4 Years . . .

  My little buddy has turned 4. She thinks it's the coolest thing that's ever happened. I think it's so sad. It's way too fast. I just can't believe it's already been 4 years! 

  She has become such a little person these days. She's witty and very bright. If you're planning on teasing her, expect to get it back even heavier. She has the best memory, especially if we are driving somewhere. She usually knows where we are and how to get back home. It's pretty impressive. She is also very very observant. She will notice the smallest changes that Jordan won't notice for days. Probably a girl thing.  And I know Quade doesn't recognize it, but she is the best big sister ever. She is helpful, and loves to teach him and show him things. She doesn't mind him tagging along and constantly wanting to do what "sissy" does. She never fights with him even when he eggs it on and deserves it. She is very kind and giving. She loves giving things to people. Even if it's her own stuff. I know I've talked about it before but she has become quite the quad and horse rider. She rides quads that are way to big and powerful for her and zips right around on the them. And she rides her pony all by herself. She does circles, can stop, and can rein her wherever she wants her to go. I'm so proud of her. I just need to add a few more things to our lessons now. I love how she wants to do everything by herself these days. Get dresses, tie her shoes, brush her teeth, etc. And she loves to help anyone do anything. What a great little helper. 

  Austyn has a great disposition. She has a very even temper (not sure where she got that trait). Has NEVER thrown fits. She follows the rules and knows her boundries and doesn't need reminded to use manners. Very very very friendly to strangers. Between both kids it takes an extra long time to get through any store because they think they have to talk to everyone we pass. It's so cute. She is always happy and smiley. It's unusual to see her in a grumpy mood. And it probably is because she has missed too many naps. Yes, she still naps! For 2 hours even. She can easily go without a nap these days but will ask to take one if we've skipped a nap for two or three days. I'm soooooo lucky!!!! She has been the easiest kid in the world. She never did the terrible twos or threes thing. And rarely is there a stage that isn't pleasant with her. Austyn is playing soccer right now and is enjoying it. And she's really excited for T-ball this spring. 

  It's hard to think of anything undesirable about Austyn. Her general age related issues are about it. A little bit of arguing, and some drama here and there, and already the hormonal emotions. But nothing unmanageable. The drama and emotional issues will be something I should get used to I guess. Those middle school years are going to be doozies. 

  I'm so blessed to be able to be her mom. I hope and pray we will be best friends forever. I'm trying to build up a relationship with her now, so when she gets older and it's harder to tell me things she will still want to and feel comfortable doing so. I think it's important for a girl to have that kind of relationship with their mom. I really hope we do. And as always I'm hoping she will have what I have.  Where she lives close to us and can raise her kids close to us too. I think the one thing I wish I could do more with her is spend time with just her and I. Just like going to McDonalds or shopping. Just an hour or two here and there. But it's hard with the little man cub running around. 

  We had her birthday party at Lone Pine agian. She had a blast. I her actual birthday we had a play date with friends, and had her first soccer practice, then got to go to Abby's for dinner. Jordan had to work, which was a bummer. But Austyn had a great Birthday. 

My Dad brought the boom truck home one day and gave the kids rides. They loved it!

The morning of her Birthday. 

At soccer practice. 

Birthday party day!

This picture was on her first day of preschool last year, then the first day this year. Think she's grown any?

Recent Events . . .

  Ok so we have been busy as ever lately. Austyn and Quade got a "new to them" playhouse! My parents old neighbors had a cabin in the back of their property and when they moved they left it there. So my mom asked the neighbors now if we could have it. Since it has never been used. They said yes. So after 8 hours of moving the thing, we now have an amazing playhouse for the kids. It has bunk beds and a wood stove. Jordan and my Dad jacked it up and put beams underneath it. Then they boomed it onto a trailer and drove it over to our house. Much easier said than done. But they did an amazing job because nothing broke or got damaged in the move. They are the all around handiest men I know. 

The new playhouse

Bunk beds

  We also go to go to the coast for a fun little day trip. We took the Bronco and Austyns little quad. It was a bit too windy for my taste, but the kids didn't know the difference. Once they got their bare feet in that sand they couldn't have been happier. Those two kids were bred to love the dunes. 

