NicknMeg

Ladybug

2012-01-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

My kids LOVE this new game they got for Christmas. It's called The Ladybug Game. We highly recommend it! Also, what's cute is there are Aphids that you collect through out the game...Preston calls them Efans. It's really cute. :-)

Ash and Preston were really excited to play the game with their cousins Bridget and Avery and the girls loved it too--Avery won! :-)

Library & New Years

2012-01-15T20:19:00.001-07:00

I love the new library. There's a whole floor just for children and my kids love playing there.

Preston loved this toy the best

Preston showing off all his "tattoos" and showing how tough he is! Lol

New Years 2012 arrived for the kids at 9pm so we went out and did some pop-its and other mild fire works. Here are Preston and Ash cleaning up after, and then we put them to bed and enjoyed our own New Years eve together.

Preston stacked one of his Christmas games. (It's like a kids version of Jenga.)

Christmas morning pics--found them!

2012-01-01T22:51:00.002-07:00

Yay for Christmas!!! :-)

Fun with a gun...a BB gun that is.

2012-01-01T22:29:00.003-07:00

It gets dark so blasted early so it was getting hard to shoot at our targets. Nick was brilliant and brought out his shop light so we could see. It was so much fun. Ashleigh is a great shot! She has great aim and hits the target probably 95% of the time. Nick loves that he's found something fun to do with his daughter. It's a great way to bond for sure! He's planning on taking her to the shooting range in a month or so for a daddy-daughter date. :-) I have very fond memories of going shooting with my dad so I'm very glad that Ashleigh will have similar memories.

I'm wearing some new jewelry that Ashleigh made me. :-) She also made a necklace for Preston and Nick. haha.

Merry Christmas-2011

2012-01-01T22:10:00.001-07:00

Our tree--before Santa came

Our tree--after Santa came

And the stockings.

I can't find my Christmas morning pictures yet. :-( Once I do (if I do) I'll post them.

Nick and I went to bed pretty late and the kids didn't wake us up until after 8am. :-) We opened our stockings first and the kids opened their gift from Santa--Super Mario Brother's game for the Wii, and Barbie Charm School DVD.

Then we all opened the regular gifts. We got, among other things, (Nick) a cordless drill, basketball, tools, movies. (Meg) Dr. Laura Podcast subscription, Huge/warm homemade blanket, camera/video camera, apron. (Ashleigh) Pottery wheel, craft kits and art supplies, clothes, games, money. (Preston) hot wheels track, games, clothes, a "pincher", Nerf guns. The family also got a BB/pellet gun as well as a S&W 9mm gun. We got so many other wonderful gifts. It was a very blessed Christmas this year.

In the afternoon/evening we ate Ham, G'ma Lowe's potatoes, salad, and rolls. (Yum) this is one of our entire family's favorite meals! The entire day was spent as a family. We played games. shot the BB gun a lot and really enjoyed being together. I love my little family so much!

Merry Christmas to one and all! :-)

It's SANTA

2012-01-01T21:23:00.001-07:00

While shopping at the mall for a couple of daddy's Christmas gifts we just happened to see Santa's Picture area and decided to stop in for a picture. Santa was out feeding the reindeer so we had to wait for him to get back but once he did, all that waiting was totally worth it. I loved seeing my kiddos faces light up and joy and excitement.

The picture with Santa...Preston was still a little nervous so he didn't sit near Santa, but overall both kids did great!

Visiting daddy at work = FUN!

2012-01-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

So fun that the kids were too tired to stay wake on the way home.

Perfect!!!

2011-12-17T22:53:00.003-07:00

Tamsen said that she was sending me a present--random, out of the blue--and that when she saw it she just knew she had to get it for me/us. She wouldn't tell me what it was though so I was super excited and anxious waiting for it to arrive.
Well, this picture arrived and literally took my breath away with it's beauty. What made it even more special is seeing my son's name and birth date printed on it as well. The lady who drew this is incredible and I am filled with love and appreciation for it.
I love this print. I'm now searching for the perfect frame for it so I can hang it in my house. I love it. This is exactly how I like to think of my son...snuggled up and surrounded with love in Jesus' arms.

Thank you, Tamsen!

I love you!

Ashleigh through the years

2011-12-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh got her school pictures back finally. We keep all the prior years pictures in the picture frame and just put the new one on top. It's a great way to keep them all together and also reminisce and see how much they've change from one year to the next. These are the pictures in Ashleigh's frame so far.

Top: age 3, age 5, age 6

Bottom: age 7, and age 8

I can't believe how much she's changed, and yet, she looks exactly the same. Amazing. Love her so much!!

Christmas Tree

2011-12-17T22:40:00.002-07:00

Hair fun

2011-12-17T22:38:00.001-07:00

Oh I just love experimenting on Ashleigh's hair. She doesn't enjoy it much so we only leave it in long enough to take a picture, but it sure is fun for me to have a daughter to play beauty salon with. :-)

Call Family Theater

2011-12-17T22:34:00.002-07:00

I invited the Mooney girls over to watch a movie with my kids. Finley wanted to stay, but she needed a nap so she left with Emily after a few minutes. We rented Monte Carlo. I got a whole bunch of snacks that are sure to make any kid sick, and we set up the living room with pillows, blankets, and darkened the whole room--no lights on and the curtains were closed. It was very movie theater like. Everything started out good...the kids watched and ate and watched and ate. Then about 40 min in to the movie I realized that Preston was gone, then Avery left, and soon after Bridget and Ashleigh left too. I was there all by myself...hmm. I waited about 5 min and I heard them upstairs playing. So I turned the movie off. Preston and Avery decided to play computer games and Bridget and Ashleigh decided to play "girl stuff" in her room. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. :-) Maybe we'll try it again in another 6 months or so. :-)

IMPRESSIVE!!!

2011-12-05T20:24:00.003-07:00

It's been 1 year since Nick lost 35 lbs!!! I've got to give him some props. He worked his butt off for about 3 months, lost 35 lbs, and has kept it off for the last year. He is amazing!!! I needed to put these pictures up for him as a reminder of how far he's come! I'm SO proud of him!!!

Love you babe, you look AMAZING!!!

Nick--BEFORE:

Nick--AFTER:

Happy Birthday, Nicholas

2011-12-05T19:59:00.004-07:00

For years and years, Nick has said that he'd love to go see either Mannheim Steamrollers, or the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We've never been able to go for 1 reason or another so when I heard that the Trans-Siberian Orchestra was going to be in Portland the day before Nick's birthday, I just knew I had to do everything I could to make sure we could go!

Originally I wanted it to be a surprise, but I'm never able to keep a secret when I'm really excited so I let Nick guess...and he guessed right.

With a bunch of help, I was able to secure a (non-family member) babysitter and then I bought the tickets! Yay! We got really good seats, for the price I paid and it was so fun to just be out alone together.

We drove to the Max station at PIR and left the car there, then we rode Max down to the Rose Quarter Arena.

In our seats waiting for the show to start. We were sitting next to some really friendly people which made it a lot better. I think the couple sitting next to me were on a first date...it's just the vibe I got.

The view from our seats. We were really far back, but we were right in front of the stage and we really had a great view!

There were lasers and lots of lights and effects and an amazing Christmas program. It was really entertaining. I'm amazed by all the talent! Nick and I both loved it so much!!!

Nick was surprised when we got home to see a bunch of signs all over the house that the kids made and put up for daddy for his birthday! :-) What wonderful kids we have!

It was a great anniversary/birthday and we had a great time! I'm so grateful for these random date nights that we get. :-)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-05T19:07:00.005-07:00

We did Thanksgiving by ourselves this year, and while we missed our families, we really enjoyed having this holiday alone with our own little family. It was so laid back and there was no pressure to have dinner done at a certain time. Being the cook, I especially loved that!

