I tried to convince her not to rock in the chair, but she assured me that it was necessary for the song!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Of doctor visits
I took the girls to the doctor yesterday for checkups. Natalie was 31# and 40" tall, which is less than 3% for wt. and 7% for height. Brooklin is 15#9.2oz. (5%) and 26" tall (7%). I swear I feed them!
I almost forgot the biggest news! Brooklin took her first steps on Monday night. She doesn't know she's too little for that!
I almost forgot the biggest news! Brooklin took her first steps on Monday night. She doesn't know she's too little for that!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Because Brooklin is only 9 months old for 31 days
Here’s a cute picture of Brooklin flying. By the way, she got her second ear infection of the month. This time, she didn’t even have a runny nose. I took her in because she wasn’t sleeping well and seemed grumpy (Brooklin is never grumpy unless there’s a treatable cause…hungry, dirty diaper, ear infection). I just want to get tubes in her ears, but the pediatrician isn’t ready to go there yet. Ugh!
In addition to flying, Brooklin’s talents at 9 months old include climbing all the way up the stairs unassisted (if you don’t count me hovering over her in case she decides to try her luck at going back down), standing without holding onto anything, walking with help, and eating everything small enough to fit in her mouth. She even ate Vietnamese cuisine with me. My favorite thing she does right now is she cocks her head to the side when she giggles. If you’re holding her, she lays her head on your shoulder. It’s the closest thing to a cuddle we get, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s adorable.
In addition to flying, Brooklin’s talents at 9 months old include climbing all the way up the stairs unassisted (if you don’t count me hovering over her in case she decides to try her luck at going back down), standing without holding onto anything, walking with help, and eating everything small enough to fit in her mouth. She even ate Vietnamese cuisine with me. My favorite thing she does right now is she cocks her head to the side when she giggles. If you’re holding her, she lays her head on your shoulder. It’s the closest thing to a cuddle we get, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s adorable.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The one where we take a "Girls' Trip"
Natalie felt bad that she wasn’t invited on the “Girl Trip” to see Wicked in September. So I planned a girl trip of our own as one of her presents from us for her birthday. We drove down to Tri-Cities on Friday morning and shopped till we about dropped. I miss stores!! We had lunch with Dyana and her girls and then shopped some more. That evening, Natalie got to wear her Sleeping Beauty dress for Jeremy and Dyana’s ward trunk-or-treat. Arri and Paige were Little Bo Peep and a Lamb (so cute!!). Natalie said the best part was the costume parade. See the previous post for a picture of Natalie and Arri.
The next morning, after I had officially spent our life savings, I took Natalie to see Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy. She absolutely loved it. Her exact words when we got in the car afterwards were, “Mom, Disney on Ice was just a dream come true!!” I wish I had a picture of Natalie’s face when Tinker Bell came flying out onto the ice (isn’t it cool to be 5 years old and not notice that she’s strung up by wires?). I was really impressed by the production. The skaters were actually very talented, the costumes were well done, and it was all-around enjoyable for me as well.
We got some great pictures of the girls playing in the leaves at Dyana’s house while we packed up all our stuff.
The next morning, after I had officially spent our life savings, I took Natalie to see Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy. She absolutely loved it. Her exact words when we got in the car afterwards were, “Mom, Disney on Ice was just a dream come true!!” I wish I had a picture of Natalie’s face when Tinker Bell came flying out onto the ice (isn’t it cool to be 5 years old and not notice that she’s strung up by wires?). I was really impressed by the production. The skaters were actually very talented, the costumes were well done, and it was all-around enjoyable for me as well.
We got some great pictures of the girls playing in the leaves at Dyana’s house while we packed up all our stuff.
Because Halloween is fun, darn it!
Scott and Andrea came down for a mid-week visit on the 21st. We spent the day carving pumpkins and finishing the counter for my desk upstairs. The pumpkins turned out fantastic. We got lots of compliments on them from our trick-or-treaters.
