The Reptile Man and Fast Healing

The first graders got to go on a field trip to see the Reptile Man today! You can imagine the ooooo' s and ahhhhh's when he pulled out the baby alligator.

Another favorite was the tourtoise. After showing him off to the kids, the reptile man let him roam around "mowing the lawn". He was so tame and seemed to enjoy mingling with his adoring fans. His shell is so hard that a car could drive right over him and it wouldn't break. Pretty amazing!
The absolute favorite was when the principal, Mr. Foster, was volunteered to have an albino python wrapped around him.


Linsey was pretty brave and wanted to get a more upclose and personal look at all of the reptiles, she even reached out to hold the python. (I only got close enough to take good pictures.)

Hunter finally decided that the tail was safe enough to touch.

After all the excitement, there was still a half hour to kill before lunchtime so those smart first grade teachers (always prepared for situations like this) pulled out a giant rope and had tug-of-war contests between the classes.

"On your mark, get set, go!"
(Linsey's teacher Mrs. Miller)

tugging.....

"We won!"
(check out the two boys in the back)

It was a fun afternoon and I was grateful Linsey's teacher invited me to come with my two little tag-a-longs. Hunter and Emma were really excited to see what a field trip was all about! :)

On a side note.... many of you have been asking about Hunter's burn. It has been healing remarkably fast. We are amazed. Here is a picture a few days after he had his fall into the fire pit.

and here it is this morning, not even 2 weeks later.

Sup

Well, it has been awhile. I'm glad to be back, if you’re reading this, thanks for checking back on us after a long hiatus.
I've recently recovered from a bout with the worst sickness I've had in years. When I started getting sick I decided that I wasn't going to let is slow me down. I kept going thinking I could push right through it. My body responded by shutting me down for over 5 days. It was the worst. Usually, when you get sick, it's nice the first day or two to lay around having someone bring you Sprite and Sour Cream and Onion Lays. But, after the first day your bed just isn't so comfortable and you've already watched every movie you feel like seeing. So four more days of this was torture. I almost missed the annual Lakeland Hills garage sale where our entire hill has a garage sale on the same day. I couldn't walk it so I drove around while Camille would walk the block. We found a sweet bike for Camille and a kid carrier for my bike. Now we can all go biking together. When we got back from shopping Linsey put up a table and sold cookies, kool aid and waters. She made over $25 in less than 2 hours.

The next big event was our Memorial Day camping trip. We rented a cabin at Camp Zarahemla just over Chinook Pass toward Yakima. It's on a nice lake called Silver Lake. Most of our ward was there too. We had a talent show, potluck dutch oven dinner, Sunday program and fished in the lake. The kids played them selves silly. I've never seen them more tired and dirty. It was great.
The only down side happened when Hunter tripped on a rock and put his hand in the fire. He suffered 3rd degree burns on his hand and wrist. It was an emotional event for our family to see our little Hunter man in such pain and anguish. We got cold water on it, cleaned it and dressed it up. Then the men there gathered around and we gave him a Priesthood blessing. I remember very distinctly when I gave Hunter his baby blessing that I said he would heal quickly from injury. He has done remarkably well since it happened. Partly because all of the nerves were cut so he doesn't feel much. He has been healing well and the doctor (Camille's brother) said he should heal up just fine. He has been really tough through it all which is unusual for Hunter. We were certainly grateful for all of our friends who helped us through all of that chaos. Especially Tracy Biddulph who moved with reflexes bordering on premonition, scooping Hunter up when he fell.
On a lighter note, here are some fun pictures from the trip.

Hunter has a little crush on a girl named Lydia. It's a love hate relationship but this weekend it was all love. I heard that she asked her mom how to spell "I love Hunter". Already a ladies man just like...uh never mind.

Mill Pond harvest

Mill Pond
There is a little pond at the bottom of our hill that they stock with trout in preparation for an annual "kids fishing day". The event is this Saturday but the stock the pond about a week in advance. We always hit the pond during this time because the fishing is awesome and there is no one there. We fished for about 2 hours and had a blast. We got soaked by a downpour that came through but, true to their McInelly blood, the kids didn't want to stop fishing.

Hunter reeled this one in all by himself. He was so excited that he shouted "look at that fish, I caught that fish!" As you can see, I am really proud of him.

