Family happenings and thoughts

Victoria turns 7!!

2011-01-22T18:19:00.000-08:00

Well, our youngest baby turned 7. So now her and Anni are age twins again. She was SO excited about her birthday. She counted down the days and I really wasn't so sure she would be able to sleep the night before. She started out her morning with her birthday breakfast of waffles, bacon and eggs. She had a party at school with chocolate chip cookies and then had her friends over that evening to party.

We have been absolutely blessed by this incredible little girl. She is sweet, beautiful, giving, loving, and just an all around wonderful girl.

Happy Birthday Victoria!! We love you!

Victoria's new slippers

Carrot cake

Thinking about her wish

A wonderful group of friends

Silly girls

Million basketball

2011-01-22T18:12:00.000-08:00

Million is playing basketball again this year.
He plays on a AAU team that has played together for years now.
They are an awesome group of boys and a great team all together.
This is his team playing together.

This is Million shooting the last shot of the game on an incredibly tight game.

The final score.

Winter photos

2011-01-22T18:10:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of cute pics of some of the kids
Galen, Victoria, Anni and the dogs in the snow.

Our big snowfall before Christmas

2011-01-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

One day without the weathermen predicting it, we got 12 inches of snow.
It was crazy, but beautiful!!

Do you see the little yellow thing sticking up from the top of the van?? That is a ruler!!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-22T16:02:00.001-08:00

Our special Christmas breakfast

The girls getting their scooters. They LOVE their scooters!!
They ride them all over downstairs right now since the weather is not so great.

Genet and her pillow pet

Galen opening his new comforter.

Genet and her stereo

Genet and Kylee with their new reading chairs.

Kylee with her camera. She LOVES her camera.

Kylee with her new Aero sweatshirt.

The "twins" on their scooters.

Anni and Victoria with their favorite pillow pets.

Christmas dinner is shared with friends
and family who have no family close by to share it with.
It is a cherished time for us all and

we have had some of the same people join us year after year.

Eating Christmas dinner.

After dinner game playing.

I forgot!! Galen and his "accident".

2011-01-22T15:51:00.001-08:00

One day during winter break we went sledding with some friends of ours. We decided to go to a place called Joe Watt canyon which a lot of the college kids like to go too. We had watched it on Youtube and it looked SO fun. Our friends had been there once before and had not had a great experience, but were willing to try it again.

Let's just say that it is so steep, that you almost need to crawl to the top. There was a part that had been gone over by people enough it became a "slide". It is really almost better to go on your butt because it was so fast. I only even went half-way up because it went so fast.

Galen had brought his strap on snow board which he had only used at our house on smaller hills. Smart teenager he was decided to go to the top and snow board straight down. I told him no and his sister told him no, but he did it any way. He ended up with 13 stitches in his leg. 2 on one leg and 11 on the other from where the snow board had hit is legs. He was darn lucky that was all that happened because he wasn't wearing a helmet.

He did say it was a stupid move after and I don't think he will be trying that stunt again.

What a day and we only got to sled for about a half an hour before he bit it.

Anni trying to make it up the hill

Kylee and Million hiking up the hill

Kylee coming down

Galen in the emergency room after

Christmas eve 2010

2011-01-22T15:45:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve was spent going to children's mass and then on to my mom's where we have our traditional family dinner.

The girl's in their Christmas pj's

Genet opening her presents at Grandma's

Grandma and her new solar owl

Dad and his "twins"

Kylee's 13th birthday

2011-01-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

Kylee turned 13 this year! What a blessing she has been. Teenager yes, but attitude does not rule her and that is really nice. She is sweet, giving, social and has a strong faith. Wonderful qualities for a wonderful girl.

This year Kylee decided to do her birthday a little differently. She celebrated her birthday with her family on her birthday and then after Christmas took 4 of her friends to my step-moms beach house where they spent four days. They had an absolute blast having total girl time. Scott was their chaperon, but was locked out of their time for the most part. :)

Kylee and her friends on the way to Whidbey

Playing games and watching chick flicks

A few highlights--Halloween

2011-01-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

I have fallen SO behind on the blog. I have been facebooking a lot more since it is faster and easier to catch up on things.

But, I know people like to catch up on us that don't do facebook, so I am going to give a quick run-down on things that we missed.

Halloween

The kids as always had a great Halloween. A great social event in our town. A lot of people go trick-or-treating in the same part of town so the kids get to hang out with their friends and we get to chat with our friends too.

Annika turns 7!!

2010-10-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful Anni turned 7 today. We were glad she finally had her birthday since she has been counting down for it forever! This morning she had her birthday breakfast of donuts, bacon and eggs. Then after school I picked up all the girls in her class and brought them home. They had a great time playing outside and we had a BBQ dinner and cake and ice cream.

It was a great day for a wonderful girl.

WE LOVE YOU ANNI!!

First day at school 2010

2010-09-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

Galen on his first day of highschool.

Here is some pics of the first day of school for the kids.

I also have posts to follow of glimpes of our summer. I was so busy with other stuff that I didn't post anything. But, at least now you can "see" a little of what we were up too. :)

Genet with her 5th grade teacher

The kids ready for their first day.

The little girls with their first grade teacher.

Kylee says she is too old to have pictures done with her teacher and I couldn't catch Million with his. Maybe tomorrow. :)

Quick summer update cont.

2010-09-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

Million and one of his BFF's when they first saw each other at the fair.

The girls "peeling" corn in Frontier Village at the fair.

Million and his friends after getting off of a very twirly ride.

Kylee looking at her friends bunny that is one of her rabbits babies.

The girls and their friends walking off to do "their thing at the fair.

Kylee with the new hat she bought.

Anni and Victoria on the dragon coaster.

Our "twins". Aren't they cute!

2010-09-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

Scott, my brother Klaus and I got to spend the day over on Whidbey Island with my Dad and Step-mom for the dedication of Zech Hall. It was a very special day spent with family.

It is beautiful inside and gave the performancers so much more room.

My Dad, Klaus and I.

Me and my gorgeous hubby!!

More summer quick update

2010-09-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

Kylee with her friends at horse camp

Setting up their tent at camp

Getting on the camp bus

The kids with Opa and Oma after taking a swim in Lake Washington

Getting ready for a chilly dip

Me and Kylee

Galen on Whidbey

The kids at the "Castle Park" on Whidbey Island

The kids swimming at the Island in Puget Sound

Playing in the sand

Quick update on our summer

2010-09-09T19:42:00.001-07:00

On our way to Whidbey for a week of fun!

Scott and I went to the wedding of my childhood friend and
got to see another gal that I grew up with. Very fun!!

MOPs camping trip!!

Million and Genet go to camp!

2010-07-12T16:36:00.001-07:00

Well, yesterday I took a serious trek with Million, Genet and one of Million's friends. We caravaned up with one of the camps vans. They could have gone on the van or in someone else's car, but Genet was very stressed about going. She had never gone away to camp before and change and not knowing what to expect can really freak her out. Along with her having real hard times lately with her attachment disorder. I wanted her to see that I cared enough to take her all the way up there and get her settled in. That was really important and I am glad I did it.

It is also very fun to see the camp in person and see where the kids will spend the week. The ride took us about 4 hours each way. They are all the way up in Winthrop, WA.

By the time I left after almost two hours, Genet was finally feeling a little better and starting to play with some kids. Luckily at this camp, it is almost totally made up of Ellensburg kids so she knows a lot of kids. They are going to have a blast this week!!

Girl's cabin

Swimming hole

Million and his friend

View #1 of the camp

View #2 of camp

Genet playing a game as I left

Summer even when it is not so hot out.

2010-07-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today the kids set up our slip and slide.

I had bought it for them a week or so ago for them because we decided to not put up our pool till maybe the end of summer. The kids and I are gone so much for a month that it just wasn't worth it.

Well, thank goodness we hadn't put it up because the weather has been far from our normal summertime weather. It has been chilly and windy to say the least.

Today though, the sun was shining. It was only maybe 70*, but the wind made it feel even chillier. But, the kids so badly wanted to go out and play in the water. So, they set it up and played. Kylee and Genet were the smart ones and didn't want to bear the cold water. They thought the other kids were a little crazy. But, they had fun and warmed up in the sun later.

Hopefully the forecast will be right and it will warm up in the next few days. We would love to have summer in Ellensburg. I do have to admit though. I kind of like the mild weather. The usual 90-1008 is a bit hot for me.

My 1st 5K!!

2010-07-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Scott, Million and I did the 5K Firecracker run here in Ellensburg. Mind you, I have always been a walker, but in the last year have tried to run a little more. I had been working my way up in miles, but never had gone past 2 1/2 without walking part of the way. My goal was to do the whole thing running, but wasn't sure that was going to be possible the day of the race. This last week, my hip started hurting and I was having back pain. I didn't run as much and if I did, I didn't go as far.

