issaquah fish hatchery

last weekend we decided to go the Issaquah fish hatchery to see all of the salmon going upstream. it is amazing to see the salmon jumpin up these ladders trying to get upstream to the fresh water to spawn. we saw some of the fish jump almost overhead. it is amazing. well enough about fish, this is a picture of my beautiful babies. i don't know why it is so hard to get a good picture of all three of them together but i thought this one worked.

cutest baby?

i am not going to say that i have the cutest baby but...maybe he is the cutest baby in a costume. well i never really thought much about this costume when i bought it for $1 last year but when i put it on asher this morning i about died at how cute he looked. i tried endlessly to get a good photo of him but in the end, this was the best shot. the boys got dressed up today while lily was at school to go to Potterybarn Kids for a Halloween sing along. my camera started acting up and i didn't get any of jackson but there will be plenty on the actual day.

kelsey creek farms

lily's preschool takes them on several field trips throughout the year and this was her first one. fortunately jackson was able to go as well because he through a huge fit when he heard she was going to a farm. they got to see horses and pigs and learn how to get a barn ready for cows. farmer jane was very nice and they had a blast.

just before they pet a horse.

this little girl in lily's class wanted a dust pan so lily offered her pail. i thought it was really cute that they knew what they were doing.

raking sawdust for the cows bed.

at the end they got to each pick a sugar pumpkin to take home with them. lily searched high and low for the perfect pumpkin and jackson choose his by dropping the first one he picked up. he got a pretty good one anyway. i already cooked it and got 4 cups of pumpkin puree.

while i was taking this picture, lily was taking her class picture which really upset him because he couldn't be in it. it took all he had to give me a smile and i think it was pretty convincing.

books i've read lately

enders game, orson scott card
well steven has been asking me to read this for a long time and i finally broke down and finished it last night. i have heard some mixed reviews. i feel like people i know either love it or really hate it. i have to say that i fall into the love it category. i know that some have felt it was offensive but i didn't feel that way at all. if you like science fiction as well as a good story you should definitely pick it up.


rebekah (women of genesis series), orson scott card
i picked this up when i went to the library looking for enders game. i couldn't find enders game but i am "oh so glad" that i got this instead. i haven't read the book of genesis much and didn't know much about the women of genesis soi was thoroughly intrigued. it actually made me grab the bible when i was done to read their acutal stories. though mostly speculation, it was so interesting to see these women as real people with real lives. i would recommend this to anyone. i also have the first book in the series "Sarah" waiting on my counter to be read. i can't wait.

the red tent, anita diamant
i read this on recommendation of kimberly dee and i am so glad i did (thanks kim). once again i was facinated hearing the story of jacob and his wives. it is hard to imagine the people of that time but it really helps you understand what they could've gone through. if you like historical fiction, i think you will really enjoy this and the one above.

pillars of the earth, ken follet
this book was a really hard read for me not mention it was 1100 pages long. their were a bunch of stories that eventually weaved together to create an amazing story but it took a long time to get there. one of the reasons it was hard for me to follow is it kept jumping around to different narrators. it was a bit confusing in the beginning but once you get the hang of it, you are hooked. if you are at all offended by rape scenes and some british cus words "DO NOT READ." if you can handle a little, ok maybe a lot, of craziness i think it was a good read.

i want to hear what other people have been reading and if you have any must reads please let me know.

mischief maker

ok, so let me begin by saying that my 16 month old child sleeps in a pack and play and yes, he does sleep in my closet. that aside, he loves his bed. i have never seen a child love being layed down for naps and bed time more. well, i guess there is a first time for everything and yesterday he decided not to take a nap but to play instead. he was in his bed for maybe 45 minutes when i just heard him making some noise. when i went to check on him, this is what i found.....

twenty-one pairs of pants and 3 broken hangers were piled up in his bed. the funny thing was, he was so proud of himself. he thought it was the greatest thing ever. i guess that i have to make sure he goes to sleep now when i put him in his bed. i just had to laugh because it could definitely be worse!

some other things i've made

i thought this was the cutest fabric. i know that it isn't conventionally baby fabric but i thought it would work and i think it did.

either side can be the front but i wanted to show the difference between the two.

ok, this is something that i just made for lily(thanks kristin for the patterns.) the dress (see below) i made with an old pillow case from steven's single days and the apron is made from a sheet (thanks carrie.) i have been trying to recycle fabric and i think it turned out really cute. the dress is a peasant dress and a little plain so i decided to make the apron as well and spice it up.

i couldn't get any good pictures of lily in it but...she loves it and just had to wear it today even though it is rainy and cold outside. i thought the apron would be cute over jeans and stuff, is that too weird? maybe aprons will come in style?

