Mobley's Jungle

Silverwood 2011

2011-08-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

During the school year the three biggest kids were able to earn free tickets to Silverwood, an amusement park just north of Coeur d'alene. So I got to take them! We had SO MUCH FUN!!! The kids had never been to an amusement park before and they loved it! Silverwood has a water park as well and we brought our suits, but it was too cold. We still had lots of fun, and still got wet. The log ride was Stephen and Annie's favorite ride.

They both thought it was way cool to drive a car.

Oh, and see that rollercoaster in the background of the picture of Annie driving? That is called the Corkscrew. You can only see a little bit of it in the picture. It has a nice big drop and it goes upside down twice does a couple other crazy rollercoaster things. Stephen and Ellen were dying to try it out. Annie was not, so she and I waited for them. They had fun! A little later in the day Ellen started asking if she could go on the rollercoaster again. Stephen said he had had enough, so I said I would go! YIKES! Ellen wanted to sit in the front car, but I talked her into sitting in the middle. As soon as we started going I closed my eyes and kept them shut tight. Ellen was so funny! She kept her eyes open the whole time (I'll take her word for it) and just talked to me here and there. Towards the end she said, "It's ok, Mom, we're almost done." I was so surprised to find out she liked rollercoasters so much!

There was only one ride she tried that she didn't like. The ferris wheel.

She liked it at first, but then they ended up sitting at the very top for a while and she did not like that.

While Ellen and I went on the rollercoaster Stephen and Annie went on the log ride again. When we were done with those two rides we decided it was time to get some ice cream. The menu options were kid's cone, one scoop, or two scoop. Ellen, Stephen and I all ordered one scoop. Annie was the last one to order and she went for a kid's cone. Look at how much ice cream we got!

The carousel is right by the entrance so that was the first and almost the last thing we did.

We ended our time there by going on our three favorite rides one more time. First we went on the Tilt-a-whirl. Then the log ride. Then, last of all, the raft ride. When we got off the log ride, I looked at my watch and realized that we still had time to go on it one more time. We were soaked and cold, but we had to do it again. We ran all the way around and got right on a raft. No line. We got off and there was still time to go just one more time. It was great! We drove home dripping wet and very happy.

Hiking on Moscow Mountain

2011-06-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

James has been working a lot of overtime lately, but was miraculously able to have the Saturday before Memorial Day off. Normally he has every Saturday off, but these last couple of months have been really, really busy.

So we took advantage of our time together and went up to Moscow Mountain to do some walking around and have a little picnic. It was beautiful!

We walked in a mile or two, then ate our lunch. After lunch we were planning to go back along the same road. It's a logging road that is only open to logging trucks, but you can walk and bike on it all you want. But the kids discovered this little stream and just kept following it so we just kept following them.

They had so much fun watching all the little waterfalls and seeing where the stream would take us. They were having such a good time that they forgot to fight with each other. It was amazing! They were happy and helping each other. They didn't want anyone to miss anything. And it didn't seem like anything could bother them. They all got their feet wet, sometimes on purpose and sometimes not. But they didn't mind at all.

The blur at the top of the picture on the right is Naomi jumping over the stream.

We followed the stream for probably a mile, until it came to another road and we stopped to take a little break. The kids were starting to feel a little tired and unsure about the hike back to the van. So Daddy broke out some candy. Pretty soon everyone was ready to go again!

We followed the new road back to the main road and were able to see some wonderful views.

It was so nice to be together as a family and not have any worries or stress. It was just what we needed!

Annie is 9

2011-06-02T05:52:00.000-07:00

Annie is NINE years old now!

12 things we love about Annie at age 9:

1. She writes lots and lots of poems.
2. Annie has a unique way of jumping up as high as she can. When her class plays Simon Says they often say, "Simon Says, do an Annie Jump!"
3. She loves her long hair.
4. She is an awesome reader and loves reading about magical places and characters. Some of her favorite books are the Secrets of Droon series, The Sisters Grimm series, and The Princess Academy.
5. Annie decorated her own cake! I made most of the flowers out of Starburst candies and Stephen drew the pictures of fairies for her, but she put everything on the cake and did a wonderful job!

6. Annie is getting really good at making chocolate chip cookies.
7. She takes such good care of Naomi and Ellen at bedtime. She tells them stories and sings songs. They love it!
8. She really likes walking around in the woods and loves to explore.
9. She is not easily persuaded by what others think she should do. She knows what she wants to do and is not likely to change her mind.
10. Annie loves big hugs!

11. She is really enjoying playing the piano and is doing a great job!

12. She still has a great imagination and is always using it!

We love you so much, Annie, and are so thankful that Heavenly Father sent you to our family!

Easter Eggs from Papa

2011-05-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

Our next door neighbors, the Kleffner's, are so good to us. They are our adopted grandparents here in Moscow, so we call them NanaJo and Papa. Papa made some special easter eggs for the kids this year. The only way the kids would eat them was if I took pictures first.

It's Always Fun When Grandpa Comes

2011-05-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

My Dad came for a quick visit last weekend. It was so good to see him! We went out to Vassar Meadows on Saturday to do a little shooting, eating, and having fun.

Grandpa brought Anne a couple of early birthday presents. A pink .22, some pink "ears", and Nana sent her a pink jacket. She got some private shooting lessons from Grandpa and did great. Doesn't she look so grown up?

Annie was kind enough to let the other girls have a try with her new gun.

Stephen didn't care to try out the pink rifle. He wanted to try using the scope instead.

We brought lots of food with us, including marshmallows for roasting.

There were millions of lady bugs hiding out. This just shows one little clump of them. There were bunches like this all over the place!

It was pretty cloudy and even rained a time or two. It was pretty exciting when the sun would come out!

We all had such a fun time. Grandpa took lots of great pictures. Thanks for sharing these Dad!

Naomi is 5!

2011-05-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

Way back in February Naomi turned 5! She loves being five and feeling a little more grown up!

12 things we love about Naomi at this age:
1. Naomi taught herself to tie her own shoes.
2. She loves doing hair, make-up (lip gloss), and nails for herself and other people. She loves to "make them look fancy."
3. Naomi is very sure that she has a loose tooth. Right here.

4. Naomi plays with her best friend Julia almost every day.

5. She really wants to catch a fairy.

6. Naomi likes to create salads all by herself. And they are usually pretty good!

7. Naomi is very talkative and noisy at home, but hardly says a word when other people are around unless she is very comfortable with them.

8. She loves to sing and learns primary songs really quick.

9. Naomi still loves monkeys.

10. Naomi loves to visit our neighbors, the Kleffener's.

11. She likes to draw really small pictures.

12. Naomi's favorite job to do around the house is to vacuum the stairs with the dust buster. She does awesome work!

While looking for pictures of Naomi to add to this post, I found these and just had to include them. This was at Easter time I think so Naomi would have been around 2 months old. Uncle Ben was holding her and smiling and talking to her and she loved it and smiled and smiled.

Then he laughed a big deep laugh and...

Her face was and still is very, very expressive.

Watching Daddy Shave

2011-01-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

The other day, as we were all getting ready to go our different directions, I was doing the girls' hair in the bathroom and James came in to shave. Anne didn't pay any attention to what he was doing, she just kept brushing her hair. Ellen was fascinated, though. Her eyes didn't leave him. She watched him spread shaving cream all over his face. Then as he started contorting his face to try and reach all those hard to reach spots, Ellen's face mimicked James' face. It was so funny! When his eyebrows went up, Ellen's eyebrows went up. When he tipped his head to one side, Ellen's head tipped a little to one side. When he puffed out his cheeks, Ellen puffed out her cheeks. She was so entranced and didn't pay any attention to what I was doing with her hair. It was SO fun to watch!

Christmas Day 2010

2010-12-30T15:55:00.000-08:00

A few pictures from Christmas morning at our house.

Naomi trying on her new scarf and hair bows.

James trying out his new sleeping bag.

Stephen with the electric train set Santa brought for him.

Santa also brought mustaches for the boys and big lips for the girls. They are the kind that are made of flavored wax that you can chew like gum. That is, after you are done goofing off and being completely silly with them.

Oh, yes, even Dad and Mom got in on the fun.

Feel free to laugh at this picture. Especially since you won't see pictures of me like this very often.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken at the Nativities Around the World display held at the Moscow Idaho Stake Center.

Cutting Our Christmas Tree: 2010

2010-12-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

We had a great time with our yearly tradition of cutting down our own Christmas Tree. We went out on Saturday after Thanksgiving. The weather was perfect! Not too cold, and it was snowing!

Playing around in the snow

I think we found the one.

Stephen was big enough to do the cutting this year.

Stephen, Annie, and Ellen sledding down the hill.

Naomi and Noah's turn!

Noah is 3!

2010-12-30T12:30:00.000-08:00

Noah's birthday this year fell on the day after Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Mobley and Chris and Max there for his birthday. Ever since Stephen's birthday Noah had been asking for an American Flag cake just like Stephen's. So that is what he got. And he was quite happy with it too! He was so excited about his cake and the candles that he blew them out as soon as Stephen had the last one lit. We didn't even get to start singing!

