Unexpected House Guest

Our neighbors, JR and Kathy Roberts (he grew up in the house that's for sale behind us) up the street have a really large property and basically a mini farm over there. They came over and surprised the girls with a baby goat. They LOVED him...of course Roxelle couldn't get enough and kept calling him a "goggie". She would look at him and clap her hands and try to coax him over to her. Even Tatum held him a couple of times and if you know her well, you know she is beyond TERRIFIED of dogs. He is 2 weeks old and they are calling him Starbuck.
My darn camera memory was full, so I only got one tiny video clip and these couple pictures, but they invited us over in a few days to see the rest of the babies and the other animals, too. Plus, they have a really cool tree house.

Roxelle loved the goat, but not so sure of "Uncle JR". LOL!!

18 months old

Yesterday was the official day that Roxelle turned 18 mos, but I didn't take a single photo, even though it was St. Patrick's Day.

She is such a fun little girl to have around. She is a cruiser and will keep herself busy most of the time. She thinks the sun rises and sets with Tatum and can be found following her around most of the time. She loves her baby dolls and LOVES books. We also think she might be our only animal lover. She loves her "doCKee's". And pretty much everything that moves on 4 legs is a doggie to her now. She has not started potty training, yet (I know, right?!!), but SOON!

She has 6 teeth on top and 2 little lone teeth on bottom. I think more are coming soon because she has been unusually fussy and drooling a lot.

10-12-10

Last April,
we decided that we were ready to start thinking about adding to our family. I went to the doctor to talk to her about how long it took to get pregnant with Roxelle and possible options that we have if this one starts to take as long.
(Yes, I am VERY impatient! HA HA)
In August,
I was already frustrated and called the doctor to get some advice. She decided that I should try the fertility drug Clomid. I did 3 rounds of that, to no avail.

At this point, I was tired of hanging in limbo. I wanted to lose some weight, but didn't want to
"go to the trouble"
if I was going to be pregnant anyway.

Thanksgiving Day I started my cycle AGAIN and was really frustrated. I knew that we were 5 weeks away from a trip to HI, which meant I was going to be in a swimming suit with about 15 extra lbs still hanging on.

The Monday after Thanksgiving, I decided to try a 7 day free trial at 24 Hour Fitness that somehow turned into a 3 week free trial and I ended up losing 11 lbs before Christmas! I was happy to be on the road to better health and that I'd look decent on the beach,
but still longing for another baby.

• During the last couple of days of our trip to HI, I got that un-friendly cycle again.
  I was SO sad.
  When we got home from our trip, I told Will that if
  I am not pregnant this next time around, I was going to
  pay for a gym membership,
  lose that last 5-8 pounds,
  and be done trying.
  I kept "asking" Roxelle if she was going to be "the baby" forever. I decided in my head that we must be done. I didn't want to get any older. My body has endured 5 1/4 pregnancies already and it's telling me
  "You're DONE!"

I was laying in bed one night in mid January after the girls had gone to bed and before Will had gotten home. I was upset that I couldn't just have my way and be pregnant already. I told myself, that's IT! I am done! I don't want to hang in limbo anymore. I don't want to face another month of disappointment. I want to take my body back. I was laying there lamenting and feeling sorry for myself, when as clear as if someone standing next to me I heard
"Just be patient....."
It took me aback.
I wasn't sure if I'd just imagined it. I have never had anything that poignant happen to me before. I was sure I had made it up, until I realized that I hadn't and that I was being selfish and spoiled and just plain un-grateful for the beautiful daughters that I already do have and the good fortune I have already had in my previous pregnancies. I knew that Heavely Father wanted me to know that it would happen, but that I needed to be patient and wait until He says the time is right.

A little less than 1 month later, this is what I discovered....

I dropped to my knees in prayer to thank Heavenly Father for this wonderful blessing and I immediately took that picture with my phone and texted it to Will. He was elated! We decided to wait just a little while to tell anyone, to make sure that everything was ok.

