Rayden and Parker

Trying To Catch Up!

2010-01-20T01:02:00.000-08:00

Wow it has been a long time since anything has gotten posted on here! I have had many many problems with Blogger and am thinking about finding a new site to load our pictures on to share with you guys. Not sure if the problem is actually Blogger or our computer, but the pictures tonight took over 2 hours to get on here!! Things have been going well, just staying busy and living life :) I will *try* to post some more pictures on here soon! I have Parker's birthday party this weekend and after that things should slow down for a bit! Whew! I hope you enjoy what I did get on here for now.

Christmas Eve/Christmas

2010-01-20T00:26:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve we headed over to Bryan and Renée's for their annual Mexican potluck! Dinner was wonderful and it was great to sit and visit with everyone. The kids and the adults did a fun little gift exchange. The kids then sang happy birthday to baby Jesus and enjoyed a delicious dark chocolate peppermint cake that Renée made. Soon after the kids opened their Christmas Eve jammies and then laid down and listened to "The Night Before Christmas." We always look forward to and enjoy this Christmas Eve tradition and this year was no exception. Thank you Bryan and Renée for opening up your home to us every year to celebrate with you!

Christmas morning was a blast with the kids! The had such a fun morning opening their gifts from family and from Santa! My camera battery died so I didn't get many pictures, but we had a great morning. We then all headed over to Alan and Becca's house to make Christmas dinner and spend the day with family. We all enjoyed a wonderful dinner and just had a wonderful day.

Meet Jax!

2010-01-20T00:10:00.000-08:00

Meet the newest member of our family :) Jax! He came into our family quickly about a week before Christmas. I was over visiting a friend and her caregiver was there. The caregiver had this little puppy who was given to her for Christmas from a friend. She unfortunately still lives with her parents and they told her that she couldn't keep him, so she had to get rid of him quickly. Rayden and Parker played with him all day and just loved him......this was a huge deal because Parker is usually scared to death of dogs. We went home and discussed it and the next night Jeff went and picked him up and brought him home. We hadn't told the kids that we were getting him so they were so surprised! Rayden was so happy and so surprised that she started crying! So he is ours now and has adapted pretty well to us. He is a good puppy and we just love him :)

Puzzles

2010-01-19T23:55:00.000-08:00

Rayden has been on a huge puzzle kick! She loves doing puzzles and will do them over and She started out doing the 24 piece ones and is up to 100-150 piece ones now. The funny thing is is that most of the time she does them from the inside out instead of doing the edges first like most people.

Pumpkin Patch/Halloween

2010-01-19T22:52:00.000-08:00

Bryan, Renée and the kids joined us at the pumpkin patch this year. The kids had a great time doing all of the activities and picking out their pumpkins!

Rayden had fun cleaning out the pumpkins this year and helping daddy carve them. She picked out a witch for her pumpkin and an alien for Parker's.

We headed over to Auntie Becca and Uncle Alan's house this year to go trick or treating. Rayden of course picked a Dorothy costume and Parker was dressed as a firefighter. Parker walked up to his first house and was very excited about getting candy in his bucket, but for a few houses after that he just kept screaming "Mine mine!" and we figured out that he thought the people at the door were going to take away his candy! He learned pretty quick though and both the kids had a blast running up to doors, it was a fun Halloween!

Klamath

2009-11-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

In September we headed over to Klamath for a visit and for mine and Jeff's 10 year high school reunion. The reunion was at the fair and a whole 7 people showed up! We talked with a few of our friends for a bit and then went on our way. Rayden was excited about riding the rides. She went on every single kid ride there (some more than once) all by herself, that was the most exciting thing for her! The rest of our visit went great! It was a warm weekend and we all went for many walks, fed birds, picked apples, did puzzles, played games, danced and played!

Another Camping Trip

2009-11-09T22:23:00.000-08:00

Just a couple weeks after our first camping trip we headed up for another one! Jeff, Rayden and I went up and camped with some of our good friends. Parker didn't join us for this camping trip, his surgery was scheduled for the next weekend and we didn't want to take any chances of him getting hurt or sick! We had a wonderful time and it was great to spend time with friends. The kids rode their bikes a ton the few days we were there, they went swimming and tubing, roasted marshmallows, had water gun fights, colored, played games and just had a blast! We are looking forward to our group camping trip next year!

A Big 4 Year Old!

2009-09-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

Rayden turned 4 years old in August and for her birthday dinner she asked to go to Shoji's! It is a Japanese style place that cooks the food in front of you....it is one of her favorite places because they make volcanoes out of the onions and set it on fire! Rayna and Brady were scared of the fire and Rayna would try to hide under the table every time the chef would do it :) The waiter brought Rayden a birthday "hat" made out of a coffee filter that said Happy Birthday on it, it was cute and made her happy. We had a great dinner and a fun time. It's still hard to believe that she is 4 already......she was just a tiny 5 lb. 5 oz. baby not too long ago :)

Rayden's 4th Birthday Party

2009-09-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

This year for Rayden's birthday party we just had a laid back BBQ at one of my friends house. The kids all ran around the backyard playing while the adults visited with each other and ate. Rayden opened her gifts and then we headed outside for the pinata! The kids were all excited, but boy did that thing take a lot of work to break open!!! We ended the day with some yummy cake...one chocolate and one strawberry. Rayden had a Barbie party and my mom made a barbie cake, but the pictures of it are on her camera.....you can sorta see it in the background next to the blue cake. Rayden had a great time at her party, thanks for coming everyone!

Crafts with Papa and Daddy

2009-09-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

Rayden got a Tinkerbell mosaic craft thing for her birthday and Papa and Daddy helped her put it all together. You had to put pices of colored clay in the holes and then let it dry. The pieces end up falling out when it dries but they had a good time making it.

Family Camping!!

