Ellie and Me

I love to read, and people tell me that if you love to read you may be a good writer. I would like to find out if I am a good writer, but I cant really think of anything to write, at least not something people would want to read. I wouldnt want to write about serious things or sad things, only funny things probably.

The funniest thing in my life also happens to be the most obnoxious. My dog. I cant compete with Marley and Me, but we do have our moments. Most of these moments are characterized by her making me look like an absolute crazy person.

Despite completing almost two full dog obedience classes she still has yet to learn two of what I consider to be the most important dog commands, come and stay. Perhaps you are wondering why she failed to complete the second dog obedience class, maybe you are not, but I will tell you anyway.

I was about eight months pregnant with our first child and had begun to have panic attacks when leaving the house and all the pulling and jerking on the leash and her ear splitting barking in the car all contributed to us getting an incomplete. So, she is not the only flawed party in this little dysfunctional relationship, I admit to having my own issues, and perhaps some of my neurosis have rubbed off on her. Anyhow I am not convinced that she would have mastered these all important skills had we received a second doggie obedience diploma.

The latest incident happened during what I like to refer to as the dark time of my third pregnancy. To say I get sick during the first trimester is a slight understatement. While I am not feeling tip top I neglect a lot of basic personal hygiene. So, if you can picture me (which I am sure you have only seen me as a glowing goddess of perfection and it maybe be quite a shock when you try) unshowered (regretfully for several days) and wearing an old shirt of Steve's which had acquired a lot of barf stains, mostly from Nolen, after having wore it for several days, workout capris, and no shoes. I definitely had the look of a crazy lady with out being encouraged to behave like one.

Aiden requested to see his pumpkin on the front porch and being the obliging mom that I am I opened the door to let him peak out and the devil, I mean Ellie shot past me, deliberately making a run for it and using enough force to give acknowledgment to the fact she knows she should not go out the front door.

Normally this wouldn't be too big of a disaster, but it happened to be bus drop off time in our neighborhood. All the moms (who shower and actually pick out real clean clothes) were at their posts awaiting their little cherubs.

Ellie proceeded to ignore my requests through clenched teeth to please come in the house. In fact she did the opposite. She proceeded to pee in every yard down the block - four houses in all. Squatting and peeing and darting off when it looked like I might get close enough to grab her.

Keep in mind I cant go too far, I have one two year old on the front porch in his underwear, saying "mom what are you doing?" and a 9 month old very mobile crawler roaming the house untethered.

I ran back in side grabbed a loaf of bread, because tossing slices of bread at a peeing dog while pleading with her to come in side doesnt look silly.

Finally Ellie got bored or knew I was soon to close the door and never let her back in the house, EVER. So quick as she ran out she ran back in. She seemed very pleased with herself, which leads me to believe she calculates these little tirades in order to purposely embarrass me.

Christmas Tree Hunting

I had a blast getting our Christmas tree today. The boys were in good moods and cooperative. It was not raining, and I got to snap lots of shots of our adventure in cutting our own tree down this year.

Steves version of the day may be a little different, something like, muddy, cut finger, why are we taking pictures when we are supposed to be cutting a tree down, how come they are so small, and lastly, how fun to lay in the mud...

What a good dad!

Holy Jumper Batman!

Aiden officially turns three tomorrow, but in effort to save money we celebrated today. He LOVES a place called Jump Planet and their free time play is today, since we are not predisposed to pay several hundred $ for a private (more convenient) Saturday party, we seized the moment and played today. Aiden's friend Trey joined us and they had a great time flailing and ricocheting off one another.

Aiden completely shocks me with his bravery at this place. He can scale the climbing walls, and then he practically runs down the slides on the other side. He was jumping off the top of a 5'-6' tall mountain and bouncing around with no concern for safety. This is shocking to me because it is totally out of character for him. He is reserved, almost to a fault. He studies and analyzes new situations for what seems like forever, and then sometimes still opts to sit out.

He of course enjoyed cake and pizza and presents. In fact he and dad are playing Lincoln logs right now, and once a house is built it promptly has to be bulldozed by the new piece of construction equipment.

It has been an awesome three years.

Turkey Day Was Good for us, not so good for the turkey, I guess

We had a thankfilled thanksgiving this year. The Schneider family came to stay with us for four days, and gave us more reasons to be thankful.

