Sleeping with the Lions

For Christmas Greg and I tried to think of things we could give the kids other than toys they didn't need. So we came up with an activity that each child could go and do with Greg. Andrew's big activity was "Sleeping With the Lions". This Zoo event seamed made just for Andrew - the hard part was waiting until April to do it.

On a Friday night Greg and Andrew loaded up all their sleeping gear and headed to the zoo. They got to watch some of the animals be fed, and they walked around at night with flash lights to see some of the nocturnal, animals like the binturong. They did a bunch of other things as well but since I wasn't there I will let Andrew narrate the pictures from their sleepover.
There was a baby wallaby. We got to see 'em hop and hop and hop.

We saw the binturong in the night and we got to see it for a long time. And we got to see it climb up a tree.

We made a box that had scents on it and it was butter and vanilla. And the lions smashed mine and it broke in half. The lady told us that the one female lion liked butter and so she smashed ours because it had butter on it.

I was at the lions cage and I got to sleep there. Daddy said they would make a lot of noise but they didn't.

I liked sleeping there because we got Gatorade and in the morning we got yummy breakfast.

We got to see a lion's skull and after that we got to go see stuff in the dark.

I loved it!

Happy Birthday Girls

April is birthday month at our house. Kate comes first on the 9th. Here is our big four year old with her stash.


She wanted a cake with a crown and a wand. Pretty easy - ignore the strange things that look like bugs - I was trying to be decorative.


Andrew was so excited to buy her a Tangled doll with his own money. What a sweet brother.


She is so excited to be four and is looking forward to Preschool in the fall. I love my little snuggle bug. She is all girl all the time and she makes me laugh with all her sass and drama.

On to birthday number two...

Natali shares her birthday with my Dad - so we had a party over in Ontario with all the local Dames.





Natali wanted to decorate her own cake using new skills learned at Activity Days. She did such a great job. I was seriously impressed; she'll pass me up in no time.


Here she is in her new outfit and accessories showing off her new American Girl outfit.

It is amazing to me that my little girl is nine. She is so helpful and conciencious; I don't know what I would do without her. The other morning Mack had a soccer game at 8:30am and Greg was gone. Natali did not want to go freeze at the game and the baby was still asleep so I let Natali stay home with the little girls. (I was only gone an hour, 3 miles away, with my cell phone). A mom at the game asked where my girls were; I'm sure when I told her she thought I was totally irresponsible. We talked a little and I realized that I really trust Natali's ability to handle responsibility and make good choices. When I came home Emily was dressed with her hair fixed. That was way beyond my expectations. Natali is amazing.

Birthday number three...

Emily is one! It has gone so fast. Here she is opening a hand me down toy from Andrew. That sweet boy again.


We were tired of cake so she got strawberry shortcake. I think all she ate was the whipped cream!



Our sweet red head has so much hair, we have to pull it back everyday or she can't see. She doesn't crawl - typical Easton girl - in fact she doesn't really move much at all. I am starting to see some small scooting action - but she still has some fine tuning to do before she'll be able to get around. She only weights 17 lbs. but we all love our little cutie.

Happy Birthday Girls!

Centennial Elementary Talent Show

Natali, Mack, and Andrew in their school talent show singing the ever popular song 50 Nifty United States.

Watch for the interaction between Natali and Andrew that justifies the camera shake from Greg laughing so hard.

Top five from 2010

Well my total books read took a drastic dive this year. I guess a newborn cut back on my reading time (basically I exercise way less and take quicker baths, my two primary methods to sneak in reading - call me crazy). My list was pretty slim, but there were still some great reads. So without further ado, here are my 5 favorite books from 2010 - in no particular order.

1. What the Dog Saw: If you haven't tried non-fiction this is a great starter. Malcolm Gladwell writes for 'The New Yorker' and this book is a compilation of some of his best articles. He is one of my favorite authors. I love the questions he asks and how he can turn everyday things like ketchup and birth control into fascinating stories. This book is great because you can read one chapter then not touch it again for months and jump right into the next chapter. Give it a try.

2. 1421; The Year China Discovered America: Fascinating, although not going to win any literary awards. This book is worth reading on the merit of the information alone. The evidence in support of China discovering America well before Columbus is overwhelming. It also made me wonder about other groups of people that may have made it to America that history in general doesn't acknowledge. A thought provoking read.

3. Undaunted Courage: An account of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Sounds droll, I know, but I loved it. Maybe it helped that I read it while we did so much driving this summer and I saw a lot of the territory they explored. Or maybe it has to do with all the animals in it...but I thoroughly enjoyed it and think about it often. I have even found it slipping into conversations with people. For example, when the food was plentiful the men ate 9 lbs. of meat each day, per person. Can you imagine. I want to throw up just thinking about it. And they were the first white men to see a coyote. Before they killed all the wolves coyotes didn't live in the east at all - fascinating.

4. The Lost City Z: This reads more like fiction as it weaves the story of Percy Fawcett, a legendary British explorer, with the the life of the author. Fawcett spent most of his life exploring the Amazon but became fixated with searching for a lost treasure city and eventually disappeared in the jungle. The author retraces Fawcett's path and carries the reader along with him.

