Summer Fun

When we moved to Spokane almost two years ago now, we lucked out moving into a ward with two other little girls about the same age as Gracie. It has been so fun watching them grow up together! This past weekend we were able to enjoy more beautiful (HOT) weather and celebrate Summer and Brooklyn's birthdays. They are only two days apart and about 6 weeks older than Gracie is all. So we went to the pool and let them play in the water for a little bit. We then had some delicious Papa Murphy's pizza and watched Summer and Brooke blow out their birthday candles (with Gracie helping of course:) on their princess cupcakes.

Headed to the pool in style! I LOVE this picture! Gracie is so lucky to have such a good Daddy!


The three girls at the pool. It is very hard to get three 2 year olds to look at the camera at the same time. This was the best I could do!


The girls waiting patiently to blow out the candles---or eat the frosting off the cupcakes anyway!


Trying to blow out the candles



HAPPY BIRTHDAY Summer and Brookie!

Doesn't this just make you smile?!

Shingles

Yep, I have them. Of all the strange, weird things to get--I have to get Shingles! I really didn't know what this nasty little disease was until a few days ago, all I know is I thought it was something only older people got! Apparently anyone who has had chicken pox has the potential to get Shingles later.
I noticed a rash about the size of a golf ball on my arm just above my armpit on Tuesday morning. I thought it was weird, but didn't think much of it until later in the day when it started hurting a bit. As the day went on, the rash got a little bigger and became very very tender. It also felt like a bee was stinging me over and over. I put different ointment and stuff on it, but nothing helped.
By Thursday, it was worse than ever. At night, I would roll over in bed and rub the spot just right and the pain would shoot down my arm waking me up for the next few hours. I also started just not feeling good period. So, finally I decided to go to Urgent Care to see if I needed an antibiotic or something. It was then I got the bad news that I definitely had Shingles.

Since I'm pregnant, my immune system is not at its peak, which makes me more susceptible to stuff anyway (though I have been so lucky and besides morning sickness, I have been really healthy), plus the stress of getting ready to move, and not getting enough sleep was just enough to make this nasty little disease come out I guess.

It is still really really painful, but I am hoping it will clear up soon. Luckily the baby should be just fine, and since Gracie has been vaccinated for chicken pox, she should be fine as well. I am just trying to be positive about everything, and I really have to count my blessings. I have a great husband who has been so helpful, and we have all been so healthy I can't complain about a little setback like this one right?!

Strawberry Picken'

Since we live in Washington, we are lucky to have orchards not too far away from us. Right now, it's strawberry season, and there are a few farms that have what they call "U-Pick" fruit. So, Tuesday evening, the weather was perfect (it's been so hot the last few days, going outside was really not an option for me!), so we decided to go check out the strawberry patch. Gracie LOVED it! Since it was later in the evening, the berries were pretty picked over for the day--but we really just wanted to go for the experience. The strawberries we did get are some of the most delicious I have ever tasted. Gracie didn't get the concept of pick a berry and put it in the box at first, so she had some major strawberry juice down her face! Here are a few pictures that I think are just adorable! I think we will try to go at least one more time before we move. Raspberries and Cherries will be coming on soon, so if we don't make it for more strawberries, we will have to make it for another delicious fruit!

The New and Final Plan

I'm not sure anyone is going to care about this anymore....since we have changed plans at least three times now, but this blog is a little online journal for me as well, so I am going to explain anyway:)

This year, as I have expressed before, I have felt like my life has literally been shaken upside down. Not necessarily in a bad way, though it's had/having it's challenges. The main struggle has been trying to figure out where to have this baby. Bryant's first 10 week internship starts in Oregon about 3 weeks before I am due. My Mom and Dad and Sister are all unavailable since they are all on full time missions, and won't even see this baby until she is between 13 and 16 months old. So, not wanting to be by myself 9 months pregnant and having a toddler, we have tried to decide the best way to go about this.

At first, we decided we would move to Boise after Bryant finishes his summer classes and comprehensive exam, and then when he has to leave for his internship, at least Bryant's family would be around to help me out. But, since our insurance doesn't work in Idaho, and getting insurance in Idaho is either too long of a process or way to expensive for us, we had to change that plan.

So then we decided it would be best for me just to have the baby here in Spokane. I like my Dr, the hospital is just a few blocks away, it just seemed easier. Plus, Bryant's mom has been so flexible about coming to help wherever we are. However, both of these plans do leave Bryant and I separated for a good 5-6 weeks. We would have to schedule to be induced (which I want to do anyway), but hope I don't go into labor before that so Bryant can fly back to be with me while I have the baby and get back to Eugene so he can fulfil his internship requirements. What a stressful pain in the butt!

So, after trying to figure everything out, I finally thought I needed to call the wonderful couple that we got in contact with last fall who said we could stay with them, to let them know about our plans, and also that we would have a newborn for the last month we were there. A newborn can be tricky because you never know if they will be fussy, if they will sleep good at night, etc. After explaining everything to this couple, and learning that they need a house-sitter starting September 1, the wheels started turning in my head.

