I never really recapped the week before we went on vacation. I guess there was so much going on I didn't have time. I think I left off with Tuesday the 9th. Wednesday I had a dentist appointment, so Amy went to co-op. I don't remember much happening in the afternoon. That night we had another Burgers on the Chiefs. It was a great place that let you choose all kinds of toppings, sauces etc. The kids meals came with two sliders. Amy loved the sweet potato fries and the breading from the onion strings. Aaron had to leave early to make it to cub scouts. The kids were really well behaved, and I was very impressed. We left when Amy started getting fussy.
Thursday I made sugar cookies while the kids were at school. They helped me decorate them after dinner. I volunteered to make 30 cookies for David's class party for Friday. There were plenty of extras for us. Aaron was on call, so I started the packing on my own. We also had to finish addressing Valentines, or rather I had to remind Timothy a hundred times to do it. David had finished his weeks ago.
Friday I had to remind Timothy to finish the Valentines he missed the day before. It was a rush to get out the door. I think I even bother having him make his bed. And then he left the Valentines in the van. I ran to the store for a few things, and went home to eat lunch with Amy. It was raining quite a bit, and I had to figure out how to get a tray of cookies, Timothy's Valentines, and Amy to the school without getting them all wet. There was no way I was going to be able to carry an umbrella too. Luckily the cookies had plastic wrap over them, and I put the Valentines in a plastic bag, and Amy and I just had to walk quickly. I had to walk a little farther than usual since so many parents were there for Valentines parties. I saw Timothy's class as I came in so I didn't have to carry everything downstairs to drop off the Valentines and then run to make it to David's class on time. David's class was having a friendship lunch. They could invite their parents to eat with them, and bring a special lunch, even a plate, placemat etc. to make it special. Amy and I had already eaten, so I just got to enjoy talking to David and the other kids and parents. Then two of the 2nd grade classes got together to sing some of the songs they have been working on. Some of them were about love, some were from the Martin Luther King assembly they did last month. The repertoire included "Eight Days a Week", and "Beautiful" and "Momma don't 'low no guitar playin' 'round here". It was a lot of fun. Amy was very tired by the end.
She fell asleep on the way home (less than 2 minute drive), and slept for about 90 minutes. Aaron got home about the same time I did. He had a few things to do, and then went to sleep. Amy woke up in time that I could have gone to Timothy's class for their Valentine's party, but I knew there would be lots of parents there already, and I had so much to do at home.
Friday night we tried to watch part of the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies. We turned it on at 7:30 and discovered that it was just news about the Olympics, and since all they were showing was the luger crashing, we decided to spare the kids, and send them to bed on time. We spent the rest of the evening getting ready, and forgot to turn the TV back on. We were in bed by 10:00 anyway. So now I am caught up through our vacation, but I haven't posted anything about this week, and it's already Thursday. Oh well, it will have to wait until tomorrow. Aaron's on call, so I think I should be able to find time to blog, unless I get distracted by the book I picked up at the library today.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
memories from our trip
A few things that I neglected to mention.
- I think this is the first time we visited my family and didn't eat ice cream!!! We did have some fruit pops though.
- The citrus was ripe for the picking! We had fresh oranges, mandarins, grapefruit and lemons, although we didn't eat the lemons. We brought home a bunch of oranges.
- Colby taught Amy how to jump off furniture. There was a small table at Eva's that they would climb on and then jump off; Colby to Eva, and Amy to me.
- While thrift shopping I found a pair of jeans I loved for $10, but then realized I didn't need any more jeans. While I was trying things on Becca found a skirt for me. I found a shirt and a pair of shoes to go with it. Along with the 4 books I bought I spent less than $9!
- Amy learned some new words. For Grampa she says (in almost a whisper) "guppa". She also learned to identify a frog, although instead of ribbit she says "vee" I'm not sure where that one came from. She also kept saying "sigh" which we soon discovered meant outside. She wanted to go play outside. Also her sound for dog progressed from a panting to a "oof, oof".
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The trip home
As I mentioned in a post a while back instead of going home we took a detour and did another house hunting trip. It's only supposed to be 30 minutes longer to get there than home, just on a different route. We got started a little later than expected, but not much. We didn't hit any morning traffic - yay! Aaron suggested trying a motion sickness pill for Timothy. We tried one back in July and it didn't work. We tried again this time and even though it took him about 5 minutes to get it down I think it was worth it, no vomiting the entire trip!!!
It was a fairly uneventful trip, with the usual complaining of being bored, and constantly hungry, and being too loud, and the boys couldn't keep their hands off each other toward the end, - poking, tickling etc. Amy begged for attention often. We sang a lot of "Old McDonald". There was a movie and simple lunch. We got stuck in evening traffic, and then Timothy suddenly had to go to the bathroom. So we found a nearby Burger King - much preferable to McDonald's, and a bank next door - we needed cash. The kids went down the slide a couple of times while Aaron ordered and I let Amy run around the van. When the boys came back Amy and I went inside (to allow me to use the bathroom, and to let Amy get out of the van for a bit). Our last stop was to fill up on gas before we left Oregon, I changed Amy into pajamas since I figured she'd go to sleep soon. We got to the hotel at about 9:00. All three kids had fallen asleep. Aaron checked in and brought the luggage in, and carried the boys in one at a time. They went right to sleep. I brought in Amy and put her down pretty easily.
We got together our stuff for Saturday, our Realtor found a few more houses for us. One of them had 18 cherry trees on the property. What would we do with 18 cherry trees? It was also too far from the hospital, so we didn't want to look at it. The plan was to look at a few new homes and then go back to the one we were really interested in. We went to bed fairly early since the kids were already asleep.
We were meeting with the Realtor at 8:00 am, so we had to get an early start. The kids love having waffles at the hotel for breakfast. We packed up and dropped off the boys. We had asked Bishop W* (the bishop of the ward we'll be moving into) if he knew someone who could watch the boys while we looked at houses. So we hired his daughter to watch the boys for us. She was great. We took Amy with us since she still had some hives, and was a little fussy. We had about 5 or 6 houses on our list. Some needed a lot of work, one was remodeled and new, but had a lot of weird things in it, plus it was nicer than any of the other houses on the block. I think that makes it a target - it didn't fit in.
Then we got to the last house on the list. Aaron and I immediately loved it. I'm trying not to get emotionally involved in case it doesn't work out, but if we can get the financing to work I will be very happy. If we make an offer I'll tell you more about it. We looked through it twice to find things we may have missed the first time around. There are a few things that would need to be fixed, but mostly it is just what we want. It was really hard to go back to the house we thought we wanted.
After we were done we picked up the boys and got some Mexican take out at a local restaurant. We got a few appetizers, and we couldn't finish them - lots of fabulous food. We headed for home. Amy slept most of the way there, and Timothy took a good nap too. David chose to watch a movie. Aaron and I got to talk a lot, mostly about this house.
