A FUNtastic Weekend!

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

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

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

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!!!

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!

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

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

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

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 :)