Busy Bees

To say we have been really busy lately is a huge understatement.  Two weekends ago I drove to Idaho with Alex and Logan and then flew out of Boise on Monday to coordinate movers at our house in Illinois.  They got everything packed and loaded without incident and I then flew back to Idaho where I picked up two kids and two cats and drove back to Oregon.  We moved out of our apartment last weekend and into our house.  It is so quiet and dark out here, it's amazing.  The movers showed up on Wednesday and unloaded all of our stuff and we have since been busy unpacking.  So far only minor casualties from the move, one of which makes for a funny story...  Ty has a bear rug and when they were done uncrating him, I noticed his tongue was missing.  So I told the gentlemen this and they said it might have fallen out of his mouth and they would look in all the paper he was wrapped in and I should keep an eye out for it in case the movers found it and threw it in a box somewhere.  The people crated the bear the day after everything was boxed up, so I figured if it did fall out before reaching the crate it  would most likely be in the garage stuff or a desk drawer.  So Ty and I were tackling the garage and I saw it on one of the shelves.  Now it's a very odd sight to see a plastic tongue sitting on a shelf.  I don't know what the movers thought when they saw it.  So the next day I get a courtesy call from the company that did the crating and the lady asked me how everything went with uncrating and I say it went fine.  I then said "This is going to sound odd, but my husband has a bear rug and they noted on the paper work that it's tongue was missing.  We found it, so we don't need to make a claim for the tongue."  The lady proceeds to laugh, and I'm trying not to laugh too.  I said "You will probably never have this conversation again in your life."

We are thrilled to be in our new house and we got a nice weekend without rain to do some yard work and look at all the plants outside. Logan loves to walk outside and begs me every day to go out even when it's raining.

Portland Children's Museum

I bought a pass to the Portland Children's Museum and we went for our second time a couple weeks ago.  They have a traveling "Bob the Builder" exhibit which Alex loved.  The kids have a great time exploring the museum and they have classes too.  Alex really wants to paint so I'll probably sign her up for the painting class.  This trip Alex really explored her future career possibilities:

Maybe a Dentist....

Or a Grocery Clerk...

 Or a Bulldozer driver...

No, a Draftstman...

Possibly a  Plumber...

Alex had fun in the "Water Works" area.  Logan didn't have fun there, he wouldn't come anywhere near the water and stood in the corner.  Logan did have fun in the "Dig Pit."  It's a pit filled with chips of recycled tires that are coated in color.  There are lots of dump trucks and shovels and they both love playing there.

Children...

The other night I was wide awake thinking "this is one of those things they don't tell you about before you have children."  The reason for this thought...I was wide awake at 4 a.m. with a 21 month old in my bed with a runny nose.  No one tells you that when your child has a runny nose and can't breathe, they cry and want your comfort and only sleeping with mama will do.  Inevitably you take the child to bed with you thinking maybe that way you and the child will get sleep.  But you don't get any sleep because a) you are worried the child will fall off the bed or you will roll over on the child, b) the sound of the child snorting and rolling around, c) the child wakes up when the medicine has worn off and after the action of giving more medicine, the child is wide awake and wants to talk, play and touch your face-at 4 a.m.

Ah the joys of children.  All you can do is shake your head and laugh at the situation.  Which I have done many times, several of which were this week and involved Logan.  He is a little too curious these days...

My new favorite quote...

"Martin Luther King walked so that Barack Obama could run," said one boy. "Barack Obama ran so that all children could fly," added another, standing a few feet away from the first African-American ever elected president.

This was said at a morning church service in Washington D.C. where children recalled the life of Martin Luther King Jr.   and Barack Obama and his family attended services.

The Oregon Coast

We loaded up and headed to the Oregon Coast yesterday.  Ty and I haven't been to the coast for 8 years.  The last time we went there, he proposed to me on the beach.  It was a little chilly down on the beach, so we didn't spend too much time there, just enough to get some pictures.  We drove down the coast and stopped in Garibaldi where Alex saw some trains.  She is fascinated by trains, so we let her climb on them and took some pictures.  It was a beautiful trip and we can't wait to go back.

