April 12 of 12...

April was a busy month as I look back.  Sometimes it amazes me how we get it all done. Miss Avery Girl was baptized.  It was a spectacular day!  The spirit was so strong.  There wasn't a dry eye in the house.  We went to lunch after her baptism and we filled the banquet room with 40 plus family members....we are so extremely blessed.  Baseball season started for Rowdy and we went to Hawaii at the end of the month.

1.  To say Avery was excited for her big day is a HUGE understatement.  2.  Dada and Evie 3. Characters 4.  The five of us  5. Over to Auntie Jac's house for an easter egg hunt after the baptism 6. Avery showing Ron one of her treasures 7.  Little guys go first during the hunt 8.  Examining their loot.  9.  Out to our place to shoot.  Rowdy and Ron lining up Rowdy's shot. 10. Bo and Deacon staying safe in the truck.  11. You'll shoot your eye out kid!  12.  Bo and Deacon talking about who know what?  but it is super important stuff.
13. Dying Easter Eggs. I think we didn't get around to it until Easter morning before church. 14.  The set up.  15.  Love this boy!  16.  Avery starting with PINK, of course. 17.  Before school picture.  18.  Tie Guy Tuesday.  Rowdy and one of his friends at school wear ties on Tuesdays.  I love this!  19.  Baseball game.  Texas Rangers this year.  Minor League means really pitching!  No more pitching machine!  20.  #2 Rowdy Shinkle at bat for the Rangers!  21.  HAWAII:  Bodie played in the water much more this time.  22.  Avery was sick at the start of the trip and didn't feel 100% until about half way through the trip. : (  24.  Surfer Dude!  25.  Fish!
 

March 12 of 12 ...

March was the strangest month in the weather department. It snowed the first day of Spring Break....what the? On with the 12 of 12: 1. Flowers a bloomin' although it was cold 2. Avery at the starting line of her jog a thon 3. Run Avery Run! 4. Bodie collecting Gold that the Leprechan's left at his preschool 5. See, snowy clothes 6. Hot Chocolate 7. Chubby bunny with the marshmallows 8. Rowdy always with the goof face 9. Avery exploring our forest 10. Bodie and Deacon, his cousin 11. Rowdy with one of the chicken 12. Girly Girl cousins   13. Baseball tryouts 14. Playground swinging high after tryouts 15. I love this photo! 16. Signs of spring 17. Vist to the Polk Co. Museum 18.  The typewriter was the highlight  19. Playing school in the school house 20.  B-O-D-I-E 21. Bodie at the Aquatic Center 22. Avery loved the slide!  She wasn't sure about it at first but then wouldn't get off.  23. Do we have to go Mom  24. We had a great spring break and did a bunch of fun things together to keep busy.
 

February 12 of 12 ....

February 12 of 12.  So I have made an adjustment to my 12 of 12 assignment for 2012.  The pictures are from the entire month instead of just the 12th of the month.  I like this better.  Plus, when I forget to take pictures on the 12th it works out better.

Here is a flashback to February.

1.  Our cats are outside kitties.  But they come and visit sometimes.  2.  Rowdy jetskiing in our pond in the back field....in February. 3. Avery posing for me.  One of the last shots I got of her with her baby front teeth.  4.  I took her Subway at school for her 8th birthday.  5.  The Rainbow cake I made her for her birthday party!  So worth the time to make it.  6.  The birthday girl.  7.  Pretty!  8.  Avery going through her loot from Valentine's day at school.  9.  Bodie drivin' his John Deere.  If you look close it is missing the front wheel.  10.  Showing me an owie.  I very big deal these days.  11.  Rowdy entertaining himself at Avery's dance class.  12.  Avery's place setting at our Valentine's dinner as a family.
13.   Avery came home super excited  14.  She lost her tooth.  15.  Rowdy has always been super talented on his bike  16.  Handsome boy.  17.  Riding horses at Uncle Roger and Auntie Maryanne's house.  18.  Kit and Bodie  19. BEST Buds.  20.  Goofy Boys  21.  Raya, our cousin from Hawaii.  Such a sweetie!  22. Jacob, Raya's little brother.  23.  Avery LOVES to read. 24.Bodie helping Dada cut and stack wood.
 

January 12 of 12

Remember how two years ago I started a 12 of 12.  Twelve pictures on the 12th day of the month.  Well I went back a read a few of them...I only made it through May, by the way.  I have issues with follow through.  I loved all the journaling that went along with them and how it forced me to take pictures that I normally wouldn't.  I got a few treasures this month that I wouldn't have captured otherwise.  All so because I like to include lots of pictures of the kids I am doing 16 squares twice.  I really want to put it into a book.  I have my files all set up on my computer to hold each month.  So here goes:

1. Cinnimon Toast Crunch for Bodie like every morning 2. The 12th was a Thurday so it is our day to just hang out and their isn't usually much on the schedule 3. I love the light that comes into our Kitchen 4. Drippy milk chin 5. Bodie often hides from Ron when he is leaving for the day 6. Ron pretending to look for Bodie in the drawer. Bodie thinks this is so funny. 7. Ron says, "You found me!" because Bodie used to say that when he was younger and jumped out of his hiding place before we found him. 8. A goodbye session of "fighting". 9. Bo and I head outside because it was really nice out. This is our new dog, Philo. He is a rescue from the pound and is a perfect fit for our family. 10. Bodie spoiling Philo with some treats 11. Philo has really pretty eyes 12. All done Philo 13. Hoped on Dada's ATV for a pretend ride. 14. New dormers on our house and the new deck. It wraps around the house on both levels and is so nice for BBQing and stepping outside to enjoy the view from the second floor. 15. I was prepping all day to have the carpet cleaners come the next day. I even donated a couch and had the donation place pick it up...it felt so good to have it gone. 16. All sorts of items had to be placed into the kitchen to get ready for the carpet cleaners.

17. Miss Avery and her long, long hair helping me make a little dessert for after dinner. 18. Pudding with a nilla wafer at the bottom 19. Cutie 20. I keep the cereal companies in business 21. Sweet boy 22. More Cereal 23. Calvin and Hobbes is very big at my house 24. Back outside to play. 25. Bike party 26. Stunts 27. Bodie trying to do his bother's stunt 28. Can you see their faces... 29. Avery hippity hopping around our pool table 30. Three 31. Quick trip to Waremart 32. Dropped the boys off to work on Rowdy's pinewood derby car

Home...

I am working on getting some of my photography and photos of the kids printed in some pretty frames for our home and so I took the kids on an little outing at the end of the summer.  I can't wait for the final project to be done...sadly it involves some painting of some rooms...long overdue.

I took the kids to a little spot that I have passed a million times and wanted to take pictures of them there.  It was perfect!  I have posted a few and if you want to see a slide show of more scroll to that bottom.  Bodie was great he kept everyone in stiches so I could get some good smiles...

My favorite one...

One of each of them...

Rowdy sportin' his new converse shoes and listenin' to his new ipod. Both presents he got for Christmas. I am proud of him. He finally learned to tie his shoes. Poor kid, most of his shoes have been velcro type and therefore he hasn't has much opportunity to practice.

Miss Avery with here long, long hair that was supposed to get trimmed overy Christmas break. However, we had to cancel the appointment because she was sick. She doesn't want to get it cut at all. I like it long but it is hard to brush out in the morning and makes us both grumpy.


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Bodie loving on miss Annabelle. We took care of her over Christmas break (she is the preschool's). But we love her and I swear she knows us. We also took care of her this summer. She is the nicest little thing and I would get one of our own if I knew we would get one as nice as her. Bodie adores her!

Totally random post but I am a bit rusty with the blogging so I had to start somewhere!

Back to School Flashback...

As I was prepping images to do the annual back to school blog post, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the kids and how they have changed. It took some searching in my photo archives but I found all of their first day of school photos. Everyone got off to a great start. We have had a few afternoon and evening meltdowns because of the early morning wake up times, both from the kids and me. I am happy with both Rowdy and Avery's teachers. Rowdy's teacher is ultra organized which I love! And Avery seems to like her teacher. Enjoy my little back to school flashback! I absolutely love the change here with Miss Avery Girl. The one on the left is Kindergarten, then first grade and then this year. Look how long her hair is now!!!

Four...

It is Bodie's Birthday today! I remember when I was close to my due date with him and I had a doctor's appointment. During the appointment I was having contractions that weren't too painful but were about 5 minutes apart. The doctor said, "You need to go to the hospital, now!" So off we went. My Mom happened to be with me, we had plans to go to lunch after the appointment. I drove myself, in labor, to Portland (I was having him V-Bac, blah, blah, blah, had to deliver in Portland in order to attemp V-Bac, a post for another time). My Mom followed me up there and Ron was close behind!

My labor was pretty painful once we got checked in and thankfully I was able to get some pain medications before he arrived! When I saw him the first time Ron's Grandpa Don and my Dad instantly came to mind. He has Grandpa Don's nose and my Dad's hands!

Bodie Verle Shinkle! Mama can't believe you are four! When you came into our family, things were pretty busy right off the bat. Your big brother was starting Kindergarten and your sister was starting preschool. So much of the time you were along for the ride. But you handled it so well! I was even able to take you to preschool with me on the days I volunteered.

Here are some things about Mr. Bo-man that we love:

He likes to share: He is always very concerned about everyone getting "some" if he has crackers he always shares. We were recently playing a game of Go Fish and Avery asked me if I had a King and I told her, "Go Fish." Bodie, very sweetly and so enthusiastically said, "I do!" and handed his sister the King! Love you Bo!

He is very spiritual: He always remembers his prayers at night, in fact he just can't go to bed without saying them. He always want to say the prayer at the dinner table too!

He is a Big Boy: He has insisted for a long time the he is a Big Boy! He, out of my three children, is really the most able to do things by himself the earliest! He puts his shoes on by himself, does a really good job of brushing his teeth, he has been writing his name for at least 9 months and loves to help out.

He is a Helper: He loves to help unload the dishwasher and fold laundry with me. He just basically likes to do what you are doing. He is willing to help out and pitch in. He helps feed the chickens, he help his Dad haul off some bush the other day and really wants to drive a big tractor like his Dad.

He is Ron's sidekick: He loves to go on little outings with Ron. Run here, run there. One day during Hay season, Ron was cutting hay in one of our fields. Bo ask if he could go help Dada. I told him, "Not right now bud, it isn't a good time." There are steps in the process that it is ok for the kids to be out there and Ron really does need their help. But other times it isn't safe. Well, Bo didn't like my answer and his desire to go help and be with Dada over powered my reason. He walked himself all the way down to were Ron was working. After I got over being concerned about where he was and figured out where he was, it really was sweet that Bo knew that Dada was working and he wanted to be with him! Bodie told Ron one day when he was talking to him on the phone, "Dada, I wish I was with you right now!" Very tender that a three year old (at the time) can convey that message over the phone and I'm sure it melted Ron's heart!

We love you Bodie so much!

Photography Special...

I am having a little fun in my photography studio space this Thursday if anyone wants to reserve a spot!

Julia Shinkle Photography

Ballet...

Avery is going to be in a Ballet. A real Ballet...Sleeping Beauty. She is going to be dancing with Aurora. I am really proud of her. She has been doing really well and I can't get over her tutu...She was ECSTATIC when she saw it for the first time!

I apologize for the brick background again but it was up and we were headed out the door to go have pictures taken at the dance studio with her class.

I need to adjust the straps a bit, it is a tad to big. I could tell she felt so official when she slipped it on...she told me in the sweetest little voice...Mom, it looks like Rapunzel's dress (she was talking about the little crossy thingy that goes down the front).

Here hair MUST be in a real ballet bun...it is all so official at the new studio we are taking classes.

I am thrilled she is enjoying ballet so much but NOT so thrilled she looks 16 in this last one...

This message brought to you by....

ASL (American Sign Language). When Bodie and I would say our ABC's sometimes I would sign the alphabet to him. He would also try to do the letters with me...alphabetically. One day last summer, to my shock, he signed his name by himself. He extracted the letters to his name and signed them.

The other day he was helping me figure out if some sidelighting would work with my new photography backdrops and it dawned on me that it might be a perfect time to get this talent of his documented! So here he is doing his thing!

Love you B o d i e!!!

Aloha!

At the end of April we went to Hawaii to meet the cute little fella in the top left photo. We pretty much spent the entire 8 days in our swim suits beach hopping! Playing with cousins. Visiting the Laie Temple. Taking in the beauty that Hawaii has to offer...the hibiscus were huge! Swinging from palm trees. Taking in sunsets and sunrises. Body surfing. Buying loads of stuff including these matching outfits from the Swap meet at Aloha Stadium. Boogie boarding. Being visited by a seal in need of a nap. Jumping in the sand. Looking cute. Taking photos. Playing the uke. Enjoying Shave Ice.

This was the quickest way to share a bit of our trip. We had a great time and didn't want to come home. I really enjoyed it and came back rested and relaxed.

Ms. Avery Girl...

Avery turned 7 years old in February. I shared some photos of her party but I haven't really talked about what she is up to lately. So here goes:

• She is reading constantly. I often find myself saying things like, "put the book down and brush your teeth, then you can go read again".
  


• She is still very much an artist. Her masterpieces are kept in a box in my office.



• She is a list maker and I can often find lists of things she wants to do with her cousins, on trips and she makes my grocery lists for me too.



• She likes to help out. But more will to do so when it is on her terms. She really jumps into action when her older brother is complaining about chores...what can I say she is a middle child. Recently I told her she doesn't get any "screen" privileges (tv, computer, wii) until her room is clean. It told her it was her choice as to when it got clean and when she would get screen privileges back. It sat a mess for two days but when she got busy on it she cleaned the whole thing by herself...something she told me she "couldn't" do two days before that.



• She is a super good eater and sometimes will have three helpings of dinner...especially if it is pasta.



• She is so bummed out that she hasn't lost any teeth yet and all of her friends have.



• She is 7 going on 15 sometimes with the sass level...big sigh!



• She wants her very own ipod.



• She is somewhat of an overacheiver in training. She likes to be the first one done. This is feedback from her teacher. But sometimes she makes mistakes because she is trying to be first to finish.



• She eats an apple every day and can finish a 6 inch subway sandwich (her favorite place to eat)
  


• She has a collection of Hello Kitty dolls.



• She is showing much potential in ballet and I can't wait to sign her up for gymnastic this summer.



• She likes to be tickled. Some people like to have their back scratched. She like soft tickles and not to the point of giggling but just soft tickles. I started doing this when she was a baby and she has never stopped liking it. Sometimes when she needs to calm down and her and I are in the middle of a power struggle I stop it all and we sit down snuggle and "do some tickles"...it helps.
  


• She loves to cook with me.



• Her Grandma's are the coolest people on the planet in her eyes...and it is true!



• She loves anything Cats and has even seen the Broadway musical Cats! (on DVD anyway!)


• She has a sweet little testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and loves church. I am so grateful to work with the Primary kids so I get to see first hand all the things she is learning.



• Mama loves you Avery and it is hard for Mama to see such a big girl starring back at me!

Just like old times...

I have been getting up pretty early to work out in the morning. Therefore, I have been feeling a bit tired in the afternoon. Yesterday I was feeling that way and I was freezing. So, I grabbed some books and told Bodie to go climb in my bed and we would snuggle and read.

Well after Hop on Pop and the ABC Book my eyes were heavy. I told Bo to look at books or he could go play in his room. I have the ability to take a "nap" and "hear" everything that is going on....it is a Mom thing. I woke up to this next to me....

It was the sweetest part of my day...

Silly Week...

Last week was silly week for Bodie at preschool. The teacher always pairs this week with April fools. Basically, the kids get to come to school with silly hats (no photos for that one), silly hair and one day they get to wear pj's to school. Since Bo only goes tuesday and thursday he got to wear a silly hat and wear pj's. So just for fun I did some rockin', silly hair for him too! I didn't tell him to do anything when I brought the camera out onto the porch when we were leaving...he just gave me all of these. Love this very silly boy!

Alex P. Keaton...

So, Rowdy has taken to wearing shirts and ties to school and any other opportunity that comes up. Since I didn't really want him wearing his white church shirts to school, I bought him a few shirts that he could wear to school and the other ones would stay nice for church. The day I brought them home you would have thought I brought him a puppy or something...he was thrilled!

I have been trying to figure out what the big deal is and why an eight year old boy would want to dress this way. I don't mind it...he looks so sharp. I am figuring that he likes the attention he gets when people say he looks so nice.

The bonus to the whole situation is there are a few other little boys in his class that have followed Rowdy's example and are starting to wear ties to school....how cool is that...little trendsetter!

Squirrel!

If you have seen the movie UP, you know that the dogs in that movie say, "SQUIRREL" mid sentence when they think they hear something. Well Rowdy did the same thing the other day when I was trying to get some pictures of him. He was busy telling me something...

and I was able to gab this shot, which I love, and then...

"TRAIN!"

He told me it was busy shunting. A term he got from Thomas the Tank Engine. I honestly didn't know that Rowdy would still be so interested in trains. He knows more about them than you would think. He still watches all the train documentaries on the History Channel and he has learned how to drive a real locomotive on a Train Simulator that Santa brought him.

Hardy Coat...

So Bodie got this cute little carhartt coat as a hand me down from a good friend of ours. The boy who used to wear it, is a friend of Rowdy's, his name is Hardy. Therefore, this is his "Hardy Coat". He tells everyone he meets it is his Hardy coat...even strangers in Wal-mart! Love you Bo-man!

She takes after me!

Avery has become quite the gymnast. She is super flexible and as you can see she can do a pretty mean cartwheel. She is constantly in motion and does random cartwheels all over the place. One day we were in a store and she had to stop herself from cartwheeling right there in the middle of the store. One day she was heating up her lunch in the microwave and I told her it would take about a minute and a half and she said, "That's ok Mom, I'll go do 100 cartwheels in the living room!" And she did. If only adults did that with their spare time they would all be fit and trim!

I love the last one above!

That's my girl!

Mish Mosh!!!

One of the fun snacks I offer the kids is a bag of Mish Mosh. I take a zip lock and throw a bunch of random stuff in it. For example, pretzels, fishy crackers and marshmallows. Sometimes I put some sort of cereal in it. Marshmallows are almost always one of the items. I took these last spring. I love Bodie's "chubby bunny" face! And Avery is being her creative self making Marshmallow kabobs.