Better late then never I always say:-)

Below are a few pictures from the boys' birthday party 4 months ago (April)...I want to make sure I post these before they are another year older! The pictures all go down the left hand side, but my comments are on the right side...you'll just have to read and scroll:-)

Jordan got this big remote control hummer from Nana that he runs outside and he just loves it. As you can see the box was almost bigger then him:-) We had the backyard patio decorated with balloons, streamers, and other things Diego. You would've thought it was Christmas with all of the presents they got, but I guess you can say this only happens once a year!

We had a big jumper at the house (one of those delivered and set up for you) and the funny thing is that the company dropped it off early (something like 11 instead of 1) because they had more to drop off in Seattle and said they'd be back at 4 to pick up and then ended up not picking it up until something like 8p. We paid for 4 hours and had it for like 9!!! So, even the grownups got to get in it and jump around:-) That's me, Justin, Steve and his youngest Emily (well youngest at this time since I waited so long to post, Scotty has since come along in May, so now she's the middle 'kid':0)).

Doesn't Ms. Mary Kay just look happy holding Justin???

I'm not so sure next year Justin will let Jordan take ownership and lead of the party...I'm almost certain we'll have to have two parties! Jordan was able to blow out both candles on the cake whilst Justin was worried about getting him some frosting:-)

The theme of the party was Diego and obviously I had to go and find a great cake since I wouldn't have any idea what I was doing. Here's a picture of the cake that cost me $20 from Fred Meyer. They did an excellent job and I was able to pick it up just before the party. I'll probably go there again next year, but will have to buy TWO cakes instead of one:-)

Lincoln City, OR - Camping Slideshow (Memorial Weekend 2009)

OK, so I've finally posted quite a few pictures (hence the slide show) below from our camping trip to Lincoln City, OR over the Memorial Day weekend. We had a great time...If you take the time to read the captions, you'll see what and where we are. We went to the OR coast aquarium, the beach/ocean, and then hung out at the campsite. Enjoy!!!

Procrastination...It's Jordan's new middle name!

Getting Jordan to sleep has just turned into one of the longest drawn out events in history! For example, this evening, he had to see my IPOD and turn it on, then had to see Philip's, then had to have Philip rub his back and read him a book, then his fingers were sticky so he had to quickly wash them, then mommy had to rub his back, then he needed a drink of water, then he had to let me know/tell me that we were supposed to go over to Samantha's house (Kareena, we might pop over tomorrow:-)), then he needed socks put on his feet, and then finally he needed to be covered up...all in all this took 45 minutes. It's now 9p and I can still hear him upstairs (in his bed mind you) doing who knows what! I'm not exactly sure besides tying him directly to his bed at 8p (No, I wouldn't really do this), how I would get him to go to bed and not lolly gag for almost an hour. I know the staying light out later hasn't helped, but it is now actually getting darker earlier again...I really think he does this to try my/our patience (which we already have little to begin with) and push our buttons, and do you know it works:-) We've worked to start the process earlier, but then instead of 45 minutes, it might be the 45 minutes plus the entire time added on for getting him started on the process earlier! I almost think it's a no win situation and I've just got to live with the fact that 4-year olds do this and eventually he'll grow out of this and when he gets older and does his own thing, I'll think back on this and wish we could go back:-) How I love being a mom!!!

It's FRIGGEN' HOT!!!

For me to say it's friggen' hot is surely something to those of you that know me...! Today our temperature broke a record set back in 1891 of 100 degrees; we reached 104 degrees today and some areas even got hotter! We are 30 degrees above our normal averages for the year and obviously we are smack in the middle of a 100 year-old event. Not sure, but I think Vegas was only forecasting 107 degrees...we were actually hotter here in the NW then Texas and Tuscon, AZ which for all of you not familiar with geography is the desert:-) Don't get me wrong; I love the heat and the sun, but I've acclimated to the NW weather enough now to not wanting to be outside doing anything with the boys in the heat! If I were in Vegas, the difference is that I would be floating in a pool constantly wetting myself....LOVE IT!

Tomorrow we are supposed to be 100 degrees or just a smidge cooler or warmer depending on what area (south/north) you are in. This would make day #5 in a row of over the 90 degrees and again we would be breaking some really old record of the 4 days in a row.