2009-09-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

In August we went on a camping trip with family up at Hyatt Lake! We always have a great time whenever we all get together and this trip was no exception. All of the kids really enjoyed having each other to play with, and for the most part they always play great together. Most of their time was spent digging and playing in the dirt, mostly making fake campfires out of it! There was a playground near by that they also got to go play on, which was nice when some of us were trying to prepare meals or clean-up! Grandma Bonnie and Papa Chuck brought up their new boat too! Everyone got a chance to go for a ride in it and some took a fishing trip for a few hours on our last day there. I really hope that we have a chance to do this together every summer because we love it!

All of the kids on the first night.

Big Smiles!

Sharing corn on the cob! They are just too cute together!

Dancing with glow bracelets!

Parker hanging out with Uncle Bryan

Roasting marshmallows (doesn't she just look exhausted!)

Daddy and Parker

Not toooo dirty yet.

Rayna playing in the dirt.

Now they are dirty!

One of my favorite pictures of Rayden and Rayna together!

Naptime in the tent.

Playing football with Uncle Bryan

Parker finally got dirty! He actually stayed clean forever!

Best buds!

Impossible to get a picture of all of them :)

Parker and Brady!

Out on the boat.

Land!

LaPine Visit

2009-09-21T23:55:00.000-07:00

My mom and I took a trip up to LaPine for the kids to visit with Great Papa and Great Grandma. They had a wonderful time visiting, playing outside and helping with the animals. They both loved to feed the chickens and asked to go out there all the time. Rayden and Great Grandma made some jello together, Parker got his first matchbox cars, which he loves :) Rayden also got her birthday present while we were there and she just adored her cute little strawberry dress and a Strawberry Shortcake poster to color! We had such a great time and it was awesome to see my Grandparents. Hopefully we can head back soon to visit them again.

Packing

2009-09-21T23:44:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure which trip we were packing for but this is what the suitcase became used for until I needed it:

She had a blast in there.....she had her own flashlight and everything. I would zip it all they way up and then Parker would undo it and just laugh when he saw Sissy!

The Park

2009-09-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

This was actually one of our first trips to the park/water park this summer, but the photos had been on one of my friends' cameras.

Summer Days

2009-09-21T23:23:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed quite a few nights of our summer over at our friends' house. In the evening after dinner we would all go outside and visit and the kids got to play. On most evenings the guys would play baseball with all of the kids....they would get in their line and take turns hitting the ball. Rayden loves playing baseball and is actually really good at it! She is looking forward to playing t-ball next summer.

Dollar Days

2009-09-21T23:15:00.000-07:00

The bowling alley next to us had dollar days every week this summer and Shawna and I decided to take all of the kids one day. It was a great time and it was less than $10.00 for everyone! Rayden had a great time and did pretty well. Parker just kept pointing to all of the balls saying "Ball!" and then getting mad when he couldn't pick them up.

Update

2009-08-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

Things are still busy around here, but starting to slow down. In a way this will be nice, the kids will get back on a schedule, my house might get clean and I should get this blog updated more often but I really have enjoyed everything that we have been doing this summer. I am going to try to get the blog updated this week, there is a lot to get on from camping trips, Rayden's birthday and some other random things.

Parker's surgery was on Friday and we arrived at the hospital at 6:30 in the morning. He was a happy boy out in the waiting room, playing with some little plastic chairs....his morning went downhill after they brought him back to his room. He automatically got wary, cranky and mad once we got in the room and the nurse wanted to check him. He wanted nothing to do with her or anything she needed to do to him....and that was only taking his temperature and listening to his heartbeat....that was the easy part. Jeff and I struggled to get his hospital gown on him and he had finally calmed down when the nurse came back in to put his hospital bracelets on his ankle.....those really made him mad! Soon they came and took Parker away and told us it would be about an hour and they would come let us know how he did. Almost exactly an hour later the surgeon came in to talk to us and said that the surgery went great but putting the IV in was a different story. He said Parker had been dehydrated and had small veins so they had a really really hard time putting an IV in him and had to try numerous spots before they were successful. They finally had gotten the IV into his neck. As soon as Parker started waking up from the anesthesia they brought him in to us, he was very very confused, upset and angry. He immediately started trying to yank the IV out of his neck and Jeff had to hold down his hands tightly to keep him from doing it. They had also brought him in some water in a paper cup, he wanted this but wanted to drink it without help but the cup kept caving in so I had to take it away and help him, this just increased his anger. The nurse finally came in and get the IV out and then he was pulling at all the pieces of tape on himself from all the failed IV attempts. The nurse returned and told us we just needed to take him home because he was not going to calm down there. We got him home and gave him some Tylenol and put our little guy to bed. He slept for a couple hours, got up and ate some crackers then went back to sleep. He slept for a few more hours and when he woke up he was almost back to his old self. He was already running around playing again like nothing had happened!!! The next day we even took him to the park! The only way you can tell he just went through surgery are his battle wounds.....he has his incision and my poor little guy looks like a pin cushion with pokes and bruises everywhere they tried for an IV, arms, hands. legs, feet and his neck. He will go back to the surgeon for a follow up in two weeks! We just wanted to thank everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers during all of this. We are so grateful that everything turned out well and he is making a fast recovery!

Surgeon Visit

2009-08-04T14:15:00.001-07:00

Parker had his appointment with the surgeon today to find out when or if they were going to do surgery to fix his hernia. They are definitely going to do the surgery and fix it. His surgery will be on the 28th of August with a check in time of 5:30 and the procedure to start at 7:30. Parker will be put to sleep and then it will take about half an hour. Afterwards they will wake him up and he should be able to go home :) He said that babies bounce back from the surgery pretty fast and they actually only ever seem to need Tylenol for the pain afterwards, let's hope he is right. I will update once again after the surgery is done.

4 Year and 18 Month Pictures

2009-08-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

The kids went in last week to get their pictures done. Rayden got her 4 year pictures, Parker his 18 month pictures and Jordan got some pictures taken for his mom's birthday. We got one shot of the three cousins together....all actually looking at the camera! Rayden wasn't too bad getting her pictures taken, she just wanted to make funny faces. Parker did not want to cooperate and I had to trick him into the picture most of the time. I had to tickle him and hold him down to stay. The picture where he is laying on his belly is super cute, he had tried to crawl away and I dragged him by his feet across the floor, he started laughing and they snapped the picture! I think most of them turned out cute though!

