The Sad End

To the Mariners Season that is.

The boys knew it was coming, but they definitely were not happy about it. To soften the blow just a bit Teage and I decided to use the gift card we got for Christmas (thanks Grammy and Papa!!!!!) to buy the boys some good seats for the very last game of the season. And thanks to Tutu, Emery stayed home for this one so we could focus and have some fun with the two big boys.

We arrived really early thinking we could possibly get some of the Mariners' autographs. We stood right by the dugout and waited for them for over an hour....no show. Sad. Looks like they were having a little pow-wow in the locker room and didn't want to come out until the game started. The boys were a little disappointed because I was so sure they would be a little more lenient with the autographs on the last game of the season. But, they got over it fast. We went and ate a ton of food and they even got cotton candy (which usually is a no no :) ).

They absolutely loved the game, even though we lost. It was really fun to root for our team one more time, and the boys had a blast. And our seats were amazing!! We could see all of the action! Then after the game we raced up to the front of the seats right next to the field....the Mariners came out with some shirts and balls for their fans and the boys definitely wanted to say hello! :) Brendan Ryan walked right by us and said hi, and Miquel Olivo was just a few feet down. In the end, the boys ended up getting 3 major league baseballs from the Mariner batting practise that day!!!! They were so excited!! What a great end to a fun season!!

I was so thankful to be at he game with all three of my boys also. It was so nice to not worry about baby for one night and just focus on having fun. We loved it!

My favorite Dan Wilson at the beginning of the game

Brendan Ryan

Our "silly" picture at the end of the game.

We miss you already Mariners! The boys are counting down the days until April!!!!

Primary Program!!

Yesterday wast he boys' first ever Primary Program at church! They were so adorable and did such a fabulous job, of course I was balling through the entire thing. For the primary program, the entire first hour of church is made up of all of the children in the ward, ranging in ages from 3-11, doing a program all their own. Every child has a "part" that they try to memorize and they get to say it in the microphone. They also all sing a whole bunch of songs together. Honestly, one of the most adorable things I have ever seen. Both boys memorized their part and were so excited to say it in front of everyone. I was a bit surprised considering they can be a bit timid in new situations, but both of them did an amazing job!! They were reverent and considerate during the whole presentation, waited their turn nicely, and said their parts nice and load for everyone to hear. I think they also sang the loudest of any child up there during the singing portions! It was AWESOME! They were all smiles the entire time. And they looked so handsome in their little suits!!!

Dylan's line: "Jesus read the scriptures"

Lucas' line: "Jesus created things" Unfortunately when he said his line, he did it so fast that everyone thought that he said that Jesus was crazy instead. :) But it was pretty stinkin adorable.

Boy do I love these boys.

Dylan and Lucas, you did a FABULOUS job in your very first primary program! I was so proud to watch you up there, and am so incredibly thankful to be your mom. I love you!!!

Rice Cereal

Miss E just turned four months old, which means......rice cereal!! Woohoo! :) I always love it when my kiddos are able to eat something other then the good ol formula. And I was hoping that it would help with both the reflux situation as well as her sleeping habits.

When the boys tried rice cereal for the first time, they both had the same reaction. They HATED it! Both gave me these terrible looks the first few times they ate it and wouldn't keep much down. It was actually pretty funny. It took quite a while before they got used to both the texture and taste, and then they ended up loving it in the end.
Miss E had the complete opposite reaction. :) She doesn't seem to care what we put in her mouth, she will eat it! This girl is fabulous! Even the first bite didn't bother her what-so-ever.
Here is her first bite:

And she pretty much stayed happy through the whole experience and every one since. Love this girl! She is growing up so fast and is getting to be so much fun lately!

My Big Helper

Both of my boys have been such big helpers lately. They really have stepped up since Emery was born and I am really proud of them. The other day we were folding laundry and to "help" me out, Dylan decided to fold all of the towels. This was his result:

I was so proud of him though. He had this big smile on his face and you could tell that he felt so special. And he is so special. I love that little man so much. And even though it took me even longer to fold them all over again, that experience was priceless. I absolutely loved it. I am so thankful for my adorable family.

Cystic Fibrosis Walk 2011

CF Walk, Snoqualmie 2011

Go Team Jolene!!!!!

This year our walk was a small but successful one. We knew it was going to be a bit of an off year, so it wasn't a surprise when there weren't as many teams there this year as last. However, we still had a good turnout for Team Jolene and raised some much needed funds in only a few weeks. Thank you to everyone who contributed!!!! I truly appreciate it SO very much!

