Home at Last

A full tank of gas $120

Over 1000 miles of driving

Everything from the house BUT the kitchen sink

A little one teething and with an ear infection

Making family memories...PRICELESS

Yes, I took all three kids with me on our annual trip to Oregon. Lets be reminded I have been doing this since Reilly was 3 weeks old. Yes, I am crazy! But I love every minute of it.

This year we headed out on Tuesday, September 4th. Our first stop my great grandmothers, Mrama who is 97 years old. The kids got a chance to see her and she really enjoyed the visit. Liam wants to know why she is so old. Natalie was very curious about Mrama. While her health may be failing and it is hard to see why she is still living. I am very thankful that my children have had the opportunity to see her and be around her. She is an amazingly strong and might I say stubborn woman (that must be where I get it). We try and visit whenever we can. It is often short as she can not hear and has a hard time reading lips anymore. I will never forget this visit - it meant so much to me.

Curious or Scared?

This warms my heart!

Me & Mrama

Next we met up with Uncle Mike at Caboose Pizza in Tigard and we stayed the night at his apartment in Lake Oswego. Liam prayed about this place the day before. "Mom in all of these days will we go to the Caboose Pizza place" Liam said "Yes Liam we are going tomorrow" I said. "I prayed about that...(a few minutes of silence) God answered my prayer". I chuckled as I thought how funny that he would get that concept. I guess they know more then we think. Liam thought he wanted to go for a swim until he dipped a foot in. We tried the hot tub but 104 degrees was to hot so we settled for Uncle Mike's bath tub. We stayed up watching the Singing Bee and left early the next morning.

My "Creative Illusion"

"Okay so I look good anyway"

Wednesday, September 5th we packed up from Uncle Mikes and headed out. Our first stop - Starbucks of course...mommy needs her coffee! Then we were on the road again. I could not believe it but we actually go on the road by 8:53am. I decided to drive as far as I could before the kids asked to stop. Everyone fell asleep (but Liam of course) only to be awakened by Liam yawning with his high pitched yawn that he feels is necessary to do when everyone is sleeping. Might I add that I had all the kids in the middle seat so that I had more room for all our stuff.

At 11:45am everyone was done in the car, so we took Exit 119 towards the Wildlife Safari. This turned out to be a fun adventure. We ate our lunch in the car and then $14.00 later headed in to see the wildlife. I was a bit scared by the fluorescent Orange piece of paper that warned "we are not responsible for punctured tires or dents from Rhino attacks". Needless to say I was overjoyed when we did not see the Rhino's anywhere.

Liam's favorite part...getting to sit on moms lap and steer the car and navigate us with the map. Reilly's favorite party...getting to buckle the seat belt in the front seat and seeing a giraffe and monkeys. Natalie's favorite part...not having her brothers bug her while she rested. Moms favorite part...watching the boys and just enjoying the moment.

Lunch Break

Me & My Boys

Once we arrived we had so much fun. The first day we spent with Grandma Great. We went to the Science Works Center in Ashland with the kids. It was so much fun and geared towards younger kids. I loved the bubbles! We then had lunch at grandmas and back to Jan's for naps.

Grandma Great & The Kids

Bubble Boy

That night we had dinner at grandma and grandpas house. Chucker and the boys were having a good time while Natalie just kept looking at herself in the mirror (the same mirror I used to look at when I was a little girl). We also measured ourselves on the closet door. Liam has grown 2 1/2 in since we went last year. I guess I have shrunk since 1992 by 1 in according to the closet...hmmmm. If it is true I am in trouble.

The next day (Friday) we headed to Beer Creek Park to play in the morning and did a bit of shopping. Then lunch and naps. It was beautiful out and the kids loved the park!

We always enjoy our trip to Medford. The best part is the great park behind my aunts house. We go on long walks at night (I just love it) and in the morning. The sidewalks are big and the kids can ride their bikes. It is just great..I would love to move there.

