Week #4: All Stitched Up

This week...

...Lainey gave her doll a piggy back ride. It looks so cute when she holds her baby this way. It's just so easy to get around. Duh!

...Lainey made her first trip, and our first family trip ever, to the ER for stitches. We went to the church for an Elder's Quorum game night. The kids had fun running around, the teenagers had fun shooting hoops (ok, I did too), and the adults played board games. Jason brought his holy board game (aka Mexican Horseshoes) and we played a couple tournaments, of which I won the first tourney and overall championship. We were cleaning up when we heard that i-really-hurt-myself-bad cry, and I realized that it was Lainey. She was slowly walking towards me as I ran to see what had happened when I noticed the deep, red drop of blood on her chin. Sure enough, she had a big, open gash.

Everyone was so helpful as we calmed Lainey down and made preparations to go. Our neighbor and friend took our van and the rest of our kids home to help them get into bed. They let us drive their car and we were able to leave sooner. We have a friend that works in the ER and she called ahead for us. Our visit didn't seem to take that long. We were out within an hour and a half and home at 11:00 pm. Lainey did great for the stitches, of which there are five. The part she didn't like was how they held her down. At first she thought it was funny because she heard the nurse say they would wrap her up like a burrito. She said, "Like a burrito? with sauce?" It was so funny. We'll go back in seven days to get them out.

 I found a picture of Lainey sitting on the steps that she slipped on. You can see that they are stone steps encased in a metal frame. I'm pretty positive she came down on the metal edge with her chin. She also bit through her tongue pretty good too.

...we went to Costco. I snapped a shot of my Costco Kids. I'm sorry if you think there's nothing spectacular about this one, but Costco is an event for the little ones.

...we made a craft in Young Womens for the new 2013 theme - Stand Ye in Holy Places. The girls were so excited and they turned out really well. I got the frames at Michael's with a mirror insert instead of glass. I used vinyl for my temple template so we could easily do the etching. They painted the frames and then applied the vinyl. I stapled the ribbon onto the back of the frame. I let the girls choose their own paint choices and they turned out so great, and so their own.

...Jason's big toenail finally fell off. It has been purple and blue and barely hanging on for a long time. This is the result of him taking someone to the ground who wouldn't comply and was trying to make a break for it. He knew his toe was in bad shape when his foot slammed into the ground on the way down. It is a beloved war wound despite the pain involved.

...we went out for some good old fashioned running around. Before video games, computer games, wiis and xboxes, before ipods, iphones, and ipads...there was the art and fun of running around for entertainment. We met our friends, the Harris', at the Parley Building for some running, racing, shooting, and visiting. It was so great! The kids really worked up a sweat and we shot hoops for a bit. We ate ice cream and homemade bread with jam. I raced Jason and sadly, I lost. I'm not as quick on my feet as I used to be apparently. :) (Notice Paul's shoes. He wore his church shoes because we were going to the church. What a good kid!)

Week #3: A Bed Off the Floor

This week...

...we put Emma's new bed frame together. Jason finally got to paint the new frame he made for Emma. She's had a new mattress since September, but has been sleeping on the floor. Jason built Emma's bed frame this winter with the help of the propane heater he got for his birthday. He usually doesn't build much during the winter just because it's so cold and no fun to be out working in the garage. I'm glad we spent the money on the heater for two reasons - 1. He has something to keep himself busy and 2. He can build me things all year round. He also found plans for a spray booth so that he can spray in the garage, not make a mess on everything else, and paint all year round. Yay!

He went to our favorite site, ana-white.com, to find plans for a loft bed. We thought that would be the best way to use space and make things fun for Emma on top of that. Emma loves her bed. So do all the other kids, Lainey especially. We'll make a cool spot for Emma to hang out, read, or do homework under the bed. 

...we added some organization to the laundry room. A small laundry room is really no fun to work in. Why do I refer to laundry room business as fun you wonder? Because it is fun for me. I actually like to start loads of laundry in the wahser and drier both. I like to fold the laundry and stack it up for the kids to put away. I even like putting it away if I decide to just be a nice mom and do it for them (That happens often...I'm a nice mom.) 

