THE VANDY KIDDOS

Last Day of SUMMER...

2011-08-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

Well..today was our last day of summer...really tomorrow is but it is full of meet the teacher, first day prep, and early bedtimes. We have had an awesome summer and are bummed to see it come to an end. Today we wanted to just enjoy the day...so we did!! We started off the morning with a run and then the boys went frisbee golfing with Will and Sam. Allie and I met them at the course and enjoyed watching the boys share their love of frisbee golf with their friends. After frisbee we got the bike tires fixed for our first day of school ride and then relaxed a bit and played a mean game of Battleship. After a long game of Battleship we rode bikes to get an afternoon ice cream treat! On our way home we rode through Ruhkala and peaked in all the classrooms. As we were leaving we saw they were posting the class lists (EXCITING TIMES PEOPLE). We saw the boy's class lists and we were very excited. We ended our evening with soccer practice, dinner, baths, and bedtime. A very exciting end to the day was when Luke was laying out his clothes for "meet the teacher" and he said, "mom, I think I'm going to wear a collared shirt." I stuttered a bit and said "ok, let's pick one out." This boy would live in his pJ's if I let him, but finds comfort everyday in sports shorts and t-shirts. I gave up the collared shirt battle quite some time ago. As usual, Luke surprised me and even picked out a pair of Andrew's dress shorts to wear with his collared shirt! Can't wait to see my handsome kindergartener tomorrow!! BYE BYE summer it's been GREAT!

Gettin' Ready

2011-08-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

My Luke is very excited about starting kindergarten. We are beyond happy about this because we were worried he would be very nervous. He got the call from his teacher last Monday and his face lit up! He was so happy with his teacher and having all his buddies in his class. The next day we made a countdown chain because he kept asking about how many days until the first day. He even made a chain for Allie. I just love seeing his excitement!!

Cousin Day

2011-08-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

After getting home from our long journey we planned a day to have a "cousin Day." We had a fun day playing and hanging out with each other. The girlies were the only ones who would take a picture for me!!

OUR SUMMER ADVENTURE 2011

2011-07-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

We DID It!!! We arrived home safely and it felt great to be back in our house. We were gone for 1 month and 1 day, traveled to 11 states, 2 countries, and drove over 5,400 miles!!! We had a few picture problems at the end, so we didn't get a Nevada or California sign picture. Next time :)

June 25, 2011 – Rocklin to Hume Lake = miles
June 25 – July 9 = Hume Lake
July 9, 2011 – Hume Lake to Kingman, Arizona = 479 miles
July 10, 2011 – Kingman, Arizona to Grand Canyon = 172 miles
Grand Canyon to Flagstaff, Arizona = 79 miles
July 11, 2011 – Flagstaff, Arizona to Moab, Utah = 323 miles
July 12, 2011 – Moab, Utah (Arches National Park) to Denver, Colorado = 371 miles
July 13, 2011 – Denver, Colorado to Grand Island, Nebraska = 383 miles
July 14, 2011 – Grand Island, Nebtraska to Fargo, North Dakota = 480 mil
July 15, 2011 – Fargo, North Dakota to Winkler, Mantoba, Canada = 200 miles
July 15-July 21 = Winkler and Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada
July 21, 2011 – Winkler, Mantoba to Bismark, North Dakota = 375 miles
July 22, 2011 – Bismark, North Dakota to Billings, Montana = 410 miles
July 23, 2011 – Billings, Montana to Yellowstone =
July24 – Yellowstone Park = 60 miles
July 25, 2011 – West Yellowstone to Jackson, Wyoming = 127 miles
Jackson, Wyoming to Elko, Nevada = 412 miles
July 26, 2011 – Elko, Nevada to HOME in Rocklin, California = 400 miles

Grand Tetons & Jackson Hole, Wyoming

2011-07-27T08:19:00.000-07:00

July 25….We drove through the Grand Tetons and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park. The Tetons were awesome and so beautiful. We drove to Jackson, Wyoming where we met Uncle Jesse and Aunt T.T. We spent a few hours walking around Jackson with them. It was a very cute town and would be a fun place to visit for a couple days. We were feeling ready to get home so we decided to bypass our hotel in Jackson and drive a bit further that evening.

Yellowstone National Park

2011-07-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

July 23-25….We LOVED Yellowstone. We took a longer way into the park and we were so thankful that we did. We were able to see so many animals. We even saw a grizzly bear, which was very exciting. As we drove through the park we would stop at different locations to check out the sites. We ended our afternoon in the west side of the park at a ranger station where the boys took a class to earn their Junior Ranger Badge. After their class we headed for our hotel in West Yellowstone. West Yellowstone was a cute little town filled with shops and restaurants. We walked to Buffalo Bills for dinner and then daddy decided it would be fun to drive out to the rodeo, so we did!! It was a small town Wyoming rodeo, but the kids thought it was great fun. On Sunday we had a lazy morning and then headed to see Old Faithful. Seeing all the geysers and mud pots was amazing. We hot to Old Faithful in time to see it erupt. After watching Old Faithful the boys completed all they needed to do to earn their Junior Ranger Badges. They went to the Ranger Station and got sworn in so they could get their patches. They were very proud of themselves. On our way back out of the park we stopped for a picnic lunch along the river. The kids thought it was great fun to run through parts of the river and feel the water rushing against them. We were very tired on Sunday so we headed back for rests, a swim, and then dinner. It was time for a good night’s rest. On Monday we woke up and headed to the park early. We went to see some of the mud pots and small geysers. This was a place Andrew really wanted to go and it was definitely worth the walk because it was very interesting to see. The mud pots were a bit stinky though, especially for Miss. Allie. After our stop we headed to the south end of the park to make our way to the Grand Tetons.

Montana & Wyoming

2011-07-26T06:50:00.000-07:00

July 22-23….It was yet another interesting weather day as we got into Montana. It started out beautiful and within a matter of about 15 minutes we drove into a horrible storm. There was very large lightning bolts coming straight down, massive rain, and tornado like clouds. Thankfully the kids were being excellent in the back seat so I was frantically looking things up on our phones (thank goodness for Iphones). Everything posted about this storm was not good for a family driving through. They said it was extremely dangerous and it would be best to seek , shelter…well, in the middle of Montana there isn’t much shelter, so we just kept driving. This was the most scared we had been in the car. We didn’t know if we should stop, turn around, or just drive through as fast as we could. Andy did a great job and got us through. It was about an hour of getting through and then just like that we were back in blue sky. We arrived in Billings in time for dinner, a swim, some laundry, and a family game. Allie had a throw up incident right before bed, so I had the joy of cleaning that mess up in the hotel room and trying to wash out all the clothes. It was just one of those fun adventures on a road trip!!
We woke up Saturday ready to make our drive to Yellowstone. It was a beautiful drive through mountains and valleys all the way to Yellowstone. We started off by passing through an old town that was having a car show. The kids loved seeing all the old cars lining the streets. After the town we started our way up the mountain. It was one of my favorite drives of the trip. There were breathtaking views, beautiful mountain peaks, green meadows a top of the mountains, bright blue pools of water, and snow capped mountains. We passed through Wyoming on our drive and then ended up back in Montana.

