A Taste of Empty-nesters

Tomorrow is President's Day.  Matt and I have inservice all day and the girls needed a place to go, so what better place than grandma and grandpa's house.  We called Saturday to see if grandma wanted helpers on her day off (mom always has mondays off) and she said she would love it.  We had planned on taking them over to La Grande this afternoon after church, but grandma and grandpa decided to pick them up yesterday afternoon so they could stay 2 nights instead.  Now to most parents, this seems like the perfect plan.  Kids gone, no one to worry about.  We even thought that too.  But Matt had meetings in Walla Walla last night and we have both been sick with this sinus crud that is everywhere and we have just laid around the house and felt sorry for ourselves.  We even called to see if the girls missed us and they really didn't.  Dad took them to see Tajar (my dad's horse) and they have eaten ice cream and who knows what else.  When I was talking to my mom earlier, Lily and Nora were snuggling on grandpa's lap and Mori was channel surfing to find a good show to watch.  They didn't even ask to talk to me.  I am not sure if I should be hurt or just realize that grandpa and grandma are pretty special and the girls have found it in their hearts to make them feel really special for 48 hours.  Matt and I have decided that we can wait for the inevitable empty nest.  I am sure it will be here before we will be ready -- and maybe we will be more ready when the girls hit their teenage years.  For right now though, we like them just as they are!

Breezy Day Picnic

My girls love to picnic.  Yesterday they headed out into the 42 degree weather and made a place to sit, put an umbrella to block the sun (and cold breeze) and sat down and waited for me to bring them their picnic food.  They moved around quite a bit, trying to get the perfect spot to eat.  Finally they settled down in the side yard and ate their food (cheese quesadilla, yogurt, apple slices, cheetos & juice boxes).  Notice their coats and the blankets covering them.  I have found that just as long as the sun is out and mom is willing to fix the grub, my girls are up for an outside picnic!

24 weeks and counting

I have now hit the 24 week mark in my pregnancy.  We had the ultrasound two weeks ago.  The girls went with us and were able to hear the heartbeat and see the baby move on screen.  We are so blessed to already have 3 beautiful children!  We thank Heavenly Father everyday for this.  We are excited to add #4 to the Yoshioka team.  Everyone we talk to says, "It has to be a boy.  The odds are against you."  Matt is not convinced.  He believes it is another little girl.  We compared the pictures from the ultrasound with Nora's ultrasound pictures and we know one thing -- they have almost identical noses.  I am not sure if all babies look the same at this point in development, so that does not necessarily mean anything, but we are excited none the less.  A boy would be exciting too.  I am not sure what we would do with him as we are very practiced at having girls, but we would manage.  We don't really care what we have, just as long as he or she is healthy!

The girls have also felt the baby kick and are constantly asking questions about it's size and weight and how much longer.  I keep telling them that it will be here before we know it.  I will keep you posted too!

Preparing for a bigger house

Matt and I have been planning on adding onto our house for a couple of years now.  It is currently a whopping 1080 sq. feet with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and not a lot of space for elbow room.  We just received our plans from an architect here in Pendleton and are talking with banks for loans, etc.  We are SO excited.  With baby #4 on the way and the girls already stepping on each other every time they turn around, we are ready to begin construction.  We will actually start towards mid-April, early May with the foundation and then move on from there.  The addition will be 2 stories, with 3 bedrooms a bathroom and a family room.  Our existing house will not change at all (at least not for a few years).  The new part will be built on the back of our existing house.  It is exciting to think that we will have more space to be in soon.  We will keep you posted as things progress.

We do have to cut down 2 trees out of our yard to make room for the construction.  We are a bit bummed, but we plan on planting 3 or 4 trees in the back yard to help shade the house and beautify our yard.  We just wish we could transplant the existing trees...

