The Chamberlands

Zach's Birthday

2010-06-17T07:46:00.007-07:00

After being scolded, and rightly so, for not posting something two days ago about Zachery's birthday, I have finally sat down to the long-avoided task of writing on the blog. My excuses range anywhere from technical difficulties, to a houseful of visitors and a lack of time, to the most common one which is "I don't want to". But, a birthday is nothing to ignore, so post I must!

This past Wednesday, the 15th, Zachery turned 15....did you notice that? I've been told it is his golden birthday - 15 on the 15th=) There was not a whole lot of fanfare but it was a good day just the same (at least I hope so!)

We started off with some early morning birthday presents somewhere around 9am....during the summer that is early for us=) He opened the presents from his siblings - a Hot Wheels car from Logan, assorted fire crackers from Alana and Jesse, and a HUGE beach towel from sister Monica. I told him to look excited....=)
Since we spread the celebrations out throughout the day we had more presents and 'cake' at lunch time. Zachery, like me, has other desserts he prefers over cake so we went with a rhubarb dessert to hold his 15 candles! Monica got creative, scrounged through our pantry and shelves, and came up with as many different types of candles as she could, giving the 'cake' a rather, um, distinct look.
Such a sweet pair those two!! Earlier in the day Monica painted her lips bright red and chased Zach around the house until she finally was able to leave her lip marks on his face!
He was soooo excited about his gifts=)
The gloves for softball....
and the new sneakers actually did get more of an authentic smile - I just didn't capture it on film=)
So, we have 2 years down and 5 to go in order to make it through the teenage years with out boy. Thankfully, our children have been a blessing and not a trial even now as teenagers!! We are so thankful for the growth we've seen in Zach this past year.... it's been very dramatic physically as he's grown several inches over the year and his voice has dropped an octave or so; but it's the other growth that we are even more pleased with. Zach desires to do the right thing. We have watched him become involved in doing things at church like working in the sound booth, and helping with AWANA, and we have watched him improve his grades in school even when it's the last thing he wants to do, and we have seen him mature and take on more responsibility here at home. What fun to watch our kids grow up!

Later that day the party continued as we headed to the lake for some fun in the sun. Zach wanted to invite Tim, a friend from church, and word spread from there so we ended up with quite a group of people just hanging out and playing with my rascally children. Zach received a few birthday 'dunkings' in the water from the older guys and we had a great time!

Beach Beauty....
Angostura....
The flying skinny guy....
Cute kids in the water....
Before....
After....
Fun with "Aunt Jenna"...
Part of the fun came when Tim showed up with some 'toys' that soon had all the boys, no matter what age, ready to go to 'war'!

After some lake time we headed home to make up Zach's birthday meal, he picked the Polynesian Supper, and then quickly change and head in to town for softball practice. It was a day full of birthday greetings and time with friends and we all had fun. Now if only he'd get his Math done so that he could get a real good present....HIS PERMIT!

ONE MORE MONTH!!!!!!!!!

2010-05-13T18:50:00.003-07:00

Logan Drew

2010-04-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

From this....
to this....to this....to this....
to this....
We love you, sweet man! Happy 8TH birthday!!!!

Another Announcement

2010-04-17T16:20:00.002-07:00

Kendrick proposed to Jenna on Thursday, April 15th....
and she said "Yes!"

It's official!

2010-04-13T21:41:00.003-07:00

AND YOU ARE ALL INVITED!!!

My Cool Boys!

2010-04-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Zachery was given a 3-wheeler. He is in the process of trying to build a go-cart that James was actually helping him with, he built the frame for him. Now that James is gone Zach is trying to finish the project. The hope in getting the 3-wheeler was to be able to use some of it's parts on it to complete the go-cart. HOWEVER, what's more fun than seeing if you can get the 3-wheeler running before you take it apart! It wasn't looking good...I mean, look at the beauty! There was a lot of standing around and watching...But guess what???? He got it running!!!! Daddy came to his rescue at the end and helped him get it going, but he and Logan worked on it for a long time (Logan even discovered a faulty spark plug) and Zach had been close to getting it.

Quite a feeling of satisfaction struck those boys when the smoke finally came pouring out of the exhaust and we suddenly couldn't hear ourselves talking anymore=) Sweet Victory!!! Then came the riding!! Of course, Zachery got the honors of waking up Buffalo Gap as he took laps around the dirt roads! Once the riding started then it was time to pace....patiently, awaiting a turn.

Or covering your ears when it came near!
Daddy took a turn too.... Then, once the seat was put back on, Zachery wanted nothing more than to take Logan for a spin! Two very excited boys, let me tell you! And can I say one proud mom!!! Good Job, Zach=)
While the boys were hard at work in the grease and grime outside the girls had nothing but sweetness up their sleeves=) Monica was in a baking mood and took to the kitchen right after lunch - several hours later she and Alana had made a chocolate cake....
And about 9 dozen cookies!!!
So both the boys and the girls accomplished a lot yesterday.....and what did I do? Had a swell time taking it easy with my feet up and eating lots of freshly baked cookies!! Ok, so I'm exaggerating...a little=)

The Little People

2010-04-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Just a few days after writing about our hike up Rankin Ridge we went on another fun outing. We have yet to coordinate and go with ALL our family so hopefully soon we can work that out. One afternoon when the older two kids were in Hot Springs Daddy and I went for a walk with the younger three, which I often refer to as "the little people". I didn't take many pictures, but this one below is my favorite=)

Kid's Showcase

2010-03-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month our home school group planned a special event. Most of the work, I'm sure, was done by Katie Updike who is another homeschooling mom in our area. It was called a "Kid's Showcase" that was presented at the local assisted living facility in Hot Springs. The idea was to give the kids a chance to do a special presentation of some kind in front of a group of people. This is often an opportunity missed by home schoolers so I was soooo thankful for the chance the kids had to do this....they were maybe not as thankful as I was, but I think after the fact they did appreciate it=) There weren't an over abundance of people there but, if you have to get up and stand in front a microphone and give a speech to them, it doesn't matter how many there are!! I was especially thankful for the fact that Jenna and Pastor Matt were able to come even if we only invited them last minute=)Logan had already been working on a poem throughout this semester so far, so we made it our goal to have it ready in time for the showcase. He did an EXCELLENT job reciting the entirety of Winken, Blinken, and Nod by Eugene Fields and this is the first time he's ever done public speaking like this and he had to go first!
Monica was the next one of our kids to have a turn...she was AMAZING!! She quoted an abridged version of Paul Revere's Ride that, just the same, was by far the longest piece any one recited at the showcase. One of the neatest things about it was to see some of the elderly people in the crowd saying some of the lines along with her, specifically a lady who was a retired teacher and had memorized hundreds of poems over the course of her lifetime.
Next it was Zachery's turn and he recited O Captain, My Captain - the thing that always gets me about Zach is what a SUPER job he does in putting expression and feeling into what he has to say. Both Monica and Zach had memorized their poems in school in years past so they had to work to relearn in in preparation for the big day.
After the kids were through they went around and greeted some of the residents that live there in Pine Hills, including veteran missionary, Edith LeBar Albers, who it is always a treat to see.
During that morning, while everyone at the house was getting ready, rehearsing their poems, and listening to my pep talks, Alana was deciding she really, really wanted to be a part of things. The night before we had a dress rehearsal in our living room and she and Jesse had participated with anything they could think of....Jesse invented a poem that seemed to have bits and pieces from the older three, Alana sang the alphabet, Jesse sang Jesus Loves Me, Alana sang the books of the New Testament. So when we arrived right before the programs was to start, and after Alana's assurance that she really would go through with it, we added her name to the list. We didn't practice hardly at all so we didn't exactly come ready....but here she is just the same=)

I was honestly so very, very proud of my kids. Others sang, read poems, quoted speeches...but, seriously, mine were the very best=) (Can I say that?)

"Good job guys, you did great!!!"

Up the hill again

2010-03-26T08:07:00.007-07:00

Yesterday was 100% spring weather so we decided to go out and enjoy it and I'm soooo glad we could! I was chatting in the morning with Jenna and between my desire to go out on a hike and her need for some Vitamin D, we made the decision to head to Rankin Ridge in Wind Cave National Park. We've been there several times and I've even posted several pictures on here before of the kids on another one of our trips up the hillside. The last time we went was in February of last year when Helaine and Phil came down here and surprised me with a quick visit.

So we pulled on our sweatshirts and headed out=)The battery in my camera was dying but I managed to click some quick shots while it still had life. Here are the results - some are cute:
while others are just plain crazy:

Often it is just our family, but many times we have others that we go with and yesterday was one of those times. It made for an even more fun adventure to have these three along with us. Not to mention it was nice to have some extra hands to carry the little people=)

Strange thing was that they seemed just as crazy as the rest of my crew did!!!

Thanks Jenna, Rachel, and Jodie for a fun afternoon=)

Cabin Fever

2010-03-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness spring is coming because cRaZy things can happen on those long, cold winter nights when you fill a house with seven people!! A while ago we decided to pass the time away by pulling out an old favorite - at least it's a favorite of the kids, but not so sure about their parents. We had few sore losers,

And lots of awkward moments,
But all in all we had a good time=)
I'm still thankful for the warmer weather that we've been enjoying, sending the kids outside to play, and I'm even excited about starting to use my clothes line again....just don't get me started on the MUD!!!

My Job

2010-03-22T15:29:00.003-07:00

So my job is completed! After three days of extensive, strenuous training I put in a total of 10 hours of work that are now behind me. It actually went pretty well, except for a few awkward moments this morning when I made a phone call to Matthew just to have an excuse to get out of breakfast with my very insistent co-worker. I'd already had breakfast at home and remained firm in my decision to let him go eat alone despite the convincing argument that "pretty girls drink coffee too, don't they?" I also drive down enough streets in Edgemont to know that I don't have to weigh the pro's and con's for too long to know that I'd rather just stay here where I am in Buffalo Gap=) And while my great service to these United States has come to a close, the oath that I swore in that restaurant bathroom of the now distant Kadoka, SD, lives on. So despite my desire to share with you more detailed stories of my various encounters, I cannot....

On a more serious note, I am SOOO glad to have it behind me for one reason alone. I didn't mind the training too much, the actual work itself wasn't bad, the creepy coworker ratio was relatively low...but I missed being here, at home, where I belong. I felt so guilty being gone when Matthew was offered work, guilty when Alana would cry on the phone saying she was sad she couldn't hug me good night, even more guilty when our friend James died and I knew all the things that Matthew was having to deal with as a result of that, guilty when I came home to a huge grocery list, an empty fridge, and a menu that had consisted of lots of macaroni and cheese. I belong here, in my home, filling my role as wife, homemaker, and mother and all the things that those titles mean. There is nothing more fulfilling to me than that! Now, don't get me wrong, the Lord provided this temporary job at the time that we needed it and I am grateful. I am just even more grateful that His role for me is not driving around interviewing and counting people, but being here at home=) I LOVE YOU, FAMILY!

James

2010-03-17T15:49:00.003-07:00

Almost exactly nine months ago today I wrote a post about our neighbor James Montgomery. He had experienced a car wreck that, while in itself was bad, only occurred as a result of a pre-existing heart condition. Over the next few weeks we rejoiced as we watched James recuperate and miraculously improve. We did notice, over time, that he never returned to be quite the same as he was before but we were just thankful the Lord had spared him.

Well, today He took him home.

Months of struggling with a balance between medication, therapy, medical trials, heart transplant lists, clinical trial possibilities, and endless other things that the family went through are over. James went to be with his Savior early this morning. We were glad to call him not only our neighbor, but also our friend. Our kids loved him, Matthew enjoyed working with him in his garage, James would often knock on our door and come in for a quick visit. He will be missed, but we know we will see him again someday.

