A little “Pre-4th of July Fun”

My parents invited us camping this weekend but since I just got back from girls camp yesterday, and packing for a family of seven is usually a huge ordeal, we opted to just go out for a camping “day-trip” instead. They were camping out at Charbonneau which is only about 30 mins away and right on the river. We talked Don Pratt into coming out with his boat to take us boating for part of the day. We had a blast!

  

Girl’s Camp 2009

I was able to go to “V.I.T.A.L.S. Girl’s Camp 2009” with all of my young women this week, and we had a blast! I went up as a level leader and a day into camp was asked if I would be the camp photographer, which was a ton of fun. I loved taking pictures this week and enjoyed the bonding time with the girls. It was nice getting to know them on a whole new level. We had a ton of spiritually uplifting moments and a ton of FUN ones too. Loved it!

Day 1- Camp Sweatshirt Day

(Yeah, you’re seeing things right… Jenne Bedazzled her camp sweatshirt :)

Day 2- Be a doctor or need one.

Day 3- Crazy Hair and Clothes Day.

I was wearing a yellow and hot pink granny moo moo with flamingos on it but this picture was taken later in the day after I had changed. Sorry you had to miss it, I’m sure I looked awesome:)

The aftermath of crazy hair day :)

Day 4- Smiley Face Day

Sweet Dreams Ladies.

Girl’s Camp was a blast! A big thanks to all who made it so memorable.

A fun date night with the Pratt's!

We invited Megan & Justin Pratt and Mike & Kirsten Pratt to come with us on a little mini get away to Spokane tonight to see Brian Regan.

After a super fun, and somewhat funny drive up to Spokane, we were hungry and ready for some fine dining. Has anyone been to the Melting Pot? Well, now we can say we have. After hearing from a million people over the years that we had to try it, Megan convinced us that we needed to make it happen on this trip.

SO WE DID! Melting Pot, here we come.

I wasn't to sure of what to think about fondue but after our 3 hour dining experience tonight I think I'm in love. Dinner at the Melting Pot is definitely on the spendy side, but was well worth it. Awesome atmosphere, fun experience and delicious food!

After dinner it was a 6 block walk down the street to the MAIN EVENT OF THE EVENING...

The Many Faces of 

Brian Regan

And yes, there were many. Known for his clean humor, Dan and I have enjoyed listening to Brian Regan for several years. This is the 3rd time we have seen him live, in addition to owning many of his videos and cds. He is a riot, and with the Pratts at our sides, we enjoyed a side splitting good time laughing almost non stop for 2 straight hours.

With the long drive home and some DQ as a night cap..... The Date Night ended.

Hope you enjoyed it Justin, Megan, Mike, and Kirsten. We certainly did.

Brian Regan "Emergency Room" Part 1

Brian Regan "Emergency Room" Part 2

Brian Regan "UPS"

Brian Regan "Pop Tarts"

While the "Boys" are away, the "Girls" get to play!

Tonight Dan and the 3 boys headed off to the mountains for a little Father/Son Camp out.

While the boys were off roughing it in the wilderness with Dad, the girls were getting spoiled back at home with mom. 

The girls had an afternoon of pampering at Monkey Doo's. We started with hair cuts. Alaina and Hailey both decided they wanted to go short, and I mean SHORT. At least compared to what they had grown used to. They went all out and told the beautician to chop it all off. Hailey had so much cut off that she was able to donate her ponytail of hair to "Locks of Love". Which is an organization that makes wigs, for children with cancer. Cool, Huh?

After hair cuts and fancy, glittery, up-do's, it was off to nails and then onto make-up.

The girls were in heaven!

Next stop was the mall for a little chick flick. We had about an hour before our movie started so I gave the girls each a $10 bill and we did a little shopping. 

Hailey bought a Wizards of Waverly Place, alarm clock and Alaina ended up with a new pair of sun glasses!

 The picture below tells it all...

A day at the spa + a new pair of sun glasses= Instant Diva (and she knows it :)

We had Applebee's for dinner and then it was home for P.J.'s, board games, and a sleepover in the Playroom.

Thanks for the fun night, Girlies!

We should kick the boys out more often!!!!!!!

Backseat Booger Talk...

While driving around in the mini van today I heard the following argument, between Kase and Hudson, coming from the back seat.

(It totally made me laugh)

"Moooommmmmmmm, Hudson is trying to give me his boogers."

Ew!!!! Gross!!! Hudson Stop!

  

Hudson, move your finger away. Sick!

Mom, Hudson is trying to make me eat his boogers.

Hudson stop, I don't want it. I only eat my own boogers. Not other peoples boogers."

Uh. Oh. Did I just say that. Ooopps.

BUSTED!

If "Bunny News" exsisted...

...Here would be a few of the tragic front page headlines, straight from the Ostler's backyard.

"This just in...
Mother gives birth to octuplets. 8 babies! Amazing!"

"Mother eats two of her newborn babies, justifying "it was either them or me"."

"This same mother, who is obviously suffering from post pardon depression drowns three of her newborn babies by peeing all over them."

"1 more baby dies in the chilly night air after mother abandons children to fend for themselves".

"Social Services (The Ostler's) step in and take custody of the 2 remaining children for their safety and protection."

"2 more bunnies found dead. A sereget mom (medicine dropper, and kitten replacement milk) just can't take the place of a real loving bunny mom:( ".

"In other news, a rabbit two cages down, gives birth to quintuplets. Due to lack of milk or pushy older siblings not sharing the milk, 2 more bunnies found dead."

Will this massacre ever end...

The answer is yes. After two pregnancies and 13 babies later we finally have 3 living babies. 3 out of 13 doesn't seem like very good odds and I seem to remember going through something pretty similar to this last year when we were trying to have some new bunnies. Where in the heck does the term "breeding like rabbits" come from.

These bunnies were born Thursday June 11th. They are healthy and happy and are hopefully in the clear :)

(11 days old)

(1 month old)

Father’s Day

I don’t know that there is anything in this world more important to Dan than his relationship with his Father in Heaven. The longer I have been married to him the more I have discovered this to be true. He values his testimony more than words can express. What is really awesome about this is that he puts a really big focus on helping our children develop their testimony and gain that same relationship with their Father in Heaven too. You should see him work with the kids at FHE and each night at scripture study. He is sooooooo focused on helping them feel their own testimony so that he doesn’t find them leaning on his as they grow older.

I think on his death bed he would be the happiest of Fathers if he could look around and see 100% of our children living their lives in harmony with the teachings of Christ for their own individual reasons. I hope, for his sake, my sake, and the kids sake, this is in fact how life turns out for the Ostler Family.

Anyway… For Fathers Day, I helped the kids put together a little gift for their Daddy. I asked the kids to tell me their testimony and I simply hit the record button and transposed it. Their silhouettes add a cute touch to the card they presented him today.

Here's to hoping Dan has a great Dad’s Day. We love you!

No money made for mom’s jar today :)

But I did make something else… Lots of strawberry freezer jam.

I buy a few flats of the most delicious strawberries, every June, from an Oregon farmer who brings a truck load of them to a group of us women in the Tri Cities each year. I picked up my flats from him this morning and got to work.

This should be enough to last until next June :)

After the jam was done Alaina and I made chocolate chip cookies. It was lots of fun to spend some time in the kitchen today helping her follow a recipe, mix ingredients, and bake the cookies pretty much on her own. They turned out great Alaina!

Pay Up!!!

Although I generally love having the kids home for the summer, (No School, No schedule, No running all over town), I have to admit that some days I wonder how much “together” time I can really handle. It seems like the “fun” days that I plan to have end up with all sorts of little straws that eventually break the camels back.

You know the straws I am talking about, don’t you?

Anyway, I finally had enough today and started up a little piggy bank in hope that my days will either be smoother and happier, or that at least I will make a little something for all the trouble.

I told the kids that from now on they would be paying me for all of these overtime hours I’ve been putting in, dealing with all of the problems listed above on my jar. I made it clear that my “bonus money”, for dealing with all of these extras would be coming out of their own pockets.

We will see how it works, but for now….I am optimistic. :) Today I made $1.75. I think I may be a wealthy women by the end of summer :)

Greg and Brittany’s Reception

WMEA: Worst Mom Ever Alert!!!

Alright, I have to make a confession. And yes....I am beginning to feel a smidge of guilt that I honestly do this, but hey......I want the extra 30 minutes of sleep and that is all there is to it. 

With summer here and kids not needing to get up and out the door first thing in the morning anymore, I encourage them to sleep in, "keep quiet" when they wake up", and to "find something good to do" which hopefully doesn't involve coming in my room to ask me questions or tattle on siblings. 

However, one of my little turkeys....I mean children...ALWAYS comes to my beside with the EXACT same question, the exact same look on his face, the exact same "please" coming out of his mouth, at nearly the exact same time of the morning. In fact, if you will notice in the picture he not only brings an otter pop back but he nearly stabs my eye out each morning with at least one pair of scissors. 

Can I please have an otter pop? He says with every dimple he can show. PLEASE!!!

Any good mother would recognize this as a perfect moment to teach and nurture. Helping the young Innocent and ignorant mind to understand that the first meal of the day should be a healthy and balanced meal filled with nutrition and blah blah blah.

But me.......I take the easy route. I think, well otter pops are made out of 100% all natural fruit juice. Aren't they? And at least by allowing my child to eat this I am teaching him self reliance in that he can prepare his own breakfasts for himself. And the reasoning goes on. 

So, I give in and say..."sure!"

You know the saying... An otter pop a day, keeps the kids at away :) (for 30-45 more minutes at least)

But, in my defense, and before anyone condemns me to "The Worst Mom Ever Hall of Fame" I must brag on myself a little. 

After recognizing the unhealthy nature of this habit that was forming with my littlest boy, I took some remarkably proactive action to nip it in the bud. I decided that it was not a good idea for him to be running down the hall with scissors each morning so I began keeping them on my nightstand so that I can just snip the top with a much higher level of safety. 

I can sleep much better during that 30 extra minutes each morning knowing my 2 year old isn't running around the house with scissors.