More Snow

More snow rolled in about 12:00 today. It hasn't stopped yet! We stocked up on a few groceries and spent the afternoon and part of the evening playing in the snow. The air is cold but feels so fresh and everything looks so pretty. As long as the wind doesn't blow to hard we are happy.

Let it Snow

We love the snow. Two days of snow. We ended up with six + inches and two more days of below freezing temps and then more snow expected. Yay! Brian has been lucky enough to be off work since Wednesday due to Fort Lewis being closed. We have made the most of our snow days playing, drinking hot cocoa, sitting in front of the fire and listening to Christmas music. We are lucky that we did not have to go anywhere and could enjoy it.

Pictures

We have been working on potty training with River. Actually he has mostly been training himself. He doesn't like to go # 2 in his pull up. Lately it has been taking a long time for him to go so I gave him a book to help things along.

River watching his first Charlie Brown Special. He knew it was a treat to get to stay up late and watch it.

I'm Pregnant!

Brian and I have known we are expecting or second child for about a month now. Alot of you reading this will already know too, but there it is, the big news. We are, of course, very excited. I have been feeling well. Just an occasional day of nausea and always tired. I am 8 weeks today and see my doctor for my first real appointment on the 15th. I am already starting to form a little pouch. I don't think anyone can notice yet but I do and so does Brian. Here we go again!

Our Weekend

Before

After

Theese pictures don't really do justice to the fabulous job Brian did. It really does look nice. I guess I may have been in a hurry taking the pix.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my parents house. Turkey dinner with all the trimmings. We also made the most of the long weekend. Our Christmas lights are up. This is the first year we have ever had them up so early. It is usually not a job that Brian relishes but this year he was excited to do it for River. River was so excited to see them up and even had to show them to Papa when he came by. I have been busy making snowflakes that we will hang from the ceiling when we decorate the inside.

On another note, my Dad had some friends of a friend come by to look at finishing up our bathroom. (from the incident this summer) We had only really got the tear out done and Dad and Brian got the bathtub back in and plumbed. They came by on Satburday and tiled the shower surround and floor and sheet rocked and textured the walls. YEAH!! They did a great job, gave us a good deal and best of all we did not have to spend endless weekends doing it ourselves. They started at 10 on Saturday and worked until midnight to get it done in one day. We are happy and relived. We just have to install the shower fixtures, toilet and sink. Too easy! Oh yeah, and paint.

ZOO

Last Sunday we took River to the zoo. We have taken him once before but he was too young to enjoy it. We all had a fun time and the weather was nice, just a little cool. River loved being at the zoo, walking around and exploring but was really not interested in the animals. Brian and I had high hopes of watching his excitement at the animals. That was not to be. We even got to see them feeding the whales. As we were leaving the aquarium we got to see a shark open it's mouth to let the little fish clean it's teeth. That was very neat and Brian got a great picture. After a quick tour of the animal exhibits and aquarium River played at the kids area. He had a blast. It was good to spend a sunny day outside enjoying each other's company.

First Movie

Brian had Tuesday off work for Veteran's Day. After getting our new camera we just couldn't make ourselves go back home. It was a grey, rainy day. We decided to go to "The Rock" for pizza. It happens to be right next to the movie theater. In an effort to pass the rainy day Brian suggested that we try to take River to a movie. Madagascar 2 was playing. We got our tickets and got settled in. River seemed to be excited about being there. The previews started and he was amazed. That wore off quickly. Soon, the seats became the most interesting part. In a effort to refocus him Brian took him to get popcorn. He liked that and sat still for about 10 minutes. A bit more restlessness a few attempts by us to point out the movie and now River is most interested in hanging out in the aisle. That didn't last long. He noticed that the theater is sloped and proceeded to run up and down the "hill". We decided it was time to leave. Really, we got through about half the movie and it was more success than we hoped for. Once outside River had a meltdown because he did not want to leave and wanted to watch the movie that he hadn't paid any attention to. I guess he had fun. Brian and I enjoyed ourselves too. It was a fun day and a great distraction from the rain.

