No we didn't all die in a fiery car crash six months ago, why do you ask?

We just have been very busy. Very busy being very lazy...

I'm still feeling lazy. But here are some picturesque things we have documented. A picture speaks a thousand words, you know! Those poor children, where is their flesh?!

If you're not scared, you should be!

For Halloween, I carved this beauty. I was very proud. Due to a design flaw and no fault of mine, as you would see if you looked closely, part of Darth Vader's face had to be held up by a toothpick. I'm proud nonetheless.

A community trick or treating event that we went to with friends. They had a haunted walk, the boys were very brave. I liked the cardboard house in the background. It happened a while before halloween and we had not accuired costumes for this year yet, so we had to improvise. Neal was a bat and Ben a wizard.

Visiting the pumkins with our friends the Gatlins. Take it away, boys! They tried.

The corn maze is much easier to navigate if you go on the outside edges. Less muddy, too. Take the road less traveled, my friends, it pays off.

Why is the wagon not moving, this is a ripoff!

Four little dinosaurs Rafting down the river!

Everyone survived, but Neal did not trust the integrity of our boat at all! He instructed us, next time we go, to drop him off at grandma's! :) Believe it or not, it was my (mom's) idea to do this. I tell you, I'm tougher than my 3 boys sometimes. Just sometimes.

We've added another creature to the mix.

Her name is Catnip, although Neal thinks it's Catlip. She is seven years old and used to live in Olympia. We got her through Craigslist. She had never been around dogs, so she spent her first 3 days under the bed in our bedroom. Now she comes out to explore yet still spends most of the time lounging in our room, on top of the bed. The plan in the long run is to make the kitty hang out with Neal, but it's taking her a while to het used to him. She is very fluffy and soft, and we love her already.

Mūsu jauno kaķenīti sauc Kaķu mētra, Nils gan to izrunā kā "Kaķa lūpa" :) Viņai ir 7 gadiņi, mēs viņu atradām, atsaucoties uz sludinājumu internetā. Lielākais kaķumīlis mums ir Nils, bet kaķenīte vēl nav īsti pie viņa pieradusi. Viņa ir ļoti mīksta un pūkaina, un mēs jau esam viņu iemīlējuši. Pirmās trīs dienas viņa slēpās zem gultas, jo baidījās no suņa, bet tagad jau palikusi drosmīgāka, kaut ir krietni slinka resnīte un pārsvarā gulšņā pa mūsu gultu. :)

Crazy skilled squirrel at the park!

Best vacation ever! Foršais ceļojums!

Ar Lāsmu, Ilgu un atvasi :)

Ar brāli koncertā Saldus Saule. /With my brother at a concert Saldus' Sun.

Pie mājas ar tētuku (ne)derīgo izrakteni :) /By the house with Daddy.

Mammuks. Fočēts pēdējā dieniņā... /Mommy. Taken on the last day.

Opis ar tēti kapos kaut ko svarīgu pārrunā. Grandpa an Dad having a serious conversation at the cemetery.

Man no šīs kapu akas vienmēr bijis bail./I've always been terrified of this well at the old cemetery.

Citos kapos, mamma ar tēti nes ūdeni, ko aplaistīt vecmammas kapiņa puķītes. /Mom and Dad carrying water for the plants on my Grandma's grave.

Burulaiviņa Liepājas ezerā./Sailboat on Liepaja's lake.

Solo riteņbrauciens uz Bernātiem. / My solo bikeride to Bernati.

Mellenītes!!!/Wild blueberries!

Smilgas pie Liepājas ezera.

Valters, mans brāļadēliņš./My nephew Valters.

Divi vīri laivā, trešais izkritis! Svinējām Brāļa Kaspara dzimšanas dienu Jūrnieka ligzdā./Celebrating brother's birthday at the "Seaman's nest".

Kristaps un Emīls uz lielajām šūpolēm Jūrnieka ligzdā.

Diet take 3-Running out of steam

Hey loyal followers, here is my thin Monday report! :) 145 lbs this morning. Ha ha, it's gratifying to weigh yourself first thing in the morning after I've used the bathroom. That's when I am at my lightest! :D But that's what I did when I started with my 153 lbs, so all's fair and total weight lost in about two weeks - 8 lbs. My pants fit much better!
Here's the running out of steam part - I was really tempted by brownies last night, I couldn't stay away and had a bite. My willpower is starting to crumble... :) Only thing helping me is looking forward to being back at home in two days now (I leave early Wed. morning) and enjoying the local foods I've missed. My plan for the 3 weeks of vacation is to watch the sugar intake, watch my portion size, but enjoy the food fully! Then, if needs be, I can do two more weeks of Phase 1 when I get back.

Diet take 2

148.8 lbs this (Tuesday) morning, which means...... 4.2 lbs down, tadaaaaa! I have been very good, I even survived through 4. of July festivities without breaking the rules! ( And there were moments when I really felt I needed a sugary boost to survive another moment, ha ha ha) I'm surprised, too, believe me. I hate following rules. :D Well, here I go for another week! And thank you girls for the encouraging comments!
One highlight of the diet was when Kevin's niece watched me eating a cucumber on our camp out and asked if it was from Latvia, like it was some weird foreign food. When I explained it was an ordinary cucumber and they sell them at grocery stores around here, she retorted - well, they are usually sliced, I didn't know they came that way! It was funny.

Day one on South Beach diet.

Might as well tell the world I am on a diet. Who knows, it might make me last longer than 1 day. It'll help me keep track, too.
So I was 153 lbs this morning. I have till July 16 to get gorgeous, because that's when I leave for my trip to Latvia, and I always feel fatter in Latvia than I do here, ha ha ha! Of course I have procrastinated till the last possible moment... So my goal for the next two weeks is to stay away from all sugar and starches, it's supposed to let me lose about 10 pounds or so. If you know me, you know I am addicted to sugar. Which is how I got into this mess. So that will be hard. I'll also go for daily walks. I walked for 1 hour today. Wish me endurance.
I had two eggs w/fat free cheese for breakfast and spaghetti squash with turkey lunchmeat for lunch. Oh, and a string cheese for a morning snack. And I just snacked on oberto beef jerky. OK, I'm off to read more of the South Beach diet book. :)
And I'm not translating this post into latvian because I don't want the latvians to know I'm fat! :D

Daarzniecinjsh Little gardener

Jaunaa telts New tent

Ja neskaita lasiishanu, Kevina vieniigais hobijs ir kempings. Shopavasar mees dazhu labu sestdienu pavadiijaam iepeerkoties. Tie, kas labi paziist Kevinu, zina, ka ar vinju iepirkties nemaz nav tik viegli, jo vinjsh apbraukaa visus iespeejamos veikalus, saliidzinaadams cenas, lai atrastu leetaako un labaako produktu. Nesen mees iegaadaajaamies 4 saliekamaas gultas, par ko es nesuudzos, bet izraadiijaas, ka tikai triis no taam saiet muusu teltii. Taadeelj pagaishsestdien mees iegaadaajaamies jaunu telti. Izmeegjinaashanas peec uzlseejaam to seetaa, un taa ir diezgan milziiga. Tagad vareesim komfortabli kempingot, ja tikai buus vietas kur to milzi uzsliet! :)

Kevin's only palpable hobby that I have been able to notice so far (other than reading) is camping. We have spent several weekends this spring shopping around for camping supplies. If you know Kevin, you know he won't buy anything unles he has compared prices at 20 different stores first and made sure he is getting the best deal out there. So it takes drive and determination to shop with him... :) We got some neat camping cots a while back, which is awesome, nobody likes to sleep on hard ground, even if you are supposed to get close to nature etc, you still could use some padding between you and the nature when it comes to sleeping... Unfortunately, only three of the four cots fit into our old tent. On Saturday we fixed that problem by getting a new tent! We set it up in the yard to try it out. It's awesome and huge. Now we can camp in comfort, as long as we can find a spot big enough to set it up on! :)

Ciinamies ar teeti! Wrestling with dad! Teetis pievaareets! Finshed him off!

Nila draudzinjsh Rains Neal's buddy Ryan

Nila skolinjaa vienu dienu bija iipasha diena, kad vareeja gjeerbties vienaadaas dreebees ar draugu. Te nu ir redzams Nils ar draudzinju Rainu! Tiirie dviiniishi!
Neal and Ryan, buddies in school, on "dress to match your friend" day. They look like twins!

a visit to the Zoo.

Ok, so it was free admission day at the Point Defiance Zoo. Ben wasn't feeling good in the morning, but got better toward the afternoon, so we picked Neal up at preschool and off we went. The higlights: there was a shark with a bite taken out of his side, looked gruesome, and we saw the birds (all 3 of them, hi hi hi) being fed, the raven was fun to watch, they hide his food around his enclosure and he enjoys finding it. The raven's name is Vader :D My kids were being so cute, I almost ate them up. But instead, I took a couple pictures.

Grandfather/Father/son campout!

So I am not much of a writer, but I guess I could at least post a few pictures, maybe people check the blog sometimes, who knows... I wasn't there, not being a father nor a son, but I heard it was a muddy experience. A pair of pants was ruined and 2 pairs of shoes are still outside, waiting to be de-mudded. The weather was so warm and sunny, and it had been raining and freezing cold just the day before. I guess it was meant to be. Meanwile, I raided the Grocery outlet and went home with at least 16 different kinds of junk food. No pictures of that will follow... I shared a little with Mom, Anne Marie, Lindsay and Danielle, so it's all good. :)

Meet our dwarf hamster Lily! Musu pundurkaamiite Lilija!

šito pārāk agri nemodināt! Don't wake him up too early!

Caught!

Ben wanted ice cream, but it was almost lunch time, so I told him he could eat a sandwich and then have ice cream. He agreed, I made a delicious half sandwich, and he took it downstairs to eat. Very soon afer that I went down, too. Ben triumphantly held up his empty plate.
Mommy -Done so soon?
Ben - Yes!
Mommy - Even the crust?
Ben - Nod.
Mommy - If I check the garbage, there won't be any sandwiches in there?
Ben. Pause. Cautiously - Sorry?
Mommy, retrieving a half-eaten sandwich from garbage - You don't get to watch TV, Ben.
Ben - Ice cream?
Mommy incredulosly shakes her head no.
Ben cries/screams.
The end.

Augļu salāti / Fruit salad

Mani mazie pavāriņi! / My little chefs!