Puddle Jumping

The past few days have been super rainy... even for the Northwest.  When the kids seemed to be bored with the normal inside activities we put on our boots and headed outside.  We found the perfect puddle in the corner of our back yard and the kids splashed away.  When they were wet and cold we headed inside to warm up with some hot chocolate.  Today I am thankful for our dry, warm house.

Halloween Costumes

For Halloween Desmond was a fireman.  I sewed the jacket which of course was more difficult than I anticipated with the shiny plastic material.  Kaylynn was a little fairy with her tutu and wings.  I really wanted to give her pig tails but she would have none of it. 

We went to our usual spot at Real Life Church.  They put on a good party.  Desmond really liked the dark maze and the candy, and Kaylynn's favorite part was the rocking horse.  We stayed until she was making loud "I'm tired" noises then headed home for bed.

October News

The past few weeks have been fairly busy ones.  The biggest news is that on October 31st I started my new seasonal job at the Hazel Dell Target.  We've been wanting to make some progress toward eliminating some of our recent bills and this will help.  I'm working evenings and weekends (about 12 hours a week right now) to fit around Davin's job.  It's fun being back at Target - my first employer.  Lots has changed in 14 years but a lot of it is familiar, too.  The only downside is that I'm tired in the evenings and this cuts into my time with Davin.  We'll see how it goes and once the season is over I can be done or if they offer me a regular job I can decide then. 

We've been enjoying the season and carved our pumpkins.  Desmond designed the little one himself.  We also got a new oven off craigslist!  The guy had it listed under "Antiques" instead of "Appliances" and I stumbled on it by mistake but we got it for a great deal.  So nice to have an oven door that opens all the way!  Now we can fit the turkey in for Thanksgiving.

I've been into project mode lately.  I got a twin bed frame from a friend and have been sanding it down so we can refinish it for Kaylynn.  I've seen her almost climb out of her crib once.  I also got a wooden toy sink and stove from the same friend and I'm going to refinish it for Kaylynn as well.  It should be a lot easier to sand than the spindles on the bed!  I just wonder if I can get it finished in time for Christmas.  We'll see.

Bi-Zi Farms

A couple Saturdays ago we went to our local pumpkin patch, Bi-Zi Farms.  We enjoyed playing in the sun before the fall rain hits.  Desmond's favorite part was the hay pyramid, and once he went in to the tunnels it took awhile to find him again.  The kids also both loved the corn bin and Desmond got to ride a pony.  We picked out our pumpkins: one big one to carve, one big one to make pies, and another little one for fun.

My New Favorite Picture

Not long ago we packed up our dinner and headed to the park for a picnic and some playing.  I brought along the camera, and I’m glad I did because I managed to snap my new favorite photo.  I love my beautiful family!  Each person is so unique, and God intentionally put us together to encourage and challenge each other to grow.

Davin is gone this week to Wisconsin for some work training.  We took him to the airport and saw him off this morning.  No point in counting down to 5:00 pm each day now.  Desmond also came down with a fever yesterday so instead of getting together with friends today, we’re laying low and counting down to Friday.

July and August so Far…

The past six weeks have been full of summer fun!  Every now and then I think about how far behind our blog is.  So, now it’s time for another big catch-up post.

July 4th we went on a family bike ride to a local park with our picnic lunch, had an outside dinner on the patio, shot off a few fireworks after Kaylynn was in bed, and watched the big neighborhood fireworks all around us.

A few weeks later it was Desmond’s fourth birthday.  We had it at Hockinson Meadows Community Park and enjoyed playing with friends and family (including Grandma Linda up from California) to celebrate our growing boy!  One special gift was his new red bike which was refurbished by Uncle Daniel.  This is the same bike built by my grandpa that my brother’s and I learned to ride on.  Afterwards we went to see Daniel, Dad, and Grandpa take off for their return flight to Albany. 

The following weekend was our eighth anniversary trip to Bend.  I don’t know why it took us eight years to finally make it out that way, but we had a blast rock climbing, zip lining, white water rafting and mountain biking.  Our GPS was trying desperately to get us lost or stuck on a side of a mountain somewhere, but we prevailed!  Also I learned that if you’re not sure what something is on your dinner plate, taste or at least smell it first before downing a huge bite of wasabi!  We stayed at Surgarloaf Mt. Motel which wasn’t fancy but a very decent place and saved lots of money to do our fun outings.  We’ve got to go back sometime.

