Gabe is 8

My nephew Gabe turned 8 a couple weeks ago. We got to go to a birthday party for him at Pappa's Pizza Place where they have huge play structures and ball pits to play in. The kids all had fun and it was cute to see them playing all over the place! Well last night we got to attend Gabe's baptism. It was a very sweet experience. When he stood up to go with my dad into the baptismal font, the grin on his face was priceless. I wish I had a photo of it. He was so excited and so happy! Afterward, Richard gave a talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost and said that Gabe was very intent on what he said. What a sweet little spirit Gabe is. We were grateful to get to participate in such a fun and spiritual event with someone we love so much!

It brought back memories of my own children's baptisms. I had been active in the church off and on, mostly off, for most of Adrienne's life. We would go sporadically, but not on a regular basis for the most part. When she turned 8 I knew she had not gone enough to truly understand what baptism meant. We were going to church at the time and Richard and I had just been married. I knew something was missing from my life, so I took the kids to church each week and in December of 2000, Adrienne chose to be baptized. She looked so beautiful and grown up to me. She has always had a strong little spirit and she knew she was ready. It was a great experience for us all, but was really the first step to many wonderful events for our family.

In fact, Richard decided he wanted to learn more about the church. He asked a lot of questions, some I knew the answers to, many I did not. But luckily my father who was Bishop for many years was more than happy to answer his questions. Before long Richard was taking the discussions with the missionaries and he too chose to be baptized. A decision that has greatly blessed our lives. We took our family to the temple to be sealed when Annalina was just 5 months old. I'll write about that another time, as it was quite the experience for our family!

When Jacob turned 8, I was worried that he would not understand the importance of baptism due to his autism. Part of preparing for baptism is to meet with the Bishop and answer some questions with him. I was sure Jacob would not know what to say! But we set an appointment anyway and the Bishop said he did fine. The day he was baptised he was calm and he was completely there with us. It was like a veil was lifted from his mind and he understood exactly what was happening. To me it was a true miracle to see my little boy, who had trouble concentrating and understanding, truly pay attention to everything around him. I know he felt the spirit that day and I know to this day he understands the importance of the gospel. Richard was able to baptize him and that meant so much to me!

Richard and Jacob

Being a family is hard these days. There are so many outside influences pulling us in different directions that it is truly a challenge trying to raise our children to be good people. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. I have tried raising a family without a Christ centered life and I would never go back to that. I am so grateful that the Lord has blessed me with such wonderful children and a husband who is willing to help me when it comes to raising our children.

Chugga Chugga Choo Choooo

Megan's family invited us on a fun morning excursion today. The place Jeremy works for reserved a train ride for the company to enjoy. This was not just any ride, it was aboard the SP&S 700, the third largest operating steam locomotive in North America! The ride took about 45 minutes and we boarded at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland. We got to see the beautiful Willamette River, lovely views of the big city, as well as some nice forested and marshy areas. We even saw a couple of cranes coming in for a landing. The little boys, Joseph and Cousin Nathan were so excited! We all love trains, but a steam engine is a very exciting! We boarded shortly before 10am and got a seat in the open air car. Luckily it was covered as it was already hot and sunny out. The great thing about this was that all 6 of us went, a true family event. And it was so nice to get to spend time with Megan and her family and meet her Belgian friend Wendy who is spending the summer with them.

We went on a similar train ride a couple of years ago at Christmastime. It was on the 4449 and Joseph was just a baby at the time. We went to the Omnimax theater and saw Polar Express with the three older kids, then we rode the Christmas train. It was evening and was cold and dark out, but we got to ride in a lovely refurbished passenger car. Joseph slept in my arms the entire trip and Annalina was especially excited when Santa came through the car with candy canes.

We love to support these runs since they people who sponsor these events are all volunteers and they use the proceeds to continue restoration of these magnificent trains!

SP&P 700

Annalina & Cousin Leila

Megan and Wendy

Adrienne & Jake

Silly Joseph

Silly Joseph and Daddy

They are both moving on....

