Bright Happenings

Let it Snow

2012-01-23T10:41:00.005-05:00

Here's our new home- Will has loved helping Sam and I shovel the drive way...ellie not so much. She sits in the car or the step in the garage and watches and giggles a little. If it's just a bit windy she complains...wow what a girl:)

Yep the columbia basin got some snow last week- the first "snow day" was on Friday. Here we are on Saturday at the Sand Dunes. They are Great...but messy! Only a five minute drive from our house, the town turns into a sand playground..and for this day, it was a sledding playground. Trucks, atvs, snow-mobiles, tubes, sleds...you name it..they were all over these dunes.

Ellie took a nap in the car while all the fun was happening! I checked on her...;)

So what do you do when it snows...after the kids are finished playing in it and have some hot cocoa?...

Well....

Play piano...

Play with your birds....

Make a "Target" store for mommy to shop at...oh and a bank of course to get money.

Go to Soccer Tots!

Play dress-up....

you name it, we'll try it. Send your snowy day ideas!

Christmas Time

2012-01-16T16:05:00.005-05:00

I was trying to make a cool collage with my new Photoshop Elements program-- I can make the collage but it's not the right kind of file blogger can download- if you know how to do it let me know! I'm excited to learn more about the program and start some digital scrapbook pages for Ellie and Will's "baby/birthday" books.

We had a great Christmas with the Bright Parents! I feel bad that they came out to moses lake because it was a White Christmas in Coeur d'Alene- by the time we went to cda for new years all the snow was gone! We've only had a couple inches of snow so far- so I'm hoping for a bit more ....but no more after February please:).

Christmas Coal Freight Cars- Christmas Eve Gift!
Grandma's Rolls!

Craft Time- December- A friend of mine got a group together to purchase a pack of Christmas Crafts for cheap. We gave a few to our cousins, and had 7 or so more- so about twice a week we did a fun craft to get in the Christmas spirit. We now have a traditional craft time in our schedule!

Lowes- Build a Train Engine!- Next year we'll do the Caboose.

Gingerbread houses:)

Christmas Eve Dinner- Yummmmy Ham, I didn't think anything could be better than Honey Baked Hams (A West Tradition)...but this nice one from walmart did the trick.

Belle Doll and Belle Dress:) I gave ellie my old American Doll Bed- she loves it- tucks her babies and dolls in all the time. Papa and GG- Here's Will's expression when he found out about your gift:)

Running around after church. It was neat going to church on Christmas day- it was at 1pm, so we were ready to get out..and we went early and sang lots of hymns.

Hope you and your family had a beautiful Christmas!

We were given too much again- but felt very loved but close friends and family. Love you all!

Preschool- "M"

2012-01-05T17:52:00.004-05:00

Carrie, the mom that taught preschool yesterday, took these pics- the kids talked about a lot of M things....like "Me," very cute.

We had a great holiday- spent with Sam's fam. Pics to come.

We've been a little sick- well, Sam was, then ellie and Will- some flu, some cold/coughs. I'm a little concerned about ellie's cough....it's not going away- Whouping Cough? Yikes. It wakes her up a lot at night, so it's been good that I didn't get sick so I can pop up and help her.

It's a BOY- found out the week of Christmas- due May 3rd.

Will's highlight today- first day of soccer tots! He did one session last year at this time, so I signed him up again. He LOVES it... run run run! So good for my little boy. He was so excited that he yelled outside before we left through a funnel- "Everyone! It's soccer time. Go change your shirts to a soccer shirt and get your fast shoes- soccer time, soccer time, soccer time." That's funny; I remember when I yelled out to my neighbors like that once before-- some mornings I'd do it just for fun on our way to seminary....I knew everyone was sleeping....and I was a little jealous of it at 5:45am.

Sam changed jobs in his company this week-- from a process engineer (mostly paper work- the guy who makes the plan for a job) to a production engineer ( the guy who finds the problems that need a job, and after the process eng does his work, this guy actually gets the job done). (Was that a good definition sam??) Last night was the first time he has ever had to go back to work at 7pm for a meeting- ahh! Actually it wasn't too bad.

2011 Bright Fam Pics

2011-12-28T00:30:00.004-05:00

Wish we could have included more family pics in the Christmas cards that made it to a few of you- these kids can get super silly, and super impatient with pictures:)

Here you have it- Sam, Jenny, Will (4) and Ellie (2 1/2), and baby boy in the belly (21 weeks)

Pictures courtesy of steve & gloria portraits at bee park (right?) in oakville, mo.

Happy 30 Sam!!

2011-12-15T23:17:00.003-05:00

We surprised Sam with a cookie cake and unlimited (well almost) toppings for ice cream the night before his birthday with a couple friends. Oh and here's a couple pics of our new house too! (The kitchen)
30! Will still hates the flash:)

I love this guy. The highlight of my day is when he comes home.

Why? Because the kids attack him and I can sit down for a second...haha

I love you Samalama.

Dinner at SUPER CHINA BUFFET! (you have to say it loud with a chinese accent) I did not want to go, but it's Sam's birthday, and he gets what he wants! Plus, it was our first time. It turns out it was a great night- the kids got just what they wanted, and so did Sam and I.

One of Sam's gifts! Kindle Touch from Sam's parents- woo hoo!

Sam can read any book, but no games so the kids can't steal it from Sam.

Weekend in Moscow and Lewiston, Idaho

2011-12-15T22:16:00.006-05:00

The meaning for the weekend! Uncle Ben's Graduation from Grad School @ U of I! It was Will's first tour of a college campus. Who knows, this might be his future university...it does run in the family:

Grandpa Warren Watts- Grad (My mom's dad, Mom was born in Moscow)

Pam and Matt Bright Grads- (Sam was also born in Moscow)

Rachel and Elisa Bright are considering getting their masters there.

Sam wishes his MBA program was from there.

That night we visited Locomative Park in Lewiston with "Great" Granmama Mary. Ellie was starting to feel a little sick...We've decided she doesn't really like to travel; three different times she threw up three minutes before we arrive at our destination (seattle, temple, moscow). I was more prepared this time....sorry tmi.
Although, ellie did perk up at the dancing penguins. In the far back middle is granmama Mary looking at Will in a penguin...see Will's little head?

daddy and ellie in a lit igloo!

Then we stayed the night with "great" grandpa and grandma watts- Will's favorite part was playing with little Lucy, their new dog as of last year I believe.

On Sunday, we had a yummy breakfast at the Watts, visited with granmama Mary, and then enjoyed church with the Watts- grandpa surprised us- he gave a talk! I'm really grateful for my five grandparents...pretty lucky that I have them, and now get to visit with them more. My kids now know the Watts grandparents as the "Lucy" grandparents, and granmama Mary as the "long road trip" grandma (from going to Kanab).

giving thanks

2011-12-15T22:02:00.005-05:00

Every year I become more grateful- for our kids, for sam, for family, friends, food, our homes... This year I was grateful for laughter-- we had a lot of it on short story night at the Brights. Everyone was required to write a short story and share it. Some were publishable (Elisa), some were a little risque (Pam), some were serious, teary and thoughtful (Sam), some were stollen ideas, but hilarious (Jenny), some were completely out of this world sci-fy and funny (Ben). I believe Sam and Jenny's short stories may be the next post....stay tuned.

turkey time! Ben and Will planned their outfits that morning:)

Dinner time! At our Thanksgiving, starting on the left,
Sam, Ben, Rachel, Grandpa Matt, Grandma Pam, Holly, Elisa, Chris, Will, Me, Ellie

Bowling Night-- who won?? Ben by ONE POINT to Sam.

Their first time trying the ramp- very fun.

Leavenworth, First Snow, 5K

2011-12-03T03:01:00.004-05:00

It's been a couple weeks- we've been packing all this week for our big move tomorrow morning. It's amazing how much packing we get done when the kids are asleep and Sam is here....My average packing during the day was about 3 boxes, haha.

Here are some highlights from the last three weeks!

Leavenworth with Grandpa and Grandma Bright! It's a cute Bavarian town about 1 1/2 hrs from Moses Lake...tucked into the peaks of Wenatchee...tons of shopping.

Sam and I ran a 5k Turkey Trot! We ended together; pretty cold, but tons of fun....Will took this picture:) Shoes are very important...haha. We got togehter with some of my friends from the gym afterwards for hot cocoa and cinnamon rolls...yum.

Our First little Snow in Moses Lake! The kids and I went out this day a couple weeks ago and made a tiny snow man and put together a sled full of snow balls to hit sam with when he got home from work. They loved the snow! Not quite enough to sled, but enough to pull them around.

Taken right by our townhouse- this was a nice place!

little, big and even bigGER updates

2011-11-11T00:33:00.008-05:00

So here's just some updates on the kids....

1. Will has always been a great sleeper...but lately with the cold weather he will wake up in the middle of the night and just say mommmmmy moooooMMMMMy MOMMMMMMY!! And I go in, tuck him in, and he's fine. (a simple solution to this problem might be to bump the air up a little at night...). So he did this every other night for a couple weeks, and just a couple nights ago instead of "mommy!" he specifically said, Mommmmy, come tucn me in please!! It was so funny, and so random. Why would anyone take the energy to say that at 3am when they can pull the covers up themself? I guess mommy just has a nice tuck in technique.

Will still loves preschool. He really loves it when we teach-- he becomes my little helper and hands out all the crafts, numbers, letters, etc.

Will has officially stopped taking naps-- whew- it was pretty tough the first couple weeks for me not to have the computer to myself, or just have some me time, but now we are getting used to it and having some fun Mommy and Will time. Like, yesterday, Will got to do a big boy craft with things I wouldn't get out for Ellie, and ride his bike without ellie getting in the way. And today, right after ellie fell asleep, we went over to franks market (it's just across the street! I promise, I can even see ellie's window! ) and bought a mommy and will treat just for our special time. He's growing into a tall boy-- he really like to write new letters, and today he even had fun trying to read a few words on his own.

2. Ellie is still coming into our room at night. For the most part she lands on a already prepared blanket bed for her by my bedside...but this is really starting to get on my nerves because she makes so many noises at night sometimes. We keep saying, once Will and Ellie are in their own rooms things will change....:)

Other cute things-- she goes crazy at night when daddy gets home...running all around. She is really hiting the two year age of not wanting to get dressed at times, not eating her dinner, etc. But wow do we still love this girl.

3. Sam is pumping out the MBA. He is 1/4 of the way through with almost a 4.0. He works a little almost every night during the week. REC is still a great job. Today Sam graduated from Warrior Training; you can call him about that.

3. We are buying a house as I type! We should close on Nov 30th. Wish us luck in the process!

4. I am Pregnant! Due end of April/ Early May! The difference with this little one growing has been a little more nausea (but now I am really past that, whoo hoo), a little more weight gain than usual, and a lot more fun because of Will and Ellie. They love talking about the baby--- even more ellie, she and I are both pregnant right now. If you were to ask me how the baby was, she would pull up her shirt and show you her "belly baby" too. I have to say, proportionally speaking, ellies baby is bigger than mine right now at 13 weeks:).

