Away from the House to the Open House

We've been away the last couple weeks. I need to pull up the pics and write down some thoughts. I need to do the laundry too.

But here at this house, we had a chance to re-evaluate what really needs to be done. A house of holiness and peace.

Boys and Bats

Baltimore Orioles versus Seattle Mariners.

Kenzie Koo's first Mariners Game, mine too!

Randy has come with the kids a couple times before. Sitting in the cold or rain, even if there is a partial roof with an infant has held little appeal for me.

But oh, this game was perfect baseball weather.

After finding Cayleb at the guest service booth, who went missing for about 20 crazy minutes, he went out the portal we went up to our seats, we settled down and had famous Safeco Field garlic fries, great for game conversations, peanuts, slushies, and lots of other muchies.

However, no matter how many munchies, Kenzie wasn't too interested in watching. So we walked the facilites, I walk the facilities a lot - fyi, the escalator changes directions from up to down after the 7th inning.

Makayla and friend Maddie, who made this oh, so cute poster!

We came for a couple of reasons, LDS family night, free t-shirts, and to see Ken Griffey Jr. #24, yeah, their marketing works.

Randy's friend and co-worker Nils, director of the Bellevue Institute, sets this up each year, part of the marketing is free t-shirts from the Mariners for those seated in the LDS section.

The LDS throw in is free candy bars, Nils was tossing out to his students, but Randy's good looks and little in the know, got the kids their own bars too.

In line for the freebies, gotta love F-R-E-E!

Happy Fourth of July

The locals say that summer up here doesn't really start until July 5. In other words, 4th of July is usually wet and damp which puts a bit of a damper of a bbq and fireworks. However, we just keep breaking records up here.

The most snow days,

the coldest weather,

the most rain,

and now one of the hottest, driest weeks for the 4th of July in almost 30 years.

I love records that break tradition.

That is exactly why the boys decided to kick off the 4th by sleeping outside on our bedroom deck the night before.

Then it was up, up, up. Randy headed off earlier to start flipping the pancakes for the 8:30 a.m. annual 4th of July breakfast at the church. Rand, Rand, the cooking man!

While we waited in line, Cayden showed off his bike decorated with roman candles. Last year, we went all out on decorating the bikes. But this year, the kids wanted the basics, and Makayla who is bordering the kid/tween years decided she would just help with Kenzie-Koo rather than bring her bike.

Loyal and true scouts always there early to raise the flag and lead us in the pledge. Then hurry, scurry in line for breakfast. My little red, white, and blue American girls.

Former military serviceman reminding us about our great country.

Bishop Crooks led off the bike rodeo. The kids are crazy ecstatic to ride their bikes around the church parking lot. Our primary has about 140 kids. So the parking lot gets turned into a whirling buzz of red, white, and blue with streames tailing behind huffys and fisher price wagons.

Makenzy was happy to have Dad push her in her stroller.

The girls taking a pause. Maddie chose to wear her Boston shirt, since Boston is a major birthplace of America's freedom.

Cayleb pedaling by.

Seriously it is un-American that he is 5 and still on a fisher price. This is proof of selective parenting and latter-child syndrome.

Cayden taught Madalyn how to ride a two-wheeler in one day when she was 5. I think it is time I call on the services of big brother once more.

Hot day.

Hotter because we don't have a/c and box fans just aren't the same.

Hotter because I had the ribs cooking in the oven before they were turned over to the grill for perfection. We decided against traditional burgers and dogs and went for ribs and brats.

The kids helped out as my kids do, by entertaining themselves in the pool

Summer is the cherry on top of the Mother Nature's seasons. I use to love fall because it was cooler, school was starting, the warmth of fall colors and sweater hum to me, my birthday was coming.

But not now.

I love summer.

The freedom from schedule, the time to have my kids back, the fresh fruit, the longer days, blue skies and sun.

Yeah, I now have a new appreciation of sun and sun worshippers though I still slather on my spf 30+.

Maddie loves the sun too, and Rainier fresh cherries, YUM!

One of my favorite and easiest 4th of July foods, red, white and berry yummy!

So I told Cayden last week we had to commit ourselves to a work project. I told him this had to be done while Dad was gone, that I worked under a premise of ask for forgiveness not permission when it comes to house projects. He stared at me a little hesitantly as I gave him the hammer and told him to bash out the blush pink and white tiles.

I told him it was seriously o.k.

I think all kids need to have demo projects.

He liked this project better than smashing the t.v.

I told Makayla not all kids can say they've pulled out a sink or yanked up cabinets. I told her it was something she could tell them about on facebook.

I don't think 12 year old girls think demo stuff is as Cayden and I do.

I spent a lot of my 4th working on the rest of the demo project.

Randy took the kids to Lake Wilderness where families spend all day playing old fashioned games like 3-legged races and sack races while setting and getting ready for the evenings' firework display.

We were invited by our neighbors to their cul-de-sac to light off fireworks. Cayden and Cayleb took their box named the "War Lord" and a bag of poppers and other small assorted fireworks to join in the all out firwork bash.

Up here it isn't usually dry. So fireworks spank the pants off what we used to be able to light off in Utah. All sorts of things can shoot up in the sky. The first year we moved here, we had neighbors to ask us to keep an eye on their roof because the neighbors fireworks get so crazy they were worried their house might catch fire. We thought they were a little weird. Then we saw how many big fireworks go off and we though they were smart to close off their windows to smoke and ask us to look sparks they might not be able to see.

