I'm still here. Life has just been busy. We went to Seaside, OR in June. Loved it and want to go again. In July we were in CA for HS 20th reunion and stayed in Carlsbad. Took the boys to Lego land for 2 days and visited with the in-laws. Had a quiet month in August; nice to just be home. School started at the end of August and life continues to be busy. David had minor surgery at the end of September that was successful and we are grateful that what could have been a big problem was taken care of. HP bought out the company David work for in summer of '08, and at the beginning of November David became an official HP employee. Now we are coming upon the Holidays and I can see the time going by very quickly.
I hope everyone has a blessed holiday and gets to spend time with loved ones.
We are grateful for our family, friends, loved ones. Grateful that David has a job, we have a home and are healthy. We have so many blessing.

We got to go to the Oregon coast for a week recently. We had a great time exploring Seaside and going to some of the Forts in the area. Fort Clatsop is where the Lewis and Clark expedition spent the winter before returning to the East.

Patrick had a fun time trying on period clothing.

Ryan liked the fort and all the stuff he could try out.

Jared was ready for a rest on the beds in the fort after all the running around.

They really liked Fort Clatsop and had a fun time.

We also went to Tillamook and saw the Cheese factory and the air museum. The ice cream was a huge hit.


Ryan and Jared chose Bubble Gum ice cream.

Patrick really liked his chocolate and vanilla in the fresh made waffle cone.

At Fort Stevens, the boys earned their Junior Ranger badges, patches and certificates. They completed the fun books given to us at Fort clatsop and we turned them in at Fort Stevens. What a great program that taught us a lot about the Lewis and Clark expdition.

Fort Stevens was a WWII fort and the boys loved seeing the jeep, and guns.



We really had a great time, and look forward to going again some time.

Easter weekend was colder than expected, but it is warming up now.


May 29 is the last day of school for our kids. Summer vacation begins.

• Jared had a good Kindergarten year. I think he is excited to go to 1st grade. Lots of fun excursions and photos.
  
• We got a behavior plan worked out for Ryan. It has helped him enjoy school much more since it gives him an understanding of what is expected of him and offers rewards for reaching his behavior goals. We are looking at 2nd grade with hope as his new teacher has been picked especially for him and we like her a lot.
  
• Patrick has had a tough year. 4th grade really brought out the difficulties that he has been experiencing and we sought out the school psychologist and asked for an evaluation. The conclusion drawn from the testing is that Patrick also has an ASD issue, most likely Aspergers. We are going to have Ryan's Specialist check out Patrick, and Jared. I need to know if there is anything we need to do for Jared.

We have some great plans for the summer:

• Oregon coast. Lewis and Clark monument and other great historical sites. Taillimak cheese factory. Time on the beach and in the pools.
• California for high school 20th reunion. Lego Land --Ryan is really very excited. And of course Disney. We are also planning to see family and friends. We will be staying at the Grand Pacific Palisades, and the kids are excited to play at the beach.
• We look forward to being home, too to enjoy the fun things around home. And for time to relax.
  

We hope you all have a wonderful summer!

Jared (5) loves to create pictures with markers, crayons, and things punched out of paper. He likes having a place to display his work. He used to tape all his art work on the walls, until I ran out of tape. He says he like the magnets and feels they add to his work.

Cell phones and being sick

Today I am sick with a head cold. I have a very hard time thinking when I get slick like this. I have a hard time using my cell phone. Some sort of disconnect between electronic items and my ability to use them. I a got a blue tooth a while a go and just started using it last week. Way less distracting when driving. While trying to turn it off, it kept auto dialing my sister Allison. I called her about 4 times! And all she could do was laugh at me.

Today is Patrick's 10th birthday. We are so happy that he is part of our family. Happy Birthday to you Patrick!

Things that I am working on:

• adding music to the blog
• what to write about Ryan
• what to write about Jared
• 20 yr. HS Reunion in July
• Exercising

25 Things about Shelley Mills Eakin

RULES: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs (+) on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

I already did this, and then lost this over on face book. Since the blog auto saves, I decided to do this here and link to it.

1. When I was 8, I was the Cowgirl for Valley Center's Western Days in 1979. I got to ride in the parade with the Cowboy, Shawn Macklin, and I learned the beauty queen wave.

2. When I was 4, I was friends with a boy from Japan. We would watch Japanese cartoons all day. Thus was born my love of all things Asian.

3. I love Hello Kitty.

4. My first concert was Madenss. I was 15 and went with my sister Stacy.

5. I took my husband to his first concert when we were dating. Playing were Buck 'O Nine, Let's Go Bowling, and the Specials.