Thursday was of course filled with cooking, eatting, resting, and more eatting. By Saturday night I had racked up a total at least 15 turkey sandwiches (before you freak out, they were little, on the costco little rolls, but still I was sick of turkey). It is a good feeling to eat so much of something wonderful that you become tired of it though. This is part of how I rate a sucessful thanksgiving.

Friday my mom and I braved the black friday crowds and headed to Alderwood mall. We spent more time in the car getting there then we did actually shopping - and we ended up not buying anything at the mall. My husband considers this the mark of a sucessful shopping trip. We hit Costco too. No remarkable sales, but I can always find something to buy at Costco :)

Saturday the boys hit the golf course. They had fun although it was wet and cold. I guess golf is golf.

We spent the evenings playing Wii and watching movies. Aiden was only wounded once by an out of control wii player (grandma). He may have also been scared by her explation of death when he inquired after my brothers pet rat. :) Cant be any worse than Steve letting him watch a baby horse being born on tv, (every now and then he still mentions how baby horses come out of your bottom).

Anyhow, I have detoured.

Hope everyone had as wonderful of a thanksgiving as we did!

Thank You Mr. Man at Costco Gas Station

My mom and I stopped to fill up the gas tank at Costco today. She being the thoughtful person she is offered to pump the gas (she is worried about gas fumes and how they might affect the next schwark grandchild), while pumping gas, the man next to us said "you know if she is old enough to drive, she should be old enough to pump her own gas", my mom says to him "oh, she is pregnant, so I want to pump it for her" (this is the good part) he says "OH, I thought she couldnt be a day over 16". Lovely, just lovely.

This was almost as good as a friend, Krista, thinking I could possibly squeeze into a size 4 jeans.

Whether it is blatentant flattery or not, I will take it!

I have been away awhile

I have been battling morning sickness - again. This is why I havent written anything in a while. So, updates for our family;

Nolen, 9 1/2 months old now and walking, and climbing (everything). He can take a few steps in a row now. He does try to walk everywhere but usually plops down after one or two steps. He is getting his first tooth, so he is a little cranky, but still a peach.

Aiden, almost 3. Most of our discussions center around what we will do to celebrate his birthday. So far he wants a cake, a candle, and hats.

Ellie, old enough to be a better behaved dog, but regressing nonetheless. She eats diapers every chance she gets (dont give her any kisses) steals food off the counters, and knocks the kids over. BUT, she is good to them and they love her. She gets a stay of execution for a little longer.

Steve, working....working....fixing broken stuff around the house, taking care of me and the boys and the diaper eater.

Me, mostly trying not to throw up and not to feel too guilty about all the movies Aiden has been watching while I lie around trying not to throw up.

All in all life is great and we are so thankful for our family.

Nolen's Baptism

We had Nolen baptized on October 12, 2008, at Gold Creek Community Church. He of course did lovely and was a happy little man being held by Pastor Dan. The water didnt bother him and neither did the loud music or lights.

We had a great lunch back at our house afterwards and lots of friends and family came. Nolen promptly had a bottle and went to bed for the duration of his party.

Unfortunately being the second child it seems to be true there are far less pictures taken of his events. But he got a blanket commemortaing the event just like his brother, so far they are even.

(Amy Whisenand, Nolen's god-mother, pictured right)

Grandma Schneider Comes to Visit

My mom came out to spend a whole week with the Schwark's. She came out in time to help me with all the baptism lunch preparations and decorations - THANK YOU MOM!!

I had hoped to do one "fun" thing each day she was here, but the morning sickness started to kick in and I was less than energetic. We did manage to make it to the zoo. Aiden had his first ever experience of being thrown from the stroller by a maniac stroller driver - grandma! I guess we will strap him in for future rides with her!

While Nolen and I napped Aiden and grandma worked on many art projects. There is nothing Aiden likes more than scissors (danger) and glue (mess). He had a grand ol time doing crafts with grandma.

We had such a great time with grandma. The lack of exciting tourist events gave the visit a feel that we lived close together and were just doing everyday things together. It was really lovely.

Long Beach WA

We were fortunate enough to take a wonderful trip to Long Beach WA with Steve's family the beginning of October.

Grandma Schwark kept Aiden so well entertained he didn't want to leave. She baked cookies with him, colored pumpkins, blew bubbles, and even played football on the beach. Aiden and Nolen's cousin Tennyson came up for the day. Aiden had a wonderful time following him around and trying to do all he was doing.

