The Nielsens

What's that bright thing in the sky????!!!

2012-02-03T16:20:00.000-08:00

It's the sun!!! Yes, the sun decided to pop out for the entire day here in the Seattle area. And it was even warm enough outside to crack open the kitchen window and leave the back door wide open without freezing. It felt so good to let some fresh air circulate in the house. Both boys were home from school today as it was a teacher professional day, so as soon as all three of us were dressed for the day, I kicked them outside!! They got to ride their bikes and scooters. I scrubbed down their plastic picnic table, and then proceeded to organize the patio storage. I can't stand being unorganized, so I dragged containers into the house and went through them. This next weekend I hope to buy a few more shelving units like we're using in our spare room and put in the outside storage. My goal is to have the storage all organized and be able to easily access any container at any time. I was excited when I saw Pete come home early from work around noonish (he'd put in a lot of extra hours at work with salesmen being in town all week from across the U.S.). After he relaxed for a few minutes, he put on a pair of shorts and helped me clean up outside. Late in the afternoon we decided to bbq for dinner, so we made a quick trip to the store for some hot dogs and buns. The boys ran around playing with friends while Pete bbq'd our dinner. Everything was great. We were able to leave the door open until late in the evening when it finally started to get chilly. I hope the rest of the weekend continues to be as nice!

The boys think that just because the sun is out, that it's warm out and can wear just a tank top. They even asked us if they could go swimming in the lake today! Anyhow, these pics are of the boys digging on the side of the house

Pete dressed in flip flops and shorts while cooking our dinner

Look What I Can Do?!

2012-01-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

Clifford can finally tie his own shoes!!!! He accomplished this task a few weeks ago. Before we head out for school, he'll tie his shoes and then run down the hallway really fast to make sure the laces are tight enough for him to play at recess :)

Happy Birthday Clifford!!!!

2012-01-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

Clifford turned 7 today!!!!

School was canceled again because of the snow, and Pete stayed home from work. So we hung out at the house together, and worked on decorating for Clifford's party later that evening. He originally wanted a bowling party, but at the last minute switched it to a 'kinect' party. Pete and I bought a new video game for his party (Ninja Fruit). We moved furniture out of the way, and taped up the carpet with painters tape as a guide for where the kids to stand. Everything was set and ready by lunch time. Poor Clifford...the party wasn't set to start until 5pm, and he kept asking us "is it time yet?" In the early afternoon, Papa stopped by on his way home to visit Clifford and give him a birthday gift. He also received a card in the mail from Grandma Jane with $20 to shop with. Finally, 5pm arrived, friends started to arrive, and the craziness began!! The party was a success!!! It was so much fun. For food, we kept it kid friendly and simple, serving chips, juice packets, mini corn dogs, and pizza bagels. I always let the boys decide how they want their cake decorated. Clifford decided on a "Halo" cake. So I bought a small Halo mega blocks set to use as his cake topper (then he got it as a new toy). Since the boys end of with two parties (one with friends and one with family), we only buy them one gift each from us. Pete and I picked out a bigger size Halo mega blocks set for him. He loved all the gifts from his friends too. The party ended at 9pm. Once everyone left, we let the boys stay up even later so Clifford could build all his new lego sets. The evening was a blast! We love Clifford so much!!!!! Can't imagine a life without him!!!

Papa stopping by to visit Clifford and to give him his gift

Grandma Jane's birthday gift to Clifford
They picked out their own outfits to wear for the party :)
Guests start to arrive. Let's get the party started!! (I love the pic of Clifford and Bella together. So cute!!)

Cake Time!!! It's amazing how quiet kids get once you give them cake 'n ice cream ;)

Time to open the gifts. A received a lot of new lego sets.

Here's Clifford the day after his birthday. With the combination of his birthday money and money he previously saved up, he bought himself 3 video games :)

Snow Days!!!

2012-01-19T20:01:00.001-08:00

As most have heard, it's been snowing ALLLLLLLL week long here. And it doesn't look like it wants to stop any time soon. School has been canceled all week (Monday and Tuesday were already scheduled days off). Last Sunday Pete and I bundled ourselves up and played with the boys out in the snow. We even walked up to Starbucks with our neighbor and her kids for a warm, toasty drink. Clifford and Kristjan love playing out in the snow. Unfortunately we didn't buy them new snow pants when they outgrew their last pair, so I've just been layering up with all their hiking clothes we have. Pete came home early from work today, and it looks like he'll be taking tomorrow off as well. Last night our power kept flickering, but luckily we never lost power. Here's some pics of our adventures. Enjoy!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

My little snowman!
Pete built a snowman right in front of a neighbor's truck, then smashed it backwards to make it look like the neighbor crashed into it.

Boys out playing in the snow late at night with their friends.

Sunday Visit

2012-01-08T21:18:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful visit from my Aunt Susie and Uncle Drew. They flew up from California to attend a family event for Drew's family. They were scheduled to fly back home later today, so they made a side trip and visited us for lunch. It was so enjoyable!! We even got them to play a little on the Kinect!! (I have video of this but I promised I wouldn't post it lol). We had such a pleasant visit, we were sad to see them leave. Hopefully it won't be years in between before get to visit with each other again!

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-01T23:29:00.001-08:00

Goodbye 2011......Hello 2012!!!!

Can't believe it's already a new year!! Time really does fly by as you get older! Our boys were down in Yakima visiting family for the whole week. Pete and I decided to plan a little get-together with our favorite friends at the last minute (morning of New Years Eve). Daniel, Mel 'n James, Gordon 'n Michelle with Caleb (best baby in the world!) and Michelle's twin sis Jessica all came over and spent the evening with us. We bbq'd up a fish dinner, while our friends brought over snacks and drinks. We played the Kinect for a bit, but mostly just relaxed and had great conversations. There were lots of laughs! We don't have cable, but Pete was able to turn on to King 5 on the internet thru our tv so we could watch the Space Needle as we rang in the new year. Michelle brought over these awesome confetti guns that we shot outside, and we sipped champagne. As the celebrating started to wind down, Mel 'n James took off, and the rest of us watched the new "The Thing". I was one of the firsts to go to bed, so not sure how late everyone else stayed up. The next day, we spent New Years taking it easy and cleaning up the house. Daniel stuck around and ended up convincing Jessica to drive up with their boys and spend the night. Our boys came home a day early as well. So we had a house full of Nielsen boys running around (Donavan is now fully walking and talking!). Between pizza, movies and screaming kids, it was another fun night!!

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!!!!

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T14:41:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas!!! All four of us loved every single gift we received. We basically just spent the day together, took it easy, ate delicious food and played legos with our boys. Here's some pics and highlights of our Christmas. Enjoy! :)

Amazingly, the boys slept in until 7:30am!! We couldn't believe it! They ran into our bedroom so excited to wake us up and show us what Santa brought them.

Here some misc pics of us opening gifts in the morning, as well as pics of the boys goofing around during the day with all their new fun toys

Homemade, right-out-of-the-oven cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning!! Y-U-M-M-Y!!!

Our Christmas dinner: bba brisket, dungeness crab, asparagus w/ cream sauce, twice baked potatoes and sparkling cider. I think we were all in a food coma after dinner :)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas....

2011-12-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

We started our Christmas Eve morning off by sleeping in, followed by getting in the kitchen to make a hearty breakfast consisting of eggs benedict, hash browns and orange juice. After getting ourselves cleaned up, the rest of our day was go go go with non-stop fun!! Here are the highlights from our Christmas Eve!

For our Christmas Day dinner, we decided on surf 'n turf. So later in the afternoon we headed down to Central Market and purchased 3 live dungeness crabs. Pete let the boys help pick out the crabs. We came home, cooked and cleaned them. Both boys watched as Pete put the crabs in the boiling pot of water, but Clifford was the only one interested in helping to de-shell the crabs.

Our Christmas Eve dinner tradition has been to eat out. We originally planned on going out to Red Robin, but at the last minute, we settled for some Papa Murphey's Pizza. We grubbed on some greasy goodness while watching some xmas family movies.

This is our family Christmas gift: Xbox 360 with Kinect. We bought it a week prior to Christmas. Of course, it didn't make it under the tree. It was immediately hooked up and furniture moved out of the way. We love it!! And you can see just how excited Pete is to have it by the look on his face in the pic below :)

Getting in to make Santa's cookies!

Typically on Christmas Eve we only let the boys open one gift, which is always a new pair of pajamas. This time around we let them open more than one. Their neighbor friends came over after breakfast and gave each boy a gift. Then that night we let them open the gift from Aunt Janet and Uncle Tom (bag full of miscellaneous craft items). They also opened up their new pj's. In the last pic, Clifford isn't smiling. He's upset because we won't let him open up a 'toy' gift :)

And the Stockings Were Hung By the Chimney With Care...

2011-12-23T10:37:00.001-08:00

These are our new family Christmas stockings!! Back in October when we visited Pete's family for a weekend, he told his mom that if anyone needed a family gift idea for us, that we would really love to have homemade knitted stockings. And this is exactly what she did as a gift for us. We LOVE them!!! The boys' baby stockings have now been retired, and we can get rid of the ones Pete and I were using since we got married (bought from the dollar tree).

Here Comes Santa Claus, Here Comes Santa Claus....

2011-12-22T06:49:00.000-08:00

.....right down "Alderwood Mall" lane. :)

We braved the mall last night and stood in line for one hour so the boys could see Santa Claus. We attempted to do this Saturday morning, arriving at the mall an hour before the Santa station opened, but Pete said 'forget this!' when he saw the huge line of parents that had already started to form. Pete tried hard to convince the boys to not see Santa this year (because he didn't want to mess with the craziness of it all) and told the boys that Santa would still come for Christmas even if they didn't get to see him. I, however, ignored this and told the boys that we would still see Santa before Christmas (there are just some things in life where a couple will disagree, and one of them gets the final say. in this case, that was me lol). Pete had a late afternoon meeting at work and didn't come home until after 5pm. I made sure boys were washed up and dressed handsomely, and as soon as Pete came home, off to the mall we went. Standing and waiting in line for an hour was well worth it once we witnessed our boys having their special moment with Santa (Pete even agreed with this). They each shared with Santa what they wanted for Christmas, took a great photo, and at the end, Santa gave them each a coloring book. They had the biggest smiles on their face!! Oh, and have I mentioned how much I LOVE our mall Santa???! The same gentleman does it every year. He doesn't wear the cheesy Santa outfit, nor does he have a fake beard. To Pete and I, he just looks exactly how we imagined Santa to look (and he has a great personality. we watched as a set of twin baby boys sat on his lap. one of the babies pulled at his beard. one of the helping 'elves' wanted to fix this, but Santa said to leave it for the pic. love it when Santa can 'take one for the team' lol). Next year, I'm just hoping I'll be more organized and take the boys to Santa BEFORE Thanksgiving, when the lines aren't extremely long :)

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

2011-12-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

On the last day of school before winter break, Kristjan's class had a mini-holiday celebration by making a Rudolph Sandwich snack that went along with a book they created a few days prior. Clifford did this last year as well, and I think it's the cutest thing! I wish I could have snapped some pics of Kristjan's class making these, but I was already committed to helping out in Clifford's class (both activities were at the same time).

How To Make A Rudolph Sandwich:
Start with a bread triangle.
Add peanut butter to the bread triangle.
Add two raisins for eyes.
Add a Fruit Loop for a nose.
Add two pretzels for antlers.
Surprise! It is a Rudolph Sandwich!

Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer

2011-12-17T09:53:00.001-08:00

And the "reindeer" being two anxious little boys who were super excited to see their grandparents!! Grandma Jane, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa drove over from Yakima to visit us today. They spent the afternoon with us. It was a great visit!! They got to spend time with the boys. We also enjoyed a yummy lunch, and took a little visit to See's Candy. Before they left to go home, we had ourselves an early Christmas and opened gifts. The boys got spoiled (of course!) with lots of fun new toys. Pete and I loved all our gifts. My favorite part was seeing Jane and my Mom's reactions to their gifts. I love how something so simple can truly make someone happy! All in all, we all had a great time! It was great having my family visit, since they don't get to do it often.

Clifford and Kristjan were very excited with this gift. They got to open it first thing when my family arrived. It was from Uncle Matthew. He had found a container full of his old toys from when he was a kid, like pokeman and transformers (all in excellent condition). So he decided to give it to the boys. There were even 2 new light sabers in there!
Boys opening the rest of their gifts!

Kristjan was so excited when he opened this! He told Grandma Jane this is what he wanted for Christmas when he visited her this past summer. Since then, he been constantly reminding us that "Grandma Jane is giving me the pink barbie car!" She didn't have much of a choice lol
Pete finds an extra surprise in his puzzle gift from my family
Jane's reaction when she realizes what her gift is!! I've been waiting a long time to see this reaction. Side story: I have this corn dip recipe that almost everyone loves! Pete got it from a family friend years ago. I'm always asked for this recipe, but I won't give it up. I've given it to my sister Amber, but that's only because she lives on the other side of the United States. Jane has been wanting this recipe badly, but I refused to give it to her. So when I was trying to think of a great Christmas gift for her, I knew just what she would want. To surprise her, I put the recipe inside a photo album filled with pictures of the boys. She would then flip through looking at the pictures, when all of a sudden she'd come across the recipe. She LOVED it! (Sorry Franie, if you read this. I promise to leave the recipe to you in my will!!! lol)

Up On The House Top......

2011-12-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

...a gingerbread house top, that is. Pete and I volunteered in Clifford's classroom today to help out with their gingerbread house build activity. Instead of making a traditional gingerbread house out of candy, they used recycled materials for their creation. Those kids are extremely creative! I couldn't believe some of the houses I saw! Pete was a big hit in the class. Being the engineer that he is, he had some awesome building ideas for the kids. Even Mrs. Webster complimented him and said she'd have to remember some of his ideas for future years. We had a lot of fun helping out!

Pete listening to the teacher give instructions as Clifford goofs around for the camera :)
The many creations the students made

Clifford's house

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2011-12-04T17:28:00.001-08:00

What better time of the year to bake and decorate gingerbread cookies than now!! Earlier in the day I whipped up a batch of homemade gingerbread men cookies. Then after we cleaned up from dinner, we got busy frosting and decorating. Clifford and Kristjan had tons of fun! And they somehow convinced me to let them eat two cookies for their dessert :)

The start of our cookie decorating. Notice how nice and clean the table is? Wasn't too long until frosting and sprinkles were everywhere! :)

I introduced the boys to edible 'spray' color for the frosting. They liked it so much I ended up having to take it away from them :)
Having Fun!

Some of the finished cookies!

On the First Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave To Me....

2011-12-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

Clifford and his girlfriend Bella have been together since kindergarden. Pete and I just think she's the cutest thing!!!! Every day after school, she waits for him and a few other friends (the other Bella and Gavin, who we found out she 'dumped' for Clifford lol. you should hear the cute stories all the moms tells us!) to come out of their class. Then as a group (and her holding on to Clifford), they all come out together. When we go our separate ways, hugs are passed out, with Bella giving Clifford multiple ones. She will occasionally make little gifts for Clifford. So this weekend, we decided we would make her a little something for a Christmas gift. We headed to the Dollar Store, and using his own money, he bought a wooden picture frame. Later that night at home he painted, glittered and jeweled the picture frame up. He put his school picture inside the frame. Once everything is completely dry, I'll have him wrap the gift before giving it to her at school. So sweet!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!!

2011-12-01T07:05:00.000-08:00

It's already December 1st!!! Where has this past year gone?? I'm not ready for a new year to start, and to repeat everything all over again. Much to my relief, though, I am almost ready for the Christmas holiday. The house is decorated, Christmas cards made, and lists complete. I'm doing much better than I did last year around this time (was dealing with Pete's surgery). I still have a lot of shopping to do as far as gifts are concerned, but I at least know what I'm getting everyone. A majority of the gifts to family have already been shipped and delivered. I have my 'goodie plate' baking list finalized, and will be passing that out to neighbors once everything is baked. Christmas cards will be mailed out this weekend. To add to the craziness, the boys are invited to two birthdays the next two weekends in a row. Good thing I like to shop! Pete informed me of when the company xmas potluck is (next week!), so I have a few tasty recipes I can make to contribute to that. And I'm sure both boys' classes at school will be having some sort of holiday celebration before their winter break, which I will more than likely get to help plan since I'm room parent for each boys' class. I'm sure there's a few more items I could add to this long list, but right now, I can't remember what they are. When I look at the calendar, I see there is only 3 WEEKS until Christmas!!! As crazy as the holidays can get, I love this time of year. Spending time with family, doing the numerous family traditions we have with our boys, and the memories we're making. To calm myself, I think I just need to turn on some Christmas music, light a Christmas-scented candle, and eat a few gingerbread cookies :)

'Tis the Season to Be Jolly

2011-11-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

I wasn't able to go out shopping for Black Friday this year, so with a full nights sleep, I decided to get a head start on the weekend and decorate the house for Christmas. The house is about 90% complete. Monday I pick up an order I made towards supporting the 5th grade fundraiser at the boys' school for a live wreath and centerpiece. We're putting up our fake tree again this year, so the live wreaths will help give that Christmas tree pine smell. And with just a few small miscellaneous items, the house should be completely decorated. I took a different approach to decorating the tree this year. Typically, I decorate it myself and just let the boys watch me so they don't break any ornaments. Both boys are older now and I wasn't in the mood to be a 'control freak' on arranging the ornaments, so I let the boys do it. Since we have a small tree, we're unable to put all our ornaments on, so I took out just a handful. Then I told the boys to start decorating. Other than giving them a few tips, I let them have free reign and decorate. They did a great job! Tomorrow I think we'll make some Christmas shaped sugar cookies. I LOVE this time of year!!

Here's a pic of Pete. It's tradition that I do all the decorating while Pete just sits and watches :)
The boys decorating our tree
Clifford and Kristjan with our finished tree
What our living room looks like with the lights off (ignore the power cord running down the wall; not completely done fixing everything up). A few more decorations and everything should be done.

Our angel for the tree. Kristjan made this himself one year in preschool. For the last three years we've put this on top of our tree. Using it has kind of become a new tradition for us.
I painted the boys their own Christmas tree to put up in their room (I got this idea from a friend). The boys cut out decorations and glued them on to their tree

The Tooth Fairy Visits Tonight!

2011-11-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

Both Clifford and Kristjan has had a loose tooth for a while now (Clifford's 3rd, Kristjan's 2nd). Both were getting pretty loose, and you could already see Kristjan's new tooth popping through the gum behind the loose one. I told the boys if they pulled their tooth out then the tooth fairy would come visit both of them tonight. Next thing I know, Clifford runs out of his bathroom exclaiming "I pulled my own tooth out!!!" He was so excited, though a little surprised when he saw some blood coming out of the hole. I few quick rinses of water and he was just fine. As for Kristjan, encouraging him to pull his own tooth out himself didn't work. He started to cry because he was too scared. He wanted me to come pull it out, but I don't do blood. Pete tried pulling it out himself, but couldn't get it completely out. It was hanging by a thread. So Pete tried tying some floss around the tooth to yank it out while I held Kristjan's hand. Out popped the tooth. Clifford and Kristjan are both excited to have the tooth fairy visit them tonight! Good thing the tooth fairy has a few extra dollars lying around *wink*wink

Thanksgiving Feast (Part 4)

2011-11-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

We concluded the Thanksgiving holiday by making our now-traditional trip to Aunt Janet's house for a delicious Thanksgiving meal. When you go over to Aunt Janet and Uncle Tom's house, you're always guaranteed a warm loving welcome, great company with aunts, uncles and cousins, hilarious family stories, and scrumptious food. And that's just what we got on our visit today. It was so much fun! I spent time with Gavin and Joani (Michael and Tara's children). They typically run away from me or ignore me (since they really have no idea who I am), but this year was different!! Gavin talked to me, and he LOVED hanging out with Clifford and Kristjan (he reminds me of when Clifford was that age; acting like one of the 'big' boys). And Joanie would come up to me to hold her on my lap. Those two kids are sooo cute! Michael had to work, but we were able to visit with Tara. Uncle Tom had to work as well, but he came home right before we left to head home so we were at least able to say 'hi'. Daniel 'n Jessica and their boys came as well. Jessica, Franie and I looked at the Black Friday ads and chit-chat. Everything was laid back and enjoyable. The pie I made was a hit, as was the corn dip. Before we left, Aunt Janet gave us a family Christmas gift. It's mainly for the boys, so I took a peak. LOVE IT!! Thank You Aunt Janet!!! (I think I'll let them open it early during their xmas vacation so we can keep busy on crafts). Franie also knitted me a scarf, which I LOVE as well. I'm always grateful for gifts received, but the best gifts are those homemade. All in all, it was a great day and a great end to our Thanksgiving holiday!!!

Cuddling with Joani
Aunt Janet showing Gavin the cards Clifford and Kristjan made her
Pete and Joani
Cousins eating their turkey dinner
Clifford and Kristjan on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Feast (Part 3)

2011-11-22T13:03:00.001-08:00

Today Kristjan had his class Thanksgiving Feast at school. Pete was unable to come, but I made sure to attend. There was only one other parent who attended. The kids made costumes and dressed either as a pilrim or an indian. Kristjan dressed as a "native america" (his words-too cute!). The other mom and I helped out Mrs. Castelle to pass out food. Each student helped in some way in preparing the feast. There were corn muffins, homemade cranberry sauce, and hard boiled eggs. I ,of course, brought my camera with me and went around snapping pics of everything. Then I sat down at Kristjan's table and chatted with his little group of friends. I enjoyed spending an hour with all the little sweet kindergartners!

Thanksgiving Feast (Part 2)

2011-11-20T17:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had our mini Thanksgiving with just the four of us. We've never had just our own Thanksgiving, so it made this dinner even more special. Pete and I both got in to fix it. As we dished up, we each said what we were grateful for. Everything was delicious!!! As tradition at any Thanksgiving meal, there are TONS of leftovers (which we will happily eat) and we are S-T-U-F-F-E-D!!! Luckily, we ate dinner early enough tonight to allow room for a slice of pumpkin pie for dessert later!!

Thanksgiving Feast (Part 1)

2011-11-17T19:33:00.001-08:00

Clifford's class had their Thanksgiving Feast today. I went in early to his class to help out with setting up the feast while the class was out to recess. A few other moms and I 'cooked' up (microwaved) the feast down at the teachers lounge before bringing it all back to class. We dished up a plate for every student and the few siblings who attended. While quietly eating, each student said what they were thankful for. The class also shared with us some interesting facts they learned earlier in the week about pilgrims. Pete was able to leave work a few minutes early to attend the feast as well. Clifford was so happy to have both of us there. Pete even sat with Clifford down on the rug with his class while his teacher read them a Thanksgiving book.

FIRE!!!

2011-11-14T15:32:00.001-08:00

We had a very interesting Monday morning. Boys stayed home from school because they were sick. Pete stayed home from work because he was up all night with the boys. As we're taking our time with getting ready for the day, all of the sudden the boys' shout "there's a fire!!" as they run to the back door. Pete and I follow them to look out and see one of the apartments in the unit across from us have smoke coming out of its open door as the tenant stands out on the balcony all nonchalant-like. From her reaction and seeing maintenance near by, we just figured that she was airing her apartment out as if she just burned something in the oven. We quickly realized this was not the case when the smoke got thicker and blacker and maintenance started telling everyone in the 24-unit building to evacuate. And then the flames came. Pete grabbed our video camera and started filming. I went out and invited some of the neighbors with kids into our home so they could stay warm. One of the neighbors who came in was actually one of the tentants of the other apartments that was badly affected. I tried comforting her as best I could as she stood there crying. It was insane to watch. We have about a half hours worth of video of the event (some video is uploaded on my Facebook).

