The Stites Family

New painting

2011-10-30T14:41:00.001-07:00

Here is the latest painting I did for a nursery this week. I haven't painted in a while, and it was so fun. I remember why I love it and all art, really. Love being creative.

Hair

2011-08-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, I haven't even posted pictures of the first day, but I have a new hobby! Hair. Sadie has been my willing guinea pig this first week and she has loved to see what new "do" we will do each day. It has been fun and I loved having her hair out of her face. She had her first day of dance too this week and she loved it (like I knew she would and we had to make her take it!) She is a blessing and I can't imagine not having my little Sadie girl!!

Kanakuk and Colorado

2011-08-01T09:28:00.001-07:00

On our way to Kamp~the kids were SO excited!

McDaddy (what they called him) introducing the kids and they find out what Barn they are in-all the counselors are jumping up and down-its really fun and exciting

Emerson is in BARN 12! The oldest barn and only for kampers that have been there for 4 or 5 yrs!

Sadie sitting on her bunk with her new fan to keep her cool!

Campbell is in Barn 1-so ready to get this started

We go to Colorado with the Shewmakers-first day the Alpine Slides in Breckenridge. This was right in back of our hotel

This is in Kansas City. This brown patch in Kelly and David's yard was caused by him when he poured out the grease from the turkey they fried at THANKSGIVING!! So sorry Shewmakers!

We rented bikes and rode all the trails around the town-really fun and gorgeous!

Picking up the kids at Kanakuk-these are a little out of order!

On top of the mountain we climbed-over 13,000 ft but we cheated and drove up at least half of the way

Ziplining! It was fun-here we are gearing up

Camp's counselors at kamp-Kyle and Garrett. Great kids

Kelly and I did some on line shopping at Nordstroms while in CO-this was only hers! ha

Emerson got to choose kayaking for her sport being the oldest and she loved it. She now wants a kayak. I was really proud of her. She did awesome.

This is a letter from Campbell....just "dear mom and dad" ha!

Emerson's counselors. Bridgette and Kelsey...they were precious. This was Emerson's 2nd year to have Kelsey and that was so great. She was so sweet to her.

Madison and Emerson. She went to K West this year because she turned 12. So this was their only day to see each other.

Eating Coffee Cake on Sunday morning at the dining hall.

The Shewmakers, Beckers and our kids. 3rd year in a row together at K Kountry

Ellison, Sadie and Elizabeth...Ellison lives not 2 miles away from us and this was their 3rd time to be in the same barn together so we must get together more this year. He hair always looked perfect in all of the pictures during kamp and Sadie and Elizabeth just wore theirs down! ha

Sadie's foot in Jonathan's face on the way home.:) We are soooo glad to be home but always love our time in Branson and Kansas City!

Life.Is.Fun.

2011-05-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

Life is fun, really. Just think of all the things we are blessed with and what we get to do despite being busy and have a million things going on. We are blessed and I am choosing to think that way today. Here is Campbell face painting. He was so proud to be able to participate. This is from Como last week. The next one is him getting ready for his game. His legs look like little sticks when he puts on his long socks and it cracks me up. Just want to remember that. The rest of these are from the VIP party which is the volunteer party at our church. They really make you feel special and its for all volunteers at our church. The kids had a blast and then we went and ate at Mi Cocina.

At the top of the ferris wheel

Ring of Fire-the kids loved it, you couldn't pay me enough-ok well you could

Great relaxing weekend with no games and it rained all day Sunday.

