It's a Kid Thing

Ok, So I am terrible at blogging. Not much better at posting on my Facebook Page either. But there are a few things that my kids are saying right now that is cracking me up and I know I will regret it if I don't post it now.
In January we go a Wee for the kids. Of course Brycen wants to play with it all day everyday. Well Tom told him we can't play the Wee on Sunday because it is a family day and it's a day to think about Jesus. That night when it was just starting to get dark Brycen looked outside and said, "Daddy look the Sun is going down, can we play the Wee now?" As in, since the Sun wasn't up it's not a Sunny day anymore so we can play. Made us both laugh. He still says it all the time.
Last night when we were all in the car coming home from our Valentine's day celebration with the kids, Andrea was singing. They were all different notes but the words were the same, Ba Ba. Tom asked Andrea, "What are you singing" Andrea said, "The Ba Ba song" Then she continued singing her song. It was so cute.
Yesterday Brycen went poop and after I cleaned him up I told him to flush the toilet cause I know he likes to do it. Andrea went over and flushed it instead. Then we had drama for about 15-20 minutes because Brycen wanted to flush his poop down the toilet. Normally I would have been fed up with the whining, but something about this situation made me laugh. Being an adult you never can imagine a time where flushing your own poop down the toilet could bring you so much joy. I had to laugh.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

The day we were going out of town for the Thanksgiving things were a mad house in the Bollwitt home. I was babysitting my friends children that morning and I was trying to clean and get things organized. After I dropped off Brycen at Preschool I was going shopping so I needed to get all the kids fed before we left. Andrea would not stay at the table and finish her lunch. She kept running away and playing. I would tell her to go back and sit down and she would run to the table. After about a half and hour of this, with only a minute or two before we had to leave, I lost my temper and sat her down at the table rather forcefully and in a stern voice told her not to get up or she was staying home, which produced tears almost immediately. I heard Brycen in the background saying, "You better be good, Santa's watching..." I quickly joined in on that note and told Andrea she better eat her lunch because Santa was watching her, then Brycen comes out of the mud room and says, "No, mommy, Santa is watching YOU!". Of coarse I had to laugh at that. I then bagged up the sandwich and tossed them all in the car. Life is too short to get mad over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich..

Halloween 2010

This year our Halloween started on the 30th. We got the kids all dressed up, Brycen was Iron Man, Andrea was a unicorn, and Makayla was a bunny. I had good intentions of dressing up this year, I bought the costume and everything. But after getting the kids all dressed it became too much. Boy, they were all so cute.
We went to our Church's Trunk-or-Treat, this year it was totally packed. We some how found a place to sit and eat and then the kids all paraded around in their costumes. We all then went outside to the parking lot to start Trunk-or-treating. Brycen kept going back around to all the trunks for seconds and thirds. He totally made out big time. He has a major sweet tooth just like his mama. It was fun seeing all the cars decorated and all the kids looking so cute. Next year Tom and I are dressing up...I'm thinking Sunny and Cher??? Who knows.
After church on the 31st we went up to St. Joe to spend time with my parents and my sister Christy and co. The kids all played really well together. My dad planned some fun games for the kids and they all went on candy scavenger hunt outside. They had to say "trick-or-treat" when they spied some candy. If you know my dad, this is right up his alley. We celebrated my sister's birthday as well, 34 years old. All and all it was a fun day will lots of chocolate...my kind of day.
We were so lucky to once again have fantastic weather for Halloween. Living out here you can never take it for granted. This fall has been so beautiful, from the color of the leaves to the great temperature, we have been so lucky.

Brycen's 4th Birthday

So every year we seem to have a big party for Brycen and this year with the new baby and house I asked my husband if he thought it would be ok if we just did a family party like we had for Andrea....ya right. His comment was "Having a couple of friends over for some cake and ice cream isn't such a big deal". Ya right! I wanted him to plan it. I went to Party City to get some cute invitations and saw they had all their Power Ranger party gear on clearance...so I got it all. From banners to games to tableware to invitation to goody bags all for about $30. Sounded like a great deal to me. Since Bryce had never seen a Power Ranger episode, I was worried he may not like it. My fear quickly went away when I pulled out the invitations from my bag and Brycen said, "Way cool"! He is really into Toy Story, like I'm sure the rest of kids his age are, but I'm sure that's why I got a deal.
We did have a great time. Several of his friends came over and I had all the mom's stay for lunch and girl talk. It really turned out to be a beautiful fall day and the kids had a blast. I planned all these fun games but all they wanted to do was play with Brycen's train set and video games in the basement. So I gave Tom basement duty and I served the mom's up stairs. Opening gifts was a riot. He had one friend that wouldn't hand over his gift to Brycen, it was his toy. The others were just begging Brycen to open their gift next. He got all kinds of great toys. He totally made out, I have no clue why we spent another $100 buying gifts for him.
I made him chocolate cupcakes with red icing and stacked them all on a cupcake tower. It was supper cute and the kids just made a mess with it all, but all in good fun. After we got each kid cleaned up there was just enough time to pass out the goody bags and send them out the door. Two hours of eleven 4-year-old's running around your house is can almost send you over the edge. We did have a great time and I think Brycen really enjoyed him self too.
That night we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa and went out to eat at T-Rex out at Legends. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work. I this may have been our first time taking all the kids to a sit down restaurant, and may be our last for a while. The did love it though.

First Day of School

Brycen started preschool this year at Stanley Presbyterian Church. I don't think he really knew what school was when we would talk to him about it, but he knew he was going to play with his friends Shawn and Jace. We got there early and we me his teacher and sat on the rug while we waited for the other kids. Once they started coming I slipped out. On my way out of the parking lot I realized that Andrea would be in preschool next year as well. This time with my children at home is going to slip by so fast...
I didn't cry like I though I would. It was a big day for both of us.

