A little sampling from our morning...

Holland playing Peek-a-boo behind the curtain.

Baby Jack watching the older kids play.

Oliver

Owen enjoying the slide.

P.S. More pics from our picnic at Fort Simcoe in Picasa.

Fun in the hay...

One of the best weekends ever...

We are just winding down one of the most fun weekends I have had in a long time. All of my college girlfriends that are still in the state came with their families for an over-nighter...and let me just say, it was SOOOO good to see them. These girls have been an incredible influence on my life and it is so refreshing to catch up now and then. Although we don't see each other nearly enough, it always feels like no time has gone by at all when I see them. They are definitely friendships that I will cherish forever...and visiting this weekend is just what I needed. And actually, it's not quite over...Becky and Hale will be here for a few more days, so the fun will only continue! Meg, Cholie, and Mar, we SO wish you could have been here. We need to see you guys ASAP! There are a whole bunch more pictures in picasaweb if you're interested...Kate, sorry you're not in the one above, we took it too late!

Bed time...

This evening before bed time, Owen and I were outside to see Daddy off to dinner with some business associates. And of course, the minute Owen saw his rocking horse on the deck he started tugging at his shirt (his version of saying "please" in sign language) and pointing at the horse. So I let him ride for a few minutes even though he was SUPER tired and he got the happiest look on his face. It was like he had escaped the doom of bed time and instead got to do something that he thoroughly enjoys. He was oh-so-happy....So, I snapped a couple of pics.

On a different note, I decided to let you all in on a little side of Owen that I have not yet shared on the blog....his fits. I have no idea where he got this from, but whenever he is mad and pouting because he doesn't get his way, he throws himself on the floor and burrows his forehead into the ground like something absolutely horrible is happening. And then he peeks up to see if you are watching or not. I know it shouldn't be funny, but for some reason I really get a kick out of it. So the pics below are a little taste of this behavior from a few mornings ago...Daddy took them to catch Owen at his finest...

This is mid peek to see if anyone is watching:

And finally, he has discovered the fit got him nowhere:

My Top 5...

I've never really done one of these before, but hey...they're entertaining, right?  Thanks Danielle!

Things under $5 that I couldn't live without:

1.  Deodorant.  Let's be honest, I have an obsession.

2.  Gum.

3.  Coffee creamer.

4.  Paper towels.

5.  Fountain soda.

Favorite Movies:

1.  Shawshank Redemption

2.  Anne of Green Gables

3.  Napoleon Dynamite

4.  The Fugitive

5.  Little Miss Sunshine

Baby names I love:

1.  Claire...but unfortunately it doesn't work too well with St. Hilaire.

2.  Grace

3.  Liam

4.  Greyson

5.  Gavin

Songs I could listen to over and over:

1.  "Country Roads" by John Denver

2.  "Independence Day"  by Martina McBride

3.  "My Front Porch Looking In" by Lonestar

4.  "God Bless Us Everyone" from Celine Dion Christmas

5.  "Be Thou My Vision" from the church hymnal, ba-dum-ching!

Books I love:

(Oh dear, this is going to stretch me.)

1.  The Bible.

2.  My Utmost for His Highest.

**the problem now is that the last time a read a book I was probably 8 years old, so....

3.  Black Beauty

4.  Mandie and the Ghost Bandits

5.  The Velveteen Rabit

People who have influenced me in positive ways:

1.  C.J.

2.  Owen

3.  My mom and dad

4.  My college girlfriends for sure!

5.  and specifically Marla, because her heart is AMAZING!

Things that are always in my purse:

1.  Keys

2.  Sunglasses

3.  Wallet

4.  Gum

5.  Tampons, of course!

Moments that changed my life forever:

1.  May 13, 2006...the day I married my incredible husband!

2.  May 23, 2007...they day our precious child was born!

 I don't think I can name any more specific moments, but periods of time that changed me include:

3.  College

4.  Moving back to the Valley

5.  The one year and 2 months we have spent raising our son!

Obsessions I currently have:

1.  So You Think You Can Dance

2.  Watering the yard....a lot!

3.  Watching my plants grow, and I'm not kidding.  I take a walk through the yard at least once a day just to see if anything is changing.

4.  Taking pictures

5.  Watching Owen ride his tractor...and walk...and do all of the cute things he does.

Places I would like to go:

1.  Hawaii, here we come!

2.  Mexico again because we absolutely LOVED our honeymoon!

3.  Ireland

4.  Greece

5.  Australia

Appliances or kitchen tools I couldn't live without:

1.  Paper towels for sure.  I know they aren't technically appliances, but they definitely get the most use in our kitchen.

