the rainey dayz

NEW FOUND CROCHET FUN

2011-02-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas when my mother in law Betty was here, she re-taught me how to crochet. So then I went on Youtube and watched and learned how to make hats with these cute little flowers on them. I think they are really cute! Look out people, guess what you will be getting for Christmas next year! : )

SWEETHEART DINNER 2011

2011-02-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

If you ask my family what is their favorite holiday besides Christmas they will tell you its Valentines Day. My mother started the tradition at a much needed time in my young life and I have carried it on. No one is allowed in the kitchen and they don't know what I am cooking until it is on their plates. I keep my menu a secret and it drives them crazy. I try to cook something new every year. This year the menu was:
Appetizer: King Crab Legs and Snow crab legs steamed and served with butter
Main Course: Malambre (Stuffed Flank Steak with spinach, feta, cream cheese, asiago and bread crumbs:
Sweet Onioin Potatos Au Gratin
Corn on the Cob
Dessert: Triple Layer Tuxedo Cake with Whip Cream Frosting and Chocolate Ganache
We took the kids on a little treasure hunt and they got to find presents along the way. We were pretty frugal this Christmas so with Tax Return we got each of them a big gifts. Jake got a 4 wheeler, Savanna a power scooter, and Audrey got a net book. We love our kids and know that it is not just hard on Mark and I with Mark's travel schedule, it is hard on them too, so we just wanted them to know how much we love and appreciate them in our lives.

THE BI-POLAR WEATHER IN ARKANSAS!

2011-02-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

The crazy weather here in Arkansas. On Wednesday it was 32 and lower and snowed like crazy! We have had 5 snow days this year!!! Then by the weekend, the snow was gone, it was in the 70's and the kids were doing chalk drawings on the porch. They traced Mark and colored him in. So cute!!!

National Jr Beta Club for Audrey!!!

2011-02-15T07:07:00.000-08:00

Mark recieved this great helmet from a friend. It is an official NASCAR drivers helmet that has been signed by almost all the drivers and crew members/officials. He is in heaven. These other pics are of Audrey being inducted into the National Jr Beta Club. She was asked to join because of her stellar grades throughout elementary school and now in Jr High. She has to keep a 3.0 gpa, and do several community service projects throughout the year. Her first one is helping with a fundraiser of a pancake breakfast at Applebees this weekend. We are so proud of our brilliant daughter. : ) She wants to be an archeologist or a geneticist when she grows up.

CHEERS FOR A GREAT 2011!!!

2011-01-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

We toasted in the new year with sparkling cider filled with huckleberries that I bottled this summer. It was delightful and the kids even got to play in the snow this January. That is a rareity for southern Arkansas. I love the little snowman with pretzel limbs and buttons. Cracks me up! I hope all your new years are off to a great start! I won't wait so long to update our blog this time! Cheers!

CHRISTMAS!!!!

2011-01-28T07:58:00.000-08:00

Wow, I haven't updated our blog in almost a year. It's because it takes less time to just put them on facebook, but I finally decided I should get back on track with our blog. We had a super great Christmas season this year. Lots of parties and goodies from our friends, and Grandma and Grandpa Rainey came to stay with us. It made all the difference! So perfect having family close, a luxury we don't often enjoy. These are pics of our house all decorated. We pulled the boat in front and had Santa surfing behind it. It looked great! Also we went to HOpe Landing where Jakob has his speech therapy. They got to do crafts and he got to show his family Rio, his horse that he rides when he is working on his words. Hope Landing is so wonderful and we LOVE his speech and hippotherapist Suzanne and Kim. We opened lots of presents and ate great food and just really enjoyed the season of love and giving. Christmas is my favorite time of year.

SAVANNA'S B~DAY

2010-05-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

SAVANNA'S B~DAY PARTY

2010-05-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

I don't know why it has taken so long to update, but here are pics from Savi's birthday. She had a makeup and dress up party. They girls got their hair fixed, and dressed up and did a fashion show. It was fun. And it was fun to have Olivia (and Addison, Will and Amy) here to share it with us!

2010-03-31T15:55:00.001-07:00

YOU HAVE TO CLICK "OLDER POSTS" AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE TO SEE OUR ROSWELL PICTURES.

AMAZING CARLSBAD CAVERNS

2010-03-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

The top pic is the "Chinese Theatre" the second is the "Doll's Theatre" and the bottom is the "Rock of Ages". It looked like it was a ribbon layered up instead of down.

2010-03-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

I love the pic of our little "Spelunkers". Also there is a pic above that looks like a....well lets say a baby bottle top, or part of the female anatomy. Mark says he didn't notice....I don't believe him. : )

2010-03-31T15:18:00.000-07:00

The long skinny formation was the "Witches Finger". Savanna did not think this was a good name. The photo that looks very spiny was the view looking straight up. I was thinking the whole time we were in there that an earth quake would be REALLY bad!

