Our Great Expectations

Go Cards!!

2012-02-16T19:27:00.001-08:00

A little bit of Everything

2012-02-15T16:44:00.000-08:00

So things have been busy the last couple weeks. Or, we've just been trying to keep ourselves busy the last couple weeks. We are (im)patiently waiting for our next assignment. We know we are moving this summer, exactly the beginning of July, we just don't know where... Are any of you in that boat? I hope not. It really stinks. We know God has a great plan for us, but we just want to know what it is, already!!!
For the time being, we have outings, we watch the birds in our yard, we play and have fun together (mostly).
Here are some birds that have been enjoying our totally disgusting bird bath:

This girl. I think her hair is curly. This tends to be how she wakes up from her nap, she's all sweaty and her head is a mess!! But at least she's happy. :)

This is breakfast. Trying to find everyday, normal things to take pictures of in their youth. I'm SURE they'll want to remember this when they're 30. Especially Aaron.

Late last week, Aaron and Delaney got a goody box from Kansas City filled with candy, window stickers, a couple toys, and valentines. Aaron was so excited to open it!!

This last Sunday Aaron and Chuck went to the sportsman's show in Portland. They had a trout pond the kids could catch fish in. I'm assuming he was mimicking how the hook go his fish. Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine!!

Mimi got this for Aaron, like, a YEAR ago. This is the first time he's put it on. We wanted to see what he'd do.

If Aaron is awake when Delaney wakes up from her nap, this is what's been happening. He climbs into her bed and plays with her. She thinks it's hilarious. This time he kept getting out to get more cars. I think by the time they were done, ever single car he has was in her bed. Good thing she doesn't want personal space, because Aaron stinks at it.

And this is what I did today. The girls on my photography forum had talked before about how you take your lens off your camera, turn it around BACKWARDS and it turns into a redneck macro lens. A friend of mine and I got together for lunch this last weekend (we know each other from the board) and she was telling me about it again. Since I don't have a macro lens (yet), I wanted to give it a try. Took me forever to figure it out, but here was the best shot it got, out of about 100 images. This is heather. I can't wait until other flowers in our yard are blooming. Goodness knows there a ton of different kinds, I'm excited now!!

He's gonna stay up all night

2012-02-04T23:08:00.001-08:00

Waking up

2012-02-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

What a mess she is in the morning...

Oscar nominated!

2012-02-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

Audio cassette tape

2012-01-29T09:47:00.001-08:00

How is I still have these? Let alone one still in plastic???

Sew...

2012-01-21T14:46:00.001-08:00

Sad

2012-01-19T18:43:00.001-08:00

Delaney is a Star!!!

2012-01-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

Delaney had a doctor's appointment last Friday and my friend from small group was gracious enough to watch Aaron while we went. It was a bit out of the way, but it was so much better than enduring 3 hours with both of them on my own and trying to talk with the doctor at the same time!!

When we were leaving I immediately saw that someone was going to be on tv, that over-sized video camera they always use, so I picked her up (she had her squeeky shoes on) and quietly got out of their way. Then a pediatrician starts running after us yelling "WAIT!!" I thought I forgot something! She told me why the TV crew was there and that they needed a small child (younger than grade school aged) and asked me if they could use "my cute daughter." Reluctantly, I agreed. Good thing I'd put on make up that day and did my hair, but too bad I was wearing a shirt that was supposed to be in the laundry!!

We aren't on TV yet, that's toward the end of the month. But this lady has a blog for local moms and asked if she could put some of her iPhone pictures of Delaney on the blog. So, there's the link, check it out! We're famous!! I can confidently say Delaney and I have left our mark on Portland.

Here are my pictures:

First half of January

2012-01-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

We've been trying to keep ourselves busy and keep our minds off of the news we are so eagerly awaiting. It's tough to know news is coming but you have no idea what or when it will be. Ugh!!

Last Friday we went downtown for dinner. It was so nice, definitely not like our normal boring dinner at home or out and then back home. We went to P.F. Changs and then booked it down 8 blocks to the REI for a little shopping trip. Like what we got??

It was so much fun. I told Chuck we need to do this more often. Not the P.F. Changs necessarily, or the REI, but going downtown, finding a great place to eat and spend time walking around. I say booked it to REI because by the time we got sat, ate and got out of there, we had 30 minutes to get there and find what we wanted. This way Aaron and Chuck can camp out just the two of them.

Aaron has been loving the Tag reader Mimi and Papa got him for Christmas. Definitely creates quiet time!

And he's having a ton of fun with his new Hot Wheels tracks from Aunt Dana and Uncle Andy!!! "I love my hot wheels tracks!" That's what he keeps going around the house saying...too cute. We have a few more pieces to purchase but they're all sold out because of Christmas still. So we must be patient!!

Then yesterday and today it's been snowing like crazy. It's not really sticking, but we had some fun running around the front yard in it.

A&W

2012-01-15T18:34:00.001-08:00

Daddy's work

2012-01-13T08:08:00.001-08:00

Shiny

2012-01-10T12:05:00.001-08:00

We have a Walker!!!

2012-01-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

Panera

2012-01-07T15:59:00.001-08:00

Blast from the Past

2012-01-06T16:39:00.001-08:00

Birds

2012-01-05T21:18:00.001-08:00

Flowers

2012-01-04T14:34:00.000-08:00

Daddy time

2012-01-03T20:01:00.001-08:00

For Dana

2012-01-03T19:50:00.001-08:00

Roses

2012-01-02T09:09:00.001-08:00

Fetch

2012-01-01T11:57:00.001-08:00

Orange

2011-12-31T11:56:00.001-08:00

Photo a day

2011-12-30T11:30:00.001-08:00

So, there are tons of blogs out there that talk about taking a photo a day or once a week. Most of the time I have visions of grandure and think I would be able to keep up with something like this but it never happens. I'm starting early and I wonder if I'll keep up this time. So here's one to just test me.

I took Blogger off my phone because I was never using it. But I put it back on just for this. Not all of my photos will come from my phone, necessarily, but using blogger on my phone will most definitely make this easier. And just a note, don't get used to so much narration with the photos. :)

Christmas Morning!!

2011-12-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning!!! I don't really think there's a whole lot of narration needed...

But a little background, Chuck was at the hospital all day Christmas Eve day. The only time the kids and I ventured out was for pizza, milk and Starbucks at Safeway. A surprising number of people were walking out with booze. Weird. Then, Christmas morning Chuck had to go in for a short time but was home by 9:30 or so. Frustrating because all the current patients had been treated by a colleague who'd made dumb mistakes that Chuck had to fix. Then in the afternoon he went BACK in while the kids (make that kid, Aaron: "But it's CHRISTMAS!") napped and I fixed dinner.

But this is when Chuck was on his way home, just feeling the gifts...

That's a little bit of cinnamon roll on her lip. And Mom in the background on the iPad Skyping. Dad worked a double, so from 7am til 11pm.

She wanted to put all the barrettes in her hair that Santa brought her.

Talking with Grandma and showing her her beautiful hair.

The aftermath!!! Lincoln Logs!!

Actually this wasn't the aftermath, but we cleaned it up before I remembered to take a picture.

The kids want to thank all their Aunts, Uncles, Grandma's and Grandpa's for their loot!! The end!!

Christmas Program

2011-12-24T12:47:00.000-08:00

I was feeding Delaney some biscuit and she could reach the whole big one so when I didn't break some up for her in time, she just grabbed the whole thing. Can you tell I'm just trying to get caught up?
Eating the whole thing with only those TWO teeth!!