Natalie & Her new friend

We spent Saturday evening in Grants Pass, OR visiting a good friend of mine from High school at Brookings-Harbor. It was so great to catch up and meet his wife and kids. It was so fun...we meet for pizza and then we headed to their house and the kids played on the trampoline and had a blast. It was great to catch up! Here is a picture of Josh and I and all our kids. We look like the Brady Bunch! WOW how life changes after 15 years.

Besides long walks, lots of food and beautiful weather. We acted like tourists. We spent the day at the Family Fun Center. The kids loved this and so did the adults. What a perfect time to go as the kids are in school and we had the place to ourselves. The boys loved Captain Jack's Playhouse and jumping in the balls. The best part was Jan and I could go with them because they were to young - we were supposed to be watching them, but I could not resist jumping myself. Jan got stuck up top! We raced go carts, got soaking wet in the bumper boats and Liam even got to drive his own go cart. It was to slow for him and he was more then disappointed. Natalie loved running around and touching everything. She was not feeling very good this day, but as always still wants to play.

The highlight of our trip each year is the day we get to go to the Train Park. This is a volunteer organization that runs a train park with miniature ride on trains for the kids and adults. It features a 3mi ride over bridges, through tunnels, crossings, bends and then back to the station. Did I mention it was FREE! It runs the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month until Oct. It is really the neatest thing I have ever seen. They even had snow cones this year. The boys just loved it!!!

Okay so on the days we did not go out and about we hung out at aunt Jan's or and G & G's. We really had so much fun and I cried when we left. It did not sink in until the morning we left, but I really miss being near my family. It is such a great joy to have the relationships I do with my entire extended family. It is a true blessing and I hope that will pass down to our children. The value of family is indescribable.

We headed home on Wednesday, September 12th. I wanted to try and drive the entire way, but we were tired. Natalie had me up late the two nights before with her ears and up early. We made it all the way to Albany before we stopped. We hit McDonald's playland for some food and to let loose some energy. The kids had fun and met a new friend.

We then headed to spend the night with Uncle Phil & Aunt Kim. The kids loved their place. We even got pumpkins out of Aunt Kim's garden. Natalie loved Bailey and Sadie. It was a nice break in the trip home. We also got a hold of Jamie & Jodi (Jason's cousin and his wife) and went to visit them. It was so much fun for the kids to play and hang out. Everytime we get together with them we have fun...to bad we do not live closer.

We got up early on Thursday morning loaded up and headed home. We were home by 10:30am and the kids were immediatley playing with all their toys. Natalie even was over joyed by being in her home and with all her things. Daddie came home and got BIG HUGS from us all. We had so much fun, but we missed him.

BTW...daddie went hunting while we were gone and got his first deer. Yahoo! No pictures to show yet.

Labor Day Weekend

We spent Labor Day Weekend at our friends Kevin & Michele Hill's enjoying the weather, playing, games, laughing and eating a lot of food. The Weavers came and we had so much fun 8 kids and all. I will post pictures when the blog wants to work.

Here is an e-mail from a dear friend (not a hoax) a real friend...worth the read.

Dearest Family and friends,

Today I attended the first military funeral that I pray I will never have to go to again but I know that it may not be. I escorted my friend Sarah, whose husband Jarod is currently serving in Iraq.

You may have heard of the accident. 14 soldiers died in a helicopter crash that was due to mechanical failure. 4 of these men were stationed at Fort Lewis here in Washington.

As I entered the auditorium there were four helmuts with night vision goggles staring at me, with pictures of the soldiers. Beneath that was their boots. That was all that was there to represent these men who were husbands, sons, fathers and brothers. I sat for a while, and while people got seated, I was able to watch a slide show of the lives of these four men. Sarah then brought it to my attention that the auditorium was mainly filled with women and that during the funeral that they had in December there were more people able to attend because the troop was able to be there. Many of the friends of these four men are still serving faithfully in Iraq, putting off their mourning until they are able to do so in a place where that kind of distraction will not cost them their life. When the ceremony began we sang the National Anthem, heard men choke back their cries as they remembered their friends through old stories, and heard Amazing Grace played on the bagpipes. (I will never be able to hear that again without crying). After the remarkable ceremony that was filled with tradition and honor, I sat and watched as one by one soldiers went before each set of flight gear and picture and saluted their fallen brother.

