THE BUSHNELLS

2012-01-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Bushnell Family Pictures

Photographer: Whitney Smart

2011-12-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend and I

2011-10-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Another update from Philomath....

Uh-oh. She's discovered Warwick's toys!

Isn't she precious???
And adorable??

We got a little brother for Maggie. Meet Jimmer.

It's so fun to have girls. Madison is such a great help with Sienna. Sisters are the best!

Madison and her 4th grade teacher, Ms. McConnell.

Brody and his 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Priewe.

Our little escape artist. You better strap her in good or she'll find a way to escape!

My two little buddies! We hang out all day while the others work and go to school!

Brody and Warwick's birthday party! I know, this is from August!

No cake this year....just shaved ice!

We roasted hot dogs and marshmellows around our campfire, too.

We stayed in yurts for our family reunion this year. It was a blast! Here we are all cozy and ready for bed!

Brody loves sports. Soccer, running, baseball, football, basketball. You name it, he loves it.

Here he is playing baseball this past summer.

We took the kids to the beach this summer with Whitney and Cody.

It was a beautiful day at the beach.

The kids love to fish. But, no luck today. The fishies weren't hungry I guess.

Happy Birthday Warwick!

2011-07-23T23:58:00.000-07:00

5 Years have really flown by. It seems like yesterday that Warwick was this cute smoochie baby, but today we celebrated his 5th birthday!

He is really excited about having a birthday party with his friends, but that has to wait until next weekend.

We still managed to pack in a fun-filled day for the birthday boy.

We decided to head to Grandma Robin and Grandpa Burt's house and spend the day with them. Our day started out with Grandpa Burt's new truck. Brody and Warwick named it Bumblebee. They talked about how awesome Bumblebee was all day and they went everywhere with Grandpa...just so they could ride in it. My dad loves it, too.

Next up, in Bumblee of course, was the Farmer's Market. It was bustling with people and had the best food! The kids had a blast playing in the fountains! Finally, a nice hot summer day!

They also loved pestering the ducks. They wanted to feed them so badly, but we had nothing. So, instead they joined them in the water.

Then we headed to the swim park. I asked Warwick what his favorite part of the day was and he said it was the swim park! It really was fun! We stayed here for hours while they swam, played on the playground and played in the sand.

We came home and the kids made pigs in a blanket and we had a big birthday feast with fruit, corn, beans and chocolate treats from Grandpa Burt. No cake or candles for the birthday boy yet. He wants an Ironman cake for his party.

Finally, we got to the birthday surprises. We took Warwick to Build-a-Bear for his birthday! He fell asleep on the way there and we had to beg and beg him to get out of the car. He kept saying, "I'm just too tired!" We wore him out! I finally whispered in his ear,"Are you too tired to go to Build-a-Bear?" He perked right up and bounced into the store!

Opening some presents...

Happy Birthday Warwick!

You are such a fun little boy! Always smiling and ready for some adventure!

2011-07-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

Our summer so far in photos:

My two favorite little gals all snuggled up at the park.

We basically live at this park during the summers.

We hit up the local rodeo carnival.

Warwick was the only one brave enough to ride a sheep. I think they call it muttin' bustin' or something like that. (what do I know? I am just a city girl!)

Here he is after showing off his ribbon.

He's ready to get on the sheep with all his safety gear.

Madison riding in the back of our big monster truck during the 4th of July parade. This was the highlight of our kids summer so far. They sat in the back and squirted the crowd with super-soakers. They had no mercy and loved every minute of it.

I think Jason bought this car just so he could show it off in all the local parades. We have done 2 so far and it's pure heaven for Jason. It's the biggest truck I have ever seen. I am not even allowed to touch it.

(actually, i am too scared to. it's huge!)

Did I mention that the team I coached this year in Track won the State Championship?? Yep, we did! Here we are on the podium. So fun.

2011-05-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

A quick update on us:

We took the kids skiing and snowboarding for the first time this winter. The weather was perfect. I wore Sienna in the front pack and ran down the practice hill teaching Madison how to ski. Brody and Warwick flew down on their snowboards with Jason. It's crazy how fast kids pick up things and how they have no fear. By the end of the day they were going down the easy runs and loving it.

Brody lost his front two teeth a few months ago.

He is a little worried because they haven't grown back yet.

He keeps asking, "What if they never grow back?" He made this hat on the 100th day of school.

We got a dog named Ernie. He only lasted a few weeks. He was perfect. Our kids loved him, but he loved us too much. He tried to bite anyone who came near us. So we had to give him back to his owners.

Madison running the jog-a-thon at school. She did great! Brody ran too. He loved it.

For spring break this year we went to Utah. The kids had a blast playing with tons of cousins.

We visited Temple Square.

My niece got married in the SLC temple during spring break. Here is the family all dressed up for the big occasion. My mom made Madison's jacket. I love it!

I went outside to water my flowers and I came back into the house and found these two little cuties sound asleep together. I love this.

Easter egg hunt at the school.

Easter Sunday.

The Easter Bunny came while we were at church and our yard was covered in hidden goodies. The kids were in heaven. Warwick kept saying, "This is the best Easter day ever!"
Sienna started sucking her fingers a few weeks ago.

I can't stop her....

And just because she is so cute...

If you look really close, you can see her cute little earrings. Yep, I pierced her ears last week. While she was getting them done, I heard a little girl tell her mom, "See Mommy, even that baby gets to have her ears pierced!" And then the mom replied, "Different rules in different houses!"

I guess I am a bad mom...but, she looks so cute!

And don't worry, while I was away at a track meet, Jason took the kids to get a new dog. Meet Maggie. She is awesome, but she does like to sneak out every once in awhile.

Here is my rugged husband in our woods. He loves his yard and spends every spare moment beautifying it. I love it!

2011-02-08T14:39:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve we partied in Seattle at my nephew's wedding reception. After the reception, my sister threw a great New Year's party with lots of dancing, eating, games and more eating!

I guess Brody isn't into weddings. This is what he did the entire reception...play video games like an addict. (Maybe he wouldn't be such an addict if I'd just give-in and buy him one. ) He did manage to put this down once the New Year's Party began.

