Family Journal

Labor Day 2010

2010-11-29T20:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks to some generous friends at work we were able to enjoy the last weekend of summer at a lake resort! The pictures truly tell the story.

Sammy

2008-12-07T23:56:00.000-08:00

On October 6, 2008 we were forced to put down our beloved and wonderful dog, Sammy. She was with us for 12 years, from the time she was 6 weeks old. I found some of her puppy pics the other day, and one of these days I'm going to scan them in and upload them here.

Morgan's first recital

2008-06-10T02:43:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

Morgan volunteered to play piano at the end of the year talent show at the school. I was so surprised and excited to go to see her perform! The school made a schedule change without telling us and we missed it. I almost cried on the phone with the school secretary. She must have sensed how upset I was because she talked the music teacher into doing it again so we could watch. I was so grateful!

Singing Happy Birthday

2008-06-10T02:00:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

Dad and Jake with the water balloons

2008-06-10T01:23:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

Dad can't help himself.

Balloon Toss

2008-06-10T00:24:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

Morgan and her friend doing a balloon toss at Morgan's 9th bday party.

4th and 9th Birthday party

2008-06-10T00:12:00.000-07:00

We combined birthday parties this year to save some effort and money. We didn't have a lot of people, but the weather was gorgeous after several days of rain and we got to enjoy the pool. We did a water balloon toss and a corn husking contest. One of Morgan's friends was really good at tying off the water balloons and she and Morgan spent an hour just making balloons while every one else kept popping them!!

Mike made a couple of nice cakes; one for Jake with a spiderman toy on top and one for Morgan with pixies on top. He did a really nice job and the kids enjoyed the toys once the cake was gone. We even had Jake licking the frosting off of his toy! lol

Everyone was sunburt and exhausted after the party, but it was such great fun, that's all we cared about. Will post pics soon.

Three years later....!!

2008-05-25T23:53:00.000-07:00

I wish I kept up this blog...but here I am again. It's time to teach Morgan how to blog and I remembered this family journal. The perfect place. I look forward to see what comes next. :)

2005-04-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

Back to the wild for you little Paint Turtle

2005-04-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

Exploring my new home.......

2005-04-22T20:33:00.001-07:00

Saying goodbye

2005-04-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

Yeah baby!

2005-04-22T20:32:00.001-07:00

Mike & Jakey

2005-04-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

Lauren

2005-04-22T20:31:00.001-07:00

Morgan throws....

2005-04-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

Off she goes!

2005-04-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

The Retriever retrieves!

2005-04-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

Our little paradise

2005-04-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

Morgan, Lauren, Turtle

2005-04-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

Close up of turtle

Turtle turtle turtle

2005-04-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Mike - you get to write about this one.......

2005-04-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

Lauren wet and wormy

2005-04-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

Lauren with worm

2005-04-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

Mogan soaked

2005-04-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

J in charge

2005-04-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

Look Mom! One hand!

2005-04-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

whoops....I'm getting there....

2005-04-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

I'm winnin Mom!

Fun with the hose

2005-04-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

Time to wash the dog....and the sidewalk.... and the driveway....oh wait....the kids are getting a bath too! They're soaked!!!

And while we were at it, we pulled out Morgan's old walker toy and Jacob had a blast!

2005-04-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

Mike's "Mini Me"

2005-04-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

Say ahhhh

2005-04-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

Hamming it up....

2005-04-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

Lauren gets into her food.....

2005-04-22T19:53:00.001-07:00

Morgan feeding Jacob

2005-04-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Madely & Morgan

2005-04-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Lauren & Don

2005-04-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Madelyn & Don

Madelyn visits

2005-04-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

Last week Mike's mom, Madelyn, and her beau, Don, came by on their way home from Florida. They only stayed a couple of days but it was great to see them.

A big day

2005-04-19T23:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very special day for Lauren. This morning when Mike tried to get her dressed for the day, she complained about her pants being too small. He explained to her that the pants weren't made to be worn with pull-ups. Sooo she went into her room, grabbed a pair of panties out of her drawer, and brought them to Mike to put on her. He happily complied with her wishes, and she went all morning without an accident.

When they met me for lunch, Lauren eagerly showed me her panties....two or three times...and expressed her glee at wearing them. Before they left for home, I brought her to a bathroom on campus so she wouldn't wet her pants on the way. As I pulled her pants down, she said, "Mommy, this is not my potty." I said, "I know hunny, but you get to use it anyway." As each tinkle hit the water, she gave me the biggest, brightest grin on earth - wish I had a picutre of it - and when she was done she insisted on washing her OWN hands...thank you very much!

I am very proud of Lauren today and her potty training progress, and I know she is proud of herself as she told me. Here's to you Lauren

....for family, prosperity, and Lauren's future humiliation! lol

Mom's Birthday

2005-04-09T23:24:00.000-07:00

My 35th birthday was one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time!

The first thing Mike said to me when I woke up was "happy birthday." And when the girls came in to wake us up, he asked them to sing to me. Lauren became upset because she didn't know the song so she and I cuddled for a while and enjoyed our morning together.

We went church with a friend of mine from work, Lisa, and her husband, Steve. The pastor (also Steve), was loud and passionate in his speech. Early into the sermon, Morgan turned to me and said, "Why does that man talk so mean?" I said, "He's not talking mean, honey, he's just excited." We attended a reception to meet the pastor after the service.....and found him to be a very nice person. I turned to him and said softly, "Morgan thinks you were talking mean." He looked at me kind of hurt for a moment, then he turned to Morgan, leaned down to her level and said, "I wasn't talking mean sweetie, I just get excited about God and get loud. Do you understand?" Morgan smiled and nodded her head. I was impressed with that, and with the children's program there....we will be returning!

