We love you!

Moments

2010-05-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

My Grandma took a turn for the worse on Sunday when she fell...twice. It was a hard day filled with pain, tears, and (get this) Momma pride.

While talking with my mom downstairs, we both heard Makenna's voice upstairs but assumed she was singing to herself (which she does ALL the time). After about 10 minutes, I finally went up to check on her, and she was sitting criss-cross-applesauce on the ground reading to my grandma. The Little Mermaid. The long edition.

And grandma was sweet enough to listen to her through all her pain, not once letting on that she would much rather be lying down dealing with her pain in private. When I caught sight of Makenna and grandma like this the tears came good and hard. What a sympathetic darling girl to do something that she knew how to do to make someone she cared about feel better.

I've never been prouder of my sweet cheeks. (don't make fun...nearly all of Makenna's nicknames have something to do with her ginormous, incredibly kissable cheeks.)

The Best Kind of Comfort

2010-04-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today was the kind of day that only a pan full of these breadsticks could fix.

Thank you for saving me tonight lovely breadsticks (oh, and the tushy load of butter on them didn't hurt, either).

Conversations with a Preschooler

2010-04-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

On the way home from preschool today Luke and I had the following conversation:

L: Did you ask my teacher how I was today?
M: No, would you like me to ask you how you were in school today instead?
L: Oh, yes!
M: Okay. Luke, how were you in school today?
L: after a lengthy pause and a confused look..."Mom, that was kind of a dumb question. I don't know how I was at school today, you have to ask my teacher."

Doh.

Jamified

2010-04-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is what Makenna and I have been up to. In sequential order, of course...

It doesn't look like a lot of jam, but those containers look deceivingly small! At least that's what I'm going to tell you to make myself feel better about how long it took to make all the jam. It was one full afternoon of washing, stemming and mushing to make such beloved jam! But in the end, it's always worth it. YUM!

The Start of a Love Affair

2010-04-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

Not so sure I like this post title, considering it is about my 4 year old son. I'm not crazy about the words "love affair" in reference to my baby, but it's the best I could come up with...work with me here.

Luke had his first t-ball practice tonight. Well, parents meeting, really, but it was at the Little League Fields, so he was all geared up for it!

So geared up in fact that he won't take off his uniform, so they became his jammies tonight. And the ensemble is complete with his cap on his head and his mitt next to him. I'm bracing myself for some serious obsessions here.

Here's to t-ball. And countless hours at the local Little League Park.

I Will Survive (in a singing voice) Hey, Hey...

2010-03-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

As we are approaching the half way mark through day one of Spring Break , I find this song running through my head. Not so sure this is a good sign.

Surprisingly, it's feeling like a good day, Luke and Jared have had a great day, discovering a new (and fabulous) park and eating chocolate chip pancakes for lunch, yeah- I scored major awesome mom points for that one.

The not so hot moment of the day, though was when Luke was helping me make said pancakes and left the room abruptly. I followed him a minute later, you know just to make sure he wasn't off in the corner with a handful of chocolate chips. No. Not a handful. And not in his mouth.

I did find Luke in the corner however, and he looked a bit bashful. Upon further questioning, he reluctantly told me that he needed to sneeze, and his nose hurt. I took a wee little peek in his nose, and AH HA! there was a little ring of brown on the edge of one nostril. Turns out our pancake batter was one chocolate chip shy.

I thought my almost 5 year old sweet boy was way too old for the nose trick...turns out he wasn't. It took about 30 minutes of man power to finally get the little piece of heaven dislodged from his nose. I don't know that I'll ever look at chocolate the same again. Dang.

Sweet Lovin'

2010-03-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

I got together with some friends yesterday for a girls escape day and headed down to Ashland for an annual Chocolate Festival! We have lived here for 4 years and I just want to know why I didn't know about this sooner, and as a friend said, why I'm not running it!

It was a blast and not just for my taste buds! Everything from truffles, to chocolate sauce to... well anything chocolate imaginable, really! There was even chocolate cheese spread! And everything was to die for, with the exception of two ladies who were from the Eugene area who had these chocolates that were infused with saffron, and other crazy weird spices that just plain made me want to gag! And as fast as I could shove it in my mouth in hopes of moving on, she would hand me another sample of some psycho chocolate. I ended up with like five samples of nasties in my mouth and had to leave the table to try and swallow it...I felt like I was on Fear Factor! Yuck!

My day was filled with two things I love: Chocolate. Friends. Could a girl ask for anything more? It was awesome, and the only negative aspect was the canker sore I ended up with that night, but do I need to mention that it was so worth it?!

My buddies

Kathleen, Angela, Jeri, Gwyn, Aimee, Ginny

A wee little bit of heaven

Loved their cake, but loved their name even more!

A close second to my wedding cake!

Thanks Kathleen for letting me steal your pictures!

Love Bugs

2010-02-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

I love today, filled with simple acts of love. Sometimes I get annoyed at the commercialization of holidays, but with Valentines Day, I am glad for it. What a great in your face message to stop and enjoy some love?!

Luke gave his first talk in Primary today, and did great! I was so proud of him, thinking back to a year ago, and the amazing progress he has made! Last year he was having serious issues adjusting to Primary and not chillin' in nursery, playing with toys and munchin on snacks. This year he has become such an amazing little guy, his confidence has grown and he is not this shy, timid little boy anymore.

Here are pictures of Luke sporting his new "I gave a TALK in Primary" sticker.

In honor of Valentines day, a little heart...

This is what Luke gave as Valentines to his school buddies this year.

And when I left the table for seriously 30 seconds, this is what Jared did to the freshly made valentines (don't worry, I didn't wrap that sucker back up!):

It's Eerie Around Here

2010-02-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

I've been working on paying bills this morning, with the little reward in my head that I would grab a handful of chocolate chips when I was done.

I finished the bills, cleaned up the office and headed directly to the cupboard to reward my hard work. Imagine my dismay when the few chocolate chips at the bottom of the bag were (dare I say it?) GONE! Grrrr. After a quick phone call to confirm with Ben that he had indeed used the rest of the chocolate chips (how could he?) I settled for an empty ice cream cone.

It is now official...there is not a single morsel of chocolate in my house. Has that ever happened? I can't wrap my head around it, and its kinda freaking me out...

And So It Begins...

2010-01-26T20:39:00.000-08:00

Luke desperately needed new tennis shoes. So thoughtful Mom that I am, I go pick out a pair I think he will like, blue...his favorite color. Nike, a must. They also happen to be velcro (not dumb velcro, but really cool sporty lookin' velcro) that I think is important, because I am so done tying his shoes, and so done trying to teach him as we are running out the door late to preschool. Enter velcro. I can teach him to tie his shoes on Sunday when he puts on his church shoes.

Back to topic. New shoes. I come home quite late for Luke, a whopping 8:00 p.m. and hear him open his bedroom door. It appears he heard the garage door open and shut, and is finding this his excuse to get out of bed on this particular night. So, I called him down, thinking that I can briefly show him his shoes and back to bed he'll go. Nope.

After trying on the shoes and bookin' it around the house like 50 times (and I'm not exaggerating) he finally pulls off a shoe and goes over each and every detail of it with his Dad. It seems there is this athletic shoe obsession that will bond these two boys til the end of time! Ben described all the details of the shoe and how it works (like this is a deep topic or something, what do you mean how it works?! It's a shoe, it covers your foot so you can run on the playground and not get a splinter, duh!).

I don't claim to understand, just love. It turns out I can blog just as emphatically about new shoes as Luke can obsess over new shoes. We'll call that an even score. Luke 1, Mom 1

The object of obsession. Because I know you were dying to know! See, told you it's not dorky velcro.

The Mundane That's Not So Mundane

2010-01-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

I was feeling a bit sorry for myself today, with Makenna and Ben back to school and work after a long weekend home, and after being knee deep in laundry (literally) I was thinking how mundane my life has become. The most perplexing object of my day is what to make for dinner.

Then this happened: Luke woke up from his nap and gave me the best snuggles ever. And while telling him how much I loved him, he assured me he loved me just as much because he has super powers.

Then it occurred to me...(and I know so many have reminded me of this, so please take credit for it) these days of "snuggles" and "lovies" and "kissie faces" will pass. The ever annoying "momma's" said repeatedly until I'm ready to implode will inevitably fade into teenage years, which I'm sure will be great, but let's be honest...how can teenagers compete with the sweet, unconditional love that my 3 young kids so willingly give me. In no time at all they will recognize ALL my imperfections, and see how flawed their mom is.

