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My sister-in-law told me I don't blog enough so I'm trying to play catch-up. There are three new blogs following this. Take a look.

The much anticipated...

... pictures of our house!! It has only been seven months. Truthfully I wanted to make it look at least halfway decent. I had a few projects that HAD to be done before I would post any pictures.

Here it is before. I think the front "hay" had been cut at least.

And now the after!!

I have been working hard trying to make it presentable. The porch rail was the worst. It made the house look really crappy so I painted it white. It was easy to hide it at Christmas. I draped cedar garland over it and wrapped red ribbon around the posts, but when I took it down I just hated it. We had a couple of nice days in January so I got out my primer and paintbrush. Just getting the primer on made a huge difference. Oh, and if the grass looks unnaturally green it's because Brandon photoshopped it!

This is the left side of the yard. It's hard to tell, but our property goes to the road which is just before the red house.

And the right side. Again the property goes way over. Almost to the neighboring house. In all it is 1 1/4 acre. We love it!!
I've put in a garden and we are tearing out stuff that we don't like, including some very pokey Hawthorne trees and a dog run. Next to move is this random arbor in the middle of the yard. That will become a greenhouse. All the "working" stuff will be on the left side so we have the right, more private, side of the yard for fun and entertaining. It will be a few years until the yard is really what we want, but we've made some pretty good strides so far. Anyway, we'll keep you updated.

Hyrum

Mischevious...

and super sweet!

He is ALWAYS asking to hold the baby. He loves Jonah so much. Maybe a little too much. Lately he's been squishing Jonah with his hugs, but it's better than the alternative, a one-two punch, which is how he shows his affection to Sterling. Ah, the joys of being two. He is also really concerned about Jonah. Whenever the baby is crying, Hyrum yells, "Baby's cryring!" That's not a typo, that's really how he pronounces it. Hy is a sweet boy who loves to cuddle and play outside. He is a ton of fun.

Our preschool graduate

This is a little late but I try to pretend I have an excuse. Ok, I really do. Keeping up with three kids is a lot of work! But I digress. The real reason for this post is to celebrate Sterling!! I can't believe I have a kindergartner :(.

Sterling has had a great year in preschool with Brandon's mom as his teacher. It has given them a special time to bond that not many grandkids get! Plus, he's made great strides socially. He takes a lot after me and is very shy. Really doesn't like to step out of his comfort zone. He's also made a very good friend named Colby who will be going to the same school for Kindergarten. We're pretty excited. And without further ado, the pictures.

Sterling and his friends Grady (middle) and Colby.

Getting his diploma from Teacher Bobbi, aka Gram.

Cousin Tanner who was in the same preschool but a different class, and...

Cousin McKade, same deal.

Singing songs for everyone. Hyrum had to join in. The funny thing was these three were way over at the end and totally rocking out to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It was really cute!

Anyway, it was really emotional for me! Last year was nothing because he was just moving up, but now he's moving on to Elementary school and I'm not sure I'm ready for school buses and class everyday. But, such is life. My Sterling is so sweet!

Trip to Mount St. Helens!

I've always been captured by Mount St. Helens. It's majestic to look at but awe-inspiring to consider the power it contains!



I went to St. Helens the first time when I was 9. I went again after my mission with my geology class but fog covered the entire mountain and not once did I get to see it.

So we were so glad on Memorial Day that the weather was so nice for our family trip! Sterling had been watching countless St. Helens documentaries with me on YouTube.

In all her glory! You can see how the North Side is gone, though in the last 29 years, there's been a little build up!

Sterling had a good time!
Hyrum definitely added some new words to his vocabulary like, "mountain" and "volcano" and "pyroclastic flow." OK, OK, I made the last one up!
Mommy, pulling a Michael Jackson on our child and holding him over the railing! Not really, but it'd be quite the drop!

