update!

Hi All! Just thought I would update you all on whats been going on up here. We had a great weekend last weekend with the Ephrata Mills' - it was Penney's 60th birthday so they made the trip over. Here is a picture of all of the kids - we took a drive up on the mountain and this is an old combine that the kids found to play on. They also had fun picking wild flowers. (yes, both girls have pretty much caught Carson in the height dept!)

Annika had her kindergarten "boosters" (shots) this week. She did SO GOOD! She didn't cry, scream, nothing! She acted so big! I combined her appointment with mine, so she got to hear the baby's heartbeat (something she has been asking to do for several months), so maybe that took away from her shots. Her appointment was on Tues. and the next morning as Carson was getting on the bus, she says to me "Mom, I feel like a real kindergartener - I am 5 and I have had my shots!" So, she is now having a hard time understanding why, now that she is 5 and has had her shots, she can't get on the bus with Carson and head to Kindergarten!

I am not sure if spring has sprung up here (it is 75 one day and then can't get into the 50's a few days later?), but spring work has begun. Jeff is working 14 -15 hour days, I think he said they have over 1400 acres to get seeded (of course all which has to be sprayed, etc. too) Just thought I would share that to those of you who thinks he just goofs off all the time (Kami)!!

The kids and I went to the Shrine Circus yesterday. The older 2 and I went last year and they had been asking about it. I think they all really enjoyed it - even Coleman was very entertained - it lasted over 2 1/2 hours, but we all had a good time! The older 2 rode the elephant again - the animal was way too big for Coleman's liking! :-)

Here are just some pictures from the yard - these things that Coleman just couldn't quite figure out last summer are so much fun for him this year - and so cute in his mom's eyes! (the John Deere tractor is battery operated, so he just pushes the pedal to the metal and goes like crazy. He is still trying to figure out the whole steering thing - Carson has to come to his rescue many times when crashes! Usually he just goes around in circles and loves it!

Coleman's Birthday!

Here is the big 2 year old birthday boy, all smiles. He loved having it be his birthday. His favorite quote of the day was "Hap Bday to me!" He said it all day long and continued to do so for several days after his birthday too!

This is a crazy hat that Grandma Micki gave him with his present.

He loved opening his presents - and the cards too. He didn't want help. With each card, he would pick apart the envelope until it was in shreds, then open up the card and pretend he was reading it by talking some jibberish and then would end with "Hap Bday to me!", put it down and move on to the next one!

Here he is showing off his nice new cowboy belt from Grandma!

He loved having us sing to him. The smile on his face while we were all singing was priceless. After he had blown out his candles and was eating his pie, he said "More hap bday to me!" Apparently he liked getting all the attention!

So that is that. I think I am slowly but surely getting over my bronchitis - still have the stuffy head, runny nose and little cough, but I feel 100% better than I did on Thursday! Enjoy the pics!

Here we go!

O.K. so here it is. I have been reading all that you all have been blogging and decided it is time to contribute. I have a few pictures I wanted to share and knew if I just sent them in an e-mail, I wouldn't hear the end of it, so I will give this a try on our SLOW computer. Yes, unlike all you high class folk down there, us poor people are still on dial up.







Oh my freakin word - trying to upload just 1 picture took 7 minutes! AAAHHHHH Here are the kids on Halloween. Most of you have probably seen the kids in their costumes in Penney's x-mas letter, so here they are in the shirts mom gave them.






Here are the kids and Jeff getting the christmas tree. We had a good time. I think the same day you all went, we climbed on a couple of 4 wheelers and rode up on the mountain. I think it was the most enjoyable trip yet - a nice day, not too cold, no crying, kids had lots of fun, etc.



And then here are the kids while enjoying their hot cocoa and granola bars that we took.

Here is the after shot of the tree. Way too big for the space we had, but we cut some off the top and bottom and shoved it back into the corner. I tried to get Jeff to take his deer mount down for the holidays, so he wasn't peeking through our tree, but Jeff was afriad that if he took it down I may not let it go back up, so he stayed! Yea, our tree will win no prizes either, but the kids had fun decorating it.

This last week, Jeff had an Idaho Grain Producers convention in CDA at the Resort, and the entertainment on Wednesday evening was a Cruise Boat ride to see the Holiday Lights and to see Santa at the North Pole. So the kids and I joined him. It was a lot of fun. When you get across the lake, the whole shore lights up with x-mas lights and Santa is there and talks to the kids. They get a list of the kids' names who are on the boat and then Santa calls out their names. They blow fake snow into the air like it is snowing. Here is all of us and I had to include the one of the kids so you could see all the lights on the shore of the lake.

The kids and I went up and back for the evening and then on Thursday the younger 2 and I went back up after getting Carson off to school. Carson got off the bus at Ron and Penney's that day and spent Thursday night with them, so Annika, Coleman and I could spend the night in CDA. We had fun swimming, playing, etc and that evening got to enjoy a dinner without kids - they go to a little play room and play, eat dinner, etc. while we have a nice dinner. Coleman did good and Annika loved it - she said that was her favorite part!

We got our first snow yesterday after we got home. Coleman and Annika went right out and had a great time - before Carson was home from school. Coleman just thinks its great!

O.K. so I am done with trying to upload these pictures. I have written all that and hoped to put the pictures beside each paragraph, but have no more pictures to show you because of this stupid computer. Too frustrating. I am going to send the rest of the pictures in an e-mail. Sorry Kami, I tried. This is my best effort! :-)