After extensive searching for SOMETHING available, I have reserved two campsites at the KOA campground by Ft Stevens across the street from Ft Stevens State Park (everything at the state park was filled) It is for August 3-6---arriving on Friday evening and staying until Monday. They are tent sites...no services (ie power. Bailey can come. I reserved it for D & A and family, Brent and Buffy, Treven and Kim, and Peter and Anne...and us. We have two adjacent campsites. Please let me know if any of you cannot come...or if anyone else will be coming. I am planning on driving over in the next few weeks to check it out (Adina...maybe we could go over with the kids someday when school gets out). The sites are not shaded according to the woman...so I am a little leary but with so little else available for a summer weekend I decided to take the chance. It will only be $20 if we decide to not do it...but I think it is a remote chance that we could get anything else. It is close and has a lot of amenities...playgrounds, pools etc. --and we have lots of shade stuff. The website is http://www.koa.com/where/or/37182/ Take a look and give me your opinions....

Love,

Mom

We are doing well here in east Idaho. It has been some great summer days but the rain is supposed to come this next couple days. We need it though! Well we are half way through our summer semester and we are doing well in our classes. Just 6 1/2 more weeks to go in the semester and I will have a nice 7 week break from classes then I go back for fall since I got accepted to Fast grad. I register on Friday for fall. It should be fun because I am now completely into my major classes and I have to get everything done for student teaching (for my last semester in fall 2008). It really feels real now that I am going to graduate.
Anyway, Melia is doing great. She had this diaper rash for a month and the doctors kept saying it was yeast infection and giving me an ointment. Well I finally got them to actually look at it and they said it was actually excema (spelling?). So that is finally cleared up. She is 20 lbs now and still growing. We took her to the splash/water park today. It was later in the day but we just wanted to introduce her to it and get used to it a little. It is at the park nearby and it is great for kids. Perfect for this summer. She is starting to figure out the movements to crawling so we are almost there. She wants to stand up now all the time instead though. Oh well! She will get it sooner or later. Our niece is coming next week for a 3 week stay which is going to be fun! She will be helping with Melia and hanging out with us. We may go to Yellowstone and things with her.... or maybe just me and Melia since Treven is working, which reminds me. Treven says thank you to Dave and family and Mom and Dad for the cards for his birthday! We went and saw Pirates for his birthday and tried to have a BBQ on Memorial Day. It was really windy that day so it was difficult.
We are excited for Mom and Dad both to come out to Rexburg in July. It will be fun even thought it will be short!
Well that is really all we have to update. We got an offer on the GTI, but the guy lives in Spokane and he has to sell his car first, which he is getting offers he said.... But we would have to meet him in Boise to get him the car. We will see. Treven now has a motorcycle instead. We will post pictures later. AND YES HE WEARS A HELMET... he isn't stupid!
Love you all and hope you are all doing well!
Kimberly

Hello?
Is this Mrs. Stinchfield?
Yes.
This is Mr. Larsen (the principal) at Gause Elementary.
Yes?
Uh - we came across your son, Taylor, at recess today - eating plants.
What?
Yea - he ate about 5 or 6.
Silence.
Uh - we have called Poison Control and described the plant to them - they aren't worried. But I thought I would let you know. We are keeping our eye on him. He seems fine.
Silence.
Mrs. Stinchfield?
Yes. I'm sorry. I don't know why he does that. I've caught him eating plants at baseball games and I've explained to him that it is dangerous. I will talk to him again.
Yea - I mean, I used to put blades of grass in my mouth as a kid...but eating the plant? I mean, who does that?
Silence... I don't know.

Our parenting adventure continues...
Adina

So I guess I have been dubbed Ms. Consistent. I do have the most convenient situation for blogging though - no kids to watch or asking me to do things and sitting at a computer about 9 hours a day helps too. :)

Today I am actually at home though. Wasn't feeling well this morning so I decided to stay home and get over that instead of trying to deal with it at work. Things have been kinda busy at work. Just the normal - printing materials and getting them printed for orders, designing manuals and marketing fliers, etc. We are actually having a sale soon and decided to go with a pirate theme for the marketing so that is fun to play around with that. I am also working on organizing things to make it easy for whoever will come in to do my job so it won't be so confusing. That is a big project though that kinda makes me go crazy because it is so tedious so we'll see how long that takes me.