Jamie gave Madison a make-0ver before the reception and let Madison sleep in her room with her while we were in Seattle. Madison wishes Jamie was her big sister. Next month we get to see Jamie all glammed up at her wedding. My cute little niece is all grown up!
This is what Warwick did most of the night. You'd think he was all worn out from a night of partying, but this is him before the parties began!
Even though this one is obviously an old picture, I had to post it. These two monsters loved their baby sister the moment they met her.

Sweet little Sienna sleeping this morning. I could probably waste a lot of time just staring at her...in fact, I do.

Sienna all dolled up for church the other day. Little girls are so fun to dress.

Somehow, by morning time, everyone always ends up in my bed.

Sienna is so smiley and fun these days.

This is for Jamie and Keri! THANK YOU!!!

The girls loved their outfits and they looked so darling!Okay, maybe Sienna wasn't so excited about it all.

Sienna is wearing an outfit I wore as a baby. She's into vintage clothing.

Besides needing a haircut, Brody has lost 3 teeth in the last few weeks. One on top and two on the bottom. He looks a little crazy!

This is what my kids do everyday after school. Color, Color, Color and make paper snowflakes.

2010-12-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

Our 1st week of Christmas Break in photos....

2010-12-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks we have spent fighting over this cute little baby...

...but, we have also had fun this past fall visiting pumpkin patches,

playing soccer,

having Madison's Halloween themed 9th birthday party,

trick-or-treating,

and for the grand finale....

the most exciting thing that has happened in the last few days.

here is Warwick before...

...and after!

Sienna

2010-12-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

2010-11-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

Sienna Charly Bushnell

November 19, 2010

2010-09-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

Warwick's photo shoot.

(photographer Amber Bushnell)

I love these photos of Warwick! Which one is your favorite?

We had a big birthday bash for Brody and Warwick a few weeks ago. Tyler gave Brody this awesome bike. It was a big hit!

Happy Birthday boys!

Party location: Papa's Pizza.

Welcome to soccer in Oregon. We play rain or shine. Kids were sliding all over in the mud. It was great!
Brody's team this year: Cubs

Madison's team this year: Dynamite

These were taken by a parent on Brody's team. Next week, we'll get pictures of Madison.

2010-08-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

It's official. The days of sleeping in and playing at the park all day are over! It's back to school! Poor Madison had to wake up at 7:30am. OUCH! She was really excited to start her new school today.

Here she is all grown-up. A big 3rd grader.

I guess the sun got word that summer was over. It poured all morning on the first day of school.

Here she is at her desk. I should have gotten a picture of the kid in her class that had a 4-inch tall, black and white striped mohawk. Nice!

And here is my Kindergartner. He was so excited for school today that he wanted to leave an hour early. He picked out his own outfit. He said this shirt was perfect because it matched his hair.

I have been too busy all summer to post any pictures, so here is a little re-cap on some summer fun. Here are my flowers by my front door. They are the only ones that I planted that survived the deer. The dang deer ate ALL my flowers!

Brody's favorite past-time is exploring our yard. We have a pond full of loud frogs and Brody loves to torture these little guys by catching them.

Madison has loved to party hard and sleep just as hard.

Jason even managed to squeeze in some fun in between his job and teaching night classes at OSU.

Brody and Warwick got a video game for their birthday. Don't worry. I didn't buy it. I still don't believe in them. Here they are in our garage playing. See, I still won't allow them inside my house.

And, most of our summer was spent at the park selling shaved ice...and eating it, too.

The kids have a great time at the park while I am slaving away shaving ice.

And this is what Warwick looks like at the end of every day. Completely wiped out.

2010-06-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

Here's what we've been up to lately:

Playing in tree houses.

Mowing lawns with Grandpa.

Playing indoor soccer.

Reading books.

Peeing in fields.

Visiting the tulips.

Saying goodbye to best buddies.

Attending Madison's Open House.

Performing puppet shows.

More indoor soccer.

2010-05-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

Madison Brooke Bushnell

November 8, 2001

Brody Rhein Bushnell

August 2o, 2004

Warwick Boone Bushnell - July 23, 2006

Baby Bushnell #4 - Due November 2010

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-29T14:11:00.001-07:00

We didn't go to Hawaii, Mexico or Europe for spring break, but I think the kids still managed to have a good time!

Here are some of our Spring Break 2010 Highlights:

(sorry, in advance for all the pictures. i just couldn't eliminate any.)

1. We went on a nice Sunday afternoon walk around Grandma Bushnell's neighborhood.

2. We went on a hike somewhere in Blodgett. Warwick was extra impressive on this hike. He ran practically the whole way trying to chase Jason, Tyler and Amber down as they biked the trails.

3. We visited Grandma Bushnell where Warwick ran around in his underwear...as usual.

4. Brody got to help the boys use the chipper shredder.

5. Cody's mom introduced Madison to americangirl.com. She is now an addict!

(thanks, mom, for madison's cute easter outfit!)

6. Madison got to hold her new baby cousin, Cassidy. She is so patient and helpful. She keeps pestering me to give her a baby sister now!

7. We went to Cassidy's baby blessing. She is too cute!

8. We hiked Bald Hill. The kids made it all the way to the top. They even spotted Grandma Bushnell's house.

Here we are making our way to the trail head...with Cubby in tow.

Jason actually ran while we hiked.

The view from the top.

Brody caught a potato bug and carried him all the way home. Poor bug.

9. We hung out with our favorite dog, Cubby. This is the best dog ever.

10. We had a few jam sessions.

11. We took a bike ride to the park with my parents.

12. We stripped the wallpaper in my mom's bathroom. Who knew that this could be so fun? This kept the kids entertained for hours! They cannot wait until they get to help her paint it.

We had a great Spring Break! I am really sad it's over and Madison is back to school! It doesn't help that it rained ALL day today and is supposed to continue for the next 10 days!

2010-03-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

Cars.

These are one of the many things that Brody and Warwick are obsessed with.

They have loads of them.

They are all over the house.

There are about 20 in my purse.

They each carry one with them at all times.

I love it!

