What the heck?? And here I am . . . 4 years later . . . and still going strong!

I'm BAAACCCKK! I remembered somewhere, deep in my brain, that I had started this blog years ago. It was really fun to read the old posts. My kids were so little!! We were still jobless! Things have definitely changed.
Lets see... we left off in Feb of 2011. We are still loving Rexburg. Arthur was offered a job as a Teacher Specialist at JCC, a juvenile corrections center in St. Anthony, Idaho. The great thing about it is that we got to stay here in Rexburg, he is FINALLY teaching, and we got to buy our first house! We really felt grown up!

Ezri is 14! Can you believe it?? She's gorgeous! She is such a fun, wonderful daughter. She's already taller than me. She loves her cousins, loves her Ipod, and loves anime. I mean, LOVES it. She's always watching something or reading something that I have no clue what it is about . . . even if she explains it to me. I'm glad her and Arthur can share that part of her life together because I just don't get it. She's kind of at that awkward age right now. To young to get a job, to young to drive. She never has the money she wants for her unquenchable need for Taco Bell. It's weird to think that I only have a few more years with her. Being a parents is hard. It's hard to see your kids go through so much change and SO fast when it feels like I stay the same. I hope she never gets over needing me. She's got so much a head of  her! She is going to take French this next year. She wants to be a Chef and thinks that French will help her with that. She's always up and down with her friends here. She's learning the hard way to stand up for herself. I sure do love this girl! I'm excited to see where life takes  her.

Check out this handsome young man! Xavier is 12 now. He's growing and GROWING! He's even taller than Ezri! His feet are 2 sizes bigger than Arthur's! He's loving Young Men's and is currently on a week long leadership training called Cedar Badge. He's definitely a camper. If he's not outside floating in the canal or trying to catch wild things down by the river, he's in the basement watching survivor documentaries. HA! He's going to be in the Jr. High this next year. He and Ezri will be walking to the same school. He still struggles in school a bit. I actually attended a day with him last year to let him know how serious I am about his education. He's a very loving boy. He's always ready with a hug for me. He and Arthur butt heads quite a bit. Maybe it's the age. Maybe it's because Arthur is surrounded by criminal boys all day long... who know. We do love this boy and are so happy about the great young man his growing into.

Tanis! Still our family clown.  He'll be 11 this year. He will be changing schools and going to the Middle School. He loves Legos, still the guy who LOVES his video games, and eating. That pretty much sums him up. His favorite food pizza. In fact, he asks if we can have pizza at least 4 times a week. He enjoys playing with his friends. Unfortunately all of his good friends live far across town so that has been a little inconvenient. He's great in school. His teachers always love him. He is actually turning into quite the writer and has written several stories his teacher just raved about. He's not really into the scout thing. Maybe it's the age, but he pretty much likes to test limits to see how much he can get away with doing or not doing. It's a stage all the kids have seemed to go through. I guess it's his turn. Even though he's a turd, I couldn't imagine our family without Tanis! Our wonderful middle child.

And next up . . . Zarek! He's 9 this year. Zar Jer is our softie. Our Lovie Dovie. He is our cautious child. He is completely fine watching all the other kids float down the river on rafts but won't go himself because What if?? I think he gets a lot of this from me. I'm the same way! He LOVES to have his back scratched. I can usually see him coming from across the room, backing up towards me. Yeah, I know what he is asking. He loves when Grandma Talbert comes because she gives the best back scratches. He is great in school. His teacher are trying to encourage him to have confidence in himself and his work. He tends to give up if the going gets hard. He is extremely dependable. Always the first to get his chores done and always willing to do what ever is asked. Zarek is such a sweet heart.

Last but not least... Ryker. He's grown a lot since the last picture. He just turned 6. He definitely knows what he wants and usually wants it all NOW. He loves video games like his brothers. He is very active and jumps and runs all day. He graduated Kindergarten and is excited about going into all day school next year. (So am I!!) He loves to eat, but only what he wants to eat. He is a junk food junkie! It's  hard to get him to sit and eat a Sunday dinner since he "doesn't like" everything. He loves to be with his brothers but is perfectly content to be by himself as well. He is funny! He loves to tell jokes and make people laugh. LOVE HIM!!

Well, other then the kids which make up 99% of my day, I like to garden and sew. I've also taken up raising chickens which I totally love. Arthur has been painting miniatures. He is very good at it. We are a month into summer break. The kids are all bored out of their minds, and I refuse to let them waste their days playing mind numbing video games all day. Is seems kids these days have lost their ability to imagine! They will all be spending a week at Grandma Longaker's house this August. A whole week without kids for me!?! I'm going to be so bored! LOL!