So, between now and teenager-hood, I am going to enjoy each call for help to wipe bums, each snotted-up shoulder after I've just gotten ready for a date with Ben, and each sweet warm snuggle that is sure to show up after each nap time awaking. That doesn't mean I have to enjoy the endless sink full of dishes, and the always present question, "what's for dinner?!", right? Please tell me I'm right. Please.

Treasures

2010-01-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

I came home late after a girls night out last night and found a perfectly clean kitchen and a note.

The note said:

Dear Mom,

I cleaned the kitchen for you! I 'heart' you and please come give me kisses & hugs & loves. Your the BEST Mom ever.

Sincelerly,
Makenna

P.S. I unloaded the dishwasher and loaded with dirty dishes.

Can I just say one sweet little 8 year old got major kisses & hugs & loves last night. My next question is only natural...what is she kissing up for? Or could it be that I am just that great of a Mom, and I taught her how to do selfless acts of service? I'll keep you posted.

Back in the Saddle

2010-01-05T13:28:00.000-08:00

As school resumes today I am finally able to devote an insey winsey bit of time to my blog. Here is a glimpse of Christmas 2009, I think I'll take the visual approach to describing our holiday...

We started out the holiday season with the ward party, and since I am on the activities committee it was a huge part of my life for a bit there. Here we are after setting up,and before the party began. The theme was Christmas in Central Park, and it turned out great!

Luke was in his first preschool Christmas program this year, and he did SO GREAT! He is our shy one, and I had my concerns that he wouldn't participate, but he knew all the words, and sung his little heart out. The blurry picture is him waving hello to us. A.DOR.ABLE.

We always have Christmas early here, so that we can go enjoy it in Eugene with family. Christmas Eve brings new jammies for the kiddos. This year we did cordinating jammies...Makenna's say Big Sister, Luke has Big Brother, and Jared's say Little Brother. Santa was good to this clan on Christmas Morning.

Christmas morning at the Whitmer's was great. Everyone was home this Christmas, and it looks like it will be the last one for a while, as Josh goes on a mission later this year...

Traditional Christmas morning breakfast was awesome at my Mom's house (sorry no pics...what was I thinking?!). Strawberry waffles slathered in whipped cream. I'm salivating just typing about it. *slurp*

All in all it was an amazing Christmas. I love that we have a special holiday to focus on the Savior, his birth and life upon this earth. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas as well!

Just Plain Silly

2009-12-16T12:58:00.001-08:00

I don't know why I find these so funny. Perhaps it is my childrens reaction to see themselves doing something so out of character. Whatever the reason, here is "their" latest silliness.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Good Reminder

2009-12-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

I was reminded today why I am not the cookies baker in our home.

Need I say more? Think not.

Starting 'em Young

2009-12-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

Someone in the grocery store line today told me that I was starting my kids young as Duck fans. I think she meant it as an insult, but I took it as a HUGE compliment. I mean pshyea, who wouldn't be. Couldn't be prouder of my duck lovin' kids!

Disappointment

2009-12-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things in the winter is warm socks fresh from the dryer. I have been waiting all morning for this particular load to finish it's wash cycle, and hurry up and dry so I could put on my favorite snug warm socks! When the beeper indicated that the socks were dry I gleefully made my way to the dryer and searched out my socks. Imagine my disappointment when I could only find one. I found the other in the dirty pile still. Dang. Here's to warm socks in a couple more hours.

Inside the Mind of a 4 Year Old

2009-12-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

At the dinner table a couple of nights ago, Luke made his disdain known for the Swiss Chicken on his plate. He told me (without trying a bit, of course) that it was disgusting.

My wheels start turning, and I quickly came up with a plan. I told Luke we were having a treat for dinner. His eyes perked up, the sour face melted, and he asked me what the treat was? I told him the chicken I made was a treat dinner, and that he would love it! He was all lit up with excitement as he tried a bite and exclaimed, "you're right, Mom! It is a treat, I love this chicken!" *Phew*

The next night we were talking about what he learned in Primary, the day before and he told me that Sister Booger had taught him about the prophets. Ben corrected him, and reminded him her name is Sister Burger, just like it's cold out side...brrrrr...Burger. And without missing a beat, Luke said, "Oh, frozen boogers. That's gross."

Never a dull moment...

Here's another little snippet of our latest family photos.

A Case of the Crazies!

2009-11-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

Aye, Aye, Aye! My three munchkins keep me not only busy, but cracking up! Here is a recap from the past few months of the funnies around here:

For some reason their Mr. Potato Head pieces brought so much enjoyment this particular evening...

Jared gets so excited around 6:00 every night, his internal clock is telling him Daddy will be home soon. Here he is waiting for the sound of the garage door to open...his cue that Dad is home!

And, here is Jared's reaction when he realizes Dad is home. You've got to watch his face right after I say, "Jared, Daddy's home".
It's priceless!
(he must not have heard the gargae door this night, over the roar of his Hotwheel car)

Ahh, don't they look like such loving brothers?

Tricked ya! Jared going for the kill! (sorry for the indecent shot of Iron man undies...we obviously need to work on modesty around here!)

I think God has an amazing sense of humor...he gave me my crazy kids! And I'm sure he's getting the biggest kick out of seeing all the nutty things they come up with!

Wake Me, I'm Dreaming

2009-11-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

Ben had to make a trip to the bay area on Friday last week, and as he realized the Oregon football team was playing at Stanford on Saturday, his plans changed a bit. Instead of flying he drove, and instead of going alone, he took ME! Sarah and Seth came down to take care of the kiddos so Ben and I could have an amazing trip together.

He had a 3 hour meeting in the morning on Friday so I hung out in down town San Francisco, ate sour dough bread and rode the trolly! It was great fun, but what was not great fun was the huge amount of traffic. And the cranky horn happy drivers. And the crazy people who in masses crossed the street diagonally through crazy busy intersections. Crazy.

I also saw the tallest mall ever. I looked up and saw 6 floors above me (they didn't all show up in my picture), and 2 more below me. There may have been more above me, but I didn't want to stare, and look like a complete and total dorky tourist. As it was, I took a picture in the most inconspicuous way possible! :)

That afternoon we drove down to Menlo Park (Palo Alto area) and I knew Ben's meeting there would be pretty short, so I just drove around the area to kill a bit of time. The homes were amazing. No, I don't think you understand. Seriously amazing. There was one for sale, so naturally I picked up a flyer to see what kinds of prices these home were going for. First off, let me say that this particular home was the ugliest I had seen compared to it's neighbors. But still, it was 4,000 sq feet, pool, pool house, the works! According to the flyer the "home was a perfect candidate for remodel. But it was perfectly livable until the remodel could take place." Are you kidding me?! Now might be a good time to mention it's 4.3 million dollar asking price. That's alotta money for a fixer uper! Holy Moly! We're not in Medford anymore, Toto!

The lesson I was taught as a kid, never to judge a book by it's cover was brought to life when we pulled into our hotel. We thought it would be fun to try a local boutique style hotel we found on line, but were honestly terrified when we pulled up to the hotel that night. Our fears thankfully subsided once we stepped foot into the hotel, we felt like we had found a diamond in the rough. It was beautiful, and our room was amazing...we didn't want to leave, but our tummies forced us out as the hunger pains wouldn't stop plaguing us.

I am a carbohydrate buff, so I don't feel out of line saying that the most delicious bread on the planet is at a local Italian restaurant in Mountain View, where we had dinner that night. Crusty on the outside, light, but chewy on the inside...what dreams are made of, really.

And just in case you don't believe me when I say I'm in love with bread, here's a picture of my new found favorite bread. Not a single picture from the trip of Ben, but the bread made it onto my blog. Priorities.

Even though we lost the game on Saturday, it was still fun to watch our Ducks play. Oregon fans had a huge showing, I'm thinking about half the stadium was filled with green and yellow! And, it was uber cool to watch the team warm up on the field right in front of our seats, but not as much fun to watch our defense sleep through the game. Grrrrr....

I thought this was plain awesome! In the middle of this picture (you may have to click on the pic to see it better) is Chip Kelly, the Oregon coach. He spend the entire warm up period intently watching Stanford. He wasn't ashamed of it, either. He was a stone throw away while the Stanford coaches were talking to their team. Talk about intimidating...

