Winter X Games

Jake took on two new winter sports this month. After seeing the hockey game he said he wanted to learn how to skate, so last Saturday we trekked out to Idaho Ice World and lit 13.00 on fire. No, it was not a successful venture. Jake was excited to try it until he actually got on the ice and realized how difficult it was to stand up, much less actually move anywhere. It was very crowded and the people whizzing by him accompanied by loud music didn't help the situation. Brian and Jake made it around the rink once- and that was only because once you start you can't go backwards to escape the rink! The afternoon was somewhat salvaged by the fact that there was a local hockey game going on in the next ice rink, so we watched that and Jake got a free puck out of the deal (well... I guess technically it was a 13.00 puck).

This weekend's adventure was MUCH more fun! We went up to the local ski resort (Bogus Basin) and tried their tubing hill. It was a drop dead gorgeous day (in the high 40's) and both Jake and Gooeys were in the best of spirts. Jake and his daddy tubed together for an hour while Gooeys and I watched (being 8 months pregnant I am bummed to have to sit out all the fun stuff this year!), then we ate lunch at the lodge and watched the skiers. It is a great resort- very family friendly, inexpensive (especially when compared to Squaw Valley or the like), and close. It was only 3 Batman episodes roundtrip. We are looking forward to putting Jake in ski lessons next winter, Brian learning to snowboard, and me getting on skis again after a 10 year hiatus.

We came home and watched the Super Bowl and played all afternoon. It was one of those days that you keep looking at your kids, husband, etc... and wonder how you got this lucky.

Hockey Night in Idaho

Last Saturday, I took Jake to his first hockey game. The Idaho Steelheads are our local minor league hockey team - a feeder team for the Dallas Stars system. We had a very good time and Jake really liked his first exposure to the sport. For those that have never been, you are missing out. I am not a big hockey fan, I don't follow the sport, don't watch the game on tv - but given the opportunity to see a game live, I would never turn it down. Strictly based on the on the field product- hockey is my favorite sport to watch live. I love baseball - but it is a whole product (sunny days, hot dogs, sunflower seeds, it 's the sum of it's parts) - but hockey is so fast, so exciting....it's really not to be missed.

The Qwest arena here is a really nice building, and a great place to see a game. I was a little worried as hockey is such a violent sport and the crowd is always a little rough and tumble to begin with....but I had nothing to worry about. There was an announcement made before the game started that anyone using profanity would be ejected from the arena....but I don't think it was necessary, I didn't hear any swearwords that didn't originate from yours truly (I REALLY am a good role model!). There were a couple of good fights and a lot of scoring (Steelheads 3, Phoenix Roadrunners 6), so it was a really fun game to watch.

We had seats right behind the penalty box (literally, we were on the glass). Jake got a big kick out of the hockey guys getting sent to timeout for misbehaving, it was a lot of fun to watch. Jake knows that he can't ever play hockey for real on a team and seems to be okay with it, because of his kidney problem - but he still wants to learn to skate and play with his friends - and that's okay, long as it's not full contact.

Jake did great, he was a trooper and wanted to stay until the end. The game didn't finish until after 10:00, we got home close to 11:00. Jake and I crashed out in the guestroom so as to not wake Tanner and Marisa. We had a really good time, but have had a sleep deprived pre-schooler for the past few days. Parents out there know what that's like, for the rest of you...imagine wishing for death by fire ants....and then you have an idea what they can be like!

Snow Day

We woke to a couple inches of snow this morning so in the afternoon we headed out behind our house for some sledding fun. We weren't sure if Jake would enjoy it or not, but as you can see both he and his father had a blast! The sleds were Christmas gifts from Auntie Sue this year and I am sure they will be used for many years to come.

Roomies!

While I was busy in California, Brian was hard at work painting and redecorating the boys' room. Up until now the boys were in separate bedrooms, but we decided with the impending arrival of their sister, they would be moving in together. We were both a little concerned with how it would work out, but so far it has been GREAT. Jake, who used to call out to us incessantly at bedtime and think of any ploy to make us stay in there longer ( drink, potty, food, headache, monsters, "bad thoughts", etc...) now knows that Gooeys is sleeping right below him and if he yells out he will wake up his brother. He has been a champ.

The first week as roommates could have been horrible, as Tanner is getting 3 molars right now and is not, to put it mildly, sleeping well at night. In fact, he spent several nights screaming bloody murder- all of which Jake slept through (Brian and I weren't quite so lucky!). Poor guy. We are trying everything, but he is just not happy. Anyway... the room used to be neutral in color (boring!) and now is bright red with white trim and navy blue accents. Brian did such a great job on it. Everytime I walk in it makes me smile :) I think being roommates will help make the boys closer- already we have walked in several times in the morning to find Jake smiling down at Tanner from his bunk and Tanner looking up at him from his crib. We're both glad we decided to make this transition before Faith arrives.

