All That Chatters

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

Yes I know, our Christmas tree is pathetic. We were late with decorating and I didn't want to waste money on a real $70 tree when it would only be enjoyed for 2 weeks. Next year we will make sure to get the decorations out by Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a good Christmas and an even better New Year.

Oh the joy of presents!

2011-12-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

And then.... Clean up time :(

X-Mas Morning Pics

2011-12-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

Can you believe we all slept in until 10:00 am. I set my alarm for 8 am and figured that at least one of my kiddos would be shaking a few presents, but to my glorious surprise... they were all sleeping. So I went back to bed too. We tried to get a half way decent Christmas morning pic, but it was such a challenge with all those presents waiting to be opened. Merry Christmas!

Hudson's photo shoot

2011-10-09T14:52:00.000-07:00

Hudson always loves his time in the spot light :)

6 years old!

2011-10-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is already 6 yrs old! He practically doesn't even need me anymore. He has his own style of hair and clothing and an attitude to fit each one. When I walk him to his bus stop he quickly leaves my side and joins his friends and they laugh about things that I'm no longer privy to. And worse yet.... the eye rolling thing has already started. When I ask him what is so funny, he rolls his eyes and says, "Never mind Mom!"

First day at school #3

2011-09-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is Hudson's first day of kindergarten at another school for the third time that day! His smile is quickly fading and when the principal informed us that there was no room, Hudson stuck his bottom lip out and said, "Ohhhh you don't wanna take me eee-verr (either)?" Break my heart right there. Well, they don't know what they will miss. I told Hudson. We get back in the car to return to school #2. Hudson says, "They just got-sa take me. They just got-sa."

First day at school #2

2011-09-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

This is Hudson's first day at kindergarten at another school for the second time in the same day! This is school # 2 and the school he is now a student at. However, we were sent to another school after this one and later returned back an hour later :(

First Day of Kindergarten at school #1

2011-09-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

This is a new adventure. We home school our children, but this year Hudson will attend a few months of Kindergarten to get a little extra help in speech and reading. This picture was taken on his first day of school at school #1. Yes, number one. There were two other schools he had a first day at and all in the SAME day. At this first school we were ready to go. Hudson had taken his kindergarten entrance tests and had met his teacher. He arrived on the first day and was greeted by his teacher. He received his name tag and started his first day of kindergarten. Then 10 minutes later as I stood in the office to get his bus schedule, I was notified that a mistake had been made and that new school boundaries had been made. He was at the wrong school. WHAT? I was surprised at how well I took the news. I got Hudson from his class and told him that his first day at this school would be his last. We got into the car and drove ACROSS town to school #2. Apparently they are busing kids across town due to overcrowding. At school #2 I wasn't to thrilled. It's not in the best neighborhood and its rather old. Even the Principal thought it was odd that we would be bused all the way over here. She said that we should be at yet another school. So off to school #3. We arrive and talk to the Principal. Then we wait and wait and wait for them to decide what class has enough room. I decide to teach Hudson his kindergarten teachers name. It took a week to teach him the name of his first teacher, so I decided to get started. HOWEVER, news arrived that there was no space at that time at school #3. So back to School #2 we drove. This is the old school in the bad neighborhood. I seriously sat in the car and debated rather I should just home school him instead, but he was so excited with his new school clothes on and his backpack filled with color crayons and glue. So in we walked AGAIN into this school. They quickly walked us down to one of the kindergarten classes and I really liked the teacher. Hudson quickly made friends in under 3 minutes. The one good thing about being at a school with so many low income families is that there are many more programs available because they get more funding. The classroom size is half (15 kids verses 31 kids) the size of the ones at the other schools and there is a lot of one on one help from specialist at this school. The only bad news is the fact that there is NO BUS! I'm not joking. I've never heard of a public school with not enough buses for everyone. Again do to overcrowding they simply don't have the space. So I have to drive him across town every day and return to pick him up 3 hrs later. He is on the waiting list for a bus. Were keeping are fingers crossed because this current "Mommy Bus" isn't going to work much longer.

Pics on my phone

2011-09-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things is to find these pics on my cellphone. They really liked this car and wanted to snap a few poses before we left the mall. It's hard to believe that Addy will be getting her permit in a few months. My girls are growing up. Although I'm really not ready for this to happen, I enjoy watching them develop their own likes and dislikes and personalities that are so different from each other. Yet, they remain the closest of friends.

Turning 13 yrs old in a few days!

2011-09-05T13:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry again for the blurry pics. They are courtesy of my cell phone. Savannah really knows how to have fun and she didn't mind all of the strangers standing there staring at her either! That's what I love about this girl. She's growing up, but still keeps it real (as real as it can be!)

Puzzles with Papa

2011-09-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

We have seen more of Papa this Summer then we have in the past 10 years. We have spent nearly every other weekend up at the cabin with him. We have started a tradition of puzzle building. Thanks to my niece, Haylie, we have all learned to enjoy this rather laid back (once called boring) event. Daddy and Papa really get into this event and make it a little more intense. We are all getting to be pros now and I think we're ready to move on to a 500 piece puzzle :)

Einstein

2011-09-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

I love this curious age with the endless imagination. As you can see, Hudson doesn't need the "Buzz Lightyear Jet Pack." He has the "Nestle Pure Life Water Package Pack!" My little Einstein invented this all by himself :)

More summer fun

2011-08-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

I'm several weeks late posting this, but nonetheless the girls had fun spending their weekend up at Papa's cabin. We were thrilled that the Beebe girls could join us. There was a huge wacky golfing event going on that weekend and the kids got to use the slide after the golfers were done. This wasn't your average game of golf! Anyhow, its always more fun when there is a friend there to have fun with you.

Summer Camp

2011-08-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

Savannah is off to camp along with her BFF Hannah. I remember how much I enjoyed camp when I was younger. Those are the best summer memories I have. I can't wait to hear about the fun adventures she had.

Transformers or Cars 2

2011-07-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

Being the good mommy that I am... I did my research online before taking the kiddos to the movies. I've heard that the new Transformers movie is NOT a movie for anyone under age 16, BUT would you believe I actually found a website that has movie reviews from other mommies and they stated that Cars 2 was BAD. They reported that the Cars 2 movie was full of violence. Apparently there is lots of guns, death, bad guys, things blowing up, and even a few cars DIE (AKA: Crash & Burn). One mommy wrote that her child had nightmares for 3 days after seeing the movie. What to do? What to do?....I figured that Disney couldn't possibly be worse then the Transformer movie, so I chose Cars 2.

Okay, so now that we saw the movie.... If by chance that mommy who has the 6 yr old child who is having nightmares might be reading this, GIVE ME A BREAK! What kind of bubble do you keep your child in? Cars 2 Violent....NOT! Yes, Mater now has some automatic machine guns on the sides of his truck, but that's only to protect his good buddy Lightning McQueen from the bad guys (other cars) and there is no BLOOD and GUTS, only OIL and CAR PARTS. Good clean fun. AND lets not forget... IT'S IN 3-D. The only tears my 6 yr old had was from rubbing his eyes after eating salty popcorn.

More 4th of July pics

2011-07-08T00:12:00.000-07:00

Even Hudson learned how to drive the golf cart!

