A Bit of This and a Bit of That

So, just typed a long summary of our goings-on, tried to copy and paste it, and it won't paste. Don't know why, but be warned if you try, it might not work!

Guess, I'll try to sum it up for you:
Tyson is home from Dutch Harbor. Been home for almost a month. Will start work at the Fab Shop in town (where they prebuild modules to ship up to the North Slope) next week and will be working 6 12's. Not much time off work, but he will be home every night. Pros and cons no matter what we do!

Began home improvement project entailing ripping out the corner fireplace in the living room. Then building an entertainment center/book shelf to take its place. Not done yet. Going slowly. Lots of dust and such that have aggravated Tyson's lungs. I think everyone else is affected too, because we have lots of congestion and funny sounding voices!

Going to take out the carpet of the living areas upstairs and put in laminate flooring, but they were out- so we have to wait until the end of the month to get it.

Tyson's parents get here on Wednesday for Joyce's blessing this weekend. We do not baptize our babies, we give them a special blessing, then get baptized at age 8.

Keith and Rachel were involved in a running club after school for about a month and then ran in a jamboree. Thomas enjoyed going to running club also.

More pics later on our remodel.

The before. After the tv was taken off the wall, but before any real work was done.
Thomas ready to work and help daddy!

Rachel at running club. That cute girl strolling in the red and navy is her. They were supposed to walk to the first cone, then jog, then sprint and then walk back to the beginning. This is her walking to the beginning.

Keith getting his sticker saying he did a lap.

Thomas running with all the big kids.

Joyce and my grandmother, Joyce Larson.

My pretty girls.

Silly Keith.

See how much Thomas loves Joyce? He calls her his baby. "my baby" "my Joyce" and has gotten in the habbit with the rest of us. "Can I have some water please my daddy?" Doesn't he look huge when next to her?

Joyce's Pictures

So here is Joyce. I wasn't thinking as I was doing pictures, so of course they are all backwards! This is here just a few days old, before Tyson had to leave and go back to work in Dutch Harbor. She was born on Thursday, and he had to leave the following Monday.

This is still inthe hospital, in her going home outfit. She is not much for pacifiers, but she likes to suck on something, so occasionally she will get her thumb in her mouth and she is content. If she is on her stomache, she will also suck on her arm, which has resulted in a couple of hickeys there too.

Daddy and Joyce reading together in the hospital.

The other kids came to see us while we were still in the delivery room. Thanks to Nana for bringing them.

Just before we left the house to go to the hospital. I was induced to make sure she came before Tyson had to go back to work. We were supposed to be there at 7, but the didn't have any beds, so we didn't have to get there until 9:30, but then they were still getting a room ready. So it was 11:30 by the time we were there and they got the pitocin started. I'll have to post the "birth story" later.

Oh how the time flies...

Okay, so the camera did stop working again...although it wasn't until after our dipnetting trip in July that it did. I think some sand got in the lens retractor and so it wouldn't ever turn back on. But with our new baby on the way (oh yeah, did you know we were expecting a little girl in September? Probably not if this is the only way you keep in touch with us.), we needed a new camera to record the beginning of her life. So we have purchased a new camera, but have been a bit busy since we bought it, so I am just now getting on here. I also had a password and distraction issue, where I reset my password, then it was so long before I got back on here, I forgot the new password. Then when I would try to reset it, I would get distracted before I could get the email responded to.

Now, however, I have reset the password again, have a camera, and a few minutes, so I am now blogging on here! Aren't you so lucky! I am at my parents home though, so I do not have access to all my pictures. I will have to attempt that a little bit later.

Now though, you are probably just dying of anticipation to find out about our baby girl! She was born on September 9, around 4 in the afternoon, was 7 pounds and 19 3/4 inches. Her name is Joyce and we all love her! She does require a bit more mommy time than my others did, but we are still blessed with a good little baby. And of course, so adorable!

A quick update on the rest of us:
Keith is now a second grader and is such a good helper. He loves to be active and do sports, but we haven't done any formal sports things. He is also a great reader and does well at math (he gets to go to 3rd grade for math- so he is pretty hot stuff!).

Rachel is a big Kindergartner. And I mean big, because she had one of the first birthdays in her class. It is interesting to see her standing with the rest of her class, because she is about a head taller than most of the kids! But she is loving learning. She tags along with her big brother still, and I am glad that he looks out for her.

Thomas is really developing his independence. Trying to get into just about everything. But still so cute and we love him.

Tyson was working in Dutch Harbor, Alaska (look it up on the Aleutian Island Chain) for quite a bit since May, but is now home and will be starting at the Fab shop in Anchorage soon -after we get some home projects done this week.

