The fastest summer I've had . . .

  Wowzers, I can't believe it's been this long since my last post. I don't even know where to begin, so I'll just jump in. Jordan ran in the Dirty Dash in late July. It was an obstacle course type race. He ran with a group from the Junction City Fire Department, and they had so much fun. They didn't keep track of their times and they didn't even have to run if they didn't want to. It was really just for fun. Halfway through there was a stand set up to chug beer and then all throughout the course was mud pits, rope walls, slip and slides, and other random obstacles to cross. He had a blast. I think it might be something I will try next year.

Before the race

After the race

He was cleaning dirt out of his ears for a week

  We got to go on an unexpected camping trip at the end of July. We went to Odell Lake with family and friends. It was so fun. The weather was pretty cold in the mornings and late afternoons into the evening, but blazing hot for about two hours during the day. The water was so cold, it wasn't very fun to swim or play in. But other people (not me) tubed and wake boarded. I did tube with Reigan, but I was wearing a wet suit and we didn't go fast so no one got wet. I think the best part about the whole trip was all the kids playing and having so much fun together, and meal time was fun too. Everyone cooked one night and then we all cooked together in the mornings. Very fun group to go with!

Reigan, Austyn, and Emma taking a ride in the boat

Cool cowboy!

Fishing with daddy. Big catch of the night was

a rock :)

I was trying to catch bats with a fishing pole. I had

a few hit my hook, but no luck.

  After the camping trip we didn't do much besides house stuff. We are NOT building until Jordan is done testing in November, but we are continuing to do the permit process, banking, road, and well. I have stepped in and am now doing a lot of the calling and running around. I don't mind, it makes me feel more involved and this way I learn so much more. I'm kind of enjoying the process even though we have hit a few snags (with many more in store for us I'm sure). We are right on track for where we want to be, so that's reassuring for us.

  Last weekend we went camping with the Eugene Fire Department in Charleston. It was by far my favorite camping trip of the season. It's so relaxing and it is so beautiful. It's the perfect family camping spot. While we were there we went to the Bandon Zoo since it's pretty close. That was so much fun. Way better than the Portland Zoo. The highlight for me of the trip was watching the almost 30 kids under 13 ish years old play and running around. Everyone got along and no one got hurt. It was amazing. Austyn did get sick on Saturday with a 101+ fever. She continued her fever until Sunday night, but still is a little off. I think she is now just trying to catch up on her sleep, but I hate it when she's sick. Not too bad for only being sick three times in her two years of life. Hope she keeps it up (knock on wood)!

In the ocean in our undies!!!!

Camel rides. Austyn didn't like it too much, 

but I think it was because she didn't feel good.

All the girls! They are a kick in the pants to hang out with!

  We are getting ready to celebrate her 2nd Birthday! Woo hoo!!! I can't believe she's two. Makes me so sad how fast she's growing up. I will dedicate my next post especially for her and her 2nd Birthday!

  Jordan has been studying his tail off. This is the most stressful thing I think I've seen him go through. I hate that I can't help him. The closer it gets the more stressed he is that he doesn't have enough time. I know he will do fine, but it's hard telling him that when he is stressed out. So Austyn and I just do our own little thing and give him his space. It will all work out in the end, I'm sure of it.

  And as for me, I haven't been working too much. Work has been slow, which doesn't break my heart! I can joyfully say I am over the sick stage and painfully say onto the the back pain again. Does it ever end?! I WILL NOT have back surgery again. So if I have to double or triple time my back exercises and stretches I will. When we first found out I was pregnant I wanted to have a boy so bad. But I can truthfully say I don't care as long as the baby and I are healthy at the end. And I think (key word) we've decided to not find out what we're having. Since things aren't quite as exciting the second time around, we thought we'd keep the excitement going and wait until the end (Jordan's idea). I'm 16 weeks along right now. I am beginning to show and my clothes are getting pretty tight. It's so different this time. I can't believe how fast it's going, and sometimes I forget altogether that I should be eating and drinking and resting more than I do. I'm glad I'm not  huge during the hot months like last time, but this time I will need more clothes during the winter. It will go so fast so I'm trying to enjoy every moment with Austyn as I can.

