Elephant Food

We went to the zoo this morning with Hayley and Logan and we are so glad we did! The rain is supposed to start up tomorrow...just in time for Halloween! It was a beautiful morning, cloudy, a bit chilly, but perfect. Don't let all of Andi's winter layers fool you, it wasn't that cold, she is just a cold child and shivers when it's 80 degrees outside. The animals were all in pretty good form. If they weren't up and playing, they were at least sleeping right in plain view. 

I'm sure you saw the news of the baby elephant all over a couple months back, but what didn't hit newsstands was the birth of three baby wart hogs! They are adorable, in a hoggy kind of way. They have vertical stripes on them and were running around like crazy! The kids loved them!

There were also two elephants out together and their trainer was having them do tricks like hold their trunks a certain way, lift a leg, etc. Well, we were up above at the elephant viewing area (for those familiar with the Oregon Zoo),  and there is a fence that hits me at about my waste, then about 5 yards of bushes and brush on a gradual decline, then another fence, then a 20 foot drop or so into the elephant's little home. Well, I had picked Carter up so he could get a better look at the elephants. Then I set him down so I could put Andi back in the stroller. I start snapping her in when I hear the snapping of branches and some guy saying, "Some kids just went over the fence." Yeah, Carter somehow managed to climb the fence and fall over into the elephant pit. Ok, not really the elephant pit at all, but he was well on his way. It scared the heck out of him and he has a scratch on his face from the snapping branches that I heard. I guess he just wanted to see more tricks from the elephants. Be looking for us on one of those most shocking world videos shows, we are going to try to fall into the tiger cage next time!

I'm trying to rip Andi's cup away from her, but she wasn't having that.

Logan and Andi sittin' in a.... saddle. 

Playgroup Party!

Every Monday we get together with a few of our friends and hold a playgroup, rotating houses each week. This week we were at our friend Rachel's house with her three boys and she hosted our playgroup Halloween party! It was so much fun! My kids loved getting into their costumes and Carter loved trying on everybody else's costumes. You'll notice the only way I could get my two kids to cooperate and take a picture together was safely strapped in their car seats. :)

Beach Babes

This past Sunday we hit the beach! Ok, in Oregon we call it the coast because usually its' beautiful beachy shores are cold, windy and rainy. That's what we planned for on Sunday when we headed out after Stake Conference. We bundled up in jeans, hoodies and tennis shoes planning for a cold, bundle up by the fire, kind of afternoon. Were we ever wrong! It was in the upper 70s but there was no wind and sunny skies so it felt even warmer. We all stripped down as much as possible, rolled our jeans up, kicked off our shoes, and went splashing in the ocean.  We went with our good friends the Wards and had a great time. Our kids play so well together. When it got to the late afternoon, we were all still sitting around hot as ever, but decided we wanted to eat so we started up our fire and roasted hot dogs. When it finally started to get dark and cool off a little we curled up next to the fire and busted out the s'mores. It was the perfect summer day at the coast in the middle of fall.  

For the life of us we could not keep Andi from eating the sand. I cannot even count the number of handfuls that she ate!

The kids  loved playing in these holes that the men folk dug. They were pretending they were hot tubs and swimming pools and that the shovels were cell phones. 

Heather is an amazing photographer. Here she is taking a picture of her cute kids Madi and Nixon.

Nixon and Carter running off into the sunset together.

Taking advantage of the last rays of sun. 

Andi is sitting here hoping that mom will roast her another hot dog.

