The Dunow Bunch

Eagles, Bigfoot and little girls.

2012-01-27T17:08:00.017-07:00

My fascination with the eagles is becoming borderline obsessive. I had just taken Buster and Izzie outside for a potty break this morning when I heard screeching. Off in the distance I could see a couple of eagles flying over the nest that I always talk about. These couple of pictures are from my front porch.

After I realized that it was the eagles so close to us, I grabbed Buster up in my arms and ran to the house. I grabbed the door handle and went to go inside but the door was locked. So you can just imagine me screaming " the eagles are coming, the eagles are coming" and running into a locked door. Poor little Buster got smashed in between me and the door. All I was trying to do was save the poor little thing from being snatched. My kids just laughed at me.

Later on in the day Troy and I walked down to the bus stop to pick up Ella and Olivia from school. Soren was home this week sick. I went to show Troy the eagles and they were just sitting off the side of the road.

My flash wasn't on. I could kick myself. Aren't they amazing? Troy stayed back a ways. You know he's scared of birds. It has to do with this unfortunate incident of him being attacked by a falcon. It's quite a hilarious story. I'll have to tell it later.

I can't stand how excited Olivia is to see Daddy. I wish I had that kind of energy at 4:00 in the afternoon. Ella is like "don't embarass me Daddy".

Then she spotted me. I wish.

I was holding Buster.

Poor little thing. He can barely keep up with her.

Then off we go back home. I do this daily. I love this walk. I have to admit that I always take Izzie with me. There is a little, OK huge part of me that is a little scared of the woods.

I swear, one of these days Big Foot is going to walk out of here and want to chat with me or something.

Another spot that I walk by.

It's kind of creepy when I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up and Izzie will go into her point stance. I wouldn't trade it for the world though. I am so lucky to be living here. The smell of the woods is amazing. The sound that it makes are beautiful even though I'm a huge chicken. Good thing I have Izzie girl to protect me from Big Foot.

So one day you will all here about how I was attacked by a Bald Eagle or mauled by Big Foot. Who knows, maybe Big Foot will become my friend and help me with my yard work this summer.

Snow day!

2012-01-17T15:15:00.012-07:00

Our little Buster loves the snow. I think it's so funny to watch him run through it. He disappears for just a second before he leaps out again.
Then there's the moles that he love to dig for. So far he hasn't gotten one. Just a mouse, which he brought to Logan in bed.

Izzie is in snow heaven. I think she was suppose to be a sledding dog up in the Artic. Just look how happy she is running through the powder.

I took the dogs for a walk down to the pond.

There is so much beauty here. Every little berry, twig, leave or stump holds some kind of fascination for me.

I still find if neat that I have a Holly tree in my yard.

The kids were just coming back from getting one of there friends from down the road. School was canceled today because of the snow. As you can see the roads are really slick. Soren was doing some speed skating.

Whoops. Down he goes. Look at Emery's big brother walking down the road behind us. Yes, he is wearing shorts. Teenagers apparently do not get cold.

Looks like we are going to be having a few more snow days. Kids and Hubby home from school and work. Lot's of hot chocolate is being consumed. The dryer is constantly going trying to keep their snow clothes dry between adventures. The floors in my house are covered in mud and water. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Snow, snow and more snow.

2012-01-16T13:20:00.012-07:00

This was after the first snow fall we had a few days ago. The kids bundled up and took the dogs out for a walk to check things out. The kids love to see how much the pond is freezing over. The dogs love going and chasing the birds and ducks. You can see little Buster out there thinking he is so big and tuff. Izzie brought us a duck the other night. I guess that's the golden retriever in her.

The kids know better to go on the ice. We have told them over and over that they could die if they fell in. I think I have scared them enough. Plus I could watch them from the house.

I keep the bird fed. One of my most favorite thing is to watch the birds squabble over the food. Kind of like my kids do.

Yesterday we woke up to more snow and fog. Logan stayed in his nice warm bed while the other kids got bundled up and braved the elements again. Off they went to check out the pond.

This morning we woke up to even more snow. Again, Logan stayed in bed while the went of in search of how frozen the pond was. It was REALLY cold today. Buster has a hard time walking through the snow because he is so small. Izzie on the other hand doesn't want to come inside.

Off they go into the woods to explore. By the time they came back they were frozen and tired. I love it when they get tired. There's less fighting!

Izzie was giving me the "It's OK, I will look after them" look. She's the best babysitter I could ever have.

So while the kids are off playing in the snow, I go take some shots of the lovely little birds that visit our yard. The are plump and feisty.

It is still snowing, the kids are inside thawing out. I've thrown all there snow gear in the dryer so they are ready for another round of snow play. Love these days!

Morning show.

2012-01-11T15:02:00.006-07:00

Lately I have been having a hard time getting up and the kids ready in the morning. Maybe something to do with my shoulder that is taking it's own sweet time healing. It's making sleep almost impossible.

So as I was sitting on the couch downing my second cup of coffee, Olivia starts screaming that there's a rainbow outside. Now even though I am still in a sleep fog, I knew there is not rainbows when it's dark outside. So I turn my stiff, sore, creaking body towards the window and low and behold there is a rainbow outside.
Everyday I am here I am floored by the beauty of the area.
Olivia and I watched for about 15 minutes while the sun rose and the sky changed it's colors.
Olivia was totally enthralled by the show.
Of course this was not a silent show. She told me was color it was changing by the second.
I thought Soren and Logan could talk a lot.

This was just what I needed this morning. To watch my baby girl be awed by our earths beauty.

My own "morning show".

I need some answers!

2012-01-06T13:54:00.012-07:00

Its seems since I have move to Custer Washington all I have done is ask questions. I need some answers! My good husband MR. KNOW IT ALL, apparently doesn't know it all.

What are these and why have they made them look so pretty.

I know there is a reason for bending them over......

WHY?

All the fields around us are full of these. They are so beautiful, even in winter. I can't imagine how gorgeous they will be full of ripe berries.
Was this an old barn made into a house?
Another question.
I am absolutely in love with it. The roof is copper.
Amazing.
I wonder if I go knock on their door and ask them if I could go through their house they would let me?
Another question.

What are these? I am assuming another kind of berry.

I thought birds flew south for the winter. There are geese everywhere. Why?

Another question. What kind of berry is this? I think strawberry. In the background is our house. I wonder if the farmer will know if I pick his strawberries this summer?

On the road to our house there is this big nest. You all know how I love birds. Someone told me it was a bald eagles nest. I know they are around here because I have seen them.

I really don't have the time to sit for hours waiting for a bird to appear in the nest. Will someone do it for me so I know?

This is the lane leading up to our house. How many times a week do I walk this?

It seems like thousands. Taking kids to the bus, picking them up, getting the mail, chasing dogs down. The list goes on. You would think I would be looking very svelte by now.

Why am I not?

Another question.

These next questions are Troys. What is Emily thinking when she makes wreaths out of old books.

Well, #1-cheap.

#2-pretty.

#3- something I can do in the craft room with no kids bothering me.

I needed something big to fill the space above my fireplace. I love it. Some people just look and shake their heads.

So there you go. I need some answers please.

The family farm. Sort of.

2011-12-28T19:59:00.005-07:00

Izzie and Poppy are always being talked about and the other little critters in our family are feeling left out. We have Nutmeg, the bunny. We have had him for a couple of years now and he is very friendly. The kids love to play chase with him. Izzie and him get a long great and go exploring all the time. I will whistle for Izzie and Nutmeg will come running.
Here is Chew-Ziggy-Zig, the rapping Hedgehog. Our family got him just before we moved to Washington. Troy was a little annoyed with me for acquiring another animal right before the move, but as always he just says "what ever makes you happy Dear."
What a nice Husband he is.
Now how we came up with his name.
Logan came up with Ziggy. Anna came up with Chewbaca. Soren was going through a face of being a cowboy rapper. So Soren was always rapping about something. Yikes, I know! Troy and the kids were joking about if the Hedgehog was a rapper and Troy came up with a rapper name.
There you go! I know Hedgehogs don't seem like a very fun animal, but truly they are very cute to watch and take care of. I have had lot's of fun with him. He has a sweet little personality .

This is our new little guy. His name is Buster, in honour of Buster off the the Authur cartoon. Buster came into our family just a few days before Christmas. My Sister-in-law Karrie's friend gave him to us. We had to drive to Seattle to pick him up. I fell instantly in love with him. He is such a funny little thing. Buster is about 10 months old and we are still unsure of the kind of dog he is. He gets along great with all the other animals in our family and the humans too!
I am so glad that all my kids and husband love animals as much as I do. The give us so much joy and fun in our lives. It also has taught my kids responsibility of taking care of something. They find friendship and comfort in the pets. We are really lucky to have them in our lives.

Buster loves to snuggle with the kids.

A walk in the woods.

2011-12-21T12:24:00.016-07:00

It all started off as a nice outing outside with the kids. Logan decided that he is going to make cats on a leash fashionable.

See how cool this looks? Can't you see Matt Damon or Beckam hauling around a cat on a leash?

Ok, maybe not. Poppy was much happier in the tree sunning herself.

We decided to go for a walk in the forest. The kids needed to get some energy out.

