what'd I do??

I wanted to finally change my background to something simple where I could only update the header picture, but now it won't let me. I don't even have the "layout" option anymore. Help??

3 things you do simply because you're desperate

1.Went to the pool yesterday. Wasn't creative enough to think of a dinner to bring down (pretty tired of pb&j's), so thought I'd get some cheap, nasty, snack bar food. Turns out the snack bar doesn't open until school's out. Here I am with 3 starving kids, a bag of pretzels, and a husband who won't be home until 7 (it was 4:30).., AND, I didn't want to walk back home. So I paid almost $20 for a delivered pizza from Dominoes that left us hungry! Oooh, that made me mad. Tried not to think about how much each bite was costing me. };

2. I was in the middle of unpacking a box and June came up to me with snot clear down to her chin. I told her to "quick" (why do we always say that to our kids?) and bring me some toilet paper to wipe her nose. I almostly instantly forgot my request. She comes back about a minute later with the whole roll in her chubby little hand.

3. We had our 1st Virginia rainstorm since we lived here, today. So fun to watch the rain POUR down, to hear the thunder get closer and closer, and to watch the kid's face each time. I made cookies and was in the middle of dinner when I finally agreed to let 'em play in it. I couldn't keep them out of the kitchen and would rather wash a few wet outfits than deal with a disaster of a house and 3 bored kids.
"I don't like this, Mom!"

This pic was actually taken earlier when Cole first came home from school and the rain started. I found him back there as happy as can be talking to himself, hand gestures and all, soaked.

-On another note, after I finished my run this morning I came home and to my surprise, found everyone still asleep. I had to document it (maybe i've been documenting too much lately??) as a reminder of the funny sleep patterns..or styles, of my fam.

Maybe it's the move, but June's been getting into bed with us every morning around 5. Drives me nuts, but Geof loves it.

Dayne usually ends up off the bed, but at least leaves her head clear of any coverings in order to breathe (unlike her brother, below).

Cole almost ALWAYS sleeps this way. Legs hanging out, head and body tangled up in covers. How he does it? I'll never know..

Look at that face! Poor June was so upset that number one, we had to come home from the pool on Memorial Day for naptime, and number two, because when she woke up, her right eye looked like someone had socked her! Those darn mosquitos! We were almost ready to sit down for dinner, and all she wanted was some more time in her floaty.

I'm thinking of doing a half marathon in Sept. Kind of a motivator to really get in shape. We'll see how well training goes in the dead of Richmond's summer, however-without an indoor treadmill. I'm hoping I can get myself out the door early enough to run before the 90+ degrees and thick humidity hits. It's not easy when I keep forgetting to not eat chocolate late at night! Monday night we had a campire in our friend's back yard and roasted smores. I couldn't say no. I always pay for it, though. My dreams were unusually detailed, and I woke up.., well TRIED to wake up, very groggy. I had wanted to get out the door running at 6:30, but it didn't happen. So the girls and I walked Cole to school and then I pushed them in the double jogger. Not fun. How do you train with a big load like that?? When we got home, I treated them with otter pops for being so good and quiet while I ran. Poor Dayne has to put up with me "silencing" her every time I'm in the middle of a hard workout. "Don't talk to me now, Dayne. I can't breathe, Dayne. Quiet Dayne!"

I dunno, talking gets me out of my rythm, I guess.

My wonderful friend Lindsay gave me her digital camera! How lucky am I? Good thing she got a nicer and newer one and I don't mind handmedowns. Love you Lindsay. (:

this is us now

a few things: We bought a trampoline off craigslist for $40~ We're excited! Geof came home after running a million lame errands Sat. morning and put it up with the kids and some of their friends from the ward who live close by. What a treat! These pics are not in order at all, and some of them even in the wrong spot. Oh well. June's been pretty interested in the toilet for some time now, and I figure, why not throw potty training into the hectic, crazy schedule that we have goin' on? Why not..? }-;

She was so happy that she ran around the house with Cole's (yes, Cole's) big boy underwear, jumping on her bed, spinning in circles in the family room. We'll see how this goes..

My TWO big girls. Now this'll be the trick: get June potty-trained, have her sleep in underwear, and convince my 2 eldest that they too can go through the night dry. Come on!!

