You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

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Kalo and Siosi Update

Kalo is eight months old and growing so fast! She crawls on all fours and gets into everything. She also pulls to a stand and walks along the furniture. Yesterday she stood all by herself for the first time. It seemed like at least 10 seconds. A long time! Siosi and I cheered and clapped and then she sat down. She babbles mama when she is upset and sees me. I almost think she is saying mama but she's probably too young for that. She plays pretty well on her own but when she is tired she follows me around the house and clings to my legs. When she wakes up in the morning she is always very excited to see Siosi and has the same reaction when Joe comes home from work. I have been experimenting putting her on the toilet. She wets most of the time and has pooped twice. I know she is young but I figure since they do it in other countries, why not here? Diapers are so expensive! Every time I get her to go on the toilet thats one less diaper we have to buy.

Siosi...where do I start. Lately I have really been getting after her for things. She is not very obedient and she argues with me. When I punish her she says, "Hey, that's not nice Mom! Say you're sorry!" She also loves to be naked and refuses to wear clothes. That's what really gets me. I'll tell her to get dressed and come back five minutes later and she'll still be naked. After looking around at other two-year-olds who can't dress themselves and can barely talk I decided to let things go a bit. I realized I am expecting way too much out of her. So today I decided I wasn't going to be upset with her about anything (besides slapping and pushing Kalo) and just let her run wild and free through the house. So far it has been a pretty good day. My stress level is much lower. Siosi loves to go to Grandma's. She asks everyday to go there. She loves to play with her cousins. Ever since the Woffinden's left she asks where they are. She even asks about their dog Koby that they brought. Siosi loves to sing and dance. Her latest song is "I am a Child of God." She learned that one in nursery.

Day 5

I guess I'm not going to post any pictures of what we did the last day because I'm too lazy. Anyway, we had a lot of fun doing the annual Strasser family carnival. We had the bouncy house up, had a money hunt, balloon darts, frisbee thing with hula hoops, sack races, a pinata, cotton candy, elephant ears, etc. All in all we had a great time. Except for the fact that Joe separated his shoulder doing the sack race. That was quite unfortunate. The next day I took him in to the doctor. They did a couple X-rays and told us that he had a grade 1 separated AC joint. Then the doctor told us that he would be required to wear a brace for a time and that he would have to come back on Wednesday (it was Saturday) for a follow up appointment with his regular doctor to determine whether or not he would need physical therapy. This was devastating for our family since our money is made from Joe's hands. So the next day we fasted and said a lot of prayers. We even had our home teacher give him a blessing. We we went back to the doctor he looked at the X-ray that had been taken on Saturday and told us that he didn't think there was really a separation. He said it looked like he had been hurt but that there was no separation on the X-ray! It was such a blessing and a miracle. He took off the brace and threw it away and wrote a note of release for Joe's employer!

Day 4

July 3 we went to the St. Paul Rodeo. We love to go every year. This year was no exception. They have a great fireworks show at the end.

Colton is the cowboyest cowboy you will ever meet. He truly is one of those root, tootin' cowboys. He really is into styles and loves to wear his boots with everything!

We brought plenty of food stuffed in our diaper bags. Keira was really involved in the food.

My lovely sister feeding Keira, and Rob.
Kalo in her July 4th apparel.

Day 3

The Portland Zoo! The zoo is much more enjoyable than the beach. I am not a fan of the Oregon Coast. Pictured below we have the eldest, most mature, and by far the most responsible of the cousins. Kylie is demonstrated to her younger cousin Siosi how to propel oneself off the top of the hay bales. Siosi sliding down a log.
Joe and David munching and crunching on crab caught the previous day.
The gang observing God's creatures.

Peyton Woffinden helping Siosi pet the goat.

The beautiful female Strasser cousins in a jeep.
Cowgirl Siosi.

Day 2

The second day of the Woffinden's visit was spent at the beach. Some braved the waters crabbing, while others preferred to stay on the beach. I was one of those.

Grandma! She loves the beach. Some would say much more than others.

Woffindens visit

My sister's family came all the way from Wyoming just to see some trees again. I see it as being compared to a diver having to come up for air every now and then. No one can live that long in a brown, treeless environment. Thus the Woffinden family made the 19 hour drive in one day (They were in a big rush to get here before they ran out of breath!). They were here for five short days.
Day 1:
Swimming at the pool in Corvallis. The kids really enjoyed it but it turned out to be cooler than expected.
Siosi, Eliana, Grandma, Kimber, and Kylie in the front.