Yes, we have decided on a new name. Our daughter will be called: FAITH WILDER (yes, as in "laura ingalls"). Most of the feedback so far has been something along the lines of " Oh, Faith is such a pretty name. ...but what's up with the "Wilder" part?". In answer to that: We just like the sound of it. "Faith" is so pure and sweet, "Wilder" adds a little edginess and that little bit of uniqueness that we are seeking. She'll need to be a little bit of an angel and a little bit devilish to keep up with her two big brothers :)

Our First Trip "Home"

The boys and I spent a full seven days in CA visiting all sorts of family and friends. Auntie Sue was kind enough to host us for the entire trip- and what a wonderful hostess she is! In true A.S. style she had stocked the kitchen with many "kid" treats and "child friendly" dinners, as well as cooking ahead of time several well balanced meals for us. There were new toys and jammies to be had, and by the end of the first hour toys were strewn from wall to wall and Jake was happy as a clam to have his favorite playmate back. A.S never complained about the mess or the chaos- even though I am sure she was exhausted by us. It was wonderful to spend time with her. Tanner, on the other hand, was less than amused. He spent the entire week crying every time I left his eyesight. It became easier just to pick him up and take him with me everywhere then to listen to his plaintive yells as I tried to use the bathroom in peace. Needless to say it was exhausting! I managed to fit in visits with lots of different people, some for multiple visits. It was rejuvenating to be around familiar faces and to fall back into the wonderful comfort zone of old friends. Lisa Perotti arranged for lots of people from Sycamore to come to one house and within minutes it felt as if I had never left. It definitely made me yearn for my old job- the camaraderie that exists there is impossible to replace.

The flight home was uneventful- but definitely made me realize that driving would have been easier. Really- a ten hour drive is nothing compared to : two hours at the airport prior to the flight; trying to check in 3 suitcases, 2 carseats, 1 stroller curbside with two small children in a line that went forever; going through security trying to hold a baby, keep an eye on Jake, remove shoes and fold up stroller all at the same time while people either huff and puff in annoyance or look on in pity; waiting for the flight, entertaining a very mobile 1 year old on two separate flights (one to Reno and one to Boise), all the while trying to keep Jake occupied with plenty of snacks, toys, etc... Really, a drive in my car, with my music, Jake's DVD player, and the ability to stop at anytime for a break really beats air travel in my book.

But, we made it home safely. Both boys were THRILLED to death to see their daddy. I wish I had a video of Jake making a beeline for Brian's arms while trailing his Batman suitcase behind him and of Tanner's face lighting up when he saw him, chanting "DA DA DA DA DA DA!!!" at the top of his lungs.

After a weekend spent resettling at home and recuperating from having family at our house for two weeks and being gone for a week, I returned to work on Monday. I have to say it is nice to be back. Most of you know how I crave routine. Having a three week break was wonderful, but it also reminded me of why I work outside the home :)

I think the nicest thing about coming home was realizing that the title of this post isn't accuarate. I didn't "go home" to California- I came home when I returned to Boise. Of course I miss everyone already and can't wait to have more visitors to our house and to return to CA (possibly this summer) to show off our new baby girl, but it sure is nice to feel at ease here in Idaho.

PS. Baby Girl #1's name has changed. Or will be. We can't agree on a spelling for Kacie, KC, Casey, Kasey, etc.... so we are back to the drawing board. We have a few ideas but are not sure if we will be sharing them ahead of time or not. But don't be surprised when you receive a birth announcement for little Bertha Gertrude :)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! As you can see, we had a great Christmas here at the Alan Family digs. Our first Christmas in Idaho was indeed, a White Christmas. We had snow several days before Christmas, but it has been cold enough that some of it (enough to build a very anemic snowman anyways) was still on the ground when Christmas rolled around. The boys both got sleds from their Aunite Sue so we are waiting for the next snowfall to try them out as everything has melted at this point.

Cori came in last week and has been enjoying Boise and helping with the final Christmas set up, and Kim, Bill, Aidan and Abby came in last Saturday...so we have a houseful of family and kids! Christmas was very exciting as Jake gets more and more into it as he gets a little older, so it was fun to watch him get excited this year. He counted down the days on his advent calendar and got more and more excited as the days got closer and closer. Tanner is just pretty much always in a great mood, regardless of the season, so he was his normal cheerful self. Both Jake and Tanner have loved having their proxy other selves here (in Aidan and Abby) and they have been having a great time playing together. Adian seems to really enjoy watching Tanner, but I think his favorite relative has to be Milo, he sits and stares at him, and if he's sitting close enough, reaches out to pet him.

The boys loved all their toys and clothes, Jake was exclaiming, "Oh, this is just what I wanted!" all morning as the loot plie kept growing and growing. With the kids still being little, and of short attention span, we took a few breaks in the present opening for; breakfast, morning naps, lunch, afternoon naps...we finished up a little before 4:00. Kim and Bill are leaving tomorrow and Cori, Marisa and the kids leave on Friday for a week in CA. Me?.... I'm painting the boys bedroom so Jake and Tanner can become roomies when they get home so we can get KC's room ready for her in two short months. You know how it is with us, time never slows down, it's always something!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Love,
The Alans

Happy Blogirthday!!!!!

The blog is one year old today! This has been such great way for us to chronicle our lives, especially in Tanners first year, the move to Boise, gettting ready for KC, there has been a lot going on. We have a whole year of stories to look back on, and, the major benefit, no need to do a Christmas letter!

Here is to another great year ahead - and a whole buch more stories from the Alan Family. Happy Blogirthday!

Preschool Christmas Show

Brian and I attended our first ever preschool holiday performance last weekend. The kids performed two holiday classics- Rudolph and Jingle Bells (second picture)- as well as reciting several poems (first picture). Jake loved being dressed up and on stage. He had been giving us little sneak previews all week (let's just say if I never hear Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer again it will be too soon!). In his typical manner, he took his role quite seriously and we played the part of proud parents (sans video camera) very well. It was quite a party that followed. There was a full holiday feast and Santa arrived with presents for every child. Jake loved him; Tanner screamed.

I finished my last day of work on Friday and am now in the midst of a three week vacation. It couldn't have come any sooner for my taste. I was ready for a break. My mom arrived on Saturday and we have been going, going, going ever since. Catching up on Dr/Dentist appointments for me and the boys, as well as shopping, eating well, and just generally hanging out. Kim and her family arrive on Saturday morning. Let the craziness begin!!!

