Leap Into Art

So, if you see me much in real life, you probably aren’t surprised that I haven’t posted anything in a while. If not, let me just say that graceful pregnancies are not my forte. We’re all fine, I’m on activity restriction and meds with frequent testing and observation. Michael is taking good care of me. Basically, my blood pressure (etc.) is control; I’m just not really holding my actual life together all that well; let alone the extras. I’ll skip the whining and promise a project post soon. Afterall, Oktoberfest is in full swing and it’s not just a holiday for beer drinkers. (Okay, it is primarily about drinking beer, but there are plenty of kid friendly ways to celebrate too.)

*Fully a week late, I would like to state that due to various technical difficulties, this post has taken FOR EVER to finish! Yes, I am embarrassed. Let’s move on.

Megan was so excited to have her birthday be the first day of school. She has been looking forward to kindergarten so much. Monday was a giant day-long celebration. She beamed as we all walked her into the classroom. I think Michael and I were more nervous than she was. She confidently found her seat and began assembling blocks–then didn’t even notice us as we left. That’s my girl!

After school we opened gifts and played with new toys; including an avalanche of new Barbie playsets delivered by our own personal fairy godmother. We love you, Juli! Needless to say, these have pretty much been the big hit around our house for the last week.

Then we headed over to the swim club for Grandma Verna’s swim party. What could be better on your birthday: swimming with cousins and eating pizza, pink cupcakes, and soft serve ice cream? What a day!

Really the festivities started the week before when Grandma Lu took Meg and her cousin for the traditional pre-Kindergarten shopping trip. She took them for lunch then out to buy a new outfit (make that outfits, the cute Grandma!) for school. They came home with the cutest puffy vests! Megan was definitely in her girly element. She was so excited to have this special time with Grandma. Unfortunately, when it came to getting a picture,  we just didn’t have much luck.

She also had her first fishing trip with Dad. Although they didn’t  catch anything, they had a great time. Megan has been “practicing her casting” a ton. I love it! She and Michael have had a ton of fun this summer, camping, backpacking, and now fishing. He is such a good daddy!

We had a Strawberry Shortcake water party on Saturday. The girls had a ball. (Megan specified that only girls were invited this year. If any boys came, she said that they would have to wear a baby costume. Okay then!) Surprisingly, 13 five year olds (plus Emily) was pretty manageable.  We have a boatload of darling girls in our neighborhood.

I feel so lucky to have Meg! She is my big helper; she’s so eager to do anything she can to help out around the house. Often she’ll run to close the gate or get me something, saying “I want to be your helper!” It definitely makes my life easier. She has such a sweet and loving disposition and is so quick to tell us how much she loves us. Which also goes for her relationship with Emily. They play so well together. Our pediatrician said that they “get along uncommonly well” as he watched them play during her check up this week. It is true, they are awesome sisters.

Megan has a hilarious sense of humor and I love the funny laugh that she does when she is really amused by something. She is also one serious drama queen. She and Emily play out elaborate scenarios (where she is almost always a princess) When she is hurt, boy, the world knows it! It’s hard to believe she is five, she is wonderful! Happy Birthday (a little late) sweet girl!

If you think kids grow fast (and I DO think kids grow fast) you should see boxers. I can’t believe that Jake is 9 months old. He is such a sweet boy. I can’t imagine our family without him. He is so excited about…well…everything. Of course his excitement can knock you over now; but it is still pretty darn cute.

I know this probably sounds a little trite; but I just love this little guy so much and I really enjoy how much he loves me right back. (That’s just one of the really great things about dogs.)

Jake in February (3 months)

He still loves his little green bed, even though it isn’t quite as accommodating now.

Meg and Jake: best of pals

Megan has grown into such a big helper. I just love the pleased little smile she gets when she is helping me out. She opens the gate for us and runs to grab her little broom whenever I am sweeing up. Often this helping makes the job last a little longer, but she is so happy to do it, I just about melt when she says “I’m your big helper, huh Mom?”