My little "man cub"

  We have been enjoying the Scandinavian Festival this year. Austyn is dancing in it and it's so cute to watch all the little kids try and dance together, while staying in a circle :) it's comical to say the least. Her costumes were so adorable. And it wasn't blistering hot, so she wasn't miserable in the big thick dresses. Jordan also got festive this year. He helped out in the JC Fire Stations Booth. 

One of Austyns adorable outfits

The opening parade

Daddy in his festivities. 

Austyn in her second outfit. Her cousins gave her flowers after her performance.

  Austyn now rides Chocolate Chip by herself while I stand in the middle of the arena and direct her. She can steer her and kick her to go perfectly. I'm so proud of her. And she has turned into a little water dog. She swims by herself and bobs around in the water and floats on her back (with a life jacket). She also went down my parents huge water slide with Jordan twice the other evening. She's a brave one! I've been able to talk school up a little bit to her. I've been telling her that she gets new friends and new school supplies when she goes back. It has seemed to work:) 

  And Quade, oh Quade. What a little rotten monster he has become. We are still teething:( So enough said there. But he is so wild, determined, spoiled, and ALL boy. And I love every bit of him. He's very exhausting, but so cute and smart as well. He still carries a gun around with him all the time. He shoots birds, Jordan's elk head, all of us. Man, that stuff is just hard wired into boys. As usual, he doesn't eat well while he's teething. So I've been trying hard to be patient with him. He has definitely gotten away with murder compared to what Austyn did at his age. But with that said, they are 110% different from each other. We are making it! It's a bit touch and go sometimes, but this little fart will not be the winner. Mommy will be the winner as soon as this last damn tooth pops through. :)

My best little pal and I at a family wedding

And then there's Quade ... Need I say more;)

My masked bandits

  Jordan has been bouncing back and forth from project to project.  He started the irrigation, then some parts broke. So we had to wait for that. Then the playhouse came up. Then back to the irrigation. Then finished up the playhouse. There's always something going on and something to do out here. The corn maze is starting up now, so in a few weeks he will be spending his free time doing maze stuff. Austyn and I can't wait. We love October at Lone Pine. And I have a feeling Quade will never want to get out of the cow trains:) 

  We have our 10 year High School reunion this weekend. Can you believe it's been 10 years already?! We also are getting ready for our last camping trip. The crab trip in Charleston with the Eugene Fire group. I look forward to this one all year. So this year we are staying Wednesday through Sunday. I can't wait, hope the weather is nice. 

  Quick update on KODA- she is continuing to loose weight. And she still doesn't have her normal energy. Vets still don't have any answers, due to the fact we aren't willing to invest in numerous tests when we know the outcome will be the same no matter what the tests say. But she is still happy and pain free as far as I can tell. So that is how we want to keep her. Cheers to the best dog, I'll ever have!

  As the summer comes to an end I've been reflecting a lot on our life. And I've tried to think of what makes our life so perfect. I think I've figured it out. More to come in a later blog...

My Circle of Life . . .

  I can honestly say that this summer is the best summer of my life, hands down. So I started to think of the reasons it's so much better than the previous summers. And even though the common denominator has never changed, and I hope it never will, I just think I'm at the age where I can truely be 100% grateful and really appreciate how blessed I really am. And I'm talking about FAMILY (and friends)! 

  It has been brought to my attention over the last few years that we have something that is out of the norm for the majority of people (and all these years I thought we were the normal ones). We have a family that is so close (even in proximity) it's mind blowing for people to comprehend. And I'm not just talking about my parents and my brother. I'm talking about my Grandma, and my Aunts and Uncles too. I don't think I've ever met a family like ours. I am now hoping and praying that one day I will have what my parents have. Which is having my kids living next door and that they want to see me every day and be wrapped up in every aspect of their lives. I hope that's what my parents wanted, because that's what they got :) Which also leads me to think how lucky my Grandma is. She sees at least one of her kids everyday. And it's not uncommon for her to see all three of her kids on the same day or even numerous times a day. She also gets to see her grand kids and great grand kids almost daily. She is such a huge part of my life and my kids life it's unbelievable. I am so thankful to her and my Grandpa for having family be so important that they passed that importance down to their kids, who now have instilled it into my brother and I. And I'm doing everything in my power to continue the trend with my kids. 

