The Olsen family

crazy love

2012-02-14T22:30:00.000-08:00

Our February has been fabulous so far. We are Valentine crazy over here.

Ellie had to make a valentine box for a school contest. Here's her final love monster;

She WON!!

These were her Valentines this year. She helped make about 3 of them and then said that she was giving up because "obviously you have to have three hands to do this."

These are Connor's army guy Valentines.

I love these! May even do them again next year.

And since Macie is everything cowgirl, we made these cute guns with holsters.

I really have started to love this Holiday more and more. We even started a new tradition with a mailbox Valentines morning at breakfast.

I love being their mom!

birthday in bend

2012-02-13T22:58:00.001-08:00

Bend has become our new favorite getaway place. I have been up in Bend a few times in the last few months for different things and this weekend my mom and I surprised Julie and whisked her up there for a weekend of being spoiled for her 29th Birthday.

(See her surprised face!)

We missed Laur Laur the whole time. :( move here!

We have a favorite hotel there that is right in the center of everything we needed. Food, IMAX theater, and shopping!

To be honest..we all could have stayed in the hotel the entire weekend and would have been just as happy as ever.

The gym and pool are open 24 hours,comfy beds, the breakfast rocks, and they have warm chocolate chip cookies and cocoa for you when you walk in. Plus we got to smooch on this little chunk.....

We love you Leelou!!

And it is apparent from this photo that you love us right back, right?

iPhoto's.....

2012-01-29T22:20:00.001-08:00

1. My sweet Sawyer who has been super sick with chest yuk. Had his 3rd xray, back on breathing treatments and still trying to figure out what it all is....

2. Date Night with the hubbs at a Coats concert. Felt like we were in High School all over again....but this time we liked each other....

. 3. Macie and some super hot fireman ;) at the Childrens Museum

. 4. Sawyer callin' Grandpa on a "tone"

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and 5... iFatFace Macie....this picture made me laugh so hard tears were streaming!

CONNORisms

2012-01-17T22:14:00.000-08:00

Connor: "Mom, wanna play Bingo with me?"
Me: "Sure let me just put on some good music for us. What kind of music do you want to listen to?"
Connor: " Um... maybe some church music. Or some Christmas music."
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A few seconds later.....

Connor: "Just make it Christmas-y and Jesus-y"

Lately....

2012-01-13T21:29:00.000-08:00

..... there is many a battle fought under our roof.

Lately we have been pretending to eat plastic food with our friends at play dates.
Lately we consider wall climbing in the hallway just as good as real rock climbing.

and Lately we pull out the video camera before bedtime to try to capture the cutest rendition of "Beat It" you've ever seen. We almost got it.

ugly sweater party

2012-01-03T10:24:00.000-08:00

In December I hosted our Bunco group and we had ourselves a good old fashion Ugly Sweater Party. Loved that I got to use an ugly sweater picture that was close to my heart for the invites: I have so much fun with these girls. Never a dull moment.

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Here's my ugly outfit which includes...wait for it.....a Bumpit! (aka the Utah fun dome)

Good times!

FaLaLa.....and Breathe

2011-12-27T21:23:00.000-08:00

MERRYeverythingHAPPYalways!!

love, the olsens

Polar Express Night 2011

2011-12-27T20:23:00.000-08:00

Another Polar Express night went off without a hitch, except that Macie and Sawyer were to sick to come this year.

New this year: Sweet little Landyn.

Our conductor had a new train whistle.

and Brand new HUGE red bells!

Here are more pictures of our super fun night.

the best and the worst

2011-12-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

When Scott told me he had to work the game at KU and couldn't make it to Connors game I didn't think much of it. I figured I would go and be there and all would be fine. Then Sawyer got a fever and his cough sounded horrible. So I asked Connor if he would be ok with us missing one game and he said that would be just fine so I dropped him off and his coach kept an eye on him and brought him home.
I heard.....He did great!
I also heard......it was his VERY. LAST. GAME!!!!

I cried a little. Scott swears he told me about it being the last game. Images of him walking up to get his award and looking for us on the bleachers. auuuhhhh.
Worst mom ever award.

Anyway he got a trophy and was beside himself about it. We are so proud of this little man.

CONNORisms

2011-12-14T23:39:00.000-08:00

Connor is a mama's boy and besides me he won't let another person kiss him without wiping it off. It's a little family joke to see who can kiss Connor without it getting wiped.
Anyway, tonight when my Dad brought him home from a Grandpa -Connor date he had given him a bunch of yard sticks. When Scott was tucking him in he said he was gonna sneak back into his room and give him a kiss on the cheek while he was sleeping cause if he is sleeping he couldn't wipe it off.
When I got home from mutual Scott was laughing and told me to look at what Connor was building in his room. When I peeked in I saw row after row of yard sticks blocking the way to his bed. He looked at me laughing and I said "Connor, are you making some boobie traps?"
Ten minutes later I hear him moving in his room again and Scott hollers for him to go to bed. He says "But Dad, I am fixing my Boob traps!"

getting excited

2011-12-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

The excitement for Christmas in our house is crazy! We have been doing our Christmas binder and getting gifts for our Secret Santa's.

Last night we made our traditional Borax ornaments with Grandpa Evan and he started the countdown towards our Polar Express night. The kids have been so nice to each other this morning trying to earn some Polar Express dollars for their ticket and their treats.

Wanna know what else is making my kids want to be extra nice and helpful? It's this little guy...

his name is Blizzard and he is a gift from heaven, I tell ya, for this mama! All I have to say is guess who's watching you and their eyes shoot up to the shelf. Presto chango!

Seriously thinking about keeping this elf up ALL YEAR!!!

Girlie PJ party

2011-12-12T20:20:00.000-08:00

It was our turn to host Macie's Girlie Girl group and our theme was a Pajama Party. We had quite a small group of girls but they had a bunch of fun.

We turned our table into a huge bed and the girls ate heart shaped cinnamon rolls, fruit and juice right on the bed.

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They all got to play some games in the big toy room and then we painted nails. Lastly, all the girls got a little travel bag to take home with everything they would need for bedtime. Including a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a night owl.

I put rice inside the owls so that the girls can warm them up in the microwave and then have a warm little owl buddy for bedtime.

Macie sure loves her little friends. I really wonder sometimes who will still be in this little town when they are all older and in High School. :)

Preschool for Macie loo hoo

2011-11-30T21:55:00.000-08:00

We just got pictures back today of Macie's preschool class this year and I LOVE them. (Fantastic job Camille!)

These are some of my Fav's.

Enjoy!

Banana Slugs!

2011-11-30T21:26:00.000-08:00

Connor is on a basketball team for the first time this year and he is loving it. The name Banana Slugs comes from the yellow and black jerseys and his coach is our longtime family friend (and his future father in law) Rob Coffman.

Mind you, these are all 6 year olds but Connor is pretty darn good. The first game he scored at least 7 times but since that game, because of the exciting cheering he gets when this happens, he tends to be a ball hog. We're working on that.

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(If you look really close in this picture you can see him whistling. He whistled the music from Harry Potter the entire game)

This is the first sport he has played that when he is done he is dripping with sweat. It is a good workout for him. He's excited to go to practices and games for the basketball itself but...

mostly to see Isa.

Thankful Tree

2011-11-22T21:06:00.000-08:00

This Thursday is Thanksgiving and usually I just want to get past it and onto Christmas, but this year I really wanted to make sure we carved out time to stop and be truly thankful.

We all made a list of the things we were thankful for that day, and then that week, and finally what we were thankful for that year. We all took turns telling everyone and then writing it on a paper leaf and adding it to our Thankful Tree.

Some of the things are silly and minor, but they were also very thoughtful and came up with some that I never would have thought of.

I am so thankful for my little family.

videos

2011-11-11T23:45:00.000-08:00

We have been so busy around here lately.
Some of the highlights are that I got to spend a whole weekend with some of my FAB girlfriends up in Bend, shopping and eating, and shopping and eating!! So great.

The kids have been spending time getting ready for their Primary Program, playing in the Fall leaves with friends and passing around a yucky 24 hour tummy bug. And the last couple of days we have been spending time with Olsen cousins doing some spelunking at the Lava Beds, frying up Scott's Halibut from Alaska and freezing at the Parade downtown.

We have all been Loving the Zumba classes at the YMCA and I took a fuzzy quick video of the girls getting their workout on. Also, because I think it is stinkin' cute, I threw in one of Macie right before Preschool. Enjoy!