Slumber Party

On Friday night our young women had a slumber party. We did some planning, ate pizza, played games, and chatted into the night. It was great for us all to bond and get to know each other a little bit better. The next morning we headed out to Liepold Farms to hit the corn maze. I think all the girls were a bit sleepy and it ended up being the quickest trip through a corn maze ever, but still fun. Jefferson was supposed to have some hours in the clinic that morning so I had to take the kids along. About half way out to the corn maze I saw that I had missed a call from Jefferson about an hour before. There was no message or anything, so I decided to just call him back. He answered and told me that he didn't have to go to the clinic so he could take the kids if I wanted. Do you love how hard he tried to get ahold of me to tell me that?! No message and only one missed call. Real sneaky. Anyways, I ended up just dragging the kids along. And when I say drag, I mean that literally. Carter stopped a couple of times in the cornmaze because he wanted to go the other direction. I was carrying Andi and in no mood to discuss, so I literally dragged him by his arm a couple of times. It was so very pleasant. Carter did love the big cheshire cat at the end (it was an Alice in Wonderland theme) and walking through the pumpkins. Luckily it was a quick trip. 

Girl Talk

No, not the game with the sticker zits and "crazy" dares, like prank calling your crush. I am talking about the real deal, bona fide, girl talk with a couple of my most favorite girls! Yesterday my friend Hayley and her son Logan came down to play with us. We spent a good amount of time strolling around Target enjoying our popcorn and soda. Then we came back to my place and for four hours rotated our kids through naps and lunch and had some good girl talk. Here are Andi and Logan enjoying their little Target date:

Then at 6:30 I checked out and drove over to Beaverton to see my friend Robyn. We just ate treats, exchanged recipes and chatted. My good husband put the kids to bed, cleaned the kitchen, and even folded laundry! What?! I should leave more often!

Here are a few more random photos of my kids. Carter crosses his legs all the time. It makes him look like a little man:

Andi being a girly girl. We bought her some pearls the other day and she insists on wearing them pretty much all the time. And of course, the purse is a permanent attachment.

And here is our Halloween preview. Our pumpkins waiting to be carved and Andi trying on a piece of her costume:

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Mommy Moment: Carter's cracking me up!

I have had two funny conversations with Carter today. The first one was when Carter showed me the tail to his teddy bear. I asked Carter if he had a tail and he replied, "No, I have a bum." 

The second was when I got the licorice out after lunch as a treat. I asked if Carter wanted a piece and he said, "No, a big one." He says he wants a big one when he wants the whole thing, so he thought I was only going to break a piece off.

Pumpkin patch

This past weekend my parents came up and we went down to meet up with my brother and his family in Salem to go to the French Prairie Pumpkin Patch. It was a bit cooler than we were anticipating, which ended up keeping the pumpkin patch pretty empty while we were there. We had a great time going through the hay maze, playing in the sand pit, going down the huge slide, feeding the animals, riding the pig train, taking the hay ride, picking out pumpkins, eating delicious pulled pork sandwiches and my favorite, watching the pig races! They had a little race track where they raced two sets of pigs and then ducks. It was hilarious. Carter actually got picked to be a pig leader (aka cheerleader) for the pig with the purple bandanna. It was a riot! We had a great time and fully feel in the fall spirit. 

$70 date night

Bowling for two hours: $30

Pizza and drinks: $10

Nachos: $10

Babysitter: $20

Spending time with my husband and friends: priceless

Our converstion...

Me: Do you like Andi's sweats? (they are fleece ones from the Children's Place)

Jefferson: Not really.

Me: Why not?

Jefferson: Because fleece sweats make me think of low income, ghetto people.

Me: We are low income, ghetto people. 

The beginning of the end...

Monday began the beginning of the end. Jefferson started his 9th quarter at Western States, which means he only has four quarters left. We officially have less than one year left of chiropractic college! This is our last fall here (I am very sad about that one), our last Halloween, last Thanksgiving, last Christmas, last.... you get the point. 

It's kind of bitter-sweet. I am so excited to be out in the "real world" making money instead of being loaned money. I am excited to see where we end up, to go somewhere new, to start a new business, to have a house shortly thereafter. I am also very happy, content, and comfortable with where I am at right now. We know where our money is coming from. While school definitely has it's challenges, we still get two weeks of break every quarter (that's not going to happen in a year), and we have tons of great friends here who are all in the same boat as we are. 