Before we went home we went to the annual Residents Winter Party. They had a bowling alley reserved for us with some pizza, salad and sliders (mini hamburgers) and drinks provided. I think I mentioned this, but in the past they always had the party on a Sunday, so we never went. Aaron mentioned that if they had it on a Saturday we would come. We were really excited when they announced it would be on a Saturday this year. So we had to squeeze in the house hunting trip pretty tightly. We bowled and ate again. The kids had a lot of fun. We all got in 2 games and the boys played one more alone while I watched Amy and Aaron got to socialize, and make a few phone calls. We finally arrived home around 5:00 pm. Aaron ran to the store for milk and couple other things. We had a light dinner, mostly leftovers from our Mexican takeout. Lots of unpacking and getting the house in order and that's all.
I think have one more post about our vacation, and then maybe I'll backtrack.
It was a fairly uneventful trip, with the usual complaining of being bored, and constantly hungry, and being too loud, and the boys couldn't keep their hands off each other toward the end, - poking, tickling etc. Amy begged for attention often. We sang a lot of "Old McDonald". There was a movie and simple lunch. We got stuck in evening traffic, and then Timothy suddenly had to go to the bathroom. So we found a nearby Burger King - much preferable to McDonald's, and a bank next door - we needed cash. The kids went down the slide a couple of times while Aaron ordered and I let Amy run around the van. When the boys came back Amy and I went inside (to allow me to use the bathroom, and to let Amy get out of the van for a bit). Our last stop was to fill up on gas before we left Oregon, I changed Amy into pajamas since I figured she'd go to sleep soon. We got to the hotel at about 9:00. All three kids had fallen asleep. Aaron checked in and brought the luggage in, and carried the boys in one at a time. They went right to sleep. I brought in Amy and put her down pretty easily.
We got together our stuff for Saturday, our Realtor found a few more houses for us. One of them had 18 cherry trees on the property. What would we do with 18 cherry trees? It was also too far from the hospital, so we didn't want to look at it. The plan was to look at a few new homes and then go back to the one we were really interested in. We went to bed fairly early since the kids were already asleep.
We were meeting with the Realtor at 8:00 am, so we had to get an early start. The kids love having waffles at the hotel for breakfast. We packed up and dropped off the boys. We had asked Bishop W* (the bishop of the ward we'll be moving into) if he knew someone who could watch the boys while we looked at houses. So we hired his daughter to watch the boys for us. She was great. We took Amy with us since she still had some hives, and was a little fussy. We had about 5 or 6 houses on our list. Some needed a lot of work, one was remodeled and new, but had a lot of weird things in it, plus it was nicer than any of the other houses on the block. I think that makes it a target - it didn't fit in.
Then we got to the last house on the list. Aaron and I immediately loved it. I'm trying not to get emotionally involved in case it doesn't work out, but if we can get the financing to work I will be very happy. If we make an offer I'll tell you more about it. We looked through it twice to find things we may have missed the first time around. There are a few things that would need to be fixed, but mostly it is just what we want. It was really hard to go back to the house we thought we wanted.
After we were done we picked up the boys and got some Mexican take out at a local restaurant. We got a few appetizers, and we couldn't finish them - lots of fabulous food. We headed for home. Amy slept most of the way there, and Timothy took a good nap too. David chose to watch a movie. Aaron and I got to talk a lot, mostly about this house.
Before we went home we went to the annual Residents Winter Party. They had a bowling alley reserved for us with some pizza, salad and sliders (mini hamburgers) and drinks provided. I think I mentioned this, but in the past they always had the party on a Sunday, so we never went. Aaron mentioned that if they had it on a Saturday we would come. We were really excited when they announced it would be on a Saturday this year. So we had to squeeze in the house hunting trip pretty tightly. We bowled and ate again. The kids had a lot of fun. We all got in 2 games and the boys played one more alone while I watched Amy and Aaron got to socialize, and make a few phone calls. We finally arrived home around 5:00 pm. Aaron ran to the store for milk and couple other things. We had a light dinner, mostly leftovers from our Mexican takeout. Lots of unpacking and getting the house in order and that's all.
I think have one more post about our vacation, and then maybe I'll backtrack.
Monday, February 22, 2010
California Vacation Part 3
Tuesday was a pretty laid back day. I think that was the day I started noticing the mosquito bites. For some reason I got a bunch of bites - perhaps mosquitoes, but no one else did. I saw a few mosquitoes flying around - yes in February. But no one else got bitten. I don't think it was something in the bed because Aaron didn't have any bites. Another after-thought: we discovered our A/C in the van was broken on Monday. On the way to beach the sun was warming the inside of the van, even though the air outside was cool - you know what I mean, right? We turned on the A/C. We had cool air, but it didn't get too cold like it usually does. So we turned off the A/C and let the fan run - it was the same temp. So hopefully before it gets warm here, and before our warranty runs out we'll get that fixed.
Tuesday morning we decided to go to the Outlet stores since we skipped it the day before. There wasn't much there. We ended up buying one shirt for Aaron because he had a $10 off any purchase. On the way back we stopped by the Ghirardelli Outlet store. They gave us a free sample when we came in, but we didn't find anything worth purchasing unless you wanted to spend $50! We got home in time for lunch. The afternoon was pretty quiet, the boys wanted to play the Wii as soon as possible. That evening we went over to Eva and Dave's new place. My family had bought some vouchers for pizzas - a fundraiser for a ward member going on a mission. We had them bring four pizzas for dinner. We also baked cookies there. I neglected to mention that my parents' oven broke the week before we arrived. So we had to be creative with meals. I took a few pictures that evening, but none of them turned out. In fact, I didn't take anymore pictures after that - oops! Later that night, after the kids went to bed Aaron and I played Aaron's new game, with Becca and Aaron. It didn't take long to get the hang of it. It's fun, kind of like an elaborate version of go fish, rummy, and slow paced Pit. You'll just have to try it.
Wednesday by popular demand we visited the Jelly Belly Factory again. We borrowed an umbrella stroller for Amy. I was surprised that she liked to look through the windows at all the activity going on. They didn't have a great deal on the Belly flops, unless you wanted to buy 5 bags! So we splurged a little on one bag. We still haven't opened it.
When we returned we fed the boys some lunch, put Amy down for a nap, then Aaron and I left for our date. We had received a gift card for Christmas, and we used it at Red Lobster. After a great lunch we went to a thrift store. We were just about done when Becca called. Amy had woken up from her nap, and was not happy. That wasn't why she called. When she attempted to change her diaper, she found hives. We didn't go to the second store and headed back to my parents'. We still aren't sure what caused the hives, perhaps it was part of this virus that caused the goopy eye. The hives spread where ever clothes rubbed her. Aaron got her some Benedryl. She was really grumpy, and soon fell asleep. She woke up after an hour. It was a very late night for her.
Thursday was our last full day in CA. Becca and I got to do some thrift shopping sans kids! We didn't get to the second store either because Aaron asked us to go to a store to get some drinks for the kids. While there we saw a friend from the ward, and mentioned that he had a full size freezer he wanted to sell, and thought one of us might be interested. I was - but couldn't get it to WA, and I wouldn't know what to do with it for 5 months. It's a good thing we ran into him, he almost left his bottled water on the bottom of the shopping cart- he was returning it when we saw him.
The drinks were for the fishing trip. Dave invited Aaron and the boys out on the fishing boat for the afternoon. They had fun on the boat, but didn't catch anything. While Amy napped I cleaned out the van. It really needed it. I also worked in the garden a bit. It was nice to be out in the sun with my fingers in the dirt. After another great dinner, we packed up and then played another game of Bohnanza, with Eva joining us this time. We stayed up way too late for a full day of travel the next day, but oh well.
