Busy, Busy, Busy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The month of December has been a busy one. The first full week we went on vacation to St. Louis, Memphis and visited Lisa's parents in Illinois. Brad was checking out two possible job opportunities. The kids had a great time with Grandpa and Grandma and their Aunts and Uncles.
The day we flew back to Seattle, Brad found out that he got the go ahead to do what the FAA used to call "Fam Time". He would be allowed to fly in the cockpit of a commercial airplane. He originally set it up to fly Dec 18th to Philadelphia and return on the 21st to Seattle. The next day (Tuesday), Brad received a call from Allentown Tower. They were calling to set up an interview. Brad said that he could do the interview in person. So, no sooner than we were home, he was off again. The interview went well and he arrived home hopeful. Now we play the waiting game. We should know where we will be moving too by the end of January.

On a different note, Brad usually works on Sunday mornings, but he was able to get a later shift so he could watch the boys open their presents. Benny was excited about every gift he opened. Timmy had no interest in opening presents. He found a toy bus in his stocking and was content walking around with it.

This last week of December was spent getting the Christmas cards out as well as some last minute gifts. Brad has been home with bronchitis and Timmy has been running a temperature the last few days. Both seem to be getting better.

Halloween 2011

These pictures are from a few days before Halloween. I had the boys try on their costumes. Timmy was a little lamb and Benny was Indiana Jones.

Timmy was so cute!

Here is a picture of the back of Benny's shirt. There is a big spider!

Here is Benny with the whip.

Here is Indiana ready for his next adventure. His friend Dayton let him borrow the hat, shirt and whip. The jacket (which it was way to big) I bought at Goodwill.
We went to the old neighborhood to do our trick or treating. We met up with our old neighbors and went with them. Benny went to a lot more houses. He was braver with his friends around. Benny and Timmy had a great time. Can't wait until next year!

Silly Benny

Benny has been such a crazy kid lately. He loves to play with his little brother.

Here I was trying to get a picture of him in his sunglasses.

After Timmy crawled into the basket, big brother had to too.

Benny standing tall at the pumpkin patch. Well over 3 feet tall.

Silly Benny at the Old Country Buffet.

My two handsome boys!

Silly Boys!

Here are some pictures of our silly Timmy. The other day I caught Timmy climbing in the laundry basket. Of course, as soon as I went to take a picture, he climbed out. Fortunately for me, he was a trooper and climbed back in for a picture.

The other night at dinner, I looked over at Timmy and this is what I saw.

Timmy likes to give kisses to the animals at the play area at the mall.

Timmy enjoying his pudding at the Old Country Buffet.

When I checked on Timmy during his nap time the other day, this is how I found him. He is sleeping on Mickey's lap while hugging his doggie.

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we visited a different pumpkin patch this year. This one was just north of Olympia. It was a great fall day. The kids got to run through a hay bale maze, jump in some hay, play on a playground, and take a hay ride around the farm. We left with some great memories, some sweet corn, some apples and of course some pumpkins.

Here is Benny sitting on a small tractor.

Here they boys had fun racing some ducks with these water pumps.

Benny was Daddy's helper when we went to get the pumpkins.

It was a great farm and we just might go back if we are still here next year.

They had some animals for the kids to see and pet. Timmy had a great time with the kittens.

We have Moved!

Hello all,

Just thought I will share that we close on our house on the 30th of September and we have already moved into a three bedroom apartment.

Benny's Vacation Adventures

Our vacation activities mainly centered around the boys. Therefore, Benny had a great time. we went to this family fun center. They had a huge indoor play structure and a lot of video games. Outside they had bumper boats, go carts, a batting cage and a miniature golf course.


Here is Benny playing what he calls "silly" golf. We only did 9 out of 18 holes. It was very hot and they boys were tired. If fact, Timmy was asleep in the stroller while we did this.

Benny had a blast with the bumper boat. Fortunately for us, we were the only ones out there at the time.
Another day, we stopped at a neighbor hood park. We brought Benny's bike and he had fun riding it to this play area.
We went to a bowling alley called Lava Lanes. Benny did an awesome job bumper bowling. He almost beat Daddy.

