Established May 1, 1999

Then....



Now....



I am really blessed to be married to someone I love spending time with. Tadj is a great husband and father and I look forward to many more years together.

The Results Are In

When we initially told the kids we are having a baby both Hayden and Kendall suspected it was a baby boy. Since then, whenever it was Hayden's turn to say family prayer he asked Heavenly Father to send us a baby boy (just for good measure, I suppose). Yesterday we all made the journey to the clinic for the ultrasound. The kids were so well behaved and quiet as we waited for the news. The Sonographer told us that if we see a turtle head poking out then it is a boy. If we see an "M" or 4 dots it is a girl.

When she scanned the area, Hayden shouts "I see a turtle!" Tadj and I didn't see anything so we thought Hayden was just being hopeful. Again, we see that area and sure enough there is definitely a turtle head. No doubt about it, thanks to this baby's lack of modesty, we know we are definitely having a baby boy! We are all very excited.

I don't have a picture of the turtle head but here is the profile.

Mariners Game and an Ollie Incident

Last Friday we went to a Mariners game. It was a sunny evening, the roof was open, we got Ichiro bobbleheads, and the Mariners won!



In order to enjoy this fun outing, we had to leave Ollie home in his kennel for about 5 hours. When we got home that evening Tadj rushed inside to let Ollie out and I hear him yell to us in the driveway, "Don't come in the house yet." The darn puppy had escaped from his kennel did his business in our house and made a huge mess with papers and the stuffing out of some of the kids stuffed toys. Thank goodness for "spot shot" carpet cleaner, vinegar, and scented candles. Here is what we saw in the family room.

Right in front of Ollie in the center of the room is....drum roll please...Hayden's homework all torn up! I can't believe I had to call his teacher on Monday morning and tell her that our dog ate his homework and to please send home a new packet. I wonder if she'd heard that one before?

I can tell you that my dear husband really needs to fix the lock on the kennel. I got home today to find that Ollie broke out again and ate the hands off of two of Kendall's barbie dolls. Oh the tears I had to endure over this tragedy! So far the puppy has cost us a Wii Nunchuk, a garden hose, two pairs of Kendall's shoes, numerous stuffed animals, a few pairs of socks, and the above mentioned homework and barbies. I suppose it could be worse (like the legs chewed off the furniture) so I will count my blessings.

Horse Country

For spring break, my parents treated me and the kids to a trip to Kentucky to visit my sister, Jessica, and her family. Jessica's husband, Nathan, is a medical resident at the University of Kentucky. Tadj was invited but couldn't come thanks to the dreaded April 15 tax deadline.

Kentucky is a beautiful part of the country. There are rolling green hills and really friendly people (who very much love their horses). We did encounter some terrible drivers (maybe I shouldn't post that) and strange weather (70 degrees one day and snow the next).

Here are some of the highlights of our vacation.

We visited the Louisville Slugger Factory to see the making of baseball bats. I wasn't sure this would be interesting but we all enjoyed it. Here are 4 of the 5 kids inside a giant baseball glove.

Right before the shot below was taken Isaac whacked my dad on the side of the head with a bat.

(Above) My mom, Hayden, Emma, Kendall, Dad, Isaac, and Ethan.

One big bat.

Hayden and Kendall also got their share of being hit with the bats so I hid them and it will probably be awhile before Jessica or the kids find them!

The next rainy day we took the kids to an indoor gymnastics place where the kids could run around and get out some energy. They had a blast!

Our favorite day was spent at the Kentucky Horse Park. This park has many horses (including legendary horses that are retired), horse and pony rides, horse-drawn carriages, and a fun play structure for kids.

Hayden is obsessed with Indiana Jones so for this particular outing he was allowed to wear his get-up in public. I don't think he was too out of place at the horse park, although he did get a lot of comments about the hat.

And a few random shots...


Hayden chillin' with Uncle Nathan and his cousins.

Hayden and Ethan are best buds!

Emma is 5 and Kendall is 3 and they are nearly the same height! I love their matching pajamas. We can't wait to see them this summer. Thank you, Jess, for being a great hostess and a big thank you to my parents for making this trip happen!

As for Tadj, he had so many surprises for me when I came home: the new doors had a fresh coat of paint, the backyard fence was put back up (the people who re-sided our house last summer took part of it down to get the siding on and we didn't want them to put it back up since some of the boards were broken and we wanted them fixed), he installed all new exterior lighting and it looks great with the updated house color, and he got rid of all the old doors and took a lot of stuff to Goodwill. We can now walk in our garage! And best of all he took the plunge and purchased the tickets for our "mom and dad only" anniversary vacation.