I totally forgot the hilarious videos!

How could I forget the camping videos! Here they are!

You may want to turn down the volume a bit for this one:)



Nathan telling about the slug house



Thank goodness Owen loves swinging. I bet he spent at least 2 hours in this thing. He just cracks me up!



Jacob and his sleeping...too funny!

Camping and a Happy 30th Birthday to Daddy!!

Ian hit the big 3-0 this past Saturday. To commemorate we took the boys on their very first camping trip. To say I was nervous before going about Owen is an understatement. He is at the stage where he can get to pretty much whatever he wants. He walks along everything and crawls around like a little maniac. Being stopped from doing this makes him less than happy to say the least. It ended up raining most of last week so by Friday while the rain had stopped it left the ground quite muddy. Thankfully there was a playground with baby swings and a gazeebo that was wood and had a cement ground. Owen and I spent a lot of time there while Ian and the boys fished. We also spent a lot of time walking the camp ground with and without Keira. All things considered Owen did GREAT! He slept better there than he did last night in his own bed. He LOVES being outside. I think in a few more months once he can walk he will be the best little camper ever.

The boys LOVED every minute of camping. They "explored" and found a "meteor hole" that they spent literally hours excavating. They loved finding bugs both dead and alive and telling us all about it. They even built a house for some slugs they found. They went on a exploration to find an Owl that was hooting with Ian. And they spent quite a bit of time on the dock watching beavers and catching a few fish. They also LOVED roasting marshmallows and eating smores. They slept in their very own tent without a problem. We are very proud of them. Jacob has already TOLD me that for HIS birthday in San Diego we ARE going camping.

The trip was definitely eventful. Three of mine and Ian's favorite lines of the weekend were as follows:

1. "oops there's that tree again" (background: Jacob was walking backwards talking to Ian, turned around and ran smack into this tiny tree and then turned around brushing himself off with a goofy grin said that to Ian).

2. Jacob to Ian on the second night "Daddy I promise I won't light you on fire with my marshmallow again tonight" (background: night 1 Jacob caught his marshmallow on fire and flung it at Ian who got 2nd degree burns in between two of his fingers. Needless to say Ian roasted the marshmallows for the kids after that)

3. Nathan to me walking back from the lake to the camp site "sorry mommy I had to shine the lantern on your butt to make sure its still you in front of me" (background: we were walking back and they took turns holding the LED lantern. He smacked me right in the butt with it and that is how he apologized.

We met some great people and had a really good time. I could have stayed longer but I have to admit my arms are still killing me from hauling Owen around all weekend. It was well worth it though. Ian had a good birthday and loved my little surprise for him which was over 25 cards from friends and family. We had fun opening each one. Some were absolutely hilarious! I think it was good for him to know he is loved and appreciated not just by us but by a lot of other people. We look forward to camping a lot in California/Arizona once we move. While I know it is a sin to covet I have to confess I COVET A POP UP CAMPER! I want one sooooo bad! I don't even care if its 70s green as long as its in decent shape. So if anyone wants to chip in on a fund for one that would be great!

To save time here is a slide show of the 50 pictures I took on our trip. Enjoy!

Jacob's FIRST day of FIRST GRADE!

Last Wednesday Jacob started First Grade! He has been so excited to go to school ALL day and get to have lunch there! His teacher's name this year is Mrs. Petersen. She was a Kindergarten teacher last year so Jacob was around her occasionally and I think feels pretty comfortable with her. This was a blessing! The first day I took him in (with him asking me to drop him off out front and not go in:) The room is set up with tables with about 5 kids per table. Jacob's good friend (and neighbor) Tyler is in his class again and they got lucky enough to even sit next to eachother (we shall see how long that lasts!:) The first three days went great. He loves having gym every day and has raved about his new music teacher and art class. He is not too happy about homework but he will have to get over that one.

It is so strange having him gone from 8:30 to 4 (including bus). Nathan is not too thrilled about it but he will be starting preschool three days a week next Wednesday and then I think that will make things easier on him. We are SO going to miss their schools when we move. They are awesome!



Jacob and Tyler



Side note: Ian's orders are finally in the works. We should have them (crossing fingers) when he gets back to work after the holiday weekend. Then I can give all the details and post about his soon to be VERY new ship!

The Owen-meister hits the 9 month mark!