Staying up late

2011-07-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

The kids stayed up late to work on their floats. In my opinion they were in the top 5 best. The bottom pic is the one I liked most. The weather was perfect for long evenings lounging on the deck or by the campfire. The only problem were those blood thirsty mosquitoes. We must have applied 10 layers of bug repellent, but nothing worked. The next morning everyone woke up covered in itchy bites. Hudson told me that he loves his itchy bump because, "It feels sooo good to itch it!"

4th of July...Addy's a maniac

2011-07-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

***I am adding in this hilarious story I just heard about Addy*** So Addy was overly thrilled to have a chance to drive one of the jet-skis. She was driving and her two aunts were hanging on for dear life, riding piggyback. Aunt Kim asked Addy if she had ever driven one of these machines and Addy enthusiastically said she had (a little over a year ago, ONCE before, for 15 min) and so she was basically a professional. So full throttle and off they went speeding across the lake. Addy was in pure bliss with the power of speed! She gave it the maximum power and went screaming across the lake and suddenly felt the need to sing Christian music. She started belting out, "Over the mountains and the sea, your river runs with love for me......" Aunt Kim and aunt Laurie were silent and fearing Addy's mindset. Addy screams out, "WERE ALL GONNA DIE!" all the while cracking up laughing!

Sorry Auntie Kim and Auntie Laurie! Hey at least you have more driving time experience then me. Do you maybe want to take her driving when she gets her permit???

4th of July

2011-07-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

The kids had an awesome 4th of July up at Grandpa's cabin. Together with their cousins, they built their floats for the parade and had lots of fun goofing around. This was their first time meeting their cousins, Josh & Ben. The four day event was packed with fun and kept the kids from ever getting bored. They went jet skiing, tubing, rode mini motorcycles, raced around the resort in their own golf carts, participated in the parade, had lots of water fights, ate lots of yummy food, swimming, watched lots of fireworks, made smores and chilled out around the campfire. What a blast we all had. We can't wait til next year!

Faces of Addy

2011-06-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

Although I know I am going to hear a scream when a certain daughter of mine sees these pics on our blog.... It's worth it. Love you Addy.

Priceless

2011-06-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

Aren't these the cutest pictures ever? I love finding long lost pics on the computer. I remember taking the bottom picture as if it were yesterday. Hudson had found a hole in the fence and he loved watching the neighbor kids through the little hole. I wish they would stay small forever!

All in a days work

2011-06-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

As you can tell, Hudson was very busy this afternoon working on his ride. He said he needed to work on his car cause he plans on driving over to Hannah's to pick her up for a date!

What? No cell phone service?

2011-06-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

Since it was freezing outside at Wallowa Lake we stayed inside at night and entertained our selves. Sadly there was no cell phone service and poor Addy nearly died. We are so happy and blessed that she pulled through (Thank you to everyone that prayed for her). Only by God's good graces did she manage to get a tiny signal when she stood on the roof of our truck and managed to send a precious life saving text to her BFF. It was scary for everyone. It's a terrible thing to watch your child stumble around in a helpless daze while mumbling strange sounds. Truly a miracle.

Freezing our bottoms off at Wallowa Lake

2011-06-13T04:45:00.000-07:00

Well perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to take advice from the RV park owner. She promised that the weather forecast showed warm days for the next 4 days. And because I so badly wanted to go... I believed her. Perhaps it was warm if you had compared it to another place like say... Antarctica! Who would of thought that it would snow at Wallowa lake in June? The bigger surprise was running out of propane in the middle of the night! I'm just glad we packed warm clothes. We still had fun, but we tried to do all the indoor activities. We will definitely be returning in two more months when it warms up. We love Wallowa Lake.

Party Girls

2011-05-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

Savannah clearly had a great time with her BFF's at Hannah's birthday party. Around 10:00 pm our front door flung open and a bunch of giggling crazies stumbled in. Savannah was the first in the door and poor Addy was completely taken off guard when she saw this scary looking girl run inside. It didn't even look like Savannah so Addy let out a scream and that sent me running from the office to the foyer to investigate. Looks like they were all having a blast. Their next stop was the store for more goodies to keep their sugar highs going. I was glad that I wasn't the mom being dragged through the Wal-mart with this noisy bunch of crazies! It does bring back fond memories of those carefree preteen years! Happy Birthday Hannah, We Love You.

Bowling Buddies

2011-05-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we all enjoyed some time to unwind from a very hectic week. We joined some friends for an afternoon of pizza and bowling (and just in time since Hudson has had a 105* temp for 2 days now.) We decided to make this game girls against boys and we girls were positive that it would be a drop in the bucket...However, I don't know quite how it happened but the boys smashed us! Robert got several 'random lucky strikes' and even Hudson got 2 strikes. Now it should be noted that both teams had the bumper side panels up. This ensured that there would be no gutter balls. I didn't know we had such talent on the boys side. Perhaps we weren't looking hard enough on the girls side. We girls actually managed to throw the ball down the lane never landing in the gutter, yet we knocked down ZERO pins! Beat that boys! Anyone can knock them down, but try leaving them up. And a special thanks to Kim for making the game even more exciting with her dodge ball bowling skills. It takes a lot of talent to throw the ball backwards while facing the pins! Either way we had a great fellowship with some good friends.

WARNING. GRAPHIC PICS BELOW. No joke

2011-04-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

Oh the joys of Home Schooling. Savannah and Hannah really took an interest in the dissection of this fish. Of course they didn't really use that huge knife, but they tried! The fish would NOT die. We waited.... and waited some more for him to peacefully pass away, but he was a stubborn fish. Savannah kept yelling, "Hit em' in the Head. Hit em' in the head!" I tried to explain that there would be nothing left to dissect, but she wanted a quick and somewhat less painful death for the fish. Honestly, how do you kill a fish without damaging it? We tried bathing him in some household cleaners and freezing him, but he wouldn't die. Alive or dead this fish was going to be sacrificed in the name of education. So the girls studied the diagram and began their work. I was shocked at how well they found each part. There was the eyes, brain (yes goldfish have brains), swim bladder, heart, intestines, liver and stomach. I'm so glad to be done with this lesson. Way to go Girls! Girl Power:)

If Mom thinks I'm sleeping I won't have to Eat!

2011-04-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

BUSTED.

All I did was make mention that I guess daddy would have to eat his ice-cream dessert because Hudson was already asleep. Suddenly he was wide awake and full of guilty giggles.

Can You Believe it?

2011-04-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

April Fool's!

Hudson's Big Boy Bed

2011-04-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

Although he looks a little less then thrilled, he was very Excited. And who wouldn't be? The thought of waking up each morning and sliding out of bed would be a hoot! (I want one of these on my bed.) For the past week I've enjoyed hearing Hudson yell, "Wee Wee" when he wakes up every morning and slides down his slide:)

BEAUTY and the BEAST

2011-03-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Taylor's girlfriend, Shannon, we get to take more pics of him. When she's not around we practically have to chase him down just to snap a quick picture!

The MOST Beautiful girl in the World

2011-02-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

Addy attended our churches banquet dinner with her girlfriends this year. They all looked so pretty. This was Addy's first time attending such a glamorous event. The banquet was held at the Redlion and over 500 teens attended. The event was centered around the boys basketball tournament for the school. There were hundreds of boys attending the banquet from many states. What more could a girl ask for? Good food, Good friends, Fancy dresses & BOYS!

Amazing we still have this RAT.

