list of things already done

It has been crazy as usual in our household. I really don't have time to write about it all, so I am going to give a (to do)done list:
1. Kaleb turned 14! I cannot believe it. except that he is definitely growing up! I will write more about this later!
2. He was ordained a Teacher in the Aaronic priesthood the following sunday.
3. My parents and Amber were able to come down for the special occasion. They also brought Tanner, Kale and Cayden (I probably spelt that wrong). We had a great time with them.
4. We had a big birthday bash for Kaleb, with adult family friends, and a lot of teens. It was Saturday evening...and I think everyone had a great time. the only problem, is I think Kaleb is the only one who seems to get 'friend' parties, cause Elijah's birthday is right before school starts in the fall...it is a crazy time...and Kasidee's is usually right around the time Christmas break begins. I need to do something for them though!
5. Jeremy made a quick trip to Idaho to visit with Grandpa Ralph before he passed on...
6. while he was at it, he attempted the 'saddle sore' challenge...which is 1000 miles on his bike (motor) in 24 hours. so, that gave him about 4 hours to visit in Idaho. and not much sleep! He left very early (4am) friday morning and was going to return early saturday morning...so he could help prepare for Kaleb's party. I will tell more about that on a later date as well.
7. Elijah is participating in baseball this year for the first time. He is really enjoying it so far...they haven't had a game yet.
8. Kaleb has started track. His events right now are shot, discus, long jump and 100 meters. His first meet was today and he did very well. This was his first attempt at long jump and he got first place. He wasn't able to find out how he did in the other events, but thinks he did much better than last year in the shot...so...we will see.
9. we have a new pet at our house. A bunny named Delilah. I went to buy chicken feed at the feed store, and they had a sign for bunnies..I decided to go back and look...and we walked out with one. She is very cute and even though my intention was to send her outside as soon as we could, everyone else has a different idea about that. they are planning on housebreaking her...we will see. Jeremy is already talking about getting a new one. CRAZY. he is cute with her though...
10. I got the Twilight movie. I really like it... Jeremy finally was able to watch it last night and he says he liked it :). makes me happy!
11. I got a new bread recipe a few weeks ago..and was finally able to try it. soy lechitin is my new favorite ingredient. I am not too sure what it is but it makes bread rise soo easily. It makes my whole wheat bread yummy! we are eating it likes there's not tomorrow. I also used it for a white bread...the batch made a wonder cheese bread and two pans of cinnamon rolls...they raised up beautifully..and tasted divine. If you are looking for a good recipe, let me know and I will pass it on.

anyways, that's all for now...that I can remember...hopefully I will be able to add more of the good stuff and photos soon!

can I just say

I LOVE SNOWBOARDING! Due to time, $ and the weather this was our first opportunity to snowboard this year! We headed for Crystal Mountain friday afternoon. It is about a 3 hour drive, but we also made a few pit stops on the way...like REI and Costco...and arrived just about in time to go to bed. We brought the motorhome with us again. The cool thing about that is the last time we were up there we saw the motorhomes and were a bit jealous of the space they had to get ready in and being able to sleep up there....and not have to get up in the middle of the night to make it there early. Crystal has hookups so, it was nice and cozy.

We were able to sleep in a bit, and leisurely get ready and still made it out when the lifts started up...It was awesome!
Kas and Verlee Kaleb and Elijah...look at the height difference!

Jeremy, Elijah and Kaleb.

One of the beauties of the motorhome...after lunch nap!

Kas and I on the lift.

The kids found this sign last time...and started saying boondoggle for everything. Everything is boondoggled! so we had to ge a photo with it...and the boys took the trail. It sounds like it was designed more for skiers.

And then, when we were done, everything went into the shower....until we could get it home to dry!

We decided that it would be awesome to stay two nights and ski two days! Maybe next time!
So glad we went!

more of the same

These are a continuation of the last post...sorry everything is messed up! I don't like this photo very well, cause J looks funny in it, but you can see what he was riding in. This was in Montesano..about 45 minutes from home. ( from the stair climb) Here is Jeremy getting ready to run! (on the stairclimb)

Sorry these photos aren't with the others...

misc photos

Jeremy surf training....Looks like hard work, eh?

The Ocean Shores team at the stair climb.

Tee Shirts they had made for the Malteze Misfits.....check it out...maltezemisfits.com.

Of course Jeremy took his bike up to Seattle for the stair climb. Travis went with him. They met the others up there. On the way home they hit a few snow storms. He didn't mind too much. He's got great gear!