This is by far one of my most favorite things to do.

Had to get a pic of my cute little Olivia.

Ella and Logan coming into the forest. Had it in my mind that it was going to be such a lovely quiet and clean walk in the woods with my well behaved children. Taking pictures, looking at nature..........

Instead they went and got stuck in some mud.

And more stuck, and dirty, and cold and saying mean things to each other.

All the while their caring Mother stood back and took photos and laughed.

I laughed because it's just my luck that I have to get all the mud stains out of their clothes now.

Logan just stood back and laughed.

Izzie dog just followed everyone around. She is in her element here. Her day consists of chasing ducks, digging for moles, romping through the streams, laying in the sun and then running through the cornfields. Then she drops and sleeps. What a fun day we had!

New Home in Custer!

2011-12-06T17:08:00.022-07:00

We are finally here in Custer Washington in one piece. Didn't think it was going to happen. At this point in my life I don't want to ever go on a trip with my family again. EVER! After the movers got all our stuff unloaded we hit the floor running unpacking all our stuff. One of the first things I did was to put a little Christmas spirit into our home for the kids. Poppy thought that I did it just for her. She thinks I do everything for her.

The kids fell in love with the place instantly. Even Logan in all his grumbling and groaning likes the place. The kids can't get enough of the outside here. Either can I. I can't stand it, it's so beautiful. The cold here is nothing I have ever experienced, totally wet. Wet air. I have to threaten Olivia to keep a hat and coat on.

Soren is so in his element here. We need to find all his camo.....maybe not.

Still trying to figure out what mountain this is. It's a beautiful view from my window.

Out of everything here, I am most excited about the yard. There is so much space for me to garden and it's not going to cost me a fortune in water to do it!

No, this is not a posting on people of Wal Mart. com. Troy went on a walk with the kids in his pajama bottoms. I did too, but nobody got a picture of that!

There is an old chicken coop. I am very tempted to get chickens again. I am already missing my little ladies.

Our bunny loves to go on walks around the property.

There are raspberries, Marion berries and blackberries in the yard. Then there are blackberries all over the stinking place. Everywhere you go there are wild blackberries growing. EVERYWHERE!

I have a greenhouse to do my gardening in. Love it!

BLACKBERRIES EVERYWHERE!

The pond. There are even trout in it. It's just catch and release. So fun!

We are happy to be here and start a new chapter in our life. We all miss our New Mexico friends so much. The tears have been plenty. My heart has been hurting because I miss everyone so much. I know we are suppose to be here. Troy's job is wonderful and he is happy with it. The kids will all adjust, we will make new friends and new memories. Nothing will ever stop us from loving the people who are so dear to us from New Mexico. Out of everyone we have left we all miss our little Emersen the most. Her daily visits into our home is being missed so much. I will hear the kids playing and expect Em to be there with them. It doesn't seem the same with out her with us. We need to get skype up and running so we could see her sweet face. I am going to end this because I am now sobbing my eyes out! Love and miss you all.

My Baby is growing up!

2011-11-20T09:47:00.006-07:00

My Olivia's birthday wish, to have a wonderful day!

Troy is still up in Vancouver and so he called Olivia early this morning. He is so sad that he's not home for her birthday.

She was barely awake.

We had to go to the park this morning while a realtor showed the house. The hat and scarf are her birthday present from Grandma Dunow.

Olivia thinks it's so fun to share the same name as that weird looking pig. I can't believe that she is 6 already. No more baby stuff ever again. Well, there hasn't been for a long time but it keeps getting further away. Is makes me so sad. I go by diapers and baby clothes just for the girls dolls because I miss it so much. I know I say I'm sad but I truly do take great pride in watching my children grow big and strong. I love watching their personalities develop and how independent they get. Especially this little Miss Muffet!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA!

Shakespeare they are not!

2011-11-01T11:10:00.013-06:00

As most of you all know by know, we are in the process of moving. My life is out of whack, routine, consistency and everything else chaotic. So what I do is kick the kids out of the house so I can get things done. Their new thing to keep them occupied is putting on plays. This involves writing the script, making props and the most fun for them is makeup. This whole process for them takes all day. I love it.

I keeps them out of the house and out of my hair!

They spend all day getting ready for the play. The kids make invitations and pass them out to all our neighbors in the culdesac and set up chairs for all of us. I'm surprised my neighbors don't go hide in their house when the kids come by. The plays are should we say......

interesting!

This one with Soren on the floor had something to do with the living dead. This took place over at my neighbors house. Even Izzie got involved in this play.

This one was at our house.

The props on this were hilarious!

Emersen is so out of character here.

I said that dripping of sarcasm.

The kids were all on a bus here. As awful and corny as these plays are they are so funny. I love watching the kids smile and hear them laugh. I love that they are still acting like kids.

I love that they are using their imagination. I love that it doesn't cost me a penny for what they are doing. I love that they are making memories with their friends. We won't be here much longer and we will miss this.

A New Mexico Fall.

2011-10-09T13:20:00.012-06:00

Troy and I went on a little drive yesterday to regain a little of our sanity. He headed toward Corrales, just a few miles down the road. The farmers market was going on, so we stopped on by.

One of my favorite things about New Mexico is their chilies. There is nothing in the world like the site of all of them strung up like this.

Breathtaking.

Stunning.

OK, so I'm being a little bit dramatic.

On top of the beauty of the chilies is the smell.

Roasting green chile's has got to be in the top 10 best smells in the world.

Number 1 being babies smothered in baby lotion.

It seems everywhere you go it smells like roasting green chilies. All the stores have big roasters out in front of the store roasting the chilies.

To die for!

And then there is the taste.

Heaven.

Orange is my favorite color. Pumpkin orange. Yes, Autumn is gorgeous here in New Mexico. A different kind of beauty.

The log fences on the road side. They remind me of the early settlers here in New Mexico. It's nice to see them still around. Hmm, I wonder if these would keep Izzie in the yard. Maybe if they're about 15 feet.

Thanks to my wonderful Husband who took me out on a little drive because he knew I was loosing it. It just takes the little things to calm me down. Seeing pumpkins and chilies.

My life right now.

2011-09-09T22:19:00.016-06:00

Thinking this needs to be my next project. I was thinking I needed more junk and more noise added to the house. We all know that it won't ever get done. I can dream, right?

So in love with little Poppy. This kitty deserves sainthood for putting up with all the kids. Olivia mauls and hauls her around. I
love to lay on the couch when everyone is gone and have Poppy lay on me. The sound of her purring just lulls my right to sleep. OK, so it's not the purring but the shear exhaustion I feel 24/7. But still I love it.

My ladies are doing a great job giving us eggs and keeping the kids entertained. Who knew chickens could be so much fun?

16 years ago today I gave birth to my first child Logan. I can't wrap my mind and heart around this. I was only 18 when I had my engagement pictures done. I was 16 when I started dating Troy. Now I have a 16 year old. Troy and I celebrated our 17th anniversary August 13th. Where has the time gone? I want it all to slow down.

I need Michael to come back to town so he could sing to me. I guess a CD will have to do for now.

I'm in need of some time on the couch watching Mr. Darcy.....again.

Soooooo needing fall to be here with all my favorite colors.
I need to be able to wear cardigans like I need to breath. Boots?
I think I need to start wearing them even though it's still warm.

This is what my dreams are about. I've gone through my picture files and I have like 30 pictures of bathtubs. So funny because I have the smallest bathrooms in the world.

My life has been hectic and crazy with husband traveling and kids in school. Logan is driving which helps me out a lot and also gives me an ulcer. I am feeling a little lost with all my kids in school. I have so much to do and so much to catch up on, but I just can't seem to get "into" it. I find myself wandering around the house looking at all the cleaning, projects, repairs and even my crafts that need done. Then I go lay on the couch, turn on Michael Buble and snuggle with Poppy.

I know I just need to get into a routine and get used to this new stage in my life. I am such a lucky Mom to have such a wonderful and caring family.

The glass is half full.

First day of School for Anna.

2011-08-11T13:13:00.002-06:00

First day of 8th grade for Anna. She has gotten so tall over the summer, she is almost caught up to me. Yikes. A few days ago I took her to get her hair cut. She wanted it short, so here it is.

I think she looks like the teenager she is.
Have a great year Anna! Love you.

Children = Energy

2011-08-08T11:20:00.016-06:00

All these shots were taken before Pam's Funeral. We had gotten there early and needed to get some energy out of the little ones before they had to sit still for a while. There was a little park across the street from the funeral home that we took them to. I made Reece (Barb's son) and Soren do races back and forth.

It was an absolute miracle not one of my children fell into the fountain they had there.

Any of you that really know us realize that it is REALLY miraculous that they stayed dry.

Silly Boys.

Troy's nephew got us started on a new thing called "Forever 21" This is a spoof on the Forever 21 manikins at the mall. When someone says "Forever 21" you go into a pose that the manikins would be in. I know it's corny, but so much fun.

Just thought we would snap a few shots of our family while we were there.

Seriously Soren?

I think I have such a beautiful family. Don't you agree?

The kids did well during the service for Pam. It was nice to hear about her life and see all the gorgeous pictures of her and Max. As I say there and watched the film at the end of the service I was thinking how in love Pam and Max were. I am so lucky to have such a love in my life. I couldn't ask for a better man than Troy.