Oh, and can I just say I don't care much for Berkley! Or the mysterious Sweet Tomatoes that must have disappeared, or their lousy Italian Eateries, or their...

You get the idea. Not a Berkley fan.

But. I am a fan of weekends away with my man. A big fan!

All Treats, Please!

2009-10-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

Total lack-a-tude lately, but here is Halloween!

Makenna was our little Jesse from Toy Story this year. She wanted to be Jesse last year, but the stars didn't align for her until this year. What a cute little cowgirl we have! And Ben dressed up as the most amazing duck fan Dad ever this year! ;)

What better for Luke, than a Motocross rider. Fits his personality perfectly!

Look no more, Jared is the perfect little Roo!

We had loads of fun at the ward Trunk or Treat, then headed down our street to trick or treat. Luke got to trick or treat at his preschool teachers home, they live across the street. Then home, a sugar fest, and tuck tuck to bed. On went the t.v. to watch a steller showing from the Ducks as they clean up house on USC! Fun game, fun night with all treats for us!

Loss of Innocence

2009-10-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Bed time tuck in tonight went as follows:

Makenna-crumpling up a note to the tooth fairy, "Well, that was pointless, she hasn't come in 3 nights!" (I know, I know, I'm a lousy mother, who is so stinking exhausted at night, I have simply forgotten my tooth fairy duties)

Me: "Well, why don't you give her another try tonight?"

Makenna: "Because I KNOW that you are the tooth fairy..."

Me: stammering, "when did you find that out?"

Makenna: with a smirk. "Just now...you just told me!"

The rest of the conversation was me trying to back track and convince my 8 year old that I am most certainly NOT the tooth fairy. Makenna giggled and held out her hand, and said, "Now, give me my money!" Very sweetly, of course!

Smile!

2009-10-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

Time in the car: 32 hours.
Days gone from family: 4.
Number of tears shed from laughter: 72.
Whitmer Girl bonding: Priceless.

I just got back from a truly amazing weekend. The girls in Ben's family got together and made a road trip to Utah for General Conference. I have not laughed so hard, talked so much, or had that much fun in so long! I had a lapse in judgment and relied on Sarah to take all the pictures, even though my camera was just hanging out in my suitcase. I'm sure I'll only end up seeing a few of the many pictures we took because...well, how do I say this nicely? Some of us weren't feeling very photogenic.

We ended up with red blotchy faces one night trying to get a group shot because we were crying so hard. They were tears of laughter, but we could not compose ourselves long enough to snap just one decent picture. I won't say who had "angry eyes" and had to finally go put on sunglasses. Ahhhemmsarah.

We got to spend quit a bit of time with Josh and see some old as well as new friends at Brick Oven. It was awesome to get to know one of Ben's cousins, Colby, and seeing Tracey and Lanette was awesome!

Being in Provo really reminded me of the good 'ol days of being a poor starving college student. It was great to remember how poor I was, but how much fun I had at that stage in life. What a great reminder that it's not money that brings happiness. So much joy comes from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how blessed I feel to be able to go to Utah with "the girls" to enjoy Conference together.

What a great trip! Oh...I almost forgot! I discovered where steak comes from. Life lessons, here folks.

Day at the Spa

2009-09-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a relaxing day at the Spa. The Spa-de-Kenna, that is. Makenna decided I need a makeover, and gave me a facial (makeup), back and leg massage, which was surprisingly AMAZING, and a manicure. Wow, who knew that an 8 year old could rock out a spa day in such an awesome way.

Here were the main takeaways I heard:
As each layer of eyeshadow went on, and there were seriously like 4 "Oh yeah...that looks great!"

As the blush was applied, "Mmmhmmm, you have a nice glow to you now"

And don't forget massive amounts of lip gloss. The colors that were chosen for me? Blue, purple, and green. The pretty pink lay there calling out to me, but was unfortunately ignored. Maybe next time, precious pink.

Thanks Makenna for being a rock star to your Mom! OH- I also got 8 stupendous hours to myself today. Thanks Ben for the "vacation day". You are the best.

Tricked Ya!

2009-09-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

I was at Costco today to grab a few things, and bribed Luke with the tempting possibility of pizza if he was good. He made it, and enjoyed the fruits of his labor. As we were cleaning up our pizza mess a sweet older lady comes up to me and *gasp* tells me that my boys (Luke and Jared) are so well behaved and that they must have an amazing mother. I inwardly giggled, thinking that I sure fooled her! But politely said, "Well, thank you!"

If this same elderly woman spends much time at Costco, next time we go I'm sure she'll see our true colors complete with spilled water, thrown pizza, tears, and tantrums. But today...today I am an amazing mother.

9 Down, Eternity to Go

2009-09-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today at 10:00 a.m. marks 9 happy, crazy, blissful, amusing, smitten, dreamy, and at times just plain nutty years together as husband and wife.

Ben is the glue that keeps me together. Keeps me laughing when days are long and full of snot and poo. Keeps things in perspective when I want to give up. He makes my heart flop in my chest when he gives me a wink across the room. I want to be a better person because of the person he believes I can be. Cliche, I know...but just so darn true. There is a reason Hallmark sells so many cards.

I have loved every minute that we have spent together, Ben...thanks for being my glue, my love, my everything.

I don't even know what Ben was saying here, but it doesn't appear to be child friendly, so we'll leave it at that. Awkward.

Baptism Day

2009-09-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Makenna was baptized on Saturday and we had such an amazing day. We started the day with a BIG breakfast per Makenna's request. We had a lot of family traveling to Medford, so we invited them all over to share raspberry truffle pancakes, hash browns, eggs, sausage and some lip smackin' OJ with us.

Makenna slipped into her pretty white dress, and we headed to the church for her big event. More family and friends joined us in watching as Makenna was baptized by her Dad, and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. While Makenna was changing back into her dress, we had our family and friends write a letter to Makenna that we plan on binding into a book. She was given lots of loving words and advice in those letters, what a treasure they will be for her to look back and use as a tool as she works her way through this life.

We love you, Makenna and are proud of the big choice you made to be baptized!

Happy Birthday, Makenna!

2009-08-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Makenna is 8! I just want to know where the last 7 years have gone. What has happened to my little baby girl? The one who would blow out her diaper at the most inconvenient times...like when I was making home made tapioca pudding, and stirring it over the stove, and had to decide if I was going to clean her out of her ooey gooey mess, and ruin the pudding, or save the pudding and make her wait it out in the messy diaper. She won, of course, but awful timing!

Makenna has grown so much this year!

She finally talked me into letting her roller skate, and she was right...she did awesome!
Has excelled at school, and is part of the T.A.G. program
She has developed a love for music, and wants to learn the violin and piano
Started her first year of Little League Softball, and their team went undefeated, 18-0
Has become a great friend to her Mom and Dad, we fight over who gets to take Makenna places :)
Is a great big sister to Jared, always wanting to make sure he is happy

I am so proud of Makenna and the girl she is becoming. She has made an important decision to be baptized on September 5th at 11:00 am, in Medford. All are welcome, and we would love to see you there!

Happy Birthday, Kenna Rosie!

4eyed Ninnymuggins

2009-08-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Just had to share this:

The goggles belong to Luke, but Jared thought they were so fun to wear, until now:

Can I just say how much I love this little guy? He keeps us laughing, for sure.

Hot Date

2009-07-24T20:44:00.001-07:00

We got home from camping, and I was dying to go out. Being pretty last minute, we couldn't get a babysitter, so I traded a date with Ben for a date with Kenna.

I initiated Makenna on one of my favorites...Olive Garden. She loved it as much as I do. We ordered a pasta and broccoli dish, and shared. I taught her the art of porking out on bread sticks and salad, and bringing home the dinner as leftovers for the next day. Life lessons here, folks.

Mmmm Mmmm good.

After dinner we went to a friends wedding reception. Ate cake. Chatted. Dropped cake. Blew bubbles. Got another piece of cake to replace above said dropped cake. Said goodnight to a wonderful evening with my kiddo, and realized just how cruddy it is that someday I will have to share my dates with her.

Makenna is so full of light and life. She loves to laugh and make others happy. What a special girl, I'm glad I got to share a fun night to rediscover what makes her such a great girl!

Ta Da!

2009-07-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

I was looking for Jared's swim suit yesterday. I hadn't been able to find it since we got back from camping...annoying. Actually I was really annoyed.

Luke came up and said, "Mom, all you have to do is say a prayer to Hea'nly Father, and he will help you find it". So, Luke said the prayer for us, and promptly after he said amen, he said, "TA-DA!"