This is the first one we ever owned. It was the only boy toy I owned when Brody was born. When he was old enough to rummage through the toys he found this little yellow car. I think this little car is named Luigi. He carried this around for months. I can't believe it still exists and hasn't disappeared. It is such a cute little car.

I found this line-up yesterday.

Brody spends hours lining up his cars and racing them around the kitchen counter.

This must be his starting line.

A few hours later, I found this line-up.
Warwick was racing the same set of cars.

I like how he has a monster truck in the lead...

and Lightning McQueen in last place!
Little boys are so cute!

Sunday dinner rolls

2010-03-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday, the kids make the dinner rolls with Grandma.

They love to cook with my mom because she is so patient with them. Hopefully, she'll train them to make the whole meal! Wouldn't that be great??

Weekend Highlights

2010-03-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

1. My sister-in-law, Whitney, brought her adorable baby home this weekend.

Cassidy Tate Smart.

2. My basketball season is officially over. I coached a 5th grade girls basketball team this past winter. We called ourselves the Knockouts. These girls were so cute and good at basketball, too! I was a little worried when we lost our first game 28-6, but it didn't take long for these little ladies to catch on and we won the rest of the games.
3. The boys and I have a new favorite hot spot: George Rogers Park.

It's an oldie but goodie. My mom brought me to this park ALL the time when I was just a little kid and I loved it. I thought it was great then, but now it is even better. It has a great bike path that I run on and the boys even LET me do it first because they know afterwards they get to play with the ducks, on the rocks, on the playground and run wild exploring this great park.

Here are Warwick and Brody feeding the ducks. Warwick looks pretty happy in this photo, but he only lasted about 2 seconds. One of the ducks reached up and snatched his whole piece of bread right out of his hands and it freaked him out! Brody fed every last crumb to those crazy ducks as fast as he could as they chased him down.

Warwick's favorite part of the park: Rock Climbing. If only you could hear him squealing as he jumped from rock to rock. It was priceless.

4. My sister and her family came for a visit and brought their cute dog, Hershey. Warwick loved her. Poor little Hershey couldn't hide from Warwick. He's holding her so perfectly here, but most of the time he was either holding her by the neck or by the tail! Poor dog!

Madison and her cousin Halli at church wearing their matching baptism dresses. These two girls played non-stop all weekend.

Me, my sister Kelly and my beautiful mom

at church. 5. Brody gave Jason a haircut.

6. Warwick learned how to cook for himself.

2010-02-01T16:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a little update on what we've been up to the past few months.

Madison potty-trained Warwick right before Christmas. I will forever owe her. She is the best. I was outside mulching the yard ALL day and she came out and asked if she could make Warwick a potty chart. Whatever would keep them entertained so I could finish, right? Well, I came in later that day and he had like 5 stickers on his potty chart...and we haven't looked back. NO MORE DIAPERS...not even to bed.

It's official. He is a big boy now.

More pre-Christmas fun...Brody lost his first tooth! And now he is up to 2. The tooth fairy is his best friend these days.
Our family on Christmas Eve at Grandma Bushnell's house. We spent Christmas at her house.

Madison writing a letter to put with Santa's cookies.

Wiped out after opening all her presents!

The kids and I sledding while Jason went snow boarding. It was so fun!

Finally, home sweet home. These two wiped out after the holidays!

We went up to Seattle to watch my nephews play basketball, my niece play basketball and my brother coach his team. This is Scott at a time out. Exciting game! His point guard made 5 3-pointers!

Here are all the cousins watching the basketball games. It was 2 days packed with high school basketball. We loved it!

The best news of all:

My parents came home from their mission!

This is my family.

2009-12-20T18:47:00.000-08:00

We finally got around to having Madison's 8th birthday party.

Over a month late, but better late than never!

It was an ALL s party...no BOYS allowed. Jason, Warwick and Brody were banned from the house...while Madison, 8 of her friends and I had a party!

Here's what they did:

They decorated gingerbread houses while snacking on party food.

They were wild & crazy and squealed like only 8 year old s can!

They played games.

Such as making candy canes behind their backs with pipe cleaner...

...and the squirt bottle game (which was definitely the party favorite)...

...and they did a white elephant exchange...which was fun because Madison and I picked out all the presents, so they were a surprise to everyone.

They opened Madison's birthday presents. I think Madison's friends know her well because she got lots and lots of art stuff. My favorite part was all the handmade cards the little s drew. Very cute.

We sang Happy Birthday and ate cake. I love the added cha-cha-cha that the kids now add to the Happy Birthday song.

And here are the cute boys that were banned from the birthday party. Don't they look sweet? Don't let them fool you. These two are trouble.

They both got their Cuzin' Christmas Gift in the mail this week and have been carrying them around non-stop. They were so pumped to have gotten something in the mail from their cousins. Somehow, Warwick has figured out how to make his present play music through the wrapping paper. It has provided hours of entertainment for him. And Brody LOVES to replay over and over his singing card from Mckenzi. Who knew they would love wrapped presents so much??

And, lastly, here we are all dressed up for our ward Christmas party. Do we look like we would fit in the city of Bethlehem?

2009-11-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

Madison's Baptism

November 22, 2009

Thank you to all the great examples in Madison's life that have helped prepare her for her baptism day.

Also, thank you to everyone who helped make this a special day for Madison.

2009-11-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

2009-11-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

Madison's soccer team had their end of the season party the other night. It was kind of sad to have it all end. The s all had so much fun together. They had a pizza party and showed a slideshow of the season. It was a very cool night. Lots of screaming s and lots of fun.

Nice season Sporty s!

Madison B., Madison H., Hayley, Ashley

Jackie, Imoni, Madison
Warwick and his little buddy, Marcelis. Actually, Marcelis is on Brody's soccer team. My boys love to play with him!

Halloween Night 2009

2009-11-01T00:57:00.001-07:00

I took the kids Trick or Treating in the neighborhood that my brother, John, lives in. It is the perfect Trick or Treating neighborhood. Lots of houses and no traffic. The kids had a blast running from house to house and we even ended the evening with some tasty soup at John's house.

After our ward Trunk or Treat, Madison decided that she didn't like being a mummy. Mostly, because I couldn't put it together right and it kept falling off in random spots. She decided she wanted to be a . So, a she was...a very scary . So scary that Warwick wouldn't even come near her! Pretty funny.

Our little wicked .

We tried and tried to take a group shot and this was the best we could do.

Warwick's little eyes make me laugh.

The first house. Where's Warwick??
He fell asleep before we even started Trick or Treating!
He woke up about half way through and joined the gang sprinting from house to house.
He loved it and would scream, "thank you," as he was already half way to the next house.

They are a little spooked in this picture. Spooky music was playing and someone was talking to them from inside the house on a microphone.
Look at their faces!

"Thank You!!"

The last house!

Madison joined Amelia and her friends playing games. They played some version of dominoes.

Madison loves games.

They ended the night playing Mr. Potato Head until I was so tired I could hardly move.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

P.S. I keep getting words censored from my blog. Does anyone else have this problem??

Madison's School Carnival

2009-10-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

Sweet Madison off to her school carnival dressed as a wicked .

Trunk or Treat 2009

2009-10-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

Trunk or Treating 2009!

Cowboy Brody

(I have been living with this hunky cowboy for the last few days now. Thankfully, he doesn't bring his horse inside.)

Mummy Madison, Darth Vader and Cowboy Brody

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Madison and Brody have had a lot of fun playing soccer this fall.

Madison's team name: Sporty s.

She has the cutest group of s on her team. They are all friends at school and are so excited to all be together that sometimes they forget they are supposed to be playing soccer...like when they hug randomly during the middle of the game. Madison is loving every minute of it. She loves to play goalie.

Brody's team name: The Sharks.
Brody is having the best time playing soccer...maybe it is because he scored 7 goals last game? Just maybe.
Not that anybody's keeping track or anything!!! haha.
You never would guess that the very first game he sat on the sidelines and cried the whole time because he was too shy and freaked out to play.
He kept saying, "I don't ever want to play soccer, ever!"
Now, he can't WAIT for soccer practice and games. He LOVES it. It is so fun to watch him play because he tries so hard. Of course, we love it. He has cute little buddies on his team, too, that he talks about all week long.

Almost a family picture. Just missing Animal.

A-ha! There he is.

1-mile fun run

2009-09-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

The high school cross country team put on a 1-mile fun run for Madison's grade school yesterday. The high school cross country runners ran with the little kids. It was really a great event. Madison was so excited to run it, she didn't even care that she was wearing a jean skirt!

Madison and Chloe pre-race photo.

And off they go...
Madison and Chloe running with their high school buddy, Ava.

Madison at the finish line. Way to go, Madison!

Madison's favorite part...the ribbon!

2009-09-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

Summer is over.

We went non-stop for 2 months. I think I finally wore them out!

Now it's back to school.

First day of 2nd grade.

Double-Header Farewell

2009-08-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

We made a quick trip up to Seattle for a double-missionary farewell. Lindsi (my niece) and Trevor (my nephew) are both about to leave on a mission for our church. I am so proud of Lindsi and Trevor! Lindsi is off to Las Vegas and Trevor is off to Houston. It was a great farewell and a great weekend, but so sad to say goodbye!

Warwick spent most of the day in the sandbox, on the monkey bars and climbing up and down this ladder. He is a cheeky boy.

This is how Madison and Brody spent most of the day. Playing Mario Cart. It was great entertainment for the kids, but it is crazy how addicted they get in just a short time!

I don't know how many times I heard this phrase, "Just one more game, PLEASE?!!"

(note to self: NEVER ever buy kids video games!)

Bry is going to kill me for posting this, but I just gotta. Like father, like son. He has inherited the ability to fall asleep anywhere and anytime! This is how Bryant spent the entire farewell open house. Isn't he cute?? Actually, he really is and he makes me laugh! I love this kid.
Me and Trevor...soon to be Elder Johnson.
Good luck in Houston!
Jamie, Kacie and I
Cutest girls in Woodinville!

Madison taking a break from Mario Cart.

Lindsi, Jamie and I.

Good luck in Vegas, Lindsi!

My cute little buddies are all grown up!

The Johnson gang and I. I LOVE these kiddos.

The Johnson gang all together one last time...before they send off two missionaries.

2009-08-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

Swimming lessons are over for the summer. It is so sad. I wish summer could last forever.

Swimming lessons were a success this year.

Brody was such a brave little kid this summer.

He actually loved swimming and wasn't too shy to participate in his class!

Warwick was in Brody's class, but this was how he spent most of the lesson...wandering around the pool looking for trouble.

Madison is a little fish. She loves the water...not so much swimmer's ear, though. Poor girl finally recovered from a bout of swimmer's ear.

I asked them to show off their certificates...thanks, Warwick!

Here are pictures of Brody opening birthday presents.

I found an awesome battery operated riding tractor on craigslist for his birthday. He is so giddy about it.

A day at the park

2009-08-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Brody

2009-08-20T10:12:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Brody!

Brody is 5 today!

2009-08-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

More summer photos:

Do you think the kids are missing Jason???? Poor guy gets smothered while he tries to take a little nap! We definitely don't get to see him enough this summer. Weekends just aren't enough.

Me and the kids at Cloverland

The boys going wild jumping on the trampoline while the sprinklers spray them from underneath. This entertained them for hours!

An Evenng at the Lake

2009-08-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

We spent the evening at the lake last weekend. The kids love it. I think the adults do too. A few of the Smarts (Cody's family) were in town to enjoy some of our fun.

He never grasps the concept of walking.

Poor Madison couldn't swim. Our little fish has swimmer's ear.

These two chased every duck into the lake.

Summer Sports

2009-08-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, this has nothing to do with summer sports, but I had to post another one of my creations. I made this cute little get-up.

Now on to more important matters...sports! Madison is so into sports right now and I love it. We took her to a few all-comer track meets this summer and she was in heaven. She is so competitive and tries so hard. She loves to try all the different events, but I think her favorite so far is the high jump and the 200.

Highlight: She won first place in the 200...boys and girls.