Joyce is crying, so gotta go, but hopefully will be back soon!

All About Sledding! and Playing!

My camera worked! I hope this is the end of not having a functioning camera. I guess it just needed a few months break. But I took lots of pictures hoping that it would work, and here are a few of them!

It is our Spring Break (although if you look at these pictures, you might think it should really be called our Winter Break!) and on Monday we went with some family friends to a park and sledded and played and had snowball fights. The kids had lots of fun, and that was the important thing.

Kids in the car all dressed and ready to go.

Rachel heading down the hill. She would get on this roll up sled (we borrowed all our sleds from Robert and Bethany's family- thanks guys!) and would go. I had a hard time getting a picture of her from the front since she would turn as she went down the hill.

Here is Keith heading back up the hill. I had to ask him to stop so I could get a picture of him.

Thomas LOVED it! I was surprised. Even when the snow would fly up in his face, he was still smiling and wanting to go again. Tyson took him for most of the time, but then I swapped and took him some too. Thomas lasted the whole 2 hours or so we were there. I guess that is a testament to being dressed for the weather- if you are dressed for it, you can handle it. I just don't like getting all dressed for it!

Keith at the bottom of one of his runs. Like how he matched the sled color?

Another one of Rachel heading down! From the side. How did she stay on that thing?

Keith, Thomas (see the little white head?), and I are heading down the hill. I was trying to steer us using my hands. Apparently I was yelling too! We got to the bottom and unbeknownst to me, there was a bump at the bottom of the hill that we hit just perfect so we actually went airborne for a bit.

Isn't he handsome? And don't you just love his reflectors? He is standing on the snow which is just under the level of that triangle thing, which is usually about kids knee height. So there is a bit of snow there. I think Tyson remembered why he shouldn't get on these things very often- he decided to spin and made himself feel sick for the rest of the night. I learned long ago that spin-n-pukes are just not my idea of fun, so I don't go on them.

See how much fun he is having? Such a cute smile! I have decided that snow gear and these swings just don't mix though, for when it is time to get out of them. I had to sit down on the ground and guide his feet out and have someone else help grab him and pull him out. Not the easiest thing in the world.

Cute Rachel- also not from the front, but she was having fun and that is what was important!

There was also an impromptu snow fight (that I participated in very briefly). The dads started throwing snow at the kids, who had fun trying to retaliate. I took a short video, so I will try to post it, but don't know if it is too long or not. Thomas would get some snow in his hands, then "throw" it and laugh. But if you threw it at him, he would say ow and run away. It was pretty cute. We also determined that it is imporant for you to have your hood up on your head so snow doesn't get inside your coat and clothes. And another reminder that none of the kids like having snow on their faces- right Daddy? Tyson got me, but I just don't have it in me to get mean, so even though I was in the perfect position several times to whitewash him, I never did. I just have a hard time doing things that I think are mean!

All in all, it was a fun afternoon. Maybe with all the rest of the snow that seems to keep falling, we should do it again!

Happy #7 Keith!

So, it was Keith's birthday- number 7- on February 27th! He is getting so big! He is such a good boy and a good big brother and a smart kid. A good example to his younger siblings. I wanted to post pictures of him as he has grown up, just like I did for Thomas. Better late than never, right?

So here he is as a brand new baby! Less than a week old. Boy has he changed!

This is him with his Great Grandpa DeKay. We tried cloth diapers at first, but it was way too much laundry and work for me once summer hit and trips started happening. I was addicted to disposables and couldn't go back!
Taking a bath in the big bathtub and Nana and Papa's Big house.


Growing up some more and eating some cake.

Had to give him a hair cut. He did pretty well, until the hair got into his mouth.

January 2006 I think. We were in Utah and went to pick Pine Nuts.

Keith and some of the cousins playing in Papa's loader. He is wearing a hat that Jonathon wore a lot at that age- one that came from my grandparents when they were on a mission in Bolivia.

Keith and Daddy on a horse after helping brand cattle on the ranch in Northern Arizona.

Just before Thomas was born, I had gone into Keith's room to check on him before heading to bed myself, and found him sleeping on his bed inside of a laundry basket. I have found him in several unique positions when I finally get to bed!

Keith and his Great Grandpa Keith Iverson, who shares his name. This was on his ranch land in Northern Arizona Spring 2008.

Keith at the end of his Kindergarten year. He LOVED his teacher, Mrs. Yeargan. She was super fabulos and we were sad when the year was over and it was time to change teachers and schools! But we have fond memories of his Kindergarten class!

Helping his Daddy with the bees that we kept summer of 2009. All the kids were pretty interested in them, so we took pictures and gave it as an info book to Mrs. Yeargan as an end of the year present. She loved it.

On our infamous clamming trip last summer. It was fun to dig in the sand and find those clams. This was before we discovered the truck being stuck.

Keith in one of his Halloween costumes- at the end of Trick-or-Treating. He enjoys talking about how he has family that are cowboys. He used to say that was what he wanted to be when he grows up. Today it is a fisherman.

And this is Keith today. Our camera is still broken, so no new pictures recently, but we did take one with our webcam. So you can know how cute he is today!

We all love Keith and are so glad he is in our family. His smile is always ready and I love it when he shares it. He is growing bigger and bigger all the time, and although I wish I could just freeze time and have him as he is now, I am happy he is the good boy that he is!

Love you Keith!

Happy #2 Thomas!

My little boy turned 2 on Valentines Day! I have enjoyed looking at other people's blogs who go through and post pictures of their children as they have grown up. I tried to do the pictures in an age ascending order, but somehow, I haven't figured out how to do that yet! So these might be out of order, but it in no way reflects on how much I love my cute Thomas!


Picture from the computer (because our regular camera is still having problems!) He is 2!

After playing outside one morning with his big brother!

Cutely smiling at me with his suckers that he found!

On my shoulders at the U-Pick Farm this past summer!

Such a smiley little boy!

On the boat going across Kachemak bay with his life preserver on in June!

Playing on the spinning thing at the park. Doesn't he look good all tan?

Hanging out with his cousin who is 2 weeks older than he is.

A picture with his brother and sister and daddy, shortly after coming home from the hospital.

And Rachel holding her new brother in the hospital. Isn't she so excited?

We have been so blessed to have Thomas here in our family. He loves to play with Keith and Rachel and loves to help out when he can (and even when he can't!). He is always very aware of his daddy, and loves him so much! Mommy will also do, but just not as good as daddy! He is growing so big, and it is sad to leave his baby days behind, but we are just as excited to see the wonderful little boy that he is growing in to. I am sure he will be so excited when he gets to be a big brother to our new little baby- he already loves all his little baby cousins, so that should be a fun adventure!

We love you Thomas!



(okay, the preview looks nothing like what I want it to look like, so I am sorry if all the words and pictures don't match up. Just imagine they do!)

Upcoming Event!

This is just to announce to all of you (now that I think we have almost all of the phone calls made) that we are going to having a new addition to our family! Our new little baby will be joining the family in the middle of September! The kids are excited (I think!). Rachel wants a girl so that she isn't so outnumbered, and Keith wants another little boy. Thomas just says baby, so I guess he will be happy with either! We have known for a little while now, but wanted to wait awhile to announce it. And just a fun fact, there were 5 of us DeKay girls that were pregnant at the same time! Carolyn just had her baby, Bethany is due in Feb, Becca is due in June, and Sarah in July/August, then me! How often does that happen!

And in the next few weeks, Thomas is going to be turning 2 and Keith will be turning 7- so we have some exciting things coming up in our family. Just need to get a functioning camera to capture some special moments to share!

New Bundy Rules!

We were at a friends home the other day, and saw that they had put up some family rules- with the consequences right after them. Tyson and I thought that was a good idea, so last night, I came up with our family rules and consequences. The kids seem kind of excited about it (I guess they like boundaries) and kept tyring to help come up with rules and consequences. I took it into advisement, and made our final list. The next project will be to have chore charts and such so we all know what needs to be done. These are the rules (thanks Danielle for the idea)(all the consequences are in red so they stand out- if the kids break a rule, we go and read the rule, then the consequence):
Bundy Family Rules
1. I will keep my body under control. I will not hit, kick, punch, or bite anybody or anything. I will use an indoor voice inside
*If I cannot keep my body under control, I will apologize to those involved and will have a time out if it is necessary.
2. I will treat everybody and everything with respect in my words and in my actions.
*If I do not treat items or furniture with respect, I will lose the use of it
for the rest of the day.
*If I do not treat others with respect, I will write a note of apology.
3. I will share with others. If I have something special, I will put it away so others cannot play with it.
*If I leave my special item out, I will share it with others.
*If I cannot share, the item will be taken away for a week.
4. I will have fun playing, but when I am done, I will clean up my mess. Mommy will not always clean up after me.
*If I do not clean up my mess, I will have my toys or games taken away for a
week.
5. I will obey, quickly and happily.
*If I do not obey, I will either have a time out or be given a chore to do.
6. I will find ways to entertain myself and not say I am bored.
*If I say I am bored, I will be given a chore to do immediately.
7. Before watching TV, playing Wii or the computer (an electronic activity), I will make sure my chores are done.
*If I begin an electronic activity before doing my chores, I will not be able
to participate in that electronic activity for 3 days.
8. I will not throw a fit. I will use my words to express my opinion and feelings. If I want to discuss something and can express myself calmly, I will be given a chance to do so.
*If I throw a fit, I will be given a chance to calm down. If I cannot calm down, I will remove myself from the family until I can calm down and agree to the consequence


These rules will be in effect while at home, or if I am outside of our home.

Patriotism- The Pledge of Allegiance

I have been preparing my preschool lessons for this week, and we are doing a unit on Patriotism. I found this video by Red Skelton on The Pledge of Allegiance, and thought it was great. Sometimes, when we are used to saying it so much, it does become monotonous, and we might forget what it really does mean. So take a few minutes to watch this and see if you agree with him.
(PS- This is the first time I have tried to put a video on my blog, so hopefully it will work!)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_tBqrHMoTs&feature=player_embedded

Boy, has it been awhile!

Okay, so it has been awhile since I have written, but we have all been busy and busy and busy and other such excuses!
I won't bore you with all the details (but know that I have tried to post on here before and computers being what they are- necessary evil- my hard work was deleted), but suffice it to say I have been on here for over an hour trying to get this post on, and also finding it not working as I wanted. The pictures all posted in backward order, and copy and paste is not working for me. So you are just stuck with the randomness of this post!

I have also tried adding words between pics as captions, and it isn't working. So Pic 1- me and Thomas at an awards assembly for Keith at his school. Rachel took our picture.
Pic 2- Tyson showing the kids how to do pushups.
Pic 3- Thomas getting readyto come inside after playing outside in the snow during our TONS of snow that we got (this was about 8 in the morning while Keith was waiting to go to school).
Pic 4- Rachel smiling and showing off her smile with her missing teeth on the bottom. See the gap?
Pic 5- Keith during his class' multicultural lunch (they did this instead of Thanksgiving feast and the kids got to dress up as either their heritage or someplace they have been or want to visit. Keith chose to be a cowboy because his Grandpa and Great Grandpa are cowboys).





Here is what's been going on in a nutshell-

Keith still in 1st grade and missing all the fun he had in Kindergarten. They have to work in 1st grade! I try to remind him there were days he didn't want to go to Kindergarten because of all the fun he missed at home, but he doesn't really remember that. But he is reading lots and writing lots. He does so well in math. I am always so surprised by how well he is doing!


Rachel is a cute girl! Sometimes I just look at her and think that she is going to be in trouble because of how cute she is. We just need to keep her face cleaned and her hair brushed and her clothes unstained and she would be picture perfect all the time! But where would be the childhood fun in all that, right? She still is doing our home rotational preschool and loving it. She asks all the time if she gets to go to school tomorrow. She gets to play with her cousins a lot (since 2 of them are in our preschool) and is such a good big sister to Thomas. She looks out for him and plays with him so well.

Thomas is getting so big and his vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds! I hear him say something and think it is jabbering, then realize that he is actually talking to me! Last night he was sliding off the couch and i heard him say something, and didn't think much of it. Then he did it again and I realized he was saying slide down! How fun is that. Not even two, and can kind of hold conversations with us. He also loves playing with other kids and gets to play with his cousin Catheryn and friend Jacob and he knows if I ask him if he wants to see them. He gets all excited and wants to play!

Tyson is doing well- adjusting to his new job. He was gone for training for 3 1/2 months, which was hard for me. But he is home now, and hopefully he won't have to leave again for any kind of work related thing for a long time! We are glad he is home. He was excited to get a 55 gallon fish tank and have Santa come and fill it with fish for us. They are his new babies. I am not really into fish- I would much rather have a pet that I can interact with and cuddle with, but he wanted to get them. And he talked the kids into being excited about them as well, so I guess it works.

I have been busy- lots of things to do. I was in charge of doing a Messiah Sing a long at our church and what had started out small, quickly grew. We had a small orchestra (in which I got to play my flute-something I don't get to do very often) and then invited the community and our whole stake. We had no idea how many people were going to come. It could have been really small, or really big- we just had no idea. It turned out we filled the chapel quite well and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it. It very possibly will become an annual event. Then I had lots of craft projects I was planning on doing for Christmas presents, so I was trying to get those done. And the kids and I decided to do the 12 days of Christmas for 12 families (4 that we sent in the mail and 8 here locally) so that took time each day to make and deliver our items. It would take us about an hour each day to do our deliveries, so we spent a lot of time doing all that.

We were very blessed for Christmas- as always. And hopefully everyone was able to remember that the reason we celebrate Christmas was because of a little baby born so many years ago, to come to this earth and be our Savior and Messiah.

We would love to hear how you all are doing and hopefully you are as blessed as we are.