Soon after we got back from Missouri we went for a play date at a local park. Delaney was dressed for the weather.

Ooooooh, an Oreo.

Of course, Aaron wanted to be photographed.

Look at that mess!! And those cheeks!

Last week we went to see the zoo lights. Wow, that places is seriously a zoo. We got there right when they opened and it was PACKED!!!

The train, our primary goal.

His face looks crazed.

This is the amphitheater area where they have concerts through the summer.

And the infamous Christmas program at church. Now, look through these pictures, can you actually pick a single most 'obnoxious' child in the bunch?

And here it looks like he's actually trying to participate!!

And Delaney trying to feed herself.

Delaney getting into the tree. Good thing it won't be up much longer!

She's actually been really good with the tree.

I thought we wouldn't get any cards this year because of the move, but we've gotten more this year than any other. I did these two strings last year and the 'Merry Christmas' for a photo shoot.

Then I had to do another strand a few days ago and filled it that day with all the cards that we already had sitting on the counter and the ones we got that day. Now I have a couple more!!

Springfield

2011-12-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we went home. Not because we wanted to fight all the crowds at the airport, but because a very special person was getting married.

We flew into KC first and got to spend Thanksgiving evening with Mimi and Papa.

And Aunt Tinney.

And the kids even got their first Christmas presents, jammies!

Then it was time for a bedtime story and night night. It was a long day!

The next day we headed to Springfield. It was black Friday, but first we had to hit up Lamberts.

Then onto Black Friday deals and steals!!

I would have stolen this, but it's illegal.

They had a ton of free stuff for the kids to do including a big slide, Santa and a carousel.

They even had a REAL alligator!! It didn't look real at first, but when we went past it a second time it was in a different position. Definitely real.

And turtles.

The next day was the wedding. Thought I was going to get called into duty because the photographer was 45 minutes late, but I didn't. Good thing! I went and took all of 5 pictures with my point and shoot. This was the first one, I'm sure Chuck is shaking his head right now.

This was the grooms cake! John is a farmer.

And the happy couple, John and Summer.

And Grandma teaching Aaron how to play Candyland. He did really well considering it was his first time!!

We went back to KC the next day and then I made plans with Chuck's cousins, Shannon and Jessica and their boys to go play. Delaney had a great time!!

Was even doing the little slide all by herself!!

Of course there was a water table. This is Aaron playing with Klay.

And Delaney playing near Parker.

And little Kolson.

And of course trains. Good thing they had this in the very back of the whole joint. Otherwise we would have never gotten past them.

And face painting. I'm praising God Aaron isn't into face painting.

Klay was a tiger! Go Tigers!!!!!

Huh! So was Parker! I guess Shannon will learn again how black and gold everything is in Missouri and not so maroon. Shannon is even brave enough to have Parker paint on her face!

Then they had a little time where they read a story, did a craft and then a cooking activity. They were making sugar cookies.

Really just putting the M&Ms on them.

Enjoying their cookies.

We had a great time!! We missed going to Missoula for Thanksgiving but we went home for a good reason and even got to see (half of) who we would have seen in Missoula.

Thanksgiving Feast at Preschool

2011-12-23T10:19:00.000-08:00

First, I realized a while back that I didn't have hardly ANY pictures of Delaney in the bathtub. It's something we do so often, but now with two, I never even think to pull out the camera. It's a monstrous feat just to get the bath done!

I also realized that I have very few pictures of Delaney feeding herself. The reason is two fold: one, laziness on my part, no camera, and two, I don't let her feed herself very much. If you remember with Aaron, food messes give me the willies. They're so easy to clean up, they don't hurt, but I just don't deal with them well. I don't know why.

Of course Aaron wanted to get in on the action.

See? Just looking at it makes me queezy.

Then there is parent-teacher conference day. At first I was like, really? There's that much to talk about when dealing with preschoolers. But I guess these ladies know what they're doing. They've been teaching preschool at this school since it opened 15 years ago!!
They had a special project for Aaron and Delaney got to play for a couple minutes, too.

Then there was the Thanksgiving Feast. The feast consisted of fruit salad and popcorn, but there was also singing, which I wasn't prepared for. Glad I had my camera!!

I only got a couple pictures, but got a few more videos. It was the first time he was singing!!! Well, supposed to be singing. I included some in a couple posts back, but now I'll put the others.

Halloween

2011-12-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

I know, I'm trying to catch up this week so I can be caught up for Christmas. I still remember I posted about Christmas about a month late last year!!! So I don't want to repeat that.

Aaron had a Harvest Party at preschool and I went to help with the party. I'm so NOT a room mom.

This is how Mrs. Nolan releases the kids if we are picking them up in the classroom. Aaron does surprisingly well, sits until she sings his name.

So these are the best Halloween pics I got because I was all alone, Chuck was on call. That's why I ended up taking some of Delaney the next day in the daylight. I had to capture the cute costume I made for her!

The Little Kid Farm

2011-12-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

The next day all of us went to a little farm called...calllllllleeed...oh, I don't know. It was cute, first time for me (and Delaney) there. Super cheap and lots of fun for the kids.

They had chickens...

And tractors to ride on...

And bells to ring... and cows. My favorite.

And goats. I don't know what these two boys think they're doing, but probably getting into trouble.

And you could feed them.

While the big kids got to play on the playground, Delaney rode the the fake horses. She thought they were super fun, look at that face!

Later that day Aaron got to drive the Gator around with his cousins. Good thing they don't like to drive (Noah), or they're too small to drive (Levi), because Aaron would fight them for the steering wheel!

And look at this lake! It's beautiful.

Go carts and pumpkin patches

2011-12-19T16:12:00.001-08:00

Delaney and Grandpa reading the Best Buy ad. Hope she's looking for an iPod nano for Mommy!

While we were in St. Louis, Grandma and Grandpa took us to Incredible Pizza for lunch. They have a buffet of food and then they have a big play area (that, of course, costs money). But Grandma and Grandpa were ready to spend money!! The pizza was not worth taking pictures of, but here is the fun! They drove cars....

And shot basketballs...

And rode go-carts!!! Aaron's first time on a go-cart!

The next day we went to Culver's. This place has some great ice cream! Aaron was feeling a little naughty.

The last day we were there we went to the pumpkin patch. It wasn't much of a pumpkin patch, but they had lots of stuff for kids to do, mazes, swings, tractors (little ones with pedals), and much more!
This is a big tire swing that you could sit/lay down on and spin around.

This was Delaney about 5 minutes after we got to the pumpkin patch.

They had a big slide that Aaron was not afraid of going down.

This was Delaney about 15 minutes after we got to the pumpkin patch. It was stinking cold and windy, and I'm sure the mist wasn't bothering her... Grandpa offered to take her to the car while we (Aaron) enjoyed ourselves a bit longer.

Bye bye, Delaney...

They even had a little zip line!

This was a big pirate ship they could climb all over and go underneath.

A rope bridge.

And a maze that Grandma helped him through.

And then we got to ride a hay ride. It was cold but fun.

Then, since we WERE supposed to have a picnic lunch (I'm sorry, I'm not going to freeze my butt off just to have a lunch outside) we decided to migrate indoors and sit on the floor.

Mmmmm...cookies and milk!

Then we had to go back to KC, and that night Aunt Tinney read Aaron and Noah a story before bedtime.