Next was Davin’s birthday where he most notably got a Nexus 7 from his mom.  He’s very excited to play around with his new tablet. 

We then went day camping with my family at Green Peter Reservoir at a site only accessible by boat.  Next year we’ll have to spend the night, but this time we decided not to try it with Kaylynn at the stage she is.  I love the quiet of nature and the smell of the fire. My brothers and sister-in-law also really know how to set up a nice campsite.  We had a blast water skiing, inner tubing, and eating good food around the campfire.  I’m still paying for my water skiing attempts with sore back and leg muscles.  Next time I’m determined to get up!

My next event is the Muddy Buddy on Sunday.  I’ll have to let you know how it goes!

Our new Minivan!

We decided that sometime in the next year we would probably buy a new and bigger vehicle.  It’s a bit squishy getting two car seats and all our stuff for a trip into the Civic. 

Our plan was accelerated when we had to take the car in to the mechanic and found out a previous shop caused some damage to our engine so we might have a recurring problem with oil leaking into the cylinders.  The final straw was the back window getting stuck down.  It could cost as much as $400 to fix if the track needs replaced.  Davin managed to prop it up temporarily but we drove with plastic on it for awhile which got old fast.  Nine years and 140,000 miles later it is time.

We found a great Toyota Sienna on craigslist.  I did my research and it really comes out on top for minivans.  We had to take out a auto loan which I really didn’t want to do, but with interest at 2.44% we really won’t pay that much extra over time.

I love our new van!  It’s so spacious, comfortable, has working air conditioning and handles like a car.  It’s easy getting the kids in and out and I love modern touches like the automatic side door, volume controls on the steering wheels, and automatic locking/unlocking doors with just the touch of a button.  It even tells you how many miles left on the current tank of gas and if a tire loses pressure.

Davin and I agree that this vehicle screams “road trip!” to us.  We’ll at least need to take a day trip to the beach or something soon.

Weight Loss Journey so Far

I can’t believe I’m posting the first picture, but that’s where I was just after Kaylynn was born in May 2011.  When I saw this picture I felt so discouraged about how much weight I had gained - about sixty pounds.  I immediately started eating better and working out at home as soon as I had the doctor’s clearance.  At the end of September I joined a gym and was down to about 200 pounds, but I didn’t really lose any more weight until after I was done breastfeeding. 

In March I used my birthday money to buy new workout clothes to fit my slowly shrinking body, and it made me feel better at the gym.  Today I worked out in a tank top from my “small clothes” box.  I am feeling good about my progress so I thought I’d take a picture and compare it to the March photo for a little self-motivation.  I’m getting there!  I just crossed over into the 170’s and I have 15 pounds to go until I’m back to where I was before I got pregnant. 

The truth of weight loss is that it is a sloooow and hard process for me.  What I need to do is simple: count calories and exercise.  But the hard part is sticking with it every day even when the scale isn’t budging.  But it’s great having these days of inspiration and focusing on the progress rather than how long it’s taking.  We just picked up a monthly car payment so I’ll be quitting the gym in about six weeks to help pay for that.  We’ll see how far I can get before that deadline.

Krazy Kaylie Hair

Kaylynn has this amazing fine fluffy hair.  I love the tuft that stands straight up at her crown.  It is especially fluffy when it’s been freshly washed.  The other day I had to grab the camera as the morning sun gave her a cute backlit halo. 

 

 

 

 

Kaylie is constantly pulling my hair clips out and pretending to put them in her hair, so today I bought her her very own “hair pretties”.  It’s really hard getting anything to stay in her fine hair especially because she pulls them out, but here’s her first ponytail! 

Strawberry Season Begins!

Philbrook Farms opened this week with strawberries.  Today I feel so tired I decided to take the kids out to pick some so we had something fun to do until lunch and nap time.

 

Desmond was great at picking the best strawberries - no green ones and not too squishy ones.  Kaylynn was into it in a different way - shoving who knows what into her mouth.

At one point I put down the camera to finish filling our bucket with strawberries and when I turned around this is what Kaylynn looked like. 

The Russian ladies a couple rows over were laughing. The guy at the pay tent said her example is why he doesn’t put down slug bait like he wants to.  Yeah, she ate some dirt, but at least we’re enjoying fresh strawberries tonight!