Point Defiance

My parents are here visiting and they can't go more than a day without enjoying some garden time. As a child they would take us to the Pt. Defiance rose garden often.


We couldn't round up Emily for this picture. She has a VERY difficult time sitting still for longer than 2 seconds.

My girls, minus Samantha. She was home napping so she would be happy tonight.

Enjoying the beautiful flowers. We all chose our favorites.

I took Tyler's ball away since he was throwing it around and almost hitting people in the garden. He wasn't too happy in this picture, but he cheered up quickly. He got the ball back too.

Scattegories

SCATTEGORIES
RULES:Erase my answers, enter yours, and post it on YOUR blog.
Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following.
They have to be real places, names, things, nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person before you had the same 1st initial.
You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. Kinda fun to see what people come up with.
WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Erika
4 LETTER WORD: easy
TV SHOW: Entertainment Tonight
BOY NAME: Erik
GIRL NAME: Erin
OCCUPATION: Elementary school teacher
A COLOR: ???
SOMETHING YOU WEAR: earings
BEVERAGE: eggnogg
FOOD: elephant ears
SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: ear plugs?
A PLACE: Erie, PA
REASON FOR BEING LATE: Emmitt Smith called
SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: EEK!

Sad news

I heard the weather man say that this weekend was the last of summer. The last of summer? It is only the middle of August. I deserve more. I NEED more! The sun must come back. I am not ready for fall weather. Maybe if I lived in AZ or TX or basically anywhere but the Northwest I would be ready for some cooler weather. I think I could count the hot days this summer on two hands or less. Today I spent the day at Tyler's soccer tournament (he won both games and scored) and it was 90 degrees. Now I have been told that next Wednesday's high will be 58 and wet! This global climate change is getting me all fired up and ready to stop using aerosol hairspray and start biking my five kids around the town. I just want global warming, not climate change.

After the 4 hours at the tournament we were ready for some water. I took the kids to Chambers Creek and they had a blast floating down the water. It was going pretty slow, but they managed to cool off and have a couple races. Here are some photos of my kiddos.

La Wis Wis

I had to take this picture of Sam sleeping in the corner with her bum up in the air. She had a hard time falling asleep, but then slept in a while.

We just spent the weekend up at La Wis Wis campsite near Mt. Rainier. It was a little chilly for swimming, but that didn't stop the kids (and dads) from getting in the water.

This is a spot called the Blue Hole. The water is gorgeous, but VERY cold. It is literally melted snow and their bodies went into shock as they jumped in. These are my two kids that braved the cold waters. Tyler jumped off this spot about 10 times over the two days we were there. Emily jumped off this shorter spot several times too. It doesn't look tough, but if you felt the water, you would be cheering for them as we did.

One of Tyler's cowabunga jumps.

Emily is such a tough girl!

We were camping with three other families. Here are a few of the kiddos. We had 15 all together! They had a blast. This is the river that runs through camp.

Emily and buddy taking a hike through the camp. She is so stylin' even surrounded by dirt.

Another fun activity at the site were these natural water slides. Tyler brought a friend along so he wouldn't be the oldest with no other boys even near his age. They both went down a few slides even through the shivering cold.

One of the slides. Emily slid down a few times too!

Our hike back down the hillside was easier for them, harder for me. Emily had been wearing these cowboy boots and her feet were blistered so I carried her back to camp. Marshall carried Sam down the hill. Am I tough or what!? We will have to go again before school starts up again. I am even considering taking the kids without Marshall since his schedule will be crazy.

Am I the only normal one here?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? It seems that I ask myself that a lot. Maybe people all think they are the "normal" one and maybe they are and I am not.

Tonight I was at a soccer meeting for the parents of my son's new team. It was pretty much a waste of time. After, my 4 year old needed to go to the bathroom at this park. Of course the bathrooms were totally nasty, but we went in anyway hoping to stay dry on the way home. I left Emily in the stall while I got some paper towels since there was no tp left. A man walked in, and I said that I was sorry that I must have gone in the men's restroom. He said, "no worries, I'm not shy." Then he pulled down his pants and started going to the bathroom! We still had to wash hands, but we did it quickly and got the heck out of there.

