Sunday, August 31, 2008

august in review

july came and went to fast...the first of the month i was watching connor and meg. brooke was really missing sirri-so kendon brought over some pictures from the hospital so i could try to explain what was going on, she was doing pretty good and kept asking alot of questions until we came to this picture right after surgery...
it was too much for brooke, her friend looked hurt. she started to cry and said "i don't want sirri to be there anymore." well brooke got her wish about a week later-sirri came home and is cancer free-yeah! we are so happy for this wonderful miracle.
we had the lusk family reunion-kents granparents relatives(we didn't know alot of people)-but brooke and the kids loved all the games, nothing like a sack race;)
kelsi and brooke started soccer...well brooke started and stopped her very first game...she went out on the field and as the whistle blew everyone took after the ball, everyone that is except for brooke-she just stood there with her finger in her mouth. her coach was encouraging her to go get the ball but she still just stood there, then the ball came within a foot of her and everyone started to yell -kick the ball little girl: you can do it. well i guess it was just too much for boo and she ran off the field crying and told me "i am never playing soccer again-not ever!" that was her season. kelsi had a very interesting season as well-her age group was 6th through 8th grade-well kelsi is not a very big 6th grader to begin with and having 8th grade boys on teams was such a size difference...it cracked me up at times-at first she was a little intimidated but by the end of the season she was playing as aggressive as ever-their last game was such a good game...i was sad to see the season end-they beat a team they had lost to twice before. she scored one goal for the season-way to go!
we went to the madison county fair-it is so small: no rides, only a handful of booths and a couple of food vendors...my kids love it, a few things we did: saw the animals(their favorite), saw kelsi's 4-h project(her scrapbook pages), went in the smoke house(the fire station fills a trailer up with fake pancake smelling smoke and you have to crawl on the floor and climb out a window-we do this as long as they let us), this year they didn't have tractors to climb on but they had an army tank they could go in and explore, and we always eat our free creamies(from the police department) by the stage and my kids dance around to the music and show off...this year as i was sitting there on the benches watching my kids goof around i hear "look at that little boy!" thinking koy was probably doing something very cute-i discover he is peeing right off the stage in front of everyone...what a show!
kent and i celebrated our 14th anniversary-we went to macks inn for dinner and a live play-"phantom of the grand ole oprey"it was very fun...i love that kent still makes me feel special, he is always complimenting me and he has never ever(even in anger) called me mean names-i think after 14 years that is amazing but that's why i married him him: he is amazing!
poor boo snap-ouch...she got an abcess tooth, her whole lip and gums swelled up-we had to get the front two pulled because the infection was trapped under her teeth and they were worried about her permanent teeth. she did not like it one bit-i don't blame her, i'm not a fan of the dentist either!
first day back to school-we were all excited!
happy birthday to kara! kara is one of the toughest people i know. to prove it she ran 6miles on a broken ankle in the hood to coast marathon-i always have said she is crazy competitive...but that's what makes her kara-she also the next weekend ran a 5k on crutches...she had bruises on her arms and blisters on her hands.she's tough but she's also one of the most caring people i know too-i don't think i could survive motherhood without her.i have always told kent that my phone bill to her is alot cheaper than all the therapy i would need without her:)
koy learned to ride his bike without training wheels-he would fall over and look at his hands and knees and say "i'm otay" and get right back on...if you notice the gloves-he did get a little sore on his hands.
kaden started playing flag football-he made this interception in his 4th game...this year could be the end of his football career since he is not sure that he wants to play tackle football next year.
happy birthday to my dad-i've said it before and i'll keep saying it, i know the world would be a happier place if everyone had a dad like mine.i realize now that sometimes as a parent your efforts go unthanked so i would like to thank my dad for a few things:
*thank you for still writing me little letters or calling just to say you were thinking of me.
