Oh my....way too long....

Once again, i'm failing at this blogging thing...oh well. At least i've changed the background to something christmasy.:) Let's see...what have we been up to? Christmas is in full swing at our house. The Collins' 25 Days of Christmas is fun each day. Today is Brady's Christmas program at school and dessert afterwards. Yesterday we were supposed to drive around and look at christmas lights and eat christmas cookies but the weather and icy roads thwarted that adventure. We are doing things each day as a family to help us slow down and enjoy each other and it's so much fun. Honestly, my kids think about the 25 Days of Christmas all year long. Those are the memories they have and i love it! I'll post some pics later with some of our activities. I just love this time of year!!!

The bearded boys

This week at AWANA, it was beard and mustache night. They chose to do both. So silly. And so stinkin' cute!

Tater Funnies....

In the car yesterday, we were talking about when I homeschooled Brady and remembering how I was pregnant with Tate when I did it. Brady had said something like "Was Caeden or Tate in your belly when you homeschooled me?" I said it was Tate. Then very quietly, Tate says "Momma, did you eat me?" And I paused and said "No, I didn't eat you. Why?" And he responds with "Then why was I in your bewwy (belly)?" Makes sense.

Bad blogger....

I am so bad at this thing. Oh well, I'm quite sure it's not read by many so no biggie.:) Here's what we've been up to lately....

~soccer, soccer, soccer. We have soccer 2 nights a week and games on Saturdays. The boys' practices are on the same night, which makes those nights crazy but it's better than having soccer every night of the week.
~Homeschooling Tater. We've got one month under our belt and he is loving it. I hope it stays that way! It was just a blink ago that he was this little. So cute!

~MOPS: mops kicks off this week, although we've been getting ready for it for a month. I'm so excited about this year!
~My brother turned 35. Old man.

~Our backyard is beautiful and we love playing in it.
~We had a blast at the Puyallup Fair! We took the boys out of school for the day, bought dizzy passes and rode the day away on the rides and eating scones along the way. It was so much fun! And we had beautiful weather, as a bonus!
~The band Stu plays in has been doing some "gigs" at Calvary Church and Younglife started this week so they are playing there too. He loves playing guitar and I love that he has this opportunity to do it.
~Went car shopping. Fun at first, draggin' at the end. No decision yet.
~I agreed to make yet another Halloween costume for my youngest brother. He's 6'5 and just a kid at heart. His work has a contest for costumes. Last year, with my broken leg and all, I (and my mom) made him a Cookie Monster costume. This year, he wants to be a puppy. Seriously. But how can i say no to him? He's so cute!


Hmm....not much going on but for us, it's busy as ever. I'll try and be better about posting. No promises though.:)

Malibu part dos...

Ok, I finally downloaded my 400 pics from Malibu. Don't worry, i'm not going to post all 400 of them. Here is a glimpse of our time up at Malibu....















So there's the glimpse. A good sampling of all the things we did up there and the fun we had. It's the most beautiful place I've ever been too. Simply amazing.

Ridiculous...

It's ridiculous how much i love this man!

Suma Suma Summertime!!!

WE ARE BACK!!! Actually, technically, we've been back for 2 weeks. But it's taken me this long to get it in gear to post anything. We just got home from spending a month in British Columbia, serving at Malibu, the YoungLife camp up there. Stu was on program, which is the upfront entertainment. We had 4 weeks of campers, serving a total of approximately 1200 campers. There was highschools from California, Oregon, Washington and Singapore. Yes, Singapore! It was an amazing month! Some highlights....
~We started our time up there, before campers arrived, with our family being baptized together by Shawn Petree, in the pool up there. It was so special. The boys each made that decision themselves and Stu and I were baptized again, as we were both baptized as babies.
~Living with the Petree's in Haida, a cabin that is one of the original cabins from Hamilton's time. It is getting torn down for new work crew lodging. A cool fact, it used to be the bar when it was a Hollwood Resort. The actual bar still exists in there and John Wayne sat there and had a beer! Pretty cool!
~Watching my husband and Shawn have an amazing time together on program and seeing their friendship shine through their characters, who were Hog the Bounty Hunter and Zeeland, his son.