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

I have totally ignored this blog because i got caught up with digital scrapbooking, but I started reading through my blog this weekend and I didn't remember half those stories i told. They were PRICELESS to me so I promised myself I would just pick back up on Monday and pretend I never stopped. I know this will be a treasure to me one day. We had Easter and Emerson's 11th birthday on the same day so we were BUSY! They got out early on Friday so E had two friends, Grace and Caroline over to spend the night. We went and had lunch, then drove up to the pet store. We just sat there until they noticed and J said we need to get something in here. Immediately she said "My HAMPSTER!!" Yes, she got a hampster. If you know me, you know I must love her because we now have a rodent in our house and I'm not trying to exterminate it. Her name is Ruthie Kate. The look on E's face was awesome and I was really excited for her. We came home and set up her cage, and then went and saw Soul Surfer-one of the best movies ever to take your kids to! We all loved it-great message and good story. Then on to rock climbing and then home for cake. Lots of fun and tiring! Saturday we went to Como in Ft. Worth to help with an outreach in the Como neighborhood. I was stunned how clost it was to Camp Bowie~such a poor part of town but with the sweetest people. We were in charge of face painting and even the kids did it. Sweet Campbell did many faces and he was so excited and it was precious. I loved that they were involved. We had Camp's game and then on to Main Event to bowl with my family for Patton and E's birthday. We were all exhausted but got up and then had Easter. Church was awesome and loved the drama they did. I am SO thankful for Jesus and I pray I will honor him with my life not just honor Him on Easter Sunday. We went to my Mom's house for lunch and it was so good. Opened presents for E's birthday and just hung out a bit. I came home and crashed because we tired. But, a great weekend with the ones I love.

I am so thankful Emerson. She is the sweetest 11 year old girl. So pure and caring and a dream daughter. I am trying to enjoy each day with her and watch her grow in wonder. God blessed us so when she was born and I cherish her.

What we have been doing for 4 months! (part 1)

2010-10-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

I am determined to get better about posting on my blog...but I wanted to just hit some highlights of recent times in the Stites house!Making funny photos of ourselves on the computer!
Eating outside and having friends over...Grace and Mia Tubbs here
4Th of July at the Polks house-sorry Emerson, I didn't see your closed eyes!
Deciding we love Toy Story again and playing with all the toys-so glad I saved them!
A late night ice cream run in Kansas city while the girls were at kamp. Kelly and I put them to bed, and waited 10 minutes then yelled "ice Cream run, Ice cream run" and went to get some in our pajamas! Oh wait, Campbell refused to wear pajamas-he is SO me!
In Kansas City again, getting to see 5 hot air balloons lift off-with our cousins Caroline and Hampton!
Being silly in the car...
Only shot of Emerson at her dance recital, no photos and her eyes are closed! This is friend Grace who lives around the corner. Sweet girl and family
I never looked like this is skinny jeans!
The only letter I got from Sadie when she was at kamp for 2 weeks!
Emerson graduated from Elementary School!
Girls went to K-Kountry again!
Reading in the bath like Dad! No seriously, he does.
Fell back asleep under my desk first week of kindergarten, he was SO tired! On the 6th day, he said "I'm just not go to school today!" Oh yes, you are.
For some reason, this picture 2 times
First week of Kinder and 3rd!
First week of 5th, looks too old in my opinion!
Picture Campbell drew of us, we are playing tennis. I left it out for 2 weeks. so cute
Another Rangers game, they just love it! We watched every game this season.
Back on the Cubs for Fall Ball!

Emerson is baptized

2010-06-01T15:03:00.001-07:00

I just got these pictures and had to share. Here is Emerson getting baptized in February. I am so proud of her and her decision. She kept on asking us about it and asking why we wouldn't let her! Of course, we loved the idea but wanted to make sure she was ready and didn't have any doubts when she was older. After a lot of studying, we loved her heart and were excited to do it! SO many of our lifelong friends came out for it and we were overwhelmed by that. It is a day that I am so proud of and thankful for. Truly, there are no words to describe the feeling I have in my heart about what Jesus has done in her heart. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to be in her life!

2010-06-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

Here is Campbell at his Pre-school program. In case you didn't know, he is the Michael Jordon of hand bells! He did so good this year and its hard to believe that he will be a kindergartener next year. I am really having a hard time to think our baby is that old. But, I love the stage we are in! Such fun...soccer, dance, t-ball, elementary humor, running and playing hard, sweet smiles, end of year programs and lots of laughter over here. Looking forward to summer and just relaxing and KANAKUK! The girls are dying they are so excited. In fact I pulled out this Kanakuk seat we have for the t-ball game and Sadie said "Don't even let me see that I will get too excited!" Love it.

School Days

2010-06-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

This post just cracks me up! It was Fashion Nonsense Day at school (and I am still trying to figure out why) and this is what the girls came up with! Emerson wasn't wearing a thing crazy and Sadie was trying to think of more things to do with this outfit. I remember one time for crazy hair day Emerson put her hair up in lots of pony tails and then in the line to pick up she got in a panic and took them all down...she just couldn't do it! Anyway, they have been so much fun this year and I am sad this is the last year they will be in elementary school together! Emerson is looking so much older and Sadie is TALL! Loving being their MOM!

