How Do You Like Your Oreo's???

A few years ago we came across this really amazing thing—it was Holiday/Seasonal Oreo’s. Not being a fan of Oreo’s growing up this would NOT have been something that exciting and for all I know, they’ve had these a lot longer than I realize. However after marrying someone who loves them and then learning the fine art of dunking and enjoying a glass of ice cold milk and a few Oreo’s myself...Oreo’s have become a staple in our house.

After having a couple kids who followed in their dad’s footsteps...the holiday and seasonal Oreo’s became a HUGE hit. I became the cool mom who brought home Oreo’s with Halloween pictures on them. Fights were narrowly avoided choosing who got the last ghost or last witch. They had this great orange cream that still tasted like the normal cream so you didn’t have to sacrifice flavor for fun.(I don’t know that we’ve actually eaten any of the “other” flavors though—I'm sure they're just as good, we've just never tried them.)

So anyway, Halloween Oreo's were the highlight of our fall. Then to our great surprise, Dad became the way cool Dad and brought home Christmas ones (actually they are "Winter," but since we celebrate Christmas and they have red filling---they are "Christmas" to us.) Well, we stocked up a little bit since we ran out of Halloween ones about the same time they stopped selling them at the store--just so we could enjoy them even longer.

Well, soon came Spring with yellow ones and Summer with blue ones...or was it the other way around...oh well, we enjoy them all spring or fall, yellow or red, ghosts or frogs...the kids' favorite part is picking which picture (or pictures) they get to eat. And the best part is, there is always one to look forward too.

[Quick side note...our kids love to dress up in all black clothes and run around being "black-man" .]

So a few days ago, we asked the kids which Oreo color they like the best and because of this new "black-man" phase they are going through (is it still a phase if it lasts more than 6 months???) we decided to take a family Oreo Picture. So we were wondering how you measure up to us...do you prefer:

Halloween Orange like our oldest?

Christmas Red like our youngest?

Springtime Yellow like Dad?

Summer Fun Blue like our Daughter?

...or do you like the good old fashion white

DOUBLE STUFFED like Mom?

Yup, you read (and saw) that right...our little cookie (there is only 1) will be joining us in just a few short weeks. We really got an ear-full when we didn't "announce" that we were expecting our last one, but when time came to announce this one, we had many friends and family who were also announcing--so we decided to wait a little bit. Throw in a few major and minor holidays, some major morning sickness (that still continues to show up) and the daily schedule we were attempting to maintain---plus trying to find some really cool awesome (and cute) way to announce and we reached present day faster than expected.

So, our next question is...any guesses on the "color" of this baby? Pink or Blue....we haven't found out yet....maybe we can talk it into coming a little early on Presidents day and the Oreo Company can make a cookie with red, white and blue striped filling , or maybe Leap Day cookies...any suggestions on what color that would be?!?!? We might have to give in and try some other flavors so we can add the mint green, milkshake pink or peanut butter brown to our family photo.

A few facts:

Due date: beginning of March

Date it will come: ha ha ha ha---our kids come when THEY want, not when we want

Feelings on gender: Dad: Girl; Mom: not sure; Oldest: Boy; Middle: Girl, Youngest: doesn't care--as long as there is room on Mom's lap afterwards

Yes, we're split on what the baby will be, but we'll love it either way and we keep reminding the kids of that---especially those that might be disappointed by the outcome (one in particular who is really really hoping for a sister).

Names: We have 2 girl names we both like and will just have to see which one fits. We have 2 boy names---lets rephrase that---MOM has 2 boy names, the first of which Dad really doesn't like (and she loves with all her heart) and the second he might be able to live with---but neither has a middle name and we don't share names so we can't ask for help in that area...but we're open to other fun/different/not too odd/grow with you type names. We've tried to name our kids something that has meaning to our family...so if you know us (which if you're reading this you probably do) let us know what you think.

The kids are excited, we're not ready--but who is really and we can't wait till our next post---maybe it will be the big news. (Of course I could get really ambitious and try to catch up on the last 18 months since I wrote prior to Christmas--but don't get your hopes up Ü.)

Love, Our Handful...that is growing.

Merry Christmas

What do you know...I'm finally updating our blog. It's only been 16 or so months since I did it last, so I figured it was about time. So much has happened in the past 16 month---but I guess it wasn't eventful enough for me to write about--or was it to eventful that I didn't ever get around to it---I'll go for #2. So here is our Christmas card and a "nutshell" update of our lives. I know most of you who read this actually have some idea of what is going on in our lives whether it's because you live by us, are family, or get on facebook. But for anyone else--we hope you enjoy and would love to hear how things are in your life too.

