rock climbing pictures

Here are the pictures of Joseph and I rock climbing at Smith Rock on our vacation in Oregon.

I'm blessed with the most unusual 2-year old

I realized tonight at dinner that I have the most unusual 2-year old. We picked beans from our garden tonight for dinner, and ended up with a mountain of beans. Even though my kids like the beans, I was a little worried that we wouldn't eat them all, but I shouldn't have been. Samuel had 4 helpings of beans, he probably ate 2 1/2-3 cups of green beans. Samuel loves all fruits and vegetables, no matter what vegetable I put on the table he seems to devour it. He is always bypassing the other items at the dinner and asking for seconds of the vegetable. He frequently has 2 or 3 helpings of salad, and loves to eat a whole carrot for a snack, or cucumbers(which he eats like a carrot) He loves broccoli, artichokes, corn, asparagus, zucchini, squash(all varieties), peas, tomato's, jicima, beets, and potatoes. I can't think of a vegetable he doesn't like, he even likes the leafy greens, like spinach, kale, and Swiss chard. Samuel hasn't also been a vegetable fan, but has become a lover of them in probably the last 6-12 months. My kids are all good at eating their veggies, but Samuel tops them all. While we were picking beans, he couldn't even wait for them to be cooked, he would just pick them and pop them in his mouth. If someone were to ask what my secret is to get kids to eat veggies, I would say that I eat them a lot, I cook them a lot, and I'm always trying new foods and make a big deal about everyone trying them and asking what they think about it. I also cook the veggies by themselves a lot of the time, since kids generally don't like their food mixed up with other things. Also the Garden helps to, the kids help with the garden, so when they have helped grow the food, they are much more inclined to try it and like it.

the girl's dresses

I started these dresses for the girl's in January while Travis was at NTC, and I've now completed them, the girls were pretty happy with them, and they were excited to wear them to church today. I'm still working on the matching purses for them, but I'm taking a little break from sewing to catch up on the cleaning. We've had a pretty good week, we spent a lot of time at pools, which is the only way to stay cool in the heat, it has been over 100 degrees almost every day. Although that is nothing compared to the heat where Travis is at, but he is such a trooper, he hasn't complained once, he is amazing. The girls had dance camp, and their performance at the end of the week was really cute, I took pictures from my new phone, but I still need to transfer them to the computer.

Going home

We had just a few more days left in Oregon and had a wonderful time. The kids absolutely loved picking all of the berries that were ripe, they picked cherries, salmonberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries (Yummy, yummy, yummy!) I sure miss Oregon berries, they are the best. They loved jumping on the trampoline, playing at the park, and running around on the grass. Samuel even climbing up my parents Arbor next to the cherry tree, he is such a good climber. The time went by really fast, and If I hadn't had tickets to fly home, I would have stayed longer, but I was anxious to get back to my garden to see how it fared while I was gone, but my friend Laurie was taking care of it for me. Well the day finally arrived to go home, and we woke up at 4:30 in the morning to go catch our flight. We made to the Portland airport to find huge lines, and I knew we were in trouble, it took 40 minutes to get my suitcases checked in, thank goodness my Dad stayed and watched the kids while I waited in line (thanks Dad, you're the best) Then of course the security line was long too, but my Dad couldn't follow me in there, but he got us as close to the front as possible, we didn't get through security until after 6am (when our flight was leaving) and hurried to the gate, during which after we came out of a walkway, samuel darted into the one going the opposite way, and I had to drop everything and chase him down. When we got to our gate the door was closed, and we were told we would need to rebook our flight, I was not happy, but we made our way to the re-booking desk while kids are crying because we missed our plane. In the middle of re-booking someone came and said that our plane was delayed a few minutes and they would let us get on. My prayers and all those who were praying for me were answered, and we boarded our plane, where enough people moved so that samuel, betsy, and I were together, and Joseph and Austin were in another part of the plane, but they did really well. The three hour layover in Phoenix went okay too, although it was still stressful, we made it and caught our next flight just fine. Our friend picked us up from the airport and we made it home safely. We have all struggled a little bit going back to our everyday lives after all the fun we had on vacation, and we all miss grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and cousins.

