Baby Shower for Ruthie and Baby Elee

Sue and I hosted a baby shower for Ruthann and Baby Elee. It was a lot of fun....Here is Ruthie in her new homemade wrap with Elee resting peacefully inside.

The cake I made...supposed to be a baby bathtub with rubber ducky and bubbles. It had a chocolate layer, yellow cake layer with white chocolate strawberry ganache filling and fresh strawberries and buttercream frosting.

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Brandon dressed up as an old geezer...we got the mask at Walmart and the clothes at a second hand store. His best buddy Atillio dressed up as an old lady. I wish I had pictures of them together, but I don't.

Here are my super heros. Austin in the sweet shades dressed up as Batman and Logan was spiderman. They had a fun time getting candy from the few houses we went too.

Sharing some life in pictures

Brandon has wanted his hair dyed of some sort for a long time and I finally agreed...AFTER school pictures were taken. He wanted to do some blue spikes but decided to keep it the way it was after I bleached out some.



While I was working on his hair, his 2 brothers fed him spaghetti that we had on the table after dinner.

Thankful for Every day!

I am going to try and get back into posting and sharing pictures....I know I have been slacking. I have been struggling lately with life in general and trying to keep up and keep sane, LOL.

We had a big scare with Austin on Saturday and it reminds me of how precious life is. I was actually just trying to try and "live in today" before this happened and I almost wanted to throw that out the window and keep on worrying over what could happen, always thinking the worst case scenerio when it comes to my kids, but I turned it around and am trying my hardest to just live and let my kids live and enjoy every minute of the time I have with them. Doing this I have found that I am calmer and actually do enjoy the little things more. Taking my kids to the store, joking around, just being with them and spending time, hugging, kissing, interacting, etc.

Austin had an episode where I thought he may be in serious jeopardy of actually dying. I hate to sound so dramatic, but that is what it was. We still are not sure of what happened, but are thinking it may have been a seizure. He was white as a ghost, turning blue and on and off unresponsive for around 15 minutes. We had no idea if he hit his head, ingested something or what was going on so it was a complete mystery on why this was happening. By the time the ambulance arrived, he was awake but dazed looking and by the time we got to the ER he was alert and talking again. Bloodwork was normal, x-ray normal, etc. We will be going to his regular doctor today to try and brainstorm and possibly schedule some more testing to see if we can get to the bottom of it. I was frantic, begging him to stay with me and at the same time wondering what the hell I would do if this was the end.

Anyway, always remember to enjoy life, live every day, tell those around you that you love them, hug them and try not to worry about tomorrow or the next day or next month. Live IN today.

I am so grateful that I have this time with my children and my family. I am grateful that I had so much time with my Grandma Ione who passed away on September 25th. I am grateful that I was able to make it to her funeral, and spend that last little time seeing her off on her journey. I am grateful that I got the opportunity to talk to her on the phone just hours before she passed on. I am grateful that she was ready, calm and had lots of family surrounding her. I am grateful.

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Where's Austin?

Logan in the leaves

Austin getting ready to throw leaves

Putting the trusses up on the roof

Our newest Swingset/playhouse for the kids

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Gypsy trying to get a drink of coffee

Logan doing some measuring

Austin measuring

Our horse shelter in progress

Horse nostril

Pictures

A few pictures I have taken recently....

Austin in his cast

Logan, Brandon and Austin posing

Logan with a straw in his mouth

Austin with donut glaze all over his face

Brandon and some weird freak

Another broken bone...

Austin has a broken leg. He broke his right tibia in 2 spots. It happened Saturday night and we go tomorrow morning to see the ortho doc for a cast. I am hoping it just needs to be casted and that it won't require surgery or anything "harsh" to fix it. It was a bad accident. Brandon was jumping off of the trampoline and tried to jump over Austin but instead landed right on his shoulders and crumpled him to the ground. I know Brandon feels really bad about it...as he should. We have had a talk about being more careful and slowing down and thinking before he acts. He has a tendency to be pretty rough with his little brothers and this time it had bad results.

