Happy Birthday to Don!!

We celebrated Don's birthday at our home a couple of days early (Saturday) because he thought he had church meetings Sunday night (come to find out that he misunderstood & didn't have meetings that night after all) & then Monday night on his actual birthday we went out to eat at Todai (sp?) an all you can eat SeaFood place & went to a movie. We really had an enjoyable evening. Don's parents watched the kids so the kids were thrilled to be able to go to Grandma's & Grandpa's to play for a few hours. Here's some pics of celebrating Don's birthday & the kids playing at Grandpa/ma's home.

More Photos of the Kids

An ABC Tag

Got this from Jolene... if you read this.... Tag you're it!

A- Attached or single: Very attached for almost 11 years & then of course the time while we were dating before we were married.
B- Best Friend: Don (of course)
C-Cake or Pie: Pie - as long as it is homemade.
D-Day of Choice: Saturday
E- Essential Item: hmmm I guess my purse - can't go anywhere without it.
F- Favorite Color: I have lots of favorites - but lately I like purple/lavender shades.
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Both, love the sour ones
H- Hometown: Past -Tucson, AZ; Present -Camas, WA; Future -New Braunfels, TX
I- Indulgence(s): Desserts! If I could choose a day to indulge myself I would get a massage, pedicure, my hair done, go out to dinner, & end the evening with dessert & a movie. (Jolene said it so perfectly - just added a movie at the end of it :) - If I could choose a week to indulge myself I would go to Hawaii with Don.
J- January or July: July!!! I LOVE summers & I am so sick of the rain (but I must admit the last week up here has been pretty nice).
K-Kids: Will have 5 in Sept. I like big families too (since I grew up in one, can't imagine not having one).
L-Life is incomplete without: My husband, children, family, friends, the gospel.
M- Marriage Date: March 22, 1997
N- Number of Siblings: 3 brothers, 3 sisters
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges
P- Phobias or Fears: Fear of my kids falling off a cliff or something whenever we go hiking or near a river or whatever, I want them to stay far, far away from the edge -I'm very paranoid. Bees in the my house or in my car freak me out & stupid little mice (even though I have learned to be braver living out in the country.)
Q- Quote(s): “We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction, that we may all sit down in heaven together.” Lucy Mack Smith
R- Reason To Smile: I've almost made it through the morning (all day) sickness phase... about 3 more weeks to go.
S- Season: Summer! It is the best time to take vacations, camp, swim, & just play outside!!
T- Tag Three: Anyone who reads this & wants to do this! ALL OF YOU!!!
U- Unusual habbits/behaviors: I also have a one track mind - (must be a genetic thing), once I start something - I get very focused & don't want to do other stuff. i.e. If I am scrapbooking, making jewelry, shopping for kid clothes, spring cleaning, whatever it is, that is all I want to do until I completed the project.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I love meat too, need I say more.
W- Worst Habit: Wasting time on the computer (ever since Don bought me this laptop it is so easy to do this). & the other one would be buying too much clothes, -just when I tell myself that I'm not going to buy any more clothes - I find a cute top/skirt/whatever at a really great price - & can't pass it up :(
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: obviously ultrasounds at this point of my life
Y- Your Favorite Food: Italian foods, breads, salads, fruits, desserts, lots of stuff :)
Z- Zodiac sign: Taurus

Peace & Quiet--- ahhhh :)

I don't think I have ever had this home so quiet in the middle of the day. Melanie & Courtney started public school today. They were so excited. We started mid week because Monday was a holiday, Tuesday we went on two field trips (one to Fort Vancouver with Courtney's homelink class) & the other to see the play "Little Women" with a homeschooling group. Grandma Coates came with us to "Little Women", the kids fought over her attention. I really enjoyed the play, but it was probably a bit too advanced for the kids. Plays like "Annie" & "Beauty & the Beast" hold their attention longer. Then on Wednesday, we went to another play, "High School Musical". We had never seen the movie before. We all enjoyed the play & now want to see the movie. Dayton was pretty good during both plays, he loves to clap when everyone claps. I had to give him my wallet to play with during the last half of "High School Musical" as he was just getting too restless. He was in pure heaven playing with my wallet, pulling out all my credit cards & putting them in different slots. -hopefully, he didn't lose any cards :0
When we got home yesterday afternoon, Melanie wasn't feeling very well, so she went to bed. She was so sad, because she didn't want to be sick and miss her first day of school. Last night, she still wasn't feeling well, but said, "I hope I feel better tomorrow, I really want to go to school, I keep praying I will get better." Well, when she woke up this morning, she said she was feeling better. I don't think she was 100% better as she only ate 1/2 a waffle, normally she eats 3 - 4 waffles. I kept asking her if she was sure she was better. She said she was. Well, I drove the two anxious girls to the bus stop (our mailbox) this morning. They were so excited to ride the bus. It has been a beautiful day today - no rain! Which is so nice, then the girls can play outside on all the new playground equipment at recess - playing in the rain isn't much fun. I hope they had a wonderful day there. Then after that I went Visiting Teaching all morning. When we got home, I fed Emma & Dayton lunch & put them both for naps at 1:00pm. It is now almost 3:00pm. I have had two hours of peace and quiet in the middle of the day -- which is totally a new thing for me... I could get used to this :) I am just starting to hear Dayton wake up... so this will be the end of my blog.. Here some cute pictures of the girls waiting at the bus stop & some pictures from Fort Vancouver (It is really quite an interesting field trip). This summer, Don & I want to take the kids to see lots of the sites around here (End of the Oregon Trail, Mt. St. Helens, caves, etc.) as it will hopefully be our last summer here.



