Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Field Trip to the Betts' Farm

We visited the Betts' home to see their baby goats. So adorable! I loved how they would run after their mommy and latch on to nurse for a few seconds then frolick some more.

Johnny and Justin didn't want to get too close. They preferred being on the other side of the fence feeding them bread.


Thank you David for inviting us over.

J.R. + Scissors = Disaster



Big Justin's visit

Big Justin drove all the way down to Woodburn to see us a few weeks back. My boys were so excited for his visit. Jared even left him a little treat on his pillow to welcome him.
Trying to take a picture before church is usually a challenge. :)

Come see us again Big Justin!

Halloween 2010

Here's a few fun shots from Halloween. The big boys posed for one picture with cousin Reaghan and were off. They knew they would cover more ground trick-or-treating with Aunt Mim than with us. BTW, Jared is holding his rock for Aunt Mim. :) Last year my boys told her after every house, "I got a rock!" She got really tired of hearing this.
John, BJ, and I took the little guys. Our cowboy and Indian were a real hit! We are definitely getting good use out of our costumes. :)



War Paint

Since I had a few Indians this year for Halloween, Jesse watched one of his Daniel Boone movies and illustrated how an Indian's war paint should look. Pretty scary, huh?

Happy Birthday BJ!

BJ celebrated his 35th birthday the day after Judson's. I can't believe how old my hubby is now! So true that you still feel 22 inside. Ha!

For all of you that attended the Kuykendall reunion/Grandpa and Grandma K's birthday celebration this year, you will understand this gift! Jared made a ton of fake dollars, taped them together and put them in a box to be pulled out. Grandma and Grandpa were each given a decorated box this past summer full of taped together real dollar bills!
The evening of BJ's birthday, John and Sally took us out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. We had a wonderful time. Due to some delays, John and Sally were 45 minutes late. This meant we had a lot of time to kill at our table waiting. Thank goodness they bring out snack plates for babies! Towards the end of our meal our waitress handed BJ $40 from the couple that had been sitting behind us. She said they wanted to bless our family because she was blessed by watching our children. We thought that was very kind. I will say, our boys did do pretty good considering how long they had to sit at the table. Now, the next evening our family grabbed taco bell while we were out and about. Let's just say BJ and I were mortified by our boys' behavior. We shoveled our food down, grabbed the little ones and ran out of there embarrassed. BJ and I looked at each other and laughed, "we wouldn't be given any money tonight!" Just keeping us humble. :)

Happy Birthday Beege! I love you more now than ever. xxxoo

Judson's first birthday!

October 27th Judson Lee turned one! This little guy has been such a blessing to our family. When I think back to his birth, he was born at a time when our lives were totally out of the norm; a year filled with so much uncertainty regarding BJ's job. Those first few months with a new infant were very trying at times. I remember feeling so overwhelmed without the flexibility BJ's youth pastor job allowed. You can't come and go in construction! We don't know what we would have done without our friends. They loved on us, encouraged us, fixed us meals, watched our older boys, and most importantly reminded us that children our a blessing from the Lord. Having a large family, while full of blessings, has its challenges. There are those who look down on families with more than "the perfect two". I have felt tremendous pressure to have it all together so people frowning on us could not say/think the usual comments...."why did you have so many kids?" Thank goodness for Godly friends in our life who were and are a constant source of inspiration... and the occasional Duggar episodes we were able to watch!
All that to say, our family can't imagine life without baby Dud! We love you little pickles! (Gotta love Justin's nickname for him. :)


The boys made posters of character qualities they desired for Jud's life. We hope this establishes a new tradition. :)

Monday, November 29, 2010

It seems climbing in the dishwasher is a milestone in every child's life. :)

These are kind of random shots, but I thought they were cute! I love the lincoln log buildings Justin creates....wobbly and really tall. This cabin even has a playground out back. :)

We finally started piano lessons for Jared and Jesse. I am so happy that we are back at it. This is Jesse's first year and he is doing great. Jared is doing well too, but misses Aunt Linda's lessons a lot.
Jared took Jesse under his wing last year and it looks like Jesse will be doing the same with his younger brothers. :)

Playing Together

The beginning of all five boys playing together! Although still rare, I enjoyed seeing all of them "farming" together. This special moment lasted a short while....then Jud was back to getting into everything! :)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

This is always Daddy's job....thank goodness! I feel really fortunate to be married to a guy that takes on these messy seasonal traditions. (Dyeing eggs is his baby too!)
Justin loved being a big boy and scooping out his own pumpkin. As you can tell by the picture, he took his job very seriously!Daddy pretty much did all of Johnny's pumpkin. J.R. does not like to get his hands dirty. I know from experience that he will not always be this way. :)
I was impressed with Jared's carving. He didn't even ask for help. My firstborn is growing up so fast.

Jesse's cracked me up. He made this expression on his pumpkin to match one of his silly faces. Pretty close, wouldn't you say?

Grandma Connie's visit

My mom came for a visit in October. The boys always get more reading time in when she is here!

Justin celebrated his birthday again....lucky!


My mom was showing the boys pictures from her trip. The boys were really into certain pics and kept asking to see them over and over again. :)
It was nice to show my mom a few of the changes in Woodburn and have her attend church with us on Sunday. We are looking forward to her next trip up.

Our goat, sheep, horse, cow, and pig....

Unfortunately we visited Bauman Farms when they were closing. I still can't believe we didn't spend more time there. I guess there is always next year!

Siver Falls

One Monday in October we took the boys to Silver Falls State Park. The weather was so beautiful...and with the rain pouring down right now, it was good we went when we did. :)


We had a good time hiking around, but I was sore and tired when we were done. I think all the boys were pretty exhausted. On the walk back to the suburban Jesse was giving J.R. piggy back rides because I couldn't carry him anymore!

This little guy had the easiest time...a comfortable ride six feet up!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Our new park

Before the rains hit, we were able to find a new place to walk/ride. We do have to drive there, which isn't as convenient as our Centralia home, but since this is a park, the boys enjoy being able to play on the playground too.




J.R. loves the slight incline here. Look at those legs as he rides his mot-e-cycle!