  Next post, Austyn's Birthday Party!!!!!!

Our Growing Family . . .

  Summer has finally arrived and I'm loving it! It is so nice to get up and put Austyn in shorts and sandals. We are so fortunate that we live on a river. So we get to go swimming whenever we want to. Austyn loves the water.

  We got to go camping a few weekends back with a bunch of friends. We went to East Lake campground outside of La Pine. It was a lot of fun. We went hiking on some lava flows and then to see some really cool waterfalls. On the way home we stopped outside of Bend and walked down to the mile long cave. That was really cool. It seemed like a really long mile though. Fun trip with fun people!

  We got to go to the rodeo this year too. We took Austyn with us and much to my surprise she sat on my lap the entire time. I'm still amazed. She loved the animals and the fireworks at the end. I think that was the longest she has ever sat outside her car seat. We should take her to rodeos more often :) 

  We also had Jordan's sister's wedding over the 6th and 7th to go to. She got married at the temple in Portland and then a reception in JC the following day. The wedding was really pretty and everyone had a lot of fun. 

  Austyn has been doing great. Growing like crazy. Her hair is growing, her vocabulary is growing, everything is growing. I am just amazed at how well she is communicating these days. I finally got her skin under control. It took a while but we did it. She weighs over 30 pounds and is in 3T clothes. She is really good at her colors and can say A  B C (we're working on D). And she can count 1 2 6 4. It's progress I guess. She is really good about following directions (when it's play time that is). Still loves anything that goes. And is really digging the warm weather and swimming. She still hates to get her picture taken (decent pictures) so I did manage to distract her enough with candy to snap a few good ones. 

  Jordan has been busy busy busy. He continues to get bids on our house and get things lined out. He dug the ditch for the power this week. So exciting to finally start the process. We both want to start the house this fall, but we initially decided to wait until next spring so it didn't interfere (distract him) with his promotional test. I will try and hold strong and be the voice of reason (what's new). He's also been busy trying to get our wood done before he's so busy with the corn maze stuff at Lone Pine. And on top of all that he's started studying for his test in November. So we don't see much of him, but maybe when the house is done next year at this time we can slow down and relax. HA HA HA! 

  I haven't been working too much. Work has been pretty slow these days. But I'm not complaining! I love staying home and playing all day outside with Austyn. My dream job! I've just been busy these days making a baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, that's right, we are pregnant!!!! But I'm sure all of you already new that. I'm just 9 weeks along and things are going good. I've been kind of sick this time, but found that if I eat small meals ALL the time it helps immensely. It's so much different with the second one. The initial ultrasound wasn't quite as exciting/emotional and not one name has flashed through my head yet. But I guess since I know what's coming at me it's a little different. My due date is February 14th! 

  We wanted to go camping and have another BBQ but I think our schedule has ran out of room. Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather. Have a great summer!

Our busy little life . . .

  So for the last month or so it seems like we've been so busy. The kind of busy that when you stop and think about what you've been doing, you can't remember doing much of anything. I guess time has just been flying by lately. I don't like it. We did get to go to the zoo and go camping.

  The zoo was so much fun. It was one of the hottest days of the year so far (I guess that's not saying too much). I think Austyn really liked it. It was hard for her to pay attention to the exhibits unless the animals were really close to the glass or moving around. I can't wait to take her back when she's a little older.

  We went camping on the dunes in Coos Bay over Memorial Day weekend. And the weather was gorgeous. It was so much fun this year with Austyn being older. She loved it because everything we did there had to do with riding in or on something. This kid loves anything with a motor.

  Austyn has been battling eczema for the longest time. But just recently she had some pretty angry flare ups. So bad I had to take her the dermatologist. I've had to completely switch everything that touches her skin. What a pain, but I can tell it's helping. Poor thing! The good part is that it hasn't bothered her at all. I think it bothers me more than her :) I don't know how it is with other kids but it seems like this one has been sick with something for like 2 or 3 months straight. First a cold that turned into a sinus infection. Then she got thrush in her mouth from the antibiotics that turned her teeth yellow. Then she started the horrible eczema flare ups. Then at the coast on the last morning she woke up with a fever and was sick all day. I'm ready for her to get over all this crud. It seems like right when one thing gets done another starts. And her patience level is similar to mine so you can use your imagination on how fun doctoring her is! But other than her being a little sicky lately she has still been filling our lives with laughter and love. You can almost understand everything she says now (well I can). I can't believe how fast her talking came on. And her memory is amazing. It just keeps getting better everyday.