Halloween town

2011-10-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

We love this Holiday! You get to be silly and eat candy. What's not to love.

We have one of these little gnome's this year;

A sweet little girl scout;

Mr. Harry Potter;

And a scary vampire who left with friends so I haven't gotten to take her picture yet.

We have been carving pumpkins;

And making yummy treats, these are witches fingers;

And this year the kids woke up to some sort of spider web outside there door that they had to break through to come to breakfast.

We're all excited for tonight.

Muuuuhhahahah!

KU cheer camp

2011-10-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

Scott surprised Ellie and signed her up for KU's cheer camp again this year. She got to be in it with a bunch of her friends this year and she loved it. Because all of the "Real Cheerleaders" know her dad she went early and got to hang out with them while they did their cheers. Every time I looked over she was on one of the girls shoulders or holding one of their hands. Yea, she is just a little proud that she got to be one of them till her part came up at half time.

Here is a short video of part of their dance. She gets a little sidetracked watching one of the big cheerleaders doing the routine. She had so much fun and cheered her little heart out for those KU football players.

baby boy~17months

2011-10-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

Sawyer.
Oh, we love this boy so much. He is so fun and as darling as they come.
This month he has been repeating everything he hears. His vocab has more than doubled in the last few months. Everywhere we go people comment on how blonde this boy is and ask me where he got his curly hair. I don't know how I will ever cut those curls.
He loves to swim, climb up onto tables, kiss babies, eat dog food and put his finger in everyones belly buttons. He loves his big brother and sisters and will climb up into their laps, say "Hi" and then smother them with puckered lipped kisses.
He is very good about saying "Thank you" and he sings along to the song Look Down from Les Miserables....it may be the cutest thing ever. And believe it or not he can whistle. My guess is that it is because his big brother whistles NON STOP and is darn good.
If I'm not keeping him out of the toilet, or the trash then I am chasing him around the house trying to get him to spit some object out of his mouth. He keeps us on our toes and I just know I am going to miss every exhausting minute of this stage so badly when my house is quiet and empty of kids all day.

Witches Day Out

2011-10-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

Macie's October Girlie Girl party was a few weeks ago and the theme was Witches Day Out. It was so cute to see all the girls all dressed up like witches.
I am posting pictures that I stole off of my friends blog cause I didn't take any.
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Boy, did she have fun.

We love Halloween season.

Girly Girl Club

2011-09-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

Macie is lucky to have so many friends right around her age.

Most of them little girls. A few of my friends thought it would be fun to create a Girly Girl Club where once a month we get them all together and have a party. The parties rotate from house to house each month (their are 12 girls, one for each month) and each party has a different theme.

Their first Girls Club party was this month and it was a Princess Party. What a way to start, the girls loved every bit of it. They had to come dressed up like a Princess so Macie let me curl her hair. This never happens so I jumped at the chance!

Then came time for the pretty dresses.

(Macie getting ready with some of her favorite girls Janie and Jillie)

At the party the girls got to play several games. A dress-up game, a wand and crown making station, cookie decorating station, nail painting, bracelets, and lots of yummy treats.

It was so fun to see her trying to be fancy with all these little girls. Girls are so darn fun and I am glad she gets to have so many others to play princess with.

My month is December and I have a Pajama Party theme! Ideas are swirling, I am eating this up!

Pinterest PARTY!!

2011-09-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Does everyone know about Pinterest by now?

I finally became a huge Pinterest junkie this Summer. I find it so incredibly helpful for so many reasons. The biggest reason is organization of all the things I love and want to make, use, copy, or buy. I have seriously cooked more, dressed cuter and made some super cute things in the last few months because of all the fun things I have pinned.

My sister Julie and I were talking about how fun it is and how we have to continue to justify our time spent on pinning things. I knew I had to start taking more items off of my to do list.

So I had an idea!!!

Wouldn't it be so great if I could get the local Pinterest-ers together and we can bring all the projects we want to work on that we pinned from Pinterest.

A Pinterest Party.

It could even be a quarterly thing. Aaaannnd, we could all bring a dish, or treat that we made from a recipe we pinned.

Sort of a girls night out, being creative, and getting to share what we all love!

So.....I'm doin' it. Who's with me?

Julie and I have been brainstorming ideas and want to host it!

If your in Klamath....GET ON PINTEREST already...shesh!!! Then let me know if you wanna come party it up with us and I'll send you a cute invite with more details.

this one..

2011-09-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

This one has been sick lately.

And when he's sick he wants what he wants, like when he went all day with this travel neck pillow around his neck and would NOT take it off. For anything.

And what happened when mama tried to take it off just for a second so he could eat? A whole lotta sad pouty lip..

And some big tears.

Poor baby Sawyer.

Expressions of Love

2011-09-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

I love this, and just wanted to pass it on.

Back to school Spa Day

2011-09-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

Before school starts I like to do a fun Spa day to get the kids excited for school and also to make sure they are trimmed up and squeaky clean.

This year Macie got to be a part of the fun.

We did masks, manicures, pedicures, Connor got to "shave", and each one got to have a hot bubble bath with spa jets, and relaxing music.

I may have been just as excited as they were, I'll admit it.

This year Daddy decided that his contribution to the Spa day every year will be to get a fun surprise treat for them at the end.

BIG HIT!!

Pre, First and Third

2011-09-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's back to school around our house! Last week Ellie started 3rd grade, Connor 1st grade and Macie Pre-school.

It is so nice to be back on a regular schedule and fun for mom getting use to having only ONE at home for 3 hours a day-3 days a week.

road trip to Cali

2011-09-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

My sweet hubby said to me I should go on a little trip by myself (since having the kids for 9 days by myself made me a little loco) and he suggested that I take my sister Lauren who has been visiting with her one year old Oaklen.

And then my Mom decided she wanted to go. And my dad. And I decided that since we were headed to the "resort" that is my Aunt Jan's house....I might just need to take my oldest 2 kids too because they would never leave the pool anyway.

So my little vaca trip, turned out to be filled with lots of family and it was actually way better that way.

I got to have some great talks with my Dad while we drove and learned all about what kind of crops grow in EVERY field on the way to Elk Grove. 5 hours of "Look at that soil! That is fantastic soil." and "Did you all know that is the smallest mountain range in the world?" (we did. he had told us on the last trip) Oh, I love my Dad. He was destined to live out in the middle of nowhere and grow crops and raise cattle.

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From the minute we got to Jan and Alan's we were nothing less than spoiled. Alan force fed us homemade guacamole and salsa till we burst.
We got to be lazy and swim, Garrett helped Ellie perfect her dive,
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and Lauren and I shopped till we dropped. Seriously, in Davis there is a Forever 21 that is as big as my block. We spent 3 hours in it and I could have stayed a few more. I died.

The last few times I have gone down to CA. Jan and Alan pull out their scuba gear and

I scuba-it-up in their pool. Yep, that is the closest I will ever get to actually scuba diving...by choice.
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I loved taking a trip with just my big kids this time. May have started a new tradition.

Olsen and Edgar Family Reunion 2011

2011-09-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

As soon as Scott got back from Alaska we packed up and headed to the Olsen Family reunion up at Lake of the Woods. We actually split up the cabins with the Edgar's (Pam's sisters family) and we had a blast.

(Macie and Mhaya)
(Connor's talent was sword fighting for the talent show)
All of Scott's family was able to be there except his sister Kim and her family and 3 of our brothers in law. Can I just say that I love being with the Olsen's!
(Matt and Gavin)

They are such a fun group of people. His family is so talented and get the kids to do such cool things when we are together.

(Sweet Sawyer who spent a lot of time in the stroller)

You HAVE to go over HERE to Kara's blog to see the rest of these pictures that Chris took from the reunion. A-mazing!

( This is my ALL time favorite picture of Scott and Bud)
(Uncle Joe, Jillian and Anna)

We spent time on the lake in canoes and swimming. Our friends The Coffmans came up one afternoon and brought their boat, jet ski and tubes.

(Macie)
(Cousins on the tube)

We had a pretty awesome talent show, a big family dance and did a lot of singing. We played horse shoes and did science experiments.

We ate delicious food and roasted Smores every night. Cool Uncle Joe even scared the pants off of my kids with his scary ghost stories. Thanks Joe.

We kissed and loved on the cousins and Aunties that we don't get to see very often and came home dirty and happy!

