Oh, Lollipop

Today I had to run some errands in Hershey so I brought some lollipops in the car to give the kids if they were good in the store. Truthfully I wanted to give them lollipops to keep them awake on our way home. The kids were great! So on our drive home I gave Hannah and Carter a lollipop. Half way home I hear Carter saying, " No SHarah! no no no Sharah." I was able to look out of the corner of my eye only to see Carter pointing and a little white stick in the car seat. Yes my sweet little Sarah Jane had the lollipop in her mouth. Carter wanted to share but wasn't sure how to get it out of her mouth. Needless to say we had a long talk about not putting things in Sarah Jane's mouth. I think SJ really enjoyed her new taste.

Big Brothers

This morning while Hannah was at school I took Carter and Sarah Jane over to visit with Jena, Owen and Avalyn. It was the big brother play date. Owen and Carter did a lot of talking about how to be good big brothers. I think Carter was actually taking more tips from Owen.

Buds.
When I pulled up at the Hostetter's house Carter started saying, "Ow, Ow, Ow!" and pointing to the house. He couldn't get out of the car fast enough. He was so excited to play with Owen. The boys did a great job of ignoring the little sisters while they played.

Girls.

Did you ever think SJ could look like a giant?? Sarah Jane didn't know what to make of the whole situation, but I know the girls will be trouble in a few more months. I can just imagine all the crawling trouble they will find together.

Sweet Baby Girl. Avalyn sure is a sweet baby. I just can't believe all the hair.

Owen you sure are a great Big Brother.

Valentine's Baby

Jena lost 6 pounds 5 ounces on Valentine's Day when little Avalyn Jean made her arrival. She was not due until mid March, but we were all so excited to meet her. She is just a little doll. I got to meet her on the 15th. I had a wonderful visit with Ryan and Jena. We are so happy for you guys!! It is so fun that Owen and Carter are 3 months apart and Sarah Jane and Avalyn are 4 months apart.
We are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow baby Ava and Owen.

Stickers

This morning we went to the doctor. Hannah Grace has had a temperature of 103 for the past 3 days, which is part of the reason I have been missing from the blog world. Sarah Jane had to get a shot and Carter just came along for the ride. After a great doctor visit with no tears. We were off to the the Grocery store. As usual the kids stopped at the deli for a fresh slice of cheese and at the bakery for a fresh cookie.

We got home and I needed to unload and put away the food. So I got out the craft box and put SJ on her exercise mat. The kids were great. They were coloring, gluing, cutting, and sticking stickers all over the different mediums. Although every few minutes Hannah would go "check on" Sarah Janie. After I got all the food in the freezer and refrigerator I went to check on SJ. This is how I found her. Smiling with stickers everywhere. Hannah said that SJ was pretending to be a doctor with the sticker on her head.

Pictures

This is life in the Turk house. Kids crying over who gets to hold SJ. I actually love this photo!!

Carter finally smiles because he is holding Sarah. Hannah Grace gives in and gives me a little smile. I just hope I can get a photo of all three smiling. I think it is a huge success that all three kiddos are looking. Yeah!

Beans

It is official. I have finally started a bean box for my kiddos. I loved my bean box as a child and I am still loving to play in the beans. Almost as much as Daddy.

We were starting to get a little cabin fever so I thought it would be the perfect time to bring in the beans. Hannah and Carter have different measuring instruments to measure out beans and I have a few sorting and filling activities that are fun too.

Hannah Grace also loves to bring in her dishes and play kitchen with the beans.

Can you tell that Sarah Jane is wanting so badly to play??

After Hannah was done playing kitchen Carter brought in the trucks to have man time in the beans. Anyway it is a great indoor activity for the kids.

I am also using the beans as a reward. The kids earn tickets for doing their chores and when they earn five tickets they get to pick out a new bag of beans at the store, which they think is so COOL.

Middle Names

Q: what is Carter's middle name and why don't I use it?

A: Carter Peter. His middle name is my maiden name. I wanted to name him Peter, but Brian said no. So I settled for it as a middle name. The reason I don't use it is because I don't need to. When Hannah started school I found out that her names was very common so instead of being Hannah T the rest of her life I decided to have her called Hannah Grace used as just her first name. As for my little Sarah Jane... Brian wanted to name her Sarah and I wanted to name her Jane so I could call her Janie. So I was calling her Janie and Brian was calling her Sarah so I decided that I really like that she was Sarah Jane. I don't know that this makes sense, but I love my kids names and I want to use them all the time. Side note: It sounds funny when I call Carter, Carter Peter because it is still a last name to me so I think of him as a Peter instead of a Turk. So anyway I know this is a really long answer to a simple question, but I hope this helps you to understand.

Happy Valentine's Day

The Barn

We also spent a lot of time down in the barn. I actually had a blast scrubbing out buckets, making grain buckets, feeding and grooming the horses. It sure is a beautiful barn. It feels more like a home than a barn.

This is Amico who is so terrified of Sarah Jane that he didn't even want to eat his breakfast. He would rather just watch SJ to make sure she didn't move. Every time SJ would coo Amico would start to blow air out of his nose like.. 'I am so scared I don't know what to do!' It was really funny.

Reval trying to figure out what I was doing with the camera. Reval is the Stallion in the barn, but he is a sweetheart and loves treats.

Willow. This is my Mom's driving pony. She is just the sweetest thing.

My mom let me drive the buggy and it was actually really tough. I also could not believe how fast you go. A few times I just grabbed my seat and tried not to scream. It is really amazing. Although I think I will just stick to the riding. I would rather jump then drive.

Trees

I can't tell you how amazing the trees were in Oregon. I was just in awe. I kept making Stephan stop the car so I could take more pictures.

Not only were there trees, but I got to see tons of waterfalls too. It was so beautiful.

Most of the trees were also covered in this green moss. It was so pretty to see a forest of trees with no leaves, but it was still green.

Can you see how tall the trees are? Look at the normal size gate compared to these enormous trees.

Momma & Sarah Jane on a little hike.

SJ loved riding around town in her big girl seat.

Click on the photo below to view even more tree photos:

Trees

Dog Chair

Sarah Jane spent most of her time in her Dog bouncer chair that Grammy and Pappy bought. Every time you put her in the chair her little legs would start to go and she would just babble away. She loved the chair so much that I fit it in our suitcase on the way home. She is currently in the chair now just talking away. I love her little voice.

Salem's Riverfront Carousel

Friday we were up early in the barn. I had fun cleaning water and feed buckets, making horse meals, and grooming horses. It was so fun watching Stephan ride. It is like he is directing the horse to dance gracefully around the arena. It is truly breath taking. He is very gifted with the ability to communicate to the horse.

As for riding I did a little riding on Salem's Riverfront Carousel. You need to check out the link and read more about it, but it is basically a hand carved carousel. Each horse is crafted by a master craftsman and each has a story. Above each horse is their name. In the photo above Sarah Jane and I were riding Snickerdoodle. Although we really wanted to ride Sarah Jane. Yes that is right there is a horse on the Carousel named Sarah Jane. She is actually the horse that is featured on the front of their broucher. However she was out getting repainted and won't be back until next month. Even so we had a great time reading about the horses, taking pictures, and visiting with the staff. I can't wait to take all the kids on the Carousel.

Sarah Jane on Larry the Circus Pony.

Nancy on Bucky.

Click below to view all the photos.

Carousel

Molalla, OR

Sarah Jane and I arrived in Molalla, Oregon. After a long day of traveling we made it to Grammy & Pappy's house. The drive from the Portland airport was gorgeous. I must say this is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. The trees are AMAZING!

On the way home my Mom decided we should eat at a local Molalla resturant. So we drive into town and pull into a parking lot and drive up to a house. There are no signs, but all the locals know that this is Big Burger. Suddenly a woman sticks her head out the window and takes our order. Next, my mom puts the car in park and we just wait outside the window until they prepare the food. As we waited for the food I noticed that the parking lot was full of trucks and the people exiting were rather rough. Then, you look across the sreet at the McDonalds and see the Yuppie crowd. So of course I had a burger, but the real treat was the famous Big Burger deep fried twinkie. It was a wonderful experience the twinkie melted in your mouth. I thought of Homer saying, "Mmm twinkies."

We had a great first night. I got to meet Grand Dad for the first time. I just loved chatting with him.

Thank you for the flower. I miss you guys so much. I really wish you could be here with me. You would love it!