The Mendenhall Family

4th of July

2011-10-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

After going camping for the weekend with our good friends we came home and celebrated the 4th of July by having a barbecue and fireworks at my sisters house. In the years past, we did fireworks in our neighborhood, but as our neighborhood grows up through the years, this has sadly, and slowly faded. BUT that just means we get to start new traditions. Eric and I have decided that we would love to go camping as a family every 4th of July weekend and if we can continue to celebrate at my sisters house. There neighborhood firework show is absolutely amazing. And when it is at my sisters house, that means I get to have her be the photographer.

Here are some of the pictures she took! Enjoy

Goofy Gals!!

Me and the absolute cutest red head in the world!!

It wouldn't be Brody without a little bit of dirt on his face!! But his adorable smile makes up for it all!

Blake all cuddled up and ready for the fireworks to begin!

Tommy and Brody doing our traditional roman candles!!

In honor of our Veterans

2011-10-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

Right before the 4th of July, Tommy's scout troop was invited to go to the local Veteran Cemetery and pay there respects by cleaning up and preparing the cemetery for the holiday. They placed flags, pulled weeds and cleaned off all the headstones. It was a neat activity and all the boys really enjoyed it.

Blake and I also went to this activity and helped out. Blake loves to be a part of scouts when he can!

Carlos and Tommy spend a lot of time looking at all the different headstones and learning as much about the veterans as they could.

Blake taking his task at hand .. very seriously!!

Goofy scouts!

The finished product! They did an excellent job! The place looked fantastic by the time they left!

This was a neat activity for the boys. They got to serve the Veterans that served us and our Country. I think that it made the 4th of July a little more meaningful to all of them.

Tommy's District Track Meet

2011-05-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Tommy did track again this year. I have to admit he his pretty fast. Well faster then me anyways. One day I took him running and he totally smoked me, and he went 1.33 miles without stopping. I was pretty impressed! He and some friends made it to districts this year for the relay. They made 5th place ... neck and neck with 4th place, but did not make it to state because only the top 3 make it to state. But those boys ran there little hearts out. Tommy had a little mental block, as he has never been the first runner in the relay. He is usually the last. They started him in the number one position as well , which was really hard for him because he feels like he is so much farther back then the other guys. But he ran hard, and did great!! His whole team did.

The boys!!

And the fans!!

Parade of athletes!! Go Camelot!!

Poor Tommy had to stay way back behind!

Tommy's number one fan!! Brody kept yelling.... GO BUDDY!!

Poor Tommy!! They got 5th out of 8. But he was really disappointed. You can tell by his face! But I was one proud mama!!

Train to Seattle

2011-05-26T14:05:00.000-07:00

Erics mom came up a couple of weeks ago. We had a lot of fun. Eric and I spent one day in Seattle just the two of us. We had so much fun that when we got home we loaded up the kids and went again. One of the things we did was go on the train. Here are some pictures of the boys on the train. We also walked around Pike Place market, fed the birds, and watched the boats! Sooo much fun!! The kids had a blast!

What else we have been up to....

2011-03-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

It seems like life has been crazy lately, with Eric working so much overtime, and our bathroom remodel (almost finished, will post pictures soon), and of course keeping up with three busy boys. But we have had some fun times as well. Here are some of the things we have been doing the last couple of weeks.

Tommy's 2nd annual Pinewood Derby!!

This year Tommy took 2nd Place. Way to go Tommy!!!

The Crew cheering the boys on.

Nanna and Papa were in town and got to watch Tommy's pine wood derby this year.

Also for scouts, Tommy had to make us breakfast and follow a recipe. He made us German pancakes, with buttermilk syrup. So yummy!!!

We have also become proud owners of 4 Chickens and 5 baby chicks. I am not nearly as crazy about this idea as Eric and the boys, but it has been a fun experience for them. Here are our baby chicks.

And here are some of our Eggs from our Chickens.

WE have also been blessed with some sunny days and have just stopped and played outside a bit. One day Saige came over to keep Brody company in the sun. Brody learned to drive the jeep himself. (Way scary!!!) But also so cute. Here he is givin Saige a ride!

Brody just being silly!!

And his good friend Saige, just being cute!!

Another Trip to the Zoo

2011-03-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

The kids had a day off from school and it turned out to be a beautiful day, so off to the Woodland park zoo we went. This was Brody's first time to the zoo and he absolutley loved it. He could have stayed there all day. He was in all with all the animals, and would say Bippo, or Girraffe, or zebra so stinkin cute. Tommy and Blake loved it too. WE also got to go with our good friends the Godbotls which made it even more fun. The only bad part is when I heard them announce my name over the intercom. Hmmm.. that is weird, I wonder if I dropped something, NOPE... I had lost Blake and had not even realized it. Lovely huh. In my defense, we had not gone far and he had not been apart for more than 2 minutes, but we did go in seperate directions.

As you can see by Brody's face- this may have been the happiest place on earth for him.

Brody liked looking at all the real animals, and climbing all over the statue animals as well.

Dade just being a monkey!!

Tommy and Dade

Brody was starving, I couldn't believe how well he did on his sandwich. Wondering around the zoo, makes you build up quite an appetite.

Tommy always has to give bunny ears in pictures now. I wish he never learned that!

Blake and Eric became quitethe buddies after Blake got lost. Eric felt really bad (since he is the one that actually lost him.)

Zoe and
Brody climbing on what Brody calls the Bippo! (hippo)

Cute snapshot I grabbed of Shawna and Eli.

Brody and Buddy. That is what he calls Tommy.

Blake staring off in space. I just love his eyes.

This is how we knew we were done. Saige coudln't go any longer. She was done!!

Oh yeah, I just put pictures of the animals we brought to the zoo, I almost forgot to put some up of all the animals we saw at the zoo today. '

THE END!!!

Trip to Zoo with the Cousins and Grandma and Grandpa

2011-02-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

Thanks to awesome aunt Jenn, we got zoo passes for Christmas. We took our first adventure to the zoo with my Brother Brian , his adorable kids and Grandma and Grandpa. We were not sure weather it was going to rain or not, so we took our chances, and rushed to the zoo Saturday morning. The kids had a blast. And the weather stayed great up until the last 10 minutes of our adventure and we had to rush to our car so we didn't get poured on.

The whole cousin gang: Blake, Catie, Matthew, Jenna and Tommy

I told them to turn around and pose. Check out Blake's pose.

Jenna, Tommy, Blakes feet and Catie in the sharks mouth.

Brian and Matthew

Catie- Isn't she beautiful?

Catie and Grandma

Blake and Grandma

Tommy in the birds nest.

Tommy pulls out his hood because the rain started dumping on us

Jenna covering up!

Quick run over to the goats!

These two pics are probably my favorite. How cute is that?? Blake is actually hugging the goats. It was so sweet!

Spider net.

Matthew and the goat staring at each other. It was so cute.

Matthew and Brian eating lunch and playing at McDonald's.

We had a lot of fun and are soooo excited to go to the zoo a lot this summer. As you may have noticed Brody was not there. WE went right during his nap time so now I am so excited to take him. He is going to love it!

Christmas in Utah 2010

2010-12-29T20:00:00.001-08:00

It has been 7 years since we have spent christmas in Utah with Eric's family. So we decided to brave the passes, load up our truck with presents and head down to Utah.

We split the trip up and stopped in Boise on the way there and back. (Well we are not actually back yet, we leave tomorrow morning. I sure hope we make it home safe, a huge storm has hit in Utah so it might get a little scary)

The Stephenson family drove down with us and we had a lot of fun playing in the pool at the hotel. (I will add these pictures later.)

When we finally got to Utah, the thing my kids were looking forward to the most was snow. They were pretty disappointed when we first got here. There was only a skiff on the ground. But snow is snow, so they put on there snow gear and played in the snow with cousin Wyatt who was visiting for Christmas from Denver.

Brody all bundled up and ready to play.

Cousin Wyatt

check out this snow ball

Christmas Eve-

All the family got together for Christmas Eve (minus John and Shana) . We had a lot of fun making and decorating sugar cookies, eating snacks, doing the nativity while Papa read from the Bible, and opening presents from the cousins.

The cousins all cuddled up on the couch.