CARLSBAD CAVERNS

2010-03-31T15:08:00.000-07:00

Audrey really loved the "Vanilla Ice Cream" formations. I thought the whales mouth was amazing! There are only 3 miles of trail that anyone can go on. The rest of the caverns were 6 and up or 12 and up.

CARLSBAD CAVERNS

2010-03-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

It would never be possible for me to express the awesomeness of these caves, and my camera could never do them justice! We walked for 3 miles under the earth and never came close to seeing all that these caves have to offer. It takes you 750 feet under the earth. Savanna and Jake walked all of it for the most part. The very last bit required piggy back rides, but I was really proud of them. Jake was in awe...that is to say he just looked around and was totally quiet the whole time we were under ground. We saw every kind of formation possible and were continually amazed by what mother nature created! This is just the entrance of the cave.

CARLSBAD, NM

2010-03-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

I asked each of the kids to pose cute on the rock in front of a little water fall. When Jake got up there he did his pose and when I asked what he was doing he just said "Lion". The mountain lions I am assuming where his favorite part!

2010-03-31T14:42:00.000-07:00

Roswell wasn't quite as exciting as I had hoped. Savanna threw up in the International Alien Museum, and we spent a lot of time in the hotel. But we did find some alien shops, and the girls got alien t-shirts. We went to a living Desert where we walked through animals and plants native to New Mexico. It was very cool!

2010-03-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

When you are in New Mexico, you HAVE to buy a sombrero! And Jakob did! Found one at the dollar store : ) My sweet friend Dacia drove 2 hours from Albequerque to have dinner with us. The bottome picture is Alleged metal debria from the Alleged Roswell crash site from 1947.

SPRING BREAK 2010 cont...

2010-03-31T13:56:00.000-07:00

We visited Dennison, TX where Mark's grandpa grew up. We went to the cemetary and found his greatgrand parents. It was neat for the kids and I and Mark to see some of his "roots".

BOOM TOWN BABIES

2010-02-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

Savanna is in a little girls choir called the Boom Town Babies. They did a concert at an old folks home on the Saturday before Valentines day. It was really cute! They sounded so good! They sang songs like Bushel and a Peck, Skinamarinkydinkydink, and Baby Love. Lot's of fun!

Sow day

2010-02-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

Mackenzie was lucky enough to be here for our only snow day and Audrey was lucky enough for me to let her stay home from school that day! They even put snowballs in the freezer so they can pelt the next door neighbor boy this summer. I told them they had to let them thaw a while so they don't give Cody a concussion. : )

2010-02-11T20:39:00.000-08:00

2010-02-11T20:20:00.000-08:00

Fun in the snow

2010-02-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

AUDREY GIRL

2010-02-11T05:39:00.000-08:00

I realized I didn't have any new pics of Audrey really so I made her pose for me before school today. In her cute "leather" jacket, she looks stylin'! Love this girl! She is very fun to be around! And I am only 18 pounds away from reaching my goal! So cool!

NATALIE'S GONE CALICO!

2010-02-10T20:20:00.000-08:00

So I couldn't decide whether I wanted highlights, lowlights, or red lights, so I just got them all. Why not am I right? It's only hair. If I didn't like it, I could just cut it all off and it will grow back. Turned out a little calico, but it's fun and I feel a little like a rock star. ; ) I have never had blonde in there, but so far, I like it. It really makes my eyes look green.

2010-02-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

Mackenzie had fun fixing Audrey's hair in a bit of a faux hawk, a hairstyle that I am particularly fond of on Jakob!

USS NELSON PART II

2010-02-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

We had another sucessfull visit with the Nelson crew. The kids and Matt and Heather decided to rake our leaves and did an awesome job. We don't have any trees in our yard really, but we get all the neighbors leaves. And it is a big job! We appreciated it. The kids helped in return for a 3 hour trip to the swimming pool at our health club. They were seriously prunes when they got out! And they had a lot of fun with the leaves too! We have loved having family visit us! So come on down to Arkansas ya'll!!!

OH SAVANNA...

2010-02-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

Savanna loves her brother, sometimes too much! They go through the day playing like best buddies and then squabbling and hollering at each other. Guess that is not new for any family. All kids do it. She loves to sleep with me when Mark is traveling, and I found her like this one night, with her arm straight up in the air. I thought it was pretty cute.

OUR LITTLE JAKE MAN

2010-02-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

We love our little Jake man. He has 3 volumes: Loud Happy, Loud Mad, and Asleep. Seriously that is all. No in between. But he is a lot of fun to be around...when he is happy, or asleep. : ) I am convinced the Lord has given me an extra helping of patience just for our Jakers. And he made him pretty darn cute, nad that helps too. The picture by the washing machine is of Jakob lamenting over me washing his blankie. Blankie is a member of the family, and I usally try to sneak it into the wash when he isn't looking, but he caught me one day and stood for a long time trying to get "him" back out.