Linsey got in on the action too. They each caught two trout.

We had such a great time and Camille took such great pictures too!

The Last 3 Weeks

Sometimes I wish someone would do this to me.

Man, it's been harder than I thought it would be to update this blog on a regular basis. People are growing restless and I've been getting some complaint letters so I guess it's time to give you the goods. This will be a picture post since most of what's happened over the past few weeks has been captured in 1's and 0's. I love digital cameras. Just like smart phones, I don't know how we ever lived without them.
Here we go...

The other night Matt, my brother, called me up and said he had free tickets to a Seattle Mariners game that night. So on a whim we packed up the kids and headed off for Safeco Field on a school night. I'm not much of a baseball fan but they have these garlic fries that are unbelievable. We actually had a really good time. The game wasn't crowded and the kids had fun roaming the seats around us. At one point I bought them a bucket of cotton candy. Hunter and Linsey ate the whole thing in about ten minutes. I've never seen a sugar rush quite like the one that hit them. I watched Linsey red faced from laughing so hard, fall over the seats onto the row below and lay on the ground laughing some more. Such an event would have normally been followed by screaming, crying and demands for a band aid. However, with a blood sugar level twice the legal limit, she wasn't even phased.
We did have a quite car ride home though. What goes up, must come down.

We had the missionaries over for dinner on Monday. We had soup bowls with chili inside. At one point the elders pointed out that we might want to talk to Hunter about his eating style. Instead we took a picture.

We spend the last weekend soaking up some serious sun at the Camille's parents house in Kennewick. It was truly energizing to play outside in 75 degree weather with no clouds in site.
We went there to celebrate Emma's 2nd Birthday and to meet Doug's soon to be wife, Desiree.
The kids played non stop with their cousins for 2 days. It was great.

Emma likes her present.

Wheelbarrow rides. Better than Disney Land and free!

Hunter collected Rolly Pollies for hours. He really wanted to bring them home but I convinced him to let them go and make more Rolly Pollies for next time we visit.

Doug and Desiree. They are getting married in San Diego on August 10th. She is a really neat girl and great for Doug.

I'm not sure where the fascination with Dandelions comes from. Perhaps it's because it's the only flower that kids can pick without someone getting mad at them. We are still finding dandelions in various pockets of things we took on this trip.

Side walk chalk art. I couldn't resist drawing a fish.

Emma and Gavin. They were born about a month apart. I've decided that they must have done rock, paper, scissors to see who got to come down to which family. They look more like twins than Gavins older brother and sister who actually are twins.

On Saturday at the Butlers we went to a park and Chris set off a whole bunch of cool rockets. They fly up hundreds of feet, let out a parachute and then float down slowly. The kids had fun watching them go up and then chasing them as they came down. It was great entertainment on a beautiful day.

Lift off.

Hunter got to launch one but he would only do it if I would cover his ears. The rockets were very noisy and he is sensitive to loud noises.

He wasn't the only one scared of all the noise.

The boys reaction to a failed parachute.

When we got home Hunter showed me what Braydon taught him. Pretty cool talent for a 4 year old!

Highlight Reel

So this week was a whole bunch of cool events all in a row. Rather than go through the details of them all I'll just give you the highlights in pictures. That's one of my favorite things about Sportscenter and why it captivates men everywhere. You can get a full days worth of games in about 30 minutes. It's efficient and to the point. And you still know enough about what happened to sound like you spent the whole day watching football instead of going to the musical CATS.

Event # 1
Camille bought bath robes for Linsey and Hunter. They used to have their own towels but she found these cool (notice I'm saying cool here and not cute, real men don't say cute) robes for cheap so she bought them. Only problem is that she didn't get one for Emma. Now you know if you have more than 2 kids, you can't leave one of them out without serious problems. We've been dealing with the aftermath of this decision for a few weeks now. In a moment of weakness and with "not a clue in the world about house rules" Dad in charge one night, Emma got to wear Linsey's robe after her bath. Now we are back to square one explaining that she doesn't have a robe of her own and that the green one is Linsey's but hey, we got some good pictures, right? I feel like I say that a lot.


Event #2
Easter Egg Hunt

This is a regular occurrence this time of year. In years past we have had to work with the kids to get them fired up about swinging elbows with the other hooligans and doing whatever it takes to get as many of those candy filled plastic eggs as possible. I claim ten percent as "Father tithing", you got to get them used to it sometime. So I'm concerned with the overall take of the family as I have a serious Snickers quota to fill. There's nothing quite like a frozen bite size Snickers or two while watching Sportcenter. However, this year we didn't really have to convince anyone to get their game face on. Just check out the concentration on Hunter's face.


And here's my ten percent.


For some reason little kids seem to be blessed with short sightedness. During the 1-3 year old hunt I saw this demonstrated multiple times. The half pints would find one egg, open it and want to eat all the contents before heading out to find more bounty. You could see the panic in the eyes of the parents when they realized their kid wasn't getting it. Like less eggs means they won't get into BYU. I must admit that Emma did this on the first egg but once I calmly showed her that there were other eggs to pick up, she promptly screamed at the nearest kid until he ran away in fear and she picked up the egg he was going for. That's right Emma, you tell em what's up. Back at our house we had a private Easter Egg hunt for all the relations. Brody is Emma's cousin and he fell victim to the little kid syndrome. But, there was no pressure so we all watched as he ate M&Ms, jelly beans and grass.

Event #3
Easter Sunday dinner
Ham, Canadian rolls, cheesy potatoes, pineapple desert, carrots that taste so good they must not really be carrots, green beans with those cool crunchy things on top and, best of all, a great family to share it with.
Here is my brother Zack and Carrie holding Linsey and Hunter. Almost makes you wonder whose kids they really are.


Zack and Carrie have a cool dog named Annie. Hunter is deathly afraid of dogs. At one point I heard him talking gently to someone around the corner. I peeked and caught him flirting with danger.

Event #4

2 is better than 4.

I must admit that this is one of those proud moments in life that just makes you want to sit up straight and smile when you think about it. Linsey finally gave up the training wheels and learned to ride her bike with 2 wheels! She came to me on Saturday afternoon and asked me if I would help her learn to ride without them. I had actually taken them off last fall but she didn’t get it back then and has been riding a scooter as her primary mode of transportation since then. I had taken a broomstick and taped it to her bike so that I wouldn’t have to lean down and break my back holding the seat of her bike while running up and down the street. We had been going back and forth for awhile when my neighbor, Jon Hatch, suggested that we speed up a little. As soon as we did that, she got it. A couple more times up and down the street and she figured out turning, stopping and starting too. She was really excited and rode the rest of the day. It really brought a slight tear to my eye to see her looking so grown up, off by her own power. I remember the freedom I felt when I learned to ride a bike. I felt like the world was mine to explore and conquer.

Hunter decided he wanted to taste the freedom too so I moved the pole and worked with him for a couple of hours. I think I put in about 12 miles by dinner time.


All in all it was a great week. We had non stop fun all weekend. Also enjoyed a night out with friends on Friday where we played a mean game of Settlers. I didn't win but I know who to put the robber on next time!

It's pictures like this that remind me of the happiness that kids bring into our lives. Having them doesn't make sense on paper. The joy they bring is pretty hard to describe in words. I'm just glad I have them and I'm glad that Heavenly Father trusts me with such precious things. I don't know how he gave up his only Son but it's seems like having these special spirits in my life is giving me a glimpse of what it was like for him. It would be hard but I know he did it because he loves us all. And now he lives again.
Happy Easter

The Best Birthday Gift!

Well, my birthday was Sunday, but with the busy conference weekend Jared suggested we go out for breakfast Friday morning to celebrate. I got Linsey off to school and Jared had arranged for a friend to watch Hunter and Emma so I dropped them off and met him at Sunbreak Café! Yum! About halfway through breakfast Jared told me he had a little surprise…… He actually had taken the whole day off and planned to drive my car home, pick up the kids, and takeover the household duties so I could have a free day to do whatever I wanted! Jared had gone to the gym for his morning workout before we met for breakfast so we each had our own car making it easy to go our separate ways. He informed me that I was not allowed to come home unless it was an emergency and that I should meet him and the kids at my favorite restaurant for dinner at 6:00. Wow! I was so shocked at the reality of a whole day to myself that I wasn’t sure what to do. I’ve been reading a great book and my first thought was that I wish I had that with me. Part of what made this birthday gift so special is all the thought that Jared put into it. He had a cooler full of cold drinks, my book (yes, he thought to grab that for me), a letter which gave me some ideas of things I could do with my free time, and some cash to “get me started” as he put it. Jared wished me a happy birthday in the parking lot and then drove to pick up the kids. I drove out of the parking lot and then realized that I had no idea where I wanted to go first so I pulled over and thought about it for a few minutes. Jared had given me some great ideas in his letter, but I couldn’t decide where to start. I decided that I would head to South center to do some shopping and maybe after that I’d get a pedicure or see a movie. I’m not sure if I was still in shock with the possibilities or if I’ve ever driven to South center without children, but I drove the entire way in the carpool lane. Oops. I went to Nordstrom’s and tried on designer jeans just for fun, I went to the MAC counter and let them put makeup on me, consulting me on colors etc. (something I see other women doing all the time but I quickly shuffle past the counter with all of my children reaching out to see if there’s anyway they can touch anything as we pass). I shopped till my feet got tired from all the walking and then I found a place to get my hair done, that’s always a fun thing. By the time I finished there my feet were rested so I went to Target and got the Easter basket shopping done, it was nice to for once not have to hide what was in the cart from the kids so I could pretend it was from the Easter Bunny. By then, I was hungry and a little tired so I treated myself to a snickers bar and some licorice for lunch and then I settled in at the library with my book. I spent the rest of the day reading. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to “stay away” for the whole day, but it was a lot easier than I had thought! I loved it and had a great time, but I was anxious to see Jared and the kids that night at the Olive Garden. We had a delicious dinner and the rest of the weekend continued to be wonderful. I feel so lucky to have such a sweet husband, wonderful kids, and great friends. Thanks everyone for a great birthday!

The BIG 30

Camille officially turns the big 30 today, April 1st. That's right thirty years ago today the world was blessed with the presence of the cutest little girl in all of Idaho.
For her birthday I took the day off work and let her have a free day to do whatever she wanted without any kids! She said it was the best birthday present ever. I'll let her post what she did with all those hours of free time. She works so hard taking care of little tykes, big tykes and our house that she deserves time off to relax.
Camille is the best Mother and wife I could ever ask for. I can't wait to be around for the next thirty years!

If you want to, leave a comment telling Camille Happy Birthday!

The Best Rainy Day Ever

We spent Saturday morning attending the highlight of Auburn Family Week, the 5k Fun Run. I'm not sure you should really be able to use "fun" and "run" to describe the same event but, whatever, I'm not in charge. As some of you know, Camille has been running religiously, every morning at 6:00 am for over a year now. In Seattle that means dark, cold and rainy while pounding out 3 miles every day without fail (except Sunday, Camille just gave a great talk in church today about keeping the Sabbath day holy so I must put in here that she DOES NOT run on Sunday and she's blessed for it). So, since she's now a die hard runner she decided to enter the Fun Run. In fact, most of our friends decided to run too. Since I was the only member of the group who still doesn't think that fun and run should go together I got to take care of all the kids! In typical Seattle fashion it was raining all morning long and there were puddles everywhere. (Puddles + kids) X (overly laid back supervising adult) = FUN! At one point, while walking through a puddle that was knee deep, little Alyssa Hatch just stopped and shouted "this is the best rainy day ever!"

This is how it all started. Emma found a spot where some water was falling. At first she just put her hand in it. Then she decided her head was more fun. Notice the kid stealing oranges in the background.

And it led to this...

And eventually they migrated to the sand volleyball courts. In the background, on the right, is the Dad of some of the little tykes yelling at them to get out of the mud. I hope he doesn't read this blog.

The highlight of the day was Camille taking 3rd place in the 20-29 division. She'll be 30 this coming up Sunday so she should have competed in the older division where she would have been first. She had a time of 23:45! Pretty awesome for her first 5k ever.

There was also a kids race. Linsey came in third. Hunter had a fight with a bump of grass and needed Mom to help him recover.

Pure happiness...

I spent the rest of the day working in the yard trying to get the garden ready to grow me some goodness. Of course it rained all day and now, Sunday, it's all blue skies and sunny. Sometimes Seattle frustrates me. But sometimes, when the sun comes out and everything's green and we all come out of our caves to let the kids play, I actually feel like running for fun.