Nathan's 10 Seconds of Fame

We needed a little actor for our Toys for Tots campaign for Albertsons in Boise, and our Advertising Director asked if my son would like to be the tot. Nathan was pretty excited about the whole thing. He was great for the photo shoot in the store for the posters. He had a great smile and was willing to try about anything. When shooting the video for the advertisement, Nathan was a little more shy. I couldn'g get him to show the same big grin he had for the photo shoot and he was definately hesitant about giving the Marine a hug.

The ad is currently playing in Boise on ABC:

Here is the poster that is at our Boise Albertsons locations at the toy bin drop-off area:

Do you think he has a career?

Time flies when you've got 3 kids! Am I right Ladies?

Zach is almost 3 months in this picture!
Hannah and "pepe" go trick or treating.

Isn't Nathan the cutest Super Hero Ever?

Scott wore Britt's Hannah wig for a last minute costume to run the Fun Run here. We added the Bandanna and called him Brett Michaels! Rock ON!

Scott ran the St. George Marathon and did GREAT!

So you may have wondered why can't Nat get a new post more often and here is a glimpse at what is keeping me busy these days! I can't believe how much faster my day goes since we brought home little Zach! Halloween seems like yesterday but here we are already Christmas shopping today! We had a blast having almost all of Scott's siblings here to celebrate Halloween with us! What a Blast!! It is one of our new family traditions that we look forward to. Scott decided an hour before the Great Pumpkin Race that he was going to run so we scrambled for a costume and this is what we got! I think he looks pretty sexy with that long blonde hair! He came in 2nd place and won 3 months at the gym w/ personal training--that he gave to me! So reaaly we were bith winners! That is the other thing that has kept us busy is running around to watch Scott run races this month. He ran the S. George Marathon in early October and another 10k race here in Boise 2 weeks later. He had his fastest 10k finishing in 41 minutes! So other than racing I stay busy shuttleing kids to and from school, preschool, and gymnastics. Oh, and just to make sure I don't get bored I went back to work 1 day a week starting November 5th.

I always love to post a funny story and so I'll finish with my favorite Halloween story. I had gotten this sombrero at DI and thought it would make a fun costume. Half way through trick or treating Britt was at the door and the adults were asking her about her costume. She was very proud that they could tell she was Hannah Montana. I guess she must have felt bad for me because they didn't comment on my costume so she drew their attention to me saying, "And look at my'Mom, She's a (pause)...Chinese thing!" The neighbors got a kick out of that! I think I laughed until the end of the block! Britt wasn't trying to get a laugh but she really enjoys making a good joke!

New Family Pictures--Hurray!

Just the Girls!

What a cute toothless Smile.

Just the Boys!

Just the OLD people!

The Snelders Family

Nate is voted most photogenic.

Our family (in a) TREE!

We want to thank Judy and Kevan for taking time to help us get some cute new family pictures. I think we got some good ones. Our favorite background spot ended up being in the sun and all of us are making weird faces so we didn't post that one. My favorite picture of the day was the one of all the kids that is our new title picture! So cute!! I know all the Grandmas will be excited to get a copy of that one. THANKS to Judy and Kevan now we have new pictures!! Mom--I know you will want to see all 200 but we didn't think everyone else would so we will send you a CD!

Families are Forever

Little Zach is 4 weeks old on his blessing day.
This little boys is always moving those hands if he is awake!

Who wouldn't want to be together Forever?

VERY proud Big Sister and Big Brother. Now they have something..or Someone new to fight over! And believe me they do!

We are very blessed! (Pretty busy and tired but blessed all the same!) Little Zachary has been in our family now for 7 weeks today. Somedays I feel like it is flying by and then other times I feel like it has been a FOREVER since I got a good nights rest! But look at that little face, he is worth every minute. I guess I just feel very lucky today and want to express my gratitude for having such a wonderful family. I think I would feel very lost if I didn't know, without a doubt, that I will live with my family for eternity. Somedays I know the kids would like me not to nag them for eternity but its a risk they will have to take. Recently we had some friends comment on how neat they thought it was that we spend every Saturday doing some kind of activity together as a family. I guess this is something I have just taken for granted. I am very lucky to have a husband that makes family time a #1 priority. We don't always do exotic things on our Saturday family day. Often our family activity is going to Sams Club browsing and getting a hot dog. It's about an $11.00 date but our kids love it because Saturday is sample day so they get more than just a hot dog. So thank you to our friends for telling me that you think the Snelders have a fun tradition because it has made me realize how important family time is and I'm grateful that "Saturday family day" is just part of our life style. I'm glad they shared with us that they have totally changed their previous Saturday schedule to now make Saturday their family day. I hope everyone reading this blog knows me well enough to know that I'm not boasting, I'm just as shocked as everyone else to realize we are doing something that others think is right.

