Nature Walk

On Thursday afternoon we took the boys on a nature walk.  We told them we needed to find 10 different plants and 10 different animals/insects.   We thought the wood pecker was the coolest thing.  Jeremy spotted it and said, "There's a bird over there with red on his head."  Sure enough.

When is Jeremy going to be potty trained?

Many of you know that we have been trying to get Jeremy potty trained for over 6 months.  We have tried everything we can think including bribery with candy and even toys.  We also tried making him clean himself up, after which I had to really clean him and then clean the tub.  For the longest time when we change his poopy diaper, we have been saying, 

"Jeremy!  When are you going to go poo poo in the toilet?"

each time he joyfully replied, 

"Tomorrow!"

Today while Lane was changing his diaper, like always, he asked,

"When are you going to go poo poo in the toilet?!!"

Jeremy:  "When you're sixty-five!"

Lane and I couldn't help laughing hysterically.  Where does he get this stuff?!  I certainly hope he doesn't wait until he's 38 to use the toilet regularly.  

Jeremy's First Day of School

Jeremy started pre-school on Monday.  He was excited about starting school until he woke up.  When he woke up he was nervous.  I distracted him by telling him "you get to wear your Yoda shirt and your favorite socks!"  We had woke up a little late so he's eating his toast in the car.

Once we got to school he was really nervous.  He did not want me taking his picture.  When I picked him up he was so happy and excited!  He had a great day!

This morning he didn't want to go to school at all!  He was crying by the time he left.  I was asking myself, "Am I doing the right thing?  Should I just let him stay home another year?"  Then I realized, He is really happy when I pick him up.  He has tons of fun.  Anyone who knows Jeremy knows that he is strong willed.  Like any personality, it has it's good points and bad.  I can't imagine him not putting up this battle a year from now or even after that.  We'll see.  Hopefully that will not be the case.

What do you think?

Today, in remembering 911, I have been thinking a lot about my baby brother who is serving for the second time in Iraq.  I'm so grateful for him and all soldiers for their willingness to fight for our freedom and our safety.  Those are two things WORTH fighting for!  There is a lot I could say but I'd rather let you listen to two of my favorite songs.  They say it better than I could.  So click on the two links below to hear.

A special note to my baby brother-  I love you!  I"m thinking about you!  I miss you!  Thank you for being a warrior for us!  ~Sarah

Have you forgotten?

I'm proud to be an American

Just got back from Costco...

I walked into the kitchen and then back to check on Tyler.  He was having oh so much fun climbing on the big boxes.  I grabbed the camera and of course Riley wanted to be part of it.

Riley had his first soccer game last Saturday.  He had so much fun!  A few times he started doing "tricks" on the field.  When I say trick I mean things like summer salts on the run.  It just made me laugh.

Riley is all about following rules and making good choices.  He also takes it upon himself to be, what we call, the hall monitor.  Lately he's been correcting Jeremy a lot, much too our dismay because it's in excess.  We can see the school playground from our driveway.  As we were pulling in it today Riley informed Jeremy that

 "You have to swing on your bum, not your stomach!!"  (FYI- Since Riley just started kindergarten, they've been going over the rules at school alot.)  

Jeremy:  Nooo-oo

Riley:  Yes you do Jeremy.

Lane:  Riley stop correcting Jeremy.  Nobody likes that!

Riley:  (raising his voice exclaims) THERE ARE RULES!!!

Lane and I were just laughing because it's so classic Riley!  It still makes me laugh just thinking about it!

Project Hotty

What is that?  I waited a year to find out.  Lane and Dave, one of our really good friends, had been planning a surprise for a year.  They always referred to it as project hotty.  During the last year they would occasionally ask each other ambiguous questions in front of us, probably attempting to spike our curiosity.  Yesterday was the day!  Lane took care of everything including the babysitter.  I just had to dress up and be ready by 12:30.  Then Dave, Farrah, Lane and myself went to Portland for this...

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was!  I have never been to an opera of any kind.  I have seen the movie for Phantom of the opera and I loved it.  I also love the cd.  Let me just say that it surpassed all my expectations!  It was amazing!!!  If you haven't gone to see it, next time they're in town, GO!  

After the opera we ate dinner at a wonderful place called Mama Mia.  The whole thing was fabulous!!  I had the best date with my husband.  I can't wait to go see another opera!

Tyler Then and Now

This was Tyler's new born picture.

This is Tyler today!

His Birthday is today!

I can't believe he's one year old!

Below is  Tyler while we sang Happy Birthday to him. 