Today was the final day of swimming lessons for this session. I have them signed up for the next class starting Monday evening, but never stopped to think they wouldn't be able to move up. Apparently there are some skills they must know and be comfortable with to go on to the next class and I was starting to worry for Joseph, since he was still a bit shy getting his head all wet. But the great news is they both mastered all the skills necessary and are moving on to the next class!

Since today was the last day it was play day! All the kids got to go down the big water slide, which had myself and some of the other mothers a bit nervous! Annalina went down first with her instructor and was smiling! Then she went down on her own and did just fine. Joseph went down with his instructor and I was shocked he actually did it! For one who was so scared to even touch the water that first day of lessons, he was so brave!! I was very proud! Annalina got to jump off the diving board a couple times. She has great arm movements and again, I was very proud! Its great to have kids. Just thinking of them can turn a bad day around!

All session I have sat with Carrie White since she has a daughter in Annalina's class and a son in Joseph's class. They were leaving on vacation this afternoon and she was a bit stressed with lots to do getting ready to go. So her kids came over around ten and played a couple of hours. Then I took them to swimming lessons so she could get stuff done without them. They get along really great with Annalina and Joseph, we will have to do this again! After lessons the kids got a coupon for a free slice of pizza and talked me into waiting in line to get it on the way out. The pizza place is actually in the lobby of the swimming center, but as you can imagine the line was quite long since EVERY child had gotten a coupon!

Joseph fell several times today. A small fall where he smacked his forehead pretty hard, a huge fall where his whole body seemed to give out from under him and he scraped himself along the sidewalk, and a couple others. Well, this is not unusual for him, however he was so tired today that he did not handle any of them well(who would, right?). This meant a lot of "snuggle" time calming him down and getting him happy again. With our busy schedule he has not taken a nap in weeks, however Richard and I have decided that he just has to take a couple naps a week. I am sure his exhaustion just builds all week long until he has trouble coping with anything. One time today he told me "I am so tired mommy". Hmm...I think he is trying to tell me something.....

Due to the low light and the distance I had to take the photos from, most of the swimming pictures did not turn out well. Below are a few that did as well as some movies of what swimming lessons are all about!

Summer swimmin' & Stuff

The Hillsboro Aquatic Center offers swimming lessons starting at the age of 3, so a couple months ago I was able to get both Annalina and Joseph signed up for swimming lessons this summer, yes I was online the minute registration opened with my class numbers ready. The best part is that their lessons are at the same time! Annalina took lessons at the Jackson School pool before we moved, so she started in the Electric Eel class and is in the main pool. Joseph is in Blowfish I class and is in the wading pool. Its a nice pool with a beach entrance that is only 18 inches on one side and goes all they way to 3 and a half feet at the other side.

Annalina is learning some great new strokes and has fun in her class full of girls. Joseph has 2-3 other kids in his class, depending on who shows up or not. The first day he was terrified and would not let go of me to get in the water. I firmly reminded him that if he did not take lessons he could not go swimming on our vacation next month. So he sat on the top step and slowly scooted into the water. Luckily the teacher had an assistant that day, because he clung to her the entire class. The second day he held on to me, but not quite as tight, and once in the water he was ok on his own. The third day he thought about complaining, I could see it in his eyes, but decided it would be more fun in the water than with me! Now he is fine and is even excited to take a shower before getting in the pool. Something I never thought would come to pass. His class plays great games aimed at getting the kids use to the water. They get to water each other with a small watering can, all the kids love getting the teachers wet. They play ring around the rosie and they go find toys scattered around the pool in the shallow end. Often they have to put their heads under a bit to get them. I have been very impressed with this class, they make it so much fun that the kids don't even realize they are learning!

