A picnic

Chris had his work picnic this last weekend in West Seattle. We went to the beach, had some burgers and played some beach football. It was hilarious. After the picnic the fun wasn't over. The Pehlivanian's and the Stapleton's came over for some bbq ribs, Seahawks and a game in the yard. It was awesome. We don't often get to hang with these guys b/c our lives are so crazy but I am glad that the kids got to hang with their friends and no matter how much time passes we still all love to chill. Plus, I really needed to hang with my girls. I have been super stressed and it was nice to just have fun. Sunday we went to church and just hung out at home. It was awesome!

Happy Birthday Chloe

It is my neice Chloe's birthday today. I never ever get to see her and I miss her a ton. I know she is growing and changing all the time. She is the best big sister in the world. I hope she knows her auntie loves her. In the mean time everyone wish her the best wishes in all the world for her birthday. The boys and I tried to call her today but her mommy wouldn't answer the phone. NOT COOL. Oh well, this is proof that for once in my life I didn't forget a birthday!

Remebering to Blog

Well, I haven't been blogging much even though a lot has happened and I have a lot on my mind. Our dear friend Kyle passed away and we will miss him terribly. The boys were sad to hear the news and I know Chris will miss his buddy a ton.

On a happier note the kids are doing well, we have had a lot going on. We finished baseball and they have been doing golf and Christian started football. I think things are going to slow down a bit once school gets started.

I have a lot to think about and will blog more soon. Oh yeah, I am loving the Olympics.

Tagged

Ok, Jen tagged me. I am going to try my best to finish this. Here goes

20 years ago- I was 12, in middle school, lovin' the new kids on the block and I had a huge crush on Rob Penrose. I had big curly hair, braces and I thought I was an awesome dancer. I dressed as an army girl for halloween and my best friend was Leila Haletky. We even had the same bathing suit.

10 years ago- I quit my job, had my first son Christian. We lived on Capital Hill in a one bedroom appartment and Chris was finishing college. (I am glad someone did) I found out I was preggo with Jonah. Claire and I used to walk to Madison Park and Starbucks together.

5 Years ago- Max was 2 and we had been living in Snoqualmie for a couple of years. It is crazy how in the years from 10-5 so much happened. We had three kids, bought a home. Christian was starting school. Jonah was hanging out at Our Lady of Sorrows Preschool. I was helping out at the library a little and Chris was of course working a ton.

3 years ago- I believe Chris finished most of his tests (for his P.E. and S.E.) I was running around like a mad woman shuttling kids from here to there and everywhere. We started remodeling the house.

So Far, life has been pretty good. Kinda crazy with all the sports and activities. I started working back at the library again. I am working towards a few personal goals and my kids are pretty amazing. Chris has done a great job balancing, work, kids and all our volunteering. So for the most part things are pretty cool.

Yesterday, I took the boys to gymnastics. I cleaned the house for three hours (no one should ever clean for that long) Then I went to work. The boys came to the library for a bit to see me and then I took them home and went to bed. Thanks Misti for buying them Pizza for dinner, I had a slice when I got home.

Tomorrow- We leave for Battle Ground. Jonah is in a baseball tournament. We will be there until Sunday when Max turns 7. Strange. Hopefully, we will get to spend some time chillin in the hotel and playing in the pool. Oh yeah, Saturday I will have been married for 11 years..

Next year- I hope to be managing life a little better. I hope to get in the groove of kids, work, volunteering etc.. I just want to be happy and live life to the fullest and maybe have a vacation.. Or time to get my hair done. We will see....

Tagged, My BFF, Tanya, Derek, Tia.....

Here's what happened

In honor of my birthday I started writing a list of my 32 favorite things. I got distracted half way through and I am back 9 days later....Oh well. Things have been crazy as usual. Christian and Jonah both had tournaments this weekend. Christian's team did really well and took 3rd which is the best they have done so far. Jonah's team had a rough go with several bad calls and a little hitting slump but that is the way baseball goes.

I have been working a ton. We are leaving town for a baseball tournament on Friday and Max turns 7 on Sunday. Crazy. The boys start golf camp next week which is different from baseball so that is cool. Christian starts football on the 11th but first both boys have one final baseball tournament. So, I am thinking my life will resemble some sort of normalcy on the 11th. I am hoping football will be less taxing than baseball but the reality is they practice everyday too.

