I'm goin' back to Cali...

No, not permanently - but Daddy passed the California bar!!! With a staggering 33% success rate, we are SO proud that John was in the elite few who passed the most grueling bar exam in the country. We knew he could do it. :)

So, we'll probably be going back to California for a swearing in ceremony this summer sometime (if our house would ever sell!)

In celebration we took John out to breakfast this morning and had some time outside while we waited for our table. We also had a chance to re-connect (albeit brief) with our family this afternoon. Despite Piper's best efforts at running away and Jackson's attempt at winning Grumpiest Baby in The World, we had a ncie few hours with some of our favorite people. :)

9 In, 9 Out

Big smiles for mom




Captain Jackson Blackbeard (aka Mr. Potato Head)




Still a snuggly boy

Happy birthday, big sister

Piper is three :)

The house is in chaos, but I thought I'd stop for a minute and post some new pictures of the kids. I finally unpacked the camera cord ;)

Whoah hotshot!

Welcome, foolish mortals...

A tour of the new house is up on my flickr account. You can view it in slideshow mode by clicking that option in the upper right hand corner. However, while that's awfully handy, it won't allow you to see the captions that describe what you're looking at.

So, if you want to know what each room is, you'll have to view them one at a time and read what's beneath the photo. When you see the large picture off to the left, there will be a small "thumbnail" of the next picture on the right. Click on that to see it larger. It will change as you go, letting you get a preview of what is next. There is no "next" or "more" that works to just flip to the next large picture. Sorry - kind of a pain.

You may also need to cut and paste the URL into your browser. For some reason Blogger doesn't make links clickable.

Okay, without further ado:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/25593327@N00/650823

Stand in the place where you live...

We're on the tail end of one of the most stressful months of our life. Right now it feels like everything is up and down, the relocation company who is handling our closing has rescheduled four times, and the finance company is throwing side projects at us every day (as if we have nothing better to do).

The kids are going completely insane with almost all the toys packed, and we haven't had a seriously healthy meal in days. All the take out and drive through have taken their toll on our physical and mental well-being, no doubt.

I keep having to remind myself that it is worth it - it is worth it - IS IT worth it??

It is. I know it is, and very shortly all of this will be a distant memory. But today, this week, it's rough. We're just ready to be done, settled, home. The images of our children running laps in the glorious new backyard carry us through, the memories of my own childhood spent running around the backyard at dusk with the clang of washers hitting a pipe (or the fence, depending on who was playing!), catching lightning bugs are forever embedded in my mind, in my soul. I mourn for the years that our children have been deprived of that, and await, anxiously, the moment our lives transition into that place - the lifestyles of our parents, our grandparents, hidden away from the evils of society and tucked neatly in a backyard lawn.

Bunny Boy

As we prepare for the move, we find ourselves struggling to get through the day. The combination of 90% of the house in boxes and the excitement and anticipation of a new home are enough to send the whole crew into chaos. With so little to do, and yet, so much to do, we are constantly trying to find humor and joy in life. We have three weeks left in this home. And, though it is just a house built of sticks that we've never particularly been fond of in the structural sense, it is our home, our first house, and it is the place where we brought home our baby boy. This will be his first, and our third Easter, and it will be celebrated in this house amongst the boxes and bags. And, I'm sure, in the coming years we'll remember this house fondly, not for the exterior shell that was a house, but for the memories and soul that were our home.

A new house for our growing tribe

I didn't want to say anything until we knew for sure - because we've gotten our hopes up in the past and had them fall through - but this is it, we signed the contract and are just awaiting final approval for all the paperwork. We close April 26th! :)

The house is on a cul de sac, has a 3 car garage, and a finished basement. The front porch has room for a swing.

Inside on the main floor is laminate flooring in the living and dining room. There is a brick, woodburning fireplace in the living room.


The dining room is HUGE and has grapevine wallpaper along the chair rail and has columns that separate it from the living room.


The kitchen has the new composite "ceramic" flooring that doesn't crack on impact, double ovens with a flat cooktop, double porcelain sink, an island, and a small "bar" countertop area that connects to the dining room.




The walls are all painted with lots of color - some turquoise, lime, yellow, red. It's nice.

The backyard is beautiful, with lush green grass and a wood (Rainbow brand, maybe?) play structure on mulch. It's huge! The fence is privacy height (8'?) and made of cedar. It has a brick patio with a pergola overhead for some shade, and two beautiful flowering trees that are still small, but established.

There's a three car garage with built-in cabinets. The basement is finished with a family room and a full suite - bedroom and full bath on the lower level.

Upstairs there is brand new frise carpeting throughout. There's a master suite with whirlpool tub and an enormous (bedroom sized) walk-in closet. There are two small bedrooms near us, and 2nd floor laundry (YAY!). Down the hall from us is this ENORMOUS suite for the older two girls. It has dual closets and a finished area that's sort of a reading nook or small "living room" that's built in. Turns out that was attic space above the garage and it was finished (presumably when they first built the home).