Medora, North Dakota...a little cowboy town

2011-07-23T05:53:00.000-07:00

July 23…..After leaving Canada we drove to Bismark, North Dakota. It was a yucky city and there was only one room left in a “not so nice” hotel. We made it a very quick visit and once we woke up in the morning we were headed out. Our Canadian relatives told us about an old cowboy town in North Dakota. We kept seeing signs for it and found a small magazine about it, so we thought we would stop. We got to Medora, North Dakota around 10 and surprised the kids with a game of mini golf at their western themed golf course. The kids were very excited! It was a true cowboy town with horses riding through the streets, old saloons, and ma and pop shops. We spent some time walking around trying to find the perfect souvenirs. Daddy got Allie a bright pink cowgirl hat that she was very proud to. Wear. After many shops the boys each decided on their souvenirs of choice. Andrew is very serious about carrying around his money pouch and his coin bank he purchased in South Dakota. It was a great way to spend a few hours out of the car and break up the day.

A week in WINKLER

2011-07-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing week in Canada. We were very blessed to visit with many family members from Oma’s side of the family (the VandenBergs). It was a treat for us to see Pake and Oma as well up in Canada. We arrived at Aunt Joyce’s house on Friday afternoon. The kids were so excited to see her farm. The boys were instantly in heaven. They ran through the fields and up and down the dirt driveway. Not long after we arrived Andy’s cousin Andrew came over with his two boys William and Jesse. They are the same ages as our boys and they all clicked. We didn’t see the four of them for quite some time as they explored the farm and our boys got the grand tour. A favorite activity was picking fresh strawberries…oh they were yummy!!! Luke just loved picking them and went to bed that night asking if we could go picking again first thing in the morning. Arlene (Aunt Joyce’s daughter) was amazing with the kids. She is used to being around her 7 nephews and 1 niece, so our kids instantly fell in love with her. Allie was quite attached to her the whole week. Friday night Pake and Oma arrived from Kansas City so we had a nice evening hanging out with them. Aunt Joyce blessed us with her entire upstairs, so we were able to spread out and everyone slept very well. Saturday was a fun filled day. We went to Aunt Mariann and Uncle Reynolds house in the morning where cousin Karen gave us rides on her horse and then the kids got to go on a semi truck ride with Uncle Reynold. After that we met the VandenBerg families at a park with a water spray area for a picnic lunch. After lunch we headed to the beach where the kids went on cousin Joel’s boat for tube rides and swam the afternoon away. Sunday we went to church in the morning with Aunt Joyce and her kids. In the afternoon Aunt Joyce had all the VandenBerg relatives over to her house for a BBQ and hang out time. She has an amazing yard for large get togethers. Everyone had plenty of space and the kids had a grand time together. One of their favorite activities of the day was picking peas and walking around “selling” them from the wagon. When people stopped wanting peas they just added beer to the wagon (it was very cute). Aunt Mariann organized some intense relay games and we had a blast playing them. Andrew was on my team and he was very into the games. He volunteered to do every activity. It was a very nice afternoon and it was great to see all the family (minus a couple families) together. On Monday we drove to Winnipeg, which is about an hour away. We visited Opa at his apartment and he took the kids swimming. It was neat to see where he lives now and the kids enjoyed seeing all his old pictures and decorations. After Opa’s house we visited Aunt Tini and Uncle Jack’s house for a bit and then headed to Uncle Harry and Aunt Sharon’s house for dinner. The kids had a great time playing with cousins Lucas, Courtney, and Shannon. The boys played wiffle ball and Allie covered everyone’s legs in bandaids. The night slipped away from us and before we knew it, it was 9:30. We followed cousin Dana to a favorite ice cream shop where we had a late night ice cream treat. The Staska family blessed us with an apartment to stay in for the night at Dana’s complex. Aunt Wilma had it stocked with goodies for the kids and clean sheets and towels. Tuesday morning we met up with Pake, Oma, Aunt Wilma, and cousin Brett and went to the local children’s museum. The kids had a blast and it was the perfect activity for a very warm day. Aunt Wilma took us to lunch after the museum and we walked around “the Forks” area and visited a few souvenir shops. That afternoon we enjoyed a nice swim in Dana’s pool and then Uncle Joe and Aunt Wilma made us a yummy dinner that we enjoyed at Dana’s house. We drove back to Winkler on Tuesday night so we could enjoy one last day at the farm with Aunt Joyce on Wednesday. Wednesday morning we took a ride to Joel and Julie’s house and let the kids play with their kids for the morning. It was nice to visit with them and see their house and get to know their kids. We follow their blog, so it is always fun to see where they live. In the afternoon we got stuff ready for our drive back and let the kids rest and relax. A beautiful wind kicked up in the afternoon, which made for a perfect evening. We went to Aunt Mariann and Uncle Reynolds house for a hot dog roast. We enjoyed a chilly evening around their fire pit with yummy food and good conversation. All the kids had a great time going on a scavenger hunt planned by the amazing Aunt Mariann and then they roamed the yard and farm and played for hours. It was another late summer night, but so relaxing and fun. We ended the late night visiting more Mike, Angeline, and their boys. Thursday morning we let the kids sleep in and then headed back for the U.S. Our boys did not want to leave and just loved their time there. They are already asking to go back. We were so blessed by all the family with their hospitality and planning. We had a lovely time catching with Aunt Joyce and Arlene at their house and they spoiled us beyond belief. Thanks Canada for an amazing week !!

A Plethera of CANADA pictures...

2011-07-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

our collection of pictures from a very fun week on the farm....

We Made it to Canada!!!

2011-07-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

Nebraska..a bit out of order

2011-07-20T05:58:00.000-07:00

July 13-14…Nebraska is flat farmland!! We still encountered some grumpy weather in Nebraska, so it was very cloudy and gloomy. Mommy is really needing some sunshine! We got to our hotel in the late afternoon and did our routine…daddy checks in, push out the luggage cart, load it up, fight over who gets to push the luggage cart, listen to Allie yell.”I am the leader,” and then get to our room (which are all looking strikingly the same). We decided to put laundry in since of all the rain got our poor clothes in the roof rack very wet. We then left for dinner and the rain started again. It always seems to start pouring the in evenings. After dinner mommy got a special treat and got to go into TJ Maxx for a bit. Even though we don’t have much extra space to buy anything, it was still fun to look. That evening we had a wonderful time swimming together in the pool. It was one of the first times where I felt like there wasn’t stuff that had to be done or a meal to get ready. We just enjoyed playing together. After we got to our room from our swim we learned that there was a tornado warning. This California girl isn’t crazy about this type of weather. I quietly packed a backpack in case we had to head to the first floor for safety. The kids were a bit nervous so we tried our best to calm nerves. We were safe and there was a bad storm that past just north of us and then south of us. Once we all fell asleep it was our best night sleep yet!! In the morning we prepared for our longest day in the car…our goal…North Dakota!