Here's the link for the news story on this.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/133817858.html

Boys 2011 School Pics

2011-11-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

Clifford (1st Grade)
Kristjan (Kindergarten)

Peter's Performance Review

2011-11-06T14:36:00.001-08:00

Earlier last week Pete had his yearly performance review. He has now worked for Romac Industries, Inc for three years now. And for the third year in a row, his boss Andy had nothing but excellent things to say about him. Pete brought me a copy of his review, and I wanted to share some of the great things said about him. Keep up the great work babe!!!

There is no question that Peter is a gungho get things done guy

The people I asked really highlighted Peter's can do attitude and willingness to jump on whatever is put in front of him. Folks appreciate his training style

Peter's ability to get things done is really helpful at the National Show and his skill in the booth will make him a fixture there for years to come (from the sound of this, he will be attending these every summer. it was mentioned to him by his boss that even the owner of the company loves having him at these shows!!)

Relates well to the customer on the phone and is friendly

I like seeing the continued growth with Peter. He is adding skill set and capability which increases his value here at Romac. As outcome the projects he is assigned will increase in depth, exposure and complexity

I can't say enough about his positive attitude

I really appreciate Peter's willingness to jump on whatever project I throw his way. He does this with complete commitment to get it done and is very open to feedback

He also brings a positive upbeat attitude with him to work every day

Infected Mushroom Concert

2011-11-04T10:38:00.001-07:00

Last month tickets went on sale for Infected Mushroom playing at the Showbox Market in Seattle. With me now having a job and bringing in a little extra play money, I was able to purchase tickets. I sat at my computer and bought 2 tickets at exactly the moment they went on sale. I was giddy with excitement!!! The tickets arrived a few weeks ago. And TONIGHT was the night of the concert. I arranged for both boys to spend the night at Clifford's friend Xavier's house. So after we got ourselves ready and dropped the boys off, we headed down early to Seattle. For the 21+ crowd, you could get in to the bar 2 hours prior to the start of the show, and that is just what we did. We arrived in Seattle a half hour before the bar opened, so we stood outside waiting. As we were waiting, out came Amit Duvdevani (the lead singer for Infected Mushroom!!) to use the phone. According to Pete, I had the most excited, dorkiest smile on my face when I said hi to him and asked how he was (yea, I probably was a dork because I then turned to Pete and giggled like a school girl haha). The bar finally opened and we went in to chill for 2 hours. We split a meal and had a few drinks. Number cards were passed out to all of us in the bar. When your number was called by the bouncer, you were able to get in the concert before the doors opened up for the under 21 crowd who had to stand out in the freezing cold. We, of course, received a #1 card, so we made our way to the stage. Pete and I were at the front of the crowd the entire concert. I basically hugged the huge blaring speaker that sat on the stage in front of me. The entire show was fantastic, especially once Infected Mushroom performed. I even touched Amit Duvdevani pant leg a few times when he got close!! (yup, I'm a dork! haha). The band still had an hour of performing, but Pete and I ended up leaving because we were so dehydrated and tired from dancing for 4 hours straight. The next morning came way too quick. Sadly, Pete and I realized that we are getting too old for concerts....at least doing what we did last night. We may now have to join the 'old' crowd and sit up in the bar while watching our concerts (haha). Our bodies are extremely sore. My knee is swollen and bruised from dancing up against the stage all night. And our hearing is slowly coming back after spending 4 hours in front of that blaring speaker. BUT we had a lot of fun!!! Our bodies just need to heal up so we can forget how old we feel afterwards before the next concert we attend :)

I UNFORTUNATELY didn't bring my FlipVideo, so I didn't get any pics or video. BUT on Infected Mushroom's Facebook page, some pics were posted. In most of them you can see me and Pete in the front row :)

Happy Halloween!!!

2011-10-31T20:39:00.001-07:00

This years Halloween was laid back and a lot of fun. I went in to work for just a few hours so I could be home for dinner and help get the boys dressed up. Clifford dressed as wolverine and Kristjan as optimus prime. We drove down to Mill Creek to try out the community event. From 4:30-6:30 kids could trick or treat to all the businesses, and then from 6:30-8:30 was trunk or treat at City Hall. This was our first time attending this. We headed down around 6pm for the trunk or treat. Next year, however, we'll take the boys for the entire thing. Pete and I loved it. It was fun and safe for the boys, and extra Mill Creek police were out directing traffic, so it was very much 'controlled chaos'. And the trunk or treat itself was awesome. The various businesses' that participated did a fantastic job with the themes and decorations. There was King Kong on the Empire State building, Lego men in Legoland, Angry Birds, Camping, Candy Land, etc etc. The entire thing took us about 30 minutes to complete (and it was super crowded!!). I was up to take the boys trick or treating down one of the neighborhoods next to where we live, but as we were leaving the community event, Clifford goes "lets go home and look at our candy" while Kristjan agreed. These boys are so funny. They're content with going out for just a little bit, grab some candy, and then going home. So we came home and went through both boys' pile of candy. The 'unsafe' candy went into the bowl for the Pumpkin King to take (who, by the way, brought them new Bey Blade toys). As for the remaining 'safe' candy, we let them dig in while we watched movies. By the time they went to bed, they were wired, but all the candy is gone and I don't have to deal with it the days ahead :)

Teacher Conferences

2011-10-29T19:49:00.001-07:00

Thursday afternoon Pete and I attended both boys' parent-teacher conferences.

We first met with Mrs. Webster (Clifford's teacher). She started off by saying how much she enjoys having Clifford in his class. He can be a bit chatty in class. He's well liked by his classmates. The main thing he needs to work on is his handwriting and spelling. By the way, he has started his reading group in class (kids are broken up into different groups). He's doing really well, and I'm amazed every night at how good he is getting with his reading!

Next, we met with Mrs. Castelle (Kristjan's teacher). This meeting was rushed, since each conference is only scheduled for 10 minutes, and Mrs. Webster kept us for 25 minutes. So we were late for Kristjan's. Luckily, since Clifford had Mrs. Castelle last year, we know the curriculum and how things work in her class, so she went through quickly on what Kristjan does good and what he needs to work on. With Kristjan, we need to work with him on recognizing numbers and the alphabet (why did we pay for two years of preschool???). He'll also will be starting in a speech class (I had to attend one from 1st-5th grade). Kristjan is a bit chatty as well. He's also fidgety and has a hard time sitting still (imagine that!). And he's also very timid, shy and unsure of himself at times when doing classwork. So we have a bit to work on with Kristjan, but Mrs. Castelle loves having him in class and thinks he's a wonderful boy :)

Harvest Festival

2011-10-28T21:11:00.001-07:00

Tonight we went to the boys' Harvest Festival at their school. Earlier in the day I went up and helped set up for the festival while our neighbor Elyse watched the boys for me (she's an awesome babysitter, and she lets us pay in her in 'dinners'). I also provided lots of yummy baked goods for the bake sale they were having along with the festival. We dressed up in our costumes. Cliffford as wolverine, Kristjan as optimus prime, me as an angel, and Pete as a demon. The boys had fun running around playing games for candy prizes. We ran into a few of their school friends. We each picked out an item from the bake sale as a treat. Pete stole all the attention with his costume. He played around with some of the kids who were brave enough to come up and talk with him. One little girl asked him if he painted himself, while another asked how he attached the horns to his head. His reply to each was "I was unfortunately born this way" and "They're attached with screws". The little girl stared at him with wide eyes before running away, while the other kid new Pete was obviously pulling his leg. We stayed at the festival for about an hour before going home. Clifford and Kristjan were allowed to stay up late and snack on a few pieces of candy while watching some Halloween cartoons.

This and That...

2011-10-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

With the upcoming holidays, daily routines, and me now working, life is picking up speed in our house. I'm having a little difficulty trying to keep up and adapt to a new routine AND still be organized. Here are some 'this and that' happenings....

*Proud to announce both boys had their 6 month dental check up and NO CAVITIES!!!

*We went in for our yearly family eye exams. A few years down the road, I'm going to have to wear glasses (I'm far sighted). And both boys are a little far sighted as well. Kristjan now has a prescription to wear glasses, though the doctor said he technically doesn't need to wear them for another year or two.

*Kristjan was sent home with a letter for school saying he'll be in the Title 1 Reading Program. I guess he needs a little extra help. When we do homework, though, I see the same issues we had with Clifford (though Clifford is perfectly on track on where he needs to be now!), yet Clifford didn't need to be in this class. So we're a little baffled as to why Kristjan is in this program. We attended an informational meeting last week. The ladies in charged weren't even going to talk about kindergarteners until I raised my hand and asked what he would learn from this (they spoke lengthly on grades 1-6 ). His parent-teacher conference is this Thursday, so I'm going to inquire more details on this (though it wasn't his teacher who recommended him for the class; it was someone else during the school's eye exam).

*I'm still working. Last week was week 2 on the job. I was really stressed because my job at home was starting to lack (housework). The paycheck is really nice to have, though :)

*I've added more things to my plate. I just volunteered to help out in Kristjan's class three days a week (30 minutes each day) during writing time. I also volunteered to bake up a dessert for tonights 'teacher appreciation dinner', as well as miscellaneous baked goods for the bake sale this Friday at the school's Harvest Festival. I'm also volunteering to help set up for that event Friday afternoon.

*Pete may go on yet another business trip. This time to San Francisco.

*With me now working and Pete (hopefully) gets another raise here soon, we're already talking about moving. We've been on the fence for a long time now about buying a house or continue renting, the pros and cons of each. We think we've decided to continue renting. We checked out another apartment complex that is literally a 10 minute walk to our work. It's in the school district we've been wanting for the boys. The place is an upgrade from where we live now. In fact, it's nice enough that we could see ourselves living there forever (the layout feels more like a home and not like an apartment). So we're discussing what our new set of finances would look like in preparation of moving there. Wish us luck!

2011-10-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

Pete left this morning with Daniel to go on an overnight hiking trip. I had a few errands to run, and since I had to do it solo with the boys, I decided to first make a side trip and treat the boys to a little fun before dragging them store to store. There is a funeral home down the road from us, and they were putting on a Harvest Halloween Festival. They had activities such as face painting, petting zoo, bouncy house, bbq, and a pumpkin patch. So we spent about an hour there, hopping from one activity to the next.

Cooking School

2011-10-22T00:09:00.000-07:00

This evening I met Jessica at Snoqualmie Casino to attend the Taste of Home Cooking School show at Snoqualmie Casino. She called me up two days ago asking if I wanted to go. I of course said YES!! I love going to those shows. When I lived in Yakima, I went every year with my mom. Unfortunately, I've had to miss the last two or three years since moving to the westside. So I was very excited to go. Plus, I really needed the break from the kids, housework, job, life, etc.. We ate dinner there and browsed some of the booths. We also learned a few new cooking tricks. I can't wait to go grocery shopping and try making some of the new recipes. Afterwards, we hung out a little bit at the casino. I didn't play, but I watched Jessica. She even let me push the 'button' on the slot machine occasionally :)

Zoo Boo

2011-10-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we met up with Daniel 'n Jessica 'n boys at the Point DeFiance Zoo for Zoo Boo. The weather was gloomy (imagine that!) and really cold, so we nixed having the boys dress up in their Halloween costumes. The kids 'trick or treated' at the various exhibits. It was very relaxing having a total of four adults to help keep track of the five boys (it's usually just me and Jessica with all five boys at the zoo). We were there for a few hours before we went our separate ways. We made a side detour on our way home to visit Michelle and Caleb. Caleb is about two weeks old now, and is the sweetest baby boy! I held him the entire time we visited (Pete and Kristjan both held him for a bit as well before I requested to have him back lol). I even got to babysit him while Pete took Michelle on a quick errand. The batteries in my camera died, so all I could take was video on my FlipVideo. Unfortunately, I still can't upload video on my blog without getting an error message. But a cool feature on my FlipVideo is it allows you to take a snapshot from the video. It's a little unfocused, but the last pic on here is Kristjan holding Caleb. He just loves babies!