I signed Madison up for baseball. She was the only girl on her team, but she was a fierce little short-stop. Watch out boys!

Highlight: She was so proud that she could always hit the ball on the first pitch.

All the kids are in swim lessons this summer. Madison is a little fish and could live in the pool. Brody and Warwick are a different story.

Highlight: Brody and Warwick actually participating in their swim class.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to me.

2009-07-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WARWICK!

2009-07-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

Our summer highlights so far:

My big brother, John, opened up Bullock Family Dental this past month! In my unbiased opinion, he is the BEST dentist around! Seriously, if you are looking for a dentist, he is really great. He is the nicest guy around and really good at what he does.

This is how I find Brody on summer nights. Out cold...somewhere in the house. I love how worn out kids get from playing outside all day!Rivers came to Oregon! Madison loved having Rivers around to play with. These two girls are great little buddies. Madison cried the whole day after Rivers went back to Utah because she missed her so much.

We went to Highland, Utah and visited my sister, Lori, and her family. Brody and Warwick had the best time with Ryan and Tanner. These four boys went non-stop for 2 straight days.

My sister has an awesome creek in her backyard. We had fun floating down it on inner tubes. It was so fun....until we popped all the inner tubes! Oops!

Here is cute Natalie floating down the creek. She was so good to Madison and Emily introduced Madison to her new passion...Dance Revolution. Madison was also very excited because she got to go to gymnastics class with her cousin, Kelly. Madison was in heaven with all her girl cousins.

Lori's Lodge is amazing. She has done such a great job with the yard. It looked pretty incredible! Here is just a small glimpse of her beautiful flowers. There were flowers everywhere. So pretty.

We went to Rivers' birthday party in Salt Lake City.

Here's Warwick and Dwight painting pots.

I love the concentration!

We went downtown Salt Lake and played in the fountains. The kids LOVED this.

Father's Day at Tasha and Carlos' house in Salt Lake.

We went to Tyler and Amber's wedding in the Salt Lake City Temple. Here are the kids inside the waiting room. Don't they look cute?

We went to Tyler and Amber's reception in Philomath, Oregon.

Jason and Brody at the reception with Jason's high school track/cross country coach, Joe.

Two cute little ladies. Tasha and I made these dresses. I also made Warwick and Brody's outfits. I am determined to make my mom proud of my sewing skills.

Tyler and Amber. The happy couple!

Happy 4th of July!

(I made Madison's shirt here, too.)

Running the annual 4th of July Fun Run.

Jason's eyes look a little scarey. I take credit for that. He asked me to draw stars, I did the best I could! I don't know how many years the Bushnells have been running this race, but every year they get all painted up and dressed in 4th of July gear to run this race with a big group of guys.

My cute kids all snuggled up to watch a movie at Grandma Bushnell's house after a long day at the park.

2009-06-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

Here's what we've been up to:

The 1st/2nd grade classes at Madison's school put on the cutest performance the other day called BUGZ. The songs and choreography were really cute and the boys LOVED it! All the kids were different bugs and sang fun little numbers. Madison was the cutest little ladybug and sang a sassy little number called, "Be a Lady."

Here she is amongst the other bugs. Isn't she a cute lady bug?

I had some visitors this weekend. Two of my good friends from Singapore came to visit. It was so fun to see them again! We had a lot of fun catching up and the kids had a great time playing.

We formed a workout group in Singapore, so we had to workout...for old times sake!

We took a walk through the woods up to the grade school to let the kids play.

Here we are:

Me, Lynn, Vicki
(and Warwick)

Madison, Sophie, Juju and Tamsyn

Madison's Open House at school.

I went to her class and she so proudly showed me everything she had done all year.

Here she is patiently waiting behind her desk for me to arrive. Check out all her work she has displayed for me all over her desk.

She made this her first week of school. Her writing was good then, but she has improved so much since the beginning of the year. She is a great speller and reader.

Madison is our little artist. This is one of the pictures she drew and painted.

Isn't this good? I am biased, I know.

Here is a bird she made of clay. Poor guy has a broken beak. Can you guess which bird this is??

Yep, a blue Heron.

Madison's little buddy, Maddie.

Me and Brody

Brody crashed on the floor in between couches after a full day of running through the sprinklers. He has a good life!

Haulin' Hay

2009-05-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

Haulin' hay in Philomath at Grandma Bushnell's house. Brody, our future farmer, was in heaven. He was right in the middle of all the action...trying to help in every way he could.

I feel bad because I didn't do much more than this...watch and soak in the rays. But, it was fun watching Tyler, Brody and Jason doing farmwork...while Madison and Warwick played in all the hay in the barn loft. Haulin' hay wasn't the only exciting thing that happened on the farm this particular day....a baby calf was born. It was the cutest thing ever. I'll have to get a picture of it.

These pictures are old, but are worth posting. Jason and I ran a marathon together in September. The course went along the Pacific Crest Trail. It was such a beautiful run. It started at Mt. Hood and ended at Timothy Lake. Although it had quite an elevation drop, this marathon was really hilly. It was difficult, but it was so worth it because of the awesome trails and scenic views that you got to enjoy for the entire run...well, most of the run. You did have to cross the road 2-3 times, but that was it...the rest was on the most perfect dirt running trails. The views were amazing.

Jason and I right before we started.

This is an old photo that I came across...an extended family run/hike.

I found this one as well...I LOVE THIS! This is Jason taking the kids for a ride while we were searching for the perfect Christmas tree. Jason looks so cute, I think...and I love how Warwick is having so much fun!

2009-05-22T23:53:00.000-07:00

I turned my back on Brody for one second...

2009-05-22T23:30:00.000-07:00

2009-05-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

After school today, the kids and I went on a great adventure through town. Madison went by bike, Brody cruised on his scooter, Warwick relaxed in the jogging stroller and I ran. I am sure we looked like a traveling circus! Brody must have said, "This is AWESOME," about a million times. Brody loves an adventure...especially, if it is outside...and I love to watch him in action as he stops and investigates every creek, rock, duck, stick or mud puddle. You can't help but get excited with him.

