The LaDuke Justice League

Memorial Falls August 2009

2009-10-25T15:05:00.008-06:00

We went to Memorial Falls which is about an hour from Great Falls and did a little hiking. It is a beautiful drive and we had a lot of fun. The first picture is a scenic overlook on the way back called the Sluice Boxes. Braden was ready with his cape and walking stick, and was disappointed we didn't see a bear.

August Temple Trip

2009-10-22T21:17:00.006-06:00

We took a family trip to Billings in August. We watched some friends' kids while they went to the temple and then they watched ours while we went. It was so nice to be there. We wanted our kids to be able to walk around and see the beautiful temple. They were most interested in picking the flowers. They had fun staying at the hotel and we went for ice cream later, which they really enjoyed:) That was until Braden had to go to the bathroom and was so worried about letting go of his ice cream cone, that he had an accident. He went from cloud 9 to screaming and whaling at the loss of his ice cream (and the loss of his pants) that Bill had thrown in the trash so he could maneuver the situation better. It was a memorable trip.

My first 5K and biathlon

2009-10-22T21:07:00.009-06:00

This summer I competed in my first ever 5K and then later in a biathlon. For some reason people assume I enjoy or am good at running. This is far from the case. I am a speed/power athlete and jogging is not that fun to me and I get sideaches. I wanted something to work at and train for. By the end, I did start to enjoy jogging more, although I would certainly always prefer about any kind of sporting activity over it:)
The biathlon was supposed to be a triathlon, 500 meter swim, 12 mile bike ride, and 5K. We showed up for the race and some replacement worker the night before had forgotten to close a valve on the pool and about half the water was emptied. So they finally decided to just do a biathlon. I was upset initially, but as I was nearing the end of the race, that I swore in my head I would never do again, I was quite glad that some ditzy person had let the water out(I'm an even worse swimmer than jogger). Of course, after the race and when the pain had subsided some, I thought I might want to do one again:) I had a lot of fun training with my friends and felt a great sense of satisfaction in training and completing the races

Alicia Kay Ladybug Cookie Monster Big Bird Brimhall

2009-10-22T20:47:00.004-06:00

So when I was little, I added a few middle names to my original given name, the first of which was ladybug. The next two because I was a bit of a Sesame Street fan. Anyhow, I had a little ladybug dress that I LOVED, and was inspired (at around 2 or 3 years old) to add ladybug to my name.
My mom saved the dress and this is Kaytlin wearing the ladybug dress now. She is riding her bike down the street and I got a kick out of her in my dress on her bike with her unkempt hair. What a girl:) She loves to wear dresses. I don't know where she gets it from because other than my love for this particular dress, I can say I have never loved wearing a dress.

I know, I know, it's been 6 months!! Time marches on, Part 1

2009-10-19T15:01:00.065-06:00

So I had a goal to update my blog today, and I quickly realized why I struggle to keep up on it...three little kiddos! So I think I will post in parts. Here's about April-early July. Now I'm only three months behind. Maybe tomorrow:)

Best Buddies. I only wish they spent more time napping and reading on the couch:) Of course you might notice Kaytlin's book is upside down. She's advanced and can read upside down.

For summer vacation we headed home to AZ. We spent the 4th of July in a cabin in Pinetop with the LaDuke family and had a great time. We celebrated 4 birthdays that weekend: Jacob, Betina, Gage, and Lily's.

Jacob turned one on July 2nd!!!! Jacob is such a fun little guy. He started walking around 11 months. He really likes balls and already likes to tease his sister. He is into everything right now. He loves his binkie and blanket, he's like Linus with his blanket. We're so happy he came to our family.

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We spent a few days camping at beautiful Hawley Lake for the Brimhall Reunion and had a great time.

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Here we are fishing on my birthday (May 22). We tried fishing several times this summer, but weren't all that succesful:( I did catch two fish on this outing. We also traded in our old Lexus car for this used truck. Someone on base bought our old car from the dealer, it's pretty funny to see it driving around here. I feel like apologizing to the family who bought it, but maybe it's awesome to them:)

Braden "Graduating" from pre-school. He's still in pre-school this year too, so I'm not sure why they have a graduation, I guess any reason to get dressed up and celebrate.

Incredibly, this is the first weekend of May. It was the most snow we had at one time for the whole year!! This is Montana after all:)

Easter 2009
We got together with several families at our friend's house for a fun Easter Egg Hunt.

