Boyd Family

Little J is TWO!!!!

2011-03-16T16:46:00.002-05:00

I can't believe how fast the last two years have gone. Our little guy just turned two yesterday!! He still manages to make us laugh every single day. Although he is definitely beginning to act more like a two year old he is still such a fun, sweet little man!

I don't know why we just did videos yesterday, but we did so here they are. I guess this is one of those posts for the grandparents. Grandmas and Grandpas, enjoy!!

It was a great day with the little guy and he was so happy. I think he sang Happy Birthday to himself about 6 times. Even this morning he saw some left over cupcakes and looked at me and said, "Happy birthday to you?"

We love you Jacey Boy!

January in a Nutshell

2011-02-14T23:53:00.013-06:00

Just an update on our January happenings. The kids spent time outside sledding. We had a few warmer days so we took the chance to go out!

Joseph got this marble maze for Christmas so he and I built it, which was lots of fun.

We have a lady we know here who paints faces and offered to paint the kids so she could practice. This is Joseph's dragon.

We played lots of games that the kids got for Christmas. This one is Hoopla. It is a crack up:)

Jessie's goldfish face.

I don't know exactly what this is, but Janie thought it looked Princess-y so she chose it!

Janie modeling the Valentine's Day candy necklace she made for her teacher (in Feb. NOT Jan.)

The Jaceman sledding.

We thought we'd try a new do to match the Jack O Lantern Jammies.

I love those little teeth:)

Christmas Sunday

2010-12-20T00:20:00.006-06:00

I don't really know if today would be considered Christmas Sunday, but since we had our Christmas program in church that is what I'm calling it. I was going through the pictures I took today in an attempt to get some shots of the kids all dressed up for church...where is my husband when I need him???? Jer, I know you're gonna look at these and find lots of little distractions, but please, please, please, don't tell me. I already look at the pictures and tell myself everything I could hear Jeremy saying as he looks. I'm being grateful that I was able to even get the kids ready early enough to get a few shots at all and still show up to church 30 minutes early. So... here they are...my sweet little munchkins in their Christmas duds trying their best to sit/stand still for 5 minutes!!Jace wasn't sad in this picture, I just took it at end of his very long "CHEESE!"After a bunch on the couch I decided that a change of position might be better.This is funny because I was all wiped out from being so energetic for our photo shoot (it is a lot of work to get all the kids to smile and look at the camera at the same time) that I decided we had enough pictures. The kids sat on the floor and Jessie said, "Mom, take a picture of me and Jace." Well, Janie jumped in and then Joseph and this ended up being just as good as any of them!

Oh how I love those faces!

School Concerts, Gingerbread Houses and Christmas Trees, Oh My!!!

2010-12-17T18:48:00.009-06:00

It is definitely the busy time of year again. We have been going, going, going and hardly stopping to take a breath!! Joseph and Janie both had a little concert at school this year and it was so much fun watching them sing. They get so excited to get dressed up and perform for everyone.

We decorated our Christmas tree for Family Home Evening one night and the kids LOVED it. I let them do almost all of it. I just handed them the ornaments. Of course it has been rearranged about 40 times since then because Little J loves to take the decorations off a lot!

We also spent some time over the weekend decorating our Gingerbread house. One day I'm going to get organized enough to do REAL gingerbread houses like my Mother in law. She makes the gingerbread and puts the whole thing together, has TONS of decorations and ideas etc... It is so much fun!!! Until then...it's the gingerbread house kit. It still turned out cute, the kids loved it and it made my life just a tiny bit easier:)

Here are a few pictures from these different activities.There were so many people trying to get pictures and talk to their kids that I had a hard time getting a picture of Joseph. I think it is so cute that he leaned to the side so I could get this one. I kept hollering at him, but he couldn't hear me. He finally looked up and saw me trying to take a picture and just posed so cute.Janie was totally still just waiting for me to take as many pictures as I could. I think I could use a little red eye reduction...The star and her biggest fan!!So happy with their hard work. Way to go kiddos!!Our lovely gingerbread house. You wonder why my 4 yr old has a black eye??? Even though she is known for being feisty it is NOT because she got into a fight at school. She fell off her bed when she was sleeping and hit her eye on the corner of her nightstand. Poor thing. A nice old man felt sorry for her while we were at the post office (what would I be doing at the post office in December???) and gave her a dollar to buy a special treat:)This is a picture of the nice side of our house. The other side was a little MORE decorated.

I might try and upload a couple of videos of the kids singing for Jeremy and our Grandmas and Grandpas.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Goodbye Daddy

2010-11-28T01:11:00.002-06:00

Today we drove out to base on crazy ice covered roads to say goodbye to our Dad who is heading out for a little while. The kids were great and LOVED doing crafts, getting sack lunches, coloring books and a hundred other little things that I stuffed in my pockets and diaper bag.

Here is a cute picture that I took just before we pulled away from his squadron. Little 'J' is always happy with a bag of cheetos. That bag got us almost all the way home and we were driving slow too!We love you Daddy and miss you already. See you next year:) (meaning January of 2011)

Oh, I promise Joseph's shirt was clean when he put it on....

The Latest Happenings

2010-11-23T17:51:00.007-06:00

A few recent pics from completely unrelated events!!!Here is the littlest 'J' posing for a picture! He won out and got to keep that crazy binki in his mouth.Some friends of our hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner that was tons of fun. Here we are in costume just before the whole thing started. What did I learn??? Well, other than who committed the crime, I learned that I REALLY need to brush up on my Swedish accent!The latest craft of the fall holiday. This was easy, fun and it looks cute too! I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE fall!!!!We've had freezing rain for the last two days so Fairbanks is a gigantic sheet of ice. What does that mean? It means NO SCHOOL and SNOWMEN!!! The snow is usually too dry and powdery to even make a snowball, but with all of the rain we have WET snow!!!! YAY for snowmen! On top of that, it has been warmer(hence the rain and not snow) so we could stay outside for hours and not get cold!!!!Daddy and the kiddos posing with our snow creation. He is just a few inches taller than Jeremy, the biggest snowman either one of us has ever made:) It was so much fun too! Of course we had a few snowball fights during the building of this guy and lots of running around in the snow. Janie could barely run in it without falling down because it was up to her thighs. Such fun for the kids to play outside.

Halloween Time

2010-11-11T12:50:00.009-06:00

I have got to get these Halloween pictures up before Thanksgiving! We were lucky enough to have Jeremy home for Family Home Evening the week of Halloween so we were able to carve our pumpkins together. The fun thing for us this year is that two of our pumpkins came from our very own garden!! Yay for long summer days!!
Jace was hilarious. He kept scooping up everything that Jessie had put into the bowl and dumped it all back into her pumpkin!Halloween costumes this year were a little odd. Jessie was going to be a doctor and Joseph a Ninja. The day before they both changed their minds. Joseph wanted to be a cowboy and Jessie wanted to be a hiker? Who wants to be a hiker???? Anyway, makeshift costumes from what we had in the house already was this year's theme!Since Halloween fell on a Sunday we decided to celebrate a little differently. We had a special Halloween dinner. We ate bugs in a blanket, Jack 0 Lanterns, bones, and gremlins for dessert, all with some slime to wash it down. The kids had fun wrapping up the bugs and cutting out the Jack O Lanterns too:)

BUSY!

2010-11-02T00:07:00.009-05:00

My life seems very busy to me. I think about updating this blog often, but I have just been trying hard to be vigilant in other areas. Here is my attempt to catch up. Just some of my favorite pictures since July. We've had three birthdays. Janie turned 4 in July, Joseph turned 8 in August and Jessie turned 6 in October. I guess I'd better get started.
We had Janie's b-day party at the park and it was a PERFECT day!! Such easy clean up too!
Don't be fooled by Janie in this picture. These are the cupcakes Joseph requested for his birthday. Janie was just modeling because the birthday boy was at school!
For Jessie's birthday she asked if she could have caramel popcorn instead of cupcakes at school. She decided that cupcakes were too messy. Her teacher was grateful too:) Jessie was so excited to have Janie and Jace there to celebrate!
We had a swimming party for Jessie on her b-day and then her friends came over after for cake and presents. These are her closest friends here. She LOVES to spend time with them!!
This was taken one Sunday before church. I thought my boys looked so handsome. I love Jace and all of his girly sippy cups.

We spent as much time as possible outside over the summer. Here we are doing our weekly marshmallow roast. I look at this picture and can't believe how blessed I am to have such a sweet family.

Next to come will be our Halloween post! Stay Tuned....

A Little More Summer

2010-07-31T14:14:00.009-05:00

We had 28 tons of rock delivered to our driveway and spent MANY hours spreading it. The kids were lucky enough to be invited to the neighbors for a few hours which made our work a bit faster. Jace stayed with us and helped every minute. He threw rocks, fell in rocks, and ate rocks!! He loved everything about it. Definitely a boy!!!The only picture from swimming lessons that really turned out was this one. This little guy really is a trooper. He sat in that stroller for two hours every day for two weeks straight. We HAD to find things that would entertain him!The kids have also enjoyed jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath for a quick cool down. We haven't really had that many HOT days, but yesterday was beautiful so we turned the water on and let them play.Jace didn't love it as much as we though he would.What he does love though is his little slide. He would play on that for hours and hours and have the time of his life. What a sweet little man.
After the trampoline I tried to see if Jace would like just the sprinkler, but he really didn't even want anything to do with it. Janie had a blast and didn't care how cold the water was at all!It has been a fun summer. The kids participated in a reading program and just got their free books yesterday. We woke up this morning to a big moose trying to eat our radishes out of our garden. No picture though because Jeremy chased him away. SAVE THE RADISHES!!!! Too bad I didn't get a picture of him chasing the moose away. It was a pretty funny:) He came home just in time. I haven't had one moose in the garden the whole time he has been gone and now just hours after being home one shows up. Welcome home hon!

