He's a Maniac

I just had to show what I work out with everyday. I can't make it through a workout without laughing. Chris keeps me so entertained. My favorite is when he runs in place really fast and sings the chorus to "she's a maniac" to me, but he changes it to "he's a maniac."

Where is the fun in working out if you aren't tripping over little people at the same time. Myles actually did really well in this next clip. Normally he tries to either crawl under my legs like I am a tunnel or he grabs hold of Christopher's legs while Chris is trying to do knee lifts or kicks. Myles thinks it is quite hysterical.

These next pictures are from the snow we had on Sunday. Chris helped the kids make a snowman. Some one's basketball from the neighborhood wound up in our yard. So, they ended up using that as the head and named the snowman Wilson.

Myles loves to run around in Rhaevyn's cape even though he has his own. When he wears his cape he is "Batman", but when he wears Rhaevyn's he says he is "Raccoon Boy."

Aeva was asked to give a one minute talk about her baptism experience to all those children turning 8 this year in our ward.This picture was taken just before they left for the meeting. I really took this picture because I thought my husband looked so handsome.

Happy weekend to all.

Ka-rot-tay

I just thought I'd do a quick post of Myles doing his karate moves.
I love hearing him say the word. It just cracks me up.

Look What We Woke Up To!

We all woke up bright and early this morning in hopes that this would be the Sunday we would actually be a tad early for church. I started working on breakfast and pulled open the shades in the kitchen to find this snowy scene outside our window.....

Needless to say, church was canceled for today. Those of you who get more snow than this may think it funny, but no joke, people here can't drive in snow.

I tried to be sneaky and hide around corners and outside bedroom doors to get pictures of the kids with surprised looks on their faces. It actually only worked for Rhaevyn. By the time I pushed the button, Myles was running for cover. Aeva was not surprised at all.

It's that time of year again.....learning about elements.
This time it is Aeva's turn. She worked on her clay model of a water molecule this week.
She loves looking at her periodic table of all the elements and laughing at some of the funny names like Einsteinium, Californium, and Mendelevium.

Rhaevyn has added another item to her "what I can cook" list. She just learned how to make scrambled eggs. I have never been successful at getting her to eat eggs, but now that she can make them herself she wants them everyday. She was so proud of her first time making them that she wanted me to post a picture of it.

Chris has started working out with me. It's amazing what old age and a bit of holiday weight gain will do to someone. I started him out on Richard Simmons, but he couldn't hack it. Too many moves for him I think. That, and I don't think he could take it seriously. So, I started him on a walking video which doesn't require a lot of memorization of moves. He does the three mile workout everyday, and the kids have even gotten into it.
I just have to post the Richard Simmons workout though. It was definitely funnier in person.

Myles and Aeva were out helping Chris work on his beast the other day. Myles came in telling and showing me that he had had helped using the ratchet and topped it off with sound effects. It was so funny.
Here is a video of my little man who likes to do "ka-rot-tay" as he says it, throw and kick balls, swing his lightsaber around like he is Darth Vader, wrestle with his sisters (okay mainly Aeva), but also loves this tinkerbell outfit.

Wishing you all a very happy week.

Happy Days

Baby love

So, I think the kids have ended up naming the baby. We had several names that we were tossing around, but I think one in particular has won their hearts. I know you are all wanting to know what the name is.

It's Matilda.

Or is it?

Some of you out there have commented about the fact that I have not posted a full length picture of myself, in other words, there have been no pictures to document my pregnancy. Well, this next one is for you guys.

I have reached the point in my pregnancy where bending over to pick anything up off the floor seems daunting. The kids have come to know that if I drop something and begin staring to long and hard at it I need help. They have become great little picker-uppers. And Chris has gotten his old job back: buckling my shoes. I have to laugh, when we went out on our date night, while sitting in the car waiting for it to warm up, he took my feet in his lap (one at a time) and buckled my shoes for me. It was quite a site. He is such a sweetheart.

We've had a fairly lovely week. It was a bit bumpy getting back into the swing of school at the beginning, but by Wednesday it was smooth sailing.

Rhaevyn finished up with the study of Marxism and began studying the unification of Germany in the 1800's, and Aeva just started learning about the Aztecs. We decided we didn't think we would have liked to be enemies or neighbors of the Aztecs.

