Getting Healthy

I started working out in the mornings. It has been great. The best part is Jack and Mariska started to work out with me.We are doing Jackknives. Mariska has always done them with me but I first noticed Jack doing them this last week. It is way fun to have them "helping me" stay motivated.

Never to young for music.

I love to play my Clarinet. It has been 20 years since I started playing and I am so glad that I have kept it up. Mariska has really taken to my Clarinet. She asks every time I play if she can play and I tell her she can when she is older. So for Christmas she got her own Clarinet at least that is what she calls it. I found a recorder that was $10.00 and almost got it but then I saw the $1.00 shelf and it was loaded with Recorders. I am so glad I went with the $1.00 one. She lost the first one and we have yet to find it, so I bought another one. She left that one down and Jack threw it into the kitchen and Jasper tore it to shreds.
I think I will get another one for her just because I love that she plays it when I play my Clarinet.

Pasco Childrens Museum

There is a Children's Museum over in Pasco. I went with a couple of freinds and their kids not too long. It is a very relaxed place. I wouldn't really call it a museum but the kids had a lot of fun!!

Jack, of course, spent a lot of time at the car track. I was a little irritated with the two staff members that worked there. They took the track set to another room (I assume to be cleaned) and didn't bring it back. Jack was having so much fun I wish they would have waited until we were gone.


Jack followed Mariska everywhere. He loves his big sister so much. I am so glad that they get along the way they do.
Mariska carried this box with her for a long time. It went down the slide with her. It went in all the cars with her. I think it has a dog in it but I am not sure.

Getting good on those feet.



Don't mind me. Riska really wanted to take a picture of me as the princess. She did a good job. It was very uncomfortable, I didn't fit into the space very well.


Mariska ran around as the dragon for 30 min. She was dripping sweat and it took a lot of talking to get her to take it off. She thought it was really cool.
Jolie and Sara are two of the most incredible women I have ever met. I love them dearly and am so grateful to have both of them in my life. Thanks Ladies for being who you are to me and my family.

To tired to function.

Riska has Preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays so it is just me and Jack on those morning. It is nice to spend one on one time with him. The only problem is he starts getting tired around 10:30 and we go and get Riska at 11:00. I try to keep him up until after lunch but he was just not going to make it this day. This is before we had to leave to get Riska.

Disconcerting

I took the kids to the store today. I normally don't that because it is hard to deal with both of them by myself. We needed an outing though and Mariska has done fairly well the last couple trips the store. Jack was sitting in the front seat of the cart and Riska was riding on the end. She has this bad habit of jumping off and on the cart. I asked her twice to stop and just as the words were coming out of my mouth the second time she fell and I almost ran over her leg with the cart. Then the tears started to flow. I explained to her that this was the exact reason I didn't like her playing on the cart like that. I told her she had lost her privilege of walking and had to sit in the cart for the rest of the trip. This started more than tears it started full on yelling and the beginnings of a tantrum. I know I am not the first one to have kids that do this but it throws me every time it happens. This was the first time it happened without John being there. I thought I was getting a handle on it by telling her that if she didn't stop we would leave and go home and I would come back after John got home from work. Then some creep came up to us and, I kid you not, said this, "You better do what your mommy says little girl or I can take you. Do you want to come with me?"
I wish that my brain had been working better at the time because I have come up with a lot of things to say to him but my main concern at the moment was Mariska. I grabbed her face and told her to look at me and ignore the man. As he is walking away he says "It's no problem my daughter is in the next aisle and she always acts like this."
Who in there right mind does that? John said I did the right thing but I am not so sure. I have things planned out to say when I hear of things like this happening to other people and then it happens and my mind goes blank. In my defense I was worried about getting my kids away from him and the situation.

New Years 2011

We had so much fun this New Years. We went to our friends the Mason's (Thank you so much for having us Sara and David!!) Sara was really my first freind here in the Tri-Cities. Mariska loves their Daughter Sammy. They are really cute together!
How can you not love this face!!
I swear this boy is always eating
Happy New Year to you all!!!!! We love you and hope that 2011 is a great year!

We are Walking!!

Christmas 2010

This was the first Christmas that John and I have had without any family. It was very quiet. I missed being with family but it was really nice to be just us. We did something every night the week before Christmas as a family. It was fun to have a week full of family home evenings.
I was nuts this year and did the after Thanksgiving sale and basically got all of our Christmas done. It was nice to have it out of the way and the prices that I got everything made it worth the entire night without sleep. (That and John taking the kids to his brothers so I could catch up on the sleep that I missed.
We had our usual Christmas morning breakfast, Breakfast Pizza. I cannot imagine Christmas without the Breakfast Pizza. The kids slept until 9:00. I was awake at 8:00. I was way excited for Christmas morning this year. It was hard waiting that hour for the kids to get up. It reminded me of when I was growing up and having to wait for mom and dad to get up and say it was OK to go and open presents. We were never allowed to go into the living room until we had had family prayer. I really like that tradition and John and I will be using that with our kids. It is easy to do when you wake up before they do. :)
Mariska loved her Christmas PJ's, Jack was indifferent.
I was really surprised at Jack he tore into his presents. It probably was because of how excited Mariska was and he was feeding off of her. It was fun though.

I hope that you all had a grerat Christmas. Know we love and pray for you all!

Thanksgiving for Preschool

Mariska Loves Preschool!!! How could she not when they do such fun activities like this one. they are really fun kids to be around and Mariska has a great time.

Thanks for the pictures Karrie!!!