2.  Good knives.

3.  Hand mixer

4.  Coffee pot

5.  Salad spinner

People whose top 5 I would like to see:

1.  Becky

2.  Carly

3.  Leah, but that might be hard since she doesn't do blogspot.  Maybe she should start!  ;)

4.  Meghan 

5.  Alli, too....just like Leah, she should definitely start a blog.  We'd all love it!

Building block towers and loving it...

Holland's Visit...

This past week we had the awesome privilege of having Holland and her parents stay with us for a few days. While the kids kept each other quite entertained, it was nice for all of us to just hang out and visit. We miss the whole Young crew but truly cherish the time we get with them. Plus, we spent some of the time they were here with Allison and her boys, and I always enjoy time with my sisters! There are a few more pics in Picasaweb.

On a different note, C.J. and I got completely spoiled this weekend. We went to a wedding in Portland ALL BY OURSELVES! Owen got to stay with Grama and Grandpa Saint (thanks SO much guys!) and I am pretty sure he got spoiled rotten. But more importantly, it was oh so nice to spend time alone as a couple and just enjoy one another's company. Although we love our little guy to pieces, we certainly appreciate our alone time!

I can't think of a title, so...

Ok, so I know I always put way more pictures on here than writing, but that's mostly because I'm not the world's best writer and never feel I have anything entertaining today. But this is actually worth mentioning: Oliver, my sister Allison's oldest boy (pictured with Owen above), has from the very beginning of his life seemed to be a bit ahead of the game. He is not even 2 yet but he can count to 19, sing just about any song you request, has extensive imaginary conversations on the phone (conversations that include full sentences and go something like this: "Hi Holland! Uh-huh. Owen's here and Auntie Jen's here and Baby Jack's here and Mama's here. Yeah. We're playing with trucks, Holland. Yeah. Ok, talk to you later. Bye!") He can do a whole bunch of other impressive things, but the point is, Oliver seems to be REALLY smart. But even knowing that, today the little twirp completely surprised me and brought tears to my eyes. So here's the setting: I was making lunch for the clan and was reaching for the raisins to put on the salad when I accidently knocked our container of strawberry Quick mix on the floor. Basically the entire container of pink sugar flung all over the kitchen floor. Yeah, huge mess. And...I was also really bummed because most of it went to waste. So as I was kinda frustrated and fuming and on my knees cleaning the mess up, Oliver walked up to me and in his sweetest voice said: "I'm sorry Auntie Jen." Ok, Oliver had nothing to do with making the mess. I was the one who knocked it over. Oliver was merely trying to comfort me and trying to show me the he felt bad for me. I don't know about you, but I've never in my life seen a 1 year old show empathy....and then express it to me. And I've been around a lot of kids in my life. He's a sweet one, that's for sure!

Here they are playing with Grandma (again):

Uncle Brian and Owen enjoying each other's company:

At Hudson's birthday party:

A warm summer morning with Oliver and Grandma...

A long awaited return...

So you know how some people have the problem of losing socks in the wash? Well in our house, we some how have a problem with losing books.  For three months we were missing Owen's very favorite book "Skippyjon Jones, Up and Down"...(not quite sure it will still be his favorite since he has changed a lot in the time it's been missing)...But....We found it.  Today when C.J. was home for lunch, he noticed something peeking out of the side of one of our chairs.  Lo and behold, there was Skippyjon Jones.  Problem is, I KNOW I looked in every cushion crack in this entire house at least 10 times.  But somehow,  I missed it.  Now we just need to find "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."  Maybe it, too, will show up one of these days.

A Special Day with Grant...

This morning, Leah and the boys came over to play for a while which was SO much fun. I LOVE those boys!!! And as if that wasn't enough of a treat, Mr. Grant ended up staying the whole rest of the day to play! We had a blast, and Owen DEFINITELY loves his cousin! We had a picnic outside for lunch, played store, went Wii bowling, and went to see Shawn's fish at least 5 times...which Grant loved because he got to touch them and they kinda kissed his fingers. It really was fun to spend time just with Grant for the day. Oh yeah...and just so you know, we saw a snake in our yard. I HATE snakes and this was the second time this summer I've stumbled across one in the yard...........SICK! But the boys thought it was quite exciting, so I guess it was worth it.