Merry 2011 Christmas Family and Friends,

We hope this letter find you well and that things in your life are going well. We are doing fine. We are still living north of Des Moines IA (Granger) and are enjoying our 3 kids.

Sterling is now 6 yrs old and is in kindergarten. He loves going to school every day and always comes home with newly learned information. He loves being a big brother and most of the time is willing to help out and be a good example. He is learning to read and helps us read his books to him. He loves to play, ride his bike (without training wheels) and can't wait till we get some measurable snow so he can go play in it.

Hannah is 4 yrs old and started Preschool this year. She loves the things she is learning and looks forward to the projects she gets to do. She loves to help out and has developed quite a love of drawing. We generally have multiple pages of artwork to hang up around our house. She is also really good at tricking us into thinking she's asleep. We have been tricked many times into carrying her in the house and to her bed only to find out she's been pretending the whole time. We've had to start tickling her to "check" if she's really asleep.

Heston is 22 months and is sad to see his siblings go to school. His favorite time of the day is when we go pick the other two up. He loves to read and pick out pictures. He also loves animals-especially dogs. He will "play fetch" with us and pretend to be a dog. He’ll “fetch” whatever toy we throw for him. When you ask him what a dog says, he sticks out his tongue and "pants" like a dog does. It is hilarious and he loves making everyone laugh. He is a happy boy and (when not being teased by the other two) is very smiley and helpful.

Spence is still working for Decision Innovation Solutions, the company he and a friend started a few years ago. They do several types of economic consulting work, primarily in agriculture. He also continues to do wood working and is currently working on a crib/toddler bed for Heston. He is super excited to be building a wood shop so he has a little more space to work and move wood around. He stays busy with his calling as Young Men Adviser and 2nd Counselor in the Young Men. He loves helping with scouts and has a great group of boys to work with. He looks forward to the weekend when he can spend time with our kids and have them help him in the shop.

Sarah enjoys staying home with the kids and watching them learn and grow. She is looking forward to March when #4 will join our family (no, we didn't find out what it is). She has been busy as the secretary in Relief Society and is having fun learning new crafts and skills. Although, her "to do" and "to try" lists seem to get longer faster than they get shorter; she is having fun and enjoys having the kids help her plan the next project and the supplies to do it.

We hope everyone is well and that you are able to enjoy the Christmas Spirit this time of year and all year through. We are grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and the blessing we receive by following His commandments.

We would love to stay in touch with you. Our contact info is:

Phone: (515) 999-2275 2311 Park Ave, Grange IA 50109 Snsparkinson@hotmail.com

Blog: http://snsparkinson.blogspot.com/ (We're not very good at updating it though)

Project Blog: http://eye-dyllicexpressions.blogspot.com/ (It's still a work in progress of our projects and maybe one day a business)

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Love,

Spence, Sarah, Sterling, Hannah, and Heston

Here comes Santa Claus...

For those who don't know, Santa left a note on our Christmas tree (in December) saying he had another present, but it didn't fit in his sleigh, he would have to bring it later.

Well on Friday the 16th, we found a mysterious note on our door...who was it from..Santa of course. He left us a note telling us what needed to happen before he could bring that one last gift. We (the kids) had to:

• Clean their room
• Keep their toys cleaned up
• Take apart their beds
• Have fun at the Primary Activity the next day
• Do 5 jumping jacks
• Obey Mom and Dad
• Leave him a special treat

Kind of strange list...but we obeyed: Saturday after the Primary activity, we had to "run a few errands." Luckily, the kids all fell asleep in the van on our way to hang out at Target and get lunch (that took about 1 1/2 hours). Then we had to go in the store and get lunch (an hour---they had really cool straws so the kids just kept drinking.) Then we had to walk around and make sure we saw everything we could in the store (another 1 1/2 hours). Pretty soon we found out that Dad "was on his way home" so we thought we'd head home too. (For those wondering, yes the kids were still in their pj's---from the activity.) We got home and decided to make sure we had the whole list done. We took the beds apart the night before, all the toys were cleaned up, they obeyed and had fun...they just had to make a special treat. Sterling had been saving his last red vitamin for Santa for 3 months...he was very excited to add that his treat bag. After hair cuts and baths, the kids realized their treat bags were missing. We set off to find them...and lo and behold we found: So they are done. We are super excited about them. A few things:

• They are solid black walnut
• The 4 stairs have drawers in them
• There are 3 drawers underneath the full bed (bottom bunk)
• We will probably put shelves in the space under the stairs, but for now it's just open
• There are adjustable shelves in the headboards
• There are trapdoors in the headboards too...why have wasted space beneath the headboard.
• They even came with removable labels so the kids know which drawers which cloths go in.
• We will put caps on the tops of the posts, but we had to wait until we got our new tool to do that...more to come on that later. Ü (if this smile could get any bigger...it would be!)
• And most importantly....they are completely reversible. The underneath drawers can go on the other side, and the opening to climb from the stairs to the top bunk can be switched around.

