Christmas card spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are in a difficult phase of picture taking...they don't want to smile at the same time, Cameron almost refuses to smile...these are the pictures captured by our neighbor Chuck Martin. So grateful for his patience!
 



Love these boys!!

Happy Birthday Me!

Well, as some of you may know my birthday way earlier this week. This by far is the hardest "holiday" without my mom. She remembered my birthday in a special way, as any mom can relate. So instead of getting all teary eyed with you, i will lighten the mood with a little humor ....as i usually do in uncomfortable situations! So here it goes...Tuesday morning, my birthday, Tuesdays in general are out busiest day...our normal schedule was thrown off because aaron woke up not feeling well ( i doubted it a bit, that comes in to play a little later). He said his stomach hurt, riiiiight. Hurt too bad to unload the dishwasher.....but then he convinced me while blowing up the down stairs bathroom his stomach pain probably had something to do with gas pains :) ...I asked Eric to go up stairs and turn off all the lights and flush all the toilets (im sure you can identify with why) ...Eric went up stairs, then came down, jobs completed......? After a short discussion with Aaron we came to the agreement that he would stay home and see how he did, reevaluate when eric needed to be dropped off..."Normal Tuesday" just went sideways:
Aaron calls to me from up stairs "mom, the toilet clogged, who didnt flush it before i went?"
Me "aaron did you poop on top of what was already in the toilet?" "Eric, did you not flush the toilets?"
I headed up stairs to plunge the toilet...very frustrated at the lack of obedience of Eric and the awareness of Aaron to flush the toilet before he dropped his business in it! I plunged the toilet and a little spash of feces landed on my face in the process, gross. Aaron did turn the water off...way to go aaron! I decided that in leiu of putting my head close to the bowl filled with brown water i would just rinse the plunger in the bath tub directly behind me...great plan...not. For some reason, REALLY ...for some reason when we always use the bath tub NEVER the shower head, i turned on the water to get dowsed with the shower head pointed right at my freshly curled hair....Normal Tuesday......I was pissed at this point. Headed down stairs to yell at someone...all of them....get in the car, because of course this is the day im supposed to bring snacks and decor for my women's Bible study, that i CANT go to because i have a child that has diahreah ..honestly....so we went to ROth's and purchased the king cake for the Bible study, headed to the church to drop off, hoping no one would notice my sour attitude and half flat hair...Quick in and out (oh yes, i did cut a piece of cake for myself and take it to go, yes i did). We got home...and the boys fought...and fought...and fought...i had had enough. There were a lot of warnings and a few efforts to persuade their behavior by means of a wooden spoon...i decided feeling well enough to fight, may as well send him to school, so i did. Dropped them both off at 11:45, and headed home, fed Cam lunch and put him in bed for his name, and then I, took a nap myself, an effort to push the reset button.....it did mostly with my attitude, i woke up and  i started to feel an aura of a migraine...ran for the tylenol, and then realized i needed a caffiene chaser to avoid a full blown migraine....I packed all three boys to the local fast stop to get a 99c dr. pepper, i told the boys stayin the car ill be a minute. Aaron says "i dont feel well" so i think -here we go again, i dont feel good, but i feel well enough to fight with eric...sure aaron,- I say " wait here" I was quick, in an out in less than 60sec even cut in front of a man to give my dollar to Jim, the local petroleum transfer specialist, "keep the penny" and i was out....got in the truck....Eric "Aaron threw up! out the window!" sure enough aaron puked a huge pile of pink (strawberries) while i was in the store for 60 seconds...i am thankful not in the car, but gross, he did this while the people who live in the house right next to the fast stop were pulling in to watch...great, im the mom who left my kids in the car to go get a fix, busted, nothing like a little discretion in the way pink projectile out the window to out me on leaving the kids in the car....I headed home defeated and ready for bed time...yes it was 3:30pm...aaron says "see, now do you believe me?" (that he was sick)...yep now i believe you aaron. Way to go lael! start off a new year with a new low..then there is no where to go but up!
Don't judge...out!

Happy Birthday Eric!

We celebrated Eric's birthday on Friday! He and a few friends enjoyed pizza and Sundaes at Red Robin

Eric was star struck with his "GI Joe" uniform from the Gaines Family! 