The day of the race we were having our lovely Ellensburg 40 mph wind. When we started the race it was blowing so hard that it was hard to breathe. about 3/4 of a mile into the race Million slowed down and walked for a little while because it was so hard. But, I kept powering through. When I hit the one mile point I was already dying. I was thinking about where I would do my walking. But, I kept on. I kept thinking I would stop at mile 2 because I knew I could go that far. Then when mile two came, the wind was at my back and I thought I would ride with it till the corner. But, guess what?? At the corner the gal yelled out, "less than a mile". What?? Less than a mile! I can do that! So I kept on. I so badly wanted to stop. The wind was howling. I felt like I was sucking massive air in, but all I kept thinking was "I can do it!" and I want to be able to put on my facebook that I made it. I cheered myself all the way to the finish line.

I couldn't believe I had made it! I hugged my friend at the end that was putting on the race. I had told her that it was my first one and that I didn't know if I could make it without walking. I couldn't stop telling her, Scott and everyone around there that I did it!! I was so proud of myself! Now I know I can and am looking forward to doing more as they come up.

It was funny because Scott kept asking me what my time was and I kept telling him that I really didn't care. The time I did it in really didn't matter to me at all. I had finished running and that was an incredible accomplishment for me. But, for the record, my time was 32:10. Scott's time was 21:30 and Million came in right after me with 33:58. Scott is looking forward to doing another one to better his time. He is so competitive!! I just would love to finish another one running just to know it isn't a fluke thing. And Million, he had a great time and said he would do it again.

Million at the finish line

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-20T16:58:00.001-07:00

Today we celebrated Father's day with Scott. What an awesome dad! The kids all gave him pop for his day. Everyone that knows Scott knows that he is addicted to Diet colas. I give him that. If that is going to be his only addiction, I am good with that.
After we got home from church we decided to go on a hike up Naneum with Million and Klaus. Leaving Kylee to babysit the other girls.

Scott had never been up on the hike before so he had a good time. We also saw our first rattler of the season up there. Boy, do I hate snakes!! Happy Father's day to an incredible father and husband!!

Me and my favorite husband

Klaus and Million

Mountain flowers

That nasty rattler. I hate snakes!!!

Genet turns 10!!

2010-06-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend we got to celebrate Genet turning double digits. In fact, she had three days of celebrations. On Thursday my dad and step-mom took her out for a special lunch, Friday I took her and three of her good friends out to have ice cream at Winegars and then out to see Toy Story 3. Then yesterday she had her birthday breakfast of crepes, homemade hash browns, eggs and sausage. Then for dinner Uncle Klaus and Grandma came over for a family dinner of homemade mac and cheese and sparkling cider. She had a great few days and is thrilled to be ten.
Happy Birthday Genet!!

Genet with her friends

Genet blowing the candles on the birthday hat.
Heck, when you are at a party you have to blow out some candles right??

Genet with her friends for ice cream

Genet with her birthday breakfast

Beautiful Genet

Her birthday cake decorated with one of her favorite candies.
Candy Corn!

Genet with her cake at the family party

Takes a lot to blow out the candles. :)
I hope that wish comes true!

Our 22nd Anniversary!!

2010-06-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

Today Scott and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary.

I can't believe that it has been that long. So much has happened in those 22 years, but it just seems not that long ago that we were walking down the aisle.

I have been so blessed by Scott. He has been my best friend, an incredible husband and a loving father. God knew what he was doing (as always) when he brought Scott into my life. I thank God for him every day. We have our ups and downs like every couple out there. But, God gave us the faith and the friendship to weather those storms.

These have been wonderful, memorable years and I look forward to many more to come. I love you honey!!

Galen graduates 8th grade!!

2010-06-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night, Galen graduated from 8th grade!! The last step to him entering high school. EEEK!!

The 8th graders had a great day. They spent the morning at the high school registering for classes for next year. Then went out to lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. Just the kids by themselves. Then they came back to school for a few minutes before taking off to get ready for their big night.

They had a wonderful ceremony and party after. They are an incredible class of kids and will do great in life.

7 of the 9 kids in their class are leaving early on Saturday morning for the E. Coast with another group of kids from a neighboring cities Christian school. Where they will be touring for 12 days and seeing a lot of wonderful sites.

My favorite of their 4 cakes they had.

Scott, Galen and I.

The 8th grade class with their teachers

Galen

Galen doing his speech

Excepting his diploma

The "Littles" graduate from kindergarten!!

2010-06-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

So last Friday was a big day for Victoria and Annika. They graduated kindergarten and finished up school.

This made Victoria very sad. She was sad to leave her teacher and sad to leave her friends. But, she soon got over that this week since they have had three play dates and see their teacher when we pick up the other kids.

It was a great ceremony and I can't believe that my babies are 1st graders now!!

Girls with Mrs. Jordan

The girls with their class

Singing their songs

With their diplomas!!

ECS Track Meet 2010

2010-06-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

This year our kids school did a first ever track and field day. It really turned out to be a fun, beautiful day. With all the rain we have been getting lately, God truly blessed us with an incredibly gorgeous day. The kids were split up into two groups K-3 and 4-8 and taken up to the university track at two different times. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the "littles" part of the track and field day because of an appointment that Genet had. But, I heard that they did wonderful and that Victoria ran with absolutely no effort, and a huge smile on her face. Anni had a great time too. Didn't care what place she got, just enjoyed doing it and dancing after.

I did get the privilege of seeing our big kids and what a privilege it was! It just helped to secure in my mind how much I do love the school. Not only did the kids do good in their events, but it was so cool to see everyone cheering for everyone. It didn't matter who won, but instead they cheered for everyone till the last person made it. On two occasions, people were very much struggling and kids went out with them to run with them encouraging them the whole time. They were great friends and sportsman!

Here are some pics from them day.

This is when Larissa, a fourth grader had a bad side ache and some anxiety since she has asthma and felt like she could breathe. So, the girls all left the stands to encourage her and get her to the end of the race. It just brought tears to all our eyes. That 6-8th graders cared so much about the 4th grader that they would do this.

Here is when they got her to finish the race running.

Million's 11/12 Birthday!!

2010-05-13T21:40:00.001-07:00

Million's birthday message on the board

Yesterday we celebrated Million's 11/12 birthday. I call it that because legally he is 11 and we can't change that, but we all know and the orthodontist helped confirm what we suspected and that is that he is more like 12 or 12 1/2. So, we think he turned 12 yesterday. Million says thirteen. :)

So, last Saturday all his basketball team came over. Those are really his best friends and we were so blessed that all of them could make it.

We had planned on them coming over from 1-4, but I decided to continue the party and take them all to Bares and Broncs which is bareback riding, cow roping etc. So, I ended up keeping the boys till 8:30. It was a very fun day and he is saying that it was his best birthday ever. I agree with him. His friends are really one of a kind and so is he.

Last night, we had my dad and step-mom and my brother and his wife join us for his family birthday dinner. It was also a lot of fun and he enjoyed his food.

Here were his picks for the day:
Breakfast--hash browns, eggs, sausage, donuts and chocolate milk
Dinner--meatball sandwiches, Doritos, pineapple
Birthday dessert--snickerdoodle ice cream sandwiches.

Million's best friends who are also all his basketball team.

They are awesome boys!
(Do you notice Million's fro wig?
His friends bought him that since he has always wanted a fro)

"Chowing down"

Birthday breakfast

His icecream sandwich cookie

Bloomsday 2010!!

2010-05-04T20:48:00.001-07:00

Galen, Kylee and I before the race
(by the way, we ran with 49,000+ people)

This year (again) Kylee, Galen and I went to Spokane to walk/run Bloomsday which is 7.46 miles. We stayed with our wonderful friend Cindy and her husband Troy. We had a great time with them and their animals and also seeing my old friends at Costco where I worked for five years and our friends and Kylee's Godmother, Celia and her daughter Missy. It was wonderful to hang out with all our friends.

The race went good. The weather was so icky on Saturday, that I was pretty worried about what Sunday might bring. But, it was beautiful and not chilly at all. Galen ran the race in 1:34:58ish and Kylee and I did it in 1:39:ish. We were pretty happy about that. Better than last year, and we wanted to move up in colors next year. But, we had the wrong strategy and I am especially paying for it now. I am mainly a walker and hadn't trained much for running. Those two things are VERY different. Did you know that running down hills is really not the best thing?? Did you know that you can get shin splints doing it?? Did you know that you have tendons and muscles at the back of your knee cap that can feel like they can pull off at any second?? Ouch! Yes, I am sore. I will be training a little more next year first before running hard. :)

Galen on the bus on the way down to the race

Waiting for our color group to go

The crowd of people waiting. So you see the clothes in the background in the trees? This is clothes that people shed before the race so they don't have to run with all the layers on that you have when you first get there. These are packed up after and sent to Goodwill.

Closer look at the clothes.
Do you also see the fence on the left side?
That was also full of clothes.

If you can make this picture bigger you will notice what they call
Doomsday hill and all the people heading up in a big mass.

Heading towards the finish line. There is Kylee with her ponytail.

Street cleanup after the event.

Then back at Cindy's with our new shirts on that we so earned!

Little girl room cleaning

2010-04-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

Before#1

Before #2

Does your little ones room sometimes get so messy that they are too overwhelmed by it to really get it cleaned and picked up?? My kids have always done that till they get to a certain age. All the kids have to clean their rooms on Saturday, but with the little girls they would do the surface and not fully clean. We have been so busy with sports and things that I haven't been able to keep up with it. So, it was to the point that even I was overwhelmed cleaning it. I had to take it one small section at a time. By the end, I had cleaned out two garbage bags full of garbage (old papers and such) and returned many things to their original homes. It felt very good for them and me when it was done. I can now walk in their room and not be scared of stepping on something.