Coloring Easter Eggs

We made some yummy Strawberry Jam in the spring. Braden loves to help out in the kitchen.

and what better to go with strawberry jam than homemade bread....yummy!!

Dreadlocks?

2009-04-17T13:47:00.013-06:00

I think if CPS stopped by on any given day they might suspect neglect. Just look at this naked girl with the crazy hair and soggy diaper--but hey, she is almost never without her white Sunday shoes!
She likes to try things on and mostly likes to take things off, although lately she wants to wear her favorite pajamas all day long. Her room is always torn apart, usually shortly after picking up. She prefers easy access to her treasures, which means she puts everything on the floor. I find signs of her everywhere: stickers all over the place, drawings on the wall, and dirty laundry strewn about--she is a pistol. We enjoy her so much.
In regards to her hair, some days--and by some days I mean most days--I just don't want to fight the ensuing battle over combing the rat's nest that is the back of her hair. It looks like this most mornings when she wakes up. Sometimes we just dowse some water on it to tame it a little and head out the door. I thought if it was short it wouldn't get as matted, but now I wonder if long would be easier to manage. I've tried leave-in conditioners. What about corn rows? Please, any suggestions?

Sunny Lovely Arizona...Home

2009-02-16T09:44:00.015-07:00

We hadn't been home to AZ in 9 months and it was so great to enjoy our families and the great weather. We stayed up with my parents in Snowflake for 6 days and had a great time seeing everyone. We always love to eat Mom's home cooking. We drove by Grandma and Papa LaDuke's house; they are on a mission in India right now and we missed getting to stop and see them. I got to see some friends from highschool, which was really fun. We then went down to the Valley and stayed in Gilbert for about 5 days and enjoyed family and friends there along with 80 degree weather. We were able to eat at a few of our favorite places as Great Falls is somewhat lacking in this area. We were sad to come back to Montana--our visits are never long enough and we don't get to see or do all the things we hoped. However, it is nice to be back in our own home and in a routine again. Thanks to everyone. Thanks again Rob and Betina for letting us borrow your vehicle and staying with you guys.
Whenever I go through my pictures I'm sad I didn't take more. Of course from my posts you're probably wishing I didn't take so many. I just didn't catch some of the fun moments we had, but here are a few.

One of the things the grandkids love to do when we visit Snowflake is go feed the mules with Grandpa. Sometimes feeding them is a bit of a stretch. Sometimes it is dropping their food on the ground as the mules approach. This year the kids were quite brave and hand-fed the mules.

Grandma and Grandpa Brimhall's house in Snowflake is always a lot of fun. We tease that it is Grand Central Station, and it is. There is almost always someone stopping by to say hi. We get to see a lot of friends and family, and the kids get to play with a lot of cousins. My mom's brother Jim stopped by one day.
Braden loves my mom's Disney movie collection. I think he likes to sleep in that room just to be surrounded by all those movies. He loves to watch movies, if you didn't know. One night Rikki was staying the night when her husband was out of town and so she was sleeping in the movie room. We had Braden downstairs. In the morning I went upstairs and saw Braden asleep on the bed and thought he must have joined Rikki in the middle of the night. What really happened was Rikki was asleep and Braden woke up and went upstairs to the room and turned on the light. Rikki asked him if he wanted to find his mom and dad and get in bed with them?....nope. Did he want to come lay down by her?...nope. He then announced in no uncertain terms that she was in his bed and to get out!! Rikki felt like he if he was that determined to come up there in the dark in the middle of the night, she better get on out. She slept on the couch:)

Kaytlin found my lipstick. She got it on more than her lips! Her feet, legs, and face were all adorned with the lipstick--the little stinker.

Braden had so much fun with his cousin Gage's Indiana Jones costume. He really looked the part:)

I got to meet up with some friends from my old work at Phoenix Fire Department. It was great to see them again. Kaytlin was very tired and started to unwind in the sand:)

We stayed with Betina and Rob in the valley--thanks again for hosting us. We had a great time. The kids had a blast playing on the swingset in Aunt Betina and Uncle Rob's backyard. They played and played with their cousins. We also had a get together on Super Bowl Sunday--unfortunately I didn't get any pictures that day. We had some exciting moments watching our Cardinals almost win and were pretty downtrodden when they lost in the end. Cam and Addie came up and it was great to see them again. We saw Nathan and Mary Kay and Aaron and the girls (minus Chloe who was sick) the day before on our first fishing outing. The kids had a lot of fun throwing their lines out and mostly playing with the worms, yuck!

