The Orchardmama Blog

Spring Break 2016

Well it wasn't Hawaii, but we had a fun, short spring break trip.  Like our Kauai vacation, my mom came along which makes life feel impossibly easy (at least for me).   We stayed at my grandma's house in Vancouver and so that was a lot of fun.  The boys spent most of their time scootering around her neighborhood, because these poor farm boys never have had the opportunity to ride anything on pavement at their home (we love the dust and gravel!), much less on miles and miles of sidewalk.  My grandma also has wetlands just beyond her backyard, making for a great place to push around dump trucks and get completely muddy.

Along with getting the chance to catch up with family, we made a trip to the Oregon zoo.  It was HOT and there were a lot of people, but like I said, my mom came along so that made it really fun.  This wasn't her first rodeo, so she saddled me up with this sage advice: "See all the animals you know they want to see first, because then if the day falls apart at least they'll have seen the most important ones."  She's so smart.  Because of this, we were in and out in 3 1/2 hours, having seen all the highlights, and really most of what the zoo had to offer.

Leah learned how to scream on this trip, and thankfully she didn't practice that during the 5 hour drive back home.

 

Nick could probably ride a scooter for 6 hours straight without stopping. I'm not kidding. Have you met him? LIMITLESS energy.  As he was buzzing by the house, several times I heard him singing Live on Forever, by the Afters which was so precious to me.  He always talks about heaven, and how cool it's going to be and how he wants to fly and ride a lion.  As he zipped around that neighborhood as fast as he could, belting the lyrics to that song on an 80 degree day, I could feel his little heartbeat for heaven and the joy he was experiencing catching the breeze on that scooter.

Milo comes alive with the natural world, so I knew the zoo would be an awesome day for him.  He wanted to stay and observe at each exhibit, far beyond what his little brother had patience for.  Nick was darting around, weaving through people, racing to the next spot and Milo was saying "Nick, stop!" and whispering under his breath to me "Oh my gosh, he's stressing me out" (I wonder where he's heard that before?).  Again, Grandma Heidi to the rescue.  We were able to split the boys and each go with their individual paces. Milo was most excited about the hippos, the lions, and the bald eagles.  Here he is, super pumped that the hippos emerged from the water so we could see them!

 

A few more pics from our time:

The Sweetness of a Boy

Parenting.

So easy, right?  There are so many days I feel like I'm absolutely RUINING our kids.  So many doubts, questions, second-guesses.  I don't even feel like I know which way is up sometimes.

This morning, I had a moment where I realized that I have done a lot more correcting and fault finding lately, rather than calling out the good.  I've been in 'fixer' mode because I feel like all of the sudden all the behaviors, quirks, disobediences, and character flaws must be dealt with immediately, or they will never make it to adulthood (so dramatic, I know.  Worst case scenario anyone?)

So, as we were almost to preschool, I just told Nick "Nick you know why I love you? I love you because you're my boy and I love the way God made you.  I love how you always like to have fun and you bring a lot of joy to our family".  Now, if you know Nick you know that he is literally the Energizer Bunny in the body of a 5 year old boy.  First question out of his mouth this morning "What are we doing today? Are we doing something fun or is it going to be a boring day?"  He's always looking for people, and fun to be had.

After I told him how much joy he brings us, he said "Oh" and tried to conceal a smile. Then he was quiet for a moment until he said "That thing you said made me smile a real smile".

Then we were at school and he was off and running, ready to be with his friends.

Later this evening, he wanted me to watch him ride bikes, so I did.  I couldn't believe how big his smile was every time he (literally) zoomed past me.  He said "I think God is smiling at us right now"

After that when I was folding clothes and feeling a lot of soreness in my neck and wrists (I'm dealing with a weird post-Strep inflammatory reaction in most of the joints in my body) he started folding clothes with me to help me, and then he ran and grabbed me two benadryl (he thought they were tylenol) to try to knock down my pain.

He just really has the sweetest heart.  I am so thankful to be his mom.  He is so optimistic, energetic, good-natured, kind and very caring.  Now, if he can just figure out how to harness and channel all his bodily-energy appropriately, he will be such a delight to whoever gets to have him for Kindergarten next year! ( I can't even believe I filled out his registration packet today. I'm going to be down to 1 kid at home!)

I love you Nicky!

Oh I and I can't forget this part, he is such a great big brother.  A few days ago we were outside walking in the driveway and he suddenly stopped his dump truck and blocked the stroller with it and said "I need to see Leah for a second" then he walked over and kissed her and said "hello my darling".  All the warm and fuzzies were happening in my heart at that moment!  I am going to miss these days when these kids are older!

 

Fantastically 5!

What does 5 years old look like?

This kid.

Nick celebrated his 5th birthday at Smallwoods a couple of weeks ago in typical Nick fashion.  Non-stop energy, a mid-party meltdown, unmatched eagerness for sprinting through the tricky prop-maze, shirtless enthusiasm in the petting zoo, unmatched hops in the bouncy house, and of course, no party would be complete without a wild ride on the cow train.

Naturally we had dirt cake with a side of cookies to ensure that everyone would be as wired as possible!

A few fun facts about five year old Nick:

*His favorite things to play are: Wooden Blocks & Irrigation Pipes (PVC)

*He would watch TV for all his waking hours if given unfettered access to a remote

*He is getting quite skilled at driving a 4 wheeler

*He is already showing his big heart for taking care of his family-he is eager to help, likes to do his own cooking, takes on any repair task with zeal (and a whole lot of tools he stole from dad!), & adores his little sister.  His wife and children will be so blessed someday!

*His energy stretches me most days, but his sweet heart absolutely compels me to drum up more energy and patience nearly every time he drains both of those.  Notice I said 'nearly every time'.  I'm human, and he seems to have super-human energy!

Happy 5 years of LIFE Nick! We love you!

Nick's 1st day of preschool

So this is way overdue.  Nick started preschool back on September 9th at WFMC Kidstown.  He is doing well, and learning to work within some structure:)

On the first day of school I asked him several questions, here they are:

Q: What do you think you'll learn at preschool? A: Obey (He said this about 10 times)

Q: What else? A: Read stories, Kindness, Faithfulness

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up? A: Firefighter

Q: Who is your best friend? A: You mommy

Q: Favorite TV show? A: The Incredibles

Q: Favorite snack? A: Pirates Booty

Q: Favorite animal? A: Jacob

Q: Favorite thing to play? A: Lincoln logs, rocks, build irrigation

Q: Favorite thing in the whole world? A: Cashmere

Nick, I just love you.  You are one of the sweetest people I've ever met in my life.  You keep telling me you don't want to be a daddy someday because you want to live with us forever.  You are so kind and compassionate.  You have a very intrinsic sense of what is respectful and not respectful, in fact sometimes when my tone is not very nice, you correct me and ask me to talk nicely....which I love.  God knew I needed the softening and accountability, and he gives it to me through you.  You have a very engineering mind. You love to use whatever materials are on hand to design irrigation, construction of houses, electrical systems, and many times you have freaked me out as you try to deal with real electricity.  Your curiosity makes you a little scary to your mama sometimes.  You don't care much for sitting still for much of anything that takes more than a few minutes, unless it's an episode of Curious George, or bedtime stories.  Otherwise you are full speed from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed!  You are mostly a very eager helper around the house. You seem to have gotten a neatness gene that must have skipped a generation and somehow gotten to you....which I love! You are such a helper!

