Thanksgiving weekend.

Since I waited so long to post about Thanksgiving I thought I would just share about the weekend. Thanksgiving for us started on Wednesday. Jeff had to work Thanksgiving so we did our own version the night before. It involved fajitas and what we are thankful for. We went to bed happy and ready for the real Thanksgiving to begin. We woke up to snow!!. It was beautiful. The kids and I headed to Everson to my moms. I was very happy about how my van did in the snow and actually think it is the best vehicle I have driven in snow. Snow meant lots of fun for my girls. They had a blast playing with their cousins. Best of all my brother gave out sled rides. They were the happiest kids around. Friday I woke up to Melia very worried about where daddy was. I had slept on the couch because I hadn't felt very well the night before. I assured her he was in bed. She insisted he wasn't and she had already checked the bathroom and he wasn't there. I checked my phone and it turns out the crazy man had gone black Friday shopping! Once he was done we all went out together. I wanted fabric for cheap, but when I found out the wait was two hours just to get the fabric cut I decided to do it online instead. It was fun to see all people out and about though. Best of all it got Samantha in the mood to decorate. Saturday was a pretty boring day. I had to work. Sunday I decided we needed more decoration, so back to the stores we went!! Sunday night was the end of decorating with the tree getting done. All in all it was a great long weekend.

My boys

are sweet. They are helpful. They are in love with books. They are wonderful to have in this family!!

Our First snow in the great Northwest!!

Before Thanksgiving and we already have our first snow. Kellina is so happy!! She has wanted snow for a while now. So this morning first thing we bundled up and went and played. The kids had a blast in the short amount of time we could stand the cold. They ate the snow. They sat in the snow. They made snow angels. They threw, dumped, and dug in the snow. And of course, they looked so precious in the snow!!

Potty Time?

I want to start this post by remembering a conversation I had with my mom when the boys were newborns.
My mom:"Ruth how in the world are you going to potty train two little boys at once?"
Me:"Well, I don't plan on even trying to start until the boys are 3."
But wait my boys aren't even two yet and already I have moments in my day like this. Why don't any of my kids do things on my time line!?! At this point I am not serious with the potty training, but I am not going to discourage the interest. This session resulted in both boys going pee. Yes, eventually Caleb did take his pants off. Who knows maybe they will be potty trained by the time their little brother comes around.

School at home and on the go

At home school can turn into a family event. On this day Samantha was working on her geography lesson. She had completed her work and still had the maps out. Melia wanting to be a part of what big sis was doing headed over. Samantha taught her how to find capitals of the states. Then Melia taught Kellina. I don't think Kellina totally understood what she was doing, but she love finding a star. And she only got a little upset when her brothers wanted to help. After Kellina was busy with her star spotting I heard Samantha showing Melia where New York was. Then the two of them went to work to find Madagascar. Can you guess why? Well so they knew where the animals from the movie Madagascar were of course. It was a very productive lesson as I had no idea where Madagascar was till then. As for school on the go. This year we joined a co-op. We have no where to meet until the new year so we have filled the fall with field trips. I have only brought my camera to one. Mallards Ice Cream shop!! The kids learned all about how ice cream is made and enjoyed a cone after. I quizzed the kids after and was amazed at how much they retained. Like how the chocolate bar weighed 11 pounds! Or how the freezer was suppose to be at 40 below zero, but because of us going in and out it was only 20 below. My girls went in and out to fast to get a picture, but their friend Zoe took her time to play with the ice on the door. I enjoyed learning how they get their cream product from a dairy farm in Oregon that does all its own pasteurizing on site. No growth hormone or antibiotics there! The last picture is the little girls waiting for their treat. I hope you have enjoyed a glance at what we do in any given day for school.

Benches and Braces

So what do these two things have in common besides starting with the same letter. Well they are two of the newest things in this house. First for the cute new thing. Samantha in braces!! She was such a trooper getting these bad boys put on. She picked Seahawk colors for the braces this time around. She can change them at every visit. I will let her give more details in her blog. Now on to the benches. They aren't as cute, but it was very cute watching Jeff and my step dad putting them in.I mean really who wouldn't enjoy install with a goof like this. Once he got serious we got these benches. We decided to do built in benches in our dining room to create more seating and more space. I love them!!! Jeff is currently working on building me a table top to make our current table much larger. It matches the benches so wonderfully! Extra bonus to the benches is I have a new spot to force my children to sit while I take their picture.

Babies!!

No, no I am not having twins again. Babies is just the word that inspired this post. My boys talk a lot more then I ever thought they would at this age. I just had it in my head that boys take longer then girls. Not my two. Although Caleb is a little slower then Joshua. The number one spoken word around this house by far though is "babies". It means blanket, stuffed animals, and anyone their size or smaller(that means they call each other baby). On this morning Joshua decided it was very important his babies ate breakfast with him. He didn't let them go when I got him up. He didn't let them go when I changed his diaper. He didn't loosen his grip until he set them just the way he wanted and helped them have their food. I think he will make a good big brother for the newest little one in my tummy!!

Daisies and a Connecticut

This week Melia has been so excited!! She came home one night and told Jeff all about how she is going to be a Daisy and Samantha is going to be a Connecticut. Jeff knew right away that she must have what Samantha is going to be a little off. We all giggled when I told him she meant Cadette. So I now have two girl scouts in my house! Kellina is already starting the count down till she will get to be a girl scout also. We had a ceremony for Samantha who moved up from Junior and one for Melia who is now a Daisy. For Melia she got to stand in the middle of the troop in the center of a big daisy. Right up her alley in the attention department. I love our troop because it is a laid back bunch that welcomes the entire family along. There were toys for kids not in scouts and kid noise was never a problem. After the ceremony a craft was done, a book was read, and a game was played. The girls are learning about what it was like for some of the very first girl scouts. Melia said her least favorite part was having to leave. And just in case you didn't believe me that all family is welcome, here is a picture of the leaders little girl helping with the games!!

Introducing.....

Doyle baby number six!!!

These were taken October 22nd and I would have posted them sooner, but my computer has been crazy. Jeff was unable to attend the ultrasound due to work so I was there alone. As soon as it was done I called Jeff to let him know that we would soon be a house with 3 girls and 3 boys. He was in tears over the phone.

I still have a handful of a baby in there. The ultrasound tech was saying come on little guy hold still throughout the entire visit. They did some 3-d pictures, but I think they are creepy so I am not posting them. Your baby has to hold very still for a clear picture and this little guy is not very still! As far as names go we thought we had it all figured out. Then we found out it was for sure a boy and now everything is up in the air!! I can't wait to hold this new little one in my arms. It was so amazing yet again to see a baby sucking, yawning, and moving all around and knowing it was all going on inside me!!! Enjoy this last picture of our newest little blessing.