Lucky 13

Picture taken in 1997 I was 9 months pregnant with Braydon. I thought for sure I was going to give birth any day.

What can I say about being married to my best friend for the past 13 years? I can say, everyday that we have together is a gift that I'm thankful for.

Is it true love when the person you are married to makes you want to be a better person, wife, mother, friend, human? all because they love you?

Happy Anniversary. I love you more then you know.

Heres the deal

During the big move I changed my email address, which means I did not get my notification to update my URL of why do these kids keep calling me mom. Well, someone took it out from under me and now I have to be .net instead of .com. I sure hope everyone finds the blog.
I'm so mad. Why would anyone what that name after I have had it for so long? It's not like I have a ton of followers, just family, friends, and adoption families...why?

Well I now I guess I have a new house address and a new blog address this year. UGH!!!

conversations

As we are sitting at the dinner table the other night out of the clear blue sky Ellie asks me, "Do I have to have a baby in my tummy?" My first thought is, of course I want to be a grandma!!! My reply is, "No. Not everyone chooses to have a baby in their tummy." As I name a few people we know who have never had babies in their tummies. She nods with contentment and I think we have moved on. 

She is clearly not finished with this topic. As her and Lila continue to say they both don't want to have babies in their tummies, they will bet their babies from China. Which makes me totally happy to know that my kids are able to see the joy of adoption at such a young age.

Seems simple enough, right? Well the conversation goes back and fourth even more. Touching on all the usual topics like; the girls did come out of my tummy. Not all moms can keep their babies for what ever reason and that gives many parents a great chance to have a baby through adoption. Yadda Yadda. The same conversation we have had many times before.

I knew this day was coming, but you know you really are never prepared no matter how many times you have gone over it with you oldest. Lila pipes in.."How does the baby get in there any way?" Brandon and I look at each other with wide eyes as if to say, "you wanna take this one?"

Riding on the heels of Braydon just having "THE TALK" in health class. He almost spits out his food. And proceeds to share in all of his "expertise" 

Quickly I put my hand over his mouth and explain to him that the information he received in health class is by far not dinner appropriate conversation, nor is it 5 year old appropriate, nor is it his job to inform her. 

We explain it as matter of fact as we can. She nods, Ellie nods, and Lila says, "That just seems like too much trouble. I just won't have any in my tummy."

I think Brandon is thrilled beyond words at the thought of his daughter  actually not wanting to "make a baby" Me on the other hand hope they never forget...I want Grandchildren some day!!!! I don't care how they get here.

warm weather and cool sunsets

I took this photo last night from our front porch. It is looking west out towards Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams. A little time later the sky lit up with lightning. It is so amazing to watch the lightning along the valley. One of the many perks of living on the hill, you can see forever.
We are also getting acclimated to the warmer weather. Mostly it has been in the mid 80's to low 90's, but yesterday my car said 99. I absolutely love it. This dry heat makes it so much more tolerable. 90 on the west side is unbearable without air conditioning. Three cheers for the A.C!

My allergies have kicked into high gear. The dust and weed pollen have kept me on a constant dose of Claratin. I know the dust will be here, but hopefully the weed pollen will subside just a bit. 

The kids are on the countdown to the last day of school. Next week is the last day. Like I said before, I'm actually excited for them to be out this year.  It may be short lived, but I'm excited.  

We will have a few trips planned and hopefully getting the boat out on the river for some wakeboarding. It has been almost a year since I was behind the boat. YIKES! I have a feeling there will be some sore body parts following that activity.

We have still been sampling the wine. A few nights ago a friend brought this over for us to sample. It's not a "Prosser" wine, but it is from the valley and the grower buys all of his fleet cars from Brandon's dealership. It was not bad. I wouldn't rank it to my top 5, but it was good. 

One of the great things about being in WA wine country is there are so many good wines, and we usually get to try them for free. With the weather getting warmer, maybe I will be moving on to wine spritzers?

 

Where does the time go?

Time just keeps rushing by these days. My kids only have 3 weeks of school left. (yeah!) I'm looking forward to at least a few lazy mornings here and there. No more packing lunch boxes, signing papers, and making sure everyone has a coat. At least have a break from it for a bit.