Love to everyone and Happiest of Holidays to all :)

The Alan Boys Visit Santa

Two drastically different reactions, as you can see. Tanner was so traumatized he went home and promptly took a three hour nap. Jake was thrilled- and so amazed that Santa had read his letter and gotten him the ball that he had wanted from the mall. Innocence at Christmas is a wonderful thing :)

We got our tree and decorated the house on Sunday night. Brian took his customary stance of unwrapping each ornament and handing it to a family member. Jake hung the lightweight ornaments on branches he could reach, I hung the heavy ones (and rehung the ones of Jake's that fell off), and Gooeys (that's Tanner for those of you not clued into his nickname) spent the evening taking the ornaments that Jake had hung on low branches off the tree and throwing them on the ground in pure delight. We had our traditional (tradition from my family) "snacky" dinner which consisted of salami, several types of cheese, crackers, and (a new addition from the Alan family)- pigs in a blanket. Yes, I am craving those with this pregnancy, too!

With the holidays upon us life is hectic, but(not to sound too trite) so full of joy. We are so excited to have Kim's family and my mom join us for our first Christmas in Boise- the first time we've had a big enough house to host the celebration! We just wish more people could join us. Love to everyone, near and far.

Thanksgiving Roadie

We took the Alan Family Thanksgiving on the road this year, thanks to the gracious hospitality of the Peterson/Thuma clan in Seattle. We really didn't have any plans on our own, and after years of guilt of not seeing their new home yet (with gorgeous views of Puget Sound). We loaded up the kids in the Suburban and headed out Wednesday night.

We hit a massive snowstorm coming over the pass into Oregon, slowed down to about 5 miles an hour, had me leaning with head up aginst my window and Marisa's head up against hers trying to see if either of us could see the guard rail, or the center rail, or the lane lines, it was REALLY FUN. Marisa called her sister to give our approximate coordinates in case we ended up like the Donner Party (never mind the other 900 cars on the road with us....). We could have driven straight thru, but Jake just couldn't get to sleep in the car, so we stopped in SE Washington for the night. At this point, Tanner, who HAD been asleep was WIDE awake and ready to play. So we didn't get to sleep until 11:30 or so and Tanner, who was still on Mountain Time, woke up at 5:15 and was ready to move. I took him out ot the 24 hour Walmart behind the hotel to kill some time. When we got back, Marisa and Jake were wide awake and we were on the road again @ 7:30 AM. So we rented a hotel room for about 8 hours....

We hit a snowstorm again coming over the pass down into Seattle, but in daylight it wasn't so bad. We got to Lisa and Johns' at about 12:00 or so on Thanksgiving Day. Jake had a great time with his cousins and Lisa fixed an amazing Thanksgiving Dinner.

The next day we went to the Seattle Christmas parade downtown (photos above) it was FREEZING cold but all of the kids, Tanner included, had a great time. Quincys' pink cowboy hat was the hit of the parade and the kids hoarded about 9 lbs. of candy canes, chocolate and other treats that were being passed out. The parade was a lot of fun, marching bands, unicyclists, cheerleaders, it was great. We hit the doughnut place and then back home.

We also visited the botanical gardens light display the following night which was very cool and the kids had a really good time. But I think that the best part of the trip was just the visit. We had a really good time, Jake played great with his cousins, Tanner amused himself for the most part and we were able to talk and catch up with Lisa and John. Their house is amazing and they have some grand plans in mind, best of luck, I know I couldn't go through it again just yet. We just had a good visit and it was really nice to spend time with family.

We awoke to snow on Sunday and set out for the trip home before 8:30. Based on the weather forecast, we went south through Portland and across the Columbia River back home to try to avoid one of the passes. The other, which we can't avoid, wasn't snowing but was very icy (trucks had to put on chains) so the going was very slow. The drive home, including stops took about 13 hours Jake was a trooper and watched about 10.5 hours of movies the ENTIRE way. Tanner was back and forth between asleep and upset so Marisa had her hands full. Aside from the inevitable argument about why the stereo volume NEEDS to be that loud, it was a nice trip home.

Thanks to Lisa, John, Quincy & Jessa for a great visit and a great Thanksgiving.

A Christmas Wish....Jake's Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,
I love you and I like you and I like the things that you do. And I like the presents that you bring.
I want you to bring me a driving truck, not a real one, but a pretend one that I can drive in. I'd also like the bouncy ball that comes back to you like we saw at the mall. And I want a new baseball bat and a new helmet. Please bring mommy and daddy adult presents and baby presents for Tanner.

In my stocking I want candy! My favorite is candy canes, chocolate, and gum and lollypops. Plain pink ones. I hope you bring me green presents. And one blue, one purple, one red, and one yellow. Tell the reindeer to run to Jake's house.

I love you. There's snow here and you might slip so bring some winter stuff because it's snowing out in Boise. And wear warm clothes.

I'll go over to your house when you go to sleep, then when it's nighttime and while you're sleeping I'll sneak in and give you toys that you can give to the firemen and other people that need toys because I don't need anymore toys. That's why I'm giving some away.

JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJAKE

Tanner Turns One!

I can't believe my little guy is a year old already! He came home from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day 2005 to a full feast prepared by his Grandma Mary and Auntie Sue. Now he is a year old and ready to celebrate his 2nd Thanksgiving in Seattle. Trite, yes, but "where did the time go???"

We had a small family b'day party last night. Tanner loved his birthday cake and even though he paid more attention to the remote controls than his presents, he was excited by the gifts, too. He especially liked his ride on truck and spinning monkey. The party ended abruptly when, while playing "open and close the kitchen drawers repeatedly" he slammed his fingers and fell apart. He was exhausted at that point and was quite content to take his bottle and go to bed.

