First Day of School

I've been fortunate enough to have had some fantastic photographers through the years. Some of the best have been Rick Reil, Damon Fairchild, and now I have my good friend, Jenne Kissell, to add to the list. I've been checking out her work over these last few months and she does an awesome job, so we had to try her out. Today I gathered up a few school supplies and asked Jenne if she would come out and take a few "Back to School" pics of the kids on their first day of school. She did a great job and the kids had a lot of fun working with her. Thanks a bunch Jenne.

Here are a few of my favorites from today’s shoot.

Yea for new pics of the kids! I’m pretty sure it’s my most favorite thing ever :)

Just ask Damon who has only shot 150 photo shoots of my kids for me.

Don’t give me a hard time, it only averages out to a photo shoot every 3 weeks :)

(I’m pretty sure my husband would be shaking his head right now to that last statement and saying, “Can anyone say eccentric ??” :)

Back to school dinner 2009

Most people would call me “the party planner.” I always seem to be planning, organizing, or throwing some kind of get together, whether by choice or as part of my church calling. It’s either throwing a baby shower for a friend, or decorating the gym for a big Young Women’s activity. Maybe planning a couples weekend get away, a lady's craft night, or having 15 families over for a potluck and pumpkin carving.

Regardless of what the event may be, as I am packing and hauling and preparing for these events, my kids are constantly saying “Man, that sure looks like it’s going to be a fun party, or event, or whatever the occasion is." They get these puppy dog eyes that just beg to be included in the fun that mom is preparing for. I can see it in their faces….."when are you going to put this much time and effort into planning a party for US?”

So, I thought it was about time.

The event…..A “fancy” back to school dinner. Something to let them know how special they are to me. To let them know they are important and always loved.

All of the kids were ecstatic to find out that all of the supplies I had been gathering and stashing away this week were all for a special night in honor of them.

Here is Dan teaching the kids the proper napkin spreading etiquette and giving a refresher course on manners at our “fancy dinner.” It’s amazing how much quieter the dinner is when the room is dimly lit. Dinner wasn’t rushed, everyone took turns eating and talking about church today, everyone sat a little taller, and asked for things to be passed politely. It was really quite refreshing.

But what do you expect when you leave the paper plates, Mac and Cheese, and Kool-Aid, in the cupboards. We should try this more often.

For most of the meal Hudson was chugging his sparkling cider, he LOVED it. Every 5 minutes we would hear him say, “more please.”

Tonight’s Menu

Filet Mignon, Garlic and Herb Pasta, Slow Cooked Green Beans, Garden Tomatoes, Sparkling Cider, and Raspberry Cake for Dessert

All of the kids contributed to tonight’s meal which made the evening even more special. Some helped cook. All of them helped set the table and decorate the room. A few went the extra mile when cleaning and preparing the home. It was a family event from top to bottom.

After dinner and dessert it was time to pick out what everyone was wearing on their first day of school then after scriptures that night Dan gave all of the kids a father’s blessing.

I hope my children know how much they mean to me. Dan and I live every second of our lives for these kids of ours. I hope the spiritual thoughts, the family scriptures, the fathers blessings, the time together, the EVERYTHING……all combine and culminate in a long lasting positive influence on my kids. You each mean so much to me. Thank you for being special. I hope your school year is a fantastic one.

Demolition Derby

Dan and I took the kids to the demolition derby tonight over at the Fairgrounds. Talk about a GREAT time.....it has white trash, hill billy, red neck fun, written all over it and is WORTH EVERY PENNY. We have so much fun watching these cars speed around the track in a real life game of bumper cars.

During the first half of the derby 8 cars at a time race around the track for about 6 laps. They cut each other off, slam into one another, drive with smoke flooding out of the hood, drive in reverse when the drive gear no longer works and the list goes on . Pretty much anything goes. Whatever it takes to ensure their car is first to cross the finish line. Once a race is over fork lifts come out on the track to carry off any non functioning cars and then another 8 cars come out for the next race.

