I've Been Everywhere

and where has the time gone.......Two big races one in Northern Idaho one in Reno, the first day of school, hiking, biking and two birthday parties. Halloween came and went and here we are almost at Christmas.....I've been everywhere man I've been everywhere.....Enjoy!

I've Been Everywhere

I've Been Everywhere, Man I've Been Everywhere!

You lil' love nugget

A smile is a work in progress for you, a grin you give away a smile now that takes preparation, timing and a lot of encouragement.

Your looks they crack me up! A smile.....maybe, but really what are you thinking?

Puzzled by the camera's flash and your adorning crowd you break away.

Must we..........

Rolling Stones

We are rolling stones around here......wild horses couldn't drag me away: wild, wild horses couldn't drag me away. I got my freedom but I don't have much time: Let's do some living after we die!


What is summer without sticky fingered boys splashing in the pool? Dinner outside, dinner camp side! Fly's buzzing around your ears mosquitoes on your toes. Baby sparrows singing in the tree's flowers begging for another drink. Family bike rides everywhere to absolutely nowhere, gardens flourishing! Picnics in the park, BBQ with friends , dirt under our nails, on our faces and tan lines on our feet!

We are halfway through summer with still so much to do. We have more camping a family vacation to Yellow Stone (insert giddiness here) . Bike qualifiers at the end of this month and the state championship series at the end of August in beautiful Coeur d'Alene Idaho. School starts the beginning of September but we are still trying to squeeze in Seattle before it starts, if time runs out we will get there in October!

And to end our summer I have a double digit birthday for Indy to plan and celebrate phew!

Summer Break 2010

O.k. three kiddos home 9, 5, 3 months.......and I am home too. What will our summer look like? Well, we have decided to make things interesting by quitting t.v. and I don't just mean we turned it off for a few hours during the day and we didn't just unplug the damn thing we really quit the t.v.! Their still in the house but we had the cable turned off and without the cable we have NO channels. This is an experiment in uncomplicating our lives ...step one KILL THE T.V. ok... so how did I get to step one?

It started at least a year ago or more Jasun and I watched the kids sucking some insane t.v. Disney Channel I think, and commented on the brain suck that was in our house. We actually covered them up with a blanket one summer and told the kids the t.v. was on vacation. But, the problem was the t.v. was still there so the kids would go into the "I have nothing to do" mode and beg and plead for a little t.v. and I am sure we gave in here and there. So Jas and I talked about getting rid of cable but then there is football season and motocross that Jasun liked to watch and what about HGTV for me and TLC and how could I live without CNN especially during the election. So, I talked myself out of it time and time again. I threatened the kids with the loss of t.v. when we would fight about it. "I'm going to get rid of the t.v. if you guys don't start listening to me when it is time to get off!" Blah, blah, blah.....I am sure that is what they really heard. So what happened?

Well, Araya came and with Araya came some crazy doctor bills! I was paying our cable/internet/phone bill and realized that combined with our cell phone bill we were paying over 300.00 a month for these luxuries (although a better word here is complications). It still didn't convince me that letting some of that go was necessary. I still needed an aha moment in order to let the cable go. Did I mention that I had called the cable company three times over the course of 6 months to find out what our options were and how much we would save? Crazy when I look back at that.
So, what was that aha moment? We decided to take the kids on a Mountain bike ride in the foothills, while the boys rode Araya and I hiked around, her in the front pack. During the hike I thought a lot about what we could do to uncomplicated our lives and the cable thing was gnawing away at me. Jett is still young enough but could Indy be saved? It wasn't just the brain suck of senseless t.v. and lost income,it was the constant stream of media influence and the giving up of our ourselves our family time, ...........that was it, it was gone! I made the call and on a Wednesday they came to take it away. Coincidentally it was like the universe was watching the struggle I was having and decided on the same day that the t.v. shut down the PlayStation would die too. Alright I thought, "here we go"........... What does our life look like now?
1. No whining about t.v. no struggle it is gone they know I can't do anything about it.
2. My house is thrashed from their toys.....but boy their imaginations are in full swing
3. We have had a bike ride every night with the kids
4. Indy actually wanted to help me plant the garden
5. Indy helped me organize our craft cupboard sorting through all the markers, pens etc.. it took him over an hour.
6. Indy has asked his dad to teach him how to play the guitar that he got for Christmas.
7. on a hike yesterday the boys wanted to go further and further....there was no whining no "I'm ready to go home's"
8. Indy asked if I would teach him how to cook.........he wanted to make us all lunch...weird!
9. Jett has been crafting every afternoon and both the boys have begun documenting their summer with a journal.
10. dinner outside every night...together....bike rides....together....reading.... together.