And a picture with Mimi before bed.

The next day I took Aaron to see my friend Andrea and her boyfriend (now FIANCE!!!!), Craig, at her parents house/farm in Tarkio. He didn't want to go, wanted to stay and have fun with Noah, but I knew that he would have a fabulous time riding the tractor and combine around!!
Aaron with Mike, Andrea's dad.

Aaron and his "cheese!!!" face in front of the combine tire.

Aaron loading up into the tractor with Krista, Andrea's mom, to take the soybeans to the silo.

There they go!! Those turbines are so close to their house!!

Andrea drivin' the big rig around the farm (the big Ford).

Mike wanted to take Aaron out again on the combine with Craig. When they got back, he was asleep!

The soybeans are as tall as he was!! I totally forgot my camera to take it in the combine with us, so I didn't get any pictures/video of us in the combine. But man, those things are really intricate and smart!!

Andrea's parents' farm.

Miss Andrea fixing Aaron's butter-jelly. She put his soybeans Mike gave him in a zip-lock bag. Now he can put them in his own tractor at our house.

Ah....home....Delaney with Uncle Preston.

And Aunt Kami and Tinney helping the boys make cookies.

And here's a video for you to enjoy and prep you for the next blog entry...

Oh...one more...

Adventures to the zoo

2011-12-07T08:26:00.001-08:00

The first day we were in St. Louis (full day) was beautiful. So we decided to stroll around the zoo. We love going to the zoo because it's free and Aaron can get out and do and see. It was relaxing!

They had decorations and activities for Halloween, they always have a lot to do for the kids this time of year.

Oh, the anticipation!! Waiting for the train.

I love this picture. He is so excited!! Dad's head is a little funky, thanks to my new lens, but you get the idea.

This bird cage was built for the 1904 World's Fair.

And our penguins. A month or two ago we all camped out in the living room (without Delaney) and watched March of the Penguins. Aaron is now an expert.

The famous gorilla that everyone climbs on and gets a picture on. That's why he's so golden. This was the best picture, no one looking at the camera, or crying.

Historic hill. It's lovely.

The family checking out the meer cats.

One of my favorite parts, the Rivers Edge. This is the area that has the hippos, the elephants and a few other things. My faves are the hippos and the elephants. :)

And this year there was a baby!!! Look at the size of that cute thing!

And zebras. This zoo is so big that we rarely even make it this far!! It's practically in the opposite corner of the entrance(s) we come through, and there's sort of boring stuff, like animals you don't even know the names of. Lots of mountain animals, goats, sheep, things related to deer.

Waiting on the train again.

And tigers!!! This one is taken from the train. He must have been hungry because he was awake and pacing!

It was a long day.

Homecoming

2011-12-06T15:40:00.001-08:00

Like my new background I got?? When I have sessions with little ones and it's cold or rainy out I get a little twitchy so I broke down and bought 2 new backgrounds and this was just me and Delaney playing around. She didn't like it all that much.

We went to go play at a local indoor play area. It was a bit expensive but they had some famous coffee there so I got to drink while they played. Too bad Delaney wouldn't leave my side. I swear, she was absolutely attached!!

But then two days later we got invited here. It's a local church and they have a big gym that they cover with toys, indoor toys and outdoor toys and the kids get to play like crazy. And Delaney left my side!! The best part, it's only $5 for both kids! No coffee but there's a Starbuck's right down the road. But WAIT!! They did just open up a coffee place INSIDE the church!! Haven't checked it out yet, but maybe next time.

Of course Aaron found the trains.

Aaron used to do this when he was this old. I thought it was so funny, so I had to get some pics of Delaney doing the same thing.

The kids and I went home for homecoming this year. We didn't actually go to the game (someday we will) but we did get to go to campus, drag Kami and her boys there, and go to house decs. It was a blast, but definitely more difficult with children as opposed to when I was in college.

We started out in KC.

She loves to swing!!

And since everyone works now, there's no one to hang out with while we are there during the day. So I called an old college friend (am I old enough to say that now?). It's literally been since college since I've seen her but it didn't seem that long. She was about to have her very first baby. Funny thing was, before we left to go back to OR (just wrote WA...) she DID have her baby!!!

This isn't her. It's Delaney.

This is my friend. Hi Kat!!

Ahhhhh, campus.

You wait, Kami. This kid is going to be a tiger. Both of them.

YAY!!! Patti and Angie and Stephanie. Good thing my kids were behaving themselves and not embarrassing me.

Again, I get "wow, you're kids are so well behaved" all the time.

And two of my favorite people of all time, Kim and Joan. It's been a while but I love and miss you ladies.

So, there used to be Brady. Oh, Brady, where did you go? This monstrosity has taken your place. You used to be cosy and predictable and crowded, and now this places is all spread out and has lots of amenities. Like booths and laptops to rent and lots of places to sit.

Humph.

Aaron dancing at house decs. We were at one house for 20 minutes before they started their skit and this 10 year old gets up and starts break dancing. He wasn't very good, but it was hilarious and entertaining to watch!! So Aaron started it at the next house we went to.

Aw, Kami and Levi.

Then both boys joined in.

Trying out my new lens at the Thompson house.

She was so tired, doesn't travel as well as Aaron did and does.

More again tomorrow.

After

2011-11-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

So, you may be wondering why there isn't a couple pictures. Well, one was from my room and the other is from the kitchen. Let's put it this way. They kitchen just isn't going to happen. At least anytime soon. My room is on it's way. WELL on it's way. But I didn't want to keep you waiting too long. It's already been almost a week. My plan was to have these by the end of the day Friday (fat chance in the first place). I think I did pretty well just with these.

Before

2011-10-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

The beach, ice cream and memories

2011-10-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

Just a few more days until Dana and GG were going to be leaving. We could tell GG was getting tired, we were wearing her out!!So, Dana and I decided to take the kids to the beach. Aaron LOVES the beach and we made sure to grab his bucket so he could make "sand buckets".

Then they STOMPED on them together.

Aaron saw sea gulls and wanted to scare them away, so that's what they did together. :)

Delaney was having a great time with Aunt Dana.

Huh, who knew? I thought it was Astoria, OR.

After the beach we headed to Tillamook to get some ICE CREAM!!!! He didn't want ice cream, just Gold Fish. Weird kid.

But Aunt Dana and I did, along with Delaney.

And some milk. She's a big girl now, real cows' milk.

The night before they left I needed to get some pictures with the kids and GG, so we headed up to a local park for 30 minutes.

Portland Zoo

2011-09-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

So, the first day Grandma (GG) and Dana were here we went to the zoo. It's super close to where we live, and Aaron was dying to ride on the train. It goes throughout the zoo, but it also travels throughout the whole park. For those of you at home, that's like it going through...hmmm...all the zoo, over to the art museum, down the hill to the fountain and then back to the zoo. It's a 45 minute ride!
When we got there, it didn't even look like it was going to run! We were so excited to go to the train and then to be let down by it not running? Then we found some workers that contacted some other workers and they said it would be running, and it was the train we were hoping for (they have three different ones that run three different routes). We were just too early.
We fed some birds to burn some time.

Aaron had never fed birds before, he was so excited!Those stinkin' things kept dive-bombing us!!

See? They tried to eat Dana!

Then us on the train!!

Aaron waving to all the people who WISHED they could be on the train. You practically have to sell a kidney to afford it! Thanks, GG!!

CHeeze!!!!