12 things we love about Noah at age 3

1. He likes to say, "I'm so glad you are my Mama!" It always makes me smile!
2. Noah likes to play cowboy. He wears his cowboy hat and his guns and pretends to ride around on a galloping horse.
3. He is starting to think about what he wants to thank Heavenly Father for when he prays.
4. Noah loves to fish! He even has a true fisherman's story already. Noah got a fishing pole from Grandpa Humphries for his birthday. He got to use it about two weeks after his birthday when he and Daddy and Stephen went out ice fishing at Spring Valley Reservoir. They were having a good time when all of a sudden, Noah's pole got pulled down the hole in the ice and into the water. It was gone! When they got home and Noah told me about it his little chin quivered, but he didn't cry. He said a BIG fish had pulled it down the hole. The next week when he told someone else about it he said that a HUGE fish had pulled it down. Then when he finally got to tell Grandpa about it, he said that a GIANT fish had pulled it down. True story.
5. Noah still really loves to wrestle. Especially with Daddy and Stephen.
6. He can turn a toy broom into a gun or a paddle.
7. Noah enjoys being outside more than anything else. He will stay out as long as possible digging and driving his dumptruck around.
8. Noah likes sauerkraut. He and James always eat it with their sausages.
9. Noah wants to be a missionary and a bear hunter and a Dad when he grows up.
10. He likes to pretend to play the guitar when any fast music is playing.
11. He LOVES milk.
12. Noah is such a boy!

Halloween 2010

2010-12-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken as we got home from our ward halloween party so the kids were ready to put on their jammies and eat some candy!

Stephen - a caver

Annie - a sea witch
Ellen - a frog
Naomi - a monkey
Noah - a cowboy

Sorting the loot.

Our Year in Pictures: part 2

2010-12-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

2nd broken arm for Stphen

Annie holding baby Melanie

Ellen with some groovy moves on the Wii at Jane and Jocie's house. We had such a good time staying with them!

Annie decorated a cake with fondant for Activity Day's.

Noah got busy with markers.

Haeberle Reunion

2010-12-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

The whole gang!

Face painting by Bonnie!

The incredibly HUGE slide.

Annie and Eliza

The kids' auction

Special thanks to Heidi, Lynsey, and Mary for sharing these wonderful pictures.

Our Year in Pictures: Part 1

2010-12-27T21:13:00.000-08:00

Even though I haven't been keeping up with the blog this year like I wanted to, we did keep living and I don't want to forget any of it. So, the next few posts or so will just be a bunch of pictures. I will try to add little comments here and there, but won't be able to write everything out. (sigh!) Want to guess what one of my New Year's resolutions is? Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding!!! You got it! I'm planning to be a more regular blogger!!! Now on to the pictures.....

The 4th of July...in our pajamas.

Ferdinand's Ice Cream for Family Home Evening Treat. It is the very best ice cream around!

The kids got crazy, creative, and cool with ice one day.

We planted a garden, and most of it actually grew! It was super exciting to all of us.

We even got this one really crazy zucchini.

And Noah drank more milk than all the rest of us put together.

Stephen is 10

2010-12-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

Stephen's birthday this summer turned him into an old man. Or maybe it just turned James into an old man. Stephen is now in the double digits! And is now old enough to light his own candles. He is growing up into such an amazing young man and is a real strength to our family.

12 things we love about Stephen at age 10:

1. Stephen is very creative. He loves to take pictures like this.

2. Stephen is a very hard worker. He is a great help to James and I.
3. He takes care of our rabbits everyday, feeding and watering them.
4. He has broken his left arm twice in a different place each time. He was very tough and brave both times.
5. Stephen really enjoyed working in the garden and was sure to check for and pick anything that was ripe.

6. Stephen loves to go fishing. Maybe even more than James does.

7. He learned about Idaho History in 4th grade and loved it! He enjoys history of all kinds.

8. He loves to laugh and has a great sense of humor.

9. Stephen quite often wears his skunk hat around the house.

10. Stephen likes to draw ships.

11. Stephen is getting better and better at playing the trumpet.

12. He is very patient with his younger sisters and brother.

Ellen is 6

2010-12-05T15:30:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Ellen's 6th birthday while we were camping with the Crumpley family. Very sadly, I didn't take any pictures of her birthday! So I am including some of my favorite pictures of her from over the summer. She is so beautiful!

12 things we love about Ellen at age 6

1. Ellen is learning how to read and is so happy to be able to do it.

2. She loves to take care of Noah. Even in the middle of the night when he climbs into her bed. He climbs into her bed way more often that he climbs into Mom and Dad's bed.

3. Ellen learned how to ride a bike this summer and likes to ride fast!

4. Ellen graduated from Speech Therapy in May of this year.

5. She often plays "that game" with Stephen. It's a game they made up together but it doesn't have a name.

6. Ellen is very tender hearted.

7. The garden was one of Ellen's favorite places to be this summer.

8. Her favorite color is green.

9. Ellen loves to play with dolls.

10. Her hip is now normal!

11. Ellen loves to cook and is always willing to help in the kitchen.

12. She is very good at math and understands math and numbers really well.

Zip Line

2010-11-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

While we were camping James and Tyler set up a very fun zip line for the kids. All the kids tried it (except for Noah) and loved it. Even Lida who celebrated her 2nd birthday while we were camping had a blast.

Stephen all ready to go.

Annie flying by.

Annie on her way down.

Naomi

It took lots of help to hold the rope down low enough to get someone hooked in and ready to be pulled to the top.

Ellen

Camping on the Selway

2010-11-15T21:05:00.000-08:00

At the end of June, after Stephen and Anne spent a couple of weeks visiting grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Southeast Idaho we got to go camping with the Crumpley Family (James' sister Rachel and her family). We camped right between the Selway Wilderness Area and the Frank Church Wilderness Area. It was a great trip! Sorry I don't have more pictures of the Crumpley's!

All together again!

Noah's toes

Hiking across a bridge over the Selway River.

Stephen and Andrew

Annie and Noah starting a sand castle.

Noah getting dirtier while hanging out with Peanut.

What would camping be without Cheetos and cute little girls in pigtails?

On the way home.

Kindergarten Olympics!

2010-09-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

Another exciting event while Aunt Lynsey and Joseph were visiting. Ellen's class had Kindergarten Olympics and Lynsey and I got to go help.

Here is Ellen in the middle of the Potato Race. Can you see the potato she is carrying in the spoon?

At the hoola-hoop station she attempted 4 hoops and did a great job!

And we can't forget the bean bag toss.

While Ellen was busy being an Olympian, Joseph and Naomi and Noah played on the playground.

Annie's Baptism

2010-09-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

Anne Johanna Mobley was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 5, 2010.

The program:

Here she is with her Daddy, all ready to be baptized.

We were very blessed to be able to have so much of our family come to Annie's baptism.

Her cousin, KatieJo, was able to come with Grandma Mobley and Uncle Chris. Grandma made both of these beautiful dresses. The girls felt so beautiful in them and really enjoyed being able to dress alike. Thank you Grandma!!!

Aunt Lynsey

and Uncle Ben

Nana and Grandpa and also Jennifer, Sterling, and Chase. This isn't the best picture in the world, but it's the best group shot of the day.

It was a very special day for Annie and our family.

Lynsey and Joseph

2010-08-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

When I came home from Minnesota Lynsey and Joseph (my sister-in-law and nephew) came home with me! We had a long day of traveling (three separate flights) and we didn't get home till about 11pm, but it sure was nice to have someone to travel with. Joseph was such a good traveler! And it was really nice to be able to spend so much time chatting with Lynsey.

Lynsey and Joseph were able to stay at our house for almost two weeks! It was so fun to have them! We don't get to see them nearly often enough, so a nice long visit like that was wonderful!!! We did lots of fun things together.

Ben was even able to join us for a few days!

We went to the Palouse Discovery Science Center and worked our brain muscles.

We went to see the Giant Cedar. It was really rainy that day, but we did have a break in the rain right when we needed. We got a little sprinkled on while we were walking around, then about 30 seconds after we got back in the van it started pouring again.

We also went to the WSU creamery to watch how they make cheese, and to eat some really yummy ice cream!

Lynsey took most of these pictures...Thanks, Lyns!

Minnesota!

2010-08-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

In May I was able to go (all by myself) to Minnesota for my brother Sam's wedding. It was wonderful!

Sam and Natalie

Ben, Me, Dixie, Heidi, Sam, and Bradley

Me and my sisters. I cannot even begin to describe how much fun I had with my sisters. Painting our toes, brushing our teeth, walking, talking, and laughing...so fun! I love my sisters!!!

Man and Wife!

I was able to have a very handsome escort for the wedding. My very cute nephew, Joseph.

I had such a good time visiting with my family and meeting Natalie's family. I also got to chat with Tawnya (Bockman) Russell and her new husband Spencer. It was so nice! And I am very, very grateful I was able to be at Sam and Natalie's wedding. I am so excited for them and their family!

Anne Turns 8!

