Justin Visit (finally)

Okay so what if this took place 2.5 weeks ago *pfft* better late than never, huh?

So on Saturday we dropped our kiddos off at my Aunt Penny's house. Sweet Anika and her friends watched them most of the weekend. I missed my kids like crazy, but it was SUCH a great weekend! I really enjoyed being just *Jason and Cari* when we got home it felt like we were fresh off the honeymoon!

So here's a quick rundown: We drove out to Florence where we met up with our good friends Chris & Heidi. We threw in the crabbing nets in the trunk and headed out to the South Jetty (*see my nearly tragic side story below). We hung out there and played for several hours - bringing up lots of tiny crab but nothing big enough to keep *bummer* I really had my heart set on crab for dinner so we found a little seafood restaurant and I batted my big brown eyes at Jason (still works *heehee*) and he bought me a big crab dinner *iLOVEhim*

Then we drove back to Eugene, stopped at the grocery store for a gallon of ice cream and came hope and watched The Princess Bride *awe* that's the BEST movie ever - hands down! Justin and Staci fell asleep before the Man in Black even got to the top of the Cliffs of Insanity! *pfft* so we turned it off and went to bed.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed back to the coast. It was an amazingly beautiful day! The sky was crystal clear and it wasn't blow-me-over windy! We stopped at Sea Lion Caves, Cape Perpetua and the World War II lookout.

(Horrible shadows on this one, I know!)Then we drove up to Newport for a late lunch and then to a beach (Fogarty I think?) to watch the sunset.

Isn't that gorgeous? Seriously! I took a dozen or more pictures of just the sunset - I had the hardest time picking my favorite. It was spectacular! I'm pretty sure it was the first time I have ever seen it dip all the way into the ocean - no cloud cover - no overcast - it was amazing!

Here's me and Staci waiting for the sun to set.
After sunset we drove up to Vancouver, WA to stay at the Hilton (Staci gets a discount from her job). Their plane was to leave at 6:00 a.m. so we decided to stay close to the airport. The hotel was beautiful! Built in 2006 (I think that's what I heard). We stayed on the top floor. After we took Justin and Staci to the airport at 4 a.m. Jason and I drove back to the hotel and went back to sleep *lol* then we enjoyed the continental breakfast. I'm telling you it was an absolutely blissful weekend!
*Now for my sob story...er...side story - So we stopped at Dairy Queen for some lunch on our way to South Jetty. Heidi called to tell us they were on their way, we finished up eating and drove out there. When we parked the car I realized I LEFT MY iPhone AT DAIRY QUEEN! *gasp* I was horrified! Didn't help that Jason explained to me that any AT&T customer could just swap the sim card and they'd have their very own iPhone! I was near tears! I LOVE my phone! I know that prolly makes me sound terribly materialistic - but I DO! I have never loved a phone before - maybe because it's so much more than a phone! So we jumped back in the car and headed back to Dairy Queen - I think it was about a 10 minute drive but it seemed like a good hour! They found my phone *whew* I seriously would have cried!

Two too big for a crib?

Corbin has figured out how to climb out of his crib *ack* I put him down for a nap this afternoon and checked on him about 20 mins later and his crib was empty! He was hiding behind the curtains looking out the window! *hmph* Every time I put him back in his crib, he was out within a matter of minutes! So, not only are we going to have a crabby, grouchy boy this evening because he didn't nap, we're going to have to set up his big boy bed much sooner than I wanted to! It's going to be an interesting transition, I can feel it! Especially since he shares a room with Jenalyn and she wakes up before 7:00 every morning and comes out and watches T.V.

Corbin is TWO

Okay, please don't lynch me, but I will be blogging out of order *gasp* I still haven't blogged about Justin's visit last week, but I just have to post about my bubby's birthday ON his birthday! I'll get Justin's visit posted within the next couple days!

To the left you will see the super cute cake I made to celebrate Corbin's 2nd (I know that looks like lettuce, but it's colored coconut). It was a lot of fun and easier than it looks (although I left a lot out because of poor planning on my part - here is a link to what the cake is supposed to look like). It was perfect for Corbin though because he loves Disney's Cars. First thing when he wakes up in the morning, "Watch Cars!" After breakfast, "Watch Cars!" After nap, "Watch Cars!" After dinner "Watch Cars!" He's like a broken record! He's nuts over that movie!

