24 Things I am Thankful for...

I have much to be thankful for- something I try to remember every day. Rather then try to post on facebook everyday what I was thankful for, I thought I would make a list here instead.

1. Luke- He is an AMAZING husband and my best friend. I cannot imagine life without him by my side.
2. Silas- I love this sweet boy! He says funny things that make us laugh everyday. He continues to have an amazing memory. He "read" to me an entire Curious George story tonight- from memory.
3. Eliana- I love this silly girl. She is silly all the time. Seriously. I am enjoying the time I have with her when Silas is at preschool. She is all girl- babies, pink, purses, and shoes.
4. Levi- He is 8 months old today. So hard to believe! He is probably our happiest baby (and that's saying something, because our other babies were happy, easy babies too!). He learned to clap his hands this week. There is almost always a smile on this face.
5. My parents- I love living close to them. They are not only my parents, but great friends. They light up our kids world, and ours too. They have set an amazing example for me, in marriage and parenting.
6. Kelly and family- My sister is one of my best friends. I so wish they lived closer to us! We talk multiple times a week (sometimes multiple times a day!). Her husband, Corey, is pretty amazing too. He has been in my life since I was 14 years old. He's a great brother. I adore Natalie, Connor, Teyla, and Kieran. They are awesome kids and cousins.
7. Michael and kids- Since becoming adults, Michael and I have been great friends. He is an awesome father to Jordan and Madison- and a pretty amazing man in general. One of the benefits of living in California was that we could drive down for a long weekend visit. I wish we could see him and the kids more often. Jordan and Madison are super fun kids- and Silas and Eliana love playing with them!
8. Jonathan and Kelly- Jonathan is 4 years younger then me and is a great little brother. (Which if you know him, isn't accurate. He's tall. I guess I should just call him my younger brother). Jonathan and I have done a lot together. In addition to growing up together, we worked together, we went to college together, and I was a a youth group leader at church for his grade. (So that meant retreats, summer trips, and missions trips together too). He married Kelly almost 2 years ago. And she is amazing too- a beautiful person, both inside and out. They are great for each other- and I know that God brought them together in His timing for each other.
9. Luke's family- Luke has an great family that I now how the privilege of being a part of. Often, Thanksgiving ends up being a big holiday for Luke's family- cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents are all together. We have spent the last three Thanksgivings with his family- and we will miss them all tomorrow! Everyone lives in California- so we don't get to see everyone much. We miss them.
10. God- He is my life. Without my relationship with God, I would be nothing. Moving to Colorado has brought my relationship with Him to another level. I am learning to trust more, worry less. My favorite name for Him is Immanuel (God with Us).
11. Freedom to worship- I am thankful that we have the freedom of religion in the USA. There are many people in other countries around the world who don't have this privilege.
12. Our home- We moved into our home last January. It's great! Luke and I have always lived in apartments. We love having space (double the space of our last apartment). We love having a garage (especially when it snows). We love having a fenced in yard where the kids can play.
13. Our cars- We have two cars that seem to be sent from God. Both cars we got for a good price, with super low mileage. I am thankful that Luke has a car to drive to work. I am thankful that I have a car so that I can go to Bible Study, MOPS, and just get out of the house while Luke works!
14. Clean water- This is something that is so easy to take advantage of. So many people in the world don't have access to clean water. I am thankful that I do- and I want to help other people have access to clean water too.
15. Food- I love to eat. I am thankful for good food that God created for us to enjoy. And can I be specific and say I am thankful for Chick-fil-a? Because, I am! We love that place and eat their often. I am not sure I could live somewhere that didn't have Chick-fil-a.
16. Computers and Telephones- I am thankful for technology that helps us keep in touch with people.
17. Health- I am thankful that my family is healthy. There is so much sickness in our world. Being healthy is something very big that I am thankful for.
18. Mountains- One thing I love about Colorado is the mountains. They are big, beautiful, majestic.
19. Weather- I love weather. Specifically, different types of weather. Hot. Cold. Rain. Snow. Sun. Clouds. Hail. Rainbows. And Colorado has crazy weather. And I love that.
20. Friends- I am so thankful for friends. Moving is hard. And it's made me realize even more how thankful I am for friends. Friends that love us. Friends that encourage us. Friends who walk through life with us.
21. MOPS- I have been in MOPS for 4 years. And it's great. My MOPS group in California were some of my great friends- and still are now.
22. Bible Study- I love having the chance to gather with a group of women every week and study God's word. I have a great group here in Colorado, that I have unfortunately missed a lot this fall. Hopefully next semester I can make it more!
23. The YMCA- We became members of the Y when we moved to Colorado. I love being able to take the kids swimming there (and our Y has a great pool for kids). I enjoy working out a few mornings a week, while the kids play in childcare. And after I work out, I can take a shower without little hands banging on the door. :)
24. Our country- I am thankful for the many freedoms that we have in the USA. I am thankful for democracy. The United States of America is not a perfect place, but it's better then anything else.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! May it be a day filled with love and laughter. And a day to remember the many blessings in each of our lives.