After #1

After #2

Christian Adoptive Mom's Retreat

2010-04-25T21:01:00.001-07:00

Theresa, Me and Angie

This year I got to spend my birthday in a special way. I spent the weekend at a Christian Adoptive Mom's retreat. It was wonderful!!

I went to the retreat with two of my friends from here in town. We decided to take our time on Friday getting to the retreat. So, we left at about 9:00 on Friday morning. We stopped along the way to go shopping, have a wonderful lunch at Red Robin which is a birthday tradition for me and then we even stopped by Costco to develop pictures, so I got to get my favorite Mocha Freeze. I couldn't have had a better birthday day.

The retreat was great! I got to see some of the friends that I know from our AAI support group and I got to meet a lot of new mom's. I even got to reconnect with my mentor and dear friend Chris Little who has been there to support me and our family since we started the process with Million and Genet.

It is so nice to chat with people that really understand what we go through as adoptive parents. As a group, we really have a connection. So, we had great conversation, great worship and learned a lot from each other. I am looking forward to going again next year.

Me and Chris Little

2010-04-18T12:15:00.001-07:00

Spring is here and so is baseball season for Million. Kylee has decided not to play softball this spring and is focusing on her newly discovered passion for 4-H projects including making blankets for newborn babies at the local hospital (do be donated by the local Mothers of Preschoolers group).

Million's first league game was Saturday and he was the starting pitcher. He had a day that many pitchers only dream of - and this at 10 years old. The game finished with a 2-1 score which is phenomenal for boys 10-12 years of age. Million was the only pitcher for his team and threw 57 pitches vs. 81 for the two pitchers from the other team.

Glimpse of Mercy Me

2010-03-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would give you a glimpse of one of the bands we saw at the concert. This was Mercy Me in their intro. They were the last band to play.

Spring Break mini vacation - Part3

2010-03-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

After enjoying the night in the hotel and getting our complimentary hotel breakfast, we were off again. Heading North again into Seattle to go to Pike Place and wander the waterfront.

It was supposed to rain, and we were a little nervous since it looked so cloudy when we left but it turned out to be a beautiful day. My very awesome friend Angie who I have known since we were in middle school joined us for a couple hours and that was a great time for all of us.

We ventured around Pike Place taking in the sounds, smells and tastes. The kids weren't thinking they like the fish smell so well, but liked the taste of the fresh donuts, the meat skewers and the Hum Bow we had. We also found the gum wall which is weird, disgusting and kind of cool all in one. If you don't know about the gum wall, it is a wall at the market that people have put their gum on and now it is a landmark. Some of our kids put gum on the wall, and some decided they didn't want to get that close.

When we went down to the waterfront, we found some cool shops and also visited Ye Olde Curiosity Shop which is one you off course have to see when you are on the Seattle waterfront. Another Seattle landmark.

We really had an awesome time and although it was a short trip, we had a great time as a family, saw a lot and made lasting memories.

The kids with Angie

Victoria and Annika with "the big penguin"

Kylee, Genet and Million being silly with a statue.

Kylee and the "seaman".

Even Scott got into the fun.

Me and my awesome friend Angie.

The gross, but cool "gum wall".

Kylee and Million with the "Twilight" men.

Million after being freaked out by the "monk Fish". See that ugly dark thing hanging down from the fish? They have someone behind the counter pull on it when someone gets close. So, I asked Million to stand by the fish so I could get a picture and then the guy pulled on it. You should have seen Million jump. I wish I could have gotten a picture of him jumping, :)

Spring Break mini vacation - Part 2

2010-03-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

The kids with their Sidewalk Prophet VIP badges

After leaving the zoo we headed down south to Tacoma where we checked into a hotel. Our kids think it is such a thrill to stay in a hotel that just that is a treat. We got ourselves settled in and the kids watched a little t.v. and then we headed out again. This time we stopped by Burger King to grab some food and head down to the Tacoma Dome where we stood in line for about an hour to see the ROCK AND WORSHIP ROADSHOW!!! Let me tell you right here that it was an incredible show that we will go again to next year.

O.K., enough jumping ahead. The Rock and Worship Roadshow is a show that costs $10 a piece for and we saw seven Christian bands that played for three and a half hours!! We saw Sidewalk Prophets, Remedy Drive, Mercy Me, David Crowder Band, Francesca Battistelli, Family Force 5 and Fee. It was an absolutely incredible show! We were on our feet for almost the whole time. Our kids loved it so much that they told us right away that we needed to come back again next year and Scott and I agreed with them.

While we were standing in line to get in, we had the chance to meet the head singer of Sidewalk Prophets and the head singer of Remedy Drive. Really nice, down to earth guys. Unfortunately dummy me didn't think to take a picture when the first singer came by and gave the kids their special VIP badges he was handing out. But, I was prepared when the other singer came by. Galen didn't make it into these pictures because he found some of his friends that were also at the concert and was off hanging out with them. Bummer for him that he missed out meeting these guys.

The kids with David, the lead singer of Remedy Drive.

David Crowder from the David Crowder Band.

The crowd clapping while David Crowder was doing a ho-down song.

Kylee, Brianna (our niece who met up with us at the concert with her two sisters
and their mom who is Scott's younger sister) and Genet.

Taylor (one of our other nieces that was there), Victoria and me.

Sidewalk Prophets

Mercy Me

Annika who slept like the last 45 minutes of the concert.

Victoria who was out for over an hour at the end of the concert.
We all couldn't believe that she could sleep through it all. :)

Spring Break mini vacation - Part 1

2010-03-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

This spring break we didn't take a big trip like we normally do. We are now paying for six kids to go to private school, so things got scaled down a little. But, that doesn't mean the Zimmerman kids were deprived. No way!!

We spent the first part of the week relaxing. Sleeping in and hanging out. Scott also took the week off which was nice to have him home with us too. Scott and I were able to get small projects done around the house like cleaning off the decks, getting out some spring clothes for the kids, getting the garage more cleaned out, etc. The kids even spring cleaned their rooms. You know by vacuuming and dusting them. :)

Then on Thursday morning bright and early we took off in our new (used) big van and headed over the mountains. Our first stop was Woodland Park Zoo. We were a little worried about the weather since it was pouring down rain all the way there, but it only sprinkled for about 20 minutes and then cleared up.

The kids enjoyed the zoo. Our kids are real animal lovers so it was fun for them and us. Who doesn't love all the animals. Here are some pictures of our trip to the zoo.

The kids got a up close view of the chimps.
This one came right to the window and
spent some fun time with the kids.

This was a fun peacock who was well trained.
First put out all his feathers and then turned around
for us so we could see what he looked like from the backside.

Five of the kids loving on the Komodo dragon.

Cows giving birth!!

2010-03-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

See the cow in the middle of the pic laying down?
On the right of her coming from her rear is the beginning of the calf.

The kids and I were lucky enough to see two calves being born today.

On our way home we passed a field were there are a lot of cows. We always look since it is calving season and there are always new little cute calves. Today as we finish passing it, Galen yells out "wait! There was just one giving birth!" I wasn't sure if he really saw something, but I thought I would turn around and see. Sure enough we came across what I marked cow #2 with a big bubble coming from her rear. Then he yells out "there's another one!!" We look over and sure enough there is another cow with a bubble hanging out. We sat and watched both inside and outside the car since it was so darn cold for about a half an hour as cow #1 gave birth and then cow #2 gave birth. It was awesome to watch! How lucky were we not to see one but two at once!!

See behind the cows feet behind the orange cow? The baby has just slipped out.

The mom is just starting to clean the calf for the first time.
It's head is still partially covered in the sack.

The mom is licking all the after birth off of the calf. It just looked yellow.

Here is baby taking its first steps.

Here is cow #2. She was the first one Galen noticed,

but she took a little longer to have her baby.
Do you see the little bubble coming from her rear side?

Here you can see the bubble has gotten bigger and she is pushing.

Calf is up and she gets up and turns around to start cleaning it.
We needed to go at this point though since we were all freezing our bums off. :)

This made for a pretty cool afternoon!

Catholic Youth Rally 2010!!

2010-03-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

Having fun with the Archbishop

This weekend I got to chaperone for some of the middle school kids from church to go across the mountains to the Catholic Youth Rally. It was really a lot of fun and once again we got good use out of our new big van.

We started our day at 7:00 am meeting at the church. Then headed over the mountains and through the woods to get the rally. There were hundreds of kids that came. They had speakers in the general session and lot of great worship music. Then they broke out into two workshops talking about all sorts of things. Later the Archbishop of Seattle performed Mass and then after dinner they had a huge dance and play time with cool blow up toys. We finally left to head back home about 9:00 pm. I hope I am lucky enough to join them again next year.

This was some of the kids that were there.
It actually filled a lot more after this picture was taken.

Some of the girls having a great time at the dance.

Just some of the play toys they had. There was this obstacle course and see in the back the long narrow one? That one was where two people strapped up to bungees and then ran as far as they could to put down a Velcro piece before getting pulled back or
I should say pulled back like a rubber band. They also had a big wreaking ball where you try to take out your friends. The kids just had a blast!!

