White-out Part II

This is mostly for Aaron...he wanted some weather update pics since he is not here to join in the madness! It was getting dark when I took these so they aren't that great. The second pic down is taken from the other side of the street...there have been NO plows down our street at all. The 3rd one down is looking East from our house down the street.

White-out!

17 inches in 24 hours...a new record!! And it is STILL snowing! Schools, busses, roads etc. ALL closed! Snow Day!! The kids are happy to play in the deepness! Landon even liked being out there for a bit! I had to capture how much we really got, although the pictures don't do it justice! Hopefully I can make it to the "Burg" this weekend...I guess we will play it by ear (or sight!)

I had to show the trail the kids "blazed" to our neighbors house, our BBQ accumulation, and the BIG tree is usually high above our heads but with ALL that snow, it is almost touching the ground! Our little "Christmas tree" in the yard (well it is permanently there but it looks like a Christmas tree) is almost buried!

PS Click HERE to to my sis-in-laws blog...she recently lost 76 lbs. She is amazing!!!

I Can't Resist...

This little man! If you are sick of Landon pics, stop looking now. If not...ENJOY! He fell off the couch the other day for the first time. I guess it's time to keep him on the floor. He's almost mobile! NOOOO! His hair is not really that red...it's just the light.

The Festivities

We had a happy Turkey day. Aaron ran the Turkey Trot at a local park (5K) and so the kids and I went to cheer him on. It was a chilly 30 degrees out so by the time he was done, the kids and I were frozen solid, but fun nonetheless. We we invited over to a family's house in our ward (Aaron also used to work with the guy). It was soo fun and delicious of course!

Friday and Saturday we set up our Christmas tree, went Christmas shopping, went on a hot date (the last one before Aaron left for Seattle), and did a lot of relaxing. Also baby Santa came to see us. My friend Megan sent this cute little santa suit for Landon. It fit him perfectly! Thanks Megs! Yes my hubby is MIA now. WAHHHHH. Sad day, but he is really enjoying his new job. Now if my house will just sell already!

GASOLINE

I spent $27 today on gas. This filled my 4-runner up from, "gas light on" to ALL the way FULL! YIPPEE SKIPPIE!

Adventures and Twilight...

I saw the movie (not the midnight showing but the next night)! I really ended up liking it. I was a little skeptical of the actors at first because that is usually my biggest let down when they don't look or act how they did in my head. I was VERY pleasantly surprised. GO GO Edward!! The movie blacked out for 10-15 minutes right near the beginning, but then was fixed, so we didn't miss anything at all, and everyone in the theatre received free movie tickets after the show for the "goof up!" SWEEEEET! I can go see it again! :0)

My friend and I went together. We both have 3 kids and so we left them with our hubbies (at our friends house) so the kids could play together and the hubbies could have some "bonding" time. Well this is what happened when six kids got together and the dad's were watching a movie of their own:

-1 basement flooded (one of the kids, who we still aren't sure of, plugged the sink in the bathroom and turned the water on...for a long time).
-2 babies under 4 months old crying/screaming like crazy (we really tried to plan it so the nursing babies would be totally fed and totally asleep...I guess they have a schedule of their own)
-4 other kids in big fat trouble
-2 angry dads
-one watery basement (SOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOO SORRY SHARPS)
-2 really happy moms sitting nicely in the movie theater not knowing that any of this was going on

The movie sure was fun though. Also thanks honey for putting up with naughty kids a screaming baby and for not complaining. I hope you will still watch the kids again.............sometime.

PS the basement damage isn't as bad as it could have been, hopefully everything just dries out!

Not So Happy Birthday...

Why are so many kids born in October and November????? My kids have been to 10 (YES. TEN) Birthday parties in the past 8 weeks...do you know what that means? We are averaging more than 1 a week! Do you know what else it means? I have to go to the store EVERY TIME with 3 kids and buy a crummy presents that the birthday kid probably won't like any way. I am going broke!!! You know what else? I have to buy wrapping paper, or a bag to put that present in and then actually wrap it. I am glad my kids get to go to parties and have a blast but TEN!??? EXCESSIVE in my book!

I guess there are so many b-day's because 9 months before, it is Valentines day! Who knows? All I know is we are just partied out. Literally! This picture is how my kids and I feel about it!

PS this is a pic of Syd a LONG time ago when she was "cutting out" her naps. The poor girl would go to sleep everywhere, you like how her arm looks broken?

The rumors are true!

Since Aaron is putting his 2 week notice in today, I can officially write about it! Aaron got a great job offer at an accounting firm in Bellevue. After much deliberation we decided to take it! He starts December 1, which is SO SOON (but we have know about it for a few months).

We have a lot of mixed feelings about this because 1) we have to sell our house (YIKES). The market is very grim right now. The house has been "on the market" for 3 weeks and not ONE showing. 2) We love Spokane, our ward, our friends...wahhhhhhhh. 3) Housing in Seattle is outrageously high!