I just love you so much.  I pray you will always keep your sweet spirit and love Jesus all of your days.  You are such a blessing to our family!

Lake Roosevelt 2014

This is one of a few trips to Lake Roosevelt this year for our family-but this time we were also with Grandpa Tom, Grandma Heidi, & the Miller family.  So much fun was had!  

The weather was great, the water where we camped was 75 degrees, the bees were minimal, no boat break-downs.....success!

Some  highlights:

*We brought the dinghy-Kevin gave all the boys several rides and they loved it when he turned it around and around in circles and said "Oh no we're stuck in a whirlpool!"

*Nick was sitting in a chair and felt a bug tickle his leg-he panicked a little and brushed it off quickly.  Then, he sat there looking irritated and said "Yah Juhk Spidah" (You Jerk Spider)

*Milo was in the water by about 7:30 each morning and didn't stop for much until it was time for bed-the benefit of 75 degree water temps!

*We made the usual trip to anchor and swim at the rocks. It's so pretty there

*We had no boat troubles

*Nick went for his first tube ride and loved it

*Nick spotted a frog swimming by and said "Look! A little swimmah thingy!!"  We caught it and put it in a bucket for a couple hours for observation:)

Here is a photo recap of the fun:

Spring Break for 3

So far as a mom, traveling with kids has not been something I have willingly subjected myself to, unless it was necessary (grandma's 80th birthday party), or if I have adequate reinforcements (husband, grandparents, iPad with a stockpile of snacks & a half rack of apple juice boxes on the side)

However, this year it finally felt like both boys had gotten old enough to where they could do a long drive fairly well, and not completely fall apart while staying away from home for 3 days, visiting multiple relatives and being out of their "element" (as in: acres to roam and enough dirt to dig in that they easily pack away roughly 4 ounces under their finger nails by the close of each day)

So, I pre-emptively got the car cleaned (why? have you ever seen the amount of snacks it takes to travel accross the state with pre-schoolers?), and we loaded up our bags, bikes, and a couple of favorite movies on the iPad, and off we went.

We had such a great trip.  We were able to see my Grandpa, who I had not seen in nearly a year, see Grandma Gloria and stay at her house (she has the gift of hospitality like no other), see cousins, travel to Cathlamet (where I was raised until 13) in the hopes of seeing a ship on the river (Milo's request), and finally on our way home, we stopped to see Multnomah Falls.

I'll consider this trip a success, since no one woke up before 5:45, no curtains were pulled off of any walls of our hosts, and Nick never got lost.

Milo & Nick had a blast playing in Grandma's back yard. She lives on the edge of a marsh, and it was full of water, complete with ducks.

In the span of 20 minutes Milo fell head over heels in love with his new cousin Skylee.  He keeps talking about how cute she is.

THIS BIKE---------------------------------------------->

The many faces of Milo

Such a pretty view!

Grandma taught Milo and Nick how to handle slugs-I'm anticipating that if we get rain and the slugs come out, suddenly my salt shakers will vanish.

They love their great-grandma!

We stopped to see the waterfall. I always want to, but we are usually rushed on this drive.  I took the boys up as high as the trail went, in an attempt to work out some wiggly legs before getting back in the car for the remaining 4 hours!  It was super gorgeous!

From snow to mud

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Milo was pretty determined to take down a bird with his bb gun.  No success this time, but I'm sure in a few years he'll be great free help with bird control in the cherry block.

Another bird.  One Milo is not allowed to shoot at with his bb gun.  We added 5 chicks to the flock.  3 Ameracaunas and 2 White Leghorns.  Picked solely for egg shell color.  The Ameracaunas lay blue or green and the white leghorns lay white.  Milo thinks it will be so cool to get white eggs like the ones from the store, because you know, those brown ones are so boring:)

I always love mud season. It allows for exponentially more time spent on my favorite hobby:laundry.  Followed by my second favorite hobby: cleaning the floors. Unfortunately these boys rarely remember to take off their mud caked boots and pants before they come in.  It's alright, the more laundry I have to do & floors to clean, the less likely I am to get lost in the latest battles in the blogospheres, or be mindlessly sucked into the blue and white Facebook vortex.

And they do look so endearingly boy-ish when they are racing their trucks through the mud, don't they?

+5

We were so glad to have a visit from grandma Gloria.  She flew over for a few days, and brought this fantastic sweater for Milo.  He is super into being a cowboy lately, so after she knitted this sweater, she ironed on little cowboy boots and hats and horses and guitars.  Milo was seriously thrilled.  He wore it so proudly to preschool the next day:)

These 2...they are both the "little brother" so I think they have a common bond.  And they both really like electricity;)

This afternoon Nick walked into the kitchen and in his most serious voice said "Um, I was just pushing the 4,5,6,7,8,9 on the wemote so it won't start a fi-uh (fire)"  He is super paranoid about any bad electrical connections causing fires ever since he spilled water in our router and caused it to start smoking.  He scopes out all the digital clocks and fire alarms immediately when he enters any new building, and he likes to "watch the electricities" (any digital letters or numbers on any clock or device).  It's so cute...and sort of odd, but who knows? Maybe he'll be a 'lectricity wuhkuh' like his daddy:)

Milo loves to prune.  I told him he could take some branches of the pussywillow tree by the creek.  Well he took all of them off.  And then he would load a few on his four wheeler and drive them out here to the driveway. He did this several times until they were all out.  And then he said this is his market, the branches are $3.00, and the proceeds go toward feeding the kids in Africa.

 

Want to buy some? :)

February

This is going to be highlights of the ordinary.

Kevin and I traveled to Austin this past month, but other than that, we had a pretty average month and didn't get out to do a whole lot this month.  Lots of time resting, hanging out at home, enjoying this time with Kevin before his busy season with the orchard picks up later this month.

I'm just going to add some of my favorite photos I took in February!

This boy can often be found pushing a truck!

A fresh pear from the warehouse-courtesy of Kevin

 

Milo showing me how big his biggest fish was that he caught at the sportsman's show.  The boys loved the fishing.  They both caught several and we had to come right home, gut them on the kitchen counter and fry them up.  Milo could eat trout every day I think.

We were so glad to get some time with cousins!