2010-08-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

Anne turned 8 on May 18th of 2010! She was very excited to turn 8 and had been looking forward to it for a very long time. We had a nice family celebration the night of her birthday. She asked for a doll cake and I tried my best. Anne helped me decorate it and was very happy with the way it turned out.

Since Annie turned 8 this year she got to have a birthday party with friends as well. (Sadly, I didn't take any pictures...but I can tell you all about it.) She had her party on Saturday the 22nd of May. James took Stephen, Naomi, and Noah up to Moscow Mountain for the day. Including Annie and Ellen there were 11 girls at the party. It was quite exciting! First the girls played a few games. Then each painted their own flower pot, filled it with dirt and planted some Thumbelina Zinnia seeds. After the pots were all finished and sitting out on the deck, the girls enjoyed a light lunch. Next, Annie opened her gifts then everyone came back to the table for some ice cream cake. And then everyone went home. Anne was very happy to have finally had a "real" birthday party and had a very good time.

12 things we love about Annie at age 8:

1. Anne loves playing the piano and does not complain when asked to practice. Actually she complains that she doesn't get enough time to practice!

2. Her hair is getting quite long and she prefers to wear it in two braids or two pigtails.

3. She would rather read than watch a movie.

4. Annie LOVES to go down the really BIG slides at the aquatic center.

5. Anne has learned how to use my sewing machine and really likes to sew.

6. She sings to Ellen and Naomi at night when they have a hard time going to sleep.

7. She really enjoys riding her bike and is also good at jumping on her pogo stick.

8. Anne would rather take a spider (or any other kind of bug found in the house) outside than kill it.

9. She loves to walk through the woods with her Dad. Especially when they go off the path to explore or look for antlers.

10. She faithfully reads the Book of Mormon every night.

11. She is not a fan of automobiles. She would rather we used horses to get around.

12. Anne loves old fashioned styles of clothing and often wishes she could dress like the pioneers did.

A Happy Morning

2010-08-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

As you know, our spring was quite rainy. But, the morning of May 14 happened to be sunny! It had a strange effect on all of us. We were all up earlier than usual and in happy and even helpful moods. The kids ended up with a little bit of free time before school and all found things to do. Since this type of thing hardly ever happens, I had to take pictures!

Stephen got in a little extra practice time. (It was not all spent lying across the recliner, I just really like this picture!)

Naomi got out the tracing paper and traced a picture from her book.

Ellen had time to make matching crowns for herself and her baby doll.

And Noah had lots of fun having horsie rides with Annie.

The Puddle

2010-05-14T11:08:00.001-07:00

When it rains for more than 30 minutes at our house we always know that there is going to be a big puddle next to our driveway. We've had a very wet and cold spring and that puddle has been there more often than not.

Looking for rocks

to throw.

And for sticks

to dig with.

Two Sleeping Babies

2010-05-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken just over 4 years ago. Ellen was not quite two and Naomi was only about 6 weeks old. It was bed time and both girls had finally fallen asleep. They were both sleeping in our room at the time. Naomi, because she was so new. Her bassinette was on my side of the bed. Ellen, because she was still in her spica cast and needed to be moved every so often during the night. She slept on a beanbag chair on James' side of the room. I'm sure it had been a long day, and I found so much peace in looking at my sleeping babies that I had to take a picture.

Mobley's Jungle....or maybe Small Farm

2010-05-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

It says on our sidebar, "We are the Mobley's and we live in a Jungle. At least it feels like we live in a jungle. Our yard was really overgrown when we moved here and we just started referring to it as The Jungle. Since then we've (by we I mean James has) been slowly trying to tame our jungle, and I must say it is starting to look like an actual yard. No matter how nice it gets though, it will always be The Jungle!"

James has been so busy improving our yard that we just might have to start calling it a farm instead of a jungle. Well, probably not. But, thanks to James, our yard is much more productive now and hopefully will be even more so in the years to come.

Last summer James, with some good help from Stephen, built a nice retaining wall at the bottom of our yard so that we now have a flat spot in which to plant a garden! We've already planted our peas! We will also be planting carrots, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, green beans, 1 zucchini plant, and pumpkins. We need some warmer weather first though!

There are two apple trees right next to the garden which are just beginning to blossom. Although we are not very fond of this kind of apple, (we don't even know what kind they are) they do produce enough apples every year that we can make plenty of applesauce. Eventually we will probably plant other apple trees and cut these down, but for now they are nice to have.

Our pear tree is just beginning to blossom as well.

And our cherry trees are in full bloom. Oh, and we have a rasberry patch as well.

And, of course, any small farm just wouldn't be complete without some farm animals, right? We've got that covered. Back in January we bought two rabbits.
This one is the buck. He is a Satin Red.

And here is the doe. She is an American Blue.

Our little farm is already growing. Just over two weeks ago five new rabbits were born. They like to pile up together so it's kind of hard to see, but there really are five rabbits there.

This one got brave enough to leave the bunch for a few seconds.

Favorite Words

2010-04-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

It is so fun to listen to the new words kids learn as they are growing up. I wanted to record some of their favorites.

Stephen - "phenomenal"

Anne - "obviously" and "rare"

Ellen - "like" (the California Girl kind of "like")

Naomi - "father" (she doesn't call James "Father" but when we are talking about the dad of someone else she always calls them their father.)

Noah - "I promise." and "I guess so."

Handsome Boys

2010-04-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

I took this picture on a recent Sunday morning. Look familiar? Check out this post from Jan. 09.

Happy Birthday Naomi

2010-04-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

I know this is really, REALLY late. But here it is...

Naomi turned 4 on February 18. Because we had the Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts on the 18th we actually celebrated Naomi's birthday on the 17th. She thought that was just fine! This is the 100th year of Cub Scouts so the banquet was like a huge birthday party. There were balloons and birthday decorations all over. Naomi thought it was all for her! She was SO excited!

Naomi wanted a banana cake for her birthday. We call her our little Monkey and she loves anything to do with monkeys so a banana cake fit right in. She wanted it to have bananas inside the cake and a banana on top of the cake. I found a banana cake recipe online and came up with this for the top. Naomi said it was just right. Hooray!

She got some wonderful presents and had a really nice birthday.

Here are the 12 things we love about Naomi at age 4:

1. She is the best helper when doing the laundry. She know exactly which articles of clothing belong to which people.

2. She still prefers to sleep with her special "flower blanket" she got from Uncle Ben and Aunt Lynsey when she was a baby.

3. When Naomi meets someone new, or even greets someone she already knows, she prefers to wave rather than say hello.

4. Naomi love to snuggle!

5. She is very proud of the fact that she is doing pre-school. Even if it is pre-school at home and mom is her teacher.

6. She enjoys changing her mind.

7. Naomi gives special "big love hugs" and says that she can give them because Nana gave her one.

8. One of Naomi's favorite activities is coloring. It can keep her busy for over an hour!

9. Her favorite colors are pink and purple.

10. Naomi loves hearts, and has known for quite a while that her birthday is 4 days after Valentines Day.

11. Naomi loves monkeys. She often refers to herself as Mama's Monkey or Curious George (she didn't know about Curious George until after the monkey infatuation was well established) as often reminds us to call her Monkey or Curious.

12. She calls James "Handsome" and he loves it!

Great American Postcard Swap

2010-02-08T12:53:00.000-08:00

We are so excited about this! Click on the picture to go to my other blog and find out what it's all about.

Noah in the Kitchen

2010-02-06T14:54:00.000-08:00

Normal Life Continues

2010-02-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

This is such a cute picture, I just had to include it.

I really need to get better about having my camera with me more often.

The whole family went ice fishing last Saturday and we all (even me) had a great time! Next time I WILL take pictures. We've had a pretty mild winter, but the ice was 14 inches thick. It is so fun to play on!

Stephen is learning long division. It is not the best of experiences for him. He stayed home from school yesterday because his stomach hurt. I could tell that it really did, he wasn't just saying it. About noon he was fine. This morning his stomach hurt again so I knew something was up. It was math. I called his teacher (who was very glad I called) and she said that Stephen is doing just fine and understands the math as well or better than most of the kids in the class. So Stephen went to school feeling a little better. He just got home a few minutes ago and is happy and smiling! Still has math homework, but he's not so stressed about it. Yay!

Ellen is sick again. Grrrrrrr.

We are having rice and beans for dinner tonight. I actually have meals planned out for the whole next week! I'm so excited!

On January 10th I was released as the Primary Chorister and set apart as the 1st Councilor in the Primary Presidency. I'm way excited! And a bit busier. I just love Primary!

!!!!!Breaking News!!!!!

Annie just came home from school and announced that she won First Place in the 2nd grade for the Map Contest! This is International Week at school so on Monday and Tuesday they had a map contest to see how many countries the kids could correctly identify. Each grade had a different map to identify. 2nd graders did Central America. Anne studied and studied last week and got them all right. Today they had an assembly and announced the winners and presented them with certificates and international prizes. Anne received a neat little doll. Congratulations Anne!!!

