Christmas and The New Year . . .

  Christmas was so much fun this year with the kids. They thought everything was so magical. We had fun getting the tree this year. We initially went up into the woods to cut down a wild authentic Christmas tree. Then quickly came to our senses and decided to get a nicely groomed tree. The kids both helped Jordan out putting the lights on and then decorated the whole tree themselves. It was amazing! They worked together and used a step ladder to get the high spots. It was our best Christmas tree yet. Our Christmas light outing was a bit disappointing. I'm amazed at how many people don't decorate for Christmas. It's so sad. The kids both got a Gingerbread house to build. And Austyn brought home the cutest ornaments she'd made from school. We had a couple Christmas parties that were super fun. But I think my favorite memory of this Christmas was when we went to visit Santa and Austyn said in her sweet little voice, "Santa, may you please bring me a surprise!?" His eyes were so shocked and you could just tell that she had made his day. Like always, the kids as well as Jordan and I got completely spoiled. 

We went whale watching a week ago and weren't able to see any. But we had an amazing day anyways with my Dad and GG. GG treated us to a trip to the Sea Lion caves. It was so much fun. We went to lunch and the. Stopped by a beach for a few minutes. It was such a beautiful day. 

We also took a quick trip to the snow. It was also a beautiful day. We were able to just be in our sweatshirts. We had a picnic and just had a laid back time. 

  Austyn has been doing really well in school. Her reading has come so far, so quickly. I love watching her learn. She got to go to a retirement home to sing Christmas songs to the patients. And also went to a Church service and caroled as well with her Kindergarten class. It was so cute to see. She lost another tooth. Jordan was home this time and thankfully helped her out. Pulling teeth is like nails on a chaulk board to me. She is getting so big. I still can't believe what a great little girl she is. I can always trust her to tell the truth and have great manners. I'm thinking of putting her in swim lessons soon. She loves swimming and I know she would enjoy it. 

  Quade got really into Christmas this year. It was so sweet. He's loving all his new toys. He got guns, tools, knives, trucks, flashlights, hunting gear, and a bicycle. He is still on cloud nine. His tall tales have gotten even taller and he is just a kick to watch. He's absolutely an amazing boy. His new talent is to work on rigs with Jordan. He has his own creeper and Jordan gives him his own tools. It melts my heart. 

  Jordan started his Officer Development Program (ODP) as of the first of this month. So it will be like his Engineers program all over again. YAY!!!! He will do amazing. I have no doubt in my mind. As always he has a list a mile long of projects to do. He has also started the Firefighter Fitness Challenge again. He's always busy with something. 

  And as for me, I've never been so excited about a New Year before. I'm doing the fitness challenge as well. And with that, am super excited to see what I can do to my body in 3 months. I've also been going to the physical therapist again for my back. It was just constantly getting weaker and weaker. So Jordan finally made me an appointment with the lady he was using. She's amazing. And it's also fun that she's treating both of us. I've seen an improvement with my back, so that's encouraging. I'm really focusing on my health this year. I'm at a point to where if I don't take care of a few things, my future health will be not so awesome. So in as unselfish as I can, I'm going to try and focus this year on me. So I can be a healthier, better mom and wife for my family. 

  I hope everyone's Christmas and New Years was awesome. This year is going to be the absolute best!!

Surprise . . .

  So my loving husband decided to give me a surprise party for my 30th! Even though he knows, as well as everyone else, that I hate attention and big crowds. I thought it was very thoughtful of him to do that for me. We went Christmas shopping earlier in the day and then went to a movie. After that we headed home where I would find a garage full of family and friends! It was such a shocker and such a great feeling to have so many people come on my account. 