18 Month Check-up

2009-07-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Parker had his 18 month well baby check this past week. He now weighs 19 lbs. 13 oz.....almost to 20 pounds finally :) His height is at 30 1/4 inches. He is still hitting all of his milestones fine! Our little guy will soon be going to see a surgeon though :( His doctor found a hernia in his groin and he will have to go into surgery to get it removed before it causes any problems. We are supposed to be hearing from the surgeon sometime this week about when Parker has to go in, so I will keep you all posted.

A Day With Cousins

2009-07-20T00:03:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Renée brought the kids over to Medford for a play date at the water park! The kids always love playing together and this day was no exception. Rayden and Rayna had a blast running through the water, screaming and giggling the whole time! Rayna loves going through the big round bear sprinkler....Rayden will not go near it (yet the time before drug her brother out there and left him!) The boys hung back and watched the girls, Parker was unsure about the water after what Rayden did to him the time before. After the girls were done playing in the water the kids got dressed and played on the playground. They had a wonderful time but then we decided it was lunch time. We all came back to my house and had a fun picnic on the porch. They left soon afterwards and Rayden was sad to see them go. Hopefully we can set up another date again soon to go play!

A Day At The Lake

2009-07-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

On a really hot day right before 4th of July we decided to head up to the lake with my parents to beat the heat a little! We went to Willow Lake and had lunch there and the kids had a great time swimming in the lake with Daddy and Papa. It was so much cooler at the lake and very peaceful! Rayden loved climbing on all of the big rocks that were there and Parker mostly gorged himself on Cheetos!! We headed back later in the afternoon and the kids slept all the way home, they were so exhausted after all their running around, swimming and playing.

Making Pizza

2009-07-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

Every Wednesday my friends and I all get together at Shawna's house so the kids can play together and us mommy's can have adult conversation!!! This was one of the first Wednesdays of the summer and not all of the kids were here this day. We always try to plan a fun lunch and an activity that they can all do and on this day we let the kids make their own pizzas! They had a great time being able to create their own and it made them eat even better! This was a pretty cheap, yummy and fun thing for all of the kids to do together.

T-Ball

2009-07-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

Some of my friends' kids are playing T-ball this year. They have two games a week and we go watch their games on Wednesdays now. Watching 5-7 year olds play a game that they do not quite understand yet is hilarious and great fun!!! The kids have such a blast playing and encouraging each other. Rayden and Parker love watching the games! Rayden yells her heart out as her friends hit the ball and run the bases. On this game night the kids each had a box of Cracker Jacks and boy did they love those......I loved them as a kid as well (now I just pick out their peanuts and eat them!) Rayden and C.J always have to sit at the top of the bleachers to watch and Parker likes to watch right by the fence. Rayden will be old enough next summer to play so she is really looking forward to it, until then we will have a great time watching!

Wow.....

2009-07-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

It sure has been a long time since I have posted. Summer has brought on busy days around here, it seems like we are never home anymore!!! We have been having a ton of fun and enjoying the beautiful weather. I finally got the pictures uploaded to the computer and I will be working on updating the blog tonight and the morning if I do not get it finished tonight. I actually do not have anything planned for tomorrow until the evening, so crossing my fingers that I get this done :)

Visiting With Ampa and Grandma

2009-06-27T23:47:00.000-07:00

We took a trip up to visit Ampa Larry and Grandma Becky! We had not been there for three years and a visit was definitely past due. Rayden was so excited for the trip up there and had a list of things that she wanted to do during our visit. She wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese since we do not have one here, she wanted to go to the zoo and she wanted to ride a train. We promised her that she could do all of these things during our visit. The drive up there went great....a long drive, but a good one. Parker slept the majority of the way there and when he wasn't sleeping he was plugging his ears when Rayden was singing!! Rayden actually stayed awake almost the whole trip and just listened to the iPod (and singing at the top of her lungs) and looked out the window. We had such a wonderful visit and enjoyed every minute of it. Silly me believed the weather reports for the weekend and only packed summer type clothes.....not the smartest thing when living in Oregon! We had a couple cloudy, cool rainy days but we made do with what we had and still had a great time! It was so nice to visit with family and Rayden and Parker really enjoyed spending some quality time with Ampa and Grandma since they do not get to see them very often. Thank you for having us, we had such a great time.....see you soon!

"Where A Kid Can Be A Kid"

2009-06-27T23:14:00.000-07:00

The first place on Rayden's list to go was Chuck E. Cheese! We went there the first night of our visit. We all sat down and ate our pizza (which was surprising decent!) before going to play games. It was really nice that all of the games were only 1 token, so Rayden's 50 tokens that she had went a long ways! Rayden ran all over playing games and Parker tried hard to follow her and do everything Sissy was doing....he got mad at us when we wouldn't let go of his hand! Rayden's favorite little ride was the chair that went round and around the clock. At the end of the night we cashed in the tickets (a lot of them gotten by Grandma Becky in one game!) and the kids each got a blow up hammer and Rayden got some cotton candy. It was a fun first night with more fun to come!!

The Zoo!!

2009-06-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

The Oregon Zoo! The second place on Rayden's list to go! We all headed out in the morning for the zoo with a very excited little girl. She wanted to see the bears, elephants, monkeys and giraffes the most. We saw all of those animals and then some! Rayden's favorite animal was the black bear.....it was just on the other side of the glass right in front of her! She took a picture of him and we left but she kept wanting to go back and see him again! The elephants were fun, especially the baby elephant named Sam (short for Samudra). Parker had a laid back day and enjoyed looking at all the animals. He loved watching the monkeys jump around all over the place and he liked the bear as well! The zoo has changed a lot since I was a kid.....I have not been there in years and years! Mine and Jeff's favorite animal was definitely the polar bear, he was so massive and beautiful!