Austin had an awful day yesterday cause it was so painful but today was a lot better. He was able to sit up on his own and play in the recliner with things that he yelled for all day. He has a bubble machine that blows bubbles and lots of other "lap" stuff that works out great. Plus he gets extra treats like push-pops and popsicles.

Back to School

The kids started back to school on Monday and so far everyone is doing great. Its only the first week though!!!

Autumn came home exclaiming how awesome high school is. She apparently as TONS of friends and all the teachers are nice and the math teacher said there won't be much homework. We will see.

Brandon had a good day and said he liked his teacher, she was nice. His friends are coming back. He has a few in his class and the others he gets to see at recess and lunch time. So far he is doing good....he still has a bit of trouble remembering homework and will often jump right in playing games after his chores if I don't remind him. He will get better at that though since he can't use the games anymore unless he remembers his homework.

Kristen only has 3 classes in the morning and then gets let free around 10:30. She is working but doesn't start each day until 12:30, so she has some time to come home for lunch and a quick nap before heading out to work.

Logan and Austin are, of course, doing great at home with me. We work on art projects like painting or coloring or using glue sticks!! Plus I am trying to work with Logan especially on shapes and colors and numbers and letters. He knows some of the stuff, but I am trying to make sure we learn a little bit each day about something new. Today he had an issue with our squares. I cut out a bunch of different sized squares to learn what a square was and I let the boys color and decorate them as they wanted, well Logan did not really like this activity cause he couldn't do something specific with it and it wasn't turning out how he liked so we went on to something else before we had a major melt down. He is pretty dramatic at times.

Salmon

A few weeks ago, my friend Jessica informed me of an emergency opening for dip-netting in Fish Creek for Red Salmon. I have only been dip-netting once in Minnesota and it was a lot of fun so I decided to give it a try. I was dog-sitting for Jessica so she left out her waders and boots and dip-net gear to go. I took Kristen, Autumn and Logan (should have left him at home!) with me and we headed out on a Friday morning at 5:15 AM. I wanted to be there and ready to start fishing at 6 AM.

Never have I worn waders in my life, so am sure I was styling in those things. The dip net is HUGE and barely fit in the back of my van. We got all ready and trudged down the steep hill to where we saw others vying for a spot. We went right into the creek (low tide and shallow at the time) to start fishing. It was shallow enough initially so you could see the fish coming downstream and watch them either totally avoid your net or swim right into it. As the tide came up, you couldn't see anything so you had no idea when a fish would hit until you felt the weight pulling on the dip net. I caught 10 fish in all, threw 5 back and then Logan was NOT having anymore of this watching his mother whack fish heads. He got crabby and whiney and wanted me to hold him (probably so I couldn't whack fish heads!) so it was time to pack it up and leave. It was fun though. The girls didn't catch any, even though they did hold the net for a little while...they are not as tough as me and couldn't hold it for long.

We are still enjoying our salmon. I smoked most of it after soaking it in a brine and it turned out great. I have some in the freezer and just pulled out a few pieces to make a salmon cheese ball that is currently chilling in the fridge. Can't wait to break out the crackers and devour it! Logan and Austin sure like the salmon, they kept bugging me for more bites when I was pulling it apart for the cheese ball.

Autumn is a big chicken!

We went to Fred Meyers the other day to get a few things and Autumn got Logan out of his carseat and grabbed his hand. She said, "Hold on, we have to wait for mommy." Logan said, "oh come on you big chicken!"

Kids say the funniest things.

Slacker!

No, I am not still in Minnesota. I have been back for over 2 weeks now. I would have some fabulous pictures of our trip for your enjoyment, but I either lost or someone stole my awesome camera. I noticed it missing the day before my trip when I was packing things. So no pictures...well there might be some pictures on other peoples cameras, but I have NO pictures in my possession. Sucks. Sucks real bad. I miss my camera and feel (if I could) like kicking myself in my own ass for either losing it or letting some asshat (word borrowed from Bobbie - Thank you Bobbie!) steal it. I hate even thinking about it so I am moving on to other less annoying subjects.

