tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246223782024-03-13T20:27:20.777-06:00BRIANNA AND NOAH'S BIG ADVENTURESUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1195125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-1564929549994278182009-11-05T14:38:00.041-07:002009-11-06T09:39:49.555-07:00Time for an UpdateRecently I've had several relatives delicately (cough cough) point out that it's been quite awhile since I've updated this blog. (You know who you are!!) And it's true, my last post was in July, wow! Needless to say, there are a few things to share from the past 3 months.<br /><br />Let's see... highlights since my last post. Well, the fair came to town in August, always fun! My parents drove over for it, it's kind of a tradition that they go to the fair with the kids now.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZ1NksW3I/AAAAAAAADSE/MauDQ5jfOuk/s1600-h/fallblog-3795.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZ1NksW3I/AAAAAAAADSE/MauDQ5jfOuk/s400/fallblog-3795.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400759148858858354" border="0" /></a><br />This was really the first year that Noah was old enough to know what was going on and get excited about the whole thing.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNaJ-r4RxI/AAAAAAAADSk/1LnNpr-mkjo/s1600-h/fallblog-3797.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNaJ-r4RxI/AAAAAAAADSk/1LnNpr-mkjo/s400/fallblog-3797.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400759505639720722" border="0" /></a>And he was old enough to ride some of the more adventurous rides...check out the face!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZ_vly5aI/AAAAAAAADSU/v4U_aU6jV3c/s1600-h/fallblog-3796.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZ_vly5aI/AAAAAAAADSU/v4U_aU6jV3c/s400/fallblog-3796.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400759329788978594" border="0" /></a>He was especially excited about "driving" the cars... although you wouldn't know it from this photo. :)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZqhJUOqI/AAAAAAAADR0/Vm6gDLzSBvQ/s1600-h/fallblog-3794.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZqhJUOqI/AAAAAAAADR0/Vm6gDLzSBvQ/s400/fallblog-3794.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400758965134178978" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And, while there was no making out with any goats this year, Noah was just as thrilled to see all the animals and go into the little petting zoo.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZgoH7lCI/AAAAAAAADRk/xmUdWjxphyY/s1600-h/fallblog-3793.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZgoH7lCI/AAAAAAAADRk/xmUdWjxphyY/s400/fallblog-3793.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400758795208725538" border="0" /></a>Getting up close and personal with a very calm, sweet, and patient chicken.<br /><br /><br /></div>The biggest change around here is that our Bree is now a school girl! Yep, started Kindergarten in September.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNas9GlMFI/AAAAAAAADTU/ZwcgmW5ZIAs/s1600-h/fallblog-3800.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNas9GlMFI/AAAAAAAADTU/ZwcgmW5ZIAs/s400/fallblog-3800.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400760106510266450" border="0" /></a>This was our girl on her first day of school... how cute is that?<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNa3KgLPCI/AAAAAAAADTk/u_eCqq1gKfY/s1600-h/fallblog-3801.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNa3KgLPCI/AAAAAAAADTk/u_eCqq1gKfY/s400/fallblog-3801.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400760281905970210" border="0" /></a>Sittin' in the car ready to be dropped off for the first time.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Going to school is a big adjustment for any kid, and it was an especially new thing for both Bree and me since Kindergarten here is a full day. Yep, 8:30 - 3:30 Monday through Friday! But we've all settled into our new routine and Brianna is having a great time at school. She really likes her teacher Mr. Burrel, and is participating in the school's enrichment program. No surprise, the teacher informed me she was recommended because of her advanced "verbal skills." I just smiled when he said that, she's been talking a storm since she learned how and precocious to boot. I told him, "Yeah, once she learned to talk she's just pretty much never stopped." He said, "I noticed!"<br /><br />Meanwhile in evenings and weekends we've been trying to enjoy the last of the semi-warm weather around here...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNbUjwt39I/AAAAAAAADUM/9A4KRjjRnCM/s1600-h/fallblog-3807.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNbUjwt39I/AAAAAAAADUM/9A4KRjjRnCM/s400/fallblog-3807.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400760786902441938" border="0" /></a>Since the high school is within walking distance, we head over there a lot to play around after dinner. This night it was soccer.<br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNbPh0NTTI/AAAAAAAADUE/QcU07plWsiU/s1600-h/fallblog-3806.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNbPh0NTTI/AAAAAAAADUE/QcU07plWsiU/s400/fallblog-3806.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400760700480867634" border="0" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">oohh...check out the intensity of these soccer rivals!<br /><br />And here's Niko guarding the goal.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNbJV-BPXI/AAAAAAAADT8/RzAO6MOMPV0/s1600-h/fallblog-3805.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNbJV-BPXI/AAAAAAAADT8/RzAO6MOMPV0/s400/fallblog-3805.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400760594221579634" border="0" /></a>He can't kick the ball, so he's not a very good forward, but he makes a pretty good goalie!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meanwhile, Noah decided he was much more interested in football.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNY8WhnwDI/AAAAAAAADRM/NhizX2uxZxs/s1600-h/fallblog-3792-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNY8WhnwDI/AAAAAAAADRM/NhizX2uxZxs/s400/fallblog-3792-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400758172009349170" border="0" /></a>Here he is practicing his tackling skills.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNbElQ2TjI/AAAAAAAADT0/C5WPGy84r-4/s1600-h/fallblog-3804.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNbElQ2TjI/AAAAAAAADT0/C5WPGy84r-4/s400/fallblog-3804.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400760512427740722" border="0" /></a>And at the end of our playtime, there's nothing like lounging around with friends. Actually, we didn't pose this one, Trav was trying to snap a shot of Bree and Niko decided he wanted in on it. He just pressed his cheek up against hers! He's a silly dog, makes us laugh a lot...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNa8TzflUI/AAAAAAAADTs/KE0BjBBKZLQ/s1600-h/fallblog-3802.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNa8TzflUI/AAAAAAAADTs/KE0BjBBKZLQ/s400/fallblog-3802.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400760370302260546" border="0" /></a>...like here when he decided to lick the last few crumbs out of a plastic animal cracker tub.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">We've also been enjoying the more "wild" aspects of the outdoors, hiking, campfires and such.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZwKp37tI/AAAAAAAADR8/6KKX8E-esM0/s1600-h/fallblog-3795-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZwKp37tI/AAAAAAAADR8/6KKX8E-esM0/s400/fallblog-3795-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400759062175936210" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZluAHyaI/AAAAAAAADRs/IQ1YW3rH1fY/s1600-h/fallblog-3794-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZluAHyaI/AAAAAAAADRs/IQ1YW3rH1fY/s400/fallblog-3794-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400758882685929890" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZG_e-T9I/AAAAAAAADRc/0w55hoNW65g/s1600-h/fallblog-3793-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZG_e-T9I/AAAAAAAADRc/0w55hoNW65g/s400/fallblog-3793-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400758354802790354" border="0" /></a>Hey look! A picture where Noah doesn't have his binky in! Still working on getting rid of the plug...<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNax8gpL1I/AAAAAAAADTc/EIj1KzOWNh0/s1600-h/fallblog-3801-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNax8gpL1I/AAAAAAAADTc/EIj1KzOWNh0/s400/fallblog-3801-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400760192250490706" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNaVoVWDtI/AAAAAAAADS0/SdLnt7kcaVI/s1600-h/fallblog-3798.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNaVoVWDtI/AAAAAAAADS0/SdLnt7kcaVI/s400/fallblog-3798.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400759705798053586" border="0" /></a>Noah contemplating the mountains from the top of Lost Horse Trail.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNafufi7rI/AAAAAAAADTE/xB0HsZr8Uuo/s1600-h/fallblog-3799.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNafufi7rI/AAAAAAAADTE/xB0HsZr8Uuo/s400/fallblog-3799.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400759879250144946" border="0" /></a>An outdoor family "portrait". We love this one, such a typical family photo...everyone looking in different directions, dog having just jumped on a lap and the baby crying.<br /><br />As usual, along the way Travis also managed to take some pretty spectacular landscape pictures.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNaaUhaj6I/AAAAAAAADS8/9dLhdJHs0N8/s1600-h/fallblog-3799-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNaaUhaj6I/AAAAAAAADS8/9dLhdJHs0N8/s400/fallblog-3799-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400759786379317154" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNaPWwwU0I/AAAAAAAADSs/1qmFD2KgLFA/s1600-h/fallblog-3798-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNaPWwwU0I/AAAAAAAADSs/1qmFD2KgLFA/s400/fallblog-3798-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400759598001967938" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNaFGGPPYI/AAAAAAAADSc/9UaNzR-1qPw/s1600-h/fallblog-3797-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNaFGGPPYI/AAAAAAAADSc/9UaNzR-1qPw/s400/fallblog-3797-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400759421729979778" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZ6VRE0RI/AAAAAAAADSM/mO_80rpc648/s1600-h/fallblog-3796-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNZ6VRE0RI/AAAAAAAADSM/mO_80rpc648/s400/fallblog-3796-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400759236823404818" border="0" /></a><br />Then it was time for costumes, candy and Halloween! Bree wanted to be a witch and Noah decided he would be a spider!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNcGcsk4wI/AAAAAAAADU0/OxQdkWTk5AI/s1600-h/ween-2004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNcGcsk4wI/AAAAAAAADU0/OxQdkWTk5AI/s400/ween-2004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400761643999486722" border="0" /></a>Marching along in the annual main street costume parade.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNb5NDLSTI/AAAAAAAADUk/dCiRUhbLY8k/s1600-h/ween-2002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNb5NDLSTI/AAAAAAAADUk/dCiRUhbLY8k/s400/ween-2002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400761416461011250" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNbnjMrdPI/AAAAAAAADUc/nkBB0rp3MDk/s1600-h/ween-2001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNbnjMrdPI/AAAAAAAADUc/nkBB0rp3MDk/s400/ween-2001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400761113168803058" border="0" /></a><br />A little spider getting a treat...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNb-4PmIuI/AAAAAAAADUs/cJeTCYVCcA0/s1600-h/ween-2003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNb-4PmIuI/AAAAAAAADUs/cJeTCYVCcA0/s400/ween-2003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400761513955173090" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">After the parade, it was time to head around the neighborhood for even more tricking and treating.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNcNrnZjmI/AAAAAAAADU8/kbfBMYbOtTw/s1600-h/ween-2005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNcNrnZjmI/AAAAAAAADU8/kbfBMYbOtTw/s400/ween-2005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400761768263388770" border="0" /></a>Noah was really into it, every little bit he would put his arms out in front of him and yell "boo!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNckA04G6I/AAAAAAAADVU/z2hwVHblPPE/s1600-h/ween-2008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNckA04G6I/AAAAAAAADVU/z2hwVHblPPE/s400/ween-2008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400762151914183586" border="0" /></a>It was super cute! The spider did have kind of a tough time keeping up with the witch though and had to scurry along behind her quite a bit.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNcVdHJThI/AAAAAAAADVE/5ax-Y2jeOcM/s1600-h/ween-2006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNcVdHJThI/AAAAAAAADVE/5ax-Y2jeOcM/s400/ween-2006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400761901808963090" border="0" /></a>Of course, proper trick or treat etiquette is old hat to Bree, but still a work in progress for Noah. They'd both knock, Brianna would say, "Trick or treat!" and Noah would go, "treat!!!" and hold his bag open. He was a very polite spider though and never failed to say "tank you!" at every house, which got him a lot of smiles... well, that and the fact that a spider with a binky is not too very intimidating.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNco0zAh9I/AAAAAAAADVc/lODUCta6Zs0/s1600-h/ween-2009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNco0zAh9I/AAAAAAAADVc/lODUCta6Zs0/s400/ween-2009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400762234584467410" border="0" /></a>And despite her best mean faced pose, the witch was more cute than terrifying as well. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNcbw99f9I/AAAAAAAADVM/-25NxE3jK4o/s1600-h/ween-2007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNcbw99f9I/AAAAAAAADVM/-25NxE3jK4o/s400/ween-2007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400762010218364882" border="0" /></a>The kids made a haul...so much so that the little spider was having a hard time carrying his load, mostly it just dragged along the ground behind him. Although, he refused any help...2 year old independence you know.<br /><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNctwIjUMI/AAAAAAAADVk/EnuW3emNUwU/s1600-h/ween-2010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SvNctwIjUMI/AAAAAAAADVk/EnuW3emNUwU/s400/ween-2010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400762319231996098" border="0" /></a>Why did the spider cross the road?<br />To keep up with the witch!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So that's about the whole enchilada from here. Life goes on as usual and we're busy busy busy with a school girl and an active toddler. Never a dull moment...<br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-29459009828998666162009-07-24T15:27:00.003-06:002009-07-24T15:43:25.559-06:00Max and dannyAs has been the case with my parenting experiences to date, I've been surprised by yet another classic parent/child moment that has happened <span style="font-weight: bold;">way</span> before I thought it would...<br /><br />Brianna came home from preschool today and informed me that she has a boyfriend. A boyfriend! I didn't know quite how to feel about this. On the one hand, I was a bit shocked that I was going to have to worry about boys already, on the other hand, I found it pretty darn amusing. Amusement won out and I decided to play it cool. "Really?" I said, "What's his name?"<br />"It's Max," she told me. "And he's so nice and we play together all the time at school and I really like him.... I'm deciding if I want to marry him or Noah."<br /><br />I suppose it's not that surprising really. After all, we are talking about a little girl who, at least once a week, has a "wedding" day where she puts on one of her nice dresses and informs me that she's getting married to Noah today. She often refers to him as her "little husband" and rather quite enjoys bossing her little husband around. But now, apparently he has competition for the title of little husband. And I do mean little, because I found out that actually, Max is in the class below Bree...which means, she likes a younger man! Oh my!<br /><br />Meanwhile, Noah is having a love affair of his own, with "danny" which is Noah speak for candy. Several times a day he will drag me over to the pantry, point, and say, "MaMom danny!" And I usually say, "No, no candy. How 'bout an apple or crackers?" Usually he's okay with that answer, sometimes he throws a fit, and sometimes he decides to collude with Bree to try and go around Mom's decree. He'll run over to big sister and say, "Na (his version of Brianna), danny!" And, even though he says it in a whisper, it's not a very quiet whisper, more like a stage whisper, and I'm onto the plot.<br /><br />Ah...young love...Max and danny.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-7655303650879862092009-07-22T07:25:00.001-06:002009-07-23T10:23:50.860-06:00Happy Birthday Noah!Wow, it's been such a busy summer! vacations, travel, weddings, a rather painful and unexpected bout of pesticide in the eyes and recovery (but that's a whole other story)...and birthdays! In our family we have Bree's birthday, wedding anniversary, Trav's birthday, and Noah's birthday all in the span of one month! Whew! And on July 13th, Noah turned 2! My babies are growing so fast!<br /><br />Just like for Bree, it was just the four of us for Noah's birthday. Which apparently, was more than enough, or we party hardy, judging by the amount of party mess that was left to clean up afterwards!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8We8KMmI/AAAAAAAADPM/cwf4KlpME58/s1600-h/BDAY-19.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8We8KMmI/AAAAAAAADPM/cwf4KlpME58/s400/BDAY-19.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361390607112221282" border="0" /></a>In keeping with my handmade gifts pledge, the large majority of our gifts to Noah were sewn by yours truly. One of the first things he opened was his own tool pouches.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8nWgLRcI/AAAAAAAADPk/LRaRiZMBUPU/s1600-h/BDAY-24.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8nWgLRcI/AAAAAAAADPk/LRaRiZMBUPU/s400/BDAY-24.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361390896905143746" border="0" /></a>Which turned out to be handy...he wore the tool belt the rest of the day, and used his tools to open the rest of his presents.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8iFwSnCI/AAAAAAAADPc/EndXAMTDRE8/s1600-h/BDAY-23.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8iFwSnCI/AAAAAAAADPc/EndXAMTDRE8/s400/BDAY-23.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361390806509984802" border="0" /></a>Yep, a man needs the right tools to get the job done. Nothing like hammering and screwing your gift wrap into submission.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8cfN792I/AAAAAAAADPU/ATuHR5XCshY/s1600-h/BDAY-21.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8cfN792I/AAAAAAAADPU/ATuHR5XCshY/s400/BDAY-21.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361390710266001250" border="0" /></a>Noah's a big fan of the show Dora the Explorer, and Boots the monkey is his favorite character. So, I also made him a stuffed animal Boots. Considering this was my first attempt at a stuffed animal, I was pretty happy with how it turned out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8C1JC8UI/AAAAAAAADO0/tuWlCqsR-eY/s1600-h/BDAY-11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8C1JC8UI/AAAAAAAADO0/tuWlCqsR-eY/s400/BDAY-11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361390269474468162" border="0" /></a>Of course, he had to get his own bean bag chair, just like big sister.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd7siQeuaI/AAAAAAAADOU/-XFrgnD6Vtk/s1600-h/BDAY-7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd7siQeuaI/AAAAAAAADOU/-XFrgnD6Vtk/s400/BDAY-7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361389886448253346" border="0" /></a>And I also made him his own playscape. He got a farm scene, complete with barn, silo, fences, and haystack.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd7x0H3JpI/AAAAAAAADOc/_znU815OchY/s1600-h/BDAY-8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd7x0H3JpI/AAAAAAAADOc/_znU815OchY/s400/BDAY-8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361389977143289490" border="0" /></a>And just like Bree's the whole thing cinches up into a bag that holds all the parts inside.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SmiBn-P-TcI/AAAAAAAADQ0/IIupnYXOJxc/s1600-h/BDAY-9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SmiBn-P-TcI/AAAAAAAADQ0/IIupnYXOJxc/s400/BDAY-9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361677880109452738" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd79rvh2PI/AAAAAAAADOs/qfW7dqKnBlk/s1600-h/BDAY-10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd79rvh2PI/AAAAAAAADOs/qfW7dqKnBlk/s400/BDAY-10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361390181052176626" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8yMQ3seI/AAAAAAAADP0/xRVzpxJwG-M/s1600-h/BDAY-26.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8yMQ3seI/AAAAAAAADP0/xRVzpxJwG-M/s400/BDAY-26.