painted ladies



Marianne in pink



Makayla sets free her butterflies from birthday present. It was actually fun and inforamtive watching caterpillars turn into painted lady butterflies. (The cage is a mess because the left over pink just ozzes out...)

Maddy in spring softball. She wants me to take a better picture. Says this one is showing her in "bad form". Notice Barry in the background as third base coach. He has been the assistant coach for her team.

Finally took our easter family picture before church today. Had a run through last week but didn't like the pictures - still learning the ins and outs of my new camera. Our last family picture was a year ago. Everyone has grown so much this year! I'm grateful for a wonderful husband and kids. :-)

Easter, Birthday

Two of my favorite people (one is cute and one is  handsome!)

Easter Egg Hunt, beautiful sunny day!

Makayla poses in her (hand me down) Easter dress.

Opening birthday presents. Had the best birthday!

Took this picture with my new (birthday) camera!

Ben has been sick for 3 weeks and is finally feeling better this weekend. He has been very helpful: washing dishes, watering plants and making bisquits. I'm grateful that Barry is such a good example for my son.

Which is bigger, the girl or the basket?

Hunting for eggs.

The Giving Tree

This the season to prepare for next winter. Most days that we set aside to bring in firewood we can cut and stack 2-3 trees in one morning. These past two weeks we have spent 2-3 days on the same tree! It is an 80 year old tree with a very big trunk as you can see from Makayla and Mindy sitting on them. We got almost an entire chord from that one tree alone (we burn 10-12 chord of wood per year to heat our house and hot water in the winter). It reminded me of a book that was read to us in elementary school called the Giving Tree. It was about a tree and how it gives and gives it's entire life, even in death it was able to give (firewood). :-)





Makayla counted down and finally celebrated her 6 year old birthday on the 13th. She is very excited to be able to say that she is six (up until a month ago her "six" sounded like "sick").

Have a great week!

humming girl, whistling/singing girl

Ben enjoyed playing outside in the nice weather

We had a great spring break this week! It started out with Barry and me going skiing on Monday morning. Toyota sponsors a ski free week for spring break, which is also the last week that the ski hill is open. Even though this was Barry's second time on the hill, he has shown much improvement.

Tuesday was spent touch up painting on the house (something that we have said we would do ever since we moved in over two years ago). We gave everyone (including Ben) a paintbrush and some paint (scary) and assigned out different rooms throughout the house. Amazingly there were no spills. :-)

Wednesday Maddy had a babysitting job, so Barry stayed home with the kids while I took Mackensey up to the ski hill. In her beginning ski class they had not gone up to the top and she wanted to do that. I was wondering if she would be scared, but stopped worrying about it when I heard her humming behind me as she followed my down the mountain. If the humming stopped I would turn around and wait for her...that usually meant that she fell down.

Thursday we planted the cool weather crops in our garden. With me supervising, the children worked fast and we got it done quickly. I left for a few minutes to put the baby down for a nap, and when I returned Mindy and Makayla had finished their rows of broccoli and carrot seeds by sprinkling them on top of the dirt. This will be fun to watch what and where (and if) these plants come up!

Friday Maddy babysat while Barry and I took Mindy skiing (Maddy had gone snowboarding with a friend on Thursday). As Mindy followed my down the mountain I heard whistling and singing. I am just amazed at how relaxed these girls are while skiing. My first few times I was holding my breath! The second time down Mindy was in the lead. She skied "french fry" (parallel) until she wanted to slow down, then "pizza" (snow plow). No wonder the kids are hungry after skiing lessons, if that is how they teach them!

Saturday we cut wood in the morning, then Barry and I went to Colville for a date in the evening.

Now it's time to return to regular schedule. Have a great week!

Parthenon, Plantaion, Play



Marianne playing in the Spokane airport





This week started with Marianne and me flying to Tennesee. My parents met us at the airport and we spent the night in Nashville. Anita and Jamie picked us up Tuesday morning and we toured the Parthenon replica in Nashville, the Grand Ole Opry and Opry Hotel and stopped at the temple. Then we drove down to Spring Hill. 

Wednesday was a quiet day at home with the family, then Thrusday we toured Carnton Plantation which was involved in a civil war battle and became a make-shift hopital for 9 months of the war.

In the evenings I helped my neice Brooklyn sew an apron. She picked up on sewing quickly, and will enjoy the sewing machine that her mom got for her late birthday present.