It is very fun to have T&T + fam here. Their house is really coming together and, from what I can tell, they really do like it. Tom got a new TV and they didn't want their "kid" tv to be their old big one so they offered to switch TVs with me so I could use the big one. It is much better than my TV so I was all for it! We switched yesterday and I think that even though I kept telling Tom that it was quite a trek up to my apartment he didn't really realize the magnitude until he got here. Hayden came to help though so he held the elevator open for us and stuff. So anyway, the TV looks a little funny in my apt because it is so big. I am pretty much used to it now but take a look:



It couldn't be on the ground because then it is too low so we had to put it up. Pretty crazy but much better than what I had so I am definitely not complaining.

Let's see what else...I saw Pirates twice. Loved it. But I really think I would've loved about anything in that series. I know a few people who didn't like it but I can totally see why they wouldn't. It is a little silly and a little long but I think it is awesome.

I am getting quite excited about Comicon (50 days!). I bought my weekend pass yesterday. I think it is going to be a good one this year. There is a possibility that Johnny Depp might be there!! Who else? - Tim Burton (director of Edward Scissorhands), Daniel Craig (newest Bond), Nicole Kidman, Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage, LOST people...and lots more that could be there based on the movies that they have already hinted at. Nothing is sure until about a week before though and they still have surprise guests so we'll see. I am going to try to convince Tom & Tracey to bring the kids for at least one day, probably Saturday. Just for the Star Wars stuff alone it is worth it. Very cool...

Looking forward to Mom & Dad's visit next weekend. Will be fun to have them down here. Hopefully the weather will be nice. It has been a little cloudy lately. Anyway, I should probably get some studying done since I have the time at home. Love you all and so great to hear from you guys even if you aren't quite as consistent as I. ;)

...covering my butt. Bet you thought I was going to say "making me gold pants." What a weird video that was. If you don't know what I am talking about, ask me sometime and I'll send you a link. So, it's been a while since I have been on here. I can't say, "just too much going on", there is always time, I just don't use it wisely. I have appreciated all the comments that you have all added and your blogs, I check every day. I would have to say that Marnie takes the cake for the most consistent. Good job Marnie! Keep it up! Don't think about slowing down now that you have family nearby.

A lot going on here. I think I liked it before I owned the practice. There are just so many other things that need to be tended to. Not to mention the fact that, like most Stinchfield's, we just have this insatiable urge to learn more. We just can't be satisfied. So, in order to follow suit, I think I have signed up for more CE this year than I have in the last 4 years. It has been great, and I am simply trying to learn those things that they failed to teach in dental school. It just takes time and money. I hope to be able to slow down after September.

Scouts is taking a lot of time as well. We have a good group of boys with all kinds of personalities. I constantly have to remind myself to step back and let the boys lead. It shouldn't be me leading, only overseeing and advising. Something that can be really tough to do when they are learning. It has been a great experience and from what it sounds like, it'll be a while.

Things are going well here at home. We are constantly deciding whether to improve upon this house or look for other homes. We want to stay close to where we are, but we really want a bigger place. We have pretty much ditched the idea of having a place on acreage. We would much rather pay for a view with convenience at this point in time. Being close to schools, sports fields, the grocery store, church and work saves so much on gas and TIME, that it wouldn't be worth it to move up into the hills. I guess we are coming up on the 3-4 year itch for making a change. We have done it our whole marriage, so why not now?

We miss all you guys. Tom, I hope your check-in in one week goes smoothly. Mike & Brooke, I hope all is going well over there, we miss you guys. Tracey, I hope you feel like you are making progress on the house. Peter and Anne, congrats. Treven and Kim, hope all is going well in Idaho. Brent and Buffy, I know how you all are doing, especially you Brent with those occasional 12 hr days, no really, that is a long day. Mom, Brent owes you big time! (hehe) No really, thanks so much! Marnie, I pretty much know how you are doing too since you are so consistent. We love you all!

