The snow is gone

The snow is gone :( Here are some cute pictures that I took of the boys the first day it snowed. They had such fun! But it rained and the temp got up to the 50's which is a heat wave here. Now the sun is out and it is back to the 30's. So the next storm we should get more snow. Of course I may be in California by then enjoying the sunny warm weather. Yeah! We can't wait. See you soon.

Music

Sat. Dec. 1st Joshua was in his first music recital. It was so cute. There are 6 kids in the class and we (the kids and moms) got up on stage and sang 2 songs and played the hand bells. Mark recorded it for us. I will post pictures when I am home. It was cute. The school has 800 kids, so the recital is in blocks of 1 hour times. We were the first hour and stayed to listen to some of the older kids play. Justin enjoyed it and Mark said he was impressed with the kids talent. Then we went home and watched movies. It was snowing and is still snowing. Can't wait to drive home in it, ha, ha, ha.

Snow,snow,snow

Well I have heard around town that we are in for a lot of snow this winter, and I think they are right. We had about 1 1/2 inches last week and now it has snowed off and on for the last 2 days. I thankfully already have my snow tires on. It just makes me feel better to have them. Last week I actually slide down my driveway and almost hit a pole. I am from California after all! That was before we got the snow tires on. The next day we had to get up at 6am to get to the Altons tire store. Everyone else waited until the last mintue too!! So this week no sliding!!
The kids are loving to snow. We had to go out at 8am to play in it the first day we got the inch of snow. I am at work right now or I would upload the pictures. The boys mostly love the sled down our hill. Even Josh. He really likes the snow, which he hated last year. So we have snow suits spread all over the house, gloves and jackets too. They are outside at least once a day if not twice. Shadow loves the snow too. He loves to dig in it!
I can't wait to get to California to see everyone. I look forward to the sun and warm weather. I am enjoying the snow, but it will last until March, so I know that I am not missing anything by visiting sunny CA.
Hope all is well!

The first snow

We have had our first snow today. It wasn't much and is already gone, but it is my signal that I need to get out the big jackets. I love the first snow (even if it only makes mud). It is the sign that winter is here and it is time to snuggle down and watch the winter go by. Time for hot chocolate with marshmallows (the kids favorite). I love the way our valley looks all white and the trees all covered in white. And Christmas is coming which is exciting. Especially this year because we are heading to California for the first time since we moved here. Yeah. I know that by the time we get there I will be looking forward the the sun and warm weather!! What I am really looking forward to is seeing all our family and friends. Yeah!!

It wasn't pneumonia

Well it turns out that Justin didn't have pneumonia. He had a really bad asthma attack. I thought we were done with asthma. You know how you always hear "he will grow out of it!" Well, I thought that had happened, but it has not!! Oh well. So he is on a medication for one month that has been helping. And everything he got for the pneumonia treatment works for the asthma too, except the antibiotics, which he didn't need. So we continue down the asthma road and now I know it is not over! :)

Star Wars party

On Nov. 10th Justin turned 7 and we had a Star Wars party at our house. It was a lot of fun for the kids. As you can see we had quite a few kids there. Justin invited his cub scout wolf pack and Jacob who he has been friends with since we first got here. Then some of the siblings came too. I think in all we had 19 kids that day. It was the event! We had Jedi training - they ran an obstacle course in the garage, we played pin the lightsabor on Darth Mal, and guess the name of the Star Wars character. The cake came out cute, we decorated a Costco cake with star wars action figures we had here. It was the hardest party I have ever done, because there was so much going on all the time. But everyone said they had fun, so I guess that is what counts.