Walks with Grampy-they chase him down and ask to go along whenever they see him go by:)

 

I'm thankful for the snow we had this month-it really made the boys happy!

It's a blog revival

....At least for now:)  I was a slacker last year at documenting the happenings of our family. I'm going to try for one entry per month highlighting something we are doing.

 

Let's see how long I make it.

Yesterday Kevin texted me before he got home from work and said we should do something fun with the boys and get out of our regular routine.  I had noticed that a shady spot in our orchard had an excellently iced over section on the roads that ran through there.  Perfect for sledding, in this winter of almost no snow.

So he got home and we packed a few snacks, sleds, gloves, firewood, and drove up there with the trailer behind the fourwheeler loaded with the sleds.

Nothing fancy, but it was definitely a good time.  Milo was proficient at steering the runner sled by the end of the night, and Nick did countless runs down this one little steep short hill.  This meant Kevin had to stand at the bottom to stop him from going into the brush, and then Kevin would throw the sled back up the hill to me, while Nick would take the long way around to get back up the hill.  He probably did it 10 or 15 times.  All of that excercise, you'd think he'd be tired.

 

No.  He was up at 5:15 today. And Milo was shortly thereafter at 5:30.  Maybe today I'll make them start their 5K training and see if that wears them out.

photo credit: Milo:)

Polar Express

On a whim, we planned a trip to ride the Polar Express at Mount Hood Railroad.  I had a friend highly recommend it, and it happened to be Nick's favorite movie this Christmas, while Milo has always liked it.  Milo is getting to be very skeptical though and asking lots of questions about what's real and pretend.  

We have kept with the Santa ruse thus far, but I have mixed feelings about it.  I'm not sure where we will go from here, so I thought this might be an ideal year to take them on this train ride, as I don't feel like we are to the point yet where we have to choose between outright lying and working hard to perpetrate a charade, or being completely honest about the whole thing.  It all seems fun and magical to them still.

So, it was planned Monday, and we drove down Friday afternoon.  We didn't tell them where we were going until we got to the hotel.  They were just as excited about the hotel pool as they were about the train ride the next day!  We swam Friday night and saturday morning before going for the ride.

We also called Grandma Gloria ahead of time and told her we were going, and she let Uncle Ron know, and he went ahead and bought tickets so that their family could join us as well!  

The train ride ended up being really fun. Nick was captivated.  Milo enjoyed it too, although I could tell he was a bit more observant about details:)  He noticed that Santa was a "young Santa" in his words (he had blond hair peeking out from under his hat and his beard was spray painted).  They loved seeing the hobo, getting their tickets punched, getting cups of hot chocolate and going to the North Pole.

It was a fun trip and I'm really glad we went! 

Nick's 3rd birthday

I am the world's worst blogger these days.  So much to write about, so little time.  The boys keep me busy in such a good way.

Nick turned 3 over a month ago.  We had a little party for him in the middle of October...that's pretty borderline for having an outdoor party.  

He couldn't wait to turn 3 so he could go to preschool.  He is going to St. Paul's daycare 2 mornings a week while Milo is at preschool, and we are calling Nick's daycare "preschool".  He loves is.  His teacher is Miss Miyaka.  He still tells me frequently, "I go to preschool cause I'm big now! I'm Free!" (3)

His personality is so sweet and so fiery.  He has a ton of empathy and concern if anyone is hurt or sick.  If he gets in trouble, or I get mad at him, he is so quick to say sorry and say "I forgive you".  I love him. He is such a good forgiver.  And I know these qualities are legit because he even practices them with his big brother who TORTURES him.

On the fiery side though, he is very determined, and once he has his mind set to do something, it's nearly impossible to stop him.  He is also very interested in plumbing and mechanics.  He will always be looking for places where he can hear water moving through the pipes in our house.  He knows of a few spots where he can hear the water going through, and he'll turn on the sink, and run to listen to the noises.

His favorite shows are Little Bear and The Wemmicks.

He loves to play any kind of pretend-he and Milo often pretend a tree is their house in the backyard.  He also likes to flex his creative muscles playing with playdough.

So here is NICK!

These pictures were all taken by Nick's aunt Heather:)

I'm so thankful to be spending another year with you Nicky!  You are full of life!

mid-life crisis

Do 4 year olds have mid life crises? Because I think Milo is having one! every 
time we talk about how he's getting a little older (as evidenced by TWO loose 
teeth  now?!!) he gets a little sad.   This afternoon, and then again tonight 
when we were snuggling, he got all teary and said he didn't want to grow up 
because he wants to be my baby forever.  This mama may or may not have gotten 
teary eyed at that point.

He went on to say that he doesn't want God to make him grow up anymore, and he 
doesn't want anymore birthdays.  I'm thinking he's taking this pretty hard if he 
doesn't want any more birthdays!! What kid doesn't love having their birthday??  


So I tried to get him excited about the fun things he'll get to do as he grows 
up-learn to drive tractor, go hunting with Daddy, step into whatever roles God 
has for him as a bigger boy and then a man, but he still seemed a little 
unconvinced....I guess I better soak up these snuggles and wishes of eternal 
boyhood while I can, I'm sure before I know it he'll be driving out of here in a 
cloud of dust without a spare minute to kiss his mom goodbye.  

Motherhood moves my heart something fierce.  It's such a wide range of emotions!  
One minute I'm as angry as ever, and the next I'm just in awe of the curves of 
their little noses and cheeks.  I feel like I've been just soaking it in lately, 
the "real"-ness of it all. Trying to hang onto every minute, realizing this time 
is fleeting and it's moving at the speed of light.  As I've heard it said "The 
days are long, but the years are short".  Some days feel like a battle and I'm 
tired and grouchy.  But then they sleep and I reflect. And I realize that this 
is the best.  And that raising them is not small task.  They are not an 
afterthought to be smashed into my schedule wherever i can make room for them.  
They are 2 little people, created by an infinite, loving God, and he gave me the 
job of raising and shaping them in these early, formative years.  What a weighty 
blessing. I'm so thankful, and so in need of God's help.

On another note with Milo, he's been talking about how he loves God "super super 
much." Of course that makes my heart sing. Especially when it comes out of 
nowhere and doesn't seem at all contrived.  To see God at work in the heart of a 
4 year old is absolutely awe-inspiring.  

Nick is busy melting my heart lately too. He tells me "I sure love mommy".  And 
he copies everyone, which is hilarious, but sometimes turns out to be super 
naughty.  One of his favorite tricks to make us late is that he needs to "check 
stwahbubewwies" (strawberries) on the way to the car. He has to get down and 
look through all the bushes to try to find one.  He is 90 miles an hour when 
he's awake, he can barely tolerate stopping to eat.  But then he has times where 
he wants to cuddle, or lay down with me before he goes to sleep, and boy do I 
love those times.  He's also very empathetic. If anyone near him coughs or 
sneezes or appears to get hurt, he stops what he's doing and says "you ok 
_____?"