  Jordan has been really busy lately. The same kind of busy that I can't pin point what he's been doing exactly, but just busy. Maybe my mind is starting to fail me (good possibility) and I just can't remember. He did some concrete for a buddy and has been running around every spare minute getting bids for our house! We are getting so excited we can't hardly stand it. It's so fun going to all these places and getting bids on everything.

  Jordan and I got to play donkey basketball a few weekends back. I had never heard of it before, so of course I wasn't going to pass it up. Picture this: no saddles, no bits, a slick bareback pad with no handle, and we hadn't ridden for probably 10 plus years. What were we thinking. Jordan of course did amazing. He was the star of the show. His donkey ran him under the basket every time. I on the other hand got bucked off within minutes of getting on. And I'm not very agial, so I couldn't jump back on without someone helping me. Jordan took some hard hit too, and the next day we were so sore it was pathetic. But we had so much fun and our team won! (bummed that there are not pictures, we took a video and I don't have the right cord to put it on the computer)

  I have just been working and trying to keep up with life. I feel like it's in warp speed. I remember when I use to want Austyn to be a little older and a little older. But now I get so sad thinking that it's going so fast. I was able to go to Pendleton for a night with my brothers girlfriend Kati. She had an interview in the area and as usual I tagged along and had way way way more fun that I should have. Let me just say it was the longest 5 hour car ride home of my life. And there are definitely no pictures going up!

  Hope all is well with everyone. I'm hoping that we can do a few camping trips this summer. Maybe go to some different areas than we usually do. Try something new. We have another summer filled with weddings. It's always fun going to wedding.

A crimp in our style . . .

 As some of you may know we tackled the potty training thing after we came home from Reno. It's been almost three weeks now and she's doing wonderful. That's more than I can say for the first 3 or 4 days. What a disaster! I didn't think potty training would be so exhausting, but it is. First of all we are not inside people, so to be stuck inside for days on in was torture. And then trying to figure out how to potty train was the next hurdle. I think it was harder for us to figure it out than for Austyn to follow our instructions. Once we came to our senses and started to be smart about it, she caught on instantly and has been doing it ever since. We still have a few things to accomplish before I can say she's totally trained, but for her age I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I'm glad Jordan and I stuck it out and didn't give up. As much as we both wanted to just throw a diaper on her, we didn't :) I can honestly say I don't think I've ever done so much cooking, dishes, and laundry in my life. But what else is there to do when you're stuck at home for a week. I think that was the hardest part of the whole process. Like every other time we've been stuck home, we all thought our throats had been cut. It's almost like we start turning on one another. Good thing Austyn caught on quick or someone might not have came out alive (ha ha). It definitely put a crimp in our style for sure. But now we have a little potty that rides in the back of the car and we're back on track.

  We had a wonderful Easter. This year we went up to Jordan's grandparents in Albany. It was a lot of fun. After dinner the weather was so nice we got to go sit in the sun and play. Very relaxing. We also did a little egg hunt for Austyn in the morning. I didn't think she would be too interested but she found every egg and put it in her basket without any prompting. We were amazed.

  Austyn has been blowing our minds lately with some of the stuff she's been doing. She loves to feed the dogs at my parents house and in the evening when my Dad comes in she will grab is hand and take him to the back porch and motion to feed the dogs. She knows what every step is and in what order they go. She also loves to eat ice cream there (anywhere really). If we ask her if she wants any ice cream she will go grab my Dad's hand and take him to the freezer, pull the ice cream out, then she will go and open the drawer and get the spoons out, and then go get the scoop from another drawer. My Dad will ask who wants ice cream and she'll say "I do!". It's so cute to watch her mind work.