He is so darn cute.  The old time we sang he had a huge grin on his face while he looked back and forth at all of us.

If I had one word to describe Tyler it would have to be CHEERFUL!!  He is such a happy sweet baby.  For the first six months of his life, he didn't even cry once a day.  Even when he did cry it was like for 30 seconds.  

Tyler is always smiling and laughing.  He's such a cuddle bug too.  I think Jeremy and myself get the most hugs and kisses.  Whenever Jeremy is upset, he crawls over to him, kisses him and pats him on the head.

I love his dimples, his cheeks, his eyes, his smile, his angel kiss birthmark on his for, I love that he loves his brothers so much, I love that he's a Mama's boy, I love that he can always make me smile because his smile is so contagious!!!  I LOVE TYLER!  I love him so completely!  This year has gone by so fast.  Sometimes I can't wait until he gets older and we get to see all the new things he does and watch his personality develop, and then I'm sad.  I know I will miss these days so much.  I have a bad habit of thinking when Lane is done with school..... 

 I am really trying to live in the moment and relish every second of it!  I love my Tyler!  I love Riley and Jeremy!  I love my husband!  I love my life!!!

Happy Birthday Tyler!

This evening I gave Jeremy a lemon wedge, which he loves.  Then he says to me, 

"I like the flavor of this!  It has good flavor!"  I was very surprised by the words he chose.  It was so cute.  He thanked me for the next hour for giving him that lemon.  He loves lemons.  

As we were getting out of the car Jeremy looks at Tyler and says,

"I see his Cutes!"

Tyler looks so old, to me, in this picture.

Riley's 1st Day of School

I can't believe I have a child that's old enough to be in Kindergarten.  Time flies!  Riley was so excited.  He had a good day.

Whirlwind Week

Last Wednesday we woke up in the morning and Lane mentioned that he thought there might be a family reunion over the weekend.  That was indeed the case.  We packed up and headed to Utah a few hours later.  I am not usually that spontaneous, I tend to be a planner, but it was so much fun and we were glad that we went.  We got back late last night.  There were lots of pictures taken, only they weren't on our camera.  So there will be pictures and stories to come.

Murase Park

If you have never been to this park, you have to go!  It is GREAT!  It's in Wilsonville.  We absolutely love it.  It's unlike any park we have ever been to and it far surpassed any expectations that I had.  Our boys had a blast and we had a blast watching them!

PLEASE HELP MY WIFE

Hurry, someone please help my wife Sarah.  I came home from the store and she began crying and laughing with excitement and satisfaction.  I'm concerned about what these books (i.e. Twilight and New Moon)  are doing to her.  She keeps rambling something about Edward and Bella with tears streaming down her face.  I'm becoming very worried.  Can anyone help, I don't know what to do?  

                                                                                                                                                                 Lane

Lots of my friends started talking about this book almost a year ago.  I had no interest because of the vampires.  After continuing to hear about this series, I gave into the Twilight craze.  I genuinely thought I might be returning the book to it's owner before I finished.  I was WRONG!  I am beyond HOOKED!  I love it.  I can't put it down.  I only have two hundred pages left of the second book.  I"m so glad there are still two more.  If I didn't have 3 sweet boys to take care of, I would do nothing but read for the next 2 days so I could finish.

We got tagged- The BAD kind!

We discovered this on Lane's car yesterday.  Ugh!!  We couldn't believe it.  Probably just some punk kids with idle hands.  Since it's an old car we only have liability.  So unless we can get it off, we're stuck with it.  I tried a magic eraser with no success.  I'm going to pick up some lacquer thinner and give that a try.  Any ideas?

Jeremy and Tyler

Since it was over 100 degrees on Saturday we mostly tried to stay inside.  The boys were so wild and needed to run and play.  We had a few errands to run in the area and so we went to the play area inside the mall.  They all loved it.  What was cute was how attentive Jeremy was to Tyler.  

The boys were using the couch cushions to make a jungle gym, of sorts, again.  Tyler climbed up and was so proud of himself.  He is just so cute!

I got an award!!

I was nominated for this award by Becky.  Thank you Becky!!

I nominate...

Stephanie L.

Darilyn

Natalie

Teri

Melissa

Monica

Amanda

The Rules:

1.  Put the logo on your blog.                                             

2.  Add a link to the person who awarded you.                

3.  You must nominate 7 fellow bloggers for this award.

4.  Add links to the recipients.                                           

5.  Leave a comment so the recipients know they have   

received the award.                  