Halloween Cookies!!!!

2011-10-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we got in as a family and made our annual Halloween sugar cookies. I made up a batch of homemade sugar cookie dough, and the boys helped cut out cookies in the shape of ghosts and pumpkins. Once cooled, we all sat together at the table and got busy frosting and decorating. Pete got creative with his cookies, precisely adding sprinkles to make faces on the ghosts and pumpkins he just frosted. Clifford and Kristjan took a different approach: put on as much frosting and sprinkles as possible onto the cookies! I love doing these activities year after year, and the memories Pete and I are creating for our boys :)

Clifford and Kristjan helping me cut out the cookies!

Frosting the cookies!

Our colorfully ghoulish Halloween cookies!
Kristjan and Clifford enjoying their hard work :)

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-19T08:57:00.000-07:00

After dinner last night we got in and carved our pumpkins. This is the first year where the boys were able to carve their pumpkins themselves with little or no help at all. We had a messy good time :)

The finished product! ghosts (me), a bat (Kristjan), a scary face (Clifford) and skeleton face (Pete)

Kirstjan's Loose Tooth

2011-10-15T13:03:00.001-07:00

Kristjan lost his first loose tooth today! He took a bite from an apple, and out it came! He's super excited for the Tooth Fairy to come tonight!!!

By the way....individual school pics are this coming Tuesday. His tooth came out just in time :)

Getting Ready for Halloween!

2011-10-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

We are starting to get in the spirit of Halloween, starting with decorating our house. A few weekends back we made some homemade decorations (pumpkins, ghosts and bats). Then earlier this week I hit up the $ Tree for other miscellaneous decorations. Our kitchen table has a 'bloody handprint' runner with a spider web placemat in the middle and a big Halloween decorative bowl to use as our 'sacrifice' to the Pumpkin King on Halloween Night (it's where the boys will put all the candy they collect to give to the "Pumpkin King" who will then in turn leave them a surprise gift). We also put up decorations on the fireplace and backdoor. This weekend we will continue getting ready for Halloween by baking and decorating Halloween cookies, making more Halloween-themed crafts, carving pumpkins AND attending Zoo Boo. Phew!...busy weekend ahead...keep a look out for more postings of these fun events on our blog.

Yakima Visit

2011-10-11T07:59:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we headed down to Yakima to visit with Pete's family. His brother Eric and his family drove down for Spokane as well. While there, we celebrated our nephews William and Eldon's birthdays. Here's highlights and pics from the weekend.

* Boys spending time with their cousins. There was a total of 10 kids in the house: 1 girl and 9 boys! As you can imagine, the house is full of craziness, with all those kids running around. As hectic as it can be in that house, the sounds of all the kids laughing and playing together is wonderful. I love knowing my boys will have wonderful memories of this!

* Pete and I spending time with all the nieces and nephews. And this was our first time meeting Samuel.

* Visiting with Eric and Jessica. It had been years since we've seen them, since they lived in Hawaii, then Utah before settling in Washington.

* Travis and Emma joined me and Pete to a trip to Starbucks for a little treat, and then a little window shopping at Fred Meyers.

* Picking out pumpkins in the garden.

* Coming home with a cooler full of meat!

* Eating delicious food, with the smoked ribs being the best!

* Celebrating William and Eldon's birthdays.

* Being able to relax and let the boys run wild outside in the fenced backyard!!

Eldon's Birthday Party!!

William's Birthday Party!!

Nielsen Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

While visiting in Yakima, I was hoping we would go to a pumpkin patch up in Naches that had been recommended to me. Pete wasn't interested in going to one (as usual) and both boys were more concerned with playing with their cousins. So instead we decided to visit "The Nielsen Pumpkin Patch", and pick our Halloween pumpkins right out of the garden. Each child picked out a pumpkin they could take home to later carve (even I got to pick one! lol). I must admit...this was much more enjoyable and fun to pick out pumpkins this way instead of going to some farm (ssshhh!! don't tell Pete this. he'll never want to go to an actual pumpkin patch again if he heard me say this! lol).

Kids in the garden on their search for the best pumpkin!

William and Eldon making the long trek out of the garden by rolling their pumpkins :)

Travis posing with his pumpkin :)
Beautiful Emma with her pumpkin
Howard using his strong muscles to carry out his pumpkin
This almost became a disaster, but Kristjan was able to save the pumpkin before it fell out and crashed to the ground
Clifford helping Aunt Dee dig out Louis' pumpkin
Louis with his own little pumpkin

Friday Adventures

2011-10-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon Pete left work early to take us to the Science Center. The new exhibit opens today, but members could visit during a special sneak peak of it yesterday. The exhibit is "Design Zone". Everything was hands-on. Pete wants to go back without kids so he can take more time and play around. While we were there, we also saw the movie "Born to Be Wild 3D. The movie is a documentary about orphaned orangutans and elephants. It was amazing! Afterwards we headed towards Burien to visit Gordon and Michelle at the hospital. They had their baby boy Caleb Thursday morning via c-section. And oh! Caleb is so precious and sweet!! Pete and I both got to hold him while we chatted with the new parents. We didn't stay too long, since we remember what it was like with the many visitors that come and how exhausting it can be. We told them after they get settled at home, we would come over for a longer visit and make/bring them dinner. We completed our evening with a delicious dinner consisting of a roasted whole chicken, glazed carrots, salad and mash potatoes, and then finally settling on the couch to watch a movie as a family. Great start to the weekend! :)

Fun at the Science Center!!!

Pete holding Caleb

Gordon and Caleb

SAVE THE DATE!!!!

2011-09-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

Save the date!!! Jessica and I are combining our boys' birthdays into one big birthday bash for family and friends. After all, we both invite 90% of the same people for all 5 boys' birthdays, which happen to be between the months of January-May. This way, it saves those 90% of people from driving 5 different times for 5 separate parties!! The party will be on Saturday, March 17th in Auburn. This way, just about everyone will have to travel the same distance to attend, since many will be traveling over from Eastern Washington. And yes, Jessica and I realize the party is six months away, but lets face it. The older we get, the busier life seems to get. So this way everyone is at least aware of the date wwwwaaaayyy in advance. We're setting up an 'event' page on Facebook to help spread the word. We won't send out reminders until it obviously gets closer to the party date. We're still working on details, but our goal for this party is for everyone to come, have a great time and relax. The party will be from 12pm-4:30pm. Stay as long or as short as you want. Food and bbq will be provided, which we'll set a specific time to eat if you want to stay for that. We're really excited about this, and are hoping this makes it easier for the Nielsen side of the family to be able to attend to celebrate these awesome five boys!!

Official Romac Employee

2011-09-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

It's official. I have a part-time job. I went in today to Romac and filled out an application and w4. As of right now, I work 20 hours a week max. This afternoon I'll go in and start cleaning the engineering office. Then starting October 10th I'll start working on Todd's cleaning projects. It's exciting to know I'll be bringing in a few extra bucks for us to use as 'play money' :)

Date Night at the Cinnebarre

2011-09-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Peter's boss Andy made him a deal a few weeks back. If Pete took a 6am flight out of Seattle for his St. Louis business trip, then Romac would pay for Pete to take me out on a date, as long as the bill totalled no more than $100. I liked this offer, since I was the one who had to get up at 3am to get ready and drag the boys out to make sure Pete made his flight on time. So last night we went out on our date. I got dressed up in a skirt, hair and makeup done, even squirting on some perfume, and wearing some jewelry (I haven't done any of this all summer long lol). Our friends Mel and James were kind enough to come over and watch the boys for us. Our date destination was to the Cinnebarre in Mount Lake Terrace (just two exits away from our house!). Pete and I had read about this place a few months back in a magazine, but had forgotten about it until a friend mentioned that she had recently went there. The Cinnebarre is our new favorite place!! It's a movie theater for 21+. You take your seat in the theater, and while watching your movie, you can order drinks and food! If you arrive early, you meet your waitress and can place your order. If you decide you want something else while the movie is playing, you simply fill out your order on the order form and place is standing up so your waitress can see it. She'll come down, grab the order, and shortly later your order arrives! And the food isn't the typical 'theater food'. You can order alcohol, popcorn actually comes out in a big bowl (not some plastic container!), and you can order delicious appetizers, pizzas, burgers or sandwiches. And the names for everything are named after movie titles (very clever!). Pete and I decided ahead of time to split anything we ordered. So we had a pitcher of 'Pulp Fiction' (mimosa), 'Body Snatchers' (fried potato skins), and a 'Rocky' sandwich (philly cheese steak). The movie we picked was 'Killer Elite', which was pretty good. We had a fantastic time. I can't wait to go back!!

Back To School BBQ

2011-09-23T20:50:00.001-07:00

Tonight we attended the 'Back to School BBQ' at the boys' school. The bbq was catered and plates were $5 each. The food was tasty. The weather was warm and sunny, so we sat outside, and the school principal Mr. Trexel joined us at our table. We had a nice little chat. He just started this school year as the new principal for Martha Lake Elementary. I really like him (I didn't care for the last principal). He's very approachable and has a great sense of humor. There were also two bouncy houses for kids to play on. But the big event at the bbq was the cutting of the ribbon on the new playground! Kids were so excited for this. Last year the school worked hard on raising money to replace the old playground equipment. A big thank you to all you family members and friends who were able to contribute to Clifford during the various fundraisers (entertainment books, the Fun Run, and voting online for the school video at kaboom.com, which we came in first place nation wide and won $15,00!! and Dr. Pepper matched the amount that we won, for a total of $30,000!!). Last Friday the new playground was delivered to the school, and that Saturday Pete volunteered his time to help build it. So for this evening the PTA wrapped ribbon around the entire structure, and two lucky students were drawn from a raffle to help cut the ribbon. As soon as it was cut, all the kids rushed the playground. It was great to see their excited faces!

Eating some yummy bbq!
The new playground!
Cutting the ribbon and kids rushing to play

Clifford climbing the 'rock wall'
Pete help put together these two sections of the playground

Clifford with his girlfriend Bella
I love this pic! Kristjan is having so much fun!

Good Ol' Car Camping

2011-09-13T10:47:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we met up with Daniel and the older boys for some car camping near Middle Fork Snoqualmie River in North Bend. Pete flew in from his St. Louis trip late Friday night at 11:30pm. To be smart and save gas, we decided we would head out camping that night after picking him up at the airport. It was a late night. We met Daniel and his boys on the car trail, then proceded to look for a camp spot. The one we wanted was already taken, so we had to look elsewhere. We kept driving and driving. I think it was about 2:30ish am when the guys finally decided to just pull over on the side of the road and called it quits for the night. Pete and I unloaded the back of our car so we could sleep there (I love having a big car!), and Daniel and his boys slept in the bed of his truck. The next morning we loaded everything back into the cars and headed off again to look for a campsite. Eventually we found one and AGAIN unloaded the cars to set camp up. Daniel cooked up a breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns, sausage and bacon for all of us. By the time we actually ate I think it was more around lunch time. I was still tired, so I took a little nap while boys played around and the men finished setting camp up. Later in the day we headed down to the river to play. It was my first time ever swimming in a river. It was cold yet refreshing all at the same time. We played around before heading back up to camp to get dinner started. We ate dinner in stages: corn on the cob, asparagus soaked in oil and garlic, then two roasts. It was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!! For dessert I had made a homemade peach pie to bring with us. By the time we got to that, half of us were falling asleep and headed for bed. But Daniel, Dominick and Pete all said my pie was tasty. Sunday morning I woke up ready to pack everything up and go home. The mosquitos were awful and were constantly attacking me. We made breakfast, packed up and by noon we were headed home. We had fun, and it was a nice change to do some car camping instead of hiking.