Since the pool is right next to the Shute Library and Park, we often go early and the kids play on the playground for a while. The park offers free lunches for kids at noon and a play area called the outpost. They have games set up, crafts for the kids to do, bubbles, soccer, etc and there is a theme every week. Well this week was the city police department, so the kids go to do their fingerprints on an identity card. It was fun for the kids and a vital piece of information to have on hand in case of emergency. Later this week they will be bringing a police dog for the kids to see and another day the motorcycle unit will come do some fancy synchronized driving for the kids, and Friday is CSI mystery day. Lot's of fun and such a nice thing for the city to offer the kids on a daily basis!

Need a good book?

Oh wow, I just finished an awesome book this week that I have to recommend to EVERYONE. I am even hoping to get Richard to read it(I know, I'm just dreaming now!) It was one of those books I just couldn't put down. I read and read, doing little else for three days. The kids were lucky, they got a lot of time at the park. They played, I read. We were ALL happy! Anyway, this book is called "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer. Yes, she is the author of the Twilight series, which is also a wonderful set of books, can't wait till the next one comes out in August! But Host is geared more to adults than Twilight. The writing is incredible and the storyline just sucks you in and won't let go. I could almost hear the house itself give a sigh of relief when I finished the last page. Now the kitchen is clean and the laundry pile is shrinking again. I don't want to say too much about the book, I don't want to give too much away. But please do READ IT!! I truly hope she is planning to write more!

For my birthday this year my dear sweet Grandma Kaye sent me a gift card to Barnes and Noble. I LOVE that place, but usually only get to go there to buy gifts for other people or help the kids pick out something with their gift cards. I wander the aisles dreaming of buying books for myself, but rarely do I allow myself the joy and expense of buying a new book! So last week Richard took me to use my gift card and that is where I got the Host!!

I love to read, it's an addiction really. I have to be careful about it though, as with the book above, if I start a really good book, I can't stop reading. I have to hurry and finish it so I can get back to my life! I think reading is one of the main things that got me through 21 weeks of bedrest while I was pregnant with Annalina. I read the entire "The Work and the Glory" series, which is at least 9 books, each 700-800 pages long. Another great series about the early church and the trials they went through all the way to the settlement of the Utah valley. A powerful series I have read twice now! I also love the "Children of the Promise" series which is set during World War II.

I welcome suggestions about good books, but if you have a really good one to tell me about, please advise me to clean my house thoroughly first! hehe

Underwear heaven!!

At 3 years and 2 months old, I am proud to say Joseph is FINALLY potty trained. I know there will be the occasional accident, but when he came running past me today hollering, "I need to go potty" and he actually made it in time, I knew the worst of the potty training was over!!! Yippee! This is something we have been struggling with for a while. Joseph often knew when he needed to go, but with pull ups on, why bother actually using a toilet!!! This drove me crazy. We tried several naked days, a training potty, a ring to put on the big toilet, all to no avail. He just wasn't interested. But for the last week I have not let him wear anything other than underwear, (Diego and Cars). Yes, he had a few accidents, but he caught on quick! I am so proud of him and am amazed to be moving into the stage of life that no longer requires diaper changing! Yippee for me! More great news in our household is that Adrienne has returned from her week at Young Women's Camp. Since it was her fifth year going, she was a youth leader to a group of first year girls. I hear from several different sources that her girls loved her(who wouldn't??)! She had a great time and has lots of fun stories to share. Our house just isn't the same without her here and I am feeling a little blue that she only has two years of high school left! I keep telling myself not to worry about any of that yet, but its always in the back of my mind somewhere! I just love the happiness Adrienne contributes to our home. She is wonderful and I am so lucky to be her mother!!!

Adrienne- Cabin Exterminator!! Lookin' pretty deadly!! Britlee, Adrienne, and Heidi BurkeLindsey Jeffs, Britlee, & Adrienne

Summer is finally here!

It is typically beautiful in early June, just to taunt the kids still stuck in school. We get a few really hot days to show how the school's cooling systems just aren't very effective. Not so this year. It was cool and rainy most of the time. Now, I love the rain but was missing the warm sunny early June I am used to. Richard started calling it June-uary, rather fitting. This was the first official week of summer and it turns out the weather decided to catch up with the month!