Zoo Train

2009-06-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

Rayden was super excited about riding the train at the zoo; she loves trains. We parked their strollers and climbed on the train just as it started raining! The ride was nice, even though the rain was coming in the windows. Parker kept pointing out the window at everything and Rayden was trying not to sit too still because she probably would have fallen asleep :) (parker did end up falling asleep). The ride was soon over and we had to step out into the rain. The kids' strollers were not undercover so they were soaked. We decided to call it a day, went to the giftshop and then headed home. It was such a fun day at the zoo....even with the rain!

The Garden

2009-06-26T23:38:00.000-07:00

Ampa and Grandma have a little garden outside and the kids really enjoyed going out there and picking their blueberries and strawberries. We learned that Parker does not like blueberries at all but would sometimes eat the green ones if he picked them. He loooooved the strawberries but got very mad when those were all gone. Rayden helped out Ampa and Daddy get some old carrots out of the ground one day and they added them to the compost bin. Rayden had a great time harvesting everything and cannot wait until our garden at home has things to pick!

A Little Friend

2009-06-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

We went over to Patty and Scott's house so Rayden could see the little kitten that Ampa had rescued from the Amtrack station. The little kitten was super sweet and Rayden fell in love with her....she still talks about that little kitten! She really wanted to take that little kitty home with her. We finally pried her away from the kitten and then the kids ran around the big yard with Daddy to get some of their energy out before heading back to Ampa and Grandma's house.

Play Time

2009-06-26T22:58:00.000-07:00

During the times that it wasn't raining during our visit the kids got to go play at a couple of playgrounds. They both had fun running around the new territory and exploring the new toys. Playgrounds are always a fun place to go! Parker loves going down slides now, most of the time he gets to the top and promptly turns himself around and goes down on his tummy, it is cute. Rayden loves anything that she can climb right now but does get stuck sometimes and asks for help. I love how playgrounds can even bring out the little kid in the adults as well......you just can't help but play, swing and go down the slides as well :)

A Big Helper

2009-06-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

Rayden's favorite chore to help with right now is laundry....especially folding (which is great because I hate doing it!) Rayden even does a pretty good job for an "almost 4 year olds" (as she calls herself). She jumped right in to help Grandma Becky with her laundry. The stood in the dining room talking and folding for quite awhile, it was pretty cute!

Just Having Fun

2009-06-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

Just some photos of some of the fun things the kids were doing during their visit. They played with the Noah's Ark Little People set, colored some pictures, played with the puzzle from the zoo, made paper airplanes and Rayden loved wearing her gorilla mask from the zoo. The kids had a fun time visiting :)

Making Ice Cream

2009-06-26T22:17:00.000-07:00

Patty brought over a really cool ice cream ball to the BBQ for the kids to do. It was pretty cool, Patty just added the ice cream ingredients to the middle and the ice around the outside and then handed it over. Rayden, Jake (Patty and Scott's son), Scott and Larry all took turns all rolling and kicking the ball around for around 20 minutes. Rayden enjoyed the yummy chocolate ice cream afterwards.

Ampa's Birthday

2009-06-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

While we were visiting Ampa had his birthday! We all celebrated it on Saturday evening with a BBQ. Grandma Becky made some very good food and we all had a wonderful time. Rayden helped Ampa open up his gifts and she played with her new bestest bud Scott. It was a fun way to spend our last evening there.

A Cool Treat

2009-06-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

With the warmer weather comes popsicles! On this night Parker had his first! He loved the cherry popsicle and ate the whole thing with little mess......yum! Look how happy he is with his cool treat.

Cupcake Decorating

2009-06-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

A while back I watched Shawna's kids for a full day, so I had her three plus my two. It was a busy day! The kids were pretty good too. I had made some chocolate cupcakes that morning so the kids could decorate them after nap time. Rayden and Caitlyn got to decorate them but C.J ended up taking a very very long nap that day and didn't wake up in time to help. The girls had fun decorating with marshmallows, peanuts, coconut, m&m's, gummy bears and lots of sprinkles. They cupcakes were decorated with as many toppings as they could fit on there and then the best part came, eating them!! It was a great activity to keep the kids busy and entertained for awhile.

Jordan's Birthday

2009-06-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

A few weekend ago was Jordan's 2nd birthday. He had a pirate party at a park near his house, it had been raining all week but stayed dry for the day of the party! Jordan got a cool new wagon from Papa and Grandma. All of the kids loved playing in it and Jordan spent the vast majority of his party in the wagon. Nico was pulling Jordan and Rayden around in the wagon, just running in circles the whole time. Ashleigh made a cute pirate ship cake that all of the kids enjoyed eating. Happy 2nd birthday Jordan!

Corn on the Cob

2009-06-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

Parker had his first corn on the cob the other night. He loved it but he refused to eat it from the middle, he only wanted to eat the end! We ended up just cutting the corn off of it for him after he chewed on it for awhile. Yummy.

A New Friend

2009-06-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

After dinner one night Rayden was playing out in the yard (please excuse her very dirty hands, face and everywhere else!!) and found a snail. She was soooo super excited and went around showing everyone her new little friend, whom she named Patrick! The little snail kept coming out of his shell more and more when she was holding him and she loved every minute of it. She played with her little pet for awhile before putting him back in the yard and setting him free.

More Swimming

2009-06-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

When the pool was a bit warmer than it had been, and when Parker was in a better mood, we all went swimming again. This time Parker had a great time and really enjoyed swimming. Rayden learned that she could easily float on her back and even swim in her back, so this was what she did with the majority of her time :) I have a video of her swimming on her back that I will upload soon.

Bug Vacuum

2009-06-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

Rayden got a bug vacuum a couple weekends ago and she has had a great time sucking up bugs! The first night grandma sucked up a fly in it. Rayden let it loose outside and then went out back to suck up ants. After you suck up the bugs you close the hatch and it turns into a magnifying glass to see what you caught!

