Groundhog Day and ballet...

Not a whole lot going on.. last Wednesday we headed to the fairgrounds and submitted a few photos for the contest -- that's always fun. I will post my submissions later, they are on my mom's computer because she has the fancy photo shop :)
Lately I have been seeing more and more that my children really enjoy one another. It's true how people say you enjoy every age.. I just wish I could be in Groundhog Day the movie sometimes and relive some days with my children over and over and over.. for that matter I could fix my attitude in a few of those days also. But alas, here we are stuck in the now so I will try my hardest to enjoy every second of every day that my kids are young and care free.. and then when they are older and struggling with life's curve balls.. and yet again when they are all grown up and raising families of there own. Is that really possible? Could my little ones really get that old? What a wonderful and scary thought. It is such a huge responsibility to instill in them the life lessons they will need to make good choices. I can tell you that every day I watch them grow and learn and I am so very proud of both of them.
There is some Alissa news.. she had been signed up for ballet! She is very excited and can't wait to dance. There will be three big performances - the Nutcracker Ballet is two of them at Chemeketa Community College in December and then in July she will be in Fantasia. I can't wait to see her on stage!! That will bring back so many fond memories. I am seriously considering starting up a children's theater here is Salem because there is nothing offered for younger kids (I think the youngest allowed in 3rd grade) and I know Alissa would benefit so much from it. I already have a costume lady!! Hehe.. So anyways.. life is good. And my little ones are now playing together and side by side. And as always I open my eyes and wonder where all the time has gone.

The awful HAG!

I love Mo's. I truly have a deep affection for that place.. even though it is always crowded and noisy and utterly chaotic.. it's just part of the beach experience you just can't miss.
After we feasted at Mo's on clam chowder and other misc. yummy things (ok, truth is I don't like clam chowder or anything else that comes from the sea, I had chicken. Laugh all you want.. but I enjoyed my chicken..hmph) we went outside to the pier with our left over french fries and other odds and ends and had a seagull feeding fiasco. Oh so much fun! They were very brave and ate right from our hands.. of course a couple times they tried to make off with my finger, but it was worth the pain for some good photos.. I think. After Mo's and seagulls we headed to Depoe Bay for some shopping -- ahh yes folks.. salt water taffy and carmel corn to die for.. throw in an old sea hag and life is complete.
After shopping we played on the beach were a very cooooold Alissa shows off her "Little Mermaid seaweed castle".. I was impressed.
Last but not least a short video of Alissa chasing the gulls.. think she was enjoying herself??? I agree.

Aunt Susan left the next day :( She will be missed.. hopefully we can entice her to return soon. The beach will be waiting. I'm sure the beaches in Maryland don't hold a candle to our lovely Oregon beaches.. at least that is in my never to be humble option.

Weddings and vomit.

Finally a moment to write!! It has been a busy week. Poor Jonathan has never been so sick.. he did not eat for 5 days and with the vomiting and diarrhea he lost a ton of weight :( My poor baby is so skinny. Just today he finally started eating a little. Nothing but high calorie foods for him for awhile.. Alissa got sick too, but not the puky kind thank God.. she had a high fever (which she gets anytime she is sick) and a stuffy nose. I woke up this morning with a sore throat, which I am NOT complaining about! I am so glad I am not bowing over the toilet. Anyways.. enough of sicko stuff. I have much to catch up on!!

Matt's Aunt Susan came to town last Tuesday from Maryland and will be with us until this Friday. Luckily we were able to spend Tuesday and Wednesday with her before this bug hit. I'm extra grateful we didn't get her sick.. I would have felt terrible!!! Her first night in she requested Hamburger Pie so I whipped it up and brought it to the in-laws house. It was fun hanging out and catching up with her. Alissa thinks Aunt Susan is the greatest -- when we drove away that first night she looked at me and said, "I'm really going to miss Aunt Susan when she leaves Mom".. awww.. Wednesday we got together for tacos and chat and decided Thursday would be a great day for the zoo!! The kids and I were very excited.. and Wednesday night as we were getting ready for bed Jonathan started the puke fest. Oh boy, plan B. So Alissa got to go with her Grandma Davis, Aunt Susan and Bethany to the zoo and she had a blast! They were gone all day and most of the evening. Alissa wanted to sleep over with Aunt Susan and we were more than happy to let her so she didn't get Jon's "sick germs". Friday Jon seemed a little better so we went to the in laws for Matt's famous home-made enchiladas.. yummm..

On to my Saturday adventure! Matt agreed to hang with the kiddos all day so I could go to my third cousin's wedding.. Kate. I left in the morning with my mom and grandma and we drove 3 hours to Washington and had such a great time. The wedding was simple and beautiful. I love small weddings! It reminded me of my own wedding, only less traditional. My mom was the wedding photographer and I got to be the assistant! She brought two fancy cameras and we went to town taking pics. It was great having a purpose and soooo much fun. The drive home was full of adventure (cherry seed spitting, Bridgette mishaps, innocent banter.. and the like).. It was great spending time with my elders :) Hehe.. We even stopped at Alf's in Mcminnville on the way home and got to see the monkey in a diaper and eat yummy sweet potato fries.
To end my adventure I got home at 10 and was told Jonathan was doing ok but seemed tired..great! I picked him up and headed to bed.. laid him down and he promptly puked all over me.. and so it began again.

That brings me to the present.. I am a bit stuffy and my throat hurts a little.. Alissa is stuffy but otherwise normal.. Jon is slowly returning to normal.. and we are supposed to go to the coast tomorrow.. I hope. We will see how everyone is feeling by then. Fingers crossed.