On the plus side, the job will be better, better pay, close to family (ie grandparents, sisters, cousins, aunts etc) good career move,
not to mention GREENERY!

So Aaron will be living at his parents house (who happen to live right near Bellevue) and I will be living at our house with the kiddies until it sells! Pray hard that it sells sooner than later because I don't know how long I can be a single mom! West side here we come!!

Boo!

We had a happy halloween with trunk-or-treating and then a party at my house afterwards!

The HILARIOUS faces of Landon...

Before and After

I'll give you one guess of which ones are the before and which ones are the after...(sorry I put them in order, but blogger mixed them up...so now you REALLY have to guess which ones are before and which ones are after)

Phantom!

Aaron and I went to Phantom of the Opera 2 weeks ago. It came to Spokane and so we couldn't pass it up! Let me just say it was AMAZING! We both had never seen the play before just the movie, so it was quite awesome! We sat in the very back row but brought binoculars. If you have never seen Phantom (the play) before, I would recommend going, it's worth it! We couldn't take pics in the theatre but here we are right before we went!

We had to bring Landon with us because he is nursing, so he got to go see Phantom too. When we got to the front of the line to get in, the lady taking our tickets said "where is the baby's ticket?" Aaron and I both thought she was joking!!!! But unfortunately she wasn't.

We ended up getting out of line and going to the ticket sales counter. We told the guy we needed a ticket for the 2 month old, and then he proceeded to tell us it was $30!!! WHAT?? FOR A 2 MONTH OLD!? You have got to be kidding me! He said every beating heart HAS to have a ticket. I told him I wasn't going to pay 30 bucks for an infant who would not even be taking up a seat. Anyway, I guess all my "fit throwing" worked. He gave us a free ticket! YES! Landon did great and slept almost the whole time and didn't make a peep. I guess the moral of the story is, don't bring an infant to the theatre AND throwing a fit works...sometimes.

My BOYS!

Wes fell asleep with his favorite stuffed dog on his head the other night. He is a funny sleeper, just like his dad. Sometimes in the middle of the night I can hear him talking in his sleep. The other night I heard him "yelling" at Sydnie in his sleep.

2 weeks ago we went to Pullman for Sydnie's friends b-day party. It was in the coca-cola room (the whole room was coke themed) at a retirement center (this was the most AWESOME place to have a party, it was a blast!) Landon was the hit of the party!

Wes and Syd spend all their time outside, and the other day I found Wes out there reading in the wheelbarrow. SOOO cute I had to grab the camera!

Little Landon is soooo much fun. He REALLY enjoys his bath. I love this pic of him with his bright blue eyes peaking out of his towel. He is now 13 lbs 5 oz. FATTY!

I have been a painting machine. I have painted my whole house (almost) complete with an accent wall. It was A LOT of work but looks sooooo much better (pics to come).

We have been to the pumpkin patch with Wes's school and then a few days later we went again so Syd and Aaron could go. We got YUMMY carmel apples, rode on the train, picked a pumpkin and enjoyed the crisp fall weather! Happy Fall everyone!

Quirky!!

My fam has been blogging about some of thier quirks and I thought it was so intersting and funny to read~
Six quirks about me that you probably didn't know:

1. I can NOT go to sleep at night with out washing my face and brushing my teeth. If I accidentally fall asleep before I do this, I will wake up later (or in the middle of the night) and do it!

2. I ONLY sleep with flannel sheets (NO cotton for me!) even in the dead of summer. Flannel is just WAY more cozy!

3. I am addicted to chap-stick. Not just any. It HAS to be Blistex Herbal Answer. If I could only take one thing and be stranded on a desert island, I would literally have to take my chap-stick. (maybe I need therapy)

4. I have a crazy obsession with keeping my kids "ocular cavities" clean (meaning ears, nose etc). If I see ear wax, I run and get a q-tip. If I see boogers, I make them blow until they can't blow anymore. If I see any child (or adult for that matter) pick their nose and eat it, my gag reflex kicks in! BLAHHHH!

5. The only beverage I like is WATER. I would choose this over any other drink....EVER!

6. I like celebrity gossip. There, I said it! Call me shallow but I like to see what those stars are up to! (don't worry I am not obsessed, I just like to see the latest and greatest).

Now you know my crazy little obsessions. I guess the bottom line is: I am pretty picky and maybe a little OCD? Don't judge me! :0) HAHAHA. I want to know your 6 quirks now...

Happy October!

I have been drawing a blank on what to blog about...I am just not too creative in that area, so I will just give a quick update. The weather has been phenomenal and we have been having beautiful sunsets, so I decided to share. Also Landon has been using his neck really well, so here he is showing off his neck muscles!

I love the one of all three kids because it looks like Syd and Wes are "malling" Landon and almost holding them by the neck. This is a typical day for them. I am glad they love their brother so much!