Halloween

Our camera broke at the pumpkin patch. I am waiting to get pictures from family to post. River was the CUTEST scarecrow. He just looked adorable. We had such a fun Halloween. We started the evening by going to our 2 neighbors. River knows all about candy now so he was very interested in getting into his pumpkin to get at the candy. After that we headed to Centralia. Our first stop was to meet Aunt, Uncle and cousins for trick or treat at the outlet mall. There were so may kids dressed up. River was in wide eyed amazement. He was so busy looking around and taking it in that he didn't even care about getting candy. With just a bit of instruction he followed his cousins from store to store to get his candy. He seemed so big! Next stop, Grandma and Papa's for pizza and more tick or treating. After showing off costumes and taking a break for some food we went around the nieghborhood. River was so cute following his cousins and jockeying for position at the door steps. We lucked out with NO rain. It had rained earlier in the day but we had a nice evening and night. We were able to spend more time back at Grandma's and Papa's checking out the loot and just having fun. River fell asleep in the truck on the way home.

October

Somehow the month of October got away from me. I did manage to take the time to get a few pictures of River.

River has learned to pedal his trike all by himself. He took a few independent pedals while Brian was away in September, but these pictures show his first "real" bike riding.

Aunt Lori's Birthday at the Olympic Club, Centralia

Our visit to the pumpkin patch. We go to Hunter's right down the road. It was a gorgeous day. In addition to getting pumpkins, River got to go on pony rides, a train ride and see the animals. Just like last year his favorite part was riding the tractor to and from the patch.

Big Boy Bed

We moved River into a twin bed with a bed rail about a month ago. It occurred to me I shouldn't let the event go unannounced. The transition seemed to go pretty easy. He definitely liked his new bed and stayed there for the most part. He has had some practice learning to stay in bed while camping. He has his own bed with bed rail in the camper. Bed time had become a bit of an issue since Daddy has been gone but that should resolve itself with some time or at least when Brian gets back.

The Libray.....Who Knew?

River has just recently showed an interest in books or an ability to sit still to have one read to him. I began to notice that we have a short supply of really good books to read, so I have been planning a trip to the library. Today was the day. I had no idea picking out books for River would be so fun or exciting! The selection of books seemed almost infinite. The illustrations in kids books are amazing! The subject matter to choose from was impressive. I made sure to get a few books about fall, some good nite books, the standard plane and fireman books, as well as a selection of books centered around nature or animals. We have been to the library many times before but River always seemed to consider this playtime. Today he was able to attempt to play with the other kids while I had all the time I wanted to get him books. He even took some time to look at a few books. I am excited at the thought of all the fun trips we can take to the library and the great times we will have reading new books together.

Labor Day Weekend

We had the BEST Labor Day weekend. We went to Ilwaco. Spent time at Cape Disappointment and Long Beach too. We had a nice camping spot in the trees. My parents and my sister and her family came also. We had a campfire every nite. Warm days and chilly nites.

Cape Disappointment is one of the most beautiful places ever. We spent time on the beach below the high rock cliffs as well as hiking to lighthouses and enjoying the fantastic views. One of the beaches had tons of driftwood and we had fun exploring all the forts people had made with it. Ilwaco has a nice Farmers market on Saturdays.

Brian and I were were lucky enough to be able to spend an extra day. We spent time relaxing but we also took an amazing little hike to the beach through Beards Hollow. We were rewarded with some of the best beach views. Look at the photo of Brian on the rocks. The weather was warm and there were no crowds. It could not have been more perfect. The last day we packed up and parked the camper at the boardwalk at Long Beach. After getting ice cream, we dug and decorated a big hole in the sand for River. It was fun. It was a great last weekend before Brian took his trip to Germany. We miss him so much especially River.

