I KNOW, IT"S ABOUT TIME!!!

One of our favorite fall traditions is going to Linder Farmers. Most years we go with our wonderful friends, the Bernards. Last year we had sick kids and ended up having to go seperately but thankfully this year, we all were in good health on the date we had scheduled to go so we had them over for soup and rolls before heading to the pumpkin patch. It had rained earlier in the day but I think with Tyson's mid-day prayer "please let it not rain so we can go to the pumpkin patch tonight" (his cute idea to pray!!), the rain stopped by late afternoon and had dried out enough that it was not a muddy mess. We had a great time!!

Corn kernel sand box-I found several kernels in the washer :)

The train ride- I thought Katelyn would think she was too big for this ride this year but she hopped in and looks to be having a good time.

He thought he was so cool!! But of course he had to ride the "boring normal way" when the ride began.

We always enjoy the petting zoo they have at Linder Farms, especially the kids, since they are so deprived by having NO pets in our family.

I personally love this picture!!

I loved this Walllaby. I put my hand out to feed him and he grabbed ahold of my hand with both of his, which it happens to have decent size claws, and just ate out of my hand until every piece was gone. It's no fast eater like the goats I'll have you know. My arm was so tired by the time he finished :) I decided awhile back, that if Wallaby's were regular pets, I'd have one in a heart beat. They are sooo cute!!

Logan and the fast eaters. He loves the little baby goats and has ever since a baby goat befriended him at the fair a few years ago. He still talks about the goat that loved him and was sad he had to leave :)

I snapped this cute picture of the Bernards while we were on the hayride heading back with our pumpkins.

Ethan, Logan and Tyson.

Another great year at Pumpkin Patch and hopefully many more!!

Wow, I can't get over that I just finished a post to my blog!!!! I'm sure most won't see this since I am a slacker and never post and most have given up on me but hopefully the fall photos were enjoyed by those that visited. More fun photos and news to follow soon :)

UPDATE:

Even though I have a bazillion pictures to post, this one will be lame and not have any because I have 5 minutes to hurry and update since it has been way too long!!!

So in the fall we did pay off our store loan BUT we are moving to a bigger location in the same shopping center!!!!!!!!!!!! We have completely out-grown our current spot and we were offered an amazing deal on a huge spot (pretty much across the parking lot) and a yummy restaurant is replacing us (I can't say what it is but it is yummy and the 1st to Boise :). Anyways, we had hoped to buy a house this summer but with the relocation, that will be put off another year, which it is completely worth it to be able to get the new store up and going 1st.

Just to give you an idea of why we are so excited about this move: the current selling square footage of our store is 2000 sq. feet, witth 3 computers/ cash registers, 4 dressing rooms and the largest storage unit in our current storage place and it has over 350 decent size storage bins full of backstock clothes- that Justin spends countless hours rotating with the newest stuff and what a pain it has been!! He loads up bins, drives them to the storage unit and unloads them, then loads up the ones to go back to the store (to put out and sell), and drives back to unload them at the store!!! He does this day n and day out (well except Sunday :) and that is on top of the hundreds of other things he has to do.

So our new location (which will be as of the end of April to early May) is over 6500 sq. feet of selling floor (yes over 3 times as big) with 10 dressing rooms, 5 cash registers/computers and no need for a storage since we still have over 3000 sq. feet of storage room in our new spot!!! We are SOOOO excited if you cant tell!!! It has been and will be quite a lot of work but it will be so worth it!!! If you come to Boise, you'll have to stop by and see us (Platos Closet :). After the new location is ready, I will post pictures of our current store and then ones of the new store.

I know that was probably hard to understand and probably even boring but it really is an incredible thing for us!!! Next time I will post pictures and fill ya in on the rest of our crazy life :) Hope everyone is doing great and Happy Spring!!!

Update:

Happy Fall

I had a little time to sit at the computer today since my kids are home (Parent/Teacher Conf.) and they are actually entertaining eachother pretty well. Anyways, I uploaded a bunch of pictures to my facebook photo album so if you want to see pictures, hop on facebook.

Life is crazy as normal. Dealing with colds, school and just about everything else.

We had a week in Oct. where all 3 of the kids had every symptom of the swine flu: a week of fevers, coughs, sore bodies and sore throats and throw-up!! But at least they've had it and are all better, with the exception of that crummy cough that forever lingers. Besides a month long headcold for me, Justin and I so far have been spared from anything horrible.

You'd think with Tyson in a preschool program that is 4 days a week- it's a special preschool program in our school district that Tyson qualifies for because he is "speech delayed", I'd have all this free time and get more done. But I spend a lot of time volunteering in all 3 kids classes, or volunteer for PTO activities, etc. But it definitely is nice to be able to run errands kid free, most of the time.

Some good news for our store... WE PAID OFF OUR BUSINESS LOAN last month so now the store is debt free!! We are eligible to get a home loan in the spring (we have to have 2 full years of taxes for our business) so we hope to buy/build a house next summer in the subdivision that we both love. But the store is doing great and we are still loving it!!