I just love both of these boys so much!! I hope and pray that I keep living life 
with them in a way that points them to Jesus, and increases their love for 
people!

picnic

This poor blog.  So neglected.  Life has been FULL lately! Spring is so busy around here for Kevin, so that trickles down to busy-ness for the rest of us, because we are missing his presence and helping hands at home!

 

But, we have managed to squeeze in quite a few fun family times throughout this busy spring season, and one of my favorites was an evening a few weeks ago, that Kevin thought up all on his own.

He stopped and picked up fried chicken and potato salad on the way home from work, and then took us all for a jeep ride and a picnic.  This was when it was HOT (90 in May!) and it was such a fun evening.  

Milo has a thing for picnics.  Whenever we are out and about in the orchard, he usually spots a 'perfect' place for a picnic.  I think we would have to eat all of our meals outside for a week just to use up all the spots Milo has scoped out!

This particular evening we were up Sand Creek, where there were plenty of rocks to throw into the water, and the water was so irresisitible to Nick that he was soaked after we had been there about 20 minutes. 

We ended the night with a jeep ride around Cashmere, and ice cream from Rusty's.  Good times.

Milo wanted to hold hands:)

Not our barn, but I just love the way it looks!

Boys, Boys.

I have been so neglectful to update this blog about the boys lately! I have barely picked up my camera the past few months, but today I did!

This is going to be a whole post gushing about all the latest and greatest with Milo and Nick. 

Like I've said before, I'm no longer keeping any kinds of journals/milestone books for them, other than their baby books, so everything I want to remember, needs to end up on this blog.  That being said, my posting lately has been far too infrequent!

So here goes!

Milo-You are 4 years old and always full of questions, sometimes questions that make your mommy's mind stretch and strain.  Like, the other day you were wrestling through trying to understand the trinity.  3 separate yet equal persons as one God.  It's hard trying to explain a mysterious truth like that, but you are helping me understand things more deeply, so it's great for all of us!

You already seem to be a hopeless romantic.  You like to see the wedding pictures I was editing on the computer, especially the one where the groom kisses the bride.  And you love the Disney love stories, like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Tangled.  You ask me about what life will be like when you have a wife.

You also asked me the other day, if I could ask God if he could make you and I die at the same time.  And you don't want to go to heaven too soon because you want to stay here on earth and help dad work in the orchard.  You started getting really curious about death and heaven about 2 years ago when Dad's grandma (Nana) died.   Your 4 year old mind seems to really think a lot about things.

On a lighter note (!) you like to ride your bike with no training wheels, and you are a daredevil! You ride up Grampy's hill and come flying down as fast as you can, and I really worry because half the time you are looking over at the house to see if I'm watching you out the window, instead of paying attention to where you are going!  You love to shoot your bb gun, and yesterday you were trying to take down some hawks.

You're up for anything outdoorsy, hiking, hunting, working with Dad, four wheeler rides, pretend play of all sorts....you have a great imagination, and you are so much fun.  I think you are going to be an awesome helper for Dad in the orchard as you get older!

And then there is Nicky! You are a rascal but I love you! You are so strong willed, inquisitive, and seem to have an uncanny ability to problem solve.  This makes you quite the challenge around the house.  You are not stopped by the safeguards and boundaries that contain most 2 year olds.  Needless to say this keeps me on my toes!  I've often found you standing on the back of a chair to get into cupboards, using drawers as stairs, letting yourself out of the fence by unlocking the pins that are in the gate latches to keep you in, unscrewing any light bulbs you can reach, ruining almost every dvd/cd player in the house by putting a disc in and out over and over.......Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!! Oh and you climb up and over the fence now, so having a fenced yard is basically useless. 

But, I see this stuff in you, and I think you have amazing potential to use these qualities for good as you get older! I keep praying that God will take all the things that make you difficult to parent, and use them in your more grown up life, to make you into a headstrong, bold, unswerving man of God.

You have the most hilarious facial expressions, and so much attitude.  You give us sort of a half glare sometimes, and then there is your super excited face with the wide eyes and wide open mouth, and the face you make when you are excited about something but trying to look like it's not really a big deal (um, you're 2, how do you already know that you're supposed to act cool?)

You have a love/hate relationship with Milo.  Sometimes you guys are in an all out brawl complete with pinching, hitting and biting, and other times you are gleefully saying "Watch this Wilo!" (yes you say Milo with a "W")

You also like to carry around the boy kitty (Smokey) and you call him "my girl", copycatting your brother when he calls Snowbell his girl.

You are all sorts of cute and difficult all wrapped up in a little fireball of a personality.  Life is never dull!

 We love you boys!

Pinterest to the rescue!

Most of the time I loathe around feeling guilty that I rarely do anything awesome like the stuff I see moms doing on Pinterest.

 

Well.

 

Today I actually DID one of these long-ago pinned projects!  Bath paints.  Really simple, and a lot of fun.  They were probably in there for 20-30 minutes, which is an eternity for Nick to be focused on one thing.

It rained all day.  So we also did the standard fort, had lunch under there, and then baked some cookies this afternoon.

It felt good to get my camera out and snap a few pictures of the super messy fun.

An ordinary, blessed kind of day

Yesterday was great. We saw beautiful skies on the way to Wenatchee. Milo went to preschool and nick and I went to MOPS.

MOPS was extra wonderful.

We went and got some things at the dollar store and then came home. Later in the day we played outside and after Kevin got home, Milo and I ran up the canyon for some impromptu sledding. It was fun until I gave him a poorly advised sled run and he ended up in the brush!

Kevin got dinner ready and made a salad (he doesn't usually even eat salad!) and he even made a vinaigrette that was DELICIOUS.

The boys tried out painting with shaving cream during bath time. That was definitely a winner!

We finished the night with bible study with my sister Heather. Good times!

Kids ARE here.

This blog post is my attempt to practice eucharisteo as Ann Voskamp writes about in her book 1000 Gifts.  Her book and her blog just speak to my heart on the deepest levels.  She is so real and honest about doing life, motherhood, and doing it all to glorify God and be wrapped in His love, even when we feel like we are drowning in the daily-ness of it all.

I spent a lot of time reading Psalms today.  They are so powerful.  I was reading ones written by King David, a man who had much sin in his life yet pursued God and longed to be in His presence.  He sounds like me.  Maybe that's why I find so much comfort in the Psalms.

Words are escaping me at this hour of the night, I had hoped to write something to go with these pictures, but I'm going to just have to go with pictures alone.  

Island time

From the 18th of December through the 28th of December, Kevin worked 175 hours for the PUD.  Yes, 175 hours.  He missed most of Christmas, except for the few hours he was with us on Christmas morning.  Needless to say, we were desperately ready for some R&R and family time.