The kids were abnormally excited about getting their pictures taken today, so there are quite a few taken of this adventure. According to Brody, it was awesome...so I guess it needed to be well documented!

Warwick fell asleep before the run even began. Poor guy missed out on most of the excitement! Doesn't he look peaceful, though??

Gettin' ready...

And off we go...

First stop...Singapore.

My kids go crazy over this bamboo that is growing at the bottom of our street. They like to pretend they are back in Singapore. They are frustrated that they can't find any monkeys in there, though!

Second stop...rock throwing.

Brody can't resist walking by this creek without throwing a few rocks in.

Third stop...just a pretty flower patch...with two cute kids.

Madison cruising on the bike path...about to go through a tree tunnel. I love tree tunnels.

Here's Brody chasing Madison down. You can probably guess that Brody likes to be the "leader".

Fourth stop...random spots along the path for cute pictures.

Fifth stop...a creek.

Brody had to get in and stomp around a bit. He just couldn't resist.

Sixth stop...a bit of tree climbing.

Seventh stop...duck watching. Unfortunately, it didn't last long because they got scared and swam away.

Aw, Warwick finally woke up! Poor guy missed out, but was just in time for our eighth stop...

Slurpees!

Ninth stop...a nice little grassy area to relax and enjoy our treat.

Here's Madison about to turn up our street on our way home. Check out the cool tree tunnels!

And these photos are for my mom and dad. Do you miss these lovely blossoms???

Weekend in Bend

2009-05-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

2009-05-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

My track season is officially over for the year. I am going through withdrawals already. I loved every minute of it.

Here are some photos of me in action. Some are kind of like the book, "Where's Waldo". You gotta look hard to spot me!

Coach W & I strategizing, but clearly his sandwich is more important than anything I might be saying!

And now for a few track "blooper" photos.

Yes, she is dancing in the middle of her race.

He cleared the bar, but the mat swallowed his head.

I laugh every time I see this picture. Had to be there.

Funniest track moment...oops, someone forgot to set up a few of the hurdles in lane 1!

Now that track is over, I have time to enjoy my flowers.

And...I have more time to spend with these cuties.

Note:

A sad, sad day...we split the beds apart. I was hesitant at first because I loved seeing them all snuggled together in bed at night...just like how Matt, Mark and I used to sleep as little kids. So, I decided to try another childhood set-up. Mark, Matt and I slept in this arrangement for years. I was little Warwick always stuck on the mattress on the floor, while Mark and Matt enjoyed the comfort of real beds. Don't worry about little Warwick, though. He is so pumped about "his" bed.

2009-05-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

More photos of my favorite birthday boy:

2009-05-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

To my favorite guy:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2009-04-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

Last week, I forgot to take pictures of my kids in their cute Easter outfits. So, this week, I made them wear them to church again just so I could get some pictures. We had a great Easter this year with multiple egg hunts, a visit from the Easter Bunny, new Easter outfits, dinner at Grandma Bushnell's house and lots of chocolate.

Here are some photos from before and after church today. It was a beautiful spring day today.

If you look closely, you can see that Brody is proudly wearing his CTR ring. He puts this on every Sunday for church. Brody LOVES church. He talks about it all week and is constantly asking me how many more days until church. After looking at this picture closer, I think all the candy in his hands may be part of the reason he likes church so much!

I am not quite sure what is going on in this photo, but don't the flowers look pretty?

I took Madison to the material store this year and let her pick out a pattern and material to make her an Easter dress. This is what she picked out. It also has a little jacket that goes with it, but since today was such a warm day it wasn't needed! She loves it!

A friend of mine decorated our yard with Easter Eggs this year. I thought it was pretty cool. Happy Easter!

I am coaching Track and Field this spring at a local high school. I love it. It is a small school, but the kids are really great. Here are some photos of our first track meet. Go Mavericks!

2009-03-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

Jason built a fire last night to warm up our house. I love sitting by the fire reading a book or doing a puzzle. But, tonight we built a fire and roasted marshmellows.

Doesn't that roasted marshmellow look yummy?

Warwick didn't really have the patience for this. He liked to stick his marshmellow on the stick, stick it in the fire for about .5 seconds and then try and eat it. I think he liked the eating part the best.

Luckily, Warwick has a really nice big sister who roasted his marshmellow for him.

S'mores are the best treat!

I think Madison liked this the best. She stayed there so long her cheeks turned red!

Today, we went on another spring break adventure. We started off by riding bikes at Mary S. Young Park. I ran alongside the kids on their bikes. A perfect way to spend the day. Seriously. In nature...exercising...with my kids. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos, but you'll have to trust me. It was beautiful and fun.

Next up, another picnic at another playground. I told you, this was our spring break to hit all the parks!

Warwick gets all shy when I take his picture these days. I am lucky if I can get one of him because he usually runs away from me giggling. He just woke up when we got to the park. He looks a little sleepy.

Madison and Brody LOVE picnics. Too busy chewing their food to smile.

My three little muskateers...ready to hit the playground.

I love the expression on Warwick's face!

After the playground, we went on a walk to explore the park.

Who would have guessed that playing baseball without a ball or bat would have been so entertaining??? We played this forever and it was actually fun! Mostly, we chased each other around the bases, which is always fun with kids. They just giggle the whole time. I love the sound of my kids giggling.

Here is a shot of Madison pitching. Looking good!

Here's Brody about to hit a home-run, while Warwick stands by as Madison's catcher. Brody managed to find an old broken pipe for a bat.

Home-run!

I really am going to be sad when this week is over and Madison is back in school. It is so fun to have all the kids together.

2009-03-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

Spring Break Part 3:

Madison is my little artist and can spend hours entertaining herself in her creative world. She loves to do anything artistic and creative. Here is what she spent most of the morning creating. A giraffe eating a leaf! Isn't it great??

While I am already posting her artwork, I might as well post something she made while we were snowed in at Christmas-time. Check out this awesome elephant Madison made out of clay. Jason collects elephants, so this was proudly added to his elephant shrine. I am always so impressed with what she can do! I wish I could say she got her talent from me, but I would be lying.

After hours of playing with clay, we headed outside. While Warwick napped, we played in our own park...our backyard.