2011-02-24T10:18:00.000-08:00

Wall-e Oscar (AKA: Icky Picky, Dig-dug, Kick-me-dog, Darn dog, lil baby Joey Roo, Rat dog)

Christmas morning

2011-02-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

Fall fest party

2011-02-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

I'm finally just getting around to posting pics from October!

A VISIT to "Uncle Gary's petting farm!"

2011-02-20T13:33:00.000-08:00

What to do when the zoo is 4 hrs away??? Visit uncle Gary's Petting farm. Just to name a few benefits:

1. No 4 hr drive with a carload of curious, sugar loaded, CRAZIES who all missed naptime.

2. No "Are we there yet?" every 2.5 minutes.

3. No potty stops at filthy rest areas.

4. ***No vomit, spilled pop, Oops I dropped my gum, Oops I had an accident!***

5. ***FREE ADMISSION***

oN THE DOWNSIDE...

One slobbering doggy that insisted on being in every picture!

***Special thanks to Uncle Gary's petting farm located off HWY 395 in Pasco!

Awesome cellphone pics!

2010-11-29T13:51:00.000-08:00

Yes! These are pictures that I took on my cellphone. I never thought they would turn out so awesome. I took them late at night as Hudson was laying on my bed watching TV. The room was pitch black, but the glow from the TV lite up his face. He was about one foot from the screen (it's a very tiny TV) and it was just the right amount of light. I am definitely going to try this again with my other children. I'll post the pics if they come out as well as these ones did.

Meet Fireman Taylor

2010-10-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

Taylor has been doing excellent in his Fire Science classes. Its both mentally and physically challenging. We are so grateful for the Running Start program. (FYI: It's a program for junior and senior high school kids where they are allowed to take college courses FREE of charge until they graduate from high school. This allows them to receive their AA degrees and their High school diplomas by age 18. Its available to all juniors and seniors as long as they can pass the prerequisites tests. I think it's a great program.) Anyhow my only worry is that he could become burnt out too soon. Although he seems to know exactly which direction he wants to go and his goals are pretty straight forward. He found out that he needs to take an English course at the college (English is his worst enemy) because it's a requirement for an associates degree. This could prove to be a HUGE challenge for him. His cousin, Kylie, is also in the running start program and she is just so very talented in English (hint hint Ky) and perhaps maybe we can call on her for difficult homework assignments. She is taking an English course that is very very advanced. Perhaps they can trade off on some services. Ky could help Taylor on his English and Taylor could rescue any of Ky's cats or birds that fly up into a tree! (you think about it ky!). One thing is for sure, I am so proud of both of them for taking their education so seriously (that includes my sister too. She is less then a year away from becoming a nurse.)

Keep up the good work, Taylor! We love you.

Meet the Newest Karate Kid!

2010-10-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

I know these are a little blurry. I am still to lazy to drag out the real camera so my cell phone will have to do. Hudson is so excited to be a "Ka-tee boy". He likes to demonstrate his "Ka-tee movies" (karate moves). He seems to think that the uniform alone gives him some type of special powers. I'll be preoccupied with something and I'll see this white streak out of the corner of my eye and I'll turn just in time to see Hudson run full force into the wall. He calls that his "Ka-tee movie" and asks, "Did you see me mom? Did you?" Then he rubs his head a few times and takes off towards another wall while yelling, "Yea, I-ma Ka-tee boy!" I asked him where he learned his special moves and he states he saw Peter Pan doing it on TV. Now I am a little curious about what TV show has Peter Pan running into walls. I tell Hudson to show me this Ka-tee Peter Pan the next time he sees him on the TV. Hudson runs out of the room and quickly returns carrying a movie. He points out Peter Pan on the front of the box and gives me that 'See I told-you-so smile' and I just agree with him because Peter Pan and Jackie Chan are truly one in the same!

Just when I started feeling better....

2010-06-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

I GOT MUCH WORSE. I'm not even sure where to start. I am hoping I can finish this post before I start to feel all dizzy and have to lay down again. Well I developed a nifty little infection called Sepsis. It all started with a 6 mm. kidney stone that is stuck in my left ureter. I developed a simple UTI and it seemed to get better. I didn't know at the time about the kidney stone. I had horrible pain that would come and go. It was strange and not like any other kidney stone I've passed before. About a month later I began to feel really tired and sickly. This went on for several weeks. Then the pain began to get worse and worse til finally I was up all night long rocking back and forth on the bed while praying out loud. It was just after 5 am when Robert woke up early because he had several meetings to prepare for at work. He has seen me in this strange rocking back and forth kidney stone dance before and he knew he could do nothing for me. Just as he was about to walk out the door I told him that I needed to go to the ER. I knew that something was terribly wrong with me. So off we went to the first ER. They did some labs and an x-ray and reported that everything looked normal. I was screaming and crying like a crazy woman because I was feeling so sick and the pain was now a 10. Anyhow the ER staff rolled their eyes and pushed us out the door. We got home and the pain meds that they had given me at the ER were already wearing off. I was back on the bed rocking back and forth. I'm not sure what Robert was thinking because the ER doctor just told us both that NOTHING was wrong with me. I can't begin to explain how bad I was feeling. About 2 hours later I tell Robert that we have to go to another hospital. I no longer cared if the ER staff was going to roll their eyes at me and claim that I was there to seek drugs. Lucky for me when I arrived I was immediately taken back to a room. (perhaps it was because I was now screaming bloody murder and rolling around on the floor) The ER doc ordered some blood work ASAP and a catscan. An hour later we found out about the kidney stone (the one that the other hospital somehow missed) and we learned that my kidney was three times its normal size. I was admitted to the hospital and just 12 hours later that very next morning things became MUCH worse. I only remember parts of it. Apparently I developed a temp of 106* and a full code was called. That's when a dozen people run into your room and cut of any clothes that your wearing. Then they begin to pack you in ICE. It was horrible. Finally my temp dropped enough and I was taken to the OR where a tube was placed in the lower part of my back into my kidney so that it could be drained. The next day the labs came back and said that I had gone into septic shock. Later that night the infection began to win its battle and I became much sicker. I was given a blood transfusion and that seemed to help. They started me on 4 different types of antibiotics and lots of other meds that made me very loopy. About 7 days later I was doing much better and got to go home. However, I still have a tube hanging out of my back which drains my left kidney. I have my mediport in my chest which is used for all of the drugs I have to take, including IV antibiotics 3 times a day for the next several months. I also STILL have that 6 mm kidney stone. It's not safe to remove it yet because of the sepsis. If they try to take it out they could blast the infection all over my body and that wouldn't be good. However, I do have a little machine that delivers pain medication into my IV and that helps some, but if you have ever had a kidney stone then you know the only way to be pain free is to remove the stone. We are hoping to do that in a few weeks when the infection is a little more under control. Anyhow, so I was home for 3 days when I got out of bed and felt very dizzy and short of breath. So back to the ER where they found that I had a pulmonary embolism. After another 3 days in the hospital the tiny little clot was dissolved and I got too go home. Of course I also got another drug to add to the growing list and this one is taken with a small injection into the tummy. It's actually NOT bad at all. However the bruises that it causes are rather painful. So now I sit at home. The antibiotics are HORRIBLE. My tongue is smooth like a frogs skin and the tip of my tongue is covered in a million painful bumps (like when you bite a taste bud). I can't taste anything and everything that I try to eat burns my mouth. Bread is the worse. I think it's the yeast in it that causes the burning. The insides of my cheeks and lips are covered in tiny sores. I also feel really dizzy and it feels like I have a head cold. My balance is all screwed up. Has anyone ever had this side effect with antibiotics before? I'm taking Merrem also called Meropenem. I don't know how much longer I can handle this stuff. It feels like it's slowly killing me. WOW. I wrote this long post and now I finally begin to feel ill. I'm going to bed. Thanks for your prayers. For the first time ever I am actually asking people to pray for me. This is one of the tougher medical challenges I have faced. If this post makes no sense, blame the antibiotics.