Chris and I are coming up on our 11 year anniversary which is crazy. Of course we will be at baseball but it is a nice milestone anyway.

Well, I will try to post more often.

32 Favorite Things

1. My Family (Chris, Christian, Jonah and Max)

2. My Friends, I am so thankful I have so many great friends

3. Tanya, she gets her own line b/c I am thrilled she moved back this year and she has been so amazing to me and my family.

4. Diet Coke without it, I would be a disaster

5. Cheesecake. Love it

6. Margarita's - I had a couple over the weekend and that was awesome. Jeremy even made me a strawberry one the other day. Fantastic.

7. Pride and Prejudice. I watched it last night and it was awesome. I think I may read it again for a little refresher.

8. I love the little pool we bought for the boys. They are having a blast.

9. The Wii- I never thought I would say that about any video game but we do have a lot of family fun with it.

10. My Hammock. I don't get to sit in it as often as I should but I love knowing that it is there if I ever need it.

11. Books- I can't choose just one but I love a good book and a hot cup of tea.

12. My bath tub. I am so glad we put in the new bath. If I am ever stressed, I can lay in there and everything gets a little better.

13. The Ice Cream shop. I love taking the kids for a bike ride or walk up the candy factory. Simple pleasure with a whole lotta reward.

14. Warm summer nights by the Burns' bon-fire. Good times.

15. Movies- Ok so I am a movie junky....

16. Warm cookies

17. Thanksgiving- Probably one of my favorite holidays what is better than good food and family.

18.

The Latest

Well, we haven't had any baseball since Sunday. Which gives us two full days off. I did have to work but that was ok. I caught up on a few things like, mowing the lawn, removing paint from my car, weeding, and I am working on the laundry. The kids have been playing in their pool. Max won't get in unless he is wearing a life jacket which just kills me. Jonah and Max got sunburns yesterday b/c their mama was not quick enough with the sunscreen. They wear shirts when they swim a lot but they took them off and were running around the yard. The back yard was shady so no big deal. The front yard on the other hand not good. Chalk that up to a lame Mom.

Jonah has a scrimmage tonight and Christian has practice. I signed the boys up for gymnastic class so they will go to that today. They loved the last class. So thats the latest with the Duvalls. Sunburns, baseball and gymnastic......

Happy Birthday Jonah

Happy Birthday Jonah- 9 years old. CRAZY

My favorite things about Jonah are:

His sense of humor

His joyful spirit

His compassion for people and animals

His love of family

His love for nature

His art, music, laughter

Jonah is the kind of kid who absolutely loves everything. He is honest, kind, and such a tender heart. He makes me laugh every day and he puts more color in the world than I ever thought possible. He can turn rocks into gold, a dirt patch into paradise, wood into a ship....He truly is magical.

Thank you for being an amazing little boy. God blessed me more than I could ever explain with this little man!

Snoqualmie Valley Invite

Jonah's team (the knuckleballers) played in a tournament this weekend. It was the first tournament Jonah has ever participated in and he loved it. He had a few key plays and was always ready to go. I was so proud of him. His team took 3rd which was fantastic. All of us are a little hot from the weekends activities. I have a nice little sun burn. The boys of course were properly sunscreened but mommy missed a spot on each shoulder blade and behind my knees. Ouch. The boys sold consessions for their teams and raised some money for the knuckleballer association.

Christian scrimmaged with the All Star Team this weekend. I think he can't wait to get that going. He is really excited to play in some knuckleballer tournaments too.

Max spent the weekend selling consessions which was awesome. He pushed a wagon around the ball park with all the big kids and sold stuff. He would get sno-cones or gum or some other treat. He had a great time and suffered through only one major baseball coma this weekend. I video taped it but it is just to pathetic to share. He and I ditched out a little early and cuddled on the couch to watch a movie.

Christian and Jonah stayed at the park with Dad until the last game was over. That was just in time for an incredible Lightning and Thunder Storm. The boys stayed up staring out their window watching it last night. Jonah said it looked exactly like when a wizard is training his dragon and then when the dragon roar's it is the thunder. (his explanation was much longer but I figured the jist was appropriate here). I am off to work a double today. Uggh, I am tired.

