MagMadness MONDAY!!!

Just as I suspected....

After gushing about the sweetness and adorableness, which are my children, last week, I was fully prepared for Murphy's Law to take effect and, let me tell you, it has come with a vengeance. I don't know if it's possible for four year olds to suffer from PMS. But every sign is there-minus the cramps and bloating. I'm not ready for this, people, and I have three girls. Oy vay! A typical morning has gone like this:

BROOKE: Mom, I'm hunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyy!

MOM: OK, what would you like for breakfast?

BROOKE: I just can't decide.

MOM: How about cereal?

BROOKE: I don't WANT cereal.

MOM: OK, how about a waffle?

BROOKE: I don't LIKE waffles.

MOM: But you had a waffle yesterday, and you seemed to like it just fine.

BROOKE: But I just don't like them.

MOM: Well, then, it looks like cereal is your only option. You can have Kix or Cheerios.

BROOKE: But I just don't know what to have.

MOM: How about Kix?

BROOKE: No I don't WANT Kix.

MOM: How about Cheerios?

BROOKE: No, I don't WANT Cheerios.

MOM: Well, you must not be that hungry, then, so come back when you're ready to eat.

BROOKE: But I AM hungry!

MOM: You have 1 minute to decide, then breakfast is over.

BROOKE: But I just don't know what to have!

MOM(to herself) For the love, child, get a grip on yourself and pick a cereal!!! Hey Rachel-can I fix you a waffle for breakfast?

RACHEL: Sure Mom!

BROOKE: Mom, I think I want a waffle, too.

I give up. It's a good thing they're cute.

THE MANY FACES OF BROOKE............

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This weekend we took the kids on a hike to Boulder Creek, a relatively easy trail that runs along a river with lots of pretty waterfalls. We had lots of fun, and, of course, Rachel turns off her hearing when we tell her to NOT get in the water. She went in waist deep, and we still had 2 miles to walk back. That girl..........

Rachel has been begging us for weeks to go to Denny's for breakfast. Why? Who knows....
So we indulged her before the hike, and she was in heaven! Before she got her food, she was coloring the kid menu picture and said, "This is the best day EVER!" Oh, so easy to please! After her delicious breakfast of waffles with whipped cream and bacon on the side, she asked, "So who's idea was this, anyway?" I said, "It was Dad's." She looked up at him and said, "Dad, you have a really good brain for thinking of this plan!" Way to go, Dad's brain!

Smiley sisters before the hike.....not so smiley after:)

I love these people.

We found a "secret" tunnel under a tree. Rachel wasn't sure about it at first. Brooke had to lead the way.

Not the best picture, but we all need a few of those, right? She's gonna hate me later.

Everyone did great, despite the long trek!


The scenery was beautiful-except for that big stick in the way.

Dad and girls at work constructing a dam. This is a favorite activity whenever we're exploring by a creek.

The girls posing on top of their completed bridge/dam thingy. They were so proud.

One of the pretty waterfalls we passed. It reminded us of those we saw in Hawaii. Just goes to show you don't have to pay big bucks to see beautiful things? When it's not raining, it's very enjoyable here.

So tired from a long day....but a fun one!

MagMadness MONDAY!!!

I'm not quite sure what to write about today. It's been a typical Monday here at the Mag house. I had my braces tightened, which is always a thrill, and we did a little yard work. Today is one of those days I want to bottle up and open again when we're in the middle of the rainy winter. It's sunny and warm, with just enough of a breeze to keep it comfortable. Brooke and I sat on a blanket and ate lunch, as we pondered how to clean up our neglected front yard. She had some great decorating ideas for the porch which included using rainbows, unicorns and windsocks. I'm not quite sure how to tastefully incorporate all three. Any ideas?
Anyway, I loved today. And I love my girls. I'm sure this is where some of you will tune out....
Yes, we have children and they can definitely be children, but they're mine and I adore them. I love when they wake up (preferably after 7:30am) and I love when they come home from school. I love hearing them sing and pretend and talk about their day.
Today was a good day. And because I believe in the yin and yang, and opposition in all things, I am fully prepared for tomorrow to stink. But, as my Dad always says, "Variety is the spice of life." Otherwise, it would be so boring, right? In the meantime, I will enjoy them while they're enjoyable. Take a look at these faces.........

MagMadness MONDAY!!!

I asked the girls what they thought I should write about today. Brooke said, "Saying thank you", (she was still feeling good from church), and Rachel said, "Little House on the Prairie". Two of my favorite topics-how do I choose? I choose neither. Instead, I will talk about something entirely unrelated to that, yet equally as important...... ME.