Dave

Well, I was reading the blog and thinking of how we are in a bit of a slump when I realized that it had been a bit since I had written a post....so I am part of the problem! Dad and I just finished installing our new dishwasher...not an ideal Sunday activity, but yesterday we thought that we'd be able to do it quickly..in about an hour and found that it took us that long to get out the old one. At that point, we needed to leave and go down and meet Dave, Adina and kids to go to the Starlight Parade. Adina and Isaac were running in the 5 K race before the parade. It is at the beginning of the Rose Festival...a big thing around here. We learned in waiting for the parade that we should have brought more chairs, a cooler filled with snacks and drinks, balls and frisbees, and sidewalk chalk. When the parade finally reached us (we were at the end) it was about 9:30 pm. Due to various delays, there were large gaps in the parade so at 11:00 we finally packed up and went home...not sure how much more parade there was. So, when we got home, we were both too tired to face putting in the new dishwasher...so when we got home from church today that needed to be our first item of business. It took us another 3 hours to get it installed as it is a two drawer one that has new peculiarities. After putting brackets in(per the instructions) at the beginning...at the end we found out the brackets didn't get in the right position in our opening so we had to reverse all, take out the brackets and then redo it all. I'm sure you can all imagine Dad's frustration. I am running one of the drawers and discovered that you can't jam them with dishes...If you do, it just doesn't start! It will be a learning curve.

I'd mentioned to several of you that I had decided to give up on the drawers since they were quite a bit more expensive but Sears had a floor model that had never been used and were giving a great discount that made it equivalent to the others that I was looking at so we took the plunge. Unfortunately, we also needed to replace our freezer in the garage since it is frosting up so that it won't close all the time and I have too much food inside to risk losing it. So we'll be picking that up tomorrow.

In the meantime, the painter is working on our cabinets. They really look nice even before he puts the glaze on. That is happening tomorrow. By Thursday, they should be all done and I can put all my stuff back in the cupboards. I'm getting really tired of all my drawer stuff and china on the tables (no place to sit at a table for dinner) and all my innards of my cupboards in full view.

As you can see from the pictures, we had a great time in Cleveland and at Gualala. We've see everyone but Kim's and Mike's families in the last few weeks...very fun!!
There were over 300 people at the church that they held in the day parking area. The bishop (Bishop Holladay(sp?)) came up from Fremont under authorization of the local bishop. We had abalone and played fun games with Marnie, Anne and Peter. I am the instigator of the hike. Dad and I are working on getting our bodies...and shoes in shape for the trek which will be on the 27th of June.

I need to get back in the groove with my work since I've been slacking during all our travel over these last few weeks. Nothing is terribly pressing right now but I'm afraid it might become so if I just ignore it!

Well, Brent just arrived for dinner so I'll sign off...

Love you all,

Mom

Well despite all my great fears we made it here with very little problems. The kids were great in all of the traveling (from Tuesday the 22nd until Wednesday the 30th we drove between 4 and 9 hours a day, every day except Saturday and Sunday!!) So anyway, I am way to tired to share all of the details now but just wanted to say we are here, we love our new house and neighborhood and can't wait to get settled in. Honestly I can' remember every feeling this tired in my entire life... I spent so much time cleaning and prepping the old house and now I have to clean the new house... Brooke I have so much empathy!! Tonight I finally finished the kitchen so I am feeling really good about that. The rest of the house is in complete choas but promises to improve each day, needless to say it's really hard to get a lot done while taking care of the kids! Two of my aunts and my grandma are going to the beach at La Jolla tomorrow so we are going to take a break from this mess and go enjoy some fun. I think the kids will really appreciate it! Okay, I must go sleep now while I can. I'll post more later and will send pictures someday when we are a little more settled and there is something to take pictures of!