Below is the car our kids were rooting for this year. An American army tank with a little SpongeBob riding atop. During our favorite cars second race another car smashed him into the guard rail and his car got stuck and wasn’t able to finish the race. A fork lift type of machine had to come and lift him off the wall and he was done for the rest of the night :(

The best part of course is that after all the races finish, each car that is still running enters the arena and pulls up to the guard rail. At the sound of the gun, it becomes a free for all game of "smash the other guy before you get smashed". At full speed, in reverse or forward, getting rammed from the side or from behind, or going head long into your opponent, it is and ANYTHING GOES game of bumper cars and it is a blast to watch.

The rule is that once your car can't drive anymore, because it is too smashed up or broken to go another inch....YOU’RE OUT.

LAST MAN STANDING WINS!!!

How cool is that.

Next year we might try the rodeo to see how bulls throwing grown men around the ring like rag dolls compares to metal crunching, engine exploding, race car driving bumper cars.

Ward Campout

Ward Campout - Here we come!!!

Dan came home from church a few weeks ago, totally excited about an announcement he just heard at church. He has been saying for years that with as fun as fathers and sons outings are for him and the boys, he wishes the church would sponsor or host a campout for the whole family to attend. Well, They Did....And we got excited.

The date was set for the last week of August to be held at a fantastic church owned campground called Camp Zarahemla.

We were the second family to arrive on that Friday, so we had our pick of the campgrounds. We chose the one closest to the canoe dock which butted right up against the lake. With a family of 5 kids, we had no shortage of helpers as we pitched the tent and organized the camp area.

The kids were amazed by how many chipmunks there were. They were everywhere and definitely not shy. While unpacking sleeping bags from the car and hauling them to the tent 3 chipmunks climbed in the car and started helping themselves to our food.

After our campsite was all set up the kids were ready to go exploring. They wanted to check everything out and find the perfect hiking stick and a stick to use for carving with their pocket knives. That’s right folks we let a few of our kids run around with pocket knives. Axes Too. Yikes, watch out!

Speaking of exploring and pocket knives, here are the first 2 injuries of our trip. A little gravel to the knee for Kase, and Hailey swears she got cut from the stick she was carving and not the knife she was using to carve it. (Uh Huh, yea right.)

After exploring and playing around in the canoes for a while we ventured back to camp for some dinner. Chili and Hot dogs, with a side of BEE'S. That's right, Bee's. Like swarms of them. They couldn't resist the succulent meal we had just prepared. HOLY COW, we couldn't keep them off of us for the entire meal. Where ever our plates were, they were dotting the surface of our food. Yuck!

After dinner and a quick little hike, we worked our way over to the Ward Talent Show for some improve comic relief. Our kids showcased their talents by grooving to the ever popular song - Ho Down Throw down, by Hannah Montana. Ky also remembered a few of his skits from scouts and rounded up a few kids to perform them.

We ended the evening around the campfire roasting marshmallows and dodging a couple of dozen "eye pokers" that were freely handed out to children ranging in age from "to young to trust with a sharp stick" and "younger". :) No serious casualties though, just good old campfire fun......and the chocolate marshmallow mess that always accompanies such an event.

After the younger kids went to bed and the older ones were busy running around in the woods with friends, flashlights and walkie talkies, Dan and I popped some popcorn and invited the Armitage’s down for a game night at our campsite. What a fun day!

The next day was fun as well. A service project followed a ward breakfast, and then it was time to hit the lake again.

A few of the kids even braved the cold water by plunging feet first into it from the jungle vines known as the "rope swing". Dan says he would have braved the FREEZING cold water as well, and really shown the kids how to do it with style, if it wasn't for the drive home that was fast approaching and his desire not to drive home wet. We all know it was a cheesy cop-out, but if that makes him feel better about himself and his manhood.....we can play along. Maybe next time Dan, Right? I think we’re scheduled to go back in January, you could always show the kids how it’s done then. Looking forward to that! :)

Sister’s Gone Wild :)

(YES- we went a little camera crazy, but believe it or not I'm only including a "few" of my favorite pics from the weekend. Just enough to remember how much fun we had together :)

It only took Megan 5 years of begging, a couple of free plane tickets, an awesome husband, and perfect timing to make a trip to Utah to see my little sister happen.

Megs lives on her own down in Utah and she is always asking us to come and visit. My sister Leslie and I both had a free plane ticket to use from our frequent flyer miles so we decided to make all of Meg’s dreams come true and drop in for a few days :)

She picked us up from the airport around 1:30. Since we were in Salt Lake we decided to spend the day and do a few of the “Mormon Activities” they have there. First stop was to the Humanitarian center for a tour. It was really amazing to see how organized and prepared our church is for any disaster. It was also amazing to see the amount of people all over the world that have been blessed by the service, education, jobs, and supplies the church has given them. So cool. It made me want to get involved and help out in my own small way.

Next it was off to Temple Square. We walked around for a little bit and then Leslie and I were able to do a session together. Loved it, thanks for sharing that with me Les, and a big thanks to Megs for waiting for us.

After that we ate at the Melting Pot. The Melting Pot dining experience takes about 3 hours. Our 3 hours were spent perusing the menu, trying out lots of yummy food, posing for an outrageous amount of pictures, laughing, faking Leslie out with a bouquet of Roses we found in the bathroom garbage can, laughing, and then laughing so hard pop came out my nose. Super Fun Dinner.

Needless to say after a 3 hour dinner of cheese and chocolate we all had to take a short potty break (when I say short potty break, I mean a good 30 minutes) before we could continue on with our evening of games and fun until 2am. (Here’s Megs in the “Farting Position”) OH BOY!

On day 2 it was off to the Lagoon bright and early. All 3 of us love amusement parks and fast rides so it was a no brainer that this was going to be a fun day together.

6 seconds of craziness on "Wicked"

We paid extra to go on the Sky Coaster and the Sling Shot Ball. They were well worth it and our absolute favorites of the day!

Click on the videos below to see for yourself.

This is us dangling at the top of the sky coaster right before we dropped.

This is a video of what it looks like from the outside of the sling shot ball ride.

(20 sec. of nothing at the begining you may want to skip ahead a little)

Megs and I: View from inside of the ball during blast off.

Les and I: View from the inside of the ball during blast off.

On our way home from the Lagoon that night we stopped off to catch a 10:00pm chick flick… The Traveling Man’s Wife. Once home we stayed up chatting until 2am and then finally crashed.

The next morning I was pounced on by Megan and Leslie screaming, “morning photo opp.” (Behold the “Glamour Shots” below. UGH.)

Because it was raining we choose to cancel our plans to Park City where we had hoped to do the zip line, alpine slides, and shop. Instead, we settled for a trip to the mall where we splurged on pedicures and eyebrow waxing.

The cool thing about this unexpected turn of events is that since I had just lost my toenail a few weeks prior (another story all on its own – OUCHY) I was able to have a fake one glued on and painted up all pretty and perfect. It was quite a funny sight to see. I went in without….came out with!! Yeah!!

After we were all dolled up we were ready for a night out on the town. We went to “Comedy Sports” which is an improv comedy club kind of like “Whose Line Is It Anyway.” It was fun watching them in Utah because of all of the LDS humor that was thrown in. Some of those jokes could only have been told and understood in Utah :) The Ref used lots of our ideas we yelled out which made it super fun for us. Especially when he caught Megs yawning, and called Leslie cupcake. The comedians had us rolling most of the night.

For our last day together we wanted to make sure to get in a trip to the Mayan, one of my favorite Utah restaurants. Leslie had never been so it was fun to treat her to something new.

Temple Square was our last stop on our way to the airport. We got to finish up what we didn’t get to see on our first day at temple square. It was a nice way to spend our last few hours together.

I had a ton of fun, let’s not wait so long for our next sister’s weekend. Maybe next time we can do it at Disneyworld :) Anyone in?

Dance Camp, Golf Camp and Swim Lessons…

...are a few of the activities the kids filled their summer days with.

