To infinity and beyond.....Just Keep swimming

Well I have a first grader, a big tooth loosing, reading, chinese talking first grader. Alex as he is known in Wang laoshi class is a big guy of 6 who did really well for his first year. He loves his friends and is very sad school is over with. This summer we will be keeping up with Chinese studies through a chinese class with his teacher twice a week and he will be concentrating on swimming lessons with Inara down at the beach.
Inara is thrilled that her brother is around to play all day long. She is very grown up for three and recently was a princess for a day in her Uncle Jimmy's wedding. Pictures to follow.
The twins are have grown like weeds they are nine months old as of June 1st. Leo has 6 teeth and Max has no teeth. They are both crawling around like crazy and getting into everything. Max enjoys clapping for himself and Leo enjoys flirting with everyone.
Oh side note I have lost all the phone numbers in my cell phone so please call me my number has stayed the same but I have a new phone with no one's numbers in it.

This was the kids on Sunday morning. We gave the twins their name and blessing at church. In the photos Max is on the left in Xander's lap and Leo is on the right. For those of you who haven't heard the twins full names here they are. At this point most of you aren't surprised when our children have unusual names. Leonidas Aslan Rex and Maximus Achilles Roland are the boys names.

Christmas is right around the corner..
Time sure has flown by and the twins have gotten big. This year has been really exciting and really hard in a lot of ways. We are scheduled to close on our new house this week so it's like a fabulous Christmas present. Our new address is 6040 Riviera Lane Excelsior MN 55331.

So I guess it's time to put something on here, although I still haven't finished our vacation posting. I still want to do that but for now I thought I should write a quick update. We are all officially in Mn now. Scott has started his new job and our house is sold. We feel incredibly blessed as to how smooth everything has fallen into place. Scott was officially transfered at the beginning of July so that I could get moved here and settled with the new doctor's before I got too far along. My parents graciously have opened their home to us and my sister and mom have been such a big help with the kids as I go to doctors appointments and become increasingly too big to do much. Our house sold in a market that wasn't moving and they were able to close quickly. Scott and I were so grateful to our friends, family and the people from our church that showed up to help us unload the moving truck into the storage unit it made short work of a long process for us. It's been a fast and furious change for us and there has seemed so much to do but I think we might have a handle on it all before Xander starts school next week and the twins show up. Granted they can show up at anytime. I am officially in my last month and they are estimating that they weigh 6 and 7 pounds. Max is would seem is bigger but we will see if that is accurate when they arrive. We miss our friends dearly in Wisconsin and look forward to seeing them at some point in the future. We are excited to be here in Minnesota and look forward to being able to visit with all the dear people that we left behind 4 years ago. We feel so blessed by the lord to have wonderful and dear people to share our lives in no matter where we go and that includes our family far away. I wish we could have all the people we love in one place near us but I know that no matter how far or close we are good relationships last. Much love to you all.
Tara

SOOOOO Xander is 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday Xander. I also had a birthday but mine is anti-climactic. We spent some time in MN with our families and friends, although as always we missed some people, sorry Amy and Dana. We promise to try to see those we didn't next time. It becomes hard with so little time to fit everyone we love in to a small time frame. Especially when you have lots of family. We did some fun things like getting a new family picture which I will post here soon. Xander had lots of birthday fun. He is really into swimming and the water. So we got him a new snorkel and mask, he can actually swim without help with the snorkel and mask. We also got him this cool underwater camera to take pictures underwater and he loves it. We can't wait to take it to Florida with us. We measured him on our family wall where we mark our kids and Xander has grown 2 inches since February. He starts swimming lessons today and he is sooooo excited. Inara got her hair cut and she is just as cute as ever. She is working on her swimming too and loves the YMCA, actually we all do. More to come when the kids aren't running amuck.

Yesterday we braved trying to get new family photos. If you go to flashportraits.com and click on my portraits then type in our last name, Hawks our password is Xander. The pictures won't be online forever just the next 90 days but we are buying the CD with them all on it so I will post some here when we get them back. Of course the children were amped up and Xander couldn't sit still but some did turn out really cute and it will be hard to decide which ones to put up. Stay tuned for more exciting posts Xander turns 5 this week and I turn 31 next week. Hugs to all!

This is a picture of my big grown up boy on the day of kindergarten registration. We are fortunate enough to live in the area that is in the best school for our district. Xander and I went last week to registration and met the school staff. This is the picture he made when he went with the other kids and the teachers for an hour to play and learn. He even made a new little friend named Austin. It was very exciting!Inara is getting big she is modeling her biker babe look with her Harley jacket.

