The Fellers Six

Summertime

2010-12-17T01:03:00.000-08:00

Getting the shed built was much more time-consuming than having the yard excavated. That's why we hire professionals. All I have to say is that intelligence does not always translate well in regards to a speedy shed-raising process. There was a lot of arguing over how things were to be done. Isn't that what instructions are for? Lawyers...not the speediest builders in regards to wood and nails. But seriously, the shed looked great and they did a great job!

Poor Emery gets dragged around everywhere! We had a great summer...a picture I just couldn't resist. Sometimes a girl has just got to get her beauty sleep! This huge machine was in my backyard when I got home from girl's camp. We were land-scaping our backyard. And the head foreman let Ben take a ride in it when he was all done. Ben was elated.

Summer Lakedale Trip

2010-12-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

I have been so bad about updating my blog. But I am going to try to do a better job! Here are some pictures from our Lakedale Trip this summer. It was such a nice trip...went with Tom's family...and got to spend more time with daddy than we have in a long time. It was so beautiful. It's a campground near Friday Harbor. We had to take a ferry out there...and the kids had a blast...it tuckered Emery out!
Rebekah and her cousin Julia! They almost got blown away!
The whole family in matching shirts!
Tom and I decided to hike around to the lighthouse (the rest of the family drove to it!) and it was one of the high-lights of the trip. My little adventurers wouldn't have it any other way!

Rebekah's Baptism Pictures

2010-08-12T10:36:00.001-07:00

Rebekah did a photo shoot with my sister-in-law in her baptism dress. She looked so beautiful! It got me a little teary-eyed. It's hard to believe that she's 8. She's always been such a great little girl. She's self-motivated, sensitive and very endearing. We love you, Rebekah!

My sister-in-law's blog is kimrobinsonphotos.blogspot.com if you would like to see more of her stuff. We have loved all of the pictures she has taken of our family. Thanks Kim!!

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T21:04:00.001-07:00

Went over to The Cousin's House on July 4th to watch fireworks. They really liked the super-long sparklers.

Trying to get them all to smile at the same time is almost impossible!!

The Three Amigos....literally!

Most of the clan...
Emery at the park July 3rd...

Rebekah talked me into climbing the rock wall with her. It didn't seem too hard at the time but I was sore the next day!!

Is this really summer?!?!?!

2010-07-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

Our summer had not been very warm. This was one of two sunny days that we have had so far. But we've managed to stay very busy. Between Summerfest, basketball camp, T-ball, swimming lessons, church playgroups, the gym and family coming into town, we have had a very fun-filled and eventful summer. And we're just getting started. This little girl from church was giving Ben a flower (dandelion) and I managed to get a picture of it. Esther and Emery going down the slide at the gym...

Benjamin swinging on the rope at the gym...

Ben, Rebekah and Esther going down the slide at the same time...

The magic show that we went to where Esther got to participate in a four kid levitation!
Ben climbing the rock wall at Summer fest...
Rebekah climbing that same wall.
She made it to the top...

Father's Day at our house!

2010-07-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

We had Father's Day dinner at our house this year. The first thing we did--Daddy Bingo!

We got daddy some of his favortie treats! Tom is not a big fan of presents but he put up with it!

So, of course, he shared with the kids! The dinner table was all ready!

We also made a tree with tributes to our fathers and grandfathers. It was a fun night with family!

Basketball Camp for Esther and Rebekah

2010-07-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

Esther and Rebekah were able to attend the Lady Hornet's basketball team. It is run by the head coach and players of the White River High School Girl's Basketball Team. It was such a great camp...very organized with skills actually being taught to them. Esther was the best at "boxing out" and Rebekah was the best "stealing." If you notice in this picture, Esther has her fingers tapped on her right hand. She got her first jammed finger...I told her it was the first in a long line of jammed fingers. I was a proud momma! Rebekah shooting...
They got their certificates from the head coach at the end of camp...
Here they are with their teammates and student coaches.

Ben playing T-ball

2010-07-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

Ben was able to play T-ball for the first time. He has played soccer and basketball before but this was his first time playing T-ball. He loved it!

Here he is with his friend, Riley!
He loved batting...and for his first time, he always did great!

Last Day of School

2010-07-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

After school was over, we met with some friends at a park to celebrate... Emery found a pal of her own!
We made caramel popcorn for the kids to give to people at school....
Then each of the kids made their teachers a fancy clipboard....to say thanks!

