Thursday, December 30, 2010

Detail for Corbin's Baptism

BAPTISM POSTPONED TO A LATER DATE.

New Pictures


Boys love to slide around on the ice and falling.




                                                     Snowmobiling. Me attempting to jump.
                                             
                                                     Darin Next to the tree stump he hit

                              Boys having a good time. Tyler and corbin moved up to bigger bikes.


                                                                     Rylan riding(tought himself)
                                

                                                                            Christmas

                                                               Merek's Favorite present.
                                                                   

                                                                    Our Twin Falls trip.




Jon's Work

Monday, December 27, 2010

Rylan

The other day I was loading up the boys to run errands. Rylan ran into the garage and grabbed Tyler's bike. I told him that we had to go, and that he needed to put it back.  He cried no, he wanted to ride bikes. I kind of laughed to myself, as he has never ridden a two wheel bike before, so I watched as he got on and rode off. I was in shock. He rode as if he has ridden many times before. That kid is amazing.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Corbin's Baptism

Unless something changes in the near future, we plan on baptizing Corbin on Jan 1, 2011 @ 5:00 pm. It will be at our stake center, but I don't know where that is at the moment, so more details to come...

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Snow Day

Yesterday was our first snow day.  We woke up to over 8 inches on the ground. Since no one had to go anywhere, we got up and went shopping for snowboots. After returning home, Mike and the kids bundled up, and went out to make a snowman.  Tyler made one by himself, but it fell down. Mike, couldn't just make a normal snowman, he made a gigantic snowman. He used a pair of skis to  roll the second section on, but broke them in the process.  He got it together. I was at least a foot or two taller than Mike. The kids had a great time running around and throwing snowballs. At the end of the night Rylan came in the house crying because Corbin had hit him with a snowman. I corrected him and told him it was a snowball. He corrected me saying, "no, it was too big. It was a snowman.".

Notice in the picture that Rylan has no gloves on.  He refuses to wear his gloves. He takes them off immediantly if we make him put them on. He is one stubborn child.



Today while cleaning house today, the boys were watching a movie. I went into the other room, and when I came back Rylan was gone. I asked where Rylan was. From the kitchen I hear him respond, "I'm makeing a pancake for Merek." He was in the kitchen, had turned on the oven, sprayed the pan, and poured the leftover batter from breakfast onto the pan. I helped him turn on the burner and watched as he made a pancake.

Monday, November 22, 2010

We're back online!

A lot has happened in the last few weeks, and no, we still haven't found our battery charger.  Last Friday we moved into our rental house in Boise. It is 10 minutes from just about anything. We love the location. I love living  in a bigger house. It is 2400 square feet and feels huge compared to our house in Florida. As we were unloading, the neighbors across the street came over and offered to help. They helped us until everything was unloaded.

We went to our new ward for the first time last Sunday. Everyone was very nice. After church we went to our car and found that someone had broken the window and stolen my purse. Everything has been crazy since then. We had to cancel all of our credit cards, put a lock on all of our accounts. I have to monitor my credit for the next year, because my social security number was in my purse. I have never felt so vulnerable before. It is a terrible feeling. At night I sometimes go to bed angry that someone would do that to someone else. I wish I could go back in time, and have not left my purse in the car.

Corbin started school at Mountain View Elementary. He has a great teacher, Mr. Purdy. We have been very blessed, that he has transitioned into his new schools so well. I was so worried, that he would have a hard time.

We are preparing for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I'll be so ready for the holidays to be over, but glad that we'll get to spend some time with my brother and his family, and Mike's dad.

It started snowing yesterday. The kids have been asking everyday since we got here when it was going to snow. We have been going out to play in the snow in the morning, before it melts. I never knew how much work snow and kids mean. The bundling up, the unbundling, the water clean up, and then the drying and putting away of wet snow gear. I'm not sure which is worse, the sand or the snow.

A quick update on Corbin's leg. The doctors decided not to do the MRI, and for now we would just do another x-ray in 6 months.  So more to come on that in April.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Update

The doctor just called, and they want to do an MRI of Corbins leg.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Dr. Visit

Last week, Rylan kicked Corbin and he has been limping ever since. I decided to take him to the doctor today because it isn't improving. The doctor examined him really well, and Corbin said that he didn't have any pain, but he had an obvious limp. I told the doctor, that he isn't someone who readily admits pain, and might have it without telling us, so he decided to take some x-rays.

