Hot Summer Fun

Swimming lessons started last week for Drew and Mason. It was perfect timing. Last week was beastly hot and there is no place better to be (other than in my nice, air conditioned house) than in the pool. Darcy and I were sweltering, sitting pool-side the first lesson, but we found out that a parent/tot class takes place at the same time as the older kids' lessons. Darcy and I have been in the pool every day since! She doesn't enjoy it quite as much as I hoped she would but it beats sitting in the muggy heat. Drew loves the lessons. She is doing great and she swam on her own on her tummy today. Pretty good for a beginner I think.

Mason isn't as thrilled. For days leading up to the lessons he would carry his suit and towel everywhere so he would be ready. Well, now the only way I can get him in the pool is to bribe him with the promise of ice cream on the last day of lessons. It has been a good experience for him though. The first day he tried to do whatever he wanted to do, till the teacher got in his face and told him to listen to instructions. He has held onto that pool wall ever since! He needs the instruction and discipline from outside sources and I am happy to see he will actually respond well to it. I think he really is having fun but he won't admit it.

Darcy is exhausted at the end of lessons. They cut right into the middlle of her nap time. Here she is tired and soaking wet after she gets out of the pool.

And here she is nice and dry after a few minutes in the dryer! I actually caught her in there today as I was doing laundry. Darcy will be 13 months old in a few days and is still showing no signs of a desire to walk. This is driving me crazy. I thought she would be an early walker so she could keep up with Drew and Mason but I guess not. She buckles her knees everytime Paul and I try to get her to walk. Crazy girl. I guess she likes to be held more than asserting independence.

We went to Tillamook this weekend for a small get-away. Paul told me it was to save me from myself, so I wouldn't be on my feet all day canning and drying fruit and making pies two days in a row. I think it was a bit of self-preservation on his part too, since he was in charge of the kids all the previous day and they wore him out. We visited the Cheese Factory, the beach, and the Air Museum. That was a really neat place. The kids were afraid of the mennequin so they stood on the other side of Paul for this picture. They got to sit in some airplanes and pretend they were the pilots, and Mason was very concerned about the blimp with aliens painted on the outside. It was a memorable place for the kids.

Here are my tired babies as we arrived home. I am so glad they all fall asleep well in the car!

We went to Sauvie Island Farms for some peaches and came home with 74 lbs! I canned 21 quarts, which will hopefully keep Drew fed through the winter. She downs these like crazy. I lightened the syrup a bit this year without telling her so we will see how well she likes these. The ones I have made in the past have been way too sweet for me but she loves them. I also made 4 pies and froze 3 of them. We ate one and there are enough peaches left for one more pie I think, which we will probably eat right now too! I LOVE peach pie. As I was canning tonight I heard a pop and one of the bottoms of a full jar of peaches cracked off in the boiling water bath. Luckily the jar didn't shatter so there wasn't a glass mess to clean up, but all the jars got to take a bath in sticky peach water. What a mess. The thought of fresh peaches and pie always makes my mouth water, but as I am staring 74 lbs of peaches in the face I always question just why I think I need to do all this work. In the end its worth it? I have also been drying 18 lbs of apricots. Yummy!

This is my little garden. Corn, peas, green beans, yellow squash, and cucumbers are planted here. I have two pots of tomatoes growing on the patio and 2 cauliflower plants among my shrubs, but they aren't doing very well. I don't know if its location or what. This is the first year I've tried cauliflower and I doubt I'll try it again. The heat of the past two weeks took a toll on my pea plants so they have been removed and the green beans are spreading out all over. Fine with me, I love fresh green beans.

I am feeling well, happy to be moving into the second trimester. I saw the little baby on an ultrasound a few weeks ago because we couldn't hear a heart beat from the outside. There it was though, just hanging out with a little fluttering heart! I always appreciate that first evidence that there really is a baby in there!

Here We Go Again

Number 4 is on the way! We are excited to announce that we are adding to our family, and the new little one is due February 3, 2010. Drew and Mason are happy about the new addition but I'm not so sure Darcy will be. She is an awfully big momma's girl and she will only be 19 months older than the new baby. We will have to get lots of snuggles in before February. Mason likes to tell me he has a baby in his tummy and he shows me his poochy belly all the time. He also was wondering when I went to the doctor if the doctor would take the baby out of my tummy to check it and then put it back in. This is going to be fun trying to explain it to my very special 3 year old!