2010-01-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

My sister made these great beanie hats for me and the girls, and Jake thought he should have one too. Also I am still continuing on with my weight loss goals. My face sure has thinned down a lot. I have about 25 pounds to go till I reach my goal! I think to myself all the time "You Can Do It!!! Don't give up!!! Get your butt to the gym!!!" And other "pushy thoughts" : )

2010-01-13T13:40:00.000-08:00

This shows the tiny little bit of snow we got. Savanna got this art easel for Christmas and the kids LOVE it! They each take a side and color and paint just about every day. It works out because Jakob got a little table and chairs from Santa so they have little chairs that are the perfect size. And Jake fell asleep on the couch and I thought he looked so cute. His eyelashes are soooo long! Pretty cute....when he is sleeping. : )

PETER PAN SYNDROME?

2010-01-13T13:32:00.000-08:00

I tease Mark about having a Peter Pan Syndrome...you know, "I don't wanna grow up. I just wanna play cops and robbers." But he really does have a sense of civic duty and loves to go out on patrol and protect and serve our community. His dream is to one day run for Sheriff. The picture of him with his hands on his hips is such a classic Mark pose. He does this EVERY time he gets dressed and looks at himself in the mirror. If he ever comes and asks me how he looks, it's with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out. I giggle... But Jakob got dressed the other day and when I asked him if he was ready, he puffed out his chest and put his hands on his hips and said yah! Like Father Like Son!

2010 OFF TO A GOOD START!

2010-01-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the random pics from the last few weeks. I love the sushi rolling pics of Jakob. He was watching me so intently as I rolled sushi for our New Years Eve party and he had to try it out. If you look closely you can see that in each picture he has a little piece of rice stuck to his lip. So cute. (If you double click on the pictures they will fill your screen with a big photo) Also me and the kiddos comfy by the fire on a cold morning. It has been really cold here. Like in the 20's. I hasn't really gotten this cold before. But still no snow to speak of. It snowed one day and we got excited, but just when it started to stick, it stopped and then all melted into ice. Savanna was so disappointed.

WE LOVE CHRISTMAS AROUND HERE!

2009-12-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

It has been fun having Mark in town to play with the kids. Him and Jake played dress up, and they have been playing Marks Cabella's Big Game Hunt 2010 almost every day shooting deer, and ducks, and bears. Jake loves it! Also we had some people in our ward give us this cool cookie and candy Choo Choo train, and Savanna and Jakob had fun "disassembling" it. We have a lot of fun here in the Rainey house...because life outside our house is to full of other junk, so we gotta keep it Light and Loving inside!

More Christmas morning

2009-12-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

There is a rare moment of sisterly love, and Jakob "slicing up Savanna's new kitty amidst the screams from Savi", and mom's total delight in opening up her gift from Mark, the entire box collection, ALL 9 SEASONS, of X-Files! (I had been asking for it every year since we have been married and he finally came through) : )

2009-12-28T15:49:00.000-08:00

Jakob got some BOY dress up clothes, i.e. ARMY and SWAT, and Savi got a kitty that purrs, and licks it's paws and blinks. Audrey's favorite was a book she was wanting and the 1st season of the tv show Psych.

CHRISTMAS MORNING

2009-12-28T15:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning, Jakob woke up early and couldn't wait to get his sister's up outa bed and tell them that Santa came. Actually Mark and I were up before any of the kids and were excited too. : ) The kids had fun opening presents and even Elvis got a santa gift... G Force the guinea pig secret agent movie. We had homemade sticky buns with potato cakes and bacon. Love Christmas morning! Favorite day of the year!

CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER

2009-12-28T15:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve dinner consisted of: Fondue with sirloin steak, terryaki chicken, and shrimp in veggie oil and fresh vegetable broth. We had homemade sauces that were Thai Peanut, cocktail, and roasted red pepper sauce for dipping. Then we had Heather's AWESOME sweet potatoes with crunch topping, green bean bundles wrapped in bacon, cheesy potato souffle, and homemade rolls. Our friends the Loggins and the VAclaws came to enjoy the yummy dinner and some games that followed. The guys even pitched in and helped do the dishes!

CHRISTMAS EVE UNDER THE TREE

2009-12-28T15:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve pictures under the tree. They are so different this year than last! I am not hiding behind the kids like I was last year. I even said "Wait Mark, get one from the side". No I am not becoming vain, just proud of my 78 pounds gone! Mark is down 50! And the kids, well they are just cute and happy!

2009-12-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

We had lots of fun in the dayz leading up to Christmas! When Matt and Heather were here, the kids made a gingerbread house, and salt dough ornaments. Mark was wrapping presents one day and Jake was "helping" a little to much, so Mark wrapped him! We called it his Christmas Camoflage. You can see him blending into the tree in one of the pics!

DRESSING UP!