Rebekah...and More to Come!!

2010-07-03T03:19:00.000-07:00

Rebekah had a field-trip to the North West Trek. And I have to say...that she is a trooper! It was raining all day...I had Ben and Emery with me...and we had a pass so I didn't pay for her to go with the rest of the group on the tram! Everyone says that blogs are all about bragging and presenting only the best side of yourself and your family. Well, this was one of those moments that I really screwed up! I didn't take any pictures because of the horrible rain and she didn't get to ride the tram with her friends. Luckily, we caught up with some of them later on...but Rebekah was awesome about it. She didn't complain about anything. She didn't mind Ben and Emery being there! She is a sweet girl with a gentle disposition. She always comes home ready to do her homework and work hard...We love you, Rebekah and I'm sorry I messed up your day!

Ben's second field-trip to the zoo (my third) and his end-of-the-year picnic from pre-school

2010-07-03T03:07:00.000-07:00

I did a pre-school co-op with Ben this year as well as his pre-school at our neighborhood school. And he was able to go on a second field-trip to the zoo. Here they are touching sea-stars and anemones. Emery was with us...and she loved this part! Looking underwater at the smaller aquariums...
Ben also had a picnic at a skate park with his classmates from pre-school to celebrate the end of the year! It was very wet and rainy...and Mom locked her keys in the car. Luckily, Tom was at the school with the girls doing "Donuts for Dads" and the Walk-a-thon (which he didn't take any pictures of) so he came and bailed us out. Sliding down the skating ramps....

Daddy DID take a picture of us!

Esther and Rebekah performing at the school Talent Show!

2010-07-03T02:59:00.000-07:00

Esther and Rebekah played the piano for their school Talent Show. I was very proud of them. I don't think I could have done that at their age. They were a little nervous but they didn't make any mistakes. Don't grown up too fast!

Esther's field-trip to the zoo!

2010-07-03T02:44:00.000-07:00

Esther is in third grade going into fourth grade...and it's hard to believe that she's growing up this fast. Here she is with her friend Harley at the zoo! Some pictures Esther took of the animals! I thought she did a great job!

Ben and Emery's Birthday Party--"COME AND JOIN THE CIRCUS!!"

2010-07-03T01:57:00.000-07:00

Ben and Emery have Birthdays that are 4 days apart. So this year, we combined them (as we did last year!) I think this is the last year we'll be able to do it. We had a circus-themed party, which was very fun for me to create and easy for the kids of every age to enjoy! I made the banner...LOVED it!! Wanted to keep it up longer but Tom thought that was a little silly!

Ben's cake...didn't turn out so well!

Emery's cake...delicious and very easy to make!

My house had circus-themed things splattered everywhere!!

I'm sure you might be sick of seeing my cupcake holder...but it's so awesome and makes it so easy to serve the kids.

We had watermelon, pizza pin-wheels, homemade chocolate chip cookies, white chilli, lemonade, two birthday cakes and a bunch of cupcakes. I was a little exhausted afterwards...but everyone loved it!

Our photo booth...we got a couple of little cuties to sit still long enough to take some pictures!!

My personal favorite....

Tom had this marvelous idea to hire a clown to come and do the entertainment so everyone could enjoy the party together. It was a great idea. Her name is Glitterbug..and here is Ben cooking up some magic with her!

The clown brought balloon corsages for all of the ladies at the party. Emery really liked mine!

Each of the kids at the party had their own balloon creation made and given to them by Glitterbug! Ben's was a ginormous Octopus that he still has almost two months later.

We definitely had a full house...thanks to everyone who came!
Emery in her birthday dress...it's hard to believe that she's two!

The kids loved Glitterbug's car...thanks for making the party a hit, Glitterbug!

Civil War Re-enactment at Fort Steilacoom park

2010-07-03T01:35:00.000-07:00

Tom's family is from Lakewood and every year they re-enact a battle from the Civil War. I remember going to see this the first time I went up to meet Tom's family. It's pretty amazing. The people involved in the re-enactment sleep in tents there, cook over fires and wear the appropriate clothing. The battle scene was pretty awesome and very LOUD!
After seeing the battle, we went around to all the different tents and watched them cooking dinner. A nice gentleman showed Granddad, Ben, Rebekah and Tom one of his guns. Ben thought that was pretty cool!