After the train we did a little walking around, GG headed up to the front and we took a round about way to see Northwest wildlife and Aaron wanted to visit the tractor.

They were playing, don't worry. It wasn't too much action. But that would have been cool! Maybe one would have pushed the other off the rock wall!

One of very few pictures of me on this blog.

Here are some extra shots of Delaney's birthday party! She wasn't quite sure what to do with the presents, but what one year old does??

At least she looks interested.

Terry, Kyle and their twins. They are SO much bigger!!! And then there's Karie, living vicariously. :)

I think Delaney wanted the bottle it took 45 minutes for Tyce to finish :)

Delaney's gift from Mimi and Papa, her very first stroller.

And this was Karie and Jess's gift, a glow worm. She LOVES it!!!

The day after the party we decided to forgo church and head up the gorge. Of course it was raining...

This is Washington shot from Oregon.

The first waterfall we saw. Look at those rocks behind the fall, very interesting!

I thought this was going to be the last picture of Aaron we ever got. On the hike back up to the Jeep he wasn't paying attention and just about fell off a cliff. I think I know what a heart attack feels like now.

This was the main attraction, Multnomah Falls. It's a bit of a hike to get to the bridge above the first falls..fall? Whatever. We decided to hike up the VEEEEERRRRRYYYY top. See the top of the falls? The overlook is JUUUST to the left of the falls. You really can't see it from here. The sign said it was a mile. Whatever. That's all I have to say.

Here we are at the top, you can see the bridge and then the walking area where I took the above picture. Totally disappointing because this is all you can see. You're literally RIGHT above where the water starts falling and you really can't see anything.

Here's Delaney after the hike. Didn't I tell you it was raining?

Oi.

Braver than his daddy.

Yeah. We both did our hair AND makeup. Can't tell.

Just a picture to prove we were all there together.

All us Walker girls.

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

:)

Fun with Dana

2011-09-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

One afternoon, Dana and I went to a local mansion I'd heard about. It was pretty cool, crazy that people live(d) in a house so large. But at least back then they had other family members living with them as well as staff for the house. Nowadays people have 10 room houses for their 4 person families... It was built by an older couple in the early 1900s, he owned the Oregonian, the local newspaper.
So, this is the front, and to the left is a little overhang where they would drive up to the side door.

This is their library, where they would go after dinner.

This was an entertaining room. They had a 100 year old piano in here as well as a harp and to the left of this picture was a fabulous large window that shows out to the garden as well as the Willamette River.

Yep, that's it. You'll see it from the outside as well later.

Pretty cool fireplace and mantel.

This was in a smoking room. The room was round and very small, pretty much room for just these tables.

This was their formal dining room.

Their kitchen. Of course this wasn't THEIR stove, but something similar would have been in the room.

This was a refrigerator room. It was cool, it had a door like a bank safe would have and then the window there was super thick so it wouldn't let the cold out.

A fabulous set of stairs. The house had 4 levels, we only got to see the bottom three.

And some examples of their rooms.

And bathrooms. It was too funny!! You think it's so new and modern to have a shower with a huge head on it that just drops water on your head or fancy to have water coming out of all different areas. Well, these bathrooms had all of that. I tried to get Dana to lift the phone to pretend to talk, but they had rubber bands around all of them. So I put her in the shower. This house was really modern, it had a central vacuum system, an intercom system, an ELEVATOR.

This was a sewing room in the woman's room (the husband and wife had separate rooms). That tea set was like 200 YEARS old!!!! Seriously, it looked brand spankin' new.

An old Singer sewing machine. Reminds me of the one my aunt has/had.

And this belonged to one of the grandchildren who was born at the house and lived there with his parents and grandparents. He was actually the last one to inhabit the house and then in the 60s moved out (probably because it was too much to take care of, 16,000 sq. feet!!). Then the city of Portland bought it so it wouldn't be torn down for $250,000, had some people that care about old stuff fix it up, and buy stuff to put in the house that may have been in a house like this.

This was the elevator. Apparently it still works because you can ask to use it if you're handicapped. I didn't have the guts to ask to use it...

This is the back of the house and that window I wrote about earlier.

The gardens were amazing!!

I thought this rose was super cool. It was still blooming and the middle was still nice and firm.

The end. :)

Play time and Preschool!

2011-09-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

The beginning of September was a blur. Aaron was sick, again, over Labor Day weekend (he was sick over 4th of July weekend), so our fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants camping weekend was blown to smithereens. Yuck. That's all I can say. A weekend of laundry and sleeping and movies.

Then it got real warm, so it was time to go outside and play at the park and in the water!!! We went to the pool again. Aaron loved it!! I've got to get that kid in swimming lessons. In the meantime, the park it is.

They also have a cool water feature and I had an extra pair of shorts and a tee with me, so I decided to let Aaron play in the water. He loved it!!!

She is just really into books right now. Mainly just taking them off the bookshelf, but hey. I guess you have to start somewhere... :)

Here is Aaron, flying around...

We went to a park with a friend and they have this cool water feature and they have a sign up for all the parents that allow their kids to play in the water. I guess they don't mind. It's very simple, just a few little waterfalls and then this area where it all goes down hill. Simple, wet, and fun.

Then they had some fountains. They were much more tame than the ones in Beaverton in the video.

He decided to try on Delaney's hat. Delaney wouldn't wear it, and it's too big for her right now.

She also enjoyed the water a bit.

First day of preschool!!

It was really just an open house to meet the teacher, she gave us a list of things we should try to do, find things, etc. Some of the things were duties they would have to perform each time they come to school. But mainly they just played. He went straight for the corner with all the transportation toys.

And he really liked the sand table. They have a sand table and the other class has a train table. Every so often they switch. He would much rather the train table.

They had some play doh to play with.

And some painting.

That's all for now, folks!

Working...backwards

2011-09-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been a year since I had Delaney!! I think a lot of people say that, but I really can't. Things went so well during the delivery of Delaney and SOOOO much has happened since then, it's truly insanity!! Anyway, we had a small shindig at our new home. Seriously, I'm going to upload the pics I've had a chance to edit and that's it for now. I'll be back soon to post (and write) more!!

August 2011

2011-09-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

It was spaghetti night :)

Delaney has been enjoying the door jumper.

And since this chickadee has been crawling, she's been all over the place. She can pull herself up on the stairs (thank goodness there's only two) but she can't sit down from this position.

This is a small sampling of her crawling

Last week we had a very warm week and we went to enjoy the park at dusk. Aaron was supposed to be playing with his soccer ball but she played with his soccer ball...

And he played with her blocks. :)

I also got some endof the season hummingbird shots. This was right before all the flowers fell off the plant.

This was a few weeks ago. It was getting so warm out we had to get some relief. We visited our local pool. When it gets so warm out, it gets even hotter inside.

Aaron also got into some trouble in August.

One of the weekends in August we went up to Washington to hang out. I was shooting a wedding with a friend near Olympia so we went up for the whole weekend. I was contacted by one of our church planters in Tumwater to come take some shots of their new coffee shop. This is what Aaron and Daddy did while I was working.

Lately I've felt like I can trust Aaron to behave in my room watching TV while I take a shower. Well, not this day... he just happened to find some nail polish...

This has been a common scene in our house as of late. It's usually Delaney just taking all the books off the shelf, but Aaron likes to sit there and read. I like it when he does that because then Delaney tends to look at the books as well. Look at that hair. No, this is NOT an action shot.