Jeremy had to run into Aberdeen for an errand...He decided to take Kas, and they turned it into a 'date'. the plan was ice cream or dinner..they chose dinner...wise. Their waitress snapped a photo for them. Aren't they cute.

SCOTT FIREFIGHTER STAIR CLIMB

Sorry, no photos...well, let me check...nope, I couldn't find any...I will try to post some later...but Jeremy participated in the stair climb this weekend. As most of you know, It is 69 flights of stairs (at the Columbia Tower in Seattle...which I think is the tallest building in Seattle). He wears full bunker gear, including his ff water boots...ugh! gloves, helmet, and face mask...with (an hour) tank of air..because he runs, or walks, or crawls, or however he is getting up those stairs, with an airmask on! which means claustophobia for me!
but anyways...he does it.
This is his forth year participating. We are once again amazed by the generosity of our family and friends...Even with the down economy, I think Jeremy was able to take in more money this year than ever before...all the money goes towards Leukemia and Lymphoma research. Anyways. Like I mentioned earlier this is his 4th year participating. I think his best time is just over 20 minutes. and this year he went just under 22 minutes. The best time is 10:55, which just seems crazy. and even though I am very proud of Jeremy and think he did an awesome job, I do have to point out the fact that there were, I think, 2 41 year old women who beat his time! hooya! (but, I am certain I could not!)
I am very proud of Jeremy for participating in this. It is totally voluntary. and with his full time job and running a business in his spare time AND having to keep me happy, he does not have much extra time to train. He never has time to prepare as much as he would like, but he still goes out there and tortures himself for a good cause!
Next year his goal is to NOT participate, because he is hoping to be in Medic school.... keep your fingers crossed for him...but as one fellow racer pointed out yesterday..they don't have classes on the weekend..so he should be able to do both! we will see! It is becoming a tradition, I can't imagine him not participating now!
BTW, if anyone is interested in seeing a bit of what it is like, the do a race the following week, at the Columbia Tower for anyone to climb..without all the gear. I would be totally tempted...if it wasn't on a sunday! ah shucks!


In other news. Kaleb began track this week. He is excited. He is hoping to compete in the discus, the long jump (which is new for him) and probably the 100 meter, and something else..can't remember.
Elijah, after much begging and puppy eyes, started baseball today. His best friend's dad is the coach. It should be fun, but I HATE the waiting around for practice to be over...the cons of living in the country. I do like to see my kids in sports though. especially when they find success...I am a great cheerleader!

It seems like lately we are NEVER home, because I pick the kas up from school and then wait around for them to get out of their sports, and then there is either basketball (fellowshipping) at the church, or scouts, or something else...crazy! I am a homebody! this doesn't settle well with me, but...I also don't want to be selfish! oh well. live and learn!

JUDD'S WEDDING

Judd and Sherrie's wedding was at the end of a golf course on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was a beautiful setting, in the late afternoon...so the sun was the backdrop. it was very beautiful. When we got there, there was a table of lei's for everyone. Dad and Sherrie's sister leied everyone. It was nice and the leis were beautiful. Sherrie said that she wanted yummy smelling ones, which they were..

We got J a hawaiian shirt for the occasion. He's a cutie.

The minister was awesome. He had a great personality. He 'played' the shell as Sherrie walked down the aisle. Doesn't Judd look handsome. We went shopping with him earlier in the day for his wedding outfit. I love what he found.

Here is Sherrie. Isn't she beautiful! I did her hair!

The setting was beautiful.

I loved the guitar, background music. It was beautiful, soft, continuous. One of my favorite things of the whole ceremony.

Exchanging vows.

exchanging rings.

Here is the infamous shell.

He challenged Judd and Sherrie to kiss as long as he blew the shell. He has a set of lungs, but they did it. It was cute.

Mr and Mrs Judd Simpson!

People who attended.....

Dad and Mom....

Matt and Lori...sorry, I don't have a better photo of them....they also brought Levi along.

This is Lori stealing a bite of the piece of cake Judd and Sherrie cut. didn't want it to go to waste. and she had to find out if it was worth waiting for. it was.

Here he is with Matt, Amber, Cavin and Jessie.

Shayne and Penny and family....Tanner, Cayden, Kale...

Jonathan and Jessie

Sherrie's family

Cavin and Torrey.....

The reception was at the restaurant at the golf course. It was pretty nice. We couldn't decide if we liked the purple waterfall. I found this cute hawaiian dress to wear. I was excited.

Our party was set up outside. It was a beautiful setting. It almost felt sureal. The sun was setting, The weather was perfect....(don't look at the storm clouds in the background..they didn't affect us at all!)