After the ceremony we went into a reception hall and had cookies and punch. Sitting I watched a beautiful little boy who had to be the same age as my Eli (1 1/2) run around completely oblivious to why he was there and if he was anything like my little man maybe wondering why everyone was crying and hugging his mama. Then two soldiers approached the widow of one of the soldiers and handed her a framed flag with her husband's picture and his rank. As she sat down almost taken aback by the gift, this same little man with his blond hair, button down shirt, khaki pants, and the chubbiest little hands and fingers came running up to his mom took one look at the framed picture and yelled "Dada". That was it. My heart was broken in two. Knowing that this little precious man would never know his father. Knowing that this family made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Knowing that although they would heal and move on, that their lives would never be the same again. This precious family paid it all for MY freedom.

Why am I writing this you may ask? Because I want us normal civilian people to remember what is being played out while we continue with our normal lives. I want, regardless of your political stance, for us to pray for the wisdom of our leaders and the direction of our country. I want the people I love and care about to thank our military and their families for the incredible sacrifice that they make for us to be able to live in a free country. I want people to quit complaining about what is going on and start voting differently if they don't like what is going on. I want these soldiers to be remembered as the individuals that they are instead of being faced with the fact that we have suffered greater losses in the past. Every soldier that has made the ultimate sacrifice deserves to be remebered that way. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican I believe that you can appreciate the fact that our military serve in their jobs wholeheartedly, with courage and bravery.

I can't help but think of the people I have worked with in the past that were horrible workers. They had no work ethic. They wouldn't do what they were asked to do. They were disrespectful to our boss and those around them. They were incredibly frustrating people to work with. What kind of country would we live in if our military acted this way? Instead of protesting what the military is being asked to do maybe we should thank them for, if nothing else, having an incredible work ethic and doing exactly what is being asked of them. Maybe we can all see beyond that and thank them for their incredible service instead.

Yes, I am an emotional person and maybe most of you won't even read all of this but I just felt that it needed to be said. I love this country that I live in. I am grateful for every freedom that is given me. Even freedom of speech for without that I wouldn't be able to write this to you today.

Please, I ask that all of you remember daily our men and women who are serving in our military. Do not become hardened to the news that you hear of another death. Please know and remember that there is a family behind that death or injury. Please do not let your political standing remove you from being respectful to our men and women in the military. Pray that those who survive physically will be able to survive emotionally and spiritually as well.

Thank you for reading this. Please send on to others who may need to remember what a blessing it is to live in America. I promise that if you forward this to ten people in the next 30 minutes you won't find true love, get a good job, or make a lot of money, but maybe like me you will have a moment of resurging patriotism that I have not felt for a long time. I pray that I never forget. May we never forget.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Update

What have we been up to? Just playing outside when it is not raining. We took the kids bowling on Sunday night - that was a lot of fun.

I have a TS party tonight my first since June really. I kind of took a vacation after 5 parties in June. It has been nice but I am looking forward to getting back into it.

Nothing really exciting has been happening here - will post some new pics.

Love,
Jess

Dirt Ball Camping 2007

9 Hrs later we arrived in Bend, OR to camp on the Deschutes River just up from Pringle Falls. This is a Hulings family tradition. I have camped with my family since I was a little girl and we have always camped in the same place. This year we had a new spot...because well it is 2007 and we had 1 motorhome, 1 camper, 1 trailer, and 1 5th Wheel (my grandma would be proud that I even know the difference). Then we had 3 tents. There were a total of 20 of us camping. We had such a blast!