Beating the Heat

2009-05-27T00:23:00.000-07:00

It has been warm here lately and Rayden has been looking forward to swimming season. Papa got the pool all cleaned and filled and she was eager to try it out. it had not heated up quite enough for some of us yet but she didn't care. On Memorial day Papa and Uncle Jason took the kids into the pool. Rayden loved it of course and swam all over the place with her trusty floaties on her arms. Jordan did not care for the pool at first, but quickly warmed up to it and started having fun. Parker has been in quite the mood lately and that didn't change when he got into the pool, he just fussed the whole time so we finally took him out (he still continued to fuss!) I am looking forward to when it gets warmer, then I will be more than happy to join them :)

Fishing Fun

2009-05-26T23:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we headed out to the lake for a relaxing day of fishing. The lake was pretty packed since it was Memorial weekend (there was even a guy dressed up as Superman on a jet ski!), but we found a good spot for our lunch and a good spot to fish on the pier. (the same pier that Rayden was standing under in the previous fishing post, the water has really risen!) Parker was mad because we were right by the water so he was not allowed to run around....he either had to be held or in his stroller. He was happy when he was eating his strawberries though! Rayden had fun fishing and playing around, she did not end up catching any fish this time though. Between Daddy, Papa and Grandma (she caught the biggest at 14 inches) they caught 15 fish (they had to stop at that because each person has a limit of 5 a day). I do not have a fishing license to I tried to keep the kids entertained. It was such a beautiful day out and the sun turned my mom and I into bright red lobsters by the days end. Rayden was just exhausted and fell asleep on Papa's lap when we were sitting at the table before heading home. Such a nice day!

Little Biker

2009-05-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

The kids' friend C.J had his 4th birthday party this past weekend. (Rayden is mad that all of her friends are turning 4 before her, she says it isn't fair!) After everyone left Parker got to test out one of Colin's gifts, his Harley Davidson power wheel!! Parker LOVED it and played on it for soooo long. His face would just light up everytime someone would hold down the gas pedal to make it go (he was waaaay too short to reach it!) He was our little biker dude!

A Little Getaway

2009-05-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

Jeff's schedule at work got changed for the next month or so and because of his old schedule and new schedule merging, he ended up with a 6 day weekend last week. We decided we needed to get away for awhile and headed over the mountain to Klamath so the kids could visit with Grandma Bonnie and Papa Chuck. For the most part we had a wonderful relaxing weekend.

Grandma Bonnie bought some buckets and shovels for kids to play with while they visited. Rayden and Parker broke them in eagerly! They played out in the dirt and gravel almost everyday while we were there and got good and dirty in the process :)

Rayden had to have a few tea parties while we were there of course! On this day she had some yummy hot chocolate, she said it helped her sleep "sooooo good!!"

Parker was being silly there and chewing on his shirt a lot. He thought it was hilarious and continued to do it because of course we were all laughing at him! Bonnie said Jeff did this when he was little too.

Jeff helped his mom fix some of her sprinklers when we were there too. While they were doing that we were looking at all of Grandma Bonnie's pretty flowers. She had some gorgeous lilac bushes blooming and they smelled wonderful! She got some pots and put some starters in them for me to take home but unfortunately we forgot them there :(

Sunday was a hard day for Parker and I. Parker got up in the morning and he was throwing up and had diarrhea. No fun. Luckily he did not have much in his belly and was just throwing up water most of the time. He definitely was not himself and kept laying down on a blanket in the living room to sleep and every once in awhile you would find him laying on the kitchen floor. Poor guy. We got him to take about a 4 hour nap and he did seem better when he got up. We all sat down to eat a yummy steak dinner and that is when I started feeling horrible. I ended up in pain and throwing up until about 3 in the morning and still felt really cruddy the next day. I was really thankful for Bonnie, she helped out with the kids sooo much and took care of me :) Rayden and Daddy ended up sick with the same thing a few of days later.

The next day we decided to get out the house for a bit and headed to the park for a picnic and some playing. I still felt nasty and Parker was a crank but we had a good time. The weather was beautiful and Rayden had fun on the playground. She tackled the bog rock climbing wall like a champ and played with some other little kids that showed up. We said goodbye the next afternoon and headed back over the mountain for home. Thank you Bonnie and Chuck for taking us in and taking care of us!! We had a great time and see you soon. :)

Bald Again

2009-05-26T22:30:00.000-07:00

Parker was in need of a haircut so Daddy shaved his head. I guess at some point Parker turned his head just right and he ended up with a bald spot. Jeff ended up having to shave his head really close! He was a little baldy but it grows back fast!

Planting Flowers

2009-05-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

Rayden helped Grandma and Papa plant their flower boxes a few weekends ago. She had such a good time planting all of the pretty flowers and then watering them!

Casting Lessons

2009-05-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

Since Rayden enjoyed fishing so much the last time she went, Grandma Terrie bought Rayden her own little fishing pole. When they got back to the house with it, Papa gave her casting lessons. She tried hard and is now casting like a pro!

Squeaky Clean

2009-05-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

We were visiting my friend Shawna and baby Madisyn and Parker each got a cupcake for her birthday. They both made a huge mess of course! Madi was going to get a bath and Parker decided he needed to be in the bath with her (this boy would never pass up a bath!) They were so cute and had so much fun together in there.

My Day.......

2009-05-20T11:28:00.001-07:00

I was planning on updating the blog today with everything that I have but I am taking care of this little girl instead. Parker and I were like this part of this weekend, now it is her turn I guess. Poor little thing. She is trying to rest now but wakes up occasionally having to throw up. Hopefully she will get better soon. Updates to come as soon as everyone is better.....Daddy might end up with it too, who knows.

A Princess Party

2009-05-02T18:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a busy one!! On Friday we were over at my best friend's house helping her get ready for her daughter's party the next day. We did not end up getting home until midnight that night and we had to be up early the next morning to head over the pass to Rayna's 4th birthday!! She had a princess party and invited all of her friends to dress up. Rayden decided to wear her Cinderella dress up things to the party and looked so pretty. We arrived to find a very beautiful Princess Rayna waiting for her guests to arrive. The girls did some fun crafts making crowns, doorknob hangers and necklaces. After all the guests arrived they all played some fun games and had some snacks. Rayden loved the spoon race and won her ring that was on it and she loved the mermaid relay race. (Renée tied the girls' legs together and they had to get to the other side of the room without breaking it!) Parker tried staying out of the way of all of the girls. All of the little boys there got little knight helmets but we could not get Parker to keep it on, not even long enough for a picture! Rayna opened all of her wonderful gifts and then everyone had cake and ice cream. Renée made a beautiful pink princess castle cake! The party ended with a treasure hunt for the goodie bags. It was sooo much fun. Hard to believe Rayna is so big and grown up already! Happy Birthday sweet girl, we love you!

