Conrad Family

Thanksgiving!

2010-11-29T14:40:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was a little different because I had to work. My parents came over and we ate about Noon, then I had to leave. We had lots of extra food even though It was a pretty low key event.

Katrina's looming projects

2010-11-29T14:34:00.001-08:00

Katrina has been busy working on some baby hats the last few days. She used a loom for these but she does know how to crochet and knit. She does not get that talent from me:)

NAC

2010-11-09T17:24:00.000-08:00

This last few months alot of exciting things have been happening. I took my Nursing Assistant Certified classs that I LOVED and did really good. I took my state written test and skills test and PASSED. So I am now certified with the state of Washington as a NAC. I am pretty excited to have this under my belt as this was one of the last big things I needed to accomplish before I can apply to the RN program.
Now that I have my certification under my belt I decided to apply for a position at a facility in town to earn some extra money and get some job exsperiance in the Nursing field. I applied for and got the job all in one day. I start Friday. After my initial training I will start working weekend afternoons. Im so excited since I really have not had an opportunity to work with so many little kids at home and Brians busy schedule and traveling.

Pumpkin Patch!

2010-10-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

Court of Honor

2010-10-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

We had another court of honor in Sept and a few of our boys were able to receive their rank advancements in front of the whole stake. They have great leaders who put alot of time into helping these boys advance. David(the tall one) got his Life rank and is ready to start planning his Eagle project
Connor( next to David) Got his First class rank. Half way to Eagle now.
Andrew( the midget of the group) Is now a Star rank and the 2nd highest rank in our troop

I am so proud of all our boys and all the hard work. I am especially proud of Andrew who only has 1 more rank before he can start planning for his Eagle and has 11 Merit badges at the age of 12. Only 21 are needed for Eagle :)

2010-09-23T08:13:00.000-07:00

So as many of you know I have been in school for the past 9 months with very few breaks between classes. I am currently taking a night Nursing Assistant Certification class and a day time Anatomy& Physiology class. So I am basicly living at the college. When you spend 9 hours a day at school you have to do something fun, right? So because of my nature to have fun I planned a pizza/Birthday party for the night before our 2 big exams. One of the Gals from our NAC class was having her 40th Birthday so I suckered my good friend Ashley into helping me make this AWESOME cake. Here is my night NAC class. It is a small group and 4 of us have A&P together so we study between classes. It's like a family away from home.

Did I mention I have a 4.0 in this class. 2 more weeks left and I will be ready to take the state exam and skills test and get my certification. After this only have to finish my A&P classes before I can apply to Nursing school :) YAY me!

2010-09-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

Today was Quinton's first day of Pre-school. He is a little on the younger side but since he is so advanced I figured he would do just fine ;) JK. He actually is around adults all the time so I thought he would benefit from some social interaction with kids his age. I can't believe I sent my baby to school. It's always bitter sweet.

He is lucky enough to have his buddy Sawyer in his class so it made the first day easy already having a friend

He did a great job, he didn't cry and he LOVED it. They have play-do, puzzles, blocks and cars. All of his favorite things.

My lego creator

2010-08-22T15:58:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I forget to blog about the little every day things that my kids do. This is Andrew and One of his best buds, Drake. They both have a love for legos and building things. This is their monkey they created. I just wish there were not legos covering the entire rec room floor all the time:)

Happy Birthday Quinton

2010-08-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my baby has turned 3. We had a pretty low key birthday(again) and I made him a tractor cake. He was giddy with excitement as we worked on this cake together(all of 5 minutes). He is such a blessing to our family and he is always happy with the little things in life. I always seem to load the pictures backwards but you get the idea. He shoved the cake in his face and it ended up going up his nose.

You can see the pure joy in his smile:)

I am glad I didn't have to spend hours decorating a cake. we frosted it, put the tractor on it, poured rock candy and crushed cookies for the dirt. I think I i'll make him a cake like this every year.

First Class Scouter

2010-06-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

Andrew is now a First Class scout at the age of 11. We are very proud of all the hard work he put into progressing in scouting. Pack 326

Andrew getting his rank advancement and 4 merit badges:)

Quinton looks up to his big brother so much!

I love my Scouters!!

Brianna's First Date :)

2010-05-07T11:37:00.001-07:00

So the day has finally came that Brianna was able to go on her very first date.... Here she is with her two best friends Lakota and Shianne and her date Kyle. A Prom date would not be the same without a trip to Wal-Mart.

She was very excited to have a date to prom.

Brianna getting her makeup done.

camporee

2010-05-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

This year the Scout organization put on a Camporee at the fairgrounds. There was a Friday night campout and events all day to keep the boys busy and a nice campfire ceremony to end the day on Saturday. I loaded all the pictures in the wrong order but you get the idea. Notice the fire is in a plastic swimming pool filled with sand. Yes, It did melt the plastic:)

Andrew getting his dinner ready. They gave the boys a plastic bag withtin foil, a hamburger patty, carrot, potato, and onion. Andrew rolled his patty out to flatten it with his carrot and then proceded to eat the carrot that rolled all over the raw meat!

Here are our killer scouts at the tomahawk throw.

Andrew was pretty proud to hit the wood with the tomahawk.

Andrew with his best friend Garrhet with the rockets they made.

Their troop flag.

They cut those wood blocks and then branded them.

The flapjack flip was alot of fun for the whole family.

There was even a donkey Quinton got to pet.

Jenna did pretty good climbing on the rock wall.

The rope climb was pretty fun too.

Andrew branding the spoon he made.

Andrew made that spoon and a pop can stove.

This was their tent that the wind blew over and the water soaked.

The boys had a great time and were worn out by the time we got home.

Ape Caves Rain?

2010-03-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do something with the kids this spring break so I thought going to the Ape caves would be a great idea...... well if you don't mind being soaked then I guess it was. We arrived to about 46 degree temperatures. the caves felt about the same. I was a little shocked that the water could make it's way through the lava and drench us about the same as being outside standing in the rain.
We did the 3/4 mile trail which was probably the better choice due to the weather. If you have never been inside a cave than you cannot really prepare yourself for the absolute darkness that encompasses you. You realize how much light the moon and stars actually give when you get past a certain point in the cave where light does not flow in. Andrew and Jenna enjoyed being explorers!

Debbie and Austin
Katrina and AlixKayleena, Connor and Kennedy

We finally made it to the top to be greeted by SNOW!!! We had a great time considering we were all wet, tired and cold.

Happy Birthday Jenna

2010-03-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jenna!!!

Blue & Gold

2010-02-21T09:34:00.001-08:00

This years Blue & Gold dinner was a huge success thanks to everyone who pitched in to help. Our awesome cake thanks to Ashley Ricks.

The boys not only made their own instruments at the den meetings but they performed for everyone playing "Old McDonald had a Band".

