Hunter's 11!!

It doesn't surprise me that he just turned 11...it mostly surprises me because he acts so much older than 11. I have to remind myself he really is still a kid. We got both Hunt & Aust bikes this summer for their birthdays. Austy decided that he wanted Hunter to have something to open for his birthday. So I took him to the store and he chose out a lego set for $35...using his own money. I tried to tell him that Hunter probably didn't need something so expensive, but he wanted to get it for him. He couldn't wait for Hunter to open it. I thought that was really sweet.

Austin's Baptism

Austy turned eight in July, but because of schedule's he was finally baptized the first Saturday in October, by his father. Way to choose the right, Aust!!

All six of us

Austin and Carter (they have a love/hate relationship, but are best of friends)

All the men in my life!

Austy and his dad

school pictures

HUNTER

Hunter is usually my peacekeeper...although keep in mind he is a boy and he is just turning 11, so he's also the instigator. He's usually the one that is trying to do what's right in our family. On a busy night (most nights are) the kids were all going to bed at different times and when I went in to kiss the boys good night, Hunter invited myself and dad to his and Austy's goodnight prayers. I'm glad that he has such a special spirit...someone's got to have it in this household! Greg can't stand to watch him play sports because he's like me, we both try hard, but it's not a passion for us. He loves everybody, and is a pretty-well rounded kid. He loves to hunt with his dad and has a mature personality, it sometimes gets on my nerves, but I love the kid!

AUSTIN

Austin just started taking piano lessons a few weeks ago and LOVES it. You never know with him what he's going to love and just kind of like. He's got a very sweet heart for little kids and animals. I love this picture of him because it is his personality completely. He doesn't let people persuade him into anything, he does whatever he wants to do. He's not a pleaser but he still wants to do what's right. It's fun to go one-on-one with him and see him dancing in the car when he thinks your not looking...love him!

RYDER

He's my sneeky child. He's earned the title "check his pockets" whenever we are leaving somewhere. He has a talent of stuffing his pockets to the max. Things that I never think will fit into his pockets end up in his pocket. He's always got a sway of his head, like a he's got some sort of song in his head at all times. He's usually the instigator of all sorts of mischief...mostly sneaking into my make-up and snacks. His picture is also perfect for him. He did not want to smile for the camera, so this half smile will do. He's always got on some superhero costume. Love the kid!

PEYTON

Peyton is our jokester! He's always making us laugh. If I try to kiss him he acts like he's going to kiss me back, but he licks me instead. We are potty training both boys and he makes jokes out of everything...needless to say it's a challenge to take him serious. He is my only child that constantly tells me he loves me. He has so much energy and seems to bounce off the walls. When it was time for pictures he walked right up to the chair sat down and started smiling, even before the camera lady was ready. Super cute kid...and of course I love him!!

What were we thinking?

You know that country song "What were we thinking?" Well that's what I think of when I think of our experience at the fair this year. Myself and Robyn wanted to take her kids and the twins to the fair this passed monday. Strike #1...Memorial Day & last day of the fair. Greg is in UT with Hunter and Austin and Kent wants to go 4-wheeling with our neighbor, who's wife is also out of town. Strike #2...no spouses, and three extra kids. So between Robyn and myself we had 8 kids under the age of 6!!! Strike #3...two stroller+a million people+fair=disaster!!

When we left our homes it was cloudy, even raining. By the time we made it through the fair traffic it was beautiful and actually hot out. But we dressed for it to be cold, so we were dying and trying to find shade every second. We saw all the animals and then we bribed the kids into buying a toy instead of riding rides because it was too crazy. After one child's major break down we knew it was time to go. Then we left. But not without first trying the most yummiest cream puffs ever...and they were huge! Fun times.

Melinda with almost all the kids we brought...missing baby Paxson
Robyn with almost all the kids, again...missing baby Paxson
Ryder, Peyton and Mason helping Robyn box up her house. They've sold their house, moved in with us until their new house is finished. It's been lot's of fun!
Kaiden, Mason, Abbi, Ryder, Peyton all watching something interesting. You can see that Ryder wants to smile for the picture, but doesn't want to stop watching the show.

Also, if anybody knows any secrets of keeping soap scum off of your glass shower door...please clue me in! I hate having glass doors on my shower!!! Is there any special miracle cleaning agent that gets the crap off, besides lime-a-way?