He finished working late on a Friday night, had a good long sleep until mid-morning Saturday, and then we decided to drive to Anacortes that afternoon and stay the night, because our final destination would be Orcas Island.  We thought breaking up the trip into 2 days would be better rather than trying to do it all on Sunday, and it worked out great!

We went to Orcas Island to see family and have the boys play with cousins.  We had a great, relaxing, celebratory time! The kids did lots of playing, no small amount of arguing, played outside in some super wet snow, watched some movies, terrorized their mothers with bean bag shenanigans, you get the picture.  

Here are some pictures of the fun!

oh look, Casey and I got the house all quiet all to ourselves for an hour:)

Kevin did a good bit of napping, reading, and relaxing on this trip, trying to recover from his insane works schedule....

The kids rolled down the hill in the "snow"

Casey, as usual, was ever the hostess.  She has the gift of hospitality.  Thank you Casey!

I'm pretty sure they are watching "Tangled" right here.  It's Milo's new favorite movie.  He's really got a thing for the princesses lately.

School is in session.  Alaina is quite the big sister/cousin.  She can whip those kids into shape better than any of their parents!

We got a babysitter on new year's eve, and the grown ups went to a seafood buffet at Rosario Resort.  It was fancier than anything I've ever seen!  All the food was super good, but I think Casey and I both liked dessert the best!

We finished off the night with card games and Champagne.  We quit playing cards at 11:45 and just couldn't stay up that last 15 minutes....seriously.  I was dozing off when I heard the neighbors lighting fireworks.

We tried to leave New Year's day and were unsuccessful.  I guess the island gets busy on the holidays because the ferry was jam packed and we would have had to wait for hours to get on one that didn't leave till the evening.  We decided to go back to Nathan and Casey's, and stay another night.  Later we found out that Isaac was so sad after we left that he was praying that we would come back....faith like a child.

So we ended up leaving on the 2nd, and it was the most beautiful of mornings.  We left early enough that we got to enjoy the sunrise, and some amazing skies and sights on the early morning sound.  We had such a great time!

cousins

Heather and I got the boys together the other day.  It's a little wild having all 5 of them together, though Max doesn't contribute to the chaos just yet.  He gets lots of attention from all the other boys though.

We are wondering what life is going to look like 10 or 12 years from now when they are all teenagers together.  We may be forming a support group....stay in touch if you are also a boy mom who may need some commiseration when that phase of life hits!

Faux 10 on 10 {December}

This was supposed to be 10 on 10 (10 pictures on the 10th of the month)

However.

I can't ever seem to limit the story of our day to just 10 pictures, and I realize it's actually the 22nd because it's taken me that long to get this blog post done.

These are about 50/50 between my iPhone camera and my Canon DSLR. These were all taken on December 9th.

Pink Sunrise

Checking the snow conditions. No pants required.

Heading into church.

The reason for Christmas.  He came for us & He came to die.

Blessed by good bible teaching.

Stopped to visit Grandpa Brian after church.  He's recovering from shoulder surgery.

Lunchtime for the boys.

Nicky's favorite thing to do!

I want some chickens!

Milo is quite the chicken catcher!

Milo likes to unbuckle and come sit up front when we drive down the driveway.

Milo calls this little truck his "snowmobile" or "snowblower" depending on the day.

Melting

Great place to live!

These boys love to bake!

Snickerdoodles.  As requested by Kevin.

Advent 2012

I have about zero time for blogging and picture taking lately.  Nick's mischief level has climbed to new heights.  It's not uncommon to find him dropping whole raw eggs onto the tile floor to watch them crack, or pushing a chair over to the cupboard where the spices are, and then taking off the lids and shaking them onto the floor.  In his verbal repetoire, he's added the phrases "I hate this!" (thank you Milo) and "Right now!" (I can't imagine where he heard that.

Messes. Discipline. Encouraging and cuddling to try to fan the flames of desirable behavior.  That's about all I have time for these days.

He's also been throwing a wrench into the whole sleep thing at night.  He wakes up and goes to his door, crying for me.  So I go to him, hold him for a minute, sing him Twinkle Twinkle, and then pray for him and lay him back down.  He's tricky because he uses his cute little voice to request "more Tee-ko?" (Twinkle), and "more Pay?" (pray) for as many rounds as he can squeeze out of either me or Kevin.

Milo is a wild pendulum that swings back and forth between joy-filled obedience and helpfulness, to his other side, which is filled with complete crazy rowdiness laced with willful disobedience.  He requires a lot of emotional energy, but he's so worth it.

He's been awakening to the spirit of giving and it brings a little tear to my eye when I see him acting selflessly.  We have been collecting coins, which both boys have the opportunity to "earn", and putting them in a little bag, and then when Christmas gets here, we're going to see how many we have and purchase something from the world vision gift catalog to send to a child in need. (thank you pinterest).  He's very sensitive to global issues, and he asks a lot of questions about the three little boys we sponsor.  He told me last night he wants to fly on an airplane to Haiti to help them build houses.  Sweet little heart.

So anyway, advent.  I see a lot of moms posting online about all these things they are doing every day for advent, and I have to say, I'm not that organized.  I can barely plan one day at a time, let alone a whole month of scheduled out daily activities.  But, we have managed to do a few things and it's been fun.  Mostly this year, I'm trying to communicate why we celebrate Christmas and get Milo excited about that, and have been downplaying the Santa side of things.  We still do Santa, but I just don't want it to be the focus of Christmas.

Take 1: Christmas trees from sugar cones

 

i did jump on the whole Elf on the Shelf bandwagon and lasted for about 5 days.

 Milo made a really cute nativity scene by painting with his fingerprints last Sunday at Sunday school

I'm excited to see what is inside this scroll that Milo made for us at preschool with Miss Sarah

I love our tree this year.  It smells good and I love the dark bluish green color of the needles!

O Christmas tree!

We got our Christmas tree up on top of the ridge between nahahum canyon and the entiat valley. Super cold and windy up there! Great trees to choose from though! The drive was long and nick was not so much a fan of driving for three hours. He would have much preferred to play in the snow!
It was a fun day though, and milo really enjoyed the drive in the mountains!

a break in the rain, a stroll in the orchard!

There was some lovely sun yesterday afternoon, following lots and lots of rain! The boys and I got outside with our boots on and took advantage of the very fresh fall weather!  They had so much fun!  My boys have an affinity for mud.  It's like a moth to a flame.

Aren't they so cute?!

Photo-bomb

Look how nicely the green grass is growing back on the blackened hills! Such quick healing!

1st half of November 2012

It's been rainy. A lot. The boys have spent a lot of time playing inside, but they are getting to where they play together pretty well, some of the time.  I do have to break up a fair amount of fights though.

Nick has learned that he can bite Milo in retaliation, or his other favorite trick, hair pulling.  They both love stealing each other's toys.  It's been fun watching them interact more with each other, and during the times when they do, it's awesome because I can get a few things done!

