The Olson's

"I'm totally happy with the way I look"

2011-09-08T17:57:00.001-07:00

Eliza came home from school the other day and asked for a hair cut. She told me she had seen some other girls with "really cute" short hair. So after school the next day I attempted to cut her hair. I looked online for easy ways to cut it and came up with this simple A-line. Took me one cut. She told me she LOVES it.

This is what I read in the school newsletter yesterday; "take a moment each morning and make sure your child is clean and happy with the way they look." I thought this curious suggestion. However Eliza commented, "Oh, that's easy. I am totally happy with the way I look!"

She's cute and she's knows it. Our next quest is to battle vanity.

Ahhhh! It's Kindergarten!

2011-08-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

Jack is a little excited about
starting Kindergarten
today. Can you tell?

Tarzan getting his energy
out before school.

Ready or not...
Westside...here we come!!

Yah! We're done!!!

2011-05-17T22:04:00.001-07:00

Tyler graduated on Saturday from Law school. He now has his Juris Doctorate Degree. And you all are wondering what will happen next? He goes back to class on Monday to study for the bar and will take that in July.

So I guess we're not done:(

As to where we will move when he's really done...we don't know yet. However, we are hopeful that he will get a job...sometime...somewhere... doing something.

Congrats Tyler!! We love you!!

Happy Birthday Eliza!!

2011-05-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

Eliza had her 6th birthday on Mother's Day. She was born on Mother's Day as well and was excited to share that special day with me. I will never have a greater gift than her. We love, love, love her. She's so kind and so obedient, and also very smart. She is reading VERY well for a kindergartener. She reads all day long. When I pick her up from school eachday I find her in the reading corner with a new book. I have a hard time prying her away.

On Friday we took popsicles to her class and played this True or False game with them.

T/F: Eliza weighed about the same amount as this 2lb box of butter when she was born.
Answer...True
Eliza weighed 2lbs 10 oz when she was born.

T/F: Eliza likes anything as long as it is the color black.
Answer....False
Eliza loves anything if it has the color pink or purple on it.

T/F: Eliza loves to sing in the shower.
Answer....False
Eliza doesn't sing in the shower, but she loves to sing in the rain.
Do you remember this video?

She's grown up a lot since we first moved to Moscow.

Happy Easter!!

2011-05-17T21:26:00.001-07:00

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac161/LeelouBlogs/Free%20Templates/SpringColorsBgcopy.png

2011-05-17T21:13:00.001-07:00

The Saturday before Easter we went to an Easter Egg Hunt. The kids had a great time. Jack stayed home because he was still sick with the chicken pox. Cooper was a thoughtful big brother and brought home half his Easter candy to share with Jack. He even hid the eggs in our back yard for him. Cooper made Jack's day a happy one.

"Help?"

2011-05-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

Thomas is a big "helper" these days. He always wants to be in on all the goings on. Dishes and bread making are his favorite ways to "help." He scoots the chairs all over the kitchen so he can "help." I guess I should be grateful for all his enthusiasm.... and I am!!

Wanna Hug???

2011-04-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

We've got the chicken Pox!!!
I know you want some...come on over!

Link to pics from last 2 months

2011-01-02T22:39:00.001-08:00

Olson's 2010
Click on the picture for a link to more random pictures from the last two months

2010-09-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

Thomas likes to say "ball" and "throw." His favorite is rolling the football back and forth.

The Inconsistent Blogger

2010-09-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

You know your a really inconsistent blogger if you only blog when your kids start school or.... we'll get to that one in a moment.

So here they are on their first day of school. Cooper is in first grade and gets to go to school with his best friend Corey. He loves his guitar playing teacher Mr. Cole and has told me he has been learning all about sharks.

Eliza is in kindergarten and she has friends Elias and Austin that are in her class. She is one of only 6 girls, which is not new for her. She is constantly surrounded by boys (3 brothers and soon to be 7 boy cousins). Like Grandma Olson says she'll just have to be the "princess" for a while.

Jack has been home with me this past week. It's been fun to spend some one on one time with him. Boy, does he love it! Everyday we plan out what we will do while the others are gone and he wants to see it through. He's even turned down playing with friends...twice...so he could go to the library or to the park with me. I'm sure this will wear off, but it's fun that he loves to spend time with me. I'm soaking it up!

Now to Thomas. Here he is after escaping from our house...this is the hallway outside our apartment.