Tracey

I am doing like a catalog show for Shades Clothing. You can look at the clothes at www.shadeclothing.com and there are maternity and swimsuits. I think everybody would love the Heather shirts. I tried it on last night and it was soooo comfy. The swimsuits are selling out fast. I know I had showed Adina the bathing suits. I ordered one and I absolutely love it. Anyway, if you do want anything, just e-mail me or let me know because it is free shipping if you do it through me!

Kimberly

So today was cloudy and rainy so we stayed home and played here. Not worth the two hour drive and the expense to have everything wet and attractions closed. Sadie did not mind though. We told her that the morning of her birthday she could open her presents from Dave and Adina's family and the one from Grandma Barb and the rest she could open at night after cake and ice cream. She was in our room at 6:15 am this morning- after staying up until 11:00. She was so excited. She loved the presents of course. My favorite was the beautiful white dress from Aunt Adina. Sadie was so cute, she said "I bet Morgan has one just like me." and I told her she was probably right. Barb, of course Sadie loved the dress, I loved the Belle dress too, loved that you bought it and we didn't have to buy yet another dress up. Thank you both very, very, much- the Dave Stinchfield kids too, they are so thoughtful. We had bought all of Sadie's presents on Friday but Mike took her out to help her learn to ride a bike and we discovered that her bike was too small so he loaded her in the car and they ran to the PX to get a new bike. Spoiled rotten.

Buffy, I have a huge favor to ask. You know how we have the same comforter, except different colors? Is there anyway you could make a quick run and see if they are carrying those anymore? I know they probably aren't, but our bed is king size now and I bought a queen in the taupe color because of our bed frame. Now we have a different bed and yet we still love the taupe bedspread. We cheat by making it long on one side and not having any on the other side. Just if you get a chance. I can't tell you how much I would appreciate it.

Well I'm off to bed, Mike's sleeping on the couch because he put his back out today helping Sadie ride her bike. It might have something to do with all the heavy lifting and moving all weekend. He's got a very busy week ahead of him, hopefully it will feel better tomorrow morning. We love you all very much.

Hi Fam,

Just to let you know, we still don't have internet at our new house. Totally frustrating. We have our German phone line but somehow they didn't get our DSL hooked up and the techs are all on strike and we get to suffer for it.

Sounds like you are all doing well. We are great. We were going to go out of town this weekend but decided the responsible thing to do was to put the rest of the house together on one of Mike's few weekends home. There are just too many things that I couldn't lift and I was at a standstill. Monday we will drive down to Munich and go to Legoland for Sadie's birthday. I don't think I have ever seen a child more excited about having a birthday. Barb and Adina, your presents have arrived and Sadie carries the packages around lovingly on a daily basis. She hasn't even asked to open them, she has a countdown going.

Had yet another ultrasound and baby's legs were closed the whole time. Mike says this child is going to time out as soon as its born. Kind of funny and a little frustrating.

Well I'm off to bed, just a quick blog while I could pick up a signal from our neighbor (not often possible). Take care and we love you all. Brooke

Here we are in Vancouver BC - Dave is doing his last ortho course and I came along for the ride. My Mom is at home with the kids - she is really earning her Grandma stripes - two weekends in a row with the brood. Whew. And thanks to Buffy who took Parker to one of his games last weekend while we were away - we sure appreciate that - you're an awesome aunt.

I like Vancouver - big city, quite a melting pot, and a lot to do and see. Our hotel is nice - very modern. I am at a bit of a loss with Dave at his course and no one to talk to - I was trying to explain to Dave that it's strange for me to be alone. I am never alone. I burnt some time at the gym and at a bagel shop - had lunch with Dave and now I am anxiously awaiting a call from the kids at 4pm.

Last weekend was fun - back in Cleveland. It was weird driving around Cleveland - it is amazing how much I have forgotten and how much has changed. I am glad we got to see where Tom and Tracey have been for the last four years and it was exciting to watch them get all packed up and ready for their next phase - San Diego. Their new house looks great and we look forward to seeing them down there. Congrats again to Tom and Tracey. Good luck in the GPR - you'll do well.