Our beloved family potlucks

2010-02-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

Some of my awesome girlfriends

We had one of our family potlucks last night which all the families involved just love. We used to have them about every six weeks, but life kind of got in the way. There hasn't been one in a long time, but I think after last night there will be another one really soon.

It started with all the ladies in our Friday prayer group getting together, but now there are a couple of us that can't make it anymore but our families don't want to give up the dinners. There have also been other family members invited into the potlucks. It is just fabulous. This group of people are some of the best friends you could find. I have many others in my life that are the same way. They would do anything for you. Our kids all get along wonderfully. Our husbands enjoy each others company. What more could we ask for?

So what do we do at these potlucks you ask? We all bring a ton of food, wonderful drinks :) ,our kids eat and then run off to have fun and the adults sit around and laugh. Something we all need to do once in awhile. Kicking back and enjoying friends is a must in life.

Getting our food after the first big rush had gone through.

One of the kids tables.

Another room people were eating in.
There was one more room, but the picture turned out fuzzy.

Galen's birthday party was a blast!!

2010-02-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

Filling the big van

Galen's class that came to party!

Having fun on the zip line

The kids filling their plates with lots of pizza and snacks.

Making a wish

Today we had Galen's birthday party. I picked everyone up in our new "bus" at school. He invited his whole class and a home school boy that he plays basketball with. Unfortunately, two of his class mates couldn't make it, so we had seven of them.

I pulled up in the van in front of the school with birthday wishes written all over it and honking the horn. Galen thought it was really great. It is so nice right now to fit so many kids. Soon we will pull out the back seat to free up storage room. But, for right now, it is a serious people mover.

We got home and the kids went right up to the zip line at Uncle Paul's. Then played kick the can outside. Came inside to have a ton of food (I knew that was one requirement when you invite a bunch of teens over). Then they played Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii, had cake and then went out again to play flashlight tag till their rides got here. It was really a great party and Galen loved it which is most important.

It was such a pleasure to have these kids over. When I told people that I was having my sons 14th birthday, they told me "good luck". Well, we didn't need luck. These kids are sweet, respectful and fun. Since they have such a small class, they are very close to one another which makes it neat to watch them interact. And, since the school goes K-8, they don't mind having the little ones around. They always involve them instead of making them go away. They even made their own decision to say a prayer before they had dinner. When they left they made it a point to come and say thank you. I am telling you, they are awesome kids!

Everyone loves a zip line

2010-02-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

Galen's birthday party is in full swing and the kids all decided to go to Uncle Paul's house and take turns on the zip line. Even the six year olds have a blast with it.

Galen turns 14!!!!

2010-02-03T20:06:00.000-08:00

Today my oldest baby turned 14. It just seems so strange in a way. I remember (and I don't remember much), the day he was born. I remember holding him and looking at him. Thanking God for blessing me with such an incredible little boy. Through the years we have had our ups and downs as all children have, but I have to say that Galen is one incredible young man. He is caring, thoughtful, intelligent, funny, a little crazy, energetic, capable person. We are so thankful that God blessed us with him 14 years ago and I am excited to see what the next 14+ years have in store for Galen.

Today he started his birthday with Crumb cake and eggs for breakfast, and we had mac and cheese, ugly bread (homemade) and carrots for dinner. It wasn't a big family dinner. We played it low key with just us since he and Kylee really wanted to go to youth group tonight. So, we had dinner and they got their homework and chores done and then took off for Crossfire.

On Friday we will be having his party where I get to fill up our new van again. He is having his whole class over for a hang out party. They are great kids and I bought a bunch of food and they are going to play the Wii, listen to music, eat, maybe play kick the can or flashlight tag and eat some more. :) It should be a great night for him.

Galen with his favorite pizza rolls he got from Annika.

Galen with his family cupcakes we had after dinner.

Galen making his wish.

Galen's birthday wish on our inspiration board.
And no, we did not give him a bible verse on his wish,
that is just the little girls verse of the week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUCKO BOY!!

2010-01-16T21:15:00.000-08:00

Victoria celebrated her birthday with some of her friends today. They dressed up, had their nails painted and played. Instead of a birthday cake she had a pizza size chocolate cookie with frosting. It was a great day for her.

Victoria loses her front tooth!

2010-01-16T20:07:00.000-08:00

Victoria has been working on her front tooth for a while. She had recently moved it over to one side so it just looked funny. People had thought that she had already lost it since it moved over so much. I told her she should try to move it the other way, but she said it hurt.

So, today as girls are showing up for her birthday party, she comes down to show me a bloodly tooth sticking almost straight out. I told her that she needed to pull it or "let it alone" my friend finished. It looked icky. We were following her up the stairs as we were telling her this and when we got to the top, she turned around and smiled and said "I got it out!!" Oh, thank goodness I don't have to look at that thing anymore and she is happy to have a tooth missing in the front like Anni. Too cute!!

Victoria turns six!!

2010-01-14T20:36:00.000-08:00

Today the baby of the family turned six and boy was she excited about that! I think once you move from that five realm you move out of being a real little kid.

Tonight we celebrated her birthday as a family and Saturday she will have friends come to play.

For breakfast she choose to have frozen waffles (because mom couldn't make them before we had to leave for school), eggs and potatoes. And for dinner we had meatball sandwiches, Doritos, and her favorite carrot sticks. For dessert she didn't want your normal cake and ice cream, instead she chose ice cream cones with mint chocolate chip and cookie dough ice cream.

Happy Birthday Victoria!! We are so blessed to have you in our family!

Victoria with her birthday cone

Opening presents

Having cousins down for cones

Rhythm and Hue

2010-01-11T21:40:00.000-08:00

Beginning of Albert Einstein,
which he painted upside down by the way.

End of Albert Einstein.

Beginning of Mother Theresa

End of Mother Theresa

The three older kids and I all went to the college tonight for an incredible show called Rhythm and Hue. It is put on by a 27 yr old Christian artist who paints to music with brushes, hands and just flinging paint at the canvas. He was incredible!! Even the kids were mesmerized by him. He tells the audience how he has a god-given gift and he is working to raise money for non-profit charities. He has raised $400,000 and is hoping to have raised $1 million by the time he is 30. What an incredible man. Check him out on You Tube or I am sure he probably has a site of his own. His name is David Garibaldi with Rhythm and Hue. And if he ever makes it to your town check him out, you won't be sorry!

New Mega Van!

2010-01-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

Well, Scott and I have been contemplating getting a larger vehicle for a while. We have maxed out the suburban and we like to be able to carry friends and relatives. We wanted to make sure that we had one with a big enough motor to pull our trailer. We also didn't want to break the bank. We were kind of waiting and hoping for one to show up that we could almost trade over for our suburban. Well, the vehicle showed up finally. We found a Ford 15 passenger in New Mexico with a V-10. Yes, in New Mexico! It was such a great deal though that Scott looked up the cost of flying and that was only going to be $120 so we took the leap.
He flew down on Friday morning and he showed up here at about 3:00 today. He is a madman driver! We are pretty excited about it and so are the kids. They are choosing their seats already. And, we have about four people looking to buy our suburban so that shouldn't be an issue. I can't wait to take a few road trips with our mega van!

The new van dwarfs the suburban!

Anni's snaggle tooth got pulled!

2009-12-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

Today was the day. I told Anni last night that if her tooth did not come out by today that we would call the dentist.

The top teeth are already coming in and her baby tooth got to the point that it was sticking straight out in front. It was loose, but she is not the kind to wiggle her teeth so it wasn't going anywhere.

She was a real trooper. They numbed the area with numbing gel and he took basically a pair of pliers and pulled it out. She said it hurt. But, I think it was more the pulling sensation than it really hurting since they had numbed it up so good. She got a slurpee type drink after to help. She is just fine now except for the big hole in the front of her gum. :)

They made it!!

2009-12-27T20:38:00.000-08:00

Galen when he thought he couldn't go any further.

So today about 1:50 I was looking outside at the sun shining. It was a beautiful, but cold day. The kids have just been getting at each other the last few days. Because of getting wonderful new technology for Christmas that was a seriously wonderful gift don't get me wrong. I have let them have freedom that they don't normally have with screens. It basically has been a free for all (since Monday after we spent Christmas with my Dad and step-mom) which has been really fun for them, but Galen and Million especially get addicted to the screens. So they did not see the sun for a week!! Million has SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and for those who don't believe it's validity, come to our house! He just gets downright mean and nasty. He has not been going outside and he has not been very good about using his therapy light. So, he has had a rough week and so has Galen. I don't know what Galen's excuse is. Anyway, after some rough days and not getting fresh air. I decide it was a beautiful day for a hike and it was! I took all the big kids out. Galen wasn't so sure he wanted to go, but I convinced him. Thank goodness because he needed it.

We started up the first hill and the complaining started. They wanted to cut across and up instead of going the full hike. Million thought he was going to die. Then Million and Galen get in an argument and Galen wanted to go back. You get the point. Anyway, we finally get right near the top and attitudes start to change. They started to laugh and get along. I took some great pictures and we eventually made our trek back down the hills.