Day #2

2010-03-16T18:55:00.003-07:00

Dear Readers,
So today was interesting....but not really as 'bizarre' as I was expecting. I spent 8 hours sitting in a room with nine other people with names like Lorraine and Ernest and birth dates like 1942. I learned about PII's and filled out a D-308 form while looking over hundreds of other carbon copied sheets of paper. I signed my name dozens of times and swore an oath with my right hand raised. I promised, as a citizen of these United States, never to divulge any information that I may collect in my job as an ETL (enumerator of transient locations). I must take all of it to my grave and keep it under lock and key if at any time it is out of my sight....don't ask me for any more details, because, like, I'd have to kill you. I was fingerprinted by a Mrs. Shoot An Arrow (not even kidding!) and got strange looks when I mentioned that this was the second time in my life that had happened to me. I just about went crazy every time the word 'statistics' came up and was changed to 'stastistics' by our teacher, along with the interchangeable 'personal' for 'personnel'. I was congratulated on finding a typo in the government handbook we were issued to explain the importance of our role in the 2010 Census, carrying on the tradition our forefathers established in 1790. My guess, though, is that they didn't have 3 days of training with misspelled words in their handbook. And now I am holed up in my room, hoping that Mrs. Room #27 doesn't snore as much tonight. The TV is on and I just finished eating the individual size pizza from the gas station across the highway. And that is my update for you all....the story of my day. Meanwhile, my kids are home, being tucked into bed by their Daddy who will watch a few episodes of '24' before we get on the phone and say good night to each other....
Sincerely,
Alisha

Don't look for me in Buffalo Gap

2010-03-15T15:44:00.004-07:00

For the next three days I will be in Kadoka, SD at the stellar looking Dakota Inn pictured below. In training me for a new job as an enumerator for the 2010 Census, Uncle Sam has spared no expense for lodging for myself and the other trainees. We are currently residing in the #4, out of four, rated hotel in this town. =) I am looking forward to the stories and experiences that I will have to share as a result of this unique experience!

So, as I sit here and listen to the 27th truck go by on the highway outside my wall, I will explain why I am here. A few weeks ago I came across a flyer describing the job openings for the upcoming census and decided to look into it a bit further. Long story short, my application was flagged for my bilingual abilities as well as my test scores. You see, according to the kind lady who administered the test to me, I am one of her golden ones. I was the only one there to take this examination that was to determine if I would be deemed worthy of being a census enumerator. As I began the test she assured me not to worry, I could retake it as many times as I needed to. After 30 minutes of strenuous brain activity in which I had to not only put things in numerical order, but alphabetical as well, I turned in my test. (I finished well before the 30 minute time limit but she HAD to give me the entire time....so we sat there, each staring at our own private section of white wall, waiting for the time to tick away.) She laid the answer key over the top of my answer sheet and, almost immediately, gasped!!! "AH! You're one of my golden ones," she exclaimed. You see, I'd gotten a 100%. I'm told I was one of the few....and really, I don't even know what to say to that. I'm not so much proud of myself as I am embarrassed for the rest of my countrymen....

And that folks is why I am here, at the #4 of four hotels in Kadoka, sitting in one of the rooms that received a 5.1 / 10 on the cleanliness rating, preparing to eat my meals in their 3.5 / 10 dining room.....and now do you understand why I'm excited about what adventures I may have to share with you in the near future??????

Men in training

2010-03-13T06:31:00.000-07:00

I love watching my sweet, little boys following their Daddy's footsteps and becoming good men!

"Thank you Lord, for a godly Daddy that teaches them how!"

Girlie Stuff

2010-03-12T17:17:00.004-07:00

*While I'm here in Kadoka I had a few other posts prepared and here is one from the most recent visit from our Wyoming friends, the Bergs.

Sometimes a girl just needs something sweet, and nothing's is sweeter than sharing cookies with one of your best friends! Unless, of course, you top it off with frosting=)

Later tonight I hope to update you all on my training so far....=)

Matthew's Birthday

2010-03-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

So I just realized today that I had never posted about Matthew' s birthday party that took place almost 2 months ago....so skipping the usual introductory paragraph of excuses, I will jump right to it!!

My husband is 40.....if you know how to read between the lines, then those 4 words do a lot of explaining, that - for the sake of time and for the sake of kindness - I am going to just skip=) I will be gracious and loving hoping that the favor is returned when my turn rolls around. Of course, just so you all know, that isn't for many, many, MANY more years. (*Any comments stating other wise will be deleted)

I began plotting this conspiracy about 6 months before it took place. Early in the fall of last year I contacted his family in hopes that someone would be able to come out and celebrate with us all on this big day! Thankfully, although some of the secrets were leaked out, that one remained intact and was the best part of the entire day! Matthew's oldest brother, Randy, came out for a week long visit, arriving there just minutes before Matthew walked through the door. As Matthew came in he laughed and started to greet everyone then came over and gave me a hug. I told him that there was someone else who wanted to give him a hug, too. He turned around and looked and at first had NO idea who he was looking at.....then it finally registered....he stood there for a while just looking shocked before it sunk it!!!Of course Uncle Randy had some presents up his sleeve for not just the birthday boy, but for his nieces and nephews as well=)

I was worried from the beginning of the planning what to do as a theme, I would lay there awake at night sometimes and my mind would just NOT settle down....I wanted to make it extra special and not just any typical get together. I kept thinking of ideas and how to pull off the surprise and what I was going to do, etc. I was talked out of going with the "Over the Hill" theme and the usual cruel decorations that accompany that (guess I can save it for the next BIG one=), and went with the 70's theme instead. Matthew was born at the dawn of that decade and it seemed like we could have fun with it=) I think we did!!!!

It was fun to sit around and see some of these people come to life as they answered trivia questions about 70's TV shows, music, etc. Some of us were clueless but it was fun just the same! We had a good time visiting, opening cards, and sharing some fun memories we had of Matthew. And lets face it, you can't know Matthew for very long and not have a crazy memory of some kind or other!

The cake was another whole deal that made the day even better!!! It was beautiful, it perfectly fit the tye died theme, it was very yummy, AND I didn't have to make it! Thanks so much to Tarin for, once again, making a perfect cake!

The kids hung around for a little while, long enough to eat, before heading downstairs for a movie so that the grown ups could be a bit more relaxed. OK, so that I could be more relaxed=) I think Uncle Randy ended up skipping out on most of our party games and also headed down to the basement, but can you blame him? Who doesn't like "Kung-Fu Panda"?
Thanks Matthew for humoring me and enjoying yourself at the party=) I love you and hope I can be with you for 40 more years!!!

Chile Earthquake!

2010-02-27T13:41:00.004-07:00

Here is a link to a letter we posted on the Nehemiah Teams International website today. As many of you know this morning Chile was struck by a mega-earthquake and we are wanting to do everything we can to help!

http://nehemiahteamsinternational.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40&Itemid=29

More kid pics!

2010-01-31T06:32:00.000-07:00

So, here are some recent pictures taken of my five children. It was a cold but sunny day, so it was perfect for taking nice clear pictures. This was the day of Logan's "head banging" but all the pictures are from before that incident.

There's not much more to say other than enjoy the pictures....they are especially for the far away grandparents!

Here are the horses in the distance - the ones that caused the runaway dog!

Regardless of my recent facebook status I wouldn't give any of them away....despite the tempting offers=) On the other hand I when I woke up this morning I found that Boomer had eaten the two pounds of hamburg left out to thaw on the counter (second time this has happened), and when I leaned over to scoop the cat up some food she jumped up and hit me full on the nose with her head....so the dog and cat are still free game!

The Grody Story

2010-01-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those post when my proud mother's heart finds itself tripping over my weak, queasy stomach....

Thanks to a great friend (!), Zachery was given a gift....a gift of roadkill. Last week he inherited a dead raccoon....I know, this is a great story, isn't it? Over the next couple of days he figured out and successfully did manage to skin it....tail, paws, and head still attached, just like he wanted. I really do think it's cool, I really do. But just that LOOK AT IT!!!!!!!

I mean, look! It's absolutely gross!! But it is good for him and I am proud of watching him conquer the task and figure out how to do it, I've even given nice compliments and pet the skin of it once he was finished. Monica won't even touch it and whenever it is mentioned she declares it a gross, yucky thing. Now, while I agree with her, I am trying to still let Zach know how cool I really DO think it is that he's done this....So please, don't judge me when I tell you that when I found it, laying bloody side down on his school desk with his laptop gently nestled between it's four claws, I told him to get that thing outside and went up the stairs hollering, "I'm going to go puke now...." I'm trying....I really am!

Logan's Story

2010-01-29T13:29:00.007-07:00

I am interrupting the previously scheduled blog post to bring you this bit of news. Logan has a concussion....=( The short version is that he will probably be just fine, but if you're up for the longer version you can read the rest of this post!

Yesterday the kids and I went for a walk down to one of their favorite local places....the railroad tracks. I took my camera, as usual, and we braved the chilly but sunny weather. Zach loaded the youngest two kids into the wagon and hooked them to Boomers collar - that's one picture I should have taken but didn't! He pulls them with absolutely no problem!

We noticed the horses in one of the distant pastures as soon as we got there but thankfully Boomer didn't pay them much attention at the time since I let him off the leash. The kids climbed around on the trees and played while I took turns taking pictures of the girls.... and of the boys....
I had fun doing that - that is until we wanted to do some pictures up in a big tree and the three younger kids all were on the verge of a panic attack while the older two and I tried to get them situated. But the results were worth it I think!
And now for where the story gets interesting....Once the pictures were over Monica and Alana wanted to walk down the tracks a bit further to where the horses were. Zach and Logan headed the other direction back to the bridge since they enjoy playing around under the tracks. Jesse decided he wanted to see the horses too, so we slowly began to make our way over but the girls were way ahead of us. Right about this time Monica and I both noticed that Boomer seemed to spot the horses and he took off! The herd of horses, 8 or 10 of them, began to literally gallop away up a cliff in the distance as Boomer chased them. Of course, by this time, Monica and I are both hollering and calling and hollering and calling....he would NOT listen. Then suddenly when he was just about to disappear from our sight up over the top of the cliff he turned, looked at us, and decided to come home. (*Can I just say for a moment that I hate, I HATE when a dog doesn't come when called....the only thing more useless is a kid that won't come when called! I have no patience for either one) Needless to say, when he finally returned he realized just how much of a pet peeve that is for me!!!!

As I am dragging the unwilling 120 pound dog down the tracks I am hollering for Zach to bring me the leash. Well, by the time he finally hears me I was back to the tracks. I asked Zach if he hadn't heard me hollering, and he said no, that Logan had fallen and he was crying. At this time I also realized that Jesse was crying since I had left him alone to go get ding bat. I hooked the leash on the dog, gave Zach strict instructions not to let him go, and went to see Logan. He was still crying and just looked quite shaken up, he had fallen on the ice and hit his head hard. All I knew at the time was that I wanted to get us all back to the house and be done with this excursion that so quickly had gone from good to rotten.

This time Zach pulled Logan and Jesse in the wagon while I walked the dog and made him heel every step of the way home. By the time we got back Logan was still feeling terrible, his head was pounding. I had him lay on the couch and looked him over for everything I could think of, a bruise, his pupils, was he dizzy, did he feel sick to his stomach, etc. In the middle of all this he asked me how he hit his head....he couldn't remember. I gave him some Tylenol and watched him really closely for the next couple hours. By evening time he was his normal self and seemed fine. However, when it was time to go to bed he complained again of his head.

Around 3am he came to my room, once again in tears. His head was pounding and he felt sick to his stomach. I sat with him, told him to be still and keep his eyes closed, and prayed. Shortly after that he threw up....Around 4am I called my mom, in the dark of night when you are a parent alone things can look pretty bleak! She wasn't there - silly parents of mine were out walking since it was 6am their time. And, of course, the person I most wanted is in Wyoming....

We each managed to get a bit more sleep and this morning I took him in to see the doctor. He was feeling much better by that time but I just needed some one else to look at him. They determined that we would keep a close eye on him for the next few days. If we lived far away from the hospital they would have gone ahead with a CT scan, but she told me just to take him into the ER myself if I had any doubts or if something wasn't right over the next little while.

Right now he is laying on the floor with Alana listening to a story on tape. He isn't quite himself and just asked if he could have something for his head which is still hurting. The big no-no right now would be a second bump, the doctor said then he really could be in trouble. So....that's the story in a not so small nutshell=) Thank you for those of you who will pray! Matthew has been offered a bit more work in WY so he is staying another week, I have 8 more days to go!!!

Randy's visit

2010-01-28T19:09:00.005-07:00

Last week, on the day of THE birthday to be exact, a surprise walked through the door! Matthew's oldest brother, Randy, came out for a visit=) We had a super time while he was here just visiting and catching up. We didn't do a whole lot during the time he was here, he was happy to just go with Matthew and join in whatever he was doing, or hang out with the kids here at the house.

