Six months in a Nutshell

Dear Kids,
I am really behind on my journaling about our lives.  I can't start a new year and not at least attempt to catch up on the last six months.

June (only the last week)
Garrett finished up with Burley the week before we did our family reunion.  That left him a week to play.  He went with Martin and Greg Hansen on a Bike tour.  They drove up to Seattle and then rode all around the San Juan Islands for the week.  He had a wonderful time.

 

 

 

July

This was the start of a new adventure.  Garrett started working at Yakima and only made it home on the weekends to be with us.  So we tried to have most of the work done so we could do something fun as a family.  It was hard to be away from our Dad but it didn't last long because we moved to Vancouver on the 21st of July.  Mom ended up doing a lot of the packing and you kids were left to play by yourselves.  You were great.  You played, watched lots of shows and loved playing orphan kids amidst all of the boxes under the stairs in the laundry room.  We did a lot of packing and preparing to move and we also tried to make time to play in our favorite places in Eugene before the move to Vancouver. 

I'm so grateful for a friend, like Brooke that is totally crazy enough to join me on an adventure like biking all the way to the dinosaure party.  It took much longer than expected but it was fun.  My other great friend Margaret had to come and save me too that day because I couldn't get back in time to get Jenna to a church activity.  I will sure miss all of our friends in Eugene.  We will also miss one of our favorite parks, the "Magic Kaboo" park.  The kids like to pretend that they are magical and can make the water come when they say "Magic Kaboo."  We also went canoeing with the Cottles and enjoyed Amazon Pool.

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

August

This was a fun and busy month.  We began to settle in to our lives in Vancouver.  Grandma did a lot of travel this month all around the country and Garrett even made a couple of short trips.  Mom was still working hard to get some exercise in without my running buddies.  So I got new one, you kids!!  You starting running and biking around the track at our new school.  We love Pizza and movie night.  We are also enjoying gettting to know our new area in Vancouver and so we went to the fair and you kids loved getting your faces painted. We also did a couple of fun hikes around some falls and ended up swimming in the beautiful but COLD stream.  

We also got to do a trip down to Crater Lake again this year.  We got to do it if some of our greatest friends from Eugene.  It was a Four Family adventure, the Barnums, the Cottles, the Hansens and the Tomans.  We had such a wonderful time.  This year we hiked down to the Lake for another really COLD swim.  Luckily the sun was hot and so was he hike up and down so the cold water felt really good.

We also had some family visitors in August.  The Barnum family did a Family Reunion of sorts.  We weren't actually here ALL at the same time but it was fun to see everyone and spend some play time together.   I talked everyone into a bike ride down to Klein Line Res.  We took a picnic and had a great time.  Jeff and Johanna were visiting some friends so it was just Brian, April, Kricket and ALL of the little kids.  It was an adventure.  Brian and April are good sports.  Luckily we had enough cars and hitches to get this crew home in cars.  Going up the hill from the pond would be pretty impossible, even with the tough kids we have.   We decided to head for the beach for a little Surfing and sun.  It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast playing in the sand and ocean.  Uncle Jeff helped Cooper try his had at surfing. Jenna also gave it a try.  I was so proud of you for trying.  It wasn't easy and the water again was Oregon coast cold.  We also decided to make a trip to Estershort park in downtown Vancouver.  It is a fun splash park that we love to visit.  Taking cousins was even more fun. Calder and Cooper are two handsome boys.  I could also in vision this picture in 11 or 12 years from now with missionary suits on.  I want to take a picture every time we are together and see these two boys grow up together.  We also got to have a "picnic" down at the temple with Grandpa Barnum.  Everything with Grandpa is an adventure.  The sprinklers we on and the food was a little different but we had a great time.  We got to see the visitors center and the fountains.  We love Grandpa.

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 September
  This was a big month too with a lot of new adventures.  First things first, the kids started school.  Cooper is starting 1st grade and Jenna is starting 3rd.  We live close enough that the kids can bike to school. Everyone is excited but I know that Ryder and Trey will really miss these two when they are at school.  It hit me hard dropping Cooper off at school today.  I even cried a little.  I will really miss having him at home at least half of the day.  I can't believe how quick they grow up.  While Garrett flew off to who knows where to the Expo Cycle show we decided to meet the Adair clan in the Dalles.   John was running a triathlon and we wanted to cheer him on.  I also started teaching Early Morning Seminary this month.  I love it but it is a lot work.  Garrett also kept traveling.  He was gone 15 days in a row during September (Germany and Vegas).  Luckily my sister Cindy came for a visit during the second week.  She was really amazed that I was teaching seminary with Garrett gone and four little kids at home.