This is his tough face!

The boys jumped it up at Super Bouce!

This is Eric showing you his dance moves to the song Happy from Despicable Me 2....

Chocolate cake for Breakfast! 

This is the difference from last year to this

Love you Eric!

little boys big wave take 1

Little boys big waves

Cameron was so cute playing chase with the waves, this is the video attempt at catching it. Listen for me warning bill that 'this looks like a big one" ....it was, and all of us needed a change of clothes! Missed teh sunset on the beach as i changed cameron in the cabin, but he pooped in the potty while we were changing him...so there is always a positive note....even if its stinky!

2014 off to a crazy start!

On January 3rd in the wee hours of the morning Bill woke me up with terrible abdominal pain. My dad came over to 'watch' the boys and we headed to the ER. Long story short 8 hours later he had his gallbladder removed! I am happy to say he has healed quickly and is back to normal! What we didnt expect was to shift his vacation time around to be used in January instead of the summer months! So we asked ourselves what would we like to remember about these next three weeks other than the organ removal! The pictures below are from the month of January. 

Boys got a rocket set for Christmas, they (including bill) love to set rockets off in the grass field near our house...this little "army guy" is enjoying it too!

 We decided with the regularity this might give our schedule we would potty train! Cameron was ready and has been doing great in this area. Bill was home with the boys and shortly after he took this picture of our proud pooper he set the book down (elmo potty trains) and stood up...some how, it still remains a mystery cameron pooped right on one of the pages....this book has not been the same since it's 'bath'

 I chose to show you this picture first to illustrate how quickly cameron bounces back! I went to take the first picture and cameron literally fell on his face mid click...then below you will see take 2 happy to be silly with his brothers! His one finger up is actually his attempt at a 'thumbs up'

 Cheese!We took advantage of teh beautiful weather and went to Tillamook for the night. THis was our first stop for a picnic. It was  a bit chilly in the shade, but still gorgeous!

 Aren't these boys cute! We are finally at a spot where everyone wants to smile together!

 Loved playing on the beach! it was 58 degrees!

 Below is the "after" picture of the boys (and me) getting soaked by a wave, i will try to post the video that is telling!

 Love cameron's CHEEEEESE!

 Our cabin was rustic and fun. The boys played Sorry with dad and we watched movies in teh evening. So grateful for our unexpected vacation in January!

 Eric is mostly silly, which you can see below, but in this rare photo he smiles with dad. love these guys!

 Several attempts at the timed photo, Bill has got it down!

 Bill bought flags to play flag football...i see neighbor hood games in our future!

terribly unpredictable blogger

Jana and Tharen have been doing  a wonderful job of sending pictures by phone almost every day....I would do this, but have such a terrible camera on my phone, im afraid any special detail would be lost in the graininess! I am going to try to just tell a story or post a picture, more often than has been the case...i will not check for typos, so i apologize in advance for them!
Today i walked in the door and heard bill reading Ramona to the boys. They are enjoying hearing him read this series, and me read the Narnia series in the evenings. Eric began to tell a story to bill, i wont go in to all the details, but he said "i was in the bathroom at school doing my business, then i cam out and got the hannatizer (hand sanitizer)"....that was the funniest part...he is always saying words that he blends inadvertently...it is soo funny! We finally bought a Christmas present for the INverso girls....The frozen sound track seemed fitting, since we were able to enjoy that movie together! I love the fierceness of the personalities, though at the time i thought the movie was a bit dark....the end was great example that true love is between siblings too! Idina Menzel sang many of the songs on the album...SHe has AMAZING PIPES! We saw her years ago (almost 10 cant believe it) performing with Kristen Chenoweth in Wicked in New York, it wasn't until years later did i realize how fortunate we were to see them together on broadway....REcently there has been battles at home, battles for the boys to take a shower, do homework, brush their teeth, flush, WASH THEIR HANDS, aaaaaannnnnndddddd....im sure there is more! First time obedience in their world is optional...love these boys, and they make me work in patience every hour of the day.