The day started (for me) with a 3 mile walk/jog. Then I prepped the Turkey and got it in the oven. After I basted it the first time I left the turkey in Nick's capable hands so I could shower and then I headed to Winco for a few more last minute items before they closed.

When I woke up I was craving a piece of Pistachio pie...so I got a mix at Winco. I had a teeny tiny piece and then threw the rest away. Lol.

Ashleigh was the biggest helper! I couldn't have done this dinner with out her help. She was right by my side fixing this, and putting together that, and always asking what else she can do. It was awesome!!!

After a while the kids decided to go swimming in their bathtub. They're so funny!

Finally, the turkey was done. I finished up the gravy, mashed potatoes, rolls, etc while I let the turkey rest. And then it was time to EAT!
We don't have an actual dining room so we set up the table in the living room. It was perfect and cozy for our little family. :-)

Nick got this electric knife from his parents a number of years ago, but I don't think we've ever used it because we've always gone to our families houses for the holidays. He was so excited to use it today! :-)

Mmm, the turkey was SO juicy and tender and the skin (Nick said) was really crispy...perfect!

We went around the table and said what we are thankful for and said a prayer full of thanks to our God in Heaven for all of our blessings.

It was a wonderful and perfect Thanksgiving!!! :-)

A cactus, hair, and a side of art

2011-11-30T16:55:00.005-07:00

My strange little man pretending to be a cactus that shoots things out of it's mouth...

Ashleigh let me practice different hair styles on her. She's so cute! Love playing with her hair.

I found a website that teaches drawing. Ashleigh drew this donkey pinata. She didn't like it because she says it looks like a horse/duck. I think it's really good, especially considering she's never drawn a donkey pinata before! :-)

Happy birthday, Ashleigh

2011-11-21T00:06:00.009-07:00

I'm way behind on my blogging...oops.

On November 5th, Ashleigh turned 9 years old. It's a momentous birthday for me because it means she only has 1 more year until she is in double-digits! :-) I need to start planning now for her big 1-0 birthday party!

We took some pictures of her the night before she turned 9. Isn't she cute?!?! I love my Ashleigh so much. She is my constantly sweet and loving child and she is my companion and my friend. I've said for years that she is very much like her aunt Quinn and I love that so much about her! Like Quinn, Ashleigh knows my moods and my habits and she shows me she loves me even when I'm in a bad mood.

Ashleigh is so artistic and crafty and loves doing anything having to do with those things. She is dramatic, but not a drama queen. She has so many expressions and loves to take pictures of herself and the world around her. She is friendly to everyone and will always give someone the benefit of the doubt. I don't even know if she knows how to judge people yet. ;-) She is open and honest and kind and energetic and loving and respectful and happy and wonderful!
Ashleigh is an amazing big sister!!! She loves her little brother so much and is patient with him when he annoys her. She is such a little mom to him and takes such great care of him anytime we need her to help out a little. And Preston worships her and wants to do everything that Ashleigh does. I've told Ashleigh that can be a blessing and a curse...she needs to be mindful of his little eyes watching her as she grows up so she can be a good example to him.
Ashleigh is incredibly smart! She loves school so much. She is an awesome reader and does so well in Math. She's so helpful in school and her teacher just loves having her in class. She's a friend to everyone in her class and knows to stay away from bullies or generally mean kids. She has already decided that she doesn't need those kinds of people in her life, but she'll still be kind to them if they talk to her.
Ashleigh is so obedient and respectful. With new people she comes off as shy/nervous, but with in minutes she's warm and friendly and respectful. She gains more and more confidence daily and I can see her blossoming and coming out of her shell all the time.
Ashleigh is my pride and joy and my rock star. I see so much of myself in her and I see so much of her dad in her. She is the most wonderful daughter in the world and I am SO proud of her and I absolutely love being her mom!!! I feel like the luckiest person in the world that she is my daughter.

Ashleigh and I started a new tradition this year...a date to Starbucks in the morning on her birthday. :-) I asked Vanessa and Liliana to join us too for this first year so it was a mommy-daughter date.

In the early afternoon Bridget came over and we all went to the Kids Club indoor jungle to play. Vanessa, Adam, Liliana, and Korbin came too. We haven't been there since before we moved to Utah and Ashleigh was about 3 so she didn't really remember it, but she and Preston both loved it so much!!! Nick had a lot of fun playing in the jungle too! It was awesome!

Then we went back home and while Ashleigh hid, Bridget and I hid Ashleigh's presents. She looks so cute here patiently waiting for Nick to get back with the pizza so she could find her gifts.

Her gifts...after the party was over I realized that I forgot to hide 2 more gifts so I just gave them to her instead.

A hairbrush from Preston
Crafts

A DVD she wanted

gum balls for her....
gumball machine
more crafts
Scented lotions
Art supplies

Nick hijacked the gift and card from Gma and Gpa Call
Another craft
Gift from gma and gpa call--Barbie from the new Charm School movie
*Love*
I think that's a CD
And another CD
a personal stereo/boom box. :-)
A digital Arts and Crafts Studio. This is an awesome gift! She loves it!!!
She also got a gift card from gma and gpa Ballard-not shown, because she got it and opened it the day before. We have yet to go spend it. She and I need to go on a date to do that soon! :-)

And finally a couple of videos from her birthday. It was really special having Bridget over for the whole day. Ashleigh really appreciated being able to spend the day with her cousin and best-friend.

It was a wonderful day. I love my Ashleigh so much!!! She is such a joy to me and to her whole family and she is truly a blessing to us!

Happy Birthday, Ashleigh! Love you SO much!!! :-)

Then & Now

2011-11-21T00:02:00.002-07:00

My kids with their baby pictures taken when they were born. It's amazing how much they have changed in a blink of an eye and I didn't even notice the changes. I love them more than my own life!

Finley's bday

2011-11-07T16:49:00.002-07:00

My niece Finley turned 2 on Nov 1 and we went over to celebrate with them. Emily served a yummy dinner and then we decorated cupcakes, sang happy birthday, and I gave Finley our gift for her--gumball machine and gum. (she asks me for gum nearly every time she see's me, so I thought it'd be a good gift) Finley is such a doll. I love spending time with her and I'm so glad we are living close to the Mooney's again! :-)

Later that night Preston dressed up with some of daddy's clothes and made this funny face...so I took a picture. :-) Love that boy.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-07T16:36:00.003-07:00

Since Halloween was on a Monday Nick had to work and missed out on all the fun! I took the kids trick or treating by myself which actually turned out to be pretty fun. We drove to the "rich" Felida neighborhood near my parents old house. I figured the kids would get bigger candy bars that way, plus I know the area and trust walking around alone there.

The kids had SO much fun!!! I told Preston that we could only go to the houses that had their outside lights on so as soon as he'd get his candy at one house he would run to the sidewalk and look at the next house and then yell "Lights on, lights on" if we could go there next and he would run up to the door...Ash was having a hard time keeping up with him. It was hilarious!

Ash dressed as Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia, and Preston was a fireman.

As soon as their buckets would get full they'd empty them in to a pillow case that I brought along and they would go get more candy. They ended up filling their buckets 3-4 times. We got a ton of candy.

After 1 hour they were all done and were ready to head home. Here they are with all their candy. :-) I can't believe they got so much! wow.

It was such a fun night. I'm glad that Preston isn't scared to go anymore and I'm glad that Ashleigh has patience with her impatient brother. :-)

Recent

2011-11-07T16:24:00.002-07:00

Nick's buddy Angel came to town for a visit. He's such a great guy! The kids love him and we love having him around. It's been nice having him around and hopefully he'll be moving back to town soon! :-)

Preston made a friend at soccer--Kaleah. She's 5 and simply adorable!!! She has a great imagination like Preston and they play really well together. They are incredibly entertaining.

