Adventures in Skippyland

Calling Levi

2011-02-06T00:40:00.000-08:00

They are in Alaska again! YAHOO! Love them!

Tonight they sang at our new church, Faith Christian Community. I love my church, and I love this group. I've been blessed to have been friends with Rob for at least 15 years now. It's an even bigger blessing to call his wife, Stephanie a friend. They have such an awesome talent and they use it for the Lord and it's so very apparent and it's so very refreshing. (That's a lot of so very's so it must be true!)

Tonight was awesome because a lot of the old gang came out to see them. It was a little mini-reunion with Shane Paulsen, Mike Merriner (who preached an AMAZING sermon after the concert), Luke Merriner, Trevor O'Hara, Eric and Mel and me and Daniel......

I'm on such a high right now. I love my Lord and Savior and He is really working on my heart and it feels GREAT!!

ZIllions and Kabillions.......

2011-02-06T00:18:00.000-08:00

I think when it's all said and done, this is how many hours of sports I'll have endured watching in my lifetime. First there were my own high school years, then Daniel's many years of coaching and now my kids. *SIGH* My. Kids. Last Saturday we sat through 6 - yes SIX - basketball games.....today, we sat through four. This doesn't even include all the practices we go and sit through....

Sometimes the score is such that we are able to let loose and play around......here are a few examples of our many sporting faces.....

YES!!!!! It wasn't pretty but a bucket is a bucket!

C'mon, get in there....

DOH! That's gonna leave a bruise!

Ok, so this isn't really an example of a sporting face but more of a how-we-feel-after-6-hours- in-a-gym kinda of face.....

Alright Kayla, give me the camera. We have a game to watch!

2011-01-28T17:44:00.000-08:00

As part of our new homeschooling "curriculum" - we allow Dylan to earn a fun activity on Fridays. In order to earn this special time he has to control his temper and his tongue during the week in addition to completing his school work and chores. So far this has been a great incentive for him. We told Alvin and Kayla as long as they kept up with their "stuff" we'd pull them out one day a month and let them join Dylan on his special day.

Today was Alvin's first day to hang with Dylan and they were reeeeaaalllllyyyy hoping to go roller skating. Sadly, that wasn't an option so they finally agreed on Bouncin' Bears. I wasn't sure if they'd even be allowed to go in - let's face it - they're BIG boys. Lucky for them they were able to play and it wasn't very crowded at all so they had to the place mostly to themselves.

Daniel even stopped by to say "hey" while out getting lunch.

I'm really proud of Dylan for trying to hard and earning his special days. He's a great boy with great potential and I love his guts out!!!

My word of the year.......

2011-01-27T23:48:00.000-08:00

is fearless. Sometimes I let fear run my life. I want to change that this year. K-Love radio has been encouraging us to pick one word to be the vision statement for ourselves in 2011 - I thought long and hard about my word.......

The other contenders were patience, love and acceptance.

I decided that the word fearless could cover all the contenders and fearless could stand alone.

I need to not be afraid to raise my kids. I need to trust the Lord has it covered and take things one day at a time. I can work myself up into quite a tizzy thinking about them as teenagers and young adults. I need to lose the fear and enjoy them NOW. I need to not be afraid of what others think. My kids come before other people. If they are having a bad moment, I need to be patient and not FEAR what others think. I need to love people for who they are and accept them even if I don't agree with them. I'm "afraid" of things that are different. Why? That's silly. I need to embrace it and be fearless.

Here's to you fearlessness! We're gonna rock 2011!!!!

wow - it's been a while

2011-01-27T23:16:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my last blog was a year and a half ago. Wow. Shameful Tracy, shameful. A lot has happened in the past year and a half but I won't bore you with all that.....let's just pick up from here and go.

Rachelle and I stay busy with our photography. I often marvel at what a cool job it is. We get the best of everyone. Weddings. (I love, LOVE!) Babies. (I love BABIES!!!) Families. (I love creating memories and keepsakes!) This job is win/win/win/win/win......we get to share the happiest times of people's lives with them. HOW COOL IS THAT?

Today we shot Gideon Slaugehaup and his family. I try to bomb at least one photo per shoot. I think today was a major success.....what do you think?

On a more serious note, I sanitized up, held him, snuggled him, fed him, and was inspired by him. He's an amazing baby and we have an amazing Creator. I mean, AHHHHMAZING. This perfect little man grew inside of my friend.....it never ceases to impress me and choke me up. How can we ever doubt His existence? God created us and allows these to grow in us......THIS GREW INSIDE MY FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the innocence of a baby. It's perfection. Ok, here come the tears again......