We quickly cleaned up Natalie's birthday party on the 24th and went over to the Gimmeson’s annual “Power-tools only Pumpkin Carving Contest.” In addition to lots of great food, we really enjoyed seeing all the pumpkin creations. Joe even took 3rd place with his African tribal pumpkin. The last minute “Joe Rules” pumpkin, for some reason, didn’t place. We thought my swirly pumpkin could have taken the trophy, but I didn’t have time to finish.
Here are our Halloween pictures: Natalie as Sleeping Beauty and Arri as Little Bo Peep, the pumpkins in their glory, the trick-or-treaters, Liz in her Pocahontas get-up, Joe as Travis Pastrana, and Brooklin the ladybug. AJ was a clone trooper (Star Wars, of course), but I somehow missed getting a good picture of him. Joe actually drove the ’50 around the neighborhood while the kids trick-or-treated. It was fantastic way to let the bigger kids keep going while he ferried the younger ones home when they got cold.
We quickly cleaned up Natalie's birthday party on the 24th and went over to the Gimmeson’s annual “Power-tools only Pumpkin Carving Contest.” In addition to lots of great food, we really enjoyed seeing all the pumpkin creations. Joe even took 3rd place with his African tribal pumpkin. The last minute “Joe Rules” pumpkin, for some reason, didn’t place. We thought my swirly pumpkin could have taken the trophy, but I didn’t have time to finish.
Here are our Halloween pictures: Natalie as Sleeping Beauty and Arri as Little Bo Peep, the pumpkins in their glory, the trick-or-treaters, Liz in her Pocahontas get-up, Joe as Travis Pastrana, and Brooklin the ladybug. AJ was a clone trooper (Star Wars, of course), but I somehow missed getting a good picture of him. Joe actually drove the ’50 around the neighborhood while the kids trick-or-treated. It was fantastic way to let the bigger kids keep going while he ferried the younger ones home when they got cold.
When Natalie turned 5 and was undoubtably a princess
We celebrated Natalie’s 5th birthday on the 19th. Natalie got all kinds of great presents and cards. I got her tickets to Disney on Ice, which I'll blog about later. The birthday boy/girl in our family gets to choose all the day’s meals, so we had waffles, Pasta-Roni, and clam chowder with homemade bread bowls. Grandma and Grandpa joined us for dinner and dessert. Of course, Natalie wanted both cupcakes and cake for her birthday.
We’ve been slacking off the last few years and haven’t given Natalie a proper birthday party, so we repented and gave her a Princess party this year on Saturday, the 24th. Her friends, Lanie, Taylor, Vivian, Kamrie, and Monet got to dress up as princesses and color princess pictures and make princess crowns and play Pin Cinderella on the Castle. Then, we had cake and ice cream and opened presents. Natalie is one spoiled little girl. She got princess Barbies, a ballerina Barbie, a princess puzzle, watercolors and princess pictures to color, and a butterfly necklace and rings. And that’s not including all the presents from family!
We had a birthday dinner with the family on the Nov. 1st for Liz and Natalie. It was a ditto of Joe and John’s birthday dinner with homemade pizzas and chicken wings. Yummy as always!
We’ve been slacking off the last few years and haven’t given Natalie a proper birthday party, so we repented and gave her a Princess party this year on Saturday, the 24th. Her friends, Lanie, Taylor, Vivian, Kamrie, and Monet got to dress up as princesses and color princess pictures and make princess crowns and play Pin Cinderella on the Castle. Then, we had cake and ice cream and opened presents. Natalie is one spoiled little girl. She got princess Barbies, a ballerina Barbie, a princess puzzle, watercolors and princess pictures to color, and a butterfly necklace and rings. And that’s not including all the presents from family!
We had a birthday dinner with the family on the Nov. 1st for Liz and Natalie. It was a ditto of Joe and John’s birthday dinner with homemade pizzas and chicken wings. Yummy as always!
Where the sand dunes meet CR50 racing
Joe took the ’50 and the kids out to the sand dunes one Saturday with Aaron Gimmeson and his kids. They had a great time. Mostly, Joe and Aaron let the kids run wild while they raced each other. And Natalie only almost hit the truck! AJ is starting to get over the incident last year at Grandma’s house (He fell over…it was a wimpy wreck at best).