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361391083135152610" border="0" /></a>Embracing my hand made gift movement, my mom made him a Super Noah cape, which he loves! It's so funny too, he'll put it on, run into the room and strike a pose with his hands on his hips, cape billowing behind him. Then, after a dramatic pause, he'll run back out again. :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8OJfh-zI/AAAAAAAADPE/LUeN3Rv1pNk/s1600-h/BDAY-17.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd8OJfh-zI/AAAAAAAADPE/LUeN3Rv1pNk/s400/BDAY-17.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361390463916047154" border="0" /></a>His other big gifts were a basketball hoop and a sand/water play table. (Yes, they're plastic, I couldn't sew those things!) Now that the fence is finally up, it's nice to have some fun things for the kids to do outside. Yep, that's the new fence in the background there. (I finally broke down and just got white vinyl. It's not quite as bad as I thought, although, as predicted, in high sunlight you can practically be blinded by the glare of it's shiny white surface.)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9OQixwOI/AAAAAAAADQU/x3FFKcr366Q/s1600-h/BDAY-33.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9OQixwOI/AAAAAAAADQU/x3FFKcr366Q/s400/BDAY-33.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361391565320339682" border="0" /></a>After the gifts, it was time to party! Which, at our house means blowing those party blower things at each other...<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9H7el5YI/AAAAAAAADQM/sSjFJUlKwvQ/s1600-h/BDAY-32.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9H7el5YI/AAAAAAAADQM/sSjFJUlKwvQ/s400/BDAY-32.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361391456586425730" border="0" /></a>...and blowing up funny shaped balloons and proceeding to "sword" fight and smack each other with.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9AqASHII/AAAAAAAADQE/S01kbuGgzIY/s1600-h/BDAY-29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9AqASHII/AAAAAAAADQE/S01kbuGgzIY/s400/BDAY-29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361391331636812930" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd83qaNRlI/AAAAAAAADP8/J167XCc0NrE/s1600-h/BDAY-27.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd83qaNRlI/AAAAAAAADP8/J167XCc0NrE/s400/BDAY-27.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361391177126725202" border="0" /></a>Then it was time for cake. I frosted this one while it was still too warm and it turned out a bit wonky. But hey, it still tasted good and you know, might as well shrug and go with the flow instead of fret.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9VoYYcCI/AAAAAAAADQc/ln5nmMjaNe4/s1600-h/BDAY-34.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9VoYYcCI/AAAAAAAADQc/ln5nmMjaNe4/s400/BDAY-34.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361391691978272802" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9d3eFy1I/AAAAAAAADQk/Ljsw9ZJuNFc/s1600-h/BDAY-36.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9d3eFy1I/AAAAAAAADQk/Ljsw9ZJuNFc/s400/BDAY-36.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361391833467702098" border="0" /></a>The birthday boy giving the cake the finger swipe and lick test.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Naturally, being all of 2 now, Noah thinks he's quite a big boy. He's in that phase where he wants to do things himself even though he can't quite really do them without help. And his character grows daily, along with his vocabulary. Yes, it's that stage that I find so charming where every word is either mispronounced, or used in the wrong context and it's oh-so-cute. So, since it's been awhile since I've done so, here are a few of my favorite things Noah says, translated from "Noahnese" to English.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">do = yes</span> Because, most of the time I'm asking things like "Do you want ____?" So, of course the answer is, "I do!" Although, lately he's also sometimes answering "uh-huh" which I find equally adorable.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MaMom</span> That's me. Not sure when or why he started referring to me that way, but these days, he does. "Do MaMom!" = I do want that Mom!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nuhko </span>= Nikko, the dog<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span> = his favorite show/monkey, or the footwear, which is one of his favorite things to wear, usually with just a diaper on to accesorize.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Go </span>= "There you go" or "Let go" depending on the context.<br /><br />He also has a few "phrases" that only his mother can understand. Mostly because they're said in more of a singsong syllable kind of way. And it's not so much the words, but the sounds and the cadence of how he says them that cue me in.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">da-i-tis</span> = There it is.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">whe-a-oo</span> = Where are you?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hahaha</span> = Noah's evil laugh that he actually makes quite sinister and says usually during, after, doing something naughty.<br /><br />Then there are those words that need no translation:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mine </span> A staple of 2 yr. olds everywhere, especially ones with older siblings.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Now</span> a charming addition to the vocabulary. :)<br /><br />Along with new words, it's been fun to watch Noah and his sheer "boyness". So different from Brianna at this age. For one thing he's already stronger than she is now, which we know because he's been hitting a lot. (And which we're working on quicky nipping in the bud.) He also likes to jump into a room with an improvised "sword" (which has been anything from a stick to a plastic golf club), assume a wide leg stance, swing his arm and go, "Hi-ya!" And the kid seems to always be sticky and dirty, despite my best efforts to keep him clean. In fact, I've been thinking his nickname should be pigpen, just like the Charlie Brown character, he seems to have a cloud of dust following him around. As proof, I present exhibit #1:<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9kb3yBcI/AAAAAAAADQs/XkBdfBFikVg/s1600-h/BDAY-37.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Smd9kb3yBcI/AAAAAAAADQs/XkBdfBFikVg/s400/BDAY-37.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361391946318349762" border="0" /></a>Yep, this is pretty much the standard look lately. (Except for the hat.) But at least he's also patriotic huh?<br />This picture reminds me of a Jeff Foxworthy joke... you know, you might be a redneck if your face is always dirty, you never wear a shirt, but you love your country so much you wear a red white and blue top hat. :)<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-50422868671582275092009-06-22T07:59:00.000-06:002009-06-22T07:59:00.506-06:00Our Oregon Coast VacationIt all started a few months before we went, when Brianna and I were in a local thrift store. She spied a bag of sea shells and wanted to buy them. So, we did. But it got me thinking, if she's excited about that, how much more excited would she be to go beach combing and pick up real shells right off the beach, and our vacation plans were born.<br /><br />So, the first week in June Travis, myself, Bree and Noah packed up and headed to the Oregon coast for our first ever family vacation. (And I'm just now getting around to posting the pix!) I mean, we've visited family plenty, but this was our first vacation, just the four of us, just to have fun and see sights.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YgrnWczI/AAAAAAAADJI/DnIB4_DMcck/s1600-h/OCblog-70.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YgrnWczI/AAAAAAAADJI/DnIB4_DMcck/s400/OCblog-70.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349529250872849202" border="0" /></a>The kids, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">chillin</span>' out on the long drive to the coast. Our car was so jam packed, we could barely move! It was shocking how much stuff we made fit into that car.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YmXuRa2I/AAAAAAAADJQ/9Q0UrlSJP5A/s1600-h/OCblog-71.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YmXuRa2I/AAAAAAAADJQ/9Q0UrlSJP5A/s400/OCblog-71.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349529348612385634" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Our first few days were spent in Newport, where we visited the aquarium and the bay. But first things first...we headed straight for the beach.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1VYyMe0rI/AAAAAAAADEo/ch3ugdpn54w/s1600-h/OCblog-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1VYyMe0rI/AAAAAAAADEo/ch3ugdpn54w/s400/OCblog-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349525816665363122" border="0" /></a>Their first forays into the waves...looking a little tentative. :)<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1VdYjVS0I/AAAAAAAADEw/Ky41Qsqo-W4/s1600-h/OCblog-3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1VdYjVS0I/AAAAAAAADEw/Ky41Qsqo-W4/s400/OCblog-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349525895681231682" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The aquarium was a big hit. The kids were so excited, running around and pointing at everything.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XBfREt-I/AAAAAAAADHA/LkHTNOoW2WA/s1600-h/OCblog-45.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XBfREt-I/AAAAAAAADHA/LkHTNOoW2WA/s400/OCblog-45.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527615470614498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1W1VuSMVI/AAAAAAAADGw/TmKrqorEwXg/s1600-h/OCblog-41.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1W1VuSMVI/AAAAAAAADGw/TmKrqorEwXg/s400/OCblog-41.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527406750347602" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WwhbpAAI/AAAAAAAADGo/mepWieBhOlg/s1600-h/OCblog-37.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WwhbpAAI/AAAAAAAADGo/mepWieBhOlg/s400/OCblog-37.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527323994030082" border="0" /></a>Check out those Japanese crabs, just as big as Noah!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XblEw-RI/AAAAAAAADHo/NBS0qFJY3PE/s1600-h/OCblog-53.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XblEw-RI/AAAAAAAADHo/NBS0qFJY3PE/s400/OCblog-53.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349528063706200338" border="0" /></a>Hey look, it's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Nemo</span>!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1W8Itfc7I/AAAAAAAADG4/hveFizgNJWE/s1600-h/OCblog-43.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1W8Itfc7I/AAAAAAAADG4/hveFizgNJWE/s400/OCblog-43.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527523516445618" border="0" /></a>And this is one of my favorite sea creatures, a skate. They're like a ray, only smaller I think. Isn't he cute? I just like their faces all up against the glass, and they have these funny little fin/leg things that they kick all around.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WqI1VlSI/AAAAAAAADGg/1hS8QcexC5g/s1600-h/OCblog-33.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WqI1VlSI/AAAAAAAADGg/1hS8QcexC5g/s400/OCblog-33.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527214311707938" border="0" /></a>My own little sea monkey. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XGSGgsxI/AAAAAAAADHI/ECzlEfel59A/s1600-h/OCblog-47.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XGSGgsxI/AAAAAAAADHI/ECzlEfel59A/s400/OCblog-47.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527697835995922" border="0" /></a>Peering down to get a closer look in the shark tunnel, sharks swimming above and below!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj7cDTZZrZI/AAAAAAAADNI/yHUNtyLBpy4/s1600-h/OCblog-46.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj7cDTZZrZI/AAAAAAAADNI/yHUNtyLBpy4/s400/OCblog-46.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349955356667260306" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XMd_V8WI/AAAAAAAADHQ/AhWMjq40l9g/s1600-h/OCblog-48.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XMd_V8WI/AAAAAAAADHQ/AhWMjq40l9g/s400/OCblog-48.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527804106371426" border="0" /></a>Bree looking scared in front of some shark jaws.... either that or she's trying to see who can open their mouth wider. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XSQ56mTI/AAAAAAAADHY/DTCmvg2DKIk/s1600-h/OCblog-49.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XSQ56mTI/AAAAAAAADHY/DTCmvg2DKIk/s400/OCblog-49.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527903673162034" border="0" /></a>It was a big place, lots to see, so we took it slow and took some breaks. Here's Bree taking 5 to lounge on a dolphin statue.<br /><br />I had my own way of relaxing....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Xf-jGm4I/AAAAAAAADHw/c-qqpTBdHxU/s1600-h/OCblog-54.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Xf-jGm4I/AAAAAAAADHw/c-qqpTBdHxU/s400/OCblog-54.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349528139263810434" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">mmm</span>.... coffee....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XWYApn5I/AAAAAAAADHg/nj0yM_d4WJ8/s1600-h/OCblog-50.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XWYApn5I/AAAAAAAADHg/nj0yM_d4WJ8/s400/OCblog-50.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527974299934610" border="0" /></a>Did you know that Bree has the arm span the same length as the wing span of a snowy owl?<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Hmmm</span>... neither did we until our visit to the aquarium.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">After resting up from a big day of fish viewing, we went south a bit to Florence, had lunch at Moe's and checked out the sea lion caves.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WNAHfUSI/AAAAAAAADF4/OvW-SyVCBl8/s1600-h/OCblog-14.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WNAHfUSI/AAAAAAAADF4/OvW-SyVCBl8/s400/OCblog-14.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349526713755717922" border="0" /></a>Peeking over the wall at the lookout point.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WS1tXacI/AAAAAAAADGA/mfyQfE_k4pM/s1600-h/OCblog-16.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WS1tXacI/AAAAAAAADGA/mfyQfE_k4pM/s400/OCblog-16.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349526814041008578" border="0" /></a>There were a ton of sea lions there, but they were fairly far away from the vantage point, so the kids weren't too impressed. This is the view looking through <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Trav's</span> zoom lens.<br /><br />Then we headed north up the coast for a few days, stopping at any beaches that caught our interest and doing a lot of beach combing.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YrFBkSDI/AAAAAAAADJY/blWsGkVAmlk/s1600-h/OCblog-72.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YrFBkSDI/AAAAAAAADJY/blWsGkVAmlk/s400/OCblog-72.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349529429492385842" border="0" /></a>A cool off-shore rock formation at Cape <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Kiwanda</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XlrDx8PI/AAAAAAAADH4/c2-EMQpLei8/s1600-h/OCblog-55.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XlrDx8PI/AAAAAAAADH4/c2-EMQpLei8/s400/OCblog-55.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349528237111374066" border="0" /></a>Me striking a dorky pose on the beach. I'm wearing my "vacation hat." Travis and I each had one actually. They were both fun and functional. Fun, because we knew we looked a bit silly but we wore them anyway to keep ourselves in the vacation, free-spirit, I don't care if I look a bit silly mode, and functional because it's always windy on the Oregon coast. Wearing a hat was the only way to keep my hair out of my face.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ZxL0xNcI/AAAAAAAADKw/Bs8WQqpqB4k/s1600-h/OCblog-90.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ZxL0xNcI/AAAAAAAADKw/Bs8WQqpqB4k/s400/OCblog-90.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349530633908598210" border="0" /></a>Noah running down the beach... admit it, you're hearing the theme song from St. Elmo's Fire right now, aren't you? (If not, you will <a href="http://www.imeem.com/people/abwkYDA/music/VY2ZVwd0/david-foster-st-elmos-fire/">now</a>! There you go, soundtrack for the rest of these pix!)<br /><br />We actually had beautiful weather for our entire trip, can you believe, 10 days at the Oregon coast and it didn't rain once? Perfect beach weather for early summer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Vh2wa5hI/AAAAAAAADE4/vhILisme5RU/s1600-h/OCblog-4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Vh2wa5hI/AAAAAAAADE4/vhILisme5RU/s400/OCblog-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349525972508665362" border="0" /></a>Nice big open sandy beaches everywhere we looked. The kids loved it, like one big sand box!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1aF7JlugI/AAAAAAAADLQ/i1i4g8w3Cvo/s1600-h/OCblog-95.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1aF7JlugI/AAAAAAAADLQ/i1i4g8w3Cvo/s400/OCblog-95.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349530990209776130" border="0" /></a>Here they are inspecting something that caught their eye in the sand. If you dig down a little bit, you can actually find quite a few little sand critters that bury themselves during low tide... little shrimp and crabs and all kinds of things in shells.<br /><br />At first, the kids weren't really into the beach combing thing and were just whining about the wind, and the amount of walking. But, all it took was our first peek at a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">tidepool</span>, and finding our first little shell, and they were into it!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WZZ037oI/AAAAAAAADGI/xzsyHQVPbRQ/s1600-h/OCblog-18.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WZZ037oI/AAAAAAAADGI/xzsyHQVPbRQ/s400/OCblog-18.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349526926815391362" border="0" /></a>A tide pool full of sea <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">anemones</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1X8zeJcjI/AAAAAAAADIY/_LMZMp5T4ME/s1600-h/OCblog-59.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1X8zeJcjI/AAAAAAAADIY/_LMZMp5T4ME/s400/OCblog-59.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349528634506441266" border="0" /></a>Tidepoolin' ... rocky areas had the best tidepools.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WfVdSncI/AAAAAAAADGQ/SZPplOowjQs/s1600-h/OCblog-22.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WfVdSncI/AAAAAAAADGQ/SZPplOowjQs/s400/OCblog-22.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527028721950146" border="0" /></a>Yes, that's me beach combing with a cup of coffee in my hand. What? A girl has needs, even on the beach.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YBmlQtWI/AAAAAAAADIg/wpOW-RAvmRM/s1600-h/OCblog-60.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YBmlQtWI/AAAAAAAADIg/wpOW-RAvmRM/s400/OCblog-60.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349528716945962338" border="0" /></a>Noah was so funny after he got into beach combing. He would run around picking up this and that and holding it up and saying, "cool!"<br /><br />This beach was where we found some of our best treasures. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YbE_mX2I/AAAAAAAADJA/p9vAHR4v8uk/s1600-h/OCblog-69.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YbE_mX2I/AAAAAAAADJA/p9vAHR4v8uk/s400/OCblog-69.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349529154606227298" border="0" /></a><br />Because, while that line of debris may look kind of yucky, that's the best place to find interesting rocks and shells that have washed up.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YVSbKXCI/AAAAAAAADI4/KizKYFA-Dsc/s1600-h/OCblog-67.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YVSbKXCI/AAAAAAAADI4/KizKYFA-Dsc/s400/OCblog-67.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349529055132277794" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Zr6XvrAI/AAAAAAAADKo/8V1-xp4GmR0/s1600-h/OCblog-89.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Zr6XvrAI/AAAAAAAADKo/8V1-xp4GmR0/s400/OCblog-89.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349530543324113922" border="0" /></a>At this beach, there were just tons and tons of sand dollars around. But, the seagulls had broken them all open, all but this one that is. Somehow we managed to find this one pristine sand dollar that was still whole. It was a neat find and Bree was so cute, after we found it she said, "Can we buy something with our sand dollar?" So we had to explain even though it's called a sand dollar, you can't actually spend it. :)<br /><br />Of course, no coast trip is complete without visiting a light house. We checked out this one at Cape Meares.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Z2A6funI/AAAAAAAADK4/Q3fguEOH0DI/s1600-h/OCblog-91.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Z2A6funI/AAAAAAAADK4/Q3fguEOH0DI/s400/OCblog-91.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349530716879174258" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1aQkIiQoI/AAAAAAAADLY/FQ-jrWmX1kk/s1600-h/OCblog-92.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1aQkIiQoI/AAAAAAAADLY/FQ-jrWmX1kk/s400/OCblog-92.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349531173009900162" border="0" /></a>This was the view from near the lighthouse. Look at those trees! Gives you an idea just how much wind the area has, and how very strong it must be!