Knowing full well that all he had to do was ask, and duh, of course Heavenly Father would simply answer our prayer. I loved the not so gentle reminder he gave me to have a little more faith.

Thanks, Luke-y! I love you!

Luke swimming later that night.

Call Us Crazy...

2009-07-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

but we took our family camping this last weekend. Wait...that's not the crazy part, this is:

Makenna and Luke's first time going down the river.

We rented a kayak and Makenna and Luke each tried their hand at braving the rapids. With the exception of one terrifying moment, it was a complete and total blast. Makenna lost her flip flops out of the kayak (refer to the terrifying moment), and had to wear only socks the rest of the camping trip. Gross. I know.

We had some seriously great moments together. Makenna and Luke got into a water fight with the water spiket and empty juice bottles. They were both totally soaked and in complete water-logged heaven. It was actually a great way to cool off their bodies from the 100 degree weather. Ooooo, dog...it was HOT!

I forewarn you that there will be a gazillion pictures in this post, mostly because I don't want to ever forget this thrilling, adventurous, exciting, exhilarating trip. Okay, I know I'm being dramatic. But honestly it WAS one of the best trips we've ever been on. Plus, I couldn’t narrow down the pictures to a reasonable amount, so I just put them all in. Sorry! Okay, not really.

Without further ado...

Yeah, we made fun of the name, too!

Jared hangin' in the tent. The only place to keep clean.

There they go.

and lookin' good while doin' it.

Oh my...what will we do with this one in 8 more years?

Jared friggin' loved this juice. It was an orange and pineapple mix.

Water fight.

Feel the love.

I just want to bottle this up! I loved this moment with Luke!!

See above mentioned comment. L-O-V-E IT!!

Don't they look like little hoodlums?

Jared rockin' to the ipod. You should see this boy's moves.

He can dance like nobodies business.

Throwing the ball back and forth. and back and forth. back and forth.
Get the idea?

Jared playing Peek...

a boo.

Bring it.

This picture makes me think that Luke had total faith in Ben to keep him safe.

Could be my all time favorite picture of Luke-y Dude

Luke walking back to our campsite after conquering the river. Look at the victory written all over him! He knew he did something special!

I love and loath this picture. Hate how I look,

but love the contrast of all the colors.

Ex.Ah.Sted. Nuff said.

I'm on top of a bridge taking this picture as Ben and Makenna go underneath.

Melts my heart.

Ben relaxing on the kayak. Well, Jared is actually the one who is completely relaxed. Which if you spend any time with this kiddo, you will know how rare and far between these moments are.

I was making dinner, and used the tent as a way for Jared to get down and play without getting FILTHY! Jared sat and "read" books for 20 minutes. I took this picture through the mesh of the tent.

So darling!

Luke is "skating" on lego's with wheels.

Oh, man. Those eyes know how to work magic on this Mama!

Ben reading to Luke.

Same picture but without the flash. I love it.

See now why I couldn't narrow down the pictures more than this. Okay, maybe you can't see why, but it's my journal, okay? I get to decide.

We had an awesome time, and was greatly reminded of how the Lord watches over us and keeps us safe. I am so grateful for the great teaching moments we had on the river and for all the fun we had in strengthening our family through playing together.

You're a Grand Ol' Flag!

2009-07-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

I've had this song stuck in my head for a solid week, so I thought it only natural that I pay tribute by naming my 4th of July post after it!

We had a really fun fourth this year, filled with great friends, family produced parades, grilling and swimming. Is there anything more needed for a perfect day? Nope. Nada. Nothing. It was great!

We started out at Holmes Park to cook some pancakes and do a fun little jaunt around the park with decorated bikes, strollers, and scooters. We met up with The Johnsons, Nichols, Hazeltons, and Monacos, ate til our tummies burst with pancakes, blueberries, strawberries, and muffins.

We had a few families over that night to swim and bbq with us, and had a blast! Then off to another friends house to enjoy a firework show, he is a self pronounced "pyro maniac". They kids had fun with sparklers, glow in the dark bracelets, poppers, and all things that make up wonderful 4th of July memories! I got a great video clip of Billy doing a dance in the street with sparklers...future blackmail.

On our way home, Makenna and Luke desperately wanted to see the city fireworks at the Harry and David field. We knew it would be too late to get in to the field, so we just drove over to a good spot and watched from our car. Makenna and Jared fell asleep on the way there, but Luke was wide-eyed and bushy tailed and loved every moment of them! Well, almost every moment. Call this irony, or justice...but our little fire cracker, Luke (as loud and crazy as they come) was scared silly with the loud fireworks. He sat next to Ben with Ben's hand covering his ears as he watched the fireworks shooting in the air at our friends house. The BIG fireworks later in the night had a deeper, farther away boom that didn't scare him as much. Good times. Really good times that I won't forget for years to come.

I love my freedom, family and friends. All the things I associate with the 4th of July. I am extremely thankful for the men and women who fought, and still fight to keep us free. What an amazing gift they have given us, so that we can live in a land of the free, and a home of the brave. Cheesy, I know, but so true.

The whole gang.

All decked out and ready to roll.

Shazaaaam!

Me with 2 of my favorite people!

Backyard BBQ!

The adorable trio. These guys are just a few months apart, and are gonna being causing serious trouble in just a few short years.

All the kids bookend by the Dads

Mom and baby row.

Above mentioned black mail. I have the video of it that captures him in all his booging glory.

Kiss-a-licious.

So sweet. Notice who is in the drivers seat?

Two words. Trou....ble!

PARTY!

2009-06-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it was more like vacation...and at times not at all like a party! When you travel with 3 little kids, it kind of never is a party, right?

We just got home from a quick trip to the Bay area, we had fun at a Disney Train Tour promoting "The Christmas Carol" movie coming out for the Holidays, then we headed to Discovery Kingdom for a couple of days. We had a blast! Makenna's favorite ride was the Tony Hawk and the Roar (a wooden roller coaster that drops 10 stories at one point). Ben took her on the wooden roller coaster, and Makenna was shedding a few tears as the roller coaster was loading up, she almost changed her mind, but the competitor in her wouldn't back down...she went and loved it!

Luke's favorite ride was a red train and the helicopters that went up and down depending on how you pushed the joystick. So fun, and so darn cute to watch their happy little faces. Discovery Kingdom also has amazing animal shows. We saw Dolphin shows, Shouka, the Killer Whale, and tigers! So cool!

The Train Tour was amazing! It describes how they made this movie using a combination of acting and animation. Special sensors are placed on the actors bodies and faces, the computer recognizes movements and facial expressions, then they animate the character. At the end of the tour they had kiosks set up to take your picture and allowed you to morph your face into the different characters. Makenna's favorite was Belle, and Luke loved himself as the ghost! Then we headed over to take a sneak peak at the movie in 3D. It was about a 15 minute preview of a couple of scenes, and it looks like it will be a really fun movie to see...can't wait!

Makenna was interviewed by the Oakland Tribune, and was quoted in the next day's paper as saying: "It was cool to see how they did movies. I'm very grateful I got to go on this train with my parents. I was excited to see the movie. I also enjoyed getting my face morphed into Belle." Needless to say we made a stop at the store the next day and bought Makenna a paper to keep in her "special box".

No trip to California is complete without a stop (or, in our family, a couple of them) to In-n-Out, and this trip was no exception. We ate ourselves silly on grilled cheese sandwiches (my favorite) and milkshakes (you should see Jared go to town on those bad boys! He definitely has the sucking thing down!)

All in all the trip was fantastic. We did have our moments of baby food being flown into my hair, and poo water flying out of the toilet (don't ask.) But all things considered it was a great trip and great memories were built for all of us!

Makenna and Ben taking a virtual tour of London, where the movie takes place.

Isn't she cute? I think so too!

Ben and Makenna morphing themselves into different characters.

This is a perfect picture to me because it captures everyone in the phase they are going through. Makenna is being goofy, Luke shy, and Jared constantly distracted. I'm just weird looking, and Ben is hot. See. Everyone is perfectly captured!

What a goof ball! Getting ready for the 3D sneak peek to start.

Then, we headed to Discovery Kingdom...Makenna and Jared on the Thomas the Train ride.

Freaky.

Back off...their mine!