This is Joe riding with the guys from Business Networks, who came down to critique JRCC.
This is Joe riding with the guys from Business Networks, who came down to critique JRCC.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Of Nirvana and Birthday Cupcakes
These last two weeks seem to have gone by so fast. I blinked, and they’re gone. Joe celebrated his 31st birthday yesterday. He received money (which he tells me is going to be used for his next demolition derby car), a ShopVac for the garage, new winter gloves, and lots of hugs and kisses. Brooklin just kind of slobbered on him and smiled, but I think he knew what she meant. We rode the 50 with AJ and friends around the neighborhood. AJ still rehearses his speech about wrecking last year at Grandma’s house every time we mention the dirt bike, but he did much better yesterday. We also supported our local FFA by perusing their pumpkin patch and bought five pumpkins for carving. Actually, we mostly spent the day cooking yummy things to eat. We made pancakes, our spicy orange chicken wings, cupcakes (side note: Natalie told Joe that she was “so proud” of him for choosing cupcakes instead of a regular cake), and personal pizzas (courtesy of Joe’s mom). I think we dirtied every dish in the house.
Joe’s brother, John, is home from Iraq for a few weeks, so we went over there Saturday night and ate dinner and visited. We spent Sunday afternoon over there as well. And last night, John came over here before he had to leave this morning. It was very nice to see him, but, like always, it's hard to see him go back. We wish him well with peace and safety!
Joe and I gave a really interesting lesson in church on Sunday. I’m not entirely sure that the kids in our class didn’t going to go home and tell their parents all about original sin, the quadratic equation, being “saved,” and/or achieving a state of nirvana. But hopefully, they at least got that if they memorize the Articles of Faith, we’ll bring treats.
Brooklin apparently doesn't get bathed enough because she still thinks the water is HILARIOUS!
I've been trying to catch Brooklin giggling on video because baby giggles just don't last long enough. My other kids always want to star in these videos.
Joe’s brother, John, is home from Iraq for a few weeks, so we went over there Saturday night and ate dinner and visited. We spent Sunday afternoon over there as well. And last night, John came over here before he had to leave this morning. It was very nice to see him, but, like always, it's hard to see him go back. We wish him well with peace and safety!
Joe and I gave a really interesting lesson in church on Sunday. I’m not entirely sure that the kids in our class didn’t going to go home and tell their parents all about original sin, the quadratic equation, being “saved,” and/or achieving a state of nirvana. But hopefully, they at least got that if they memorize the Articles of Faith, we’ll bring treats.
Brooklin apparently doesn't get bathed enough because she still thinks the water is HILARIOUS!
I've been trying to catch Brooklin giggling on video because baby giggles just don't last long enough. My other kids always want to star in these videos.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Joe the Demolition Derby Racecar Driver
Last week I was finally able to do something I have wanted to do since I was a kid.
I was able to drive a demolition derby car in the races at our local rodeo arena. I realize this may sound lame to some, but let me explain. This is a short 1/8 mile oval with 8 cars in FULL CONTACT racing. There’s additional prize money for the most aggressive driver out there (i.e. take out the most competitors). The wonderful part about this is my buddy/boss has paid for everything (the car and all entry fees).
So they start out with the time trials, and I was all kinds of nervous. But I ended up pulling off a 12.89 second lap which I later find out was the 7th fastest lap of the night. This qualified me for a trophy dash. They run two trophy dashes; the first for the fastest four and a second for the 5-8. Well on the first lap, I was spun out by a faster car, and the guy behind him smashed into the driver’s side rear corner. I need to add they hit hard. While I was trying to recover, I swear I ate 2 lbs of dirt. I was in a front wheel drive car, and all of my competition was in rear wheel drive in this race, so I was eating their dirt the whole time. My goggles even had ¼ inch of dirt in the bottom. Needless to say, I took last in my race.