<br /><br />On our way north we also went through Tillamook and stopped to take a tour of the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory. It was pretty neat, although, I've been to other cheese factories, and I gotta say, seen one cheese factory, you've really seen them all. This one was just bigger. But it was lots of fun. The kids love cheese so we munched on a bunch of samples and ended up having cheese squares and a big Tillamook ice cream cone for lunch that day! (Which is allowed when you're on vacation.)<br /><br />As we made our way along the beach, we spent our nights camped out at state parks. It was a money saver, and a lot of fun too!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XsrsddgI/AAAAAAAADIA/m2kGg1QuoXo/s1600-h/OCblog-56.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1XsrsddgI/AAAAAAAADIA/m2kGg1QuoXo/s400/OCblog-56.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349528357541082626" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Y3vHOv3I/AAAAAAAADJo/PY71C-YL9D4/s1600-h/OCblog-75.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Y3vHOv3I/AAAAAAAADJo/PY71C-YL9D4/s400/OCblog-75.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349529646948859762" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Yws-YmWI/AAAAAAAADJg/TqhZQeVBG4A/s1600-h/OCblog-73.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Yws-YmWI/AAAAAAAADJg/TqhZQeVBG4A/s400/OCblog-73.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349529526115801442" border="0" /></a>That's one happy camper! Not to mention adorable! :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Xx62coDI/AAAAAAAADII/kuuT7LJllOU/s1600-h/OCblog-57.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Xx62coDI/AAAAAAAADII/kuuT7LJllOU/s400/OCblog-57.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349528447508848690" border="0" /></a>Gathered around the campfire.<br /><br />One night, we even got to stay in a yurt, which, if you don't know, is kind of like a tent/hut thing. We would have stayed in them more often, but they're popular and were booked most the time.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1aewKGIuI/AAAAAAAADLo/2aHAKk_23I8/s1600-h/OCblog-100.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1aewKGIuI/AAAAAAAADLo/2aHAKk_23I8/s400/OCblog-100.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349531416755839714" border="0" /></a>The inside of our yurt.<br /><br />Although, I can't say staying in a yurt would count as "roughing it" because they come with electricity.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ajEmGzSI/AAAAAAAADLw/BTapuz1ZeG4/s1600-h/OCblog-104.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ajEmGzSI/AAAAAAAADLw/BTapuz1ZeG4/s400/OCblog-104.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349531490961509666" border="0" /></a>The kids bathed in the glow from watching a bedtime cartoon on our laptop. Who says you can't watch Bugs Bunny while "camping out."<br /><br /><br />It was really neat to camp out right next to the beach. It allowed Travis to get all kinds of cool sunset and silhouette shots.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WC15YQ3I/AAAAAAAADFo/KEbpBmGE-EM/s1600-h/OCblog-11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WC15YQ3I/AAAAAAAADFo/KEbpBmGE-EM/s400/OCblog-11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349526539213489010" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1X205kKLI/AAAAAAAADIQ/Ga6RDPF5V7k/s1600-h/OCblog-58.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1X205kKLI/AAAAAAAADIQ/Ga6RDPF5V7k/s400/OCblog-58.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349528531810658482" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1aBK74kHI/AAAAAAAADLI/VHtuRoATUQ8/s1600-h/OCblog-94.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1aBK74kHI/AAAAAAAADLI/VHtuRoATUQ8/s400/OCblog-94.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349530908547911794" border="0" /></a>Me and my two little ducklings following along.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Zf1jK4jI/AAAAAAAADKY/z8G17d4dR5Q/s1600-h/OCblog-85.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Zf1jK4jI/AAAAAAAADKY/z8G17d4dR5Q/s400/OCblog-85.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349530335871427122" border="0" /></a>Noah running into the sunset. (There goes that St. Elmo's Fire song again!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ZbRdm7sI/AAAAAAAADKQ/kprLHHMc7TE/s1600-h/OCblog-84.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ZbRdm7sI/AAAAAAAADKQ/kprLHHMc7TE/s400/OCblog-84.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349530257464946370" border="0" /></a>Me in my hat at sunset.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ZQT9tpQI/AAAAAAAADKI/TPoM7aRoypo/s1600-h/OCblog-82.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ZQT9tpQI/AAAAAAAADKI/TPoM7aRoypo/s400/OCblog-82.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349530069157913858" border="0" /></a>Bree bending down to examine a find on the beach.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ZLjzJSwI/AAAAAAAADKA/kGX9WXFoJSY/s1600-h/OCblog-81.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ZLjzJSwI/AAAAAAAADKA/kGX9WXFoJSY/s400/OCblog-81.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349529987509209858" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Vl_9h62I/AAAAAAAADFA/InSX-YkbvNY/s1600-h/OCblog-5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Vl_9h62I/AAAAAAAADFA/InSX-YkbvNY/s400/OCblog-5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349526043699047266" border="0" /></a><br />Staying near the beach was also great because it gave the kids lots of time for sand play and general beach shenanigans.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1VuXX3z5I/AAAAAAAADFQ/8Z-DNdiLQKE/s1600-h/OCblog-7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1VuXX3z5I/AAAAAAAADFQ/8Z-DNdiLQKE/s400/OCblog-7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349526187422502802" border="0" /></a>Diggin'.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Vydpx_BI/AAAAAAAADFY/C0_NRH-bLQo/s1600-h/OCblog-8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Vydpx_BI/AAAAAAAADFY/C0_NRH-bLQo/s400/OCblog-8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349526257827707922" border="0" /></a>Diggin' and wadin'<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Y9B3WplI/AAAAAAAADJw/_Deap6lk9pc/s1600-h/OCblog-77.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Y9B3WplI/AAAAAAAADJw/_Deap6lk9pc/s400/OCblog-77.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349529737881888338" border="0" /></a>Playin'<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ZCL7mIrI/AAAAAAAADJ4/d9RR4pB6E2Q/s1600-h/OCblog-79.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1ZCL7mIrI/AAAAAAAADJ4/d9RR4pB6E2Q/s400/OCblog-79.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349529826483380914" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WlRqF-FI/AAAAAAAADGY/-SZ7Kc2_ZtI/s1600-h/OCblog-32.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1WlRqF-FI/AAAAAAAADGY/-SZ7Kc2_ZtI/s400/OCblog-32.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349527130781120594" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YOzqBR_I/AAAAAAAADIw/BrM6FZwGGR0/s1600-h/OCblog-66.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YOzqBR_I/AAAAAAAADIw/BrM6FZwGGR0/s400/OCblog-66.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349528943793883122" border="0" /></a>Bree contemplating the ocean.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YIRknBSI/AAAAAAAADIo/twW2Te1mWUM/s1600-h/OCblog-65.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1YIRknBSI/AAAAAAAADIo/twW2Te1mWUM/s400/OCblog-65.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349528831565169954" border="0" /></a>Check this one out, a cool slow shutter speed shot that shows the motion lines of the waves washing in and back out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Z7P9micI/AAAAAAAADLA/QI2YOPLmPNU/s1600-h/OCblog-93.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Z7P9micI/AAAAAAAADLA/QI2YOPLmPNU/s400/OCblog-93.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349530806818081218" border="0" /></a><br />Naturally, since we were in the area we had to stop at Cannon Beach and get our own pix of the famous Haystack Rock.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj7deS9SN-I/AAAAAAAADNQ/0zVLlKdqWPw/s1600-h/OCblog-98.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj7deS9SN-I/AAAAAAAADNQ/0zVLlKdqWPw/s400/OCblog-98.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349956919917426658" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1aYPOynCI/AAAAAAAADLg/zBZJJCjHVlY/s1600-h/OCblog-97.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1aYPOynCI/AAAAAAAADLg/zBZJJCjHVlY/s400/OCblog-97.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349531304837946402" border="0" /></a>That's Haystack Rock there in the distance.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> Finally we ended up in Seaside, a charming little city with a beach front promenade, an aquarium where you can feed the seals (who will clap for attention to vie for fish, much to the kids' delight), an old time carousel, and a store that has 170 flavors of salt water taffy to choose from! (And yes, Travis and I did indeed feel like kids in a candy store just as much as the children did.)<br /><br />At that point we'd been traveling along the coast for a full week, and we felt we were getting tuckered out, and wanted to start the journey home. But, on the way out we decided to hit up the Portland Zoo. Noah had never been to a big zoo and it had been awhile for Bree. They had fun and of course, Trav was snapping away and got some fun shots of some of the more exotic animals.<br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1bLI5pSAI/AAAAAAAADMo/VRAL9gWM_Nw/s1600-h/OCblog-116.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1bLI5pSAI/AAAAAAAADMo/VRAL9gWM_Nw/s400/OCblog-116.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349532179311970306" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1bGmC6qfI/AAAAAAAADMg/HPiaN8Jcd04/s1600-h/OCblog-112.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1bGmC6qfI/AAAAAAAADMg/HPiaN8Jcd04/s400/OCblog-112.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349532101236140530" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1bCi1nAxI/AAAAAAAADMY/x7nJutolL6c/s1600-h/OCblog-111.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1bCi1nAxI/AAAAAAAADMY/x7nJutolL6c/s400/OCblog-111.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349532031655543570" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1bPOkfmuI/AAAAAAAADMw/qMZgyzLg_w0/s1600-h/OCblog-118.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1bPOkfmuI/AAAAAAAADMw/qMZgyzLg_w0/s400/OCblog-118.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349532249553345250" border="0" /></a>Love birds...awww<br /><br />Surprisingly, the kids' favorite animal of the day was the bats.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1a232QqVI/AAAAAAAADMI/V21Jsb6CTYo/s1600-h/OCblog-107.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1a232QqVI/AAAAAAAADMI/V21Jsb6CTYo/s400/OCblog-107.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349531831136987474" border="0" /></a>They were just fascinated by them, and stood and stared for a long time. The zookeepers had just fed the bats, so they were flying all over and eating fruit.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1a8n1XBqI/AAAAAAAADMQ/6r6GvLuE6TM/s1600-h/OCblog-108.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1a8n1XBqI/AAAAAAAADMQ/6r6GvLuE6TM/s400/OCblog-108.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349531929917458082" border="0" /></a>I guess when you think about it though, bats are pretty cool... they can fly, hang upside down, walk along a branch upside down and they like the same fruits as kids.<br /><br />I think my favorite part was the sea lions. I know, I know, we saw a bunch of them already, but they had a display where you could see them swimming up close.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1avDcL2vI/AAAAAAAADMA/lkyzygZEX9Y/s1600-h/OCblog-106.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1avDcL2vI/AAAAAAAADMA/lkyzygZEX9Y/s400/OCblog-106.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349531696809892594" border="0" /></a>There were two sea lions there. They were very graceful swimming together, almost like they were doing a dance.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1apxA9r-I/AAAAAAAADL4/72dymoJZVkA/s1600-h/OCblog-105.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1apxA9r-I/AAAAAAAADL4/72dymoJZVkA/s400/OCblog-105.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349531605964533730" border="0" /></a>And I didn't realize how huge they are up close and personal. For reference, that's me standing there in front of the glass.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1bUNCNmjI/AAAAAAAADM4/HjD4IqutIgM/s1600-h/OCblog-113.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1bUNCNmjI/AAAAAAAADM4/HjD4IqutIgM/s400/OCblog-113.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349532335040469554" border="0" /></a>On our way out, the kids couldn't resist a photo op with some animal statues. Noah chose to ride a hippo...<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1baZZIhXI/AAAAAAAADNA/g98eqpK5taM/s1600-h/OCblog-114.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1baZZIhXI/AAAAAAAADNA/g98eqpK5taM/s400/OCblog-114.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349532441437046130" border="0" /></a>and here's Bree atop a snail.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">And that's it... Whew! I know that was a lot of pictures, but it was a pretty long and full vacation.<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Zk-DH56I/AAAAAAAADKg/ul54NU6G90E/s1600-h/OCblog-86.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sj1Zk-DH56I/AAAAAAAADKg/ul54NU6G90E/s400/OCblog-86.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349530424052279202" border="0" /></a>Wonder where we'll go next year....<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-67470148652507955812009-06-21T16:46:00.000-06:002009-06-21T16:46:00.751-06:00Bubbles!!My dog, Niko, loves bubbles! He just feels the need to catch every one of them... I can't explain his fervor... it's kind of an obsession really, a mission, it's kind of like this:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cCnZYdC73qo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cCnZYdC73qo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />He thinks it's his responsibility to not let even one get away. I found this out one day when I started blowing bubbles for the kids. Turns out, it amused the dog more than the kids and he went racing around like a maniac, doing amazing leaps into the air to get all the bubbles. Now, I like to blow bubbles sometimes just to see him geek out and try to catch them. It's pretty impressive, actually. So, for your amusement, here's some shots of the pooch in action...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxFz6H4CSI/AAAAAAAADD4/LqcrpWdAE1Q/s1600-h/2009-215.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxFz6H4CSI/AAAAAAAADD4/LqcrpWdAE1Q/s400/2009-215.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349227215487240482" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxF3p11KWI/AAAAAAAADEA/TnfIuL5sDcY/s1600-h/2009-217.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxF3p11KWI/AAAAAAAADEA/TnfIuL5sDcY/s400/2009-217.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349227279836064098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxF8-ChAlI/AAAAAAAADEI/7V-iS8XeLg4/s1600-h/2009-267.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxF8-ChAlI/AAAAAAAADEI/7V-iS8XeLg4/s400/2009-267.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349227371157324370" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxGB4FdC4I/AAAAAAAADEQ/TeVe7bhMQuc/s1600-h/2009-269.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxGB4FdC4I/AAAAAAAADEQ/TeVe7bhMQuc/s400/2009-269.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349227455458380674" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxGFGubvII/AAAAAAAADEY/ga5g-ZlKDW0/s1600-h/2009-268.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxGFGubvII/AAAAAAAADEY/ga5g-ZlKDW0/s400/2009-268.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349227510927965314" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxGIgl4z9I/AAAAAAAADEg/F2xLsEG2QDU/s1600-h/2009-270.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjxGIgl4z9I/AAAAAAAADEg/F2xLsEG2QDU/s400/2009-270.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349227569411051474" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-6751648478317761882009-06-19T09:49:00.005-06:002009-06-19T17:19:00.838-06:00My Sudden Social and Environmental Conscience...or rather, not that my social and environmental conscience is new, but my level of commitment to doing something about it is. So, if you'll allow me to step onto my soap box for a bit....<br /><br />Maybe it's just me, or maybe this is the natural progression of things, but, you know, when you're young you're...young and some of the larger social issues, while on your radar perhaps, are eclipsed in importance by what you're wearing to school, who's asking you to prom, or what will be in your next final. Then, as you get older, more mature and responsible, you have kids and they're... needy. So, for the first few years after baby, you're so focused on the little things to just keep them alive and well that you really have no time for much else, even sleep. Thus leading to a phenomenon called, "Mommy Brain," a temporary loss of vocabulary, common sense, and easy access to memory. And just about the time when your baby turns into a toddler and you might have a minute to recover, you look back nostalgically and decide, well, maybe it's time to have another. Therefore, while you may feel a pang of guilt at shoving your groceries into plastic bags at the grocery store, the thought is interrupted by a hungry baby crying, a toddler wreaking havoc on the candy racks near the cash register, or etc. And that fleeting moment is quickly forgotten.<br /><br />Well, with my oldest starting school this fall, and my youngest being old enough to entertain himself for a few minutes at least, I find myself becoming much more aware of the world outside my little house. And I just see how wasteful we are as a nation, myself included. It's how the past several generations have been raised really. As a country, we have embraced "progress" and technology and celebrated those things that make our lives a little easier, a little more convenient, and make unpleasant or time-consuming tasks go by a little faster. It's true, mass production makes items readily available. So much so that we have forgotten, or in my case, never known what it was like before whatever we wanted was virtually at our fingertips. We don't have to farm, slaughter our own animals and so on. If we're hungry, we go to our pantry, pull out prepackaged food from it's plastic or cardboard container. When we have waste we don't want? Well, throw it in the garbage and it gets conveniently carted off so you don't have to see it or deal with it again. So no wonder in the U.S. we are totally out of touch with nature. We don't interact with the natural world anymore. We don't see how our food gets to our table and we don't see where our waste goes or have to stare at it after it's gone. Everything comes to us in tidy, sterile packages. But while quick and easy can be nice, it's also pretty empty really.<br /><br />Lately, as a nation, we are starting to become more aware of the consequences of our lifestyles. We are waking up to the price that we are paying for the "conveniences" of modern day living. The "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">eco</span>-friendly" movement is growing larger every day, helped along most recently by having an economy where people are looking for ways to make the most out of what they already have. Yep, like it or not, being green is in. Opulent, wasteful lifestyle? Well, that's out (unless you're famous, a CEO, or a jackass).<br /><br />So, maybe you're reading along here and thinking, okay, that's nice, but why is she going on about this on a blog about her kids? Aha! Well, because, the fire under my rear about all this was sparked by, yep, my kids, for several reasons really. First off, there's the fact that I want them to inherit a nice, clean planet to live on. Although in and of itself, that reason is usually not enough for most people to make a change. We're human, we're inherently selfish, and doing what's right for future generations is almost too far down the time line to resonate with many asking, so what, I'm here right now. So while an altruistic future generations type thing does play into my change of heart, what really resonates is consumerism. Yes, that's right.<br /><br />I know, supply and demand, the consumer, is at the heart of capitalism and the economy of our nation. So, it's not totally bad. We need things, other people provide them, we buy them. We can't all be experts in every field and be completely self sufficient. I get that. But... we are over-consumers. We have more than we could ever use in a lifetime, more than we need and still we want more. A fact that was made clear to me in watching my children. They see ads on TV and every single one that comes on it's, "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Oooh</span>, Mom, I want that! Oh, I want that too! Look how neat that is! Can I go online to www.whatever.com, that commercial said to ask my parents if I could!" Well, they're kids, they don't have the self control yet. But then, how can I expect my kids to learn any if I am going out and buying them everything their little heart desires? A trap I admit to falling into, and recently.