Our New Place!

Well, here are finally some pictures for you of our new place, we LOVE it! It's a 3 bedroom, 1200 sq. foot, 1 year old apartment right across from New Seasons...perfect for us! Obviously, we would love a house, but financially are just not in a place to buy one around here, and we love it here. Our rent is double what we used to pay for a 2 bedroom in Newberg...that's painful.

The boys love it and have adjusted well. Noah and I were watching the lightening yesterday on our porch...notice the pot without flowers...maybe this weekend? We are right up against the wetlands and get morning sun, so we stay so cool, which is really nice for us, we don't like the heat.

We still have a lot of work to do, like get things up on the walls, but here it is! That is why the pictures are so late, I wanted to wait 'til we got it looking a little nicer to take pictures, but I think it will be a while, so here they are! Stop by any time to hang out with us, we love having people over again!

Here's the front door and some of the living room...we love how it's so big and open.
A view from the front door...notice our lack of a kitchen table:)

The boy's room...Noah is on the top bunk and thinks it's awesome! Today I walked into their room and found Jacob up on the last step...hmmm...maybe that's why his face is always so beat up...

Here's the boys play room, again, we tried to keep it as open as possible so they could play!

Our least favorite room is our room, it's kind of small, we couldn't fit all our furniture in it, but it will do, boy do we need to get some pictures up!

So there you have it...minus the kitchen, I thought I took one, but couldn't find it. It looks out into the living room. We love it and would love to have you help us make some memories!

Spoiled

Yes, we are spoiled. We realized after moving our huge u-haul to our new place and unpacking box after box of unopened furniture, tv's, and house decor...living with my parents for almost a year has spoiled us! We did our budget for our new expenses...and let me tell you, there will be no more furniture...even though we still need a table:) Andrew and I felt like kids at a huge Christmas, especially Andrew when he opened his new tv I bought for him! I'll take pictures and post them Monday after we get settled and all our new furniture put together tomorrow! Hope you are having a more relaxing weekend then us! Stop by any time after Sunday and check out our new place, we are so excited to get to entertain a lot now that we have a nice set up!

We also felt spoiled to have such great friends help us load and unload all our stuff in just a few short hours, so thanks! What a blessing that was, oh, and also not to have to worry about the boys at all, so thanks Nicole!

Jacob seems to have lost all sense of balance the past two days... which has resolved in this face...still cute, but it looks like he got in a big fight. Andrew keeps saying, "You should see the other guy!" haha.

We've been spending a lot of time outside these past few days, loving all the nice weather! The boys run, and run, and run, and love pushing their "cars" on walks around the block. Jacob runs over to the door and screams until he gets to go outside:)
Pushing the cars around the back, he loves to play chase.
The boys crash and throw their cars all around. I let them get a little into it because where else are they allowed to be so ruff? Noah especially needs a little time to be destructive I think, haha.

We were over at some friend's house yesterday playing in the sprinklers and just relaxing for a play group, and Jacob kept wanting to go up and down a step that led into the house. I kept helping (saving) him, and finally had had enough, he had to learn. So...being the good mom that I am, I let him fall to see what would happen. Well, that resulted in the first of the marks on his face. Just a little scratch on his forhead...nothing too bad, but guess what? He didn't try and do it again! The rest came from various falls while just walking around...my little clutz! Atleast he always has a smile on his face!
Here's the damage that's been done...not all at once, but each on a different face plant, I think there has been six in all.

We went to McDonalds (yes, I willfully went) to get a milk shake together. We all ended up sharing one and the boys loved it! Jacob wouldn't let it go.
I have to rescue Jacob about 100 times a day from almost dying...he has no fear!

Honoring...

Honoring those who gave their lives so we might have the freedom and comfort that we all experience and enjoy today. The boys and I went up to Willamette National Cemetery to honor the Veterans for Memorial Day tomorrow. What a sight it is to see all those flags, each hand placed in straight rows on every grave. The boys loved walking around looking at all the flags and flowers. I tried to explain to Noah what we were doing, but he kept thinking that it was Jesus who gave His life for us...so cute. I guess that's really the only concept he has of death so far, and that sacrificial death. Every time we saw another person out there, he would ask if it was Jesus who died on the cross for our sins.

Jacob loved having his own flag and kept hitting me with it while I was driving. I'm sure my mom is dying laughing right now reading this post because I used to HATE doing this every year as one of our family "TRADITIONS" (I know that some of you who know us well are singing that word as you read that from Fiddler on the Roof) haha. So yes, now that I have my own kids, things like this are becoming more important to me again. Like gardening Dad, who again, used to have to drag me out to help him in the garden, and now I have my own:) Oh well, I guess you come full circle!

Oh, Summer Fun

Summer is finally here, and so are the BBQ's! We invited everyone over to our house...but one of the gals was so nice as to offer to have it at her house, with a yard and a little more space, thanks!

I love Jacob's smile, he is getting crazy though! He is on the table in a second if you don't watch him, he's in the bark dust, drinking people's beers (or whatever drink he can find low enough), up the stairs, then trying to come back down, man, he's exhausting!


The four of us from the club who are doing the 1/2 marathon together!
Look at Noah's concentration here, he cracks me up.
Andrew, who really wanted his picture taken, can you tell?
Another cute one of Jacob.

We are so excited for this season of our lives together as a family as we enjoy each other and this nice weather, and our friends!

What's Up?

I don't know why I have been such a bad, boring blogger lately...sorry! I think part of it is I have been by myself with the boys a lot, and adding the camera into the mix can be a little much, like at the zoo and garden...but I'll try and get some cute ones soon. We are already in pj's playing trains after an afternoon/evening out at our garden. I'm almost done planting, only because I have a little gal helping me with the boys while I work, and it's a life saver! The boys help on and off, but they mostly run around and play golf in the grassy area around our community garden. She's a very responsible girl from my volleyball team, and I think she has fun with us too. What a help that will be in the summer with the pool and having both boys myself while Andrew is at work. Just an extra set of hands...oh, what a blessing.

I have really enjoyed being together as a family outside and often think of something a lady I used to nanny for would say, "Sick kids don't get dirty." One time I came home with her kids a mess from the creek catching crawdads all day, and she started tearing up saying how much it meant to her that her kids were able to play and get dirty like that. It really impacted me, because most people get stressed out by those messes. It reminds me to be happy my kids are healthy when I have to do a few extra rinses in the bath because the water is so dirty! (Sorry, mom!)

In other news, we move in 11 days! We can't wait, though this year has been a blessing in so many ways. Well, there you have it, a random, boring post...I'll work on it:)

Bubbles and Such

The boys love bubbles. This love was reawakened yesterday at Tyson's birthday party, so all morning, Noah kept asking if we could go blow bubbles. So, we went to the later church service while Jacob slept so we could blow bubbles...how can you say no that that face? Well, actually, we do say no all the time...but anyways.
Me and my bubble boy
So happy! We are loving all this nice weather...especially the boys! Jacob cries by the door until we go let him run around outside...even if it's just up the sidewalk:)

Andrew made us some delicious guacamole last night! So good!
Noah and his buddy at their sleepover last night...can you tell that neither one is looking at me? They were both watching Bolt...which is so cute by the way!