Singing the BLUES!!!

We found out that Carson is not big on singing! When one of us would start to sing (any song) he would get a poochy lip and then start to cry! AND just to set the record straight we also put on a CD of a professional and soothing vocalist and he didn't like that either so it isn't just our voices! :-) Then Brian put on the instrumential Paccobel's Canon and he SMILED at Brian and he liked it! So it seems to be singing he is not real keen on! Anyway, these pictures with the poochy lip were taken when I had Brian sing to him so I could take pictures!! It is so pathetically cute!!!

My Little Queen Esther

Today Annalina had to go to the dentist to get two cavities filled. She was so nervous and upset I didn't know how we were going to get her out of the house (she was under the play table), into the dentist office, etc. I asked her what she wanted to do (to help her) and she said "Fast". I laughed and said Annalina we have 3 minutes until Daddy comes there is no time! What a response for a 5 year old. She has been hearing about fasting recently.

When we did get in the car I talked to her about being an Esther and reminded her how Esther went in front of the King and was brave and that when something is what God wants us to do He will help us through it. I prayed and asked for God to help her be an Esther as she went to the Dentist office. I then said if you will be an Esther we'll go to the Dollar Store when were done. I can't say how proud I was of her. She was a COMPLETELY different little girl! She was happy, relaxed, polite, cooperative.

When we walked up to the receptionist she told her about how she was going to be like Queen Esther then she said "I've been thinking about fasting." TOO FUNNY!! When we went back to the dentist and hygenist she talked their ears off "Mommy had lots of cavities when she was little", "My Grandpa went to a dentist that was gentle", "What's that?", etc., etc., etc. She played with the dentist head lamp. Then in between them working on her teeth she got to tell them about Queen Esther being brave when she came in front of the king. As they worked on her a few times she would happily lift her hand up and wave at me. One time in between them working on her teeth she said "I love you Mommy". I wish I had a video tape of her visit she was just the sweetest thing. I couldn't have been more proud. The dentist told me "It doesn't usually go this smoothly". She was so good the hygenist said she was going to give something more than a balloon to Annalina since she had been SOO good. Annalina asked what it was and she said she had to wait until they were done. Annalina said "Is it candy?" Which was hyserical considering she was at the dentist for cavities!!

After we were done she asked if we could go to the Dollar Store just the 2 of us. So we went and the FIRST thing she did was look for something for her brothers. What a sweetie. She got Ross an alligator mask/hat and Gabriel a pirate patch, hat and sword. Ross pretended was the crocodile that ate Captain Hooks hand in Peter Pan and Annalina pretended to be Tinker Bell and went and put on some of her dress up wings.

She told me later she was proud of herself. I said see what can happen when you have God help you? You can do what didn't seem possible. Annalina loves her God and is such a determined little girl. I'm blessed so much by each child I have.

Sacramento Mini Trip-July 6th 2009

We decided to take an overnight trip to Sacramento to take the kids to the Jelly Belly Factory and the Zoo. Unfortunately, a trip that would usually take 2 1/2 hours took us 8 hours due to July 4th weekend! AHHHH!! But we ended up having a good time and we took Gabriel friend with us which the kids really thought was fun!

The Jelly Belly factory was interesting! It was neat to see how the candy is made! The kids enjoyed seeing the robots that worked in the factory. At one place on the tour they had a huge stuffed Jelly Belly Bean riding like a cowboy on one of the robots!

Summer Fun

Sonja enjoyed the coolness of the pool!

This summer Ross learned how to ride his bike which was exciting! He really enjoys it.

Carson at about 2 months (June 23rd, 2009)

Our little Cherub!! Carson started becoming more interactive his 6th week. He is such a sweet baby. He is not demanding and is so laid back. We love that he has such an easy smile. Heart melting smile!!

Mt. Shasta Memories

On our return trip from Crescent City we went past Mt. Shasta which brought back memories for Babe and I. We went hiking up on Mt. Shasta during our honeymoon. Babe told the kids how "Mommy didn't want to come down" off the mountian because I love being in the mountains so much and that is true. I just wanted stay up there and soak it all in.

Last Night Camping in the Redwoods

Our last night in the Redwoods we made Smores again! :-) The kids played and played and played outside and had a GREAT time. Annalina "planted" a garden by smoothing away the stuff on top of the dirt and taking moss and sticking it in the dirt (Second picture). She really enjoyed being in her own little world. The kids also enjoyed climbing some more on the stump! We had a great trip and I am so glad we went. Gabriel had looked forward to this trip so much and had told his teacher at school he was going to go to the Redwoods.

Some of my Favorite Photos from our Redwood Trip

These are some of my favorite photos from the Redwood Trip we took the beginning of June. My favorite one of Annalina I already posted of her holding the Banana slug also of the kids hiking in the GIANT Redwoods. The picture of Gabriel is just typical Gabriel with a big smile on his face. Ross the adventurer is in the next two pictures and then Carson the take it easy boy!! The boys were happy campers but so was Annalina!

