Small update-

It's weird... I feel like we have been pretty busy lately, but I have very few photo opportunities lately. I did bring the camera to scouts the other day though and captured this adorable boy receiving his first scouting belt loops. :) He earned them in December at the day camp that he had. He has been so cute and excited about scouting.

The other exciting news that happened was my little doll Taylor broke his collar bone last weekend. He was playing on the trampoline with 5 other little kids and got pushed off. He landed right on his right shoulder in the grass. Carter jumped off immediately and held his head while he yelled for Mom to help Taylor. I knew it was something serious because Taylor is my toughest buddy. He doesn't cry EVER! He couldn't get up and I looked him over and carried him into the house.








Iwanted to keep an eye on him before running him into the ER. It of course happened on a Friday night so I couldn't just run him to the clinic by our house. I let him rest for a few hours while Rhett kept an eye on him. I met a couple girls and we got a bite to eat. When I got home I went to move Taylor to his bed and he cringed when I touched his right side. I decided that I had better run him in and see what was broken. We got to the ER right around 9:00. They checked us into triage and the guy thought I was crazy. I said I wanted ex rays done, but Taylor just wanted to get home so he told the Dr. it didn't hurt anymore. lol.

We tried to take his shirt off, but he was in too much pain. We ended up cutting it off. He was so embarrassed. :) I had brought a blanket with us so I just kept him wrapped up while we waited for our turn. We went up to do x-rays and Taylor did fantastic. I was so proud of what a tough guy he was. The Dr. finally came in and confirmed that Taylor had broken his collar bone. Taylor got a little teary and asked, "Is it broken forever?" The Dr. smiled and assured Taylor that is would heal soon. We got home about 2:30 in the morning. I loved being able to spend some alone time with my Taylor. I'm glad that he's doing okay.

It has been a week and he is doing a lot better. I'm sure it s healing right up. It has been hard on Taylor to  watch all the kids playing in the tree and on the trampoline, but he has been a real trooper. I love you Tater tot. Hang in there buddy!

Bad Weather

We have done NOTHING blog worthy lately. It has been really rainy for the last week and we literally haven't done anything fun. It is starting to get sunny again and we are thrilled. It is a killer to stay at home so much. A few things we have been up to though-

I can not get this monkey to keep his feet on the floor. He is ALWAYS climbing up my walls.

Oh, and Rhett and I went on a double date. The kids loved having a babysitter come over and we ate the most incredible ribs we have ever had. They literally just fell off the bone. After dinner, we went to a 4d ride they have over here and almost lost the ribs lol. I was slightly nauseous after the ride.

We then played games for hours together. It was such a great break from parenting and I always LOVE when I get to spend time with Rhett. Thanks for the date babe!

Happy Birthday Taylor (5)

Sweet little Taylor  had a birthday a few days ago and turned 5. I can't believe the difference in attitude and behavior this last year has been. He used to be extremely naughty, but for the most part he is such a good boy now.

For his birthday he really wanted to go to pineapple park so that is exactly what we did!

As a special bonus he got a free ice cream and I let him pick out a toy at the gift shop.  He was in pineapple heaven and I'm sure he ate his weight in samples as we walked through the store.

Then, when we got home he wanted to make a cake together. He got to stir and lick both the beaters. When it was finished we threw as much candy as possible on it. I personally missed the Julie cake, but Taylor LOVED his cake.

When we went to check on the kids right before bed this is what we found in the closet! lol. I'm pretty sure Taylor would have died in the night. That does not look comfortable at all!

Happy Birthday Taylor. I just love you to pieces. You truly are such a blessing in my heart and I'm sure my heart will break when you stop picking me beautiful flowers and bringing them to me. You are so thoughtful. I love you little buddy. Don't grow up too fast! :)

Family Fun

Rhett was heading to the golfing range the other day and sad he would take the two big boys. Hunter and Ryker quickly ran to put on their shoes because there is nothing better than getting to go with Daddy. I also needed to get out of the house so we just went as a whole family. 

 Taylor just got his own clubs and was extremely excited to give them a try. He does pretty good.

Hunter and Ryker were just excited to be out of the house.

I even had a surprisingly good time playing. Rhett gave me some really great pointers and I even had a couple pretty good shots.

Carter also did really well. He is turning into quite the golfer.

 We had some really great helpers. They all wanted to carry over the golf balls.

While we were there the manager came over and talked with Rhett and the kids. He was impressed that Rhett had the patience to bring 4 little boys with him.

He later brought over 3 more free buckets of balls so everyone had as many balls to hit as they could handle.
It was very nice!

Hunter had sort of a Happy Gilmore Swing. 