Just last weekend we decided to venture out on the boat so Chuck could check out some hunting areas. The ORIGINAL plan was for me and Delaney to tool around town, catch some coffee, and some St. Louis Bread Co. (sorry, Panera to all you non-Missourians) and do whatever else. But really, how much was she actually going to let me do without pitching a fit. I'd end up back home with her taking a nap and me doing what a ALWAYS do during the week, only sans Aaron. So we decided to tag along.

This picture is taken after we pulled off to check out the boat because it was taking on water and check out another area over a dike. Well, come to find out, there was a hole in the boat. A rivet had popped off/got worn off and water was spewing into the boat at a rather unsettling pace. So we loaded up and headed back to the boat ramp. Notice Delaney all splattered with brown?? Well, Skeet, being the smart dog that she is, jumped off the muddy dike while practically landing ON Delaney, pushing us off the dike and leaving poor Copper behind. A day in the life...

Here the kids are gobbling up Cheerios. And at the boat ramp we found tons of blackberries. Yummy!!!! And we received confirmation that Skeet will indeed throw herself off a cliff (literally) to fetch something.

Chuck and Aaron thought they'd have a little fun.

El Solo Tripo

2011-08-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

Hold on to your shorts, people. This is going to be fast and furious with lots of pictures!!

Mimi strikes again!!! This is before church the Sunday they were here. They actually acted well. :)

Papa brought Aaron a blue doughnut!

Aaron's first slurpee!! It was 7-11s birthday and they were giving out free slurpees. But we really scored because it was OUR 7-11s grand opening, so they were giving away hotdogs, taquitos, and icecream. We cleaned that place out!

Aaron and Papa putting together a puzzle. This kid is amazing. He's pretty good and putting those things together. He acts like he needs help but he really doesn't.

And this was a sad day...Aaron and Papa leaving on a jet plane, without me. This was where he was happy.

This is where he was sad.

Took them forever to get through security. But Aaron did well and stayed next to Papa. They didn't even know I was there watching them.

I was trying to hide from them. Aaron and his "Queen" back pack. Papa tried to take it from him to help him out but Aaron flipped out! Don't touch the "Queen" back pack, Papa.

And him having fun with his cousins, Levi and Noah.

Isn't he the cutest??

It was so hot there they had to find a lot of activities inside. This was a big play place with bounce houses and such.

They really hit the jackpot that day, there was a firetruck planned to come for all the kids.

I'm surprised Aaron didn't push Noah down so he could get on the truck first. That kid is addicted to firetrucks.

I tried to tackle some hummingbird shots. Wow, you have to site there a long time and then act quick. Kind of like the Army, only wait and then hurry up.

While Aaron was gone, Delaney and I had a little photo shoot.

She was playing peekaboo with her bunny.

I think I wore her out :)

I guess they got to watch some tv and eat popcorn.

And Noah going for a motorcycle ride.

Aaron was in heaven. He was the only one who wanted/could drive the Gator. Lucky him!!!

Aaron's favorite thing, playing with the water. Cough, cough, I mean watering the plants.

They got to play in the sprinkler.

Then they got to have a big ol' get together with lots of cousins and aunts and uncles.

What a mess. Good thing I wasn't there, I'd be having an anxiety attack.

I think this might have been at the library for story time?

And then it was time for Bass Pro. I wonder how many times they went here.

It looks like everyone was very tired and ready for lunch.

And then POPSICLES!!!!

They also took time to go to Union Station to see the trains. Notice Thomas?

Aaron is too enamored with the trains to look at the camera.

Then they went to Fritz's. It's a fast food place near Union Station and a train brings you your food. We went there also last December.

Aunt Tinney with the boys.

And their never ending mess.

Aaron reading to Noah.

Hydrangeas from our yard. LOVE them. Now purple ones are blooming!

Delaney and I decided to capture some play time moments.

"Silly Mommy!!"

"What?!?"

"Put it away!!"

"I'm going to be a true girl, with a phone in my hand."

I took this picture while I was waiting for the hummingbirds. She loves the sun!!


When Chuck's mom was in town, she and I delivered some strawberries and lettuce to a couple neighbors. One wasn't there (the lady) so the dad took what we had. While Aaron was gone, she brought by this locally made pie. Apple and rhubarb.

Sorry, I was trying out the "add a caption" capabilities, never knew what that did (exactly). Aaron riding the tractor. I think he had WAY too much fun at Mimi and Papa's.

And the Gator again.

Then, it was time to drop Noah and Levi off with their parents in Fulton and head to St. Louis for Grandpa's 60th surprise birthday party!! Neither Grandpa nor Grandma knew Aaron was coming. They were SO surprised!!! Only Aunt Dana and GG. It was one big surprise of a day!

Mmmm, cake!

And that day, Delaney got her first pedicure by Mommy and Miss Karie. She's still got her lunch all over her face.

Then, FINALLY, it was time for Aaron to come home! First things first, a bath!

They LOVE it!!

The next day we went to the Portland's Children Museum.

Of course they had a water area, with terrible lighting. Ugh!

They had a dig pit. It was filled with shredded up tires.

And a wooden car/building area.

A "rock" wall.

A tent area.

A "brush the gator's teeth" area.

A music/stage area.

And FACE PAINT!!!

And of course TRAINS!! I'm glad this was the last area we found.

And then a picnic lunch before heading home for naps.

Then, before we knew it, it was time for Aunt Tinney to leave. Before we took her to the airport we had to make a stop at the soccer field in Washington Park to play a bit.

I think Delaney was bored.

Wow, and THAT, my friends, was the end of July!!!!

Flying high in the sky!

2011-08-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Before we left for our day of fun, Mimi had to get some pictures of Miss Delaney next to our fresh cut roses on the kitchen table. She kept wanting to grab the pokeys (that's what Aaron calls the thorns).

First stop, the playground at Washington Park. You have to drive a ways to get there but it's the best park that I know of. And it wasn't super busy. The first time we came here, right after we parked and got out a big ol' school bus pulled up with a bunch of kids.

Aaron loves to rile Mimi up when she's trying to take a picture. He's looking at me while Mimi's taking the picture. Notice his hat on the ground. It's 'always in the way, I can't see your face'. :)

Delaney's just a bit too small to play on the playground. So Papa took care of her.

Next we went to the tram at Daddy's work, OHSU. This tram takes you from the hospitals at the top of the hill to the clinics at the bottom of the hill. Anyone can use it, but it's free for workers. Kinda funny, the only charge one way, going up. But who only goes one way??

Delaney's first ride.

The whole city of Portland.

They are either fixing or building this barge. That was kind of cool.

All of those buildings at the top of the hill are hospitals.

Aaron got a Tram sticker, which he continued to take off his shirt.

This is us going back up the hill. We didn't just ride the tram, we walked to the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch and then took the tram back up.

Here's a view of the other tram going down and where the tram parks at the top at OHSU.

This is Mt. St. Helens. You can see this, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Adams all from Portland. It's cool to see all three on a clear day, but it's still not the same as Mt. Rainier.

He's just growing up so quickly :tear: ... J/k, he wanted to shave with Papa, different than shaving with Daddy and the electric shaver :)

There goes Mimi again with the roses and Delaney. Too bad I have a lot of junk in the background...