Left to right; Payton on maracas, Jordon on guitar, Kyler on bongo, Austin on drums and Drake on jars. The boys did a great job.

They all received lots of awards and patches.

Austin was my denner for the night.

This is the crew that makes it all happen. Back row left to right; Toby, Susie, Debbie & Heidi

Front row; Payton, Jordon, Kyler, Austin & Drake

Chicken poop........................

2010-02-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

The 4th graders illistrated and published there own book. Every child got to write one story on some real event that happened in their life. Jenna chose the story we always tease her about, eating chicken poop as a child. I had to laugh:)

Girl Scouts Thinking Day

2010-02-20T09:04:00.000-08:00

Katrina has been involved with Girl Scouts the last few months and today they had a big event with girl scouts from all around the area. Each troop picked a Country that they represented. The girls did a great job with Ireland. They looked adorable and their display was awesome. They even had Irish dancers come to perform for every one. They made potato pancakes and performed a song too.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-12-19T22:53:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to my Mom. I am so glad to have her in my life and I love her very much and appreciate all she does for us! She seemed pretty happy to get a kitchen aid mixer! I was excited too, Since she borrows mine every year during canning season.

Merry Christmas From the Conrads

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

2009 has been a interesting year for the Conrad Family.

We started the year out by breaking ground on the new addition to our home.

My dad then had a major stroke which was a big adjustment to everyone.

Brian had health setbacks the entire year.

We had lots of other major trials that tested our Faith.

But as the year comes to an end and I look back. I can see the many blessings that I have been given.

My Children are obedient and always try to do what is right.

My Children and I have been blessed with very good health.

We have family and friends that Love and Support us when we need it.
Even though we have had more trials than we would care to spread out in an entire lifetime, we also have had so many blessings and learning experiences that have helped us to learn and grow into the people we need to become.

Merry Christmas From the Conrads

First Snow of the Season!

2009-12-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

There is something magical about the first snow of the season. The kids ran outside so excited to play in the snow and build a snowman. They were a little disappointed that there was not enough to really "play" in.

It doesn't take long for the redneck in my kids to come out. Jenna and Andrew got over their initial disappointment and got a hammer and started breaking up all the ice they could find. The dogs watering bucket was frozen pretty good.

Cupcakes Taste Good

2009-12-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

Katrina got a new cupcake decorating book that she was pretty excited about. She had to try it out the first night she got it.

She was pretty proud of her work and she had alot of fun.She mixed up all her own colors and made her own decorating bags.

I love that my kids have so many talents in the kitchen and I am very proud of them.

Firbirds are fast

2009-12-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

Anyone that knows Brian knows he loves car. Sure most of the ones he brings home are old and rusty but thats men right? He was a little uspet that I sold his 69 Camaro after he got hurt last year. So to make it up I would give him a little money here and there until he has saved enough to buy himself a 67 Firebird. It has had a few thing tinkered on by some of his friends but it just sits there and awaits the time until he has some extra money for parts. When you are a car guy you seem to have car guy friends. They talk about cars about as much as they talk about their children and have as much pride in the little things their cars do just as they do with their kids.

His buddy Darrell has a 68 Firebird and wanted to take him for a ride in it. Every time I heard about it I got a little nervous about how exactly he would get into the car.

I was not home when this all happened, I pulled up to the house to see two guys turning around in the driveway. Not knowing who the passenger was I gave it a closer look. I was in shock to see Brian sitting there acting like nothing was out of the ordinary. They peeled out of the driveway like a couple of teenagers.

It took a little more work to get him out of the car and into his wheelchair becasue his seat was much lower than his wheelchair was.

He had a great time riding around and I am so glad he was able to do somthing fun.

Thanksgiving at the Conrads

2009-11-26T14:09:00.000-08:00

I love any holiday that gives you the freedom to eat whatever you wanna eat, which is good since We had lots of food to enjoy. Since my parents went to spend the Holidays with my Brothers we decided to have a low key Dinner with some of our closest friends. There were 6 adults and 12 kids. There were so many kids we had to have 3 kid tables. Jenna got to have her best friends Sammy all day.

Despite being out numbered 2-1 with kids we had a great time. The kids played really well and we didn't have any major incidence's all day. they stayed out in the rec room and let the adults play our own games.

This is the McBrides, I didn't get a family picture of the Ricks because Ashley and I ditched the kids and went to K-mart that evening for some pre-black Friday sales.

YW in Excellence

2009-11-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

Last week we had our Annual YW in excellence for the girls in our ward. Brianna was not able to make it because she was in drivers ed. They had the girls bring things that represent them and shoes that describe them. Katrina brought her drum set, nail polish and makeup. Books because she loves to read. One of her porcelain dolls and some jewelry. She brought her funky Nike's and explained why they represent her.

Here is what she read to everyone.

" When the Young Woman got Worth of a soul, I would have never guessed that I would have such crazy friends and teachers that they would think up shoes. When you think about it though shoes are like the center of a table. The shoes define you just like a flower that defines the family. I think the green in my shoes represent that I'm not normal yet I fit into the pattern, The pink is the little bit of girly girl I have in me. The zebra print represents my life style. My life like a zebras is fast and fun but every once in a while you've got to out run a Lion"
Katrina is such a funny and unique child am I am glad to have her as part of our family!

Worlds biggest apple...

2009-11-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

So a few weeks ago I found what looked like to me to be the worlds biggest apple. The pictures don't really do justice to the massive size of this thing. It weighed 1.3 lbs. thats almost as much as a whole apple pie. It was more than twice the size as a normal apple.The kids have been anxiously waiting to eat this enourmous apple. I told them they had to wait until I took pictures for my blog. I found it at Toledo Red Apple and knew I had to buy it. It really was the biggest apple I have ever seen!

Soccer Awards

2009-11-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

Jenna had her end of the year soccer party at the only pizza place in Napavine. I am excited that I will finally get some down time in the evenings. 6 days a week of soccer was too much for any sane person. The girls are usually crazy when they are together and they made a great team.

Jenna loved her trophy!

I thought Jenna was one of a kind but come to find out she has friends at school that are just as goofy as her.

Happy Halloween!!

2009-11-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

This Halloween seemed different than the other years. Brianna made plans to go to Longview with two of her friends and Katrina stayed at her friends house too so it was just the 3 younger kids. Andrew didn't want to dress up, not even in his Davy Crockett hat like the last 3 years. Jenna had enough enthusiasm to make up for everyone else. Quinton was still pretty clueless but every time we mentioned candy he seemed pretty happy.We were going to go with a superhero theme for our whole family, but due to cost we decided to forgo that idea. I still think it would have been cool for Brian to be Superman since he is faster than a speeding train, and I am definitely Superwoman! As most of you know our town doesn't have many options for choosing costumes so if your crafty you can make your own but if your like me you head to Walmart and chose the most commercialized costume you can find for your kids.