You can imagine how thrilled I was then when Jason agreed to build me this cubby for my laundry room. I can put the laundry to be folded on top and it doesn't pile up on the drier. I have a cubby for each of the kids, one for lost socks, one for clothes that need to be stored or given away, and one for towels. My dirty laundry baskets fit nicely underneath and aren't an eye sore when you first look or walk into the room. And did I mention that my drier stays nice and clean?

Lainey was so excited to have a cubby all her own that she went into her room and brought her laundry basket back in. She proceeded to stuff all of her folded laundry in her cubby.

...we made a trip to Shakey's Pizza Parlor for dinner. Jason has been wanting to go for a while now. Some of the guys from work really talked it up and they all went there for lunch on a training day. We decided to surprise the kids and go out for dinner. It is set up like Chuck E. Cheese's. You can get tables for dinner and the kids can play arcade games using tokens. They get tickets and then redeem them for prizes that do not last long and cause a lot of fighting and tears. Yep! Just like Chuck E. Cheese's. Only, with our dinner package at Shakey's, we could pay $20 and get 100 tokens, instead of the meager amount you get at the Cheese. 


We liked that toys are back in their own area, not all around. We liked the pizza, chicken, mojo combos. The mojos are thinly sliced potatoes (they look like a potato chip) that are deep fried. They were by far my favorite. The kids really liked the chicken; I might venture to say better than the pizza. The sauce on the pizza was slightly sweet, which was throwing me off. I really liked the cheese pizza the next day, but all pizza is better the next day...for breakfast. :) Overall great atmosphere and fun. Claire scored 250 tickets on one game and Emma collected 500 on one of hers. It seemed that the machines really ate up tokens the night we were there. Even when we thought the game had restarted, it took our token and then showed 0 of 1 inserted. Not cool, Shakeys. Not cool.  My mom went with us and Grandma and Grandpa Erickson brought cousins Warren and Quin. They were having a lot of fun taking everything in. The toy cash in counter was crazy and we don't have any of the toys we won that night. I guess that's the nature of the beast.

...we attended Emma's Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly at her school. It was a great assembly with fifth grade actors and third grade singers and speakers. You could tell that they had all been coached on how to properly hold the microphone and project their voice. Emma had a speaking part - it was fun to watch her do everything just right. Her cousin Ethan is also in the third grade, different class, at her school and they were not far from each other on the risers.

:: Emma down front :: Ethan is second row, far right ::

Week #2: Cabin Camping and the Sick Room

This week...

...Paul turned seven years old on the seventh. I can't believe he's already just one year away from baptism! He's just always been my fuzzy headed two year old in my mind-still fuzzy headed, just not two years old anymore. He wanted donuts for his birthday in like fashion as Emma. We all gathered to share in the treats and watch him open gifts. Lainey was really worried that Paul might blow the candles out prematurely and did her best to stop him.

...Emma had her first piano lesson. She absolutely LOVED it! All week she has been playing songs on the piano, practicing counting, and learning the names of the keys. I'm so excited for her to learn and develop this talent. I stopped piano lessons (maybe my freshman year) because I wasn't practicing and thought I needed to spend more time on sports. There have been so many times since that I have wished that I would have stuck with it. Lainey liked to sit next to Emma to watch...or play along.

...I left Jason with a house full of sick kids and went sledding with my young women group. The flu bug really hit us, moving through each kid in turn; Lainey first, then Paul, then Benjamin, then Emma. Claire is the only one that wasn't really effected. Jason even watched them all on Sunday so that I could go to church. I had to teach and then have a meeting. I don't know that he was too sad because he got to see the Seahawks game (too bad they lost).

For our sledding trip, we went up White Pass to Camp Zarahemla that is owned by our church. The cabin was supposed to be heated, but space heaters aren't my idea of heat. The girls didn't seem to be bothered. They ran around, went sledding without complaint, and stocked the firewood like champs. Our Bishop's wife came along with him and we stayed up late playing games, even after lights out for everyone. She introduced us to this game, Spot it, and it was so fun. It was so easy to play a round and it moved fast. Check amazon - I'm totally going to buy it.

Here are some pics from the trip...