In honor of this glorious change, I made a picnic dinner and Tuesday night Richard and I took Annalina & Joseph to the park for dinner. We brought Gidget and Gadget so they could get some much needed socialization in. We went to Bagley Park where they have just recently remodeled and it was really nice. The kids played and played then would wander over and grab a triangle of sandwich and then head back to the playground, then repeat for the carrots and celery. The dogs had fun too and were quite well behaved! Many people had the same idea as us and the dogs had a lot of visitors!

After we finished eating we headed a couple blocks over to the Tuesday night Farmer's market they hold downtown each week. We haven't been in ages so it was fun to check it out. They close down Main street and have booths on each side of the street. There was live music and so much to see. We ran into a lot of people we know and had fun visiting and wandering around! The kids slept well that night, and so did I!!

Father's Day Remembered...Better late than never?

This is my beautiful family on Father's day. Jake is almost 14, Adrienne is 16, Annalina is 6 and Joseph is 3. Richard, well it is his special day, so I will not tell his age!

Happy Father's Day Richard!

I am so very blessed to have such a sweet and supportive husband. He is a wonderful father to our children and is a great leader of our family. He works hard both inside and outside our home to provide us with a comfortable life. He is kind, loving and very patient! I love his deep spirituality, his dedication to the many expectations placed on him at work, at home and at church. He has a deep inner strength that have helped me through some very difficult times in life. I am so grateful for the many miracles that brought us together and that our family was able to be sealed in the temple so that we can be together forever.

Tree vs Playground

Last week before the pizza party we had some time to kill, so we went to Shute park to play for a while. There are two great playgrounds there, but the kids were very drawn to the trees. I think they spent more time swinging on the trees than playing anywhere else. They don't look all that strong, but there were 4 kids swinging from different branches at one time and it didn't look even remotely stressed by it. It is fun to watch Annalina make friends. Most of the time when we leave I ask her who her new friend is and she says, "I don't know her name". It seems like she always finds someone new to play with. Joseph just wanders. Sometimes he plays alongside other kids, but he is just as happy on his own. Pretty normal for a three year old.



The flowers were in bloom, so I make the kids stop and pose for some pretty shots. With a busy three year old, this is the best I could do. I am so thankful we live in an area with so many beautiful places to go.

Graduation, Part 2, or 8th Grade Completion

Our next big event on Wednesday was Evergreen's 8th grade completion ceremony. Jake was very excited. I admit I moaned and groaned about it, though not to Jake. I just could not understand why they would make such a big deal out of getting through 2 years of Middle School. We went to Glencoe where the ceremony was held in the gym. So we climbed to the top of the bleachers since the gym was very packed when we arrived a half hour early. More time for me to whine to Richard, poor guy! But when they 8th graders filed in to their seats, it was all worth it. I could see Jake looking around trying to find us, so I waved as big as I could and he noticed us! He waved and then blew me a kiss. That made my day. It was actually a lot of fun to watch Jake walk up to get his certificate. He was so excited! Afterward we saw a friend of his, Alex Lyman, and took pictures. Then we walked home. It meant a lot to Jake, so I am glad we were able to be there with him. I am so proud of how hard he works on his school work and how he always finishes what he starts. Jake is such a great kid and I cannot beleive he is starting High School in the fall! I love him very much!

Graduation, the first of many....

Summer has officially begun! Last Wednesday was Annalina's last day Kindergarten and graduation ceremony. Grandma and Grandpa Frederick were able to be there and Richard got to come home from work early to be there too. The kids put on quite a program with singing, certificate awarding, and a fun slide show of their fun year. Mrs. Harvey had lovely things to say about each child and reminded us that our students will be the class of 2020, pretty cool! Annalina was a little sad and did not want to leave. She has had such a great experience this year in Kindergarten. Her teacher is the most patient and kind Kinder teacher I have ever met. She truly loves each of her students and shows it by going to t-ball games and recitals etc. I enjoyed all the times I got to work with her in the classroom. Anyway at the end of the ceremony, Mrs. Harvey sprinkled each of the kid's heads with magic First Grade powder(colorful metallic confetti)turning them each into a first grader! Annalina wasn't so sure about this, and kept her graduation cap on when Mrs. Harvey got to her. Mrs. Harvey asked her if she wanted to stay in Kindergarten and she reluctantly took off her cap.

The sad thing is that Mrs. H is moving to a new school next year, so we will not see her in the halls, or get to send Joseph to her class when he is old enough. ::sigh:: But we were lucky to get to know her this year! I must admit I was feeling very emotional about the end of Kindergarten. I've had two go through this whole process, but as Richard kindly pointed out, its been a lot of years since Jake graduated kindergarten!

Not so happy to be moving on!

A bunch of boys...

We were very blessed to move into a family oriented neighborhood. There are a lot of kids, including 6 or 7 little boys around Joseph's age. I was thinking out loud last summer and mentioned to my friend and neighbor Christy about how great it would be to swap kids on a weekly basis so we could each have some time off from the toddler experience and be able to get something done on our own! If I am the dreamer, then Christy is the doer! She talked to some other mom's and eventually we found two others willing to try out the play group thing. So we have four little boys who are around three and every Wednesday we take turns playing with them. Aside from Joseph we have Rolly Jaussi, who is just a few weeks older than Joseph. Christy's son Jake is 2 and a half and a couple of weeks younger than him is Abe Castillo. All the mom's are great and I have really enjoyed getting to know them and their cute boys. With four little boys it can get kinda wild, but for the most part they get along pretty well.

The popular toy at our house is the Geotrax train set that grows with each birthday and Christmas. I used to try to get them to do something else, but I suppose they are only here one day a month and if they want to play trains every time, then why not?! Right now the boys are at my house and I am sitting here listening to them play while I type this. (In order to protect the innocent, names have been changed...well, are not being used at all) Boy #1 is laughing at something Boy #2 did and boy #2 is insisting its not funny. Boy #3 who I am certain didn't even see what Boy #2 did is joining in the argument and is also insisting it is not funny! By now, I really don't think boy #1, #2, or #3 remembers what they are fighting about, but its amusing all the same! Boys are SO very different from girls!

Yes, the photo is right side up. The little monkeys were hanging off the end of the bed.

Its hard to get them all smiling and looking at me at the same time!

Where do the weekends go?

Today was a busy day! There are only four days of school left for the older kids, and one for Annalina. Adrienne has been busy babysitting all weekend and has put in over 18 hours between last night and today! She was kind enough to take Joseph along this morning and Annalina this afternoon. So she has been on double duty! But it has been nice to have a break!

Annalina's t-ball team won their first two tournament games on Wednesday and Thursday! We went to the third game this morning at 9am. It was a bit cool and cloudy, but it didn't rain! The girls played hard and won the game despite being down a few runs after the second inning. It was a very exciting game to watch! We went back for the championship game at 1pm. They played hard and it was close, but they lost in the end and took second for the league U8 group. Very impressive and they have all come a LONG way since that first game of the season! Annalina is looking forward to a pizza party Monday night where she will get her trophy!

Annalina playing pitcher-super short!

Annalina assists in getting an out!

Outfield Antics
Showing off her number!

Wiggling her lose tooth!

A cartwheel?

Can she actually see??


Luke, I am your father...

Ears that hear!

Yesterday Annalina had tubes put in her ears. It was a quick surgery, but was scheduled very early in the morning. We got there at 6:30 and were taken to a small room. On the gurney was a purple teddy bear! Annalina was very happy, but to add to her joy, there was a small television on a swing arm and she was able to watch the end of Mister Rogers and then part of Curious George, a favorite in our home. She had a very sweet nurse who was very kind to her and offered her half the banana she brought (after surgery) when she heard that Annalina loves bananas. Next we met her anesthesiologist, another kind woman and she learned how she would be going to sleep, practiced breathing through the mask, etc. Dr Thiringer came in to visit and before long she was taken back for the procedure. About a half an hour later the Dr came back out and said it went well. He told us that Annalina was laughing and talking to everyone she saw and was a regular Chatty Cathy! No surprise there! One of her ear canals was very inflamed so she will be getting drops regularly for a week to help clear that up. The nurse took us back to recovery where Annalina was laying in a little ball on the bed sobbing! It was heartbreaking, but the nurse assured us this is a typical response of children waking up from the anesthesia. After about 10 minutes of crying she said, "I told you I didn't want to come here Mom". ::sigh:: As it turned out, she was not feeling up to eating and didn't share the nurses' banana after all! They let us leave shortly after that. We got her home and in bed and I watched a movie with her. She perked up after Grandpa came by with some ice cream and by the time Megan and her kids stopped by around 3pm to check in, she was feeling her usual self again! She is a little sensitive to really loud noises, but she can hear again! For the first time in 5 months she asked me to turn the tv DOWN, because it was too loud! I am so grateful everything went well and that Annalina is doing so well!!

Kids say the darndest things...

My kids are always saying funny things. It is great to get to see life through their eyes. I always tell myself I will write it all down in my journal so I can remember it later in life, but that never happens! Now I have a great place to write it all down and share it at the same time!

I walked into the living room to find all the sofa cushions on the floor in a pile. I asked Joseph who did it and he said Annalina! I said "Joseph, are you lyin?" in a teasing voice, and he said, "Yes mom, I'm a lion, Roarrrr...."

Last week Annalina got off the bus. She was laughing. I asked her what was so funny and she said that a big boy sitting behind her on the bus had been copying everything she said. As a former child, I know this is done with the intention of annoying the person being copied. But Annalina got a huge kick out of it. You see to her it was the highest compliment of all. She told me, "Mom, that big boy wants to be just like me". You just have to love that outlook on life. By the time she got off the bus, she had that bigger boy laughing right along with her.

This past winter Annalina and I were hanging out together since the older kids were off at church activities. We had put Joseph down to bed and decided we needed some fun time together. So we turned on the Harlem Globetrotters television special and watched it. She thought it was hilarious and thoroughly enjoyed herself, so of course I did too! She turned to me and said, "Mom, I will always have happy remembers of tonight". What a sweet sentiment put quite nicely in her own words. I did not correct her because it was so cute. Maybe I am wrong in doing that, but she is only 6 and there will come a time when she will always talk properly. I guess I am just not in a hurry for that time to come!

We had to stop at GI Joes to pick something up and on the way out Annalina said, "I know where we are Mom, I read the sign, we are at Sally's!" I looked up and sure enough there was a big banner that said "Sale" which she sounded out to be Sally.

Many many years ago when Jacob was in Kindergarten I would take him back to the school in the afternoon once a week for a speech therapy session. I would watch as he played games or played with toys with the therapist. One day she was showing him cards. The first had two flowers on it. She asked him what it was, but he did not know. She told him tulips and he repeated her. A few cards later she showed him a card with three of the same flowers on it. She asked him what it was and without missing a beat he replied, "three-lips". We laughed and laughed, but he did not get it!

Take a deep breath and relax...

I am including a link to a musician I have come to really enjoy! She preformed some of the music in a relaxation game we have called Journey to Wild Divine. The game is played on the computer and you hook up sensors to your fingertips. Then on the journey you have tasks you must do using your body responses. So for one you might have to get extremely relaxed and slow your heart rate in order to move an object. In others you make your heart beat faster in order to open a door. Its actually really a neat game since you get to tap into your emotions to make things happen. It makes me feel like I am magic! Come over and play it with us sometime! Anyway, I just love the music from this game and found the artist, Snatam Kaur. She has a website and if you just go to the site, it will automatically start playing her music. I often open her site, and minimize it while I work so I can hear it in the background. My favorite is Aadays Tisai Aadays. Many of her songs are in another language, but it is so beautiful. I'd love to get her CD's at some point. Anyway, just wanted to share with you something I enjoy listening to!

http://snatamkaur.com/web8.html

The kiddos

I have four wonderful children. I know, the blog so far has been a little more focused on the younger two in the family! Mostly this is because they actually LOVE to have their pictures taken, whereas the two older kids are either not here, or are ducking away from the camera at every turn! So here is some info on the elusive teenagers in our family! OK, Adrienne is 16 years old and is absolutely beautiful, though she may not realize it yet. Yes, she is a very sweet 16 years old. She is a fun teenager to have around. She is happy and always willing to help out with the little ones, or around the house, or with my business. She does a lot of babysitting in the neighborhood and is so good with kids of all ages. She is very artistic, likes to draw and design web pages. She loves to text, luckily she has the unlimited plan which she pays for herself. She worked hard to get a laptop a couple years ago and she is often online at either myspace or facebook. So far, I haven't seemed to embarrass her too much. She still claims me as her mom around her friends and even lets me drive her and her friends places-what a privilege. But really, as far as teens go, she is a dream come true. I really love her and appreciate her in my life! I am looking forward to having her home this summer! It is often hard for me to imagine she only has two years of high school left and could someday choose to make her own way in life, outside our home! Message to Adrienne: You will always have a place in our home and you will always be my little girl! I love you!

Isn't she beautiful!?!

Jacob, or Jake as he now prefers to be called is a multi-faceted guy! He left the refuge of a video game centered life to venture into sports and has succeeded tremendously! He loves to run(whose kid is this??) and joined the track team the last two years. He runs the 1500 pretty fast and took second place a couple of times this year. He often goes running on his own around town. I think he enjoys the freedom of being out on his own! This year he decided to play basketball for the first time. Actually he wanted to join last year, but me, the big meanie mom, told him he had to learn the rules of how to play before he could join a team. Well, he did. He looked up things online, he asked grandpa lots of questions and he watched a lot of games. And when he finally joined he was the tallest kid on his team. He learned with every practice and every game, he just seemed to soak itup! By the middle of the season he was making a third or more of the points at each game. Well, I have a lot to say about Jacob and basketball, so watch for another installment on that subject! We will just leave it that he is a basketball fanatic! Needless to say, the NBA has Jake's attention in a BIG way! He loves the Blazers and the Utah Jazz, and would love to join one of them someday! Jacob is going to be 14 this summer and already has a great work ethic. If I tell him to do something he does it. He has several chores each day and he gets up first thing in the morning and does them right away. He watches the dishwasher like a hawk and if the clean light is blinking he unloads it right away. Same goes for the kitchen garbage. He empties it when it is needed. This is so nice not to have to constantly remind him! Jacob has come so far since his early rocky years, again another post for another time! Jake is a fun kid, he can be quiet and thoughtful and he can also be wild and crazy! I am always hearing from teachers, counselors, parent's friends what a great kid he is! I just have to agree. I am Jacob's biggest fan, whether he sees that or not! I adore my Jacob!!

Surfer Jake...life is never dull with you around!

All photos above were taken on our last vacation to Depoe Bay last November.

Peanuts & Cracker Jacks!

Annalina is playing T-Ball for the first time this year. It is so much fun to watch a team of 10 little girls, who really know very little about softball, try to play a game of T-Ball! Actually they have played 6 games so far and have come a long way! Next weekend will be their tournament and we are looking forward to watching several games. At Annalina's first game she hit the ball and it went flying, and she stood there waiting for another pitch, because that is how they always practiced. The coach would keep pitching to them until it was the next girl's turn to practice hitting! I guess no one ever actually told her about the running part! Such fun! Joseph loves it when Annalina has a game. Not because he is an avid t-ball fan, but because he cannot get enough of the playground! Most of the fields have a playground right near the field, so he gets to play through most of the game. Its actually pretty cool, then he sleeps really well that night!