Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Day 181 of Project 365


We had a coupon for a free kids meal at the Old Spaghetti Factory so Jenica and I kidnapped Rob from the office today and took him out to lunch. This was taken outside the restaurant with some of the new Portland construction in the background. It was the perfect day today, sunny and warm with a light breeze. The only thing that would have made it better is if we could have just taken Rob home with us instead of having to drop him off back at work. Thanks honey for working so hard to support your family! We love you!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Day 180 of Project 365


Anyone catching on to this weeks photo theme yet?

Day 179 of Project 365


I didn't actually buy any fireworks, I just thought this firework stand would make a cool picture.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Day 178 of Project 365


Sunday marked challenge #5 for our local Biggest Losers, Jay and Laura. This time Rob was able to come out for the fun too! The goal: Hold a 4 pound bucket of water above your head for as long as possible. I did not fare well at this challenge and dropped out after 15 minutes, but everyone else held their buckets for well over a half an hour. Laura finally lost by a technicality. Way to go Jay! As usual you can check out their blog at jlbiggestloser.blogspot.com.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Day 177 of Project 365


We did it! Our first half marathon was amazing! We had such a great time and all our hard work and training paid off. We finished in 2 hours and 20 minutes and felt pretty darn good when it was all over with. We even sprinted across the finish line! Thanks to my faithful friend and running partner! I might have been able to do it with out you... but I wouldn't have wanted to! You have made running fun for me and this was definitely our best race yet! Can't wait to see what's next :)

Day 176 of Project 365


We headed to Seattle today to pick up our race material for tomorrows half marathon! Traffic was horrendous and we almost thought we weren't going to get there in time. Our material said we absolutely had to be there by 7:00pm to pick up our stuff, so the thought of not being able to race after we had trained for so long was not a pleasant one. We ended up making it there with half an hour to spare (but not much of a chance for photo op's) so this is a picture of me reading through my race material back at the hotel. I actually learned some very useful information from the medical pamphlet we received, like it's not only okay, but encouraged to eat extra salty foods in the week leading up to a race (like I needed an excuse to consume more sodium... but anyway.) Better get some rest for the big day tomorrow!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Day 175 of Project 365


The dock behind Shelly's head is the exact location that Rob proposed to me 3 1/2 years ago. We snowshoe here regularly but I've actually never been during the summer. We went for a little walk around the lake today and ate a picnic lunch by the water. Jenica did not want to ride in the stroller so she walked most of the way and totally wore herself out. She slept for an hour in the truck on the way home and then took another 2 hour nap once we got back. The weather was absolutely perfect!

Tomorrow we head to Seattle for our half marathon on Saturday, so I probably won't be posting until at least Sunday, but feel free to check facebook for updates! I'm so excited (and a little nervous!)

Day 174 of Project 365

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Day 173 of Project 365


Today we baked cookies with our good friend Julia. It's so fun that Jenica is getting old enough to help. Her favorite part... tasting of course! I still remember how much I enjoyed licking the beaters as a kid and am more than happy to pass that tradition on to my kids, even if it means a messy toddler with a sugar high for a day. From the look on her face, I'd say they tasted pretty good!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Day 172 of Project 365


Jenica had lots of fun putting together the pull up bar we got for Rob for fathers day, and even wanted to try it out. I'm pretty sure she can do more pull ups than I can (which wouldn't be hard since I can't even do 1!)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Day 171 of Project 365


How could today's post not be dedicated to the dads in my life! After all, it is Fathers Day. So first I would like to wish my dad a Happy Fathers Day. With out him, I would not be the woman, wife and mom that I am today. I realized I don't have very many recent pictures of just him and I together but here is a good one of him and Jenica:


Secondly, happy Fathers Day to my wonderful husband. I couldn't ask for a better father for our children (well, child now... but hopefully more in the future:). Your patience, kindness, sternness (at times) and most of all your unending love, never ceases to amaze me. You truly are a good example of how our Heavenly Father loves us. Thank you for letting us honor you on this special day. Happy Fathers Day!