Hope you are all having a great fall and have a great Thanksgiving!! I know we can't wait to have my family come for Thanksgiving week and to go see New Moon with my sistas!!!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY KATELYN!!!!!

Our Birthday Girl
My baby girl just isn't a baby anymore. It amazes me to think that 8 years ago I was having my 1st child. We definitely have been blessed with our beautiful little girl. Katelyn is so smart and loves school. All her teachers have loved her cause she is always done with her work right away and then asks what she can do to help them. She loves little kids and always hogs any babies we may be babysitting. We love her so much!!
*As a side note, I wanted to post a baby picture and pictures of her growing up, however, Justin has saved all our pictures older than a year on some thing and I have NO idea where or how to get them on here...

May: Soccer and Mother's Day

I know, 4 months, pathetic!! But I have tons to post from May to current, so there will be more coming... I have to say I am ready for kids to be back and school and back to a regular schedule and with Tyson in preschool, I just may have time to be a regular, or a more regular blogger!!

Another busy April and May filled with soccer for Katelyn and ME!! I played on occasion with an indoor co-ed team that Justin played on with a bunch of couples in our ward (for the last year). Justin had to take a couple sessions off due to pulled muscles but I decided to play a session with a bunch of friends on an all girls indoor team. It was great exercise and even though I got sick to my stomach before every game, I had so much fun!! Of course we had to take goofy team photos!! Oh and we were the HOT MAMAS so the back of our shirts said HOT!

(I'll have to repost these small ones when I have the reg. photo emailed to me, I just copied them from a friends blog and they are hard to see)

We had 2 friends move (Brianne, I am still mad at you for leaving me) and a couple others are prego but with a few new comers, we hope to have a team for this fall!!

Katelyn's Soccer

Getting ready to do some fancy foot work... Katelyn had the ball at about 3/4ths of the field back and booted the ball over all the girls heads, it landed and rolled right into the goal!! I wish we got it on tape. It was great!!

Mother's Day

Justin got me these pretty roses (I love the vase) but I ended up killing them as I do with all plants. I think Tyson was sleeping and missed this picture.

The kids helped Justin make me my favorite breakfast, french toast.

Then for dessert, we had my favorite, WATERMElON!! They made me hearts "for Mother's Day"!! Even Justin made me one but he told me not to waste the space on his, lol.

Justin trying on his new day pack and filling it to it's maximum weight limit. It was a great day other than the boys wrestling, me telling them to stop since it was Sunday, and as always, both got hurt and both ended up with bloody noses within a few minutes of eachother.

A Lot of Catching Up!!!

It has been a crazy couple of months!!!

In March, we headed to my parents to welcome my sister Karen home from her mission. That weekend, my mom, my sisters and I drove to Portland and attended the WICKED play. It was SO good and we had so much fun. I am going to make Justin go with me one of these days (which he is already dreading but I know he'll end up liking it). Then we brought my sister home with us, to put her to work at the store for a crazy Spring Break. Karen still lives with us (possibly until school this fall) and is working at the store and in 2 weeks when we head off to Orlando for our Platos Closet Conference, she will be a little nanny for our kiddos.

We had a fun St. Patricks Day and thought we'd share some cute pictures.

Green Eggs and Ham (and Tyson pouting in the background- a typical thing in our house)

This kid loves pirates... HAPPY 3RD B-DAY TYSON (was April 10th)!!!

This pirate cake was really fun to make!!

Ready to blow out the candle!!

(He wanted an umbrella so bad- thanks Bernard Family)
Justin came up with this really cute scavenger hunt. Each time they found a clue, there was a treasure with it (sword, necklace, eye patch, etc.) and then the final clue led to the treasure chest filled with candy. Justin hid the chest up on the high ledge and once the kids figured it out, he let Tyson go up to get it. He was so excited!!!

They found the loot!!

Ok so I am embarrassed to say this but Tyson had a binky until the day he turned 3. He mostly had it at nap and bedtime and times when he got hurt or just need the "comfort" of it. Ok so I needed him to have it sometimes. But we had been telling him a for 3 motnhs before his birthday that when he was 3 he wouldn't need a binky cause he was a big boy. So being into pirates, Justin got the idea to let Tyson sink his binkies like pirates sink things. He found an anchor thing and tied Tyson's binkies to it then before his party, Justin took the kids to the canal and Tyson sunk his binkies. He had a few crying episodes over that next week but did surprisingly well for having had a binky for 3 years. Now that he is potty trained, binky-free and in preschool (he is in a great preschool program through the elementary school where he also gets speech help), my baby is not a baby anymore. However, that does not mean that I am ready for another/final baby quite yet.

Easter Morning

A qiuck family photo

Pretty cute kiddos huh?!?!

In their pj's from the Easter Bunny

Well I am sure you've seen enough pictures to kill a camel. With the craziness of moving, cleaning and unpacking, I am a bit exhausted so in a few more days I'll post cakes contest and field trip pictures, etc. All the fun stuff had to be put on the back burner so I am excited now that life is settling down a bit, to be able to hop on everyones blogs and see what you all are up to.