Twins are here! Kallen Douglas & Kennadi Ann!

The twins are finally here! The excitement of their arrival has been building up for some time now, and to know they are here and HEALTHY is an answer to prayer.  They had a c-section scheduled for July 3, but nature took its course and they went into labor which made everything that much more exciting...

Nothing can replace the excitement of a new baby, and to have two at once was such an overwhelming feeling of so much happiness and joy!  I got to see them almost right away because I was in Bellingham with Crew at basketball camp, and so I snuck away for a bit to grab a quick sneak peak, and knew I could never wait all day until Chris got off!  That night we went back again to get some quality hold time, and to visit for awhile.  Everything is going so good, they are getting the hang of eating, and sleeping too.  We are so happy for Cole, Becca, and big brother Kader, adding these two new precious bundles to the Price family is so much fun!

Born on June 28, 2012 (36.5 weeks)

Kennadi Ann Price:  5lbs 18 inches

Kallen Douglas Price:  6lbs 19 inches

So little and sweet!

Proud parents!  They will have their work cut out for them, but they sure make a great team!

Checking out those babies that kept her up at nights and made for some uncomfortable days--all so worth it!

Cole and Kallen

Kennadi and Kallen

Kader was pretty funny checking everything out (aka destroying everything in his path) and may be quite the adjustment

My first neice!

A new nephew and neice, how cool is that? 

Let the fun times continue, 5 Price boys and 1 Price girl, with one more in play!  My honest feeling is that we will have another boy which would put our overall count at 6:1, so many boys!  Kennadi better be ready to put up with all these wild boys, but maybe she will be lucky and end up with a girl cousin too :) 

CONGRATS COLE, BECCA, KADER!  Kallen and Kennadi are keepers forsure!  We are ready to help whenever!

Wedding Dancers

It is a cousin wedding summer!  We have a cousin getting married each month Carla (June), Rodney (July), and Brent (August) so these boys are ready to do some serious dancing!  Who needs a dance floor, if it is wedding, music or not, these boys will be busting some type of move.... silly boys!

Carla and Jake's wedding was such a fun night for the whole family (minus Kys, he got some Papa/Memi time)!

Brody, Crew, and their other 'brother' Chris

Dancing machines

You can see all the kids sitting there just watching Jake and Carla dance...waiting ever so patiently for their turn.

Dressed up! :)

Wish this picture wasn't so blurry, I won't blame the photographer (Chris!) but love it anyway

Jake is in school for fire fighting so him and Carla arrived to the reception in a fire truck, which was a great prop for the boys!

Roberts girls!

De Jager girls!

De Jager family (minus Mark)

We had a busy night chasing the boys around, but it was a blast getting everyone together! 

Adventures with Aimee

After finding out my cousin Krisitin was pregnant and would not be able to watch the boys anymore after spring break, I was a little frustrated knowing how hard it would be to  find someone to fill that spot.  After all they loved going to Kristin's, and I knew making another switch and finding people to fill in on random days wasn't going to be easy.  God thing for sure, we get introduced to Aimee Hofbauer, who graduated from Meridian High School last year.  She had recently hurt her shoulder and couldn't do her job at the Christian Healthcare Center anymore and was needing something to do while she took online classes.   What a perfect fit, online classes, and our crazy schedule made it easy for her to work whatever days and any time, SO AWESOME.

So I thought this must be too good to be true, was it really that easy to find someone to come to my house and watch my kids after past years it had taken me months?  Not only was the timing perfect, but she is perfect, and fit in right away with the boys and our family.  I didn't have to drop the kids off anywhere or pick them up, she came right to our house.  I probably scared her orginally with my 2 page list of notes, but Aimee was a pro coming from a family of 9, she didn't need my instructions... :) 

So Aimee didn't just hang with the boys at home and try to pass time, she took them on "Aimee Adventures" and as you can see from the pictures they would go all over town to different parks, scavenger hunts, Mc Donald's, and even bowling.  When she walked in the door the boys were in heaven, so it looks like the bar has been raised, this mom better step up her game as well!! :)

Then when Chris got moved to projects for a 2 month term at work, his schedule completely changed again in May, and Aimee got put on 5 days a week instead of 2-3, and because of her willingness to help and flexibility it was a super smooth transition.  We had no way of knowing that was going to happen, so it still amazes me everything feel into place!

We will miss having Aimee here, the boys and I both and hope to still have her help from time to time when we can.  Not only was she great with the boys but I came home to laundry folded and a clean house!  WOW!

THANK YOU AIMEE!!!! 

School's Out! New Schedule!

Where did this school year go?  I can remember very clearly how emotional it was to see Crew get on a school bus for the first time, and for Brody to be a big preschooler and waving goodbye to me in his preschool class.  Those big changes we made are now just a part of our every day life!  Now that we are out of school and onto summer we are preparing for a BIG first grader next (school everyday, oh man!) and Brody will be going to preschool 3 mornings a week.  KyKy will still get to be home with his mama! 