I would not even recognize my husband if I passed him on the street. Sick.

~Seeing Brady serve every week when new freight came in. He hauled loads upon loads up to the kitchen. We were reminded again how the Lord has given him such a servant's heart.
~Having no responsibilities other than hangin' with my kids. Our meals were cooked for us, our cabin cleaned for us...it's amazing how much time you get to spend with your kids when you have no domestic duties to get in the way. What a blessing that was for me! The boys and I had so much fun together!
~Amazing weather! It was only yucky like 3 days out of the entire month. Needless to say, we were at the pool every day.
~Spending quiet time early in the morning, looking out into the mountains and having that little piece of stillness with the Lord every day.
~Meeting so many new and incredible people, on assignment and the work staff. Amazing people to spend the month with!
~Watching and seeing highschool kids experience one of the best weeks of their lives.
~Brady and Caeden doing the ropes course, the caribe, blobbing, rock wall climbing, frisbee golfing...just having the time of their lives!
~Having a private concert by Brandon Heath! So cool!!!

So there are some of the highlights. I still need to download my camera and get some pics on here. But I will leave you with one from the 80's night....ridiculous!

Last week of school....

Crazy week this week, in so many ways! Based on the weather, you'd think it was February. Back to wearing fleece and jeans. School ends this friday for Brady and Caeden. They have all kinds of fun stuff planned this week. But we are all looking forward to no schedule, no "have-to's", no school lunches to be made (ok, maybe that's my excitement), relaxed bedtimes and fun summer family fun. We are putting together the "Collins' Super Dooper Summer Fun Extravaganzaaaaa" list. Basically, we sit down as a family and figure out all the things we want to do over the summer. We make a big list, on posterboard, and everyone gives ideas. The goal, obviously, is to do as much on the list as possible. My good friend Stella gave me the idea last summer and the boys loved it! We didn't do everything on the list but we gave it a good try. It was fun to hear their ideas and hear what was important to them to do. Other Collins news...

~We are off to Malibu Young Life camp in TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!!!!!
~Celebrated Tate's birthday with "Clem the Clam Digger." I will definitely post pics of our special guest!
~Backyard is coming in nicely! Stu had seeded for the second time and probably will need to mow before we head to Malibu.
~The baby birdies are growing like weeds! I'll have to do a post just on their progress from the first hatching to now. I've learned so much about the bird cycle just from watching them. Did you know that baby birdies double their size each day!?!? They pretty much have outgrown their little nest. The mama bird can't even get in there anymore. Their feathers have all come in and their eyes are open. It's just incredible. I know that they are probably going to leave the next while we are gone and i'm mourning their leaving.:( It's been so fun for us to watch them. So precious!!!
~My brother is coming over for the weekend from Spokane. Can't wait to spend time with him! Celebrate my mom's birthday/flag day. It's a running joke in our family. Her birthday always falls on Flag Day. So we make it a joint celebration.:)
~Father's Day!!! Woop Woop! We are excited to celebrate Stu!
~I was reminded again of how God has surrounded me with people who love me and support me and encourage me. I am so thankful for my husband and how much he loves me, for my kids and how precious they are, for friends that continue to stand in the gap with me, no matter what.

I'll leave you with this Tater-ism...."Mommy, did you know that hand sanitizer kills 99 hundred germs? That's a whole lot of germs!"

Pet Parade

Today was the "Pet Parade" at school. Pulling into the parking lot with our Daisy Darling, I was having serious doubts that this would work. I had visions of dog fights, crazy animals everywhere and my dog being the ring leader. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it all went! Daisy was the first dog to bark at another dog but she did ok. She can handle dogs that are her size but anything bigger and she feels the need to put on a show. Caeden was so proud of his dog and excited to show her off to his friends. There was even guinea pigs there and fish!

