the spoils

The night wouldn't be complete without a thorough sorting and taste testing of the spoils.

 hmmmm - which lollipop is yummier?

my night photography has not improved...oh well.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

It wasn't too cold this year and we only had a slight breeze.  We were able to get around our neighborhood before it started to rain.  I hope you all had a great Halloween!  

Abby's original costume didn't work so we rolled with it (as we do).  

A big feathery mask was just the ticket!

Ninjago Farmer Damien.  I couldn't find the fireman costume and I'm not sure I could have convinced him to wear it.  His hat came in handy later when his candy bucket was totally full.  He just flipped his hat over and collected candy that way.  He walked all over our neighborhood (which is pretty spread out), by the end he was so tired he was stumbling...nothing a little post trick or treat candy rush couldn't fix.  I think his favorite part of the night was handing out candy.  He told everyone how cute they were (even the big kids) and gave out fist fulls of candy.  As one pair of girls left I heard one say "I TOLD you they are giving out fist fulls of candy!"

Michael was not thrilled with any of my suggestions of costume (my favorite was 'Daddy' where he'd wear athletic short, hockey jersey, ball cap, draw some stubble on his face and carry a big plastic cup - He said nobody would get it...I don't know - I would have laughed!).  We settled on soccer player.

Happy Halloween from Za Kids!

Cowboy Day

Today was Cowboy Day at Damien's preschool.  We found a hat in the dress up box and off we went.  When we got to school some of the kids were totally decked out in boots and chaps and vests.  So much cuteness!  Every child brought a small pumpkin and put it in the play area 'Pumpkin Patch.'  As we left every child picked up a new pumpkin to take home.

  

 Damien's new pumpkin.

They had an antique tracker for pictures.  I think this was Damien's favorite part.

He is less cowboy here and more farmer (which would be more in line with his So. Dakota roots - right Grandpa!)

pumpkins

It's that time of year again!  Today we designed and carved our pumpkins!  Since Ben has had a crazy couple of weeks at work I made sure the pumpkins were cleaned out and ready to go when he got home.  

Damien designing his pumpkin.  Below you can see Daddy's translation of the drawing.

The finished product (lined up for the photo - we did not make kids jump over them to get to the door). 

Damien by Abby

Abby snapped this picture of Damien today...I thought it was pretty good!

snow!

A couple weeks ago we had our first real snow fall this winter.  The kids were SO excited.  Abby (our outdoor girl) was the first to be ready and out the door.  The first day the kids had a two hour school delay.  Since we live too close to ride the bus and I couldn't get my van out of the driveway we were going to walk to school.  As the morning went on the snow was coming down harder and harder.  Ben made it about 3 miles from our house before he had to turn around and come home (and he was in 4 wheel drive).  I decided to keep the kids home and school ended up being cancelled the next two days (hello 5 day weekend!).  We ended up with about 8 inches.  Our neighbor hooked up a sled to his 4 wheeler and gave the kids rides around our neighborhood.  

 It was hard to get a picture off all three of them looking at the camera because D just wanted to eat snow....and yes we did talk about avoiding the yellow snow. :)

 My handsome eldest!  He is just like his mama - after the first day he preferred to stay inside where it was warm!

 D trying to drive his cozy coup...which does NOT have 4 wheel drive and didn't make it very far.

 When he first got into the snow D gave us all a demonstration on how to jump and catch snowflakes.  

 Abby spent all day/every day in the snow...she loves being outside!

 Trying to sled down our backyard hill.

Fuzzy picture but look at those cheeks and those sparkly blue eyes!  I die!  

JOY

We are still here!!  Life has been so crazy (don't I say that every time?) and I haven't been taking many pictures.

I can't believe that we have been here almost a year.  We are still settling in.  I have been very busy painting and continuing to unpack boxes.  Ben has been super busy at work and with three little ones and no family nearby I have been doing what I can in bits and pieces...someday it will all get done!

This picture was from our backyard Christmas card photo shoot last weekend.  I LOVE THIS PICTURE.  I wish it wasn't so blurry and a bit more centered but what can you do when an almost 3 year old is jumping toward you.  :)  Hopefully I will get the Christmas cards out tomorrow.

Lolek

good thing I have him...he'll never grow up...right?

cousins!

We were lucky enough to have my SIL and her children visit us at the beginning of February while my brother was on a business trip. They were here overnight and there was much fun had by all!

Having a birthday dinner for Abby. Homemade Mac n Cheese and Ceaser salad with homemade dressing - complete with anchovies (shhh! don't tell the kids - they LOVED it).

My Anna Banana - She and Damien had a couple go arounds. Once I went to the bonus room and she was saying "No baby, no no baby" and Damien was sitting on her. He looked at me like "what?" She is an absolute delight! She is also my phone buddy. She calls me on her moms cell phone and we talk...her mom did NOT know she was doing that by the way...she thought Anna was playing 'calling Aunt Mimi."

Jack Attack! My Godson. Love him. He had so much fun playing with Michael (whom he worships). Being an only boy he needs that quality male cousin lego time!

