June

I can't believe a whole month has passed! June has been a very fun and incredibly busy month. We started off by finishing school, packing up all of my stuff to move to our new school, and most importantly celebrate Trev's 10th b-day.
The following week Trev headed to Junior camp, and had a GREAT time. While he has away the twins and I headed to Yakima to meet their new cousin. I am the very proud auntie of Rhyse Robert. He is extremely adorable and healthy. It was so fun to be able to spend a little time with him and my sis!
Upon returning from Yakima we actually spent a few days in town. Of course we were running every minute with daily visits to the pool, a visit to the Berry Ranch to pick some delicious strawberries, Meridian Dairy Days, baseball, and even visits to the library.
Doug headed to L.A. for a conference, so the kids decided to head to Baker to be with my family. We had an absolute GREAT time last week! At this point my kiddos think Baker is better than Disney! The kids had a great time kneeboading and tubing behind Papa's boat, fishing daily at the pond, swimming daily at the pond, biking into town, a beautiful 4-wheeler ride in the mountains, our own rodeo when we helped Papa move is pesky cows, gathering eggs, and of course daily visits to the coffee shop to feed their coffee addiction. The visit was great until about 9 p.m. the night before we were leaving. We were making s'mores and Cassi stepped on a red hot roasting stick and burnt the bottom of her foot. So, our trip was made complete with a quick visit to the E.R. For the record she is healing quite nicely- just no walking or swimming until Friday. There is a new shoes at all times rule at our house!
So, far we have had an absolutely wonderful summer! Amongst all of the craziness mentioned above Chris played a great baseball season. His last game was on Saturday and he recieved the Golden Glove Award for the season. It was so much fun to watch him play!
I don't think the kids have been to bed before 10 once since school was out! We are all enjoying a more relaxed schedule! We are also looking forward to a fun 4th of July outing w/ some great friends!

a school year ends, a b-day celebration, and bring on summer!

List format of the highlights from the past week:
Tues.-b-day dinner for T. @ P.F. Chang's.
Wed.- last day of school- Apache helicopter landing on playground and freezing cold picnic. attempting to pack up classroom-still have A LOT to do!
Thurs.-attempted to pack up some more, attended teacher shindig to say goodbye to everyone. pool party/sleepover- whew we made it through! i think everyone had fun?! little man a little grumpy the next day w/ no sleep! i actually made ice cream cake and they ate it! i do have a little martha in me! (i wanted to buy it but, little man wanted home made!)
Fri.- clean destroyed house, costco run, movie. actually felt like summer break!
Sat. -baseball game for chris- it was a cold one, but my little boy was smoking hot! i love to watch him play! b-day party @ boondock's. sat. night service and pizza and strawberry shortcakes w/ friends. doug spent the day @ paint the town. microwave stopped working today-how am i going to make it w/ out that thing?
Sun.- lunch w/ friends. hit the pool just long enough to totally freeze my kids out. went father's day shopping by myself. family bike ride. boys got haircuts. went and got frozen yogurt together.
Plan for the week:
Mon.- Trev heads to camp @ 1 p.m. yard work, go to school and work for a bit. home team @ our house, little man has a baseball game at the same time. i guess i am facilitating?
Tues.-Try to finish up at school. Possible date night w/ hubby?!
Wed.- a few dr. appointments. hopefully i don't have to go back to school today!
Thurs.- go watch doug play in an event w/ his band. we are his biggest fans! hoping to hit graples since i will be out in nampa. love that place!
Fri.-T. returns from camp-YEAH! i guess this means i have to give his electric scooter back. i must say that was a pretty good b-day gift! mama likey!
****this whole week is subject to cancellation. the minute my sis goes into labor we are headed to yakima!

10 years old

just saying those words tears my heart in two. i knew this b-day was going to be tough...but not like this. in fact, it hit me last fall as i was driving to church that trev's next b-day would be a double digit and i started crying like a baby.

where do i begin? i guess that is getting over my own emotions and celebrating trev. yes, this day is special! what can i say no other little man has quite changed my world quite like my trev. he is simply amazing. he has to be the most inquisitive person i have ever met, hence the pet name "turbo." sometimes his questions come so fast my brain is still processing question #1 and he is on to #3! his inquisitive nature will surely take him great places. i am just glad i get to be part of the journey.

not only is trev a great conversationalist, but also has a very tender heart for others. he is always befriending those around him that need a little encouragement. his prayer requests often break my heart as he truly shows compassion and empathy for others. he has intuition beyond his years!

there have only been a couple of times that trev was not beaming as i tucked him in at night. everyday seems to be the best day ever! his positive attitude and love for life are contagious. i am so thankful he keeps my heart and attitude in check-everyone loves an optimist (especially this sometimes pessimist!)

i am truly the luckiest mommy in the world to be your mommy! you make my days brighter, my load lighter, and my life fuller. God has truly blessed you with some amazing talents and gifts, and it is my prayer that you use them to honor and glorify Him. happy 10th B-day my handsome, kind, intelligent, compassionate, generous, hardworking, responsible TREVAR! i can't wait to celebrate you all weekend long! P.F. Jame's was a great way to start the festivities!

the week in review

Monday- a.c. fixed only $217 (builder paid for half), 46 loads of laundry (a little exaggeration), Doug painted the kid's bathroom poolside blue. Found out I will be teaching a.m. Kinder at our new neighborhood school-Yeah! I get to be w/ my kids again next year!