It was a real treat for the kids to have some time with Uncle Randy, the younger two had only seen him one other time this past May when we were visiting Maine. They hit it off then and seemed to pick right back up where they left on when he was here. They seemed to never give him a moment of peace....Alana especially enjoyed using him as her climbing post=)

Randy brought each of the kids something - a special gift that had been picked with each one in mind. Monica was given a pink Red Sox baseballl hat, and Alana and Jesse were given giant sized pens which they think are way cool! Logan was given something really neat - a baseball glove that was Uncle Randy himself had used. Then Zachery's was cooler still - he got a buck knife that had been Randy's for about 30 years. Matthew remembers being a boy and wanting the cool new knife his big brother had. Needless to say it was pretty special=) The next day Logan had more fun playing catch than he ever had before!

Chances are he went home tired=) Anyway, thanks Uncle Randy, for coming all this way and staying with us for a week. We loved having you here....there were a few sad faces the morning after you left!

My Matthew

2010-01-27T08:53:00.009-07:00

So today is day #3 of Matthew being gone....=( He is up in Oshoto, WY for the week staying with Jared and Sarah Berg, our friends. There is a man in their church who needed some work done so he offered Matthew the job and he will be up there working for the rest of the week. I debated going up with him as we are always welcome ( and always have a blast ) at their house, but it really would have made for a complicated schedule both for Matthew as well as the kids and I. So here we sit....biding our time until Daddy comes home. The days seem to go by so much more slowly for me when I don't have his coming home in the evening to look forward to. The kids and I manage, things still run the same, we are all just fine....I just miss him. Of course, then when I think about missing him it sort of makes me glad in a weird way. There are those who do not miss their husbands but rather look forward to them being gone, and there are those serving our country whose husbands get shipped out and are gone for 8 months - making our time away from each other quite inconsequential. So, I am glad I miss him and can know that he will be back soon and we will be most happy to be back together=) Of course there's the possibility of him staying a second week....but let's cross that bridge IF we get there! So, because he's gone and because I have a picture file full of pictures of him, I'm going to post some=) Last week for his birthday I put together a slide show that contained some of these pics so now those of you who couldn't come can still enjoy a peek!
Love you, honey! Thanks for all you do to provide for and take care of our family! See you soon=) XOXO

Adventures in Nature

2010-01-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Yet another home school activity our family has been able to do is called "Adventures in Nature" and is sponsored by Wind Cave National Park which borders both Hot Springs and Buffalo Gap. Every other Tuesday kids ages 3-10 are invited to attend a 2 hour activity time where they learn more about nature, specifically related to Wind Cave.

We went last week and the theme was migration and hibernation. It was pretty fun for the little three and definitely geared to small kids. They were each asked to a draw a picture of their own home which led to talking about the different homes and habitats the park animals have. It's was bit too 'green' and 'eco-' driven for my tastes but thankfully they were not pushing the evolution agenda so we may go a few more times.

They had several different activities planned for the kids - all about animals. Here one of the park rangers read a story about a turtle to the varied (polite way of saying interesting and weird) group.

Then another one of the rangers pulled out a bin full of animal skins for the kids to look over. This part they LOVED! The animals had all been hit by a car (even a buffalo....that had to hurt), and the kids job was to feel them and determine if it was their winter coat or summer coat.

They also took them outside for a couple games that were....um, silly, to say the least.Then we went on a small hike where the rangers pointed out things of interest and different animal tracks and dwellings of the deer, antelope, buffalo, foxes, mountain lions, rabbits, ground hogs, bats, etc. which are all animals found in Wind Cave National Park.

Most of the time the older two have several different activities geared for teens, while the younger ones don't have as many fun opportunities so it was a treat to have something just for them. Mommy is their usual entertainment=)

Monica's rough life....

2010-01-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

A view from last Sunday afternoon....

The other day when Alana and I sat down on top of Monica she decided to get the camera and chronicle her rough life....silly girl!

The Redneck Bash!!!

2010-01-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night our church put on another one of it's crazy theme parties....it was called the Billy Bob party or the Redneck Bash. The pictures will pretty much tell the story! Here's the hottie I went with.And here is the scariest man that I saw there....Jerry Wright, paired up with his lovely wife, Darlene.

Entire families were affected....these four here are all related. But then again, everyone is related in Redneckville, right?

Here's the big happy family!

Our beautiful friend, Jodie, and our handsome son, Jesse!

The highlight of the evening was getting to play several rounds of B-I-N-G-O!!! We each brought some redneck food to share, and I have to say it was the least appetizing pot luck our church has ever had....sorry, but that's the facts. I took some deviled eggs with the yellow yokes dyed green=)

We also all brought contributions for the redneck garage sale, including such tempting items as a chandelier, a partridge skin, a deer foot, and a potty seat (taken by yours truly). The winners of the Bingo were allowed to pick their prize from the table of goodies!

Our Bingo caller was an expert, calling out the lucky numbers for all to hear.

And although we didn't have the winningest bunch at our table we still had a bunch of winners!
Liz Johnson....

And Jodie and Rachel were among them!
Jesse didn't play Bingo but that didn't keep him from being enthralled by the Bingo lady and the Bingo machine...here he is just after Daddy told him to stay away from it and not touch=)
Daddy was hard at work, concentrating over his numbers. It worked too, he won about 4 or 5 times. I was not so lucky, I won one time about 2 minutes before they ended the evening BINGO game!

Every once in a while we had a winner at our table - it was VERY exciting!!!!

Finally when things were coming to a close for the evening Jesse got to check out the 'machine'! Pastor Matt held him up there, turned it on, and let Jesse figure things out.

The evening was quite fun and enjoyed by all, all except Monica and Alana who stayed home and didn't feel well. So here we are ~ Mr. and Mrs. Hillbilly!

And a couple extra pictures for your viewing enjoyment - I stole these from Facebook so they are really small, but perhaps that is best=)

Melt my heart....

2010-01-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Zachery made himself a shirt that says, "I looked up ugly in the dictionary and your name came up". Well, shortly after that I received this on my pillow=)

Oh, this boy! "Thank you, sweet man!"

Phil and Helaine (&Sota)

2010-01-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

So, back to our trip....after the youth retreat in Wisconsin that Matthew spoke at, we traveled with Helaine and Phil to their house in Minnesota. We were able to stay for a week, visiting and hanging out together which was sooooo nice! Their house fit 7 extra people without too much trouble and we enjoyed spending our days just being together or braving the cold and going on different outings.

One of the favorite things for all 4 youngest kids was this....Uncle Phil pulled out a big bucket full of enough Lego to keep everybody happy and busy for hours=)

We did play quite a few games over the course of our time there, sometimes all together and sometimes just the 4 grown ups after we sent the kids to bed.

Another thing that happened when we were up there was that Matthew was able to work for one of the families in the church there putting in a tile shower for them. It was just another way that God took care of us on the trip. We were also invited out to several peoples houses and had a good time getting to know some of the church family there at Grace and Truth, Phil and Helaine's church.

For example, Uncle Jack invited all our family over for an afternoon in which we enjoyed some snowmobiling, played some games, got a tour of the meat shop, went sledding, and had a yummy supper! As I mentioned before it was COLD for the whole time we were up there and only very rarely did the thermometer make it up above zero! So, as enjoyable as the snowmobiling was, it was quite short lived! I didn't take many pictures that day as it was too cold to have the camera outside for very long at all.That being said, one of the kids favorite things about being up there was all the sledding they got to do. Literally one block away from Helaine's house there's a bit of a park that had a super hill for sledding. One afternoon, while it hovered around -12 to -20, Zach and Logan spent 3 straight hours sledding.....!!! Alana was there for 2 of those hours - I went for about 15 minutes, long enough to snap some pictures and that was enough for me!

Zach hitting the jump=)

Another fun thing that the boys were able to do was to play some hockey. After prayer meeting on Wednesday night some guys got together, and girls too for that matter, and played at the rink close to the church. Matthew and Zach were lent some skates while Logan just ran around and played. Once again, Helaine and I braved the cold for about 20 min. to go take some pictures. We took Sota with us=)

The pics pretty much all turned out like this - between the combination of it being dark outside and the speed of the players (ok, the speed of some of the players) I didn't really get any good shots. It made me wish we lived around something....anything....where my kids, the boys especially, could be a part of sports like this and have more friends to do fun things with.

Matthew, being the native Mainer that he is, loved all this cold weather stuff! Another treat for him and Zach was that they were able to spend an afternoon ice fishing with a gentleman from the church. They noticed some similarities and differences between Minnesota ice fishing and our ice fishing in Maine...it was different in that they sat in the ice house the whole time since the holes were inside and not the tip-ups, and the same in that they still didn't catch anything=)

And yet another thing that Phil and Helaine lined up for us was to go swimming. We were able to go to a beautiful resort pool (thanks to knowing someone on the 'inside') and spend about an hour and half in the pool just the nine of us! From the pool you could look out the many windows and see the skiers and snowboarders coming down the slopes just a little ways away. Jesse was much easier to handle than his usual 'pool self' due to the rather large bump he received on the back of his head from our last pool experience on our trip out to WI/MN.We enjoyed the hot tub and some keep away before we headed home to some great stir-fry! Now that I am typing this all out I realized all the other things I wish I'd taken pictures of....more of Helaine and I, the kids with their auntie and uncle, Helaine and Phil by themselves....Oh well, maybe soon we'll get together again=) It really was such a neat and refreshing break to spend some time together with family - whether it was just Helaine and I getting to go on a quick trip just the two of us to Target, or taking all the kids to the library (many, many times=), or watching a movie in the evening! The only thing that could have improved it would have been to have ALL our family there...maybe next time!

Man's Best Friend

2010-01-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

So as many of you know, yesterday was Matthew's fortieth birthday! Ten years ago this month our 'romance' began so I have had him at my side for this past decade and I have to say that I truly would do it all over again and want him, and only him, at my side for however many more decades the Lord gives us together.
As most of you also know I have been planning for months to have a big surprise birthday party for him - well, it was pulled off somewhat successfully last night! I say somewhat because yesterday am, the very day of the party, he read an eamil intended for me that gave away the party. None the less, there were other surprises in store that he knew nothing about. And although many of you are probably waiting for pictures from the big party...so am I=) I didn't take any pictures during the big event but my friend, Tarin, took lots for me and I should have those to share on here pretty soon. In the mean time I've put together something special that is still about him from our time in Minnesota....

Ok, so does this crack anybody else up a much as it does me??? HAHAHA=) Honey, you are a big softie and I love you for it!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

2010-01-19T06:05:00.001-07:00

Dear Matthew,
This little video is just to help you remember how much the kids and I love you....never forget that=) Enjoy this day!!
Your family

The Retreat

2010-01-16T14:34:00.001-07:00

Once we arrived the fun began....right away! After our night in the hotel we got up and headed down the road again hoping they would be better than they had been the day before and once we finally got off I-90, they improved bunch!!! Around 3pm we pulled into Phil's uncle's church (Al Miller) in ???, Wisconsin. As I'm typing this Matthew and I are both blank on the name of where we actually were....

Immediately after arriving and getting our hugs from Auntie Helaine, the kids bundled up and went sledding. The rest of the group had already gone ahead of us and were munching on hot dogs and sipping hot chocolate by the time we showed up. It was an amazing hill for sledding - other than the occasional car -but the inter tubes weren't going really well so the 4-wheelers came in handy!Jesse fell asleep in the car so he slept while the rest of us braved the UNBELIEVABLE COLD and went sledding. Ok, so I took pictures....=)
Logan and Alana, although younger than the rest of the teen aged retreaters, got to join in the sledding fun.Frigid as it was the sledding was soon over and everyone headed back to the church to be divided into the teams they would keep for the remainder of the retreat. They had to come up with a cheer and a mascot, etc. Monica and Zach knew a few of the Kunnari cousins but it's always a bit tough being the outsiders....thankfully by the next day they were joining in and making friends. (OK, so who am I kidding? Monica had no trouble with that from the minute we arrived....Zach on the other hand is more like me, not exactly at home around a bunch of people he doesn't know.)

The second day was spent mostly at a gym where the kids played tons of fun new games and then had some free time where they played a bunch more games! Here's one of the helpers getting stuffed with lots of mini balloons....I don't think this was even a game but more of an impromptu event=)

Several of the guys went and played some ice hockey for a few hours in the afternoon while others stayed and played floor hockey, basketball, volleyball, etc. Zach, although very new to hockey, picked it up just like he does all sports. So even though he looks a little timid here, he did well and would be doing great if we lived a bit nearer to some ice!