Still more to come...
Tuesday morning we decided to go to the Outlet stores since we skipped it the day before. There wasn't much there. We ended up buying one shirt for Aaron because he had a $10 off any purchase. On the way back we stopped by the Ghirardelli Outlet store. They gave us a free sample when we came in, but we didn't find anything worth purchasing unless you wanted to spend $50! We got home in time for lunch. The afternoon was pretty quiet, the boys wanted to play the Wii as soon as possible. That evening we went over to Eva and Dave's new place. My family had bought some vouchers for pizzas - a fundraiser for a ward member going on a mission. We had them bring four pizzas for dinner. We also baked cookies there. I neglected to mention that my parents' oven broke the week before we arrived. So we had to be creative with meals. I took a few pictures that evening, but none of them turned out. In fact, I didn't take anymore pictures after that - oops! Later that night, after the kids went to bed Aaron and I played Aaron's new game, with Becca and Aaron. It didn't take long to get the hang of it. It's fun, kind of like an elaborate version of go fish, rummy, and slow paced Pit. You'll just have to try it.
Wednesday by popular demand we visited the Jelly Belly Factory again. We borrowed an umbrella stroller for Amy. I was surprised that she liked to look through the windows at all the activity going on. They didn't have a great deal on the Belly flops, unless you wanted to buy 5 bags! So we splurged a little on one bag. We still haven't opened it.
When we returned we fed the boys some lunch, put Amy down for a nap, then Aaron and I left for our date. We had received a gift card for Christmas, and we used it at Red Lobster. After a great lunch we went to a thrift store. We were just about done when Becca called. Amy had woken up from her nap, and was not happy. That wasn't why she called. When she attempted to change her diaper, she found hives. We didn't go to the second store and headed back to my parents'. We still aren't sure what caused the hives, perhaps it was part of this virus that caused the goopy eye. The hives spread where ever clothes rubbed her. Aaron got her some Benedryl. She was really grumpy, and soon fell asleep. She woke up after an hour. It was a very late night for her.
Thursday was our last full day in CA. Becca and I got to do some thrift shopping sans kids! We didn't get to the second store either because Aaron asked us to go to a store to get some drinks for the kids. While there we saw a friend from the ward, and mentioned that he had a full size freezer he wanted to sell, and thought one of us might be interested. I was - but couldn't get it to WA, and I wouldn't know what to do with it for 5 months. It's a good thing we ran into him, he almost left his bottled water on the bottom of the shopping cart- he was returning it when we saw him.
The drinks were for the fishing trip. Dave invited Aaron and the boys out on the fishing boat for the afternoon. They had fun on the boat, but didn't catch anything. While Amy napped I cleaned out the van. It really needed it. I also worked in the garden a bit. It was nice to be out in the sun with my fingers in the dirt. After another great dinner, we packed up and then played another game of Bohnanza, with Eva joining us this time. We stayed up way too late for a full day of travel the next day, but oh well.
Still more to come...
Sunday, February 21, 2010
California Vacation part 2
Monday morning the kids actually slept in - yay! Amy woke up at 6:00 am on Sunday, so I was glad she let us sleep in a little longer on Monday. Not that she slept well at night though. It was a beautiful day. After breakfast we got the kids working in the back yard. Well, Grandma was doing some yard work, and David volunteered to do anything that involved cutting with the shears.
Amy had fun on the slide, even after Hali and Colby joined her.
Amy and Colby had fun in the swings while Becca and I worked in the garden for a bit.
My brother Chris had a youth snow trip that day, and my dad had a Dr. appointment that afternoon, that my mom drove him to. The rest of us were planning to go to the beach. Monday is preparation day for the missionaries. Since there several computers at my parents' home the missionaries come over every week to check their mail and send out letters to their families. Yes, that does include my cousin, as well as the Spanish Sisters, and two sets of Elders. The ASL Sisters were working on a pass along card, and it wasn't quite coming together, so Aaron jumped in and fixed it. Aaron had to stop working on his Idaho medical license application to help. It took a lot longer than we expected. I was glad I didn't wait to put Amy down for a nap. By the time the Sisters were done and Aaron was able to send off his application we were about 2 hours behind schedule. The plan was to stop by the Outlet mall on the way to the beach. We nixed the Outlet mall and went straight to the beach. Just a few miles from our destination we hit traffic. I guess everyone else had the same idea. A beautiful sunny President's Day - let's go to the beach.
Amy really wanted to get in the water. But it was a little cold.
And a little windy.
David looks like he's going to fly away.
The sun was out, but you could see the fog sitting on the horizon.
We flew some kites.
Here's my horrible mother of the year story:
He was a little dejected
Can you see the water dripping off his coat? Pretty soon he headed back to the van. Aaron stripped him of his wet clothing and wrapped him in the towels and blankets we had in the van.
We stayed and flew kites for a while, and then headed back home.
Kind of a long drive for a short beach visit, but we made some memories!
Later, before another late bedtime Amy tried out a new mode of transportation. She was having fun sweeping with the broom, but riding it was fun too.
More to come...
Amy had fun on the slide, even after Hali and Colby joined her.
Amy and Colby had fun in the swings while Becca and I worked in the garden for a bit.My brother Chris had a youth snow trip that day, and my dad had a Dr. appointment that afternoon, that my mom drove him to. The rest of us were planning to go to the beach. Monday is preparation day for the missionaries. Since there several computers at my parents' home the missionaries come over every week to check their mail and send out letters to their families. Yes, that does include my cousin, as well as the Spanish Sisters, and two sets of Elders. The ASL Sisters were working on a pass along card, and it wasn't quite coming together, so Aaron jumped in and fixed it. Aaron had to stop working on his Idaho medical license application to help. It took a lot longer than we expected. I was glad I didn't wait to put Amy down for a nap. By the time the Sisters were done and Aaron was able to send off his application we were about 2 hours behind schedule. The plan was to stop by the Outlet mall on the way to the beach. We nixed the Outlet mall and went straight to the beach. Just a few miles from our destination we hit traffic. I guess everyone else had the same idea. A beautiful sunny President's Day - let's go to the beach.
Amy really wanted to get in the water. But it was a little cold.
And a little windy.
David looks like he's going to fly away.
The sun was out, but you could see the fog sitting on the horizon.
We flew some kites.Here's my horrible mother of the year story:
The kids loved testing the waves. They'd get close and watch the waves roll in and then run away. Becca was having trouble holding on to Colby and the football, so she threw the ball but not far enough. So I ran to get the ball, and left Amy on the sand. I was halfway to the ball when I realized we were all going to get wet. So I turned back and ran toward Amy. I barely got there in time. The wave was knocking her over when I grabbed her. Her pants were soaked, and I was wet to the knees. Why in the world did I chased after a ball in stead of my own daughter??? We sat further up on the beach after that. Luckily Becca had extra clothes for Hali that Amy could wear.
The boys were still chasing waves. Timothy liked to dig in the sand and make a huge pile and wait for the waves to knock it over. Well one time he wasn't paying attention, and didn't hear us yelling at him, and he got hit by the wave. I got a picture of the tail end of it, when the wave was heading back.