Joseph's Baptism

Joseph's baptism was wonderful, It was so amazing to have my firstborn son baptized, the only thing that would have made it even better is if Travis was there and able to preform the baptism. But Joseph was baptized in the same baptismal font and the same person that I was. My Dad preformed the baptism, and Joseph was taking it all in, and being very quite, which is unlike him. My mom gave the baptism talk, and my whole family sang "I am a child of God" which was really nice. There was a wonderful spirit there, and I know everyone felt it. It also touched my parent's neighbours who were members a long time ago and whom Joseph became good friends with while we lived with my parents. My sweet boy is growing up so fast, and I can already see a change in his behavior due to the spirit of the holy ghost. And today he fasted for the first time, I am so proud of him. After the baptism we all went to TCBY and had fun, almost all of the kids got this blue colored frozen yogurt, and they all had really blue faces, they looked so funny.

Camping for the Hardy reunion

We went camping in central Oregon near Lake Billy Chinook for the Hardy reunion this year, everyone but one of my sisters and her family were able to come. We camped at a KOA campground that was pretty nice, the kids and I were in a cabin, and there was a swimming pool, and a playground, and some outdoor games available for play. The kids loved playing with their cousins, and swimming in the pool, and the park. We also took a trip over to Smith Rock for some rock climbing, it was pretty amazing watching how some people were rock climbing. I forgot to bring my camera so I don't have any pictures of it, but it was awesome. My brothers set up two ropes, and they had harnesses for everyone except the youngest kids, and we all took turns rock climbing. It was fun, I made it all the way to the top, but only becuase my Dad was belaying me and helped me up in a few spots. It made me want to take another rock climbing class with Joseph. We also went out on the lake and had a ton of fun playing in the swimming area and going out on the boat, and riding in the tubes. It was so nice to be able to go places without having to spend the whole time just counting my kids to make sure I know where they all are. The food was also really good, something about camping (and my mom's cooking) just makes food so delicous. We had a little trouble with a flat tire, but managed to get the fixed in time, and we made it back just in time to change and go to Joseph's Baptism.

More fun in Oregon

After we were done at the fish hatchery we went to a park next to the columbia river and had a picnic, then we got some ice cream at a walk up ice cream store, and after that we walked across a little bridge to an Island and enjoyed walking around. The older boys found a cool tree to climb on and had fun with that, and Samuel was excited to "pee on a tree" for the first time, and was pretty pleased with himself. (I was especially glad that my sister reminded me that he couldn't be facing the wind when he peed, and I turned him around just in time) Austin enjoyed skipping and picking more flowers (really tall ones, up by the roots). Austin also loved her newest cousin "baby dillan" The kids all loved him a little too much, and we usually ended up needed to save him from them. I got to go to the Portland temple with my parents, which was awesome. I got to go lap swimming with my Dad a couple of times, and boy age has still not slowed him down at all, it will probably be 20 more years before I'll be able to catch up with him. I got to go to the fabric store with my sister-in-law and my mom, and pick out some fun new projects. I also met some of my friends at the park, where we got buckets of rain poured on us, but we at least had a covered play area to run to. The kids loved running and splashing in the puddles, and getting soaked, we had a good time.

