Another Year....

Blake and I both share our birthdays in the month of May...which means we are both the same age. We are only 16 days apart...which also means I get to be the younger spouse for those days. I can officially call him my old man. I love ribbing my hubby!!! Anyway for the first time since we been married his parents were able to celebrate their son's birthday on the actually date because they came to visit us in Spokane.
Blake decided that he wanted to show his parents some of the Lakes in Washington but we were sorely disappointed because of the lakes we went to were only access by a dock surrounded by trailers homes. We never seen a sight...we couldn't even walk around the lake at all! But I able to get this photo of Blake and his dad.
Blake with his Mama
Celebrating his birthday...cheese cake style.
As for me I had a wonderful day on my birthday...the weather cooperated and it's was beautiful! It started off with Blake making my favorite breakfast food...German Pancake! I went shopping and had lunch out with Mya. Happy Birthday was sung to me through out the day by my children...it was truly a great day!
Me and my oldest. Finally a real smile!
My sweet baby boy...his kisses are especially special.
My sassy girl...who helped me have a good day.
My silly and wonderful children. Having birthdays are great but it's more fun when you have your children who are so excited for you.

Being a Mother!

I often contemplate my childhood,
I am a mother now, and so I know
Hard work is mixed together with the fun;

Sacrifice, devotion, love and tears,
Your heart, your mind, your energy and soul--

When God made mothers, He took great care

To fill their hearts with love so rare.
Their children are their greatest prize;
You can see the great love in theirs' eyes.

Love is a mother’s gift
To their precious children, their hearts to lift.
Warm, tender and giving love
That grows them up healthy and happy.

"Mother" is such a simple word,
But to me there’s meaning seldom heard.
For everything I am today,
My mother’s love showed me the way.

I truly had a wonderful Mother's Day! Blake and the kids treated me as a Queen. All my favorite dishes were made. I had a meeting after church and Blake kept the kids in their Church's clothes waiting for my arrival because he knew (without being told) that I wanted photos of the kids and myself.

I love being a Mother!

Banana the Monkey came to visit.....

Nathan was chosen to be the star for the week in his class and with that honor this monkey got to come home with him for a week. Nathan got to name him and Banana was chosen. Nathan is to show Banana around and document it with photos and a journal.

First thing Nate did was to introduce Banana to the Playstation and had a BLAST playing Lego Star War and Indiana Jones.

Banana and Bean became quick buddies...
But Bean got tried of Banana's clinging.
Banana bumped into another classmate of Nate at Isaac's Basketball game.
He even got to see a basketball legend, John Stockton.
Banana decided to bunk at night with Nate.
Both had restful nights without any nightmares.
He had fun riding in the car around Nate's neck.
He also liked hanging around Mya and Isaac.
He even got to participate in Isaac's "Pinewood Derby", he especially liked the racing stripes on Isaac's racer.
Off to experience culture at Isaac's music concert...the African drums were his favorite.
Banana has a fun filled adventure with Nathan and was very sad it had to end. We also was sad to see him go but we know he truly cherished the moments he had with us and he's off to new adventures.

Random Photos of General Conference Weekend

These are randoms photos of our General Conference weekend. The weather was finally starting to feel like Spring. On Saturday the kids played in our yard and allowed me to take some photos of them.
Nate being a good sport and sat down for me...so I can take this shot.
Mya doesn't have a problem letting me take photos of her.
The boys practicing soccer. (Isn't our dead grass...LOVELY!)
On Sunday, we decide to take Bean on his first walk on the leash and he didn't like it a bit.
But then he realize he didn't have a choice...either walk or be dragged.
Each of our kids took turns walking Bean and it's was Mya's turn.
He struggle a bit with Isaac but Isaac showed Bean who's boss.
Nate and Bean taking a stroll on this beautiful Spring afternoon.
Wait a photo of me and my little girl.