July 4th!!!!!

2010-07-05T00:08:00.007-05:00

Today is my FAVORITE holiday!!! The kids and I have been trying to do some fun things to celebrate Independence Day here in North Pole where the sun never goes down and we won't get to see fireworks. We have been hearing fireworks today which has been fun, but for some reason it just isn't the same for a family who is used to having a HUGE celebration with a massive firework show over the lake at the cabin each year.We went to a little parade they had in town with a bunch of friends from the ward. The kids got lots of candy and enjoyed waving their flags around.

We made some "Fourth of July Guys." My mom and sister came up with this little crafty fellow and so we decided to follow suit and join in on the fun. Joseph and Jessie LOVED making them. Joseph actually made his and Janie's while she napped. They turned out cute and the kids enjoyed waking up to them this morning.Oh how I just want to kiss those sweet faces!!!! I love, love, love how Janie's fingers are touching Jace's arm and how his chubby little hand is resting on her lap. It just makes my heart melt!We didn't do Easter outfits this year so we did patriotic instead! Wow! All four kids smiling and looking the same direction at the same time. What a wonderful day!! We came home from church and drank sprite with red ice stars (out of crystal goblets too:)!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Summer Time!!

2010-06-29T18:20:00.003-05:00

For Father's Day we decided to make a special meal for Jeremy. He had been fishing the week prior so I baked up some Halibut for him. I told him that I was showing how much I really loved him because not only did I cook fish IN my house, but I also ate it and didn't fix anything else. Well, the kids and I decided that we'd also grill for him, but this time we thought it would be fun to grill dessert. It turned out quite tasty too!

This is actually an idea I got from the Family Fun magazine and I thought it looked like such a great idea. It was easy and the kids got to do most of it! We love our dad and our grandpas too!!

We've had a bunch of fun this summer. We've had some swimming lessons, Tae Kwon Do camp, and 3 day trip to Valdez where we went on a glacier cruise. We were able to see some breath taking sights and amazing wild life. Those of you who know our family well know that I sometimes bring my camera along but even when I have it, I don't take pictures because Jeremy takes enough for all of us. I'll try and get some of his shots from the cruise and post them soon.

We look forward to more swimming lessons, sports camp, and some camping before school starts again in August.

Our Little Lion

2010-05-26T19:11:00.006-05:00

I brought out a couple of costumes that I bought for Joseph when he was little. It was way too hot in Florida and Okinawa for them so they've never been used. Jace has taken a liking to the Lion costume. It is so funny to watch him with the hat, he has me put it on him, takes it off, and then asks me to put it on again. He did this over and over for about 30 minutes the other day. Anyway, I was able to get one shot of him before he pulled the hat off and it turned out kind of cute, minus the runny nose :)A couple of other fun shots from recent days or semi recent days are as follows: On Easter Sunday we were watching conference and this was the last 5 minutes of the morning session.
How many people can you get around one little tiny screen to watch a You Tube video????Swimming lessons and soccer season are coming up so we'll have some more shots soon.

Catching Up!

2010-04-08T18:26:00.007-05:00

I wonder how many blog posts I have labeled "Catching Up" or something like that. It seems that when I go through my pics there are always a few sporadic shots that I'd like to put on the blog, but don't really go with any specific event or theme. Here are a few of those:So, Jessie has a stuffed dog names Shasta. It is the ONLY stuffed animal she owns that isn't named Chance. She had a best friend in Oklahoma named Chance and she names everything after him still. This is a translation of what she wrote above. "Shasta the law dog has a job in a house baby, because I own her." My favorite part is "I own her." That is exactly how we slur all of our words together and it definitely should be spelled I ONR don't you think?This was on St. Patrick's Day. The Leprechauns brought the kids some little treats and left them in their shoes. Anyway, they left their footprints all over the floor and they turned the milk green. Joseph thought it was awesome to have "Leprechaun milk" and Jessie wouldn't eat her cereal with it, not even one bite!!The kids were on a bowling league during the winter and they had their awards ceremony a couple of weeks ago. Here they are with their trophies and happy faces. How about Janie's trophy? She wants to be in every picture so she grabbed the closest thing to function as her trophy:)

Jace was playing with Jessie's tutu the other day and I think it entertained him for about 15 or 20 minutes. I guess it was the new texture along with the silly thing getting caught under his feet every time he tried to walk. It was so funny watching him play and giggle.

That ought to be enough random shots for now. More to come!!!

The Little Man Turns 1!!

2010-04-02T18:12:00.006-05:00

Jace turned one a couple of weeks ago. I have mixed feelings about him being all grown up. He is so much fun, but I can't believe how time has flown this last year. We kept things real low key, just had a couple of friends over for cupcakes and social time. Jace wanted NOTHING to do with his cake which is kind of crazy and very unlike him. He just wanted to get down and play with his toys.That little dab of chocolate on his mouth was all he ate and it didn't even really make it in his mouth.

Happy First Birthday Little Man!!!

SNOW!!!

2010-03-19T18:18:00.006-05:00

We had a warm day the other day and the girls wanted to go out and play in the snow. I thought that Jace would probably enjoy it too so we got him all bundled up and he had the time of his life. When I brought him in after about 30 minutes he screamed and screamed and screamed because he was so upset. This kid loves to be outside!!

Taekwon-Do Tournament

2010-03-02T17:45:00.012-06:00

February was a busy month with Taekwon-do. The kids participated in the Top of the World tournament and they each tested for their next belt color. Here are a few pictures from the tournament.Jessie really wanted to do this tournament even though she had only been in Taekwon-do for a month. We figured it couldn't hurt. She participated in patterns and did one of the only two she knows. It was so cute watching the little kids.
Here she is doing her pattern.
She came in third place and you'd think she had won the grand prize!!! She was absolutely elated! I LOVED watching her eyes light up when she got her medal and trophy.
Here is our girl displaying her awards. Look at that sweet happy face!!

Joseph participated in a couple of different events, but did excellent in sparring. Here he is all geared up for his competition.He sparred with two different kids and won both of them. They don't kick or hit hard, but they get points when they kick, hit, punch, etc.. they can only kick above the belt and in certain areas on the head. Joseph got a pretty good punch in his nose, which is against the rules, but he just kind of turned his head when the kid went to knock him there. It is pretty cool to watch.
The boys look so silly in this picture because they still have their mouthpieces in their mouths. They were all pretty happy to be standing there with their trophies.

Way to go Joseph!!!!

Anyway, the kids worked hard and we were thrilled with their performance at the tournament. It was a good and fun experience for both of them!!

Janie's Haircut

2010-02-19T13:22:00.005-06:00

As most of you well know, Janie has had a hard time sprouting much hair. She just has this chunk in the back that keeps growing while the sides don't seem to at all. Last week Jessie decided that she would fix the situation by cutting Janie's hair for her. She only cut a little piece, but ANY piece on Janie's hair would make a difference. I finally decided to go and get all of it cut to one length. She is very pleased with it and has told everyone for the last two days that she got her hair cut. I think she feels so big now. Our little girl definitely looks like she's growing up!
A view from the back. I thought this was important because this is where the look is dramatically different.A view from the side with her new do. She could still use some more hair, but it looks thicker and even now which is a BIG plus!!

ChristMOOSE and More!

2010-02-07T00:52:00.008-06:00

I feel like I'm always trying to catch up on here. Just one shot of the kids on Christmas eve in their pajamas. Joseph is too cool to smile now so this is the best one we could get.
A couple of weeks ago Joseph was walking by the living room window and this is what he saw!!! This was the mama and she was right in the front window, but by the time we got the camera she had moved closer to our broccoli plants and was just outside our front door. As she walked by we looked back and saw her baby coming around the corner of the house and he stopped and hung out in front of the window for a few minutes.

Another random shot comes from a night a while back when the girls and I were making cookies. They always want to eat the dough, lick the batter or whatever right??? Well, I told them not to touch it until I took the bowl away from the KitchenAid and then they could lick the beater. What I meant(and failed to clarify) was that they could use their fingers to get some dough and eat it. I turned around to this instead!!! Where did they learn this???Joseph's class has been doing a big rain forest project. He got to pick an animal from the rain forest, research it, make a 3D model and then present the whole thing to the class. He chose a Piranha. Here is his model. We had a fun time making it. He and Jeremy did most of it, but I did get to help paint the teeth with glow in the dark paint. Last but not least is a short video of the up and coming rock star in our home. As you can see he already has some gorgeous female fans!!!:)

Daddy's B-day and Jessie's Concert

2009-12-18T17:02:00.004-06:00

Once again I feel like I have so many things to blog about and different events to remember, but today I'm choosing two. Jeremy's birthday was last Sunday so here is a shot from our yummy dessert and present time.This next one is one of the boys together on Jer's birthday.
Jessie had a little concert at her school. They sang three Christmas songs and then the favorite song of the class. The first video is "Rulodph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and the second one is called "Watermelon Pie."