Cousin Luke- could he be any cuter?!?

Our Angel- Lenna Vance

One of the wise guys.

Tommy as Joseph

Audrey , Tommy and Luke as

Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus

Wyatt- another wise guy.

Blake- as a Christmas present!!

Papa with Lenna and Brody on his lap.

Christmas Morning

The kids were spoiled this Christmas. I tried to keep it simple this year since we were traveling and I knew we would have to pack there presents to and from, but Nanna and Papa haven't had Christmas morning with little kids for a long time and went a little overboard!!

Fort Mendenhall is a tent that my friend Shawna Godbolt helped me make for the boys. It has been a huge hit. They are so excited about it. My boys have been really in to making tents latley, especially Blake and Brody so this will be perfect.

Brody's new shark robe.

Nanna- Blake- and Tommy all got a head light for Christmas. These were a big hit too! How did Santa know?!?

Blake's star wars space ship.

Tommy's dual lightsaber!!

Great grandpa Willardson made all the boys rubber band guns. Sometimes the homeade gifts end up being the best.

Brody and his gun and headlamp.

All the Cousins came back for a fancy Christmas dinner!!

Nanna made all the boys new hats. They loved them and look so cute in them!!

The lights at Temple Square

Christmas night Aunt Christine and uncle Jared and there family joined us as we went to check out the lights at temple square. It was beautiful and so fun!!

Tommy and Audrey- being goofey on the train to temple square

Nanna- I thought this was a great picture of her.

My boys!!

Lydia and Blake- could they be any cuter in their little hats from Nanna

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!

Brody really liked all the lights too! It was absolutley beautiful.

Happy Birthday Blake

Of course we had to have a birthday party for Blake. It was so fun to celebrate with all his Utah cousins, which he rarely gets to do.

Aunt Emily made an awesome cake!! Just perfect for Blake

Blowing out the candles

Jackson, Savannah, Eric and Blake

After the party Nanna, Blake and Tommy snuck and ate the last piece of cake, but I caught them.

Buds- Carter and Brody

We had a lot of fun, but it is time to go. That is if we can get home. Love all the good times and memories that were made.

Snowy Days!!

2010-11-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the snow came down pretty hard. It was so much fun!! I always get nervous when it snows here, because the roads are scary. But when we we are all home safe and sound I LOVE Snow days.

IT was so windy yesterday that our power went out too. I was a little nervous since the temperature was down in the teens but it was only out for 7 hours, from 2:30am so it wasn't bad. It was actually nice. It was like the world stood still for a while. The kids and I just gathered around the living room where we had light, and laughed and talked and then they curled up in there jammies on the couch and watched a movie on my laptop till they fell asleep.

This morning we slept in. Woke up and Tommy and Eric got up and shoveled our driveway and then also a single lady's driveway, while I made pancakes, sausage and hot chocolate. We ate breakfast and then have been playing in the snow ever since.

I love the way that our house looks covered in the snow.

The neighborhood gang.

Blake's snowman- he actually built this with Eric Sunday night when the snow first began. He was so cute, he ran inside and told me they were making me a surprise and that he needed a carrot. Gee, I wonder what the surprise was?

Hands covered with snow!

Blake covered with snow, but happy as can be!

I better watch out, the snow ball fighting began the second it started snowing!

Brody on the sled!

Just call him Rudolph! WE hooked the sled up to Diogo and he pulled the sled all over the neighborhood for the kids. They loved it and so did he!

Playing with photoshop. But this is one of my favorite pictures!!

Tommy falling on the snowboard!!

Enjoying the sled rides!

Tommy- he just can not be serious when I take his picture anymore.

Blake with the perfect snowball. I had to RUN!!

Brody and our neighbor Adina going for a sled ride!!

Could these two be any cuter in there snow gear??

Blake actually was quite the wild man on the sled!

Cute picture of Brody and Saige. I was playing with it and then couldn't get the color back. Ughh.

Dade smiling for the camera.

This is one of my favorite pictures. It pretty much sums it all up! I love the snow because I remember being a kid and having so much fun when it would snow. ?You can tell these kids are having sooo much fun. I love the memories they are creating.

Halloween Fun

2010-11-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

Ooops, I almost forgot to post our pictures of our Halloween fun. With Halloween being on Sunday we chose to celebrate Halloween on Friday night with our good friends the Flamms and Saturday night at our Church Trunk or treat and then we went to visit Grandpa Stringham on Sunday and help him pass out candy. WE also had a lot of fun carving pumpkins this year. Brody really got into it.

Costumes and Church Trunk or Treat

Carving Pumpkins

Like Father like Son!

At first Brody thought the pumpkin guts were gross, he later got really into it!!

Friday Night "spooky dinner" with our good friends the Flamm family.

Mummy dogs!!
Red Bats!
We had a lot of fun decorating our own monsters!

Eating
worms with dad!
Pin the face on the jack o lantern.
The final jack o lantern!

Go Pythons!!

2010-11-13T14:30:00.001-08:00

Another soccer season has come and gone. This year Tommy was on a different team, since Eric was unable to coach this year. He had a great team and amazing coaches, and Tommy really has imporved again this year. His games are getting more and more fun to watch this year. The kids are getting better and way more competitive. Finally on his last game of the season I remembered to bring my camera and snap a few shots!

Pythons 2010

Go Tommy

Tommy's 2 Biggest Fans this year-

Brody

And Grandpa

Grandpa was able to make it to quite a few of Tommy's game this year. It is nice to have the extra fans!

Next year Blake will be able to do soccer and he is really excited, Tommy on the other hand, has been dying to try Football ! He really wanted to try this year but I did not sign him up time. It is all him and his friends have been playing latley, so I guess next year he may not be playing soccer, which is a little sad.

Family Vacation to the Poulson's Lake House

2010-10-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had an opportunity to go to some friends of ours Lake house. It was so nice to get away from the Chaos that the weekends bring and spend sometime as a family. We also celebrated Brody's birthday when we were out there. Our whole goal of going was to just focus on the kids. And that is exactly what we did. We went fishing, kayaking, played board games, ate yummy food, made cupcakes, sang happy birthday to Brody and had a blast.

As soon as we got to the Lake house we were unpacking the kayaks and both Brody and Blake jumped right in. They were ready to go!

" Let me show you how this is done, says Blake to Brody!"

Cuddling on he couch with the boys!

Tommy and Blake just being goofy!

Brody sure was fascinated by all the fish we caught. He wanted to be right down there and a part of the action. Here he is checking out one of our great catches!

Tommy making silly faces at the camera. This is when I know that I have taken to many pictures.

Eric and Brody found a huckleberry bush and Brody decided he loves huckleberries. Him and Eric picked a bowl full and we put them in his pancakes this morning.

Eric getting the fishing poles ready! I love this picture!! He is so dang handsome!!
(not to mention the funnest dad ever!)

We caught a lot of fish, and some seaweed too!

The boys were checking out the fish, and Eric scared them by pretending it was alive and about to bite them.

All together they caught 3 fish. Tommy was proud to show us his BIG fish!

I would say fishing was the boys favorite part of the trip, but kayaking was a close second. Tommy is really good. Much better then me, he is in full control of that boat.

Tommy Eric and Blake fishing on the kayaks.

Brody, Eric and Blake- ready to go fishing!!

Eric and Blake trying to beat Tommy in a kayak race. Tommy won though!

Celebrating Brody's birthday with pumpkin cupcakes! (yes his candle says nine- I am a bad mom, it was the only candle I had!)

Brody jumped right into his cupcake without any coaxing from us!

Making a cute silly face at Eric!

Opening one of his presents. He got a cow- bubble maker! He loved it.

Here he is trying to pop all the bubbles!!

Got IT!

This was such a fun weekend and I am so glad that we were able to get away and spend time together as a family!!

Pictures that make me smile...

2010-10-21T14:33:00.001-07:00

I love watching my boys play sometimes. Here are a few pics from this week that made me smile.

Eric taught Brody a bad thing, he taught him to open his mouth and than Eric would squirt whip cream in his mouth. I told him no more after the first time. This is a picture of him, trying to get some anyway!!

Tommy reading his brothers books before scouts.

Playdough burger!!

