Happy 30th Birthday Tanya.

Tanya, me and Melissa





Happy Birthday to my dear sweet cousin Tanya. "Nicki" is the closest thing to a sister I have ever known. She is a wonderful friend to me, a fantastic Aunt to my children, and above all she is a great wife and mother.
Some of my favorite Tanya memories are:

1.Dancing like idiots in our bedrooms.
2. Wearing too much make-up.
3. Dating all the wrong boys...ughh
4. Finding the right boys...Yeah
5. Our Weddings (Made of Honors)
6. The birth of Tristan
7. The time we got lost coming home from the movies (her dad was sooo mad)
8. Oh yeah, that reminded me of trying to teach her how to drive a stick shift!!
9. Red Robin
10. Getting our Christmas tree this year was a huge highlight.

To the past, present and future. Thanks Tanya for being there for me always. You know everything that sucks about me and you like me anyway. So thanks for being an amazing, kind, honest, strong, peacemaker, smart, funny, directionally challenged, beautiful, fantastic women. You inspire me!!!!
Love ya, D
p.s. remember the time we locked Meli out of my bedroom (hehehe she'll never let us live that down!)

Remembering and Prayers

First I just want to ask for prayers for my good friend. She and her family were recently just stationed outside of Gaveston Texas and have obviously been evacuated. When our home flooded a few years ago they opened their door to us and let us stay with them. She also has saved me many other times along with demoing my kitchen (babe in arms), she helped me with my carpet, Max's room, she and I moved all the furniture out of the house to re-do the floors. Basically if I need anything she is always there. Just pray that the family is well taken care of and that their new home is still there and in good shape for them to return to! Thanks, Y'all!

The second thing I wanted to talk about is 9-11. I remember as everyone else does Exactly where I was and what I was doing. The strange thing is we did not have television. Therefore, my experience was dramatically different from most. Last night NBC aired two hours of the original broadcast from that day. First I am so glad I saw none of it on that day. Second, I was deeply touched by the timing and images I watched last night. What a day that was. I am so amazed at the wonderful response of good will that we had in those days and I hope as we move toward the future we can regain some of that.

The Duvall Boys head back to school.

Oh my Snoqualmie Elementry better look out because the Duvall boys are back. The kids were so excited to start school this morning. Everyone was up and dressed early. Jonah made lunches for everyone. What a good boy he is. After practicing our piano we were off for our first day of school. I had to do our pictures which Christian was irritated by, but it was necessary. Here are the boys with their teachers. Max has Mr. Z, he calls his class camp cougar so Max took his binoculars today. Mr. Crumb is Jonah's teacher and the doll is Chucky. When we walked in the Beatles were playing (Jonah is at risk of liking school too much). Mrs. Hodgins is Christians teacher. Thank God! Christian asked me nearly everyday of the summer if he had Mrs. Hodgins or not. He is soooo excited to have her this year. Well, I better get to cleaning the house and getting it set for the school year. I have exactly four hours left til they come home...Crazy!

Busy Weekend

Well, It was another crazy weekend for the Duvall's. It started out Friday when my brother graduated from the police academy. The boys got to spend some time with their cousins. I finally met my neice Devyn who is beautiful and such a happy baby. My cousin Tanya was there with her kids and my other cousin Charles who I never see. So all in all it was fun. Thanks Mom for lunch it was great and the kids had a blast. Saturday Christian played his first full game and they did great. I had to work but was able to sneak out and see a little. When I got home the boys were playing the wii with Chris (strange). The next day we went to mass and then off to Tanya's church for Tristan's baptism. She had a photographer taking pics so I will post those when I get copies. I was honored to be the God mother and it was such a special day. She put on a nice brunch and my other cousin Melissa was there so it was great to see her. Then we went to dinner at some friends house which was nice.
We finished the weekend painting the house, doing yard work, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. I worked a little yesterday and was exhausted when it was all over. The house is basically finished being painted with some touch ups needed but nothing major. SIGH OF RELIEF to have that behind us. Well, I have to be off to Meet the Teacher. I will post first day stuff soon and the pics from the baptism....

