Little Fishies

This summer was Natalie and Curtis' first swim lessons. They did so well and had a great time. Natalie's big accomplishment is floating on her back without getting nervous and putting her head under water all by herself. Curtis is getting better at floating on his back and loves to jump to me from the side of the pool. We can't wait for next summer to improve our skills.

Crazy Coupon Trip

The Albertson's grocery store in our area is having a fabulous sale. For every $30 in specific products you buy, you get $15 back on your next shopping trip. Who wouldn't want to take advantage of this great deal? After four transactions and using my $15 off, I spent a total of $24.02. I sure hope Natalie and Curtis like Kix, and if you're inviting us over for dessert, plan on brownies.

Boy: Dirt That Wiggles

Curtis loves to be outside. The second we say anything about going outside, he is by the door ready to go. One of Curtis' favorite places to play is in the bird bath in the backyard. I looked up from gardening to check on him the other day and this is what I found-muddy from mouth to feet. To say dirt and mud are his choice in outside toys would be an understatement. The dirtier he can get, the more fun for him.

Writing Personality

I was reading this article the other day in my Real Simple magazine about what your handwriting says about you. First write 'She sells seashells by the seashore' in cursive then see how graphologists might characterize you. I think it is interesting that handwriting can tell so much about a person's personality and how they act.

My writing doesn't slant so I am logical and practical and guarded with my emotions. My letter size is average meaning I am well-adjusted and adaptable. The loops on my l's and e's are full so I am spontaneous and relaxed, find it easy to express myself, have an open mind and enjoy trying new things. My s's are round and printed so I am versatile, a people pleaser and seek compromise.

What does your handwriting say about you?

From the Garden

Last night we had enough harvest from our garden to make our own pico de gallo. We added tomatoes, a jalapeno, cilantro and a white onion. It was delicious! The only thing we had to add from the store was the onion. The salsa was gone so fast, I had to use this picture from online. We check daily now for new tomatoes and jalapenos for more fresh salsa as a summer treat.

Summer Surprise

I was out of town last week visiting family and when I got home, Jon had this great surprise for us-a new picnic table. I mentioned that I wanted one in the spring because a friend had one, but thought nothing else of it. I am so excited for the kids to have a fun place to sit when we eat outside. Jon did such an incredible job and it will last us for many years to come.

OUCH!!

Last night was our first trip to the ER. I was outside grilling and the kids were playing on the steps. Natalie was looking at the BBQ scraping brush and left it on the stairs when she needed to use the bathroom. After I let her in, I stepped right on the scraper end with my heel and got a huge cut. I called Jon to come home and my good friend Michelle to watch the kids so I could go to the hospital. Our time at the hospital was pretty quick with only one big loopy stitch to close my foot. The worst part was my tetanus shot and listening to the toddler crying in the next room who had a cut on her foot too. Unfortunate for me, we are planning on going camping and swimming this weekend with friends-now I get to be the sideline stuff and little kid watcher. There's always next year.

Vacation at the Beach

The day after my family left, we went on our family vacation to Long Beach, WA. It is on the west coast of Washington in the peninsula. We had so much fun together. We stayed in a little cottage within a short walk of the beach, so of course our first stop was the beach. We put our feet in the cold water, walked along the beach and wrote our names in the sand. Natalie was so excited to see the beach, but didn't like getting her feet dirty.

Long Beach is known for their boardwalk along the beach. Along the way they have little stops that tell about the area, Lewis and Clark and the numerous shipwrecks where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.

On the Fourth, we went to the city parade. It had a lot of classic cars, different families that decorated their cars as floats and our favorite, the local grocery store drill team. Here they are dancing to Shania Twain's "Feel Like a Woman". There is nothing better than a small town parade to make it feel like the Fourth of July.

We spent the rest of the day going on carnival rides, watching street performers, seeing a Mother Goose magic show and Natalie getting her face painted.

After a delicious dinner of hamburgers and fries from a local place, we headed to the beach for the fireworks show. We got there two hours early for a good seat and it was well worth it. We sat on a sand dune above the beach and could see beach fires and fireworks going off for miles. It was like a preshow to the real show. We have never seen so many fireworks in that short of time. It was incredible!

The next day we took a short hike to Cape Disappointment. From here you can see where the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean meet. There are two different light houses and a special Coast Guard division here because the waters entering the river are so treacherous. We loved our trip and can't wait to visit again.