I went back and forth....picking and choosing the meals, events, games, etc. that I went to while still keeping the little 3 on somewhat of a normal schedule. Thankfully, we stayed at the home of Al and Laurel Miller and between their hospitality and their great dog (which I deeply regret not talking a picture of!!) I felt right at home! I entertained myself with my camera and my children=)

The afternoon game time concluded with some dodge ball....Logan, to his GREAT joy, was invited to play and had a blast! I think the highlight of the retreat for him was getting Chan Paine out with the dodge ball=)

I have to say that the highlight of the entire time we were there was getting to spend some 'sister time' with Helaine. Now, that may sound corny to some of you, but God didn't bless me with a sister until 10 years ago so I am still getting to understand how much fun it actually is to have one=)

( *Side Note: I can't say the above without saying that all through my growing up years He gave me the best friend a girl could ever have in Kristi Thompson. He knew what He was doing in my life because we are as close as two sisters could be also=)

There were about 2 dozen kids at the retreat and they were a fun bunch. It seemed that every spare moment they had, someone would start a game....they didn't sit around! All the girls stayed the 2 nights at the home of one of the church families (sharing just 1 shower - SHOCK!), while the boys stayed at another.

My big regret is not getting to hear Matthew speak. He put a lot of work into preparing for the 3 sessions that he spoke for. They were evening sessions and I headed home with the 3 youngest kids to get them to bed. Of course there are times when exceptions are made and they get to stay up, but I know well enough how much more smoothly things seem to go when their routine is kept somewhat normal!

So....the 3 days went by quickly, the kids enjoyed themselves, and they were challenged from The Word. We thank the Lord for the opportunity to be a part of it all! But unless you think it was over, well, not quite....

Once we headed up to Minnesota with Phil and Helaine, those that had participated in the retreat were asked to go up front and sing one of the songs from their time away.

Coming up next will be how we spent the following week with the newlywed's!!

The Trip

2010-01-15T13:14:00.005-07:00

The Saturday after Christmas was spent doing a lot of clean up and packing - we were all preparing to head out the next morning! Actually Chad was planning on heading out that am, but as we looked online and called some travel information numbers we all kept hearing highway closures for the roads we intended to travel on....the road south to Chadron where Chad needed to go, I-90 was closed the entire length of SD. It was looking less and less likely that any of us would be able to head out!

By the next morning Jenna had decided to drive the 1,000 mile trip to Illinois - which she did, in one day! So, by the time we all got up for the day, Chad was headed out the door and Jenna on his heels down south through Nebraska. Five hours later Chad made it safely home, seventeen hours later Jenna made it safely to her parents. Our story went somewhat differently....

But before we get to that, here is what Buffalo Gap looked like before we left! It is amazing to me how this town can go from ugly to beautiful with a simple covering of white=)

Unlike the southern route that Chad and Jenna had taken, our north-eastern route was still closed. We went about preparations as usual, zipping up our suitcases, packing the lunch cooler, loading up the Expedition....checking the Internet every half hour or so to see if I-90 was open yet. Finally at 9:30 am we got the green light to head out! Little did we know that about an hour and half later we would find ourselves on some of the worst road conditions we have EVER encountered.

There is no other way to explain how we too arrived safely at our destination, other than to say that the Lord answered the prayers of many family and friends and kept us upright and on the road!!! The roads appeared completely dry but there was fine drizzle coming down that glazed the roads and turned them into what better resembled an ice skating rink than an interstate! We saw close to 30 vehicles off the road....every thing from cars to pickups to vans to semi's! Probably over a dozen times we also felt the rear end of our vehicle start to slide...about 5 of those times we were both convinced we were headed for the ditch! Amazingly, between our 4x4 and Matthew' driving, we would start going straight again. Then, a few miles down the road on a completely straight stretch without touching the brakes or anything it - would happen again.

About 9 1/2 hours later we were both so tensed up that we had to call it a day. The entire trip that day should have taken us 10 hours....however we were only about 2/3's of the way. With no other recourse we holed up for the night in a hotel. This is how we all felt!!!!!

The kids blew off some steam in the pool (thanks to their gracious Daddy who had to brave the elements to get all the bags down off the top of the vehicle so Mommy could find the swimsuits, and to the desk lady who kept it open an hour longer just for us), stayed up late, read books, and then crashed for the night.

Matthew and I went to bed shortly after the kids but sleep was elusive for both of us....I didn't figure it out until the next am, but I think all the different little shots of adrenaline we'd had throughout the day on our rather hair-raising ride kept our minds alert while our bodies begged for sleep. The cool thing was that I was awake for the 1am text from Kendrick saying "Jenna is here, all is well"....and the 2am text from Jenna saying "ALISHA! OH MY GOODNESS! SO COOL! YOU GUYS ARE GOOD LIARS!!!" (Side note: If I hadn't been so tired I would have jumped up and down in bed myself, so excited that the surprise had worked!!!!!!!!!!!) Then at 3am I checked on Jesse who had hit his head really hard in the pool that night, and somewhere between 3 and 4am I went to sleep thanking the Lord for our safety. A loss of sleep is a small price to pay for what could have happened. THANK YOU, LORD!!!

CHRISTMAS!!!

2010-01-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

CHRISTMAS EVE:
So even though you all are probably as out of the Christmas mode as I am today's post is about our day of celebration as we remembered our Savior's birth. This year, as in many before, I would look around me and see hardly anything that had anything to do with 'HIM'. Rushing about getting ready for the big day didn't seem to have anything to do with his birth....and even as I reminded our kids over and over again that true Christmas had nothing to do with the presents under the tree....they are being bombarded on every side with the complete opposite that tells them Christmas is all about them. May nothing in our lives EVER be all about us....!

Anyway, I'm rambling - all is not pagan and heathen in our world yet as we were reminded at our Christmas Eve service, and at our gathering around the tree later that night to read the Christmas story in the gospels=) And then we opened presents!! Well, we opened one a piece as is our tradition. See the kids patiently waiting....Mine was the best of all!!! Chad got me one of my new favorite movies ~ "Cranford"! Jenna and Monica and I had already seen the first half so we stayed up that night with Chad and watched the rest of it=) Meanwhile, Matthew worked on some mysterious item out in the garage....(which I later found out was a handmade gift for me=) Later that evening we took the stockings in and set them on the foot of the beds of all our slumbering children (another tradition) and then pulled the rest of the presents out of their secret hiding places in our closet and put them under the tree. I'd been buying since May and we have lots of relatives that added to the pile so we had quite the stash of goods=) And then we went to bed.....CHRISTMAS DAY:
The stocking are always opened first thing and little piles are made all over the place as people claim their spots in the living room to get ready for the presents. This year we had an added treat to our morning as Miss Jenna sat at the piano and entertained us with some live Christmas carols while we all ate our Cream Cheese Bars for breakfast (yet another tradition) and all got in our places.Then the mayhem began. Daddy sat right next to the tree and had his 3 little elves as the delivery people. We don't tear through all in one go but we don't sit and wait for each other all the time either. It was dark so there aren't a lot of good pictures, but I have to give my vote to Monica as the most excited over a present....well wouldn't you be if your Uncle Chad had given you an I-Pod!!!!!
We are so thankful to friends and family who sent us wonderful, thoughtful gifts and to those who sent us gift cards so we could pick out our own wonderful gifts=) I love seeing what the kids get Matthew and I....sometimes it is so sweet (a heart shaped piece of wood for me that says "I love you"), other times a bit puzzlesome (a vehicle emergency hammer for Daddy), often rather funny (Uncle John's bathroom reader shaped like a toilet seat for Daddy), and also even mysterious (like the gift below)?!?!An yet another tradition is to go and try on, and model, all the clothes we all got. Alana says "Thank you, Grammy, for the purple dress!"
That's when the day became a bit untraditional as I got dressed and ready to head out the door to the airport in attempt #17 at getting Jenna to her parent's house for Christmas. We were again unsuccessful, but we sure did have a grand ol' time walking the short stretch from the parking lot into the airport as winds were approaching 60 mph....never, have I EVER, been in wind like that. I literally almost blew us away!!

So, after a 20 minute trip that resulted in yet another flight cancellation we turned around, drove an hour back home, and got Christmas dinner ready.

We enjoyed the rest of the day just looking at, trying on, playing with, liestening to, watching or eating our gifts. Also, we got to talk to each of our parents thanks to Skype=) It was a good day enjoyed among our family and we thank God for not only the gift of His Son, but the thousands of other blessings that we enjoyed all throughout 2009.

The never-ending story

2010-01-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago today dawned bright and early! Ok, so it wasn't really bright since the sun isn't out at 3:45am, but it was early! You see, Jenna had come over the day before and spent the night so we could get up and head to the airport for her 6:30 flight to Illinois. The plan was for her to go and spend Christmas with her family. But, not only was her family there, so was Kendrick! Jenna had no idea since he had decided to surprise her and just pick her up at the airport 2 days before Christmas and then spend his 10 day leave with her.....

However! That early Wednesday morning we checked her flight on the computer before heading to Rapid...it was delayed....scheduled for 8:45. No big deal right? We headed back to bed for another couple hours and then got up ready to head out. As Jenna checked the flights again she saw that it had been cancelled....

And so began a 5 day process of waiting for the airport to open, trying to squeeze onto a couple of the flights that actually made it out, talking to her parents and debating what to do, checking into road conditions to see if she could drive....AND THE WHOLE TIME I WAS GOING NUTS BECAUSE I KNEW KENDRICK WAS ON THE OTHER END!!!! I honestly (pun intended) told so many lies during those days that I had trouble keeping track. The story was that Kendrick was with my parents in Georgia, while in reality he was hiding in the other room each and every time that Jenna got on the computer and Skyped with her family in Illinois! There were some close moments!

But what's a girl to do other than make the best of it! Jenna kept a smile on her face and we really enjoyed so much having her here with us day after day after day after ....=)One of the things she did to pass her time was go outside with Monica and take pictures of the ice that was taking over our town. Girls will be girls...right?We came up with some weird forms of entertainement....like when Alana asked Jenna if she could brush her teeth...and Jenna said "Yes"...?!?!Another big treat for us during those pre-Christmas days was to have Uncle Chad come up and stay for a few days....longer than expected, actually, as he too had traveling issues both coming and going because of the weather. He came in on Tuesday and we had lots of fun playing games all together, going to our Christmas Eve service, catching up on what's going on in Holyoke. He recently had to move as the house he was renting sold, and the Lord provided him with a house that seems to be even more ideal than the last one=) (Jesse loves, LOVES, his Uncle Chad)On Thursday Chad made a trip to Rapid to take Jenna by the airport and see if she had any more luck in person that she'd had over the phone. They didn't, but the funniest part of that story is that on the way back this is what she said something like this to Chad, "At least Kendrick isn't there since it would be a lot harder to be patient about all this if I knew he was at the other end." Chad and I shared a good laugh (quietly while Jenna was in the other room) about that=)

Then later that night, Christmas Eve, we hunkered down in Buffalo Gap, read the Christmas story, stuffed 9 stockings, brought out the last of the Christmas presents to put under the tree, and hoped for good weather for Jenna's Christmas day flight....which was plan G, but I've lost track....=)

Monica and Jesse visit the outdoors

2010-01-12T08:58:00.001-07:00

The week of Christmas our weather started to get kind of weird. It often is crazy out here (for example on Saturday we were in the negatives and now tomorrow says a high of 50), but this time it took on a whole new look we'd never seen.

Drawn by a combination of the winter scene outside and the ponies in our neighbor's yard, Monica took a rascally Jesse on a walk. It was our first South Dakota ice storm!

It was just he beginning of what has been be the worst winter for travel any of us here have had in a loooong time!

At the time of these pictures it really hadn't gotten all that cold yet and, as you can see, there was very little snow on the ground. But Jesse was up to no good so Monica took pity on me and took him outside. He suddenly was a much happier camper! And yes, he is wearing a pink and purple, fuzzy scarf; he's also been wearing a pink pair of Alana's hand me down boots all winter, too.
Our 4-legged friends were pretty shaggy looking in their winter coats!

Monica took all the pictures of their frosty outing - but as you'll see in future posts, 'global warming' was just getting started!

PS - Please overlook the nose in drastic need of a tissue and dwell instead on the fact of how cute my oldest and youngest are...=)

Deer

2010-01-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

I might as well start right back where I left off, right? After all, as a very wise person once said, "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...."