1. Miriam, Egla/Karely, Kaitlyn, Savannah, Tess (exchange student from India), Sis. Nicole King, Livi (newly baptized), Sis. Shelly Norman, Isabell 2. Perla, Mya, Alicia, Maribel (newly baptized), Candy (newly baptized and injured in a train attempt down the sledding hill) 3. Lisabeth (recetly returned to activity), Bishop and Sis. Pierce, Sis. Ruvine Jimenez (recently returned to activity), Sis. Kuniko Votaw, Emily (newly baptized), Emma, Noreen, Sis. Ginnette Holmbo (newly baptized and also a nurse, helped with Candy), Melissa (newly baptized), Me.

Pasco is on fire with missionary work. If you noticed from the list of names, we had five young women and one leader baptized last year. Livi is the only member of her family so far and she is just 15. Melissa and Maribel are sisters that joined early on last year. Candy, their close friend, joined later in the year and helped bring the two sisters back to church. Candy is so sweet tempered and is always offering her help. Even with an injured leg on the ride home from sledding, she sat uncomfortably in the middle seat because the girl in the front seat WOULD NOT give up her spot. Candy didn't want to cause bad feelings. I was so impressed.

...I attended the reception of my good friend Erin Garner, now Erin Solas. We really haven't had much time to really catch up about her "story," but I'm excited to one day have more time to visit. It goes something like this...Erin served her mission in Brazil where she met Gilmar (now her husband). She came home and they stayed in contact as really good friends. She was almost engaged to someone else, over the course of the years, and it was hard for her to not go through with it. Time passed and her she realized her relationship with Gilmar was more than friends. I think they had to wait a long time for his visa as well. Well, they were finally married on January 12th, 2012 in the Columbia River Temple. He doesn't speak English, yet, so I wasn't able to talk much with him. But you can tell just by looking at him and being around him that he is wonderful for Erin. It was so great to be able to make it there that night to share with them on their special occasion.(I do not know why I have such a large, crazy smile on my face.)

Week #1: Starting all over again

This week we...

...enjoyed doing nothing at all. The break was just that-a nice break from school and holiday rush. Here we are with cousins slurping applesauce through straws. I told you. We did nothing, really.

...had some hula hoop fun. Aunt Lara gave us her hula hoop and the kids had a blast playing with it. Emma, Danica, and Claire were pretty good at keeping it going. Everyone else just enjoyed jumping through it.

...made red velvet cupcakes with Emma's easy bake oven. Emma finally got what she's wanted for Christmas for the past two years. She really enjoys using it. The other kids really enjoy eating the treats. We all wish each recipe package made more than it does.

...found the 'best seat in the house' for movie time. Lainey claimed this spot on the TV stand as her favorite spot. Of course, we just took a picture and then got her down.

:: movie ::

Tinker Bell and The Secret of the Wings

Week #52: Merry Christmas & the Weeks were Numbered

This week we...

...celebrated Christmas Eve with my family. We finally got snow for Christmas. I'm glad we got some and that it hasn't stuck around. We had good food, visiting, and present fun on Christmas Eve. We had a basketball tournament (thanks to Kent and his tournament brackets), a christmas jeopardy game for the kids, a name that product ad for the adults (Just do it, You can never eat just one, They melt in your mouth, not in your hand, etc.), a pringles taste test (because Shelly loves taste tests and Cherice gave her all the different flavors of pringles to try and share), a favorites exchange (We usually all contribute something for the adults "stocking stuffers" in a bag. This year we decided to make it a favorites party. Great fun!), and a rice krispy house extravaganza.

 

...raced the kids down to the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. The kids were up early and we told them to wait a little longer for us to sleep in a little more. That worked for about a half hour. Then Jason and I hurried to get ready and tried to run downstairs unseen. Paul saw us though, and sounded the alarm. So they all rushed down, hard on our heals.

...celebrated Christmas Day with Jason's family. I don't have many pictures of the day because I was helping clean up in the kitchen when the gift unwrapping started. This is us playing one of our new games, Fibber, from Aunt Lara back at home. The kids didn't think these glasses were all that funny, but I laughed every time i looked around at everyone.

...finished the year out watching the weeks go by. I really enjoyed the weekly blog posts this year. I couldn't believe how quickly week 52 came around. I thought it would take forever to get to the end of the year. And then I thought I had miscounted because we were in the 40's so soon and it seemed there had to be more year left than that. Each year has been an adventure. We're growing out of the trying times of wrangling so many little kids so close together in age. Emma and Paul are more independent and such great helpers as they can take care of themselves and help with the other little ones. Lainey is so friendly with everyone, making new friends and endearing herself to one and all. Benjamin and Claire are five - what can I say. Cute as buttons and sweet as pie one minute and raging hurricanes the next. Bring it on 2013!

