Mar 29 2010

Hell’s Half Acre

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Karin

We want to go camping and hiking more this year. This past weekend was our trial run to see how the kids would do on a hike. We hiked the short loop around Hell’s Half Acre. This is an area not too far from our home. This lava field has some tricky and rough terrain. We thought if the kids can do this than we shouldn’t have much trouble on a trail in the woods. It was a really nice day and we only had to trek across a little snow. The boys did really well. We had to help them jump a few crevices but all in all it went pretty smooth. We didn’t see much wildlife except a ground squirrel or mouse here and there. It was really great to get out and enjoy a day with the family. We hope that this is a good start to a great season.

Mar 16 2010

Super Cross-Stitch Man

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Karin

My mom came for a visit last week and taught my seven year old how to cross-stitch. She had him stitch his name onto a piece of fabric and then we made a pillow out of it. He thought it was the best thing. He even took it to school the next day to show it off to his teacher. The next day he wanted to make a gift for his teacher. We went down to the craft store and bought a simple cross-stitch pattern that he could make. He finished it in a few days. He is really enjoying the new projects he comes up with. Right now he is making a gift for a friend in the shape of a super hero emblem.

Yesterday while I was making dinner I heard the boys playing their usual super hero make believe game. There was something new this time. Instead of Preston being Super preston he was Super Cross-stitch man. Later he told me Super Cross-stitch man’s special power. Apparently Super Cross-Stitch man has an invisible needle that when he cross-stitches in the air with it what ever he cross-stitches comes to life. Then to get rid of it all you have to do is put the needle back into it. I thought this was very creative, but I am concerned for his safety if this gets around school.

Dec 28 2009

Demolition day

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Karin

Well the highly anticipated day is here.

The house has been for a couple of weeks slowly coming down.

First Sophia pulled some of the fence down.

Then some of the light strings came off.

Pieces of the Chimney have been slowly coming off.

Now that Christmas is over I told the kids to have at it and just destroy the house.

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I let them have at it. They have been begging me since the day we put it together. First they ate the candy off it then they tore the chimney and fence down. Next we took it outside (for easy clean up) and they stommped it to death. It was great! They even said it was the best part about making the ginger bread house (and they liked making it in the first place). Next was nap time and Levi was in such a great mood about getting to destroy the house that he didn’t put up a fight at all about taking a nap. I think this is definately going to be a tradition for years to come.

Dec 15 2009

Ginger Bread

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Karin

Last year my sister-in- law sent us a ginger bread house kit. The kids loved putting it together. So this year they have been bugging me to do it again. So I decided to make it from scratch this year. Not sure I’ll do that again but maybe I’ll buy another kit. I did it so the kids could have fun putting it together. It turns out we all had fun putting it together and it was a great family activity. Yes even Corey got involved. Of course Sophia just wanted to eat it. When we were done the boys had fun squirting frosting in there mouth. It doesn’t look that fantastic but it was fun.

Oct 10 2009

Pay It Forward Fun Run

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Karin

A few months ago I started to run with my friend Andrea about once a week just so she would have a running buddy. She started to run in a bunch of races and every time one would come up she would ask if I wanted to join. My reaction was always a hearty laugh and a resounding no. I would always say “Why should I pay to run my butt off when I can do it for free.” You see I’ve never been a great runner. I think the most I’ve ever run was 1 1/2 miles and that was over 10 years ago with my roommates in college. Andrea was persistent and she finally convinced me to run. So I started to train with her and Melanie 2 1/2 weeks ago.

This morning, after a very restless night, I got up at 6:30 am started to get ready. Dropped the kids off at a friends and picked up the girls for the run. We arrive to a very hot and muggy 26 degrees (yes that is sarcasim). As we wait for the race to start our fingers and toes slowly go numb. At this point I don’t even know if I can feel my legs let alone run on them. Finally the call to line up “ready, set, go” We set off at a pace that I know will kill me after the first 1/2 mile. I think to myself, did I leave my legs behind? We ran a 3 loop course. That’s where you run 1 loop 3 times. I start to feel my fingers and toes after the 2 time around. Last lap I hardly feel like I’m moving I think I’ll be lucky to make it in 35 min. Oh and don’t forget to smile for the camera (thanks Makenzie). Finally the last stretch. Can that be right? The clock it must be broken. It’s coming up on 27 min. Wow I thought I was doing horrible. Finish time 27:11. I feel so proud of myself I can’t believe I finished. Here comes the balloon popper. Someone tells us that the course was only 2.8 miles. Bummer but still well within my goal of 30 min or less. We also had a raffle afterward and I won a $5 gift certificate to Jamba Juice. My friend Andrea got a months worth of free tanning. She gave it to Melanie. Over all out of 90 people I placed 38. Andrea placed 33. Melanie did the best out of all of us and placed 20. It was a cold but fun race. I can’t say I’ll do it again though. I still think I can run my butt off for free and get the same results.

Second lap

Melanie 20th place

Andrea 33rd place

Karin 38th place

finish

After the race Andrea, Karin, and Melnaie

After the race Andrea, Karin, and Melanie.