olive moore

happy birthday olive!
we went down to portland a couple of weekends ago to celebrate olive's birthday. amy made the cutest mini cupcakes i have ever seen and everyone loved them. we had a great time and enjoyed seeing them. it is always nice to see california friends though i have to say it does make me a little (ok, a lot) homesick. sorry the picture isn't more clear but of the 100 pictures steven took, this was the best of more than just one child. there weren't any of everyone and i thought this was the cutest.

twilight

Twilight HD Exclusive Trailer


i am so exited i can't even stand it! this video is all i have to say, i think it speaks for itself. is anyone else excited?

imogen heap "hide and seek"

i can't tell you how many times steven and i watched this the night it was on.

well call me stupid but i can't figure out how to put a song from our itunes to my blog so i posted a video from youtube so you can hear the whole song. this isn't her actual video but there was a block on hers so i just used some other random one.

the 5

The 5

ten years ago I was.......

1. going to college

2. not married

3. living with my parents

4. a receptionist at richard michael

5. playing in the arrogants

5 things on my "to do" list.....

1. give the kids a bath

2. take a shower

3. go to costco

4. eat

5. read "the red tent" (kim, it is sitting on my counter)

5 snacks I enjoy.........

1. cup cakes

2. chips and my homemade salsa

3. sour patch kids

3. peaches

4. crackers

5. ice cream

5 places i have lived

1. bellingham, wa

2. huntington beach, ca

3. santa ana, ca

4. spokane, wa

5. renton, wa

5 jobs I have had........

1. laura ashley home

2. advertising agency (ADPRO)

3. Bouton Constuction (no, i didn't do construction)

4. Baker, Thomson - account manager

5. nanny for beth lamb (ruths sister)

5 things I would do if I was a multi-millionaire........

1. pay off debt

2. buy a house

3. Help out my friends and family

4. buy my husband another vespa (he just had to sell his this week)

5. i would have a personal chef so then i wouldn't have to always be thinking about what to cook.

5 people I tag are.......

1. kim

2. jill

3. carrie

4. tarah

5. julie

some things i have made lately

first off...i want to apologize to those of you who have had boys recently or to those of you who have had girls in the past. this was my first attempt at baby clothes and i don't think there would be too many clothes items i could actually make for a baby boy. i have realized in the last year or so that i love to sew!!! who would have thought that something like this would be almost stress relieving to me. i have tried sewing in the past making blankets and such but the old sewing machine didn't do me any favors. steven lovingly purchased me a new one a couple of years ago and i am finally getting into trying new things. the last time i tried to sew a piece of clothing was at ruth's parents house in vegas. i tried to make myself a pair of pants (needless to say, i don't think they were ever wearable.) well i take that back, i made a dress for lily with steven's mom's help. i feel like the only reason it turned out was because i had her to watch my every move. she used to sew all of the time and is amazing! i am glad that i was able to live by her for a while so i could learn something about being domestic. (sorry mom, i learned a lot from mike as well.)

well i wish i had a better picture of the dress but i already gave it away as a baby gift but this was the cutest dress ever. somebody actually gave me the fabric and i came across this pattern online and thought hey...why not! i made another one of these dresses that is even cuter but i can't post a picture until i give it to the intended person. you can't tell here but the dress is lined with the other fabric that is also on the boots.

the boots were just an after thought but i thought they came out pretty darn cute.

conversations

so today i was driving in the car with all three of the kids when i had the funniest conversation with lily -

lily:"mom are you going to have any more kids?"
me: "i don't think so!"
lily: "why not?"
me: "don't you think 3 babies is enough?"
then she thoughtfully ponders for a couple of minutes and finally says "mom, i only want one baby when i grow up!"
me: " how come?"
lily: "because if i have three it will be too loud all of the time."
me: "are you guys loud all of the time?"
lily: quietly says "yes" then she adds "i just want it to be quiet when i try to use the phone."
do you think she has heard me say quiet one to many times when i am on the phone? i just think she is so funny.

another conversation
the other night after a rough day i layed down with her in bed and had a talk with her about listening and not talking back to mommy.

me: "i promise to try my best not to get so frustrated if you will promise to try and listen and not talk back to me."
lily: "i'll try better."
me: "do you talk back to your teachers? do you listen to them?"
lily: "of course i do!"
me: "why don't you do that for me?"
lily: "mom, i spend a lot more time with you so it's harder."

i thought that was very insightful for a 4 year old. i love you lily.

cup stacking

lily and jackson have been into cup stacking lately. it might sound weird but with they found these leftover cups from her lemonade stand in the garage and started stacking them. today i found lily doing it and this is what she did. i thought this was a really cute picture of her. she was so proud of herself. she started school this week and is having so much fun. the following pictures are from her first day.

isn't she cute!

elinor dashwood

a friend of mine from church put this on her blog and i thought it was great! this is who i am, i want to know who my friends are as well. let me know.