Anything weird happend to you lately?

Words on Marriage

Elder Russell M. Nelson said, “Marriage brings greater possibilities for happiness than does any other human relationship. Yet some married couples fall short of their full potential. They let their romance become rusty, take each other for granted, allow other interests or clouds of neglect to obscure the vision of what their marriage really could be. Marriages would be happier if nurtured more carefully.”

I was asked to speak in church yesterday on what makes a strong marriage. I thought of a few things that have helped my marriage to be strong.

Marshall and I have struggled just like every couple to have harmony between us and in our family. It is natural for us to think first of ourselves, but in a marriage we need to first think of the spouse. Marshall and I have been married for almost 13 years and we have had glimpses of what our partnership can be. As we mature we have that peace more frequently between us.

Studying the scriptures and attending the temple together have brought countless blessings to our home. The quiet time we have to ponder in the temple is just what I need at least once a month. Taking time for date night is also essential. Finding things that you both enjoy to do is great. Marshall and I just recently starting running together and any extra time we have together is golden.

The world seems to be confused on this topic and has served to destroy the institution of marriage. The Proclamation on the family states, “That marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.”

I am thankful for Marshall and for his desire to make me happy! It isn't always easy, but it is worth it!

By the way, this is a picture of my family that I grew up in. I am the chubby one on my mom's lap. We were invited to be the example of a "celestial" or eternal family at a church activity 25 years ago. How wonderful it is to know that we will be together forever!

Goodbye

Ipod (Ira) sitting on the back of my car with the luggage. He couldn't wait to get hom to his papa.

Sara and Savannah are a lot alike. They are both sweet and love to be pretty. Hopefully the sweet part stays and the desire to be pretty all the time they grow out of.

We miss you guys!!!!

A day at the beach.

Heather's Brower. I really wanted to keep her two boys, they are so sweet.

Tyler was proud of the "raft" he found on the beach. It took some effort, but he got it into the water.

Hannah doesn't really like the sand so she never gets into a swimsuit at the beach. She comes home perfectly clean, but a little hot. She and Emma are as close as sisters.

Brower, Emma, Katie, Sara, Eliza and Josie. My brother moved into town and we met them there also. We are so happy to have more family here in WA.

Bellevue Square

Savannah and her new boyfriend. I don't know why our kids have a fascination with mannequins.

Tyler's new brother. He needs a serious tan.

The kids had a hard time getting along at the mall. Tyler likes to drive the girls crazy and they don't need any help in that department. Notice my angel Sara just minding her own business. I really hate to yell in the mall. The six kids were causing a scene and I was trying to put a stop to it. It didn't work. I guess they should have been at the park or somewhere they could run around.

Heather and her sweet girls. Savannah always has a pose ready at a moments notice.

This was the children's department in Nordstroms. They all picked their favorite glasses.

Heather's (my sister) family just left after a 2 1/2 week visit to us here in WA. She has six kids so our 11 kids had a blast together. It was pretty much chaos all of the time, but we had no major injuries and we didn't loose any children for longer than say 5 minutes. So it was a success and we can't wait until they come back. I am going to try and talk Marshall into sending all of us to see them on the east coast in the next couple of years. We'll see.

River Runners

This is the motley crew we were with. Actually they were great and we had a fun time together.

What a stud in those tight pants!

Can you see the raging water behind us? ;) This was the calm before the storm.

Marshall and I went up with the youth group last night to camp out before we went river rafting today. We drove 2 1/2 hours to Wenatchee, well it took 3 since I talked Marshall into getting off the freeway to buy us a blizzard. That is my weakness. (My one and only weakness.) Once we got up there we hung out by the fire for a couple hours listening to the young women sing girls camp songs and playing games. It was nice to have a little getaway with Marsh.

I slept in the rented cabin with the women and Marshall slept in a tent near the other men in tents. That wasn't my first choice, but the leader said we needed to set an example for the youth. What, that married couples don't sleep together??? We survived, and when we got up bright and early we made pancakes and cleaned up camp.

