Chasing Sunsets!

Growing up in North Idaho, we always had beautiful sunsets. One of my childhood memories is chasing sunsets with my mom and some of our best friends! Our kitchen window looked out on our field and that was where the sunsets would take place. My mom would load us in our station wagon right when the sunset would start and drive out through the prairie and fields towards the sunset, watching it as we went. We would often call our friends on the spur of the moment when the sunset would start and they would jump in their car, meet us at our house and we would follow each other, chasing sunsets! We saw some great sunsets! My mom still calls me and says, have you seen the sunset? We love watching them where ever we are. Just tonight I called out to my kids and their friends, "hurry, come see the sunset!" And they all came running! The sight was spectacular! We had major thunderstorms and lightning this afternoon and then the rain poured! There is nothing like an eastern thunderstorm! Right after all the rain dumped it was blue sky and puffy clouds! So tonight at dusk when we went out on the back porch to watch the sunset, the humidity was hanging over the forest like a mist and it was so quiet and peaceful! The kids found water in all the seashells we had collected on one of our trips, we found some slugs and huge spider webs--the kids loved it! The lightning bugs were out and we had a great time! I would have loaded them all in the van but there weren't enough seats for all the kids that were over and I would probably get lost if I tried chasing a sunset out here! :) I don't think the GPS has a "follow the sunset" setting! But we do and we love it!

Bunnies and Birds and Bats...Oh My!

We have lots of wildlife around here and we are really enjoying it! We found a little nest of bunnies in our back yard a week or so ago and they are so cute! Today the little bunnies came out of the nest for the first time, there are 4! They are so small and cute! We go look at them everyday, it's the highlight of the morning every day before school. Rodney also found a robin's nest under our deck in the backyard, he found it when there were 3 eggs in there. On saturday we looked and the birds have hatched! Now when you look at the nest there are just these beaks poking up from the edge of the nest, it is very cute too! We also have fireflies! We went outside tonight and found lots of them, they are fascinating to watch! John caught one and gave it to Rodney and it was fun to watch it light up in his hands, Joey didn't know what to think of it! Rodney let it go after a while so it even survived the captivity! :) While we were out finding fireflies Julia saw the bats, there were several flying all over the neighborhood they were kind of cool, but a little creepy! We have also seen several foxes out around the neighborhood in the evening, we are glad we have a fenced in backyard! We think that is why the bunny decided to put her nest in our backyard, no foxes! We found a really funky bug yesterday, it looks like a centipede body but with lots of long legs that looks like spider legs, there are about 26 legs! We don't know what kind of bug that is yet, we might have to do an internet search! So even though we don't have pets we are having a good ol'time with the animals!

My first 5K Race!!!

Well, I have decided to start running! Mostly due to my sister Kim's motivation and also one day at the gym all the elliptical machines were in use so instead of waiting a really long time I said "why not?" and got on a treadmill to run/jog! Mind you, I am a beginner so it's more like jogging than running but I'll eventually get there! :)So my first race was the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure and it was amazing! There were over 45,ooo participants! Plus all the other people there to watch, it was very exciting! We all got up at 5am to get into DC on time, and we found an awesome parking place just a few blocks from the starting line! The kids were loving the atmosphere of excitement, Rodney thought it was so cool to have the streets blocked off, he decided to lay down in the middle of the road by the starting line! They had several celebrities there to kick off the race, the crown prince and princess of Serbia were there and spoke to us, and the Vice President was also there and spoke to us! His wife is a big supporter, so he was there with her. There were a couple singers who sang some songs, they are famous but I can't remember their names so they aren't too famous to me! :) LOTS of PINK everywhere! We started the race a little after 8am and it took me 5 minutes just to get to the starting line there were so many people! John and the kids were there to see me off and John said the crowd was going through the starting line for at least 15 minutes! And that was just the runner's starting line, they had another section a few blocks down that was the walkers starting line! The route was so fun to run! They had Constitution Ave. blocked off and we started off running in front of the National Archives, then in front of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and then in front of the American History Museum. Then over in front of the White House! And on down the street, we turned around over by the Viet Nam Memorial and came up by the Washington Monument, on by the Holocaust Museum, ran along the National Mall in front of the Smithsonian Castle and around over by the Air and Space Museum. We ended up over by the Capitol building! It was a long race for me since I"m not use to doing this type of thing but I loved it!!! I even beat my best time I had at the gym! At the gym my normal time for a 5K is 49 minutes, the best I've ever done it in is 47 minutes. At the race I did it in 43 minutes!! So I was happy about that! John and the kids were at the finish line waiting for me and that was awesome, he is so nice to get up so early and bring all the kids down to support me! They were giving out pink capes and Julia got one for her and me and put it on me when I crossed the finish line, she is so cute! I even have pictures of my really red sweaty face! :) Then we walked around with the kids, they had lots of booths out like an Expo and had tons of free stuff. Yoplait and Fuze drinks were major sponsors so we had lots of yogurt that day! yummy! Over by the Capitol they had complimentary snacks for everyone so we had a little picnic over there with apples, bananas, pretzels, applesauce, granola bars, lemonade and apple juice! We had fun walking around the mall enjoying everything, then we walked through the sculpture gardens on the way back to the car and headed home! We were very tired after getting up at 5am!