I was able to find out that insurance is not such a big hassle in Oregon (at least thats what they told me), and that puts me far enough away from my due date that traveling isn't a huge issue. We worked it out with this couple, so Bryant, Gracie and I will be leaving Spokane August 27. I will get insurance worked out as soon as we get there, get a Dr and we get to stay together as a family....which is really the most important thing to me. Gracie has a hard time when we are away from Bryant for too long, and so do I to be honest. I still feel really good about this decision though, and we are excited to move on with things.

The internship in Eugene goes until right around Thanksgiving time. Then we will head over to Boise for the last two internships and then.....GRADUATION!

So, as much as I have felt like my life has been turned upside down these past 6 months or so, things are working out better than I could have ever planned given the circumstances. See, I always knew Heavenly Father was taking care of the details in my life (even if I did complain about things a little!)

My goal now is to be able to stay put, wherever we are when we have baby #3! So far we have made a tradition of having babies and moving at exactly the same time!

4th of July

The 4th of July has always been significant to me, and to my family I think. It's always been a fun day, where you get a paid day off from work with great BBQ, friends, family and fireworks. However, at a very young age, my brothers and I saw a different side of what this holiday really means.
My dad has worked as in Civil Service with the military his entire career. This has given us many opportunities to live around the world and around the United States. This also means we have lived with active duty military and their families. So, when I say we have seen a different side of what this holiday means, we have. We were in England when the second Gulf War started, and we had many many friends who's Moms or Dads were deployed...sometimes for a year or more at a time. We had friends that changed high schools three or four times because their parents were given orders for a different station.
We have seen what the price of freedom really costs, and the great sacrifices that are made by those willing to serve our country and by their families. Luckily, we never really experienced this first hand--since my dad was never ordered to go anywhere or deployed to dangerous parts of the world. But, we did see what strong wonderful people we have to protect our country and our freedom.
We do have heros in our own family who have served our country however. My Grandfather served in WWII, My Dad served in Vietnam, My brother Troy is currently serving in the National Guard and will have to leave his young family for a year starting this fall.
To all you Men and Women who have served or are serving and to your families THANK YOU! Thank you for your diligence, your dedication, your sacrifices and for putting your lives on the line (literally) to preserve our freedom.

I hope the 4th of July will be a fun time for all this year, but also a time to really think about how grateful we should be for the liberties we have in this country.
"Freedom is never free" --author unknown

Help Please!

Okay, so this post may seem a bit desperate, but that's how I feel about this situation. Gracie isn't even two years old yet, but she is as big as a three year old at least. And I am convinced the girl is pure muscle. Last week she somehow figured out how to get out of her crib. We are talking a full size crib with the mattress as low as it can go. I've seen her do it. It's no big deal for her. She hoists herself up and swings her leg over the side of the crib and very smoothy with lots of control lowers herself down. It's actually quite impressive. Though I don't exactly enjoy her enthusiasm to do this every morning at 6AM, sometimes earlier! Anyway, I can handle the crib thing, that was going to happen at some point anyway. Here's what I need help with....

Today I had a Dr. appointment. My good friend Amanda who has 4 kids of her own took Gracie for me for the appointment. They have a house and a nice fenced back yard, and Gracie LOVES being outside. They live across the street from the park as well, which Gracie also LOVES.
Well, when I went to pick her up, Amanda said she had to scold Gracie, not because she was naughty, but because she had figured out in less than 2 minutes (literally) how to climb the shorter part of their fence. I guess there is a city ordinance or something that only allows a 4 foot fence in your front yard. So Gracie climbed the fence and started heading across the street to the park.
Now I know that Gracie just does not have any fear. She will try and do anything. She has run out in the parking lot several times and in the street a few times as well (because she's a fast little thing, and she gets to the street before I can grab her!) The problem is, there is a difference in toddlers testing their boundaries and being (age appropriate) naughty sometimes, and doing something that is DANGEROUS. Time out totally works for most situations with her. And she is really a good girl. I don't let her get away with too much naughtiness. But this is different. I truly don't believe she was trying to be naughty when she hopped the fence. She has been asking for two days to play on the slide, and it was within her reach today. However, this is DANGEROUS, and I just don't know what to do to make her understand that. I have talked to her about it, and I have popped her on the bum a few times, which I am really not a fan of, but the she needs to understand the difference between we don't do something because it's not nice, and we don't do something because she could get seriously hurt or killed.

I know she understands A LOT of what I tell her, but she doesn't seem to get the severity of running in the street or away from where I can see her. I have to remember sometimes, that she isn't even two yet.
Has ANYONE ever had to deal with this in such a young toddler. Any advice, suggestions, recommendations on how I can address this with her would be greatly appreciated!

One thing is for sure....being a Parent is NOT FOR SISSIES!