Halloween!

2011-11-03T19:30:00.001-04:00

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We were in St.Louis for Halloween weekend, with a quick date to Nauvoo for Sam and I. The kids behaved so much better for papa and gg, than for us, they even went to bed easier….figures! They hit up the world series-on tv-, ekerts farm (horse ride, tractor ride, pumpkin patch…), a ward party and lots of playground time all in 30 hours. Sam and I loved Nauvoo- I went a few times in my youth, but it was Sam’s first time. The Nauvoo temple is beautiful- they built it to look close to the old Nauvoo temple. We had fun walking around Nauvoo learning lots about Mormon History. Halloween brought us lots of candy and lots of ARRRS! Hope you had fun too!

GO CARDS!

2011-10-20T17:49:00.002-04:00

Reasons why the CARDS are BETTER than the RANGERS

and why JENNY is a BLEED RED FAN for the CARDS:

-I grew up here- MY WHOLE LIFE (minus six months) (sam was only in texas for like, what? six years?)

-Two of the Cardinal players are from my high school- go LAFAYETTE

- I grew up going to TONS of CARD Games. Free tickets for good grades, amazing seats as gifts through my dad's connections, a few random friend dates

- I sang the national anthem with my middle school choir at one of the games (my choir teacher had a serious crush on Mark Mcgwire, hilarious..she completely blushed when she met him!)

top reason:

-SAM BRIGHT married ME here in ST.LOUIS, and right after our honeymoon we went to a GAME..talk about romance at the good ol' Busch stadium (take a look at the pic, we are inseparable:))

...so I don't know the players like Sam does, I don't know the stats like Sam does, but you better believe it, St.Louie is my hometown, my color is RED and the CARDS WILL WIN THE WORLD SERIES. One down three more to go...take that rangy rangerooooooos!

Kanab

2011-10-20T17:31:00.004-04:00

Got a couple days with my nephews a couple weeks ago.

The only one not here with the cousin clan is the newest- little jared (now three months).

Will, David, Ellie, Steven

(if you ask Steven his name he says, Steven Wattsy West!) so cute.

We visited with Justin on the way down and back up from Kanab! First at his job, and second at his home and our hotel. These kids can't get enough of Uncle Justin!

Peg gave the moms a break! She went non-stop with these kiddos. James and Keri have an AWESOME backyard. Way to go on the grass bro.

This was the night before NO SLEEP. Poor granmama and peg and everyone:) Ellie cried every half hour..I think she was just overly exhausted from the trip...at 3am she went to our bags and tried to pull them to the door..saying lets go home now! haha, good thing it was the last night on the road.

quick visit with dawn and craig! my cousins (on my dads side)

The kids LOVED all the hotels and pools. This was a big treat, thanks to granmama and peg. Every morning they were ready to go to the continental breakfast and then off to the pool, sometimes two times a day. So fun.

GO RANGERS!!!

2011-10-19T17:18:00.001-04:00

The Bright home is divided this week as the St. Louis Cardinal and the Texas Rangers are set to square off in Game 1 of the World Series. Will decided that he is rooting for the Cardinals because Papa and GG gave him a Cardinals shirt and hat for his birthday. He told me he can cheer for the Rangers next year, but only if I get him a Rangers shirt for his birthday :)

Picture: Rangers Game 1 starting pitcher CJ Wilson, rocking a sweet blue glove.

So Jenny and I both have fond memories of attending baseball games for our respective teams when we were kids. (I lived in Abilene, TX until I was 12, and went to 3 or 4 Rangers' games growing up. Jenny went to quite a few Cardinals games in her hometown of St. Louis.) Jenny's favorite snack was giant pretzels with mustard and my favorite was frozen lemonade in a plastic baseball helmet :)

I really loved watching baseball when I was a kid. Once a home run hit by my favorite player, Juan Gonzalez, landed five rows in front of us at a game the whole family was attending. And another time, my dad took just me and we hung around the players' entrance before the game to get autographs. We got 5 players to sign the baseball we brought with us, including future Hall-of-Famer Rafael Palmeiro. Juan Gonzalez hit 3 home runs in that game, and the Rangers won. Great memory - thanks dad.

Well, I am definitely cheering for the Rangers, with apologies for my St. Louis-based in-laws ;) Jenny's dad has tickets to Game 2! Very jealous. Let's hope for a good series - my pick: Rangers in 7 games - yeah!

daddy do you know how to make cookies?

2011-10-02T13:04:00.003-04:00

So sam made cookies with the kids the other day...

he hasn't been in the kitchen much to cook lately, so Will was concerned he didn't know what to do:) Here are some Will quotes:

"uMM, daddy, only mommy can make cookies"

"Yeah, dad, good job, you didn't spill" (as he mea

sured the flour)..., any other quotes sam??

Here's to a week of sam cooking on his own- good luck honey, haha. I left you some things in the freezer....:) Kanab or bust for Granmama, Peggy, Will, Elle and me!

quick trip to the lake

2011-10-02T12:58:00.003-04:00

evie, ellie and will:) quick trip to target too!

went to the lake for three days- took a couple friends and their kids. Its so refreshing to be in the outdoors-- kids are just more pleasant when they have an outdoor playground! Thanks for the great time-- and visit with nana and papa!

Preschool- year 2

2011-09-16T12:31:00.003-04:00

Will is two weeks into preschool!

We organized another mom-group- I teach every 6 weeks or so, just one day a week.
I've really enjoyed the two hours with ellie- we shop, run, play, do nails, whatever just girls want to do:)

labor day

2011-09-13T11:38:00.005-04:00

We had a great "relaxing" labor day weekend at the Brights. "Relaxing" because Pam organized the Bright Family Olympics and we constantly had competitions throughout the weekend- treading water, distance swimming, frisbee golf competition, tennis games, ....by Sunday the competitions turned to...who could nap the longest, who helped Will and Ellie the most- who helped the the least. Haha. It was a blast.

Some highlights are above: Loaded Yogurt- YUM, Frisbee, Hayden Beach, an attempt at a family picture....and the road trip home pic; ellie was out before we left the driveway.

Congrats to Matt and Pam for selling their house!

REC BBQ- can you find e and w?

2011-09-01T14:40:00.005-04:00

We didn't bring our camera- but the company took some pictures and this one caught our kids....Can you find them? They are the cutest of course...:)

Click on the pic and zoom in. They sat at the small kid table while we were at the table to the right. Ellie got lots of compliments on her tutu that night.

First REC provided a yummy bbq, then free night at the water park with an ice cream truck that drove right into the park --unlimited servings! I do like REC better than DOW in the sense that it still recognizes the family and provides family activities so wives and kids can get to know co-workers.

Its really sad to think summer is coming to an end-- but pumpkin season is pretty fun too-- i just hope the cold holds off!! I got a little too spoiled with the mild WV winters.

Will is 4!

2011-08-23T20:20:00.004-04:00

This little man was meant to be here on Aug 22 2007; he's kept us happy and laughing ever since that day. (ok, I did shed a tear today thinking about some little Will memories, but I'm loving this 4 year old age too!)

And some present day pics:

On Monday, the day of Will's birthday, we had a little party. I put in the invite "Drop off or stay"...they all dropped off:) It actually worked the best that way, Aunt Peggy surprised us, so we had a blast running around with those kids playing "pin the wheel on lightning mcqueen" "spy hunt" "musical parking spots" and of course lunch and cake.

Can you tell he's excited to blow out candles?? Maybe more to eat the cake.

This day couldn't have been better for this little man, all of his friends came, lots of cards in the mail came, packages, and a visit from grandma and grandpa bright, a BIKE!....

Ellie got some surprises too, I'm pretty sure she knew it was Will's birthday "OW OW!" That means Will Will! She said a lot that day, but she also got some little gifts too:)

And today I got to walk and just push one. Will went slower than my walk pace at the beginning of the walk....but by the end I had to keep reminding him to SLOW DOWN ;)

There are some benefits of having your kids grow up!

The Lake in August

2011-08-23T19:52:00.005-04:00

Cda Lake is at its optimal temperature of the water and of the air, optimal time to party with school time coming back up, optimal time to get together with family, its just Lake CDA's Prime in August....and here's a little of what we did. (James and Keri can I steal some family pics from you...thanks:))

gift time

look at the pretty girl

nana and jared! My newest nephew!

Harrison Ice CREAMMMM YUM

My kids, and Nephews- David and Steven and their cousin Rylan

Barrys and Brights at the Lake!

My Man and Me -- We mastered boat driving this week (thanks for trusting us dad!...glad the boat died while you were driving, not us!)

Baby Ride Your Firebolt

2011-08-04T17:52:00.003-04:00

Harry Potter Fans, BYU Fans, Those wanting some good humor- this one is for you.

(Click on the picture): Copyright Divine Comedy, Provo, UT

Sam and I see Harry Potter in Two Days....woo hoo!

For the Fam-

2011-08-03T17:30:00.002-04:00

I get to be with all my sibblings, and most parents and their kids in just a few days. Sam's taking his longest vacation since the beginning of the year next week. I'm so looking forward to this. I'm almost as excited and happy as Will and Ellie are in this video...:) (taken from Justin's visit in June, at the lake)

It's potty time again

2011-08-03T17:20:00.002-04:00

I wasn't way excited to start with Ellie due to my experience with Will (it took a long time!), but this girl has been going for two weeks now and she actually would rather go on the toilet if I keep reminding her. She also likes to go when Will goes....so thank you Will for your example and thank you heavenly father for two toilets in our house!

I have some cute potty time pics....but I decided against it:) This is our back porch....watermelon time last week.

Shmugarooo!

2011-07-27T22:22:00.008-04:00

I wasn't sure what to title this post, so hence a family word we use,

"Shmugarooo!"
It means I love you so much I'm going to pat you in the bum really hard.

It's something Will started...and as he is getting bigger..his pats are getting harder.

Here's some random happenings. Ellie is sitting on my lap so we'll see how this goes!

I spent Wed-Sun in cda- 1/2 with the Brights and the other 1/2 at the lake- look at this cute girl- talking on her cell while tanning, really? Thanks for a great time brights, nana and friends. Papa was absent due to being in the "Blue Hotel" as nana calls it-- The Kootenia Hospital; he's got a bad infection in his leg that needs help. love you papa. Here we are last week at Sam's soccer tournament! (Sam had the ball in the royal blue shirt) It was a one night deal--- all of Moses LDS Stake got together- one team from each ward (10 wards), and played against each other. Sam had 5 games in one night-crazzzy. We watched three of them and then walked home. See the townhomes in the background (upper left), those are our homes...but ours is farther down.

Here we are at the Columbia Basin Temple on Saturday morning two weeks ago- Sam just went in and I stayed with the kids. Always very rewarding- Sam's always ready to talk when he gets out:)
The sky was gorgeous this day-- Ellie threw up in the car 2 minutes before we pulled into the temple parking lot, haha, it wasn't too bad, but it gave me an excuse to buy her a cute shirt and skirt at target!