Tater's Birthday! WOOP WOOP!!!

My little one is 4 now. His birthday was May 24th. Of course, we have been "celebrating" his specialness for about 3 weeks now. He is an amazing little boy, full of life and love, energy and emotion. He continues to keep us on our toes and keeps us constantly giggling over his adventures. If he doesn't grow up to be an actor, i'd be shocked. He loves to give "the brothers" lots of love one minute and blame them for everything under the sun the next. He likes Go Diego Go, Veggietales, playing his Vsmile, playing with his brothers outside and in, reading stories over and over and over again (again, mom, again!), his dad is his hero and races to give him big hugs when Stu walks thru the door everytime. He is a light in this world and we simply adore him. Happy Birthday my little sunshine!

Birdie update

One of the little robin's have hatched today! Soooo tiny! We are so excited to watch this little miracle happen. It looks like another egg has a hole in it too. I've never been this close to a baby bird before! Seriously, this one just hatched today. Can you tell i'm way excited for this!?!?!

Weekend fun....

While hottie husband was here...


The boys and I were here.....

School Spring Play "The Slingshot Heard Around the World" (Brady is the one on the very right. He was "Go Fish" one of Goliath's brother's that fish)


Water fight in the front yard/washed Stu's car/baked in the warm sun




Discovered a Robin's nest under our deck. Beautiful eggs! AMAZING!!!!


Went down to my parent's house on the lake on the 90 degree day...HOT!!








We are so happy that daddy's back though. We missed him so much!!!!

Me...according to my music preferences....

What Your Taste in Music Says About You

Your musical tastes are upbeat and conventional. You are an easy going, optimistic person. Family and friends are very important to you. You enjoy caring for and helping other people. You thrive in a tranquil environment, and you do your best to keep things peaceful. You enjoy your life. You have your priorities straight.

What Does Your Taste in Music Say About You?

I got this off Steph's blog, gave it a shot and voila, it's me. Based on 4 musical questions, this is who I am. Very interesting....

My husband

Stu heads to Malibu today for the Men's Weekend up there. He is taking his dad. Please pray for their time up there. My husband is so stinkin' cute!

New York City......

I'm back!!!!! I got back this week from my trip to NY to visit my friend Tracy. I met her beautiful son Ian, who i'm in love with and we had a great time. I saw "Grease" on Broadway and i think i smiled thru the ENTIRE thing. It was soooo great!!! For those of you who watched last summer, the reality show "You're the One that I Want" where they were auditioning for a new Danny and Sandy to be in the production...well, the winners are still in the show! It was so cool to see them, as i did watch the show, as i love Grease. Anyhoo, it was a blast. Had some fun adventures, scary adventures and exciting adventures while there. My boys did great while i was gone. I missed them all and loved seeing them at the airport with hugs and kisses for mom. It's great to be missed.:)

Back from Hiatis...

Ok, so I am totally not a blogger. Thought i could be but compared to others, so not a blogger. I'm sorry i'm so lame at this, for those of you who read it. I'll try when i have time...that's the only guarantee i can give. So what have i been doing since the Round Up? Hmmm....not quite sure. MOPS is wrapping up, kids are doing great, went on a super fun girls weekend to Gearhart, Oregon last weekend, Husband is still so cute and awesome, I'm headed to New York in two weeks to visit my oldest, bestest friend Tracy and meet her new little man in her life...her son Ian, who i am the proud godmother of. My boys will be on their own for 6 days! They are going to have a ball, i'm quite sure. I just hope they don't forget about Daisy.:) Here's some pics of the latest goings on in and out of the Collins casa.
Brady's Birthday/Easter morning...He's 10! I have a double digit kid! CRAZY!!


Fun times at the Zoo over spring break...







Finding Nemo....



Beach Weekend with Mel, Heather, Kat and me


Heather and Kat with the "flats"...Stel and Reb who couldn't come but were with us anyways.:)


Fort building...i think this was the school bus.


My sweet boys with Daisy