Danner has been working in Spokane for the last month and so he has been to see us a few time. My kids adore Uncle Danner so they have been in heaven! His B-day was yesterday so we had him over for dinner and yummy Lemon cake. The kids helped him blow out his ONE candle! We love Uncle Danner!

Landon is now 2 1/2 months old! He has a little girl-friend that was born 5 weeks after him. They come over to play a lot and here they are lounging around together! SOOOOO cute!

Salsa Recipe-CAN YOU SAY YUM?

10 lbs tomatoes
4-5 bell peppers (any color, I used green and yellow)
4-10 jalepenos (depending on how spicy you want it, I used 4 or 5)
4 tsp minced garlic
2 (5.5 oz) cans tomato paste
1 1/4 c vinegar (I used white, but I think any kind works)
2 Tbsp salt
6 Tbsp sugar
4 tsp paprika
1 c chopped cilantro (I used 2 cups cuz I LOVE cilantro)

Chop tomatoes and peppers and throw them in a big pot on the stove. Add all ingredients and bring to a boil over med/hi heat. Turn down and simmer uncovered I hour, stirring occasionally. Pour salsa in jars (what ever size you want) and give them a hot water bath. Boil 20 min for pint jars and 25 min for quart jars. (EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!)

I actually got the recipe from a friend of a friend (or something like that) you can add or subtract anything you want. I don't think you can mess it up. I doubled the recipe when I made it because my friend and I were making some together. And I didn't use a pressure cooker, just a regular hot water bath. As long as your jars seal, the salsa will be fine (so no need to worry about pressure cooking). We eat the salsa really fast anyway! We are oinkers! Good luck fellow salsa makers! (Scroll down to see pics of the end product).

Canning Galore

I bought 43 lbs of peaches from a farm in Yakima (thru a lady in our ward). What can you do with 43 lbs of peaches??? CAN!!!! I got 35 quarts of deliciousness!!! Luckily my friend helped me and so it didn't take too long!! The very next day I went to the local farmers market and bought some fresh tomatoes and peppers (my garden tomatoes are not ripe yet) and I made 16 jars of salsa!!! It turned out sooooo yummy!!! I also made some fresh peach pie...to die for! Don't bee fooled though, I am only this domestic once a year. I am so sick of canning and baking/cooking, I don't want to do any more work EVER!!

Syd loves Kindergarten! I guess she got 2 time outs the other day in class....you will never guess what for???? HUGGING A BOY!!!! YIKES. The flirting begins!! She knows now to keep her hands to herself! :0) I loved this pic of Landon flashing his gang sign....he is too precious! Wes is busy making up stories and enjoying preschool!

Blessing Day

SOOOO sad....I don't have blessing day pictures, but none the less, it did happen. I didn't have time to take pics before church and during church Landon spit up ALL over his clothes, therefore I didn't get a pic in his cute clothes! Oh well. The blessing was great except the microphone didn't work, but I still heard everything, thank goodness! Landon was a very happy baby and there was no cell phone ringing in the middle of the blessing (if you don't know the story, when my nephew was getting blessed his dad's cell phone rang through the whole thing. HA).

Landon is really growing fast. He is over 10 lbs now and this week he started smiling...here is a pic of him halfway smiling! I forgot to mention Aaron's work had a "diaper shower" for us last week. We got 15 packs (BIG PACKS) of diapers!!! Isn't that AWESOME? We won't have to buy diapers until he is in size 4!!!

Wes started preschool this morning and Sydnie is at school too so I am home alone with Landon and it's crazy weird! It's so quiet and I am not sure what to do (other than my HUGE list of to do things). Poor Wes didn't get his pic taken this morning on his 1st day of school, I just TOTALLY forgot. I will take some tomorrow and post later!

Today we are going to the fair, after school. It's free admission today and so I thought we should go take advantage of it!

First Day of School!!!

It was Sydnie's first day of KINDERGARTEN today! What a BIG girl. Her school is just down the street and so we can walk (which is nice because we don't have to be stuck in the traffic jam of a parking lot and it's good to loose some baby weight for me). Her teacher's name is Mrs. Coyote. She is extremely nice. Syd doesn't know anyone in her class (yet) because all her church friends are at a different school. She did so awesome though and there were no tears from either of us. Here are some FDOS pictures of my BIG school age girl! WE LOVE SYD!!! I also had to throw one in of Landon...I LOVE this pic!

In other news...I got a speeding ticket today...my first one!!! I guess there is a 1st for everything! I was driving past the high school (which I do this quite often) and the speed limit is 30. Since today was the 1st day of school, the speed limit was 20. OOPS. I didn't even think about this because I go on this street ALL the time, plus it was 11:30 and there was NOT A STUDENT AROUND. Oh well, the law is the law and I broke it. Too bad the law is so expensive! $210! Did you know that fines are doubled in a school zone? I didn't! :0(

Landon and Wes went to the doc today. Landon is 10 lbs and Wes is 37. My big boys! Syd also got a cavity filled today! BUSY BUSY day. Hopefully tomorrow is not as CRAZY!