Walking temple grounds. I think they get it already- its a special place.

And here's Will and Ellie playing pirate- we made treasure hunt maps and had a fun time.
Will likes a new show on Disney-- some pirate show-- that mostly he and dad watch Saturday mornings. They are starting to play a little more together-- and there's been less arguing this week which has been nice.

Editor's Note (Sam): The correct word is actually "Schmubaroo", which is derived from a mixture of Spud Bud (Schmub Bub in silly talk) and Bucaroo (a slang word for a pirate). Why do I call Will this name? I don't know. A favorite silly name I have for Ellie is Elena McSchmakey Bakes. I guess I just like silly names. I laughed my head off when Will called me a Schmubaroo for the first time. "Hey, you're just a Schmubaroo!" shouted Will one day in the midst of an epic Dad/Will wrestling match. It sounded pretty funny coming out of my little boy's mouth :) You have to watch what you say in front of those kids - they will copy every word! (Action's too - i.e. butt slapping - sorry honey! ;)

for Jared Duncan West

2011-07-20T00:08:00.004-04:00

Congrats to the West Family of FIVE!

Keri trusted me to try out a few things for my new Nephew, born tuesday of this week- 6lbs, 2 oz. Little cute guy. He came 1 1/2 weeks early, and I had procrastinated this...so on the day he was being delivered, I started the car seat cover. I had some extra fabric, so I tried out the dipes and wipes covers. I thought of this new little man every second. I can't wait to meet you Jared in 21 days!

Note: Keri and James...the thread I used was moms, and the buttons on the wipes cover were moms left over from her clothes and projects. So there's little bit of her in every sewing project (and in everything we do). love you both so much.

Happy Fourth from CdA

2011-07-18T18:26:00.007-04:00

Jenny, Will, Ellie, and I all went for a ride on the ATV and Grandma and Grandpa rode the motorcycle. If we had this helmet at home, I don't think the boy would ever take it off. We didn't let him wear it on the ride because he would have strained his little boy neck.

We opted to invest $50 in our own, private fireworks show rather than fight the downtown crowds. Totally awesome! This is a firecracker tank. Will rode his trike around some of the big fountains while they were going off and yelled "Happy 4th of Jurrly!" Priceless :)

So we were playing a sweet Bright/Barry card game, the Great Dalmuti, and we were too loud so we got an extra player who was up WAY past his bedtime. He did well at the game though - each player would throw out a bid like "Three 8's" or they could "Pass". Will used his UNO cards to bid - "One 3!" he would yell excitedly when it was his turn. Or if other people were passing, he would chime in with his own dejected-sounding "pass".

Fourth of July parade! Ellie fell asleep at the end. (This girl still won't sleep in her bed at night. Ahh!!) Will liked the motorcycles and cheerleaders...

Nana, Papa, Aunt Sharon, and Cousin Cambria met us there.

Nintendo Wii Dancing game time. Will had a spare remote and danced non-stop for like 3 hours. That boy can dance!

And finally some relaxing time at the lake with the wests and pictured here, the Bodacious Barry's- Elisa and Holly. It was beautiful warm weather the whole time. What a weekend!

Strawberries, Rasberries, Corn OH MY

2011-07-18T18:12:00.003-04:00

So one thing I've been loving about Moses Lake is it's agriculture. Last month we went Strawberry picking-- this lady had about 100 or more rows of Strawberries...500 yards long or so-- it was gorgeous just to look at and SMELL. Much better than the cow smell about here! We all got our own baskets. Will was way into it...he even wanted it to be a race to see who could fill up their basket first with strawberries. Ellie liked the first two picks and then she just played in the sand-- can you believe it? The strawberries grow right out of the moses lake sand dirt (I'm assuming some fertilizer too).

This past week some friends of ours told us to pick their rasberries because they were out of town and it was the best week---YUM. For one thing, it was so nice to let the kids play in their back yard with a fence and playset while I picked berries, and the rasberries were just so yummy.

I made jam with the strawberries and ate and froze the rasberries. deliciouso.

I feel like a little kid picking berries....I guess I am a city girl....who's turning country.

Uncle Justin In Moses Lake!

2011-07-08T13:18:00.001-04:00

Justin and I (jenny) were skyping one day...he said he had four days off work this week and he wanted to come up to Moses Lake. Of COURSE I said. We had so much fun.

Above: The boys ready to play some hard core tennis.

Justin and I drove out to the lake for a day. After only 3 minutes of sunlight to warm him up, he took the chilling dive into lake cda. With the wet, cool spring, we have COLD water in the cda lake-- but its getting better. Way to go bro-- you can still do the polar bear dive:)

We took justin to Blue Heron Park frisbee golf. We were really happy with how well the kids did- we ended up playing at the little beach and caught this pic of me and my man.

Will loves his uncle. Lots of giggles this week.

Thanks for coming bro! It made me miss you even more. I love you. And I love being within driving distance from you.

Bleazard Farms

2011-06-29T00:18:00.001-04:00

We went to Pasco, WA a couple weeks ago to visit our old friends the Bleazards at their family farm. The highlight of the trip was an ATV ride. Just look at that beautiful, sunlit field - it was gorgeous!

Oh yeah, Jenny rode the motorcycle. Way to go, honey!

Tractor time with Jason.

Of course we say the horses and fed them hay.

And of course Jenny and Ellie were super cute! :)

Like I said, SUPER CUTE :)

A pic of Jason telling us farm stories. Our friends the Kearns's were there, too. Such a fun visit! Unfortunately for me, it was a high pollen day so I sneezed a lot, took a benadryl, and fell asleep in a chair while everyone else played a board game. Oh well. I thought that allergies might be better in a new place, but I had a revelation - hay fever. There's nothing but hay here for miles and miles! Doh!!!!

Ellie loved riding with Mommy. She had a smile on her face anytime the ATV was in motion :)

Oh yeah, Will knew just which ATV to pick. So cool with his shades :)

We saw some dairy cows, too, and learned where milk (and fertilizer) comes from. All in all, it was a pretty awesome Saturday at Bleazard farms. Thanks, Jason, Rachel, Annabelle, and Kearns's! That was a lot of fun!

Spring 2011 Pics

2011-06-17T17:46:00.019-04:00

In May we hiked in Dry Falls, next to Coulee City. Probably Will's first time hiking the whole time. Good job little buddy.-- just one rock trip.

While Sam and Will went to Father Son Campout (no pics!), Ellie and I participated in Relay for Life (not over night), we walked with an REC team.

Another new adventure-- The Moses Lake Splash and Surf Park- its awesome. We will hit this up a lot the next couple months. This was our first time together!

At the pool- Elle and daddy:)

The kids are still taking naps- they also are BINK FREE! Yep, here's our technique-- tell them they have to keep their binks in a tooth fairy bag under their pillow all night, and they will wake up with a Prize. This worked for three nights, and then they just wanted them back, so we clipped them.....and they screamed and didn't want them anymore. So there you go, it took maybe 4-5 nights of wimpering after the first initial screaming night.

Ellie's new toddler bed set up-- cute girl--- she doesn't go down for naps as well now....but she can walk to US in the morning, instead of us going to her!

And Sam is hard at work at the MBA! The kids joined him on this night with their computers too:)

June Seattle Trip! For Madi's graduation (my counsin), see family, a tennis workshop for me.....and the ZOO! The kids loved the map.

Treats at the Zoo-- they shared for once, wow!

We even got to ride on a hippo!

African music area- our kids love to dance.

The grad party- Madi the grad, Bethany, Ellie and Me. So happy to see my counsins and family.

Madi curled ellies hair! Her first time. Thanks Madi!

I missed this girl so much- seeing bethany finally after a couple years. Love you bethany.

The kids were SO excited for the cake- aunt peg is so cute.

at home again- we got mail! Thanks grandma Pauline!

Sam and Will Home Teaching.

Last week of preschool- party at the park- it was a great year- we will do it again next year!

Will the Wizard- co-op Preschool

2011-06-01T17:34:00.002-04:00

After leaving our "pre"preschool with our friends in charleston, I was lucky to find a co-op in moses lake so quickly through moms at church. Will started with this group in January and has loved it. I taught last week with the letter "Y." This is a picture from the previous week- "W" Probably Will's favorite week of preschool. Although he does love it when mommy teaches because "all his friends come to his house" :) 2 more weeks left of preschool. I think Will has two more years of this!! crazy.

Memorial Weekend

2011-05-31T12:46:00.004-04:00

We forgot our camera...

but we had a relaxing memorial weekend.

Sam and I had our first night together alone without kids-- woo hoo! It was a late 5th anniversary date- temple, dinner, lake house, ping pong war, hiking (with gpa and gma watts:)), and WICKED in spokane.

And we enjoyed the rest of the weekend with the Brights- and all the sibblings. so much fun- frisbee golf, play time outside, bbqing, hayden lake... thank you pam and matt! i hope our recent move out west has not decreased the value of your home your trying to sell... ;)

On our way out of town I checked on mom. Granmama and I planted some flowers there a couple weeks ago and they still look great. love you mom. Warren and Ann had a good idea to add a pic of mom to her headstone..what do you think?

I was ready to go this morning to the gym and the grocery store but my car battery is dead I believe. Its been a full day inside the house....but now the rain is letting up so I'm looking forward to getting these kids outside.

Our WV home has no leads still, its getting a little more stressful. We are switching realtors today with USAA. Maybe we should rent it out?

Sam is still cruisin with his mba- I'm really feeling like a slacker for not edumakating (haha) myself...I really need to set aside more time to read. Its tough for me- too tired at night, too many kids needing me during the day. But one goal I start this weekend (no joke this time, it is happening) is family indexing once a week, a Stake Goal here, and something I definitely have time for. After doing that for a while, I will take a few steps into my own family history. I also always want to be a better mommy...with being home all day I had to be a little more creative-- one of my favorite things was making a Camping List with Will today. I printed out lots of pictures of things you need to have to go camping (father son campout tomorrow) and Will cut them all out and pasted them on a paper...now its time to go find all them....he is literally pulling my sleeve to go! bye.

1/2 marathon, "5-k," mba, allergies, and other happenings

2011-05-25T00:58:00.016-04:00

Sam started his MBA program this week- I am really proud of him. (I gave a lesson on pride in RS on Sunday....its ok to be proud of some things!!)--it's taking a little more time than we thought- but he is handling it great- it just means I need to pick up some more book reading habits and other hobbies to do at night....maybe train for another 1/2?