I took Owen in for his 9 month check up today. He charmed all the nurses with his waving, big smiles and giggling. He loves people. He is a funny little boy. Poor kiddo is not so happy now after two shots, missing his nap and his gums are swollen on the top and bottom where his incisor teeth need to come in. UGH. He can't catch even a week without teething. I guess let them come and get it over with. He now has four teeth (top two and bottom two) but the top ones you really can't see quite yet. He is cruising the furniture and Sunday while playing with Heather he stood for about 30 seconds unassisted. We are NOT encouraging walking!:)

He tipped the scales at 21 pounds 9 ounces and is 29 1/2 inches long. I had to go look up Jacob's 9 month stats to see if he beat him but nope Jacob was still bigger. He was 22 pounds 3 ounces and 30 inches long...so they are close which is what I figured. He has huge feet like Jacob did too so I foresee expensive shoes in his future. She said everything is right on track. She said that his birthmark that is between his eyes should fade more around the 12 month mark. So we shall see if it does or not. I am hoping to somehow arrange our move so I can get him in there for his 12 month check prior to our leaving here but who knows if that will work out or not.....still waiting on the orders.......

It will be fun to see how Owen does camping this weekend. I have a feeling his main meal is going to be dirt!

Here is a picture of him playing with Ian. I was trying to get a picture of his top teeth and while that did not work and its a pretty poor picture, you can really see how much fun they were both having so for that reason I think its cute.

On Daddy's Watch......

Owen has had some great adventures lately on Daddy's watch. Namely devouring crusty play dough, escaping onto the front porch and enjoying a great dog bone or two.

Ian knew Owen was on the other side of the kitchen playing but did not realize he had gotten into Nathan's playdough that he obviously did not shut tight. He rounded the corner and his first thought was "Oh God" then his second thought was "its non toxic where is the camera" (FINALLY he is thinking like me as far as taking pictures!:) I was in the shower and he comes in the bathroom and tells me "um Sarah, if Owen starts pooping bright green its okay" UM WHAT? Then he proceeds to tell me the story. I laughed, was thankful I did not have to clean up the mess and praised him for his fast thinking camera action. Here are some for your enjoyment:



While I am posting....here are some shots from last weekend when we went the boys' friend's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. I am not sure who had more fun, the kids or IAN. They made another trip to Chuck E Cheese (the three of them) Friday night but it was a different one and Ian was really disappointed they did not have fishing, hunting or simulated driving games.....he is such a KID!


Owen could not decide if he wanted celery or pizza crust so he had both:)


Nathan kicked Ian's butt 6 to 5 at air hockey. He was VERY proud of himself!








Here are the boys resting and watching tv after a long day at Chuck E Cheese...I could not resist taking a picture.

Miscellaneous Fun

Yesterday Ian had his once a month training in the morning so he was home by 1:00 (a HUGE treat!) He spent the afternoon replacing the radiator in his Jeep and then let the boys play outside until after dark. We had fun playing on the grass while daddy worked so I of course had to pull out the camera and get some cute shots of the boys.



I love these two pictures of Owen and his "serious" face.

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Owen must think he is a cat. One of his favorite things to do is put something in his mouth (especially my hair ties) and crawl around the house. He is a nut what can I say?

Think they missed their dad?

I have been meaning to post these two videos from Sunday night. Think the boys missed Ian at all the week he was gone???





Seriously my back hurts already but standing there watching them jump on him made me hurt that much more. I am not sure who was having more fun the kids or the dad:) It is a good thing he is around because there is absolutely no way they are going to be able to jump on me like that! I for one can't wait until this nights stint is over. I will so miss working with John but I am so excited to have Ian home for dinner! We figure that should be around October but who knows gotta get those darn orders first! Hurry up Mr. Detailer!

Zucchinni Anyone??

Yesterday at church a wonderful sweet lady brought in some of her produce from her garden to share. We jumped at the chance to get a few cucumbers and this zucchini. The boys were absolutely amazed. Now onto figuring out what to make...bread? quesadillas, fried patties.......any other ideas??

More of the week without daddy......

Yahoo!!! Daddy comes home today. 7 days is plenty:) Hopefully he will be home by dinnertime. In the meantime the last day of swim lessons and I think a brave trip to Costco on a Saturday will keep us plenty busy enough!

Just wanted to share a few more photos. Yesterday we met up with our friends Nicole and Josh and went to the water park by our house. The kids had a lot of fun and surprisingly Owen fell asleep in his stroller which NEVER happens. This is the third time in the past few weeks and I would be thrilled if it would continue!






The other night when I was bathing Owen I made his hair into a mohawk. It cracked me up so last night I used some shaping jel and did it again. He was so cute! Nathan walked in and yelled "Mommy I HATE IT!" and tried to smash it down:) Definitely not something I would do everyday but it amused me until bath time.





Here is a shot of what the typical day around here looks like. Owen's favorite place to be by far is at the couch at his brother's feet. He drives them nuts but they sure amuse him!