And were "Marching" on... (get it??)

Well the last few weeks have been pretty good. With the exception of one pretty nasty cold we are all doing well and enjoying the nice weather. The garden is not yet in the ground GRRRRR, but weather may not be too terrible this weekend. Either way we need to get to plowing... Lets see, Reyna has her ballet recital coming up in just 10 short days. Yesterday she was able to practice in her Cinderella "costoon" (Reyna speak for costume). She is really looking forward to it! Noah had TKD (Tae Kwon Do) last night and came home as a purple stripe belt!! Yay Noah! He is really doing well and I think has found his sports "niche" for now anyway. I would love to see him go all the way with it. Just think... Black belt Noah... Awesome. Julia is getting bigger by the day and is finding new and exciting ways to entertain herself and us all the time. She can now say a few words, wave at you and clap. She loves to say dada and gets all happy when Eric comes home from work. Her waving is good stuff. She flaps her arms and is so pleased with herself.

Last weekend on Saturday we were able to visit Uncle Ben and Aunt Ne ( Renee) in Silverton. As always we had a peaceful and relaxing time. I miss them so much, it seems like we just don't make it out there like we used to. (that could have something to do with having 3 small kids) Its funny, every time we go down there it gets Eric and I pining for the country life. We have a running joke that we are gonna live in the country and make "goat soap" and that is how we will live.... I think that we should have like a Yurt complex with little hallways attaching the different yurts so that we can not all live in one room... Eric thinks that I am nuts.. Maybe I am, haha.

That's about all for now... Here are a few recent pictures to enjoy. There will be more to come :)

Fun in the wagon
Scooter Tricks
A goofy face :)
Playing Dora house
A big cheesy grin!

And I am on a roll.....

Life is pretty calm here at the Stiffler house. We are just keeping busy with all of the kids activities. Noah tested for his orange belt in TKD and was successful. Reyna is busy preparing for her first dance recital and Julia is growing and changing everyday. We began the year with a few "bumps" the biggest of which was "mama's" broken knee. Sometime in the middle of December I injured my knee, and after three weeks of wondering why it still hurt and thinking I was a wimp. I went in for and MRI which revealed a minor fracture of the Medial Tibial Plateau ( basically the top of the shin bone) and a torn ACL ligament. This landed me on crutches with a crazy knee brace. An ideal situation for a mother of three. After a few weeks of relying on family and friends for help it healed enough for me to be a regular human again. Thanks to everyone to helped out, especially my mother who "braved " the dangers of staying at our house for a week to help take care of the kids. Other then the various illnesses that come with being a kindergartner, we have settled into a "normal"routine. We are looking forward to planting our garden in the next couple of weeks. I can't wait!

In other news Eric and I have been outfitting our "Garage Gym" (it is now pretty much complete) and are working out together almost every day. We are even getting the kids involved and it is so much fun! The kids really love it. Noah actually gets pretty upset when it is a "rest" day. A friend of mine turned us on to a fitness program called Crossfit and we just love it. Some days it is pretty brutal, but I love the feeling of accomplishment that you get from finishing a crazy workout. Anyway, if you are interested in such things, check it out! www.crossfit.com
It is great stuff!!!

Well that is all for now. Our next big event will be Julia bug's 1st Birthday!!!!! I can't believe it! Here are a few random photos of the kiddos!

A funny face
Noodles Jr.
"Fighting Stance"
Loving being sister