Family ReunionTime!

Chad's video of the swing at Methodist Hill.  He's comment is "That's what a 40-something year old gets for trying to keep up with his teenage kids."  Priceless!!!

Spinning the McCulloch cousins around and around!

I love family reunions. Who knows us better or loves us more than our families? However, when families are spread throughout the country, like ours are, you don't get to see them quite as often as you'd like and it is simply amazing to me how much time can go by between visits. We figured out that it had been 4 1/2 years since we had been home to see my mother and father (though they have been to see us) and 1 1/2 years since we went to visit Chad's family.  This summer we took a 3 week vacation and were blessed to attend two family reunions in Idaho - both with my father's side of the family and Chad's mother's side of the family and see many relatives on my mother's side. It is sad that I was seeing my niece for the first time in 20 years and meeting my 13-year old great niece for the first time ever. But even though we have let FAR too much time pass between visits home, we definately took the opportunity to celebrate while we were there. Thanks to the Drinkwine and Heath families for being wonderful people. While we may not make it home often, you are in our thoughts and prayers always.  I promise we won't wait so long next time!

Taking a spin on the barrel train.

Us with Chad's Dad and Step-mom.  Not such a great picture of me, too much good picnic food I guess!

What better way to spend your time then climbing hay bales?

Aunt Sher and Kayleigh go for a spin on the raft.

The swing at Methodist Creek.  I'll post the video of Chad's landing too.

Uncle Chad takes Colt and Cole fishing, and Kay is just hanging out too.

Water fight - Drinkwine style.  Yes, we are a classy bunch!

My beautiful niece Shannon and her family.

Some of the Drinkwine clan.  So sad that not everyone was able to make it! I guess when there are 9 kids,  23 grandkids, and I don't even know how many GREAT-gandkids, it is hard to get everyone in the same place at once!

Hanging out in the shade.

Colt with Great-Grandma Dotty (Darcy's Grandma)

White water rafting with Darcy's mom and siblings - Becky and Mike and Mike's girlfriend Rochelle. Colt and Grandma Michele are there under the rapids, if you look closely! 

Darcy, Colt, Dakota, and GG (Great-Grandma Dotty).

My dad and step-mom.

Holiday Fun

December is here, let the holiday fun begin!  The best part about the holidays is the traditions that come along with them. I love shopping with the boys for their special ornament each year. Every Christmas Eve we will have pizza for dinner, the boys will open one present (Oh I'm so surprised, it's pajamas!) and then it will be off to bed for them.  Christmas morning brings stockings and presents and a special breakfast too.

I know that the traditions are important to me but it seems that they are important to the rest of the family as well.  Coltin has already reminded me that we need to plan ahead for the pizza this year because the pizza shops all close early; we found that out the hard way last year.  Last year was also the first year that Ben was not with us on Christmas.  He was getting ready to deploy so he didn't need a lot of "stuff" and told us not to do too much for him for Christmas. I sent him a few things I thought he could use but I apparently forgot one important thing - his Christmas pajamas.  I had to send a 2nd package so that he was sure to have them for Christmas Eve.

Traditions are part of what makes the holidays so special.  I am grateful for my family and the traditions we have established.  I look forward to making new ones as they continue to grow and go off with families of their own.

Happy Holidays Everyone

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2008

Bad Blogger...

My, oh My!!  Has it really been 9 months since I updated our family blog?  That is enough time to have a baby...thankfully we didn't.  But had we had one at least I would have an excuse for my failure to keep on this.  I'm sure I could come up with a multitude of other VALID  reasons (yep, still excuses) as to why I haven't updated it, but rather than bore you with them I'm going to give you a top 10 run-down to get you up-to-date with the Heath Family.  (You know you can't wait) 

10...Coltin got braces.  Ok, I did too but you won't get to see a picture of that!  And he got a mohawk (just for the summer).  Plus he went to a special engineering / aeronautics summer school which cumulated with his riding in a Cessna and taking some awesome aerial photos and he went to a sleep-away summer camp for robotics for a week.  (He's been a pretty busy boy!)