Kia

The girls are holding Kia, the neighbor's last puppy (they have sold the other two).  They have been wanting to see her forever, but they always ask when it is time to go somewhere else (like bed or the store or it is time for dinner).  Kia will be going to her new home soon, so the neighbors brought her over for us to see.  Lily fell in love IMMEDIATELY and would have kept her if we had $600 extra dollars to spare.  She loved her and loved her some more.   Nora still doesn't have the greatest "puppy grip" and I was afraid she might hurt her (Kia is 11 weeks old and weighs what our puppies weighed at three weeks this past summer) so Lily did most of the cuddling and she was more than okay with that.

Spring Fever

Matt's job has found him stressed and wanting to be outdoors instead of in his office disciplining the same kids every day.  We had a nice saturday last weekend and he decided he would go for a hike up on the hill to look for some antlers.  It looked good -- not a lot of snow from where we could see.  So he set off around 7 a.m. with our chocolate lab, Mauly, and went for a hike.  When he got up there, he found much more snow than he had bargained for, but also found a couple of small antlers that satiated his need for finding antlers until the snow is really all gone.  It was cold so he came home, changed clothes and went to the river to fish for steelhead.  Unfortunately the melting snow made the water muddy and he didn't catch anthing, but he still had a nice, relaxing day.

Mori as MVP

Mori was voted MVP of her basketball team -- the Cardinals.  She was very excited about it.  She is a great team player and the coach said she was the one he could count on to do whatever he asked,  no matter what.  She was called M.J. (Mori Jordan) by parents on the team because she always stuck her tongue out when she dribbled down the court and when she shot the ball.  We are very proud of her and she looks forward to playing again next year.

More Snow

We had another snowfall (but haven't had one since).  It was beautiful and the girls loved it.  We played in it and drank more hot chocolate.  Pendleton just doesn't get this much snow!  This is our pine tree on the southwest side of the house.  This was a good gauge of the amount of snow.  Just gorgeous!

Apology

I have been out of the loop the past few weeks.  We have been busy.  I will update photos and news now.  I hope all has been well with all of you.

Our Dear Prophet

Our dear Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, died this evening.  We all feel sorrow for his passing, but know that he is so much happier now with his dear wife Marjorie and his loved ones who have gone before him.  We love him for his example and unfailing devotion in doing what is good and right and true.  His humor and his compassionate ways will be dearly missed.  We truly do thank thee oh God for this prophet!

Fun in the Snow

**A picture before the 4 wheeler ride and one after**

After naps this afternoon, we wanted to take advantage of the snow.  It hadn't stopped since around 9:30 am and we had about 6-7 inches in the yard, so we went to build a snowman.  We found that the snow was too powdery, so we got out the innertube and hooked it up to Matt's grandmother's 4-wheeler and took the girls for a spin around the neighborhood.  We go SO wet and SO cold, but hot chocolate made it all better.  It just stopped snowing (8:00 pm) and we have a total of about 8 inches.  And to top it all off -- NO SCHOOL tomorrow.  Why you ask?  Well, Pendleton does not own a snowplow (that proves we don't get much snow) so we get to spend another day in the snow.

Needs A Bit of Salt

    
With no church and all the time of the day on our hands, the girls headed out to see if they could catch some snowflakes on their tongues.  They caught many on their tongues and got soaked in the process because the snowflakes are almost as big as their heads.  We are getting snow still -- 4 hours straight -- which is A LOT for Pendleton.  I know it seems silly to be so excited, but we don't get snow as often as we would like.  So bear with us!

CANCELLED!!!!

  

Actually not a global warming meeting, but all church meetings in Pendleton were cancelled today due to LOTS and LOTS of freezing rain and rain and snow on top of the freezing rain.  I almost didn't believe Matt when he told me it was cancelled because he jokes around all the time and because it just doesn't happen very often.  Matt and I can only remember church being cancelled one time each in our lives.  Matt said the blowing snow and drifts in La Grande made it so they cancelled church one year.  When I was going to school in Rexburg, they cancelled church due to a HUGE blizzard that blocked every road with drifts.   Hope you enjoyed your Sunday with your family.  Did you get to go to church?

Whistle while you work...