 

Happy Birthday Aaaron! Aaron turned 8! We celebrated at Pietros with lasar tag and friends! I love the picture below of Eric, He is giving his "I'm bad" face.

We have spent a lot of time with Football kids the last 3 months! These are a few that we had for a sleep over...it was nuts! Love these kids though, and they love their Coach Bill...i will occasionally get a "coach Lael" takes me back to a time when i could do that! 

 Eric and his buddies at church! Yay for doughnuts!
 Cameron a few days ago! Man this weather is great!

 This is Geoff! HE leads our small group, which is crazy! There are 30ish of us! 6 families with kids! Chaotic but fun. bill and i look forward to sundays!

 Happy Halloween! The little girls is Quinn. She is the daughter of our good friends Tim and Kori! Love the time we get to spend with them!

UPDATE!

The boys love football, it makes me a bit nervous in the house, but it's a lot of fun to watch....til someone gets hurt!

Cameron loves hats & helmets!

This was when we went to Christmas tree. Cam refused to smile, it was super cold!

 Eric's year to choose the tree!

 Dad and Sandy took us and the Inversos on a horse drawn carriage ride. We had a fun time, except for one of the horses having terrible gas! Spike and Major were their names...Major, for Major gas!

 Cameron usually has a fast bath, this was one where he got to play a little with dad. I love this picture!

 WE were able to get away for a few nights in February to enjoy the winter. Bill tried Cross country skiing for the first time, and was eager to try down hill after he found out he LOVED CC.

 Happy Birthday Eric!!!!

 We celebrated Eric's birthday with his first official party! He loved having all the kids over, the dads helped all the activities go great, kids had a ball!

 I asked Eric what kind of cake he wanted....he was (fortunately not anymore) obsessed with Angry Birds, hence the theme of the party! Making cakes is my favorite part in preparing for the party!

 Oh sweet Abigail! She was waiting patiently to show eric 'just how this bike bell worked' with  the chaos I didn't notice her, until Angie her mom 'helped me' :) Thank goodness for friends to help us parent when we're distracted!

 Dad and Sandy were helping us watch Cameron in and amongst the activity. He climbed up on the bench and before they even notice Cameron had his hands  in the cake. Notice my dad "bailing" before he got frosted!

 He's lovin it!

 The boys loved shooting a real bow. This was the back up plan to another game that didn't work out!

 So thankful for the Birthdays I have the privilege of planning and attending. Thank you Lord for blessings in our lives!

 Cameron loves his hats....helmets...

 Tis the season for baseball! Eric loves the social part of game, snack time is his favorite time of the game!  Aaron is starting to really understand the game. I'm that mom who yells with excitement at the littlest of successes!

I posted this picture because this is the last known where about of the right boot shown in this picture.  If any of you have seen it or know anything about it, please contact me! It's probably in the same place as this snack trap!

I am relishing in the fact that I can dress Cameron in whatever I want, and he wont complain. A stark contrast to Aaron who will not wear a particular color of blue jean for fear someone will laugh at him. Whaaat?! oh, the particular blue changes on a weekly basis!

Cameron loves to be measured on the growth chart...if im picking up socks in that general area he waddles over and leans up against it! 

 Love this spring weather and one on one time with Eric. He doesn't get nearly enough of it!

Bill's coworkers played donkey basketball agains Salem PD. We were able to go and take one of Aaron's friend Gabe. If you ask anyone of them "what was your favorite part?" they will answer "when the donkey took a dump all over the floor" yeah, boy humor....getting used to it, but still don't like it!

The boys are loving this business of riding on the gator! In the back is Nolan. He is the youngest of three boys, and loves being the 'big kid' to our boys! We enjoy having him around, he is a great help and always smiling!

Easter 2013! The boys were good sports about getting their pictures taken, below is the picture 20 minutes later, where they have changed into their comfy clothes...notice Eric's "new" digs...he loves this camo shirt and his 1980s jean shorts....

Eric loves his job of cutting olives for dad's homemade pizza!

Boys weekend! They had a ball with dad staying up til 11pm! I was grateful for the time to get away for the weekend!

 Grammy loves her buddy

This is classic! Big and Middle are out for the count...Little is messing with their cheeks while they sleep. Love these boys!