Baby Kingston is here! We have been very blessed with a batch of new nephews. At the beginning of December Casey Scott's sister had Lucas Davon, whom we are eager to see but haven't had the chance since they live in Aberdeen. I am planning on getting to hold that little guy this summer. Then in January Scott's other sister Amy had Ethan Pasquale, and we haven't gotten a chance to meet him either since they live in Florida. However we are planning a trip for August to Florida and are very excited to see this handsome little guy. The pictures below are of Kingston River born on March 1st, just an hour shy of being a leap year baby. I was blessed to have jetted up to MN in time to help out. Mostly that meant trying to keep his big brother Kodi happy while mom was in the hospital. Kingston is my sister Mary's second baby boy. Unfortunately after we came home we got hit with the stomache flu for a week then the cold flu with some ear problems for two weeks so March has been a hard month. Scott spent the last week in March in Indiana which was hard since I was getting over being sick. It is time for spring! Although we did get a trip into the doctor this last week while dad was gone despite us all being well. Inara shoved playdough up her nose. Yup, it's finally happened a foreign object lodged in my kids nose. By the time the doctor got around to seeing us she had snorted it up so far she had ended up swallowing it. I would say we are done with the clinic for a good long while but I have a baby doctor appointment this week. We are getting to know the receptionist really well.

Yup, this is the face of a new father. I am just kidding Scott was way more mellow when I told him that the fabulous little test that I took into the bathroom had two lines on it.

So that is my newest excuse as to why now in March I am updating for the last three months. I have been feeling like roadkill and the blog has been the last thing on my mind. I literally mean roadkill as in I have been hit by a truck and I am not getting up. I thought that since I have already been around the block two times that I would have a handle on this thing we call fertilization. Wrong! Chasing around a 5 and a 2 year old is a whole other dimension that I call the world without rest. I long for my days of taking a nap when that little ball of cells that is multiplying exponentially gets me yawning, or the ability to just eat soda crackers and avoid all other food smells was a possibility. Now I have to keep track of my two children who seem to need to eat consistently, unlike your fish that you feed once a day, and are in need of social and emotional desires. Thankfully we have passed the 12 week mark in fact this week is our 16th week. We heard the baby's heartbeat at our last appointment so indeed it is a baby and I am not just eating too many Cadbury eggs. The newest member of our family is due to arrive September 23, 2008. We are very excited and so our the kiddos. Xander kissed my belly the other day when I dropped him off at preschool so he could say good-bye to the baby. Inara is beginning to understand what a baby is. Look for my ever expanding waistline in the near future!

We had a great Christmas but for some reason I can't publish our Santa photo. Inara's birthday is in January and we had a good second birthday. Here she is our big 2 year old getting her first haircut. We had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese with some of our favorite people in Wisconsin, the Furgeson's and the Couch/Wichern clan. She is getting very grown-up she likes princess things and Dora the Explorer. Her favorite person is Xander who she calls, "Baboe" because she couldn't say brother awhile back and it came out that way instead. She likes songs, books and animals. I can't believe that it's been two years already!

So let me explain the pictures... We ran our first 5k as a family and although I came in way behind Scott and the kids I still finished which was a big deal for me I plan to keep running and cute some time off my finish next time. The really cool part was Xander ran the last 1/4 of a mile with me, Scott came back and he jumped out of the jogging stroller and took off. "Mama come on you can do it," he kept saying to me. It was a very cool experience. There is also the picture of me wrapping both of my children in my baby wrap which is pretty heavy but they both want mama. Xander as you can see loves his snorkel and the bathtub which is good because he starts swim lessons after christmas. Inara is cute and wild and has decided she is going to do everything Xander does. The last picture is of Scott. He earned the German Physical Efficiency badge which included a swim, track and field events and a very long all day ruck march. I was so proud of him he earned a gold medal. It is standard in Germany for all Officers to take this test or you don't become an officer. Halloween photos soon to come!

I need to add a lot to the blog to catch up on the chaos that is our life. However I am really excited and want to share something new that is making some big changes in my life. I still have pain from my collarbone break and dislocation last year. Although I must admit that I have come a long way from where I was I am by no means in the physical shape I was before. I deal everyday with pain in my neck and head and I have to be careful with how much I lift or use my arm in certain positions. That is just a few of my concerns but now to why I am so happy. About a month ago my mother asked me to try this new protein/vitamin supplement shake. I was incredibly skeptical but it seemed to be doing mom good in so many areas I agreed. I took it once and have never looked back. The company is called Isagenix and they have a variety of products from a program which is giving my mom results that she has never seen in a healthy slow but effective manner, they also have vitamins both for adults and kids. Both Inara and Xander take the vitamins and after looking at the contents they kick the standard kids vitamins in the rear. I take the shake daily and it has given me so much...I have more energy and because it is protein based it lasts through out my day evening my blood sugar levels. I am much more calm and controlled, part of this is the large doses of vitamins in it. I feel like a junkie, I need my shake everyday. I am not doing the weight loss program per SE but I have lost half an inch in my waist for which I am very glad. If you have an interest in trying or asking more about the Isagenix products please ask! It has greatly improved my life and I am so happy to share any information with my family and friends. I will warn you that they have a distributor program, think pyramids but in no way am I trying to sign anybody up I am more than willing to help you get the products without the pressure or a sales pitch. In a few weeks i will be ordering single servings of the shake so if you want to try it let me know... HUGS
Tara