Tuesday- Chris arose at 6:30 wondering how many hours until his first baseball practice of the season- the child lives for baseball! Practice was canceled due to weather- boo hoo! Stayed at school FOREVER to get ready for the end of the year. Another 46 loads of laundry.

Wednesday- Kindergarten Field Trip to the Zoo and Discovery Center. What an adventure w/ 100 Kindergartners! Luckily no one got lost or hurt! I even got to spend a little time w/ the twins as I had fantastic chaperones. Made 48 cupcakes for the twins b-day bash at school.

Thursday- Meetings all afternoon at school. Kindergarten program- man they are so stinkin' cute. I didn't get to watch the twins much as my class demanded my attention. One of my joy boys really got into the actions on, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt." He fell off the back of the risers. He was screaming so loud you could not hear the other 99 kiddos singing. However, he got right back up there and sang his lungs out. I must say Cassi was the cutest Ole dancer I have ever seen.

Friday- Long a.m. at school! Came home and watched a friend's kiddo for a few hours. The twins thought it was so cool to babysit until I had to change the nasty diaper. Then off to the mall to get the man some new duds. I then begged the fam to stop at Costco as we are out of everything! Home by 8- kind of nice to all be under one roof!

The weekend- Weather permitting we hope to visit the pool as it opened today. My preacher boy is preaching so we will be supporting him in at least one service. BBQing w/ friends, twins have a b-day party to attend, hopefully continuing all these painting projects we need to finish, plant flowers, and whatever else we can cram into a 3 day weekend!

it's gettin' HOT in here

thursday night we decided to fire up the a.c., and when doug and i headed upstairs to bed we noticed it wasn't so cool up there. after a little examining (by doug) we turned it off and opened the windows. on friday a.m. doug ran to lowe's to get new filters to see if that might be the problem....no luck! when i got home from school around 1 p.m. it was still HOT!
so i decided to call my friend mr. a.c. man. we are close friends as he has been here at least 5 times. you see this is not the first time we have had trouble w/ our a.c. the company that put it in has gone out of business, and another company took over our warranty work after that.
mr. a.c. was nice enough to stop by on his way home on friday night. he said it wasn't a quick fix, and he would be back on monday. he also said he was going to check into our warranty, and that our unit was a piece of crap! he thought it would be @ least $500!
so, all that to say that we are a little HOT and bothered around here! our house is not even 2 years old.

my mom

my mom is truly an amazing woman. i am truly blessed by God to be able to call her mother. when i read proverbs 31 she truly displays all of those attributes. if there is anyone that i could be like it would be her. i am not the only that feels this way... the other night while doing devotions we asked our kids who they would like to be like when they grow up? cassi said, g-ma kiki, and for the record chris said papa (you're not so bad yourself dad).
my mom has made so many sacrifices for me. she is an incredibly hard worker. in fact, there are times that i have trouble keeping up with her. she is definitely not a person to sit around.
she is the most generous person that i have EVER met. she is constantly doing things for her family and others around her. there is not a selfish bone in her body.
she is incredibly hospitable. she always has people in her home for meals, or to stay the night. people rave about her food. she amazes me how she can whip up a gourmet meal in no time flat. she definitely gives martha stewart a run for her money.
there has never been a doubt in my mind that my mom does not love her family fiercely. she truly displays this in word and deed. she has been our prayer warrior, our cheer leader, the shoulder we needed to cry on, our encourager, and in my younger years she gave me the discipline i needed. even now she gives me her opinions (when consulted) in a loving way. she has always made being a mom look like the easiest job ever! sometimes i wonder what i am doing wrong? it doesn't come so easy for me (not that i don't love it!) she loves my husband and children in a way that i never could of thought possible. i am so thankful for influence on our family's life.
the part that i love about my mom the most is that she loves and fears the Lord. her life has not always been a cake walk, but she has always remained faithful to the Lord. many have come to Christ because of His evidence in her life. one of those people is me, and for that i am eternally thankful.
i am so looking forward to this weekend to have a little time w/ her. we are going to beth moore together. she has never been, and i am so excited to be able to be able to take her.

a shocking day

let me just tell you there is never a dull moment in kindergarten. i thought i had seen it all the day one of my boys urinated in the field at recess. well, let's just say i was speechless today. i had a parent volunteer helping out, and she had brought in her younger son. he did wonderful the first 1.5 hours, but after the class went to recess and computers he got a little bored. his mother thought he was coloring on one of my easels. all of a sudden sparks started flying everywhere! then came the cry!
long story short he is fine. my scissors-now that is another story. about a half inch of them was melted into nothing. i also have a huge black mark on the outlet and wall around it.
i can't wait to see what happens tomorrow. i am sure it will be exciting as my class is practicing eating lunch in the cafeteria for next year when they will be big first graders.