Preschool!

Audrey and Dustin had their first day of preschool today! Audrey is in a 3-year-old class, and Dustin is in a 4-5 year-old class. They both go on the same days at the same time, which is going to be SO GREAT this year. I really love Norkenzie, it's a Christian preschool and it has such a great group of teacher's and Mom's. Dustin has already made some new friends, and I have made some new mommy friends, which is super exciting for me (I can't live without my friends!) We debated about whether or not we should put Audrey in this year because it is so expensive to have 2 kids in preschool, but she has been so excited, and was so happy to walk into her classroom with her backpack, I was instantly grateful we decided to put her in. And she LOVES her teacher. I checked on them both a couple of times before I left (mostly because I was feeling emotional, they were just fine) and Audrey was sitting at her table doing a craft, a big smile on her face, and she said, "Umm, mine teacher? Could I pwees have dat red fing over der?" It made me happy to know she remembered her manners and was completely in her element. Dustin just bounced around with his guy friends and knew the drill. I hope this year is fun for him because he hates the craft part of school, and pretty much anything that involves sitting still. But he's getting better, and he has some good buddies to get him through.

I was so happy and looking forward to having a short break, I thought for sure I'd drop them off and say, "Well, see ya!! They're all yours now!" But I surprised myself and got a little emotional at leaving them. I was thinking and worrying that these cute moments will all be over soon, and they're getting so big, yada, yada, yada. But, I got over it once I got home and was able to clean my house in total peace. Well, somewhat total peace. We just got a 9-month-old foster baby to add to the mix, but he is so great (so far). He's super cute and I've almost instantly fallen in love with him. Once again, we don't know how long we'll have him, but I would definitely consider keeping this guy long term. This is Andrew.

(Please ignore the gigantor thighs, and partial cleavage, I don't know what Tim was thinking!)

Camping on the Umpqua

We went camping over Labor Day with my Dad and Robin and it was great! We finally are self-sufficient campers! We got a new tent at the beginning of summer, a camping grill, and enough sleeping bags and mattresses for everyone. I didn't camp much growing up, other than a brief stint when we owned a motor home, so it's been fun to take our little family. Dustin and Audrey ran around all day long, took rides on the pontoon boats, and did plenty of fishing. I think it is so great for all of us to get away from TV and the internet and spend some time in the outdoors. Tim and I got to take the pontoon boats down the river together and it was really fun and so nice to spend some time together. We've both been really busy lately and haven't been on a date in quite a while. The only problem was that I hooked my dad's boat and put a hole in it! Oh man, I felt so bad. Tim and I are terrible at fishing. That's my only excuse. Although, Tim did catch a fish this time. Using my technique. I just bobbed my lure in the rocks where the fish were hanging out. Tim made fun of me and told me it would never work...and then he caught the fish. Where's the justice in that?? Thanks to Robin for inviting us and feeding us the best steak ever!

Happy Birthday Audrey Girl!!

My youngest is 3. Officially a kid. I've been feeling emotional lately about my kids growing up. I kinda miss having babies around. It's amazing how fast it all goes by. But this year is going to be great. They are both going to be in preschool at the same time which is going to be SO WONDERFUL! Tuesday and Thursdays are going to be the best days ever!!!

Anyway, back to Peanuts birthday. She of course, wanted a princess party, and she had her first themed party with friends. I had planned to have an outside party, but guess what happened in wonderful Oregon in August, on the morning of her party? It rained. And was like 50 something degrees out. I swear I'm cursed. Everyone was posting how wonderful it is to have cooler weather and I'm ready to hibernate for the next 9 months. So, I had to move everything inside to my tiny little kitchen and living room. We were squished, but it was ok. We made tiara's, played pin Cinderella in her castle, and had an indoor princess tea party on my living room floor. (Hey, I had to improvise!) The girls were cute and had fun with the tea party set. Tim has been out of town for work, so I was on party duty alone, but thankfully some of the mom's stayed and helped me out.