Ashleigh got a kick to the leg at soccer. It looked worse in person. She was so brave though and didn't cry about it, she just kept on playing her heart out.

At school they hand out these things called "Paws for Praise" when the staff sees a kid being safe, respectful, and/or responsible. One day Ashleigh volunteered to sweep the bark chips during recess and got a paws for praise for it. She'll be recognized at an assembly for it. It became a good teaching moment about doing service for others.

Conference and playground fun

2011-11-03T23:18:00.003-06:00

Ashleigh is in 3rd grade this year and this is the very first time that Nick's been able to come to parent/teacher conference with me. I loved it and I know Ashleigh loved having him there and being able to show him how great she has been doing in school. Not surprising Ashleigh's teacher, Ms. B, was full of praise and appreciation for Ashleigh. She is doing great in every area and is continually improving every day. She is the epitome of the "good student"...she's obedient, a good friend, a good listener, turns in quality work, and is a big helper. Both Nick and I were beaming with pride. We love our Ashleigh so much and feel so lucky to be her parents!!!

After, we let the kids play on the playground for a bit before Nick had to jet off to work. I took some pictures of the kids (and Nick) playing and then a couple of my man and I. oh how I love this man SO much!!! :-)

Tams Visit & Liliana's birthday

2011-10-26T23:34:00.003-06:00

Tamsen, Braeden, Ethan, and Maura came in to town for a visit. They stayed at Emily's so I didn't see them much, but I was so happy to have the time that I did with them.

On Thursday they came to watch Ashleigh's soccer class (Bridget came too) and you could tell Ashleigh was working so much harder trying to impress them. She did really great. After, we went to McDonalds to chat while the kids played in the play land.

On Saturday Emily, Tamsen and the kids came over to our house. We all visited for a bit and the kids played.
I love this picture of Nick and Maura. :-) These nieces all seem to adore their uncle Nick. I love it

On Sunday I took Ashleigh to Liliana's 4th birthday party (my best friend Vanessa's daughter). This was the first of Vanessa's birthday parties I've attended and I have never been so impressed by a party before! It was a fairy party and it was amazing!!!

Ashleigh was turned in to a fairy-getting face makeup, glitter in her hair, wings, and a wand.

My other Mama all dressed up like a Fairy already. She definitely looked the part.

And so did Adam and Vanessa :-) I love all their costumes. :-)

The entire house was transformed--this is the garage. I wish I took better pictures....

the other half of the garage

We got some pictures taken. :-) I love my Ashleigh!!!

And my Nessa :-)

The Birthday girl

The whole Wade family

Korbin, Adam, Liliana, and Vanessa

The food was SO yummy. My favorite were the mini lemon cookies and the broccoli/cheese soup.

The kids all got to do little crafts--decorating fairy (bird) houses--Ashleigh decorated 3 of them!!! And then she made Pixie Dust. She had so much fun and so did I. :-)

We were blocked in at that party, but once there was room we left and headed to Emily's house for dinner with the family. It was SO yummy and it was so much fun. We played oh-heck and visited and the kids played and we just enjoyed each other's company.

Unfortunately we had to say good-bye that night because with work and school I didn't think we'd be able to see them again before they went back to Utah on Tuesday. I'm glad we did because we didn't see them again. It was sad to say good-bye but I'm so glad they came to visit.

Before we left for the night Tamsen took a couple of family pictures. :-) I think they turned out pretty good!

Thanks Tam--love you and miss you already!!

2011-10-16T22:47:00.004-06:00

My wonderful mom-in-law decided to make some cute cute candy corn outfits for her grand kids. The Sayers girls got dresses and the boys got ties. Don't they look SO cute!?!

Preston got an adorable candy corn t-shirt

And Ash got a very pretty candy corn skirt. Both kids love their new clothes and wear them over and over and over. Such a fun idea and thoughtful gift. :-) Thanks, Mama Call!!!

Last night I got to babysit Emily's girls. I love those girls so much! We had fun together and they had fun playing with Ashleigh too. Emily had a big tub of grape tomatoes...I couldn't stop snacking on them. I think I ate about 20 of them....But to make up for it I emptied and loaded her dishwasher, and washed her stove. lol. I figured I had to be somewhat useful since I ate so many of her tomatoes. Mmm they were Good! :-)

When Em got home we watched a video of Ashleigh and Bridget when they were 2 and 3 yrs old in their little pageant and I helped Em fold some of her laundry and we just chit-chatted. It was so nice. Like old times. :-) Love ya Em.

This morning I took the kids to Bizi Farms (Pumpkin patch). It took us forever to find a parking spot and then we got a primo spot. There was literally no line to get our tickets and get inside. We went straight to the face painting. Preston didn't want anything done, so it was just Ashleigh that got some art on her face. :-)

Cute!

Then we saw these duck races--again, no line at all, so the kids played a few times.

Then we headed over to the pumpkin launch--we were able to launch 2 pumpkins each as part of our paid admission...the line was short but after 10 min we hadn't moved an inch and Preston's allergies had started to act up. sigh. So I finally gave up and I called Nick to come and get Preston (Nick stayed home cause his back was hurting really really bad!) and we went out to wait for him. Poor Preston was SO sad to leave and miss out on all the fun. I feel so bad for this kid...he needs to live in a bubble...I remember I was exactly the same way when I was a kid too. Hopefully he'll grow out of it like I did.

After Preston left I was determined to make the rest of the time with Ashleigh fun. we headed to the corn maze first...it was big...and I was retarded and followed the map precisely so we wouldn't get lost, but it was fun and we rescued 2 different groups of people who were lost. Lol.

Then we walked around, got Ash a hot-dog and chips, we both got some hot chocolate and we went to look at the farm animals. Then we got some fresh apple juice--YUM--and some caramel corn.

I let Ash play on the hay pyramid for a bit, which she loved.

And finally she got to ride a pony. Those poor animals looked so tired...they stopped twice during the ride and the workers had to get them moving again. I felt bad for them... Plus...do they ever think that maybe the ponies would want to turn around the go left for a while instead of right all the time? I'm just saying...

There were bees everywhere, and I'm very grateful we didn't get stung at all. We didn't do a few of the other activities simply because the lines were crazy long. We did get our free pumpkins though--the clean ones--at the front store cause we didn't go on the hay ride, and because I was nice to the ladies in there when I asked. ;-) Seriously that's what they said...they only let me get my pumpkins in there because I asked so nicely. That was so nice of them :-) And the best part is my primo parking spot was only 30 ft (+ or -) from the pumpkins so it was easy to transport them. :-) It was a good day. :-)

2011-10-14T18:44:00.003-06:00

Preston with his little group of friends--Devon, Angel, and Seth. As of tonight, Preston is no longer allowed to play with Devon. We've been wanting to keep those two boys apart for a long time, just cause we don't like him, but after events that happened today (which will remain private and our business only) we have just cause to keep them apart. Thank goodness! That kid is SOOO annoying!!!

Preston went to sleep with Ashleigh in the middle of the night...funny how they both sleep...

Another one of Ashleigh's awesome outfits for school.

Driving to work I saw the car that does that Google Maps...see it? You can see the camera on top. I wonder if I was on camera...?

We've got these gardener snakes all over around our house...this one and I crossed paths yesterday. I know they aren't poisonous, but I still don't like them...

I love the fall colors in the trees...this tree is in the parking lot at my work. It's so pretty.

The neighborhood full of friends...L to R--Older Hannah, Corrine (sounds like Krin), Ashleigh, Angel and some older boys...yup, older boys. sigh.

More pics from Nick's phone

2011-10-09T19:38:00.003-06:00

All of these pictures are from Nick. I love that he has special father-son time with Preston every day while I'm at work and Ash is at school. I love my boys.

