Pretty Creative...

This reminds me of the times when my kids were much younger and they would recieve a new toy for their birthday or Christmas. What did they do? They wanted the box more than anything and didn't play with the toy in its intended way. Here Hannah and Heather are building a "city" with all the different card games we have. They do play the games as intended but it's also fun to see how creative they can be with random stuff.

Their city was much larger but by the time I got the camera for another shot the dog ruined some of it.

Looks like someone took a bite out of this picture. Strange!

Dutch Blitz-i-tis and other wacky games...

One of the reasons I love fall so much is how it brings our family inside. We experience game "spurts" in the fall and winter, especially when it starts getting so dark outside. We love playing Dutch Blitz--it's very competitive and fast paced and we can spend too much time playing. Shortly after this picture was taken, I developed Dutch Blitz-i-tis--this means I'm getting too old to sit on the floor for long periods of time in this position without developing some sort of back ailment. For the time being, I'm taking a break from this game while my back heals. I really did injure my back almost 2 weeks ago and this probably added to it. Looks like we'll be moving to the kitchen table...

Look at the intensity!! I guess ya had to be here!

This is an example, one of many, how my kids play with games in the way they aren't intended. Hannah and Heather are using Dominoes to build towers and then see who could blow the other's over the quickest. Easily entertained...Of course, I thought I had the order figured out so start at the bottom.

By the time these pictures were taken, they were so lightheaded they were ready to be done.

They should really have a decent lung capacity since they are swimmers, but it's hard to blow and laugh at the same time.

They figured out they couldn't blow all the way across the table...

A Week With Westly...

This past week we had the pleasure of watching Westly because his regular daycare provider was on vacation, I think. The girls and I enjoyed him so much. The only time he cried was when he was tired, hungry, or poopy! Other than that, he smiled the whole time. What is it about babies anyway...we started calling him AJ (Ashley Junior). He looks so much like her and I discovered that's where he gets his smile--she smiles all the time, too. I've already missed holding him this week and listening to him jabber and crinkle the liner in his bottle as he's feeding...I offered to watch him again so Paul and Ashley could go on a date, but Ashley said I'd have to fight both sets of grandparents for him.

Caley trying her hand at another photo session...

I used to think that we should keep having babies so the older kids could experience caring for babies, but when would we stop that... and then we discovered babysitting opportunities and serving in the nursery. That pretty much has taken care of that!

Definitely loved by the girls...

Helping Caley with her math...

Cute and very smart...5 months old and flipping pages on his board books and pretty much holding his own bottle...did my kids do that?

Standing up between the girls...I guess I don't remember my girls doing this so early.

Beautiful baby boy...

We are finally done...well, almost...

This house has been a huge project over the course of the last few months. I am thankful we are finished with the majority of it for now. There are still little things to do--those are the hardest to complete because they are so small nobody would even know they exist except Russ and me. Picture the front door in vintage red and the grass healthy and growing and all the shutters up and touch-up done and..., and..., and...

Babysitting Cambria Steiner--Oct 2008

Anna took Dan out to dinner for his birthday and we had the wonderful opportunity to watch Cambria for the evening. Caley and Hannah had to babysit so Heather had her all to herself most of the night. I wish I could learn how to put these in order...oh, well. I couldn't decide which pictures to post so I posted most of them...Thanks Dan and Anna!



I remember my girls at this age, constant drooling and everything goes in the mouth, including the dog's leash...
Stinky diaper!! I was later informed, by Anna, that Cambria doesn't poop that often. That explains a near blow-out at 9 months old...Heather had nothing to do with this one! We had just changed her diaper, too...
Heather's favorite time of the night--putting Cambria to sleep in her lap.
Isn't she precious? Sure makes me want another...I'll wait for grandbabies though...

Caley working with the camera again--I'm not sure but I think they stuffed the blankie in her mouth to help sop up the slobber...
Hmmmm--Dan or Anna's????
Hannah--what a goof!
Sure looks like Micah...
Very sweet..sure made Heather's night!
The rest are Caley's pictures...
One of our favorites...
Another favorite...
This one makes me just want to smooch her chubby, little cheeks...
We had a great time and yes, Anna we would gladly do it again. Next time bring Micah and Josiah, too!

Doggy sitting Raw-lee...Sept. 2008

Caley volunteered to watch Rich and Erin Rowzee's little long-haired something overnight while they went to visit family. Isn't he cute? 12 weeks old and in the process of crate training. It was comical to see how excited Caley was until he wouldn't settle in his crate for the night. When she came down the stairs lugging him for the 1oth time to go potty she said, "I sure hope having babies isn't like this!" I could only laugh!
Very cute puppy and fun to play with...
Wow! Green eyes...something wasn't right when we took this picture...
The girls and Raw-lee--I'm not sure how the Rowzee's spell his name but I think my way is pretty creative...
This was right after the cute picture above--he preferred playing and terrorizing Peppie over being cuddled by the girls...
What a sweet dog! An accident free experience...at least where the carpet was concerned!

Favorite Memories From 4 Years Ago...August 2004

I came across these pictures today as I was deleting some others and thought about the fact that I don't need to post current happenings only. We had planned to go camping this weekend but, of course it rained. These were the days before our tent trailer. Kurt and Laurie Faville have a little (and I mean little) cabin in Florence, OR, that they graciously allowed us to use. No running water inside--a hose outside. No electricity so we used our propane lanterns and rats...the pit toilet was a bit of a hike, open on 3 sides. I always made the girls come with me even if they didn't have to go...

This is the living room--basically a 12x12 room with a loft...

Hannah at that time didn't mind slugs and bugs and snails...the girls were 12, 10 and 8 years old
This is the loft--we thought the girls would all sleep up there until they saw the rat traps. They were also fearful they would slip off and come crashing down on us in the middle of the night.
At the beach--Caley...
The cute little cabin...
On the way home...

They weren't sliding at all. We made it look as if they were.
They sure tried though--we thought those jackets were slippery enough.
Heather and her lone sand dollar...
Look how little Heather is!!!
We love the beach!