Baseball and Smores

Thursday night we went to Jace's baseball game. After the game we went to our friends, the Wildings, for smores and fun. We just love the Wildings. They are some of our best friends.

Jace has a serious face as he is waiting for the ball.

Waiting for the pitch....

He gave that ball a ride.


Riley, Brynn, and Jace after the game.

Ridge and Haley....so cute.

Wilding's backyard fire pit


Jace digging in to his smore

Our friends, Dave and Emily.

View from the fire pit.

Questions about Dad

Interview with Riley (12), Brynn (10), Jace (8), Haley(4)
Monday June 22, 2009

1. What is something dad always says to you?
R- Be good, do good, remember who you are.
B- You're my little princess.
J- I love you.
H- I'm gonna kiss your neck.

2. What makes dad happy?
R- When we say we love him.
B- When I walk on his back.
J- To see his children.
H- When he says he likes to hug me.

3. What makes dad sad?
R- When we are not nice.
B- When he has to say the prayer in church.
J- When we don't listen.
H- If he sees a really, really, really, scary movie.

4. How does your dad make you laugh?
R- He makes weird faces.
B- When he tickles me and tells a good joke.
J- When he makes a funny face.
H- When he kisses my neck.

5. What was your dad like as a child?
R- He had blond hair and now he has no hair.
B- I don't know, I really don't know.
J- He loved his father.
H- He was like me.

6. How old is your dad?
R- 37
B- 36
J- 39
H- I don't know--about 3.

7. How tall is your dad?
R- Pretty tall. I have no idea.
B- I have no clue.
J- I don't know. I say 1 pound.
H- (Holding up a finger)-about that big.

8. What is your dad's favorite thing to do?
R- Hang out with us.
B- Rock climb
J- Rock climb
H- Tickle

9. What does your dad do when you're not around?
R- Sleeps
B- Watch wrestling
J- Work
H- Plays

10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for?
R- He will be a dentist on a t.v. show.
B- Golf
J- Because he's a good worker on teeth.
H- Going to church.

11. What is your dad really good at?
R- Rock climbing
B- Golf
J- He's good at doing teeth.
H- Kissing

12. What is your dad not very good at?
R- Singing
B- Playing the Wii
J- Super Smash Brothers
H- When he doesn't do anything.

13. What does your dad do for a job?
R- Dentist. Fixes people's crappy teeth.
B- He is a dentist.
J- Make people's teeth better. Give them shots.
H- Cleans teeth

14.What is your dad's favorite food?
R- Mexican
B- Mexican
J- Tacos
H- Cinnamon

15.What makes you proud of your dad?
R- He is a good dad that loves us.
B- That he went to dental school.
J- He is nice to me.
H- When he kisses me.

16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?
R- Mater on Cars.
B- Batman
J- Sponge Bob
H- Tom (Tom and Jerry)

17. What do you and your dad do together?
R- Play outside, sports, and stuff.
B- Play catch
J- Rock climb
H- Play hide and go seek.

18. How are you and your dad the same?
R- We both like to rock climb.
B- We like getting out of the house and doing things.
J- We are both boys.
H- We like to kiss.

19. How are you and your dad different?
R- He is a boy and I am a girl.
B- He's older and I'm younger.
J- I'm small and he is big.
H- He is bigger.

20. How do you know your dad loves you?
R- He says it 28 times a day.
B- He works hard to earn money so we can have fun.
J- Because he says I love you.
H- He tells me.

21. What does your dad like most about your mom?
R- I don't know, I've never asked him.
B- I don't know about dad's love life. You tell me.
J- They kiss a lot.
H- Because you and dad like treasures.

22. Where is your dad's favorite place to go?
R- Outdoors. Fishing, etc.
B- Sizzler
J- To church (Riley and I laughed at this one.)
H- Chuck-A-Rama

Happy Father's Day Dad!!! We LOVE you!!

Rock Climbing

John took Riley, Brynn, Jace, and their cousin Shade, rock climbing today. Here are some pictures from the outing. (I'm not sure why Jace didn't get his picture taken).
Shade

Shade, almost to the top.
Brynn


Riley was trying to climb with a bum-arm. She doesn't have a lot of arm strength right now due to the stitches and bruise. (See previous blog entry)

Stomach Flu + Passing Out = Emergency Room

Okay, so it's already been one of those weeks, and it AINT over yet. A big time flu bug has draped itself over my parents house, my house, and my brothers and sisters houses. If it hasn't hit them yet...I'm sure that it will. It seems like nobody can escape it, even the tough adults. It's the gift that just keeps on giving. The phrase that keeps going through my head is... "Going to Hell in a handbasket" (an American alliterative phrase of unclear origin, which describes a situation headed for disaster without effort or in great haste.)

Our nephew, Shade, is visiting right now from Arizona. (What a time to be here).

So...Monday night we went to a pizza place that has lazer tag, slides, etc. On the way home Haley informed me that her tummy hurt (music to a mom's ears). I knew, due to the circumstances, that the inevitable would happen...puke, barf, throw up, blow chunks, what ever you want to call it. I pulled over and let her out. We sat there for a few minutes and nothing happened. So, I decided to just get her home quick. I looked for something in the van that could catch the "stuff" and all I could find was a frisbee. Needless to say, the frisbee was put to good use on the way home. All Monday night Haley was putting "stuff" in a bucket.