We got our first snow a couple of weeks ago, and Milo and I made a snowman.  Milo and Nick did lots of shoveling, and had a great time! We were sad when it melted later that afternoon.

We also made peppermint smelling "snow" playdough (white playdough with silver glitter) and they had fun pretending to make cookies for Santa;

The cats have grown quite a bit.  Smokey eats like a teenage boy, and he's about twice the size of Snowbell.  Snowbell is Milo's favorite for sure, he says she is his "grill" (girl). He always packs her around and she doesn't mind at all.  They have been really good cats!

Last weekend we went on an early trip to go scouting for a Christmas tree.  We didn't find one we liked, but we did find snow to play in, and a H-U-G-E cedar tree!  It was pretty fun, except for the last hour when I got a migraine complete with vision loss, and at that point, Nick had refused to ever fall asleep in the truck and spent the last hour of the drive yelling and shrieking.  Fun times:)

updates

We have been thoroughly enjoying the last weeks of summer. I was feeling some withdrawal from my camera last week, so I grabbed it and snapped some every day moments around here. It was a regular day filled with tantrums, Milo becoming very emotional while watching the Grinch (the part where the Grinch feels bad about what he did to the Whos), and I finished the evening with a leadership meeting for MOPS in a lovely, sun drenched backyard.  Also, notice in one of the pictures Nick is doing one of his very favorite activities, stealing a pack of wipes and pulling them all out to "clean".

I also asked Milo a list of his favorites the other day, so here they are:

Book: Berenstain Bears

Food: Chicken Eggs

Snack: Fish Crackers

TV Show: Little Einsteins

Outside Play: Truck

Toy: Grabber Nabber

Drink: Chocolate Milk

Color: Red

Friend: Alexis

Animal: Jaguar

Place: Lake Roosevelt

Height 43 3/4 inches tall. Weight 56 lbs

A whole lotta kids, water, popsicles, & shenanigans

It's rare that we, the Brons-Pooler blended family are all together at once.  But it happened yesterday, in celebration of Rachel's 25th birthday! The only one missing was our little brother Brady.  The kids had a great time, soaking each other (well I think mostly Milo did that, and maybe everyone else didn't have such a great time with it), being bribed for pictures, eating ice cream, the usual summer stuff.

Lake Roosevelt 2012

We had the best family trip this past weekend.  It was SUCH a joy filled time.  It's so rare for Kevin to be able to escape for a few days in the summer, because of course he's busy with the orchard and still working his other job as a lineman.  But we made it happen.  Perfect timing too, as it came right on the heels of Kevin working day after day until dark getting things done with the orchard.  We really needed some solid family time.

Kevin's brother's family planned the trip and brought their boat along.  Then our sister-in-law's sister's family came, and finally we were joined by Grandma Pam & Grandpa Paul.  It was so fun.  Once everyone was there, the kid to adult ratio was 1:1 with 8 of each.

It was a true getaway in the sense that there was no electricity, cell service, running water, etc.  We stayed from Friday night to Monday night, and while I missed all of those things, it was utterly relaxing.

The kids kept very busy swimming, digging, scaling a big sandy hill, catching frogs, snakes, crawdads, June bugs, and anything else they could find that was creepy-crawly.  Nick got to run up and down the beach, which to him, is the ultimate dream come true.  No fences, no walls, no doors.  Of course he had to wear his life jacket almost the entire time he was awake, but that's a small price to pay for such freedom to roam.  Nick and I took a sunrise hike on Monday morning, since he was up around 5, and tents are not the easiest way to contain the non-whispering voice of an almost 2 year old.

Milo had many great adventures.  He ended up having private swimming lessons the whole week before we went, so he was swimming up a storm the whole time we were at the lake.  Even way out in the deep water!  He swam in the cliffs with me, and he was the first to spot a herd of bighorn sheep.   That was quite the experience!  He also braved the tube for the first time, and loved every minute of it.

We were a little bummed to come home, but glad to sleep in real beds.

This was a true vacation for me because I left my DSLR home and took all photos with my iPhone.

#instaddicted

Yes I am.  Addicted to instagram that is.  I have all but ditched my DSLR these days, and have been relying solely on my iPhone.  Prepare yourself for a picture overload.

*Milo & I on the 4wheeler *3boys *birthday *kitty rescue *baby football *kitty cuddles *barn *bath *belly *bible study *overseer * cherries * birthday cake

*bubbles *barbecue buddies *bus driver *weekend away * car shopping *closet cat lover * cat eyes *cat food snack *lake chelan * cherries *roche harbor *Nick's favorite food * kitty cuddler *dance *heading out *dentist * tandem tantrums *cherry sorter

*explorer *sky on fire *sweet boy brings me wildflowers *flower by the road *fruit kabobs *more cherries *hottub * gorge-ous wedding *grandma heidi * down the dock *aunt heather *orchard *kitty hides *blackcap jam *kitty rescuer

 

*light *anniversary date *Roche Harbor mausoleum *selfie *the everyday *milk for 2 *mischief *post tantrum cuddle *sprinkler fun *sleep time *pretty eyed boy *raspberries *Roche Harbor *rain over Cashmere *Rainiers *watching the storm

*turtle thief *water fun with cousins *washdown *wedding *wind machine *windmill *working in the cherries *

*landscapers *wildflowers *wet cat *night in Wenatchee *pretty sky *cat bath *wine & music *the neverending chore *to swim or not to swim *iced coffee *boy on the run *backpack buddy *little lion *chicken tamer *kitty cuddle *wildflowers *blondie *sunbathing *quickbooks

*"Spraying" *apple on pear *little boy *dinner *blackcap picker *stroller ride for 1 *profile *bike ride *bike lessons with Grandpa Brian *swimming practice with Grandma Julie *little cousins *little tractor, big tractor *sleeping the same way since he was an infant:)

a regular day

I have been neglecting the blog. It's been a busy summer.  The boys have been spending a lot of time outside.  Milo likes to "mow" and "spray" with his improvised tractors and impliments.  He spends a lot of time in the driveway dragging his plastic shovel behind him, which kicks up dust, which to him looks like spray.  Or he drags his shovel through the barkdust and makes rows, causing the bark to be all over the sidewalk and in the grass.  He is so proud of his mowing though, it's hard to get too frustrated with him.  Milo experienced his first pet death this morning.  The silver fish that he got for his second birthday, was sucked up against the filter this morning.   We did lots of talking about that.  He said "I need to find something to make it alive again." Then he said "I know! I can blow on it and make it alive!" I think he got that from Narnia, when Azlan blows on the statues and they come to life.  He was pretty upset.