When we got to the reception, they had mixed (juice) drinks for us, fruit, cheeses and crackers...it was nice.

Our drinks...aren't they beautiful. they were also very tasty! I think mine was a maui sunset.

Torrey gave a beautiful toast. He and Judd have been friends for over 20 years.

Cutting the cake.

doesn't it look good?

Jeremy and Levi entertaining each other.

A joyful evening!

We had a great time. It was a beautiful evening. I must admit, I was not too excited about going all the way over to Hawaii, to see Judd married...but I changed my mind that night. It was very nice. I am sure it exceeded all their expectations!

C Shift

Jeremy's had his bike for almost a year now. He rides it all the time. He loves it, and actually our whole family loves it. We like to take rides, trips with him. Well, gradually ....and not so gradually....the other guys on his shift (C shift) have also gotten bikes. It is so funny to see the fire department when C shift is on duty, cause most of the time there is not another vehicle out front...where the ff park. This was their first ride. They went to Quinault, which is a good hour away...stopped for lunch...and came home. They are planning lots of fun trips together.

jt, capt, lt, and the young one....(can't remember his nickname)! hehe

A guy who knows how to get what he wants!

OH MY GOSH! Ekijah knows who he is and the power he holds. He told us today he just has to give his puppy dog eyes, to get what he wants! We asked what that was and how he knows, and he says he just stares intently and gets is eyes all watery and bright.....and he can always get what he wants...and then he told how he wanted to cut in line today and gave the person...we found out later, it was a girl, the look, and she is like...okay Elijah, but not you...whoever else wanted to cut! Did that make sense? At the last parent teacher conference, his teacher said, she knew he got away with the puppy dog eyes alot, but not with her! heehee. makes me laugh! He says he doesn't even have to smile or anything..just give the eyes. what a silly boy!

I am not sure where he gets his confidence from????

Elijah's basketball

One day, during a basketball game, I had some time to kill. I was messing around with my camera and found the close-up setting. I did a little experimenting, and this is what I got:

Love those shots. I need to study the manual a lot more. I have a hard time getting action shots...so, I don't have many good photos of the kids participating in their sports. Elijah's basketball season ended with great success. Their team was undefeated, if we don't count the game where the refs cheated...because one had 2 sons on the other team. It was pathetic and obvious! They started out the season pretty clumsy and awkward...it was awesome to watch them progress through the season into a very good team. At the beginning they had one star player who really carried the team. He transfered schools right after the last game....and we wondered how the kids would do without him. Well, it seemed like when they had more opportunities to step up, they did! This year they were invited to participate in the harbor all stars tournament. I guess they have been having this tournament for 36 years, and this is the first year Ocean Shores has been invited. We were pretty excited. 12 boys were voted to participate and Elijah was included in the team. We'd originally planned on snowboarding that day...but the coaches came out and ganged up on J and asked him to please have Elijah there. Elijah's strong point is defense.....and we found out later, the yell leader...he's loud! anyways, we are glad we stayed around for the games, because Ocean Shores cleaned house! It was an awesome sight! Everyone played great. Our coaches were good at using the whole team, and not just the best players. Every game was good. It was awesome. and Ocean Shores now has a big trophy to take back to the new school.
anyways, here are a few shots...from the tournament and also a game against PB, the other school in our district...

It appears they were scrambling for a ref right before the game, and surprisingly, the vp comes out...who knew! she had a sweater on, so one of the teachers found her a tee shirt to use instead. We were joking that it was a little hard to take a ref with scooby doo on her shirt seriously! she did a great job though!

Here you can see Elijah's blocking skills. Elijah is aggressive, and not afraid to get in someones space. He is also really good at staying with his guy.

Here Elijah is starting out the yell....OSE...and then everyone yells COUGARS! he said at every practice they would have a different kid start it out...until one day Elijah belted it out. then it became his job! He said at the tournament...after 3 games, his throat was killing him from yelling it so much. but I know he felt important!

As you can see, both teams were red and black. Our coach found some vests, which I appreciated. The game before also had both red teams, and some of the parents said the kids had a hard time passing to their teammates and not getting confused. I was grateful for a good coach who saw a potential problem and fixed it. the vests were ugly, but worked!

the last game was intense. close the whole time. here is the halftime score. we are guests!

final score. it was intense the whole game.

Here is our winning team, Elijah is bottom left in the red. Styles is next to him. he was on the original team but didn't make it to the all-stars. He came with us to watch. Coach invited him in the picture. I thought that was cool too.

We haven't had our kids in sports much, until they were older. It has been fun watching them do well.

track starts this week!..for Kaleb!