South Dakota & North Dakota

2011-07-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

July 14-15…. After driving on a 2 lane road in the middle of farm country and viewing thousands of corn fields we arrived in South Dakota for lunch. We found a very cool park in Yanktown, South Dakota where we made lunch, let the kids play, fed the ducks, and endured the major humidity. As we drove through South Dakota we were able to see some very flooded rivers. They are experiencing major flooding in this part of the country this summer, and we were able to see some of the damage. We got through South Dakota and stopped in North Dakota for dinner. The kids had been excellent (with the exception of our first major fit of the trip…thrown by Mr. Andrew, we survived and I’m glad Andrew could get his frustration out). We treated them to their first McDonalds Happy Meals of the trip, which they were very excited about. It was back on the road for about two more hours. We arrived in Fargo, North Dakota around 8:00. It was a very nice city and our hotel was a suite, which felt huge to us. It was the first time we had two rooms in almost 3 weeks. We went for a late night swim and then the kids crashed. We woke up at 5 am to a severe thunder storm, but thankfully the kids slept through it. Andy and I each got in a 5 mile run, the kids watched a few cartoons and went for a swim, and then we made one last stop at Target before hitting the road. Daddy was very patient with our slow morning, as I know he was anxious to get on the road. Thankfully it’s about a 3 hour drive and we will be in CANADA!!!

Colorado

2011-07-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

July 12-13…We LOVED driving through Colorado. It was beautiful going through the Rockies and the boys loved watching the river along side the road all day. The kids have been doing wonderful in the car. We have been doing lots of coloring, our workbooks, reading, and resting. They have been excellent. We arrived in the city of Brighton which is right outside Denver around dinner time. We kept with our tradition and got to our hotel, swam, and I made sandwiches for dinner by the pool. It also was stormy weather. So far on our trip we have had thunder and lightning in every city. We are chasing the storm up the United States. Our night in Denver we experienced the biggest storm yet. There was a severe weather alert and huge thunder and lightning. The kids got a bit scared so we snuggled up and attempted to fall asleep. We did our normal morning routine, got on the road, and stopped at Wallmart for some new colored pencils and highlighters (Oh the simple things my kids enjoy!!). We are headed for Nebraska !!

Our poor car is getting pounded with crazy weather!!

UTAH

2011-07-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

July 11-12….We drove into Utah on Monday afternoon. We were out on some remote roads and were still chasing many crazy weather clouds. For the record…Mommy and Allie went potty on the side of the road 5 times today (we even made up a little song about ourselves). When you are in the middle of no where for 300 miles, you gotta go. We pulled into Moab, Utah around 4:00. The kids really wanted to swim and since they did excellent in the car, I let them get dressed and head to the pool. Andy and I were hashing out what we wanted to do for the evening. Daddy wanted to drive to the Arches National Park, but mommy didn’t want to get in the car again. After a small debate and some research we thought of a plan. We read about a cool bike trail through town that runs along a creek and ends at a “beautiful” new park. It sounded very nice. The plan was to pick up dinner on our bikes and head to the park. I got advice from the hotel agent and we were off on our bikes. The clouds rolled in and the rain soon started along with some thunder. We were all soaking wet, but decided to go along with the plan. Our journey to find the trail was quite interesting. We were going through a very run down neighborhood with dogs barking at us and many random items in front yards. We finally stumbled on this trail that ended up being not so pretty. It was full of graffiti and there were some people walking on it that weren’t quite the type I would want to be around with my kids. So…..it’s still pouring and we exit the trail and decide to take side streets again. We get to the hamburger stand that the hotel agent said, “oh, best hamburgers in town, you gotta go.” The place was closed and even if it was open, I don’t think we would have chose to eat there…it was ghetto!! So, we ride our bikes back to the main street, just to feel safe again. As we rode through the pouring rain we found a nice restaurant for dinner. We enjoyed a yummy dinner in our wet biking clothes and then went in a few souvenir shops to find a Utah treasure. After that we rode back on our wet bikes to the hotel and took warm showers. It was quite the adventure in Moab. In the morning we will head to Arches National Park!
July 12…we woke up to sunshine (yeah)!! Andy and I each did a quick run at the hotel, got ready, and headed to Arches National Park. This was an awesome place. The kids were very excited to see all the amazing rock formations. When we would get out of the car they would just run, run, run. We did a short 1 mile hike to see the north and south windows. Andy took the boys on another short hike while Allie and I waited in the car. Miss Allie likes to be carried everywhere and it was quite warm out, so we opted out of the second hike. It was a great morning and we enjoyed doing our sight seeing first thing in the morning before our drive. We left Arches and headed for Colorado!!

ARIZONA

2011-07-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

July 9-11….We arrived in Kingman, Arizona on Saturday evening. It was a lovely 112 degrees when we got into the state and there were bad thunder and lightning storms. We got settled into our hotel and let the kids swim. Thankfully grandma had brought us a bunch of food at Hume Lake, so we just had a nice dinner by the pool. Sunday morning we woke up and headed for the Grand Canyon. It took about 3 hours to get there. We spent 2 hours at the park looking at the canyon, eating lunch, and watching a movie at the visitor center. The Grand Canyon was an amazing sight and almost looks pretend. Once again my kids were very interested in watching the squirrels instead of the canyon. From the Grand Canyon we drove about an hour to Flagstaff, Arizona. It was fun to drive along parts of Historic Route 66. We went to pizza dinner in downtown Flagstaff. It was a neat little downtown area with many old buildings and a very old train station. The kids got treats at a Sweets Candy Store and then we were headed back for some swimming time. We woke up Monday morning to a very grouchy Allie, so we took our time to get ready and then finally made it into the car, got some Starbucks, and it was off to Utah!!

On the Road

2011-07-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

July 9, 2011…we left Hume Lake at about 9 am and we are off on our next journey. Arizona will hopefully be the final destination for the day. The morning started off rocky. Things were not fitting in the car the way mommy was hoping (way too crammed) and we were all a bit grouchy. We had decided last night that one of our goals for the trip would be..”the VandenAkkers don’t complain” So mommy tried to put on a smile and get excited about our journey ahead. We got on the road and Allie started complaining of a tummy ache and then about 15 minutes in Luke said he didn’t feel well and proceeded to throw up. Of course he is the child in the far back corner of the car. He got throw up on Andrew and Andrew’s backpack as well as the box of coloring books and activities. Andrew was screaming and crying because he was so grossed out. We got pulled over to the side, I crawled back and cleaned up the mess, we got Luke new clothes down form the bag on top of the car, and then we were off. Thankfully Allie decided to take an early nap so we had a peaceful ride down the mountain. We are headed through the dessert….eating lots of snacks and making frequent bathroom stops. Let the road trip REALLY begin!