It is beautiful at the top. You see all of the Kittitas Valley. It is really worth the hike up. Which is a total of five miles so they did pretty good.

The hike did us all some good. I was glad for the spur of the moment decision to get out for a while.

Kylee the tree-hugger

After making it to the top.
Boy they were happy!

The trek back down.

Merry CHRISTmas!

2009-12-26T21:23:00.000-08:00

Boys in their Snuggies

The kids coming down the stairs when they hear "Joy to the World"

We had a very nice Christmas.

The kids were of course told they would not be allowed downstairs before 7:00. So, at 7:00 Scott went out to put on the traditional Joy to the World song to cue them to come downstairs and you could hear them whispering "here he comes!" It was pretty cute. They came tearing downstairs to see what Santa left in their stockings. We do not do Christmas up too big. Not only do we not want to spend out of our budget for things our kids really don't need, but we also want the focus to not be fully about the "things" they are going to get. Our family focuses around Christmas more on what we can do for othersand they actually get excited about it which is cool.

This year we only got them one present a piece and then a few small things in their stockings. I really thought our tree wouldn't have a lot under it. But no, our children love to go to the Dollar Tree and buy presents for one another. Well, with six kids buying for everyone plus Grandma, that adds up to be a whole lot of presents. We finally finished opening at 8:30. And, they were done at that point too so it was good there was no more. In our house we have gotten into opening one gift at a time and focusing our attention on that person and what they are receiving. We take turns and go in an order. It is a nice habit and takes away that thing of ripping into one gift after another. The kids were really happy with all their gifts. The boys both got Snuggies which they had both asked for. Kylee got a new bible which is the only thing she asked for. Annika got a new littlest Pet shop thing and Victoria and Genet got cheap MP3 players.

After opening, having a nice family breakfast, cleaning up and then relaxing, we had some of our good friends and my mom over for a big Christmas feast. It was a great time. After everyone left we even had a visit from our priest who is becoming a fast friend. He is a really sweet man who comes from Mexico and a family where there was 13 kids and he was the 8th. I think he enjoys being around our house and the kids and we all really enjoy his company.

A great Christmas all around!

Christmas breakfast

Kota with his stocking stuffers

The kids in their new scarves from the Tekoa Zimmermans.

Anni and Victoria in their new hats from Kylee

Santa visits Grandma's!!

2009-12-24T21:24:00.000-08:00

Ok, it wasn't Santa. But, it was one of his helpers!! After we were done eating almost right on cue, there was a knock at the door. Kylee got up and answered it and there stood Santa. Scott said that he saw Santa at the door and then saw the flash of Annika as she flew down the hall as quick as possible. She freaked out!! She sat with Scott holding her crying and shaking. She does not like people in costumes.

Once she calmed down the conversation went like this:

A: Santa must be done. Are we his last stop?

S: No, this is just one of Santa's helpers who make sure kids are still being good before Santa delivers the presents? Santa is still taking presents to other kids.

A: Well, he must have pointy ears.

S: I don't think so, only the elves have pointy ears.

A: No, dad, he HAS to have pointy ears.

Needless to say, it was a little tramatic for Anni. For Victoria she went right to him and hopped on his lap. She enjoyed his company as did the other kids. After he left Anni re-emerged.

Victoria meets Santa or Santa's helper we called him.

Million, Genet and Victoria with Santa

The kids (missing Anni of course) thinking it is too cool to have Santa visit!

Our twins

2009-12-24T21:17:00.001-08:00

Our "twins". Aren't they cute?? Oma got the girls these matching dresses for Christmas.
They look so cute in them and they love to dress like twins.
Thanks Oma!!

A baby owl in the coop!!

2009-12-19T21:43:00.000-08:00

So, when Scott went out to the chicken coop to close it up tonight he found an extra feathered friend. The chickens were freaking out!! He was pretty cute and Scott got him to fly out. I was worried that some other predator might find him. But, what do you do??

The kids perform at the Music Hall at Central.

2009-12-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

This year the kids are all going to Ellensburg Christian so our Christmas program is done a little differently. Normally they performed in their school's gym. But, since this school is so much smaller, the gym could not accommodate that many people. So, they performed in the music hall of our local university. It was so cool because it was so formal. The kids did a great job.

The Ellensburg Christian Symphony (Galen and Kylee play)

Kylee and her friend Samantha

Genet's class
(Sorry that I didn't get a good picture of Million's class playing)

Kylee turns 12!!

2009-12-12T19:56:00.000-08:00

Kylee was very excited to finally have her birthday and turn twelve. She was tired of being the "stupid" age of 11.
We celebrated for two days. The first night we had a family party. For dinner she chose Devil's food cake with white frosting and for dessert we had hamburgers. What?? Yes, I didn't write it wrong. We actually ate cake first and then our hamburgers. You know what they say about eat cake because it may be your last day. We totally believe that. It was silly, but yummy!
Last night we had 9 of her 6th grade friends over. They had a really good time and ate lots of yummy food. They had fun doing each others hair and having a burping contest at dinner. Yep, that's my girl!!

Cake for dinner

Kylee's ugly but yummy ice cream cake.
By the way, do you notice the hair??
She asked for a crimper for her birthday.
Welcome back 80's!!

It's fun to put your face in a cake. Right??

Having fun with her "girls".

Merry CHRISTmas!!

2009-12-07T21:38:00.001-08:00

Check out this video on you tube. I couldn't get the link over to the blog for some reason, but just look up Silent monks! It is a great song and a great reminder.
Merry CHRISTmas!!

I need some teeff!!

2009-12-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

Anni is six now and losing teeth like crazy. She lost two on the bottom and one on the top within the last two weeks. She is ready to lose the other front one any time. It is really funny because the adult tooth underneath is pushing out her baby one so her baby one is almost sticking straight out. It is really cute when she talks because words are not always coming out the way they should. Isn't she darling!!

Mom gets a job!

2009-12-02T21:33:00.000-08:00

So with all the kids in school all day at the Christian school, I needed to get a part-time job to help with tuition. My girlfriend who owns a daycare just opened an infant room and asked me to work for her. How perfect is that? So I work from 8:30-2:55. Only when the kids are in school. She also has college students that can fill in when the kids are on break. It is working out well. Although it is an adjustment to work again, it is nice to work for a friend in a great environment.

The babies had a rough two first days and so did we. On Monday and Tuesday we were all adjusting. The babies to being away from their mamas and in a new environment and us to figuring out schedules, feedings, changings, documenting everything etc. Today was much better and I am thinking it will even be better tomorrow.

And for those who were starting to wonder if this was going to give me the itch again, the answer is no. I have never done so well with the no sleep thing and we are really feeling complete. So, I get to love on those wonderful babies, and then let their mamas deal with them at night. It is wonderful. :)

Lap dog

2009-11-29T22:12:00.001-08:00

This is our lap dog. It was so cute tonight when Scott sat down and Kota walked right up to him and laid down and cuddled in. He was putting his head all over Scott's stomach and loving on him.

My mama's birthday!!

2009-11-29T22:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight we celebrated my mom's birthday. Her birthday is really tomorrow, but we have a celebration we have to go to and we wanted her to have a special day so we did it tonight. Her birthday dinner was her choice of London Broil with sides and homemade carrot cake. YUMMY!! We had a nice time and she got some special presents from the kids.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!

Grandma gets presents

One of Galen's big presents was a big hug. :)

Singing happy birthday

Great wish!!

Cousins come to visit!!

2009-11-29T21:59:00.000-08:00

We love when cousins come to visit! And today we got a visit from Scott's brother and his family. They came not only because they were coming past Ellensburg, but because their daughter and ours are not only cousins, but best of friends. So, Becky was bugging them to stop and Kylee was of course putting on the pressure too. So, they got to have a nice visit and we all did too. It was really nice to see them and hang out for a while. Sorry guys I didn't get any pictures of the boys.

Because of Thanksgiving we also had a visit from one of Scott's other brothers and their kids and that was great too, but wasn't on the ball enough to take pictures.

Girl cousins and their foreign exchange student.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T21:22:00.000-08:00

The last two days have been nice and festive. The kids at their school yesterday had a pilgrims picnic where we brought lunch and all the different grades performed something. It was really nice to see what they have been up to. They are really enjoying their school and learning a lot. By the way, Kylee did not have a picture in here because the 6th grade is so large they split it into two classes (9 kids each) and decided to take a few kids from each class to represent the 6th grade. She was happy to get out of it. She is not thrilled about being on stage.

Kindergarten
(Victoria is in the middle and Anni on the far right)

4th Grade
Genet had some serious hair going on that day.
It was cute though I have to say. :)

5th Grade
Million is in the back in a striped shirt

8th grade
Galen is on the far right

Today for Thanksgiving we had a mixture of friends and family. A total of 19 people. Although I totally spaced on taking pictures. I guess that means I was just having too much fun to remember.
Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family. We are Thankful for every one and everything in our lives. God Bless!

Scott turns 44!!

2009-11-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

Today Scott turned 44. He doesn't like it when I say he is almost really considered "middle age". I always say it in a respectful way. :)
We really celebrated last night because we went with Million to Seattle all day today. We had a special dinner for him last night with lasagna, homemade bread and homemade chocolate cake. It was yummy!! We only put 8 candles on his cake for forty four, I was afraid I might start a fire if I put them all on. It was a fun night.
Today he took the day off to take Million to the doctor with me and we had a special lunch of Ethiopian.