Can't wait till the next one!

Alaska- father and son trip

2011-09-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

Bud wanted to take a father and son trip with Scott and they choose Alaska.

According to Scott they could not have picked a better place. Alaska is one of his all time favorite places.

They got to go, just the 2 of them, on a 9 day trip that included camping, hiking, boating, visiting with family and SO. MUCH. FISHING!!!

Scott has such a great relationship with his dad and I could tell he was so glad that they got this opportunity to hang out together.

Little Landyn

2011-09-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

Summer has come and gone and I have so much to blog! I have almost put it off because there is so much and I am overwhelmed.

But here goes.

First up we have a new cousin around these parts. My sister Julie had her 4th baby last month.

Landyn Marie Macdonald. She is such a fun mix of all of the rest of her family that I see someone new everyday.

Holding her I do miss that fantastic newborn stage but on the other hand I am kinda excited that I get to move onto the stages that come when your done with all the baby business.

horsies

2011-08-04T00:20:00.000-07:00

Lucky little Macie got to come with me tonight to mutual. I took her because we took all the girls up to Suzanne's house to play with the horses, swim in the pool and make some smores.

If Macie could do one thing all day it would be to be on or around a horse so when Suzanne asked if Macie wanted to sit on it, well I just wish I would have taken a picture of her grin from ear to ear.

She learned that horse hair is used on the bow of a violin, that people hold on to the horses mane sometimes if they don't have reigns, oh...and that one of Suzanne's horses is a "Mr. Horse" and that you can see his bum. Apparently she thought that was pretty funny and kept pointing.

She loved having mom all to herself and being able to be one of the big girls for a day.

3 events- one day

2011-07-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Our little family likes to cram in as much in as we can, were crazy like that. Last week we decided to head to the Redding Water slides. But hey, why not go to Turtle Bay first, oh and let's add in a trip to my kids favorite place to eat ever...yucky...I mean Chucky Cheese!

Mom won't go crazy at all right?

Actually we ended up having a great day at each place. I only took the camera into Turtle Bay but wish so badly I would have grabbed it for the water slides because it was SO fun.

Lookin' at the fish.

It was so hot outside we tried to stay inside for almost everything.

Sawyer was so fun this trip because he was amazed at every little thing.

We have made this trip several times but each time they seem to forget how fun it is there.

Sawyer could have spent all day looking at this snake!

The water slides were just so much fun we ended up staying for 3 hours!
I think we'll be going again before school starts. I think it would also be fun to take a trip with just a bunch of adults. Anyone with me Klammies?

Operation babyshower!

2011-07-26T17:13:00.000-07:00

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(amy,me,carissa)

I won't give you all the classified details, but what I can tell you is that a group of us got together and kidnapped Julie just a week and a half before baby Mac #4 was due.

I can also tell you that breaking and entering, potato skins, ice cream cake, a fancy hot tub that looks like a space ship, and furry mustaches were involved!!

Over an out!

Pool Party!

2011-07-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

This year Ellie had decided she wanted a pool party for her birthday and Connor wanted a chef/cooking party, but when it came down to it we decided to combine the two and do one big pool party.

The kids got to choose 4 or 5 friends and their families and we rented out the Ella Redkey pool.

SO SMART!!

I don't know why I haven't decided to combine parties before and to not have to clean my house and set up tons of entertainment and games....let's just say I will be doing this again!

We ended up having so much fun swimming that we kinda had to rush through the rest, so I just want to make sure everyone who came knows how thankful we are and were so glad you could come spend time with us.

The kids had a blast and very memorable birthdays!

party like it's your birthday....

2011-07-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

I'm 31 people!!

Holy old.

A few days before my actual birthday, Scotty surprised me by handing me a hotel conformation number in Medford and said your mom and sister are gonna be here in 20 minutes...go get your shoes on.

I was totally surprised and so excited. A much needed break with my girls. He even packed me a bag, and got a Bunko sub for that night for me. He thought of everything.

I love this man so much.

I was super spoiled. We ate at amazing restaurants, caught a great chick flick, jumped on the bed in our hotel, A LOT!
Tried to get Julie to go into labor,
Tried out some Michael Jackson moves,
did a little light reading,
and relaxed our pastie bodies by the pool.
Is that the cutest baby bump you have ever seen?
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The best part...I slept in till 9:00!!! -unheard of-

lovely lake

2011-07-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I forget how lucky we are to live so close to a big beautiful lake. Last week we packed up the kiddos and drove up to Lake of the Woods. The weather was amazing, probably one of the best weather days I have ever had up there.

We played with our cousin Jackson, fished with Grandpa Bud, swam, a little bit of sword fighting, more swimming and relaxing on the inflatable island.

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There is something to be said for being surrounded by tall green trees in the quiet of the middle of the lake. I could do this every day...minus the sunburn!

fun on the 4th

2011-07-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

We jam packed our 4th of July this year. We headed to a park for a BBQ lunch first and got to visit with family and friends. .
Scott was our gourmet chef and cooked us all up some yummy chicken while we chatted and let the kids play.
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Scott's sisters Kim and Kris were in town with Jackson and Relia. We miss not living closer to them.
I can honestly say that Jackson and Connor played "sword fight" the ENTIRE time they were with each other. They played so good with each other.
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The 4th of July is on of my favorite holidays and I can't think of a better way to spend it than with people you love eating your weight in yummy food.
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After the picnic we headed out to our friends the Coffman's house. Whenever we are there we are guaranteed a fun time. We ate more yummy food, the kids wore themselves out playing and making smores.

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Then came the fireworks. The guys bought 2 ginormous firework packs and we sat back to watch the show.
Also, there house is on a hill with a fantastic view overlooking the city so we got to see the city firework show as well as multiple illegal home firework shows as well.

Hope you all had a relaxing and meaningful 4th!

family summer list 2011

2011-07-08T19:50:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun with our Summer List last year that we were all excited to sit down and think up a new one for this summer.

So here are the goals we have for our family for this summer (before we started)-

wonderland

2011-07-04T00:31:00.000-07:00

Because of our Sawyer ordeal at the beginning of last month, we had to put our kids birthday parties on the back burner for a bit. Macie just had hers this last week and it was Alice in Wonderland themed.

She got to pick a handful of her little girlfriends to come and we had a blast. We played games, had a tea party, jumped on the trampoline and even Alice herself came and painted faces.

I'm just gonna throw out all the many pictures of her fun party (there are a lot).

She had a very happy birthday.

Connor boy

2011-07-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Connor turned 6 last week! He's the last one and completes the kids birthdays for the year. Whew!

These pictures were taken a few days before his birthday and are actually now outdated because he lost that other little wiggly tooth about 4 days later.

Oh Connor.... what a great kid. Connor is so helpful. He is first to jump up and help me clean the house and loves putting the dishes away. He has become a good little reader and likes to spell out a lot of his words when he is having a conversation with you. Connor loves his cousins and comes back inside dirtier than ever when he is done playing with them. Like REALLY dirty. He's such a boy.

This year in school Connor made friends with a boy named Aiden who passed on his love for Star Wars to Connor....Star Wars is now his life!!

Connor likes to try any food you put in front of him at least once. He wears his underwear and pants backwards often. And I catch him holding and talking to our dog all soft and sweet all the time and I love it.

We love that Connor gets so excited about things and he is so friendly to others.

He is a cuddler and a mama's boy and someday......some far away day....I will forgive you for dissecting that dead lizard, in my house, on my freshly washed tan carpet. I might even laugh about it with you. Someday.

baby girl

2011-06-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

Little Macie turned 4 yesterday!

Macie is our little skinny bunz. She has always been so tiny. We get a kick out of how she runs....just like Phoebe from Friends. She loves her long hair and wants it to grow as long as Rapunzel. Macie loves to swim and color outside with sidewalk chalk.

She eats like a bird but loves sausage and corn on the cob.

Macie starts preschool this year and is so excited to be a big girl.

She is feisty, tells it like it is and has a fantastic pout face. She loves to dance. She is a snuggler and would curl up on anyones lap and tell you all about her love of horses.

Macie is also a HUGE Michael Jackson fan, (bet cha didn't know that) in fact for her birthday I took her to get her hair trimmed and she sang both Beat It, and Thriller (almost word for jumbled word) to all the women in the beauty shop.

She is so fun to be around and cracks us up with her silly faces and sassy personality.