I had my first official appointment today and everything looks GREAT! I am due on
October, 12, 2010
(but I am totally shooting for 10-10-10!!! LOL)

In case you're wondering, we'd be thrilled with a
boy,
but it would almost be a relief to have another girl. I'd hate to have to start completely over with our last baby and, YES, this is our last. :)

Gateway Produce

I've been meaning to go check out Gateway Produce on Andresen since we moved back here in Oct. '08. I pictured the store to be very Farmer's Market-ish or a Ma and Pa type place with displays of their home-grown goods. I get their mailers in the Val-Pak coupons and lately, I have not been able to find decent produce in the area without spending an arm and a leg at Safeway.

So today, I decided to go. It looks like a decent, clean place from the outside and when I saw the outside marquee it said; "Banana's .39/lb and Pears .09/lb"; I got excited!

I have to say that what I expected to find
and what I actually found were 2
TOTALLY
different things.

enlarged photo off their mailer

Starting with the great things.
The banana's were, indeed, .39/lb.
The selection was small-ish and most of the selection was already very ripened. I picked through and found some small somewhat greenish bananas.
(I like banana's to be very small in size).

The pears were .09/lb,
but all 3 ginormous bins of them were very un-appealing.
There were a lot of ones on the top that were
rotting/molding
and starting to smell fermented. I dug through and managed to find a handful of decent ones.

Another great thing is they have a "discount grocery" section. Most stuff looks very old and questionable (completely smashed boxes of brand name cereal for $1.00), but there were these 3 gigantic bins, overflowing, with ALL different kinds of candy, candy bars, and gum.
Everything in the bins was
4/$1.oo!!!!
I got 4 packs of Orbit gum
and
4 rolls of SweetTarts!!

(Side story about the SweetTarts. I LOVE them, but I only like the ones that come in the rolls. The ones in the box or in shapes just aren't the same texture. Every time I really want some I have to go to a random gas station and pay anywhere from $.99 to $1.20 for 1 ROLL! I was SO stoked to come across them in the bins during my digging.)

The bad thing
is that 89%-ish of the produce was wilted/molding/slimy/too ripe or just plain ugly. The inside of the store was not "farmer's market-ish" at all and looked worse than WinCo or Grocery Outlet.

I would go again for fruit and to dig in the bins for treats, but I'd need to go with some time on my hands so that I can dig.

The one pear that Asia and I just shared was pretty good. It had good texture and flavor. The bananas are fine, too.
(Pretty hard to screw up a banana, imo. LOL!)

The Fuji apples were .67/lb (not that great, imo)
Gala apples .33/lb
Cucumbers .67/ea (I know that's not a good deal, but I needed them)

This is the front and back views from last month's mailer

SIGH

I love it when they do this!!

They got "Bolt" from Netflix and

were just settling in to watch. I thought it was so cute, that I

had to get a picture.

This is the only one I got

because as I was snapping it,

Roxelle

accidentally poked

Asia

in the arm with a sharp pencil (that's her saying "OUCH!").

Brinlee

ripped the pencil out of

Roxelle's

hand and on the back swing, clocked

Tatum

square on the nose. Then

Mariah

started yelling at them all to BE QUIET!

*SIGH*......

"Drama Week"