The next day I felt sick and probably laid on my bed for 90% of the day. Can you say Bed Sores? Luckily or maybe unluckily nothing ever happened. Sometimes you just feel better getting the "stuff" out. Sad to say, when you are the mom no one is there to take care of you. The kids were on-their-own-neglected-children that day.

Then we get to Wednesday. We all felt pretty good most of the day, that is until night. Why does it always "go down" at night. Last night Riley told me that she didn't feel well. When I went to bed I kept hearing noises and seeing lights turned on and off in the kitchen. Finally, I heard a loud noise and thought I better get up and investigate. I found Brynn setting up a bed on the couch. She told me that Riley was throwing up and she didn't want to get sick. I just figured that Riley had it all under control, so I went back to bed. A few minutes later, my bedroom light was flipped on. Riley is standing there crying, bleeding, white as a ghost, and filthy with "stuff". While she was downstairs being sick, she got light-headed and passed out....TWICE!! On the way down she somehow majorly cut her arm open. I felt soooooo bad for not checking on Riley. She could have used my help and I was just cozy in bed.
John jumped up and took Riley to the Emergency Room. She had to have 10 stitches in her arm. OUCH!!

I was the lucky one left here to clean up the C.S.I. looking bedroom and bathroom. Oh, and did I mention that the "stuff" was coming out both ends --in her bed. Okay, okay, okay I know T.M.I., but you will not fully appreciate my night unless you re-live it with me. I cleaned up the "stuff", blood, bedding, etc. If you don't own a pair of rubber gloves, I would highly recommend that you invest in a pair. You can clean up just about anything with a pair of rubber gloves. (I lease with an option to buy...love that quote from the movie---Fletch)

The terrifying fact of the matter is that this has not hit- John, Brynn, Jace, and our lucky house-guest Shade.....................YET.

Let the nightmare begin!

Fishing Fun

Saturday we spent several hours fishing at a large pond near our house. We caught a total of 7 fish. The girls each caught 1 fish and Jace caught 3. The fish were quite small, so in the end we just let them all go. We all had a great time.

Haley was NOT afraid of anything. She held the worms and the fish. I, on the other hand, did not want to touch either. John put a worm on my wrist and I flipped out.

Yes, we caught another fish!


Haley got so excited everytime someone caught something. It was so cute to watch her.
Brynn hard at work--catching a fish. She did in fact catch the fish!



Haley is holding another huge gross worm.

Jace has a bite and is determined to reel it in.

Jace was so excited when he caught his first fish!




Reenacting how she caught her fish.

He is sweet to his little sissy.

The girls had a blast climbing up and down a dirt hill. Yes, they were filthy when we left.



View from the fishing pond.

Singin' and Dancin' in the rAiN

We have had our fair share of rain the last little while. Yesterday, while the weather was decent, my kids decided they needed to get out. They went to the elementary school to play. While they were gone, the dark clouds started rolling in. I called them to tell them they better hurry back home. They were already on their way...but it was too late. TOTAL down pour. They got home, figured they were already wet, so they might as well stay out and enjoy it.






I love Jace's face in this picture. He is always such a happy kid!

Trying to be productive...and such...

Well now that school is out, I am trying my darndest to keep my kids productive and fairly busy. Riley had only been out of school 1 day when she told me that she was totally bored and wished that school was starting sooner. I just wanted to laugh. Everyday my kids are supposed to get their "Job Charts" done. They have only been out of school for a few days, and when I mention the curse words, "Job Charts" they just want to roll over and die. But, frankly--I don't give a...well you know. Their "Job Charts" include things like--make bed, brush teeth, read, journal, chores, piano, you get the picture. All the tasks on the chart are easy and don't require a whole lot of time. If they got up and got it done...they could have it done in NO TIME. But, unfortunately it has required nagging, badgering, hounding, raising my voice, threats of selling the t.v., once again, I'm sure you get the picture (don't you wish you were a fly on the wall?). I guess that is my job as a mom. Maybe someday they will thank me (hopefully not resent me). I just have such high hopes of my kids being well rounded and good at several things. Sometimes I wonder if I expect too much of them. After all they are just kids.

I just finished reading the book, "Being the Mom - 10 coping strategies I learned by accident because I had children on purpose" by Emily Watts. It was such a fun book to read. I learned a lot, and would highly recommend it to anyone who has kids. There were several different things she said in the book that were GOOD for me... "The days may seem long, but the years will get away from you if you're not careful. Overlook what you can, correct what you have to, pour love into every decision you make, and you'll look back without regret."

The other day, I witnessed something that hit me over the head like a ton of bricks. I was at my kitchen sink watching Riley outside. She was standing on our toddler slide looking over our fence talking to 2 boys her age (one is our backyard neighbor). I started fast forwarding in my mind. She will be 13 in a couple of months. That means she will be turning 18 in 5 years and heading out off to college. My heart just sank and I wanted to bawl. I only have 5 more years!! Dental school was 4 years and that seemed to go by in a flash!!! Where did the time go? It has made me want to change from being "Badger Mom" to being more "Nice Mom". But, Rome was not built in a day. And I do have a LOT of the Doug A. blood running through my veins. What I mean by that is---you must work hard and be very productive. I'm not saying that is a bad quality...I just need to find a happy medium. Happy medium, happy medium, I gotta remember that one!! I'm a tough-ole-broad with a thick-head so cross your fingers for me.

Oh to be a kid again!

The darn boob-tube.

Brynn is still lovin' her blankey.

Jace is caught trying to seek a popsicle downstairs.