9...Dakota has grown to 6'2", had a minor biking accident resulting in a broken arm, and has recently taken up robotics.

8... Ben left for Afghanistan in January. 

7...Chad turned the big 40.  Enough said about that!

6...We all made it through our first winter in Nebraska.  Although I did have to buy a new AWD car to make it through!

5...Chad traveled all over the country, as usual.  But I got to take a girl's trip to Vegas for my Spring Break.  My mom and three of my good friends spent time with me there -- it was tons of fun!!

Aunt Beki, Grandma Michele, Dakota, and Ben in Seattle

Darcy, Colt, and Dakota in front of the Golden Gate Bridge

4...The family made a few jaunts as well.  San Francisco in December for Chad's work, Seattle in February to see Ben one last time before he left the States, Idaho in March to see Chad's family, and...

3...The five of us (minus our soldier boy but plus Uncle Mike!) spent a week in Washington, D.C. which was amazing!!

2...Ben came home on leave from Afghanistan.  And our adopted son J.D. came to Omaha to visit too!

and 1...each of the boys had a birthday and are one year older.  (Ok, mom did too but she doesn't so much like to admit that!)  Ben will soon be 19-- and much too grown up, Colt is now 12 -- the last official year of tweenhood-- and Dakota is 15 and is getting his permit--tomorrow! 

Yikes, what a 9 months it has been!!  I promise to not wait so long before blogging next time.  There's too much to add otherwise!!

Thanks for visiting and stop by again soon for another peek into the crazy Heath family!!



What a Difference a Few Years Makes...

I LOVE getting new family pictures.  First of all, it is my own little secret torture device for the boys in my life.  They HATE to get their picture's taken-- even more than that, they hate that I make them "match" for pictures.  It isn't matching really...well sometimes it is, but mostly it is just about coordinating for the picture.  This year's family pictures were especially torturous because I made them take them not once but twice -- in the same week!  We had regular studio portraits done one day and the next day we meet with a local photographer to do an outside portrait shoot. 
Getting the pictures taken are fun but so is updating the family picture frame.  That is the time that I get to pull out all of the old family picture and reminisce. How fun it is to remember when they were so little.  For me I think about it in school years -- that one was taken before Coltin started kindergarten, this one was taken my first year of teaching.  Strange, I know.  But really, would you expect any less from me?
This year's pictures are especially poignant with Ben being 18 and headed out on his own.  Who knows in the upcoming years if he will be in town on family picture day?  And sometime in the (very distant) future he will be adding a daughter-in-law and grandchildren to our family picture. 
I have not yet received the proofs from our outside photo shoot, but I am posting some from our indoor shoot, as well as some previous year's pictures for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

March 2006

December 2008

June 2009

November 2010

November 2010

No Ordinary Family...Our Secret Super Powers

Our family has recently started watching a new weekly television show called "No Ordinary Family".  It is about a family who is involved in a plane crash and then develops super powers.  So...I decided to blog about what super powers we would each pick if we got the chance.

Chad:  Wants to be able to control other people's minds...especially those of his three boys.
Ben:  Wants super strength .. all the better to pick up on the girls.
Dakota: Wants to be able to go back in time and "fix all of the stupid mistakes I made" 
Coltin:  Wants to be able to control metal so he can create himself a motorcycle.  I think that we might be in trouble when he gets old enough to drive. 

And for me, I just want to be able to be super fast .. because it seems like I never have enough time to accomplish all that I need and want to do. 