Nick has been naughty  curious & a pain in the neck tenacious, moreso than ever the last couple of weeks.  He gets into the fridge, the freezer, the turtle tank, the woodstove, the dvd drawers, clothing drawers, any package of baby wipes that he can find, the cat food, the cat litter, the snack cupboards, and the list goes on.  My day feels like one long drawn out saga of saying "No!", sweeping, putting things back, wiping up spills, and trying to keep him out of the toilet.  Actually, that's probably why I haven't been blogging much lately!

I tend to use instagram quite a bit these days to keep up with what's going on around here, so follow me on there if you'd like. My name is orchardmama.  There is also a button to the right of this post, where you can follow me on "webstagram".

Father's Day

We had a great Father's day this year! Started the day by letting Dad sleep in while we played with the new kittens.  Milo found 2 kittens the day before in the top of a pear tree.  He was riding his bike when he heard meowing.  We decided to keep them and have since found out we have one boy and one girl, named Smokey & Snowbell.  They are a lot of fun, and they put up with the boys who are learning how to be careful (as in not throwing them up in the air like toys, holding them around the neck, etc.)

After we gave dad his wake up call, we got ready for church.  Great message at church about how God wants to Father us, and be involved in all the details of our lives.  I needed to hear this, as it's something I continually struggle with.  I have a hard time believing that God cares or needs to be bothered with the things I consider insignificant and mundane.  I've come to realize (but need frequent reminding) that this is really due to a lack of faith and reverence on my part.  God is omniscient, omnipresent, and eternal, and fully capable of handling every detail of every person's life on the whole planet.  The question is, will I bring everything before him and ask for his help with it, or in pride, will I assume that there are some things that I should probably just try to handle myself because I don't want to "bother" God.

After church we went to Home Depot to look for a new barbecue.  We've had a charcoal barbecue for years, but with the boys, it's really hard to try to keep them away from it and it's so dangerous to have around them.  Not to mention the inconvenience of having to light the charcoal and then  wait around for 40ish minutes for it to be ready.  Just doesn't mesh well with my last minute-failure to plan dinner approach:)  Kevin chose the barbecue, and I think he chose well! It did take him the rest of the afternoon to put it together, which doesn't seem fair, since it was his Father's Day gift....we squeezed in some play though here and there, and then had a lovely dinner of hot dogs and roasted broccoli and mushrooms, all on the new grill.

It was a great day!

Remembering

I wish it were possible to remember what something feels like.  We can remember what something looks like, through photos, and even remember mannerisms, voices, and events through videos, but I wish there was a way to remember what something feels like.  When Nick wants up, and I hold him, and he countours himself against my shoulder and lays his head down on me, maybe even gives me a drool filled kiss, I want to remember THAT.  I know this time will be here and gone quickly, I can barely remember already what it feels like to hold a newborn baby and it's not been that long.  Or maybe when Milo first wakes up in the morning, and after we get Kevin out the door, coffee & chocolate milk cups served, Milo sits with me in the chair to watch cartoons.  I want to remember his soft skin, his never-ending wiggles, when he randomly turns to me and says "I love you", or even sneaks in a quick "owie right there". (that's when he softly scratches my cheek with his index finger, he has done this since he was about 14 months old)

 

Oh, and it's time for another instagram update.  In case you're unfamiliar with instagram, it's like a little social network where you can share your pictures from your cell phone camera.  So these are all from my phone.  There is one in there that is really old, it's of Kevin & Milo walking up the road together, back even before Nick was born.  I pulled that one off of facebook.

decorations & toads

Milo likes to bring me "decorations", which are usually shrubs or flowers that he has pulled up from the yard somewhere.  Yesterday he and Nick brought me some groundcover and told me it was decoration for the party. Not sure which party that was.

Almost every afternoon we go out for a 4wheeler ride and just check things out around the orchard.  Yesterday we saw baby cherries, a toad, Daddy mowing, and dead trees.

Apple Blossom Parade

We went to the parade.  Really fun time.  Sat with our cousins who live right near the parade route, so got us some great spots.  The kids all got to experience cotton candy for the first time (Thanks Grandpa Brian!), and we had an all around good time.

blossoms, reptiles, bees, dirt, boys

We stayed home all day on Monday, so we went out to play in the orchard for a bit.  The boys had tons of fun of course.  After Milo recovered from his tantrum about not getting to go the way he wanted to go, it was smooth sailing!

oomp

Nick doesn't have many words, but there are a few that he improvises with, and he always finds a way to get his point across.  Tonight after bath, he was running around naked, and he put his hands behind his back, grabbed his buns and said "oomp". Then he looked down between his legs.  I said "Nicky! let's go sit on the toilet!" He has been liking to sit on the potty seat lately, because he's been seeing Milo do it.

So, I took him to the bathroom and he pooped in the toilet.  I know, TMI, but I had to get it down "on paper".  He looked, clapped, and waved goodbye as we flushed.  Now we'll see how many months/years it will be before this is the norm:)

crazy fun

Today we had friends over to play.  In total there were 5 boys, 2 girls.  My sister Heather was here, and my step-sister-in-law Jocee.  I was so gald to have them come over!  It turned out to be a very busy, but fun day.  The boys that were here visiting, have baby twin sisters at home who aren't sleeping very well at night, so we picked them up for the day so mom & dad could try to rest.

Happy Half Birthday Nick!

Nick, a few days ago you turned 1 1/2, and you give "busy" a whole new meaning.  Anyone who sees you for any length of time just marvels at your speed, determination, silliness, & zeal.  You are quite the ransacker around the house, so at any given time it looks like your mama does absolutely nothing all day long even though I work tirelessly to follow behind and clean up in your wake!  Some of your favorite things to do are; get a measuring cup out of the drawer and scoop cup fulls of flour onto the kitchen floor; pull all of the kitchen garbage bags out of the box and make a huge pile in the kitchen; dump out and rearrange all of the toys that are organized by category in the hallway; climb up onto the kitchen table and see what you can find up there; color & eat the crayons; play in the toilet if brother forgets to close the bathroom door; throw away any "garbage" you find, such as papers from the desk or counter, the entire tissue box that you pulled out one at a time, and occasionally your toys; you also like to empty out the packet of baby wipes and say "poo" while attempting to wipe your behind.

Now of course all of this is done with such cuteness that it really is hard to get mad at you.  

Some of your favorites:

Favorite show: Bubble Guppies

Drink: Chocolate Milk

Food: String Cheese, Pirates Booty, Craisins

Toy: Anything that's not actually a toy

You are such a lively, charming, happy little boy.  You exhaust me, but you are so very worth it!