I have been seriously neglecting my poor camera. I need to get some pictures up but have nothing new to share. This is random but Triton is HUGE!! I tried to lift him onto my lap this morning and almost couldn't do it.. I'm sure he is over 60lbs but have no way of weighing him at home because I can't pick him up!! LOL.. Oh.. and he blows bubbles in his water bowl down, how weird is that??? He sticks his whole snout in his dish and blows... WTH?? Love it..

:)

Still alive..barely.

So the last few day I have had a sick baby boy and it has been a bit of a puke fest around here. I have a lot to update, just need the time and energy. I'll try and get back in the next couple days!! :)

Yard Sale's and Zoo Trips

I really need to catch up! ! Last Saturday Matt and I had our first yard sale! Got rid of a bunch of big stuff and I now have a garage again!! WOO-HOO!
Yesterday Matt returned to academy after a much needed week off and I woke up with absolutely nothing to do. So I looked at Alissa and she at me and I said, "Hey, how about we go to the zoo?" To this she replied, "YESSSS!!" Hmm.. that was easy. So we loaded up the van with snacks and the double stroller and we headed to see the animals.
The kids had a blast!! And I really enjoyed them discovering new things and having fun together.

The funny thing was I think they enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit more than the real animals. Figures I suppose. This picture of them with T-Rex was great, if I had been taking a video you would have seen that right after this shot the T-Rex roared and it was LOUD and both kids panicked just a wee bit.. but no tears!! Hehe... it was great fun.
Here is the official group shot.. we were sitting waiting for a show where we saw a parrot do some paintings. The kids loved that.
Alissa was thrilled that we found the "Tic-Tocking Alligator". Who would have thought he was hiding in the zoo's rain forest??
To finish off the trip the kids each picked out an "Ice-Scream" from the dinosaur exhibit and then we headed home.
We left for the zoo at 11am and left the zoo at 4:00 -- didn't get home till 5:30 fighting traffic the whole way. All in all we had a lot of fun together.. just me and the kids.

In other news.. the kids are eagerly awaiting the birth of their cousin this Friday (or sooner maybe??) Alissa says with absolute certainty that it is a girl. I am curious if she is right!! :) We will see!!!

One of those moments..

Jonathan is asleep and Alissa was out finishing lunch so I came in to read some blogs.. I was reading Life With My Special K's when Alissa walked in and saw the picture of Kennedy in her halo. Alissa looked very concerned and asked me what was wrong with the little girl -- I told her she was very very sick and doctors were making her better. She asked what she could do to help her and I told her she could pray. This chokes me up even writing about.. she asked if we could pray together for the little girl and we bowed our heads and folded our hands and my sweet baby girl prayed the following, "Jesus can you please please help make that little girl all better...please... amen." She said this with such conviction I'm just sure God heard her. I've never before heard such a simple, innocent, heartfelt prayer. I believe there is nothing more powerful than a child's prayer. Wow.

Camping!!!

We arrived at our campsite Sunday evening right in the middle of a thunder storm. I was born and lived most of my life in Arizona where we had some unbelievable thunder storms during the monsoons.. since moving to Oregon zippo. Lots of rain -- no thunder storms. So this was like Disneyland for me!! That first night I stayed awake most of the night listening to the skies rumble.. what could be better?? Here is our tent that first night -- notice it is wet?? Luckily it held up for us -- this was a new tent and we bought a Swiss Gear (like the Swiss army knife) because we are on a tight budget -- I loved it!! Lots of pockets and hangers on the inside and HUGE!! 17X13 foot.

Alissa wasted no time getting comfortable.
This was "the shot" of the trip. I think Alissa looks gorgeous.
This is Monday after Jonathan took a dirt bath.. it was HOT outside so we let him roam around in just a diaper for a bit.. notice the dirty buns?
We were lucky and found some abandoned firewood at an empty campsite. Jonathan guarded it well.
Both dogs were exhausted from the trip and all the walking. Monday morning we all headed out to get some fish. Alissa pulled in the first one all by herself!! It was so great to see the look on her face. And don't knock those little kids poles, Scooby did just fine for Alissa! Notice they are sitting on a log out over the water?? That made me a little nervous, but Matt is a good catch and luckily Alissa sat still. OK I have a confession.. this picture is not of the first fish.. it is the second. I was a bad mommy and forgot the camera on our first trip -- and by the time I got the camera out.....this was all that was left of fish #1. It was great because Matt was gutting the fish on the table and had his head cut off when Jonathan wandered over and took a peek. And what does a little almost 2 year old boy say at this grizzly sight?? "Fish broken Daddy". We all had a good laugh out of that one. Yep Jon, it sure was broken wasn't it?? Alissa ate her first fish all by herself -- all of it. The second fish was the same story.
Papa (my dad her grandpa) came along with us for the camp out and the poor guy was having no luck catching any fish. And Alissa just wasn't in the mood to share :) Luckily our last day camping (Tuesday) Papa and Daddy went to Detroit Dam early in the morning while we slept in and he caught two fish!!

Alissa wanted fish for breakfast so she ate one of them and Papa enjoyed the other. Nothing like pancakes, bacon, and.. well.. fish in the morning. Tuesday afternoon we packed up camp and headed to Detroit lake where the dogs and kids took a bath in the lake and we had a picnic and fed the ducks. It was a beautiful day and we had a blast... and I had my camera packed up deep in the van. Shame on me. We headed home and everyone hit the showers. And then we sighed a big happy sigh and snuggled into bed. Life is good.