Something you need to know about the pictures: Not a single one was prompted by me. I really only captured the boys doing what they do. If you look at the rest in Picasaweb, you'll see that they definitely love spending time with eachother. Enjoy!

How could you not LOVE those freckles?

Happy 4th of July!

Here are a few pics of our 4th of July fun. We had a wonderfully lazy day at home topped off by a visit from the Davila fam for a BBQ. It was really nice to just lay low at home. It would have been even nicer if my ear drum hadn't ruptured and I wasn't taking drug-addict amounts of painkillers and wasn't completely deaf...but hey...you win some and lose some. But seriously, we had a wonderful 4th of July and hope you all did too. More pics in Picasaweb...

BIG NEWS...

Owen decided today that he wanted to start walking! He has been pretty reluctant to venture away from the furniture until today. We'll see if he keeps it up, but for now we are excited about this big event in his life. Here's the proof:

Ahh...

You know how there are those times in your life where you just stop, take in a big, long, deep breath, and slowly relish the wonderful joy of life?  Well, I am totally having one of those evenings.  After a day of yard-work, playing in the sun, family, listening to Owen jibber-jabber, and a calm evening watching a movie with my husband, I walked outside to get the mail.  It was probably about 10 minutes before the sun set behind the hills, there wasn't a car to be heard on the road...in fact, it was so silent that I could hear the cows rustling in the pasture across the road...the sun was making the foot-hills look golden, there was the slightest breeze blowing, and the list could certainly go on...but it was just one of those moments where you want to freeze life.  C.J. and I had cut a bunch of dead stuff out of our trees this morning, so we had a BIG pile of brush we needed to get rid of.  So...C.J. walks over to the loader that sits outside in the driveway, fiddles around with it for a while to realize that it conveniently doesn't need a key to start, and then proceeds to dispose of our giant pile of junk pretty effortlessly with the loader.  His words: "I love living on a farm."  Exactly what I was thinking.  And, I love the fact that my husband can drive pretty much any farm machine out there.  I know this isn't well written...probably because it's nearly impossible to describe the true joy of God's blessings with words....but hey, I at least thought I'd try.  I don't even really know why I'm writing about it, except to try to share a tiny bit of it with you all and hope that you, too, will take a few minutes to just bask in God's blessings one of these days.   Point is:  I LOVE LIFE!  And I love that God gives us reminders just when we need them of how precious life is.  I love my husband, and my baby, and warm summer evenings.

Today's Fun...

There's nothing quite like a good old couch cushion fort:

So it's been a LONG time since we've put Owen in his Johnny-jumper...but today I thought I'd give it another whirl. It's true what they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Our week in a nutshell...

So this week, while C.J. was away on his business trip, Owen and I made a trek over to Seattle to spend some time with my fam.  We got to spend some quality time with Uncle Ryker who was in town for a few days, which was super special.  I actually didn't take very many pics during the week, but I did manage to snap a few good ones while on a picnic at Discovery Park. There are a ton more in picasaweb if you are interested.  We are now safe and sound at home and have Daddy back with us!!!  We missed him a ton and it feels SOOOOO good to just be at home as a family.  Kate and Chris, thanks for the fun walk!!!  Breezy, sorry our paths didn't cross...hopefully next time.  Car, HOORAY FOR BABY JANE!  We for sure want to see her next time we are in town.  And now I'm going to stop updating this blog and just enjoy being home!    

    Until later...

Owen managed to break into the bag of Cheetos while I wasn't paying attention.  Since there were only crumbs left, we just let him go at it and BOY did he love 'em!

Enjoying the beautiful day with Uncle Ryker:

Dear Daddy...

We're super sad Daddy couldn't be here on Father's Day...but we wanted to send a little message to let him know how much we love and appreciate him:

Daddy, you are an amazing man and we love you so much. Thank you for loving us unconditionally, providing for us, protecting us, playing with us, being committed to us...I am so thankful Owen has you for a role model...thank you for reading to him A LOT, teaching him, disciplining him, entertaining him, acting silly for him, showing him how to be a gentleman, playing with him every day after work, feeding him, and most of all for showing him what it means to be a Father. As his mama, I can only hope that Owen will same day be the amazing husband and father to his family that you are to us. WE LOVE YOU!!!

Gooba Dooba and Mama

P.S. When I created this slideshow, it played to the song "Love Without End, Amen" by George Strait....however, for some reason it doesn't play now that I posted it. So, just pretend that the song is playing along with the slideshow as you watch it. That's the best solution I could come up with...

