Things You Gotta Love About Amanda

This Tuesday, we will officially have a teenager! I posted some recent action shots at Amanda's last track meet because she loves track right now! Here is my Amanda favorites list:

1. She tried new things this year in school--volleyball, track, science fair and has done very well!

2. She is one of the most compassionate people I know.

3. She has recently become kind of a "tree-hugger"/environmentally conscious girl, which is very fitting since she was born on Earth Day.

4. She helps out and is a good house cleaner.

5. She still likes to talk to me about what's going on in her world.

6. She works hard in school and gets good grades.

7. Her testimony of Christ and her faith in Him have grown this year.

8. She is friendly.

9. She is grateful.

10. She loves to go with her mom and/or grandma/aunt to the mall.

11. She is learning how to cook--yea!

12. She loves to accessorize.

13. She is a very important part of our family and we love her dearly for being our oldest "guinea pig!"

We love you, Amanda. Happy 13th birthday!

Having Fun on Spring Break

Between packing and taking care of house stuff, we took a trip up to Hayden, ID/Rathdrum, ID to go to Triple Play--an indoor waterpark and amusement center. It was a great way to escape the cold weather and we had a great time. In all fairness I tried to post pictures of everyone, which is why you only see my back side in the shot--that's the only non-blurry picture of me. I'm like a witch or something that doesn't photograph well, I think. Our cousin, Jordan, also joined us, which made Megan very happy. We also had a great time when the Webb family stayed with us on their way home from Idaho. I wish we would have taken pics, Jenny! I know we talked about it but we were too busy talking and having fun. It was so great to go running in the beautiful weather we had at the end of the week; I loved it! We also celebrated Grandma's (Floyd) birthday with a BBQ on Saturday at the park--a great way to end the week. I feel like we made some progress in packing but I'm sure it won't feel like much as we get closer to the move date of April 30! The picture of our new home is above. I added it late and can't figure out how to type directly under the photograph so there you have it!

Is It Spring Yet?

Although we tried to be springy and warm for Easter, it's been so cold! We had a very nice holiday celebrating as a family and then with both families later in the day. It has been so odd to see snow falling this week in the Tri-Cities and have such cold temps for the end of March. I am very anxious for warm weather!

Things You Gotta Love About Jared

Happy 10th birthday Jared!!! This post is long overdue but only because we have been actively participating in Jared's activities among other things . . . The pinewood derby was actually on his birthday, so that's what we did. Dad took him out for ice cream and a "birthday interview" afterwards. This year, the kids decided on a Wii for their birthdays instead of throwing birthday parties so Jared had a couple of friends come over to play the new Wii (we're all having fun with it, I admit) and Mom and Dad got off easy this year. As you can see from above, Jared also has been busy pitching for his baseball team. As his parents, both Nate and I get very nervous watching him--we can hardly stand it. Well, without further delay, here are my favorite things about Jared:

1. He makes VERY good choices and wants to do the right thing.

2 He is loving to everyone in the family and is still my best cuddler.

3. He has a good sense of humor.

4. He loves to read the sports page of the paper to me including rankings and scores from any and every sport.

5. He is a great friend.

6. He is compassionate.

7. He is very talented and works hard at everything he tries from piano to pitching.

8. He is great at math.

9. He will hang out with me--go on errands, etc.

10. We feel so blessed to have him in our family!

We love you Jared! Hope you have a great 10th year!

Making Up for Lost Time

Here are a couple of schedules for the kids. We had a pretty cold baseball jamboree on Saturday so you may want to give it some time before you venture out to watch some spring sports:

http://eteamz.active.com/richland/schedules/ (Minor A league Braves)

http://www.rsd.edu/schools/carmichael/pdf/springsportscarmichael2008.pdf (We'll have to give more info as we know what events she will be participating in but here is a general time and date for track meets)

As you can see by my marathon postings this late time of the night, I am trying to play a little catch up. I think it's going to get worse before it gets better . . . .

Trying Out the New Legs

I can't resist posting a little footage of Bradley's latest conquest. We thought he'd just be carried by everyone forever--no need to walk when you have transportation. He then started walking on his knees--kind of a vertical crawl, which prompted us to call him "Stumpy." Stumpy still comes around now and then but for the most part is is watch out world, here I come!

We Sold It!

Okay, I know--very strange picture. One reason is, I am so happy to have a camera again! I really missed not having one. Two, this really has something to do with my title of my post. We are celebrating because we accepted an offer on our home this week. We are celebrating even more that I don't have to keep up that "level of clean" that has been making me crazy lately with my schedule and a one-year-old, something had to give. And apparently, it did! We had to show the home on a Friday night and we also had dinner plans, kids going different places, etc. so I used one of my clever tactics and stashed some dishes in the oven. The next time we needed the oven was Sunday morning. Jared, my Sunday morning quick pop-open cinnamon roll maker, opened the preheated oven and yelled, "MOM!!" Then, I remembered. The dishes in the oven. So, this is all that is left of my blender. I guess it is just one less thing I have to pack!