2010-03-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

The kids got a new trampoline for Christmas! Here are the first pictures of them having a great time despite the cold! Can't wait for Spring!

TENNESSEE...the Bunk Room

2010-02-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

Campbell and Sadie and all the stuffed animals!

My neice Carrigan. Isn't she the sweetest?

Has trouble calming down....

Sadie with her cousin Lucy....so precious!

My nephew Hampton. One of the nights he actually got to sleep down there. He, like Campbell, has trouble sleeping with all the "cousins!"

Anna Kathryn, Emerson and Hampton

Sadie and Anna.

Campbell and Isabelle. Isabelle was being so sweet even though she drew the "short straw" and had to sleep with Camp. You see, he's the 10th grandchild and the first boy so the girls would really rather sleep with another girl but sometimes you just have to buck up and take what you can get.

The Bunk Room is awesome. Its in the newly finished out basement and we all LOVE it. The kids love to sleep down all together. Every night we get out slips of paper and "draw" where each child will sleep. This is almost always rigged so that everyone gets to sleep with all kids and it is fair. It is hilarious to see the kids when they get drawn and their reactions. Emerson and Madison figured out this year that we actually picked and didn't read the acutal name drawn and they cracked up each night. It's so fun having older kids!

This post is always overwhelming because I always come home with at least 250 pictures! I have decided to post a little at a time so that I won't quit. Trying to keep up with this blog in 2010.

Christmas 2009

2010-02-08T20:32:00.001-08:00

Mom's gorgeous table!

A new watch but not enough time to look at me to take a picture!

Cold. Hard. Cash.

My Girls!

We all gave Mom this gallery wrapped canvas of the cousins.

The Polks!

Me, Mom, Aunt Chelsa (0ur benefactor), Brittany and Channing

The Boreckis!

Here are a couple of pictures of an early Christmas with my family before we headed off to TN. We had it at my mom's house which was fun. My sisters and their families were there and its always fun when we are together. The picture of the hats-my aunt always gives us money and she always comes up with a really creative way of giving it. The pressure is on because she has thought of the craziest ways! Here she taped the money like a hat band. I've always loved hats:)!

The Zoo!

2009-10-23T17:52:00.001-07:00

We had not been to the zoo in a while so when we had an afternoon, I decided we needed to go! What a beautiful afternoon and lots of gorgeous animals too! Its so fun to see God's creation and how different each animal is. We talked a lot about that. Hearing the lion roar was a favorite as was the birds and penquins. Fun afternoon but we were all exhausted! This picture is actually at the very end before heading back to the front to leave. Campbell didn't want his picture taken, you can't tell though, right?

White Tiger

Sadie feeding the birds. They all loved this exhibit-we were in there for over 20 minutes. I was just waiting for one of us to get pooped on...

Emerson.......

I feel like I have not taken a lot of pictures lately! It makes me sad. I think I had gotten to the point that I knew I would have to scrapbook the pics so I just stopped taking them. Not smart!

They got their pictures taken in the booth. They have always wanted to do it, and I always say no. But I was in a yes mood today so here we are. I just enjoyed having fun with my kids today and less no! and stop that!....just tried to take them in all day. They are really fun and unique and FUNNY. They also love being together.

Sisters!

Emerson's friend Anna went with us, her mom works at school and we had early release so she had to work. She is a really sweet girl and as she has spent more and more time with us, she is better with Camp and Sadie. She is the youngest so is not used the younger brother and sister. I'm not sure if you can tell, but Emerson's gap between her two front teeth is gone! She has had braces for 2 months and I can't believe the difference! But, really this gap came together yesterday and last night. They changed to a bigger wire and this morning it was GONE. Crazy!@

Campbell...he always has a dirty face no matter what I do.

Sadie lost her first front tooth last week and its so cute. I am dying for her to lose the other one and it is loose! I want to get my hands on that tooth so bad I can hardly stand it!