Idaho.

2011-08-02T10:09:00.016-06:00

This past week Troy's Aunt Pam passed away. She died of cancer after a long struggle with it. We were all very saddened to lose her at such a young age. Although she was in her 50's she was a lot younger in spirit. Troy and I took the kids up to Idaho for her service. Idaho is where my heart will always be. To me there is no where as beautiful as Idaho.

Daddy with tow of his little girls walking down Grandma Rosie's lane.

Giving the horses a scratch behind the ears.

I love all the weathered old building all over the place.

The fields of produce and hay being grown. The smell is incredible. Earthy and natural. I miss having clean simple air to breath.

This smell is the best. Fresh cut alfalfa.

The snake river.

We took the kids over the park before the funeral to get some of their energy out of them. While there we decided to snap a few shot of the family.

Seriously boys?

Soren and his cousin Reece had a great ol' time messing around. I will be posting some pictures later of these two playing around. So fun!

Troy with his two uncles Bill and Dick. Major crush on the one with the yummy mustache. Why can't you grow one like that Honey? You do know how much I love you Honey Lover?

Pam's siblings and Mother. Dick is in the blue shirt then Peggie, Pattie, Bill, Barbie in the front and then Grandma Ramsey.

It was wonderful to see everyone. I wish it would of been under different circumstances. Everyone missed having Pam there. Max, Pam's husband was very brave through the whole thing. So amazing and hard to watch. I wish the best for Max and his future.

Clean of dust and ash, for a moment anyway.

2011-06-11T16:44:00.009-06:00

My house is clean for a moment in time.

I needed to get a photo of it so when there is 12 piles of clean laundry on the couch, kids pillows, blankets, popcorn and 2 inches of dog hair I can go look at what my house is like clean.

We have been getting all the smoke and ash from the Arizona fires. The family room needed a thorough dusting. I have to dust all the time anyway because of the lovely New Mexico desert.

My collection of "White" stuff as my husband puts it.

Oh great, more white stuff.

I hate it when he says that.

I have tried to do a gallery affect with all my pictures. I love the look of it.

Some people don't.

I also have a lot of bird stuff in the house.

Love, love, love my birds.

So on the days that I am totally overwhelmed by the chaos, noise, bad smell children seem to make, dirt and dust I will come and sit in front of my computer and be given a little sense of peace.

The knowledge that my house CAN be clean.

Every one in a while.

BTW, I painted the side table and the coffee table.

It's all happening so fast.

2011-05-26T11:27:00.011-06:00

Olivia graduated from Shinning Stars preschool. This next school year she will be in Kindergarten.

Where has the time gone?

She is my last child at home.

What am I going to do with myself next year?

I am sure I will get over the trauma. In the mean time my baby is growing up, making friends and learning everything that comes her way.

Here she is after graduation with her good friend Katie. I love watching and listing to these two little blond girls play.

They had a "bridge crossing" ceremony. She hurried right over it because her very loud Father and older brother were hooting and hollering for her. Poor little Miss Muffets ears were all red.
Sidetrack- The beautiful Miss Rebecka in the blue and floral floor length dress with the magenta sweater on was Logan's kindergarten teacher. I was so happy that Olivia had her as a next door teacher this last year.

The kids had all worked on songs for the ceremony. Loved it.

Look how big my baby is.

I can't stand it.

Miss Renea and Olivia. (up)

She was the student teacher. Renea is currently going to school to become a teacher.

China and Olivia. (below)

China is going to be getting married next month and I can't wait for her to become a mother.

She is absolutely amazing with children.

We were extremely blessed to have Olivia in the preschool program this last year. As being the baby of 5 kids, the school taught her patience and sharing. They helped her threw her swallowing problems. She has really blossomed this year.

Am I going to be able to handle when she starts school in August?

We'll see!

Mothers Day

2011-05-16T09:53:00.033-06:00

For Mother's Day weekend Troy, I and the kids went camping with some friends of ours. We ended up at a beautiful, peaceful place outside of Cuba, New Mexico. There were no other people around, just all the rambunctious kiddos.

The kids shot at trees and who knows what else. Notice I said kids. When camping male adults become kids. So between the 3 Mothers, there were 12 kids. All joking aside, they were very responsible while shooting.

Amy and Jason have two beautiful little daughters. Olivia or Olisiya as Mia calls her had so much fun together. Two peas in a pod. It was so nice to have someone to play with the youngest Dunow.

Their oldest daughter could be a sister of Ella. Mika was a hoot making up all the plays the kids put on.

There was some nice little cold streams close by that the kids were able to play in. Stacy was brave enough to put her feet in. I was to much of a chicken.

The kids did manage to get me wet.

I started building a little dam so the little ones wouldn't be taken down by the rushing water. The kids all pitched in and soon they had a pretty good wall of rocks up. In the meantime they all had hypothermia for the freezing cold water and they limbs were all numb.

Stacy, Amy, Mckenzie and I all went on a ride on the 4 wheelers. I wanted to get some pictures of the scenery. I don't know how to ride so I rode behind Mckenzie. By the end of the trip they were all calling me Daisy. Driving Miss Daisy that is.

I was able to get some gorgeous shots of nature.

These are the ladies who drove Miss Daisy. Amy, Mckenzie and Stacy.

I love New Mexico. Almost 11 years ago when we moved here I never thought I would ever like it, let alone love it.

I had all the little kids building fairy houses. While on our ride we would find little nooks and crannies in the wilderness that would be perfect little places for fairies to live.

I love, love, love old wood. Throw on some rusted old barbed wire and it's stunning.

Stacy and her kids Emersen, Reece and Mckenzie.

This was from the first visit to the stream. This water is run of from the snow. Freezing water.

The kids did what kids are suppose to do in the forest. Explore.

I love to sit back and watch them enjoy nature like this.

Izzie had a great time. She is such a water dog.

Mia was showing her " Best Friend" her fairy house.

I think I will name this beautiful bovine Daisy.

Mia and her Daddy. This one is for you Amy.

And of Course here is my hot Hubby. He would sit in the sun and take little naps. He was a little sluggish on the camping trip and by the time we got home he had a high fever and was sick.

Another one for Amy.

My little guy Soren was one happy camper on Mika's bike.

To keep the kids busy we had them write some plays and preform them. So funny. We didn't quite get what they were about but it kept the kids out of our hair.

It was wonderful that they all had fun together and played so well.

Mia taking a bow.

This Mia is a character. I caught the two little girls having a conversation with a spider they had found on the log.

I had a wonderful Mother's day. I am thankful to have such a loving Husband who puts up with all my quirks. I'm glad I have such good friends who put up with all my little quirks. I am the most blessed of Mother's because I have 5 children who will some day turn out to be amazing adults despite them having a quirky Mother.
Motherhood is hard.

I make mistakes.

Huge mistakes. Yet my children still love me, look to me for guidance and comfort.

I had a really good Mothers day.

Climbing High

2011-04-13T12:09:00.014-06:00

Troy has a friend who built this climbing wall for one of his Woodbadge projects. He invited us over to do a little climbing. I had to stay home with Olivia because she had just spent the previous two days throwing up.

Yay me!

So Troy took the rest of our bunch over to have some fun.

Here are a few pictures.

This is were is gets funny. Anna was belaying Troy. She accidentally let go of Troy as he was coming down. All I have to say is OUCH.

Notice Anna and Logan laughing at their poor Father who is having to do some adjusting.

They all had a great time while I stayed home and cleaned and cooked and took care of my poor baby. Thanks Ted for letting us use your wall!

First picnic of the year.

2011-03-17T15:27:00.014-06:00

Last week we had the most amazing weather. The kids were all home from school so they decided they needed a picnic. We rounded up a bunch of friends, packed some picnic baskets and opened up our back gate.
Troy came home for lunch.

This little Ryan wanted someone to play football with him so bad.

Mckenzie got a hold of my camera and took a bunch of random shots. I never have pictures of me because I'm the one usually taking the pictures. So I am putting in a couple pictures of me for my folks.

Ella and Emersen. They look like a two headed monster!

Mckenzie and Mika were twins.

Stacey provided the sparkling juice for the kids drink. So much fun.

It was wonderful just to sit in the sun and visit with friends. Thanks Stacey! I ended up getting a little cooked.

Typical Troy.

I thought this was a beautiful picture of Mika.

And then there is my girl Ella. She is just stunning!

Olivia was needing Mommy to hold her for a little while.

We had such a fun time. The kids got all worn out and went to bed really good that night. So glad spring is here.

Got Chicken?

2011-03-12T15:34:00.007-07:00

Yes, Troy and I have 9 new baby chicks. Actually they are about 3 weeks old now, I am a little late getting these pics up. I have been wanting to get some for a while now.

So here we are with 9 chickens and needing to make a chicken coop.

We had some extra little friends come over to check out the chicks.

It's a miracle they are still alive. This is Mia, she will be a rancher when she grows up.

Aurora was so gentle and soft with them.

Katie could hardly contain her excitement.

I loved to watch Mark with them. He has big giant hands for such a young little boy and he was so gentle. It was so fun to watch all the kids with their overwhelming excitement over the fluffy little chicks.