Last week, I thanked her for picking up all of the books she and Emily got out. After a few minutes she came in and announced that she was going to “clean the living room and make it fancy.” She told me not to come in until she was all finished. I finally came in to find favorite toys arranged on the couch, chair, bench, etc. It was so cute! I wish I would have thought to get a picture. She is one great little girl!

Tomorrow I will share some recipes that I have culled from the many tea parties we have enjoyed since Meg got her tea set for Christmas. (And let me just say that we have had quite a few tea parties.) However, today I am going to show you how the pros do it.

Every summer my wonderful neighbor, Mary Winters has us over for a tea party. Let me just say that it is a big summer highlight for the girls and possibly an even bigger one for me. Mary is one of the most amazing women in the world and I just love getting to talk with her over a long, delicious lunch.

She served her chicken salad with airlight buttery rolls and peanut butter and jelly for the kids along with fresh fruit and the cutest individual jello molds.

The girls had a ball dining in Mary’s playhouse. We enjoyed sitting back in the shade and figuring out life a little. (Which Mary is very good at.)

After we ate, the girls decorated cookies. Which is a great tea party finale. I love that she has a kid’s table at the end of her island in her kitchen. She is all about kids!

….Wonderful.

We have a been up to a ton of fun in the last several weeks with our awesome family. Here are a few highlights…

Goblin Valley with Brent and Katie

So can I just say that we wondered for years about the girl Brent would marry. I am sure he’ll be embarrassed if he reads this, so I will just say that he is pretty amazing. So we wondered can he find someone as cool as he is? Is it even possible?

Well, the truth is… yea. Katie rocks! I love having her for a s-i-l. You can imagine how much fun we had just hanging out in the red rocks several weeks ago.

Here is our awesome campsite. We are the ants at the bottom. Jake couldn’t get enough of the sandy campsite. He was so darling jumping and chasing around the sand that he would kick up. It was great entertainment.

The girls were just about as enchanted by the rocky landscape. They loved climbing around.

Battle At Midway with Pamela and Nathan

So, not so much of a battle for us supporters, but I am super proud of my awesome sis doing her 2nd triathalon. Nathan has done quite a few–they are hard core! (I just watch in awe.)

We had a ball watching with my Mom and Zeezee. After the race, we headed over to Zeezee’s house (which is a huge favorite for pretty much everybody in our family.) She and my Uncle Byron took us for rides on one of their horses, which left us all with big grins.

You decide who was most excited.

Oregon with the Herzogs

It was so good to go home; even if it was only a few days. (Actually, I’ve been pretty homesick ever since.) Hazen had an interview in Salem and they were nice enough to let us tag along.

Taking a break from the drive up to let Janet feed Will and the kids play on the Columbia banks.

Is this a cute family or what???

tree for two

Multnomah Falls

4th of July

Unfortunately, we didn’t get pictures from the 4th. It is one of our favorite family traditions to have the Dads and kids in Mike’s family sleep out on the lawn the night before. Then we eat a big breakfast and watch the neighborhood parade that comes down our street. It is so much fun! This year we borrowed some Madsen bikes to decorate and ride in the parade. Of course the kids loved being charioted down the hill, throwing candy! Since each bike holds 4 kids, we actually almost fit all of them in. (Which is saying something!) Afterwards, Grandpa took Grandma Lu out for a spin!

How cute are they!?!

…yea, we pretty much have the best family ever.

This was good and is definitely something that is great for sharing with friends as it is super quick to throw together. I omitted the marjoram and oregano and added some lemon thyme that I grew this year. BTW, I LOVE the lemon thyme! I have been putting into everything! Let me tell you, lasagna with lemon thyme rocks! (Mmm, recipe to follow as soon as I can fire up the oven.)

ingredients:

• ~1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 lbs medium shrimp, (peeled and deveined)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons marjoram
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• salt and pepper
• 1 pkg. pasta (I like a thinner linguine)
• vegetable of choice
• baguette
• butter
• garlic salt
• Parmesan or Asiago cheese

directions:

1. Bring water to a boil, add about a tsp. salt and then add pasta.

2. Heat oil in skillet and add shrimp and garlic. Cook, stirring, until shrimp turn pink. (Be careful not to overcook them. Otherwise you get tougher, tightly curled ones like you see above–not nearly as good!)