My wonderful friend Lindsay spent the night and then came to the walk early to help me and the rest of the CF team. She is always so supportive of me and the team, and I just love her so much. My mom also attended this year which was really really fun. The three of us took pictures, and had a girl walk with little Miss Emery with us. She is always so supportive of me as well, and I love her! I have such wonderful friends and family, I sure am a lucky girl.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is an amazing non-profit foundation and I feel very blessed to work with them. I also appreciate all they are doing to cure CF. And just from the Snoqualmie walk we raised over $18,000!!

We miss and love you Jolene! I hope you are proud of us!

30 Stickers!

A while ago we decided to start a reward sticker chart for the boys, and an incentive for good manners and behavior. :) Honestly, my boys do a great job at listening (most of the time! :) ), but we wanted them to know that they were doing such a wonderful job and that they are special. So, the last sticker chart, they decided that their 30 sticker prize would be to go bowling together as a family. They just think that bowling is a fabulous activity, and Teage and I always have fun with them as well. This time, Poppi came with us as well which was also really fun for the boys! Here are some pictures of us having a ton of fun:

We can READ!

Since the boys have started preschool they have been working twice as hard on their letter sounds and reading their first words. Their preschool teacher is amazing also and I am so thankful that the boys have her. Miss Libby sent them home with their first real book to read and amazingly they learned it within a day. They are so proud of themselves! And I am even more proud of my big boys. They work so hard and are such great little students!!! Good job reading your first boys, I love you!

Gavin Edward

My brother and sister-in-law had a little baby boy a few weeks ago, and we are so excited to have another cousin in the family!!!! We love you already little Gavin and can't wait for you to be able to play with your cousins! :)

These pics are from when we first got to meet the little man! The boys were so sweet with him, and I can't believe how big Emery looks even though they are only 3 months apart!

Rolling Golden Hills

A few weeks ago our family was privledged to go down to an area of California where I had never been. Right outside of Sequoia National Forrest. My sister Lindsey had an internship there for the summer, so my Dad's family decided to go on a family vacation and visit her in her element! :) But unfortunately, my Dad and Stepmom were not able to come at the last minute which was really sad for all of us. We really missed them and wished they could have participated with us. All of my siblings did come however, and of course my little family. We are the only ones with kiddos, so it was an interesting experience. :)

We ended up staying in a fabulous cabin just outside of the forrest, right in the middle of the golden rolling hills of California. I had always heard that term, but never seen it for myself, spending most of my time while in Cali in very populated areas. But let me tell you, the term is right on. Those hills seem to go on forever!!! And there were a few times when all of us in the car were pretty done with the windy twisty curvy roads that go along with them. :) The cabin was wonderful however. There was a seperate little house on the property that my family stayed in, and then my siblings were in the main house. We had a pool, it was really warm the entire time we were there, and we were able to see some beautiful trees, waterfalls, landscapes, etc. Plus we got to see Lindsey in the place she loved, which was a definite bonus! We had missed her!

Some of our highlights of the trip:

We went to something called the Trail of 100 Giants. What an amazing experience. The drive there was a nightmere, and all of us thought we may throw up, but once we got there it was definitely worth it. Sequoia trees that were over 1500 years old, and HUGE! There were many that had some of their insides burned by fires, so we could actually climb and walk around on the inside of the trees. The walk was beautiful and we saw some amazing sights. We also saw some fabulous trees and scenery as we went to visit Lindsey inside the National Forrest. Where we were really was absolutely beautiful.

Our little family in front of a giant Sequoia (no...that isn't an apron, that is just Skittles inside the baby carrier! :) )

One of the other fabulous aspects of this trip was that it was really relaxed. We didn't have to be anywhere at a certain time, we didn't have anything specific we had to do....it was wonderful! We spent a lot of time at the cabin and in the pool, which the boys truly loved. I think it was nice for them to have some time with Mommy and Daddy, plus aunts and uncles, just doing fun things for a whole week!

After the kids went to bed every night my siblings, Teage, and myself played games, chatted, and just had fun together. It was honestly really nice to be with all of them, just the five of us. We really hadn't ever been able to do that in such a relaxed setting. It really was wonderful for me. And we played one HUGE epic game of Knock!...our Parkinson family game. But this one was the Knock game of the century. We just kept it going all week and continued the score. What fun it was!!! And wouldn't you know it, the winner was determined on the very last hand, after about 50 of them! Crazy fun! :)

Here are our final scores! :)

My little family had a great time with just us five as well. We spent one day on our own, exploring the parks, lakes, trails around our cabin as well as finding some fun hidden waterfalls along the way. The boys (I am including Teage in that as well) probably had the most fun just throwing rocks into the water. They would wade in near the little waterfalls, make rock walls, throw a million rocks, and smile and laugh the whole time. It really was fun to watch them.