Legos or Boats

Happy Birthday Josh and Happy Anniversary Honey! Yes, Josh was born on our 4 year Anniversary Dec. 17th. Of course the Birthday festivities rule the day. We celebrate our anniversary whenever.

For the party, we took Josh and his friends bowling. Then of course pizza, some Lego cake, presents, and finished the fun off with some video games. I can't believe Josh is 10 years old. I can't believe we've been married for 14 years! Fun times!

For the Coug fans and Alumni of WSU

Fancy now, huh!?! Martin Stadium had a bit of a rennovation. A new huge jumbo tron was added, Gates at the front and real concession stands and bathrooms. Yep, no more porta-johns lining the stadium. And the newest addition is the bronze Cougar statue. It is big and impressive. The pictures didn't turn out as well as I liked, but the sky was awesome that afternoon.

The Fiddlers Three

Joshua's first Orchestra Concert. He loves playing his violin with his friends. The songs they performed were "Twinkle Little Star", "Mary had a little lamb", and "Old McDonald". They were accompianed by the High School Orchestra. It was a great concert. Way to go Josh!

To the North Pole!

Ah, the Christmas Season. For Thanksgiving weekend, we drove up to Coure D' Alene and went on a Holiday cruise on the lake. The boat was warm inside and served hot chocolate. Outside on the boat, it was cold, but the lights were fantastic! The boat took us to the "North Pole" and we saw Santa in a cabin. He called the kids by name and wished us a Merry Christmas. All of the sudden, the lights of Santas village all came on. What a spectacular sight! This will definately be added to tradition list.

In Memorium

December 1st, 2007. I can't believe it has been a year since my Grandpa Johanson passed away. It still seems weird that he is gone. I didn't get to see much of him the last 10 years. But, he came to every celebration we had in Utah for the kids. I miss his quick wit and dry sense of humor. He didn't laugh, he chuckled. His strong, wood worked hands and tall stature always made you feel like you were in the presence of greatness. We all looked "up" to him, literally. Grandpa Jo, thank you for the bear hugs, the laughs and the knuckle sandwiches. I miss you and love you.
Love,
Your Eldest Grandchild
Shari

Thanksgiving Part 1

My Awesome parents and totally cool sister, came to visit us this last week. We were so grateful they made the long trip. Thursday was a crazy day! After Jace's basketball game, Jairden had his Start Smart Sports. We all joined in the fun. He tried hard to keep his eyes on the ball! After the sports, we tailgated at the elementary school with pizza. Then it was off to the church!

Josh recieved his religious knot and bear badge at Pack Mtg. I don't know who worked harder at getting those accomplishments done, me or him! Congrats JOSH!

Jace taking it easy at the Basketball game. The Cougs were successful and won, but Jairden wasn't successful in his third bathroom trip. He only made it to the stairs. Grandma helped him out and he took a nap the rest of the game.

Thanksgiving Dinner was Delicious! Thanks mom for all of your preparations. One question: Why does it take hours to fix a lucious meal and 15 min. to devour it all?

The boys made these Turkeys with my mom. Jairden loves "turkey" now. It's "chocolate turkey". Needless to say, he ate all of his "turkey" (the chocolate kind).

They also made rice krispie "drumsticks". Brady was trying to figure out what it was. When he was satisfied with the desription, he took a big bite and got a mouth full of peanut butter! (the cocoa krispies were stuck on with peanut butter, and then stuck on the roof of his mouth)!

The infamous puzzle. Shannon and my dad spent all of two days hunched over and eyebrows scrunched to finish the dang thing! Being stubborn, they wouldn't let the puzzle beat them. Isn't it a perfect puzzle for Thanksgiving. I thought so too. Sorry guys, are your backs still sore?

A Day to Remember or Forget?

