From the husband (geek alert!!!)

I thought I would contribute something to this blog site besides my beautiful wife. Greetings to all of those that follow this blog. As many of you know I am a bit of a geek. Okay, complete geek. Recently, Microsoft had the brilliant notion to set out to do a semi-grassroots campaign for their new Windows 7 operating system. As luck would have it, I was selected to host a party (for a computer product, GEEK!!!) along with a few hundred other people accross the country. I thought it might be fun. Rayna is up for entertaining no matter what the occasion, even a computer one. Anyway, part of the appeal to do it was that they are sending baloons, streamers, decorations and a free copy of the software for host this thing. I am doing the party on October 22nd, the release date of Windows 7. I imagine there will be pictures of the pocket protector group that will be here, up shortly after the party. So anyone that has a techie boyfriend/husband can eat their hearts out. Just kidding, sort of.
Anthony

First Day of School

At long last the day has finally arrived. Yeah! The kids are going back to school. It has been a wonderful summer with lots of traveling, family reunions, and lots of fun. However, it was time for them to go back to school where they have lots of things to learn and homework to do. I am tired of hearing "I'm bored...What can I do?" "Do I have to play with him/her?" ETC. Gone are their days of sleeping in and watching TV. I am so glad I have a no TV / Wii during the week policy. After a night of no sleep, I swear it was like Christmas at our house last night. the kids were finally up at 6:00 am and getting ready for the day. Kierstin is in 5th grade this year and is at Millicoma Intermediate School. She was excited for a new school but nervous about leaving her elementary school and all the familiar faces. I assured her that she will meet friends and staff. Noah was just glad to go to school. He was happy to have lunch and recess with his friends. Jonah was SAD that sissy and brother were leaving him at home with mom. However, his tune quickly changed when I took him out to breakfast to celebrate back to school. All in all it is bound to be an exciting year. Here are some pictures from the first day...

Summer Time

WOW! I can't believe that summer is almost over. It sure has flown by. We had two vacations and lots of company. Our 1st trip to Utah was amazing! We spent 3 days with my dad's family and then went south to Arches, Dead Horse Point, and my personal favorite - Goblin Valley. Sharing some of my favorite vacation spots with my children was so awesome! I hope that they will have some wonderful memories to share with their families some day. Our next trip was Fox Family Reunion at Waldo Lake, near Eugene. It was a total bust! The lake was pristine and so beautiful the kids loved kayaking and riding in Grandpa's sailboat. However, the mosquitoes were so bad that most people left, so we tried again and set up camp by Bend. Pioneer Ford on the Metoilous river was peaceful, MUCH less bugs, and lots of fun. We took the boats over to Suttle lake and had another day on the water. I definitely have water babies!!! Kierstin went to ID to visit her best friend and had a wonderful visit. She is currently visiting friends in Portland. Noah has been to Portland to visit our good friends and lots of play days with kids around the neighborhood. Jonah is just busy hanging with all of our family that has come to visit and enjoying all of our day trips. We are enjoying all of our friends and family that have been to visit us and the beach. Hope to see you soon! Watch for more details and pictures soon...

Life...

Life can be hard sometimes. We don't always know how or why but there has to be a plan for each of us. Our family recently suffered a loss that we hadn't even shared yet. We were going to be blessed with twins in January. However, they were not meant to come to our family at this time. We are sad but know that we still have each other and that means SO MUCH. We are incredibly grateful for our loving family and friends who supported us through this time. Thank you for blessing our lives with your love and support. We appreciate all you do!

"Mom, my headache hurts"

I love my boys! They are wonderful. However, I do not love all the climbing, jumping, and playing that ends in diaster. One such example would be yesterday evening... Jonah was at Marissa and Becca's for the day while I was working. I had just gotten off work and was headed to 4th grade parent orientation at the middle school. (For Kierstin next year - 5th grade.) I called to check on the boys and Noah answered the phone. I hear Marissa in the background telling him not to say anything. At this point my mom radar is on overdrive. She says, "hello" and I say, "what is wrong?" She then proceeeds to tell me how Jonah was standing in the recliner and flipped it over backwards thus hitting the back of his head on the wall and then the coffee table. I immediately changed my course and headed back to get Jonah. Marissa said the goose egg on his head was "really" big and that he was acting funny. OH GREAT! When I arrived I discovered the goose egg was as big as my fist and he was sort of in a daze. He didn't even want to come to me, he just wanted Rissa. So, off to the ER we went. When we pulled into the parking lot at the hospital he says to me, "Mom, my headache hurts." I told him we were going to see a doctor and they would help him feel better. The place was pretty empty so we were triaged pretty fast. I have never gotten in a room so fast except for with an asthma attack. We were told to change him into a gown for CT and the doctor would be in. By this time Jonah had started reacting a little and was beginning to talk to me and interact with the nurses. The ER doctor decided the CT wasn't necessary but that he did indeed have a concussion. No bikes, no jumping, or anything that requires balance for a week. How exactly do you stop a 2 year old was doing those things? All in all he is doing well. He did however wake up this morning saying, "Mom, my headache hurts."