Hunsaker House

Halloween 2009

2010-04-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

I really love Halloween. I've always loved candy and the fact that I have little kids that I can dress up however I want.............well, that makes it even better. So this year I wanted to go all out and get the whole family to dress up together. I decided we could all be The Wizard of Oz. Josh was quite hesitate and never really agreed to participate. By the time I focused on Halloween Costumes, I was running out of time and had to delegate them out. Josh put Damon's together, I had Joels from a previous year with Damon, and Granny helped me out with Olivia's.....well she really made the whole dress. (Thank you!!!) When it got down to it, Josh got his wish of non-participation because I didn't have time to get myself turned into the Wicked Witch, which meant I didn't have a leg to stand in wanting Josh to be the Scarecrow. So we were almost the entire cast of the Wizard of Oz.

Damon was the Tin Man, Joel was the Lion, and Olivia was Dorothy.

After we hit all the "family" stops we figured the kids had enough candy and so that was the end of the Halloween 2009.

Yep, We're Still Here

2010-04-05T15:02:00.001-07:00

So I've been on Blog Hiatus for the last 6 months. I've got a lot of catching up to do. Can't guarantee it will be fast, but I'll get to it.

Yard Cleanup

2009-10-25T22:15:00.000-07:00

I really like Fall, how it gets colder outside, how the leaves change color, and that Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are that much closer. What I do not like about Fall is having to clean up my yard.

When I want to clean up the leaf debris outside, I can't just let all the kids out of the house....I have to get their boots, warm coats, hats, and gloves on and hope they stay bundled up. Once I get them all outside I have to hurry to rake up all the wonderful leaves into piles while trying to keep Damon and Joel from running through the piles (for some reason they love to obliterate my leaf piles). Usually the kids don't last long, and they get bored and want to go back inside the house. The other day I got lucky though.

Damon grabbed the spray gun for the pressure washer and imagined it to be his giant hunting rifle. He ran around the yard "hunting big game" which means he imagined that all moving things were his target (Tank, Rocco, Joel, Olivia, me, planes in the sky, and overhead birds).

(Damon with his "hunting rifle").

At one point he tip toed over towards me, made a shooting sound, and then told me that I was an elk and that he shot my leg so I was supposed to hop around on one foot. He then de

monstrated the wounded elk walk....it was funny. So I hopped around for a little bit while raking up my leaves.

Joel managed to run through a pile of leaves before I could get them in the garbage can, and he spread them everywhere. I told him to help clean up the pile and handed him a rake. I think he was more than happy to rake up the leaf pile he destroyed.

Olivia kept finding leaves to show me....mostly the ones that weren't all dead and brown. Then she brought me some acorns and those things that come from Oak trees that crunch when you step on them ( I tell Damon they're "oak poppers").

Of course by the time I was finished raking and disposing of all the leaves in the backyard, Damon was harassing Olivia and Joel, Joel was getting annoyed with Damon, and Olivia just wanted to go inside, as displayed by her crying at the back door and taking off her boots.

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

We ventured down to the pumpkin patch last Monday. Joel and Olivia were tired so getting them to be happy about picking out pumpkins wasn't really going well. Plus everytime Joel picked up a pumkin it had those prickly things on the stem, so he just got mad. It seems that everytime I want to get pictures of my kids, they never want to cooperate. After Josh gave them all rides in the wheelbarrow and acted silly with them, they cheered up.

(Olivia was the happiest after she saw the lambs, goats, and chickens).

(Joel was super happy climbing on top of the hay bales).

We got some good pumpkins and the kids ended up having a good time. I got some pictures and lots of pumpkins so I was happy.

A Self Serve Breakfast

2009-10-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

The other morning I could hear my two little mischief makers down in the kitchen. When Joel and Olivia are together....it usually ends in some sort of mess. I didn't hear the fridge alarm beeping, so I knew they weren't there. I did hear the sound of glass being knocked together so I hurried downstairs before whatever glass thing it was ended up in pieces on my kitchen floor. When I got downstairs I found this.

Nothing broken, no giant mess, just Olivia and Joel on the counter top helping themselves to a breakfast of Nilla Wafers. They even got out some trays to put their food on. The breakfast cereal is in a cupboard too high for them to reach so I guess they figured the Nilla Wafers in a cupboard they could reach would work just fine. These two kiddos are funny!

The House that Damon Built

2009-09-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

While driving in the car I saw a bright blue house and asked Damon if he liked it. Surprisingly, the kid who loves all things blue said "no." He proceeded to tell me that our own house was "lame" and that we needed to have a blue slide so he could slide downstairs instead of having to walk down every time. "There would be a blue bed at the bottom of the slide so you wouldn't break your back." "Well what else should we do to our house Damon?" I asked. "We need to be next to a runway so we can fly the plane. There would be a runway into our blue garage where we can just get in our plane and fly so we don't have to walk or drive to a airport hangar. In the backyard there could be a giant lake with a boat launch and our plane would have giant floats and we would have a diving board with no diving board rules and we could jump in, plug our nose, and float with our life jackets on. There would be a slide longer than the slides inside our house that would let us go super fast into the lake. We could have floaties at our lake and lots of rubber sharks. Five rubber swordfish, five great white sharks, five hammer head sharks." "Do they have to be made of rubber? Can't they be real?" "Not real, because if they were real they would bite us.........they all have to be rubber!" "Anything else our house should have?" "Yeah it should have a blue roof and blue walls. The stools in the kitchen need to be automatic so they come out of the ground and I don't have to pull a lever to make them move up and down." "Wow, those are some good ideas, thanks Damon. We'll have to let dad know all your great ideas."

So one minute he didn't want a blue house, and the next minute he wants a lake, a garage/hangar, indoor slides, a diving board, and of course......a blue garage, a blue roof, and I'll just assume the whole house will be BLUE.

Where are you?!?

2009-09-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

The other morning I was cleaning up after breakfast and witnessed Olivia trying to find some secret escape hatch in order to get away from her brothers. She was more than content in the cupboard with the plates and bowls. I didn't hear a peep from her. I had Damon come into the kitchen and try to find her. I had to show Damon which cupboard she was because she was being so quiet. He opened up the cupboard and Olivia let out a happy little giggle. Maybe she'll be a regular winner in Hide-N-Seek. She is very mischevious, but cute all the while.....and she knows it.

Our First Family Flight

2009-09-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to visit my brother, Austin, and his family in southern Cali ever since Josh got his Private Pilot's License back in April. In true Hunsaker fashion ("things never seem to work out as you had planned them to") our hopes of getting down were not sooner than later, but definitely later. We were going to head down for my birthday weekend, but no dice, and so the story had been going. Eventually (as Hunsaker fashion does.........or more likely when Our Father in Heaven sees the time as right) things worked out, and we were able to get a trip in to visit Austin's family.

We got to the airport just as it started to rain, but luckily our departure went smooth and Josh was able to find some clear patches and we maneuvered through the rain storm. I will not lie......I was nervous because this was my second time on an actual flight with Josh as my pilot, and we had all the kids in the back seat for their first flight. So it could have gone very badly with the kids going crazy, but luckily they slept, ate, and played nicely for the majority of the flight. Thank goodness for answered prayers!

We had to avoid some forest fires in Nevada and California, but nothing scary. By night fall we were landing and were greeted by our cute cousins Makenzie and Ethan and Uncle Austin. It was nice to be out of the plane and heading to Austin's house to relax.

On Saturday we hit the beach in LaJolla and it was so nice. We haven't spent much time at our freezing Oregon beaches with the kids, and so I wasn't sure how they would be with the waves and the mass loads of people. Luckily the kids stayed close by, chased seagulls, rode boogie boards, and had a blast! (Damon running around like a wild man and loving every minute of the ocean).

(Joel didn't stop laughing the entire time he was in the water......well except for the times the waves got a little bigger than him and his open laughing mouth got filled with salt water! Then the laughing turned into spitting).

(Olivia had fun, but by the end of the day she was exhausted).

Austin and Josh took Makenzie, Ethan, and Damon over to an area where Leopard Sharks were breeding. It was an experience to be that close to sharks with no protective gear on, but this shark breeding is a regular thing and the sharks just mellow out (as we were assured by Austin). They all came back alive to our little beach area so Austin was right.

Sunday morning Cherisse wasn't feeling well and so Austin ended up taking her to the hospital to get checked out since their little boy was due in about a month. I was worried that the steak dinner Josh had cooked up the night before didn't sit well with her, and that's what made her not feel so great. A few hours later we got the phone call that Austin and Cherisse had welcomed their new little boy into the world. I was stunned they had the baby, relieved that Josh's cooking hadn't made her sick, and so happy that we were in town to help take care of our cute little cousins. This trip was definitely perfect timing.

The kids played and played, built forts, read books, fought, all the usual kid stuff. We had a good time hanging out with all the kids and on Monday Austin arranged for us to go swimming at a friends house. Since we happened to be in California during some 100 degree heat wave, we opted for the pool time and that was a great decision. The 5 kids had a blast (poor Olivia slept the entire time we were there and missed out on the pool fun). We were very grateful for Austin's hospitable friends sharing their pool.

(The Cousins: Joel, Olivia, Damon, Tessa, Ethan, the neighbor kid....and Makenzie was at school).

We ended up leaving on Tuesday morning and had a safe flight home. Once again the kids were great in the plane. (As we landed I finally took a picture of the kids in the plane. Damon with his headset, Joel was asleep until he got the forearm to the face, and I'm pretty sure Olivia was checking out all the other planes).

It was a blessing to be in California when we were, to help watch some cousins so Austin and Cherisse could be with their new little boy. I think Austin and Cherisse felt bad we didn't have some "California Adventure Vacation," but that's not why we were there. We were meant to be at their house at that time and I'm so happy we could be there to help. That's what families are for.

So our first family flight will truly be memorable.

Green Damon

2009-08-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

A conversation between Damon and dad:

Josh - "If you're done with your yogurt go throw it away Damon."
Damon - "Throw it away?"
Josh - "Yeah, go put it in the garbage can."
Damon - "Why would you throw it away when you can recycle, you crazy!"

I thought this was funny because I am always rising out plastic yogurt cups, or putting emptied cereal boxes in our giant blue recycle bin. So, obviously Damon hangs with mom all day and is realizing that we can recycle without too much effort. If Damon starts advising that we switch to a low flow shower head, I will definitely be putting my foot down there!

Damon & His New Pal (Phil)

2009-07-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

We have had some heat this week and are lucky enough to have pool set up in the backyard. Claire and Phil came over for a cool down and Damon didn't hesitate to join them. It seems that eveytime Phil is around, Damon spouts out some interesting comments.

While playing in the pool, Damon kept referring to Phil as "you." So Phil decided to clear things up and said, "oh, by the way my name is Phil." Damon replied: "Oh, thanks for warning me!"

Once Damon figured out Phil's name then came, "Hey.....I remember your name. I can say it 5 times.....watch! Phil, one. Phil, two. Phil, three. Phil, four. Phil, five. See!" (Good thing Damon counted it out, Claire and Phil probably would have lost track of how many times he said Phil's name).

He informed Claire and Phil that he had 20 girlfriends at church, but they were all sick with colds, coughs, etc. (This is news to me. I thought he only had his eyes on one or two.....not twenty).

Once everyone was done in the pool they came inside. Phil has been to our house before but Damon didn't remember that. He was quite hospitable and felt the need to treat Phil like he was part of the MTV Cribs crew, showing him all around the kitchen, and even inside the fridge. "Here's the oven so you can make hot food. Here's the fridge, we have grapes, apples, meat. That's the toaster. This is the microwave where you can heat up food to eat...........the garbage..............here's some towels to dry off your hands. Here are some knives, but they are sharp and can cut you very bad."

Phil was very gracious for his tour but just needed to use the bathroom. Unfortunately he couldn't use it until Damon gave him the run down. "This is the bathroom........You poop and pee there.........Here's the fan if you make it stink up in here..........Make sure you wash your hands and this water can get very hot so be careful..........Dry your hands with these towels here." After continuing on for a few more mintues Phil was finally able to use the bathroom.

Pullin' a Fast One

2009-07-10T22:59:00.003-07:00

So our big grown up Damon still wears a diaper to bed. This week Josh explained to Damon for about the sixtieth time about how important it us to get up and use the toilet at night time, when you wake up, or whenever you gotta go. Damon was very serious during this talk and it seemed to sink in. Thursday morning he came to our room proudly with a dry diaper. Josh was so proud and pleased with Damon. Friday morning he had another dry diaper. Josh was so surprised Damon pulled it off two days in a row. I was downstairs making breakfast and Josh announced to me the great news. I was happy for Damon, but had a suspicion that things weren't quite what they seemed. I told Josh to check the garbage can in the kids bathroom. He headed back upstairs and then I heard him call to Damon. Josh came back downstairs a few minutes later and I asked if he had discovered anything. Sure enough he asked Damon what was in the garbage can and the conversation went like this:

Josh - "Hey Damon, I need your help opening up this garbage can. Can you help me out?"

Damon - "Yeah sure dad!"

Josh - "What's this in here?"

Damon - "Oh dad, that's just garbage."

Josh - "Looks like a diaper."

Damon - "Yeah, that's my diaper."

Damon thinks this is his new found talent. He tries to be sneaky and thinks that lame old mom and dad won't catch on to his weasel ways. Unfortunately Damon is new to this game and mom and dad have him all figured it. It is funny to listen to him try and pull a fast one over us.

Just Do It Yourself

2009-06-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Olivia is quite a sport when it comes to playing with her brothers. She will shove'em if they shove her and if one of them hits her, she'll return the favor. She is pip squeak compared to her brut brothers, but that doesn't stop her. There are times she would much rather be left alone, than be bothered by the boys and so she will just do her own thing. This time she didn't want anyone pushing her, and so she sat in the toy stroller and used her little legs to motate herself through the kitchen. I just laughed because she wasn't going too far with the those little legs of hers, but she was quite pleased to do it all on her own.

PreSchool Graduation

2009-06-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

I signed Damon up for a two month long preschool. It was three days a week and over by noon so that worked for me. It was the start of another chapter for me. Getting up early, trying to get grumpy Damon out of bed, helping him get ready, and getting out the door on time.

Before he had his first day of school Josh went over the important school rules with him:
1) Know who your teacher is and be respectful.
2) Know where the restroom is.
3) Don't hit anyone. But if someone hits you first, then you can hit back and you better do it harder than they hit you.

At first it was a little scary for me just leaving my first born son in the care of strangers for close to 4 hours. Luckily there were a few kids he knew from church in the class and that helped with the transition. For the most part school went well. He always had fun and I had a hard time getting him to leave on some days.

For his graduation he was declared "The Toughest." That could be good, but bad at the same time.

He seemed to have lots of friends who were mostly high school aged girls that were helping out with the preschool. (This guy always goes for the older girls......we are in trouble). Since his birthday is in November I'm sure we will be doing the preschol thing again. It was a good experience for Damon and for me. My little Damon isn't so little anymore.

Boy's and Their Toys

2009-06-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

The Blog is normally my thing, but every so often Josh decides he wants to add something. Actually he wants me to add it for him. Anyway......He and my dad started talking race cars and got connected with the owner of a shop in the Portland area. As Josh and my dad wandered around the shop, I'm sure the owner could see the excitment in Josh's eyes as he stared at all the "man toys" or maybe it was the drool. Whatever it was, the owner was nice enough to let Josh sit in this.

I'm pretty sure he had the same grin when he got home.

Family Camping

2009-05-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

We decided to go camping over Memorial Day weekend. Grandpa Don was nice enough to let us use his motor home which, with little kids, makes things a lot easier. We got a late start (surprise surprise) but drove on until we found a nice secluded spot. As soon as the motor home stopped Damon just wanted to make smores, Olivia just wanted to eat marshmallows, and Joel could've cared less because he fell asleep before we even found a spot to camp.

Josh started a fire and we enjoyed a few smores. After Olivia had her fair share of marshmallows I snuggled her up next to Joel and she went off to sleepy land. Damon hung out with us for a little while, but then decided to turn in for the evening. He retreated to the top bunk of the motor home, opened up the window by his head, chewed on some beef jerky, chimed in on the conversation, and slowly fell asleep .

Josh was the first one out of bed Saturday morning and decided to go fishing while accompanied by Tank and Rocco. He came back just as we all woke up. We had breakfast and then headed outside in the morning sunshine so we could enjoy the outdoor view of the snow capped scenery.

It was so nice be outside and away from everything. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cold.

Josh got the fire going once again and enlisted the help of Damon. (That kid needs a task to accomplish to keep him out of trouble). So Damon found large rocks and carried them over to put around the fire. He heaved over some pretty big rocks.....I was impressed.

We just hung out and enjoyed the outdoor air and scenery for a while and then Josh showed me how to split wood. Josh was amused to say least. Molly chopping wood in flip flops......very safe! Oh well, at least I learned a new skill!

Eventually we packed up and headed towards the reservoir to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa. The guys took the canoe out and that was amusing to watch. I'm sure Damon was barking orders the whole time.

The dogs got a chance to play in the water.....I really think it's Tank's most favorite thing to do. Rocco just enjoys swimming after the sticks and if the water wasn't involved, that would be better for him. Those silly dogs though. Everytime they got out of the water, they would come stand right next to me and shake....everytime!

At one point Olivia figured that the water was perfectly safe so she just marched on in. She tripped and went face first but luckily Josh was speedy on the recovery and pulled a bewildered, soaking wet little girl out of the water. That girl has no fear!

We came home Saturday night. It was a short trip, but still nice. We will have to do a lot more camping this summer. Especially when the lakes get warmer!

Our 1st Flight

2009-05-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

It's official..........Josh is a pilot.

On April 16th he went in for his final check ride. We expected it to be a couple hours for the exam and test flight. When 4 hours had passed I started to wonder. I was sure he was going to pass, I just didn't think it would take so long. I finally got the call that he passed and then the explanation that the instructor had to take a few breaks and attend to other business inbetween the exam and the flight test, thus dragging the test. So that was a sigh of relief that it wasn't Josh that needed the extra time. Passing was a stress off of Josh's shoulders (he had been stressing for a couple weeks and the test kept getting pushed back due to weather and the instructors availability.

Damon was pretty proud of dad and kept announcing that his dad, "has a official pilots license!"

On Saturday April 18th, I got to take my first flight with Josh. The kids were happy to stay with Grandma & Grandpa for a couple hours while we flew to Tillamook.

It wasn't a "just for fun" flight either. Josh was hired to fly a guy and his Prom date over for their day of fun prior to Prom. (I was pretty impressed. I got proposed to in a helicopter and I thought that was big deal. This high schooler was just taking his Prom date on a flight to the coast to ride quads and play before the Prom). Some Prom date huh! Anyway......the weather was perfect and the flight was quick and smooth. I look forward to taking many more flights with my husband.....the pilot.

Joel's 3rd Birthday

2009-04-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Joel turned 3 on April 18th. (I can't believe he is 3 already).

We had a fun day being outside and spending time together as a family. We went to the opening of one of the new fire stations. Joel really liked getting in the

big trucks. The kids got hats which was great because Joel LOVES hats. (Damon's "child sized" fire hat didn't fit at all.....it just sat upon the corners of his large noggin).

We went to the park and and spent some time on the riverfront. Once dad started throughing rocks, then all the kids had to follow suit. We had a few close encounters, but luckily there were no rock injuries for the day.

On Sunday evening we had the family all over for birthday cake. It's nice to have family around to hang out with.

Joel did a great job blowing out his candle and instead of waiting for a piece of cake, he just went straight into taking bites out of his entire cake. He's so funny. Luckily he let me get in to start cutting pieces for everyone else.

It was a nice birthday weekend, but I can't believe my little Joel is 3.

He is still my quiet little love bug who loves to give kisses. He loves to be outside, sitting with the dogs, riding on a tractor or any other outdoor vehicle. He likes to growl like a monster, run through the kitchen shooting his missles/guns like Damon, and wave goodbye to anyone when they leave our house. He tries anything Damon shows him, but is just as happy playing with Olivia and getting into mischief. He'll slug Damon when he's fed up, and pull accessories right out of Olivia's hair to see if he can get them in his hair. He can always make me smile and that's why I'm so happy to have Joel in our family for all eternity!

Easter = Sugar High

2009-04-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

Having a holiday to celebrate is much more rewarding

when you have little children to share it with.

Saturday night we got all the kids to bed and then debated with each other on how much candy the "Easter Bunny" should leave the kids. (Once again we bought too much candy, and Josh wasn't too happy with me because I failed to get his favorite: ma

lted milk ball/eggs). I thought we gave a minimal amount, but then Easter morning hit and Josh added donuts to the mix. (I was happy because I LOVE donuts). The kids devoured the donuts, Damon inhaled about half of his candy, Joel worked on a Cadbury Creme Egg, and Olivia tried to keep up with the sugar intake of her brothers. All this before 10Am and church. So obviously the kids were a little "crazy" during church.

After church we came home and Damon polished off his candy and then it was off to Grandma & Grandpa Hunsaker's for an Easter Dinner. Of course there was more candy to be had there and it was funny watching Olivia reach out and squeal in an attempt for someone to hear her plea and let her pick something from one of the numerous candy dishes.

It was a nice Easter!

Aunt Lolly

2009-04-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

We had a nice visit from my sister Lauren for about a week. The kids liked having Aunt Lolly around because she read airplane books to Damon (he wouldn't allow any other type of book)), she snuggled Joel after he had a collision with Damon's head during thier game of Duck-Duck-Goose, and Olivia, well she just loved having more attention from an adoring fan! What can I say, we all love Aunt Lolly. She even made dinner for us one night!

Josh was SuperDad multiple nights and days so I could spend some kidless time with my sister. We had some delicious food thanks to Lauren and my mom on Saturday night and Sunday morning & afternoon (I'm not a chef, but I'm great at the dishes so that was my contribution to the meals we had). Luckily Lauren is easy going so we didn't have a crazy schdule of stuff to do and places to go, it was just a nice relaxing week of hanging out, shopping, and eating. I couldn't ask for too much more. Thanks for visiting Lolly!!!

"Dead Horses"

2009-04-10T16:45:00.001-07:00

On the way home today we drove by a pasture where 3 horses were laying down. Damon yelled from the back seat, "Mom! Those horses are dead!"
"No Damon. They are just taking a nap. They get tried and lay down just like you do. They aren't dead."
"Oh. If they were dead I would go give them a kiss."
"Well that is very nice of you, but they are just taking a nap."
"But if they were dead I would give them a kiss."
"Okay."

Where's the Gym?

2009-04-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

I laugh when I see this picture of Joel.

We were making Valentine's cookies at Grandma's house. I think Joel was "sampling" the dough and made this face that I have never seen before. It looks like he inhaled air and is trying to look big and tough.

This is a typical Joel look. Just a mellow guy checkin' things out. This kid makes me laugh.

"Tea Party?!?!?"

2009-04-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

The other night I went to check on the boys before I went to sleep.

This is what I found.........

Joel was out in the hallway asleep. Damon preferred the floor rather than a bed. All airplanes parked underneath the bed or around the lamp. All Lightning McQueens, The King, and other friends were placed in their perfect "Damon order" around the lamp that he removed from the dresser and plugged in at a more convenient location. Olivia's bear even received a large F-22 sticker plastered right on it's tummy.

The next morning I asked Damon what was going on in his room. Why were there so many toys lined up underneath the lamp and why was he sleeping on the floor. He said he was having was a "tea party" with all of his friends.

Well I guess that makes sense (even though there was no tea involved). I think it was more of a sleep over, since usually all of the toys stay in the toy room and not in the bedroom.

I was use to seeing this when I would check on the boys:

So he just added a few more toys to the mix this time.

"Going to the Jungle!"

2009-04-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

It all started when dad pulled out the Costco muffins from the cupboard. Damon had already had a bowl of shredded wheat for breakfast, but once he saw those muffins, he just had to have one. I gave him half a muffin even though he argued and pouted that he had to have a whole muffin. I reiterated that he was only getting half a muffin and if he finished the half, he could have more. I gave Joel and Olivia half a muffin as well and then had to help Josh with something in the office. That minute I was in the office was all Damon needed. He grabbed the muffins, started eating a whole muffin, and even started the demolition of his half muffin by crumbling it into little tiny pieces.

When I came out of the office I was not happy because Damon deliberately disobeyed. I tried to make him eat all the muffin, but he complained that he was "too full," so I bagged up the remaining bits and pieces and told him that he would be eating it for lunch.

So lunch came and the muffin remainders were placed in front of Damon. Olivia and Joel got sandwiches and grapes for lunch and that did not seem fair to Damon. I kept explaining why he had muffin remains for lunch and why Olivia and Joel got a lunch. He did not like the truth and started getting really mad. I told him he wouldn't get anything else to eat or drink until he started to make some effort towards eating his muffin. He continued to get mad and finally he came up with a solution.

As he was getting down from his stool he said, "If you'll excuse me, I have to get started."

"Started with what?"

"I'm leaving our house and going to the jungle because you're ignoring me and making me sad & mad. I need my boots."

"What?! Damon I just want you to eat the muffin you took this morning. Remember, I gave you half a muffin and you decided to get a whole one."

"I have to leave into the jungle with no food & no drink. No coming back. When dad gets home, I'll yell.......I'm in the forest, lost. No food, no drink, and not coming back. Then dad's supposed to come find me with food & drink."

"What kind of food & drink?"

"One blue fruit leather (strawberry), marshmallows, and a drink. That should be it. And if he doesn't come. I'm never gonna come back...................Understand mom!"

"It looks like it's gonna rain though Damon."

"Yeah, I got a hood."

"Well, how long will you be in the jungle?"

"27 minutes."

Damon attempted to go through the front door (locked) and the patio door (locked) but I just kept talking to him about his "plan" and took his picture. With all the talking he forgot about the trek to the jungle. Meanwhile, Olivia & Joel took care of the remaining muffin.

Faith, Not Hope

2009-03-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

This my favorite painting,

The Prayer at Valley Forge by Arnold Friberg.

My dad had this picture in his office when I was younger. Back then I was more interested in what the horse looked like than what the painting actually depicted and meant. Now that I'm older, vote, and wonder what the government spends my taxes on (I believe that everyone should pay the same percentage of taxes whether you make $1.00 or $1 Billion and that you should be able to elect where your taxes should be spent. Example - those who want secured borders with Mexico and less illegals could check a box for Border Control and those who want money to be sent to foreign countries for abortions (like President "Hope" Obama) can check a box for Baby Killing Funds. If the American people were actually able to choose the programs they wanted to fund, I'm sure things would be a lot different in this country).

Back to what I was saying...............America needs to remember how and why this country was started. How many elected officials in Washington pray for guidance to do what is best for the people of this country? I think there are prayers being offered, but most are along the lines of, "Please help me keep this a secret........I don't want to get caught."

I pray that things turn around for OUR country. I have to remind myself not to rely on HOPE (he isn't dependable), because all I really need to have is FAITH (He is always dependable). I don't believe that George Washington was hoping to lead America to victory, I believe he had faith and that's why he was on his knees.

My "24" Week

2009-03-20T01:16:00.000-07:00

For those of you that watch the show "24" you know that Jack Bauer is some sort of robot/terminator/who never dies and he fights the forces of terrorists/evil doers. Well, during the last 24 hours I have been a "Jack Bauer" of sorts.

The following content is for a mature audience who can handle hearing about bodily functions......You've been warned!

So on with the story. Monday night Damon woke up puking. I would normally be the one getting up every hour or so, rushing into the room and stripping away all soiled bedding and what not. It was weird...I barely even woke during each puke session and when I did there was no rush or adrenaline to get to my sickly son. Luckily Josh was up for the task. So dad took care of Damon the whole night.

When Tuesday morning hit, Josh was tired but off to work he went and I got to clean up all the puke sheets, pillows, cloths, etc. (the "fun stuff"). Damon still wasn't feeling fantastico but the puking had stopped so that was a good sign. I carried my sicky son downstairs for breakfast and felt a REALLY warm spot on my hip while I carried him. I set him down on the stool for breakfast and saw a large wet spot on my shirt. I thought, "Maybe it was a chew mark from Olivia or Joel. Those two like to chew on my shirts." I had almost convinced myself it was just a chew shot, when I went in for the smell. Oh doctor.....that was not a friendly little saliva spot.......that was some runny thunder from down under. I immediately carried Damon to the bathroom but the contents was much worse than I had hoped and so I had to carry him upstairs to my shower where he had to strip down and clean up.

Tuesday continued on with Damon having 1 more "accident," which landed him in the shower for a thorough cleaning. After that he seemed to be feeling better even though he kept asking for medicine and saying, "OOOhhhhhhhh, my tummy doesn't feel good!" Which I would reply with the command of ............"Hurry and get to the bathroom Damon!"

So I thought Tuesday was bad until Wednesday came.

By Wednesday Damon seemed to be on the mend and all was back to better at the Hunsaker house. After my meeting for/with Joel, we went to pick-up Olivia and Damon from Granny's house. Damon was asleep when I got there which was very bizarre. Granny said that Damon had told her, "he wasn't feeling good and that he had puke-bugs in his tummy, so he just wanted to rest." She sent the kids home with their own applesauce snacks which they were all excited about. (Funny what kids get excited about). So as soon as we got home the applesauce was inhaled as they waited for me to make them all waffles for lunch. And after that everyone started getting crabby and tired. So Olivia & Joel took naps and Damon watched a combination of SpongeBob, Litttle Einsteins, and DogFights.

The afternoon wore on and I was enjoying the quiet when Joel woke up. I snuggled with him on the couch but then he got fussy and then it happened. Puke spewing from his little mouth all over me. Uuuhhhhh, it was disgusting and as much as I wanted to turn him away from he so I wouldn't be covered in any more of it, I thought, "the damage is done to me, I don't want to have to clean it off of something else too." So I was covered in the lunch of champions as I walked Joel slowly over to the kitchen sink. (I didn't want to walk fast and leave a trail behind me). He was sad & upset as I washed him down in the kitchen sink, but I hurried to get him all cleaned up. I think I was in denial that Damon's "Puke-Bugs" had gotten to Joel but once I got some clothes on him and he puked all over them as well, I was convinced that the fun had just begun.

With Joel it was a little harder because he doesn't tell you whats coming. Damon would say he didn't feel good or head for the bathroom. Joel just got upset and then kept up the harf n' barf routine.

When Josh got home he said he wasn't feeling well. "Great! Hopefully it's just a headache or the result of little sleep/stress," I was thinking to myself. Since it was one of those freak nice-ish days in Oregon we all went outside to get some fresh air. Damon was feeling good and finding clues in the forest where the surveyors had left colored ribbons. Joel was having a good time because he always loves being outdoors and Olivia rode on dad's shoulders so she was pleased as punch. (whatever that means......but she was happy).

Once we got back inside the house Josh set Olivia down on the kitchen counter top and she puked. "Awesome.....now Joel has a buddy and I have double disgusting duty!" Then Joel decided Olivia couldn't have the last puke and so he had to up his game by puking all over himself. Josh was getting more and more nauseous by the second and the smell was getting to me. My laundry room was turning into the PUKE-PIT and I just wanted to keep the laundry going in fear that the smell would permeate through the whole house. Oh it was nasty.

If Joel was following in his brothers footsteps then I was hoping that he had filled his puke quota of the evening. After the shower Joel just went into shut down mode and didn't want to move. Every time I picked him up he would just snuggle on my shoulder in hopes that his little body could just somehow attach to mine. Unfortunately I was the only non-sicky adult so I had to take care of everyone else and that meant detaching from my Joel. I put him in his bed (with towels spread out everywhere for an easier clean-up), talked to him for a little while and he went right to sleepy land.

With Joel down it was off to the next sicky......Olivia. Josh had gotten Olivia asleep but hadn't prepared himself very well because within minutes she puked all over our bed. I cleaned her up and Josh stripped our bed down of all puke saturated materials. The new sheets went on and so did an arsenal of towels for Little Miss Pukey. Soon everyone was asleep and I was listening to my washing machine taking care of business.

So I thought Wednesday was bad until Thursday came.

2 AM, Thursday morning I woke to the sound of one grown man puking like I've never heard before. My stomach started to turn and as much as I wanted to be the compassionate wife, I stayed in our warm bed and tried to tune it all out. Olivia woke up to her daddy moaning and groaning and then reached for her favorite thing.......my cell phone. "Well someone must be feeling better," I thought to myself as Olivia proceeded on with her phone conversation. When things finally simmered down for Josh he went to check on Joel & Damon. He found Joel in the hallway (which is nothing new) but he brought him to me which made me happy. Now I got to share my bed with one sicky husband and hoped that my two little sicky babies would be sick on the towels and not on me. Luckily we have a big bed and we all fit. The kids slept, but poor Josh spent more time in the bathroom than in bed.

9 AM, Thursday morning I should have been out of bed but it was just so nice to snuggle with my Joel & Olivia. I still wasn't feeling sick and was VERY happy for that. Josh wasn't so lucky. He didn't feel any better, which means he got some kind of mutated "Puke-Bug" because all the kids seemed to be feeling better after the initial "12 hour puke phase." Poor Josh.

Olivia gobbled up her breakfast and it stayed down so that was good. Damon was still demanding that he needed medicine for his "fake forced cough." (He's only 4 and already playing the faker card). Joel & Josh took opposites sides of the couch and watched cartoons until Joel feel asleep. After breakfast I was on laundry/clean-up/disinfecting patrol.

In the afternoon I had to get into town and decided to take Olivia with me. After 2 hours I was at the final stop of the day, I thought to myself, "I should probably change her pants before we go in." Too bad and so embarrassing for me, I neglected to heed that thought. I proceeded into the grocery store. We got through the produce and I headed towards the crackers when Olivia decided to stand up in the cart. This was nothing new, but when I reached around her bottom to get my hand underneath her legs to bend them so she could sit down, a stinky yellow substance rubbed off on my white sweatshirt. I saw it, and then I smelt it, and then I looked at the back of my sweet little girl. She had a Yellow Poo Surprise for me.......yippee! I parked our cart immediately and headed outside to the car. Luckily I had put her in a onsie that morning and that had taken the brunt of the explosion, so that came off and she was able to keep her long sleeve shirt on. Her jeans were also badly saturated, but it was so cold out and I didn't want her little legs to be exposed so I wiped out the inner legs as best I could, gave her a new dry diaper, and the poo jeans went back on. (Don't judge me yet.....that was the best thing I could have done and you will agree later on......just keep reading). I used numerous wipes but I could still smell us (her pants and my sweatshirt........why didn't I take off my sweatshirt and leave it in the car, I wasn't thinking clearly I guess). Every person we passed in the aisles I swear could smell our stink, but I was just trying to get done as fast as I could. All the while Olivia is slowing me down with her, I want a drink, I want a cracker, I want to stand up, I want you to carry me games.

I was only two aisles from being completed at the grocery store when "it" happened. I stopped to get some tortillas and a family was right next to my cart. I heard a slight rumbling sound and a strange look appeared on Olivia's face as she went from standing up in the cart to squatting. Then I saw "it." Oh, yes........yellow splatter shooting out the back of her pants towards those innocent tortillas consumers The splatter landed on the ground and more came out the back of her pants. I frantically pulled the back of her pants up, almost like a wedgie, to keep the eruption of poo contained, but I failed. It just kept coming and Olivia's little face was so determined to get it all out. I even tried to pull her shirt down in the back to cover up the nasty act of baby relief my daughter had preformed. Nothing worked. I was desperate to keep it all covered up and contained. In retrospect I should have grabbed a roll of paper towels and wrapped her in them, but I wasn't mentally prepared for such a public baby blow out.

At this point I was desperate to get to the checkout and so I buckled Olivia in as tight as I could and luckily I didn't have to wait in line. As I quickly put my items up for the checker I realized the worst wasn't over yet. In all the explosions I hadn't noticed the havoc that had taken place on my own groceries. Olivia's poo splatter landed on 3 different items. "Oh no......this is disgusting, I can't have the checker touch these, that would be so wrong," I thought to myself. So I placed everything but my poo items up for the checker and then tried to quietly explain that I didn't want her to touch the items and she let me scan them trough. She then commented that she had a child as well, I think she was trying to make me feel better, even though she could smell the stench we were both giving off. Poor checker. I bagged the poo items and was relived to get to the car. I stripped Olivia down, wiped her whole body and put her in the car seat with just a new diaper on. She laughed and giggled when I was putting her in her seat (obviously she felt so relieved to be out of those clothes). I loaded up the groceries into the back of the car and then wiped down cart as well. So that was my WORST grocery shopping experience EVER.

When I got home, Damon was pumped and helped with the groceries, Joel was still my sicky slug and Josh hadn't changed much for the better. I put all the groceries away, tried to get food in everyone, cleaned up the kitchen, rotated the laundry, and got all the kids in bed. Josh took some pills in hope of getting some relief from his mutated Puke-Bugs. Olivia snuggled up with daddy and went to sleep and Damon thought he could help dad feel better by telling him a story (even though by the time he got to dad, dad was already asleep......of course he stayed in bed next to dad anyway).

And now it is 1 AM Friday morning and hopefully my "24" week is almost over. Although I haven't been fighting terrorists, I've been fighting evil......evil sickness. I've been put to the test of rapid laundry rotation, and stopping poo. I've failed and succeeded but I've learned something. Always change your children's diapers when you think about it! Hopefully that never happens again and hopefully I don't get sick.

Valentines Photo Session

2009-02-22T22:15:00.000-08:00

These are the steps taken in order to get 3 children to take one good photo.

1) Chase children around in order to get them in coordinating clothes for the picture.
2) Wrangle them all to one area in order to take the picture.

3) Remove all toys from the area so they will be less distracted and will hopefully focus on the camera.

4) Put up the "Happy Valentine's Happy" background and continuosuly ask the kids to not rip it down.

5) Then say..................

"Please look at me!"

"Damon stop rolling your eyes"

"Joel, quit pulling on Olivia's hair!"

"Olivia, just stay right there for 10 seconds!" You guys, please don't rip those down................ aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh never mind!" And finally.............................."Yes we are all done!"

I love my little Valentines.

I get to love them all year long and for all the years to come and for all Eternity.

Pheasant Hunt Success

2009-02-15T22:15:00.000-08:00

Before Josh got married, had 3 kids, owned 2 dogs, and owned his own business, he had hobbies that he could do every weekend if he so pleased. Now he if wants to spend some time doing a "hobby" he has to schedule it in somewhere.

So Wednesday Josh headed out to test Rocco's skills as a bird dog. He may not have admitted it, but he was excited to test Rocco out and I know that if Rocco didn't preform, Josh was gonna be ticked.

Despite the snowy conditions Rocco prevailed and Josh came back with a large grin. Rocco found numerous pheasants, waited for the "flush" command and even honor pointed. They killed 19 pheasants and now we have pheasant in our freezer.

Damon was excited about the pheasant. One nice cheezy smile, thanks. Luckily this time Damon kept the pheasant outside. Last time Josh brought pheasant home Damon was so excited that he ran inside, then upstairs to find me and I screamed because he was holding a dead bird in front of me.

Damon's Dictionary

2009-02-11T22:14:00.000-08:00

My conversation with Damon tonight:

"So......what were you doing upstairs Damon?"
"I was upstairs cleaning up my bedroom & toyroom to make you happy and now I'm exasperated!"
"Exasperated?!?"
"Yeah....I'm exasperated."
"What does exasperated mean?"
"It means you don't want to clean up your room and just want to watch some nice, smooth TV."
"Oh, really."
"Yeah."

They're Here!

2009-02-08T22:27:00.000-08:00

Lucky for me these eggs are already out........ even before Valentine's Day. I LOVE THEM! I love them so much they are the first non-family realted photo on the Blog. So even though Easter is still over a month away......thank you Wal-Mart for putting these on your shelves for my consumption and expansion of my thighs and wasitline.

Eating Like a Weed

2009-02-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

We only have two plants in the entire house and both happen to be in the dining room on the floor. Bad placement when you have Olivia the Master Gardner in your house. Olivia thoroughly enjoys potting soil. She digs into the soil with her little hands and spreads it about on the floor. She also likes to taste test. If it's good enough for the plants..........then it's good enough for her. She is little Miss Mischievous!

Olivia's 1st Birthday

2009-01-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

Olivia turned 1 on January 2nd. Since the sick bug was still hanging around with some family members, we postponed the party. I couldn't let the day go uncelebrated so I made up some cupcakes and we did a little birthday for her. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it...the cupcake, the candle, the song, the attention. I can't believe this little girl is 1 already. Dad got this shot.....she is so cute!!! We had a family celebration later in the week when everyone was on the mend.

We got a nice picture of Olivia and Great Granny. She got lots of "girl toys" and had fun opening her presents. Thank you to everyone that came to the celebration.

Happy Birthday Olivia!

An Oat Ordeal

2009-01-22T22:33:00.000-08:00

I was doing the daily rountine of trying to accomplish/complete some work in the office today. I could hear SpongeBob SquarePants in the background so I knew what Damon was up to. The Olivia and Joel sounds were in the norm (squeals of glee and grunts of frustration). I came to a stopping point in my work and decided to check on my 3 perfect little angels.

This was the scene.

I should have known this was coming, just minutes before I saw Olivia walk past the office doors with one barrel of oats. I was unaware that Joel had the other barrel and he was more than willing to help Olivia get the lid off of hers. What do you do?!? I laughed because they both seemed to be having a good time. Joel was making motor sounds and bulldozing the oats so a larger area of the floor could be covered. Then he laid down and tried to make "Oat Angels." Olivia enjoyed the taste testing aspect of the whole Oat ordeal. Joel must have realized what kind of mess he had participated in making because he brought the broom to the scene of the crime.

So the wood floor got a treatment of Old Fashioned Oats & Quick Oats. Luckily no fluids were involved...........that would have been much worse.

The whole thing must have taken quite a lot out of Joel because he quit on the second stair and decided to just take a nap. One leg was holding up his body weight and as he fell into a deeper sleep it would relax. Then his body would start to slip off the stair and so his leg would tense back up. I watched his little body do that for a minute or two and then moved him someplace much more comfortable with a blanket. I love my "Roly-Poly Joel-y!" Or as Damon likes to call him, "Joel Bo." (No clue why, but that's what Damon likes to call him).

Damon said......

2009-01-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

Damon has been saying intersting things lately. Here are some more gems:

He went to his friends house today. When they came to drop him off, she let me know that he did pretty good and was well behaved. (sigh of relief) She then said, "Oh he said something that was really funny." (oh no....oh no) "Owen's mom, you're looking good today!" "Oh well thank you Damon."

He enjoys singing the Free Credit Report (dot) Com song from the commercials on TV.

"free credit repot dot com"

"so why am I dressed up in here like some notted bomb"

"its all because some packer stole my identity"

"now I'm in here saying"

"free credit report dot com"

(I guess that song is pretty catchy. The real version should play on the PlayList down below).

We got Kung Fu Panda for Christmas. Damon has only watched it 2 or 3 times, but that's all it takes. I was in the kitchen asking Damon what he wanted for lunch. His reponse was, "Mom, do you really want to make noodles all your life?" (In the movie, Po the Panda wants to "Kung Fu" instead of make noodles at the restaurant with his dad).

The "Blue Genie".....Correction, Wise Man

2008-12-23T00:23:00.000-08:00

So we got a nativity set and I am quite happy. With Damon's daily request to drive him to Toys R Us so he can pick out the toys he wants from Santa, now i can emphasize the TRUE meaning of Christmas. The other night we told the kids the story of baby Jesus and let them each put the pieces of the nativity in the stable. There was one Wise Man that happened to be dressed in blue and Damon had to have his hands on that one. The story went over well, but Damon couldn't part with the blue Wise Man. We asked him to put the Wise Man with the other Wise Men, but he looked at us puzzled and referred to the figure as "the blue genie." It must have been the hat and Damon's new love of wizards/abracadabra/and casting imaginary spells. (He's been watching a little too much of The Backyardigans which is a cartoon where the characters imagine themselves to be wizards, cowboys, secret agents, robots, etc). I've been correcting him ever since, but he continues to refer to the Wise Man as "The Blue Genie." So the "Blue Genie" has found a new home with all of Damon's other favorite blue things. This BLUE treasure also consists of blue paper clips all hooked together, all my blue hair elastics, chapstick that has a blue label, blue Dinoco Cars, and maybe some non-blue airplanes if they are lucky! Damon also jacked 1 Beanie Baby out of a giant bin because it was blue. Now the blue bird named "Rocket" and "The Blue Genie" are Damon's blue buddies.

Santa's Helpers

2008-12-22T15:43:00.000-08:00

Friday night we celebrated cousin Logan's birthday and when we finally arrived home, someone else had been in our home. Luckily it was a Christmas Surprise in Damon & Joel's bedroom. It appeared that Santa, or maybe just his helpers, had come and dropped off a mini tree with lights & ornaments along with a special John Deere Tractor/Santa blanket. Damon was SUPER excited and kept saying, "Holy jet-packs!!!" while jumping up, down, and around. Then he had to turn off the room light to see the full effect of the Christmas tree lights. I had to get a picture and as you can see, just 1 never works when trying to capture 3 kids.

Damon was the most excited, Joel acted excited because Damon was excited, and Olivia was just trying to "taste" all the new ornaments.
Thank you Santa's Helpers (Great Granny, Grandma, & Aunt Bobbi)!

The Ninja

2008-12-22T14:42:00.001-08:00

I had some premade frosting in the fridge, ya know the kind in the short little tub for those of us who like to bake & make the EASY way. Well, Damon was also very aware of the frosting in the fridge. While the rest of us were upstairs Damon kept taking little breaks and running downstairs. I was in denial that he was up to no good. Hours later we came downstairs to start on dinner. On the counter top was the lid to the frosting tub, but no frosting tub insight. I looked at Josh and Josh looked at me, and the search was on.

We checked the garbage to see if he polished off the container even though it was 3/4 full. No container. We checked the fridge to see if he put the frosting back just minus the lid. No frosting. We checked the dining table, phone desk, and the garbage can in the bathroom......no frosting. Soon we found the frosting out by the TV, with one large severing spoon in the container (for Damon a small normal sized spoon just would not have worked for this type of eating task).

We called Damon downstairs and brought up the fact that the frosting had been eaten and was out by the TV.
Josh asked, "Damon, do you know how this frosting got out here in the living room?"
Oh, the ninja ate it.
The Ninja?!?
Yeah the sneaky ninja got the frosting and ate it out here.

Of course this is the answer he gives whenever he (Damon aka "The Ninja") has done something he knows he shouldn't have. He blames it on this mysterious and mischievous ninja character.

We gave him a chance to tell the truth but he insisted that it was the ninja. We knew he was lying and so he was sent to his room. We could care less about eating frosting, but the lying doesn't go over well. But we really do enjoy the ninja stories because who else blames things on a ninja?!?

SNOW

2008-12-21T22:15:00.000-08:00

Every winter I wish for snow and this year I got it. Some hate it, but I like it. There's something about snow.........it's exciting and I don't really have an answer as to why. On regular days I don't wake up in the morning and think, "Yippee it's sunny!" or "Fantastico, it's raining!" But when there's snow outside my reaction is......."Ooooohhhhhh Goodie!" Funny how that is too, because I don't rush outside to play in the snow or have the time to sit and watch the flakes fall. I just like the winter wonderland that snow makes.

So we got some snow earlier in the week, but on Friday afternoon I finally went out with kids to play in it. I bundled up Olivia and we headed down to our cul-de-sac where the guys were working on a snowman. (I know......this girl needs a pink hat).

Damon was trying to throw snowballs at the dogs. Once he stopped that, then dad became his next target. Josh made a snowball and then wowed me with his sauve balancing skills. To keep Joel amused, we took some runs down the hill on the "Sled-Trike." We got some speed and he laughed during each and every ride so it must have been a good time. (Josh and Damon tried out this technique the night before in the dark. Those two guys tend to live a little more dangerously. They were starting at the TOP of the hill and riding ALL the way down, whereas Joel and I were only doing a half run. I think Josh admitted later on that he almost had a near fatal accident........luckily it was "almost."

So the snow is here........we'll see how long it stays!

The Best Gift

2008-12-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

Josh is a man of many talents. I started to think about all the things he has made and accomplished in the past months. "Count your blessings, name them one by one" and I am very blessed to have such a talented husband.

Excavated around our property so we can park next to the garage and could have a big backyard.
Moved large rocks numerous times because I didn't like where they were, and then moved them a few more times.
Built a fence to my Molly Standard (luckily we are a lot alike so our standards are similar).
Installed a whole lot of sod for the backyard.
Cut down numerous tree limbs because I wanted our upper yard to look more maintained/better.
Made Damon & Joel new beds.
Designed and decorated one jet cake for Damon.
Re-grouted our tile floors so they look pretty & clean again.
Did a whole lot of touch up paint around our house (We did such an awesomely bad job the first time because we just wanted to move in as soon as possible).
Added some chair rail moldings in the guest bathroom because I wanted something to class it up.
Installed decorative shelves so our home looks a little more lived in. (We've taken the slow train on this one, but we're working on it).
Now he's using his skills on Christmas presents.

As Christmas approaches and we think about all the "stuff" we "want" (not "need") just think about your family and all they do for you. This may sound silly/mushy, but I know my family loves me because all they do. Josh has done all those things to make me happy, and I know that because he usually asks, "Is this how you want it?" "Is this where you want the rock?" "How far do you want the fence to come from the house?" "Which way do you want these gates for the fence to open?" So the gifts are nice at Christmas time, but that's only 1 day out of the year. We can buy stuff, or we can treat each other with love and respect. I'll take love & respect.

More Dog Bones

2008-12-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

Ah.....Joel. Sometimes I think he wants to be like his four legged friends, Tank & Rocco. Joel loves the dogs. When the dogs wake in the morning and whine in the garage, that's Joel's alarm clock. Lately the dogs have been sleeping inside since it has been so cold. Now they don't whine when they wake, but the tags on their collars jingle and that is all it takes to wake Joel.

Joel will pull on the dogs tails, sit on Tank and bounce up & down like he's on a horse, sit with the dogs on the rugs by the door, and even enjoys getting in Rocco's kennel and laying in there like it's his little home.

His new favorite thing to do with the dogs is to feed them. Just the other day I was upstairs with Olivia and I could hear the dogs chewing up something. I was afraid it was another Christmas ornament and hurried downstairs. No Christmas ornamnets were being harmed (thank goodness).....instead Joel had the entire bag of dog bones out. Rocco was in his kennel and Joel was shoving dog bones thru the door as quickly as he could. There was a pile of bones and Rocco couldn't eat them fast enough. Tank had a pile of dog bones as well, but he must of had his share because he was no longer interested in what Joel was offereing. (While looking for some pictures on my camera, it appears that Damon was nice enough to document the dog bone episode. Prior to me showing up on the scene). I took the bag away from Joel as he protested in anger. I put the unchewed bones back in the bag (there were 10-15 bones) and took the bag back to the laundry room. Joel followed me and giggled in delight as he pulled two more bones and ran like a thief to get his loot to his comrades. Tank and Rocco are loved. If only I could get Joel to take them for walks and discard of all their poo in the backyard.

D-Money

2008-12-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

Another gem courtesy of Damon:

The other day Damon was laying on the couch with a blanket.....just being quiet and relaxing (which is unusual behavior for this guy). Josh came in the room and we started talking about something. He asked where the kids were and before I could explain their whereabouts,

Damon chimed in: I'm over here dad.
Josh: Hey, D-Money! What are you doing?
Damon: D-Money's tired.

It was funny because we have referred to Damon as "D-Money" lots of times, but this time, he actually acknowledged himself as D-Money.

Oh Christmas Tree Trauma

2008-12-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

With some sunny weather on our side we decided to get our Christmas tree today. Damon was pretty excited and wandered through the trees trying to find the "perfect" one. He picked one 10 feet tall and extra fat, unfortunately he had to settle on one that would fit in the living room. While focused on keeping Olivia warm, I failed to move Joel out of the way of the falling tree. So poor Joel got pummeled by the tree. The tree trauma left Joel a little shaken, but luckily no injuries were incurred.Josh "He-Maned" the tree out of the tree farm while I carried Olivia, one sad Joel, and a saw. Always an adventure, but at least I got some pictures!

"Thanks Dad"

2008-12-01T22:10:00.000-08:00

Every night Damon & Joel get tucked into their beds and get their hugs & kisses from mom and dad. After we exit their room, we usually head downstairs to start the revival & recovery mission which is really just the cleanup from the kids' daily routine of destruction from the day. It is quiet in the house for a short while......and then it starts. The sounds of little feet scurrying around upstairs. Next come the giggles and other noises indicating that those two little turkies are out of their beds and goofing off.

Tonight was no different. After listening to them upstairs for a while, Josh headed back upsatirs to "take care of business." From the kitchen this is what I heard:

Josh - "Joel and Damon get back in bed. It's bedtime!
A few grunts and giggles from Joel indicated that we was being drug back to his bed. Next came the sound of Damon getting his butt swat, followed by crying which stoped quickley so he (Damon) could say, "Thanks dad! (in an angry voice)
Josh - "What?" (starting to laugh) "What did you say Damon?"
Damon - "Yeah dad, thanks a lot, Josh Bucko-Head!" (one of Damon's fake curse word)

Josh burst into laughter and then Damon got attacked by tickles and they were both laughing. Who thanks their dad for getting their butt swat? Damon does. It must be the new mature 4 year old thing to do.

Playin Hard

2008-11-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

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"

2008-11-22T17:39:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-19T15:30:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-07T21:21:00.000-08:00

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!