Thomas is also ONE. We celebrated his birthday with Firetrucks and Family.

And now for the second reason you would post if your an inconsistent blogger.....

Thomas is WALKING!!!! I bet you all thought I was going to say I was pregnant. Sorry, I'm not. However, I guess that would be the third reason to post. I'll try to get the video up of him walking soon... which probably means I won't! Ha! Because I'm inconsistent!!

Thomas Alert!

2010-03-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

Thomas crawls for first time today! In other news, Thomas is recovering from an eye infection, chest congestion, and cough. He has also been spotted eating ice cream and cookies (but his Father declined to comment).

say dada

2010-02-21T20:33:00.000-08:00

Thomas is saying "Dada," but not in front of the camera. We did manage to get you something though. Here, he shows off his rocking manuever, his girly hair, and giggle.

gratitude

2009-11-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

Today, November 20, 2009, I am grateful for "life" - the spirit body my Heavenly Parents created giving life to a nascent intelligence; the physical body my earthly parents gave me making possible a second estate of life and learning where both the spiritual and physical powers allow me to grow and have joy. Part of my experience has included giving the same opportunity to other spirits. Another part of my experience has included sharing every part of life with an eternally connected friend. The permanence of this connectedness, from Heavenly Parents to earthly parents, to child, and to generations past and future is what "life" means to me. I am grateful that life endures beyond death along with all the traits, capacities, and powers inherent in each living being.

Thomas has a cold and was having a hard time the other night. He struggled to breathe, grunting and moaning in spurts to clear his airway, followed by exuberant cry's for relief. I listened, feeling pained and helpless. I soon felt stir a firm faith that Heavenly Father through the Priesthood would bring calm and peace to Thomas. A blessing was given, his breathing improved, and my heart was comforted. Thomas is fine, but seeing him suffer I could not hold back giving him all that I could. Life is a precious gift that is made permanent through the eternal sacrifice of our Savior. He could not hold back the love he has for all of us. He gave all, so that our spirits and bodies could reunite in perfect form, and each soul could be reunited with parent and offspring connecting all in one eternal "life."

2009-11-08T18:35:00.001-08:00

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Old Baby New Baby

2009-11-08T16:22:00.001-08:00

Jack is moving on. He's no longer a baby, in fact, this little Casanova thinks he has a girlfriend. I asked him a few questions, this is what he said: "Alex is my girl friend. I like her because she has pink jamies. I went to her house and she kissed me a lot, and she loved me. I was her home teacher, I taught her to 'walk in the light.'" Today at Sunday dinner he said Alex and him laid down on the floor in nursery and made snow angels together. Watch out girls...here he comes.

Thomas is pure joy - new, soft, cuddly, chubby, pure, clean, close to heaven, inspiring! He smiles, laughs, and gurgles, but that's enough to entertain us for hours. I wish we could bottle up these new baby feelings, just in case this is last.

spooky halloweeny

2009-11-08T15:50:00.001-08:00

Thought we would make homemade root beer, instead we bought some A&W and added dry ice.

Eliza = princess Leia

Grandma and Grandpa Olson came for Halloween weekend. We carved pumpkins, went to the ward trunk or treat party, ate good food, stayed up late, wrestled, and watched Princess Bride (with the ginormous fire swamp rat and sweet lines like: as you wish, true wuv, and inconceivable).
Thomas = Ewok. Cooper was DarthVader and Jack was Luke Skywalker. Tyler was George and Corina was Lucas.

Big Day

2009-09-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

This is it! The moment Cooper's been waiting for. He is now officially in Kindergarten!! He had is first big day on September 2nd and he's is loving it all! He loves the bus ride, his friends, Mrs. Schroeder, his homework...you name it-he loves it!!

Here's the little stud on his big day

Jack and Eliza excited to see their brother get home from school.

Just off the bus!
(All kindergartner's are bussed from the elementary school to
their kindergarten class on campus and back again).

One hot day

2009-08-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

We just spent a week in Utah, at my parents house, while Tyler was in Twin Falls for an internship. My sister, Aumanie took us to this great park in Brigham City. The toys were too hot to play on, but the kids found this cool stream. They splashed and played for over an hour. You can tell my kids really enjoyed themselves, because they all fell asleep on the way back to Grandma and Poppie's house. Thanks Aumanie for spending the week with us. You kept my kids entertained and me from loosin' it.