Campbell turns 5

2009-06-21T12:03:00.001-07:00

I can only get these pictures to load up on blogger so here are some pictures from Campbell's party last night. It was so much fun. He always enjoys everything so much that it makes it worth it! Jonathan took him to Ben's house to help them move (to Kansas City:( sad for us!) so the girls and I had the whole day to shop and decorate. Two of my favorite things so it was fun. They really did help. I think they are just to that age where they actually help! Anyway we had fun! We had hamburgers, chips and cake. The theme was All American/Baseball. So everyone wore red, white and blue and then changed into swimsuits to do the water slide. All the kids had a great time while the adults visited....much better when the sun went down-it was hot! He got a lot of baseball stuff(metal bat, helmet and balls) and Stars Wars stuff too. He also got a Razor 360 that is a big wheel bascially but with casters on the back wheels so you do 360's when you turn. It looks fun and I can't wait to see him in action. I can't believe my youngest is 5! It goes way too fast! He still cracks us up all the time and he is so sweet and fun to be around. This morning he told us on the way home that he shared with a boy in class at church. I said "really, how?" He told us that this boy had a boo-boo so he shared a bandaid with him...what do you mean by sharing...did you give him a used band-aid? Yes, the one on my leg! Disgusting! God bless Matthew's Mom when she finds out!

Hip Hop

2009-06-21T11:55:00.001-07:00

Emerson had her Hip Hop Recital last week and she did fabulous. It looked like so much fun I thought about looking into it! Anyway it was a bummer because there was no photography during the show and when you could at the dress rehearsal, I was the room mom for the group so there was no time! She is always at the other's games so it was fun to see her do something. She was beautiful and although I'm not sure she is going to do it again, she seemed to enjoy it. By the way, if any of you live here, the place is called Studio One and it is a Christian dance studio that is GOOD not cheesy, like some Christian studios are...no offense but you know what I mean!

Thailand

2009-04-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

Emerson turns 9 in Thailand.

The whole gang minus Dean.

A tuk-tuk.

A cake for April birthdays and we prayed over them too.

At the Goldend Palace temple.

Serving the sweet Thai kids.

Sadie had no fear, Emerson not so much.

Yes, she's kissing a python...I screamed out "no" when I saw what she was doing. Apparently, I was loud and embarrassed her.

A little scary because our guide got off here to take our picture.

This post is overwhelming. There is so much to tell so you will have to call me to get the play by play. We had a great time and were blessed with our time with Lexi and Dean. I pray that our girls learned a lot about what we have, giving and how wonderful it is (it is better to give than to receive), and an appreciation of the USA. We had a rough time getting there with delays and it ended up taking us 44 hours to reach our final destination.! But, the girls did great and never complained. We rode elephants, went to a snake show (scary!), rode in a tuk-tuk (an open air cab), rode on a boat around the canals in Bangkok, checked in (and then out) of the scariest hotel I've ever actually stepped in (now thats a story), thanked Jonathan 1,000 times for putting us up at the Marriott after that, took 8 plane rides, toured a Buddahist temple (and consequently prayed a lot while there), went to a night market (fun!), ate fresh fruit on the side of the street, got a couple of great bargains, celebrated Emerson's 9th birthday in Bangkok, and had the opportunity to purchase and serve donuts and sweets to 300+ kids in a remote village in Chiang Rai...my favorite day. I really loved getting to travel with just Emerson and Sadie. It was fun not to have a little one and it was just so fun. They are both so talented and funny and I was reminded of that. When I dropped them off at school on Monday, I was so sad. I missed those kids. Here is a preview of the trip...thanks for praying for us. I definitely felt it and needed it in Bangkok. That was the craziest, crowded, scariest city I have ever seen. Had to hold their hands every single minute which was hard and just kept you on guard. We sure missed our boys at home. While riding on the elephant, we laughed just thinking of what crazy thing Campbell would say or do. We missed J too and wished he was with us. Have a happy day!

Thailand here we come!

2009-03-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

No pictures for this one, but I wanted to share some news. My friend, Lexi, has lived in Thailand for 5 years and just let us know that she and her sweet family are moving back to the US. Right away, I knew I had to go and visit and help her in any way I could and also see where she has been the last 5 years! After LOTS of prayer, we decided this would be a great experience for the girls, too. So they are coming with me!! I am so excited. Also, my Mom has decided to come as well-she has known Lexi since first grade and was basically a second Mom to her! We can't wait. Sadie and Emerson are excited about riding an elephant! They don't have a clue about how long it takes to get there-about 23 hours on a plane- so we need prayer for safety and sanity!!! I hope you will join me in praying for this trip, for Jonathan and Campbell to have peace while we are gone, and safety for us. We are pumped....by the way, in case you are ever in this situation, don't take passport photos of your girls with a bow on, they consider it a hat which are forbidden. That was fun finding that out after taking them, waiting for them, dashing to the appointment at the post office and then finding out that they won't accept them and they don't have any more appointments that week...but God worked it out-she squeezed us in the next day!

Go Raptors!

2009-03-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

Ok! I have been so excited about the kids sports this year. I love the opportunity it gives them for exercise and the experience of being on a team. Sadie has been doing soccer and is a member of the Bruisin Ballerinas (she hates the name!) and they have won every game. As of yesterday, they had scored 66 goals and have had only 4 goals scored on them. They are good and at first I was a little worried because she had been out for 2 seasons and looked to be the worst on the team the first game. But, she has really stepped it up. For some reason, her pictures won't publish so I'll try again later.

Emerson has been doing hip hop for the school year. It has really helped her in her rythym, and although she has been complaing a little about going lately, we are learning a lesson in finishing what you start! So, she is working for a recital that is in early June. She is also going to start tennis again in April. She really has an affinity for it and I like that it really is a life long sport. I can't wait to get pictures of her on the court.

I have also started tennis and man is it frustrating. I want to be good and it really hacks me off when I'm not!! This is coming from a girl that never played any sports growing up, so I am learning along with my kids and don't think I'm kidding. It has been good for me. I always tend to choose things that I do by myself like running!!

Campbell had his first ever sporting event this year, Blast Ball. Which is basically T-ball, I think. Anyway, we get the email of what team he is on and it says the Raptors, coach Jonathan Stites! I called J and asked him if he had signed up to be the coach. He said no, but here he is the Head Coach. So, because Parker, our nephew is on the same team, Jeff is the assistant! It was a really fun game and nice because there is no pressure-you are just laughing at all the funny things they do. Campbell hit the ball the first time, ran to first base, and then started running back to home plate. He also was loving the photo shoot. I got him red shoes so that I could tell which one he is out there. Funny story....Jonathan was out there helping all the kids as they were batting. This one kid gets up there and Jonathan is explaining what to do and this kid looks up at him and says "I love you." Mind you this is the 2nd time that they have met and Jonathan said he just said "I love you too!" What innocence-its so precious. Sorry about the long post, but its been a fun time!

Sadie is Seven!

2009-02-18T06:18:00.000-08:00

Cinnamon rolls made from crescent rolls. They were out of the regular ones at Target so I had to improvise.

Breakfast in Bed

Posing

Ok-when I went to type Sadie is Seven, Sadie is Six popped up as a title I have used in the past and I am reminded how fast time flies by. Is it possbile that my youngest daughter has been with us for 7 years? Have I taught her all I need to in these swift years? And if 7 means perfection or completion I am sure that I have failed in my task. Nevertheless, here she is with her sweet dimple that reminds me that yes, she is a child full of wonder and questions. She loves art-PE-not so much....reminds me of my elementary PE days where I got a C in PE-something about not being able to do 1 pull-up...I still have nightmares of my somewhat butchy teacher! And who is actually doing pull-ups day in 1st grade? But thats another subject. Anyway, she loves her teacher, shcool, lunch, her new DS, reading, having friends over, laughing at the dinner table, suprises, and I can say with no reserve that this girl has the gift of prayer. It is awesome to hear her talk to God and I know her prayers are doing some major things in the spirit realm...as I heard this week, who ever said kids have a junior Holy Spirit. I love that because there is nothing junior about her prayers and I know that there is no one out there that has prayed more for my Dad than Sadie. Happy Birthday, sweet girl. We are honored to be your parents....

2009-01-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

My friend, Amy,(who is gifted with photography and I love to see how she uses that gift for the Lord)that does our pictures called and asked if I wanted to meet at the park for pictures. How could I refuse such an offer? So here they are. Could they be any cuter? Although I love the cold weather, I must admit its nice that we can get out and play and possibly get a fantastic photo too...

Christmas at the Stites

2008-12-30T22:26:00.000-08:00

Sadie gets swim to me puppy even though we were getting a real puppy later that night.

New wallets for Channing and me!

