here fishy fishy fishy....

Pepper and Sedona's school has a fishing trip for them once a year.




I love the proud & excited look on her face in each of these pictures!

SO CUTE!



A private land owner stocks his river/pond area with trout and then has the Department of Wildlife is invited to take the Headstart kids to that pond and fish for the day.

After which they give the kids all free fishing poles---pretty amazing if you ask me.

I normally go, but Lucas was awesome enough to volunteer to take both girls, and I got the house picked up. Yeah Lucas!

THE FISHY STORY

as told by Pepper Larson.

"In the first five minutes then I catched the fish and then dad helped me and he said 'what the heck'. So we put a stick in his mouth and put in back in the water so he could be fresh and yummy. Then I said 'I don't think I can catch anymore' and then dad said 'when you are done fihsing come over here' and then dad carried it to the man and I saw his eyeballs. and then the fish was moving his tail in the water, and then he stopped and I think he was asleep and then we ate it and then it was all gone. We don't eat the little white string things (bones) in there"






SO if you need a little translating.


Lucas, Sedona, and Pepper all got to the stop and set up. Lucas got Pepper set up first and while helping Sedona he heard Pepper's little voice "Umm..dad...I think I got a fish." He looked up and suprise, she had caught a fish! First Sedona helped reel in for a minute, but then dad took over. It was a pretty rainbow trout. It had swallowed the fly so Lucas had to use his pocketknife and pull it out. He put a stick through the gils and placed it in the water to keep it fresh. When they took the fish to the Wildlife department man--he said "wow, this one must have been in since last year." It was a good sized fish. They wrapped it in a plastic bag and brought it home. We cooked it for dinner and the girls ate almost the whole thing, being very careful to look for bones. Quite the adventure for a little 3 year old!

Easter

Easter Morning

I really like the tradition that Lucas's famiy did where the Easter Bunny comes on Saturday so that Sunday can be Christ Centered, but this year Yeerah had a track meet on Saturday and had to leave early in the morning so we did Easter on Sunday.

Easter isn't a huge holiday in our house, but it is still fun. We do Easter baskets and then always get some church items--this year coloring books about Christ and the Easter Bunny always leaves us the story about Christs Atonment, death, and resurrection...but in Easter eggs.

After church we dyed Easter Eggs and then had Jeff and the missionaries come and join us for dinner. It was yummy.

Marinda (Lucas's sister) and her husband Steve were in town Saturday so I took most of my food and prepared most of Easter dinner at Pam's house so we could hang out with Marinda and Steve more. They are so fun! Poor Steve is a favorite with the neices and nephew--so he becomes a human jungle gym.

Some pictures from Easter morning....

Not sure why Sedona looks kind of scary in this picture.

Sedona is so excited for Easter morning


Pepper still isn't awake enough to figure out what is happening.

Coloring Easter Eggs that afternoon

Lucas has always enjoyed doing art, so dying eggs is his job--while I finished picking up the house and finished dinner he, the girls, and Yeerah enjoyed dying eggs.

I can't believe I didn't get one picture of the eggs!!

Sorry--

loosing teeth

First Lost Tooth

We are now in the season of loosing teeth

When Sedona came to me and told me she had a loose tooth I went to the computer to see if this was indeed the time for her to start loosing teeth and guess what?! IT IS!

She has lost the two bottom teeth and couldn't be more proud--I on the other hand am already worried about the cost of braces.

She was so excited when the first one fell out she told EVERYONE and we even had to give a call to cousin Asia to let her know the exciting news. (I think Asia and her must have talked at length about teeth because she always associates loose teeth with Asia).

Her mouth is all green because she bit open an easter egg dye packet and got it all over herself.

I had to add one of Pepper--she tells me all the time she feels a loose tooth--or that "I can tell this one is going to be loose".

Letting go of control

I am a control freak.

If you wonder if you are a control freak or not, host an exchange student and you will find out soon enough.

We have a exchange student (for another few weeks), who is a model student. Straight A's, never does ANYTHING that I have to worry about--no parties, no smoking, no drugs, no alcholo, no boyfriend, no stealing---really compaired to SOME of the stories I have heard we are really blessed to have the one we have BUT

I like things done a certain way. I like to live my life a certain way. I like my rules followed and people to understand the unspoken rules and regulations that run a house.

Throw in a teen-ager who doesn't know any of those rules and you have a control freaks delema. Like I said, it isn't her, it is me.

PLUS I have been living pretty much alone (with out adult compainionship) for the last 5 years with Lucas gone so much--so then to have someone there alot is kind of strange. Plus she is a teenager and likes teenager things (make-up, jewerly, and so on), and that is different for me.

SO I have been trying really hard to let go on control this past month. I have learning that I will soon have 3 kids and even less control then I do right now. My focus for this year has been to simplfy and focus. Maybe by simplifying my expectations of self, family, and others I can learn that control isn't all that it is cracked up to be.