Speaking of half marathon...it felt simply amazing. I always feel my best after I exercise or spend time outside with my family...and this had everything. The 1/2 marathon course started half way between Post Falls, Idaho and Spokane, Washington. Most of the trail followed right along the Spokane River. It was peaceful, beautiful, and best of all....FRESH AIR. This was my first time ever doing this= I thought i'd NEVER want to do it, but I would do it again! Although, the only downside is the time it takes to train on your longer runs...I hate making sam stay at home alone with the kids on a saturday.
The funniest part was at the beginning-- Ben and I both had to go to the bathroom but the lines were way long. So we waited and finally got in. I got out of the porto potty right when the count down started, but Ben was still in there! I waited for a little bit, but had to start. Ben very quickly caught up with me, and I soon started a slower pace than him around mile 4. It was nice to talk with him for the first couple miles as I was so used to talking with Tami on my 10 mile practice runs. By mile 7 I turned on the Ipod, which got me through to the finish line with only 2 water break stops. It felt great- i got in right under 2 hrs. Will, ellie, sam, ben and rachel were at the finish line.
Sam's 5k beats ALL 5 k stories....you gotta stay tuned to that story.....

Sam: My 5k story. I realized that the 5K wasn't the day's headline event when I picked up my T-Shirt. Embroidered long-sleeve running shirts with thumb-holes for the marathoners; a white shirt with a giant "5K" on the chest for the 5k-ers (lest anyone confuse you for a REAL runner).
I realized that it wasn't the headline event when I saw the other runners. The field included a couple runners like me that looked like they meant business but I would say that the most well-represented demographic was middle school girls.
I realized that it wasn't the headline event by the way the starting line was painted on the ground. A seemingly random old man materialized out of the waiting crowd to draw a line on the sidewalk with a mostly empty can of blue spray paint. "That's a starting line!" he yelled at us. I lined up first, backwards, before someone turned me around. The old man proceeded to give us a rambling description of the route that I'm certain no one could understand. "First you go over the second park bridge after the gazebo, then you'll cross the river, turn RIGHT, not LEFT, and follow the blue arrows until you see the yellow arrows, blue is for the marathon, yellow is for us, blah blah blah." Ok, whatever, let's run!
I started out great, leaving many of the middle schoolers in my wake in the first quarter mile. I followed directions from volunteers standing at the turns, and soon thereafter... crossed the finish line! My time: seven minutes, 3 seconds. Hmmmm.... not quite a 5k there... I think some people honestly thought that they just completed a world record 5k run, but alas, we were sent down a wrong turn and bypassed 2/3 of the course.
So, long story short, they restarted, I ran again, and dominated a lot of middle schoolers, and only saw one guy that crossed the line in front of me. My timing chip put me at 5th place in the guys division in the online results though, so whatever. I'm proud of myself for participating in a 5k race despite feeling inferior to marathoners. And I've decided its time to grow up and shoot for a longer distance next time I enter an organized run. At the end of the day, it turned into a great story that I can use to entertain others at social events and bore my future grandchildren. The end.

Will's preschool fieldtrip to McDonalds...sigh...I know, it wasn't my choice, but it was pretty fun for the kids. And who can pass on a free ice cream cone at 9am?!

We broke another bowl this week...these were my college bowls-- remember them Anne? We are down to four of those bowls now. I also broke a glass this week....just funny.

This girl is still not a consistent good sleeper...one of our worst nights last night, up at 2:30am, I help her, rock her, she gets back up at 3am, I pat her, rock her, put her back in crib, up at 3:30am, I let her cry, Sam goes in, she cries harder (that's usually what happens), Sam comes back frustrated, then goes back and gets her and we make a bed for her on the floor next to me. 4am, I hear noises around our bedroom, she is getting into everything. "ELLIE" I say in my quiet loud voice "Lay Down or I'll take you back to your CRIB" She immediately falls down in her make shift bed, 4:30am, she is playing with my jewlry, "ELLLLLLIE" she doesn't listen to me, so I pick her up, give up, and let her sleep on my chest. She falls right asleep, I don't. I put her in the middle between sam and I and we all fall asleep. 5:30am, the cars on the Nelson road start making their loud morning noises and the birds are overly loud this morning...hmmm, I wonder why?! :) Moses Lake City wide clean up-- this was a couple saturdays ago- the kids loved it. Now every time they see trash outside they want to find a trash can....my little environmentalists.

After cleaning up we got a free lunch from the city- this is a cute place to live.

There are some noxious weeds here....thank goodness for not having to weed yet (with having a landlord!)....I believe one of them popped our stroller tire.

play dough recipe!

2011-05-13T17:14:00.003-04:00

this was so fun- mix all this together:

2 cups flour

2 c water
1/2 c salt
2 TB cream of tartar

2 TB oil

add food coloring

knead over floured surface and add quite a bit more flour while kneading

It starts out messy, but the final product = lots of play time for your kids.

thanks for this recipe from a friend!

Six years ago...

2011-05-13T16:33:00.010-04:00

I met this cute guy in coeur d'alene idaho...

summer 2005 was amazzzzing
we went back to byu together and continued dating....:)
he got along with my crazy girls...

i got along with his buds....
more than that, we fell in love

yummmmmmmy cake- gorgeous day

all I can say is that I love him a bizillion more times today-

happy fifith anniversary to us! (May 6th)

If you're going to rock, Rock-all-Out

2011-05-05T16:31:00.007-04:00

Rockin out Will. Sam think this is pretty hilarious! (me too)

Happy Weekend everyone!

Sam: "Haha, the video didn't do it justice! The boy was playing harmonica and then randomly grabbed that little noisemaker toy and started dancing SO FAST it that I can't believe he didn't fall down from exhaustion! It actually sounded pretty good too - lots of different notes and his own improvised rhythm. He was a little bit worn out by the point we got to the camera to take this video. What a rock-n-roller! :)"

10 Miles

2011-04-30T23:08:00.009-04:00

Today I logged 10 miles.

My first ever double-digit run.

The runner's universal rite-of-passage

Needless to say...it felt goooooood.

1/2 Marathon in two weeks....

I'll take these legs any day! They're not mine, but I'm really grateful for some strong legs that are injury free this week.

from http://www.activewomom.com/

Yey for active moms!

Thanks to sam for watching the kids and tami for running with me (she runs 10 milers allllll the time, inspirational)!

Our little girl is 2!

2011-04-29T16:57:00.007-04:00

strawberry shortcake for little lena cakes big number 2!
What a sweet little girl we have.

We're so lucky...

Here's ellie reading a new clifford book- she loves Clifford:)

Our present to ellie- a

kitchen- so sweet. She's been playing with the phone the most!

Twas the night before Easter...

2011-04-25T17:34:00.017-04:00

...when all through the house,
The bright/barry's were stirring, ellie was trying on her new blouse.
The eggs were hid around the house with care,
In hopes that parents would stay away before the kids got there.

Ellie and Will were snug in their beds,
While visions of bunnies hopped in their heads.
After much fun of swimming some laps,
We were ready to settle down for a nice spring nap.

When out in the dining room there arose such a clatter,
I sprang out of the kitchen to see what was the matter.
Pam was winning Ticket to Ride with vigor, no mercy,
Saying harsh words to poor ben, chris and sammy.

...ummm this is a lot of fun, but I gotta help the kids now! Stay tuned to some hilarious quotes from game night with pamela bright.

a little egg hunt on friday with friends- playgroup. Ellie, Emma, Evie (all the same age, cute huh?) el's bday is tomorrow, but we got started early. I think we all know now that Ellie LOVES clothes, especially things that twirl.

hey gg and papa- the guatemala dress is still adorable!

Perfect weather! Kite time..we were just wishing we were having a bbq.

Easter Sunday, had a nice brunch, Sam and I spoke and taught lessons, we felt thoroughly uplifted. I was also a special visitor in primary as Mary Magdalene...Will was pretty excited for that.

Firestation Fieldtrip

2011-04-25T17:27:00.006-04:00

This is Will's little preschool group (minus two little ones in there, the whole family is invited on fieldtrips). This was a pretty awesome tour- after seeing all the trucks and boats and ambulances, 8 firemen were having a drill in their smoke house outside! The kids saw them pull out a dummy (they were a little nervous about that) and saw them spray the houses and everything. Will was hesitant to touch the firemen, but did and enjoyed it in the end. Ellie would NOT let go of me! Fun times. Fireman Burns (great name huh?) gave the kids coloring books and fireman hats on their way out.

ready for summer, but soakin up spring

2011-04-14T17:44:00.007-04:00

This girl is ready for summer!

But we are enjoying the strong sun of spring. I forgot how cool spring can be in the northwest. No Humidity! But it will come in handy in the evening of those hot summer days.

We enjoyed a night at the lake house last weekend with papa- and then we gave him a tour of moses lake- I think his first impression came out better than what he expected:)

Will lOVED walking lucy, gma anne's dog, around the lake house. He also loved looking out at the lake with his binoculars- mommy! look at that big fish over there! (it was actually a boat..:))

However, I will drink all the hot chocolate I can until the warm weather arrives.

don't forget to brush!

2011-04-07T18:09:00.003-04:00

Here's proof papa that ellie brushes!

Will actually took this picture...good huh?

(elena rebecca, april 2011, almost 2 years old)

turkey burgers

2011-04-07T17:58:00.001-04:00

hmmmm, these were ok. My main complaint is that I made them too thick! I was just happy that sam ate them!

1 lb ground turkey mixed with...

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesean cheese (or more)

1/4 cup diced cilantro

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 slice of provolone cheese on top after cooked

whole wheat buns and your favorite toppings!

Should have posted this in November...the wild and wonderful people of West Virginia

2011-04-06T16:56:00.013-04:00

I got update in the Davis' blog today and noticed some of these pics Katie took for us- thanks Katie for preserving these memories for us. We started praying about the move in september, but when it all started to happen in oct and nov, everything went by so quickly- I love these wild and wonderful people from WV (and even more..our sweet neighbors, Y friends, co-workers); and I never got to express it with their pics on our blog. I felt a little robbed of time for a while, but we are here for a purpose in moses lake, and as you can see from previous posts we are loving it more each week.

Epilogue: Baseball Cards

2011-04-04T11:10:00.002-04:00

So I bought the pack of baseball cards at Wal-Mart, and it was awesome. Ah, the thrill of opening a new pack of cards - awesome! As predicted, Will showed little to no interest; Elle grabbed some of the cards, ran away, then yelled "Go!!!" and threw them in the air :)

On Wednesday mom and dad brought me the giant box of my old baseball cards they'd been keeping in their crawl space. It was way fun to go through them. I looked up a lot of the values online, and unfortunately, we won't be able to sell them and retire on the proceeds just yet :) There were some pretty nice ones, though, and I found a few hidden gems that I wouldn't have caught before. The most exciting was an Upper Deck Derek Jeter rookie card - nice! (Approximate value: $2.50... Doh! I was hoping for better than that!)