Emerson picked these out at Forever 21 one day-notice that hair. I am trying to not to say too much BUT I was at the hospital with my mom so the hair was not fixed and they picked their clothes! Laying down my pride....

Jeff and Brittany!

Brian picking up the dishes-he is a real neat freak!

Campbell was so worn out that when everyone else woke up on Christmas morning, he could not wake up. He did not look at one toy and his pile was just left there-he went back to bed for about 2 hours, and then had his own personal Christmas morning.

Emerson sporting the peace sign for some reason, but didn't we all at one time or another???

The girls got these crosses for their rooms that I got in Canton. I thought they were cute.

Baking Christmas cookies...is Campbell too old for the apron? I think not. I am sure Jonathan would disagree. He has no idea this even took place.

2008-12-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

I came across this video tonight and when I saw it I laughed so hard. Here is a video from the end of summer of Campbell performing "We will Rock You" for Gran, Poppy, Elizabeth and Ben and he does a good job if I do say so myself. This is how he is all of the time-making us laugh. In the words of Emerson, "our family would be boring without Campbell." I have to agree. He is definitely the performer and it makes me want to take so much more video of the kids. I know one day I will treasure this. Enjoy!! I am also giving myself a pat on the back for uploading a video which I have not been able to do before. For some reason, I am technically challenged with blogger! Make sure you pause the music....

Kickin it Christmas Day!

2008-12-30T21:25:00.000-08:00

Emerson performed in a small Christmas hip hop recital. I kept on asking her if she should be practicing-which she didn't-and I will say I was more than a little worried when it came time for her group to perform. But, we were blown away at how well she did. She knew every move and even had a little attitude. I was really proud of her and how well she did because she does not like to get up in front of a group. Her song, Kickin it Christmas day was hilarious.

Christmas with Cousins!

2008-12-30T21:14:00.000-08:00

Isabelle and Emerson eating dinner at the Cromwell's new house. We got to spend a little time with the Tennessee cousins and with the Plano cousin. The kids loved seeing them and getting another chance to spend some time.
Hats from the Poppers at the Cromwells.
I think Hampton was in heaven. He didn't stop the whole time we were there.

Hampton and Campbell wrestling...the way it should be.

Loving a family picture where everyone is actually smiling!!

2008-12-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

I just love getting pictures of the kids where they are actually all smiling at once. These are priceless to me...

Pseudo-Camping!

2008-10-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

The kids have been asking over and over to go camping. We have none of the gear but wanted to do something of the like. So we were able to go to my uncle's ranch house and have a campfire, roast smores, hike and take a canoe ride. We also took in the ACU game in Abilene which was incredible. I don't ever remember them winning when I was there, but it is crazy now with lots of spirit. We had a lot of family time and FUN. We made Hobo dinners for the first night-the kids made their own-such a memory of Camp Blue Haven for me. They were good! We also had hot dogs for Jonathan who wasn't so sure. All in all a great time. And, yes, I know this wasn't really camping but it told me I am pretty sure I want none of the real thing!

New pictures

2008-10-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

Ok-this is a lame post but my friend Amy Headington took our pictures last night and posted them on her blog today and they turned out so good! Pictures are my most prized possesions and I love capturing my kids innocent, playful sides in photographs. What a talent she is! Check on her website www.imagesofgracephoto.com and go to her blog to see our pics but look through her whole galleries. They are impressive. Have a good day!

Caution-these photos are not for the faint of heart!

2008-08-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an exciting day for us-Sadie lost her first tooth and Emerson lost one too! I have to say, that pulling teeth is one my favorite things to do so after they were home from school I begged them to let me pull them. Sadie decided to go first and she was so proud when it was out. Emerson flipped out crying, as usual, so hers was much more dramatic. After it was over, of course, she was glad. Anyway, it was fun and especially watching Jonathan squirm, as he HATES watching or even listening to the whole process. I loved it!

First Day of School!

2008-08-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

First Day of School was so exciting this year. Sadie got the teacher Emerson had in first grade and Emerson got a really young teacher who seems awesome!! I probably went overboard on the pictures but they were just so cute. Campbell wanted his picture too and after we dropped them off and by the time we got home, he had talked me into going swimming. By 8:15 we were at the neighborhood pool, and had it all to ourselves!! The next day we went on a bike ride to Kroger and about died it was so hot and a long ride. We have had fun just the 2 of us, and boy, can he talk you into anything. The girls both had a "10" day and have loved it the rest of the week. I just love these kids!

