Life Goes On! (ob-la-di oh-bla-da)

Life for us, is going on- in a good way.  First off, in the best way- we are expecting #3 to come our way in April! Just took my first step into life outside of the first yucky trimester (13 weeks 5 days).  Next down the list of life's goings on: we are living in our own house again!  It has been a year and a half of anticipation since we packed up and moved out of our Glendale, AZ home. (even though we had our own place in Albany, OR we also did share it with the scent of cigarettes and cat and neighbors that made you grateful for your dog Bear- doesn't really count as a "home")  Living with the in-laws didn't really feel like "living with the in-laws"- life there was happy, blessed, and full of wonderful memories.  However, it's good in so many ways to be on our own.  I hope this plethora of pictures sums it all up!

Speaking of "summing it all up" this picture does it for Grandma- this is what it looks like when Grandma is around.  The kids LOVE her! This picture was taken shortly after we moved in. Rosy looks like a baby!

yep.  Can't get close enough.  Even watching T.V. they usually aren't content just sitting next to her.

Good memory from living at Margaret and Warren's: Rocky was so excited to go outside and play he ran out the door before he put his pants on!

Another random picture, it was the screensaver on my phone forever.  I put her hair in a cute ponytail before we went to the store, and then it dried in an afro..

Rosy helping mama with homework.

Taking the corn husks off- Rosy couldn't wait for it to be boiled, she just dug right in.

This is our enormous sunflower that just grew and grew...

This is one of the 3 that we harvested! Harvesting sunflower seeds is a long and tedious task.  Especially when you find out one of the sunflower heads was a dud!  All the seeds inside this perfectly looking flower were shriveled and empty.  I didn't find this out until I had already mixed them all with the other seeds.  Now we have a million sunflower seeds and only 1/3 are any good.  

Right before we moved we had some sidewalk chalk fun.

Sidewalk chalk bum. (so that was a collection of not to be forgotten photos from my phone, or memories from living with Grandma and Grandpa...)

 TRANSITION TO THE NEW HOUSE...

I scattered these floor plans in our entryway to show how many plans and houses we looked at during the months and months of searching!  It was a rewarding feeling to finally get rid of all the options- sometimes options make decisions hard.

These kids have lived one transition after another- and it's been eye opening to realize that Rosy has never lived anywhere longer than 6 months since she was born.  Somehow that makes watching her grow up go that much faster.  I love this picture.  It also "sums up" these two.  I hope this is how siblings are everywhere but the two of them are like peas and carrots.  Rocky in the mornings, "Rosy, whatcha want to do today?" Rosy: "I dunno" Rocky, "Want to play toys with me upstairs?"  It's a funny little interchange the two of them do.  Rosy never sounds agreeable since she usually just says "No!" to everything Rocky suggests- however, she will follow him around like a shadow all day long.

It is only fitting that Rosy climbed out of her pack-n-play the night we moved into our new house.  She had to learn how to fall asleep in an actual bed, by herself.  It was about a 3 week challenge, but her and Rocky now both put themselves to sleep!  Some parents know just what to do when it comes to sleep and their children from the beginning.  We, however just learned it.

My favorite spot in the house. (It's in the backyard and is the entrance to our very own "Secret Garden")

We took a trip to the Boise Zoo!  I was missing you Kaylee.  You always got so excited about going to the Zoo and I didn't get it until I went with my kids.  It's admirable that you love going without kids.  It's also hilarious that you bought yourself a Zoo pass.  

It's probably not a good sign if your head can fit through the steering wheel, it probably means you are too small /short to be driving.

Fortunately it was just a safari vehicle for playing in.

Rosy is holding on for safety. Smart girl.

These penguin pictures just crack me up for some reason.

Every. Time.

I snagged this shot of Rocky.  He was relaxed, just snackin on his Cheezits looking for the Indian Sloth Bear to appear when he cam barreling towards him.  This is the beginning of Rocky's startled scream and back-peddling to safety!  

Crazy looking Bear.  If you know me well you know that the last thing I would want to encounter is a Bear in the wild.  Not my favorite thing.

Never saw a slide lookin so fun.  I would have totally gone down if you were there Kaylee.

It was our lucky day that we were there to pet the Boa Constrictor just in time.  Rosy didn't have anything to do with it, and pulled me by the hand to the opposite side of the room, away from Mr. Snake.

Feeding the giraffe a lettuce leaf was actually a frightening experience for Rocky.  This is the only picture I got because I had to put the camera away and console Rocky.  Rosy didn't surprise me when she laughed at the giraffe when it was her turn.

The Zoo trip was prompted by the fact that Joe had to work all day, and I decided I didn't want to stay home all day.  I also thought, maybe if I got out and did something I wouldn't be thinking about the morning sickness...The Zoo was a total success and we had a blast, but the day we decided to go there was a MAJOR event in the park next door to the zoo.  I'm not using an exaggeration when I say I had to park a mile away! Not a big deal if I had decided to bring the stroller. Which I didn't.  Getting to the zoo wasn't as hard as getting home.  Once we had spent a couple hours in 90 degree weather we were all spent, but had to walk a mile back to the car.  Rocky's poor little legs just couldn't do it, and I literally had no one I could ask for help.  My kids are big enough trying to hold both of them was impossible, and a spectacle (I tried...)  We had to walk for 3 shade trees and then take a break in the shade.  walk for three shade trees and take a break in the shade.  Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.  We did eventually make it, which earned us all slurpees for the ride home.  Rosy dumped hers all over herself and her carseat. Of course.  And I felt like sleeping for 3 days straight.  But it was totally worth it.

"Who ya texting Grandma?"

My parents have also already made it up to visit us!  They are awesome, and I bet more than any of us wish we all didn't live so spread out.  

We have these favorite orchards we love to go to nearby.  They have every fruit imaginable. We hit it at just the right time too. We picked peaches, apples (3 different varieties), plums, and PLUOTS (ever had one? a cross between a plum and an apricot).  If I were a fruit, I would want to be a pluot.  You know how much joy I could spread if I were a pluot?

This picture of my kids makes me laugh.

This one makes me smile.

Grandma, "Rosy, knead the dough, don't eat it!"

Rosy, "I'm not eating it Grandma..."

as she puts it in her mouth as fast as she can...

Another HUGE transition is our Rocky started preschool.  He loves it and I love his school.  This is their first field trip, to the fire station.  Believe it or not I remember my first field trip to the fire station.  (That is a story for another blog).  Rocky got the chance to hose down a house fire.  He's super serious about it.

Way to go Rocky!

That's pretty cute right?

Speaking of Fruitland (that's the name of our town) There is a LOT of fruit.  The preschoolers were invited out by a class member's family to a different apple orchard after the fire station to pick more apples- for free!  

Ob-la-di- Ob-la da!