2009-12-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

Mark and I got all dressed up for his Murphy Oil Christmas party. It was a great diner, and we got to chat with friends and even won an iPod! We really enjoyed the evening!

AUDREY'S NEW ROOM AND THE BUCKAROO EXPRESS

2009-12-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

Audrey was an elf in her 6th grade school play The Buckaroo Express, a spin off of the Polar Express. She did a really good job with her lines and singing. It was a very fun time. I also painted Audrey's room in lime green with red, yellow, and white accents. The little saying on the wall reads "Be yourself, everyone else is taken". So perfect for an up and coming teenage girl! It turned out really cute though.

Chilly day fun

2009-12-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

I bundled up the kids and sent them outside one day last week. The weather here is so confused sometimes. It's warm and then cold and then warm again. Oh well, our cold in Arkansas is not as cold as Montana. = )

2009-12-21T20:37:00.000-08:00

This is Mark showing off his new hotness: ) He tried on his old Murphy Oil jacket and it was just hanging on him. He is down 50 pounds. We are very proud of each other! Also our cute Audrey and Jakob's new little habit of shredding wipes and placing them very deliberatly in a mosiac style picture on our couch. It's kinda cute, but he wastes ALOT of wipes, and then I find little dried up pieces of wipes ALL over the place. Makes a big mess. We now have to keep them on the top of the entertainment system.

2009-12-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

A rare quiet moment when the kids we just chillin' watching Sponge Bob.

THANKSGIVING IN GEORGIA

2009-12-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

We went to Fort Benning's infantry museum, just off the base. It was sobering, and humbling seeing what our infantry men and women have done for our country since the begining. I love my country. One of my favorite quotes that I heard in the museum "Democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to build a wall to keep our people here." I am greatful for the freedoms that I enjoy every day, and for my hardcore Airborne Army Ranger Brother Will who helps to protect them. Hooah!

2009-12-02T16:55:00.000-08:00

We went to Will and Amy's for Thanksgiving this year! Had a great time! The kids played, the girls especially loved dress up and My Little Ponies. We got to watch Will play in the turkey bowl that was NCO's VS the Officers. Will led the NCO's to victory playing the center guy who "hikes" the ball and yells Blue 42, Blue 42 Hike Hike". Yah, I know nothing about football. I like the photo of him with the officials. I think he is bribing them with pumpkin pie if they will help the NCO's win. : )

2009-11-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

Jake got his favorite buddies for his b-day. BUZZ AND WOODY!!! ANd I made him a transformers cake with his other favorite, BUMBLEBEE! G and G Rainey got him a bunch of cars and the little rug that you can drive them on that looks like a town. He was very excited!

Jake is 3!

2009-11-18T12:27:00.000-08:00

We just had a little b-day party for Jake and he got his favorites, Buzz and Woody. And a Bumblebee (transformers) cake. Grandma and Grandpa Rainey sent him a whole bunch of cars with the little town rug he can drive them on. It was lots of fun, and I froze pretty much a whole cake because if it is in the house, I will probably eat it : )

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ITTY BOY!

2009-11-18T12:09:00.001-08:00

November 16th 2006 Jakob Legrand Rainey joined our family after 17 hours of labor and an emergency C-section. At a whopping 9 pounds 9 oz, he came out chubby and with the cutest dimples! Now 3 years later he brings us joy every day. I took him to a playgroup where the mom's go and chat, and one person watches the kids. When I came back to pick up the kids, the lady said, "Savanna is very sweet and that Jakob...He is ALL BOY!" Really that says it all. He growls at everything, he runs and jumps and falls and tumbles, he loves to wrestle with his daddy, and hug his mama. He gets into everything and makes messes that still suprise me. He is such a wonderful addition to our family. We love our Jaker the Baker!

OUR LITTLE JAKER THE BAKER

2009-11-12T17:51:00.000-08:00

His little Bye Bye at the end is my favorite!

HAIR BOWS

2009-11-12T17:39:00.000-08:00

This is my very impressive custom made hair bow collection for Savanna. It is one of my prized possesions, silly I know. This picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice! If you double click the picture you can get a close up, but it still isn't even as awesome as they are. My friend has spent hours making me bows and taking the time to match them to specific outfits! : )

MORE NASCAR

2009-11-12T17:34:00.000-08:00

More Nascar, explanations below. : )

NASCAR AGAIN!