<br /><br />This past Christmas, Bree had a long list of items she had seen on commercials that she wanted. Now, I couldn't afford, nor did I plan, on buying her everything on the list. But I did go out and get quite a few of them. Because, we all want to see our kids' face light up at Christmas. We all want to avoid having a child in tears not having that one thing they really wanted, it's only natural. So we all run around in a frenzy of purchasing fervor. In my case, come Christmas morning, things were great. Each present was opened with joy and appreciation....for about 5 minutes. Afterwards I was left with piles of cardboard and plastic trash from the packaging, and an even bigger pile of plastic "trash" went into the kids' room... the toys. Toys which hardly ever get played with and only contribute to the mess in their room.<br /><br />The problem is that many toys only really do one thing. So, the kid plays with the item, making it do the one thing over and over, and it quickly gets old, there's not much left to the child's imagination, not many different ways to play with it. Then on the shelf it sits. In our rush to provide our children with the most and the best they don't know how to appreciate what they have. My own kids, being the first grandchildren, first great-grandchildren, first <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">neices</span> and nephews, are very spoiled. They get a lot of things from loving relatives. They have so much though, that they don't even know what all they own, it's overwhelming. They would have so many presents to open on any given event, that they would tear into one present, get it open, glance at it, throw a casual mumbled "thank you" out there, and then pounce on the next item. Ultimately, I started to worry that the "gimme and gimme now" mentality was a losing battle. I want my kids to appreciate and feel grateful for the things they have, and not always have their eyes on the bigger, better version.<br /><br />So...all that lead up to say, I am making some changes around here. The first thing I decided is that I am giving all handmade gifts. This is something that's been on my agenda for awhile now, but I was dragging my feet. I always had an excuse, couldn't find the time, didn't have the skills, etc. But, this year I just couldn't stomach bringing more plastic into the house to sit on the shelves and get dusty. I was ready! But, then I got stumped. I don't know how to make toys...what could I possibly give to my kids that would keep them entertained? To get inspiration, I cruised around <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Etsy</span> (a great site for buying and selling handmade) for ideas. I was looking for things that I could make on my own and that would encourage imaginative play.<br /><br />The first thing I spotted was <a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);" href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21556711">this</a>, a "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">playscape</span>," and I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">immediately</span> knew I wanted to make one for Bree. I got started months early to make sure I could complete it on time. (And yes, that's one of the reasons my blogging has suffered.) <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ultimately</span>, this was my finished product:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjuxW43tGeI/AAAAAAAADCA/kTTynEsZlTc/s1600-h/2009-280.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjuxW43tGeI/AAAAAAAADCA/kTTynEsZlTc/s400/2009-280.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349063989213862370" border="0" /></a>It's basically a mat made of green felt with fabric trees, mountains, flowers, and a little cottage.<br />The great part is, most of the parts are movable, so she can set up the forest differently every time.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjuzBcSFqkI/AAAAAAAADCI/tBn4_O9UtX8/s1600-h/2009-281.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjuzBcSFqkI/AAAAAAAADCI/tBn4_O9UtX8/s400/2009-281.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349065819785898562" border="0" /></a>A few of the pieces. They're just stuffed fabric shapes which I weighted down with a rock at the bottom to help them stand up. The house is an old cardboard box I cut up and covered with fabric.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjuzqLNB_II/AAAAAAAADCQ/6jxXP3cN87k/s1600-h/2009-283.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjuzqLNB_II/AAAAAAAADCQ/6jxXP3cN87k/s400/2009-283.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349066519575919746" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjuzuTXOCWI/AAAAAAAADCY/duOWHHjW3os/s1600-h/2009-284.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjuzuTXOCWI/AAAAAAAADCY/duOWHHjW3os/s400/2009-284.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349066590485612898" border="0" /></a>What's nice is, after she's done playing, it cinches up into a bag that carries all the pieces inside.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sjuz0cq2VaI/AAAAAAAADCg/CiNj6Mzg_YA/s1600-h/2009-288.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sjuz0cq2VaI/AAAAAAAADCg/CiNj6Mzg_YA/s400/2009-288.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349066696063079842" border="0" /></a>It took me awhile to make. But I had so much fun along the way. On my part, the excitement and anticipation of giving things to her I was making, lasted so much longer and was so much more fulfilling than grabbing something off the shelf. You know the saying it's the thought that counts? Well, I spent so much more time thinking about and planning my hand made gifts than I would have shopping in a store, so on my part at least, I found it much more meaningful. Not to mention, I found it amusing to hold fabrics up and ask Bree which one she preferred, so without knowing it, she was designing her own gifts in a way!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Once I got rolling I decided to make a few more things...<br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sjuz4I3qumI/AAAAAAAADCo/0hUeI3xjo6s/s1600-h/2009-271.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sjuz4I3qumI/AAAAAAAADCo/0hUeI3xjo6s/s400/2009-271.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349066759467612770" border="0" /></a>A bean bag chair, because every kid should have one.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sjuz7r017gI/AAAAAAAADCw/bWyymj0nZGg/s1600-h/2009-272.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sjuz7r017gI/AAAAAAAADCw/bWyymj0nZGg/s400/2009-272.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349066820390612482" border="0" /></a>I found a great pattern online (you can find patterns for just about anything online). So the bag even has an inner lining, allowing the outer lining to be removed and washed if needed. I thought buying new <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Styrofoam</span> pellets for stuffing would be sort of counterproductive of my goal, so instead, for filling I had my husband ask the shipping section of his work place to hold onto their used packing peanuts for me.<br /><br />I made a crayon roll, a quick and easy project.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0AZQz7CI/AAAAAAAADC4/rn7XruuOM6k/s1600-h/2009-273.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0AZQz7CI/AAAAAAAADC4/rn7XruuOM6k/s400/2009-273.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349066901306993698" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0ERrWLWI/AAAAAAAADDA/N2iauMLK9_A/s1600-h/2009-274.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0ERrWLWI/AAAAAAAADDA/N2iauMLK9_A/s400/2009-274.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349066967990283618" border="0" /></a><br />And finally, I wanted to do a paper doll/felt board combo thing and ended up with this...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0IipAVGI/AAAAAAAADDI/_WLWSqXwMKs/s1600-h/2009-275.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0IipAVGI/AAAAAAAADDI/_WLWSqXwMKs/s400/2009-275.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349067041263342690" border="0" /></a>That's the front.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0Q_3gppI/AAAAAAAADDY/KfI5SY8vKyA/s1600-h/2009-278.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0Q_3gppI/AAAAAAAADDY/KfI5SY8vKyA/s400/2009-278.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349067186547762834" border="0" /></a>The inside... (aren't those dollies adorable!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0Muk7phI/AAAAAAAADDQ/o8zbBwE0vf0/s1600-h/2009-276.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0Muk7phI/AAAAAAAADDQ/o8zbBwE0vf0/s400/2009-276.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349067113186960914" border="0" /></a>And the back where I added pockets to store dollies' cloths when not in use.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0UyukscI/AAAAAAAADDg/QQzmbjw8WFY/s1600-h/2009-277.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju0UyukscI/AAAAAAAADDg/QQzmbjw8WFY/s400/2009-277.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349067251740094914" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Of course, along the way there have been other holidays and occasions I needed gifts, and I thought, why not?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I made my mom (a coffee lover) two coffee cozies. Because they cover the bottom and sides, they act as both a coaster and insulator to keep your coffee warmer longer. Plus, they're like cute little coffee cup sweaters.<br /></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju8kCCle0I/AAAAAAAADDo/QOnA0UbT6HQ/s1600-h/scrabble-20b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 313px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju8kCCle0I/AAAAAAAADDo/QOnA0UbT6HQ/s400/scrabble-20b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349076309641624386" border="0" /></a><br />And for my friends birthday (an avid Scrabble player) I made this sweet Scrabble themed pillow.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju8zEzStYI/AAAAAAAADDw/xK3fftT_oBc/s1600-h/scrabble-13b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 315px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/Sju8zEzStYI/AAAAAAAADDw/xK3fftT_oBc/s400/scrabble-13b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349076568080823682" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Anyways, now you see what I've been up to instead of blogging. It's a lot of fun and allows you to make much more personalized gifts. But then, I like crafting, I can sew, and I like figuring out challenges. If that's not you, or you don't have the time on your hands, you can still give hand made. There are tons of skilled home <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">crafters</span> out there offering their wares for sale on sites like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Etsy</span>, selling one of a kind items that you can't find anywhere else. I've bought from there, and you may pay a little bit more for something, since you're buying from an individual and not a huge chain that can buy bulk and get <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">dicounts</span> on materials, but I for one, feel so much better knowing I'm giving money to a person vs. a big corporation who may end up getting bailed out anyway! :)<br /><br />So that's my story. Not to toot my own horn really, or to preach at anyone, but just to share my own little green revolution.<br /><br />Along with going handmade for gifts, here are some of my other goals and plans for being more green at my house:<br /><br />-- wrapping gifts in fabric. You can either make or buy pretty scarfs or tea towels, or just use plain old pretty fabric as wrapping. Depending on what you use, the wrapping then becomes part of the gift, or, it becomes something that is re-used to wrap another gift. It's like how some people save and re-use the paper gift bags. If we all give gifts in fabric, we can each save the fabric to use to wrap another gift. Saving us all money on wrapping paper and gift bags.<br /><br />-- switching to energy efficient light bulbs (you know the coiled ones). I have been slow to do this because the bulbs are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">significantly</span> more than the standard ones. But, since they use less energy they lower your energy bill and they last longer, also saving you money on light bulbs in the end.<br /><br />-- getting rid of as many plastic bags as I can around here. This means I want to make or buy some form of reusable fabric sandwich/snack baggies. There are all kinds for sale on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Etsy</span> that have cute patterns and are totally <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">wipeable</span> on the inside. Think of the money you won't have to spend on boxes of baggies! I also want to make the switch to fabric grocery bags. I'm going to make my own. I know you can buy them at the store, but those are pretty ugly and they're quick and easy to make at home... in fact, I actually just joined <a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);" href="http://www.morsbags.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">morsbags</span>.com</a> where you can find a great bag pattern to make and share.<br /><br />-- recycling within my own home as much as I can. For one, I want to use old cloths to make dust rags. So not only will I be re-using clothing I might have thrown away but I won't be using paper towels any more. Old unwanted clothes are also a great source of fabric for sewing projects. (Get inspired by checking out <a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sewing-Green-Projects-Repurposed-Materials/dp/1584797584/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245430037&sr=8-1">this book</a> I just recently purchased.)<br /><br />-- using thrift store fabrics for my sewing projects. Vintage table and bed linens are great!<br /><br />-- make some of our own clothing for myself and the kids. Although I'm really not a wonderful clothing sewer, there are some wonderful and simple patterns out there, like Bree's pillowcase sun dress.<br /><br />-- line dry laundry when I can.<br /><br />-- make some of my own cleaning solutions. Cheaper and less weird chemical ingredients.<br /><br />I don't have all these points in action yet, but those are my green goals for this year.<br /><br />So that's it. Hopefully, I haven't bored you too much and maybe even given you a few ideas for simple eco-friendly things to start on around your own house. They may take a little more time and effort to do, but, it's the right thing, and it just feels good. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-55236579014846508692009-06-18T07:58:00.000-06:002009-06-18T21:47:07.270-06:00Birthday Bree!Well, it's official! I'm now the mother of a 5 year old! Yep, little miss Bree turned 5 on June 16<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span>. Can you believe it? :) Although we've had big family gatherings for past birthdays, this year we had a quiet celebration with just the four of us... and it was really nice. As much fun as a big birthday bash can be, just the number of people, gifts, noises, etc. can be overwhelming for a kid sometimes. So this was a nice change of pace.<br /><br />Bree's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, which happens to be one of the days she goes to preschool. She woke up very excited and was singing "today's my birthday" to herself. Then she picked out a dress to wear to school, since she was sure that you have to look dressed up and pretty on your birthday. And off she went with a tray full of cupcakes to celebrate with her little friends... She came skipping back a few hours later, beaming and telling me how her class sang Happy Birthday to her and loved their cupcakes.<br /><br />Once Daddy got home we let Bree decide what she wanted to have for dinner. She decided that having a picnic at the park with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches was just the thing. (How cute is that! I was expecting her to request a Happy Meal or something.) So we packed up our cooler and went off to play at the park. And, not too very long later Bree decided she was done playing and wanted to head home for cake and presents...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpXfOInMWI/AAAAAAAAC_A/n2sQ_bY1BWo/s1600-h/2009-292.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpXfOInMWI/AAAAAAAAC_A/n2sQ_bY1BWo/s400/2009-292.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348683701337665890" border="0" /></a>Noah and Bree sitting in anticipation of present opening.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpXlM6ypxI/AAAAAAAAC_I/drX3_MG-fEo/s1600-h/2009-294.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpXlM6ypxI/AAAAAAAAC_I/drX3_MG-fEo/s400/2009-294.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348683804090476306" border="0" /></a><br />And here she is striking a few poses for the camera.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpXqMX_tBI/AAAAAAAAC_Q/q0zIGCp4r58/s1600-h/2009-295.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpXqMX_tBI/AAAAAAAAC_Q/q0zIGCp4r58/s400/2009-295.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348683889843876882" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpXvArheiI/AAAAAAAAC_Y/EOBLCjnTsao/s1600-h/2009-296.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpXvArheiI/AAAAAAAAC_Y/EOBLCjnTsao/s400/2009-296.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348683972603902498" border="0" /></a>Isn't she looking like such a big girl with her cute little pony tail? Getting so tall!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpX0N6v5kI/AAAAAAAAC_g/saDpbN40OJ4/s1600-h/2009-297.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpX0N6v5kI/AAAAAAAAC_g/saDpbN40OJ4/s400/2009-297.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348684062056769090" border="0" /></a>Check out the sundress too... her and I made it together as her birthday project during Noah's nap. It's actually made out of a pillow case and some ribbons. Super fast, easy, and cute!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpX8toET8I/AAAAAAAAC_o/SH8rTkq_gDs/s1600-h/2009-298.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpX8toET8I/AAAAAAAAC_o/SH8rTkq_gDs/s400/2009-298.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348684208007303106" border="0" /></a>Our pretty little birthday gal.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Opening presents...<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYLkQkHCI/AAAAAAAAC_4/sCb96JA9f28/s1600-h/2009-300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYLkQkHCI/AAAAAAAAC_4/sCb96JA9f28/s400/2009-300.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348684463190842402" border="0" /></a>Bree was nice enough to let Noah help her open all her presents. She was quite generous about it. (It was so sweet actually, the morning before her birthday she was saying to me, "Mom, tomorrow's my birthday and guess who's going to help me open my presents and blow out my candles?" I had a guess but I said, "Who?" She pointed to Noah and said, "That boy, right there, my little brother." Too cute!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYBRZwmVI/AAAAAAAAC_w/IXz9f0rIFxw/s1600-h/2009-299.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYBRZwmVI/AAAAAAAAC_w/IXz9f0rIFxw/s400/2009-299.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348684286330444114" border="0" /></a>Of course, Noah was intent on helping her test out her new things as well. Here he is breaking in her bean bag chair.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYWT4RcII/AAAAAAAADAI/Fz9PjyTURYo/s1600-h/2009-303.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYWT4RcII/AAAAAAAADAI/Fz9PjyTURYo/s400/2009-303.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348684647772549250" border="0" /></a>...and helping her arrange her little cottage and forest play set.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYRLnuemI/AAAAAAAADAA/RhIEzJLbi_k/s1600-h/2009-301.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYRLnuemI/AAAAAAAADAA/RhIEzJLbi_k/s400/2009-301.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348684559656319586" border="0" /></a><br />Then it was time for cake!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYcpMuCsI/AAAAAAAADAQ/GnfoIfm578A/s1600-h/2009-304.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYcpMuCsI/AAAAAAAADAQ/GnfoIfm578A/s400/2009-304.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348684756574669506" border="0" /></a>She requested chocolate frosting and I decorated it in white and blue, blue being the favorite color of the moment.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYid7U0OI/AAAAAAAADAY/_aTTOXr_4PU/s1600-h/2009-305.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYid7U0OI/AAAAAAAADAY/_aTTOXr_4PU/s400/2009-305.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348684856628138210" border="0" /></a>Waiting for the end of the Happy Birthday song to blow out her number 5 candle.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYoqjjDrI/AAAAAAAADAg/qSq1QIwHkr8/s1600-h/2009-306.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYoqjjDrI/AAAAAAAADAg/qSq1QIwHkr8/s400/2009-306.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348684963097284274" border="0" /></a>Make a wish!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYtNErzrI/AAAAAAAADAo/XT38It6w8e0/s1600-h/2009-307.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjpYtNErzrI/AAAAAAAADAo/XT38It6w8e0/s400/2009-307.