My Big Boy

Jackson turned 3 this week!
John said to him, "Jackson, did you have a fun birthday last night?"
Jackson: Yeah, I got some new dinosaurs!
John: And what else did you get?
Jackson: I got more and more presents until my tummy was filled up.

My favorite part of Jackson's party was after each present he opened, he would look up for his mom and then run over to me saying, "Wook what I got!"

Here's a little more about this guy:
Jackson's favorite foods: rolls, fruit, "peanut butter and sandwich", hot dogs, pizza.
Jackson's favorite books: Sally and the Something, Berenstein Bears-The Spooky Old Tree, Steal Back the Mona Lisa, Pinkalicious

Favorite Color: Geen

Favorite Song: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Future goal: "I'm gonna be a bishop when I grow up."

On our last trip, we stopped to eat at Wendy’s – as soon as we walked in the door, Jackson yelled out to the crowded restaurant, “I have bad news! A bad fox is coming!"

The other day, as I walked into the room, I heard, "And foxes are really bad. And bears like honey. The end." Then to me, he said, "I told Katewyn a story."

I'm not sure where he came up with his fear of foxes, but we had to have lots of talks about them for a while just so he could sleep at night "No, no bad foxes are going to come in your window." (Olivia was just afraid Zurg was going to come).

Other little known facts about Jackson:

He knows how to make "big flyin monsters." ("You just get geen pants and geen shoes, and geen feet").

And he once ate a squirrel hairball.

The end.

Miss Who?

As we drove to Olivia's school to find out her teacher's name yesterday, she said, "I just hope her name's not Cigarette."
Luckily, it isn't. Her name is Ms. Hafzalla.
Later, I asked her, "What was your teacher's name again?"
"Um, Miss Lasagna?"

She starts on Wednesday! She can't wait, and I'm excited, too.
My dad was worried about me after my post about her going to school, so just so everyone knows, I'm okay!
I think just writing that helped, I just had to "get it out" I guess. And thanks for all the helpful responses! It was kind of just a moment of reflection, and expressing some of the emotions that come with being a mom. But the joy always far outweighs any sad/hard things about raising kids. So if I sounded depressed, there you have it - I'm not! Besides, they call us girls emotional for a reason - feelings at one time aren't the feelings of all the time! I still think they grow up too fast, but there are good things about each age/stage, too.
Olivia is definitely ready for school, and I know it will be good for her. But I guess the first thing she'll have to learn is her teacher's name!

P.S. I still reserve the right to be a little sad on Wednesday if I feel like it!

Jackson's Birthday

I learned a fireman relay is a little advanced for 3-yr-olds. Some of them did it, most of them just gave me black stares and then went to swing.

I bribed them with candy to get them all to sit for a picture. It worked!

I stole an idea from a really creative friend and put up some pictures of Jackson in a firetruck as part of the decor.

He was pretty excited to be Fireman Jackson, but he wanted Uncle Darin to come to the party, too. But only if he came in his firetruck.

I got to have my Mom come visit for a week, and it was so much fun to have her here. We had a whole list of things we wanted to do with her, and we managed to pack most of in (except for the temple trip, which had to be postponed due to the car breaking down on the way there. So instead of a temple date, John and I took a car-shopping/what-do-we-do-now? kind of date).

Besides taking Nana back to lots of the fun places we've been lately, we also picked lots of blackberries to make freezer jam (we had to pick lots because the kids kept eating lots). And I'm very excited that she helped me get my seat covers for my dining room chairs (almost) done. Thanks Mom! We had a mini-party to celebrate Olivia and Jackson's birthdays with her, and Olivia got to have a morning out - just her and Nana. Each of the grandkids get to do this with her when they turn 5.

Olivia says you need to come back here this second, and I agree!

Day at the beach

With Nana here!

What started out as this,

quickly turned into this.

Jackson communicating with the seaweed.

Aw, Man!

I hate when our car needs a new engine. On the other hand, I may get a van out of this. And then have to live off of rice and beans until the end of residency. Let's see, what else could we sell . . .

The North Cascades!

We finally got to take our camping trip! We went to North Cascades Natl. Park, and got to see mountains, glaciers, lakes, river, waterfalls.




Lots of cool bridges.