Amazing Memorial Weekend!

We had an incredible Memorial Weekend! John's family came down to visit and we saw so many things! Some of us were sick but we still managed to salvage the weekend! We started out going to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and watching the movie "Night at the Museum 2--Battle of the Smithsonian". We saw it on the IMAX and it was so fun to see it that big and be sitting in the museum where they filmed it, and to have seen the DC sights that day that were in the film! Julia's foot is still hurting so we got her a wheelchair, she had already done a ton of walking that day, she is a trooper! The boys loved having her in a wheelchair, she had lots of offers to be pushed around! Joey even gave up his stroller on the walk back to the car! We also went to Arlington National Cemetary, they had put flags on ALL the gravestones and it was beautiful and sad all at the same time. We were able to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and that was a neat ceremony. We did a walking tour of the war monuments that are between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, which included the World War II Memorial, the Viet Nam Wall, the Korean War wall and we saw the FDR memorial. Those were so reverent and sobering, there were tons of flowers, pictures, and stories on all the war memorials, I was so glad we were able to see those memorials on memorial weekend, we've seen them before but they meant a lot more this weekend to see all of the personal items people had left in memory. We went to Gettysburg and the town of Gettysburg was having their parade and we made it in time for that which was a pleasant suprise! They had lots of people dressed up in costume from the civil war era in the parade along with the modern day military, it was fun to watch that! We went to the Battlefield and it is huge! We drove through it and they have lots and lots of monuments for each regiment that was there and the sheer number of monuments makes you realize the large number of soldiers that were there. We also went and saw a film talking about the war and then went to a presentation at what is called a Cyclorama. It is a huge painting that was done all around a circular room. It depicts the battle of Gettysburg and the narration is really neat because different parts of the painting light up as it tells the story. It was very cool. The thing I loved about it is that it was done shortly after the Civil War and veterans of the war came and saw the exact painting we were looking at and the experience brought tears to their eyes because it was so realistic. It was amazing to think that we were looking at something a veteran of the civil war saw! So all in all it was a great weekend and I feel very blessed we were able to share it with family and pay honor to our military.

I just discovered that some of the captions are not on the right picture but I can't change it! :)

Getting Ticked and Ticked-Off!!!

Well, we aren't having anger management problems around here but we are having bug problems! :) The ticks are out in full force right now and it is unbelieveable! Usually to us "tick season" means check yourself after you've been camping or out in the forest but here we have to check every day, even for just going out in the backyard to play! Our first tick encounter was over the weekend when John came home from camping and we found one crawling on him, it hadn't attatched yet. So we got rid of it and just assumed that it had come from camping. Then the next day we were sitting on the couch and Julia starts screaming about a tick being on her and sure enough, there was one crawling on her! The boys did their brotherly part and started screaming too to make Julia even more frantic, it was lovely. So we disposed of that tick and instigated the rules for tick checks. I told everyone they were to shower every day and when they washed their hair to run their fingers over the scalp and feel for any bumps and if they found them to come tell me. So yesterday Julia was doing her homework and running her fingers through her hair and found a bump! So she came running to me and sure enough, it was a tick and this time it was attatched! She of course started freaking out again and the boys helped her, they love it when anyone gets worried over something, they definitely make the most of the situation! So I looked on the internet to see how to remove a tick, (it's not with a match or vaseline by the way) it said to call the dr. and remove it with tweezers pulling it straight up until it came off, hopefully with all it's body parts intact! Then to disinfect the would and watch for signs of Lyme disease. So we got the tick off and luckily it came off with it's head so nothing got stuck in Julia's scalp! We put neosporin on it and talked to the dr. She said the ticks around here definitely have Lyme disease most of the time so we are to watch for a ring rash around where the tick was, if that happens they put Julia on antibiotics and within the next 2-3 weeks we are to watch for signs of Lyme disease--it mimics a viral infection, fever, chills, body aches, etc... if she gets those I'm not sure what they do, I'm suppose to call! She would not be contagious though. But they do check blood tests for the Lyme disease at that point but they can't tell through blood tests for about a month after the bite. Sounds great huh?! :( The dr. also said that there are so many ticks around here that the kids can get them from being anywhere, even in the grass in the backyard, so we really do need to check every time they've been outside! The bug spray works to repel them but then you have to put that on all the time and that's not so good either. Then this morning we had the patio door open for a few minutes and we found a tick on the floor by the door, so I definitely think they are in our backyard! ugh! Now maybe that will motivate my kids to "shut the door"! when they go outside! We are also having lots of fun with "ticked off" jokes the last couple days! Julia got "ticked" yesterday and I "ticked her off" last night! :) Have a lovely day and if you don't live around ticks, enjoy it!