This is my reaction to...it's 112 degrees, I just drove through a crazy wind, rain, thunder, lightning, flash flood, you can't see the road, no one else in the car can talk kind of storm. I picked a great time to get off kid duty in the back seat!!

HUME LAKE FAVORITES

2011-07-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

We have been refreshed and had a great time at Hume. I feel like our hearts and spirits have had a chance to breath and feel renewed. We have had many wonderful memories up here and I think we will make it a goal to come up here each summer for a week. These are some of our favorite memories…
- lazy afternoons letting Allie take a nap, reading in the room or on the upstairs porch, letting the boys play at the creek (just the two of them…love having brothers ☺)
- quiet times reading by the lake with Andy
- enjoying a few too many milkshakes together
- watching my boys in church see all the staff worshipping and praising Jesus. They had watched these kids (college ages) all week work in various areas of the camp and then to recognize them in church and see them praising the Lord was so neat and such an example to my little ones. There was one guy they had seen lifeguarding the pond and doing the Blob. They had also seen him the night before in a staff event wearing a bright green unitard. This morning in church he was on stage playing the bass guitar and he was worshipping with his whole spirit. The boys were excited to recognize him and I appreciated the example he set for my boys. This place is filled with so many good people that are great to have your kids around. I loved the atmosphere it set for Andrew, Luke, and Allie.
- Riding bikes through camp with no place specific to go…just exploring
- Some great “mountain” runs with Andy
- My boys running into our room one afternoon telling me they found a bunch of worms so they put them in a cup and they were going to make compost. Andrew was digging through the trash to find things to feed the worms in the cup. They were on cloud 9 about their “compost”
- Going to the general store to buy a treat….just because it was fun
- Writing out the Lord’s Prayer together and hanging it on our wall to memorize
- Watching the annual Hume Hoe Down games
- Listening to Allie sing one of her songs from Huckleberry house over and over again…”I’m bringing home a baby bumble bee…won’t my mommy be so proud of me” and “We are the berries, the mighty mighty berries, the huckle, huckle berries.”
- -the boys discovering their love for Frisbee golf, Luke even spent his souvenir money from grandpa and grandma on his first disc
- July 4th – finishing a difficult run with Andy…1 mile warm up, interval run/walk up a one mile hill that climbs over 1000 feet in elevation (reached 6500 feet), sitting on the top of the mountain (Inspiration Point), praying together, enjoying the amazing view, running down, taking a side trail to see “the Little Brown Church” tucked up in the mountains, finishing strong together….a 4 mile day that was challenging but great to accomplish together!
- Family PJ Party the night of July 3 – the kids wanted to have a PJ party so we planned the day before what we wanted to do. Sunday we took a trip to the General Store to find a treat for our party. Donut holes were the treat of choice. At night we all got in our jammies, spread out a sheet, ate donut holes, and played Skip-Bo Junior. We ended our night with some books and then it was off to sleep.
- 4th of July Parade – At 3 pm on July 4th some of the cabin owners and full time staff do a parade. My boys didn’t want to participate so we just watched. The HUME fire trucks lead the parade and then most people decorate their golf carts or quads (A little fancier than our Magnolia parade). My favorite part was Andy. Before it started he jokingly said maybe this will be like a parade in the old days and they will throw out candy. Well….sure enough the first golf cart started throwing out candy. Andy was so excited and of course the kids were too. They got quite the candy collection from the parade.
- 4th of July thunder storms
- coloring with all my kiddos in our room on a rainy afternoon
- watching the kids feed a gopher down by the water. Luke was the “gopher whisper” He would tap his knees so the mole would come. He would say, “here buddy, buddy.” As he would stick a long piece of grass in the gopher’s hole, the mole would nibble away at it.
- Talking in our room at night. One night Andrew was full of questions about random things in life (homeless people, Andy and my first cars, the people who lived in our house before us…) I loved just sitting and talking together!
- Allie having a Justin Beiber sighting during the high school opener. She was so excited to tell TT that Justin Beiber was here singing “Baby Baby”
- Our friends the Urke’s live at Hume and they had us over for a yummy dinner one night. Allie loved playing with their daughter and we all enjoyed a break from the café food.
- Enduring a huge rain storm one afternoon. For about an hour it poured causing major flooding and mud all over the place. We would have gone puddle jumping if we hadn’t juts got all showered
- A very fun visit with TT and Uncle Jesse. The kids were so excited to show them around camp. They also told the kids about their new baby! We are so excited for them to become a daddy and mommy.
- More fun visiting with grandpa and grandma…..relaxing, playing games, having milk shakes, and hiking around the lake
- Enjoying our last night at camp….the boys were in the Day Camp parade, Allie got to go on a hike at Huckleberry House, Andy and I went on a bike ride around the lake, and we ended with a family talk about the rest of our trip around a fire pit by the lake!

Buck Rock Lookout

2011-07-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, July 6 we headed to the Buck Rock fire lookout. Allie stayed at our friend’s house at camp, which made the trip a lot easier. She had a great time playing with her new friend Aubrie and she thought she was so special to be having a play date. We drove about 20 minutes to the lookout and thankfully the fire gate was open so we could drive almost all the way to the lookout. We had a short hike and then we started our trek up the 172 stairs to the top. Although a little scary climbing the stairs up the side of a rock, the boys did great. At the top we enjoyed amazing views of the canyon and surrounding area. A ranger was in the lookout so we got to go inside and see how she lives up there on top of the rock. It was very interesting. There are only a couple lookouts like this in the whole world, so it was very neat to experience it. After a visit we made our way down the 172 stairs and hiked back. It was our 9th Anniversary and we celebrated in a different way than we ever had….climbing to 8,200 feet together!! It was a fun morning with the boys and Allie had a very fun time back at camp!!

A Little More HUME..

2011-07-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

2011-07-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

One of those days....