2009-11-12T17:03:00.001-08:00

So our friends the Vaclaws told us back in the summer that they had extra tickets for November's NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway. Well of course we jumped at the chance to go with them! I mean having a whole weekend to ourselves, no kids, good friends, tickets to the race in an air conditioned /catered suite, free hotel room AND free room service!!! Can you blame us? We had an awesome time! We got to go down to the pit road and see all the pit boxes, or as Mark calls them War Wagons (don't ask, he has a whole list of, in my opinion, silly words and phrases that he uses sometime just to bug me I think) Anyhow, we had a great time. Sundays race was a bummer for me because the driver I like is Jimmie Johnson and he got spun out and wrecked in the 2nd lap! Lame! And then my second choice was Kyle Bush who made it as leader through most of the race, but ran out of gas with 1 lap to go! Crazy! Oh well, we really did have a great weekend! The picture of Mark in the tunnel is where you have to walk under the race track to get to pit road. And the yellow camero is "Bumblebee" fro the movie Transformers. We took the pic for Jakob because he loves Bumblebee so much. It was a really cool car with the Transformers insignia all over.

Pumpkins

2009-11-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

I love holiday clearance and I went specifically so I could get Jakob his favorite transformers costume for dress up. Savanna gets so mad when he puts on her dresses cuz he is a boy after all. So I have been slowly collecting boy dress up stuff. Jake was so excited to see his new

"bubba-bee" (bumblebee the transformer) costume! He has been wearing it off and on every day since I bought it. Then he goes and gets his bumblebee toy that Mimi gave him this summer and shoots everything in sight. I love it! Such a boy!

2009-11-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

Grandma Rainey sent the kids cute Halloween shirts this year which they all wore to school. Audrey got to dress up for "Hippie Day" and this was what we came up with. I don't have any hippie clothes, or much that will pass for it these days. Once upon a time I did. Although I don't know if it was hippie, or "Bag Lady Chic". = ) And we carved pumpkins too. Savanna was gonna have nothing to do with it because it was "tota-wee Be-scustin" (totally disgusting) and it smelled "willy bad"! But in the end she did touch...a little.

(you can still see Jake's bruised forehead.)

A VERY SUCCESSFUL HALLOWEEN!

2009-11-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

Not long after we got there Jake shucked his costume in a room of the church. So we just called him a bruiser on account of the giant bruise in the middle of his forehead and the heart tattoo "mom" shirt that he was wearing. He got the bruise cuz he was mad at me and kept running into me and backing up and running into me again. On about the 4th impact, I stepped aside to scold him just as he was coming at me and he glanced off my leg and hit the cabinet. That'll learn him right? No cuz then mom felt bad, and a few days later he ran smack into the table and rebruised the same spot, and a few days after that, I opened the door to come in the house, not knowing that Jake was coming out of the house and.... you guessed it, cracked him again in the same spot. Possible permenant bruising, but only time will tell, if we manage not to smack the same spot again. I put him to bed the other night, and said "Ni-night Tiny." He sat up in bed and said "I Jake". Sorry I said! "Ni-night Jake."

Three horns never play with longnecks!

2009-11-04T18:08:00.000-08:00

My boys sure do got growl! And Audrey can already give you the "Whatever Mom, I am totally just humoring you right now" look. Teenagerhood is on the horizon.

TRICK OR TREATS!

2009-11-04T18:01:00.000-08:00

So Savanna was an ICE PRINCESS, and Audrey was a PUNK PRINCESS, and Jakob was a TRICERATOPS. We had a great time this Halloween. We got to do the trunk or treat at the church where my dessert won a prize. I made a pumpkin cheesecake with orange zested pralines on a nilla wafer crust. It was sinful! Delicious! (if I do say so myself) The kids had fun with all the little boothes and games and of course the candy! Then we went trick or treating with my friends Heather and Betsy. The kids all looked so sweet. My friend Heather made Savanna's costume, and I made Audrey's and we borrowed Jake's. They seriously looked great this year! But I am biased! I asked Savanna if she liked her costume and she said "Yes, but it's a little poofy. I think next year I will have pants." I love the things that come out of her mouth. And I love the look that Jakob is giving to Savi. So cute!

"Kids say the darndest things,

SAVANNA'S NEW ROOM

2009-10-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

I finally finished painting Savi's room. It was a really horrible color before, not quite cream, not quite tan, really dingy looking. Now it is Pink and mint green and white with polka dots and stripes. The stripes were really tedious. Took about 4 hours just on one wall. The dots were fun though. ANd her room looks so cute! Better than I thought I could do. I love it and so does she! On the doors I painted Wardrobe (closet) Little Girls Room (bathroom) and Come Again! (hall). Also put up vinyl lettering abover her bed that reads "Always Kiss Me Goodnight".

Painting nails

2009-10-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

Jakob came into me saying "UH OH mama" the other day and I found that he had painted his own nails. I panicked because I didn't know where he had painted them. I found the bottle of polish on my leather couch, with not 1 drop spilled. Don't know how he did it, probably painted them somewhere else and I just haven't found the spill, but he did a pretty good job actually.

64 POUNDS BY THE WAYSIDE, NEVER TO RETURN!

2009-10-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official, I am only 6 pounds away from my original goal of a 70 pound weight loss. I feel really great and I couldn't have done it without all of your encouraging words, and support! Thanks all my cheerleaders!