Yea for underwear!

Sat. morning while Geof and Dayne were running errands, Cole, June, and I went on a walk to our friend's garage sale. Here Cole's trying to tell me some story (which I apparently didn't listen too well to) and I'm snapping pics at his cute facial expressions. Sorry Cole, I'll really try not to take pics of you when you're trying to have a heart to heart talk.

Here's proof that June does wear clothes during the day. This outfit didn't last long, however. She got a rootbear icee at our friend's house and almost instantly ruined that pretty top.

Don't know what the hand on the head gesture means..I think he's trying to remember something. Darn it, I should of listened!

"Okay, fair enough. You can take pics of me, Cole."

Look at our neighbors beautiful grass. It's alright. I'm okay with dirty feet tracked in my home all day long.

I'm in a funk lately. I don't know if I pushed too hard the first 4 days I was here.., and now I just don't care what's done or not, or what?! But I don't care. I need to re-clean the bathroom because it still has a really strong urine smell in there (I know, spare the details, right?), wipe down ALL the walls in the house, vacuum and shampoo all the carpets, and figure out what to do with all the clothes I mailed myself out here (I think I more than doubled my wardrobe while living in WA). Geof.'s working like crazy which is good for us, but hard when you're home all day without a car. I don't want to be here cleaning!! I want to be at the river playing, or the park, or playing in the fountains at the mall. Oh well, over time I'm sure all the pictures will be hung, the laundry room won't smell like cat urine, and I won't cringe when I walk barefoot over the carpet. Thanks Mom for the appreciation of a clean home, but it sure is hard when you're trying to stay relaxed! (; I took this pic of our dinner table turned office desk for my sister Amy. She was interested. You don't have to be.

Mom, you say you want more pics of me on the blog. Here's me and June-bug. I just realized that when Geof. takes the camera with him to work, he turns to quality of the pics down to the lowest (is that even the right way to say it?). Anyway, so the quality of all these pics is pretty low grade. Sorry! Still lovin' my couch, though! My legs, however? Thanks be to Cole's photography skills.

Here's our panelled playroom. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I keep finding framed pics and shoving them onto the hearth. In time, in time..

Our NEW dining table. Just like our old one, but smaller. Thanks Aimee!

June's new attitude. Oh wowsers. This kid has a worst temper than Cole and Dayne combined. No joke. What WILL I do?

P.S. Yes, June HAS been in a diaper most days. I get here dressed in the morning, and after a few meals in our lame IKEA highchair which has the kid sitting a good foot from the tray, she's naked again.

Miss him. It's been over a month (probably a bit more than that,even) that we've gone on a date. We need our dates. In time..have to keep telling myself that.

Our good friends the van Rooyens adopted Lyla and Darby from Vietnam a year ago. We went over there the other night for dinner and it was so fun having friends for Junie (not like she or they noticed the closeness in age).

no pics

Geof uses my camera for his job-all day long. He tells me I can use it at night. What? I take pics throughout the day, like this morning- when Dayne and June were as happy as clams riding their bikes on our street after we dropped Cole off from school. Do you know how GREAT it is to have a street to ride our bikes on?(no offense Gma and Gpa, yours was a hill) And to have the sun out every day since we've been here..we've love Richmond weather. I miss my camera. Maybe I'll be a sneaky wife and find a good deal on ebay and buy it without telling Geof. Or, maybe not. Geof. wouldn't think that was funny or cute, no matter how HOT I try to look when he gets home from work (or how nice the meal is). We'll just have to wait and see how this job goes and if he feels sorry enough for me and the fact that I can't snap pics for the blog. For any of you who know Geof., this won't happen-EVER.
The house is coming together, though. So happy, am I! (yoda?). I've put the remaining boxes in the play room and shut the door and it's as if the house is done. So nice. Our friends out here are sooo great. Have I mentioned that before? We have a great kitchen table, an awesome comfy chair with ottoman, a BED! All thanks to them...AND, an offer to help me paint my house! I can't wait. Not that I'm excited to have to move all my furniture around, but it'll be nice to have some color on the walls rather than the colorless (really, there IS no name for what's goin' on) we're dealing with right now.
And Cole's school? So great! The first day I went to pick him up, everyone was so friendly and he already has a playdate set up for today. And I can NOT wait for the pool to open. Now, if I can just read back through this post, and many others I've typed up, and remember how blessed I am, than happy I'll be, forever.