I don't think my mental status can take one more emergency or piece of bad news or argument with ignorance.
The week actually started off with an AWESOME FHE on testimonies on Monday. We talked to the girls about what that means and how to share one properly. Then each of us took turns bearing simple testimonies standing in front of the family. I could definitely feel the spirit and it seemed like the older girls could, too. Even Tatum and Asia stood bravely in front of everyone and, with some help, shared their young beliefs. I can't say as though we've EVER had a "spiritual" FHE.
Tuesday morning started Will's work week and the drama, in all different forms, that hasn't stopped yet.
Tuesday morning, we were running unusually late for school by about 5 minutes. We arrived in the parking lot with about 7 minutes to spare (at 8:23) before the tardy bell. (If you know my girls, you'll know that's just barely enough time for them to do anything...)
After I dropped them off with an exchange of "I love you's", off they ran. As I was pulling out of the school, a police cruiser came flying into the parking loy with lights flashing. This school shares the same complex with Vancouver School District Offices and so I didn't think to seriously about it.
I needed to go to the grocery store, so I headed to 4th Plain Rd. As I turned, I saw 3 more police vehicles screaming down 4th plain with full lights and blaring sirens and I watched them turn down the street toward the school. I stayed pulled over and dialed the school. Lisa, the attendance person, answered and I asked her if everything was ok at the school and if I should come back to get my girls who I had JUST dropped off there. She said not to worry that they were in a lock down. I asked if it was real or a drill and she put me on hold to find out. When she came back a few minutes later, she said they were being told that it's just a drill. I hung up thinking "Yeah, right" The police wouldn't be screaming down the street, so I turned back.
By the time I got around the block, there were already, at least, 15 different types of VPD vehicles and the SWAT van. I saw the school counselor, Mr. Royster, standing outside, keeping bystanders back. I heard one parent asking what the H was going on and why there were SWAT members running INTO the school with assault rifles cocked and ready.
After waiting and wondering for about a 1/2 hour, hearing live reports from local news, who was on site, about what was going on, they finally called an "all clear" over the school intercom. I walked casually toward the school, passing the SWAT guys with their ENORMOUS war weapons, to make sure the girls were ok and not freaking out.
Turns out that 2 Kindergartners reported that a 2nd grader had pointed a gun at them and "fired", but all they saw was "smoke". It was determined that this 2nd grade boy had brought a bright orange cap gun to school. I still don't know the outcome of the punishment.
I am EXTREMELY grateful to the school staff. It pays to volunteer at the school. I was able to sign in and wear my badge and wander around with no questions asked. I went to Asia's class first and everything was business as usual. The teachers kept the students calm and collected and they were carrying on with their day.
I feel like the staff absolutely did the right thing and that VPD acted swiftly and completely. I feel safer now than ever before, knowing that Roosevelt Elementary takes these things seriously.
Wednesday, the kids were off school all day for a "semester break" and Will was working again. That creates enough drama all by itself. I decided to take the girls to Build-A-Bear to use their own $5 free accessory coupons. However, the RUDE girl at the counter would not accept the coupon, claiming that I had already used them. I printed them from an email that I was sent from BAB, AND it didn't say ANYWHERE on the coupon a limit of times to use the coupon. In fact, the gal at the Clackamas store gave me back the coupons to use again. This girl tried to tell me "Sorry about that" and I said "No you're not!" as I walked out of the store. SO IRRITATING!
Thursday, Will got called into work, which is great for the OT, but not so fun to not have him home 4 days in a row, as he is scheduled to work again tomorrow.
Apparently, Tatum, Roxelle and I made the front page of the local newspaper, The Columbian, on Wednesday. A reporter was outside the school on Tuesday and asked me what I had heard/seen. I haven't read the article, yet, but the reporter supposedly only posted some "choice phrases" that I had said and it all came off as negative. He didn't quote ANY of the positive and glowing things that I had to say about the staff at Roosevelt or the VPD. When I went into the school office to drop stuff off for Mrs. Garton, the 3 darling secretaries, whom I absolutely adore, were less than warm to me. I couldn't figure out why until one of them mentioned "noticing 'my' article in the paper". UGH! I feel really bad and I need to see this article to know exactly what was said.
Friday was Mariah's birthday. I had SO much to do and not NEAR enough time to do it. I had to bake brownies for her class and be to the school by 10 to help with the PTA popcorn day on top of cleaning the house and getting myself ready for tonight and still decorating and creating the cake.
During the popcorn event, a gal that I've been working with on fundraisers throughout the year pulled me aside and told me that the PTA president had stepped down and that she just got out of a meeting with the regional PTA board and they were pressing her for a name to replace the old president. She asked *GULP* me to stand in. Say what?!!! *looking behind me* Are you talking to me?!?? *pointing to self*......... I said yes. YIKES!!!!!!!! What is WRONG with me?!
