Gulf Shore Vacation for the Fortner Family!

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted!  We have had a busy year.  We have moved across the country (from Seattle to the Alabama Gulf Coast) into a rental house, and then bought a house near that one and moved again, all in the space of just six months!  The kids are enjoying the new school district, the wonderful sunshine, and meeting new Alabama friends.  Our new house is nestled in a smaller neighborhood with a swimming pool, tennis courts, and common area where the kids can safely play.  Our street is a secluded cul-de-sac with lots of wonderful neighbors and friends surrounding us.  Even Buddy, our dog, has made a new best friend :) 

On the down side, the kids really miss John's family and all of their old friends that they left behind in Washington.  John and I miss our family and friends, and many other things about the Seattle area that we took for granted when we lived there.  This hasn't been an easy transition for us by any means, but we have worked through the stress, obstacles, and challenges we have faced along the way.    

We have traveled a lot in the year since we moved here - with trips to Orlando, Tampa, Oklahoma, Sedona, Pensacola, and Gulf Shores.  At Gulf Shores, we explored the beach with John's mom:

And stayed in a condo on the 20th floor of a building overlooking the beach: 

We just got back today from a week-long vacation at the beach.  We're spending the New Year in our new house and loving every moment of it!

Our Trip To Washington DC

I had the privilege of traveling to Washington DC with Nate and his grandma a couple of weeks ago. While we were there, we saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Pentagon Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, and the WWI and WWII Memorials. We also went to the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of American History, the Crime and Punishment Museum, and the Newseum (a museum about news). At the Newseum, Nate made a cute video of himself reporting live from the White House. I've attached the video below for your viewing pleasure. I have lots of pictures, but have had no time to go through them all.

Here is the picture to accompany the video:

I hope you're all having a great summer!
Shari

A Funny Story...

On Tuesday, John headed out of town bright and early for a management meeting, leaving me alone with the kids. After getting the kids out of bed, showered, dressed, fed, and packed up for school we all headed out to the van. We were running a little late but could definitely make it to school before the first bell. The first clue that something wasn't right came when the van didn't unlock with my key fob. I ran back in and got John's keys, thinking the battery in my remote must have died. When John's key didn't work I thought "That's weird for both of them to die at once, but I'll just have deal with it later." I then unlocked the door of the van with the key (not sure the kids even knew you could do that!) and jumped in the van. After a few seconds I noticed the kids hadn't gotten in yet, so I opened the door and asked them what they were doing. They told me "the doors won't open, we can't get in". It was only then that I noticed that the battery was DEAD! No problem right? I have another car. So, I sent Nate in for the keys to the Blazer and we all piled into it. Now, if you've never seen the Blazer you won't understand how difficult that is. The first kid into the Blazer ALWAYS sits in the front seat, leaving the other kids to climb over that first kid like it's a climbing expedition. The climbing had to be done with backpacks dangling this time. Lets just say that the front seat kid got very banged up this time:(

Moving on. I'm sitting in the front seat and I ask Nate for the keys. He hands me this:

Now really, what am I supposed to do with this? There were two little hanging boxes that I'm apparently supposed to connect with these wires to make the Blazer start. Each of the boxes has eight plugs that I could use to connect them. I busted out laughing and then told Nate he needed to help me if we wanted to get the Blazer started and he looked at me in disbelief. He didn't know how to start it either! We were laughing so hard by this time that the girls thought we'd completely lost it. The climbing expedition had to be repeated, this time to get out of the Blazer, because there was NO way we were going to be able to take that vehicle to the school.

We went back to work on the van, hooking up a charger to it to get it started. Our adventure only set us back by about 10 minutes to start to finish, but it sure did make for an exciting day! Nate received his first tardy but the school staff got a good laugh out of our story:)

What a stressful week!

Our week started out with the startling news that my husband's company plans to sell the manufacturing facility where he works as soon as they can. While we are still hanging in there at this facility for the short term, we're not quite so set on our long term plans. He has already started searching for a job through the Kimberly-Clark network across the rest of the country just to see what is available. The three jobs he likes the best are located in Berkley, NC, Maumelle, AR, and Fullerton, CA. Even if John does end up taking a job before school is out I will stay here with the kids and let them finish the school year with their friends. Our biggest challenge is moving three kids who have been attending school in the same area for the past six years. They are struggling with this news and we are trying to calm their fears and let them have some say in whatever our future plans will be.

I am continuing the recovery process from my surgery, and helping with a remodeling project while I'm at it. My father-in-law came into town with our friend Mary and completely renovated the kids' bathroom. It had an old beaten up sink base and concrete floors (I ripped up the carpet years ago because it was just too scummy for words). John had decided to use the towel bar as a stepladder a few years ago and completely ripped it out of the wall, leaving huge gaping holes. I'm looking for before pictures (they had already ripped everything out when I got home from taking the kids to school), but here are some of the beginning and ending pictures.

We still have some more work to go (grouting the tile, putting another coat of paint on the walls, installing the sink and fixtures, putting the toilet back in, and cleaning everything up. It's just so much closer than where we started that I'm thrilled! We are trying to get all of our planned home improvements done in case we have to sell the house.