We love her so much and wish she would stay this little forever!

dad

2011-06-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

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*This is the man that told me fantastic bedtime stories.
*He is responsible for my thick hair.
*This man taught me to stay out of the sun before 3 pm yet never made me feel bad for laying on the balcony surrounded by tin foil covered in baby oil.
*This man would stay up into the late night helping me with my homework. He is the reason I graduated from high school. Embarrassingly enough, he REALLY is.
*This is the man that obsessed over his lawn and taught me to appreciate keeping things neat and orderly.
*He is the first person I talked to when I had deep life questions.
*This man has sacrificed a lot of brown hair to the drama of 3 teenage girls.
*I have never known a man to make a 15 minute trip to the grocery store last 2 1/2 hours because he is so friendly and chatty and knows everyone he sees and has to get every detail of what is going on in their lives.
*This man loves his family and would give everything he has to see them happy.
*He is a hero of a grandpa and one heck of a Wii bowler.
I cannot say enough wonderful things about my father. He is such an exceptional man. A man of many words. When he speaks, I listen. He is a dad to me as well as a wonderful example to my kids that adore and crave time with him.
Happy Father's Day.

..and the rains came down and the floods came up

2011-06-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

.
Hey wouldn't it be so crazy awesome, if after all the drama of the last 2 weeks we were to add more to the mix for Sawyer.

Yea, sure.
How about a Virus!
Let's make it horrible and painful.
How about Chicken Pox!!!

.
That's not quite enough you say?

.
Ok.....let's make it even worse.
How about Sawyer ripping out his PICC line.
Breaking it right off and bleeding all over.
Then we can add in a whole new IV in his ankle. Yep ankle.

.
That would be awesome!

.

when it raines it pours

2011-06-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was busy enough with Ellies birthday, Baptism, and family in town....but it all got so much more complicated SO FAST!!

I'll give ya the whole story if you want to read, if not you can just scroll down to the sad pictures of my baby in a teeny tiny hospital gown.

Monday night (the 6th) I noticed Sawyer had a 1inch spot on his foot that was red and a little swollen and it made him walk a little funny. But he was happy so I didn't really think that much of it. I ran some errands in the car and he fell asleep for about an hour. When I went to get him out he was so hot (104 temp) and his foot was bright red and almost bruised looking. It had also swelled up so bad he wouldn't let me touch it.
I meet Scott at our Pediatrician's office and were quickly sent to the ER. Initially they thought it might have been a spider bite. He was diagnosed as having a bacterial infection called Cellulitus. Which we now think came from a scratch he had on his foot a few days earlier that got infected. He was given every kind of test you could imagine. He had a catheter, had blood drawn, had 2 Xrays, an ultrasound, and then an IV was put in.
We were admitted and he was immediately put on an IV antibiotic. He stayed at 104 for a day when the Tylenol wore off and it didn't go down till we had been there 2 days. We started to see improvement on Wednesday but the doctors worried that the infection might be in the bone.

They didn't feel comfortable doing an MRI on him in Klamath and we were scheduled to head up to Medford or Portland to get one. But then they suggested we try a bone scan. It's results were inconclusive but to be safe they decided to treat it as if it was in the bone. So he needed a PIC line put in. If you don't know what that is it's a lot like an IV but it goes into a vein and a small tube is inserted and runs up the arm and shoulder and rests near the heart. YEA....SCARY!!!

So after 5 days in the hospital in Klamath we headed up to Medford and he was taken out of my arms and walked away with a total stranger to undergo anesthesia and as sad as I was it made me smile to see him smiling and pointing to the ceiling saying "Look" to show this stranger the lights. He was such a good boy through out this whole thing.

All went well and we were admitted overnight for more chest Xrays and blood tests.
The blood test came back saying that his liver might be not happy with the antibiotics and this has set us up with even more to deal with on top of 3 WEEKS of IV antibiotics at home. We have to flush out his PIC line every 2 hours for 3 weeks and every 7 hours he has to be hooked up to a pump that administers his antibiotics.
Wheww!

It has been a very stressful and crazy week and at the end I am so glad that he will be ok and that we have such fantastic Doctors, Nurses, Hospitals and medication to rely on.
Also, that we have the support of Family (who took care of getting all the other kids to and from school on their last week of school.... who cared for them night and day for a week...and who came to keep us company in the hospital)
For Friends (who also took care of our other kiddo's...who called, texted, emailed and came up to check on us... and brought my family delicious meals.)
And for the blessings of our Heavenly Father who kept us comforted and our sweet boy safe.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Ellie's Baptism

2011-06-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Ellie was baptised the day after she turned 8.

She was the only child being baptised on that day so we got to focus on making it a little more about her and our family.

Ellie asked for yummy treats and little bit of pink...so we did both. This picture is before all the yummy treats and refreshments were put out but her favorite part were the paper flowers I made. She wanted to give one to everyone who came.

Ellie was lucky and got both of her grandpa's to give wonderful talks and and her Dad to baptize and confirm her. Her Auntie Kara and Auntie Julie gave beautiful prayers and Aunt Anne played beautiful music for everyone and it was led by her Grandma Pam.

Ellies cousins and friends sang a sweet song for her and she was pleased as punch about that!

We have a bunch of traditions in our family that Ellie is now old enough to take part in. First, in Scott's family, when a grandchild turns eight Grandpa Bud gives them a nice State Quarter collector and they take a trip to the bank to get quarters and see how many they can get. This is such a fun collection she now gets to do with her Grandpa.

Ellie's Great Grandma Mortenson (Nana) gets all of her great grandchildren their own triple combination scriptures with there name on them. Ellie is just in love with hers and truly treasures them. Also, her other Great Grandma Casey (GiGi) got her some wonderful things to prepare her for her big day including 2 fantastic books that were perfect.

Next, in our family when you are baptised you receive a halo of fresh flowers to wear after. For Ellie we went with a fresh flower tiara/headband. It smelled so good and even had little sparkly crystals.

She wore dangley earrings for the first time, a little heal on her church shoes for the first time and some fancy jewelry. Her bracelet was handmade by her Grandma Lynnie and was so stinkin' cute and thoughtful.

She was just beautiful in her pretty white dress!

We were so glad to have as much family there as we did.

We are so proud of her decision and love her so much.

crazy 8

2011-06-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

My firstborn is EIGHT!

This girl is becoming a young lady right before our eyes. We are proud of her and how she is growing up.

At eight, Ellie is obsessed with reading. She tries to get bigger, thicker books every time she checks out a new one. She is still a picky eater and has learned that if she doesn't like what was made that night, she can make herself a bowl of oatmeal or a PB&J and she feels pretty grown up. Ellie loves to draw, loves to play outside for hours and will answer almost every question I ask her in song form. (She even sings her spelling words)

Ellie asked for a pool party this year because she is a fish in the summer. One of her favorite things to do is swim. I have really noticed how helpful she is around the house lately and wow is she a great helper with her little brother and sister!

We love you so much ELLIE!!

One Year

2011-05-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday this handsome devil turned one. Bitter sweet for me but boy do we love this baby.

We had cake but I thought he might like his own cupcake better.

I was for sure wrong.

He stared at it forever and when he finally grabbed a handful of icing he just cried for 5 min. for us to get it off of his hands.

This all changed when we tossed the cupcake and gave him some chocolate raspberry cake.

He is his mama's boy.

At one year Sawyer is running around the house. He is so mobile and into every drawer, cabinet, packet of hot chocolate and bag of dog food he can get into. He says 7 words, has 8 teeth and can give you sweet little kisses when you ask for them. He is just getting to be a snuggler by choice with me....I think because the nursing is winding down.
He loves getting his diaper changed and taking baths. He bonks his head on the floor if he is mad ( I am told his dad use to do the same thing).

He is not a fan of eggs or white bread. When he has a pen or pencil in his hand he will write on a piece of paper and scribble for 10 min. His hair is still curly and getting blonder. Yesterday I closed a drawer he was into and told him no and he looked at me sideways and said "No, no no" while he shook his head. Such a cute little stinker!
It's so hard to see the time go so fast with him. We are so blessed to have him in our family.
Happy Birthday little soy bean!!

my summer project

2011-05-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

Remember THIS post? Since I put it up on my blog I have had a few women who have contacted me and said that they have old prom/formal dresses of their girls that are all grown and don't use them anymore. It got me thinking that I myself have several prom/formal dresses have been hanging in my old bedroom closet at my parents house for 10 years.
Now that I am in Young Womens I was really touched by the idea this young girl had and I know how hard it is for our Young Women to find and or afford a nice dress, let alone a modest one.
So I have decided to go for it!! I'm echoing this fabulous girl and I am going to see if I can provide the youth of Klamath Falls a place to go to browse through cute, non skanky formal dresses.