Joseph had a great concert too, but I wasn't able to get a good enough video at his. We did get to go to his class afterward and have cookies and juice though and that was fun.

This last picture is one of Joseph and Jessie last Sunday after church. They decided to dress their animals in their own clothes. I thought they looked so cute together!Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Thanksgiving Time!

2009-11-27T18:41:00.006-06:00

We had a FABULOUS Thanksgiving. We watched the Macey Day Parade, we cooked, we played, we had friends over for WAY TOO MUCH food, we went sledding and we had a fun relaxing evening together as a family. Here are some photos of our evening together.

Grandma B. sent us a fun recipe for Pilgrim hats so we spent some time making these delicious little treats to start our evening off just right.

Here is a shot of the kids at the half way point on our hats.
For entertainment while we waited for the chocolate to harden we video taped the kids singing songs. This is one of their songs. While we DEFINITELY do NOT proclaim to be the Osmonds or the Vontrapp Family Singers we sure had fun performing!!

And finally... the finished product!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Catch Up!

2009-11-17T00:49:00.009-06:00

I never even posted anything about Jessie's 5th birthday! Poor Jessie. She actually is the ONLY one that had three parties this year so it isn't all sad. We had a family party a week before her birthday because Jeremy was gone on her actual birthday. We celebrated again on her birthday and she had a party with her friends after Jeremy got back into town.
Jessie got exactly what she wanted for her birthday, a dalmatian (even though it isn't real) and the Hannah Montana cd. She danced with the high school cheer leaders to a song on the cd and she wanted it sooo bad. I think the kids listened and danced to that song 10 times that night.

Here is Jessie wearing the new ski goggles Jeremy bought for her. Could she be any closer to the TV? I don't know what the kids will do when we actually get the TV up off of the ground!I think she stayed there like that for about 15 minutes. She had some nice goggle impressions when she did finally take them off:)
When your kids are in the bathroom for a long time and you're not sure why...they could be wrapping each other with toilet paper to make mummies! Jessie came running downstairs and told me to bring the camera because she had made Janie a "mommy!" When I saw her I just had to laugh. She was wrapped more than this, but by the time I snapped the shot she had lost some of her rags!Joseph stuck this bunny in Jace's jacket tonight to entertain him while we were eating dinner and asked me to take a picture. Jace was quite happy with that bunny there. I had a hard time getting a picture because he was jumping around like a crazy man!I don't know how I got them both to smile so big at the same time, but I am in LOVE with those two little toothless grins!!!

2009-11-11T13:20:00.002-06:00

This is Janie's favorite song of late. We have to sing it every night before we go to bed.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2009-11-01T23:06:00.007-06:00

We experienced our first COLD Halloween ever!! We took the kids trick or treating in the car. We'd drive up to a house, jump out, knock, get our candy, and run back to the car and drive to the next house. It was quite a site to see that everyone else was doing the same thing. We'd drive up to a house and three cars behind us would stop at the same house. A whole crowd of kids would all go up to the house at the same time. I have never been trick or treating when it was just 3 degrees, but now I can say it wasn't too bad. We only visited about 10 houses, but the kids had fun anyway. I think next year we will dress up as Eskimos. The kids had hats, gloves, big jackets and so much snow gear that you couldn't even see their costumes anyway.

A description of the costumes: Jessie was Alex Russo from Wizards of Waverly Place, Jace was a monkey, Joseph was Dan the Bakugan Battle Brawler, and Janie was a "Mad" witch. Every time we'd tell her she looked cute she said, "I'm a MAD witch!"

The bat painted on Joseph's face wasn't a part of his costume it was done at a little carnival at Jessie's school.

The best comment of the night: "Mommy, my feet are cold, my hands are cold, my head is cold, my eyes are cold, my nose is cold, my mouth is cold. All of me is freezing!!!"--Joseph

Recent pics of Jace and Random shots

2009-09-14T17:07:00.011-05:00

I just have a few recent pictures of our little man and a couple that I want on the blog so I'll put them all on at once.We had a little picnic at Great Grandma Coe's house while we were in Seattle with cousins Isabella and Joshua.

Jessie and Jace spending some quality time!
A shot of the little guy one day when we went in to eat lunch with Joseph.

Here is Jace sleeping in his bed here at our TLF. His bed looks an awful lot like a bathtub don't you think???? Then when anyone needs to use the facilities they have to walk across the street to the BX! This is definitely an adventure!!
OUT COLD!!
Joseph at his desk on the first day of school. He was so excited!!
This was the day we went in to eat lunch with Joseph in his classroom. They don't have a cafeteria so this was a new experience for us!
We went on a beautiful nature walk at a place here where the cranes migrate and this is what the kids looked like after 1.5 miles of walking. Joseph would've been in there too if there was room!
On our drive up here to Alaska we stopped on the side of the road and wrote our name in the rocks. This was actually on Janie's 3rd birthday!! We had breakfast that morning at the hotel and they brought her a cinnamon roll with a candle in it. Here we are by our name somewhere on the AlCan!

That was a lot of pictures. More to come and hopefully a bit more organized at a later date. We might be moving in to our house this week!!!

Joseph is 7!!

2009-09-14T16:38:00.005-05:00

Joseph turned 7 in August, but we just had his party this last weekend. We had such a fun time with some of the kids from his school class. He wanted a bouncy castle for his party so we rented one at the community center and the kids wore themselves out after two hours of bouncing and running around!The bunch sliding down the slide at Playland. I think they all enjoyed themselves.
This is the cake that Joseph wanted. He loves skateboards and thought it would be cool to have them on his cake.Joseph listening as we all sang Happy Birthday. Getting ready to blow out the candle.

After the party we drove out to Fairbanks to do some shopping and three of the four kids fell asleep in the car, which tells me that they really did wear themselves out.

We hope you have a great year as a 7 year old, buddy! We love you!

Tagged!

2009-08-26T14:33:00.003-05:00

Well, I figure I had better respond to a tag I received from my sister in law, Maria. I am to write 6 interesting things about me and then tag 6 more people I'd like to learn about. I'm sure Maria's 6 interesting things are way more interesting than mine, but here it goes....

1. I LOVE to sing so much that I've even contemplated trying to make in the the Country world. I'd also LOVE to sing for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir one day.

2. I thoroughly enjoy drinking milk with a few food items in particular. Bacon and milk, Hot Tamales (the candy) and milk, and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with milk are all to die for. Really it is just the creamy milk taste in my throat with the residual bacon, hot tamale, or mint choc.chip ice cream flavor that I can't resist.

3. I am quite in love with working out. I enjoy working up to a race and I actually enjoy running them with friends. It is one thing that really makes me feel ok about myself and a HUGE stress relief for me.

4. I am a total steak and potatoes girl. You place a big juicy steak in front of me and a grilled chicken breast and I'll ALWAYS go for the steak. YUM!!!

5. I have this crazy weird thing that I can't leave my house unless my kids' hair is done, hair bows and all. I have many friends who joke around with me about my girls' hair and how it always has to be done. I can't stand it in their faces.

6. My idea of a great weekend is a good book, puppy chow (a yummy chocolate and peanut butter treat) and good company. Well, maybe a nap would be good too.

Alright, that is all I have for now. For the six people I'd like to tag....there are many really, but here are six of them.

1. Allison Scherer-This way I'll be able to see a new post on your blog:)

2. Michelle Boyd- I know you've done this sort of thing before, but humor me.

3. Lisa Mumford- You are only trying to move, don't you have time for this??????

4. Julie (Andrews) Bahr-Now that you have a blog you get to do bloggy chain letter type things too!

5. Natalie Howard-When you have a good day and are feeling up to it you can do this. Maybe AFTER you have the baby.

6. Jodi (Messina) Alley-You always have so many fabulous secrets up your sleeves:)

Thanks Maria, that was fun. I learned some fun things about you too!!!

Family Photos on the Fourth!

2009-08-03T11:20:00.006-05:00

Since we all (minus Kurt,he had to leave a few days prior) were in town for the 4th of July we decided to snap a few shots together while at the cabin. The kids looked cute in their little matching outfits. We love the picture of Uncle Cam and the kids together. We LOVED swimming in the lake with all of our cousins and the firework show was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! Way to go Cam and Robb! On the third of July we had all of my cousins and their kids there too. We had 23 kids (20 of them 9ish and under) and 24 adults. It was a huge crowd!!

We're Here!

2009-07-25T21:17:00.007-05:00

We made it to Alaska. It was a 6 day drive with the kids. We saw some fabulous wildlife along the way, to include grizzly bears, black bears, moose, stone sheep, buffalo, caribou, and bald eagles. I'll post some pictures of our trip up later. For now, here are some shots from our stay in Seattle.

Jessie and Joseph on the swings with their friend Jacques.

Brotherly love

Always ready for a photo shoot. This one must take after her father!

Janie and Bella after a long day at church. They were raiding the LEGO tent!

Grandpa reading stories to the kids before church!

Trip to Seattle

2009-07-11T15:10:00.010-05:00

Well, we've been here in the Seattle area for almost a month now and we are just about ready to get on the road to Alaska. I've been trying to take lots of pictures and thought I should post a few on here. We've been trying to get out and do something fun each day so the kids don't get stir crazy inside. We've spent time at the pool, the zoo, the children's museum, Mt. Rainier, MANY parks, and much more.
I was able to get here to Tacoma just in time to run the Sound to Narrows with a couple of friends. We didn't really run too fast since two of us had 3 month old babies at the time, but we did it, we ran the whole 7.5 miles and it was so much fun!!