So I will back up to something that happened about 3 weeks ago now....we finished processing the last two of the three deer we were given, once again by our neighbor Terry. He was helping the town of Hot Springs cut down on their massive population of deer and dropped three in our driveway for which we are very thankful!

Of course the first thing that has to be done is to skin it (thankfully the messy gutting out took place before they were ours and in a different location). Matthew is usually left to do this part on his own, along with the cutting up of all the meat. This year, Jenna offered - a decision she may still be questioning for quite some time - to come over and help us out in the process....?!?!

First the deer has to be hung from the ceiling of the garage....

then the hide is pulled off, and yes, it is as hard as it looks! Before we had the time to process the deer we had a stretch of really cold weather - where Matthew could hardly shave off chunks of meat because it was so frozen, let alone skin and cut one up. So at this time it was just barely warm enough to be able to process but still a tough job to skin.But then comes the fun part....oh wait, now I remember why Jenna came! She got to use power tools=)Then big hairy chunks of meat begin to show up in the house for the inside crew to start on.Monica is the official meat washer....sickest job of all if you ask me! But she manages to humor herself with some rather gross tricks=)The cleaned meat them moves onto the cutter....which this time was both Matthew and Jenna.Some of us have to take a break every once in a while from all the hard work=)

Then the grinding begins!!! Matthew cuts out the good roasts, then some steaks, then cuts up some pieces for stew meat....and the rest we grind into hamburg, or more properly said, deerburg. But then hamburg isn't made out of ham either, so....anyway! We all take a turn at the grinding since it is a tiring job! Zach probably does close to 50% of it though....and always with a ready smile for the camera=)
Jenna took a turn....

as did Logan.... and Alana....and even Jesse, though he could hardly reach!From there Monica (once she's done washing) and I weigh and bag up all the meat. I was given a handy tip by a friend so I'd been saving bread bags for months and we stored our 1 pound lumps of hamburg in a doubled over bread bag knotted shut! Worked perfectly and saved lots of money on Ziplocs=) There's no picture for the packaging part of the ordeal...

Once we are done that we store it in the freezer, a little bit in the upstairs and the rest in the freezer in the basement. This year Logan and Zach got creative and saved themselves many steps up and down the stairs as our runners.

Logan would stand at the top with the pile of meat on the floor beside him-
And toss them down to Zach at the bottom who would then put them away=)

I have to be honest and say that throughout the whole evening I have to keep reminding myself to chant my little mantra "I'm thankful for the meat, I'm thankful for the meat, I'm thankful for the meat...." I'll just say that it is not my favorite way to spend an evening - BUT - I am always thankful for the time our family spends together working side by side, and for the friends crazy enough to join us=)

Chagrin

2010-01-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

It is with great chagrin that one approaches their blog after one has let so much time lapse. There are many reasons one may feel this way but at the top of the list, this one would have to say, is all the stinking catching up one has to do now....all by one's self....paying for one's procrastination!

Are YOU ready?

2009-12-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

Because Kitty is....

The other Rozelles

2009-12-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

On the other side of the ocean live some people that I think are rather splendid....however, because they live on the other side of the ocean, we see them very rarely. Communication is not exactly the forte of either one of us soooooo, when I come across some pictures like this, I have to share them=) I give you, the 'other' Rozelles....

My brother Lincoln, his wife Sheena, their daughter Layla, and their son, Elijah.Layla is cute little 3 year old, just 2 weeks older than Jesse! And Elijah is a baby doll who is now 1 year old! They live in Scotland where Lincoln grew up and where Sheena is from.
Our family misses getting to be around them more, especially since they are the only cousins our kids have on my side of the family! The first time we met Layla and Elijah was last May when our Rozelle family all got together back in Maine....here are some pics just to reminisce=)

The little girls in matching dresses, thanks Grammy!
Lincoln and I....the last time we posed for a picture like this was probably on the little "Europe" trip he and I went on to Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany back in 1999....with no radio=)
Cousins playing together.... And the four generations!
Then one of my favorite pictures from that trip that I hadn't seen before a few days ago....Layla and the 'fiddleheads'=) If you don't know what they are, you probably aren't from Maine!!!

Lincoln, Sheena, Layla, and Elijah....we miss you all very much. Some day soon maybe we'll have another Christmas like the one of four years ago when we ALL got together here at my house. In the meantime we wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS - hugs and kisses to my niece and nephew!

C-C-C-OLD Weather!

2009-12-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

As I write this it is 26 degrees out and feels warmer than it has for at least a week. We were down in the single digits for days on end, and thankfully, got some snow to show for it as well=) So the kids bundled up this week and went outside....it didn't last too long as cheeks soon got red and noses began to run and toes started to go numb! Just the same we did have fun for the little bit of time we ventured out, most of the time!
As usual my kids were quite the fashion statements in their layers of hand me downs....Jesse is wearing Alana's old boots, Alana is wearing Logan's, Logan is wearing Zach's (!), Zach is wearing his dad's, Monica is wearing mine. Yay! Another year of not having to buy everybody boots=)

Posing for pictures wasn't the only thing that went on outside....Since installing our wood stove (given to us by the Bergs and recently installed in our basement) there is a new chore around our house that involves chopping, stacking, and hauling wood.Then of course there's throwing snowballs=)And hauling your younger siblings around in a sled....except, for some reason, it was really heavy to pull and while Monica started off strong....
she didn't make it that far!Logan was the next to make an attempt -but he didn't make it very far either=)

So we called in the big guns and Alana and Jesse got one turn around the yard courtesy of Daddy=)
It was lots of fun!

The kids weren't the only ones to have fun - Boomer is made for the snow and loves to be out in it, especially if the kids are out there with him.

We love our new puppy!

So, by tomorrow I think we will venture up above freezing and probably in another day or two the snow will melt and it will be brown and muddy for a week=) Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!

The Gingerbread Project

2009-12-09T09:14:00.009-07:00

On Monday afternoon Jenna and Rachel went to the grocery store, bought a list of ingredients, got in their car, and came to our house. It was project time!!! We were feeling creative, energetic, and in a holiday mood. What was the project you ask....why a full-fledged gingerbread house!! So we pulled out Martha Stewart's instructions and the work began=) Aren't you just excited thinking about it? Little did we know....

The first step was making the gingerbread cookie dough and lots of it! Next we had to chill overnight, but we settled for 30 minutes outside in the 5 degree weather.

Next came the rolling out of the dough....

And since we could not get our printer to cooperate and make us a copy of the templates at 200%, I pulled out my ruler and made up some for us to use.

In order to have the full effect we also wanted to make some trees to add a special touch to what we envisioned as the perfect little house=)

Once all the shapes were cut out they had to bake (and re-bake) and cool once again. This was the first point where we started to wonder if things weren't going exactly according to Martha's perfect plans...

After that was when the fun work began as we decorated several of the shapes before actually putting the house together.

Then we made up a sugar syrup that was supposed to be used to make the windows, as well as serving as the 'glue' to hold the house together. Here I am pouring the syrup, which is supposed to harden very quickly, into the window openings.

Next we started sticking some pieces together...ok, so most of the sticking together was done by Rachel and Jenna and here they are working on the chimney.

We really did still think it would get kinda fun at this point, once we were putting it together, even though the hour was getting late and we were starting to drag....we still were trying to hold on to some hope that this project would be a success.

But as the pieces started to crack, and the windows failed to ever harden, and 'someone' ate one of our pieces, and we kept having to use more and more cans of beans to hold the house together....we got a little weary....and silly.

Jenna, little trooper that she is, did not give in and kept at it, finishing the project when the rest of use were SO done!

By the time she put the finishing touches on it was 9pm...we had started at 2pm.

"Oh Martha, where did we go wrong?!"

And the FINALLY finished product....if someone comments saying it looks cute, I will roll my eyes!

Although we may have gotten a little tired of the process these two little kids enjoyed every bit of it that they could get their hands on. As we were working on the templates we realized we'd have plenty of dough left over to make some cookies and gingerbread men so that is what Alana and Jesse worked on....After chatting with Aunt Helaine, getting their aprons on, and stools in place first, of course! (*These next two pics are just for you, Helaine=)

Alana enjoyed making the cut outs, Jesse enjoyed munching on the dough=)

And I'll close with pictures of my two little cherubs=)

Despite it all it was time spent with friends, and thankfully with friends who stayed chipper despite our trying ordeal=) We finished off the evening watching "It's a Wonderful Life", which was a relaxing way to end the day!

Our Christmas Program

2009-12-08T10:36:00.003-07:00

This past Sunday our church put on it's Christmas program. The morning service involved our choir singing as well as the younger kids getting up to do their special songs. As fun and good as that was the evening program was even cooler....literally! But here's the bad news - during the a.m. service my camera died after 3 pictures, and for the evening events I forgot to even take the camera. So, from the entire day, I got 2 lousy pictures....

Thankfully this picture is almost enough to capture a special glimpse of what happened=) Alana denies pulling up her dress, however, I don't think she realized that gathering it up in your hands and bunching the fabric together had the same effect as pulling it up=) And, yes, she is wearing cowboy boots as she has no other Sunday shoes! Cute, huh?!?!

And here is our choir - we only sang 3 songs but, I have to say, the most enjoyable part was our Sunday afternoon practices that often led to some pretty silly moments=)

In the town of Hot Springs, where our church Calvary Baptist is located, there is an annual holiday celebration called "Christmas in the Hills". There are different events that take place over the weekend including a tour of decorated homes, a Christmas Arts and Crafts Fair, a parade, a ceremonial tree lighting, etc. Well, this year, Calvary was given the opportunity to take charge of the Living Nativity which, I think, is the final event on the program. The traditional thing they do is line some kids in costumes up on the big VA staircase and sing Christmas carols. This year however, our church took a different approach. CBC wants to reach the community, and in this country how many churches would be given a blank slate to do as they wished in a town sponsored Christmas activity???

So, some people in our church put TONS of work and preparation into what we did last Sunday night. Six drive-through Biblical scenes were put together, props and staging built, volunteers recruited, cookies made, and so that some part of the yearly tradition would remain the same, temperatures plummeted=) As cars approached, the ladies from our church greeted them with a plate of cookies and a CD to put in their car that narrated the drive, those of us who volunteered met at the church before hand and got into our lovely costumes, and the evening began. There was a manger scene, Jesus feeding the 5,000, the cross, an empty tomb...all in hopes of presenting the gospel to our town and that those with the CD in their cars would listen to it again and again.

It was a great time!! Matthew was Jesus in the feeding of the 5,000 while the rest of us were part of his hungry followers. Some 'wise men' had altogether too much fun dressing up in silk and lace, some angels angelic robes were too short, and some little children ate snow off the ground instead of the 'loaves and fish' Jesus and his disciples distributed (any guesses who that might have been?). But we hope that we had an effect just the same! After it was over we went back to the church to thaw out and eat some chili and laugh together over the fun we'd had. We all voted to do it again next year=)

A puzzling moment....

2009-12-07T09:59:00.003-07:00

Today, as my young children played quietly in the background and the older ones worked diligently on their school work, I had a moment of domestic bliss. I was happily engaged in some of my household duties, enjoying the peace of the moment, content with my role in life as a homemaker.

As I was working away, Jesse walked into the room and began to tell me a story. He wanted to show me the manger scene that he was coloring. But as he was talking his eyes began to focus on what I was doing....at his tender age of 3 years he had no memories of seeing me ever do this before. He continued with his story but eventually he reached a point of distraction and could no longer hold back the question burning in his mind, interrupting himself he asked me,

"Mommy, what are you doing?"

"Ironing, son," I answered.

The air became heavy with the silent pause that followed....

"What is that?!"

Sunday Afternoon Walk

2009-12-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

Although this post is entitled a "Sunday Afternoon Walk" and today is Sunday, it happened last week. Today it looked - and felt - quite different outside!!! But that is another story=)

We've enjoyed lots of Sunday afternoons with Jenna coming over, and often one or both of her roommates come with her as well. Jodie and Rachel are also now commonly seen with their laptops open and a snuggled up with a blanket in our living room. And sometimes we go for walks....which may be one of my favorite Sunday afternoon things to do. Except for on days like today when the high is 14 degrees!!

But back to our walk....we went on the road that leads out to the highway ( or the road on which you can escape Buffalo Gap ). It was Jodie, Jenna, Alana, and myself.We went specifically to see the horses that were out there and they obliged us by coming right over to the fence to visit, as well as giving us their photogenic smiles. We talked with them for quite a bit....