I will try to find time to post again soon.

Busy Week

So my BFF moved with her Hubby to Texas! Not cool. She and the kids came by the library to say good bye. Her kids are so awesome and I will miss the whole damn family
Christian has been so darn tired from All Stars that he fell asleep reading his book. We went camping with Burns and Fursmans which was Awesome! Jonah had a bbq with his knuckleball family and Max has been spending a lot of time at Burns Home.

I feel bad for Max because he is has to go to the baseball field day after day and watch his brothers play. I have been working so he is stuck there alone. The Burns family took pity on him and have been having him over daily so he doesn't go into a baseball induced coma! He wanders the ball field playing in the dirt. So sad.

Sarah came over and helped me finish paint the front of the house. I am going to clean up and head over with the kids to play in her pool. It is so stinking hot. I can't wait. We have invited ourselves back over to their house for dinner (3rd day in a row). It should be fun. The last picture is of the boys on Crazy hair day at school. I can't believe it is summer. There is too much to be done. Well, I finally have a day off from work and I am going to make the best of it!

All Stars and Father's Day

Christian went to All Star Try-Outs on Father's Day. The try-outs were long and hot. Right after the try-outs the selection comittee met and choose 13 kids to represent the 10 year-olds in the Valley at the All Star Tournament. I am happy to announce that Christian Elijah Duvall won a spot on that team! Even more amazing is that his three best friends did too. I am so proud of those boys, I can't even say. Congrats to Christian, Cooper, Ian and Alex Burns for working so hard!!!! Christian fell asleep with a baseball in his hands last night. What a sweet little boy! The only picture I could find with all four of them was from Father's Day last year when we took the kids bowling.

School will be out on Thursday. I can hardly believe it. Jonah is having a great time on his knuckleballer team and Max is just as crazy as ever. With all three baseball teams done, I have finally breathed a small sigh of relief. The good news is I am no longer coaching but Chris is coaching the 10 year old knuckleballers and helping out with Jonah's team. I have been asked to be the team mom for the All Stars. My biggest concern is that I don't want to put one of those ridiculous "my kids an all star" sticker on my car. Christian will want me to. My mom's husband Chuck said he would put one on his squad car. HILARIOUS! The Duvalls are a little less busy. Which is nice. Maybe I will finish painting the house soon?

Happy Father's Day to Chris who is such an amazing Dad. He puts everything he has in this family and I love and respect him for it. He has also put a ton of time into the community and his work. I often wonder how he does it all but he does and that is what I love about him! After practice we had a little Father's Day pizza party and that was great. I think over-all he really enjoyed himself. Next year, I hope he gets to watch the US Open as I hear he missed a great match!

well, it is official....

It's official, I am the crankiest person in town. Yesterday, I was asked be no less than 5 people if I was ok. The answer is Yes! However, I am exhausted and perhaps not my usual cherry self. Sorry about that but I will be back to chipper in no time.

Christian and his crew played a fantastic game of ball last night. I was so proud of them. I went on a field trip with him yesterday that was a lot of fun. I forgot my camera but that is par for the course.

I was out 'til about 11pm last night at a board meeting. I woke up drained but am determined to fight through. All three boys have games tonight and I have another meeting at 8pm. UGHH! I work today and tomorrow and only have a practice tomorrow night, oh that and a school beach party but I should be in bed early and ready to start the tournament over the weekend.

Max's last game is Saturday and the boys play through next week. One last big push and I am done. See you on the other side. I promise I will be smiling!!!!

Things I don't have

I don't have pictures of the boys piano recital.
I don't have pictures of their last few games.
I don't have my house painted yet. (We currently have three colors of trim.)
I don't have laundry done.
I don't have a line-up written for tonights game.
I don't have my car cleaned up for the field trip I am taking 7 adults to.
I don't have coffee made......uh oh....
I don't have time to finish my book.
I don't have pictures of Jonah's science experiment.

