Gymnastics!

Josiah does gymnastics with some of the other Camp kids once a week. He has a lot of fun and is learning a lot!

snow snow snow

When we got home there was snow on the ground. The boys were beyond excited! They've spent a lot of time out there sledding and whatever else they do. We went to Camp and went sledding with the Stratfords this weekend. Now it's rained for a few days and most of the snow is gone. I'm sure it'll be back soon enough!

Loosin' teeth!

Josiah lost a front tooth. Actually my brother pulled it for him. The other is loose, he could be singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth"! We'll see if it makes it out in time! He's so proud of it and shows everyone! His lisp is worse now! I tease him when he answers the phone, "Hello, thith ith Jothiah thpeaking!"

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving week was very busy and very fun. We went to Spokane and stayed with my, (Cori's) parents. We had some friends and supporters up one night for supper and a slide show. It was a blessing to see them and spend time visiting and catching up. Some we hadn't seen for a long time!


My mom and I got to spend a couple of days shopping and we got all ready for the first Thanksgiving in my parents' new house! I had great fun baking pies and cooking in their wonderful kitchen! Lots of family came and the boys had a couple of days to hang out with their cousins!

Friday Zach and I headed out into the masses to shop a couple sales. No waiting in lines outside for us, we went in after everything was open, got what we wanted, had a nice breakfast, and were back home by noon. That night we also got to visit some more friends who it'd been too long since we'd seen!

Saturday was "Cookie Day". Another excuse to use my parent's house and kitchen! We baked a bunch of holiday cookies and divided them up between us to freeze, eat, give, whatever!

Unwrapping the chocolate kisses is a tough job, but somebody has to do it!

Here are the boys working hard! Hardly working?!

Busy November

Been awhile again. I've got some cute kid pics to catch up on. November was another busy month as they all are anymore.

The Stratford kids came over to play one afternoon and Zach built them a little campfire!

Time Travel

It's been a pretty long time since I've posted on here. So, I've decided to go back and recount some of the past couple months. You'll find the most recent events at the top, scrolling down to find earlier events, just as if I'd posted them at the right time. Hope it's not too confusing.


Here are some random pictures.


Brenden watching a soccer game.


Brenden in Grandma Marcia's reading glasses!


Brenden drinking from the garden hose!


Conrad and Josiah hiding in our down coats!


Conrad's school

Sick week

October 26th, my 28th birthday, I woke up with a sinus/head cold. I also found several new gray hairs. Happy birthday to me. Zach didn't end up having to teach a class that evening that he was planning on, so we bought steak and shrimp cocktail for my birthday dinner. The boys were looking forward to cake, so I made my Grandma Hall's special coffee-chocolate cake that I like with NO frosting! Zach and the boys don't understand that, so I opened them their own tub of frosting on the side! Friends from Camp, the Stratfords offered to watch the 3 boys so Zach and I could have a quiet dinner. So with the kids gone, I didn't feel up to cooking and Z and I just ate shrimp cocktail, salad, and cake while watching a movie on the couch! So it WAS a happy birthday to me!!!

Saturday night, Conrad woke up throwing up. It continued through the night and he laid on the couch all Sunday. Monday he felt a little better, but not enough for school. That night I got it. Zach doesn't have huge things going on at Camp right now and he's helping a friend in town work on his house when he can, so he was able to stay home most of the day and let me be sick. Josiah also started feeling sick.

On Wednesday, we were feeling much better and took the boys, (an army-guy, Spiderman, and a bee) trick-or-treating at the stores along main street after school. The businesses do it for the little kids to help keep them safe. Then we went to Subway for dinner, drove around looking at houses, and then went to the church Harvest Carnival. Josiah and Conrad are old enough now to get into the carnival booths and be allowed to do a lot on their own. They had so much fun! Here's a picture of the Camp kids we were able to corral during the carnival!

week of October 14th

Conrad had Thursday and Friday off of school, so we headed out to Spokane early Thursday morning. Saturday was Aunt Krissie's memorial service in Spokane. A lot of people came out to my parents' house afterward, so I was happy to spend a few days preparing and putting my parent's brand new kitchen to good use! It needed to be broken in, you know!
Again, Zach was my "super hero" and kept the boys, (mostly Brenden) out of the way while I worked and visited with my family. Grandpa Tom and Grandma Marcia also came to the rescue and took Josiah and Conrad with them to a hotel for 2 nights. They got to swim and hang out with Grandma and Grandpa; they were happy boys! They also got to spend time with their cousins at my parents house!

week of October 7th

October 11th was my brother's 30th birthday! (I just have to rub it in cuz I'm still, (only?) 2 years out!)
On Thursday I went to Spokane by myself and flew out on Friday with my parents to California. My Aunt Krissie's memorial service was on Saturday. My mom and I stayed with my cousin Kelly and her husband while my dad and brother stayed with my cousin Robin and her husband. It was nice to see them and where they live and where Aunt Krissie lived. We drove by the beach and got to see where Aunt Krissie went to church and met the priest she had gotten to know and love. We flew back that evening and I drove back home on Sunday. Zach survived through 3 nights/days with all 3 boys! What a stud!

week of October 2nd

Zach headed back out for several days of rock climbing with the students. It was pretty rainy a lot of the time, but they still had fun. Our van decided to have battery/alternator issues, so Zach had to deal with that before he left. He wasn't able to make it for Josiah's game that weekend, but Grandpa Mac and Grandma Raine did! They spent a couple nights with us and after the game on Saturday we drove around looking at houses and property, went to lunch and sat and visited. So nice!