Long Lake

My sister and I made one of our many annual trips to the Lake today. We had fun watching and swimming with the kids. We have been doing this ever since River was about 4 months old. We really noticed how much the kids have all grown. River started out in a baby carrier and stroller being completely protected from the sun to wading and playing and being watched by a nervous Mom. Now he wears his life jacket and plays by himself while I relax in the grass. Josie has made progress to. She used to be by the shore or only out with Lori. Now she has a big girl life jacket and swims where she can't touch. Carson too! Carson is beginning to float and swim with no life jacket. He can even jump right off the dock by himself with no fear at all.

So far we have taken 3 trips in the camper. Two to Westport and one to Lake Quinault rain forest. We had a good time at the rain forest. It was so pretty there. We stayed in a RV park right on the lake with big trees around us. We explored the area and drove all through the woods. We found a great primitive campground along the river that we will picnic at the next time we go. River threw rocks into the river and Foxy caught one in her mouth! She ended up with a broken canine tooth. Happily she's not in pain but I will have to take her to the vet to have it removed before it rots. The camera battery died as soon as we got there, so no pics. To bad!

We had some of the work done on our bathroom. It has been stripped to the 2x4's, all the rot removed and a new sub floor installed. We need to do all the finish work but have put it on the back burner until fall.

River is changing everyday. He is getting to be more and more like a little boy. No baby is left in him. He is so much fun to talk to now. We have full conversation's and he shares his observations with us. I love it! He is getting more silly and likes to try to get us or play jokes on us. He is really getting to be a good little boy. He follows instruction with out fighting me about it. I can let him do more things he wants because he listens to me so much better. He can walk across the parking lot without holding my hand because he stays with me and looks for cars by himself. He is getting to walk around in the grocery store without being in the cart. No more fights about getting into his car seat because he is big enough to do it by himself now. Gaining some more independence seems to make him happy, but he is still my little cuddle boy. I get more kisses and more loves now too.

All in all things have started to settle down for us. We are caught up on house projects and chores and have settled into a routine of work week followed by camping on the weekend. The best part of having a camper is that it is a breeze to get ready to go and to unpack. Brian has a project to finish in our front yard and that's about it. I will try to get some photos from around the house posted this week.

July Photos

First Trip in Camper

Fourth of July at Westport

New Purchase and an Unfortunate Discovery

Last week Brian and I made a purchase. We got a fifth wheel camper. We love it! It is perfect for family use. It has 2 sets of bunk beds and a queen size bed, plenty of room to move around too. We are going to Westport this weekend for our first trip. It is a flat drive and an easier first trip. Driving and setting it up is not really hard but there is a learning curve. Brian drove it home and parked it in our drive way like a pro. It was a tight squeeze to get it parked but he managed well. My Mom and Dad came with us to help out a bit. I have started to stock it with all the essentials...coffee pot, toaster, tooth brushes and such. We already have plenty of cooking gear from tenting. We have been so busy we are looking forward to taking River to the beach, being together and just relaxing.

Speaking of busy, the day after we brought our camper home we started a minor house project. We thought we needed to replace the wax seal on the toilet and decided to tile the floor while we had the toilet out. Turns out the toilet was fine. However, the bathtub faucet was not. It has been leaking for a very long time. You might wonder how we know it has been a long time. Well we discovered that most of out upstairs bathroom is rotten. Parts of the walls, 2x4's, flooring, everywhere. It's bad, very bad. We may even has to replace floor joists. We won't know until it is completely riped out. Brian started but we decided to see if our home owners would pay, which they do, at least for most. We are looking for a contractor and getting bids. We have only had one so far but it seems we are about $1000 off. We had already taken the house off the market. I guess we knew that something like this could happen with an older house. We are just relived that we don't have to fix it ourselves and are planning on dooing as much camping as we can while dealing with the situation in between. We were told it could take up to two weeks to repair. No one can even start until next week. So that's that, nothing left to do but get it fixed. In the end we will end up having a much nicer bathroom.

Vacation Photos.....Finally!

Jamestown

Busch Gardens








Cute Pictures

My camera battery died so stay posted for Fontana photos