  When Jordan got hired at Eugene it took me a few years to adjust to his work schedule. And if it weren't for my parents it would be sooo much harder. Every night Jordan is working I go over to my parents and eat dinner and let the kids play. Since it's summer we usually feed their steers, play on their play ground, eat dinner, then go ride quads. And sometimes we play at the river or ride Chocolate Chip. Or do all of that in one evening. So it's not uncommon for us to still be up and playing at 9:30 or 10:00. Which works out beautifully the next morning when the kids get up at 8:00 :) I can't wait for the day my kids understand and appreciate how fortunate they are. It hasn't been until I've had kids that I've really understood everything my parents did for us when we were little. And I can't even begin to tell them how grateful I am for that. Now that I have kids I bow down to them for giving my brother and I such a huge amount of respect for people and things. They also gave us great morals and values, which have carried us through life and gotten us out of many predicaments. I don't know how they did it, but I'm trying to follow exactly in their footsteps on this one. I also think they gave us a lot of responsibilities as young kids and those responsibilities came with consequences. I am very thankful they did that. I hope that I can continue helping my kids out like my parents are still doing for us. Hats off to the best parents a kid could ask for. And I hope they know how amazing they are and how appreciated the are.

  It hasn't been until recently that I've understood the rare connection between a brother and a sister. Some recent events showed me just how much I would do for my brother. Which is literally ANYTHING he needed me to do! And I know that if the tables were turned, I could count on him to be there for me too. I'm forever grateful for my brother. He made me the tom boy I've always been. He took me hunting, riding, wheelin, we made forts, and the list goes on. He never ever left me behind. And all of his friends were like brothers to me growing up, which is something I'm sad Austyn won't have. Thank you brother for letting me tag along all those years. I love you so much!

  While reflecting on my life I've realized that not only did I have the best immediately family ever. I had the best extended family too. All my childhood memories are filled with cousins and Aunts and Uncles. I spent every summer with my Aunt Diane and Uncle Brice. They took me everywhere like I was their daughter. They taught me so much about horses and animals. And all the time and money that goes into those things. And thanks to them I can now pass some of that down to Austyn. And every school break we could count on my Aunt Debi to take all of us somewhere amazing. Not until now do I know how much planning, packing, and expense that requires. But she seemed to love it as much as we did.

  Needless to say I'm blown away at the bond we ALL have together. There has never been any drama or harsh words said to one another (to my knowledge). And everyone is so giving it's amazing. I'm happy to say that everything good I'm my life is because of each and every one of my family member in some way or another. 

  And let's not forget about our friends. We have the best friends in the world. Our lives are so parallel it's creepy. Jordan's childhood best friend is still his best friend today. And I can proudly say his wife is mine. I never have really had many girlfriends but this one is a keeper for sure. I love the way we can all get together (when our busy schedules permit) and act like it hasn't been over a month since the last time we've hung out. And I'm so happy our kids will grow up together. 

  I could go on listing people and specific memories, but I would never be able to stop there are so many. All I can say it thank you to my family and friends for making me who I am today. And with family and friends like mine life can't get any better! 

Mid Summers Update . . .

  I can't believe it's already the end of July :( We just got back from camping at Thompson Reservior again. But this time we went with Jordan's family and took horses! I was a little nervous about how hot it was going to be, but it was perfect. Our camp spot was under trees and there was a breeze in the late afternoon. Kept it just right! The kids had a ball. Austyn just loves playing with her cousins. We were able to go on a trail ride all of us together. Jordan took Quade in the backpack and I put Austyn behind me. It was so fun. And Austyn decided after she saw her cousin Kate riding by herself that she wanted to too. We were just taking the little kids for a ride around the camp ground and I tied the lead rope around like reins and they loved it. So now she has been riding Chocolate Chip by herself at home. It is so so so fun to see how confident she has gotten. Now we can start some lessons. I'm so excited. 

