Happy New Year!

It's time to fess up....

We're having ANOTHER baby! After everything that happened with Logan in Manila that's pretty shocking, I know! Believe me, I was as shocked as most of you will be...if not more so!! We thought we were done, but apparently the big guy had other plans, which really shouldn't surprise me. We haven't planned any of our pregnancies. They've all sort of snuck up on us. Honestly, I can't say that I'm completely thrilled at the thought of being pregnant again, and all the issues it "could" bring along with it...but Brett and the kids are ECSTATIC!! I'm hoping some of that will rub off on me once I'm feeling a little better! :o) We're due Dec. 3rd, which according to my history really means the middle of November. So....ready or not, here comes Baby #5!

Spring means yardwork...and LOTS of it!

Our backyard is a MESS! I don't think the previous owners ever trimmed a thing, or worked in the yard. The neighbor told us, and I quote "They weren't really outdoorsy people!" Uh, yeah...I can tell!! We were amazed to find several flowerbeds (with lava rock) in our grass! We only realized they were flowerbeds when the tulips started coming up in odd places. Needless to say, we've got many weekends worth of yardwork left! Here's a picture of just one of the 5 loads we have already taken to the dump. Remind me NEVER to buy a house that needs so much yardwork again!!!

Parker's Baptism

We took our home-leave trip to the States in August so that our families could be at Parker's baptism. It was a great day with lots of family around to celebrate with Parker! Here's a few pics:

We were also able to attend Brett's nephew's wedding while we were there. The girls got to hand out mints. Their grandma did a great job on their dresses!! I think they felt like real princesses!

Hide n Seek

fHave you ever had the urge to hide from your family? I'm not ashamed to admit that I HAVE (You know you have too)! I have even been known to play hide n seek with my kids for the sole purpose of getting a few minutes alone to myself while hiding in a VERY hard to find spot!! If you haven't tried it, you really should!

And that's exactly what I did yesterday...without even meaning to! It was one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days...and in a foreign country it's even worse!! I had gone to the pantry to find something to make for dinner. I stood there with the door open for quite some time, then a thought popped into my head, "If you close the door no one will look for you in here." So that's exactly what I did! I pulled up the big bucket o' crackers and sat down. It's surprising how peaceful a pantry can be! I got a bit of lite reading done while looking at the back of my canned goods for new recipes, and I took stock of what we had and what we needed. I must say, I quite enjoyed myself! I even got about 30 minutes of time to myself. So I think I'll hide in the pantry more often!! You should try it too!

Note to self: Hide a bag of cookies in the pantry to munch on next time.

Disclaimer for CPS: Husband was home during said hiding attempt--no child was ever left alone or unattended.

The unwritten rules of Mother's Day:

1. Kids MUST behave their worst on this day. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
2. You MUST be late to church every single year because of said behavior in rule #1. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
3. You MIGHT not have to make your own dinner (but you'll for sure have to clean it up). HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
4. You MUST take a nap while dad "watches" the kids--only to wake up to something resembling a tornado. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
5. The kids MUST go to bed early so you can re-coup from "YOUR" day! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

And now that they're all asleep and your house is peaceful once again, you can LOVE them and be GLAD you're their mom!!!

Bloomington Lake

While staying at Bear Lake, we headed up to Bloomington Lake with Brett's family. It's up in the mountains--and there was even a little snow for us. I had forgotten how beautiful the mountains really are! And I think Brett realized how much he really does miss them!!!

The fam overlooking the lake

Hiking up to the lake:

There was also a rope swing at the lake...which a few brave souls took advantage of:

What form!!! :o)

Reunions Galore

We had a great home-leave trip to Utah in July to visit family. We hit 3 reunions in under 4 weeks...that has got to be some kind of a record!! :o) We had a lot of fun and some really "good times" with both our families!

Here comes a BUNCH of photos from our trip...

Fishing on the Fourth of July

Parker caught this HUGE catfish!! He REALLY wanted to keep him!! Parker started to cry when Brett told him that he could either put him back or let Grandpa eat him for dinner. He DID NOT want Grandpa to eat him...so we finally convinced Parker to let him go. Boy was he a SAD little guy!!!


This picture has a funny story that goes with it: After Parker caught his fish, Addie decided she wanted to fish. So Brett just let her hold the pole while he packed up. When he tried to reel the line in, there was a big glob of weeds caught on the hook. Brett reeled it in and was pulling the seaweed off when he realized there was a baby catfish underneath it all! Addie had actually caught her first fish...not just seaweed!!! :o)

With Katie's family in Idaho

Lots of 4-wheeler rides!!