This is so one of the many reasons we had A/C put in the house back in the spring of 2007. The true/real pacific north westerners who have lived their whole life in WA say, but you don't need the A/C but a few days a year....let me talk to them now and I'm sure these are the few days of the year that they wish they had A/C:-) It just makes sleeping a whole lot easier when you are more comfortable instead of the house being in the mid 80's. Not sure, but we'll definitely keep the maintenance agreement up on the A/C unit so we always know it's working and in mint condition for when these 100-year events happen and seem to happen more regularly each and every year.

What's another name for a 'hotbox' on wheels?

.....can you say, my bus on the ride home this afternoon!!! The temperature today got to be 94 degrees (it's still reading 87 degrees as I write this) outside and it's only going to get warmer as the days go on and potentially into the end of next week! It's been since 1981 where we've broken the record for 5 consecutive days over 90 degrees and they think we are going to easily break that this week.

My bus that picked us up in Bellevue this afternoon was 7 minutes late because it had over-heated on it's way to get us. The good thing about ST buses is that they have AC where the King County Metro buses don't, anyways, the ST bus that picked us up was broken/over-heating so it didn't have AC, then we had to get off in Renton and transfer to another bus for the rest of the ride home which of course ended up being a King County Metro bus with no AC...I swear that the temperature in that bus had to have been at least 100 degrees since it was well over 90 degrees outside; folks were walking off the bus with wet hair! I was sweating my butt off that I thought that I'd get home and weigh myself since I'm sure I had sweated off a few pounds during the ride home:-) It was the most uncomfortable bus ride I've taken since I started riding buses this past Nov.

I'm really hoping that tomorrow brings a better bus ride home since it's suppose to even be hotter tomorrow...close to the upper 90's!

Weekend activities...

We went to NW Trek this past Saturday as we do usually every year and we had a great time! Justin was pointing to the animals as well this time around, though he did end up falling asleep on the tram ride through the park. He was exhausted, let alone, the weather on Saturday was close to 90 degrees out!! After there we drove down to Cabela's so Philip could get a rubber mat (i.e., liner) for his truck...I guess you can never line/protect it to much. The dealership did the spray in bed liner, but this mat he got was more of a hard floor mat to protect the actual bed of the truck; heaven forbid we actually have to haul something in the truck and it gets dirty:-)

Philip did wash both (yes, both) vehicles on Saturday as well...he started with his truck first at something like 0800 in the morning, and do you know it still got really hot out really fast. If you want to get anything done, you've got to start at basically 0500! The vehicles look great, and since my Jeep hasn't been washed since the last time Philip washed it, it actually looks like a brand new vehicle with shiny silver paint and tires!

I took Jordan on Sunday over to our neighbors house so he could play with Samantha & Emily in their little pool they had up in the backyard, while I played a little game of badminton with Steve (Philip at this time was washing my car:-) I just love him!!!) Anywhoo, we weren't keeping score, but who knew you could work up a sweat hitting a little birdie around; I, in fact, walloped the one little birdie over the fence to their neighbors house...Justin, again hadn't slept all day so he was sleeping at this exact same time and missing out on fun again just like on Saturday at NW Trek (I'll post pics as soon as I get them loaded from the camera). All in all, it was a great weekend that obviously went by too fast!

News & Tidbits...

Grandma & Papa are coming out in September for a visit. They are arriving on 9/15 and leaving like 10 days later! Philip & I will be working some of that time since of those 10 days, there is only one weekend involved...it was cheaper to fly out on a Tuesday and go back the following Thursday. They are looking very forward to the visit since it will have been one year exactly since they last saw the kids. We were back in MI last year September (I think it would be that exact week if I were to check the calendar); it's hard to believe a year has already come and gone! Another reason they are coming this specific time is that my dad wants to go to the Puyallup Fair. For those of you that know him, this is definitely his cup of tea:-) We don't have any further plans then that, but I am contemplating going up to the Woodland Zoo in Seattle since we've not been there either. We always go to NW Trek every year (potentially this Saturday) and then to the zoo in Tacoma usually at least once a year as well.

http://www.pdza.org/

Justin's newest word is 'outside'! Yeah, I wrote that right...I about pooped my pants on Sunday; he went over to the back patio door slider, put his face and hands on the window, and clear as day said 'outside'. He's such a little sponge and absorbs SO much now! In fact, he said it again today while he was in his high chair eating dinner; only this time he pointed to the back patio door and said it. I swear, soon enough he'll be asking to bum the keys to the car:-) He's doing great and is always smiling to see me when I pick them up from daycare everyday!