Take the Quiz here!

i didn't think this was possible

so today i was watching asher eat and i thought to myself "how did his eyes get soooo blue?"
then i looked at lily and jackson and thought .....

"how did all three of them come from this?" if i wouldn't have been there, i wouldn't think they could be mine. i mean they are all have such extremely light eyes and hair and i have never had either. after the many biology classes i have taken through the years, i have always walked away from them thinking that if i get a blue eyed child it will be really random. well, i guess i have really random genes. if anyone understands the science behind this, please let me know how this could happen.

breakfast

well today i was telling my children how they couldn't have ice cream for breakfast when i realized that i hadn't eaten anything except for the hersheys symphony bar that i was sneaking when they weren't looking. i guess i feel like if they can't see me then it's not a big deal.

is breakfast hard for anyone else to eat? for some reason, i have the hardest time eating in the morning. i can't eat when the kids do and if i wait, they are constantly asking for a bite (which drives me crazy.) by the time i feel comfortable to eat, it is lunch time and i eat a good amount of lunch and dinner. i know that breakfast is supposed to be the most important time to eat so does anyone have any suggestions? please help me!

prayer

every night while we say prayers asher usually just runs around and does his thing. we haven't really tried to get him to fold his arms and sit still because he usually gets mad and yells. well the other night i said to the kids it's time to say a prayer. the next thing i know, asher walks over with his arms folded and his head down. i couldn't believe it! it is amazing how much children learn when you don't think they are even paying attention. now, anytime i say anything about praying he folds his arms. i am not sure if you can tell but this is a picture of him folding his arms.

asher gets into everything

i thought this was a funny title because he literally gets into anything he can and he also gets into everything! here are a couple of shots that i got the other day. the kid loves to get out everything from the cabinets and drawers. i can't tell you how many times i have had to take away the aluminum foil, the apple peeler, put the plastic bags back into the box and if ever he gets into the fridge or pantry he takes the first thing he sees and makes a run for it. as we speak he is trying to push all of the buttons on the keyboard. i am sure some of you are thinking, "why don't you just baby proof your kitchen?" and i say "where is the fun in that?"

sadly after snagging this photo, he fell backwards and cracked his head on the cabinet.

he loves getting in the block bucket. he also turns it over and uses it to climb on the side table or anything else that he wants to get on.

cedar river trail

so today i thought to myself, "i have to get these kids out of the house!" i got onto the computer and looked up hiking or walking trails close to my house and this is what i found. it was awesome and less than 2 miles from our house! i forgot my camera and had to use my phone so the pictures don't really do it justice but it was so beautiful there. most of the trail was covered by trees and ran right along side the cedar river so even though it was pretty hot outside it felt cool the whole time we walked. we passed a few other walkers, joggers and bikers but for the most part it was so peaceful and serene. even though we were just walking the kids really enjoyed themselves. jackson kept saying, "i'm getting my exercise!" lily picked up a gob of leaves and rocks and they asked questions about everything. ashy had to ride in the stroller the whole time but he even seemed to enjoy just looking at everything and pointing at all the trees he saw. i am glad that i ventured out and found this place, maybe well go back with steven.

ashy and lily on a bench we found along the way.

this is the river that the trail runs along.

the mcferson visit

well it has been 3 years since we have seen jayd and his wife tauni. in that time they have had baby coen, are raising 17 year old kayla and are pregnant with their 2nd baby while we have had two kids ourselves. taking 4 kids a teenager and 4 adults actually all over the city surprisingly worked out pretty well. it was so fun to see them and get to know tauni, kayla and coen a bit better. it is too bad that we don't live closer to one another because we would have a lot of fun together. they were only here for two days but we were able to see places that we have not yet ventured out to see like freemont and the university district. the university of washington has the most beautiful campus. our visit to freemont was the only time we remembered our camera so here are some of the pictures.

i just thought this was pretty. we were standing on a bridge that we soon realized was a draw bridge when we took these pictures.

the mcferson clan

no, jackson is not wearing a crop top.

lily and jackson loooooved kayla. lily couldn't get enough of her and cried at the thought of her leaving. "why does she have to go?"

isn't this the cutest picture? look below to see what they are sitting on.

in freemont they have this troll sitting under the end of a bridge. the kids loved it. the ground is covered in sand so everyone was filthy when we decided to leave.

this is the bridge that the troll lives under.

thanks for visiting us, we had a blast!