I missed home. I was glad to be coming back to see Dave and the girls. Its good to be settling back into a sort of routine. Brandon stayed for another 3 weeks though so I miss Brandon now. I can't wait for him to come home. He gets back on Saturday, so only a few more days. School starts here on next Monday. I think all the kids are looking forward to it to be honest. Its Kristens last year, so she is excited to start and finish, LOL! She only has 3 classes each semester so she will get out early everyday to go to her job. Autumn loves school for the social aspect....so I am sure she is pumped to get back into the social networks. She has spent plenty of time with a few friends over the summer, but there are also quite a lot she hasn't seen. Plus she is a new freshman this year. I think she may be a tad nervous about that. Brandon is going back to public school and will be in 5th grade and I know he is EXCITED to get back into hanging out with friends. He kept a couple friends from school over the last year but he is also very social and likes being able to connect with all the other troublemakers....errr...friends from 2nd and 3rd grade. So it will be just me and the 2 littlest ones this year. I will be helping out with Grandma Emma from time to time though so I will be busy. Plus those pesky horses keep me running too. Never too many dull moments in my life. I mostly like it though! Exept it would be nice to have a camera to capture some of the cool, funny and cute moments with the kids from time to time, but NOOOO someone had to go lose or steal my camera!

Ok, over it....tell later.

Off to Minnesotahhhh!

We are off to Minnesota in a few hours. We have an overnight flight, so it takes off at 10:30 PM Alaska time and arrives in MN at 6:45 AM Central time. Not a good time for me, but hopefully the kids will sleep most of the way and I will get a few hours sleep.

Our duck died. He broke another leg, so I fixed him up OUTSIDE the pasture but he hobbled his way back into Mokie's pen and obviously Mokie wasn't very careful with him. I thought about getting another duck or 2 cause it was fun having him around, but I really don't think it would be very fun trying to keep them alive or dealing with more broken-ness.

Anyway, see ya all in MN soon. Hopefully I can post updates often.

Duck wrangler/Horse Whisperer?

We spent some time down doing chores this morning and I got a couple nice pictures of Austin with the duck and horses. The duck has another broken leg so he wasn't really up to running from us.

Austin petting the duck, while Mokie sniffs his hair.

Austin sitting next to the duck while Mokie and JuneBug look on. It appears he is right in with the horses, but he is between their 2 enclosures.

Austin and Pumpkin (the duck).

Best Friends....err....duck with a broken leg so he can't run from the toddler!

Mokie grubbing on Pumpkins food.

"Hey kid! What you got there? Can you give us some?"

(Austin is trying to feed the duck, while Gypsy, JuneBug and Echo look on.)

Duck, duck, goose?

This duck is very attached to its horses and came as a package deal with whomever bought Mokie. He hangs out with the horses, bedding in their hay or even curling up next to Mokie when he lays down. I guess he has had his leg broken about 2-3 times so he walks with a bit of a limp...hasn't made him stay clear of the horses. They seem to tolerate him pretty well and even look out for him.

Another picture of Echo - momma horse.

We got our new horses and duck on Sunday....here they are.

This is Mokie, the stallion. He has his own pen since we don't care to have babies. He has been trying REAL hard to Brandy's attention but she appears to careless about him. I thought for sure she would go into heat, but I think maybe Arabians just aren't her thing.

This is Junebug, the 3 yr old filly. Her dad is Mokie and her mom is Echo. She is doing great under saddle. We are thinking she will be Autumns horse.

The grey horse is Gypsy, a 2 yr old filly. Next to her is Echo (white horse), 14 yr old Mare, the momma to Gypsy and Junebug. Gypsy had a saddle and a person on her back for the first time on Sunday and did AWESOME. She is just so laid back and calm. I think she will make a great horse too.