It's a bit older than we originally wanted, going on 11 years, but they are paying for a warranty for us and it has a new hot water heater. The furnace and A/C are covered by the warranty, if they should go out.

I think that's it! :)

We're so excited and can't wait for you to see it!!!

My little hooligan

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

My crazy boy is all over the place - across the living room and going down the hall in a minute, flat! He's so much fun, and such a handful. He's got an inquisitive spirit and would rather be pushing the vacuum down the hall than playing with his toys. He loves to be in the middle of things and is already pulling up on the cubes and the djembe drums in our living room. It's amazing how quickly life changes.

Evening Son

With the blessing of an extra hour of sun in the evenings, we managed to find time to play outside tonight. Despite three rather large mosquitos, we had a nice evening and managed to capture some nice shots of the kids.

And He'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun...

Back from California. Jackson had his first trip on an airplane and did wonderfully! He slept most of the way there and only seemed to be uncomfortable during the landing when we got home. His stroller ended up being too big, so we had to buy another one out there at Target. He did great in the hotel, sleeping in the Travel Lite crib and was a stellar baby the entire time. If only his sisters were so well-behaved.

Mom - I'm ready for take-off



Kisses from Daddy in the Princess Fantasy Faire



Smoochy boy



Sea World Day :)


SO warm and flushed! (We lost the jacket right after this)


Developmentally, this week has been a huge leap for Jack - he cut through his last two of eight teeth (four on top, four on bottom now!) and figured out how to kick one leg underneath himself to flip up to sitting. Yesterday, he was sitting on the couch by me and pulled himself up to standing, and today he learned to crawl in rhythm and can get around SO fast! He's off the rug in seconds now. He's also started the diaper change fight - but he doesn't wiggle when sissy changes him, she's happy to report. He's really getting interested in toys and will hug and hold onto his little Anne Geddes bear from the boutique in Downtown Disney(land). If you put it out of his reach, he'll crawl over to the baby right away.

Threeth!

Three bottom teeth as of this morning! (note the drool factory!) With the FOUR top ones preparing to erupt.

Feeling it with his tongue

Mom's Birthday

I'll spare you all the cliches of turning thirty, and how quickly the times goes by. But, I wanted to share some pictures from my celebrations this weekend. My request for my birthday was to have dinner with the whole family. My Grandparents are like parents, my aunts and uncles like siblings - I cannot imagine birthdays or Christmases or Easters without them nearby. I could live my whole life without friends and still feel gratified having this network of amazing people in my life. They're always there, no matter if you're some goofy kid with a tube top falling off in every picture or a teenager with a mouth full of braces and not a clue in the world who thinks you know everything!

They are the epitome of the word - they are my family. And, I can think of no better way to ring in the third decade of my life than with them. There were some people missing, and they certainly would have made it even better, but they were in my thoughts that night, too. I received some really thoughtful gifts that were perfect for me and really showed me that people know who I am. It was great! The whole weekend was a celebration!!!

Feeling bad that you missed it? Wishing you had joined in the festivities!!?!? Well, it's not too late! That's right, slacker! If you're reading this site, you better pony up. :) I'm having a Pampered Chef party in honor of my birthday. It's the perfect arrangement. You get to buy stuff for YOU and I get stuff for ME! You can't go wrong!

Lovely Sarah is the resident Pampered Chef around town, so to speak, and she has set up an online party for us. So, go shop!!!
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/northwest?page=products-main&showId=1051360

Okay - on to the fluffy stuff...
My girls



The whole crew


The "kids" table (okay, not really kids - but there wasn't enough room for all of us at one table, so they split us up.
Uncle Kissy Face and Aunt Angie


My cute Grandma (don't let those innocent looks fool ya - she'd take you out Just kidding!!! She's gentle as can be. She's practically a SAINT considering what I was like as a kid!) And Uncle Rick and Aunt Barb


Silly "noollull" girl


"Take a picture of my new watch, Mom!"


My guys

Big sister turns 5!

Happy Birthday, Jameson!!! Five years in the blink of an eye.

Okay, two babies after you - maybe not such a blink. :)

Pear-y Sweet

You're going to put that WHERE, Mom??

I don't know about this. It doesn't look like milkies.


Okay, it's not so bad. Kind of sweet, a little cold...


Uuuuuugh - what is THAT? Am I eating SAND?!!? This is way too gritty, mama.



Okay, I forgive you. Good thing you have the milkies for me after this one!

Take time to stop and smell the...

And enjoy all the precious little things that change so quickly...

Rock Lobster

Mom - I think I'm ready for solids. Lobster, in fact...