All of Blake's playdough creations. He has quite an imagination!!

Another Handsome Hair Cut for Brody...

2010-10-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well we finally broke down and cut Brody's hair again. IT is hard to do because we love his curls so much. But we were able to keep it curly on top. Here he is:

What do you think? Is he handsome or what.

Fall Fun!!

2010-10-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year. I love the crisp fall air. (When it is sunny though, not so in to the rain! )

I love the upcoming holidays. Decorating the house with my kids, and going on fun play dates. Here are some pics of some playdates we went on with some of Blake's preschool friends.

Play Date at West Fennewick Park

Eating Snacks with our friends.

Blake showing me some cool tricks.

Cute Brody

All piled on the merry go round.

Blake and his buddies- Blake, Brandon, Shayla and Isaac!

Pumpkin Patch

Introducing an Executive in the making....

2010-10-07T15:38:00.000-07:00

Tommy came home from school the other day soooo excited because he was going to run for 3rd grade Student council. He was so cute! And so excited, and so nervous!! He stayed up late that night writting his speech. Then he woke up early, took a shower, (even put on deoderant , he said) , put on a nice shirt and off he went. I was kind of nervous for him, because he practiced his speech a couple of times and I could tell he was really nervous. I told him that a lot of kids were running and it was ok if he didn't win, just proud of him for trying. I could tell as soon as he came running in the door with his friend Rheanna, what the outcome was. He was nominated as the boy candidate for his class and Rheanna was nominated as the girl candidate. That is exactly how they wanted it!! I was excited and proud of both of them. Tommy's friend Rheanna told me that his teacher Mrs. Judd liked his speech so much that she showed it to another teacher. Which suprised me, since I let him write his speech himself, and it really wasn't anything fancy. He even typed it on the computer by himself, and that took forever!!

Here is his speech:

why should you vote for me for student council ? Because I want the voices of Mrs. Judds class to be heard. I will help make sure the ideas and choices are fair. You can trust me because I am honest, and I care about others.
i want to run for camelot student council to help camelot be a better school and lots of fun!!!!!

A Bunch of Basket Cases

2010-10-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, every week I try to have Family Home Evening wiht my kids and it is often a bust.
Trying to teach 3 boys that are at 3 different age and learning levels a little lesson each Monday night is quite a task. I am sure if you were here watching it would be quite humorous. Well I was on someone's blog looking for a good idea for a Family Home Evening Lesson and I came across this idea. I am guessing it worked better for her than it did for me. But it will be a fun memory nonetheless. So this was supposed to keep the kids quiet, and there hands to themselves as they listen to my lesson. The sucker was added incentive to keep there mouths busy.

Tommy is way to big to be in a basket. Blake just turned the basket into rocket ships, and Brody, well he loved every bit of it.

I love this picture of Brody folding his arms for the opening prayer.

First Day of School!!

2010-10-07T15:01:00.001-07:00

No today was not Tommy or Blake's first day of school. I am still catching up. Here are pics of there 1st day. Tommy is a big third grader and Blake started pre-school. They both seem to really like school and there classes. It is so fun to watch them come home and tell me all about there day.

Before school picture of Tommy and his crew- Ben, Lana, Zoe, Tommy, Dade and Ben... we are missing his friends Haakan, Joseph and Jacob.

Tommy. Too cool for pics. I hate that he is starting to grow up.

JC, Dade and Tommy- I got Tommy to smile for this one.

Blake and his good friend Zoe. She is in 1st grade. Poor Blake has one more year till he goes to Camelot.

Tommy and Des, after school is over. They both look pretty happy so I guess they had a good first day.

One more picture of the crew- Ben, Danny, Haakan, Zoe, Jacob, Joseph, Dade, Tommy and Blake.

Here are some pics of Blake's first day of school.
>
Here he is when I am picking him up. He looks pretty serious.

Standing in his classroom. My camera was blurry for some reason that day.

Summer Trip to Utah..

2010-10-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

WARNING!!! This is going to be a really long post. So feel free to just skim through it. We had an oppurtunity to go to Utah and visit Eric's family. WE had sooooo much fun. It made me wish we lived closer. The kids had the best time with all there cousins. And ask me all the time when we go back. I just wish it wasn't so expensive.
The flight down was horrible.There were thunder and lightening storms and there was quite a bit of turbulance. Brody threw up several times, and as soon as we got of the plane Blake lost it. YUCK!
But the fun we had on the trip was so worth it.

We went to temple square, shot guns with Uncle James, went on the boat like everyday, went to Savanna's b-day party, had family pics taken, went on a hike to Cascade springs where
Eric proposed tome, went camping.. the works. It was a lot of fun!!

I love this Temple. This is the Salt Lake City Temple where Eric and I were married. So of course we took the kids to visit Temple Square. WE also got to go to Music and the spoken word in the confrence center.

This is the view from Eric's parents deck. Isn't it beautiful. The sunsets were amazing.

Ben, Wyatt and Blake going on a Nature Hike!

Tommy, Ben, Wyatt, Blake, Tommy and Blake, Eric and Brody. they found a cool tunnel to explore.

Ben and Blake are very close in age and became quite good pals.

Eric struttin his tuff on the golf course. WE had the oppurtunity to go out on a date with all Eric's brothers and sisters and their spouses. It was so fun to be together and play and be kidless.

Christine lookin great as usual!

All of us on the golf course. None of us really knew what we were doing, except for Jared. We had a lot of fun trying though.

This is Lindsys golf pose! Work it Girl!!

As you can tell by James' swing, he golfed a little like

Me and Christine giving high five on the golf course. WE were getting quite good!

The girls. Lindsey, Emily, Christine, and Me.

Paul and Lindsey, getting a little fresh in the golf cart!

Christine and Jared

James and Emily

Paul and Lindsey

Maria and Eric

The beautiful course

Eric and Emily

Ready for a family bike ride.

Brody wants to come too!

Brody and Papa

The boys!! Isaac, Wyatt, Brody and Carter

Temple Square

Look at Blake's face in this picture. He is having so much fun!

I love this picture of Blake- He is such a handsome boy!

One of the kids favorite part of the trip was shooting guns with Uncle James who is a police officer for the City of Orem.

Riding in the cop car was pretty cool for Tommy!

Pictures from this Summers Boating Adventures

2010-10-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Unfourtatly we did not get to go out on the boat as much as we would have liked too this year. The weather was not always the best, plus we had a jam packed summer it seems like and there was never a free day. But the couple of times we went out were a lot of fun. Well except once!

Our Boating Trip with the Godbolt Family

Dade , Blake and Zoe on the tube!

Saige and Brody- Don't babies look so cute in life jackets.

Shawna and me!

Brody- his cheeks were startng to get a little pink.

Tommy and his good buddy Dade!!

I love this picture of Tommy. He is so stinkin handsome!!

Dade learned how to knee board this summer! Way to go Dade!

Tommy- the knee boarding pro. No luck on wakeboarding this year. He tried once but it was so choppy he did not like it.

Shawna and Saige sportin' there nice sunglasses.

Me and Brody and Shawna and Saige trying out the tube.

Another boating trip with the Nyangweso family

Then our last boating trip for the summer!!! With the Kidd family.

Our boat's battery went dead, so Eric was stuck on the lake for hours. For the most part the kids were able to entertain themselves. But it was still frusterating. Our good friends the Angells came to our rescue. And they were able to have fun. WE now need to make a $300 dollar repair to our boat. Since we are trying to save up for an addition we decided to park the boat for the summer, but don't worry, we will have the boat fixed and ready to go by the first part of next summer.

Eric calling for help when stranded on Lake Washington

"Our Angells"- good friends the Angell family came to rescue us.

Tommy, Audrey and Ethan on the tube. Tommy's mask kills me.

Tommy, Audrey and
Ethan

I love David's facce in the picture. He thinks tommy is pretty silly with his snorkel on.

2010-10-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

One of our new favorite vacations of all times has become Seaside, OR. This summer we went there again, and invited Eric's mom to come with us. We had a blast and have such good memories. I had over 1,000 pics from this trip. And had a hard time picking some. I actually created a book of this trip, because I had soooo many pictures, but here are a few of my favorites.

