The Myers Family

Have a Rose...for Valentine's Day

2012-02-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

We're getting creative, with her hair on top getting longer and longer.

My friend and neighbor, Michelle, took these one morning.

Rosalie has loved the bath from day 1. She can sit up now in the water and splash to her heart's content. Good thing her belly is nice and plump and pokes out far enough to cover most things...mostly.

This little girl is soooo close to being on the move with crawling. She is rolling with purpose and is so curious about E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Putting her in the jumper gives her the outlet she needs and loves!

A pattern?

2012-01-25T06:59:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here next to my second son, watching his favorite show. He smells nice. He has shampoo all over his hair. It looks greasy. But it smells nice. What's that you say? Why does he have shampoo all in his hair? Oh, that's just his daily routine of dumping out shampoo all over the bathroom, or at least the past two days, anyway. You'd think I would learn to keep things up and out of his reach. But we are talking a higher level of mischief that I have yet to figure out how to predict! His motivation usually includes amusing his brother or just plain old curiosity.

This post is for my own record keeping. And if any of you out there have any suggestions for me or see any patterns that I can't recognize, please share!!!

1. Getting into my mascara and "painting" with it. Found it a day or two later because he put it all nicely back together when he was finished.

2. Dumping baby powder all over the baby's room--soooo cliche, give me something with substance!!

3. Ingesting an unknown number of zinc supplement tablets--result: a tummy ache all day.

4. Getting into my Viactiv calcium chews. We were finding wrappers in his bed for weeks. (We finally put a child lock on the cabinet.)

5. Dumping out the gripe water on the kitchen floor. That stuff is like gold!! A lock was put on the fridge.

6. Pumping out all the hand soap into the sink. (I don't know how many times.) Sometimes it becomes a painting session all over the mirror. Sometimes it is a full-on bath in the sink! I made both boys run laps last night outside as a consequence.

7. Dumping out the healthy blueberry-pomegranate smoothy I made all over the kitchen floor, stamping purple hand prints on my wall, and skating around in it. Where was I, you ask? Well, one of the downfalls of living in a townhouse is all the floors. I was putting the baby to bed upstairs. The consequence: they were both put straight to bed, the next day they cleaned all three floors of toys, and spent an hour in solitary confinement.

8. Getting into my travel-sized deodorant and rubbing it all over his legs and face and carpet.

9. Getting into my lotions, countless times, and rubbing all over his face.

10. Getting into Burt's Bees coconut foot rub. He always smells nice, why am I complaining?

11. Getting into the toothpaste.

12. If it has a lid that screws off and has stuff inside it, he has dumped it out.

13. If there are treats of any sort tucked away on the counter, left over chocolates from Christmas, expensive chocolate I gave to Dave for Christmas, Andes Mints, Tic Tacs, or gum, the wrappers have been taken off and it has been ingested.

14. Ripping pages in books, destroying anything Charlie prizes, wrecking puzzles.

15. Peeing on the floor.

16. Dumping milk, splashing cereal, dumping jumbo-sized baby shampoo in the tub...

17. Waking up early in the morning, getting the camera, and taking countless pictures of his sleeping brother.

18. Getting into my lip stuff, digging it out and rubbing it all over.

19....I could keep going.

But let me just tell you about Pete's redeeming qualities. I often find myself defending him because I often think his is misunderstood.

1. He has empathy for someone feeling sad.

2. He has a sweet singing voice.

3. He is most affectionate and always has a wonderful, sincere hug and kiss for anyone who asks.

4. He snaps out of a bad mood in .5 seconds, wipes the tears away and says, "I'm fine!"

5. He shares so well.

6. He has very nice manners and remembers his salutations.

7. He has recently potty trained. He just figured it out one day. I don't have to remind him or ask him to go. It was so all of the sudden such that I have a whole bunch of size 5 diapers left over, which Rosie is getting good use of.

8. He is the best nose blower!

9. He always smells nice. (see reasons above)

10. When you ask who he is, he replies emphatically, "Peter John!"

11. He adores his other brother and younger sister.

12. His favorite color is yellow!

13. He is a tough cookie and takes most things like a man, including all of his consequences.

14. He responds so well to verbal praise and it just makes him beam with pride!

15. He tells me he is my "Sweet Pete"

16. He loves to snuggle.

17. He has a fascination with eye brows.

18. He connects to people on a personal level. Many people say they have a special connection with Pete.

19. This kid is a born professional wrestler.

20. He loves him some soy milk.

21. Life would be so dull without him.

Goings on

2012-01-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

Its almost been a whole month since I last posted. Time is strange. The minutes are long, the days fly by.

Sometimes I get lost in Rosie's eyes. She captivates me and time stands still. Then I wake up and realize she is almost 8 months!!

We started a new family thing, though. Family back rubs!

Here's Rosie getting in the mix.

I don't know why, but it took me until the 3rd kid to figure out how to do homemade baby food. It is soooo simple and I love doing it! Here are Pom-Pear and Pom-Apple (with pomegranate juice). Dave got me this great book with lots of fun simple recipes. Rose loves 'em!

Rosie and I watching the boys play in the snow.

A few falling flakes are big news around here.

They were sooooo disappointed when it didn't continue snowing over night.

We're gearing up for the boys' birthdays. This week is Charlie and in a couple weeks is Pete. Stay tuned for the cake of the century!!!

Christmas hats

2011-12-28T08:44:00.001-08:00

Lovely hat from sis-in-law, Season

side view

"Finn, Finn McMissile"

Homeknit goodness

2011-12-28T08:34:00.000-08:00

Don't ya wish you had a Grammy like mine?

(7 month Rosie)

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-13T18:10:00.000-08:00

I'm here to share a little bit of Christmas from our house:

Lucha Libre Anyone?

2011-12-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

We're talking COLOSSAL

2011-11-27T11:52:00.000-08:00

I like that word lately.

How do I get so far behind!!??? Let me catch you up. If you find that you want to comment on a particular section, too bad. You'll just have to save all comments to the very end because, really, this post is just too big and I don't want to brake it up into little tiny posts. And 'cuz, we are ALL about colossal today.

I had a birthday and we went camping:

My yummy-lishious Chocolate Almond Coconut Ice Cream Cake.

Rosie's bed. She was the best camper of all!

Does it seem like a crazy idea to go rock climbing with a baby in a front carrier? I thought it was crazy too, even as it was happening. The boys loved it!

Halloween happened:

A ninja and Obi Wan Kenobi.

Halloween shenanigans.

Little Miss Kermit?

Bundled up for trick-or-treating.

Some good ol' family fun.

I made some stuff:

I want to start taking pictures of everything I make (doesn't always happen) in hopes that someday I'll start an Etsy shop.

My good friend, Colleen, (who just had her baby at 1:00 am this morning!!) was the recipient of this hat and...

...this onesie dress. I've since made a cute turquoise one with dragonflies for Rosie.

This hat has been my obsession the past week or so. I'm not sure what the ears are all about, though. It reminds me of a Peruvian llama.

It helps that Rosie is so good at modelling, too.

Basically my first attempt at patterning. This hat is for a friend. That's merino wool there, my friends.

Charlie's new hat. His old one got passed down to Pete.

Dave had a birthday:

The boys helped me make a "pirate lego star wars" cake.

Happy 31, Dave!

the loot...

Rosie turned 5 months, is eating cereal and sitting in the johnny jumper seat, then turned 6 months (today):

Documenting the first rice cereal eating.

Rosie L.O.V.E.S. her brothers. She always giggles when they are around.

The 6 month shoot:

Thanksgiving happened at a cabin with our friends, the Watsons:

Charlie and Kale.

Ta da! The fried turkey, it was delish!

Chillin' on the porch swing.

I don't know how this post compares with others in the past, but it may be my biggest and best yet!
Now you may comment.

a lot a lot a lot

2011-10-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

I'm majorly behind. So here are a bunch of pictures, mostly of 4 month-old Rosie.

This little girl is gaining weight without growing much in length. Thus the no-neck look.

She adores Charlie.

Me: Charlie, make her smile.

The rest of the post is dedicated to our annual visit to the pumpkin patch farm.

Baby cleavage!

If we balance her she'll sit up for a bit.

Grass! So interesting. When was the last time YOU got down on your belly and studied it this closely??

Talented 3 1/2 month old

2011-09-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

She is just so darn good at looking cute...

She is a pro-fess-ion-al at blowing bubbles.

Here's a close up.

Sleeping...got that down pat.

For those of you who are keeping track of Rosie's everyday progress, here is an edge-of-your-seat, absolutely, adorable video to keep you occupied for the next 1 min. 55 sec. Rosie is demonstrating her baby ventriloquist skills.

Visit from Grammy, cookies, and Ft. Henry

2011-09-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

I don't know how this happened, but we had a visit from Grammy for 10 days and didn't get one single picture with Grammy in it!! However, we have lots of pictures of evidence that Grammy was here:

Picture #1: This isn't what you think. Hee hee. This is actually a big blob of double chocolate chip cookies. We made 9 batches of cookie dough and froze them. Now whenever we need some Grammy cookies, we just go down to the freezer and cook 'em up!

Picture #2: Many messes were made while Grammy was here.

Picture #3: Still in pajamas half way through the day, making their own mess in the kitchen. Definitely Grammy's doing.

Picture #4-16: We took a day trip to Baltimore and Inner Harbor. Grammy was meeting with some friends down at Inner Harbor in this picture. So she is actually in the background somewhere. We are atop the hill at Fort Henry.

This hill was much steeper than this picture portrays.

Picture #17: Evidence that Grammy was here---new toys!! Now I have a couple of cowboys on my hands. Thanks for the great visit, Grammy. Hope to see you at Christmas!!

3 month Rosie

2011-09-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for a bath in the sink. I used to bathe her in the bathroom sinks but she got too big. Now she is even too big for the kitchen sink and so I just fill up the tub a little bit and she loves to lay down and kick in the water. Love love loves bath time!!

All smiles.

On her 3 month birthday.


How could we not "Bee Happy" around this little one??!!

These are the moments...

2011-08-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

...that make me so proud. My little boy is growing up. He can read now. And along with reading comes a whole new level of art and writing. I'm so excited for what is to come!!

An explanation:
I am the pink person in the middle. I have a nice big purple smile, circles for hands and feet with very prominent phalanges and a seagull-looking hairdo. I am steering a sail boat with a brown steering wheel that is reinforced with many spokes. Below are blue waves. There are clouds in the background with a BLAZING sun. It says (read bottom to top, of course):
SHELLY
FROM
CHARLIE

The "FUN" is a mess-up on "FRUM" but it fits nicely because it looks like I'm having loads of fun!

kick kickin'

2011-08-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

This is mostly for Grammy who still needs to meet this little girl.

Thank heaven for little girls

2011-08-03T06:06:00.000-07:00

She is already changing so much!

A fun card

2011-07-18T05:49:00.001-07:00

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

A sunhat for my sunflower

2011-07-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

I made another one. It was quicker and easier this time. I added a little pinwheel flower for embellishment. (Mostly to hide some sloppy stitching, but it still turned out cute.) I also did an elastic strap underneath instead of ties.

Charlie took this picture.

Its so hot, its cold!

2011-07-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

...or something like that. Somehow, during one of the worst heat waves of the summer, dressing up in our snow suits seems the rational thing to do.

In other news: We've been to the pool a couple of times and I didn't have a sun hat for Rosie. So I decided to make one. I found a tutorial and I'm so happy with how it turned out! I have another one cut out for the next size up because she won't wear this one for too long.

Faces emerging

2011-07-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

A beautiful day

2011-07-04T10:33:00.001-07:00

Recent makings

2011-06-23T12:05:00.001-07:00

Item #1:

I MADE A KNITTED TIE FOR FATHER'S DAY. Really. This is probably the coolest thing I've ever made. I couldn't believe it actually turned out looking like a tie that is actually usable as a tie.

Of course, it helps to have a fabulous model:

The satin lining and a close up of the fine handcrafted stitching. (Don't look too close.)

Item #2:
A fun purple, stylish, size 12 months, flowered helmet hat.

To be worn on this little sweetie's head, hopefully, this fall/winter:

I am so totally in love

2011-06-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

Rosie and I are BFF's. We stick together like glue. I'm not so outnumbered anymore and I am SO happy about that. At 2 weeks, we've seen a glimpse of what a sweetheart this little lady is. She and I are inseparable. I just can't get enough sweet smells from her soft hair, kisses on her pudgy cheeks, and snuggles on my chest. I didn't know having a baby girl would feel so different. I love my boys. This time it just feels different. I'm being vague, I know. I can't explain it.

We interrupt this sweet post with a picture of the goofy brothers that have come before Rosie. I hope they eventually pull it together before their ways start to set in on her. Pete is in the enthusiastic-dress-himself-stage. Charlie and I were giggling so hard over this attempt...inside out and backwards. Pete doesn't seem to mind. Nor does he mind it when he puts his flip flops on the wrong feet. To each his own...

We have full bars here...and other happenings

2011-06-11T13:30:00.001-07:00

And we have all sizes!

Who doesn't enjoy some good tummy time, huh?

Dave took the boys to a high school graduation party of a friend's and they passed out these 2011 glasses. The number 2011 is the biggest number Charlie knows. Every time we did calendar time at our preschool we recited the year along with the date. Now, if there is a whole lot of something, there are 2011 of them. Its a big number.

I want to know what happened to the days when I would wake up and feel like being a superhero--cape, rain boots and all. Those had to have been pretty good days.

Dave (yes my husband, Dave) scored big this morning as he rounded the boys up, got in the van and went yard saling (saleing...sailing...). $3 for a shiny, red tricycle for Pete and $3 for a "Huffy Rock It" bike with training wheels for Charlie. This great find left lots of room in the budget to go ahead and get the really cool helmets! (Spiderman and Transformers)

2 brothers and a sister

2011-06-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

This morning, quite early (well, it felt early) Charlie came bounding into our room. After I shooshed him to be quiet, he proceeded to explain the following to me in a rather loud whisper:

"Mom, Pete climbed out of his crib all by himself." (Pete doesn't normally do this. He usually yells "Mooooooooom" or "Daaaaaaad" until we get in there.)

Charlie continued, "And he went downstairs."

Me, "Oh ya, what is he doing?" I was expecting the normal response of "he's on the counter getting into the treats".

But instead he said, "I think he's growing up."

Charlie is right. Pete is growing up. After holding little Rosie, Pete is a giant! He is talking more and more, he's wanting to sit on the potty, he gets himself dressed, he helps himself to the fridge. And he LOVES his baby sister.

Doused in pink

2011-06-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

"The s-t-r-e-t-c-h"

"The laaaaaze"

Meet Rosie.

Look what came our way...

2011-05-28T11:34:00.001-07:00

Rosalie Rae Myers was born 5/27, weighing in at 8 lbs 2 oz, and 19.5" long. No need for further commentary at this point, just enjoy the pictures.

Father-Son campout

2011-05-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

Dave took both the boys camping for the first time. It was also the first time I was left at home by myself....ever! I had a great time. Got Chinese take-out and watched Gilmore Girls all night. It was a nice break by myself....well, me and my huge belly/baby sister in waiting.

But I was so proud of Dave for taking all these pictures. These boys are so much fun!

Boys and sticks.

Pete trying to climb a tree...

Pete boosting Charlie trying to climb a tree.

What could go wrong?

2011-05-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

I walked in just before Pete jumped. It hurts me every time I watch this.

Butterflies, fruit pizza and the circus

2011-05-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

Preschool has been such a success! I just wish I took more pictures. Tomorrow we have our last day party. A few weeks ago I taught the themes butterflies and insects. We ordered some Painted-Lady Butterfly larvae (caterpillars) and we watched them form chrysalids and then hatch into butterflies. We kept them for a few days and then let them go outside. They had such a great time!! I think I was the most fascinated with the whole process. It is such a mysterious process how they form.

At the end of the day the kids knew all the stages of a butterfly (egg, caterpillar, pupa, and butterfly). They acted out all the stages and then flew away with their tissue paper wings!

I had such a great Mother's Day. Breakfast in bed (stuffed french toast yum!), Gilmore Girls (seasons 1 & 2), a great dinner of shrimp and artichokes and my requested dessert....Fruit Pizza!

And I, yes me, am the lucky mother of these little guys.

On to the last portion of this post, our trip to the circus. Every year the Cole Bro. Circus comes into town. We've posted the typical circus pictures before: the elephants, the tigers, the tight ropers, and even the guy being shot out of the cannon.

But this year, I was super impressed by this woman who stood on one finger balancing on a little ball!

Hand over heart, standing for the pledge.

Raarrrrrrrrr!

Pete is missing from the face paint picture, the standing in front of the elephant picture, and the loopy clown picture because all of these things are just too scary for him right now.

Color Bubbles

2011-05-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

Anyone else try these Crayola color bubbles? They are such a mess! The boys loved them of course.

As good as it gets...

2011-04-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

Last week, we took off for DC for the day because we (so sadly) missed the majority of the Cherry Blossom Festival this year. A mixture of horrrrible weather and busy-at-work-Dave kept us home during the height of the blossoms. But we drove down to East Potomac Park and found some late bloomers. It was beautiful along the river and we were the ONLY ones there!

I love this shot of all the boys.

Look closely at Pete's tongue...he does this lately when he laughing, it is so funny!

Pete has a nice little seat on my belly these days. Baby sister always kicks back, though. Sorry, sis, but you are going to have to get used to these boys.

Our attempt at setting up the camera on a stump with the timer...

It was pretty windy by the river and kinda chilly.

Soooo, we headed to the National Zoo! It really was the perfect day. All the animals were out. It must have been "show off your baby at the zoo day". The ratio of pregnant ladies to non-pregnant people (both male and female) was totally and completely skewed towards the pregnant side! It was almost ridiculous. Lots of babies (human ones) were strapped to the front and back of mamas and papas too.

The Red Pandas were one of our favorites. They came up close to the fence and ate their lunch of bamboo while we were there.

Pete is missing from this picture because the big bronze panda scared him.

Seeing the Pandas at the zoo is always so fun. This was the first time I've seen them outside because the few times I've been to visit before, they have been inside under surveillance because of possible pregnancies, etc.

Orangutans are so funny. He's sticking a carrot out of his mouth at all of us watching.

The baby gorilla, who is one month older than Pete (2), was such a hoot! He was totally annoying every grown-up gorilla in there and everyone kept chasing him around. My monkey boys thought he was thoroughly entertaining.

This Giant Anteater was supposed to have a new baby (born in Dec.) too but it wasn't out. Such strange creatures and can you imagine a mini one running around??

And if walking around at the zoo wasn't enough, we had to top the day off with a trip to Ikea. We found a new dresser drawer for baby's room. My legs were shot by the end of the day!

Those boys were tuckered out, man!

We had such a great day. Everyone was in good spirits, the weather was perfect, we had such a good time. These kind of flawless days don't come around all the time.

Here is a vid of the 7 (!!!) lion cubs. There is just something chilling about the roar of a live lion. It shakes the ground beneath.

Colorful legs, big and small

2011-03-31T07:45:00.001-07:00

Some of you may know that I have what I call "vein issues" during my pregnancies. This time around I did the research and run around to get the prescription strength compression socks, which my insurance so kindly paid for. Most of the time my legs don't even see the human eye, let alone the light of day. Sorry, if you think I'm gross but I've given up shaving my legs as well. What's the point? I made the real effort to shave for St. Valentine's Day, though.

Every-once-in-awhile I'll inspect the damage of my lower legs, ankles, and feet and each time they are more colorful, more puffy and bumpy, and it really does look like a toddler took a marker to my legs!

Pete was in the bathroom with me as I got in the shower this morning. He saw my legs and exclaimed, "Oooh, color!"

I chuckled a bit and said under my breathe, "Ya, does it look like someone colored on my legs with a marker? That's what happened." I said it kind of sarcastically, thinking, I only WISH that was it and I could just wash it all off.

While I was doing my hair, I hear Pete coming up the stairs. As he rounds the corner into my view, I see he has his pant leg pulled up.

He said, "Color!"

Sure enough, in effort to be like his mom, Pete drew with a blue dry erase marker on both his legs. Funny thing, though, is that it looks amazingly similar to mine. The color, the location, the design...this kid is a genius!

Ok, so maybe now I can complain

2011-03-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Boy it sure is hard coming home to cold weather after being in Florida for two weeks. Driving home from BWI airport we were excited to see beginnings of blossoms. We had hoped Spring would be here in full swing. But Mother Nature likes to play jokes and "whabaaam!" slap you in the face for no particular reason. 3-4 inches of snow Sunday morning is a pretty funny joke. Ha...ha...ha.

It is confusing to a 4-year-old as to what to wear.

But in the end, really I can't complain. The snow was mostly melted by the time we got out of church. And the Cherry Blossom Festival is supposed to be starting next week (if they don't delay it). We have been three years in a row and it has become a great family tradition.