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348685041082551986" border="0" /></a>...and the birthday girl gets the first slice.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">It was a very nice day. Although, I find it hard to believe it's been 5 years since my baby girl arrived...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsIh1atXBI/AAAAAAAADBg/AosFOFXDyW8/s1600-h/Gallery5_06_0392.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsIh1atXBI/AAAAAAAADBg/AosFOFXDyW8/s400/Gallery5_06_0392.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348878359800405010" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsH8PvX-SI/AAAAAAAADBQ/Jc7XTWfdaD8/s1600-h/TC-P0259.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsH8PvX-SI/AAAAAAAADBQ/Jc7XTWfdaD8/s400/TC-P0259.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348877714031376674" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsIZp8wXzI/AAAAAAAADBY/AYAqfLxVe_4/s1600-h/popsicleblog.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsIZp8wXzI/AAAAAAAADBY/AYAqfLxVe_4/s400/popsicleblog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348878219283029810" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsHO7sG9TI/AAAAAAAADBA/c4CSXnZySE4/s1600-h/March07_47.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 342px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsHO7sG9TI/AAAAAAAADBA/c4CSXnZySE4/s400/March07_47.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348876935554856242" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsJNQTch0I/AAAAAAAADBo/CpImpsek8CI/s1600-h/Beth+and+Bree4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 328px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsJNQTch0I/AAAAAAAADBo/CpImpsek8CI/s400/Beth+and+Bree4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348879105752074050" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsHF-g7CMI/AAAAAAAADA4/6GpAUJJiIGE/s1600-h/DSC_0233.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsHF-g7CMI/AAAAAAAADA4/6GpAUJJiIGE/s400/DSC_0233.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348876781694421186" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsJoSJCMkI/AAAAAAAADB4/1JcYk8rp50Y/s1600-h/2009-265.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjsJoSJCMkI/AAAAAAAADB4/1JcYk8rp50Y/s400/2009-265.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348879570101744194" border="0" /></a><br />As her unabashedly biased mother, I think she's growing up to be a very sweet, smart, pretty, loving person and I couldn't be prouder of her!<br /><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-26367963517291210632009-06-14T08:31:00.019-06:002009-06-14T10:23:22.829-06:00Hello Again!Aha! Betcha thought I abandoned this blog huh? Well...I suppose I did there for awhile. I kept meaning to get on here and write a little something, but just somehow never got around to it. The title of my last post (almost 4 months ago!) pretty much sums it up, never a dull moment. All right, maybe there were a few dull moments, but when those have come around I've been more motivated to sew or just veg out in front of the TV. Just been crazy busy around here, potty training the puppy, Noah entering his terrible twos tantrum phase, Bree going to preschool, and then with summer arriving there's been a lot of visitors and traveling to see family, attending of weddings, etc. Anyways, with all that I was feeling very unmotivated to blog, it was just another "to do" on my list, and stopped being fun for awhile there. Even though there were plenty of cute or amusing moments in along the way, I just kept putting it off. But, after a 4 month hiatus, I'm feeling rested and ready to jump back into the blogosphere.<br /><br />So, to catch you up on the last 4 months or so, a quick summary: early morning wakings, coffee - a lot of coffee, cleaning up dog pee from the carpet, walking the dog, house cleaning, errands, procrastinating on house cleaning and errands to sew, visiting Idaho several times, having family and friends visit... and that's about it. You know, the usual stuff, peppered with those small funny, memorable moments.<br /><br />Meanwhile the kids have continued to grow like weeds. Noah especially has changed so exponentially! His little personality is blooming, and I have to say, he's a little devil. A very sweet boy, with a very wide mischievous streak. He walks around looking adorable, but with a little gleam in his eye that lets you know he's scheming about something. Recently, he has discovered how to open the refrigerator door, much to his delight and my aggravation. He waits until I walk out of the room for 2 seconds and then, he pounces! I've walked into my kitchen to find a whole carton of eighteen (18!!) eggs cracked open on the floor, and most recently, I found him with 4 sticks of margarine at his feet, all unwrapped and all nibbled on. I really have to get a door latch for that fridge!<br /><br />Another of Noah's kitchen discoveries is the faucet sprayer. You see, my kitchen has a wide pass-through window into my living room. Which, would be fine except for the fact that on the living room side, there's a love seat right below said pass through. (It's the only place it fits.) Naturally, this provides a perfect climbing apparatus for Noah to climb onto, lean over the sill, turn on the faucet, squeeze the sprayer, and gleefully spray down my whole kitchen. I kid you not, the other day I had to use 5 bath towels 4, (count 'em, 4 times!) to wipe up the water pooling on my floor and counter tops, not to mention running down my cabinet fronts and fridge. After several time outs, I finally had to smack the kid's butt to get him to stop! (He was quite incensed.)<br /><br />Now that he's older, Noah's also becoming more avid about personal hygiene. He loves to brush his teeth. However, he's not very picky about keeping his toothbrush clean. I have found him dipping it into my coffee cup to brush his teeth with coffee (yes, his love affair with java continues) and one time had to stop him as he was trying to chase down one of the cats and brush it's teeth! And while cleanliness is next to godliness, I don't think that's the case when you dip your wash cloth in toilet water, a new favorite cleaning method for the little guy. He didn't understand why I wasn't thrilled with his effort to be helpful one day, when I found him scrubbing down the bathroom floor with a toilet water soaked hand towel. (Yes, I need to get on top of installing a toilet lid latch as well.)<br /><br />This new awareness of cleanliness has also meant that Noah can't stand to be wearing a soiled diaper. If he realizes he's got on a dirty diaper he does one of two things. 1- He marches up to me, points to his rear and goes, "Ew!" or 2 - He rips off his own diaper, flings it off to the side, and runs around with his rear hanging out laughing maniacally. (Naturally, I've been encouraging the first response.) Alas, even when not soiled, the diaper ripping off thing is starting to become more frequent. Yes, the little man has entered the toddler nudist phase, which, in my opinion, is a stronger impulse for little guys than gals. He's realized he is indeed a boy and he's proud of it, wanting to air out the area and laugh about it.<br /><br />Actually, much to my embarrassment, one time he even decided to show off his boyness to a family friend. I hadn't seen her in awhile and she came over with her young baby. So, there we all were, sitting on the floor cooing at the baby when out runs nude Noah. He had ripped off his pants and diaper down the hall, and came running back into the room to stand next to my friend and thrust his pelvis out, which, as it happened, was right at face level for her. To her credit, she handled it quite gracefully and just smiled and said, "Oh, that's nice," while I turned red and quickly ushered my streaker back down the hallway. This male pride has also led to some interest in peeing standing up, usually on my carpet or in the bath tub...<br /><br />Noah's vocabulary is also growing by leaps and bounds as well. Some of his newest words are "Necko" (Niko, the dog), "Na" (BrianNA), "duck" (all birds are ducks at this point since he's at that overgeneralization phase), "beach" (from our recent vacation), and "juice". Actually, that last one is his favorite word, and his favorite thing on earth right now. He loves juice! So much so, that it is the subject of his very first joke. You see, we've traveled a lot lately and that means we've been on a lot of long drives. So, to pass the time one trip we started telling knock knock jokes. Noah was quick to pick up on this. Now he often randomly yells out "Knock knock!" Which you have to answer "Who's there?" (If you don't he just keeps yelling knock knock louder and louder until you respond.) Inevitably, his answer is, "Juice!" And when you say, "Juice who?" He says, "Juice!" and laughs like a nut. Which, makes us laugh because it's so silly and cute... so I'm sure he thinks he's made up the funniest joke ever, juice gets him a laugh every time.<br /><br />The one thing you must never laugh at though, is his dancing. He takes his dancing quite seriously and the kid has moves! He can move his hips like nobody's business! I'm always kind of shocked when he starts gyrating away and I just stare and smirk at him. But I don't laugh...if you do, he feels offended and stops dancing! :)<br /><br />As for Bree, she's growing up too fast. She's all registered for school and starts Kindergarten this fall! Which mostly, I'm excited about but have had my tearful moments. One of my concerns is that in our school district (as in many now) Kindergarten is all day, 5 days a week. It was a bit of a mental adjustment for me. Whatever happened to half day Kindergarten??!! But, I know she'll love it and flourish there.<br /><br />Meanwhile her vocabulary continues to expand and amuse. Everywhere we go we seem to get at least one comment about her vocabulary. She says words that sound strange coming from such a small person. Lately her favorite phrase is, "then I realized..." which she throws into conversation as often as she can. Although, really, the vocabulary thing is nothing new... what is new is her having an opinion about how her hair should be styled from day to day and her height. She seems so tall, even though she's always been short for her age. And while I can't believe she's turning 5 in a few days, she's anxious to be grown up. She's always talking about when she'll get to do grown up things or when she'll be old enough to buy certain things. "When will I get my own wedding ring?" "I'm too little for that now, but maybe I'll buy it for my one hundredeth birthday right? Then I'll be old enough!"<br /><br />One thing she's finally old enough for that she's been wanting forever is bunk beds. Yep, we recently put bunk beds in the kids' room. We found one that has a full size bed on the bottom, and a twin up top, both with side safety rails. So we made the big move, taking down the baby crib for good, putting Noah in a big boy bed, and letting Bree sleep on the top bunk. It's working great so far!<br /><br />Part of Brianna's new grown up outlook is "mothering" her little brother. She enjoys getting to boss him around, (or rather trying to), and/or telling on him when he's up to something naughty. But, she's not above occasionally joining her brother in some mischief, even though she knows darn well when he's doing something he shouldn't. She finds him infinitely amusing and thinks he makes a good sidekick, or scapegoat as the case may be.<br /><br />Whew! Well, that's about it. I think you're pretty much up to speed on the kiddos and their antics over the last few months. See? I've repented for my lengthy absence by writing a lengthy post. Which is soon to be followed by a few more fairly lengthy posts about some of the more notable events lately, including our recent vacation to the Oregon coast, and Bree's upcoming birthday.... but for now, I think I'm getting cramps in my fingers and I need to get going on my day. (I'm writing this first thing in the morning, and put off showering and getting dressed for you. Don't you feel special?!)<br /><br />Until then....<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjh2AjmkI/AAAAAAAAC-4/79vHw7uWOgc/s1600-h/skulls-71.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjh2AjmkI/AAAAAAAAC-4/79vHw7uWOgc/s400/skulls-71.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347219196912835138" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjejRbA2I/AAAAAAAAC-w/H_B7OPDc6cc/s1600-h/skulls-33.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjejRbA2I/AAAAAAAAC-w/H_B7OPDc6cc/s400/skulls-33.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347219140343694178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjbpCWcQI/AAAAAAAAC-o/q671F0gog4o/s1600-h/photowalks-7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjbpCWcQI/AAAAAAAAC-o/q671F0gog4o/s400/photowalks-7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347219090351485186" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjY1aLEUI/AAAAAAAAC-g/4laQav682-g/s1600-h/photowalks-4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjY1aLEUI/AAAAAAAAC-g/4laQav682-g/s400/photowalks-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347219042133020994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjVqDtjNI/AAAAAAAAC-Y/YZeVJ7dAvA4/s1600-h/oddswalk-202.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjVqDtjNI/AAAAAAAAC-Y/YZeVJ7dAvA4/s400/oddswalk-202.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347218987546414290" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjSWsnlFI/AAAAAAAAC-Q/z88wMeOjhzM/s1600-h/oddswalk-184.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjSWsnlFI/AAAAAAAAC-Q/z88wMeOjhzM/s400/oddswalk-184.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347218930809672786" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjOiHesFI/AAAAAAAAC-I/nDcaB-yHEoU/s1600-h/fishingcerealtick-109.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 283px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjOiHesFI/AAAAAAAAC-I/nDcaB-yHEoU/s400/fishingcerealtick-109.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347218865155649618" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjLkbwI6I/AAAAAAAAC-A/PL6CR-GraOY/s1600-h/fieldplay-64.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjLkbwI6I/AAAAAAAAC-A/PL6CR-GraOY/s400/fieldplay-64.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347218814237942690" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjIWHslKI/AAAAAAAAC94/40RIcpJBU24/s1600-h/fieldbubbles-79.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 293px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjIWHslKI/AAAAAAAAC94/40RIcpJBU24/s400/fieldbubbles-79.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347218758856119458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjFVazKXI/AAAAAAAAC9w/aQS9PzMLzKM/s1600-h/caterpillarmacro-114.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUjFVazKXI/AAAAAAAAC9w/aQS9PzMLzKM/s400/caterpillarmacro-114.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347218707128199538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUi_LP7PdI/AAAAAAAAC9o/3XHOIFLT_Lc/s1600-h/backdoorwalk-18.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SjUi_LP7PdI/AAAAAAAAC9o/3XHOIFLT_Lc/s400/backdoorwalk-18.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347218601319022034" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-42990043331987603792009-02-27T10:20:00.003-07:002009-02-27T11:20:55.324-07:00Never a Dull MomentWhew! I'm finally finding a minute to sit down and do a post! The kids keep me hopping, both are like full blown tornados whirling through the house, starting from the minute they wake up! They start the day at a full gallop...where as, given my choice, I'd have a slower paced morning. But nope, before my feet can even hit the ground I'm assaulted with questions and demands... "Mom! It's morning! Get up! The sun is shining! I'm hungry! Will you make my brekspis? What's taking you so long? Can we do a project? Are we going anywhere today? Can I watch TV?" And Noah, yelling "MOM!" from his crib. Meanwhile, I kind of grunt in response, get Noah out, shuffle into the kitchen and try to down some coffee and convince Bree she needs to eat breakfast before anything else. And, while Noah is less verbal, he still gets in on the act. He'll grunt at me and grab my hand and lead me to the kitchen and point to the pantry, or point to the fruit bowl and say "ba-ba" (banana).<br /><br />Noah's really growing like a weed and is learning and doing new things left and right. He's also becoming such a boy! For example, some of his most frequently used words are: stuck, help, ew, and ow if that gives you any clues to his daily activities. Not to mention, he's also discovered that essentially male thing, peeing standing up... it was after bath time one day and after I wrapped him in his towel, he immediately took off down the hall. I wrapped Bree in her towel and then went to grab Noah and get him dressed. When I reached him though, there he was in the buff standing next to a little puddle. "Noah," I said, "did you make that puddle?" His response? He bent his knees a little and stuck out his hips in an unmistakable pose. I guess they catch onto that pretty young.<br /><br />Noah's also decidedly male in his social interactions...he's the classic little brother. Brianna builds the blocks, Noah likes to topple them. Brianna wants to play imaginary stories, Noah just wants to wrestle her. He likes playing cars and yelling.<br /><br />He's just a little busybody, and is getting into everything! He really thinks he's a big boy and should get to do everything his sister and parents do. It seems like I'm always following him around trying to stop him from doing something he shouldn't like: dipping wash cloths into the toilet and scrubbing things with them, climbing onto the top of the couch, reaching through the passthru into the kitchen and playing with the faucet, or chasing the cats down and trying to brush their teeth. <br /><br />He also continues his odd love affair with coffee. He'll watch me closely to see if I leave a cup within his reach and then, pow! the minute I'm not looking he slurps up what's left in the bottom of cup. One time, I even caught him dipping his tooth brush into my coffee and brushing his teeth with it!<br /><br />Of course, Brianna's keeps me hopping too in her own way and keeps on finding new things to say that keep me laughing and/or scratching my head, like telling me I had bought an "unusual yogurt flavor" (I'd gotten boysenberry instead of the usual strawberry), or, while playing Playstation exclaiming, "I've got skills!"<br /><br />No wonder I drink a lot of coffee! It's my only defense! Although, I do have a secret weapon lately. When I need a break I've been popping in a Laurie Berkner DVD. It's great because it's all kids' music and it's catchy. Whenever I put it on both kids are immediately dancing away. So it's great, I get a break and a show while I'm resting.<br /><br />So you see, my life was full and busy enough with 2 kids, but adding a puppy to the mix has made it even more crazy! Actually, we're really enjoying our Niko though. He's starting to learn his puppy manners, sitting and coming on command. And he's fitting in quite nicely, although, the cats still remain skeptical about him, but they've at least reached a live and let live type arrangement. Yes, so far the benefits of dog ownership are really worth it, although, Niko's influence on Noah is a bit questionable. These days Noah is often crawling along the floor, playing puppy, and has started just walking up and licking people... I dunno.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-91675096635993351742009-02-18T14:10:00.006-07:002009-02-18T14:57:19.041-07:00Our New Family MemberWell, once again, it's been awhile since I blogged. But this time I actually have a really good reason! You see, I've been a little bit busy with our new family member!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SZx7269-UDI/AAAAAAAAC9A/lSZlIdlMSdA/s1600-h/pup+%281000+of+1%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 289px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SZx7269-UDI/AAAAAAAAC9A/lSZlIdlMSdA/s400/pup+%281000+of+1%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304250644607946802" border="0" /></a><br />Everybody, meet Niko! (You say it like Nee-Coe) Our new Miniature Australian Shepherd puppy! Isn't he a doll?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Yes, at long last, Brianna's dream has come true... she's only been asking to get a dog since she learned to say the word. And finally, Mom and Dad felt ready to take the plunge! We took it seriously though, we want to be responsible pet owners and we wanted to make sure to get the right dog for us. So, after doing lots and lots of research on breeds, we decided that the Australian Shepherd was the breed for us. They're good natured, good with kids, great family pets, and are gorgeous dogs. We wanted to get the Mini Aussie though since we thought that would be a better size for our lifestyle and yard. So, long story short, I spent lots and lots of time online reading through shelter listings and newspaper ads until... we found him!<br /></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SZx7wymeM4I/AAAAAAAAC84/7Z_j-hkwju4/s1600-h/pup+%281004+of+5%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SZx7wymeM4I/AAAAAAAAC84/7Z_j-hkwju4/s400/pup+%281004+of+5%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304250539282674562" border="0" /></a>He came from a great family just outside Billings who own both his mom and dad. After talking with them on the phone, we decided to make it a Valentine's weekend trip and hit the road! And the rest is history... There were actually 2 little puppies to choose from, but Brianna instantly picked out this guy.