Ferrari

2009-06-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were all hanging out in the playroom and Luke brings 4 Matchbox cars up to me and Ben and tells us, "Mom and Dad, look! I have 4 Ferrari's!" He holds them out to show me, and because I know very little about cars and what they look like, I just agreed with him, but thinking in the back of my mind that there were probably a mixture of different cars.

Then he grabs one and flips it over and "reads" the back. (can't quite read, but he knew that's where the name of the car was at) "See, Ferrari." Grabs the next, flips it over "Ferrari", grabs the next, flips, "Ferrari", and the last one: "Ferrari!" This may not seem to be a huge deal, but he has SO many Matchbox cars (thanks, Grandma!) we found it quite funny that he had figured out in his mind that he had 4 that matched, even though the body styles are different.

Funny boy. Gotta love how his mind works!

Update...

2009-06-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

I knew it wouldn't last long. Just a short few hours after bliss-land, things changed a bit around here. I'll show the updated day in red, black is my previous post.

My days are generally filled with this: "Mom!! He's hitting me!!!" OR "I'm telling" OR "Stop KICKING" OR .... do I really need to go on? You get the idea. With 3 home during the summer, and one of them being very, very spirited and full of zing, I tend to be the mediator a lot. I mean A LOT!!

But.

This morning, life has been blissful. Lots of sharing sharing, what sharing?and kind words HA!. Lots of hugs and snuggles or strangles to be more precise. Lots of playing together and (gasp) enjoying it! strike that, playing doesn't usually include kicking and head butting!

Maybe it has to do with the double chocolate chip cookies that I made and shared with them. Yes, I think all the chocolate and sugar has back fired. Severely. (yes, I know cookies at 10:00am, not the best idea!) I am going visiting teaching after church, and thought I would bring treats this time. So early morning baking it is!

Maybe it has to do with the... huh. I really don't know what has spurred the momentary change of heart, but I am going to enjoy it to it's fullest. 'Cause I know in 5 minutes flat Spot on. it is more than likely all going to change. Here's to bliss. Cheers. Enjoyed all I could, while I could.

Oh.

And Luke just came down saying, "Makenna's watching Princess Diarrhea" aka Princess Diaries. Poor Princess, I hope she is feeling better soon. Diarrhea is a bummer. (sorry, couldn't pass on that play on words) :>

Thankfully Ben came home and saved me. He had been in another town for a speaking assignment for Church, and I wasn't expecting him home until after our ward had started. What a pleasant surprise!

Ah, I Love Ya, Man!

2009-06-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

My days are generally filled with this: "Mom!! He's hitting me!!!" OR "I'm telling" OR "Stop KICKING" OR .... do I really need to go on? You get the idea. With 3 home during the summer, and one of them being very, very spirited and full of zing, I tend to be the mediator a lot. I mean A LOT!!

But.

This morning, life has been blissful. Lots of sharing and kind words. Lots of hugs and snuggles. Lots of playing together and (gasp) enjoying it!

Maybe it has to do with the double chocolate chip cookies that I made and shared with them. (yes, I know cookies at 10:00am, not the best idea!) I am going visiting teaching after church, and thought I would bring treats this time. So early morning baking it is!

Maybe it has to do with the... huh. I really don't know what has spurred the momentary change of heart, but I am going to enjoy it to it's fullest. 'Cause I know in 5 minutes flat it is more than likely all going to change. Here's to bliss. Cheers.

Oh.

And Luke just came down saying, "Makenna's watching Princess Diarrhea" aka Princess Diaries. Poor Princess, I hope she is feeling better soon. Diarrhea is a bummer. (sorry, couldn't pass on that play on words) :>

Nummy Numminess!

2009-06-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

I have a secret love affair with these:

I can eat (and sometimes do) a whole pan by myself. Yum-freakin-o! Thanks Angela for sharing the recipe with me, or maybe I should be angry with you, seeing how my tushie takes the brunt of it all! :>

I'll post the recipe, but be forewarned...they are addicting!

Bread Sticks
1 1/2 C. warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp salt (I use a tad less)
4-6 C. flour
1/4 C. butter or marg.
1/4 tsp. (or so) Garlic powder
Parmesan Cheese

1. In a medium bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and warm water. Let stand 10 mins.
2. Add the salt and enough flour so it's not sticky
3. Knead, then cover and rise until double
4. Roll out dough into a rectangle, and cut into strips. Fold each strip in half and twist. Place in greased pan
5. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan
6. Bake in preheate 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes

I'm not kidding, these are so nummy!

Happy Birthday, Jear-Bear!

2009-05-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

365 days later.

What a year! Jared is 1!

Jared had a really great birthday and we were able to share it with some friends and family! Matt and Charity were in town, so they were able to come and celebrate Jared's birthday with us...so fun! As tradition has it, Jared got his own cake to do with as he pleased...he pleased to make a huge mess! It took him a second to warm up to the idea, but as soon as he put his frosting covered finger in his mouth and tasted the cream cheese frosting goodness, there was no stopping him!

We pulled out a Slip-n-Slide for the older kids to play on, and the water run off made a mess in the dirt next to the yard. Jared was all about the mud! On a normal day if he would have looked at the mud in a way to suggest he wanted to get in it, I would have have said, "over my dead body". But tonight I let him go for it (I'm making progress) until he was good and dirty from head to toe, then put him into the Slip-n-Slide to clean off! He loved it, I didn't so much, but what can you do?

Here are some pictures.

Opening a present from Grandma Ruth. Thanks, Grandma! We love and miss you!
It seems as though he really understands what the card says :) He's advanced!

The Ball Masta!

Above mentioned mud. Ick.

Singing, "Happy Birthday to you!"

His first lick.

His last lick.

Good friends, and times.

Angel Friends

2009-05-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

Luke loves being sung to at night when we tuck him in. Song choice number one? You guessed it... Angel Friends (you cheated). In fact he loves it so much that he is sure that Jared shares the same sentiment for it, and insists that I sing only that song to Jared when I tuck him in for naps or bedtime. If Luke is downstairs while I am taking Jared up for his afternoon nap, he will run to the bottom of the stairs, and yell up to me, "Mom, sing Jared Angel Friends!" Then he waits and listens to make sure I am making good on my promise. If I pause during my song and listen I can hear Luke singing along downstairs. It is so stinkin' cute.

Oh, and I can't get lazy and sing only one verse. I have to sing the second verse as well. (There is actually a third verse, but I don't want to let Luke in on the secret, because then the singing part of our tuck in ritual will dramatically increase...I'm good with 2 verses.)

Love it. A memory worth hanging onto!

Snip! Snip!

2009-05-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

Jared has had a funny little mohawk for the last 6 months or so (was just how his hair had grown in), and I haven't had the heart to give him his first hair cut to get rid of it...until today. I used to try to smooth his hair over to one side, but that just made him look like an aging old man with a comb-over.

I don't know if I can even really call it a hair cut, it was just a few snips off the top to try to even out the length all around, and I trimmed a bit around his ears so his hair wouldn't hang over his ears. Kinda sad. Kinda happy...he is growing up.

Before-

He looks like he's in pain, but really it's pure joy. Those are chocolate chip pancakes for Luke's birthday breakfast last week!

After-

He looks so grown up!

Running to Stand Still...

2009-05-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Ever have that dream where you are trying to get somewhere important, and you can never make it. Something happens, and you are delayed, then time seems to move too fast, and you feel so frustrated that you can't get there on time...

I have that dream a couple of times a year.

This morning Makenna was complaining that her throat hurt, but she was in good spirits, and so we decided to go ahead and go to school, but to call if things get worse. Sure enough, about 2 hours later she calls, "Mom...can you come get me?" (in a small sickly voice). I gather the two boys up and jump in the car to make the short drive to her school. She is waiting for me in the school office, and as soon as she sees me, she runs up and gives me a hug and says, "Hi Mom!". Totally not the sickly girl I was expecting. I told her she didn't look sick, and the school receptionist agreed telling me that she has been acting fine. Makenna and I have a little chat, and she decides she just needs a cough drop, but the school doesn't have any. So, back into the car we go and I think to myself, "I can kill two birds with one stone (what a sick analogy, btw) if I swing back by home and pick up the things I needed to return to Target and buy the cough drops there. Genius.

