Thankful

I am ever so thankful for a life full of blessings.

I thank God for my family and for the lessons they teach. Claire, Owen and Brad are my everything!

I am thankful for a wonderful, supportive husband that through our daily grind of working, parenting and trying to remember ourselves, "has my back".

I am thankful for two sets of parents that each year show Brad and I by example what it means to have a strong happy marriage. And that we can overcome anything. I can only hope and pray to be an example for my own children. I am also so thankful that mine and Brad's parents are friends. A rare find I know, but not suprising as all four of them rare and wonderful people.

I am thankful that my babies are not always "easy", because through them I am learning to be better mom and a better person. I am also thankful for when they ARE easy!

I am thankful for my three beautiful sisters and the men that support them. I pray everyday for their success and happiness.

I am thankful for my two nephews, who bring us so much joy.

And last I am thankful for my friends. My "old" and my "new" friends. I have realized that with age the number of friends you have gets MUCH smaller, but the quality of the ones who remain is AMAZING. Thanks for your love and support.

Fitting Right In

Our kitty Lexi is making herself right at home. We have had her a few months now and everyone loves her...yes even Brad. In fact, she is more Brad's cat than any one's. The cat LOVES him. The kids are a little rough, but she doesn't seem to mind and enjoys all the attention. We shall call her Lexi Petunia Kitten Clark.

Crazy Kiddos

The other day the kids discovered that they could fit in the cabinet that their toys are in. They played in there for hours. Open, shut, switch, both....so much fun. No fingers have been smashed as of yet, but surely to come.

Snow in November?

Well the weather man was right....

It started snowing here around 1:00pm and as I'm standing in my kitchen starting dinner and checking my blog it is still snowing. We have almost 2 inches! Brad worked a little more on the chicken house and thinks the girls will be in their new home this week. Yippee!

Drive safe and enjoy the snow.

Hunting.....

Brad got home yesterday from Hunting at the cabin. No elk this year, but they saw a lot of animals and he had a blast. For those of you who don't hunt, going "hunting" is just half it. They go as much for the camaraderie as for the hunting. Brad has been looking forward to this all year. Owen helped Brad get his gear together before he left and is so looking forward to being old enough to tag a long. Brad can still hunt in Washington for most of December so you still might get to see a "kill" post.

Dinner with Papa and Amma

My parents stopped in on their way home from La Grande from being with Katie for her tonsil surgery to have dinner with us. The kids were excited of course, I think Amma Debbie read 15 books in the 3 hours they were here. My sister Katie had her tonsils out and is recovering nicely. Oh and the the ice cream think is a myth! You can't have dairy products after you get your tonsils out. I always thought you got to sit around and eat ice cream for a week, I feel completely cheated (I hope I never have to get mine out).

My Mom Cut My Hair....

Okay I'm afraid I cut my little man's beautiful blonde hair too short. He is handsome of course but we are doing pictures on Thursday. Next time I will use a No. 4! The last time I took him to the salon he flew off the handle which was out of the norm, so this time I decided to do it my self. He was totally fine with it, wasn't scared or cranky, just excited about getting a sucker after his hair cut. I sure wish I would have started with a No. 4!

Saturday Fun

We met Kenzie, Ricky, Hunter, Brad's Aunt Chris and cousins Katherine and Morgan yesterday to watch Katherine's play-off soccer game. They live in Gig Harbor so we don't get to see them as much as we would like. The kids love going to games.

Great Aunt Chris and Claire Jean snuggling.
Aunt Kenzie, Great Aunt Chris and Hunter.
Uncle Ricky, Hunter, Morgan, Aunt Kenzie and shy boy Owen James.
After the game we headed to Hunter's house for Ruben sandwiches....YUM! Claire ate her first pickle. She has tried them before, but this time she actually ate the pickle!
After dinner Owen got to have the Birthday treat Grandma Ceal bought for him. Have you ever seen anything like this? It's a crazy BIG Rice Krispie Treat. As you can imagine it was loved by all.

Happy Halloween 2010

We started Halloween morning at the cabin. We got up, had breakfast, cleaned up and headed to Katie and Levi's to pick up some block for yet another project we have planned for the house. Then we hit the road, Sissy slept most of the way home. So sweet!

Brad thought it would be fun to get a Jack-o-lantern pizza for dinner so we swung into Papa Murphy's on our way home. The kids thought it was pretty radical (can you tell?).

DE-LISH!

Cabin Fun

A few shots of the cabin property, sorry no pics of the actual cabin. BEAUTIFUL!Here are some shots of the kiddos exploring around the cabin. They were so interested in all the new things. There was a tree house, a pond, elk sheds, the creek, you name it.... Crafts. We made fall themed bags for Katie's cookie exchange party she is hosting next week.
Friday night we roasted marshmallows around the fire pit....yum!More crafts. Katie did a Halloween craft with the kiddos. Owen loves the ghost sound, oooooooooooooooh oooooooooooooh!We headed out in the woods for lunch. It was a great drive with lots to see. We stopped for lunch high enough to play in the snow and had a cozy fire to roast our hot dogs. What a perfect day.
Fun pics, my sis and my babies!Saturday night we did mock Halloween. After dinner the kids dressed up in their costumes and trick-or-treated the back door at the cabin. Auntie Katie had plenty of candy on hand, the kids were overjoyed. That was the extent of it but it was a blast! What and adorable pink poodle and ferocious dinosaur.