Family Visitors

A few weeks ago, my family made a visit for their family vacation. It was fun to have them here and show them around Richland. We spent most of our time outdoors and in the Columbia River.

We went pedal-kayaking and swimming at Howard Amon Park.

We also took a day and went fishing on the Columbia River. In the morning, the brother and sisters went catch and release sturgeon fishing. My mom and dad watched all the grandkids. We only caught one sturgeon, but one of the best parts was being out on the river together. When we finally caught our fish, we each had a turn to reel it in. The fish was huge and it took working together to make sure we kept it.

This is the sturgeon we caught. It was just under 9 feet long and weighted over 400 hundred pounds. Aaron, Julia and Karen each got to help hold the fish before it wiggled from their grasp and swam away. It's something I would definitely do again.

Then in the afternoon, my parents and Natalie came on the boat while others left to watch the grandkids and we went walleye fishing. It is a fish similar to trout. Aaron and Natalie with the help of Anna caught some fish. A few nights later we had a fish fry and it was delicious!

Natalie 3, Curtis 1, Marcus 6 mos, McKay 3 mos

We had to take some pictures of all the grandkids together. Natalie especially loved being the big helper to the babies. We loved having them come visit and can't wait to do it again soon!

One Year Mark

On June 26th, Curtis turned one. It's hard to believe one year has passed since he joined our family. It has been so much fun having a boy and seeing the differences and similarities between him and Natalie. Even though his birthday was on Friday, we waited until Sunday when my family came to visit for the real celebration.

He was spoiled by grandparents with lots of toys and gifts. He loved the balls and wouldn't put them down.Thanks to some tips from my friend Michelle, I made a train cake for Curtis. The best part was decorating with all the candy. I am really proud of the way it turned out.As you can see, Curtis loved his birthday cake, especially the frosting. We love our little boy and all the joy and laughs he brings to our family. A few stats about our boy:

Height: 30 inches

Weight: 20 lbs, 12 oz

Words: 10 (mama, dada, nana, hi, bye, whoa, roar, no, ball, car noises)

Favorite toy: balls, cars and anything Natalie is playing with

Pet Peeves: taking a toy away from him and telling him no

Favorite food: spaghetti, jam sandwiches, and ice cream

Nicknames: brother, bud, little buddy

The Truth Prevailed

Some may remember my post a few weeks back about getting a speeding ticket in a school zone. I decided to contest the ticket because I didn't know I was in a school zone. Yesterday my day in court arrived. I got there early and stood with my assigned group that included other speeders, DUIs, marijuana possessions, domestic violence offenders and suspended licenses. It was quite a crowd. I casually made an acquaintance with the man sitting next to me-he was another speeder. This was his 7th ticket in the last six years and this time he was sure he could fight it. I brought my poster with me showing I wasn't aware of the school zone because of the route I took.
He was impressed by my work, but felt I didn't have a case because the judges are really tough about speeding in a school zone. I began to question if I really did have a case, but was committed to tell my side.

I waited for over an hour for my turn and there it was-case #West Richland 599632. The judge first read the officer's report and asked for my reply. I said I was a recent resident of the Tri-Cities and had been in this neighborhood only once during school hours. I showed the judge my poster and explained all the pictures. She immediately said the case was dismissed because I was prepared with my defense. The prosecutor also said this school zone has some serious problems with not enough signs noting the school zone.

After the judge said the case was dismissed, I said "Really? I don't have to pay? This is the best day ever." She laughed and said "Welcome to the Tri-Cities."

I have learned my lesson and will never speed in a school zone again, but I was so proud of all the work I did and fighting was definitely worth it.

Back to Nature

This weekend we went camping with our friends to Mt. Rainier. We had a great time. It was raining when we got there, so we loaded the kids in our car with a movie while the adults set up camp. The rain eventually subsided and we had a great rest of the trip. We went hiking to some hot springs, Silver Falls and Grove of the Patriarchs. We roasted hot dogs, s'mores and had a delicious pancake breakfast. We can't wait to get back outdoors and do it again.

Silver Falls

Eating lunch together on our hike

Curtis and Natalie at the Grove of the Patriarchs

Fruits of Our Labor

This week we are starting to harvest vegetables from our garden. The wait has been worth it! Last night we each tried a radish from our garden. They were quite spicy, but good. Today we picked some snow peas to put in our salad for dinner. We only have a few, but they will be tasty. We can't wait for the rest of our veggies to ripen and be ready for harvest.