He x-rayed corbins right leg and his hips. He couldn't find anything that would cause him to limp, but he did find something unusual in Corbin's leg. He has a bone cyst in his tibia. He said normally it is something that they just observe, but due to it's size he wants to send the x-rays to the radiologist. We are now waiting for his recommendations.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Update

Quick update. I have no pictures, because we have cameras but no chargers, so our batteries are dead. We are living above Mike's sister's shop.  It is like living in a hotel for a long period of time.  We have gotten use to all going to bed at the same time, and waking up at the same time. Corbin is going to school in Emmett and seems to like it. It is a nice school and I like it a lot more than Florida.   I haven't missed work at all, other than interacting with my coworkers. Mike is getting use to his new job, and sleeping schedule. We spend most of our free time looking for a house to buy. We had found one that was a short-sale that we wanted but it has gone into forclosure. We are looking at other things, while we wait for it to come back on the market. Merek has become very clingy. I'm not sure if he is always like this or if it is because he is a little sick. For Halloween, I was going to have Corbin wear last years costume (I'd bought it big) but it is way to small for him, so his cousin let him borrow a ninja costume. Tyler is a cowboy, and is so cute. Ryaln and merek are both spiders.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Rylan's 3rd Birthday

                                  

                                         Trying out his new toys

Shooting Tyler while he is down.

No fear Merek

Working the new Puzzle

Bouncing the ball in the street.

Rylan and Merek on the bike.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Digging in the Dirt

We found this while digging in the dirt.

Making Dinner

While making dinner the other night the boys were doing this...

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Final Move Plans

Many people have asked about the details of our trip.  It is going to be a whirlwind month. Mike's last day at his job in Texas is this Thursday. Then he'll head back to Florida. On the 13th, he is headed to Boise to look for a house for two days. From that point we'll spend our time working, working on the house, and packing. Mike's mom and sister are flying in to help drive. They plan on leaving here on the 30th. My last day of work is October 1st. It will be a bitter sweet day for me. The boys and I are flying out of Florida on the 2nd. From there we don't really have plans yet. Mike has to report to work on the 6th, and he starts on the 11th.

Catch up

Here are some of the pictures that I have been meaning to post, but haven't.



This Summer Corbin had a swim meet. It was a two day event, but we only swam one day. I found it really hard to watch the swim events with the three other boys but we still had a good time.


Corbin getting ready for one of his events.

Rylan waiting...

Merek waiting...

And Tyler waiting...


Corbin started the 2nd grade on Aug 10. His teacher is Mrs. Johnson, and he loves school. This year has been really nice, and we'll be sad to leave this class.

Monday, August 23, 2010

News

Wow, It seems like there is a lot of new things to report.

First, As many people know, I have been waiting to get laid-off, so that we could join Mike in Texas. Well, I've been notified that I will be laid-off on October 1. I am so greatful. I don't think I could have lasted another month. Being a working, single parent of 4 boys has been a lot of hard work. I now have a greater respect for both my husband and all of the single mothers that I have known. Second, We are expecting our 5th child in March. We are excited to welcome the new member of the family. I always love meeting my children for the first time. Any bets, that I'll break the gender streak? And lastly, and probably the biggest news, Mike has accepted a new job at St. Lukes Hospital in BOISE IDAHO. We are moving back home! His new job is starting Oct. 11, and we should be there sometime in the beginning of October.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Merek Swim Test

Warning: This may be hard to watch.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxrmikPqU84

To view you'll have to copy and paste the link to your browser. This blog does not like me, and won't link it.

Just a little background information...I enrolled the kids in an infant lifesaving swim program, where they teach them basic life saving skills. They start with teaching them to swim face first in the water to the wall and pull them selves out of the water. THen they teach them to float on their backs. And then they teach them to swim and then rotate to their backs to breathe and then to rotate back to their front to continue swimming. The final test is to show that they can save themselves if they fall in the water.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Merek

Today I watched my 15 month old swim from one end of the pool to the other end without anyone touching him. Truely Amazing.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Swim Lessons

All the boys are swimming this summer. Corbin is on the Parrish Health and Fitness Swim Team, and the other three are taking private lessons from Lisa Espy. She has done an amazing job. Tyler is not finished with his lessons and is working on learning stroke. Rylan loves to swim with the snorkel, but is still unsure of the back float. Merek had his second lesson today. He is so sweet. He doesn't scream or fuss. He already floats on his back and swims a little. He teacher is amazed at how quickly he is picking it up.

Note: I have videos but I can't figure out why they aren't uploading. Will work on it another time.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Monday, June 14, 2010

Second ER visit

On Friday evening, Rylan mysteriously cut his finger, resulting in his first ER visit. He was a trooper. I was at work, so Mike loaded all 4 kids and went to the ER. I met him there a little later. The kids were starving, so I want to the cafeteria and got them something to eat, while Mike and Rylan did the ER thing. He didn't even fuss when they gave him a shot and sewed him up. Mike took pictures, which I'll upload later. I have to say, going to the ER with four kids was a lot harder than going with one. I hope we won't have another visit for another six years.