Week #51: Nine Birthdays Old

This week we...

...gathered once more for Emma's birthday. This time we partied with the family. Emma informed me that she's not a big fan of cake. Now she tells me! After eight years of cake, I find out she doesn't like it. So we decided to have donuts. And we went down the road to Vierra's Bakery. And they are so big and so delicious. It was great!

...attended the Read for the Record Assembly where Paul won a bike! Paul's school does this reading program where you can enter a drawing for a bike if you read 20 minutes every day. We never thought we'd actually ever win the BIG prize. We just do the reading because it benefits the kids and Paul's very consciencious about doing it. Well, this time Paul won! The school called us and we made arrangements to go to the school. Jason was at work, but got it ok-ed for him to come. I don't know how I thought Paul would react when they called his name...maybe a big smile or an excited shout. There was none of that. He just jumped up and matter-of-factly took the handlebars of the bike meant for him. It was so cute!

...feared that our house might actually blow away with us in it creating a Dorothy moment. This wind we had really wreaked havok all over the Tri-Cities. Paul's school was closed for the day and Emma's was on two hour delay because of power outage. The business signs down the main roads were all busted up and lying in the street. Trampolines were crushed up against trees, lying in the middle of the street, and transported  to crazy places. For example, my brother's trampoline was carried from their backyard, over the fence and road, over the neighbor's truck, over the neighbor's fence into the neighbor's backyard where it landed on their shed. The shed? Crushed. Jason sent me this picture as he was out on patrol...The homeowner was actually out of town when this happened, but still...bummer! That's a 40 year old tree there smashed into that house.

...attended the ward party and saw Santa. We enjoyed sitting with our friends, the Hales. The Santa experience was a little weird for me because Lainey wasn't afraid at all. She was sitting on his lap talking like crazy. That's what she does best. I just had them do a group photo and let Lainey sit there, but Emma and Paul were upset that they didn't get any one on one time. Go Figure!

 Jenna (our wonderful babysitter), Lynette, Kendrick, Jim, Travis, Megan (not pictured)

...looking forward to Christmas! Can't wait! We're counting down and displaying everyone's Christmas cards and pictures. We're filling our manger for Jesus by doing nice things for others. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Week #50: First Grade Gingerbread Houses

This week we...

...joined Paul at his school for the first grade gingerbread house making event of the year! I was so glad that I got to go and be part of this day with Paul. I couldn't find anyone to help me with watching my kids, so I took them all with me. And that was all the more fun! They were each able to make their own (Plus our friend Danica that was with us), and we had enough extra candy/frosting that Emma got to make her own when she got home.

...celebrated Emma's 9th birthday with some friends from school. This is Emma's year to have a friend party and she was so excited. We decided to have a shrinky dinks party. Once we figured out the proper way to make them, we were set to go. We ruined a whole batch the first time because I didn't know that the curling action was part of the whole process. Oops! To my credit though, I didn't have the full instructions the first time.

She invited: Zoey Orton, Naomi Jensen, Payton Pixton, Sarah Hamilton, Hannah Muhlbier, Sydney Trebiz, and Katie Zirker (Claire and Lainey were participating too.)

...had dinner with friends. We were excited to host Erik and his mom Valery for dinner, along with our friends the Harris Family. We had chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, fruit salad, and steamed carrots. Yummy!

...equipped Claire and Lainey for the first snow of the season. Where's the snow? You wonder. My thoughts exactly. Claire was determined that I get her whole snow ensemble out of storage so that she could go out and enjoy the few flakes that were falling.

...enjoyed lunch and visiting with our friends John and Becky Edvalson. They were here visiting for the Christmas break. They have both spent a lot of time in Guatemala as part of John's doctorate work. It's so fun to hear of their experiences there. Their kids, Lucy, Levi, and Noah were fun to see again and marvel at their growth. Claire wondered where little Noah was at one point and she asked "Where's Moses?" It made me laugh. Yes, you need a prophet name - wrong prophet. :)

...discovered that Lainey makes a good baby in a bag. Emma tried this trick with Lainey one morning before she left for school. It was so funny to see Lainey's head popping up out of the back pack 

Week #49:Christmas Cheer is Here!