Now Troy and I have 9 chickens living in my craft room for the time being. Our house smells a little like a barn. This is a new experience for our kids and I hope it will help them all learn a little in the process. We will have fresh eggs to feed the kids and Troy. I find it hilarious that I wanted chickens when I don't eat eggs or meat.
Let's just all sit back and enjoy the journey!

Just right!

2011-01-30T10:06:00.004-07:00

We found some glasses that fit that cute little face!

She was dresses up in a leotard for her friends B-day party.

Don't worry it was at a gymnastics place.

Seriously!
How cute is she?

Not quite right.

2011-01-26T16:31:00.003-07:00

The glasses that she picked out turned out to be to big for her sweet little face. So we took them back and are waiting for her new pair that are MUCH smaller.

I know this is not the best picture of our Little Miss Muffet. She had been crying because of her fever and has tape residue on her face from her sleep study. She just hadn't been having a great day.

On top of that she had a hurt hand. A while ago she had gotten a deep scrape on her wrist. Now that it is starting to heal it keeps splitting open because it's right on the crease of her wrist.

Her skin is so sensitive it breaks out in a rash when we put band aids on it, so there is the reason for the big ol' bandage.

And the race is on....

2011-01-15T14:22:00.004-07:00

Soren had his pinewood derby race today. He designed and painted the car himself.

The car's name....

Lightning.

He came in 4th in his group.
It is so funny to watch these things. The parents get more into it than the kids.
You can definitely tell which father's or grandfather's "built" the cars.
I just say let the kids be freakin' kids.

It was fun to watch the boys from out den. They all did a great job!

Soren got hold of the camera and took some pictures of his car.

I am so proud of you Soren. You did a great job.

My Husband is......

2010-12-30T17:20:00.003-07:00

Amazing, thoughtful and talented.

I had picked up these prints up at an estate sale a long time ago.

They have been buried in my craftroom forever.

I know that sounds SCARY.

So Troy braved the craftroom, retrieved the prints and made it out alive.

He made the frames just for the prints.

Love them.

Seriously love them.

Thankyou to a very loving Husband.

Good job Santa!

2010-12-29T16:00:00.010-07:00

Soren is always using the girls dollhouses to play Star Wars guys with. So this year for Christmas Santa's elves made him something to play Star Wars in.

Santa found some pictures of Star Wars scenes on line and laminated them, then put velcro on the back so Soren could switch out the scenes when he wants.

Soren is loving it.

The girls are loving it also.

Soren is the kind of kid that will play with something like this for hours.
I love this present.

Olivia had a very special present made for her by Santa's elves.

A doll house that she could use for all her toys.

Even her raccoon and beaver are enjoying the house.

Maybe there will be some baby beavecoons soon.

To get that joke you need to know that Olivia had a phobia of raccoons and beavers for the longest time. We got her these little toys to try to help her with it.

Then one night we were watching I-Carly as a family and what does Spencer start talking about?

A big ol' mean Beavecoon!

An animal with the head of a beaver and a body of a raccoon.

Olivia had nightmares for weeks.

All our girls are loving it.

Santa did very well this year with finding something to keep my kids occupies and out of my hair.

Love you Santa and Santa's elves.

Merry Christmas-Dunow Style.

2010-12-25T16:11:00.012-07:00

We are incredibly blessed to have the Porter family in our lives. The two giants on the ends of the sofa?

They have GROWN up together.

It has become a tradition to go over to their house and eat, play and visit on Christmas Eve.
Can you imagine what it's like with all these kiddo's talking at once?
It's loud.
We wouldn't want it any other way.

I wanted to take a picture of each one of the kids in front of our sad looking tree.
Olivia is always posing.

Soren is all decked out in his daily cowboy gear.

Ella, with her bright sunny smile.

Our oldest daughter Anna who just wanted to be done with it.

Logan is thinking how good looking he is.

Now how good looking are you know Logan?

Christmas morning all the kids come into my room and wait to go out.

Number 1 is a little cranky.

I love Soren's expression.

Priceless.

We have had a wonderful Christmas season surrounded by our friends who have become our family here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Decking the Dunow Halls.

2010-12-15T11:53:00.005-07:00

This is our Christmas tree this year. Olivia and Soren seem to always be rearranging it and moving things around. It has tipped over a few times too.

Imagine that with 5 kids and 3 dogs always running through the house and jumping over furniture.

These are the lamps that Troy and I made. I love them because I can change the decorations inside of them for the seasons.

I have enjoyed decorating the house this year. The only complaint is all the dust.

New Mexico has been terribly dry this year.

That means more dusting for me, except I just pretend it isn't there.

So just ignore the 4 inches of dust on everything.

As most of you know, I have an addiction to old books.

I saw this tree on a blog and tried to do it myself.

I love it.

Some don't.( I won't name names) ANDREW MEYER.

More pictures are coming.

Enjoy your day.

I definitely will. I made wassail and the house smells fantastic.

Birdzilla attacting Christmas town.

2010-12-11T13:37:00.005-07:00

We let Edward out of his cage this morning for his daily exercise.

He went on a rampage.

I wonder if this made Edward feel powerful.
He is used to feeling small around all of us giants.

I hope he enjoys it while it lasts.

Catching up with the Dunow's

2010-12-08T16:15:00.007-07:00

One of the kids favorite things to do is dress up the bunny Thomas.

When I say the kids I don't mean Logan. Can you imagine a 15 year old boy dressing up a bunny?

Oh never mind.

We got Thomas from a friend of ours and we have fallen in love with him. Such a cute personality he has.
That sounded like it came out of Yoda's mouth it does.
Plus he puts up with the kids. Anna doesn't like his name so she comes up with a new one weekly.

Our two elementary school kids had literacy night. Soren and Ella both had projects to show off.

This is what Soren does in the morning when he is suppose to be getting ready for school.

You can't see them real good, but he has bobby pins on his ears.

This is at Shining Stars Fall Festival.

The kids loved the Archery.

I'm just surprised that one of our kids didn't shoot anyone.

Anna would love to do Archery as a sport.

Just trying to go through my pics and catch up our friends and family on what has been going on with us Dunow's.

Never a dull moment.

There is an absence of Logan is these pictures. Two reasons.

1: He is hiding from me and the camera.
2: He is on his butt watching all the back episodes of Phyche and The Office.

The after Thanksgiving sillies.

2010-11-29T14:50:00.006-07:00

Olivia, Autumn and Ella acting goofy after a long day of playing.

Troy's parents stopped by our house on the way home to Missouri. They brought along his sister kids with them. Our kids were excited to see and play with their cousins. The girls had just all bathed for the night and came out to the family room looking like this.

Andy stopped by just as we were sitting down for dinner. Coincidence? I think not.
I thought it funny that Logan and Andy were having a conversation while both doing things on their stupid little phones.

Olivia was thrilled to have some one read to her. She loved her books and nursery rhymes.

In her preschool they practice all the nursery rhymes all the time and she was happy that she could recite them to Grandma a thousand times.

Soren and Blake had a blast today outside rock hunting.

Guess what?

We have A LOT of rocks in New Mexico.

It wasn't a very long visit but it gave the kids a opportunity to play with one another and see their grandparents.

The Dog days of winter?

2010-11-26T16:56:00.003-07:00

I know it's actually the dog days of summer. Our dogs are not liking the cold at all.

We usually leave them outside most of the time, except for Fred who wants to sleep 24/7.

Molly(top) is the most rambunctious dog we have and she loves to be out playing.

Lately all she wants to do is lay on the couch and sleep.

This is how I found Fred the other morning when I woke up. Logan had him all tucked into his bed because he said Fred was shaking he was so cold. The big baby! Fred is our laziest dog. He won't budge from the couch unless you pull him off it yourself. Then he just plops on the floor.

Izzie is our most human of the dogs. She will sit on the couch like a real person would. We find her sleeping on her back all the time.

I know the kids, Troy and I have totally spoiled our dogs.

They are worth it.

Miss Muffet Turns 5!

2010-11-24T13:39:00.013-07:00

Our baby turned 5. How did that happen? She is growing up so fast yet still my little baby.

We had a little birthday get together with some of her friends.

Carly is telling us about Sampson, who she is holding. We had each of the girls bring their favorite doll and tell us about them. Some of them were pretty funny. One little girl told us her doll was named Carlos.

Katie, beautiful Katie. Your the only K-k-Katie I adore.

She was telling us about Sparkle, her doll.

Getting ready to sing her Happy Birthday.

She opened her presents in 2.4 seconds flat. Now that was crazy!

One of her favorite songs is "Stuck Like Glue" By Sugar Land. We let the girls dance to it.

Lo and Soren were having a good time.

I know this has nothing to do with the party. I want this little boy. He is so fun to watch. I love how he is so inquisitive and wants to look and investigate everything. He gives his mother stress, that I am sure of. He so could of been one of mine.

We had all the kids sitting down ready to tell us about their dolls and Soren wanted to sing Olivia a song for her birthday. He made it up all by himself. I am sure everyone of us were laughing hystericaly and crying inside as we watched how sincere he was about the whole thing.

I am so thankful that my children love each other.

