Brittny's Baby Shower

I have ALWAYS wanted to throw a baby shower and never had the opportunity...until I found out Brittny was expecting!  I begged and begged for her to let me and she was generous enough to cave and let me do it...thanks Britt!!!

Since her and Brad were not finding out what they were having, I had a challenge ahead of me....so, I recruited my wonderfully talented mother as back-up :)  We decided on just a general "baby" theme and we had SO much fun!!  We even took a girls trip to Spokane to shop for supplies.  Thanks Britt for giving us a reason to do this because it was the very first time we had ever done anything with just the two of us and it was awesome!

We had quite the extravagant event planned in Mom's back yard...that is, until it decided to downpour on us.  Unfotunately, we had to move it into the garage but...it still was a ton of fun.  Celebrating with Britt's wonderful family and all our great friends, we enjoyed fabulous food and great hilarity.  I did manage to sneak a few pictures though before the rain hit so here you go.

Also, as a little "PLUG", my Mother and I absolutely LOVE planning parties so if anyone is ever in need, please give us a call and we'll work something out.  As well, my mom is trying to get into doing Candy Buffets for all types of events.  Look her up if you're ever in the need.  Okay, enough with the shameless plug, here's some pics...I would have added more but for some reason, I can't find all of them...

Here is the invitation which I made using Paint program (hadn't yet gotten Photoshop)

The centerpieces on the tables.

These doubled as gifts for the Mom-to-Be and when looked at from the walkway into the party, the word "BABY" was written out. 

Brittny & the Cake

Cake was made by Cakes by Marcella

This lady is AWESOME!!  I sent her a picture and she created this masterpiece!  Just look at the detail work below...

All buttons & clothes were handmade out of fondant!  I recommend this lady to anyone who loves fondant work...and, it tasted better than any fondant I have ever had.  She said it's because she uses the same kind that Duff from Ace of Cakes uses!  Seriously amazing!!! 

Mom's Candy Buffet

Ooooh Yum!

These Whirly Pops were awesome!

Seriously speaking everyone...this shower was a ton of work and took two months to plan but let me tell you, despite the work and the rain, it was so worth it.  My whole goal was to make Brittny feel like a Queen.  We are so incredibly blessed to have her as part of our family and I would do this 100 times over just to see the smile on her face.  She is so beautiful and I am so thankful to call her my sister-in-law!

And, for those who are wondering...it was a Girl!  I'll post more on that later :)

Hot Sunny Days & Cool Summer Treats

With summer coming to a close, I thought I would post some pictures of our fun-in-the-sun times. Jordyn & Jeylin with our neighbor kids, Nate, Maddie & Kristen

All 5 of these kids spent the night outside that night and had an absolute blast

Kristen Ketola, Maddie Hoffman & Jordyn

(Best Friends for Life)


Jeylin in action on the Slip-n-Slide

Maddie cruisin on into the pool

Kristen slides in safely

Jordyn army-crawling rather than sliding under the spray

And the winner is....

It's a TIE!!!!

Ooooh yummy, my 1st Ice Cream cone!!

"I wonder if I would make less mess if I used my fingers?"

Ice Cream Cones at NaNa's house

Lounging in the pool

Yep, he's soooo cool!

Happy Anniversary To Me

Okay so I know it's a little corny and yes, two days late but, I have officially had a blog for one year!!!

Such a wonderful way to keep in touch with everyone and what better way to remember an anniversary than to have it celebrated over the Fourth of July, aka. Border Days in Grangeville.

We are up here celebrating our annual trip to the festivities and I will post many pictures and great stories when I come home for the short 3 1/2 days before we leave again for a camping trip.

Hope you all have a wonderful Fourth of July...Happy Birthday America!!

Hoopfest & Horses

This past weekend, Brad and I ventured to Spokane so he could play in
Hoopfest...this meant, a weekend WITHOUT the kids!!! How fabulous! But that also
meant joining in the madness of over 200,000 people cramming the streets of
Spokane for basketball. It was great!! There were 6,600 teams alone which
translates to 24,000 people just to play basketball...it was a record turnout!