  Other than potty training we haven't been doing anything else. We did get to go to the coast for a day trip. The weather wasn't as nice as we had hoped, but we were in the Bronco so it wasn't too bad. And the next exciting thing coming up is Jordan's 26th Birthday!!!!! He never wants to do anything big for his Birthday, so we always go out to dinner with our best friends. It's always fun to hang out with them especially on special days.

Confined to the house and trying to escape!

A day at the coast playing in the sand. It was

long overdue.

  Hope everyone had a great Easter.

RENO baby . . .

  Wednesday morning at 4:00 a.m. I woke up to 3 inches of snow. I rolled over to Jordan and told him to look outside. I could tell that he was bummed just like me, because we were leaving for Reno that morning. We missed all the excitement with the 8 or so inches of snow we get one time a year. Oh well, at least we were on vacation! We quickly drove out of the snow by Cottage Grove and were on our way to Tahoe for our first nights stay. It was gorgeous in Tahoe and we also went to see one of my relatives that has a vacation home there. The house was amazing, a view from every room and window. None of us wanted to leave. After that we were off to Reno to meet up with the rest of my family. We were able to find a babysitter for Friday and Saturday nights, which was really nice to have. Friday night we ALL had too much fun, so Saturday night we ALL were pretty quiet. The wedding was really nice on Saturday and it was great to see all my cousins that live in Reno. I wish we all lived closer to each other, they're a blast to be around. Sunday morning we loaded up and headed for home. Fun times! Austyn did great the entire time considering the hectic schedule she was on. And I think she slept for about an hour total in the car there and back. I was thinking she would sleep a lot more. Nope, not her. Lucky us :)

Really cool wooden bench on the shore

of Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe

Huge chair in the Silver Legacy where we stayed

in Reno

Jail scene at Virgina City

  We've taken a few weekend excursions lately. A hiking trip up Spencer Butte with my brothers girlfriend Kati. We were going for a moderate to easy hike. Needless to say it was not! But when we got to the top of the mountain it was beautiful. Well worth the effort. And we also went to the hills around our house with my cousin and her two girls to play in the snow. It's always fun to play in the snow!

Daddy and Austyn

The view from the top of Spencer Butte

Cousins playing in the snow. They built a

Hawaiian snowman :)

Cheese

  Austyn has been great. Trying out her independence and leaning new words everyday. She learns so fast and is constantly trying to do new things. Hopefully this will work in my favor when we start potty training in the next few weeks;) She had her 18 month check-up and everything was perfect. She weighs 28 pounds and is in 2T clothes now. She's still a very big girl. I thought she would start leveling out when she turned 1, but I was wrong! I think I'm going to put her in tumbling classes soon. We went to a Birthday party at a gymnastics place and we had to most fun ever! We both loved it. She is at such a fun age right now. She's the joy of my life and I feel fortunate I'm able to spend so much time with her.

  Jordan and I haven't been doing anything too exciting. We don't have anymore trips planned yet. Hopefully we'll get some camping in this year. We do have a lot of weddings to go to this year. We've been to two already, and three more to go. Weddings are always fun. Work is good for both of us. I think we are all looking forward to summer, so we can get out of the house. Summer time activities are going to be fun this summer :)

  Hope all is well with everyone. Have a great Easter!

 

One Months Worth of Happenings . . .

  We started off the month of January with horrible flooding in the Valley. It is always so exciting to me when things like that happen. We hadn't seen it that bad in years and years. Nothing got hurt, but it took forever for the water to finally go down. (Sorry no pictures. I got to frustrated with slow downloads.)

  Austyn has started talking like crazy. She is getting really good about repeating words. She knows a ton of animal noises, all her body parts, and starting to say names. It's funny to me when people ask me if I can understand what she's saying. I feel like such a Mom when I say "Yes, of course I can". I can't believe how much fun she is at this age. Her teeth finally stopped bothering her. Those eye teeth were a disaster. She has discovered the word "NO", although she gets it confused with "Yes" some of the time, she can definitely get her point across. She also loves testing me. It keeps me on my toes for sure. And I'm sure this stage is the one that will last forever. It can be trying at times, but the good out weighs the bad. We just finished swim lessons which were so much fun. She loved the water. I'm thinking about signing her up for tumbling classes in about a month. The swim lessons were awesome for both of us. It gave me something to look forward to and got us out of the house. So until summer gets here, I'm trying to keep us busy doing fun activities.