Day 170 of Project 365


We spent a fun day exploring waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. Wahclella Falls was our favorite and we were both surprised that we had never been to it before. It is right off of I84 (exit 40 I think) and only a short 1 mile hike in. It was the least crowded of the 4 falls we visited and the most beautiful by far! We felt like we were in a scene from a movie! The weather was perfect for taking pictures, but this was my first time attempt at photographing waterfalls and most of them came out overexposed. Oh well, practice makes perfect :)

Day 169 of Project 365


Darin, I'm sure you will be relieved to know that the construction of your network attached storage device is in the capable hands of our 21 month old.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Day 168 of Project 365


The gorgeous mommy to be opening her gifts at a shower in Tigard for her and her husbands first child, baby girl (we don't know the name yet) due in August. What a fun group of ladies! And delicious cake! And all kinds of cute baby stuff!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Day 167 of Project 365



"Mere Kylo" is Jenica's version of "come here Kylo." She must have heard us say this a lot while we were camping a few weeks ago because it's one of her favorite sentences right now.

She also loves to feed the animals. Daddy showed her how to feed the cat and now if she is left unattended for too long on the patio, she spreads food everywhere! The animals love it, and usually clean most of it up on there own so I don't really mind... except when it rains and then there is soaking wet cat food all over the place. As Jenica would say, "eeeewww!"

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Day 166 of Project 365

Day 165 of Project 365


I took family pictures for the Robertson's today, but Kailey stole the show! Here are a couple more of my favorites.



Sunday, June 13, 2010

Day 164 of Project 365

Day 163 of Project 365


A beautiful wedding at our church was a lovely end to a busy, sunny Saturday. The perfect day for Tom and Nicole to start their new life together as Mr. and Mrs. Brittingham. The ceremony was absolutely gorgeous, and made me cry of course, as most weddings do. I just love seeing how perfectly God puts everything together for those who are patient and wait on Him. Congratulations you two! You deserve the very best (and it looks like you have found exactly that in each other.)

Friday, June 11, 2010

Day 162 of Project 365


Update from Rob:
I broke through the old ceiling boards behind the sheetrock tonight and think I may have discovered the source of the leak.  It appears to be the drain pipe for the shower upstairs.  We will do some running water tests tomorrow to try to see the leak in action and pinpoint what exactly needs fixing.  Shay, being the great photographer she is, captured this moment right as I was discovering where the the drain pipe is in the ceiling.  The water flowed all sorts of places so there will still be quite a bit more to tear out and replace.  But it feels good to at least make some measurable progress.  The joists soaked up quite a bit of water so it will take a while for them to dry out before we can actually start putting things back together.  If anyone has a dehumidifier we could borrow to help speed up that process we would appreciate it:)

 

Day 161 of Project 365

... the day we found out that our daughters bedroom is full of mold.


This was Rob's smiling face before he made the unfortunate discovery. You see, this ugly black spot just appeared on her ceiling one day a while back, and when we emailed the woman who rents the apartment above us, she said she had a couple of issues going on, one of which involved a clogged toilet which she had poured some sort of black stuff down to try to fix. So we assumed that was the cause of the black spot and Rob immediately went up there and fixed the toilet. The spot did not seem to be spreading so we assumed the problem was fixed. Then last week, more black spots started appearing, so last night Rob cut into the sheet rock only to find that black mold was covering most of the ceiling in her room and massive amounts of water is now dripping out of a mysterious hole every time our upstairs renter showers or runs the dishwasher (the same water that has probably been running into the ceiling and walls every day for who knows how long). Jenica's room is now completely off limits to her, which of course makes life around here quite challenging since we live in a small 2 bedroom for the time being. For those of you that don't live close, prayers would certainly be appreciated and if anyone could spare any time to help Rob isolate and fix the problem, or help with the clean up afterwords (we are still unsure how widespread the damage is, so what all that will entail is still to be determined) we would certainly appreciate the help. I'll try to update this as we know more.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Day 160 of Project 365

Wednesday's this month are set aside for our third parenting class in the series offered through our church. This one is called "The Toddlerhood Transition" and no, Jenica is not actually on the cover, that was just some fancy editing on my part. (The picture is of her pointing at the timer, waiting for her 'blanket time' to be over. We just started working on this skill again after quite a long break so she is not too fond of it yet, and found more enjoyment in watching the time tick by than playing with the toys on her blanket.)