We'll update again after we make it to Alaska.

Erica, Tiffany,and I just after the race.

Jace checking out the JC Penney sale.

Uncle Cam surprised us and came home for the Fourth of July. Cam and Janie

Janie and Isabella playing in the sand at Sunnyside Beach.

Joseph at swim lessons

Jessie at swim lessons. When she floats with her face in the water she thinks she is scuba diving. It is pretty comical.

Janie and Bella deciding whether or not to go back into the water at the spray park.

Hello T-Ball!!!

2009-06-08T10:59:00.008-05:00

So Joseph and Jessie are both playing T-Ball this season and LOVING it!!! Here are just a couple of shots of each of them. I think we actually have some better ones now, but because I know I won't be on here for a little while (with the move and all) I thought I had better post some now. Joseph is really getting quite good at the game and seems to really know what is going on. Jessie is just enjoying hitting, running, chasing EVERY ball and finally getting a chance to play a sport!! It has been TONS of fun going out and watching these guys play. We love cheering for them and their teammates!! We will miss the fun recreation we have enjoyed here, but we are also excited for the new opportunities that await us in the Great White North!!

Mini Fair

2009-05-15T16:21:00.009-05:00

For any of you who have ever been to the Puyallup Fair this is our itty bitty version of that here. Once a year this little traveling fair comes to town and it is a MUST on our list of things to do. Here are couple of photos of the kids enjoying some rides.

This was Janie's first roller coaster ride. I was freaking out. You can see Joseph's arm around her. I told him no matter what happened to keep his arm around her and NOT let go!

This was always one of my favorite rides. The lady who was riding just a couple of chairs behind Joseph was very sick and just kept throwing up. I hoped it wouldn't fly over and land on him. GROSS!!!!
Jessica thinks she is getting a Dalmation. She absolutley LOVES them. Luckily enough there was one on the Merry Go Round and she got to ride it. Here she is giving him a little TLC!

Soccer Season

2009-05-15T15:34:00.008-05:00

Joseph has had a great soccer season this year. He is the biggest one on his team and has quite a boot on him!! Once he kicked the ball from out of bounds at one end of the field all the way into the goal at the other end of the field. We were all pretty excited to watch that ball go in the net!

It has been quite a windy, rainy, cold soccer season so the kids and I have spent much of our time in the van while Joseph has weathered the game alone. I told him one night that I had to stay in the car with Jace because he was just too little to be out in the weather, but I'd still be cheering for him. He said, "that's ok mommy, I know that even if I can't hear you, you are still cheering for me." I thought it was such a cute comment and a great teaching moment. We need to remember that even though we can't always hear our Father in Heaven, He is still always cheering us on out there on our playing field.

Stay tuned for T-Ball!

Random Pics!

2009-04-22T06:50:00.005-05:00

Since Jeremy has been gone I thought I'd put a few pics on the blog of the baby. These are just some shots from the last couple of weeks. Dad and the kids watching a movie. They sure love their cuddle time!

Don't they just love being all squished up?!

All of a sudden, my two year old looks like a giant! You've got to love having a big sister, right?

Just Chillin'!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-15T20:33:00.007-05:00

We had an enjoyable Easter with Jeremy's parents and brother here. It was definitely a tad bit crazy getting out of the house for church Sunday morning. We blessed Jace in church, which made things a bit crazier than normal because we had to get pictures before we left in the morning. Nobody ever seems too excited about staying in their church clothes or sitting for pictures once we get home from church. Here are a couple of photos that Jeremy was able to get that morning.

It is nearly impossible to get a good shot with all four children looking at the camera at the same time let alone with a two year old in the mix. These are the best of ones we were able to get.

We hope you all had a nice Easter and that your photo sessions proved more productive than ours:)

April Fools

2009-04-05T12:59:00.007-05:00

The kids were so excited about April Fools Day and they really wanted to play a trick on Jeremy so this is what we came up with before he came home from work.

This was Jeremy's reaction when he realized that Joseph was fooling him about having been sent to the principal's office at school that day!
Jessica wasn't thrilled about the whole idea because she thought we were being mean. She said to me, "I don't really think this is a good idea." To try and smooth things over my mom suggested that we leave a cookie and a glass of milk to show daddy how much we loved him. Here they are sharing his cookie.

For All The Moms!!!

2009-04-05T12:58:00.002-05:00

Janie's highlight of the day!

Is it this much fun for you too???

Hippopotamus

2009-04-02T14:34:00.003-05:00

Here are the girls singing their Hippopotamus song. They think they are so funny! We were just hanging out one night while the boys were playing the Wii and this is what we came up with for entertainment!

A hip, a hip, a hippopotamus,
got on, got on, got on a city bus,
and all, and all, and all the people said,
"YOU'RE SQUISHING US!"

Laundry Day

2009-04-02T14:22:00.004-05:00

So, I asked my kids one day after school to help me out with the laundry. I was feeling so pregnant and heavy and just didn't want to bend over to switch the laundry. They did such a fabulous job that I decided to have them collect the last bit of laundry from our bedroom. I told them specifically which items to bring out and this was the end result.....Who said that doing chores can't be fun??!!

Our Little Man!!

2009-04-02T12:47:00.007-05:00

It certainly has been a LONG time since I've updated our blog. I do have some fairly good excuses for my absence though. First of all, our hard drive crashed and I have been patiently waiting for our new hard drive to be formatted and so forth. Secondly, Jace was born and so I figured that blogging could wait a couple of weeks. Ok, no more excuses. I'm back with a couple of photos of our little man.

Jace Gardner Boyd was born on March 15, 2009. Weighing in at 8 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long. He has been a remarkable baby so far. People ask me how he is and I feel really weird saying he is a great baby because he hasn't really been around too long and it could all change very soon.

Poor child #4. I think we have 1000 pictures of Joseph in the first few days he was born. We probably have a few hundred of Jessie, we have a bunch of Janie and we have about 15 of Jace. Daddy is definitely busy with the other kids and doesn't have nearly as much time to photograph our little one. I, for one, am thankful that he is so busy with the kids because it REALLY helps me out and I'm pretty sure Jace won't be too upset about it. Maybe we'll snap a few more shots in the next couple of weeks.

Here is Grandma G. holding Jace the day after we got home from the hospital. I guess he was 2 days old in this picture. We sure are grateful for Grandma. She has played and played and played with the kids, done LOADS of laundry, cooked meals, and a million other things each day!
One more shot of the little guy. We sure are glad to have him in our home. The kids love him and are so good with him. Jessie wants to hold him every single day and has become quite the little babysitter. Joseph is as sweet as ever and very protective of his brother, and Janie.....we're keeping our eye on her!!

FINALLY FINISHED!!!

2009-01-16T14:06:00.016-06:00

Ok, this is the last post from our last year's trip. I can't believe that it has taken me this long to get it done, but at least I won't have to think about it anymore!!! After Germany we flew to Seattle where we spent Christmas and the New Year just before flying here to OK!!! We spent a few days over the New Year with my family at Leavenworth enjoying the snow.

Daddy and Janie in the snow!

Mommy with Janie and Cousin Isabella! Thanks Tiff for both of the snow suits! They were so warm.

Jessie LOVED riding down the hill on this tube. It was a little scary when she flew over the snowbank and into the trees below. Uncle Robb was first on scene and brought her back up. Do you think that kept her off of the hill???? NO WAY!

Here's Joseph smiling for the camera just after he fell off his sled!

Cousin Addison and Uncle Cam just before an awesome crash!

Wipe Out!! Cousin Logan having a blast!
We all especially love this one of Grandpa! Lookin' good, DAD!

Here is one of everyone minus Maria who was about two months from having Landon and Jeremy, our photographer.
Here is Jess all ready to go out in the hot tub. So cute!

Here is Jeremy all ready to go out in the hot tub. NOT so cute! What a crack up!

Grandpa G. Isabella and Janie!

We had such a fun time playing in the snow and warming up inside playing games and relaxing!

Germany

2008-12-27T17:02:00.020-06:00

Since we are hanging out here with fairly warm temperatures and NO snow I figure that now would be a good time to post our pictures of the "Germany" leg of last year's trip. It was just a couple of weeks before Christmas and coming from Okinawa we THOUGHT we had warm clothes, but ended up buying the kids jackets, hats, gloves etc.. all while there.
It truly was a 'winter wonderland' those first few days we were there.
Joseph and Jessie couldn't get enough of Uncle Jason, anywhere he was going they were going to go also.
This last picture is of the Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. This is the first time we attempted to visit, but it was so cold and we were ill prepared so, we decided to take a picture and return another day.

The first shot here is Janie on the day we did make it back to visit Neuschwanstein. It was very cold, but as you can see, she wouldn't wear her mittens. She sucks her thumb and it made her so mad every time she'd stick that glove in her mouth that she finally pulled both mittens off. Her little hands were FROZEN, I felt so bad for her. It wasn't until two weeks later when my mom suggested just cutting the thumb part off of that particular mitten that I realized we could have solved the problem with much less trauma!

Next is a shot of the castle when it was clear out and you could actually see it. I do not have the same love of castles and all things renaissance as Jeremy does, but if I had to pick a castle to live in, it would DEFINITELY be this one. It was quite fabulous and not so ornate that I'd have to choke down my dinner every night:)

The third and fourth pictures are of Hohenschwangau Castle, which belonged to King Ludwig's parents. He had Neuschwanstein built right near his parents' castle. Can you tell which photo was taken by me with my camera and which was taken by Jeremy with his camera, surely not!!