Since Tanner, being a second child, doesn't have an official baby book (Poor KC- she'll be lucky if we get any pictures of her!) I wanted to write a few things here about my boy that I want to remember years from now.

• He weighs 18 pounds and has six teeth (4 top and 2 bottom)

• His favorite game is the "Thank You Game" in which he hands us something repeatedly, we take it, say "thank you", then hand it back. At which point he says his version of "thank you" (only recognizable at this point to trained mom and dad ears). He claps and giggles each time, so proud of himself.
• He loves to play Tanner Ball with his brother. This is a game in which Jake collects all the balls he can find, puts them on the ottoman and Tanner proceeds to knock them all off one by one. Again, this is accompanied by lots of giggles and claps.
• He says "dada" and "mama". His face lights up when he sees daddy.
  
• He loves to play with remote controls (and lord knows there are plenty of those around our house!). These, for some reason, are much more interesting than any of his colorful toys.
• He sleeps 12 hours a night-goes down without a fuss around 6:30 or 7.
  
• He is easy going and loving. He is a cuddler just like his brother.
• He LOVES to eat. Anything. Lots of it. Favorites: waffles, graham crackers, ravioli, yogurt
  
• He is still an army crawler. He never got past the "crawling under barbed wire" mode of travel, but he does it quickly and efficiently.
• He loves to play in the hot tub and bathtub
• He is his big brother's biggest fan

Happy Birthday, Little Man. You give me more joy than I could possibly describe. I can't wait to see what the years ahead hold for you.

If it's not winter, you sure fooled me.....

The weather has been very varied (how's that for turn of phrase?) this month so far. We have had severe wind/snow storms up in Northern Idaho that closed roads, schools and sent about 50 claims our way in an area that gets 3-5 in that same time span. In the Boise area the temps have dropped into the low 30's but today were up into the high 60's, so very wierd. We are starting to get geared up for the winter months. We just got snow tires on the suburban, I've got our patio furniture stored away, and I started looking at snow shovels last weekend at the Home Depot.

We drove up to the lower summit of Bogus Basin last weekend to let the kids play in the snow. We were at about 6800 feet, and there was some pretty good snow up there. The resort is still closed, but we were able to play around enough for us to find out that we probably need some better snow clothes for us and the kids. Most of that snow has melted again, but there is still snow on the highest peaks up by Bogus and all around the Treasure Valley. We had a good time in the snow, but have some time until it's here in earnest.

Jake and I decided to camp out in the backyard last weekend before it really gets too cold. He was very excited for some Daddy/Jake time (I think Marisa was almost as excited for some ER/Survivor time). We bought some special snacks at the grocery store, set up the tents, brought out our sleeping bags and some books and flashlights, and set up camp. We went out to our tent after dinner, had some Hostess doughnuts for dessert, read a whole "mess of books" by flashlight, listed to some lullabies via iPod, and snuggled in with our ski caps on to keep us warm.

It got COLD. Jake lasted until about midnight when he woke up and asked if we could go inside and sleep, but he wanted to get up in the morning and go back out to the tent to have our morning snacks (that kid would scale Everest if you told him there were cookies at the top). We slept in the guest room and had a very good time. It was Daddy/Jake time well spent, and some good time out doors before we get cooped up for the winter.

"Well the weather outside is frightful...."

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

Happy Halloween a little bit late. We had a very good Halloween.... lots of fun....It was COLD here. I think Halloween night was in the low 30's but the week leading up to that the mornings were in the teens and there has been some light snow dusting on some of the lower peaks around Boise, so winter is definately on the way.

Trick or treating is so different here than it was in Livermore. This is such a young neighborhood. In Livermore we usually bought a couple of bags of candy, knowing that we would have leftovers for awhile (which was a good thing). Here we bought two of the big bags and had to shut down when we ran out of candy before 8:00. Compared to the 20 or so trick-or-treaters we got in Livermore, we got well over 100 here. The streets were a madhouse when we were out with Jake - Tanner got tired and I had to bring him home - then the doorbell rang off of the hook, and Jake got to pass out candy to the older kids (which he loved).

Jake went out trick-or-treating with his friend Cole, pictured above. He lives right down the street from us and is one of Jake's best friends. Jake is also playing over at his friend Ky's house this weekend and his friend Jesse's house next weekend, so he is making friends in the nieghborhood and school.

Tanner continues to freak me out a little bit - I am not a religious person (my family can attest) - but Tanner is Grandpa Simonich reincarnated. This was Auntie Sue's theory from the beginning as Tanner came into being just after Grandpa passed, and I thought it was a very sweet sentiment...but holy crap! If you catch him looking at you out of the corner of your eye, or you see him giving you Grandpa's signature smirk you just know it's him. No one else in the family has that smirk, not Eric, Lisa or me. I love the fact that it's there, it just really weirds me out...He turns one year old in two weeks - time flies...

We are off to see Lisa, John, Quincy and Jessa in Seattle for Thanskgiving. Jake loves his cousins and is very excited to go. I am expecting him to follow Quincy around like the last time we saw them.

Jake and I surprised Marisa when she was out of town last weekend by taking apart the bunkbeds in Tanner's (what will be KC's) room. We made one twin bed and bought some Tinkerbell sheets and a pillow at Walmart. I think it freaked Marisa out when she came home, I KNOW it freaked me out doing it. We are really looking forward to adding a girl to the family, but it is sure going to be a change in mindset.