Jordan is having the most difficult time going to sleep at night...I'm not sure if it's because it's daylight out, if he gets extra sleep during nap time at school (yes, he still has nap time!), or if he plan just thinks he's going to miss out on something, but it about drives me bonkers when I end up going to bed (sleep) before he does. Don't get me wrong, he gets into bed, but he talks to himself, needs water, needs to go potty....everything else but go to sleep! When do they ever just go to sleep when they are supposed to:-) He can write all of his letters now on his doodle by copying them; I guess he's prepping himself for Kindergarten next year!

Philip is traveling again the week of 8/3 to Hopkinsville, KY and Chicago. It's me, the boys, AND Mary Kay!!! The boys just love her and we do too!!!

Home with a sick kid again today!!!

Justin ran a 101.5 temp yesterday at school and of course I was called at 4:40p when the day was technically over and I picked him up 30 minutes later...he couldn't return to school today, so I had to work from home. I ran him to the doctor anyways since he's been symptomatic for getting pneumonia but his lungs and ears were both clear:-) Thank goodness for that...his pediatrician figures the spike in the fever out of the blue was due to his measles vaccination he got 10 days ago, in fact, I specifically remember the doctor saying that but for some reason I was thinking 4 days and not 10 days. 4 days is for the chickenpox vaccine. I'm just glad he's SEEMS to be doing OK, with seems being the key word!!

You would've thought that a full-term baby wouldn't be as sick as a preemie one, but I'm learning that that isn't necessarily the case...Justin seems to be one sick kid as compared to his older brother!

Smooth & pretty feet!

Nothing spectacular happened this weekend...Philip came home from San Francisco very late Friday night, so we didn't have any real big plans. I however, did get out on Saturday morning to get a pedicure at Gene Juarez at 0800...it had been a REALLY long time since I had one and my feet now look wonderful:-) It was a 1 hour 15 minute signature pedicure, which means I got a reflexology massage, a paraffin dip, and other stuff! I finally got to use my $50 gift card I got as a baby shower gift back in Mar08 for Justin...it was definitely well worth the wait!!!

The weather was gorgeous all weekend and looks to be in the mid-high 80's and even 90's all week and through next weekend! Summer is finally here!

Day out with Thomas (July 11, 2009)

Here are a few pictures of the 'Day out with Thomas' that we did this past Saturday up in Snoqualmie. People were actually stopping on the road to take pictures of the train going by...I guess if I saw Thomas going by I'm sure we'd be doing the same thing. So Thomas was actually the one pulling the rail cars that we were in; there were a total of about 4 or so cars I think. I can't really remember since it was SO hot!!!

http://www.trainmuseum.org/
It REALLY is Thomas taking us for a ride!!!!

Mommy & Jordan touring a train engine...we got to play with all of the knobs and controls.
Looking down into the Snoqualmie river...the falls are off to the right of this picture. You can't see, but the little specks in the water are people kayaking and rafters...there were also people walking along the rocks next to the water as well. We were VERY high up over the falls.
Justin and his close up!!! Just hanging out with the family!

Jordan getting a tattoo "like Mommy" he said. Well, his is actually a tattoo of James the tank engine, not his astrological sign:-)

The boys on the train getting ready for the ride to start!

Mommy & Justin waiting for the ride to start. Justin kept trying to hang his hands and head out the windows...No Fear I tell you!