It all started at 6:30 am. Brady was on his way to the gym and proceeded to fall down the stairs. The landing didn't stop him. Oh no, he continued to tumble down and landed head first, feet up with one foot hanging on the railing. With only a huge scrape, he managed to do his work out. Since it was "cleaning day", I was working my tail off trying to get the laundry and cleaning done. While I was thus engaged, Lily left a "present" on the carpet, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Well, that carpet is cleaner now! After Jace played outside, he walked in the door and through the kitchen with a trail of shoe shaped mud following him. So, he helped mop the floor. Continuing to be a good helper, Jace was clearing the dinner dishes that were stacked and didn't quite make it over the doggie gate. Crash! Jace, a broken favorite dish, and baked potatoes everywhere. Jace escaped free of injury, but the dish was put to rest in the garbage and the carpet was cleaned again. It was FHE night so we decided to go to the free exhibition basketball game at the Unversity. As my helper Jace was hasty in getting ready to go, he forgot there was mud on his shoes and left another trail on (you guessed it!) THE CARPET! Forget it! I let it dry and decided to vacuum it in the morning.
The game was a blast, we won, my house was clean, especially the carpet! Whew!

On the Sidelines

Okay, I know why Referees have whistles. Waving hands, straining vocal chords, and jumping up and down uses more energy than a whistle to break up a fight. Oh yeah, I'm talking about my little superheros. I've tried using the term "to your corner". But, the bickering doesn't stop much. So I resort to physical punishment. Before you call CPS, you'll know what I mean when I tell you that I am living out my dream of being a personal trainer. Yes, I find that push-ups, sit-ups, donkey kicks, and jumping jacks often break up the fights and leads to laughing when done facing each other.

When the kung fu artists complain about their punishment, I just keep counting out how many more they have to do. (I love to see a man sweat!) Being a loving mom, I sometimes worry if my boys actually like each other and would play together nice. Which brings me to a question I would pose to Sacrates: "Why are we nicer to our friends than our family whom we should love uncondtionally and who we will spend eternity with? I guess it is because we live with our family. If we lived with our friends, we would call them poopy pants too, right?

One night at bedtime I was about to grab the whistle so I could keep the boys focused on bedtime. They were doing Karate, it was noisy, but it was because they were having a blast. I realized, my kids do like each other. The best times they have together are at bedtime, getting ready for morning church, and other times I am trying to rush out the door. Why do they pick "getting ready" times for play? As I try to strategize against my opponents, I figure it is all a diversion. Who wants to go to bed on time? Who wants to go to church early and get one of the coveted soft, enclosed benches as opposed to the cold, noisy chairs in the gym overflow? Well, I do! So I guess, I will try out for the coaching job and learn how to be a great motivator to keep my "players" focused. Or I can throw my hands in the air and join the fun. (Being late for church a week or two won't hurt will it?)

As I keep my whistle handy, I will readily give out hugs and hope for a win! Wish me luck in the Game, the game of LIFE!

Good-Bye Shannon!

After living in town near us for 5 1/2 years, my sister moved back home.

Sadly she will be missed. So many memories made.

I am so grateful for the time we had together and so grateful for her and all she did for us. Babysitting, running errands, shopping, laughing, movies, hot chocolate, tanning, and late nights in the salon doing each other's hair!

I don't know what I'll do without her. She can't be replaced. But, I know it is time for her to move on. We wish she could come back to us, but mostly we wish her luck. To my favorite sister, I LOVE YOU!

A Time to Remember

Time with laughter, Time with tears.

Time that took us through the years.

Time to love, Time to share

Time to learn, Time to care.

Time to work, Time to play.

Time with family, Time with friends.

Time for some good things to end.

Time to babysit, Time to cuddle.

Time to read a book and snuggle.

Time for ice cream, Time for hikes.

Time to play the games we like.

The memories we shared with you

will last through the ages of Time.

The Costume Parade! Lily's eyes look evil in this picture, but she was cozy and warm in her Bee costume. Jairden chose to be an Elephant for the third time in a row. Jace is none other than Indiana Jones! Can you guess what Josh is? We had a hand-me-down baseball outfit, but Josh doesn't like baseball and he didn't want people to think he was a fan. So we made him a scary Dead Baseball Player, or rather a Ghost baseball player. That last pitch was a Doozy!