*thank you for showing me nature-how can you not be in awe of this beautiful world.
*thank you for playing even when maybe you weren't feeling up to it.
*thank you for always being interested in what i was.
*thank you for not only teaching me the gospel but showing me how happy it makes you "wickedness never was happiness"
*thank you for teaching me how to work-WE'RE BURNING DAYLIGHT!
*thank you for teaching me to sing about everything.
*thank you for never talking bad about others...i can still hear you singing"who am i to judge another- Lord, i would follow thee"
*thank you for all the things that i didn't thank you for before.
the last saturday of the month was the pocatello marathon-my dad turned 60 and we all decided to make a party out of it. i being the nut i am decided that if my dad at 60 could run a full marathon then me at 34 should at least be able to do half that, so i signed up for the half marathon.well i'm not a runner...so i didn't train but i really thought i was in good enough shape. i started to know i was in trouble on the bus ride up to our drop off point-the two runners next to me were excitedly talking about their strategies, they talked about not eating cheese for a week(don't know what that has to do with running) and all different kinds of "good" carbs they had consumed and they had these little packets of "energy boost" and "power blast" that at certain miles they were going to need? i should have had a better strategy than to just run...well we were dropped off and waiting to start when some of the marathon runners ran by and who do i see MY DAD-well that made me so excited he was already half way done...so i waved to him and we started shortly after that. i stayed with the pack pretty good at first but by mile 7 and 8 i was starting to get passed more frequently: my feet were so hot something i didn't know would happen, my arms hurt from keeping them in running position so long, my abs were starting to feel like i had done a million crunches, my upper back was hurting from being in running position also, but my legs were really starting to hurt-i never realized how much you use your hamstrings and lower rear end for running.well by mile 9 i was wishing i had one of those "power blast" things but i settled for a 1/4 a banana, but my bananergy never kicked in... i was slowing way down.then i saw my dad i had caught up with him-i was so happy to see him, it made me sad that he was hurting too! that was at about mile 10 and shortly after that jess was passing me-she was running the full marathon and literally blew past me(she did say hi)-she is awesome and way tough...she had blisters all over her feet-inspiring, not to have blisters but to just keep going in all the pain.then there was the last hill-i didn't think it was going to end and i felt like i was just creeping up it... at the top was a very welcomed water station, i also learned that i can't run and drink at the same time. then i saw the mile 11 sign and i thought i only have 2 more to go-i can do this! no i couldn't my legs just said no i tried to will them i actually thought i really could, but they said no and i walked mile 11. it was only a little embarrassing.i learned a very important lesson-it doesn't matter how good of shape you are in, you still need to train, so those muscles that your not used to working get the training they need.it still was alot of fun-my family all had signs on our backs mine said "my dad is 60 and i still can't catch him." alot of people would pass by and comment...it really kept me going. we had a fun weekend being together as a family-i missed all the kids fun runs because i was so slow, butthey all loved getting their medals. the next day i was also reminded how shin splints felt, i hadn't had those since high school when i played soccer-ouch.
kent got to spend his birthday weekend doing what he loves-hunting(the picture is from a different year) and i had family up so we didn't get a chance to sing to him so here's my birthday song for him...
for he's a jolly good fellow
for he's a jolly good fellow
for he's a jolly good fellow
that turned 35 this year!
and here's a few of the reasons why i think kent is such a jolly good fellow:
*anything he does, he does well-just look at my sandbox...amazing!
*he never complains if the house is messy(even when i know it totally bugs him)
*he lets me put my cold feet on him.
*he works hard and loves to stay busy.
*he trys to help me out-like putting grass clippings on my garden.
*he is always encouraging me to do the things i enjoy.
*he enjoys plays or concerts as much as i do.
*he gives the BEST massages.
*he comes to bed smelling nice-i can't say the same.
*he loves me!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

