November 18, 2015

Today is one of those days I feel tired. Sierra is in the habit of waking every night for some reason. Last night I found her like this... sleeping on my bedside table. I should be doing many things today but instead I've played on the stairs with my boy, played on the floor with my girls, read requested stories, and chatted with Sydney about random things that pop into her crazy little mind.

Someone I know started a blog. I got teary-eyed as she wrote of her baby's health issues. It inspired me to open this blog, and then I got discouraged that I'm so stinking far behind. Then I looked at the wonderful picture at the top of my awesome family. That image never fails to make me smile. It was taken almost exactly one year ago. James was new. The girls are smiling. Those little people are the reason {I claim} the blog and my journal are so far behind. Life will go on and we will remember what we can. What's important is to live in the moment and enjoy what is right in front of me. 

Yesterday I held an adorable little newborn - 8-weeks-old. We are now out of that phase, and it passed far too quickly. James is almost 14 months old. I am sad that he isn't even alive on the blog, and I haven't done monthly updates. I am so in love with him. He is snuggly and loving and smart and funny.

In just a few minutes we will go get Seoul from school. Things will get louder and busier. The playroom hasn't been cleaned, so today may or may not be chalked up to a "fail" but that's life. Just slow down and enjoy the moments, I suppose.  It goes by so quickly.

Rosse Posse Acres

My friend, Adrienne, knows about all kinds of neat places to check out. I never would have thought of going to an elk farm... especially in this area! She had a deal to go to Rosse Posse Acres in Molalla one day. So random and fun, and I thought it was pretty cool. Elk are such majestic animals! First was a talk about the history of the farm as well as facts about elk. I thought it was rather interesting. The kids really enjoyed the petting zoo at the end, especially "chasing" the baby goats.

[I borrowed a few of Adrienne's pictures - thanks!]

running time 1:28

{June 2014}

June 2014

Oh, how I love looking at old pictures. Sierra wasn't walking yet. The big girls look so little. Big changes this month!

Highlights:

• Father's Day - Kelley got his first official school project as a gift! May there be many more to come.
• Move to new house - we outgrew our 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house... so on to bigger and better! 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, double the square footage. We loved the old place. We love the new place!
• Family fun - various activities together! Park, DQ, home, library, swimming, friends, daddy-daughter building days :)
• Allegro Dance Recital - this one will have it's own post

pics from Joo Lin's iPhone

running time 2:32

pics from Canon

running time 3:22

pics from Kelley's iPhone

running time 0:56

{I know, not the most efficient way to organize pics but.... yeah, no words to explain. Ha!}

Amanda Graduates from 8th Grade!

To high school she goes! Amanda is a fabulous girl... beautiful and smart. She has so much potential!

{June 2014}

Trevin Graduates from High School

Trevin is a great kid! He has accomplished so much, and still has so much to look forward to. Graduation from High School is a big achievement. We are so proud of him!

These great parents:

... helped get this handsome kid going the right direction.

 

What a handsome kid! To bigger and better things in his future :)

Like an open house!

The Stephens family know how to celebrate! They are a much loved family, and it's fun to see Trevin with all his best friends. He has been an avid baseball and football player with a short stint of wrestling. His mom made this awesome quilt with all his jerseys!

Yep, endure all the pics of my kids instead of the many people that showed up to support Trevin. They love him and hanging out at his house. Sierra didn't love the feel of the grass. People laughed at her football "hike!" pose.

{June 2014}

Seoul graduates from preschool x2 !!

I went back and forth on sending Seoul to a formal preschool. I felt like she needed some time away from me to grow and become independent. It turned out to be a great situation! Lilly'sPad Learning was a great place for her to make good friends and reinforce what she had learned academically. Initially we put her in two days a week, but they said she was more mature than those in her class (they were still rolling around on the floor - haha!) so we moved her to three days a week. She loved all the art projects and books that she discovered. They had a great little graduation for the kids. The favorite thing taken away was the little photo book they put together for each of the kids.

{May 2014}

total running time 1:24

Some friends and I also did the co-op preschool again. This time it was 6 kids - 3 girls, 3 boys! It was a fantastic little group, and so fun to get to know new friends. They learned so much and learned some great life skills. Thanks to all the fabulous moms that made this happen. We ended up hosting the graduation at our new house... literally just moved in no more than a couple weeks before. It was so fun to have friends over to christen the house. What a great experience teaching these little people, and learning so much in the process myself!
{June 2014}

total running time 3:45

Both experiences were wonderful! Seoul is ready for Kindergarten... but are Kelley and I??

Those crazy Sutherland’s!

We love spending time with Kelley’s sister and her family. They came up to visit, and the babies got to meet each other and play. It’s fun to have the kids old enough to really interact and get to know each other!

total running time 0:45

{May 2014}

Family Beach Trip

The girls love the beach! One day we went on an impromptu trip to Rockaway Beach and it was beautiful weather. Windy enough to see the awesome kite festival without being a hindrance in playing. The girls love to run away from the waves. Sierra had no issue crawling around and playing. We love to make our girls happy and spend time as a family!

total running time 2:20

{May 2014}

Primary Temple Trip

I love the Temple, especially the Portland Temple! The glory, the meaning, the beauty, the spirituality… all of it in these sacred temple grounds. The primary hosted an activity to do a little walk around with some pictures. I love that the girls recognize it and enjoy going there. They talk about being married there. Oh, that they may reach their goal! I love that we are a forever family – Kelley, Joo Lin, Seoul, Sydney, Sierra, and future baby Rice!

  

 

{May 6, 2014}