Photos of flowers - as requested

 

Top left - Kenneth's petunias
Middle top - a pot w/ a white petunia, small roses, and a marigold that Kenneth gave me for Mother's Day
Top right - my oriental lily I bought myself for Mother's Day - I wish I'd taken a picture with the blossoms, they were so lovely
Middle left - bay (for bay leaves)
Middle - Rosemary/Oregano
Middle Right - Spice basil
bottom left - one of the 4 roses I planted in the ground
(the cause of the landlady grief)
bottom middle - a patio tomato
bottom right - a knock out rose I put in a pot to take with me

More Game Farm

 

 

 

 

Game Farm

 

 

 

 

Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

Photos from Sequim

 

This is at the Railroad bridge - the river in the background is the Dungeness River.

 

The Dungeness River is running over right now - so it's kind of muddy.

 

On the spit.

 

At the Railroad Bridge - just down the road from where we stayed. Isn't the green beautiful?

Cuteness

I was just asking Daniel & Caitlin what they want for lunch. Daniel wants Dino-nuggets. I said to Caitlin, "Do you want Dino-nuggets, Caitlin?" and she said, "No thank you, I want macaroni and cheese."

How can you say no to that when they're so polite?

Off I go to make Dino-nuggets AND Macaroni and Cheese.

Sequim...again

We had another fantastic weekend in Sequim! We just love it there. We got there LATE Friday night and went straight to bed. Saturday we got up and went to the Oak Table (a family favorite), then to a candle shop that I found on the internet. I got some yummy-smelling candles to go in my new Mother's Day votive holders. :) We headed over to the Game Farm (pictures to come). We all got a kick out of making the bears (trained - Disney bears) sit up before we'd throw them bread. The kids and Steve got a kick out of me getting grossed out that the HUGE Elk was LICKING MY WINDOW!!! YUCK!! The car in front of us wouldn't move and so I couldn't even avoid it. We saw prarie dogs (so cute) and Peacocks (SO BEAUTIFUL!!!). Did you know when Peacocks get mad they rattle their feathers....it sounds just like a rattle snake! I couldn't believe it. There was a sea gull getting too close and the peacock was NOT happy. It was a amazing. We went to the beach and hiked down to the spit. The kids threw rocks into the ocean and played in the sand. We grabbed some Mexican food for dinner before heading over to the High School for the Wizard of Oz. Seriously - amazing show!!! The actors and actresses were fabulous, and they rented flying equipment from Las Vegas and everyone flew on and off the stage (think - tornado scene - witches - good and bad - flying monkeys - etc.) VERY COOL! The music and choreography were fantastic. Any show that can keep all 3 of my kids entertained for a solid 2 1/2 hours MUST be good!

The highlight of the weekend, however, was going to church this morning. It was so good to see so many familiar faces and feel like I was "home". Bill Keith recognized me right off, Rena Keith said she didn't recognize me, but she said Daniel looked just like Danny and David Fellingham. Isn't that cute? I thought it was fun. Jim Heintz is the bishop, Lamar Millett was there, Myrna Duce came over and said hello. So many others..... it was so fun. All 3 kids said they want to move to Sequim on our way "home". We'd move there in a heart-beat.

Anyway, I'll share some fun Game Farm photos later....so stay tuned.

Good News

If I were really tricky, I'd link this post to a previous post "It sucks getting old", but I don't know how. So...you'll have to go looking for it if you want to re-read it. Anyway, the followup news on Steve's shoulder is NO SURGERY!!! YEAH!!!! At least not for now. The orthopedist says significant improvement can be made through physical therapy. I'll leave it to him to expound on the how's and why's if anyone is interested in more detail. But...we are both pretty stoked that Steve has avoided the knife once again.

Photos - as promised

 

 

 

 

Isn't it beautiful? They had a great time. The quote of the weekend was Kenneth saying, "Since mom isn't here, you're the back up." Hopefully this is the first of many father/son campouts for my men.

Happy Mother's Day

I'm sorry for each of you (besides my siblings), because you don't have my mom for a mom. She is the best mom in the universe and I wouldn't trade her for anything. She lives and breathes to serve and love her family, and I am so blessed. I hope she has a wonderful Mother's Day this year.