Anxiously waiting for the bus on their first day of their new school.

Pictures from the fieldtrip to Fort Vancouver

Celebrations

Well, last Sunday we (as in Don's side of the family) finally all got together. It had been a while since all of us who live in the Portland area had got together. We celebrated Valentine's Day, (which is the anniversary of Don's parents/family sealing in the San Jose Temple) & Don's & his Dad's birthday. We had a delicious dinner (Don made homemade fettuccine for the beef stroganoff - homemade pasta is so much better) - I got a few photos of the chef at work:) We also had yummy chocolate cake dough-nuts that Don's parents had special made for dessert, & yummy black berry pie & ice cream that Gr. Grandma Coates made. Don is going to try to get a book together of all (well at least some of) Grandma's delicious pies. She says she doesn't really have recipes for all as she just invents them as she makes them. Anyways, they are some of best pies I have ever had. We all had a great time just visiting & chatting with everyone. Here are some fun photos:

updates

The other bit of news (if you haven't heard) is that I am putting Courtney and Melanie in public school full time (they start next week - on Thursday since we had field-trips already scheduled and paid for on Tues & Wed). I made the decision a few weeks ago, but didn't transfer them immediately so that they would have a couple of weeks to say good bye to their friends and teachers at the homelink school. I was going to put them in public school full time next year for sure & just try to hang in there for the rest of this year, but there was too much happening & I wasn't being a "super mom" it was more like "stressed out mom". I couldn't figure out how I was going to take Dayton to preschool & speech therapy & be doing homeschool at the same time, & trying to get our house all organized/clean & ready to sell, & get all the paperwork done for taxes, & I haven't been feeling well lately (well actually quite nauseous 24/7). Anyways, it was a tough decision because I love the teachers at homelink & the kids love their classes there (it's like a family there, the teachers really care about the kids, etc.) so I feel like a big quitter for not finishing it up because I can't handle my three day of homeschooling at home. But it is also a big relief for me to not have to do their schooling 3 days a week.... We were working from 9 - 4 trying to get their stuff done & it seemed like on the other days I was either volunteering in the school or taking them on field trips so I wasn't getting anything else done, just getting stressed out... So hopefully the new public school works out well. It suppose to be a really good school. The girls are excited about it. Melanie is super excited to ride the school bus. We met their new teachers a couple of days ago & they seem like really nice caring teachers too.

Well, my due date for our baby is Sept 17. - Emma's birthday. So hopefully the baby is born a couple of days early so each kid can have their own birthday. When I had the ultrasound Wed, they did the measurements & said the baby was exactly 9 weeks. I usually have an early ultrasound, since my first pregnancy was ectopic - so I am technically high risk now & they like to do an early ultrasound for each pregnancy. It was nice having the ultrasound as I could see the baby move & it made everything seem more real. We would love to have another boy so Dayton is not so outnumbered. But of course we would be thrilled for a girl too. Just hoping & praying the baby will be all healthy with no problems. But, of course we're anxious to find out what it is (in about 10 more weeks). Let me tell you, when I got the ultrasound- I was also very relieved to find out it is not twins - sorry I don't want to copy Teresa. One baby keeps you busy enough :) Don has been such a great husband, cooking dinner every night for us the past couple of weeks since I have been so nauseous. He is trying out all his new recipes that he is learning from Culinary School. The meals have all been delicious, but I'm looking forward to enjoying food again without being so nauseous (which will be in about 5 more weeks & believe me I am counting the days).

Also, we are actually having some nice weather up here. Today, tomorrow, & Sunday, Portland is suppose to be in the 60's with no rain (so it means it will probably be a little cooler up here), but no rain!!! The kids have been out in the yard playing on bikes today, something they haven't been able to do for many months. All of the snow has finally melted, at our house anyways, if you go further up our mountain, there's still plenty of snow at some of our friends' homes. ---well that's about it for us :)

new photos

Here's a couple of new photos of our youngest child...



(by the way -- this is the announcement... Jolene's announcement was so cute, I just had to copy her :)

MORE SNOW!!!

Well, after four days of being snowed in (last week), I was getting a little too much umm I guess you could call it cabin fever (or kid fever j/k :), so I went out & dug the road out -- it took about two hours, but at least I could get the kids to school & to their gymnastics on Thursday & Friday. And then on Saturday it started snowing again & it has been snowing non stop ever since. We got over 12+ inches on top of what we already had. So needless to say we are snowed again. Don went out on Saturday morning - when it just started snowing, & when he came back home, he couldn't get back in. He has a four wheel drive & he still had to put chains on. & Even with his chains he slid off into our ditch turning into our driveway. Luckily, he was able to get it out. Well, here's some pictures of our snow & some lovely music to go along with it - just incase you were getting sick of the other song;)