Vacation 2011

For our vacation, we decided we needed to seek out sunshine, so we ventured south to Medford, Oregon. Our major destination was Crater Lake National Park. We also took in some of the local sites. We visited this local chocolate shop.

The Medford Cruze was in town the week we were there. We came back from Crater Lake to find a bunch of classic cars in the parking lot of a hotel. Of course, Brad wanted to stop (more pictures to come). Benny got to sit in this little car.
Here is a picture of Crater Lake. There was so much snow up there that we could not drive around the rim. The lake was just beautiful.
Can you say Snow? This was the parking lot of the restaurant where we had lunch. The boys had fun playing in it.

Here is a local creamery. They are known for their blue cheese.

We all had a good time. Benny had a lot of new experiences. We spent an extra day in Oregon thanks to our van's fuel pump quitting on us. But, we got home safely.

Major Update!

Sorry for not keeping this up to date. We have been super busy. We went on vacation the beginning of June, Benny had his birthday in late July, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Leslie and Uncle Steve came to visit, and we sold our house. Plus a lot of other stuff happened too.

Yes, if you were reading carefully, you would have read that we sold our house. We are hoping to close the end of September. We have narrowed are search for a place to stay to two apartment complexes. We have been busy trying to come up with the money to get out from under our house.

So far, we have not heard anything regarding a job transfer for Brad, so keep praying. Pray also that everything falls into place (ie money, time, moving) and that Benny adjusts well to the move.

Fireworks 2011

Here is a video of the fireworks at Cityblast. I would definitely think about going there again next year (if we are still here). We were sitting right in front of the speaker, so that is why there is music playing in the background.

Happy Fourth of July

Sorry this is late, but we have been busy. Now that the weather is cooperating, we have been out and about more. Brad actually had the Fourth of July off this year, so we headed out to Tacoma's Freedom Fair for the air show. We had lunch at the Ram restaurant and had great seats for the show. The kids did great until a F-16 flew low and loud over the restaurant. I jumped, Benny had a look of pure fright on his face (then cried) and Timmy had a look of surprise but didn't really cry. After the show, we came home so the kids could take a nap and then we were off to Cityblast in downtown Puyallup at the fairgrounds. It is sponsored by the Foursquare church. Unfortunately, we got there too late for Benny to enjoy all the kids activities. He did get to go into a bouncy house though. At about 10pm they shot off fireworks and it was really cool (video will be posted).

One of the many planes at the Freedom Fair in Tacoma, Washington.

This plane was just hanging around right by the restaurant. Pretty cool, but also very loud.

Here is Benny having fun in the bouncy house!

I think the kids had a great time. When we got home, we felt like we were in a war zone. People were shooting off fireworks everywhere. Benny didn't get to sleep that night until 12:30am and he slept in our bed. Another 4th of July is over and who knows where we will be next year.

Dentist, Doctor, Meds! OH MY!

It all began on Tuesday of last week (June 7th). Benny had to have some cavity bugs taken out of one of his back teeth. They had to put his tooth to sleep (ie give him Novocaine). This numbed his cheek, half of his tongue and the left side of his bottom lip. They (the girls at the dentist's office) told him many times to not bite his lip. He did very well until we had been home for about two hours. I had went to get him a snack, turned from the fridge to see blood coming out of his mouth. Well, he had chewed on his lip. We called the dentist's office and they told us to bring him back in. So I took Benny back to the dentist office. He did not need stitches (Praise God!). We just had to keep ice on it. Here are some pictures of his lip.