Lexi is such sweetness. Damien adores her. There is a picture of her on my phone and Damien likes to find it and smile at it and talk to it and then show it to anyone that is around...including strangers at the store.
Kaitlyn...is 10...how on EARTH did that happen? Her mom was pregnant with her at our wedding! It was nice to spend time with her and listen to all the wonderful things rolling around in her head.

mmmmmmm cake

The birthday girl - she was so excited to share it with cousins.

The kids thought it was awesome that it is so windy here. They were pretending they were going to blow over (or not pretending...it was pretty windy that night).

We all went back inside and someone was upset he wasn't in the picture. So we went back out....can you guess who it was?

There was much playing with cell phones. It was quickly determined that Aunt Susan's iphone was WAY cooler than mommy's LG phone...I agree...I agree...

The 4 older kids had a camp out on the floor of the bonus room. We really can't wait for them to come back to visit. :)

secret rooms and hiding places

When we arrived at the new house the kids had fun exploring it without any furniture. They found a secret room under the stairs (that is finished!) and lots of nooks and crannies.

The room under the stairs. It is shaped like a big 'U'. When it is not being used for storage it is going to be a secret hide out for Michael with a little couch and bookshelf. He is very excited!

Everyone loves the new pantry. Just right to fit little people. Damien likes to 'hide' in there and play peek-a-boo.

The cats were pretty freaked out by all the hubbub from the last couple months. They pretty much hid all the time. It became a game to find out where they were. Damien found them in the cupboard in the laundry room. He liked to sit in there with them and shut the doors. He even brought some of his hot wheels in there so he could play.

just keep swimming

[click on the cuteness for the full effect]

We made it! We are in Washington! I can't believe two years of unemployment, planning, graduate school*, heartache, hopefulness and anxiety are over! Somedays I didn't think I could do anymore but I kept reminding myself of Dory from 'Finding Nemo' and had to "just keep swimming."

Many times I had to let things go just to get through the day. One of those things was the blog. I had great intentions but no motivation....but now that we are here in our new beautiful home I am so excited to share with you all that we are doing and how the kids have grown!

That picture of Damien cracks me up. It was taken by my cousin, David (aka daveydave! aka proxy godpapa), at Christmas. Damien adores him.

*Ben got his Masters in Chemical & Nuclear Engineering - which is actually his 2nd Masters - he also has his MBA...can you tell how ridiculously proud I am of him? He worked so hard and it all paid off with this new job that he absolutely loves! And since I'm bragging about him I'll also say that people at his plant have been surprised at how young he is for his position.

Happy 2nd Birthday Damien!

from this...

Damien - 2008 (moments after birth)

to this...

2009 - 1 year

to this....

2010 - 2 years

Life with you is full of joy and never dull! We love you Lolek!

Happy Birthday!

Big Kids

We have this GREAT table grandma and grandpa got me for my birthday a couple of years ago. This is where we eat, color, craft, etc. It is the best table ever! So Damien was tired of being in his high chair and so far away from the action that he kept trying to climb out. Mommy was a little afraid a trip to the ER was in his future so she decide to let him eat at the table with the big kids. He LOVES it - he can get up and down by himself and jabbers and prays with us. hmmmmm...one empty seat at the table...I think Mommy and Daddy should have another baby...a girl...to even the odds...just sayin'.

Dr. Damien Scientist

The Easter bunny brought Abby and I 3D sidewalk chalk in our Easter baskets. We thought the glasses looked a lot like daddy's safety googles. When we put them on Damien he thought he was really hot stuff. I call him "Dr. Damien Scientist."

...life...

I can't believe we are already into March. Spring is everywhere...the grass is growing like crazy...the daffodils are peeking their heads out...and the Zoladz Family are shielding their blue eyes from the bright sun!

Life has been so crazy (wonderfully full and busy) that many things have fallen by the wayside - like updating the blog. Just know that I'm still here and hope to get at least one post a week up (it's good to have goals! lol).

Ben is halfway done with grad school and is starting to interview for jobs. Hopefully one will pop up before he graduates next winter. The kids are thriving. Michael is doing very well in school and loves to curl up with his daddy at night and look through Ben's chemical engineering books. Abby is a whirlwind of spunk. She loves to take care of everyone and do art projects with me. Damien is walking/running everywhere and is starting to "talk" - mama, pup pup, hi - and understands when you give him a simple direction "Damien, go get daddy a beer."... hahaha j/k..."Damien, go get pup pup."

the picture is from Thanksgiving...I just love my boys!

Best of 2009

A few of my favorite posts from 2009.

Oh those eyes!

Swimming

Stuck!

My Boys

Auntie Jenney's Surprise Wedding

Michael builds an iTouch

Spike!

You Talking to Me?

Brothers

Abby Singing

Our sweet 1 week old

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy Birthday Damien!

Happy Birthday to our little Lolek!

[taken a few minutes after birth with my mom's cell phone]

Here are some posts from Damien's actual birthday one year ago...

Ben's Post

Mary's Post

Meeting Michael & Abby

Visitors

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Zoladz Family

We hope this season is full of peace and lasting memories for all of you. We are so thankful for all that we have and pray for all of our friends daily.

no words...

can explain how much we love this guy!!!

thanks to Melissa for the photoshop help!