blast from the past...

aviation graveyard we visited....



beautiful mom...



teeter-totter...good times....

Yeah, I'm getting low on post titles lol. Had a great time with mom and dad this week! Unfortunately, I usually either forgot the camera or the batteries went dead...so I didn't get many pictures. But the ones I did take, I thought were nice~

blaine turns 4!!!!

aunt debbie wrapped his present soooo cute....i had to post it! she knows he loves woody from toy story and made a little hat to go on top...



andrew, bruce and blaine taking a peek....



andrew, nana and grandma v giving some love....



blaine's obsessive love for his fishing pole....finally convinced him he couldn't sleep with it that night, lol....


So yes, what a horrible/wonderful day! From baby to toddler, from toddler to little boy....where has the time gone? I was looking at him today thinking that he actually looks a year older than he did yesterday. I know that's silly....but it really seemed that way. He and we had a great time, can't wait to see what next year brings!

just a few funny things....

Yesterday, whilst getting ready for Blaine's upcoming birthday bash, I was cleaning the bathrooms. So I'm cleaning along, humming to myself and I realize that I'm happy. Happy cleaning a bathroom!!! Crazy or what? There's something about picking up/scrubbing down that I just love! Anyway, I thought that was weird and that you would like to know :).

Next item; I was taking my nephew Clark to school, pulling him and Blaine along in our little red wagon and it was about 45 degrees out. So I'm walking along, humming to myself and I realize that I'm happy. Happy walking the kids to school! Blaine's so stoked that even though it's not his class, he's put on his backpack too. And when I dropped Clark off my own little guy decided he was going to stay and started making himself comfortable. To get him back in the wagon, I had to bribe him with birthday ideas like "Let's go make decorations for the party!".

So we're busy putting things together, cooking, cleaning and Blaine will randomly bear-hug me and says "thank you"....he's just so happy he's turning 4. And I realize that.......I'm happy!

and that's whats been happenin in our neck of the woods....

Thank you Al Roker, I'll take it from here! So I thought that you all might like to get an update on yours truly....and her family...of course lol.
Our new apartment is pretty cool...it's a quiet complex and there's a pool :) :) :). Michael's new job has been going great so far, he's gotten back into the swing of things and really enjoys getting to work with his brothers. He just joined a gym, so he's pretty stoked about that! I want to go too because it is quite possibly the cleanest gym I've ever seen!!!
Blaine gets to live near a park, which he loves and his future pre-school is across the street. He likes to stare and say "Can I go there? That's MY school! Can I eat my lunch there?" I'm glad he's excited....I'm not, I'm gonna miss him :(.
Our library is real close and we go together on Tuesday evenings and also the following morning (sans Michael) with my sis-in-law and her chillins.
I make the trip back to the library on Wednesday evening for a free Thai Chi Gung class. I am, easily, the youngest member of that group...which is ok with me. I have a buddy named Clint (who told me it rhymes with lint, so I can never forget his name). And at age, what I'm guessing to be 75, could kick my trash from here to the moon....I'll try not to get on his bad side.
Our dentist's office is right down the street and that comes in real handy...especially on days like today when I've bitten into my last piece of raw rigatoni pasta. So me + Blaine made the trek there and back one way with half a tooth and the way home with a new half :). The dentist and his wife I have known for several years and were super troopers letting me bring in the kiddo who practically sat on my lap while my face was being drilled, lol. Gotta say, he was a super trooper too...no tears.............at least on his part.
So, you know what? Life is pretty good. It's pretty good~

Lisa

feels like yesterday....

In a couple of weeks, my "little Blaine" will be 4. Okay, okay....you can stop screaming now. Oh wait, was that me? Yes....yes it was :). So I thought that I would post Blaine's past 3 years of portraits to give you an idea of how much he's grown. Good gravy, motherhood is hard....but holy heck, it is WORTH IT!

things kids say...

Sometimes Blaine will say something that will send me into fits of giggles. He likes to talk to himself..... a lot! I heard him say (again, to himself) "I want that." quickly followed by "No, we don't say it like that we say 'May I have that please?'". It was so cute...I love that kid!!!

Happy New Years, ya'll!

Feliz Navidad....

there's a snake in my boot!

