Backpacking

Vance and the boys went on a backpacking trip almost two weeks ago now with a good friend of Vance's - Rob and his son Conner.

I wasn't sure how Glen and Ryan were going to do with those heavy packs, but it seems they did alright. Ryan had some rough spots, but all in all they had a really great time. In fact, Ryan is writing a school paper about the trip.

Vance is gone again this week. He left on Friday and should be back by Wednesday. Then he leaves again with his friend Ray who is flying in around the 11th. I really need to figure out how to get adjusted to handling all the kiddos on my own. I feel a bit out of sorts and very short fused. I'm afraid to pray for patience because I know that will only make things worse :). If you're reading this how about you pray for me.

After watching Forrest Gump today I'll say, "That's about all I have to say about that."

Tristan is ONE

Tristan is ONE today!!! I can hardly believe it. I think I did what I set out to do and that was to savor every moment of this first year. Even while I was trying to take it all in it went by just as fast as every other child, but at least I have more memories. The twins' first year was a blur and that is so sad.

Tristan was such a good boy today and really all we did to celebrate his first birthday was to take a bunch of pictures or rather Ryan took them. Here is a Picasa photo album totally unedited, but cute nonetheless.

Love to all...

They are Three

It's really late and I'm exhausted, but I wanted to share a little about the day.

Kael and Morgan are three years old! We had a little celebration tonight. I made a cake and bought a new cartoon video. They both love those old Disney cartoons. You know, like The Reluctant Dragon, The Prince and the Pauper, The Three Little Pigs, Johnny Appleseed, etc.

We also started home school today. It was very successful. The last few weeks I've been putting a lot of work into creating my own curriculum and schedule. I hope it continues to go well.

Add to this day a trip to Sam's with all the kids and me having to teach a Salsa class tonight at 7:30 and I'm done - you can stick a fork in me...

So...good night.

A couple of days ago the boys went for a walk to get the mail and saw a large deer just resting in front of one of our neighbor's sheds. They came back home and got the camera. This particular neighbor has junk all over his property. It seemed weird that out of all the properties in our area this beautiful deer would choose this site to lay down and rest.

Speaking of resting; Vance came home yesterday pretty tired, but since he knew he had to go back out to help his friend who locked his keys in his car, he just laid down on the living room floor. Of course, when an adult gets down on the floor that's kid territory so it didn't take long for most of them to gather around.

I'm posting this on my What's for dinner...? site as well, but I just had to share. I bought "The BBQ Bible" about a month ago and have been barbecuing and smoking ever since. Grandma and Pappa got to enjoy this one with us on Sunday. Smoked pork spare ribs, potato salad, coleslaw and baked beans. Yum!

New Appliances

BEFORE

















AFTER

We got our new appliances this week. I'm so happy to be able to use a gas stove again. It makes cooking so much easier when you can adjust your heat levels immediately. I love the look of the stainless steel. It's going to be difficult to keep little hand prints off of them, but I don't mind.

What do you think?

Here are some random pictures of the Terry Family Summer over the last few weeks. This picture is of Ryan jumping off a swing at the little play area at our pool. He wanted to see how high he got.

This last weekend we celebrated my birthday. Grandma and Pappa came over to watch the four littles and Vance and I and the boys went to see the second Transformers movie. I wasn't too impressed, but the boys had a blast and it was nice getting out. After we came home, Grandma and Pappa had bought my favorite - an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. I don't think I'll ever get tired of those things. Here are some pictures from last night. Including a real cute one of Tristan. Do you get the candle set up?

Here's a picture of my new car. I love it. It has a bunch of bells and whistles. I ran into a fellow Mary Kay rep this weekend at the movie theater and she just earned the new Cadillac. It's the same size and shape as my car except mine is not pink - I just earned mine in a different way. I love selling MK, but I'm glad I'm not a director anymore.

The rest of the summer should be a bit more relaxing. Now, it's time to prep for the next homeschooling year. I will have four this year. I'm looking forward to it.

Short Update

I really need to update this blog, but Vance lost the new camera. It's been almost a month since I've put anything down here. The last entry was the beginning of all our sickness. We seem to be coming out of it now.

We've had a Fourth of July party with almost 80 people, then the following week had the worship team picnic with about 80 people. We've bought a new car, new stove, dishwasher, microwave. Vance finished the complete remodel of our bathroom downstairs. It looks great. I'll have to post pictures when I find the camera. I took before and after photos.

So much to share and update and so little time. I'll just have to schedule it in :)