Quinton is our official ninja ready to fight off all the bad guys. As a test run for this costume I had him kicking Brian in the shins before we headed off to get candy. His ninja method worked pretty good.

It didn't take long for the headband to get lost.

Jenna insisted she wanted to be a ladybug, which Walmart did not carry. I had to go to Olympia to find her a costume that cost more than any sane parent would want to spend on something you wear for 3 hours.

I didn't have hard time getting any pictures of Jenna since she loves to be the center of attention all the time.

Katrina was going Trick R Treating with her best friend in Napavine so I had to hunt them down to get any pictures of them.

They are wild and crazy when they get together.

They took Quinton to a few houses in town for his first Trick R Treating experience. He loved people giving him candy, since it is his favorite thing.

As you can tell by the picture of my poor kid carrying a Easter basket around that I am too cheap to buy a "real" Halloween basket for him to carry. The kids all had a great time and we all made it safely back home.

Disclaimer: Quinton did get a haircut after I viewed the picture and noticed how girly he looked with his pretty hair with a hairband on.

Trunk R Treat!

2009-11-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Ward Trunk or Treat was about as...... well as......... fun as it could be! The kids love seeing their friends so I guess that makes it fun. Jenna patiently awaited her best friend Sammi's arrival because she can't have fun without her.

They had a chili feed, although I didn't see very many kids actually eating. I think they were saving room in their bellies for all the candy.

Then they had a costume parade which was nice so you could see all the kids dressed up before they headed outside.

Jenna did not want to participate but I told her I bought the costume so take your brother and go. Quinton will just go whereever the big kids go.

This is the only picture I got of my boys together. Andrew is getting a little old to dress up but obviously not too old to collect free candy.

Andrew with his little crew of friends.

I couldn't resist putting this picture of Ben up here. He is wearing Connors hair with Dougs hat.

The kids had a great time and I was just glad when it was over so I could head to my Quiet house!

This is my life......

2009-10-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

I never would have guessed 16 years ago that I would be as blessed as I am..........

Sometimes we have to stand back, take a glance and see how wonderful our life truly is..........I have been blessed with a wonderful husband.........

That has always worked hard to provide for our family........

I have children that truly give me a purpose in life........ I love being with them and being able to watch them grow.......

They are obediant and loving.......

Kind and caring..........

Goofy and silly.........

They are a part of me I could never live without.......

I truly have a wonderful life......

Outdoors....

2009-10-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

My Parents recently logged off 40 of their 80 plus acres and we took a little drive to the top of the property to get a good look.

Quinton loves heavy equipment and tractors.

He seemed so small standing in the middle of the claw.

Katrina loves the camera.

We were only up there for about 15 minutes before it got dark.

This view is from the upper part of the hill. We didnt even go to the top of their property.

This is why I love Washington..... The breath taking view.Someday this will be replanted with cedar and fir trees.

Cider Time!

2009-10-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

My brother Doug and his wife Kay brought their brand new cider press that he built to Washington to make their annual batch of cider. The kids picked a few buckets of apples and put them through the press.

The cider press works so efficient that the apples start draining juice almost as soon as they are chopped up.

The kids loved drinking fresh cider and after about 15 minutes of work their was too much cider to drink in one day.

He made about 4 gallons in a matter of minutes.

It was so easy to work that all the kids tried their hand at the press.

The bag of pulp was a little heavy for my scrawny kids.

Quinton loved drinking it since he usually only gets milk and water at home.

Quinton loves his Aunt and Uncle even though he only sees them twice a year.

Katrina and her Aunt have a special bond!

Uncle Doug is always picking on the kids.

Yummy fresh cider!

Salsa Maker

2009-10-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

Andrew has been my helper in the kitchen the last few weeks. I have loved spending the one on one time with him and he has loved learning some new things in the kitchen. He wanted to make his very own batch of salsa so he could make it as hot as he wanted. He chose to put 12 jalepenos in it,7 with all the seeds. He put all the tomatoes and peppers through the meat grinder and stirred the salsa until it was just the right thickness to can. He got about 12 quarts of salsa.

He loves using the giant spoon Grandpa made just for us last year. I tried to convince him the spoon would work better as a paddle but he didn't agree. Andrew will be giving his teachers a jar of his salsa for Christmas.

I am thankful to have a son who is creative, funny, helpful and kind!

Andrew Loves Soccer...

2009-10-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

This season of soccer was a little different than last year. Last year the boys worked so well together and won almost every game they played. This year they lost every game except the first one that they tied . Even though they were discouraged, they didn't let that affect how hard they tried or how much fun they had.

The boys became good friends and they worked really well together.

I was proud of Andrew for sticking with it even though it was hard to play the teams that had already beat them. I was suprised to hear that Andrew still loved soccer.

( this is Andrews best friend Garrhet)

11 Year Old Scout Camp

2009-09-28T19:56:00.001-07:00

Andrew was able to go to his first overnighter with the Boy scouts. He was a bit reluctant to go but thats what parenting is all about right? Making your kids do things they dont want to do.

He got to do so much cool stuff I wont be able to write about it all.

Thats my boy always being silly and never standing still.

They learned how to rescue someone from the water.
They learned how to do a flag ceremony.

They learned how to tie knots.
They learned how to identfy plants.

He is to cool for his own good.
He got to make a rocket.He loves to draw and illistrate

They even got to shoot the rockets off.

Winlock and Toledo boys and leaders.

I am glad he was able to go and have a great time.

First day of school!

2009-09-13T13:57:00.001-07:00

2009 School Year I can't believe another school year has started. Everyone was pretty excited to start school this year. The kids are at 3 different schools now.

Jenna has the same teacher that Andrew has last year and she has lots of her old friends in her class so school should be easy to adjust too. She got above average scores on both sections of the WASL test that she took.

Andrew will get to do neat things in science this year. He is trying to be the first to beat the 100 book goal this school year. He also got 100% on the reading portion of the WASL test. Something they said they have never seen before.Katrina is finding that school can be alot of work. She has never had to put too much effort into school before. This year will be a good learning experience for her. She is being very responsible about doing all the many tasks she is assigned.Brianna is loving school and she has lots of friends. She is taking German this year. She got 100% on her first test in that class. We are very proud of her.

My cool girls!

2009-09-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Jenna is now in the 4th grade and feisty as ever!

Brianna is in the 10th grade and loving school this year!

Katrina is in her first year of Middle School, 7th grade, and is already tired of all the homework!

Making Cookies

2009-09-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

I had the kids help me make a new recipe this last week and we loved it. It even has oatmeal and coconut in it. Yum it was good!

Cutest Boy Scout Ever!

2009-08-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

Now that Andrew is 11 years old he is an official Boy Scout. He is pretty excited about learning new things in Scouting.