2011-07-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

July 1, 2011…so it was “one of those days” I promised some of you that I would write about our not so pleasant times on this adventure, and July 1st was our first “unpleasant” day. Here is what the day looked like…..
We got to bed late the night before and then Allie had a bad night’s sleep (the kids have all been sleeping great here, so we were fortunate that this was her first bad night of sleep). We got ready, ate a quick breakfast, and got in the car. We hadn’t been in the car for 5 days, so I thought the kids would be just fine. Our plan was to drive out to the Sequoia National Forest, which is about 40 minutes from Hume. As soon as we got in the car Allie was asking for “Baby, Baby” (Justin Beiber). We got her song going and she was singing away. As soon as her song ended…the screaming began…”I want Baby Baby, I want Baby Baby.” We had agreed before the trip that we would listen to all the songs on a CD and not continue to repeat the same song over and over (mainly for dad and mom’s sanity). So she kept screaming and screaming. We saw a patch of snow, so Andy pulled over to try and divert everyone’s attention. The kids jumped out…Andrew slipped on his butt on the snow, Luke didn’t want to take a picture, and Allie was afraid of the snow. So, I took a quick picture of Andrew and we hopped back in the car. Well…our 2 minutes out by the snow caused for some extremely muddy shoes. I am trying to corral 6 muddy shoes in the back of the car and get dirt off of six dirty feet while Andy decides he needs to go pee. As I am trying to get the six muddy shoes I feel my foot getting wet. My lovely husband was trying to go pee between the two car doors and unfortunately for me, my foot was not in the proper place. I start yelling at him (because I am disgusted) and he calmly says, “oh sorry.” So back on the road we got with muddy feet and a foot covered in pee. Allie starts screaming again, I threaten to have Andy drive me back home to Rocklin, and the boys are poking at each other in the back seat. I ask Andy to pull the car over. We sit and wait until Allie decides she is done yelling. She finally decides she is done, so we get back on the road. Finally a quieter car as we wind our way through the mountain roads. 10 minutes later Allie starts screaming again and wants to get out of her seat. A bird had pooped on her window and it was freaking her out. Bless daddy’s heart he pulls over again and wipes the window off. So…back on the road AGAIN. Mommy is just a bit grouchy and daddy is wondering where the Sequoia National Forest is. Finally we see the sign for The General Sherman Tree. As we drive in the parking lot I read the sign that says, “Highly Populated Bear Area…cover all food in your car.” We park, get out of the car, and as we are walking to the bathroom Luke announces, “I brought the graham crackers with me for a snack.” GREAT…so now we can be the tourists that get attacked by a bear. Andy grabs the box to carry and we start our walk to the giant Sequoia Tree. Luke starts crying because he claims to be freezing, but really was afraid of the bears. Finally we reach the General Sherman Tree (the largest tree in the world) and the only thing our kids are concerned about is the tiny chipmunk running around (see his picture below). We literally have to pry them off the rail to get a family picture in front of the tree. Andy and I roll our eyes at each other and start the hike back to the car. When we get in the car we decide to drive a bit further into the Giant Forest. The kids were excited to see the giant Sequoias. The boys were counting them and after they got to about 20 trees Andrew announces, “Ok, I think I’ve seen enough Sequoias.” I couldn’t have agreed more with the boy. We drive our way to the tunnel tree, which wasn’t nearly as impressive as we thought and then it was time to get some food. No food was in sight, so I said please just start driving back to camp. Luckily on the way back we found a little store where the kids picked out a small souvenir (another time that I just need to “release” and let them pick out what they want…a tiny stuffed animal, a rock, and a Frisbee..wow…would not have been my choice!). After it took Andrew a good 20 minutes to make a decision we found the kids lunchables in the store and checked out. We ate outside and then got back in the car for our trek back to camp. Thankfully miss Allie fell asleep and the boys were chatting in the back. Andy and I sat quietly listening to our music. We attempted to go to the Buck Rock fire lookout on our way back, but the road was closed (no big surprise after our day). We got back to camp and rested…daddy was a trooper and entertained the kids for a bit in the afternoon so I could rest. I had a bad headache (can’t imagine why) and then we headed to dinner and the kids went to their day camps for the evening. Andy and I enjoyed a quiet evening together with a milkshake by the fire overlooking the lake. Everyone crashed at bedtime and thankfully today has been a much better day. I can’t wait to put Miss Allie in the car again!!!

A Little More HUME

2011-07-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

Some more pictures from our time at HUME...a lot more will be coming when I discover a hotel with fast internet! We are in Arizona tonight and headed for Utah in the morning!! Lots of road trip stories to come :)

STOP #1...HUME LAKE, California

2011-06-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

Our first stop for a 2 week time period is HUME LAKE. This is a very special place to us and, I especially have many fond memories of HUME. We thought it would be a great place to go to be in the mountains to enjoy God’s creation and just relax without much of a schedule. We arrived Saturday afternoon. I have to admit, even though we were loving everything about Hume I could tell we (mostly Andy and I) were struggling with the thought of 14 days with no schedule. In our hearts we knew we wanted this time to be about days filled with family times and no schedules. For us this is very hard, so it was a bit overwhelming. By Monday afternoon I think we finally got in the groove. We started slowing down and just letting the days happen. My kids are in heaven. Our lodge room is very nice and it backs up to the junior high camp. There is a small creek out back that my boys have already spent countless hours playing in. We ride our bikes all over camp, swim, watch all the “big” kids do the “camp thing”, eat yummy food (that mommy doesn’t have to prepare!!), eat lots of ice cream, and enjoy some quite afternoons in our room reading or playing games on the deck. This week is extra fun because our old church is up here, so we see many people we know as we go about our days. In the evenings the boys have been going to day camp and Allie goes to Huckleberry house. They love the activities they get to do and Andy and I enjoy a couple hours of “us” time. It’s amazing how much slower 3 hours up here goes than down the mountain. On Monday we hiked the 3 mile trail that goes around the lake. My little troopers made it and got to pick a treat out from the general store when we finished. Instead of food Andrew chose some cool 1980 sunglasses. That boy just keeps me smiling with his “style”, He loves his glasses and feels juts like one of the big kid campers. Today (Tuesday) we were spoiled with a wonderful pancake breakfast up at “inspiration point.” This is a place at the very top of camp that had breath taking views. The camp prepares a delicious breakfast up there and they have picnic tables for us to enjoy breakfast. After breakfast we headed to the lake for some canoeing. After an afternoon of swimming and an evening of watching the bellyflop contest my kiddos were pooped. Thankfully the campers had a late night chapel, so the grounds were quite. We took advantage of that and everyone was tucked in by 7:30. So we are settled into our beautiful home for the next 14 days and we look forward to many fun activities to come!!

We're OFF!!!

2011-06-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 25, 2011 was the day that we set off for our first road trip adventure. Bags were packed, activities were planned, lists were checked off, everything was snug into the car, dad and mom were excited and a bit nervous, and the kids were bursting with enthusiasm over our journey ahead. Our plans spurred out of a desire that Andy and I had to do “something different” this summer. Last summer was a very stretching and difficult summer with Andrew’s cancer and gram’s passing. We wanted to do something that got us “away” and gave us the chance to be together as a family, so we got to planning!!! So here we go….. 5-6 weeks of family time and many memories were about to begin!!

Summer Solstice

2011-06-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

We got the idea from our friend Rachelle, who lives up the street..so... because it involved planning a fun party...we DID it!! Tuesday was the summer solstice so we invited a bunch of neighbors, family, and friends over to our street. Everyone brought food to share and something to bbq. It was 105 degrees so we had a blow up pool or slip and slide on a couple lawns. The kids had a blast playing. We rented a snow cone machine and I took the kids to the store earlier in the week to pick out all the snow cone syrup. Everyone loved having a yummy and very cool treat! Andy filled up 100 water balloons and they were all gone in a matter of 2 minutes. Despite the heat we all hung out until dark. The kids ended the evening doing cannonballs into the muddy water in the blow up pool. Hearing them laugh was priceless!! We are going to miss all our family and friends a bunch this summer, so we were happy to have everyone together before we leave for our family adventure on the road!!!

Father's Day...