But alas, we do not have any super powers and we are just a plain-old ordinary family. We do have some incredible skills though. 
Chad:  can polish off a package of cookie dough without actually baking a cookie and has an award winning smirk.
Ben:  can empty a full fridge in under an hour and still be hungry
Dakota: can find a sarcastic comment for every occasion and is not afraid to say it
Coltin:  can hear and correct the grammar mistakes of anyone and everyone -- parents and teachers included

and me...well I can just bore you with blogs about nothing.  Gives me something to do since I have so much free time on my hands....  Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Halloween to all you ghouls and boys! It was a chilly night here in Nebraska land, but we sat outside and greeted our little neighborhood ghosts and goblins!  I wonder though, when did it become ok to not even bother with "Trick or Treat" and go straight to the "I'm going to hold my bag out and you need to put something in it"?  I don't mind spending $50 on candy and playdough to give away, but I'd at least like to hear the occasional "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You" for my money!! 
It was fun to sit outside with our homemade rootbeer bubbling away and visit with our friendly neighbors.  I do have to say that Nebraska has the best people!  I just wish it had been a little bit warmer.  Gloves, scarf, and heavy clothing is not my idea of the ideal Halloween weather.  Today's high was a balmy 50 degrees -- I miss my sunny Arizona more and more each day!

Here is a few pictures of our Halloween pirate and his loot. I have never seen so much candy come out of one trick or treat bag!  We are sending some to the teachers at Hickory Hill and Picotte, some to Ben in Georgia,  and some to our Kiewit friends.  Coltin was a little bummed out about the "sharing" but I think even he realizes that he can not possibly eat all of this candy -- although I am sure that he would like to give it a try!

Carving a Pumpkin..for the last time???

Ok, so I am a loser mom but I really DISLIKE carving pumpkins.  It does nothing for me.  I could live forever without doing it again and never miss it.  All those ooey gooey guts and seeds that NEVER get all the way out of the pumpkin, no matter what you do...and don't EVEN get me started on sillly little pumpkin carving knives that snap in half and have to be pried loose from their pumpkin graves.  But alas, the kiddos love it.  So, with a big sigh and a promise to myself that I can get a massage to reward my good behavior, off we go to carve a pumpkin.  But it occured to me this year as Colt was carving (or wait, that was me that was carving while Colt looked on) that perhaps this year will be the last in the long line of pumpkin carving torture.  This year is the last year we will have a child in elementary school.  Next year Colt will be in middle school (gulp) and Dakota a sophmore in high school, while Ben will likely still be serving in Afghanistan.  What if, along with outgrowning trick or treating and the jolly red elf that comes each winter, Colt also outgrows pumpkin carving?  Am I really ready for that?  This year Dakota refused to even pick out a pumpkin; he said he really didn't want to bother.  All of these little things that I have taken for granted the past 18 years, trick-or-treating, egg hunts at Easter, letters to Santa, they are all coming to an end.  My babies are growing up and I don't know if I am quite ready for that.  Will we be ok if we have NO jack'o'lanterns on our stoop next year?  I don't know--maybe I'll drop by my favorite Hobby Lobby and pick myself up a nice styrofoam jack'o'lantern that is pumpkin gut free!  Now that's the best idea I've had in a while. 

At least Coltin scooped most of the nasty pumpkin guts out himself!

Note:  This is the front side of the pumpkin.  There is only one pumpkin, Coltin designed and mom carved both sides.  It is the most interesting thing I have ever seen, but it makes him happy!

Back side of Coltin's 2-faced pumpkin. 

Happy Halloween everyone and enjoy those wonderful family moments, pumpkin guts and all!!

Georgia on My Mind...

One of the hardest things that I have ever had to do is to let my baby go.  How can he possibly be old enough to be out on his own and in the military?  Sadly, he can be.  We are so very proud of him and his decision to serve our country but aprehensive just the same.  I took a long weekend and went to visit our soldier boy at Fort Gordon in Georgia.  Georgia is a beautiful state but it pales in comparison to seeing my son's face in person!  It amazes me how much he has grown up over the past six months.  He is no longer my baby, but I love the man he has grown into.  Our relationship with him has strengthened and matured and isn't it amazing how SMART I have become in the past 6 months!  :)  Gotta love that!  Here are a few pictures of our amazing boy.  We love you Ben!