Today I am taking Max on a field trip to Salt Water State Park and it is pouring down raining. I don't have rain boots so I will have to borrow Christian's. The weekend was crazy again. Lots of baseball two bbq's, a piano recital, painting the house......still, more baseball and no quiet time. Yesterday I had lunch with a girl friend which was really needed. Then I went to work. UGGHH. Christian lost his game, I took my break in time to see him sitting the bench for the last two outs. That was not cool. Well, that is my blog update. Hopefully I will have time to do this again soon.

Something different than baseball!!!

Yesterday the boys were invited to participate in something really cool. One of Jonah's friends invited the boys down to Bad Animals Sound Recording Studio in Seattle to do voice overs for a movie. First of they got to go into the historical studio which is pretty amazing. Then they got watch bits and pieces of a movie that is almost finished. They were given lines to say and then they had to scream A LOT! The recording session lasted about an hour and a half and then the kids were all treated to dinner at Red Robin. It was such a neat experience and the kids had a great time. They said the boys would get a copy of the movie when it is finished and they will be credited as the "Loop Group." So cool.
Thanks Horn Family for inviting us!!!!

Mother's Day Happenings....

Things have been crazy per usual. We have had several baseball games and I have been working more than usual. So for Mother's Day we did nothing. If you looked at my calendar you would laugh. Every day there is something written in, squished beyond recognition. I am amazed I can even fit all the tasks on the calendar but on Mother's Day it was blank. So, the only thing I asked for was not to be rushed into doing any activity. I woke up, Chris put a movie on for me, he made breakfast, I drank a cup of coffee and relaxed. We thought about different things we could do for the day but then the rain came. I decided a bath sounded nice. Then I took a nap while the boys watched golf (I didn't really fall asleep though). Before I knew it the day was over. We played a little Tiger Woods golf before bed and the day was done. It was perfect. The down side in doing absolutely nothing is that Chris and I both forgot to call our mother's. We are in big trouble. But, the fact that we did nothing all as a family was perfect. I needed to slow down and regain some of that energy. We started back up as usual yesterday with, errands, dr. appt, baseball games, board stuff and work. The good news is that in July we really don't have too much going on. I am sure life will take care of that!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there!!!

Way to go Jonah

So Jonah is AWESOME as we all know. What we didn't know is just how great of a hitter he has become. Last night he was the big hitter of the game with a singe, a double and a triple. The double would have been a triple but he stopped running to admire his hit and rounded second a hair to late. Stinker. He has a pitching practice tonight. (they start pitching on Friday) He is so cute. Max had a game at the same time, that I missed but I looked over a couple of times and he was running the bases or playing pitcher. He is adorable. He went home with his best buddy after the game. That child is soo lucky! Christian is making a name for him self as a great umpire and I deposited a ton of money for him today. Little working man.

I pampered myself today with a mani-pedi and now I have to go clean the house before cranky gets home. I will say, the relaxation was long over do and I feel like I just slept for 12 hours. Just think how productive I would be if I got a pedi every day!!!

Sunday Family Day

We had a crazy weekend that started with a game and BBQ on Friday. Then up and at the fields by 8am for a day full of games. Christian umpired two games and played in one. I missed Jonah's game because I had to work 2.5hrs yesterday. Lame. But I was told he had a great hit. Max also smacked the ball and is so cute. Christian had another great game and they won after a tough loss on Friday. His buddy pitched a great game and he came in to pitch the last three outs. He got them in 11pitches. He rocks.

We woke up this morning and went to 8am mass and then the boys went to Sunday School. After church we headed out to the golf course for some family golf time. We had so much fun. The kids crack me up but they made it through without too many freak outs. I don't golf so that was quite amusing. I think I did ok. I am up to three outings and I think practicing on the Wii helps.

Here are a few photos from this Beautiful Sunny Day (we aren't used to the sun!)

Way to go Dodgers

I was feeling like I was neglecting Jonah on the ball field. I had no pictures of him playing ball until tonight. He did a great job and had a ton of fun. The boys and Jamie were all hitting the ball and making plays. Jonah hustled and had some really big hits to the outfield. He is so cute out there. He does however, like to be the big cheese out there and often is GOOFY! Well the Dodgers had a terrific outing. Christian plays tomorrow and Max on Thursday.