We were at the Johnston Ridge Observatory. This is the official national park observatory but it costs $8 per adult, the video they show isn't as good as it used to be and the learning areas haven't changed since I can remember. Next time, we'll just go to the lookout right next to it (free) and then go to the free visitor's center run by Weyerhaeuser (and someone else).

I think one of the highlights of the Johnston Ridge Observatory was watching Hyrum jump up and down on the little seismograph machine they had here. It was cute since he can't jump with both feet very well yet. Here's the video:



One more picture I thought was cute: Sterling with the volcano in the reflection of his glasses!

Here's the aforementioned free visitor's center:


Sterling was a great Eagle:

And I think Hyrum wanted to claw the inside of the claw!
The boys even had a chance to take a "ride" in a helicopter:


This photo just blows my mind. Hyrum looks like he's 14 or something. He's so skinny looking in this picture.

Of course, on the ride home, Hyrum kicked the bucket:

Hyrum falling asleep took about half the noise away, leaving me to just take in the wonderful scenery...

So I've been in 29 of the 48 continental states. And I swear Washington is the prettiest state around. Downside: to make things so green, we must receive excessive rain. But that's another story.

Just in case we hadn't done enough for one day, we got a couple of the $5 pizzas from Little Caesar's and ate them in the park.

Is it just me or is the best part of these the burnt cheese at the crust:

And, since it was a wild and crazy day (but oh so sweet), I figured I'd put one last picture of Sterling being wild and crazy (but oh so sweet).

- Brandon

Changing the A/C.

So, my father is a very knowledgeable car guy... I mean, my dad REALLY knows about cars. He teaches it. He has his own textbook:

So, growing up, he fixed all our cars for us. And I never had to worry about it. So I didn't learn a thing. It wasn't until I got married and Sarah knew how to change the oil in our car and I didn't have a clue that I figured I should learn a thing or two.

Trust, me, I've gotten better.

And yet...

It's inevitable that I need my dad's help. So, here's a guy who has seen it all. But he usually ends up seeing the worst stuff ever when helping me.

Yesterday, we worked on Sarah's van. The A/C just hasn't been working right. I didn't even have a clue that the van has a cabin filter that's hiding in the depths of the van. I mean, you have to access it through the back of the glove compartment.

Before we pulled my own cabin filters out, my dad showed me what my mom's cabin filter looked like that he had just changed. It looked like a dirty air filter.

Example of a clean one and dirty one, side-by-side:


And then there were my cabin filters (well, Sarah's):

Yep, they really are that bad!!!

Those darned trees in North Carolina :)!
So, yeah, I know what you're thinking: pretty pathetic. My dad thought so. He put them in a bag to keep and show his students. I said "Dad, is there any chance you can at least leave my name out of it?" His response: "Not a big chance."

- Brandon

Little sister's wedding!

My little sister Brittney, with whom I had an awesome relationship growing up, got married! Her husband Paul is a great guy. I am happy that she is happy!

Here are the pics...
They were married in a huge Romanian Pentecostal Church.

I haven't been to a whole lot of weddings. I always thought the bride and groom weren't supposed to see each other until she walked down the aisle. But Brittney and Paul took pictures all morning and then showed up in this pretty fly car.
Paul is the one on the right, shaking hands. The shorter one that is on the far right! OK, I'm just kidding :)! Yes, he's the taller one.

Waiting for things to begin. That's my brother right in front of me.

Dad and Sister walking the aisle. I was already crying at this part. She looked so beautious.

During the ceremony. This was one of the singers. The singer I really liked was the one who sang Bette Middler... with a Romanian accent!

Quite possibly the goofiest guy in the whole world... along with my sister and the pastor! Ha! I'm so funny! Actually, I'm talking about the pastor. He was one goofy dude.

At the dinner table at the reception later.

At the reception, I was booted from my first table and went to the second table. Then I was booted from that one and ended up eating with my Romanian friends... the three on the right and then the one on the far left were a few of the folks at my table. They were very nice.

- Brandon