SAVE THE DATE!!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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!!

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

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

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