  I'm fully embracing being 30. Although it's just a number, I feel really good about it. My 20's were wonderful, as every age has been for me. But looking back I'm able to see how much I've learned about life and how much I didn't know. I'm in the prime of my life and I couldn't be happier with myself and where I'm at in life. I love that I'm able to stay home with the kids. I love that we live so close to family. I love that I went to school for something, finished, and worked in that field (although for only a short amount of time). I love all the struggles and bumps I've had along the way. I'm most grateful for those hard times because I feel like they allow me to be more thankful and appreciative for the things that come a little easier. I've really been reflecting on getting older lately and I think that I've learned the most from my parents and my kids. My kids have shaped and molded me more than I ever thought possible. I can say that before I had kids I had a quick temper and a very low patience level. I can now say that I am so laid back and patient because of my kids. I love the new me. I've had numerous comments made by acquaintance I randomly come across how much I've changed. Funny what these kids do to you. Hopefully one day they will understand that and have the same positive effects with their own kids. And not to say I haven't learned or looked up to other people throughout my life. But my Dad is one who stands out in my mind. I admire his work ethic and family values. He seems so wise to me and knowledgeable about everything. He is one of the most true people I know. I remember thinking that I wanted to find a husband as close to my Dad as I can. I hit the jackpot with Jordan. I just hope that Quade turns out to be like these very special and rare men in my life. My poor mom. Poor poor mom. What you had to go through those crazy couple years in high school. I hope to be as calm and wise as you when my kids go through those years. Looking back now, I can only imagine how you felt inwardly. But you always seemed so together and with it, when Chad and I had our bone head moments. Thank you for setting such a great example of how I want to be for my kids. 

  I can't wait to see what the future holds in the next 10 years. I just know it will be even greater than the last. Thank you to everyone who has had a part in my life, good or bad. Happy 30th Birthday to me!

Mimication...

  Lone Pine came to an end and the boys took off for Elk Hunting. So my Mom took the kids and I on a trip to the coast. The kids called it a "Mimication". We left Thursday after Austyn got done with school and headed over to Driftwood shores. When we got there we were informed that the pool was closed 😩. So we decided to head up the coast to Newport and see if we could find something similar there. We hit the jackpot! We stayed at The Halmark. It was absolutely amazing. It had a fireplace in the room and an amazing restaurant attached to the hotel. We had room service for dinner that night. It was soooo much fun! We swam and watched movies and had popcorn. The next day we played on the beach, went to the aquarium, walked down town Newport in our t-shirts, then headed back to Driftwood Shores for a night. We played on the beach forever since the weather was absolutely perfect and then went to the pool. They have the best kids swimming pool. Quade and Austyn had so much fun. It was such a great time going with my Mom and finally getting to relax and hang out with her after a long Lone Pine season. 

  The boys had a successful yet disappointing trip. They got an elk, but couldn't find it until the next day and the meat was bad by the time they tried cutting it up. It was so sad. 

  Austyn has started reading! It's so exciting to see the excitement in her eyes. It was amazing to see the moment when it clicked in her brain that she could read. And we've been readin non-stop ever since. So so cool. She picked up my Christmas list for the kids and started sounding the words out. It caught me by surprise as I ripped it out of her hand. Nothing is sacred anymore. 

  Quade is a crazy man. He is more boy than the last time I wrote a blog about him being incredibly all boy. He loves watching Old Yeller, he even says that he is the little boy in the movie. He creates the most imaginable stories lately. He is loving all things with wheels or guns and weapons. He has the most incredible amount of energy. 

  Jordan is doing No Shave November, so he has a nasty mustache right now. He works Thanksgiving this year, so we will be spending Thanksgiving at my Aunts and then go visit him at the fire station. Since Lone Pine is over Jordan has had a few spare moments here and there to finish up unfinished projects that have been waiting for him. He made Quade an amazing shelf for all this toys. And he helped me with a clock. He is working on organizing the garage right now. Seems like things just pile up a lot easier in a small space. We are use to the nice big shop at our old place. Jordan found an amazing deal on some fill dirt for our future shop site. We had hundreds of truck loads delivered and it looks awesome. We are so excited to be on the path of building a shop. It probably won't be for a couple years, but it's a start. Jordan's back is all better now. He is continuing physical therapy just to get proper body mechanics and continue his core strengthening. 