It Really Sucks (IRS)

To make a long story short...the day before we were leaving to go camping for the 4th of July weekend, we got a letter in the mail from the IRS! Needless to say, I was thinking about it all weekend since they were saying we basically owe them $7K for our 2007 taxes...not chump change! After further review on my own end, I knew it had something to do with how I recorded the stock options on the schedule K since I had exercised stock during this period. Anywhoo, I basically put the cost basis down completely wrong which in the end made it look like we had a capital gain of $26K when we really only had a capital gain of $152! I ended up taking everything to this great little accounting firm down the street that has been in business since 1973...$180 later ($60/hr); drum roll please........the IRS OWES us $540. Since I had grossed up our income to a higher tax bracket, we would've actually had more money coming back to us! It's a great day! I never want to have to go through that again...it's very worry some; I figure if I get anything out of the ordinary I'm going into to this same firm and having it done right the first time (lesson learned at the age of 35)!:-)

The San Francisco Treat?

Philip is heading out tomorrow afternoon for the remainder of the week for training down in San Francisco...It'll be just me and the boys with help from our bestest friend and neighbor Mary Kay! I told him that he'd better bring back the family a treat and it had better NOT be Rice-a-roni either:-)

It sounds like Philip is going to go back to school this fall to get is Bachelor's Degree. I'm not sure exactly what in, but it will help him to prepare him for the next level at work...so he'll be in school as well as I'll be in school. That'll make for some real busy times around here! He'll be going to the same place that I'm currently going; City University of Seattle. I wonder if we can get some sort of discount...I'm doubtful:-)

http://www.cityu.edu/

I'm off to bed as I barely got any sleep last night...maybe a total of 5 hours if I was lucky; not sure why, just couldn't sleep! Jordan got up too talking about I'm thirsty at 0100 in the morning.

15-month Check Up

Justin had his 15-month check up this afternoon...he is doing great and the pneumonia that he had on Monday (yes, for the second time if you are asking yourself) was all cleared up today after the 5 days of antibiotics. Not sure why he seems to be susceptible to pneumonia, but I guess once you get it, it is easier to get....:-(

Anyways his stats are:
Head: 48cm (75th%)
Wt: 25 lbs. (50th%)
Ht: 33" (90th%)

Obviously Justin is one tall, skinny kid!!!!

Jordan's comparison stats for 15-months are:
Head: 47cm
Wt: 22.5 lbs.
Ht: 31 1/2"

I think Justin is turning into my little Bruiser!

15-months old already!

How time flies...Justin is 15-months old today! He's getting so big. He moved up into the sophomore room at daycare on 6/1 and has started to say a handful of words now; his vocabulary consists of: Mommy, Daddy, mine, night, no, bye, and then pretty much just tries to mimic everything else you say to him like bottle. He's got his 15-month check up at the pediatrician a week from today. It really seems to me that he is getting bigger faster then Jordan is/was. One day soon I'll be able to see if my prediction comes true in the Justin will be bigger then Jordan.

Do your teeth really fall out if you don't brush them?

Jordan went to his 2nd dentist appt. of his life yesterday and he has 4 cavities. They are on his 12 year molars which means we've got two more trips planned back to the dentist for August and September for fillings on the left side and the right side. If they were on any of his teeth that start falling out around the age of 6, we wouldn't have had to worry about getting fillings. The dentist said that they are small enough that he probably won't have to use anesthesia...not really sure how that will work, but I'm guessing we've got another traumatic event coming up in the life of parenting a 4-year old. I mean, I'm still afraid myself of the dentist....I think it's just something you never grow out of!

So, we are really taking the precautions now after realizing that our brushing his teeth for him isn't working that well, so now we are going to monitor the late night snacking to ensure he brushes his teeth directly after he eats and specifically before he goes to bed, anywhoo I had cavities growing up as a kid and have since not had any for a really long time, so I think it's kids being kids.

Jordan was a definite trooper at the dentist...he didn't cry one bit while they took his first set of x-rays (2 shots), then took the power toothbrush and fully brushed all of his teeth, then flossed, and finally the dentist took the metal poker instrument to check for cavities and then apply the fluoride treatment. Except for the throwing up in the car on the way home, he did excellent!!! Yeah I said throwing up...he didn't like the after taste of the fluoride treatment and the next thing I know he's ganging and ends up throwing up in his Happy meal bag from McDonald's; luckily I caught it ahead of time and dumped the stuff out first...poor guy! He was perfectly fine after that, but said "mommy, I don't like the taste of that stuff in my mouth!"