P.S. We are truly blessed to have THE coolest friends and family in the world...yeah I mean all of you reading this. (Unless your a blog snooper and then I guess I don't know if you are cool or not.)

"Look Dude, No training Wheels!!"

Our little artist!! It is definitly in her Genes!
Nate is pretty excited about his new skills!

Look at me GO, and GO....and GO!

Britt has been riding for 5 months and shows Nate how a pro does it!

Nate and Dad at "Art in the Park" building and Airplane out of Cardboard.
The fancy term is "recycled art".

Have we EVER mentioned that we LOVE Boise in the fall? I know we are annoying but Art in the Park is one of our absolute favorite events of the summer. Usually we ride our bikes on the Greenbelt into Julia Davis park but this year with Zach we had to change and walk into the park. Zach can't hold up his own head so he is no where near ready to try out the bike trailer. We did however keep our tradition of packing a picnic and finding a shady spot to enjoy lunch together in the park! Some may think is a little sad that a piece of fried chicken and free art projects makes for such a happy family but that's how we like our Saturdays... SIMPLE.

Now for our other big news, Nathan can ride his bike. It was amazing how fast he learned. We knew he would pick it up quickly but we had no idea it would be this quick. Just like Britt he decided to learn when Mom was gone to mutual and had nearly mastered riding a bike in a single night. On Thursday he followed Mom around all day begging her to find time when Zach was asleep that she could go help him riding his bike. After a couple of laps up and down the street with him yelling over his shoulder "LET ME GO"(because I was hanging on to his shirt) he gave up and waited for the real bicycle trainer (DAD) to get home from work. Then that night he was well on his way. So the first night he could balance and ride but was scary to watch. The second night he had even better balance and learned how to turn around and stop with out crashing. And then Friday night, he learned how to start all by himself and now is an expert. He loves to show anyone how fast he can go! It amazes me that he chose to have Dad take off his training wheels and learned to ride his bike in one night! He gets that from Scott. I haven't confessed to the kids that I couldn't ride until I was like 8 or something! I just remember being embarassed that I had training wheels so I must have been pretty stinkin' old!

Back to the Books

Lining up after the 1st bell and guess who is 1st in line!!
This was the shirt Britt picked out on our Girls only shopping trip.
Thanks Honey, for taking the boys so we could go shopping. It was SO much fun for both of us!

Now you can see the total look. For all the girls, we know it is all about what you wear the 1st day back to school!

Brittanie started back to school on Monday and could not have been more excited!! She woke up as soon as she heard Scott and she quickly made her bed and put on her outfit she picked out the night before and then to my dismay....she did her own hair. In her mind she thought she was ready and now she just had to wait. But the poor little girl has a Mom who is way to up tight to let her do her own hair on the 1st day of School. After some savy negotiations of "extra baby Zachary time", I talked Britt into letting me do her hair! Sigh of relief!! (I have found these two kids will do just about anything if it results in them getting some alone time to snuggle their baby brother.) After a few pictures, she couldn't stand it anymore and we drove her down to school. Nathan was a little embarassed because as we headed out the back door of the house he asked me if I wanted a jacket so nobody would see that I was in my pajamas!! Looking back now on taking her to 1st grade in my pajama's...I must say I am a little humiliated. I was wearing my Rad Racing t-shirt so at least it was my "cool" pajamas AND I had on sunglasses! I'm still trying to figure out where my day goes, but being home with the two boys keeps me busy but we love it. Nate likes having Mom and Zach all to himself for a few hours of the day, I guess that is as long as I don't take him anymore places in my pajama's!!

The Arrival of Baby Zachary

Zachary William Snelders was born Monday morning at 2:34 am. He weighed in at 6 lb 14 oz and has dark hair. Everyone is doing very well. Thanks to our great nurse & cousin -- Wendy for helping us get submitted, getting things moved along, and making sure we were taken care of. I'm sure Natalie will want to tell the story of the evening/morning so I'll leave that post to her for another day. We are so happy and thankful to get baby Z here!

Pictures from the big family TRIP!

Britt and Hallie ready to RIDE!
Britt's favorite night...Chocolate Fountain Night!

Cute little fish aren't they?

Nate loves Lake Life!

Nate has mastered the signal for FASTER!

Nate and Britt passed out after a very busy vacation.

Look at that smile! Life is pretty good I think.

Wow, thats all I have to say!

While we are waiting....