Part 2 of the story. On Thursday ( June 2nd) I had taken Benny to the doctor because he had developed a bad cough and a slight fever. The doctor prescribed some anitbiotics for him to take. He had to take it for five days. The fifth day was the day he had the dentist appointment. Well, by Thursday (June 9th) he still had the cough and his lip was not looking any better, so I took him back to the doctor (mainly to look at his lip). I am glad I did. The doctor listened to his lungs and his left lung sounded raspy. She sent us for chest x rays. After those came back, she diagnosed him with bronchialitus and sent us home with a nebulizer and Albuterol. He is to have a breathing treatment once a day as needed. They gave him some Albuterol at the doctor's office and that seemed to help him breathe better. We knew it was probably a matter of time before we would need one, but hoped it would have been farther down the road.
Here is a picture of Benny getting his breathing treatment this morning. He did really well with it. He likes the "steam" that comes from it.

Update!

Okay everyone, we sure have been busy around here. Most of you know that we have made the decision to move back to the East Coast. Primarily to be closer to family ( i.e. Timmy and Benny closer to grandparents). We have still not heard anything regarding the three job opportunities to which Brad has applied. We have taken the initiative and put our house back on the market to sell. So far it has been on the market for about 2 weeks and no one has come by to even look at it. Truthfully, I would be surprised if it sold by the end of the year. Anyway, with all that going on, we have re-joined the our local YMCA. In order for Brad to be release by his chiropractor, he needed to join a gym. This summer is going to be very busy as the boys will be involved in swim classes and possibly gym classes at the YMCA.

On a sadder note, one of my former co-workers at Sylvan passed away suddenly on May 17th. Her name was Carol Parke. She was 10 years younger than my mom, but she was like a surrogate mom to me. Her daughter Jesse had a little girl (Emily) 2 months before Benny was born and Jesse's third child (Emmett) was born just 7 months after Timmy. I have always been invited to Carol's grandkids' birthday parties and we have always invited her and Jesse and the kids to our kids' birthday parties. I miss her now and I know that celebrating Benny's and Timmy's birthdays won't be the same without her. But the good news is that I will see her again one day. I know she is in a better place. A place without pain and sorrow.

So, as each day passes, I am trying to make the most of them. I hug my kids a little tighter and tell my husband that I love him more often. You don't know just how long you have, so I hope we all make the most of it.

More Easter Pictures

Here are some more pictures from Easter morning. Benny was excited about what the Easter Bunny brought him. Benny's basket contained quite a few musical instruments, a few balls and cars and most important, a bowling set. Timmy's basket contained mostly cars, trucks and a little basket of plastic fruit and vegetables.

Here is Timmy eating his chocolate bunny.

Benny and his chocolate bunny before he started eating it.

Here is Benny helping Timmy get things out of Timmy's basket.

Benny and his trumpet!

Mmm! Chocolate Bunny!!!!

Benny ended up eating most of his bunny. Timmy only ate one bite of the ear. Oh well, there is always next year!

Walking Timmy!

Yes, our little Timmy is learning to walk. He is not very steady on his feet, but he is trying. He will let go of things and try and walk on his own. His favorite thing to do is walk behind his walker all around the downstairs of our house.



He also likes walking behind his Winnie The Pooh ride on toy while outside. He would rather walk behind it than sit on it and try to make it go.

AWANA

At the end of April, Benny celebrated the completion of his first year in AWANA. He had a lot of fun with his friends and learned a lot more about Jesus. Here he is with his buddy Connor. This was taken at the Awards Banquet. Benny received a certificate, Cubbie pin and a little Cubbie Bear that goes on his vest.

Here he is showing off his certificate.

As part of AWANA, Benny learned the Cubbie song as well as the Pledge of Allegiance. Here is a video of him saying the Pledge. We did not help him practice this at all. It is just what he has picked up from his time at Cubbies.

Spring Fun!

Ah Spring time in the Northwest! On those few rare occasions when it is not rainy or too cold. The boys like to venture outside for some fun. This fun includes bubbles!

Driving cars in the street.

Playing in the dirt with trucks.

I don't know if you could notice, but Timmy tasted dirt and purple sand all in one day. You can see traces of it around his mouth.
Timmy found out that he could "walk" the bike, but not ride it. He wasn't happy that he couldn't make it go as fast as his brother can.