My sister Aumanie, the sanity saver!

My niece Kayla, the best babysitter!
Please come live with me!!

Wade and Cooper exploring the river

Cooper trying to finish building a dam

Jack fishing with his "fishin' pole"

Eliza loving the water...can ya tell?
This girl's not afraid of anything..
(except doctors and dentists, but that's another story)

Thomas cooling off on a blanket
What a hot day!!

More Pics - Day 2

2009-07-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

Chooo...choooooo! Thomas (the train) has arrived!

2009-07-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

Arrival 9:58 am. Corina and baby (Thomas Todd Olson) are at the station. When I left, Thomas was just about ready to "latch on" to momma car - he was really going to town on his binky.

He weighed 6lb 4oz and was 19 feet 1/2 in long.

Corina's is recovering well, but had a slight problem - her bladder was ruptured when they detached it from the uterus. Everything is okay though, she's all sewed up and should recover fine. Except she'll have a catheter for a little longer.

Thanks all for helping us along on this adventure.

Very Random Pictures

2009-07-16T16:13:00.001-07:00

What is it?
Pig? Alien?
It couldn't be Cooper?

Watching the tractors cut hay in the field behind our house.

Fourth of July Fireworks in our back yard
sporting their snazzy firework glasses

(Notice: Jack looks like he might hyperventilate)

Jack screaming "I wanna go inside." and "no! no! no!"
(hm mm....maybe he doesn't like fireworks very well)

Jack playing with a worm...he loves them!

Eliza with our neighbor friend Peyton
I took these in this exact order...notice anything?

Finger in nose...

Finger in mouth!!
Yuck!! But aren't they cute sitting there together.

After that thought...
An amazing sunset from our back porch. We have quite the view!!

SLEEPOVER

2009-07-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Cooper had his very first sleepover last night. His best friend Corey has been wanting to have one for a very long time. So, yesterday was the day. We had a great time and hope Corey did too. Thanks for coming to play!!

Here they are in the tent.
Corey, Cooper, Jack, & Eliza.

Between 10:30-11:00pm they finally fell asleep. I'm surprised Corey could sleep with all that snoring. Only most of my kids snore.

They were all awake laughing at 6:30 this morning. My kids normally sleep till 8:00 so if they're a little cranky today we'll know why.

GOOD & NICE

2009-07-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

This morning, while I was making breakfast, Jack came up behind me and grabbed my leg. He said, "I want to do something good and nice." I said, "Awesome, I'm so glad you want to do something good and nice." He responded with, "and then you can tell me 'good job!!'"

I just laughed, gave him a hug and said, "Here's something good and nice you can do. Do you want to set the table?" He responded very enthusiastically with, "Ya!!"

I think we all want to do something good and nice. It's hard to keep at it all the time, but even my three year old has figured out that it makes you happy. What wisdom! I love kids!

Blast off!!

2009-06-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

Cooper decided to conquer his bike this week, and he built a water rocket launcher (with some help). When I got home from school the kids where screaming "Cooper did it!" He was super excited to show me that he could ride his bike. I thought the day would never come, but after several days of prodding and falling he really did it. Side note: one thing i've learned this summer is that the best way to teach kids is by helping them experience a trial (Ether 12:6); all the words and preaching in the world will not enable them to learn like them having to fight the battle inside their minds and hearts. Words alone are not enough.

The kids have also been working hard on their reading this summer; they all got a free meal at Applebee's and movie passes for reading 10 books each. Cooper read his 10 but Eliza and Jack are still trying to figure out how "hooked on phonics" will work for them. Actually, Corina is doing an awsome job teaching them with the Frontline Phonics program.

Well here are some clips, we lost our big 2 liter rocket in the field so this smaller one will have to do....

More Bugs

2009-06-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

One child who loves bugs and another who's terrified of them. This morning Eliza comes running into my room SCREAMING, "There's a spider on my bed....(hyperventilating)...it's on one of my babies...it's BIG...and Black." Alright, I say, let's go look at it. As I'm walking to her room I'm a little nervous, because I don't like spiders either. When we get to her room she points to her hippo. So I slowly creep over there to examine her hippo and I have a hard time discovering anything. Finally I spot it. Ha! Ha! The spider was as big as this dot (.). I'm sure glad it was a "BIG" spider. I don't know what I would have done if it were any bigger. Ohhh! Little lady, I sure love you! Thanks for making me laugh.