BUBBLES AND COP CARS

2009-10-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

Just a few random pics. Mark stopped by with the sheriff patrol car the other night, and Jake thought it was awesome. He got in behind the wheel and was having a great time. I didn't reall like seeing him in the back seat though. : ) Then I got some cute pics of the kids in a bubble bath. And mommy and Jakie! He can be soooo cheesy!

HALLOWEEN TREATS

2009-10-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

We "Booed" our neighbors this week with little rice krispie kitty treats. You copy off a little ghost that says how they have been haunted by the Halloween spirit and leave treats with the ghost. It also says how you need to take th ghost and "Boo" someone else. We recieved the ghost on Wed from someone, still don't know who, and decided to return the favor. Mark saw the kitties in a magazine and suggested we try it. The kids really had fun, and so did Mark. : ) THey were yummy. We let jake keep his though, you can see by the pic that he licked it a few times.

OCTOBER FUN ON THE ROCKIN' ROBIN

2009-10-05T13:03:00.001-07:00

We took the Rockin' Robin (that is what we named our boat) out for a spin this weekend! Mark has one of his boy scouts that had never really been on a boat before, so we asked David to come along. The kids had a blast tubing on the Triple Kraze, and even I went on it. We went North to lake Degray where there is good visibility in the water (not like the Ouachita river) and even I jumped in and swam. The water was pretty comparable to our beloved Flathead lake, with one exception....if you went in Flathead over the weekend you would have come out and ice cube. Degray was probably close to 77 degrees. Very nice! But alas, Savanna swam and then was FREEZING. She is always cold. This summer when we came home from the west, we got out of the car in Texas and Audrey said "I haven't been out of the car for 2 minutes and I am already sweating", and Savanna's reply was "I don't know, I think it feels pretty good!" A true Southern baby I guess. Anyhow, we had a great time at the lake and were feeling pretty good that it is October and we can still use the boat! That is one good thing about the south. Jake went on the tube and was screaming and laughing the whole time. And of course Jake christened the boat and taught us again why we always need to bring a swim diaper, by pooing everywhere, but I have spared you the pictures!

MARKS 38TH B-DAY

2009-10-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

So he had been in Dallas all week, and I called and said you need to be home by 4:15 can you make it? He says yes, so he gets home, we put him and the whole family in the car and his suprise b-day party was going to see Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. We had a great time and the movie was hilarious. Then we brought him home to eat country ribs and red potatos and cupcakes from the local bakery. I didn't want to make a whole cake that I would be tempted to eat over the weekend. : ) We gave him a handheld radar gun for his b-day...don't laugh, it's what he wanted. I have caught him out in the yard clocking the kids at how fast they

can run....fun for the whole family!

THE TRIPLE CRAZE!

2009-09-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

We finally got our first towable! Looks like fun right!??!?!?! Mark has ridden it, but none of the rest of us have. We are thinking maybe this weekend going to the lake. Guess we have to DVR conference. ; )

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

2009-09-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

Daddy and his boy falling asleep on the couch watching Scooby Doo, Jake's favorite! And notice how he his never without his blankie! I wash it a couple times a week because it is SOOO LOVED! Thanks again to my friend Heather for making it for him.

HAPPY NAPPERS!

2009-09-29T17:08:00.001-07:00

Seems like most of my pics this round were of my family sleeping. Maybe they are like bears or skunks, and they are gearing up to hybernate...or maybe I need to make sure they are getting more sleep. Mark has been getting up early to go to the gym (has lost 43 lbs!!) and Savi and Jake were busy at preschool and then dance right after and they both crashed before dinner. Notice how Savanna still has her princess shoes on. And if you look real close, you can see the silvery pearl of drool at the corner of her lips. What a princess. ; )

BUDDIES AND FLOWERS

2009-09-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

I do not profess to have a green thumb. I have 2 plants that have survived for 6 or more years, but most of the others have died. I have decided to try my hand at it again, so I planted

pansies, and hibiscus, and I forget what the other one is. My little pansies didn't really make it, but my hibiscus is beautiful!!! I am proud of that flower!! Also Savanna and Jake playing with their magnet dolls. Jakes is a super hero, and Savi's is a princess...of course!

BACK TO SCHOOL AND VOTE FOR AUDREY!

2009-09-09T11:53:00.001-07:00

So Audrey has started 6th grade. She is liking her teacher and classes. She is one of only 4 girls in a class of 19 kids. She says the girls are favored cuz they are good and the boys are naughty. She is taking jazz, tap, ballet, and gymnastics this year as well as trumpet in the 6th grade band. She also decided that she should run for student council president. And so it begins..... Savanna and Jakob are doing Mommy's Day Out at the Baptist church again. The ladies there are wonderful and Savi and Jake are in the same class this year so they like it. Savanna will start Kindergarten next fall, but I have Jake home for a couple more years. Every morning Savanna asks "Mom, what do we have today?" I say either the gym, or preschool, they like having stuff to do. Here's to a great school year!