Then we went to the beach again. I, personally, can't get enough of the beach. Whoever said it was only 45 minutes away is sadly mistaken. I think it takes longer to get there. I would love to go there more often. But not by myself with the kids. Too much. AND recently there was a little girl that was a little ahead of her grandmother out here and she was about to be taken by a crazy lady but a runner came and saved her (as did the grandma). She ran but the guy that saved the girl said hey, I'm a marathoner, I can run forever. CRAZY!!! Alas, I love the beach. Copper doesn't mind it, even though she looks worried.

See? She's out there in the water and no one even told her to go out there! Skeet is insane. Dad is wearing a jacket because it was only 60 degrees out there and the water was BUTT cold!!!!

He's building his "sand cups". He's using a Taco Bell cup to make them. TOTALLY forgot his bucket, which I told him we'd take next time, LAST time.

Then Daddy buried his feet in the sand.

Poor action shots, I know. He's trying to jump to get his feet out of the sand.

Miss Thing enjoying some of the sand as well. I didn't really want her to get her butt dirty, but I wanted pictures!

"Hmmmm, what is this stuff on my hand?? I wonder if it tastes good..."

Aaron and Daddy coming back from the beach, which Skeet.

When we were coming out, there was a channel on our way back to the beach in between a sandbar we were on and the rest of the beach. I didn't realize it, but Aaron started wondering his way back to Mimi and he fell into it and tried screaming but his face was under water. His hands were on the bottom, feet floating (his sandals float) and his face was too much in the water. Poor guy!!! So, that's why he's wrapped up in Papa's jacket.

I'm just noticing that blogger is making these pictures a lot darker than they are on my computer screen in photoshop, sorry!

And Delaney playing in the sand. I like how it feels on my feet, too, Delaney!

Last one for today.

Trouble, camping and Mimi and Papa

2011-08-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

So, at this point, we were working on potty training (don't get me wrong, we still are). But this is what I found when I went to check on Aaron. I wish I could say this was the last time we found this.

There are some bushes that are growing basically right outside our door. I couldn't figure out what they were, they had these little tiny round things (see the upper left of the picture) and I still couldn't guess. But look what I found when I walked out the door one afternoon. HYDRANGEAS!!!!! I love hydrangeas. They are so beautiful and their colors are amazing. More pictures to come of these lovely things!

Then we had a little photo shoot with the kiddos.

And the bees on the lavender. We have three different kinds of lavender in our yard. They are very pretty and fragrant, but attract LOTS of bees.

Fourth of July weekend Chuck and Aaron decided they were going to have a little camp out in the back yard. It's really flat in this particular spot and it was a good night to do it.

Delaney had fun checking out the tent as well.

Nighty night, Aaron!! We'll see you at 3am when you wake up puking your guts up!! 'Twas not good. Yuck yuck yuck.

Monday, the next day, we decided to go on a walk. Aaron was acting normal, rambunctious, so we went to a close park that has lots of easy trails and took the dogs along as well. This is Delaney's first time in the backpack. Then we got home and Aaron had too much water to drink and puked again. Ugh!!!

There are lots of slugs here. And lots of smooshed slugs because they blend into the ground really well.

Poor Delaney, she just doesn't have the body control to stay upright.

Then Mimi and Papa came to town!!

Time for some PIZZA!!!! And Cheerios.

The next morning they showed the very last space shuttle take off from Cape Canaveral. It was very nostalgic for me because when I was in grade school they showed all of these. Now, unless you might catch it on CNN or something, you never get to see it! Aaron hadn't ever seen it.

Will have more later!

FRIENDS!!!!!!

2011-07-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

The weekend after my parents left, we had our good friends come down from Olympia for a couple days. To shop and put the house together more. It was so nice to see them and Aaron literally didn't want them to leave.

They arrive!

We decide to sit out on the porch in the nice weather. It's so nice out. Our friends are enamored with Chuck's knowledge of weird and disgusting things. Here Lehua is looking at a picture of a bird dwarf human (a little person that looks like a bird). It's weird. Or maybe she's looking at something that I can't write here. It is a family rated blog.

That night we decide to go to Fire on the Mountain, a local wing place in Northeast Portland. Not the best part of town, but half of our guests said they had the best wings. Frank and Bobby both got VERY hot wings and they both said their own was hotter than the other's. So we decided to have a taste test an document it. Frank is preparing.

Bobby is taunting him.

Come on, FRANK!!

And the verdict??

And now he can't feel anything.

"Heh heh, go ahead Bobby. I think mine are hotter"

Bobby preparing.

And the verdict?

Mmmmmm. Not too bad. I think they decided that both kinds of wings were very similar.

Jenna playing with Aaron. You have to remember, Aaron has seen these people minimum, average of twice a week since he was born.

Delaney's just having fun hanging out.

Then all the guys play basketball with Aaron and celebrate when he scores.

We had such a great time while they were here. Aaron was beside himself when they were walking to the car to go home. He was absolutely crushed. It's okay, buddy, they'll be back!

Crawling? What crawling?

2011-07-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

The last couple days that Grandma and Grandpa were here were pretty laid back. Grandma played memory (well, he doesn't play it like most play it yet) and Delaney supervised.

And this poor girl just can't get the hang of crawling. We stick her knees under her and she has no interest.

I think she wants to, but just doesn't feel the need yet. Instead, she spins around.

And she definitely liked bouncing around with Grandpa. Too funny :)

Just a couple more from the beach, somehow my pics are out of order so I just found these.

Well, while my parents were here we unpacked and unpacked...and did some more unpacking. They were SUCH a great help between helping us get out of the Yelm house and getting settled into this out. Thank you so much, Mom and Dad!!

You've seen the before pictures (everything empty) so here are a few after pictures. I'll make them small because at this point, things were still kind of a mess. It's much better now. Well...sort of.

I'm working on more!!! :)

The Beach

2011-07-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

Aaron has really been loving his freedom that he's had so much of lately.

And how funny is this? He'd been asleep for quite a while and we wanted to go to dinner or something so I went in to wake him up. This is what I found:

I also took a video. I guess I'm mean :)

THEN we went to the beach. I love the beach. Especially when it's warm and sunny out, which it was the day we went. Chuck and I drove the motorcycle and my parents took the Jeep with the kids and the dogs. It was lovely.

First we had a picnic overlooking the ocean at a state park north of Cannon Beach.

Then we hiked down to the ocean.

I think Aaron really liked the feel of the wet sand on his feet.

He was just beside himself. Not quite sure what to do.

Skeet just wanted loose.

This little man just got braver and braver.

Then we realized that not only were his pants totally getting wet but his shirt was soaked as well. So we just took it off.

Then it was time to go back to the Jeep. His pants were so wet that they were falling down around his knees so we took those off too. But he HAD to put his socks and shoes back on because we weren't going to carry him all the way back. It was hilarious!

A little action shot :)

Hi Mom and Dad!! Thanks so much for putting up with the kids AND the dogs for us so we could ride the motorcycle. Otherwise we would have had to take two separate vehicles anyway.

From the south side of Cannon Beach.

This is cheese and ice cream heaven. Welcome.

The make the most glorious ice cream It's like Cold Stone only better because all they do is scoop it up. They don't have to mangle it all together. It's awesome.

Delaney and her ice cream. And me with my helmet head.

Aaron got his very own ice cream cone.

MORE Grandma and Grandpa to come!!

Looking back

2011-07-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

I'm having to look back on all these pictures to put them on the blog and it makes me a little sad... :(

This is our poor house. Everything is packed up at this point.

And Aaron in his new room. He seems happy!!