2011-06-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

We LOVE our daddy so much and we love celebrating him on Father's Day!! The kids had painted cards during the week and wrote about why they loved their daddy. Daddy bought some new running shoes for Father's Day..but he had to wait until they delivered them on Monday. On Saturday night Allie and I stayed up late to decorate the table. She loved helping mommy and she especially liked taking pictures of the table and telling mommy how to pose. On Sunday we made breakfast, gave daddy his cards, and headed to church. We enjoyed a yummy lunch after church at Chipotle and then relaxed at home for the afternoon. We headed to grandpa and grandma's house for a BBQ in the evening. We loved celebrating daddy, grandpa, and uncle John!

Our SECRET Treehouse

2011-06-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

We have been loving bike riding lately. Everyone is at great ages to go on rides around town and not get too tired. I finally feel like it isn't a huge production to get out on a bike ride. Last Saturday we went on a family bike ride and checked out the "mysterious" tree house the boys could see from the road. It is a pretty cool tree house that someone created out in a field near our house. So Monday morning we woke up and the kids and I made a plan. We packed for the day and headed to the tree house on our bikes. Each of the kids brought along a book and after I got myself up in the tree with all of them, prayed the boards didn't break while I was sitting up there with my 3 kiddos, we spent time reading. It was wonderful and such a fun setting to do some of our summer reading. Andrew has been reading through the Magic Treehouse books, so it was the perfect place to read together. After our reading time we rode our bikes to the gym for a picnic lunch and a swim. As usual we caught up with friends at the pool and had a great afternoon swimming. We biked home and I had three very tired kiddos who had gotten some great exercise for the day. They did about 4 miles on their bikes and swam for 2 hours. We are LOVING our summer days this year!!!

Lake Hike with the Gladdens

2011-06-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Joy and I took the kids down to the lake for our first Friday of summer vacation. We hiked one of our favorite trails and then let the kids play down at the water. They had a great time exploring, creating boats out of large tree logs, and collecting sticks. We love these kind of adventures with friends!!!

Am I BEAUTIFUL????

2011-06-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

oh my Allie...she turns to me the other day while playing with the swimming googles and asks, "I'm beautiful mommy." Of course you are BEAUTIFUL my girl...even in your silly googles!!!

He's Off to KINDERGARTEN

2011-06-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

We are so PROUD of Lukey...he is all ready for kindergarten. He finished up pre-school this week with a class party. Our whole family got to go, which makes Luke absolutely so happy! In the morning he was up like a big boy making his own breakfast (I love his independence) We got to meet him at school at 10:30 for an ice cream party and a presentation of his diploma. We have loved Mrs. Ralston and all the love and encouragement she has brought to Luke this year. She had the kids make handprint calendars and write poems about themselves. I love the thoughtful things she had them do, and they are special pieces of art that we will keep for a long time. I have loved watching Luke come out of his shell a bit this year. He had a great year with his buddies in class. Ryan and Sarah helped make his year AMAZING!! We are excited to see what kindergarten holds for Lukey James. He is excited to be a Ruhkala Quarry Cat next year with Andrew! We LOVE YOU buddy and are very proud of your hard work at school and the way you are a great FRIEND to others!

MUD RUN weekend!!

2011-06-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

We headed down south for our second year in a row to hang out with friends and run in the World Famous Mud Run!! We stayed in Seal Beach at grams house and enjoyed the beautiful beach and lots of yummy food. Friday night was filled with our trip to O'Malleys on Main Street for snacks and drinks. We then took a walk on the pier and the beach. Saturday we attempted to sleep in and then went to breakfast in the harbor. We spent the afternoon walking down Main Street and relaxing on the beach. We ended the evening in Huntington Beach for a fun dinner. Sunday we were up early and on our way to the Mud Run. Although we didn't all feel as well prepared this year for the run, we were determined to do it. Thanks to Christina and Kari we got many fun pictures of the course. They took many pictures along the way and it is great to have some pictures to look back on of the course. Thanks girls...sorry we didn't stop for pictures with you :) Andy and I ran together this year and I loved having him with me. It was fun to encourage one another and help each other out. We wanted to finish under an hour and we DID!! We got 59:21!!! Mark finished in front of us. After us came Mike and Dan, Sheena, Dan, and then Christina and Kari. We went back to finish with the girls and had a blast playing in the final mud puddle together. After the run we cleaned up and headed back to Seal Beach for showers. It was then back on the road back home! We are so appreciative to my family for watching our kiddos for the weekend. This is the longest time we are away from our kids, and although we miss them a lot, we always love some good adult time wit friends!!

Oh Andrew...

2011-06-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well...this is the way our boy ended 1st grade...staying home from school!! Andrew took a very bad face plant the night before the last day of first grade. He was trying to jump over a ramp with his scooter the wrong way...and...it didn't end so nice. He has a big scrape under his nose and on top of his nose. His forhead was bruised and hurting and his teeth were very sore. I couldn't justify sending him to school, so we took one final "sick" day. He came with me to deliver teacher gifts when school got out and to say goodbye to his friends for the summer. HAPPY SUMMER ANDREW!!!

Donuts with his Daddy

2011-06-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Oh, I love my little Luke and the simplicity he has about LIFE. He had donuts with daddy today at pre-school and we was so excited. He was up early and ready to take daddy to school with him. He was full of smiles all morning. They had a great time in his classroom eating donut holes, bowling, mini golfing, painting, and playing with tools. Daddy loved spending some great time with Luke!!

Our SILLY Ballerina Performs

2011-06-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

Allie had her first dance recital this week. She has been very excited about it. She felt it necessary to sit in her pink camping chair for her pictures. She was smiling great, even though she was eating her snack, so I was snapping away. I love how these pictures show her little personality. She did a great job on stage. She was a bit nervous and stuck her tongue out the entire performance. She was adorable!!! You know that you are a ballerina with two older brothers when you turn the flowers they gave you into a sword (Those pictures crack me up). Every ballerina needs a good dinner after they performed so we went to Red Robin to celebrate. Allie enjoyed a lovely corndog and fries! We had a fun night watching our girl!!!

We Love Scarlett

2011-06-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

Uncle Jesse and Aunt TT rescued this dog named Scarlett. They are doing a wonderful job getting her healthy again. The kids love her and have really warmed up to her. She was at grandpa and grandma's house the other night and we got to help take her on a walk. Allie calls her "babes"

CAMPING ADVENTURE!!!