The boys were still chasing waves. Timothy liked to dig in the sand and make a huge pile and wait for the waves to knock it over. Well one time he wasn't paying attention, and didn't hear us yelling at him, and he got hit by the wave. I got a picture of the tail end of it, when the wave was heading back.
He was a little dejected
Can you see the water dripping off his coat? Pretty soon he headed back to the van. Aaron stripped him of his wet clothing and wrapped him in the towels and blankets we had in the van.
We stayed and flew kites for a while, and then headed back home.Kind of a long drive for a short beach visit, but we made some memories!
When we returned My mom had started an Asian feast for us. Orange chicken, pot stickers and a vegetable stir-fry. Yum!
Later, before another late bedtime Amy tried out a new mode of transportation. She was having fun sweeping with the broom, but riding it was fun too.More to come...
California Vacation part 1
I think we prepared pretty well for the long drive to California. We knew where we were stopping for gas, we had the DVD player, I bought new activity books for the boys (I love Target's dollar spot), we had plenty of food for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. I even armed myself with plenty of plastic bags for Timothy's inevitable motion sickness. But travel never goes smoothly with 3 kids does it? The first mishap was that instead of keeping a plastic bag handy I gave it to Timothy to hold on to. He didn't need it until after the first stop, but by then it had been stepped on and a hole was made. Holey bags don't hold things very well.
After Amy woke up from her first nap we saw that she a goopy eye - great! We hit a fair amount a rain, but no traffic! Hooray! The sun started creeping out around Mt Shasta. Of course at some point the boys were completely bored, and didn't want sandwiches anymore. The treats I had weren't intriguing anymore, and Amy was not happy stuck in her seat. Basically I had to sing to Amy for the last few hours of the drive. Her preferred song currently is "Old McDonald", which she refers to as "I", and by the end of the week was "E, I, O". We arrived at my parents' home around 7:40, much sooner than we expected. I guess we did pretty well with our short stops. We ate in the car rather than run around at a rest stop.
David found an etch-a-sketch
and an exercise ball
Isn't Colby cute?
Aaron and I stayed up a little too late watching Olympic coverage - even though we already knew the outcomes.
Hali is so adorable in that dress!
Aaron bought me a box of really good chocolates that he bought back home. I'm sure he splurged a lot! I got him a new game we've had our eye on for a while. We aren't big on Valentine's gifts. I think we were soured because we attempted to go out to eat on Valentine's Day one year. It was a horrible experience, and I didn't want that to be our focus. So we sometimes exchange small gifts, and sometimes it's just a card. I told Aaron not to waste money on overpriced flowers. He brings me flowers several times throughout the year. I don't need them on Valentine's day.
It was great to see friends at church, and I enjoyed hearing my BIL Aaron give a talk. Amy had a hard time settling down in church, but eventually fell asleep on Aaron. By the time Sunday School rolled around she was awake though, so it wasn't a very long nap. We had a wonderful lesson in Relief Society.
Amy found the rocking chair and loved to climb in it and rock.
I was glad Aaron decided to bring Amy's doll stroller, the kids had a blast with it.
Colby and Amy had a love/hate relationship. Amy constantly assumed the Colby was out to get her. She whined if he even looked at her. Colby is 4 months younger, but about the same height and about 5 lbs heavier. He would sometimes take things from Amy - pretty typical for a 13 month old. Amy would protest, and then cry and run to find me. Colby just smiled, and thought it was a fun game. But often I would find them playing very well together.
My mom had some great Valentine's gifts for everyone. Most of them included a book or toy that she found at the thrift store - she always finds great stuff there. We had invited the sister missionaries over for dinner on Sunday night. Did I mention that one of the sisters is my cousin?!!!
Here she is with Uncle Bill. She is serving an ASL mission in a different building and she often gets comments like, "Are you a related to the R* family?"
Here she is with her wonderful companion Sister S*
We had a great dinner with Sister B*, and she broke the news to us that she will be transferred out of the mission in March. She'll be going to Southern California where there are 10 deaf sisters waiting to be taught (currently there are only ASL Elders in the mission).
I changed Amy out of her dress and put on this t-shirt and jumper. Hali realized she had the same shirt, and requested that Becca (her mom) find a jumper to wear with it. She wanted to match her cousin. Amy blinked in the first two pictures, so this was the best one I got.
It was another late night for the kids - I guess you have to expect that on vacation right? So more posts to come. I have to get the family ready for church now.
After Amy woke up from her first nap we saw that she a goopy eye - great! We hit a fair amount a rain, but no traffic! Hooray! The sun started creeping out around Mt Shasta. Of course at some point the boys were completely bored, and didn't want sandwiches anymore. The treats I had weren't intriguing anymore, and Amy was not happy stuck in her seat. Basically I had to sing to Amy for the last few hours of the drive. Her preferred song currently is "Old McDonald", which she refers to as "I", and by the end of the week was "E, I, O". We arrived at my parents' home around 7:40, much sooner than we expected. I guess we did pretty well with our short stops. We ate in the car rather than run around at a rest stop.
The kids were not ready for bed at all, so there was a little playing and running around and a much later bedtime.
David found an etch-a-sketchand an exercise ball
Isn't Colby cute?Sunday we had a pleasant morning. It was Valentine's Day. We had to give the kids baths/showers along with everyone else. After the kids were dressed for church they played with the playmobile sets on the bed so the babies wouldn't get them.
Hali is so adorable in that dress!
Aaron bought me a box of really good chocolates that he bought back home. I'm sure he splurged a lot! I got him a new game we've had our eye on for a while. We aren't big on Valentine's gifts. I think we were soured because we attempted to go out to eat on Valentine's Day one year. It was a horrible experience, and I didn't want that to be our focus. So we sometimes exchange small gifts, and sometimes it's just a card. I told Aaron not to waste money on overpriced flowers. He brings me flowers several times throughout the year. I don't need them on Valentine's day.It was great to see friends at church, and I enjoyed hearing my BIL Aaron give a talk. Amy had a hard time settling down in church, but eventually fell asleep on Aaron. By the time Sunday School rolled around she was awake though, so it wasn't a very long nap. We had a wonderful lesson in Relief Society.
Amy found the rocking chair and loved to climb in it and rock.
I was glad Aaron decided to bring Amy's doll stroller, the kids had a blast with it.
Colby and Amy had a love/hate relationship. Amy constantly assumed the Colby was out to get her. She whined if he even looked at her. Colby is 4 months younger, but about the same height and about 5 lbs heavier. He would sometimes take things from Amy - pretty typical for a 13 month old. Amy would protest, and then cry and run to find me. Colby just smiled, and thought it was a fun game. But often I would find them playing very well together.My mom had some great Valentine's gifts for everyone. Most of them included a book or toy that she found at the thrift store - she always finds great stuff there. We had invited the sister missionaries over for dinner on Sunday night. Did I mention that one of the sisters is my cousin?!!!
Here she is with Uncle Bill. She is serving an ASL mission in a different building and she often gets comments like, "Are you a related to the R* family?"