Anxious to redeem myself, I was in a regular heat race next with a more diverse group of cars. I was quickly able to take the lead, and I looked up ahead and there were two cars all tangled up in front of me (perpendicular). So in my .5 second analysis of the situation, I decided to try to hit one of the cars right in the rear axel. I neglected to account the fact that the car I hit was a Cadillac El Dorado as seen here.
http://www.avicarcollection.com/PICT0021.JPG/PICT0021-large.JPG
Needless to say I was stopped dead in my tracks, and I was passed by two other cars. I was able to get my car going again, and I ended in third place. I did talk to the guy I hit and he told me it was possible the hardest hit he has ever experienced (I bent his rear axel smashed his rim and blew out his tire and he had to cut back his rear fender a bunch to clear a new tire).
My last race of the night was called an Australian Pursuit. In this race, you start staggered around the track. When you get passed, you pull over and stop. When there are only two cars remaining, you race for 1 more min and if there are no more passes, then you call it a tie and split the money.
In this race I was just running for dear life, and I could have sworn I was being passed on every corner. The back end of my car was bouncing over the ruts so hard I was told it was 1 ½ feet off the ground. I ran about 12 laps, and I was right behind the two cars trying to take each other out when the guy in front of me finally completed his pass.
We go for another 3 laps and I realize we are the last two out there. I was not going to catch him, so I let off a little and coasted to a tie for 1st in that race.
I ended up winning money in two of my three races totaling a whopping $50 which I gave to the my buddy who had $500+ invested at this point.
In summary this was one of the most adrenaline filled experiences ever!
This is a video I took of my co-worker driving the same car in a different derby before I busted the car up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vNByRBi848
I was able to drive a demolition derby car in the races at our local rodeo arena. I realize this may sound lame to some, but let me explain. This is a short 1/8 mile oval with 8 cars in FULL CONTACT racing. There’s additional prize money for the most aggressive driver out there (i.e. take out the most competitors). The wonderful part about this is my buddy/boss has paid for everything (the car and all entry fees).
So they start out with the time trials, and I was all kinds of nervous. But I ended up pulling off a 12.89 second lap which I later find out was the 7th fastest lap of the night. This qualified me for a trophy dash. They run two trophy dashes; the first for the fastest four and a second for the 5-8. Well on the first lap, I was spun out by a faster car, and the guy behind him smashed into the driver’s side rear corner. I need to add they hit hard. While I was trying to recover, I swear I ate 2 lbs of dirt. I was in a front wheel drive car, and all of my competition was in rear wheel drive in this race, so I was eating their dirt the whole time. My goggles even had ¼ inch of dirt in the bottom. Needless to say, I took last in my race.
Anxious to redeem myself, I was in a regular heat race next with a more diverse group of cars. I was quickly able to take the lead, and I looked up ahead and there were two cars all tangled up in front of me (perpendicular). So in my .5 second analysis of the situation, I decided to try to hit one of the cars right in the rear axel. I neglected to account the fact that the car I hit was a Cadillac El Dorado as seen here.
http://www.avicarcollection.com/PICT0021.JPG/PICT0021-large.JPG
Needless to say I was stopped dead in my tracks, and I was passed by two other cars. I was able to get my car going again, and I ended in third place. I did talk to the guy I hit and he told me it was possible the hardest hit he has ever experienced (I bent his rear axel smashed his rim and blew out his tire and he had to cut back his rear fender a bunch to clear a new tire).
My last race of the night was called an Australian Pursuit. In this race, you start staggered around the track. When you get passed, you pull over and stop. When there are only two cars remaining, you race for 1 more min and if there are no more passes, then you call it a tie and split the money.
In this race I was just running for dear life, and I could have sworn I was being passed on every corner. The back end of my car was bouncing over the ruts so hard I was told it was 1 ½ feet off the ground. I ran about 12 laps, and I was right behind the two cars trying to take each other out when the guy in front of me finally completed his pass.
We go for another 3 laps and I realize we are the last two out there. I was not going to catch him, so I let off a little and coasted to a tie for 1st in that race.
I ended up winning money in two of my three races totaling a whopping $50 which I gave to the my buddy who had $500+ invested at this point.
In summary this was one of the most adrenaline filled experiences ever!
This is a video I took of my co-worker driving the same car in a different derby before I busted the car up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vNByRBi848
Of Growing Up Too Fast...