(notice Alana's "cat mask" which she wore for the entire time)Until we became entertained with our own shadows....

and decided to take some pictures of ourselves and not just the horses=)
We had fun=)
Unfortunately this Sunday was super fun as well, but I have hardly any pictures. More on that later....

Thanksgiving!!!

2009-12-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

For Thanksgiving this year we traveled up to the home of our good friends the Bergs, in Oshoto, Wyoming. Since most of the 6 Thanksgivings we've had here in SD have been without family we have enjoyed several with Jared and Sarah. This year probably tops the list as the most enjoyable, not to mention memorable=) We arrived on Wednesday and stayed through Saturday, having a great time each and every minute.

Our feast was quite tasty - spiral ham, seasoned mashed potatoes, cheesy broccoli casserole, and of course some pies, both apple and pumpkin.Akayla and Alana were eager to help out with the work in the kitchen so they got the job of peeling potatoes=)

Our little 3 kids are close in age to theirs so they had lots of fun together (most of the time=)

Here are the girls:
Akayla, 6 Hannah, almost 1

And the boys:

Levi, 2 1/2 Malachi, 4

They entertained themselves both inside and out....

4-wheelers,

sandboxes,
guns, ok, so that was just the big boys=)
reading stories,
playing games,
more stories at bedtime,
and then these two little cuties sharing a bed while Akayla read to Alana from her book,
then waking up ready to do it all over again and play the next day!
There are more stories I could tell but you just had to be there to appreciate certain things=) So I'll close with a video of the girls dancing their form of "ballet". Although we couldn't help but remember our last Thanksgiving in Lican Ray, Chile, we had a great time this year as well!

Of Utmost Importance to me....

2009-12-03T12:06:00.005-07:00

"It is not merely by speaking to children about spiritual things that you win them over.

If that be all you do, it will accomplish nothing less than nothing.

It is the sentiments which they hear at home

It is the maxims which rule your daily conduct,

the likings and dislikings which you express -

the whole regulation of the household, in dress,

and food, and furniture - the recreations you indulge

the company you keep - the style of your reading,

the whole complexion of daily life

this creates the element in which your children are either growing in grace and preparing for an eternity of glory,

or they are learning to live without God, and to die without hope."

Rev. W. B. Mackenzie

Dear Lord, I fail in so many things, let me be succesful in this I beg of you. Let me be able to say that "I have no greater joy than to know that my children walk in truth". Draw them to you despite my failings. May they, and we as their parents, please you with our lives.

Monica's (very belated) birthday!

2009-12-02T08:39:00.012-07:00

Monica started out her birthday in a very excited way - see?But let me back up a little....Yes, it has been almost 2 weeks since her birthday but I've already promised I won't elaborate with a long list of excuses so back to the post....Our birthday mornings around here often start in a very similar way - opening the present from Grammy and Grampy=) Since we usually have our parties later in the day and have to wait until then for presents, it has become a treat to start the day opening just one....the one that came in the mail a few days earlier (and has us in suspense) is often the one that gets picked. So here she is, sporting the two new tops from far away Georgia! Next on the agenda for the day was a trip to Rapid City with some friends and a pocket full of birthday money just waiting to be spent! A girl with only 10 months left before she heads to college has a loooong shopping list=) So - while she was gone for the afternoon, I set in play some things that I'd had up my sleeve for several weeks. I've been excited for this 17th birthday and wanting to make it extra special for Monica, after all it's her last birthday at home! So, while I dread it in one way, I was looking forward to it in another, hoping that she'd have a super fun day!

It all began with 6 teenagers meeting at the church at 5pm - then the first clue to the evenings 'treasure hunt' was handed out=) I became a silent (somewhat) observer as I drove the kids around to the different clues and took pictures while they met the different challenges to earn the next clue. For example, the first clue:
"At the first of the week he speaks in nice pants,
but not long ago he used to Hula dance..."
This of course took us to the home of our Hawaiian pastor where he had a list of Bible quiz questions prepared for them.

Thanks Pastor Matt and Kellie! The next clue took them to the home of our patriotic-dressing friend where in order to earn clue #3 Monica had to 'gallop' around her yard on a pony and sing "Yankee Doodle".

Thanks Betty Meils!

The next stop was given away by the clue ending with a "High Four"....but you'll see that in a minute. At the Coleman's each teen had to fill their hand with poprocks, toss it in their mouth, blow up a balloon, and be the first to pop it=)It presented quite a challenge!The winner of that game was Jeremiah so he earned the privilege of reading the final clue.... But we couldn't leave before the ceremonial "High Four" between Mr. Coleman and Monica....let me explain. It's a cruel joke really - Gail lost his wedding ring finger in an accident and has suffered the brunt of Matthew's teasing - thankfully he takes it well=)

Thank you Gail and Sherry!

And the final clue led the kids to the Blue Bison where almost 40 people had gathered to await the arrival of our Birthday Girl. Monica knew something was going on but she was so surprised to see all the people there and had such a fun time (I hope!) celebrating her day with lots of friends from church as well as Cornerstone!The Blue Bison is not that big but we tucked lots of people back in a small room and Monica made her rounds chatting with people that had come.Here she is with Liz Campbell, her youth leader.I'd taken some games along to help entertain the masses=)

Dutch Blitz, Jungle Speed (thanks again, Lincoln and Sheena), and Operation were the favorites.

Then it was present time - she had quite a pile! Not only were there presents but also some gift cards and more birthday money=) A sweet homemade gift full of college goodies from Tarin, the long awaited rubber boots (!!!),

the equally anticipated jean jacket, and the lotions in a somewhat questionable bag from Laurie=)

All in all I think it was a good day for her=) After the party Bianca, one of her friends, came over to spend the night. Since we didn't have a cake that day we saved the specially requested "Seriously Chocolaty Cheesecake" for a couple days later when things settled down. It was a hit with everyone=)

Seventeen years old.....WOW!!!!!!!!

Daddy and I love you bunches and bunches!!!

I know, I know....

2009-11-29T21:31:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's been a while. Ok, it's been a long while. However - you'll be spared a long list of excuses because there are only two and they are as follows:
1) I didn't want to,
2) I was busy and didn't want to.
I have to feel both inspired and like I have time on my hands in order to sit down and prepare a post and recently I've felt neither. So having said that I will now tell you that it is my goal over the course of this next week to get myself caught back up on this blog...birthdays, holidays, outings, etc. that have taken place lately. So there you have it, and now that I've published this paragraph for all the world to see I will be forced to keep my word! Oh bother.....

Recent things....

2009-11-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

...that have made me smile~

-my baby's soft cheeks pressed up against mine

- SKYPE!!

-Daddy took Jesse into town and had this conversation with him:

Daddy- "Here's a cookie for you, Jesse."
Jesse- "Thank you, Daddy! Where did you get it?"
Daddy - "From Miss Bethany in the CBI kitchen."
Jesse - "Can we tell her thank you, Daddy?"
Daddy - "I already did, now let's get ready and go to the bank."
Jesse - "Can we get a sucker there?"
Daddy - "Oh, probably."
Jesse - "Wow, Daddy, you are a really nice guy. God way up in heaven must have turned you into a really nice guy."

- time with my friend, Jenna

- evenings in the living room with my kids reading Laura Ingalls

-Daddy's who have a soft heart for their little girls

-Daddy's who buy Mommy's gift cards=)

- sunshine and falling leaves

-scrolling through some sweet pics of my 5 favorite people

-Veteran's! (and going on dates with them=)

-a successful batch of chocolate chip cookies

-sweet reminders from my Heavenly Father

-people who get to travel to Italy (ok, so that makes me a wee bit jealous too)

-bubble wrap

...that have made me sad~

- little girls with tears in their eyes that say "It breaks my heart to not see George ever again", mine too, sweetie, mine too.

-bad choices and their lousy consequences

-missing the girls in my family, "I love you Mom, Helaine and Sheena." (I miss the boys too)

-potty training....alright, that has made me just plain annoyed!

-packing up those last few baby items

-the thousands of miles between me and my Kristi Lynn

-mud (ok, so maybe I should have made a separate section for "annoyed")

A Crafty Day

2009-11-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

On Monday of this week we had our home school activity for the month of November - if you remember we went to an alpaca farm last month. We'll this activity was even more hands on as the kids each were given a tile and all the "fixin's" to make themselves a picture frame. You'll get the idea better when you see the pictures!

Our kids always enjoy these activities soooo much as they get to not only do something fun, but hang out with friends they sometimes don't see very often.
It was so fun to watch the kids display their different artisitic talents and tastes=) What I found most amusing was the table full of young teen boys that were getting very detailed in their work and put lots of effort into this craft!Of course the boys' dragons and flames or frogs and trucks..Were replaced on the girls table by buttons and ribbons and hearts and glitter....=)I found it quite special that Monica wrote "My Best Friends" on her frame and then proceeded to paste a picture of her siblings on it=)Then there were those that were most entertained by the paint and the water and the brushes and the glue....in this picture you can't spot the red patch in his hair on the side of his head!Here are the kids tiles in order from top to bottom - A, J, L, M, and Z!It was a fun day with a bunch of kids! After the tiles were painted we had lunch and the kids played some games, all under the leadership of the oldest (or at least tallest) boys. They got along so well, it was fun for us moms to just sit back and watch. Then the tiles were dry and ready to spray with a sealant and it was time to go home....until next month's homeschool activity!

M - All grown up....almost

2009-11-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

And last but not least....=)

Z - A growing man!

2009-11-10T11:42:00.010-07:00

Over the last couple days I've had the chance to get to the older two kids as well....we were on a roll so even though it was only Jesse and Alana that were due for their annual pictures we just had too much fun and did all FIVE=)

L - What a little man!

2009-11-06T08:17:00.009-07:00

A - My cute little girl!

2009-11-05T10:10:00.009-07:00

J - Oh, this boy!

2009-11-04T20:59:00.011-07:00

My Day in Pictures

2009-11-03T17:23:00.002-07:00

Today was picture day. Normally I take the kids to Rapid City and go to the mall for their annual pictures. The oldest 3 in the spring, and the younger 2 in the fall. Well, this year I wanted to try skipping out on the trips and the agony of choosing the right one, and the crowds, and the cost.... I've never once enjoyed my experience at the 'Portrait Studio'. However, I have been pleased with the results so it was big step to say "Forget that", and try to come up with some on my own. Here is a sample! Jesse and Alana were the main targets, but Logan begged me to take him out as well since he thought it looked like fun. Anyway, in the days to come I'll post more pictures, and in the weeks to come I'll be mailing them out to some friends and family=)

Ladies Retreat

2009-11-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

Halloween was not the only big event this weekend. On Friday night our church had its annual Ladies Retreat. What fun it was to be able to go this year! The last time I was able to attend was 3 years ago when my mom was the guest speaker and Jesse was less than 2 weeks old=) This year our speaker was Keri McClellan. When Matthew and I came to CBI 6 and 1/2 years ago we were not the only family who left a job, packed up all our stuff, and moved to another state to attend Bible school (a very puzzling decision to many people). When we arrived there were 5 other families that were also part of the school! How neat to get to know the Kunnaris and Fishers in their senior year, the McClellans and the Bergs in their junior year, and the Hills joining us in our freshmen year. So what a blessing it was that Keri, now a pastor's wife, was our speaker! She spoke on "Being a WOW Woman" - the first session was on Waiting, the second on Obedience, and the last one on Working. What an encouraging and challenging time! Of course we had to throw a little fun in there as well=) The first thing that takes place after we arrive is to eat, of course, and then after that the first session. Later in the evening we always do a craft. This year it was put together by Ann Powers, our very own quilting expert who even has her own shop in town. We had a piece of cloth already cut out and hemmed (although that's not the word they used), that we then embellished - using buttons, thread, lace, sequins, and OF COURSE ric rac!

Now, it's no secret that sewing - or anything crafty for that matter - is just not my forte. Before we left the house I was checking over the list of items to bring and it mentioned bringing ric rac for our craft....ric rac....are you kidding me?....what in the blazes is ric rac?....Well, my 16 year old daughter told me and explained it to me....=( When I told that story at the retreat I was prepared for some teasing, but - to my delight - our group was almost split half and half as to who knew what it was and who didn't=)

We sang lots of songs at the beginning of each session, Jenna and Liz Campbell were in charge of the music.

Of course after we did all of that we still stayed up for another long while talking and laughing about the usual topics that come up when you put a bunch of 'girls' together=) Then we went to our rooms and climbed into our bunk beds....college days all over again! The next morning we slowly rolled out of bed and went to a delicious breakfast! After that we had a few free minutes and most of the ladies went for a short walk while I called and chatted with Matthew, who I missed more this year than any other retreats before.