                                  

So last night I went to see this movie with my good friend farrah.  I had never seen any Mama Mia anything.  I like musicals so I was excited about it but I didn't know anything about the story line or really much about the music.  All in all it wasn't quite as good as I thought it would be.  I liked it but it's not a favorite.  There were some parts of the movie that were just GREAT, and I thought to myself, "I love this movie."  Then there were several parts I just felt a bit board because it was too cheesy.  The singing was Fantastic except for Pierce Brosnan.  I do like Pierce, though he wasn't a horrible, he really wasn't a good one either.  Amanda Seyfried on the other hand, who played Sophie and is the girl on the above poster,  was amazing.  She has such a beautiful voice.  I would like to get the cd, but I won't be buying the movie.  As for how many stars I would give it, I have no idea.  Like I said it was a lot of back and fourth for me.  Knowing what I know now, I would still have seen it.

Why I love Oregon

Oregon was the 33rd State.  

So here are 33 reasons why I love Oregon.

1. There are tons and tons of trees.
2. Everything is so green.
3. Rain.  Believe it or not, I love the rain.  I grow a little tired of it at times but all in all I love it.  I didn't use to think I liked it.  Then I moved away and discovered my love for the rain when I didn't have it anymore.
4. I'm an hour and a half away from the ocean.
5. I"m an hour and half away from the mountains.
6. The Gorge
7. Summer berries
8. mild summers.   I love that in between heat waves there are cooler days.  
9. There are so many flowers that grow well here.
10. There aren't a lot a bugs.  I hate bugs.
11. You can be close to something and not necessarily see it because of the trees.
12. There are so many recreational things to do right at your fingertips.
13. It's clean.  It wasn't until recently in visiting other places that I realized not all cities are clean.  I was appalled at the filth in the LAX airport.  I was afraid to touch anything.
14. Trees
15. Most of my family lives here.
16. Spring is Beautiful.
17. Fall is my favorite season.  I do wish he had more trees that changed colors, but I am also happy to have the evergreens.
18. Winter.  It does rain a lot but at it's better than the snow.  I love snow in moderation.
19. The beautiful green rolling fields in the Scholls area.
20. When it does snow, everything stops.  Schools are closed.  People stay home from work.  It becomes a special fun day.
21. Most people are nice here.
22. Drivers are generally polite.
23. They have a million bike lanes.  
24. Tillimook ice cream
25. Tillimook cheese
26. You can go camping and feel like your in the boony's because of all the trees and yet if you turn the corner you have all the amenities that, in my opinion, make a good camp site.
27. Did I mention all the tress?!
28. There is no sales tax!
29. cool summer nights, usually.
30. I am not an environmentalist by any stretch of the means, I do appreciate that we're Green.
31. more summer berries
32. Multnomah Falls
33. It feels like home.

I am an Oregonian through and through.  There are some things I really don't like about it like how liberal it is.  I also wish Lane's family was closer.  I guess there are pros and cons wherever you go.  For the most part I love it here.  I don't know if we will always live here or not, but I do love it. 

On our way to go meet Lane's brother to go canoeing, Jeremy did this to his hair.  He said he wanted spikey hair.  I'm just glad it was water and not juice.

Lane's brother Val, wife Collette, Camilla, Nathaniel, Brianne, Jared, and Emma.  They stayed with us for two weekends and canoed the Willamette in between.

Lane, Riley, and Jeremy canoeing.  The boys really liked it.

Backyard Camping

Last Friday we were suppose to meet Lane's brother out past Salem to go camping.  Since Lane got home from school way later than expected, we weren't going to go.  We didn't want the boys to be crushed, so we camped in our backyard.  They loved it.  To tell you the truth, it was a heck of a lot easier too.  Tyler was able to sleep in his crib in the house and we just kept the monitor outside.  In the morning we went and met his brother to go canoeing.  We had lots of fun.

The other day as we were walking home from the park Jeremy says,

"That house and our house are taped together."

(we live in a townhouse and are connected on one side.)

I just love the way that kids think and make their observations.

Tyler has been teething lately.  It's been sad because usually he doesn't cry often.  He has been fussy and he wakes up a lot at night and you can just see in his face that his gums hurt.  Two nights ago, Tyler woke up twice, not long after we put him to bed.  I went up to check on him.  Then I came out and hollered down the stairs,

"Lane?  Would you come give this baby a blessing?"

Jeremy came out of his room almost immediately with his arms folded and says,

"I will give him a blessing."  Then he squeezed his eyes shut.  It was so precious!

Tyler in the play kitchen.