Fun and activities

2011-10-08T19:19:00.010-06:00

last weekend Nick took Preston to play golf with his buddy Kyler and his son Gage. Its was a sort of father-son double date. :-) They went to Steakburger and golfed 18 holes in the cold. But they didn't seem to mind the weather. Then they went to McDonalds for lunch. They had a fun time and I love that Nick takes time to spend one-on-one with our kids.

Ashleigh got some new boots today. She loves them. Nick sent me this picture with a caption that she looks like a mini-Quinn. I completely agree. :-) They have such similar personalities and character qualities. It makes me happy.

Occasionally my kiddos like to have "sleepovers". This was one of those nights. Aren't they cute?! Preston's bed isn't complete unless he is sleeping with his angry birds though too.

Before bed...these angry birds and pig needed to have shoes for some reason. haha. I love my kids!!!

Preston got in trouble (can't remember why) and had to do nose-and-toes.

After, Preston thought it appropriate to give Nick a wedgie as punishment for making him do nose-and-toes....

But of course, Nick got the last word in and got Preston back with a major wedgie. Lol...boys.

I came home from work to find that Preston set up his Angry Birds and stuff to make a fun war zone. This kid has the most impressive imagination!!!

Another of Preston's wild imaginations: using his helicopter to rescue a yoyo that had gotten stuck to a cup with an easter egg inside that had a yellow angry bird inside it. whew.

Preston and I saw this huge slug on our driveway...it was easily 6" long, but we kept scaring it by touching things to it and it shrunk to about 2-3" and really really fat. Then it started playing with this dandelion we put in front of it...I didn't know a slug could be so entertaining...

Ashleigh loves iCarly (Miranda Cosgrove) Victorious (Victoria Justice), and Wizards of Waverly Place (Selena Gomez). Big steps up, in my opinion, from liking Hannah Montana...

Here Ash is clicking through an album of Miranda Cosgrove doing concert performances.

Ashleigh took over my phone's camera and took a bunch of pics...enjoy! Lol...

Preston taking a picture of me taking a picture of him at Ashleigh's soccer practice.

The kids and I went to run some errands today and we took an impromptu stop at the train station. Ash showed me that she can roll up leaves with her shoes.

love this picture of my awesome son!!!

Love these pictures of my amazing daughter!!!
I'm so happy and feel so blessed!!!

Ashleigh's outfits

2011-10-01T13:48:00.003-06:00

So Ashleigh will always remember the things she wore growing up, I'm going to start posting pictures of her outfits. :-) I always loved looking back at what I wore when I was a kid...I was an '80's kid, so I'm sure you can imagine the clothes!

I just love her no-nonsense sense of style and her carefree attitude. She's not all hung up on what people think of her or how she looks yet and I'm so glad for that. She's being a kid, and to me that's most important!

Gold and white zip-up hoodie from Just Between Friends consignment sale. Blue knit gloves from Walmart. Pink Hello Kitty skirt from walmart. White Capri-length sweats from Kid-to-Kid in Utah. Pink sparkly slip-on tennis shoes from Payless.

And here are some other good ones. :-) I actually really love the yellow and white outfit...

2 wheels

2011-09-30T23:58:00.002-06:00

A couple weeks ago I went on a bike ride with the kids. Ashleigh says "mom, watch Preston ride, he doesn't use his training wheels anymore!"

It was true! he didn't use his training wheels at all except when they would scrape the ground when he'd turn.

Nick and I had been thinking about taking his training wheels off for a number of months, but never really thought it was a good idea.

I told Preston that we was riding on 2-wheels the whole time and he was just as shocked as I was.

Last week before Nick left for work he took the training wheels off.

Preston got on his bike. Nick held the back of the seat to help him, like dad's do when they're teaching their kids to ride 2-wheel bikes...

Preston started to go and immediately said "Dad, let go!"

Nick--"Are you sure?"

Preston--"Yes, let go"

Nick--"Really? you're ok?"

Preston--"YES"

By now, Preston had stopped riding...waiting for his daddy to NOT help. It was so funny...

Nick backed off, Preston got on, and away he went! He rode down our driveway, around the cul-de-sac, and back up again...over and over and over. He was having so much fun and you could see on his face that he felt like he had way more freedom now. We were both beaming. So proud. :-)

Soccer....

2011-09-30T22:48:00.004-06:00

After watching Nick's cousin Jessie and then Ashleigh's cousin Bridget play soccer, Ashleigh decided she was done with gymnastics, so I called Salmon Creek Indoor Soccer and asked about their classes. I actually thought it would be good for both kids, but after seeing how Preston refused to participate for the entire trial class, I decided it wouldn't be worth my money to put him in classes. Ashleigh, however, absolutely loved playing and says she can't wait for Thursday's so she can go play soccer again! :-) here are a few videos...

My kiddos

2011-09-27T22:01:00.005-06:00

Ashleigh loves that she doesn't have to wear a uniform to school anymore. She's definitely pushed the limits on her style choices...sweats with a feminine tutu top, for example. This outfit was one of my more favorite outfits.

2 days after his birthday, Preston finally decided to try his ice cream cake. He ate the ice cream and left the cake.

Nick surprised us all and came home early from work. It was a really really great surprise.

Preston got a sticker and put it on his nipple.....

See... Strange kid.

Preston came running inside from playing and said "mom, I have to tell you something..." then he made this face and just froze. Seriously froze for over a minute. I finally grabbed my camera and took a picture. Then he laughed and ran off to play again. I love this kid!

When I came downstairs to get ready to leave for work and Preston had decided to make a bed on the floor and finish off the bag of circus animal cookies...nice breakfast.

I went over to visit my wonderful BFF Vanessa. Isn't she cute??!?! (blurry phone pic...sorry)

I got a cute pic of me and Liliana (Vanessa's daughter).

I got to watch Bridget, Avery, and Finley. I love how good they play together. I kept a close eye on Finley cause she likes to get in to pretty much everything. Distraction is key with her. I found one of Ashleigh's old lip gloss and Finley and I spent about 30 min playing with it. Amazing. She was SO cute and I really felt like she loved spending time with me. She'd also go over to Nick and say "dude" to get his attention. It was seriously so cute!!!

My adorable Preston posing with his water bottle. Lol. Man, I need to take more pictures of Ashleigh. :-)

I asked Nick if he'd get a couple slices of cheese...he came back with this!

What a wonderful husband I have!! I'm so lucky.

Cheese words. Now THAT is love! :-)

Birthday Boy

2011-09-16T20:17:00.007-06:00

Wednesday, September 14th, was Preston's 5th birthday! :-) My little baby is growing up so fast and I hate it! I want him to stay small forever...so I can carry him and hold him and snuggle him and kiss him. He's my little baby....but he's not as much anymore. He's getting so big and so grown up. dang it.

Anyway, so after I tucked the kids in the night before, I waited a bit to make sure they fell asleep and then I started wrapping Preston's birthday presents. I made this "Happy Birthday Preston" sign. I blew up a bunch of balloons and put them in Preston's room. I also hung up about 20+ freight train picture/posters in his wall in his room as well so when he woke up in the morning he was surrounded by trains and balloons. (which he loved!)

Preston and I took Ashleigh to school then we picked up daddy at home and took him to a doctor appointment.

For lunch Preston got to have McDonalds, which is a rare treat for him. Then we went to Felida Moorage to watch trains. We arrived just as one was zooming by. We only waited about 20 min before another one came by. It was awesome to watch and we even got a flattened penny. :-)

When Ashleigh got home from school she and I hid Preston's gifts and then we let him hunt for them.

His request for gifts this year was Angry Birds and the movie Rio. So, that's what he got, plus some clothes and money from Gma/Gpa Call and Quinn, and a gift card from Gma/Gpa Ballard. (We're planning on taking P to spend his $$ and gift card tomorrow)

:-)

LOVE this boys smile!!!