2011-06-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

We just LOVE this amazing group of people. We are blessed to have them in our lives and we treasure our every other week meetings, our Sunday mornings together, and our visits during the week. These are the people who we laugh with, cry with, pray with, and learn to parent with. This spring we thought it would be fun to plan a bigger adventure than just a night at the park together….so, we thought about CAMPING!!! Over the next few months…people were convinced that camping can be fun, a campsite for 30 people was found, lists were made, people were still convinced that this could be fun, shopping was done, food was prepped, and cars were packed (every single inch of the car was packed). We headed all the way up to Placerville on Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend. We joked about only going 40 minutes away, but it ended up working out perfectly. We arrived first, as our boys were very excited to get there for the fishing derby. Grandpa had prepared a bunch of fishing lines for them and they were ready to fish. We got camp set up and then headed down for the derby. Unfortunately they didn’t catch anything in the competition but they still got a prize for participating. As the day went on our friends began to arrive and each family got their tent set up. We had bits of rain during the day, but the sun kept peaking out.. The day was lovely. It was filled with kids catching fish, kids learning how to fish, playground time, lawn chair time, and good conversations. By about 4:30 everyone had arrived and all tents were set up (6 BIG tents). We started prepping our hot dog dinner when it started to rain. Well…..it continued to rain all the way through dinner and for some time after. Everyone was hanging out in tents and at about 6:30 after learning that our tent was leaking, we decided to head home for the night. All the families except the brave DeJongs threw the kids in the car and drove 40 minutes home for warm showers and dry beds. In the morning the sun was out and we all met back at the campground at 9:00. Things had dried out and we went on with our day. After a yummy breakfast and a devotional time we started the day. More fishing took place, kids played mini golf, kids swung on the swings for hours (Allie Marie), they watched the goats, played at the park, did crafts, and enjoyed a whole day with no agenda (SO LOVELY). We had a yummy taco salad dinner and then roasted marshmallows. We finished off the night at the campground karoke night. It was a time of good laughs and interesting music. We all nestled into our tents and attempted a good nights sleep despite the chilly weather. Monday morning we hung out for a bit, let the kids play, and then packed up and headed for home. We survived the adventure…all 12 adults and 18 children (aged 7 and under)!! I just love seeing my kids when we are camping. They LOVE it and they are so happy. They all love the simple things that come along with camping and being outdoors is just about their favorite place to be. I love watching them interact with their friends and laughing with each other. Thanks FRIENDS for a wonderful weekend…..even if we did get a little wet!!! We missed you Corsons and Frosts!

Andrew's Birthday Day

2011-06-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

On Andrew's real birthday he woke up to his decorated table and one of his favorite breakfasts of egg sandwiches. He got a lego box filled with some goodies (mentos, tennis balls, and new undies :) He headed off to school and after lunch I brought over his favorite home made ice cream sandwiches for his class. Mint Chip was a hit with all the kids. In the evening he had a musical performance at school and then we headed to frozen yogurt with grandpa, grandma, and aunt Jamey. It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed being outdoors together. We love you Andrew!!! You are an amazingly strong boy, passionate about life, and a very tender hearted! Happy 7th Birthday!

Lovin' Photobooth

2011-06-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

Lukey's Field Trip to the Zoo

2011-06-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Lukey's class headed to the zoo for their end of the year field trip. We let Andrew miss school so he could join us for a fun day. We enjoyed our morning with good friends and Luke was very excited that our whole family was there with him. I just loved seeing him smile throughout the whole morning as he ran around with Ryan and Sarah. After the zoo grandma and TT met us to take the kids to Fairytale Town while daddy and mommy had to head to the doctor for a biopsy for mommy. They had found 2 masses the day before and needed to biopsy them. Once again we were so thankful for our family who loving took our kids for the afternoon and made a very special day for them. Thankfully the procedure went well and everything came back benign.

Andrew Celebrates "7"

2011-05-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

Oh my Andrew..this year of being 6 was a stretching and challenging year for you. I am very excited (but also sad) that your 7th Birthday has arrived. I can't believe that you are already 7...We celebrated on Sunday afternoon at a local park with some of his friends from school, church, and our family. The boys rode scooters, climbed in trees, and played sports. They are an easy group to please. We had sandwiches for lunch and a bunch of Andrew's favorites (powerberries, snap peas, Whoppers, and Gatorade). They played a game of soccer and divided teams up by "shirts" and "skins". Of course our little Allie decided to be on the skins team, unlike her brothers. She had no problem getting out there with the boys. She is one crazy and confident girl. It was a beautiful afternoon at the park and I always love watching Andrew play with his friends. Happy Birthday Andrew baby...I love you lots!!!

Allie turns 3

2011-05-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Allie's birthday on Friday night May 20. We are going to be camping on her birthday so we celebrated early. We had family, neighbors, and friends over for cupcakes and activities. Allie has been talking about her "titty" party for months. We loved hearing her talk about it. I'm not too into cats, but we found some cute kitty stuff. We made her playhouse into a kitty and dog hospital, painted wooden kittens, played with flubber, and with ice sculptures. Allie loves playing with all the bigger girls who are Andrew's age. Andrew's baseball team ended up having a playoff game at the same time of the party, so daddy and Andrew had to miss the party. We missed them, but were very glad that Andrew got to play in his last game. Allie loved opening gifts this year. She kept saying, "sit down kids, it's my birthday." She also stood on the picnic table showing off every gift. She had to make sure everyone saw her gifts. We had a great evening celebrating our little girl. She is at a very fun age and we are constantly laughing at her and I can't get enough of her wonderful squeezes and kisses. Love you Allie Marie!!!

Happy Birthday Dinner

2011-05-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

Friday night we headed to Skipolini's for a birthday dinner to celebrate Andrew and Allie. We were having Allie's party at our house that night so we thought we would enjoy a nice dinner out. We gave Allie her bike before we left and the boys were very excited that their sister got a Tony Hawk bike that even has pegs. It was a relaxing dinner outside on the patio with my family!

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

My sweet hubby and kids spoiled me again this Mother's Day. We went to Plutos for dinner on Friday night to celebrate. Sunday morning Andy and Luke made me homemade crepes and brought them to me in bed. My favorite part was...Luke runs down the hall to ask what I want on my crepe, so I say butter and jelly. I hear him run back down the hall and say, "dad, she wants butter and chili on her crepe." I laughed in bed, but continued to act like I was resting while my boys made breakfast. We then enjoyed a nice morning at church, went to Green Acres and Whole Foods, cam home for lunch, snuggled with my boys and watched a movie, and then had my family over for dessert. It was a very low key day, which was very nice. Our month of May is quite crazy, so a relaxing day at home is always great!! I love being a mom to my precious kiddos.

Girls Weekend in Vegas

2011-05-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

All the girls on mom's side of the family got together and did a trip to Vegas. Thanks to my mom and aunts, we had a great weekend. We flew out Saturday and all met up at the hotel around lunch time. Paul and Kelsey drove out from San Diego as well. We spent the afternoon on the strip and then headed to the Keith Urban and John Mayer concert Saturday night. There are some big Keith Urban fans in the family, so there was much excitement leading up to the concert. Although the concert was a bit shorter than normal, it was great. I think country concerts are so much fun!! It was late after the concert, so we headed back to the hotel, hung out for a bit, and then went to bed. On Sunday we enjoyed a nice brunch and then all headed for home. It was fun to be all together and to be able to spend time with one another without the kiddos. We are looking forward to our next girl's weekend trip!!