When we made it to the site for rafting they made us put on these dry suits that were so skin tight I could hardly breath. They did help keep me warm in that freezing cold Wenatchee river water. We rode the waves and had a great time. Our instructor does this in the summer and is a snowboarding instructor in the winter. She was so cool and very fun.

I took a turn sitting on the front of the raft and road the wild waves for a bit, holding on like I was on a horse. My boat mates decided it would be a good idea to spin the raft around and of course I fell in. We tried to get Marshall to fall in later, but he held on like nothing was happening. He is too tough.

I can't wait to go back and take Tyler. He would love it!

A visit from Elias and Candice

This first picture is Samantha trying to get some attention while her sisters perform Karaoke High School Musical songs with the Wii. Isn't she a cutie???

Samantha and Eli got plenty of mall time in while he was here visiting with my sister-in-law, Candice. She loved having a buddy around and Candice is very fun too. Candice is so relaxed

and easy to be around. We can't wait for them to come back. One of the advantages of living by grandma is we get a lot of visitors.

Since Marshall started his new job this week we will be staying here in the area this summer. We have some local things planned, but summer is really not complete without a road trip to Utah. I am going to see if I can make it happen.

What fun things are on your to-do list?

The rest of the story.

When I said we were going into the army many were confused about our commitment to TG. Marshall is still doing his residency at Tacoma General for the next three years and is currently in the army reserves. He will be going to medical corps basic training and then work as a physician at an army medical center. We will put in for our top three hospitals and then get sent somewhere for our four year obligation. He thinks he will stay in the army until he retires. It still feels great the next day. I guess it will feel great for the next three years, getting paid to do nothing! Our school loans were calling our name and now they will be taken care of. It will be a different story when we have to actually work for it. Tyler is very proud of his dad and wore his dog tags today and used his new GoArmy back pack the recruiter gave him.

Go Army!

We made a huge decision today to join the army. Well, it wasn't just today that we decided. We have weighed all our options for a long time and finally came to realize that this is right for our family. We picked the kids up from school a bit early to go with us to see Marshall sign on the dotted line and get sworn in. It was really exciting for all of us. Emily was nervous about the guns they might have at the medical recruiters office, but lucky for us there weren't any...that we saw anyway. Marshall and Tyler got their own "dog tags". It is for real now!

Random pics

I just wanted to share a couple random pictures we took recently. Samantha likes to show off her tongue and is finally pointing to all of the things on our face as we ask (hair, eyes, ears, mouth, nose and of course tongue). She is hardly saying anything, not even mom!

My kids love each other and they always have a great time being goofy. By the way, Samantha doesn't always walk around in a onesie. We get her dressed every so often. ;)

My First Born

Tyler and two buddies swimming in Coon Lake.

A little nervous the first time, but now couldn't get him to stop.

Yee---ha!

What a life. 85 degrees!

Marshall and Tyler spent the weekend at a father/son camp out. Tyler was telling Marshall how much he loved him over and over because he was having such a good time. The weather was perfect for them. They had smores and other yummy dutch oven desserts. They stayed up late watching a movie on the ipod Friday night too. They each got one earphone...how special.

Tyler told me that one of the best parts was knowing that there were no girls anywhere near the site. Nice thought.

night out

My great friend, Christie took me to go and see "My Fair Lady" last night in Seattle. It was SO fun! There are too many great songs in that musical to pick just one favorite, but the performance for "Just a Little Bit of Luck" was so entertaining with great choreography. My other favorites were "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "On the Street Where You Live". The songs have been in my head all night and I don't see them leaving anytime soon.

Thanks Christie, you sure know what I like!

Welcomed Visit

We had three visitors come today, my sister in law Libby, her son Jack and the sunshine! Everyday is a good day when the sun shows up. We are so happy to have family in town. My brother's family is also here so I will post some of our fun outings when I have some.


Sam looking at Jack


Jack and Sam not getting close enough for the picture. They weren't too sure about hugging, well at least Jack wasn't sure about the hugging. She tried, but was shot down.


Me, Sam, Libby, Jack and Alexis