Jack's "Potatie"

2009-06-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

For a couple of weeks now Jack has been obsessed with bugs. Worms, ants... you name it. His absolute favorite are the roly-poly's or potato bugs, as I call them. He calls them his pets. So the other day I got him a jar, with holes in the lid, so he could keep some of them. Now he carries this jar of pets around all day, has them sleep by his bed at night, and has even named a few of them. The two names I've heard him come up with are "Dacon", (Like Bacon with a D), and "Potatie." Today he told me that his Potatie was taking a nap. Later, while I was in his room ,I noticed a pile of blankets on top of a toy box. I peeked inside and there was one tiny (dead) potatie "sleeping" on a beanbag. Ohhhh! He loves them so much, it doesn't even matter if their alive! What a great kid!

Baby....No baby!

2009-06-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am still pregnant and everything is going well. I have been really stable these last weeks that I've been on "bed rest," (Ha, I've taken myself off because it's impossible). I've been trying to take it easy, but I feel this great need to get things ready for the baby. I think they call that nesting. Tyler has to keep the reigns on me. I tried to mow the lawn last week, and Tyler came out and took over, (he was quite mad at me). Mowing the lawn is one of my passions and I've been missing it all summer. I really wasn't going to do the whole thing, but thanks Ty for not letting me do much. Thanks everyone for your prayers and all your help. I have been so blessed with great friends here in Moscow, who have done so much for me in the more critical moments.

My C-section is scheduled for July 21st. If he comes before then it will be okay.

Kissin' at the Temple

2009-06-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

Darcie, Tyler's baby sister, was married May 29th in the Logan Temple. With all the kissing going on with the newly weds, Eliza wanted to get in on some of the action. She's quite the go getter. Daddy better get his gun!

You know who put them up to this, right? My crazy husband!!
They're going to love these pictures when they get older.

Happy Birthday Jack

2009-06-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

Jack is now 3 and has been for a couple of weeks. All he wanted for his birthday was a Lightening McQueen cake. The night before I started making one for him at 11 pm. It all started to go wrong when the frosting would not turn red. I think I dropped 100 drops of food coloring and it was still pink. I did the best I could...and went to bed. In the morning I wasn't pleased with what I saw, so I threw it out and moved on to plan B. I bought a cake at the store adding an Oreo race track, a checkered flag, and Jack's new Lightening McQueen car. Wallah!! He loved it!! Next time I think I'll save myself all the trouble and go with plan B first.

This was the goal for plan A. Ha! Ha!
For someone with my cake making abilities... not a very realistic option.

Here's the Handsome Birthday Boy!!
This is his "Cheeeeeeze" face
(not sure what's on his chin)

Can't get this kid to smile in pictures. He's such a goof!!

Krafty Corina makes another quilt

2009-05-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

This is for my sister Darcie who's getting hitched on Friday. It is also proof that someone has not been following the good Dr.'s orders (to be on bed rest).

Sunday in the yard and at the park

2009-05-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

Anyone have a kleenex...look close

2009-05-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Eliza

2009-05-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

Eliza got an early start on life, but not that or anything else has stopped her from becoming a princess, and that she is. She is a precious gift we're so glad to have. Like those who nursed her along at the start, she is blessed with a great empathy for others. She loves her little baby dolls, but she also likes older men with gray hair (like her Grandpa's, Bishop, and her dad who's grown a few gray hairs over last 4 years).

Her favorite food is spaghetti or any type of noodle. She loves her pink dresses, pink tights, pink shirts, pink coat, pink bike, etc., etc.
One of the many special things about Eliza is that when she gets tucked in for bed she likes to touch your face (mouth, ears, nose, eyes) and feel your hair, and then give you a very long hug. We sure love our sweet little girl.

Tasty

2009-05-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

This is Jack eating a medium sized booger (not biggie sized, just medium, how the kids like em). I can understand why Jack is eating a booger, since I often use "burger" and "booger" interchangabley. His attempt was successful; just after the picture he slipped it into his trap before we could blink.

As you can see, the booger/burger is stationed on the tip of Jack's finger. Also visible is Jack's uvula...kinda cool.