Oauchita River

2009-08-29T15:04:00.002-07:00

We have been having fun taking the boat out on the muddy Oachita River (pronounced
wash-i-tah) I even let the kids get in and splash around despite rumors of alligators. I guess the south is rubbing off on me. We have tried to fish, but haven't caught anything yet. I don't think they can see the bait. ; )

2009-08-29T15:04:00.001-07:00

Erin's wedding

2009-08-29T15:01:00.003-07:00

Mark's sister Erin got married this summer as well as my sister Whitney and my brother Adam. Here are the pics from Erin's wedding where Savanna was a flower girl and Audrey was an usher. It was lovely and my family looked so cute!

2009-08-29T15:01:00.001-07:00

Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, KS

2009-08-29T14:58:00.001-07:00

On our way out west, we stopped at the zoo in Kansas. It was great! Jake loved the monkey's and gorilla's (fitting don't you think?) His favorite I think was the grizzly bears. He was just growling and loving them. We had to pry his hands off the rail to get him to leave. We had a great time.

2009-08-29T14:57:00.001-07:00

2009-08-29T14:56:00.001-07:00

Summa Summa Summer time!

2009-08-29T14:50:00.001-07:00

We had an absoloutly fantastic summer!!! Complete with 3 weddings, a family reunion, countless friends and relatives, a new boat, and of course Flathead lake. We were able to see many of our loved ones that we miss all year long. I have so many pictures that I decided to just do some slide shows so I didn't take up so much space. The pics are pretty self explanitory. We love and miss ya'll!

LAUNDRY HELPERS

2009-05-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

This is the kids "helping" me do the laundry. You can still see Jaker's black eye.

JAKOB Jakob jakob!!!!

2009-05-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

I thought I would put a picture or two in of Jakob's eye as it was healing. It ripened to a very nice shade of purple and faded out through the colors of the rainbow. As you can see from the pictures were he is covered in white, his eye is all better. (Oh and that is chocolate from a choco covered power bar that is drooling out of his mouth.) The white stuff by the way, is diaper rash ointment which he painted our couch and carpet and himself with. That is why we finally bought the leather couch, cuz everything wipes right off. My next "want" is hard wood floor in the living room because all of Jakob's messes DON'T wipe off the berber carpet so easily. It's hard to get to mad at him though when he gives me that big ole' smile! And he does look fairly repentant in one of the pictures.

AUDREY'S NEW BIKE

2009-05-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

For her birthday Audrey wanted a new bike. I told her I wasn't going to risk suprising her with a bike that she didn't really like, so she had to come with me and pick it out. This was a very excitng prospect to her, and this is the one she picked. It is orange and silver and she loves it!

AUDREY'S B-DAY CONT.

2009-05-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

AUDREY TURNS 11!!!

2009-05-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

So yes, last weekend Audrey Violet turned 11 years old! Mom's always say time flies, and as you all know...it really does! Audrey is such a light in our lives! She is helpful, always sweet with her brother and sister (yes she is human and has occasional spats, but overall...) she is an honor roll and merit list student, teacher's pet, and friend to all. She always has a smile ready for anyone, and everyone tells me how sweet/funny/charming/lovely Audrey is. We adore her! These are pics from her birthday party. She also had one at the Bar J Ranch, but with fewer friends. Her party was awesome. The girls got to rein their own horses and go on a long ride up the dirt road. They ate hotdogs, and cake, and even got to bottle feed a baby calf. The girls said it was the best b-day party they had ever been too. I am grateful that we are able to do these fun things every once in a while. WE LOVE YOU AUDREY!!!

DUH Duh duh....THE EYE!

2009-05-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

Poor baby is a tough little guy. By today, (a day and half after) most of the swelling has gone down and it has ripened to a very dark shade of purple, almost black. Sweet little guy hasn't even complained to much. He doesn't like to look at himself in the mirror though. He just keeps pointing to his eye and saying "Owie". He is a trooper. He has got to stop bangin' his head though!!!!!!!

CAMPING

2009-05-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

The two extra little girls in the pic are Savi's buddies Emma and Taylor. The are our friends the Watkins girls.

CAMPING

2009-05-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

RAINEY'S FIRST CAMPING TRIP!