Here she is with her wonderful companion Sister S*We had a great dinner with Sister B*, and she broke the news to us that she will be transferred out of the mission in March. She'll be going to Southern California where there are 10 deaf sisters waiting to be taught (currently there are only ASL Elders in the mission).
I changed Amy out of her dress and put on this t-shirt and jumper. Hali realized she had the same shirt, and requested that Becca (her mom) find a jumper to wear with it. She wanted to match her cousin. Amy blinked in the first two pictures, so this was the best one I got.
It was another late night for the kids - I guess you have to expect that on vacation right? So more posts to come. I have to get the family ready for church now.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
California Vacation
Well I'm sure you've figured out by now that we went on a little vacation. I meant to post before we left, but that evening I was so busy getting ready for the trip. I'll have to post about the days before the trip later. Today I'll just do a quick recap.
- We drove all day Saturday.
- Sunday we had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Grandma R* gave us all great gifts. And we enjoyed Uncle Aaron's talk in church. We had the sister missionaries over for dinner.
- Monday we went to the beach.
- Tuesday we spent the day hanging out with family, and going to see Eva and Dave's new place.
- Wednesday we went to the Jelly Belly Factory once again. Aaron and I went on a date.
- Thursday Becca and I went shopping. Then Aaron and the boys went out on the fishing boat with Uncle Dave.
- Friday instead of driving home, we went to our future city for another house hunting trip.
- Saturday we started early and looked at a few more houses, and found another one we love. We then drove back toward home and went to the annual resident party. They had moved the party from Sunday to Saturday because we requested that so we could attend. So we went bowling and ate pizza. Then we arrived back home. Look for more details later.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Visit with family
On Saturday Aaron was post call, but since it was a weekend he got off at 8:00 am. He planned to take a bus to a certain point and then we'd pick him up and take him to the park. Well the directions to his bus route were off by about a mile, so he didn't take the transfer and I picked him up instead. This was one of the few nights where Aaron didn't get any sleep at all. Not even 15 or 30 minutes! He was exhausted. At least it wasn't a longer shift.
After we picked up Aaron we headed to the park to spend some time with Nathan, Amy and Evelyn and Grandma G*. Grandma was catching a plane back home that afternoon. She had spent part of Friday with Nathan and Amy. In the rush to pick up Aaron earlier than planned I forgot my camera. It was right there on the floor, next to the door, but I didn't grab it. Mom got some great pictures though. It was a chilly morning, but soon the sun was bright and it warmed up nicely. We had fun at the park for a while.
The plan was to go home and let Aaron sleep while we ate lunch and then I put Amy down for a nap. However when we got home Aaron discovered he didn't have his house keys. We searched the van and his pockets, and backpack, but no keys. So I put a movie on for the boys, and took Amy with me back to the park to look for his keys. She fell asleep on the way there, but woke up to help me look. After a few minutes of searching and asking around I decided I needed help. So I headed back to the van to start the search again this time saying a quick prayer, "Heavenly Father if the keys are here, please help me find them". Less than a minute later Aaron called, saying he called work, and the keys were there in the pocket of his white coat. Prayer answered!!!
So I came back home and made lunch for Amy and put her down for a nap. Then the boys and I ate. I think we played downstairs after that. Amy didn't nap long, probably because of her cat nap earlier. Aaron was up around 3:00 or so. He decided to take Timothy with him on a short shopping trip. That's when they bought the ice cream mentioned in the previous post.
Sunday was a pretty good. Amy is starting to be a bit of a handful at church. She had a very short morning nap, and was very tired by the second hour of church. I had to take her out several times. For a short while she was entertained by the iphone of the brother sitting next to us. Aaron volunteered to take her for the 3rd hour. I was glad to hear that she eventually fell asleep, and had about a 40 minute nap. That was good for all of us.
We had home teachers over after church, and then after dinner I had a Relief Society meeting. I'm on the Enrichment committee, although it's not called Enrichment anymore, huh? Well anyway, because of that change we had a very long meeting about what our new focus will be. I love that these meetings, the content, and frequency, will be tailored to the needs of each individual ward.
So Monday was a good day. I went to Target and did laundry and that's about it. We are getting closer to buying a house, but there's so much to think about I don't even know where to begin, so I'm not going to even start. Aaron was home early after spending the day riding around with the EMTs. We had a great FHE.
Today was also a fairly normal day. Amy had her first dental check-up today. Not that they do much at 17 months. She fell asleep on the way home and slept for almost 2 hours, so that was her only nap for today. Oh, and Southwest and Alaska Airlines are having some awesome deals $39 each way. Aaron bought a few plane tickets for April. Did I mention that Aaron will be going back to Idaho for the month of April? He's going to fly home for my (and David's) birthday, and fly home at them end. He bought all those tickets today, at great deals. That pretty much sums up today.
Well I guess that's it for now. I hope Aaron gets some sleep tonight.
After we picked up Aaron we headed to the park to spend some time with Nathan, Amy and Evelyn and Grandma G*. Grandma was catching a plane back home that afternoon. She had spent part of Friday with Nathan and Amy. In the rush to pick up Aaron earlier than planned I forgot my camera. It was right there on the floor, next to the door, but I didn't grab it. Mom got some great pictures though. It was a chilly morning, but soon the sun was bright and it warmed up nicely. We had fun at the park for a while.
The plan was to go home and let Aaron sleep while we ate lunch and then I put Amy down for a nap. However when we got home Aaron discovered he didn't have his house keys. We searched the van and his pockets, and backpack, but no keys. So I put a movie on for the boys, and took Amy with me back to the park to look for his keys. She fell asleep on the way there, but woke up to help me look. After a few minutes of searching and asking around I decided I needed help. So I headed back to the van to start the search again this time saying a quick prayer, "Heavenly Father if the keys are here, please help me find them". Less than a minute later Aaron called, saying he called work, and the keys were there in the pocket of his white coat. Prayer answered!!!
So I came back home and made lunch for Amy and put her down for a nap. Then the boys and I ate. I think we played downstairs after that. Amy didn't nap long, probably because of her cat nap earlier. Aaron was up around 3:00 or so. He decided to take Timothy with him on a short shopping trip. That's when they bought the ice cream mentioned in the previous post.
Sunday was a pretty good. Amy is starting to be a bit of a handful at church. She had a very short morning nap, and was very tired by the second hour of church. I had to take her out several times. For a short while she was entertained by the iphone of the brother sitting next to us. Aaron volunteered to take her for the 3rd hour. I was glad to hear that she eventually fell asleep, and had about a 40 minute nap. That was good for all of us.
We had home teachers over after church, and then after dinner I had a Relief Society meeting. I'm on the Enrichment committee, although it's not called Enrichment anymore, huh? Well anyway, because of that change we had a very long meeting about what our new focus will be. I love that these meetings, the content, and frequency, will be tailored to the needs of each individual ward.
So Monday was a good day. I went to Target and did laundry and that's about it. We are getting closer to buying a house, but there's so much to think about I don't even know where to begin, so I'm not going to even start. Aaron was home early after spending the day riding around with the EMTs. We had a great FHE.