july in review

july must have been one fun month because my memory card was full before it was even over. at the first of the month i was able to go to the temple with my mom and dad-which is always wonderful but this time i was able to stand in the prayer circle with my dad-very special!
koy is such a little bug catcher, anything that crawls-he is fascinated by...our bug catchers have been full with all kinds of fun pets: caterpillars, lady bugs, worms, tadpoles, snakes, grasshoppers, and crickets (koys favorite). we were sitting on the coach one night reading books and koy said "mom, do you hear that?" "what?" "those CLICKETS outside...i love when they click!"
we were able to spend the 4th of july in fillmore again this year-it's my favorite place to celebrate it...it is small town fun! we love the parade and the festivities in the park: the kids rode the bumpy tractor and koy & kaden got dunked in the dunk tank.
kent and the kids loved shooting their bows...i love that he shares his hobbies with us-the kids never tire of hanging out with their dad.
then we went to see the fireworks and they are the best in fillmore. earlier in the day the boys park the truck right up to the field where they shoot them off-you can even see the cannons and people on the field. koys face says it all-he was in awe the whole time. they played music this year, which at first annoyed me, i'm not one for loud music. but as they started lighting the fireworks off they began playing patriotic songs; i got really emotional at the words to a song-it was about that what we have is worth fighting for. and i started to think about all those who are fighting for our freedoms and that they miss out on so much in their own families lives so i can enjoy mine. i am so "proud to be an american" (one of my favorite songs) and am thankful for all those who sacrifice and have sacrificed so much for our country!
at one of our favorite summer spots-rigby lake. we didn't get their as much as i wanted (gas was so high $4.50) but we still love it. brooke and sirri thought it was so funny to get their moms wet...
this is their sneaky game faces as they plot their next attack!
here is what my counter looked like a couple of weeks after swim camp-yikes! kelsi had swimmers ear which turned into an infection. brooke (and breeana) had a weird slobbering mouth sore disease (disgusting) and some kind of infected bumps on her legs and probably what the doctor said looked like strep throat.
on this day koy and a bunch of his little buddies wanted to build a fort so off they went to the wood pile and they were all so cute as they would help each other carry the boards. they would sing "what's gonna work? team work. what's gonna work? team work."-from the wonder pets-it was so cute...
they finished their cute little fort and all squished in for a popsicle: braxton, boone, eric, richard, connor and koy-great team work!
we also found a new favorite summer spot...egin lakes and it's close-which is a bonus!
the lakes never get above the kids waists and they just love catching toad tadpoles.
we were able to go to one of the most amazing places i have ever been-thanks to aubreys family. they have a ranch up in nicholia, idaho (which is now a ghost town). we spent our time fishing...
and explore the old mining town-which was absolutely amazing-i don't think i have to worry about world traveling...we have everything i would love to see right here in idaho.
the kids also enjoyed riding uncle dave's horses, it was so much fun-i hope we get to go back someday!
kaden celebrated his 9th birthday-he was very excited about his cake-i printed off big versions of the rare egyptian god cards (from yu-gi-oh). he really wanted these three cards for his birthday but at one hundred dollars for the three, that would never happen...he was equally as pleased with the big copies! but the real excitement came from the birthday candles though-i didn't have any and seeing that our birthday was on sunday i decided to use tea lights (which are good for jack-o-lanterns not for birthday cakes!) i will explain: while my dad was wishing me a happy birthday on the phone, brooke and koy decided to throw them all over the kitchen. well probably a little known fact of tea lights is that they explode into a million pieces when thrown all over the kitchen. so as i get off the phone and see the mess-i order everyone out of the kitchen to clean (i am never cool and collected in these moments, so no picture of the mess) i have to say, by far, wax is the worst mess ever to clean up and i know messes...remember i lived through kelsi as a toddler (queen dumper). needless to say that i have a waxy buildup all over my kitchen. so happy birthday to me!
at the end of the month we went to our banks picnic and koy wanted to do the dunk tank. so he went to stand in line-all the other kids were alot older than him that were doing it and the moms around me kept saying "look at that little boy, he thinks he's going to do it!"
no surprise to me-he did it! brooke even got to throw the ball that put him in. kelsi and kaden liked the fish scramble, they have a big swimming pool and put some rainbow trout in it and some have special tags that you can win money... kelsi caught two fish and kaden caught one but no money, it's still so funny to watch them scramble and boy those fish are slippery!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

caterpillars

koy caught a caterpillar the other day and he said,"mom if i feed my caterpillar lots of leaves it will turn into a racoon!" wow-pretty cool caterpillar.