September must have been extremely busy because I haven’t had a chance to sit down and actually write what’s been going on! Actually, my work schedule has been miserable. They’ve been penning me in wherever there was an opening because several people have quit. I feel like when I’m home, I’m either sleeping or working non-stop to keep the laundry and dirty dishes from overrunning the household.
In the midst of being perpetually tired, we managed to do some fun things. We took down the old mirror in the bathroom and replaced it with a nicer one. The mirror was seriously stuck to the wall, so it took a big ol’ drywall patch.
We got our backsplash up in the kitchen. One more notch on the way to DONE!!
AJ started school at Garden Heights and LOVES first grade! He is reading more. He brings home a book every night and gets to choose a treasure for every 10 books he reads. So far, we have read nothing but dinosaurs, and it’s great!! I keep thinking one day they’ll run out of dinosaur books for him, but not yet. AJ has officially graduated from speech therapy…yeah!!
Natalie started ballet again. She’s doing well. We’ve almost got her skipping for real!
Brooklin has entered the bumped and bruised baby stage. She insists that she will walk by the time she’s 9 months old, as evidenced by her current abilities of standing with help and climbing stairs. She also grew her first two teeth (the bottom middles) and had her first ear infection this month. Actually it was her first sickness of any kind (she’s never even had a runny nose to this point). We’re just realizing how non-baby friendly our house is.
Joe has been called to the scouts for the same age group as our Sunday School class. To which, Kyle Hirz replied, “Are you serious? Awesome!!”
Joe’s mom, Liz, Liz’s friend Jamie, Dyana, and I spent the second weekend of this month in Seattle and attended a performance of “Wicked” at the Paramount Theatre. The show was FANTASTIC!! Absolutely worth every penny we spent! We drove over on Friday and spent time shopping, reading good books in our nice hotel room, and enjoying all kinds of food that none of us had to cook or clean up after. Despite getting lost in downtown Seattle and nearly missing the show and the blisters I got on my feet from running several blocks trying to get to said show (oh, and who could forget when Brooklin ate so much at the Cheesecake Factory that she literally burst?), we had a great time!!
Joe already gave a pretty full synopsis of his demolition derby racing experience, which he’s still smiling about. Last week, his work sent him to Bozeman, MT, for a mold remediation training. We missed him terribly while he was gone!
In the midst of being perpetually tired, we managed to do some fun things. We took down the old mirror in the bathroom and replaced it with a nicer one. The mirror was seriously stuck to the wall, so it took a big ol’ drywall patch.
We got our backsplash up in the kitchen. One more notch on the way to DONE!!
AJ started school at Garden Heights and LOVES first grade! He is reading more. He brings home a book every night and gets to choose a treasure for every 10 books he reads. So far, we have read nothing but dinosaurs, and it’s great!! I keep thinking one day they’ll run out of dinosaur books for him, but not yet. AJ has officially graduated from speech therapy…yeah!!
Natalie started ballet again. She’s doing well. We’ve almost got her skipping for real!
Brooklin has entered the bumped and bruised baby stage. She insists that she will walk by the time she’s 9 months old, as evidenced by her current abilities of standing with help and climbing stairs. She also grew her first two teeth (the bottom middles) and had her first ear infection this month. Actually it was her first sickness of any kind (she’s never even had a runny nose to this point). We’re just realizing how non-baby friendly our house is.
Joe has been called to the scouts for the same age group as our Sunday School class. To which, Kyle Hirz replied, “Are you serious? Awesome!!”
Joe’s mom, Liz, Liz’s friend Jamie, Dyana, and I spent the second weekend of this month in Seattle and attended a performance of “Wicked” at the Paramount Theatre. The show was FANTASTIC!! Absolutely worth every penny we spent! We drove over on Friday and spent time shopping, reading good books in our nice hotel room, and enjoying all kinds of food that none of us had to cook or clean up after. Despite getting lost in downtown Seattle and nearly missing the show and the blisters I got on my feet from running several blocks trying to get to said show (oh, and who could forget when Brooklin ate so much at the Cheesecake Factory that she literally burst?), we had a great time!!