We went fishing three times at a lake not too far from Rob and Betina's where Rob guaranteed a fish. We had fun fishing even if we didn't catch anything...it's okay Rob. I don't know why I didn't get a picture here of someone actually holding a fishing pole?:)

Catch up--a little of this and a little of that.

2009-01-23T14:51:00.018-07:00

As usual, I'm way behind on posting anything. In an effort to catch up a little, I'm posting several unrelated events and pictures in one very long post:) We are going home to AZ in 2 days, and we are so excited to see family and enjoy some nice weather.

Jacob just had his 6-month well child check. He's a big boy coming in at
weight: 17 lbs 15 oz 90%ile
height: 27.4 inches 90%ile
head: 45 cm 97%ile
He's sitting up all by himself now. He has cute little dimples. No teeth yet. He loves to jump in his bouncer. He is a smiley little guy and loves to laugh at is big brother and sister. Still not sleeping through the night. He gets very upset when he wants his bottle. There's no in between for this guy, he's either happy or screaming his head off. We started solids and he's taking to them like a champ.

Here are some pictures of the kids, and no, they are not tap dancing, they are actually practicing their Kung Fu moves as inspired by the movie Kung Fu Panda. Notice Kaytlin's outfit. She has 4 swimsuits on. She loves them and carries them around, and when she wants to wear them, she wants to wear all of them. Notice her sweet bed head.

Kaytlin in one of her many outfits, dang cute! She loves her white sunday shoes and insists on wearing them everyday!

We noticed Braden's right eye crossing in November and took him to the optometrist and discovered he is far-sighted. He just got these glasses a few weeks ago--he picked out Spider-Man of course. He is very good about wearing them and takes it very seriously. Hopefully, this will correct the eye turning in. He looks very handsome.

Bill had Monday off and it was actually decent weather so we took our bikes down to the river and rode them to a little pond for the kids to try fishing. Braden has been practicing his casting since he got his new rod for Christmas. We didn't have any luck and I wrecked on my bike again. Nothing says skill and athleticism as much as falling off your bike at a complete stop. I can't seem to get my foot out of the clip-ons very well yet. There were several people (mostly 10 year-old boys) there to witness the graceful event, and I was embarrassed. The weather is back down into the negatives, so I think I will have time to recover my pride and practice clipping out before my next outing:)

Bringing in the New Year

2009-01-06T20:29:00.004-07:00

Normally on New Year's we get together with friends and family and play games. I couldn't not play games this year so we hosted a New Year's Eve party. It was great fun. I thought the kids would fall asleep to a movie...I was wrong. They rung in the New Year right there with us. Kaytlin made no less than 20 trips to the candy bowl and usually had 2 or 3 pieces of various candies in each hand. I'm pretty sure she sampled them all. Talk about sugar high. We played Scum and Settler's of Catan. I teamed up with my friend Nicki to help teach her (a victory on our end by the way...2 hours later.) We all ate a lot of carmel popcorn and treats and drank sparkling cider until we were silly. This picture of Kaytlin is the next morning with a new year's hat on and some chocolate on her face; I guess that's her version of a hangover. We all got a kick out of her and I payed dearly for her late night and sugar binge for a few days after. She's back on track again. I can't believe it's 2009. Happy New Year to all!

One leg at a time

2009-01-06T19:42:00.003-07:00

I thought this video was cute of Kaytlin trying on her new panties and saying cheese. Braden is in the background hunting for more presents. He finds some forgotten Batman underwear and says "Cool!"

Christmas Morning 2008

2009-01-06T19:17:00.003-07:00

Although we missed being with family this Christmas, it was a lot of fun having our own little celebration. For me, this was the best Christmas so far with the kids as they are a little older and understand what's going on. It was a thrill to see how excited they were. Braden wants it to be Jesus's birthday again and wants to put the tree back up. Anyway, Braden loved his new Spider-Man and Batman underwear and pajamas and has been rotating them through. He usually wears all of them at least once in the day. We got the kids an indoor trampoline to help expend some energy during the cold winter. So far, they haven't used it much and still seem to prefer jumping on the couch or my bed to the trampoline. Santa got pretty busy and didn't do well with stuffing the stockings. Braden was very concerned that Jacob's stocking was empty and his was filled with a bunch of socks and no toys. I was happy he was concerned for Jacob and not just himself. Seriously though, what does a 6-month old need for Christmas? I guess I was so thrilled I made the stockings that I failed to find much to put in them:) Kaytlin got some Barbies and horses from a friend and she has fun playing with those. We got her an Arial tricycle but she can't reach the pedals yet. She does like the noises it makes though. Bill got an array of grooming supplies and a pull-up bar. I'm pleased with the results so far from the nose and eyebrow trimmer:)