Nerd Galen

2009-11-12T22:12:00.000-08:00

Last night Galen got to go to nerd bowling put on by one of the youth groups in town that our kids attend. It was a great turnout and the kids really did a great job of dressing up. This is what my boy looked like as a nerd. I thought he did pretty good.

Victoria's baptism!!

2009-11-08T18:58:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrated Victoria's baptism. It was a beautiful ceremony at church. Everything seemed just right. The weather was beautiful, the lady who visits our church just once in a while to sing in the choir with an incredible voice was there today, our friends were there, and Victoria looked like a little angel. It really couldn't have been any better.

Victoria's godparents are good friends of ours and have become very close to our children especially to Victoria. They really have a special bond, so they were the perfect choice for her. They moved here last year and are originally from Cameroon, Africa. They are incredible people and we have been truly blessed to have them in our lives.

After the ceremony at church we came back here to have a celebration. We were joined by the Dondji's (Victoria's godparents), my mom, the Fordan's (Million and Genet's godparents), our godson (unfortunately his parents couldn't come because of an illness in the family) and our priest. It was a fun day. Victoria's godmother even made her plantain which she just loves. It is a special food she used to have in Ghana.

A very blessed day indeed!!

Victoria thought this was really funny. She had the sweetest smile on her face.

I call this the "Lion King thing" when Fr. Tomas lifts the child up like this. I couldn't believe he did it today though since he is going in for back surgery tomorrow.

Victoria with her cake.

Victoria with the Dondji's, her wonderful godparents.

The "littles" move to a new school

2009-11-03T20:42:00.000-08:00

We made kind of a big decision in the last few days and acted upon it yesterday.

Our district had major budget cuts this year. One way they decided to save money was to cut full-day kindergarten. But, instead of just going back to half day kindergarten like they used to do, they decided to try to please everyone. So, they decided to offer half-day AND every other full day. The full-day option sounded good in the fact that I wouldn't be driving in so much since the four other kids went to our local private school and don't have busing. The girls would go Wednesday, Friday and every other Monday. Basically going two days one week and three the next. This sounded all fine and dandy, but it was a little fishy when they didn't even give us a calendar of the days they would be going till the beginning of school. Well, when you add in holidays and half day in service days, they were going to acually be in school 78 total days, when full time students go 180 days. So, they wouldn't even be doing HALF the amount of days. We finally came to a realization last week how little school they were really going to get. I had called their teacher (who is also a friend of mine) to ask about getting speech for Victoria. We started looking on the calendar for the month of November and realized that they would be going to school three days this week, one day next week, one day the following week, and HALF a day the following week! Unexceptable!!

Scott and I started talking about our options. We decided that we had two options. Either I got on the ball and home-schooled them with the public school supplementing them on the days they actually went to school or sent them to go to school where the rest of the kids go. Well, thank goodness for multiple child discounts and that after three, the rest are free except for fees. We decided to say good-bye to our much loved Lincoln Elementary and hello to all six kids going to Ellensburg Christian.

The little girls started today and LOVE IT!! They asked when they went to bed if they got to go to school again soon. I got to actually tell them that they got to go again tomorrow!!

ECS is an awesome school and has great opportunities. They get all the things the regular school has and more. They also all are learning violin and learning both Latin (younger kids) and Spanish (6th and up). Galen actually gets the opportunity to travel with his class and another school to Washington D.C. for two weeks this summer.

It was a hard decision, but one that we definitely feel really good about.

Trick or Treat!

2009-10-31T21:22:00.001-07:00

Anni-Princess Belle, Victoria-witch, Kylee-baby, Genet-baby and Million was their "Big Mama"

I love Halloween! I don't read a lot of things into it. I just think it is a fun time for the kids to dress up and join in community fun. We live in a pretty small town and so we know a lot of people when we go out. It is just a lot of fun.
Galen had to miss out this year. But, that was ok with him. He is on a retreat with one of our local churches. I am sure he is having an absolute blast!
Happy Halloween everyone!!

Carving pumpkins

2009-10-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

My kids love carving pumpkins! I still haven't taken a picture of all the pumpkins done yet. Maybe tomorrow. On the night that we carved them, the big kids had to run out to youth group and I didn't want to take a picture without them. Unfortunately, since then not everyone has been home at the same time. :( Maybe I just need to take a picture of the pumpkins and not worry about their makers. :)

Awesome video

2009-10-28T21:30:00.001-07:00

Check out this awesome video. It has a great message.

God Bless!

Britt Nicole Video

Sisters and best friends

2009-10-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

Is this totally the sweetest picture?
Anni and Victoria don't always sleep together,
but once in a while they like too.
So this is what I saw when I went to check on them last night.

They are sweet together.
It will be fun watching them get bigger
and hopefully always growing closer to each other too.
God sure has blessed us.

Anni turns 6!!!

2009-10-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today our baby turned six!! I think this birthday really hit Scott
and I more than anyone yet. She really is turning into our big girl.
It is weird to think that 6 years ago she was born nine weeks early and weighed 3lbs 10 oz!!
Now our girl runs in the 75th percentile!!
Although she drives us crazy with her whining, she is a very sweet and beautiful girl.
We have been so blessed by her the past six years and
I know that we will continue to be blessed by her.
She had a little birthday party with a few of her friends today and
then we had a small family celebration tonight.
She chose to have cinnamon rolls for her breakfast,
and homemade mac and cheese for dinner. She also decorated her own cupcakes and cake.
I had to definitely put my OCD aside for that. She loved it though
and created her own memories instead of me making it all perfect MY way.
She had a great day.
We love you Anni!! Happy Birthday!!

Her own decorated cake for her family celebration

Blowing out her cupcakes for her party

Our white board filled with Anni well-wishes

Anni's birthday breakfast of cinnamon rolls and orange juice

MOPs convention 2009

2009-10-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

The view of part of the main room we were in.
The amount of moms that was there was incredible!!

Going to the MOPs convention was incredible to say the least! I got to go to the convention in Tennessee with 6 of my girlfriends. It was definitely a memory maker. There were almost 4000 moms in attendance and some of the best worship I have seen which was done by Matt Redman, Matthew West, Natalie Grant, Plumb, and Kristy Nokels (?). There were great speakers and seminars. We learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed our trip. I would love to go again in the future.

Me, Julieanna, Bobbie,Beth, Nikki, Crissy and Gina

All of us out to dinner

Looking from our balcony into the "inside" of the hotel.

It was a totally covered "city" hotel.
It felt like you were outside when it was all indoor. Totally cool!

My travel mates for the flights there and back.
The other gals all flew on different flights.

Victoria readoption

2009-10-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have fallen behind again so I am playing catch-up.

On October 12 we went into court to finally do Victoria's re-adoption. This was badly put off by Scott and I since it is really a formality, but needed to get done. Now we are just kicking ourselves because without this she can not get a social security number for bank accounts and things. Now we wait for it all to go through the system. Why didn't we do it earlier??

Anyway, it was a great, quick ceremony with our favorite Judge Sparks. He is so great with kids explaining the whole process. He commented that this is his favorite part of being a judge.

Mom's gone for a few days

2009-09-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

It's funny how so many people think that we, as men, can't handle taking care of our children by ourselves. Sure, the house may not be as clean, the clothes not washed on the same schedule. But, the kids are fed, dressed, bathed/showered, and at school on time.

For those that don't know, Hilda left early this morning to attend the national MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) convention in Nashville, Tennessee. She has been looking forward to this trip for 6 months since she and several other local MOPS moms felt callled to attend. They planned and planned, and then planned some more. They worked hard to raise money to help offset the costs of hotel, registration and airfare.

Most of all this is a well earned break for Hilda. She is an amazing mother and wife, and deserves all the praise that can be given to a person. She works tirelessly to keep our "ship" running smoothly and afloat. I'd hate to think where we'd be without her.

It was a no-brainer when she asked if she could attend this convention. I've learned over the years to put up with the "are you doing ok?" or "can I help with anything?" questions. It just comes with the territory.

One of the most memorable moments was in 2003 when Hilda went to Florida to attend a friends wedding. Kylee was in preschool and as we were rushing to get out of the house (mind you, this was with only two children, not six) I let Kylee dress herself. She was five years old at the time Typical of the male population it didn't matter what she looked like as long as there were clothes on her body. As Kylee walked into preschool with a striped shirt, polka dot pants and mismatched socks the preschool teacher looked at me and said "Hilda must still be out of town." We survived that time without mom just as we have several others.

We manage pretty well when mom isn't around - at least I'd like to think so. However, we'll wait for the final judgment when Hilda gets home.

Our first egg!!!!!!!

2009-09-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we got our first egg!! This is a pretty exciting day. We have had the chickens for a while and have been waiting for the oldest to lay. We are hoping the others will be right behind her. Unfortunately, she needs to learn to lay them in her nest box. Today we couldn't find one, so we will see what tomorrow brings.