I was in Salt Lake City last week for work and two radio stations have already made the switch to all Christmas Carols, all the time...what in the hell?!?!?

Back to Normal

We all survived Brian's three- week- in- a- row business trip marathon.
He is back now and intends to stay back for the forseeable future.
I think I will keep him around for awhile... at least until the boys are 18. Nothing like your hubby being away to make you appreciate him! The boys were champs, but I can't imagine being a single mom. Both boys got sick on his second trip away so I took Wed. off with Tanner, then Friday I had to bring Jake to school with me as I couldn't find a sub. He fell apart at 9:30AM and I had to leave the kids in the hands of the front desk manager while I took the poor guy to the dr. and then home to rest. It was just an ear infection, but boy was he in pain. This working mom stuff just gets harder and harder to negotiate! But luckily everyone at my school was willing to pitch in and help and I was able to do what I needed to do: give lots of TLC to my son.

The picture,by the way, is of Jake in his daddy's old costume. Yep, that's the same clown costume Brian wore at 3 years old. Mary just sent it to us. We are hoping both Tanner and KC will get to use it someday.

Hard to belive, but Tanner turns one on the 21st!!! Where did this year go? He continues to be just a little charmer. He smiles and giggles constantly. His big brother can make him laugh and laugh. I love to watch the two of them together. He so wants to be one of the big kids and when Jake is playing with a friend Tanner just puts himself right in the middle of the action (much to the dismay of Jake!).

It will be a quiet b'day party for TJ. Just us and a cake. Quite different from Jake's b'day bash when we celebrated with an Open House to show off our updated Livermore home. That seems like a lifetime ago! We will take plenty of pics of the shindig and post them. We sure wish you all could be here to help us celebrate.

"My Three Sons" or "Brothers and Sisters"?

Kacie Olivia Alan made her first appearance today. Yep... it's a GIRL!

I was so surprised I kept asking the doctor, "Are you sure? I am pretty certain we're having a boy!". But she showed us the telltale three white dots (labia) and the clearly absent penis. (Don't even try to make out the details in the above picture- if you really want to- picture her doing a cannonball with a camera shooting from underneath. That's her butt in the picture. Just trust us!). Typical girl...she was already refusing to be photographed and kept her little face covered with her hands the entire time, so no headshots of our daughter yet.

Most importantly, however, Kacie appears perfectly healthy and is growing right on target. Jake had a huge grin when we picked him up at school and told him the news and when we even mentioned thinking about other names he became quite indignant and said, "My sister's name is Kacie Olivia!". In keeping with tradition we ran straight to the nearest baby store and bought a little newborn outfit- it was so much fun to browse the girl's side of Baby Gap this time :)

I had prepared in my head my post if it was a boy: The Top 10 Reasons We Are Glad to Have All Boys. Included on this list were things like: "We'll never have to pay for a wedding". "Ages 11-17" and "No Barbies!". I guess we'd better start a new list: "Two Boys and a Girl: How Great is That??"

Love to everyone.

World Series Nightmare

These are just some recent photos of the boys and us. We took Jake minitaure golfing and to the batting cages last weekend and had a really nice time, but that's not what this post is about.

Let me just start by saying that I remember watching the '75 world series with my Dad. Yankees v. Dodgers (the Reggie Jackson series). My Dad was rooting for the Dodgers, so just to be a pain in the ass, I'm sure, I started rooting for the Yankees (I stayed a Yankees fan until the 80's when I learned better). I remember staying up late, watching the games and enjoying the games themselves as well as the time with my Dad. This is what started me on a lifetime of being a baseball fan, my Dad had nothing to do with my picking the Giants eventually, that was just me being an idiot. Jake watched some of the series last year and has always been a huge baseball fan, so we set out a reward for him a few weeks ago, that if he could go to bed (always, and still, a challenge) without crying and throwing a fit, he could stay up late and watch the World Series games with us. We told him we would have snacks, play games, you know just make a big deal of it. Well, THAT part worked. He went to bed easily every night for the last two weeks and every morning would get up and ask, "Dad, do I still get the series?". So last night was a big deal. We shopped yesterday morning, let him pick out snacks and bought some new games to play.

He didn't want to nap during the day at naptime (MAJOR red flag, that we missed), but we worked around it and sat down at first pitch to watch the Tigers and the Cardinals (Jake wants the Tigers to win, I am ambivielent as long as it's a good series). We had our dinner in front of the TV, mini-pizza's for me, mac and cheese with corn and fruit snacks for him (Marisa had soup, you know, sometimes I am just not sure about her...). Then we had some chex mix, some candy and soda (yes, I know it sounds stupid NOW) and watched the game. We played his new BINGO game, we colored and watched the Cardinals win Game 1. Now for the true or false portion of our post; after not napping, staying up way past his bedtime, eating candy, soda and snacks and being generally hyped up over the course of a four hour baseball game, Jake went to bed with no problems. TRUE or FALSE.

FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, seriously F%&@*ing FALSE. We don't need to recount all of the specifics, but the most revealing point of the whole ordeal occurred at 3:30 in the morning as Jake stood, fully clothed, in our shower with freezing cold water spraying on him, because he was hysterical and we couldn't get him to stop screaming (for those who are wondering, no, that didn't work either). Needless to say, VERY bad night. He is napping now, so we shall see how things go tonight, but no candy or soda after the game starts and I am thinking about a "couch only" game, if you want to get off the couch, the only other option is bed.

Let this serve as a lesson for other parents out there, if we tell you one of our great ideas for our kids; 1) please desparately try to talk us out of it, 2) under no circumstances follow our example with your own children, and 3) try to read posts like this with a little bit of sympathy (we need all of the help we can get....)


