A Visit to the Fire Station

The kids love spending time with their uncle Jo Jo. Last week they got to hang out with him for a wee bit while he was at work, which happens to be at the fire station. Joe has been a firefighter for several years and will soon become a paramedic as well. Each time I visit him at the station it reminds me of how hard he's worked to get there, and what a remarkable person he's become(although I've always thought he's terrific!). I've always said that anyone who is linked with the medical field is a hero in my eyes. A shout out to all the Doctors, Nurses, ER Tech's, Firefighters, P.A.'s that are on my list~these are among the group of professions I could never sign up for. I truly Thank God for all of them.

Olivia and Nolan had fun looking at all the different firetrucks, sitting in them, and putting on their uncles fire gear. The kids had a blast on there visit to the station!

Girly Girly Girl

Olivia is really starting to love ballet. She gets dressed up almost each day and flutters around the house to give us a show. I love this little video because it just reminds me of how "girly" she's become. You'll notice as she's dancing she checks her hair out in the glass on the cabinet, and then has something very important to tell me at the end of the video. I was the complete opposite as a little girl, much more of a tomboy, guess that goes along with having 4 brothers. I have to admit I love it though, and it suites her personality that's for sure.

Little Buddy

The experiences we're having with our 20 month old little boy are entirely different than the one's we had with Olivia. It has been so nice to have two completely opposite children. Nolan is so busy right now, and keeps Shane and I on our toes every second that he's awake. Not to mention I think he gives me a near heart attack at least once a day with his determination, curiosity and risk taking. Little stinker, every time I turn around he's pushing a chair or ottoman over to get on the counter tops, tables, etc...always climbing on things, and practically scaling walls. At the same time, he's still my sweet, gentle, joyful baby boy. Below are a few of my favorite things he's doing right now~
*"Go see moon" He LOVES the moon! We have to show it to him every night before bed. It's so sweet because he looks out the window and says "hold it." He reaches his little hands out and thinks he can reach out and grab it =)
*He also loves birds or in his words "birdies" and also tries to run after them while screaming "hold it!"
Everything seems to start with "go see"...whether it's a cat or dog outside, the birdies, lawnmower, motorcycles.
*Shane and I might be a little odd, be we always grab our kids and squeeze them, and usually say something like "ew, I just want to eat you right now." So now Nolan goes up to things, or people acts like he's taking a nibble and then starts pretending to chew. Oops, this one may have backfired on us =)
*"Pee Pee" He insists on sitting on the potty at least once a day to go pee. Oh and he's such a little man, he also tries to push a little and then says poop, but just has a little toot. Hmmm...must be a guy thing.
*He loves his sister aka sissy. She is one of the first people he asks for when he wakes. I know he's going to miss her so next year when she's in school every day.
*He loves blueberries, strawberries, avocado, milk, and bean burritos. The kid eats so much food. He takes his time too, I think he's inherited that from his Gam and Dad. I have my meals down within minutes. Guess I learned that when I used to teach, or just from hustling around here.

I painfully realize he's now closer to 2 than 1. I'm so glad he's growing up to be a healthy, lovely, and lively little man, but can't believe he's almost 2. As chaotic as my days can be, I always have to remind myself, that each of his milestones(whether easy, or difficult,) only come around once. Being a mom is the hardest thing most of us will ever experience, but how blessed we are to have our children!Momma and little buddy almost 1 year ago
Taking a nibble off my boy
NJP wearing Liv's helmet, he wouldn't take it off-it actually made me feel better with him running around with it on outside since he's such a little daredevil
He pretends to shiver and says he's cold after his tubby, so he likes to get swaddled in his towel-I can't believe how much he looks like Shane's baby pictures in this photo, it's almost identical

Somewhere Over The Rainbow...Is God's Promise

After we ate dinner tonight we noticed a beautiful rainbow in a distance behind our house. Isn't it funny that something so simply beautiful grabs our attention? The bright colors are amazing! Olivia and I quickly went to the front of the house to see if the rainbow stretched over to the other side. It was even brighter out our front window.

