Merry Christmas!!

 

 

Happy Birthday to Lexi!

Lexi celebrated her 11th birthday on Wednesday.  She had a pretty great day.  It was the last day of school before the break and so we brought moowiches in for her class.  I brought her subway for lunch.  After school she had a ginormous bday party with a million friends at a pizza restaurant here in Lynden.  After the party, her cousins came and partied the rest of the night with her and spent the night.  Quite a day for a terrific girl.

Christmas kick-off

Every year we start our Christmas season with the Windermere party.  It is always the first Saturday in December along with the lighted Christmas parade in Lynden and the championship high school football game for Lynden high school, which they usually play in because Lynden is so awesome.  We have not been to the parade for ten years now.  Last year we skipped the game and listened to it on the radio.  This year we decided to go to the game and leave early to make it back for the party.  It was one of our good friend's son's last game.  With help from awesome family, who kept our kids at the game and then drove them back to Lynden for us, we were able to pull it off.  We changed very quickly at the Windermere office, but made it in plenty of time to the party.  It was a great night and we had a lot of fun.

I can't even imagine...

what it would be like to get a phone call to see if my child was waiting for me at the fire hall across the street from their school or shot down by a killer.  I am so tired of people killing people.  And maybe that sounds funny, but my goodness.  Movie theaters, malls, schools....where can you go nowadays and not worry that someone isn't going to open fire on you or your loved ones.  These were kindergartners that were killed today.  That's Hallies age.  I can't believe that someone would be able to walk into a room and have that much evil in them to do something like that.  Innocent children.  I feel sick for the families of the victims.  I can't even imagine.

Help We're Surrounded

Wynden and I surrounded by newborns....They're just so loveable and small.  Makes me want one.

funnest game ever

funnest game of ultimate Frisbee Thanksgiving morning.

Owl Pellets

Sunday night, Lexi turns to me and says "I am so nervous for tomorrow"  I'm like OK...for what.  Well apparently they were going to be digging through owl pellets.  I started cracking up.  I had to do this when I was in fifth grade too.  I told her how disgusting this was and we even had a kid throw up in our class.  I assumed that they would wear plastic gloves now because of all the environmentalist freaks out there, but they don't.  What they do is pick around this brown nasty pellet and dig out bones that will eventually be glued to a black piece of paper showing a skeleton of a mouse.

Well Monday after school she came home and I asked her how it went and she actually liked it and didn't think it was too bad.  Again today she said how it was kind of interesting and not gross at all.  She also informed me that she wasn't even using the tweezers because it was easier to just use your fingers.  This is totally grossing me out.  And to make matters worse they go and eat lunch right after they dig through this nasty stuff.  I guess I always assumed and maybe at the time I knew, but I thought it was dried up owl feces that we were digging through and that is what I kept telling Lexi.  She didn't really believe me and so I kept saying what is it then.   Look at the dried manure out in the field during the summer same look don't you think.  Well I finally was getting to her and I think I was grossing her out. 

Tonight for homework was reading and answering questions about her little pellets.  She informed me that the pellet was not feces, but instead an owl eats it's prey, but is unable to digest fur, hair, and bones, so later regurgitates them up into what resembles and is called a pellet.  "See" she says "mom it isn't so bad after all."  We apparently do not think anything alike :)

I AM FREEZING

I am so cold this year.  I don't know what my problem is.  I'm usually so hot.  I am sweating all the time no matter the time of year.  All my white shirts have pit stains (sorry if that is too much information just trying to give you a good picture of how hot I usually am).  I usually don't wear a coat I just don't really like to and I get too hot, but I am finding myself in a coat all the time.  I don't like being cold.  Maybe I should start menopause to warm up.  I just really want to go to Mexico.  Is that too much to ask.

Me Too Hallie

I feel the same way Hallie about last night's election results...all of them.

The Easiest Halloween EVER!

I heard that Ferndale does a downtown business trick or treating, so Tuesday night I went online and checked and sure enough the businesses do trick or treating from 3-6.  I decided to try it, so I met my sister in law in Ferndale and we walked around for about an hour and a half.  It wasn't raining to bad yet just on and off.  We went down one side of the street and up the other side back to our cars.  Best idea ever!!!  We were done trick or treating before 6:00 and went on with a normal night.  It was great.  The kids went to bed on time.  I loved it and will definitely do it next year.