Yep, another great outfit put together by Brody. If being a farmer or a race-car driver don't work out for him, he may have a future in fashion!

When Warwick woke up, we decided to go for a walk in Springbrook Park. Lucky for us, this park is 100 meters away from our house. We love this park.

We love the daffodils that are in bloom now.

They spotted a squirrel climbing a tree. Brody decided that this tree would make a good home for a frog. Okay?!

We made a stop at Madison's school to play for awhile. I think this is our spring break to hit as many playgrounds as possible! Who needs Hawaii??

Madison loves the tire swing. She spends her entire recess on the tire swing.

It was time to head home before we got stranded in the woods in the dark. The kids love to hike through the woods. They especially love all the bridges in Springbrook.

I love these 3 kids. It is so fun going on little adventures with them.

They were so excited to find hiking sticks. Jason passed this little obsession onto his kids. He always has to have a hiking stick...so they do too!

They added their sticks to this little pile that was filling up a ditch in the pathway.

2009-03-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Our next spring break adventure was taking a quick trip to Philomath so we could see all the cute baby lambs that were just born. They are so darn cute! It is so adorable to see them awkwardly run/walk around and they have the sweetest little baaaa. The kids love to visit Grandma Bushnell and her farm. Especially, Brody, because he wants to be a farmer when he grows up...and a race-car driver.

Here are the kids in the barn loft. They are helping Uncle Tyler feed the sheep. Don't you think barns are so cool looking?? I do.

Here are the cutest little black lambs that you'll ever see!

And the cutest white lambs taking a little milk break. I think I like the black-faced sheep better than the white-faced sheep. They look cooler to me.

Too bad these cute little guys have to grow up! Aren't they cute??

I think my 3 kids are the wildest animals on Grandma Bushnell's farm. Here they are harrassing Tyler in his bedroom. They love to climb all over Tyler.

Other spring break fun so far:

Madison getting all dolled up and posing for pictures. A favorite past-time of any !

Brody looking perfectly cute. His hair ALMOST grown back to normal. Hooray!

And here Brody is all dolled up for the camera! Ah, so pretty! I had to pay him a quarter to let me braid his hair! He ripped it out the second he got his quarter!

Madison watching Hannah Montana in a pose that only a kid could find comfortable. Ouch!

Warwick giving some love to his new friend Maile.

Stay-tuned for more Bushnell spring break adventures!

2009-03-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

Our first day of Spring Break and we were actually blessed with some sunshine! Unfortunately, Jason has to work on Saturdays, so it was just the kids and I out for an adventure today. Our first stop was the cemetery to visit my brothers (Jeffrey Marlon and Matthew Burt) and my little niece (Bailey Rae). It is extra special to visit them on a bright and sunny day because there are so many fresh flowers looking beautiful in the sunshine. My kids love to go to the cemetery with a bag of treats and listen to me tell them stories of Uncle Matt and the fun that the two of us had growing up together. Matt was my best friend growing up and so it is so fun to share my memories of him with my kids. They think Matt is so funny. I don't have any memories to share of Jeffrey, only the story of his life. But, they enjoy hearing that story as well. Especially, since they love Uncle John and going to his house to play. Jeffrey is John's twin brother that passed away a few days after their birth.
Sweet little Bailey Rae is my older brother, Dave's daughter. My kids especially love all the bunnies and angels that decorate her grave! Madison really loves to visit Bailey.

We each brought a daffodil to put on the their graves.

Brody and Warwick kept trying to steal all the cool stuff that people had brought to their loved ones' graves. Don't they look mischevious??

One of the last stories I told today was about Matt and I playing at George Roger's Park when we were kids. This was one of our favorite parks to play at. So, we decided to go have a picnic at the park. It was perfect timing, too, because Brody and Warwick were starting to run wild through the cemetery.

Here is our picnic at George Roger's Park.

This little guy is so cute. Look at those cute cheeks!

I think this means that they are done eating and ready to play!

Madison was really good at giving the boys under-dogs!

These dinosaur bones were my favorite part of the park! It was fun to see my kids enjoy them as much as I remember loving them!

This picture of the boys makes me chuckle! What you don't know is that Warwick and Brody both dressed themselves this morning. Brody is wearing like 5 shirts...no joke. He has a few tank-tops and t-shirts hidden under there and Warwick is wearing a whole outfit underneath his clothes! He has a cute pair of cargo shorts under his jeans and a shirt to match them! These boys LOVE to dress themselves these days and you can't help but love what they choose because they are so PROUD of themselves when they come downstairs all dressed and ready for the day!

It was a really fun day. When I tucked the kids in bed tonight, Madison leaned over to Brody and said, "I had so much fun with you today, Brody." Ah, gotta love those moments.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!!

2009-02-16T12:22:00.001-08:00

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! We love you!

This was then...

...And this is them now! They are spending their anniversary this year on a mission in Guyana. As you can see, my mom still manages to keep their life exciting by falling into ditches full of alligators!

Lucky for my mom, my dad is still quite the stud!

"I've still got it!" That phrase usually follows poses like this! I love my dad!

Equally, lucky, is my dad. Check out his beautiful bride.

This has to be one of the cutest photos ever.

I think my mom is in heaven!

Can you imagine having to walk over these bridges on a daily basis??? My dad recommends falling in. He says it's a great way to cool off.

Happy Anniversary to you both! I love you and really miss you!

Mama Bear and Baby Bear

2009-02-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

Warwick LOVES our matching hoods. In Warwick's world, I am Mama Bear and he is Baby Bear.

Will you be my Valentine??

2009-02-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

(I know, my boys need haircuts. Brody's looks extra sharp with his bangs growing out from his attempt at cutting his own hair. So, save the comments...I know! But, hey, dressed this sharp, what little lady wouldn't want them to be their Valentine???)

Daddy/Daughter Valentine's Dance

2009-02-10T17:56:00.001-08:00

Madison and Jason attended the Daddy/Daughter Valentine's Dance at the Mountain Park Clubhouse. Madison was so excited for her date with Jason. She wore her fanciest princess dress and picked out a matching tie for Jason to wear. They danced the night away and Madison came home with lots of Valentine's Day treats. It was a pretty cool night for the two of them to spend together!