Blogging at work.

Ok, so I shouldn't blog at work. But sometimes I just can't help it. It is very quiet tonight in the library and I am sick of searching the web. I was watching the Olympics for awhile but now that they are finished I half to go back to surfing. Plus a girlfriend came in and I was showing her how to blog and then I just had to post.

Christian played in his first game ever. He did a good job and had a couple of pass completions, and even ran for a few yards....Nice.

We went to some friends for a bbq this weekend. It was nice to spend some time relaxing.
Chris broke our shower on Saturday which caused a lot of commotion but in the end worked out ok. We needed a little extra drama so Chris stepped up and provided.

As a football fundraiser we all went to the movies and watched Remember the Titans. That was fun for the kids. We came home last night and snuggled in bed after a long, tiring weekend when at about 10pm I shot up out of bed. I remembered that I was supposed to get 600 mailers out for the school today. So I stayed up til about 1am stuffing envelopes until I couldn't stuff anymore. I woke up at 8am and began again. I put the last label on at about 1:30 this afternoon....Note to self. Don't sign up for that one on a busy weekend where Chris decided to break plumbing, we have a game, funeral, bbq, movie and a birthday party planned. Leave it for one of the slow weekends....uh what is that?

I hope school starts next week and our teachers don't strike. I support them if they do but I sure hope they don't!!!

Happy Birthday Max

Ok, so I am super LAME. I was looking back at my blog and realized I forgot to say Happy Birthday in the Blog world to Max.

We were out of town for Max's birthday which was fun but busy.
So here is a little bit about Max. He is hilarious rough and tumble kind of kid. He loves everyone and is super compassionate. He is so much like Chris. He is stubborn and quiet. He is a huge cuddler and never misses a day without cuddling his mommy. He acts like a big kid but will quickly turn into the baby of the family if it suits him.

I love Max's smile. He is always grinning. My favorite thing about Max is he still kisses his mommy goodnight, good morning or whatever. If mommy needs a kiss Max is the one who is there. He is so loving. He is also a surprise. He doesn't talk much but when he does I am always laughing. He also surprises me in the smarts department because he will just whip out this knowledge and you never knew where it came from. He is an inventor and is always thinking of things to build. I think he will be an engineer like his dad. He is building a car in the garage. I video taped him talking all about his plans for a battery, lights, steering, a trunk etc. He has it all planned out and the crazy thing is all of his ideas should work....He is way too smart.

So Happy Birthday to my boy. My thinker, inventor and explorer. I can't wait to watch him quietly change the world!!

p.s. I will post a pick when I get home from work. I shouldn't be blogging at work anyway.

I just bought two tickets to the gun show!

Ok, I will start with the gun show.. Jonah is cracking me up lately. The Olympics have totally inspired him to work out and be fit. He is working really hard in his gymnastics class and he is loving the rings. I taught him to say "do you want to buy tickets to my gun show?" I know I shouldn't have but it makes me laugh so hard.
Football has begun and Christian is having a great time. The gymnastics is really helping the strength in his leg and he is working hard. He loves doing flips on the parrallel bar. This is his first year playing football and some of the kids have been playing 2-4 years already so he has a lot to learn. But never the less the kid works hard and has won the spot of starting quarterback. (this dissapointed him because he wanted to hit people). He got his jersey today and is super excited so I took a couple pics of him to share.

This is Max and his friend Anna Pehlivanian. They are so cute. We only get to see them a couple times a year but the two of them are great buds. Anna was excited to see that Max had a picture of them on his bulletin board. They were cuddling listening to books on tape after an evening swim. Max just started Soccer and is having a great time. He doesn't know a single kid on the team but you would never guess. He is also having a great time with gymnastic. He is really good at tumbling and loves the trampoline.

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.