These books and classes, written by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo have been invaluable in preparing us for parenthood, as well as keeping us on the right path as Jenica grows and changes. So far this book has focused on the important roles that mom and dad each play in their childrens lives, as well as the benefits of having your children (and your self) on a schedule each day. This doesn't mean that you stick to the schedule exactly, but by working on various things at home, it can make your time away from home that much less stressful. Here is a good example, which seems so much like common sense but I hadn't even thought of doing it until I read it here. They recommended that you let your toddler sit in their highchair for a period of time after meal time is over, with a toy or book of your choice, to teach them how to sit still and be content for times like grocery shopping where that skill would make moms life a lot easier. There are also other things like room time and blanket time that can teach your children how to play independently, but still within the boundaries specified by mom (or dad). I wish this teaching was offered more widely, because I would honestly recomend it to any parent or parent to be. If you live near Molalla, or wouldn't mind driving there, we offer the classes once or twice a year. Otherwise, the same authors of this serious have also written some books available to the general public.

On Becoming Baby Wise is the first one and when I skimmed through this book at Barnes and Noble one day, it looked to be exactly the same text as our "Preparation for Parenting" book that we read when we took the first class in the parenting series.

There is also this book, On Becoming Toddler Wise that I have not looked at yet but I imagine is pretty similar to what we are reading now. If you are struggling at all in the area of discipline or structure in your home, I would highly recommend these books. They not only make your child happier and more well behaved, they will make your life as a parent so much easier as well. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to put Jenica in her room to quietly play for an hour while I get the house clean or get some of my work done that I do from home.

It is hard work, I'm not going to sugar coat it, but the benefits highly out weigh the sacrifice and the "proof is in the pudding" as some would say. If you have any questions, feel free to comment here or send me an email. I would love to here from you!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Day 159 of Project 365


The girls look so cute in their matching pig tails! Jenica and I went out to visit Shannon and her girls today and the weather eventually got nice enough to go outside. I'm pretty sure riding in the Jeep with Bridget was the highlight of the day for Jenica, and you were right Shannon, she is an excellent driver. Let's just hope that skill lasts through her teenage years :)

Monday, June 7, 2010

Day 158 of Project 365


Jay Warrington almost made it onto the Biggest Loser. I think he was in the top 40 finalist from our area. But his weight loss journey did not end there. He and his wife Laura decided to do their own Biggest Loser and include us all in the process! You can check out their story at jlbiggestloser.blogspot.com. Their first challenge was last Monday. I couldn't make it to that one since it was Memorial Day weekend and we were on our way back from camping, but I was free today so I thought I would check it out. It was lots of fun to watch them compete and I even got to give it a try myself. We had to go down and back on a balance beam with different sized medicine balls 20 times. Great job on your weight loss guys. Can't wait to see what next week brings!

Day 157 of Project 365


Okay, I totally meant to take a picture of Rob and his sister Amy today while she was visiting (Rob took her laptop shopping for a new computer for her senior year of high school next year) but I completely forgot! So disappointing since we don't get to see her much. Next time Amy... don't let me forgot! :)

Instead, Jenica gets to be featured again with her mad block building skills! She really built this tower herself, no kidding! I know I'm partial being her mom and all, but that seems like pretty darn good hand/eye coordination for a 21 month old. What do you think?

Day 156 of Project 365


Courtney, Rob and I went to Cinetopia for the first time to see Iron Man 2. The food was delicious and the seats were super comfortable and it was so nice to eat real food while watching a movie for a change. I had the penne pasta with sundried tomatoes which was super delicious and huge. I felt like I was eating a never ending pasta bowl! Oh, and the movie was pretty good too. I'll let Rob right his review in the comments section if he still reads my blog :)

Day 155 of Project 365


It's funny how even the simplest things like going to the dentist become a challenge when you have kids. My lovely friend Emelye was so sweet to watch Jenica for my cleaning appointment today. Thanks friend! I owe you some free babysitting when Baby C arrives!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Day 153 of Project 365


Jenica started a two week swim camp today at the same place that she took her survival lessons last fall (www.swimbabes.com). I was impressed at how much she remembered even though she hasn't been swimming much since I went back to work in January. The camp will be every day for the next two weeks so it will be fun to see how fast she progresses! Here is a picture of her taken last October in the same locker room.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Day 152 of Project 365


How could adorable Elijah not be my picture of the day? At just 8 days old he is already quite the handsome fella, and mommy and daddy look pretty great too for having a newborn and a two year old at home!

Here are a couple more of my favorites along with a cute one of Jenica holding little Elijah. He is the first baby she has ever held! We won't talk about the shenanigans that she and Hayden got into before this picture was taken.




I'm not really sure what her expression is all about...