So, I have entered into a new phase of life. I enjoy these transitions because they cause me to reevaluate my priorities and start afresh. Rachel began the first grade(CRAZY!) and Brooke started pre-school 3 days a week. So, with the baby napping in the morning, I actually get some quiet time to do....what? That is the question. With so many things to do, that would be so much easier to accomplish without the interruption of children, where do I begin? I was having this inner turmoil on my first morning of quiet. There was not a sound to be heard. Do I revel in it and take a nap? Do I begin some neglected project from years past? Do I clean without the fear that some child's feet will trample across the freshly mopped floor? What do I do? I'll tell you what I did. I read Eclipse-the third book in the infamous Twilight series. Now, you can make fun all you want, and I deserve it, but I tell you what, I need CLOSURE, people. I've invested too much of my life to throw it by the wayside now.
Shawn does not understand this issue. Just last night, in fact, I was sighing loudly at each page turn, as I was painfully trying to finish the book, and Shawn said, "Why are you torturing yourself? Just stop reading it." What? Stop reading? You mean-BEFORE the end of the book? I physically can not do that. Why? The answer is CLOSURE. I need closure to feel like I can shut the door and move on. Shawn does not have this issue. He can decide in his mind that the conversation is over, and close it, or decide it's time to leave a party, and leave. Or the book is too slow, or the TV show is too predictable, and he'll shut it off. WOW. If only...
I need to know how things finish. I need to feel like everything is put in it's place before I move on. This is just the way it is. So, until I find out if Bella becomes a vampire, the neglected projects, the clean house, and the nap(sigh) will have to wait.
Do you have closure issues? If, so, in what way? And if you don't have closure issues, how do you cope? Let's start a healthy dialogue.
(And to those of you reading Breaking Dawn, is it worth it to keep going? because I don't know how much more I can take...)

WE'RE BACK!

Yes-We are resuming our spot in the blog-o-sphere. It's been a while and we have a lot to catch up on, so bear with us as we fill you in on our fun filled summer. It might take a while to get through, (but not as long as it took me to post all the photos), so go get a snack and get ready to take a trip down MagMemory Lane:

FUN WITH THE BAILEY FAMILY!

When we came home from Twin Lakes, we were so excited to hear the Bailey Family would be in Seattle the next week. We had such a fun time with them and love all of those cute kids to pieces. Here are some of the highlights:




We took the kids to Deception Pass-one of our favorite places to visit in the Puget Sound area. The kids loved playing on the beach, but weren't so sure about crossing the very high bridge that goes over the channel. Rachel, despite hearing me say, "This is NOT swimming water," decided to take a dip in all of her clothes. We try not to think about the swift current that could have taken her away-I like to go to my happy place for that one:) It was a fun and beautiful day!




After church, Elissa and I looked through some of my cookbooks, and she found this great recipe called "Easter Basket Cake". It called for a cake mix, frosting, coconut, jelly beans and some kind of branch to make it look like a handle. Thanks to the fact that I borrowed coconut from Kamille, and never gave her the bag I bought for her as a thank you-I had all of the ingredients. SWEET! I still owe you, Kams. We had fun making our Easter treat in August and it was suprisingly dee-lish.




Thanks to Grandpa Jim, we were able to take the boat out for a fun outing around Lake Stevens. The Bailey kids were so brave and tried tubing and knee-boarding. They did fantastic! It was a beautiful day, and so fun to spend it with a terrific family. They left that night to spend a few days in Seattle and we joined them for a day at the Science Center and Space Needle. I was surprised at how much the kids loved it, they are still talking about how fun it was. We took them to see a 3-D IMAX movie, and it was so cute to see the kids reaching their hands out to try to touch the fish as they seemed to swim right in front of us. Here are some of pictures of some of their favorite parts:


I don't know how to rotate this picture, but the kids loved the dinosaur exhibit!


There was a little booth where they made their own aliens. Some of the names they gave them were very creative-of course, I can't remember them. But still, very creative. Sorry-I didn't get any pictures of the boys' creations, but they were equally as creepy.



The kids were able to meet a real astronaut and get his autograph. Very cool. Rachel was not so sure because she is going through an "I don't want to ever go to space because I might get sucked into a black hole" stage. A pretty legitimate worry, right?




The girls and I took a quick trip to the top of the Space Needle. Apparently, the rest of Seattle had the same idea and it was very crowded. The girls didn't seem to mind and loved the elevator ride, and the view, of course, is amazing. Then we met up with the Baileys at their hotel. We had so much fun with them, and the girls really missed their cousins when they left. We can't say enough about how much we enjoyed them. Heather and Mike are amazing parents and the kids are so good and adorable, we hope it's not too long before we see them again!


OREGON OR BUST!

After the Bailey's left we were off to the Oregon Coast for a week of camping. This was the first time our family has taken a long trip like this with just us five, and I have to say, we were all looking forward to exploring and taking each day as it came with no schedule or time constraints. We didn't realize how much driving we would actually end up doing, which was kind of a downer, and the baby definitely adds an exciting element to the plans, but besides all of that, it was a fun trip where lots of great memories were formed. Every day was a new adventure and the scenery(when you could see it through the fog)was breathtaking!