    

    Ryder had a birthday on September 15th.  Garrett has missed his birthday the last two years and that is always a bummer.  It does make his birthday stretch out a bit.  We usually do something special before Garrett leaves, on the day and then again when Garrett gets back.  He feels very special.

 I can't believe that my little Man is already Four.  He is so much fun.  He has a lot of energy.  He is sensitive and sweet.  He loves his siblings.  He misses Cooper while he is at school but is learning to play with Trey.   We did Angry Bird Cupcakes this year.  Check out that cute smile.  His smile and laugh are super contagious.   (Don't mind the outfit.  He was being Peter Pan or Robin Hood.)  

I should have made him change before pictures.  Opps!) Pink Scooter.  Pink is still his favorite color.

    Cooper had a birthday in Septemeber too.  On the 28th of September Cooper turned Seven.  He is growing up so much and is such fun.  He loves Soccer and Angry Birds and playing with his siblings.  He is an amazing reading and loves school.  He makes friends very easily and is really enjoying his first grade year in school.

  

  

 

 

  

  

October
    This month was a rough month.  It wtarted out with Garrett being in Australia  for almost 2 weeks.  So that meant that in the 5 weeks that I have been teaching seminary your dad was gone 4 of them.  It was really starting to take its toll on me.  I called my mom, your Grannie and was open and honest about how hard this was for me.  I wasn't sure how she would react but I told her I wasn't sure I could teach seminary anymore.  She listen and let me know that she definitely thought I should be contacting my leaders and let them know that I couldn't do it anymore.  I also let her in on our exciting news.  We are expecting a new little baby in May though we didn't tell you guys for about another week.  She was SO excited and this confirmed it even more.  I called my leaders that day and let them know that my life just wouldn't allow me to teach seminary any more.  It was really hard.  I love teaching seminary.  I love those kids.  I love the scriptures and love to get others excited about them too.  I hope someday that the Lord will give me another chance to do this.  I cried a lot but knew it was the right decision.  I was so thankful that I called my mom.  She was exactly what I need that day.
Who would have know that next week I would not have that chance again.  My beautiful mother, your sweet Grannie passed away on October 11, 2012 (10-11-12).  She was down in Logandale Nevada, visiting my sister Cindy and her family.  She just didn't wake-up that morning.  There is much to be said about Grannie and I hope that I can make a post all about her and what transpired during those next few weeks.  But since I can't do that justice in this post I will just say that the following weeks where filled with LOTS of tears, heartaches, headaches, family, remembering, viewings, friends, and a beautiful funeral.
    After that I don't know the month just was kind of blurry.  We tried to come home and get back in the swing of things but it was hard.  I was still in the first trimester of my pregnancy and wasn't feeling good either.  We did get to enjoy Halloween together though. Papa Lynn even got into the festivities and sent a picture of him dressed up too.

 

November

This month was also a little bit of a blur and I didn't take a lot of pictures.  We did manage to get outside and enjoy the fall weather and play in the leaves.   Trey and Ryder love riding their bikes.  We took advantage of nice afternoons and let them ride to pick up Jenna and Cooper after school.  Trey has taken over the "strider" and is really getting good at riding it fast and balancing.  Ryder has a hard time keeping up because of the training wheels.  He could definitely use a balance bike too.  He chooses to ride his scooter some days too.  We also finished up another soccer season.  It was a hard year in soccer because of the new league we tried.  I think you kids had a great time and we made it through.  Dad was Cooper's coach this year and since he was gone almost half of the time, I got to be a soccer coach for the first time this year.  We also manage to pull off some family pictures this month.  I have been trying to get them taken back when we lived in Eugene but it hasn't happened.  So we went out in the front yard and I snapped some pictures of you kids and Grandma B took some of the family.  I actually love how they turned out and I am SO glad I did it even if it was much later than we like to do it. (Jenna is 8 almost 9, Cooper is 7, Ryder is 4, Trey is 2.5)  I love this last one because it shows all of our kids' personalities so well.

Ryder - that sweet sensitive guy

Jenna - our loving mothering sister

Cooper - the guys that doesn't get his feathers ruffled

Trey - the one that gives us a run for our money almost daily!

    Thanksgiving came around this year and Jenna and I were able to go back to the original Starbucks from when she was little.  We go to some Starbucks type place every year on Thanksgiving morning. This year we did it a day early because we knew we were going to be out of town.  Jenna was excited to go back to the original place.  We always have a great time and it is fun to have this tradition with my daughter.  It started back in 2006 when Jenna was almost 3 and have continued the tradition from there.  I have included some of the pictures of that traditional outing.  We often have gone in our pajamams and end up dancing to the music!   I can't believe how much my girl has grown up.  I sure do love her!