How do you make something like this you might ask...a lot of cutting, sanding, and lacquering, with a lot of nails, sandpaper, and leftover sawdust...a little extra patience was helpful too. Here is the poem Santa left with the beds. We had so much writing it, we wish we knew someone who illustrated and would help us make it into a book (any takers...we'll pay you.) There are a lot of hints about how the progress of the beds are going and the time that had passed. See if you can pick up on any of them.

We had the perfect gift

Planned for you last year

But as we went to load the sleigh

We had to say “oh dear!”

Your gift was just too big

To fit inside the sleigh

We knew deep inside our hearts

We had to find another way

We made a plan to get the gift to you

as quickly as could be

And hitch a trailer behind my sleigh

Oh what a sight to see.

The Reindeer pulled and strained and stressed

And gave it all they had

But realized they couldn’t do it alone;

Oh they felt so bad.

So, we all joined in and hoped our strength

Would give the needed nudge

But try as we might that sight of ours

Just would not even budge.

We called a special meeting

of all the Legendary Figures we could find

And talked through the ideas

That popped into their mind.

“The Cold North Wind” said Mother Nature,

“could drop right down there.”

But we thought your Christmas gift

Need extra special care.

The Easter Bunny wanted to

hide its parts in Eggs ‘round town.

But that idea was quickly stopped

and unanimously shot down.

Cupids wild idea was filled with hearts

and flowers and chocolates too

but we had no idea how it would work

to get your gift to you.

The Leprechauns tried to play a trick

to keep it for themselves.

But their plan was foiled by our

quick and witty elves

We continued thinking and

We thought we had been beat.

But the reindeer soon devised a plan

Which was a welcomed treat.

They figured they could find some help

At the annual Reindeer Games

So they set a big booth inside

And took down all the names.

They held all sorts of tryouts

To find the strongest in the bunch;

Then they got right down to business

As they rehearsed their plan o'er lunch.

We all came back together

And hooked all the reindeer to the sleigh

And with the added strength they found

They were able to make it on their way.

We headed straight to you house

Thinking everything was grand

But our delay in coming,

made for warmer weather than we planned.

So, we headed back to the North pole

To trade our runners for some wheels

And quickly fixed up all their squeaks

And all their little squeals.

And once again we headed out

To your home today.

And everything was going good

We hoped it’d stay that way.

Your lights were off, the doors were locked

Our timing was just right

We got your gift unloaded

and went to work with all our might.

We finally got it placed,

In the best and most perfect way.

And decided to leave this special story

of how it got to you today.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas

And will forgive us our delay.

We hope you will enjoy your gift

on this beautiful April Day.

From: Santa and his 8 flying Reindeer.

With the help of their friends

Speedy, Tuff, Little Toot and Moe.

We hope you enjoyed our adventure as much as we did...sorry it's so long...at least I learned how to do collages so I didn't have to add every single picture on here. Ü (Thanks Crystal!)

Going Private...sometime...sooner than later

Just to let everyone know we will be taking our blog private...not sure when I'll actually get around to it (technically could be months down the road with everything I want to do right now)...but just as a heads up. Make sure to give us your address...you can leave it as a comment (will get it removed as soon as possible) or you can email it to us too (snsparkinson@hotmail.com, snsparkinson@gmail.com) We'd love to be added to your blog as well. Hope you're all having a great day!

Once there was a snowman...

Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman, once there was a snowman...tall, tall, tall. In the sun he melted, melted, melted, in the sun he melted small, small, small. Good bye "Cherry" you were a fun snowman the whole 3 days you were here, but we are ready for spring...it is after all spring break right now!