I can't complain Day: 7, 8 & 9

2011-03-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

Who ever heard of getting a hair cut on vacation?? Well, you have it here, folks. I was getting tired of the shaggy pictures. We needed a "We're ready for summer" look. So I got myself some new shears (needed them anyway) and got to clippin'. I never get sick of the "before and after" pictures of hair cuts.

Before.

After.

Around nap time, we headed north to Miami, looking for the beaches. Both little boys got some snoozing in the car. Driving through Miami was really fun. Big tall buildings and palm trees. It took us awhile to get there (traffic and finding a parking spot) so we didn't get on the beach until after 4:00. Dave and Mike (co-worker) met us there.

The 4th iconic picture of Dave and I on the beaches of Florida. (1st, 2nd, & 3rd) Man, we are looking like parents, or something. What I'm not including is a picture of me in my flattering maternity swimsuit. Only the lucky few Floridians who happened to be on the beach that day were privy to that sight.

Next we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe which was well past bed time. Pete gets real mischievous after hours. Here is Dave trying to control the screaming in an already noisy restaurant!

Awww, cute! Charlie and Mike. Mike is such a nice guy. He bought us all some yummy nachos to share. He also goes out of his way to hit all the Hard Rock Cafes in his travels just so he can pick up milk shake glasses and stuffed bear souvenirs for his sister and aunt.

Remember that pirate ship outside our hotel featured on days 3 & 4?

Well, we got to ride it today!! I had to round up some rented kids life jackets (required for under 6). We skipped nap time for Pete (bit us back in the end with a total meltdown before dinner, fell asleep on Dad's lap, and got put down to bed for the night) but heck, how many times do you get to ride on a real pirate ship??!! We lubed up on sunscreen and prepared for a 2 hour voyage on Queen Anne's Revenge II.

Looking up to the front at Captain Ron...

...and to the back at First Mate Don.

Pete was hesitant most of the trip. I don't know why, the boat never went faster than maybe 8 miles an hour. We got to help raise the sails and once we got out there, they cut the motor and we were really coasting! (maybe 3 miles an hour) It was so relaxing, though, with the warm wind just the right temperature. I think we were dragging on the bottom because the water is so shallow. We were kicking up lots of dirt and they kept referring to it as our tractor trail, sowing all sorts of vegetable seeds. It took us (there was another family of 3 with us) a bit to catch on, as it must have been a long standing Captain-First Mate joke.

"Captain Charlie" got to steer for most of our trip!

Pete hopped up there for 5 seconds before he started to whine.

Happy sailors! Pete warmed up when we were about 5 minutes from home and really got excited when he saw Dad waving from the shore.

Aaaannnd we are nearing the end of our trip and my camera battery! (Nope we didn't bring the charger.) We'll see what adventure tomorrow holds before we fly back home on Friday.

I can't complain Day: 5 & 6

2011-03-20T18:39:00.001-07:00

Welp, we got sucked in. We are officially tourists. We paid the price but it was worth it. The "Theater of the Sea" (deep, booming voice, echo echo echo) had all sorts of fun things to see!

A parrot show! Turns out a parrot's IQ is about that of a 2-4 year-old toddler, both of which I have. They were pretty darn smart.

The dolphin show was probably the highlight. This one jumped 20 feet in the air!

We took some time to dip our toes.

Charlie is definitely looking the part of a tourist.

This was an interesting place because besides all the show animals there were lots of abandoned ones that roamed the area free. Including lots of cats and these giant Iguanas!!

Even these strange mouthed children were everywhere and didn't seem to leave us alone!! (You can see the Iguana in the background above Charlie's head.)

On a nature walk, we met some ladies from Idaho. We talked for a bit.

Lots of really fun sea turtles...and sharks, rays, alligators, crocodiles, fun colored fish.

This sea turtle was disturbed before it hatched and it was born with a defect of a "bubble butt" that caused a buoyancy problem. So someone designed a life jacket for him and cleverly named him Quasimodo.

Here he is coming up for some air.

We finished the day with a sunset swim on the beach. Dave's co-worker, who is down here with us but staying at a different hotel, went ahead and bought all the gear for snorkeling. Dave got to try it out here.

Sunday we got up early and drove 1 hour south to Marathon to go to church at a little tiny branch. There were about 20-25 people there, half of which were visitors. Among those were the ladies from Idaho we met at the Theater of the Sea!

After church we continued our drive for another hour south down to Key West. Key West was an interesting place. Lots of bicycles, scooters, electric cars, trolley rides, etc., anything to cut down on the number of cars on the narrow, crowded roads. We saw people living out their dream, lounging in hammocks, no shoes, eating only coconuts.

We followed US 1 to the very end.

We caught a glimpse of the incredibly huge Disney Cruise ship that was docked.

Strange Banyan trees (looking at the trunk)

Strange to think we were closer to Cuba than to our hotel! Charlie kept asking how far we were going to drive and then walk. We just told him that we HAD to get to the very southern tip of the country. Ironically, Dave was sporting his Denali t-shirt from his trip to Alaska last summer, near the northern most part of our country.

And what do ya know, but we bumped into those same ladies from Idaho again!!

I can't complain Day: 3 & 4

2011-03-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

A continuation of the rubbing it in...

We took a drive down US 1 through a couple of the Keys and stopped at DQ for a treat. Pete still has a dairy allergy but we thought we'd just throw the question out there, "Do you have anything non-dairy here?", thinking ya right, this is DAIRY Queen. Turns out they did but boy did it stain! Pete's hands were blue for the next day.

Funny how a spoon just doesn't do the job. Ya always gotta try with the finger.

Nice.

Thursday we decided to go for an adventure and hop on a Glass Bottom Boat Tour. I don't know what I was thinking when I tried to smuggle in that ball under my dress...I guess I thought the boys might need something to play with. Silly me.

The water was so pretty. Lots of shades of green and blue. That is the Atlantic Ocean there in the distance.

The "glass bottom" was more like windows in the bottom. It is hard to tell the depth in this picture. They let you sit on the ledge and dangle your feet but the windows were about 4-5 feet below my dangling feet. We saw lots of fun coral, lots of sting ray, jelly fish, and of course, many different colored fish.

On our way back, the boys preferred to watch from the windless-inside.

I, on the other hand, liked it in the very front of the boat. I saw lots of birds and got to see my favorite bird of all time, the Belted Kingfisher.

Back at the park, we got some hot dogs and these White Ibis were hanging out picking up crumbs.

Right next to our hotel is a very quiet (strangely) Tiki Bar that offers free sunset cruises on this pirate ship. The boys go nuts over it every time it comes and goes. Unfortunately, it is all booked up for the evening for the rest of our stay, but we may be able to get a ride in the afternoon next week.

This evening a pelican got itself caught up in a fishing lure that was hooked under its wing and then connected through its beak, poor thing. He was captured with a net and these brave fishermen worked hard to clip off all the barbs and poured alcohol under the wing.

Then they sent him on his way. Hope he does okay.

Some pretty sunset pictures:

I can't complain Day: 1 & 2

2011-03-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

We just love it when we can tag along with Dad on a work trip. This is our 3rd time to Florida as a family and 4th time as a couple. I know this is a little window in our lives that we are able to do this, before the kids start school. I just L.O.V.E. that we can pick up and go. We decided a little over a week ago, and I had to clear my calendar of doctor appointments, lessons in church, wedding receptions, etc. Come on, twist my arm a little harder! Two weeks in Florida is totally worth it. Financially, we can pull it off because of the extra income Dave gets from travel. How can we say no??!!

It is absolutely beautiful down here in Key Largo. The temperature is a constant low 80's. We are right on the water with boat docks. It is fun to watch all the boats and yachts come in and out. But mostly it is fun to watch the wildlife! I saw a dolphin today looking outside my bedroom window! We are told there are several dolphins that come close and play daily AND a group of manatees that come up close. I can't wait to see them. There is also an alligator (yet to be seen by us) that lives nearby in the water. That worries me a little. Lots of pelicans, different kinds of seagulls.

We are ready for Florida! Though we are still wearing long sleeve and long pants in MD, we only packed shorts and short sleeve (with one token warm outfit just in case). I, myself, am wearing long beach dresses EVERYDAY. A first in my life. They seem to capture my wonderfully plump belly, while keeping me cool (remember I have to wear those stylish compression socks?). I may never go back to pants, at least until baby arrives.

The view outside our screened-in porch.

I'm sure this scene will become a regular for the next two weeks.

Decked out for the swimming pool.

I see a geek emerging...

Dave surprised us and came home 1 hour early.

No picture of me in the water, but if you can imagine a flattering maternity swim suit complimented by some black, knee-high compressions socks, that would be me. The baby was doing summersaults or something in my belly in the water. It was the strangest feeling as my belly was poking out lopsided, with a "baby bum" sticking out on one side. The water took the pressure off my pelvis and legs, probably because the baby was having fun floating up inside me.

This was our first time swimming outside this season and I was a little worried that Charlie would have regressed from the progress he made by the end of last summer. But he just jumped right in. This will be a great summer for swimming lessons, which I am excited about because it was hard enough hanging on to two kids in the water last year. With baby coming, it will make it easier to handle if Charlie can do his own thing.

Do I look chill or what? We ate our lunch outside today and met some new friends.

Whenever we stay in a hotel, Charlie always gets hooked on all the fun kid TV channels that we don't get at home. It has been a bit of a challenge to convince him that we aren't always in Florida and we need to limit the TV. But I can't be too hard on him because I also get hooked on the FoodNetwork, HGTV, and other channels I only get to watch on vacation too. :o)

Tagged--and blog overhaul

2011-03-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Cecilia in a 4x4 blog meme. Check at the bottom to see if you are tagged. Here's my stuff:

1st - Four places I go:

Target
Church
The park
My strength training class (my instructor is quitting to go back to elementary teaching next month!! Major bummer for me, but lucky kids!)

2nd - Four favorite smells:

Dryer venting outside
Japanese food (in general)
Pinewood Christmas candles
My boys' heads

3rd - Four favorite TV shows and/or movies:

Parenthood
Modern Family
Glee
Bachelor (Dave and I are hooked this season!)

4th - Four recommendations:

The grass is always greener where you water it.
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Be who you are; you are the only one who can do it perfectly.
Stand up straight.

I tag Christian M., Thomas G., Colleen M., and Gunda!!

Pete and the big 1, 2

2011-02-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit late, but Pete turned 2.
He requested a rocket ship cake, so here was my attempt (not my best):

Don't you love the Fonz look?