Camping

2009-07-24T13:23:00.001-07:00

Camping with 9 kids can be... well eventfull. We went to Thousand trails in Chehalis for 3 days. The kids were pretty excited to go swimming but the power went out so they were only able to swim the first day. We did lots of things while we were there. The noodle fight was my favorite. We ran around some of the empty sites and smacked the living crap out of the kids! I kept wondering what all the old people thought of us grown woman beating our kids.

Andrew and Connor get along so good. They loved riding bikes around the campsite and exsploring trails.

We played mini golf (it was free). The kids decended upon it likes ants on a cracker. It was a little intimidating for the other golfers.

Jenna struting her stuff.

Quinton trying to figure out how to close the doors on one of the holes.

We made smores. Actually we made smores for lunch one day. We did have real food after, but we were camping so what the heck!

We played with a giant frisbee.

Our huge r.v. we slept in with 5 kids.

The boys slept in the tent.

My Nephew Mark likes to rough house. He took out most of his aggression on his friend Josh that came to visit for a few weeks with him.

This is the whole crew before we went swimming for the first time.

Quinton and Julie were cute playing together.
The girls loved to play in the r.v. as much as they could.

Fathers Day!

2009-07-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

Fathers day was pretty low key around here as you can see by the picture. Brian was not feeling good so he stayed in bed while the kids gave him their gifts and breakfast in bed and then we went to church while he stayed home to rest.After church we went to see Grandpa and spend some time with him and Grandma.

Andrew and Brian went outside to play with Brians rock crawler.

Andrew loves playing with his Dads car.

Grandma got new kittens and Katrina loves playing with them all day long.Quinton loves one of the kittens and he kicks the other.Andrew and Brian climbing on the back deck.
We had a great Fathers day and the kids loved spending time with Grandpa and Dad :)

Quinton's BUZZ CUT!

2009-06-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

Quinton old cut :(
I'm not sure what got into me but I decided he really needed his hair cut and I have been too busy to bug any of my friends. I may regret that choice.

Quinton new cut :(

New addition!

2009-06-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

Brians buddy!

This is our new room. We are not completly settled but enough to live in for now. The door on the right behind his hoyer lift will be our new bathroom someday. the door on the left goes into hallway by the front room.

We have 2 windows and a french door, the windows are on the front of the house and they face the street. The french door will one day lead to a huge deck for Brian to hang out on.

The door on the left leads to the new hallway and is right across from Jenna and Quintons room.

This is the old hallway if your looking from the dining room

This is the new hallway and on the right will be our new laundry room someday. It has turned into laundry basket storage for now.
This is the view if your standing in the new hallway by mine and Jennas room looking at how the old and new hallway meet up. Briannas room is our old room the one with the only old door left to change.

Andrews new room. Jenna was happy to be in the picture of his room. Andrew was not happy when he saw it. Right now he only has a bed and dresser so it stays pretty clean.
Jenna loves her and Quinton's new room. He is not too thrilled at the thought of losing his crib but he loves to go in there to play with toys during the day. This is the view when I stood in the huge, soon to be closet.
The dressers and bed are from IKEA and my friend Heidi helped (did it all) put the dresser units together. I took us quite a while for us to figure it out but we had alot of fun.

poop

2009-06-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

I didn't want Clarissa to out do me with the poop stories so I thought I would blog about one too!

After church Jenna took Quinton in the room to change him and he refused any clothes or diaper so she put his big boy undies on him and we sat down to eat dinner shortly after. When I was done eating and cleaning up I asked him if he needed to go pottie. He said yes so I took him out of his high chair and he ran to the bathroom. As he got to the end of the hall I noticed poop, I looked around and it was every where. apparently when he was done eating he loaded his underwear and when I got him down they fell out all the way to the bathroom.

As I was cleaning them up I noticed a shoe print in the one closest to the high chair. It was mine! I had been tracking that stuff all over the hallway. He did try to help clean them up with his bare hands. Ahh the joy of parenting!

QUINTONS FIRST NIGHT IN A BIG BOY BED!

2009-06-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

I think the pictures pretty much exsplain it all!

He liked his new bed until the time that I told him good night and walked out of the room. I sat at the end of my bed across the hall reasuring him that I loved him. Yeah, that didnt work. he screamed until he did his famous throwing up all over thing, and he pooped his diaper just to make sure I came back.

Needless to say he won and he got Mom to lay with him until he fell asleep.

Last day of school!

2009-06-14T21:36:00.001-07:00

EVERY YEAR THE TEACHERS AT NAPAVINE STAND OUT FRONT TO SAY GOODBYE TO ALL THE STUDENTS. SOME TEACHERS AND PARENTS WERE A LITTLE TEARY EYED.

THE KIDS ON THE BUS WERE PRETTY EXCITED TO TAKE THEIR LAST BUS RIDE OF THE YEAR!

ALL 3 KIDS HAD MRS. RUSSELL FOR 3RD GRADE. SHE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE TEACHERS.
ANDREW HAD MRS. KROUSE. I LOVE HER AND SO DID ANDREW. IT DIDN'T HURT THAT SHE WAS ALWAYS TELLING ME WHAT A NEAT BOY HE WAS. (HE IS A VERY STUDIOUS AND SWEET BOY AT SCHOOL)
KATRINA HAD MRS. KELLER AND SHE IS ONE OF THE FUNNEST TEACHERS YOU COULD EVER GET. SHE HAS THE ENERGY OF A 20 YEAR OLD!

THE KIDS WERE VERY EXCITED TO BE OUT OF SCHOOL! THEY DID REALLY WELL AND I'M VERY PROUD OF THEM!

Dishwasher Bubbles!

2009-06-12T22:44:00.001-07:00

The other day I woke up to find this!

As a bit of advice I would recommend that if you have dish soap that spilled into a bowl that you rinse it out before you put it in the dishwasher, unless your floor needs to be cleaned then go ahead and let the bubbles do the cleaning.

Paintballing fun!

2009-06-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

Memorial day weekend we had a BBQ and invited some friends to come over and go paintballing in our woods. Everyone had a lot of fun trying to shoot each other. Brian even got into the action. He did really well and I was glad that he was peer pressured to play!

A picture is worth a thousnd words!

2009-05-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...well what does this say about my parenting. My poor kid is walking round in a saggy wet diaper with his butt crack showing so much he looks like a minature construction worker. He has a sock on one hand while he inspects the 2x4 framing. If there was ever any question about my parenting style I think this picture solves all of that.

Fastpitch

2009-05-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

This season was the first time Jenna has played any sort of Baseball.

She was supposed to be on the U-10 team because of her age but there wasnt one for her to be on so she was put on the U-8 team.

She was one of the older kids on the team. Most of the girls has played T-ball before so they had some sort of concept of how to play the game. She has done really well and turned out to be one of the better players.

Getting a little extra help from one of the coaches before her first time up to bat.

Jenna is pretty excited to be on first base.

Jenna at third base.

This was look of pure excitement she had after she scored her first run of the season, at the first game, the first time she was up to bat.