If any of you out there have any dresses (be they modest or not, any and all sizes) and you would like to help these girls out by donating, PLEASE contact me and spread the word for me. I would love to have an entire closet full by the end of summer and even to be able to gather a dress for each and every girl who this would be able to benefit. :)

JloMamaJama@aol.com

excited little girl

2011-05-20T22:24:00.000-07:00

Scott has the state track meet this weekend and before he left he ran over to the kids school to see them. They don't ever usually get to see him at their school during school hours so they were pleased as punch. He scored even more cool points because he brought both their classes popsicles!
And after he picked up the school bus for the trip he stopped off at home to say bye to us.
He parked the bus out front and when Macie saw her Daddy get out of a "real school bus" she started jumping up and down.
So he took her on her own personal tour of a real school bus.

She was so cute.

She even got to sit in the drivers seat.

We sang and acted out the verse about the doors on the bus go open and shut....about 10 times.

We live to close to the school for any of my kids to get to ride a bus, so to Macie this was a Big Deal.

After he left she talked about it for hours and you can bet that was the first thing she told to the big kids when we picked them up from school.

mothers day

2011-05-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day to my Mama and My Mother in Law!!!

“I don’t remember much about her views of voting nor her social prestige; and what her ideas on child training, diet, and eugenics were, I cannot recall. The main thing that sifts back to me now through the thick undergrowth of years is that she loved me. She liked to lie on the grass with me and tell stories, or to run and hide with us children. She was always hugging me. And I liked it. She had a sunny face. To me it was like God, and all the beatitudes saints tell of Him. And sing! Of all the sensations pleasurable to my life nothing can compare with the rapture of crawling up into her lap and going to sleep while she swung to and fro in her rocking chair and sang. Thinking of this, I wonder if the woman of today, with all her tremendous notions and plans, realizes what an almighty factor she is in shaping of her child for weal or woe. I wonder if she realizes how much sheer love and attention count for in a child’s life.”
Marriage & Family manual

birthday boy

2011-05-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Scotty turned 32. Thirty two people! And he is now WELL into his 30's. This got me thinking of how old he was when we first met and how I remember him, which is ironically a lot different than how he remembers it.
So on that note, I thought I would give you a little look back. Let's recap, shall we?

1979:Born. First (and only) brother to 4 sisters.

1984:Preschool. Now a brother to 5 sisters who on occasion dress him up as a little girl and take pictures.

1990:Obnoxious little 11 year old who tries to get neighbor boys to sneak out of their bedroom windows at 6:00 in the morning to come play outside. (those boys turned out to be his future wife's cousins)

1991:Meets a sweet 11 year old girl with frizzy permed hair who is new in his ward. (this is me)

1992: Jr. High. Pegged pants, hypercolor t-shirts...oh and now a hot new perm of HIS own. (not pictured, he would kill me)

1994:High school. (que Boys II Men-It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday) So into sports that he pays no attention to that once 11 year old/frizzy haired girl. Even though she comes to his house almost every day to jump on his trampoline with his little sister.

(ok here's the perm pic. Sorry hun.)

1996:Gives said girl rides to seminary and has the dirtiest car girl has ever been in. Still only interested in skateboarding and basketball.

1997: Graduates high school and heads off to Rexburg ID for college and then off to a 2 year mission in Chile.

2001: Home from mission, and back from school for the summer, the same time the girl is back from Salt Lake City for the summer. Flirts like crazy with the girl at a singles activity.

2001 and one day later: Asks girl out on a date to the movies. Then asks her out on a date every night after that one. Leaves for sisters wedding while girl is at her family reunion...call each other every half hour.

End of 2001: Girl decides to live in Rexburg too. Takes her fishing and proposes on a cliff. Girl is SO excited because she just got engaged and calls to tell family. He calls his parents to tell them about the moose we just saw......sheesh...boys.

2001-December: Boy and girl get married. (release flock of white doves)

2003: Become parents the first time.

2005: Parents for the 2nd time.

2007: Then the 3rd.
2010: Then the 4th.

2011: Happy little family of 6, back in the town where it all started.

What an awesome 20 years it has been with this boy. He finally stoped wearing those vans and hypercolor t-shirts and turned into a caring and loving husband and father. Sometimes I pinch myself (then I pinch his butt because I LOVE pinching) that I'm married to him.
Happy Birthday loverbuns!!

I love you.

Impossible

2011-04-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

Tried to teach Macie how to play Connect Four today.....

How did it go?.....

It didn't......

She didn't quite grasp the four in a row thing.

But it didn't matter. We made up our own game. And she won every time and got just a little excited.

sawyer

2011-04-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

Sawyer is by far my worst napper. He takes as many naps as my other kiddo's did but his do NOT last long at all!!!

I guess you would say he is a light sleeper? We have tried turning on a fan. Then 2 fans. Nada.

Anyway, this is how I found him yesterday morning after I came upstairs from switching laundry.

He is so funny.

He is WALKING now!! Yippie! So he is all over the place and into even more than he ever was. I need to get new locks for cupboards and closets every day.

He is also talking a ton. He added dog, wuff (what a dog says), and thank you to his vocab.

He is still a solid kid but has been at a steady 24lbs for the last 2 months.

Oh, and he falls asleep every night with his Daddy listening to Les Mesirable. It is so sweet.

I really can't believe he will be one next month.

Slow down.

newness

2011-04-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

This post has been written for some time but just now posted.
After 6 years I have a new calling at church.
I am leaving behind my sweet little Primary kids behind and entering the world of hormones and teenagers.
I am the new Young Women's president.
I'll admit it. I am slightly terrified. I have never once held a calling in YW's and I don't know how to teach teenagers.
I can do bugger eating sunbeams, I can do loud and sassy 9 year olds and last minute sharing times but I just don't really know how to do the teen thing.
When all is said and done I am excited for the change. I'm ready. I have the BEST councilors working with me and some pretty awesome girls to get to know.
Deep Breath.

soccer

2011-04-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

Connor is doing Soccer this year and having the time of his life. I really thought he might just run aimlessly around and once and a while kick the ball, and I was totally ok with that because I just want him to run and have fun.

But this boy is a go getter! He tries hard to go after the ball and he is the first one to head over to the net of the other team and act as goalie! It is so cute.

Mind you, there is still a fair share of inspecting the grass for bugs and putting the orange cones on his head....but he loves himself some SOCCER!

modest fashion

2011-04-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

What an amazing young woman! And how awesome to combine her love of fashion and modesty into something that can help others!

Spa Playdate

2011-04-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

What do we do on a cold windy day?

We have friends over and have a Spa Playdate!!

You can get your make-up and nails done...

Relax and read a great magazine...

Even get a new hairdo....

. This Spa day isn't just for the Ladies....

You can get a shave and a haircut too! .

And all for just $3.00. That's a steal of a deal.

lay off me I'm starving.....

2011-04-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

If your hubby brought you home one of these would it take you more than 10 minutes to be licking the empty wrapper?? Guilty. Yep, that's bacon.... sheeeesh!

randomness- more of our everyday

2011-04-05T00:08:00.000-07:00

Lately...... . She is getting ready to turn 8. EIGHT. My little girl. I am so thrilled with how she is growing up all of the sudden. She is so sincere and teachable. We have been talking all about getting baptised soon and she is so excited. Eight is such an important age. We are also a little closer to having "The Talk" with her and to be honest I am not that excited. I like to think that she will live in this house forever, walking around in her pink flowered jammies singing at the top of her lungs and always thinking that boys are gross and have cuties. He is taking small steps to go from the couch to the table or chair. He loves to dance when mama blasts the music everyday. He may never fall asleep on his own at the rate he is going. He is Mr. Smiles all day long and can say Uh-oh and Caca (which is poop in Spanish...but I have also been told it is a little worse than poop so we may have taught him a swear word:) She still likes to run around the house without her shirt on and refuses to sleep in anything but just her skivvies. I have to almost bribe her to put on clothes so we can go to the park or the kids museum. She would have NO problem just being au' natural. She cut a nice chunk out of her hair a few weeks ago and when I asked her what happened she said "Connor did it." An answer she gives me often....even when Connor is at school. He is eating like a horse. This kid can eat and eat and EAT. And then want a snack. He is my best eater when it comes to trying new food. He loves shrimp, spinach, grapefruit and anything he sees his Dad eating because he wants to do be just like him. He can not sit still and has more energy than any of us will ever dream to have....he is his Grandpa Bud's boy. The Mrs. is on an organizing kick and wants to label and sort everything. She is endlessly teaching little bums to only use small amounts of T.P. and to flush every time...to no avail. (picture c/o Macie) The Mr. is in the beginning of Track season and calls home everyday to check on us because he misses his little family. He is such a fabulous daddy and a good toilet un-clogger. We are planning a big trip for our family and can hardly contain our excitement. We can't keep the house clean for more than 4 hours and sometimes we all sit down and play the Wii right in the middle of the chaos. We have a birthday party EVERY weekend in June this year and are having fun planning the themes for each one...(not a topic the Mr. likes to talk about) We have spent a lot of time with family lately and have been able to play outside everyday after school this week. Spring has sprung!