Road Trip

2010-05-31T21:56:00.000-07:00

Our youngest is just about the only child in our family willing to smile for the camera. Lucky for me the girls allowed me to snap ONE picture of them, but Taylor on the other hand hid behind a book every time he saw the camera. However, if I remember correctly it was Taylor's hand that controlled the dinosaur puppet that ate Robert's head (and bit his neck, clawed his ears, spilled his soda, poked his eye, pulled out several hairs, flung himself into his head, jumped into his bag of beef jerky which caused it to spill all over the floor, and finally... stretched his rubbery arm out and snapped it back like a rubber band hitting Robert in the face) and all of this while he drove the truck and RV. He's quite a guy! Oh and where is the dinosaur puppet now you ask? Try mile marker 165 on I-82.

Another blurry cell phone pic that I love.

2010-05-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

My first born.

Happy Birthday Hudson.

2010-05-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe. Hudson is FIVE years old! He went to the dentist for the first time (I know it should have been done years ago, but he absolutely would NOT go.) and the dentist said he had perfect teeth. No cavities. When he got to choose a toy from the toy chest he decided on a red ring. Then he went back and traded for a blue one. Then he traded for a glider plane. A few minutes later he returned his broken glider and demanded a refund, "Heeeey this thiiing broke. I need anodder one, okay." So he decided on a pencil, but as soon as he figured out the fact that he couldn't use it since it wasn't sharpened he traded once AGAIN and decided on the red ring. Finally we sat in the waiting room waiting for the other kids to get finished. As we sat waiting, Hudson opened his special goody bag that the dentist had gave to him. He liked the toothbrush, but he went nuts over the mint flavored dental floss. By the time the other kids were finished, Hudson had managed to suck the flavor off of 25 ft of minty floss. Should I dare say that he once again returned his red ring and asked for more minty floss. The nurse quickly gave him a handful and pushed us out the door. Hudson's only concern is, "Mooooom. What if I runses out of the mental ploss?" I love you, Hudson.

Look Mom, I'm half way to Disneyland!

2010-05-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what Hudson got for an early birthday present?

A. Quick sand
B. A book written by Saddam Hussein called, "How to hide in a hole."
C. A shovel

If you answered "shovel" then you have won... well nothing. Anyhow Hudson has been digging his hole for several hours (the shovel is no bigger then a gravy ladle) and after his older brother told him that he could dig himself to Disneyland, he's been digging much faster.

It really got exciting when Hudson began to scream, "I see him. I see him."
Who do you see? We asked.
"I see the mouse. Yep it's the mouse. It's him. It's Bickey. Hi Bickey Hi!" Hudson yelled.
Ah, Hudson who is Bickey?
"Duh Mom. DUH! You know Bickey Mouse. DUUUUUHHHH." Hudson says.
Then Hudson says in a matter of fact voice, "Hey, the duck is here too." (Donald duck)

Unfortunately all the fun ended when a certain Mommy ordered a very dirty little boy out of his hole and into the bath.

"But MOOOOM, I was almooooost there. Greeeaat, I didn't even get to ride any rides. ERRR!"

More blurry cell phone pics.

2010-05-22T22:13:00.000-07:00

You tell me. How could I resist taking pictures of this adorable little boy? How could I NOT post them (blurry or not) on the blog? Isn't he yummy! It's hard to believe that this little guy (my baby) will be FIVE YEARS OLD in 4 days. YIKES! Please someone tell me how to make time stand still. What's even scarier is the fact that my oldest is almost 16 yrs old. I could be a grandma in the next 5 or 10 years. YIKES AGAIN!

Karate Kids & One helpless dog.

2010-05-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

That poor dog. I have nothing else to say about that.

I somehow lost the pictures of Taylor at karate, but here are the girls. The bottom picture is of Savannah and her BFF Hannah doing push-ups after they failed to bow when leaving the dojo. I know how they feel because I got in the same type of trouble by their sensei when I was talking to another mother!

Mother/ Daughter Dinner~ Taylor serves!

2010-05-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

The girls and I attended the Mother/ Daughter dinner at church and really enjoyed oinking~out on several types of cheesecake. The meal was yummy, but what we liked most was the cute server that was assigned to our table. He was such a handsome young man and very polite. He continued to smile even after being asked, "Sir, I need a new fork." "Sir, I need another napkin." "Sir, when you get home can you clean my room." It's not very often that Taylor would happily go along with this, ~so break out the camera I did! However, I informed the girls that the reason for their brothers good demeanor was probably not about them, but rather it was for another special girl at the table (S.B.). Thanks to this special girl we are all seeing a side of Taylor that we haven't seen before.

Missionary Conferences

2010-05-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

Savannah got into the theme of things during the missionary conferences this last weekend. She and Robert helped to run the German foods booth. At the conference there was food from around the world to sample. We made 500 German meatballs in a sweet & sour sauce. They tasted great, but the real treat was the cute little German girl who served everyone.

This was a huge test for Taylor since he plans on doing mission work when he is a little older. We told him that he might as well sample some food from several countries and should he find a food that agrees with his finicky eating habits, well then BINGO.... We found a mission location! However, Taylor only eats about three or four kinds of food and McDonald's and Pizza Hut are two of them. The only food booth that he agreed to eat from was the American booth (cheeseburgers.) So I guess that means that Taylor will be spreading the gospel in Iowa or something. So much for an exciting adventure in a far away country.

Hudson on the other hand chowed down on cookies, ice-cream, and candy canes during the conference. He refused to eat anything else. So I guess Hudson will be headed to the North Pole for his mission.

It's been a very busy week and although we enjoyed visiting with all of the missionary families, we are glad to have things return to a slower pace.

Swine flu & Hazmat

2010-04-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

Just kidding! No Hudson does NOT have swine flu and although it looks like HAZMAT has taken over our home it is also NOT true. Hudson was having a hard night with croup again and since he arrived in the ER coughing they made him where a mask. Robert is wearing a mask because he is afraid of catching all of the sicknesses from the sick people who are not wearing masks. The ER at this certain LOCAL hospital is filthy and Robert didn't dare let Hudson touch anything (not even the bed.) Just outside our room in the hallway was a woman who was letting her baby crawl around. I tried to communicate the issue of germs, but the real issue was communication. She didn't speak any English. Every time I pointed to her baby on the floor and scrunched my nose up she would smile and pull her baby's socks up (no clue.)

