Hula Girls

My husband is in Hawaii - where the hula girls live. That is what A2 will say. It is my own fault. As his trip was approaching, I told the kids that Dad was going to visit the hula girls in Hawaii. He kept saying, "my hula girls live right here with me." Then he would tell me that I was going to be sorry I was saying that.

I changed my story and started saying Dad is going to Hawaii - where the hula girls live.

Needless to say, my girls have been very interested in hula girls. They each have a grass skirt, and did a dance for their dad before he left. Funny thing is, he won't be seeing any hula girls while he is there. He is working 60 hour weeks, missing us, and doing a bit of exploring at the beach night.

I am excited for him. This job has been talked about for about a year. He was excited at first, but as time wore on, he figured it was not going to happen. He had never been there, and now he is getting paid to be there. I tried to go out and spend some time with him, but it did not work out this time. Hopefully, it will next time. I will take him to see the hula girls.

Photo Shoot

One of my coworkers would love to start a photography business on the side and is putting a portfolio together. A couple weeks ago, I told her she could take pictures of our kids whenever she wanted. Well, she got a new lens last week and today we went out and experimented with it.

I took my camera along, and here are a few of the shots I got. I can't wait to see hers....







The kids had a great time! A2 just made me laughed, because she often put one or two hands on her hips without being asked. Here she is...

Retirement and Beautiful Girls...

My dad will be "officially" retired from his office job on October 31. He retired on August 31, but due to his company not finding a replacement before that date, they asked him to stay on for an additional 2 months. He agreed, as long as he could work from home the majority of the time, so that he could help out with harvest on the farm.

They had a retirement party/lunch for him last Friday, which the kids and I were able to attend. It was very nice and fun to see people who knew me (and my siblings) as a child and now they got to see our children (they think A2 is a spitting image of me at that age).

This picture is of my mom and my niece at the party. Aren't they both just extremely beautiful?

Grandpa's Gifts

Canada grandpa came bearing gifts last week. He made a very cool truck for J3 and an awesome "marble maze" for the girls. All the kids are enjoying their toys. Thank you, Grandpa!

K1's first day of K

Back in August, K1 had two big milestones. She had a birthday and she started Kindergarten! This is a picture of her first day of school. I can't believe how big she has grown. Of course, I remember the 6 lb. 7 oz. little girl that God blessed us with just 5 years ago, and now she is learning to read.

God has richly blessed us her, and we can't wait to see what else He has in store for her.

October 2008

We just had Grandpa and Grandma from Canada visit us for about 9 days. The kids had a blast with them, and we got to go on a date while they were here. I also attended a technology conference (they were here to watch the kids) for 3 days. It was an excellent conference. I will be able to use a lot of what I learned.

Anyway, I thought I would post this new picture of our family, since the pictures have been few and far between. K1 is now 5, A2 is 3 and almost a half, and J3 is 18 months!

Wiki fast

Well, that was fast. Now on to the next thing...

A Post?

I am sitting in a class about blogs and other things. We were supposed to create a blog, so I thought I would just post to this one instead. I know it has been a long time since the last post, but that is how things go these days.

Now on to wikis...

Meme

To ease back in to this blog, I'll participate in the meme Bridget tagged me for.

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing five years ago?

1. I was teaching full time.
2. I was living in a small, cozy cottage in the mountains.
3. I was enjoying my first year of marriage.
4. I was pregnant with K1.
5. I was wondering what I would be teaching the following year.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?

1. Garden
2. Make zucchini bread with zucchini from our garden.
3. Set up the girls' bunk beds, so they can sleep in them tonight.
4. Clean the house.
5. Pick up something I bought on Craig's List.

What are five snacks you enjoy?

1. Any kind of fruit - especially watermelon at the moment
2. Cheese
3. Crackers
4. Anything sweet that my mom makes
5. Canadian Smarties

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Pay off all our families' debt
2. Buy property on Vancouver Island
3. Design and build our dream homes here and on Vancouver Island
4. Travel
5. Give money away randomly to people, just to make their day

What are five of your bad habits?

1. Procrastination
2. Not planning meals ahead of time
3. Eating sweets
4. Since having kids, being less organized
5. Keeping things to myself

What are five places where you have lived?

1. Central Valley, CA
2. Sioux Center, IA
3. Northern CA (3 different cities)
4. Northern CA
5. Northern CA

What are five jobs you’ve had?

1. Packing tomatoes
2. Packing nectarines
3. YMCA summer camp counselor
4. Teacher
5. Tutor

What five people do you want to tag?

1. Brett
2. K
3. Gina
4. Karin
5. Jackie

So....

a lot has happened in the last month and a half. Hopefully, I can catch up with a real post soon. I have a meme that I need to do from Bridget, so that will be on my list first.

J3

This is how Nathan found J3 when he picked him up from the nursery at church this morning. I know it is not the greatest quality picture, but we thank Jack for taking it!

Easter

IMG_8879.JPG, originally uploaded by nelliesphotos.

We had visitors from Canada for Easter. N's dad and younger brother came up for a long weekend. The girls had SO much fun with their Grandpa, and cannot wait for him to come back!

You know Grandpa loves his granddaughter, when he cuts off his big beard so that A2 won't be scared of him. For some reason, A2 is extremely scared of beards (the bigger, the scarier), she even freaks out if she sees her grandpa on the web cam sometimes. Since Grandpa was only going to be here for a couple days, he trimmed it nice and short. Otherwise, by the time she warmed up to him, they would have left. This way, she warmed up much quicker! A2 sends a big thank you to Grandpa!

Spring is...

Tulip, originally uploaded by nelliesphotos.

A2 decided that the short tulips were for the babies. This one she assigned to J3.

Spring is...

IMG_8871.JPG, originally uploaded by nelliesphotos.

Spring

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Diaper Derby

IMG_8645.JPG, originally uploaded by nelliesphotos.

J3 was in the famous Diaper Derby in my hometown. Needless to say, he did not do any crawling! He sat right in front of my dad, and was completely happy to watch the other crawlers. He got a participation certificate, which I will put in his baby book so that we can tell him about it.

Death and Life

My grandma passed away this morning. Here is an email that my aunt sent out which I think says what I would....

Our mother went to meet the Lord early this morning. We were watching by her side for the last 2 days, as she slowly lost hold on this physical body she called home for almost 93 years (would have been on Mar 2). So today, as we worship with fellow believers, singing those old familiar hymns, we will think of her singing in Glory with not only Dad, but with so many others who have gone before her.

The joy we have shared as a family together in the last 2 days has been incredible. Stories, laughter, and corrections on the stories have been priceless. Lil arrived Friday night, and Rick and Irene were here by yesterday afternoon. Mom recently said that having a family that got along together was so important and we certainly have experienced that in the last 48 hours. How truly blessed we are for the legacy that both Mom and Dad have given us.