I've been terrible!

I have been terrible at keeping the blog updated.  Things have been super crazy around here.  I didn't realize how much Aaron was gone when we were in Idaho because we were surrounded by so many people that stepped in to help out.  We don't really have that here so I notice every minute that he is gone.  It's been a hard adjustment for me.  We had lots of visitors in March so I have quite a bit to catch up on!  I'll do my best during Spring break to catch up!!  If you are reading this - thank you for being there for us.  If you have thought about visiting - just give us a holler!!

 

Update

So, I guess I should do an update.  We all survived the holidays!  We traveled to Utah to enjoy Christmas with the families.  It's the first time since Justin was 1.  Originally, Aaron was on 24 hour call starting Christmas even through New Years Eve. That was changed so Aaron was able to be with us for the first week.  We enjoyed our time with family and love that the kids were able to make memories with the cousins and good friends while we were there.  We weren't able to see everyone, but did enjoy those we were able to see!

We got together with a few of Aaron's friends from High School.  We laughed quite a bit.  Brian is Aaron's best friend and we haven't seen him since his wedding in February 2006.  It was great to see Brian and Amy as well as Alicia, Brett & Debbie, Sarah and Becky.  A little bit of food and a lot of catching up happened!

We decided to hit Temple Square with some good friends.  First we did dinner and catch-up at Melissa's house and then Sharon, mom & Dad and our family headed to Temple Square.  It was cold and Aaron and the boys spent the entire day on the mountain skiing.  I don't think they even thawed out before braving the cold.  We lasted about a half an hour, but glad that we were able to see the beauty that they call Christmas at Temple Square!

New Year's Eve we spent at my Mom & Dad's.  We spent a good majority of the night watching slides on the wall from when my dad was a baby.  Old school, right?  The kids had a blast though.  We played our new favorite game "Telestrations" until 2 minutes before midnight when we rushed to get the bubbly ready.  We barely made it.  The kids loved it!  We slept in until almost 10 the next morning.  Enjoyed Grandpa's famous omelets and then went about our crazy day!!

Happy 2013!!

Long Overdue Update!

Sorry folks.  Here is an update.  I know it's long overdue and I could list all my excuses, but how about I just get to the update.

Aaron - He is sure glad to be with his family in Alaska.  Being deployed was a good experience for him for his career, but he enjoys his job here more!  He is slowly getting back to where he needs to be and feeling more a part of things.  He has a few business trips planned next month, both to San Antonio.  While there, he will interview for the fellowship he is applying to and if accepted (we find out in Dec.) then we would be moving in May.  Extra prayers would be appreciated that we get this spot.

He recently returned from a canyoning trip at Lake Powell with his dad that he really enjoyed.  He spent 5 days in the canyons and then got to catch up with his family. 

Sassy - What is there to say?  She hasn't scrapbooked in months, she spends her time teaching Kennie & Justin, cleaning the house, making dinner and trying to keep Maggie out of trouble.  Sounds really pathetic and only takes up 2 sentences, but it really takes all day.  UG!!!

Kennie - He is sure growing and learning at such a fast pace.  Kennie was baptized July 3rd surrounded by family & friends.  (We missed you Mark & Carli).  He was super excited for that milestone in his life.  He likes to read his scriptures and will also read anything he can get his hands on.  He LOVES dinosaurs and can tell you all sorts of crazy things about a whole lot of different dinosaurs.  Not just the ones we learned about when I was in school.  He can tell you more dinosaurs than there are letters in the alphabet.  He still says he wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up.

Justin - He has really turned into his own person.  He is still very interested in Sharks.  Will read everything he can get his hands on about them, but to get him to read a chapter book or ANYTHING else is like pulling teeth, until recently.  He started reading the Weird School series and is liking it and doing well.  Here's hoping!  He loves to torment his sister and also really enjoys driving his mother crazy!  Which he does very well.  He can still see the unspoken need in others and will offer to help or just help before they can ask.  One of my favorite qualities about him. 

Nate - Nate is loving being a big Kindergartner.  Today was his day to take snack for the whole class and he was over the moon!!  He basically bounced to school this morning.  He loves bringing home his green apples everyday (A way to communicate to parents their behavior for the day) and checking out books from the library.  He is making incredible progress there and everyone that works with him loves him.  They don't believe me when I tell them he is a holy terror at home.  He's just too cute.  Which is what everyone said about his Uncle Josh.

Maggie - Maggie recently decided she wanted to be a boy.  Okay, not really, but she cut her hair.  And not something that we could fix, she cut it to the scalp.  She is not sporting a short pixie cut.  She thinks she is beautiful and that's all that matters.  She (hopefully) understands that she is NEVER to do it again.  She is still the total princess and loves anything pink and glittery.  She dresses up constantly and loves to play house with her brothers where she is always the kitty.  Super funny girl.  She still has Aaron wrapped around her finger and uses that every chance she gets!!  We are very thankful she potty trained (easily) and is now a big girl!  No more diapers for us!! 

