Christmas Tree 2010

 Dave took off work a little early so we could go pick out a Christmas tree from Klickers. The boys had fun running around checking out the trees. It was cold and really muddy and of course as I am trying to take pictures of Jax walking around he falls and covers himself in mud!

 They even have a reindeer which Colt thought was pretty cool. He actually understands who Santa and his reindeer are this year. Its hilarious explaining it to him, he asks so many questions!

We came home and decorated it right away, Colt loved helping put the ornaments on the tree and Jax liked taking anything that looked like a ball off the tree. We went out to a yummy dinner at Tiki Teriyaki (the boys were so good!) and then rented a movie to watch at home. Perfect end to a fun family Friday night!

Sledding

 The snow hit hard here right before Thanksgiving, the temperatures were below 20 degrees so we waited a few days before going out and playing in it. Poor Colt, I had not gotten him any snow clothes yet this year but luckily Kenzie had extras, his hands were freezing though.

 Dave leashed up the dogs to the sled and had the dogs pull the kids down the hill by Dave's parents house. Kenzie and I both thought it was a ridiculous idea but it ended up working out really well. Colt and Cam LOVED it!

 Here they come!!

 I think Sam did most of the pulling and Lakota just ran along beside him.

 I am pretty sure the kids would have stayed outside all day if we would have let them (well at least Cam would have, Colt's hands were really cold).

 Aunt Dee Dee took Jax on a ride by himself.

 He smiled the whole way down and waved at everyone around him.

 Auntie Dee Dee and Jax.

 Andy got a little more than he bargained for when he said to Randee at the top of the hill " Give me a push then hop on and we can sled down together" without knowing it Dave pushed Randee to the side and gave Andy a push and hopped on. Andy's response "Hey your not Randee!". They got a good laugh out of this.

We walked over to a park to check out the sledding but it was not nearly as good as the hill so the kids played on the playground for a bit then we walked back. Colt was so cold by this point so Andy put him on his shoulder and gave him a ride home. We got home and warmed up with hot chocolate then had pizza for lunch. A great end to an amazing long Thanksgiving weekend!

Best Thanksgiving Ever!

 This year was one of both Dave and I's favorite Thanksgivings ever. We spent it with Dave's family at his mom and dad's new house. The food was amazing, company was wonderful and it was more relaxing than I have done in a really long time. We had planned on staying until Friday but they finally had to kick us out on Sunday!

 The Pemberton's have a tradition of dancing the turkey every year. This is the first year I think Colt really understood what was going on. He was laughing watching Memah and Poppi dance to the Macarena.

Dave and Jax laughing about the dancing turkey.

Dave playing with Camryn while Colt and Jax napped. She could hardly wait for Colt to wake up.

Yes that is my dad in this picture. My parents had planned on going to Sun River for Thanksgiving with all of my mom's sisters and families but the weather was so bad with all the snow that they ended up not going. Julie invited them over for Thanksgiving dinner which was fun.

  Taylor had a remote control helicoptor that they were playing with most of the day, Jax would follow him around watching the hel

  Randee and the youngest grandchild (for now) Cal.

Dave carved the turkey.

 The mom's finishing up the final touches on dinner.

   Randee, my mom and dad, Mike, Mike's brother Tim and his wife Cindy.

Love this picture!

Daddy's Home!

After being gone for 9 days hunting in South Dakota, Dave finally got home last night at 11:30. Dave and my dad left South Dakota Saturday morning at about 7 and the plan was to drive to Missoula, Montana and stay the night with my cousins then finish the last 6 hours of the drive on Sunday. Well a huge blizzard hit Montana and the roads were closed so they had to stop in Billings and find a hotel for the night. They got on the road Sunday morning at 5am, after almost flipping the truck, ending up in a ditch going 50 miles an hour and flipping the dog trailer onto the side they got back on the road and made the long drive home (the truck is a little banged up but not bad). Dave is exhausted today but in great spirits because they had such a great time. On top of that we got a bunch of snow yesterday and it has continued to fall today. The roads are icy and the freezing temperatures are only going to keep dropping tonight. I am so glad they made it back safely and its nice to have someone to talk too besides a 3 and 1 year old.