So anyway, we had a simple party tonight. We had family over for dinner. Great-grandma "Scrabe" made her famous lasagna and we had rolls and salad. Then we did cake and ice cream - Corbin wasn't the least bit interested in dinner (crazy kid - my grandma's lasagna is the BEST!) but he cheered when it was time for cake and ice cream (don't laugh at my birthday candles - another ball I dropped - so we had to improvise!)

I can't believe Corbin has been in our lives for two years already. He is such a sweet boy. He covers his mouth when he coughs and he is really good at saying "Please" and "Thank You." (I'm a proud mama!) I love his kisses before bedtime. He kisses my whole face! He starts with my cheeks and points out every other part, names it and kisses it! This even includes my hair and, if I'm wearing one, my barrette. There is no question he's a mama's boy. He loves me and I love him...like I never imagined I could! So today was certainly a day worth celebrating! Corbin has been in our family for two whole years! I love you big, handsome, bubby-boy!

Here are a couple bonus pictures of my big boy - they were taken yesterday. I was making brownies to take to Jen and Tim's house and I let Corbin lick the scraper when I was done.

Big Week Last Week

Oh man we had a HUGE week last week! So much to blog about but I didn't have the time. So here's my catch-up post! First off, I never want to forget this this moment I shared with Jenalyn last week - so I snapped a couple pictures. We had a triple birthday celebration that weekend and this was the leftover cake. I pulled it out of the fridge and got two forks and Jenlayn and I piggied out :) Yummy chocolate cheesecake made better by my sweet girl's soft humming as she enjoyed tiny bites...er, maybe not so tiny!

On Valentine's Eve Corbin got his elbow popped out of place *sob* poor little guy! I had a friend over and we were chatting in the living room. The kids were in their bedroom. All of a sudden Corbin started crying furiously! Jason went and got him but he wouldn't soothe :( he put him in his high chair with some cereal which always makes it better...and it did for a while, but then he started wailing after a while out of the blue. By then my friend was gone and when I went in I noticed he was holding his arm funny. I was worried that he broke something! Jenalyn said she was trying to help him get up on her bed and was pulling on his arm. So I rushed him to Urgent Care and within minutes the doctor had popped it back into place and my little guy was hopping and jumping back to the car while cracking jokes! Amazing what a quick fix it was. Doc also showed me how to fix a dislocated elbow in case it ever happens again.

Corbin had his first haircut on Valentine's Day! Can you believe that? He's almost 2 years old and just had his first haircut :) Yeah, my babies are baldies - Jenalyn still has never had her haircut! He did pretty good, but the clippers tickled and he kept squirming *lol* that made it a challenge. But I think it turned out pretty good!



Our before and after pictures don't really show a great difference - but he looks so handsome! We shaved the back and kept it long on top.

We had company in from out of town this weekend too - but that's for another post. Stay tuned!

Happily tagged by Heather

What is your husband's name? Jason

How long have you been together? We will be celebrating 9 years of marriage in July!

How long did you date? We dated 3 months before we were engaged - then married 6 months later - so a total of 9 months.

Who eats more? Well, Jason is on a health kick right now so I'd say I out-eat him! That's kinda embarrassing!

Who said I love you first? He did :) in his Bronco II in my driveway.

Who is taller? Jason is...his lips are perfectly in line with my forehead! I get sweet kisses every time we hug!

Who has more speeding tickets? Hmmm...Jason definitely had more than me, but then he realized his speedometer was off and adjusted his driving accordingly. Neither of has gotten a ticket in years though! *knocking on wood*

Who is smarter? Jason is smarter than me in a lot of ways - probably all the ways that count! But I'd say I have more street smarts.

Who is more sensitive? He's more thick skinned, but more sensitive to my feelings than I am to his. (sorry I stole your answer Heather, you just worded it so perfectly!) BUT, I'm more sensitive to others' feelings, like the kids for example.

When there is a fight, who usually wins? It depends on who is wrong! We are both pretty good about admitting when we are wrong.

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who does the dishes? I do for the most part. Jason does help with dishes after dinner.

Who sleeps on the right? Jason.

Who pays the bills? We both do.

Who mows the lawn? Um...we are both terrible at yard work. We take turns mowing the lawn - about 5 times per year (maybe exaggerating slightly).

Who cooks dinner? Usually me. But when I'm in a slump he'll do it willingly.