A Visit With Ampa and Grandma

2009-05-02T17:46:00.001-07:00

We had a couple hours to spare before we had to head to another birthday party so Ampa Larry and Grandma Becky took us all to a wonderful lunch and then we walked to a park to play and burn off some energy. When we first got to the park the kids watched the ducks, geese and birds. Rayden tried to feed them flowers, which they were not too fond of :) We then headed over to the play structures for some fun. Rayden ran all over the place trying everything out since she had never been to this park before. Parker just walked all over the place with Daddy following him. Rayden loved climbing on the old farm equipment they had set up there and had to go on it "just one more time" before we had to leave. She got really upset when we told her it was time to head back to the car, she was having a good time visiting with Ampa and Grandma. She fell asleep shortly after we got in the car and got a little rest before the next party. It was a fun little visit....wish we could have stayed around a little longer!

Baby Madisyn Turns 1!!

2009-05-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

After leaving Rayna's party and the park, we headed to another birthday party! Baby Madisyn turned one! Her first year flew by sooo fast and she has gotten soooo big (26 pounds!) She had a cute Monkey party. She opened her presents with Parker close by, he then took all the toys to test them out for her :) Rayden sat pretty calmly and watched because she was soooo tired from being up so late the night before and then having a really busy morning. Baby Madi loved all of her gifts and then had some yummy cake. We had a BBQ over there for dinner but left soon after since we were all so exhausted. It was a fun busy weekend!!

Bubbles

2009-04-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

The kids have really enjoyed the bubble bucket that they got for Easter. We were out on the porch while they were playing and we saw that when Rayden held the bubble wand up to Parker's mouth he would blow a bunch of bubbles! Of course when I went to get it on video he would only get one or two bubbles instead of a whole bunch. Later he started dipping his own wand and blowing the bubbles without any help too. There are two short videos of him over in the video bar at the side.

Some Cute Pictures

2009-04-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

It isn't often that I get a decent picture of the two kids together, so I was very happy about these ones! It was so cute with them sitting on their little bench together.

Playing Outside

2009-04-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

We had some gorgeous weather last week and the kids and I spent a lot of time playing outside. Rayden has always loved it outside and will go out there any chance she gets! She loves playing with her soccer set that she had gotten for Christmas this past year and she also loves playing with the football. She puts her babies in the little swing and pushes them as well. It is just so nice to get to go outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Playing Outside Cont.

2009-04-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Parker was excited to go outside to play.....he just gets mad when it is time to go in. However he didn't really enjoy being down in the grass in shorts and sandals. He refused to walk on the grass and most of the time when he was sitting down he was holding his legs up in the air! He played on the little slide some and with the soccer ball but mostly he watched Rayden playing and sat in a little lawn chair enjoying the sunshine!

Playing In Water

2009-04-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

Since it was such a warm nice day we filled up the water table for the kids to play in. Rayden had fun like always! Parker only wanted to drink the water. He would dip his little cup in, put it to his mouth and tip! Water in his mouth and ALL over him. He was soaked by the time we went in the house :)

Out For A Walk

2009-04-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

After dinner it was still pretty warm out so we decided to go for a walk. We walked and Rayden rode her bike down to the playground and the basketball court. The kids had a ton of fun running all ove the basketball court, we liked it because they got out a lot of energy!! On the walk back we met up with some of our neighbors and they brought their son, Seth, over to play in the back yard for a bit. It was past 8:00 when we finally went inside; we got the kids ready for bed and they crashed.

Gone Fishing

2009-04-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

Rayden went on a day fishing trip with Papa Alan and Grandma Terrie. She had such a great time and talked about fishing for days. She did really well and out of the 14 fish caught that day she caught two of them herself! She held a fish once, but then said they were too slimy to hold anymore! She has now asked for her own little fishing pole instead of a big one and wants to go again soon!

New Shades

2009-04-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

Parker got some new shades for sunny days. For the most part he likes them and will leave them on for awhile. He looks pretty cute in them.

15 Month Check-Up UTA

2009-04-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

(Parker LOVES magnifying glasses right now!!!)

This past week Parker had his 15 month well baby check. He weighed in at 18 pounds 15 ounces and was 29 1/2 inches for his length. Still only around the 3% mark for his weight and 5% for his height. The doctor is watching his weight closer now since he isn't growing very fast, but will wait until next time to make any decisions about things since Parker was just sick for a week and had lost some weight from that. He says the only thing that doesn't make him too worried is that for his height he does not look too skinny or unhealthy at all. We were told to cut back on his milk intake though.....Parker loves his milk! He usually drinks about 60 ounces a day and they would only like him to have 20 ounces, a huge decrease! We are working on it though. The doctor says that if too much whole milk is drank it can cause an iron deficiency, which can lead to slow growth, which Parker doesn't need! His speech is doing good...his words include: Dada, Mama, Boo, Hi and hiya, Owe!, Uh oh, wow, yay!, num num, more and milk. The little guy got three shots, will have one more at his next apt. then he will be done until he is 5! He was a bit cranky the next day but is doing fine now. I will let everyone know in July after his next appointment if they decide anything about his weight .