The city fireworks this year lasted about 20 minutes.

The neighbor fireworks started about 8:00 p.m. and lasted past 11. One guy rolled in a dolly full of fireworks.

Cayden was excited to light off the assortment in the "War Lord" box. He had a couple big ones that got applause from the circle of neighbors and friends.

The girls ran home for more chips.

The fireworks kept going.

By 11 p.m. we were done,

they kept going.

They spend lots of money.

It is lots of fun to watch fireworks and other people's money go up in colorful sparks and flames.

We had a great 4th of July!!!

Are All These Yours?

This is pictoral proof,

I don't think we look too large, too many, too unrelated.

But I invariably get asked and told on a regular basis, "Are all this kids yours?" or "Wow, I can't believe you have that many kids", or "Big group coming through." Large families here aren't the norm, but it isn't like there are rare either. My favorite is the grocery store one-liner, "What are you buying all this ____________(insert cereal, fruit roll ups, milk etc.) for? Are you having a party?"

Yeah, I am.

It is called motherhood and not everyone is invited and sometimes the party rocks more than at other times, but nonetheless, I decided how many I wanted on my guest list.

It's 5.

I even forewarned my mom when she came to watch the kids for us in April, that if she went anywhere with the kids, including kid friendly places like Chuck-E-Cheese, she would most likely get posed the same question I frequently do, "Are all these kids yours?"

She did.

I have been polite in the past, answering, "Yes, aren't I lucky?" or "Yup, there all mine, I may have my hands full now but my heart is full later."

However, my sassy streak just got a little more bold.

Last week my friend and I planned a day trip to the zoo.

I specifically commented to Randy the night before, that I bet this time, no one would ask me about the kids, because well, there were 2 moms, 7 kids so the odds that they were ALL mine were slim.

I was wrong.

While we were at the reindeer exhibit counting the points on their horns, the 3 ladies behind us must have been counting kids.

"Wow, are all these SEVEN kids yours?"

I looked placidly down at her 2 kids strapped tightly in their stroller, smathered in sun block, while her 2 friends and their singular child likewise pinned tightly to their strollers waiting for my reply to confirm their suspicion,

that perhaps I was an unwed mother,

pregnant at 16 at least to pop this many out,

that I didn't know how babies were made,

or in our ever so ec0-friendly state, that I deliberately was making an irresponsible choice to have so many children making an irreversible carbon footprint on Mother Earth.

"Yes, there are all mine and all from different fathers too."

She stammered, "OOOOh, that's nice."

I thought I would help her pull her foot out of her mouth.

"No, their not all mine, I was just kidding you."

Sigh of relief. "Oh, I didn't think so."

Snapped back with a big smile, "But 5 are, and all from the same dad."

Uneasy, "Oh, wow!"

Makayla smiled at my sassy remark.

I like the shock factor. It went over well. Next time, I think I may add in something about wow, I can't believe you only have 1 or 2 kids, are you selfish? yeah, you probably shouldn't have any more, it looks like 1 is already pretty over-whelming for you?

I'll keep you posted on my goal to make people think twice before knocking my planned choice to have a larger family.

Mother of 2 - Courtnee, Evan, and Jake

Note- She is not selfish or overwhelmed.
"Polly want a cracker?"

"Polly want 5 crackers?"

"Polly do you really want ALL FIVE crackers?"

"Polly are you cracked?"

A perennial favorite - the Merry-Go-Round,

it's true,

it makes one merry

Kenzie-Koo is so merry, so merry her cheeks bunch up in that cute, baby, chubby cheek smile look,

and yes, she wanted to keep going round and round,

after her 6th time around,

we pried her away from the pole horses crying

promising to bring her back soon,

which means nothing to a 1 year old.

Who wouldn't want five if this is what you ended up with?

Sequel to Some other Dude's Yard Sale

It was a fun, quirky, odd treasure hunt.

After a 2 day drive to our new home, we didn't happen upon an empty, ready to move in house.

Our realtor was right. He left a lot behind. Legally, he said it was all ours, the good and the bad.

There was wine in the cupboards, bum bum medicine in the cabinets, ssn card, old drivers license, family cards and letters, pictures, gift cards, a t.v., a couch, end tables, workout equipment, clothes, shoes, bedding, a lawn mower, fish tank, ladder, an old tray of Costco food, cleaning supplies, underwear in his dryer. and. and. and.

Within a week of moving in, we held "Some Other Guy's Yard Sale."

We sold most of it. Kept a few things. Donated the rest.

It was a success.

On to the Sequel....

On our quest to get organized the kids and I held our 3rd ever yard sale,

our first solo yard sale. We were part of a neighborhood one in Utah, "Some Other Guy's Yard Sale", and now our first real deal one.

Prior to starting the sale, we watched a show about restaveks in Haiti, young children that are basically slaves. It really moved us.

"Just a two hour plane ride from Miami, you will find thousands of children forced into domestic servitude. They are children of poor families sent to who are unknowingly sent to live as slaves in exchange for a false promise of a better life."

I don't think myself or my children realize the breadth of the exploitation and the human suffering that takes place in our world. The kids wanted to do something to help.

We did a little research and found a foundation, started by a former restavek, that has an impact on this problem www.restavekfreedom.org. The kids decided this was where we would donate our money.

We advertised on craigs list. The kids sold cookies. Set up the laptop to show the plight of the restaveks. They set up a can for donations to the restaveks in addition to proceeds from the sale.

Usually sequels aren't as good as the previous, but this one was, in more ways, than one.