Everyday Stuff

2010-01-20T06:10:00.000-08:00

I haven't added much to our blog lately because I've felt that our normal everyday life wasn't much to "write home about." But, I've changed my mind. I LOVE hearing about normal everyday kind of things. It's normal! Plus, I want to record our normal stuff because someday it won't be our normal and I will want to remember. So, here goes. (Sorry there won't be any pictures this time, I'll try to take more pictures of our normal everyday so that you can see as well as read.)

We've all been sick with coughs that take a very long time to go away, but are finally relenting! All that coughing and not sleeping made us into some pretty grumpy people. I am so happy to report that we are happy and well once again.

Anne is turning 8 this year so she and I went to the "8 is Great" fireside on the 10th. We learned about how to plan for her baptism and what actually happens in the Bishop's interview and about fun things like Activity Days and earning the Faith in God award. Anne can hardly wait!

In the last week, Naomi has tripped and landed on her nose on pavement. It looks pretty sad. She is pretty upbeat about it, though. She has had lots of questions like, "Did you meet the sidewalk?"

Ellen has been practicing and practicing her letters. She knows them all quite well but likes to see how many she can acurately name in 1 minute. She is also sounding out words and writing them down or just spelling them to me quite a bit. Most of the time her spelling is way off, but she is doing great with phonetic spelling.

Stephen and Noah both got haircuts on Monday while the kids were off of school. They are both very handsome!

Speaking of handsome... some of you probably know that James quite often whistles at me and has since we first got married. You know the kind of whistle I mean. I like it. But I've never quite known how to respond. Until recently. Now when he whistles, I call out, "Hi, Handsome!" I think he likes it. The kids like it too. Naomi occasionally refers to James as "Handsome" instead of Daddy. Especially when she is talking to me. And the other day I asked Noah if he is handsome and he said, "Noooo! Daddy handsome!"

That's about it for now. I'll try to be back soon with more....

Scrambler

2010-01-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

I know this is from quite awhile ago, but I came across these pictures the other day and realized that I never did post them on the blog.

In September we went to the County Fair and the bigger kids got to choose one ride to go on. Anne chose a mirror maze, but I somehow didn't get any pictures of her. Stephen and Ellen chose the Scrambler. I don't know if you can see it in the pictures or not, but they both had big smiles on their faces. The loved it!

The Pinewood Derby is coming up.

2010-01-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

Stephen has done most of the work himself......

......with a little help from Dad.

Christmas Season 2009

2009-12-26T12:20:00.000-08:00

I decided that I've got to hurry up and blog about all this stuff, or it just isn't going to happen.

Our Christmas season was quite busy this year. As I'm sure it was for everyone. We started off on Dec. 2 with the Light Up the Night Parade the city of Moscow has every year. Our ward Primary always has a truck pulling a trailer with a live Nativity scene then the rest of the primary kids walk behind and sing Christmas carols. I am the primary chorister so I get to walk and sing too, and it is a lot of fun. This year Stephen, Anne, and Ellen were chosen to be Joseph, Mary, and the angel. (I did not choose or even suggest.) James, Naomi, and Noah were able to watch the parade and even saw Santa Claus. It was quite cold that night so we hurried home as soon as we were done.

That Saturday, the 5th, we all went as a family to cut down a Christmas tree. It turned into quite an adventure. It's kind of a long story, so let me just say that we ended up spending about an hour - hour and a half all squished together in the Jeep. And I mean squished. Noah knew that we were looking for a tree and didn't quite understand why we weren't choosing one of the many, many trees right around us. Every now and then he would point out the window and say, "Tree!" But we did have a very nice time together. The snow was beautiful and we (mostly I) sang Christmas songs and I really enjoyed being so close to my most favorite people. And we did end up with a very nice tree.

Dec. 13th was our ward Christmas party. We sang Christmas carols, then enjoyed a nice dinner served family style (which means the food is on the tables and we don't have to wait in huge long lines and juggle plates! Yay!!!), then we did get in a huge long line so that we could see Santa. Except for Stephen. He decided that he is getting to big for Santa's lap, so he and James helped clean up. The rest of the kids all got to tell Santa what they wanted and got their picture taken with him. I wasn't sure what Noah would do. He didn't say anything, but he didn't cry either.

We had two Christmas concerts, one for Stephen for band on the 14th (and I forgot to take my camera) and one for Stephen and Anne for school on the 17th (I did bring my camera, but Stephen was sick so he couldn't go). They were both great concerts! This picture is all of the 2nd graders of Lena Whitmore Elementary. Annie is in the middle row, 5th from the right. It's pretty hard to tell which one she is. They did a really good job!

On Dec. 18 Stephen was feeling much better and I had a little shopping to do, so we all went down to Lewiston after James got home from work. There is a park there called Locomotive Park where the city puts up a huge light display. It was so neat!

All the trees were very bright.
The very biggest tree has lights that go off and on in time with the music that is playing in the park.

There is a large mat, probably 20 x 20 feet next to another tree. The mat has big square buttons under it that you can jump on. When you jump on certain squares certain colored lights on the tree will turn on and off. Very fun, even for James and I.

They had a nice big fireplace.

A tunnel of lights over the sidewalk.

Dancing Penguins!

We had such a good time!! We will definitely be going back next year.

We had a nice Christmas Eve and Day. It was nice and relaxing to have just us at home, but we did miss our extended family. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Fun with words!

2009-12-11T13:14:00.000-08:00

Stephen was home sick for a couple of days this week and was a little bored. Way back at the beginning of the summer I made a big list of activities they could do if they were bored, so I sent Stephen to look at the list. He took about 1 second and said he couldn't find anything. There was one activity I'd been anxious for someone to try but no one had yet, so I suggested we do it together while I do the dishes. He could do all the writing for us and I could just add my thoughts here and there. I don't know what this game is called, and I don't remember where I got the idea. Out of a book I think. Anyway, here it is.

Give each letter a cent value (a = 1 cent, b = 2 cents, etc.) then add up the value of words. Cab would be a 6 cent word - c = 3 cents, a = 1 cent, and b = 2 cents. What is the value of your name? How many $1 words can you find? "Excellent" is a $1 word.

Stephen was a little reluctant, but he was hooked after the first word he added up. He didn't care about the money part of it and mostly just went by points, so he was looking for 100 point words. It was a lot of fun! We worked on different words for quite a while, then when Annie came home we got her going as well. Here are some of the words we tried.

Stephen = 84
Santa Claus = 111
Christmas = 110
envelope = 94
magnet = 60
sausage = 73
winner = 83
forest = 83
banana = 33
Aimee = 33
orange = 60

And we did come up with a couple of 100 point words! Pumpkin and telephone both added up to 100. Anne found another one for us: Annie Mobley! She was pretty excited that her name would add up to 100 points. Can you find any more $1 or 100 point words?

Happy Noah!

2009-12-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

Noah's 2nd birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year. He didn't seem to mind at all. He knew it was his birthday and every now and then would say, "Happy Noah!" Since it was Thanksgiving, we were able to have Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Chris celebrate it with us. We were SO glad to have them come visit us!

I had planned to make an actual cake for Noah, but after all the cooking and baking of the Thanksgiving food I just couldn't make myself mix up another thing! So Noah had a birthday pie instead and was quite happy with that. He still got to blow out the candles. The video starts out dark but we do turn the lights on part way through.

Noah has always admired Stephen's trumpet. Lately he has been using all kinds of things as his own pretend trumpet. He even moves his fingers! So we thought we would try to get him his own toy trumpet for his birthday. I found an instrument set at Winco, of all places, that came with a drum, a trumpet, a tambourine, and two maracas. Noah was very excited about it. So were all the rest of the kids. We had a few arguments and shed a few tears those first couple of days. I'm not sure that I was very wise to get that particular present, but I think we are all over it now and Noah has his trumpet so life is good.

A couple of weeks ago I was reading through some past posts and read about Noah turning one. I had listed 12 things that we loved about Noah. I enjoyed reading it so much that I've decided to make that a regular tradition. Not just for Noah, but for all the kids as their birthdays come around. So here we have our list for Noah this year.

12 things we love about Noah at age 2:

1. He is very busy! We've never had a child as busy as Noah.

2. Noah keeps track of every member of the family. He knows where they are and whether we need to pick them up or not. He also knows very, very well what belongs to whom. Whenever James is folding the laundry he likes to keep Noah nearby so that Noah can tell him who the clothes belong to.

3. If one of us is leaving the house, Noah wants to go too. Especially if it is Mama or Daddy but he would gladly go out with just Naomi if only I would let him.

4. Noah loves to wrestle. Especially with Daddy or Stephen.

5. Noah loves to play with balls, cars, trains, trucks, and animals.

6. Noah doesn't like the van to be sitting still if he is in it. Whenever we stop at a stop sign or stop light he quickly says, "Go! Go, go go!"

7. Noah loves his friend Paul who will be two in March. They talk to each other and happily share toys with each other and take care of each other. Today they started playing catch all on their own! They are just SO cute together!

8. Noah has a wonderful face. Dimples, round cheeks and amazing expressions!

9. Noah knows and LOVES all four of his grandparents and talks about them quite a bit. One day he saw a picture of Nana and wanted to call her. I told him that she was at work but that we could call her later. That night he remembered and insisted that we call Nana now! He was very happy to finally get to talk to her.