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOtEeGaK3HO_Di02pOx_zAQvbFjehVmWZmw7-q1VhT2GUpPCoYaSxs9lRjM2yneh2om-nnGZYJDk6F08i1fptFZPq1u7DD9fVIWWCK7NWaALHv_jo2m7etd6KzagiLnlqfSN4/s1600/picture+369.jpg">

blaine's viewing the note santa left for him...








Wow....what a day, right?? Blaine came into our room at about 1:30 saying "There's a wagon out there!". He went back to sleep and was just as excited the second time around, lol. It seems like we were really spoiled this year...Blaine especially! It was great to spend some time together as a little unit, it's been a little crazy for the past couple of weeks but I think we're finally normalizing. A huge thank you to Oma, Papa Dennis and Aunt Alayna for the amazing gifts - it is loved by all of us! Another thank you to Grandma Ginnie for really making Christmas possible! Thanks to Mom and Dad V who gave Blaine a Toy Story Woody doll that is now a constant companion to our little one (who needs siblings, right? haha). But most importantly....the biggest thank you goes to Heavenly Father who sent His son to us. He IS the reason for the season!! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!!!

merry Chrsitmas eve....

blaine licking the spoon that we mixed Santa's cookies with....

a Christmas letter....

blaine and his "girlfriend" rose....she sure knows how to handle him, lol....






Many apologies for not having sent out Christmas cards this year! Would you be ok with a Christmas blog post instead? I'm going to imagine that you're feeling the spirit of the season and you said yes :).

Michael, Blaine and I attended our ward Christmas party last night. Good food, great company....wonderful time! The primary children provided the musical entertainment and they did a really good job.

After it was all over and we were feeling a little sleepy, someone told us about this Live Nativity happening behind our local grocery store. Remember that I just said that we were tired? Anyway, we decided to go at the last second and I am sooooo glad we did! It had to have been the best Live Nativity I've ever seen....they gave us coins at the entrance and reminded us that we needed them to pay our taxes in Bethlehem. But if we were feeling generous, we could give our coin to one of the needy (which, if Santa is reading this...I chose to do :). They had built a miniature Bethlehem on the hill and it was so realistic! Real camels were led around...we viewed the Wise Mens' procession and we even bartered trade with a carpenter. At the very end, we were led to a stable behind the inn where we saw Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus. Angels, shepherds, wise men.......it was AMAZING! How easy it would have been to pass up this opportunity in favor of an early night at home. I am just so glad we didn't.

~Merry Christmas to you all~

what's been happenin....

want's to be "cowboy woody" we he grows up, at the moment...



blaine's new haircut...albeit it's rather bed head just then...



We've been pretty busy these last couple of months. Mike's getting ready to graduate, we've been planning our move and we've been trying to raise a 3 year old that hasn't been getting nearly enough attention from his parents :). Hopefully that will be remedied come Christmas time! So please be patient with us when we don't call or email very often. And if we do actually call or email, please do not mind our tetchy and terse behavior. Just know that we really love you all and less hectic times are on the horizon!!

a snow day....

Well, it's snowed for the past 2 days here in BV, but this morning was the first time we were able to frolic about in it. The sun was shining and we were all in great moods....ahhhh glorious! I'd forgotten how fun snow could be~

extra extra.....read all about it....

oma came for a visit and was provided a surrogate papa dennis, lol...




blaine as a fearsome pirate for halloween....



blaine being blaine.....

we'll miss you pa....

On Thursday, November 11, Ralph Clark (aka Pa) passed away. He was truly one of a kind and we will miss him greatly! Wish we could have one more evening of poetry, boxing and Boston peanuts. Much Love~

L

another hiatus...

I'm taking another hiatus from blogging for a while. Don't know when I'll be back at this point...hopefully sooner rather than, never. Ta-ta for now!

home theater system...

Yeah, Blaine built this! Please excuse the messy house, but I believe the child is responsible for that, lol. We sat in the back row eating popcorn and watching Finding Nemo. What an imagination!

blessed with odds and ends....

So our heating element went out on our dryer the other day (and before you start worrying that this will be a pity party - it has a good ending :). I was really concerned about how we were going to take care of it, get rid of it, fix it, afford it.....or kill it lol. We decided to fix it ourselves and order the part that the dryer needed. At this point, we were still worried about spending the money but went ahead with the purchase anyway. So this same day (when I really did throw myself a pity party, haha), Michael was offered a short time job doing some construction. And his wages just covered the expense of that part! Isn't life amazing? I felt so so so blessed that the opportunity to take care of ourselves came up!

