Washington State!

We are here in Washington State. We flew in on Thursday. It was actually a very enjoyable trip. The kids did great. Rilla fell asleep within the first few minutes of being in the air on both flights. She slept most of the first flight and half of the second. Walter threw up on the first flight (very common for him as he gets motion sickness very easy) but he felt better on the second. Jem was impatient to get to the trip over with and see family (specifically my cousin Eli). We had a two hour drive after landing but it was a pretty good drive. We have come to my Grandma's and Uncle's house first. I have always loved visiting my grandma. I even lived with her for five months when Gilbert was deployed to Iraq. I especially love her garden tub. I have taken a bath every night and it has been so nice. When we buy a house it will have a garden or spa tub.

It is so nice visiting family. We are having a great time. Walter was sick yesterday (he threw up a few times) but feels fine today. He is very rarely sick for more than a day. We have had lots of fun playing games together, going for walks, and playing in the yard. My grandma has two baby birds in a nest in her yard that we have been able to look at. Gilbert mowed the yard here with a riding lawn mower and really had fun doing that. Jem even helped him and thought it was really cool. The food has been great. I love my family's home cooking. It is nice when every one pitches in and helps out. Today Gil has even helped me make maple rolls (they are so good). It is nice doing things together. I love when he is off of work. Well, that is about it. I will keep write again soon.

Barbeque/Birthday Party!

We celebrated Walter's and Aurora's (nickname) birthdays on Saturday with a barbeque.  Aurora is Teah's oldest daughter.  She turned four earlier this month.  Walter turned 7 on Monday.  We invited our friends, the Bree's and the Flemings.  The Bree's are PCSing (moving) to Hawaii this week and we sure will miss them.  The party on Saturday was a lot of fun.  I had a fun time making Walter's and Aurora's cakes.

The kids had a lot of fun playing on the trampoline and having a water balloon fight. the barbeque was really good, too. We gave Walter his own digital camera (one of our old ones) and he got three transformers from his brothers and sister. With 15 dollars of birthday money he received he bought a Gameboy Advance with three games at a yard sale (his Gameboy broke last week). He was saving up for a new one (I told him he had to save half and we would pay the other half), so I am very glad we found such a good deal on a used one and he only had to spend a little of his money. He is very good at saving money.

Walter is Seven!

Walter is seven years old today.  It sure is amazing how fast kids grow.  We had his birthday party on Saturday.  We had a Barbeque and celebrated both his and My friend Teah's daughter's birthday.    My next post will be about the Barbeque/birthday party.

A little bit about Walter.  Walter was born June 16, 2001.  He weighed 7 lb 7 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.  He has lived in 7 different houses in 5 different cities (including Darmstadt, Germany).  He has been on 15 plane trips (most with at least one layover).  He just finished 1st grade.  his favorite subject is math.  He is very good at it.  He LOVES Nintendo and the Wii.  He is very good at them, much better than me. 

I am so grateful to have him as my son.  He is a great first child.  He is a very good big brother and a good example for his brothers and sister.  I am very proud of him and love him so much.

Father's Day!

We had a very nice Father's Day. We had church in the morning. The Dad's got chocolate candy bars. I thought that was nice. When we got home all the kids needed naps. Walter and Jem don't usually take them but they had been up late the previous two nights. I can't remember the last time all four of my kids took naps all at the same time. Of course Gil and I took the opportunity and took naps ourselves. What is better than a Sunday afternoon nap?

I want to say how grateful I am for my husband. He is such a great Dad. Our kids just adore their Dad. He is so good playing with them and spending time with them. He will come home from work and play with them first rather than take time for himself. Rilla has even started asking for her Dad when he is at work because she loves playing with him.

Bread Sticks!

I got this breadstick recipe from my sister's blog. I made them and they are REALLY REALLY Good. I used my Kitchen Aid so I didn't have to kneed it by hand.