Ben's first field-trip to the Zoo

2010-07-03T01:24:00.000-07:00

Ben had two field-trips to the zoo this year. This was the first one. I was able to go with just him (thanks to Aunt Kimmy for watching Emery!) and it was so much fun! Here he is with his friend Ryan who just happens to live in our neighborhood. Here they are running around like boys do...
Benjamin's favorite spot and pose...Spiderman fingers on the web at the zoo!
We got to see one of the zoo employees in with the spotted leopards. Benjamin was very impressed. He said he wanted to do that someday!

Just a little bit of catching up...Spring Break

2010-07-03T01:08:00.000-07:00

Our family decided to go to the Great Wolf's Lodge for Spring Break. It is a very large hotel with an indoor water park. We didn't get any pictures while swimming but we did get some in our room. The kids really liked having their own separate "log cabinesque" room.

With their own TV nonetheless....

Ben got to sleep on the top bunk for the first time in his life. Luckily, he stayed put all night long....

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter this year...this is the kids finding their baskets!

Ben picked out a monster egg coloring kit this year...the kids had a blast and are still playing with the eggs!! (Obviously, these are uneatable now!!)

I said that the one with the high orange hair looked like Marge Simpson. Esther asked me who Marge Simpson is. (We don't have TV!)

This is my first live plant that I have ever brought home. It is an "easy-care" plant so let's pray that it's really easy to take care of....but I thought it was really pretty!

The kids colored eggs yesterday and it went smoother than it has ever gone before!!

We also had Easter dinner at Tom's sisters house and had an Easter egg hunt and dessert at our house afterward! Ben was the egg-hunting king!! He actually found three more after the hunt was over. Here he is lining them up....

Emery found eggs, too!! She loved the chocolate!!

Some of the eggs were really high...gotta' be grateful for that height, Esther!!

Here's Rebekah looking cute as always!
We also did an Easter egg hunt at the church...it happened so quickly that I only got pictures of Emery!! She thought it was funny to find candy on the ground...in plastic eggs, nonetheless!!
Here's the family in our Easter attire...I decided to try to do the matching thing!! It was fun...and I think we'll try to take family pictures in them so it'll be worth all the time and headache.

Jump-rope Club

2010-04-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

The girls participated in jump rope club these last few months. They enjoyed it so much...Rebekah is always doing it at home now. I'm very grateful for such wonderful activities our school does.

Trip to Utah

2010-04-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

Emery and I recently made a trip to Utah to visit with family. Emery has a cousin who is only four weeks older than she is. They had not seen each other since they were young babies. They had a lot of fun. The P.J.'s are "Where the Wild Things Are..." and Emery was taking it literally.

Two very cute "..wild things..."

My mom and sister bought Emery a tutu with leggings and a ballerina shirt complete with a denim jacket with sparkles. Emery actually enjoyed dressing up.

Looking at the huge dinosaur exhibit in the front of the Dinosaur Museum. This Museum has given my kids such great experiences...making dinosaurs a favorite toy in our house from the very beginning.
Emery and her cousin playing with the sand...

Let's go back..go back..go back..and catch up with the Fellers!!

2010-04-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

So...for New Year's, we went to Ocean Shores. There was one day where we were able to go and play on the beach...with coats, and hats, and gloves...it was FREEZING but FUN!!Flying kites with Grandad!!
Rebekah does the whole wind-blowing-in-the-hair thing quite well.....
Emery did NOT want a kiss.....
We did sparklers on New Years Eve...always a BIG hit!!

Making sand-castles!!

Time for a little squeeeeeze....

Emery got a little splattered with mud...did NOT phase her one bit!!

There is no fear in those eyes...which scares me a little...only--I WANT TO TOUCH THAT BRIGHT SHINY LIGHT!!
We also went sledding at Paradise one Saturday in January. The older kids had a blast but Emery was not so sure of the cold, white stuff!!
Until...Daddy let her borrow his gloves!! YEAH!!
Esther and Rebekah....
Mommy and Benjamin....

Pictures of the kids!!

2010-02-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we went to old downtown Buckley with my sister-in-law and she took some pictures of the kids. We had a lot of fun...Emery would not hold still for anything. Kim did an amazing job...thanks so much Kim! We love you!!

Yes, I was a little worried that Emery was going to take a flying leap off of the log. She loved standing on it, however, and we even got her to say "cheese" and smile!

I love this one...it reminds me of how sweet and innocent she still is...even though she drives me a little batty sometimes!!