There are no bathrooms, no hookups and it is just a BIG dust ball. We fish, read "smut" magazines, swim at S. Twin Lakes, eat and eat some more, drink, fish some more, and just hang out and play games. My favorite game this year was Mexican Train. I did not even play nerts which has always been my favorite. It is so fun to introduce the kids to camping in the great outdoors. They had so much fun. Liam and Reilly caught fish and Reilly loved catching them in the net. Liam loved driving the boat and reeling in. He is not so big on touching the fish. Jason spent a lot of time fishing and loved it! I of course caught the biggest fish (hee hee) a rainbow trout atleast 12 in. We catch and release now.

After day 4 we were all dirty and out of clothes and well ready to come home. The boys were so dirty. I finally had to wash my hair in the river I could not take it anymore. Natalie loved camping. She loved exploring all over and running in the dirt. She took a couple face plants and was covered in a cloud of dust. She even road in the paddle boats out on Twin Lakes. It was a lot of fun for me because I had a lot of help with the kids so I actually got to read a good book and take a nap.

Well we are back home...the trip home was going really well and we made it to Yakima in 5 hours. We were excited that this time we would be home in 7 hrs and then we hit traffic just as we got to Cle Elum. Needless to say we stopped for dinner thinking we would rather have full bellies sitting in traffic then a bunch of crappy pants. We hit the road and drove into the drive way at about 7:30pm. We left the campsite at 9:52am. We stopped only twice. WOW! Thank God for Jason's laptop because the kids got to watch a lot of movies. They were troopers.

I have cleaned out our friends trailer and reloaded it with their stuff. Now I am doing oh...10 loads of laundry just from 6 days. Sad! Just to make sure you understand the pile you see in the picture goes up to the door knob. So sad!

It is beautiful out here today so that makes it nice. Have a great week.

Love,

Jess

Whats New?

Well it has finally been nice again this week. We went to the Zoo last Saturday with cousin Morgan. Mema and Papka Goobs drove the "bego" over on Saturday and we had a camp out in it. The boys love the "bego". They even tried to drive it this weekend. Scared Pakpa Goobs to death - but everyone was alright.

This week I have had the James kids here and the kids have all been going to VBS at Lake Sawyer Christian Church up the road. I have weeded and done a ton of yard work. Jason had his first day at the church

today for his new job as Creative person for Childrens ministry. Liam has his second soccer game tonight. It is hot! Natalie has a double ear infection but is on medication now and doing better. Her two year molars are coming in along with about 5 other teeth on the top and bottom so thank the Lord for MOTRIN!

Off to make tacos for dinner tonight and get ready for the game. Natalie LOVES the camera - check out her "cheese". I finished her one year album finally! Now on to 2007 family album. I have never been so far behind, but well I am still ahead according to most people.

Love to all,

Jess

Well it has been a good week so far. The sun is shining and we are enjoying the outdoors. We took a trip to Lk. Wilderness yesterday with Jacob, Amanda and Hannah. We had a blast swimming and playing. Liam swam out to the bouys all by himself with the water wings on.

Reilly got his new saw in the mail today. This is what he bought with his money from the Picket family for his birthday. He is so happy. He said in his best and cutest Reilly voice "now I'd can chop wood with my dad". He even had protective googles. It is hilarious! First thing he did was head to the wood pile - only if it really worked - Jason could use the help.

Natalie is busy and into everything. She is fast too! At the lake yesterday I realized why people have those leashes for their kids. She was gone in 1 sec. Nevermind, that anyone she saw with food she went over and begged for some. She can spot food from across the beach!

Liam had his first soccer game yesterday. Now that was funny! I have never seen so many preschoolers chasing each other around with out a clue what they are doing. The team they played had one player who knew what he was doing so the kids all pretty much chased him around the field until he scored a goal and then they would do it all over again. Liam loved it!

No big plans for the weekend - just a few visitors. Cousin Morgan is coming down tomorrow to hang out for the night and then Mema will be here on Saturday. Sunday is church and then just some rest.

