weekend in Salem

                                                                     the happy parents

                     I don't think I have seen my brother look so genuinely happy...besides their wedding

                                                  Lisa(Marianne's sister), Marianne, and me

                                                            Lydia likes her Uncle Ben

Last weekend we were able to take a trip down to Salem Oregon to attend my brother and his wife's baby shower. Marianne grew up in Salem, with her parents still living there. She went to high school with Napoleon dynamite(John Heder). I believe John's dad is her father's doctor) Anyway, Ben and Marianne live in San Diego so we don't get to see them too often.  Ben works 6 days a week researching in a lab with 10 hour days and doesn't get a lot of vacation. However, they were able to get away for a few days to score some awesome gifts for their baby boy. I had so much fun catching up with them and hanging out at her parents house with her side of the family. Ben and Marianne have been waiting to be parents for a really long time. Marianne is the type of woman you look at and just know she would be an amazing mom. She is great with my kids and I just can't wait to see her and my brother with their own. We stayed the night in a hotel and were up bright and early for some swimming with the kids. Laila and Landon got snorkels and fins for easter from my parents so they were so excited to try them out. After getting ready for the day we had brunch at one of the wineries. It was a buffet and it was delicious. Everything was fresh and made in front of our eyes. My favorite was waffles with macadamia nut crunch:) num num num...I brought home a bag of their macadamia nuts to make my own. After brunch we got our shopping on at the Woodburn outlet mall. It was 80 degrees out and all my favorite stores were there. The weekend went by way too fast with all the fun. My mom and I are planning to fly out to San Diego in August after the baby is born. Can't wait!!

BFF's

This is Lydia and my friend Jessica's daughter Ashlynn. She and Lydia are only 2 months apart. Today I watched Ashlynn while her mom was at the dentist and they played dress up the whole time. They are hilarious when they are together. They fight like sisters. One minute they are hitting each other and the next they are saying "you look pretty." I hope they will always be friends!

May 20th

May 20th will be Lydia's 3rd birthday as well as the day I complete my first half marathon. I have been running and off for over a year now...getting side tracked with knee swelling, shin splints, colds, stomach bugs, wanting to be lazy. I never had a goal in sight other than losing weight which is never a good enough motivator for me. I have lost 10 lbs in the last 3 months which is great for me but I still have about 40 to go to where I will feel healthy. However, clothes fitting how I want is way more important than numbers. I have always thought I weigh more than I look like I do. I blame it on my massive muscles..haha. Anyway, I have a goal now that takes daily dedication. With dieting and weight loss I had no date in mind so it didn't matter if I ate like crap for 2 weeks but with this goal I will lose ground if I decide to not run for 2 weeks. I am excited to be doing something just for me again. However, at the same time I feel like throwing up everytime I imagine myself at the starting line in May.

New Years Eve

Yesterday was by far my busiest of New years Eves....AND I have no pictures to show for it. Normally we will hang out with friends or family, relaxing at home and eating yummy treats. This year we were invited to hang out with the Butler clan. Their family consists of mom and dad, 5 kids who are spread about the country, 2 spouses and a grand baby. This year they were all home.

The Butlers are a busy active family so they ended up renting the aquatic center in Olympia for some swimming in the afternoon. I had all sorts of worries about taking our 3 kids swimming but eventually relented when I realized I am always wanting to go out and do more things as a family. It turned out I had nothing to worry about. The pool was the warmest pool I have ever been swimming in. It was a giant bath tub! There were life jackets and tons of toys for the kids to play with that they did not whine or freak out once. Ok Landon freaked out once when Kenan tried to take him away from me. I would have freaked out too though. Uncle Kenan always has the kids upside down. Anyway...our family had so much fun. This place even had a party room all decked out in beach theme decor. One we were all done swimming we had cake and sparkling cider.

That evening they invited us over for dinner and a bon fire. The kids lasted until about 9 where Lydia fell asleep in Tirsa's lap and Landon kept asking me every couple minutes what time it was. Brad and I went home and had some more sparkling cider and put a movie in where I fell asleep on him. We ended up getting in bed at 11:30 and I don't even care!

Today we get to see my brother and sister in law's fabulous new house in Puyallup. Happy New Year Everyone!

update

I have not posted in awhile and am still unsure of how often I will be updating my blog. As my kids have gotten older I feel like I actually have less time to myself and less time for my blog. I originally planned on doing several posts about Laila and Landon turning 7 and 5 and some of the fun things we have done the last few weeks, but I think I will quickly say phew September sure flew by but we sure enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Landon is loving pre-k just as much as preschool last year. He loves his teachers so much I am not sure it possible to love another teacher as much. He is becoming a little more focused on his seat work and showing more interest in crafts. Last year most of the coloring pages consisted of one long slash across the page in one color. We are working on writing his name and hoping he gains more confidence in himself. He likes to say he can't do something before even trying.

Laila adores 1st grade. Having lunch everyday at school is still as exciting as the first day. She wants to know exactly what I am packing her before we leave the house. She amazes me everyday with new things she is learning. She has better handwriting than her father, is in the highest reading group at school(I know bragging) wants to be friends with everyone and the other day She completed 14 laps around the mt view field during PE. Laila loves to learn and I never have to worry about her getting into trouble.

I wish I could say 1st grade was perfect, but Laila has been having a rough time with one girl in her class. They were in the same class last year and had problems as well...mostly consisting of Laila sitting by someone else and this girl throwing a fit and having to be physically removed from class. This year so far Laila has been bit on the cheek and ALMOST bit another time. It has recently escalated into just bullying.. this girl saying that Laila smells. The teacher, recess duties and counselor are all aware of what has been going on and have been giving different punishments. Unfortunately, if this keeps happening I am going to request this girl be moved or Laila will have to be moved to a different class. I told myself in the beginning I would let them be together as long as it wasn't causing problems or inhibiting Laila learning. I am getting close to the end of my rope here.....wish us luck!

canned goods

I saw this on pinterest today. This is genius! If you can't tell from the pic..it is a magazine holder holding the cans. This makes me want to go out and start buying more canned goods just so I can organize them.

feeling fall

I am into headbands now...this one is from athleta

hush puppies shoes from macys
victorias secret has the best coats.