Playin Hard

As a mom you know that when there is peaceful silence, something isn't quite right. I headed upstairs to find my roly-poly-Joel-y asleep, sitting up in the corner of his room, with his good buddy Lightning McQueen in his lap.

Planes, Jets, and Damon's 4th Birthday!

Today was the much anticipated 4th Birthday for Damon. What more perfect birthday activity could there be than to head to McMinville to the Evergreen Aviation Museum? For Damon........, none!

We spent a few hours at the aviation museum. There was a kid area so Damon & Joel had some fun in there acting like they were flying helicopters and jets.

The Spruce Goose was enormous and spanned the entire building. Josh, Uncle Jake, and Grandpa Hunsaker all were able to get their picture taken in the cockpit of the Spruce Goose so they were pretty happy. While they were getting that done, I was down below with the other women folk trying to wrangle all the kiddos. Joel put the moves on a complete stranger by approaching a woman from behind and patting her bottom a few times. She turned around just as I grabbed his little hands and I said, "Well this is one way to meet people." She looked at me strangely and walked away.....quickly. Maybe that was the wrong thing to say, oh well, I thought it was funny.











Damon had a such good time with the airplanes and took a nap on the way home. He was just regaining his energy for birthday "Jet" cake and presents. Josh did the cake, he always does the cakes, and they always turn out great.

Then the presents. He got everything he wanted: Diego the Animal Rescuer, Transformers, cartoons, blue clothing, and $$$. He was spoiled by everyone, but that's what being a kid is all about. He had a great 4th birthday and I still can't believe my little baby Damon is 4.

The Big Two Eight

Happy Birthday Josh!

This morning I got up as quietly as possible so I could get to the grocery store and buy the ingredients for Josh's birthday cake and return before all the kids woke up. I was succesful!

Damon was the first up and soon came downstairs to see what I was up to. I was in the process of scraping the filling out of chocolate sandwich cookies so I could crumble up the actual cookie for Josh's Birthday (Nutella Cheesecake) Cake. Damon told me he had to "test" the creme middles for breakfast. (We're healthy eaters)!

Soon the rest of the kids and Josh were downstairs for breakfast waffles. Josh headed out the door for work and I proceeded to scramble in order to get as much done as possible before he got back.

Damon helped by handing me pins so I could put up some birthday decorations. Olivia and Joel helped by unrolling all the roles of streamers and tried to eat them.

Aunt Brittani came over and watched the kids so Josh & I could go out kidless. We saw Quantum of Solace and got some dinner. Then it was back home for birthday cake and presents with the family.

I think Josh had a nice birthday, at least I hope he had a nice birthday. Since he doesn't do the Blog thing he can't contradict me and tell everyone how it all really went down.

"Girl Stuff"

I really enjoy Saturday's. Josh is usually home and I get to pick some kind of project to work on, or at least start. So today Josh started making bed frames for Damon and Joel and I decided to wash my REALLY dirty car.

If I want to do anything outside, it means packing up all the kids in warm clothes, bringing out the phone in case someone calls, being armed with graham crackers and sippy cups in case some needs a snack, and then hoping that everyone stays content long enough so I can accomplish a simple task outside.

So Olivia hung out in the stroller, while Damon and Joel attempted to help me with the car. Joel used his scrub brush to wash the concrete, and Damon kept stealing my brush every time I rinsed off a section of the car. Eventually I told Damon that he wasn't helping when he would rescrub the area that I had just rinsed. He replied with, "Mom why don't you just go inside and do girl stuff (with an emphasis on the Girl Stuff) and I'll wash your car!" And of course that made me laugh. Eventually the car got washed. I realize now that I should have asked him what "girl stuff" is. I'm sure there will be a next time.

Classic Damon

I get to hear the thoughts of Damon. So here are a few....

While saying a prayer for dinner............."Help me to get my (pilots) license and fly F-22's and become a jet ace. Help me to go to Toys R Us in the morning time with Uncle Jake and dad so I can show Uncle Jake all the toys I want for my birthday."

Eventually we reminded him that he needed to bless the food. That was the main purpose of the prayer. Dad's getting his Pilots License, so why not Damon too? No big deal. Just want to fly a jet and kill at least 5 enemy jets. Got to kill 5 to be an ace. Of course the most important thing is to take everyone to the store so they can see exactley what you want for your 4th birthday. At least this kid knows what he wants to do.....fly and get toys. Plus these were not one time only requests. These are usually mentioned during every prayer Damon gives. I love this kid!

History Repeats Itself

Ever since Josh & I have been married there have been the annual trips to the Reno Air Races. This event is a whole lot of airplanes. The most exciting thing at Reno are the actual races which involve WWII planes that have been completely modified to fly like 500 MPH. (Josh can give you the actual speeds and explain it all so it seems as though he is speaking a foreign language, but it's really just Airplane Jive).

I went one year and have forfeited the "opportunity" to return in order to stay home with the baby. (These pictures are from the year I went). Anyway, Damon is hooked and Joel is close behind the "Airplane Addict" group, which really involves any male with the last name "Hunsaker."

Now the Reno Air Races are not enough.

Josh's dad use to fly for the State Police and has been wanting to get back in the pilot's seat for a while. Why not make it a family affair? For the past few months, Josh has been taking ground school to become a PILOT. He recently was passed off to Solo which means he can fly without the instructor anymore. On Tuesday he took the written FAA test and passed! (I have been calling it the FFA, which Josh has to correct me. He is not taking classes to become a Future Farmer of America). Now he just has to fly some cross countries and he will have his Private Pilots License.

So history repeats itself. From Jon to Josh. Give us a few years and Damon will be after his Pilots License!

The 2008 Rewind

Since I have wanted to do this blog thing for so long I have a lot to post. So here we go......

We had little Miss Olivia Wenona Hunsaker on January 2nd. Another C-Section for me, but one healthy little girl, so that's worth it.

With nothing better to do with our time, we decided to obliterate my parents kitchen, (and eventually the rest of the whole 1st floor), and get a remodel done. I wanted to do something nice for my parents and I did help out as much as I could with 3 kids, but Josh and his dad worked really hard.

Damon liked to be at the "jobsite" and attempted to help mostly by taking scrap wood from one pile and placing it somewhere else in the house which only meant we had to pick it up again. What a helper!

Joel enjoyed taking off his shoes and walking through the piles of sawdust and other construction debris.

There was a lot of hard work and late nights, but it was worth it for the great Sunday lunches we have enjoyed (courtesy of Jean, Jean the Chef Machine) for the past five years.

In May we headed to Salt Lake City for Lauren & Ernest's Wedding. It was a fun weekend......hanging out with my family and taking a break from our normal schedule at home. Lauren looked "bellisimo" and is now Lauren Hayes. Damon and cousin Ethan had a good time hiding underneath the gift table at the reception. Occassionally you could hear them giggling and their hands would pop out from the table cloth from time to time. (Those 2 are from the "All Boy/Trouble" mold).

As you can see......trying to take pictures was hard work. The attention span of those 3 and under was minimal! This picture sums up so much.

We hit up Silver Falls on a Saturday afternoon. I just want to go places so I can spend time with my family and take pictures. The hike was a great "work out" for Josh & I since we haven't exercised since we had Damon in 2004. By the time we got back to the top (each of us carrying a child) I was sweating and trying to act like I wasn't gasping for air. Pathetic huh!

While putting the road in for our property we had some major clean up to do. We don't hire out the work, we do it ourselves. Plus Damon would never forgive us for passing up the chance to run a giant track hoe.

June took us to California for Luke & Greta's Wedding. It was a classy event, very Luke.

We almost spent the night at a hotel that could have easily been on "Intervention" (it was scary nasty), but luckily ditched it and relocated to a much more family friendly and clean environment. Damon and Joel loved it because it was right next to a smaller airport (aaaahhh planes/helicopters) and had a pool. We hit up San Francisco and checked out some of my dad's childhood memories, so that was fun cruzing San Fran.

With the addition of Rocco to our family in mid July the request for a fence became the daily nag. The kids always wanted to be outside, but had a tendancy to head to the road or in some direction leading away from our property. I was getting tried of trying to get the dogs out before they had an accident (Tank was fine, but Rocco would bark & howl non-stop...very irritating) and then checking on them to make sure they weren't on a "neighborhood tour." So I won, and some time was spent putting up a new fence in the backyard. Then we scored a bunch sod and stayed up till midnight or so trying to get it all in and watered. It was a great birthday present to have the kids fenced in....and the dogs too.

In October we went to the Pumpkin Patch for the first time as a family. (Plus Uncle Jake & Logan and Granny & Gramps came too). Logan and Joel got a ride in the wheelbarrow until the pumkins took over. Once out of the wheelbarrow, Joel headed toward the sound of a running tractor and figured he could climb up to the drivers seat. I got to him just in time, but he wasn't happy that I foiled his plan.

Damon wandered through the whole patch by himself, stopping and talking to some teenage girls for a moment or two, and enjoyed staying as far away from his parents as possible. Finally he came around and I asked him what kind of pumpkin he was looking for. He said he was looking for, "a Dinoco Blue Pumpkin." I told him, "Good luck!" I think I was the most excited about going to the pumpkin patch just so I could take some pictures.

The Long Awaited Hunsaker Blog

I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time. (Ever since reading Heathfield Lane and laughing - thanks Austin & Cherisse). I have admired other blogs, but always told myself that I don't have the time. Now I'm making the time.

My little kiddos are growing fast and I am quickly forgetting all the things they have done to make me smile........ so this is my effort to preserve the memories. We'll see how dedicated I am!