Who drives when you are together? I like to drive so I won't stress over his vigilance. "Look over your shoulder, that's a stop sign, oh-oh-oh that car's stopping" I think he prefers for me to drive so I will leave him alone, poor man! (Oh Heather - that's exactly how we are!)

Who is more stubborn? I would say Jason is (he might say differently).

Who kissed whom first? He kissed me! (Awe, I love to remember that! It was sosweet!)

Who asked who out first? He asked me.

Who proposed? He did - originally on the phone while he was in Rexburg and I was in Oregon - then he "officially" proposed with the ring the night before our wedding *lol*

Who has more siblings? I do *lol* he is an only child and I have 5 sibs! If those differences haven't killed us, nothing will!

I'm tagging: Jen and Heidi.

My heart is full

I just love Sundays like this. Okay, so it started out rocky, but what do you expect when we have 9am church? But it has turned out beautiful! We were late for church, of course, but we made it before the sacrament, so we didn't miss out on that *whew* The kids sat relatively well in the meeting, which is always a relief.

In my class our lesson was on a woman's responsibility to teach. We talked about how they will have many opportunities in their lives to be a great example and teacher to other people. I was leading into the second section of the lesson and asked the girls, "Who was the greatest teacher to ever walk the earth?" and not one, but two of my girls blurted out "YOU!" *awe* (I know, huh? Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my girls?) The answer I was looking for was Jesus Christ, but I ate up that compliment :) They sure know how to make a girl feel loved!

After we got home from church and were getting changed Jenalyn came in with her new Valentine's Day magnets and said, "Mom, you make my heart super very happy!" Ohmigoodness...I threw my arms around that little girl and I thought I was going to explode! She is too too sweet!

Anyhow, I wanted to blog about this so I can go back and read them when I'm having an especially bad day or feeling down in the dumps. I have people who love me and think I'm great *whew*

On another note, this dress is our new favorite :) We have Aunts Nancy and Dale and cousin Cassie to thank for it. Isn't it lovely? When Jenalyn put it on she said, "It's kinda like a dream mommy!" *awe* she said that the other day about some pastel p.j.'s too :) Maybe she dreams in pastels *lol*

It's absolutely beautiful on her! Even Corbin said, "Oooh...Princess!" *sosweet*


This beautiful flower gets hidden by the sweater, but it's so pretty!

And I love all frilly layers! it's just beautiful!

Carebear - that's ME!

	Love-a-Lot Bear You love to take care of others and people love being around you because you make them feel appreciated. You are very sweet and soft-spoken. You are also a romantic and consider yourself an excellent matchmaker, so you tend to be a bit nosy. But everyone still considers you the sweetest person they know.
Take the Which Care Bear Are You? Quiz!

Funny thing is this was the first Carebear I owned - I remember for my 7th birthday that was all I wanted was Love-a-Lot bear! And I got it :)

That's it! She's done...

...with naps, that is *sob* I can't believe my baby girl is ready to stop taking naps!

For the past several weeks she has been waking up at the crack of dawn...and slowly, it has gotten earlier and earlier! This week she was waking up before my alarm would go off at 6:15 a.m.! I'd wake up and see the lights on in the living room (at least she's quiet). She's so funny. She'll get herself a little snack, turn on her computer and play her little games, maybe watch a little t.v. (I'm always very careful to make sure the t.v. is left on Noggin or Disney Channel before I go to bed at night since she started doing this.)

So we decided to quit her naps and see if that will help her sleep in once in a while. I hope it works!

So nap time has turned into "quiet time" (*gasp* I'm turning into my mother). NO t.v. or computer during nap time. She can read books or color. It went okay today, but she gets bored quickly. I think we might start going to the library once a week so she has new books to look at.

Anyhow, my baby girl is growing up *hmph*

What's in that cup?

We'll let Corbin make his own announcement:

(he's saying "cows milk" right there - in case you couldn't understand him. *woohoo*)

