Carousel Cowboys

It's Spring Break and the guys are going a little stir crazy here at the house. Yesterday we had an "at home" day, and today we just had to get out. I was so glad that Aunt Keren just happened to have a fun idea! We headed across town to the Jantzen Beach SuperCenter where there is an old restored carousel. The boys were excited of course and didn't mind the half hour car ride. Chandler watched the first ride, and then hopped on with me. They had this super cute row of tiny horses for little tikes, which was very cute, but we decided to ride together, which was even more fun! Chandler grinned and giggled the entire time, just couldn't stop smiling! It was so fun to have a first timer! After the rides, we got ice cream cones and then headed back home. What a fun little day trip! I hope the rest of Spring Break turns out as fun as today!

Quilting Victory

I finally got brave! After getting my machine in working order, and a lot of help from my friend Shari, I finally worked up enough courage to start free motion quilting Chandler's airplane quilt, and it was such fun! I can't beleive how easy it was once I got the hang of it, and how fast it went. Watch out Gordon, this opens up a whole new world of sewing project possibilities!!! :)

Happy Birthday Aidan! (and Daddy too!)

It has been a long, tiring, but fun day. Today was Aidan's actual 4th birthday, and his birthday party, as well as Gordon's birthday celebration. We started the day with a very excited Aidan ready to start the party! He was very excited to see the Birthday elf decorated his doorway while he slept. He was just sure he had grown quite a bit in the night (as he is now 4) and went to the mirror in the bathroom to see if he could see his whole face now. And amazingly, he is just sure he can see more of his face now than he could yesterday. :) (he can also jump higher, run faster, and eat more, according to him) Aidan, who is always our fashion conscious boy, got himself dressed in his new shirt that he asked me to specially wash yesterday so he could wear it to the party. At about 10, we gave him his gift from us and Grammy and Grampy, which was the bike. It was such fun to see him so excited! He and his brother spent the next hour doing circles in the garage, and then when the rain stopped temporarily Daddy took the boys for a ride. It was great!



The party started at 1:00 and 7 little boys descended upon us. For the most part they were very good, and it was a success. The re-lighting candles were so fun and Aidan thought they were so funny! Gordon and I did decide that birthday parties at this age should be 90 minutes though, and not two hours. The kids were tired by the end and ready to run. Lucky for us the rain cleared at the end and we took them all out in the backyard to play soccer. The only bad thing was that Aidan had hurt his knee on the little trampoline upstairs, and couldn't run. He was very upset as this was the one thing he wanted to do at his party, play soccer. But, he was limping and it was obvious he was REALLY hurting, so we made him the referee. He spent the last half hour blowing whistles at people, and having a wonderful time!

After the party, we started cooking for Gordon's birthday dinner. We had steaks on the newly polished grill (see a couple of posts ago) as well as Mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and deviled eggs. Aidan saw the eggs and said "Oh, my favorite! Rotten eggs!" and then followed up with "Mom, maybe you could put some of these rotten eggs in my lunch sometimes! Not every day, but maybe sometimes!" We cleared up their real name and decided maybe we'd start with hard boiled eggs in the lunch box. We'll give it a try! Gordon opened his gifts, lots of fun camping gear from his family, my family, and us, and then had his very own personal strawberry cheesecake that Keren made. I was so glad she made the cheesecakes! I don't think I could have taken on one more thing this weekend! I'm definitely ready for a nice rest tomorrow! Enjoy the photos!!!

Stuff and Things

Today was a fun day, despite my cold, Chandler's teething, Chandler's cold, and a cake that fell. (I get to remake that again tomorrow). Thank heavens for Grammy who let me call and whine for sympathy several times. First, my quilt is ALL DONE! I can almost not believe it! This is my favorite picture of it, with Chandler sliding down like he always does. I love that his bum is the only thing in focus. . . He always slides down this way, but likes it better when the sheets are all messed up so he can really hang on and slowly lower down. Very fun. . .