Ice Cream Man continued...

So you all already know that the ice cream man came the other day and it was SO exciting...so exciting that I told basically the entire world about it because every kid should get to experience the joy of the ice cream man at least a few times in their life.  Well...when the guy drove into our driveway the other day, I stood there and talked to him for a while because this is a very rare occurance....you know, I wanted to be friendly since he had made his way ALL the way out here. He said he had just moved up from California and it was his first day on the job....and I let him know that we were excited he had come and all that good stuff............

So today, my sister and brother and nephews were over for a little bit.  We were all sitting in the living room enjoying the afternoon and what do we see drive in the driveway?  Yep, the ice cream man.  Boy are we excited again.  So I grab Owen and run outside and Alli and Ryke manage to wake up Oliver and Baby Jack so that they can enjoy this excitement.  I mean, after all...who gets a special visit from the ice cream man 2 times in one week?  Again, I chat with the guy and tell him I can't believe he's back and the boys will be SO excited (particularly Oliver)....and he goes "well, I came by yesterday too but you weren't here.  I plan on coming every afternoon at about this time...except Sundays of course"......

Umm...so I know the ice cream man is very exciting.  But every single day?  Don't you think that's a bit much?  Even if they didn't cost $1.50 these days, no child really needs an ice cream every single day.  And besides, I kinda think it might lose its luster if Owen saw the truck over and over and over and over...  I'm pretty sure the poor guy is hurting for business....but.... My response to him:  "Maybe you could just come once a week.  We certainly are excited about it and love ice cream, but I think we probably don't need it every day."  Even once a week is probably over kill, but I didn't want to make the guy go out of business.  If we don't spend our $1.50 once a week, he'll never be able to pay for the gas it takes to drive from house to house around here.  We'll see...but for now, we will probably be getting a visit from the good old ice cream man every Wednesday afternoon...just in case any of you are needing your ice cream fix, that'll be a good time to come on over...

Ice Cream Man

Something oh-so-exciting happened at our house today....the ice cream man came!!! To those of you who grew up in the city, this may be no big deal. But for someone who grew up in the boonies and had zero neighbors, this is SO special. Owen and I happened to be outside this afternoon and we heard the familiar tune of an ice cream truck coming down the road. Much to our surprise, he drove right into our driveway! I wish you could have seen how excited Owen was to see a truck playing music. Plus, he got to point to the ice ream he wanted (of course he chose Sponge Bob...the only one with a face). And then, to top it off, I just let him go at the ice cream all by himself (not something he gets to do on a regular basis). But the point of this all is that I really hope ice cream men are around forever. There's just something about it all that brings a smile to your face and joy to your heart...especially when you get to see your child experience it all for the first time.

P.S. I had to get a pic of the truck itself just as proof that he actually came into our driveway. There's a first time for everything.

The Beach

First and most importantly, we want to say "WE MISS DADDY!"

Secondly, Owen and I just got back from our annual camping trip to Kalaloch with my parents, sisters, and their families. We were really sad Daddy couldn't be there, but I guess London is a close second! But seriously, it was a really fun time. We were expecting rain for the whole week since that's what the forecast said, but we were lucky and didn't really get wet until the last day...and when it rains at Kalaloch, it pours! We had quite a storm, which in some ways stunk with 4 little ones trying to stay entertained in tight quarters and in other ways was really exciting...Owen and I enjoyed some good cuddle time in the tent as we watched the drips slowing falling on us. He was actually quite a trooper and I'm pretty sure it's safe to say he loves camping. I mean, what little boy wouldn't enjoy being outside and getting dirty for days on end? I do have to say, though, that we owe a HUGE thank you to Grandma and Grandpa: we basically invaded their camper, tore it to pieces, and let them take care of us for the entire time. Probably wasn't much of a relaxing break for them, but we certainly enjoyed it. So thanks Grandma and Grandpa...maybe you can go back later this summer by yourselves with no toddlers constantly calling out "peas Grapa, peas Grapa, throw rocks in wala" or without having to keep scooting babies from falling out the camper door and down the steps. I put a whole bunch of pictures from the trip in a Picasaweb album (thought I'd give it a try since I keep putting way too many pics in each blog post)...so if you click on the link to the left that says "More of our photos in Picasaweb" hopefully you'll be able to see some of the fun we had at the beach. Ceej, we REALLY wish you could have been there. We love you and miss you!