Christmas Eve 2008

2009-01-06T14:33:00.008-07:00

Since we weren't able to go home we hosted a Christmas Eve Party/Live Nativity with some friends. We ate great food and had a really nice time. We opened one present that night after everyone left. Braden opened some Spider-Man undies that he put on immediately. He then stuck his little bum in the air to show me the picture on the back.

Pre-school Holiday Party

2008-12-19T10:43:00.011-07:00

I'm a little annoyed that Braden's pre-school taught him songs like, "We Wish you a Happy Holiday", and "The Twelve Days of Winter." Now when we try to sing the regular Christian versions, he thinks we're singing the wrong words. I wish they would just have them sing secular songs instead of re-writing Christmas songs. Anyway, Braden for weeks has been going around the house singing Jingle Bell Rock, but apparently all the parents with their video cameras proved to be too much for the little ones and stage fright set in as they stood there in almost silence as the teachers exaggerated the movements and sang louder trying to encourage the kids to participate. Kaytlin and Braden enjoyed decorating cookies and drinking apple cider and making ornaments. I told Bill, maybe we'll have to send our kids to a private Christian school where they can say Christmas. His response was home school. Yikes, I don't know if I'm cut out for that. He thought he might be though. That sounded good to me. I guess we'll move on our 10 acres and have a farm and teach our kids at home and have a CHRISTMAS party.

P90X

2008-12-19T10:17:00.006-07:00

For Christmas I got Bill P90X. The extreme exercise video. We've watched that infomercial for years with interest. He couldn't wait until Christmas and wanted to get started. I suggested some before and after pictures which he grudgingly obliged (secretly I think he was dying to strike a pose, come to think of it, did he ask for the before photo?). He'll love that I'm posting these, I guess that will teach him to check our blog a little more often. Anyhow, Braden was pretty intrigued and wanted to get in on the action. He stripped down to his undies and started posing with Dad. Pretty cute. I'll be sure and post some after pictures.

Be prepared to be amazed

2008-12-19T10:10:00.008-07:00

I got a sewing machine on Black Friday for my Christmas gift. I was at a friends house and loved the Christmas stockings she made, so she helped me get started on some for my kids. So, I made these very cute stockings. Check out the details, the hand sewn piping as an accent. Wow. Only those who have known me since I was little can fully appreciate the magnitude of this moment. Who would have thought that little blond tomboy with all the muscles could produce such a product, ha ha? They are so cozy, lined with fleece. Seriously, I'm pretty amazed. Just don't look too closely:) I was going to make more than three, but I think I exhausted every creative crafty bone I have in my body. I told Bill, I think we're only having three kids, because I'm done making stockings. I'm sure I'll recover in a few years. I did actually really enjoy myself. What's next for my sewing creations? For now, I think I'll stick with suturing skin at work.

The Gingerbread House

2008-12-19T09:04:00.006-07:00

So I thought it would be fun to start some family Christmas traditions. We bought a ready-to-build gingerbread house. The instructions said to hold the walls for several minutes and then wait 30 minutes before putting on the roof. When we put on the roof, the whole house collapsed. What the directions should have said, was leave walls overnight, then spend another 2 hours trying to get the roof from sliding off, then apply decorations. It was still fun for the kids, and the house is a little less decorated than it should be thanks to the kids sneaking the candy. That's what Gingerbread houses are for though right?

pre-school fall 2008 age 4

2008-11-25T16:52:00.003-07:00

Here is my little....well not so little boy's first school picture!! He looks too grown up already. He's in pre-school here on base and really enjoys it. When I ask him what he learned about he often describes what the snack was. Hopefully they do more than eat snacks:) Oh well, I'm sure that would be my high-light as well.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-07T11:32:00.004-07:00

Everyday is Halloween for Braden of course. We got way too much candy but had a great time trick-or-treating on base. We went on a hayride too. Our ward had a trunk-or-treat at a KOA campground and it was cool to be somewhere other than a parking lot. So a lot of opportunities to dress up. Braden has barely taken off his spider-man suit since he got it. He puts on his pajamas and then his suit over it.