I'll eat you up I love you so

2011-03-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

. . . . . .

10 months

project parade

2011-03-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the hubbs, I have had a ton of extra kid free time on my hands this week. I love spring break.

I have been sewing up a storm and just had to show off the fruits of my labor a little because I love this blanket SO much it's gonna be hard to part with it.

It is actually a blanket/play-mat for a darling little baby. Not this one but another one.

I just finished it and now I am racking my brain for others with new babies that I can make another one for! (heads up sista)

This ones super cute too:

It's a manly monster tooth fairy pillow.

And this is a fun baptism towel that has a super cute poem that goes with it.

P.S.- To all my sewing friends out there, Let's Swap!! If you have a favorite project or pattern that you would love to fill me in on I would be extremely grateful. (I still have 3 days left of this break) I'll send you some of my fav.'s too. Email me.

performer

2011-03-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Ellie was asked to sing at the Ross Ragland Theater this last Saturday with some kids from her class. They opened up the Mr. Pelican Pageant by singing The Star Spangled Banner.She has become quite the little performer and wasn't nervous at all. Actually probably not so nervous because when the curtains opened it just looked black to all the kids and they only saw about 3 rows of people...just like a class play or something. But WOW you should have seen their faces when they finished the song and a roar of applause came out of the crowd. Yep....I lost it.
She did so good and we were so proud.

wet weekend

2011-03-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

Scott loves to surprise the kids and I.
He worked it so that he got a half day off on Friday and picked us all up and we were off to Medford for the weekend. I have such awesome memories of staying in hotels as a family when I was a kid...the donuts and O.J. in the morning, watching TV in our P.J's together and getting to jump on the beds. Scott knows I love to do this with our family so he booked us at a super fun family friendly hotel that has a big water slide in the pool area...We could have spent ALL day in that pool. The kids were so exhausted after we almost had to carry them up to our room.. I even went down and when I wasn't in the water I was shopping or loving on this baby!

It was a little mini family vaca and the kids want to go back....like tomorrow.

9 months

2011-03-08T16:31:00.000-08:00

Sawyer is cruising through this infant phase and is becoming a VERY active and BUSY toddler.

At nine months he walks around the house as long as he is holding on to something (including walls). He has let go and stood on his own for a half a minute but then crashes to his bum.
He has 3 teeth on the bottom and one on top, which is an eye tooth. It looks so weird.Every-single-thing goes in his mouth!
His hair has been coming in faster and faster and he is still a light brown/Blondie. And did I mention that it is CURLY!!!! I am beyond excited to have a little boy with light curly hair.
Sawyer weighed 23lbs at his last check up and that was about 2 1/2 months ago. This boy is solid.He is a super happy boy everyday unless he is sick. Although I have seen him get so sad because I can't pick him up fast enough and he puts his head in between his legs and lays it on the floor and sobs till I come to get him.He is fast, and can crawl away from me and hide under the table before I can even take 2 steps.He's still nursing but loves carrots, pea's, banana's, and Cheerios's. He dislikes bread and sweet potatoes.
This boy has the best cheesy smile ever and somehow can pull a smile out of everyone he shows it to.
He has a love/hate relationship with our dog. He could play in the tub for an hour if we'd let him and he's a big ol' mama's boy. I'm not even gonna pretend that I'm not over the moon about that.

Awkward and Awesome

2011-03-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

Awkward:
-Finding out that your hubby sent a kinda naughty "my eyes only" text to one of his best friends on accident.
-Trying to fix the said text situation above with as little awkwardness as possible.
-Eating a big mac in public...is there anything messier?
-Hollering at my sister who is 2 isles over in the Walmart cosmetics section about which soap to buy and get the stink eye from an elderly lady who is between the both of us.

Awesome:
-Waking up to sunshine after weeks of snow and cold.
-Funyons and Cadbury Eggs.
-Finally convincing your frugal hubby that a trip to Disneyland is worth it.
-Good friends who like to spend time with you even in your messy house.
-THIS video!!

Win one!!

2011-02-26T08:24:00.000-08:00

Just an FYI for anyone who would like to enter, I am doing a Review and Giveaway of a

Silhouette

today over on Julie's blog.

{you have to see what I did with Macie's shoes}

For anyone who works with fabric it is a miracle machine.

Come enter to win it!!

school project

2011-02-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

Ellie turned in her very first -do at home- school project. She had to pick a person in history and make a "Can Character" of that person. They were to take a big can with a lid and turn it into the face of the character they did research on. Ellie picked Babe Ruth.

She choose a huge plastic container so we had a lot of space to work with. She cut out all the strings for the stripes and all the fabric and I helped her hot glue everything on.

She had to find all kinds of info on Babe and put it all down in sentences and then place them inside the can.

You should have seen her face when she took it into school today. As of right now...she thinks school projects are pretty fun!

CONNORisms

2011-02-16T19:34:00.000-08:00

Tonight at homework time:
Connor: "Mom, my pen is pregnant right?"

Me: ".....who's-a-what'y?"

Connor: "Is my pen pregnant?"

Me: "Connor, I have no idea what you mean. Think for a second and explain to me what your asking me about your pen."

Connor: " I hope my pen isn't pregnant cause I got it on my arm and I don't think it will come off."

Me: " Ohhhhh you mean permanent."

Connor: "Yea, that's what I said"

crafty toys

2011-02-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

I was given a Silhouette cutter machine to review and when it first came I really didn't think I would use it much, mostly because it is known for being more of a vinyl cutting machine. {not a really big vinyl fan}

But they have recently come out with a bunch of fun extras for using fabric. My ears perked right up!! I have made about 4 things already including Valentines for Macie's friends and a Valentines outfit. This machine is A. Ma. Zing!!!

This is my favorite item so far. Connor's too.

outtakes

2011-01-30T23:18:00.000-08:00

Remember when I mentioned that my little family is next to impossible to photograph.

Here are some of our outtakes...you be the judge.

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randomness

2011-01-27T11:33:00.000-08:00

In one of my favorite books there is a quote from author Anna Quindlen (and I may have mentioned this one before) on mistakes she made while raising her babies, in it she says:

"The biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make...I did not live in the moment enough. There is one picture of the three of my children sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less"

Super inspiring!!! So from now on I just want to post a little more about our everyday!

Lately.........
He's been trying to let go and balance a bit

She has been reading NON-stop (and I love it)

He can't seem to not hurt himself every 30 minutes

She is getting even sillier and wants to be at mom's heals all.day.long

The Mrs. has been spoiled by the Mr. with fancy treats and she needs to rethink getting her gym membership

We have been working on reading scriptures as a family, trying not to say poop at the dinner table, deep cleaning each room, and trying to force myself to be more domestic by making more meals from scratch. Pioneer Woman is my homegirl!

Mortenson Family Pictures

2011-01-25T12:20:00.000-08:00

During the Holidays one of my friends from way back came back into town. He is an amazing photographer and he brought along with him more photography equipment than I had ever seen in my life.
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In fact he even invented a piece called a Jarvie Window and we all had fun playing with it.

Knowing that my kiddos are some of the hardest kids to take a "all looking at the same time" picture of, I didn't get my hopes up.

But Scott (that's his name) he likes to take my favorite kind of pictures.

Everyday, un-posed, real life shots.

He got some great ones of us (minus my creepy post surgery fish eye...still waiting for that to un-dilate) and honestly this is the first real Family picture all of us 5 Mortensons have actually taken together.

We have a bazillion professional pictures taken of us girls together but my parents never had an entire family picture taken.

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I think the ones of my Dad are my absolute favorite!!

Such a handsome Grandpa!

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We are so excited to have these and can't thank Scott enough for capturing these moments for us!

new baby

2011-01-22T15:05:00.000-08:00

We have a new baby cousin!!

Beautiful little Miriam Sol Becerra

confession

2011-01-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

I may have played xbox Kinect till 2 in the morning last night with a room full of mommies.

I may have lost a pound of my body weight in sweat.

I may have seriously embarrassed myself with my attempts at mastering my dance moves to Brick House.

I may have thought about this game 10 times today.

I may have a new addiction.

little sibs

2011-01-18T15:29:00.000-08:00

My sisters are the greatest. I am so thankful for them and their support.
I love having someone to talk girl talk with at any hour of the day or night. I love that they listen to my rambling, my ideas, my fears and my advice.

We are all so different in some ways and almost identical in others.

We share similar passions and dislikes. They make me think about things and cry about things and can get me laughing till I think I'm gonna die!
And I have to give them credit for taking the fact that I am the favorite so well.

Don't fight it....you know it ;)

leaps and bounds

2011-01-10T16:07:00.000-08:00

I use to think that since Sawyer was our last baby that time would go by so slow with him and I would get to relish in every new phase. Ummmm not so much!

Since Christmas break (2 weeks ago) he has mastered the crawling,

learned how to pull himself up on Everything, walks along the couch, got his first tooth...and then another,

and my favorite he now cries for his "mama".

I feel like he is so old already and I am so sad because I wanted him to be a newborn baby forever. We think he is just dreamy!

playing

2011-01-10T15:15:00.000-08:00

I really don't know how we hadn't known about Annie Creek here in Oregon. It's just the best sledding place EVER!!

Scott and his buddy took all the kids one day a month or so ago and they spent 6 hours in the snow sledding. All the kids were even in the newspaper for their sledding skills.

Scott loved it so much he said we had to go back again soon so we loaded up the snow gear and headed up with some other families.

Sawyer and I mostly stayed in the little lodge they have up there and stayed nice and toasty by the fire.

They have a huge hill full of about 5 or so sledding runs. Across the "bowl" they have runs for snowboarders, skiers and some of our friends even went snowshoeing.

The kids wore themselves out going down and then climbing back up. The first day we went the snow was nice enough that the kids didn't even use sleds they just laid down and went on their belly's.

We brought our whole family up here during the Christmas break and needless to say we have been several times since. Fun little day trip that poops the kids out and they sleep so good that night.

"I just drawwing"

2011-01-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

We got this super cool massive vinyl chalkboard for our toy room that I am reviewing over HERE and since the second I put it up it has at least one child in front of it at all times.

Every time I am in the kitchen I holler to Macie in the toy room and ask "Macie what are you doing in there?"

She always giggles and says "Moooom... I just drawwing"

3 going on 17

Such a cutie.

9 years

2011-01-02T23:21:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday luver-bunz and I hit 9 years.

He never ceases to amaze me and I have never been happier. He is in every way my ROCK and my bestie.

I love.love.love you!

Dec. 25th 2010

2010-12-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

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Boy oh boy did we have a fantastic Christmas.

Family. Friends. FOOD. And we were all so spoiled, myself included...I am so blessed to have such a loving and thoughtful husband. Love you hun!

We wish you all a new year full of excitement and love from our family to yours.

Polar Express Night

2010-12-25T22:33:00.000-08:00

Our traditional Polar Express night this year was highly anticipated. Some fun new things this year were.....
new kiddos boarded the train.....
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newer shinier tickets....

all new treats in the candy store and GiGi brought real napkins for the kids to use from a real train that she rode to Klamath on....
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and our conductor was looking mighty conductory with his brand new hat.
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Magical!!!

Pre-Christmas Fun

2010-12-25T21:58:00.000-08:00

When Scott was little his family had a tradition of making candy trains instead of just gingerbread houses.

This is the first year we tried it with our own kids and it is for sure a fun activity that will be around every year from here on out.

Also, the kids had their Christmas programs at school and they were adorable.

Ellie was a caroler and Connor had to dress up in his pajamas like it was Christmas Eve.

And lastly, this year my friend rented out a movie theater for her family and they invited us and a bunch of our best friends to see the movie Tangled! We LOVED it! I think I may have a new favorite kids movie. We had a blast.

polar express money

2010-12-14T23:49:00.000-08:00

I may or may not be cashing in on the -"The more chores you do the more Polar Express Dollars you'll have!" -bit.

(last year)

I don't think I have seen them do this many extra chores....Ever.

One happy mommy over here I tell ya!

a list of maybe's

2010-12-14T22:12:00.000-08:00

I am a list maker! My husband will forever tease me about it but I will never change.
"Hey Jaime, we are leaving in 3 weeks is your list done yet?"
"Hey Jaime, I'm headed to the park with the kids do I need a list of what they can play on?"
"Oh,what's wrong.. you look sad...........do you need to make a list?"

I've heard them all. There is just something to be said about the writing down of things that need to get done and then having the satisfaction of checking them off when I complete them. Just today I made a list out of scatterbrained frustration and because of it I have crossed off 5 things this evening alone and I am much less stressed out.

Anywhoo, the reason for my rambling is that yesterday while I was cleaning under my bed I found a box that I have kept since I was in high school that has clippings of wedding dresses and beautiful cake ideas I had collected. Some craft ideas and color schemes that I would love in my house when I got married, then as time went on I added Parenting advice I had clipped out of books and pregnancy things. But what made me stop and take a second look was the list of names I had written down for our first baby. (when I still didn't know if she was a girl or a boy)
It made me think how weird it would be if we had gone with another name. Just for fun here is the list:

Baby Girl=
-Brylee (this was the name that we actually had picked out and then switched it on month 8)
-McKaylee
-Reesa (sonrisa is smile in Spanish, and we liked the way the last part sounded)
-Morgan
-Tessa

Baby Boy=
-Quinn
-Trenton
-Ethan
-Ian
-Oliver
-Evan

to you

2010-12-12T22:58:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

( I have lost my address book so if anyone reading this wants a Christmas card from our little fam. leave your addy in a comment or email me- JloMamaJama @ aol (dot) com

Plus I would love to just have it for my new address book!

p.s. this won't be the actual card that I'm sending)

snowflake festival

2010-12-11T23:53:00.000-08:00

This year it was the "little" grand kids turn to be in the parade on the Dive Rescue boat with Grandma Lynnie. Macie was on cloud nine.

Sadly, I opted to stay home this year because I didn't want to bundle Sawyer up to stand in the cold for hours so I don't have any pictures of them during the parade.

Oh, and it rained. A lot.

The rain didn't bother the kids much I guess because they waved and blew kisses to people on the sidewalks and then they were both asleep before the parade ended.

The pictures above are of Macie and Kelson getting ready.

2010-12-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

We finally got some fun Updated family pictures!

Click here to see more that my friend took.

new tricks

2010-12-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

Overnight it seems....we have a crawler!!!

And his new favorite trick is to go from his tummy to sitting up all by himself, I can not lay him down anymore. He sits right up.

Such a big boy.

Six months

2010-11-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

A half a year already. wow.

Sawyer is so dang fun. I just can not get enough. Right now he is the slobber king. We think he might be getting a tooth or two.

He is eating all sorts of mushy things and begs for more as soon as the spoon leaves his face. His favorite thing to do is jump in his Johnny Jump up and to take a bath. He outgrew the baby tub 2 months ago and is in the blue bath chair.

He also outgrew his infant car seat 2 months ago and is in a whole new world in his big boy car seat.

Some funny things about this boy right now are:

-if I can't seem to make him stop fussing all I have to do is sweep. Yep sweep, we have a brightly colored polka dot broom that instantly makes him smile when we get it out.

- he has a birthmark in a rather unmentionable spot...so I won't.

-he went from being the only one I thought might look like his mama to a full fledged Olsen overnight.

-the smallest part of his ankle's are as big around as my wrists (ps I do not have dainty girly wrists)

-roll, roll, roll. He roll's from one side of our living room to the dining room.

-he's not as heavy of a sleeper as my other kids are.

