Hello!!!!

Wow....3 months since my last post. I know, I know....I've been hassled by many but not more than by myself. Time seems to escape me....I need more in a day or maybe just another self...or some kind of super power! That would be my choice, and I'm pretty sure kevin would rather that than another me, even with all my sweetness! Lol. So just a few things to make you giggle. First...we had a rummage sale Saturday and did pretty good. Made enough to cover replacing the sump pump that died Friday so not bad...anyway Payton wanted to have a hot chocolate stand to earn some money so I brought the necessary goods to said rummage. As we were setting up he realized I hadn't brought the counter top water filter we have at home and rather worried he looked at me and said..."Mom you forgot the purified water...you have to go get it." I told him to just use the water in the kitchen (our rummage was in the old armory here) to which he rather disgustedly informed me that NOT ONE PERSON would buy hot chocolate if he used that water...I just laughed. Guess I need to fill him in on the fact that that is the same water we get at the house... Second...(This is a funnier story) while Kevin was in the kitchen with Olivia the other night he asked her to move and quit getting under foot..he asked her "do you know why I don't want you to do that?" To which she quickly responded "because it pisses you off" straight face and all...oh man! Hope this makes you smile!! Xoxo

No picture necessary

Well I have neglected blogging due to the fact...(excuses coming) that i can't seem to figure out how to upload pictures from my phone to my blog. I know lame excuse but it's true. I don't really want to blog without the pictures, right?...well I will work on it, but for now I have a short little story with no picture....i am sure you will be glad too! So I was at work and I get this call from Kevin...he tells me "We have a snake living under/in/beside (does it really matter) our house. The kids found it and were watching it. Sidebar: Yet another reason I LOVE AK!...no snakes. Well it turns out (or so he thinks) it is a garter snake...(is that really any reason to cheer?..it's still a snake) So....they watched it for a while and it did a little snake dance and now every time I come home from work, late and in the dark, I just can feel that little snake watching me....It's waiting for just the right moment to slither out and make me pee my pants....That will warrant a picture! xoxo Kirsten

Summer Fun

Kevin did a great job of updating the blog (last entry)...I have to admit I've been slacking. There is just never enough time...I keep telling him if he'd get me the Blackberry I want I could update on the go in many convenient locations....(my birthday is soon approaching!!!) but for now I will continue to attempt regular updates here at home... I had to come down to blog after the conversation I had with Olivia. (background info)...The kids have been playing so nicely today (I am still in shock) and finally made their way from the bedroom fort outside to the blustery day we are having. They came in early on to inform me there was a small rare green frog on Gavin's bike. They wanted to catch it to relocate it to which I told them they just needed to wave a hand at it and it would hop away. A bit later they come in yelling for Olivia to not touch anything because she had been petting the frog. I took her in the bathroom and washed her hands telling her that she couldn't go outside and play if she continued touching the frog (partly because eww..and partly because I know Olivia too well and she generally ends up squishing or stepping on small bugs/things on the ground) She assured me she wouldn't touch the frog again:

O: But mom I prrrooomise I won't touch it again.

M: Olivia I don't think you can stay away from it.

O: But I caaannn mmooomm I prrrooomise.

M: Ok...where is the frog now?

O: Over by the cheeto Gavin gave it.

M: (giggling but not too loudly) He gave it a cheeto?

O: Yes, he (the frog) doesn't know where his mom is and he's hungry.

M: Gavin...frogs don't eat cheetos.

G: oh...ok.

I almost couldn't contain my giggles.

So while outside I snapped a few pictures. Enjoy!

Camping and having fun!

These are some pictures taken this past weekend at Icelandic State Park, our new favorite place to spend the weekend. This year's theme was "Halloween". Some pictures below of the kids enjoying nice weather while trick-or-treating. Something our friends in Alaska know nothing about. Well, for that matter, our friend's in North Dakota don't either. Last year we were MO for Halloween and the kids had to trick-or-treat at the hotel. This year they will get to trick-or-treat twice. What a treat! They also had a fishing derby fo the kids. Payton caught his first fish ever---literally 1 minute after they blew the whistle. Gavin had no luck, but had fun. Look close, there really is a fish there!

By far the cutest lion around! He did pretty good with the costume. Lasted about 15 minutes.

Halloween at the park for kids weekend. What adorable kids!

This is a picture taken this past Wednesday! It was a scorcher. We finally are having some decent summer weather. Too bad school starts in 2 weeks!

This and That..