*Updated to Add some of Parkers words I missed (and I am sure I will still miss some) and new ones in the last day! He also says these: No and no no, yeah (yes), thank you, woo hoo!, Vroom vroom (when pushing a car) and his new words.... here go (when he hands you something)

Pear Blossom 2009

2009-04-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

This year we decided to take Rayden to the Pear Blossom parade and festival. I haven't been to the parade is many many years so we thought it might be fun. We got there a bit early to find a good spot to sit and let the guys hang out there to keep our spot while my friends and I took the kids around to the games that they had set up. The kids threw balls into water filled buckets, (Rayden won this game 4 times) played a bean bag toss, played a bowling game and then grabbed some huge balloons and some popcorn. The parade was fun and Rayden really enjoyed herself. Her favorite things in the parade were all of the bands and the fire trucks. After the parade was over we walked downtown to the area where all the food and vendor booths were set up. We walked around for a couple of hours enjoying everything, then decided to walk back to the car. We made it home just long enough for Rayden to take about an hour nap and then off to a birthday party we went. The next day was Easter so we had a very busy weekend, but a fun one!

All of the kids waiting for the parade to start.

Playing games.

The giant green balloon.

Cotton candy!

Noise makers!!

Waiting for the more bands to come!

Sad because giant green balloon popped!! :(

The aftermath!!

Rayden fell asleep on the walk back to the car, with lunch in her lap!!

Easter Craft

2009-04-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

For an Easter craft we got some little foam eggs and some glitter glue pens and let Rayden have at it, decorating them any way that she wanted. She had some of us decorate some of them too. She had a great time doing this craft and it was right up my alley too....simple!!

Dyeing Eggs

2009-04-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

Rayden had a wonderful time dyeing eggs this year. She eagerly waited as the colored tablets dissolved in the water. When it was ready she dropped her first egg in a little too hard and it landed with a loud plop! She got better and better at dropping the eggs in all of the colors and by the end she was a pro! Each of the kids that were around for Easter had an egg with their name on it. After all of the eggs were dyed Rayden put a cute little sticker on each one :)

Easter Morning

2009-04-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

The kids woke up Easter morning to find their Easter baskets sitting on the table. Rayden was super excited to see what the Easter Bunny had brought her. Each of them had one basket from the Easter Bunny and one from Papa and Grandma. Rayden's favorite items were her Imagination Movers CD and her lip glosses. Parker loved his ball and all the little plastic eggs, they both loved the bubbles! They got very little candy this year (that was a good thing!) but they each enjoyed their colored bunnies from Papa and Grandma, Rayden's pink and Parker's green. It was then time to get dressed and get some pictures and then an egg hunt!

All Dressed Up

2009-04-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

The kids looked so cute dressed up in their Easter outfits! Rayden had a cute pink dress with brown polka dots, he baby had a matching dress as well. She loved her dress and twirled around in it quite a bit. She was really good about getting her pictures taken this year....much better than last year! Parker was the turkey this year when it came to pictures. He refused to stay sitting down most of the time, and when I did get him to sit down or to look at me he scrunched up his face and gave a really funny looking grin! I finally got an okay looking photo in the kitchen later, but I managed to chop off the top of his head in it. Both of the kids were getting tired so at the end I only ended up getting one photo of the two of them together, and the only reason Parker stayed there is because he had Rayden's doll.

Hunting Eggs

2009-04-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

It had rained the night before and sprinkled a little in the morning, so once again the Easter Bunny had to hide eggs up on the porch for the kids. Rayden darted all over the place, as fast as she could, looking for all of the colored eggs to fill her bucket. Parker picked up one, then another, then he found another....so he dropped the first one to pick up the third one, then he dropped the second one to pick back up the first one! He did this over and over so we had three eggs badly cracked...he did not want to put them in the bucket. Jordan was out there to find eggs as well but got preoccupied with a toy and only picked up one egg. Later in the day the whole family was together for a wonderful Easter dinner. Easter was fun this year with everyone around.

Not Feeling Too Hot

2009-04-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

Rayden had a yucky cold last weekend and had finally gotten over it, just in time to come down with another one! The poor thing just doesn't feel too great and is just laying around relaxing. Parker is being a turkey and bothering her while trying to lay down too, he just had to get in on the pictures! We had family in town this weekend to visit and Rayden had been looking forward to visiting with them and going swimming, but we didn't think it was the best idea so she stayed with Papa and Grandma instead. She was really bummed, but she did get some rest and will be able to see them in a couple weekends anyways. We sure hope she starts feeling better soon.

Kicking Back

2009-04-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

Parker and Rayden were watching some kids music videos on T.V. Parker decided to kick back and just lay on the floor in front of the television to listen and watch.

Being a Munchkin

2009-04-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

Any of you who know Rayden well know that she is obssessed with Wizard of Oz. Here she was singing the "Lollipop Guild" song from the movie right after she had gotten up in the morning. She gets her mouth just like they do and tries to sing just like them. I will have to get a video of her doing it, it is pretty funny.

Taking Over

2009-04-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

Rayden has taken over my iPod. There are now a bunch of Wizard of Oz and Annie songs on it and she listens to them all the time! This night she was just walking around the house singing at the top of her lungs! She has asked for an iPod of her own for her birthday now (better than the hamster she has been asking for!).

A Little Thief

2009-04-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

While Sissy was away one night Parker decided he was stealing her chair! He sat in that chair forever that night and now thinks it is his. Rayden and him are constantly fighting over it during the day. I really need to find a chair for Parker that is the same shape as this one!

Out

2009-04-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

Don't they just look so precious when they are sleeping?! He was just out!

Just Playing

2009-04-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

One of Parker's favorite toys is his stacking toy, he loves anything that he can stack over and over again. He will sit there and play with it for a long time (or until Rayden steals it away!). This was right after he got up one morning.

Spring Break Fun

2009-04-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Shawna had Spring Break off from her Masters courses and her student teaching. We decided to get together all week to have some fun, oh and I guess for the kids to play and have fun too!!

Day 1: We had planned on going to the park with the kids on this day, especially since it is free fun, but the weather did not cooperate...it was just cold and rainy all day. We all had lunch at Sizzler, our favorite place for the kids since the salad bar is only 99 cents for them. After that we headed off the the Family Fun Center. The kids had a ball like always playing in Cactus Jack's Playhouse, riding on the little car and animals and playing in the arcade. Baby Madisyn hung out in her stroller and Parker tried his darndest to take off away from me every chance he got! The big hit of the day were the silly glasses that Rayden and C.J. got with some of their tickets. Everyone had to try them on and get their picture taken. We headed over to Shawna's for dinner and then home and both of the kids crashed.