My handsome Benjamin...he loves this bomber jacket his grandad gave him!!

Tom always calls Bekah "Tiny" after Tiny Tim on "Christmas Carol." She is the sweetest and dearest girl..such a light in our lives...and cute as a button!
Our beautiful Esther...we named her after Esther in the Bible...and she has that kind of strength...we're grateful she is our oldest child.
I was hiding behind that pillar...because Emery seemed like she wanted to jump off!! This is the old Buckley High School...a great place to take pictures!
Our four wonderful kids...we love all of you so much...thank you for being you!!

The Turkey Recipe

2010-01-17T00:31:00.000-08:00

1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey

Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water. Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Brine:
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
6 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs rosemary

To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) (We used a small cooler!!) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary.Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place in a large, heavy roasting pan, and rub on all sides with 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper.

Stuff the turkey with:
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8ths
1 large orange, cut into 8ths
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme

We used one of the cooking bags instead of basting it. It turned out great...and I did not use 4 TBSP of batter to rub on it....just a little bit.

Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Christmas Dinner

2010-01-05T14:47:00.001-08:00

I put this in here to show Tom's contribution to Christmas dinner...he cleaned up and did all the dishes. He tried desperately to get my mom out of the kitchen so he could do it and I think she finally relented but this must have been while she was still helping out. Thanks Tom and Grandma!!

The kids sat and drank the sparkling cider Tom got from work while we did our final preparations.
This was our turkey. It was so succulent and moist that it fell apart when we moved it out of the pan so this is the best picture of it. We "brined" our first turkey...and it was so worth it. I have never had turkey leftovers gone that quickly. Truly a wonderful recipe!! Thanks Kim!!
I made matching aprons for all the girls helping out with the dinner...(my mom did help, however, because I was finishing them up on Christmas Eve) I love how Benjamin managed to get in the picture as well. All these females that he puts up with...I'm grateful that he is such a great little boy!
This was the dinner table before the eating began. We ate in the kitchen so we could all be together. Rebekah made the name-tags. It was a great meal and a truly wonderful day!!

Christmas Eve

2010-01-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

Reading the story of Christ's birth on Christmas Eve...Mom wrapped 25 Christmas books and we opened up one for every day in December. It was a great way to countdown for Christmas.

Opening up the Christmas Eve present...which is always new PJ's...
Even Mom participated as a shepherd...Esther was the angel...Ben was Joseph and Rebekah was Mary. Emery kept trying to steal the baby!!
This was what I grew up doing every Christmas Eve...acting out the Christmas story. It was so neat to do this in our own home, with Tom reading the words from Luke 2 with my mom there. It was a wonderful experience for the kids.
Making sugar cookies...a tradition that came from my childhood. The kids loved doing it with Grandma. And I only sortof burned one batch. Yeah!!

Esther's Gingerbread House Raising at School

2009-12-21T17:43:00.000-08:00

Although this is not the best picture of my beautiful Esther, it's the only one I've got!! (Thanks Megan!) On Friday morning, I went to school to help Esther with putting together her gingerbread house. It was amazing how many parents were there!! The support of parents at our school is quite spectacular.

Kid's Christmas Party

2009-12-21T16:07:00.001-08:00

I had this crazy idea to let each of the kids invite two or three kids from school to a Christmas party at our house, without another adult with me...it was fun...but a little crazy...as all parties should be. Here are some pictures...

Christmas Eve Program

2009-12-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

Emery and Nana playing the piano. Esther has taught Emery to growl so she does it all the time now." That couldn't have been me growling in that picture." This is the "Emery cycle." Do something crazy or naughty and then look all innocent and cute. Oh, and please disregard the black eye...no need to call child's services...Emmy just flipped a lid into her face and got her first black eye.
The girls and I...

We call this the "Emmy Wiggle" toward the end!!

The Nutcracker in Seattle

2009-12-20T00:26:00.000-08:00

Aunt Merrilee, Aunt Kim, Nana, Cousin Julia, Esther, Rebekah and Me all went to the Nutcracker the Friday night after Thanksgiving. Other than poor Rebekah suffering from "raging" strep throat, we had a wonderful night. The sets were amazing and the dancing was magical. The girls have been dancing around like ballerinas since then.

Is that really snow?!

2009-12-15T01:31:00.000-08:00

Well, the kids called it snow. Tom called it slush. We tried to make the most of it by taking a walk in the snow and doing our best to have a snowball fight!!