Well....summer is flying right on by and we only have 6 weeks left until school starts....YEAH!!! No, really I do enjoy summer with the kids but with a new baby our summer activities had to be altered a bit...Camping has been a blast..I wish we could camp all summer. We have another trip scheduled for Aug 7, 8 & 9, Kids weekend at Icelandic State Park, and my plan is to haul the camper and kids out around July 29th thru the 9th for a whole 10 days...I am so excited. So here are a few pictures of last weeks trip plus a few random pics from home...enjoy!

Olivia applying eyeliner...

Weston napping...we did a lot of napping!

He finally stretched out enough to reach the toys....he's growing too fast!

This really made me irritated at first...you know how dirty those rocks are..and we were camping and he had just showered and put on clean clothes and then about 10 minutes later I realized how ridiculous I was being...glad I got the picture!

We made Gavin get a job to pay for all the extra food the boys seem to consume!

This is why it is nearly impossible for me to get my runs in....She is always wanting to get on the treadmill....love the fashion sense!

Oh yeah...and Weston is finally reading! lol...

Hope your summer has been fun and full of memories!

Extracting the Squirrel

Removal of a squirrel requires the proper equipment and training....it is not a task to be attempted by just anyone...especially not me! See the delight in the boys faces....lol

Here you see the proper technique for squirrel removal.

And the job is completed! See the amazement and joy in the boys faces!

Catch Up....again

We have been busy...so busy. Summer is in full swing and finally we are getting some heat. Where to start... well we traded in my Pacifica ( I shed a few selfish tears) for a 03 Suburban and camper. I really LOVED my Pacifica but with 4 children and all that goes along with them we needed more room... I don't have a picture but have no doubt you all know what a black Suburban looks like. So the obvious thing to do next was go camping. We took our first camping trip of the season over 4th of July weekend. Icelandic State Park is just 6 miles down the road and is by far the best campground I've ever been to. The fact that it is so close is also a big plus. The kids had fun riding bikes and playing baseball. Most of Kevin's team was out camping so they had a few impromptu games. No fireworks (they aren't allowed in the park) but no one seemed to mind...or miss them. Olivia isn't particularly fond of the noise...she is even afraid of the tee-shirt gun at the football games so....she wasn't the least bit upset for missing them. We had a lot of fun but I realized today, while downloading the pictures, I only got a few shots of Olivia and Weston and a little incident we had at our campground... So on our last day we were packing up and Kevin and the boys were up visiting friends at another campsite. Olivia, Weston and I were cleaning up and she asks me if she can go swimming. (Our friends brought an inflatable pool) I said sure. She comes back in the camper and said, "Mom, there is a chipmunk in the pool." I disagreed with her and went to look. Here is what I found:

Needless to say I am so glad Olivia was paying attention! I made Kevin get it out....good times!

What I said vs. what I've got

When I was 17 or 18, well before I was considering having children, when I knew so much and had grand ideals of how things should be, I used to say that when I finally did have children there would be a few simple rules to follow...

1. They would always have clean faces and body parts.
2. They would always have clean, neat attractive hair.
3. Their clothes would always match and have coordinating accessories.
4. These rules would always be followed, both in private and public, and of course my children would agree and love all of the above rules.....

I have successfully raised 3 rule breakers....and she is the biggest rule breaker of all...but I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Who knew those bridesmaid shoes would be loved so much!

We still have rules but I am the one being taught to follow....

1. Always give lots of kisses and hugs
2. Always say I love you every chance you get
3. Always try to have fun
4. Laugh as much as possible
5. Spend as much time as possible being thankful..the time we have is entirely too short.
   

Ladybug

So I'm sitting here trying to get Weston to calm down and fall asleep so I can get on the treadmill and he keeps on puking on me. This conversation ensues:

Me: Weston buddy, what is upsetting your stomach?
Olivia: I think he has a ladybug in his stomach.

This is only funny because we have no less that 1,000,000 ladybugs in our house...they are all over. I vacuum them up everyday and still we have more....no aphids though!

Weston 11 weeks already

I just took these pictures of Weston...while I was sitting here to post. I can't believe he will be 11 weeks on Wednesday. At his 8 week checkup he was..11 lbs, 22 inches and 14cm head. He is just still so little. He is the snuggliest of all 4 and is so easy....he just started smiling and actively cooing especially when the kids are talking to him. He's giggled a time or two but still no belly laugh....that's my favorite. Enjoy!

The flash caught him off guard.

Picture and Polly updates

Here are just some pictures from the kids over the last month.

Here is Olivia and her Easter egg hunt haul...we filled 185 plastic eggs and had a fun time with some friends

Kevin had to clean out the warehouse at work and we went by to see him. There was a big roll of plastic wrap so I wrapped the kids...it was pretty funny but Olivia wasn't impressed...

This is Olivia's new face of disagreement. Anytime she wishes to express here dissatisfaction with you this is what you get...I can't help but laugh.

Grandma Sheryl hooked the brother up (lol) with some boy Polly's...we were so excited the day this package came. Payton (not admitting to liking Polly's) kept arguing with Gavin about which Polly guy he got to be...lol

So how funny is this....there is no snow on the ground and it was about 40 out but the wind was a whipping and my kids have become acclimated to warmer springs already....but I WILL swing on this swing TODAY MOM!

And finally I got a shot of Payton...I was noticing the other day I don't really have any of him because he's always at school or in his underwear...lol. He doesn't really like me posting pictures of him in his underwear. But here he is down by Cabela's and the infamous Red River.

Water and deer

*warning: dead animal and tirade to follow*

So about a month ago...the 14th of April to be exact... we (I) had a little accident. Let me preface the incident. Kevin and I have been contemplating our vehicle situation lately. My car seats 6, which is the exact number of family members we now have. Great except there is no (about 8 inches) cargo room if all 6 seats are in use. You see where I'm going with this?! Well if we had children who needed no entertainment in the car, or if we had some kind of wonderful grocery delivery system this would not be a problem, however, we have children who need entertainment for even the shortest car rides and I can't seem to find anyone here to do my massive monthly shopping...so...kevin and I have been discussing the idea of up sizing to an older suburban type vehicle. We were looking at used vehicles from both private parties and dealers and found a suburban in Fargo we thought might work. SO..off we went on the 14th down to Fargo (about 175 miles south) to look at the said vehicle. It didn't work out but we had a nice dinner and time away from the 3 older children. Weston, Kevin and I all started back to Cavalier about 9 pm. The flooding we had out here was still all around. The interstate was open but there was water on all sides and up the middle. (see pictures below) About 20 miles north of Grand Forks (halfway home) I hit a deer. There were 3 standing right in the middle of my lane. Kevin and I saw them about the same time and luckily I had time to slow down to about 45, but sadly (for me and my car) I hit the one stupid enough to jump first left to the center divider (full of water) then right back in front of my car. Oh I was so mad...not really sad like I thought I'd be after hitting an animal. It was 10:30pm and what to do? Luckily our kind friends came from the base and let the 3 of us sleep over then helped us to the rental car desk the next morning. There is more to the story but I figure this post is long enough. Best part...we were safe and unharmed. We realized, immediately and later on that week, that with all the water around it could have been so much worse. I am SO THANKFUL for our safety first off but for INSURANCE.


This is a shot of the center divider between the north and south bound lanes.


Here is a shot of the water clear up to the road. This is normally a crop field.




This is where I hit the deer (the next day). You can see all my fluids on the ground and how far the deer flew (it's there on the side of the road).

Here are some shots of my car after being towed. I hit the deer on the drivers side.

$5,500 in repairs and 21 days in a rental....that is my excuse for not posting sooner. 15 years in AK and I never hit a moose (thankfully) and here in ND about a year and whamo...I promise the next few posts will be of better subject matter.

Polly Pockets and Hulla hoops

I LOVE Polly Pockets. I might even LOVE Polly Pockets more than most little girls. Why you might ask? Because Olivia is so entertained by them. She will play with ONE Polly Pocket for hours...literally. She will dress and undress that little Polly until the next morning. I LOVE Polly Pockets. So today she got her second, Lila. She had Polly from a previous trip to Grand Forks and told me Polly was lonely and needed a friend. I wish they made boy Polly Pocket dolls then I could have her and Gavin occupied.

Olivia cooperating with me and the camera...

And a close up of the Polly's for all you fans out there!

So because they don't make boy Polly's, Gavin settled for a Hula Hoop...I love the progression of these stills better than a video. It is pretty funny watching him... side note: as I started posting these pictures I noticed the bins stacked with diapers and pull-ups and the beautiful and tasteful window curtain (big orange blanket) hanging in the background....If you would like tips on decorating just drop me a line...

Latest pics of Weston

Weston will be 4 weeks on Wed. I can't believe it...I took some pictures today (with Gavin's help) of Weston awake. His neck is so strong, as were all the rest of the kids. He was picking up his head on day 3. He's still a bit cross eyed..lol...and this week has been the week of baby acne...but it's not too bad. The color may seem different in some due to me adjusting the few pictures Gavin took. He was so close the flash made the colors crazy.

I take what I can get as far as cooperation in pictures. Olivia and Gavin both have their own ideas of cooperation. At least we are all in the picture, right?

This is what I love...baby asleep on my chest...so warm and snugly. xoxo K