How many tries?!

This slide show is about getting all 4 kids to look at the camera at the same time! The spring is beautiful here and there were these trees that were full of pink flowers and I just had to get a picture of the kids in front of them! There is a really pretty neighborhood next to ours that had a row of these trees so I warned the kids that the next day we were going to take pictures after school--I have to warn them in advance so I don't have mutiny on my hands. You'd think after all the pictures I take they'd be use to it?! Well, it rained for days and I was sure the blossoms would be gone soon with all the rain and then poor Julia tripped at school and sprained/broke her foot so we had a couple days at different doctors figuring that one out. So one day it rained all day but after school it was nice so I loaded the kids in the car and drove to the spot. Then came the fun part! Julia was trying to not stand on her foot, Johnny was trying to hold Joey but he moves too much so we finally put him on Johnny's shoulders and Rodney just has way too much fun goofing off! When I can get Joey to look at the camera, all the other kids are looking at him to see if he's looking at the camera--therefore THEY are not looking at the camera! I finally get everyone to realize that I need them to look at me and not Joey, no matter what he is doing and then Joey finds that he can reach one of the branches and starts shaking it and laughing his head off! It is really very funny to be part of this photo-shoot! Joey takes the branch and starts hitting Julia in the head with it and blossoms shower down on her and Johnny---Rodney loves this part! Finally I've taken enough pictures that there HAS to be at least one I can frame so I decide to pack it up and go home! Since it has rained there is mud on everyone's shoes but who cares if we get a good picture, right? On the way home from the bus stop the next day the trees had dropped tons of their blossoms and Johnny said, hey we should make and angel so Rodney ran over and made a flower angel! It was awesome! When he got up he was soaking wet because the ground was all wet but we didn't care! The blossoms are all gone now but I have a great picture to remind us of them!

A Black Tie Event!

Here is my second post for today! John received an award for a fuel cell that was commercialized this year that he has patents on and so we got to go to North Carolina for the award ceremony! There was also a conference that he went to so he and I went for the whole week! John's mom and sister came and watched the kids and we all had a great time! The ceremony was black tie so John rented a tux and I had fun finding a dress, shoes, purse, and jewelry--it was like prom! :) I also got a pedicure that week and had my hair done, which I have never done before so that was fun. I found an outlet mall and entertained myself all day by shopping for the kids' summer clothes, the mall was huge with lots of different stores that I'd never heard of so I had a lot of fun! The weather was crazy while we were there, they had severe weather and it rained a ton, they were in a drought but this storm made up their water deficit in 2 hours--there was also a tornado warning one day and a funnel cloud the next, so that was pretty exciting! Our car broke too ( we drove) so we had to get that fixed but it was done in one day so we felt very blessed. My cousin that I haven't seen in 15 years lived close by so we met her and her husband and had dinner at a Cajun Cafe---we ate Alligator Tail! No kidding! John said it tasted like green scaly chicken! I thought it just tasted like chicken! :) Her husband works for a NASCAR driver so that was fun talking to him about that, everything out there is Nascar! The award ceremony was neat, they had pictures and a reception before hand and then the actual ceremony where they tell all of the details of what people were getting awards for, it was for the transfer of technology, where government departments get research commercialized and out on the market, which they like to do! There were lots of gov't deptartments there, the ones I remember are the departments of Energy (John's area), transportaion, defense, agriculture, NASA, health, and lots of others. The meal was good and there was tons of silverware on the table, we had a fork for everything! :) We had a really nice time and it was fun! I loved having a week off of normal life and John and I got a date every evening, we found several good restaurants! We had some seafood, brazilian BBQ and Southern BBQ, and the cajun, it was all delicious! The drive there was beautiful, everything was very green and there were tons of wildflowers growing all over. The kids were glad we came back but no one thinks they really missed us, they played with cousins all week and had Grandma taking care of them, life can't get better than that can it?! We did get lots of hugs and kisses though when we returned! So, after the Ball, the carriage has dropped the Prince and Princess off back at the castle and life happily ever after continues on!