Road trip to Minnesota

Last Saturday the kids and I embarked on a quick, last minute trip to Minnesota. My parents were going to hold some meetings for the new ministry they are involved in. And me and the kids? We were going to have fun. Play with cousins, visit family, soak up some fall weather, collect fall leaves, and of course, eat!

The drive to Minnesota takes about 15 hours without stops. We were set to leave on Saturday morning at 9AM. My parents had our van and were planning to pack up and come pick up me and the kids. Well Saturday morning we awoke to SNOW! Yep, on October 8th. And it was snowy pretty hard. So my parents eventually arrived at our house. And our van? The "Check Engine" light lit up on their drive over. So we unloaded and reloaded into their van, which was not a quick process. (Read: 3 car seats). We got on the highway, and found out the highway was closed due to an accident. At that point, we completely rerouted our trip and drove through Kansas and north to Iowa. We arrived on Sunday night, ready to not be in the car for a few days. The kids did great on the drive, which I was happy about.

So Luke wasn't scheduled to arrive until late Wednesday night, so I was a single parent for a few days. And during that time, I learned that I never want to be a single parent. It's tough work- props to those of you who do it day in and day out.

Two lessons learned while on our trip:

~Don't pack attempt to pack light. That means that you will end up doing laundry on vacation- maybe more then once. I don't have a ton of clothes that fit right now thanks to my hyperthyroidism. On our car ride to MN, Levi's dirty diaper leaked onto my jeans. I washed them. The very next time I wore the jeans, he had another dirty diaper and you guessed it. It leaked onto my jeans again. Two leaky diapers all week- and both times on the same pair of jeans- that happen to be the only pair of jeans that actually fit right now.

~Don't bother trying to keep your kids out of classes or the nursery before a trip. You might think by doing this you will be more likely to have healthy kids for your trip. Wrong. I kept the kids out of numerous things last week because I did not want them to get sick while we were on vacation. Guess what? All 3 kids got sick with a nasty cold that included a fever. Guess who is sick now? Luke and I. Seriously, I heart winter. But I do not heart all of the sickness that comes with it.

There were more lessons I wanted to blog about, but I can't remember them anymore.

I saw some friends while in MN, but the best thing about being in MN was just spending time with my family. I happen to have one of the greatest families in the world. And it completely stinks that we are spread out over all over the country. I cherish the time I spend with my siblings- and for my kids, their cousins. We had a great week with Kelly and Corey, and my nieces and nephews.

On Friday, we went to the Children's Museum in Minnesota. It's a fun museum, probably the best that we have been to. While we were driving to meet my sister and her clan for dinner at Cafe Latte (which was my 3rd visit there in 5 days. And for the record, I would have happy to go every day!) Anyways, on the drive, I asked Silas if he liked Minnesota or Colorado better. He said, "Minnesota!". I asked again... but threw in California. And I honestly didn't know what his answer would be. And he said, without hesitation, "Minnesota!" That is my child! But his reason for liking Minnesota the best is because of the Children's Museum.

One of the benefits of driving to Minnesota was we could bring lots of stuff home. We went shopping at Trader Joe's, Byerly's and Cub and brought home lots of our favorite things we can't buy here. We also visited two apple orchards. I think we brought home 50 pounds of apples between my parents and us!

We drove through the night on Friday, home to Colorado. Poor Luke spent only 48 hours in Minnesota, and then 20 driving. It was my crazy idea to drive through the night. And it was hard for Luke and I. But it was definitely easier for the kids. We did pull over in Iowa, and we slept in a parking lot for a few hours. And the sun arose, and we started driving again. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast because we are die hard Monopoly fans. We WILL win some year! It was the busiest McDonald's I have ever seen for breakfast. There were only a few tables open. Lots of senior citizens! We were quite the sight, as the kids walked inside in their pajamas, with messed up hair and crusty noses (the kids, not us).  We were thrilled to be home last night. Silas isn't sure he ever wants to drive to MN again because "It's SO FAR!"

The kids said lots of funny things on our car ride. The best was yesterday though. Eliana collects everything. I am constantly telling her to not pick up things on the ground (like cigarette butts). Yesterday in the car, she was throwing a fit because Silas had her empty fruit snack wrapper. Silas looked at her and said, "Eliana, don't be a hoarder! Throw garbage away!" Amen!