His bed was literally the first thing off the truck. They had to take it apart a bit because it wouldn't fit through his door. So just before they started putting the wheels back on they had to get a screwdriver and Aaron got into trouble. Poked the inside of his lip with one of the screws. Poor guy and his fat lip. He kept wanting to touch it with his tongue and suck on it. OUCH!

And look at us. A family of four, JUST before we are leaving the house for the last time...

This was us when we moved in: Wow, I stink, this is the only picture I could find of us in front of the house before kids. This was even before we moved in (obviously).

Dad and Copper resting together. So sweet.

We also went to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa.

I know this first one was on the last collage, but it's just too good. :)

Aaron got a big boy bed and big boy bed sheets! He's so excited!

We have strawberries in our backyard. So we picked some and all of us that like them, ate them together :)

The many faces (and moods) of Delaney.

More lata!

Can you say "CRAZY?!?!"

2011-07-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

That's about what it's been around here. So I guess I'll start from the beginning: we moved. Seriously, isn't that enough?? It was so much easier to move when it was just the three of us (me, Chuck and Copper). Now...there's SIX of us!! We've doubled in FIVE years!! AND, the amount of things we own have probably quadrupled. Fo' real, we didn't own anything when we moved to the west coast. Now we own everything. Literally, everything. Not kidding. At least it feels like that.

Well, here's the Portland house, completely empty. It won't be like this again until we move again. Ugh, makes my head spin just thinking about it.

Me and the kids just chilling after the movers came.

After the movers came, we had three bbqs that weekend. Which was good because we didn't have anything to cook or to cook with. But seriously, we are loved. Look at all these people that came to bid us farewell.

And look at this... they're going to have twins any day now :)

AND some videos to enjoy from this day...they are too funny!

The next day we had our very first Vintage baptisms. God is amazing!!

Stay tuned! Don't even think these are the only things that happened over the last month!

how cool is this??

2011-06-09T11:28:00.001-07:00

I can blog from my phone!! Maybe I can actually keep up with the blog on a more regular basis. Just one for now.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.1

Graduation

2011-06-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, so much is happening. My head is spinning because it's all going so quickly.

Friday Chuck graduated. Geeze, I remember when we FIRST moved here in March of 2006, the first event we went to was the senior dinner for the dept. Chuck wasn't even an intern yet, but since he'd rotated here he knew some of the people in the department and they invited him. He was telling me how all of the seniors were studying their butts off for their oral boards, how now they were all graduating and where they were all PCSing (permanent change of station, I had to ask what it stood for a couple days ago), etc. It seems like yesterday, it really does.

Now it's our turn. I haven't edited all the pics from graduation except for this one:

From left to right:
Vince and his family are PCSing to Germany
Gavin and his family are PCSing to South Korea
Dave and his family are staying here at Madigan
I hope you know who this is and where we are going by now
Eric is PCSing to El Paso, TX

Wow. That's all I can say. I just don't even know where to begin!

Friday night was their senior dinner. The first years put this on and it was hilarious! As usual. They always put together a video and roast the seniors, and sometimes others int he department as well. Too funny. When we went right after Aaron was born, I'd just had a c-section a week earlier and I thought I was going to rip my stitches out.

Here's our house in a video today:

Saturday I threw a shower for my dear friend, Terry, who is pregnant with TWINS!! She already has two boys, 4 and 2, and now she's adding a boy and a GIRL!!! I'm so excited for her and Kyle. Ever since they moved here they've both been a big part of my life. I can't wait, or maybe not ( :) ), to come back and photograph the babies. I think photographing ONE baby can be hard, I don't know what I've gotten myself into!

Haha, you thought I'd have pictures of the shower? No, but I will. Just know the ladies that helped me out did a FABULOUS job and I can't thank them enough!!

Then that night, I know I know, I had a small BBQ with some of our small group friends and our neighbors for Aaron's birthday. Here are some pics from that.

His first present was from Aunt Dana and Uncle Andy.

It's a Slinky!!

More people!! Dave, the guy on the left was home on R & R and decided to spend his last night in the states with us. We felt very special. He won't come back home until October.

Next up...

Cars!! They change color in cold and hot. He LOVES them!!

AND....

A Mr. Potato Head!!!

And Thomas train tracks from Mimi and Papa.

Delaney was enjoying watching.

Chuck did all the wrapping because I was so busy. Notice what he wrapped it in?

And a Leap Frog Scribble and Write. It's pretty cool, it teaches you how to draw letters, upper and lower case, and teaches you to follow directions. Aaron's not so good at following directions.

Also, from Mimi, Papa and Kristin he got a raincoat and hat, a few books, McQueen swimming trunks, and a dog book of some kind. You can kind of see it in the box.

THEN!!!!! He got an adjustable basketball hoop! He LOVES this too!! He always wants to go to the basketball court down the street, but there's no way he's going to ever make a basket there.

He got cupcakes for his birthday this year. And he actually blew out the candles without almost catching himself on fire like last year.

And the GRANDE finale, he got his very first bike. He wasn't so great at it Saturday night but we got it back out again Sunday morning and he's getting better and better.

And then on his actual birthday, he got up early (of course). He slept with Copper and whenever he does that he wakes up pretty early. But this is what we did that morning:

Is it spring, yet??

2011-05-28T15:02:00.000-07:00

No, really, is it? Because it's been about 55 degrees for about 3 months now, it continues to rain, and today I'm wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans. I'm ready to wear short sleeves and be on the computer with the WINDOW OPEN!!! Ugh, this is taking forever. By the time spring kicks in it will be the end of summer and monsoon season will hit again. And it won't be much better in Portland, it's about the same, weather-wise. Maybe a bit warmer during the summer.

Anyway, enough of the complaining. We don't have anything to complain about around here because...drum roll, please...

CHUCK PASSED HIS TEST!!!!!

His is officially a board certified radiologist! We can't tell you enough thanks for all the prayers and support over the last number of months. Thank you.

I forgot to include this pic in the last blog post, aren't they cute together?? She is just absolutely enamored with him and he loves her just as much.

And she's finally learned to sit up!! Geeze, I think she gets everything done FOR her that she just doesn't see the need to progress.

Mimi came to visit a few weeks ago. This is when she really started sitting up so well. She still has her tumbles but she's doing good!

Aaron got a new puzzle. He can put together all of his Melissa and Doug puzzles (wooden ones) so he needs more challenging puzzles. He did really well with some guidance from Mimi.

One of the meals I cooked while Mimi was here was ham and bean soup. I decided I'm not a fan, but I think Copper and Skeet will beg for me to make it again because they reap the benefits :)

She sneezed. Yuck.

Aaron has absolutely been going crazy lately. I don't know if it's cabin fever or he's possessed, but this is what we've been getting lately:

Some of our closest friends are also moving away soon, to Arizona. They decided they've been missing the sun for the last 40 years, so they're going to find it. They had a grand garage sale and I picked up a remote control Jeep for Aaron for $5!! He's been using Chuck's old remote control car for the last few months but it's so old that the battery lasts only a few minutes. This is super spiffy, pretty quick, WELL worth the $5!

And Delaney joined us in enjoying the sun.

When it gets nice here and there, we've been taking advantage and having picnics as much as we can!!

And this was taken while Chuck was gone to Kentucky:

The kid was bored? This is night time and I put him to bed at 8pm. I went to check on him at 11pm and this is what I found! His light was on, his clothes were on the floor and he was in bed asleep. Crazy.