The boys are all wearing new ortho appliances - any estimates on how long it takes for one of them to lose one? Who knows - maybe they will surprise us. They are pretty obstructive - they are slurring and spitting everywhere trying to get used to them. Baseball is winding down - and not too soon. What an exasperating schedule. And not the best season - especially for Isaac - too much disappointment and frustration. We would not be surprised if he elects to not play next year. The summer holds plenty of other fun - swim lessons, scout camps - and promises to be busy.

Well - hope everyone's travels are safe this weekend - have a great Memorial Day weekend. Can't help but think of last year's Memorial Day - what a blast, despite the rain.
Adina

Okay so it is down to 2. So lets have a vote on who is the Stinchfield's favorite. Just place a comment for your vote. Blake or Jordin?

Guess an update from me is due. All's well in San Diego. I have lots of fun things coming up in the next couple months so mostly I am looking forward to things although I am having fun in the meantime. I am glad that I have a lot planned though because the lack of Lost for the next 8 months is going to be hard...

I am very excited to be having Tom, Tracey + fam complete their move here so I can start the fun of hanging out with them. It will be great to have them close and to get to show them all the cool San Diego things that we didn't get to see when we were younger.

This week I am very excited about going to see Pirates 3 on Thursday night with a group of friends. Although I am a little surprised that I don't feel like I have seen too much promotion for the movie...but that may be because I am avoiding it because I don't want my opinion to be jaded. I will let you all know what I think...I am pretty dang sure I will love it.

I am also very excited for this next weekend in Gualala. It will be really fun to see everyone and relax in the woods. And to play with Andrew! Although I think I need to pick up a baseball cap before I go because I am not going to be wanting to tame the bangs in the woods for three days.

Work is going well. Still pretty busy. I am continuing to do the norm, publishing and learning new programs. I have decided that I am going to go back to get my MBA full-time instead of part-time. I just don't want it to take another 4 years until I am done, which it would if I continued to work full-time while doing school part-time....just exhausting. So I am going to switch it and do school full-time so I can finish it in 2 years. I have a couple options for part-time work so I am going to explore those but I am sure it will all work out fine. Right now I am just really getting serious about studying for the GMAT so I can take the next step in the application process. Provided everything works as it should I am hoping to start the program hopefully at SDSU in Spring 2008 (end of January).

Training is still going well. I have been slacking a bit in the last couple weeks but I am really determined to stick to it. I have decided that I much prefer running outside to inside on a treadmill. I have been trying to make my last month's gym payment worth it so have been doing the treadmill for the past couple weeks (which may contribute to the slacking) but I am really eager to go outside again...the fresh air and change of scenery really makes a difference. And the exercise really does make me feel so much better when I know that I have kept on track and run what I should. Plus it is always nice to notice changes, even if it is just the kind that you would only notice because you see yourself everyday. I am slowly progressing and I think that re-energizing my plan will help that move forward even faster.

Anyway, I am tired so that is all from me for now. Oh - I am hoping the May Gray will leave San Diego but I think it will last through the June Gloom.... :( Where is the sun? Marnie is white and she needs to tan! Doesn't it understand!?

Ok, really going to sleep now...love you all...

Well, we are sitting around Tom's house while he is disconnecting the speakers etc...Tracey is packing her suitcases. Their movers are coming tomorrow to pack boxes and Tuesday they will be moved out. Today, we went to the graduation lunch and then to the graduation. it all went very well...Danica even slept during much of it! There are lots of pictures...but I don't have access to them so we'll have to pressure Dad, David or Tom.

Last night we went to the Indians game. Before the game we had a great lunch with Dennis and Lexi. It was so good to see them again. Dad had the kick of being able to use their borrowed Segway. I keep reminding him that he needs the exercise of reallyh walking. After filling up on the delicious lunch....actually more like an early dinner we headed off to the game. Unfortunately they lost...I think Dad and I are bad luck! It was a fitting last Saturday night for Tom in Cleveland, since they spent many evenings there. Hayden is always really into it. Tracey introduced me to their kids area which is pretty cool. Play equipment, inexpensive kid size food and TV's so the parents can still keep in touch with the game.

