Happy Birthday Punkie!

One turns 11, the other turns 10. The madness must stop! These kids are growing up way to fast and we are having way too much fun with them. Jordan turned 10 and also had a great birthday this year. We typically go on a big overnight trip and really live it up for a double digit birthday but this year there was so much going on that we have decided to wait and we will be going to Yosemite for spring break. In true Jordan fashion he declined a cake this year and instead opted for a shrimp tray from Costco....I know, I know, I too blame his grandfather. :) Happy Birthday Punkie, we love you!

Happy Birthday J!

Our oldest is now 11!They grow up so fast....sniff...cry...sob, booo and hooo. 11 years we have kept this boy alive! He had a great birthday complete with a sleepover with his buddies; some great food and some great gifts! My neighbor Cindy has risen the bar about 20 feet as she bought each of them a jersey. No cheapiness here. Two real live honest to goodness team jerseys. Yikes! I have to go now and get a second job to start saving for her kids' presents.

Another busted head

Another day, another Martin boy busts his head open. Yawn! This is becoming routine in our home! :) Jack was talking to a girl on the Kindergarten playground last week and as we all know, us girls can make boys swoon. So as he was discussing world peace I am sure with Priscilla, he turned to go back up the stairs and slipped....distracted by her 5 year old beauty no doubt...and sliced his head open on the edge of the stairs. Some loving mom came by and scooped him up and ran him into the nurses office. A trip to the E.R. and some skin glue and we are good to go. Does anyone know if you can buy that at Costco? At this point I am considering purchasing it in bulk.

No explanation necessary

An Icee

A flight of stairs

A 9 year old

Need I say more?

Grocery Bill

This is why we spend $1,000 a month on groceries....these boys eat and then they eat, and then they eat. It's breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, pre-dinner snack, dinner, post dinner snack, pre-bedtime snack, pre-wash your teeth and get your pj's on snack....it DOES NOT END. I live in the kitchen. I am considering putting a lazy boy in there, some fuzzy slippers and a collection of my favorite DVD's. And I'm not kidding, the meals we serve are complete! Dr. Spock would be so proud. They get a meat, a veggie, a fruit, a noodle or rice of some kind and a bread at essentially every meal. Add to that a tall glass of vanilla soy milk and watch the consumption begin. It is frightening....truly frightening the amount of food that exits this house on a daily basis. Their "snacks" consist mainly of fresh fruit, string cheese, yogurts, graham crackers, cheese but goodness gracious they just inhale it! For example, when they all want an apple for a snack they will eat 6(about 1 1/2 each) of them! Ahhhhhhh! How on earth do we keep up with that? So just in case you are feeling sorry for our food plight donations can be sent to:

John and Sonia's Poorhouse cause their kids are pigs

c/o Commissary's across the country

123 What on Earth are we going to do Lane

Empty our Wallettville, USA 1,0046/month

A very risky new year

We rang in the new year as we almost always do. John and I stay up and have a "party"with the kids, we turn back the clock 4 hours...they go to bed at 9...they think it's midnight...we shout, "Happy New Year!" and everyone, including us are in bed by 9:30. It's really just a genius system we have ourselves I must say...we should write a parenting book or something. This year, those little kids have finally caught up with us and now would realize that midnight is midnight. So we started a new "tradition" I go to bed, John stays up and has a real party with the boys and their friends. This year it included loads of pizza, snacks and milkshakes, a Madden Tournament and a game of Risk. I assume they had fun....I, in the spirit of full disclosure was upstairs snoozing as any normal wife would be. Happy New Year!

Our new baby

It's a BOY....or a GIRL! I really DON'T KNOW but my husband is in love with it....and between you and me...it's his favorite of our 5 children...he hasn't actually said that out loud...but I can tell by the twinkle in his eye whenever he looks at he/she/it...it's his favorite. So here's the newborn stats:

Born: December 14th, 2007

Location: BX

Height: uhhhhh, dunno

Weight: 60 pds

Width:46 inches

Thickness:Flat. Very, very, flat.

High Def status:High. Very, very high.

May the force be with you

Jack has transformed into Obi One Kanobi....Obi Won Kenobi? I don't know, I am a girl for goodness sake I can pronounce and spell Barbie names, not Star Wars people. Anyway, you know who I am talking about.....you know, the old guy with the beard and the long cloak with the hood that's always on.....Ben! Ben Konobi.....Obi One Ben whatever! Jack has become him and has turned out to the the first Martin child to become completely obsessed with something for such a long period of time! It is so stinkin cute! A few weeks ago he found a coat of Jordan's that is of course way to big for little baby Jack but he wears it ALL THE TIME. He sleeps in it with the hood on, he eats with the hood on, he plays UNO with his brothers and dad with the hood on, the kid goes everywhere with that coat.

World's Newest Master Degree

3 Cheers for John as he has completed his masters degree! Hip, hip, hip....hooray, hooray, hooray......is that how you spell hooray? I'm not really sure...I don't have a masters degree.....I'll have to look that up. :) He now knows everything you need to know in the field of Military Leadership; so George W. will; I am sure, be calling him soon in reference to those Iraqi Americans and such as"the Iraq." and such as the South Africa. (If you haven't seen the Miss Teen USA pageant a few months back or the immense publicity surronding that poor girl you will not find that joke funny. If you have however seen it you should be laughing right now.) And just for fun, here is the link because really, you cannot see this enough times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

Anyhow, I digress. I am so proud of him! He managed to hold down a full time job, be deployed, go TDY, have four kids and a totally awesome wife(hee-heee) and complete that degree and did I mention he does the laundry? So really, cheers for him! He is considering pursuing his Ph.D. in Christian Leadership(he is considering teaching at a university after he is done flying airplanes) or Laundry folding 101 but is as of yet undecided. I have to go now and purchase a map so I can show my kids where the South Africa is. Congrats babe, I love ya!

Random Acts of Cuteness

Here are some random pics from the past few weeks parties and events, enjoy!

Justin vs. Mashed Potatoes

Here is what happens when you tell Justin to finish his mashed potatoes and then you walk away distracted by a phone call. The handprint of Justin; forever engraved in mashed potato legend.

Emerald Bowl

Top 5 reasons I love my husband:

1. He loves the Lord.

2. He does the laundry every Sunday

3. He manages to keep track of my cell phone/wallet/sunglasses which I am constantly losing....and after 10 years of marriage he doesn't roll his eyes at me when I lose them...anymore...

4. He coaches/plays/practices for every sport imaginable with our kids.

5. He is brave enough to take 4 boys by himself to San Fransico's AT&T Park to a bowl game....his idea!

6. He cooks!

......I know, I know, that's 6 reasons, not 5 but I couldn't leave out the cooking thing!

Here's some pics from John's latest sporting excursion. He took Jason and Jordan and their two good friends to the city to see Oregon State play Maryland in the Emerald Bowl. How cool is that?!

Merry Christmas!

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

We had a precious Christmas season this year with these boys. Between all the parties and programs and presents it was a very busy but peaceful time. The boys had a great Christmas morning. If you ever need a big laugh at 6:30am give four boys a Wii and stand back! There reaction was hysterical. They each recieved three presents from us(3 gifts was good enough for Jesus, three gifts is good enough for our boys that is for sure!) We finished out our awesome Chuck E. Cheese of a garage with two final elements: a pool table and a skeeball machine. It is now truly boy central. At any given moment we have half the neighborhood in there which was our intention all along so we are very happy with that! Our theory is that we want our boys growing up around us and having fun with us; thus our house is quite the hangout so our kids end up spending time under our roof with their friends instead of doing who knows what at other people's houses. They have fun, we have fun, it works! And all it costs us is a happenin' garage, lots of pizza and more drinks and snacks than an army of grown men could ever eat. We hope you had a blessed Christmas season celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!

Christmas tree farm fun!

We headed out to our favorite farm to chop that tree down once again....I can't tell you how much more enjoyable chopping trees is in CA as opposed to North Dakota! Anyhow, besides the tree itself there was a lot to do. Sleigh rides, hay bales to jump and climb on, reindeer to ride, cider and popcorn to eat, we had a lot of fun!

$10 & a Toy Store

John's family was up for Thanksgiving this year. One day we headed up to Sacramento and Auntie Barbara graciously gave each boy $10 that they could spend at Toys R Us for their Christmas present. 4 1/2 hours later...all had selected their gift and we were off! It was super cute watching them bounce around the store trying to figure out what on earth they were going to spend their fortune on. Finally we ended up with a basketball, a green light saber, a dog, and another dog. Thanks Auntie Barbara!

Happy What?

The Day after Thanksgiving as we headed to the Christmas Tree farm we stopped through the drive-thru of Starbucks.(Duh, anyone headed to a tree farm with a sharp ax on a cold morning needs to be highly caffinated!) Anyhow, the lady proceeded to hand us our coffee and wish us "Happy Black Friday!" Uh, I'm sorry...what did you say? When did Black Friday become a holiday?! Sheesh! To which my husband happily responded to her, "Merry Christmas!" "Oh, um, Merry Christmas" she said. Happy black Friday, you have got to be kidding me!

The Passing of the Torch

This day after Thanksgiving brought the official beginning to the passing of the torch....or passing of the ax if you will. John has begun teaching the boys the art of cutting down your own Christmas tree. Gone are the days when we all stand by and watch John do all of the work. Now we have 8 pairs of hands that are now big enough to jump into the action. Just a few more years and John and I can stand idly by and sip hot cider while our brood of boys do all of the work! Of course, I don't know what I am complaining about....that's pretty much what I do now! Jason picked out the tree this year and I must say, he did a banner job! It is absolutely beautiful!

Tom, the Turkey

Here lies Tom. He was a great turkey. He didn't ever say much, didn't cause any trouble, was just all around a great little bird. We deep fried Tom for Thanksgiving. He was yummy.