The latest Pete talkings:
"Oh man!" --when something goes wrong
"I'll do it!!" --he's becoming very independent
"Milk please, mom" --said in the sweetest voice no one could possibly resist.
"Baby sister" --pointing to my belly
"Julie" --when I asked him what we should name our baby sister. There ya go.

A bit about Pete:

He L.O.V.E.S. his big brother, Charlie and is usually only .5 seconds behind him, imitating him in exactness.

Pete is always up for a party, is a bit of a showoff, but can be shy among strangers.

His silent fits (protesting by just lying on the floor) last but a few minutes and then he's fine.

When it is just Pete and me, it is the easiest thing I have ever had to do.

His sweet eyes cut to your very soul and I can't stay mad at him for very long.

He is very forgiving and is always quick to apologize.

His favorite game to play is "Duck Duck Goose" and his favorite song to sing is "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".

To Pete, any big building with a pointy top is labeled a temple.

He loves soft, fuzzy, cuddly things. Thus we got him a doggy Pillow Pet for his birthday.

He is a great sleeper and usually naps for 3-4 hours in the afternoon.

He never fails to point out a distant siren, an airplane/jet/helicopter, the moon, or a bird.

Pete has a bit of a sweet-tooth (a boy after my own heart) and will do anything for a treat.

This little guy steals my heart daily. He is so sweet and has a heart of gold. So glad you came to us, Pete!

Cancel your Valentine's date

2011-02-13T11:04:00.000-08:00

Or make a party out of it!!

I was driving home from D.C. by myself the other night and was listening to NPR's Science Friday. I don't know how I hadn't heard about this before then, but the segment was on IBM's Jeopardy challenge game against WATSON, a supercomputer. WATSON will go up against the beloved Ken Jennings and the lesser known but undefeated and bigger money winner, Brad Rutter. The competition will run over three days, Monday-Wednesday, normal Jeopardy time for your area.

Go here for your Final Jeopardy Party kit complete with Alex Trebek's mustache cut-out.

If you are REALLY interested, download the podcast from NPR (17 min) with the author of the book, "Final Jeopardy: Man VS. Machine and the Quest To Know Everything" (which can not be released until after the show airs.) They talk about how the computer was made over the last 4 years, very interesting.

Rumor has it, though, that Google has leaked the outcome of the competition so DON'T GO SEARCHING if you don't want it spoiled.

the big 4

2011-01-26T18:54:00.001-08:00

I woke up early this morning (2:32 am) with thoughts of my first born. He was actually born at 2:03 am, but I tell you what...life has never been the same since this little boy breathed his first breath. It has been quite the ride so far and I am so glad I got on this ride.

Charlie has been planning this Buzz Lightyear birthday pretty much since his last birthday. It has been fun because he kind of "gets" the whole birthday thing now. Hard part is that he can ask for a certain toy and then just assume that because he asked for it, he is going to get it. I understand now why parents what to give and DO give their children what they want. And how easy it is to get carried away....they don't want to see what will happen if they don't!

He requested Buzz Lightyear party hats, which I couldn't find anywhere (Walmart or Target). So I took some SpongeBob ones we used for Dave a couple of years ago and covered them with some really expensive Toy Story wrapping paper. You would never know the difference.

Partyin' out, while watching Toy Story 1 during nap/quiet time.

The whole fam in a great cheez pic.

The beloved Buzz with "wings that pop out"...the single requested item. Grammy pulled through for us on this one and Charlie was possibly the most excited I've ever seen him in his whole life of 4 years.

Good thing Pete has a birthday in a few weeks. He kind of had a hard time with all the attention going to Charlie.

A requested blue, Buzz and Woody cake.

And, I'm pretty sure there aren't enough of these "birthday song" videos out there. I had to add another one to the mix. He just looks so happy to be sung to. And because we are so far away from family, we have to keep you all updated. :o)

It became very clear that Charlie had some very specific ideas about what "turning 4" would hold in store for him. This morning, he said, as he has been saying for the last few weeks,

"Mom, when I'm four...." followed by any number of things that are going to happen when he turns four.

Me: "Charlie, you're 4!"

Charlie (in a quite thoughtful voice): "Right now?"

Me: "Yes, you're 4 now!"

Charlie: "Oh. (long pause as he catches up with himself) I feel the same.

Going to bed tonight he said: "But Mom, I'm four and I'm still sleeping in the same bed!"

I guess he thought something would feel different. I think we all kind of anticipate some sort of "different feeling" when we officially turn another year older. It is a real thing. But really we are only one minute older then we were a minute ago. Turns out it is kind of a let down. But over time, we actually do get older and feel different, it just isn't a sudden event. How do you explain this to a 4-year-old??

Happy Birthday, Charlie Bug!

crafty lately

2011-01-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

I usually get pretty "knitty" during the holidays. My mom and I are pros at grabbing a down day and knitting by the fire ALL DAY. Here are some fruits of my labor:

I started this project awhile back but finally put him all together. He has beads in his bum to weight him down. This gnome needs a name! Any suggestions?

I totally made up this cat hat! I love the fuzzy ears. It is for my little niece who lives in Bozeman, MT.

Treats we made for friends this year.

These are Pete's slippers. Charlie has some matching blue ones. Super easy and fast.

I'm itching for another project. Maybe I'll start a baby sweater for our BABY GIRL coming in May/June!!

Cottage getaway

2010-12-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving, we had no plans for dinner with friends like we have had the past 3 years and Dave and I were feeling especially nontraditional. So, we threw caution to the wind and packed up Wed. afternoon and headed for the hills. About 1 1/2 hours away is an army fort that offers fun little cottages and cabins on the lake. We stayed in the "Gettysburg", a nice little cottage with a living room, a bedroom and a full kitchen. We brought movies, explored and hiked around, and pretty much vegged out for 2 days.

Our Thanksgiving dinner: some leftover ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, and a pumpkin pie Dave made, all while watching "Cars". The easiest thing I have ever done!

Pete found a whole lot of amusement with the unlimited supply of acorns on the ground. He filled his pockets to the brim!

Dave and I took turns taking a family picture with the boys by the lake.

Can't get enough of that cheeeeze face.

A little jaunt

2010-11-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

We managed to get out for a little hike around St. Mary's Lake this afternoon. We usually pack one of the boys in the backpack carrier and Dave carries most of the weight. But this time we packed the boys' little backpacks with our snacks and water and made THEM carry the weight. It was a nice change, though our pace was much slower.

Reader/viewer beware!!!
The following picture is a most scary shot of yours truly, in natural form. No make-up, bangs need a cutting, horrible angle, I could go on. It is just a good thing the rest of my family is so gosh dang good looking and I couldn't pass up posting this picture of us looking into the sunset. And I just wanted to make sure we weren't all thinking I am always as glammed-up as I was in my last post. I wouldn't want to lead you astray in anyway.

Feeling purple

2010-11-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

My good friend, Michelle, gave me a spa gift certificate for my birthday. And THEN offered to watch my boys today while I went and got pampered. Man, what would we do without such good friends who know what we need??!!

I have never gotten a pedicure before and only had my nails done for my wedding. But this was GREAT! I got all my cuticles cut, sitting in a massage chair, while soaking in a nice hot foot soak. My lady suggested I get the sea salt rub instead of the parrafin treatment. I guess she knew that my feet had never been "worked on" and they really needed it. Man, she went to town on my feet, scrubbing and clipping. She didn't speak much English and kept looking up at me, smiling, to see if I was happy.

Those spa ladies are funny. That is a whole new culture to me that I would love to be able to understand. While I was sitting there, a few other ladies came to do their own foot soak and pedicure because "they weren't busy", as one told me. They chatted, laughed, whispered, all while doing a great job on each others feet. And they have great feet! Perks of the job, I guess.

Ugly, overgrown cuticles and hang nails have always been a plague for me. But I'm free and clear now!! At least for a little while...

Thanks, Michelle.

Happenings

2010-11-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

I really don't know how Halloween passed without hardly any pictures taken.
Costumes this year:
Charlie--Spiderman
Pete--Skunk
Shelly--Little Red Riding Hood
Dave--The Hunter (because he ends up with Red in the end, right?)

Here is a vid when we first bought Charlie's costume. Both were very excited!!

Pete, the proud winner of the cupcake walk, enjoying his spoils.

One night when I was out, Dave went upstairs for "only a second" and came down to the boys splashing around in an inch deep water in the kitchen. It began with the kitty water and then moved to water from the bathroom sink. Charlie tells, "Pete was filling his cup in the sink and watching him do that made me want to do it too!" I just have to ask, though, really, only a second?? Pete is getting pretty good at wiping up messes, he's required to do it a lot.

Oh how we love our cat

2010-11-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

An unknown in my life right now is what exactly goes on before I wake up or get woken up in the morning. Charlie wakes up at some hour and roams the house. Sometimes he brings in the paper, sometimes he gets dressed, sometimes he plays downstairs for who knows how long. I really don't know. Sometimes he comes to ask me a question and sometimes he doesn't. An estimate is sometime between 6:30-7:00 which is when Dave leaves for work until about 8:00. That is a long time in the eyes of a 3 1/2 year old. Am I admitting that I'm an irresponsible parent?

The other day, Dave and I got on the camera and discovered it had been hijacked by said Charlie. We were amazed at the sheer number of pictures that were taken. But it pretty accurately captures the world of Lady, our cat. (The individual pictures are really small because this is the first time I've done a collage like this. I guess I need some lessons on how to make it bigger.)

Life is a hay ride

2010-11-01T11:15:00.001-07:00

I just love the little pumpkin farm we visit every year. Super cheesy, but man nothing is better than that hay ride. I feel like I've jumped right into an Anne of Green Gables movie.

The close up.

All nice and zoomed out, i.e. no nose hairs or goop in the teeth.

Tunneling Charlie.

Pete found his!

This picture cracks me up. Charlie is mad at the wind for blowing, of all things. A boy after my own heart, what can I say.

A trip to the "Fairy"

2010-09-29T06:05:00.001-07:00

A fun day at the County Fair. Dave was gone to 11-year-old Scout camp, just like last year. But we still had a great time. Pete rode his first rides. Charlie insisted on calling the fair "the fairy".

We had our picture taken by the local paper and the guy said we might have our picture in the paper but it is just on their online gallery. Go here to see it!!

Pete was a little worried on his first ride. Each time the train rounded the corner and he saw mom, he would start the wailing up again. Then as soon as he passed he was fine. It was pretty funny.

I even got to hop on one of the rides!

Complete with kettle corn and cotton candy!