PlayDough Fun

We are finally all feeling better from the cold and crud we had for a over a week. Natalie is still a bit under the weather. We had some friends over today which was really fun and the boys were so happy to have buds to play with. The yucky part has been the rain. Ms. Olivia came over too and we made homeade playdough. The kids had a blast and I thought it was rather easy.

Liam made blue of course

Shane made purple

Reilly made yellow

Olivia made Watermelon Red

Ben just wanted to play with the spoons

Natalie just wanted to eat it and spit it out - yuck!

Just a fun day!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Reilly Roo!

what a fun day. we celebrated Reilly's birthday today with a few of his friends. It was so much fun watching him. He loved every minute of it! His favorite part was his rocket cake. Now him and Liam are playing with all the new toys.

Here are some pictures.

Dog Days of Summer...

It is a hot sunny day here in Black Diamond we are at 94 degrees today. Liam is in vacation bible school this week and loving it! We spent the day by the pool just trying to beat the heat. The kids love playing in the water.

This past weekend we went to Orcas Island for a friends wedding which was so much fun and relaxing. Mom and Goobs came over and watch all the kids here at the house. It was really great - they celebrated Reilly's birthday with a spiderman party and purple cupcakes. Reilly got a rocket bike. He loves it! He is so excited for his upcoming Rocket party this Friday with a few of his friends (more like Liams friends and mine as it is hard to find friends at 3).

Just thought I would update the blog. My washer is still broke and Sears is suppost to come over tomorrow to fix which will be the 4 r/s and a month since my washer has not worked. I have been doing laundry at various friends houses - thank goodness they let me or I would be in trouble.

Well I am out of here for now.

Love,

Jess

Summer Days...

I would like to say that I have pictures of this past week, but I do not. The kids and I went to Yakima last Monday to attend VBS at First Pres. with their cousins. I brought everything we owned except the camera. I can not beleive it! I guess you will have to just take my word for it that we had fun.

VBS was awesome. They had 367 kids and 208 volunteers it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen and brought me to tears. Once again I cried at the thought of wanting to move to Yakima again and be close to family. It is so hard to go there and then come home. I love it here but there is something to be said about being close to family. It is probably because I grew up around my extended family and we were all very close that I desire this for my kids.

Besides VBS...which Liam and Reilly loved. We had a sleep over 2 nights in a row with our cousing Jack, Grant and Maddie. Then we went swimming and played outside. We rode bikes and just hung out. The kids had so much fun together. This trip we stayed at Nana's condo since she was gone which worked out nicely for Natalie and sleeping arrangements with the kids. We got to visit Mema and Papka Goobs on Wednesday. The kids and I made dinner for them and we just hung out. Then Friday we jetted back home so that I could do a TS party.

I closed out June with the biggest month so far...I had $2338.00 in retail sales for the month. Crazy! July is no where near that, but I am amazed at how well I did in June. Saturday daddy hung out with the boys and they went to sportsmans warehouse and then to see Ratatouille. I had some girlfriends over for a Southern Living party. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday it was church and then home to be together. We went to a friends for a BBQ last night and that was it.

I am still out a washer due to Sears not showing up last week and then getting here today and telling me they had to order a part and because of the holiday it will not be here till Thursday and they can not install till Friday. Ugh....my good neighbor Jenni has been letting me use her washer and dryer today to wash clothes. Bless her!!!!!!! Ten fold...the laundry was piling to a astronomical amount.

Alright, I must go to bed. Love to all,
Jess

A Day at Lake Nolte

Well summer is finally here. We had beautiful weather today - finally! It marks the beginning of summer for us. I am watching my good friend Kileen's kids Jacob (13), Amanda (10) and Hannah (7) for the summer on Tue & Wed. Tuesday we spent the day at Lk. Wilderness and had a picnic lunch and then yesterday I picked the kids up and we headed to Nolte State Park. It was a lot of fun. I bet Amanda $5 she could not swim to the buoy and back - she tried but it was too cold. We got to watch a bald Eagle swoop down and take a baby duck that was swimming across the lake with its Mommy and brothers and sisters. It was very sad and we tried to get it to fly away by yelling at it, but it was determined. Even a flock of Crows tried to detour it. It was amazing to watch as I have never seen anything like it and it was up close, but sad at the same time.

