Christmas morning

Excitement filled our house Christms morning this year as always. I am always amazed at how the simplest of gifts can so excite a child.

Caleb got an umbrella which he has been taking everywhere for days. It is his new favorite thing. :)
Haven got a Mr. Tickle doll which make him laugh! A very nice sound coming from a baby.
Timmy of course drawing in a drawing book we got him. That boy would be happy if all he ever had to play with was pencil and paper. :)
Evangeline got so excited about this plastic necklace and bracelet she got in her stocking. Look at the silly face she is making.

It was a very nice Christmas morning. We opened the gifts, there was a bit more than the ones in the pics, and then Evangeline and I made French toast and Bacon. yummmm.

Christmas Eve

We had a really nice Christmas eve!

The kids all wore some cute Christmas outfits I was able to get them this year and we went to Grandpa and Grandma Keith and Sherry's just like always. Everyone was hanging out and having fun and then we sat down to dinner and the power went out. :)

Good thing my mom is a big fan of candles so we could still see our food a bit. Grandpa dug out the flash lights and oil lamps and we all sat down to eat. It was actually really fun if a tad too dark. hehehe
Present opening was a blast. Timmy and Benny got to spotlight the present opener and I think all the kids were a bit disappointed when the lights finally came back on.

It was eventful and probably very memorable Christmas Eve for us and the little ones. :)

Fun at Esther's

Went ot Esther's for a cookie exchange party thing today. :) It was kinda a madhouse but the kids had fun. :)

Emmy saw that Caleb had a yoda shirt on that she owned too so she had to change to match. Way cute!

Christmas program

Our church had there Christmas program last night and it was so sweet to see my little take such joy in being a part of it. Evangeline was an angel and in one of her songs got to hold the H in Christmas. :) Timmy was a shephard. They knew all the words and have been practicing for days.

It was a really nice mommy moment, both sets of Grandparents came out and I know the kids really enjoyed that they were there to see them.

Students of the month

Evangeline was a student of the month for November! The words her teacher used to describe her were Focused, Thoughtful, Thinker, Learner, and Reader. All perfectly true. Although it is the first year Perfectionist wasn't used to describe her. :)

Then in December Timothy was a Student of the Month. His words were Sensitive, Charismatic, Dependable, Cooperative, Honest. Very good words for Timmy although I am not sure he is always dependable or cooperative at home. Good to know he is at school. :)

Housework

Helping Daddy Peet Moss the lawn.

Ohhh a big piece

Rototillers are fun

Look at me

So we have been doing some housework the last couple of months. Thanks to some major help from Mom, Dad, and Ryan our house is now yellow instead of off white and we have baby grass growing.

The inside and outside are still a work in progress but we have really been able to achieve alot in the last few months. :)

I am trying to stay positive and not let all the unfinished projects overwhelm me. Soon I hope we can move into the next phase. Attempting to sell this lovely yellow house and find another one that has a bit more room for our busy family.

Housework - It's never ending

Ryan under the house

Painting the house

Pre - Paint

Scrapping

More scrapping

Bento lunch

So I have become a lunch packing addict. I love packing these fun lunches for my kiddoes. :) I always end up having to pack one for Caleb too or he gets so sad. Who can resist animal rice balls, or teddy bear sandwiches.



Timmy's Bento - Cinnamon sugar rice piggie, Pooh bear animal cookies, cheese crackers, carrot, cutest small apple from the farmers market, Pepperoni, cocktail corns, Vanilla yogurt, and a cheesy rice cow.
Evangeline's Bento - Same as Timmy but with tuna in her cheesy rice. :)



So anyway there they are isn't is so fun and exciting. I just ordered a couple small bento tools off EBAY so I will show them off when they get here. :)

Also we are painting the house today so I will definately get some pics and do a house painting post soon. (By we I actually mean Justin and Ryan)

Beth

MOPS Bar B Que 2

We had our first ever MOPS kickoff family Bar B Que on Saturday. It was really fun and I think everyone that came out had a good time. Of course it has been sunny and warm and the day we hold the Bar B it happens to be coldish. Oh well, a good time was still had by all and I am looking forward to MOPS starting again on the 7th.

MOPS kickoff Bar-B-Que Pics

Financial wisdom

via videosift.com

Story Time

School is back in session and evening story time is one of my favorite parts.

A couple nights ago I didn't have to read though since Daddy and Timmy read together and Caleb had to read with Sissy. (Although I am not so sure he was really interested in reading about Samantha)

First packed lunch!

Timmy's Bento - Rice and tuna Turkey - Meatballs - Boiled egg - Bread flowers -Cheese - Carrots - Sunflower seeds - Soy sauce - Poundcake flowers w/ chocolate sauce and sprinkles

Evangeline's Bento - Rice and Tuna pig - Same as Timmy's

Justin's Bento - I made for his lunch at work - Mostly the same foods as the kids but with sauce on his meatballs and no boiled egg because I forgot. :)

A momentous occasion to be sure. My little ones took there first packed lunch to school today. :) The last two years we happened to qualify for free lunches and thus my daughter never packed one. This year we do not so we will be packing probably half of the time. :)

Daddy went crazy and started packing these fun lunches yesterday. Google Bento's if you haven't seen them yet they are so cute and fun and ours aren't nearly as elaborate as some people's get. hehehe Anyway we worked together and this is what we came up with. I hope they enjoy eating them as much as they enjoyed looking at them. They were so excited.

First day of School '08

So Timmy boy started Kindergarten this year and my little Evangeline is now in 2nd grade.
Here are a couple of pictures from there first day. Before school Timmy was a bit nervous and it shows a little bit in the pictures. :) He has really enjoyed school so far and although he is much quieter than his sister ever was I can tell that he is learning already.

Evangeline is also having a good year so far. She seems to like her new teacher alot and now that they have started reading groups again she is a happy girl. :)

Being at home with Just the 2 little ones even for such a short time is very different. Caleb isn't sure what to do with himself and I am sure things will be very different once Haven is walking around. It's so funny to do an errand and feel like it is so easy to get in and out of places, yet people that see me are like wow that must be hard to have 2 so close together. hehehe Usually I don't tell them I have 4 but once in awhile I do just to see there expression. Who would have thought that 4 kids would seem like such a big number to so many people.


Anyway I have another post to put up soon so keep your eyes open for it.

Summer Vacation

What do you get when you take 4 kids, 2 parents, a tent, the beach, and 6 days. Very, very dirty. At least thats what you get if you are my kids on a 5 night camping trip.


Here is a few things I learned on this trip or at least remembered.

1. Bring extra jackets for children.
2. No matter how many outfits you pack boys will need more.
3. Feeding a sea gull may cause it to decide to live at your campsite.
4. Please do not go camping if you do not wish to get up with the sun.
5. Babies think sand is delicious, toddlers do not.
6. 5 year old boys are so fascinated by peeing outside they can even accidentaly forget we are right next to a bathroom.
7. Never ever take the scenic drive anywhere. (Unless you wish to break down and die)
8. Once children can read proficiantly life gets alot more complicated.
9. Gasoline is expensive.
10. Coffee is my friend
11. Sleeping on the ground is not good for your back.
12. Sleeping on a deflating air mattress is worse.
13. Reading bedtime stories in a tent is fun.
14. Watching kids discover new things is amazing.
15. Time as a family is priceless.

Day 1 we headed down and over to Humbug. We took a long scenic route over death mountain. :) It was beautiful sunny and terrifying. We took so long we got to the campground late. Day 2 and 3 we set up camp, went to the beach, went to Gold beach, and the prehistoric gardens. Evangeline lost her first tooth eating marshmallows and the momma tooth fairy gave her $5 under her pillow. She got herself a necklace.

Day 4 we went to the wild animal park and Caleb was in love with all the animals. They are all his babies and he chases them around trying to hold them. :) Even the Turkeys. Yikes

The older two were scared of all the loose animals but liked all the ones behind fences or bars. We saw some new baby cats including a 7 week old lioness. So sweet.

Then we went back to camp and packed up. We moved up North to Bastendorf were Bob and Abbie had a cabin. We set up a quick camp and spend the evening at Bob and Abbies cabin roasting hotdogs and smores.

Day 5 we took a short early morning walk near our campsite and then we headed to the campground playground and the kids played while we waited for Bob and Abbie to finish breakfast up. We played at the playground for a long while, yay for merry go rounds and tator totters as my kids called them. :)

After that we headed into Bandon. We stopped at a small museum and looked around and by the time we were done it was time to meet Bob and Abbie at a local city park. Wow I wish our parks were like that. So much fun stuff for the kids. Another Merry Go Round, Teeter Totters, Climbing toys, Tubes, swings, slides. We played there for a long time and then we headed to face rock beach. The kids played in the sand. Evangeline built herself a sand castle and Timmy and Benny built some kind of indian caves. :)

We headed to dairy queen and had icecream with Bob and Abbie before they headed home and we headed back to camp for the night.

Day 6 we woke up and packed camp. Just a quick note Bastendorf is a great campground, more secluded spots than humbug but the humbug bathrooms win hands down.

We went out to the cozy kitchen restaurant for breakfast. Then we spend the morning thrift store shopping. We found a big goodwill, salvation army, a local thriftstore, and our usual stop Books By the Bay in North Bend.

Then we headed home.

We stopped at Umpqua lighthouse and took a short break and then we stopped in Winchester Bay at another really cute playground area. We all had some more fun play time and then walked over to a close by Thai restaraunt. It was really good and even Haven was loving his rice.

So we made it home and I think I am just about caught up with the laundry now. Although my house may take awhile longer to recover.

I am off to register my Timmy for Kindergarten this morning and it sorta seems surreal. I feel as if I am in no way ready for it to be school time yet and I'm not sure how the summer past by so quickly. Hmmm

And We're Off!

Today's the day. We are packing up the van and going camping. The kids are very excited and ready to go.
We will be back Thursday or Friday and I will post lotsa pics and stories. Or knowing me at least a couple pics and one story. :)

So have a nice week everyone!

Birthday Pics!

Blow out the candle

Yummy

Ready for Launch!

Tired out after all the adventuring.

Fun in the ball pit! Wait wasn't this for the little kids.