First ever elk!

One big buck and lots of pheasants.

The dogs had bad luck with porcupines. On Thursday, Sam got into one and got hit a couple times. Dave was able to get most of them out by hand and then pulled the rest out with pliers while my dad and Dave held him down. On Friday, Lakota went after another porcupine. When it stuck her it made Lakota mad so she just kept going after it over and over again. By the time Dave pulled her away she had them everywhere, he had to take her to the vet and they had to sedate her because she had them all in her mouth and down her throat. The nice thing about South Dakota is the vet bill was only $70, that would have cost us over $300 here! So while Lakota was getting worked on Dave went back out for one last deer hunt, it was getting close to dark and he still had not gotten a deer (it was also his last day to hunt). He had shot at quite a few but had no luck, just as its getting close to dark he hits one but has to leave it there because he has to get back to the vet to pick Lakota up before it closes. My dad and him go out later to find it in the dark and below 20 temperatures. They have to hike in a mile and a half and then drag the buck back to the car another mile and a half. My dad is 70, I bet you don't know many 70 year olds that can do that! From the sound of it I think both the guys had a great time. Dave is already talking about next year and taking Colt with him.

He brought back presents too.

Colt got a pheasant that he named Rafeeki (after the monkey in Lion King) and some candy. He brought me back an Under Armour Sweatshirt, he knows me so well! We are all happy to have him home. Colt and Jax both have pretty bad colds so we stayed in today, did housework and have been reading lots of books. We are all excited for Thanksgiving on Thursday!

New Babe

Yesterday I had a doctor appointment, I was pretty excited and a little anxious. With both my previous pregnancies I had an ultrasound right around 8 weeks, it was nice to know that the baby was alive and kicking in there. With this baby for reasons that would take an entire other post to explain I did not have an ultrasound (mainly it has to do with switching insurances) so I really had no idea, besides how I felt, if the baby in there was alive and kicking. This past week I have been feeling the baby move in the evenings but I was still relieved to hear that sweet little heartbeat beating at 160 bpm (exact same as Colt and Jax at this stage). Besides that the appointment was boring (which is how I like it), blood pressure, weight check, urine sample, all labs had come back good. 

Pregnancy is a pretty scary thing, I try and not think about all the things that "could" go wrong with the baby, me, the pregnancy, etc. I want to enjoy being pregnant (I think this will be my last), I love feeling the baby move, love hearing the heartbeat, am looking forward to the first week of January when we will get to see this new little babe on the ultrasound. I know by the time I hit 36 weeks I will be done with being pregnant but until then I am going to try and make a conscious effort to enjoy this feeling for what may be the last time in my life. I had a horrible first trimester but its over now, I am feeling better and excited to meet our new addition in May. For all of you who have been asking, we will not be finding out the gender. I really enjoyed not knowing with Jax and Dave has agreed to go along with me and keep this baby a surprise too. It will be fun to come up with names for both a boy and a girl again.

In other news, we survived a week at home without Dave. He left last week for South Dakota with my dad to go deer/elk/pheasant hunting. He was successful in all areas and they will be home tomorrow afternoon. If anything it makes me more grateful that I have him. It is not easy being by yourself everyday, all day, for 9 days. My sister was 7 months pregnant and had a 4 and 2 year old when her husband was killed in a plane accident, that was 9 years ago and she has done a great job of raising my nieces. This past week has made me respect and admire her even more.

We are spending Thanksgiving in Kennewick with Dave's family this year. We are planning on running the 5k Turkey Trot that morning and then enjoy spending the time with family, eating and letting the kids play. I am sure the girls will be getting up way too early to shop on Black Friday, but I know it will be a lot of fun too!

New swing-set.

The boys got a new swing-set from their Poppi and Memah and have had a lot of fun playing on it. Even with the temperatures getting colder they still ask to go outside on it everyday. We still need to finish putting it together but the swings and slides are favorites for now.

It's that time of year again.....

...time for us to announce another addition to our family!