Summer Updates

In July we got to spend a few weeks in UT, which was really nice because it rained here all summer! Infact it's still raining. This summer has been the coldest on record for AK since the 1950's. It rained 33 straight days and then we had some nice weather for a day or two. Maybe this means winter won't be so long?

Splash pad in Highland, UT. It was fun to be able to spend some time in the sun.

We spent a lot of time in the water since it was so hot.

I got to meet up with some awesome girls while in Utah. Holly Sanders, Me, Deb Cannon & Stacey Mitchell. We all shared a short period of our lives together in Philly.

No wonder I never see the boys at the ranch (fish lake)...they have so many boy cousins to play with!

Austy and Lucky. Austy was never without this dog!

Hunter, Austy & G-pa on G-pa Harr's horse

Ryder & Peyton trying to decide if they like bareback or not.

I thought this was so cute!

At the beginning of August six of us went on a girls trip to Denali. It was a lot of fun! We had fun just being girls...not mom's for a few nights. We went river-running, pictures are somewhere. We hiked, ate, talked all night, slept-in, and ate more!
We all got the same sweathshirts...except Heather's, but it's mostly the same, just ran out of that color. Bobbi, Robyn, Heather, Cathie & Me. Marsha didn't want to get a sweatshirt cuz she said she had too many. I think she got a scarf instead. I really think she just didn't want to match, j/k!

The hot tub over looked the river that we ran. I think that it was past time for the hot tub to be open, but we had just had icecream and so we wanted to warm up a bit. Cathie, me, Robyn

All of us at hot tub.

Eating icecream, and doing as much shopping as you can in Denali at their one row of shops.

On a small hike. Cathie, Marsha, Bobbi, Robyn, me, and Heather. (By the way, Heather had just broken her tow, but she was such a trooper and still kept up with us.)

Now summer is over. The boys have been in school for two weeks. We started JoySchool yesturday with a total of eight kids, flagfootball has taken up a few of our nights. Basketball season soon to start...it's never going to end with four boys! Busy, busy, busy!

13 years!

13 years has come and gone so fast! I couldn't of asked for a better companion, plus he is a very sexy man! I feel like lately I have more love for this man that I married. I've worked hard at not taking him for granted, especially since I realize how short life can be and we don't know how long we have with those we love. Last week we had four airmen crash a c-17 while they were practicing for the airshow last weekend. Come to find out one of them lives in my neighborhood. I passed him often out washing his 4-wheelers and camper trailor. He had a wife and two young boys. My heart goes out to his family and I can't imagine the hardships she's going through right now and in the near future. I just want to hold on dearly to those I love so I know they are safe and sound, but that is not reality. You just have to live each day loving those around you!!

Happy Birthday to our big Austy!

Austin is now 8! Eight things about Aust:

1-He's definetly his own person...he's not persuaded by many people.
2-He loves lego's more than anything.
3-He is so sweet with animals and babies.
4-He is a great helper.
5-He loves soccor.
6-He always says thank you for everything. No matter what I feed him, he's thankful, or if he gets to do something fun...he let's you know he's thankful.
7-He loves to sing, loudly and crazy, if I can catch him!
8-He has the sweetest big brown eyes that melt you.

Happy Birthday to our big Aust!

Random writing...for journaling purposes

This summer I'm noticing that girls are "noticing" Hunter. A few in the neighborhood, a few at the pool, and at the parade today. The cute girl at the parade was handing out candy and she gave some to Austin, who of course had a grocery bag and was stealing it from the three years olds. Hunter wasn't and never really has been interested in a lot of sweets (who's child is he???), but this cute girl gave some to Austin and then seeked hunter out and gave him just one piece. I thought maybe she went to his school. So I asked, but no, he didn't know her. Great! I feel the mamma claws coming out with some of these girls and I'm sure that I'm not going to do well when he starts dating. Girls these days are a lot more aggressive than I remember being when I was younger.

Greg and a few of his partners are starting up a pedo clinic which opens in a few weeks. They have had the boys go over and help clean up and tape for painting. One of the times I was told that Austin flat out said no he didn't want to help when asked, which does surprise me a little, he's usually a pretty good helper. So I told him how hard he worked depended on his pay. So they went again yesturday and I told Aust that he should try to work his hardest and he said "That's exactly what I was thinking!" Wow! Good timing right? And when I picked him up he said he worked so hard. Cute kid!