So the big news for us is that Scott is home. He didn't end up going to school after all and so we are here with him in Sun Prairie. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. The kids just adore dad and I know how hard 5 months apart was going to be on them. The down side is that Scott will not get his masters degree in 5 short months and his World of Warcraft time he thought he was going to get to wallow in is also been cut short. We have tried to spread the word but it's been a crazy summer we have been in MN for a spell, my little brother came to visit, Scott went to West Virginia and I am trying to keep the house clean for the realtor. We are still trying to sell our condo so that by next year either here or if a job on another CST in a state we like comes open we can buy a house with a yard. If you would like to see us back in MN I am asking for petitions to the big man upstairs to help us, but in reality we are very happy in Wisconsin we have wonderful friends and we are still close to home. As you can see from the pictures we attended the Harry Potter party at Barnes and Noble and had a blast. The kids are so big I can't believe how fast they grow. Well that is all for now much love to all of you!

Us with Mike and LauraXander and Inara dancing at the reception.
Mike and Inara

We had a great weekend. Mike and Laura our dear friends in Wisconsin got married. Laura was my first close friend in Wisconsin that helped me through the hard time I had moving here. She served a mission and came back this winter. We picked up right where we had left off and I am so grateful for her love and support. We love her new husband Mike. Inara has a special bond with Mike she simply adores him and we are so grateful that he loves her back. We feel so blessed and honored to share their special day with them and are so happy for them!

Happy Birthday Inara!
Inara turned one in January, this is our princess in her unicorn costume. She won't wear the unicorn headband and I am not sure why the costume has wings but she looks really cute. Thanks to everyone who gave her a gift. She is such a joy and delight!

Christmas was eventful this year. We decided to try a live tree instead of our fake one. We found a charming tree farm with real reindeer and had an awesome family day picking out our tree. Unfortunately we seemed to have lost our green thumb because our tree started to loose needles, a lot of needles. About 10 days before Christmas Inara went to touch it and the tree fell over. Thankfully not on Inara, Scott saved her but we took the tree apart then and there and rained pine needles all over our living room. So for our family Christmas before we went to MN we opened presents without a tree. Christmas itself was a little less fun because Inara and I got the stomach flu but all in all it was a good time. We love Christmas and the joy it brings to see our family and friends. The true meaning and spirit of Christmas bring us such joy that tree or no tree it was a happy holiday.

Update, too much to update. Inara is into everything! She crawls so fast, pulls herself up, eats everything and is adorable doing it. Xander is into Star Wars lately and insists that everything is a light saber. It is entirely too cute when he starts singing the theme song. I have been in a lot of pain since June and after my fourth try of getting help this doctor actually figured it out! I broke and dislocated my clavicle or collar bone. So now I have started physical therapy and I am in lots of pain but I think it's helping. I was beginning to think that my perpetual state would be one of crabiness with my children as wandered through my day in a haze of pain. I am really excited to be able to do things again, physical things like run or jump or play without wanting to scream. So there you have it that is the pain and the cure.

Xander also continues to grow like a weed and I can't believe how tall he is, tonight we cut his hair and he looks so grown up. Of course he wailed the whole time because the hair was prickly and he didn't like it on his neck. Inara cried because her big brother was crying in the bathroom and she was locked out of the bathroom. Gaia whined because both babies were crying and I just about pulled out my hair. But I am so grateful that they love each other so much that if one cries the other one does as well.

Halloween was good and cute, Xander was Luke Skywalker and Inara was Darth Vader. I will write more later my hand is cramping and I am falling asleep!

So the funny thing that happened last week was I was getting frazzled and my dear sweet husband tells me to take a deep breath and calm down. This was overheard by Xander who now tells me to settle down when I am talking a little too adamently. He also told me I was talking crazy the other day which made me laugh so hard I cried. Scott had decided to play flag football with his cracked rib and called to tell me that was the plan for that evening. He plays regularly on Tuesday evenings with some friends in a city league. It's a good time for all Xander and I cheer him on and Inara eats grass so we are happy campers. I was pretty much telling Scott in no certain terms would he be playing when Xander grabs the phone informs his daddy that mommy is mad with him and talking crazy! He then chastizes me and tells me to be nice to his daddy. The funny things my babies do. Inara now thinks it is great fun to play in the dogs water and eat any scrap of paper she can get her hands on! They do keep us busy!

So this is my contribution to the blog since Scott is now the editor. I belong to a group called NINO that supports babywearing. Meaning I try to have as much contact with our babies while still getting things done by wearing them on my body in a variety of ways. Now Scott calls it my propaganda since I love to spread the word about babywearing. But since he is such a good husband he supports me in my parenting choice and wears the babies too. I think this is my favorite set of pictures of him and inara at the state fair. She loves to play with his ears and she loves to be worn. Ohhh and that is my current favorite wrap called a gypsymama. That's all for now!

A Trip to Visit G'ma Sweetie and Papa Jim......The kids love thier Granparents...



The Kids become Harley Dudes and Dudettes....Xander even gets a cart ride..