We are enjoying fall this year, not necessarily the cold, but the colors are amazing!  Snickers Hot Chocolate and cuddle time with a blanket on the couch are definitely the best!!  Slow cooker soups, White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheese cake and all kinds of pumpkin treats are the best!!  We are looking forward to our last winter in Alaska (Hopefully) and they boys are excited for the ski team.  Sorry for pulling the disappearing act.  Hopefully it won't happen again, although I can't promise.

Small Update

Delicious recipe posted below!!


So, just a small update so you all know we are alive! We are trying to get back into the swing of things. That is so hard after such a fabulous vacation!

Kennie - He is enjoying being able to play outside and I can't get him to put down the books when he is inside. He reads everything he can. Sometimes 2 or 3 times. His latest is he wants to read the Book of Mormon so he is working on that. The 2 older boys got to go skiing with a neighbor and it was their first time. They were both super quick to pick it up and they can't wait to go back!

Justin - He is being Justin. Just tonight, he fell head first into a bunch of rocks while rollerblading. I maybe should have taken him to the ER but was assured by a medical friend that he should be okay. He had a blast on his first time skiing as well and can't wait for lessons this next winter.

**I gave Kennie and Justin a chance to go back into public school. This wasn't what I wanted, but I wanted them to make the choice. The decided they still want to be home schooled. That has to say something about me, right??

Nate - Nate is Nate. We might need to change his ADHD medication, but we will see what our (AWESOME) doctor says. He wants to do everything his brothers do but can't because he isn't tall enough or weigh enough. We are super excited that Nate was accepted into the Japanese Immersion program that he will start in August when he starts Kindergarten. They do normal school in the morning but then the afternoon is all in Japanese. I'm pretty excited for this! Plus, he is super excited too!!

Maggie - She is the princess. To say that she runs the house (at least her brothers) is an understatement. She is super emotional and always has to get her way. She has had a big wake up call since daddy has been gone! :) What a mean mom I am!

Aaron is doing really good. He works 7 days a week and he works 12-14 hour shifts. He has seen some pretty crazy things but continues to stay positive. He is truly my hero! He cut his hair. It's shorter than I have seen it in the 10 1/2 years I have known him.

Sassy is just trying to sane. That's easier said than done most days, but I'm not in a straight jacket yet. I need to figure out the balance of school, housework, me time, kid time and all my church and other responsibilities. By the time I figure it out, Aaron will be home, but whatever!! I am just so excited for h8im to come home. I miss him SO much.

A small update

Kennie is just about finished 2nd grade.  He is enjoying his ignite program (the high IQ class he's in) and is looking forward to playing outside this summer.  He enjoyed soccer and is looking forward to coach pitch baseball starting soon.  Kennie is rebelling in his responsibilites of being the oldest and the most common phrase out of his mouth is "Why am I the only one?"  My response, because I love you!  :)

 Justin continues to be my biggest helper and is at the top of the list of trouble makers.  It seems he is always grounded from something or in his room for something.  We have gotten to the point in his allergy shots that we only have to go 1 time a month.  Holy cow.  GREAT day.  

Classic picture - right?  So Nate!  He continues to rebel against potty training and I am sick of trying to encourage him.  So, he wears pull-ups.  He enjoys the time at home with his mom.  He wants to go to school but doesn't seem to grasp that if he potty trains - he will be able to go to school.  Meanwhile, he continues to destroy things in my house and cause trouble.  He would be at the top of the list in the trouble maker department.

Maggie - as much as we don't want to admit it, she runs the house.  She enjoys it and loves being the center of attention.  Her vocabulary is amazing.  She does what Nate does which isn't ever good.  She really enjoys reading time and especially her "printces!"  She is obsessed with bling and anything pink.  Such the girl.  Thank Heaven we only have 1!!

Aaron leaves Saturday morning for 2 weeks.  He will be traveling from village to village in Alaska treating patients.  He will be the acting Endocrinologist for the group.  He is looking forward to this adventure and hopefully he will learn a lot.  He continues to work crazy hours.  I am almost looking forward to another residency so we will at least know how crazy his hours will be and there will be some down time.  Now, there is no down time.  He spends a lot of his time tired.  

Sassy continues to do anything in her power to survive from day to day.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  She has gotten pretty good at keeping the house maintained, but hasn't figured out how to throw the rest of it in.  It's a slow process and those of you that know her know that she doesn't work in slow.  She is learning patience slowly and is trying to learn from every challenge.  She is looking forward to starting up scrapbooking classes and that will help to calm her.  She is her calmest when she is scrapbooking.  

Alaska has been difficult for us, but we are excited about this summer and all the fun things we will be able to do.  We have lots of visitors planning to come up and Sassy is looking forward to her trip in July to Washington D.C.  That's us right now.  Enjoy your spring and summer!!

