Pacific Northwest Trip- part 1

July 16 was Ginger Rogers' Birthday. I wore my bow earrings to celebrate at church where I gave a talk and cried a lot because I was running on little sleep trying to get ready for a trip and getting up early every day to support Jeremy and get him to work early. Jet kept me up late the night before which fact I was able to use in my talk. It's life, real life. And it's okay to come to church with how things are in real life. It's right to be there.

After church, we finished packing and the kids and I drove to Idaho to visit our friends. They were so sweet to feed us and let us stay overnight, even though we got there much later than we wanted to. Part of that was we had an issue with our van on the way so it set us back a while. Traveling on the hottest day of the year. Sigh.

I love our friends. The next day, July 17, was Global Hug Your Kids Day so I tried to get pictures of me hugging my kids before we headed out and at most stops. Some of the pictures didn't turn out so well but I got enough pictures it's fine if I don't put every single one on here.

It was also Yellow Pigs Day so I specifically requested Nichole wear her Cook's Racing Pigs hat she won way back on Yellow Pigs Day in 2014.

Since it was also Ocean Day in Japan, we joked that we were headed toward the Pacific Ocean, as we were headed to Oregon.

My parents met us partway there and my dad took most of the boys while my mom rode with Nichole, Jet, and me. That last leg of the trip went so fast because my mom and I were chatting so much. I also made sure to get pictures of my parents hugging their kid- me. My mom tried to get pictures of her hugging her grandkids as well. Lucky escaped too many times, though, so we had to be sneaky and several days later, we got a picture of her hugging him.

It's been 5 years. It was high time I went back home for a visit. It was also Jet's first time in Oregon.

Mother's Day 2021

I love being a mom. I really do. There are times I don't get along with my kids but I always love them and I know they love me, too.

Then there are those times when we get along really well and have great times together. I still love my kids during the good times.

For Mother's Day this year, both Jr. Jr. and Lucky brought me things they made at school including coupon books, cards, Lucky made me a flowers in a vase picture, and Jr. Jr. decorated a tile and included things in the drawing that have significance to our family.

Have I mentioned I love my kids?

Spring Break 2017

We just finished Spring Break for the kids.  Boy, was it busy.  We did some awesome things, had some great family time, and stayed out pretty late some nights.  I hope to do individual posts about some of what we did (besides what I've already posted), but here are a few highlights before I get to those posts:

We saw ground squirrels and itty-bitty ground squirrels (we've been thinking they were prairie dogs, but we recently found out we were wrong- they are ground squirrels).
Here's a picture of me looking at a ground squirrel.

 

We saw the other kind of squirrel.  You know the kind with the bushy tail that has been fed by too many people so it comes up and begs even though people aren't supposed to feed them?  We didn't feed them.
Here's a picture of Jr. looking at a squirrel.

Here is a squirrel photobombing a picture of the kids.

click on it if you need to see it larger

It was good we had such good weather to have such adventures during Spring Break because this morning we had to scrape snow and ice off our windshields before going to church.  I didn't get a picture of that.

International Surfing Day 2014

Celebrating doesn't have to be hard.  Bring a camera along while you're running errands or just at home.  Get pictures of the kids pretending like they're surfing for International Surfing Day, June 20.

 Easy.

Kid Inventors' Day 2014

Our children had fun with Kid Inventors' Day, January 17, last year.  They like to tinker. 
To celebrate the holiday this year, Jeremy took Jr. Jr. to Thanksgiving Point.  At the Museum of Ancient Life there is a Tinkering Exhibit where kids can get hands on experience building and experimenting with different things.

Jr. Jr. loves it.

Later on, Nichole got to work with her Snap Circuits Jr. she got for Christmas.  She was able to put different circuits together to make it do different things like make different sounds.

And we all started watching Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events because the oldest child in that movie is an inventor.  It got too late, though, and the kids needed to get ready for bed so we didn't finish it.

At school, Nichole glued 4 paper fans together to invent one jumbo fan.

It's fun to let children tinker on Kid Inventors' Day.

Thank a Mailman Day 2013

Quickly writing notes and drawing pictures for our friendly neighborhood postal worker before school because Mom forgot to look at the calendar until this morning to remember that February 4 is Thank a Mailman Day.  

Quick kids.  Now out the door to school.

Kid Inventors' Day 2013

Celebrating Benjamin Franklin's birthday, January 17 is Kid Inventors' Day (not only did Benjamin Franklin invent when he was an adult, but he did also when he was a kid).

When I told my kids this morning that it was Kid Inventors' Day, they literally jumped up and down for joy.  As you know, my kids love to create and loved that Mom was expecting them to use their creativity on this day.  Here are some of the inventions they came up with this evening.  I asked them about how they created their inventions and this is what they told me:

Nichole (she created something to shine light through to show up red on the other side)-

Well, at first I needed the ingredients and those were construction paper, tape, empty water bottle, red tissue paper, a flashlight, and then I taped the tissue paper to the open part and I taped the construction paper around the water bottle, turned on the flashlight, and the color changed.  And that's how I made my invention.

Jr. (similar to Nichole's but his has a tail)-

Well, at first I needed tissue paper and then construction paper and tape and then an empty old water bottle and then I needed a flashlight, popsicle sticks and then the color changed and also that is how I made my invention.

Jr. Jr. (I gave him a box of crayons and some paper so he could create, too)-

Uh, uh, a name of my invention of crayons
my paper of box of crayons
pajamas, monster pajamas
a box of crayons
crayons of Monkey Island
I say crayons of Monkey Island.
Uh, I take crayons of Monkey Island.

Balloon, Bows, and a Surprise

Jeremy has had a very busy time with work lately. For one of his shows we got to work together to build this large balloon present.

 Wait, is someone in there?

Haha, come on out Jr.!

You too Nichole?

And then Jr. Jr.? 

"Wait," he says, "is there another one in there?"

 Nope, that's it for now.

But here are three of our greatest gifts, all wrapped up!