The King of Pop

I just heard, and yes I am mourning. Michael Jackson died of a heart attack. I am incredibly sad because I think he makes great music. Eccentric and Weird yes, but musically brilliant. We are in Logan and my in-laws are making fun. My sister called me from SLC as soon as she heard and asked if she needed to drive up here really fast to be by my side. I liked his music and all but it's not like it's Bono!!! All I can say is, Long live the King of Pop on my Ipod. I'm sad there will be no more music from him.

Our life is so...

I know it's been forever since I have posted and there has been so much happening at our house. We're counting down the days until school gets out (2 days, 2 hrs) and getting ready to go on vacation. We're going to visit the Devenishs' in Logan for a week. We also get to see Manda, Rob, Michelle and Finn. Actually, Michelle and Finn are going to be in TX so we get to hang with Manda and Rob. We haven't really been on a vacation with this many people before so I'm trying to get used to the logistics of packing for everybody.
My energy level is noticeably reduced especially during the really hot days and so I feel like I am running at 1/4 speed. It really is making me nuts. The Dr. is concerned about the Diabetes and my history of early deliveries and so I am forced to have a non-stress test at the hospital and ultrasounds at the office once a week from now until I deliver. The one benefit to this is that I get at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted Ally time at the hospital each week.
Robbies' baseball season ended about a week ago, but since then both Preston and Riley have started theirs. Prestons' season is actually over at the end of June and Rileys' games start on Tuesday. Softball with 5 and 6 year old girls is amusing...to say the least. Let's just hope they can stay on the field long enough to complete an inning.
I will try and post some fun (and interesting) things in the coming weeks, including softball and more baseball pics. I hope everyone is having a fun and interesting summer!!

Happy Birthday To Me!!

OK, so I am a year older...and I really was alright with it. I wasn't going to bring it up but I need to brag about the great gift my husband got me. I was fortunate to be born in the same week as mothers day and usually I don't get much of a gift for that reason. This year, Todd was totally sneaky and bought me something I really wanted but figured I'd never get. I have the smaller, more economical model and figured that would have to do me until I had to buy me a new one.
Todd had to work on my birthday so I went to hang out with mom. He called and told me to get home right away, he had a suprise. I figured he gotten the rest of the afternoon off and I was really excited to see him (yeah right, I wanted him to take care of the kids so I could nap!!) but when I got home he wasn't there, but there was a giant box on the porch from UPS. I went inside and opened it up...what was there??? A Cricut Expression. This is like the Holy Grail of Cricut machines and I just about peed my pants. Even better...there were 4 cartridges in it, the markers (color and black) and various other tools. I know I sound like a geek, but I think I was screaming while I was talking to him on the phone.
I can't wait to get started with my vinyl cutting, but I haven't really have a chance to play with it. I promise Quinn, when I get some stuff done, I will take pictures and post. I think I have the best hubby ever!! Anyway, if you don't see a post from me in awhile it is because I am playing with my new toy!!

A little early for Mother's Day

OK. I love these guys and it doesn't hurt that they go to school at Gonzaga and live in Spokane. They are hilarious. My brother-in-law Orrin sent this to me last year and we kept it because it totally reminds me of my brothers and my sons. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Baseball is here...

I love the pacific northwest and really wouldn't want to live anywhere else. There are some drawbacks though, one of which we have avoided until now. Springtime Sports. I know it sounds funny but spring in Spokavega can be a crapshoot. You never know what you're going to get and this year has been no exception to that rule. Robbie wanted to play baseball this year, and my brother John and his kids have been playing for years, so I asked them which league was the best. He said they were all great but he thought the Pony season was the best because it starts in April and ends in June. Most of the other leagues start in June and go through August, which means spending many summer nights at baseball games. That sounded great to me...especially since I will be giving birth sometime this summer, so we signed him up for Pony. I forgot. I didn't really forget, I just had a momentary lapse in judgement until the game that was 40 degrees and snowing/raining. Remember, this is Robs' first year playing organized baseball and he is on a team with other guys in the same boat. Translation? They need work. Mostly it's a lot of sitting around in really cold, icky weather watching the bad news bears (or muddogs, in their case.) He loves it and we know it's a great experience, but ya gotta love Spokane for spring sports. Off we schlep with parkas, gloves, hats and heavy blankets, sitting in our camp chairs with umbrellas by our sides just in case. The things we do for our kids. Prestons' age group starts in May and Riley doesn't start softball until June. At least by then we will be used to it. Right?

Happy 7th Birthday Preston!!!

REALLY LATE!!! April 14th was Preston's birthday. I am late posting but we actually celebrated for about 2 weeks to accommodate everyone and our crazy schedules. We are so thankful to have Preston in our family. We sat down as a family and wrote things that describe him and correspond to his name. Here are our answers:

P is for pizza because that's his favorite food

R is for rambunctous because he loves to wrestle

E is for energetic he has so much we can't keep up

S is for smile it will light up a room

T is for taller than a lot of his friends

O is for obedient...most of the time!!

N is for no one could ever take his place in our hearts

We think he is the greatest. His laugh is contagious and his smile is the brightest. We love you and are thankful for you. Hope you had a great day.

Riley's turn for Mobius Kids

My favorite place to take my kids. I can't brag enough about it...but this time it was all about Riley and her Kindergarten class and their first "real" field trip. We got to take the bus downtown and walk a short distance to Riverpark Square (the mall that houses Mobius). It was time for lunch so we went up to the gallery in the food court (yes, an art gallery just off the food court at the mall) and let the kids eat their food. This was almost as much fun Mobius, because most Kindergarteners still eat lunch at home. Here are the girls enjoying their lunches.

When we got to Mobius, the kids all lined up so they could give them a really quick briefing about the museum rules and being respectful. It was very hard for them to listen because they were so excited about what they were going to do. Riley is an old pro...we have a membership so it's not new, but there were lots of kids who had never been there and were chomping at the bit to get to the exhibits. I don't blame them, it's hours of entertainment and they were having a hard time deciding where to go first.

After close to two hours of non-stop playing( I couldn't get any pictures because I was running around trying to keep track of kids) we hopped back on the bus...which was another first for quite a few of the kids....and came back to the school. Riley said it was the best field trip she'd ever been on, of course it's only the first one!!!