We're so proud of Jenna for trying a new sport.

~Grease~

2009-05-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

Last month Brianna was in the play Grease at her High School. She is such a timid child when it comes to performing in front of people so we were really excited that she was able to get past her fears and get onstage. She was a back up dancer and singer and she loved it. We may see that she gets involved in many more things out of her element.

Mess Maker!

2009-05-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

You cant leave a one year old unsupervised ever, unless you want to clean something up.

He tires so hard to clean up his messes after he spreads snacks all over the floor.

Disclaimer:

He has had a haircut since this picture. And if your wondering if his pants really are that dirty the answer is yes! No matter how many times the nurses try to keep the floor clean right now it gets a layer of dust from all the construction. (Notice I said nurses, I think we all know I've gotten prety lazy about doing much around here!)

State Capitol Field Trip !

2009-05-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Last week I was able to go with Andrew's class to the State Capitol for the 4th grade field trip. I'm not sure what compelled me to ride in bus full of 10 years olds but it was too late once we started driving away to get off!

Andrew and Garhett have been best friends since Kindergarten. They always buddy up every chance they get.Andrew was chosen to sign the guest book at the Capitol for his class!These are the details on all the doors on the Capitol. Every door weighs about a ton and they are perfectly balanced so that you can close them with just one finger pushing them.

It was a long day but the kids had alot of fun seeing just how the Goverment works in the State of Washington.

Frog Catching!

2009-05-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I took the kids to the back of the property to play in the pond so they could "frog hunt" We had a lot of fun and it was a much needed break from the stresses of life!

Jenna is always the show off and had to be the first to jump in!

Busy as Bees!

2009-05-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

Bees have been living in the walls of our rental house for years. With it being empty I decided to enlist the help of Gary to take care of the Bee problem and help reside the house to give it a more modern look. We had a hard time getting the sheating off of the house so Gary decided to use his extreme body weight to pull the walls down.

We had alot of fun uncovering the layers of wood and seeing just what kind of home the Bees had made.

Suprisingly we never got stung, although we did run a few times.

Daddy's buddy!

2009-05-05T00:04:00.000-07:00

One of the blessings of having Brian home full time is for him to be able to spend so much time with the kids. Quinton especially gets lots of one on one time with Dad while all the big kids are at school.

Jenna walks the Baby!

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

Its true, my kids are hillbillies. This is what happens when we ask Jenna to keep an eye on Quinton so he can play outside.
I love my kids!

Jenna's kitchen creation!

2009-05-03T18:42:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday Jenna kept bugging me to help her make smoothies. I kept telling her to wait until I was done figuring out the layout for our new bathroom. She couldn't wait until I was done so she asked if her and Samantha could make it themselves. I reluctantly let them so she would quit distracting me. They came up with a mixture of

1. Frozen Yogurt

2. Milk

3. Ice cream

4. Otter pops

Sounds pretty gross but it wasn't too bad. Eric was their Guinea pig.

Family Night

2009-04-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight we decided to have family night at Grandma's and Grandpa's house since the weather was hot and they have an awesome lake. We loaded up dinner and headed over only to have whiny kids that were afraid of water bugs. We still had a good time despite the complaints. if only the Grandparents would put a pool in next to the lake, then they would be happy.We went for a boat ride but the rudder wasn't working so we cut it short so we wouldn't get stranded.Andrew and Quinton love each other so much. Quinton is so lucky to have such an awesome big brother.The kids were shooting bugs that were on the water.They had water gun fights.Quinton got to be Grandmas boy.

Andrew and Katrina love shooting the BB gun.This is Quinton trying to smile for the camera.

Walls come tumbling dowm!

2009-04-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

As we get our house ready to integrate the new addition to the existing house lots of changes have to be made. The kids love helping knock walls out.

Eric was helping Quinton figure out how to destroy he wall.

A few days later we gave the kids some hammers and let them destroy another wall.

Easter Morning!

2009-04-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Usually I make sure the kids go to bed in something cute when I know that I will be taking pictures. Not this year, I was so sleep deprived that I almost slept in and missed the kids getting their baskets.

We seem to do something different every year for the kids. Some years we do a present, other times we let the kids pick a gift. This year we spent alot less than in the past. They each got a bunny, some eggs with candy and a few small candies. Nothing fancy but they loved it just the same.

I also included a letter in each of their baskets that shared my tender feeling for each of them, some of the things I love about them and my testimony. I figured they would throw it aside and get right to eating candy but to my surprise they each read their letters first and thanked me for them also. I love my kids!

Easter Egg Hunt!

2009-04-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

It just wouldn't be Easter without enough candy to make you sick around here. My Mom took Quinton and Jenna to the Ward building for the sometimes annual Easter Egg Hunt. I was sad that I had to miss it but some Genius planned a Scout swim certification for today too. Andrew was not happy to be missing getting lots of candy.We were not too sure how Quinton would react to picking up stuff off the ground, but apparently he did really good. My mom showed him a few times and then he ran from egg to egg. They had so much candy that they filled all the eggs and had small Ziplocs filled with candy too.

Jenna was with the older kids !

The kids loved digging into the candy right when the hunt was done.

How to make Hot Chocolate (according to a 1 year old)

2009-04-07T10:24:00.001-07:00

Step one-sneak into pantry and take a packet of Hot chocolate while Mom is on the phone. She ignores you anyways while she is talking.

Step two- bite open the packet to get to the good stuff.

Step three- sprinkle it on the floor.

Step four- pour in a cup, no need for water

Step five- start licking the chocolaty goodness.
Step six- pour some more into cup, be careful not to get powder in eyes.

Quinton eats a bunny!

2009-04-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

Grandma brought some sugar filled deliciousness to the kids. Qunton chewed on his rabbit for a while then he left it stuck on the floor

Jennas B-Day Party!

2009-04-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make sure Jenna got a party this year. I printed out some really generic invitations and she took care of the rest. I did hardly anything to get ready for this party because of my limited time. I did the shopping and made the cake and the kids did the rest. They set out all the food, made a vegtable tray and did all the decorating. They even planned out the activities too. It was one of the easiest parties ever. I think I will let Brianna nd Katrina do this every time!She wanted a princess theme so I made her a castle cake! She loved it soooo much!After the cake and presents the girls blasted the music and danced and played dress up.
Then Katrina game them manicures and pedicures.She said this was her best Birthday party ever!

POSSUMM Eating! YUM!

2009-04-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

About a month ago my dad had his old Cub Scouts over to cook up and eat a possumm that he had caught, gutted and skinned and stored in my Moms freezer. They were pretty excited to embark on such and adventure. As a mother I was disgusted and appaled at such an event but kept my feelings to myself. The boys cooked it in a dutch oven with an apple. All of them tried it except for Cooper. The boys said it was really good and it tasted like Chicken. I guess everything tastes like Chicken.