We run back home, and I notice just how far below empty the gas gauge is and decide we best be stopping for gas, unless we wanna be walking. Into the Shell station, and the nice gas boy walks right up..."fill it up?" he asks. Yes, please...as I reach for my wallet...wait! I left my purse at home! Aaaahhhhhh. Back home. No purse. Turns out I left it in Ben's car. I scrounge around the house and come up with a couple of bucks to stop at the corner convenience store to buy an overpriced box of lozenges. Good thing I love above said little girl...this is turning out to be a lot of running around on a completely empty tank of gas. Back to the school, give drops to Makenna...and pray we make it back home without running out of gas (must admit though, that at this point I am less worried, because we live about a mile from school, and I have the stroller in the back of the car).

As I'm driving along the street that runs along parallel with the play ground a ball comes flying over the fence. Stop. Climb out. Throw ball back over fence (after walking 20 feet closer, cause I can't throw that far, and I wasn't going to embarrass myself in front of those 10 year old boys) :>

I did make it home with a fume or two left in the tank. Yay.

It just reminded me of those dreams...you know. When you can't quit make it where you are supposed to be. It's been the kind of morning that only leftover birthday cake and ice cream can make all better. (eating as I'm typing)

The dryer buzzer just went off. Time to move more laundry through. Another example of running to stand still...I never quite make it to the end.

2009-05-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

I want to give a big huge "Happy Mom's Day" to my awesome Mom, who is one of the most selfless, thoughtful, wonderful women I know. She is always quick to offer to watch my kids, or to make our stays at her home comfy, and enjoyable. My kids simply adore her and can't wait to go visit. I am amazed at how generous she is and wants to share all she has with those around her. What a great example to me!

Also, my Mom-in-law! Ben's Mom is another amazing women and I am glad to have married into their family. She is such a fun grandma and we all love to spend time with her. I am happy to know that she would do anything to make sure we are taken care of, and to know that she wants the best for us.

Thank you to our Moms for being so wonderful and loving us! We all love you tons!

Happy Birthday, Luke!

2009-05-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Our little big man turned 4! He is such a fun and spunky little guy, who brings a ton of love and laughs to our life. I feel very blessed to be the Mom of a boy with such a special spirit.

The things I love most about Luke:

1. His enthusiasm for life
2. He is very sweet and thoughtful
3. And very tenacious (you never know which one you will get sweet or tenacious, but he is definitely both)
4. He does everything 100%. Good or bad, it is all or nothing.

This year, for the first year ever...I made a home made theme cake. I know it is not much to look at, but it was fun for Makenna and I to decorate, and as sad as this sounds, it made me feel like a real (for lack of a better word) Mom. We made a race track with Hotwheel cars on it and a Goodwheel Blimp on the grass inside of the track. Makenna took charge of the candles and turned them into racing flags. We had fun together making it!

Luke got a soccer ball, a small helicopter, and Super man pj's (though he is convinced it is a costume). He spent the remainder of the evening running around (read: flying) through the house. Oh, to be 4!

And, I almost forgot...Ben found this small Nike compression shirt in a tiny size and picked it up for Luke's birthday. Luke dubbed it his strong man shirt. It is so dang cute! He is sure he gets stronger when it is on, and he just might be right. :)

We also went to Medford's annual Touch-a-Truck show. Luke got to sit inside of construction trucks and honk their horn, as well as hold a fire hose while it was spraying water. We also saw a rescue helicopter and ambulance. Makenna and Luke rode in a barrel being pulled by a tractor, which was also a lot of fun. We all enjoyed the day.

We love you, Luke! Happy Birthday!

Please, No More!

2009-05-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

At lunch today Luke was eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich and Jared was sitting in his high chair eating miscellaneous baby snacks. Luke thought it was very funny to look at Jared and make an exaggerated smile and big smacking mouth. Jared hated it and told Luke so in an annoyed scream.

Luke kept repeating the process, then he would stop when I noticed... and so it went on and on, until I finally told Luke in a not so pleasant tone, that Jared is telling him "No, I don't like that."

Luke corrected me, and said, "No, Mom, he is saying, "No, I don't like that PLEASE!"

I thought it was funny that as Luke is doing all he can to make Jared scream, he was the first to tell me how to say it politely. Funny boy. :>

Gorgeous...here I come!

2009-05-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

Last night while Ben and Luke were off reading books, Makenna was brushing my hair and putting curlers in. I don't know where she comes up with this stuff, but here was our conversation.

Makenna: Mom, you are going to look gorgeous when I am done with you.
Me: Oh, good! I have always wanted to look gorgeous!
Makenna: It's easy. All you have to do is be radiant, and humble.

Good. That sounds easy. Gorgeous...here I come!

High Pain Tolerance

2009-04-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

We were out playing yesterday, and on our way home Luke informed me in a very upset voice that he "got blood". He cried the entire way home, and I told him we would put a bandaid on when we got home, and braced myself for the worst.

When we got home, he showed me his "blood" and I had to laugh at how low his pain threshold is.

When Ben got home, the first thing Luke said is, "Dad, I got blood". I tried correcting him all day trying to teach him to say that he got hurt, but he was convinced that it was blood. It will be a rude awaking when he really does get hurt and is bleeding. AHHHHH!

A picture of above mentioned "blood":

Can you see it? Yeah, right there under the ankle bone...see? Uh, look closer. It's there.

Good thing he's cute.

On a totally unrelated subject...this is the view I have from our porch as I watch Makenna waiting for the bus every morning.
So. Darn. Cute.

All Balls, All the Time...

2009-04-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

I know that having boys also includes having balls, but sheesh, come on! Jared is 10 months old, and has been throwing a ball since last month...seriously. For Jared, it is all about the balls, and he doesn't really care if it is a small ball or a large ball. Hard ball or soft ball. As long as it can be thrown, he does not have a preference. And did I mention, he actually throws it to us? Right on target. Crazy.

I must admit, a part of me is hopeful he is a child prodigy and can support Ben and I with his balling skills when we are 80 years old and still living it up! We'll find out later. Til then, I will be the one wearing the target getting balls thrown at her.

(the video doesn't capture the best throwing ever, but it's all I have for now :)

When Makenna was this age she carried a pen around with her everywhere, when she needed to crawl, she would stash the pen in her mouth (safe, I know). This is what Jared does with balls. . .

Some Serious Lovin'

2009-04-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of love in our home lately:

Jared absolutely loves terrorizing Makenna, and Makenna absolutely loves being terrorized by Jared! Here are some shots of him expressing his love to her-

We made some Easter goodness last week to share with our buddies.

There was just a smidge of frosting left over from our cupcakes, so I put it on the left side of our cake. This is what Ben did to our cake when he got home from work.

Your eyes do not deceive you… he ate the top off of the cake, cause it was where all the love was. Hmmmm…if Makenna or Luke did that there would be serious consequences, how come Ben can pull a stunt like that and escape scotch free?

Bye the way, I love spring! And shopping. And chocolate. It's just been that kind of a weekend. (Oh, and my family, of course, silly.)

Peace, Love, and Happiness

2009-04-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

When Ben came home from the Priesthood Session of Conference tonight, he wanted to tell me about the strangest analogy he heard. I listened as he held up a spoon and told me that someone likened a spoon unto world peace. I stared at him blankly, waiting for the connection, and he asked what I thought they had in common. I have a total one track mind. I said, "I would say, pass the ice cream", because I think ice cream is the cure-all, and there would not be any problems in the world, if we all settled things over a bowl of ice cream. After all, this is how I solve all my woes!

He died laughing, and opened the freezer and pulled out a pint of Ben and Jerry's 'Imagine Whirled Peace" ice cream that he brought home for me. Were we on the same wave length, or what?!

When I Grow Up, I Want to be a Mother! (la, la, lalala)

2009-03-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

As a child we had this red cassette tape, "I'm a Mormon" that had a bunch of songs on it that I loved! One was about being a mother. I LOVED that song! It made me excited to be a mother, and "have a family, one little, two little, three little babies of my own". Now I have three little babies of my own, and most days absolutely love it.

"When I grow up I want to be a mother
And have a family
One little, two little, three little babies of my own
Of all the jobs, for me I'll choose no other
We'll have a family
Four little, five little, six little babies in my home
And I will love them all day long
And give them cookies and milk and yellow balloons
And cuddle them when things go wrong
And read them stories and sing them pretty tunes
When I grow up if I can be a mother
How happy I will be
One little, two little, three little babies I can love
And you will see each sister and each brother
Who look a lot like me
Four little, five little, six little blessings from above."

Remember that song? I do, but I have been struggling lately with Luke and knowing what is normal 3 year old boy behavior, and what falls outside the normal line. He is the sweetest little guy, but so incredibly busy and at times a bit defiant. What to do???