6. My sisters were born on holidays. Allison on Father's Day and Stacy on the 4th of July. I was due on Thanksgiving, but was late. I have a son who was born on Halloween.

7. My middle name is Noel, given as I was born close to Christmas.

8. My favorite candy is Starburst. I am eating them right now.

9. I served in the Pusan, South Korea mission. I was so excited to go to Asia. It was an incredible experience.

10. At my farewell, everyone gave me a hug, except for David Eakin. He shook my hand. A little over 3 years later, we got married.

11. I had my first and only alcoholic drink while on my mission. We thought she said grape juice, when really it was wine.

12. I drink mostly water. Juice is too sweet and I do not like carbonation.

13. When I was young, my Uncle worked for Disneyland. Every time we went to visit him, he would tell us we had to go to work with him the next day. I love Disney to this day for it's memmories assoicated with my Uncle.

14. I love 80's music. I live in my own private Idaho.

15. I was the auto shop secretary in High School. It was fun to work on my old Honda.

16. Spell check is the best, 'cause i can't spell worth beans.

17. Went to BYU Hawaii and my roommate was from Taiwan. Loved it! I would have gone back after the mission if they had had a Korean language program.

18. Graduated from BYU Provo, in International Relations. I love learning about different cultures.

19. When we did not have a TV, David and I liked to stump each other with new words from the dictionary. Of course during that time 3 boys came along too.

20. I like to mess with David's mind when he talks in his sleep. The only problem is, I end up laughing so hard, I wake him up.

21. My husband, David, is my best friend.

22. Our middle son is High Functioning Autistic. He is very interesting and every day there is some wonderful new thing to learn about him. I am greatful for the blessing he is to us, as we are forced not to take life to seriously. I love all my boys

23. I want to go to South Korea, all over the United States, and Europe.

24. I have had a lot of fun reconnecting with all my friends through face book. I am grateful for all of them and more.

25. I was in the auditions groups of String of Pearls and Opus One at Orange Glen High school.

the Homework war

Patrick is our oldest child. He is very imaginative and loves to play. He will be 10 next month.
Since the inception of homework, he has fought us in getting it done. If it is something he enjoys, it takes no time at all. Two hours is the average time it takes to get him to do a 20 minute assignment that he does not like. Oh the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and I thought girls were dramatic (only experienced through other people's girls, not having my own).
This morning, Patrick was running late for school, again. We have told him he is responsible to have his back pack ready to go the night before. "Put your home work and needed stuff in the pack as soon as your home work is done," I told him this morning. He argues that he does not like being told what to do. I laugh at that, as most of life, when you are employed by some one else, you must do as told. But then I realized that we have a great learning opportunity. I told Patrick that when he argues and fights with Dad and Mom about what we are asking him to do, he is not following Christ, but the adversary. I told him that the things we are asking him to do are not bad things. If we asked him to steal from some one, then I would understand him refusing to what we were asking. But the things we are asking him to do will help him prepare for adult life. He complained that it was not easy, and I agreed. Life is not easy, but if we prepare, it can be less complicated and seem easier. (Which reminds me that I need to do the laundry to be prepared and make it easier to find clean clothes.)
We also talked about that it is what we learn is what we take with us to eternity. The Lord wants us to peruse learning. And learning does not end as we walk out of the doors of school.
Of course, in talking about this with Patrick, I am thinking to myself that this is also applied to me. (Everything about me! HA HA!) I too must be willing to listen to the promptings I receive, and not complain when the answer to prayer might be no or not yet.
So hopefully homework might not be as big a fight today as it has been in the past. And I will work on better accepting the promptings I receive.

My heart is sad for the McArthur family. Ted McArthur passed last night. He had slipped on some ice on Jan 3 and was in a coma from that time on. My memories of Ted are of a very fun loving and happy man. We pray for his family that they will find comfort.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

As the holiday season winds down, we all are playing with the toys that we got for Christmas. I gave David a 4 piece metal puzzle set. I notice his interest in one a while a go, and when I saw some for $5, I thought it would be a great little gift for him. A few days ago, he had finished 2 of the 4 and showed me how they worked. Tonight, he brought out another one and had been working on it for a little while when he came to see me at the computer. I'd been working on some surveys. He handed me the puzzle and I realized that it was very much like the others, just a different shape. It took me no time to figure the last two out. There went the hours of fun the box promised.
For the boys, the game cube has continued to hold their interests. I know they wanted a Wii,however, that is not as important for us as other things. We loved the new "used" games we got, but Lego Star Wars continues to be the game of choice.