  As for me, I'm preparing to turn "30" in a couple weeks! Can't believe it. I'm loving the idea of being "30". Jordan on the other hand is struggling with the fact that he will be 30 in a few short months. It cracks me up. I had such a great time with the kids over Halloween. I'm so excited for Christmas with them! Jordan has me going to his same physical therapist for my back. My back has continually gotten weaker over the last year. I get so use to the pain because it's so gradual that I don't notice it until I really think about it. So I'm working on that at the moment. I found out that my pelvic floor has completely stopped working and the strength in my hips are a 2 out of 5. Not good. So I've got a lot of work to do. I'm not excited about the process, but it's time to start feeling better. Other than that, everything is going great as usual. Very thankful for our amazing life and that we are blessed in every way imaginable. I'm very excited for Christmas!!!

  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and and even better CHRISTMAS!  

  

  

Happy Halloween ...

  That's right, it's corn maze time! We LOVE this time of year. And we LOVE the time we spend at Lone Pine. Jordan is doing the maze again at nights and runs around during the day like a crazy man. Doing everything that needs to be done. Again our house looks like we have our own pumpkin patch from countless times going on the tractor rides. The kids have really enjoyed the night time action this year. We have our routine for the evenings. We eat dinner, put the goats away, Quade puts his mask on and gets his chainsaw and scares the people waiting in line, Austyn helps take tickets at the front, and Quade and I head into the haunted maze to play around. Quade loves loves loves the haunted maze. He thinks it is so funny when people get scared. I have gotten a few comments about not being the most responsible parent for having him in there, but it's different when he sees the behind the scenes stuff all year round. Oh well I guess. 

Quade took GG through the maze a couple times

Their festive attire

Just like Daddy

Jordan dressed up one night

  We had a costume birthday party last weekend so the kids got to try out their costumes. They loved it. So cute!

  For Halloween this year we are going to make our usual rounds and then Trick-or-Treat with his brothers family in their neighborhood. Jordan will have to take off early to go to the maze, so I will finish up with the kids in town and then head to the maze for the last night. 

  This Halloween season has been the most amazing year yet with the kids. We've done bobbing for apples, decorated (painting) pumpkins, decorated Halloween cupcakes, Halloween Jello jigglers, carved pumpkins, watched Halloween movies, read Halloween books, decorated the house, built a spooky gingerbread village, and we've dressed up Halloweeny as much as we possibly can. I also got to make cute little spider cookies for Austyns Harvest party at her school. 

  Austyn just finished her soccer season. She really enjoyed it. The group of kids and parents were a blast. She is excelling in school. I can't believe how fast she learns things. She really likes school and the kids that are in her class. Austyn was sick for a whole week with a nasty stomach bug which caused her to miss school that week. Her teacher is so amazing, she came to our house to give Austyn a get well present. I can't say enough about this teacher. She is truely amazing. 

Austyns soccer buddies 

Harvest party at school

Petersen Pumpkins 2015

Grandma and Austyn leading Brasada

  Quade is more amazing than ever. He is a non-stop chatter box. He tells the most imaginative stories. He is totally into anything gun, sword, knife, tools, or anything with wheels on it. He is in a super hero stage right now and has to always wear his cape. Picture him in his undies and cape running around the house with some sort of weapon in his hand yelling like a mad man. That is what Quade does 24-7. If he's not in the house doing that he's outside in his undies, cape, and rubber boots climbing on something. He is such a boy it blows my mind. My family and I have to laugh because even though we didn't know Jordan when he was Quades age, we KNOW they are exactly the same. It's so much fun watching Quade learn from Austyn. He watches her and picks up on everything. 

Quade got these ear pieces that look like spoons. He thought they were amazing. 

Classic Quade face

  Jordan's back finally got better. He is back to his normal schedule. He still goes to physical therapy once a week and tries to be careful with his back. He still has days where it is pretty tender. He was in charge of proctoring the testing for the engineers program while he was on light duty. He did such a good job that they are hiring him to come test people when they need help. He really likes it. He is also getting ready to go elk hunting next week. He will be gone for 5 days I think. Now that he's back on his normal work schedule he is enjoying a little time off during the week. He did 6 weeks of a 9-5 schedule with Lone Pine on the weekends, so needless to say he was a little burnt out. It's nice to see him once and a while. 

