A weekend with the Jones family

We spent this last weekend in Federal Way, soaking up some time with Greg's sister Julie and her husband Jason. Greg's parents made the trek over as well so it was a family affair. To be honest, the weekend mostly paid homage to the gods of good food and sloth so that must have meant we had fun. In no particular order we watched movies, played cards, ate copious amounts of steak, spaghetti, and chocolate, played with the kids, went to the park, and napped. As an added bonus Jenny and Dane came over for a short visit Saturday afternoon. That was great, except for what was said afterwards. I might have remarked that Jenny didn't look anymore pregnant than I did and Greg said, "No, she really didn't." Then everyone had to be amazed that she was due a month before me. If she wasn't my best friend I'd really have to hate her.

The only downfall was that Greg had to work most of Saturday. He took it like a champ though and we were just grateful he had made the trip. Up until Friday morning he didn't know if he would be able to come so we satisfied ourselves with seeing him during breaks and living it up during the evenings. I don't think Thanksgiving break can come fast enough for any of us.

Have a good week!

A case of the Mondays

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. We had a fantastic weekend and I woke up this morning bummed that it was Monday, my weekend was over, my house was a mess, and my back hurt from sleeping in one lousy position all night. I was grumpy and impatient and bratty. For no good reason! I sulked about all morning, pouty and cranky, sure that my laundry was breeding downstairs and that I'd never see my kitchen sink again. About that time Aubrey began talking about Halloween and all she had seen. She then exclaimed, "Do you remember the pelican I saw at Daddy's post office?" After some questioning I determined that she was saying, "Do you remember the SKELETON I saw at Daddy's OFFICE." It was so funny that I felt instantly better. Taking a nap this afternoon also helped. Greg telling me that he was bringing home my favorite gumbo and an ice cream cake for my birthday tomorrow helped most of all.

p.s. I just sent out a massive blog invite to all of my family. Sorry it has taken me this long, I have been too lazy to enter in all the email addresses.

A great day

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We had a wonderful time. Greg's office puts on a Halloween party for the kids, complete with terrifying decorations (it took us 10 minutes to convince Aubrey to leave Greg's office), fantastic costumes, trick or treating, and a sugar laden buffet. As you can see from the pictures, we had a cowgirl and a cowboy. Greg got into the spirit and threw together his own version of a cowboy costume. I took inventory of my closet and decided I would wear anything that didn't make me look like a blimp, which did not include any cute cowgirl clothes. Afterward we stopped and visited Aunt KayLynn and Uncle David, as well as Greg's dad at his store. The kids were a hit and REALLY learned how the whole "trick or treat" thing works. We spent this evening answering our own doorbell and reassuring Aubrey that we were not giving away her candy. Holidays get more and more fun each year as the kids get older. Now onto Thanksgiving!

p.s. I had to include a picture of our friends Roth and Mandy. They went as Jim and Pam from "The Office."

A Haircut or a Homicide??

After deciding that Nathan's hair was ridiculously long, I decided to cut it. Twenty minutes later his hair had gone from ridiculously long to just ridiculous. I did a terrible job and it could only be salvaged by a professional. So, this morning we marched into "Great Clips" for Nathan's first real haircut. To say that he didn't behave nicely is putting it mildly. He was insane. He nearly needed a tranquilizer (as did I) to make it through. The tears and snot and drool flowed, even though he was being bribed with a sucker and a movie. Aubrey watched in horrified fascination. I don't think she'd ever seen another human being lose it quite the way Nathan did. The end result though is a very grown up little haircut that is stinking cute. I think I'll take him in for his next cut on his 16th birthday. And Greg can do it.

Baerlocher Baby

Our great friends Angela and Justin welcomed their third baby into the world today. Their little girl, Grace Christine, was born at about 2:45 this afternoon, weighing in at 8 lbs. 14.5 oz. and 20 inches long. Angela said that she has a little bit of dark hair and chubby cheeks. She is joining big brothers Adam and Tyler. It has been a long wait, as anyone who has ever been pregnant knows, and they are thrilled that their daughter is here. Congratulations Baerlocher family!

It was a good day to be a Coug

I know this email be offensive to all you U of W alumni, but YEAH COUGARS! We went to the WSU/UCLA game yesterday and watched them walk all over UCLA. The sun was shining, it was a gorgeous fall day, the whole fam got to enjoy a great football game, and we won! We also got to see some friends of Greg's that we hadn't seen for a long time. We hadn't seen Matt in over three years (a high school friend and groomsman in our wedding) and enjoyed the chance to catch up. Greg's parents watched the kids for the day too which was, I must confess, fabulous. Two kids three and under at a swamped college campus followed by a four hour sit to watch a game??? Insanity is what that would have been. As it was we sat, enjoyed good food, great conversation, and a perfect football day.