Our camp site

The river we camped next to and boys' playing near the water

Pete and Kristjan cuddling and goofing with each other

Kristjan and Clifford chillin' at the camp table
Dominick wasn't too happy. The mosquitos were attacking him too. If you look closely, you can see all the red welts on his back from the bites

Boys with their glow-in-the-dark swords that I picked up for them

PTA and New Job

2011-09-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

It's official....I've joined the PTA. I wanted to last year, but just never got around to it. So I made it my goal that I would this year. Now that both boys are at the same school, I want to be even more involved. So we'll see how this goes :)

Also..I may actually have a part-time job! I went in yesterday to Pete's work to talk to his boss Andy. He wants me to come back in to clean the engineering offices as well as a few other side projects. It's rumored that this particular job may be more regular (I usually go in once or twice a year to do the office cleaning). But for now, it's nothing regular and I get paid under the table for this. BUT I also went in to talk to Todd Coyler, who works up front (I can't remember what his position in the company is!!!). Andy put in a good word to Todd about my cleaning, and Todd is interested in hiring me (I'd be an actual ROMAC employee!!) to come in to do some industrial cleaning on a regular basis out in the shops! It would be part time, at the most 20 hours a week. He still needs to talk to HR for more info on hiring me and then get back to me soon. But it's so exciting to think that I'll actually be bringing home a paycheck and have extra play money. *Fingers Crossed*

First Day of School!!

2011-09-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of school!! (if you could see me, you'd see me doing a happy dance!) I got up this morning a little after 6:30am to get myself ready before the boys woke up. I wasn't in the shower more than 5 minutes when both boys bursted in, excited to get themselves ready for the day. We eventually all showered and ate breakfast. We headed up to the school a little earlier than we normally would to make sure we got parking. Kristjan and I walked Clifford to his classroom. His first grade teacher is Mrs. Webster. We met her yesterday at the meet 'n greet. She seems very nice. Clifford found his seat. He sits at one of the grouped tables in the front of the class and he has his own desk with a few of his own supplies in it (the rest of the supplies are shared). He has a few friends from last year's class with him: Trey, Evan, Keven and Bella (not the girlfriend Bella; the other Bella, who he also likes, but not as much lol). Grant is also in his class (Pete carpools with his mom), and he sits directly behind Clifford. I stuck around for a bit, getting Clifford situated, before I took off. He gave me a hug and a kiss, and even gave Kristjan a big hug!! No tears were involved this year (by me) with dropping Clifford off at school.

Clifford's first day of First Grade!

Rockin' the bakugan backpack (he also picked out a batman lunch bag)
Lining up for school
Clifford and his buddy Grant

Me and my big boy!!
Clifford and Grant again

At 12:30, it was Kristjan's turn to be dropped off at school. His teacher this year is Mrs. Castelle (who I requested). He was first in line for his class when we arrived at the school. He kept asking me "is it time to go in yet???" He was just so excited. When it was finally time for the class to go in, Kristjan gave me a big hug, waved goodbye and went right on in without any problems. And as for me??? I was so excited for 2 1/2 hours of FREEDOM!! I cranked the radio as loud as I could as I drove home. Then I quickly got in my bathing suit and headed to the pool!! I even managed a quick trip to the library to pick up some books on hold and finished up housework (it's amazing how quickly I can get things done when I don't have two kids constantly needing me or fighting with each other). At the end of the school day, I was anxious to pick the boys up and see how their first day went. Kristjan said he had fun. They sang songs like patty cake, learned a story about the gingerbread man, and actually made a gingerbread man they could eat. Clifford had a great day too. His teacher told me he was her right-hand man, helping to show new students where the bathroom was. I'm so happy the first day went smoothly for them. I want them to love school, as I did. Tonight the boys are taking it easy. Homework hasn't been sent home yet, though it will in the next few weeks. I'm sure by the end of this week both boys will be exhausted (hopefully) with their new scheduled routine.

Kristjan eating his lunch before getting ready for school. Since kindergarten is half day, he eats lunch at home. I pack him a lunch when I do Clifford's so all Kristjan has to do is grab it out of the fridge.
Kristjan's first day of Kindergarten!!!

First in line for his class
Waving bye to me before heading in to class

Current Events

2011-09-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

The last week and a half has been fun for us (there's a hint of sarcasm in that sentence). Things started out great. We attended Pete's company picnic on a Saturday afternoon followed by a drive down to Olympia to have a bbq dinner with friends Devon 'n Erin and Daniel 'n Jessica. And then that's when things started going downhill for us. Daniel and Devon like to wrestle whenever they get together. Now, in the past, whenever we're at get-togethers with both of them, Pete has been smart enough not to participate, knowing he'd probably get hurt.....that is, until that night. I ran an errand to the grocery store with Jessica and Erin when Pete thought it would be a good idea to wrestle Devon (who looks like Vin Diesel). Pete didn't win the match, of course. And he seemed fine, though a little sore the next day. All was fine for us...until Monday. Then everything got worse. Kristjan and I woke up horribly sick (he performed a scene from the Exorcism in his bathroom, which I had to clean up after I finished puking because Pete decided to go back to bed). So both of us was sick all day, lying around, and couldn't even keep water down. Luckily, whatever we had only lasted 24 hours. But then Clifford got it the next day (turns out there was a total of nine of us who got sick with whatever this was: me, Clifford, Kristjan, Devon, Ashleigh, Daniel, Damian, Donavan and Jessica). While all this sickness is going on, Pete is having pain in his sternum. After a trip to the doctor and some x-rays, it's confirmed he badly bruised his sternum, which can take up to six weeks to heal. All I can say is, what a Jackass! What was he thinking wrestling the big guys?! So we dealt with all that, then packed up for a backpacking trip for Labor Day weekend (post on that later). We came home from camping to immediately pack Pete up for a work trip to St. Louis. And that brings us to today. Boys and I had to get up and drive Pete to the airport to make a 6am flight. He's gone until Friday. Meanwhile, I'm home taking care of the boys and getting them ready for the first day of school tomorrow. Fun times....fun times.

After Hours at the Zoo

2011-09-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Jessica invited us to join her and the boys at Point DeFiance Zoo during a members-only after hours event for the unveiling of the clouded leopard cubs. This was Pete's first time actually going to this zoo with us, and he loved it (especially with the gorgeous view of Mt. Rainier that you immediately see when you enter the zoo). The line to view the cubs was waaayyy too long for us to patiently wait with five boys, so we decided to skip that attraction and view the rest of zoo. Certain sections of the zoo was closed for the after hours event, but there was still plenty to see.

We always get a pic of the boys in the same spot on every zoo trip we go on.

Pete really liked the shark tank

Nemo and Dori!!!

These fish were cool. They float upside down.
We tried getting a group shot with all the boys but Donavan wasn't interested

Let the Countdown Begin.....

2011-08-25T05:59:00.001-07:00

I'm officially starting the countdown......Two more weeks until the boys go back to school!!! Oh happy day!! School supplies have been bought and clothes shopping will happen this weekend. Monday I will take Clifford up to his school to find out who his teacher is (instead of letter mailed home, they post the entire list out in the main hallway of the school). Not sure how the school is notifying incoming kindergarters on who their teacher will be, but I hope it's soon. I've marked our calendars for the boys' teacher meet-n-greet before school starts. And I'm starting to fantasize on how I want to spend my days now that both boys are in the same school :)

Venting

2011-08-24T05:44:00.001-07:00

I am soooo ticked off!!!! I'll try to remember to use proper language in this post, since this is a family blog after all. I've already ranted to Pete and on my Facebook. I just need to get this out, and possibly any (positive) feedback. I'm ticked off at my brother and his wife. My nephew's birthday is in a few weeks. I sent him a cute card with $1. Peter and I have TONS of nieces and nephews, all whom we love and would love to spoil, but with having two kids of our own, money gets tight. To try and make each one feel special, we send a birthday card and then a dollar for each year.

(SIDE NOTE: just to state a fact, Roddy and Tricia did not send either of my boys a birthday gift, a card or even a simple phone call to wish them happy birthday. and my boys adore both of them)

Pete and I wake up this morning to find this comment on my Facebook:

Roddy wrote: "We know what it is already not too happy but it is what it is....i know what you did for riley is not what u have done for all children I remember growing up with you come on"

SERIOUSLY???!! Oh, when I read this my face went blood red!!

(ANOTHER SIDE NOTE:) For xmas last year, my brother was in Afghanistan, while his wife and kid were in Cali. Peter and I made a good size care package to send to Roddy for his gift (as did my other family members), as well as went in on on the money with my family to buy a video game he wanted for when he returned home. We also sent Tricia and Riley their xmas gifts. I get an email on xmas eve from Tricia basically saying that what me and my family did wasn't good enough; wasn't right that Roddy only had one xmas gift (the video game) and she was giving her gift we gave her to him. REALLY??!! We had some (friendly but to the point) words back and forth, until she actually apologized to me)

SERIOUSLY???!! I'm going through this again? What we've done isn't good enough???? It's unbelievable. I'm tired of feeling like I've been slapped in the face by them because what we did isn't enough. Heck, I've already bought all of their xmas gifts for this year. Do I not send those in fear of it not being good enough??! And what are they teaching Riley? To act ungrateful?

Feel free to email comments to me on this

Gordon 'n Michelle's Baby Shower

2011-08-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday we attended Gordon 'n Michelle's baby shower, hosted by her twin sister Jessica. They're having a baby boy and picked the name Caleb Joe Guthrie. This one was co-ed (Michelle will have another one next month hosted by her sis-in-law, which will be girls only). It was definitely more like a party than a typical baby shower. The location for the party was on a beach in Seattle. Weather was gorgeous. The party theme was luau, no baby shower games (instead just some fun lawn games), and a very relaxed atmosphere. And the food was delicious. It was potluck. I brought my strawberry pretzel salad. Within thirty minutes of me sitting it on the buffet table, only a small corner of it was left! (I made a 9 x 13 size dish of it!). There were tattoos and a treasure chest of goodies for kids to have. Jessica bought a balloon kit and immediately put Pete in charge of it. He did his best to follow instructions, but his creations weren't exactly as the pics showed. One little girl came up to him and requested a humming bird!! The look on Pete's face was priceless! I think he made her a dog instead, which looked more like a rabbit. Sadly, we weren't able to stay long, as Pete wasn't feeling too good (he ended up getting the stomach bug I had a few days prior). Before we left, Gordon and Michelle opened our gift. I made them a 'Baby's First Year' premade scrapbook (Pete contributed to the gift by forking out the money for me to make it haha). They loved it! Pete and I are excited for them to have their first child. For the longest time, out of all our friends, we've been the only one with kids. We like to joke and tease them about how much their lives are going to change once the little one comes. And you know what's scary? In a few years, our boys will be old enough to babysit their kids!! :)

Martin Lake

2011-08-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

With Pete's big hiking trip cut short, he still had four days of vacation to use, so we decided to go out on our first family backpacking trip of the season (better late than never!). We met Daniel and his two older boys in North Bend for a middle-of-the-week trip. I loved that part. We left on a Wednesday and returned on a Friday, with the weekend still available to relax. We hiked for a couple of hours until we came upon the trail that led off to Martin Lake. It was just a boot trail (meaning it wasn't maintained) and from that point there would an 1800 elevation gain. Even though this first part of the hike up to that point was easy, kids and I were tired, and weren't looking forward to making that next section of the hike to the lake. Lucky for us, just a few steps ahead and off to the left, was a camping spot right next to a stream. We camped there for the night and rested up. After breakfast the next morning we packed everything back up and hiked up the trail that led to the lake. This portion of the hike was brutal!!! The trail just went up, straight up! I think it took us about three hours to hike up to the lake, and it was hard. But once we got there and saw the lake, it was worth it! The lake and its view was gorgeous. Kids played in the water while Pete and Daniel fished. We slept in late the next morning, which was wonderful. We ate a late breakfast before packing up. Our hike back down the trail was just as tough and tiresome. We finally reached the car at around 4:30pm, and drove directly to McDonalds to satisfy our craving for something greasy. This was a fun trip, but I don't know if I'd want to take the kids back and do it again. Especially me, since my legs were so sore and I could barely walk for days afterward (thanks to that steep 1800 elevation gain). I know Daniel and Pete want to go back. Maybe that can be a 'guy only' hike.