Big Birthday Bash

July 8th my sweet baby turned 1! I don't think we even sang happy birthday to her that day because we were getting ourselves ready for the big birthday bash on the 11th. We always throw a big first birthday party for the kids, then pretty much refuse to have parties for them as they get older. Maybe because these parties are so draining on me. Paul knows now to just quietly do whatever I ask him to and not take anything I yell at him personally during these happy events!

This year we hosted the party at my parents' house because it has a huge lawn which could hold the 39 family member attendees. The weather was perfect. Overcast at noon while we ate our bar-b-que, and then the sun came out about 2, just in time for the kids to swim and have water fights. We threw a sunshine pinata in there for fun too, so the kids all went away with goody bags full of candy and tummies full of cake and ice cream.

Darcy wanted to grab the pretty flame on the candle so I had to blow it out for her.

My family. Missing my oldest sister, Cindi, but all of us together only happens once a year if we are lucky.

Drew took a few good wacks at the pinata. It actually broke after the 5th person I think. The older kids didn't get a swing but I don't think they minded since they got the candy anyway.

This is my niece Ruqayyah. So darn cute, and I LOVE the rolls on those legs!

Just a smattering of all those who attended.

Paul and my dad hard at work cooking up the chicken, hot dogs, and hamburgers.

Darcy and some of her cousins.

The party eventually ended with the last guests leaving 8 hours after it started. I guess I will call that a success! We finished the night playing Rock Band, and at one point Darcy was playing the drums while my mom was on the electric guitar. Good times!

Since Darcy can't answer my birthday questions I will list those things that I believe are her favorites:

Food - anything, the girl is a bottomless pit

show - Baby Einstein shapes

Things to do - play with Drew, suck her thumb and play with the tassles on her blanket, snuggle with mom.

My Darcy is such a sweetheart and I am so in love with her. She gets along really well with her sister, and cringes everytime Mason gets near her, but I'm sure she likes him too. She loves to army crawl and still has no ambition what-so-ever to get up and walk, but I think that's because she knows we wouldn't get to snuggle as much if I didn't need to carry her around. We are so blessed with this little girl in our lives. What a happy little thing, and I just love the red hair. She is an original and I wouldn't want her any other way! We love you Darcy!

4th of July Weekend

This 4th of July we had Paul home! What a treat. The last 3 years he was working the graveyard shift and missed the festivities. It was fun to have him home, even though we didn't do anything thrilling. That morning I headed out to Sauvie Island to pick blueberries and raspberries, with the intent of being there at 8am when the farm opened for business. Well, 8am on Sauvie Island on the 4th of July puts you smack dab in the middle of a marathon. I had to drive completely around the island, through a mass of running and walking bodies. It took me about 40 minutes to get to the farm once I got on the island! Argh. The berries were worth it though. I made raspberry jam, a raspberry dessert for the next day, and ate and froze a bunch of blueberries.

We lit our own fireworks in the street and Drew and Mason seemed to enjoy it. I am not impressed with what Oregon will allow as fireworks. I grew up in Washington with Roman Candles and Saturn Missles and trips to the reservation for the good illegal ones. Ahhhh, those were the days. Paul kept stacking the used boxes on top of each other so we had quite the tower in the end, which made the show a bit more interesting with sparks raining down onto the road from high atop the stack. By that point Drew was getting a bit leery and asked if she could go inside.





The 5th of July we went to the blessing of my new niece Kennedy, who was born on June 3rd. What a cutie. We had a good time visiting with family and eating my raspberry dessert! Here are Ruqayyah, Kennedy, and Darcy - all born within 11 months of each other. Darcy looks HUGE compared to her cousins.

The 6th of July is my birthday! Happy birthday to me! I was hoping since Darcy's birthday is the 8th mine might get passed by this year but no such luck. Drew made me a lovely pipe-cleaner tiara to wear for the party, and we ate my very favorite dessert, Angel Delight. Angel food cake, melted chocolate chips, whipped cream, and egg whites all mixed together. Heaven in a bowl!

I got a leather-bound pocket guide to the National Parks, which is just what I need for our road trips! Try to read the comic Paul wrapped it in. It is exactly our life.

