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One YEAR Old!!!

Mason is ONE YEAR!!!!

Yesterday was a great day!
I can't believe the little guy is a year old already!
On Friday he got his first hair cut and now he looks like a little boy-
the wispy baby hair is gone (sniff sniff)

He had a good time opening presents. . .wasn't quite sure what was going on, but it was fun to watch his reaction! He got his own cell phone, a bus that drives by itself, keys, shoes & socks, a truck and a rocket ship!

He loves the rocket ship - rides it all around the house -
mostly he sits backward or opens up the seat and tries to climb into it - sooooo funny!

We went over to see Kristina after church and celebrate the twins birthday together!
Kristina gave Mason a bus and he gave her a Barn!

I made Mason a lion cake! Not one of my best cakes, but my hands have been bad lately, so not terrible considering!

Uncle David plopped the whole face of the lion onto Mason's tray! He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. . .he looked at it with a strange face for awhile then finally dug in!

Eventually it ended up all over the floor and his face. . .
I'm not sure he even ate more than two bites,
but he sure had fun playing with it!A great end to a great first year!

Trick-or-Treating

Aidan & Taylor

I just realized I forgot to put the Halloween pics up. . .oops - better late than never?????
We went out with the Reid/Thomas family for the second year in a row. Aidan was a Jawa (Star Wars character) and Mason was a Lion. Watch out Kristina, Sarah was making her move!!!! - It was really cute they were holding hands for a short time.

Boxes

We finally got Mason a forward facing car seat. . .The boys had soooooo much fun playing in the box today while I was making dinner. I just had to take some pics!!!

MFBAPT (Mother's Fighting Back Against Pumpkin Thieves)

I'm starting a new organization:

Mother's Fighting Back Against Pumpkin Thieves!!!!!!!!!
Now accepting new members!

Corn Maze and Trunk-or-Treat!

So we did finally make it to the Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch on Thursday. It was fun! We chose some good pumpkins - Aidan's is HUGE! He had to hunt the patch for the largest one he could find! So funny! My Kookie boys!

Tonight was our ward Halloween party and trunk-or-treat. Aidan wouldn't even put his costume on. . .what's that all about?
Here are the betrothed all dressed up!
The Ladybug and the Lion - too cute!

Pictures of the Day!

We had a lot of fun today just goofing around. . .Aidan had 1/2 day of school and his parent/teacher conference. . .Aidan is still doing fabulous in school -GREAT JOB AIDAN! After that we decided to go to the pumpkin patch and corn maze. . .it was supposed to rain all day, but it hadn't yet, so we decided to give it a go and of course 1/2 way there the rain starts pouring down (not the typical Washington light rain - it was a downpour like none other)! We thought we'd just mull around in the barn for a bit and wait for the rain to die down, but it never did - so we never got to the corn maze or the pumpkin patch. I did get this picture which makes me roar with laughter every time I look at it!
Wouldn't you know as soon as we pulled in our driveway the rain stopped! Oh bother - so instead Mason and I took a much needed nap - ahhhh the Sunday nap I didn't get yesterday felt so good today! So later, Delvin was teaching Aidan to do the laundry and Mason was so upset that they kept going in there without him - poor boy has to be involved in every little thing. yes - that is the stroller in the laundry room. . .one of the unfortunate things about not having a garage!

Impromptu Dinners!

Delvin and I have always loved impromptu dinners! We had them 3-4 nights per week with our neighbors when we lived in California. We often talk about how much we miss them! Today I made a full crock pot of Yummy Soup (Yes - me, I made soup AND it was good!) We called the Magelsens (they are the ones who had a baby the same day we had Mason) and amazingly they weren't going over to Shawn's parents house and hadn't made dinner yet, so an impromptu dinner was born!!!!! Mason was really funny - he gave Kristina several hugs and kisses - he really kept going - she wasn't so sure about all this. It was funny to watch how insistent he was on hugging and kissing her - hope it's not a sign of his future - but then again, they are betrothed!

Bloggers

I've just spent 1 1/2 hours reading through blogs of random people. It's left me feeling very inadequate in my writing skills -oh the wittiness and sarcasm! I don't express myself very well in writing. . . so to compensate I use multiple exclamation points and question marks thinking it will add emphasis and importance to what I say! Anyway, wow - I'm still working out my feelings on all these bloggers. . .one thought is - when do they have to time to sit in front of the computer and do this?? It's not like they just write - they have links to videos and funny pictures and they have many people making comments on their posts, of which they respond to the comments, and then they follow other peoples blogs and I can't help but think they sit in front of the computer for extreme amounts of time. . .I think I spend too much time in front of the computer, but wow - I don't think it's anything compared to these bloggers!!!!! (There goes the exclamation points again) - I guess it's their thing - their outlet - their leisure/recreation and so that's good right???? Thoughts about blogging anyone?

Sweet Words!

Delvin and I were talking today about how sweet it is to hear Mason calling Aidan's name so frequently - he walks (yes, he's walking like crazy for the last week) all around the house calling for Aidan (A duh, A duh). We were discussing how cute this is, but how sweet it would be to hear him call out for us that way. He can say Mommmm and Da, but he doesn't say it very often . . .about 2 hours later Aidan was playing in the den with Aidan and we hear this "Da, Da, Da" over and over - it was loud and so we go in and find him with a soccer ball and he was calling for Delvin to play ball with him. It was sooooo sweet - so of course Delvin had to sit and play ball with him. I can't wait until I hear him call for Mommmmm over and over again - ahh the sweets words of babies!

I deserve a life tile!

In the game of "Life" you get "Life Tiles" for going through different life experiences such as "discover a new planet", "find a new energy source", "build a better mousetrap", "become president" or my personal favorite "invent new ice cream flavor". Well, I can't say I've done any of those things, but I did something yesterday that I feel is deserving of a "Life Tile". Unfortunately I can't share with you the details at this point but it got me thinking that we need to recognize and give kudos to ourselves more often!

I've decided to start giving "Life Tile" awards out! If you or someone you know deserves a life tile for going through one of lifes challenging experiences or who has done something really good to make the world a better place etc. . .email me or make a comment below and I'll send them a "Life Tile" to recognize and give kudos for a job well done!

10 months and Walking!!!!!

Mason is 10 months old today! He took his first steps about 3 weeks ago and for the first 2 weeks he would take 1-2 steps here and there. Last Thursday he started walking about 5-6 steps then he gets so excited he tries to start running and falls forward. It's soooo cute!!! We've been trying to get a picture or video, but every time we pull out the camera he suddenly reverts to crawling. . .funny kid! But, I did finally get a couple really cute pictures today!

He's also a climber - last week he also started climbing all the up onto various pieces of furniture. We have a chair up against a wall with a light switch right above it. . .he climbed up on the chair and started climbing up the arm and back of the chair and started turning the light off and on - so funny!
He's got a 5 word vocabulary too! He's said "Mommm", "DDDD" (Daddy), "Hi", "Buh Buh" (bye bye) and on Sunday he added his latest word. He was in the den with Delvin and I. He crawled to the door and yelled out "A Duh"! He was looking for Aidan - it was one of those parental moments that is so sweet you can't put words to! He loves his brother! I can't believe that in 2 months he will be a whole year old!

First Day of 2nd Grade!

Ok, Ok - I'm slow at getting this one up. Doesn't he look so grown up?? I was watching him play with Mason the other day and it just hit me that he's not a "little kid" anymore. . .he's a "kid". I can't believe how quickly time passes!

Delvin's Pig!!!

I have to add a correction. . .This was NOT Delvins First Pig. . .It was the first one he cooked where he was the main person in charge and the only one who knew how to do it. . .he's done many others, but he was assisting his dad or uncle. So, with that correction, read on. . .

Delvin has always talked about cooking a pig, well today he finally did!!! Our ward at church was having a camp out and he decided this would be the perfect opportunity. He made all the arrangements and did so much work! Last night he and a few other men from church went and dug the pit at the church camp ground. He woke up at 4:30 AM and went back out there to get the fire started. Then while one of the men tended the fire he and his friend, Scott, went out to get the pig. The pig was still alive when they got there, so they did the works of the preparation! Once the pig had died they shaved it, cut it and gutted it. Once they got it back to the camp ground they washed it again and wrapped it in chicken wire. They do this to keep it intact after it's cooked.
I couldn't believe that the three of them got it in the pit - the pig was over 200 pounds! I was so concerned that one of them was going to nose dive into the hot rocks! They did an amazing job!
Once the pig was in they covered the pig with lily pads (normally you'd use banana leaves, but this is Washington, not Samoa). Then rocks where put on top of and surrounding the pig.
Next it was covered up with burlap sacks. The sacks had to be drenched with water first. So the wet sacks on the piping hot rocks created a spectacular steam!!!
He had the pig in by 11:00 AM and at 6:30 PM he checked it and it looked good, so out it came!!!
After removing the sacks, they had to move the rocks and burnt lily pads and cut the wire. As he was doing this everyone huddled around and just hovered watching so intently. It was very intense. . .there were over 100 people just watching. I was so nervous for him, that's a lot of pressure!
We were so grateful that our friends, the Fifitas, showed up!!! Latu is Tongan, so he knew just how to help! He jumped right into the pit with Delvin and they started cutting away!
We have to admit we were a bit worried that it wouldn't be fully cooked, but it was definately ready! It was soooooo good! I was so relieved and so proud of him!
After the meat was all cut and served, Delvin even gave a little speech explaining one of the traditions of cooking a pig is to present the head of the pig to the leader of the village or group that you're with. Supposedly the head of the pig has more nutrients and is a very honorable part. . .so he presented the head of the pig to the Bishop. I was curious to see how he would respond. . .the Bishop and his wife were so funny! They thought this was so great!

Delvin did such an excellent job with the whole thing! I can't believe he did it start to finish like this. It was quite an accomplishment!!!!!!! Huge thanks and kudos to Scott for helping him every step of the way!

We have many more pictures of the event (I spared you all the ones of the pig being gutted). Let me know if you want to see any of them and I'll send you a link to the full package of pics!!!

Day at the Fair

Thursday we went to the Evergreen State Fair. . .well, Aidan, Mason, my nephew Orion, and Aidan's friend Evan and I went to the fair. Was I crazy to take a baby, and 6, 7 & 8 year old boys to the fair by myself?? Yea - probably, good thing an hour into it Evan's mom decided to join us. She was a great help! She played with Mason while I went on a couple rides that Orion had to have an adult to go on and kept me company in general. When we got home at 10:30 PM Aidan said "That was fun! Can we go again tomorrow?" HA, nice try Aidan!

The boys enjoyed all the animals and the lumberjack show was fun, but of course they loved the rides the best. The Rambler was a big hit - Aidan got so smashed and was laughing the whole time. I think it was just as fun for me to watch them as it was for them to ride!

Another good weekend

Well, we had another good weekend! It started on Friday. Aidan had his birthday party with friends. He invited Taylor, Ma'ake and Orion to go to the movies to see Star Wars: the Clone Wars. Then came back to the house and had Ice Cream and Cake!Later, we went to a class social for Aidan's 2nd grade class where we got to meet his teacher and classmates. There's not many of the same kids in his class this year. . .lots more friends to make! School starts September 2nd - WOW only 1 more week of summer break!

On Saturday we spent the day at the temple. It was great! There was a Primary activity for the kids with the youth helping so the parents could do a session together. After all of that Delvin got to help the youth in the temple too and the boys and I went to the church bookstore and hung around the temple grounds and waiting room. It was a good day. We really enjoyed being together as a family at the temple!!

GREAT Weekend!!!!!!!

What a wonderful weekend we had!!!!! It started on Thursday when I went to pick up my brother Steve, who flew in from Texas. I hadn't seen him in 7 years!

We had a lot of fun! We drove over to my mom's house in Oak Harbor and stopped at Deception Pass on the way. I was shocked by the brother I knew growing up who had no fear, is now scared of heights and kept saying "Just don't look down, don't look down". He said he doesn't like roller coasters anymore either - what???? Who is this guy?

While my brother visited with my mom at her house, we went camping at Deception Pass. We got to break in our new tent (which I forgot to get a picture of). We took our little dingy out with the trolling motor and set the crab pot. After we got our rope stolen and our crab poached we reset and caught 3 crab and ate them for dinner on Friday night. We set it out again over night and picked up 5 crab Saturday morning to take home! YUM YUM YUM!!!! I LOVE CRAB!!!
At the boat launch there were two Pirate Ships there, Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftan. It was so awesome to check them out!!!
Delvin and Aidan did some more fishing. . .they didn't catch any fish, but they did get a good catch! HA HA

Mason is really close to walking now. . .he stands himself up in the middle of anywhere and will squat down to pick up toys and then just stand up a play with them. He's attempted to take a step, but hasn't quite done that yet. Here he had picked up Uncle Steve's shoe to play with. We knew it was going to be a good weekend, but it got even better when we got a surprise visit from Delvin's Dad! His brother-in-law passed away and he flew into Oregon for the funeral, so Delvin and Aidan drove down to pick him up so he could be with us for Aidan's Special Day!!!!

Aidan turned 8 years old and chose to be baptized!!!! It was a BIG day! We had a big family dinner and then headed out to the church. The baptism was wonderful. Grandma played her violin and the piano and gave a talk about baptism. Uncle Steve gave the opening prayer, Delvin performed the baptism (Uncles Steve and David were the witnesses), I gave a talk about the Holy Ghost, Grandpa gave the blessing to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and Uncle David gave the closing prayer. There were lots of friends and family there and the Spirit was so strong. It was a beautiful experience and I'm so grateful that Aidan made the choice to follow the Lords example and participate in these sacred ordinances!
Here's the family after the baptism.


After the baptism we went back to the house for a birthday celebration. I made Aidan's favorite "Perfectly Chocolate, Chocolate Cake". He opened presents and played with his cousins and had a great time.
It was a wonderful weekend and I'm very tired today and trying to recover, but feel such peace about everything that happened. It was by far the best weekend of the summer and the best weekend I can remember in many years!

I'll try to figure out how to add links to more pics soon - stay tuned!