10 on 10 {April 2012}

Sort of forgot about this until yesterday, so glad I remembered! We had a full day at home yesterday, which was SOO nice, as I feel like we have been so busy lately.  The weather was almost 70 degrees, so we got outside a few times throughout the day.  I'm hoping this weather lasts, because it gives such a good start to the growing season for tree fruit!

snowmobile trailer; cheerios are better outside the bowl; we have a new love for the bathroom; pussywillows; mini driver; rest & recover; a hike on the hill; orchard adventures; Kevin stands guard while Milo tries out the cool new toilet he found; such a rascal; bedtime story

Now see what Marisa's day looked like!

easter egg dyeing

I'm getting a little post-happy these days, I feel like I've been blogging non-stop lately.  I think it's partly because we got a new desktop with a huge screen, and it's super fast so Lightroom & Photoshop run at lightning speed so it takes very little time to get a post ready.  

Anyway, Milo & I dyed eggs together on Saturday while Nick took a nap.  That night we made Empty Tomb cookies.  It was a really fun activity.  Each ingredient signifies something in the crucifixion story. We followed this recipe: http://westerntractmission.org/KK/craft/EasterTombCookies.shtml. It was a lot of fun!

Sunday morning we got up and went to church at 8 am.  That was a very early morning for us.  The boys (mostly Milo) were excited to check out their Easter baskets before then!

early Easter!

After Milo's dentist appointment on Thursday, we had a really fun day with Grandma Pam & our cousins!  We did an easter egg hunt, played, had easter dinner, and I think we wore out Grandma.

I wish I had the kids on video as they literally leapt off of the back porch when the egg hunt commenced. They couldn't be bothered to use the stairs, it was really funny.

Alaina set up school at one point, and Milo was her student.  He was sitting there drawing with a pen and paper, pretending to write his name.  

Grandma Pam had an old Flinstones episode for the kids to watch, which reminded me of when Kevin and I dressed up as Fred & Wilma for a dance in High School.  I pulled up the picture on my iPad and showed the kids, and they all thought it was pretty funny.

Pam made a really cute cake, it was an angel food cake with daffodils in the center, so springy!

A weekend with cousins

We spent last weekend in Mt. Vernon.  The men went out salmon fishing both days for the Salmon Derby, so Casey and I did our best to entertain the 5 kids, diffuse fights, enforce the laws of sharing, etc.  I think all the kids had a great time!

We hung out at their house on Saturday morning, after a mostly sleepless night for the boys and I, and then in the afternoon we loaded everyone up to go to the Children's museum..that place is so cool!

Sunday morning we took the kids to sunday school & church, and it was Palm Sunday, as you'll see in the pictures.  Later that day we headed up to Anacortes to say hi to the boys after they took the boat out of the water.

Super fun weekend!

 

We had a great weekend!  Casey definitely has the gift of hospitality!

Last night I let Nick play in the flour bin while I made dinner.  He had basically been hanging on my pants whining for the past hour, so who was I to bother him when he found something fun to do?  Plus, the weather was horrible and rainy yesterday, so they didn't get to play outside, so maybe flour is the closest thing inside of the house to playing with actual dirt?

Milo came in and saw the mess and raced to get the vacuum.  Nick tried to help too.

Milo reached a major goal this week, so as a reward, he gets to go snowmobiling with Kevin tomorrow (hence the new helmet), and we got out the Toy Story 3 racetrack that has been sitting in the box for a year, just waiting for Milo to take the bribe.

Catch Up

I missed getting a picture for the Kids were Here project on Friday, but here are Saturday & Sunday's submissions:) Milo's knife that he "takes to work". It's a plastic straight edge razor, from his "My First Shaving Kit"
Not sure who's parking job this is

Recent History

Not much has been happening around here lately, just our usual routines. 

I want to remember the ordinary though!

playtime.  Nicky loves to throw stuff in the garbage-doesn't matter to him if it actually qualifies as garbage.  Milo delights in popping the air packaging that our Amazon shipments come with.  Nicky has figured out that he can scoot the chair all over the kitchen to access any cupboard, countertop, or computer desk that he feels like messing with at any particular moment.  Milo is in a stage of talking back quite a bit, playing hard, and crashing at about 7:30 every night.

I love these boys!  There is never a boring day around here.

Workshop assignment

All of these photos were shot as part of an assignment for a photography workshop.  I had so much fun doing these!

Faceless connection-Giving Grandma a hug goodbye



No link to an original inspiration for this, but I've seen many like it, that show the unbridled innocence & inquisitiveness of sweet babes.
Emotion-fascination


Breaking the Rule of Thirds-staring straight down a piece of 4 inch PVC pipe into the face of my 3 year old



Pocket of light



Indoor backlit wedding ceterpiece




Water! Who doesn't love a good ol' fashioned mud puddle stomp?

_________________

17 months

What? I suddenly realized this month, that my baby has quite rapidly turned into a wild toddler.  He does still snuggle sometimes, and I'm so happy for that!

Here are some highlights from Nick's busy life:)

Wakes up between 6 & 6:30

Drinks chocolate milk in the morning, just like big brother

Likes to eat strawberries, cereal, eggs, blueberries, pears, turkey sandwiches

still wakes up at night

wears clothing size 12-18 months

weighs around 22 0r 23 lbs

runs full speed almost everywhere he goes, usually on his tip toes.

has recently been introduced to timeout, because of his persistence in going behind the gate behind the woodstove, and climbing up and taking the lid off of the turtle tank.

loves to take the garbage out of the garbage can if it's not securely tied up.

when he wants to be picked up, he puts both hands in the air and twirls one of them around in circles

he's always trying to put shoes on in his tireless attempts to go outside

he loves baths and asks to take one by putting one leg up on the tub and saying "ba!"

loves playing with a whoopie cushion

likes to bite phones & ipods

pretends to sweep with anything that has a long handle, usually his little walk-behind-duck

He kisses back with a wide open mouth, and frequently kisses the dogs this way.

I love you Nicky, you are so much fun! 

10 on 10 {March 2012}

I'll come clean right up front.  There are more than 10 photos here.  Sing it with me! "It's my blog and I'll overpost if I want to!"

Last Sunday.

On the way to church

Worhsip band hanging out between services

Heading into our hometown

Super nice weather called for an impromptu playground stop

I think this was some sort of altercation because Nick ran to me crying afterward

He's over it, and found some of Daddy's cool safety sungalsses

The nice weather also beckoned Kevin to get out his newest RC helicopter for some flight time

Babysitter at the house with the boys, mom & dad heading out for a date

Chair shopping at Davis followed by dinner at McGlinn's

Black & Bleu salad

Goodnight Wenatchee

Some last cuddles before bed

As I've mentioned before, I'm doing this project with a bunch of wonderful ladies from the Bloom forum, please check out what Jackie has for you this month!

Cousins playdate

I'm not sure why we don't get our boys together more.  I know that for my sister and I, (and whoever else happens to be around) it's a lot of work to have the four of them together, and it's very noisy.  But it's fun!  We all got together today at Grandma Heidi's to hang out with her & Grandma Gloria.  Controlled chaos ensued, and the boys had a great time!