Denali Folly I

2010-09-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

Life goals. Such weighty words. To many they conjure up images of unfulfilled dreams, after all, who actually accomplishes something they have categorized as a life goal? Perhaps that is because this realm is usually reserved for such fancy as retiring to Norway to become an accomplished Hardingfele player. Climb the highest peak in North America, now there is something tangible and relatively easy to accomplish. Especially if you modify the goal to climb a mountain right next to the highest peak in North America, and then to climb a mountain in the general geographic region as the highest peak in North America, and then to hike in the rain within 50 miles of the highest peak in North America. Life goals are easy.

So how do you start when you are setting off to accomplish such a monument to your life?

First, be sure to book the last flight that will get you to Alaska in time (this of course is to allow your wife to tidy up some loose ends before being abandoned by a thoughtless husband).

Now leave for the airport late. This has a way of adding some excitement to the trip that may otherwise be missing. There is just something about not being able to get to where you need to be, and if you don’t get there all will be lost that gets things really adventurous. Donavan and I used to get all sorts of behind schedule, misguided, etc. that really allowed for some great mountain stories. After many years we got pretty good at planning our trips, so when we got home conversations went something like this:

“How was your week long backpacking trip in the most awesome mountains in the Tri State area?”

“We did exactly what we planned to do.”

“oh”

No gathering people around me and saying “So there I was…” or “Against all odds…” or even “Honest to gosh it was a ghost (or Rocky Mountain Tortoise or Rameumptom)!” So I try to add some "late" excitement in many areas in my life such as church, work, waking up, etc.

If you have properly left late, then you will also have the oil light turn on in your car enroute to the airport. This is the real decision point. You have already cancelled the cheap offsite parking so you can park at the ridiculously priced onsite airport parking, how much are you willing to wager the car will make it to the airport? I always bet on the car. After one trip we watched water poured in Donavan’s radiator spill out the oil pan. Another time I drove a Plymouth Breeze through a creek with water over the hood to get to the trailhead (sorry dad, but it saved us like 50’ of walking). Besides, if you bet it all, and you do get to the airport then your car will be stuck in the airport parking lot where you will not be able to fix it until you drive it yet again to get out. This is a life goal after all, so now is not the time to be stingy.

So now that you are at the airport you are ready for 24 hours of travelling. Of course after that you are still not there. You now have to hike for a week trying to get there, but you never do. You think you are there, but then the next day you realize you’re not, so you keep going. Eventually you end up back on the airplane and it is just one big 7500-mile loop and you realize that there is home with your family. So that's the whole trip summarized, with a moral and all. I will still digress into mind numbing detail, as my therapist says that is best.

Obviously this is a picture of my plane flying next to Donavan’s plane on our way into Anchorage, or least I sometimes lay in bed at night thinking it is true.

We landed at almost the exact same time, so it was easy to meet up at the airport. After gathering our packs we had six hours to get supplies and be in downtown Anchorage to catch our bus to Denali National Park at 7:00am. We took a taxi to a Denny’s across from a 24-hour grocery store, and stocked up our stomachs and food bags. They were nice enough to let us use the pharmacy area to break down and pack our food.
Another taxi ride got us to the bus stop, where we only had to wait for one hour on the street.

Once on the bus we had the opportunity to practice more upright sleeping. A mere six hours later we were there!

This brings me to my first Alaska Fast Fact.

Alaska Fast Fact #1: Alaska is BIG.

It was very overcast and raining, so we only saw the scenery right by the road, but it was nice. It reminded me of driving through Yellowstone or the Island Park area, except it never stopped. For six hours. Occasionally, there would be a lake with some boat planes, rundown trucks and houses made out of scrap sheet metal.

But mostly trees.

Once we arrived at Denali National Park, we had to take the proper steps to get a permit and into the park. At the Backcountry Information Center you find a small room with several very large maps on the walls inside and out. These maps show Denali National Park and the boundaries of the 87 different units that divide the park. Most units allow only six people to stay in them at any one time. All you have to do is figure out which of the units you would like to stay in, based on absolutely no knowledge of any of the units, check and see if it is available, and make your reservation. This actually is not so hard. Only about 40 of the units are adjacent to the road, so that limits your options for starting points, and then if you show up in the middle of the afternoon, you really only have left about a dozen available units to choose from. All the same, the incredible size of the park makes even this task overwhelming, so we thought we could rely on the rangers to help us pick the best place for us. Picking a unit is very crucial, as there are no trails in Denali. You get the real Alaska experience, and the terrain of the unit you pick will greatly affect what that Alaska experience will be.

Once we obtained the attention of a ranger we briefly described our intentions to hike for a week (apparently much longer than most) and climb a mountain or two. She started to discuss options, when I noticed on the map that the elevation of the areas she was referring to were pretty low, like lower than any place I have set foot in the west. This reaffirmed to me AFF #1, and that the tallest point in North America and areas of such low elevation can be in the same national park. Denali is the second largest national park, you know. So I thought I should clarify our "climb a mountain or two" idea.

“We were hoping to climb a mountain over 15,000'.” This was the obvious thing to do in Alaska, because it’s BIG, right? The highest I had climbed previously was when I cruised up Uncompahgre Peak at 14,309’.

I was twelve times more freaked out than I look in that picture. This is when Donavan and I famously outran a thunderstorm to the top of the highest mountain for 400 miles, only to find an even larger storm on the other side. You can note the wet, greasy hair standing up on end, that’s my favorite part. That story has been officially labeled a “harrowing tale.” So you can see why we would want to climb an even higher mountain now.

“Ummm, (smirk) those will require mountaineering gear, and probably two weeks to allow for clear weather.”

WHAT?!

Alaska Fast Fact #2: Denali is not high (with a handful of exceptions).

With a little further research it turns out I can count on one hand the mountains in Denali that are higher than Uncompahgre Peak. This is why you can see Mt. McKinley from such great distances; it sticks out of the landscape like a pubescent pimple.

OK, so no climbing tall mountains, but two weeks for weather to clear?

Alaska Fast Fact #3: July and August is the rainy season.

They don’t put that in the brochure. I suppose that is opposed to the snowy season you find the rest of the year.

Some other things that need to be done before getting a permit include a safety brief and watching a video. The safety brief just emphasizes what you see in the video, but gives a little more detail on wolves. The video, as you have heard, teaches us how to fight of bears.

They cover the basics like sleeper holds, full nelsons, and a little mixed martial arts. With Donavan’s wrestling background I figured I didn’t need to pay much attention.

They actually teach a little more on the prevention side, with some good role-playing scenarios. Of note they teach to call out when traveling through thicker brush where a bear may not otherwise hear or see or smell you coming. In the video they show hikers yelling out “Hey Bear! Heeyy Bear! Hey Bear! Hey Bear! Heeyy Bear! Hey Bear! Hey Bear! Hey Bear!” I’m sure they only showed them doing that for no more than thirty seconds total, but it felt more like two minutes, which felt like five hours. I promised myself that I would never utter that phrase for the rest of my life.

They also had a humor section in which they talked about crossing rivers. Glacial rivers. It was full of fun tips on walking through raging water thigh high, with great videos of people grinning and laughing while everything they are wearing and packing gets soaked in 33° water. The deadpan narrator nailed punch lines like “bring extra shoes and socks, or just deal with wet feet” or “you may want to put some of your belongings in plastic bags.” Once again I made a little promise to myself about something I would never do.

Safety items aside, we still needed to pick our unit, and options were slim for something accommodate a weeklong excursion. We finally settled on unit 5 – Upper Sanctuary River. There was nobody signed up for this unit for the entire time we would be there. No red flags there. After four days we would pass over into unit 6 – Upper Teklanika River. Unit 5 would offer us over 62000 acres of wilderness to ourselves, and 57000 acres in unit 6. That should be enough.

This is the picture from the brochure for unit 5. Looks nice, right? We checked out Bear Resistant Containers and bought our maps, being sure to delineate our unit boundaries so we don’t end up in the wrong unit. These maps were vital to our hike, and the sole source of direction for us. We never pulled out the compass or GPS that we brought, just sat and stared at the map.

Finally having and knowing our plan, we set out to get some last minute supplies (plastic bags anyone?) and get our backpacks ready for hiking. This was not too eventful and just included getting lost on the way to the mercantile, spilling melted cheese all over my hiking clothes (Heeyy Bear!), running to the curb to catch the camper bus into the park, noticing Donavan’s pack is soaked, mad frenzy to unpack his pack, diagnosing the leaky Camelbak, being grateful the bus driver needed a bathroom break, even more thankful for a recently acquired plastic bag to contain the leak, and repacking and loading onto the bus. Pretty normal stuff.

This bus brings up something interesting about Denali National Park; you can only barely drive into the park. If you want to see the park you need to get on a bus and ride down the one road that goes through the park. Now if there is only one road in the park and only one bus company that drives on that road, you can imagine the racket they have going on.

Fortunately, the camper bus is cheaper than the other buses. This is because on the camper bus you have long haired drivers named Gary who don’t give history spiels or say things like “Alaska stole my heart.” He just said “Stay behind the yellow line, and otherwise do whatever you want.” I think he really meant whatever you wanted.

Now having to buy a ticket and get on a bus to get around on our hikes is not quite our usual style.

(Beartooth Pass, MT)

(Cooke City, MT)

(San Juan Mtns, CO)

(Yellowstone NP, MT)

Hey, it’s still hiking! But we were specifically told that we had to buy a ticket and would not be picked up if we tried to hitchhike into the park.

The bus ride was actually pretty nice. When we started the driver got the units everyone was going to, and then double-checked them with his list of which units are which. He glanced back at us a few times and then said, “You guys going to 5, do you like willows?” He then made parting motions with his arms, like he was pushing aside a very thick, heavy curtain.

“I guess so, do we have a choice?”

“No. Where do you want to be dropped off?”

Ummm, “The west side of the river?”

“I guess that makes sense.”

Thanks. Gary.

With still surprisingly few red flags going off, we enjoyed the scenery and got a feel for the land. There was a group of hippies sleeping behind us; apparently the voyage of this joy pod through space was not very exciting for them, but we were riveted. Immediately after the Sanctuary River (the west side), the bus stopped with very dense forest on either side. Gary yelled back to the hippies to wake them up. This was their stop, and at this point I was hoping our stop looked a little more welcoming, I supposed at some location further west of the river.

Hippie free, we continued on for another two hundred yards and then stopped again. This time the trees were a little taller in the incredibly dense forest. Oh much better!

Away the bus goes. Now we get to put boot to soft, fleshy earth and let ‘er rip.

And we are genuinely excited. We are finally doing it! We are hiking Alaska like we always dreamed: no trail, light rain, leaky packs, starting at 5:30pm. Perfect.