Nate's Boy Scout troop held their Court of Honor this week. Since his last Court of Honor in August, he has achieved the rank of Second Class Scout and First Class Scout, and earned two merit badges: fingerprinting and computers. His patrol also received the Honor Patrol award. He is lucky to be in a patrol that has almost 100% participation in every activity, event, and campout that the troop holds. They also have their own meetings and activities without the troop. This is a huge achievement when you consider that the troop already meets once a week and holds one campout a month, rain or shine. Nate currently holds the title of Troop Webmaster, and you can see his new website at http://www.troop-18-everett.org/. He designed, wrote, and published every page on the website, and he's incredibly proud of his accomplishments.

He is currently working on the Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge, the Communications Merit Badge, and the Music Merit Badge. He has started playing the cello and he's really starting to enjoy music in a whole new way.

Amanda finished up testing for the highly capable program this week. This is her third year testing and she's been within a point of making it in the previous two years. We've made sure she knows that the Summit program is not for everyone and we are perfectly happy with where she is right now in school and in academics. She LOVES being with all of her friends and being in the Summit program could affect her friendships, especially when she moves to a middle school that is not her home school.

Nicole continues to develop her artistic skills. She created this owl picture in just a few minutes for a project in her class.

She starts art class in a few short weeks, and she is really looking forward to it.

I'll try to keep this blog updated with everything going on in our lives. I just can't believe how busy we stay each and every week. It's been a stressful beginning to the new year and we're only one month into it. It will be interesting and very stressful over the next few months as we decide whether to weather this storm right where we are or begin an adventure in a new location.

A January to Remember!

This month just gets better and better (NOT!). Last Tuesday, I had surgery to repair what we thought was a small abdonminal hernia. It turned out that there were three of them and I had to have a mesh liner installed. Recovery has been a lot more difficult for me than I thought it would be, with lots of pain and not much sleep. I've been working so hard all of my life that this enforced stay of relaxation is torture to me!

On a lighter note, the kids are having a FANTASTIC January! They have gone on hikes, had playdates with friends, and just generally enjoyed the mild weather outside. We're looking forward to when I feel better and we can have fun with them. Buddy wishes we could go too...

A new year, a new beginning to my blog!!!

The past year passed by amazingly fast. I found myself just barely keeping up with life, with no time to update this blog. I'm going to try to be much more proactive this year and update my blog at least once a week. Here's my update for the first week of January:

Nate:
In the last few four months of 2010, Nate advanced three ranks in Boy Scouts to the rank of First Class, he started 6th grade in middle school, he went on three two Boy Scout campouts, participated in one Eagle Project, and one community service project (clearing trails at a local campground), and two rounds of Boy Scout fundraising (he was #1 in the troop for his popcorn sales!). He's becoming more responsible, more mature, and still just a great kid - growing up way too fast...
Nicole:
Nicole started in the accelerated learning program at school this year, and it's been a big change for her. Having to work hard in school is a skill that she's never had to master, but she's figuring it all out quickly and loves her new teacher and her new school life. She is making new friends, is in several after-school clubs, and is still her happy self. She is becoming much more independent and is figuring out what she wants to do in her spare time and working hard to make that happen. Taking an art class is her next big endeavor, and she's really looking forward to it!

Amanda:

Amanda is doing wonderfully well in school, making more and more new friends every day, and is playing the viola in orchestra. She rarely has homework so she gets a lot more time to play. That's been a source of conflict between the three kids but they are learning to work things out together.

John:

John has been working with the Boy Scouts and has gone on every campout with Nate. He stays busy with work, tasks around the house, and monthly campouts with the Boy Scouts. He still has his Blazer (the kids named it "Speedy") and loves to tinker around with it as much as he can.

Me:

I've been helping out with the Boy Scouts, working at Nate's school store twice a month, and helping keep all three kids caught up at school and home. I'm more busy now than I've ever been, and I'm loving every moment of my life. I've got a wonderful husband, three beautiful kids, an amazing house overlooking the water, and the most amazing family that I could ever ask for. This year promises to be another great year for the Fortner family!

Summer Recap: Independence Day

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone. I guess I'll just have to recap some of the fun adventures we've had.

For Independence Day, we traveled to eastern Washington to Grandpa's house and went to a bump to pass race in Waterton. Before the race began the girls rocked out to the music:

The cars raced and crashed with abandon:After the race, they had a fireworks show. It was amazing!

The next day at Grandpa's house, Nate worked really hard on a new tractor that Grandpa got for him:

And drove it madly around the house (just like the racers!):All three kids really enjoyed playing on the swing:

Nate and Nicole really played in the mud:

And Miss Amanda made a great show of playing in the mud for the camera. As you can see, she does not sit down to play in the mud, and washed her hands as soon as the picture had been taken. Princesses DO NOT get dirty!

The kids had three baths / showers a day while we were there - and they LOVED every moment of it. They picked raspberries and blueberries, rode bikes, and just generally had a blast. What a wonderful start to summer!