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SZx7k4dCN3I/AAAAAAAAC8o/qh5o_BdRSEI/s1600-h/pup+%281003+of+5%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SZx7k4dCN3I/AAAAAAAAC8o/qh5o_BdRSEI/s400/pup+%281003+of+5%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304250334695274354" border="0" /></a>I mean, who could resist this face? Bree also had some ideas about names...first she wanted to call him "Chocolate" and then suggested "Flipster" but, we vetoed those.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SZx7rCGu9sI/AAAAAAAAC8w/shgZjnkWfqQ/s1600-h/pup+%281002+of+5%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SZx7rCGu9sI/AAAAAAAAC8w/shgZjnkWfqQ/s400/pup+%281002+of+5%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304250440365307586" border="0" /></a>He's one good looking dog! And so sweet-natured too! He's been wonderful with the kids and seems to have decided that we're okay as "his people." He even likes our cats, although, they're not too sure about him yet.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-44304675167642187422009-02-06T12:16:00.005-07:002009-02-06T12:29:40.316-07:00Mini ModelsI've been doing a lot of sewing for my little Breeno Baby shop lately. It's been a fun way to pass the time this winter, not to mention I want to have a lot to offer when the local farmer's market rolls back around. So, I've been beefing up the inventory. Recently I decided it was time to list some of my items on Etsy. And lucky for me, I have the perfect little people to model my things living right here with me. As their completely unbiased mother, I think they're the most adorable little models that I couldn't resist sharing some of the pictures Travis took of the two of them displaying some of my favorite Breeno Baby products, aprons.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SYyNTxpiUeI/AAAAAAAAC8A/EdCLzWEZgDo/s1600-h/bb-42.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SYyNTxpiUeI/AAAAAAAAC8A/EdCLzWEZgDo/s400/bb-42.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299766232392815074" border="0" /></a>Here they are both wearing little aprons. I love this picture because of how Bree's looking over and smiling down at Noah.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SYyNBZSFxJI/AAAAAAAAC7w/oRVpdOnfoeQ/s1600-h/bb-39.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SYyNBZSFxJI/AAAAAAAAC7w/oRVpdOnfoeQ/s400/bb-39.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299765916614378642" border="0" /></a>A close up of one cute little train conductor!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SYyNLkQPRDI/AAAAAAAAC74/s-UhQ7RbXn8/s1600-h/bb-38.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SYyNLkQPRDI/AAAAAAAAC74/s-UhQ7RbXn8/s400/bb-38.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299766091358094386" border="0" /></a>And here he is with his "Blue Steel" look. (Yes, a Zoolander reference.)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SYyM4qHyLqI/AAAAAAAAC7o/kRm1aKvYgyY/s1600-h/bb-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SYyM4qHyLqI/AAAAAAAAC7o/kRm1aKvYgyY/s400/bb-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299765766515732130" border="0" /></a>I've made a few coordinating mother/daughter aprons sets lately as well. I like this shot for the way Bree is looking up at me, it's a sweet moment.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Aren't I lucky to have such sweet little models to help me show my crafty stuff off? :)<br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-65963859192316444122009-02-04T08:08:00.002-07:002009-02-06T14:41:22.966-07:00BreeismsBeen awhile since I've done an installment so here's a fresh batch of stuff for you that amuses me about my daughter:<br /><br />At 4 Bree actually has a pretty good vocabulary, but she's still young enough that she gets things wrong here and there. It's just so darn cute and always makes me smirk. A couple of her most recent verbal mishaps? Well, there was the time that she was telling me all about the "tree slob" (tree sloth), and then the day when she was singing along to the Mickey Mouse theme song with much gusto "L-I-C-K-E-Y L-O-U-S-E!"<br /><br />But then, the other end of the spectrum provides me with just as much entertainment. It's just as amusing to me to hear my small girl telling me about things using big words and in a very serious tone, which is often the case when Brianna's talking about her emotions. She's a dramatic and outgoing little gal who experiences the full gamut of emotions with intensity, and knows how to express them! Just check out some of the things she's said to us lately...<br /><br />- After having a bit of a meltdown about which chair she wanted to sit in when out to dinner she said, "Sorry I was being so complicated and shy in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">reskeraunt</span>."<br /><br />- "I'm shy!" This one she says quite often when she doesn't feel like doing what you're asking of her. Too bad for her, everyone, and I mean everyone, who's met the kid for more than 5 minutes knows she's the complete opposite of shy!<br /><br />- "You're <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">embarrassing</span> me!" Yes, you're never too young to feel embarrassed by your parents or your little brother in public.<br /><br />- "Dad, you're exasperating me!" No idea where she picked that one up, but it made us laugh!<br /><br />Even though she's quite good at talking about her feelings, there is one thing that just leaves her quite speechless, where she just growls and grumbles. You see, she has answering machine rage. She finds it quite frustrating when she tries to call someone and they're not there. Therefore, some of our loved ones have gotten messages that go like this, "MOM! What the heck?! She's not answering! She's not there! Not again! AAAAGHH!" And then me in the background saying, "Well, leave a message sweetie." And her going, "I don't want to leave a message! Why isn't she there!..... okay, CALL BRIANNA!" click.<br /><br /><br />Then there are those times when she throws a word in there that's just a surprise. A word I didn't know she could say, let alone use properly! For example, when she wanted to take a bath and wanted Noah to join her. I was on the phone when she asked me so I told her she could go ahead and get the water running. Then she said, "Oh, so the water will attract Noah in the bathroom?" Or there was the other day when she wanted a morning snack, but wanted to make her own. I wasn't too sold on the idea, having just cleaned the kitchen and not wanting to face a preschooler snack-making mess. But, she was so cute trying to talk me into it... "Mom, just give me some bread and some peanut butter and all kinds of ingredients to put on top!" So, she ended up decorating her PB slathered bread with cheerios, raisins, mini-marshmallows and goldfish crackers.<br /><br />TV shows continue to be a source of fresh material for Bree as well. She absorbs everything (we have to be very careful what she watches) and incorporates it into her play. Lately she's really been into the show "Imagination Movers." In the show, there's a character called "Knitknots" who plays the boring neighbor. He always wears beige and hates anything that too exciting. So, sure enough the other day Bree informed her dad that he was, "boring like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Knitnots." (He'd been taking a few moments to rest on the couch, quite boring for our high energy gal who's always on the go.)</span><br /><br />One of her other favorite programs of the moment is a cartoon called "Phineas and Ferb." (Which, I admit, is one of the few kid shows Travis and I enjoy as well and will sit down and watch with her.) In this show, there's a platypus who's a secret agent and his nemesis, Dr. Doofensmirtz, who always has whacky plots to take over the city. Well, the other day when Bree was playing with her little brother she decided he would be "the bad guy" and started referring to him as "Noah Doofensmirtz," much to her parents amusement.<br /><br />Alas, Noah often gets transformed into crazy characters that are part of Brianna's vivid imaginary play. Recently she refuses to even call him Noah, referring to him only as "Checkson." In fact, when I call him Noah she'll quickly jump in and say, "You mean Checkson?" I thought it was pretty cute although, a bit baffling why she was suddenly deciding to rename him, and why "Checkson?" After some thought, I decided it must be because we know several little boys name Jackson and this was her version of the name. Then I noticed she had also renamed herself Paula. I still didn't make the connection... it was Travis who figured it out. Paula and Checkson... You see, Travis is an American Idol fan and a new season has started up. So it's not uncommon for us to turn it on in the background some nights while eating dinner. After all, our kids love music and usually just dance around and stuff. But, apparently the other details about the show haven't slid past Bree, and she's even made note of the judges PAULA Abdul and Randy JACKSON.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-17716100586302337372009-01-25T18:56:00.028-07:002009-01-25T20:02:12.916-07:00Combating the Winter BlahsWinter time in a small town with small children at home is... interesting. We've all found ourselves with cases of cabin fever, although, we try to keep busy and entertain ourselves.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I've been doing a lot of this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0bt1RAmdI/AAAAAAAAC7Y/4wVEsWyZFLc/s1600-h/odds-170.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0bt1RAmdI/AAAAAAAAC7Y/4wVEsWyZFLc/s400/odds-170.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295419211064056274" border="0" /></a>Sewing and crafting up a storm. Which is a great distraction and lots of fun (most the time) although, it's also a leading cause of why I've been blogging less as well.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0bx4BvIDI/AAAAAAAAC7g/gKzdYbqTn90/s1600-h/odds-166.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0bx4BvIDI/AAAAAAAAC7g/gKzdYbqTn90/s400/odds-166.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295419280524779570" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Keeping the kids entertained is another thing though with their boundless energy and need to work it off through activity.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">So, I've been trying to keep things interesting.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZgaE_TbI/AAAAAAAAC6g/i-0cXs8DIuU/s1600-h/kidplay-75.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZgaE_TbI/AAAAAAAAC6g/i-0cXs8DIuU/s400/kidplay-75.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416781404327346" border="0" /></a>One day we played with puppets, which, although on the surface sounds pretty sedate, we managed to turn into a full on athletic sport. (Mommy wore the puppet on her hand and made it chase the kids around, trying to "bite" them, while they screamed and squealed.)</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZdFgsLJI/AAAAAAAAC6Y/vFkK_AqAbmM/s1600-h/kidplay-71.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZdFgsLJI/AAAAAAAAC6Y/vFkK_AqAbmM/s400/kidplay-71.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416724343762066" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Then there's indoor soccer. We have a little kid soccer ball that's a lot of fun, since Noah is just starting to be coordinated enough to kick and throw it successfully.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZZXYUrdI/AAAAAAAAC6Q/0IRwL00Gy0s/s1600-h/kidplay-66.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZZXYUrdI/AAAAAAAAC6Q/0IRwL00Gy0s/s400/kidplay-66.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416660421029330" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZPuBziwI/AAAAAAAAC54/bqKCI62P3ko/s1600-h/kidplay-59.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZPuBziwI/AAAAAAAAC54/bqKCI62P3ko/s400/kidplay-59.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416494701906690" border="0" /></a>Getting ready for a big throw!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZV8GtgpI/AAAAAAAAC6I/oYyuv_8TXBs/s1600-h/kidplay-63.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZV8GtgpI/AAAAAAAAC6I/oYyuv_8TXBs/s400/kidplay-63.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416601559794322" border="0" /></a>Smiling after connecting with the ball in a solid kick.<br /><br /><br />This particular game is a big hit with Noah...<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZSQFE-II/AAAAAAAAC6A/-IDDvN-orPs/s1600-h/kidplay-61.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 380px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZSQFE-II/AAAAAAAAC6A/-IDDvN-orPs/s400/kidplay-61.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416538202175618" border="0" /></a>I mean, check out this happy face!<br /><br />Bree likes that kind of stuff too, but tends to favor dress up these days.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZkHHxKrI/AAAAAAAAC6o/nL4ae32CxIM/s1600-h/kidplay-81.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZkHHxKrI/AAAAAAAAC6o/nL4ae32CxIM/s400/kidplay-81.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416845035186866" border="0" /></a>Striking a pose in Tinkerbell PJ's accessorized with a pair of Mommy's black high heels.<br /><br />Of course, it's not like we don't get out sometimes. But, it's just so cold! And, you know, after spending 30 minutes bundling up the kids you only end up spending 5-10 outside before someone gets too cold and wants to come back inside.<br /><br />But still, on occasion we do "bungle" up (as Bree calls it) and head out gamely to try and have some winter fun.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZMTjWh3I/AAAAAAAAC5w/Rb8mzJ7VZcE/s1600-h/kidplay-31.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZMTjWh3I/AAAAAAAAC5w/Rb8mzJ7VZcE/s400/kidplay-31.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416436055246706" border="0" /></a>Our last attempt at this was, on a slightly warmer day, to head out to a nearby lake and do a little snowshoeing. (Travis got some snowshoes for Christmas and decided to buy Bree a little pair as well.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0YxBjyCKI/AAAAAAAAC44/Fp9_CZLszeQ/s1600-h/frostmacros-45.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0YxBjyCKI/AAAAAAAAC44/Fp9_CZLszeQ/s400/frostmacros-45.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295415967368743074" border="0" /></a>Bree and I trying out the snowshoes. Trav let me borrow his for awhile and he pulled Noah along in the sled.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0YtzCTAqI/AAAAAAAAC4w/AjJE5X1yeNI/s1600-h/frostmacros-36.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 273px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0YtzCTAqI/AAAAAAAAC4w/AjJE5X1yeNI/s400/frostmacros-36.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295415911930593954" border="0" /></a>Bree tromped along quite happily for awhile...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0Y1FMFFrI/AAAAAAAAC5A/US3BVrGWxqU/s1600-h/frostmacros-53.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0Y1FMFFrI/AAAAAAAAC5A/US3BVrGWxqU/s400/frostmacros-53.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416037062547122" border="0" /></a>...then she decided she wanted a turn in the sled, so I carried Noah.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0Y4gXf4fI/AAAAAAAAC5I/q_o2BwxJ08A/s1600-h/frostmacros-61.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0Y4gXf4fI/AAAAAAAAC5I/q_o2BwxJ08A/s400/frostmacros-61.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416095897805298" border="0" /></a>Waving at Daddy.<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">But still, we are definitely inside a lot more lately and sometimes it's hard to think of new things to hold off the winter whineys. It gets to where you try to spice up even the everyday things just a little.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0Ye9np7nI/AAAAAAAAC4Q/FYxrs3Rjtj8/s1600-h/comowalk2-9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 263px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0Ye9np7nI/AAAAAAAAC4Q/FYxrs3Rjtj8/s400/comowalk2-9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295415657073602162" border="0" /></a>Like brushing your teeth. I bought the kids new electric toothbrushes in fun themes, and actually, they were a big hit!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0YnIY-dlI/AAAAAAAAC4g/VTvvCgEYg7s/s1600-h/comowalk2-17.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0YnIY-dlI/AAAAAAAAC4g/VTvvCgEYg7s/s400/comowalk2-17.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295415797403776594" border="0" /></a>More so than I would have thought. It was pretty funny, I also bought them a new bottle of hand soap (watermelon scented) for their bathroom at the same time, and that was apparently quite exciting too! So, killed two birds with one stone, the kids felt like they were getting cool stuff and I'm happy that they're into good hygiene.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0YqGtGMqI/AAAAAAAAC4o/wsgFR545OmU/s1600-h/comowalk2-20.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 273px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0YqGtGMqI/AAAAAAAAC4o/wsgFR545OmU/s400/comowalk2-20.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295415848490906274" border="0" /></a>Here's Bree admiring her toothpaste foam goatee.<br /><br />Recently I also turned a little haircut into a spectacle. I decided Noah needed a little trim so...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZoIQQeII/AAAAAAAAC6w/ScWqObsCpzk/s1600-h/riverparkwalk-203.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZoIQQeII/AAAAAAAAC6w/ScWqObsCpzk/s400/riverparkwalk-203.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416914058705026" border="0" /></a>I sat him down in the middle of the kitchen table and went after him with some clippers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZrcS1w_I/AAAAAAAAC64/Lywqfk6SWCg/s1600-h/riverparkwalk-207.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 295px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZrcS1w_I/AAAAAAAAC64/Lywqfk6SWCg/s400/riverparkwalk-207.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416970977854450" border="0" /></a>He thought it was a big game and was laughing and dodging, much to Bree's amusement.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZvgotRoI/AAAAAAAAC7A/UiDO96BG1qs/s1600-h/riverparkwalk-213.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZvgotRoI/AAAAAAAAC7A/UiDO96BG1qs/s400/riverparkwalk-213.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295417040862791298" border="0" /></a>I'm lucky I didn't shave him a bald patch! But, it turned out pretty good, here's the final result.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZzNB45II/AAAAAAAAC7I/GPzuHFAiErk/s1600-h/riverparkwalk-220.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZzNB45II/AAAAAAAAC7I/GPzuHFAiErk/s400/riverparkwalk-220.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295417104319177858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The kids also have their own ways of keeping themselves amused. One of their favorite things is playing crib peekaboo.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZA3UmfzI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/ZsDtTGu4sHc/s1600-h/houseplay-229.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZA3UmfzI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/ZsDtTGu4sHc/s400/houseplay-229.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416239498624818" border="0" /></a>Either that, or Noah finds much joy lately in standing on one side of his crib and then throwing himself forward and landing in silly positions on the other side...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0Y72I9iqI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/9lbfKxZ835g/s1600-h/houseplay-68.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0Y72I9iqI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/9lbfKxZ835g/s400/houseplay-68.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416153282022050" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZI4EdSAI/AAAAAAAAC5o/sUnCJF_NpM8/s1600-h/houseplay-254.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZI4EdSAI/AAAAAAAAC5o/sUnCJF_NpM8/s400/houseplay-254.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416377138300930" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZEwQyERI/AAAAAAAAC5g/lzx7cfuxy9o/s1600-h/houseplay-251.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0ZEwQyERI/AAAAAAAAC5g/lzx7cfuxy9o/s400/houseplay-251.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295416306323034386" border="0" /></a>...which makes both kids laugh like crazy people.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And, if all else fails, there's always a game of naked Jedi fighting while wearing a bath towel cape! Always popular at our house!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0blS10-CI/AAAAAAAAC7Q/KBFrgQ4s2uU/s1600-h/odds-174.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SX0blS10-CI/AAAAAAAAC7Q/KBFrgQ4s2uU/s400/odds-174.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295419064384288802" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-19400330354181768942009-01-16T10:32:00.002-07:002009-01-16T11:41:25.702-07:00MOM!I have to admit, this week was not a hallmark of parenting paradise nor did it set a standard for ideal parent-child relationships. It was a long, frustrating, and tough week for both myself and the kids. Too bad for me, Moms never really get a vacation. Sometimes just the sheer amount of times I hear someone yelling "MOM!" makes me feel like I need a straight jacket and a padded room! And now that Noah's verbal, both kids are at it. Although, it is interesting to see their different approaches to getting my attention.