We love Portland and all it has to offer. There are such amazing parks and walking trails around here. Not to mention the plethora of activities and sites for kids, including OMSI, The Children's Museum, and The Oregon Zoo. We have a playgroup set up with an amazing group of friends, there are open gyms at the Portland Community Center, there is Saturday's Market downtown and Farmer's Markets every mile. We LOVE Portland!

I am getting ahead of myself, we still have a year left. But, it is the beginning of the end, and if the last two years went by this quickly, I better not blink if I want to see this last year!

Ca-Chow!

I promised Carter that after naptime he could put on his Lightning McQeen underwear that we bought him a while back. I didn't really know if he would remember, but first thing out of his mouth when I got him up was, "I wear lightning McQueen mama?" I said sure thing. So, I put them on expecting the worst. Carter goes potty twice a day and always goes pee, but he still goes in his diaper all the time too. Anyways, he started to go in his underwear while I was making dinner and he says, "Uh-oh, I pee in Lightning McQueen mama." But he stopped going and I whisked him off to the bathroom where he finished on the potty and then did the same thing later. I was thrilled! The fact that he knew to stop and actually finished on the potty was a big step! We are out and about tomorrow morning, but hopefully we'll progress throughout the week.

Carter has also become the king of stalling at bedtime or naptime. It starts off that he'll just say "I don't want to go to bed" and run away. Then he'll ask if he can sleep on the couch. Next, once we finally get his teeth brushed and prayers said, he'll say he wants a drink, then he will lay down in bed and say "Carry me mama" because Jefferson usually puts him down in bed and it's not good enough for me just to lean over and give Carter a kiss and a hug, I have to pick him up. His final attempt at escaping bedtime first came last night when I heard Carter wailing from his room, "I want bunny!" Bunny? His stuffed animal? I have no idea what he is crying about. So I go in his room and he's saying "funny", "Make a funny face at the door mama." Sometimes when I leave the room I will act like I am closing the door and then swing it open really fast and make a funny face and it makes Carter and Andi laugh. So now I have to make a funny face at the door every night and also warn him that "This is the last time and then I am done." This is ridiculous. 

Carter also loves quoting "Toy Story" and "Cars." Here's a little clip. It's not his best, but you get the gist:

As for Andi, she is finally showing some signs of interest in girly things. She has attached herself to one of my purses and insists on wearing it around the house at all times, even though she has to raise her arm in the air the whole time to keep it on her shoulder. She is also loving cell phones and keys. All she needs is a credit card now and she'll be good to go. 

Her vocabulary is growing slowly. She can say: yeah, please, baby, bear, mama, thank you (da-eeh), and makes animal noises for a duck, cow, cat, lion, and horse. She is a pro at walking and loves "chasing" Carter around, even though he laps her. It's fun to watch those two play together more and more every day. 

My little niece Reece

This past week Andi and I took off, leaving our boys behind, to go down to Utah to "help" my sister, Summer, with her first baby. I have never met someone so prepared for motherhood, nor have I met someone more suited to be a mom. My sister is sickeningly patient (in a very good way), so gentle, soft spoken, and did I mention patient? Reece is one lucky little girl!

We mostly just hung out, fixed meals, went on little walks, and tried to keep Reece awake to eat. Andi loves her new little cousin and walked around saying "baby, baby" all day long. She was a good little helper too. Whatever was left sitting around she would pick up and hand to whoever the item belonged to. If we set it down, she would just pick it up and hand it to us again; binkis, phones, drinks, books... 

We got to see some family while we were down there and meet up with my good friend Jackie (see the post below). My mom was down there the first day, and then at the end of the week my dad came into town, along with my brother and his wife. It was fun to be there and to see my sister finally get to be a mom! Congratulations Josh and Summer! I can't believe I have to wait until Christmas to see you all again. It was way too hard leaving today!

Thank you Jefferson for supporting me and letting us go down there for a whole week of your break! I love you and am so glad that I get to sleep next to you tonight! :)