Grill Time

Now that summer is here, we have loved using the grill. It has meant new recipes and quicker clean-up in the kitchen. I won't mention how many hamburgers and hot dogs we have eaten in the past two weeks though. Here is one of our favorite recipes for Chili Lime Corn. Enjoy!

Chili Lime Corn

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel
3 tablespoons lime juice
1-2 teaspoons ground red chilies or chili powder

Mix all ingredients. Pull the husks down to expose the corn, but don't pull the husks off. Spread about 2 teaspoons on each ear of corn, pull the husks back up and grill with the husks on 4-5 inches above grill over medium heat for 20-30 minutes.

On the Farm

One of Jon's coworkers owns some horses a little ways out of town and invited us to come see them and to see the new colt was born a few days ago. We got to feed the horses carrots and take rides around the farm. Natalie was hesitant at first, but warmed up pretty quickly, especially after her ride on the horse. It was fun to see all the horses and the new colt.

Ready for Church

In an effort to help Natalie learn some responsibility, we decided she could carry her own stuff to church. Last week, Natalie and I went on a mommy-daughter date to the fabric store and she picked out the material she wanted for her church bag. I made it this afternoon and by the smile on her face, you can see how excited she is for church. Now only if Sunday could come a little quicker.

Almost There!

Curtis just started walking this week. It is a lot of fun to see him start to move. I especially love his little hands in the air and the way he flops to the ground when he loses his balance. He is such a cute boy and we can't wait for this next milestone.

Our Favorite Face

Whenever Curtis has a stuffy nose he makes this cute little wrinkle nose face. We love our little guy!

Speeders R US

Last week my friend got a ticket for speeding in a school zone. I felt bad for her because it is a hefty fine to speed in that area. Not more than three days later I was driving home from a playdate around lunch time. Cruising down the street talking to Natalie about our day and looking at the elementary school out the window. I look up and see flashing lights in my rear view mirror. I pull over and Officer McDermott comes to my window. The same officer my friend saw three days ago.

"Ma'am did you know this is a school zone and you were going 10 over?"

"Really? A school zone? Were there flashing lights? I don't see any kids outside. I'm new here and none of my kids go to school." (I'm not trying to pay dumb, but I really didn't see any of that.)

"Yes there were lights and I'm sorry you're new here, but you have to get a ticket. Go to court and you can have it taken off your record in a year."

"Can I go to driving school for this?"

"Driving school? No, we don't have driving school." (Who doesn't have driving school so I can watch movies all day?) "Here's your ticket. Sorry, but make sure you obey the speed limit next time."

So I plan to fight this in court. My friend drove past the area where I was caught and there is no school zone sign. Wish me luck with my google maps and pictures. I'll let you know who wins- me or Officer McDermott, school zone cop.

Us Lately

I know it has been forever since I last posted. Time just seems to get away from me. All kinds of things have happened in the last two months. Like...

...my sister Kathryn came to visit. We spent a day in Spokane, then went to Coeur D'Alene, ID to a fun indoor water park. We loved having Kathryn come visit and Natalie loved having another playmate.

...the Easter Bunny found our house! Curtis and Natalie loved discovering what the Easter Bunny brought. Unfortunately it was raining on Sunday, so I don't have pictures in their Easter outfits. We also had our friends, the Stewart's, over for some yummy Easter dinner.

...Jon turning 31. He got a Wii for his birthday, so we have been perfecting our golf swing and strikes on the bowling lanes. Too bad it doesn't reflect how we would do in real life.


...working on the yard. Jon has become a weekend warrior and has made our yard one of the best in the neighborhood. We have also started planting our garden. Right now 11 pea plants have sprouted and 1 radish has gone missing. Hopefully we will be successful with the rest of our vegetables.


...going to visit cousins in Utah. It was my maiden drive to Utah on my own. Fortunately, my friend Michelle and her two boys decided to join us. I saw my sister and her husband graduate from BYU, met our new cousin McKay and played with our Amundson cousins all weekend. It was great to spend time with family and to be closer so I could drive.

That about sums it up for us. We are loving Richland and the spring time. We spend much of our time outside in the yard or riding bikes. We can't wait for it to warm up even more and start swimming too.