Jacob is 4 months

2008-11-07T11:09:00.004-07:00

Jacob is such a sweet little guy. He is really laughing more and you can tell he is anxious to be able to keep up with his older siblings. At his check-up yesterday the doctor was examining his personal area and Braden piped up "Mine is a lot bigger than that." We just looked at each other and laughed. Maybe for now Braden:)
Stats:
Weight: 15 lbs 6 oz (85% ile)
Height: 25.8 in (90% ile)
Head: 17 in (90% ile)
We love this little boy!!

Happy Birthday Kaytlin!!

2008-11-07T10:36:00.007-07:00

Our sweet Kaytlin Hazel turned two on November 4, 2008. She got a little kitchen set and some accessories. She is having fun playing with it. She had her two year appointment yesterday and was
weight: 25.4 lbs (30th %ile)
height: 32.9 inches (25th %ile)
head: 49 cm (85th %ile)
Kaytlin loves to play with her big brother and give kisses to her little brother. She loves her stuffed animals. She is a pleasant natured little girl most of the time. Yesterday she was not so pleasant as we waited for Jacob to get his shots. I should know not to schedule anything during her nap time. She was pretty grumpy and let everyone know it. However, as long as she is well rested and fed, she's one happy camper. Of course Braden does his best to get a reaction out of her all day, and he is successful a fair amount of the time. We are working on getting rid of her binkie use. I leave it in her crib when she wakes up from her nap and in the morning. She has become very sneaky though and somehow finds a way to get it; pulling on her blanket to bring it into reach. She's resourceful that one. She finds binkies I didn't even know we still had. We love you Kaytlin!!

Glacier National Park Vacation, Fall 2008

2008-10-24T16:26:00.003-06:00

Oct. 24, 2008
We had a great time on our fall vacation. It was much needed as we hadn't taken any vacation this year with the move, new baby, and Bill so busy with work. My parents joined us which was really great. Thanks for coming mom and dad. If you've never heard of Glacier National Park, it is up on the U.S./Canadian border in Montana. It is incredible! Words can't describe and pictures can't do it justice. The fall colors were breath taking. We stayed at a great resort in Columbia Falls that was just spectacular. Out our window was a gorgeous golf course and view of the mountain. We enjoyed the jacuzzi on our deck although my dad had a hard time keeping his feet from floating to the top. I guess he had too much air bubbles in his shorts from the jacuzzi jets. We visited several towns and the area altogether was fantastic with lakes and sights everywhere we went. Bill and I got to sneak away one afternoon and golf, what a treat!! We had fun and I must say, my driving off the tee and long shots were pretty impressive. However, my short game keeps me more than humble:) We went fishing one day with no luck. The area was so gorgeous we didn't feel too bad. We hope to see the park in the spring and summer as well. I hope the slide show will encourage some more visitors to join us:)

Happy Birthday Braden!!

2008-10-24T13:25:00.005-06:00

October 24, 2008
Braden turned 4 on Oct. 17, 2008. We were on vacation at Glacier National Park and had a great time. Braden got a Spiderman costume which he wears all the time now along with his Batman costume, often at the same time. He is the ultimate superhero, taking the strengths of both and combining them into a superior character. He also got some Spiderman and Batman toys. He is in heaven. We were so lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Brimhall here for his birthday. I can't believe it has been four years since he was born. We love you Braden.

"Batman Attacked" "Staticwoman Survives Food?"

2008-09-30T13:19:00.013-06:00

September 30, 2008
So here are a few new pictures, which don't look all that different from some previous pictures. Again, Braden is in some outfit. He got a fancy batsuit from a friend at Church who's son had outgrown it. He has been wearing it for 4 days almost straight. He takes it on, takes it off, about 10 or more times a day. One night, Bill let him go to sleep in it. I made Bill take off at least the mask and cape in the middle of the night when I worried about him choking or something. I also have a picture in here of Braden's first day of pre-school. Thankfully, a friend of mine is a good responsible mom and had her camera there for the occasion.