Squirrels!

2008-08-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

We have had squirrels invading our house! After many traps, exclusions(Sp?) we resorted to shooting them-yikes! All safety measures were taken and here is Jonathan with his game...We also put up the hammock that was at the lake house. We love summer!

Arriving at Kanakuk!

2008-07-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Emerson and Madison that were taken at Kanakuk. The first few are of her with her cabin and her counselors. She looks like she is having a great time-and we have heard she loves it from some insiders!! This is her first 13 day camp and I am praying that she does well.

Tennessee!

2008-07-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here is our trip to TN! We had a wonderful time of resting and playing. These are pictures of playing with the animals at the barn, a walk across the farm. Also, we were able to go to the baby dedication for our newest neice, Amelia Joy-she is the fourth daughter of David and Candice.. She was precious. It was so fun to hold a little baby again. She is such a blessing. Thanks to Gran and Poppy for such great memories!!

We're out of school!

2008-07-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ok! Its a little late, but we are out of school. My mom did this for us after every last day of school so I am carrying on the tradition. I always looked forward to see what she would write on the poster board. It was always what we would do that summer. The girls will be in 3rd and 1st grade and it will be great to have them at the same school. We are looking forward to a fun summer.

Go Rangers!

2008-05-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to their first ever professional sports event and they had a blast. The weather was perfect and it was t-shirt night!! We went for the cheap seats-good thing because everyone getting one hot dog and drink was 54$!! They were amazed at all the signs and flags and had LOTS of questions about what was going on. Emerson made these signs before we left and held them up a lot. I am not sure it you can read them, but they are hilarious. Sorry if you are a Minnesota Twins fan because she dissed you! Sadie liked the cotton candy them best and Campbell almost gave us a heart attack several times because he wanted to lean over the side. It is scary up there! It was such a fun memory.

Sadie graduates from Kindergarten!

2008-05-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

Sadie had her graduation last Thursady and as you can see, she had a blast. She wanted her hair curly on Wed. night, but when she woke up she had changed her mind!! Sorry-can't help you there. I thought it looked so cute. We had lunch and the kids had aprons and pads of paper to take drink orders and then served them. Of course, that was the highlight of her day-being a waitress! They sang Fun in the sun at the end and she thought it was hilarious having the sun glasses on. She knew all the moves and sang loud.

Butterfly Beauty

2008-04-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

Well, the girls caught a butterfly, Beauty, who's wings were torn. Being the animal lover that I am, we googled "fixing a butterfly's wing" and found instructions for doing so. After about 30 minutes of surgery, which was basically gluing her wings, Beauty seemed to be good to go and we set out to free her. Things did not go as planned and Beauty was not able to fly after many attempts. She was laid to rest next to the flower pot. Sadie seemed to be fine but Emerson took it pretty hard, crying for about 30 minutes. That girl has loved animals since day 1. And to all you out there that think she is deprived of not having a REAL animal, you obviously have not seen our new ant farm, newly outfitted with several ants-all of which are named-including but not limited to Hampton, Caroline, Ben, Poppy, Elizabeth, Hannah, Miley and Jonathan. We have had some casualties and it has been cool to see them bury the others and all the tunnels they have made. And, as I thought, I am the one feeding and watering them, which enforces the reason that we don't have a dog.

Campbell-you gotta love him!

2008-04-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of Campbell. As usual, he entertains us all in life. After crying for 4 straight swimming lessons, he decided that he actually might like swimming (with the help of a noodle float, oddly enough) so here are the pictures. These pictures of him on the couch asleep are after a day staying at Brittanys. She let him dress up in anything he wanted and this is what he came up with and now I am arguing with him why he can't wear these 3 sizes too big boots to school. He is a joy and yes, we still argue every day on what he will wear. I still marvel that it is him I am arguing with and not the girls and really I am thankful because the girls will wear anything I lay out. He is also struggling with his hearing right now because of fluid. We are off to the ENT on Thursday to see if tubes will help. I am hoping this is the case because this little guy cannot hear a THING!

Sadie turns Six!