It just was such a fun time and such a beautiful place....who doesn't want to share that kind of thing with their best friend?

Our morning continued with the final two session and before we knew it, it was lunch time and the retreat was over!

How thoroughly I enjoyed this refreshing time with friends! (On a side note we all got to enjoy babies as well - one of the moms brought her 4 month old twins! Baby boy Avery and Baby girl Josie! Baby fever anyone....?)

A big thank you goes to these three WOW ladies for pulling of a great retreat. The time and effort they spent getting this all together was much appreciated! "Thank you Kellie, Sheri, and Keri!"

Trick or....

2009-10-31T20:24:00.003-07:00

TREAT!!! Well, we did it. We broke our own trend, defied the onlookers, went against the grain of our more conservative peers, promised to do penance on our return, AND TOOK OUR KIDS "TRICK OR TREAT" ING!!! And guess what - we had a blast=) The last time we went was 7 years ago when Logan was a 6 month old pumpkin, Zach a 7 year old pirate, and Monica a 9 year old Marine=)

Our first stop was the ambulance shed - this may seem a bit random but we know several of the people that work there and Matthew had been there already earlier today. He was a pin cushion for some of the CBI girls that are going through an EMT course....what a guy!!!

After that we went to several of the homes of church families but I didn't take many pictures. The kids had a great time piling in and out and in and out and in and out of the Expedition as we traveled from one stop to the next. For Monica the shock on their faces was better than the candy! Look at this girl!!!!!!!!!We had a great time getting all the kids dressed and ready but when I see this picture it scares me into thankfulness that this is not the REAL her=) She painted all the faces but her own....I did that one! We even found a gold sequin that we stuck on the side of her nose with liquid band-aid to make it look like a piercing....she had waaaay to much fun planning and doing this!

Like I said I didn't take many pics so here is a shot of each of the kids.

Jesse as the Incredible Hulk (face painting by Monica) ~

Alana as a princess, what else! (face painting by Mommy) ~

Logan as Spiderman (incredible face painting by Monica) ~

Zach as a military man in need of a shave, although he was also identified as a 'bootlegger' (5 o'clock shadow by Zachery) ~

Monica as a 'punk' (face painting by Mommy) ~

(I realize this is a picture that will make the grandparents cringe, but it's what's on the inside that counts, right?)

So....trick or treat, anyone?

Bored in the Gap....

2009-10-28T06:42:00.001-07:00

What to do when you're bored - your younger two siblings are napping, your older two siblings are gone, your Mom doesn't really want to 'play', your dad is at work, your dog is all 'fetched' out, and your cat is to dumb to do anything with you.... The answer is - go outside, get an old can, fill it with leaves and papers, ask your mom for the lighter, and have five, fun-filled minutes playing with fire! Supervised, of course=)

Jesse's Day

2009-10-27T16:53:00.007-07:00

Well, I have a bit of an outdated post but there hasn't been much to say or photograph lately so....this is from Jesse's actual birthday. We saved a few presents for him (as well as some leftover cupcakes) so that he could celebrate on the actual day.

First thing that am he opened his present from Grampy and Grammy....

oh, the suspense....!(Pastor Matt, the packing peanuts went immediately into the trash!)

And then the presents appeared - a cool shirt:

and, when you're 3, an even cooler toy=)

Which big brother Logan promptly offered to help him with!

Then at lunch time we pulled out the leftover cupcakes and put a candle in it. I love how easy it is to please a 3 year old=)And one final present from Mommy and Daddy, more clothes but, thankfully, also a toy=)As for the rest of what has been happening this last week/weekend.....Well, there have been a few things but I either a) haven't had my camera, or b) haven't felt inspired to post. A big thing the last couple days has been getting back into the school routine. Monica has started 12th grade!!!! Of course that involves a lot of computer work and lesson planning and preparing of report cards and different things like that on my end, but on her end there are some changes as well. She is excited and glad to have a fresh start on new subjects, but not nearly as excited as she is about this being her last year of school! She finished 11th grade with A's on all her finals and is looking forward to the next 3 quarters where the classes will be a bit easier. Just a few months from now she will be leaving us for Northland!!! But not before spending her last birthday at home, her last Christmas living at home, her last summer as a foot loose and fancy free high schooler - It is exciting and fun but, as the time draws closer, it gets a bit sadder and scarier as well...=(

Just because....

2009-10-22T10:50:00.002-07:00

Just because....

....family resemblances make me smile=)

FALL!!!

2009-10-21T07:47:00.000-07:00

I love fall! I love the cooler weather, I love the leaves on the ground, I love the pumpkins and all recipes made with pumpkin, I love breathing in the crisp air, I love sweatshirts, I love long walks with my bundled up kids, I love not climbing into a stifling hot vehicle, I love hugging my hubby to keep warm..... I love fall!!

This week is Missions Conference at Cornerstone Bible Institute and, just like the past 5 years, I've given the kids the week off from school. Monica and Zach head in at 7:30 am and attend the 3 morning sessions while I stay home with the more rambunctious ones and attend just the one evening service. Matthew is at work so I have all morning here with just these three crazy kids.And while the South Dakota fall is far less vibrant that the New England fall it is still fun to enjoy. So out we went to rake some leaves and just bask in the glory of fall....ok, so that sounds a bit melodramatic, but we did have fun=)

The kids and I raked a small section of the yard, so you know what comes next, right?
JUMPING IN THE LEAVES! Fun, fun, fun!
Then of course, Mommy had to stop the fun and take some pictures=)
Even Boomer got his picture taken, although he didn't stay still and pose nearly as nicely.
Is that an adorable face or what?!?!?
The girls ~
And the boys ~
Did I mention I love the fall?

The Birthday Boy

2009-10-20T07:49:00.005-07:00

Today is another big day in the Chamberland household.....we are celebrating another birthday! My baby turns 3!!! I know, I shouldn't be calling him my baby anymore, but....=( When Jesse came along we all wondered who he would be like - which one of his siblings would he most resemble, not just physically but whose temperament would he inherit? Well, if anyone broke the mold, it was Jesse. You'd think as parents of 4 of them already, we would have remembered that each one of them is unlike the other! And if that can be said for any of the crew....it is most definitely true of little Jesse Lee!

He was a cute-as-can-be newborn and was an easy happy baby.He took a little longer to sleep through the night than his sister but he really was laid back and a good baby to have around. Happy whether he was left to entertain himself alone or with a crowd.He was everybody's baby, loved by his two brothers and his two sisters.

And the birthday's began to tick by as he turned one...

then two...
And with each passing year he became more of an individual, letting us know that he would not be like Monica, or Zachery, or Logan, or Alana....he would be like Jesse. And, let's be honest here, while his antics are a wee bit on the bad side (!), he's earned his place in our hearts and we still love him to pieces!
Happy birthday sweet boy - I love you=)

Parties, parties, and more parties!

2009-10-19T10:25:00.007-07:00

Party #1
Yesterday was Jenna's birthday. There were no big plans so we decided to ask the girls (Jenna and her roommates) if they wanted to come out and just hang out. They seemed more than glad to come out so we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with them. After the events of the last couple weeks we were all pretty much ready for something more low key.

The first item on the list was to open birthday presents. I won't elaborate but this was the look on Jenna's face when she saw what she was about to unwrap=)We all sat down to some smoked chicken tacos, another benefit of having Matthew and his smoker around=) It was VERY yummy!

That morning Alana was not feeling that well so I stayed home from church with her and, as a result, had time to make up a birthday cake. Chocolate cake roll with a cream chocolate filling....quite tasty, if I do say so myself=) And no, she did not turn 6, but I didn't have that many candles!Since we missed the picture of the actual blowing out of the candles, she posed for another shot=)The the rest of the afternoon was spent catching up on some computer time, lounging on the couch, the birthday girl getting lots of phone calls....which she enjoyed from the hammock outside in the 70+ degrees, sunshiny weather.
Jodie and Rachel came out as well - Logan has thought Jodie was pretty special for quite some time so he had fun sitting on the couch and chatting with her. He even invited her to come and live with us, offering to go sleep in the garage so that she could have his bed....=)

Party #2
Now that Matthew has completed the smoker he built we are hoping he'll get to use it more and more. He seems to be making contacts here and there and getting the word out some and he was asked to smoke meat for a birthday party for the owner of the Blue Bison. Jenna works there so, thanks to having someone ' on the inside', Matthew set up outside and fed probably close to 100 people last Friday night.

He started at 11pm on Thursday, stayed up all night, and had the meat done and ready to go by 5pm on Friday evening. (As a side benefit he threw some steaks on the smoker sometime during the night and he and I, along with Kendrick and Jenna, had steak and eggs for an early morning breakfast before Kendrick headed to the airport).

Yep, he's quite a guy!The Blue Bison is probably the coolest hangout place in town and they serve sandwiches, soups, ice creams, coffee's.....definitely a favorite place of the CBI students=)

That night, along with the pulled pork sandwiches, they also served up free ice cream which Logan and Jesse patiently waited for! Alana wasn't feeling well or she would have been in line as well, I'm sure.

The place was crowded with people but, thankfully, the kids all behaved very well and mostly stayed corralled in the corner with some Calvin and Hobbes books.
And here are is the work crew.... Except for the girl in glasses (who I do not know) they are all former CBI grads and now currently roommates as well as coworkers!

Their menu is full of lots of goodies!

And the special of the day is....

Of course everything is quite trendy,

Along with lots of buffalo

PS*- This post is a bit out of order as the birthday party took place on Sunday afternoon and the Blue Bison party was on Firday night.

A Cowgirls' Dream

2009-10-18T08:22:00.009-07:00

On Saturday at 9:30 am Monica and I pulled out of the driveway in our Expedition along with 5 other people. We were all headed about 3 hours away to the wedding of a friend, Lavonne Labrier. Not only is she a graduate of CBI, but she also went on a trip to Chile with us in November of 2007, where she outworked every guy in the group. What a treat it was to see this incredible young lady find the man of her dreams and enjoy a beautiful day becoming his bride.

The wedding was held in a valley where her family's ranch is located in central South Dakota. Every step of the way it was very obvious that this was a cowboy wedding. The parking attendants on horse back told us where to park and then the men in cowboy hats told us where to sit....
among the hay bales=)
The groomsmen and bridesmaids arrived at the wedding in the back of a horse drawn wagon. Once the family branding irons ("candles") had been lit by the mothers, and the wedding party was standing at the front the big moment arrived. We all looked around....searching for Lavonne. And then she appeared - at the top of a hill overlooking the place where the ceremony was beginning. She and her father rode along slowly, side by side, as all the rest of us 'oohed' and 'aawed'!
Among the wedding party was Lavonne's sister, Lashea, who was the maid of honor. Earlier this summer Monica spent a week at their house and was glad to see her good friend again. (In actuality Monica knew 5 times as many people at the wedding as I did and I hardly saw her all day - she went from one group of people to the next and was always welcomed with big smiles and hugs....guess she's related to her father=)
Taking their vows....
And when they were pronounced man and wife, Kelly took Lavonne's hand and kissed it, then he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, then he took off his hat and gave her their first kiss.
Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Kinsley~
Once the ceremony was over the bride and groom came and dismissed each row, personally greeting and thanking each person that came. After that it was time for their family pictures and the rest of the 350+ people took this opportunity to visit and enjoy the beautiful day. The day before, during their rehearsal, the temperature had hovered around freezing....but Saturday was in the 60's and sunny! PTL!

Here is the wagon that brought the wedding party in, at this time they started offering free hayrides to anyone that wanted to go!
After a couple hours everyone went over to the local gymnasium which had been turned into a reception hall. There was a musical group, I never found out the name, that played throughout most of the meal. They were definitely country and definitely talented!
Another 'cowboy touch' at this wedding was the boot pinata they had hanging in the corner for all the kids 8 and under - how fun!
As we were leaving we saw the vehicle that the bride and groom would be leaving in....full, FULL of balloons and saran wrapped all the way around!
We had a great time and enjoyed sharing this day with Lavonne....I'll close with this blurry picture of our group minus one, Grant, the only guy to brave 3 hours in a vehicle with all us girls=)
Holly, Monica, Rachel, Jenna, me, and Jodie - thanks guys, for the fun day and for keeping me awake on the road!

Birthday and more Birthdays!