I was pretty proud of Andrew for eating it and now I know if he is ever lost in the woods he won't starve!

Happy 9th Birthday Jenna!

2009-03-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

Today was Jennas 9th Birthday. Life has been a little hectic around here but I did not want her to be neglected like last year. She wanted the new DSI that is coming out in 2 weeks as her present, but like any 9 year old she wants something on her B-day. Lucky for us we had a bike up in the shed that I bought on black Friday (it was meant to be a Christmas gift). We had Andy put it together and lured her outside to do "chores" on her B-day.

(This was her look when she was coming outside to do chores, notice how happy and coperative she looks)
(This was her look after she realized that she put he shoes on for a good reason, I think she may be a little sad that she didnt have to do chores)

( as a side not, I let my kids pick out their own clothes. Their sence of fashion has no bearing on my parenting)
We went up for a quick visit to see Grandpa at the hospital and then the Birthday girl picked IHOP for dinner. We went on the right night because the balloon man was there to make balloon animals for the kids.

Many projects get done!

2009-03-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

As most of you know we are adding on to the house to make it more accessible for Brian. With that comes many major projects that we have needed help with. A few weeks ago the Elders Quorum came and framed up the walls for the addition. My Dad and I were planning on doing the roofing with the help of our favorite worker Eric, but with my Dads recent stroke that was just not possible. So the Guys from church showed up today and roofed the addition and the entire front of the house. There were over 22 people that helped this project go so quickly. We had people scrapping shingles, laying down tar paper, nailing in roofing, cleaning shingles off the ground, running the tractor, watching kids, making food and shop vacing the water out of the addition. It was a long and hard day for those that were doing the muscle of the work. It took just over 8 1/2 hours to complete this project. Brian and I are so very thankful to all those that were able to help with these projects. It means so much to us to have people willing to help us with the things we were so used to being able to do for ourselves one year ago.

Quinton's first day of Nursery :)

2009-03-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

This year has been year of many firsts for our family. Having a toddler makes that list of firsts multiply. The long awaited 18 months has arrived. (Actually it was in February) Quinton was finally able to go to Nursery class at church.

Usually when my kids start walking I count down the time until nursery. They either spread crumbs around class, play the piano or smack people in the butt so its hard to contain a one year old for 3 hours of church.

He looked like a lamb going to the slaughter. He did really good until the last 20 minutes when Marlyn had to hold him. He likes to be cuddled.

Brians Anniversary!

2009-03-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

So one year ago today I was sitting in an ICU waiting room waiting to see how Brian was. Alot has changed in the last 12 months for our family. So in honor of Brian I am writing the 12 things I love about him!

1. He loves me unconditionally

2. He is a awesome father

3. He is super funny

4. He always makes me feel loved

5. He understands me

6. He would do anything for me

7. He is always willing to help others

8. He learns from his mistakes

9. He gave me another baby even though it messed up his 18 year plan

10. He treats his mother like a Queen

11. He never complains about life being too hard

12. He never gives up even though things are tough

These are just a few 0f the wonderful things about the man I was lucky enough to marry. I am so thankful to have him in my life and I will be forever grateful that the Lord let me have him for a little longer.

Gameboys and Maxipads!

2009-03-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

Quinton pretty much does what he wants at the house. You know the 5th child spoiled to death syndrome. He takes anything that belongs to the kids and does as he pleases. Today was no exception. He found an old gameboy took it to the bathroom and found his own "game".

Quad Rugby

2009-03-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

Rugby is a pretty rough sport. Put a bunch of guys in wheelchairs and let them go at it and you get quad rugby. This sport is not for wussies. Brian has been to two practices and really enjoys playing with the guys.
They put gloves on and cover them with a "sap" like substance to help them pick up the ball and grip better. The guys get pretty rough and bang into each other. They sound like a stampede of bulls.

Brian had a really good time and he hopes that all the exercise will strengthen his upper body. I know I was worn out just from watching them wheel around.

You don't have to be wheelchair bound in order to play quad rugby. You need to have some sort of impairment to all four limbs. I saw one guy walk in pushing his chair. You could tell he was a quad by looking at his hands. The fingers were curled up like Brians. Hopefully one day Brian will walk behind his chair too.

Wheelie Man

2009-03-01T09:49:00.001-08:00

Brian working his wheelis. He is able to do a five minute static wheelie now and about 2 minutes when he's rolling.

~1993~

2009-02-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

I Know what you are thinking "Who are those totally hot people?" Gay sent me this picture today and I couldn't resist sharing. I know I thought I was a total rebel. This was 1993 when Brian and I were dating. Boy that brings back a lot of memories.

The Anatomy of Getting Ambulatory

2009-02-22T07:58:00.000-08:00

On Friday I was able to finally get to the hospital to see Brian. I had been praying the kids were better so I could be there when he stood up. It was quite the process to get him up. First he had to transfer to the mat, which he did unassisted.
Then they had to put his "girdle" on him. Then he had to go back to his chair.
They wheeled him up the ramp and attached his "girdle" to hooks.
The machine then lifted him in a upright position. They had to make sure his leg braces were on properly.
They then lowered the tension so he was bearing full weight.
As you can see it was alot of work for him just standing and bearing full weight.
After the 3rd time he wanted his chair to sit in so he could rest. They were ready to unhook him but he wanted to give it one more try.
He worked really hard and was pretty worn out when he was done.
But not too worn out to make jokes with his buddy Jake. This was Brians first roommate form VA and he is back for advanced rehab also. They are good motivators for each other. Brian has been at the VA for 4 weeks already and he is hoping for a few more so he can continue to get stronger. For a video of Brian standing go to youtube and put in the search "susienbrian".

Bakersfield And Vegas

2009-02-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

We spent a few days with my Brother and Sister in law (we were not able to visit my other Brother and family because we had been directly exposed to fifths disease and his wife is pregnant) We headed down to the dust bowl of the West, Bakersfield to visit Grandma Gay. This is the first time we were able to stay at her new house that she bought right before Brian got hurt.

We went to the Kern County museum which was free because of my OMSI membership. The kids had fun exploring the 16 acres.

Brians Brother Aaron came down from the lake with his new baby and girlfriend and we all went to pizza at Johns incredible. We had a good time and the kids wore themselves out once again.

Then it was off to Vegas to see my other nephew Christian that I havent seen since he was one. He is 16 now. We had a great time getting to know him. Since we stayed at the Excailber Hotel we went to The Tournement Of Kings dinner show. That was such an awesome exsperience for all of us.

We drove over two thousnad miles on our vacation. Despite being in the car so much the kids did pretty good. We were all glad to be able to go on a little vacation but we were even happier to finally make it home.

Vacation or so I thought

2009-02-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

As many of you know Brian went back to rehab and so I took this opportunity to hit the open road. I took Andrew and Jenna out of school and with Quinton in tow we headed down to California. It was a long drive, 12 hours to the Bay Area.