Heston Jonathan

We're happy to welcome all 9 lbs and 21 inches of the newest member of our family. Heston Jonathan was born Sunday the 7th at 10:10 pm. He wasn't in a big hurry to make an appearance (1 week late and mom was in labor for 17 hours), but he finally gave in. First bath: First Birthday (Zero B-day party):We're very excited to have him in our home and the other kids absolutely love him. Every day they are a little more excited about him. They are starting to want to hold him and kiss him and tickle his feet when he falls asleep eating (this is a regular occurrence---he will hate being tickled as he gets older.) Proud big brother: Proud big sister:He hates getting dressed, getting his diaper changed and getting baths (even with warm water and a heater going nearby). He gets possessive about his food and "eyes" anyone who gets to close or makes to much noise while he's eating (imagine the look on a hungry dog that just got a bone to chew on--and doesn't want any other dog to take it.) Super long fingernails at birth: He's a good eater and sleeper...now we just need to get them at the right time of the day. 6 hour naps in the afternoon are great if mom wants to get a shower and spend time with the other kids, but not if she wants to sleep that night.We'll get some "awake" pictures soon. No, we didn't name him after Charleton Heston or Hesston Farm equipment, but his name does have reference to farming. We have tried to name our kids something significant in our and their lives...with both of us coming from farming families, it seemed fitting to name one of our kids something to do with it...(Heston means farm or homestead). His middle name, Jonathan, is after Spence's good friend growing up who passed away nearly 10 year ago. His name (Jonathan) was actually after the best friend of David (David and Goliath). We'll post some more pictures later, but thought we would let everyone know about and see our new bundle of joy.

Comments

Does the comment part work now????

The Finished Playset

This summer we took on the major project of building a playset/fort for our kids. It was a blast and the kids absolutely love to play on it and loved helping to make it. Since it's easier to tell a story in pictures...here we go:

Building the base and the posts. Sterling helping put on washers and nuts. Not to be outdone by her brother, Hannah helped put on the the nuts and then the washers...lots of them. And then she wanted to help tighten them on. The missionaries wanted a few service hours (and some Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler). They helped put the floor boards in. The posts looked huge tall at this point and looked really funny. We also had some friends over for a BBQ and to help get on the roof and the picket pieces. It ended up being a freezing cold day for it, but was still fun.

We got a huge load of sand dumped in the driveway for the garden and sandbox...that was a lot of wheelbarrows.

The kids liked to play while Spence worked (and I took pictures Ü). Spence was finishing the railing and floorboards while the kids anxiously waited for the slide to be put on. Railing done (or so we thought). Now it's time for the slide...any helpers??? Now some stairs so we can get up to the slide. Grandpa came and stayed with us for a few weeks. We got the shingles on the roof...The swing bar built and the swings and trapeze bar on. It was late when we got that part done...but we still had to test them out...I think they work! Then we decided we needed a parallel bar to hang on and learn how to do flips and chin-ups and all those fun things. It's just our size....almost! After putting on the swings we realized we needed to move the railing. We put a ladder on the outside so the kids didn't have to go through the sand every time they wanted to go to the top. Especially when they were wet....

And the finished project.......We still have to add a railing to the inside where the stairs come up, but it's not a huge concern right now. The kids love to have picnics up there and play for hours in the sand. Sterling even (on his own accord) figured out how to sled down the slide. He loved it...Hannah not as much though. We had a great time building it, memories of project like this together will stay with for a lifetime.

The Fair is a Veritable Smorgasbord...