(his finished train)

We got Ash a craft to do along with Prestons

The gift he wanted most of all!

We also got a pinata...Preston chose the motorcycle. Nick held it for the kids and they both took whacks at it.

We got a mini train ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins...I love that P says his wish out loud! :-)

The night before...

2011-09-16T20:00:00.004-06:00

On Tuesday (sept 13) it was the night before Preston's birthday. Nick was at work so I got the kids ready for bed. We read stories and then we talked a bit about Preston turning 5 the next day. All of the sudden he burst in to tears and said he was so sad. He didn't want to turn 5 and get bigger, he wanted to stay 4 and small forever. It was so sad and sweet. I comforted him for a bit while Ash snapped some pictures and then Preston took a couple of pictures of me and Ash and then some other random pictures. :-) It ended up being a nice/fun night with my amazing kids.

2011-09-08T18:47:00.005-06:00

Preston with a freshly shaved head. :-)

Ashleigh--age 8, Preston--age 4

Ashleigh the night before starting 3rd grade

Last weekend we hung out at Vanessa's house while they had a 3 day yard sale. On the last day Vanessa gave Ash a mani-pedi. Ash chose a blue and yellow pattern on her fingers and ladybugs on her toes. Isn't it gorgeous?!?! and the Jewelry--ring, necklace, and earrings--she bought from a couple of girls down the street who decided to do a little sale stand. $3 for all 3..not bad! :-)

This little froggy has been seen on our yard debris can a bunch of times. I almost stepped on it when it was on the ground. Isn't he cute. :-)

My lovely BFF, Vanessa at her yard sale last weekend.

Vanessa's son, Korbin. It took me a bit of work, but finally he likes me!! :-) I love this little boy. He is all boy and such a little love.

I caught a cute picture of my handsome hubby....

Preston with a LOT of hats on. haha.

Me, Mama, and Vanessa at church.

Nick fell asleep during our movie so I decorated him with my bra! hahaha

Ashleigh did my hair one day a couple weeks ago...I LOVE when she plays with my hair! I think she did a darn good job!

2011-09-08T18:40:00.002-06:00

I love that the Jantzen Beach Carousel is still running. We went during happy hour which just meant that all rides were $1 vs $2 during normal hours...The kids got to ride 4 times. I was dizzy after the first time so I opted to watch from the sidelines with Nick. The kids enjoyed themselves and then we got ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Mmmm

10 years

2011-08-30T23:09:00.006-06:00

It's been 10 years since Christian came in to our lives and changed them forever. I remember that whole time so clearly, and yet its like a dream. Not quite reality.

It was real though. Every minute of it.

It all began around 2am when my contractions started. I think I called my mom first at about 4am who said it was still early in my labor and try to go back to sleep. My midwife, her assistant, and the apprentice came over around 8am along with my mom and Emily. I labored in our bed. I labored on our couch. I labored in the hallway. I even labored on the toilet--facing the back--which was my favorite place to labor. Around 12:30pm while laboring on the toilet, my water broke. Up until that point everything was going great! Heartbeat perfect, blood pressure perfect, baby moving down perfect, etc. all perfect. and then. just like that. the perfection ended. My midwife couldn't find a heartbeat anymore. She searched and searched, but nothing...only the faint sound of my own heart beating.

An ambulance was called to take me to the hospital--which ended up being pointless because the ambulance drove slower than the speed limit. As soon as we arrived an ultrasound was done. I remember seeing the guy take the wand off my belly and shake his head at the doctor--ever so slightly. It was nearly impossible to detect, but I saw it. the confirmation that I didn't want...my baby had died.

Now I'm crying. And contracting. And laboring. And waiting....Finally my body is ready to push. I push and push and nothing happens. I try different positions. nothing. over and over I tried...for 5+ hours. Finally...here HE comes. I didn't know before hand that I was having a son. I was pleasantly surprised. But it is nearly impossible for me to push him out. The doctor informed me after that HE was so tangled up in his umbilical cord that there was only about 4" free from the placenta to him. Each time I pushed I tore a bit of the placenta off, which caused a ton of bleeding and I was given a shot of something in my leg to help stop the bleeding. Basically, when my water broke, it strangled my son and cut off all his oxygen.

Finally my son is in my arms. He looks like a toddler--he's so big! He weighed 9 lbs and was 23" long. He was born at 7:55pm. He had the sweetest features. So soft and angelic looking. His eyes were closed, but I looked to see what color they were. most/all babies have blue eyes when they are born. Christian's were more like a cross between blue and electric purple. I still see that color in my dreams from time to time.

By then my dad and Patrick had arrived at the hospital as well. Shortly after Christian was born Nick's family arrived. When they got the call from Nick at 1pm that there was no heartbeat and we were heading to the hospital, they packed as quickly as they could and piled in to Nick's Supra and drove the 370 miles from Spokane to be with us.

to say that it was an emotional time would be an understatement.

that evening after everyone went home, Nick took a video of Christian and me, and we took a bunch of pictures. I was able to hold on tight to my baby boy and sleep with him in my arms all night. I didn't want to sleep because I knew that my time with him was coming to an end quickly. But eventually exhaustion took over and both Nick and I slept for a few hours.

In the hospital they did a lot of the things that they normally do with new babies...do their hand/foot prints, take their newborn pictures, etc and gratefully they did the same with us. We were also able to dress him in the clothes he would be buried in...a blue onesie/shorts outfit with a bear on the front and a blue knitted hat and little booties and a blanket.

On September 4, 5 days later we had Christians funeral. It was a small graveside service. I don't really remember much of any of it. but I remember how tiny the casket was...and how I wanted to look inside cause I didn't believe my baby was in there. I remember how everyone was crying. I remember not wanting to leave when it was over. I couldn't bear the thought of my son being left there all alone. I had such intense guilt and sadness and depression over it all.

Today, 10 years later, I am still sad on his birthday. I still miss him immensely. On the surface I wish that things had turned out differently, that he had lived, but deep down I don't. The only life I know is the one I have now and how can I possibly wish for something that would be so drastically different. IF Christian had lived, who's to say that Ashleigh or Preston would be here. Every single piece of our lives, down to a single thought or emotion, would have been completely different over these last 10 years.

Everything would be different!

I miss my son...but I absolutely love and adore Ashleigh and Preston. They are my everything, my reasons to get up each morning, my reasons to breathe in and out all day/night long. My reasons to love and laugh, to be happy and sad. They are the reasons I get to call myself a mom.

Christian actually gave me the greatest gifts...the desire to want, need, and have 2 more kids. His brother and sister. My prides and joys.

Those 2 loves of mine went happily and willingly to visit Christians grave today on what would have been his 10th birthday. They helped decorate. They wrote messages on balloons for him. They made a border of pinecones and dandelions around his headstone. We hugged and cried a little. We talked about Christian and about the day he was born. Ashleigh still says she misses him, even though they never met here on earth. I've always believed that they knew each other in Heaven and that they knew Christians visit to Earth would be quick. Preston knows that he had an older brother who died when he was being born.

It was a sad, but good day today. If Christian had lived....everything would be different.

I'm glad it's not different.

I am nothing but grateful to Christian for bring our families closer together. for teaching Nick and I how to lean on each other and to depend on each other and to comfort and love each other. But ultimately, I'm grateful for Christian...because if we didn't lose him, we wouldn't have Ashleigh or Preston.

I love you Christian. Happy birthday.

And Thank you.

Love, Mommy

Pictures of the last week or two...

2011-08-14T22:27:00.008-06:00

Ash took a self portrait yesterday. I think this is a really good picture of her! :-)

Nick sent me some pictures while at work. I've been to see where he works a bunch of times and it still impresses me--all the machines and coils of metal, etc.