The first couple of days the weather didn't cooperate at all. The wind was blowing the rain and sand sideways, but I made Steve and Aiden venture out to the beach anyhow. I didn't want to drive all that way and not spend any time on the beach, regardless of the weather, or if they were miserable :) To occupy ourselves we wandered the hotel, played pool, and ping pong. Aiden enjoyed the ping pong as he got to stand on the table. Thankfully the weather cleared up the last day and we had a really good time playing on the beach.

THANK YOU Grandma and David for the fun trip!

Northwest Trek

Instead of a slammin party for my 30th birthday we went to Northwest Trek. It was great, no really, it was.

The hour and a half drive was the only anoying part. But after we arrived the whole day was wonderful. The weather was at its best. 70 degrees and not a cloud to be seen. Northwest Trek is a nature preserve full of bison, big horn sheep, elk, moose and lots of other animals. We arrived and met our friends the Hostutlers for lunch. Then off to the "tram" tour. They take you all around the park and you get to see the animals up close, through open windows, rather, no windows. These animals had clearly been through the drill and could have cared less about us. They were not about to charge the bus, but one can always hope. Climbing around the bus was probably more exciting for the boys than the wild dangerous animals just feet away.

We walked through the rest of the exhibits and saw the bears, large cats, eagles, otters, raccoons, one skunk and probably some I am forgetting.

I got Starbucks on the way home, because afterall it was my birthday.

We give Northwest Trek two thumbs up.

The Problem With 30

The only problem with 30 is I don't feel like I have 30 years of wisdom. I feel like I am still a very immature, selfish, silly 16 year old. But I have changed somewhat. I care less about what others are doing and what others think about me. I can eat by myself, in fact I kinda cherish that now, but it is probably because eating by myself means missing out on screaming, demanding, messy, messy, messy meals. Even though I am fatter, and slower, and just generally more tired, I like me much better. Don't get me wrong, I will probably forever live in a hopeless pursuit of the body I had at 16. I am nicer now. I am much more considerate and patient. I think these are all good things, and hopefully I will be even better, and thinner, at the next milestone birthday, 40 (GULP).

Thirty isnt so bad, I guess.

IRON GIRL

Eight weeks ago out of desperation to "accomplish" something big before I turned 30, I signed up for the Iron Girl 5K. It was to take place one week before my 30th birthday. Like most things I sign up for, I began with gusto, jogging 4-5 week, then by the third week, down to 2-3 times a week, by week seven I started seriously doubting that I could run 3.1 consecutive miles. Why would I submit my self willingly to so much pain. (For me as a person who has NEVER been in shape, to start running, there was A LOT of pain involved).

But since it was a class I paid for my encouraging husband would not let me back out. So the the Wednesday before the race we did our "practice" race. I came in 5th out of our group of 7. I ran two miles, then walked/ran (okay, slowly jogged, because lets be honest, none of what I do can be considered running) and crossed the finish line in 36 1/2 minutes. My goal was to do it under 40 minutes and not passout. I was pleased, but not convinced that I would be able to run the whole thing in three more days.

Sunday Sept 7th rolled around and I was on my way to Green Lake in Seattle. My group lined up in the 11 minute pace place. And we started to run along with 2,400 other women. Being so crowded was a blessing because I focused so much on passing and not tripping that it made the race go by faster, at least until mile 2 where the crowd thinned out a bit. Then I turned it all over to God. I said a prayer before I started that if I was to finish running it would be God working through me, and most obviously not my athleticism. Where I am weak He is strong. I said the Lords Prayer, and Proverbs 3:5-6 over and over, concentrating on how He was making my path straight. I thanked Him for the beautiful weather and scenery, Green Lake is very pretty even when you think you may throw up from not breathing!

So, God got me across the finish line, in 34 minutes, 4th out the 7 in my running group, and 583rd overall. Not too bad for someone who couldn't run a mile 8 weeks ago.

In the extremely small picture, I am the second person back on the left. Nothing remarkable to see. I was blinded with exhaustion at that point and just trying not to make some horrendous face for the camera, luckily the picture is so small you cant see my expression anyhow.

Nolen Is Seven Months Today!

Our First "Real" Camping Trip

We successfully completed our first camping trip. Some of you may know we attempted camping last year, but only made it six hours.

We went to Liberty Lake with our friends the Brown's. Aiden had a wonderful time with their children; Mia, Silas, and Macy. I have never seen him so dirty, bruised or happy. We swam in the lake, roasted marshmellows, hiked around and visited.

There were no wood fires allowed because of how dry it is over in the Spokane area right now, so that was a little weird to sit around a campfire of coals. Not quite the same feel, but it did the trick.