These two shots were taken the day that Jeremy, Jason, Joseph, Jessie, and I drove to Salzburg. What a beautiful day it was. Janie stayed with Jeremy's parents at the hotel and spent all of her time walking the halls saying 'hi' to everyone she saw while we explored the Kris Kindle Market and enjoyed the day with the BIG kids (because 5 and 3 is really big).

We rode a tram up the mountain and found the Salzburg Castle at the top. The first photo was inside one of the million or so rooms we toured and the next shot is just a cute little band that was outside in the courtyard playing Christmas music. They look so festive don't they?!

This last shot is my favorite because I feel like it captures the beauty and stillness that we were able to experience in person. Such a quaint and quiet little German village just on the outskirts of where we were staying. I'd like to peek inside the windows or be the mouse in the corner for a couple of days just to see what goes on in such a place as this.

Jerusalem

2008-12-19T16:33:00.018-06:00

I figured that since we are celebrating the Christmas season that it would be a good time to share a little about our trip to Israel last year. This is how Jessie entertained herself on the airplane ride from Rome to Jerusalem. Our flight took off at like 5:30am or something crazy like that.

This is a shot of our hotel room. Joseph and Jessie fell asleep on the car ride from the airport to the hotel. Where did Janie sleep, you ask? Right in between Jeremy and I in that double bed!!! AAAHHHH the memories!!

Here is a shot that I really like of the Dome of the Rock. It was so intricate and beautiful. We were very dissapointed that we couldn't go inside. Apparently there are no visitors allowed anymore (or at least while we were there).

Jeremy and Joseph at the Western (Wailing) Wall. Jessie was very upset that she couldn't go with them, but there are separate sides for men and women. Jessie and I went next.
A close up of the wall. Check out all of the prayers in the cracks. I don't know how there is any room for more! It was fascinating to see!Jeremy and the kids checking the guide book for an explanation of the Via Dolorosa. This, they say, is where Jesus walked with the cross as He was led to the hill where He was crucified. There were many different points of interest along the way that we stopped to read about. Jeremy was explaining one of these to the kids.

We thought this was a cute shot of the kids together.

This is the Damascas Gate, which was just a couple of blocks from our hotel. This is one of the gates that leads to the Old City. We spent much of our time there.
The family at the river Jordan. We tried to imagine what it would've been like back then when it wasn't a tourist attraction. The kids enjoyed talking about when Jesus was baptized and the possibility that this might be where the event took place.
This shot is from our visit to Bethlehem. This was a church built over the cave where they think Jesus Christ was born. Again, you have to imagine what it would've been like back then without all of the decoration and so forth.

During this season when we reflect on the birth of our Savior we are grateful for the opportunity we had, as a family, to visit the Holy Land and for the chance we had to share our testimonies with the kids. Although they were only 5, 3, and 15 months they were able to feel the spirit of the trip and still talk about what we learned while there. We are grateful for Jesus Christ, for His life, example, and for His sacrifice for all of us.

Random Family Outings

2008-11-09T19:50:00.007-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Jeremy got off work early and after we picked Joseph up from school we headed to the local peanut factory. Since none of us have ever experienced this sort of thing we didn't know exactly what to expect. We walked into this huge building that has MOUNTAINS of peanuts inside. We stayed just long enough to let the kids try mountain climbing and then we bought some delicious peanut brittle and choclate covered peanut clusters! YUM!!!

Janie wasn't too "nuts" about climbing or even touching the peanuts really so we've only got Joseph and Jessie in these photos.

Last Sunday we went out for an afternoon drive and ended up at this place called Hick's Mountain. Well, who wouldn't want to stop there for a looksee????? It was a nice surprise. Just a little shoreline to walk along and some beautiful views of the sunset over the lake.

It isn't always easy to get all three kids looking at the camera at the same time and so by the time we finally did Janie had slid halfway down the rock! Next time we'll go a little earlier, take a picnic, and maybe even snap a shot of the whole family.

Finally Four!!!!

2008-11-04T19:15:00.007-06:00

Jessie's 4th birthday has come and gone and I'm just getting around to blogging about it right now! Actually, it was one of those things where the pictures were on the laptop and I had to convert them and transfer them from one computer to another. I usually end up procrasting when it requires that much work:)

Jessie was actually sick on her birthday, but a couple of days later we had a party for her with her friends and they all had a blast.

These are photos from our little family party. Jessie is displaying one of her gifts for daddy to take a picture! Does she look happy to you?

Here she is blowing out her ONE candle. We took cupcakes to her school because it was her snack day (since it was her birthday). She didn't get to go to school that day because she was sick, but we saved enough cupcakes for our family and she had just enough energy to blow out her candle.

She also had enough energy to try on her new make up!! She always has energy for that!! It was so funny to watch her putting this eye stuff on without a mirror. Needless to say, she looked BEAUTIFUL after that makeover!

Here she adds the final touches with this fancy lip gloss!

What would we do without our Jessie? She is such a character and our home would definitely be VERY quiet without her! We love you Jessie and we're glad that you can wear a size 4 shoe now since you're four years old. She keeps telling everyone that now she can wear a size 4 shoe!! Funny Girl!!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-03T20:03:00.005-06:00

Halloween is always an exciting time of the year. It seems to usher in Fall and all of the beauty that accompanies the season. The kids have been asking me for months what they should be for Halloween. We've spent time looking at and picking out costumes and finally the day has come and gone. What fun we had preparing, dressing up, going to parties, and EATING JUNK FOOD!!!! And of course, the kids are thrilled to have their bags of candy.

Here are a couple of shots of the kids in their costumes just before we left the house for trick or treating.

Joseph was a Power Ranger for the second year in a row. Different costume this year. The funny thing about his choice is that he has never even seen Power Rangers, but he just likes the looks of the costumes I guess. He had a blast running from house to house with Jessie and his friend, Amelia.

"Stra-ba-ba-ba-ba-berry, Strawberry Shortcake!" After 1.5 hours of going back and forth between costumes online, Jessie finally decided on this one!! The hat came with hair hooked to it, but of course she didn't like it. I cut the hair out, put her hair in rollers, and sprayed it red. The only problem is that after running around at school all morning she kind of lost the curl. She could have gone without a costume and had just as much fun!!

We figured that since Janie spends half of her time crawling around on her hands and knees, meowing at us, that a cat costume would be appropriate! She really enjoyed trick or treating. She ended up spending much of the time in the stroller observing the other kids, but she still got her fair share of candy thanks to Joseph and Jessie taking her bag to each house.

She looked over at me during church on Sunday and said, "trick or treat!" I'm so glad that her voice is partially gone so not too many other people heard her.

All in all it was a fun holiday and we have some serious working out to do before Thanksgiving comes!!! AAAAGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!

ITALY!!!

2008-10-17T20:31:00.017-05:00

Well, now that almost a year has gone by I figure it is time that I get working on documenting our trip from Okinawa to Italy, to Israel, to Germany, to Seattle, to Oklahoma! Wow! The beginning of the trip sounds pretty exciting, but the end...not so much!

We left Okinawa and flew (not direct, of course) to Rome where we rented a car and drove to Sicily! It was an absolutely beautiful drive. I wish we had more pictures of the scenery. Just picture it being green and hilly with random sheep spotting the land and castle ruins in the background. It was spectacular!

Here are the kids crammed in the back of our little rental car. Janie looks so different now and I'm sure she wouldn't be nearly as cooperative as a two year old as she was then (as a 15 month old) with all of the time we spent driving. We drove to Napoli (Naples) the first night, which wasn't too far. We had to go to the BX and find a blanket for Janie because we lost hers in the airport at Rome. I walked all the way back to the tram and told the security guys that I couldn't find my baby's blanket. They got on the tram and looked, but it was nowhere to be found. Luckily, there is a BX in Okinawa also and they had the same blanket. No big loss!! Then we went to bed. We were all so exhausted from the flight. Janie actually fell asleep in the shopping cart at the BX with the blanket under her head.

When we had driven as far south as Reggio Calabria we had to take a ferry across to Sicilia (Sicily). This is us hanging out on the ferry. It is so awesome to watch as you leave mainland and to see the island of Sicily across the way. This was a perfect break from sitting in the car!Our first night in Sicily we stayed in the city of Catania, which happens to be where the mission office is for the Catania mission, which also happens to be the same mission in which I served. It was fun driving through the city and seeing familiar sights and surroundings. The next morning we got up and headed out for Palermo (the biggest city on Sicily). As we drove we made some stops to check out different castle ruins, stretch our legs, etc... In case you don't know Jeremy.....he tends to be just a LITTLE bit of a castle fanatic. It actually was amazing that we even made it to Palermo that day (night). Those of you who DO know Jeremy are laughing right now because you know exactly what I am talking about and you WISH you had been there with us!!!:) This castle was in the city of Enna and it was very fun to climb to the top with Janie in the stroller and look out at an astonishing view!!! There was some sort of festival going on there that night and everyone was all dressed up in their renaissance costumes. It took every ounce of me to convince Jeremy that we would live without participating in the festival. I'm sure it would have been fun, but we had a schedule to keep and I tend to be a little extreme when it comes to things of that nature.