I am attaching a few pictures. I would appreciate it if you would disregard my double chin. It seems to have a life of its own these days.

Too painful to watch

While I am not typically a baseball fan, Greg has sucked me into watching the playoffs, and now the World Series, this year. Who couldn't resist cheering for the Colorado Rockies when they swept the Diamondbacks? I took this good cheer and fervor into last night's opening game, thinking of my Rockies as the Little Engine that Could. The Red Socks are a hard team to root against but putting in a yell for the underdog can't be beat. Except that last night there wasn't ONE DARN thing to cheer for the Rockies about. We had TIVO'd the game and during the 5th inning, as the Rockies pitcher WALKED IN RUN AFTER RUN, I would cling to Greg's arm and screech, "Fast forward it, fast forward it!" It was agonizing. Greg can't watch parts of "The Office", he finds them too embarrassing, and that's how I felt about last nights game. Just make the pain stop! I was confident that any moment the phone would ring and it would be the Rockies bullpen asking if I could make a quick flight in to pitch. I don't think I could have been any worse.

I guess I'll watch again tonight but only if I have TIVO'd it so that I can race right through any truly miserable parts. I don't have a good feeling for Colorado. They were not a pretty sight last night.

Happy Halloween!

We kicked off our Halloween festivities this evening with pumpkin carving and the painting of my ever growing belly. The kids thought painting my stomach was a blast and found pumpkin carving to be a bore. Greg and I would try to coax them back over to the pumpkins ("Aubrey honey, look, it's a happy pumpkin! Nathan, look, do you want to touch the seeds?") and they'd give us a moment's worth of faked interest and go back to chasing our cat Tika. They liked the finished products though and were even more impressed when we lit the candles and turned the lights off. Greg got a great shot of our glowing pumpkin faces. Enjoy!

Preschool in a box

This post is for all of you with kids who are reading my blog. At our last MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting a wonderful woman by the name of Lisa gave us a demonstration on "preschool in a box". She is the mother of six kids and used to be preschool teacher. She has put together all these boxes of activities for her children and they are amazing. What is great about them is that they are nothing special! Feeling inspired today, I went on a dollar store run and came up with about seven of my own boxes. They include things like one filled with craft sticks, puff balls, and glue to create things with, a tupperware full of rice with measuring spoons and funnels to play in it with, buttons and string and pipe cleaner to make things with, zillions of erasers and cups to sort and arrange by color, a container of sea shells and a counting book to practice numbers, a magnetic fishing pole with fish so that the kids can fish for different numbers and colors....the list goes on. I think I spent about $20 on everything and each box is something different and special. The kids had a ball with all of it. I let Aubrey help me pick everything out too and she loved feeling included. Nathan uses the boxes in different ways but as Lisa pointed out, everything is learning! If you want to feel like a killer mom, go get some tupperware, rice, and a few colorful things, and ta da, you are mommy of the year!

Greenbluff and hearts

We went on our annual adventure to Greenbluff this Saturday. My parents, KayLynn and David, Hannah, and her friend Kari all were in town for it as well. We picked out pumpkins, Aubrey rode a pony, the kids played in a farm equivalent of a sandbox (filled with dried peas), we ate polish sausages, and enjoyed the GORGEOUS October day.
We had told Aubrey that she could pick out her pumpkin and she hung out in indecisionville forever. She would roam the pumpkins, touch them softly, push them over, and keep going. Greg and I decided we would just have to pick one out for her and took our pumpkins and paid for them. At that precise moment she picked out this small, green pumpkin, far more reminiscent of a zucchini than a pumpkin, and fell in love. It was such a pathetic looking specimen that they just gave it to her. (Obviously, it was the Halloween equivalent of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.) Nathan spent the whole time trying to pick up every single pumpkin. You know, the 40 pound variety that are taller than he is. Kids are funny.

Oh, and about hearts. Are Greg and I the only ones that love each other intensely 99% of the time and greatly dislike each other while playing games together?? We played hearts last night with KayLynn and David and it was as it always is; trash talking that turns mean, funny jabs that become personal attacks, sarcastic comments, and a general desire to poke the other person's eyes out. I hold firm that Greg is a terrible winner and a terrible loser, he thinks I'm a complainer that can't take the fact that he generally kicks my tail in all games. (Which is, unfortunately, quite true.) Our marriage only stands firm because we play games against, or with each other, oh, once a year.

p.s. Yes, the number of pictures for this post borders on the absurd.