The twins have a thing going where if one is crying and you tell him to calm down the other will say "I not cryin mama!" They do this for everything! When the older boys aren't home I have to lock their room or the twins will play with lego's for hours, destroying all the creative stuff the boys have made. They want to ride their bigwheels all day! Our house is in a culdesac which goes onto a dead end street. In each direction is a gradual hill. They will ride their big wheels up and down it all day if I let them. Peyton loves to go fast and his face is so funny when he goes fast.

We went on a big bike ride over the 4th with some friends. We all have bikes and the twins just get pulled in the Chariot. We went about 24 miles round trip. The whole way Austin is saying are we turning around yet, are we turning around yet, etc...When we finally decided to turn around Greg labeled him a "horse". If you've ever gone horse back riding you know that the horse has a sense when you are heading back and they go faster. They are more determined. That was Austin. He just took off when we said we were going back and we didn't catch him for a good 5-6 miles.

Hat's off to Robyn! Myself, Robyn and Bobbi went on a bike ride this morning. We parked and then rode next to the freeway from the Eagle River exit south to the Hiland exit, which if you are familiar with that area you know it crosses the river and goes up, up, up! Then we went around the loop, past walmart, past skyline drive and to the North ER exit and back to the middle ER exit. It has some pretty consistent hills. Robyn has a pretty cool road bike that makes me have to pedal twice as hard to normally keep up with her. But she was falling behind. At the top of one of the hills she stopped and said something must be wrong with her bike. We were checking it out and sure enough...the gears on the left side of her bike were on the hardest, but she couldn't remember which one was easy or hard. She never got off and walked she just kept pushing through. That's what I love about Robyn...she never gives up!!

I've been really bad about taking pictures so that's why it's all just writing!

Funny Story!

Thursday night Greg and I were out on a well-needed date. On our way home Hunter calls and says that a squirrel opened the front door and ran into our house. So, he had to catch it. He got a net that we used for catching little fishy's at the beach. He must've had a lot of 10-year old adrenaline and hit it when he was catching it, because it had a bloody nose. Don't worry the squirrel is fine. We thought for sure he was teasing us. He even took a picture of it on his phone and sent it to us. We thought that our newest neighbor, Randy (and also friends of ours), put him up to it. Nope. Hunter caught the squirrel and Greg held it and made sure it was going to survive. It did and escaped the plastic box the next morning.

Greg took Hunter river rafting on the Eagle River last week. He is taking Austin this week.

Group effort putting together twins gift.

Thanks aunt Larissa for the money...we bought these Diego's with it!

Peyton was told not to touch the cupcakes on the counter. I turn my back and see what happens?

Spiderman, buzz jackets, buzz chairs, buzz and his gang...thanks all for a great birthday!!

Blowing out candles.

So happy it's my birthday!

This is their birthday cake..easy and simple! Of course they snuck up on the counter and started playing with the toys!!

This is the raccoon hat the g-pa Harr sent us. He also sent pop guns that make a lot of noise!!

Myrtle Beach, SC

So the past few weeks I've been in Myrtle Beach with my family. The first week was supposed to be a "sister's" retreat, but only myself and my youngest sister was able to make it out of our family. Well, also my mom and dad, they drive their 5th wheel there and stay for a few months. So we thought we were going to have this relaxing week with just our small children (hunter and austin came later with greg). What were we thinking? We had four children under the age of 5...it was not relaxing, but fun to spend some time with my sister and the boys spending time with cousins they barely knew. It was fun when Greg came with the boys because they also got to spend time with some cousins. Out of ten kids only four of us made the trip. We only do it every three years and I missed last trip because I was delivering the twins. But my oldest sister Larissa, her husband Brian, daughters Gentri and Brileigh, and Brian's mother-in-law and her friend came. My brother Russ and his wife Susan, and their two sons Boston and Phoenix came. And my youngest sister, Jessica and her husband Kelly came with their two kids, Adde and Ezra. It was a fun time and I am glad to spend some time with some of my siblings.

We did some fun things. One of the days we decided to go and visit a rice plantation home. I love the old history. Greg and all the other husbands opted to stay and babysit the kids. The place was beautiful and full of history.

We also took the kids to see "Legends". It's where singers impersonate legend singers. We've seen it before, but this time we thought it would be fun to take the boys. They did love it. Hunter had a few of the people sign his shirt after. They had a Michael Jackson impersonator and you would've thought it was really him. This person did such a great job. Actually, all of them did a great job.

The last pictures on the slide are of my garage. We had a friend acid wash our garage floor and I had no idea what I was going to come home to. I am very impressed with how it turned out that I had to post a picture.