I don't think I mentioned on the blog yet that I was called as a seminary teacher for next year. I am really looking forward to it, actually. I know it sounds crazy but it does mean that you really get into the scriptures. Martha and Jonna both did it and really enjoyed it...We'll see how much I like the reality of it!

Dad and I are leaving tomorrow morning...David and Adina in the afternoon. Dad bemoans that he actually has to work for two days this week...poor guy! It's been great for him to relax.

Danica is just amazing...she is so tiny but walking all over and acting pretty grown up...but she is the size of most of my 8-9 month olds!!! Hayden as usual is a character. We were playing a game yesterday and he was "drawing" the directions for the game. Part of that was drawing stick figures of the players....Tracey, Hayden and Me...(Danica was there but had a big X over her stick figure since she couldn't play) He was spending a lot of time on mine and putting a lot of lines on the face...Tracey asked him why and he said that he had to make the lines on my face since old people had lines.... Boy, did that put me in my place!!! I looked at the mirror...and he was right!

Brooke and Mike are emerging from the darkness of moving. She wrote a short posting on the Bennett (Beecher) blog and mentioned that they will be back on-line by Tuesday of this week. They are really enjoying their house and the reception for Mike's change of command went well....take the link for further details.

Anyway, I'll go hit the cross-stitch. Melia looks pretty close to really getting going. Marnie, David and Adina really objected to the picture....I was pretty confused too!!!

Love you all,

Mom

You know you're from San Diego if...

-You can snowboard, surf, skate, then go fishing all in the same day

~Your high school had a surf team~

~You can correctly pronounce Tierrasanta, La Jolla, Rancho Penasquitos, San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and El Cajon~

~There are four distinct seasons: Summer, Not Quite Summer, Almost Summer, and Oh Hey Look Its Summer Again~

~Chula-juana is a real town.~

~Your house is worth more than some small countries~

~You know what MB, OB, IB and PB stand for~

~Every street name is either in Spanish or Spanish related, and you're surprised when other areas don't have this~

~You can determine the accuracy of someone's "i'm ghetto" claim by knowing their high school. For example, El Camino High School or Crawford High School~

~You see weather forcasts for four different climate zones in the same county, and aren't remotely surprised. The Micro Climate Weather~

~You've gone to Mt. Helix in July and known you still need a jacket~

~You've tailgated at Qualcomm Stadium, and for bonus points, also tailgated when it was Jack Murphy Stadium~

~You have a favorite- the WAP or the Zoo~

~You've been on a field trip to see an Imax movie at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center~

~You still call it the Del Mar Fair~

~You say "i'm going to the track" and people know what you mean~

~You understand what May-Gray and June-Gloom is~

~A famous skateboarder/surfer lives in your town~

~There's a North County, a South County, and an East County but no Central County~

~"Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan Moves You!"~

~You know what it means when two guys are walking in Hillcrest~

~You know what it means when a girl in a short skirt is walking on El Cajon Blvd~

~You've gotten stuck in the Horton Plaza parking structure traffic after a Padres game~

~You know what "The Merge" is, and will plan your entire day around not being on it during rush hour~

~You've been to Belmont Park~

~You've taken the Coaster and laughed at people sitting in traffic on the 5~

~You know the difference between Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa, and Mira Mesa~

~You've gone to Sea World on a warm day and sat in the first few rows at the Shamu Show to get cooled off~

~You've been delayed at the Border Checkpoints on the 5 and the 15~

~Your house doesn't have air conditioning~

~You know it's San Diegan, not San Diegoan, or San Diegoite~

~You has your favorite beach~

~No matter what the weather is, there is always someone walking around in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops~

~You live on, near or are surrounded by hills~

~You hate tourists and their bad driving. GET OFF THE ROAD NORTH DAKOTA, NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE. SERIOUSLY. GO HOME~

~You have family and or friends that have moved to Arizona (Washington in our case!)~

~You used to, and sometimes still do ride the carousel at Seaport Village~

~You know someone who doesn't own pants, and have a neighbor who doesn't seem to own a shirt~

~You know what Santa Ana's are, and that they have literally nothing to do with the city of Santa Ana~

~If the menu doesnt have California burritos on it, forget it, its not real mexican food~

Every one of these is true!! Welcome to San Diego!!!