We made it to Bagheria, a little town outside of Palermo, where we stayed three days with our friends Giusy and Toto. The kids latched onto them like little leeches. They couldn't communicate, but they sat at the table and colored with them and Joseph just talked to Toto as if they had known each other forever!! It was fun to watch them interact. This is Giusy, one of my very dear friends, with Joseph and Jessie.

The next day we decided to take a trip to Agrigento to see some Greek temple ruins. This was just a shot of the kids during one of our stops. I can't remember if they were trying to make Janie laugh or what was going on, but I like this picture of the three of them together.

Here we are in front of one of the temple ruins. We had a fun time running all around and climbing on anything we were allowed to touch. We had a very fun experience while in Agrigento that day. Well, it was fun for us. A whole group of Japanese tourists were there and when they saw us they just came running up and asking if they could take photos with our family and of the children (The Japanese love little white, blonde headed babies. I can't even begin to count how many Japanese people have pictures of my kids on their cell phones). I didn't know whether to respond in Japanese or Italian, but it was just like we were home in Okinawa. Joseph was thrilled to speak the 5 words of Japanese that he knew to try and impress! When we first got to Okinawa I had such a hard time because anytime someone would speak to me in Japanese I would answer in Italian. It is the only other language I know so that is what would come out. It was funny to have the opposite happen to me while in Italy.

Giusy was off of work the next morning so we went on a walking tour of Palermo. The kids were such troopers. I really didn't know that kids could walk so much in three weeks, but I'm pretty sure they could do a 5k with no problem. This is Giusy and Jessie balancing on the stones in the courtyard of the cathedral in Palermo.

This is a picture of the kids and I standing in front of the door to the apartment that I lived in for 10 months of my mission! I loved walking up to that door and explaining to them that that was where mommy was a missionary. We bought some pizzas from the guy on the corner who had just bought the store when I was there as a missionary. He was still there with his two daughters. We talked and laughed about the old times.
Later than evening we met up at Giusy's mom's house with her two sisters Antonella and Francesca. This is Francesca and her daughter Florinda. We then went back to Giusy and Toto's house where we ate dinner together. It was just like haning out with family!! This is a few of us that were eating that night. I don't know where everyone else was, like my other children, but obviously they were somewhere close by because we still have them today. The boy sitting in between Giusy and Francesca is Riccardo. He is Antonella's oldest son who just happened to be born while I was serving there. Kinda makes me feel a little OLD!!!

Here we are just after church. Giusy's mom and her sister, Antonella (and family) do not belong to our faith, but they came that day and then we all went back to Giusy's for a traditional MONSTER family meal. We were just missing Francesca and Florinda that day. They go to another branch and had church while we were eating. Giusy's mom is such a crack up! She kept calling me "Sorella," which is sister in Italian. She said she just couldn't help it and then she would rattle off some piece of advice that I was supposed to give Jeremy. He was awesome all through this leg of the trip, which really was meant for my enjoyment. He interacted and talked with everyone and, other than the language barrier, felt right at home. It was one of my most cherished experiences with my husband and my children to have them meet and get to know some of the people who are most dear to my heart and the land to which I feel so connected.

The last hotel we stayed in the night before we flew out of Rome wasn't exactly big enough for our family of 5. Jessie still managed to find a place to wash her hands though....maybe I should have had her use the sink....

So, we put Joseph and Janie to sleep in the bed then later moved Joseph out to the couch in the kitchenette. Janie stayed in the bed with us, and Jessie???? Well, someone had to sleep in the closet. We threw some cushions on the floor from the back of the couch, a couple of blankets for a sheet, and pillow and voila! a bed for Jessie! It worked out for most of the night. She only kinda fell out of bed (or the closet) a couple of times.

We made it to the airport by 3:30 am or something like that for our flight heading to Tel Aviv, which will be another post on another day. This has been my longest blogging session by far and it is bed time for me.

Although I loved our whole trip, this probaby was the highlight for me so, thank you Jeremy for surprising me and taking me back!!!

SFORZA ITALIA!!

This is kind of like saying "Go Italy." It is something the Italians always say and it seemed an appropriate end to this post.

Birthday Boy!!!

2008-09-06T20:22:00.015-05:00

Joseph is six!!! He is so excited. One of the first things he tells everyone is that last Thursday he was five and then on Friday he was six! He had cupcakes at school and then he got to pick what he wanted for dinner. Any guesses???? McDonalds with a twist. We didn't have to eat it there. He wanted to bring it home and eat it on a blanket on the floor in the family room. So that was what we did. He opened a couple of presents from the girls and ate cupcakes that night and then the next day he took a friend to Chuck E Cheese. This is a BIG deal for us as it is an hour and a half away from here. The kids had the time of their lives and it was TOTALLY worth the drive.

Janie gave Joseph this Batman mask that he has been wanting for months and he wore it all that night and the whole next day except for at Chuck E Cheese because we made him take it off and leave it in the car. Here is Batman himself opening his Megatron from Jessie. He told everyone he talked to that he was getting Megatron for his birthday so I sure am glad there was one at Wal-Mart the night before!!Last but not least is the bike!!! When we left Okinawa we left Joseph's bike there because it had been outside for three years and was old and rusty. We promised we'd buy him a new one when we moved. While Jeremy and I were away for a few days this summer Joseph taught himself to ride a bike without training wheels while staying at his grandma and grandpa's house! We decided we'd better get that bike we'd promised him!!! We told him we would get it for his birthday so, after school on his birthday he asked if we could go get his bike. I told him that later that night after daddy got home from work we'd go and look. Jeremy picked the bike up on his way home from work and we put a big red bow on in and parked it on the front porch. While the kids and I were inside Jeremy went out and rang the doorbell, I had Joseph go and get it. He was quite shocked to see a fancy new bike parked there. He had just taken one of his shoes off (we were reading books on the couch) and he said, "Mommy, go get my shoe and my helmet!" Anyway, we spent the next hour or so out in the street riding bikes. He loves it and wants to ride it everyday!!

The other favorite birthday surprise for Joseph was an email he got from his cousins Addison, Logan, and Landon singing "Happy Birthday!" I think we watched that at least 7 times!! Thanks guys!

WE HOPE YOU HAVE A HAPPY YEAR AS A SIX YEAR OLD, JOSEPH!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Rodeo

2008-09-06T20:22:00.005-05:00

We had the opportunity to go to a rodeo that was here in town a couple of weeks ago. This was definitely a new experience for us as the kids kept asking us all day when we were going to the 'radio.' The kids had a blast with the pony rides, bouncy castle, food, snacks and friends. We met up with about 5 or 6 other families from our ward and just hung out for the evening. The weather was perfect with just a small breeze, but not cool enough for jackets.

A rodeo wouldn't be a rodeo without a cowboy hat right???

Jessie fell in love with the ponies. In fact, she had quite a meltdown on the way out when we wouldn't buy her a little stuffed pony. I guess she thought that was all a part of the deal. We tried to explain that she got the cowboy hat and a RIDE on a pony, but she was not going to have that. We all got to listen to her sob the whole way home. I don't really remember how we got her to bed, but I DO remember the first thing she asked me when she woke up the next morning. She asked if we could go back to the radio to buy her pony.

I LOVE this picture of Janie. She was excited to ride the pony, but she sure looks skeptical doesn't she? Not quite sure what sort of stunt this guy might pull on her!

All in all it was a fun evening for everyone. The kids (and daddy) have actually decided that they'd like to take up horseback riding after watching the young kids in the rodeo that night.

The First Day of School

2008-09-05T20:34:00.010-05:00

What an exciting day for Joseph and Jessie!! The first day of school! This was actually a few weeks ago, it isn't so new anymore, but they are still enjoying it (thank goodness)! Jeremy was able to go with me to drop the kids off. Jessie's school starts 10 minutes earlier than Joseph's this year so we got to visit her school first and then his next. Look at their sweet, happy little faces!

Here is Jessie in her little classroom with her teachers Mrs. Wood and Mrs. Wanda. I'm not even sure she said goodbye to us that morning, she just ran into the room, smiled for a picture and ran straight to her seat! I hope she'll always be like that with school. Wouldn't it be GREAT??!!!

Joseph loves, loves, loves his teacher!! She is great. She is so calm with the students and explains things in such an amazing way to these kids. I can't believe my little boy is in the first grade!

Did I mention that this was an exciting day for the kids? It was exciting for me as well!!! Janie and I didn't even know what to do with ourselves when we got home from dropping them off. She just kept asking me, "Mommy, where's Jessie?" "Where's Joseph?" In fact, she still asks me everyday after we drop them off where they are. We've had lots of time to play blocks and do some fun things just the two of us!!!

Our Superheroes!!!

2008-09-05T20:34:00.004-05:00

Ever since we got the "dress-up" box out the kids spend much of their time dressed up as characters other than themselves. It keeps them entertained for hours!! This day Jeremy happened to be home at lunch and decided to take some shots of our superheroes!!

Janie is 2!

2008-07-20T16:46:00.013-05:00

In honor of Janie's 2nd birthday I thought I'd post of few shots of her growing up!

Here she is in her blessing outfit, but not on her actual blessing day because we barely even got to church on time that day!!

They look so chunky when they don't have any hair don't they? I always look back at my kids' photos and ask myself if they were ever really that chunky.

In this shot she was trying on Jessie's Halloween costume. I guess we didn't get too many shots of her between just a few months old and age one, oops!