Blake and Eric. One of Blake's favorite parts of the trip was going searching for sea creatures. And boy did we find all sorts of stuff, from star fish to hermit crabs. By the end of the morning his bucket was full.

Some of the many starfish that we spotted on our trip!!

Eric and his mom surfing the waves. I couldn't believe Nana got in the water, seeing as she just came from the California beaches, which were quite warmer. But she did, and they had a lot of fun. Once they were numb of course.

Tommy was a mad man on this trip. He tried everything, which really suprised me, because anyone that knows Tommy knows that he thinks whenever he goes swimming that the water should be as warm as our hot tub in the back yard. He hates cold water. But for some reason it didn't stop him this trip.

His favorite was the skim board. But he did ride the waves too!

Eric especially loved surfing. He never wanted to get out, and was begging us all to go in with him every chance he could get.

This is my favorite picture of the whole trip. This is when we got to the beach for the first time. Eric and Tommy grabbed there boogie boards and were off to hit the waves, Brody was sooo cute following behind them. He was sure he got to go boogie boarding too. (As soon as he felt the water, he changed his mind.)

Blake building sandcastles on the beach!! Love his smile. Such a good lookin boy!

Cool Dudes!!

Of course with all the surfin and skim boarding they did, there were quite a few wipe outs!!

Tommy's face covered in dirt after total wipe out.

Enjoying the beach and a snack!!

4th of (what you ask... 4th of July of Course!!)

2010-09-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Okay after keeping you all in suspense for quite a while I decided to finally update my blog, way back from when my computer died, last 4th of July.

After beign threatend a couple of times, I decided I better start blogging again. So bear with me, I have a lot of catching up to do.

This past summer was a lot of fun. 4th of July we had some good friends over to our neighborhood to have a barbecue, play, and of course light some fireworks.

Tommy and Blake in there matching red, white and blue ties from my good friend Sandi.

Haakan and Brody playing on the trampoline. Brody's faces were cracking us up.

Zoe, Blake , Brody and Adina--I just love how Brody is sitting in the chair like he is one of the gang.
If you look closley you can see a scar on Tommy's cheek. His first and hopefully last firework wound.
My adorable neighbor Adina. Brody and Adina have become quite good little friends. Isn't she adorable.
The whole gang hanging outside in the neighborhood. Ready for the fireworks to start. Hoping the sun goes down soon.
Family photo. Not quite frameable!! But still a fun picture.

Blake and his good friend Zoe. Posing for the camera.

Haakan and Misty.

Eric and I.

Smiles from Brody!!

That weekend we also went down to Redondo to take the boys crabbing for the first time. WE caught our first crab and the boys were pretty excited. WE came home and cooked him up and the boys were actually excited to try it. They seemed to like it. Blake says it taste like chicken!!

Summer Fun

2010-06-30T19:55:00.001-07:00

We have had a lot of fun so far this summer. The fun thing about having 3 little boys is that they are always excited for a new adventure. They love the outdoors, and love to explore new things and places.

On Tuesday we went to Les Grove park with Aunt Mary, cousin Jenna, Catie, and Matthew. And on Wednesday we went to Seahurst beach with Aunt Becca, cousin Ethan, David and Audrey.

Here are some pics of our adventures.

Les Grove Park

Seahurst Beach

It's that time of year....

2010-06-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

Well we couldn't wait for the sun to come out any longer, I mean it is practically
July. So we packed up the boat, the kids and some blankets and dinner and headed out on the boat Friday after Eric got off work. It was a lot of fun, despite the fact that it was cloudy. This year is going to be interesting with Brody that is for sure. We have such a busy summer planned that it might be harder for us to go out on the boat as much this year, but will look for every chance we can I am sure.

Here are some pics of our first adventure this summer.

Eric is excited to have his new truck to pull his boat this year. This way the whole family can drive together, instead of taking two different cars.
Eric has his strong helper, Tommy who is amazing at helping him get the boat ready. He holds the boat, while Eric parks the trailor, and then is in charge of catching the dock and making sure the boat doesn't get scratched. He is Eric's right hand man when it comes to the boat. Especially since I am in charge of making sure a certain red head doesn't fall overboard.
Brody enjoying the ride.
Blake checking out the waters, wondering if it will be warm enough to jump in. Of course it wasn't, but he settled for dipping his feet in.
Doesn't brody look so cute and chubby in his life vest. He is not to fond of it, but does pretty well.
Tommy and Blake enjoying some snacks on the back of the boat.
Brody learning to drive the boat. This is serious stuff!!
A little sad that mom is making him sit down, and that he can not dangle off the side of the boat. Mom is such a kill-joy.
Enjoying dinner on the back of the boat.

Oh Canada !!!

2010-04-12T21:47:00.001-07:00

This weekend we had the opputunity to go down to Langley, B.C to go to the new LDS temple open house. It is a beautiful temple and was fun to go on a tour with my parents, good friends the Perkins family and especially my husband and children. The spirit was so strong and definatley another witness to me that the temple truly is a house of the Lord. Never do I feel so close to the Lord than when I am in the temple. I love stepping in and the instant peace that I feel as I leave all my worldy cares at the front door. I go to the temple when I am pondering important questions and concerns. I love it there. It is my favorite date to go on with Eric. I can tell that both Tommy and Blake felt the spirit as well as they talked about it quite a bit on the way home. (Brody on the other hand, well we had to keep him quiet, so he didn't take away from the spirit, but he did really good for an 18 month old.)

>Here are some of our pictures of the temple:

On our way to Canada we stopped at the Tulip festival in Mt. Vernon. I thought maybe stopping at a Tulip festival with 3 boys might be a waste of time, but that actually were amazed and talked about it quite a bit. Here are some of the beautiful shots we got.

We also went to a really fun place called Watermania. I didn't get a ton of pictures because I was having to much fun on all the waterslides. My dad was nice enough to snap a few for me though:

We had a lot of fun! So much fun that one the way home my kids were pretty exhausted as you can see-

I don't know how kids sleep like this without a kink in there neck! I would be hurting for days.

Friends Yard Work Party

2010-03-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Digging up all the old grass

Shoveling lots and lots of dirt!

The Camelot Crew taking a break from all the hard work and posing for another picture.

A before Shot

After Shot

Last Saturday was such a beautiful sunny day. One of my friends had a great idea about starting a yard work exchange. We started this last weekend at our friends the Richards house. We helped them get there back yard ready to be hydroseeded. We started around 10am and finished around 6pm. We worked hard but had a ton of fun!!

Tommy said, mom, I am doing all this work and I am not getting paid. But that okay it is fun, it is a lot of fun!

Before Tommy started Camelot I thought about choicing him into Merridith Hill. I am so glad that I didn't. We have made some of the best friends ever1

Sleepover with the Johnsons

2010-03-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

This last weekend some good friends of ours went away for the weekend and we had the oppurtunity to have there kids for the night. My kids were so excited!!! It was so much fun! Her kids were amazing, I was worried about how her little one Ammon (1 year and a half old) would do without his mom for the night, but he loved every minute of it, just like the rest of them. Here are some cute pictures from the sleepover.

Tommy's 1st Pinewood Derby

2010-03-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Tommy has loved every minute of being in scouts. I hope his excitement lasts. Anyways, Saturday was his first Pinewood Derby race. Tommy had a lot of fun building his car with Papa, and decorating it with Dad. He especially loved race day. It was a lot of fun watching these boys race. Tommmy had such a great attitude. HE only came in 10th place but he was jumping up and down every race. His car seemed to come in 2nd most every time he raced which made him really happy.

*** In the second picture you can see his car is the black and white car. IT looks like it is in first but it ended up coming in second.***

Pictures that make me smile....

2010-03-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, so as you have noticed, I too have got lost into the facebook world. I am repenting and going to start to try to do better at my blogging. I really want to blog on a weekly basis so I can keep track of all these precious memories that make me smile. I don't scrapbook, so my blog has become my family journal and scrapbook. Anyways... I was going through pictures and here are a few that I came through that make me smile.