Emery loved it...and she kept her hat on. Miracle of all miracles!!

This was her first time walking in snow. Last year, she wasn't walking yet.
Benjamin and his buddy Riley!!
They had fun trying to throw snowballs at each other. At least with it being so slushy, nobody was going to get hurt.

Getting ready for Christmas!!

2009-12-15T00:49:00.000-08:00

For this Christmas, we decided to get a real tree. And since Tom couldn't walk, his brother and father helped us get it. Thanks Fred and David!! Rebekah was in charge of taking pictures while I decorated...this is the only one that didn't come out fuzzy.

This was the finished product. It turned out great!!

We made a gingerbread house that the kids actually decorated themselves. I put it together and they decorated it...it was a lot of fun!! I would have taken pictures during the process but that was impossible!

This is the kids tree that they got to decorate!! It was fun having two trees!!

The kids love playing on the stairs! My favorite picture is of Emery peaking her head through the garland. She thinks she's getting away with something!

Here's the mantle with our stockings. This is the first year that I have had a mantle and a fireplace to decorate!!

Family Pictures

2009-12-03T01:28:00.000-08:00

We had some pictures taken by Tom's sister. Thanks Kim!! It was really sunny so we're all squinting a little but it still works.

The Lovely Month of October

2009-11-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite pictures from the month. Tom and Esther were going to a Daddy/Daughter Halloween Party. They were so excited to be dressed up as superheroes. We love our superheroes in this family.

The kids had so much fun dressing up. Emery was a lamb; Esther was Supergirl; Rebekah was Hannah Montana; and Ben was The Thing. We carved pumpkins and had a lot of fun!

We went to two different pumpkin patches for field trips for Ben and Rebekah!!

Mommy spent a lot of time baking. She made her first homemade apple pie--from scratch. Thanks Amy!! She made Esther's school treats for her birthday, cupcakes for the Autumnfest and for the party and some Halloween candy. And this was all in one day!!

We made some fun witches shoes for the kids' teachers and mommy's visiting teachers!!

Esther turned 9. She had a really fun craft party. She had lots of friends come and it was the quietest, calmest party we've ever thrown. If this is what it means for them to get older, we're okay with that. It was great. Happy Birthday Esther. We love you.

Catch-up from the Summer

2009-10-08T14:21:00.000-07:00

We swam a few times over at our cousins house!! Doesn't Emery look quite gorgeous in her swimsuit.

We got our faces painted at the Sumner Festival!!

We went and saw Nana and Granddad's play!

The kids got their first camel ride!

They got to ride on the carousel

They got to groom some sheep!!

Play in water!!

We went to the zoo a couple of times this summer. The kids really enjoy it. They love the toys and the animals.

Grandma came and visited to help out while I recovered from surgery. We couldn't have done it without you. Thanks Grandma!!

Rebekah's Birthday

2009-10-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

Rebekah turned 7 this summer and she had a rock star party. The kids made their own guitars and went on a hunt in our nearby park for their microphones. They enjoyed taking turns singing and dancing in front of the stage. It was a great party and the most important thing that happened was that we got Rebekah's hair to stay curly. Very important!!

The First Day of School

2009-10-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

We had the first day of school come and go in a flash. Summer seemed to disappear through our fingers. The kids were nervous at first because it was a new school. But they were troopers. They really enjoy the new school now and we feel really blessed to be in the area where we are.

Grandparent's Day

2009-10-08T13:56:00.001-07:00

Rebekah had Grandparent's Day at her school. Granddad was able to come, which was very exciting for Rebekah. Thanks Granddad!! I came as well because we now attend the same school as our cousins. Granddad was visiting two classrooms so I decided to come along, which wasn't as exciting. Rebekah's teacher read a story to the class about an animal that could change shapes. And then Rebekah got to cut out some shapes and make her own animal. It was a lot of fun!

Pumpkin Patch at Maris Farms

2009-10-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

We went to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. It was so much fun. There was a giant air pillow that the kids got to jump on, as well as the adults. They rode on the cow train (even Emery) as many times as they possibly could. There was a corn room in a barn. It was just a room full of corn with hay bales around it. They loved it. The corn left a white residue on all of them. It was in their hair and their clothes. I am still picking up kernels of corn. It threatened to rain but it held out for us and we were very grateful for a beautiful, Autumn day.