We spent the rest of the day napping and reading then playing outside at there house. It was a fun day and my kids were worn out.

This brings us to Mid June...

Then the following weekend we went to Yakima on the 14th for my cousin's wedding. It was a whirlwind trip. We arrived Thursday afternoon and left Sunday morning. Thursday night Natalie decided she should be up most of the night. She was not happy and I think it was because I feed her pork chops and we do not normally eat that. She was really mad and the only ones that got to sleep that night were Liam and Reilly we even woke Papka Goobs up. No sleep for the weary...

The next day we got a chance to go to our nephew Gran't 6th birthday party. It was supposed to be a pool party can you beleive we brought the rain with us to Yakima. Plan B was put into motion and we at lunch at Grannie Ruth's with all Grant's friends. Can I say bologna sandwhiches are the bomb! Then we headed off to the arcade by my moms house. We had mud pie - yummy thanks to my SIL friend Shannon whose son Jaden was having a double party with Grant. What fun we had with 13 little rugrats. I of course was playing freeze tag, red-rover red rover, and other games with the kids while the moms watch - ha! You know me the crazy one. My SIL friends always ask her to invite me to entertain the kids (j/k). It was fun and Liam and Reilly loved hanging with all the kids.

After the party we headed back to Mema's for naps. Then up for dinner and rehearsal. Jason arrived that night and we went out to Morgan's SIL to the rehearsal dinner. It was fun and we watched a movie Morgan made for Tony. Then home to sleep!

Saturday started early. I went to the Cascade Gardens to help set up the wedding and then mom took care of the kids. We were back by 11:30 to feed everyone, nap and get ready for pictures. The wedding was at 5:30pm. It went well and Morgan and Tony looked great. The kids did awesome. I took my camera but was running around so much I never snapped a single photo at the wedding. I will get some of the ones Morgan's friend from school took. My kids were stinking cute!

After the wedding we headed home to Mema's around 9:30pm and we all crashed. We were up and out of the house by 8:30am to head home to hear Jason sing at church. We got there around 10:45am. By the time we got home everyone was hungry and tired. Reilly, Natalie and I napped for about 3 hrs while Jason and Liam watched the US Open golf tournament. Then Jason napped. We enjoyed a yummy dinner at Mam's dinner house here in BD and a movie rental.

There you have it we are all caught up.

June...where has it gone?

In early June Natalie and I went to my cousin Morgan's bachelorette party at my Aunt Angie's house in Government Camp, OR. The boys got to stay home with dad and Nana. We missed out on the Maple Valley Days, but I guess it rained a lot that weekend here.

It was rainy and wet in Government Camp too, but we still had fun. We hiked a 2mi hike around Trillium (not sure if that is how you spell it) lake and my Aunt Angie and mom got lost - now that was not funny but the story of how they got lost is...It all started with a ring of a cell phone which was my cousin Ryan calling my Aunt. So us girls kept hiking figuring that they would catch up. We walked around and then sat by the cars talking. Finally, when the conversation turned quiet and we realized no Angie and Liz were in sight we decided to go look for them. After a few of us ran around the lake to find them and some of us drove around they finally surfaced. Come to find out Angie got them lost. You may ask how someone who runs that trail and lives up there would get lost and that is a good question. All we can say it that we think altitude had something to do with her disorientation. The story goes that they were walking and Angie decided that it did not look right so they walked in a different direction and after a while they got lost. Mom started setting out things so they could keep track of where they were. Mom had to go potty so bad by the time she went well us women know what happened. When we found them they were cold, tired, disorientated and hungry oh and laughing hysterically. It was not long that they were lost, but long enough.

The rest of the weekend went off without a hitch. We played games, watched Morgan open gifts and dressed up in our tacky prom dresses. It was a lot of fun!