Last week on Thursday, Bill was home with the kids during lunch and I got a frantic call that Braden had been bitten by a squirrel. There are a lot of squirrels around here, and the one that seems to live in our tree is very friendly or so it seems. He looks so cute when he comes up to you. Apparently, he is for looking at only. I'm still not sure what went down; I don't think he actually bit Braden, but his arm was scratched rather impressively. Braden really was mortified and Bill was ready to take him to the doctor for rabies treatment. Later after Braden calmed down (after all it was merely a flesh wound) he asked if we could run the squirrel over with the car. I tried to explain that that wasn't very nice, but he insisted, the squirrel needed to die. He is over it now I guess, and I haven't seen the squirrel since. Lucky for the squirrel:)

Last night, we decided to go fishing. As you can see from the picture, we were successful. There is pond on base. It was fun. I rode my bike over to it, about 7 miles I think, and Bill brought the kids over. Braden had his batsuit on of course. It really came in handy as he drug the cape through the water and tripped on it and fell on the rocks. He also was riding his scooter with his batsuit on and his cape got caught up under his scooter wheels. I agree with the little lady on the film Incredibles, "No capes!" Anyway, he caught a crayfish and was very amused by that and then cried and cried when it got away. I have to confess now, that the fish in the picture wasn't one we caught, but rather a nice guy next to us caught it and offered to show it to the kids before he threw it back in. The fish died when I tried to remove two hooks out of its mouth so we got to bring it home. So really we only caught some crayfish. We had fun nonetheless.

Kaytlin had a blast fishing, she especially liked holding the worm and cried and cried when she dropped it and couldn't find it. She consoled herself by eating power bait. Yes, disgusting. I thought she might try for the worm, but she refrained. I think she decided she liked holding it too much. For such a picky eater, or at least liking the sweets so much, lately she is really grossing me out. Yesterday, besides the power bait, she was licking the lotion off her hands and kept asking for more. Then, today at story time, she was eating the glue stick. I don't know why she finds vegetables disagreeable when she'll eat that stuff.

Jacob is doing great, he's getting too big too fast. He is really smiling a lot. His brother and sister adore him and he's starting to respond to them. It is so cute.

I had an interview last week for a job and got a call yesterday offering it to me. I'm going to take it. I'm very excited, it is perfect. I am going to be working at a Family Practice in Great Falls. For now I am just going to work 4 hours a week. It is really hard to find a job that will allow you to work such short hours. Most clinics prefer full-time or at least 20 hours a week. I'm so grateful it worked out here. I may increase my hours down the road to two afternoon's or a 6 hour day perhaps. But for now, they are willing to let me just work 4 hours. I'm so lucky and feel blessed. I kept feeling like the right opportunity would come along that worked for our family.

Bill is still extremely busy. His second trial was supposed to have been this week but the guy went AWOL, so that hasn't happened yet. He watched the kids the other night when I went to a Church Women's Broadcast, and when I got home he was pretty exasperated and wondered how I did it everyday. I reminded him, he used to be the one home the most. I guess he has lost the tolerance he had built up.

Well that's all for now. We are looking forward to my mom and dad visiting us Oct. 10-23, and then in November sometime Rob and Betina and gang are coming. We can't wait for all our visitors.

Here we go

2008-09-18T13:42:00.009-06:00

September 18, 2008
Thank you to Karah for helping me with starting our family blog, she's very talented. I especially enjoy reading everyone's blogs now that we're far from home and hopefully you can keep up on us now too.
We are enjoying Montana for the most part, sometimes the weather is a little crazy. September is always a reflective time for me. I always think about what was going on throughout the years as this beautiful fall season begins. Of course, I always think of my brother Brett who passed away Sept. 11 of 1994. I can hardly believe it has been 14 years. He was such a special person and brother. He always was very perceptive and objective. He was never judgemental and saw the best in others. He was a hero to me.
Anyway, we are liking living on the base and military life thus far. It has a few quirks to it, but we like it. Bill has been VERY busy at work. They are really understaffed and so he always has more to do, than he has time to do it in. He doesn't like feeling behind all the time. He just had his first trial 2 weeks ago and it went well, he didn't mess up as he says. Yesterday he got some good news, that another JAG will be coming in November, yeah! That should help out.
As for me, I am adjusting to being home full-time, and it has been an adjustment. I get to go to a lot more church and community functions, and I just finished reading the Twilight series. However, I always thought when I had more time, I would get around to doing all kinds of projects, and be better about cleaning, etc. What I've found however, is that even with more time, my house is still not as clean as I like. At least before I had the excuse of working part-time. I thought I would get my photos out of the archives and get them into scrapbooks, and yet still they sit, either in boxes or on my hard drive, yet to make it to a scrapbook.
I have at least started to do a few things, I always planned on doing. I am making homemade bread! I knew it was in my genetic make-up, and I am finally tapping into it. It is not as pretty as mom's, but it still tastes so good, so much better than store bought bread. Bill and the kids love it, as do I. This is part of why my weight has plateaued, I don't normally eat this much bread. I'm grinding the wheat and everything. It is fun. I even make cinnamon biscuits. I always took mom's bread and biscuits for granted, they are a lot of work!!! Anyone who eats them, should savor each bite, you can't fully appreciate mom's hard work until you make them yourself. Thanks mom for all those years of delicious food. Bill and I bottled some peaches this week as well. We are working on increasing our food storage.
I will be starting a new church assignment next week as the Activity day leader. It is twice a month. I will be working with 8-11 year-old girls. We will be doing activities to help them develop talents and skills in various categories both spiritual and physical. It should be fun. Please feel free to send any ideas you might have for them.
We had a woman's activity at church this week about service, and I was very touched. I hope I can teach my kids how to love to serve others. Some of my best memories are those of service. What a great example mom and dad have been to me. My in-laws are serving a humanitarian mission right now in India, and that has been really inspiring. It helps me appreciate what we have here in the United States. We are truly blessed, and it is our responsibility to help those in need.