2010-03-14T16:20:00.001-07:00

JOY SCHOOL MEMORIES

This year I had the opportunity to do a Co-op preschool with Blake and some 6 of his friends and mothers. I have had a lot of fun. This years curriculum was focused around the letters of the alphabet. Blake knows so many of his letters and sounds. He is doing a great job and learning so many things. We have created a lot of fun memories.... so I thought I would take a minute to document a few of them.

K is for Kitchen.

Future Chefs

Chef Blake

We had a lot of fun learning how to work in our "Joy School Kitchen"! We made cereal necklaces, chef hats, and play dough. IT was a lot of fun learning what goes on in a kitchen, how to follow a recipe and create a masterpiece.

R is for Rescue

Eric works by the City of Sumner fire station, as was nice enough to help coordinate a field trip to the fire station. The kids really enjoyed climbing in the fire truck and learning all about fireman do.

Posing for a picture with the fireman. Even Brody got to be part of the field trip.

Brody loved his fireman hat. The best (and sometimes worst) part of doing a co-op preschool is that Brody got to be involved on field trips and when it was my turn to teach at my house. He tries so hard to be one of the big kids.

Blake driving the firetruck

I love the look these two are giving each other. (Since the field trip was in Sumner, Eric was able to stop by and give me a hand for a while.)

I like this picture too. I like looking at all the kids faces staring up at the fireman.

T is for Tumbling

We also did a field trip to Harts Gymnastics. This was soooo much fun. The kids got to run around a big gym and jump on trampolines, twirl on bars, do summer salts and kart wheels, and all sorts of stuff.

Brody and his friend Carsen enjoying the field trip.

Blake and Ben walking the tight-rope

Brody on the mini-trampoline.

Blake's good friend Ryland (Mono-the -monkey!!)

Blake going down the slide and giving me a quick and adorable smile.
TA -DA

Happy Birthday Blake!

2009-12-29T08:25:00.000-08:00

Monday December 28th, My little boy Blake turned 4 years old. I can't believe it. Boy how time flies. I still remember having him in the hospital. He was such a big baby at 10 pounds 11 ounces. When the Dr. pulled him out, he said, " this baby looks like he is 3 months old. Blake has always been full of surprises, since day one.

Sunday night I was reminding him that tomorrow was his birthday. He said, "Yes, and my birthday party too?" (Yikes, I hadn't really planned one just because it is so close to Christmas.) He said he wanted to have a BOY party. (Weird?) So I invited a couple of his little friends. They were all so sweet to come last minute and celebrate his birthday with him.

Blake , Ryland, Davie, (Elizabeth, not a Boy but got to come with her brothers), Isaac and Michael.

Blake playing Lego Bingo

The whole birthday party. Look how much fun Bordy looks like he is having. He really thinks he is just one of the boys.

Daddy was pretty proud of the Lego cake he made for Blakes birthday. He really is the Martha Stewart of the family.

Blowing out his four birthday candles.

Playing Lego games.

The fun did not stop there. After the party was over we made Blakes favorite dinner : Homeade pizza and watched a family Movie. IT was a special day for a special BOY!

I LOVE YOU BLAKE!!

Stringham's Annual Christmas Nativity

2009-12-28T15:32:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures of our annual Christmas Eve nativity. This year Jenna was Mary and Ryan was Joseph. Baby Matthew was our little baby Jesus. Tommy was a wiseman and a shepard, Brody was a wiseman and Blake and Davie were Shepards ( they always want the stick/cane). Audrey, Emily and Catie were our beautiful angels. This is such a fun tradition that the kids look forward to. I think it is going to be so fun to look back at these pictures through the years. My guess is when they are teenagers they will not dress up for us anymore, so in the mean time I am going to cheris it while I can.

Isn't Brody the cutest Shepard in his hat and snowman pajamas.

Christmas Eve is the holiday I looked forward to most, all year long when I was a kid, and still do to this day. The whole family (except Jason, Jenn , Jaylee and Jennibelle who are in Pensylvannia ) get together. We always have so much fun food, and fun times. It is tradition that the kids get to exchange gifts and open one gift on Christmas Eve. It is so much fun.

Big Red turns 1

2009-11-25T21:45:00.001-08:00

Okay, he really turned one a month ago, but I finally made a trip down to my sisters to have her snap some cute pictures of him. I love all these pictures, they totally capture his smiley personality.

Big Red (no longer baby chub chub, due to Erics request) has been such an asset to our family. I can't imagine our life without him. His older brothers just look forward to seeing him every morning.

Brody is starting to walk. He started taking a couple of steps about a month ago. He walks pretty well now, but he still crawls when he wants to get somewhere in a hurry.

He says a couple words. Da Da , of course. Duck, (weird I know), but we throw a duck for Diogo and Brody loves to watch and always chanting (Guck, Guck, Guck) He tries to say all done and where did it go?

We love you Brody and are so happy you are a part of our family!!!

A great way to start the Holiday Season....

2009-11-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a lot of fun and the perfect way to spend the Holiday Season. First,our family went up to a cabin at the bottom of Mt. Rainer with some good friends of ours the Flamm family. It was a lot of fun, playing games, drinking hot chocolate, roasting hotdogs and smores over the fire, watching the snow come down, and playing in the snow and having snow ball fights. It was so much fun.

Who needs to roast hot dogs. I like mine raw. (Yuck)

Brody and his buddy Carsen.

Blake and his buddy Kylee

Sara and Carsen and Maria and Brody

The Flamm Family... I forgot to get a shot of our whole family... It was to hard to round up all the kids. a Eric loves starting fires. My little Piro hubby.

Brody enjoying the fire.

Me and my cute chub chub brody
Tommy ready for some snow ball fights.

Cute picture of Kylee and Carsen in there matching snow man pajamas.

4 Little monkeys jumping on the bed!!

Eric and Brody!!

The weekend crew: Blake, Kylee, Carsen and Tommy!!!

When we got back from our little Cabin in the mountains adventure we went straight to our good friends the Godbolts house for the Camelot Crew's annual "Food, Fall and Fun get together. These are friends that we made as Tommy started Camelot. I love Camelot because everyone is so close and we have made some of our best friends through Camelot. Here are some pics:

The Camelot Crew

Misty and Saige ( I just thought this was a good picture of the two)

Brody and Saige having a good time.

Tommy's Baptism

2009-11-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

Saturday Oct. 31st was a very special day for Tommy. Tommy was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Tommy has been so excited for this day for quite some time now. He has a testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ. He wants to share his beliefs with everyone because they make him so happy. He is such a good example to me.

Tommy is soooo loved! He had 62 people at his baptism who came to share his special day with him. Thanks to all that came and made him feel so loved and special.

What a handsome Kid!!

Dressed in white with his dad.

Proud mom and Dad.

Posing with the whole family. (One good looking family if I do say so myself)

Taking a picture with his grandparents that mean the world to Tommy!!

His best Cousins Ethan and Audrey ( If only Jackson and Audrey Walter could have been there)

Tommy's good friend DJ. (Tommy was so surprised and excited to see DJ, a friend he hasn't seen in almost a year)

Camelot Pals ( Dade and Jared)

Dolloff Lake Ward Pals - Brant and Logan Perkins

Than that night, when he went out to go trick or treating, he started feeling sick and got a temprature (we even thought it might be swine flu, but it only lasted one day) What a sad way to end such a special day :(

I love you Tommy and am so proud of you!!

I LOVE FALL!!

2009-10-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

I love Fall Time. It is soooo much fun. I love watching the leaves change colors and fall of the trees. I love the cold crisp air (as long as it is sunny). I love Halloween, Thanksgiving and then preparing for Winter and Christmas. It is such a fun time of year.

Here are some pics of our trip to the Pumpkin patch with friends Shawna and Amy.

What it is time to go home (says Blake) We had such a good time, I am sure we will go again when Tommy can come.

Celebrating 10 Years...

2009-09-17T16:21:00.001-07:00

September 4th 1999- 10 years ago, I married my best friend in the whole wide world.

We celebrated our 10 year by going down to Seaside Oregon. It was an amazing trip. Erics mom came down to stay with our kiddo's while Eric and I escaped. We had so much fun running on the beach, walking around the town, going to a restaraunt other than McDonalds... it was Heavenly.

Here are some pictures of our trip.

Blakes First Day of Preschool

2009-09-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

Last week Blake started his first day of preschool. Me and my friends decided to do a Joy School, which is a co-op preschool where we each take a turn teaching these cute kiddo's every 6 weeks. I am really excited to get to see a part of him learning and growing up. Here are some cute pictures of his exciting day.

The only funny thing,is because we are taking turns teaching the preschool .. he didn't believe that he was really at school. when I picked him, up he said he had a lot of fun but he wanted to go to preschool now. Made me smile. He thought he would be going to a school like Tommy.

Doesn't he look so cute all dressed up with his back pack.

Kids in his class: Shayla (on mom's lap.) Moirah, Ryland, Blake, Aidan and Issac.

Blake and his good buddy Ryland.

Another cute one of my handsome Blakey!!! A lot like the first, but I think he is just so dang cute.

Our First "Annual Stringham Family Reunion" at Seaside

2009-08-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

*** For those of you who are family,I appologize, I know you have seen a lot of these pictures on my other siblings blog already... but since I keep this as a family journal, I am putting these pictures on again!!! So have fun reliving our reunion again***

This summer we had the oppurtunity to have our First annual Stringham Family Reunion at my Uncles beachouse at Seaside OR. My brother Jason and his family flew up from Pennsylvania and we were all together. The kids (and the adults) had such a great time. We roasted marshmallows, boogie boarded, played in the ocean, played in the sand, flew kites, played games, ate yummy food, and much more. It was so much fun!!!! Here are some of my favorite pictures.

(I have even more pictures but my hardrive is full and I have no more room to download all my pictures so I guess I will be buying an external hardrive for all my photos.)

Eric and Brody chasing the birds... Brody took this very seriously!!

WE had soooo much fun all day long, sometimes we had to lay down right there on the beach and take a snooze!

Brody and Blake enjoying a wagon ride on the beach. Have you ever pulled a wagon in the sand. What a joke. We only did that once. Best workout of my life.

Rebecca- our family photographer!

Jen and My mom by the camfire.

Uncle Jason, Blake and Jennible- wetsuits on.. quick pose for the camera, that off to the beach!

Jenn and Jennible posing for the camera.

Tommy and Ethan brought there laser tag guns to the beach. This was a hit, even for adults. Or kids at heart!!

And he is dead!!

This is serious business!!

Brody enjoying the beach. The hardest part was keeping sand out of his mouth!! He also learned to crawl on this trip.

Working together to build a sandcastle.

Blake and Davie's sand tunnel hideout!!

Maria Loves Eric!!

Blake Burried in the sand.

Tommy flying his star wars kite at Cannon Beach.

Booggie boarding is fun stuff.

Except when you do it on the sand. You don't go very far... or fast.

riding some serious waves.

Having a blast. This is before the coast guards called everyone in because of a Gray White Shark.

Blake and Davie taking turns with the boogie board.

Jason Stringham , Eric and Jason Kidd... What studs!!

Playing in the sand with Grandma.

The campfire.

The 3 Stringham Brothers.

We had a great time. I can't wait until we have another Stringham Family Reuion!!!

Thanks for the memories.

Family Pictures at Seaside

2009-08-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

Our family just got back from a family Reunion at My Uncle's beachouse in Seaside, OR. This was our first offical "Stringham Family Reunion" and it was a blast. I have a lot more pictures to share with you, but until I go through them all I thought I would send you our family picture that my sister took. I think they turned out cute. I can't wait to print them and frame them. I like them so much it could be my Christmas card, so act surprised when you get it in December :)

An Answer to Someone's Prayers...

2009-08-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

This morning, my friend Annalisa and I had an awesome experience on our run morning run. We were running and talking when my friend Annalisa looked down and noticed a $100.00 bill on the road. So many things go through your mind when you find that much money. I will have to admit, we did think of all the things we could do with it, since both of us are paycheck to paycheck families. We considered a double date at the melting pot, wouldn't that be fun. Something we both don't have the money to treat ourselves to. But my stomach also felt sick. I know that if Eric and I lost a $100 it would be devastating to us. I couldn't help but think of who lost it. Both Annalisa and I wished we could find who lost the money.In my heart I kept praying that there was someway that we could return this money to whoever lost it. That either they would be inspired or we would be inspired to find them. I knew if it was meant to be that Heavenly Father could help find a way to make it happen. It was 6 am in the morning and no one was around. What do you do?? We were not far from the circle K so later that morning Annalisa went to the circle K and told them that she had found some money. If anyone came looking for some money, and could tell her how much it was to please give them her phone number. The people at Circle K kind of laughed at her. Thought she was silly for even reporting it and trying to find out who it belonged to. It seemed like such a long shot. She continued running ( oh yeah, she runs farther than I do, because she is training for a full marathon and my knee is killing me these days.) and saw an older Russian lady walking up and down the strip where we had found the money. The lady looked really sad. Annalisa wondered if she could be the one who lost the money. She could tell she was Russian and was afraid she would not be able to communicate with her, but she decided to ask her anyone. She went up to the lady and asked her if everything was OK? The lady told Annalisa that she had "lost ALL of her money." Annalisa asked her how much she lost, and the lady told her $100.00. Annalisa was so excited to tell her that she had found it. The lady wrapped her arms around Annalisa and thanked her so much over and over. She told her it was all the money she had and didn't know what she was going to do. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father answered our prayers and we were able to find out who the money belonged to. It was such a great way to start my day.

My First 1/2 Marathon

2009-08-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

Today at 7:30am I ran my first 1/2 Marathon. It was awesome. I ran the first 10 miles with ease. Even the killer hill wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. My prayers were answered ad I did not have to run in killer heat. In fact the first little bit it was totally foggy and breezy. I loved it. The last 3 miles I really started to struggle. My legs started feeling heavier and heavier and it was starting to get HOT! (The heat made it really hard for me to get a good breath. ) I perked up when I saw the finish line. And started booking it even more when I heard Eric whistle. I heard him whistle before I could see him. I couldn't wait to see him and the kids at the finish line.

My friends Misty and Shauna showed up at the finish line to support me. They are so awesome. And then they took me to lunch for my birthday and celebrate. I had so much fun getting out and spending time with the girls.

Here are some pics from the event:

Just around the bend from the finish line. At this point I could here Eric's whistle and started to book it.

Trying to make it in less than 2 1/2 hours!! Look at that serious face!!!

A couple of Marathon Maniacs. That is what the sign says behind us at the finsh line!!

My good friends Misty and Shauna- there to support me!! What awesome friends. And then they treated me to a wonderful lunch afterwards for my birthday.

Giving Eric a smooche at the finish line. I couldn't wait to see him. It made me feel so special having him there supporting me. He has been my biggest support through all of this.

A picture of me and the boys. I heard Blake say at the finish line. "My mom wins!!"
I loved having them there.

The crew. Both Annalisa and my families there to support us. Aren't families wonderful!! It is kind of like life. This life is a tesst. It may be hard and trying, but in the end we do our best so that we can be with our families forever. Knowing my family was there at the end, cheering me on is what kept me going.

Wish Me Luck

2009-07-30T07:41:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of July I practiced my running skills and did a 5K with my friend Sandi Stephenson. I am glad I did, so I could see what the whole running thing is like since I am doing the Tacoma Narrows half marathon this weekend. Saturday in fact. What a crazy thing to do on my birthday.

Anyone who knows me well, knows running has never been my thing. I just decided to take it up after Brody was born. My friend Annalisa Perkins talked me into doing a half marathon with her. I thought it would be a good goal for me and something to push myself more than I normally would.

Part of me is really excited to run this. And part of me is scared to death. We have been training and have run 10 miles quite a few times, but then my leg started flaring up. We didnt get a chance to run the full 13 miles , I think I will be able to do it, but there are two things that worry me- 1. that my leg will flare up again and 2. that the heat will kill me. Of course this has to be the hottest week in Washington in like forever.

But I am excited nonetheless. I think it will be cool to say I did it. And the part I am looking forward to the most, is the finish line where Eric and the kids will be waiting for me.

Here are some pics of me doing the Kent Cornocopia 5K with Sandi. I am guessing I am going to look a lot works aftger 13 miles.

A couple of Handsome Boys.....

2009-07-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

I will admit that I am bias, but are these boys so Handsome????
Oh, and could they look any more different. My Burnett, Blondy, and Red head.

Here is a picture of Brody I took the same day. He is just so dang cute!!!

Take Me Out to a Ball Game ....

2009-07-10T13:15:00.001-07:00

**** Okay, everyone... I am going to try to play catch up on all my blogging.Boy am I way behind. Summer has been more busy than I thought..!! Aren't summers supposed to be LAZY. That is how I remembered it as a teenager, sleeping in till 11ish, and playing all day. It isn't quite the same as a mom. Instead I am running here and there, fixing lunch, finding snacks, looking for swimsuits, doing more laundry than usual. Bathing kids almost everyday because they are so dirty!!
Well anyways, I am going to let my house go downhill and let my kids fend for themselves for a couple of hours and see if I can catch up on all the fun we have been having this summer. So stay tuned and make sure to read them all. *****

A couple of weeks ago we were able to go with my sister Becca and her family to the Mariners game. She was able to get tickets through her ward for LDS night. Who knew they had such a thing. Anyways, I hadn't been to a ball game forever. It seems like I have always had a little one, so I sent the boys and stayed home. I had a lot of fun. We invited Grandpa too. The kids enjoyed the peanuts and cracker jacks (that Grandpa was nice enough to buy on the street, since my kids were dissapointed they didn't have any at the local Safeway.)

Tommy and Ethan are getting to an age where they really enjoy the game. They were sad when we left early, but at the point we were losing by 7 points and it didn't look like the M's had much hope at the point. Plus my babysitter was having a hard time getting little Brody to sleep.

Davie and Blake on the other hand, had a lot of fun, but I seriously don't know if they even knew there was a game going on. Davie was so in to the train he would hear go buy all the time. At one point it went by and everyone started clapping because someone hit the ball. But Davie said, "hey.. everyone is clapping for the train." It was so funny. Like I said, he was clueless that there was a baseball game going on. But you can't blame him, when you only purchased the cheap seats. It was so much fun though. I need to take time to do more things like this with my kids.

Thanks for the invite Becca.

Of course, I didn't bring my Camera so the only shots I got were from Becca. She was exhuasted from Scout camp and not in the picture taking mood, so I only got a few shots.

Seahurst

2009-06-26T15:13:00.001-07:00

On Thursday Rebecca and I took the kids to Seahurst Park for a fun summer adventure. We packed a picnic, some buckets and shovels and headed to the beach. IT was a lot of fun. The kids could have stayed there all day. It broke there heart when it was time to go home. Rebecca was nice to snaps some shots for me, as I was busy making sure brody didn't eat all the sand.We had a blast and definatley plan on going back again!

Tommy Learns to Knee Board....

2009-06-12T23:13:00.001-07:00

We went out on the boat today, surprise, surprise.... but I got some awesome pictures of Tommy learning to Knee Board. He is so proud of himself. He can't wait till he gets really good and can do 360's like Dad. Then he says he is on to wakeboarding. It took him a while for him to get up, but once he got up he was stoked and wanted to go again and again. Here are some pictures...

Trying hard to pull himself up.

Getting closer...

CRASH!!!

HE DID IT!!!

What a STUD!!

IT won't be long until I am up on the Knee board!! But for now, I am just sittin on the dock, cute as can be!!

Pictures that make me smile.....

2009-06-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

There are some days that I just love being a mom, and my kids make me smile from ear to ear. Today was one of those days. Here are some pictures of Blake and Brody. The first one totally makes me smile. I just love watching them from a distance. Blake is so good with Brody. They truly do have a strong connection.

Blake is a typical older brother though. Here are some pictures of him driving Brody crazy. Actually Blake loves every minute of it. It just drives me crazy!!

I can't help it. I love my BOYS. Tommy is still in school. 2 more school days left. Then he will be joining the summer fun.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun this memorial weekend. And of course we went boating as many days as possible. Friday, Saturday and Monday. Friday and Monday we went with Becca and her family. On friday we mostly just tooted around lake Washington, we went all the way past Lake Washington up to Lake Union where we could see the space needle. It was a lot of fun. Then on Monday we took the kids on a ride on the tube. All the kids loved it and wanted to go again and again. Audrey was our little dare devil and wanted us to really whip her around. We even took Brody for a ride. He was only on the tube for a couple of minutes and then fell asleep.

On Saturday our good friends the Angel's invited us over for a barbecue. This was a lot of fun. Tina Angel owns this fun wig and pulls it out every once in a while for a good laugh. All us girls decided to try it on this time.

After a fun barbecue, it was starting to feel really hot outside. Both the Angel's and us have boats so we decided to load them up and head down to Lake Washington. Again, what a Blast. Everyone there, except Sara who was due to have her baby anyday was able to get in the water and cool off.

Look at me now!

2009-05-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that I am 6 months old? Boy how time flies when you are having so much fun. I am now sitting up all by myself! I can hold my bottle by myself too. I am also eating food. I don't like baby food at all. But I love food that I can hold and feed myself. My favorite foods have got to be Pizza Crust and Ice Cream. Which is how I got this awesome physique!! Just joking. My mom only let me have them once, but she could tell by how intense I got that I was really enjoying them. I like Bannanas, apples, toast, cheerios and graham crackers. I sleep through the night which makes mommy and daddy a lot nicer when they come get me in the morning. I love to smile and play with my older brothers. They are my best friends!

Here is a picture of Blake and Davie having fun on the trampoline. They sure have fun when they get together.They are such goofballs.

David, Blake, and Dana had so much fun playing all day!

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
How To Eat A Graham Cracker
by Brody Mendenhall

*Note: These pics below are posted by Becca. I snapped these ones after we had made the post, but I thought they were such a crack-up, that I hacked into Maria's blog to post them... and since Maria's computer is on the fritz and she can't view pics, you'll have to leave her a comment telling her how adorable Brody is!

Can Anyone Guess what we did yesterday???

2009-05-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know you might start getting sick of our family boat pictures, but you know how it is when you get a new toy.....

Yesterday was a perfect day to go boating. This time we took it out to Lake Washington. We invited some of our friends the Stephenson family to come with us. The boys had a lot of fun. They liked when Eric would go really fast and do fast turns.

Here are some more pictures:

Brody enjoying the boat ride and all the fun company.

Maria, Eric and Brody. Just chillin on the boat. Look how beatuiful it was yesterday. The water was so blue, and the scenery was amazing. We tried hard not to covet all those beautiful houses on the lake. I know I look wind blown again. I am going to have to figure out what to do with my hair on the boat.

Sandi and Joe posing for a pic. Aren't they so cute! I thought this was a good picture of these two.

Joe and Bridger Stephenson.

Sandi, Maria and Brody. Brody didn't seem to appreciate Eric turning his head to the camera. I am afraid he may grow up to have a phobia of camera's.

Eric let Tommy try to drive the boat all by himself today and Eric went and sat on the open bow with Blake. Tommy was a little nervous at first, but when he realized there was nothing for him to crash into, he had a lot of fun, just look at his face!

Eric and Brody

Maria and Brody

Brody just chillin on the boat.

I would like to say Eric was going so fast that it scared the pants off Blake, but Blake was not scared at all, maybe he was just going so fast, it BLEW the pants of Blake. All and ALL, Blake had a Blast.... WE ALL DID!!

BRRRRR!!!! But Still So Fun...

2009-05-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Well it wasn't raining!!! But it was exactly warm, but when you live in Washington and your Eric, 59 degrees is good enough. So we packed up the boat, packed up the kids, and packed a picnic and off we went to Lake Meridian to test out the boat. It was a lot of fun, even though it was cold. Blake loved driving the boat and dipping his feet in the water, and Tommy loved driving the boat and playing with the fish finder. He was wishing he brought his fishing pole. They also enjoyed looking at the ducks and the turtles that were seriously the size of Blakes head. Of course I forgot to get a picture of those and on the way back they were gone.

Daddy and Tommy just chillin on the boat.

Let me drive this thing!!

Just happy as can be!!

Calling Nanna- Guess what Nanna we got a boat. You chicken Noodle (For anyone that knows Blake, he calls everyone a chicken noodle these days.)