Never fails...this kid is guaranteed to always catch a frog on every hike we go on!
See these? It's a pair of frog legs Daniel cooked up. Clifford stabbed the frog in the throat because his cousins told him to (great, already dealing with peer pressure). Both Daniel and Pete were in agreement that the boys had to eat what they killed, so each boy had a taste of frog legs
View of Martin Lake

Daniel's typical 'power bait' shot and the results
Cooking the fish over the fire for our dinner. It was delicious!

Boys enjoying a late breakfast after sleeping in past 10am!

Daniel taking a pic of his boys before they got in trouble for playing on the log jam after being told not to
This was our view while hiking up to Martin Lake

Stevens to Snoqualmie 2011, attempt #1

2011-08-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

As I posted previously, the guys had to cut their backpacking trip short due to there being too much snow. They made it a whole 3 days. I drove up Stevens Pass that Monday to pick them up (that was an ordeal in itself, since there was no sign directing me where to turn off for a particular forest service road). When I finally met up with the guys, they tried convincing me to drop them off down the road a bit so they could continue on their trip using a different pathway. I said "Heck NO!" Between the ordeal of driving up to pick them up and the boys' behavior, I needed Pete home. I had already mentally prepared my brain for Pete to come home. And I told Pete if they attempt to do this again next year, he HAS to make arrangements to send our boys down to visit his parents during that time so I can have a break too (seriously, Clifford and Kristjan's behavior was awful!!! I don't know if it's their age or a new stage they're going through, but it sucks). Here's pics from their trip. I don't have Pete next to me as I write this post, so I'm going off memory as far as any description I write on pics.

If you know Daniel well, you know he loves fishing...and is very competitive...he's so proud of his fish! :)

Nic caught a fish! (I think Pete did too, but he didn't get a pic of it)

They took this pic to show what they came upon...
..and this is when they decided they can no longer continue on their hiking trip

The guys stayed at Lake Hope their last full day camping. They nicknamed their campsite Lake "No Hope"

Tunnel Creek Trailhead. This is where I was to meet them to pick them up. There's no sign off the main highway to direct you to this place. On a hunch, I actually drove down the correct road, but after driving for 15 minutes and not seeing anything, I ended up turning around to look elsewhere.

10 Year Reunion

2011-08-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend is my 10 year high school reunion. As fun as it might be, I have no desire to go. I didn't have any awful experiences during my high school years, yet they weren't fantastic either. For one, I don't like what they have planned. Saturday night is a dinner at the Apple Tree Restaurant (I've been there before and not impressed), and then Sunday is a brunch with families and tour the new remodeled high school. If you rsvp'd before August 1st, tickets for Pete and I to attend would have been $100. Then add on top of that new outfits (and getting hair and nails done for me) plus the price of gas to and from. It just wasn't in our budget. And since I didn't find the events entertaining, I also thought it would be a waste of money. Another reason for not going is there's no one I really care to see. I mean, I'm friends with almost everyone from my graduating class on Facebook. I can easily find out what everyone has been up to. And any of my so-called 'best friends' from high school and I haven't kept in contact (some I'm friends with on Facebook and we still don't even talk to one another!). So instead of attending my reunion, I plan on spending this weekend celebrating with friends and family at our good friends Gordon and Michelle's baby shower :)

Yakima Trip '11

2011-08-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

The day after we returned from the Nielsen Reunion, boys and I headed down to Yakima for a mini-vacation to spend time with my family. We were down there for three days. The second we entered my grandparents house, the spoiling began for Clifford and Kristjan. Days were filled with toy shopping, happy meals, baseball games, skating, seeing "The Smurfs", eating out, car rides in Grandma Jane's car with the top down, and lots of quality time spent with Grandma Jane, Great Grandpa and (Great) Grandpa. We had a lot of fun!

They each were given $10 to spend on anything they wanted.

Kristjan and Clifford with their new school backpacks Grandma Jane bought them.

Since Jane is the only co-worker who typically sticks around town during the week off from work (everyone gets the same week off and the business closes for that week), she's responsible to go feed the dog they keep at work. Clifford and Kristjan went every evening with her to help feed the dog. I went with them one time, and I'm so glad their was a fence between us and the dog-he's huge!!

When visiting Yakima, Clifford and Kristjan always look forward to going roller skating at Skateland. It usually takes them a few minutes to warm up, then they're off skating like pros (well...as best as a 5 and 6 year old can do haha). And within minutes, they're sweating like pigs. Check out the pics with their hair sticking up-that's all sweat holding that hair up!

Wednesday night we went with Grandpa and Grandma Jane to a Yakima Bear's Game. Grandma Jane bought each boy their own bag of cotton candy, and they chowed down on some corn dogs. The boys and I made it up on the big screen when the camera guy came around. And the boys came close to catching a fly ball. Clifford was extremely disappointed that he came home empty handed without a ball.

Eating out for breakfast before saying our goodbyes and heading home

Trip Cut Short

2011-08-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

I received a call from a Jeremy (I'm assuming with the forest service). He received a note from the guys on their trip. They ran into more snow than expected (and I'm pretty sure they didn't pack gear for it). So tomorrow morning at 10am I'm to pick them up somewhere in Skykomish. When this Jeremy guy called, I didn't recognize the number, so I let it go to voicemail. When I listened to the message, my heart just about dropped until he reassured in the voicemail that the guys were ok. I feel bad the guys can't finish their trip, yet I'm secretly happy they get to come home tomorrow!!

Nielsen Family Reunion 2011

2011-08-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed down to Westport for the annual Nielsen Family Reunion. As always, it was a blast! The weather was great until Saturday night, when it started raining, then cleared up just as we were leaving on Sunday. There was an abundance of delicious food. And of course, the company was fantastic. Days were spent playing on the beach or walking around in the town. At night, we gathered around the fire while sharing family stories. The weekend went by too quick. As for next years reunion, Aunt Janet will reserve the same campsite. But she will officially pass on the planning baton to me!! She knows how much I love planning, and I think she wants a break. I, of course, am already planning and thinking of things. I'm recruiting Jessica to help me. Daniel wants to bring back a Nielsen Men fishing trip, which my understanding is they used to do this in past reunions. So he and Pete will be working on planning that. I'm excited! Can't wait until next summer's reunion!

And they're off!!!

2011-08-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Today's the day! Pete, Daniel, and Nic Parker left for their nine day backpacking trip from Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass. The three of them stayed up late last night packing up their gear. Then this morning, as I was getting dressed, Pete came in to tell me that both Daniel and Nic couldn't sleep much because they were too excited for their trip. I laughed and said "they're like a bunch of kids on Christmas morning!" (which is exactly what Jessica said to them as well!). I got in and made them a hearty breakfast consisting of eggs, hashbrowns and bacon. Then it was time to pack up the car. Jessica stayed behind at my house watching all the kids while I went with the men to drop them off at the top of Stevens Pass. As of 10:30am, they were officially off on their hike. This is gonna be tough for me. Not only am I home taking care of both boys by myself, I have no way to contact Pete for nine whole days (at least when he's away on work, we can text or call each other). And I hope everything goes well and they return home safely. Next Saturday Jessica and I are to await their phone call to go pick them up. We're also to stop and pick up McDonald's for them. They each gave me their order before leaving :)

After they packed everything up, they weighed themselves, and then again wearing their backpacks. They're going to weigh themselves again when they return from their trip and compare to see how much weight they lost :)

Peter: 185lbs and carrying a 45lb pack
Daniel: 250lbs and carying a 50lb pack
Nic: 190lbs and carrying a 45lb pack

The guys getting their gear ready

Pete packed and ready to go

Made it to the top of Stevens Pass and getting their packs on

A FUNtastic Weekend!

2011-07-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

The sun FINALLY decided to come out for us! What better way to enjoy it than to spend the entire weekend outdoors. We started off with a day hike Saturday. Daniel and his two older boys, as well as Gordon 'n Michelle and Nic Parker, met up at our house at 8am. We caravanned up Stephen's Pass to hike at Dorothy Lake. Everyone was impressed with Michelle, who is seven months pregnant and didn't complain once on the hike! We found a rocky spot at the edge of the lake to hangout and have lunch. Everyone played in the water. I tried my best to avoid getting in the water as the water hadn't quite warmed up yet that early in the day. Pete had other plans for me. He tried shoving me in the water. At the time, I was sitting on a rock and I tried my best to hang on, but Pete succeeded in shoving me in. I'm sure everyone everyone visiting the lake could hear my screams. The only satisfying part of this experience was seeing Daniel shoving Pete in the water immediately after I went in. Damien's goal for the day was to catch frogs, which he did numerous times. While Daniel and I hung out on the rocks, everyone else ventured off to a close by island for a little while. Later on Pete tried some rope to our inflatable boat and let the kids take turns going out on the lake. Dominick was pretty good at rowing. In the late afternoon we decided to pack up and hike out. The drive home seemed to take forever. It was way past dinner time and we were all starving. Everyone met back up at our house, and we had some delicious papa murphey's pizza for dinner. Spending the day with awesome friends and family was a fantastic start to our weekend!

Daniel and his boys ended up spending the night at our place. Amazingly, everyone slept in until 9am. For breakfast I made everyone homemade waffles, topped with some homemade strawberry syrup and canned pears (pete's parents sent the boys home with a sample of canned items from when they visited). After I spent some time getting everyone motivated, we headed to Picnic Point to spend a few hours at the beach. The tide was up, so we couldn't go down far on the beach. Still, we found a nice sandy spot. The boys spent their time in the water trying to catch jelly fish. Daniel and Pete acted like two lazy old guys, sitting under our sportsbrella in the shade the entire time. I divided my time between laying out, looking for sea shells, and going out in the water with the boys. We came back home in the late afternoon. Daniel and his kids immediately took off for home so he could avoid traffic. As for us, we spent the rest of the day relaxing on the couch and watched Ghostbusters. We were all so exhausted, we couldn't wait for bedtime. We were so happy to have a warm, sunny weekend. It was much needed : )

Break Dancin' in the Park

2011-07-24T18:06:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday's WonderStage event was "Break Dancing" performed by Kontagious Performing Company. Clifford acted uninterested and read his Lego magazine until some of the older men started doing some old-school break dancing; then he perked up. Kristjan enjoyed the show. I know there is a break dancing class offered at the rec center in Lynnwood, so I asked the boys if they would be interested in it. Both said no. After the show, we headed towards the playground and grabbed a picnic table. After we ate our snack, the boys went and played for a bit before we headed home. This coming week's event will be a puppet show. Hopefully both boys will enjoy that a little more.

Clifford and Kristjan are just 'thrilled' to be here :)
Camp counselors perform silly songs before every event to help kill time. The camp meets everyday at this particular park
A small group of dancers getting ready to dance
At the end of the performance, anyone in the audience was invited to come up on stage to show of their dancing skills

Allergies Part II

2011-07-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

The school nurse replied back to my email. All is good. She explained that after mailing out the paperwork she came across all the forms that I had already turned in. She said she's not used to dealing with parents who are so on top of things. Sadly, most parents wait until the last minute to complete everything for their child. Instead of a huge stack, I only have four papers to fill out, one of which needs to be taken to the allergist. This is a relief. All I really need to do in the next few weeks is pick up an extra epi-pen, albuteral inhaler, spacer and benedryl. The forms said everything needs to be a prescription. I inquired if benedryl really needs to be, or if I can just purchase it over-the-counter (I think our allergist mentioned to us once that it would cost more to buy it as a prescription). We'll obviously do what is required, but it would just be much easier to buy it without a prescription. It'll feel good to have everything complete so there'll be no delays for Kristjan to attend school :)

Allergies

2011-07-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

Having kids with allergies, especially life-threatening ones, is hard. Having them enter public school having these allergies is extremely hard. Before any child with any allergy (especially one that requires medication) can attend school, a safety plan and meetings with certain school members must be done prior to the first day. I just received in the mail today paperwork from the boys' school nurse in regards to their allergies. Clifford's was just one page that I had to fill out. I was surprised receiving this because we never had to it fill it out for kindergarten. It's for his allergy to goat/horse/cat/dog. I understand they want to cover their butts from a legal standpoint, but really?? How many farm animals are going to be at school?????

As for Kristjan, the paperwork is a thick stack. I'm a little annoyed, though, because half of it is forms that I or the allergist already filled out and returned to the front office months prior to the start of summer vacation. It's reassuring that the school takes such allergies seriously, but I wish the school nurse was a little more organized. I sent an email to her verifying those forms are on file at the school. I also need to make sure I have all the appropriate medications bought and labeled, and taken to the school by the middle of August. I'm so grateful for health insurance. These meds are pricey, even with our insurance. By that time we should already find out who Kristjan has for his kindergarten teacher, and then set up a meeting(s) to make sure the safety plan is in check. I'm praying he gets Mrs. Castelle. I not only love her teaching style/curriculum, but I'm very familiar and comfortable with her classroom procedures for food allergies. *Fingers Crossed*

Summer vacation is just barely halfway over. I not only need to make sure I have everything lined up and taken care of for their allergies, but I already have to start buying school supplies and clothes! Plus I need to get on the ball and a purchase a Costco membership to buy lunch items in bulk (our membership expired over a year ago and we never renewed it). As much of a headache all of this can be, I can look at the bright side. First, knowing my kids will be safe outside of the home is comforting. Second, since I love to plan so much, I just need to somehow make this long back-to-school to-do list fun for me :)

Boys Are Back!!!

2011-07-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

My boys are back from their two-week vacation in Yakima. It's so good to have them home. Pete and I missed them so much!! They came home around noon. I drove them down to Pete's work so he could give them big hugs. To our surprise, he took the rest of the afternoon off so we could spend time as a family. We hung out at home. Clifford asked me to build Legos with him, which I gladly did. We sat out on the patio, the sun warm on our backs, and built a cool hideout house. Later in the day, Kristjan and I cuddled for a bit on the couch. They also shared with us all the fun things they did. It's great having them back. The house is now full of noise. Within minutes of them being home, the house is messy again (which is fine with me!). I know they had a lot of fun visiting with family, and I'm glad they could stay for as long as they did, but I'm glad they're back home. I love my boys!!!

Christmas in July!

2011-07-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited. An item that I ordered a week ago just came in the mail. I love it! I wish I could go into detail about it. It's actually our Christmas gift to my dad and his wife Pati (who obviously reads our blog). That's right, I said Christmas gift. It's not the first one I've purchased for this year either (more like my third!). As everyone knows (if you don't, you know now), I LOVE to plan. With being a stay-at-home mom, I (amazingly) have spare time to plan all sorts of things: dinners, vacations, holidays, etc. I have a notebook where I write everything down. I really hate waiting until the last minute. So I have made a goal that with every paycheck I buy a Christmas gift for someone. That way, come November for shopping on Black Friday, I just need to focus on Pete and the boys. Last Christmas felt like a disaster. I had to wait until the last minute to go purchase items for some family members, and sadly they didn't arrive until after Christmas. Usually I'm on top of things, but not that time. I don't want to make that mistake again. When I made my first Christmas purchase a month ago, it was exhilarating. Just knowing that it's one less person/family I will have to buy for later on is a great feeling for me. I really love that Pete's family alternates siblings each year. His immediate family is huge (and still growing!), and buying for everyone would break the bank. So each year, we get a different sibling, which then we buy for them and their family. I like the idea of doing a family gift. This year we have the Brignones, which has seven members in that family. I think I came up with a creative gift idea. The 'main' gift has been bought; just gotta add the final little details to the gift. As for everyone else on our Christmas list, I have an idea of what we'll get everyone. In the beginning of our relationship, Pete thought I was neurotic with how I plan things so far in advance (who am I kidding-he still thinks I am to this day! haha). However, he has come to appreciate my neuroticness. I do all the planning and the work. When it comes time for Christmas, for example, and everything has been taken care of and he just has to sit back and relax, he loves it! This Friday is our next payday. Hmmm...lets see how's next on my list... :)

Kid Free

2011-07-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

As of tomorrow night, Pete and I will have been kid-free for an entire week! Cliff came by last Tuesday night to take the boys down to Yakima to visit. I'm not sure when the boys are coming back home (could be this weekend). The boys said they couldn't come back home until after Aunt Meme came up to visit. Pete and I have called and talked to them a few times. They are having so much fun! I know they love the freedom of being able to go outside on the farm, which is fenced in, and just be able to play all day. Not to mention being with their cousins. I know they love all their cousins from both sides of the families, but I know they're the closet to the Brignone cousins. Pete and I honestly don't think those kids have ever fought or argued with each other (unlike Clifford and Dominick, who butt heads all the time!). Dee wrote on my Facebook wall that over the weekend the boys went with her to some yard sales. Each were given a $1 to buy something, though Clifford was bummed there weren't any legos. They also had a hotdog and s'mores roast. Clifford was stoked that they let him have his own stick to roast it himself. I think on Sunday they went to church, though Kristjan was vague on the details, other than saying Emma got candy there (Kristjan is hilarious after he visits down there and goes to church with them. He'll come home with a million 'God or Jesus' questions for me. His curiosity is sweet). We called to talk to the boys last night. Kristjan was very talkative (as always). Clifford was more concerned about playing his lego star wars game on the Wii than to talk with us, since he was on a time limit to play :)

We are enjoying our alone time. But I have to be honest. I'm BORED!!!! As much as I get tired of the two fighting with each other and the constant attention they seem to want from me, I miss it. And the neighbor kids must miss them too because every day three different sets of kids come knocking on our backdoor to see if the boys are back home to play :)

Pete and I have gotten in and accomplished the little things around the house that we've been putting off. We organized our patio and the outdoor storage, as well as our spare bedroom. Pete is getting his camping gear ready for his nine-day hike. Even though it's two weeks away, I'm getting everything ready for the annual Nielsen Family Reunion. I have a pile of things ready to be packed in the car. I've also found some new recipes to make and share at the reunion. I've also got a pile ready to go for when the boys and I leave for our vacation to Yakima. When we come back on a Sunday from the reunion, the boys and I leave immediately that next Monday morning for Yakima, so I gotta have things organized to go.

Here is our huge family car-camping tent. We dug it out of storage on Saturday to air it out (it had a dank smell). If Cliff and family ends up coming to the reunion in his trailer, the boys will more than likely sleep with them. That means Pete and I will have that tent all to ourselves. I just don't know....think it's big enough???? :)

We also finally got around to adding some decals to our car. Most families put a 'stick figure' decal of their family up on their car. Not us. We're the "apple" family. Two big apples and two baby apples. I think it's clever :)

I can tell I'm just rambling on this post. Pete will be home soon and I haven't done anything except dishes. I better make myself look like I've been busy :)

Fourth of July

2011-07-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

About a month ago we canceled our plans to Long Beach for the Fourth of July (the price of gas alone to get us there was going to be ridiculous). Instead, we decided to meet up again with Daniel and his family at Rattlesnake Lake. Considering we pulled everything together the night before, the day turned out great. We bbq'd lunch and dinner. I made homemade strawberry and peach pies for dessert. All the boys played hard. Both Pete and Daniel bought an inflatable raft to take out on the lake. We were there from 10am until 9pm! When we got back home, people were just starting to light fireworks in the street. Clifford and Kristjan were so tired and exhausted, they could've cared less and went straight to bed. Pete and I were so tired as well that we only heard a few 'booms' from the fireworks before we passed out, soundly asleep :)

Rattlesnake Mountain early in the morning.
Our nice little camp spot

Daniel getting in a tiny bit of trouble with Jessica (his face is priceless)

It's all fun and games in the boat....
...until Uncle Pete tips you in the water!

Daniel and Pete going out for one last row on the lake

Rattlesnake Mountain right after the sun went down
A quick pic of the boys (minus Donavan) before going our separate ways for the night

Rattlesnake Lake

2011-07-06T05:57:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday we met up halfway with Daniel 'n Jessica 'n boys in North Bend to spend the day at Rattlesnake Lake. Jessica's sister Britney and her three kids joined us as well. None of us had ever been to this lake before, and we realized we'd been missing out on a great place to hang out with the kids! This will definitely be our new go-to lake, especially when hanging out with Daniel and his family, since it is a halfway point between our two houses. The boys had so much fun playing in the lake the entire day. There were tree stumps and one actual tree in the water where the boys could climb up on. I don't typically care to go out in lakes (if the tiniest twig or fish were to brush up against my leg, I panic and scream like I'm dying), but for some reason this lake wasn't so bad to go out in. I even carried Donavan out in the the water a ways to get him used to it. He loved bending over to splash the water. We lucked out with grabbing a nice spot with a picnic table and shade to set up our bbq and pack 'n plays for the babies. Daniel and Pete bbq'd up some delicious steaks and corn. It was such a relaxing day....until I got sick. Shortly after dinner, I could feel it in my stomach. I think it was a combination of spending all day in the hot sun and something I ate. I was hoping I could make it until I got home, but my body was having none of that. As we were loading up our car, I couldn't take it any longer. I walked away to find a secluded bush and threw up (remember my post from last weekend about how Clifford threw up? we're setting a record here on how many weekends in a row a family member can get sick). It was so bad that the next day my ribs were sore and it hurt to breath! I told Pete we needed to hurry home because I could tell my being sick was going to last a few more hours. We drove home with me sticking my head out the window like a dog, just letting the fresh air hit my face on the freeway. We had plans to go on a hike the next day, so Daniel and his two oldest boys followed us home and spent the night. Everyone in the house but me stayed up late, having fun, while I went to bed.

I took a few pics of us at the lake, but not as many as I would have liked. When I bent down to put Donavan in the edge of the water, my camera fell out of my pocket and into the water. So unfortunately the camera stopped working. I seem to have a habit of ruining our cameras by getting them wet. I wasn't too sad this time around, since I really hated that camera and have been wanting an excuse to get a new one :)

Valentine's Performing Pigs

2011-06-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

Today was the start of Wonder Stage, a seven week free event of various summer performances held every Wednesday at noon. I've wanted to check this out in the past, but never got around to it. So I made it a goal to take the boys this summer. I packed a picnic lunch and off we went. Todays performance was Valentine's Performing Pigs (http://www.valentinesperformingpigs.com). It was very entertaining, even for adults. The pigs were so cute, especially the baby one they brought out at the end. There were a total of five pigs brought out and performed various tricks. At the end of the show the audience was able to pet the baby pig. Everyone crowded towards the stage, so I hung back and let Clifford and Kristjan wait their turn to pet it. We were all in agreement, though, that we want a baby pig for a pet. Maybe one day when we have a house....

Afterwards I let the kids go play on the playground. It was extremely busy with kids running every which way, as summer camps also meet at this park. We didn't stay too long after the performance since the weather was windy and cold. So we came home and watched Tremors (the boys' favorite movie right now) while they played legos and colored on the floor.

Clifford and Kristjan enjoying their front row seats!
The pigs performing tricks

You can't see them, but the boys are in the very front petting the baby pig
Boys playing around before heading home

Summer Movie Express

2011-06-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Today was the start of the Regal Summer Movie Express 2011. Every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am there is a family-friendly movie you can take your kids to see. The movies are always older ones that we've already watched a gazillion times, but seeing it in the theater makes for a different experience. I've taken the boys to this for the last two years. In the previous years, this event has always been free, where all you had to purchase was your snacks. This year, however, they've changed it up and are now charging $1 for each adult/child, which I don't mind. I'll just pick and choose which movies we'll go see instead of going to every one (honestly, there are some movies I can't bare to sit through, like Tale of Desperaux, whether for free or a $1!). It's a great way to kill some time during the week.

Here's a pic of the boys holding up their movie passports right before the doors open. If they each get eight stamps, then on the last week they can see a movie for free.

What's that in the sky????

2011-06-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

Is it a bird?? Is it a plane?? It's....It's....sunshine!!!! Amazing, I know! We woke up this morning to see the sky clear and the sun shining brightly, with temperatures to be in the 70's. We decided there was no better way to enjoy the day than to head to the beach. Right after breakfast we got everything ready to go. We made a quick stop to pick up Clifford's friend Xavier so he could join us. We arrived at the beach just slightly before 11am and we didn't leave until almost 2pm! We walked the beach, looked for sea shells, and played in the water and sand. The coolest part of this trip was finding tons of jellyfish swimming around. We gently scooped them up out of the water so we could feel them and look at them more closely before putting them back in. In the water, they look so thin and transparant, but when you pick them up, they're solid and jelly-like. Definitely the highlight of this beach trip.

We came home and decided we needed to cool off from our beach trip by going for a swim in the pool. The water felt so good on our red skin, with me being the reddest. I think we stayed at the pool for an hour, maybe two, before we realized how hungry we all were. Pete whipped up some delicious hamburgers, and we had a picnic dinner out in the living room while we watched a family movie. Sadly, the evening came to an abrupt end with Clifford throwing up his dinner shortly after he finished eating it (we could tell he spent too much time out in the sun). Kristjan and I drove Xavier home. When we got back, Clifford was already in his pajamas, falling asleep on the couch. We put him to bed a little before 6:30! He was one tired boy. Kristjan is soaking in a bath right now, and I'm sure he'll go to bed here soon as well. This was definitely a much needed, relaxing, fun day. I just hope the sun decides to stick around for a few a while :)

Bellevue Strawberry Festival

2011-06-25T19:08:00.001-07:00

We drove down to Bellevue this morning to attend the strawberry festival. So we wouldn't have to pay for parking, we parked at a middle school and rode the free shuttle that was offered. The boys were excited for this because the 'shuttle' was a school bus. Kristjan especially loved it, as it was the first time he'd ever riden on a bus. The shuttle dropped us off right as the festival opened. We walked around and looked at the booths that were set up. The boys entered themselves in many contests. We stopped to watch a magician perform some tricks. There was one trick where the gentleman showed off his furry pet 'worm' (just a piece of furry material with googly eyes), which performed it's own 'tricks' (the magician made it move). For $5 you could buy your own pet 'worm' and get a book along with it to show how to do the tricks. Kristjan was really fascinated by this and really wanted one for himself. After walking around we were starting to get hungry, so our lunch consisted of sharing some strawberry shortcake and strawberry limonade. The boys were getting antsy to go play around, so after we ate we bought some tickets. They each played a few games, which they received yellow tickets for participating to cash in for prizes. There wasn't really any 'rides' at the festival, and any ride they did have took three or more tickets, which we only bought the boys six tickets each. So Kristjan went on a huge slide while Clifford rock climbed up a rock wall. Clifford did awesome, making it all the way to the top and ringing the bell. When the boys ran out of tickets we let them run around on the playground before getting back on the shuttle to head home.

I'm glad we went and we did have fun, but we probably won't go to it again. Next year I think we'll try the strawberry festival up in Marysville. This one was way overpriced and not enough to do, as it really only took twenty minutes to do everything! The best thing about going to this festival was finding a new park to take the boys to. There's a water play area on one section of the park, which the boys would love to play at on a hot day (IF we ever get one of those soon).

Last Day of School

2011-06-23T05:46:00.000-07:00

Today was Clifford's last day of school! He's officially a first grader!! Pete and I can't believe how quick this school year went. Report cards were also sent home today. In comparison to his 'winter' report card, this 'spring' report card saw many improvements in Clifford's learning. He either stayed at the same number, or went up one or two numbers! (instead of grading A,B,C they are graded 1-4). It was also clearly stated that Clifford would go on to the first grade! We're so proud of Clifford! Next year will truly be a different experience for him. For the last three years, his school days were short and easy. His first year of preschool, he attended two days a week, and for the second year, three days a week, with both those years the classes were only a few hours long. Then he started Kindergarten, which the school district had just changed their schedule from everyday half day, to two full days each week with occasional Fridays. Next year, however, Clifford will be in school everyday, all day! I really think that's going to be a little bit of a shock to him. He adapts well, though, so hopefully he won't have any problems.

With today being Clifford's last day of school, we can officially start our summer vacation now that both boys are out of school. The weather here hasn't been too nice, but I'm not going to let it stop us from having fun. I have our calendar already filled up with activities we can go and do within our community. One awesome thing about living on the westside is there are a lot of free things to do, whether it's a performance in the park, or a museum offering their designated 'free night' each month. I'm so excited to get the kids out of the house and do something fun. I already have our first week planned with fun activities. We're kicking off summer by attending the Bellevue Strawberry Festival this weekend. Next week the summer family movie express and performances in the local park begin, so we'll also be taking full advantage of those. So get ready to read up on all our summer adventures, as I'll be updating our blog constantly! :)

Last time for Clifford to line up on the kindergarten line!
Clifford with his best bud Xavier
Clifford hugging Mrs. Castelle at the end of the day. She also hikes, and I heard her tell him "Have a nice summer. Maybe I'll see you out on the trails."
Bella made him a necklace

Kindergarten Celebration

2011-06-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I had our neighbor friend come over to watch Kristjan so I could attend Clifford's kindergarten celebration (Pete couldn't get the time off to attend). When I arrived at the school, parents were to line up at the same spot the kids do in the morning. While waiting, we talked with Mr. Chickatelli, who always comes out in the mornings to great the students prior to their teachers coming to bring them into their classrooms. We all talked a bit, and then our little munckins came out to greet us. Clifford was the first out and he was so excited to see me. He ran out with a big grin on his face and gave me a big hug. We stood in line together until most of the students found their parents (it was really sad to see about six students whose parents didn't show up. they were looking around for their mom or dad, but no one came for them). Clifford led me to his seat, and then he went to sit at the rug. Mrs. Castelle and the class proceeded to show us their morning routine. After that, parents were then able to participate with their child in independent and group reading. Recess was next. Clifford showed off, doing all kinds of flips and tricks on the monkey bars. We lucked out on the weather. It was sunny and hot outside. I followed Clifford around as he showed everything he typically does at recess. Then the bell rang to signal for us to go line up. Back inside, parents participated in journal writing time. Then the snacks were brought out and we watched a slide show of various pics of the class. Clifford was even featured in his own section about how he would present about his camping adventures he went on. I made it through the slideshow without tearing up, though Mrs. Castelle wasn't so lucky. She was then presented with a class gift. A few weeks ago students were sent home with two index cards, one for the student and one for the parents, to write our thanks to her. The cards were then arranged as a 'bouquet'. We were then sent home with our child's portfolio. This Thursday will be Clifford's last day of school. Then he's officially a first grader!!!!

Virginia

2011-06-20T06:17:00.001-07:00

Wednesday afternoon Pete was done with his work obligations. He kicked off the start of his vacation time by being picked up by my Dad, who drove up from Virginia, to bring him to his place. So not only did Pete visit Washington, D.C., he also got to visit my Dad's side in Virginia! Life must be so hard for Pete! :)

Pete had a fantastic time. He stayed at my sister Amber and Shawn's place, which my Dad and his wife Pati also live at (Amber and Shawn recently bought a huge house). Amber and Shawn have two boys, Camryn who will turn six this coming weekend, and Elijah, who was born about two weeks ago. Pete also met my sister Jenna, who is pregnant with her first (a boy!) and her husband David. Pete relaxed and visited with everyone while he was down there. On his last night there, they took him to Jenna and David's place for a bbq. I guess they fixed deer burgers. Pete said they tasted really good, that you couldn't taste any difference from a normal beef burger (I'm sure they were good, but yuck!! I'll stick to cow. haha). Sadly for them, but happy for me, Pete came home on Saturday.

Here's a few pics. I must say, I was a bit disappointed that Pete didn't take a lot of pics while he was visiting my family, but he said they got tons on their end. Hopefully I'll get a copy soon :)

My Dad holding Elija
My sister Jenna
David grilling some hotdogs
My Dad, Pete, Pati, Camryn, David, Jenna and Elijah

Washington, D.C.

2011-06-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

Pete is finally back home from his trip to D.C. At first, he wasn't looking forward to going, mainly because he would be away from home for so long. But in the end, he had a lot of fun. He spent the mornings in the booths representing Romac Industries, Inc at AWWA. Afterwards, he took in the sites. In the evenings, he went out with his co-workers for dinner and drinks. From my understanding, Tuesday night was the 'party' night. Some of the head guys of the company also had their families out there with them, so there was a huge group that all went out to dinner. After eating, they hit the streets to take in more sites. They came across "D.C. Cupcakes". The bakery had just closed, but Pete said the employees saw them taking pictures infront of the store. The employees came outside and gave them a box of cupcakes! Pete didn't try one, but the kids in the group definitely did. So that was Pete's "famous" moment on the trip.

Here are some pics Pete took of the sites. There are A LOT of them. Enjoy :)

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

We had a nice small Father's Day celebration for Pete. I made him a piping hot breakfast this morning, which included eggs, hashbowns, bacon and sausage. Clifford made him a cute card, with pictures of them hiking and sleeping in a hammock together. Kristjan gave him a new shirt, with a picture of trees and mountains with "Get Lost" written underneath. Pete relaxed while I did little things around the house, and I also helped type up some camping recipes to help him get organized for his big upcoming backpacking trip. We pretty much relaxed the entire day. For dinner, we picked up some KFC (it's been years since we've ate it!) and I boiled some fresh corn on the cob. For dessert, per his request, I baked a homemade cherry pie using fresh cherries, which was so yummy with vanilla ice cream. Pete even complimented me on my homemade crust, saying it's the best I've ever made! We spent the rest of the evening all cuddling on the couch watching movies. The boys and I are so grateful to have Pete. He is a wonderful, involved father to our two boys. I couldn't have ask for a better man!

Three Hours To Go

2011-06-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

Three more hours and Pete will be home!! I can't wait. This has been an extremely long week. Not to mention a hard one with the boys. I'm definitely ponding them off to Pete as soon as I can. Hopefully I'll start sleeping better, too. I haven't had a good nights sleep since he left. As much as his hogging the bed annoys me, I'm looking forward to some cuddle time. Oh...and did I mention I'm ponding the kids off to him so I can have a much needed break??? :)