Other quick updates; we got Jakes new bunk beds yesterday and set them up in his room; now he has bunk beds in his room and Tanner has bunk beds in his room (seriously, not so much a house, as a barracks now....). We go to the Dr. tomorrow for our 20 week ultrasound to find out if we are having a boy or a girl (we will do another post tomorrow night). Jake is sure that we are having a girl. Marisa is welching on her deal with the names (in spite of them being publically posted on the internet months ago). Jake had a play date with his friend Cole today and they both had a great time. I am traveling to Columbus, OH this week, Las Vegas NV, next week and the Salt Lake City, UT the week after that for two to three day at a time trips (yes, feel VERY sorry for my wife!). The new Buffett album is good. It's getting cold here and the leaves are falling. Tanner has about 50 new teeth and I need to go finish the laundry. - Talk to you soon........

Harvest Time

Autumn has arrived. The leaves are beginning to change and fall, the nights have started to get cold and dark, and the baseball playoffs have started. The Hidden Springs Harvest festival was this weekend. It was billed as the 10th annual harvest festival and was projected to attract 10,000 visitors from the Treasure Valley, so we were PUMPED to attend to say the least. We set aside the whole weekend for family fun, crafts, corn dogs and music. Grandpa Pete flew in for the weekend to join in the festivities.....

...the actual event, while not failing to live up to expectations (mine at least, Marisa expected the Thanksgiving Day parade as always), barely made it TO the expectations level. I think we bought into the hype (yes, for a harvest festival, we have two boys and a third on the way, this is MAJOR LEAGUE ENTERTAINMENT right now) and it was a little disappointing. There was good food and music, and some crafts, but if 10,000 people came, those were 10,000 boooored people.

We had a good time taking the boys, and Pete got to see a good example of the kind of community that we live in. The pumpkins were cheap and it was a fun way to fill a weekend. But for next years travel planners....really only a half-day thing.

We had a very nice visit with Pete. Jake stayed home from school on Friday with "Poppa" and proceeded to wear "Poppa" out. They played tennis, baseball and Jakes favorite hobby, asking questions. I swear that sometimes I think he forgets to breathe, he talks so much. Pete was definately ready for some adult time when Marisa and I got home from work. I think Pete was as flabbergasted as we are that we will be adding a third child to the mix. He did agree with us that Tanner is the king of low maintenence babies however. Both boys were well behaved and miss thier poppa already.

Things otherwise are going well. I like my job, it's okay, not great. Marisa likes hers not so much and is thinking about making a change, but is soldiering through. We find out in a couple of weeks whether we will be adding a boy or a girl to the madness......talk to you then.

Hospital Zone

Tanner is on his third round of antibiotics in 6 weeks (repeat ear infections) and Jake woke up with a 102 fever on Friday night. The fun never stops around our house! Tanner didn't seem bothered by his ear infection this time, but school wouldn't let him come back until he had been on his new antibiotic for 24 hours. So I spent the day at home on Wednesday. Luckily both boys are (knock on wood) healthy and happy this morning. Jake's fever spiked at 104 yesterday afternoon, but he slept great and woke up asking if we could go play miniature golf today. Brian and I are pretty sure the boys were just trying to get in as many dr. visits prior to our health insurance kicking in (as of today, thank god) as possible.

I had my overnight fall trip with my class on Thursday night. For a woman with a bird phobia, I did pretty well, I think. I will attach some photos of me holding the horrible beasts as soon as Robbie forwards them to me. It was a good trip, but I don't recommend trying to sleep outside next to an owl call that goes off continually from 7PM until 6AM. It consisted of a fake owl doing ten low pitched "whooooos" followed by ten high pitched "whoooooos" at an alarming decibel. Needless to say no one got a lot of sleep. Combine that with the fact that whenever an owl was actually caught in the nets, one of the workers would come wake everyone up to watch it be "processed and tagged" and you can guess that I would probably have gotten more sleep at home with two sick boys! Still, I returned home with as many students as I left with, which is all I could ask for, really.

I am definitely experiencing a "crisis of faith" with teaching at this school. The hours, the commitment, the "extras" that are required of the teachers, the fact that you have to find your own subs, all combine to make me realize that as much as I believe in the philosophy and feel like I fit in here, I may not realistically be able to do it next year with three kids. My sanity and family life need to come before my career-and if that means teaching somewhere less stimulating for a few years while the boys are young, then I think that may be what I need to do. I am definitely feeling "buried".

The boys, other than recovering from their respective illnesses, are doing great. Tanner is saying "da-da" now and we are pretty sure he says it with meaning, not just at random. He is pulling up to standing and itching to walk. Jake continues to be his entertaining (and demanding) self. He is loving school and his teacher. Miss Pam. I was less than thrilled when she referred to him as a "perfectionist" the other day, however. I told her I would rather hear almost anything else about my son than that! But he is happy to go to school and happy when I pick him up and is learning lots, so that's good enough for now.

We had a wonderful visit with Grandma Mary and Auntie Sue last weekend. They swept into town loaded down with treats galore for the boys. It was like a magic suitcase- they kept opening it up and bringing out new goodies. Jake was so happy to spend time with them and kept them busy from morning til night playing and singing and reading and chattering up a storm. They took the boys to Build a Bear on Sunday and Jake now has a new buddy- a stuffed frog named "Benny" that is dressed like Superman. They are so wonderful with my boys and I am so grateful to have them be a part of my life and my family's. We are now on a quest to get Auntie Sue to move here to Boise :) when she retires. They also graciously babysat one night for us so Brian and I could go out for our anniversary. We went out to a great dinner and, ironically, spent the night at a Residence Inn where we SLEPT IN, luxuriously kid-free.