3 cups Flour
1 TBSP Yeast
1 TBSP Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cups Warm Water
1 cube Butter (melted)

Mix yeast in warm water add sugar until dissolved. Add all remaining ingredients except for butter.

Need dough aprox 5 minutes. (may need to add more flour.)

Pour melted butter in bottom of 9x13 baking pan.

Roll out dough into 12 sticks. Place on top of melted butter in pan. Let rise 20 minutes.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 or until golden brown.

Tagged!

I have been tagged!

Rules first:
I need to answer 6 questions.I then tag 6 people and post their names here, then go to their blog and comment to tell them that they have been tagged and to visit here to find out the rules. I must then let the person who tagged me know when I have posted my answers.

1) 5 Things on my 'to-do' list:
a. finish typing corrections for Relief Society list so I can give my Enrichment binder to Jaime who is now the Enrichment leader (I was released and called as Nursery Leader)
b. Go to the Commissary and get stuff for two Barbeques
c. Finish folding laundry in my hallway (I got behind when I was sick last week)- My hubby folded them for me, yeah me!
d. Give all my kids baths (I do that every Saturday night)
e. Get church clothes and church stuff all ready for church in the morning (it is at 8 am)

2) 5 Snacks I Love:
a. Anything Chocolate
b. Chedder Rice cakes
c. Homestyle Microwave popcorn
d. Gum (bubblemint)
e. Nutella on white bread

3) 5 Things I'd do if I suddenly became a millionaire:
a. Pay Tithing
b. Build a house (not huge but has to have a big kitchen and big spa tub in the master bath)
c. TRAVEL THE WORLD
d. Get Lasic (sp?) surgery so I don't have to wear contacts
e. Invest a bunch

4) 5 Places I've lived:
a. Fort Drum, NY
b. Darmstadt, Germany
c. Spokane, WA
d. Provo, UT
e. Tacoma, WA

5) 5 Jobs I've had:
a. Being a Mom (my favorite)
b. Worked in a calling center for a company called EStamp
c. Taco Bell and Taco Time
d. Hawthorne Manor Retirement Home (serving meals in the dining room)- my first job
e. Made cookies in my dorm cafeteria my freshman year of College


6) 5 Things people don't know about me:
a. I am a night person. I could stay up late every night (I have to make myself go to bed at a decent hour now that I have kids)
b. I was Lilac Princess for my high school my senior year of high school (each high school in Spokane had one)
c. I hate waiting in lines
d. I really don't like driving very far. I feel I could be spending my time in something more worth while that behind the wheel of a car
e. I love taking nice hot baths

I'm tagging:

1. Christina
2. Teah
3. Tamra
4. Suzanne
5. Kara Lee
6. Taya

Strep Throat!

It has been a while since I wrote because I was sick last week.  Wednesday morning I woke up with a sore throat.  I took tylenol and that helped it not hurt so much.  By Wednesday night it hurt a lot more and by Thursday morning I was miserable.  I alternated tylenol and IB Profen, but it didn't seem to even help at all.  It hurt so bad to swallow.  My body ached as well and I was so tired.  I went into the health clinic Friday morning to get a Strep test done and it was positive.  I was so happy it was positive (and that it wasn't something viral) because I then knew once I took antibiotics for a while I would feel better.  Relief was in sight.  The doctor told me I should feel better in about 24 hours.  Unfortunately my throat didn't feel better for 30 hours.  But I was so happy when I could finally swallow without it hurting so much.  This is only my 2nd time having Strep and I hope it is my last.  I think I would rather be sick with anything else.

I was really lucky that my husband was so awesome and took care of the kids for almost 4 whole days (he had to work part of Wednesday and part of Thursday).  He did everything (except of course nursing Shirley- he just brought him to me when he was hungry).  I was able to sleep anytime (or at least try to with my throat hurting so bad).  He even took care of me and gave me a massage and stuff like that.  I was very grateful.  It really made being sick easier.