Here is Myles holding a Lego replica of an Aztec temple by Aeva.

Myles has conquered another milestone. I think this is one of the greatest milestones to reach, and one that I get so excited about with each child. He has learned to blow his nose. There always seems to be that one cold that they get that finally puts them over the edge and they actually get how to blow their nose. No more pinning them down, no more nose syringe. What is so fantastic is that he actually brings me a Kleenex and tells me he needs to blow his nose. I know, only a mother could get so excited over such a thing. It's pure bliss!

Today, Aeva decided that she wanted to try out Rhaevyn's roller blades. I caught the tale end of her try out session with Chris. She did the splits a couple of times when the blades kind of went out from underneath her. She said it was a bit harder than she had expected because the roller blades were heavy, but she really enjoyed her laps around the garage with her dad.

Wishing you all a delightful week with the ones you love.

Family Fun

Well, we've had family visiting for the past two weeks.
Ben and Stacey came for a couple of days before Christmas and then returned after their snowboarding trip to Hood River to spend a couple more days.
We enjoyed cooking and having dinners together, visiting, and the kids enjoyed playing lots of games with them, including supermarket sweep at the grocery store. What fun! They were so sweet to watch the kids one night while Chris and I enjoyed our second date of the year. We can't thank them enough for giving us a wonderful night out and going in on pizza for them and the kids. Thank you oodles guys! We really appreciated that. We realized how much we enjoy having them around and want them to live closer.
My mom and dad, Cullen, Clay and Cash came for week as well. What fun it was to have dinners together......family, good conversation and good food.... what more could one ask for? The kids enjoyed playing more games, reading and swimming while my parents were here.
My water bugs had so much fun swimming three separate times over at the pool at Oma and Opa's hotel. Myles swam all over the pool with his water wings. He couldn't get enough of the water. Aeva had swimming on her mind constantly. Opa called her the water flea. And Rhaevyn proved what a good swimmer and diver she was, as Myles kept throwing the little torpedoes in the deep end for her to get.
The girls spent Thursday night over at the hotel with Oma and Opa and had breakfast the next morning. Then on Monday morning I ran the girls over so they could have breakfast with them and then go swimming. Such fun!
Here are some pictures and videos from Saturday night at the pool.

And now the family has all gone home, the house is clean, the girls are back to schoolwork today, and things are just about back to normal.

It's Great To Be 8!

Aeva turned 8 and decided that she wanted to make the step to be baptized and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
It was such a wonderful and special day.
Thanks to all the family and friends who attended.
A big thanks to Uncle Ben who made bbq'd hamburgers.
Oma offered to take us all to Olive Garden, but Aeva insisted on having Unlce Ben cook.
It was a great day filled with the spirit, friends, family and good hamburgers!

Aeva in her baptism dress.

Aeva and Chris in their white clothes.

Aeva and Myles with Holly the Sheep.

All the girls.

Our friends and what feels like extended family............

The Hunts

and part of the Lee Family

Oma and Opa with Aeva after her baptism.


Our little family.

Uncle Ben and Aeva.

Chris and the baptism girl.

Clay, Cullen, Cash and Aeva.

Aeva got her very own set of scriptures with her name engraved on them
and a CTR ring.

Uncle Ben preparing those yummy burgers.

Visiting and getting ready to eat.

Oma, Aeva, Rhaevyn and Stacey played Uno while they rested their tummies.

Mmmmm, Chocolate Satin Pie......
a great ending to a great day.

We're Still Alive and Kicking

Goodness, it's been forever since I have posted anything.
I thought I'd start by just posting some random pictures.
We've had a house full of family over the last two weeks, a second Christmas, and a baptism.
So, I will have lots of pictures to follow this entry.

Aeva really wanted some Legos for Christmas. Oma and Opa got her some Indian Jones Legos.
Here Uncle Ben got her started by helping her to put it together after she had so carefully separated all the parts and put them in piles.

I just thought this video was cute. With the second wave of family coming, we decided to do a bit of freshening up. Aeva was supposed to clean the hall toilet, but Myles was very vocal in letting me know he wanted to do it. Aeva was quite happy to hand over that chore.