2009-10-17T07:21:00.002-07:00

Last Monday was Alana's 5th birthday. We celebrated a little bit with her that day and then had the party on Thursday, which we combined with Jesse's as his 3rd birthday is next Tuesday. First thing Monday morning she opened her present from Grammie and Grampy which she'd been eyeing over since it arrived several days earlier. Then I made up a pan of brownies because Alana did not believe she could turn 5 without blowing out candles (on a side note after blowing out another set of candles at the party on Thursday night she thought she must have just turned 6).

Her favorite part was the butterflies on top, my favorite part was the chocolate=)

Monica wanted to give her the present she had for her as well, so she opened up a game of "Candyland" and then these 3 played a game together.....don't ask me, but I think Monica may be regretting her choice of gift=)

But the little two sure enjoy playing with their big sister.

Then on Thursday night we had the actual birthday party which was for both her and Jesse. And it all starts with the cake....

Logan was soooo excited about his choice of presents for his two siblings (while Mommy was a little scared). He got one pink and one orange mini leatherman for them....and one for himself=)
And Jenna scored big with her gift of a bead/watch making kit which Alana played with all the next day. The first one she made was one for Jenna - who when she received it promptly put it on and wore it proudly=) Talk about making a little girls day!

Speaking of Jenna....here she is with that weird guy she hangs out with.

And then came their present to Jesse - he loved his goggles and nail gun that makes noise (!)

Then we brought out his big present which was a new bicycle - he was pretty excited about that one as well=)

For a cake I couldn't think of one to do that would suit both girl and boy, so I made two of them. Here was Alana's ice cream cone....

And here's Jesse's....

We sang Happy Birthday to them both~

Here's Alana just before her hair caught fire...! No worries, it was in Daddy's hand and out in an instant=)

Jesse thought the whole cake was for him....literally all of it. He took a bite of one cupcake, then a bite of a second cupcake, then he set that aside and wanted a bit of the yellow cone part....!

And it all ends with the cake....

Happy Birthday, babies=)

Photo Shoot....ok, not really!

2009-10-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

These past 10 days have been splendid....having Kendrick here for a visit has been quite a highlight. When he joined the Marine Corps it shed a different light on the times that we are able to spend with him and the times we are able to be all together. So, as he flies back Cherry Point, NC, we'll surely miss him all over again but are grateful to have enjoyed these days.

Of course having Kendrick here meant having Jenna around more as well, and for that we are also grateful! She has become a good friend to all of us and we have truly enjoyed time with Jenna=)

On one of our walks with the kids down to the railroad I took some pictures of them....in hopes of getting a nice photograph of the lovely couple. Here are the results....

This guy is such an incredible goofball....lucky for him Jenna handled it all with a smile. What a pair!

Surprise #2

2009-10-14T08:48:00.003-07:00

Let me tell you a story....

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved dogs, when she was just little her dad bought her a little one for 100 pesos (25 cents), and thus began her love for all things 'puppy'. Years later, her wonderful mother (though not a dog person) let her get another dog which she loved for years and her heart was broken when he was gone. Her dream was to have a German Shepherd one day when she grew up. Well, one day she married a wonderful man who also loved dogs and he made her dream come true....she got a little German Shepherd puppy and named him George. She loved him for 8 years and cried her heart out when he was gone. And THEN....Her wonderful husband's heart softened and this past Monday morning he walked in the door, but he wasn't alone. In walked the biggest, softest, puppy that the little girl (now not so little) had ever had.... a Saint Bernard. And her heart fell in love all over again....
We've adopted Boomer, the dog of our friend Tiffany who recently married and moved out of state, unable to take the dog with her. He is a lovable, huggable, slobbering, playful, laid back, giant teddy bear. Such a good puppy....all 110 pounds of him=)

Thank you, Matthew!

Surprise #1

2009-10-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday morning a surprise of major proportions walked through the door! Kendrick took a 10 day leave and showed up here at our house surprising the kids=) It was a pretty fun moment. Since then we have all been enjoying having Uncle Kenny around and spending time with him as he has a bit of a break between his classes. He finished his time in Pensacola and is now headed to Cherry Point, NC, where he will be at least until the middle of March.

His next set of classes will begin Nov. 30th and he received his orders a couple weeks ago so he now knows his MOS (military occupational speciality) - 6312. His job for the next 4 years will be working on Harriers and his official title is Aircraft Communications/Navigation/Weapon Systems Technician, AV-8....does that sound cool or what! So, we are very glad to have Kendrick visit us, I just wish I had more pictures of all the fun that's taken place this past week=)

As soon as Kendrick walked in the door the kids swarmed him for the next several hours, not straying far from his side.The next morning Logan requested that Uncle Kendrick do his History with him, so that is what happened.Another fun outing we've had is a trip to the Watiki, an indoor water park in Rapid. As a gift to his nieces and nephews Uncle Kendrick treated the kids to a good, ol' time of swimming and sliding. Of course us grown ups had a pretty good time, too! But no pictures of that - my camera battery died after the second picture!!!! One of the fun things that took place at the same time is that Chad also was here for a quick visit. He came up for about 48 hours before he had to head back to his responsibilities in Holyoke, but at least we were able to see him for a bit.

And what I really wanted to post about was the 'Chubby Bunny' competition that took place one morning in our kitchen.....Kendrick won with 9, Zach a close second with 8 (!), Jenna fought her way up to 5, and Logan got 3. But, and I say this with MUCH frustration, after 4 attempts and hours of uploading, the video still will not post on the blog!!!!! You'll just have to trust me when I say you would have enjoyed it=)

On Saturday afternoon we decided to just go for a walk and once again we picked the railroad tracks. And, though it has never happened before, a train went by when we were down there! The kids thought that was pretty exciting=) Can you see it coming down the tracks?

We watched it coming....

And going.....Funny how even out in the great outdoors the kids still manage to climb all over Uncle Kendrick=)

Look at that big, strong Marine=)

Tim, one of Kendrick's friends who goes to our church, was also over that day and he became just another victim for out kids to climb on, play with, and throw rocks at (Sorry, Tim, I really think Jesse thought it was just a chunk of snow....maybe?)Although the pictures look bright and sunny it was quite cold outside, thus the jackets, scarves, unmatching gloves, hats, and earmuffs.

And of course I could resist just taking some plain, old pretty pictures!Well, that catches us up on most of the events up through last weekend and tomorrow, I hope to post about surprise #2!

Alana is FIVE!!!

2009-10-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

No, I did not forget that it's Alana's birthday. This post will have the date of October 12th on it but it's being written on the 13th. We had a small celebration at lunch with just a couple presents but we will have her actual birthday party on Thursday and combine it with one for Jesse as well. My kiddos are growing up!

But, since I went to bed at 1am last night (silly me thinking I could keep up with people like Jenna, Rachel, Jodie, Tim, and Kendrick....!) I did not have the time to sit down and write a cute little post about Alana like I wanted to.

Just the same, Alana Joy, we love you so very much. This past year you have grown in many ways - and we are glad to watch you begin the steps to becoming a young lady whose life is pleasing to her Saviour. Enjoy being five, sweet girl!

And I'll close with some pictures - the many faces of my little girl=)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALANA!!!!

Homeschool Activity - Llamas!

2009-10-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

In the middle of all that is going on this past week it has been hard to take the time to sit down and write on the blog - partly because I've been busy, but mostly because I don't want to miss out on anything else that may be going on=) There are two major things I want to write about but I don't have the pictures to go with it so we'll back up to last Wednesday and write about what happened that day....it was pretty cool, too!

Several years ago we met a lady by the name of Judy Cox. Matthew built an addition on the front of her house and we enjoyed getting to know her and staying in touch with her since then. She is an amazing lady! So when our home school group was invited to go to her house for the October activity we were quite excited. You see, Judy (among all the other cool things she's done) raises her own llamas, sheers them, and uses the 'fibers' to make amazing yarn and handmade articles. This was the process that we were invited to come and see!

As soon as everyone arrived Miss Judy explained to the kids what would be happening and some of the rules to obey on a llama farm. She even added to their experience by pointing out the outhouse that the kids were to use as needed=) Then we all walked over to the llama pens and the kids got to pet and feed them - one dozen llamas, 6 males and 6 females.

They were a bit shy at first....but warmed up pretty quick when they saw the treats that awaited them.

Jesse fed the llamas some but, in his typical Jesse fashion, he wandered around checking out all the sights and seeing what trouble he could get into!Also typical was the fact that the 'funnest' part of the activity for the oldest two was just getting to hang out and visit with their friends.It's hard to get a good picture of this rascal because if he sees the camera pointed at him he gives me some delightful goofy look!Monica on the other hand stops and smiles no matter what she's doing.....I think it's the difference between a boy and a girl=)

After seeing and feeding the llamas we went inside - all the kids and moms crowded into Miss Judy's big, beautiful, front room (that Matthew built! =) while she explained and talked the kids through the whole process from shearing to a finished product.

Now, unfortunately for myself and my readers, I don't remember the terminology or names of anything so I'll just make it up.....The first thing once the llamas were shorn (typically once a year although it takes 2 years for them to grow a full coat), was to run the fibers through this machine that spins it into a big connected bunch while cleaning some of the dirt out. Unlike sheep wool it is not pre-washed before this step.
Then she tears the big section into smaller strips and those pieces are what she will use to spin into yarn. She pedals away at this loom and slowly between her fingers the fibers twist and are pulled onto the loom and formed into yarn.

After the yarn is done she will either dye it or leave it it's natural color depending on what she plans to do with it. Below you will see the variety of colors she can get from her llamas, as well as the finished prize winning product once it has been dyed. She makes a big variety of different things, basically anything that you could make with sheep's wool you can also make from the llama yarn, and it is less itchy! Here is a rug she made which is a combination of angora, llama and sheep wool.

After she finished explaining the process out to the kids they were able to try some things out themselves as well as ask some questions. Miss Judy even had snacks and a drink ready for all the kids so we finished on a yummy note=)

After the morning activities at her place we all caravaned back into Buffalo Gap and filled our house with about 30 home schoolers and their picnic lunches. It made me grateful all over again for the spacious house that we have=) It was a fun day!

PS - In the next couple posts I'll share our surprises with you=)

Turkey Dinner, Anyone?

2009-10-06T07:56:00.009-07:00

Well, I have quite a story to share with you today! I should start by mentioning that, for quite some time now, Logan has been anxious to catch a turkey....yes, I said 'catch' a turkey. They are quite plentiful in Buffalo Gap during this time of year and often a flock, crowd, group, gaggle of whatever they are called, will walk by our house, sometimes even in the back yard. I'm not sure if you've noticed but they are getting quite plump and are big ugly things with beaks and long sharp claws on the end of their gangly legs. But, regardless of all that, each time they are close by Logan takes of out the door and chases them running and screaming. They take off, often flying for a little while, just to escape this mad maniac. And escape they always did.....that is until yesterday!!!!!

I saw a bunch of them in the back yard and told Logan - off he shot like a bullet from a gun. He cornered several of them as they got stuck in the fence or flew over it and just flat out panicked in a flurry of wings, beaks, and sharp, frantic feet. At this point Logan had second thoughts....they were a bit overwhelming and scary. But I hollered to him, "Here's your chance, Logan! What are you going to do?" So he went to the sandbox and pulled out a giant frisbee, walked up behind the last remaining, panicked turkey and pinned him to the fence! "I CAUGHT HIM!!! I CAUGHT A TURKEY!", he shouted victoriously! (over and over and over and over....)

Then Daddy helped him grab a hold of it and get it from a pinned position to a held position - Logan was still doing a victory dance!It was a glorious moment!Then, while Logan held his prize, those that were brave enough decided to pet him as he was surprisingly calm about it all once Logan had a hold of him.Unfortunately, even with Thanksgiving right around the corner, we only kept him long enough to document the momentous occasion with several pictures and then let him go. Logan wants me to be sure and share with you that he had a small sort of spike on his forehead, between his eyes. Not exactly the cutest of creatures but, boy oh boy, Logan was one excited 7-year old! He was lovingly named, Turk....=)

And then later on that day, although nothing else could quite match the same level of excitement that had been reached by the great and mighty hunter - Monica still managed to put her artistic talent to work and create a diversion.

And here we have Jesse the lion~

Alana the kitten ~

And Logan the cottonmouth snake ~

What an afternoon it was!
And for one final glimpse of the conquering turkey warrior ~

Thumbs up, Logan Drew!