After deep reflection and much deliberation, I don't think I'll take up baseball cards as a hobby. It would be very fun to act like a kid and collect cards again, this time with a lot more cash at my disposal... ;) but you have to grow up sometime. However, if my son shows any inclination at all towards getting into this most excellent hobby in the future, his Dad might just have to play along and support him by collecting cards too. Until then.

inspired

2011-04-03T00:57:00.003-04:00

About one day a week I go to our church building for an "aerobics" class. "Aerobics" because its really just whatever they want to do that day- weights, or no weights, or kick-boxing, or more dancing, or butt camp... you name it. Two ladies do it for free 3 days a week-- (its been going for five years or so...amazing huh?). Friday was my first day with the other instructor, Melanie. She finished a round of chemo last week. In two weeks she's getting a double mastectomy. She was talking to us about her 9 mile run in the mountains yesterday....and how our work out might need to be a little low-key today (ummmm I'm not coming to aerobics on her non low-key days...!) Is buff, bald and beautifully happy. She worked my butt off- we were doing football sprints and high knees, push-ups with hand raises, squats till our legs went limp...so I just wanted to ask- did the chemo give her more energy? pretty amazing. need some inspiration yourself? join the lds world this weekend and watch general conference.

just hangin

2011-04-03T00:42:00.005-04:00

We are hanging around the house this weekend watching general conference. During the "priesthood meeting" tonight the kids and I took the challenge to find some things in the garage-- our tub of easter decor and eggs-- after climbing up four boxes high, and two rows deap, I managed to throw some things down to Will and find the a box labeled easter- woo hoo! We also found sidewalk chalk...they were thrilled. We made hop-scotch and dinasaurs. I hope the neighbors enjoy the beautiful art we made in the lot. ;)

We went and got ice cream tonight at dq just for the fun of it. We hung around a little bit and watched ellie and will dance to the music- they were giggling and twirling...they make you work, but taking care of these kids with sam is the best thing we've ever done...gotta love them.

Baseball Cards – A Worthwhile Pastime?

2011-03-29T17:53:00.004-04:00

I’m enjoying Will’s hobbies more and more as he gets older. I love buying new Matchbox cars for him and drooling over Legos together in the toy aisle at Target/Wal-Mart. I can be just excited as the kids sometimes when we buy a new toy or watch a new cartoon. And I’m keenly aware of the strong influence we will have over our children’s choices of hobbies in the future. Their impressionable young minds can easily be pushed one way or another at this age. One preview of a coming showdown between mom and dad: “Hey Will, do you want to play tennis or baseball?” (Dad’s answer: Baseball! Haha.)

We all know that the kids use their phenomenal capacity to copy on both the good and not-so-good things that mom and dad do. They enthusiastically follow my example whenever I indulge in some favorite vices: TV, cookies, computer games, etc. You don’t want to be the means of introducing bad influences into the little one’s lives, but it’s hard to exercise restraint when you know how awesome Chewy Chips Ahoy and Super Tecmo Bowl can be! So that leads me to my latest dilemma – baseball cards.

It all started with this article: "A First Pack of Baseball Cards Creates a Lifetime of Memories".

The author takes his two-year-old boy to the store to buy his very first pack of baseball cards. Now THAT sounds like fun. I collected cards when I was a kid. The highlight of any trip to the grocery store was taking some hard-earned allowance to the customer service counter for a pack or two of cards – baseball, basketball, football – whatever happened to be in season at the time. On some middle school weekends, I was lucky enough to accompany my mom to the mall to partake of the inexpressible joy associated with The Card Shop. I spent hours sorting, displaying, and looking up prices for cards in my collection. As we all knew back then, our cards were certain to quadruple in value in a few short years and be worth thousands of dollars some day :) So in addition to all the sports-related collecting fun, I learned my first lessons in business and investing from baseball cards.

Reading the article and thinking of those good memories reawakened my desire for cards. I was extremely close to picking up a $2 pack of Topps 2011 Baseball Cards last time we were in Wal-Mart. And I don’t think they’ll get by me next time… :) Is this the beginning of a tremendous waste of time and money that will be spent on card collecting in the Bright family? Will these events lead my son into a hard life of couch-potato-ness and espn addiction? Or will the boy cue on Dad’s excitement and act impressed when we open the cards, then lose interest 5 minutes later and tell me to pretend he’s a puppy dog and I’m a Daddy dog? Yeah, that’s probably what will happen. But those 5 minutes will be a lot of fun (for me) while they last.

So what do we do in this new small town?

2011-03-25T16:43:00.016-04:00

First things first: Jenny- I'm 100% "at home" with our kiddos. I hope to help out with tennis summer camps....but I'm still waiting to hear back from parks and rec (just saying parks and rec makes me happy, da-da-dada-da-da dadadadada, da-da-dadadadadaaaaaaaaaa...watch it on nbc thurs nights)
Sam (below)- works as a process engineer with REC Silicon. His office is right next to the plant he helps to build and re-build. A family at our church can see REC from their back windows and the kids think it's the north pole....hilarious. The parents took the kids to the plant over Christmas break and I guess they believed that little elves were inside working! It does look pretty magical at night....

Something new we discovered last weekend..... the moses lake sandunes!

There are some great views here of the lake....sunsets are GORGEOUS.

As a job of a mom you are ALWAYS looking for things to do with your little ones.....here was the first thing I went to in moses lake-story time at the library. It's not the amazing Miss Linda style of south charleston, wv, but they do have great stories and always a craft- always a great outing.

I also go to the gym a lot. Something new for me. It's always been easier to work out from home, but now, we have a free gym membership from sam's work (no money guilt there!), and free daycare-- and the daycare worker that usually is there is someone I know and already love from our church ward. Great set-up.

We have been experiencing some sick days the last few weeks, but it feels good to say that we are ALL healthy as of today.

I enjoy our local grocery- safeway- very clean, organized, and their's a health pantry right next door if I need some qunioa or millet!

One great thing, and a main reason for moving here, is that we are only two hours from sam's parents and a few hours from ALL our grandparents. We miss papa and gg, but hope to plan some great visits for the future.

Like last weekend, it was spring break for ben and his birthday, so sam took friday off and we made a fun weekend out of it----even though I felt pretty miserable...it was actually nice to have extra hands to play with the kids while I couldn't get around very fast.

And in a couple months....we really look forward to usiing the SPLASH park and the Lake for some water fun. And I'm sure Sam will want to hit up some pretty cheap golf at the courses they have here.

so there you go, just a few things to do in this small town!

giddy-up

2011-03-14T23:33:00.002-04:00

the game:

baseball, rodeo style

BUT the bat is a shoe, and there are no bases, you just have to run like a crazy kid around the house till you make it back to the base after hitting a Tennis ball with mom's shoe....oh, and EVERYONE must wear a hat, cowboy or train conductor or baseball hat.

these are Will's Rules. this is Will inside Baseball.

We challenge you to a game next time you come.....

a good day

2011-03-07T18:03:00.003-05:00

got my run in

talked to my dad

crossed a lot of to dos off

talked to an old friend

w & e were nice @ grocery store

got lots of smiles there

got the dryer fixed

looking forward to another fhe night with sam

and a bubble bath for the kids

its a good, simple day

beds are optional

2011-03-04T16:20:00.002-05:00

So the kids have been sick- last week Ellie and this week Will's got the cough/cold pretty bad. Its kept me away from the gym and some other outings, so we are feeling cabin fever for sure! Pretty much EVERY night the last two weeks we've had someone come join us in bed.

One day of ellie's sickness week she woke up early from her nap and wasn't too happy about it....she couldn't be comforted...so I had to just put her down and let her scream it out; a couple minutes later she crashed in my closet after pulling out all the laundry.

We are praying for "better noses" as Will says:)

great grandmas!

2011-03-02T17:14:00.002-05:00

On our trip down to slc, we also stopped for a visit with great grandma delna and pauline (Matt and Pam's moms). Ellie gave the cutest hugs to delna and pauline, and Will just loved the tractors Delna had and the cars Pauline had. We love you grandmas and are grateful for your hospitality!

James turned 30! Trip to SLC

2011-02-28T17:52:00.004-05:00

So since we live SO close to family now...haha 12 hours from my brothers, but that's progress:)....we took a drive to SLC for the big surprise weekend for James' 30th. The weekend included snomobiling in park city, walking around gateway mall, taking the train ride at justin's mall, and of course, the big surprise birthday party at a huge bounce house...Happy birthday to dad and james.

Yeah, we were the first ones to crash. blame me:) and then I crashed into a tree when I got bored that all the boys were helping justin get out of a ditch! Well, at least the trip ended on a high note with some SWEET hills and open areas for fast riding!
Part of the crew: Jen, Sam, Justin, James, Dad, Gloria..also in the party, The Old Man Warren and Dave, James' father in-law.
Thanks dad for the birthday gift!

The party

justin's mall- Will loved this place!

The kids got lots of play time with papa and gg, and sam and i even got to visit with an "old" friend from WV- katie davis and her kiddos!

Will's Valentine

2011-02-14T12:12:00.002-05:00

A rare moment after church yesterday!

Will said he learned about dinosaurs and how to love your friends in Sunbeam class;)

sending love to all our family and friends and especially sam who left us with a hilarious and witty treasure hunt this morning! thx:)

car race & granmama

2011-02-07T11:50:00.005-05:00

sam- I'll let you write about this picture!
Sam: So our Elder's Quorum had a pinewood derby on Friday night. There was an "official rules" class and "gravity power unlimited" class. We painted the block of wood blue and duct taped a 3 lb. hand weight on top. (I wanted to tape Will's bathtime pirate ship on top but Will vehemently objected to the idea: "It not a pirate ship, it's a race car, Dad!!!")

We looked like front-runners in the unlimited class until a guy showed up with a landscaping brick on top of two cars stuck together. The brick car narrowly defeated us, but Will had A LOT of fun racing the car. We had to drag him away kicking and screaming from the track when it was time to go home. He went to bed with the car tucked under one arm :)

granmama came to moses lake on a beautiful day. just warm enought to go to the park and watch the sunset on the lake. granmama is my mom's mom- from lewiston, idaho. She watched the kids for us saturday night while we went to the stake conference adult session. The kids are blessed to have so many loving grandparents & great-grandparents.

there's never enough time to learn more about your family; this weekend I learned a little more about granmama's life on the farm...and what side fat is.... (did i get that right granmama?).
In stake conference we were challenged to do quite a few things: -all the basics of course (scriptures study, prayer, etc), 30 min a week to help with the indexing project, temple once a month, work on your family history, serve, love, be happy.
An uplifting weekend!....and of course....it ended with the superbowl! Yey for the packers! (any more details sam???) we had good food:)....

Sam: The menu: Pigs-in-blanket, double-baked potatos, 7-layer dip with lime Tostitos, and Puppy Chow (aka Chex Muddy Buddies). Delicious! Thanks, honey! Not a bad game - I chose to cheer on the Packers and they came through. I guess my fav commercial was the darth-vader boy with the BMW. And the trailer for "Cowboys and Aliens". How can that movie not be awesome? Will and I both got a kick out of it, haha :)

spokane weekend

2011-02-02T21:51:00.003-05:00

We had a great weekend in spokane Jan 28-30.