2008-04-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

Why are these pictures so little? I DON'T KNOW!! But this was Sadie's birthday-an American girl spa party. I wish these would come out big because this was a really cute party and she had a great time. She is a really funny kid and is also saying such neat spiritual things lately. She has recently been scared of sleeping by herself in bed. Last week, she woke up and came into the kitchen and said, "do you want to know what happened last night?" Sure I said. She then tells me she was scared but she decided to trust God and believe he was going to bless her for that. I am wide eyed as she proceeds to tell me she quoted the verse "I am the head and not the tail, I am above and not beneath, I am blessed going in and blessed going out and everything I put my hands on will prosper" Then she said she told the devil "I am not scared of you and she said she heard him leave. I was amazed at her maturity and thankful that she went to the father for help. She is a blessing.

Happy 8th Birthday, Emerson!

2008-04-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Emerson was able to invite some girls to High School Musical on Ice for her birthday. It was a great time and I think she enjoyed it. I made a HSM cake that was a disaster!! I am telling you, it looked horrible and then tasted even worse because of the food coloring-I added so much. But, the girls didn't seem to notice-poor things! I took all of them by myself but they were all very polite and stayed with me. Emerson's real birthday is this week so I am sure we will go eat at the restaurant of her choice. I can't believe she is 8 and she is getting so TALL...we are praying for her as she grows into a young lady and that God would continue to mold her into the beautiful person he designed her to be. We praise him that he gave her to us the watch over in this lifetime and celebrate her life on her birthday, April 24th!

2008-03-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

MAUI

2008-02-29T21:46:00.000-08:00

Jonathan and I went to Maui for our 13th anniversary in February. It was great to get a break and everything was so gorgeous and fun. As you see Jonathan in the lounge chair at the bottom-you can pretty much see what we did the whole time. While lounging, we had the monumentous decision on where to go to dinner. Really, it was SO relaxing. It was whale season and I think we both would say that was one of the highlights. You could look out at the ocean at almost any time and see them jumping and crashing into the waves. Amazing-one of the neatest things I have ever seen. We both went scuba diving(me once and Jonathan 3 times) and held an octupus and swam with the sea turtles. Incredible! Jonathan went on 2 dives without me-I (and my doctor Blake) decided since I had just had lasik that I better not dive too deep. Anyway, he felt an eel, saw reef sharks and had the luxury of diving with what they call a scooter. Its a little device that you hold onto and turn on after you are down and you are propelled wherever you want to go and you don't have to swim to any of the dive sites. Although it seems a little lazy, I guess you use less oxygen while "traveling" and therefore get to stay down for more time while viewing the marine life. I got a kick when he told me there were several other groups preparing to go to the Makena Caves when they arrived at 7:15 am. Jonathan was bummed because apparently you want to be the first down there so you can see the most stuff before they are scared away. But his guide (just the 2 of them)-said don't worry we'll blow right past them. And, they did-can you imagine swimming with all that gear on and getting tired and then seeing 2 guys whiz right past you with scooters? I was laughing thinking of that!

The grounds were amazing and the pools had tons of slides and lazy rivers. We decided our kids would love it but need to be a little older so that we would not have to worry about them while swimming. The spa was the best I have ever been to! I recommend the massage with the added 30 minute scalp massage-heaven!

We ate awesome food! Our favorite was the pink snapper (also known as opacapaca). It was one of the greatest things I have ever put in my mouth. I also loved pumpkin gnocci-a dumpling that was out of this world! We loved Nick's Fish Market and Mama's Fish House! You can see that Jonathan had a little too much sun that day!

We had an amazing room and while we were there a big group from SAP was there-around 1600 people. This company did them right and for their final night, they flew in Bryan Adams for a concert. So we sat on our balcony overlooking the ocean and listening and watching Bryan Adams. By the way, he sounded great-I am not his biggest fan, but I was impressed and it sure brought back some memories- you know you want to sing "everything I do, I do it for you!"

Just hanging out! We both read 2 books and had to go to the bookstore because we did not bring enough. This cabana that you see in the background was cool because you had shade if you wanted it. We checked into it and quickly realized those were for the big spenders-$225 per day. I overheard someone ask about one and the guy said "$225 for the week?" and the concierge said "no for the day!" We did rent a little "casabella" that was 2 lounge chairs with a little umbrella that was overlooking the ocean. It was great because at the end we had both gotten a little too much sun!