Oregon Caves National Park (June 2009)

On our trip to Crescent City/Redwoods we also took a jaunt up to Oregon to see the Oregon Caves. Babe took Gabriel and Annalina on the tour. Ross was still to small to go on the tour. Babe and the kids climbed 520 stairs during the tour! Gabriel and Annalina really enjoyed it. After the tour the stayed and worked on workbooks and completed what they needed to to become Jr. Park Rangers. They got swore in by a Sr. Park Ranger! (Top picture) They really thought that was neat! The Park Rangers were extremely friendly at that park. I was impressed by their interest in us learning and enjoying our stay.

Beach at Crescent City--Pacific Ocean!!

The kids enjoyed roaming the beach and playing their own way on the beach. Gabriel collected some very pretty rocks, Ross made lines in the sand with a stick, and Annalina ran around and had fun. Ross thought it was neat that he got to see the Pacific Ocean!

Centipedes, Snails, and Banana Slugs, OH MY!!

The kids loved finding all the creepy crawlies of the Redwoods. There were TONS of centipedes on the forest floor. Annalina LOVED her snails (bottom picture) and Banana slugs (top 2 pictures). The slugs were disgusting stretching out to about 6 inches! YUCK! Well, Annalina is made of snips and snails and puppy dogs tails AND sugar and spice and everything nice!!

Exploring the Redwoods--Boy Scout Trail

1st picture: Babe with the kids on our hike in the Redwoods (Boy Scout Trail). Ross is the bump on the front of him!!

2nd picture: Gabriel and Annalina hiking on Boy Scout Trail. They are just dwarfed by the trees. Cute to see them go exploring amongst the GIANTS of trees when they are so little. Hopefully, it will be a great childhood memory.

3rd picture: Ross and Annalina hiking on Boy Scout Trail.

4th picture: Ross our happy hiker!

The Redwoods

When we got to the Redwoods we stayed at a KOA campground near Cresent City, CA. I was very happy to see that the bathrooms were EXTREMELY clean for the kids!! The cabin was nice and the kids REALLY enjoyed climbing on the huge Redwood stump just outside the front door of the cabin.

On Our Trip to the Redwoods (Beginning of June)

On the way to the Redwoods we went through Bigfoot country and the kids enjoyed that! We went to the Bigfoot Museum and saw the foot casts made of Bigfoot. As we drove Annalina thought she saw Bigfoot MANY times in the woods!! Ross decided he and Uncle Ben would go hunt it with guns because they were BRAVE!! The drive through that area is Beautiful. We also got to see Paul Bunyan with his ox "Babe". That was neat because Brian has seen is MANY, MANY years ago and now the kids got to see it. Annalina learned about Paul Bunyan and his ox in school this year as did Gabriel last year when they studied "Tall Tales".

My Over Zealous Cleaners . . .

Today I heard Annalina say to Ross "Let's clean the house". I thought, well that would be great if they picked up the toys without being asked to! The kids like to AT TIMES be praised for "initiative"! Well, it didn't actually work for me today. I heard Carson start to cry and went out to investigate. The older kids had gotten bleach wipes and in their zealous cleaning they saw Baby Carson and decided his FACE and HEAD needed a cleaning!!! I cleaned his face and head off with a wash cloth and he got a red mark around his eye but the red went down. Annalina and Ross were trying to "help" by cleaning their brother but I informed them bleach wipes were not the thing to use!!

Many weeks ago Ross came one night and asked me to take care of his Daddy Bear (special bear that grandpa and grandma Johnson got him because Daddy was gone so much). Anyway, I agreed to take care of him. Weeks went by and just recently after Ross had gone to bed he came to our room with Daddy Bear and said "Daddy Bear is to hard to take care of. Will you take care of him for me?" Hmmmm, we replied "Would you want us to ask someone else to take care of you because you were hard?" The reply was a resounding "NO" and the resolution was for him to keep Daddy Bear and the 2 of them went to bed. Hmmm, if he lives near us in his adult years we may be seeing a lot of his children!!! :-)

May 29th: Big Day-End of school, Kindergarten Graduation, and Gabriel's 7th Birthday!!

Gabriel's Birthday was the last day of school, May 29th, and so Annalina's Kindergarten Graduation was on on the same day. Both kids got a sweet treat for their special day!!

Annalina's Kindergarten Graduation

Whew! Annalina graduated from Kindergarten! She was a trooper to say the least. She went into Kindergarten to young and into a difficult kindergarten (uses 1st grade level in phonics and math). It wasn't easy for her but she did it with a lot of inner fortitude. She missed her Daddy, saw her Mommy going through a lot, and in class she had to really work but she made it through the rough year and ended up a very good reader!! I am writing this in July and the graduation was in May (29th) but the other day Annalina said to me "my life is all fun". I was very happy to hear that that is how she views her life!! I thought back to how hard it was months before now when her Daddy was gone etc. It is good how kids live in the moment and not dwell on the past!! The picture in the middle above is Annalina with her teacher Mrs. Jung. Mrs. Jung is a master teacher which is why we put Annalina in school this past year! We knew we were moving and we didn't want her to miss out on a start to her education like Gabriel had.

Trip at the end of May to the Animal Ark Zoo

May 2009 (trying to get my blog caught up!) The weekend before school let out Auntie Flo and Auntie Grace came to visit for the weekend. We decided to go to the Animal Ark Safari Park. The kids really enjoyed seeing the animals. Ross' favorite, to my surprise, was the Raccoon!!! Gabriel really enjoyed the bear named Yogi.