Swim lessons for the older 2 were more about learning skills, than they were about survival, while the younger 2 still focused on the floating, bobbing, and other basics.

Dance Camp was for the girls. Alaina did the High School Musical Dance and Singing camp where she got to refine her Broadway skills. Hailey got to be a princess in a sleeping beauty ballet. Each had a blast and totally did great.

Alaina and Ky did Golf for the second summer in a row. They get to putt, drive, and chip their way to a good time with golf pro’s coaching them and their YMCA teams for an action packed day. Watch out Tiger Woods….here they come.

Our busy summer is nearly over. The kids have had a blast and are super excited for school to start!

I KNOW… I KNOW… I KNOW…

Every parent is aware that a 2 year olds favorite word is... NO.
My 2 year old happens to love this same word, he just uses it in a different context… KNOW.

Hudson responds back to just about anything I say with the phrase… I KNOW. Sometimes he says it very sweetly… i know :), and other times it’s sassy. Very long and drawn out… I KNnNnOOoooooOOooWWwwWwW.

For Example…

Hudson you need to sit down in the shopping cart. I KNOW

Hudson it’s time for bed. I KNOW

That’s Kase’s drink, not yours bubba. I KNOW

You're so Cute! I Know

Come sit down and have a snack. I KNOW

You're not suppose to have scissors. I KNOW

It’s time for a bath. I KNOW

Hey, you didn’t ask for that pudding. I KNOW

You're not suppose to take your diaper off. I KNOW

Jax, no hitting. Be nice. I KNOW

You're suppose to be laying down. I KNOOOOOOOOOW

And the “I KNOW” list could go on and on.

I’m pretty sure Hudson "the 2 year old" is a genius because HE KNOWS EVERYTHING.

1st Ostler Family Reunion “2009”

The Ostler family is growing fast and with all of our young families and busy schedules we thought it would be a fun idea to set aside some time this summer for a little Ostler reunion of our own. We have Extended family reunions every other year but this was a first for an immediate family reunion.

Ryan and Ashley took on the task of planning our first reunion and did a great job.They opted to stay in the Tri Cities and called it a “staycation”:) They packed two days full of fun family activities.

It all started on Friday afternoon, because of stormy weather some boating plans changed and we headed over to the church gym for some indoor games of basketball t-ball, tag, and a bounce house. The kids had a lot of fun running wild.

While at the church everyone went outside and created their very own tie dye shirt to be worn the next day.

After those activities, it was back over to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for a BBQ and playing with cousins in the backyard. The kids ate ice cream cones, watched a movie, and at dark we set up tents in the backyard. That’s right….CAMPING at Grandpas. Now that’s a staycation if I have ever heard of one!!!

Once the little kids were all tucked in and sawing logs, it was time for the real fun to begin. The adults spent the evening playing games and then whipped out the home videos for our viewing pleasure. Can anyone say “hilarious”. I especially loved the teeny, tiny pair of shorts and knee high socks that Ryan sported in several of the home videos. A few other worthy mentions would be the “migrant workers in the orchards behind dad’s house” nice one dad, and Dan’s love of “EXTRA SUGAR FREE GUM!” (Too Funny)

The next Morning we all got up for a big family breakfast and then headed over to Badger Mountain for a morning hike and family devotional. With the majority of the family being under age 2 most of the family stayed at the bottom of the mountain playing at the park. A couple of my kids hiked half way up the mountain and Ky and Kase went all the way to the top with Grandpa. Once back from the hike Dan shared a spiritual message on the importance of families and the importance of having fun family traditions and staying connected.

After the park we went back to the Ostler’s for lunch and then swimming at the Holle’s. The pool was great and the kids had a blast swimming with their cousins, crazy dad’s, and uncle’s.

After swimming everyone headed home to clean up and get a babysitter for the kids. We finished out the reunion with an adult date night. Which I thought was a super great idea :) Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters and spouses ended the reunion with a dinner and a movie date night together.

Thanks for planning the fun weekend and thanks to all who participated! We had a lot of fun and look forward to planning the next one in 2011.