HOLY COW - can you believe it? I've had a hunch for a while now that he had outgrown his dairy allergy (he's been sneaking cinnamon toast and quesadillas off Jenalyn's plate) - but I wasn't going to really test it until his birthday later this month - I was going to give him a big bowl of ice cream! BUT, I got home from work this afternoon and Corbin was chugging down his sippy - it took me a while, but then...wait a minute...we ran out of soy milk yesterday! WHAT'S IN THAT SIPPY CUP, Jason? Hmmm...? Oh yes, my ever pre-occupied hubby put cow's milk in Corbin's sippy! *pfft* Good thing he's not allergic to peanuts, huh? Anyhow, for the rest of the day he was nipping at my heals saying "cows milk?" "cows milk, mommy!" I guess he likes it! AND then, we decided to really got for it and he got mac'n cheese for dinner - 'tho he didn't seem too excited about that. AND THEN we went to see the VeggieTales movie for FHE and got a big ol' bag of buttered popcorn - Oh yes, he loved that! Oh but you wouldn't believe how much popcorn our little princess can throw down! She looked pregnant after the movie - SERIOUSLY - her belly was bulging with popcorn! Like one of those JiffyPop tins you pop over the stove *giggle* we were worried she'd explode! And she was insistent on keep the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow morning *lol*

So anyway, I guess we'll know within the next couple days whether or not he's really over his allergy! Say a little prayer for our Mr. Corbin (and us - those diapers are NOT fun to change!)

Anyhow, for nostalgia purposes, here's a picture of Corbin with his miserable rash before we learned of his allergy (this picture really does the rash no justice - it was seriously horrible! People at the grocery store would stop and stare because it looked like he had been in a car accident, or been thrown thru a glass window - he was constantly scratching his poor widdle head! (4 months old - June 2006 - snoozing in Gramma Jan's arms.)

Memories from today

We took the kids to the playground at the mall again today. It was PACKED! I kept a very close eye on our little Corbin. I was so scared he was going to get trampled by one of those wild tweens on roller shoes! He had so much fun though. I don't think he played on anything but the slide! He'd slide down and run around to climb right back up again. Jenalyn of course flitted around to all the attractions.

When we got home both kids were beat! They were so tired! It was nearly 4:00 so we put them down for late naps. We have found that everyone gets more sleep when we separate them - so we sent Jenalyn to our room. When I went in to check on her - not 5 minutes later - this is what I found :) I promise this was not posed - she's snuggled up in our bed with her Sally bundled in her little blanket *awe* I should have gotten a better shot of Sally's swaddle - mama-Jenalyn is getting really good at that! Sally has become such a dear part of our family! Even Corbin gives her kisses good night "nigh-nigh Sally!"

Then after dinner I got a couple more good pics. I tell ya, this tunnel is a huge hit in our house! Everyone loves to play with it - it was laying out in the living room and Jason crawled in for an after-dinner nap - and Jenalyn followed :)

That last pic makes me feel a little claustrophobic just looking at it *yikes* I couldn't handle that!

Oh - and Corbin loves Raisins! We bought Cars-themed snack-sized boxes of raisins and he can't get enough of them! He asked to watch the movie so I put it in for him - wish I wouldda got a pic of him snuggled up with his blankie on the couch, sticking his chubby little fingers inside his raisin box like he was eating popcorn at the movie theater *lol* I adore my boy!

A date with my Sugar-Bug

For my birthday my in-laws bought me and Jenalyn tickets to go see the St. Olaf Choir at the Hult Center. He was very specific that it wasn't a date for me and Jason - but was for me and Jenalyn. *lol* It was a very sweet thought and I really appreciated it. He took us to a nice restaurant for dinner with the whole family before the show.

I kept telling Jenalyn that we were going to go on a date - just her and mommy! She was so excited. I don't think she knew what to expect. She kept asking, are we going to be dancing? Will there be toys? Will there be roller skates? *lol* I hope she wasn't too disappointed when she realized that I wasn't joking when I told her that we were going to "sit like grown ups" and listen to some beautiful music.

We got AMAZING seats! We were in the center of row "C"! That's just a few rows from the stage! Sitting still and quietly for such a long period of time is a difficult thing for a 4-year-old. But I thought Jenalyn was doing a reasonably good job of it. After intermission the couple behind us complimented on how well she was doing, and so did a couple down the row from us. Then, not 2 minutes later an usher came and "invited us" to move to the side and towards the back where there weren't many guests so that Jenalyn wouldn't distract other people *hmph* I almost cried! I kept wondering did someone complain about us? Do people think it was ridiculous for me to bring my 4-year-old to a show like this...especially since it was past her bedtime? So we didn't stay too much longer after that. *sniffles*

At any rate, it was a fun thing to get dressed up and go out with my Jena-bug. I just wish FIL would have bought us tickets to see Jungle Book instead - that's a little more up Jenalyn's alley right now.


Here we are after our date: I love you bugga-boo!