Just another child I could take as my own. My little Lo with her Mommy Marissa.

We had a good time with all her little friends and I am so glad that I don't have to do that for a while!

A good laugh now that we are done.

2010-11-07T17:11:00.017-07:00

We tried again to take some family pictures. Slapped some clothes on the kids, fixed their hair, herded the dogs and the kids and this is what we came up with.

By the time we got home I was laughing.

What a joke that was.

My precious daughters Ella, Olivia and Anna.

My not so precious sons with their father. Soren and Logan seem to take after Troy by playing practical jokes on me.

I hate snakes.

I hate spiders.

I hate frogs.

I tell my children not to use the word hate because it's not a nice word.

I could use it because I really HATE snakes, spiders and frogs.

OH MY!

Logan is very concerned about his looks these days.

Can you tell?

I put this one in to give everyone a conniption fit from laughing so hard.

Go ahead....I'll give you a few moments.

My baby who is not a baby any more. Olivia.

She spells her name out loud to me a thousand times a day.

Now she knows it backwards too.

Soren. Our little cowboy. He is getting his two front teeth for Christmas this year.

Ella, our middle child. She likes to remind me of that daily.

Aren't her eyes just incredible?

Anna is our oldest daughter and very well could be the Mob Boss too.

And then there is this picture of Logan. I know exactly what he is thinking.

" I am so dang good looking, come on girls."

We let the dogs swim. Pictures of that will be coming shortly. Driving home with wet dogs in the back of the suburban, not good.

Then one of them threw up.

I wanted to walk home.

Soren is being a stinker.

I think that this is the picture that I want for our Christmas card this year.

I portrays how our family really is.

Note to self:

Next time have someone take the pictures for you and not use the timer.

I am so lucky to have such a great family.

Crazy though we are.

I am always busy, stressed out and tiered.

Yes, I am very lucky.

I Love Candycorn.

2010-10-18T09:55:00.006-06:00

With Halloween coming up, I wanted to make a festive outfit for Olivia. The fabric has candy corn on it. Troy spotted the tights and we thought it would go perfect with her little outfit.
Is she just the cutest thing ever?

Abququerque Balloon Fiesta 2010

2010-10-12T09:29:00.010-06:00

We went to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta this year. This is what Ella wanted to do for her birthday. Anna had gone camping with a friend so it was just Logan, Ella, Soren and Olivia. We all got up a 4:00 am to catch the bus down to the balloon park.

The morning glow was beautiful.

Way to early for some of us. Olivia crashed right away. Soren ears were cold so he took Olivia's purple hat to wear under his cowboy hat. Goofy kid!

By the way, those are vampire bite tattoos on her cheek. How funny is that?
So this is what I ended up doing for most the morning. Carrying around 50 pounds of dead weight. Logan gave me his denim shirt so we could make a make-shift sling.
I am still hurting.

It was fun to watch the kids faces as the balloons went up. Troy and Soren were running all over the place trying to collect the cards from the balloonist.

Way to many people.
I don't do well with to many people.
We had to drag Soren away from the police horses.

Hopefully I will never have to do this again. Such the party pooper I am.

Anna's birthday!

2010-09-15T08:50:00.009-06:00

Emerson and Ella hanging out at the Mall. We had just finished going to Claires. Can you tell by the colorful hair extensions.
How funny is that?

Olivia is sporting a lovely pink one.
Soren was miffed that he didn't get any.

We had asked Anna what she wanted to do for her birthday and she promptly told me the Mall.
Torture.
Anxiety.
Smelly.
Can you tell I hate to go to the Mall.
So she had her two best friends come with her. Sarah and Ami.

We had Lunch at Johny Rockets.

We had them sing Happy Birthday to her. She did NOT like that one bit. Anna is so shy. She was giggling/crying. We didn't know what she was doing.

Good thing Sarah was there!

Definitely cried.

Sarah saved me the hassle of making a birthday cake for Anna. She showed up at our house with a load of cupcakes that she had made. I love you Sarah!
I now have a teenage daughter!

Let's take some pictures. Ya sure!

2010-09-05T15:36:00.020-06:00

As I was laying awake in the early morning hours waiting for sleep to come, I had a brilliant idea. I was going to take pictures of my kids. The thing is I don't take brilliant pictures.
I do have brilliant kids though.
This one has the biggest dimples of our bunch.

One of those brilliant ideas was to take some shots using a ladder and shooting down from the top. So all of us girls lay down on the grass, Troy climbed the ladder scaring us all.
The thing is.....when I lay down, my face does too.
I looked like something out of the movie Spy Kids.
All my "extra" face followed gravity.

So after coming home and looking at all the photos I had Troy take some more of just the girls. My face looks normal.
Relatively speaking.

I think I have the most beautiful girls. All of them so different.
One brown eyed.
One blue eyed.
One blueish gray.

I know this looks like she has a piece of grass up her nose.
She doesn't.
That would of been funny though.
We love our Little Miss Muffet.

This is another one of those shots that didn't turn out.
It was so funny to have all the kids laughing at us. Troy was making me giggle.
I love that Troy makes me giggle.
He looks so innocent in this whole thing.
He's not.
TROY IS A BIG OL' TROUBLE MAKER!

Hey, I tried.

Olivia, our youngest most spoiled daughter.

Ella, with the most incredible eyes in the world. She's the most giggly of them all.

Anna, our oldest daughter. Watch out boys.

Logan and Soren just hanging around.
Pretty pathetic.

One thing about our boys is that they have the biggest ego's in the world.

Can you tell?

Logan is still sporting the last remnants of the bruising from his broken nose.
If any picture can depict what Soren is, it's this.

This is Soren. Those dimples can kill.

The Outdoor Expo.

2010-08-26T11:53:00.018-06:00

This last weekend was the Outdoor Expo out at the gun range. Troy had a booth there for the Emergency Scouter.
There are lots of things for the kids to do.
Soren loved learning how to ride a four-wheeler. The instructor was amazing at explaining things to the kids

The kids loaded the cartridges themselves for the gun they would be shooting. All of our children know gun safety. This was the first time for Olivia to be shooting something bigger than a BB gun.

It's a little disturbing to me that Soren knows how to shoot so well. He got this little sparkle in his eyes, creepy. Just joking.

Olivia was in heaven! She was so excited to be doing what the big kids do.

They all loved the rock wall. Soren took off like a rocket. I think I need to get him more involved with climbing. He definitely is a natural.

Ella going up, Anna coming down.

We all learned a little fly tying. The girl who was teaching us was only 11 years old. Amazing. Can you tell how hot and exausted the kids were?

Olivia climbed up on my lap and we tied a fly all by ourselves.
It was a LITTLE difficult doing it with two little hands in with mine.

Little Miss Muffet was so proud of herself.

It was a busy and fun filled day for us. Troy did awesome with his Emergency Scouter booth. I am so proud of him.
Logan helped Troy with the booth on Saturday, but by Sunday he was feeling yucky. The Thurday before he broke his nose and got whiplash from diving into a pool. So he stayed home and rested. I love watching the kids doing the things they love.
I loved watching Olivia shoot the gun for the first time. Although it was a little disturbing to hear her laugh while doing it. There is just something wrong with watching a 4 year old shooting a gun. Even though I ABSOLUTELY DETEST GUNS WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING, I think kids need to know gun safety.

This was the first time I had attended one of these. Troy would take the kids every year. Since he couldn't take the kids around I got stuck with the task. Troy found it very amusing to watch me there with all the hunting stuff around.
I am against hunting.
I don't eat any meat or fish.
I hate guns.
I LOATH camo.
So there I was surrounded by turkey calls, guns and hundreds of men in camo. That just goes to show how much I love my children and my wonderful husband.
(You owe me one Honey Lover)

Empty nest.

2010-08-17T13:40:00.009-06:00

Little Miss Muffet started school today.

She is in preschool half a day.
That means I have no kids at home.
No kids.
All five of them at school.
I cried the whole way home after I dropped her off.

Of course she was thrilled to go to school.
She found her friend right away.

See ya later Mom.

I gave her a kiss and left.
That was it.
No tears from her.
Just me.

Didn't even notice me leaving.

My greatest Love.

2010-08-12T12:30:00.011-06:00

It's our 16th anniversary tomorrow. I am so lucky to have this guy as my husband and best friend.

I even love all of his obsessions.

I love his stretchy pants. (You need to say it like Nacho Libre).

Vous etes mon plus grand amour.

Es mi amor mas grande.

Lei e il mio massimo amore.

My greatest Love.

Muddy Buddies!

2010-08-06T20:10:00.009-06:00

Lauren would climb up in the tree house, but wouldn't stand up.
So dang cute!
Just want to squeeze her.

This is what happens when your yard is not finished being landscaped,
it's hot outside,
the kids are bored and they start playing with water.

This is what kept the kids busy for a long time. Marissa and I just sat back and let the kids roll in the mud like a bunch of pigs on a hot day.

Carly found her spot and wouldn't move. She was so relaxed I was worried that she would fall asleep. It was hysterical. All the other kids were digging and playing, while she just laid there.
I was jealous.

One good thing.
The kids skin got exfoliated.

Gabe and Soren made channels and rivers all over the place.
Typical boys.