10. Noah loves to look at books. I think he looks at every part of a picture before he will move on to the next page. He always has a very intent look on his face.

11. Noah does not talk quietly. Ever. We had a special Family Home Evening lesson about whispering hoping that would help Noah learn to whisper during Sacrament meeting. It didn't work. I guess that's just what happens when you are the youngest and everyone already in the house is always loud. You have to be loud too!

12. Noah is a cuddler. He loves to give hugs and kisses and squeezes. And he still loves to be held whenever he gets the chance.

Interesting Names

2009-11-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Stephen had an Idaho geography assignment for his homework this week that was kind of fun. So we thought we'd see how you could do with a few of them. It's called Interesting Names. These are the instructions: Can you discover the city or town from the clues? Use an Idaho road map to help you with the names.

1. Found in the sky at night:
2. Our state - tumbling down:
3. President during the Civil War:
4. To squat down low:
5. The bill collector says you must:
6. Same as the capital of France:
7. To give thanks before a meal:
8. The winner of a race is the:
9. A storage place for dishes:
10. What the baseball coach says to the outfielders:

We could not figure out that last one. So Stephen called our wonderful neighbor, Mr. Kleffner to see if he could figure it out. He thought about for maybe 30 seconds and had it. Stephen turned the paper in the next day and found out that only he and one other girl got the answer to that last question. When he got home from school Mr. Kleffner was just coming home as well and Stephen went running over to tell him the good news. We are so thankful to have such sweet and smart neighbors!

Scroll down to see the answers.

1. Star
2. Idaho Falls
3. Lincoln
4. Crouch
5. Payette
6. Paris
7. Grace
8. Victor
9. Cabinet
10. Ketchum
How did you do?

Fall Soccer 2009

2009-11-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

Stephen, Anne, and Ellen all played soccer this fall. Stephen and Anne had both played before (a couple of years ago), but this was Ellen's first time. Luckily for us all of their games were on the same nights and all at the same park. (Sorry, some of the pictures are a little dark or blurry, but I think they will work.)

Stephen loved every minute of it. He had so much fun and is a really good soccer player!

Anne was not so thrilled with soccer. She has already stated that she will not be playing soccer again. I'm very proud of her for sticking with it till the last game. Even though she didn't like it she still got in there and played. That blur on the right is Anne running up to kick the ball.

Ellen had a lot of fun. When the season started she very happily ran around the field, but never touched the ball. By the end of the season she was going after the ball and getting some good kicks and passes. All with a big smile on her face. She wants to play again! This picture was taken towards the beginning of the game. Just a few minutes after this it was too dark and none of the pictures I took turned out.

Naomi, Noah, and I had fun watching. Well....Naomi and Noah weren't always watching. They did a lot of running and playing around too. Overall it was a good experience. But we are so glad to be done for now!!!

No Imagination???

2009-10-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

Mornings are kind of hard for Ellen sometimes. She just can't wait for school!!! The other day I had just sent Stephen and Annie out the door and was finally eating my own breakfast, when Ellen came and sat down next to me.

Ellen: "What can I do, Mom? I don't have any imagination!"

Me: "What do you mean?"

Ellen: "All I can imagine is a bird, an owl, a kangaroo, a squirrel, a fish, a dog, a hippo, and a rabbit." She sat and thought for about 3 seconds, then jumped up and said, "And a crocodile!"

She ran (crawled) off pretending to be a crocodile eating up every animal she could think of. With a little help from Naomi.

When Stephen has the camera...

2009-10-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here We Have Idaho!

2009-10-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

Since Stephen is in the 4th grade this year, he gets to take Idaho History. I have been waiting for this since he started kindergarten. I loved Idaho History when I was a kid.

One of the first things Stephen learned about was all the state symbols and emblems and things like that. The state horse is the Appaloosa, the state flower is the Syringa, the state gem is the Star Garnet which can only be found in Idaho (in Benewah and Latah counties) and India. The state vegetable is...well I probably don't need to tell you that one. Check out this website for more state emblems.

After learning about all of these emblems for a couple of weeks, Stephen's teacher gave the class a test. I was helping him study and came to the last question which was about the state song. I asked Stephen what it was and he answered it right. I am kind of a corny mom sometimes, so I started singing it. Stephen looked at me like he was impressed that I actually knew it. Anne and Ellen just looked at my like I was being a little too silly. Stephen then headed downstairs, went into his bedroom and started humming the song right where I had left off. Oh, did that make me smile!

Click HERE to listen to a UofI choir sing the chorus of Here We Have Idaho.

Noah Likes

2009-10-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

It feels like life has jumped to light speed these last few weeks. There has been lots going on, that I could/should catch up on, but I thought I would just start trying to post a little more regularly and maybe the catching up will happen somewhere along the line. Don't hold your breath, though.

Noah is really starting to turn into a little boy lately, and has some particular likes. Well I think he really likes everything, but some things are especially appealing to him.

The most important thing to Noah would have to be milk. He and his friend, Paul, are very serious about their milk.

Noah also likes hats quite a bit. It doesn't matter what kind of hat, or who it belongs to, Noah will put it on and wear it for most of the day.

Shoes. Here he is wearing Stephen's soccer shoes. I think he really does like his own shoes, but it is lots easier for him to put other peoples' larger shoes on by himself.

Noah loves baths. So much that one day he climbed back into the tub with Ellen after I had already taken him out of his bath and put a nice clean diaper on him.

Like all little boys, Noah loves playing with cars and trucks and other things with wheels.

And he enjoys playing in the dirt. This sand pile was at the Latah County Fair where the UofI has an exhibit about digging up history.

Noah really likes food. All food. One morning after I finished making lunches for Stephen and Annie, I did not put the jam right away and hurried downstairs to take care of some laundry. When I finished and started to head up the stairs I found Noah sitting in the middle of the stairs with the jar of jam, eating it by the fist full. I couldn't help but take a picture!

Was he really big enough?

2009-09-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

This was the first day of school way back in 2005. Stephen's first day of Kindergarten. Annie could not be left out of the picture. She was pretty sad that she couldn't go to school too. They both look so little! I'm so glad I took this picture!

At Home

2009-09-09T11:15:00.001-07:00

This is what's going on at our house today...

Oh, yes, today is a school day. We made it to three whole days of school before anyone got sick! WooHoo!!! (Ellen and Stephen made it to four!) The three biggest kids have sore throats, coughs, and fevers. Anne is already on the upswing though, so the end shouldn't be too far away.

First Day of School 2009

2009-09-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

Our first day of school finally arrived yesterday. It seems like everyone else started before us. It is so interesting to see how each child handles the first day.

Stephen seemed excited. I think he was. Without telling us, he set his alarm for 5:30 that morning. He was up early, and so was Noah. So I was up too. (I'd planned to get up at 5:45 so that I could have some quiet time before everyone else got up. Ha ha.) And since Noah is not a very quiet person, everyone else was up before 6. But since we were up so early we were ready to go with plenty of time to spare. That was very nice! I don't know if it was getting up early, or nerves, or what, but this is the best picture I could get of Stephen. He didn't even want a ride to school. He was set on biking and finding his classroom by himself. After all, he is a 4th grader now.

Anne spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom. She must have brushed her hair four separate times and then decided that she wanted it braided. She was very excited to get to school and see her friends and meet her new teacher. She was a little nervous about finding the right classroom, but once she knew which door to go into, she had no problems. She is very excited to be a 2nd grader.

Ellen is in the afternoon Kindergarten class. She has the same teacher that Stephen and Anne both had in Kindergarten so she is familiar and comfortable with her. Ellen just wanted to get there. After Anne and Stephen were gone to school and the rest of us were at home, she asked over and over, "How long till I go?" It was so hard to wait!

Whidbey Island

2009-08-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

James and I enjoyed a very nice and relaxing few days on Whidbey Island (about 30 miles north of Seattle) last week. Mom very generously stayed with the kids, and I think they all had a good time.

Double Bluff Beach (sorry it's kind of a dark picture)

Salmon fishing. We got up at 3:45 one day so that we could be to the boat dock by 5:30. That included a ride on a ferry to get there. This picture was taken at 6:56. And yes, it was cold and windy. We each caught four Pink Salmon all between 18 and 21 inches long. James had a great time. The weather was even just the way he wanted it to be. He said that it would have been a little boring if the water was calm, but the wind gave some nice waves to ride around on. I was really nervous to go, but I did it! And I enjoyed it too! After fishing we took a nice long nap.

This harbor seal met us at the dock when we came back from fishing. Our boat captain, Dave, said she is there every day waiting for the fish heads and other parts left over as he cleans the fish.

Langely Beach. All of the beaches are rocky and full of drift wood.

A red jellyfish. This one was about 18 inches across.

Two deer joined us on the beach. It was kind of funny!

The view from some old gun batteries at Fort Ebey State Park.

One of the entrances to the bunker at Fort Ebey. You can't see it very well, but above the door way it says, "USED 1942"

Admiralty Head Lighthouse. The lighthouse is part of Fort Casey State Park, but was built in 1861, long before the fort was ever built. We even climbed up the narrow wrought iron circular stairs to look out the lighthouse tower.

James checking out one of the guns at Fort Casey. They called them disappearing guns because they could be lowered out of sight.

Part of the fort, including a look-out tower on the left. It was a huge place!

The view from the look-out tower.

We had such a good time just walking around and exploring. Fort Ebey was built during WWII and Fort Casey was actually built around 1900, I believe, and used briefly during both world wars. Neither were ever needed to defend Puget Sound, but it is still really neat to visit there.

Thanks for looking at my vacation pictures! They might not be very exciting, but they help me remember things I don't want to forget.

To Char

2009-08-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Char,

I'm so glad you found our blog! How can I get in touch with you? Our email address is jamesaimee@kinfolkonline.net. Please email me or leave another comment with your email address and I'll email you.

It's great to hear from you!
Aimee

Us

2009-08-20T13:18:00.001-07:00

Happy 10th Anniversary Sweetie!

This is actually a card James made for me when we were first married. Isn't he clever?

Before James' mission.

Our engagement picture.

I have lots of other pictures of the two of us, including wedding photos, but they are mostly all non-digital and our scanner isn't working so well right now. Maybe next year I'll post some of them.

The School Playground

2009-08-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

Every summer the kids ask and ask to go play at the playground at their school. The big kids want to go because they like having the playground to themselves rather than crowded like it is at recess. And the little kids like it because it's the school playground and anything having to do with the school is just cool! So yesterday we finally went. It was only about 65 degrees and pretty cloudy so you'll see jackets in some of the pictures.

Noah wasn't quite sure what to think of this bubble window. He liked it, but he wouldn't lean out into it. He started to a couple of times, but then always pulled back. I think he was afraid that it wasn't really there.

During this last school year Annie mastered the art of "skipping on the rings." She actually calls them monkey bars, but I call them rings. She is really good and fast though!

Ellen's New Do

2009-08-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

Ellen has been asking me for a couple of months now to cut her hair. So yesterday I finally did it. I cut it right where she asked me to and I think it looks really cute!

Sleeping Brothers

2009-08-08T12:07:00.000-07:00

James and I went out on a date last night and when we got home and checked on all the kiddos, this is what we found.

This morning Stephen said that Noah was sad at bed time, so he brought Noah to his bed and all was well.

Humphries/Haeberle Camp Out

2009-08-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful time at our family camp out in Kilgore.

Squeezes from Grandpa

Oh, I love my family!

The Three Year Olds

Lalain, Hanna, Brad, Luke, Joseph, Naomi

The five of us.

I just love this picture.

My handsome friend, Joseph.

My Grandmothers

My Grandfathers

Dinner

Playing at Aldous Lake

Stephen and Miles

Playing with the potato gun.

Naomi's thoughts on the flag

2009-07-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

James' parents have a flag pole in their front yard and always have a flag flying. After looking at it one day, Naomi said, "Look! It's the United States of America. On a stick."

Rexburg Spray Park

2009-07-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Last week Mom, the kids and I met up with James' Mom and sisters Alice and Rachel and sisters-in-law Julie and Kylie and all their children at the Rexburg Spray Park. The kids got nice and wet on a hot day and we had a nice picnic too. We sure are enjoying this time with cousins!

Joshua, Ruby, Godwin, Naomi, Xela, and Lida

Andrew, Benjamin, and Joshua (I think)

Noah finally getting brave enough to touch the water.

Scott and Stephen

Naomi, Xela, and Lida

Ellen, Annie,and Noah

Andrew, Stephen, and Benjamin

Noah and Helam

Sand Dunes

2009-07-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Quick note to explain a little more about Ellen's arm. She and a few of her cousins were all jumping on the trampoline together at James' parents house. They were having a great time when all of a sudden Ellen and Samuel (Stuart and Chaney's 2nd child) collided. It was actually Ellen's arm and Samuel's head. Samuel ended up with a big bump on his head.

The kids and I went to the Sand Dunes on Monday and had fun. It had rained early that morning so the sand was nice and wet and cool just under the top layer. After we had been there for about an hour, it started to get a little windy so we decided to leave. I'm glad we did because it just kept getting windier. We did have a very nice time as you can see in the pictures.

Another One Bites the Dust

2009-07-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

This is old news to some, sorry for the delay for the rest of you.

We thought one broken arm was enough for our summer. Guess not, because Ellen broke her arm on the 4th.

She actually broke her wrist. But she's doing great and is like Stephen too because she didn't have to have a cast either. Her bones were all in the right place too so the Dr. said that if she would be careful she would be ok with just a splint. WHEW!!! Hers is a little easier to take on and off for baths, and it is black so no dirt is showing. If we had to have another broken arm, I'm glad it's turning out this way.

This is the only picture I have of both Stephen and Ellen wearing splints. (Stephen was supposed to be using the sling too, but as you can see it mostly just hung on his back.) But now Stephen doesn't have to wear the splint all the time. He's supposed to wear it if he's playing outside, but we've been pretty lax about that. He's been pretty careful though. After the 20th he is a free man. Ellen still has another 3-4 weeks to go.

Stephen said to me...

2009-06-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

"You were born in the 70's? No wonder you're so old!"

I just couldn't help but laugh.

Ellen is 5!

2009-06-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Ellen!

As you can see, Ellen requested a Barbie cake. I've made a couple in the past always using round cakes stacked in layers. I wanted it to be a little easier this time so I thought I would just bake two cakes in a couple of my metal mixing bowls. I checked with my mom to see what she thought and it sounded good to her. She also had a super suggestion for me. She said that I should put a paper towel roll in the center. That would help it bake faster plus it would leave a hole in the middle and I wouldn't have to dig it out later to put the Barbie in. It worked great! A little batter did come up into the paper towel rolls while the cake baked but it pulled right out with the roll. It definitely saved me time and stress! Thanks Mom!!!

Noah's First S'more

2009-06-23T06:26:00.001-07:00

Stephen's arm update

2009-06-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

Stephen and I just got back from seeing Dr. Jacobson (the orthopedic surgeon) where we got good news! Stephen's arm is broken, but the bone is all lined up and everything is in the right place so there is no need for surgery. And kids elbows heel very quickly so Stephen didn't even have to get a cast. He still has to wear the splint and sling. But we're going back to Dr. Jacobson in just 11 days, the 29th, and they will x-ray his elbow again and he will probably have to wear the splint for another week after that, but then he will be done. WhooHoooo!!! Summer isn't looking so bad after all.

It's Broken!

2009-06-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

Stephen's arm is broken. He was playing tag at the park this afternoon and fell off of a landing on the play equipment that was only 3-4 feet high. It is broken at the very bottom of his humorous bone right above his elbow. The doctor at quick care is sending Stephen to see the orthopedic surgeon next week. We'll find out more then. For now his arm is in a splint and a sling and he's taking ibuprofen for the pain. He is also staying up watching My Three Sons and eating chocolate pudding with James. You can see in the picture he's got a little smirk on his face. With the splint and Advil he's doing pretty good.

Fun on Grandma's Swing

2009-06-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

4th of July, 2005

Uncle William, KatieJo, Samuel, Joshua, and Annie

Four years doesn't always seem like a long time, but when you look at this picture, four years makes a HUGE difference.

Family Pictures

2009-06-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

We finally did it! After 6 long years we got our family pictures taken! Our home teacher and his wife, Mike and Cami Dean, just started a photo business. So we asked them to take our family picture and individual pictures of the kids as well. They did a WONDERFUL job! We love the pictures!!! And what makes it even better is that we had a very nice time getting our pictures taken. We went to the UofI Arboretum, where everything is beautiful, and we walked all over and Mike just kept taking lots of pictures, and Cami was super good at arranging us for the pictures and she was also very good at making the kids laugh and smile. If any of you are in the Moscow area, or ever will be, and want some very nice pictures of yourselves, we will send you right to Mike and Cami. Their website is http://www.deanphotographs.com/.

First Camp-out of the Year

2009-06-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

Last weekend James and Stephen were going to go camping just the two of them. But on Thursday night they decided that we should all go. The girls were all very excited about this, so we spent Friday morning cleaning up and packing and getting ready to go. James got home from work around 3:45 and we loaded up the Jeep and headed out. We went to Moose Creek Resevoir which is a beautiful little reservoir just outside of Bovill, ID, and about a 40 minute drive from Moscow. We didn't actually camp at the reservoir, we went a few miles on down the road and found a very nice secluded spot where we didn't see any other people the whole time we were there.

Within about 5 minutes of getting out of the Jeep, Stephen found a salamander.

James caught this frog and all the kids, but especially Noah and Naomi, were very fascinated.

Our camp site. We got rained on just during the night, but we were dry and cozy in our tent.

We borrowed this little row boat from some friends of ours in the ward, Weston Ricks who is originally from Teton and his wife Bridgette who grew up in Tullahoma. James took all the kids but Noah out on the lake Saturday morning and they had a wonderful time. Stephen and Annie got to help row. Then they explored a little island in the middle of the lake. They even got to see a bald eagle flying around and then it landed in a tree that was not too far away from them. This camping trip was a great start to our summer.