My flight back on Friday was crazy. Boarded the plane, they closed the door, they gave the safety speal, they openend the door...maintainance delay 45 min. Optionaly unboarding. I left the plane to change a diaper and let Marianne walk around. Reboard plane, reclose door, re-do safety instructions. Pull away from the gate, wait and wait, another wait while maintainance checks out second engine. Finally leave 1 1/2 hrs late. Missed connecting flight by 45 minutes. 4 hr flight, Marianne does amazingly well. Get off plane and check departure schedule. My flight is now boarding! Run to gate and board. Still don't know why second flight delayed, but I arrived home safe and sound.

Before my trip I was a little anxious about traveling with a one year old, especially being on an airplane- what if she fussed, etc etc. I prayed that wherever I sat (Southwest has open seating) I would be next to nice people who liked children. I was blessed with that on all four of our flights, and Marianne wasn't fussy at all. I spent most of the time feeding her gummy fruit snacks, so by the last flight home she was a little hyper and spaztic! We were sitting next to two 10 year old girls who were friends from school. They, along with Marianne were giggling and having a grand ole time! :-)

BTW, the day after my flight another SW plane, shortly after take-off had a piece rip off, oxygen masks come down and emergency landing. This maintainance problem caused 300 planes with similar conditions be grounded for the next two days. I'm so glad I left when I did!

Barry and the kids had a busy week at home while I was gone. Barry did an amazing job juggling his business, homeschooling the girls, and getting Maddy to and from all of her dress rehearsals for the play this weekend. I came home to a clean house and happy children.

On Saturday we went to a memorial for Barry's grandma which was a very full day. We went to Maddy's play in the evening. Good thing next week is Spring break from school.

Have a great week!

I'm Leavin' on a jet plane!

I sang the John Denver song, "I'm leavin' on a jet plane" when I was in Jr. High. I still know all the words to that song and it comes to my head sometimes. It has been going through my head today because I will be leaving on a jet plane...tomorrow! "All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go!" Marianne and I will meet my parents in Tennesse to visit my sister and her family and see their new house.

This week was filled with sick kids, who passed it along to me this weekend, which made me miss out on some fun things that I had planned. We're all feeling better now, though.

Have a great week! Love, Avery

Crazy Hair

We had fun spiking Marianne's hair before we put it in side ponytails. Everyone said she looked so much older with her hair that way.

Ben wet down his hair, put his sunglasses on, then asked me to take his picture. How could I say no, he has always been the one who didn't like getting his pictures (the girls were never camera shy).

On Thursday morning Barry took the children for their morning walk, while I stayed inside because Marianne was still asleep. (Most people take their dogs for daily walks, we take our children for walks). I was in the kitchen making fruit smoothies for everyone's breakfast when Mindy burst through the front door, excitedly saying words like: first one and newspaper and picture. I didn't know what she was talking about until I turned around and saw what she was holding in her hands. The first buttercup of the year. Chewelah's first signs of spring! I took her picture holding the flower, then we waited anxiously for that days' paper (the Chewelah Independent comes out once a week and we get it in the mail on Thursdays). The first buttercup of the year is a big deal and front page news. If there were no pictures in the paper of anyone finding a buttercup, then we could email this picture to the newspaper and Mindy would be on the front page next week. We were very disappointed to find that a little boy had found the first buttercup at his granparents house in town. We are always a week behind, living at a higher elevation and all.



Maddy had a band concert on Thursday. Beginner band dressed up in festive green for the occasion, but advanced band was asked to wear black pants and their red band button up polos (which they all hate). Since Maddy is in both bands, she wore her red shirt with a green vest over it to play trumpet with beginner band. When the bands switched we motioned for her to take off the vest (we were sitting on the front row) and she refused (seeds of rebellion?). She played flute, then accompanied for a friend.

Thursday morning (everything happened on Thursday this week!) Barry and Ben pruned the trees in our orchard. Ben asked Barry why they were doing it and he told him "so that the peaches will grow". Ben went out several times that afternoon to see if the peaches were growing yet. He has mentioned it almost everyday since. "I wonder when the peaches will grow." Maybe we should break the news to him how long it will take before we see peaches on the tree. But I tell ya, when we do he will be SOOOOO proud! :-)

Have a great week! Love, Avery