a few promised pics

I talked to my mom and sister today and they insisted I post some pics of the place. I did get an outside pic- nothing too exciting. just an old, brick rancher. Much like some of the places we lived in Provo. The other pics are of our last day in Battle Ground. Geof.'s little bro Brind met us at the park and played away with the kids. They LOVED it! We'll miss you Uncle Brind! I also posted a pic of Cole's most favorite thing about this house-the attic. He's obsessed! He calls it his secret hiding place, of course, and wants Geof. to pull the stairs down every chance he gets. The top 2 pics are of my most recent Goodwill finds. The pictures don't even do them justice, though! The couch is probably at least 50 years old and in brand NEW condition. I'm serious. Geof. even agrees that it's pretty cool. It was made by some high quality furniture manufacturer in North Carolina. Isn't NC known for its furniture...or am I wrong? And the chair is nice and sturdy and I might sand and paint the wood. It'll look fantastic!! Any ideas on what would look good with the gold couch? I have my ideas...

va

We made it to Richmond!! We left Monday night at 10:15 pm, the kids slept about 2 hrs. (I slept a good 45 min.) of that 4 1/2 hr. flight to Atlanta. When we landed, I kind of just sat there. "What do I do?? I have three sleeping kids, a huge double jogging stroller, and 4 bags to try to haul off of here." To my relief came a nice gentlemen to help me with my stroller while another mom stayed with my sleeping kids. They were awake after that and we managed to get to Richmond safely (and thankfully we snagged a 3 1/2 hr. nap shortly after arrived). I love the house. 1500+ sq. footage is more than I've ever had and I can't be happier. Of course, with a home being as old as this one (I think it was built sometime in the 50s), there's a lot of dirt to clean up after...I don't mind MY dirt, but other people's? I'll post pics soon. I've been on a cleaning/unpacking frenzy, had a little meltdown last night.., and should be okay now that I found a fabulous couch and chair at Goodwill and the house is finally feeling like we can LIVE in it. Yippee!! Congrats to my brother in law Adam and sil Mindi for their new little one, Ruby!! Cutest name ever!

Mother's Day

Happy Mothers Day. In honor of the day and my geographical location I will post a poem by Edgar Allen Poe former resident of Richmond.

Because I feel that, in the Heavens above,
The angels, whispering to one another,
Can find, among their burning terms of love,
None so devotional as that of "Mother,"
Therefore by that dear name I long have called you.... -(the rest of the poem doesn't apply at this time.)


Though this poem was to his dead wife's mother it still I feel conveys the feelings I have. Those being that Darla is a fantastic mother. One who makes me and the children feel that we always have a home. When I told my dad that I was engaged he asked me what we were going to do. Seeing as we were young with no schooling and no plan. I told him that it did not matter because I was with Darla. As long as I'm with her I'm happy because she's fun to be with. He told me he could not argue with that. Well I stand by that statement made years ago. Darla has made life fun. Though we still don't necessarily have a plan I always enjoy my time with Darla. I am grateful for the way she raises the children, and helps them cope with their troubles. Thank you for putting up with four whiny and high maintenance children. Have a great day.

To you Mothers out there..

Happy Mothers Day to my mom, Beth, my grandma, Millie, my mother in law, Le Anne, and my auntie Renee (who's been a mom to me while living here in Washington). All I can say is it's a MIRACLE you survived it (mothering, I mean). (;

"The Dayne", as Geof. so lovingly refers to her..

Sideways again.., dang it! Sorry! Dayne has the cutest raspy voice in this video. Didn't even realize it until after I watched it. And the song she sings at the end, anyone recognize it?
think, Oklahoma..

spring

Last week we went to a nearby Tulip Festival. It was mostly rainy, but still beautiful. The kids LOVE being with their WA cousins.




We leave Monday night for Richmond. We're flying red eye! Lots cheaper that way..wish me luck. }; Geof. found a home in a good area (a rental)..so we're excited. The kids are very anxious to see Daddy.