I also received Rock Band for our Xbox. Mason loves the guitar and Drew likes the drums. That usually meant I was singing. Not so good. Luckily this game rewards you for being loud and screechy, right up my alley. The game is fun but I can see where A LOT of time can be wasted on it.

In honor of my birthday I asked Drew and Mason a couple questions about me. I also asked Darcy but she just clapped so I guess that means she likes me?

How old am I?

Drew - 36 (she said 56 the day before)

Mason - 20 (thanks sweetheart!)

What is my favorite thing to do?

D - help kids

M - put sauce on it (HA! this kids is so insightful!)

What is my name?

D - Tiffiny

M - momma

Favorite color?

D - Pink

M - Blue (I'll say they are both right)

Favorite Animal?

D - Elephant

M - Giraffe (I thought this would be an easy one - Hippo! Drew inherited my many stuffed hippos so I was surprised she missed it)

What do I do that makes you happy?

D - Play on the computer

M - Give pirate toys

What do I do that makes me happy?

D - Snuggle

M - Eat Fire Chips (Doritos - I think he was confused, he's the one who likes them)

What makes me sad?

D - kids not listening

M - birthday cake (like I said, what an insightful guy!)

We are gearing up for Darcy's first birthday party at my parents' house this weekend. We could have close to 50 people if everyone from both sides of the family show up. Me stressed? Nah.

Road Trip '09

We did it! We successfully completed yet another family road trip. This time we chose to head north, starting with a visit to North Cascades National Park in Washington. I LOVE the National Parks and it is my goal to visit all of them before I die. I think I am about halfway done. We set out on Friday June 19th, with the trailer in tow and an extra passenger in the back seat. Paul's mom was invited to join us and lucky for us she had nothing better to do so she came along. It was great for the kids to get some alone time with Grandma. She was a great helper and an even greater conversationalist on the road. That night we stayed at Bay View State Park north of Seattle.
Out first "stop" was North Cascades National Park. It was pretty cloudy and a bit rainy so we probably missed most of the beautiful mountain peaks but we had a good time searching for them through the clouds. We stopped at the visitor center and got our National Parks Passports stamped, Darcy's very first one! I can't say this was the most impressive park I have been to but then the weather didn't help much. What we did see was pretty.

Drew and Mason are standing on a grated sidewalk on a bridge, looking down into a rushing river as it empties into the lake. Mason was pretty leery about the bridge and was walking pretty slowly and carefully to get across.




This is a view from the highway. Pretty nice scenery. We camped that night at Pearrygin State Park in a cool little town called Winthrop, WA. Darcy had been fighting a fever for days before we left and it all seemed to come to a head on Saturday night. She was blotchy and red all over and just miserable. We spent quite a bit of time calling nurses to see if we could give her anything but since she is so young we were advised to give her a bath without soap. Gee thanks. She was blotchy for maybe another day and then it and the fever miraculously went away. Maybe it had something to do with the arrival of 2 new top front teeth.

We crossed into British Columbia on Sunday where we camped in Revelstoke. I was surprised at just how populated the highway was up to this point. There were beautiful lakes with resorts and homes on them. A really pretty area.

Monday we arrived at Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. I have heard of this place for years from various family members so I was very excited to finally be there. Our first stop was Lake Louise. Well wouldn't you know it, all three kids decided to have a break-down at the same time. And that leads to mommy having a break-down too. Needless to say, our visit to the lake was pretty short-lived. But it was absolutely beautiful and I highly recommend stopping by if you are in the area.
Oh shoot, I just deleted the picture!

Monday night we stayed in Canmore, Canada, at Paul's mom's time-share place. It was nice to get out of the trailer and stay put for two nights. We could spread out a bit too, which the kids appreciated. Tuesday we explored the town of Banff and the National Park. We took a gondola ride up to the top of a mountian and were able to have a 360 degree view of magnificent mountain peaks and stunning valleys. What a beautiful place. As we were exiting the gondola Paul snapped a picture of the picture they want you to buy. The girl was yelling at him and trying to turn off the screen so he couldn't get it but I think he did a pretty good job! Grandma ended up buying the picture anyway but it was fun being sneaky.

This is us with grandma on the observation deck at the top. Beautiful!

A view of Banff from the top.

Here is a friend Drew spotted while my attention was on the mountain goats on the side of the road. I have no idea how she saw him up on the cliff, camoflauged in the trees. Good eyes Drew!