Day 2: This day we had decided to just have a lazy day at Shawna's house to just let the kids play, watch movies and then later have a Taco night. The weather was a bit better so the kids were able to play outside for awhile. Rayden and Ally (another friend's daughter) had a great time digging in the mud and making mud pies. Another hard day of playing, good food and tired kids!

Day 3: On this day we were only together for a few hours, some of Shawna's kids had dentists appointments to go to later in the day. We headed out for a trip to Costco with all of the kids. Baby Madisyn and Parker shared a cart, Rayden and C.J. shared another and the two older girls walked along. Samples were had all throughout the store (the kids' favorite part) and after Shawna finished her shopping we all squeezed in at the only table remaining and had lunch!

Final Day: Jeff and I had all of the kids on Thursday so Shawna could go to a doctors appointment. Her kids arrived just in time for lunch and then we all walked down to the playground to play. They played for quite awhile then we headed back to the house. Rayden saw some dandelions and grabbed one for her, Caitlyn and Colin. They all made their wish (Rayden's wish was for a new mommy....sweet kid isn't she!) and then blew!!! It was cute! We played in the back yard for awhile, watched the ducks through the fence, then went inside for a snack and a movie. Shawna came and got the kids later and then it was nap time! The whole week was really fun, and it was so nice to be out of the house all week. Time went by too fast and now it is all over, back to normal and quiet.

A New Park

2009-03-14T12:42:00.001-07:00

The past couple days were really nice here (now lousy again!) so Jeff and I took the kids to a new park that we had seen. The park was great for Rayden, who ran around doing everything. Parker just got to swing and ride around in a stroller since he decided he isn't going to walk anymore (yeah one day he will walk everywhere....the next day he refuses to take one step!) Rayden had two favorite things there. One was the merry go round type of thing with the ropes on it, I figured she would want off when the big kids started spinning it, but she was yelling FASTER FASTER!! The other was a black disc type swing that you sit or lay in and it swings back and forth. It was a really neat to go to a park that had some new types of structures to play on, the only thing we wished it had was some grass to sit on!

Playing in the Sandbox

2009-03-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

After we got back from the park the kids played in the sandbox. Parker has never been in sand before and he did not like the feel of it whatsoever! He just sat there and played with the toys while Sissy played in the sand (and dumped it on him!).

A Trip to Wildlife Safari

2009-03-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Rayden headed up to Winston to Wildlife Safari with Papa and Grandma! They wanted to get out of the house and Rayden loves animals, so what a great place to go! She had such a wonderful time looking at all of the different animals and came home super excited, telling us all about it. She got a little stuffed cheetah there that she carries with her everywhere now.

Animals at Wildlife Safari

2009-03-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

There are so many different types of animals at Wildlife Safari, these are some pictures of just some of them. Many of the animals get to walk around freely while you drive through, so they could walk right up to your car, my parents car get pecked by an Emu at one point! Some of Rayden's favorites (her favorite changes everyday!) were the cheetah, the monkeys, the emu and the giraffe. My favorite is the pictures of the big fat hippos!! She had such a great time on her trip to the Wildlife Safari with Papa and Grandma, and talks about it often. We are planning a trip to the zoo this summer and she can't wait!

Some Videos

2009-03-05T20:23:00.000-08:00

This is a video of Parker hitting himself. He does this quite often...but usually only when he is mad. He used to hit us but would get in trouble so he started hitting himself. On this night he was just being silly though :)

Parker just loves to give kisses, especially to Rayden. They were just goofing around at the table and he all of a sudden decided he wanted a kiss.....too cute!

New Towels

2009-03-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

I asked Rose if she could make some hooded towels for the kids that would match the bathroom and that they would love. She came through and they are suuuuuuuper cute! Right after we got the towels Rayden wanted to take a both so she could use hers. Of course neither of the kids would put their head down far enough to see the design on them very well but Rose has better pictures of them at her embroidery blog. Rayden's towel is green with her name on it and a monkey of course, and Parker's towel is a beige color with his name and a cute giraffe. The kids love their new towels and now there is no arguing from Rayden's side which towel she is going to use so Parker doesn't :) Thanks again Rose!!

Games With Daddy

2009-03-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

Parker loves to sit in Daddy's lap while he plays his computer games!! He watches him so intently and always has to try to sneak in a button push while daddy isn't looking!!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

2009-03-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

Rayden asks all of the time to go fly kites. Papa thought it might be windy enough on this day and headed outside with her to try. It turned out not to be windy enough but Rayden sure had fun running up and down after him while he tried :) A few days later they tried again and it was definitely windy enough.....a little too windy! Rayden let go of the kite strings and Papa had to chase the thing all the way down the street, and then later on the kite broke :( She sure had fun while it lasted though.

Pucker Up

2009-03-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

I am always one of those mean moms that gives kids lemons and limes and then laughs when they get that sour look on their face :) I had not done this to Parker yet until this day, but his reaction was dissapointing. He. Loves. Lemons. He sucked every single bit of that lemon out of the peel and loved every second of it...no funny faces, nothing!

A Beautiful Day

2009-03-05T19:55:00.000-08:00

Last week we had one really nice day so we decided to take advantage of it and headed of to the park with a picnic. After we all ate the kids headed off to play and release some of their energy. It was so nice an relaxing to be outside with the sun shining. The kids all had fun and the day ended too fast!

Rayden at the Park

2009-03-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

Rayden was super excited to get to go to the park and run around.....she has been cooped up inside too long (and now is back to being cooped up due to nasty weather). She played hard and made tons of new friends.....she will talk to any kid that is willing to play with her (and be ordered around!) She was upset when we had to leave but it was starting to get late. Unfortunately there has not been any good weather since to go play again, we all sure hope it gets warmer fast.