Favorite Sunday thing

2009-05-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

Playing hang man and pictionary on the white board is one of our favorite things to do on Sunday. The kids learn to spell, write, and draw - and it's fun! In this picture Jack is drawing a "monster squib" with tons of eyes. Speaking of "tons," someone at Church today said it's amazing some people (looking at us) can get to church on time with "tons" of kids. Actually, it is amazing. Thinking back, I don't remember a time when we didn't arrive before the prayer. This is where Corina comes in, and since Mothers Day is coming up lets give her a round of applause...clapclapwhistle. She is amazing! She accomplishes the immposible and makes it look easy. We love you Corina!

Bed rest?

2009-04-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know my husband, he doesn't explain anything unless you ask him very specific questions. So, if you are wondering what in the world he's talking about me being on bed rest, you are welcome to read the rest of this post.

Friday morning I had an ultrasound to measure the length of my cervix. While I was pregnant with Jack they did the same thing every 4 weeks or so, and my cervix always measured at a normal length. Anywhere between 3.5 to 4 cm. Four weeks ago when they measured my cervix it was 4.5 cm. Great!! Friday morning it was 2.5cm. Not so great!! Subsequently the doctor was very worried, and sent me to the hospital for further investigations upon which they found I was having contractions and in the early stages of preterm labor. So they gave me a shot which stopped the contractions, and sent me home with more meds and BED REST. My doctor is just about as specific as my husband is...so I'm still not positive what I can and can't do on bed rest. However, I'll stay down as much as I can.

We've been so blessed through all of this. I'm grateful they were able to catch the labor so early, and hope that this baby will cook a lot longer...at least another 10-12 weeks. Our ward and all our friends here in Moscow have been amazing!! I can't believe how quickly the word traveled that I was in the hospital. Only an hour or two passed before someone called to bring dinner to my family at home. So many have offered to watch our kids and bring dinner throughout this next week. Wow! I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. Thanks everyone for all your help and prayers!

Growin like a tree

2009-04-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

This little sprout, commonly referred to as string bean (the wild version), is branching out and anchoring his roots.

He loves to clean up.
He draws intricate pictures of cars, spaceships and super heros, and labels them.
He likes to eat spagetti, especially when Dad makes it with his special ingredient - sugar.
He relates back stories from the scriptures, and really likes the new online features for the Friend magazine.
He thinks deep about outer space. He has reasoned that people on other planets might think of us as aliens. He hopes Jesus would recognize him if he flew his spaceship to Kolob (or nearby).
He looks forward to Thursdays at preshool because he gets chocolate milk and plays with the parachute.
He is growing moles on his neck and back, but still can't count as high as the number of moles on Dad's back.
He is observant. This morning he noticed the hair on Dad's neck and said "Hey look, Dad has eyebrows on his neck...hehehe."
He is awsome! We love him!

The effect of bed rest on toenails

2009-04-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

Corina is on bed rest so she and Eliza stayed home from Stake Conference today and guess what they did? They listened to conference online...and painted their toenails. This is the first time ever - it was Eliza's idea.

I love to see the temple

2009-04-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

This is Eliza singing her favorite song. Enjoy!

Kids and Conference

2009-04-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

Every six months I hope to have something prepared for my kids to do so they can sit reverently as they listen to general conference. However, I never remember that I was planning to do this until the day before. So, needless to say, I did not have anything ready for them.

I check my e-mails and blogs about once a week on Sunday night, (the only night my dedicated husband is not studying:). So tonight as I checked my e-mails I found this sweet note from my mother with an attachment for a conference packet for children. Oh! If only I had seen it sooner! Thanks Mom for thinking of us. You know how rambunctious my children are, and it would have helped them focus immensely.

I was surprised that my children did quite well during conference; despite my lack of preparation. There were half hour intervals where Jack and Eliza cuddled with us on the couch, and Cooper built with blocks quietly at our feet. I honestly think that children listen better when they play. There were many times I noticed Cooper staring intently at the T.V. screen, as he heard something that interested him. My kids are growing up! They are learning to be reverent and quite at times! Hallellujiah!! (I think I may use this phrase too often...the other day Eliza exclaimed this after I mentioned we were having lasagna for dinner). But really, this is a blessing from the Lord. I am so grateful for a kind, loving Father in Heaven who gives us little moments of peace in a whirl of caous.

In short, it was a most uplifting weekend for us. Grateful for the messages that have uplifted, strengthened and motivated me. How blessed we are!

Boy names anyone?