This old guy is Clue. He is the 24 yr old Morgan that came along in the package. He is a great calm riding horse, but we will take it real easy on him since he is an elder.

Here is Brandy, my Quarter horse. She has been looking for a herd since we got rid of Cisco, but I don't think she was too happy that we dumped 4 on her at once. She quickly started asserting her dominance to let them know they were in her territory. It will be between her and Echo here soon. They are all getting along nicely now for the most part though.

Cake and Mushrooms....yum!

I volunteered to make a babyshower cake for a friend of Sue's and it turned out pretty good I think.

My friend Jessica got me involved in her mushroom hunts. She hunts for morels and it is actually kinda fun to do....even though I don't care to eat them unless very tiny and hidden in foods. The bowl is the bounty she got when she went with another friend of hers and the small pile on the side is what we found the next day at a couple different spots.

A couple weekends ago, we went up to the cabin in Chickaloon. It was a gorgeous day out and we just hung out, roasted hotdogs, had smores and went for a walk, played a little catch, climbed some hills, etc. It was fun.

Austin is BIG into baseball right now and takes his glove and ball just about everywhere.

Austin catching a ride on big sis, Autumn.

Me, Logan and Austin sitting around the fire in front of the cabin.

Me and Logan.

Autumn having some difficulties eating her smore. She needs a bib I think.

Brandon watching Autumn make a mess.

We had an issue with our septic so we ended up renting a small excavator so Dave could fix it. The boys LOVE riding with daddy and most of the time fall asleep.

This time Austin fell asleep. Thats Pioneer Peak out there above the trees.

Logan looks a tad bit uncomfortable as Austin rests on him.

Here are a few pictures from Austin's Birthday party on May 23rd. I have been so busy, but I am gonna try and get some things posted here today!!

He got a little scared when everyone started singing, he hopped into my lap for protection from the scary choir. (Nevermind the unfinished cake...I got impatient with putting the baseball stitches on.)

Blowing out his candles, we practiced before-hand and I just had to help a little bit.

So happy about eating cake. Yum!

Opening presents....he wasn't as excited as I thought he would be. He kept walking off to do other stuff.

Austin Tyrel is 2

My littlest little one turned 2 on Wednesday, May 20th. I just cannot believe how time flies. We will have his birthday party on Saturday so I will post pictures after that. I wasn't sure what kind of cake to do for him cause he didn't seem to be "into" anything in particular like Logan was into Elmo or excavators. After thinking about it for a while we realized he is very into baseball right now. I should have thought of that since I am having to throw a ball at him all day while he tries to catch it or hit it with whatever he has found to use as a bat. We bought both Logan and Austin their own glove and bats with balls since they both wanted to be like Brandon and Autumn.

He is my little Baby Bug and always has a smile on his face for me. He LOVES riding horses and will often throw a bit of a fit when its someone else's turn. It makes me a tad bit nervous since he thinks those horses love him so much he can just walk up and pat them on their head or butt or leg. They do love him cause he is the one that will bring out 2 or 3 tablespoons of grain at a time when they are being brushed down for riding.

He gives the sweetest kisses. And then wipes them off to see the reaction. Its almost automatic now - kiss, wipe, smile.

I remember the day he was born. We didn't find out if he was going to be a boy or a girl and I told the midwife and nurses present that I didn't want anyone in the room to announce it except for myself or Dave. I wanted us to be able to discover it ourselves. When he was born and plopped up on my stomach, it didn't even occur to me to look. I was just so happy to have him in my arms and to hear him cry. Of course I was sorta wishing for a girl, but at that point it didn't even matter. He was healthy and crying and here. It took me a few minutes to say, "wait, what do we have here?". Of course after discovering he was a boy, I was overjoyed. There was no regrets at all. He was perfect. He was born at 3:27 PM on May 20, 2007 weighing in at 9 lbs 4 oz.