Birthday's and Mother's Day!

Here is my first post for May! Maybe I will be good and get a couple done today, we've had a lot going on! But here's for Mother's Day! Saturday was John's birthday, Sunday Mother's Day and Monday (today) is Joey's birthday! Lots of celebrating! My plan for Mother's day food is to go to costco and buy a yummy frozen meal that is easy to make, we don't do that often so it is a treat and I don't have to do an entire production of a nice meal! So saturday Julia and I went and got an appetizer, meal and dessert for sunday. Our dessert was a big chocolate cake since we have two birthdays to celebrate also. Friday and saturday were the father son campout that the boys went on so Julia and Joey and I did the shopping on saturday, I think she had fun?! There were lots of "food ladies" doing samples at costco so that helped. One thing I have learned with kids and mother's day or my birthday is not to expect a glorious, wonderful, perfect day--it doesn't happen normally so why should it happen on a particular day just because we say so? :) I always tell them, "the only thing I want today is for you guys not to fight and to do what I ask you" they say okay and try for a little while but then the wish from their mom goes away and it turns into a normal day! Now, they are great kids but very normal and they do chores good but not instantly! Luckily I have an awesome husband that does his best to make my day wonderful! So sunday I was trying hard not to expect perfect children and we have 1 pm church so we have all day to be nice to each other before we go to church, and it's always a blessing if we actually walk into church with everyone happy! :) Mother's day started out with a migraine, I don't get them too often anymore but all the stars lined up just right and I had one sunday morning, so I took my medicine and went back to bed to try and get rid of it. John's back was kind of out since he had been camping the night before and then ran a bunch of relay races at the campout (which they did really good in and had lots of fun!) so he was staying in bed too trying to catch up on sleep and rest his back. So that leaves all 4 kids downstairs by themselves eating breakfast. That normally works pretty good, Johnny puts Joey in the highchair and feeds him and they watch church movies on sunday morning. Well, Joey had finished eating and wanted out so he was let out of his highchair. I heard this CRASH of something and then the kids were all saying "oh, no!" And I start taking inventory in my mind of what is downstairs that could have made a crash like that, and would also concern the children. Sometimes things crash and nobody cares! But they obviously cared about this crash, then after a few minutes Johnny calls up the stairs and informs us that Joey had gotten into the big huge chocolate cake and that is what had crashed and fallen to the floor! No wonder they were concerned, it was dessert! I decided NOT to go down and see the mess, I figured things would go better if I stayed upstairs! Johnny said he cleaned most of it up and John went down to check it out but I was grateful that there was a big area rug under the dining room table that got the huge chocolate smear on it and not on the actual carpet! The cake did pretty well, it didn't look so pretty anymore but it was intact and there wasn't dirt all over it so we of course still used it for dessert! Later that morning the kids brought me up wonderful homemade cards and their gifts they had made and it was so cute! That's the best part of Mother's Day is the cards the kids make and seeing what they like the most about you! In primary we have been practicing a mother's day song for the kids to sing in church on sunday and Rodney has been really good at learning it, he is at a really cute age right now. He is still a little boy but starting to act big so he doesn't like kisses all the time but he likes to bring me flowers and make me cards and pictures, he is adorable! Singing in church at his age is very loud but he is still singing which is good. A little older and the boys start not singing in primary! So Rodney has been really cute learning this mother's day song and occasionally he will sing it around the house but since he has so much energy instead of "singing" he is yelling it. But I don't mind the yelling because at least it is nice words and they are about a lovely mother! :) Yesterday morning he was jumping all around the bed yelling and singing the song for me and then he stopped for a few minutes and then the finale came: he BELCHED the entire song for me! It was quite the serenade! I couldn't believe he could belch for that long! So now I have had the experience of being belched to for mother's day! Later in church all 3 kids got up with the primary and sang the song and they did really good, at least there was no belching in church! :) After church we had our wonderful dinner, dessert and birthday party for John and watched a new church movie with the kids. So it was a great day!

Adventure Park

We spent the last day of Spring Break at an awesome park that is less than a mile from our house! It was the first time I had taken the kids there and we had a blast! The weather was perfect and we even found a bunch of daffodils in bloom, they were beautiful. Most of the daffodils around here just bloom up through the grass in big patches and there are several different color combinations, it is really cool! We stayed for a long time and then headed home around dinner time, it was the perfect end to our time off from school!