Ash loves the cake pops at Starbucks so I decided to see if I could make them...they are time consuming and I think I have a bit of arthritis plus carpal tunnel in my hands/wrists, cause they hurt SO bad by the time I was done. But they tasted really good and I think that's all that mattered. :-)

When I go to the Mooney's, Finley loves to get in my car and sit with the seat belt on. Ashleigh had her little play computer in the car this day, so Finley started playing with it. She's such a cutie!!

Nick and I went to a little party at one of his co-workers house the other weekend. (Thanks to Emily for keeping the kids overnight!) I just had to take some pictures of us together. :-)

Ashleigh is always painting or coloring, etc so we finally gave her a wall in our house to hang her art up. It always brings a smile to my face when I pass by it.

My pictures are out of order here, but you get the idea....

I made a fort for the kids to play in. They wanted to sleep in it, so I moved the fort upstairs and they slept there the whole night. :-)

Me and P-nut. He didn't want to smile for me, so this is what I got. Funny kid. Can't believe he'll be 5 years old in 1 month!!!

Lets play some baseball!

2011-08-13T19:28:00.002-06:00

The Hungry Caterpillar, by Preston Call

2011-08-13T19:19:00.003-06:00

Preston reading The Hungry Caterpillar....he memorized it, he's not really reading the words. :-)

The bottom video is FIRST.

Soccer

2011-07-31T21:43:00.002-06:00

Nick's Cousin Jessie came to Portland from Spokane to do a soccer camp. She is an amazing goalie and one of the teams there picked her up to play with them in some competition games ( I hope I got that right).

We went down to Milwaukee OR on Saturday last week to watch her play. She did awesome!!! They won their game 5-1 (or was it 6-1) Either way, it's pretty impressive!

We got to hang out with Nick's aunt Ami and uncle Dan while we watched Jessie play. Preston actually warmed up to them pretty quickly and just loved Ami once she said she would download Angry Birds for him on her phone.

Nick and Jessie after the game :-)

Jessie bonding with Ash. :-) SO sweet!!!

Preston all tuckered out on the way home.

Lemon, anyone?

2011-07-31T21:42:00.000-06:00

The things I see on the freeway to/from work...hmmm

Trains

2011-07-31T21:21:00.005-06:00

On Friday after work I took the kids to the Amtrak train depot to watch trains. If you didn't know already, Preston is obsessed with trains!!! Ashleigh, thankfully, is a good sport and enjoys going on outings even if they don't pertain to her at all. :-)

I let the kids climb on and play around these tracks for a few minutes before seeing the No Trespassing sign. oops.

The kids waiting for the train to arrive.

Had to check out the inside of the train depot. I love the benches.

On our way out waiting for a train...

On Saturday we decided to go back to see the trains and bring daddy this time! Yay! Before we left Preston and I did a little Mario Kart race...he and I both suck equally so it was a fair race. :-)

The kids all ready to see the trains with their conductor hats on.

We saw 2 trains with in 5 min of being there! :-) Preston loves waving to the conductors.

Daddy educating Preston on the mechanics of a train.

Nick with Ashleigh cuddling before the next train arrived.

Preston waiting anxiously for the next train to arrive
Here it comes, yay! :-)

After the trains we headed over to the new Vancouver Library. They closed the one near Clark College and opened a 5 story library on the West side of the freeway off Mill Plain. One entire floor is dedicated to children/children's books. There is a TON of stuff there for kids to play with and see, etc. It was so much fun and air conditioned--which is always nice. The kids want to go back every day. ha ha. We won't be going daily, but we'll definitely try to make it weekly. We ended the day with milk shakes for the kids and pizzas. It was a great day!

Portland Fountains

2011-07-31T20:50:00.005-06:00

When I was in elementary school I remember going to Portland to see the fountains and being able to play in them. It was a fun field trip. I thought it'd be fun to take the kids. I was going to do it myself while Nick was at work during the week, but he decided he wanted to come with us so we went today! :-)

We drove to the Expo Center and parked and got on Max and rode it the last stop at PSU. Then we did a walking tour with a map I printed off to see a bunch of the fountains. Some were just to look at, but the other ones were where lots of people go and play in them (even though there's a sign saying you're not supposed to...oh-well) Then we rode Max back to our car and came home. It was really a lot of fun and the kids loved playing in the fountains and getting wet. They didn't even mind wearing their wet clothes all the way home! (mental note: bring a towel next time)

On Max

fountain #1

Fountain #2

Fountain #3

Fountain #4...finally one to play in! :-)

Fountain #5

Fountain #6-another one to play in...and boy was it BUSY...so many people "swimming" and laying out, etc..

We also went to the waterfront fountain #7, but neither kid wanted to play in it! strange..I saved that one for last cause I figured they'd want to play there the longest! I didn't get any pictures either...oh-well

Then we walked back the Pioneer Courthouse Square (fountain #8) to wait for our Max train back to our car. FUN day!! :-)

2011-07-31T20:37:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I was really tired so I took a little nap on our couch. I woke up a bit later to itch my arm. And then again woke up to itch my arm. Later I kept waking up to itch my neck--over and over and over again. then finally woke up cause next to my mouth was all itchy. I finally said screw it and I woke up...but my arm, neck and face were itching so bad...I went to the bathroom to see what was going on with my face and I was covered in mosquito bites! Grrr. I had 1 big bite on my left arm, 4 on my neck and 2 on my face. Stupid mosquitoes!! And this is one of the main reasons why I don't go camping!! I was in my house for goodness sake. Sheesh!!!

On the 28th Nick sent me a text letting me know he cut his finger at work and was heading to the hospital. He didn't sound panicked, so I didn't panic but I was definitely concerned since I didn't know the extent of the cut.

He was simply throwing away a piece of scrap metal at work, but it was oily and it slipped out of his hand and somehow cut through his glove and cut open his Left ring finger. It's pretty deep and required 3 stitches. Nick said you could "see the meat" in his finger. gross. I'm SO glad it wasn't worse and so glad that aside from the annoyance of not being able to use his finger, he's doing just fine and will recover fully. He gets his stitches out on Friday.

In Utah, Nick's cousin Lindsey would color my hair. She always did such a great job!! I miss her... but, she gave me advice on buying hair color at Sally's and how to do it. I was stressed out to do it since I haven't done my own hair color in 4 years and there was so much growth since I had it colored last...But I did it...and aside from a little brassiness, I think it turned out pretty good.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

2011-07-26T23:21:00.002-06:00

Preston and his new friend Seth playing Mario Cart Wii. We love this boy...he's a good friend to Preston and he's SO polite and kind. They are a good friend-match. :-)

The kids like pointing out "Wii cars" and one parked next to us so I took a picture of them next to it.

Preston got a Yoda tattoo in his happy meal and had to show it off.

On my drive home from work I was following this truck. I loved the sign/picture on the back. It's a tribute to 9-11.

2011-07-18T20:16:00.001-06:00

Ashleigh

2011-07-12T19:52:00.003-06:00

I've neglected writing about Ashleigh lately. She's so quiet and she's away from home playing so often that I don't have too many opportunities to take pictures of her.

however, I finally snagged her one day. :-)

Here she is doing some fun acrobats on an exercise ball. She was also using the ball to help her stretch farther in her splits. She'd sit on the ball, spread her legs and slide off and land in to a deep split. Pretty impressive.

We also did some hairstyles that I found on Youtube. Ash was a good sport and sat as my model while I practiced them on her. This first one is called a Waterfall Braid.

This one is called "twist back with a messy bun". Ash liked this one the best.

This is the website http://www.cutegirlshairstyles.com/

I'm excited to try out some more! :-)

Random pics...again

2011-07-07T20:30:00.005-06:00

Picture of me and Preston while we watched Ashleigh do gymnastics.

The kids in line to get water from the fridge before bed.