This Week We...

...lost baby Jesus. Right above this nativity (see top picture in collage above) I have a sign that says, "Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus," by Elder Maxwell. I was starting to wonder if we weren't making room. It turns out that Lainey took baby Jesus. She told me she took my baby and had it upstairs, but I had no idea what she was talking about until I gasped at the sight of the empty straw manger in my nativity. She was kind enough to produce the baby and we glued him back in his place.

...celebrated Jason's 33rd birthday on the run. We had a lot going on Wednesday the 5th. The above cake is all I have to show for the festivities of him turning one year older. We went out for a quick lunch at Olive Garden before our crazy night got away from us. After lunch, I had to shop for supplies for mutual. He had a guild meeting. I had to take my supplies and go to mutual. The kids did sing to Jason though and he made a wish (probably for a better birthday celebration) before blowing out his candles. Yay! But don't feel too bad for him...We got a babysitter the next night and went out to Texas Roadhouse. Yeehaw! 

...visited train heaven in Toppenish, WA. Grandma and Grandpa Erickson treated us to the Christmas toy train event and we had a lot of fun. There were so many trains to see, so many people to push through, and so many more trains to see. We got to take a ride in the caboose and see Santa and Mrs. Claus on the train. Then we had a fun trip to McDonald's for food and play land fun to top it all off.

Week #48:Get your glow on

This week we...

...had a movie theater, Emma style. Emma loves to organize activities for the rest of the kids. Their favorite thing lately is to play with the monopoly money, but not for the game itself. Sometimes Emma uses it to pay the others for getting her things (drinks of water, snacks, blankets, etc.). One morning before church, Emma had them setting up a store in her room where they could buy and sell from each other. They got to keep the toy for the day and then returned it all at the end. Emma and I both wondered at the propriety of playing store on Sunday...hhmmmm. This time Emma used the money for the others to buy treats before their afternoon movie. She made up a menu and set it all up herself. It was a big hit with them and me (They got to have fun and I didn't have to put it together).

...decorated the house for Christmas. The kids were so excited to get the Christmas decorations out of the attic and set things out. This year our friend Danica Shab got to help us. They mostly had fun decorating the Christmas tree. I handed them the ornament and told them right where I wanted it to go. Fun for me, not so much for them.

...watched Polar Express to kick off our activity advent. In July Benjamin was already asking me when it would be Christmas. I remember telling him five months and thinking that it was so far off. Well, it went fast.

...made a trip to World Market to pick up our new table. Two things to say: Love World Market and love our new table. My sisters, Cherice and Shelly, went with us for our outing to Spokane. We thoroughly enjoyed the Kinder chocolates and Kinder Happy Hippos. Yum! Then we ate lunch at a restaurant called Tomato Street. There were so many menu options we wanted to try and the food was so great.

...had dinner at our new table. My brother Corey and his kids came over for Sunday dinner and we all gathered around our new table. It was fabulous! We all fit!

...had a fantastic Evening of Excellence for the Young Women. I also worked hard and earned my Divine Nature ribbon for my scripture bookmark. So fun! Our theme was Ready, Set, Glow and we talked about the importance of staying on the course and doing our personal progress/scripture study/personal prayers as our own spiritual preparation; the ready, set part. That way we'll be ready to go, or glow...to let our light shine, when the time comes.

Here are some pictures from the last several months that I never got to use...

1. Lainey giving Paul a hug at the bus stop 

2. Claire and Lainey getting a ride in the wheelbarrow 

3. Claire and Benjamin before church - Claire happy, Benjamin not so much 

4. Paul's wild bike moves
5. Jason after a detail with the FBI
6. & 8. Fans of big hair

7. Lainey wrapped up for nap time - marker evidence on her feet

9. Benjamin sliding down the stairs sleeping bad style 

10 & 11. On a bike ride to the Tidwell's house - Ben completely zonked out in the bike stroller, Paul with his stash of tootsie rolls
12. Hanging with Dad before bedtime - Benjamin not photo-ed because he was being a grump