We wandered around our neighborhood and took Bean to the Dog Park. The kids and Bean had fun with the other dogs. It was truly a peaceful and quiet weekend.

Twelve years and counting....

We met in August 1996 behind my moving truck and who would have thought that our lives would change forever. We soon started dating and were engaged on December 27th 1996 and married April 18th, 1997. It was so quick but I don't regret any minute of it because you're my eternal companion. Three kids...8 moves later and I love you more than I loved you when we first got married. Heavenly Father has blessed me tremendously but especially with you...I'm eternally grateful!

Easter Weekend!

We had a great Easter Weekend and since I had tons of photos I decided to put them in collages. We started our weekend with a trip to Amber Lake in Cheney Washington for some fishing.
The weather was ideal and sunny. We didn't catch any fish every though we could see them and they were fat rainbows.
So I decided I would take some photos of the the kids and they really cooperated with me. My sweet Isaac has a hard time giving me a natural smile but he's a sweetheart for trying.
Nathan was such a sport and bared with me while I tried to get him to smile.
Mya didn't have a problem and gave me so many poses. She would tell me, "mom, take a picture of me."
I decided I should have some photos of me since I'm always behind the camera.

My kids are cute but very Cheesy.
On Saturday, we had a Primary Easter's Egg hunt and the kids had a blast except for Nathan. He had a soccer game to be at but I made it up to him on Easter morning.

I haven't decided when it became so difficult to try to take a photo with all your kids together but heck it's hard!!! But we truly had a great Easter even if the weekend it rained and it was colder than normal . Hoped everyone had a great Easter!

Where a Kid can be a Kid....

One of the things we did on our spring break was to head to Chuck E Cheese and we had a BLAST! It was the first time for the boys and Mya has been once before. The place was packed but they sure did have fun and it's now one of our family's favorite place to go especially when the weather outside is crappy! Thank Goodness for Chuck E Cheese!!!

Straight, mmmm...

I decided this morning before Church that I would straighten my curly top's hair and she loved every minute of it. Having curly hair, you never see how long your hair truly is and straighten you can. She truly loved the feeling and seeing how long her hair is and she kept saying, "See Mom my hair is long like you." But I have to say, I love her curly hair better!

Future Dancers of "Dancing with the Stars"?

One of my favorite shows is "Dancing with the Stars" and the kids love watching and dancing with it. It's so funny seeing them performing, that I had to have them on video. Here are some videos of my future dancers.... (The best part that you can see all the videos at the same time. It's a great laugh!!!)

Mexican Cruise or Washington?

My little sister decided instead of taking a Mexican Cruise, she would come and visit us here. Poor thing couldn't have picking a worse time, we had a mini winter storm. It got into the teens and she froze! But I was so grateful for her and I had a blast having her here. She also brought with her Singstar games for the Playstation 2 and my goodness was that so much fun!!!! I did better with the songs of the 80's, but the pop sonsg of the 90's not so much. How are you suppose to rap and keep with the pitch is beyond me. We also had a Japanese night for Family Home Evening and we made gyouza and yakisoba, very tasty. We attended the boy's basketball, walked in a mini blizzard to the supermarket, went to hula and a course we went shopping!! Thanks you so much Clelia, for spending your Spring Break with us!

Our New Addition....

Let me introduce you to our new puppy BEAN. We have decided two years after losing our first dog Soup, it was time to get another dog. We decided to get the same breed as our first dog, which is a Shiba Inu. We have loved having a dog again, even though we forgotten how much work they are especially as a puppy. It's like having another child. We are so glad that he's in our life and looking forward for the many years with our new pet.

HOMEMADE GIVEAWAY

So I notice this blog on one of my friends blog but I definitely wasn't one of the three to win a prize but then my friend Cheri had this blog and I'm one of the winner. YIPEE!!! I can't wait to see what she sends me. So now it's my turn and here it is girls;

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me (yeah handmade!).

2. Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count!

4. When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward.