Double Date with the Boys

Two weeks ago it was my turn to take Taylor out and Andy's turn to take Matthew out...so we decided to do a double date and take the boys shooting.  This worked out great because all I had to do was sit in my camp chair and take pictures.  No walking involved...I was a good girl.

 

 First they had to set up their targets...and arrange all of the junk so they could shoot at it.

 

 Matthew had full reign of the BB gun...and I had to correct his form, he was all messed up at first!  Shooting off his left shoulder and trying to aim with his right eye...didn't work so well.

 

 In the meantime, Tay and Andy were shooting at the furthest target out...and they were using the box thingy to steady themselves.  They were watching with the binoculars to see how close they came to the center of the target. Tay did really well, he hit the outside of the circle each time.  I watched for a while...

 

 Then Andy told Tay to move over and let Mom show him what a sharpshooter she was.  Tay totally doubted my abilities.  However...if you look closely at his face...ahem...you'll see that he's a little annoyed.  Yep.  I hit the dead center of the target first shot...without leaning on the bench to steady myself.  He thought it was a lucky shot, so then I started naming off what I was going to hit before shooting.  For example:  "soda can on top of orange box, BOOM"  "shot gun shell in front of that target over there, BOOM."  I hit all my targets.  All those years of shooting at squash in our backyard paid off I guess.  It cracked me up how surprised Tay was that I could shoot!  Andy just laughed and laughed.

 

 After that, the boys started getting silly, and practicing their "form." 

 Here we have "casual Joe."

 

 and "Stiff Steven."

 

 and last but certainly not least..."Crooked Christopher."

 

By the end of the night, we had Matthew all straightened out and hitting his targets too!  Fun date with these funny boys!

Happy 14th Taylor!

Fourteen years ago, I became a mother for the first time when this "little guy" was born at 4:20 in the morning on June 23rd weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces.  Where did my "little guy" go?  He is now a couple inches over my 5'8...passed me in shoe size in the 4th grade...and has grown into an amazing young man.

 

Happy 14th Birthday Taylor!

 

Our home wouldn't be the same without Tay's quick humor and wit.  He is constantly making me laugh over the funniest little details that I would miss otherwise.  For instance...he thanked me for "stealing" him some awesome Nike socks from JC Penney's.  Crazy!  The clerk forgot to take off the magnet theft alarm thingy...obviously...it doesn't work that great!  Looks like we'll be heading back in with the receipt and asking them to kindly remove it.

 

He'll be going to stake dances now...so we got him a couple of nice polo shirts so he doesn't have to wear his white button-ups.  And yes, he's spoiled...I know he only likes the sleek performance fabric...so that's what he got.

Addy had to try out Tay's shirt too....and it passed. 

When he opened this little gift, Lainah shouted, "Hey!!!  Matthew has an airplane just like that one!"  Well, yes he does.  In fact, this IS Matthew's airplane.  The RC glider that we ordered Taylor hadn't arrived yet...it will be here in a few days...Taylor is excited!

And what else does a 14 year old boy need?  Well...we bought him the good stuff, AXE body spray  Rachel kept walking over to him and sniffing him...she loved it.  So...it's "Rachel approved!"  Andy and I both wonder if buying him that good smelling stuff was a mistake...we should have bought him Old Spice or something.

 

Taylor is a good sport and puts up with a lot being the oldest of six.  He carries a lot of extra responsibility, and for the most part is really patient and a fun big brother.  Matthew especially loves having a big brother that he can literally pounce on whenever he wants too...and even though Tay has the strength to body slam him back...it usually ends up in a friendly tussle.  Usually.

Andy and I couldn't be more happy with Tay.  He is a great kid...so proud of all his accomplishments thus far in his life, and for the good choices that he's making.  He has given us a few worry lines over the years...and has been the main topic of concern in more than a couple of our evening jogs (when I'm not pregnant) but really...I feel so blessed to be his mother.

We thought a 14th birthday deserved a "ribbon-cutting" ceremony. 

The scissors and ribbon weren't cooperating though, and it took him a few minutes to get it off.  We suggested that he never run for Mayor.

And here he is...keeping with tradition and cutting the cake.

Yummm....kit kats and Skittles?  Surprising...but skittles actually taste okay with chocolate!  (He doesn't like M&Ms...so I had to switch things up a bit with the design.)

I named this cake "Death by Sugar."  Andy said it was more like "Diabetes on a Platter."  Yep.

Later that night, one of Tay's friends surprised him by coming over with a little birthday surprise.  We made him come in and stay a while.  Good friends are the best!