As for the plastic wrap covering my entire home, well the painters finally returned to fix the painting mistakes from when they painted to fix the first mistakes from the first time the house was painted (confused? me too). Sadly they used the wrong color and now we get to do this again. YEA! Nothing makes my day brighter then having a bunch of strange men in my house (non of which I can communicate with...no English) and their intoxicating paint fumes which they seem to enjoy. Meanwhile, the children and I are locked in the master bedroom attempting to keep the toxic fumes from penetrating underneath the bedroom door. An hour later everyone has a headache so I guess that mission FAILED. I just can't help but to wonder if paint fumes are more toxic then we already imagine they are??? Later that night Savannah screams at Hudson who is carefully smelling the painted walls and commenting that they smell "gooood" and Savannah is lecturing me that Hudson is "Puffing." "He is Puffing mom. I saw it on TV." I tell her I think it's called huffing and that it's done with cans of spray paint, but she doesn't care because she's positive that her baby brother will grow up to be a "druggie puffer." Little does she understand we will all probably be "druggie puffers" since we've all been forced to smell the toxic fumes all day long. Maybe I shouldn't let her watch that A&E show called, "Intervention" anymore. Every time I give her cough medicine she asks me if it will make her become a druggie when shes older. I feel like whenever I want to take my medication I have to hide from her because she may be thinking that I need an intervention. If she calls you and invites you over please know that all of my meds are carefully regulated by my doctors! ~I love you, Savannah.

Photo shoot with Mom's cellphone

2010-04-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the blurry pics again. Once again blame the cellphone. My girls decided to do a full photo shoot in my bedroom with my cellphone. After seeing a certain girls (woman) graduation picture (we'll call her Cierra M.) my daughters both wanted their own glamour shots. I just love finding these kinds of surprises on my phone. You did great girls.

Hat Shopping with Hudson

2010-04-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the blurry pics. I took them with my phone. Hudson's been feeling left out since he has no hat. We went in search of a baseball cap, but Hudson looked so darn cute in these hats that I couldn't resist taking a few pics. (We never did find a baseball cap.)

Too sick to write

2010-04-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

The one thing I NEVER write about is my health. WHY? Because I have none! Seriously most would never know the medical problems that I face. Now I don't need people to feel sorry for me. It would be better to tell me to quit my whining and get my act together! This last month has been a challenge for me. My health has been poor at best. I finally got the "Power Port" placed in my chest and that should make many things easier. It just needs some fine tuning or time because my heart doesn't seem to have the best relationship with it. I am scheduled for heart surgery next month at Sacred Heart and that may fix it. I had some swollen lymph nodes removed and spent two days at the hospital with a kidney infection that would NOT go away. Oh how I hate those kidney infections. Four days ago I got my gallbladder removed, Finally! (and a small part of my liver because it was stuck fast to my gallbladder!) Recovery has been so so. The first day was HELL. The pain was so bad, but every day since the pain has reduced and now it is hardly noticeable. However, what is bothering me most is the cold sweats and night sweats. What is causing this? My doctors assure me that it is caused from this or that, but why don't they have a cure for this annoying problem or maybe just a pill I can take. Well anyhow things seems to always straighten out in time, so I will look forward to next month. See ya all then!

These were fun 2 make.

2010-03-08T12:06:00.000-08:00

The preschool kids made these cute little balloon animals and they turned out great. Except for poor Hudson's little baby chick. Hudson insisted that it have three legs, eyes on the side of the head, backwards beak and a gimpy little wing. On the brighter side, at least the chick didn't suffer because Hudson quickly put him out of his ugly misery after sitting on him~POP!!!

The troubles of having two sisters!

2010-03-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

Oh man, I would sleep with one eye open girls. Protect your hair. Maybe wear a hat to bed and keep all scissors out of reach. The day will come and Hudson will have his revenge.

Stay tuned for future postings titled: Addy & Savannah Bald and Beautiful.

What's new at the Gibson home?

2010-03-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

1. Hudson has learned to ride a big boy bike. (YIKES!)

2. We got a new pet. His name is Wally Oscar. (I liked the snail more.)

3. Taylor is DRIVING! (DOUBLE YIKES!)

This Blog is going PRIVATE.

2010-02-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

Don't worry you can email me and ask to be on the list of viewers. Why? Why am I going private? There's been a lot of weirdos/stalkers on my blog. (don't think I don't know who you are. I can tell who visits: Mr. Florida, Mr. Texas and so on) Anyhow I must protect my off spring. So farewell you nutty stalkers. Everyone else, I'll catch ya later!

Is riding the bus really so bad?

2010-02-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

Be happy you don't live in India!

Hockey Game Stripper

2010-01-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

In these blurry images you see my son. Yes he has no shirt on. Yes he appears to be swinging it over his head. Alarming? I felt the same way as we sat watching the game and suddenly this hoe down twangy music started to play and 50 or more guys threw off their shirts in a strip dance. I guess since others were doing it too then it was okay. (I can't believe I just said that.) (and what's up with the 60 yr old woman sitting behind him happily cheering him on?)

Hockey Game

2010-01-23T16:44:00.000-08:00

Robert brought home tickets from work for all of us to attend the game, but of COURSE he had to work. Taylor was thrilled because he got to bring a friend along and finally have another male to hang with. Sometimes I feel bad that Taylor has no brother around his age. The girls are best friends and are always off playing together creating dances or dressing up. Being that Hudson is the baby, he is allowed by the girls to hangout with them as long as he allows them to dress him up in cute little outfits (dresses mainly!) That leaves poor Tays to hang with Dad and honestly who wants to do that? So last night was a treat for Taylor. Hudson wasn't to thrilled with all of the noise at the game. Just minutes after the game started, Hudson turned and whispered in my ear, "My tummy hurts. I want to go home." Whenever my kids say their tummies hurt it usually means that they are going to vomit. We had three tubs of popcorn so I quickly dumped one out onto the floor and placed it in front of his face. For obvious reasons, people sitting near us began to give dirty looks (I wouldn't want a vomiting kid next to me either.) and so thinking quickly I offered him some ice cream. Doesn't ice cream make everything better? Yep, it sure does. Hudson recovered quickly. I think that all of the loud noise and that kind person who sat two rows behind us blowing that horn every 10 seconds may have played a part in his tummy ache. Several times Hudson stood up in his seat and yelled out to the horn honker, "Stop that. Be quiet!" I tried to explain to him that being loud was part of the hockey game. He disagreed and curled up into a ball and covered his ears. The only part of the entire game that he liked was seeing the team mascot "Winger". Hudson became a little upset when Winger walked past our row and failed to give him the attention he felt he deserved. So Hudson stood up in his chair (again) and screamed out "Hey you Wiener. Over here Wiener over here!" It's not his fault that he has a little lisp when he talks. Besides I'm sure he's been called worse.

Beverly Hills

2010-01-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

The Peach Pit.... 90210

2010-01-23T15:42:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the Peach Pit from the popular TV show, 90210? You know the cool hang out where Brandon worked and Dylan, Kelly, Brenda, and Donna all hung out in the corner booth. Anyhow this is the original place. The kids too had no idea what 90210 was, but they enjoyed the scene and Hudson loved watching the "soda jerk" make soda. He also loved sucking all of our glasses empty from any soda left at the bottom. The bottom picture was taken on Rodeo Dr. None of us really wanted a picture, but we were trying to look inconspicuous as we followed Natalie Portman around. I wouldn't be surprised if you see our picture in some tabloid magazine, since there were a ton of paparazzi snapping photos every chance they had. We were standing inches from Natalie as we waited to cross the street. We saw a couple of other "famous" people and some wanna be famous people like, Nicole Ritchie. The elite ones all pushed their children around in $3,000 strollers while their body guards carried their shopping bags. What a life. It must be so unrewarding to have all of your needs met the second you snap a finger. That's not to say that I wouldn't happily take a million or two if someone offered it, but I think I would try to be a little more self disciplined with spending (try to be. Maybe, who knows!).