Monday-Day #5 of fair

2009-09-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

Monday was the last day of fair. The kids had barn duty at 6:30am!! The fair is always tiring, but great. A time when many memories are made.
Galen and Kylee got to go to the Rodeo for 4-H day. They had a great time and then I joined them at the fairgrounds for the 4-H awards ceremony. After that, it is cleaning out the barns and take the animals home. This always feels good in a way because everyone is exhausted, but it is always sad because it means it is a whole year till fair again.

Sunday- Fair #4

2009-09-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday brings our annual big rodeo breakfast before everyone leaves. It is always a big exodus on Sunday because Labor day can cause traffic so bad over the mountains that you can be stuck for hours and hours. So we feed our guests a big breakfast and say our goodbyes. Rodeo weekend is such a great time around our house it is hard when it is over. Although we get so exhausted we are also glad to relax and kick back.

This Sunday after breakfast, we also took off to get Genet in Seattle. Genet got to go visit friends of ours in Edmonds. They have a ton of kids. Mostly from Ethiopia. So the connections are great for her. She had a really great time and while she was there they gave her extensions. They did a wonderful job and look great on her. We actually didn't even recognize her when we first walked in. Thank you Hehn family for putting on a great Camp Hehn. Genet had a blast!!

Fair #3 Saturday

2009-09-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday of fair we awoke to rain. Something that we really don't deal with normally especially on Labor day weekend. We went downtown to watch the parade hoping the rain would end. Normally, we choose the side of the street that will have the least amount of sun hoping not to come out fried. This time we picked the side we could sit under an awning. It really poured a few times. We stayed dry, but for Million, Kylee and Galen who rode on the Ellensburg Christian float, it was another story. They were pretty wet by the time they got back to us.

The parade was good even though it was wet.

Saturday evening we were joined by our friends and family for our annual BBQ before going to watch the Extreme Bulls. This is kind of like the rodeo, but only bull-riding and at night. It is very exciting and something that our family looks forward to going to every year.

Waiting for the parade

Ellensburg Christian School float
(this is the school our four older kids will be attending this year)

Our good friends Pat and Lynn who join us every year
for Labor Day and the Bulls.

The Extreme Bulls!!

The fair #2

2009-09-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

Music club

Million and his buddies riding the rides

You are going to have to read backwards since I have fallen behind. Fair was exhausting but fun and so I am just catching up on blog entries. Start from the bottom and read up.

After the judging of the animals the kids started on the rides. We took a break to watch Kylee play marimbas with the Lincoln Music Club and then they got back on. Later in the day the little girls were getting tired so Scott took them home for dinner, bath and bed and the "big" kids and I went out to eat which is a special treat for us and then back to "ride in the lights" which is one of their favorite things.

Million especially loved the dinner where we went to Rodeo City BBQ and had ribs which is one of his favorite meals. He got very messy and it was fun to listen to him eat. He absolutely loved it! Many memories from Thursday at the fair!

Galen and the "littles" do the big slide.

Million shoves himself into the little coaster to ride with the girls

Galen and Million enjoying dinner.

Fair- Rabbit judging

2009-09-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

Galen at the judging table.

Our fair weekend is a big deal around here. Our kids prepare all year for it.
The beginning of the fair starts with getting their animals into the fair and then the next day which is the start of the fair they do their 4-H judging starting at 8:00am.
They both did very good this year and so did their rabbits. They actually even both qualified for state, but they decided not to go. Kylee got Reserve Grand Champion for fitting and showing and two of her rabbits got best of breed along with various other ribbons. Galen also did good in fitting and showing and his rabbit got her fair share of ribbons also. They were both pleased with the outcome.

Kylee at the judging table

Kylee and Maggie Grand champions for fitting and showing.

Best dressed rabbit contest

The best dressed hippie bunny that didn't win because there were literally
four year olds judging. :(

Klaus turns 49 2/3!!

2009-08-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

My brother Klaus is always gone during the year traveling. So, we never get to see him on his birthday. This year he will be turning 50!! So, he decided to throw himself a party with his friend Brian that was visiting, all the kids and of course our mom and my brother and his family. We had good pizza and of course a big Costco cake.

Happy almost 50th Uncle Klaus!!

Camping!! What fun!!

2009-08-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I am a little behind again. We went camping last week and got back on Thursday. I guess better late than never.

The kids and I went camping up at Lake Kachess which is about 50 minutes from where we live. Scott was sweet enough that he took the trailer up and set us all up. He also made sure all my girlfriends were set up also. He is a good man.

Most of the moms were MOPs moms or former MOPs moms. There were 5-6 moms and their kids that went and stayed most of the time. We also had moms that came and visited for the day. On the last night we fed 33 people all together.

It was an absolutely beautiful campground and the lake was gorgeous! The weather was just perfect and we had a blast! I am so blessed to have such great friends! We are planning another trip next year.

At the beach!!

2009-08-15T21:33:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am a little behind. We got back from the beach on Tuesday and it is Saturday night. I have been busy and tired and in the midst of trying to get ready to go camping on Monday with some of my girlfriends and their kids. I think life will slow down again once school starts. LOL!!

Well, back to our beach trip. We spent a week up at my step-mom's house up on Whidbey. They don't live there, it is just a vacation home. We did get to see them though when they came for a visit on Friday.

The weather wasn't fabulous while we were there, but it was almost a nice relief from the hot weather we have been experiencing lately. It actually didn't rain till the day we left.

The kids played on the beach, built beach forts, built a fairy village, went and played in the coolest playground, went to Ft. Casey, ate lots of junk food, roasted marshmallows over a beach fire, ate ice cream for dinner with Opa and Oma and just hung out and had fun.

Here are some pictures of our beach adventure:

On the ferry

Building the beach fort

Evening camp fire

At fort Casey

Building fairy land

Time with Opa and Oma

We really had a great time at the beach. Thanks Opa and Oma!!

AAI Family Gathering!

2009-08-04T14:57:00.001-07:00

Kylee and Samrawit

This last weekend we had the privilege to go the the bi-annual Adoption Advocates International family gathering. This is where anyone who is adopting, or has adopted through AAI can come and meet and gather to meet other adoptive families. It is a lot of fun and we look forward to these events.

Victoria was especially excited because she was able to see some very good friends of hers from Ghana. The other kids also saw friends that they only see once in a while.

Here are a few pictures of the weekend. Unfortunately my camera broke before the weekend, so I didn't get as many pics as usual.

Victoria and Fia

Victoria and Gloria

The Ethiopian girls doing the little girls hair

Bob Little and Victoria

Water leak!!

2009-08-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

On our first full day in Pt. Townsend, I got a call from Scott. He was calling to inform me that we had a water leak behind our fridge. They were pulling up hardwood, our slate in the kitchen, and possibly our kitchen cabinets.

Well, the long and the short of it is, that we lived with fans and dehumidifiers that totally heated up our house for a week, they pulled our laundry room cabinets, a good chunk of our hardwoods, the slate in the kitchen, and my island that has the oven and stove top are gone right now.

The kids and I are gone a lot this month, so I am hoping that when we come back that things will be more put together. Having my house like this really stresses me out.

Let me add that I have an awesome husband that works in insurance and knows the ins and outs of taking care of all this stuff.

Pt. Townsend

2009-08-04T14:29:00.001-07:00

Genet getting her hair done by Marta and Brooke

The week before last we left to visit our good friends "The Littles" in Pt. Townsend. We spent almost a week at their guest house.

We all had an absolute blast there! They are an adoptive family that we have known for a few years and talked to the first time almost five years ago. Chris was actually the first person I had really talked to about adoption and the one who helped convince us to take the step and adopt from Ethiopia.

Our families have really clicked and they really feel more like family than just friends. We really love spending time with them!

So, the kids and I visited forts while we were there and went to the beach multiple times.

They loved the Littles house! They spent hours with their kids playing on the trampoline, swimming in their pool, playing dress up, playing the Wii and X-box, riding scooters and much, much more! I think their favorite memory though was watching a movie outside at night with the screen against the garage. I must say that it was pretty cool!

They had so much fun that the kids decided that going to the Littles should be an annual event. :)

Thanks Chris and Bob!! You guys are awesome!

Watching the outdoor, late night movie

Galen and Kylee finding treasures at the beach

Dancing on the trampoline

Kids at the beach at Ft. Townsend

Kids peeking out in a dark tunnel at Ft. Flagler

Running on the beach

Catching up

2009-08-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

I am a bit behind on posts so it is time to catch up.
Things have been a bit frazzled lately as we have been gone a lot and we had a water loss in our kitchen. :(
So, these are the updates. I am going to do them kind of quickly though since we leave again tomorrow for a new adventure to Whidbey Island.

Kota

2009-07-16T21:28:00.001-07:00

I just have to say that we are very happy with our new puppy. It was a rough few weeks getting through the potty training and whining at night, but he is really turning into a sweet dog. I am impressed.

I just wanted everyone to see updated pictures of him. He does look sad in these pictures, but he is just tucked out from his day at the river.

Million gets a mohawk!

2009-07-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Million got a haircut tonight.

I had planned on the normal shorter haircut like usual, but he wanted a Mohawk. I think he was expecting me to say no, but I obliged. Uncle Klaus helped to get the lines straight. Should be interesting at church on Sunday since he is serving, but oh well, it's summer. A great time to do wacky things. He wasn't so sure about it, but I think he kind of likes it.