Oh how life changes....

Ty and I have always wanted to live in Oregon.  We have sacrificed the last 3 and half years living in places like Missouri and Illinois so our dream could come true.  We recently moved to Oregon  on New Years Eve.  We arrived to very wet weather, but were excited to finally be here.  We are in a small 900 square foot apartment with very minimal furnishings, anxiously awaiting the call from our realtor that we have an offer on our house in Illinois.

The journey here has been an interesting one.  We loaded up two adults, two kids, two cats, a boat and a truck and headed out  at 3 a.m. a few days before Thanksgiving.  We made it to Idaho where we spent Thanksgiving with family.  From there Ty travelled during the week and the kids and I were living with my parents.  I know all the grandparents were glad to have the kids around so much (even though it meant they lost some sleep!).  The cats are having a grand time exploring the acres of land owned by Ty's dad.  Christmas came early in Idaho and we went over to my parent's house and had tamales and rice and beans for dinner.  Oh and there was Marie Callendar pies for dessert, YUM!!  The kids opened lots of presents.   For Christmas we drove down to Utah.  We made a snap decision to leave earlier than planned due to storms and it proved to be a good decision...it snowed the whole next day-the day we were going to travel.  We spent the next week with Ty's family.  Alex was very excited for Santa to come and set out cookies and milk for him.  She was so excited to open more presents.  We then drove back up to Idaho for a couple of days.  We made another snap decision to leave on New Years Eve due to snow storms and since we couldn't find one of our cats (she showed up 30 minutes after we left) we left them in Idaho.

So that's how our life has played out for the last couple of months.  Below are some pictures from the holidays.

Voting

I was reading a friend's Blog last night and it inspired me to write this post (thanks Colleen).  A week ago Tyson said something to me almost in passing and it took me by surprise and made my heart swell with pride.  Our life lately has been one of chaos and I haven't had the time to tell him how much his comment meant to me.

As you know, last Tuesday was election day.  Tyson confessed to me that this was his first time voting.  He had an off-site meeting and cast his ballot during a break.  He came home to spend the rest of his break with the kids and I.  We talked about how each of us voted and then as Ty was walking up the stairs to go check his email he said  "you inspired me to vote."  It really took me off guard, I never thought that something I could say or do would inspire someone.  It really meant the world to me that he shared that with me.  It has changed the way I see myself.

Thank you sweetheart!

This election really brought out my passion for voting.  I don't care who you vote for, just go out and vote.  It honestly bothers me when people say they aren't going to vote because they don't like either candidate.  There is a line on the ballot that says "WRITE IN", you do have the choice to write in whom you want to vote for.  They may not win, but that's the  point of Democracy.  I took Alex and Logan with me to vote last week, firstly because I had to, but secondly so they know the importance of taking advantage of the wonderful right we have in this country to choose our laws and leaders.  As a woman, I find it hard to be apathetic about voting since 100 years ago, women didn't have the right to vote.  There were women who were willing to risk everything to fight for the right to vote.  Every woman owes them a huge debt of gratitude for their sacrifices.

I voted for Barack Obama.  He is the first presidential candidate that I have ever listened to that I truly believed he will do what he says.  I stayed up late to see if he had won, and I cried when they announced it.  The next day Oprah had a show about the election and there was a quote that I love.  U.S. Rep. John Lewis said "I felt that Barack Obama had been tracked down by the spirit of history and was aligning himself to be used for the common good."  For the first time in a long time, I have hope and I am excited to see what he will do for this country as President.  I hope that others will see what he has accomplished and be inspired to work hard and achieve their dreams.

I know that some people who will read this voted differently and don't share my enthusiasm about our new President elect.  I ask that you keep your negative comments to yourself.  I respect the fact you disagree with me and I would never say anything negative about you because of that fact.  Please show me that same respect.