Our Little Pitcher

2011-05-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

Andrew has had a great baseball season and I have truly enjoyed watching him. We love our team, even though we haven't won too many games, we sure are cute!! His coaches are super nice and always encouraging. Andrew is very serious about playing and Loves it. He has had some great hits this year and part way through the season started pitching. He wasn;t sure he wanted to, but once he tried it, he really enjoyed it. We started "kid pitch" and his coaches gave him a shot at it. He did GREAT!! For being one of the youngest kids in his league did great. He has good control and pretty good accuracy, considering he just started learning. He gets to pitch one or two innings each game and is working very hard at it. Grandpa has taken him out to practice and he loves getting pointers from other people. As always my boy amazes me, he works very hard and puts so much effort into what he does. He plays baseball with a passion and you can't help but notice that he gives 100% to the game. I LOVE you little Pirate!!!

Guitar Boy

2011-05-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this boy...last week one day as we were driving he says, "mom, turn this song up I really like it." I turned up the Little Big Town country song called "Boondocks" and Luke starts humming along. When we got home and told daddy, he found the video of it on You Tube. Luke watched it over and over again and sings his favorite lines.... "you get a line, I get a pole, we'll go fishing in the crawfish hole, five card poker on Saturday night, church on Sunday mornin'"
He is so cute when he sings them. He got out Andy's guitar the next day and enjoyed playing it. Daddy took them on a trip to the music store where they fell in love with guitars and drum sets. We may a little musician on our hands.
My favorite part about Luke liking the song "Boondocks," is that it fits him perfectly. He loves the outdoors and would probably prefer to be in the middle of nowhere playing a guitar and running all over.

EASTER

2011-04-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Easter this year. After a wonderful church service and walking through a Journey to the Cross simulation, we headed to grandpa and grandma's house for the afternoon. We enjoyed lots of yummy food, an egg hunt, and some relaxing time together. The sun finally decided to come out in the afternoon, so the kids enjoyed the spa and a bit of the pool. Aunt Diana was with us this year and we had a great time with her!

Eatser Morning

2011-04-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures of my sweet kiddos when they woke up Easter morning to find their baskets. They all got a new book, a reading light, and some dive toys for the pool.

A Creative Last Supper and Egg Dye

2011-04-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

So...on Saturday of spring break we headed over to Folsome Lake for a little hike. We met up with TT and she joined us. The kids had planned a Last Supper as part of our Easter events week. We were a little off on our days, but we thought we would do it anyways. The kids planned the meal and Andrew wrote out the menu. I packed the lunch and we enjoyed it down by the lake. We also took our Easter Eggs to the lake to dye. We carried them out in a basket and the kids enjoyed dying them in the sand. It was great to have the mess at the lake. We had some interesting looking eggs, but the dying was done. It was a great morning and as always my kids love getting out to explore and be in nature!

Neighborhood Egg Hunt

2011-04-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Our annual Neighborhood Egg Hunt and Pizza dinner was successful. Friday night we gathered and the kids went hunting. They are getting a bit older because a bunch of them helped us hide the eggs, but then still enjoyed the hunt. We served pizza afterwards and the kids had a blast playing out in the street. My boys were very excited about helping hide the eggs. They woke up super early Saturday morning and got changed to go search outside for some eggs they think were not found. They didn't find anymore eggs, but they were adorable hunting around together for what they thought were their secret eggs. We had a wonderful evening with friends and we treasure these special times in our neighborhood!!

BOYS...

2011-04-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

When you are 6 1/2 just holding your Easter basket is no longer cool to do...it's much more fun to make it into an army hat and pretend your hockey stick is a gun. Luke joined in as well, but didn't want to get in a picture. Guess my days of little boys in cute outfits holding their little Easter baskets is over :(

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

We stayed home this year for spring break and did some fun things throughout the week. Aunt Diana was at our house for the week as well. Andrew had a giant playdate with 10 boys (it was a crazy scooter, soccer, snack eating day), we went to a fun spring event at church, drove up to Placerville and went to the Folsom zoo, and hung out with friends at the park for a BBQ. Although the week went by fast, it was nice to be home together and not have too much of a schedule.

Palm Sunday

2011-04-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

This year our great friend Christina put together a week long activity that led up to Easter Sunday. She gave ideas of things to do each day of the week that symbolized the week leading up to Jesus' death and resurrection. We enjoyed doing things with the kids that taught them more about Resurrection week. (thanks Christina) On Palm Sunday we made palm leaves and the kids decorated our dinner table. After dinner they wanted to have daddy ride their stuffed animal dogs into the family room so they could wave the palm branches at him. Daddy...being the good sport that he is, came trotting into the family room and the kids waved palm branches at him and yelled, Hosanna, Hosanna." It was very cute!! We had a fun week celebrating!!

Girls Night

2011-04-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

The first Friday of spring break daddy took the boys on a "Boys Only" camping trip. They headed up to Rollins lake to have some quality boy time around the campfire and fishing. I love my hubby for all the cute ideas he had to do with our boys. He wants to make this a tradition that they do together.
Allie and I stayed home and grabbed a quick dinner, bought a new princess movie, painted nails (and feet, if you are Allie doing my nails), and snuggles together. The next morning we did a garage sale with the neighbors. I had a great time with just my girl doing girl things. She was very excited to watch princesses and paint nails together. I treasure these times for both Andy and I with our kids!!

1st Grade SPRING Party

2011-04-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

The Friday before spring break I planned a SPRING SCAVENGER HUNT for Mrs. Gack's class. Andrew was very excited to share our family fun scavenger hunt ideas with his class. The kids got together in teams and each team had a fun name. Each team was given clues inside colored easter eggs that lead them all over campus. The kids were so excited to run around campus to find their treasures. We ended the hunt having a picnic in the quad area of the school. The kids enjoyed some spring time treats, fruit, and lemonade. It was a fun day with the first graders and kinders at Ruhkala.

Luke celebrates EASTER

2011-04-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Easter in Luke's classroom last Thursday. We had a brunch and the kids made a very fun craft that represented the COLORS of EASTER. Luke is always telling me that Easter is about Jesus dying on the cross, not easter eggs. I enjoy watching him interact in his classroom with friends and his teacher. Mrs. Ralston stopped to tell us all what a unique class this was. All the kids gathered around to read a story together and she said they do this all the time. There are 13 of them in the class and she said they will often all be playing together without any problems. Lukey is very blessed this year with a wonderful class experience!!!

PIGGY

2011-04-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

Allie loves her piggy and piggy loves Allie. We won't sleep without her and piggy goes lots of places with us. She always goes running with us. Piggy is very special to Allie because Andrew gave her to Allie when she was born. She is nearly the 6th member of our family...so I wanted to document her!!!

Dino Eggs

2011-04-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

We made these fun DINO eggs I found on one of my favorite websites (our best bites). We let them soak overnight so the kids were very excited to look at them first thing in the morning...hence the major bed head that all of them have. I love how cute they are in the morning!!