While we are waiting for Baby Snelders to arrive here are a few pictures of what we have done this summer. 2 weeks ago Scott took the kids on a trip to Cour d'lene for a family reunion with all this brothers and sisters. I was a chicken and didn't want to get that far away from my doctor/hospital/ and most important my epidural! I was 35-36 weeks along while they were on their trip. I was so bummed to not get to go but it was the decision I felt most comfortable with. They had a great time. As you can see Britt got to do her own hair! She was very proud of this style and I'm not sure what to call it but I know this toothless picture is going in her wedding video! The bed and breakfast they stayed at had a great tire swing and I love to see the smiles on their faces. I know our kids had a BLAST! I am thankful that the kids did miss me a little. Nate asked me the other day, "Mom when you're not fat anymore, do you want to go on the fast ride at Silverwood?" I feel so loved!

Earlier this summer we were able to take the kids to one of their favorite places in the valley...Roaring Springs! They had such a blast going on the slides and playing in the wave pool. Still their favorite ride this year was the racing slide! It was a great way to spend a hot summer day in Boise.

A promise is a promise.....

....No matter how much that promise hurts your self esteem! I promised you all pictures from our 4th of July performance and so here they are. These somewhat capture Scott's energy and ability to rock out and play all his notes at the same time. I however was just happy that I didn't tip over from the heat! No wonder I have never really had long hair--I can't take the heat! I hope our humiliation makes someone out there smile! Quick baby update: 36 1/2 weeks and dialated to a 1+. (I'm no doctor but isn't every woman in the world a 1???) I probably have another good 2 weeks so we will keep you informed. Thanks to all who made baby name comments, I liked alot of your suggestions! One thing I know for sure his that baby Snelders legal name will NOT be Nacho but I have a feeling it is a nickname that will stick! SO any one who finds a 3 month old Mexican wrestling costume, that would be a sweet baby gift for Halloween!

Baby Boy Name Survey

Scott and the kids are away on a trip and I have alot of time on my hands and I thought this might be a fun way to get feedback on some of the baby boys names we have been considering. We usually don't choose until the baby is born but I thought I would put our list out there and let you comment and tell us your favorite.

Zachary
Carson
Luke
Pete
Dillon
Cameron
Eli
Zeek
Or Write in a suggestion.

You will notice I didn't include some of Nates silly favorites like Nacho, Bowzer, or Skippy. Although funny, I would not name my baby any of those names and Zeek is borderline. However, my sister just told me she likes Zeek and so did several people at church. Is this really a name people other than Scott and Nate like? Just curious about the opinions of my family and friends so let us know! I am 35 1/2 weeks pregnant and hope to have this baby in 2-3 weeks so it is time to get fairly serious about names.

4th of July Reunion

Britt was SO excited to be IN the annual 4th of July Parade in Wayan.

I believe it's Idaho's only parade with more parade participants than spectators!
Friendly competition with Kevan. Let's just say if they make this "golf balls on a string" game into an Olympic Sport I would be on the cover of Wheaties in no time!!

Scott and Kevan didn't want the parade to end!

Pre-Parade crowd!

Scott always finds something unique to wear in the parade. This year Aunt Wendy knew that only one person could pull off the coconut bra and moon boots costume...Scott.

STOOR FAMILY REUNION:

We usually find ourselves in Wayan to celebrate the 4th with family but this year we had many scheduled events that made the weekend extra FUN for everyone. This is the 3rd year of our family parade and like most parades it gets better and longer every year! Thanks to Aunt Wendy's organization it was another great parade! After the parade we had lawn games and a fishing pond for the kids. The big attraction this year was the 1st (and maybe last) Family Talent Show. Scott and I dressed up and played one of our favorite Guitar Hero songs. Scott is a Great performer and Nat--well she can either dance or play..but not both at the same time. Being 8 months pregnant, we spared everyones eyes and just stuck to playing the song. Sadly we were performing and have no visual evidence of that performance...but check back we may get a video or pictures from somebody. Britt brought Mom to tears singing God Bless America along with signing. Nathan was too shy to perform-his talent is just being cute! Scott comes from a very talented family. There were several creative talents by other family members. We had juggeling, dancing, comedians, and even an appearance by Michael Jackson (both the black and white Micheal)! Scott's family is many things but I have never seen so many people that are such hard workers. One day was spent doing several projects all around the house and yard. I made myself useful by helping with lunch...and not alot else. When it came to finding the entrance to the septic system, I felt that was not a project I wanted any part of. It ended up that my brother in law Adam knows ALOT about just about everything and we had a very interesting tutorial on just how a septic system works. There was alot of laughing and jokes made and now Adam is know as "Sherlock" in our family. My favorite new septic system term has got to be: pooh-juice. Now when Nate has to make a sewer system diagram I can help him...but I'll probably have him get help from Uncle Adam!