Congrats Mary, G and Lily. Your awesome family just got a little more awesome!

School has started yet again

2009-08-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

Today is the 3rd day of school. AJ and Dylan are doing great.....and then there is Kayla. The girl will NOT stop talking! Her very first day, she moved her clip 2 times. Yesterday was much better, she only moved it once. Today? Not so good. Moved it 3 times and I got a call from her teacher. Frustrating! I spoke to Kayla on the phone and warned her of what was to come if she didn't shut her yap. I purposely picked her up a few minutes late so I could get Mrs. McKinley's attention without also having the attention of all the other parents. As soon as I walked into the room Kayla started to tell me something about Dylan. Nice try sucker. I made her apologize to Mrs. McKinely for her disobedience. I'm frustrated. This is like her preschool days all over again. Granted, she is talking and not biting.....but still! I quit my job to stay home and teach her how to obey. So far the payoff isn't what I had hoped for. Grrrrrr!!!!

When we got home, I sat down and talked to her. She said "there is a really naughty boy in my class" and I said "sounds like there is a real naughty girl too!" Her reply was equally cute and irritating "but I'm not the naughtiest!!!!!"

My new favorite FUNNY blog....

2009-04-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

Cheri just told me about this blog and said it was a must follow. I must admit - girlfriend knows a good blog! I'm sharing it with you. Enjoy!'

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com

I've come to realize....

2009-04-10T17:39:00.000-07:00

that I don't have to have photos to go with every blog. Sometimes I can just blog.

Today has been a funny day - this whole week has been funny actually. First off, the boys had a one day school week because they had strep throat and then had Thursday and Friday off for Easter. My motherly intuitions kicked in and I knew AJ was sick when he asked to stay home from a field trip and then passed on ice cream.

Anyway, on to today....I've been buying suits for the boys all week. The first two suits that I bought were too big. The second set...one fit Dylan but AJ's was too small....finally went to Sears made some exchanges and now everything is just right.

On to the next store - Target....they have a Pizza Hut in the store and it is deeelicious. Before I go on, I need to tell everyone, I got the best parking spot in the lot today - front and center. The parked cars divded for me and ahhh-ahhhh-aaahhhh.....perfect parking spot. Anyway, we ate lunch and ran into BOTH of the boys teachers (Miss Relph and Mrs. Wetzler). As we were eating, I looked out in the parking lot and see that someone has hit my car. Super...you know how you park nose to nose with someone in a parking lot? Well their nose hit my nose. So, I figured I'd sit there and keep eating lunch and when I saw the person getting into their car I'd go talk to them. Long story short - I see the two women (of course) leave the store and get into their car so I run out to chat with them. Whatever. No damage to my car but the woman driving.....wow....let's just say she was a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

So, on to what I wanted to blog about....Dylan has been begging me for a spinning toothbrush. As we were walking through the store I saw them and let each kid pick one since the Easter bunny would be bringing them candy this weekend anyway.....hee hee. So, we do a little more shopping and as we're checking out Dylan sees the toothbrush and says "thank you Mommy, I love you." (The kid is beyond polite and loving especially when he gets a snack or special treat!) I said "I love you too Dyl." Kayla then looked at me with her big, sad eyes and said "Mommy, did Dylan just take my place?" I laughed and said "what do you mean?" She said "you know, about the lovin'...."

After giggling I explained to her that I could love them all and that Mommy had so much love that they would never run out.....it made me feel good and sad at the same time. Sad that she thinks I'd replace her but glad the she obviously feels so much love from me.

I've been a bad blogger.

2009-02-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

Nothing much new around here. Just trying to go through stuff in the house. Been scrappin', cleaning, doing laundry and other various boring stuff. The girls are having a birthday party for me tomorrow at Heather's. Should be fun!

2009-01-24T02:32:00.000-08:00

Rachelle and I finally got to go back to More than a Memory to get our scrapbook on. We both had a project to complete (CKU in a box) that we had purchased in Seattle. We are way too much candy and laughed way too much (as usual). We also had a great chat with Erica, Ronalyn and Bridget about the Twilight Series and other books we love. We left no detail undiscussed.

When I got home I ran straight to the bathroom. I've had to shut and lock my bedroom door when I go "potty" because the kids sometimes forget the "do-not-enter-if-the-door-is-shut" rule. Anyway, Dylan was DYING to talk to me and tell me what they did while I was away. Apparently I took a little too long in the bathroom because when I walked out he was snoring on the floor outside of my door. It was so cute! I giggled because I just knew he was faking it but nope, he was catching some serious ZZZZZ's. (I'll try to upload a photo later - I'm missing the camera cord for AJ's camera.)