Once underway we had only two goals, get ½ mile and out of site from the road, as these were the park rules. Anything beyond that was gravy. We figured on maybe two hours of hiking, leaving us enough time to set up camp, eat, and get to bed before it got dark.

We actually got clear of the trees rather quickly to find a very nice level swamp to hike through. And by level I mean very uneven, soft ground that appears level. You know those new shoes that work your glutes by making it seem like you are walking on sand? You should try hiking with 50 lbs through a swamp and see how your glutes feel.

So we went back to the trees. And then back to the swamp. And then the trees. And back. The Hardingfele is sounding like a pretty good goal right now.

We have bushwhacked enough to know that you never find perfect ground, so make sure you keep going the right direction while you try to find it, because you’re always going to look for that perfect stretch. With this in mind it did not take us too long to accomplish our goals, but readily apparent was the fact that swamp was not a place to set up a camp. So we set out to finding a reasonable camping spot. We finally found one about two hours and 1 ½ miles in. That’s right, 1 ½ miles in two hours. This coming from guys who used to outpace mule trains, who could average 5 miles an hour over a day, and even clocked a 7 mile hour once. This "make your own trail" stuff puts us in a different ball game and, as I recorded in my hiking journal, “sounds exciting but is really a big slap in the face of reality.”

Our camp ended up being a mostly dried up side creek from the main river. One of the things Alaska is famous for is the mosquitoes. Having literally been pushed to the brink of insanity by mosquitoes before, we came prepared.

Truth be told, they really were not much worse than what I have experienced in the Yellowstone area. Of course, that is still really bad and we were very happy to have the head nets. It did make eating a little tricky however.

Ah, food! Now that is what backpacking is really about (or at least it is when you get old and can afford good food, and the food is about as exciting a story as the rest of the trip because you plan things so gosh darn well). Tonight we enjoyed some General Tso’s chicken with white rice and cookies for desert. Wash it down with some hot chocolate and we are in business.

What we were also really trying to do was eat as much as possible to make room in our bear cans. Everything food or scented had to go in. It was a tight fit without our toiletries, so we needed to make some space. Speaking of space we also had to abide by the triangle of life, or some other equally cheesy triangle. Our tent, our eating area, and our overnight food storage had to all be 100 yards apart.

Don’t you just love the sounds at the very end? You may have to turn up the volume to catch the fateful end of one mosquito.

So we finally reached the end of the first day, which was actually 36 hours from the time I left my house to taking that video. I bet it felt that long reading it. One of the things we noted in that video is that it was still quite light at the end of the day, but trust me, we slept well.

Denali Folly - Prologue

2010-09-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

When Shelly and I had barely started dating I decided to share with her some important information, you know, to make sure she knew what she was getting into. See, I had never kept a girlfriend over the summer on account of the attention I gave my other mistress the mountains, or at least this was what I figured. It could have been that I get a little more irritable in the heat (do know it can get all the way to the high 80’s in Montana?), don’t look good in a bathing suit, or was just plain lazy. At any rate, as we strolled down the sidewalk on that beautiful early autumn evening I confidently pronounced “It’s important for you to know that Donavan and I are going to climb Mt. McKinley one day.”

“So.”

This took me back a little, after all this was akin to announcing that I was going to cure cancer by doing experimental treatments on the 11 children that she would produce for me. In other words, I expected more of a response.

“I just want to make sure you know.”

“I don’t see how that has anything to do with me.”

Well, my dear, now you know how it has something to do with you, and so does everyone else who follows this blog. Lets not compare the posts that I will make with Shelly’s, but it might make a good compare/contrast assignment for anyone who happens to teach 7^th grade English.

A lot has happened in the six years since we had that conversation, most importantly Shelly realized the role the mountains play in my life and promptly moved me to Minnesota. After discovering that I could still mess things up there, we came to Maryland. I bet she thought she was safe. Another item of note is that Donavan and I have gotten older, and by conventional wisdom, wiser. We realized the time, money, and training required to climb Mt. McKinley was greater than we could afford given our family man lifestyle (certainly nothing to do with Donavan's paralyzing fear of heights, an unusual trait for a mountaineer). But maybe we could just see Mt. McKinley and climb one of the towering peaks that are sure to surround such a behemoth of a mountain. So I guess Shelly can be grateful for our revised life goals.

This blog has never been heavy on the expository side, more in the pictures of cute kids genre. But Shelly told me I could use the blog to chronicle my adventure in Alaska, and I have been feeling the bug to write lately. I fancy myself as someone who likes to write, but don’t get around to it very often. Well, I touch an etch-a-sketch only once every other year, and plenty of people think I do fine at that. Why should writing be any different?

For those who are not into lengthy readings, feel free to scroll through and enjoy the pictures; I won’t be offended. For the rest of you, I hope you enjoy my ramblings. I will break things up to hopefully make the posts not so long. Here’s a teaser picture to get you interested.

Overdue

2010-09-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

1) My books and videos from the library.

2) An update on my blog.

3) A cleaning of my bathrooms.

What I'm going to do about it:
a) We're going to the library tomorrow and we'll pay our fine then.

b) I hope to get a good post in right now.

c) That may never happen.

Happenings in August:

I got a new computer. Yeah!!!! That was definitely an overdue event. We've been planning a purchase since last December and finally it happened. I'm fully satisfied with my new Mac. Now I can enjoy my time on the computer without having to pull out my hair with impatience. Old computers seem to just get worse and worse, slower and slower, exponentially, driving us further and further into insanity. We also got the iPod touch with a free rebate. Dave is fascinated in this world we live in. He can get the free Netflix app and be watching a movie in less than 1 min, all from the comfort of his own palm. I'm excited about being able to send documents that people will actually be able to open!! And being able to skype my family.

Pete turned 18 months and is hating Nursery. Hopefully that is short lived. He is so good otherwise. Here is a vid featuring the Pete Man and our homegrown melon:

A day trip to Oldtown Alexandria:

The invasion of the mini-frogs:

The entire crop of this year's carrots. All pretty puny but the picture is fun in Pete's green room:

Dave and I dressed up as Goose and Maverick from Top Gun at a movie-themed birthday party of a good friend. Those are real flight suits. Real pilots don't actually wear them around their waist like that but they do in the movie! I should have had a mustache:

Dave's 8 month desire fulfilled when I made him the Applebee's secret recipe, White Chocolate and Walnut Blondie with Maple Butter Sauce cooked and served on our "skookie" skillets:

This year's cake endeavor for the Cub Scout Cake Auction (last year's and the year before). I stole the idea from my cousin, Meredith's blog. Such a fun cake to make and really yummy!

Kiddos at the Cub Scout Fundraiser. They did a Mario Kart tournament alongside the Derby Car race and I (ahem) got second place and was awarded a very cool MarioKart Wii t-shirt (in boys medium but it still fits great!).

A fun package in the mail with matching REI backpacks for the boys!! Thanks Grammy!

Pete is getting the hang of "cheese".

And the most recent trip to North Carolina. I love that we can just hop along with Dave on his more local work trips (6 hour drive, though). We got to stay in the same hotel that we stayed in for 2 weeks in January when Dave's mom came to visit us. The beach was awesome and the water was bathwater warm. We were there for 3 days and did the beach everyday. Successfully avoided Earl. Not many pictures were taken because it is really hard to get out the camera when you are having too much fun splashing around in the waves and not to mention all the sand on my hands.

The mountain Charlie and I made with the stick "flag" at the top.

And THAT, my friends, is the post of all posts.

What time is it?

2010-08-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

I kind of have to apologize for my last post. I made it seem like I was having the absolute worst time in my life. By any means, please do not think I'm a wimp. Also I have to apologize to Charlie. I said, "He doesn't do sick well." True be know, Shelly doesn't do sick kids well. All is well now though, thanks for all your wishes well.

Back up a couple months, my mother came to visit in June. She brought a project and all I could do was grin and say, "Sure!" Though I would probably never attempt to do something like this on my own, I had fun doing it and the final result is so cute! I just wish they weren't so much work.

I finished this birthday banner up today, my second one (which I also gave away). I am just loving it. I was going to keep it for myself but .... it is going to a friend for her birthday. You know you've found a really good gift if you want to keep it for yourself. It happens to me ALL the time!

Answer #1: Its birthday time! (get it? with the clock...nyuck nyuck)

And up close for details:

Turns out my mom has started a little business and is selling these to raise money so she can go on a European Cruise with her best buds. If you want one: marhadd@gmail.com (Marilyn Hadd). Just a little plug, only because I think that cruise is going to be amazing!

P.S. Answer #2: Its time for Dave to come home!! I heard from Dave yesterday, actually, one day early! He's coming home tomorrow morning. Phew, I don't have to call Denali National Park with a trembling voice asking for a search party.

A relatively good day

2010-08-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

I'm functioning on a fairly good level of crazy bliss. To help you understand, I have gone crazy, lived, am being required to push through (because what is the alternative?) and have come out on the other side a little loopy.

An overview of my week:
Wed., 4th: Dave leaves for Alaska for 8 days (really, this is not a bash on my husband. I am so glad he got to go on this trip that has been in the works for longer than we have been married). Pete and Charlie have both been sick since Monday. Charlie is a little worst for the wear and Pete is just getting into it.

Thur., 5th: Pete gets worse, croupy cough. Charlie is still in the thick of summer cold sickness. (This kid doesn't do sick very well.) I take an emergency mental health walk out into the neighborhood, wagon in tow. I'm heckled at because there is a tornado watch and it is nearly upon us!! (I'm more worried about my mental health at this point.) It was a wimpy storm anyway. I get a call from Dave in Alaska who is being required to sit through safety videos on how to fight off Grizzly Bears and am told that if I don't get a call from him by next Wed., to call Denali National Park....and what?? tell them my husband didn't call me, send out a search party?? Not what I wanted to hear at this point.
I have to call the hometeachers to come give Pete a blessing at 10:00 pm because he can't breathe with croup.

Friday., 6th: Charlie is better, thank goodness. Take Pete to Dr. and he is prescribed a steroid to help the croup. Pete has high fever and went to bed at 6:00 pm. At night, I finally get to watch The Blind Side (finally!) and then start to feel the sickness coming upon me by bedtime.