I hope these girls marry men with lots of money.
Mud baths get expensive when you grow up.

It was so much fun to sit back and watch the kids cover themselves in mud.
It was more fun to watch Marissa spray the kids off with the hose.

These kids will remember the summer that they got to dig holes and make mud baths. In a couple of weeks they will all start school, the cold weather will come and this will only be a memory.
Until next year.
Maybe next year Marissa and I will join them.

Izzie new haircut, kids and jumping?

2010-07-18T12:54:00.028-06:00

I have the cutest little girl in the world.
I have been making her some clothes lately and just finished this outfit.

I fell in love with the fabric when I saw it. Not everyone likes it.
I don't care.
I love it.
Olivia loves it.

She is quite the little diva.
I made it so the big flower can be removed.

On to more interesting things.
Izzie was miserable this year in the heat. We would spend hours brushing her and still didn't help.
Finally Troy and I just shaved her. Izzie was not very happy with me.
I cut her a few times. Just a few!

By the time we got to her head I just couldn't go on. I was almost in tears because I had hurt her.

We were at the park and I thought it would be fun to take pictures of everyone jumping.
It turned out to be fun and funny.

Hilarious.

Rolling on the grass, laughing until your stomach hurts funny!

My wonderful husband just couldn't make it very far. If you will notice in the upcoming pictures that the children aren't very gifted with the ability to jump also.
Notice there are not pictures of me jumping.
That's because I can't.

Logan did pretty well.

Until I asked him to jump sideways.

Then this happened. He actually hurt himself.
Does that surprise anyone?

Olivia was trying so hard.

Soren was just down right hysterical!

Ella and Anna did pretty great.

Olivia was showing off her new outfit.

Here are my five wonderful kids who are absolutely driving me nuts this summer with their fighting.

I never fought with my siblings.
NEVER!

Right after I took these pictures all the dogs took off and the kids had to go chase them down.
Lot's of fighting and screaming ensued.
Bossing,
screaming,
yelling,
name calling.
I just sat back and watched it all.
I love my life!

Hello Harry.

2010-07-11T18:15:00.008-06:00

Introducing the newest member of the Dunow bunch.
Harry.
I am so in love with him.

He's a cockatiel and is just a few months old. Harry was hand fed since he was born so he is very tame. It took him a few days to get used to us and now is doing great.

Harry loves to be out of his cage. That means that the dogs have to be outside while Harry does his roaming.
Fred hates this.
Imagine that.

Troy was holding him and Harry fell asleep. So cute. Our family is loving having him. It's amazing how fast we can bond with one of Gods creatures. Thank you to the lovely lady who gave us this special gift.

Summer Flowers

2010-07-03T15:33:00.011-06:00

This morning we all woke early to get our yard work done before it became to unbearable. This is what Olivia was doing.
The flowers in my yard have started to bloom, so I tried to get a few photo's of them.

The butterfly bush is so full right now.

It's attracted a bit more than butterflies.

I have some beautiful colors with my hollyhocks this year. Some new colors have popped up.

Love, love, love this pale pink.

My sunflowers are taller than the fence.

I love to sit on the porch with the kids and watch for hummingbirds. They love these. It's been so much fun for us this year watching our garden grow.

Crazy Day.

2010-06-21T13:38:00.014-06:00

Troy works for a really good company called INTEL. I am sure a few of you have heard of it. This year they held a family night at Cliffs amusement park. The kids were extremely excited about it.
Troy and I were not excited about it.
I had taken Troy into the ER that morning for back pain. They drugged him up, told him it was a muscle problem and sent him home. So off we went to cliffs with 5 kids in tow and Troy was a little on the "drugged side". Not my idea of a good time. I will NOT be showing you a picture of how I looked.

This was Olivia's first taste of big kid rides.
This is one of the greatest joys in life.
To see the smiles on your childrens faces when they go on rides.
I got goose bumps.

I got goose bumps for a whole other reason here. To watch your child go on a ride like this.
Not fun.
He was having a blast.
Why would anybody do this to themselves?

The kids made it back to the Hopper.

Olivia thought this was the worlds greatest thing.

Every time she went around in this, she would give her Father a high five. I kept telling her to keep her hands and feet inside the aircraft at all times.
She didn't listen to me.
She never does.

The girls waited about 45 minutes to go down this ride. Craaaaazzzzy!
The kids had a good time and fell asleep right away when we got home.
It was worth all the stressful fretting that I was doing just to see all the kids smiles and to hear them talk about all the neat rides that they got to go on.
Troy is doing better.
He is now coherent.

My Dad.

2010-06-20T14:22:00.003-06:00

My Dad is amazing. He has been married to my Mother for over 50 years and has 9 children.
He is
Kind
Patient
Funny
Musical
Generous
Loving.
I think that I was pretty blessed to have the Father that I have. Thank you Dad for all that you have done for me. I love you! Your daughter Emily.

Better late than never.

2010-06-17T12:49:00.013-06:00

That is my new motto. Better late than never. Soren's birthday was in May and we just had his party. Soren has become a little Wrangler, so we had a cowboy themed party.

This is typical attire for him. Doesn't matter if it's scorching hot out or not. Golly gee, I want to pinch him he is so cute!

I thought it would be fun to have straw bales around. Soren liked the fact that it made him look more cowboy. I was just scared he was going to choke on the stuff.
Note to self:
NEVER HAVE STAW AT A BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH A LOT OF KIDS!
=
HUGE MESS!

Could he get more red neck than this? I threatened him that if he ever acted like a red neck again, I was going to take his boots away.

Our lovely Ella and our Izzie dog. I put a clothes line up on the tree house with old jeans and aprons on it.

Ok, so this was soooo Olivia acting the spoiled little girl that she is. She was throwing a fit that she didn't get to have her picture done before Soren. As she was pitching her fit, Fred whacked her with his tail and totally ticked Olivia off.
Can you tell she wasn't happy?

Soren has so many of his good buddies over for the party. It was fun to see some kids that we haven't seen in a while. I got a kick out of watching all the different personalities that the kids have.

This is a picture of Troy running for his life.
REALLY.
I had the kids all blindfolded and they had to catch Troy.
Good in theory.
The kids could see through the bandannas.
The kids are leavel with Troy's you know what, so when they are runny semi-blinded, full throttle into Troy........
Not good.
REALLY.

Soren wants to marry this girl. If only life was that perfect.

These two little jumping beans are twins. Look how high they are.
Was I ever able to jump like that? I couldn't get two inches off the ground now. I don't even want to try. It makes me tired just thinking about it.

This reminded me of a scene from Tomb Raider. Watch out boy's, this little gal is going to be the first female James Bond. It does help that she has this in her genes. Her father is a policeman.
I wonder if he could pull a stunt like this? Hhhmmm?

Leave little boy unchaperoned for 2 seconds and they all have their shirts off. What's with that? I was just thankful the girls still had theirs on. Whew!
We all had a great time with some great friends. It's on day's like this that makes me want to do more with my friends. Hopefully this summer we will be able to do more.
What am I thinking.
I could wish can't I?

Thanks you all for loving our little cowboy. I had him on Mother's day 7 years ago.
Best Mother's Day present I ever got.
Things I love about Soren.
Dimples.
His squishy ears.
How he rubs my arms.
His hugs.
How he loves everyone.
The way he says "breakfast"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOREN
(only a month past due.)

Cheering up.

2010-06-14T13:35:00.010-06:00

Not from out yard.

Here I am, home alone. Troy has ALL the kids at a flag ceremony down town to celebrate Flag day.
I am at home with my foot up.
This morning as I was getting the kids ready I tripped over one of the dogs, twisted my ankle and stubbed my toes.
Yes it does hurt.
Really bad.

So I thought I would post some really pretty pictures that I have taken of some of the plants in our yard. It is making me feel better just looking at them. I try not to think of how much it cost to water them. Just focus on the beauty.

Camp Gorham Scout Ranch

2010-06-09T10:57:00.020-06:00

Before the yucky stuff, I thought I would show you all some nice peaceful pictures. Troy taught the Wilderness and remote first aid to the staff up at the camp. The four older kids stayed there with him and I stayed home with Olivia and 3 very rambunctious dogs. On Tuesday morning I went back up to the camp and picked them up.

I got there just intime to take a few shots of the kids riding horses and the final scenario for the first aid course. Yay me!!
Of course that means that I got to put fake wounds on the kids and make them look all injured. My kids are pro's at this now. They are always helping Troy out with his classes.

So before we get to the discussing things I will tell you how much fun the kids had riding horses. The staff were wonderful to the kids. My children felt so special with all that attention they were getting. Soren has everyone wrapped around his finger. The girls are all inlove with him and the boys all think he's the coolest.

While everyone was up at camp, Olivia and I had some peaceful quality time together. Actually it was way to quiet for me and for her. She definitely missed her playmates.

All I wanted was one good picture of the kids. Is that so hard? Apparently for Logan it is.

Now the gross stuff. This was suppose to be a stomach wound with his intestines hanging out.

I created an amputated hand for Anna. Lovely isn't it?

As a joke for one of the guys who had a fascination for pregnant women, we decided to give him one. Now that was funny to watch.

My kids love to play act these things out. This is Ella.

Anna doing a good job.

Soren REALLY goes all out for this.

Logan took the class with the staff and did a great job. Soren knew all the answers to the CPR course. He just didn't have the arm strength to do the chest compressions. He sure is a character! By the time that he's old enough to go to scout camp he will be able to teach the staff himself.

I am glad that my wonderful Husband and crabby kids are all home with me again. Back to the grind of daily life. I just have to keep Soren from trying to teach CPR to all his friends. Especially the girls.

A major breakthrough for Anna.

2010-06-05T19:33:00.013-06:00

This picture right here is a miracle. Ever since we can remember, Anna has been afraid of anything in costume like this.
Or
Tooth fairies,
Santa Clause,
Easter Bunny,
you have a big furry colorful costume on and Anna would
FREEEEEEEAAAAAK out.
Intel had it's big birthday party and put on quite the shin-dig. Lots of yummy food and plenty of sugar to make our Soren have a migraine.

After years of being traumatized by big purple dinosaurs, she has taken the first steps to know how darn ridiculous it is that people will put themselves into big purple dinosaurs for the amusement of people.

This she would not do. Nope, not even remotely close to this one.

Tigger made her laugh.

This was so funny. The Intel people had the kids dress up in their "clean" clothes. This is what the people who work in the Intel Lab wear.

It was even funnier to watch them try to get the clothes on.

Olivia almost attacked Boots. She loves
loves,
loves Boots.

The kids highlight of the day was having Ariel from the Little Mermaid do face painting on them. There were Clowns doing it but the kids thought that was a little creepy.
All unanimous.
Hands up if you think Clowns are creepy.
Fred just raised his paw. That was creepy.

Olivia was so enthralled. She sat so still for Ariel.

Over all I thought is was a fun outing for the younger kids in our family. It was exhausting chasing Olivia, chasing the characters. Next time I will let Troy go it alone. To many creepy Clowns.

Memorial Day memories.

2010-06-03T14:16:00.012-06:00

The Dunow family spent a wonderful evening with some great friends. It was such a beautiful sunny day, perfect for sitting outside eating watermelon. Soren was loving it.

Olivia also was hogging all the watermelon.

After we ate, Soren had a little rest on Dennis.

The fire for the s'mores was not quite ready. We were all getting a little impatient.

Leave it to Troy to get it going with a little fire starter. Notice Chris's stick. Soren picked it out for her.

It was so nice to sit around and catch up on each others lives. We ate yummy food and laughed a lot. What more could you ask for?

My three beautiful girls before they played outside all day and got dirty.

After I got the table ready Olivia just couldn't leave it alone.

One of the people who came to our dinner party is a lady that lives in our neighborhood. She doesn't like having her picture taken but she let me get pictures of her colorful flowers.

This one is my favorite. The combination of the purple and orange is stunning. Love it! Even though we are far away from family, it's comforting to know that we have friends here who are like family. We are very blessed.

It's hot outside.

2010-05-28T14:58:00.002-06:00

It's hot outside so I decided to post something pretty to make me feel better. Really hasn't helped.

Still a pretty picture.

My 14 year old won't shut up!

Terrific Teachers.

2010-05-26T11:29:00.009-06:00

The kid's teachers were fantastic this year. Brijit Elkins, who is Soren's teacher was the perfect match for him. He loved going to school everyday and seeing his teachers and friends. I am excited that he has developed a love for reading. It was a blessing to know that when I sent my kids off to school everyday that they were being loved at school.

Kendal is one of Soren's classmates and friends. She had to get a picture with him. Soren adores Kendal. There were many days when Soren would come home from school with stories about what Kendal and he did during the day. Soren definitely has a soft spot for the girls.

Ms. Janis was the E.A. in the classroom. I know I said Soren was lucky to have a great teacher, well he is extra lucky because he had Ms. Janis. He would tell me that she was funny. I love to see my kids smile!

I went in to get pictures of the teachers and the classroom were all packed up and ready for summer. Some of the kids weren't at school for the last day. These kids are the ones who were there. On top of having great teachers, Soren had some great friends this year.

Ella also had a fantastic teacher. Barbara Caffrey had a very full classroom and was able to do it all. Ella came away from this year at school with more confidence in her intellect and her ability to try new things. She knows that if she has to do something hard all she has to do is practice, practice, practice. Ella found it pretty funny that she grew taller than her teacher this year.

Thanks to Rio Rancho Elementary School for giving my children a great education and lots of love. Everyone there seems to know my kids and treats them with such kindness. Well done!

Olivia's Preschool graduation.

2010-05-22T11:58:00.014-06:00

Last night was Olivia's preschool graduation over at our house. There are six kids who participated this year. Eli was having a tough time and was not in this picture. The kids said the pledge of allegiance for us. Soren was telling Olivia what a great job she did. It was so sweet.

Eli getting his award. He was having a meltdown before this, but he pulled himself together and received his award. It had to be a little overwhelming with all the people staring at them taking pictures. I can't blame him one little bit.

Our little Olivia. I can't believe two things here. First that she doesn't have her finger up her nose and second how big she is getting.

This is Cesar. He was so funny during the songs. He wouldn't sing them because he was mad he had to were this shirt.

Carly sang the loudest. She told me that when she grows up she wants to be a coal miner and a person who dives and feed the sharks. A little dangerous don't you think?

Aiden is Olivia's first love. She tells everyone that she is going to marry him. I think that Aiden is glad that preschool is over so he doesn't have to fight Olivia off.

Emma is suborn, but in a cute way. Both Emma and Olivia are the babies of big families and boy can you tell. One second they would have a spat and in the next they would be hugging each other. Most of the time it was over who was going to be the "Mom" during their time playing house.

Cesar's Mom taught the kids a song in Spanish. So funny.

This was Eli trying to get away from everyone. I thought it was so funny how he was trying not to look at me.

I can't believe how fast time is going. My last child will be going to school next year and I don't know if I am excited or sad. I guess a little of both. One thing is for certain. These kids are so dang cute!

Way to go Anna!

2010-05-14T13:04:00.008-06:00

We are so proud of Anna. Last night was her Middle Schools Honor assembly. The teachers pick a select few students that have shown exceptional growth, character and talent in a certain subject. Anna's reading teacher Mrs. Ware, nominated Anna.

Anna switched schools in the middle of the year because of some issues that were happening at the other school. This put her in a difficult position of playing catch up with her group.

This amazing girl has had to work very hard to overcome some obstacles to get where she is at. By far, she is one of the hardest workers I have ever seen. She is so determined to succeed.

Thank you to all of Anna's teachers at Lincoln Middle School. You all have done an outstanding job with our daughter. She has gained so much confidence in what she is doing. As Anna's parents we have seen a huge change in her attitude toward school and learning. You all deserve an A+!

Ella, Soren and Anna showing their excitement.

Mother's Day in the mountains.

2010-05-10T10:40:00.023-06:00

This is how my morning started out. The kids brought Troy and I breakfast in bed. They emptied out one of their toy buckets to use as a tray. Soren sprinkled M&M's in the bucket because he thought it would be romantic. I want you all to take notice of Troy's Almondbutter.

The past week had been very stressful for me so I just wanted to get out of town for the day. I decided on a day hike up in the Jemez mountains. It was the perfect day to do it. Sunny skies, a small cool breeze and it wasn't to hot.

We made a couple of quick stops to let the kids see some falls and climb on them.

We took along one of Logan's best friends Dylan. He is on top of the rock sitting. Logan is watching him try to get down.

The kids accumulated a few injuries during the day. I just happened to get a picture of Anna right after one of hers. She stood up and scratched her back on the cave. I know you all aren't surprised by my kids getting hurt. It's just rare that I get a picture of it. I wish I had gotten a picture of Logan falling backwards over a rock holding two of the dogs. Know that was funny.

I am surprised Soren didn't get wet.

Molly loved the water. Look at Fred watching her. He did not love the water.

Now the next few pictures are interesting. Logan claims that Troy pushed him in the water. I watched the whole thing and I KNOW that Troy did not push him in.

There he goes. Watch how Troy just watched him.

Next Troy's arms go out. He didn't do it!

Still the arms.

Troy didn't even bother to help him out of the water. He just kept his arms out.

It was wonderful to be out in nature breathing in the fresh air. I thought it very fitting that I was needing Mother Nature's healing power on Mother's day.

The New Mexico red rocks have totally captivated me.

The dogs enjoyed their day out too.

Spring is here and the bright green in contrast with the red rock is stunning.

I was able to spend a fantastic fun filled day all because of this man. My wonderful husband.

Keep Rio Rancho Beautiful.

2010-04-30T16:12:00.013-06:00

I am going to go backwards here. Our family participated in Keep Rio Rancho beautiful this year. Troop 714 cleaned up Rio Rancho Elementary school. This is where our kids have gone to school, so the kids took pride in cleaning it up. After the project we went to Haynes park for a BBQ and prizes. We won some Little Ceasars pizza and some free swim passes. What is so funny about this picture is Anna is still so afraid of anything in costume. The dude with the big nose standing next to Soren didn't go over well with her.

It was a windy day but Troy was able to take advantage of the sunshine.