Going to Oregon

We left June 17th to go to Oregon for about 2 weeks, for a Hardy family reunion and Joseph's baptism. Flying is never fun with four small children and no husband to help, but we managed to survive. The El Paso airport wasn't too busy, so it didn't take too long to get through lines. I tried using one of those monkey harnesses for Samuel, but the second I touched the tail, he would scream and throw a huge fit, but he liked it as long as I wasn't holding onto it, but whenever he tried to escape I would pull on it and tell him, I would let go as soon as he was next to me. The people around us were always helpful and friendly, and no one said I was crazy (even though I'm sure some were thinking it) We were so happy to get to Oregon, and see the beautiful green scenery, although for the first week we were pretty cold, since it never got above 70 degrees. The kids loved having a man around to play with, as you can see by them all hanging on the Uncle Josh (pictured above). We went to the bonneville dam and fish hatchery, which was a lot of fun. The fish were fun to watch as well as some huge sturgen that the boys nicknamed "shark". But the biggest attraction for the girls was a grassy patch filled with wildflowers, they were in heaven skipping happily and picking flowers.

My birthday

Well I'm 28 now, time sure flies by. Earlier in the week my mom sent me a package with an awesome birthday cake in it, so we stuck the candles in it the kids sang to me and we pigged out, it was delicous. On my birthday I went to the girls' cheerleading performance. The kids and I went to the park, and then that evening I dropped the kids off at childcare and when to dinner at the olive garden with my friend Chelsie (It was so yummy) and then to a concert that was free for families with deployed husbands.

It was Everclear and Edwin McCain, and I should have realized how loud it was going to be, and brought along ear plugs, but I didn't and went deaf in my left ear for a while. Oh well, I think there was 1 maybe 2 songs I recognized, but I got a night out without the kids so I was happy, then when I got home, there was a package on our front door, with some yellow roses in it, from Travis, yeah!!!

Betsy and Austin Cheerleading

Betsy and Austin were able to do a cheerleading camp, and they had an awesome time. It was really fun for them, and each day had a different theme. The first day was "backwards shirt day" and they had all the girls turn their shirts around. Betsy thought that was a little weird and turned her shirt back around the second she was out of class. The next day was "crazy hair" day, and their hair did indeed look crazy, (I forgot to take a picture), the day after that was crazy sock day and then spirit day, which was the last day. Austin won the award for craziest hair, and betsy won the award for craziest socks. They had a really good time and also ended up making a cheer for us. My kids' ages are now Sam 2, Betsy 4, Austin 6, and Joseph 8. So after pointing this out to me they cheered "2,4,6,8, who do we appreciate......the Kirkmans!!! I thought that was pretty cute

Joseph's b-day

Joseph is 8 year's old now! He is really excited to be 8 now, since that means he will get to be baptized. He had a birthday party this year, and had a lot of fun. I started planning his party, and then he informed me he wanted to plan it, so it made it much easier for me. He wanted his cake to be the "tiki statue" from "The night at the museum" that says "dum, dum, give me gum, gum". So I finally found a picture of it on the internet and got the idea from my sister to make it out of rice krispie treats, and managed to kind of make it. But he liked it, so I guess that's all that matters. We had a pinata, that everyone loved, and used the candy and frosting as glue to make things out of the candy. We played "tape the tail on the little brother" (all Joseph's idea) and used duct tape to tape donkey tails onto Samuel(pictured above). Samuel loved it and was a really good sport. We popped balloons, had cake and ice cream, opened presents and had a good time.

School's out!

The kids were all very excited to be out of school for the summer. Both Austin and Betsy had little graduation ceremonies. They were very happy and both did well in school. Joseph didn't have a ceremony, but he did have a party, which he enjoyed a lot. I'm proud of my children, and all that they accomplished during the school year.

Betsy falls asleep

Betsy is really flexible and is good at hiding in small places, she is excellent at hide-n-seek. She is also always trying to hide and jump out and surprise me, she has gotten me good many times. Betsy will sometimes fall asleep in funny places, one night I went to check on her before I went to bed, and she wasn't in her bed. So I looked under her bed and all around her room, and I still couldn't find her, I started looking in the other rooms and still couldn't find her. I wasn't starting to freak out a little when I looked in her room one more time and discovered her in one of the compartments in the laundry cart. I was extremely relieved to find her, and she looked so cute all cuddled up in her little cozy spot that I took her picture.