Happy Mother's Day to the rest of us mothers, too, eh? Even though we can't measure up to my mom, we try, don't we? I have some other wonderful mothers in my life as well. My mother-in-law, Jan, who loves me like a daughter. My other mother, Mary, who is so sweet and loving and always remembers my birthday. Of course, my Grandma Noble is amazing beyond words to describe. She taught me a lot about being a good mother when she came for 2 weeks after Daniel was born. I will always cherish those memories of the times we spent. My Grammie Fellingham is passed away, but I think of her often. She was a wonderful woman who taught me a lot. She was incredibly bright and very organized and I'll always remember the time I asked how old she was and she replied "66". From then on, to me she was 66. I'll never forget the science project that won me first place and a trip to Seattle that she and Grandaddy helped me tirelessly with. I have other mothers in my life from whom I've learned a lot. I have aunts who've taught me and loved me. I have friends who've become mothers with me and we've all learned and grown in our mothering together, haven't we girls? I have amazing sisters who've shared their challenges and successes with me, and made me a better mother. I have sisters-in-law who teach me every time I have the honor of spending time with them. I have friends who will never be mothers themselves, but who've taught me countless lessons on how to be more patient, loving, and appreciative of my children. I try every day to be a better mom, but I know I couldn't do it without each of you. Happy Mother's Day!

Camping in the great Northwest

Tomorrow night the boys are all going on a father/son campout with the other fathers and sons from our church. They will get their first taste of camping in the great Northwest. Today it didn't get out of the 50's all day (brrrrr), so hopefully it'll warm up a little tomorrow for them.

I'll send Steve with the camera and hope for some good footage of the trip.

Happy Mother's Day to all you women out there!

It's a little bitter-sweet for me this year since one year ago I was sustained as the Relief Society President of the Stonegate Ward. I kind of feel like I disappointed some people - shirked my duty, as it were - and I feel bad about that. I didn't KNOW I was going to move. I enjoyed serving the women of that ward and I miss each of them.

Well, I hope everyone reading this has or had a wonderful weekend!!!

Daniel...Daniel...Daniel

Daniel can now SWALLOW PILLS!!! I know, a great skill for a 5 year old. His allergies have been picking back up since the move, and the doctor recommended loratadin (claratin) for him. I went to Costco and the package of 2 4oz. bottles of liquid were $16. The generic bottle of 300 pills (Daniel's dose is 1/2 a pill - so 600 doses) was $11. Needless to say, we had a pill-swallowing learning session and he's a champ. He's swallowed his pill every day for a week now. YEAH!

Also - today Caitlin, Daniel & I met Steve for lunch. Steve & I had finished eating and Daniel still had a couple of slices of pizza left on his plate. Here's what he says, "Mom, it turns out I don't think I can finish my pizza 'cuz I'm full". I about bust up laughing. "As it turns out" is a big Fellingham catch-phrase, and I think Grandaddy Fellingham would be proud to know how genuinely his phase is being used by his posterity.

Also, on the way home, Daniel was talking on the phone to Elise, my sister. Elise asked Daniel how he is liking Seattle. He responded with 2 words, "It's cold". I guess my little summer boys are having quite the adjustment.

It sucks getting old

These are Steve's MRI results from Monday. Bummer. The interesting thing to note, if you have known Steve for a while, you know that while playing soccer in Texas his shoulder was dislocated. This is NOT the same shoulder. That's the bummer part. His right shoulder still hurts from that old soccer injury, too. There is no specific incident or injury to point to with this tear in his left shoulder. It has just been hurting progressively worse and worse over the past couple of years. So - he has a followup with the doctor tomorrow again and I imagine they might want to do another MRI with dye (contrast) to see if the "possible tear in the posterior glenoid labral" is for real. We'll keep you posted.

One pint low

Well, as is my tradition as often as I can, I donated blood today. My iron was a RECORD 44. It went really smoothly, but it was the first time since Texas that they've taken ALL my blood. In Las Vegas, they took the blood and took out the red blood cells and put back the rest along with some saline, so I wasn't nearly as wasted after I gave blood. Today I've been feeling the difference. I figured with a 44 iron count I wouldn't even miss the pint! :) Well, we went to Baskin & Robbins as a family and there were lines OUT THE DOOR at the first 2 we tried. We opted for another option completely and stumbled upon a Baskin & Robins that had hardly anybody in it - so we went in and enjoyed our 31 cent scoops - thanks to Julie for that tip!