OOh, Scary! I love Halloween! I think it is my Favorite Holiday! For the kids school parties. I wanted to do something Gross or Scary, for the snack. Something healthy always works on a sugar loaded day! My sis helped by making the Creative Signs. I have found that if you want to do a Halloween Scary treat or snack, all you have to do is name it something gross or weird (ie: Lil' Smokies in BBQ sauce? What else but Bloody Fingers!) So here is the food behind the name:

Witch Fingers:

Carrots (from our Garden) not peeled, just scrubbed so the creases show. (more life like)

Cream cheese: to stick on the olive

Black Olive for the finger nail, cut in half

Googly Eyes:

Plain Old Deviled Eggs with a slice of olive

Roasted Potato Bugs:

Roasted Soy Nuts, no cooking or preparing involoved!

TASTY!

YeS! We DiD It!

My First

(and maybe last)

1/2 Marathon

Training: It all started with innocent jogging this last Spring. In the wee hours of the morning, my running partners and I, Tara and Michelle, ran the trails and hills around town. We thought it would be fun to run in a 5 K race at the end of the summer. Feeling good at conquering 3 miles, we thought, "What the heck, let's just do a 13.1 mi. Half Marathon!"

The middle of August is when we started our rigorous 10 week training. Speed work on the High School Track, Tempo jogs around town, and Long runs on the Chipman Trail kept us in shape.

Halfway through our training, my right knee started to swell up. I iced it and rested a bit, and it healed up pretty fast. But, then the next week my left ankle was painful and swelled up. It hurt to walk, let alone run! I stayed off of it for a week and half. A trip to the chiropractor fixed my ankle in time to do our 10 mi. long run. The rest of the training went well. We were ready!

Race Day: First things first, you know, shopping! We bought our 1/2 Marathon T-shirts.

After quick stretches we got in line for the race. It was a beautiful course along the Snake River. The paved trail was mostly flat and was an out and back. The first half we did a little fast so I was tired. We slowed down a little after the turn around. But we still made our Goal Times.

Michelle: 2hrs.5min.

Shari: 2hrs. 8 min.

Tara: 2hrs. 10min.

Whew! What a hard way to stay in Shape! To best describe it was, Hard, Long, and Rewarding!

Acknowledements: I couldn't have accomplished this goal by myself! There are so many people to thank! My Husband for supporting me and not complaining through all my training and early bedtimes. My children for their encouragement. My sister for a listening ear and nursing me back to health. My family, friends and clients for all of their support and kind words. And last but certainly not least, my good friends and running partners, Tara and Michelle. Whom I could not have done this without. Talking and running together made getting up at 5:30 am not only bearable but fun! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Uintahs

The day after the wedding, we decided to go to the Johanson property up in the Uintahs with the family. Hiking, fishing, four-wheeling, but most importantly, Barry cooked a delicious dutch oven meal. It was a fun filled day with the family!

Shannon's Best Friends' Wedding

Shannon and I flew down to Utah for a couple of days. Her best friend from up in Pullman ended up marrying our cousin from down in Syracuse. Shareena wanted me to do her hair for the big event as well, so here's some pictures of the big day!

Fall Festival

With the sun shining bright, and a nip in the air the Carter clan bundled up and headed to Red Barn Farms for a day full of fall fun. There was a jumping castle, amphitheatre, hay ride, pumpkin patch, hay bail maze, and much more. Shannon and her friend Crystal along with her little guy Austin joined in on the fun.

Labor Day Trip to Seattle

As soon as Labor Day was here, we packed up the van and headed to Seattle to see Brady's sis, Lori. On the way, we stopped in Leavenworth for lunch, shopping around, and Cold Stone ice cream! Lori had a great dinner for us when we arrived. The next day, we all dressed in our Cougar gear for the football game. The game was played in Qwest Stadium where the Seattle Seahawks play. The crowd was soooo loud! The experiance was fun, but the Cougs lost big time!
On Sunday, we went on Ferry ride and played at the beach. Before we headed home, we stopped by the Pacific Science Center for some science fun. The huge robot (above)played Tic Tac Toe. Water shooters, dinosaurs, butterfly forest, and many experiments

transported us to science world of learning and fun!