As many of you know, Matt loves to cut wood.  He is very proud of his wood pile and the "quality" of wood that he cuts.  This spring and summer he cut 10 cords of wood -- 6 more than we need for the winter in our own home.  He sells it and we use the money to pay on bills or to buy something for the family.  Today he received a phone call from a friend of a friend who didn't have any wood, so he went out to the wood pile and loaded up his truck and took it to the man and his family.  Now we have money to pay for his new found love of steelhead fishing (ha ha ha). 

Celebratory Cupcakes

 

All the girls received "celebratory cupcakes" at Mori's final game.  Each of them created their own way of wearing their frosting.  Nora's wasn't on purpose but Lily and Mori's were.  Isn't it interesting how putting a little frosting on our faces will make everything funny?

Mori's Final Basketball Tournament

If you look very closely, you can see that Mori has her tongue sticking out -- hence her basketball nickname M.J. or Mori Jordan.  We watched Mori's team play in their final tournament today; three games total and they came out in third place.  We thought that was pretty good.  She was very happy with it as well.  They won their first game 17-16 (8 of the other team's points came from our team fouling them).  It was a very close game (16-17) that they lost that put them in the consolation bracket.  It was a brutal last minute where Mori got punched in the stomach and another girl got hit in the face and no fouls were called.  They were very discouraged...but they pulled through and won their last game 18-16.  It was a nice ending to a fun season.  Mori is already talking about softball season (coming up very soon) and next year's basketball season.  She is a very determined sports fanatic!  

A thought to ponder

Hot Chocolate

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.  During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives.  Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.  While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.  The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate.  In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.  What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups.  And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this:  Life is the hot chocolate.   Your job, money and position in society are the cups.  They are just tools to hold and contain life.  The cup you have does not define or change the quality of life you have.  Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us.  God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups.  The happiest people don't have the best of everything.  They just make the best of everything that they have. 

Live simply.  Love generously.  Care deeply.  Speak kindly.  Enjoy your hot chocolate.

Another snowfall

We finally got a bit more snow.  It snowed about 2 inches over the past 24 hours and it is VERY cold.  The girls wanted to go out and play in it.  Mori started out with shorts, snow boots and a coat.  Once Lily and Nora joined her, she ran inside to put on her long johns and some warmer clothes.  Lily and Mori could stay outside all day -- even if suffering from severe frostbite.  Nora on the other hand is cold blooded, as she freezes within minutes of being outside in 15 degree weather -- it could have to do with her lack of chub.  As the forecast calls for highs in the lower 20s and lows around 5 degrees, I don't think the

snow will leave us.  We will see if the girls will venture out in the icy weather again before it goes away.

Making Taco Pockets

We didn't have school today (MLK Jr. Day) so we decided to make taco pockets.  It is a four hour activity because we have to let the bread double in size, cut, fill and let double again before we bake them.  It is quite cold here (a high of 18 degreese today) so the bread took a bit longer to raise.  Lily left in the middle to play with a friend, so Mori, Nora and I finished up the project.  We love to put taco meat and cheddar cheese in some and ham and mozzarella in the others.  They make great lunches and dinners.  Wejust thaw them out in the fridge and warm up in the microwave.  It is a fun family project that we enjoy doing together.  The best part really is eating them after.  You should try it out!

Matt's a Fishin' Machine

Matt, in search of a new hobby for the winter, has taken up steelhead fishing with his friends.  He has gone out 5 times now.  He caught a 32 inch native his very first day and was hooked (of course he did not have a camera, so we have to just take his word for it.....) and has gone out every chance he has had since.  This morning, we did not have school because of MLK Jr. Day, so he left around 7 a.m. in freezing cold temperatures of 15 degrees to catch a fish.  After his line had frozen and his bobber wasn't working correctly, he decided to move up river to one more hole before calling it a morning.  On his second cast, he hooked into a beautiful 27 inch native (which means he can't keep it -- they can only keep hatchery fish around here) and landed it.  Thanks to his friend Brad, we actually have proof of capture (because even though Matt got a new camera for his birthday, he forgot it, yet again).  He is HOOKED and will be going out as soon as he can.  Someday we may even get to see one for ourselves.