Our little California buddy

2010-01-23T15:01:00.000-08:00

This was Sam. He was our latest little pet. I liked Sam more then any other pet we have ever had. Mostly because he never whined for food, never made a poopy on my livingroom carpet, never smelled, never ate a lot, lived in a plastic cup, had no teeth to bite, was easy to catch when he made a run for it, was virtually impossible to drop (since he stuck to everything), and finally because he came complete with his own little burial box (shell) for when he passed away. Thanks for the wonderful memories Sam. We will miss you.

***Note*** Sam quietly slipped away on the night he was given his new DisneyLand popcorn cup home. An investigation into his death revealed it to be an accidental homicide. His new home was never washed out and the popcorn salt did him in. ***An autopsy was not possible.

Yosemite National Park and more

2010-01-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

Proof that global warming exists. There should be water in that dry river bed, but its slowly disappearing. After seeing this all of my children are much more aware and conscientious about wasting water. Nonetheless, isn't it pretty? I wish we had had the time to explore the dry river bed. Imagine what we could have found in all of that clay.

***NOTE*** All of these pictures of Savannah are due to the fact that she is currently the only child in our family who allows her picture to be taken (completely free of charge.) All other pictures of our other children were bought at a high price or a bribe of some kind.

The Chinaman Theatre

2010-01-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

Everyone loved finding their favorite Hollywood stars. Most surprising was how small the hands and feet were of some of our favorites. Tom Hanks hands are the size of Addy's hands. There didn't seem to be any reason why some not so famous Hollywood stars had a star and then some really famous stars had none. Big Bird, Lassie, and Pee Wee Herman all have stars, but there is no star for Clint Eastwood. The selection process seems confusing at best. Also the area where the walk of fame is located is a dump. Many shops have closed down and there were homeless people lying everywhere. The streets were filled with trash and other things that I can't mention here! You would think that the Hollywood people would clean that area up. People run their own tour companies down there. So it isn't surprising when a filthy looking guy walks up to you and tells you that he can drive you around to all of the famous movie stars homes in his new"er" tour bus (A.K.A. an old conversion van with the roof cut off.) and you even get a handful of M&M's to eat on your journey. I know speaking for myself personally that the offer of his filthy hands reaching into a large bag of M&M's and pulling out a handful for me to munch on definitely seemed like a winning sale to me. Overall the stars were neat to look at, but you risk catching a disease if you do.

He seemed harmless...at first.

2010-01-09T14:12:00.000-08:00

Batman tried to eat my baby. He and his little friend Spiderman seemed harmless at first, but their true intentions quickly developed. Hudson was thrilled when Spiderman stopped to tie his shoe. He WAS Hudson's hero when it all began, but for some reason Hudson is scared to death of the guy now. He even refuses to wear his Spiderman PJ's. "I don't like Spiderman no more, mom. Hims go'in to eat me." Hudson repeats daily. And the truth is he probably would have. Just look at how he was ready to pounce on my baby. His friend Batman spread his wings out and looked like he was ready to swallow us whole. I of course being a good mom was more focused on getting a picture of Hudson with the duo so that he could look back on the fond memory, but Hudson wanted nothing of it. I even tried to push him toward the Bat & Spider, but Hudson continued to be terrified. I think poor little Hudson may now be dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Do they make prozac for toddlers? There are many of these weirdo's dressed up in Hollywood. Every single one that we encountered was completely drunk. Imagine little Hudson seeing Elmo in the distance and running over to give his favorite Sesame Street buddy a hug and then Elmo begins to stumble around while singing the Sesame theme song and then vomits all over. It wasn't a pretty picture, so I decided against posting it. Jack Sparrow was even worst. He was actually carrying a bottle of vodka. Taylor assured me that the bottle was part of his costume, but I don't think drinking it and becoming completely drunk is part of the show. Poor Jack looked like he had just recently taken a hit of cocaine. His eye were bugging out of his head and he kept jumping around. He finally stopped and posed in front of the Jimmy Kimmel Live studio. These weirdos in costumes are mostly bums and their costumes are filthy dirty. They just walk the strip everyday posing for pictures and hoping someone will give them a tip. Do they not know that millions of little children are now crushed because their childhood hero's are nothing more then street hustlers that smell of alcohol and puke? Now that I think about it I can't believe I let them touch my baby. This may go down in the books as one of the more dumber mommy things that I've done. Sorry Hudson.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T00:11:00.000-08:00

My New Years resolution is to be more grateful for all of the simple things that God has created. I hope to find happiness in things that are completely FREE (compliments of God).

(Robert took this picture tonight as we were driving down the freeway at 70 MPH. The sunset was behind us so he rolled down the window and held the camera out taking blind shots from behind and they turned out so beautiful.)

Signs you'll see in Hollywood.

2009-12-31T23:37:00.000-08:00

Top picture: You might need to click on the picture to enlarge it. Anyhow, apparently this guy is not only a veteran, but he was also a successful movie producer! He produced 50 (FIFTY) movies and yet he's homeless! I guess he thought that if he made that type of statement in Beverly Hills, maybe some movie stars would take pity on him????

Bottom picture: ONLY in Hollywood would you see this. You can shop at a store called "Out of the closet" and then head on over for a hand job on your car (of course) and while waiting for the wash, you can get tested for HIV. So do you think the employees are car washers that are trained to draw blood and test for HIV or Do you think the employees are doctors who are suffering from Obama's new health care plan and they're trying to earn a little extra cash by washing cars?

Savannah

2009-12-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

Taylor

2009-12-31T23:26:00.000-08:00

Addy

2009-12-31T23:16:00.000-08:00

Hudson

2009-12-31T22:49:00.000-08:00

Isn't he just Yummy? Everything about this little boy I love. His personality is really beginning to show. I love it!

The cars of Beverly Hills.

2009-12-31T22:17:00.000-08:00

The cars that Robert made me chase down for a picture

2009-12-31T22:10:00.000-08:00

The Tree of Life!

2009-12-31T21:50:00.000-08:00

This awesome tree is located in Beverly Hills at the end of Rodeo Drive. We took a lot of great pictures and guess what? I'm going post them all here for your viewing pleasure!

Addy

2009-12-30T01:46:00.000-08:00

Whenever I look into this girls eyes, I feel closer to God. If you've ever been with her then you'll know what I mean. Her gentle nature calms me and makes me want to take the time to really live and love life. I love you Addy.

Taylor

2009-12-30T01:26:00.000-08:00

I think that must be Tays favorite shirt! I can't believe how fast he has grown. He is all man now and although his journey is often bumpy, I know that the Lord has a very special plan for this young man. Tonight at Disneyland it was getting cold as the sun went down. Taylor gave his coat to Savannah, which only left him with a light weight tee-shirt. Then Savannah became sick and we began to walk back to our hotel, which is three blocks away and Taylor carried Savannah on his back because she was too sick to walk (Robert was left at Disneyland to turn in our wheelchair and stroller rentals). I love you Tays.