Oh by the way Happy Birthday Tori. Tanya's daughter turned two today. She is soooo cute and very sweet.

Saturday

Well, we had a great day at the fields. Chris and I dropped the camper off in the parking lot so we would have a place to hang between games. It proved to be a great idea. Lots of friends stopped by the Duvall Casa to say hello. Tons of fun. All three boys played ball but I only managed a few pics during two of the games. Lance took over for me while I took Max to a birthday party, hence all the crazy pics.
Jonah had a great game and played hard. Then he promptly left for an overnight with his buddy Andy.
Max also had a great game and was a fantastic catcher and got a big hit. His team is so fun to coach. The kids are adorable and say the craziest things.
I hope you enjoy the slide show....

Check out my Slide Show!

Christian pitched a great game. Pitching 4 2/3 innings before being pulled for pitch count reasons. He had 8 strikes outs and allowed only 3 hits and 2 walks. So proud! Alex Burns came in relief and only used 4 impressive pitches to end the inning. Our Tigers are starting to come alive out there and it is fun to see. As you can tell from the slide show above we are a crazy crowd. Nathan Blazevich almost had his second homerun missing it by just inches. Everyone got on base and we had some nice hits made by Will, Matt, Ian, Andrew and Jacob. Way to go boys. The hits in combination with the tight defense pulled out another W for us. Go Tigers.

BASEBALL

Well, it has been a crazy week, with board meetings, piano, baseball, Chris's birthday/vacation and anything else we could pack in. Jonah played a great ball game last night. He was hitting the cover off the ball and had some terrific defensive plays. I must say that I am really proud of him and he is working hard on the field. He also had an audition at the village theater for a play. He didn't get the part but he nailed his monologue and got great experience. Christian's ball team has had a rough start they are 3-4. They have been playing in snow, rain, hail and chilling wind. However, they pulled out the much needed W today with some stellar baseball. Christian is having a blast and is always impressive to watch on the field. Max has his first game tomorrow and he can't wait. I will try to be more consistent in my posting but it is hard to even get a meal in.

Alright Dodger Fans our first game was awesome.....

So our first game was really a scrimmage. The boys did great. We were short a couple of players so Max stepped in along with another six year old from my other team. We won by a large margin scoring 13 to something.....Jonah was awesome smakin the ball all over the place. He is sure getting to be a great little hitter. Max even smacked a good one. LOVE IT. Max also had a fantastic out at second. Christian was the umpire and had to call Jonah out base running which was awesome. (well Jonah didn't think so) It was a good night.

We spent Tuesday at the science center before I had to go to work and yesterday I had 10 kids over....not relaxing but the boys had a great time. I work everyday this week which is a bit hard since it is Spring break but the kids are getting a lot of time with their friends so it works out. I am exhausted but I can rest in July.....Maybe.

Tigers 7 Mariners 8

The dugout
Christian catching

Nathan the ball slammer... Logan Roy receiving the game ball after a homerun.....

The boys battled hard tonight with some impressive pitching, great bats and fantastic defense. Logan Roy slammed our second home run of the season. Alex Burns and Christian were fantastic at catcher. Christian threw out a base runner stealing third and blocked a steal at home. Alex Burns blocked his second steal at home of the season. Connor Jensen and Nathan Blazevich continue to hit hard. We had so many fantastic hits, plays and strikeouts that it is difficult for me to remember them all. We almost had it....Chris spent the evening at El Caporal drinking his sorrows away lamenting a bad decision that ended the game (don't tell him I mentioned it) but the best part of it is.....as you can see from the smiles in the end game huddle the kids didn't seem to care. They had fun playing a great game. We play the Mariners for the third time in a row tomorrow night....Lets Play Ball!!!

Detroit Tigers 5-4

Christian pitched a great game with Logan Roy getting a necessary 2 outs coming in Relief. Ian Fursman got the save and Nathan Blazevich hitting a fantastic home run to get our bats going. The boys looked sharp in their new uni's. Their defense was tough with Alex Burns getting a runner out stealing home. These boys are great and we are looking forward to an exciting fun season!!!!! GO TIGERS

Posting when I can

So yesterday I sat down and wrote half a post and then had to walk away. I never came back to it. We had a wonderful Easter at Chris' cousins house with his aunt/uncle and grandparents. The kids had a great time with their cousins....Fabulous.

I got a call from the library and I am hired on with regular hours which should be nice. I think it will work out really well. I am nervous about adding one more thing to my schedule but in the end, I think it will work out just fine.

The boys are excited for Opening Day baseball this weekend. Christian was trained as a little league umpire (Paid). So he has a new job too. He wants to save his money for a snowboard. Christian and Jonah both have games this weekend and I am ready for things to get started. I can't believe we are here again.

The other exciting thing is all three boys are preparing for their piano recital this year. Christian was asked to do a duet with one of his best friends. They are the youngest kids to ever be asked to do a duet. SOOO exciting. Our money is starting to pay off as the boys are one of our favorite forms of entertainment. Love it.

Check out my Slide Show!

March Madness

As usual things are crazy. I made a new slide show to compile the most recent happenings. First and formost we had the annual beard shave. Yeah. Now I know what my husband looks like. We also decided to take a road trip to a fishing spot the barber told us about. We had zero luck but we did score some great family time. Don and Kathie drove out to meet us which was really nice. My little Irish boys had a fun St. Patricks day eating Bangers and Mash, drinking some rootbear and ending the day with a Wii tournament. FUN FUN FUN. Finally, baseball season has kicked into full gear and we are having a lot of fun with that. Busy busy busy but we asked for it. We spend every evening at the baseball park with boys. Between all the baseball, fishing and guy trips I am starting to feel the pangs of no girl time. Oh well, I can wait for my granddaughters.......

Guys trip

Here are a few crazy pics of the boys. Chris took the kids down to the coast for the weekend. They did some clamming and crabbing with their uncle Don. They had such a great time and I spent the weekend by myself. With the boys out of town it was a bit strange but I never get any girl time so it was fun. Baseball season is off and running. I feel like the last few days have gone by quicker than imaginable. We got a lot of our kids back on our teams and things look good for the year. Christian is excited to be back playing ball again. Jonah has lost a total of four teeth now this month. Max has a bottom tooth that is ready to fall out and I am thinking the tooth fairy will be broke before the summer. Well, I hope life finds everyone well.

The Tooth Fairy

Well, the tooth fairy has been very busy lately. Jonah lost a tooth everyday for three days and now has a giant gaping whole where his teeth used to live. He was so excited to get some money that he could not wait to spend it. We took him to target and he bought an I pup. It was a ton of fun. Things have been busy over break. Chris has been home so we have spent plenty of time at the park and skiing. We are going to take the boys to a hockey game tonight which should be a lot of fun. I will post a couple of pics of Jonah's gap toothed smile soon.

Check out my Slide Show!

The Duvall Brothers

I remember when I was young, I would dress up and dance about the house singing my favorite songs. I loved it. I remember singing Neil Diamond's America, Billy Ocean, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Cindi Lauper. You named it and I sang it. I came home to three boys dressed up and crazy, dancing about to their favorite c.d. Jonas Brothers. Here are a few pictures of the concert they put on for us.

FAT TUESDAY

Last night was Fat Tuesday and we celebrated by ordering pizza (which we never do). We talked to the kids about lent and the 40 days Jesus spent in the dessert and how we can honor that through sacraficial giving of our own. We also talked about different ways to observe lent by participation instead of abstaining in events. Jonah wants to give up t.v. Max says he'll give up the speed channel and Christian didn't commit. We talked about various ways they can help in the community in addition to their sacrifice. We talked about spending more time in prayer. So with all that in mind I thought it might be nice to make a list of the things I would like to do this lent well, and forever...
1. Pray more, do my devotionals regularly instead of sparatically.
2. Swear less, even when I am mad at Chris
3. Honor my body by eating better and healthy exercise.
4. No alcohol for 40 days at least
5. turn off the t.v and computer and spend quiet time with the kids
6. worry less about finances
7. I would really like to take the kids to a soup kitchen

I am still trying to think of ways to volunteer and help out in the community more but it is hard to come up with new and interesting ways. Also, I volunteer a lot and am not sure that it is mentally safe to add more.... Hmmm.....any good ideas, I would love to hear how other people honor this time. I know my list is long and goofy but it is a goal so I hope I do good.