Joe already gave a pretty full synopsis of his demolition derby racing experience, which he’s still smiling about. Last week, his work sent him to Bozeman, MT, for a mold remediation training. We missed him terribly while he was gone!
Monday, August 24, 2009
The fair
Joe told me I have to explain the raw fish comment. We have a strong belief that small business owners, especially ones trying to bring a bit of culture to our white trash small town, should be supported. Even if it’s not really our thing. So a new Japanese restaurant opened recently, and Joe took me to lunch, even though I don’t like fish. Joe had teriyaki beef sushi with eel sauce. I had a Hawaiian sushi roll with tuna, avocado, and mango. The bad news is that I didn’t like it. But the good news is that it wasn’t the raw fish. The real fishy flavor was not the tuna; it was the seaweed paper it was rolled in. So the moral of the story is that if you don’t like seafood, but want to support your local sushi restaurant, ask specifically for it to be wrapped in soy paper (which is mostly tasteless) instead of the seaweed.
The fair was this week, so we spent a few days down there looking at all the exhibits. Some were pretty impressive, but there were a lot that we thought, “Wow, I could do a lot better than that.” I took the kids to the Carnival on Tuesday. AJ is finally tall enough to ride the big kid rides. He and his cousin, Andrew, honestly rode rides as fast as they could until they were ill. It was pretty funny. They both had looks of terror on their faces and held on for dear life the whole ride and then got off and told me how AWESOME it was! Poor Natalie was too short to ride most of the rides by herself, but I think she had fun anyway. Liz snuck on the roller coaster without a ticket, so Natalie could ride on it.
Joe and his coworkers decided to turn Ben’s old Cutlass into a demolition derby car. Here, they don’t just crash into each other until only one car is left standing. They do full-contact racing and such. They made their derby debut on Wednesday night. And the car actually won its heat! In another round, it was doing pretty well until it blew a tire. The car is still running and is really not too much worse for the wear.
Friday night, Joe and I took the kids and just walked around the fair. Oh, and we ate our obligatory Space Burgers. It’s apparently a big deal around here to get hamburger pressed into a circular disk by a sandwich-press. But they are the cheapest thing to eat at the fair.
Sunday, we had dinner over at Joe’s parents’ house to celebrate his nephew’s 20th birthday. All kinds of fun!
We met with AJ’s new principal at Garden Heights this morning. She and the special services people seem very on top of things. We’re very excited to work with them. AJ’s even really excited to go back to school. Especially since he won’t be spending 2 hours on a bus every day.
The fair was this week, so we spent a few days down there looking at all the exhibits. Some were pretty impressive, but there were a lot that we thought, “Wow, I could do a lot better than that.” I took the kids to the Carnival on Tuesday. AJ is finally tall enough to ride the big kid rides. He and his cousin, Andrew, honestly rode rides as fast as they could until they were ill. It was pretty funny. They both had looks of terror on their faces and held on for dear life the whole ride and then got off and told me how AWESOME it was! Poor Natalie was too short to ride most of the rides by herself, but I think she had fun anyway. Liz snuck on the roller coaster without a ticket, so Natalie could ride on it.
Joe and his coworkers decided to turn Ben’s old Cutlass into a demolition derby car. Here, they don’t just crash into each other until only one car is left standing. They do full-contact racing and such. They made their derby debut on Wednesday night. And the car actually won its heat! In another round, it was doing pretty well until it blew a tire. The car is still running and is really not too much worse for the wear.
Friday night, Joe and I took the kids and just walked around the fair. Oh, and we ate our obligatory Space Burgers. It’s apparently a big deal around here to get hamburger pressed into a circular disk by a sandwich-press. But they are the cheapest thing to eat at the fair.
Sunday, we had dinner over at Joe’s parents’ house to celebrate his nephew’s 20th birthday. All kinds of fun!
We met with AJ’s new principal at Garden Heights this morning. She and the special services people seem very on top of things. We’re very excited to work with them. AJ’s even really excited to go back to school. Especially since he won’t be spending 2 hours on a bus every day.
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