Friday night- sams parents met us at the spokane lds temple to pick up the kids so we could go in. We had a couple minutes to walk around the temple with Will and Elena- I took Will in to go potty and when we came out he said, "I get married here," I had him repeat it again just to hear it again! So sweet. Our little sunbeams know what's important already.

ellie and will
a new toy at the grandparents house- a farm mat- so fun. I gotta get a video of the kids making all the animal noises.

And the reason for the weekend-- the Spokane Chiefs Hockey game! It was a Christmas gift from Elisa and Chris for the family. Good thing we stayed for the last three minutes when two more goals were made. The kids had fun dancing to the music and hitting chris on the head with those loud clapping sticks:)

i'm so glad when daddy comes home...

2011-01-31T15:53:00.007-05:00

(Go ahead and sing along...#210...your office-mate won't mind....) So this is what the kids do to Sam every day he comes home...

I'm so glad when daddy comes home,
glad as I can be!
Shoot some hoops, and shout "I won!",

then climb upon his knee.
Make him set up all my toys, and watch my every move.

A big high five, then give him what? A great big poo. (YUCK!)

haha, this ones for you sam! happy monday! Thanks for working so hard!

a jump start for monday

2011-01-17T11:50:00.003-05:00

Lets be honest.

Who likes monday mornings?

Here's something that will brighten at least the grandparents monday morning.

a couple things that make a mom smile

2011-01-05T23:48:00.005-05:00

Watching Will at "Soccer Tots" and...
seeing how proud Ellie was after her first pedicure!

Yeah, having a girl is fun:)

New Years in St.Louie

2011-01-05T23:23:00.007-05:00

Happy 2011 Family and Friends!

We are looking forward to settling into Washington, spending time with family, Sam turns 30 in 12 months, james and keri are expecting a new baby in July!, potty train Will OFFICIALLY and FINALLY, potty train ellie?, pray about #3, SELL our WV house, work out at the local gym for free from REC and free childcare!, try some new recipes,....We look forward to many new adventures here in the northwest.

Brio- just the adults. YUM. Went and saw "The Tourist" afterwards.
my little man fell asleep in my lap...poor kids, we've been changing time zones on them and traveling way too much the last couple months!

Cousin bath time! Can you find Steven, Will, Ellie and David?

Playing in Papa and GG's room...these kids love playing different animals.

These are adorable and so thoughtful. Grant and Amanda Wills made Ellie fabric cupcakes to play with and made Will a race car mat...aren't those so cute? Great idea for future gifts. Thanks guys!

Had to put some travel pictures in....We got delayed an ENTIRE DAY due to Maintenance problems on our way out....they set us up with a hotel and food in spokane, but instead we stayed the night at the Grand Bright Hotel where we got to hang out with gram gram bright and have better food:)

Sam the amazing blur...

2011-01-05T18:08:00.002-05:00

Here's the one shot we got from the REC Christmas Party (Dec 17,2010).

Food was delicious, entertainment not as great, but I did get to meet most of sam's co-workers....nice to put a face to all his funny stories at the end of the day. The best part was having some time with eachother.

Christmas in Idaho

2011-01-05T17:32:00.017-05:00

Hope you all had a peaceful Christmas. We enjoyed ours. I posted pictures backwards...so it will make more sense to scroll from the bottom up.

Enjoyed time at the brights for Christmas this year!

Playing with new toys at our home in moses lake.

saying goodbyes...not as hard this time. two hours from family has its benefits!

Exhausted by the end of the day. In the chair Sam was rocked in as a baby:)

Some of our favorite things....Sam's M & M Salad (all types of M&M's mixed together) and jenny's gingerbread house. The kids kind of had fun making theirs....mostly eating them.

Sledding in the street....perfect decline for the kids...just enough ice for the adults to ride too- pretty fun. Will wanted to do it by himself for the most part. Ellie loved riding with mommy or daddy.

The $3 amazing shirts we got for all the boys! Haha, on sale at kohls....we bought them just for this picture....oh and so we can start a professional Bright Disc Golf Team.

Marble Fun for the kids- our gift to the kids (they loved it at the Davis' home in West Virginia).

Elena showing off her dads new BYU hat.

The first gifts of Christmas!

Good job elle! She went down two times even though she didn't really want to. I kinda just threw her in for the experience:)

The Gondola Ride in Kellogg up to Silver Mountain! (Christ & Elisa, Ellie & Me, Sam & Will, Rachel & Ben, (Matt & Pam are in there too!))

Baking with Aunt Elisa ("Aunt Elisa is my favvrite")... Will has lots of favorites, however, big thanks to elisa and everyone for playing so much with the kids. They usually have to fend for themselves when I'm getting ready for the day, but they had endless entertainment with the brights.

Sunday Christmas Attire

Visit to Seattle- Dec 2010

2011-01-05T17:17:00.004-05:00

Dec 15-17, 2010

There's not a lot to do when you move to a new place and you're not quite ready to dive into getting to know new people and new things to do....It's especially hard when its too cold just to take a walk outside! So...I packed the kids in the car and drove to Seattle to see some family- Peg (my moms sister), Neil, Madi and Gray. It was a gorgeous drive from Moses Lake to Bellevue Washington. One positive to living in moses lake is to discover the northwest and have some more family near-by.

You can tell by the pictures that we spent most our time in the kitchen!

Aunt Peg and Ellie- cooking up some christmas spritz cookies- a family tradition!
Madison, pegs daughter, took a couple hours off school because she "was sick"...she wanted to hang out with us....we also helped her memorize a spanish poem. Madi received her FIRST TWO acceptant letters into college while I was there! I screamed for joy along with peg and her! Very fun...so far she is into U of I and U of WA. So exciting.

There's Grayson with the kids and peg...he is so TALLLLL. I didn't snap a pic of Uncle Neil, but if I had, you would know why Grayson is a growing phenomenon.

Will's favorite thing about Seattle....Grayson's old train tracks.

Ellie's favorite thing about Seattle....Peg's large Christmas snow globe.

Jen's favorite thing...the gorgeous drive, seeing family, going on a walk with peg with milder weather than moses lake and talkin with the warnock fam.

Thanks Warnock fam for letting us come visit- see you again soon!

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-19T18:56:00.021-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! We've had a wonderful 2010. It's impossible to summarize our year in one or two pictures. So I went through and picked one highlight for each month of the year. We hope you and yours are doing well at this joyous time of year. Sam, Jenny, Elena, and Will send all their best wishes and love from the Brights in the New Year.

Love,
The Brights

(picture above - the Bright family in Hayden, ID this December)

Here we go, starting with January, 2010:

January - Totsickles. The kids get to run around on the ice in Charleston.February - Will learns to love his sister... :) (He forgot how to love her in March. They still engage in nearly daily altercations, often ending in a biting attempt.)

March - Trip to Utah for Ben and Rachel's wedding.

April - Easter Egg Hunt!

May - Disneyworld with the West/Wills family!

June - Just enjoying West Virginia.

July - Trip to Idaho and Glacier National Park

August - Summer Fun! Gloria, Steve, and Justin visited us in WV and we did lots of fun stuff with friends.

September - Kanawha County Fair

October - Halloween! (Ellie learned how to walk in July and learned how to run on Trick-or-Treat night. Check out how her pants are unbuttoned, haha.)

November - Moving to Moses Lake, WA.

December - Settling into Moses Lake. (Will took this picture - good one, buddy!)

So that was our year! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

29

2010-12-19T18:40:00.006-05:00

I'm 29. Hooray for me. The year of "28" went way too fast. I feel like I didn't get everything done that I wanted to. But I have big plans for this year. Watch out, year "29", I'm bringin' it! ...

We spent pre-birthday weekend in CDA. Grandma watched kids all day on Saturday so Jen and I had one of our best dates in recent memory - tennis, out to breakfast, out to lunch, shopping, almost a movie, but more shopping instead. :) I had a birthday dinner at the Golden Corral in Moses Lake. Golden Corral is an amazing place to eat your birthday dinner, despite anything Jenny might say against it, haha :)

Moving Update II

2010-12-07T00:40:00.008-05:00

We've done it! We're moved in! I'm on my second week of work with REC Silicon. Life is good so far - good ward and nice neighborhood. We miss our beautiful house and some of its amenities (Did you know that some houses don't come with garbage disposals?!? Come on, man!) but the 2-bedroom townhouse is suiting us just fine.

We're happy to be back online at home. We lived without the internet for 2 whole weeks (some cheating in between) and survived just fine, so that is good. The best part of being back online? Posting pictures on the blog! Here we go, in no particular order: Moving in - kids love the boxes and paper. It's like Christmas every day opening your old stuff up again.Snow, snow snow. It's everywhere.Happy Ellie on the road trip.Will's checkin' out Black Friday deals at Toys'R'Us. He kind of had a potty training relapse since we've moved. I think that means he will never ever ever ever, ever be potty trained. Or something like that :) Quote of the day as we left the house: "No, I not need underwear. Just need my BYU Hat."Sad Ellie on the road trip. (We had 4 of these pics and only 1 happy one...)And last but not least, a big "What-Up?" shout out to our friends in Charleston. We miss you all a lot!!!

Blizzard, you say?

2010-11-23T12:41:00.004-05:00

So Jenny's first day in Moses Lake was not very good. We drove out to look at rentals yesterday and it was cold outside. Very cold. "I'm not used to this, honey. I don't think I even put on gloves once last year!" There's supposed to be really cheap energy there - maybe gas prices are cheaper?... "$3.13! That's $0.25 more than in Idaho!" Nope, not good there either. I point out where the lake is - but we can't see it, too much snow. "Hmmm" says Jenny.

At 4:30pm, we were finished looking at apartments. Down to two choices -
Option 1. Brand new, three bedrooms, two car garage, $200 more expensive per month.
Option 2. Older and not as nice. Two bedrooms, one car garage, but quite a bit more square footage (bigger bedrooms and living area).

What would you do? On one hand, it feels silly to spend too much money for a temporary place (6 months we hope). On the other hand, can you put a price on brand new, clean floors and carpet that your children will be playing on? And we will need the storage space.... We dropped off an application for Option 1 but are still undecided.

And then, the drive back to the children in Idaho... So imagine this picture, except at night, and more snow, and crazy cars everywhere going either way too slow or way too fast. What a drive! The 2-hr drive to go there from Coeur d'Alene took 3 1/2 coming back. We were warned as we left town that there was a blizzard advisory - and we definitely saw some blizzard conditions. Like I said, not a very good first day in Moses Lake! Now it's 7° outside at 11:00am and the children are becoming restless... We probably won't have a place ready to move in until next week, after I start work. Moving is no fun!

Moving Update

2010-11-22T10:56:00.004-05:00

2,583 miles. 4 days. 1 epic journey.
2 children. 5 binks. 3 sippy cups. 10 DVDs. 17 fights over toys in the back seat. 9°F rest stops in Montana. 6 beds in 6 nights for the kids (WV Brights, WV Hinmans/Powells, St. Louis Wests, Holiday Inn Express in WY, Salt Lake Wests, ID Brights).