Justin gets pneumonia

Justin has pneumonia! Can you believe it? Joshua got a cold on Thursday and then of course Justin got it on Saturday, while I was at work. Then I worked Sunday so I didn't see him until 8pm. When I got home Justin seemed OK, but Mark said he had a fever that day. So off he went to bed. So when I go to check on him, his breathing was awful. His rate was high and I could tell that he was having a really hard time. So out comes the inhaler (which I kept from our asthma days). That helped a little, but not enough. So Justin and I head off to the ER. On the way there, of course he was getting better. He was sitting up and breathing better. So then I was thinking do I really need to take him?? But, we went. And it turns out he has pneumonia. I am glad we went and started the medications he needs because his Star Wars birthday party is this Sat. We have had a quite week at home with the boys coughing everywhere and me cleaning! We are having the whole wolf pack and some extra friends over on Sat. Justin is really looking forward to it. It should be a fun time. We are checking up with Justins doctor tomorrow to make sure he is better. That is it here. Hope all is well with you. Michelle :)

Oct 2007

Hi! Sorry it has been so long since my last update. We have been very busy as always. It was 44 degrees out on the day that we got our pumpkins!! Very cold. When it drops past 50 I start getting really cold. 50's are cold, but manageable! The pumpkin picking was a cub scout activity, so we had lots of friends there. Josh and Justin got to dress up on Halloween as Anakin Skiwalker and Superman. They each loved their costumes. We went to the church harvest festival and had a great time. There was lots to do, and candy to win!! Justin has been doing great at riding lessons. He is not afraid to get on and ride, even after his fall. I am very proud. His other favorite activity is face painting. Every other day he wants to paint his face. It is always fun to see what he comes up with. Josh's favorite thing right now is music class. He is learning so much in class. They even are learning to play the piano. The class goes by so fast I haven't had any time to take a picture. I will try to remember to do that.
So the Christmas plan is for the boys and I to get to California on 12/19 and leave 1/9. Mark can't stay that long, so he will be there on the 21st and leave the 5th. We hope to see everyone while we are there!!
Michelle

Horse Fun / Fall is here

Well, I had a good heart stopping scare this week. Justin fell off the horse at riding lessons on Weds. Oh my gosh is that hard for a mom to watch!! So the story is that Justin and Spats were lopping down one side of the wall when Spats saw something he did not like. So he jumps sideways and gets a little crazy, but Justin stayed on. That was the first time my heart stopped! Then they are ridding around and everything is fine, until the second time around when Spats again sees this terrible thing (in his mind anyway!) and this time he really decides to get crazy. Justin almost held on until the saddle horn hit him in the stomach. That is when he went down. Spats gave him a look like what are you doing on the ground. You were suppose to hang on like last time. It was really cute, because you could tell that Spats was upset that Justin was on the ground. Anyway, Justin got up and back on. He loves horse back ridding, I tell you he has his Grandfathers blood in him! He thinks it is cool that it is his first fall off. Kids!! Josh didn't even know what was going on, to busy playing in the dirt!!
So today the MEN are outside burning an old tree. That is what we do here in Idaho, we burn stuff, just to keep the air smokey!! It has been cloudy and cold for days now. Falls is here!! The leaves are changing and beautiful. The MEN also love the ATT (that is what Josh calls our ATV). They are off for a ride around the area to sell popcorn. Justin is selling for the Cub Scouts and has already reached his goal of selling $1050. Now he gets a bow and arrow as a prize. (just in case you didn't know that is also a heart stopper for a mom! Justin with a bow and arrow!) Thank you all who ordered from CA. He is now trying to sell the most popcorn of the pack. We will see. Well have a great weekend!
Michelle :)

Train Trip

This Saturday was a very busy day for the Bradshaw's. Fri st we had a soccer game and from there we went straight to Ione,WA for a Cub Scout train trip. Ione is about 2 hours north west (mostly North). It was a beautiful drive. The leaves are changing colors and there are not a lot of people in this area. Mostly tress and mountains. There is even some snow on the mountains. Fall is defiantly here. The train ride was fun. It is something like the Filmore train for those of you who know that one. We went across a river on a very tall bridge. And we went in a long dark tunnel. Both of the boys had a great time!
Hope all is well with you!
Michelle :)

Pack Meeting

Hi all - We had our first Cub Scout pack meeting of the year. The theme is Trains this month, so we had some train skits, songs, and games. The kids had a great time. Sat. we are off on a field trip to Ione, ID for a train ride. There is a staged robbery, and we stop on a very tall bridge. We have never been to Ione, so it should be fun. Josh started Music in Me last night. Just he and I go for 1/2 hr. to sing songs, play the piano, and dance. He really loved it. His face had a smile the whole time, and he loves to dance. That about sums up or week. Hope you are well!