2009-05-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

So we decided to go on our ward camp out this weekend. We started out having a lot of fun. The kids were happy to be outside, Mark was happy that he was doing something Dad-Like with his kids, mom was happy that everyone else was happy! We roasted hot dogs, and marshmellows, gabbed with our friends. Did all the stuff that you normally have fun doing on a camp out. Then.....tragedy struck! I went to change the baby's diaper and low and behold found 3 ticks crawling on his.....you know....ding a ling! I found like 5 on him. So I made Savi come and strip and found 4 crawling on her. I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but I have a fairly decent tick phobia. I was physically sickened. I had to put my head down between my knees at one point. But all was okay after I got them off. Poor Audrey had to submit to your basic cavity search as well much to her 11 year old humiliation. So then it got dark and we were all having fun sitting around the camp fire. We kind of adopted a little boy in our ward named David and Jakob likes to tease him. So Jake had his hands up like claws and was stalking David as David backed away and Jake tripped...right into the fire wood pile. He let our a cry, then went limp and started making gagging noises. I looked and his eye looked like it was bulging out of the socket. There was a little blood, but baby was not responding very well so we rushed him to the emergency room. They took us right back, and after he threw up in the sink, they were able to assess that he didn't have any broken bones in his face, but that he had a scratched cornea. I saw the scratch. It is about a quarter inch wide all the way across his eye. It was very scary, and I keep thinking how blessed we are that there wasn't a sharp part on the log that he his because it could have been a really bad situation. As it is, his eye was swollen shut for a day, and now he looks like a prize fighter. When the girls saw him the next day, Audrey's eyes welled with tears, and Savanna said "Mom, Jakob looks kind of ugly." Nothing like adding insult to injury! But baby will heal. So our first camping trip as a family ended up with mom finding 15 ticks on her babies overall, and a trip to the ER. Not sure we will be trying it again to soon.

BUDDIES!

2009-05-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

Over Easter, Will and Amy came to visit with their two darling girls Olivia and Addison. Savanna got some makeup for her birthday and here she is applying it to Olivia. It was really cute! Then aunt Amy got Savi matching jammies for her b-day and Olivia and her looked so cute modeling them! They are both in dance class so the balerina jams are perfect! Savanna has even wore the tutu to dance class! And there is a pic of Will and cute Addie!

2009-05-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

The kids really like to dress up and Jakob is all about layers. He is wearing one of Savanna's black dresses with lady bug wings, a knight cape, and knight helmet. Then he got into his sunday clothes and he is wearing three button up shirts, two button up vests, and 3 or 4 sweater vests. It was pretty cute. I love that he is wearing one like pants. : ) whata boy!

2009-05-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Just some cute random pics. Jake coloring wearing Savanna's pink boots, and Savi playing sword fighting. I thought she had a nice follow through!

2009-05-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

I had to post a picture of our house with my azeala's blooming. They are so pretty when they bloom. Then I was washing dishes one day and Savanna and Jake insisted upon washing the pans. Heck ya I say! Wash away! And they actually did a good job!

SAVANNA TURNS 4!!!

2009-04-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

These next three slide shows are of Savanna's 4th birthday party. We went to the Bar J Ranch and had so much fun! Will and Amy were here with their two beautiful girls Olivia and Addison. The kids got to go horse back riding, play with new baby kittens, eat dutch oven hot dogs, and go on a hay ride. It was so much fun! Savanna was smiling the whole time. She got to have 10 of her buddies, including her brother and her sister. My friend Heather Vaclaw agreed to be my photographer, and she did such a good job that I couldn't only post a few pictures. I had to post them all. I hope you enjoy

2009-04-15T15:24:00.001-07:00

2009-04-15T15:23:00.001-07:00

2009-04-15T15:21:00.000-07:00

OUR NEW PUPPY!!!

2009-04-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

This is our new Jakob puppy. He is very cute. He will let you rub his belly, give him hugs and kisses, and he is pretty good about eating what you give him. He is leash trained as you can see, but we are still working on the potty training. Occasionally he still has "accidents". All the kids love him and I do like taking him on walks. It's very nice in the evenings when he curls up in your lap and snuggles in. ( I love that you can hear him panting like a real doggy, and Savi calling him, so funny!) (sorry about the dark spots, there were lights burned out in the hall that Mark hadn't changed yet.)

LIZARD FUN (for the kids, but maybe not the lizard)

2009-04-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

The kids were playing in the back yard with the neighbor boys and they found a little lizard. THey had lots of fun with it. ; ) Probably scared the little guy half to death but to the best of my knowledge they let him go and he did survive the experience. I was actually suprised that Savanna wanted to hold him. Jake sure didn't! The boy in the pic is our friends son Dakota. They live next door.

2009-04-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

4 WHEELIN' FUN!

2009-04-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

Mark has been getting our 4 wheelers out on the weekends and taking the kids for rides. There are some trails just up from our house that he found and go permission to use. Audrey thinks its awesome to ride on her own. She uses mine cuz I am always in the house cleaning or something. It does make me nervous with Savi hanging on the back, but Mark swears he doesn't go more than like 5 miles an hour so I have to trust him. After all he wouldn't want her hurt either. Notice Jakob's Dora helmet. Mark is adamant that we get him a manly helmet. For now, we use what's on hand and Savanna's Dora bike helmet will protect my most precious boys noggin! I love the picture of Audrey thru my blomming azeala's!!! They are so pretty when they bloom!