Next in randomness, we got Aidan's four year picture taken today. It was the first time I've been to JC Penny for pictures in years and I must say they've improved greatly. They have the cameras off the stands and in their hands, so if you kids move instead of having to tell them to sit still and reposition the camera, they just move with the kids. It was fantastic. A very positive experience. He's a very rough sampling from the proof sheet. I love it. Kind of crazy, I'm actually looking forward to going back for Chandler's 1 year pics!

And finally, we got a very exciting package from Grandma and Grandpa in Alaska today for Aidan's birthday, and when he saw it was for him there was just no stopping the fun. Why not spread out the goodness anyway, right? He was so excited to get some fun mail, and LOVED the contents too! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!! We had fun with this all afternoon. We are very excited about this soccer ball birthday! We made the cake part of the soccer ball cake today for the party, and are really looking forward to the frosting fun tomorrow! Hopefully Chandler's teeth will calm down and he'll let us actually do it!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Ethan's Primary Talk

Here is Ethan, practicing his talk for Primary one last time before we left for church. He did so great!

Dirty Jobs

As a mommy, I've done my fair share of dirty jobs. But I was channeling Mike Rowe yesterday when I took on this job! We've been wanting a BBQ forever, but squeezing it into the budget is a bit tough. I drove past this one today for $10 at a garage sale and decided it might be worth a little elbow grease (and I do mean MAJOR grease) to eat delicious chicken and burgers this spring and summer! An hour later, I am dirtier than I can remember being. A long bubble bath (and a lot of scrubbing - ME) took care of that, and now we can grill to our hearts content!!! We just need to get a propane tank and we'll be ready to go! I can almost smell the deliciousness now. . . Look at that sparkle!

Adventures in Public Transportation

For the past two weeks the boys have been looking forward to today, the day that we would ride the Max (our city's lightrail) to my allergy doctor instead of driving like we always do. They have been asking every day if today was the day, and were very quick to get themselves dressed and ready to go. Never have they been so eager to have their hair combed! It was great! On our trip we definitely ran into a few "characters" but I was pleased that the boys were polite and didn't make a fuss about it. Phew! They are just sure we're going to do this every week, but I'm thinking we're back to driving next week. :) It was fun and the boys feel like they've ridden a train now, so that should keep them happy for a while! Have a great weekend everyone!

Sumo Wrestling

Gordon, our Japanese Missionary, has been teaching the boys the finer points of sumo wrestling. Last night I came upstairs to find a ring constructed of blankets, and two little boys pretending to throw salt and slapping their bellies like the best of them. . . enjoy!

A Major Milestone!

Last night, Chandler slept through the night for the very first time since he was born! He slept from 8pm, to 7am making not so much as a peep! As it was the first time in 11 months that Gordon and I got a solid night of sleep, it seemed worthy of a blog! Hurray for Chandler! This is actually the third time we've done "sleep training" with Chandler, and by far the most successful. I hope it continues! Great job little buddy!

Avocado Boy!

This one's for Becky. You can check out her little avocado beast here. . . http://beckysnest.blogspot.com/2007/03/avocado-girl.html

Chandler discovered the joys of avocado's just a few days ago and thoroughly covered himself in them tonight at dinner. Check out those green eyebrows!

Who, Me?

I caught Chandler red handed today with a now nearly empty box of tissue. I thought it was getting a little too quiet! (But I was so enjoying emptying the dishwasher in peace! )

At least he had a great time doing it!

ABC's

Ethan is reading so well now, and really learning a lot in Kindergarten. The most fun of all, he has started reading on his own just for the fun of it. We catch him all the time with books, and often he's reading them to his brother, Aidan. Such fun!

And here's one for Gram. Here he is doing his homework. For Kindergarten, they sure do a lot of homework! At least 20 minutes a night or so. It seems kind of crazy at times, but I'm a first timer at this. . .

It's back!

Here's my quilt, back from the quilter! I am so excited! Although the task of binding it seems a bit daunting, it's fun to see the "almost finished" product! I've been working on this one since a month or two after we moved back from NY. So fun!