The main reason I said yes is because she said that I don't really have to "do" anything more than what I'm already doing because the rest of the school year (school ends the first week in June) is already planned. They just need a name for the roster and someone to attend 2 regional board mtgs......... Still a little scared, though. :-O
When we got to Build-A-Bear for the birthday party, the gal says to me right off, we can't take any more of those coupons from you. I'm like, WTHk?! I am here for my daughter's birthday party. So, I was talking to my mom while the girls were shopping and she read the coupon and agreed with me. So she took it to the front with the little girls and they wouldn't take it from her either! So we got into this big long discussion with the manager about it being illegal, yada-yada. And even though Mariah's 2 little friends had never even been in that store, they wouldn't take the coupons from them either. SO MADDENING! I asked the mgr, "So you're gonna stand there and tell these 2 little girls (that have NEVER been here before) at my daughter's 10th birthday party that they can't use a $5 coupon??! She said "NOPE!" BAB Corp. is sooooo getting a call from me.
THEN (getting ridiculous now) after we finished up the party here at the house (which was really fun and I will blog it later with pics, btw) I was driving Mariah's friend Lauryn home and I went to go around the barricade that blocks our street off and some car came over like they were going to come through. So I backed up to let them through and they just sat there, so I pulled into my neighbor, Lola's, circular drive that goes all the way behind her house and comes out on the other side of the barricade. By the time I got around the house, the car had backed up and was blocking the end of the driveway. A lady, that I recognized as the neighbor that had the barricade erected illegally to stop traffic from driving in front of her house (ridiculous, I know), got out of the car and came to my window. She said she just wanted to let me know that I'm not supposed to go around the barricade that I needed to go around the block the other way. I said that I understand that she had the barricade put up illegally and I have been given permission by Lola, who owns the piece of land directly to the side of the barricade, to drive on her property. This woman, Danelle is her name, said, but I own this piece of land (pointing to the road) and I have asked the general public not to drive on it. I told her that I know it's illegal to do that and that you can't connect 2 public roads (ours and the other side of "hers") with a private one, unless in an industrial area. She said, but I OWN this piece of land and if you go on zillow.com you will see that it is part of MY property (yeah, like I'm gonna trust a site like zillow). She said you can call my lawyer and the commissioner and tried to give me their names. I told her not to worry that I've already contacted the commissioner and there is already a neighborhood backed lawsuit forming. She said, can I get your name so that I can have my lawyer contact you and I said "It's KRisty WITH A K ERickson and I live in that house RIGHT THERE!" and pointed to it. She said ok and walked away, turned off her car and yelled, you can turn around and go back the way you came now and went into her house, leaving her car there to block me in. I yelled..."but I can't see!" It's pitch black in Lola's yard. I wasn't about to try backing up in the dark. So I called 911. The sheriff took her address from me and tried to call her. While I was on hold, I got out of the car and realized that if I drove a little bit on the "grass" (which is dead and non-existent anyway), I could get around her car. So I did, and she comes running out the door trying to stop me, but I was off and gone. UUUURRRRGGGGH!!! What is it with people altercating with me lately?! SHEESH!
I was on hold with the sheriff for another 5 minutes or so and he came back on the line saying he tried to call her 3 times and it was busy. I told him that I was able to get around her vehicle safely and got out. He told me that if I have any more problems whatsoever to call them and they'll take care of it. (Maybe I'll post the other long and drawn out story about the blockade business another time)
But the drama doesn't end there...... (SERIOUSLY.)
This morning at 6:40, Mariah came running into our room saying that there are flashing lights at Joe's house (the empty farmhouse behind us). I told her not to worry about it and to go back to sleep. I got up to check on the other kids and looked out Brinlee's window at the front of the house and saw our ENTIRE STREET lit up with emergency vehicles. At least 3 fire engines, many more police and fire marshall and ambulance.
Lola's house BURNT DOWN! Our friends, Trevor and Wendy Narvasa, from our ward that live directly across from Lola, got a call from Lola (who's 91) this morning early and she was saying that she was burning a fire in the fireplace and now there was smoke coming into the house. So Trevor, threw on his shoes and RAN over there to see flames coming out the fireplace. Her house is SO OLD and there are old photos, papers, newspapers EVERYWHERE that it was starting to light up that he couldn't find anything to put out the fire, so he grabbed Lola and ran out of the house screaming "FIRE! FIRE!"
Wendy called 911 and by the time they arrived there were already flames coming out the front windows and glass breaking. OMGsh!!!!!! Trevor is a HERO! He totally saved her life. If she'd just called 911 directly..they would have never made it, ESPECIALLY with that DANG barricade making life difficult.
This is ALL why I am going to be having a nervous breakdown soon. LOL!!!!