  Jordan got to work on his LUV for a week or so. He had been waiting for 2 years to do this last project (I say last, but we all know differently). He put new steering on it, so he can steer it much easier. He is so excited to get it finished. He has also been working as an Engineer when they need extra help at work. He's loving it. It's great to see him use what he's worked so hard for.

My Dad had to pull him down to his house so they could

finish working on it there. Good thing we live so close :)

Here is my first sewing project. I made Jordan a rag

quilt for Valentines Day. I cut up some of his

old pants and fire shirts. I think it turned out

pretty cool. He wanted one to use at work. I hope

it works good for him. I also made a lunch bag for

myself. Sewing is so much fun! Much easier than

I had been expecting. Once I learned how to

use the machine, it was not so overwhelming.

  Work is going great for me. I've been working hard to start crossing things off my New Years Resolution list. So far I've learned to sew, started working out, and am baking a little more. It's a good start hopefully I can keep it up.

We got to go to the coast one Sunday. It was so nice

to be able to relax on the beach. The weather was

perfect. It was a great day.

Austyn loved the ocean. What an independent little girl.

  We also had our annual Sweethearts Ball for Jordan's volunteer department in Junction City. It was 80's themed this year. It was so much fun getting our outfits together and way too much fun wearing them. It took a few days to recover. Glad I only go out once a year! Already looking forward to next year.  

  We are going to Reno at the end of March for a wedding. Not looking forward to the long drive with Austyn, but when we get there it will be super fun. If anyone has any clever ideas on how to keep an 18 month old (who is also hyperactive like her Daddy) occupied on a long trip let me know. Hope everyone is doing great!

2012 Here We Come . . .

  We made it through the Holidays. It was fast and furious as usual. It's so sad that I wait all year for the Holidays and it goes by so quickly. We were all spoiled by Santa this year. We are very lucky. We spent Christmas morning at my parents house, then up to my Aunts for dinner, and then over to Prineville to spend with Jordan's entire family. It was very busy, but very fun. Austyn was still too little to understand or even get into the presents, but next year will be so much fun. One of Austyn's more unique gifts, was from Uncle Chad and Aunt Kati, they made her a Ham Hauler. It is so cute. We can't keep her out of it.

It was so adorable pulling her around

behind the 4-wheeler. Not too many

kids have anything like this. What a lucky girl.

Daddy reading Austyn a Christmas story on

Christmas Eve

She's so excited for Santa to come!!

Enjoying the bows and boxes instead of her presents

His new shotgun

  We made it through New Years as well. No big partying for us. Jordan worked and I had to work to stay up and watch the ball drop. I woke up to the count down, and then quickly went back to sleep. Oh how I love our simple life :) I love making resolutions for the New Year. It always seems like a reset button for me. I think I did pretty good on my last years resolutions. Here are some of this years:

• Get started on building a house. Maybe get the driveway and pad done, power & well put in, shop???
• Cook and bake more
• Learn to sew. I got a sewing machine for Christmas and tried to thread the thread and I quickly figured out that my sewing career may be over. Somebody HELP!
• Get healthy. I hate saying lose weight for a New Years resolution, everyone says that, but I want to feel good about my body, I don't care what I weigh.
• Keep being the best wife and mother I can possibly be.
• ??? this one is a surprise ???

  Austyn has been getting 4 molars and now adding the bottom canines. 6 OF THE MOST PAINFUL TEETH ALL AT ONCE. I'll say no more!!!!! She is also blessing us with on and off colds and ear infections. But with all that some how she still manages to be an amazing little girl. Just today we were driving in the car and she was just talking to herself or us (who really knows) and I almost got teary eyed and told Jordan she melts my heart. She's getting to be so much fun.

  Jordan and I are great. Enjoying life and looking forward to what 2012 brings us. I hope it will be as great as 2011 has been to us. It could be a busy year. And you know how we love busy!

  Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!