 

This year will be a huge year of "firsts" for Taylor...first year of high school (at a new school too), first year of stake dances, it will be the first year in our new house...where he gets his OWN room.  (he's not excited about that or anything.) and most importantly...first year that he needs a fishing license.  Ha ha!

 

Happy Birthday Tay!

It's All Taylor's Fault

This really isn't Taylor's fault...but just for kicks and giggles, I blamed it on him today.  Without going into detail, during the second half of each pregnancy I've had, I have dealt with a lot of skeletal pain that worsens the closer I get to my due date.  The pain is caused by cartilage tearing away from bone, and it hurts to stand, to walk, to sit...basically it just hurts to do anything.  I'm thankful for my doctor, who didn't just shrug this off as nothing.  He has prescribed what pain meds he can, but unfortunately, he can't prescribe anything strong enough to take care of the pain...

Here's where I blame it on Taylor.  My doctor suggested crutches if the pain gets too intense to put weight on my legs.  Well, for the past three weekends, Taylor has had summer basketball tournaments with his new team, Skyview.  Andy has been working, of course, so I've taken him to most of the games...and sitting on hard bleachers for hours at a time, and climbing up and down the bleachers (which I'm not supposed to be doing) has made it intolerable to walk.  So today I got my crutches. 

He has two more games tomorrow...and I won't be going to either one, I'm letting Andy take over.  I only have to get through doing three sessions of speaking at the Regional Singles Conference tomorrow afternoon...and a wedding tomorrow evening, and then I'm done with my commitments and won't take any more on until I'm recovered from this baby. 

 

On a side note, I really need to learn how to better decline commitments...and Taylor looks handsome in his new colors.

 

 

Rachel's Home!

Rachel came home from Girl's Camp today...and Addyson was THRILLED to have her Rachey back!

She kept hugging her and kissing her and saying, "I love your hugs!"  So, so cute.

 

 She just had to keep contact with her for a while...she didn't want to let go.

Addyson just loves her Rachey...and I just love this big welcome home kiss she gave her!



Happy Sweet Sixteen!

Eighteen years ago, I went out on my first date with the man that I would marry two years later to the day on June 18th, 1998, in the Idaho Falls Temple.  There aren't words that can express what we share together, words cannot go deep enough or wide enough to capture it all...but to put it simply and to be very understated...after all of these years together, we would be lost without each other.  We complete each other in every way...

Words cannot describe the feelings that we share...but pictures start to tell the story a little better. 

On the day of our wedding, we were in love with each other.  We were excited about the life ahead of us, and had these wonderful ideals of what it would be like...

And right from the beginning, we also knew that life wouldn't be easy...our very own wedding day was made more difficult than most couples' because Andy's dad was too far progressed and sick with his disease to attend our wedding.  Our smiles of happiness also held the element of pain.  But as we've looked back, we've come to realize that it made us come to depend on one another so much faster and so much more completely. 

Through our years together, we have experienced so much happiness, joy, and sacrifice, and sorrow...and through it all have come closer and closer together...the love that you can see in our eyes as we look at each other in this picture tells the story so much better than any words.

I cannot imagine living my life with anyone else!  We were made for each other...and I can truly say that we are more in love with each other today than we were sixteen years ago...

And with him at my side and I at his...I know that this journey we call life will continue to be a great one, even with all the ups and downs!

Happy Sixteenth Anniversary Andrew Aaron!!! 

I'm so glad that I get to spend forever with you at my side!

How to Enjoy a Smoothie



Smoothies have become the health-food rage.  Green smoothies with "icky" things like spinach, kale, broccoli, green beans, lettuce, guacamole, and pickles???  Okay, maybe not all of those green things, but still.  Everyone does smoothies nowadays.  Well, here at the Thuernagle house, we've been doing smoothies ever since we fell in love with Jamba Juice about 10 years ago when Andy was a pharmaceutical sales rep and brought them home to us all the time.  Yumm......

 

Keeping with family tradition, little 2 year old Addy is going to demonstrate the correct way to enjoy a smoothie.  (Without the green...I may add.)

 

First:  Take a delicate sip...just to make sure Mom put in the right amount of bananas, berries...and other yummy ingredients that we can't disclose because it's a secret family recipe...

Then:  Once you know Mom did it right, you go all the way back and chug a lug lug...until it's all gone.  Make sure that your belly sticks out over the table edge...this aids in proper digestion.

Next:  You show Mom your approval by your big, eyes-closed, cheesy grin complete with smoothie marks on forehead, chin, cheeks, and upper lip.  Yummmmmy!

 

Finally:  You get a sweet smile on your face...and say, "Mo Smoovie?"

 

For best results:  Practice this method only on non-green smoothies.  Results may vary.



Girl's Camp!