All we wanted to say was, "I pity da fool!!" (Mr T. talking if you didn't get it. )

A day at the river

2009-07-16T21:12:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at the river today. It is up towards Cle Elum in the woods and it is beautiful! We all had a nice time and it was a great way to try to beat the 90+ temps. Here are some pictures from our day.

Victoria being silly with goggles on the way.

Galen and Anni playing. And no, Galen is not going through chemo, he likes his head shaved.

Genet, Becky (my niece who is staying the week with us), and Kylee

Even Kota found a friend to play with. Nine week old Lulu.

Cousins and best friends enjoying the refreshing water.

Million and his new friend Cinder.

Victoria playing in the water.

Banana split dinner

2009-07-11T17:47:00.001-07:00

Banana splits for dinner!! Yeah, why not?? We had our big dinner with the Ferrell's today and Scott and I really felt like doing nothing this afternoon so I decided it was a good day for banana splits for dinner. My kids thought I had a fever. LOL!! Last summer I surprised them with pumpkin pie with whipped cream and ice cream for dinner. Once in a while it is fun to have a cool dinner. And, besides that they did have left-over hot dogs for dessert!

The Zimmerman's meet the Ferrell's!!

2009-07-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

It is always fun to meet fellow adoptive families that we talk online with all the time. This weekend we had the privilege of meeting the Ferrell family who adopted three children from Ghana last summer. They only live in Wenatchee which is actually not too far away from us. So, they came to hang out for about 3 1/2 hours and play. It was really fun and great to meet a friend that I chat with almost daily online in person.

While they were visiting, Chester who is an art teacher in Wenatchee gave the kids a little lesson in art. Genet was in heaven!! Thanks Chester!!

What a great time and we hope to see the Ferrell's again soon!

Park day

2009-07-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

On Wednesdays, a bunch of moms from our MOPs group meet at the park and the kids get a chance to play. Here are a couple of pictures of the "littles" that I took that were to cute not to put on the blog.

Kylee and Million go to camp

2009-07-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

Kylee and Madi outside their cabin

Kylee and Million actually just got back from camp. I am just behind on posts.

They spent 5 nights, 6 days up at Tall Timber Ranch above Leavenworth. If you don't know that area, all I need to say is "beautiful!!!" Where they were was absolutely gorgeous! The camp is set in a meadow with trees all around and is surrounded by mountains. It is really incredible scenery.

Needless to say, they had an absolute blast!! This was Kylee's second year and went again with a great friend of hers and Million spent his first time at camp and was there with his best friend and his best friends cousin. Million had such a great time that he didn't want to come home. He asked if he could go again this summer. He even liked the food which I told the cook is a big thing for Million who doesn't usually eat out of the house.

Here are some pictures of their time at camp.

Million outside his cabin

The preteens not wanting their picture taken :)

Kylee and Madi up with other campers singing

Camp program where we sang and they talked about their week. Check out the camp technology they have. See the flat screen above? I never had that when I went to camp.

Genet finally has her party!!

2009-06-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

We were going to have Genet's party last week right near her birthday, but only 2 out of 10 girls could come. She was disappointed, but we rescheduled. It was a good change though since just about everyone made it this time around. I think everyone had a blast. They swam, dressed up, played with barbies and of course had a lot of cake and ice cream. Genet felt really special and that of course is the most important thing.
Here are some pictures of her day:

Family Gathering 2009

2009-06-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend Scott's side of the family all met up at his brothers house. We try to all get together once a year to hang out. With 21 grandchildren (unfortunately 3 couldn't make it) between the ages of 4-16, it is a lot of fun. On Saturday we all went to Tekoa's Slippery Gulch days where the kids participated in the kiddy parade, rode on Uncle Lee's firetruck in the big parade (this was Victoria's first look at a parade and she got to ride the firetruck!!) and the boys got the the last 11 teams for the annual egg toss out of 126 teams. Scott and some of his family members rode the Lewiston hill climb. They had a blast with that and Scott even placed 6th out of like 175 people or so. He was pretty pshyed about that!
The following are some pics from the weekend:

Victoria and the cousins riding in Uncle Lee's firetruck. Look at that grin!!

All but two of the grandchildren riding the firetruck.

Victoria with her Uncle Dustin. What a great photo!

Galen and Million in the egg toss. They want to practice this year to try again next year.

Genet's turns 9!!

2009-06-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

Genet turned 9 last week. She had a special date with her Uncle Klaus to celebrate. This was his gift to her. They got all dressed up and went out to a fancy restaurant. It was pretty sweet. She was even nervous beforehand, but had a great time.

The day of her birthday, we left to got to Scott's family's for a family gathering. So, before we left Genet had her birthday breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls, strawberries, eggs and orange juice. For lunch we stopped at the rest area for a picnic lunch where she had chosen to have with our sandwiches Flamin' hot Cheetos and orange pop. That evening we celebrated with all of Scott's family with cake and homemade icecream. I think she had a good birthday. We will have all her friend's over in a couple of days.

Welcome Dakota Zimmerman!!

2009-06-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are certifiably crazy!! But, in a good way.
We went to Scott's 25th high school reunion this weekend. At the family BBQ on Saturday Scott got talking to one of his classmates and got on the subject I guess of dogs. Matt told him that he had bred his Golden Retriever (my all-time favorite dog) with another one of Scott's friends who Scott has hunted with many times in the past. Chris has great hunting dogs and they come from a good breeder. Matt had one dog left and was willing to give it to us for just what he had into him in food. I at first told Scott no. I didn't really want to do the puppy thing right now. But, of course our animal loving children were starting in also. Long story short, we went to go see him (always a bad thing to do) and he turned out to be a no-licking dog that Matt's kids said was the calmest out of the 11 puppies their dog had. We went back to Scott's parents and talked about the good and the bad. We finally came to the conclusion that this was a dog that I had always loved, we knew the owners and the dogs that he came from and we may not have this chance again to get a pure-bred so cheap and from people we know. Besides that, it is the beginning of summer and so we are around a lot. And, when I am gone with the kids on various trips, Scott will be here with the animals. So it is a good time to be home dealing with a puppy.
He is very cute, has beautiful features and is as sweet as can be. Addis is still not sure of him, but I am sure in a few days, Addis will be thrilled to have someone to play with all the time.

Introducing Dakota Zimmerman, otherwise known as Kota!!

Dakota is a tired boy after playing with his kids.

Victoria looses her first tooth!!

2009-06-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Victoria was very excited to loose her first tooth on Thursday. There wasn't the drama that Anni went through. Just a lot of excitement. More for the money she was going to get than anything else. She does look pretty cute with her little gap.

Anni and Victoria graduate preschool!!

2009-05-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

Anni and Victoria had their last day of preschool on Friday. They are now moving up to the "big" school. Victoria is very excited about going to Kindergarten and Anni would much rather stay with her beloved Mrs. Fordan. She keeps forgetting though that Mrs. Fordan is practically part of our family so she doesn't get rid of her that easily.

A day at the beach!

2009-05-31T21:16:00.001-07:00

Today the kids and I (Hilda) met our friends the Littles in Wenatchee where they were camping. Scott was not able to join us since he was doing a group bike ride this afternoon. We had a really great time and got to spend time with another family that went for the day also that we know from Ellensburg that also have kids from Ethiopia.

The kids had a great time playing in the water even though they said their bodies just froze and they didn't feel much after a while. :)

Our kids get along so well that it is just really fun and relaxing to be with this family. Chris was sweet enough to invite us to come and visit them and use their guest house. So Million and Kylee pulled out my calendar and are already finding dates to go.

Here are some pictures of our day.

Is Genet not too cool for words.
Chilling out listening to Josh's i pod with Marta's sunglasses on??

Playing in the sand. Oh, what fun!!

Million on Chris's cool bike. That was a serious hit with my kids!! Galen wants one now,
but it is a little out of his budget.

Here is Victoria dumping water over her head.
She thought that was really funny, although very cold!!

Thank you so much Chris, Bob and family!! We had a fabulous day!!
Thanks for the invite and we will see you soon! :)

New additions to the Zimmerman Family!!

2009-05-22T20:05:00.001-07:00

These are our new additions. Aren't they darling!!! We now are the proud owners of 15 chickens. We are hoping that by fall they will be producing the eggs that we need. They are very fun to have around and the kids (especially Anni) love to go out and spend time with them and hold them. Even the big ones still get held.

These are the chickens that we got in March. It is amazing how quickly they grow.

We just put a fence around their coup so they are now out venturing around outside totally enjoying themselves and eating bugs. They have all been a great addition. I will get back to you about them though in a couple of months when we see what the one rooster we have is like. I think the first time he crows at four a.m. my thoughts might change. :)

My girl!!

2009-05-17T19:57:00.001-07:00

This is a photo we took tonight because Kylee was doing a project about herself for school and needed a picture of her and I. For what you ask?? My sweet girl put me down as her hero. Yes, can you hear me sobbing? She is just the sweetest thing. Although we have the normal tween issues with her occasionally, she is a sweet, caring, faith-filled girl who I just adore.
I love you Ky-Pie!!