Monday, October 1

On October 1st, my Aunt Krissie passed away. She is my dad's sister and I was close with her. She was who I, as a child, knew would take care of me if anything happened to my parents. She always lived far away from us, in South America and Virginia, but we still had an Aunt-Niece bond. She and her daughters traveled to Spokane every year. In the dark times of my Jr. high/ high school rebellion, she was a quiet support for me. I knew she disapproved, she didn't hide that, but I didn't feel threatened or judged by her. She, another human, had her own life mistakes. She moved on, and sought God's forgiveness. She didn't hide that from me. She taught ESL at an alternative school in Virginia for a time and I knew she had a passion for those kids. She loved them as much as they drove her nuts with their rebellious attitudes and social cliques and images. They were "her kids", mistakes and all. As I got older, then as I married, and especially as I began having kids, we got closer and closer. We talked often on the phone and through email. We were open and candid with each other about things in life and prayed for each other. She visited us here at our place a few times and she loved Camp Bighorn. She wanted to come and volunteer at Camp for a while, but there wasn't much she was introduced to that she didn't want to be a part of! We visited her in Spokane every time she came there to visit. Several years ago she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Over the years, she dealt with all that goes with cancer with a strong-will and a good attitude. Sometimes she would call and ask me to tell her about the boys. She said she was tired of talking about her and about cancer and just wanted to hear my funny stories that my kids supply daily! Since she was an English teacher, I had lots of questions for her while I was preparing for homeschooling. She sent us fun resources and lots of books for the boys. She was looking forward to retirement and when my dad started building a house in Spokane, they designed a basement apartment for her. She was so excited to pick colors, floors, ceiling fans, tile, etc all in her distinct style! She eventually needed to quit teaching and moved to California to live with her daughter during treatment. In July she came to Spokane for a long visit, but got very sick part way through. She was able to spend a few nights in her new apartment, (she was so thrilled)! She knew that she wasn't going to get better, and as hard as it was, we took advantage of the time to really connect and then say good-bye. Her daughters and their husbands came up and flew back with her to California. I didn't see her again, but we did talk a few times.

So many times I've missed our conversations, wanted to ask her about something, or wanted to share a funny kid story or good joke with her. She laughed so easily and loved funny things! I miss already that she wont be living closer like we'd been looking forward to; that she wont help the boys with Spanish or listen to them read anymore. I thank God for the life lessons she helped me learn and the legacy she's left behind. I'm thankful Josiah and Conrad knew her and had the opportunity to love her. (They always knew she would share her gum and listen to their long, endless stories!) I praise God that she knew Him and accepted His forgiveness through Jesus. I look forward to seeing her again!

Thank you for letting me share her with you!!

Aunt Krissie with Josiah and Conrad in July.

Weeks of September 16th and 23th

This week started Fall Skills for the Explore students. Zach helped teach climbing again. The students are broken into 4 groups that rotate through 4 different "skills". Each rotation is 3 days, with Sundays off. The skills are rock climbing, challenge course, rafting, and kayaking. During these 2 weeks of Fall Skills, the kids and I continued our "normal" schedule. Zach was still able to make it to Josiah's soccer games which was so cool! Josiah started gymnastics with several of the Camp kids. It's during Conrad's school time, so he will get to join later when school is out, or next year when he's at home with us.
Josiah has a salivary gland that swells up occasionally and sometimes becomes infected. After several years of this happening on and off, we went to an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist. There's more to this story than I'm going to type out right now, but after attempting an MRI, (which was pretty scary for a 6 year old, though he really gave it a good try) we are now waiting and praying for direction for what we should do and how invasive we should get with this. We're feeling pretty good that it's not something serious, but would like to have a for-sure diagnosis.

Week of September 9th

Zach was gone this week on a backpack trip with the Explore college students who had arrived at Camp Bighorn the week before. The boys and I had our regular schedule with Conrad going to school, Josiah homeschooling, and soccer practise. Zach was able to meet us as he came out from the backpack trip in time to make it to Josiah's soccer game! It was good to have Zach back!

Weekend Review

Labor Day weekend was lots of fun and very busy! Grandpa Tom and Grandma Marcia came to visit from Friday till Wednesday and we kept ourselves moving the whole time!

Went to the fair on Friday:

Saturday was the parade, Subway, garage sales, (to which, of course, Zach drug his heels, then ended up finding great deals on camping equipment for Camp Bighorn and truck chains. He spent $70 while the garage sale queen here only spent $2!!!) and another birthday party, (this time including Grandpa Tom):

Sunday was fishing and Zach and I went to the demolition derby:

Monday was work projects:

Tuesday brought school and soccer practice. I got to spend the morning in Conrad's classroom since Grandma and Grandpa were at home w/the other two.

Grandma and Grandpa headed out on Wednesday and the rest of us took a trip to the "big city" Missoula for groceries and neccessities. Long day, but good.

The rest of the week was full of normal school, soccer, and work. Josiah's first soccer game is tomorrow!

Official Soccer Mom

Today was a busy day.

For starters it was our 8th wedding anniversary! Since this is so often a busy time of year, we've gotten into the habit of not celebrating on our actual anniversary, but either in the spring or winter. So you wont be surprised about the rest of the days activities...

We shampooed all of the carpets in the house and both vehicles, I've been wanting to do that for so long!

Josiah and Conrad both had dentist check ups; both had healthy teeth. Josiah got sealants on his bottom molars.

Josiah had his first soccer practice. We didn't spend much time prepping him about the game, but he really had fun. Definitely needs to work on how to dribble the ball, he kind of does a side-ways dance thing. Zach had fun reliving childhood memories and giving his son pointers.

Went out for hamburgers and ice cream for dinner, (hey, it's our anniversary!) And the boys played on the school playground for a while.

Now I need to fall asleep except that in the afternoon running around, Brenden didn't get his nap till late and now he's wide awake. Whoopee! Life.......