bongland

Snow Angels

2011-12-10T22:35:00.001-07:00

We got some actual snow last week- not enough to make a snowman so the kids flung themselves in the yard to make snow angels. I think they would wear their snow pants to bed if I would let them. They LOVE the snow!

Gingerbread .11

2011-12-10T22:27:00.001-07:00

This year's gingerbread creation is a whole village of houses. I think some of the candy ended up someone's mouth instead of on the houses, but they still turned out awesome.

Isaac Turns 6!

2011-12-10T22:02:00.001-07:00

Isaac turned six in November. We celebrated with two Lego parties, and fun was had by all. Delia and my younger brother both want Lego parties now! We are convinced that Isaac is growing entirely too fast- he amazes us every day with new facts and stats about all sorts of interesting things. It's hard to believe he was our little baby not long ago. He keeps us in line and keeps us on our toes and is beloved by his little brother and sister. We love you Isaac- Happy Birthday!!!!

Christmas Prep

2011-12-02T21:52:00.001-07:00

We are getting ready for Christmas around here. It is especially fun now that Miles walking! He took his first steps this week. He loved decorating the tree and dancing to Christmas carols...

Turkey Day .11

2011-12-02T21:34:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year- great food and lots of family.

Our thankful board to remind us to be thankful and to give the kids practice with their writing...

Delia was the only one I could talk into wearing the turkey hats...

Isaac playing Turkey Ball. After playing it at a friends house the week before Thanksgiving it was all the kids could talk about. Turned out to be a big hit...

Delia at her first school program! She was awesome! We enjoyed delightful songs and then a great meal with fellow preschool families...

Thankful

2011-11-23T22:06:00.001-07:00

Thankful for these wonderful people in my life. What would I do without them?!

Halloween '11

2011-11-05T22:42:00.000-06:00

We had a great Halloween this year. Isaac was a musketeer and an astronaut, Delia was Rapunzel (the pretend frying pan was her own addition to her costume- if you have seen Tangled you'll catch how clever she is!), and Miles was a dinosaur.

We got together at my parents' house with my brother and sister-in-law and their kids. Isaac and Delia loved trick-or-treating with their cousins (E was the cutest little strawberry ever and J was a firefighter).

We ran out of time to carve pumpkins before trick-or-treating so Delia and Isaac went to town with glitter glue...

Another Season Done

2011-10-25T15:38:00.001-06:00

This weekend we finished another soccer season, and we are labeling it a success! Isaac and Delia both got pretty competitive, so we had many discussions about sportsmanship and competition. At the start of one game Matt asked Delia why she was making such a funny face. While glaring and baring her teeth she replied, "I don't want the blue guys (the other team) to put the ball in the goal!" Everyone had a great time- especially Matt with coaching- it looks like we'll be doing this again in the spring!

Super fan- Miles was a trooper while we carted him around to games and interrupted his nap schedule. He loves clapping for his big brother and sister and Pop!

Delia Turns 4!

2011-10-23T10:11:00.000-06:00

Our little girl is four now! We celebrated with an awesome rainbow party this week. Delia loved getting tons of new art supplies- she has been drawing, coloring, and painting non-stop all week. AND she got to wear her new rainbow Hello kitty shirt. Apparently it's the makings of the best birthday ever. We love this sweet girl, and we love seeing her play with her fun brothers. At four years old she loves: tomatoes and spaghetti, having dance parties every night, making all types of ART, going to school, playing with friends, reading books, making up songs and stories, and making up her own mind thank you very much!

We love you Delia Jane!

Super Soccer Stars

2011-09-14T16:43:00.000-06:00

Another soccer season has started- Isaac is playing on a kindergarten team and Delia is playing her first season on a preschool team. Matt is coaching both teams- hopefully we all make it through the season! This weekend they played their first games.

Isaac always has a huge grin on his face when he's playing...

Matt with Delia's team...

Delia pouting while waiting to get back in the game...

Overall I think Delia is enjoying actually getting to play instead of just having to watch Isaac.

Miles was a trouper sitting through three plus hours of soccer. He was even cheering and clapping for his big bother and sister...

Miles turns one!

2011-09-14T15:40:00.001-06:00

Woo hoo! Miles turned one a couple weeks ago. I feel like I can barely remember when he was born, this year has gone by entirely too fast. We are completely delighted by him- he makes all of us smile all the time. We think he's going to be the practical joker in the bunch. He's got two teeth, is standing up at furniture and scooting around, eats a LOT, sometimes sleeps through the night (amazing compared to Isaac and Delia at a year old), says "uh-oh," loves to dance and sing and gives the very, very best hugs. We love our Miles Moses!

He had a monster party for his birthday and was happy to have his grandparents there. Isaac and Delia were a big help opening presents...

Here's his first bite of cake. At first he didn't know what to think of it, but we soon learned that the kid is going to like sugar...

You read to me

2011-09-07T08:53:00.000-06:00

I found the kids like this the other day- Isaac reading a book to Delia. I love when they are getting along!

Delia's First Day of PreSchool

2011-09-06T20:47:00.002-06:00

We sent our second child off to preschool today- hooray! Delia did great and didn't want to come home with me when I went to pick her up- just like Isaac. Here she is before school contemplating her future academic endeavors. Actually she just didn't want to smile for me...Eventually she started to ham it up for me. She wore this dress...
...the exact same dress that I wore on my first day of New Horizons Preschool!

Finding her cubbie...

And playing in the sandbox...

She's going to do awesome this year!

Here We Go

2011-08-25T21:22:00.002-06:00

Isaac went off to his first day of kindergarten yesterday- this day came SO quick! We are so excited for him!

Disaster Camping

2011-08-23T22:04:00.002-06:00

Last weekend we went camping- Matt and I decided our little overnight adventure could be ruled a disaster! Maybe when all the kids are older we will have more success... and actually enjoy ourselves.

Here we are in the car when we first got to our campsite waiting for the rain to let up... We ate dinner in the tent while it rained. Miles entertained us by making funny faces with his travel chair lid...
Toasting marshmallows with Pop...

Sitting in camping chairs- very important part of camping...

Snuggling in sleeping bags before eventually (FINALLY) falling asleep...

Recent Handiwork

2011-08-17T09:41:00.003-06:00

After living in our house for five years we are slowly getting around to finishing some things we never did when it was built. We recently tiled the backsplash in most of our kitchen and finally installed pulls on our upper cabinets. We finally know better than to vow that we will never tile again (we have said this after the last eight tiling projects), especially since there is a strip of backsplash above the sink that still needs tile. :( I love the way it turned out!

Yip-i-yi-yay

2011-08-17T09:19:00.005-06:00

One of our favorite things to do in Durango is dinner at the Bar D Chuckwagon. We got to go a couple of weeks ago, and the kids can't stop talking about it. They sing "Ghostriders in the Sky" everywhere we go, and have been dressing up as "Bar D-ers" as Delia puts it. What do you think? They look pretty good to me...

Miles at 8-11 months

2011-08-16T21:15:00.003-06:00

Yup, I'm terribly behind at posting. Since Miles is about to turn turn I thought I'd fill everyone in on the last several months. Miles is crawling fast and eating everything. He LOVES playing with his big brother and sister, swinging, spinning, snuggling, going fast in the stroller, and kittens.
Here he is at eight months...

Nine months...

Ten months...
And eleven months...

Bubble Beards

2011-08-16T21:05:00.002-06:00

Bath time bubble fun at the Bong house. The kids are getting too big to all fit in the tub at the same time, but they sure have a good time!

Cousins

2011-08-16T20:48:00.003-06:00

We've been having fun this summer with a lot of my extended family in town visiting. The kids got to play with my cousins' kids (that makes them their second cousins? Cousins once removed? I can never remember...) and we got to do some touristy things in Durango that we don't do very often - so fun! As usual I hardly took any pictures, but I did manage to get a couple of Isaac with his "new best friend cousins!" Hope you all come back to visit soon!

Red, White and Blue!

2011-07-07T21:34:00.004-06:00

Here's the gang looking super patriotic on the 4th. Miles and I missed the sparklers and fireworks after the sun went down. He was feeling sick and crabby! (feeling better now, thankfully) But Isaac and Delia told me that the fireworks were "totally AWESOME!!!"

Here's my mini photo session with Isaac and Delia. I know it's a bunch of pictures, but they all crack me up. These two are quite the pair!

Home Run King... of the Backyard

2011-06-20T21:03:00.007-06:00

Isaac just finished his first season of baseball. It was... interesting! So far youth soccer is a little more fun for this mom than youth baseball, but Isaac seemed to enjoy himself. Matt ended up as the official assistant coach of the Raptors (after his soccer coaching duties ended- our schedule was a bit crazy for awhile!) Here is our little t-ball star- with his giant batting helmet he looks a bit like a bobble head...

Front Yard Fun

2011-06-20T20:45:00.002-06:00

We've been playing in the front yard a lot this summer (I don't know why... it is always HOT out there!) Here is Delia with her new Hello Kitty basket and bell (she unfortunately pronounces Hello Kitty "Hell Tiddy." This is her Hell Tiddy bike.) She got the basket and bell for getting potty trained. Woo hoo! It was a long time coming. We are so proud of her! Isaac keeps finding fun things in the garage to play with like croquet and bocce ball.Miles generally spends his time hanging on the picnic blanket laughing at everyone!

Father's Day '11

2011-06-19T21:56:00.002-06:00

Another Father's Day to celebrate the best dad ever! We played a little mini golf with my parents at lunch and the boys got to break out their golf hats. Cute!

I've got almost 2 months of blogging to catch up on... more pictures to come soon!

Easter '11

2011-04-30T21:44:00.004-06:00

Last week our house was plagued with sickness- super high fevers, hacking coughs and zero sleep. Ugh! When Easter arrived all five of us were still feeling pretty bad, so it put a damper on one of our favorite days. Despite getting almost no sleep, the kids woke nice and early to see what the Easter Bunny had brought: eggs filled with goldfish crackers and Lego people and a bunch of new books. Even Miles had fun reading with Pop...Easter egg hunt in the living room. Isaac looks so tired. It was freezing and raining (what would a Colorado Easter be without freezing temperatures?!) so we kept everything inside. We did manage to make it to church- arriving late and leaving early. I'm hoping we are well next year and can celebrate properly! Isaac and Delia in their Easter best. Clothes were looking good, attitudes were another story...

This Girl

2011-04-30T21:16:00.004-06:00

This girl is about cute as it gets, don't you think? She has been extra entertaining as of late. Delia has developed her own brand of tomboy that I just love. Here she is sporting a chocolate ice cream beard and mustache- she thought it looked SO good!
Today we went to a western themed birthday party, and Delia couldn't wait to wear her cowgirl duds- BLACK hat and BLACK bandanna as black is currently her very most favorite color.She rode a horse for the first time and LOVED it. She looks like a natural up there! She has been telling me lately that she wants to be a fire fighter when she grows up, but maybe after today we have a future trick rider in the family.

Miles at Seven Months

2011-04-14T21:58:00.002-06:00

It's been hard to keep up with blogging lately- motherhood is proving challenging at the moment. But I know this hard phase will pass quickly as the kids are constantly growing and changing. Here's some evidence- Miles at seven months from the end of March!

Is this boy cute or what? He is sitting up well all by himself, clapping his hands, eats everything we give him except for green vegetables, and watches every move Isaac and Delia make. In turn they LOVE getting Miles to laugh and smile, not too hard as he is a very happy baby. He makes us very happy parents!

Free Toys

2011-03-26T21:51:00.002-06:00

We got a package in the mail today... hooray for free toys! Can you beat a big cardboard box and lots of bubble wrap?

...And Send it Soaring

2011-03-26T21:25:00.002-06:00

Spring has arrived... kind of. Okay it's snowing outside our window and it's almost April, but when it's semi-nice been trying to get outside. Here are Isaac and Delia trying kite flying for the first time. They loved it- I think I've found an activity for our windy afternoons here!

When Irish Eyes Are Smilin'

2011-03-17T21:25:00.003-06:00

Hope you are having a happy Saint Patrick's Day- enjoy a pint and contemplate the man the day is named after (find out more here.) My kids' great, great grandmother was Irish, can you tell?

Miles at Six Months

2011-03-10T13:03:00.004-07:00

Half a year... what?! Our little boy is getting BIG! Looks like he might end up with grey eyes- I love it.

Miles gets Decorated

2011-02-23T22:22:00.002-07:00

This weekend we dedicated Miles at church. It meant so much to us to have our friend and pastor, Jeff, pray for us and for Miles as we trust God with him. We can't believe that God has entrusted us with such an incredible little person. We can't wait to see how God works in his life.

We tried to prep Isaac and Delia for the event, explaining that we would be up front at church and we wanted them to come with us and try to stand somewhat still and explained why we wanted to do this with Miles. Delia's response? "Yeah! Miles is getting decorated!" and Isaac called it getting "decamacated."

After church I tried to get a picture of the three of them looking so nice... ha, ha, nice try Mommy. My camera ran out of batteries after five shots. Here's the result. These guys crack me up!!

Be Mine

2011-02-23T22:04:00.003-07:00

Valentine's Day for a five year old means hard work- filling out valentines for all of his classmates. The past couple of years I've had to push Isaac to sign his name on cards for his friends, but this year Isaac was excited to work on his gifts. I was so impressed with his improving penmanship and the fact he sat for over 30 minutes to finish. What a big kid!

Miles at Five Months

2011-01-31T15:21:00.003-07:00

Our baby is a giant! We can't believe how much bigger Miles is at this age compared to Isaac and Delia. Right now he is a super drooler, smiles ALL the time, loves to sing screechy songs, grabs everything (especially Delia's hair- ouch!), hates rice cereal and sleeping for more than two hours at a time, and is SO stinky! Isaac and Delia have taken it upon themselves to try to keep him entertained pretty much all the time with toys, stories, and words of wisdom. Good thing he's got a great big brother and big sister to look after him!

Hangin' Around

2011-01-27T16:19:00.002-07:00

I realized today that I haven't posted in awhile... mostly because we haven't done anything exciting. We've been battling illness for weeks- Isaac had pink eye, then Delia, then me, then Isaac and Delia again! Matt and I have both had colds that won't go away. Thankfully Miles has been healthy, maybe because of my constant screaming, "Don't touch the baby!"

So we have just been hanging around the house. The kids got haircuts from Mom and Pop- I gave Delia a terrible haircut that she will hopefully grow out of quickly... It turns out Isaac is awesome at ping pong on the Wii... Miles is working on teeth... and Mojo has been especially vigilant at protecting the backyard lately. Are we fascinating or what?!

Miles at Four Months

2011-01-09T16:51:00.002-07:00

At four months Miles is doing all sorts of fun stuff! He's started grabbing and holding toys, is trying really, REALLY hard to roll over, and sucks on his fingers all the time. I think he'll have his first tooth pretty soon. He loves to sing little songs for us and will laugh so cute if you tickle him or dance around. His sunny disposition is just the best. Sometimes people stop by the house just to get a Miles "fix"- it's better than Prozac. According to his four month check-up he's tall for his age and looks older than a four month old. We can't get enough of him!

Christmas10

2011-01-06T21:24:00.003-07:00

Backing up a little to post about Christmas 2010...

We had a really nice Christmas this year- a little more low key which is nice since life is usually so crazy here! Here are the kids dressed up for church on Christmas eve. Somehow we avoided Isaac setting Delia's pigtails on fire during the candle lit service...The kids request from Santa this year- Pillow Pets! And Santa came through, hurray! Santa's Little Man outfit from Aunt Meredith for Miles- so cute! Matt and I made a bean bag toss game for the kids. Here they are enjoying it Christmas morning...And our annual Christmas morning on the couch photo. We had fun with the Fishers and a great trip to Monument this year, too (with a camera with dead batteries of course!) Hope you all had a great Christmas this year!

For Frankie

2011-01-05T16:59:00.004-07:00

On Monday I had to put my cat, Frankie, down. She was the best little kitten and had a long, good life. I got her my senior year of college with one of my favorite friends, Sarah, and we had lots of great adventures. She let me drag her back and forth across the country and put up with my getting married, getting a DOG, and having three crazy kids! I will miss her so much- she was the best kitten friend and the monkey one, and I loved her a lot.

Cheers!

2010-12-31T21:47:00.002-07:00

Happy New Years Folks! Hope you are having fun ringing in the new year. We toasted with sparkling cider and went to bed early. Good times in the Bong house tonight!

Christmas Card Rejects

2010-12-21T21:52:00.003-07:00

Every year all I really want for Christmas is a great family photo for our Christmas card. Anyone with kids will know how elusive this is! This year we took about 200 shots... but I like what we finally ended up with. The 199 pictures that didn't end up at the printers are pretty amusing. Here's a little sample...

Keeping Busy

2010-12-18T14:28:00.005-07:00

We've been busy little elves this month doing things for Christmas. I've been trying to stay sane by keeping things low key and fun! We have been listening to Christmas music in the car- Isaac's request: anything by the Beach Boys and "Rock 'n' Roll Rudolph" (this means Chuck Barry's "Run, Run Rudolph.") Delia's request: "Strawbie Daw" (this means "Feliz Navidad.")

The kids decorated a gingerbread house again...

It turned out beautiful, don't you think?

At church our family took a turn lighting the Advent candles up in front. The kids were great- no one cried or knocked over anything or lit anything on fire. Success! Delia is anxiously awaiting lighting the PINK candle at home.

I love watching the Nutcracker every year, but I think the kids are still a little young to sit through a whole production of it. So I recorded a production on PBS, and we've been watching it for the past two days. I love sharing this with the kids! So far I can't get them interested in watching White Christmas, though...

Isaac had his annual pre-school Christmas program this week. He did a great job singing and looked so sharp in his tie. I don't know how it happened, but we made it out the door with three children-fully dressed in nice clothes plus snow gear on top for the sleet that was falling, a crock pot full cocktail meatballs, platter of cheese and crackers, diaper bag, and camera with long lens and flash. And we kind of got there on time. We are amazing!!

What an angel!

We are hoping to take Isaac & Delia ice skating next week, and they can't wait to bake more cookies to leave out for Santa. Oh yeah- and more trips past "the crazy house." This is a house in our neighborhood with more lights than the Vegas Strip. Fun!

Hope you all are enjoying the season, too!

Miles at 3 Months

2010-12-06T14:16:00.002-07:00

This kid is getting bigger, stronger, and cuter everyday! We all love making him smile and laugh- it's the best. Miles is pretty much happy and content for the most part. He's working on turning over and almost slept through the night last night. I didn't know what to do with myself- Isaac and Delia were both at least 2 before they slept all night. We'll see if he can keep it up, it's such a nice surprise for us!This picture is pretty uncharacteristic of Miles- he's not a big cryer. I think he still looks cute pouting like this!

Oh snow

2010-12-04T21:22:00.002-07:00

We got our first snow last week, and the kids could NOT wait to get out and play in it. This is a rare moment of sibling harmony in our house lately!

Fa la la la la la la la la

2010-12-04T20:36:00.003-07:00

Time to get decked out for Christmas...

This is the pink tree Oma bought Delia a couple of years ago. Usually we put it up in her bedroom, but this year she decided it was "the baby tree." And the baby tree needs it's mommy, so she put it up next to our big "mommy tree." So cute!Watching The Polar Express...

Miles slept though all of this, just in case you thought we forgot him. We could never forget him!

Craft Bazaar

2010-12-03T09:39:00.002-07:00

For my Durango friends...

Come and see me at the Main Mall Craft Bazaar from 9-4 on Saturday! I have great things for little kids: ballerina tutus, LOTS of felt food, Christmas stockings, boxy bags, superhero capes, doll carriers, apron sets, felt barrettes, embroidered t-shirts and onesies, crayon rolls, race car crayon sets, blankets... so many things for little ones!

Happy Thankgiving

2010-11-25T19:37:00.002-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving friends! We just finished a wonderful turkey dinner and are ready to sleep for a couple of days. We are so thankful for all the good thing God has given us, especially these three crazy kids.

high FIVE

2010-11-22T12:25:00.004-07:00

Isaac turned five this weekend! He had an awesome Lightning McQueen birthday party with five of his friends from school- he had so much fun playing with his CARS race track, watching Mater's Tall Tales, eating pizza and cake, jumping in the bouncy house, and he scored a bunch of fun new cars! (See my crafty blog for all the crafty details- I was so proud about how this party turned out!)
He got a new big kid bike and spent the morning riding around our street with Delia...

We also celebrated with my family and another round of cake and presents...

His new remote control dune buggy- he's only been talking about this for six months...

Happy Birthday Isaac- we love you SO, SO much!

unbunked

2010-11-09T16:24:00.002-07:00

We are moving everyone around in our house! Miles has outgrown the bassinet in our bedroom. He'll now be sleeping in a crib in Delia's room (it is PINK, like the inside of a Pepto-Bismol bottle pink. Not ideal for a little boy, but I think he'll survive.) Delia is sharing Isaac's bedroom for the moment. We unbunked his bed and stuck them in there the other night. It only took then 2 1/2 hours to fall asleep. Last night I found them nose to nose in Isaac's bed. Isaac was fast asleep and Delia was screaming at the top of her lungs for Isaac to read her a book. This should be an interesting chapter for us.

Here they are jumping on their beds and sharing a chat...

Miles at 2 Months

2010-11-03T20:09:00.002-06:00

Miles Smiles!

Our littlest has finally starting smiling- it is the best. He's definitely more alert and engaged and so much fun.

Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo...

2010-10-31T20:42:00.004-06:00

Happy Halloween folks! We had a great Halloween this year- the kids are getting old enough to realize what a fun holiday this is- playing dress up and getting lots of CANDY! Here's our pumpkin Isaac and Delia carved with Pop... And the costumes! Isaac was a motocross racer...
Delia was a kitty cat. Again. She changed her mind a LOT this year and finally landed on her costume from last year. Meow...

The cousins. "J" was a state trooper. Too cute...

In honor of his middle name Miles went as Moses...And here's Mom and Pop. Can you guess who we are?

Recipe for Destruction

2010-10-27T15:21:00.002-06:00

This boy...

+ this hopper ball...
+ this stair case... = this gouge in the wall!

Delia just got this hopper ball as a bribe, I mean reward for potty training (yeah! finally), and Isaac thought it would be a good idea to ride it down the stairs. Apparently when he lost control he grabbed the gate we have screwed into the wall at the top of the stairs. He tore the gate out of the wall, leaving giant holes in the drywall, and crashed into the landing leaving the giant gouge pictured above. Thankfully he wasn't hurt too bad, but isn't this stuff supposed to happen when my kids are older? Adding lots of spackling to the weekend to-do list.

You Say It's YOUR Birthday...

2010-10-21T20:34:00.002-06:00

Since Delia's birthday Isaac has had a hard time keeping his mitts off her presents- we keep having to remind him he can play with his sister, he just has to use his own toys. Here they are riding bikes... And playing Rock Band. The White Stripes watch out!

Delia Turns 3!

2010-10-21T20:02:00.004-06:00

Delia turned 3 this week! We celebrated with a PINK party as requested. Fun gifts included a new pink bike and a drum kit. How did our little girl get so big??

We love you little girl!

Fall Fun in Durango

2010-10-18T13:24:00.008-06:00

Last weekend we took an in-town "fall" adventure...

Downtown to see the giant pumpkin at the train station......and get a caramel apple at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory... ...Isaac and Delia picked the one covered in M&M's (good choice-it was delicious!)...
...a walk on the river trail to look for leaves......and look at the river......Miles slept through everything......and Isaac and Delia had fun running on the bridges.Back at home we had s'mores for dinner (and mac-n-cheese for dessert.)

Seven Years

2010-10-11T20:58:00.002-06:00

Today Matt and I have been married seven years. It seems like much, much longer- in a very good way. I can't remember or imagine life without him.

See how far we've come...
I love you, Babe!

Yee-Haw!

2010-10-05T22:23:00.001-06:00

Last week was Cowboy/Cowgirl week at Isaac's preschool. Here's our little urban cowboys...

Miles at One Month

2010-10-05T22:14:00.002-06:00

Our littlest is about a month old now- hard to believe how fast this is going. He's doing great and growing a ton, something Isaac and Delia never did when they were very little. We are amazed daily by how big he is getting! He is eating well, sleeping some, and keeping us all entertained. Isaac and Delia LOVE their baby brother (sometimes a little too much) and are finally calling him Miles instead of "the baby."

Old School

2010-09-19T20:29:00.002-06:00

Today we all wore our Bronco gear to church, even Miles. I wanted to get a shot of all of us together, but anything involving all three kids is proving to be pretty tricky. Here's our littlest Bronco fan sporting his old school style...

Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole!

2010-09-18T20:30:00.002-06:00

Preschool soccer season is here again! This time Matt and Isaac's team is the Cheetahs. So far Isaac has scored goals in his first two games, and more importantly, done a great job listening to Pop as his coach. Delia can't wait to play next year- she has a hard time staying on the sidelines...

Back to school...

2010-09-09T11:50:00.003-06:00

Isaac went back to school yesterday- his third year of preschool. I guess by now this should seem old hat, but it's still hard to see him go. His class this year is full of friends... and eleven boys. I'm a little scared for his teachers.Out in front of New Horizons- one of our favorite places... Playing cars- he was not so sad to see me go, but I'm glad he has such a good time...

miles

2010-09-06T21:55:00.003-06:00

I'm finally feeling better after surgery- yeah!- so I can start my quest to get a good picture of Miles. This one is pretty cute...

Introducing...

2010-09-01T20:44:00.004-06:00

Miles Moses Born August 30th at 8:01am

7 pounds. 11 ounces. 19 inches

He is totally awesome, and we are all in love with him!

We got home from the hospital today and are settling in... lots more pictures to come!

Gameday

2010-08-29T19:51:00.003-06:00

The kids have been anxiously awaiting the new season so they could wear their Bronco gear again. Yeah! Orange socks!

It's the Final Countdown...

2010-08-24T21:20:00.003-06:00

Woo hoo! Baby Bong #3 will be here on Monday, and I CAN'T WAIT! I can finally count down in earnest. As much as I'd love to go into labor right now, Matt is working a ton this week, so it would be best to wait for the scheduled c-sect on the 30th. The last 9 months have been so challenging for all of us- I am anxious to say good-bye to this difficult pregnancy, but even more excited to meet this baby!

Besides the baby, we have a lot we are looking forward to right now...

-college students are back in town which means a much needed boost in business for Matt

- soccer season starts for Matt & Isaac in a couple of weeks

-Isaac is off to his 3rd year of preschool in Sept, this time for 3 days a week

-We decided not to send Delia to preschool this year, but we'll still be having fun with potty training (yeah!) and hopefully get to do some art or music classes for our very artistic little girl. She promises to be my number one helper when the baby gets here.

Can't wait to introduce our little one to you next week!

Music Education

2010-08-17T06:30:00.002-06:00

A couple of days ago we were listening to music and a new song came on the TV.

Delia: Which one this, Mommy?

Me: Um, this is Rock the Casbah.

Delia: No , Mommy! This The Clash!

Yeah! My kids are getting quite the musical education...

Dancing Queen

2010-07-31T09:20:00.004-06:00

Delia just finished up her first dance class. She was surprising shy with her teacher, and, not surprising, was not interested in any sort of instruction. She had a lot of fun with her new friends in the class and most importantly got to wear PINK!

Another year older...

2010-07-30T21:47:00.002-06:00

Last week was Matt's birthday! Yeah! Here we are at the family birthday party, celebrating Matt, our sister-in-law, and her brother-in-law...

LEGO apparently doesn't sell liquor store LEGO sets, but they do make a gas station set that I couldn't pass up for a present...Birthday antics with Pop (Delia refused to pose for pics)...

Happy Birthday, Babe! I love you!

Farklers and Fireworks

2010-07-09T11:13:00.002-06:00

We mostly spent the 4th driving back from New Mexico, but we wanted to keep the kids up late for fireworks. We stuck them in their pj's and did sparklers (farklers in Isaac-ese) in the backyard, then drove to our local college to watch fireworks. Delia saw all of one firework before burying her head in my lap. The sparklers were a bit hit, though, and we didn't light anything on fire. Yeah for independence!

Ready to swim

2010-07-09T11:02:00.002-06:00

We had fun at the hotel swimming pool- the kids were thrilled with the water slide! The kids look ready to hit the beach... I just wished we lived in California so we could go all the time.

Zoo-tastic

2010-07-09T10:48:00.002-06:00

Last weekend we took another trip to ABQ- kind of a last hurrah before the baby comes. I kept wondering how we will travel with 3 kids... guess we'll find out later! We had fun with some of our Durango friends that have kids the same age, especially at the zoo. Delia wanted to see a pink bear (the polar bears had to do) and an eagle. Isaac wanted to see cheetah and settled for some other big cats. Highlights were chasing their friends in circles forever and playing on the jungle gym at the zoo.

Pickin' and Sleepin'

2010-07-05T13:42:00.001-06:00

Delia fell asleep on the couch today (she must be getting sick) with her finger up her nose.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

2010-06-07T21:17:00.002-06:00

Our long cold winter turned into a blazing hot summer overnight here, so we are trying hard to keep cool. This helps- Popsicles!And a new swimming pool!

GOOOOOAAAALLLLL!

2010-04-24T20:51:00.005-06:00

Yeah for Park & Rec soccer! Matt & Isaac are having a great time coaching/ playing soccer. The kids on the team are all really great and the parents are all very relaxed, so it's making everything fun. Here are pics from their first game:

Go...

Tigers!Getting tips from Coach...Good hustle...

Isaac scoring his first goal!!

Number One Fan watching the game...

Herding Cats

2010-04-16T20:55:00.002-06:00

Woo hoo! Isaac has finally started soccer. We have been waiting for this for years. The kid has way too much energy to not play soccer. He had his first practice this week with his coach- Pop! Matt said the first practice went well- that "coaching" 4 year olds is like herding cats. We'll see how the first game goes tomorrow!Here is Isaac ready to go to practice... new shoes, shin guards, socks, shorts, and water bottle. He was SO excited he couldn't wait to leave. He had to practice in the front yard before going to meet his team.

Hotel Fun

2010-04-16T20:48:00.002-06:00

Last weekend we spent the night in Albuquerque for a tiny vacation. I didn't feel great, but I didn't throw up (yeah!!). The kids both got new shoes that they desperately needed and had fun swimming in the pool. This was the major fun in our hotel room- watching Toy Story on the DVD player.

Little Girl Growing Up

2010-04-07T14:10:00.003-06:00

Delia has been hitting some milestones... I am missing them with all the constant couch surfing I've been doing- it is bumming me out! Matt and I had been dreading getting rid of her pacifiers since she seemed so attached. One night Matt couldn't find any when putting her to bed, so she had to go without. She fell asleep w/o a pacifier w/o much fuss and hasn't mentioned them again. Hurray! We were so worried for nothing.

She is not only pacifier free but sleeping in her big girl bed, too. No more crib! Matt said she was excited to make the switch and went to sleep that first night pretty easily. She does a great job staying in her bed- another success! If only we could get both of the kids to SLEEP ALL NIGHT. Maybe someday.

As I start to feel better I want to do some serious potty training with Delia. I wasn't in a rush with Isaac- he figured things about eventually and was diaper free w/o much effort on my part. Delia produces a LOT of diapers (esp. as a 2 year old) so it is time to get her on that potty! Hopefully with warmer weather we can be outside a bunch and it won't be too bad.

I miss my tiny baby, but I'm so proud of my little girl growing up!

Here she is in her big girl bed...

Delia is excited about potty training... especially getting to wear skivvies! This is how she likes to wear them...

No Dice

2010-04-05T19:57:00.002-06:00

Pregnancy update!

At 18 weeks I am finally, finally, finally feeling better. Yeah! I can eat some foods sometimes and have gotten off the couch everyday for the last week. I still feel very nauseous at night and I think it might be some time before I am totally back to normal, but I am so grateful for any time spent feeling good.

Today I had my mid-pregnancy ultrasound. Unfortunately Matt had to work, but my mom and the kids came to take a peek at the baby. Thankfully the baby looks very healthy and normal and is growing well. This was a huge relief since I have not fed this baby ANYTHING for the past 2 1/2 months, not even prenatal vitamins! I feel very relieved. However... the baby was stubborn and "it's" gender is still a mystery! He/she was NOT budging. The kids and I did the Bong Family Dance to get baby to move it's legs, but the kid wouldn't go for it. Hopefully we'll get another look at some point, but for now we are glad to have a healthy baby growing in there and a mommy who is on the mend!

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T19:30:00.002-06:00

Easter this year was not what we were hoping for... Matt & I were both very sick with bad colds/ sore throats and barely made it through the day. The kids, however, were getting over their colds and had enough energy to hunt eggs and enjoy their new treats from the Easter Bunny. They hated the special breakfast of crepes that I made (more for me I guess) and we skipped church to spare the rest of Durango all our germs. We managed to drag ourselves down the street to have dinner with Fishers at my parents- it was good to see family.

Even though our circumstances were not ideal, we were glad to celebrate Jesus's Resurrection (!) and all that God has done for us. He is so good to us!

Eggs

2010-04-05T16:27:00.003-06:00

This year's egg dying fun...

Christmas Trees for Easter and Mountain Lions, Oh My!

2010-03-30T20:33:00.003-06:00

It's been a LONG, cold, snowy winter here in Durango, but the snow is finally melting! Yeah! There are sad looking Christmas trees on the side of the road all over our neighborhood- we've had so much snow they have been buried since the first of the year. Embarrassingly, our north facing front yard snow melt has uncovered rotting pumpkins from Halloween. Yuck!
I thought it was warm enough to send the kids to the park this weekend- still kind of snowy but they had a great time. Then we found out there have been mountain lions in our neighborhood... stalking people at our park! Yikes! Looks like we will been hanging inside until the snow and the mountain lions are totally gone.

taco, taco

2010-03-04T10:24:00.002-07:00

This morning after finishing breakfast Isaac jumped out of his seat and shouted,

"Sister! Let's go upstairs. I need to play a new song on my keyboard. It's called 'Taco, Taco, Who You Are!'"
I think he gets this from Matt.

Expansion

2010-02-28T14:09:00.003-07:00

How many of our kids can you count in this picture?

Did you count three? That's right, our third little one is on his/her way and should be here around the end of August. We are all very excited- the kids are looking forward to outnumbering us. Isaac thinks I am having a boy for him and a girl for Delia. We have been trying to explain that there is only ONE baby in there so he won't be disappointed. Delia likes to point to my belly button and says, "Mommy baby," with a silly grin. Matt and I were pretty surprised at the news, as we were told it was highly unlikely I'd be able to get pregnant again, and we had started the process of adopting from overseas last year. We are thrilled to be having another baby and will resume the adoption process after this baby is born.

On the downside, this pregnancy has been difficult for me (but good for the baby which is GREAT news.) I have hyperemesis- an extreme sensitivity to pregnancy hormones that causes severe and constant nausea. It is much worse than with my previous pregnancies, but this time around I have a doctor who is helping a lot. My medication doesn't make me feel better (unfortunately) but is curbing some of the dehydration and weight loss. I am hoping I'm in the final weeks of feeling awful, and I look forward to getting back to normal as soon as possible.

We are so excited and grateful that our little family is growing!

Sing It Sister

2010-02-28T13:55:00.002-07:00

I was watching the Grammies with the kids awhile ago when during one of the performances Delia announced, "Phone!" (which means microphone in Delia-ese.) She took off upstairs and joined us shortly with her giant microphone and serenaded us for quite some time. The girl loves to sing. All of her songs are in completely made up words in her (surprisingly) VERY low voice. There is no lack of entertainment in the Bong house these days!

Super faces

2010-02-28T13:45:00.002-07:00

Matt and the kids headed across the street to my brother's house to watch the Superbowl this year (I was feeling poorly.) Before they left Isaac was telling me who were the good guys and who were the bad guys and what you do for each "guys."

This is the face he would make for the bad guys... And the face he would make for the good guys....

In the end I believe that Isaac's team won. He was happy.

Snowdown '10

2010-02-28T13:25:00.003-07:00

Overdue blogging coming up...

The end of January always brings Snowdown, Durango's annual winter festival. This year the Fisher family had a float in the parade so we brought the kids downtown for the festivities.

Here we are watching the parade- the kids really seemed to enjoy it (even though they don't look like it in the pictures...)

Of course my camera stopped working as soon as the Armadillo/Skyridge/IKE'S float finally came by. Sadly, this is the best shot I got. It is a giant smoking metal armadillo surfing a big wave of snow. You can't miss Uncle Ben, though!

Christmas '09

2010-01-04T21:28:00.003-07:00

This year Christmas was a bit of a whirlwind again, but we all had lots of fun! We spent our pre-Christmas time at Matt's mom's. The kids loved hanging out with Grandma and running around with Bong cousins...Then on Christmas we headed back to Durango to celebrate with the Fishers. Here is Delia giving cousin Jackson a big holiday hug...

Post-Christmas time was spent just the four of us, and Santa finally came to visit our house! The kids loved leaving cookies out, unloading stockings, the whole bit. Isaac got what he REALLY wanted- a Dinoco Lightning McQueen ( I hope that every year he asks Santa for a $4 toy), and Delia was thrilled with her plastic cups and spoons. Both kids got guitars from Santa and have been enjoying making more noise than normal.

Bong Family Christmas '09

Gingerbread House

2009-12-27T22:08:00.002-07:00

Part of our annual Christmas traditions- decorating a gingerbread house. Delia is finally old enough to get into the action- mainly eating the candy.
Sticky hands!

Finished project...

Lots of the White Stuff

2009-12-27T21:46:00.003-07:00

We finally got a bunch of snow in December. As soon as Matt went out to shovel Delia ran to get dressed to play in the snow. This is what she came up with... Matt and the kids playing in the snow...

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

2009-12-27T21:01:00.002-07:00

This seems like old news now that Christmas is over and we are about to take it down, but here are pictures of the kids decorating the tree this year. Mostly I just see that they both need haircuts.

Turkey Day 09

2009-12-27T20:35:00.001-07:00

Family pic from Thanksgiving this year... we are so thankful for these two wonderful children! Isaac at his Thanksgiving school program...

Isaac Turns 4!

2009-12-27T15:02:00.003-07:00

Isaac turned 4 back in November. Yeah! He is so grown up now and is turning into quite the little man. He got to bring cupcakes to school (Bronco! cupcakes, of course), and we celebrated with a fun party with lots of family.
Opening presents...

Race track cake with Lightning McQueen, Chick Hicks, and The King...

Some favorites this year- CARS racetrack...
And a remote control car...

Happy Birthday Buddy! We love you so much!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T15:55:00.002-07:00

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas!

I know we have been absent from blogging lately... lots of blogging and updates coming soon!

I Was Feeling So Bad...

2009-11-08T20:48:00.002-07:00

We have been fighting off a fair amount of illness in our house lately. Friday I finally took Isaac to the doctor's- he was diagnosed with H1N1... his oxygen level were very low and was coughing with every breath he took. The doctor sent us to the hospital to spend the night! Needless to say, it was super scary for a bit there. On the way to the hospital, however, he stopped coughing for the first time in 3 days. When we got to our room Isaac's oxygen levels had stabilized and he has been improving ever since. We are SO grateful he is going to be okay and signs of our normal, energetic, chatty kid are returning!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T20:02:00.003-07:00

After changing his mind six or seven times, Isaac finally decided to be "NASCAR Race Car Pit Crew Isaac" (yes, that was his official title) for Halloween. This is what he told me couple of nights ago-

Isaac: Mommy, let me tell you a little story.

Me: Okay, Buddy.

Isaac: This is a little NASCAR Race Car story. This is what NASCAR Race Car Pit Crews do. When the cars break, they fix them. And sometimes when the cars break, they... they just fix them. Mommy, that's a little NASCAR Race Car Pit Crew story, okay?

Delia was a kitty cat. The cutest kitty cat ever.

Here are the kids with their cousin Jackson- a VERY cute puppy.

Matt was, well, somebody scary ( I HATE this wig, btw), and I was a cowgirl. Fun, candy, and pumpkin pie were had by all!

Delia turns 2!

2009-11-01T15:36:00.004-07:00

Delia turned two a couple of weeks ago... I can't believe our baby is not a baby anymore! We had a fun family birthday party with presents and cake and party hats as requested by the birthday girl. Isaac was a very helpful big brother and helped her open presents and stick fingers in her cake. She is LOVING playing with all her new fun things- art supplies, books, princess dress-up clothes and a castle.

Here she is in her new dress-up clothes...

Blowing out candles with Grandpa...
Using her new art supplies...

We are loving seeing her little personality develop as she grows. She is so much like Isaac and Matt- happy, outgoing, and energetic. She is turning out to be fairly stubborn, so maybe she is a little like her mommy after all. She loves kitty cats, her bunnies Lola & Old Lola, sports you play with a BALL, singing and dancing, playing with Isaac, ignoring us, reading, and snuggling. She is still not talking much, although she does manage to get her point across very well. We love her smiles, tackle hugs, and her funny dances.

Happy Birthday Little One! You are our sweet, Funny Bunny!

School Comes Along Just to End It..

2009-09-10T21:46:00.003-06:00

Isaac went back to preschool this week. He was excited as he LOVES going to school. This is the conversation we had in the car on our way to his first day:

Isaac: Mommy are you going to stay at school today?

Me: Well, Buddy, I'll stay for a little bit, but then Delia and I have to go. But you'll have your teachers and all your friends to play with. And I'll be back before you know it.

Isaac: Mommy, I don't want you to stay. I want you to just leave me at school.

Me: Um, okay Buddy.

Isaac: Mommy, and don't cry, okay?

Well, no separation anxiety for this kid. Delia was pretty sad when she realized that she was going to have to spend the morning with just Mommy and no Isaac. She misses him a lot.

I'm glad that Isaac loves going to school so much and that Delia loves her brother so much, even if it makes me the odd guy out!

Here we are out in front of school...

Playing at the workbench...

At noon when I went to pick him up. I think he was a little worn out...

We Are Family...

2009-09-10T21:26:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we drove up to Estes Park for a family reunion with Matt's family. It was so fun- it was great to catch up with aunts, uncles, and cousins and get out of town for a bit. Here are the kids playing at the playground near the lodge we stayed in...

Having fun with cousins!

You say tomato...

2009-08-18T18:13:00.002-06:00

I did it! I actually grew something. I grew one tomato. We ate it tonight for dinner and it was delicious. Here it is right before I picked it...And this is right before we ate it- Caprese salad. One of my favorites.

To the ZOO!

2009-08-17T15:51:00.002-06:00

Before we left ABQ last weekend we stopped by the zoo. It was a bit hot and most of the animals were... resting. The kids had a lot of fun anyway- we saw a lot of animals, but the kids especially loved the cats (Delia calls them the MEOWS!). Our camera stopped working halfway through our visit, so we didn't get a ton of great shots. Here's what we ended up with...

The rhinos were huge!

Go 'Topes!

2009-08-11T15:54:00.003-06:00

This weekend we went to Albuquerque for a quick trip- the kids were great and we had a fun time. On Saturday night we went to the Isotopes game, and the kids loved it. Delia's favorite was Orbit (the mascot)- she was enthralled with him. When I asked Isaac what he liked he told me, "The popcorn and the ice cream." The kids didn't notice, but the Isotopes won. Here they are at the game with Grandpa and Pop...Here's a series of pics of the kids in their seats- I thought Isaac was being hilarious...