Kid Pics (Happy Post!)

Here are some recent pics of the kiddos:


Colin had the kids help him make pumpkin chocolate chip bars:
Sissy is always good at taste-testing batters. And look at those ringlets!!
Samuel loves to hold Abe!
Oh, my. I could eat up those cheeks! He looks so much like Samuel and Jude as babies.
We are working on his neck muscles - it's hard when he hates being on his tummy!
More cheeks. He's been getting a lot of Papa time now that I have started chemo. It's a good bonding time!
Jude - crazy, as always!

End of Kindergarten Celebration!

When I asked Samuel how he would like to celebrate being done with kindergarten, he exclaimed "Go to a see Kung Fu Panda 2!" So that's what we did on Monday night. Joy and I took the boys out to a 6 p.m. showing of the movie and we all had so much fun! Here's the pre-movie picture of Joy and I grabbing a much needed Starbucks:And here's the after picture, which you can tell the boys had indulged in the sugary treats we brought (breakfast bars, gum and lollipops - for some reason I think it's ok to give them those if they were purchased at Trader Joe's =)):
I look forward to taking them to more movie outings this summer since they did so well and let's face it - going to movies is one of my favorite activities of all time.

Raised Beds

Yesterday Colin was determined to get the garden in (which is good, because our grocery budget is killing us!). All the kids jumped in the truck and went to get a load of new soil and upon returning, shoveled it into the wheelbarrow.After turned compost and new soil into some of the beds, they began planting peppers, zucchini, watermelon, lettuce, etc. I love that Sissy chose to wear a white outfit while gardening.

Hopefully in a couple of weeks (weather permitting), we will see some sprouts! Currently we are able to eat chard out of our garden - something that grows plentifully with very little attention.

Memorial Day and Other Things

On Memorial Day, the boys went with Colin on one of his many trips to Home Depot and they came back with their faces painted. Samuel, of course, wanted to be Batman:
Sissy dressed as herself - in a diaper, helmet (have I mentioned that she walks around stores with this helmet on?), necklace and watch:
Jude got his face painted as Spiderman:
And Colin spent the remainder of the day in the nursery (it has just been completely remodeled) sanding/staining the floors:
I have implemented Bible time every morning as part of school. Samuel reads a Bible story of Jude's choosing - it really kills two birds with one stone - they get in the habit of devotion time and Samuel gets his reading practice in. He's reading from "The Beginner's Bible". It's the perfect reading level for Samuel and has enough pictures to keep Jude interested.

Portland Fire Awards Ceremony

On Monday night we attended the Portland Fire awards ceremony for Colin's promotion to Harbor Pilot. We were brave enough to bring the kids and luckily it only lasted about an hour. Here they are posing on Colin's fire truck:Ok - terrible shot (I was pretty far back with Juliet on my lap) but here Colin is shaking Commissioner Randy Leonard's hand:
Grandma Mary joined us and thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the kids:
And Samuel took this picture:

My Kids This Week

I love when my kids enjoy cleaning. I didn't even ask them to help, but Samuel offered to clean the toilets again (something is wrong with that kid) and they all took sanitizing wipes and occupied themselves for about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, Sissy fell off the counter, but that was bound to happen, right? Joel and Sarah and Mom came over one night for dinner and I caught all the cousins watching a movie (ok - the smaller girls didn't really do a lot of watching):
Samuel drug out the Pack N Play and the kids spent some time making a fort and playing in there.
Sissy takes her baby doll pillow and goes "nigh night" on it. I couldn't resist getting down on her level and taking a picture.
And Samuel ask that I take a picture of him doing his schoolwork.

Scrapbook Page

I feel like it's been forever since I sat down in my craft room! After a particularly hairy 24 shift with the kids yesterday, I snuck in my room alone to finish this page this morning. I do so love the polaroid picture trend right now - I just converted my regular photos to these little polaroids and resized in Photoshop. The kids scrapbooks are starting to fill up and I love that - I just hope I can keep it up after the baby arrives!

Sarah's Wedding

Jude and Samuel and I were a part of Sarah's wedding party yesterday and Colin caught a few pictures amongst all the business.

Aren't the boys handsome in their suits?!Sissy spent much time swinging from poles saying "Watch me!"


I never get pictures with my kids - I love this one. I technically am with my four kids in this picture - weird!
Jude playing with the paper cranes.
Our kids dancing was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.
Sissy and Grandpa Jeff.
Jude dancing with Grandma Jan.
Ella, the flower girl (who danced with Samuel a lot) and the boys.

Easter Egg Hunt

We headed to Corvallis on 4/17 to participate in an Easter egg hunt. The kids had so much fun! I love watching the kids' face light up over such simple things as hunting for plastic eggs. These are the moments I really don't want them to grow up - adults really can learn so much from children.

Ok - can we talk about her hair?! We have taken to wetting it down every morning and combing it, but it takes on a life of its own, especially if she has spent time in her carseat or her bed.
Samuel showing his loot.
Jude's jubilee at finding eggs. Yes, he wears superhero paraphernalia almost every day.

This is the best shot I could get of the cousins - I have a real respect for professional photographers who photograph children.

Jude's 4th Birthday

I was quite terrible at taking pictures for Jude's birthday - not even capturing his outing to Red Robin (his restaurant of choice) or him eating the tarte I made him that he picked out of the Barefoot Contessa "How Easy Is That?" cookbook.

Here are some moments I did capture: Jude's prized birthday possession - a superhero outfit sewn by his Auntie Joy:
Here he is opening a gift with his girl cousins looking on.
Oh, the look of excitement on his face!
Here is a shot of his cape from the back:
He wore this ensemble to preschool and continues to don it regularly for playing throughout the days.

March Gardening

With the rising cost of groceries hitting our budget hard (I find myself saying "Babe, this food budget isn't working anymore..." every couple of weeks or so), we have decided to get a bit more serious about growing our own food. Since it was unseasonably nice yesterday (which is code word in Oregon for "not raining"), Colin spent the day with the kids working in the garden. He planted spinach, lettuce, beets, carrots, onions and leeks. Later, we will be planting our usual warm weather crops.

I snapped some pictures of the kids - for some reason the boys thought it was appropriate to be doing karate for the camera:I love this picture - Samuel eating old spinach - look at his face!

This was Juliet's contribution - causing mayhem, of course.
Jude: "Here! Try some, Mama!" I politely declined.


And my muscularly husband working hard. My contribution was taking pictures - that counts for something, right?