All in all, a fun but very busy week! I have feel like I have fallen off the blog bandwagon. I want to go back and blog about the last 2 months, but have realized that is never going to happen. I will do a few brief recaps and move on!

Terrific Tuesday: Vacation Edition

Our second to last day in San Jose was packed with fun. It started off with breakfast with friends. After breakfast we headed to one our favorite parks. This park was within walking distances of where we lived. We often walked to the park after dinner so the kids could play. We had Eliana's 1st birthday party there. We have many happy memories there- and the kids were exited to go back.

After the park, we went to Los Gatos to meet with up with some friends at the fountain. We had lunch and the kids splashed in the water. Simple things like this are things that I miss the most.

The kids aren't the only ones who like to play in thefountain- I do too!
I love chasing them around- I just try to stay somewhat dry!

Reagan, Maddy, and Eliana

Next, we hit the road for Watsonville. We were thrilled to find out that Gizdich was still picking strawberries. I convinced Luke that I had to take some home with us. We arrived and the fields were practically empty. But the strawberry bushes were full of huge, red, juicy berries. They were so good! In a half an hour, we picked 10lbs of strawberries. Luke looked at me like I was nuts and I know was silently wondering how we would get all of them home...

Yep! The strawberries were delicious!

The strawberry fields of Watsonville... 

Now how are we getting to get these home!?!?

Next stop was Capitola! Capitola is a little town south of Santa Cruz, right on the beach. It has a cute little downtown with shops and restaurants. It will always hold a special place in my heart because it was where Luke and I had our first date... Anyways, we grabbed pizza at Pizza My Heart, and walked down to the beach to eat. A cool breeze was coming off the ocean and it was a beautiful start to our evening...

Our final thing for the day was the Santa Cruz Boardwalk: Take Two. We met our Boardwalk friends (Brian, Marny, Maddy, and Reagan). It was basically a repeat of the last week. Lots of rides. Time for the adults to talk. Fair food (cotton candy, corn dogs, soda, ice cream). You know, healthy stuff. I thought that Silas might enjoy going on the sky ride from one end of the park to the other. When I suggested it, he was excited. And so were all of the other kids- and me! But Luke, Brian, and Marny weren't particualarly thrilled. Luke took one for the team and went. Luke rode with Reagan and Silas. I rode with Maddy and Eliana. Maddy was screaming at the top of her lungs at Luke- just calling him name- for no particular reason. Half way through the ride she looked at me and said, "I'm so funny!" It was so innocent and cute; it cracked me up.

Maddy and Reagan on the airplanes!

Silas driving the Pepsi truck

One of the rides that is the kid's favorite is the race car ride. The cars ride around an oval shaped track, and the cars whip around the end of the track and the kids go sliding in their seats. Their expressions always make us laugh!

Eating ice cream at 10PM before heading home! 

When we go to the Boardwalk, we always intend to leave at a reasonable time. And that never happens. We are lucky to leave by 10PM- and then we will have an hour drive home. This night was no different. We quit the rides at 10PM and then went to ice cream. Who sugars up their kids before bed? We do! Because that is what vacation is about!

Goodbye Boardwalk! Can't wait to come back again!

Cousins

Luke snapped some pictures of the kids the day we left. The sun was high in the sky and it was stinking hot out! Trying to get 5 kids to look at the camera and smile is nearly impossible. Our kids sure love their cousins- we wish we could see them more often!

NorCal: Redding

Disclaimer: I am so behind on blogging right now! And now that I am blogging about our vacation over a month later, I am forgetting details. The rest of these vacation posts will be heavy on the pictures. My vacation blogging will be done in the next day or so. Sorry they aren't super exciting to read, but I am blogging about it capture the memories for us. :)

After we spent one day in San Jose, we hit the road and drove to Redding to visit family. Most of Luke's family lives in that area. His sister, Janelle, and her family came to Redding too- so we were able to see almost everyone. 

We had a great time visiting. We stayed my in-laws house, up in the mountains. Much fun was had- four wheeling, hanging out with cousins, a campfire with s'mores, and of course, lots of eating! We spent time in Redding visiting grandparents and swimming.

Grandpa reading with Silas and Eliana.

Riding the 4 wheeler! 

Our niece, Maggie, who is 4 years old
getting ready to ride the 4 wheeler.
She is hardcore. :)

Eliana swimming.

Cousin Zech swimming.

One day while we were there, we went to Brandy Creek Lake to go swimming. This is a placed that Luke's grandma used to them swimming when they were kids, so it was fun to go back to a place with memories for him.- We had a great time! I love swimming in lakes- and we thought the kids might enjoy it since the waves were a little overwhelming when we were at the ocean.

Eliana- 2 years old

Maggie- 4 years old

Silas- 4.5 years old

Jadon- almost 6 years old

All of the kids with grandma and grandpa!

SoCal- Part 2

We celebrated my niece Madison's birthday while we were visited. She turned 2 years old on July 22nd. I really wish we lived closer to my brothers, sister and their families. I wish my kids had the opportunity to grow up with their cousins... So it was special to celebrate Madison's birthday while we were there. There was cake and party bags for the kids- it was nearly a perfect day!

The birthday girl- all smiles!

Michael and Madison

Eliana sporting some of the loot from
the party bag. 

SoCal- Part 1

We started our trip in California in the San Diego area; specifically Carlsbad, home to my brother and his beautiful kids. We had a great visit with Michael, Jordan, and Madison. As always, our kids loved seeing their cousins. We had fun at the beach, went to my brother's softball game, ate some great food, and just hung out. I wish we could go back tomorrow. Really.

Went to Phil's BBQ after the softball game. So good!

On Saturday morning, my brother went to tennis match with a friend from work. We stayed home with all of the kids and decided to head to the beach. My brother lives across the street from the ocean, so we just walked over. I am sure we were quite the spectacle walking with all 5 kids, a beach chair, towels, snacks, and an umbrella. I looked at Luke and said, "I bet people are looking at thinking, Have you heard of birth control?" We laughed... We got down to the beach and got set up. The family we were sitting next to kept looking at us. Finally, the dad asked, "Are all of those yours?" We laughed again and told him that only 3 of them were. My brother joined us at the beach not long after we arrived. We had fun. Silas and Jordan got knocked over by a wave- and that was the end of Silas' time in the water. Levi slept under the umbrella the whole time we were there. And somehow, he got burnt on half of his body. I will spare you the pictures, because it just makes me look bad. But really, who knew he needed sunscreen?!? He was in the shade!

Levi sleeping in the shade...

I love the ocean!

Madison playing in the sand.

Me, Eliana, Michael, Jordan, and Silas.

Eliana... just looking cute!

The end of the visit...

The second to last day of my sister's visit was my niece's birthday. Natalie turned 10 years old on July 27th. I can hardly fathom that she is 10 years old. In some ways it seems like she was just born.

Natalie and I- she was a few months old in this picture.

I moved to California a few weeks before Natalie was born. It's not an exaggeration to say that my sister having a baby was a big part of the reason I moved to California. I have always loved babies. When my sister got married 18 years ago, I pestered her often to have a baby. She always told me that they never wanted to have kids. Years later, their hearts changed though. And Natalie was born. Natalie made my an aunt. She was the light of my life when she born. Honestly. I adored her (and I still do). Luke often worried that I wouldn't love my own children as much as Natalie. I proved him wrong though when Silas was born. :)

I loved having the chance to celebrate Natalie's 10th birthday with her and her family. It was a perfect way to end their visit with us.

Celebrating her birthday with frozen yogurt.
Happy Birthday to a beautiful girl!

The next morning, my sister and family started the drive home. Here are the last few pictures of their visit.

Kieran was fascinated by Levi. He wanted to touch
his face, hug him, kiss him... it was precious.

The best picture of all the kids together...

Yesterday Eliana woke up from her nap and said, "Natalie and Connor here?" Yep, it's true. We wish they were still here. We hope this will become an annual trip. Spending 10 days with my sister and her family was a highlight of my summer!

Cousin Fun at the Children's Museum

When my sister visited, we spent one afternoon at the Children's Museum in Denver. It was lots of fun! We spent hours there and didn't even do everything the kids wanted to do. Here are some snapshots from our day...

Eliana and Teyla working on puzzles.

Kieran

Connor trying on a costume...

Silas doing some grocery shopping.

Eliana ready to shop! I taught her well...

Teyla making pizza for the restaurant.

Natalie with a basket of food to "re-shelf."
The kids toss stuff in their little carts
as soon as you put it back. It's a full time job!

Silas having fun in the "bubble room."

S'more Fun

*I have so much to blog about... and not enough time to do it. So my posts for the next few days will have lots of pictures. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, right? I am going to back up a few weeks and share a little more about my sister's visit.

Teyla and Silas running through the
sprinkler before s'mores.

Eliana, Teyla, and Silas enjoying their s'mores.

Watching this little man (Kieran)

eat a s'more was so cute!