Grandma and the newst arrival: Baby Olivia

Making Hollyhock dolls with cousin, Sammy

My mom has a TON of hollyhocks in her flower garden. She taught us how to make dolls from them when we were very young. So Kerry and I thought we'd teach our kids. Brett would want me to add that Parker didn't make a doll...he made a "puppy".

My brother Mike (who's guardian angles are ALWAYS working over-time!!!) after "playing in the mud" on his motorbike.

With Brett's family in Utah

Grandma taking the kids for a ride in her golf cart at Bear Lake!

Waiting for the cousins to arrive....

Parker loved riding and giving rides on Grandma's super fun bike!!

Addie at the beach at Bear Lake...boy did she have fun!

Lily and her sidekick, Halle
"No, we weren't playing in the dirt...promise!"

We're ready for church!

Brett's family photo

L to R back: Brett's mom, Brett, Nate, Brett's dad
L to R front: Teresa, Betty Ann, Cindy

This is what they're really like.... :o)

Family pics and home-leave....

I thought I'd post our latest family pics. We did a bunch of silly ones this week in preparation for our home-leave back to the States! I thought they turned out pretty cute....

We tried a dog-pile pic, and it is my favorite one!! Although, I must say, trying to do a dog-pile with a timer on a camera is VERY tricky!!! We had to teach P how to set the timer, and then he had to run and jump on (and have A jump on him) before it went off! Let's just say....it took a few takes!

The good ole' pyramid. L LOVED being on top!

The gang!

After nearly 10 months in the Philippines (Has it really been that long???), we're headed back to the States for our home-leave trip this weekend. We get to stay almost an entire month. Our time there will be filled with family reunion after family reunion, doctors appointments (with lots of shots), and shopping trips. We have SO much to do! I really can't wait until we live closer to our families so that we can actually take a REAL vacation instead of just crazy trips home to see family once a year! The 28 hour flight home is no picnic for a mom of 3....although my kids would beg to differ! They can't wait to hop on that plane, and ask me every day, "How many more days until we go on the airplane?" The flight attendants showered them with chocolates and ice cream sundaes last time...so they were in heaven. Hopefully this flight goes as well as our flight here!! Wish us luck!!!

Father's Day

Here's some pics from Father's Day.

I found the cutest mini cakes at the mall here...and P and I decided dear 'ole dad MUST have one for Father's Day! Isn't it just the cutest!?! I think I will be getting all of my kids one for their bdays from now on--at least for as long as we live in the Philippines anyway. Wouldn't this just be the coolest surprise in your lunchbox, on your birthday!! All the kids would be SO jealous! :o)

L sure loves her daddy!!! She has become quite the daddy's girl lately...even bypassing mom when she gets hurt and going straight to dad! She definitely has her dad's personality....and LOVES to tease!!

Like a postcard...

BORACAY: White sandy beaches and crystal clear water....it really was just like a postcard! It was truly paradise....what more can I say?These are pictures of the resort that we stayed at called "Fridays". We literally walked out of our hut and onto the beach!

The is the hut that we stayed in on the beach...complete with it own hammock! It was actually very nice!! They had mosquito netting over the bed, which made it look very romantic. But we soon discovered that it wasn't just for ambiance!! :o) We woke up the first morning with a few bites each (we haven't been taking our malaria meds)....so we slept inside the netting after that!






The sunsets were amazing on the beach! The pictures really don't do them justice.

We went sailing, snorkeling, and "Filipino fishing" (which consists of a plastic bottle with fishing line wrapped around it, and a hook and sinker at the bottom). The Filipinos that took us were catching fish left and right! I would love to say that that we caught that whole bucket of fish, but sadly it ain't so! They were all caught by the Filipinos...that is all except for the ONE hubby finally caught!! We asked them what they were going to do with the fish. And they said they would take them back to their house to eat for breakfast!

These are some huts/houses built on a hillside right on the ocean. We were told they were built by very wealthy people, and most of them are vacation homes.






It was crazy to watch these tiny Filipino kids all piled on this canoe out in the ocean! Some of them weren't any bigger than Addie!

These are the big sandcastles they build along the beach. The resorts hire people specifically to come build a sandcastle on their beach. Now that is a job *P* would LOVE to have when he grows up!!! Can you imagine....getting paid to play in the dirt! Isn't that every boy's dream job!?! The one on the right is something that the Filipino kids built at night and put candles in. I'm sure they're future sandcastle builders in the making!

We really did have a great time in Boracay! I had forgotten how much I love the beach and the ocean. I would have to say that my favorite part was definitely sailing! Although, the mango shakes there were pretty good too! :o)