Uncle Kory's Return from Basic & Specialized Training

Here we are in the airport waiting for Kory to arrive from Fort Bragg. He arrived about 9:00 pm and the kids usually are in bed at 7:00 pm. They were so excited to see Uncle Kory that we let them stay up late. We started with 3 yellow balloons and Kory made it home with one. The other two popped while in the airport and we got some pretty strange looks because they sounded like a gun being shot. Kevin was there as well as Mom and Dad Hebdon and one of Kory's friends from High School, Clay Hymas.

I like Tyson's expression-"What happened to your hair, Uncle Kory!" Trevor was just excited to see him.

BriAnn was impressed by the men in uniform. Kory's Unit leader (I'm not Army literate yet so am probably getting his title wrong) met him at the airport as well and BriAnn warmed right up to him. She held his hand and was ready to go home with him. Kory and Mom stopped by today after getting Kory's paperwork filled out and the kids were so excited to see them. They are happy to have Uncle Kory back. We all are! We will get to enjoy him for a few short months before he enters the MTC. October 1 is his first available date so we will see what happens.

My Littlest Helper

BriAnn loves "pink bear" that my parents gave her for her birthday and goes everywhere with that thing, if allowed. The other day she came up to me with "pink bear" in one hand and a pair of her pjs in the other. "Pink bear where jammies?" she said to me. So, I helped her put pjs on pink bear and she was happy, happy, happy! She has also been found pushing pink bear on the swings, buckling it into her high chair and feeding it the toy baby bottles she has. What a little nurturer she is already!

Jason bought me a tree trimmer for Mother's Day (upon my request) and I have been having fun with it. I've trimmed up most of the trees in the backyard and used it on some in the front. As I was busy trimming, my littlest helper was busy hauling the branches away. Where was she putting them? In the pool. At least they were all in one place and easier to put in the yard waste bin.

I had two little helpers when picking strawberries. Can you tell which ones were picked by them? I was able to get enough strawberries off our plants this year to make one batch of freezer jam. Next year I will buy the reduced sugar pectin and will make the jam before half the strawberries go bad. Actually, it wasn't so much that they went bad as it was the birds, ants and squirrels really enjoyed our strawberries, too. The streamers in the breeze cut back on the birds, but the other two didn't seem to mind them at all.

Balloon Volleyball

We played balloon volleyball for Family Home Evening the other night. It was quite fun. I had a line of tape on the carpet and thought that would suffice, but Jason and the kids had other ideas.

We also had a family dance recently as part of the FHE activity. I got Jason the David Archuletta CD for our anniversary (8 years!) so we danced to that. It was really cute watching BriAnn go from person to person wanting to dance with them and the boys enjoying every minute of dancing with her. Fun family memories! And yes, the pictures on the wall usually are crooked because it is the wreck room, after all, were balls are allowed with moderation and things get a little wild at times.

Family Fun

Jason was having fun at bath time one night and decided to spike BriAnn's hair. The boys were all laughing and BriAnn didn't know what was going on so Jason put her in front of the mirror and she started laughing, too.

This weekend was spent with family. We all went to the cabin on Friday night after school and came home Saturday night about bedtime. While there we went to the lake, went on walks, and helped Grandpa Alan build the tack room/ hay storage area/ play house. Trevor had great fun hammering nails that Jason or Kristi Ann would get started for him. He was also really good about fetching tools for Grandpa and Jason. Tyson was a good little babysitter for BriAnn. He chased her down to the meadow several times and brought her back, holding her hand. When we were on one of our walks, BriAnn would say to Tyson "hold hands!" and reach for his hand. What a cute mental picture it created. Where's the camera when you need it?

Kristi Ann drove to Royal City on Sunday for Evan's Aaronic Priesthood ordination and for Michael's talk just before he goes on his mission. Kristi Ann was able to reconnect with cousins and meet some she hadn't yet met. Uncle Terry's poetry was a fun treat, too. MacKenzie and Bryce came up to Kristi Ann first and wanted to know where Trevor and Tyson were. When they found out they weren't there, the two turned around and went back to their seats with sad looks on their faces. Many others wanted to know where the kids and Jason were, too. Next time we will all be going as a family!

Man and the moon

Trevor's Kindergarten teacher is Ruby Chock and she loves astronomy. She has been teaching the kids all year about the different phases of the moon, constellations and more. Her class was visited by Dave Armstrong of the Boeing Astronomical Society and this visit made it into the Auburn Reporter, our local newspaper.

Man and the moon

Jun 04 2009, 6:00 PM
Dave Armstrong of the Boeing Astronomical Society explains different phases of the moon to students in Ruby Chock’s kindergarten class at Pioneer Elementary School.
Armstrong discussed features and the nature of the moon, including the formation of craters. It was all part of the class’s ‘Hands-on-astronomy-makes-one-curious about the universe’ program.

Happy Anniversary?

It is our 8th anniversary today. Jason stayed home from work and took me to lunch. As we were sitting there eating our meals, he looked at me and said "I know this is suppose to be a happy day for us, but I don't feel happy. There's nothing to celebrate." My heart is hurting for him and his family as the news is official: Marianne has been given 1 to 2 years to live. We have all gone through a range of emotions. I was so angry for a couple of days and didn't understand until I started crying on Saturday. The news hit and the reality of it isn't going to go away. So, we just try to let those around us know how much we love and appreciate them (that's all of you!!) and celebrate the little things for they are all reasons to do so. Thanks for all your prayers on her behalf. Please keep praying as miracles do happen, even if they don't happen in the way we want them to.

Updates

BriAnn reading her doll a story after waking up from nap time. Now that she is two, she is so much more independent! And cute!

Jason's tick bite is healing and almost gone. No Lyme disease. He had it checked out by a Dr and all is well.

Jason's dad is doing well after prostate cancer surgery. Still going strong!

Marianne is not doing so well. Please keep her in your prayers. She just had a complete hysterectomy due to a large tumor on one of her ovaries. When doing the surgery, they found nodules on her liver, as well. So, she has stage IV Colon Cancer as it is spreading throughout her body. Don't know what the next step is, but she has made a wish that all her siblings and spouses go to the cabin for a fun-filled night of games without children. So, I may be asking some of you to watch kids to help fulfill her Make-a-Wish. Don't know dates yet so won't ask anyone at this time.

Summer fun begins!

Getting ready to set up the pool....

...And now we are enjoying it! (At 6:30 pm because it is still 85 degrees F outside.)

Notice the garden in the background. It is growing. Even the pumpkins and the watermelon!