My date with Kenneth last night was awesome. It was really good to have some one on one time with him. He was so concerned about spending the ENTIRE 2 hours and the ENTIRE $10 budget it was comical. :) I told him he'll have lots more dates to plan and we didn't have to do EVERYTHING he wanted to do on the first date. We ended up going to Cold Stone for a treat, then to BORDERS to browse (and attempt to spend the $3 change from Cold Stone that was burning a hole in his little pocket), then back home for 30 minutes of LINERIDER (see www.linerider.com)). We had a great time, and I'm looking forward to our next date.

I guess that's about it. My book club in Vegas is meeting tonight, and I'm missing all my peeps....HELLO OUT THERE! I MISS YOU!!!

Update

Saturday was our 11 year anniversary. We celebrated as a family. Steve spent the morning helping someone move, and we did some yard work. Then we did hair cuts and showers/baths -and left for IKEA. Steve had never been before - we didn't realize how far away it is. It's down by the airport...about 45 minutes South of here. We enjoyed our shopping and we bought a few things....(for Tim & Alison - we bought an oven-safe skillet - can't wait to try it). Kenneth & Daniel got to go to Smaland, and Caitlin was very disappointed that she's not 3 and couldn't go with her brothers. :(

We are enjoying long walks/bike rides as a family several times/week. There are LOTS of trails in and through this neighborhood and we have been exploring. We went on a 3 mile walk yesterday before church. (gotta love 1pm church).

I got a new calling yesterday. I'm Kenneth's new den leader for scouts - I'm immensely grateful for having lived by Angela as she was serving in cubs so that I don't feel like I'm totally clueless, but I do have a lot to learn. My neighbor down the street (really the only person I know sort of well around here) is the new Bear leader, so we'll be able to coordinate and all that. That will be good.

Kenneth is struggling a little. He's been in school for a month now, but 1 week of it was spring break, and one week of it was WASL (Washington Assesment of Student Learning) standardized testing, so he hasn't really gotten into the "groove" so-to-speak. I have considered home-schooling him next year - we'll see how it goes.

We've instigated dates with each of our kids. We're trading off and having one date/week. This week I get a date with Kenneth. I'm looking forward to it. I've already had a date with Caitlin and Steve had a date with Daniel. It's good to have some time as a family. We're in 2 Nephi now as a family, and our habit of reading 1 chapter after dinner each night is going really well.

We're still knee-deep in boxes, and I'll continue working on that.

Steve went to the doctor and had an MRI this morning on his shoulder. The doctor was pretty sure he'll need surgery. I wasn't too surprised, we've heard that before. We'll see what the MRI says. His ankle is not broken and that was good news (soccer injury in January still bothering him), but he's going to go to physical therapy to hopefully get it to a point where it won't wake him up at night with the pain.

Great Deal

If you live near a Baskin-Robbins see the web page below for a great deal!

http://www.baskinrobbins.com/Promotion/31cent.aspx

The Fair

 

Kenneth's face painting

 

Caitlin's face painting

 

Story time. We got to hear a story from a Christian group about Jesus Christ and his mission. I talked to the kids later about some of the things she said that bothered me a little bit (she had God drawn as a mist of white - we talked about how Heavenly Father has a body), but all in all I was glad my kids showed them respect, and Kenneth knew all the answers. :)

Weekend report...photos to follow

We had a fabulous weekend! We spent the weekend in Lakewood, WA (just South of Tacoma) with Steve's 2 cousins and their mom & dad (Billie, Keith, Tania, Troy, Little Keith and Sonia). We slept in their luxurious motor home (so Tasha could sleep with us - they had 2 other dogs in the house), and went to the Fair on Saturday. The fair was WET and COLD, but glorious nonetheless. I kept looking around thinking "All these people are out in this weather....wow", but we had a great time. We saw pig races (hysterical), got the boys fingerprinted (Caitlin was sleeping), rode a few rides, and did tons of fun crafts. The highlight was the DEMOLITION DERBY. It was very entertaining. We'll be sure and post pictures.

Now we know the truth...

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaHm1ecBCgw

 

Caitlin on "stage"

 

Daniel running the controls for the "stage"

 

The "controls" - they also had light controllers.

 

The water feature - which we wisely did LAST.

 

Caitlin in the dino-dig

 

Daniel going down a fireman's pole for the first time ever (on his own)