Ike turns 6

Issac is just the best. He turns 6 tomorrow, and not a day goes by that he doesn't  1. Have us all laughing,  2. Getting someone in trouble,  3. Sneaking himself some extra snacks from the pantry,  4. Telling me how he loves me the mostest.

I was given a very detailed list of what Isaac wanted his birthday cake to be this year. I did my very best to make sure all his birthday cakes dreams came true.

I can't get enough of this little dude. As a birthday tribute, here are some funny things from the mouth of Isaac lately:

Upon contemplating a Christmas gift for Jared..."Christmas is expensive!...I need to lose more teeth"

Upon contemplating his upcoming birthday..."birthdays are the BEST!  Except, I don't want to turn a year older, then I'll have to add an extra minute to my time outs."

Upon contemplating the juice cleanse that I'm doing right now, and while eating some bacon..."Hey guys, I'm on a bacon cleanse!"

To know Isaac is to love him. He doesn't slow down or stop for anything, and I wouldn't change that for the world. Happy #6 big guy!

life lessons in Texas

I have learned some valuable lessons since moving:

When something seems to be good to be true...IT IS!!

We had some minor scrapes on our fender from a slight "incident" 

when I rammed my car into Ben's car.  oops.  A guy on craigslist 

with "great" reviews quoted us an amazing price to fix it.

He did way more damage than he did good to the car...

we realized that after we paid him cash.  

 The circus really is the greatest show on earth!  This was the first time
we've been to the circus, and it did not disappoint!  Isaac stayed
with the Bird family, because let's be honest...he would
have hated it.  But Makenna, Luke, and Jared did NOT hate it.  So much
fun to watch the little dogs to their ninja tricks, and the trapeze artist fly in the air.
The tigers were unreal, as were the horse tricks!  The kids couldn't believe it!

Looking at the photo taken during the roller coaster 

is way more fun than actually going on the roller coaster.
I'm not sure who is more fun in this picture, though!  

The best way to cool down in this crazy heat is to strip down 

to the bare minimums (some have more leeway than others).
Isaac loves all things water right now.  First item of business when he wakes
up, is to lose his clothes and jump right in the pool. 

Homeowners policies tend to drop you when cute lil pit bulls live

on the premises.  Annoying.
But!  If anyone spent any time with Scout,
they would agree...he is the best dog of all time. 

keeping on

We moved to Texas (again).  The biggest lesson I've learned the past year or so is to never assume you are in charge of your life.  Isn't there an old adage about that?

on the forever drive out to Texas

My kids keep growing up, Makenna went to Young Women's today at church.  Luke is 8 and has been baptized, Jared starts Kindergarten in 2 weeks, and Isaac is a bonefied nursery member at church.

While moving so much lately has been hard, it has also brought many
opportunities for us.  Makenna, Luke, and Jared are friends.  They deeply love each other, and they know that no matter what state we live in, they have got each other.  I love the friendships that I see blossoming, and hope they forever hang onto those.

We miss my family and friends in Oregon a lot.

Ike and cousins, Michael and Alison

On the plus side...we've made great friends in Texas.

A beach camping trip, with 5 families.  The Wirthlins, the Walkers, the Samulians, and the Bird families.  The highlight of the trip was going ghost crab hunting, and the ice cream we made while we camped.  The worst part...the mosquitos were so bad.  No amount of deet would keep the suckers away.  The next day, I gave Jared some Benadryl before we left for church.  He fell asleep

on my lap, and I counted 90 mosquito bites from his knees down.  Poor buddy, he was such a trooper.

what keeps me busy

House projects:

 While I normally like things clean and simple, I had a wild
idea to paint and add some life to the kids bathroom upstairs.

 I watched some you tube videos and figured out how to make
a towel shelf, and got to work.  

 learning how to use power tools.  (and loving it!)