After church Lisa and Steve treated us to lunch at Pizza Hut. They gave us a beautiful photo frame and took a family portrait on their digital camera to print for the frame. We had a great time getting to know each other better, and Lauren, much to my surprise, warmed right up to them...she tends to be pretty shy lately. She especially loved it when Steve was the "pizza monster" and pretended to eat her food.

We went home and had a long delicious nap, and then Mike took the kids to the store to get my cake. It was great to have a few hours of solitude, and when they returned, they had a good old time decorating the cake and conspiring to surprise me with the cake and gifts. This time Lauren knew the song and came prancing into the room hopping and excited to sing to me...which they all did. I tried to get her to help me blow out the candles, but the flame made her nervous and she didnt do it.

So, as you can see, it was a great birthday thanks to Mike and I had a wonderful time enjoying my family.

2005-03-27T20:01:00.000-08:00

Jacob w Easter Bunny

2005-03-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

Jacob rolling tongue

2005-03-27T19:59:00.000-08:00

Jacob on couch

2005-03-27T19:58:00.000-08:00

Morgan 5 going on 20!

2005-03-27T19:57:00.001-08:00

Lauren w umbrella

2005-03-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

Morgan w umbrella

Cleaning my room..........

2005-03-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

While cleaning the mess I call my room, I found this drawing displayed on my dresser from about a month ago when Morgan gave it to me. I bewilderedly asked Mike what I should do with all these wonderful pieces of art that the kids make, and he suggested we scan them and save them electronically. Brilliant! So here is the first beautiful specimen, with many to follow.

This particular piece was inspired by a drawing I once did while coloring with the girls, of a house with a smoking chimney, a tree and a few flowers. For weeks thereafter, Morgan's art was a series of replicas....imitation... the highest form of flattery!

2005-03-24T17:42:00.000-08:00

Morgan's Art 2/2005

2005-03-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

Sidewalk chalk

2005-03-22T20:40:00.000-08:00

Morgan with Easter Bunny

2005-03-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

Morgan

2005-03-22T20:38:00.000-08:00

Jacob on slide

2005-03-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

Chris

Last Weekend

2005-03-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

Last weekend a local radio station hosted a petting zoo and scavenger hunt for Easter. We didn't make in time for the petting zoo, but Lauren got to do a quick scavenger hunt. Mike took her into the field full of eggs and she showed absolutely no interest in picking them up, even though there were hundreds of kids around her rushing around to pick up as many eggs as possible. Until Mike showed her the candy inside...then she became very interested! Lucky for her teeth, she only got 3 eggs. Morgan missed the 5 yr old hunt by about 30 seconds (the crowd was too dense to push thru in time) but Lauren was nice enough to share her candy with her sister.

We didn't miss ALL the fun tho, as you can see by these pictures, we got some photos with the Easter Bunny (Lauren would have nothing to do with him) and we found some leftover sidewalk chalk. Mike and I had to watch out for cars driving all over the sidewalk as people were leaving (!) but Morgan made a great self portrait, and Lauren was very into making her chalk blobs!

We made our way over to the huge playground area and watched the girls run around for a while. Morgan made a fast friend in a boy named Trey, and they had a great time playing tag for a while. Mike and I love sending Jacob down the slide...he adores going down on his back (see pic). Finally, Morgan gave Trey a goodbye hug and we were off to see the ducks! woo hooo

The pic of me here is one Mike snuck in when i was distracted and intrigued by a pair of male mallards fighting over rights to a female. The girls flirted with the edge of the water and got properly muddy in the process, but hey....it was worth it! We all had a good time watching the ducks interact. Morgan got extremely close to the male of the white ducks and scared me to death...so we stood on a bridge and watched them go after the pretzels Mike threw in for them.

All in all it was a wonderful and memorable day. Since we missed the petting zoo and scavenger hunt, we're hoping to hit another spot this weekend! More great pics, and stories, to come.

A Walk in the Park with Lauren

2005-03-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Today during my lunch break, Mike brought Lauren and Jacob to see me, and we all went for a walk in the park on campus. It was a beautiful day, and when Lauren saw me walking toward her, she jumped up and down and said, "There's my mama!" What a wonderful way to be greeted!

As we slowly strolled along the paved paths, Lauren stopped and said, "Mom, look at that beautiful flower!" She was pointing to a little yellow dandelion...something as adults we see as an ugly weed, but in her wonderful innocence, she saw beauty. I love seeing the world through her eyes! It's a beautiful place, and so is she. I love you Lauren!

2005-03-22T20:26:00.000-08:00

Lauren

2005-03-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

Easter 2005

2005-03-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

Carousel

First Entry - Easter 2005 portraits

2005-03-21T20:22:00.000-08:00

We've got three beautiful children and we've been very neglectful about journaling the cute, comic moments and milestones. So this is our first step in digital scrapbooking world, which I hope will become a habit for us in saving our precious memories.

This picture is one of the potraits that we had done on March 12, 2005 at the Picture People. Both Jacob and Morgan were sick, and you can really see it on Jacob's face here. Lauren screamed about getting her dress on, but once sister got hers on, she became much more cooperative. Our favorite photographer, Andrew, put them both at ease right away, and even held Jacob for us while we tried to get the girls' hair done. He had them both smiling and cooperating for the photos.

After the sitting, we rewarded the kids with a trip to the carousel. We only had enough on the ticket for one ride, but boy did they love it! Even poor, sick Jacob had a great time.