2009-04-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

So, there is a standing joke around here that our next boy will be Olof Olson. My friend Heather Crockett says this would almost be as bad as if she named her son Davy.

Anyway, we don't know what to name this next boy of ours. In naming both our boys it has taken a while to decide. With Jack it was the longest. We had no ideas until shortly before Jack was born, Tyler's grandpa died. His nickname was Jack. Grandpa Jack was the sweetest man, who was very generous and had an amazing singing voice. We both loved him and felt naming our son after him was appropriate. And since we didn't have any other extremely temping ideas, we went with it.

Now naming children after decesed relatives is wonderful, however, we sincerely hope that no one will have to go before we can make a decision on a name for our baby. Olof Olson is definately not in our child's best interest, so if you have any ideas...post away!! Thanks!

What did you learn at church today?

2009-03-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

In our own words, this is what we learned:

Cooper: I learned about animals...some are mean, some aren't. Animals do your chores (wish we had some of those).

Eliza: I learned about elephants, tigers, giraffes, bears, pony, horsey, beast, and dinosaurs.

Cooper: We have animals so they can give us food.

Cooper: Jesus and Heavenly Father made all the animals.

Jack: I learned about Lightning McQueen and eenie meenie minee moe. I learned about dinosaurs and a smile face. Mom comed in and looked at my picture.

Corina: I went to primary and learned about smiley faces.

Tyler: I learned about gathering to zion.

chips ahoy.....

2009-03-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

It's a boy!

SMILE

2009-03-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

Corina and the kids are visiting family, but I've been frowning. So, for FHE, I tried to cheer up. Come home soon guys! I'm starving! And....I'm running out of clothes! And....you get the point. hehe

Chicken Pox Pie

2009-02-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

Today Corina slaved over a new creation, chicken "pox" pie. She was so worried about the crust not turning out just right, and we all sensed her disappointment, especially Cooper. So, when Cooper said the prayer, he blessed the "chicken pox pie that mom made." No we have not invented some new mutant virus that spreads through pies, but Corina and I did create one funny kid.

That's a big....

2009-02-18T17:41:00.000-08:00

Picture this, Jack is walking behind Corina and Eliza as they leave the doctor's office. Two ladies enter the doctor's office and Jack stops to stare as they walk by. Corina turns around to locate Jack who is staring in amazement at one of the ladies. Jack then says, "That's a big bum!" Laughing and embarrassed, Corina grabbed Jack and fled the scene. Apparently, Corina couldn't stop laughing so "it" must have been really big. Anyway, the good news is that Eliza and Jack heard Baby's heart beat today for the first time.

Who needs it anyway...

2009-02-07T16:05:00.000-08:00

We don't. We think its cool. Once Jack got past the scrapping sensation of the shaver, he was all for it.

We recommend it to everyone. The benefits are super: no combs, no gel, no worries. Plus, people will notice. The minus - people will notice, and at times you may feel like a puppy because people really like to feel the pokiness. Don't worry though, it grows out in about 2 months. That just reminds me of another benefit, that means 6 haircuts per year versus 12-15. That means more time for other fun things like watching the Aggies clobber the Vandals, building rocket ships, baking cookies, helping with dishes (indirect benefit), and on and on...

Do it now! And let us know how you like it.

Is she pregnant, stuffed with pillow, or fat?

2009-02-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

It Depends on who you ask. I would say she looks like Corina with a 13 weeker in the oven. Ask Cooper, Liza or Jack and she's got a baby in there. Ask Corina, and the response is, "fat!" Well, thank goodness for fat, lovely women, who have sweet little babies.

My Sugar Baby

2009-01-30T20:35:00.000-08:00

So we are expecting again! We had our first three children in 2 1/2 years. We've since had that long of a break and things were getting too easy. So we thought we'd throw another one into the loop. I was fortunate not to be sick while pregnant with Jaxon, but this pregnancy has been different. I've been very sick, but am close to the end of that part of pregnancy. Sugar is the worst for me this time around. The other night I went out with some girl friends for a birthday celebration and had some delicious marionberry pie with ice cream. I ate almost the whole thing. On the way home I lost it all! I had to pull over several times to puke out the window. Disgusting, I know. It was quite embarassing the next morning as I was taking Cooper to preschool with noticable vomit streeming down the outside window. We got that cleaned up and taken care of real quick. What joys! Do these kids know what we go through for them.

Let it Snow!!