5. Pride and Prejudice and Anne of the Island: Okay did I mention my numbers were down...I have read both of these books too many times. Every now and again I just need a little thrill that only fiction can give - but if I jump into a new book I neglect my family - so instead I pick up an old favorite and just reread it. There is no pressure to find out what happens, because lets be honest, I could tell the story of Elisabeth and Darcy backward...I digress. The reason these two make my list is because reading them makes me happy. I can't help but smile when I'm done - so there it is. Non fiction makes me think, helps me feel more educated, and doesn't carry me away to neglect my duties - but fiction makes me smile and there is real value in that.

There are my top 5 - give one a try.

It started with Tic Tacs

I have memories of eating orange Tic Tacs at church. Candy given to me by some couple sitting behind our family. I don't know who they were but I find it ironic that now my children will have their own memories about Tic Tacs at church. But I don't want them to forget who was passing out the candy...

A couple years ago I was the choir director and we practiced in the chapel before church began. While we practiced I expected the kids to sit quietly till we were done; not a very realistic expectation. The kids were pretty good, but Brother Stickle saw my need and started luring the kids to sit with him. He feed them Tic Tacs and entertained them till choir was over. Then one Sunday he handed me a whole container of Tic Tacs. He wasn't going to be at church for a while because he was undergoing chemo treatments and he wanted the kids to still get their candy.

This was the beginning of a special friendship. They kids wrote him thank you notes and get well cards. He and his wife sent the kids thank you notes for the thank you notes and included a dollar for each kid. Well at my house that gave this couple movie star status.

Since then we have visited him in the hospital and in his home. I sang at a surprise party he threw for his wife. They brought little Emily a baby gift and the kids a huge tub of Red Vines. They have told us about their mission to Turkey, and coaching High School sports in McCall and Fruitland years before my Grandpa came to the area. The last year has been full of little ways we have made each others life's richer.

Before Christmas came we went to visit one evening and learned that he was done fighting cancer -he was stopping the chemo. We decided that night to do the 12 days of Christmas for them. The kids and I made crafts- poinsettias made from their hands, Santa suckers, tree ornaments, snowflakes, chocolate dipped pretzels, luminaries, all sorts of stuff. Then Greg used his underutilized writing skills to make little notes about the significance of each gift. The kids had such fun being sneaky and dropping off all the gifts. Then on our last night before we left for Mesquite we went caroling and dropped of the remaining gifts. He was so weak. They were so touched by the gifts and I was so struck by how much I love this man who I really don't know that well. By the end, all the adults were in tears. The kids remained remarkable oblivious.

I think about he and his wife often. We have visited numerous times so the kids sing songs and talk a lot of nonsense. I am so grateful for each visit we get to spend with him. I'm so glad that we were able to get to know he and his wife and to make them a part of our lives. I don't often reach out to others; I feel too absorbed in my own family. This experience has reminded me that my life is made fuller and happier when I let others be a part of it.

Emmy Girl

I realized the other day that we hadn't taken pictures of Emily for a long time- so I tried a few. She would smile great till I put my face behind the camera. Next time I need an assistant.





It's hard to believe but our little babe is 9 months old. She brings all of us so much joy. Nobody can get enough of her and, our little red-head defiantly doesn't lack attention. In fact she can hardly handle being alone.





When we go out she steels the show. People stop to talk with her, ask about her, or just tell me she is beautiful. I can't disagree. I forget how much attention babies can draw.





Greg thinks she is perfect and tells everyone she is the best baby ever. I tell him he only thinks she is so great because he never has to put her down to deal with everyone else. She likes to know someone is always close by - and Greg doesn't mind being that person.





She has 4 teeth, sits like a pro, and shows no interest in crawling - nothing new for an Easton girl. We love our little Emmy.

Christmas in Nevada

We had a wonderful Christmas break in Mesquite with Greg's family. The kids were great on the drive and it was so nice to spend the time with Greg's Mom and Randy. Of course I hardly took any pictures but here are a few of the highlights.

Christmas Eve we drove to Valley of Fire and spent the day with Greg's brother and his family. Kate and Ari hadn't see each other in over a year, but they hit it off instantly.


The kids climbed and climbed all over. In fact Christmas day after opening all the presents Andrew asked where he could go to climb. They loved it. We had to drag them off the cliffs to do the Nativity.








Pretty cute wisemen.






Angels (closest thing to princesses)





Joseph, Mary and a very fidgety Jesus.





The whole cast.

The best part about this whole day was no one counted presents or begged to open one early. They never even talked about presents - they were having so much fun. I wish we could do this every year. To bad it is too cold to do an outdoor nativity in Idaho.

We also got lucky enough to see two Dessert Sheep.


Here are the only pictures taken Christmas day - thanks Greg for trying to record some picture memories.











Andrew's cougar (not a great pic-I know)

Natali's one request on the trip was to ride a horse. Papa took care of that.









Thanks again Papa.

We had such a great trip - wish we were going back soon.