DAY 1-We drove to a place at the southern tip of Washington called Cape Disappointment, but the girls so lovingly dubbed it, "The Rock Beach". Our campsite was next to a big rock and climbing tree and the girls had a blast climbing to the top. The beach was next to a big cliff that the girls loved exploring around. Shawn's inner boy came out and he was happy exploring through the caves and climbing around the rocks.



DAY 2-Although we would have loved to have stayed longer, Cape Disappointment really disappointed us the next morning with some misty rain and fog, so we left and drove south to Astoria, Oregon. We spent the day at Shipwreck Beach, named after the fact it has the rusty bow of a ship sticking out of the sand. Apparently, it's a very popular spot for photos. There was a model in a wedding gown doing a photo shoot, so when she left, we had to get some pictures of our little models...




We loved playing on this beach. The sand is really fine and great for sand castles. Rachel amused us with not one, but several "serious" poses:



I was tired of holding Kristina away from the sand so I just let her have at it and here are the results:



We spent the next two nights at one of my favorite beaches of the entire trip. It reminded me of the scene from Anne of Green Gables where Anne and Diana are running alone the grassy sand dunes. It was so picturesque. I loved it! The girls flew kites that night and ran and ran through the dunes to make footprints and we enjoyed falling asleep to the sound of the ocean. Appropriate that we named this beach the "Sand Dune Beach"



Again-sorry for the inability to rotate.

I wish we would have spent more time at this beach, but because we were so close to Cannon Beach, which is a very popular spot, we decided to spend the day there. It was very pretty and looks like it's right out of the movie, Goonies.


We stopped to admire the view-so beautiful! Another great pose from Rachel...



A highlight of the trip for this cheese lover, was touring the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We got to see our favorite cheese packaged right before our very eyes. It was so exciting! Then we devoured some very delicious ice cream before we headed off to our next campsite.





Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma, we took the tent-trailer and camped in style. And what's a trip without bringing along some movies?




One of my least favorite parts of the trip was frequenting public restrooms. It is a phobia of mine, there is just nothing pleasant about it, especially with kids-and girls for that matter who have to sit-ugh! But seeing as we were camping there was no avoiding it. I was surprised at the general cleanliness of the state parks. But when your at the beach, well, the ocean is your toilet, right? Or so my kids thought. There were many moments where it was obvious what they were doing. (Picture Brooke pulling her bathing suit to the side and squatting.) This is when i pretend they don't belong to me. The pinnacle of grossness came when we took the kids on a short hike to a water fall and, of course, Brooke had to go #2. What choice do you have in the middle of no where but to find a bush and do your thing, right? The problem was that Brooke announced to the rest of the hikers that she was going to find a secret spot to poop. Nice. There was no pretending she wasn't mine. Here is a picture of us on the trail right before we found the "secret spot".



We moved on to a place we liked to call "the PlayGround Beach". Our campsite was right next to the park playground. It was nice to be able to sit in the trailer and watch the kids play, but it wasn't nice to see kids too old for the playground making out with their boyfriend/girlfriend. Please, people. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this charming scene. The girls loved it, though. It was surprisingly cold and windy here, so there was no playing on the beach. We decided to go to the Oregon State Aquarium for the day.

Rachel made friends with a sea otter. He came right up to the glass and was letting Rachel put her hand on the glass. It was so cute. The girls got to touch all kinds of sea creatures and see lots of different sharks and fish.

As we drove to our last campsite, we were amazed by some very beautiful scenery. We couldn't wait to explore the beach, so we set up camp and quickly made dinner. Just as we were eating our last bites, the fog rolled in and never left. We were so sad to end our trip this way, but we had a great time and have lots of fun talking about the many things we got to do and see. Now on to the next adventure:

GRANDMA ROLPH AND PAPAW!!!!!

We were beside ourselves with excitement for Grandma and Papaw to come visit! It was much too short, but we loved every second and the girls got lots of play time in with them. Of course, they spoiled them with love and fun activities and gifts the girls love love love. Shawn and I got to steal Dad away for a hike to Mount Pilchuck. It was so good to see them. We miss them so much already!
Dad and I at Granite Falls
Our hike to Mount Pilchuck was beautiful. Despite a slight shoe malfunction, we made it down okay. Washington is gorgeous!


Grandma and the girls made a blanket for cousin baby Eddie who will be arriving in November!

Papaw and Rachel reading about Mummies-of course!
We love you and miss you Grandma and Papaw!!!!!!!!!!

We hope you've enjoyed looking at our many adventures this past month. Since this has taken me all day to do, due to slow computer, many breaks to assist children, and to nourish myself with plenty of junk food, you all better leave comments. We'll resume MagMadness Monday next week along with updates on the new school year, etc. Love you all!