2009-01-21T00:58:00.000-08:00

After surving a 2 week long cold snap (it was -20 every day) and then a 6 day warm spell (where they cancelled school for three days straight because of ice and flooding) we were finally able to get back out and enjoy the "hot pool". AJ and I were both feeling a little under the weather so we didn't go in. The plus of not going in was being able to take photos of the Daniel, Dylan and Kayla as they enjoyed the "hot pool." The kids favorite thing to do is tell funny/weird stories or try to remember the dreams they had the night before.

2009-01-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

So, the other night I went in to Kayla's room to check on her. This is what I stumbled upon:

If you can't read it, the mask on her eyes says "I ♥ Botox". She went to the Dyson's house a few days ago and Candice gave her lots of goodies. This eye mask happened to be one of them. Oh, and the Beluga Whale....that's Martina and it's her favorite toy/stuffed animal/animal in the world.

They're playin' basketball....

2008-10-25T01:46:00.000-07:00

Another year, another basketball season for the kids. This is the second year for the boys and the first year for Kayla. The boys are actually on the same team this year which makes it nice. Last weekend they had games at the same time but at two different gyms. I took Kayla to her game and Daniel took the boys to theirs. Kayla's coach is ZZ Young, a former Dimond High School and UAA player. The boys however, can never remember their coach's name, but he has an impressive beard so I often refer to him as what else......Coach Beard. This has been the subject of many laughs in the Skipworth house. Here are a few highlights from the first games and practices:

Dylan needs to practice catching the ball.

AJ prides himself on being a guard. Here he is bringing the ball up the court.

In the huddle before the game, Kayla turns around and yells "Ewwww someone stinks". Classic Kayla.

Here is Kayla being "shy". She spends between 50-75% of the game in this position.

Here is Kayla showing off her impressive dribbling skills.

2008-10-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

*This photo was recreated for comedic purposes only*

'Twas the night before Thursday and all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
the kids were all snoring and so was the dog
when someone awoke, got up in a fog

I was all nestled, real snug in my bed
while visions of facebook danced in my head
my blanket so toasty, my laptop so bright
when finally I realized something just was not right

when in my nice bathroom arose such a clatter
I heard something eerie, you could say a splatter
I looked at the toilet, the lid was still down
I listened real close and I still heard that sound

"Kayla, sweet Kayla, what are you doing?"
"going potty mommy" she said to me cooing
"But Kayla, my dear, you're not on the throne"
I heard nothing from her so I let out a groan

Up from my bed I arose just in time
to spot little Kayla committing the crime
perched on the side of the tub's where she sat
and laying right by her was Frostie, the cat

She looked right at me but still was asleep
Behind those eyes she was still counting sheep
I ran for my camera to snap a quick pic
then thought to myself "hmmm maybe she's sick"

the next thing I knew, I heard a big thump
I'm such a bad Mom, one could say a chump
my sweet little Kayla was sitting no more
she fell off the tub and was now on the floor

She looked up at me still dazed and confused
I just smiled and laughed, I was downright amused
I scooped my girl up, took her back to her bed
She was real heavy, like carrying lead

I tucked her back in, I kissed her goodnight
I knew before long would come morning light
I couldn't wait to reveal her mistake
but I knew that she needed to be good and awake

Fast forward a bit, it is now Thursday morn
she knew something happened, I could tell she was torn
I giggled and asked "do you know what you did?"
She just smiled and said "I'm still your cute kid!"

-October 23, 2008

Dylan's eye - Day 2

2008-05-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of Dylan's eye on day 2. So far it's not as bruised as I thought it would be. Luckily the swelling is mostly gone. Poor little Kayla stubbed her toe today and cried as if she broken her neck. I didn't have a ton of sympathy for her.

SISTERS!!!!!!!!

2008-05-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today, the kids have been tattling, fighting and down right crabby. They had just been released back into the wild from sitting in time out when I heard a cry. I knew it wasn't Kayla and when one of the boys cry, experience has taught me that they're really hurt. Imagine my surprise when I ran upstairs and saw Dylan with only half of his face remaining. I immediately asked what happened and he said Kayla pushed him off of the lawn chair and then the lawn chair snapped shut on him. She got a nice spanking and spent about and hour in her room. I just hope it heals before we leave for Texas.

Spidey(s) hit the town!

2008-05-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

For Dylan's birthday, Melody got him a Venom costume. AJ wanted one sooo badly! I told him they had a Spiderman costume and that I would get it for him the next time I was at Walmart. (We had to take 2 of his birthday presents back so I was going to exchange it for this.) Anyway, four trips to Walmart later and they finally had it back in stock! I brought it home for AJ and he was so excited. They put their costumes on as soon as they got home from school. When Daniel came home he wanted to take us all to get ice cream at a new place that opened up by his office. The boys asked if they could wear these. At first we said no and then we remembered the song "Let them be Little" and decided they could go for it. I thought they would be embarrassed, but nope, they embraced it and even enjoyed all of the attention.

Because the boys got to dress up and go out on the town, Kayla found it fitting that she dress up as well. She gave everyone quite the "My Little Pony underwear peep show" but she didn't care. They just thought it was soooo cool to be out and about and dressed up.

What a great (and busy) spring day!

2008-05-11T00:36:00.000-07:00

We crammed a lot of stuff into our day yesterday. It was an amazingly sunny and beautiful day. This is the kind of day that makes living in Alaska in January worth it. All of the Alaskans reading this know what I'm talking about.

I won't blog about the whole day but rather highlight all the fun. Here is a photo of AJ getting ready to go on our family bike ride. (The kids ride and we walk with the dog.) We walked to our new house. Now that the snow is all melted we finally got a look at our new backyard. All I can say is YIKES. It shouldn't surprise us since we know how bad the INSIDE is......we have our work cut out for us for sure.

Just in case anyone was wondering what the number "infinity and beyond" was, Dylan took the time to write it out for us.

We had fun with bubbles. AJ was with Daniel at the school so it was just Dylan, Kayla and I. For the record can I tell you how EASY two kids are compared to three???

Kayla still can't quite get the hang of blowing gently and that gale force wind blowing is not necessary.

Dylan's cuteness level kills me. He can go from wild cat to lovable in 2.3 seconds flat. I love when I can capture the lovable moments. Oh, and for the record, when it's above 50 degrees the kids think it's HOT and that all shirts are to be removed. Wait until they get to Texas. I imagine they'll be naked from sun up 'til sun down

Today was the first day we were able to grill out! Daniel and the kids wanted hot dogs. Here he is checking on his "gourmet" meal. Thanks Oscar Meyer!

Here is a photo of Kayla on the trampoline. She is not loving the constant static electricity that has been her hair these past few days. She is like a little science experiment.

The conclusion of our wrestling season....

2008-05-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well it's officially over.....the boys are done with wrestling for this season. It's bittersweet to say the least. It was a long season, especially for little guys. They had practice three nights a week and this lasted for just under 3 months. Most Saturday's were filled with long days sitting in a gym waiting to be called to wrestle. And now that it's spring, the kids would prefer to be out riding bikes, collecting bugs or getting as dirty as they possibly can. They thought of running laps in a stinky, stuffy gym did not appeal to them (or me to be honest) as much as it did 3 months ago.

**On a side note, I vote for wrestling to be in the middle of winter, say January, when playing outside isn't really an option. Then again Daniel would be even more tied up with basketball and tax season and never available so maybe I don't vote for that after all.**

AJ's season

AJ decided that he didn't really want to wrestle next year because it was just too much work. He would rather play outside, play video games or do just about anything else. He started the season strong then he fell a little flat. AJ is not used to losing and he sure doesn't like it. He really didn't know how to handle not being the best at something. This was also the first sport he participated in where they kept score and there was a clear winner and a clear loser. AJ was (I think) 7 and 9 for the season. Not bad for a first year wrestler, but he could only focus on not being better at something than Dylan. This was a first for him, he's older than Dylan, he's faster than Dylan, taller than Dylan (which means he gets to ride roller coasters and Dylan can't), he can read better than Dylan, can add better, can spell more words, etc etc. You name it and more times than not AJ is better. Being a year older really makes a big, big difference. The fact that Dylan did better than AJ (as far as winning more matches) really messed with AJ's head and he just wanted to bury it in the sand and quit. Needless to say, we didn't let him and he got better and better at handling not being the best. When he first lost (weekend #1), it took me a good 35-40 minutes to console him and pull him out of the funk that overcame him. My phrase of the season with AJ was "we couldn't love you more AJ!" I think he was more hurt by the thought that when he lost he let us down, Daniel especially. I was really pleased because yesterday when he lost, he was okay with it. He wasn't happy he lost but he understood that we still love him and that it's OK not to be the best all the time. We tried to tell him that you learn things when you win and you learn even more when you lose. He ended the day by holding my hand and telling me he decided that when he wrestles next year he'll be even better! Music to my ears. I think as a parent you want your kids to GAIN something from every experience they have. He may not have gained as many medals or accolades as Dylan but I know he gained more in the life lessons department. And honestly, as a mom, that's what really makes me happy!

Dylan's season

Dylan started off strong and never slowed down. He is an animal and as strong as an ox. Over the course of the season, he developed a "signature move". Basically he wraps his leg around his opponents legs so they are calve to calve. Then he trips them and pins them. One weekend we sat in a gym for almost 8 hours to watch Dylan wrestle for a total of 28 seconds!!! It was exhilarating and aggravating all at the same time.

Looking back, Dylan's first match of the season left him confused. He had waited ALL day to wrestle and when they finally called him his opponent had left leaving Dylan the winner by default. The ref took him to the middle of the mat to raise his hand and he refused, because according to him, "I didn't even wessle, so I'm not gonna do 'dat!"

His second match did not help to clear his confusion. They called him, he got out there, got into his stance, did his signature move and the whole thing was over in 13 seconds flat. He heard the ref blow the whistle so he got up, got into his stance and was ready to go at it again. We explained that he pinned the guy and he won the match. He didn't care, he was MAD that he didn't get to wrestle more.

He got the hang of the whole wrestling thing shortly thereafter and became a pinning/winning machine! Dylan was 15 and 1 for the season. He lost the state championship match to another amazing little wrestler named Jaylin. Jaylin and Dylan developed a friendly rivalry over the season and could often be seen playing or chatting when not wrestling. Jaylin had only lost 4 times the entire season and 3 of those losses were to Dylan. But alas, when it really counted, Jaylin came prepared for Dylan and avoided Dylan's signature move. Jaylin beat Dylan quite handily. Dylan was stunned and cried. After crying, he licked his wounds and then went on to congratulate Jaylin and shake hands with Jaylin's family. We told Jaylin we would be on the lookout for him next year.

Coach Trevor (O'Hara) made a good point by saying, "Dylan didn't lose the gold, he WON the silver!"

Over the years I've learned that sports can teach a kid more about real life than maybe anything else. You learn the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. You learn about sportsmanship and class, you either have it or you don't. You learn about giving of yourself to promote the esteem of others. You learn how to work within a team. You learn that the harder you work, the more it pays off. You learn that if you goof off you probably won't be the best (unless you are just amazingly gifted). You learn how to handle disappointment and how to be gracious in triumph. This is the one thing that I can honestly say I appreciate about sports.

So until next year (or the next sports season)........

AJ's no dummy!

2008-05-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

Kayla just came running up the stairs with the boy's Nintendo DS' in her hand.

Kayla "Mommy, guess what?"

Me "What Kayla"

Kayla "Alvin said he'd give me a quarter if I brought their DS' upstairs for him"

I can't help but laugh. He's taking his chore money and paying his sister to do chores. I guess they do understand how and why they earn money.

My scrapbooking room....

2008-05-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

Over the last two days, I got a lot done and I mean a LOT! My craft/scrapbook room had sorta become the junk room since the kids moved it. Anything and everything that didn't have a place ended up in this room. It was bad. You couldn't see the floor. BAD! I spent the majority of the last two days undoing the last 2 years of dumping and I'm proud to report, I CAN SEE THE FLOOR!!!!!! I have 2 boxes of garage sale stuff and I think I loaded up 4 black bags of garbage. I also found about a million dollars worth of stuff to list on Ebay (ok, maybe I exaggerate but I currently have 17 auctions up and running and another pile waiting to go). Although I am tired, it feels good....no....it feels great to have regained control!

Now I can't wait to get in there and start making use of what the room was set up to be. I would consider painting the walls and attempting to make it "CUTE" but we're getting ready to move so I'm content with clean. Now I just need to decide how to make my next room cute.....

My first blog

2008-05-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've recently become addicted to reading the blogs of others and thought to myself "hey, I can do that!" So here I am. I'm not good at sharing about myself or opening up, but that is something I'd like to change and I'm thinking this is the way to do it. I've always wanted to write a daily journal but I've always been afraid someone would read it and that I would die of humiliation shortly thereafter. I don't know why I'm like this. I would much rather be goofy and crack everyone up than share about my feelings or who I am.

So, thanks to Rachelle and a few others, I'm bound and determined to do this as often as possible. Hopefully you'll get to know me (and the rest of the crazies) and maybe just maybe I won't die of humiliation.