We had to take some pictures in front of MT. Shasta. Our first stop was my Brother Dougs house. We had a really good time there. We went to The Montery Bay Aquarium with him and his wife and then we headed to the beach for a picnic. The kids had alot of fun and were worn out by the time we made it back to their house.

Basketball

2009-01-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

Andrew is now playing on his school basketball team. This is his first attempt at playing basketball on a team. He is doing O.k. He had his first game last week and played against 5th graders. Then on Saturday he had 2 more games. I missed the first game where he scored his first point. I was surprised since the more experienced players never pass the ball to the new kids. He is trying his best and we are very proud of him.

My Baby Is Gone!

2009-01-26T17:32:00.000-08:00

Today I took my sweetheart to rehab. You know now that I think of it people probably think my husband is at some kind of drug rehab. O.k lets start over. Today I took my husband for advanced therapy.O.k. That sounds like he is at some kind of metal health center. Anyways, I was really sad to take him up there because I know it will be 2 weeks before I see him again. We are used to spending so much time together these days.

More rehab

2009-01-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let our Family and Friends know that Brian will be returning to rehab at the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at the Seattle VA on Monday January 26th. He is scheduled to be there for 3 weeks but if he continues to progress he will stay longer. His goal is to be able to walk when he returns home, which is possible with his hard work, determination and the prayers of many others. I'm sure he would love visits while he is there, especially since I wont see him for his first two weeks while at rehab. I will be taking a much needed vacation. He has a cell phone that you can reach him at 360-269-5003

Daddy's Little Buddy

2009-01-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

Most mornings Quinton loves to climb in bed with Brian and snuggle. He loves to smack his belly and blow bubbles on it. He sure does love his daddy.

Babies Gone Wild!!

2009-01-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

Quinton and Isabelle. Their names just sound cute together, like Hunter and Savannah. I was sure when Clarissa and I were pregnant at the same time our kids would end up being best buddies. Well I guess well have to see. As for now they either like to play together or they get into an all out wrestling match. It sure was fun to watch.

Our New Daughter.

2009-01-16T21:38:00.001-08:00

Well since Quintons hair was so long on the top Brianna put a hair bow in it to keep it out of his face. Then Jenna decided to put a dress she bought for her dolls on him. He loved the attention he was getting for being so silly. Poor kid.

Quintons First Timeout!

2009-01-16T21:27:00.001-08:00

So since Quinton seems to be the perfect child we dont really have to discipline him. J.K he is a Conrad. Anyways he has been such a mess maker lately that Im tired of cleaning up all day. So when I saw him dancing or was it crushing his puff snacks i.e baby Cheetos on the floor. I was like thats it, Time Out. Well as you can see from the pictures it worked really well. He did sit for a minute, then I was like,I need to take pictures for my blog. So I know I sent mixed signals to the poor child. He probably thought it was a photo shoot.

Quinton First Haircut!

2009-01-16T20:35:00.000-08:00

It has finally happened.
I gave in and decided to cut Quintons hair.

O.K I didn't actually cut it myself.
Heidi offered to come over today and cut his hair.
I was a little nervous about the whole thing.
He has such cute hair.
He was pretty good about it.
He kept moving to see what she was doing.
She did a great job.
Thanks Heidi.

New Years

2009-01-02T22:19:00.000-08:00

Since we are extreme party animals we had a few people over for New Years. I was totally unprepared to have company since I was out of town Monday and Tuesday and I have been ripping out our bathtub and walls in the main bathroom.

We started up the and played Wii Rockband and Had people playing that while the rest of us played board games. We were actually able to stay up past midnight, so I guess were not too much of old fogies these days.

Kellie really loves playing Rockband. Wes younger brother Andy rocked out on the drums. Kellies younger brother Derrik totally kicks our butts on the guitar

Surprisingly Brianna played the guitar also.

The guys played some Mario Kart. It was fun watching them have so much fun.

Quinton loves to hang with Dad. He also like to feed himself, hence the dirty face. And yes that's a root beer Brians drinking

Happy New Year

Toledo Volunteer Fire and EMS

2008-12-30T23:22:00.000-08:00

Sometimes people you don't even know can bless your life. This Saturday two lovely young ladies showed up to our house to deliver this basket to our family. They were volunteers from the Toledo Fire and EMS. One of the girls was on the scene when Brian was hurt this year. They said that we have been on their mind these last nine months. It was one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for us.

The basket was filled with cookies, candy, hot chocolate, marshmallows, popcorn, nuts, fruit, five movies, a game and a gift card to Walmart. We are so very thankful that they would go to great lengths to make our Christmas a little brighter. Thank you to all the volunteers at the Toledo volunteer Fire and EMS.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T18:13:00.001-08:00

This has been a wonderful Christmas at the Conrad house. Grandma Gay was able to come up from California. This was the first time we have ever spent Christmas with her. We love having her here.
Since Grandma and Grandpa live so close they came over for Christmas eve. We had appetizers and played board games. We had alot of fun.

We had a pretty low key Christmas day . We told the kids that I would have Brian up by 7. That was a hard thing to do since we were up past midnight. We have many things to be thankful for this year. Especially our children. Here are just a few of the things we love about them.

Brianna-She is the most helpful teenager I have ever met. Sure, she wont clean her room if her life depended on it, but she will do anything I need even if she complains all the way.

Katrina-She is such an obediant child. She always tries to do what is right and set a good example, even if its not popular.Andrew-He is the sweetest most loving boy you will ever meet. He is not embarresssed to give me a huge hug and kiss in front of everyone of his friends. He always does what is right(except when it comes to teasing his sisters)
Jenna-She loves to give hugs and kisses and she loves her brothers and sisters. she wished they would play with her all the time.
Quinton- The child that never lets you get bored. He is so loveable and is a joy to have in our family

We love stockings at our house. It keeps the kids busy until we wake up in the morning.

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We hope you had a merry Christmas. Love The Conrads

Pre-Christmas Happenings

2008-12-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

This is our pathetic little elf tree. We went small this year because Brian needs room to get around the house in his wheelchair. Next year we are putting up a full size tree, even if it means Brian has less room. Sorry honey, it's just not the same.

Every year the kids get all their presents out, put them in a pile and count them. They know who has more and who has the biggest. Then they try to guess what they have. Jenna has the biggest present and she guessed it is a life size barbie. Yeah right!

Quinton just likes taking everyones presents and licking them. There must be some magical power in licking them.
I am not beyond bribery. I like when the kids rooms are clean at Christmas time so when they haul their load of toys to their room they don't trip and die. They were lucky enough to get bribed instead of threatened to clean their room. They clean so much faster that way too.

Gingerbread house!