So I have more than a million things to do but I wanted to take a quick break and decided I would blogg a few funny kid stories as a little stress relief. As for the move, things are coming together and I think it will all be ready by tomorrow night. We’ve deep cleaned everything that is staying here; i.e. walls, windows, shelfs, cabinets, etc. and tried to sort through all our belongings getting rid of what we’re not keeping. The house looks kind of sad with no pictures up and such but I suppose that is how it has to be. We want everything done in advance because we are really looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend with our fun visitors. If things sort out as planned tomorrow then the only thing left to do before the movers come will be to actually pack our suitcases. Yikes, I can’t believe it’s really happening! It all feels really overwhelming still and I am sad to say good bye to our friends but really excited about all the things to come. I just tell myself that our friends will come and visit sometime so it’s not really a good-bye and then I’m just excited and not sad. Hayden is really excited about the move but has had a few emotional moments about leaving and broke down crying about why can’t he just keep going to his old school. Luckily he’s has having a lot of play dates this week which are helping. Today he said to me “So, do you know what’s happening tomorrow?” I wasn’t sure what he was referring to so I said I didn’t know and he said “Grandma Barb and Papa are coming!” He’s obviously very excited!! He wanted to play x-box today so he asked to do a chore and settled on cleaning the bathroom sink. While he was cleaning he said “I want to clean this so it will look all nice and shiny for Grandma Barb and Papa’s arrival tomorrow.” It was pretty cute and I was shocked to hear him use the word “arrival.” Here are a few more stories:

Last week he came up to me and said “I’m not going to preschool anymore mom, I retired.”
He was rambling on about something and start talking about how he never forgets anything and is really smart. So then he starts saying a bunch of letters, ending by spelling his name and saying “I’m H-A-Y-D-E-N and that spells smart!!”

Hayden really likes to do sign language and he frequently uses charades to tell us things or spells out words with his finger in the air. He told Tom he wanted to play the X-Box 360 by writing the following in the air “3-6-D” Tom had to show him the x-box to convince him the real way to do it!

I don’t leave Danica out, she is doing really well although she is tired of us being so busy packing/cleaning and such. She has this awesome new thing where I can ask her if she wants to night-night and then we hold hands, walk back to her room, I put her in the crib and walk away and she just goes to sleep. It’s been working for her naps and bedtime for the last several days, it’s amazing and just what I need right now with being so busy. On the flip side she is starting to show some attitude and has tantrums once in a while where she will throw something, or cling to something and glare at you and such. It takes us by surprise so much it always just makes us laugh to watch her act that way because she is usually so quiet and passive!

Okay, last story. After family home evening we were playing the m&m game. Hayden added a new version where after the regular game he picks a number of m&m’s and we make one row in the middle of the table and we all roll for that row. Well this week it was a row of three and Hayden was the first to roll a three. We congratulated him on being a winner and he said “We’re all winners!” He gave an m&m to me, one to Tom and I expected him to just eat the last one but he bit it half and gave half to Danica. It was very cute! During the family home evening lesson we were each taking turns naming people that we love and all on his own Hayden thought to mention the “new baby”, it was very sweet. Speaking of the new baby, she is doing well. I had my last doctor’s appointment today and everything checked out great. I have my records to transfer to my new doctor in San Diego so hopefully everything will go smoothly. My doctor here is really hopeful that I won’t need another c-section and put several notes in my chart and told me to have my new doctor call him if there are any questions. I too hope that I don’t have another c-section!!
Okay, I’m off to clean under the kitchen sink...it’s pretty scary down there! Then perhaps I”ll go to bed! Tom is at the Indian’s game, it was in rain delay so I’m sure he’ll be home late!