There were very few bugs, but three mosquitoes did manage to bite Nolen on the head. He looked very bewildered as to why I was smacking him. Poor kid.

It is fun to sleep under the stars, and not shower, and be one with nature (plus the car load of comfort items). But I am still in the market for a nice lake house.

Jinx

I tell the pediatrician my son is fully potty trained, no accidents in weeks.
Later that day he poops in his underwear.

I tell my friend my littlest is going down for naps without a fuss and sleeping several peaceful hours.
No nap at all later that day for him. Just screaming and crying.

I say to my husband, "isn't it great that the dog is staying on her bed at night?"
Then the dog is up on the bed 30 times that night.

I think when I say it out loud it jinxes it, but do I ever learn???

Two To Go

It is scary, but it is true. Nolen is almost officially a crawler. He is definitely a mover. Though awkward, it is efficient and he gets where he wants to go - fast. Which is usually towards some sort of power cord or electric component. Naturally the more dangerous the more enticing, and the more persistent he becomes.

What is funny is the way he moves. It is a series of pushing himself to a hands knees position, then he lunges forward probably just hoping something besides his face will catch him. Then a belly scoot, a roll, and back to hands and knees. And now he is five feet from where he started. Amazing!

Now they can start going in opposite directions at the same time. Good thing I am taking up running.

We LOVE the Beach

We had a wonderful 4th of July trip to Cannon Beach. The weather was mostly cooperative, although a little cool and cloudy and one day of rain. We still made it out to play on the beach everyday.

Driving took an hour and half longer each way due to several unplanned poop stops. For those of you who do not have children I apologize for all the potty talk. It is one of our more all consuming topics these days. Anyway, it was not bad driving. Our GPS does seem to think it knows quicker routes, but has yet to prove it self.

On our rainy day we took a trip to the Seaside Aquarium, which I would say to all who are wondering if it is worth their time - It is not. The fish all looked depressed or dying and the seals were cute, but in a very small tank. Every time we have been to Cannon Beach I say, we should visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory. So since outdoor activities were postponed due to weather we headed south. Well, so did everyone else. It was beyond packed. We past on the hour long lines for cheese and ice cream samples and opted to just buy some. The "squeaky" cheese was a big hit and I will have to look for it in the stores around here.

Steve was sick from my driving when we returned so Megan, Aiden and Nolen and I headed to downtown Cannon Beach for a little over priced shopping. We sipped lattes and wandered the shops and then headed home (hotel) with another delicious pizza, from Pizza a Feta (I believe we had four while we were there).

The 4th was great. My anticipation of a quieter celebration completely met my expectations. There are no firework festivities in Cannon Beach and very few amateur shows were going on. So instead of the noise that goes until 4am in Mill Creek, we only had a couple of explosions, which myself and our dog Ellie were very grateful for. Our friends the Woodgates came from Portland to celebrate with us and we had a wonderful day on the beach. The kids, all under five were not the least bit fazed by the wind and sometimes cold rain. They played and played. We had ice cream cones in town and more pizza for dinner. It was one of my favorite 4ths ever.

Leeming Family Reunion

I LOVE MY FAMILY! I can hardly wait until we can see each other again. And I think the majority of the Leeming party felt the same. We ended our trip trying to schedule our next get together.

The Schwark’s trip to Reno went like this:

Our plane trips were great. The boys were super. Nolen spent most of both flights sleeping and after a minor melt down on the first leg of the trip Aiden straightened up and behaved. I must say the DVD player was a BIG help. Aiden was cute saying things like “bye Seattle” and “hello Reno”. I can’t give the airlines any commendations. Southwest was cheapest and that is the inconsistent, unhelpful, uncomfortable service we got for our money.

We flew in Friday and unpacked at our “home base”, Aunt Carrie’s, aka super aunt. She was so awesome with my boys. Aiden and Nolen equally adored her. Although, the backyard baby swing with running fountain and pond came a close second for Nolen. After we dropped our stuff off we headed to Aunt Jody’s for dinner. All I can say is YUM. She put out quite the spread, appetizers, drinks, a fabulous dinner and dessert. And to top it off all our family was there. This is also where James (cousin) unveiled the much anticipated family reunion t-shirts. These completely lived up to all the hype. A bright obnoxious green with coded numbers on the back. By the way James, I wore my shirt out since I have been home and had several compliments!