  And as for me, I have never felt so happy or complete in my entire life. The kids are at perfect ages to make everything we do fun. I feel like a real mom lately. I've brought snacks to soccer games, and all the fun crafty Halloween stuff we've been doing has just made my heart so happy. The kids can really participate and get into the projects. I've never really gotten into Halloween before, but this year is different. I love to see the kids light up with excitement when we put up a new decoration or do something crafty. I am so thankful for the opportunities we have and are able to give to the kids. I couldn't imagine any better of a life than the one we have. I get so excited looking a head to Christmas and how much fun it's going to be with the kids. I can't wait. I thank God every day for the blessings in my life. 

  I think that's about it for now. Elk hunting is the only thing we have planned in the near future. Have a safe a yummy Halloween!

5 Years in a Blink of an Eye...

  It happened, Austyn turned "5". She thinks that being 5 years old is the coolest thing. Where do I even begin with her Birthday post?! I'll start off with her Birthday morning. Jordan and I crate papered her door and put balloons behind it so when she opened her door the balloons would fall on her and she would have to break through the paper. It was so cute. She didn't want to take the paper down, so we crawled under it all day. 

She requested waffles, eggs, and sausage for her Birthday breakfast. So we decorated her chair and ate off of Birthday plates. We tried to make it fun and special. 

After breakfast we stopped by the coffee shop for hot chocolates before school. She got to take treats to school to celebrate there as well. After school I let her choose wherever she wanted to go for lunch. Of course she chose "Old MacDonalds". From there we did naps and she asked if Quade could sleep with her and I obliged (they did sleep). Soccer practice was next and we finished the night off with dinner at Abby's. It was a wonderful Birthday, I had a blast and it wasnt even my Birthday. I made a point to make it a "yes" day. Try not to tell her "no" about anything unreasonable. It definitely brought to my attention how much I tell the kids "no". Maybe I'll work on that a bit😁

Her Birthday gift from my parents. She loved her Wedding dress. 

Right now Austyn is playing soccer. She is doing so much better than I had expected. She had her first game and did amazing. She got knocked down numerous times and jumped right up and kept going. She is really enjoying it. I love it when she is interested in something. 

She also had been dying to do ballet. So for her Birthday we got her dance classes and the whole outfit (there is a lot to a full fledged ballet outfit). She was so excited about it. I'm not sure I've ever seen her that excited. And then she cried the whole class. I don't know what there is to cry about ballet, but apparently she found a reason to cry. She hated it. So we returned the ballet stuff and now we are into soccer. 

My kind of girl! We recently sold her pony. And she was very very happy about that. Since the fiasco at the 4th of July parade she has been terrified of Chocolate Chip. So we decided to stop torturing her and let Chocolate Chip go to a family that would enjoy her. It was a sad day for me, but I'm glad she is being used. She was too good of a pony to waste away in our pasture. Maybe someday she will like to ride. Kindergarten is a hit! Austyn thinks that having her own desk at school and her own school supplies is the coolest thing since sliced bread. She totally takes after me. I got more excited to get her school supplies than she did. There are 13 kids in her class and we are good family friends with most of them. It's going to be a great year for her. 

I can't wait to she how far she's come at the end of the year. Right now Austyn is into anything and everything girly, makeup, hair, nail polish, dress up, purses. I am impressed sometimes with her knowledge at her age. She will tell me how she wants her hair in the mornings and it will be something I've never done before and it looks so cute. She definitely didn't get that from watching me. She is so kind and thoughtful. She will help me out with Quade without me asking. Example: Quade won't eat (surprise surprise, right?), and she takes a bite of her food and tells him how yummy it is. Then magically he eats. She amazes me. I could go on for days about the amazing things she does. 