<br /><br />Both kids seem to think I'm either deaf (or at least hard of hearing) and that they must compensate for this somehow. Noah's method is sheer volume. He'll walk right up to me, stand a foot in front of me and just yell out, "MOM!" He can't seem to say it, he just yells it. I have to say, that usually works and gets my attention so I say, "What?" But, having a limited vocabulary, Noah seems to think "mom" is a word that can mean anything. So our usual conversations go, "MOM!" "What little man?" "Mom. Mom. Mom, mom mom....mom, MOM!" The latter accompanied by much pointing and gesturing. At that point, if he hasn't gotten his point across he usually grabs my hand and tries to drag me to where he wants me and further elaborates his needs. One of his needs seems to be, quite frequently, eating a banana. He's a monkey and loves them! He would eat 8 a day if I'd let him! Actually he's just recently learned to say banana. Well, he says "ba-ba" but it gets his point across. So to confirm that I understood him I usually repeat, "You want a banana?" Then he'll smile and nod emphatically and sort of laugh like, "At last, she got it!" But then there are those times when I don't get what he wants right away. Then I start guessing... "You want a drink?" "You want your truck down?" "You want help?" And each time I'm wrong I get an emphatic NO, or actually I get "BO!" since Noah says it with a b.<br /><br />Bree's strategy, on the other hand, is repetitiveness. She'll say, "Hey Mom..." and if I don't respond immediately, and I mean immediately as in within a few seconds, she'll just repeat herself.."Hey Mom! Mom! Hey Mom! Mom..Mom, Mom? Mom! Mom? MOM! MOOOOOOMMM!" I suppose this could be remedied if I make sure to have a prompt response but heaven forbid that I'm on the phone or deep in thought with trying to plan out a weekly menu or what have you. And in my defense, I have a very talkative little girl here... I mean, REALLY talkative and active, and sometimes it's just so much that I can't process it all and my brain sort of just checks out. Additionally, she's 4 and has the patience of a typical 4 year old so even when I'm in the process of getting her the drink she's asked for (20 times) then she's watching me and going, "MOOM, what's taking so long?"<br /><br />It's all very normal but it can be exhausting at times. I'm truly convinced that while mothering young children a stay at home mom's IQ can go down a good 20 points. Really, it takes so much of our time and energy feeding, clothing, bathing, changing, and protecting them that there's not much room in our forebrain for much else. This is not to mention that our train of thought is interrupted so regularly that it almost becomes ingrained so even when the kids are asleep or are being watched by someone else, we're not used to getting to think our own thoughts in complete sentences.<br /><br />So, this week was a challenge. (TGIF!) But, time to take a deep breath, try to remember the good moments and start ov . . .Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-308266869334158902009-01-12T13:17:00.002-07:002009-01-15T15:29:54.128-07:00More Bath FunYes, I realize that my posts are getting farther and fewer between here folks. I also realize that quite a few of them consist largely of narrated pix. I have several excuses... the holidays, growing kids keeping me busy, other hobbies take up time, (yes, I've been cheating on Blogger with Facebook, sewing, and Guitar Hero, don't judge me!), and so on. Well, one of these days I'll get back into a groove and maybe even start writing entries with actual words, organized into thoughts even. Until then, play yourself some elevator music in your head and please enjoy this photo montage of my kids having way too much fun than should be legal while in the bath tub:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWex0SYeSlI/AAAAAAAAC2w/kv4WHa8Hwy8/s1600-h/bath-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWex0SYeSlI/AAAAAAAAC2w/kv4WHa8Hwy8/s400/bath-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289391799215737426" border="0" /></a>Who needs toys? At our house they just like to scream it up at the top of their voices. It's for therapeutic reasons really, stress relief and all that, plus they get great reverb in there.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWeyRdeUUGI/AAAAAAAAC3o/I8kuk8IiGRU/s1600-h/bath-7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWeyRdeUUGI/AAAAAAAAC3o/I8kuk8IiGRU/s400/bath-7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289392300409245794" border="0" /></a>Naturally, they find this quite hysterical. Mommy just finds it headache inducing! But, I can't be mad at them for it when they look so darn cute and happy.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Hey look it's Snorkel Steve!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWeyGDIm84I/AAAAAAAAC3Q/TXRUdf0w4rQ/s1600-h/odds-148.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 315px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWeyGDIm84I/AAAAAAAAC3Q/TXRUdf0w4rQ/s400/odds-148.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289392104360309634" border="0" /></a><br />Bree got this snorkel set for Christmas, she's wanted one for years now, and we finally found just the right thing for her. Of course, since it's too cold to play outside with it, the kids wanted to use it in the tub. Noah, however, didn't seem to be quite grasping what exactly these things were for...<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWeyA9kQDbI/AAAAAAAAC3I/Zw8W67AJznc/s1600-h/odds-151.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWeyA9kQDbI/AAAAAAAAC3I/Zw8W67AJznc/s400/odds-151.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289392016966290866" border="0" /></a>...then he decided he liked the breathing tube as a trombone better. And he thought the goggles made a better hat.<br /><br />We tried to show him how you really wear the goggles. Bree even demonstrated.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWex5ofNRRI/AAAAAAAAC24/1ikAB4y_yDY/s1600-h/odds-155.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 351px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWex5ofNRRI/AAAAAAAAC24/1ikAB4y_yDY/s400/odds-155.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289391891048908050" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWex9vjDDfI/AAAAAAAAC3A/OariDwMz2KU/s1600-h/odds-154.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWex9vjDDfI/AAAAAAAAC3A/OariDwMz2KU/s400/odds-154.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289391961663540722" border="0" /></a>Noah didn't really appreciate that though.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">They do love taking their baths together, twice the splashing, twice the fun! Which isn't to say they don't have their little disputes over the bath toys. But, they always make up...<br /></div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWeyKLMYJeI/AAAAAAAAC3Y/MVU6A_a5rPs/s1600-h/bath-10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWeyKLMYJeI/AAAAAAAAC3Y/MVU6A_a5rPs/s400/bath-10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289392175243077090" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWe0837vLZI/AAAAAAAAC3w/8PWyuJkFYB4/s1600-h/bath-9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWe0837vLZI/AAAAAAAAC3w/8PWyuJkFYB4/s400/bath-9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289395245269593490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-28933990468702550062009-01-09T06:35:00.000-07:002009-01-09T13:13:44.313-07:00Why, Yes, I am a Guitar Hero!Well, as I'm sure you all know, since I've posted several long and introspective entries on the subject, I turned 30 last month. Yep, the big 3-0. And man, I partied it up like a total rock star!<br /><br />Check it out, here's your proof:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWepdt6IYuI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/uOhF3Ij_e5g/s1600-h/xmasodds-124.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWepdt6IYuI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/uOhF3Ij_e5g/s400/xmasodds-124.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289382615374652130" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Oh yeah, that's me sitting at my own kitchen table in front of a pile of presents.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">It's this next shot that really captures the craziness of the celebration though...<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWephoxm55I/AAAAAAAAC2g/9yeXnD2RcgY/s1600-h/xmasodds-115.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWephoxm55I/AAAAAAAAC2g/9yeXnD2RcgY/s400/xmasodds-115.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289382682716202898" border="0" /></a>Whoa now! :) Actually, my birthday was a quiet, but wonderful day, probably my best birthday yet! I got thoughtful gifts, spent time with my kids, who were very sweet, and went out to dinner too. It was all very nice, but my big gift this year was the game Guitar Hero World Tour.<br /><br />You see, for those of you who may not know, yes, in high school I was a so called "band geek." I played the flute and did marching band, pep band, was in the pit for a few plays... (some of the best people and times of my life!) So, I have a musical background. Although, its been years since I've flexed my musical muscles. And lately I've been wanting to get back to that. This time around though, instead of the flute, I thought it would be fun to be a drummer! I like songs with a beat so why not BE the beat, right? (And, to satisfy my early midlife crisis, it was either be a drummer, or get a leather jacket and a motorcycle! Trav opted for the safer of the two that wouldn't drive our insurance sky high.) Alas, we have no space for a full sized drum set, so we found the perfect solution, Guitar Hero! And since we got the World Tour version, the whole family can play, there's a guitar and a mic as well. (Noah's the groupee, only job he qualified for.) Truthfully though, most the time we wait until the kids are off to bed and then Travis and I get our rock on! I have to say, I'm not half bad either!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWepZbW4L-I/AAAAAAAAC2Q/7Zwja2XrKWg/s1600-h/xmasodds-125.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWepZbW4L-I/AAAAAAAAC2Q/7Zwja2XrKWg/s400/xmasodds-125.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289382541675474914" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">My "drum set" and I "in action." I'm trying to wade through the menus to get to play a song for the first time. Yep, so far it's been a whole lot of fun and satisfies my musical urges and my need to get out some aggression after a hard day by beating on something. :) As an added bonus, it's also a bit of an ego builder since, at the end of every song you successfully complete it tells you,<br />"YOU ROCK!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWevlq5IXAI/AAAAAAAAC2o/MpBpNds4TM8/s1600-h/i+rock.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 110px; height: 110px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWevlq5IXAI/AAAAAAAAC2o/MpBpNds4TM8/s400/i+rock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289389349073869826" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-35312514895083469762009-01-05T08:47:00.012-07:002009-01-06T12:51:50.928-07:00Happy New Year!We had an exciting start to the new year at our house. Yes, it was quite wild! We watched a movie, played Scrabble, put the kids to bed by 8 pm and us adults hit the hay before the big ball officially dropped at midnight. What can I say? That's about the extent of living it up you tend to do with two very young children at home. Although, the night wasn't without some celebration... we decided to bring in the new year with a drink of champagne and a family toast. While the adults got to have regular champagne, Bree and Noah got "kid champagne" aka sparkling apple cider.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOx2mt27mI/AAAAAAAAC1Y/VI94S9c3GKY/s1600-h/xmasodds-137.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOx2mt27mI/AAAAAAAAC1Y/VI94S9c3GKY/s400/xmasodds-137.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288265939127037538" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOxy38zURI/AAAAAAAAC1Q/H8UTC0qTpas/s1600-h/xmasodds-128.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 303px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOxy38zURI/AAAAAAAAC1Q/H8UTC0qTpas/s400/xmasodds-128.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288265875033641234" border="0" /></a>I don't know, do you think they like it? :) They were both pretty thrilled with their drink and the fact we let them drink it out of official wine glasses and everything.<br /><br /><br />They had several refills.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOyG4kA3mI/AAAAAAAAC1w/k5MC_Gzs0xs/s1600-h/xmasodds-150.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOyG4kA3mI/AAAAAAAAC1w/k5MC_Gzs0xs/s400/xmasodds-150.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288266218795490914" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOybw61dbI/AAAAAAAAC2I/_SfB0Fi_9SE/s1600-h/xmasodds-169.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOybw61dbI/AAAAAAAAC2I/_SfB0Fi_9SE/s400/xmasodds-169.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288266577520981426" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Then we taught them some of the traditions of ringing in a new year, like saying a toast to happiness and prosperity in the year to come...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOx6UJFGxI/AAAAAAAAC1g/9wPV4TV7_WU/s1600-h/xmasodds-138.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOx6UJFGxI/AAAAAAAAC1g/9wPV4TV7_WU/s400/xmasodds-138.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288266002860415762" border="0" /></a><br />...although, their favorite part of toasting was getting to clink their glasses.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOxuleiiBI/AAAAAAAAC1I/D0kjwH21qCs/s1600-h/xmasodds-126.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 359px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOxuleiiBI/AAAAAAAAC1I/D0kjwH21qCs/s400/xmasodds-126.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288265801355397138" border="0" /></a><br />We also told them that people cheer and clap when it's a new year...<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOyO7U9y7I/AAAAAAAAC14/Bx0dUvfXZdI/s1600-h/xmasodds-153.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOyO7U9y7I/AAAAAAAAC14/Bx0dUvfXZdI/s400/xmasodds-153.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288266356976634802" border="0" /></a>Here's Noah going "Yay, new year!"<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">... and that it's a tradition to give someone a kiss for the new year too.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOyBgukyOI/AAAAAAAAC1o/uYLgXOmOhuI/s1600-h/xmasodds-144.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 305px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOyBgukyOI/AAAAAAAAC1o/uYLgXOmOhuI/s400/xmasodds-144.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288266126497990882" border="0" /></a>So, Bree gamely tried to kiss her brother, but Noah wouldn't stop guzzling his "champagne" long enough for her to get to his lips!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOyV_PwUPI/AAAAAAAAC2A/gsYs60P8XXY/s1600-h/xmasodds-165.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 311px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SWOyV_PwUPI/AAAAAAAAC2A/gsYs60P8XXY/s400/xmasodds-165.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288266478287606002" border="0" /></a><br />By the end, he was even two fisting it! It was about then we decided they'd had enough for one night and put them to bed to sleep it off! :)<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-76866849628533182762008-12-29T09:46:00.001-07:002008-12-29T11:06:25.599-07:00A Coffee Table BookTravis is the photographer of our family. Virtually every picture you've seen on this blog, he's taken. And since I've enjoyed the benefits of using his pictures to illustrate my words, I thought I'd give a nod to that by showing off his new coffee table book. It's a collection of our favorite landscape and photo journalistic photos he's taken over the past year or so, with quotes sprinkled in every few pages. We created it as a Christmas present, using an online self publishing web site. The book is supposed to invoke a sort of "smell the roses" moment, so you might slow down, notice little things you might not have before, and appreciate our beautiful land. So, if you've enjoyed the pictures here, chances are you'd like this book too. Actually, if you're interested, you can preview it...<br /><br /><div id="badge" style="position:relative; width:240px; height:120px; margin:0px; padding:10px; background-color:white; border:1px solid #a0a0a0;"> <div style="position:absolute; top:10px; left:10px; padding:0px; margin:0px; width:118px; height:100px; line-height:116px; text-align:center;"> <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/492525/?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=280x160" target="_blank" style="margin:0px; border:0px; padding:0px;"> <img src="http://www.blurb.com//images/uploads/catalog/57/412557/492525-55de2f577ef392323d6c866baf3287f6.jpg" alt="Still Moments" style="padding:0px; margin:0px; border:1px solid #a7a7a7; width:116px; vertical-align:middle;"/> </a> </div> <div style="position:absolute; top:58px; left:138px; overflow:hidden; margin:0px; padding:0px; border:0px; width:120px; text-align:left;"> <div style="width:105px; overflow:hidden; line-height:18px; margin:0px; padding:0px; border:0px;"> <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/492525?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=280x160" style="font:bold 12px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #fd7820; text-decoration:none;">Still Moments</a> </div> <div style="font:bold 10px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#545454; line-height:15px; margin:0px; padding:0px; border:0px;"> </div> <div style="font:10px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#545454; line-height:15px; margin:0px; padding:0px; border:0px;"> By Travis Taylor </div> </div> <div style="position:absolute; bottom:8px; left:138px; font:normal 10px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#fd7820; line-height:15px; margin:0px; padding:0px; border:0px;"> <a href="http://www.blurb.com/books/492525" force="true" only_path="false" style="color:#fd7820; text-decoration:none;" title="Book Preview">Book Preview</a> </div> <div style="position:absolute; top:10px; right:10px; padding:0px; margin:0px;"> <a title="Make a photo book with Blurb" href="http://www.blurb.com/?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=280x160" target="_blank" style="border:0; padding:0px; margin:0px; text-decoration:none;"> <img src="http://www.blurb.com/images/badge/blurb-logo.png" style="border:0; padding:0px; margin:0px;" alt="Make a photo book with Blurb"/> </a> </div> <div style="clear: both; border: 0px solid black;"></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-32807898961263562142008-12-29T08:23:00.002-07:002008-12-29T09:16:37.356-07:00Our Christmas StoryHello! How're you? How was your Christmas?<br /><br />Ours was nice... Pretty much your average family Christmas. We spent most the day in our jammies, watching the kids open presents and then enjoying them. Of course, once the wrapping paper comes off that's only half the job. Have you ever noticed that they package toys like they're on the FBI's most wanted criminals list? Seriously, how many little twisty wires do they really need to hold the thingamabob in place, I ask you! It takes a good 20 minutes just to free the toy from it's cardboard, tape, and wire display. Not to mention you need scissors, a screwdriver, a Swiss made multi-tool and may have to resort to using your teeth to gnaw through some parts just to get the toy out of it's packaging. Meanwhile, you've got an impatient kiddo bouncing from foot to foot and going, "Mom! What's taking so long? Is it out yet?"<br /><br />But, I suppose any amount of packaging frustration is worth seeing the smiles on your kids faces. And, I guess the one positive about that is that it does prolong the moment. Bree actually shrieked when she opened her "Tini Puppini," (which is basically the puppy version of Barbie, it has cloths and you can do it's hair and stuff). The puppy came with a bone name tag as well. "Her name is Toffee." I told Brianna. She said, "Mom, I don't like that name, can I rename her?" "Sure," I said, "You can call her whatever you like." "Okay," she said, "Her name is... HoHannah!" I don't know where she comes up with them, but the whole naming of the toys is still a fascinating process for me. She actually got another stuffed puppy which she dubbed "Wexkin." I dunno.<br /><br />Noah's big favorites included an electronic piggy bank with big plastic coins that sings and counts when you put them in, and a little Tonka race track. It was really cute, you just put the cars in place and push one big button to make them race and Noah was really into it, after a few times he was even yelling "Go!" when he pushed the button.