Thursday, my mom took the kids to Grangeville with her and I had the rest of the
night and all of Friday (after work) to get packed up and ready to go. Brad
ended up getting off work early on Friday so we busted butt to leave early but
as fate would have it, we actually ended up leaving at about the same time as
originally expected. We met up with our friends Shane and Angie who were going
with us at Taco Johns for dinner before we left. When we were finishing up and
getting ready to leave, Shane received a phone call that his mom had broke her
arm. His parents were packing for a week long camping trip and she had fell down
the stairs in their house and broke her Humerus. So, after a quick stop at the
hospital to check on her, we were finally on our way at 7:45 pm.

We reached our destination, Ben & Kim Burt's house in Liberty Lake at 10:00. Ben was playing on the team and was gracious enough to allow all six of us stay at his apartment. It was a beautiful apartment and even better, Kim cooked on Saturday night!!! She was a great hostess and we really are incredibly grateful. We also liked the free parking pass that Ben had. All 8 of us loaded up in the mini van and parked for free....wonderful perk!! After about 2 hours of talking, unpacking and settling down, we all headed to bed. The boys played at 8:00 am and since we were 30 minutes from downtown Spokane, we needed to leave by 7:00 am and that meant, with only one bathroom and 8 people, we needed to wake up early.

The boys were ready to play Saturday morning but unfortunately, they lost that game. After that, we watched a couple of other people play since we didn't play again until 2:30 that afternoon. We watched our friend Tyler's team play as well as my cousin Brandon. My other cousin Brock was playing but we just missed his game since we decided to eat lunch at the good ol' Olive Garden.

The boys won their next game which was not the greatest game since the other team were a bunch of whiners. They tried to pull a bunch of fast ones but the Court Marshal made some good executive decisions and Shane scored the winning point with a great foul shot. After that, they had one more game at 5:00 that night. They also won this game because Shane was ON FIRE!!! I'm not sure how many 2 pointers (the equivalent of 3 pointers in normal basketball) he made but let's just say that they made it to 20 points in a matter of 18 minutes when the games have a 30 minute time limit. It was the best game they played and it was AWESOME!!

Sunday morning, they played again at 8:00. This game, we'd rather not talk about but oh well, I will anyway. Everyone was tired but the boys came to play. They did a good job but unfortunately, the other team bested them. This other team was truly a disgrace to Hoopfest. I'm not saying that just because they beat our team but truly because they were ridiculous. At one point, one of their players "chested up" to Bradley stating, "I've taken bigger men than you before!" It was absolutely retarded. When that happened, all of us girls were starting to walk onto the court as well as another team that was waiting to play the following game. No one could believe that this guy was being a jerk. At the end of the game, two Court Marshals became involved and said that for the next game that team played they would probably have the city police surround the court just to keep the peace. Really people, for Hoopfest??? That is stupid! Just kick the stupid team or at least that idiot out and let the rest of us play and have fun. Okay, enough of that, I'm done.

So anyway, the boys went 2 for 4. Not bad because at least they got to play both days. It was a fun weekend and we really enjoyed it. Not sure if we're going to go back next year but who knows.

Sam setting up the play

Brad taking the shot

And another one

Shane taking it to the hoop

Ben putting it up

I love Ben's face in this picture. It just says, "Dude Brad, I think that's a foul...yep, it's definitely a foul!"

Our friend Tyler making the jumper

While we were in Spokane, the kids had a blast at Nana & Papa's house. They went fishing on Saturday (which they kept the rewards for us to bring home) and they also had a great time riding their four-wheeler and Jordyn rode her pony Chico for the first time outside of the corral. The four wheeler was a Christmas present for the kids and they are now getting the hang of riding it. The pony was a birthday present for Jordyn. She loves him and talks about him every day. We wish that we were able to keep him closer to us so that she could take care of him and ride him more often but renting pasture is expensive so he stays on the farm. Chico is such a great pony and he LOVES Jordyn. He knows when she is on his back that she is inexperienced and he takes his time and listens very intently to what she wants him to do. It is so wonderful our kids have these experiences

My New Favorite Song

I've always loved this song but this version probably tops all of those I have heard before. Hope you all enjoy...

