Little bit of this and that

Sorry kids, I had to add a couple photos that didn't necessarily showcase family time but our trip to Vegas was over the top amazing! Thank you Phil for 17 years of marriage.  I love this journey we are on. 

New York.  I'll be making a photo book on that trip.  Enough said.

And here begins a lock at our summer.  Bike ride across the west salem bridge and enjoying a fun gondola ride in Spokane.  More to come on our summer but present day I am…

Alone.  Well, not really. Rylee is napping and I am taking a few minutes to sit down and write about what our life looks like today.  My intentions are to do this once a week but its been way longer than that since my last post.  Oops. 

Piano is going great!  The hard thing about taking piano lessons is that darn piano stares at me as I walk by and I swear it is whispering "play me."  I love learning and wish I could play more but that day will come.  

Andrew is loving his 3/4 blend and I am hearing amazing reviews about his teacher Mrs. Costas.   Emma is not at school all day and loves having "hot lunch."  I let them buy lunch a couple times a week.  She also loves school but I sure miss those two all day.  

How am I really doing…..

My head is itching.  We all might have lice

Phil tore his ACL, we get confirmation tomorrow.  He has and will be on crutches for what seems like years.   I don't need to add my feelings to this post…… he knows. 

Emmas appt with Dr Harding at Dohrnbecher went beautifully yesterday

So to sum up my day, life is good even in the tough days. 

I'll be back soon.

 

Summer begins!

Summertime has begun and so far so good.  What I mean by that is there hasn't been any major blow out drag out fights and no serious injuries from playing outside all day.
 I've basically been voiceless for 10 days now after arriving home from New York.   Andrew, Emma and Rylee are enjoying my inability to yell and bark orders for them helping around here.
 I am doing my best to listen to my kids.  When I hear them say "mommy, mama, mom, (or if Andrew is mad) Aimee I want to look and hear them.  I get so busy and find myself saying, "just a minute" "hold on" "I gotta do this real quick then I can.."  When really I want to say yes babe and put down the phone, the dishes, the laundry  - wait, Phil is the clothes folder around here.
 Tomorrow I am sure the kids will start their morning watching Michael Jackson videos, building a fort and wondering why we are out of milk for their cereal.  Life is good.

Loving Life with the 5 of us!

Even this picture is 14 months old. Am I treading water or living life so on fire everyday that I neglect to capture these amazing moments. I am ready to begin again. Baby steps. I can do this! If Facebook can get my attention a few minutes each day so can putting memories down that will last a life time.

Some tid bits from the Tots.....

I will have to post pics another time. We are in desperate need of a new computer! Life has been incredible these days. Andrews 5th Birthday was, to say the least, an experience I don't think Phil wants to relive. He had 5 friends over and Phil did an amazing job setting up a "fun" obsticle course up at the school. Trying to get 6 five year olds to listen to any kind of instruction is just tiring. One boy, who will remain nameless would not do anything he was asking so Phil decided to ask all the other boys if this particular boy was retarded. I gasped! The boys just looked at Phil then at one another and shrugged their shoulders. (: I guess Phil forget calling someone retarded is not appropriate.
We welcomed baby Noah into the family in March and he is oh so yummy. (phil says i sound like a hamster wanting to eat their young when i say that?!) But, HE IS! I can't wait to put up some pics. Way to go Rach and T!
Emma is singing, dancing and still refusing to go potty on the toliet these days. She loves having cousins! Whenever baby Jamesons name comes up she immediatley states that baby Jameson has a penis, just like brother. Should I be concerned? We love to laugh!
I was trying to sneak a quick shower and left the kids downstairs.... (not a great way to start a sentence i know...) but they did behave for the most part. I came down the stairs and they were each on a couch watching TV. Andrew let me know they wanted a snack and they each had found one in my purse. (which was poured out all over the floor) He was opening an energy bar and Emma was trying to open a tampon. I am laughing as I type. Never a dull moment.
T Ball season is here. I wish I could say we are having so much fun but to be honest, I wish I would have put Andrew in a dance class. Thats all he does out in the field! Honestly, it is BORING! I must be a good example and have him finish the season since we do want to teach our kids quitting is not an option.
There is so much to be thankful for and we praise God everyday for the family and friends we have in our life. Until next time....

Auntie was here and Jameson arrived!!!!

We had so much fun as Danielle arrived for an entire 5 weeks the day after Christmas. I will post more pics later... Thank you Auntie for all the love and laughs you shared with the entire family but especially Andrew, Emma and baby J. What a blessing our little Jameson is. He is absolutely adorable and I am excited to post more pics to this post when its not almost 1 am. (:

Time for our Christmas recap

Rachel and Taylor enjoy a final Christmas as "dinks" and can't wait to add another cousin to the adorable mix!

The kids had so much fun opening all the wrapped gifts from Santa in their stockings!

"Buncle Tis!" We all love you so much.

Our humble happy tree straight from the awesome Frank family tree farm (:

Emma loves helping out in the kitchen.. esp when

chocolate is involved!! Yum!!!!

I am a little behind on my updates...as we approach Spring Break I thought I really ought to post some fun Christmas pics. The holidays get more and more special and magical the older the kids get. We spent many evenings with the Chipmunks Christmas CD blaring as we baked cookies. Andrew was fully aware that his behavior and Santas generosity were directly related. Sweet Power... Emma was oblivious to that but loved helping decorate the tree and I couldn't keep the candy canes out of her hands. "Tandy Tane!" This year marked our 2nd annual "were staying home on Christmas Eve" and I thank God our family is so understanding about us wanting our kiddos to wake up on Christmas Day in their own beds. I absolutely love hosting dinner so papa, nana and buncle tis made the drive down to enjoy.... gosh, I honestly can't remember what I made. (thats what i get for slackin on the updates)