Logan got to hang out with some of his friends. Sariah was very cute and I loved teasing him about it.

This was while we were working at the school. Both the older girls wore their Young Marine clothes. The rest of us, our scout uniforms.

This was Olivia's uniform. The wind was blowing so hard. Can you tell?

Cleaning up made my kids aware of what they do with their own garbage. It made them sad that there was so much trash in the rose garden. I hope this experience will stay with them for a long time.

Look at Soren. What a goofball. Ella's raking technique leaves something to be desired. At least she was helping. I loved doing this service project with my family.

Smell issues.

2010-04-21T09:57:00.003-06:00

If I could have my house smell like fresh lilacs all they time.........life I think would be perfect.

I have serious smell issues. I hate for my house to smell yucky.
I have 3 dogs.
Worse than that, I have 5 kids.
Two of those are boys who end up peeing on the bathroom floor.

So what do I do to make my house smell good? Clean all the dang time. Work, work and more work. I also have an addiction to burning really good candles. My latest one is Honeysuckle. Troy hates it because it reminds him of old ladies perfume. All my favorite smells remind him of old ladies, rose, lilac, wisteria, lavender, honeysuckle and sweet pea. Maybe that says something about me. Hhmmm?

Back to the lilacs. A few days ago I thought my favorite smell in the whole world was wisteria. I was wrong. It's lilac. For now. I got these from a lady in my neighborhood because my lilac bush is teeny tiny still. I sat at the table yesterday and just smelled.

Just one more way for my house to smell good. I try to always have some fresh flowers in the house. Beside making it smell good it also makes it seem fresher. My house seems like it's always messy. Backpacks, homework, dishes and laundry everywhere. I do try hard to keep it clean and picked up. My pet peeve is to walk into my house and have it smell bad. So I go on with my day cleaning...
organizing..
laundry.....
sweeping...
all so my house will smell good.

Crazy hike.

2010-04-19T19:38:00.010-06:00

This was at the very "end" of our hike. Troy got a picture of my end with the first aid pack. This pack is a must have with our family. With out fail, someone is always getting hurt. This is the result of two parents with no coordination having children. The odds weren't good that we would have coordinated children.

Izzie went straight for the water. I can't wait to get her out to the lake to do water training with her.

We spotted a piece of drift wood floating down the river. Olivia got so excited because she thought it was a crocodile. She is scared of beavers, but gets excited over crocodiles. Go figure!

There are moments in my life that I think all is absolutely bliss. This was one of those. Then it was gone in an instant when my 14 year old son was complaining about everything under the sun.

Our complaining 14 year old climbed a tree. It was really funny watching him try to get down.

Our girls taking a rest.

Soren finds anything and makes it a gun. I know some things are certain in life. Teenagers complain and Soren will make a gun out of anything.

While I was going through these pictures I just stopped at this one. I love this man. I love this man who puts up with me saying "let's take our 5 kids and 3 unruly dogs on a nature hike." I love this man who puts up with 5 fighting kids in the Suburban while his wife is screaming at all of them. I love this man who crawled into bed with me when we got home and took a nap with me because the kids fighting and not the hike exhausted us.

Call us dweebs, but look at our shirts. How funny is that. This is another reason I love this man. Matching shirts and the fact that he is pinching my bum trying to get frisky.

It was good for all of us to get outside and get a little sun. Can't wait to do it again.

For my Mom.

2010-04-17T17:10:00.011-06:00

My Mother moved from Idaho to Utah a few years ago. With that move she left her Wisteria behind. At the house I grew up in, the Wisteria covered the whole back porch. It took over the whole back porch. It became scary.

She wanted to plant some at her new place in Utah, but my Dad still has nightmares of the Wisteria taking over the house.

I live in New Mexico. I have lots of Wisteria. It's starting to take over the whole back porch. I haven't had nightmares yet, so I think it's OK.

Mom had back surgery last week. I hope that the pictures of the Wisteria cheer her up.

I just wish that she could smell these.

It is one of the most amazing smell in the whole entire world, next to new babies.

When there is a breeze I open my windows so the entire house will smell like Wisteria blooms.
Dad, I will put up with the Wisteria Monster. You take care of Mom. Wish that I could be there to help out. Hopefully these pictures will put a smile on you face when you remember Dad climbing on the roof with an ax and saw trying to contain the Wisteria.

The love of a child.

2010-04-12T13:38:00.001-06:00

I picked you some flowers Mommy!

Go Broncos

2010-04-11T11:49:00.005-06:00

I finally got the BSU Bronco's logo finished. I had been telling the boys that I would paint one for them. I used a projector to take the computer image and put it up on the wall. Then I traced it and painted it. That easy. The only thing that I didn't like is that it took a while.

I need to find some more BSU stuff for the room. Grandpa Chuck gave the kids a BSU trash can. I have been saving up all our old jeans to make the boys some jean quilts with Orange and Blue on it.

Troy got Soren's shelf hung up. Soren reads every night and he needed something to hang up his light on. Not two seconds after he had it up it was full of stuff. So funny.

Lions, Tigers and Beavers oh my?

2010-04-09T12:43:00.004-06:00

Olivia is deathly afraid of beavers. Don't know how or when it happened. A while ago she would come into our bed at night crying, saying that the beavers were going to get her. The next morning we asked her why she was scared of beavers and she said " The teeth are going to eat me." Yikes. That's a scary thing for a little girl. She was trying to show us what a beavers teeth looked liked. So our little Miss Muffet continues to be frightened of beavers, even when she sees a picture of one. We even saw one cross the street in Missouri. She freaked out. Then there is Franklin's friend Beaver, in the cartoon and books. She freaks out.

One day she was telling us about a dream she had about a "nice" beaver. She pulled her lips in over her teeth and said that the "nice" beaver didn't have any teeth. She still freaks out over beavers, still has bad dreams too. It doesn't help that her older brother will run around with his teeth out over his lip saying that he is going to eat her. I hope this doesn't scar her for life.

On a Spring day in New Mexico.

2010-04-03T14:29:00.022-06:00

We went down to the Rio Grande River to look at all the budding trees and go on a nice walk.

I am so excited for all the leaves to come out. I NEED the green.

The kids were in dire need of some fresh air after being cooped up in the house for a few days. It's been really windy and the dust is horrible.

Olivia was all decked out for a little hike in leggings and a white skirt. I just had to keep saying to myself.....pick your battles, pick your battles. So what if she is out playing in the brush and dirt in a white skirt. At least she was wearing hiking shoes. She accessorized her outfit with a colorful necklace.

This is my kids favorite thing to do. Explore the outdoors. Ella is here telling me about the trunk she was standing on.

Logan thought it was a good idea to climb up on the fallen tree with Fred. Notice the boots. No tread. Not a smart idea.

It gave us a pretty good laugh.

We saw several pairs of geese. I was amazed at how loud they are.

Taking a rest. By now Olivia had been hit in the face by branches and dog leashes several times and was having a meltdown.

Me and my Sweetheart. We don't get many pictures of us together. I am usually the one taking pictures.

Logan acting cool.

Soren acting cool.

After the hike we went and had lunch at Village Pizza in the Village of Corrales. So Yummy. If anyone is ever in New Mexico you need to go here.

I was laughing so hard watching the boys all walk out together. Strutting their stuff.

I was sitting out in the suburban with the dogs. While we were eating Logan went out to go check on them and found the animal control guy trying to get Fred off someones BMW. Yikes. We still don't know how he got out of his leash and out the window that was rolled down just a few inches. He is not a small dog. Luckily we didn't get into any trouble. The Animal control guy was very nice.

This is a hitching post. Don't see them around very much anymore. There are a lot of horse trails in Corrales and people just ride over to the the pizza shop.

More horses.

Then as we were driving home on the main road we saw this. What I find so funny is the little boy in the back totally into his book. It was the perfect day for a little drive. Horses or car.

Singing time with Grandma.

2010-03-29T18:48:00.004-06:00

How cute is it that Olivia is watching Grandma's mouth to know the words. She always does that when I am teaching her a song.

The girls all love to have Grandma get her guitar out and sing some songs with them.

Since we have been home from Grandma's house Olivia will get her play guitar out and play"Grandma".

More Missouri, Military style.

2010-03-28T12:14:00.007-06:00

We were out for a drive one day and came across a VFW memorial post. It had a couple of old helicopters and a submarine top. You all know how much my family loves all things military.

They all loved this one. Grandma, Ella and Logan are checking it out.

Logan had a smirk on his face to match the helicopters.

Soren was going crazy over this one. I think it's pretty funny when your six year old son can tell you all about an old helicopter that was used in a war decades ago.

Blake and Autumn came along with us.

Dunow cousins having fun together.

2010-03-25T19:03:00.008-06:00

Anna got a hold of the camera.

Autumn and Ella.

Mellow Blake.

Typical Autumn smile. She has lost a lot of teeth and her smile is so cute!

The kids were feeding fish on Grandma's facebook Happy Aquarium. They really got into it.

The day before we left back to New Mexico the sun came out and the kids were all out playing in the warm weather. Olivia decided that she didn't need to wear much clothing. Notice how short her undershirt is.

Blake was so good to Olivia. He made sure she had a helmet on and would take her on rides.