Sat., 7th: Drop boys off at friend's house to go do Primary activity at church. Pick up boys only to find out Pete cried the whole 3 hours!
Pete begins to exhibit unusual behavior, I chalk it up to being sick. After nap time he is horribly unhappy, can't do anything for him, he's hitting, biting, running, screaming, self-destructive behavior and such. He gets it out of his system and is fine...for the time being.
We decide to go see Toy Story 3 anyway. (What was I thinking??)
Charlie loved it. Pete drove me nuts but I had already seen it. All in all it was great for Charlie's second movie and Pete's first.
Shelly's sickness is subdued during the day but sore throat is nasty at night.

Sunday, 8th: Wake up and everyone is sick. Don't go to church.
The Incredible Hulk has now taken over my baby and it is scary! A couple hours of screaming, nastiness. Mom and Charlie are just trying to pacify the "green giant" (aka Pete) and start to realize that the steroids aren't agreeable to the little guy.

Mon., 9th: Cancel trip to visit relatives in North Carolina (sorry Meredith!). Back into the Dr. to ask why in heaven's name would anyone want to turn my baby into some Jekyll/Hyde character, especially since he still has a fever and croup isn't any better!
Come home with antibiotics (after a long wait in Walmart, Pete coughed so much he threw up all over himself and stroller, so I stripped him down to his diaper).

Tues., 10th (today): Turns out the sun does shine again and life really CAN be good!
We got out the fun shoot-balls-up-in-the-air sprinkler and the bubble gun. Had the time of our lives! Note to remember: Sprinklers and bubbles make everything better.

"Oozing bubbles"

I had to split this video in two because it wouldn't upload from my camera. The reason why I grabbed the camera was because I was sitting there sewing and I hear a really low, "Hi" from behind me. Charlie was in character and I had to get it on tape.
Funny points to look for:
1) "Can I have the doggy please, can I have the doggy please?" I have been trying to get Charlie to ask nicely when Pete has things he wants instead of hitting the floor in agony because Pete is running away with the most valuable possession of the minute. Luckily, I managed to divert him.
2) The second he looks down, his hat slides off. It just makes me chuckle.
3) Towards the end of the second clip, he tries to bend down twice and has a hard time with the belt, trying to keep it in place.

I didn't get it on tape but Pete was getting into the car and saying, "Bye bye" JUST LIKE Charlie did at this age, it was eerie how similar it was. But then I couldn't get him to say it again so this clip of Pete back to his normal cheerful self will just have to do. Curious George had his shining moment of fame with Pete. But then he is tossed to the wayside. Such is life of an 18-month-old little boy's toy.

Proclamation

2010-07-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

I just ate the most delicious peach I have ever tasted. It was most sweet above all that I have tasted. I had to immediately share with my family. Um, it was so good. It was just ripe that the skin peeled right off (I peel it for the boys) and it wasn't mushy at all. I wish I could have shared it with all of you.

Wow, it was good!

(Boy, am I on a role with this blog.)

A toast

2010-07-21T17:03:00.001-07:00

Here's to best friends.

And to those of us who are lucky enough to marry them!

Happy 5th, honey.

These flowers were delivered today from Dave. My bouquet for our wedding was calla lilies. I can't stop looking at them. And the pink roses actually smell sooooo good. Sometimes "grocery store" flowers don't have the strongest scent but these are great! (thanks 1800flowers.com)

Knitting

2010-07-20T10:55:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of projects I've been working on. These are baby hats I made for props for a friend who is a photographer. (She also took the pictures.)

PIG: Pattern adapted from a bunny pattern found on the back of Bernat Softee Baby yarn.

FROG: Pattern found here on www.withatangledskein.blogspot.com.

An experience

2010-07-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting eating lunch today with Charlie and Pete. All is quiet, except for the iPod music and chewing. Then, Charlie said to me nonchalantly,

"So, mom, how was Trek?"

Last Thursday until Saturday Dave and I participated in our stake's Pioneer Trek as a Ma and Pa. We dropped Charlie and Pete off at a friend's house Wed. night. We dressed in pioneer clothing, pulled/pushed a handcart (actually as Ma and Pa we weren't aloud to touch the handcart but I did help on the "Woman's Pull"), ate pioneer food, drank lots of water seasoned with dirt, slept under the stars, prayed, cried, laughed, hurt, sang, starved, then ate, were worn out "dead tired" many times, hiked until 1 am, made many new friends whom I love very much, strengthened my relationship with my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ and my husband, missed my two boys, read scriptures, barely slept, danced at a Hoe Down, was wooed by my husband by a slow dance to the live band in the rain, washed my hair in the river, stank like I've never stunk in my life, played my harmonica around the fire, peed in the woods many times, got bit by lots of bugs and spiders, sweat, ......and loved every minute of it. I can't really explain everything because most of it was a very sacred and personal experience. I do, however, share it with those in my assigned family (13) and the other 105 youth and Ma's and Pa's.

Though, it was only 3 days, it felt like a long time that I was "out-of-touch". It felt weird to get inside our car and sit back on that cushion seat and turn on the A/C. It was wonderful to take a shower and brush my teeth twice and climb into my own bed. I have a greater appreciation for all I have, food, clothes, home, everything! I have a greater appreciation for my pioneer heritage and those who made the real Trek West. Especially my grandfather, Thomas Giles, who was a blind harpist. He came from Wales and lost his sight in a coal mining accident. He also lost his wife and two children on the trek West but he endured to the end. I have a greater love for myself. I have a greater love for my husband and my family. I have many new, true friends. I have a stronger testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Would I do it again? Ask me in a couple months and I will probably say yes.

AND the greatest miracle of all: I escaped with 0 ticks!!! A true miracle.

Day 1: Clean, fresh, totally ignorant of what is about to happen.

Day 2: I look better than I feel and that is saying something.

Day 3: In a state of complete euphoria. Overwhelming.

Beautiful, strong pioneer women.

Goofiness happening on the trail home.

Putting together the cart on the first day.

Part of growing up

2010-07-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

So we've all had this experience:
The huge hill you used to be scared to ride your bike down when you were little, isn't quite as impressive when it is revisited years later. Or the super fun favorite activity of building blanket forts with your brothers on Christmas Eve, somehow isn't so "cool" anymore when you're a teenager. Charlie has, unfortunately, had a similar experience.

Let me back up....a year ago. I was trying to get Charlie to give up the pacifier. We tried everything, a couple of times. We even bought a really cool guitar that one of Charlie's friends had and he wanted really badly. Here is said guitar:

But he couldn't have both. If he wanted the guitar he had to give up the pacifier. In the end, after he couldn't get to sleep and was regressing in the potty training, I gave up. My mother and a friend gave me the advice that, "no boy ever goes off to scout camp with a pacifier." It was ultimately peer pressure and a fear of buck teeth that was making me so anxious about him still using it. So we put the restriction that it was to stay in the bed. And the guitar went up in the closet.

Meanwhile, he turned 3 then 3 1/2 and is still using the pacifier. Mom's not worried. But we would gently remind him that as soon as this pacifier "died" there wouldn't be another one. "What?!!" you say, "this kid is STILL using a pacifier?" Don't try to peer-pressure me into anything here. I was letting him do it on is own time.

Recently, a friend of Dave's lent us his PlayStation along with the full set of Rock Band and Guitar Hero equipment, which we have been playing quite a bit. We're talking the real stuff, here man:

Then, all of the sudden, last night during dinner, Charlie announced that he is done with his pacifier. I could read the look in his eyes. He wanted that coveted guitar back. We made a new deal that he needed to go to bed, stay in bed and sleep without the pacifier and the next morning he would get the guitar. This morning he came into my room just 'a beaming from ear to ear. He couldn't even wait to get dressed to get downstairs and have me climb up on a chair and get it out of the closet. I dusted it off and handed it to him. But, wait, there was a hesitation...a look of disappointment swept across his face.

"No, mom! Not that guitar. That one is....too small! That's not the right one!" Something had gone terribly wrong. Tears began to well up. Could it be possible that mom actually shrunk this guitar??

I tried my best to explain that this is the same exact guitar he had before and HE was the one that grew bigger. Yet, he refused to touch it and was convinced that it used to be bigger. After moping and sulking for a good portion of the morning, I finally got him to eat some cereal and diverted his attention. Maybe half way through the day, after many demonstrations of just how "cool" this guitar really is (mom basically making a fool of herself), Charlie decides that maybe it is the same guitar and is worthy of his playtime.

At lunch time he said to me, "Mom, that guitar isn't as cool as those other guitars." Well, maybe that is true but I did catch him "rocking out" with it.

And we are pacifier-free for night #2.

Happenings

2010-07-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

Well, Grandma has come and gone. (Were you getting sick of that last post!!?)

I can tell you that a lot has happened since I last posted and I don't really know where to start. It is a bit daunting to think of all the things I have to say. I guess I'll just tuck them away for another post, another day.

I will, however, give you one reason why such things as posting on my blog have moved to the back burner.

I have become a full-time couponer.

It has sprouted little shoots that have grabbed onto all my time and it will literally take all the time that I allow it to take. I've subscribed to two different newspapers to get the inserts and ads. I belong to a group of awesome ladies and we basically just keep each other in "the know". We share coupons, alert each other of the deals, communicate if some cashier lady is being nazi-ish about a certain coupon and to steer clear of her, ya know, that sort of thing. I also have my mail-lady giving me the extra Friday mailers so every Friday I get a postal box on my doorstep with 40+ mailers, which I then divvy out to my girlfriends. My more daring friends dumpster dive and collect old papers from the library and such.

I must tell you, though, that there is something about getting a darn good deal that is exhilarating and somewhat addictive. I'm told that the same parts of the brain that are affected with addiction to drugs and alcohol are affected when you experience a "good deal" buzz. I can imagine the same goes for gambling too. AND it has fostered a little bit of superstition in me. I seem to have great couponing experiences when I park in a certain spot at CVS versus another parking spot.

I even have Charlie hooked on couponing. He goes through his magazine (which I got for him for free in the mail!) and gives me the coupons for some portrait sitting. He tells me that if I don't want to use it, he will give it to someone else. I tried to throw it away one day and he found it in the trash. (oops!!) He gave me the really hurt look and I had to lie and say, "How did THAT get in there?? I'm sorry, I don't know how that happened."

There may be a skeptic out there saying, "Well, don't you just end up spending more because you have to buy the brand name stuff?" I am proud to say that for two months now I am way under grocery budget and this last month I cut it by 50%!!! My pantry is stocked, my freezer is packed full, the cupboards in my bathroom are overflowing, I have toilet paper, razors, laundry soap, body wash, shampoo, toothpaste, gum, lippy stuff, diapers, wipes, and free samples to last us until the sun burns out.

I have a friend that has a separate bank account set up just for all the rebate checks she gets and has enough to pay for Christmas already! I'm doing the same.