A Visit to City Hall

2009-06-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

Stephen has been in Cub Scouts for a while now. Almost a year. But his pack doesn't have den or pack meetings during the summer, so if Stephen is going to earn his Wolf it is all up to us.

One of his requirements is to "visit an important place in your community, such as a historic or government location." So on Monday for Family Home Evening we went to visit City Hall. We didn't have any idea if anyone would be there or if the building would even be open, but we thought at the very least we could walk around outside the building and talk about what goes on inside. Well we got there and the building was open. Hooray! So we looked around on the first floor at some paintings and were just starting to head up the stairs when the Mayor, Nancy Chaney, walked in and said, "Hello." We visited with her for just a minute and explained why we were visiting City Hall. She then invited us up to her office and gave the kids each a City of Moscow pin. As we left her office we realized that a City Council meeting was just about to start and so we stuck our heads in the door long enough for the kids to see the Councilmen and where they sit, and where the general public sits, and all that kind of stuff. As we walked back outside we read a sign about the actual building. It was built in 1910 and first housed the Post Office. The kids had a really good time. Meeting the Mayor was kind of like meeting a celebrity. They were so excited. And now whenever we drive past City Hall, even Naomi calls out, "Look! City Hall!"

It Really Is Gone

2009-06-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

Sam had to do some work in good ol' Cheyenne, WY a few weeks ago. Since he was in town he thought he would drive past our old home site and see what it looks like now. He very thoughtfully took some pictures with his cell phone and sent them to us. For those of you who never saw our house in Cheyenne here is a picture.

They left the two big trees because eventually there will be a very nice bike path running right along there somewhere. They will completely change the layout of the street so that it will run almost diagonal through what used to be our yard and will have a greenway with a path running beside it. To look at these pictures you never would have known that a house used to be there. I will admit that I got a little teary-eyed for just a minute, but I really am so glad we live here and not there anymore. You can see in the first picture from Sam part of the very large oil refinery that was just behind our house. We really were that close! And can you also see in that same picture some stacks of blue pipes? That was where the house with the meth bust used to be. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this post.) Oh yes, I am very glad we don't live there anymore!

Happy Birthday Annie!!!!!!!

2009-05-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Annie turned 7 years old on Monday! (So hard to believe!) She had a very nice day and a very happy birthday. Somehow I only took one picture of her, and it was at the end of the day. This is Anne wearing a new birthday outfit, and trying out her new stilts (with a little help) that James and Stephen made for her.

Mormon Channel

2009-05-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

The Church now has its own official radio station and you can listen to it online. Just click on the button at the right or visit the Mormon Channel website where you can also find out what's playing.

Climbing Lessons

2009-05-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday James put one of his climbing ropes way up in one of our trees so that he can practice climbing and repelling. Stephen and Anne wanted to try climbing up the rope. So James showed them how and they did it! Anne tried first and went up a few feet.

Then Stephen tried and he quickly went all the way to the top!

Then Anne wanted to try again and this time she got almost all the way up! Look how high she is!

And look at the SMILE on her face!

They used a prusik knot to climb the rope. Here is a video of Stephen demonstrating.

Visitors!!!

2009-05-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

We got to have Mom and Jane stay with us over Mother's Day weekend. We had a wonderful time and are so glad they could come visit.

Annie and Nana got really good at this. They practiced quite a bit and Anne enjoyed every second of it. There were many different versions to this one plus a few other fun songs they did.

What's a guy to do?

2009-05-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Naomi decided to dress Noah the other day. I've always known that with 3 older sisters Noah would eventually be dressed in girl clothing. It really wasn't as bad as it could have been. Even if he was wearing a sweater with flowers on it, he still wanted to play with the cars.

Olive Fingers

2009-05-02T11:32:00.001-07:00

How Many Years?

2009-05-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today we moved into our house. This is what our kids were like at the time. Aren't they so cute? And so totally little! Just look at their cheeks.

Classic Records for Kids

2009-04-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

We have a new favorite website, Kiddie Records Weekly. They have all kinds of children's records from the forties and fifties that you can listen to and even download. It is wonderful! They even have the Winnie the Pooh stories narrated by Jimmy Stewart that I remember listening to as a kid. It is SOOOOO FUN listening to it again and with my own kids this time. It is just as wonderful as I remember it! Plus there are lots of others. Hooray!

The Jungle Gym

2009-04-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Other wise known as Daddy.

This picture was taken about a week and a half after we moved into this house. Annie was one week away from turning 3 and Ellen was 10 months old.

Naomi's Favorite Sandwich

2009-04-16T06:09:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I was making lunch for the at home kids (PB&J) when Naomi came into the kitchen to see what I was doing. When she saw what I was making she asked if she could have cheese on her sandwich. I asked if she wanted a plain cheese sandwich and she said "No. I want cheese and peanut butter." The cheese was not out, so I don't know where she got this idea. I asked about three times if she was really sure and she kept saying "Yes, cheese and peanut butter." So I decided I could let her try one cheese and peanut butter sandwich and then she probably wouldn't ever want another one. I was wrong! She keeps asking for them. Almost every time we have peanut butter sandwiches, she asks for cheese on hers. Maybe I'm missing out on something, but I haven't got up the nerve to try it myself.

The Day of the Worms

2009-04-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

Last night we got quite a bit of rain and it was pretty chilly this morning, not freezing though. As we were headed out to walk to school this morning, Stephen called for Annie to "come quick and look at this!" There were worms all over the road. Not covering it, of course, but every few feet or so was another night crawler. The kids were so excited. We had a hard time getting to school and actually ended up being a couple minutes late because everyone was so busy looking at the worms and the little paths they made in the dirt. Our neighbor, Miriam, dubbed today "The Day of the Worms." I really wish I had had my camera with me. By the time I got it outside with fresh batteries, the worms were starting to dry up and were pretty sad looking. I did find some in a couple of puddles though.

This was a great big one, probably 7 inches long. Most of the worms we saw on the street were this size.

There are 4 little baby worms in this picture.

Since there were so many worms out today, Ellen, Naomi, and I talked about worms and the letter W for our little preschool lesson today.

These are the yarn "worms" Ellen glued onto her paper.

This Week

2009-04-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday Noah fell down the last 4 steps of our stairs. After he took a nap and was still crying and not using his left arm (and a quick call to Mom) I took him to the quick care office. They said it was his elbow and that it might be broken. So they took x-rays but couldn't see anything on the x-ray because his elbow is still mostly just cartilage. They put his arm in a splint which immediately made him happy. Then the dr. took the splint back off to see if Noah had something called a nursemaid elbow which is basically just a slightly dislocated elbow and is quite common in small children. She tried to pop Noah's elbow back into place, but couldn't feel anything happen and Noah was still quite upset without the splint, so she put the splint back on and set up an appointment for Noah to see an orthopedic dr. She did tell me to try taking the splint off the next day and see if maybe it really was a nursemaid elbow. So on Wednesday, I took of the splint and Noah was happy and using his arm and playing like normal. He's just fine! What a relief that was!

We also were able to have Heidi, Kevin, Luke, and Shelby come visit us this week. We had a great time. The kids finally got to know each other and had a good time playing. Noah loved Aunt Heidi and playing and laughing with her, and Shelby let me hold her and kiss her and squeeze her.

April showers will come so they say, but they don't...

2009-04-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

...and it's May.

Well no, it really isn't May. But I keep thinking those words every time I look out the window and see that it is snowing again. This was our backyard yesterday morning.

It was perfect packing snow, and we had no school because of Parent/Teacher Conferences, so the kids had to make a snowman. Anne had to go to the dentist to get sealant on her permanent teeth, so she didn't get to help with the snowman. She did get plenty of time in the snow later though.

Are you sure today isn't April 1st?

2009-03-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

The weather seems to think today is April Fool's Day. We've had some bizarre weather today. The forecast called for rain, but we woke up to snow. It's not so unusual for the weather man to be a little off. The snow was coming down hard this morning. It finally stopped about 11:30 this morning and we had a little sunshine. About 1:30 some dark clouds started rolling in. It got so dark that I had to turn on some lights to be able to read stories to the girls. As we were reading I kept hearing a rumbling noise and didn't really think much of it. It got a little louder and then all of a sudden, there was a flash of light and a big boom. I thought, "Oh, thunder, it must be raining." I turned around to look out the window and saw great big fat snow flakes like you expect to see at Christmas time. And wind. Then more lightning and thunder. Then hail. 15 minutes later the sun was out again and the dark clouds were moving off in the distance. It was crazy!

Our Much Loved Friend

2009-03-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon, Ellen asked me to read one of her favorite stories from the Friend. It is called Escaping from the Hole, and was in the August 2008 issue of the Friend. As soon as I started reading, all the other kids came to listen. (Noah was taking a nap, or he would have been right there as well.) This is how James found us.