Did you say 14 weeks or FORTY weeks???

Bunches of people have been asking if I am "showing" yet. As I have told many of you, I was showing quite visibly at 7 weeks. Many expressed doubt. Here's the picture to prove it. I was quite dismayed when I read in one of my pregnancy books that "my regular clothes may be starting to feel a bit snug". Regular clothes??? My body hasn't seen regular clothes since mid-July!!

But, on a serious note, I am feeling really good these days. Nausea is just about gone. I am working a 40+ work week and still have energy to be a good mom, make dinner for everyone, etc.... I do look forward to the weekends, however, as work is really tiring. So far I am enjoying the school, but it is very demanding. Although school doesn't begin until 8:30, students can begin arriving as early as 8. We have recess in our own classroom and we have to eat lunch with the students,walk them to the neighborhood park and supervise lunch recess. It is kids, kids, kids all day long. They are excused at 3:15, then it is on to meetings several days a week until 5:00. Now I clearly understand why we have 1.5-2 hours of prep per day! I really miss Sycamore's lunch hour- where everyone gathered to unwind and goof off for 45 minutes before rejoining the kids for the afternoon.

Next week I have to take my kids on an overnight to Lucky Peak Bird Observatory. There they will work with scientists to capture and tag hawks, owls, and other migratory birds. Apparantly they work through the night, so I am not expecting to get a lot of sleep. In addition, it has been getting down to 35 degrees at night- and that is at 2,400 feet, not 5,000! It is TRUE camping- in fact I am trying to recruit parents to loan us tents, cook stoves, etc.... Considering I have a phobia of birds, I am not really looking forward to the trip! Should be an adventure, for sure.

We had a great weekend. Today we went to the pancake breakfast fundraiser at the local school, then tonight went to a benefit for "No on HJR2- the proposed constitutional ammendment that would narrowly define marriage and prohibit domestic partnerships. It was held in our community and had a local band playing, good food, and a family atmosphere. It felt good to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and to expose the boys to some political activism. It was also great to see so many like minded people in our community come out to support a good cause.

The boys are doing great! Tanner is getting two upper teeth, but seems to be handling it like a champ. He is so laid back and just hangs out and plays and crawls all over the place. He is always full of smiles and cuddles. Jake continues to crack us up with the things that come out of his mouth. This afternoon a football game was on that happened to be sponsered by Red Lobster. It cut to a commercial He pointed to the TV when the Red Lobster logo came on and said excitedly, "Awesome, Dad.... the Crabs are playing tonight!". Everything is "so cool" and when he gets really excited about something he says, "YEAH, BABY!!!"

The boys and I will be coming for a visit to the bay area from December 29-Jan 5th. I hope to catch up with as many of you as possible. I can't wait to see everyone. As much as we are loving Boise, I miss my friends and can't wait to see you all again.

One last summer fling....

We had a really nice long labor day weekend. The boys both had some issues, there were some MAJOR bouts of exhaustion throughout the weekend. Both boys are upstairs now, awake, crying and making both of us pull our hair out while we try to figure out how we are planning to do this with three kids.

The photos above are of Jake, Quincy and Jessa at the pool and the fountain at the Boise Farmers Market during their visit here last week/weekend. We had a really good time and hopefully will make the trek up to Washington to see them before the snow starts coming down.

We went out to dinner last night with one of Marisa's students. They also live in Hidden Springs and when they found out we lived here as well invited us over for a BBQ. We had a very nice time. We were a little afraid as Jake was very out of sorts all day, both of us were a little scared to take him out in public especially in this sensitive of a situation for Marisa. He could not have done better. He was well behaved, very polite, and just the charmer that he can be when he wants to. He did insist on wearing a pirate scarf around his head, which we thought a little odd, but to each his own. He enjoyed it and his fashion sense was the hit of the party.

Back to work tomorrow for both of us, and into a routine for awhile. It has been a long, great transition summer. We'll probably never have another one like it. I, for one, had such a great time and made so many great memories of the move and our new town, I will never forget the summer of our grand adventure.

P.S. ...the other picture above is from today...man if you thought slip-n-slides were fun when you were 12, you should try one at 37!!!!!!!!!

Hello from Portland.....

Hi there - It's the middle of the week and I'm in the middle for Farmers training in Portland. It's raining today (go figure) but has been nice the rest of the time. This is basic training, especially for me since I have done this job before, but some things have changed, and I have been away long enough that a refresher is helpful.

I am missing my family though. I talk to Jake everyday to say goodnight and try to get him to tell me something about his day. I think that I miss Tanner most of all, he can't talk on the phone obviously, so all of your interaction with him has to be in person. Since I'm not with him, it's like he's out of my life totally. I am really looking forward to getting home this weekend.

I drove home over the last weekend to see Marisa and the boys (about 7 hours each way). I also got to see Lisa and John and the girls for a day. I had a very nice visit with everyone. Jake is in love with both of his cousins. He followed Quincy around like a little puppy while I was there. He did everything that she did and did a great job playing with both her and Jessa. Jake skipped school yesterday and Aunt Lisa and Uncle John took him to the Boise Zoo with his cousins. He had a great time and was apparently very sad that they all had to leave today.

Cori leaves Friday morning. It has been a godsend having her to help Marisa through all of the past two weeks. Marisa is feeling better, is sick less and seems to have more energy, but she has also started working full time, so what little energy she has gained back from the pregnancy has been expended in trying to get set up for the kids to come and the school year to start. I think Cori has enjoyed her time in Boise, and we are looking forward to having her come back during the holidays and next March when the baby gets here. Next up on the schedule, my mom and Auntie Sue are visiting over our anniversary weekend on the 22nd of September.