So a quick explanation of the picture of Jordan with three kids and everyone is crying. Everyone went to the river, but Jackie, Luke, Quade, and I. We stayed back to give the little boys a nap. I guess the kids all jumped in and got swept down the little rapids/waterfall. So Jordan jumped in after them and the rest of the Dad's came a drug them out one by one. No one got hurt, but it was a bit scary from the sounds of it. Good thing they all had lifejackets on. 

  We also were able to go to the St. Paul rodeo this year. It was awesome. My mom kept Quade and we took Austyn. (I think I had more fun just hanging out with her by herself than any part of the rodeo) I loved the atmosphere of everything. Everyone was there for the rodeo, not just to get drunk and rowdy like in Eugene. They had a few different events that were fun too. And it was my first time seeing a round arena at a rodeo. We will definitely be going back. 

  Austyn has gotten a crazy girl streak in her lately. She rides her quad like she's been doing it for years. She is so good it's scary. My mom was riding with her the other day and Austyn was scaring her with the trails she was taking and how fast she was going. It made my heart happy:) And she is so brave with Chocolate Chip lately. I'm so so so lucky to have found a pony like her. You couldn't ask for a better first horse. Last time we rode quads Austyn just kept riding and riding. I finally had to reason with her that it was now 9 o'clock and time for a bath. I loved it, but sometimes I gotta switch back to the mommy role. Austyn has already started whinning about going back to school. I have been secretly whinning as well. I'm trying to talk it up, but I'm not sure I'm too convincing when inside I don't want her to go either. We have been camping out in the back yard in our tent for the last week or so.  I leave Quade in the house and take the monitor out with us and we get to wish on the stars and see shooting stars and best of all snuggle. She digs it. A good friend said that "I'm going to soak it all up now, because they won't think I'm cool forever." And I totally agree. I know she won't always want me to "snuggle buggle" with her, help pick her clothes out, help me do everything, or even just rock her when she doesn't feel good ( maybe not this one, because there have been times that I still want to sit on my moms lap). 

  Quade is such a boy it's unbelievable. Everything lately is a gun. His fork, his finger, any kind of stick. Boom, boom! Boom, boom! ALL DAY LONG! He climbs up everything, finds any kind of dirt or mud, and just loves to tease everyone. Especially his sister! His fits have started getting so much better and he can understand everything we say to him. He talks so good anymore, it amazing. He is still lovey, and will give most people kisses. He has started teething again. He's getting the upper eye teeth. And then we only have the bottom ones left. He is doing better than last time, so it's not as draining on me this time. I finally got Quade down to one nap a day!!!! This probably sounds backwards from most parents, but that two naps a day was crimping our summer time play time. So Austyn and him now nap one time a day at the same time. I'm loving it. 

  Jordan is still paying back trades he took from people for camping trips and hay season. And there is inevitably some sort of project in line for any spare moment he has. Right now he is working on the irrigation for the goat pen. We have to run irrigation this year to keep my grandmas water rights so we are putting it on in the goat pen to hopefully give them some more feed out there. And then he is getting ready for Austyns new play house that she is getting, then mowing and spraying and doing wood, etc. Gotta love country living. I know he loves it, but I'm sure he would probably like to get caught up too. Is there such a thing?

  And as for me, nothing is new. Trying to enjoy the kids as much as possible in every moment they have. I am truely blessed to have the best little family in the world. 

I just took the kids summer pictures and they turned out so good. I think I finally have some good enough ones to hang on the walls!

A Months Worth of Happenings...