Wednesday we crossed back into the US in Montana. The border guard asked Paul where we were coming from. "Uh, Canada." That made the guard laugh, along with me, who was in hysterics. There were 6 guys at this podunky little border crossing but they were sure taking their job seriously. We needed our passports and the kids had to have birth certificates but it was pretty easy to get through. Unless you are grandma and you admit that you have a bag of apples at your feet that you just bought and they make you throw them away before you cross into Canada. We didn't happen to mention the fridge full of fruit and veggies in the trailer, which they never bothered to search. We were very careful not to throw apple cores out the window though!
We had a fire 3 nights I think and roasted lots of marshmallows.

Drew was having a great time roasting them to perfection.

Mason was all about the gooey S'mores.

Thursday we visited Glacier National Park in Montana. This place was absolutely gorgeous. I think it ranks up there with my favorites. There were raging rivers, snow-capped mountains, and quiet cedar forests. We spent the day moving from site to site, hoping the Going-to-the-Sun Road would finally open up for the summer. We actually got farther than we thought we would but we couldn't get the entire way over to the east side of the park. We drove to the top of Logan Pass which is the Continental Divide. The kids got to play in some snow and had a good time with that. I was so thankful we got to the top for the snow because I had been telling Drew we would find some the entire trip. It was what I was using to keep her positive about being stuck in the back of the car, being bounced around by the trailer the whole trip. She was a great helper back there, distributing bags of chips and Capri Suns when the calls came through.

I was SOOOOO disappointed that we never saw a bear. We had warnings the entire trip about being in bear country and what to do if you came across one but we were never lucky enough to experience it. We did see elk, deer, rams, mountain goats, squirrels, chipmunks, and mosquitos, but no bears. The closest we got was Darcy's "bear" feet when she kept taking her socks off as a game to keep her sane in the car all those hours!

This was a beautiful river that was pretty full this early in the year. It turns into a pretty small trickle later in the summer.

Here is grandma having some fun! She was a real trooper. She kept up with our walking around the parks and the towns pretty well. I think she had fun visiting with Darcy when it was her turn to sit in the back seat. I know Darcy appreciated it. We got lots of pictures of the 5 of us since we had a photographer around!

I took the kids across the bridge, down a trail, and out on to the rocks. I don't think Paul was thrilled I was out there but I gave Mason a boundary and he surprisingly kept to it. I don't think he had any interest in taking a ride down the freezing rapids.

Drew and Mason climbed into an old cedar on the trail. I was really hoping to find a bear on this walk but some people had bells on to scare the bears away. Wusses.

This is Heaven's Peak as viewed from the Going-to-the-Sun road. Beautiful mountain ridges and waterfalls were all around us.

We made it to the Continental Divide but they weren't interested in posing for yet another picture at yet another sign. I am great at taking pictures of signs.

By the end of the trip Drew and Mason were helping Paul put up and take down the trailer. I bet they could make a pretty good go of setting it up by themselves now!

Friday we camped outside of Spokane and got to visit with my brother for a few hours. It was fun to see him and visit without other family around.

We had a GREAT trip I think. There were ups and downs, and my mother-in-law probably thinks I am the crankiest thing she has ever seen, but we saw absolutely beautiful scenery and we all arrived home in one piece so I call that a success. I am already tossing new road trip ideas around in my head but I don't think Paul wants to hear about them quite yet. The kids hung in there pretty well and hopefully they will have good memories of our family trips along with all the pictures of them posing at signs. For even more pictures visit my Flicker site!

Strawberry Season

Yesterday we headed out to Sauvie Island to pick berries! Drew was a great helper, Mason had a great time throwing dirt clods, and Darcy was eating the berries as fast as we could get them in the buckets. We ended up with 13.75 lbs of ripe berries, which equates to lots of jam and lots of dried and frozen berries.

Darcy probably should have been weighed before and after so we could pay for all the strawberries she ate. I caught her with stems in her mouth a couple times but they didn't slow her down a bit! I purposely dressed her in clothes that could be ruined!

Mason and Drew like to mash the berries for the jam. We had splatters all over the kitchen but I guess that is part of the fun! I can now mark strawberries off my list but I still have blueberries, peaches, apples, and apricots on my summer preservation schedule. Its tons of work but also lots of fun.

Here are my sweethearts at the park. I just couldn't pass up including this picture! Too cute.