Our family party was fun too. We went to the state fair in Salem and had a barbeque with Tim's work and let the kids wander around. It was kinda fun. Kinda white trash, but this fair had a lot more than the one in Eugene. Animals, free fishing, free rock climbing, and a dinosaur exhibit! We came home and had cake and ice cream and Tim tried to make a princess cake that ended up horribly mangled. It was so funny! I tried to salvage it as best I could, but it ended up looking like it had been hit by a truck. We bought one for her party with friends thankfully! Anway, happy birthday to my little girl. You are so special and we love you.

I'm Not Ready!!!

I can see the leaves are starting to lose their lush hunter green color and fading to brown. The weather is cooling rather rapidly, which can only mean one thing...summer is coming to an end. But I'm not ready!!! I feel like the only time I saw the sun this year was while I was in St. George! It has been a rather cool and cloudy summer in Eugene and I am not ready for rain!!!

We have, however, had some fun. Dustin took swimming lessons, which was great. He got to be in the same class as his friend Jessica and they were so cute together. During our many outdoor adventures, Dustin also caught his first fish, a trout, and it was the biggest one of the day. He was super excited and proud. He loves fishing, and camping. A future boy scout. He also loves hearing stories about when Tim and I were little and asks every night, "Will you tell me a story about when you was little?"

Audrey is about to turn 3 and is still the cutest little diva around. When I was away at girls camp, Tim had to get her dressed in the morning...I heard it went something like this,

"Daaaad, dis shwirt is not matching dis skirt," in a almost crying voice.

"Well, Audrey, I don't know what matches what, they both look pink to me, if you want a different shirt, you'll have to find it."

"O.kay Dad-dy," Audrey says in a tone that could pass for a 13 year old. And she digs in her dresser till she finds the shirt that really does go with that particular skirt.

"Here it is!"

Tim stands in wonder and says, "Aren't you supposed to be 2?" Audrey laughs.

Tim also tried to do her hair, but she screamed the whole time because he put in purple hair tyes instead of pink ones to match her outfit. Tim says she cried the whole way to the babysitters house, and then asked the babysitter to take them out. Can you believe that?? That girl knows her mind. I was so proud of Tim for trying though. What dad puts pig tails in his daughters hair at 7:00 in the morning?!? He did great, I wasn't worried about the kids at all.

We've had some foster kids in and out of the house. We have a little 2 year old girl right now who is a cutie. We're not sure how long she'll be here, but it's been easy having another one around for Audrey to play with. They're only 3 months apart and they've been great together.

Tim is back in school and has more work training the next couple of months and also has an interview for a promotion this week! So please send your prayers our way!

Back From Mommy Heaven...

I went to mommy heaven for a few weeks and it was so wonderful. In mommy heaven, I didn't have to cook, clean, or do yard work. My kids were entertained 24/7 by someone other than me, and I went shopping and went out to lunch or a movie whenever I wanted. I even had a girls weekend in Vegas with out my kids. Sound good? Well, all you need are the best in-laws in the world with a swimming pool, gigantic play room, a bazillion toys, daycare kids to play with, and great weather. Staying with them has been an absolute dream, and when I woke up, I was cramped inside my tiny house, cooking in my kitchen with 2 drawers, (literally) scrubbing my toilets, trimming my trees and staring at the cloudy sky whilst nearly being windblown into my neighbors yard while refereeing my kids. All. Day. Long. What a welcome! My brain couldn't even compute what happened. It said, "Wait a minute...2 days ago you were sunbathing poolside sippin a diet coke...and now...what the heck happened!?!" That's how I knew I went to mommy heaven. I came back to real life ;)

So many fun things happened in St. George I couldn't possibly write them all, but the most exciting, is that Dustin and Audrey learned how to swim! Dustin can now swim all by himself without floaties or anything! He loves to dive and pick up toys off the bottom of the pool and can swim the whole length of the pool. I was so proud of him and it made me feel so much better about being around the water with an active guy like him. Audrey had always been terrified of the water and has never ventured off the top step, but no more! Now she swims all over the place with her floaties on and isn't even afraid of the deep end! I wish I could take even an inkling of credit for all this, but it was really their Poppa who taught them and worked with them (I was sunbathing drinking diet coke, remember?).

Of course we had 4th of July festivities and we took the kids to the little carnival downtown and they had fun on all the kiddie rides that cost roughly four thousand dollars a ride. (Not kidding) (OK, I am kidding, but it was expensive for a "train" ride that was really a tractor pulling buckets) But the kids had fun, and we got to watch the fireworks from a far enough distance suitable for Dustin. He hates fireworks right now. He says they're too loud, and he's afraid they're going to explode on him. Is this a normal phase? I dunno. Anyway, we had fun. And we got to tour one of the oldest working chapels in the church. It was so neat inside, and it was built as an upsidown ship, without any nails or anything. It's over in Pine Valley, and I guess there's a replica in Salt Lake. Just thought I'd throw that in there so you guys don't think I was completely frivolous.

The only good thing about being back, is that we missed so many of you! But please call us, because I'm really tempted to go back to mommy heaven till my kids are 30.

Anyone Want to Buy Our House?!?!

Go to rmls.com and type in MLS#10048785 Pleeeeease help us sell our house!!!

Rain, Diets, and Fishing...

Ever since we got back from Florida it has done nothing but rain here in beautiful Oregon, so I booked another flight to sunny Las Vegas and will be staying with my mom and then with my in-laws in a place where I can actually go outside without a sweater. And I was so depressed about the rain, that I didn't even book a flight back home!!! Only because there weren't any good deals at the time though, plus we're going to be traveling a lot and I wasn't sure what airport we would be flying out from. Anybody looking for a cheap flight from Eugene, Medford, or Bend should go to allegiantair.com They have super cheap flights, but you have to know how to navigate their web page a little. Like, you don't have to pay for your seats if you click a little tiny button, and you are automatically charged for a shuttle that you have to zero out of. But other than that, you can fly to Vegas and back for less than $100 bucks a ticket. It's been so wonderful to be able to see our family for a reasonable price. It's been kinda funny when Tim tells people we're leaving though it goes something like this...
"Hey! Jen and the kids are going out of town so I'm planning a game night while she's gone."
"Really! Sweet! When is she coming back?"
"I dunno, she booked a one way flight..."
With an immediate and concerned look, "Oh....well....um....is everything...y'know...ok with you guys?"
Guys are so funny. We love our friends. I'm a little concerned that they think a one-way flight means something so dramatic though...don't we seem happy???

Anyway, Dustin's first year of preschool is over, only one more left till kindergarten!!! I'm glad we have another year of preschool because I will prolly freak out a little when I have to take him to big kid school. I've been so thankful for preschool though because it has guaranteed me a workout slot twice a week, but it's all over now. I got so desperate to lose weight that I finally gave in to an actual diet because losing weight has become impossible with just working out (another sign that I am losing all mercy of my youth and will be doing nothing but aging for the rest of my life). Tim decided to do it with me and I'm so thankful he did because it would have been impossible for me to do it without his support. But here's the totally unfair part. The first week, I lost 5lbs. Tim lost 12lbs. Twelve pounds!!!! We made it 8 days before we cheated, but we're still both trying together to lose weight. It's made me recognize some of my eating patterns and forced me to cook more healthy meals. Hopefully I can get back down to where I'd like to be...wish me luck!! Weight loss SUCKS.

We stayed at my dad's for memorial weekend and spent most the time fishing. The kids loved it. Dustin has been asking to go fishing for a long time and he stayed on the dock for 4 hours just casting his Spiderman pole. Audrey had a little princess pole she was happy with. I've never really liked fishing, but it was fun to watch the kids. No one caught anything but my dad, and I cleaned and gutted my first fish. I chopped it's head off and everything, and we cooked those little guys for dinner. A whole new experience for me!

Well, Oregon, we will be back when you decide to clean up your act and make this place a little less depressing.

Sincerely,
Jen

Our vacation to Disney....

WORLD. HA! It was not Disneyland this time. We flew across the entire country to satisfy our Disney addiction. I know, right! But we got a great deal for everything and kissed our tax return goodbye. Here are some of my favorite memories from our trip.

One of the best parts, was that these guys surprised us when we got off our first ride! Jake and Jen made us all believe they couldn't go, and as they came up to us I started screaming and jumping up and down (I can't deny it, they have it on tape). It was so great to hang out with them and made vacation that much better!

Our hotel. We stayed on the resort at Pop Century which has themed areas of pop culture throughout the decades. We stayed in the 80's buildings, and they had pac men all over the place, our pool was shaped like a computer (the kids are running across the keyboard) and they had all kinds of huge structures of movies and stuff from the 80's. It was so neat!


Kilimonjaro safari at Animal Kingdom. We saw so many animals right up close! Giraffes, elephants, lions, hippos, rhinos. You name it, Disney has it. It was like a 20 minute ride through a zoo. The kids also had so much fun at a playground called the Boneyard, which had billions of slides and tunnels and dinosaur bones.

Hollywood Studios was so fun for Audrey and I because we loooove all the shows, but Dustin was sick that day (he puked at the bus stop), so we came back early. But we still had fun, and Audrey told me after watching the Beauty and the Beast musical that, "When I grower bigger, I'm going to dance like Belle." (Dustin took this picture for Audrey)

Princess lunch at Akershus in Epcot. This was by far the best part of the trip. Amazing food, great service, an all you can eat buffet, and a professional portriat given to you at the end of the meal. Princesses came to our table throughout the meal and visited and took pictures with the kids. And I mean ALL the princesses. Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, the works. This was mostly for Audrey, who was shy and wouldn't smile for the camera, but was beaming the minute the princess left and we put down the camera (I've just come to accept that my kids will never both be smiling in a picture). But Dustin loved it too! He thought it was great that chicks came to our table and gave him hugs and kisses on the cheek (such a guy)!


We spent most of our time at Magic Kingdom and all the rides there were so fun with the kids. Dustin got wet on Splash Mountain, and he was mad. He said something like, "I'm just frustrated cause now I'm wet, and I will never ever have this ride again." Sooo funny. And then he was even madder because I was laughing. But he LOVED Big Thunder Mountain, and would have ridden that all day had we let him. Audrey was easy to please and loved pretty much everything she could go on, and she got to go on her first roller coaster ride in toon town. She laughed the whole time. She wasn't scared at all, and it was so cute to watch her laugh.
Soarin and Test Track at Epcot. Dustin's 2 favorite rides. Audrey loved the Nemo ride, and her and I had so much fun wandering around the different tanks and seeing the animals. We watched the most amazing fireworks show, (except for Tim and Dustin because Dustin was deathly afraid of fireworks this time) and rode Spaceship Earth (the giant ball) about 3,236 times because the kids wanted to go on it over and over! I think we need a cruise next. Sigh, I wish I could live on vacation.

Cabin Fever

Let's see...I've had sick kids for a while, which has kept me home bound. I go kinda crazy when I can't go anywhere and the kids are sick and whiny. I pretty much stare at the clock all day and the second Tim walks in the door it's, "Can I please go to the gym. Right. Now?" Poor guy. No, "Hi honey, how was your day?" And the house is spotless and dinner is made. All the opposite, I'm afraid. I assume that whatever happened in his day could not be nearly as bad as taking care of sick kids and can't wait to show him what he missed all day by running out the door. Am I terrible, or what!?!? I should be so grateful that it's me who comforts and holds my kids while they're hurting and be glad for the down time we get to spend at home when someone is sick. Instead, if Tim so much as whispers a complaint about work, it's, "Oh yeah...you wanna know what happened in this house!!" Followed by the many messes and craziness that went on that day. At least I recognize it's unfair, right? And it's not like I'm like this ALL the time. I just make it really apparent when the kids are sick. But seriously, just between you and me, is there any job out there more difficult, more exhausting, more my-head-might-explode-if-I-have-to-keep-my-patience-one-more-second, than motherhood??? I can't even count how many battles I have lost to a 4-yr-old and a 2-yr-old. And I have upwards of 20 years on them!!! On the opposite end though, the amount of times they have made me laugh, made me proud, or that I have felt their love far surpasses anything I vent about. And I guess the daddy's are allowed to complain too. Sometimes ;)