I know I will be singing another tune about 2 weeks into vacation when they are at each others throats and all I'm doing is counting down the days until the first day of school. But, that is what us moms do.

It seems like we have been busy, but not doing a whole lot..if that makes sense. Just had the parents of my high school BFF stop by for an over nighter. We did a little wine tasting, BBQ. (Thank you poppy and Mimi for the GIANT bag of M&M's Ellie and Braydon had them for breakfast the next day) Wine and BBQ is looking like a pattern here. 

Braydon goes to a 3 day camp this week with his 5th grade class. He says he is not sure if he wants to go because the puppy will miss him. WHATEVER! I think he is just nervous to go because he really doesn't know these kids. It's a bit different then camp last year when he went with his buds. 

I have been trying to plant my garden but the dang ground squirrels keep eating the tops off my starts. I think I'm going to have to cage the plants for now or go on a squirrel hunt. We are hoping for some green peppers, tomatoes, musk melon, watermelon, and a few cucumbers. This will be my first attempt at a garden. We will see. 

I have been absolutely loving this weather we are having. Sunny and 80+ is the life for me. Truly I don't care if it's 26 degrees as long as the sun is out. Why is it so much more motivating to get up and moving for the day when the sun is out. No wonder there is so many depression issues in the Pacific Northwest. 

I really hope to be posting more to the blog. I feel like we have not been documenting our "New Normal" Over here on the east side of the state. But the sunshine just keeps me away from the computer working on my tan.

Puppy updates

Where to start? These guys are a blast to have around! (minus the puppy accidents in the house) I'll start with Mister. His name describes him to a T. He is a true gentleman. There is nothing like having a mature well behaved dog. He is so even tempered. He is so gentle with the kids. If he gets enough of their noises or constant need to touch him, he ever so politely goes to find another place to be.

When we were at the kennel, the breeder said she was leery about us taking him home since he had not been around too many kids. She also thought he needed a large fenced yard because he was a bit wild.

Turns out he loves the kids, is just happy snooping around in the back yard, and is only wild when you are wild with him.

Mister is a great addition to our family.

Then there is Murphy. Murphy is all puppy. He plays hard and sleeps hard. The potty training thing is a real hit and miss. One day he goes outside all day and the next he has accidents. Again, all puppy. He is still sleeping with Braydon and right by my side all day. 

Mister is real good with him too. Murphy will bite on Misters tail and Mister drags him across the hardwood floor. They are comical.

This is Murphy taking a little nap on the back of the couch. He really is asleep like that.

Things I have learned about wine tasting

Moving to Washington wine country has opened up a whole new world for me. I used to buy my wine a Target solely based on if the label was cute. Little did I know moving here would completely make me a wine snob. I broke open a bottle I  purchased at the local Target before I moved. Lets just say it went down the sink. I now know what I was missing, a good wine.

By no means am I an expert. My taste buds just have been open to a whole other taste. And I like it.

One of the things I have learned is, I like wine very much. exclusively red wine, until this last festival. The bottle in the middle is from Maison Bleue..YUM! The only white so far that has actually come home with me. I was hoping I didn't purchase it because I was taste happy. But, come to find out, it was really good.

The second thing I have learned is for us locals, don't go to the tasting rooms on a Saturday. All the visitors are here and it is busy.  It is nearly impossible to get to taste anything, ask questions, and enjoy the experience. On Saturdays  is not likely  you will get a second taste of a particular wine. It's best to go on Sunday or get drunk during the weekday. Wink!

Third thing I have learned is, Don't go to the tasting rooms during a festival. Unless you know for sure you are going to buy a bottle of wine, or really want to try it. Being a local, I find it a rip off that I have to pay to taste. It really cuts into the budget. 5.00 each? Some places do give you a coupon for 5.00 back on a bottle, but what if I don't want to buy a bottle and I just want to taste? There are some tasting rooms that do not charge, mostly the smaller vineyards.

It's definitely better for me to wait for the off weekend!!! Free wine!

These are my 3 favorites this week. 2007 Lemberger by Alexandria Nicole. 2008 Notre Vie by Maison Bleue, and my all time favorite, 2006 Merlot by Olsen Hills Estates. (on my 3rd bottle)