NUTS

Max performed in his first grade concert entitled "The Circle of Life" With hit songs like, "We're Nuts and Big Bad Squirrel." It was absolutely adorable and of course, my child was the cutest. It was hard to take pics of the performance but I got a few after with some of his good friends. Jack, Annie, Connor, Blake and many more. Aren't they adorable.....

OOPS, sorry about the blurry pic. It is 7:52 a.m. and two of my kids are still asleep. This happens so rarely that I had to take a pic to document the event. I guess they were tired. Christian is of course dressed and ready for school. He has eaten his breakfast and has all the lunches ready for the day. Clearly he is a morning person. I am just going to let Max sleep and will drive him to school. This happens so rarely that the little guy must just be exhausted. Last night while playing webkinz, his webkin got sick. He freaked out! Webkinz are stuffed animals you buy with a code to make them a virtual pet too. You can buy them rooms, clothes, you exercise them and Max is careful to only feed his healthy food. It cracks me up. Anyway, I have to work today and Chris is going to take the kids to piano. YEAH. I hope with the extra sleep the boys are extra good pianists.....

Ok, so Max is super cute. We are in our third week of basketball and it is a ton of fun. Max is just learning the game and having a great time. He is a crazy little guy out there on the court.

Jonah is turning up the heat on defense and chasing the ball down. He and Christian are on the same team this year and several of the players are at least a head taller than Jonah. That doesn't stop him. His coach had him guarding the tallest guy on the other team b/c he is so aggressive. He is doing great.

Christian is having a ton of fun and just thrilled to be back in sports. He is taking his time and mentally trying to figure out the game. In true Christian form he checked out a book from the library on Basketball's offense. That kid cracks me up.

In other news the boys stayed the night at Tanya's this weekend. It was the first time Max had ever slept anywhere without me. Tanya and Travis took the boys to get a movie and fed them pizza and chocolate sundaes......they loved it. Chris and I went to his work party and had a really nice time. It was so weird to wake up without kids in the house. Tanya and Trav brought them home and I made a huge breakfast. They didn't miss me at all. Travis went sno-boarding with Chris while Tanya and I had some girl time. They stayed for dinner and chocolate chip cookies. It was a fun day and makes me sooooo thankful to have family around. We went through a bunch of old pics and spent some time making fun of our bad hair/outfit choices.....not GOOD.
However, it was a great weekend. thanks T-for taking the boys.

Busy Weekend

Well, I am not sure what happened but two days just flew by and it feels like a week. It started off with a pretty mellow and relaxing Friday night. We all snuggled up and watched a movie.
Saturday we woke up and were out the door for an 8:30 am basketball game for Max. He is hilarious when he plays ball. I love it. He moves from perfect defense to standing half court fooling with his nails in no time flat. He is one of the smallest out there and it is adorable. Max is on steroids following some respiratory issues so the jittery effect is an added bonus to the game. After the game we ran home to meet a home nurse for Chris and I. We are changing our life insurance policies and we needed a medical exam. After stepping on the scale, Chris and I were humiliated and are now on diets. The boys had a game at 1pm and we had friends coming over at 1:30. We went over to the school early only to find that the game didn't start until 1:30. I ran home to meet our friends and get a video tape going for the Seahawks game. I watched half of the first quarter by myself and then everyone showed up. As it turns out, I am the only one who got to see the good stuff. So, to avoid Chris and Doug going into huge depressions we loaded everyone up as fast as we could and went up to the mountain for some night skiing. FUN. We didn't get home until 10pm but we had a blast.
Sunday morning- I can't believe there is still more to tell. Christian had to serve at church and Max had class. Chris had to work at the pass, Jonah skipped church and went with him for some one on one time. They left at 8am and didn't get home until 4pm.... long day but it sounds like they had a great time. Christian, Max and I went to church and the came home for some R and R. After naps we headed out for a bike ride to the park. There is a track there so I walked a couple miles with a friend while the boys went crazy on their bikes. We made it home just after Chris and Jonah.....We all cuddled up and watched movies, Chris and I are practically dead from all the physical activities. In the end it was a fun weekend with lots of adventures. I hope to recover some today before I have to go to work......We'll see.