Ring Around the Rosey

It's Friday night and we Erickson's are VERY bored. Oh, the memories we're creating! LOL

Savings Account

Since I was pregnant with Mariah, Will and I have been talking about opening a savings account for her. Then came Brinlee and we talked even more. And, well, 10 years later, I finally did it. SAD! (that is took this long)
I have actually been putting money aside every single month for a little over a year now for each child. Today, I put that money into 5 different accounts with each girls' name on their own account. I divided it up so that the older 2 girls have just a little more to start with than the younger three. These next 8 years are going FLY and Mariah will be off to college before we know it.
I also talked to the gal at the bank about having another account to start saving up for weddings. This one won't be a top priority, but just knowing that I have a little bit put away will ease my stressing mind. She said that I could come back and talk to their financial advisor about all my options.
I am open to all suggestions! :D

9 am church

So, apparently, since our ward is so absolutely

GINORMOUS,

they have been "forced" stay in the 11

am time slot for church. This allows them full use of all

the larger rooms for classes, etc.

This year someone,

somehow worked it out

that we are able to go at the

9 am time.

Most people seemed pretty excited.

Others were grumbling and unhappy.

I am neither here nor there.

There are pros and cons to every time slot for me.

Anyway, we haven't been privileged to attend

our ward since "last year" since we were in HI for

2 weeks. Will had to work today, so he

was off and gone by 6. I got up and fed the

kids taking account of the time, until it hit me that

"OH. GEEZ!

We have 9 o'clock church!!!"

This was at exactly

8:01 am.

UUUUUUgggggHHH!!!

I literally threw the 3 middle kids

into the shower while Roxelle sat on the potty.

Got them out and helped Mariah hurry through.

I was, by some miracle,

able to get them all showered, dressed

and hair fixed by 8:25, and then I had to shower.

We got ready to leave at 8:50 and it was only

then that I realized that I am supposed to

teach today.

Now, (I sheepishly admit), I have prepared a lesson or 2

during the 2nd block of church and that is

what I would have done, except that I

didn't have the new manual for this year.

We arrived at the church at 9:05

and planned on sitting in the foyer until after

the sacrament so that we could occupy

the benches that the priesthood uses for passing the sacrament,

but it seems that there quite a few people aren't

accustomed to the earlier time slot and

there was actually a bench available!

We've been blessed for a good long

while to have Will attend church with us.

The kids aren't perfect with him there,

but at least we can tag team if needed.

Today was one of those

"I really want to drag all 5 of you out of this chapel and hide"

kinda day.

Our friends,

Mike and Arianna Rees,

who just moved into our ward a

couple of months ago, spoke today.

Arianna talked about (of all things)

"The JOY of motherhood".