    John and Bethany invited us to Hermiston for Thanksgiving this year.  It was so fun to be with family.  We loved doing "Just Dance" on the Wii.  We had great food, the kids had fun with cousins and we even had a couple of adventures.  We went to a park, on a hike, a bounce place and even out to see some Christmas lights and a parade.  It was fun.

               

  

  

December

Christmas is always a good way to end the year.  There are so many fun things to do and we love spending time as a family.  We also got to spend tons of time with family and that is such a special treat.  Here is our Christmas season in pictures.   We love to go to the tree farm every year to pick out a tree.  This year we had a lot of opinions which made for a little bit of trouble picking out the tree.  We had a great time and found a beautiful tree.  

       

    We had a quick visit from my dad and brother Roger at the beginning of December.  It was so nice to have them come and see us on their way to a week of golf on the coast.  We love visitors!  

     We took the opportunity to go and see Santa at the ward party this year.  The kids have been good and I am sure that Santa will bring them the thing that the ask for.  Trey was a little distraught when we left the church because he didn't have his "Buzz."  He thought that Santa was going to give it to him right then.  We then had to explain that Santa now, was going to make it and bring it back on Christmas Eve.  We had to continue to explain this because we keep running into Santa this year.  :-)  

    You kids really hate to see Daddy leave in the mornings.  You hang on until the last minute and then have to go to the good-bye window and/or door and shout out how much you love him and are going to miss him.  And then someone usually asks if you guys can do wrestle time when dad gets home.  I think Dad hates to leave us too.   We tried to do some sort of fun activity everyday during December.  One of those were these cute Christmas jars.  You guys were so good at making them and they turned out SO cute.  We gave them to friends and teachers for Christmas. Grandpa Barnum took sometime on one of his days off to take me and the kids to OMSI.  That is really fun and I love to see the kids explore and learn as the play.  Brian and April were able to come and visit for Christmas.  It was fun to have them join us for our Christmas Eve festivities.  We decorated cookies and Ryder used the sprinkles for a microphone to sing.  Garrett alwasy says to be generous with the frosting but this year Trey was generous with the sprinkles!  You kids got new sleeping bags for Christmas Eve gifts this year.  It will be fun to go camping in them this summer but until then we will probably have some nights we can use them in the house.

    

    Christmas morning came early but not too early.  The kids do pretty good about being waiting.  Cooper even read for a while.   The played on Dad's IPAD and when everyone was up and dressed and ready for the day we headed out to see what Santa brought us.  We don't have stairs this year so we did our own creative stairs pictures.

    

 

  

  

  

  

 

 

   Trey got his BUZZ!  He was so excited.  Ryder got a megaphone and a microphone. Cooper has his new Walkie -Talkies.  Jenna's Bongo Drums are fun. Grandma B, Brian and April enjoyed Christmas too. Ryder got a new Burley balance bike called the "mykick."  The oldest three kids got new bog boots. Cooper's new binoculars. I love my "Our Best Bites" cookbook and I got their new one!  Family fun with Jenna's new Lego set. We took the afternoon and spent it with Dad and that part of the family.  We ate, did a nativity play, and exchanged gifts.  It was good to be together.

 

  

  

 

  

The day after Christmas we headed over to Burley.  Soon after we left we hit snow but the drive wasn't bad at all until the last hour or so.  It was fun to be in Burley with SO many family members.  The kids LOVE spending time with their cousins.  I love being about to see my brothers and sisters and their spouses.  We stayed with Papa Lynn and that was wonderful.  I was really nervous about being their in Burley and not having my Mom.  It was hard and I missed her but it was comfortable and everyone tries so hard to host us that we had an amazing time.  We played a lot in the snow and one day Dad even took the three oldest kids skiing for the first time.  This was the day that my sisters and I went through my Mom's things.  It was a neat experience and I have LOVED having some of Mom's things to see and wear everyday.  One of my favorites is that I got her old scriptures.  I am going to try to read scriptures through my Mom's eyes this next year.  On the way home we had an unexpected delay because of closure on the freeway.  We spent the night in cold hotel room.  It was fun.  The kids all snuggled into their new sleeping bags on one of the beds.  We watched a movie and Dad brought in Chinese take out.   For Christmas I asked my friend Megan Knorp to design me a neat printable with my Mom's favorite saying.  She always said that "People are More important than things" and she ways practiced it too.  She was amazing.  I printed these off for my family and had it framed for my Dad.  I really love the way it turned out and hope that I can always remember that, "People are More Important an Things"