Oh, this little monkey.  Isaac is such a busy, and fun little man.
I don't know what life was ever like without him.
He is clever and smart, and never stops moving.

...and this

and seriously.  what a stud.  Luke is thriving and happy.
He loves to learn and has made new friends at Lone Pine this year.
He is always quick to flash an endearing smile and that always melts my heart.

things that make me smile:

Oh, these two.  Isaac thinks his Dad hung 

the moon. Always quick to smile and coo. Pretty sure

the feeling is mutual.

Friends since birth...it was such a treat to be able to celebrate

Jareds birthday this year with Sam Nichol (the one hugging Jared)

and Gabe Johnson, the one wrapped in a towel.  These boys have a bond

that I hope will never fade.

How can you not just love this girl?  Her infectious smile,

and quick wit make her unforgettable.  Love you Kissy Face! 

Such a fun birthday present for Makenna...hiking Mt. McGloughlin with Dad. 

A summit hike of 9500 feet.  And this girl ROCKED it!  Love the can-do

attitude with everything she goes for.

A week trip {without kids?!} to Disney World.  Yes, it was so much fun

to explore Disney alone, while Ben was at a conference during the day...

but, all I could think about was how much the kids would LOVE it.  I promptly

started making plans to bring them back!

Jared mowing the lawn, but I'm glad Ben was there to help.

We had promised the kids a fun day trip, after they made 

100 basketball shots.  Luke took this to heart, and woke up at 

5am the next morning, and worked on it until he made all 100.

constant change

It seems the only consistent in our lives this past year is change.

It all started a year ago with a cross country move to Texas.  It took a few months, and 3 different living environments, but we have loved it here.

But, as it turns out, we are heading back to Medford.

This is where all sorts of mixed emotions come.  The love of Texas winters, where instead of umbrellas, there are flip flops and shorts.  The amazing friends we have all made.  The kind ward, which has become family since being so far from our own.

Despite the almost comically crazy year we've had, with pregnancy induced bed rest for me, new baby, heart surgery, hives, double ear infections, and the flu that just wouldn't end, one would think the past year would send us packing in defeat.  Instead the opposite.  Our family is thriving and happy.  More so than ever.

Texas will surely be missed.  But Oregon is greatly anticipated!  Here's to hoping the next chapter of our life is just as great as this past one.

A snap shot of the last year...

Luke in front of the big 'ol Christmas tree at Market Street.  See...shorts.
You can't beat these Texas winters!

Picking out our Christmas Tree.  Not all trees are created equal.  

Trees in Texas are basically just a bush trimmed up into the shape of a tree. 

The kids on the street.  Nearly every day, the kids come home
from school, drop their back packs, grab a snack
and go out to the street to play with the neighbor kids.

 Moving van.  I've seen too many of these in the last year.
Let's stay put for a little longer this time...

Luke graduated from Kindergarten.  He was very proud of himself...as he
should be.  Switch schools at the end of kindergarten is hard work, and he killed it.

One of Makenna's best friends, Makena. Coincidence?  I think not.
These two have been pretty non stop since they met,
thank goodness for a quick and easy friendship!  

The pond where we love to feed ducks and turtles.
This makes us miss Oregon a little less!  

And becoming a family of six was the best!  Isaac is
pure joy!  He sleeps well and loves to eat!

a change of heart

To say the least, Makenna was not thrilled when we told her 6 months ago that we were having a baby boy.  She wanted a girl.  Bad.  She has wanted a baby girl for the last 3 babies.

Bitter disappointment.

I think it safe to say that approximately 2 seconds after meeting her new brother, 

she changed her mind.  She loves Isaac sweet temperament, and is just 

plain smitten.  And I think it's safe to say that Isaac loves to be

 held and loved on by Makenna.   

I hope this bond stays strong for years to come.  Makenna has taken on the role of a second mother to Isaac.  She never wants him to cry and tries to comfort him and figure out what makes him sad.  She is one amazing big sister.