The Schwark’s plus one cousin Leiya headed to Aunt Jody’s pool for a bit. This pool was awesome. 3 ½ feet deep with a big slide and fun water features. Aiden adored Leiya enough to actually go down the slide and follow her around in the pool. He wanted her in eye sight at all times and when she wasn’t he would say “I neeeeeed Leiya”.

Saturday Aunt Carrie set up lunch at Grandma’s house and we all gathered for sandwiches. It was fun to see the sea of lime green invade the living room. This prompted the slogan “The Leeming Family Goes Green”. We spent the afternoon swimming, chatting and soaking up the sun.

Saturday evening my grandmother had a dinner catered at her club house. It was so delicious and no one had to worry about dish clean up! Then we sat in a big circle and shared funny stories.

Sunday we headed to Tahoe. Everyone gathered at Meek’s Bay. We spent the afternoon playing in the water and eating. My mom, aunt Nancy and aunt Carrie took turns holding Nolen and playing with Aiden. Nolen does not care what the temperature of the water is he just wants to be in it. Maybe he is so well insulated that he can’t even tell the temperature! We did have one tragedy while though. Steve’s brand-new $$$, father’s day gift, sunglasses found a new home at the bottom of the Lake due to an unfortunate capsizing of a small water craft.

We spent Sunday night at the Reno Rodeo with My mom, brother Chris, cousins Brock, Erica, April, Aunt’s Carrie and Nancy. Aiden had a blast seeing all the bucking broncos, bulls, and cowboys. He kept saying “I need to touch another horse”. He clapped and yelled and jumped around, which could have been impart due to his first experience with cotton candy – thank you Erica!

Monday was a perfect day of Starbucks for breakfast, swimming at 10am, and lunch with the family. We packed up our stuff and headed to the airport, where we ended up waiting an extra two hours, but that was not about to ruin all the fun we just had.

We are home safe and sound and all avoided sunburns but soaked up lots of vitamin D. I can’t wait to do it again!

Father's Day

Fathers Day makes me think about all the wonderful men I have in my life. So, I just want to take a moment to brag about them.

First, my awesome husband. He is consistently the most wonderful person. He is the only person I want to be around all the time. He is patient, oh so patient. Patient with the kids, the dog, ME, with life. I want to be more like him. He is SO smart. I am constantly amazed at all he knows. He is funny, he has to have a sense of humor to live in our crazy house. And last but not least, he is a hotty. I got the best man on the planet and I am thankful everyday for him. Plus, he wasn't even mad that we had left over waffles and starbucks for Father's Day breakfast :)

Second, my boys, the men in my life that stretch me the most. They test my patience just about every waking moment of the day - and night. They make me laugh. They make me be creative - like what is the solution to your two year old pooping in his underwear at a fancy bellevue baby boutique? Toss the undies, clean up the kid, let him go comando until shopping is complete. I didnt drive 15 miles on $4+ gas, and load up the infant in the front pack, to turn around and go right home! (I know, I know - bring extra undies....but what fun would that be?) These boys give me a sense of purpose, and for that I am eternally greatful.

My dad's. I got two of the most wonderful, wise, caring, Godly, hardworking dads in the world. They pray for me and give me good advise, and give me the peaceful feeling that come what may they are there for me.

My grandfathers are full of wonderful life experience and wisdom. They are funny and kind. They are authentic and loving. I love my grandpa's.

I even have amazing brothers and uncles and cousins!

Thank you Lord for all the wonderful men in my life.

Smoothie Machine Makes Baby in a Basket

So, I recently purchased a new blender which happens to be incredibly loud. This volume worries Aiden to no end, and he will cry if I don't give him fair warning and time to run to the couch. So, being the considerate mom that I am I place Nolen on the couch and tell Aiden I am about to turn on the machine. He climbs on the couch next to Nolen while informing me that he would protect Nolen.

I hit the smoothie button and wait for the deafening sound. After about three seconds I hear another incredibly loud alarming noise - Nolen - SCREAMING, pretty much the same scream he has when he gets shots. I look at the couch, no Nolen, I run to the couch - oh, there he is, in the empty laundry basket!

Aiden is screaming at me now too. "FEED HIM" "FEED HIM" "FEED HIM" and looking more worried than I have ever seen him look. So somehow Aiden either picked up, pushed, or rolled him off the couch into the empty laundry basket. Poor Nolen. I was angry at Aiden, but realizing this would not be scarring for Nolen, but if handled improperly could be potentially scarring for Aiden. Yelling "Aiden what did you do???" Probably wasn't the most calm collected thing I could have said, but that is what came out. Fortunately that was the end of my tirade towards Aiden. I ended up comforting Aiden more than Nolen.