Saturday was a really HOT day, so we went for a swim in a really COLD lake. ("Mom, why does this water hurt?").




My favorite part was the water - the lake was so green! Not like mucky green, but like tropical water in the mountains. We read that the color comes from something called glacier flower. And it was so clear! The river had the clearest water we've ever seen - you could see all the rocks and river bottom, even from a distance. John's favorite was the mountains, Olivia liked her purple sleeping bag, Jackson liked the bird that kept stealing food off our picnic table, and Katelyn liked getting back home where she had a floor to roll around on again.


Notice the difference in how Katelyn looks and what I look like after camping for two days.

The last time we tried to go camping, we ended up packing up and driving home in the middle of the night - something about neighboring campers not liking our kid crying & crying to go home and sleep in her own bed. This time, the camping trip included 2 nights, and 3 kids. We've come a long way in the realm of camping!

Pacific Science Center

So I start a blog and suddenly think I need to record everything we ever do. Soon things should slow down around here, or else John might have to pry the camera away from me.

Yep, I took my kids horseback riding. What a good mom am I.
Actually, I just went to ward playgroup. It was at a park with a little petting zoo and "pony rides." I was picturing the pony to be just a little guy that walks around a circle, but this is what they brought out. Jackson is a little guy sitting way up there, but the "pony," not so much.

(Just had to modify this to say eat it with ice cream).

Yummy-Gooey Fruity Dessert

1 can pitted sour cherries, with juice (not cherry pie filling)
2 cups sugar
1 large can crushed pineapple, with juice
1 yellow cake mix
1 cup coconut
1 cup melted butter

Mix cherries, pineapple, and sugar and pour in cake pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over fruit, but do not stir. Sprinkle coconut over the top, then drizzle butter over all. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
(Original recipe also had 1 c chopped pecans to add with the coconut I made it without).
Serve with ice cream or cool whip!

I made this the other night, and it was really good. I don't have a picture because I was too busy eating half the pan myself. You should try it. Just have a little self-control, will ya?

So I was thinking I should sometimes put something on here other than pictures of my kids. It's possible that not everyone appreciates them as much as their mom (possible).

And today I saw the perfect sight to share. But alas, no camera! I did have my camera phone, but it just didn't do it justice. Driving down the road, and what should I see? An old guy, just out by the street talking to a repairman. And wearing nothing but tighty-whities and tennis shoes. It was the awesomest thing I saw all day.

(By the time I stopped and turned around (yes, I did stop and turn around - kids were at a babysitter's, or I probably would have sped on by), the repairman was already gone. I don't blame him. But this is all you get to see from my inconspicuous picture-taking from across the street).

Getting wet

One of the great things about summer in Seattle is the wading pools! Most of the parks here have them, and they fill them up on the days that the temperature is above 70 degrees (yep, 70 is getting pretty hot for here).

Running laps

Excited about the water, or taking a moment to pee - you decide.

Am I cute or what?

Olivia w/ some cute friends.

Why are they always pointing that camera at me?

Wearing floaties for fashion, not flotation.

(These pictures are from a few different visits to the park).

Our One-Day Vacation

As of July, John has moved up on the totem pole, so he is now a 3rd year resident. Which means we are done with his busiest year and his call schedule is much better. Less tired all the time= better moods and less falling asleep two minutes after laying down on the floor to play with the kids. It has been so great to finally have him home on weekends (most of the time). Last year, when he did have a day off, I wanted to make big plans while he wanted to just be able to stay at home. So we are all glad for the change and we've been trying to take advantage of our Saturdays.
A couple weeks ago, we wanted to go camping but then decided it wasn't going to happen that weekend. So we planned a few things to do around here instead. We headed to Woodinville (outside of Seattle) and went raspberry picking, then to a trout farm, let the kids choose where to go to lunch (of course they picked McDonald's), and still had time to go to the zoo to use our zoo pass. We finally came back home worn out and ready to grill the fish we caught for dinner. Olivia calls it our "One-Day Vacation."



I told Olivia to stand by her fish for a picture, but this is as close as she would get.

Yep, she was there, too, cheering from the sidelines.

Camping is on schedule for this weekend, unless we decide to let the forecast of rain all weekend deter us.