A day in the life of Brody and Warwick

2009-01-30T14:11:00.000-08:00

Warwick starts off his day with a nice cozy ride while mommy huffs and puffs her way through her morning run. He has his snacks ready...and, yes, those are hershey kisses for his wholesome morning snack! Warwick LOVES to go for runs. Who wouldn't, though, with a warm and cozy ride like this?

Brody takes a few TV breaks throughout his day...most likely he is watching Tom and Jerry OR Diego. Definitely not Hannah Montana OR ICarly. On commercial breaks he enjoys his 2 favorite passions: dinosaurs and cars. Oh, and I guess a little blanket snuggling/thumb-sucking is required during all breaks. Cute little Warwick is in the background eating a snack.

This picture is not typical of Warwick's daily activities. He is "acting" like such a cute 2 year old. This boy is wild and crazy. He constantly is repeating after me, "No hit" and "Be nice" while sitting in time-out. But, he is so darn cute. Look at his big brown eyes, dimpley smile and shaggy hair. I wish I could freeze him at this age. He is so happy and bouncey.

I had to post this picture because Brody's face is just too funny. We took a self-portrait of ourselves and this is how it turned out.

More thumb sucking...and looking perfectly cute. Thumb sucking does take up a majority of their day. Maybe I should feed them more often?

This picture is for you, Sylvia. This is what our playroom looks like at the end of the day. All credit goes to Brody and Warwick.

This is my favorite part of the day. Look at all three of them snuggled in one big bed. They chose this sleeping set-up and love it. Although they share the bed, they won't share blankets.

Mom, does this remind you of "the 3 little kids"?

Matthew Burt Bullock

2009-01-16T21:08:00.000-08:00

ah, matt. i miss you.

i love you, matt.

White Christmas

2009-01-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

Here are photos I promised my mom of our 14 inches of snow the week before school let out for the holidays. I know this may seem normal to some people, but around here we aren't used to this much snow. We aren't prepared for it, so the whole city shuts down. It was a great way to slow things down right before the holidays and spend quality time together. This will definitely be one of my most memorable Christmas'. It was so much fun doing all the fun Christmas traditions with the kids that normally you feel too busy to take the time to do.

Here is our car. We had to get it towed out of the driveway to even get out.

There is our snowman...a few days after he was created. We had one in the front and one in the back...a boy and a girl.

We spent Christmas this year at the Bushnell's house. It took us 8 hours to get there from Portland because of all the snow!! It was worth it, though, because it was really fun. Everyone was there except for Cody and Whitney. Here is our tree that we cut down ourselves from a forest on a family friend's property. It was huge.

Brody and Warwick opening presents on Christmas Eve. Santa even visited the Bushnell house on Christmas Eve. This is a Bullock family tradition and it was so fun to introduce it to the Bushnells. My mom made me a great costume last year and we were able to use it for the first time this year. Santa was a hit. The kids hid while Santa came. Brody was too scared to watch. They were so excited that Santa knew their names!

Christmas morning. This is Warwick and his cousin, Dwight, playing with Warwick's new train set.

Check out that hairdo!

This is New Year's Eve. We ran the First Run in Portland at midnight. It was really fun. Here are Brody and Warwick all bundled up in my double jogging stroller.

Madison and Rivers ran in the kids run. Here they are dancing to the post-race music.

I ran pushing the boys. It wasn't too exciting for Warwick. He fell right asleep. But, Brody was cheering me on the whole time. He loved it.

Jason and Tanner dressed up fancy for the race.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Jason's Tropical Sno!

2008-12-14T15:30:00.000-08:00

The best part of the snow storm was we had fresh snow for our favorite treat...shaved ice! It was so delicious...even if we were shivering through every bite!

I'm still dreaming of a White Christmas!

2008-12-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

Here are more pictures of us enjoying the wonderful holiday snow!

Here's Jason snowboarding down our street with Madison chasing after him. She got a turn sledding down the street on Jason's snowboard. Looked pretty fun!

Snow Angels!
After lots of searching, I found some more warm clothes for Madison and Warwick! They were a lot happier and warmer!

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas!

2008-12-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it isn't Christmas quite yet, but look what we woke up to this morning! Isn't this awesome?! Brody, Madison and Warwick went wild when they saw the snow this morning! They haven't seen anything like this before and were so excited! We definitely weren't prepared with snow gear, so Madison and Warwick didn't last long out in the snow. But, lucky for Brody, we had all the right sizes for him to stay warm and play forever in the snow!

2008-12-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

Here is Madison's first grade photo. Isn't she a cutie?

Here is Madison's basketball photo. She had a great time playing basketball this year. It was her first time playing on any type of sports team. She improved so much and was so fun to watch! She was a great little hustler and had a huge permanent smile every game. She just finished up the season and is very proud of her trophy. She polishes it several times a day...does that sound a little like her Daddy??
Here are my two wild boys: Warwick and Brody. They are excited to be wearing PJs from Grandma.
Thanks, Grandma! We love you!

Warwick, Madison and Brody at our church Christmas Party. They were a wild bunch, running all over the place. I wasn't feeling very "merry" at the end of this party!

Happy Birthday Mom & Dad!

2008-12-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

PUZZLEKINS

2008-12-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

My good friend, Vicki, is an amazing artist and very creative! She came up with these great puzzles that my kids LOVE to play with when they go to her house! On the backside of every puzzle piece is a character or object that you can then play with on the pirate ship. Once all the pieces are out of the puzzle, the inside of the pirate ship is exposed. The kids can play with these puzzles forever! Now they aren't just puzzles that you can play at her house...you can buy them in the store! She has a few different puzzle sets that you can buy at target.com, smallworldtoys.com and pocket full of therapy. They would make a great Christmas present! I am so excited to order one of my own!

I always admire mothers that are able to use their talents and have success, while being great stay-at-home mothers! Vicki is definitely one of those mothers!

2008-11-30T19:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks Lindsi and Jamie for being so good to Madison this weekend! She wishes you guys were her big sisters!