A few websites I follow: thekrazycouponlady.com, hip2save.com, hotcouponworld.com, freebies4mom.com, and others. Couponing is totally the thing to do in this economy and there are lots of people out there that are making money from blogging about all the deals. I make them do the work and then reap the rewards. Seriously, how can I afford NOT to coupon?

Hurry Grammy!

2010-05-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

'a camping we will go

2010-05-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

We set out for Northern Maryland or Western Maryland (whichever you prefer) for a camping trip. We didn't really have a set plan for exactly where we were going camp. A late start and traffic around D.C. only got us as far as Greenbrier State Park for dinner. Right on the Appalachian Trail, we set up camp near a beautiful lake and cooked stew for dinner. The boys ate and slept like champs, unlike the last camping experience we had last July. We got a little rain in the morning but otherwise the temperature was perfect!

A couple things that we wished we would have brought:
-a good lighter for our propane stove
-charged camera batteries

I got about 4 pictures before my camera died. Here they are:

Here, Pete is venturing into the next camp site. He thought he was hot stuff, walking around in his hiking boots.

Here we are all moved in.

And that is where my camera died. We did buy a disposable camera and I will have to jump in a time machine to go back 10 years (or more) to figure out how to get it developed. Do places still develop film??

Pete woke up with the birds Saturday morning and was allowed to run around inside the tent until the rest of us came to. Bad idea. He managed to pull out a whole container of wipes...one...by...one. Well, wipes are expensive and I wouldn't just have them all stuffed back in the box. So I brushed them all off and folded them...one...by...one, just so.

Saturday morning we packed up camp and headed for Altoona, PA to visit some friends from Dave's mission. Inclement weather happened upon us so they graciously put us up for the night. Northern Maryland and Pennsylvania (where we were) is absolutely beautiful country. Rolling hill, deep green, lots of agriculture, quaint country homes.

On our way home on Sunday, Charlie's bladder maxed-out 4 times in one hour. Must have drunk a lot for breakfast or something because we had pull over and stop on the side of the highway 4 times!! He would start squirming in his car seat and we would say "AGAIN!!??"

We stopped at Fort Fredrick State Park for lunch. Fort Fredrick was originally built in 1756 to be used in the French and Indian War. Pretty neat place.

All in all, it was a great weekend and successful camping trip...hopefully one of many.

New cooking show, starring...

2010-04-28T06:17:00.001-07:00

"Chef Charlie"

"Apprentice Pete"

Taste testing...ummm!

Calling Grammy on the phone: "Thank you for the fun kitchen, Grammy!"

(Turn the dial on the stove to the right and you hear boiling water. Turn it to the left and you hear something frying!)

Pete is growing up (sniff, sniff)

2010-04-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Pete is progressing in leaps and bounds. It was maybe over a month ago when Pete was taking his first steps. I kept waiting, with camera in hand, to get a good video. He would maybe add one more step to his repertoire every week. Slow progress but he's full blown now and getting a huge buzz out of it.

Yesterday and today, he won't let me feed him anything with a spoon. Where he was perfectly amiable before, now he wants to do it ALL BY HIMSELF. And it is taking me all morning to clean up after him. I couldn't resist the face-stuffing, though. I love a kid who stuffs his face!

And here is the "Pete walking video", much overdue but well worth the wait: (excuse the different video formats. I'm experimenting with different ways to speed up my uploading.)

Popcorn??

2010-04-05T10:41:00.001-07:00

The annual Sakura festival in D.C. was a great time this year. The weather was perfect, the blossoms in full bloom, and everyone else and their dog was there to see them too! We walked a lot, had some frozen lemonade, got a little sun, and slept the whole way home.

The magnolia tree under which we ate our lunch.

("Get your fingers out of your mouth.")

We pretend tasted all sorts of flavors of "popcorn"...blueberry, apple, lemon, cherry. How strange that these trees were growing popcorn!!

With the wagon in tow, we were the envy of young and old alike. We were the only wagon out there! Much more fun than a stroller. (Charlie dressing himself to match the wagon: total serendipity.)

My favorite picture of all.

Sushi??

2010-04-01T17:11:00.001-07:00

April Fool's Day!!!

"Yum"

Ready for summer

2010-04-01T10:52:00.001-07:00

You know when you have to eat with the goggles on, it is time for summertime and the pool!!

Later that day, after going to the Dr. Seuss birthday party at our library.
He would bring the goggles down and position them just right, take a bite and then put them up, repeating this process for every bite.

brother to brother

2010-03-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

We have one of those toys where you sit and spin around. Pete had just discovered that toy this particular day. After lunch (i.e. after he had gotten a burst of energy), he got down from his high chair and started crawling in circles like he was a little tipsy!

This one reminds me of the movie "Hook" (watch it!) where the Lost Boys are eating invisible food. (Hey, his name is Peter too! What a coincidence.) You can kind of hear Pete go, "Mmmmm" after one spoonful. It was funny to me that Pete was so willing to keep taking bites. His little imagination is starting to kick in, with the help of Charlie's very active one.

Ring around the rosie:

Soup buds

2010-03-29T19:18:00.001-07:00

Seriously, bath time is the most fun that is had by anyone in our household. If I could, I would keep them in the bathtub all day long. They would shrivel up to little raisins, though, but at least they would be happy all day.

I love all the "vroom"/crashing sounds that Charlie makes as he's driving the foam cars around.

I LOVE the sounds Pete makes trying to copy Charlie.

I love scrubbing out all the peanut butter from their hair and getting in between the toes.

I love sitting back and watching them just play.

I love the wet spots I have on my pants when I stand up.

I love the towel-wrapped up kid, squirming to keep warm.

I love pausing at the mirror to let them see what they look like all wrapped up. They love it, too.

I love combing the clean hair and the smell of clean pj's.

And the smell of a nice, clean, little boy, just melts my heart and takes me to my favorite, happy place.

I'm sorry for the delay in video of walking Pete. Actually, he still isn't really walking that great. Charlie did it over night. It is taking Pete more time. I've tried to get him to walk on video lots of times and it just doesn't turn out right.

But I do have some fun "brothers" videos coming soon. I didn't realize that the video setting on my camera was on the high resolution (whatever you call it) and so a 1 min video is too big to upload directly to blogger.

And it takes SOOOOO long to upload it to youtube.

Just hang tight.

First steps

2010-03-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

Pete is venturing out, standing on his own and trying to take some steps. Just this afternoon. He is pretty excited about it. No video yet.

I just remember when Charlie started walking, it was so much fun. It was pure joy. It is such a fun time of development.

Other things happening:
I wish I could say we are enjoying our new kitty, Lady. I think Pete and Charlie love her to death. I am having a hard time getting used to the hair all over the place and the scratching on the carpet. I don't remember these things annoying me with the cats I had when I was younger.

One little thing about me. I have been blessed/cursed with a supersonic, super hero-caliber sense of smell. Now that being said, I'll tell you one thing that I KNOW I will not get used to and don't want to.

The smell of cat pee in my couch.

Sorry to be blunt. I can't even sit on my favorite cushion and type on my blog without wincing and gagging. And THEN we found a wet spot on our super comfortable chair the other day. Not 100% sure it was cat pee because the boys were playing with the water bottles around there. But it stinks. Dave comes home from Petco with "the stuff that works". A couple days later, after unzipping the cushion covers, dousing the cover and foam pads, airing it out, and covering it in Fabreeze, I can still smell it bad.

You better start showing some redeeming qualities, Lady. Or you're gonna find yourself hiking. I'm not above it.

Excuse me. I need to get up and find another smell-free seat so I watch the Oscars in peeeeeeace!

Indulge yourself

2010-03-03T16:53:00.000-08:00

...in an extra long video of Pete. He has learned to say "no no" and shake his head when he is about to do something he knows he's not supposed to do. He wouldn't do it for the video and therefore we are saying "no no" the whole time! But I thought it was a cute video anyway.

Questions: Does cat food count as a food group for babies?

Lady

2010-02-28T16:57:00.000-08:00

We got a kitty. We went to our local animal shelter, picked her out and then a week or so later we picked her up from the vet after her surgeries were done. We like her. She is still getting used to us. We don't know how long she was stray but she seems pretty accustomed to being around people. She is about a year old.

Charlie just absolutely LOVES her. "She is so cute," he always says. Pete loves her too. He signs "cat" and meows when he sees her.
(Charlie chose to wear his basketball outfit this day. It is the same colors as Lady. Coincidence? I think not!)

A funny story:
We brought Lady home on Thursday. Saturday, I had just gotten home from being gone all morning and was bringing stuff in from the car. Lady was last seen in the kitchen and we were pretty sure she didn't get outside...but not TOTALLY sure. After awhile of not seeing her, we all conducted a house wide search for Lady. We started on the first floor (the playroom) and looked everywhere. We moved upstairs and searched under everything, the couch, in all the cupboards in the kitchen. We then moved up stairs to the bedrooms. We checked under all the beds, in all the closets, under the dressers. No Lady. Well we must have missed something downstairs. Our house isn't THAT big. She HAS TO BE HERE SOMEWHERE! So we went back downstairs and searched everywhere a second time. Back upstairs...again. Pulled EVERYTHING out from under the bed. Back downstairs again! We were totally stumped! Where could she be!??
Finally, we thought we'd better go searching outside. So we piled the boys in the wagon to take a walk. When we got back, Lady was sitting at the top of the stairs, with a "Jokes on you guys" look on her face. She must had found a great spot. Later that evening she "escaped" to her perfect hiding spot...behind the fridge!

You really can't tell from this picture how narrow it is between the wall and the fridge.

And she doesn't come out until she wants to!

Sunday best

2010-02-27T17:42:00.000-08:00

These were taken last Sunday. Charlie has had a haircut since then. You can't tell by the pictures but Pete is sporting 100% linen shirt and pants which were gifted to him from his cousins for his birthday.

recap, review, contemplate...

2010-02-22T13:49:00.000-08:00

1st Birthday cake faces:

My boys don't look a thing alike. Why not??

1st birthday

2010-02-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

What a guy, Pete. We have thoroughly enjoyed having this little man in our family. He is such a joy, always happy, very lovable. Cliche, I know, but this year flew by! Here are a few highlights of our day:

I love the toes in this picture.

The famous chocolate cake pictures:
I found a allergy-free cake recipe online, with no milk and no eggs. I used vanilla soy milk instead of just water. It was actually pretty good. It became more of a toy, though, than a yummy treat.

He makes this funny squinting face sometimes. I'm not sure what it means, but it is funny and I finally captured it.