Jacob Brett

2008-09-18T13:37:00.004-06:00

Jacob is now 2 1/2 months. He got blessed on September 7, 2008. It was a little strange not to have family here for the event. At his 2 month visit he was 12 lbs 8 oz (75th percentile), 22.5 inches (50th percentile), and his head was 41 cm (95th percentile). So he is following suit with his older siblings on the big head. He is usually a happy baby and smiles a lot. He isn't feeling well today, he got some shots a few days ago and has had a stuffy nose. It is precious to see his older siblings love on him, and him smile at them. My mom always asks, "Isn't it like you've had him for forever?" You can't imagine your life without them once they are here.

What a girl! Kaytlin Hazel

2008-09-18T13:26:00.004-06:00

Kaytlin is such a fun little girl. She's not talking much and is in speech therapy. We are limiting her pacifier to naps and night only and she seems to be saying a few more words. She used to be a great eater of all things good, but has of late developed quite a sweet tooth. She will scrape the jelly off of her toast, pick chocolate chips out of her granola bar, and pick the cinnamon out of cinnamon biscuits. She also doesn't care for the skin of fruit, as evidenced by me finding bits of apple skin all over the house. She also tries to pick the inside of the grapes out from their skin. I mentioned she likes to rub my skin, she always comes up to me to rub her head or hands on the top of my arm. The only thing she likes more than my arms, are my mom's arms and bosom. She likes to sit on grandma's lap and snuggle into her chest and rub her arms. She's a funny little girl.

Out for a bike ride

2008-09-18T13:23:00.001-06:00

This picture is in front of our house, so you can get an idea of what base housing looks like. Notice Braden's Jeff Gordan racesuit. He is almost never without some sort of ensamble.

Camping, what a view.

2008-09-18T13:17:00.003-06:00

These are some pictures from some campouts in August that we went on. The kids had a blast, and it was really pretty. Braden slept through the cold nights, the rest of us didn't fair so well:)

The Batsuit

2008-09-18T13:14:00.002-06:00

This picture illustrates Braden's readiness to change into a superhero. In his batman book, he noticed how the batsuit hangs in the batcave ready to go, and he started hanging his clothes like this, or will lay them out on the floor. Sometimes he will put gloves at the end of the sleeves, here you can see the socks at the end. You can see the batmask sitting on the counter, he's ready to go.

Spiderman

2008-09-18T12:55:00.002-06:00

Braden loves his superheros. You will notice that in most of the pictures he is wearing the same clothes. I can hardly get them off him to wash:) He started pre-school this month and really likes it. He looks so cute with his backpack. Here are some fun things he's been saying lately:
In response to me asking him to do something like turn off the TV or clean his room "Mom, you're kidding me" He doesn't quite get the context of that statement. After we got him a big boy bike, or sometimes when we bring home a treat from the grocery store he'll say "Mom, I'm so proud of you for getting that for me." He loves his baby brother and will often tell me, "Mom, he's cute."and then gives him a kiss. He learned this one from his dad, and used it yesterday when he spilled some water, "Gosh, dang it!" followed by an exasperated sigh. He will find spiders and wants them to bite him so he can have amazing powers! He's pretty funny. He challenges me a lot, that's for sure.