Welcome Madeleine Therese!

Posted on November 12, 2017 by Maria

At 10:18 am, Friday, the 10th of November, Madeleine Therese took her first breath of California air. Madeleine will be the first to be born out of Sioux Falls and the only one with a California birth certificate. She was 8lb 7oz and 19″ which is a pretty average Frederes size.

Just so cute!

Benjamen loved holding the pacifier in while holding the baby

Someone takes cheese a little seriously.

Sleeping angle with wild hair.

I’m awake now!

Baby: Who are you?

Even in strange arms, she let sleep claim her.

This is Actually Happening

Posted on November 12, 2017 by Maria

There are last minute decisions in my life all the time, I plan outings spur of the moment, I babysit last minute, My family of 10 have left on a cross-country 2-week vacation with a 24hr notice. So, I am very used to changes and last minute decisions but this will be the fastest course of action I have seen yet. These next days will go by in a blur of boxes, stress, sweat, tears, and change.

On October 10th we received a call from our realtor, there was a family that wanted to look at our house the following morning. So we quickly got the house ready for a showing that night and went to bed. They came in the early morning and we all left to go have breakfast at Burger King and few blocks away. We were almost finished eating when my dads’ phone rings which is a normal occurrence so nobody pays any attention to the call that will change everyone’s lives. My dad hangs up the phone and says “they want to move-in November 1st.”

Then Next Morning

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Maria

The next morning we started bringing everything light enough to be carried upstairs. Dad and Landon started to pull the carpet up. As we got closer to the pool table we still were not getting any dry pad. Under the pool table might be wet which means we had to take the extremely heavy pool table down. Everywhere we thought might be dry was wet, because the carpet pad we had underneath was so thick it sucked the water up like a big sponge.

Alex and Joseph had the job of carrying the sopping wet pad outside. The way we pulled the carpet up, was to pile everything to one side of the room, then pull the carpet up on the empty side. Then, pull the pad out, and lay the carpet back down. And then move everything to the side without the pad and do the same. We did this to every room downstairs. It took us all day and we went to bed very late that night.

August

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Maria

Everything was going well, supper was almost done. Then we would have cake to celebrate my sweet 16 birthday. It was raining and one could barely see out the windows. I was video recording the rain poring down outside not knowing what disaster awaited me in the future.

I hurried in to the kitchen and continued to set the table for dinner, when there is a scream of terror coming from the basement. It was Joseph and he was yelling “the bathroom is flooded!” In no less than a minute Landon and I were down scooping gallon buckets out of the sump-pump and dumping them outside through the garage steps. The basement was being flooded again. The sump-pump could not keep up with the rain that we were getting. I hustled into my room to look for water and the carpet was floating by the window. I began to throw towels on the wet carpet, but with every towel I threw they became saturated. I gave up.

I started to throw everything I could into the nearest box only stopping to comfort the traumatized Dominic who was most upset. He was very concerned that we were all going to die. I told him the rain was going to stop and the water was only going to get an inch high, showing him with my fingers how big that was. Then he started to calm down. Landon was calling me back to help him with the rising water in the sump room so I told Dominic to go back upstairs to wait where he would not be in the way. But that just made him more upset that I was not coming with him. He said, “But I’m scared!” Then to the rescue came Sarah who had a headache at the time so she could not help carry water. She took his hand and led him up the stairs along with Claire.

Quickly I went back to shoveling water with Landon. At around 11pm(about three hrs after Joseph screamed) we had probably taken 30 gal of water out of the sum-pump. “Happy flood day to you,” Landon said. I had to laugh about that for a while. For the next two hours we used the shop-vac hose to suck water out of the carpet which was not very effective. There was just too much water to keep up. Dad came home with a second smaller vac to help. At 1:30am we decided we would have to pull the carpet up in the morning. This was a very distressing thought for me. The entire time I was scooping water a flash back was playing in my head when five years ago, we flooded for the first time. Every detail was replayed in my head like it was presently happening.

That will be the most memorable birthday ever.

To be continued…

May and June

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Maria

Benjamin was born May 7th around 2:00am, with lots of hair on his little head. Happy birthday dad, Claire 2 , Benjamin 0, Dominic 4 and Daniel 6.

Sarah is doing some preparing for Alaska. And Joseph turns 9.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Maria

This year for Thanksgiving we went to my grandparents farm on my dads side. We had a wonderful time, my grandma made her delectable deviled eggs, brownies, stuffing, and more. My granddad made the best turkey I have ever had, Sarah made yummy pumpkin pie, mom apple crisp, I made some kind of drink with ginger ale, fruit punch, and raspberry sherbet. Some time after lunch my granddad took two children at a time out to his field to drive the tractor. First he brought Daniel and Joseph, then Alex and John, and last but not least he brought me. Driving the tractor was very fun. It took me a while to get used to driving such a big peace of machinery. After that my granddad went outside with Landon and dad to shoot a big gun (we are way out of town) at an old can, the gun was very loud, and they did have ear protection. I stayed inside. I do not like to shoot guns it hurts my shoulder. After that we all stayed inside. It was very cold and windy so I did not get any pictures. But my granddad just sent me a picture of the tractor and deep till I drove.

On Tuesdays I take a class for strengthening and conditioning for pointe. On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving my teacher said ( we must be thankful for our food and I will make you be thankful, and make you remember me over thanksgiving.) Everybody remembered her, including me. I was so sore, and even to this day my abs and shoulders are sore.

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. I hope you were thankful because some people have only a piece of bread to be thankful for, NOT turkey, pumpkin pie some kind of drink with ginger ale, fruit punch, and raspberry sherbet, apple crisp, deviled eggs, brownies, stuffing, and more.

Trip To Chicago

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Maria

We went to Chicago last weekend. First we went to the Aquarium then to the Field Museum which I carelessly left my camera in the car for the museum so NO pictures. It took us ten hrs to get there.

This was on the way there the mountains were beautiful.

The next day after the aquarium we walked to the sears tower from the aquarium which is like 3hrs of walking.

This is the aquarium selling.

Fish in the aquarium eating another fish.

Thats what I call a smart fish.

This is the best picture of a beluga whale I could get, you are not aloud to use flash in the aquarium so excuse the bad pictures.

A giant jelly fish can you see the tentacles go so far back.

Look at all the little fish.

Sarah Landon John and I got a separate room from the a joining room.

On the way home we stopped at the science and industries museum. This is Landon’s hand and you can see his veins.

Then we went home, and are living happily ever after.

Our Own Ribs

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Maria

Dad made some delicious ribs with our smoker two weeks ago.

Buuuurrrp! Excuse me! It took all day to cook but we started at four or five a clock, and was done at nine.

4th Of July

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Maria

This 4th of July was special we got to ride on my granddad’s four wheeler, Landon and Sarah even got to drive.Landon and Sarah gave rides to. Landon gave me a ride first but no pictures.

Some of these were hard to got because I had to take the picture and FAST get out of the way. The speed limit was 10 to 15 Mile per hr.

Proof she was moving.

Sarah with John.

Dad a little bit later tried to do a wheelie. I get a driving lesson next time we go.

Dominic had this worried look on this face after supper. Then he saw that he was getting attention and stopped, then he did it again stopped and did it again.