Andrea, Karin, & Melanie

Sep 30 2009

Health care rantings

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Karin

I have just recieved a statement in the mail that has really made me angry. Before I tell you what has made me angry let me give you an understanding where I’m coming from. 71/2 years ago we had great insurance through Corey’s work. It payed for pretty much everything 100%. We had eye coverage and dental coverage. It was a really great plan. He worked for a really big company and I guess because of that they got good deals on insurance. Well after a little while Corey lost his job and we were with nothing. We had to move back in with my parents and had no insurance whatsoever. Our oldest was 5 months old at the time and unfortunately was sick a lot. The doctors were great to give me discounts and free samples to help us out. After about a year Corey found another job but with a small company that had no benefits. We had to get insurance on our own and paid about $300 a month for the bare minimum. Finally he found a job with benefits. It looked promising. It had eye coverage, dental, and health. We had a pretty high deductible but it was do able. Every year since things have gone down hill. First we lost the eye coverage. Then the dental insurance went up. Then they switched dental on us all together and it covers practically nothing. Every year they would take more and more out of Corey’s pay check for insurance. Just recently they switched our health plan to another insurance company. I thought maybe things are looking up. Boy was I wrong. Our deductible is now $2500. No way can we reach that in one year. This is where the statement I recieved comes in. I took Sophia in for her 15 month well baby check (previously covered 100% on our other plan). I recieved the statement today and none of it is covered. All of it goes to the deductible $300 dollars worth. Can you say puke. I haven’t felt this way since Corey was out of work. It seems I can’t take my baby in for shots anymore. I guess I’ll have to start to take her into the health department like I did with Preston when we had nothing. It’s almost not even worth putting all that money in every month for insurance when maybe we could be putting it into saviings and do much more with it. I know, I know, but what if something huge happens like a broken bone, cancer or some dormant disease laying hidden somewhere. I’m tired of this what if stuff. I want the things I need covered now. This is why I’m with the president in health care reform. Something needs to change with the health care system. Especially when those of us who have insurance can’t afford health care despite the insurance. I’ve been there with 100% coverage, nothing, and a little something. I say nothing was probably better than a little something. That is totally and utterly wrong.

Sep 3 2009

The dreaded phone call from school

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Karin

Its 9:30 am and I’m sitting quietly watching TV with my two youngest. Seems to be a great morning and then the phone rings. I look to see who might be calling and I see it’s the school. Quickly in my mind I think okay what is wrong. You see Preston isn’t the kind of kid to get into trouble or fights. He might be the type to get bullied. Many times it’s the school nurse calling to tell me he isn’t feeling well. This is what I expect when I answer. Instead I get human resources calling. What!? Apparently Preston has been telling his teacher we have no money to buy food. Again, what!?

To explain, Last month we went over budget with trips and going out and the recent painting project. Corey and I have been trying to stretch the budget this month to get our money to go a little farther. So we have been putting off going to the grocery store for a week (yes a whole week). We have run out of milk, eggs, cheese, bread. You know the basics. It’s been kind of fun to try and think of new things to cook and see what we can do with what we have. But in the mean time Preston isn’t getting his usuall bowl of cereal in the morning or his usual dinners like homemade pizza. He has sandwhiches at school made with homemade bread (the poor guy). I guess at some point he might have overheard Corey and I talking about how we can’t go shopping for food because we don’t have the money. Meaning no money in the budget not in the bank. This must be another reason you save these types of conversation out of children’s ear shot.

So the resource person calls and tells me that they have means available if we need help with food. I told her thanks but we aren’t starving and are doing fine. It’s just a misunderstanding. Now I need to figure a way to explain this to Preston so we don’t get a repeat call.

Aug 27 2009

I must be crazy

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Karin

Okay so we are having guest come and visit soon and I wanted to have the house look nice. So I decided what a better time to paint the hall, entry, and living room. Yes you’re right I must be crazy. I started last night by sanding and cleaning walls. I thought I could get them all done but in the process of doing the hall one of the walls decided it wanted to shed pratically all of it’s old paint. Corey and I were up until midnight scraping the paint off. So I still have the entry and living room to do. Then I need to paint and I would like to get at least two coats on the wall and don’t forget the trim too. Oh and by the way I can only do it when the kids are asleep otherwise we could end up with some pretty art work everywhere. When does this need to be done? 8 days AAAAAHHHHH!! I MUST be crazy.

Jul 20 2009

Can we say Allergy

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Karin

Today Preston woke up with a swollen eye. Apparently when his dad asked about it he said his head and back itched too. I didn’t know his back itched until about 5 hours later. He said “mom I need a back scratcher because my back really itches.” So I had him lift up his shirt and was horrified to see that his back was covered in hives. I immediately gave him a dose of Benedryl and rubbed some Benedryl cream on his back. After about an hour the welts started to go down. It’s a mystery. Corey and I have no idea what caused this reaction. He hasn’t had anything new to eat and his soap is the same. I just hope it doesn’t happen again. I’ll have to pay closer attention to what he eats I guess.

Jul 20 2009

Warm Lake

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Karin

This past week I took the kids and we went to Warm Lake Idaho. This is my childhood camping place my family always went to. When I was 7 my family went in and bought a cabin with my aunt and uncle. Then when my parents moved they sold their interest to my uncle. Now it’s just my uncle who owns it. We haven’t been back in 11 years. This visit was bittersweet. I loved being back there and relaxing but it was sad to see what had happened to the forest all around the lake. Two years ago there was a huge fire wiping out most of the forest around the surrounding mountains. One of the days we traveled up to the summit and hiked into summit lake. This is one of the hardest hit areas. Also there is a picture of warm lake from the top of the summit. You can see how the mountains are burned but the area around the lake was saved. Also while there we went to billy rice beach on Warm Lake shore. The kids loved swimming there so much that in the picture they aren’t happy because I’m packing them up to leave. The other pictures are of the campground. We stayed in the tent while my mom and dad stayed in their trailor and my brother and his family stayed in the site across from us. For the most part it was an enjoyable week. Maybe someday I can find a place like this that is closer to home for my family.