Yesterday Chuck was off for the 4 day holiday weekend (YAY) so we did some errands, got Van's burgers and took the dogs to the base to let them run around and had a picnic on the tailgate. It was nice. A bit windy, but so relaxing! Here's Delaney enjoying the field :)

We went to Lowe's today to purchase a new fan for our room since we want to take the one that is in there now. I saw all these little kids walking around with airplanes and Lowe's aprons on. So I went to explore. This is what I found! All these little kids putting together wooden airplanes with their parents, FOR FREE!!! Aaron got a plane, an apron, and even goggles. AND a patch to put on the apron. It's a bi-monthly thing they do for the kids, you should totally check it out if you have a Lowe's near you!

Even Delaney took part :)

And here's the finished product!

YAY!! It's been a goooooood week!

Houston

2011-05-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

Before we get into Houston stuff, I think my kids mind is changing. Look at this pic:

I think he's actually trying to color inside the lines!! It's interesting to see how their minds warp into what ours are.

Wow, I haven't been to Houston in SO long. So many great memories. This time was totally different because all the years previous to this trip was always at the same house in the same part of town. But this time there was a new house in a new part of town and everything seemed different, except the heat and humidity.

The kids and I went down for a reception and met my parents and my sister down there. It was nice to get away. I'll get right into the pictures :)

So, from left to right, top to bottom, here goes:
That's Jamie, he's about 6 foot 9 inches. That's why it looks like I'm looking up his nose, cause I am. Then it's my sister and her husband, Andy. You know who the cutie is :) Then there's Aaron and Mom eating dinner.

Now, this kid is seriously a dancing fool!! He was literally on the dance floor from the time the music started until we made him leave the reception at 11pm.

This is Aaron trying to get feisty with the flower girl. She wasn't having much of it, only when she wanted to pay him attention.

Then the bride (Joy, Jamie's sister, yes, she's pretty tall herself) with Aaron, then swing dancing with Jamie, and then Dana and Aaron, mainly Dana chasing down Aaron. Sorry about the stinky pics. They were just snaps with my point and shoot.

Here's a video, just beware, it's hilarious.

And then the dancing fool again. It was too funny!! All the older ladies wanted to dance with him. My mom even tried to pull his hand to dance with the lady in flowers. He was like "no way!!!"

Then Aaron and the flower girl, Maddie, having a bit too much they had a fall. Aren't these videos always on America's Funniest Home Videos??

Then, the ladies in my life, Dana and Delaney. Then the girls with the mother of the bride, and then Andy and Jamie.

The next day there was a BBQ at the bride's parents house. This is when it got hot and sticky which Delaney HATED!!! Everyone must have thought my kids cry all the time!! There was a slight chance of rain, but no rain, just 90% humidity.

And then us having some fun around the pool. That's Maddie's mom lookin' all goofy. And Delaney's first time in the pool. Well, if you can call this 'in the pool'.

She had a very nice time

The next couple of days were filled with laid back fun. Sunday we went to the Rocket Park. This used to be outside but with the hurricanes, the rocket was getting to show signs of weather. Aaron had a lot of fun!! And apparently he wants to be a Boy Scout.

Then, afterwards, we went to brunch and then to Kemah. If you've seen pictures of Coney Island, this is very similar. I wanted Jamie to take some pics of me and the kids since I'm always behind the camera and Chuck never wants to take the pics. Jamie is also a photographer and he has the same camera as me, so he knew exactly what to do. Thanks, Jamie!!

And this was the whole/half reason we went to Kemah, a miniature gas powered train. It was both wonderful and painful. Wonderful because Aaron loved it, painful because Aaron LOOOOOOOOOOVED it. He wouldn't get off. I literally had to rip his fingertips from the train.

It was kind of fun, they had a boat parade while we were there and they threw beads for us. That would never happen in the northwest. As soon as a string of beads fell in the water, that would be the end of it. The last picture is of the ferry we took from the parking lot to the festivities.

This is Aaron saying good-bye to Aunt Dana.

And Aaron taking pictures of Aunt Dana.

And THIS was my first flight on the way home. Two sleeping children, my iPod and magazines (and eventually two free hands). I've (tried to) come to terms that I'll never have a Starbucks at the airport again.

And THAT, my friends, was our trip to Texas. :)

So much fun these days

2011-04-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we have been super busy. I think we've been to Portland about 3 times since I've written last, not to mention put our house on the market (TO RENT), and both the kids are growing like weeds. I seriously think if I put some weed-be-gone on them, it would stunt their growth. Plus, I've been doing a lot with my Fly a Kite Photography site. Sometimes it makes me want to pull my HAIR out!!!

I might have to back up and put some pics up of San Fransisco from when Chuck went. I don't want to focus JUST on the things me and the kids do!! That's why I asked him to take my camera and take pics. Not just so they'd take up room on my our computer, but so we could share them. Not many of our family/friends have been to San Fran, and it's definitely a different kind of city...yes, different. :)

So, I'll try my best to describe what these are pictures of. :)

These, I think, were all taken from the cable car. The hotel they stayed at was at the very end of one of the lines, so it was super easy to take. But the cable car in San Fran is pretty expensive. It's $5 from one end to the other, each way...yikes!

This is Lombard Street, duh. Not too busy when they went apparently

This is down on the wharf. There's lots to do, but very touristy. The guy "playing" the violin wasn't very good, Chuck said. Then, of course, the famous sea lions. And the last pic is the trolley. They have lots of different types of public transportation, they have the city bus, the trolley and the cable car. I THINK they might have an underground as well. But we never took that and Chuck didn't either.

I think this is Ghirardelli Square. It used to be the site of where they made the chocolate, but they don't do that here anymore, it's at a different site. Now this area is just a shopping area, but Chuck said it was pretty vacant. I never went there when we were in San Fran a couple years ago.

Down near the water. And that last pic is of someone swimming in the bay!! It's the first of MARCH!!

These pictures are of where the guys had their review sessions and then the last few are from their hotel. Pretty swanky, both places...I missed out!!

The Golden Gate bridge...love this place, it's so beautiful!

Alcatraz!! I didn't get to go here. If you want to go here, purchase tickets online IN ADVANCE!!! They sell out quickly!

Well, after Chuck came home his dad came out for a long weekend. Poor guy was sick almost the whole time! Aaron and I went to Del's a local farm store, to see if they had something I was looking for and they had baby chicks!

Ooops, just reposted what I posted last time. Oh well, you can't get enough of Aaron and baby chicks :)

Here's a video...Aaron got Memory for Christmas from Aunt Dana and Uncle Andy. So we broke that out about a week ago. We don't do it like you're supposed to, we look at the pictures and try to match them up. He's not patient enough to keep them turned over. Once he flips one over he wants to keep flipping them all over until he finds the matching one. It takes him long enough just to look at them like this.

Sorry these are so fuzzy, I needed to clean my lens BADLY!!! This is what the kid did during church one night!! We have been trying new things to keep him busy or distract him during church, so we put him in the little room where Chuck is so he could watch a movie. Bad thing was that he wasn't in Chuck's line of sight and somehow he found a green marker. He ROLLED his sleeves up and drew all over himself...ey ey ey...

And we took an impromptu trip down to Portland to check out a house and then put in an application...that was a long day. But we stopped at three different parks throughout the day so Aaron could play and I could feed Delaney. Here he is rockin' it out on the tire swing.

And this is our house!! Well, the house we'll be renting for a year...again, sorry for the haziness. Needed to clean the lens...