We went to the Iowa State Fair on Tuesday...this is a HUGE fair and it is very agriculturally based. The kids to love to go see all the animals (barns and barns and barns of them.) They really like the movie "Charlotte's Web" (the original) right now so every pig was named Wilbur... and we walked around all the pigs so Sterling could say "Hi Wilbur" to all the pigs. Another highlight is watching the cows get ready for showing...they love to watch them get bathed. I don't know why this is so interesting to them, but last year we actually watch them for over 45 minutes. They also love the horses, they get so fancy and they love to watch them parade down the street pulling their wagons. Because we are Iowa (and 1 in every 6 jobs in Iowa is influenced by agriculture---we know Spence just completed and Economic Analysis of it...see the news release at: at:http://www.supportiowasfarmers.org/county/impact09.pdf) We get to have really cool things at our fair to try and help people understand what agriculture is...one of these things is "Little Hands on the Farm" it's sponsored mainly by Pioneer (a seed company), and it's all about how the food gets from a seed to the store and how everything has to work together. So here are the kids going through: First: Get ready to work! Second: Take a picture because you are cute in your aprons with your little baskets...that's actually not a requirement for agricultural practices (but it makes Grandma happy when she has pictures to put on the yearly calendar.) Next: Pick your seeds (both kids picked tomato seeds) (Seeds are plastic disks--color coded for each plant--red=tomato) Next: Plant your seed, using your little spade. Sterling was doing this like a regular pro. He tried to "help" Hannah, but her new phrase is "I do it." Hannah trying to figure out how to cover the seed. After the seed grows you get to "pick" your produce. Kids are supposed to pick the same thing they grew, so here are the kids picking a tomato to put in their baskets. Next are the apple trees. They can pick them off the ground or from the tree and put them in their baskets. Next you stop in the grain bin to get a baggie of soy beans and a baggie of seed corn. Then you stop in the chicken coop to gather eggs. Next you need to take care of your fields...you trade your soybeans in for ethanol to run your tractor. Here is Sterling "filling his tank." And the race is off...except Hannah can't reach the pedals. Ü This picture looks like she's having a blast, but she's really yelling at me to let her do it...even though she can't reach the pedals or turn the sterling wheel. A few more stops after the field work were the sheep stall to get some wool and the cow barn. At the cow barn you have to trade your corn grain in, so the cow makes milk. They even have a life size (fake) cow to try milking with. I think it's easier than a real cow, but it gives kids the basic idea of where milk comes from. Then you get a box of milk (school lunch size---empty of course, the heat of the day would make for a lot of smelly milk Ü) Then you take your items to the farmers market. The kids sort the items into the baskets and get "paid" a dollar to then go to the store. They get to choose from Popsicle, crackers, apples, bananas, juice and granola bars. They actually have a pretty big selection. They pick what they want, pay the cashier and head outside to eat. Sterling got animal crackers and Hannah got a Popsicle. They sat on a straw bale to eat... Hannah got a little bit of straw stuck to her fingers and then stuck to her face... Another great thing about the fair is the Baby animal building. They have animals (soon to be Mommies) in pens in this building. Then when they give birth, people can actually see it. Here are the kids watching the ducklings scuttle around. They could have watch them for hours I think. They had a little pond and everything. They also had chicks...and lots of eggs so you could watch them hatching, a few new calves, lambs, and even an ostrich. The best part was the pigs. They have the nice farrowing crates that keep the babies from being smashed by mom when she rolls over...well they had a few that were just a few days old...and while we were waiting in line to see the babies, there were 9 born, within 2 minutes of us seeing them, then there was another one born just 30 seconds after we walked past. They film the whole thing and have it projecting on TV's throughout the building. This way everyone can see and not have to crowd the pens and make mommy nervous. We think it's a rip-off to go on fair rides (especially when you can get an all day pass to adventure land for the same price as 3-4 rides at the fair), but we try to do something fun with the kids each year. The Iowa State Fair has one of the last and original "Tunnel of Love"s. They call it "Ye Old Mill." We thought we'd take the kids on that...lots of families do, so it wasn't just us with our kids and a bunch of other couples making out. Ü This is us after getting off...I guess there is a reason it's a Tunnel of Love, it was very dark with only a few lighted spots...I guess that so you can get untangled before coming out Ü. The kids like to hold hands to protect one another. They like to make sure the other isn't being left out. The fair is HUGE into things on a stick. Our first year there was only 22 things you could get on a stick (3 years ago) this year there was 54 can you believe it 54 things on a stick...you can even get your program on a stick. This is Hannah with her hard boiled egg on a stick, she thought it was a popsicle so she was licking it. Then it was time to cool off in the fountain, they weren't sure at first but... They got the hang of it Ü Other favorites from the fair:

• Pork Chops---you can get those on a stick too, but we prefer getting them at the Pork Producers Tent with chips, beans and applesauce. I will make them for you if you come visit, and if I can ever figure out how to make an Iowa Chop as good as they do. I've even watched them get cooked...I just can't figure it out. Iowa chops are about 1 inch thick of pure pork chop goodness (I don't think I had even eaten a pork chop before coming to Iowa, but I'm a big fan now!)
• Cook Out Contest---Every year Farm Bureau has a cook out contest, you have to be good just to make it to this part of the contest. The best part is the taste-testing! You can get all the recipes from this year at: http://www.ifbf.org/images/09recipes.pdf The winner was the Lemon Basil Turkey breast...I didn't get to try that one, but the ones I try were really good.
• Landmines---we went the wrong way down a few aisles in the animal barns, there was no avoiding the landmines that dotted our path, so we just plowed on through...it adds to the experience right??? Especially with me yelling at the kids to stop touching the tires on the stroller. Thank goodness for grass and the dew that was still on it!
• FOOD!!!! I love walking around and seeing all the different foods...one of these days I'm going to just go crazy at the fair and buy one of each thing I love to eat. We didn't get much this year since we were only there for the one day (we usually go 3 times because Spence would be doing stuff for work...he only needed to go 1 day this year.) I do love fair food, but I saw someone eating a corndog at 9 in the morning...all smothered with mustard, it looked very yummy, but at 9 in the morning?!?!?!?

We had a blast...if you're ever planning a trip to Iowa, I suggest August, that way you can go to the fair and eat your heart on on "____on a stick" foods...and visit us of course...and give us a reason to go again...and again...and again...