Preston has a new trick...

Nick was showing the kids something on the computer. I think it was Angry Birds. Love Finley's smile. (cell phone pic...yup, my phone sucks!)

Yesterday the kids and I went to Burnt Bridge Creek Trail and went for a walk. It was SO hot outside, but this trail is completely covered with big tall trees. It was easily 15 degrees cooler on the trail. The trail is marked at every 1/4 mile which made it fun for the kids to look for the next marker. We probably would have walked farther, but the kids both wore flip-flops....and there were mosquitoes everywhere!!! We all got bit...a lot! but it was fun regardless.

As we were getting ready to leave we heard a train go by which made Preston freak out to go see it. So after getting some directional help from my mom, we made it to the Felida Moorage where there's a nice spot to park and wait for trains to come by. We only waited about 20 min before a train came. It was a short train and it was loud, but the conductor waved to us and it was really cool to be so close to a train. I remember fondly hitching rides on trains in Vancouver and riding them up to Woodland and having my friends come pick me up. Good times.

The happenings lately

2011-07-07T15:35:00.006-06:00

Quinn came to visit us a couple weekends ago. It was so great to see her and spend time with her. She was a huge help to us especially on Friday when we had a little medical scare with Preston, and she watched the kids since I had to work at the same time as Nick and then later let me go grocery shopping all alone and watched the kids even longer. She and I had some great heart to heart conversations and she completely doted all of her attention on the kids and let them play games on her new phone. They loved all the attention. Ashleigh, especially was so sad when Quinn went home...it was so sweet and so sad.

Ashleigh doing Quinn's hair for her. :-)

Later Quinn put some make up on Ash. Look at her long eye lashes. I never realized they were so long.

Nick got a new front license plate. It's a black "Don't tread on Me" emblem. Looks pretty good! :-)

We've been telling Ash for a few months that we would get her a new bike. We kept putting it off, but finally her old bike's chain broke and she couldn't ride it anymore so off we went to Toys R us to get her a new bike. I had $15 in gift cards, yay, which helped with the cost of the bigger bikes. While we were there we was Irene from the latest Biggest Loser (she was in the final 3). I was a chicken and didn't ask her for a picture or autograph...but we did follow her for a few minutes in our cars since we both left the store at the same time. ;-)

Ash took the following pictures

We celebrated Independence day on Sunday rather than Monday with our neighbors who were having a big bbq party. The neighbors and I had to work early on Tuesday morning so we didn't see the point in staying up late Monday night doing fireworks only to get up early on Tuesday. It worked out really well and we had a lot of fun!

Nick made a little stand for our fireworks. It worked really well, but then the neighbors and Nick decided to put their big fireworks together so it would be a bigger display for us all to enjoy.

The kids really enjoyed themselves. It was fun watching them light their little fireworks and then run really fast away. Preston especially was hilarious to watch!

This one was Preston's firework...it looked like a silver mushroom but it had the best display and lasted so much longer than other ones that we bought. I think we all liked that one the most.

On the 4th we were busy doing all sorts of random things around the house and Ashleigh asked for cinnamon rolls so she and I set out to make some. She was a big help and only 5 hours later they were done. ya know...since we have to wait for the dough to rise, twice. lol...

On Tuesday we got to watch Bridget and Finley for a few hours. Finley always keeps me on my toes and just makes me smile so much. Ashleigh and Bridget played so well together and they had fun like always. It's always a joy to watch them.

Many posts in 1

2011-06-26T23:27:00.003-06:00

Did I post this pic? Can't remember....

Preston loves playing with Dominoes and making "houses" with them. Here's his latest creation.

Emily watched my kiddos for me while I went to a job interview. When I got back to get them we were invited to join Em and her girls to go feed the ducks. There were a bunch of them!! It was so cute watching the kids throw bread to the ducks (and Preston thinking it's funny to chase them). We didn't stay too long, but we really enjoyed ourselves.

Ash had a good workout at gymnastics and had a really red face when she was done. She was so tired! :-) She LOVED it!!!

Here's where I work....it's called MotoSport and I work in Tualatin, OR. It's a long drive, which isn't good for the fuel/gas prices, but I actually enjoy the drive and I LOVE my job so far. I'm a Purchasing Assistant. It's a pretty complex job--hard to explain--but I caught on quickly and I really like my co workers and the environment and I like the job itself. I'm really happy there!

Thought it was funny that the toilet seat was UP in the women's bathroom....odd...

My desk. I haven't decorated yet and I'm still getting used to the layout, but I pretty much stare at my computer the ENTIRE time so I'm not sure I really need to get it decorated...we'll see.

Behind me sits Misty...my coworker(?)...my boss(?)....not really sure. My BOSS is Ian...so not really sure what Misty is to me... I'm taking over a lot of her work, so maybe I'm her assistant. huh...ya, that makes sense.

She's very nice, VERY quiet, and very focused on her work. It's been good working with her so far. (I love her chair)

The break room is really big...there's a ping-pong table, a BIG sectional sofa, 3 big screen tv's outfitted with dirt bike/atv video games, vending machines, fridge, etc. It's a nice place to take breaks.

On my way home from work one day I sat in traffic for a bit cause there was a car fire on the freeway. This was the only picture I could get of it...probably shouldn't have been taking pictures in traffic...oh well!

I've seen the tall thing on the right as I drive to and from work and kept wondering what it was exactly...on this day I actually saw a gondola carrying people from the West to the East....I wonder if the people who work on the big hill use this to get to their cars on the other side of the freeway, or what. It was cool to see.

Preston had some pretty bad allergies on Thursday. Allergy meds weren't helping at all so I thought maybe it was actually a cold or the start of a flu. Before he went to bed I gave him some cold medicine and put some Vicks on his chest. Friday morning Ashleigh woke me up and told me that Preston was having a hard time breathing. I hopped out of bed and saw Quinn carrying Preston to us and he was so limp. He was coughing like a seal (Croup) and was really really struggling to breathe. Poor Quinn was so freaked out!!! We got P set up doing his Albuterol breathing treatments. With in a few minutes he was doing a bit better. Once he did his breathing, I took him to urgent care. There was basically no sign by then that he had been having trouble breathing. Turns out he had an ear infection (either just starting or starting to go away...wasn't too bad) and he has bronchiolitis. We got some meds and were on our way. The medicine we got lowers his ability to fight off other illnesses so we have been keeping him away from other people until that medicine is all gone. He's doing TONS better now and his allergies seem to have lessened as well. We're very grateful!!!

Father's Day

2011-06-21T16:48:00.008-06:00

I'm happy to finally have a father's day to write about! :-) I'm usually pretty lame when it comes to gifts or fun things for Nick on father's day, but this year I think the kids and I did pretty good!

I got the idea to set up a scavenger hunt with gifts scattered along the way for him to find. It was a lot of fun figuring out the clues and where to hide them and what gifts to get/give him. Bridget was spending the night with Ashleigh Friday night so I took her along with us to get the gifts and to write up the scavenger hunt clues. She and Ashleigh were big helpers. We didn't include Preston in the process since I figured he'd spill the beans and tell Nick.

Sunday morning started with Ashleigh setting up her sign that she made. She set it out so he'd see it as he came down the stairs in the morning.

I took off to get a last minute gift for Nick and when I got home we kicked Nick out of the house so we could set up the scavenger hunt clues.

Then the kids were on daddy-look out duty to let me know when he was almost home.

Here he comes....

Preston gave Nick the first clue in our driveway.

He had a hard time figuring it out. Lol. I thought I made really easy clues, so I'm glad it was somewhat hard for him.

Finally he figured out the clue was on our satellite dish....

The next clue-and first gift (swedish fish) was found in our room

Then he headed outside again and found the next clue on our red patio chair.

He had a hard time figuring out this clue too....