Now, I'm sure you've noticed the picture with knitting needles and yarn. It was announced at church that we were having our quarterly woman's meeting this Thursday and that several classes would be offered for us to take. Blogging (which I already knew how to do, though not well), Signing for Beginners (which I also knew how to do, and not very well at that either) and Knitting. I've always wanted to knit/crochet, but have very little patience teaching myself anything. So when the opportunity for someone else to teach me came up, I jumped on it...wrestled with it a little bit, then wrapped it up with a bow and tagged on a note; "to Me, from Me". And you know what? I had a fantastic time! Now don't misunderstand me and start thinking I've found that it was my calling in life, I still blew at it....but it was so much fun to learn a new skill. And I'm hoping that one day, I'll be able to make something other than "entry unknown". Like a sweater (um, those are pretty big) a baby cap (that's not uneven) or a potholder (maybe the size of a quarter).

a long time ago....

I was really into Shirley Temple! And truthfully, I still am. Watched a little Captain January this morning and was totally blown away by how amazing she is! Just 5 years old and already a star at that time. She also grew up to be a pretty incredible woman. She served as an ambassador for the United States to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Pretty neat, no?

um, yeah...i forgot...

layne and blaine....



aaaahhhhhhh.....



he calls booger, papa's cow....*shrugs




yeah, had to post this...it was funny!


Well....surprise, surprise...I forgot to post more pictures of my trip to Oregon. So here they are, late lol.

another first....

So, we took Blaine bowling for the very first time. It...........was.............awesome!!!! His first turn he got a spare and he and I were tied at the end of the game lol. So he might be a natural at it like his daddy :). Hope you all enjoy the video!

sisters.....sisters...

...aren't we gorgeous....



as good as a shot we were going to get with six kids, lol...

Have I used that title before? Eh, I don't care. Keeping in theme though, Amber came to visit from the faraway country of Texas (haha). It was pretty awesome to have the her, Becca and myself together - plus all of our children! Thank you sissy, for sharing yourself and your little ones~ I think we all had a pretty good time (not mentioning the disastrous missed flights :). Love you~

random...

No picture either, sorry. But last night we had such a good time with some friends and we were up pretty late (okay...it was only 9:00, but for those of you that know me....that's my usual bedtime!). So naturally, Blaine got to bed later than normal. Fingers crossed, we were hoping that he would sleep in, so that we in turn could sleep in. I heard him running around his room at about 6:00, so I tiptoed in picked him up and placed him in his bed. I laid down next to him hoping that he would fall back asleep. And he did! Especially after twirling my hair around his fingers. When he was nice and unconscious, I had planned to go back and get some more shut eye myself. But I pulled my hair out of his hands and watched him do the cutest thing! He would raise his hand and stroke imaginary hair, not finding it, he'd put it down again. Then he would raise his hand again and do the same. I probably watched Blaine do it for 10-15 minutes and found it to be one of the sweetest funniest things. There is something special in every day, let's live like it!

ahhhhhhhh, nature......

creepy plastic people sculptures in the woods...ooooooooo.....



the boy and i taking a swing...



i actually captured a butterfly!



handsome boy....



Michael and Blaine at the SVU maze...


Another glorious summer day! Wish they could all be this way. I just about fell asleep in that hammock, as did Michael. All that was missing was a good book and an ice cold glass of lemonade!

missed me?

kitty cat bonding....



cousin bonding....



auntie bonding....




already bonded...and thankful for it :)



So I've just gotten back from a trip to Oregon to see my family (hence the lack of blogging) and I have so much to share! For the life of me, I can't seem to post more than 4 pictures at a time....so this will probably be the first of many entries. Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I did!

i can do this...i can do this....



just plain cute....



there you are!

What a fun little weekend we had! On Friday (which is not really a weekend day, but hey....my blog, my rules) we explored a new park. I love watching Blaine take in something new. He's just so excited and can't wait to see everything! We went back to this same park on Saturday with Beck, Trent and the kids....but, alas!, I forgot the camera! :( A good time was had, anyway. Wish you all could have been there!