Checking in and updates!

Its been a while and I am tired of seeing my picture up everytime I go to my blog.

I had a good Mother's Day. I told Dave ahead of time what I wanted to do and that is what we did. There was a Parade of Stallions going on that day at the fairgrounds and there was to be horses for sale there too. Since we are in the market for a horse or 2, I thought that would be a fun way to spend some time. Plus I was really looking forward to seeing some flashy stallions. It was a good time but there were only 3 horses for sale and none that were in our price range or league.

I told Dave I didn't want any gifts for mothers day, just to spend time with the kids and him. So he didn't get me anything, but Kristen had to work all day so she got me some roses the day before. There are so pretty still. Autumn wrote me a poem that was very nice:

Nanabug (Joanna)

Thanks for being the best you can be.

Thanks for being the mom that I need.

Thanks for taking care of me.

Thanks for looking out for me.

Thanks for understanding me.

Thanks for taking time off from what you're doing just for me.

Thanks for being there when I need you.

But most of all thanks for loving me.

I love you.

Oh and thanks for feeding me. :)

~Autumn~

Those are the types of things that make me believe that I am doing alright by my step-daughters.

Brandon got me a nice card, sunglasses (which I desperately needed!) and a pack of gum. After the Parade of Stallions we went and had lunch and then headed over to Home Depot to finish up designing our kitchen and picking out our countertop and then headed over to Target to get a few things. Overall it was a nice relaxing, enjoyable day.

We are winding up our school year here. Brandon needs to be done by May 21st and I will have to hand in grades on the 22nd. Autumn is done on the 21st after her 8th grade graduation ceremony. I think Kristen is the only one who will have to go to school on the 22nd, which is the official last day of school.

Brandon and Autumn are both in baseball and softball. The both enjoy it a lot and have had lots of practices (everyday!!!). I think Brandon's first game is on the 17th and Autumn's is on the 21st. Her team this year is a combined Jrs and Srs team, since they didn't have enough 13-14 yr olds or enough 15-16 yr olds to make the 2 separate teams. So they will be playing both Jr. teams and Sr. teams. It should be interesting. I am not very fond of her coach up to this point. I think he must have a terrible case of jock itch or something cause he is CONSTANTLY scratching at his butt and crotch. Its to the point where everyone notices and he doesn't even care who sees him. Its pretty disgusting. I wonder if the other parent's have notices or not??!

Our Baby Bean is doing great. We let Dozer and Bean out of their pasture just about everyday to just graze our lawn and they just love it. Baby Bean will tear off running doing crazy 8's all over the lawn and then Dozer will get all worked up and take chase. Its quite comical. If you lay down on the lawn, Baby Bean will come up and nibble on you and check you out. She is very curious. She is teething though right now, currently has 4 teeth that have come in. They are doing great. Brandy is also such a good horse. We have been riding her frequently and she does great. I had to give her a tiny tune-up after that long winter of not riding, but she is doing great now. I am teaching Brandon how to ride and he is very excited about learning.

There is a friend of the family who just recently gave birth to twin girls. It was a miracle that she was even able to have children. She is currently in remission from cancer and just recently had a scan that revealed something. Her name is Yvonne Ortiz and if you could all keep her in your prayers right now, she could really use them. Her babies were just born at 34-35 weeks last weekend and around 4 lbs each, so they are still in the hospital for a few weeks and Yvonne is very tired and feeling kinda sickly right now. Please send positive thoughts and prayers for her and her babies!

Me, me, me! And my haircut.

I decided I needed to post pictures of my haircut, since I have been talking about it and people ask. Its short. I haven't had it this short in years...ok, like maybe 3 or 4 years. But I think I like it. What choice do I have now, eh? I was playing with the camera to try and get the most flattering angle of myself....here are the shots that didn't get deleted right away. Brandon took the last one...I was in the process of fixing my hair since the hair and makeup team did not come. Damn them!