First Hair Cut

Today I finally sucked it up and gave Chandler his first hair cut. I know Grammy will be very disapproving, but it was definitely time. The wisps had gone from cute and curly, to old man with a comb over. He tolerated it very well, and we did it outside with the breeze that the hairs just floated away. . . less mess! Ethan was our photographer, as it was a two man job, and I must say he did very nicely! I told him to take lots of pictures and he took 30, so I had lots to choose from. Good Job Ethan!

Here's a cute photo he took of Aidan and Chandler in the grass:













And here is Chandler, looking longingly out the window at his brothers playing baseball. Soon, little buddy!

Lest I forget. . .

Since my birthday, Aidan has taken to reminding me all day long, just how old I am. He can find it anywhere!!! "Look mommy! We can only go as fast as you are old!" "Here it is again, Mommy! You are THIS OLD!" He likes to say it especially loud when he finds it out in a store or something. . . Heaven forbid anyone think I am a day younger than I am!

Cute and Clean

There is something about a baby fresh out of the tub that just calls to my camera. I think maybe it's the wet stuck together eyelashes. . . or the curls that only happen after a bath. Anyway, I love it!

I'm 11 months old!

In honor of Chandler's 11 month B-day, 11 fun things about Chandler!

1. He can climb on top of the toilet, as of this morning.
2. His favorite toy is the phone, my cell phone, or anything that resembles a real phone. Don't try to fool him with a fake though, he can tell.
3. He can walk very well now!
4. Baths are and always have been his favorite.
5. His favorite food is Yogurt.
6. He does not like green vegetable baby food (peas or green beans).
7. He is VERY mischevious!
8. If there is a lamp to knock over within the room, he will find it.
9. In 11 months of life, he has never once slept all the way through the night, we're hoping that changes soon!
10. He loves his brothers very much, and is happiest when they are around.
11. He does not like sitting in shopping carts, unless it's at Costco and it's a double seat so Ethan will sit by him, otherwise he spends the entire time trying to turn himself dangerously around so he's not riding backwards.
Happy birthday Chandler! I can't beleive you're almost one!

I am old!

Happy 30th Birthday to me! I am officially old, or as I have decided to put it, I am now "Rachel, version 3.0" So far, version 3.0 has been pretty good to me! I started off the morning with surprises from all my guys. First, they let me sleep in! I slept all night last night as well, as Gordon took over all baby duties for me! So, after sleeping until 8 (and unheard of hour around here!) I had cute homemade cards and surprises from the boys. Gordon's card listed 30 reasons to be happy today and included such items as 3.0 children, and that we are going to Hawaii in 3.0 months, lots of things to remind me that "3" and "0" are now partners in my life. :)

At church I was surprised with a heart attack all over the van by my good friend Emily. I guess the secret is out. People kept asking me how old I was. The hearts all said "I'm 30 today!"

Thanks, Emily. I needed that.

And here we are with my delicious and very large Chocolate cake from Costco. (Gordon can't fool me, I know he didn't make it!) It was fabulous, and we shared it with lots of fun friends! Thanks everybody for making my birthday fun and memorable! And remember, I am old and wise now, so if anybody needs advice on anything, I'm here for ya! :) Happy birthday to me!

Silly Boys. . .

Here's Chandler, showing off his new skills. He is walking so well now, especially if he's got something in his hands, such as this tupperware box. We think he was getting ready for the lunar eclipse with this "space helmet." Aidan, not to be out done by his baby brother, can also be seen here hamming it up, as usual! Enjoy!

Sweet Anticipation

I love this time of year, right before spring! I love the anticipation of the flowers that are all soon to bloom. Every morning I have to peek out the windows first thing and see if there are any daffodills that are quite ready yet, and how high the tulips are getting. It gives me a little shot of excitement - any day now! And I am getting so excited that the bulb festival is coming up! http://www.woodenshoe.com/springshow.html This is one of my most very favorite things to do here in Oregon, and I really missed it while we were in NY. I can't wait!

Crazy Climber

Here are some of the pickles Chandler has been getting into since learning to climb. He certainly keeps me on my toes! We even tried pushing the kitchen table all the way up against the wall, and we keep most of the chairs on top so he won't get hurt. . . but he found another way to play!