  That was a long busy, but very fast month. If that makes any sense. We had a record breaking hay season this year. We got my Grandmas and my Aunts hay done in ONE week. And it went so smooth. Austyn and Quade loved hay season this year. Anything different and fun, they're into it:). We also went camping with good friends to Fall Creek. It was soooo much fun. A perfect place for kids to run free and just be kids. Austyn finished her first year of Preschool! Man were we ready for school to be out! We've still been enjoying Chocolate Chip. We get to take her horse camping with us in a few weeks. Austyn is getting much more confident with her. Austyn started swim lessons and Scandinavian dancing. And we built her a lemonade stand, which was the cutest thing I've ever seen. We took it to the end of my parents driveway during the Highway 36 garage sales. She made a killing. She was so into it the first day, but the second day she was over it. I feel like we definitely packed the month of June full to the brim. I'm hopeing the next few months will be a little slower. But that's what I always say and we end up crazy busy. 

  Jordan has been busy busy at work with overtime and paying back trades. He is itching to do some projects around the house, but we haven't decided which ones we are going to tackle this summer (or where the time will be to do them). We are thinking about enclosing the overhangs in front and back with toung and groove cedar. 

  Austyn is loving summer break. She's already whinning about going back to school in the fall. She is doing great in her swim lessons. She is jumping off the diving board now. Which she is very proud of herself for. She is a little uncoordinated with getting her arms and legs to work at the same time, but she is getting so much better. She also is a crazy girl about riding her quad. I'm blown away at how well she rides at 3 years old. She is still my best little buddy in the world. 

This is Austyn on her first day and last day of pre-school in the same outfit. She grew a little in 9 months!

The lemonade stand. Jordan built it in a trailer so we could move it with the quad. 

This was during hay season. I think she had a constant ice cream going the whole time. 

Austyn being silly on Chocolate Chip

Quade finding any kind of water. Even if it's a leaky hose he is in it. 

Austyn and Colton. First loves. 

Austyn and mema during hay season

  Quade is growing like a weed. His hair is amazing. It grows so fast he needs a hair cut about every 3-4 weeks. He is talking so much lately. It's adorable. He can say: everyone's names, a ton of animals and their sounds, "I did it", poop poo (then runs to the toilet and wants to sit on it), tractor, truck, all motor sounds, and so much more. He still has a very short temper! But has gotten slightly better with controlling it. I'm contemplating packing a spray bottle around for when he throws his little tantrums. :) He is very happy and friendly to those he knows. Otherwise it's touch and go. And the best thing he does is everything Austyn does. He watches her every move and then copies what she did. It's adorable. 

  I am just living the dream. Pretty much living on cloud nine. Between having the best kids ever, an amazing husband, being able to stay home with the kids, our new house, this incredible weather, being able to live so close to family, it can't get much better than this. I started another round of the diet. Been slacking on the workouts a little, but over all I'm still losing weight slowly. And believe it or not, I am starting to get a slight tan on my legs! Yea me! I've spent every nap time since it started getting warm in June laying in the sun. I'm determined to get tan this summer. 

  We have horse camping in Silver Lake on the 17th and then the Crab trip with the Firestation at the end of August. Those are the last camping trips planned. Another fun thing we get to do is go to the Emms baseball game. They have a firefighters night every year and we finally get to go this year. I'm excited. I love baseball! We still have trees down from the ice storm this winter. We have been trying to sell it, but no takers. So $50 a truck load. It almost all oak and there is probably a couple cords. If anyone knows of someone in need of wood for the winter. And it's really easy to get to. Jordan said he would even help load it and cut it into rounds if needed. 

  Have a safe 4th of July! 

The Joys of Teething . . .

  So we are back on the teething train again with Quade. And it's in full force. Quade is now getting his bottom two molars. Same as last time, except I know why he's fussy this time around. He has only been eating breakfast and maybe some sort of fruit or crackers during the evening. I'm sure you know how hard that is for me because I like my kids to eat, eat, eat. But I'm trying to be laid back and patient  about it. It is better knowing why he's acting like this, but holy smokes is it draining. And embarrassing at times too. I'm not one to throw excuses out for my kids if they are acting bad, but I try and slip it in there that he's teething so he's very sensitive;) All he has left are those 4 damn eye teeth. The worst ones! I hope he gets them all at once or maybe he is working on them now with his molars (I'm crossing my fingers). I know, I know, I'm such a whiner about this teething thing. But it's such a snowball effect with the whole family. Quade is extremely cranky for an extended period of time (we're talking weeks), which makes me tired and cranky, which in turn makes me short and impatient with Austyn. So by the time Jordan gets home (this could be days) we are all at each other's throats. 