I am winning the house battle

not sure if it just me nesting, but for about the last month I now feel like I have 85% control of my downstairs. I know I said I wouldn't blog about my house, but here you go anyway... Laundry, dishes, and the bathroom are my next focus. My mom told me once: "If you can keep up with the dishes and laundry, the rest of the house is easy." I really believe her. But Out of the 7 rooms on the lower level I can pick up 3-4 of them in about 20 minutes. Wow!--I have 7 rooms alone in the downstairs part of my house--maybe that is why I have a hard time keeping up. 1. Mudroom 2. Kitchen 3. Bathroom 4. Master bedroom 5. Dining room 6. Middle Room 7. Parlour/TV room Wow--yep that is 7! Upstairs I have 1. "Landing area"/Pepper's room 2. Toy room 3. Yeerah's Room 4. Scary Room 5. Craft room It makes it sound like I live in a huge house, which to me it is, but it is about 2,500 sq. feet. the rooms are smaller, with high ceilings. SO even if each room took me 10 minutes to clean, I would still be cleaning for over an hour easily a day. I know to most people that is nothing, and to me that should be easy too--- Looking at it that way I think I need to change my attack plan on my house---stay tuned for more because as boring as it is, I can't stop blogging about it!! maybe next time you might even get pictures!

Being Prego

So I use the word prego because I can't ever remember how to spell pregnancy, not because I am chic.

BUT...moving on.

I had someone request me talking more about being pregnant. So here you go...

I am huge! No really. I have had more than one person ask if I was having twins. I still have the last month, which is the month of the biggest weight gain, and I am at where I should be in my weight gain (meaning yes I have gained already the 35 pounds).

SEE BELOW! Whoa Mama!

I understand why overweight people sometimes have their belly hanging out of the bottom of their pants--their pants don't stay up and it is hard to find a shirt long enough. Even my maternity shirts aren't long enough alot of the time!

While most of the time I love it, and it will be the one of the things I miss the most, this kid is kicking hard. I haven't ever had a kid do this to me---I know the following sentences will be WAY to much info---but here it goes. I am pretty sure he is head down, and one hand is pushing my on my blatter most of the time and the other one likes to try to "break out" by punching a certain part of my body, which stops me in my tracks every time. (see too much I know). Its bottom is mostly right above my belly button (which is now super sensitive to the touch and pokes out so much), and his feet are to my right side. I am pretty sure if I could look down and see into my belly he would be in an "L" position. There is always something pointy and sticking out to the right side of my belly. It hurts sometimes to touch it.

It is fun to see my belly rock back and forth and he tries to move, or see the whole belly jump when he has hicc-ups.

I am really tried and my joints are starting to shift, which makes me get up and walk like most of the 80 year old women I know. Plus I have to go to the restroom about every hour, which is frustrating.

I don't really have any cravings, but I didn't with the other kids until after they were born--strange I know...I craved food WAY more after they arrived then before.

I have heartburn with most everything I eat--and I carry tums with me.

I have acted irrational a few times (ok more than a few, but hey I have an excuse!), and of course I get teary eyed at stupid things, but stay stone cold unmoved by others...This is also somewhat of a new experience for me--normally I am more level with my emotions and feels when prego than not.

I am incredibly blessed to be able to nap when I need. I try to nap in the late afternoon, but sometimes I just don't make it that long. Other times I am roaring with energy.

I am nesting on and off. I have a whole list of things I need to get done, but then spend an hour washing half of a window--I know--My house will look great, and then two days later you would have never known it was spotless (normally it doesn't even get to the spotless stage -- that is how I know I must be nesting). Plus projects that haven't even been thought of in years are now very important and I am working on them.

BUT...I love it. I will say that I am more excited for this kid to arrive than I have been for any of the others. I know now why women say "they are easier to take care of when they are out, then when they are in". With my first two, that wasn't true, but with this one....I am a believer!

so far that is about all I have to report--was there anything else anyone wanted to know? I am happy to share :)

Sedona is SO PROUD to have lost her 1st tooth!! I think she looks adorable! This picture kind of makes her other teeth look strange, but it is SO cute!

Have to put a few pictures of my girls in--this is my little cutie who LOVES to have foot baths!!

PS: my masterlist is still underway--just slow!

Micro fiber cloth

I have got to tell you three things I learned today-- first: I think I am in my nesting stage. I am enjoying the results of a really good clean--which my kitchen was in need of. I took about 2 hours to clean the kitchen. After 15 minutes I normally am sick of cleaning the kitchen. Today, I cleaned the counters really well, cleaned the oven knobs and the front of the oven, I cleaned the front of most of the bupoards and really cleaned the floor. What made the difference... second: I used a microfiber cleaning cloth, and not even a really good one. I had two that I bought at the dollar store a while ago. I didn't have anything to clean the window with, so I used it and wow! It was so much easier to clean with that...so if it works well on windows... why not the floor? I normally use flimsy washcloths, but I am sold. I just hope the dollar store still has about 20 more for sale. I will get rid of ALL my rags and just use those. I love them that much! -------------------------------------------------------------- Pepper goes to headstart and when I went to pick her up---she was still asleep. She told me this morning she was really tired and didn't want to wake up, but I made her. I guess she wasn't joking. The teacher said she asked for her napping map right after lunch and sleep through the afternoon---Poor girl, I know just how she feels. ------------------------------------------------------------------

Last one--total random---I am still totally freaked out by UFO's. Never seen one, never want to see one.

Ok that is it for today!

PS: Can anyone tell me how you can tell which postition the baby is sitting in when you are getting close to the end? I think baby is head down, but I can't tell and since I won't have an ultrasound for a few more weeks I just would like to know.