Kahneeta

We decided to kick off Spring Break with a trip to Kahneeta in Warm Springs, OR.  We stayed for Thursday & Friday night & had a wonderful time.  We went with the Sautters who also have a camping trailer.  It's the first time our trailer has been out since last July, we were excited. The weather was good & the company was good. 

The main attraction there is gambling, but coming in a close second is swimming. 
Check out these water slides, crazy fun...

Haley the floater

Savannah the brave one

Our kids are not big swimmers, or so we thought!  They had a great time.  We swam everyday & even twice on Friday.  Because the pools are heated by the springs, the water was just like a giant bathtub....mmmm nice thought eh?!  I feel bad I have no pictures of Luke in the pool.  He was so cute.  He would float along on his back with his ankles crossed & singing songs.  He was very comfortable in the water.

On Friday night the kids wanted to go swimming again but Rachel & I knew the babies wouldn't love the cold air.  So this is them enjoying each others company poolside.

We took the shuttle up to the lodge & ordered some Indian fry bread.  Let's just say it wasn't like Rachel remembered.  But here's a pic of 5 of the 7 kiddos on the shuttle

Matthew, Jake, Savannah, Lauren & Haley

A picture of the camping kids by the fireplace

Let's not forget the family shot

The drive home was BEAUTIFUL!  We had a fabulous view of the Sisters Mountains while heading towards MT. Hood, the views were incredible!  Here's a few pics

Happy Spring Break!

Warning: Weiner Theif on the Loose

I know the picture quality is horrible, but I had to post this.  If for nothing else than future giggles.

So here's my cute little Luke.  He & Matthew were having a great time playing with their boat.  Of course if you look closely you'll see that Luke was only able to play with his left hand because his right hand was in "protection mode".  Really?  Gross!

Apparently Luke has been let in on the secrect of the weiner theif. 

'Nuff said.

The Lavender's go Green

You probably thought this post was going to be about our recycling, reducing & reusing habits.  Sorry!

  It all started with the drive to school this morning.  The girls were telling Matthew how fun it is to be in Preschool for St. Patrick's Day.  They were saying things like, "a leprechaun came to my preschool & made the toilet water green" & "You get to play games & try to find the leprechaun".  This got him all excited for school.  Then Savannah says how sad it is to be older because her teacher doesn't celebrate any holidays & it's no fun.  Haley chimes in with "My teacher flat out told us we were too old to celebrate" (Her words, not mine).  Then Savannah had a great idea that I decorate the house while they were at school.  I should make clovers & hang them up around the house, turn the toilet water green, sprinkle leprechaun dust around her room, and on & on with these grand ideas, since I had NOTHING else to do. 

So I decided that I would, for the first time, make a St. Patrick's Day dinner.  Hmmmmm....

They were so excited for their green dinner

Ok I know it may look gross.  It's asparagus, green rice, lime jello & chicken (which looks not so appetizing because I cut it into bite size pieces.  Just imagine how gross it would look if I tried to make it green.  It would've been all nasty grey greenish - Eeekk!) 

Luke was loving his dinner, especially the jello

And I also made a true labor of love...

homemade sugar cookies with homemade frosting (HATE the canned stuff).  Nice shot of Savannah

 Likewise of Matthew

And Haley too!

I'm so glad I decided to do this.  When we picked the girls up from school they were both a little bummed nothing fun & St. Patrick's Day-ish happened.  Especially after hearing that Sparky the Leprechaun had visited Matthew's classroom.  Sparky turned the desks & chairs over, sprinkled gold glitter all over, left little green footprints & left each child a bag of gold (gold painted rocks).  

So that green dinner made them happy.  In fact it made them so happy they left the dinner table & went out to "play" in the garage.  When I peeked out to check on them Savannah & Matthew had brooms & were sweeping & Haley was cleaning.  Mathew instantly says "Look Mom, we're trying to make you happy!".

So stinkin' cute.  I love my little purple people on this green day!! 

Meet my new Best Friend....

We share the same desire for clean carpet & hardwoods.  We both agree that a vacuum should suck regardless of how much is required from a filthy messy family of 6.  We agree that lines in the carpet are refreshing & desired.  We love the bagless concept and the loooooong cord.  Gosh, we have so much in common!

Now that I have professed my love I need to give credit where credit is due.

My friend Jill has a Dyson & she has tried to convince me that it is fabulous.  On many occassions.  My husband has told me to buy a Dyson.  I fought them both.  We've already all talked about it, no hard feelings right guys, right?!

So I fought them & then I gave in.  (It was more like Judd took me to Costco, put it in the cart & then got in the check-out line.)  Either way I'm grateful I have it & I will proudly say I was wrong. 

I was wrong!

We bought it last Wednesday afternoon.  When I came home from YW that night my house was sparkling.  Judd & the kids had cleaned their little hearts out, and it was all inspired by the Dyson.

Since having this fabulous machine, my husband has done just as much vacuuming as I have....which makes me love my Dyson even more!!

A new journey

Well, it's been a few weeks now & I'm still trying to wrap my head around this new adventure.  I was released as a Primary worker (CTR 6) & called as the YW Secretary. 

My first reaction was excitement!  I have been the secretary for YW's before, twice for RS & once for Primary.  I love being the Secretary.  I love "sitting the sidelines" getting things ready, organized & all that fun stuff.  I love, LoVe, LOVE how the girls make me feel young, energized & motivated.  I was very excited for that again.

However, this time I'm older (much older).  As a sidenote.  I was first called to YW's as the Beehive advisor.  It was my very first big girl calling after I got married.  I was a mere 20 years old.  I was also not allowed to drive the girls places because I wasn't 21 yet.  Ha, Ha, Ha Seriously?!  I'm over that traumatic experience....I think.

So this time I'm older, wiser, more seasoned, more prepared.......I think.  But I'm also the mom to 4 active & wonderful kids. I have a husband who's schedule is so crazy that I only know it day by day (sometimes not even that!) & he has a pretty involved calling as EQ President.  And I'm finding It's awfully hard to fill some BIG shoes.  I know some reading know the former Secretary - she was an awesome Secretary!  And because she was so wonderful I have some BIG shoes to fill, I mean BIG. 

But again, I am very excited to have this opportunity.  I'm humbled, overwhelmed & already loving these girls!  The first Wednesday night I visited with each class & I was in awe at their maturity & respect to each other & to the leaders.  I'm again very humbled that the Lord would bless me with this opportunity to serve, love & get to know them better.  This is such a critical time in their lives.  This is when they need to discover their worth to the Lord, to themselves, their families & to society. 

Wish me luck on this journey......I'll need it!