On a positive note. . .

Last Monday Makenna had the Family Home Evening lesson, and she surprised us with a lesson and activity on Mothers. She started by telling us what Mothers do for us, and then gave us a clue that led us on a scavenger hunt. It was really sweet. We found a rolled up "scroll" at the end of the scavenger hunt that said this:

A- is for always busy.
I- is for intelligent
M- is for Makenna, her daughter
E- is for Enos, she loves to study
E- is for enlarge, she enlarges her love for us every day

C- is for catches, she catches us being bad and tells us the right way
H- is for healthy, she keeps us healthy
R-is for remembers, she remembers the way
I- is for I love her!
S- is for sweet as sugar
T- is for trouble, she's never in trouble
I- is for inside out, she fixes Luke's inside out undies
N- is for nice, she is very nice
E- is for Ensign, she reads the Ensign magazines

W- is for water, she gives us water
H- is for hibernate, she doesn't hibernate
I- is for inch, she loves us inch by inch
T- is for turtle, she's not slow like a turtle
M-is for movie night, we like to have movie nights
E- is for enter, we enter the world of happiness with her
R- is for rabbits, she loves rabbits

I know it is completely ridiculous, but I cried like a baby when I read it. It was a special way for me to see into her mind about what she thinks I am. Makenna is really such a special girl, and it is fun to watch her grow up! And I'm sure that I'll look back someday and smile at the challenges Luke is going through (right??) "And I will love them all day long, and give them cookies and milk and yellow balloons!"

Is There a Doctor in the House?

2009-03-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

After an agonizingly long first morning of Spring Break, I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands, and organized a doctors office upstairs in the playroom to keep little minds engaged and busy. I could not believe the things that Makenna and Luke came up with! They crack me up. As I was lying on the hospital bed, being "examined" I was told the following:

Makenna: Mom, first let me work on your hair, because it is very out of date (ouch, by the way). First, you need a trim. There, you look much better.

Luke: (holding a mirror into my mouth) Ut oh, you have a silver thing on your tooth.
Makenna: Wow! Really! Let me see!! What is it, Mom?
Me: A cavity. Pretty gross, huh?
Makenna: No, that's awesome! I always wanted to have a silver tooth! (pause) but just not from a cavity.

Makenna: (inspecting my thigh--I was nervous for this one) Well, it looks pretty good, you have a good size bone. (at first I thought she said bump. . .after clarifying that it was a bone, not a bump, I decided to go ahead and let her live.)

Luke: (using the stethoscope to listen to my heart) Mom . . . you do have a heart! (like it was so shocking! Was there any doubt??)

Makenna: (tapping my throat with a comb) Oooooo. You have good rhythm, Mom! (wasn't she the one making the rhythm? It's okay, I'll take the compliment.)

Makenna: Well, it looks like you need to take 2 of these (hands me my pretend medicine) and take it easy, and don't forget to brush your teeth and say your prayers.

Good advice, Makenna! Thanks for making me feel better!

Brotherly Love

2009-03-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Makenna had to give her 2nd grade speech this week, and her teacher let them decide on the topic. This is what she came up with. . .

Hello, My name is Makenna. Today I brought pictures of my two cute brothers to share with you.

I love my brother Luke very much.

Luke is 3 years old, and will turn 4 in 2 months. Luke is very sweet, but very hyper. He likes to play with tools and his hockey sticks.

We love to play together. Some of the things we like to do are jumping on the mattresses in our play room. My mom lays out two extra mattresses that we have, and Luke and I jump back and forth between them.

We also like to play with legos. Here is a castle that I made when we were playing legos. Luke likes to build towers when we play legos. (hold up lego castle)

During the summer we like to play in the pool and splash each other. Another thing we like to do is Luke will throw in a dive stick, and I will swim underneath the water and get it. Then Luke throws it back in again. It is a lot of fun, and work when he throws them into the deep end. Once he threw it so far into the deep end that I had to jump off the dive rock into the freezing water and swim all the way down into the water to get it.

Jared is my other brother, he is almost 10 months old. He will turn 1 in May. I love to make Jared laugh. He has such a cute laugh! I make him giggle by playing peek-a-boo. I play peek-a-boo many different ways, one is crouching underneath my mom and dad’s bed and jumping up and saying “peek a boo! I see you!”. Then Jared starts laughing, and laughing, and laughing. He also loves to drive a car (hold up a picture)

and brush his teeth (hold up picture).

He also loves to eat ice cream, here is a funny picture of him eating my Dad’s ice cream cone. (show picture)

We all love ice cream!

My brothers are my best friends, I love to play with them and make them laugh. Sometimes when we go on long strips in the car we all sit next to each other and play games. We have lots of fun together.

Thank you for listening to my Show and Tell. Now I hope you know more about my bothers and what I love to do with them. I have time for 3 questions.

Say What? Is this the same Makenna that I know? The same little girl who screams, "Mom, I need your help with Luke, he is picking at me!" over and over all afternoon long! It is interesting to see her take on their relationship. It is completely a head scratcher for me, though!

Victory! Well, Maybe.

2009-03-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

I just got home from the most challenging grocery trip of my life! Luke in all his 3 year old glory decided from the moment we stepped foot in the store that it was going to be a test of his will vs. mine. And this time, my friends, I won (a shocker, I know). :)

I have long ago conceded to bribing Luke with a treat at the grocery store if he can make it through without any major issues. So, as soon as we walk in, Luke see's a bag of Cheetos, and he loves Cheetos (knowing this from the one other time he has had them, what a memory the kid has). After asking if he can have them, I agreed, but only after he can show me how good he can be in the store. Wrong answer. He had a complete and total melt down, and the melt down did not get better until we were home, in bed for a nap. . . an hour later. I must say, I felt really bad for the other shoppers, Luke didn't scream the whole way through the store, but for a large chunk of it! I got a lot of funny looks, but what's a girl to do? I didn't want Luke to think that his fit would get him a ticket home, because we were seriously out of food, and we had to make it through the store!

Poor Jared just stared at him with wide eyes, not sure if he should join in and cry, or not. It was one of those moments in life I knew I could either laugh or cry. So, this time I laughed. . . every other time, I've cried. I am making progress. . .

I Just Want to Pinch Her Cheeks!

2009-03-10T20:41:00.001-07:00

I just have to say, "I love Makenna!" She is so funny. In a previous post I mentioned some "cute-isms" of late, and Makenna didn't have any. I felt kind of bad not mentioning any cute-isms for Makenna, but what do you do? Well, I have one to add.

Makenna and I were making a homemade cake, that's right folks- homemade! It sure looked pretty as it came out of the oven, but it didn't turn out as good as either of us had hoped or dreamed. As Makenna was eating her piece, she said, "Mom, it is kinda sad that this cake looks so good, but it doesn't taste very good".

Light goes on in my head, and I say, "You know, Makenna that is kind of a life lesson. Satan does that, he makes something look good, but it really isn't what it seems. He tries to trick us. Can you think of a way that Satan might try to trick us into thinking something bad is good?"

Makenna gives it some thought and her eyes light up all excited like. She then tells me "that a way Satan tries to trick us is with poison oak, it looks pretty and shiny, but if you touch it, it causes itchies all over your body." Yes, true. I was thinking along a different line, but hey, she's 7. Cute-ism. :)

Fun In The Sun (uh, I mean snow)

2009-03-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ben took Josh and Rachel camping this past weekend, and had a ton of fun in the mid-teen degree weather. Yikes! Meanwhile, Makenna, Luke, Jared, and I headed north to spend time with family. I spent the majority of Saturday painting at Mom and Dad Whitmers (making good on a Christmas gift) and then we went to Brinley's baptism. It was very special and we were glad that we could be there!

Ben, Josh, and Rachel had lots of fun "spelunking" cave exploring, and brought home some amazing pictures. It got pretty cold at night, and Ben told us stories of his breath freezing on his sleeping bag when he woke up! Like I said earlier. . . YIKES!

Here are some pictures of their trip. And thanks, Mom, for putting up with us!

Operation: New House!

2009-03-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, you may want to sit down for this one, it is a bit long. . . but is there any other way to do before and after documentation of huge projects like our first home? I didn’t think so either. I’ll start with the before, then tackle the during, followed by the after photos of each stage, and a few thoughts along the way. Sit down and hold on. . .

