Spooner Farms!

Spooner Farms is becoming a tradition for our family. We went there with my sisters' families last weekend. It was really fun to have all the cousins together and watch them run around in the mud.

Madi locked Gavin in the jail. I love the look on Gavin's face. Luckily he escaped!




This is the real reason the kids love Spooner Farms. It is one time where they get to wear their boots and just get dirty and Dad doesn't get mad.
Fun in the mud!

My favorite part of the trip is the pumpkin slingshot. You get to slingshot little pumpkins towards targets. If you are lucky and hit a target you get a huge pumpkin to take home. Sarah scored this year. I think she only bought four shots and won. I bought a few more, but came up empty handed again.....


Some may remember that in 2003, I took home a huge pumpkin. Wow, I have been shut out now five years in a row. That will change next year.....

Happy Birthday Princess Tara!

Our niece Tara had a really fun birthday party where she took her cousins and some friends to a "Kids Salon." The little girls were to come dressed in "Princess" dresses. At the salon they were pampered by getting their nails painted and hair styled. The parents were kicked out so we only have these cute photos after the party was over. This is Madi with her cousin Kelsi who she loves to death. They look pretty cute all done up.

I have no idea how they did this in Madi's hair but it's pretty cool. She kept it in for like four days. While Madi was at the party we went with my sister Keri and her husband Dave to the Cabella's store. We hadn't been there before and Gavin LOVED it. They have the Deer Hunting video game and Gavin walked up and grabbed one of the guns while someone else was playing. Seriously, this kid needs someone to teach him some manners. I guess that's my job, D'oh. I need to work on that. Luckily, they were very nice and actually bought him a couple of games. Gavin getting some pointers from a real hunter.

He must get this from Adrienne's side of the family. I have never considered myself a hunter.

Dave, Keri and Annika.

Soccer Fun

Some of you may know that growing up I wasn't a huge soccer fan. It was widely considered a sport for girls among my friends and I. I do remember going to a few indoor soccer games in the Tacoma Dome, the Tacoma Stars and Preki seem to ring a bell? Spending a couple of years in Brazil changed that. Soccer is the only thing that matters in Brazil. People's lives are scheduled and cities literally shut down for a soccer match.

Anyways, we recently signed up Gavin and Madi in local soccer rec leagues. Gavin plays indoors with 3-4 year olds. They are pretty cute but anyone who has been to one of these games knows that it is a game of "follow the ball around the gym."

There's our little number 2!
The coach does a really good job of keeping these kids organized. Not a very easy task.
Madi plays outside. They are focusing on the fundamentals of soccer.

Soccer girls have always been cute, Madi is keeping that tradition alive!

Annika's Surgery

Annika had tubes put in her little ears last Monday. I wanted to include a couple of pictures of the Seattle Children's Hospital. It is such a fun place for kids that are obviously there due to something that isn't very fun. They create an atmosphere that is so fun to eliminate any fear of coming to the hospital. It is truly amazing.

In the radiology waiting room they not only have the big flat screen with cartoons, but a Nintendo Gamecube where this Dad was playing MarioCart with his son. I don't remember video games at the hospital when I was growing up......

Our beautiful Annika in the waiting room.
They had the cutest little gown for her to put on. She was her usual happy self, despite the fact that she hadn't eaten in six hours. Her Daddy gets a little grumpy if he has to wait that long to eat. Trust me it isn't a pretty site.
When she got out of surgery she was a little disoriented upon awakening. She was ready for some food and cuddle time with Mom and Dad.

We haven't had any follow up appointments yet to see if the tubes have helped her hearing. The surgeon did say that some very thick fluid did come out during surgery. In my very biased opinion she seems to be more attentive and seems to get distracted much more easily. I am taking that to mean that she is hearing and rediscovering her little world.

The "R" word

Some people have mental retardation (intellectual disabilities). While mental retardation is not a bad word, when used to describe someone or something you think is bad or stupid it becomes another thoughtless hurtful word. People with intellectual disabilities are not bad. Their condition is not bad. The prejudice and discrimination to people with intellectual disabilities is BAD…and WRONG! Please stop using the word ‘retard’. It hurts individuals and families of those with disabilities.

I looked this up today at http://stopsayingretard.wordpress.com/. I for some odd reason heard this 4 times today. I am keeping an open mind. I just think a lot of people are ignorant of the fact that the word retarded can be hurtful. I am now trying to get this information out there so that people can be more aware. I know people are good and just don't know. I want to get this out there. I know that looking at this beautiful little girl everyday I don't want to have her hurt. She is so loved by all that surround her. I just want the best for all of my children. I hope now that you all know that you can too spread the word.

Wii......

I am trying to decide if I think this is cute, or really sad...........

It was raining today, so we were stuck inside.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad, Randy's birthday. He would have been 62 years old today. He passed away on July 7, 1996. I still think of him often and want to share his birthday with all of you.

If you were born

to Sarah Palin your name would be...

Adrienne - Sack Panther Palin
Joe - Steam Fangs Palin
Madilynn - Mole Valdez Palin
Gavin - Luger Otter Palin
Annika - Bullpen Cola Palin

I guess my names don't seem to bad next to these!!

Gavin at Maris Farms

We went to Maris Farms in Buckley today for Gavin's field trip day. Gavin got to play in a pool of corn kernals, ride on a cow train, color with chalk in a chalkboard house, drive a mini tractor, go on a hay ride, walk through a corn maze, and pick out his very own pumpkin. We did all of this with our wonderful Washington rain. It was great.

Annika is 8 month old

Annika turned 8 months old today. I truly cannot believe that she is that old already. She is growing into such a cute baby. She no longer looks like my little infant. She has a delightful personality. She is definitely a magnet for attention. She lights the room up with her smiling face.

Seattle Children's Hospital

Today we had the pleasure of waking up at 5:30am in order to get to Annika's appointment at Seattle Children's Hospital. Annika has yet to pass a hearing test so we have been slowly referred up the chain until we got to Seattle Children's. I won't get into all the fun in trying to wake up and dress a 3 and 6 year old at that early hour. Not to mention the two adults...

When we got there is was very clear that the doctors at Seattle Children's had the equipment and experience to be able to diagnose and treat Annika. I have always heard that it was a world class facility, and after being there I believe it. It was comforting to say the least. All the other doctors collected their fee and referred us on with out much attempt to try and help Annika. This morning it was worth all the hassles. The doctors recommended that Annika get tubes to release the fluid that has built up behind her eardrum. Something our local ENT doctor said he wouldn't be able to perform due to Annika's small ear canals. They hope that once the fluid is gone her little ears will be free to function properly.

So in a couple of weeks we will go up to the Hospital to have the procedure done. The doctor said it will probably take 2-5 minutes. We hope this helps our little angel hear so she can learn to communicate as well as possible in the coming years.

I figured I would throw on the post a couple of pictures from dinner tonight with Annika...

She is so adorable........