We made it! It's Monday morning and we're having fun at my parent's house in CDA, Idaho. Jenny and I are going out to Moses Lake today to check out townhouses. We're living out of the trunk of our car until we can move in somewhere.

The kids did amazingly on the drive. Pictures to come later. They are very happy to be out of the car today. We did WV - St. Louis day 1, St. Louis - Cheyenne day 2, Cheyenne - Salt Lake day 3 (we saw Nana, Papa, Justin, and James), and Salt Lake - CDA day 4 through some snow and ice. Driving times of 8.5, 13, 7, and 11 hours. The kids will see every one of their grandparents, aunts and uncles this week! It feels good to be out west :-)

House For Sale, Charleston, WV!

2010-11-02T20:46:00.009-04:00

We're moving to Moses Lake, Washington! Sam just accepted a job from REC. That leaves us in a bind...we need to sell our house fast. Please help us spread the word; check out this listing on for sale by owner.

It is bittersweet leaving Charleston, WV. We moved here as one year newlyweds...and now we are reaching 5 years of marriage and have two adorable kids. We have amazing wv friends who feel like family. We've grown a lot...but we think its time for a new opportunity for Sam. Hopefully we can sell our home quickly and smoothly. Wish us luck!

arkansas, st.louis & halloween!

2010-10-31T22:40:00.019-04:00

the milk and cookie train....sounds silly, but Will loved it. The stroller turned out to be his freight car due to the long lost cookie... :)

There's that crazy cookie girl!

yummmy! come over and eat some of our candy please!

Here's our trip to grandpa and gg's house- sam had some work trips so we drove over for a 6 day visit!

While papa and gg were at work, I checked out the st.louis science center kids area....I'd been there lots of times before but never to explore the toddler/kid stuff. Of course, with all the creative toys and experiments around him, Will still played mostly with the trains!

This is what we did all weekend with papa and gg- built truck walls to crash over and over again:) Will loves his grandparents.

I visited many friends. Visited Caroline Hemmings site with her family and friends, and hiked Castlewood with an old friend. Beth is pictured with me below (a good friend of my moms).

yes, we did manage to do some chores in the last few weeks...like clean Nemo's Tank:)

And Below.......The Natalie & Josh Hite Wedding! This is mom's best high school friend, my "aunt"Cindy, and Natalie is her daughter. I didn't get to hang out much with natalie growing up...but I saw TONS of pictures of her and her brother. It was a beyond beautiful wedding.

Cindy:)

Love this pic...all the kids (will and ellie..see them?) watched Natalie and Josh in their first dance as husband and wife. ....what a gorgeous couple!

sam was a trooper! 13 hour drive one way. It was just one of those things you just do, because mom loved cindy and natalie and taylor and don so much.

isn't that too cute? a kid table! There were snacks for the kids and an adorable coloring page all about natalie and josh that natalie drew....so cute.

and of course, I had to visit the infamous periwinkle place! Cindy's Store. Cindy knows how to let mom's shop....provide a huge train table and hands on toys for kids!

Extreme Bubble Bath!

2010-10-14T10:38:00.006-04:00

Step 1 - Fill tub with warm water

Step 2 - While tub is filling, add 1/2 bottle of bubble bath

Step 3 - Turn on jacuzzi jets for 5 minutes

Step 4 - Add children

Step 5 - Forcibly remove 3-yr old boy after 1 hour

In a word, awesome.

Giant Pumpkins + Delicious Carrots

2010-10-14T10:20:00.006-04:00

While I was slaving away at work designing chemical plants Jenny went with some other kids and moms to a Pumpkin Festival in Milton, WV.

There were giant pumpkins there :) Will told me he saw big pumpkins and milked a cow (it wasn't a real cow). But he was disappointed to report that "Mama forgot to go to hay maazzzze!" (the hay maze cost money and mom didn't have cash). To make it up to him, Jen built him a cushion/pillow maze that took up the entire living room. Very cute!

None of our pumpkins grew this year but our garden yielded quite a few tomatoes and a TON of carrots. A few went straight from the dirt into Ellie's mouth. "Mmm" said Ellie. Even with a mouthful of garden dirt, they were pretty good. Now that all of our vegetable plants are out of the ground the garden has become our sandbox! (Dirtbox?) Elle loves pick up dirt with a shovel and dump it on her brother. Hilarious :)

Fantasy Football - The Best Kind of Football

2010-10-11T11:04:00.009-04:00

With my beloved Cougars in rebuilding mode and the Broncos dropping to 2-3 this week, I can devote all of my football attentions to what has become one of my favorite "hobbies". Fantasy football, baby!

If you don't know how fantasy football works... you need to know. Click here for an excellent wikipedia article: Fantasy Football. More than 27 million people are playing this year.

This year I have 3 teams, 1 in a 16-team work league and 2 with college buddies. My team names: Bobby Boucher (The Waterboy), Team Bright, and Shenanigan Samb's. Everyone talks up fantasy football at work, its awesome. We have a trophy that goes from office to office when you're in first place. At the end of the year, the winner's name is engraved on the trophy. Glory. And the draft with college buddies is one of the highlights of the year. We chat it up on instant messenger and talk trash about the season to come. Good times.

Fantasy really changes the way you watch games. I certainly don't watch all the NFL games and rarely even catch more than a quarter or two on Sunday, but when I do there's a good chance that there's a player from one of my fantasy teams out there. So as I watched the Broncos get destroyed (predictably) by the Colts I still had reason to cheer, because Austin Collie was catching touchdowns and leading Team Bright to a victory in my work league. And Monday night football can turn into must see TV. "Why are you so into this? The Patriots are winning by like 30 points?" asks my wife. "If Randy Moss gets held to less than 30 yards receiving, team "Bobby Boucher" beats Jason's "Chuck Norris Squad" and I stay undefeated!" (PS - Bobby Boucher is still undefeated. That's right, Jason. You've officially been trash talked on my blog.)

Fantasy football, America's new national pastime.
"Rawrrr. Why did I draft Aaron Rodgers over Peyton Manning? C'mon man!"

"Grrrfrr. Dude, you think you've got problems... I took Reggie Bush in the third round. What was I thinking?"

the cougs, the broncos....

2010-10-10T21:41:00.003-04:00

Yes, we are in the heart of football season. The byu cougars aren't looking too hot, so we figured they could use a new cute cheerleader: Presenting Elena Rebecca Bright.

I'll leave it to Sam to add some thoughts on his fav football hightlights thus far....he'll probably get this done tomorrow at work while things are running slow:)

90 degree weather?

2010-09-28T14:24:00.009-04:00

Yep, it's true. Summer lingered a little longer this year! Bruce had his boat out last Friday, so the phone calls went out to anyone who wanted a ride- we were the first ones there!

Pics: Sam- learned how to ski even better this time...in and out of the wake. Jenny learned how to slalom! Will really enjoyed swimming...we kept telling him not to swallow the water because of all the chemicals daddy puts into the river....(jk).

Me and my girl:)

Ellie- 17 months

Will- 3 yrs, 1 month
After 4 hours on the boat, the kids were pretty tired. The day ended with pizza and veggies (ellie LOVES corn) and ...sitting, we were exhausted.

Thanks to bruce and our wv friends for one of the best AFOs!

our county fair

2010-09-17T19:36:00.003-04:00

Will's first day of "Pre"- Pre School!

2010-09-09T16:03:00.007-04:00

Will had his first day of Pre Pre School :) He just turned three, so I really wanted to try an "at home" pre school with other moms.

Ellie wanted to go too:) This is Sam heading out to work before I headed out with the kids.

Everyone has their little mat to sit on, we decorated them today:) We do a letter and number of the week, song time, weather/abc/pledge time, craft, snack, and play.

His Class...of 2025?! :) They are pretty cute.

last hurrah for summer

2010-09-09T15:46:00.008-04:00

At the beginning of the summer we put on the calendar to go to Virginia Beach this past weekend...Well, to save some bucks and less driving, we decided to have some last summer fun in Charleston....A trip to Water Ways water park and a fun friend gathering on a back deck.

Cute little elle- wearing grandma's brighton sunglasses:)

Strawberry yumminess

A great potluck evening with friends. Also celebrating my power-washing of the deck:) We got another slip n slide on clearance and had it run from top to bottom of our hill....I was a little bummed I didn't give it a try!

Happy 3 Will & Uncle Jus!

2010-08-25T10:03:00.009-04:00

Dad & Gloria flew Justin in to St.louis and they drove over to WV for the weekend. We had an early little birthday party for Will and Justin (28!). Will was so excited! Justin did pretty well showing excitement too:).

The Cake: Ice Cream Cake- delicious!, Oreo crust, Cookies n Cream ice cream, Fudge, and whip cream on top! Will kept talking about how he wanted a car on his cake too...(like Cousin Davids Lightning McQueen Birthday)...so we put on a new match box truck for fun, it did the trick for him:)

Ellie is ready for the party! Those glasses crack me up! Her little eyes and nose....

Will having fun at a friends, Sophie's, birthday party:) Happy 4th sophie!

Sam and Elle on our hiking day with dad, g, jus

A random waterfall in southern wv

the new river bridge!

And...I did it! I donated 12 inches to locks of love:). And I picked up this awesome bike trailer for $25!! I love exercising with variety, and ellie and will do too.

why i love my job

2010-08-11T13:48:00.012-04:00

The pics show why being a mom has its rewards....seeing a little boy with sunglasses and lightning mcqueen underwear, always in the presence of a princess, seeing how excited little kids (our friends eve and elijah in the lower pic) get with chips/popcorn and a little show......oh and the "un-pictures" of catching poo before will can make it to the potty, catching blood as if flows out of ellies mouth after cutting her inner-upper lip, hearing NO a lot, breaking up a biting war... lol :)

updates....

Will is still potty training. He does pretty well if we are home, and he is naked. He loves his backpack and sunglasses Sam got in a kids fishing kit for him. He is almost 3! Elena is just so so cute. Girls are just cute. I love watching this little girl walk around and make decisions for herself with what she is going to do next.

One fhe, we got out all our old instruments....sams trombone, my clarinet, mom's flute,....Will tried them all, I was surprised at how sam and I could still play and read notes after 7 years!

my princess!

Charelston Girls Say Happy Belated Dance Day (July 31) & Columbus

2010-08-04T13:54:00.005-04:00

Happy National Dance Day- Belated! Last Wednesday I met with the young women from church and learned the dance day dance from alex! It was probably the most entertaining activity we have had yet--- hilarious. Sorry in advance for my screaming. I'm really proud of these girls...we got to party on this night, but then on the following Saturday they got up at 5am to go to the Columbus LDS Temple. Just some of our young women... three of which head to college in a couple weeks...we are excited for them, but will miss them.

Pics from after the going to the temple...We visited the Columbus Cosi Museum for the first time. Great kids area...

a couple more idaho pics..House for sale in Hayden, ID

2010-07-28T14:42:00.006-04:00

Just a few more pics from idaho...