They both had very good school experiences we couldn't be more happier with LC Preschool and Vossbeck Elementary for their overall care and support for our kids.  We are blessed for that! 

The school year ended with lots of fun activities that included field trips, bike days, field day, wheels day, and plenty of parties and reason to celebrate for a job well done.  These kids really do grow up--what fun they are, and when does it get easier again? :)

Brodes on bike day!

Crew at the park on a field trip with some of his buddies

Lane and Cruiser, still best buddies, they were in different classes but went to school the same days

Brody and Dane were so proud of the flowers they got for their teachers, they are so darn cute!

Transitioning to SUMMER STYLE! Beyblades!

Superhero's FOREVER!  These two are two peas in a pod- so happy that my kids have such nice friends in their lives.  Fun times!

So summer break is ON!  Although going into this summer I personally am feeling so many different emotions about the future and the changes that are happening within our family...  I was approved for a one year leave for teaching, and have permission to apply for a second year leave next spring.  Making this decision was quite clear after trying to work 5 days a week with 3 kids and Chris having the schedule he does.  Plus it is expensive, we don't have grandma daycare and paying for 3-4 kids is about breaking even on my salary. So when number four was decided it was a no brainer that I need to make some adjustments on my schedule.  These three duders are a ton of work, much harder than working, so having that "break" for me and something else outside of the home has been good for me.  Even though it may seem selfish, I feel like I am better mom with a balance, but I definitly know I need to be home more, and available more than I have, so I am very excited to give my kids more now...

So with my return to teaching in God's hands, our house for sale, baby number four coming, my "working" future unclear, things are just different, not just your average last day of school for me anyway! Although not knowing is kind of scary, I have full trust in God that this is the path we should be on, and pray for guidance as we hopefully get some answers in those things....

For now stay tune for a little business venture in the works, can you say "Dutch Girls Cleaning and Specialties?"

Happy 80th Kakie!

Happy 80th Birthday KAKIE!  We had a special dinner for my grandpa Durk DeJager at Shuksan Golf Course.  There were about 50 people there including his kids, grandkids, and his brothers and sisters that traveled from Oregon and California.  It really is a miracle that my grandpa is still with us today, doctors had his cancer diagnosis with a different alternative.  He is currently doing GREAT and is very happy and seems to be doing just fine!  Just another reminder that God's plan is the deciding factor!

Soaking it all in!

When we got there we noticed there were copies of hymns printed out on each of the tables, I had to laugh because I didn't really have a visual of what this party was going to be like, but heck you can set the tone for whatever you want at your 80th!  His brothers and sisters had quite the group going between large Dutch accents and the accordian being played, it brought out singing, smiling, and laughter in everyone!

My grandpa is always good for a few jokes--- but once he starts....   You just never know what might come out of his mouth and what the joke may turn into.  We were rolling laughing!  All of his years driving bus and farming have given him some interesting punch lines.... :)

A full house, it was a nice night, and because it was "kid free" us adults got to have some good quality converstation without interuption.  I knew going into the night it might be a little hard just not having my grandma be there.  Even though she passed away in '98 and we have had several family functions without her, it is never easy knowing how incredibly happy she would be to see her family and what it has grown to be.  I miss that lady more than words can describe, and I cannot wait until the day we get to see her again!  I never thought 14 years later I would still think about her daily and that her impact on my life would be this great... Love her. 

Cheers and HAPPY 80th KAKIE! 

FOR SALE!

Come check out our open house this Saturday from 11-1! 

http://muljatgroupnorth.com/361052 (click on this link for more pictures and details)

Parade--Performance Style!

Go Performance Driving School!  This year we thought it would be a good idea to get Cole's driving school in the Farmer's Day Parade.  My marketing class at school is working with Performance Driving School, along with two other local businesses, to do a marketing campaign.  One of the groups ideas for the project  was their idea to enter them into the parade.  It turned out great, and making my boys involved was that much more fun and made things quite entertaining! 
By approving this part of their project I knew that I would have some work to do, and so would Cole in order to make this happen. We all came together and it turned out great, and everyone had fun!  We even got some new GREEN Performance shirts.

My 3 BOYS!

Crew and Brody got to drive the gator behind Cole's car in the parade, which I was nervous about in beginning not knowing how they would do, but it turned out so good!  They were waving to people, and didn't crash the gator or misbehave by going out of line.  The gator also stayed charged the whole time which was an extra bonus.  I was not in the parade, but I just walked alongside on the sidewalk just in case they needed to be "redirected" or the gator ran out battery power.

There was a lot of waiting and down time so we all tried keeping the boys entertained!  What a good looking group!  They kept all the candy in the back of gator and threw it out as they walked a long. 

Aren't they cute?  Tom and Cole the two instructors :)  Tom mainly runs the Bellingham location.

We couldn't leave out the little duders. They had a blast cheering us on from the sidewalk with all the grandparents in their Performance gear too!  Two peas in a pod, these two!