The Love of my life.

2009-12-30T01:18:00.000-08:00

I love you babe. Sixteen wonderful years together and it keeps getting better.

A day of dreams

2009-12-30T00:56:00.000-08:00

What a fun day. However since the Rose bowl was happening it was very crowded. Poor Robert was sick the entire day, but he never complained. He went on all of the big rides with the kids since my heart doctor said it probably wasn't a good idea for me to ride anything to fast. We did luck out on one thing. We rented an electric scooter for me to ride. (yes, like the one that grandma has!) They didn't have any for the first half of the day and our walking meters showed we walked 12 miles. I was ready to leave at that point. These darn MS meds cause me to swell up and it feels like I'm lugging around an extra 50 lbs (I probably am!) So when we finally got the scooter it was heaven. However even better was the little unknown fact that if you have a scooter or wheel chair you are allowed to enter the back door of all the rides and you get right on. No long lines. No waiting. It was great.

Disneyland

2009-12-30T00:31:00.000-08:00

Lots of fun. Lots of pics.

More of the same.

2009-12-28T22:42:00.000-08:00

Savannah

2009-12-28T22:26:00.000-08:00

Why is it that after a day of taking a million pictures of your kids you wind up with so many more of one particular child? Well I guess this was Savannah's lucky day. So here's a post dedicated to you Vanna (my little peanut.) Thanks for always sharing your beautiful smile and warm spirit with me. I love you, Vannie.

Huntington Beach, CA.

2009-12-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

We had a great afternoon at the beach today. The temp was 73* but the water was COLD! However, that didn't keep the kids from jumping in. We collected lots of seashells and even found some large pieces of sea glass. I will write more later, but I am too tired after our little hotel issue that left us temporarily homeless until 5:00 this morning. (I will fill you in later.)

2009-12-28T00:19:00.000-08:00

Picture 1: The drugs wore off so now its time for a movie.

Picture 2: Yep, you guessed it. Another roadside wee-wee stop. This pic might border on perverted (if you think so, then shame on you for looking at an innocent Little dude doing as nature intended) but man he must have had to go really bad. He nearly wee-wee'd on his on head!

Picture 3: I did it! I managed to drive our 747 down the famous Lombard St. It was a tight fit and the girls screamed the entire way down. It's during these times when I wished I had a cute little sports car.

Picture 4: More Lombard St. I think I'm somewhere in there driving down the road?

Picture 5: We stayed at the Raddison at Fisherman's Wharf in San Fran and our truck was too tall to pull into their parking area. We had to unload the overhead luggage carrier and take it down and then drag it up to our room. However, on the day that we left, Robert figured out that we could fit when exiting the parking garage. It was a tight fit and Robert had to lead me out. I have way expected him to pull out some cone shaped orange flashlights while he was guiding me out. What a sight we were.

The ROCK

2009-12-26T21:47:00.000-08:00

Picture 1: Heading to "The Rock."

Picture 2: The machine shop and electrical shop.

Picture 3: Trying to get everyone to smile. (I will photo-shop my low hanging shirt later)

Picture 4: Taylor and Hudson on the steps in the rec yard. This is where that famous scene in the movie "Escape from Alcatraz" is filmed. The part when Clint Eastwood climbs the stairs to sit by the black dude.

Picture 5: The same steps in the rec yard.

Sadly the weather turned bad today. Yesterday it was 65* outside. Well hopefully the weather will get warmer as we travel further south.

***It's not that we're all trying to look hip in the pictures with headphones on, but rather they are devices that they hand out for the audio tour. They were great and made it sound like we were at the prison during its operational times. They had former inmates & guards tell their personal memories of their time on the rock. The bad part of the listening devices was that the kids could claim that they really didn't hear me yell, "Get over here NOW!" and when I did yell I forgot that I had them on and I yelled really loud and everyone stood there staring at me. They play like a audio book and you can stop and play or rewind and fast forward the story. As you listen it tells you to walk to the left and look at this, then walk to the red door and go in and do this or that. Walk into this or that cell and close your eyes, walk over to the benches and sit down and stare out the window. So basically everyone becomes a robot that's controlled by the devices in their ears. The kids were walking zombies and whenever I told them to stay together they would say, "The voice says I have to go over to that room or the voice says I have to sit here." AHHHHHHHG! I wish those things had an emergency parental override command button. "Everyone get over here NOW or else!" Anyhow it was great and very educational.

The Rock

2009-12-26T19:49:00.000-08:00

Starting from the top

Picture 1: The ventilator shaft corridor behind the cell wall where Clarence Angelo cut through the back of his cell wall and climbed up to the roof and then to the water to escape.

Picture 2: A close-up of the back of Clarence's cell with the cut out ventilation grate. The grate was originally cement, but Clarence and the others built a fake one with paper mach'e.

Picture 3: One of the dummy heads that the escaped men created to place in their beds during the nightly bed checks.

Picture 4: A larger view of his cell.

Picture 5: This is the cell of the famous bird man of Alcatraz island. His name was Robert Strous(sp?).

Our visit to "The Rock"

2009-12-26T19:28:00.000-08:00

Our visit to Alcatraz has definitely been the biggest highlight of the trip so far. Everyone loved it! I'll post more pics in another post.

Made it to San Francisco... 15 roadside wee-wee's!

2009-12-26T19:05:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to San Francisco. Hudson asked to use the bathroom about every 20 minutes or after each cup of flavored water that Robert gave to him. Overall it was a pretty good drive. The DVD player in the truck saved us. I don't know how my parents ever managed to go on road trips with my sister and I when we were younger. We've learned that the two most important things to take on a road trip with children is Benadryl (to drug them) and a DVD player with lots of movies (to distract them for when the drugs wear off).

Mt Shasta

2009-12-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

We made it to Redding, CA. The temp is 65* at sunset! We love global warming! Tomorrow we will head for San Francisco. We will be there for 3 days. Everyone is excited to go see Alcatraz.

Nole, The Christmas Mouse

2009-12-17T12:02:00.000-08:00

***FYI: If you order through Barnes and Noble I get 5% more royalties!

"Nole, The Christmas Mouse" is here.

Get your copy at one of the links below.

Click here: Barnes & Noble.com - All Product Search: nole the christmas mouse

Click here: Amazon.com: nole the christmas mouse: Books

When the Weather Outside is Frightful...

2009-12-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

When the weather outside is frightful and the fire is so delightful,

Since we have no place to go,

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it STOP. Wait we do have a place to go. We are trying to get to Disneyland this Christmas, but if the snow doesn't let up, we may be Stuck Here.

Time to Bundle Up

2009-12-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

Hudson: Hey mom is the snow here yet?

Mom: Why don't you go look out the window and check.

Hudson: WOW! The snows not here, but the poppy-snickles are. (AKA: Icicles)

A 'bite' of disappointment

2009-12-16T10:58:00.000-08:00

Hudson thought he had hit the jackpot when he managed to steal the cherry from the top of my birthday cake. He danced around the kitchen singing, "I got the candy ha ha ha I got the candy ha ha ha. I get to eat it ha ha ha. I got the candy ha ha ha." He was so proud that he had finally been able to beat his older siblings to the prize. He's never had a cherry before and he thought that it was a cherry CANDY. So you can imagine his disgust and disappointment when he bit into it. "Yuuuuucckkk. THIS is YUCKY." Another lesson learned.