-he's the only one I have had that gets a super cute pouty lip before he cries.

-he does not like binkies and won't take one when he falls asleep.

-he falls asleep in .2 seconds when he is in his Daddy's arms

-crawling is not far away, he rocks back and forth on all fours ALL day long.

-Big snorer!! Just like his mama.

-Loves to give kisses while winding every piece of hair in your head into his chubby little death grip.

Get in my BELLY!!!

2010-11-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

We had a tea party!

Macie made the meal..........topless of course.

Sawyer had a twinkie and a cup....

and a hamburger patty and some milk....

and some more cups.

And when it was time to take it away...

First the lip, then....

wait for it....

and were done.

seasonal festivities

2010-11-26T20:19:00.000-08:00

I LOVE being able to go into my kids classrooms and help out. I get to see them interact with their school friends and be taught by (and have to listen too) someone other than me.

Ellie was in a play last week about the Pilgrims and the Indians. She sure has a personality on her and I love her for it. She memorized all her parts and was so excited, but she let me know that their was a part in the play where everyone had to do a "turkey trot" dance and she did NOT want me to video her during that part. In fact she was so embarrassed about this little dance that when the time came she hid behind the boy in front of her the whole time...even when he did the shimmy she sunk down when he did. Silly girl.

Connor had a Thanksgiving Feast in his classroom. It would be an understatement to say that those kids loved it.

They had a full on homemade turkey dinner. They made their own place mats, had fun table decorations and were even grown up enough to have sparkling cider!

We really tried to work with our kids on being Thankful for everything they have and to realize that others in other places and even in our own town don't have the things that we use everyday. I had them make a list of some of the things they do every day like: get out of bed, brush teeth, eat breakfast, get in the car, ect. Then I explained to them how lucky they were to be able to sleep in a bed with warm blankets, have water and a toothbrush, have food in our belly's. It was neat to see that the wheels were turning in their heads as they thought about it all.

I truly am thankful for all that I have, and for how I was raised and especially for who I get to spend every day with.

cousins in corvallis

2010-11-21T21:35:00.000-08:00

We were able to be in Corvallis for Sofia's birthday again this year and we got to visit with lots of family.

Again I was blown away by the yummy food, my sisters in law make the BEST meals. So Jealous.

Some of the cousins playing in the leaves, it was so beautiful there.

This for sure is one of the scariest pictures of me but I am putting it in because besides some quick snapshots it is the first and only family picture we have had taken in 3 years.

This little Relia... her dimples alone (which I just realized you can't see in this pic.) make you want to smooch those cheeks.

Grandpa Bud and Sawyer.

I love when my kids get to visit more of our family and wish we lived closer to all the rest!

portland

2010-11-17T23:29:00.000-08:00

Scott and the kids came to pick me up in Portland last week and Scott surprised me by getting a hotel. Now I say "surprised" because when my penny saving husband normally gets a hotel....it is the cheap of the cheap save your money kind of hotel. But this was the nicest hotel our little family had EVER stayed in together. The kids thought they had died and gone to heaven when they saw the indoor- outdoor pool and we must have ridden up and down in the glass elevators 30 times.

That's us way up there!

They also had to play in the revolving doors because they are apparently "so awesome, mom!"

Before we left Portland we stopped at the Portland Temple.

It was more beautiful than I remembered.

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The last time I was there I was probably with Scott.... but I also had braces, bangs curled and hair sprayed up about 3 inches and (because we were 14 and 15) were totally oblivious of each other.

no one likes a frowny face

2010-11-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

i love this boy

even his grumpy face

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i'll even love it when he is all grown up

Time Out for Mommy

2010-11-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I got to have a fabulous girls weekend in Portland and was able to attend Time Out for Women. Scott took all the kids up to Eugene to go to the Ducks game and Sawyer and I had a much needed getaway.

The first night we got to stay with a friend who use to live in our hometown. It was so fun catching up. I literally took my camera, and had full intentions on using it.... and ended up with maybe 3 horrible shots of the entire weekend. Friday we did some AMAZING shopping in some of my favorite stores (that I never get to be close enough to shop in) and got to eat some yummy food. My friend and I even stopped off at a Gelato shop where it took us about 10 minutes to decide which flavor to get. Decisions, decisions!

Friday night 6 of us (plus the wee babe) checked into the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in! I felt like Madeline or like Fancy Nancy...... or J-Lo! It was right downtown so we ate at the restaurant under the hotel (also uber-fancy) and then hoped onto the MAXX that took us to the convention center. That night, Michael McClean put on a concert and we had 2 other speakers. Not my favorite night of speakers but I got some great books that I can not wait to dive into. After the concert we headed back to the hotel and ordered room service in our jammies! Go figure this was the only event I took pictures of.

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(We all ordered a desert and then spilt them)

The Saturday session was much better and full of great speakers. I think for me the best part of the trip was all of the gabbing I got to do with such awesome women. Gathering advice and swapping stories. Thanks girls, I really had a fun trip!

bad pic.'s- beautiful boys

2010-11-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Auntie Laur Laur got to come to town a few weeks ago and surprise Grandpa and Grandma. We got to play with Oaklen and love him like crazy!

. For some reason these are the only pictures I took while they were here and my camera was on the wrong setting so they are fuzzy and washed out but these boys are so cute I thought I'd post them anyway.
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Look at Oak's eyelashes!! To.Die.For!

We miss you and love your stinkin' guts.

Happy Halloween from the ooooooOOOOlsens!

2010-10-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

The girls in their Halloween outfits.

. (I took advantage of Halloween being on a Sunday this year)

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Carving Punkin's

Our Spooky dinner and our Hunchback waiter.

Happy Halloween!!!

Fall festivities

2010-10-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

Its Fall (and snowing) so we have been busy with fun Autumn/Halloween activities. We've tried to cram them all in before Winter sneaks up on us.

We, ...well I should say "I", had grandiose plans for Halloween costumes this year and I failed miserably. Extra time to do projects seems a distant memory to me.

So our "go to" costumes it is! We had a family of pirates to take down to Scarecrow Row this year. It was a little chilly with the wind but we stayed warm with hot cocoa.

We walked in the parade and got to be right in front of these guys:

Connor was a little scared of that group for the whole parade....but finally got brave enough to give knuckles to a Trooper. The Chewbacka was very impressive I might add.

As soon as October 1st hits the calendar I go Halloween crazy. It is my second favorite Holiday.We put up our decorations and the kids helped make a delish' carrot cake and got to slather it with 2 different kinds of frosting and spooky sprinkles.

Then on Monday, my amazing friend Sara invited several families over to her backyard for a mini harvest carnival.

Her and her hubby set up different stations in their huge yard for kids to rotate through and play fun games.

They had a big bon fire, hot cocoa, treats and hey rides for kids. So much fun.

We had to tear Ellie away from the cricket races and Connor from the doughnuts when it was time to go.

We still have 2 class parties this week and a school carnival next week. Lots of fun and LOTS of candy= lots of teeth brushing!

I like to eat,eat,eat....

2010-10-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

Sawyer's favorite foods list:

#1- First and always his favorite is MILK, this boy is a guzzler.

#2-Rice cereal. He finally figured out how to keep some in his mouth.

#3-Sweet potatoes. He smiles after every bite.

#4-Apparently paper gum wrappers. Found one in his diaper last week and for the life of me can not figure out when or how that happened.

And nothing is better than being fed by a big sister.

(wow, slight nudity alert)

pumpkin patch

2010-10-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

I got to go with Connor on a Field Trip to a local Pumpkin Patch. It was so fun!! It was my first time going with one of my kids on this field trip because I was preggo and puking last year when Ellie got to go.

I wasn't sure how Connor would act with me there. I thought he might want to be with his friends instead, but the minute we got on the bus he put his hands out on the seat so that nobody could sit next to him but me. And he held my hand the whole way there. Yep....teared up a bit.

What a fun farm they had. You would have thought they had never seen a pumpkin in their lives. The bus doors opened and the kids flew out.

Connor was careful in his choosing and picked a white one, my favorite kind.

After they picked their pumpkin they played in the corn field and then sat on a hey bail maze to listen to Mrs. C tell all about her farm and how the pumpkins were planted and grown.

They were all given a treat and then it was time to head back. I'll tell ya, after spending 2 hours with 30 five year old's I felt like I had wrangled chickens ALL day. But we had fun and I am one proud mama!