Matt and Pam are selling their gorgeous house! They bought a piece of land close to cda lake...and are ready to build their dream home. They even mentioned they might build a tennis court for me, right guys? Look it up in Hayden, ID
Ellie and her Three Great Grandmas...pretty special.

Sam and I racing back to the dock on the kayaks

dad/gloria serving in guatemala

2010-07-27T14:19:00.002-04:00

I'm really proud of my dad and gloria- They went to Guatemala for 10 days with a group called Singulare Humantarian Experience, a mostly lds group-- I would recommend this for all singles who can sacrifice some cash and 10 days to serve. Dad and his assistant Gloria mostly worked on extracting teeth and teaching a few in the village how to do it. I think the total was 400 teeth extracted....right dad? They camped out, ate beans and tortillas, had cold showers and still enjoyed their time:). Dad even saw a man that was baptized in ...1977?...when dad was on his mission in Guatemala. Pretty cool, way to pay it forward guys.

seeing family at the lake 2010

2010-07-21T13:55:00.004-04:00

It was another successful, fun, fulfilling, yet still too short of a stay in northern idaho this summer! For the most part we stayed at the bright home in hayden....we spent our days at Round Lake, Hayden Lake and of course cda lake at my families lake home to see the west/watts family. Sam and I and his sibblings, Elisa/Chris and Ben/Rachel (sibblings and spouses) also fit in a trip to Glacier National Park....and yes we drove the Going to the Sun road....but only once! That was good enough for me, especially since there was construction. It was gorgeous- and I think I slept better than I have in 2 years and 11 months in that tent!
Will found a new love--- the ATV:) Thanks to those who made the trip to see us at the lake house, and for all the kid watching matt and pam. we love you

Walking Elena and Dinosaur Noises

2010-07-17T21:22:00.005-04:00

Two big milestones this weekend. Elena started walking and Will got some big-boy undies at Target. He was pretty excited to try out the Lightning McQueen tighty whities, and who wouldn't be? The first video below was taken on Friday and the second two on Saturday. Elena decided on Saturday that it was just time to walk, so she started doing it!

baseball, friends,

2010-07-02T15:43:00.006-04:00

Will's $1 Wall-E shirt, had to buy it! And the baseball he got from a foul ball...he slept right beside it last night...
At the Power game! Thursday July 1st

Watching the game....Will loved it. He had such a better time than he looks! He really concentrated on the game.

Katie's Shower! Thursday July 1, and her daughter Eve, and Jewell, my Vteacher:)

Wed night, as always, I get to hang out with the young women, we weeded part of the church this week. The girls were great sports about it! trisha and freyia

sam and ellie just being cute:)

Is this Will's first date?? I love watching Will with his friends, he really trys to have full conversations with them now:)

This boy is starting to learn....:) I can't believe how excited and proud I was with the first time last monday! He's only tried four more times since then...we go on vacation next week, so i'm taking it easy!

fhe piano time

2010-06-22T04:55:00.002-04:00

This was taken at church a couple months ago. It was an attempt to start fhe for singles in our ward. I'm not sure if it is going to work out, but we had a great time going as a family to host the first one! Will found a new toy...a piano that plays hymns all by itself...He looked at me with a proudful look as he thought he was playing it all by himself:). I guess we know that he already has a good sense of tune and music quality...its in the genes!

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T20:37:00.006-04:00

Jenny made us French toast for breakfast and gave me an awesome present... Matching ties for me and my little buddy! (These pics were taken after church - Will put the sticker he got from Nursery class on his tie, he thought the tie was pretty cool.)

"Are you ready to go home now, Will?" "No, Dada. I draw you a train first."

"Guess what, Dada? This is your train." Will always learns new phrases when he plays with kids at church - "Guess what?" was a favorite today - he is getting VERY GOOD at speaking in sentences, such a big boy :)

Mom and Elle both looked super cute at church. I have to say, we are one good-looking family :)

Doesn't this look like Will when he was a baby? I think our Little Miss looks like a little boy when she's chillin' in her diaper :) She LOVES to play on this slide. Crawl up, crawl down, crawl up the slide, slide down backwards on her tummy, crawl up, stand up, spin the wheel, scream, sit down, slide down. Two awesome kids - thanks for the Happy Father's Day :)

New Haircut, Same Old Will

2010-06-19T13:21:00.010-04:00

Will was sooooo excited about getting a haircut... can you tell? Jenny took him to a barber for the first time (Sears), and he agreed to go with the promise of playing trains at the mall toy store.He was too shy to put up a fuss, so it went much better than most haircuts at home.Now he looks handsome like his Dad :)So Jenny spent a night at girls camp on Thursday and I stayed up late watching basketball and reading. I was alone with the kids for my Alternating Friday Off. Elle woke up at 6:30 am, so both she and I were tired. Jenny woke up around the same time and spent the whole morning trying to pack up the girls and drive home, so she was tired. In the afternoon, we ALL wanted naps... except for Will. Grrrrr... He jumped on our bed while we were sleeping, knocked on Elle's door until she started crying, and woke everyone up. Jenny even took him downstairs with her so I could get another 10 minutes, but he snuck back upstairs with a raquetball in hand and threw it at my face. THAT woke me up...

But we watched Curious George together after that and life wasn't so bad. Curious George made muffins, so Will was in a baking mood, and the kids made brownies with me while Jen snoozed for a bit on the couch. Happy Campers, once again. We went to a campfire with friends that night and it was great.

Here's a couple bonus pictures - Will being silly with binks and Elle making a mess. They are both too cute to stay mad at for long, even when they ruin Mom and Dad's naptime :-)

the garden

2010-06-15T14:55:00.005-04:00

The day I decided, We WILL have a garden! And I created a mess in just one nap time...
My professional engineer saved the day! :)

Our plants are even bigger now. I'm most excited for the pumpkins!...we also have tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, carrots and snap peas.
I'm glad we went forward in this project...it took a while to finally do, but we did it for the weeds (to work as a family), right sam? ;)

Happy Campers

2010-06-07T22:16:00.013-04:00

We went on our first ever camping trip with children this weekend at Kanawha State Forest.The evening began with fishing. We dug up some really juicy worms, but they just weren't biting today. I took Will fishing a couple weeks ago and we caught a couple perch. Even with no fish, he had a lot of fun. It was a little bit rainy, but never came down really hard.

THIS

GIRL

CUTE!!!!!
As you can see, she was all about the S'mores and having her own camping chair. She's almost walking! So close!

Go, go, go! Our friends the Barkers joined us for S'mores and playtime. Will and Lucy had a lot of fun together, as usual. Swinging with crazy-face Will. He's a little more wild these days. Check out his cool T-shirt - "Happy Camper" - dad bought that at Target :) (patting myself on the back)

Jenny was there, too :) She took all the pictures. I tried to get a good one with her and the little happy camper, but he wasn't so happy when it was time to go home. Oatmeal and bacon for breakfast. It was a long night in the tent... Little Elle had way too much fun crawling on top of everyone! Thanks to my Dad for taking us on family camping trips! I have lots of good camping and fishing memories. I've learned that it takes A LOT of patience to go fishing with a little boy... :)

happy summer y'all

2010-06-01T16:17:00.002-04:00

I ran into this pic today from last Oct, '09- It was in a park near my dad's house:) Sorry Will...:)

lil' miss climber

2010-06-01T14:43:00.002-04:00

She just doesn't stop. These are just the small mountains our lil' lena cakes conquers...

Maybe I'll potty train elle before Will?...

roommate reunion- rach's wedding

2010-05-28T08:34:00.013-04:00

you can tell that we were all byu cheerleaders, right?

Future Couple

Or maybe not...:)

Elle and Issac Calmes

Anne, me, Natalie, Monica, Ashley...almost the whole byu roommate crew

THE Cake. Gorgeous

At the Oakland Temple- Rachel and Westin Hatch

Rachel (Anne's Sister, blue dress,) is our adopted roommate; she's just a year younger than anne, we love you rach- Happy Honeymoon!...I didn't get a pic of Westin..but I approved of him:)

Highlights:

- Cramming 4 adults and 3 babies into one hotel room

- Free hot breakfast....questionable eggs

- Our tour through San Fran...a two hour drive, thus making it late to the ring ceremony

- The Sealing...Kory watching all the babies- Its the best feeling to see close friends and family in the temple...it's like....we did it- and we helped each other get there.

- bringing t-shirts and shorts, when we needed winter clothes.

- SUPER Junior Mints

-Sunday dinner at the Hamiltons!

-Hanging out at Carson and Anne's

- laughing like crazy, especially when babies kept waking up

Thank you hams and ormes for everything; I'm so glad we came!

*special note- happy birthday to mom today- I have chocolate covered blueberries to eat today in honor of you :)*

Our new additions

2010-05-17T08:30:00.003-04:00

It's 8:30 am and Will is still sleeping....hence some time to post-

We had some friends born last week on our front door wreath. Everyday they get a little bigger! Its been so fun to watch. We try not to anger the mama bird, but its just too hard not to check on our new additions.

Disney and Family

2010-05-13T15:44:00.019-04:00

Day 1: Arrive in Orlando! We put kids down at what's now called "PapaGg's" and went to Stake and Shake to eat dinner at 11pm...our bonus sibblings are crazzzzy and fun.

Day 2: Church, Will loves nursery, Elle is sick but SO cuddly, Relax, FHE- plan the week

Day 3: Tennis with dad!
Day 4: The Beach!

Props to Gloria-- Working for Disney all these years has really given her some hilarious character voices. Great for story time:).

Day 5: Magic Kingdom;

Sam, me, My brothers Justin and James & sis in law Keri! And all our kids ready to see the sites....they already look tired:)

Our first ride: Dumbo. One of Will's favorites; And one of the longest lines, can you believe it? It was the longest line the whole trip (20 minutes ish).

Character lunch with Tiger, Pooh and Piglet. Will and David LOVED this.

Silly times...the Bug Life show was pretty cute.

(Keri, David, Justin)

And one of Will's other favorites....Driving the car with Dad!

Good bye magic kingdom! Hurray for James and Keri who stayed till fireworks!

Day 6: Typhoon Lagoon. Great Slides and Great naps:)
Family Pics and.....

Celebrating our 4th Anniversary!

Day 7: Animal Kingdom/Epcot

Day 8: Special Breakfast from Grandpa, Will and David, and going home

Thank you thank you thank you PaPa-GG, And thanks for letting us break in your home...;)

My Birthday Present to Little Elle

2010-05-02T22:14:00.007-04:00

I've been slacking in my guitar playing lately, but I wrote a song for Elle's B-day. "Lena Cakes" - you can listen to it here:

http://www.badongo.com/audio/22397097

The link will take you to a file-hosting website. I guess this is the best way to share audio files... Enjoy! Hope you like the song, Elle! Photo Sharing and File Hosting at Badongo.com

the willellie train:)

2010-04-29T08:54:00.002-04:00

slow down life, she's already One!

2010-04-28T15:52:00.006-04:00

And now she is one!

this is just too fun...

Will was just as excited, or more:)

I had to post this video- listen to Will :)