The best part of the rainbow was hearing my husband explain to Olivia(and I,) about the rainbow being a token of the Lord and his promise to us. Quite honestly, I've forgotten about all of that(yet another reason that I should be reading my bible a WHOLE lot more.) It was reassuring, and a simple reminder of the Lord's protection and promise to protect us. Something that I really need to hold on to in such a weird time in the world.
*Genesis 9:15-16, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth."

Bloomsday 2009

Well I made it! I have not participated in Bloomsday since the 7th grade...its been YEARS. At the same time, the most I've ran in the last 10 years is 4, maybe 5 miles and Bloomsday is almost 8-YIKES, also a fear factor as I processed what I was getting myself in to. My friend Siri signed me up this year. I was so worried, and by the time I was signed up I knew I barely had any time to "train" for it. So when I could, I ran on my treadmill or outside with the kids in the baby jogger. Let me tell you, I don't think I can take them for runs anymore. It is so intense trying to jog and push 70 pounds while doing so...it kicks my hiney! Nonetheless Siri and I got on the bus and headed down to the race yesterday. The race started and we began to jog...and I mean a sloooooow jog(some of the speed walkers were passing us.) All the sudden we were at mile 4 and I realized that we had ran the whole way so far. I got a burst of energy and thought to myself, "I can do this," I jogged up doomsday, and away I went...at a turtles jog might I add. I really didn't care how fast I ran, but was thrilled that I ran almost all of it AND finished the race-YAY! I have to say I'm proud of me :) I'm not someone who has a runners body, or was born to run, it doesn't come easy for me. I've now been bit by the running bug and am determined to shave off at least 30 minutes of my time next year. We'll see. It was a great day, and I'm feeling fantastic, a little sore, in a good way!

Riverfront

Olivia had her first field trip this week at school. The school rented out a couple city buses to take the kids downtown. At first, of few other moms and myself decided we'd take the kids down(in our cars,) and meet the rest of the children there. I thought to myself, "there is no way I'm letting my 4 1/2 year old get on that bus without me!" After getting my arm twisted by the teacher, AND realizing I need to let go a little, I decided to let her ride the bus. A couple of my other mama friends were as concerned as I was. We walked to kids to the bus and watched it drive off. Liv looked at me a little confused when she got on without me...tear. On a side note, Olivia keeps telling Shane and I "I want to go and ride the city bus again!" She loved it! I hightailed it downtown to meet Liv at the Olive Garden for lunch. Bless all the wait staff for being so patient with around 40 little munchkins, plus their siblings and parents. It was a zoo! The kids ate, then headed to Riverfront Park. I always forget how fun that park is for kids. The radioflyer slide, the ducks, water fountain(when it's hot enough), and of course the carousel. Oh the carousel, which by the way, I cannot ride. How embarrassing. I think I need to give it another whirl. The last time I rode it it made me feel so sick, like I had major vertigo, so now I'm afraid to get back on!

It was a really fun field trip and play day. Olivia, Ella, and Isaac are like the 3 musketeers, always holding hands and palling around together when at school, it's very cute! Apparently Issac tells his mom, "Olivia and Ella are my girlfriends." Actually, Frieda(Issac's Mama, is the one in the picture with Olivia.) Guess I need to get back on the horse and over my fear of being sick on the stinking carousel!

A Little of This & That

Our mini vacation over to Seattle was fantastic! We had a great time just hanging out with two and a half of our favorite friends. The weather was PERFECT, amazing food, shopping, the zoo(although my favorite part, the butterfly tent, wasn't open,) and trader joe's. The weekend went by rather fast so there wasn't enough time for the aquarium or market which were also on our list. There's always next time...I look forward to those things when I go back to visit Shaana and her new baby girl very soon.

We had a nice Easter. Spent part of the day with Shane's side of the fam, and then migrated over to mine(which was such a small group this year. I still get a little sad since I grew up with such a BIG, close knit family. It's hard to get everyone together when we all have families of our own, etc... One of the highlights of our weekend was Shane's family visiting from Boise. They have a darling little family and Olivia always enjoys her very "girly" cousins Clara and Charlotte. The kids all had a great time.

Notice that we don't even have one picture of our family together...so sad. I'm beginning to think it might be time for professional pictures, or to have a friend take some family shots. Shane and I never seem to be in pictures together, or together with the kiddos. Guess we'll have to work on that.