My Buddy

2009-11-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

This little project is something that I remember doing myself in the third grade. However, I don't remember the mess it made while constructing it. In the end, "The Winco Scarecrow" was tons of fun to make and even more fun to drop over the banister at the top of the stairs (Boys, everything they do must contain the actions of Damage & Destroy.)

Water Safety

2009-10-22T21:39:00.001-07:00

WHY? Why is Hudson wearing a life jacket?

Hudson, why are you wearing that life jacket?

Hudson says, "M-o-o-o-m-m-m, it's rain'in outsiiiide."

Mom says, "Oh okay Hudson, but why do you need a life jacket?"

Hudson says, "Cause m-o-o-o-om, da' R-a-a-a-i-i-n will come d-o-w-w-n and make wa-a-atter.

Little Miss Resourcefulness

2009-09-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

Poor Savannah. The girl is always left with no pillow to rest her head upon. It's not that we've never bought one for her, its just that everyone takes it. The fact is that in the Gibson home pillows are something that everyone wants, but for some reason no one can ever seem to find. Everyone started out with two pillows, except for mom, because I need six pillows to get comfy with at night and I don't share! Anyhow, I've carefully guarded my pillows and it wasn't hard to do. It took a little bit of time to get use to the zip strips and steel cables that held my pillows in place, but after a week or so I was finally able to memorize the combination to the pad lock and that made moving my pillows around in the middle of the night much faster.

I just don't understand why the kids can't seem to keep track of their pillows. I've offered to cable them to their beds, but they just look at me like I'm crazy or something. My main concern is where could all of these missing pillows have gone? I've long ago excepted the mystery of the sock monster who lives somewhere under my dryer and helps himself to our socks each and every time I do a load of laundry. Something like that is very easy to comprehend, but missing pillows is a completely different thing. Perhaps the sock monster has moved on to bigger and better things, like pillows. That's possible, isn't it? Nonetheless poor Savannah seems to be an easy target for the little Sock Stealing Pillow Snatching Monster. She's been without a pillow for nearly 2 months now and she's explained (or complained) to me several times about the dangerous medical problems that she may be forced to live with for the rest of her life as a direct result of having to sleep without a pillow. (who would have known that sleeping without a pillow could cause bad grades on spelling tests and a crooked big toe?)

Luckily Savannah's resourceful thinking wasn't harmed by the pillowless nights. As soon as she saw the mess that her little brother had made with the paper shredder, she ran off and then returned with an empty pillowcase. She quickly gathered up as much shredded paper as her pillowcase could hold and then began to sew the end shut. Finally after a few near-fatal misses with the sewing needle and a box of Band Aids, all is well for Savannah. She claims that her pillow is the best one that she's ever had. I guess now her spelling scores will be improving and her crooked big toe will straighten out. Let's just pray that the S.S.P.S monster finally leaves poor little Savannah's pillow alone.

Shredded Paper Snow Angels

2009-09-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

This is another one of daddy's idea's. Not the part of throwing tiny pieces of paper all over my bathroom, but the part about allowing our curious four year old son to shred papers in the industrial shredder. Daddy says that its a bonding experience to work along side his son while using dangerous heavy equipment. Mommy tried to intervene in this "special manly bonding event," because she knew that her little man could create trouble in almost any circumstance. However, both little man and big man began their work and just as the big man looked away for a few tiny seconds, the little man found out how to remove the bag from the shredder and that's when all the fun started.

A visit with Grandpa Gibson

2009-09-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

After our fun underground tour, we surprised Grandpa Gibson with a quick visit. Taylor was thrilled to see the car that he and his dad had driven in the Pendleton Round-up Parade a few years ago. Grandpa has an entire shop filled with antique cars and interesting stories to go with each one. The latest story about someone who became stuck in the rumble seat of this car (above) after being very rude to another passenger that Grandpa was driving around. In the end Grandpa had to remove the seat to get the person out. The moral of the story: Don't put your nose or butt in other people business! The kids are excited about the chance of getting to maybe be in the 100th anniversary Pendleton Round-up parade next year. Taylor says that he will have a licence and wants to drive the Corvette. (Not going to happen Tays!)

Pendleton Underground Tour

2009-09-21T09:05:00.001-07:00

(Thanks Savannah for being my picture model!) The Pendleton Underground is a treat to anyone that sees it. The tour includes a step back in time as you walk through long ago forgotten about, hidden tunnels that run through out the town of Pendleton. You'll see the many underground establishments some of which were owned by the Chinese who weren't allowed outside after dark or they could be shot. Part of the underground housed the illegal 'speakeasies' where prohibited liquor was served at hidden underground saloons. There is an entire other world down there. A meat market, laundry, bath house, several saloons, a bowling alley, several card rooms (for illegal gambling), Chinese jail, and several other underground businesses that were run by the Chinese for fractional amounts of money. Then after touring the dark underground, you are brought above ground to one of the many brothels. On this tour you visit Madam Stella's brothel which is located upstairs on the top floor of another building. Although the topic is very controversial, the kids found it very interesting and it gave them a better understanding of what it was like to live here over 70-120 years ago. I've been on other underground tours and none come close to the Pendleton Underground.

The Pendleton Underground Tour

2009-09-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

The Pendleton Underground is the coolest!

Robert and I have been on the tour many times before, but the children have never gotten to see this amazing place. So on Saturday, I took the 3 older ones with me on an adventure to the underground. I tried to explain to them that we would be underground in hidden tunnels that ran throughout the city, but they couldn't quite grasp it until they saw it for themselves. I could tell by their silent , wide eyed, curious looks that they were amazed. History is now the favorite school subject at our house. We will definitely be back to explore more of this amazing place.

Swim Finals

2009-09-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

I hadn't gotten around to writing a post about the girls swim finals. They both did great. It was a very long day for them, as the meet started at 10:00 AM and didn't finish until 7:00 PM. In the end both girls took a metal in individual events. Addy got one for the 200 meter breast stroke (3rd place overall in that event) and Savannah took one for the 100 meter freestyle (4th place overall in that event.) Savannah was forced to swim with 13-14 year old girls because their team needed someone to fill an empty spot because of a girl that became ill. Amazingly, Savannah wasn't nervous at all. She was just happy that she got to swim against the "big girls" and then got to stand with them after the race. When the older girls race it is a much bigger deal and all eyes are on the race. Usually there are lots of camera flashes and a lot more cheering (or screaming parents who are extremely competitive) and Savannah loved all of the extra attention. We never expected her to actually metal, but she took 4th place. She is pretty much walking about 2 ft. taller now! Now that we are done swimming for a few months, we can finally return to karate. We haven't been practicing very hard for karate since we were so busy with swimming and now the kids fear that all of their karate friends will be several ranks above them. Addy doesn't want to return to karate because she says that, "There is nothing more embarrassing then having a 7 year old have a higher rank then you." Unfortunately for Addy we don't allow the kids to quit for reasons like that. We are so mean! Karate is great because it teaches the kids so many valuable lessons and they can kick butt (should they ever need too.) So tomorrow we are back to our Tuesday's and Thursday's karate practices from 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm followed by swimming (no meets, just practice, fun & games) until 9:00 pm. Hudson will start karate in a few months too. YIKES!