<br /><br />Naturally though, the day wasn't without a few hiccups, like children getting completely overwhelmed and overexcited and trying to share and having complete meltdowns. And then there were a few toys that, while the kids were excited about, we couldn't play with immediately since Mom forgot to stock up on the batteries! Oops! (I actually had to make a run the day after Christmas to grab some batteries and a 100 watt bulb for Bree's new Easy Bake Oven, another oversight by Mom... the devil's in the details!) Actually, the batteries were for toys that I thought I had planned ahead for. See, I thought it would be fun to get the kids a remote control car that they can drive around the house. Especially since we're cooped up more during the winter, I thought this was a brilliant idea. And, to avoid fights, I even got them EACH a "My First Remote Control Car" with big easy buttons, but in different colors so we could tell whose is whose. Alas, there's just no predicting these things. Noah decided he liked the pink one best and kept chasing Bree down, trying to take it from her while she ran and screamed... Maybe I was onto something with the no batteries thing...<br /><br />But, overall we had a very relaxing and fun few days, just taking it slow and enjoying our kids.<br /><br />Hope yours was nice! <br /><br />Oop...gotta run, the kids are fighting over the remote control cars again. No really, I'm not kidding...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-72899011074027182222008-12-25T06:23:00.000-07:002008-12-25T06:23:00.242-07:00Merry Christmas!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SU8WxWB0V-I/AAAAAAAAC1A/v3ftcOpTnfk/s1600-h/xmasodds-1802.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 302px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SU8WxWB0V-I/AAAAAAAAC1A/v3ftcOpTnfk/s400/xmasodds-1802.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282465924911486946" /></a><br /><div style='background-color:#e9e9e9; width: 425px;'><object id='A664336' quality='high' data='http://aka.zero.jibjab.com/client/zero/ClientZero_EmbedViewer.swf?external_make_id=B5fUA5ZIJyTUdsJy&service=sendables.jibjab.com&partnerID=ElfYourself' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='transparent' height='319' width='425'><param name='wmode' value='transparent'></param><param name='movie' value='http://aka.zero.jibjab.com/client/zero/ClientZero_EmbedViewer.swf?external_make_id=B5fUA5ZIJyTUdsJy&service=sendables.jibjab.com&partnerID=ElfYourself'></param><param name='scaleMode' value='showAll'></param><param name='quality' value='high'></param><param name='allowNetworking' value='all'></param><param name='allowFullScreen' value='true' /><param name='FlashVars' value='external_make_id=B5fUA5ZIJyTUdsJy&service=sendables.jibjab.com&partnerID=ElfYourself'></param><param name='allowScriptAccess' value='always'></param></object><div style='text-align:center; width:435px; margin-top:6px;'>Send your own <a href='http://www.elfyourself.com'>ElfYourself</a> <a href='http://sendables.jibjab.com/ecards'>eCards</a></div></div><img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjk5MTk3NDc3NTAmcHQ9MTIyOTkxOTc2MDY3MSZwPTQxODgxMyZkPTIwMjY3NSZnPTImdD*mbz1jNWM4ZTdjZTQ1Y2E*YzE1YTVmZGJhZDQ4MTA2NDU3OQ==.gif" /><br /><br /><br />Happy Christmas all! Hope it's a merry one!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-84642618903309755382008-12-13T09:08:00.001-07:002008-12-13T09:15:30.161-07:00Christmas Housing CrisisThe American middle class aren't the only ones facing a housing crisis this holiday season....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SUPe_czplgI/AAAAAAAAC04/K2-t2ov6h1g/s1600-h/MarcumWedding-95.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 295px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SUPe_czplgI/AAAAAAAAC04/K2-t2ov6h1g/s400/MarcumWedding-95.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279308369854305794" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SUPe2O-gjGI/AAAAAAAAC0w/9wJKnsj0hsM/s1600-h/MarcumWedding-98.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SUPe2O-gjGI/AAAAAAAAC0w/9wJKnsj0hsM/s400/MarcumWedding-98.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279308211522931810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SUPeqMtIyoI/AAAAAAAAC0k/oDEGK7HXLVI/s1600-h/MarcumWedding-107.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SUPeqMtIyoI/AAAAAAAAC0k/oDEGK7HXLVI/s400/MarcumWedding-107.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279308004754770562" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SUPeengtdFI/AAAAAAAAC0c/06I8fn6hMfk/s1600-h/MarcumWedding-100.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SUPeengtdFI/AAAAAAAAC0c/06I8fn6hMfk/s400/MarcumWedding-100.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279307805791974482" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">.... gingerbread men are feeling the crunch too!<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-24333250059967922752008-12-10T10:11:00.001-07:002008-12-10T10:57:14.543-07:00I am a GriswoldCall me Scrooge, but just about every year by the time I'm done putting up all the holiday decor I'm feeling more Grinchy than festive. I mean, it's a lot of work, hauling the boxes out, untangling lights, taking each ornament out of it's newspaper cocoon... Add a couple of feisty kids and cats into the mix and in the end you have a house strung with lights that, due to interruptions and distractions, you've managed to put on so that the plug is nowhere near the power outlet and/or you've somehow connected them all so there's too much juice running through and one strand keeps blowing fuses. (While somewhere the spirit of Clark Griswold chuckles at you.) After that it's on to the inside of the house where you put up the tree. You turn on Christmas music and let the kids help. And, while the cats repeatedly climb up the tree every few minutes you hang your ornaments. Once you're done, you stand back to admire the majesty, its lower branches over-laden with ornaments hung at child height and near the top, an attractive saggy portion the cats have weighed down where they like to lay. (Wouldn't Charlie Brown be proud!) Still, you decide it has it's charm and that you'll cherish memories of putting the tree up with your kids. It's the next morning when you discover that during the night the cats have knocked off quite a few ornaments, including a clear ball filled with sparkly snow that is now sprinkled around your carpet, that your Christmas spirit starts to flag. But, you redecorate the tree and vacuum the mess, then turn to tackle writing those Christmas greetings to everyone you know, and try to think of charming, yet affordable ideas for the people still left on your list. Thinking of everything you have left to do in the dwindling amount of days left until the big day starts to give you a headache, not to mention the ache in your wallet. This headache is only exacerbated by the fact that while you're trying to compose complete sentences in your holiday correspondences, and thinking of non redundant ways to wish folks a Merry Christmas, you have small children to take care of who need snacks, naps, hugs when they disregard your warning not to run in the house and manage to bonk their heads, and so on. So, you head into the kitchen to pour yourself a third cup of coffee for the morning. That's when you turn to the living room and realize that, despite the fact you swore you hung them all out of reach, the baby has somehow managed to get a hold of one of those darn sparkly snow balls, opened it, and festively sprinkled snow everywhere. Even Father Christmas himself would heave a sigh at having to vacuum up heaps of sparkly snow several times a day. While you're vacuuming up the sparkles, and vowing to yourself next year you're NOT using those ornaments even if they are pretty, your preschooler starts snooping around and shouts out, "Hey Mom! What's this toy in here in this sack?! Is it for me? It is for Christmas?!" <br /><br />It's then that you realize there's no need to watch the movie, you are living the National Lampoon's Christmas...<br /><br />Well, okay, maybe I'm making it seem a bit worse than it really was, but actually, all that really did happen at our house over the last week. And it just got me thinking, isn't it kind of ironic that in a season meant for joy and family time we all get so crazy and stressed out and expect ourselves to accomplish 30 hours of work in each 24 hour day? We just expect so much out of ourselves trying to make things special and wonderful, that sometimes we don't even enjoy it! We just lose perspective and get all frustrated and fizzled out because we have such high expectations. <br /><br />So, heave a sigh, get done what you can, don't forget that a good cup of coffee can restore a bit of Christmas spirit (at least for me, coffee solves everything) and join me in smiling into the madness. Embrace your inner Griswold!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-58311569098277361202008-12-02T10:44:00.000-07:002008-12-02T21:40:50.258-07:00Liar Liar, Pants on FireNo surprise, it's a phase kids go through, but recently at our house we've had a bit of an issue with Bree lying. Even when we walk into the room and catch her in the act of breaking a rule she still tries to say, "It was Noah!" or "The cats did it!" (Both sources of convenient scapegoats.) Needless to say, we're doing what we can to nip this little habit in the bud. (We just have to make telling the truth more rewarding.) But then, it's to be expected, kids do these things. Sort of a gut reaction, "Oh no, I might be in trouble! Evasive manuevers!" Even as adults, we continue to have "white lies" "omissions" and gloss over things to avoid conflict and adverse consequences. But hopefully, it's something we all grow out of.<br /><br />Yes, it can be a bit of a tricky subject, lying, for everyone from 1 to 100. I think my favorite comedian, Eddie Izzard, puts it in perspective though, and with this being a bit of a serious topic, I thought I would end it with some comedic relief. So, here you go, Eddie Izzard's thoughts on lying and how it changes as we grow up. Oh, but watch out, it's rated PG-13. He refers to "shagging".....<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RegxuU8NOhs&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RegxuU8NOhs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-70951645088193253972008-11-24T08:33:00.000-07:002008-11-24T08:57:54.049-07:00Yes, We Do Our Own StuntsAll right, really there were no stunts required for these next pictures. It was just Travis experimenting with what special effects he can do with his camera. He's been interested lately in composing more artistic shots that aren't so much about capturing an image in perfect focus, but the overall mood and feel they give. It's been interesting and actually produced some pretty cool and unique shots. So, here's my faves from the new techniques....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHbr2QHoI/AAAAAAAACz8/lClITqDwx-M/s1600-h/pics-2042.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHbr2QHoI/AAAAAAAACz8/lClITqDwx-M/s400/pics-2042.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245592231255682" border="0" /></a>Here Trav is zooming while taking a shot, which, with when done right, gives you lines all leading your eye right to the center and the main subject, Noah. And even though he's not in focus, it gives a nice feeling. I think this is how parents see their children, tunnel vision! :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHLulKwsI/AAAAAAAACzk/2fKqGqxobfM/s1600-h/pics-818.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHLulKwsI/AAAAAAAACzk/2fKqGqxobfM/s400/pics-818.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245318087000770" border="0" /></a>Sometimes, this zooming thing can also give you the cool effect of having one thing in focus, like a face, and the rest of the picture blurred and adding a sense of motion to the shot. I mean, in this shot, can't you just feel the running like you were doing it?<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Then there's taking a picture with a long shutter speed and moving the camera, panning, during the exposure. And you end up with something like this:<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrGsJ2qTnI/AAAAAAAACyk/96_J74Odr2I/s1600-h/dalyleaflunch_-602.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrGsJ2qTnI/AAAAAAAACyk/96_J74Odr2I/s400/dalyleaflunch_-602.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272244775652314738" border="0" /></a> I love this one myself! Makes me think of an impressionistic painting or something. And, it's how childhood should look, happy kids running by in a blur against a colorful background.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHRojOPKI/AAAAAAAACzs/ghOAWiCUj6s/s1600-h/pics-2028.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHRojOPKI/AAAAAAAACzs/ghOAWiCUj6s/s400/pics-2028.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245419547442338" border="0" /></a>Or in this one, it just helps give you a sense of the wind in your hair and gives the swinging some movement lines.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Another cool effect Trav's been experimenting with is a modified double exposure. So for these next pictures, he set his camera for a long exposure, leaving the shutter open, and then making the flash fire at the end, which grabs a second image. In this case, Travis wanted to get both the kids in a shot, even though they were several feet apart at the time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrG-0enQmI/AAAAAAAACzM/wdn41lYkXBQ/s1600-h/missoulakids_-183.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrG-0enQmI/AAAAAAAACzM/wdn41lYkXBQ/s400/missoulakids_-183.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245096331821666" border="0" /></a>At first glance, it may seem like a mistake, but its pretty cool, gives a kind of ghostly feel.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrG2QXUHiI/AAAAAAAACy8/v58p5RXFe_g/s1600-h/missoulakids_-170.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrG2QXUHiI/AAAAAAAACy8/v58p5RXFe_g/s400/missoulakids_-170.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272244949198577186" border="0" /></a>I love this one! Noah better get used to having his sister over his shoulder, literally and figuratively!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrG51I0I_I/AAAAAAAACzE/XKCG3avHujE/s1600-h/missoulakids_-178.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrG51I0I_I/AAAAAAAACzE/XKCG3avHujE/s400/missoulakids_-178.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245010609480690" border="0" /></a>It almost looks like something you would have to do in photo editing software, like Photoshop, so it's cool that you can do this with the camera.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrGzKNWJCI/AAAAAAAACy0/PGL0FGy5mvo/s1600-h/missoulakids_-150.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrGzKNWJCI/AAAAAAAACy0/PGL0FGy5mvo/s400/missoulakids_-150.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272244896006546466" border="0" /></a>This one is great too, Bree in two places at once.<br /><br /><br />Of course, Travis still takes great shots with his usual crystal clarity too, so since it's been awhile since I've posted pix, here's a few shots of the kids looking cute in focus.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHtAElk9I/AAAAAAAAC0U/WYbfjDAK904/s1600-h/Summer08_Full-PP_-110.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHtAElk9I/AAAAAAAAC0U/WYbfjDAK904/s400/Summer08_Full-PP_-110.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245889717867474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHiTa8rJI/AAAAAAAAC0E/bFVk4IUeZ8E/s1600-h/Summer08_Full-PP_-84.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHiTa8rJI/AAAAAAAAC0E/bFVk4IUeZ8E/s400/Summer08_Full-PP_-84.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245705933368466" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHW0B4qzI/AAAAAAAACz0/UEhX8BA9vhY/s1600-h/pics-2036.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHW0B4qzI/AAAAAAAACz0/UEhX8BA9vhY/s400/pics-2036.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245508528188210" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHoZkXcfI/AAAAAAAAC0M/FLjvOyH8A2U/s1600-h/Summer08_Full-PP_-92.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHoZkXcfI/AAAAAAAAC0M/FLjvOyH8A2U/s400/Summer08_Full-PP_-92.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245810662699506" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrGv5P2mKI/AAAAAAAACys/yuEgfYRaRVI/s1600-h/housemacro_-5062.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrGv5P2mKI/AAAAAAAACys/yuEgfYRaRVI/s400/housemacro_-5062.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272244839914051746" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHGkTk2BI/AAAAAAAACzc/OBiPq3R8QWc/s1600-h/pics-201.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHGkTk2BI/AAAAAAAACzc/OBiPq3R8QWc/s400/pics-201.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245229429512210" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHDR1uFZI/AAAAAAAACzU/kl8dLYJAdIM/s1600-h/missoulakids_-230.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w0FvZbnlzJI/SSrHDR1uFZI/AAAAAAAACzU/kl8dLYJAdIM/s400/missoulakids_-230.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272245172932842898" border="0" /></a>And then there's me. Yep, this is about the extent of stunt work I do, smirking. Hey, it's hard work but someone has to do it!<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622378.post-58148102809854504552008-11-18T08:48:00.000-07:002008-11-18T21:51:03.693-07:00Life is But a GameI don't know about you, but around here our evenings can get pretty... hectic. To say the least! I'm sure it's the same at your place, (if you have kids that is), hubby comes home from work, exhausted and needs to sit down. You're making dinner and have tried to distract both kids by turning on some obnoxious show but, instead of actually watching whatever it is, both kids have decided to fight over the same toy and/or have a complete simultaneous meltdown and cling to your legs bawling while you try to finish making a nutritious and delicious dinner to the discordant sounds of yowling and some high-pitched voice singing at you from the TV. Then once you finally "sit down" to dinner, (if you all make it to the dinner table that is), you've somehow managed to forget to give one kid a fork and as soon as you sit down from grabbing that, the other kid has already gulped down all their milk and is dying of thirst. One kid is whining about how they don't like whatever it is you've chosen to serve, and the baby has decided it's fun to throw their food on the floor and scream at the top of their lungs, which, naturally, your preschooler finds dang amusing and decides to screech with jarring laughter and follow suit... Of course, after dinner both kids are messy from head to toe and need a bath, which they love, but get very excited about and end up splashing enough water out of the tub to water your garden all next spring. Then it's time to comb their hair and put them into PJ's, the latter of which is often like trying to wrestle an indignant octopus. And just when you think "Thank God, it's close to bedtime!" they have their nightly pre-bedtime hyperactivity and though you only remember having two kids, it seems like a gang of them have invaded.<br /><br />Or, maybe it's just at my house?<br /><br />Well, anyway, to try and combat this rather headache inducing, exhausting and patience-trying cycle we're in we've decided to try and play a game each night. Not only does it help us all spend time together in a more relaxed and fun way, but it usually requires some sitting down on the kids' part. (Whew!) Of course, playing games with a 1 yr old and a 4 yr old can be pretty interesting. First of all, they cheat! They make up rules willy nilly and break the ones they don't like. And you can forget about taking turns. It's always their turn! Although, if you can handle that kind of thing then it's also good for some laughs as well...<br /><br />The game Perfection was a big hit with both kids. It's that one where you have to put all the shapes in the correct place before the time runs out. Otherwise, the buzzer goes off and the whole board pops up. We decided to play it family style and all four of us would try to get the pieces in as fast as we could. It was funny because Noah even got in on it, and even got quite a few in the right spot! (Not sure if that was pure luck or if the kid's just a genius!) I also found it kind of amusing because every time the buzzer went off, Bree would jump and scream. At first, Noah just stared at her. But after a few rounds he decided that was one of the best things about the game and was screaming along with her or clapping when we made it in time.<br /><br />Another game involving a buzzer is Operation. Classic. We pulled this one out the other night and, like before, Bree would jump and yelp whenever she made the buzzer go off. Noah, on the other hand, found it very interesting to watch the light in the nose go off when the buzzer sounded. So, when it was his turn he would purposely shove the tweezers against the metal and just buzzzzzzzzz until someone (Bree) finally got tired of hearing it and grabbed them from him. Plus, during other people's turns Noah started anticipating the buzzer and was even going "bzzz" at people.<br /><br />But the best was the night we played Twister. Noah just stared at us all for awhile trying to understand what the game was all about. Then he decided that he wanted to be the one spinning the wheel. Problem being, he wanted to both spin the wheel and play at the same time. So he would spin the wheel and then throw himself on the mat. After awhile, he decided he didn't need the spinner after all, and instead he was spinning himself. Round and round and falling down on the dots, then getting up, screaming, and running across the mat. Then spinning again. Then running. It was so entertaining, and so impossible to play that way, the rest of us just gave up and watched Noah put on a show. It was the most active, loud, and unusual game of Twister I've seen!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1