2008-12-14T15:37:00.000-08:00

We finally got our first snowfall and the kids are loving it. They played all day in the snow. We have a great sled hill just behind our house. Cooper and a neighbor boy tried to sled down it without sleds. They got down great, but it was so steep they could not get back up without help. We love snow!!

Jack's new friend: Fungus

2008-11-08T18:33:00.000-08:00

Eliza likes to eat plain rice and noodles. Jack likes to eat avocados and mushrooms. Weird. Anyway, this evening at dinner we had beans and apricot chicken w/peppers and mushrooms. Eliza ate the beans and Jack ate the mushrooms. But too the point, a few weeks ago Jack learned the alternate word for mushroom: fungus. So, while eating this evening I said, "you sure like mushrooms huh Jack." Jack responded, "fungus is my friend." We all laughed and Jack shoveled a huge "fungus" into his mouth.

Halloween Party!

2008-10-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

We had a Halloween Party at our house on Friday. We had it in place of Cooper's birthday party so parents didn't feel obligated to bring presents. We wanted to have fun, so we invited tons of kids-17 of them, plus their parents. It was a blast! (Thanks to all the parent help that I received). Hannah, Corey's mom, was so kind to take all these pictures of the kids amidst all the excitement.

Mom and Eliza

2008-10-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

Eliza is such a good friend to me. She is usually the first one up and when she sees me she yells "Ma, Ma" and comes running to sit in my lap or give me a huge hug. She gives me a lot of stress sometimes because she's really dramatic about pretty much everything, but I sure do love her spunk. All of you who know Eliza know exactly what I mean. She's full of it! But I wouldn't trade her for the world!

by the way...

2008-10-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

Our camera was not broken after all.

Soccer

2008-10-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Cooper played Soccer this fall. Here are a few of the pictures. It was always really cold at his games so he had to bundle up. His team, Buzz-Buzz didn't usually score a lot of points. But he sure had fun. He especially loved the games where he played against his best friend Corey, whose team was the Grasshoppers. Cooper would usually score for the Grasshoppers when Buzz-Buzz played them. I guess he felt bad for them since they had already scored 5 points. He thought they might need some more points. Cooper always so kind and thoughtful :)

Elder Bednar on marriage

2008-10-25T21:03:00.001-07:00

2008-10-19T20:36:00.001-07:00

Mormanity - A Mormon Blog: Those Endearing Gaddiantons

2008-10-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Mormanity - A Mormon Blog: Those Endearing Gaddiantons

Great blog with "Mormon" incite and perspective into current events. This particular article makes me shiver.

Pumpkins, transformers, and aliens

2008-10-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin guts...yuck!

Guess who our inspiration for this pumpkin was...scary huh.

Don't even ask how long it took to make this cake. All I know is that Corina came to bed at like 3 a.m. Transformers are Cooper's latest fascination, so for his 5th birthday that's what he got. My mom and dad brought up my old transformers, we wrapped them, and he loved them. Thanks mom and dad for saving my old toys.

While Grandma and Grandpa Olson were in town we enjoyed the fall colors. As always Eliza was impossible to keep sitting in one spot for 2 seconds so she's not in this picture (and is not likely to be seen in many others, unless she's dancing).

See, there she goes!

Cooper's dream is to go to space. Last night he said we need to go the library and get a book on "how to build a rocket." He continued to explain:

"Then we'll get some wood and it'll take two days because it will be so big. We'll need flame to push us up and then the rocket part will fall off when we get into space. And we'll need tanks because there's no oxygen up there. When we get off to look at the aliens we'll bounce around cause there isn't any gravity up there either. Then, if we find a black hole we'll get sucked in...ahhh"

This lead us into a discussion about heaven. He asked, "do they float around and have space races." Maybe. He continued, "that would be way cool, they could have space races in heaven and go 'speed' all over the place."

He builds space ships constantly, this is just one of his prototypes. To infinity and beyond!

Dominos

2008-09-18T20:24:00.001-07:00

Sometimes in life, everything goes smoothly. Things seems to go your way. Then, the storm hits! Boom! It all comes tumbling down...

Well, it's not that bad. Still we have had a few breakdowns at our house that have prevented me from posting as often as I should. My computer crashed, so I can only post when Tyler is home. Usually when he's home we're busy. Ya know, dinner, kids, stuff like that. Also, my camera has stopped working... so, I can't take any pictures. Aaahh! And my sewing machine has also gone under, however, this won't make any difference to you. All this happened in a weeks time. I think it was also in that same week that our van was hit in the mall parking lot. Thankfully, it was only bodily damage, and our van still works.