Today was also a fairly normal day. Amy had her first dental check-up today. Not that they do much at 17 months. She fell asleep on the way home and slept for almost 2 hours, so that was her only nap for today. Oh, and Southwest and Alaska Airlines are having some awesome deals $39 each way. Aaron bought a few plane tickets for April. Did I mention that Aaron will be going back to Idaho for the month of April? He's going to fly home for my (and David's) birthday, and fly home at them end. He bought all those tickets today, at great deals. That pretty much sums up today.
Well I guess that's it for now. I hope Aaron gets some sleep tonight.
new pics and video(s)
I've been taking pictures in February, but I realized I hadn't uploaded or posted any of them. So here are some, and a few videos - if I can get them to all upload.
One afternoon Amy wanted to go for a walk in the stroller - it was raining, so we couldn't. however she had a blast just sitting in the stroller, and climbing all over it. When I showed this picture to David he said, "delete it." The same for the next picture.
Another time he thought I was showing Amy a picture, when in fact I was taking one of him. The red lip is from running into a tether ball pole while chasing a soccer ball after school. It was nice a bloody, and later a big fat lip with a nasty canker.
Timothy wants his picture taken, however he never has a "normal" smile, or face.
Playing ball after dinner?
Amy was being a ham while eating her banana. I pulled her up to the table and she thought it was fun to tip her chair back with her feet. Then she just rested them on the table. I took this video too. At first it's boring, but then she asks me to sing songs.
OK, that one isn't working. I'll try later.
On Saturday night we had ice cream cones. Amy has had ice cream before, but not in a cone. It was pretty funny to watch her.
I guess these are actually from Monday night when we had ice cream cones again for Family Home Evening.
One afternoon Amy wanted to go for a walk in the stroller - it was raining, so we couldn't. however she had a blast just sitting in the stroller, and climbing all over it. When I showed this picture to David he said, "delete it." The same for the next picture.
Another time he thought I was showing Amy a picture, when in fact I was taking one of him. The red lip is from running into a tether ball pole while chasing a soccer ball after school. It was nice a bloody, and later a big fat lip with a nasty canker.
Timothy wants his picture taken, however he never has a "normal" smile, or face.
Playing ball after dinner?
Amy was being a ham while eating her banana. I pulled her up to the table and she thought it was fun to tip her chair back with her feet. Then she just rested them on the table. I took this video too. At first it's boring, but then she asks me to sing songs.OK, that one isn't working. I'll try later.
On Saturday night we had ice cream cones. Amy has had ice cream before, but not in a cone. It was pretty funny to watch her.
I guess these are actually from Monday night when we had ice cream cones again for Family Home Evening.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Biting
I just have a couple things I wanted to say about Amy. Lately she has been biting. Mostly when she us not getting what she wants or the attention she wants. When she tries to bite me she usually gets my jeans, or I pull away before she does any harm. However, the other one she picks on us Timothy. I can't figure it out. She doesn't try to bite David or Aaron, just Timothy. And she's done some damage too. I don't think she is mad at him, maybe she thinks it's a game, or likes the reaction she gets. Timothy does tend to scream and cry a lot.
Oh, and two new words for Amy, "bubbles" and "puppies".
Oh, and two new words for Amy, "bubbles" and "puppies".
planning a trip
We have decided to head to my hometown for a vacation. Not saying when, 'cause I'm a little paranoid about that being broadcast on the internet. But I am excited to see my family, and hopefully some friends. We might even "bump into" my cousin who is serving her mission. She was transferred to the area about 10 days ago. She's not in my parents' ward, but since she is serving an ASL mission, the whole city is her area (and probably more than that).
Last year we tried driving through the night. Not only did we get stuck in really bad traffic, but we had to buy chains at the pass, and it took way too long to get there. There's no snow in the forecast (I actually checked this time), but I don't know if we'll be up for an all night drive again. This was a bit last minute, even though we knew about the vacation time. We thought about Disneyland, but it's just not in the budget this year. We thought about Canada, but I don't have my passport yet. But I did finally apply for it!
Hopefully Aaron and I will get a date in, and maybe a museum or fun park for the kids. I'm not looking forward to the drive, but it will be well worth it!
As for this week's happenings... Wednesday I spent over three hours making empanadas for the blue and gold banquet for the cubscouts. I started as soon as Amy went down for her nap. I put her down early since the boys had an early dismissal. Rolling out the dough is what took forever. I also cooked the meat and the eggs before I went to pick up the boys. By the time I got home Aaron was home (post call) and was putting together the filling. I rolled out the rest of the dough while he filled and sealed them. He went to sleep and eventually I baked them. David was invited the banquet, since he'll be starting cubscouts in a few months. Aaron brought Timothy along as well. So Amy and I had a quiet evening.
Thursday was a pretty ordinary day as well. I did get to go to a baby shower! It was a great evening to spend with friends. Today Aaron was on call again. He was supposed to be on call Monday, but traded with someone, so he was on call Tuesday and again on Friday. It worked out though. It was a beautiful day today. We spent over an hour playing outside after school. And Amy didn't want to leave when it was time to go home.
I guess that's all for now.
Last year we tried driving through the night. Not only did we get stuck in really bad traffic, but we had to buy chains at the pass, and it took way too long to get there. There's no snow in the forecast (I actually checked this time), but I don't know if we'll be up for an all night drive again. This was a bit last minute, even though we knew about the vacation time. We thought about Disneyland, but it's just not in the budget this year. We thought about Canada, but I don't have my passport yet. But I did finally apply for it!
Hopefully Aaron and I will get a date in, and maybe a museum or fun park for the kids. I'm not looking forward to the drive, but it will be well worth it!
As for this week's happenings... Wednesday I spent over three hours making empanadas for the blue and gold banquet for the cubscouts. I started as soon as Amy went down for her nap. I put her down early since the boys had an early dismissal. Rolling out the dough is what took forever. I also cooked the meat and the eggs before I went to pick up the boys. By the time I got home Aaron was home (post call) and was putting together the filling. I rolled out the rest of the dough while he filled and sealed them. He went to sleep and eventually I baked them. David was invited the banquet, since he'll be starting cubscouts in a few months. Aaron brought Timothy along as well. So Amy and I had a quiet evening.
Thursday was a pretty ordinary day as well. I did get to go to a baby shower! It was a great evening to spend with friends. Today Aaron was on call again. He was supposed to be on call Monday, but traded with someone, so he was on call Tuesday and again on Friday. It worked out though. It was a beautiful day today. We spent over an hour playing outside after school. And Amy didn't want to leave when it was time to go home.
I guess that's all for now.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
AAA to the rescue
After several years of AAA membership I finally had to use the 24/7 roadside assistance. Let me start at the beginning. Sunday morning I slept in until 7:00 am, when Amy got up. Aaron still wasn't feeling well so I let him sleep longer. We had a pretty lazy morning, I made muffins before the boys woke up. I baked them a little too long and they were dry - oh well. Then I helped Timothy with his talk for Primary.
It was close to 10:00 when Aaron finally emerged. I was about to put Amy down for a nap - on Sundays church is right in the middle of her nap time, so if she gets a nap at all it has to be before church. After she was down I jumped in the shower and got ready for church. Aaron decided he would shower too, to see if he would feel any better. He did somewhat, so he didn't stay home, but decided to drive the car in case he needed to come home. After sacrament meeting, and Timothy's talk Aaron decided to go home to sleep off this illness.