He then headed inside to look thru our movies. (his clue gave him a line from one of his favorite movies, so he had to figure out which movie it was)

Then he got his next clue off the cheese in our fridge...he eats a LOT of Tillamook Cheddar cheese every day. He figured out that clue pretty quickly.
That clue then took him out to his garage and to his golf clubs where he found another clue and a gift.

He then stayed in the garage to find something that didn't belong in there (a little case belonging to Ashleigh). Inside was his final clue to find his final gift

He found his last gift under an extra piece of carpet we have in our dining room (why people carpet dining rooms, I'll never know!!!)

Then he sat and opened his gifts.... swedish fish....

A receipt letting him know that I purchased a subscription to Glenn Beck TV for him.

A gift certificate for a day of golf any time he chooses and only has to give me 1 hr notice. I wanted to get him an actual gift card, but I don't know where he golfs at, so this was the best I could do. He laughed at my drawing! ;-)

And then a book--Glenn Becks The Original Argument. It's about the constitution.

The we gave him the cards....him with Ash

Card from Preston

My card, I didn't get a picture of him opening.

My errand in the morning was to get him one of his favorite lunches--Oriental Chicken Salad from Applebees. yum!

Here's all the clue's

Nick and the kids with his gifts and clues

Then we took a few family pics. I have no make up on! :-( oh-well!!!

Love this picture of Nick with the kids!

Preston wanted to take a picture so he took one of nick and Ash

Then I took one of Nick and Preston. My strong guys!!!
It was a fun father's day and I think Nick really enjoyed it!!!

We took the kids on a bike ride to the park later and we all played some UNO and Wahoo as a family too.

I feel so blessed to not only have my own wonderful dad, leading and guiding me through out my life, who loves me no matter what and who I know is always someone I can call if I need anything, and who I love and respect and admire more than anything....I love you, Daddy!!!

but I also have my kids' dad...my husband.

Nick is such a great dad. He shows love to the kids every day and is always willing to teach them new things, cuddle with them when they need some extra attention, and just be there for them when they need him. He is my rock and the one I lean on when I feel like I am losing it. He is my everything and the one I hold nearest and dearest to my heart! He is my best friend and I love him with all my heart and soul! I'm SO glad he is my kids' dad. Xoxo. love you honey!!!

A card path

2011-06-12T20:24:00.004-06:00

The other day Nick and I woke up to find that the kids had definitely kept themselves busy while we slept in. They got ALL of the playing cards that we own and made paths all over the house with them! It was so funny and pretty inventive, if you ask me. I'm glad they still use their imaginations and don't need us to "entertain them" anymore! :-) (Please excuse my very messy house!!!)

there's a squirrel on the patio

2011-06-12T20:20:00.003-06:00

Kind of hard to see him in the bottom picture...but there was a squirrel on our back patio and there was no one around to see him, so I took a couple pictures of him. so cute...wish I had had some nuts or seeds for him.

Gymnastics

2011-06-12T20:02:00.005-06:00

About a month ago I signed up for Groupon.com. It's a cool site that sends you daily deals targeted to where you live and what your likes/dislikes are, etc. A couple days in to it, I got a deal for gymnastics--6 weeks for $29 at VEGA (Vancouver Elite Gymnastics Academy). My friend, Amanda (Stevens) Hadley is a coach there and I was really excited when I figured out that she would be coaching Ashleigh. (oh ya, the groupon was for Ashleigh, not me! lol.) Ash was SO excited to get back in to gymnastics again! She goes every Tuesday for 1 hr.

Last Saturday they had a "Parade of Planets" event. The classes are called--Earth, Mars, Sun, Jupiter, etc... All the kids in these classes came to this event. They did a warm up and then the kids could take their parents around and demonstrate the elements that they have been working on. It was really cute to see her show off, even tho I see her do these things every week, it was nice to be on the floor with her and give her my undivided attention and praise. After, all the kids got a little certificate and ribbon. Ashleigh was so proud of herself and so was I.

(Ash is in the red/white leotard with her back to us. )

Ashleigh--age 8 (2011)

Man, how she's changed! :-)

Ashleigh--age 4 1/2 (2007)

Memorial day

2011-05-31T14:30:00.005-06:00

It was SO nice to have a 3 day weekend with Nick. I love that he actually gets holidays off again! Saturday was spent getting our house completely cleaned inside and out. Then that night we had the Hadley family over for dinner. I made a pasta dish and Amanda brought a salad and we had ice cream for dessert. We had a great time visiting and letting the kids play. They all got along really well, which was nice! It was a fun and relaxing evening.

Sunday was a lazy day for us. Movies and playing with the kids. Then we went on a family bike ride to the park and played with the kids on the play ground.

On Monday we headed out to the cemeteries to put flowers on the graves. We went to Christian's first, then to my Great Grandparents Webb, and finally to my Great Grandparents Eraut. We also drove past my Great Gma Eraut's old house. I loved that house...it has so much charm and is a perfect Portland house. There was a lady on the porch so I had to sneak the picture...that's why it's crooked. The kids were both really good at each stop and they helped a ton with cleaning off the headstones and putting out the flowers on each one.

Christian's
Before we cleaned it

After

Webb Great Grandparents
-Before-

After

Eraut Great Grandparents
-Before-
(theirs was already pretty clean)

After

Great Gma Eraut's old house

A few things...

2011-05-29T16:18:00.002-06:00

The problems with not posting in a while...I forget what I've posted about already.

At the risk of repeating myself, here is some pictures that I may or may not have already shown you.

We decided to have Nick cut Preston's hair at home. Preston prefers it buzzed and so do we.

Before

During

After. :-) so cute!

Thanks to Groupon.com, we signed Ash up for 6 weeks of Gymnastics at VEGA (Vancouver Elite Gymnastics Academy) for only $29! :-) She LOVES it and I love being able to watch her. And, my old friend, Amanda, is her coach which is great too!

I'd been promising Preston since we moved here that we would take a ride on Max. Last Sunday with Nick home we all went on Max. We rode from Jantzen beach area down to Pioneer Courthouse Square. We got out and walked around a bit. There's always something happening in Portland. First we saw a couple of people with "Amazing Race" cards and a few minutes later we saw some people running up to them. It looked like it could be an audition for the show or something. I went up and asked them what was going on. They actually did a fund raiser at their kids' school and this was one of the prizes...so it was parents doing a mock game of The Amazing Race. It looked pretty cool.

Sitting on the fountain area at Pioneer Square

And of course, can't be in Portland long before seeing some Cops. lol....Why can't people just stay out of trouble! ;-)

That Same night when we got home, we got the kids to bed and then Nick and I started to watch some of our DVR'd shows. I glanced out our back door and saw a raccoon on our back patio. They are SO cute!! There ended up being 2 of them and we watched them for quite a while. They were eating the slugs in our yard...a lot of them...We haven't seen the Racoons since, thankfully.

Healthy dinners

2011-05-29T16:00:00.002-06:00

I've been eating a lot healthier lately and here are a couple meals I've made.

This one is from Bob Harper (trainer on The Biggest Loser) It's roasted corn on the cob, then I cut the corn off the cob, diced up a tomato, added salt, pepper, onion powder and a bit of Olive Oil. I also added Balsamic vinegar (which I wouldn't add again). You're supposed to add fresh basil too, but I didn't have any. It was really good!

This one is a recipe I stole from a fellow blogger... On the left is just cut up Cauliflower. On the right is baked chicken, then topped with diced tomatoes and goat cheese. I cooked the chicken on the stove top in a little olive oil spray. then I topped it with the tomatoes and goat cheese and put it in the oven at 350 for 10 min..or until the chicken is completely cooked thru. It was SO yummy!!! This one also calls for fresh basil, but I didn't have any...still good. :-)
Do you have any healthy recipe's you want to share with me? :-)