It's hard to believe that this cutie is 12 years old and off to her first year of girls camp!  She has been so excited for the past few weeks, and I've had fun telling her about some of my funniest memories from my old girl's camp days.

Last week she put together all of her little gifts for her "Secret Sister."  She was so excited about who she got, and we had fun putting together fun little surprises for each day.

Rachey made this cute little washcloth organizer.  Her person's favorite candy is Jolly Ranchers...so with each little surprise we added in a handful.  We also added some dental supplies into this little organizer...we were about to put in one of the many toothbrushes we have on hand...but had to go buy one from the store because ours all say "Clearwater Dental" on them...which we thought would be a dead giveaway as to who was the giver.  hee hee.  Andy just laughed that we were putting candy in with floss, mouthwash, and toothpaste.  Hey, it works!

She's been getting more and more anxious as the departure day came closer...worried about getting carsick on the 2 hour busride (we gave her a Dramamine) worried about forgetting something...worried about getting up late and missing the bus...worried that other girls may not like her...

But I think this goofball princess will be just fine. 

She asked me to give her a "pre-camp" manicure yesterday...and since her ward's color is purple...we went with that color theme. 

So now that her nails are all beautiful...she's ready to go up into the mountains and camp.  Too funny!

Here she was this morning at 7:00 am, ready to go and not a minute late!

I'm so proud of myself, I only sobbed for a few minutes, and I waited until I was in my car driving home.  She is missed already!  Little Addy was looking for her this morning, and I told her Rachey was away for a little while so she walked around the house saying, "Rachel?  Rachel!  Come back!" 

 

Too sweet.  We will all be so excited to hear about her fun adventures at the end of the week! 



Happy Father's Day 2014!

Andy first became a father nearly 14 years ago (on the 23rd) when Taylor was born.  We had been married for two years...and I remember how amazing it was for our little family of two to grow to three.  How tiny Taylor looked in Andy's big hands!  I also remember how intimidating it was to think of taking care of a little baby and having the responsibility of providing for all of his needs.  16 years later...Andy is now the father of six children with the 7th on her way in just a few short weeks and he has done an amazing job at always being there for each one of them. 

Through the years, our kids have given him stacks of cards, and letters, and pieces of "art" that they have drawn or colored for him.  He is so sweet, he keeps all of it...but it's just stashed away and not organized or able to be viewed very well, so this year I decided to make him a scrapbook where he can keep all of the little lovenotes and keepsakes the kids have made for him.  I wanted him to be able to look at all of the "love" we have for him.

So here's his Father's Day binder...

with a section for cards...

a section for artwork...

and a section for letters and miscellaneous stuff from the kids and I.

He opened it up to find that we had already put in his stash of cards and pictures the kids had made.  He just grinned, and started going through it...and laughed at the funny things...and got tender over some of the other things the kids had made him.  I always stress over what I could possibly give him to show him what an amazing husband and father he is...but this year I think it became obvious that sometimes its just the simple things that mean the most.

Addy's Birthday feast and Andy's Father's Day Feast all in one!

I don't know how I got so lucky...Heaven must have been smiling down on me when Andy and I crossed paths 16 years ago.  I couldn't be happier, and the kids couldn't have a better daddy than him, he is awesome!  What a fun Father's Day we had this year...it was also Addy's birthday so we had double the fun at our house!

But really the fun began at church.  I love Father's Day...because the primary kids sing up front, and I love to watch our little kids singing to him.  This year was awesome.  Lainah (5 yrs) had just left the chapel to use the bathroom when they announced that it was now time for the primary children to come up front.  I quickly sent Rachel out to grab her...but it was too late...she was already in the bathroom doing her business.  I was so worried because I knew she would be SO disappointed if she missed singing to him!  Rachey was a great helper though...she hurried her along, and helped her wash her hands speedy quick...and just as the director had the kids all arranged and standing ready to start...our little Lainah came running into the chapel and jogged up the aisle and up onto the stage area.  When she got into place, she had the biggest grin on her face...and Andy and I were just laughing away.  I had tears in my eyes from laughing...it was just the funniest thing ever.  I leaned over to him and told him "I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of what her wedding day is going to be like."  To which he just laughed even more.

 

And Addyson had an itch to sing to daddy too...but she's too young to go up front.  Instead, she sat on Rachel's lap and we couldn't keep her quiet!  She kept singing "Elsa?  I know you're in there....we used to be best buddies, but now we're NOT!!!  I wish you would tell my WHY!!!!  Do you want to build a snowman?"  Let's just say it wasn't the Thuernagle's most reverent day at church...but it certainly was entertaining!

 

Happy Father's Day Andy!