Ryker did as well- plus his poor club is upside down. I bet that made it hard. 

Rhett is such a great Dad and teacher. He has more patience than you could even imagine!

Teaching Taylor how to hit the ball.

Carter showing me that it's so easy he can do it with his eyes shut. lol.

We had such a great time and everyone did such a great job that Daddy rewarded us with ice cream! 

Thanks Daddy for a super fun day of  golfing together.

Happy New Year

I have to admit I am a little sad to see 2011 go. It was a really great year for us. We had lots of fun exploring Okinawa.

My resolutions this year are-

(1) Work out and get back into shape

(2) Survive the year.

I figure those 2 will keep me plenty busy as Rhett will de deployed for 6 months out of this year. 

We ended up putting the kids to bed early and played games with the neighbors. We tried to keep them all up last year, but they just got grumpy. We had a blast with the neighbors and I promised in the morning the kids could toast to the new year. 

Christmas 2011

 We had a great Christmas this year. We were excited for the kids to fall asleep to set everything up. It took them quite awhile due to everything being so exciting.

They climbed in our beds about 6:00, but fell asleep until 7:00. Lucky us.

They couldn't wait to run down those stairs and see if Santa had come. The day was perfect. Everyone LOVED their gifts.

Enjoy the pictures. We love you family!

Christmas Advent- Day 24

Day 24- Write a Christmas letter for family and friends.

The kids all blew Dobby a kiss goodbye and told him to have a safe flight back with Santa. It was cute. They will surely miss finding this silly little elf everyday.

 The Olsen Family Christmas Card- 2011

This year has been the absolute BEST year of our marriage thus far. I'm sure that it helps that I actually get to see Rhett. We do a lot as a family and are loving the new adventures of living in Japan.

Rhett- He is working as a dentist for the Air Force and is loving his job. He stays busy treating all the active duty members and their dependents. On his off time he has been introduced to the world of gaming and devotes many hours online playing Modern Warfare 3. He also loves the outdoors and loves the chance to play ultimate frisbee, racquetball, and golf. He can also be seen in the backyard playing steamroller on the trampoline or throwing a baseball with his little boys. 

Rebecca- I have stayed extremely busy cleaning up messes that the twins make. They have a special talent in destroying anything and everything they get their hands on. I have also been trying to learn to cook this year. I would love to say that I have mastered this and that I am a pro, but it seems quite the opposite. Most of the new meals that I make are barely edible and would not be considered delicious. I will keep working on this one. I do play volleyball twice a week and can honestly say that it keeps my insanity in check. Rhett feeds the kids and gets them all tucked in on these nights. It has been AWESOME. Overall, a great year.

Carter- He turned eight this year and is loving the second grade. He still hates to read, but it doing well with it. He has blossomed this year and has made LOTS of friends. I feel as though I have six to eight kids most days, but love to see them all out playing together. He can't wait to get baptized and we were planning to do it in Hawaii, but most likely he will be baptized in the East China Sea. He is also in scouts now and loving every second of it. It is a blast to see him so excited about it. He just had a three day scout day camp and earned lots of new badges.

Taylor- He will be turning five in a few weeks and is excited that he will get to start kindergarten soon. He is very into mario brothers and sonic. Games are a new thing for him, but he is sure enjoying them. He also is still very much in love with girls. He likes to go to his primary class because there are like eight girls in it. He constantly teasing them to get their attention. He is such a sweet little boy. He is my helper and loves to help me get dinner ready. He also LOVES peanut butter and honey sandwiches and expects one everyday for lunch.

Hunter- He is getting so big. He gave me the greatest gift for Christmas and I can officially say that the twins are potty trained. Yay!!! He is my little cuddler and climbs into my bed every night for some extra mommy time. He is also like a little shadow. He loves to be right next to me. He loves snacks, but is a horribly picky eater and makes dinner a nightmare. He loves Dora and Ryker is his best friend. They don't like to be apart. He really likes to go. Anytime anyone is going anywhere you can find his hustling to the door to put his shoes on so he can go.

Ryker- He is a little stubborn right now and it's really hard to get his mind off something when he has it set. He is constantly stealing Daddy's iphone to play games. Most of the people that know the babies can always tell Ryker apart because he is my little nudist. I cannot keep pants on this kid at all. He loves underpants and doesn't understand that I want him to cover up the picture. He is really a sweetheart and always makes sure to tell you that he loves you. He is a very great snuggler as well.

That pretty much covers our family. We hope that all of our friends and family are well. We are now about half way through our tour over here in Okinawa and though we miss everyone in the states we are continuing to enjoy the adventure we have had here.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!