meg

*putting marbles in the toilet
*not sitting in the shopping cart (at least not willingly)
*throwing macaroni and cheese all over the kitchen
*dumping the fish food & eating it (sorry lisa)
*taking her OWN bath-clothes and all
*opening ramen noodles all by herself and eating it raw
*unrolling the toilet paper (every chance she got)

oh having meg around... reminded me of how busy and full of life a toddler is-I LOVE IT!
thanks meg

Thursday, August 7, 2008

what babysitters do

do you ever wonder what your babysitters do with your kids while your gone- well i'm going to show you what i do...after cleaning up way too many of megs messes:
i put her to work-cleaning my yucky garbage can.
she begged me to let her stop-but not yet!
then i made her stay in there, all day long (at least it's clean).
no matter how sad she got!
or how many faces she pulled at me.

i know: i'm pretty tough! So you better think twice before letting me watch your kids.

frozen pizza

i asked connor,"do you want frozen pizza for lunch?"
connor replied,"no way! that would be gross-i like warm pizza."
too cute!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

june in review

june went by way too fast...maybe because i was only home for one week out of the month-
first we had t-ball: i love t-ball it's all about having fun! i said i would coach brookes team with my friend lisa marie this year forgetting that i would be in washington for two weeks and had swim camp the last week. the two games (yes two games-can you say worlds worst coach) were tons of fun and we had the cutest team ever...quite the tongue twister of names though-boys: crue, carson, clay and caleb...girls: sirri, sicilly, savannah and brooke.
we were able to go to the beach when we went to washington-my kids loved, i mean LOVED the beach. there is no words to describe their faces as they saw the ocean as we came up over the hill. in brookes words "holy cow that's alot of sand!" it was very chilly, the oregon coast usually is but i think this was the coldest i ever remember it... 54 degrees with some wind too. the kids still couldn't resist getting wet-clothes and all. and we made sand castles with my dad ( he's very good) and even found some sand dollars (thanks to my dad and his early morning run on the beach and some clever stashing).
my mom and me took brooke and koy to the airport to see the circle doors...this story goes back a little ways-brooke was watching some movie and said mom you have to come see this, so i rewinded the movie a little and she said " look at this door, it's so silly-it goes around and around in a circle." i thought it was so funny, her and koy had such a good time going around and around and around...i might not ever have to take them to disneyland-they were equally impressed with this. i guess when you live in small town idaho, your easily amused at big city things!
my mom decided to throw a tea party for the 3 little kids-koy, brooke and breeanna. my mom told koy he could be a prince but koy wanted to be a princess...he informed us he was sleeping beauty and kept laying down the whole time, it was so funny. i haven't shown these pictures to kent, he'll be so proud!
along with the circle doors-my kids couldn't get enough of the escalators (magic stairs).
i gave koy some of my change at a discount store and told him he could pick out a treat to buy. next thing i know we lost koy-when i find him, he has candy and reciept in hand...he went to the counter and bought it all by himself-wow.
our trip to washington was super fun and the travel wasn't near as bad as i thought it would be. i tallied 23 "it's taking too longs" and a few "it's taking forevers". we traveled about 2000 miles which cost about $382 in gas-a small price to pay for great memories...thanks mom and dad!
the last week in june me and kara did swim camp up at green canyon. i'm hooked- it was lots of fun and i can't wait to camp the whole week with kara next year. the kids all learned so much, i really was impressed. kaden won the diving ring/stick contest everyday-he usually was able to get between 15-17 in one breathe.