2008-12-21T16:36:00.001-08:00

The kids have been begging to decorate their gingerbread house. They have been waiting impatiently for a few days until everyone was finally healthy enough to participate or watch.One of the sides fell in shortly after they started. Jenna was ready to eat it as soon as the last candy was on. Yum.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2008-12-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

It has snowed all week here in our little town. I don't ever remember snow lasting this long in the 10 years I have lived in WA. Everytime I shovel the walkway and wheelchair ramp it gets covered with more snow. I was trying to keep it clear in case of an emergency so Brians wheelchair could actually get to the van. Too bad for him. He did atempt to make it outside yesterday to see how Kyle was doing on the pantry shelves but he didnt make it very far. I had to push him through 12 inches of snow.

Quinton THE Gamer!

2008-12-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

Quinton loves to be a big boy. So if the kids or Brian do something he loves to play along. He is notorious for taking the kids DS and running off to play.

I talked them into giving him the Gameboy to play with as a distraction.

Now everytime Brian plays the Wii, He has to grab a remote and play along.

SNOW

2008-12-19T14:01:00.001-08:00

I LIKE SNOW

First snow of the season

2008-12-14T22:16:00.000-08:00

We had the first snow of the season on Friday night. The kids were excited to head outside and play in the snow.

After about twenty minutes Andrew and Jenna came in crying about how cold they were. Apparently they weren't aware of how cold it can get when you roll around in snow and splash in puddles.

Christmas concert

2008-12-14T21:46:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was the schools annual Christmas concert at Napavine for grades K-3. Jenna had a special part as a crayon. WOW. Grandma and Grandpa were able to come too!

After sitting through 4 grades of kids singing songs they brought all the kids out and had them sing a few more. Then the night really livened up when a special guest came to steal the show. No it was not Santa Clause, it was Elvis. Mr. Bluhm a fourth grade teacher was all dressed up and singing the part.
I was so thanksful that this was our last Christmas program until Quinton goes to school.

My Hott Date!

2008-12-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

This week for our date I finally got to go to SUSHI. I have been impatiently waiting for about a month and a half. Everyone knows I LOVE SUSHI! After a bad experience at our local sushi restaurant when I went with Heidi, I swore I would never go to that place again. The closest place is in Olympia, so we don't get that far from home to often. Our meal looked like a work of art.

Brian thinks he is pretty funny sometimes.

Free wheelchair rides

2008-12-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

Brian always tries to make the best out of any situation. Being in a wheelchair hasn't been any different. I have went to find him in the gym after church to see him giving the kids wheelchair rides around the gym with 10 kids chasing after him.(I saw an accident waiting to happen) Friday at the ward dinner was no suprise. Once the gym was cleared out he was giving Doug a ride around the gym.

Quinton the helper!

2008-12-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Quinton loves to help around the house. If he sees you doing laundry he loves to help put the clothes in the dryer. On Sunday he decided to get a head start on laundry by getting the detergent prepped and ready to go.

He is always so good at cleaning up his mess. Of course he cleans as well as a one year old can.

He wasn't too sure about having soap on his feet.

Girls day

2008-12-03T16:40:00.000-08:00

Have you ever gotten in your car looked at your gas gage and told yourself you need gas before too long? Well this morning as I got in the car to drive to the Seattle Temple I told myself I would get gas in Centrailia. I started talking and it never crossed my mind until I was cutting across four lanes of traffic because I forgot to get on I-405 until the last minute. As I looked down to make sure the crusie control was off I noticed the gas light was on. I thought " how long has that been on?" (note gas light is on)

I remembered that I had a DTE(distance till empty) reminder on my overhead moniter. I clicked the button until it came up and when I saw it I thought "holy crap". Ok I've let my gas get down low before but when it said "0" I was sure I was going to run out on the on ramp to I-405 and block traffic for hours.

So I said a little prayer that I wouldn't run out of gas on the freeway and I thought about all the times I have called people idiots in my mind when I hear about them running out of gas. Thank goodness we got off the next exit and found a gas station a block away. In my rush to fill the car up I forgot to hit the little girls room. My diet Pepsi had run it's course. I figured I would just go when I got to the Temple since they have such clean bathrooms. Anythings better than a gas station restroom.

Ahh we finally made it and I went into the bathroom by the entrance. As I looked down to put the seat cover on I noticed what looked like a chocolate bar smeared on the toilet. (It was not chocolate)There was no way I was getting near that toilet.

So what I thought would be a simple trip to the Temple turned out to be a very eventful trip for us.

Cabela's

2008-11-29T19:36:00.000-08:00

Have you ever planned a day for your kids that you thought would be fun and they whine and complain about it every step of the way? If you answered yes then you must be a parent.

Brian and I went to Cabela's a few months ago on a date and I kept thinking " this place is so cool, I want to bring the kids." So off we went to have fun filled family day. They argued the entire way up there, which is like 40 minutes. As soon as we step out they all complain about being hungry. Katrina said she was bored as soon as she saw the exterior of the place. So after shutting them up with kettle corn we headed inside.

As you can see from the look on Katrinas face she was not very happy about being there. She was appalled at the taxidermied animals that covered the place. I know shes an animal lover but I figured she could at least enjoy the beauty of all the different animals. But I was wrong.Andrew thought the Wolverine and the Giant Polar Bear were pretty cool.

Brianna liked the Sea Lion.

They did like the shooting gallery. Jenna was timid about trying it at first. She told me to shoot it for her, but I made her do it herself. She loved it once she gave it a try. After we looked at a few things we headed down to the General store where Brian let them each get two pieces of fudge. We'll see if they can sleep after all that sugar.

We didn't spend as much time there as we would have liked. From now on The kids will be staying home when we go to Cabela's. (As a side note, Katrina can't sleep tonight because the giant Polar Bear is chasing her in her thoughts). This should be a fun night.

`Thanksgiving at the Conrads`

2008-11-27T22:29:00.000-08:00

This was by far the easiest Thanksgiving for me. I only had to cook the Turkey,Ham and make stuffing. Ashley and my Mom did the rest. Things are pretty low key around here anyways. The kids ate lots of food before they all disappeared into the rec room for a good ole fashion game of school. Brianna was the teacher with Katrina as the assistant. They printed off homework and hung charts on the wall. They never seem to excited about going to real school and they sure don't like doing their homework, but I guess when you play pretend school it is just funner. Ashley and I took the "quiet time" to take a nap so we would be all ready for Black Friday. Yes that is right we are one of those crazy women who are braving the cold weather to get some good deals.(will update tomorrow on our adventure) Our friends Wes and Kellie came over after work to hang out with us until exhaustion hit. My parents only stopped by after their dinner at Sizzler. Apparently we are too loud for the older crowd. They took Quinton home since Brian cant watch him while I'm out having fun.
Yes, I'm aware I dont having any nice serving dishes and utensils. They would make a great Christmas gift. hint hint

Quinton loved the olives.

Ashley and Kyle. They are awesome friends.