Halloween 2010

 The boys were their very own superheros this year for Halloween. Aunt Dee Dee made them personalized capes last year for Christmas and Colt wears his all the time so it seemed fitting (and much cheaper) to have those be part of their Halloween costume. My mom had spent an entire day sewing the boys outfit that they could wear with the capes, she brought it over and had Colt try it on and he started crying saying he wanted it off and didn't like it. I guess the fabric was a little stiff and uncomfortable and instead of just making them wear it (which is what I was going to do) my mom felt so bad that she went out and bought them pajamas that matched their capes so they could be comfortable.

 I tried so hard to get a picture of the boys but their was always one of them that was not cooperating (well rather Jax was not cooperating). Colt was being so sweet trying to hold his hand or put his arm around him but Jax wanted nothing to do with it (I think he is tired of Colt always wanting to squeeze him or get in his face).

 Superhero Colt. 

He loved the costume and loves being a superhero!

 Last attempt at a picture together.

 We celebrated Halloween on Saturday, Wa-Hi had a trunk or treat and haunted house in the school parking lot so we decided that would be the easiest way to take a 1 and 3 year old trick-or-treating. Dave parents, Kenzie, Camryn and Calvin all came over for dinner (Dave made salmon chowder) and then we headed out to collect some candy. It was raining which was a bummer but the kids still had fun.

I had to include this cute picture of Camryn and Calvin.

Jax : 17 months

It has been too long since I have written about my sweet baby boy Jax. He is one easy going little guy (much like I remember his older brother being at this age). He approaches all milestones in his life with a very laid back attitude, case in point he didn't take his first steps until he was 15 months and he has just in the past couple weeks become a real full time walker. I love to watch Colt and him run around the house together, chasing each other and playing hide and seek. He loves for us to read him books, loves to throw things, wrestle with daddy and snuggle with mommy. His vocabulary is increasing every day, I forget how much they take in at this age. He understands directions and will bring me what I ask for or throw things away when I ask him. He has been sleeping like a champ lately (lucky for Dave he has been sleeping in till past 7 during the weekdays) and takes one 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. He is not picky and will eat pretty much whatever I put on his plate, though he usually prefers my plate. He is in that stage where he cries whenever we leave him with someone he doesn't know. Church is a nightmare most Sundays and Dave and I always ask ourselves why we even bother both going because one of us ends up hanging out with Jax in the nursery. He is constantly doing and saying the funniest things and I just love to sit on the floor with him and play because he is the cutest thing ever right now! I love this age because they are discovering new things and starting to communicate with you, but they are not at the stage where they are really naughty. He makes me smile and laugh daily and there is no better medicine in life than that!

Life

I realize it has been much too long since I last posted (especially for me). I have thought often about sitting down and getting back to blogging, after all this is my scrapbook of our life and since I hardly have the time to finish the boys' baby books this has been a great way to write down all the milestones, memories and adventures of our family. We have had a lot of that occur in the last month, I have lots of stuff to share and lots of pictures to post. Since this is my journal I will back date them so you will have to scroll down past this post as they appear (whenever that may happen). Here is a quick summary of the last month and I promise with the holidays coming I will be posting a lot more.

• Jax is a full time walker! It is so fun to see him and Colt chase each other around the house, now I just want Jax to get stronger so he can push Colt back! He is also learning new words everyday.
• Colt finished up swimming lessons last week, he had fun and is pretty close to swimming on his own. Maybe next summer?
• Dave has been hunting (duh) every type of animal imaginable, this month it has been chuckar, pheasant duck and deer.
• Marni and I ran the Walla Walla half marathon on 10/10/10. Very fun race and a great course. I will have a full race recap on that in another post.
• We took a 4 day trip to Lynden (well it really only ends up being 2 days after all the driving) and spent some time with all of our great college friends. It was so much fun and the kids all had a blast.
• Our church had a very cool harvest party that both the boys loved. Lots of fun games, prizes and the best part was the hay ride!
• Our growth group started back up this last month, we meet Sunday afternoons. My parents watch the kids for us but so far I have had to go solo, all those hunting trips keep Dave pretty busy. Maybe November will be a better month!
• Overall we are doing well. I am loving the extra time with the kids this year and we are having fun doing activities, play dates with friends, MOPS and much more!

 Lots of new posts coming soon!