Lastly, Marisa had her first ultrasound appointment yesterday. Everything is ship shape so far and looks good. There is only one baby in there, which is a relief. Both Marisa and Cori specifically made the ultrasound tech look for more, so I feel that we are in pretty good shape planning on just one more baby. Both Marisa and Cori enjoyed the ultrasound process. I wish I could have been there, but this surprise caught us all off guard and I couldn't get out of this training. Once this week is done, I am home for the long weekend and then things should settle into a rhythm.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

Brian started work on Tuesday- he flew to Pocatello and picked up a company car for his drive to Portland on Monday (he will be there for two weeks for training)- and I started on Friday with a new teacher orientation. Brian is reserving judgement on his job just yet. He's not really a "big company" guy, but he's willing to give it a go, especially with the good benefits. My first meeting went well. I met all the new teachers and learned more about the school philosophy and community. It sounds like there are some difficult parents to deal with- something I expected at a private school. It makes me a little nervous, but I have had my share of difficult families over the years at Sycamore so I feel well prepared! We have a three day retreat next week, then two days of meetings, five days of classroom prep time, and school begins on the 5th. Foothills is definitely a funky place. Very liberal. Dress is extremely casual (tank tops and shorts are the norm, I am told) and people lean very far to the left politically. I should fit right in :) I will have 13 students and 1.5-2 hours of prep DAILY. Hard to get my mind around that!!!

On the home front... Jake started preschool and seems to be thriving. His teacher is no nonsense, but also very loving. Her name is Miss Pam and is from the south with a strong southern accent to prove it! Although I worry it is a bit too academic, he is obviously learning a lot. At dinner after the first day he looked at his carrot and said, "Mommy, this is an octogon shape". Hmmm. I know I never taught him that. He is having a lot of fun with counting and adding small numbers on his fingers. He has made some friends and seems happy- which is our first concern, of course! To anyone wondering, we are on night #20 of sleeping in his own bed. I guess we are over that hurdle for now!

Tanner still does his army crawl. I don't know if he will ever crawl in the traditional sense. He is much happier on his feet and will most likely walk early. He is getting over some sort of infection- he has had a fever for four days and has been really puny. Poor guy. He loves to play peek-a-boo and imitates facial expressions and hand motions. He starts at daycare on Monday. That's going to be a tough one as he is in the stage of stranger fright and cries if the checker at the store even looks at him. Handing him over to a virtual stranger and walking away for 8 hours is going to tear my heart out.

The pregnancy is moving along. I am anxious for my ultrasound on the 28th. We are all really hoping that there is only one baby in there. Wouldn't that be a shocker???? I always said growing up that my dream was to have twins. I hope that the "powers that be" realize that I revised that wish after having my first two!!! I am 10 weeks along and hoping to feel more energized and less sick very soon. I still can't quite get my mind around the fact that we are going to have THREE children age four and under. I will be that mom that I always look at in Costco and wonder. "What the hell she was thinking??". That's gonna be me. Yikes.

My mom has been staying with us for the last week and helping to take care of the boys and take care of me. I was really sick for the last week- throwing up multiple times a day and sleeping non stop, so she has been a life saver. She has really enjoyed Boise and our new home.
In our on going effort to convert friends and family to move to Boise, we are showing her condos, houses, and cute living areas all the time!

I know this is kind of a boring post (way less entertaining than my husband's usual style!), but it has been a long time since I had shared family news and there has been a lot going on. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the last days of summer vacation. Keep us updated with emails when you get a chance. I love to hear what everyone is up to.

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to my lovely wife; correction, to my constantly puking, endlessly tired, oft times napping, "nothing sounds good to eat, but let's get some Vietnamese food", cranky, emotional, crying (but not too much this time so far), ball of fun, lovely wife.

I kid because I love. Also, because I know that there is no way that I could put my body through what her's is going through without being reduced to a quivering mass of jello (trust me, I'm not fun to be around when I have a cold...). This was far from a glamorous birthday, starting with Milo (fresh onto his "senior dog food - easy to digest") pooping a MASSIVE amount of poop in three rooms overnight because we don't have the doggy doors in (because we don't have a fence yet...long story, really pissed off) to a trip to the DMV, to a $100.00 shopping spree at the Maternity Store in the mall, because I did not have time to get out and get her anything (see...she's napping all the time and somebody still has to clean up, take care of the boys etc., I'm trying my best man I really am......). But she was a trooper the whole way, and we had a really good day in spite of all the above.

But about my wife......she is handling this with so much grace and strength, and is so beautiful through all of it that I just so desparately want her to feel better so she can enjoy her days more. She is getting ready to start back to work and is half way through the hard part. That takes more nerve than I could ever muster. I love you honey, Happy Bithday...just think by your next birthday...three kids!

All my love, always,
Brian

P.S. Quick Updates
.......Jake started pre-school today....swing-set got delivered and set-up.....Cori comes tomorrow for three weeks...I am off to two weeks of Farmers training in Oregon (that's why Cori is staying for three weeks, thanks Cori)...fence is supposed to start either end of next week or tomorrow, we don't know which....Rockstar:Supernova totally rules.....Nikko and Shannon just left, we had a great time and miss them already.....I have killed almost all of the 9 million wasps that were living in our eaves....Nextel let us out of the contract without paying the $400.00....Marisa is trying to waffle on the girl baby names, but I have it in writing, (you are all witnesses).....Giants suck (and will for the next several years)....I love my family and especially my wife, Happy Birthday.