http://www.leavenworthmarathon.com/Images/Oktoberfest%20Half-Marathon.pdf

Well we went for Melia's 6 month check up and she is 19 lbs 7 oz and 28 inches long. She is in the 95th percentile for both and 90th percentile for her head! She is a big girl. We are loving every minute with her. She is SO close to crawling and she is mimicking us when we say stuff like Da da. We are trying to get her used to outside. She gets really scared for some reason and starts crying! But we are slowing getting her to like it.
I just started doing a cycling/spinning class on campus with my friend Emilynn. The school has a bunch of free fitness classes either early in the morning or at night. So we are doing that class for a hour Monday through Thursday and then Saturday mornings. There are also some yoga and pilates that we might go to too. She is getting a root canal done tomorrow though so I am dragging Treven with me. I am determined to not make excuses! I love it though. It kicks your butt, but I feel so good afterwards.
Thanks Mike for the xbox. We did get it! I hope the move is going well with you all and I can't wait to find out what the baby is!
Happy Late Mother's Day to all of you! I just had a relaxing weekend... Treven used to work only 1 weekend every 3 weekends. But now (since it is the summer) they have to work two weekends on and one weekend off. So he had to work this weekend. It is okay though! More money!
We are selling the Volkswagen GTI right now. It isn't necessary. It just would be nicer to have more extra money and Treven is getting a motorcycle. I know, scary. But I trust him. He doesn't mess around on bikes. He already got his permit and is practicing on his friend's bike. The bike he is planning on getting gets between 100-110 miles to the gallon. It is 250CC bike so it will be good for him!
Well that is what is going on in our lives. Oh! I forgot! I got my official letter that I am accepted to fast grad so I am now going year round until next year and I will be done! That sounds soooo nice!!! :)
Well love you all!
Kimberly

It's beautiful here today - makes me very anxious for the summer months.

Dave and I leave Friday a.m. for Cleveland - I think K&B leave on Thursday. I am excited to make the trip, just Dave and I, but I am experiencing the normal anxiety that always comes with leaving the kids. I know they'll be fine - my Mom is flying in to stay with them and Buffy has offered to help out a bit. It is a universal truth and a devastating realization: I need them more than they need me.

Hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day - we went over to spend it with K&B and B&B - had a BBQ and sat around the fire, eating s'mores and watching the kids down sodas like water. It was Mom's day - so I didn't have to care. Thanks to the men for making all that happen and for not letting the ladies lift a finger.

Dave is ever busy - when he's not working, he's thinking about it and planning meetings or improvements. We still run together when we can - he is kind enough to run with me, even though I know I slow him down. But - it's really good for me. We got our room in Leavenworth - you have to stay 2 nights due to Oktoberfest - and rooms go quickly, so plan accordingly. I know Brian & Paige are planning on driving up to the race that morning - some may inquire about staying with them.

Mike & Brooke - hope the move went well. Did your mailing address change? I would like to send Sadie's BD gift, but want to send it to the correct address. Let us know.

Well - I'm off to get out into the sun while it lasts!
Adina

Mom,

No internet or phone access during the move made it hard to wish you well. Blogging from work between our 299th and 300th carload...We love you. Will write more later.

Mike, Brooke and kids

I too looked with love at my picture of Mother next to my bed when I made my bed this morning. Please read Martha's words...she said it so beautifully and with such great pictures...I just sat here and wept and smiled thinking of what a great mother we had. She was truly exceptional. It is so hard to have in-laws and grandchildren that have not had the privilege yet of knowing her...although the grandchildren may have known her in the preexistence...

Everytime I rock in that rocker, I think of her rocking me in the Berkeley house and looking over the SF bay area at all the lights. I think of her very scratchy voice singing anyway and the love that I felt when she did....

Everything I have done right as a Mother is probably due to her example.

I am also so proud of all the other mother's in our family...what great mothers my grandchildren have! I hope all you guys are spoiling them rotten today!

I love you all,

Barb

Just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mother's in our family! And of course a special wish to Mom. Thank you so much for being the greatest mom ever! I am so glad that you are mine. :) I love you very very much and I hope that you are really enjoying this day for you and I can't wait to see you in a couple weeks. :)

Love,
Marnie