HEAVEN

**Sorry, couldn't figure out how to get the video on here so you'll have to use the link and wait through the "commercial".

Photo Updates

Jordyn & Jeylin Soccer 2009

Jordyn & Jeylin Softball/T-ball 2009

Jeylin's 5th & Grandma Margie's 85th Birthday

Asotin County Fair 2009

Cake I Made for the "Birthday Party" Auction Item

JUST KIERRA!!

Updates

Okay, so I was going to go back and update each month however, time has gotten away from me yet again. Therefore, I will be wrapping everything up in one long package!!


January: January found me working 7 days a week. I did this for 7 weeks in a row! It was incredibly exhausting but the pay was good. I have since gone back to my 5 day a week schedule although, I think I burnt myself out and now just wish I could go back to being a stay-at-home mommy.


February: As stated below, February was a very busy month. We celebrated Valentine's Day although honestly, I can't remember what we did for it. All throughout the month, Jordyn continued to practice for her role in Father Tom's adaptation of Sleeping Beauty. There were four productions this year which ran from the 19th to the 22nd. At the end of the month, we celebrated Jeylin's 5th birthday with a big bash at McDonald's for all his school friends and then a family get-together afterwards at our house.


March: Soccer practices started this month. Four practices a week and two games every Saturday until May! I got lucky because they did practice one night at almost the same time at the same place...you know, the whole "two birds with one stone" idea. We also had dentist appointments this month. Following along with the "birds", all three kids were seen on the same day! I was a little nervous because this was the first time any of them had seen a dentist. I was really lax about it because my mom, a dental assistant, always looked at their teeth. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about! They had great teeth with no problems to report!!! It's a good thing they love to brush their teeth! Last year at our annual Holy Family Auction, Father Tom, my friend Anne Ketola, and myself auctioned off two birthday parties for kids. These were geared towards younger kids with around 8 guests and all the fixings. Last year, we brought in $250/each for a total of $500 for the school! We had the first party set for March 21st. It was for a little girl in Jeylin's class. All three of us helped with the decorations, Anne made the food and I decorated the cake...I'll post pictures later too. It turned out fantastic!! That same day, was my Grandmother's 85th birthday! We had a large family party at Roosters Landing. It was a busy, busy day but tons of fun! Spring Break started March 28th and we lucked out because Bradley was able to take the entire week off with the kids.

April: On April 1st, I started my personal training sessions at Gold's Gym. This lady is awesome! She has really been incredibly professional, unlike the last so-called trainer I had. I have really enjoyed spending time with her and getting back in the gym. April 3rd, Brad and I headed out to Spokane for an adults weekend away! We needed a break and it was AWESOME! For Easter, we split the day with our two families. We went to church in the morning all decked out in our Easter dresses and suits. After church we headed to my Aunt Marie's house for dinner. It was fabulous. Afterwards, Brad and I headed to his parent's house for even more dinner. Brad's brother Sam and his wife Amy were down visiting and it was nice to see them as well. April 18th was the second installment of our Birthday auction. This was a little more challenging because it was for a 13 year old. We went with a Garden Tea Party theme and I must say, it turned out beautifully!

So there, all the updates for the past few months. May will have it's own post since there is already so much to write. Thanks to everyone for being so patient and I hope you all are still reading this.

Long Overdue

After many requests for an update, I've finally got the time to comply. It has been three weeks since my last post and let me tell you, those three weeks have been a whirlwind of activities! I will add posts later about each activity but wanted to let you all know that I haven't forgotten about you or the fact that I need to update this thing. Full-time work, three kids, two soccer players, dentist appointments, birthday parties, and more. Look for more frequent updates as well as a few pictures over the next couple weeks.

Hope you are all healthy and happy and I'm sure we will all talk soon!!!

Picture Tag

I was tagged by both Alaina and Becky. This version of tag is called "Photo" Tagging! The RULES are to go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures. Go to the 6th Folder, then pick the 6th picture in that folder. Post that picture on your blog and the story that goes along with the picture. Tag 6 other people that you know to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog or an e-mail letting them know you chose them.

I just recently cleaned the pictures off my computer so I only have the pictures that have already been posted on my blog still available but I'll try to come up with a new and interesting story for it...

Here is Jeylin in all his wonderful glory up on top of the straw-fort at the pumpkin patch at Wilson-Banner Ranch this past October. We take the kids every year to get their pumpkins, apple cider and of course, play around. This year it was a beautiful day and we were able to get some really great pictures. I have decided to tag the following six people...

~Anne~

~Laura~

~Chrissy~

~Taffee~

~Natalie~

~Amy~

Please help sponsor Jarrod...

A friend of mine put this on her blog about her husband Jarrod. I am passing this along to all of you so we can get the word out for his efforts. I will be donating on payday, I hope the rest of you can help as well.

Support Oregon Special Olympics!

Jarrod recently became a member of a fund raising committee for the Special Olympics Oregon. Prior to this, he was already involved in going to the events and handing out the medals to the athletes (in his military fatigues since its more exciting for a soldier to hand out the prizes!). On February 21st of this year, Jarrod will be taking part in the Portland Polar Plunge. This means that he will be jumping into the FREEZING Columbia River in an effort to raise more money for the cause. Unfortunately, the current economy situation affects non-profit organizations more than you might think. Fundraisers, such as this one, are vital for the athletes continuing success. If you are interested in supporting the Special Olympics athletes of Oregon, please make a donation by visiting Jarrod's Firstgiving page:

http://www.firstgiving.com/jarrodjohnson

You can donate online with a credit card. All donations are secure and sent directly to Special Olympics Oregon by Firstgiving, who will email you a printable record of your donation. Any donation will help and is greatly appreciated.

Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Sale

Hello everyone! It's that time of year for us...you know, the never-ending fundraisers!! We started our Cookie Dough Sale today and order forms and money are due November 4th. This fundraiser is going towards Holy Family School's general fund which helps pay teacher salaries, buy supplies and help with other bills the school has.

We are offering the "Original" gourmet cookie dough and other outstanding delectables from Otis Spunkmeyer and Red Apple fundraising families. The Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough comes pre-formed for your convenience and packaged in a resealable tub. All Otis Spunkmeyer products may be kept frozen for up to 12 months.

The ease of preparation makes these perfect for afternoon snacks, holidays and just when you need a little bit of comfort. There are 12 irresistible flavors to choose from and each tub makes about 36 delicious cookies however, I have known people to cut them in half and therefore make 72. We are also offering thaw and serve brownies and gourmet pretzels. Each tub is $15.00.

CHOCOLATE CHIP

Loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips

PEANUT BUTTER

Creamy smooth peanut butter for a moist, chewy cookie

WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT

Macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips

CARNIVAL

Our signature chocolate chip cookie with milk chocolate candy coated pieces

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

A unique blend of strawberries, cranberries and white confectionery chips

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHUNK

Milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chunks and white chocolate chips

BUTTER SUGAR

Sweet creamy butter makes this a classic

CRANBERRY OATMEAL

Plump, juicy cranberry bits with chewy oatmeal, sweetened with brown sugar and cinnamon

WHOLE GRAIN CHOCOLATE CHIP

Less than 30% calories from fat, less than 10% calories from saturated fat & less than 30% sugar

OATMEAL RAISIN

Bursting with plump juicy raisins

NEW CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP

A chewy chocolate cookie mixed with mounds of white and semi-sweet chocolate chunks

NEW CHOCOLATE & PINK

Chocolate cookie loaded with pink candy-coated chocolate pieces.

Purchases of this cookie help to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.

ORIGINAL BROWNIE

These fudgy, dense chocolate brownies are topped with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Specialty chips are melted throughout the batter to create an extra-moist brownie. Comes frozen, just thaw and serve!

GOURMET PRETZELS

Comes frozen with salt and cinnamon packets. Just bake & serve. Makes 12!

You may purchase any of these items through me by sending me a message or giving me a call. All money must be submitted to be so that I may have it it to the school no later than November 4th. If you are interested in purchasing on-line, that is also available. To order online, follow these simple directions in order to credit Holy Family with your purchase...

ON-LINE SHOPPING

Please click Here to purchase items that contribute to our fund raising efforts.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP!