Monday, March 30, 2009

Our Little Tadpole

Gavin had his first parent & me swim lesson today, thanks to Grandma Trina. He's been in the pool many times before and jumped right in after Chad. He fearlessly went down the water slide, tipped his ears in the water and jumped into Chad's waiting arms. Kyla and I cheered for our boys from the bleachers and stayed nice and dry:)

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Just another day...

Well, we've started another house project. The rain has stopped us from finishing up painting on the outside of the house so we might as well do something inside:) When we moved into the house 6 years ago, we were coming from our tiny little sailboat therefor our list of wants/needs was very short and not very discriminating. Huh, closets sure would have been a good thing to look for, you know closets that actually work. We have made due for many years and now it's time to make our storage situation a little better. Chad starting tearing apart the inside the the TV/playroom closet on Thursday evening.














We are starting to learn as we do these projects...you never know what the situation will be inside the walls. It's much easier to patch up the inside of the closet than to fix the finished wall. Yeah for experience:) We purchased the necessary wood, doors and some metal thingys that Chad says are important and we are ready to go:)

Chad took a break and played with the kiddos. The pics are a bit on the blurry side but still good:)

Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

I love this skirt! I have no patience to make it but wouldn't it be super cute on Kyla:)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Ta Da! Book Sling

I found this great new idea on a blogger website while I was just looking around. I've been meaning to come up with something for the kids room for all their books. At night they love to look at books before they fall asleep and then they end up sleeping ON their books. Well, no more! I spent a couple of hours and $31 and made these amazing book slings. Kyla's matches her brown horse blanket from G. Trina and Gavin's flows with his tractor theme. It was a simple project and I love the end result, less clutter and more organization! Here is the website for the pattern and directions: www.ohdeedoh.com. Now I'm thinking b-day or christmas presents for other kiddos:)

Monday, March 23, 2009

Stop, Drop, and Roll

Last evening, we decided to have a fire drill. I remember having these as a kid, we had a blast. None of my friends got to climb out a second story window down a rope/wood ladder with their family:) Kyla had watched a Franklin video dealing with the subject and we realized it was well past time for us to as well. We all tromped upstairs and tossed the fire escape ladder out the bathroom window, praying it wouldn't break the office window below.


Kyla practiced climbing up the ladder (yes, we understand that's the wrong way, but we have a REALLY tall house and she is still SO small), Gavin pretended to climb, and then we figured out where our "safe place" is on the property. Kyla even practiced calling 9-1-1 and telling the operator what type of help we need (no worries, she didn't touch the phone:) )


I pray that we never need to use this information, but I feel much more prepared in case we have to put it in use.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Lovey, Where are you????

We have been gone all weekend and after unloading the car, I went to check on Lovey (our hamster) to make sure he had done well food wise. Well, the cage top was askew and the cage itself was empty. Bad News!


After we closed doors, and got the flashlight, we started searching for the lost rodent. Chad found a throw pillow that had been chewed through and then used as bedding, Kyla and I used the flashlight to check behind the book cases. Chad was the successful hamster hunter, finding him hanging out behind the couch. After some heavy lifting and scooting, Lovey was safely back in our hands.


He's back home in his snug little cage with the lid on, with a weight on top:) At least until we find a better idea:)

A Weekend Full of Fun!

We just got back from my parent's house where we spent the weekend with my parents, and my brother, sister-in-law and nephew. We played with their new paddle boat, split wood from their huge tree that was just felled and spent time visiting and enjoying each others company. Chad, Dad, and Josh went go-cart racing on Friday evening and Randi, Mom and I had pedicures and then explored Ikea on Saturday. On Sunday we went to Mom and Dad's church and then bade farewell to Josh, Randi and Gabe as they headed back home.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Too much free time...


While I was upstairs getting a load of laundry to wash then later pack, Gavin was being devious and Twoish. (Yep, I made that word up. For those of us who have a two year old or who have had one, we know that it should be a word) I found him hiding in a corner of the kitchen behind one of our kid chairs. At first glance it looked like he had contracted some foreign disease with symptoms that included a slimy red rash, red globules on gums, sickeningly sweet breath, and a maniacal look in the eye.

Hmmm, after some investigation of his person I conlcuded that he did not have a disease, but had found my chapstick in the diaper bag and had proceded to smear it all over his torso and face. Of course that was followed by eating the remaining chapstick of the cherry flavored variety. Yum. Only a kid would think that waxxy stuff was edible.

Now I'm left wondering what to do with a mostly eaten tube of chapstick. Do I just wipe of the teeth marks and continue to use it? Do I toss it? Do I just give up the battle of wills and let him moisturize his entire body with it, making my the softest baby in the county? What to do...

A quick update

We've had a pretty busy week and have enjoyed every second of it! On Tuesday, we were invited to a friend's house for an Irish meal to celebrate St. Patty's day. The kids had a great time running around with their kids and the company was great:)

On Wednesday afternoon, Lindsey (one of our throwers from our coaching days) stopped in for a visit with her friend Chris. She's been in CO for a couple of years and has just recently moved back into the area. It was great to see her! I must say that she was one of our favorites of all our athletes:)


Kyla invited Chad's dad for dinner on Thursday evening. I spent a good portion of the day cooking, making rolls and such and the kids got to play with Grandpa. He brought 4 more 55 gallon drums for us to add to our rain collection system, a great gift:)


Today, I'm in the process of getting the family packed up for a weekend at my parent's house. My "little" brother and his family is coming down for the weekend and we don't want to miss a second with them, especially with my nephew Gabe:)You know how it is, once there are kids in the mix the adults just aren't as cool:) I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Another Horse Tale...

While we were at my parent's house yesterday ( I worked at my dad's shop) the kids were invited up to a tree farm to check out the animals and the tractors. Both of the kids were ecstatic! I tagged along for pictures of course:) We drove up into the hills by Molalla and found snow, horses, tractors and beautiful views! Thanks Jessica for leading the kids around on "Bear".

Thursday, March 5, 2009

JL Images is online...

I finally got around to starting a blog for my photography business. I just put a couple of my most recent shoots on it and will slowly add more of my work as time goes by. I'm getting more and more business and I better get with the times:) Here is the address: jlimages.blogspot.com Check it out you may see yourself:)!

Gavin is working on a project too, a new molar. Poor kid has been extra grumpy today and I realized the new tooth thing by accident. He was crying rather loudly and dramatically and I just happen to have glanced in his mouth and "TaDa"! A good nap and a dose of Tylenol should do him wonders:) Back to life with a crabby kid...