This is typical Janie. She is so funny most of the time. She just loves to play and be silly! She had Joseph's Power Ranger mask on and probably would've slept in it if I had let her!
This is a shot daddy got of her this morning before church. We were all making a big deal of her and singing "Happy Birthday" and stuff like that. I asked Jeremy to take a few pictures of her in her dress, which you don't really see here, and Joseph went up to her, gave her a big hug and said, "Janie, your first picture!" I guess he meant that it was her first picture as a two year old!

Yummy cupcakes make a great birthday for our sweet girl!! I asked her if she wanted cake for her birthday and she said, "YES, CAKE!!" and then she started to sing, "Hap Bitday to you!"

Last, but not least is a little video we got of Janie when she was about 8 months old that just makes me laugh my socks off! Enjoy!

WE LOVE YOU JANIE!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Japanese Dresses

2008-07-18T15:31:00.002-05:00

Before we left Okinawa I bought these cute little dresses for the girls, but they haven't worn them until a couple of Sundays ago. So, here they are, my little girlies in a photo together, both looking at the camera at the same time!!!

A Red, White, and Blue Celebration!

2008-07-06T17:00:00.016-05:00

So, for the 4th of July we decided to go to the zoo!! We have some friends in town and the kids have been having a blast together. It was a 2.5 hour drive there and then we spent 5.5 hours walking around and seeing all of the different animals and exhibits. The most patriotic part of the whole trip were the kids red, white, and blue shirts, but it was a lot of fun!

I think Jessie would let someone snap pictures of her all day as long as she could be making silly faces!

Janie absolutely LOVED the animals! She just kept running from one thing to the next making animal noises. It was so much fun watching her discover and explore. What a cute little bug!!
When we weren't inside looking at the animals Janie was finding other means of entertainment. I would say, "ready, set, go!" and she'd run down the hill. Look at that happy face. She was pretty much perfect all day long (accept the 5 hours of driving...)!

Here is a shot of my little man. I looked at him today and thought to myself that I just can't believe how grown up he is and what a wonderful, sweet boy he is. He is such a great helper to me! Jessie would rather play with him than anyone else and Janie just adores her big brother!!

I laughed when I looked at this picture because look at the girls. Jessie was just loving being there and kind of doing her own thing. Now, look at Janie. That child wouldn't be anywhere near us when we let her out of her stroller. She ran for about 3 hours of our time at the zoo. WHY didn't she sleep in the car on the way home?????? Those are our friends in front of us so I wasn't too worried about her escaping.

Here are my three red, white, and blue babies checking out the Sea Lions. Time sure does fly, I was thinking that in just a couple of years all of this "little kid" stuff would be over and I would surely be missing it!

This is a great shot of all of the kids together (minus Jacob)! They were trying to stand up on that lizard, but it was hot and so they couldn't touch it. They kept holding onto each other trying to balance for the photo. This was about the best we could get! Ethan and Jessie really had so much fun together during this trip. I looked over at one point and they had their arms around each other's necks and they were just being best buddies. Joseph and Kayla also enjoyed each other. I kept hearing Joseph ask Kayla if he could hold her hand.

All in all, it was a beautiful, HOT day! I guess by the end of the day there was a little more red, white and blue than we had expected. Red faces, white clouds, and blue skies made for a fun Fourth of July!

Later that night we took the kids and watched some fireworks here in town, which was a lot of fun. It was cute to hear the kids ooooohhh and aaaaahhh at the colors and sounds!

Swimming Anyone?

2008-06-17T14:46:00.007-05:00

We decided to get the kids a little pool because they want to swim everyday and I already take them to the pool in the evenings for swimming lessons. This way they can play in the pool during the day and go to the BIG pool at night. Here are just a few shots of the kids the first day playing in their new pool.

Wow! I sure am glad that Jessie's goggles match her hairbow!! I guess when most girl things are pink that isn't too hard to arrange. Who wears goggles in a kiddie pool anyway? Oh, that's right, we do!!Big brothers DON'T lose!! She got him so now he is going to get both of them! What would we do without a brother????

Just a short clip of some fun in the sun!

Bum Biting!

2008-06-06T08:59:00.004-05:00

Janie is our only child that seems to think that biting is ok. She doesn't do it very often and not even when she is mad, just at random. So, we were sitting reading scriptures the other night and Jessie was laying on her tummy on the floor. She and Janie kind of started goofing around and Janie eventually ended up laying across her. Well, Jessie started SCREAMING and I realized that Janie had bit her right on the bottom! Janie is very sweet though and she always says "forry" (sorry) when she hurts you. I pulled Jessie's pants down a little so I could see the damage Janie had left. I said to Janie, "You gave Jessie an owie, come see." She came over to see Jessie's owie and I asked her, "What do you say to Jessie?" I fully expected her to say, "forry," but instead she said, "Poo, Poo?" I guess she said the first thing she thinks of when looking at a bare bottom!

Jessie's Jammie Day at School

2008-06-01T21:44:00.005-05:00

On Jessie's last day of school the kids and their teachers all wore their pajamas. They got to wear their slippers and take their favorite stuffed animal with them. They read the book, "Llama Llama Red Pajama" and had all red foods for their snack time. The parents were invited to go for snack and story time and a little awards ceremony.

Here is a picture of Jessie's class during singing time. They all look so cute in their pajamas.

Jessie wanted to wear some really hot pajamas that she got for Christmas, but since they went missing in our move I told her we'd buy her some new ones for her special day at school. There were sooooo many cute pajamas to choose from, but she picked Curious George, not that he isn't cute, but......

This is a close up of snack. There was red jell-o, watermelon, apples, strawberries, red rice krispie treats, cherry tomatoes, and red juice. WOW!!! The rice krispie treat...GONE, the tomato....TRASH!! I couldn't have predicted that one!Here is Jessie with her teacher receiving her preschool diploma. The teachers made each child a darling scrapbook page with photos from different events throughout the year.

If you look in Jessie's hand you'll see that she is holding her stuffed animal. It is a stuffed pig (that is Janie's) with a belt fastened around it's neck. Poor pig! Jessie wants a pet so badly that she has to pretend that her belt is a leash!

What a fun day and a great end to the school year!!!

Joseph's Field Day at School

2008-05-29T14:15:00.009-05:00

The second to the last day of school was field day at Joseph's School. We were glad we were able to be there and to cheer the kids on as they were having such a great time.

The sack race was a blast. The kids tried to hop so fast that they were falling all over the place. We did manage to get a good shot of the teams.

Here the kids are setting up for their tug o' war. There were 5 kindergarten classes and they all had to compete against the others until the best one won. Joseph's class came in second place. Joseph's teacher is in the blue.

I love this picture because the kids are all pulling so hard. You might not be able to see their faces, but it was definitely hard work for them.

Kids say the Craziet Things!

2008-05-28T07:20:00.010-05:00

I have two things I have to post just real quick. I don't want to forget the funny things my kids say so I'm putting them on the blog. I think this might have to be my new journal. Can you imagine my grandkids reading this instead of my real journal? They would probably think we had a perfect life and that I was the most mellow, coolest mom ever!! I'm beginning to think it might not be such a bad idea.

Ok, so when I want to express strong feelings about something positive I'll often add the phrase "I can't stand it" to the end of my sentence. Ex. "I love you so much I can't stand it!" or "You are so cute I can't stand it!" The other day Jessie and I were at Wal-Mart (did I mention that Wal-Mart is just about the only store here in Altus?) and I saw this cute little patriotic dress that I just loved. I was looking through them to see if there was one in Jessie's size and I guess I kept making comments about how cute this dress was and how much I loved it when Jessie said, "Can you stand it, Mommy?" I guess they really do hear and take in much of what we say!

Last night we were putting the kids to bed and Joseph asked Jeremy if he would sleep on his bed for a little bit. Jeremy said that he couldn't for some reason. Jeremy is much nicer at bedtime than I am (the kids don't even ask me to sleep with them, they know they'll hear a whole list of everything I still have to do) but Jeremy will often lay in there for a few minutes with them.
I was in the office and I kind of heard Joseph fussing a little but didn't think much of it. When I went into the family room he came out of his room with tears in his eyes and said, "Mommy, Daddy kind of broke my heart a little bit." I asked him why and and then he proceeded to tell me that he wouldn't sleep with him. Ok, so that wasn't at all dramatic right? I still ended up in bed with him and in five minutes he was out. Maybe he was a little too tired!

Janie's Latest Fashions

2008-05-28T07:20:00.006-05:00

So, lately Janie has been very interested in dressing herself. She really can't quite yet, but she has started by trying to put on the kids' underwear. Iguess it just kind of happened one day while I was folding the laundry, she got a hold of Jessie's underwear and put it on over her skirt. It was pretty funny. Ever since then she grabs any article of clothing she can find and it all goes on her legs. I don't do much folding of laundry with her awake anymore because she unfolds it all just as fast or faster than I can fold it!!

The other night after the bath she grabbed Joseph's clothes (before he was out of the tub) and started putting them on and I got a few shots of her. Joseph thinks they are hilarious!

Here she is making an attempt to put Joseph's pajama pants on, but it was a little difficult for her so....

...she tried his underwear next. She almost got it all the way on before trying his shirt, on her legs of course. She is very into layering of late! :D

I caved! I had to help her a little in the end. I'm sure one day she'll wonder what I was thinking by posting this picture anywhere, but for now it is just cute! We love you Janie, you funny bug!

Happy Memorial Day!