Tyler and I were joking on our 7 year anniversary, which was last month, that we'd had the 7 years of plenty so we better get ready for the 7 years of famine. I hope this is not an indicator of the way things will go. Ha! Ha! Wow! Aren't I the pessimist! Sorry!

Creativity

2008-08-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

We received these building bricks from a neighbor who is moving soon. Jack was playing with them the other day and asked me to come and see what he made. He told me it was an airplane. Pretty creative for a two year old. Cooper followed suit and made a bigger and better one of his own.

Coeur d'Alene Trip

2008-08-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our camping trip to Couer d'Alene. We escaped for two blissful days to this beautiful spot. Wish you all could have been there!!

Tour of the Lake

Swim on the Beach...notice no one is in the water...brrrr cold.

Tyler braving the cold to show off his.........uhhh.......farmer tan?!?

Strait vertical hike up the mountain, Honestly!!
Cooper walked the whole way; Liza and Jack half the way.
Amazing!!

Super Heros

2008-07-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

FYI: Aprons tied on backwards make great super hero capes!

One good thing about our move is that our kids play better together. Today they were playing super hero's and were sitting in this treasure box when I snapped their picture. Jack's a little upset because there is not enough room in the box. He's a little sqished. Cooper's saying "cheese" and Eliza's pretending to eat it.

Sleep Walking

2008-07-24T11:31:00.003-07:00

A couple of nights ago Tyler and I were watching a movie after the kids went to bed when Cooper comes running into the family room. He looked right at me, so I asked him what he needed. He didn't respond, but ran right past me and into our office only to turn around and run back out of the family room. Cooper was running like his pants were wet, so I went to investigate. Sure enough, they were...so I sat him on the toilet and went to get some clean pants and check his bed for wetness. It was dry.

Meanwhile, back on the couch, Tyler sees Cooper do the exact same loop through the family room. This time with no pants on and galloping like a horse. All the while not saying a word.

After I get Cooper back in bed I start noticing wet spots all over the carpet. I could just picture Cooper running around searching for a toilet and not having any luck. He'd dripped urine all the way around our bed, and then their was a trail leading around the couch in the living room, with a large puddle behind it. The funniest part... he doesn't remember a lick of it. We laughed for hours over this one.

Singin' in the Rain

2008-07-24T11:11:00.003-07:00

This was our first rainstorm in Moscow. Eliza made the most of it on our very long porch.

2008-01-13T17:43:00.000-08:00

Kangaroo Zoo...giant blow-up toys, slides 20 feet high...it was awsome!

Cooper's snowman started out strait and tall, but it melted one day and froze into this. Cooper said he wants to build another snowman that tips to make a tunnell (pics coming soon).

Handsome little Jack.

Dancing with the stars!

2007-12-09T15:49:00.000-08:00

Eliza pretends to be "Princess 'P' with spelling power," Cooper engineers his latest contraption, Jack trots away on his zebra, and the dynamic duo twirl like ballerinas...the question we all ask is, "will Cooper's destiny be an amazing sense of balance as he straddles the sideline running for a touch down, or will he be starring in the nutcracker?" All our efforts will support the first, lets all hope for the best!

Jack without curls

2007-11-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

Someone called Jack a girl the other day, so we cut off his curls. Sad, but reaffirming...Jack the boy is back.

2007-08-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

This is Eliza singing in the car. She sang all the way
from Grandma Olson's to Grandma McKenna's. This is only a small clip, but tells the story anyway.
s

Jack is walking!

2007-07-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

We were playing with the kids last Sunday and Jack decided to take his first 10 steps! We were so excited that he took so many on his first go. As you can see he is doing well. He can already pivot a little and walk across a room.

Cooper's room

2007-07-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

This is Cooper's new bed spread and his VERY BRIGHT orange wall. I sent Tyler to the store to get red paint and he came back with orange. After a little persuasion on his part...I think we like it.

Monkey No. 3 and sand castle

2007-07-08T16:01:00.001-07:00

Corina directing construction of the monkeys' first castle.

Monkey No. 2

2007-07-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

Monkey No. 1

2007-07-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

The first little monkey is sometimes confused with another animal.