Getting ready for Halloween

Every year the third graders do a chalk walk in downtown Lynden.  Hunter got super creative by mixing colors and shading with his finger.  He did a really good job.

Kindergarten field trip to Stoney Ridge Farms.  We were so lucky and the rain held off until we were loading the buses to go back to the school.  I had a really good time with Hallie and her friends.  My group was lucky because I love those donuts, so we shared a couple of bags.

Carving pumpkins with dad.  Somehow I have turned our pumpkin carving into Wynden's thing I don't know how I did it, but I tell him it is tradition for him to do this and it has been like this for about 10 years now.  I think for so long I was either pregnant or nursing that I couldn't or didn't feel like helping, so now it is dad's tradition. I just stand around taking pictures or do whatever.  I love it.

Church Harvest Festival.  The kids dressed up, fished for treats, bowled with a pumpkin, did a cupcake walk, and tried to eat a donut tied to a string with no hands.  Diesel was hilarious with the donut.  He couldn't do it.  It kept just smacking him in the face.  He had white powder everywhere.

I think the events leading up to Halloween are a lot more fun than the actual night of freezing your bottom off getting candy....don't get me wrong I do love the candy.

My Best Poser...

 

 

Hallie is by far my most photogenic and she picks her poses, but it has to be on her terms.  If she's not into it, it's not pretty and it's usually when we are trying to get a group or family picture.

Fun on Marshmallows

This summer we went to the farm where my sister's cows are at and took a tour.  The kids had a blast on the "marshmallows".  They played for at least a half hour while I tried not to step in manure.

Wrong Number!

It started a few years ago.  I would come home and look at the caller I.d. to see who had called while we were gone.  I lot of times it said John Tolsma.  I didn't really recognize the name, but Wynden knows a lot of people through real estate that I don't so I would just ignore it because he never left a message.  Then the calls started coming early in the morning.  Like for instance 4:45 am.  He would hang up after he realized that I wasn't the person he was calling.  One time though he was like "Kaylene you guys up" (funny thing is is I know this Kaylene and they have young kids too, I was like what no they are probably not up at this hour)  And then of course he hung up before I could tell him that...which I tried to call him back to tell him he needed to remember to change the 354 to 318! Because I was tired of him waking me up, but when I  did call him back I must have pushed the wrong button and I called another person and woke them up.  Well finally he must have gotten smarter and we haven't received any calls from him for like a year....until yesterday he called at 6:30.  Lucky for him I was already awake when he was like who am I talking to I was like Jayme Holman and it's been a long time John...he hung up. 

Do You Ever...

Do you ever just stare at your kids and wonder how they got so big, where the time went, and hope you are doing a good job with them.  I do this a lot.  Right now I am doing this with Diesel and Lexi.  Diesel, I love him to pieces he is such a funny kid, but yet I look at him and cannot believe he is no longer a baby, yes he will always be my "baby", but he is growing up too fast.  He still gives me loves and he will lay by me in the mornings when he wakes me up at 6:00 and just rub my arm or my face so gently.  I'll look at him and he will tilt his head to the side and give me this goofy grin that I love.  I wonder how long he will do this...how long until life is crazy busy for him and I will hardly see him and wonder where the time went.  With Lexi I just cannot believe how much older she got within the last year.  She's in fifth grade now and I remember 5th grade so clearly I had my first boyfriend in the fifth grade (we even held hands at the skating rink during the couples only skate).  I cared how I looked and would actually try to make my crazy hair look good.  I see this starting in her she has always been a fashion diva, but now her hair is important to her too.  Thank goodness she is not boy crazy yet and will not be until she's at least 20.  She is actually one of my heroes.  I love how when she puts her mind to something it happens.  She tries endlessly to please me in all she does I love that about her too of course.  She is so helpful and obeys quickly.  She is quick to recognize when she is wrong or out of line and apologizes.  She is fun and has such a crazy laugh.  I stare at her every once in a while and she is always like what?  I should tell her what I am thinking is how amazing I think she is.

What We've Been Up to...Some of the time anyway

Soccer and football are a huge part of our weekly schedule since August when Hunter started football.  Practice for football are twice a week and a game on Saturday and soccer practice is once a week with a game on Saturday too.  We are almost done though, which will be a nice break...until basketball starts anyway :)

Do You Know Which One Is Me?