2008-05-26T19:56:00.011-05:00

We had a busy Memorial Day weekend here at home. We bought a swing set/ jungle gym for the kids and this was our chance to put it up. We started it and worked for about 10 hours on Saturday and then we (Jeremy) spent two or three hours this morning. We have nice tans from being outside all day in the 100 degree weather. We did decide that 100 degree weather here is nothing like Okinawa, even with the humidity here it is still cooler than the Okinawan heat.

Joseph decided today that he wanted to help out with the (nearly completed play set) so we let him hammer some stuff and put a couple of screws in. What a hard worker.

Here is my bug (I don't know how that name stuck, but it really has. Poor girl probably thinks her name is 'Bug.') She just loves climbing up the ladder and hanging out in the fort. She fell off the slide this morning and hasn't quite decided to attempt going down again yet.

Joseph and Jessie played outside today for at least two hours without interruption! This is a major breakthrough in the Boyd household. They always need new things to do, one of us to play with them, snacks, or something of the sort, but NOT today!!! They had more fun than I have seen them have together in a while. I hope it lasts for at least a week.

We had to go to Wal-Mart this afternoon to pick up a few things and Joseph said he wanted to go with us becuase he wanted a new toy....Jeremy and I looked at each other and could hardly believe our ears. After all of our hard work and many hours of labor he wanted a new toy???!!!! HELLO!!!!! You have a play set outside! I'm sure we had a small glimpse of what our parents felt time and time again when we were growing up. I had one of those moments where I said exactly what my mom used to say to me that I swore I would NEVER say to my children! R-I-G-H-T!!!!

Here is a picture of our Memorial Day picnic! The kids eating granola bars at the little picnic table. Growing up we always had wonderful picnics with everything you could imagine (except the salt because someone always forgot it) so it is funny to me that my poor children are eating just a little granola bar with no tablecloth, no drinks or anything else for that matter. Look how much fun they are having though, they think this is the best picnic ever! That is why I love children.

The last shot of this entry. The finished product. Come to Altus and we'll let you swing on it!!

Turning over a new leaf!

2008-05-25T22:34:00.004-05:00

Well, now that we are mostly settled in BEAUTIFUL Altus, Oklahoma (it is important to think positive!!!!) I thought I had better stop making excuses and get started on this blog thing. I'm pretty sure Jeremy won't leave me alone until I do!! Actually, I have been having so much fun reading the Otis, Brown, Anderson, Draper and Gardner blogs (and others) that I've decided to turn over a new leaf and join the blogging generation.

My goal is to put some photos on here of our trip. That will be my next entry because it is already midnight and I've spend like two hours going through ALL of Jeremy's photos trying to pick out just a few to put on here. AAAGGGHHH!!! Talk about sensory overload:)

So, moving is such a pain. We didn't take too many pictures the first little while here, but the two that I did get are classic! You know, the kids look like they have been pretty much ignored for a few days. They had fun upacking boxes, playing in them, and creating new messes to be cleaned up every time we turned around.

It also seems like everyone gets sick for a few weeks or months when moving from one country to the next. Well, we are no different from everyone else. The only difference might be that daddy is such a softy that he lets his kids eat whole candy bars when they aren't feeling well. In this picture he and Janie were sitting on the floor in the kitchen hiding from me. The chocolate DEFINITELY did the job and Janie DEFINITELY has daddy wrapped around her little finger!!

Soccer

2007-09-26T07:18:00.000-05:00

I have been on the road for some time now and finally had a chance to make it home and to one of Joseph's soccer pratices. I of course took the camera. What father would not? Ok, none of the other fathers had their cameras, but that didn't bother me. But then again things like that don't.

The real question is, what DOES bother Jeremy?

So, Jessie and Janie and I have been going to Joseph's practices without Jeremy for the last month and it has been such fun to watch him and the team play. Joseph is enjoying soccer more than he enjoyed baseball.

Now that Jeremy is here we have some fun photos of Joseph in action.

This first shot isn't really Joseph in action, but it is VERY important to document that he does have moments when he TRULY listens and pays attention to the person in charge!

The next couple of shots are pretty self explanatory, but fun to see him with both feet off of the ground. I really like this next shot the best. The coach was trying to teach the kids about what happens when the ball is off sides and for some reason Joseph got to throw the ball in (I wasn't really watching that part of the practice because I still have Jessica to keep in line and she was following a big caterpillar, which she informed me, was going to turn into a cockroach!).

Today was team picture day. Everyone showed up early, in uniform, and had their photos taken. It was so cute to see the girls on the team with their hair all done and their big smiles. Jeremy took the photos so I have a couple of Joseph's individual shots to put on here.

This first one is the ONLY one of about 30 where Joseph wasn't making some crazy face. Kind of reminds me of his Uncle Cam:) I can't believe how grown up he looks. What a cute little man.

This next picture, and the last one for this entry, is one of Joseph being his typical self. Just a goofy, fun-loving kid. I'm only putting it on here because I think it is funny. There are more that Jeremy has taken that he'll probably put up on the website in a few days.

Anyway, the weather here in the evenings is pretty nice. It is in the 80's with a fairly nice breeze most of the time. I am reminded of why we love it here and it makes me a little sad to know that we are leaving right now when the weather is so perfect. I remember going to Allison's soccer practices and games growing up and everyone freezing, with blankets, hot chocolate etc... and I am glad that we are here in Okinawa at least for this soccer season.

Neo Park - Okinawa

2007-07-29T01:13:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

We had a spectacular visit to a place called Neo Park a few weeks back and thought we'd share a few pictures. If you have seen the movie Madagascar then you will know that these funny creatures climbing all over Jeremy are called Lemurs. They were so friendly and fluffy that we couldn't resist sharing our (Janie's) snacks with them. As you can see, they really liked what we had to offer because we couldn't keep them away!

After Jeremy had his turn with the Lemurs then Jessica wanted to feed them also. She just didn't want to do it alone so, I volunteered to hold her (you can't pass up a chance to have a Lemur on your shoulder, right?!) It was fun to see how excited Jessie was about the Lemur taking the food right out of her hand.

One thing that we found fascinating were the Lemur's little hands. Look at this guy, he just wrapped his fingers around Jessie's arm to hold it steady while he ate the treat out of her hand.

You can almost tell what Jessie was thinking by looking at her expression in this picture. Probably something like,"This is so cool, I sure hope he doesn't decide to bite my finger!"

Once Jessie had her turn and we knew for sure that the Lemur's weren't going to bite anyone we decided to let Janie have a turn feeding them. She was in the stroller hollering at us the whole time and waving her arms for a chance to touch one. She was mesmerized by the animals and couldn't keep her eyes off of them. It was pretty neat to watch them jump from the tree to the rock wall across the way. We weren't sure if getting so close would scare Janie at all so Jeremy was careful at first, but she couldn't get close enough so we let her feed them too.
Being a little older and wiser, Joseph is also a little more cautious. It took a bit of coaxing for him to decide that he wanted to get close to the Lemurs. His wide eyed expression in the photo is telling. He did think they were cool though and ended up talking about them the rest of the day!
All in all, we are ready to go back and feed the Lemurs again. We just need to stock up on our baby snacks so we'll be able to hold their attention long enough for a family photo this time!

Love,

Jeremy, Makell and the family

Joseph running to first base!

2007-07-04T10:17:00.000-05:00

Tee - Ball

2007-07-04T08:08:00.001-05:00

Oh the lure of the summer heat and the baseball diamond. We have started Joseph in Tee-Ball this year, and he loves it. At least hitting the ball that is. We can't seem to keep the glove on him too long. We are the Yellow Team - You can tell how they came up with that name by looking at their shirts.

I have been able to make all the practices which has been great. I would not have been able to do this while being the Wing Exec. What a blessing it is to finish that job.

Out of all the kids on the team I would put Joseph in the Top Three. But who is counting (Daddy). There are two other kids that have great arms and can run pretty fast. Joseph is about the tallest of the bunch though.

I have created a sequence over at the Zenfolio site. If you click on the "Slideshow" option on the top left corner you can what him run from home plate to first base. Here is the link:

http://Boyd.zenfolio.com/p75250138/?photo=615373630

I will try to keep up the shooting and posting these images. I know we are a long way from family and this is only a crutch until we make it back to the states.

Love,

Jeremy, Makell and the Family

Scuba Diving with the Whale Sharks

2007-07-01T16:47:00.000-05:00

Makell and I had a rare opportunity today to dive with three Whale Sharks. There are not many places in the world that you can do this. Okinawa happens to be one of them. You can't believe how huge they are. The largest was 28 feet long, with the other two about 18 and 14 feet. They are housed just off the coast of Torii beach. Their net is about 150 x 200 x 80 feet. For their size they could sure move. I tried to keep up a few times but it was not easy. I wish we could have spent more time down there.

Every day they each receive about 50lbs of food. I'm glad that does not include the human type. They are actually very gentle. Much like huge puppy dogs looking for attention.

It didn't cost that much for the experience either. $110 for the boat ride and $13 for the gear for each of us. I don't know what it would cost in Australia, one of the other locations that you can do this. We were only down for about 30 minutes and I had about 1200 psi on the air guage. That could have given me about another 20+ minutes.

Our good friend Kelley took the shots of us with her digital camera. In the first one you can see both Makell and I with the middle size one. The photo to the right here is me chasing the smallest of the three. You can see a few more photos at http://boyd.zenfolio.com/p109485618/.

It is just incredible to see these creatures in the ocean. We will always remember this day.

Love,

Jeremy, Makell and the Family