Keeping up with life.

What a week. It feels like Christian's birhday was just two days ago and I am not that far behind. Unfortunately, life with three boys moves much faster than that. My mom came up to stay the night with us to celebrate Christians birthday. She headed up to Belligham the next day to see my neice. I really wanted to jump in the car and go with but I had to be back for the boys. Saturday all the boys had basketball games and I had baseball sign ups for the little league. A couple of our friends came over to watch the Seahawks game and when I got home from sign-ups everyone (including my house) was bonkers. Sunday Chris worked on the pass. Christian went with him and they had a great day of male bonding. They skiied the crossover from central to west and Christian loved it. I have been making new friends at the copiers here in North Bend. I have been makig copies for the little league and distributing them all over the place in the community. The girls at the copy place are sweet and the get my projects ready when they see me pull up to the curb.
Last night I took a shift at the library, trying to finish my LA training so I can get more hours and become a contributing member of this family. After work I headed to NorthBend for some more baseball sign ups. I kind of have to shamelessly brag about something but it makes me feel so good that I have to share. Going through the signup sheets there were a few coaches requests. One set of names came up pretty frequently and I was so proud. Chris gets hands down by far the most requests in the little league. Some people remember to add my name as I coach with him at the younger levels, but it is Chris. I was noticing not only returning kids but other kids we don't know put Chris down for various reasons. Most of the requests aren't our friends either. Our friends know it is a draft and have stopped trying long ago. The requests are awesome regardless because we put so much time and energy into baseball and the community. You hope that people appreciate your effort and think you did a good job. This is the only sure way to know that they do. I came home last night and told Mister Humble Pie about the requests and he says a non-chalant "thats great." I on the other hand was bursting with pride that we have the opportunity to have such a positive influence in these kids lives. Maybe in the end when all the registrations come through, we won't have the most. No one really counts those things anyway, but the fact that we even have a few is the best reward. It makes you realize its not just worth it for our kids that we are there everyday, it is worth it to some others too.

Happy Birthday Christian

My son is 10- I still remember the night he was born. The car broke down on the way to the hospital. I had wanted a boy sooo badly, that God answered my prayer three times. Christian was a beautiful baby. The most common comment was that he was incredibly alert. He has turned into such a great kid. He is smart and talented. His piano playing is beautiful and he is such a good little athlete. He has taught me so much about myself. I love how he is a leader in the class room and a great big brother to the boys. He worked his butt off this year to recover from two broken legs. Physical therapy was hard but he did it. It is weird to have him stand next to me and know that in such a short time I will be looking up to him.

I am proud that he is such a well rounded little boy who is liked by all. He aspires to be a football player or baseball if football falls through. He know the importance of school and is always volunteering at church, whether it is alter serving, helping out a pageants and most recently delving into the music ministry. I know this is gushing and rattling on but it is hard to put into words what you feel for your child. Happy Birthday Christian, you have exceeded every expectation and I am so blessed you are my son.

Check out my Slide Show!

Check out my Slide Show!

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS VACATION

Chris has had twelve days off. They have been fun filled, packed days. It started with the trip to the coast, and a Family day with the Paulson's. Then we had a fun Christmas with friends. We spent four days up at the pass skiing with the family. While we were up there we decided to call some of our friends and we spent three of those days skiing with the Burns family. The invited us to stay with them at their cabin. Max finally got a sleep over with Annie and we had a late night sledding/snoball fight. Then we headed out to Yakima to spend a night with the Kallevigs. We played Wii and just had fun hanging out. Yesterday the whole clan gathered for some sledding on White Pass. The Mercado's, Cambells and two Kallevig families were in attendance. We headed home last night to ring in the new year watching movies and eating chinese food with the kids. Chris and I fell asleep and Christian had to wake us up to ring in the New Year. We have had such a wonderful, fun filled vacation. We hadn't seen the Mercado's in along time and that was nice. This Christmas couldn't have been more different from last year. Today is Christian's 10th Birthday. I can't believe it. Chris goes back to work tomorrow and all will go back to normal again. I am so blessed for this vacation. We needed it.