LOL!

That was all I could do.....laugh at myself.

Thankfully,

only 1 of the 2 lasagne's that

I made to take to the priest/laurel activity

on Friday got eaten, so I didn't have to

think about dinner.

KAILUA!!!!

Obama is GONE and we finally get to go to our FAVORITE beach park in Kailua. It's called Kalama Beach park and it's a total diamond in the rough.

On the way out of Ewa, we stopped at our old favorite 7-Eleven on the corner of Ft. Weaver and Renton Rd. The girls each got a slurpee and I got a bigger one for Will and I to share with Roxelle, but as you can see, we didn't get much of it. LOL!

She is in HOG HEAVEN!! (Ross)

One of the things on our to do list was to go up to the Pali Lookout. So we drove to Kailua over the Pali Highway. We absolutely LOVE this place. The wind is amazing up here. We have some pretty unique memories of this place and today we got another one. (see below)

And it's ALWAYS freezing, no matter the temp
everywhere else.

When we pulled into the Pali Lookout parking lot. There were emergency vehicles everywhere. At least 2 ambulances, 2 fire engines, and 5 HPD cars. When we got to the top of the lookout, there were emergency crews all over and a news station. The bottom half of the lookout was police taped off and there were emergency climbers all hooked up and looking over the edge. I wish I could've gotten a pic of just how steep and far down it goes.

(Just tonight on the news we learned that an 80 year old O'ahu man was there with his wife. She watched as he climbed through the safety rail and walked along the rail on the other side a little ways. Supposedly he lost his grip and fell to his death. The rescue crews had to climb down 250-300 feet and it took them over 3 hours to carry his body back to the top. Such a senseless tragedy! So sad!)

I got chicken skin as we walked down the path to our favorite beach. I LOVE this beach. I miss it SOOO much! I wish we could go there every single day until we leave. The ocean was pretty flat, but just enough for the girls to think they were catching some "sweet waves".

Can you tell why they call it "Turtle Rock"
(way in the background)

Mariah caught one!!

So did Brinlee!!!!
(I was so excited for her I wasn't
watching my camera..LOL)


Sandy baby!

Gorgeous water!


At the end of the day.....you get to go home with some "beach hair". YEEEES!!!

Shopping

Today, we really did need to stay out of the sun, so we decided to go shopping at the Outlets in Waikele. I didn't have anything good to wear to church tomorrow, so that is mainly what we were shopping for. We scored some awesome winter weather wear at Old Navy. I got some cute sweaters for $10. They had their $80 Wool Pea Coats for kids marked down to $20, too. Such a smokin' deal!!
After shopping we ran a few errands and then went to Dave's Ice Cream. MMMMMMmmmmmmmmm!!!!!! Heavenly! It was everything I remember it to be. :)

Will and Brinlee ordering

Sharing!

Mariah and her coconut shave ice... (ooo, but she has pumpkin
flavored ice cream under it. MMMMM!)

Such a GOOF!

Roxelle trying to steal a bite of Asia's with the

spoon in her hand (she had just pulled it away

when I snapped the pic, so you can't tell she

has one in her hand)

OOOOOO!!! Dave's Ice Cream is the BEST!!

Tonight, Kauwe and Kapua wanted to go out one last time before he leaves on Monday. We kept all the girls here so that they can spend some quality time together. It’s going to be so hard to be a single mom for 4 months. 5 girls is a lot of work!!
I decided it would make tomorrow morning easier to get ready if I braided the girls’ hair tonight. We are going to try and take some family pics at Ko’Olina in the morning before church. The meeting starts at 1, so we should have plenty of time if we can get through the morning o.k. I didn’t think it would take as long as it did to braid 8 heads of hair, but at 10:15, I was just finishing up. (We started around 7). It will be worth it in the morning though. I’m exhausted today. I need to get some more sleep! (Sleep, schmeep, right?! We’re in HAWAI’I!!!)