Here's where the fun begins. Amy is usually content to sit on my lap and read books, or eat a snack or just cuddle. All of a sudden she is venturing further away, and wants to play with the curtains and hide behind the grand piano. At least nursery is only 4 more weeks away! Toward the end of Sunday School Amy has a messy diaper - a pretty bad one. Luckily all clothes are still clean. The last hour of church was a combined adult meeting. Amy has another messy diaper before the opening song. On the way to change her a friend from our old ward tells me he has a bike that he is trying to get rid of and wants to know if we want it. I told him sure, and he says he'll leave it by the phone in the foyer.
I only get to enjoy about 10 minutes of the presentation before Amy has another messy diaper. I only have 1 diaper left. Thank goodness she stays clean for the rest of church. After church I gather the kids and have David walk the bike out since my hands are full of scriptures, and diaper bag and Amy. He tries to ride it in the cultural hall :(. So I'm a little flustered trying to keep him off the bike and everyone together. We get to the van and I accidently bump the lock button while I am putting Amy in her seat - she refuses to sit down - this is fairly typical lately. Then I notice the boys trying to ride the bike again. I usually put the keys in my pocket - I'm wearing a dress - no pockets. So I throw the keys in the front seat put all my scriptures in the van and close the van door. Notice the problem now?
I have just locked Amy in the van with the keys, and she's standing in her carseat not buckled in! I run around the van frantically checking all the doors in vain. Several people notice this, and come to help. I try to call Aaron knowing I'd probably be interrupting his sleep. He doesn't answer. Lori offers to call AAA. Wait I have a membership I'll call them myself. This whole time Amy thinks I'm playing peek-a-boo with her like I do when I'm pumping fuel into the gas tank. I try to get her to sit down so she doesn't fall out of the seat. She does, but then stands back up again. I was a little disturbed when the last thing the AAA lady said was, "If they don't come in an hour call us back." What?!!! I am not going to wait an hour for them to come unlock my van! So I called Aaron again. He answered, very delirious. He said he'll get there as soon as he can. I tried to cancel the AAA call, but it wasn't on the dispatcher's list. Luckily Aaron was thinking clearly and calls AAA to see how long it will take them. They said 6 minutes (faster than Aaron can get there). That's why it wasn't on the dispatcher's list - the call had already been sent out. Aaron called me back to let me know AAA is on their way. One minute later the dispatcher called to tell me the truck will be there in 5 minutes. In the meantime I had to explain to everyone who stopped what had happened. The boys ate the rest of the goldfish - thank goodness I hadn't put the diaper bag in the van yet. Amy also had a snack she picked up all the food that was in her seat from our previous day's outing. The AAA guy arrived and there was much rejoicing! I was grateful to Lori who stayed with me the whole time and helped contain the boys while I kept an eye on Amy. She also put the bike in the van while I buckled Amy in.
So that is my crazy Sunday story. I was glad I had put dinner in the crockpot that morning, so dinner was only 20 minutes away. We still had some fun time together that evening playing with Amy's pink ball. I couldn't get the video to upload - probably too long. So here are some pictures.
It was close to 10:00 when Aaron finally emerged. I was about to put Amy down for a nap - on Sundays church is right in the middle of her nap time, so if she gets a nap at all it has to be before church. After she was down I jumped in the shower and got ready for church. Aaron decided he would shower too, to see if he would feel any better. He did somewhat, so he didn't stay home, but decided to drive the car in case he needed to come home. After sacrament meeting, and Timothy's talk Aaron decided to go home to sleep off this illness.
Here's where the fun begins. Amy is usually content to sit on my lap and read books, or eat a snack or just cuddle. All of a sudden she is venturing further away, and wants to play with the curtains and hide behind the grand piano. At least nursery is only 4 more weeks away! Toward the end of Sunday School Amy has a messy diaper - a pretty bad one. Luckily all clothes are still clean. The last hour of church was a combined adult meeting. Amy has another messy diaper before the opening song. On the way to change her a friend from our old ward tells me he has a bike that he is trying to get rid of and wants to know if we want it. I told him sure, and he says he'll leave it by the phone in the foyer.
I only get to enjoy about 10 minutes of the presentation before Amy has another messy diaper. I only have 1 diaper left. Thank goodness she stays clean for the rest of church. After church I gather the kids and have David walk the bike out since my hands are full of scriptures, and diaper bag and Amy. He tries to ride it in the cultural hall :(. So I'm a little flustered trying to keep him off the bike and everyone together. We get to the van and I accidently bump the lock button while I am putting Amy in her seat - she refuses to sit down - this is fairly typical lately. Then I notice the boys trying to ride the bike again. I usually put the keys in my pocket - I'm wearing a dress - no pockets. So I throw the keys in the front seat put all my scriptures in the van and close the van door. Notice the problem now?
I have just locked Amy in the van with the keys, and she's standing in her carseat not buckled in! I run around the van frantically checking all the doors in vain. Several people notice this, and come to help. I try to call Aaron knowing I'd probably be interrupting his sleep. He doesn't answer. Lori offers to call AAA. Wait I have a membership I'll call them myself. This whole time Amy thinks I'm playing peek-a-boo with her like I do when I'm pumping fuel into the gas tank. I try to get her to sit down so she doesn't fall out of the seat. She does, but then stands back up again. I was a little disturbed when the last thing the AAA lady said was, "If they don't come in an hour call us back." What?!!! I am not going to wait an hour for them to come unlock my van! So I called Aaron again. He answered, very delirious. He said he'll get there as soon as he can. I tried to cancel the AAA call, but it wasn't on the dispatcher's list. Luckily Aaron was thinking clearly and calls AAA to see how long it will take them. They said 6 minutes (faster than Aaron can get there). That's why it wasn't on the dispatcher's list - the call had already been sent out. Aaron called me back to let me know AAA is on their way. One minute later the dispatcher called to tell me the truck will be there in 5 minutes. In the meantime I had to explain to everyone who stopped what had happened. The boys ate the rest of the goldfish - thank goodness I hadn't put the diaper bag in the van yet. Amy also had a snack she picked up all the food that was in her seat from our previous day's outing. The AAA guy arrived and there was much rejoicing! I was grateful to Lori who stayed with me the whole time and helped contain the boys while I kept an eye on Amy. She also put the bike in the van while I buckled Amy in.
So that is my crazy Sunday story. I was glad I had put dinner in the crockpot that morning, so dinner was only 20 minutes away. We still had some fun time together that evening playing with Amy's pink ball. I couldn't get the video to upload - probably too long. So here are some pictures.
House hunting
Friday the kids had a day off of school. After a quick trip to the store we cleaned up the house and packed a few things. Aaron was post call and we picked him up at around 1:00 so he wouldn't have to wait for the bus. We came home finished packing and left for a house hunting trip. Aaron debated about whether to sleep first or not, but the boys were so excited to go he decided to have me drive and he would sleep on the way there. On our way out I saw these crocuses that had bloomed!