  And coincidence or not, Austyn has been going through this not listening and "see what I can get away with stage". For her this is very uncharacteristic. She even got two time-outs at school:( I try and remember she is only 3. But I feel like that is a direct reflection on parenting when kids act up at school. So I took it very personal. This is the first undesirable stage Austyn has gone through and I'm trying to figure out a way to get through to her. I'll be honest here and admit that it's hard for me to 100% carry through on a punishment because I can't bear to have her feelings hurt. I am able to do about 80%. So I will put her behavior on my shoulders this time because I have slacked on my end. In my defense she has never really needed repeated discipline for anything, so I was just going along how we usually do instead of curbing it from the start. But now, I have to make up for it and she is the one going to pay for it. It breaks my heart, but if I let it get too out of control it will go south in a hurry.  

  I will tell you I do know how petty my parents dilemmas are and I'm am thankful that this is all I have to worry about. I know Quade will be back to his normal easy peasy self in a week or two, and Austyn will grow out of this stage quickly as well. I do have the worlds best two kids. But it's hard for me to switch from Austyn being my best little buddy to being the Mom and putting my foot down. It's so much more fun being friends and having fun than being the mean mommy who has to set rules and inforce them and the consequences that follow. Thankfully we don't have to deal with this much. 

My Best Four Legged Buddy . . .

  A few months ago I began to notice Koda (our dog) getting slower and stiffer to get up and down, especially if she had been doing something extra that day. I just thought that she was getting older. Then I started noticing Koda getting thinner and her coat looking raggy and she just didn't have her usual energy. So we decided to take her to the vet and get things checked out. We had just had her in for her annual exam in April. We went and she had already lost 3 pounds. The vet wanted to take blood and do a chest X-ray to check her heart. She has always had a heart mermur, so she wanted to make sure the heart wasn't enlarged. Everything came back normal to the vets dismay. She said with a dog of her age (8) and her health record (not good) she doesn't like to see these tests come back normal. She said cancer is usually the culprit in these situations:( She asked to do further testing to see where the cancer is, but we declined. And that was that. As we all know cancer is ....... (I can't even describe it)   The vet said to give it time and when she starts having more symptoms we can bring her back in and decide on some sort of comfort measures. Since the vet doesn't know where the cancer is, she couldn't elaborate on what to expect. 

  I got Koda when I was leaving for Kalamath Falls for college. I took her everywhere with me and she has always been an amazing dog. Yes, she has had quite the stent of health issues in her wonderful dog life, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. She kept me company while I was way from home by myself and I will forever be thankful for that. We spent many nights sleeping (or not) together because we were home sick and our neighbors were loud and scary. I know that she loves me. I will never have another dog that will live up to her. She was my best buddy when I needed it, and I was hers:) She is the most loyal dog I've ever seen. Sadly as we've added to our family she has been rooted out a bit. She now sleeps in the garage in her heated dog house (sometimes with her own special heater on extra cold nights) instead of right by my side in the house. I now feel more guilty than ever for this. 

  So for now we are just holding our breath hopeing and praying that the vet is wrong. But I knew what was going on before I made the appointment. That's why I made it. Mothers intuition I suppose. I'm unprepared and uncertain of the future with her. I'm not sure what to expect 1 year, 4 months, the unknown is very scary for me. And to think we are talking about a dog here. We will just deal with what's thrown at us and hope for the best. Koda has three people in this world that she lives and breaths for, my Dad, Jordan, and myself. She literally could care less about anyone else. And I can tell you that all three of us are heart broken already. I'm not sure I've ever seen Jordan get so emotional when I told him what the vet said. We were both very sad campers:( I can't even imagine what it will be like when "the DAY" comes. 

  I hate writing sad blogs, but for some reason it makes me feel better. Please keep Koda in your thoughts and prayers to help keep her happy and peaceful.