Small Update

Kennie – He is doing well in school but is daily upset by the "fun" homework Justin has and his homework is so boring. He complains daily about being the oldest, but usually just accepts that he can't change it. He likes to pretend he is the boss.

Justin – Thoroughly enjoys school. He is excited about his homework and doing very well with his handwriting skills. He is enjoying reading and is very close to reading chapter books. His favorite part of school is being able to check out a library book and read it home for us to read together. He has brought home books about Snakes, Whales and this week brought home one about an elephant and his 11^th birthday party. He started his allergy shots today and isn't very thrilled about it.

Nate – Well, it's Nate. What more can I say about Nate? He is as destructive as ever and doesn't seem to want to take a break from that. He does his best to keep up with the other boys. He even likes to "read" during their reading time after school. He will occasionally tell me he needs to go potty, but I haven't pushed it at all. I am not ready for that fight. Once he is potty trained, I am thinking about doing a home-school preschool group with a couple other gals in the ward. There would be 3-4 kids so I would only have to teach about one week a month. Totally do-able.

Maggie – Oh boy! She sure is cute!! But, she is in to as many things as Nate is. Always wanting to do what he does. She is talking like crazy. Her favorite words right now are: Costco (love this one), airplane, Mama, Daee, Nennie (Kennie), up, down, stuck and all done. She has learned the signs for help, please, more, all done and thank you. Having a girl is so foreign to me! I tell ya, it's crazy!

Aaron – he is alive! He just finished a week of nights and is trying to recover. Work is very demanding on his time and what he has left is spent on his demanding crazy wife! (Did I just say that out loud? This is Sassy – byw!)

Sassy – Well, I am alive. I have lost 16.5 pounds and have 13.5 left to go. I am so psyched. It has been a tough road, and I have earned every pound, but it feels so good. Once it is all over, I will bask in my glory and MAYBE have a Mountain Dew. That's a big Maybe!!

We are looking forward to the visit of Aaron's parents next week. We are trying to figure out some fun things to do in Alaska in October. We've heard that March and October are the worst months to visit Alaska. Hmmm….what to do? Any suggestions? Oh, and I am going to give myself props for the excellent photograph at the top of this post. Do you know how difficult it is to get all 4 kids to smile at the same time? I DID IT!!! I believe this maybe the first time EVER!! Anyway, off to figure out dinner! Ciao from Alaska!

Random Thoughts

Tonight, we were eating dinner at Red Robin and wishing that we had kept the kids home and eaten Taco Soup again because they were out of control when this Lady (probably my moms age) came over and thanked us for how well behaved our children were. We both politely said thank you and after she left just looked at each other in shock. Really?? She said that it was nice to see that people still had control over their children and taught them how to behave. I wanted to ask her if she needed glasses AND a hearing aid. We were both in shock. Aaron said he had noticed her staring at us, but thought it was because the kids were acting crazy. Not being good. Oh, funny!

In other news, we are almost finished with the boxes. Aaron got both cars in the garage yesterday. Oh, and ya, Aaron bought a car. He got a 2002 Chevy Blazer. It was very nice to be able to pay cash for it and not have another car payment! Hopefully, from here on out, we will be able to pay cash for all our cars.

I am doing very good with my weight loss. I have become very aware of how much of what I am eating. I am making smarter eating choices and making the effort to work out. I am anxious for Monday's weigh in. Hopefully I can pull some big numbers. I always do better if I can see results quick!

Kennie starts school on the 19th. We have an appointment to have Justin tested to see what level he is on and where we should put him. I am sure there will be more news to follow. Well, off to bed. Hopefully the kids will sleep in again in the morning so we can as well!!

Update - Generations, Rock Band & Christmas Tree

Let's start out with Grandma Schwendiman. The whole reason we spent so much time in Utah was to see Grandpa & Grandma Schwendiman. Unfortunatly, we didn't make it in time to see Grandpa, he was too sick. But, we still spent a little bit of time with Grandma. We went up the Monday after Thanksgiving and spent 4 hours with just Grandma. Here she is with all the kids.

On Monday night, we went over to my Aunt & Uncles house and the boys had a BLAST!! They got to play Rockband with my cousins. They were in Heaven! Sorry for the slide shows, there is just too many pictures. In one of the pictures, Aaron is singing vocals and he is so proud of his performance!!!

We even got Nate to play the guitar and Aaron is John Bon Jovi!

Nate is drumming, Justin is drumming (with Nick's help) and Jana is helping Kennie on the guitar!

On Tuesday night (the 8th) we decorated our Christmas tree. Here is a picture of the events. The kids were so excited for dessert that night. We made smores over our stove.

I love this one. Aaron helping Maggie help!

Maggie found herself in HEAVEN!!

Justin had to put his ornaments the highest!

Justin is my poser!

Nate enjoyed putting ornaments on the tree this year!

Nate entertaining Maggie

Kennie is in deep concentration

Justin loves smores

Kennie enjoying his smoreNate trying to figure out his smore