I believe Aiden's plan was to indeed protect Nolen from the loud noise (which incidentally doesn't bother him) by transporting him to a safer, quieter location via the laundry basket. At least that is the version I am willing to go with at this point.

I am happy to report everyone has come through seemingly physically unscathed, emotionally I guess time will tell :)

Holy Terrible Two's

What fun to be welcomed home by a two year old who now only wants to converse with his dad. I guess the one on one bonding time was a huge success! "No mom, I want dad to...(fill in the blank)". I am sure he is equally as happy to have me home as he received six (so far - its only 3:30) disciplines today. At midnight last night I decided we needed to really get consistent with this obedience thing. This was as I got kicked in the head by a two year old foot for the 50th time. No more napping in "our" bed, no more sleeping in "our" bed, and no more saying "NO! mom!" We have been marching to the beat of our two year old dictators drum and I am exhausted. It is funny how I have been slowing handing over power to him and didn't even realize it until it is totally out of control. I have girded myself with a refresher of chapter 15, Shepherding a Child's Heart and the bible and am currently adding Instructing Your Child's Heart to my arsenal. Wish us well, better yet put us on your semi-permanent prayer list, say 16more years.

Not to completely paint a bad picture of my little sweetie, he is still moms protector as he gave me a huge hug last night and said "Aiden take care of my mom".

Back From Montana

Nolen and I flew to Billing, MT for a four day weekend. He was of course awesome on the plane (on the way out). Just wanted to smile and talk to anyone who would look his way. In Billings he met his great aunts and uncles, second cousins, grandparents, and great-grandparents. He loved everyone. We looked at the horses and chickens at grandma and grandpa sandes house, but the gravel driveway was apparently more captivating as that was all he was interested in looking at! Day three of our trip he developed a fever and kept it up until we got home. I was pretty worried as most moms are when a little one isnt feeling well. He fussed and couldnt be comforted all the way home. He definately wasnt feeling well since he has been nothing but pleased his entire short life. (Right now he is back to himself - blowing a mass of spit bubbles and cooing to get my attention as I write this).

It was a bitter sweet trip as we spread my grandmas ashes. She is one of my favorite people and I still cant believe she is gone. At least twice a week I think of picking up the phone and calling her or writing a letter and I remember she isnt here anymore. But having all her family together this weekend just clarified what an amazing lady she was and what an incredible legacy she left us.

Made it back in one piece

We just arrived back saftely from our ten day trip to Liberty lake. It was quite an adventure as we, Myself, Nolen and Aiden all shared a room. Aiden and I slept in the same bed and Nolen slept in his little co-sleeper next to the bed. Aiden is kind of a wild sleeper, he makes lots of noise and moves all around. But it was sweet too because he would cuddle with me and I never get to do that anymore with him. Nolen was a champ. Basically no fussing the entire time, right to sleep every night, although he did start waking up every two hours to eat at night. So I am pretty certain I never got even two hours of sleep in a row the entire time. The high light of Aidens time was playing with my brother Christopher rat, Tansey. Aiden calls her a baby ratoon or baby tansey. Anything small is a baby. We had to stop three times on the way back so Aiden could pee on the side of the road. I dont know if he really had to go or if it was just fun to pee on the road. We were able to visit the Browns and participate in a little homeschooling. Aiden loved playing with Mia, Silas and Macy and having lunch with them too. We also had a play date with another Mia who lives across the street from my parents. He must have thought she was cute because he was pretty obnoxious to her. Grandpa sang to Nolen and this enchanted him. Nolen seems to really enjoy music and singing. Aiden started dancing alot whenever music was on. All in all a good trip. Good bonding for the boys and I for sure!

Visiting Liberty Lake with the Boys

My first road trip with both of the boys. We made it to Spokane with only minor irritations. Nolen continues to amaze me with his laid back personality. He fussed for a total of 10 minutes and then was his jolly little self for the other five hours of the trip. Aiden continued to amaze me with his perservance in pleasing only himself (I suspect this is typical of two year olds) The battle of wills began when he insisted on watching the same dvd over and over and I could no longer listen to Curios George. He cried for an hour and then when he finally gave in to my apparently unreasonable request of asking me in a controlled polite manner to watch it ONE more time, he promptly fell asleep. All in all a perfect first leg to our road trip. Blue sky, light traffic and good company.