We are so lucky to have such an amazing, sweet, and caring daughter. I look forward to having a very close relationship with her and watching her experience life. I hope she lets me be a huge part of it. 

  

Fall Has Arrive . . .

  My my my, I'm quite overdo for a new post. I bet some of you are getting a bit impatient with me. So sorry 😁 Just busy wrapping summer up I guess. I left off with pictures of my darling children and husband during the Fesival this summer. They had a blast dressing up and dancing for those quick few days. I have to say I'm still blown away at how well Mr. Quade did through the whole thing. He danced twice a day and did perfectly. We were all so impressed. I don't know where that came from. I told Jordan that maybe dancing is his calling. Jordan did not like the thought of that. 

  We left the Festival and went on our horse camping trip with Jordan's whole family. So much fun! Weather was perfect, water was too cold for me, and the company was amazing. Can't wait for next year! 

Aunt Jessica making her famous and most delicious pie with the nieces and nephews

  We came home for a few days to restock the trailer and then we were off to the annual crab trip with Jordan's fire department. We stayed for 6 days this time and still could have stayed longer. Truely best camping place ever. Besides the fact that there was a fire ban during our stay and the Yellowjackets were bad. It was a major bummer. 

  We also made one last day trip of the summer up to the zoo. It was so fun. The kids loved everything and it was another perfect day in the books. 

Kids on the train at the zoo

  Austyn started kindergarten this year. She is going to a private Christian school in Junction City for this year and then move her back to Territorial next year. She is loving the new school and her teacher. I am so excited for her to have this great opportunity with this amazing teacher. I can't wait to see what she learns this year. She is signed up for soccer this fall. She has been dying to do ballet so we got her dance classes and the whole outfit for her Birthday! She's going to be so excited!! And she is also excited that we sold her pony. Sounds funny, I know, but she was terrified of her and had no interest in her at all. I couldn't stand watching her waste away, when I knew another little kid could be enjoying her. So we found a good home for her and everyone is happy. 

Austyn and Quade decided it would be a good idea to try Muttin Bustin. They loved it. 

First day of Kindergarten. 

  Quade has become quite the little story teller chatter box these days. She is nonstop talking and telling his tall tales of hunting. He is absolutely amazing. The most entertaining child I've ever been around. He is continuing to get better about controlling himself. He's pretty easy to talk out of his little tantrums now too. He still has his days, but so does everyone else. I will continue to thank him for teaching me patience. He has changed me so much as a mother and person all in good ways. I'm beginning to appreciate his really really really really rough stage. Like my Mom always says, "something good always comes out of something bad".

Quade getting ready to ride his wild sheep

  Jordan had the opportunity to hike the South Sisters with a few fire department friends. He went up the night before and stayed in a tent and then hiked all the next day. He loves stuff like that. They didn't luck out on the weather though, it was too cloudy to see anything when they got to the top. But he still enjoyed it. More recently, he injured his back at work and has been completely down and out for a week now. I've been having to put his socks on and off and pants too. He had an MRI and we will know the results on Monday. He has felt some relief from taking Prednisone for the inflammation in his back. But he's been absolutely miserable. We hope for continued relief and a good MRI reading. Cross your fingers. 

  Nothing new with me. I'm just getting ready for the Holidays! I love this time of year. I've got my Fall decorations out. And looking forward to letting the kids get a pumpkin everytime we go to Lone Pine. By the end of Fall our place is overflowing with pumpkins. I love it! Can't believe summer is over. It felt like a long summer (in a good way). But I'm ready for some cooler weather for sure. The kids are getting so big and changing by the minute. Every year gets better and better during the Holidays. The Christmas magic is so fun with the kids right now. I've started making Halloween costumes already and I finally learned after three years to NOT get the glittery tulle for Austyns costume. She is going to be a Witch this year and Quade will be a Firefighter. Pretty simple this year. Like always I'm off and on with exercising. But I guess some is better than none. Right? 

  Hope everyone had an amazing summer like us and continue to have a great Fall!!!!!!!!!!!!!