3. Add orange juice and bring to boil, cook 2-3 minutes until sauce thickens.

4. Cut baguette in half and butter liberally (to the edges, people!) Sprinkle with garlic salt and cheese and place under broiler.

4. Remove from heat, stir in marjoram, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, serve over buttered pasta.

5. Plate with vegetable and a piece of garlic bread.

Well, chapter 2 in the “catching up with us” summer is to see what sweet Emily has been up to…

My little princess has just turned 3! I can hardly believe it. She is so big! She also has a “pretty little baby girl” in her tummy. It is a frequent topic of conversation. (Picture a very serious and concered face, here:) “Oh, my beautiful baby in my tummy is not feeling very well.” or “A candy makes my beautiful little baby girl in my tummy happy!” (Then she flashes a give-me-candy grin.)

She has taken 2 horse rides this summer and it is a very big highlight!

Emily spends a lot of time coloring lately. She loves coloring in her coloring book and occasionally, she colors out of her coloring book too.

How cute are these good sisters??? They play so well, it definitely makes things easier for a tired, pregnant mommy. How sweet is this?

Emily also feels passionate about her food (and the way she eats it.) Shredded wheat? Step 1: organize it. Step 2: eat the side with frosting. Step 3: eat the rest of the cereal.

Emily on her new bike. Birthdays are awesome! She was so excited about every little gift and surprise. It made everything so magical. Unfortunately, I can’t access the pictures from Mike’s camera. So no party pics to share. Yikes! Maybe she can have another update–if I can figure out how to open his folder on my laptop…

I love my sunshine girl!

…that’s right! Watch out Michael. You are really outnumbered now!

The truth is that I can barely keep up with living my life right now, let alone writing about it. However, for some really sweet reason there are about 3 people out there who love to hear what I have to say. So here’s a little taste of what we’ve been up to. Since I am so far behind (and trying to organize this somehow), so this time I’ll catch up with Megan.

A little night owl, I often come up to find that Meg has piled her bed with toys.

I can’t believe how fast she is growing up. She is always making new discoveries and doing little grown up things. The other day when I asked her what she wanted for lunch she told me she wanted hotdogs and pepperoni with cheese on top. (First thought, Eww. Second, Okay, it’s her first recipe!) We made it and she ate it. It certainly wasn’t the healthiest lunch, but I couldn’t help but adore her the whole time.

In May she had her first dance recital. There really is no other word than darling. She was so excited to “dance on the big stage.” Every once in a while in the weeks before, she would say something like “Mom, do you think that when I am dancing up on the big stage everyone will say Look at that dancing girl, she is so darling!?” I couldn’t help but smile. She didn’t get nervous at all and loved all of the attention that Grandma Lu and Grandpa sent by way of a giant bouquet and Grandma Banana and Papa with balloons. I am sure it’s no stretch to say she is a natural diva.

Megan also finished preschool. It was so sad to say goodbye to Miss Shan who is retiring this year. I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture for this. We’ll have to get one, Miss Shan is nothing less than saintly around here.

About a week ago, Megan got her big bike. This was a huge event at our house. Mike spent weeks searching through catalogs and bike shops. They finally settled on this cute “pink bike with a bell!” She was beyond ecstatic when Mike brought it home. She has ridden it a few times without the training wheels, and is coming along great!

Last week, she started soccer again. She really gets in there and runs after the ball and almost made a goal today. She’s doing awesome. It is fun to see her take more of an-ahem-interest in actually playing while on the field. ;D