Priceless

Dead grass.... free

Sprinkler head.... $15

Coming home from a bike ride, ripping off your shirt and running through the sprinkler at 8 o'clock at night.... PRICELESS







Showing your younger brother how to pee standing up.... Free of charge.

Our Jordan

Our sweet, little, smiley, army crawling all over the house, toy eating, brother loving, blue eyed baby for your viewing pleasure...

He looks like he is climbing a carpet wall here.

He is fascinated by the sea lions at the zoo.

My Sweet Angel

Look at that face. It brought tears to my eyes when I saw this picture (its even better when you click on it and see it bigger) He looks like an angel. My sweet angel is almost 3.

(photo credit goes to Michelle Goree)

He's moving!

Jordan is 7 months old and on the move. He is SO close to crawling. He is always practicing, but when he really wants to get somewhere he army crawls. He is so curious and wants to explore everything. I think I'm going to be in trouble when he really IS crawling and then walking! I will put him on the floor in front of all his cool baby toys and only a minute later he is off in the other direction to explore his big brothers hot wheels, transformers or whatever else is around the room, anything but his baby toys. He hasn't fully mastered sitting up yet. He will do it for a minute, then he wants to get to the ground and move around. He doesn't like to sit still except when he is eating or nursing. Kevin calls him Mr. Smiley because he is always smiling. It is so easy to get him to smile. He is so cute!

We have been having a great time having Jeremy home the last two weeks. Its going to be quite the shock to have him gone for 3-4 weeks after having him home with us 24/7. We have been spoiled. He leaves this Sunday afternoon. We have been having lots of fun together, going to the Rose Festival, OMSI, the Oregon Zoo, swimming at Firstenberg, playing at the park and just being a family. Im not looking forward to him leaving again. We do have some fun things planned, like a visit from my sister Heather. Her husband will be out of town so this time she is coming from Montana to see us! Also swimming lessons, tennis lessons, a week of school summer camp, and vacation bible school.

Also coming up is Ashton's 3rd birthday! His birthday is June 19th, but we are having a party for him on Saturday so that Jeremy can be here. Im trying to plan something fun to do next Friday on his actual birthday. My goal this summer? Get Ashton out of diapers! (Kevin didn't potty train until just after he turned 3).

Enjoy some cute pictures of the boys taken recently and at the end is a little video of Jordan showing off his moves.













Check out some pictures from our trip to the zoo at Auntie Chelles Blog

A Great Day

We had a great day yesterday. Its been so nice having Jeremy home. I may have mentioned before that the boys and I were going to Arizona to see Jeremy, but we decided for many reasons that it would be better if Jeremy came home to us instead. He will be leaving on the 14th to head back to Arizona for another 3-4 weeks. We are savoring every moment with him.

So back to yesterday. We headed over to Delta Park and hopped on the MAX train for a ride to the Waterfront Village in Portland. Our main objective was to tour the "battle ships". Here we are waiting for the MAX and then riding the MAX train...



We picked a great time of day to see the ships, which was during the Rose Parade. Everyone was watching the parade so there were no lines. We did get a little taste of the parade. While riding the train we passed the Rose Garden and saw a few floats, marching bands and horses getting ready. You could also hear the parade from where the ships were.

It was neat seeing what the ships look like on inside and the boys thought they were pretty cool. There were lots of doors and hallways and steep ladders to climb...


I liked this spot because of the writing on the ship: "I wanna go fast". That is something my boys say all the time.


After the ships we went to the Waterfront Village for a couple rides. The boys each got to pick two rides. They both picked the airplane ride and the big slide (my personal favorite).



We got some yummy food then Dad ended up carrying 2/3 of our children for awhile because Ashton is such a looky-loo that he always seems to be lagging behind or running into something.


We headed back to the MAX for another ride back to Delta Park. While I nursed Jordan in the car, Dad took the big boys over to the race track (we were parked right next to Portland International Raceway) to get a look at the race cars practicing. They of course thought that was pretty darn cool. Then home for a two hour nap! All three boys and myself. Jeremy was the only one who stayed awake. He's the guy that thinks naps are a waste of time or that you can sleep when you dead. So he went grocery shopping instead.

That night when we asked what their favorite part of the day was. Ashton said the train ride. Kevin said the carnival rides. I said seeing the parade floats and marching bands, and Dad said touring the inside of the ships.

This last Thursday we went to OMSI for some fun in the Science Playground. Its so nice to have another adult (Daddy especially) to do these fun things with. Here are a few pictures from OMSI...

Last few pictures from Kalispell

These are a little late, but here are a few more pictures from our trip to Kalispell. The boys had fun with a movie night on the living room floor, eating popcorn and watching "Bolt." They each had the fleece blankets I made for them. In the back yard Uncle Jason was showing the boys his airsoft gun. Kevin giving the younger boys a ride in the wagon. We also got all 5 cousins in a row on the couch with Talea, the lone little girl.



On our way home we stopped in St. Regis to meet up with my Dad for the last, long leg of the trip. We all had an ice cream treat before we headed on our way. Even Jordan got a little taste!

*I love this picture of Ashton with his blue eyes and shirt and that bright orange ice cream!

9 Years of Wedded Bliss

This was the first picture taken of us back in 1994.

Jeremy and I were one year apart in school. We went to the same middle school but did not meet until high school. I was a junior and he was a senior. I was cheering at a football game and HE says that when he saw me he knew I was the one for him. We met that night through mutual friends (that was you Liz! and Joe). The ironic thing is, that he grew up right next door to my cousin! His Mom and my Aunt were friends and the boys all played together. Jeremy got my phone number from them and called me up to ask me on our first date.

The first date: the movies: "The Three Musketeers" and ice cream after: mint chocolate chip. The funny thing or you might say quite gutsy of Jeremy, was that he brought his THREE cousins along on our date! Who does that? When you are taking a girl out on a first date that you really like, the last thing you probably want to do is bring your three cousins along. They happen to be visiting at the time and I think his mom may have put him up to it. I actually think Jeremy may have thought nothing of it, which would totally fit him. I should have know right from the start.

We were dating and getting to know each other at the same time. After wrestling practice he would come and watch me at cheerleading practice. He actually had to grow on me. It wasn't love at first sight, but it was definitely meant to be. He never gave up and I'm glad he didn't. My senior year he told me he was joining the Marines and that he was leaving in 2 weeks. He had never mentioned anything about the Marines before, or any other notion of joining the military. He was gone most of my senior year. I still have all the letters he and I wrote to each other while he was in training.

After 3 years of dating it was our second year of college that we got engaged. We both transferred to WSU in Pullman for 3 more years of college. We were engaged for 3 years while in college. He wanted to get married but I made him wait until we graduated because I knew we would be together forever, so why rush it? I wanted to enjoy my college years, join a sorority and live on my own first. Sorority life wasn't technically living on my own though. It was a pretty pampered life, but I didn't want to go from my parents home to a home with my husband. I wanted something of my own between the two. I'm so glad I did and I don't regret that decision at all.

We got married on June 2, 2000. One month after we graduated college. I didn't make him wait long! We have been together for 15 years and married for 9 of those. Here's to many, many more, until death do us part. I love you babe. You are the perfect match for me and I wouldn't have it any other way!

xoxo