Yes... You heard him right. He did just call you a Chicken Noodle.

Brody seemed to really enjoy the boat, then when he got tired he just fell asleep in my arms. Could I look anymore wind blown. Oh well.

Blake posing for yet another picture!

Tommy wrapped up in a blanket, not wanting to pose for another picture. They can only take so much.

I love Blake's face in this picture. He was having soooooo much fun driving the boat. Especially when it was going fast. The faster the better!!

Does this life jacket make me look fat??

Are we having fun yet???

Eric just chillin on the open bow eating his lunch.

He Finally Did it!!!

2009-05-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

No, I am not talking about Blake going pee in the potty, of course I am happy to report that he did that too!!!

Eric finally bought his long awaited boat!! It is nothing fancy. Just something to take the kids out on and create some family memories. One of Eric's favorite memories growing up was boating with his family. My kids have also developed a love for boating, since Papa takes us out on the boat everytime we go visit. Here are some pictures of the boat:

And here are some pictures of why Eric wanted a boat so bad--(These pics were taken last summer in Utah.

Can't wait to create some memories. Now if the weather would shape up. But for those of you that thought we wouldn't use a boat much in Washington, you are wrong, this is Eric you are talking about, and we have already been out twice. Wind and all. No water tubing or skiing yet though. But my kids keep asking.

Anyone want to come with us???

Easter Weekend with Nana and Papa

2009-04-16T21:07:00.001-07:00

Eric's parents were able to spend Easter Weekend with us and we had a lot of fun. Of course Eric's dad Royden can't come up without some kind of project to keep him busy. Boy I love when he comes. I picked them up at the airport and noon and by six I had a new table top and storage in my walk in closet. I wish I got the before and after pictures but I didn't do before shots. I guess you will all have to come over and take a look. All I can say is I have the best Father in Law in the world. He is always so sweet to help us with long awaited projects. Thanks so much Royden!!

Of course I didn't make them work the whole time they were here. We also decorated Easter Eggs, had an easter egg hunt, enjoyed our hot tub and just played alot.

Unfourtunatley Eric's parents had to leave Easter Morning. We had so much fun with them. Papa layed down with the boys each night and would tell them stories. He even brought both of them a book that was his when he was a little boy. Tommy has already read his. It is the first chapter book he has read cover to cover. The night before they had to leave I heard some sniffiling in the boys room, I went in to see what was the matter and Tommy was crying. He didn't want Papa to leave. Papa doesn't get to come down as much as Nana and it was a real treat for the boys to get to spend so much one on one time with him. I let Tommy crawl out of bed and go stay up really late with Papa. Then Tommy made us promise to wake him up early so he could go to the airport to say good bye to Nanna and Papa. I could see him gulping real hard so he wouldn't cry. It is so neat to see the bond they have developed.

Once they left we took some Easter pics with the boys in there Easter clothes. I got them on sale for only $2.99 a piece. Score!!!

With Eric's parents heading back to Utah and my parents in Pennsylvania that left us stranded on Easter. So we got together with some good friends the Stephensons and the Flamm's and had a delicious Easter dinner, decorated Easter cookies, and of course another hunt.

As we were leaving the get together with our friends there was the most beautiful sky, I had to take a pic.

A Sunny Spring Day!!

2009-04-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

Last Monday was a beautiful day. The Sun was shinning and it was actually warm outside. Blake, Brody and I called up our good friends the Stephensons and invited them to lunch at a park. The boys loved every minute of it, from playing at the park, to going on a little nature hike. We had so much fun soaking in the sun and as much Vitamin D as we could before the rain came back. Anyone else so ready for Summer?

Sittin' Down with some good friends!!

Ryland having a "Man to Man" chat with Brody

An Awesome picture of Bridger. Look at his amazing Blue eyes. No editing needed!!!

Blake playing on the playground and getting caught by the camera.

Bridger and Ryland- What cute Kiddo's!! They were so great when I asked them to pose for pictures.

Ryland striking another pose!

Blake in a daze!!

Big Boy Brody!! Standing up!

The Three Musketeers: Ryland, Blake and Bridger

Playing with Photoshop....

2009-04-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

So my sister Becca came over and gave me a few pointers on how to use Photoshop. I just bought the basic Photoshop Ellements because it was on sale at Costco. Now I am not overwhelmed with my new Camera but with Photoshop as well. I could really waste a lot of time on the computer. This is so fun!!! But there is so much to learn. Anyway I thought I would show you some of my edited pictures....

Here is a before and after photoshop photo:

Before Photoshop

After Photoshop

Our "Field Trip" to Portland, OR

2009-04-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

This week was Tommy's Spring Break. IT was such a rainy week. By the end we were all climbing off the walls. Eric had Friday off. He came home from a meeting late Thursday night, and he could tell I was exhausted. We talked about the week and then decided to do something fun as a family. We got online, booked a priceline hotel in Portland OR. We were lucky, and got the Hilton in Lake Oswego, OR. (Right next to the LDS Portland Temple). We were also lucky that the hotel we got had a pool!!

I must say this was an awesome trip.Or as Blake kept calling it a "Field Trip" The kids were so excited just to stay in a hotel,go swimming and go to McDonald's! It really doesn't take much to please them. What I think they enjoyed the most though, was the getaway. Mom and Dad didn't have chores to do. The phone didn't keep ringing. We got to give our kids our full undivided attention. And I can tell they loved every minute of it. It just reminded me how fun my little kids are. How fast they are growing up. And how we need to take a moment and enjoy it! It was worth putting the laundry on hold.

Here are some pics. I am still playing with all the settings on my camera. I wouldn't say that I got a "perfect shot" this time. But I did capture some fun memories.

On The Road - Our Field Trip

Blake and Brody cuddling in the "Really big Hotel Bed"

Blake and Tommy playing in the Pool.

Tommy jumping over Eric in the pool. Blurry pic, but Tommy is quite proud of it.

Cute Pic of Blake

Tommy and Blake fighting all the bad guys on the Temple Grounds. (Believe it or not, they couldn't find a one.)

Brody and I looking at the Temple

The boys were sad that they couldn't go in the Temple. But I know they felt the spirit on the temple grounds.

Another cute pic. ( Are you getting bored yet??? Sorry there are so many pics. I always have a hard time choosing.)

Nice Pic of the Portland Temple and satue of Captain Moroni

Tommy looks mad, but it is actually his cool face.

By the Waterfall!!

The END!!

We had so much fun, Tommy asked if we can make this a tradition every Spring Break, and I think we just might!!

Playing around with New Camera

2009-03-30T07:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Eric and I finally had a free moment to play around with our kids and our new Camera. It was a pretty (but freezing cold) day, so we , bundled our kids up and went for a walk down on Redondo.
(I know I have a lot of professional photography friends out there, and I know these are far from, professional, so bare with me.) I can't believe how many buttons there are on these new camera's and so many things to remember, apature, shutter speed, ect. I played around with it so much, half the time I missed a cute moment. I don't know how you guys do it. I am starting to think maybe I should have just went with a point and shoot camera. This is way to overwhelming. And I haven't even started playing with Photoshop yet. Yikes!!!

Anyways, here are some of our favorite pics:

Short and unsuccessful...

2009-03-20T14:06:00.001-07:00

And... NO!, of course I'm not referring to cute little Brody. I'm actually referring to our sorry attempt to do a cute little photoshoot with the little chub-chub. These are just a few shots Becca took while trying to figure out the lighting and before she could figure it out she had to take off so these were all we got.

the "you're not amusing me" shot

the "drool" shot

the "yummy blankie" shot

the "I love my toes!" shost

the "smile... just not at you" shot

Here is a funny one we snapped of Blake when he wanted his turn! Too cute.

So... even though this did not work out this time, we still love this little guy and think he's adorable!... even with drool running down his chin. I'm sure we'll get together again soon and hopefully get some more pics. So stay tunned. I have a lot more cute hats to show off!!

P.S. Maybe I will even take some with my NEW camera. Yes, Eric and I finally upgraded our camera. I probably wouldn't have accept ours finally completly broke. I am sure my pics are not going to be as professional as Becca's, but they should be a heck of a lot better then they were before.