Bear Lake Vaca

Let me just start by saying I learned several things on this trip about myself, my family and my life. But, that was the boring part about the trip. I want to talk about all the fun we had. If anyone of you have never been blessed with the opportunity to go to Bear Lake, UT let me fill you in. Bear Lake looks like the Caribbean of the Rockies because of its intense turquoise-blue water. This is due to the reflection of the limestone deposits suspended in the lake...(I looked it up ok)
I learned that if I had to live in Utah, I probably could learn to love it there. I think that state fits me in so many ways. I love the summer weather and all the outdoor activities. Not to mention the fun family atmosphere that seems to follow you from town to town.
When we got to the house it was amazing three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a full unfinished basement where grandma and grandpa slept. It was up on a hill so you had a good view of the lake. It was Sunday when we all got there and we had to check out the beach and find the spot we would pick for the next day.
The first day at the beach there was a cloud cover. Not too hot or cold. The kids played all day and there were waves washing up on the beach the kids played in. By the time we got out on the boat the water was too choppy for skiing but we enjoyed watching everyone tube and wake board. Yes I did get up wake boarding. I felt like a fish out of water cause I didn't know what the heck I was doing but there were plenty of people to watch who did know. The kids all tubed. I went with Andrea one time. Brian was going slow so he wouldn't scare her and I was dragging really bad. I tried to readjust my grip and I fell backwards into the water. Andrea held on but the tube toppled forward and she fell off. It shook her a bit but she got back on later and did great. Brycen did awesome. My kids are so fearless it scares me. What ever Brycen does, Andrea will do...just like me when I was her age. I think it is a middle child thing.
As the week went on it got hotter and hotter. Tuesday we all got burned so we stayed away from the beach on Wednesday. We played tennis and Taylor schooled me and heather bad. I did win one game. I still have my awesome serve, but it didn't phase Taylor too much.
I skied pretty good considering that it isn't the smoothest lake. Maybe if you got up at 6am and went, but the earliest we ever got out was 9 am. I am such a weenie. I am going to start lifting weights so I can last more then 5 minutes. A good pare of gloves would help as well. When I loose the rest of my baby weight it may add a couple of minutes on my time. Brian was such a good sport taking us all out everyday. He has a great boat.
Every morning I went running. I ran into the same cow each day...I named her Tessie. She was always outside the fence right next to the road. Running is my therapy. Heather and Kass both went with me once.
A Martin vacation would not be complete without games. We kept the tradition alive with Settlers, Scrabble, Rook, and a few others.
Emily Brought her boyfriend Cliff...he was a hit. We all liked him and he did well putting up with us for a few days before he had to get back to work.
We spent time at the pool and also the playground on the beach. Seriously beautiful area. We had such a great time and look forward to going back next year. I also need to say that husband was so incredible on this trip. He was the biggest stud and watched the kids way more then his fair share so that I could go out on the boat and ski and just enjoy the water. He is not much of a lake guy and he knows I love it and don't get to do it very often. He wanted to let me enjoy my time and really stepped up and was a supper husband and dad. He did get to golf with my dad and brothers each day so that was fun for him.
We ended the trip going up to Pingree Idaho to go to my Aunt and Uncles homecoming at church. They got back from their mission in Africa. I got to spend some time with my dear cousins. Even though it was short, it was so nice to catch up.
This trip meant a lot to me cause my whole life every summer we went to Island Park, Id or Star Valley, WO and spent time together with family in a cabin. Some of the BEST memories of my life came from those places. I am so glad that we will be able to continue that tradition at Bear Lake for my family. I don't know what I did to be blessed with such a great family...probably nothing, just luck maybe. But I feel so blessed and so grateful to my Heavenly Father.

This is the famous swing at my Aunt's house. I have this same picture of me when I was a kid.

Me with my cousins.

Laura's Wedding

My sister-in-law Laura was getting married to Greg Alder on July 31st so we came up to Norfolk, Nebraska (this is where Tom grew up) to be with the family. We got in late Thursday night and spent the next day helping with preparations for the wedding. Betty was busy cooking all day, she was making all the food for the reception. She is a fantastic cook and did a great job--she cooked a family favorite, taste beef. I am not a normal fan of hamburger but this dish is simply delish. I helped by cutting up veggies and then Tom and I helped set up for the reception at the hall they rented out.
With it being the end of July, I was expecting a blistering hot day, but surprisingly it wasn't too bad, of coarse I wasn't wearing a Tux either. Brycen got a bug bite on his left ear the morning of the wedding and it swelled up to 2-3 times the size. Tom ran out to get Benadryl, which did help. It didn't stop him from looking totally adorable or "handsome" as he always says.
He was the ring bearer and did a fantastic job. He walked up the isle without a hitch. It was a small wedding and I quietly whispered his name to get a quick pic, I hardly realized what I was doing until it was done. I don't think anyone noticed. He stood by Greg the whole time. The ceremony was lovely by the lake. Laura and Greg were both stunning.
Andrea and Makayla did great as well. I loved them in their cute matching outfits. They are just the sweetest lil' girls.

I just wish you could tell kids to smile and they would sit pretty and SMILE. Too much to ask, I know.

Brycen and Andrea were dancing and I got a quick pick. They look so sweet and innocent--if you don't know them.

This is cousin Alek and Julie, Tom's youngest sister.

A view of the lake right before the wedding.

Brycen standing perfectly next to Greg during the wedding. Such a cutie!

Laura and Greg have been dating on and off for over 8 years. Laura has been waiting for this day for a long time. You look stunning Laura!