Michelle :)

Cub Scouts

Hi there - I am sorry I forgot my camera last night. Justin was so cute at his cub scout den meeting. He is the Dener, which is someone who gets to help out the den leader. He gets to wear yellow cords on his left shoulder. He is very proud to be the first dener of the year and takes all his jobs seriously (most of the time) :0). He had to vacuum last night, and was running over the other boys! Josh loves to pretend he is a cub scout too. Any shirt that has a picture that even looks like a badge, he wears and says he is in the cub scouts too. Which is fine, he goes to almost all the activities too.

We are getting ready for the start of INCH, which is our homeschool co-op. It is on Mondays, so next week is our first full day. Justin is taking Beginning Spanish, Madison English, Manners Please, and Paper bag Crafts. He should have a great time and it will supplement what we are doing at home. Josh will be in the Nursery. He gets a lot of playtime with 13 other kids. We have about 168 kids in the co-op, so it is like a small school. They even serve hot lunch. I am teaching two classes, so I must go get ready!!

Hope all is well!
Michelle and family

Learing the Blog world/ Josh and Shadow

Hi all - I have been working on the blog today, trying to figure out how everything works. I am sure I don't have it all yet, but it is fun to try. I hate to say that I don't know much about computers (don't tell Mark - ha, ha, ha). So I am trying out my second post. I want to include some more about Josh. He is a real cutie! He is a very happy 3 year old, people I don't even know come up to say that to me. Of course he has his moments. Just today he threw a tantrum because Justin had something he wanted. So there are a lot of ups and downs, as with all 3 year old. He is still taking naps, which I love!!! He likes to sleep. Most days I still have to wake him up from the nap. Not today, I just now hear him running down the stairs. The best thing (well as his mom I think there are a lot of "best" things) about Josh is the way he dresses!! Yesterday he picked out camouflage shorts, a white shirt with strips, and cowboy boots. And most of the time he has some kind of colorful socks on too. Thank you Grandma Judy, he loves the socks you get him!! Today it was his horse socks with red shorts and blue shirt. I have included a picture of Shadow our 1 year black lab for those of you who have not seen him. He is a handful, loves to chew on everything, but we love him. Shadow had a great time camping with us this year. I hear that in about 1 more year he will stop the chewing and puppy stuff, so that will be great!!

Hope all is good with you!!

First Blog/Fmaily Update

Hi Family and Friends! I got the idea of posting a blog from my friend Jess (thanks Jess!). I am always trying to send pictures and update family and friends about what is going on up here in Northern Idaho, but time goes by so fast each day. So I can update everyone at once. All you have to do is check the blog every so often to see the new pictures and hear about the boys life. So, we will give it a try and see how it goes. Of course I have no idea how to use this, but I will learn as I go. Maybe Mark will help! He is the computer guy after all!

As far as the family update, we had a great summer. We had lots of visitors and spent most of our time outside! We love the lake and river and Wild Waters! We got summer passes with some friends. The boys love the water. We went camping at Farrget State Park with the Cub Scouts. Josh's first camping trip. He wants to know when we will go again! Now that it is Sept. we have started homeschool. Justin wasn't to happy that we started, until he actually got started. Now he loves it. Today we made a balloon model of the solar system. We had the great idea to attach it to the fan, so the "planets" rotate around the sun. Lots of fun. Two days ago we were looking at how other cultures do hair, makeup ect. Justin "put on war paint" with my makeup. It was so cute!

Josh is full of fun too. He loves to be outside, ride his bike and play, play, play! He is growing up so fast. He loves to do everything his brother does.

Well, that is it for now. I hope you enjoy the pictures and updates.

Michelle :)