It is official, I thought I couldn't hate anything but I do hate the t.v. more now then I did before! As far as it coming back I can easily say NO WAY and I don't need an aha moment to figure it out. I have plenty of amazing moments everyday to remind me how much of a life suck it is! It makes me feel sorry for those families trapped into that mode. I know they are giving up so much. I think even if you try to convince yourself that your family doesn't watch that much of it like I did you will be amazed at the shift you will have when it is gone. The truth is when it is really gone yours and your kids brains will shift...we were a play outside family we rode bikes we crafted at night even with the t.v but it was different my kids were different doing it. KILL THE T.V. didn't that suggestion come in the early 80's and since then we have given it more, more channels, more of them in our homes, in our childrens rooms (shudder)!

I have never been happier at my decision to kill something!

MARCH 4, 2010

AND JUST LIKE THAT IT HAPPENED I FELL IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN............


ARAYA SUEKO TEMPLE
BORN MARCH 4, 2010 @ 10:36AM
8LBS 15 OUNCES
21.5 INCHES LONG

MY GIRL!

Just a few more weeks!

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has whizzed by at some sort of freakish lightning speed. There is so many things that I have not done yet that I feel almost frenzied but without the movement if that makes any sense at all! I wake up every morning with a ton of things that need to be accomplished aside from the basic meals, school drop offs and pick-ups, dishes laundry etc.. but I can't get my body to make it to these "baby things". When your mind is in a frenzy but you can't move it makes for a very interesting ticking time bomb like feeling in your mind. One moment everything is fine and the next my thoughts catch up to my body and I can feel my blood pressure rise along with my voice. Not good! My body is ready to get back to itself yet the things in our life have not made it to 36 weeks along with my body. If my body would stop growing and maybe go back a few (10) weeks or so then maybe I could muster up the energy to get the baby stuff set up, washed, sterilized etc... but since I sit here at 36ish weeks and can barely move without pain somewhere I seem to be stuck in a rather sticky predicament. So here I sit!

I know things will work out as they always do so I try to let go of most of the murmurings in my mind and concentrate on my sweet boys and life that is before me. In the next few weeks we will cross into another phase of our lives adding a new member to the family will be a major adjustment for all of us. I can't wait to see Jett's face when he gets to kiss his "own baby". He is very excited about the fact that this baby will be his to love on and no one will be able to say you can't hold them or kiss them which has been the rule with the babies he has been around recently. His affection towards those little people come straight from his heart and I think it was stifled a bit with what he could or couldn't do that now he is very jazzed about the fact that this baby will get all his unconditional love. (deep breath) I am sure that this baby will be loved and loved a lot!

We wrapped up snowboarding lessons last week and are smack dab in the middle of basketball season. Indy loves B-ball he might not be the best player but he gives it his all. I am so proud of how far he has come this year over last.
Jett starts soccer in the spring just as Indy is winding down from basketball the schedule will work out nicely so as to not bend momma into breaking with a new baby and all!

I am looking forward to summer and gardening, hiking and camping. So many things that I missed last summer and fall with my crazy morning sickness that this year I am aching to get outside and do something. I hope for a quick turn into spring a speedy delivery and a amazing new start to our new year and new decade!