Aaron got about 90 minutes of sleep(well, not that he actually slept that whole time) while Amy also napped. Timothy also fell asleep for a while. David got pretty bored since I was the only awake. We stopped for dinner just before 5:00. The restaurant wasn't open until 5:00, so we walked around for a bit. It was a really nice Mexican restaurant, a little too nice for kids. There was no kids' menu, and the only thing they wanted on the was a burger. There were no high chairs, so Amy had a hard time staying seated. The food was really good. Next time we visit that restaurant we won't bring the kids.
Then we drove on to the hotel, checked in and went swimming. Aaron wasn't feeling well, so he headed back to the room with Amy. When the boys and I came back they got into their pajamas. At 8:00, the hotel serves cookies and milk, chili and crackers and popcorn. We just had cookies and milk. The cookies were a little underdone, but no one seemed to mind. After cookies it was a little hard to get the kids to settle down. But eventually we got Amy to sleep, and I read to the boys, and let them watch a little bit of a DVD so we could get a few things done on the computer before bedtime. Lights out by 10:00.
Amy woke up at 5:00 am. I got her to go back to sleep by giving her binkie to her. However she woke again at 5:40! And she wouldn't go back to sleep. Eventually the boys woke up at 6:00, even after going to bed so late. I tried to keep them quiet to let Aaron sleep. Eventually I turned on the Disney channel to keep them quiet. Aaron wanted to check out the neighborhoods before our meeting with the Realtor. So he went by himself so the kids wouldn't be stuck in the van all day long. Amy was so tired that she fell asleep at 9:00 am! At 10:00 we checked out of the hotel and the Realtor joined us. We saw several houses. Surprisingly the kids wanted to go inside the houses.
There is one that we are particularly interested in, with only a few concerns. But I'm not ready to make a decision yet. We still have some time. Something else might come on the market. We also are looking into the possibility of building. There are some lots for sale, and we met with the builder. It would be a completely different process, and considerably more expensive, so there's still a lot to think about. In the mean time I've been searching the internet for possible house plans so we can get a few quotes from the builder. Between meeting with the Realtor and the builder we had some lunch. I was reminded of why I don't like McDonald's. Seriously nothing on the menu sounded good. So I didn't order anything. The kids played in the play area for 2 hours. Well, not quite, but it was a long time. Aaron used the free wi-fi, and I spent 30 minutes helping Amy climb the stairs and watching her go down the slide. I went to Subway for my lunch.
After finishing with the builder we headed back to the city. I drove so Aaron could sleep - he still wasn't feeling well. Amy slept for a little bit, but then was so tired of being in her carseat. I am dreading our upcoming very long drive in a few weeks (not the vacation - just the drive)! We took a slight detour on the way home to visit Valerie, Christian, Grandma G* and the newborn boys. Aaron had ordered some pizza that we picked up on our way there. We stayed for about 90 minutes or so. It was great to see Aaron's mom again, she didn't like the pictures we took of her so I'm not posting those. She entertained the boys with games on her blackberry! I got to hold Patrick most of the evening.
David held Payden for a little bit too.
Amy had fun playing with the coasters under the coffee table.
She also loved playing with Maddie too. She was however very tired. She had pulled her ponytails out on the drive there.
I expected her to fall asleep on the way home since it was past 8:00, but mostly she just fussed. The boys fought, and we were all tired and grumpy by the time we got home. Amy fell asleep two blocks from home. Luckily I got her into her pjs and into her crib without much trouble.
It was a great trip, with a tiring ending, and still lots to think about. We'll make another trip out there again, but I'm not sure when. His jobs will reimburse us costs for a house hunting trip for up to 7 days. Since we are close enough we asked if we could split those days up. They gave the approval, so we'll head out there again sometime.
Aaron got about 90 minutes of sleep(well, not that he actually slept that whole time) while Amy also napped. Timothy also fell asleep for a while. David got pretty bored since I was the only awake. We stopped for dinner just before 5:00. The restaurant wasn't open until 5:00, so we walked around for a bit. It was a really nice Mexican restaurant, a little too nice for kids. There was no kids' menu, and the only thing they wanted on the was a burger. There were no high chairs, so Amy had a hard time staying seated. The food was really good. Next time we visit that restaurant we won't bring the kids.
Then we drove on to the hotel, checked in and went swimming. Aaron wasn't feeling well, so he headed back to the room with Amy. When the boys and I came back they got into their pajamas. At 8:00, the hotel serves cookies and milk, chili and crackers and popcorn. We just had cookies and milk. The cookies were a little underdone, but no one seemed to mind. After cookies it was a little hard to get the kids to settle down. But eventually we got Amy to sleep, and I read to the boys, and let them watch a little bit of a DVD so we could get a few things done on the computer before bedtime. Lights out by 10:00.
Amy woke up at 5:00 am. I got her to go back to sleep by giving her binkie to her. However she woke again at 5:40! And she wouldn't go back to sleep. Eventually the boys woke up at 6:00, even after going to bed so late. I tried to keep them quiet to let Aaron sleep. Eventually I turned on the Disney channel to keep them quiet. Aaron wanted to check out the neighborhoods before our meeting with the Realtor. So he went by himself so the kids wouldn't be stuck in the van all day long. Amy was so tired that she fell asleep at 9:00 am! At 10:00 we checked out of the hotel and the Realtor joined us. We saw several houses. Surprisingly the kids wanted to go inside the houses.
There is one that we are particularly interested in, with only a few concerns. But I'm not ready to make a decision yet. We still have some time. Something else might come on the market. We also are looking into the possibility of building. There are some lots for sale, and we met with the builder. It would be a completely different process, and considerably more expensive, so there's still a lot to think about. In the mean time I've been searching the internet for possible house plans so we can get a few quotes from the builder. Between meeting with the Realtor and the builder we had some lunch. I was reminded of why I don't like McDonald's. Seriously nothing on the menu sounded good. So I didn't order anything. The kids played in the play area for 2 hours. Well, not quite, but it was a long time. Aaron used the free wi-fi, and I spent 30 minutes helping Amy climb the stairs and watching her go down the slide. I went to Subway for my lunch.
After finishing with the builder we headed back to the city. I drove so Aaron could sleep - he still wasn't feeling well. Amy slept for a little bit, but then was so tired of being in her carseat. I am dreading our upcoming very long drive in a few weeks (not the vacation - just the drive)! We took a slight detour on the way home to visit Valerie, Christian, Grandma G* and the newborn boys. Aaron had ordered some pizza that we picked up on our way there. We stayed for about 90 minutes or so. It was great to see Aaron's mom again, she didn't like the pictures we took of her so I'm not posting those. She entertained the boys with games on her blackberry! I got to hold Patrick most of the evening.
David held Payden for a little bit too.Amy had fun playing with the coasters under the coffee table.
She also loved playing with Maddie too. She was however very tired. She had pulled her ponytails out on the drive there.
I expected her to fall asleep on the way home since it was past 8:00, but mostly she just fussed. The boys fought, and we were all tired and grumpy by the time we got home. Amy fell asleep two blocks from home. Luckily I got her into her pjs and into her crib without much trouble.It was a great trip, with a tiring ending, and still lots to think about. We'll make another trip out there again, but I'm not sure when. His jobs will reimburse us costs for a house hunting trip for up to 7 days. Since we are close enough we asked if we could split those days up. They gave the approval, so we'll head out there again sometime.
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