You can see that our copy of the Friend has lost its cover and is pretty worn out. They all get to looking like that. The Friend goes to bed with people at night, it goes in the van, it is read and loved pretty much every day. What would we ever do without our Friend?

Art and Chocolate

2009-03-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of sidewalk art pictures. The kids were out all afternoon drawing with the chalk yesterday, but most of it was actually done on our neighbors driveway with their kids and I don't have pictures of that. I haven't seen it, but I heard that Stephen even made a hopscotch game that goes to 150 and hopped all the way through it.

Annie left this message for me on the front porch.

A very cute little house.

I don't know what this is, but it's very colorful!

And I made some chocolate chip cookies this afternoon and had to post this picture of Noah. He is a big fan of cookies.

Sidewalk Chalk

2009-03-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

One of the first sure signs of spring at our house is that we finally get to break out the new sidewalk chalk. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to post some pictures of our freshly decorated driveway.

Spring has Sprung!

2009-03-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Happy first day of Spring everyone! Yesterday was one of the first real springy days we have had. And today is just as wonderful. The kids have been playing outside most of the day. Even Noah got to really play outside.

Dancin' for Joy!

2009-03-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

It's Spring Break this week and we are excited!

All 5

2009-03-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

The other night I got out the cars and trucks to hopefully distract Noah while I made dinner. The next time I looked in the living room I saw this:

I think it was the first time all 5 of them have come together to play on their own. It was great!

Dragonfly

2009-03-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

I discovered this poem last week while sorting through some papers. Stephen actually wrote it in 2nd grade, but I don't remember seeing it. It's so good, though, that I had to post it. I'll type it just as it is written.

Dragonfly

by Stephen Mobley

Down, up down and up goes dragonfly.

Rain is falling, but the dragonfly dodges every drop.

A dragonfly is zooming and it's wings are so bright.

Go, go dragonfly high in the air.

Oh that dragonfly is so colorful.

No, no do not fly there. That is a frog

Fly high over the hill and under the bridge.

Light in the air, you are light as a feather.

Yay! Yay! Go do the dragon fly dance.

Happy Birthday James!

2009-03-06T11:10:00.001-08:00

Can We Have a Picnic?

2009-03-05T09:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was beautiful! The sun was shining and it was 47 degrees! Ellen and Naomi played outside for a while and then when it was time for lunch they REALLY wanted to have a picnic.

Today we woke up to this.

We're supposed to get about 6 inches of snow today and the wind is blowing like crazy. No picnics today!

Stories about Mom

2009-03-03T10:17:00.000-08:00

Last night for Family Home Evening we celebrated Mom's birthday by telling some stories about her and listening to one of our favorite tapes. I'm sure you all know the one...Mom was about three and was laughing and singing Oh, My Darlin' Clementine and Doggy in the Window and saying (in her adorable little southern accent) "Clap your hands, Daddy." I have always loved listening to it, and my kids do to. (Sorry, Mom, I know it embarrasses you, but it really is wonderful!)

As I was preparing for last night and trying to come up with some stories about Mom as a kid, I could only think of one thing! That was that when the family moved to Twin Falls the neighborhood children took Mom around to all the houses so that everyone could hear her southern accent. I'm thinking she was about 4 at the time. Is that right, can anyone add anything to the story? Since that was all I could come up with, I had to call Gran, and I got a little bit more. I just had to share them, they are so good. I wish I had a picture to go with them. I'll have to work on that.

When Mom was born, Grandaddy was a popular radio announcer and so he dedicated a song to Gran during his radio show. It was "Daddy's Little Girl" by Eddy Arnold. I put it in my sidebar on the right, all you have to do is click play. It is such a sweet song.

Lots of people heard the dedication and wanted to see the new baby. Mom was born in a new hospital that had a nice big nursery with big windows so everyone could look at the babies. Gran's room was just across the hall and down one door from the nursery so she could hear all the people come. "Which one is the Haeberle baby? Oh, there she is! Isn't she a purty baby?" Lots of things like that. Then they would say, "I wonder which is her room? What is she like?" So Gran would sit up, and read her magazine and look pretty and smile nicely at all the people.

We all know that Mom doesn't like confrontation. She was born that way. When she was young, 3, 4, and 5 years old, and some contention or problem would arise, she would quietly go into her bedroom and close the door. Sometimes she had two doors to her bedroom, and would close both. She would stay there for about 15 minutes and then come out, happy and ready to move on. (I have to say that this story made quite an impression on my children!)

The last is not so much about Mom as a child, but about who she is. When Gran and Grandaddy joined the Church, their missionaries gave them a leather bound triple combination and wrote an inscription inside the cover. They mentioned their love for the family and their hope that the boys would serve missions. They also wrote about Mom becoming a lovely mother and an angel in Zion. What prophetic words! She is a lovely mother, and she truly is an angel to so many people.

Busy Week

2009-03-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

Last week was just crazy! I'm not quite sure how it happened. It seemed like there was something going on every day and night. It was so nice when Sunday came and all we had to do was go to church! Here are a few highlights (this is not everything we did):

I got to go to bookclub on Tuesday.
Stephen spent all day Wednesday on the UofI campus for the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. His band got second place in their age group!
We all went to the Blue and Gold Banquet on Thursday night and Annie pulled out a tooth right in the middle of dinner.
On Friday Stephen and Annie had Bookabunga Day at school which meant they got to bring some of their favorite books from home and read all day. The school does this every year to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday. Then right after school Stephen went to a "lateover" (almost like a sleepover, but they come home after the movie instead of staying up ALL night.) for his friend's birthday. Stephen got home about 9:45. Annie left at 7:30 that night to go to the big Jazz Festival Concert with her friend Samantha. They got to hear The Monty Alexander Trio and Bobby McFerrin. She had a good time, but didn't get home until 11:45. It was my first experience "waiting up" for one of my children and I have to say that although I was sleepy I really enjoyed being able to spend some time with just Annie when she got home. We talked about way more than just the concert!
On Saturday James had to work for a little while, but was done by noon so he and Stephen went ice fishing and caught 11 fish. They made a great Sunday dinner. Also on Saturday Anne pulled out yet another tooth! She has 5 empty spaces right now and can hardly eat anything.

This week is looking much calmer! I'm so excited!

Officially 3

2009-02-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

I think Naomi had a pretty good birthday yesterday. She is quite excited to be three. Yesterday when Grandpa and Nana called to wish her a happy birthday, Grandpa asked her how old she is now. She held up three fingers and said, "I'm this much!" All of her presents were pink, hearts, or princesses so she was thrilled! She even had a pink heart cake

and got to help decorate it.

Don't worry... she didn't eat all of these sprinkles.

Sprinkles anyone?

2009-02-18T11:02:00.001-08:00

We went grocery shopping yesterday and I bought that little bottle of rainbow sprinkles you see above. "So why is it empty?" you might ask. Well, somehow, it did not get put away with all the other groceries. This morning I was busy folding some laundry downstairs and when I came back upstairs there was Ellen and Noah playing nicely but no Naomi. I quickly checked down the hallway to the girls room and saw that their door was closed, which it never is, and it was quiet...too quiet. I opened the door and there sat Naomi in the middle of her floor with this empty bottle next to her and sprinkles all over the floor, the carpeted floor! Not the entire bottle, because she had actually eaten most of them, but it doesn't take very many sprinkles to make a mess. She knew she was in trouble, but I just couldn't be mad at her. It is her birthday and what 3 year old can resist a bottle full of sprinkles? I did have her go get the little vacuum and clean up the floor, and she did a pretty good job. Oh, Naomi! What will you come up with next?

Ball!

2009-02-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

Noah loves balls. He has for quite a long time. Ball is his newest word, however, and so he seems to enjoy playing with balls even more now. Whenever he throws a ball he says "ball" as he is throwing and then when it stops he says, "wow!"

This afternoon we had peas for lunch and Noah discovered yet another kind of ball. I heard Noah say ball and looked up just in time to see a pea go rolling across the table. Luckily he had already eaten most of them before he decided they could be used as balls. It was so hard not to laugh!

Naomi

2009-02-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Naomi's 3rd birthday will be this Wednesday the 18th of February. I can and can't believe that three years have gone by. The name Naomi means pleasant and our Naomi does fill that name very well. She is so happy and sweet and a pleasure to be around.

This was the day Naomi came home from the hospital.

This is Naomi at one month old.

Today's Stories

2009-02-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

We had such fun reading stories this afternoon that Ellen and I had to sit down and blog about it. The first one we read was Cars and Trucks and Things that Go, by Richard Scarry. We love this book. There are so many things you can do with it. Today we looked for Goldbug on each page (that is what we usually do) and we talked about all the fun silly cars. Ellen's favorite was the cheese car filled with mice. Mine was the pickle truck.

We also read two stories out of the March issue of the Friend. (To read it online click HERE then click on the March issue.) One is called Sunday Stations and the other is called Emergency Day Drill. Today was about the 5th time we have read both of them. The kids really like the ideas in both stories, especially the Sunday Stations idea. I told them I'd have to think on it. The kids in the story are a little older and can do more things on their own. Does anyone have any ideas for a "station" that Naomi or Ellen could do?