We are still without AC. Mike and Brother Mason are going to install it on Thursday. In the meantime, I'm going to abandon the house. It is just too hot, so I reserved a hotel room, and we are moving in tommorow for two nights. It has a swimming pool and a play area. Hopefully it will give us a much needed break from the heat.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

My week

At the beginning of last week I woke up to a stifling house. My AC unit had finally decided to die. Considering it is from 1983, it wasn't unexpected, yet still wasn't a welcome event. I have been having AC contactors coming all week to quote replacements systems. I just can't decide what to replace it with. I've narrowed it down to either a Rheem or a Carrier. I'm going to wait to have it installed later in the week, so that Mike can be here with the contractor. I think I'll get better service that way.

Yesterday my kids started to throw up. Today, I have three that are actively throwing up everywhere, including on the dog. I think I may be coming down with it also. Sorry if we spread the bug to any of our friends, I didn't think that it was still a problem.

Now, to just get through this and the laundry, and the carpet cleaning. I am so ready for this week to be over.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Blueberries

The boys have been bugging me to take them blueberry picking for months, and I have been putting them off telling them that we had to wait until they were ripe to pick them. Well, they are finally ripe so we packed up and drove to Mims. We met 3 of our friends and between the 4 adults there were 14 kids. We got some looks, but had a great time. I kept Merek in the front pack to keep tabs on him, but he was killing my back, so I let him down. He was having a great time. He picked, ate, ate mulch, stuck his finger down ant holes and wandered where ever he wanted. To say the least he quickly went back into the front pack and I endured the pain. We picked 12 lbs of berries. Tyler was on patrol for any berry that went into the bucket that wasn't ripe. He scolded me many times for picking green berries. Corbin disappreared with his friends. Rylan picked half a mini bucket and sat down and played in them. I really love picking blueberries. Especially with good friends. I might be able to attach pictures sometime...

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Poetry

Corbin wrote a poem the other day. I think it is pretty good for a 7 year old.

I sit still in a quiet house
It is dark in the quiet house
The wind blows hard
All the leaves fall off the tree

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Tyler

Corbin taught Tyler to ride a bike yesterday. I've never seen anything like it. Tyler did a great job. We went for a bike ride today to give Tyler some practice. He had no problem.

Corbin's Work

Corbin found a notebook I had laying around, and he has been hard at work.  Here are some of his entries...












Thursday, April 22, 2010

Baby Update

Merek is walking.  I've been ordered to take a video, so someday I'll post that when I take it.  He is so funny about it.  Still not very sure, so he walks about 4-5 steps, gets down crawls for a couple feet, stands back up and walks 4-5 more steps.  He is most likely to walk outside.

I missed a great photo op today.  I took the kids to the park, Tyler and Rylan were blowing bubbles (soap kind) with the cutest little girl.  They were being so sweet. Rylan did have a major meltdown when I took the bubbles away from him to give back to the little girl. I also got to see Corbin interact with his good friend from school. Very interesting.  When he first noticed him, he came straight to me to report that he was there. Then he would run past where his friend was playing.  When his friend, Alex, talked to him, Corbin would keep on walking.  He kept Alex in  his sights.  It took about 30 minutes before they started to play together.

X-37B Launch


X-37B launched tonight.  Here is a little info about it...



Rocket Carrying Test Spacecraft Launches
Thursday, April 22, 2010 8:40:11 PM  
Reported by Margaret Kavanagh and Greg Pallone
 
CAPE CANAVERAL -- An Atlas V rocket carrying a new test spacecraft blasted off Thursday night, but what exactly it will do remains a secret.The Air Force has called the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle its newest and most advanced re-entry spacecraft.The test vehicle remains shrouded in secrecy regarding exactly what it will do once it’s in space.
 
The Orbital Test Vehicle is nearly 10 feet long, has a wingspan of nearly 15 feet, weighs 11,000 pounds, and is the world’s second reusable spacecraft. Compare that to the first reusable spacecraft, the shuttles: Each shuttle is 184 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and weighs 4.5 million pounds. Shuttle payloads can go up to 64,500 pounds, while the OTV can only handle up to 500 pounds.
 
This “new” vehicle is not completely new. NASA laid the foundation back in the late 1990s, and handed the reins over to the Air Force in 2004. It was originally planned to launch from the payload bay of a shuttle, but that changed after the Columbia disaster in 2003. Tests were done in the mid-2000s, leading up to Thursday’s launch. The test vehicle is just like a shuttle in the way it returns through the atmosphere, descends and lands on a runway, but instead of astronauts controlling it onboard, it’s controlled remotely from the ground. In the future, planners said they hope to conduct experiments and rendezvous with other spacecraft, and stay in low Earth orbit for up to 270 days. This test falls under the Air Force umbrella, which means it is classified by the military. With that, much of the mission is secret, with no word on where the space plane is being controlled from, nor how long it will be in orbit until it lands in California.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Today's Landing

Monday, April 19, 2010

Trip to Dad's