Before. Not to sound ungrateful, because I am very grateful! But our house was a bit of a "project". It was only 9 years old when we bought it, but was seriously not maintained. From the overgrown yard and green pool, to the cobwebs and dust, to the nasty carpet and filth, we definantly had our work cut out for us! Proof is in the pudding (or photos in our case)

During: Ben had taken the week off to work on the house, little did he know he would be working way more now than days when he would go to his job. He worked from 7am until some nights 11pm. What an amazing guy! I wasn't a ton of help because Jared was brand spankin' new (as in brand spankin', he was born on the day we got our keys to the house) but luckily my family was! A huge thanks to Mom, Erica (out from Utah), and Brenda who came a runnin' as soon as they got word that Jared was born, they also knew that we were starting our huge project that day and knew we could use all the help and support possible. Mom and Erica stayed the week and were a complete life saver with baby Jared, packing, cleaning and painting new house, and cleaning old house as well. Couldn't have done it without you! By the way, thanks guys for putting up with Ben's perfectionism!

After: Our house is still bare, not a whole lot of pictures and decorations, but it's a work in progress. And, yes, there are still projects we are working on (refinishing the deck, and getting the waterfall working on the pond, etc.) but we are getting closer!

Things I've learned: What an amazing process! It has been really fun to see the progress we've (and all who helped) made on our first home! It has been extremely gratifying to have a vision and see it evolve! I can't even imagine the man hours spent on this project, but how worth it it has been to see the end result! Ben is amazing, his hard work and dedication, especially that first week when Jared was so new to our family and he was so torn between working on the house and getting to know his new little man. I don't think I could ever convey how much I admire you, Ben!

Cute-isms

2009-03-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

Just some funny cute-isms (as we call them) from the past day or two:

As the previous post mentioned, my family has been sick, and I finally had to run to the store for a new box of tissues. When Luke saw them, he asked if he "could put the tushie in Dad's nose". It was so stinkin' cute, all of us had to laugh (good naturedly, of course!). I want to hold onto that one a little longer, so I won't let anyone correct him quite yet. They are still called tushies.

Makenna has taken on a new nickname, Bubba. Jared says two things now, DaDa, and Bubba. Makenna is convinced (and Ben and I are thinking she might be onto something) that when Jared says Bubba, he means Makenna. Hmmmm, the world may never know, but for now, it is a cute-ism!

Another cute-ism for Luke this morning he asked if he could watch Little Einsteins, his favorite show, and I said No, that he needed to get dressed and brush his teeth. He looked up with his big blue eyes, all puppy dog-like, and said, "But Mom, you are so beautiful and I think you have a nice shirt". Um yeah, like that was going to soften me up? Okay, it did.

This picture is actually from last year, but I had to share, because it is one of my all time favorites! Luke is dying to be a boy scout! Every time Ben goes camping with the scouts, Luke is heart broken that he does not get to go. Some day, big guy, some day.

Boy, Oh Boy (x2)

2009-03-01T13:45:00.000-08:00

We have sick boys! Both Luke and Jared have been sick this past week, and Thursday was so bad we ended up at the doctor to check Luke's ears, sure enough a double ear infection was the culprit. Luke did not want anything to do with our doctor, Dr. Murdock. He cried the whole way there, he didn't want the stethoscope on his chest or back, and certainly didn't want her to look in his ears! But after one dose of amoxicillin that night, he suddenly loved Dr. Murdock, and is sure she is the best person ever! Luke kept telling me when Jared would cry that he needed to go to the doctor because she would make Jared feel better. It was so cute that he didn't want Jared to feel pain anymore and knew the cure to all his problems!

Needless to say, the next day was Jared's turn to go see the doctor (they wouldn't give us a prescription for him without being seen first) and this time Luke couldn't wait to go!

Thank goodness for a good big sister, Makenna, who wants to help. . . and help. . . and help! Her good intentions are usually reserved for Jared, but here was a fleeting moment when she was helping Luke to keep his mind off of feeling cruddy.

Come on! Nobody feels sick when Dad comes home!

Chef Makenna . . .Watch Out Rachel Ray!

2009-02-28T13:17:00.000-08:00

Ben and Makenna put their heads together to come up with this incredibly fun video. . . Enjoy!

It's About Time!

2009-02-27T08:55:00.000-08:00

After much procrastination, I have finally decided. . . it is time! I am now officially a blogger. I am thinking that with my crazy busy life, this is the best shot I have at journaling, so I can remember all the crazy busy things that have made up my life!

A quick re-cap of what is going on in our world. Ben finished his MBA from University of Oregon about 3 years ago, and we have been in Medford, Oregon ever since. We love it here, with the warm summers (yeah pools!) and moderate winters (not too much umbrella weather!). We love the family friendly atmosphere and the friendly people, Makenna attends a great school, which will be re-built and brand new next year. Oh, and Medford has the yummiest pizza place ever, Kaleidoscope.

We have three kids, Makenna is our oldest. At almost 8 (yikes!) she is getting baptized later this year! It is hard to wrap my head around having a child who is baptized. . . am I that old already? Makenna is a little brain. She loves to learn and has her dad's photographic memory. It is pretty handy as a Mom having a child that learns so easily. She memorized the 13 Articles of Faith when she was a Sunbeam, and giving the little 2nd grade speeches is a breeze to prepare and practice at home. I am just hoping that the other kids who follow have some of this great talent also!

Luke is our little spit fire (though, you can't tell from this picture. . . this is the quiet after the storm, he's sleeping). He is spunky to the core. He will be 4 in May, and every time we celebrate a birthday, he is convinced it is his. Luckily he doesn't care that all the presents are for someone else, he just wants us to sing to him, and have a front row view of the person opening presents (usually a front row view with hands on privileges). Luke has had a hard transition to primary this year, he wants to play toys and have snack with the other nursery kids! If you think about it, they do have it good. So, to help him get more excited about being in Primary we have started memorizing the Articles of Faith, and he passed off #1 this last week. He was so excited to pass it off, that when he saw his primary teacher, Sister Hale, during sacrament meeting he ran over to her row and told her his little memorized Article of Faith and gave her a hug and came back to our bench. It was super sweet.

Our newest addition to the Whitmer gang is Jared Benjamin, who was born on the morning that we closed on our first house . . . coming 35 minutes before we closed and took possession. What a whirlwind! Thank goodness for our awesome family who came to the rescue. Our house is beautiful, but it needed a lot of tlc. (more on that later), Jared was nearly 8 pounds, and came without any pain medication, much to my arguments with the doctor. I had been at home, laboring all night, but because I had already had a false alarm earlier in the week, I kept thinking that it would go away. About 5 days earlier I had exactly the same contractions about 5-7 minutes apart, same intensity, and so I woke Ben up, showered, and ate a bowl of Shredded Wheat. Just about that time, the contractions slowed down and went away!!! So, I went back to bed and woke up feeling great.

So, when these contractions started a few days later (knowing that we were going to take possession of our house the next morning) I cringed thinking of the timing. So, I repeated the same steps without waking Ben, why make him lose sleep over a false alarm, right? I took my shower, ate my Shredded Wheat and waited for the contractions to go away . . . no such luck. But I still wasn't convinced this was it. With Makenna and Luke I was induced, so I had never gone through this stuff "on my own". When Ben finally woke up and I pulled him up to speed on what was happening, he convinced me to go on in to the hospital. So we packed our kid-os over to my great friend, Ginny's home at 7:00am, and headed to the hospital (though I was sure they would send me home).

After somewhat of a dismissive smile from the nurse, she showed me the way to an exam room and came back a few minutes later to see where I was at. She asked how dilated I had been a few days earlier at my doctors visit, and I told her 3 cm, and asked if I was still there? She flashed me a funny smile and said, no. . . you are at 9, and ready to deliver this baby! YIKES! They walked me (yes, walked. . . what a cruel world) to the delivery section of the floor and called the doctor in to examine, and when she made it in a few minutes later, I was a 10. She told me it was time to push, and I told her, "No, it's time for my epidural". The argument went on a couple of more times, and when she was insistent, I yelled for Ben, who was in the hall on the phone with his Dad. I foolishly thought that he could talk some sense into the doctor for me, there was no way I was going to push this baby out without drugs, I was already in a ton of pain, and wanted it to STOP!! But, the doctor won the fight, and a few minutes and a few pushes later Jared was born (a whopping 35 minutes after we arrived at the hospital, that was too close). We've been in love with him ever since.

Wow, how is that for pulling you up to speed on our life! From here on out it will be what is happening in our life currently, I promise!