Snow Days, Early Christmas, and all I want for Christmas...

I learned something new this week - Kade loves snow just as much as his mommy!

The first day of snow he kept saying - "I want to play in the snow! I want to throw snow at you!!"

And so he did. (Note the concentration and sheer force of his throw. Even his nostrils are flared in effort to nail me with the perfect snowball...)

Soon his friend Amber became his partner in crime.

No one was safe after that. I got hit pretty good a couple times. Luckily their aim wasn't too high- snow on my legs and in my coat pocket I can handle. In my face...not so fun... :)

I told him he can't go skiing or snowboarding until he is 5. However, watching him playing in the snow these past couple of days I might have to reconsider. He loves being in the snow so much! It was like pulling teeth trying to get him to come back inside.

However, he will come in out of the snow if it means he gets to play with one of his favorite friends - Olivia.

And if it means he gets to decorate and eat sugar cookies with her...

And pose all cheesy in front of her Christmas tree...

Besides the fun in the snow we were able to celebrate Christmas early with Logan's side of the family. We all ventured out to the lake up at his parents house for some grub, gifts and games. Why do they call food "grub" by the way? To me, it makes it sound kind of dirty, like grimy or something. I used it purely for the purpose of Aliteration but I think it just made it onto the "words I do not like" list next to bunions. Anyways sorry for the tangent...

Below is a picture of Kade, and his two cousins Monica and Halle. He ADORES these two and asks for them constantly. They are very sweet and patient with him. :)

Here's the whole gang. They did remarkably well considering there were fifty cameras in their faces with each adult saying "Look over here! Smile at me!" (okay not fifty but at least four or five) :-)

Our little guy had almost as much fun playing ON his presents then playing WITH them...

Except for this one... His grandma ran the presents by us beforehand and I thought - how fun! He loves music - he'll love the recorder. And he did. A little too much. Do you know what a recorder sounds like at 7:30 in the morning? I do. Not good. Shame on me...I should have known better.

Next came the gift exchange for the adults. Logan's mom (Carole) opened what turned out to be the favorite of the party: two nerf guns. It was quickly got stolen from her and I think everyone there got hit at least five times each. And that was before the kids got a chance to play with them...
Lastly, what can a party be without a little rock n' roll. Logan's brother Darren was the only one who had never played it before. From the look on his face in the picture below you can tell he's hooked now...

Okay...So now it's time for the last part of my post tonight. Drum role please...
"What I NEED for Christmas":
A pair of stretchy pants (oh and some self control).

Please note the picture below. It only shows one tenth of the damage that has been done in our house these past couple of weeks. Three cookies a day plus a piece of pie each night is probably not a good idea right...?
AHH! BLAST YOU SUGAR!! YOU ARE PURE EVIL!! And I am weak. :)

One Step Closer to A Kick A** Boy Band

Thanksgiving Day my sister Sarah and bro-in-law Eric surprised us with some great news

We can't wait to meet Bad Boy Baby Cooper!

Christmas Sweater Countdown

Okay so can I tell you just how much I love my family? Last year my sister Sarah and her husband wowed us all with their festive Holiday Sweaters. This was the only pic I could find of them in their masterpieces but it just doesn't do them justice. Eric's had a v-neck with a turtle neck underneath framed by some gold trimming to give it a more classy look. Sarah's cardigan was decorated with lots of Christmas jolly both on the front and back. I think we even named them if I remember correctly. This year we have been challenged to top their past creations. To be honest, I am feeling a little nervous. My family is quite the crafty bunch and I've got some stiff competition. Unfortunately all I've come up with have been inappropriate (a naughty elf is not something for the whole family to see) or the obvious completely expected tacky sweater that we all know so well. You know what I'm talking about. Your grandma has one, or maybe has sent you one in the mail as a present... Anyways - I am open to any suggestions and will keep you posted on any new developments.

Lame

I'm lame and haven't posted in awhile. There will be more to come very soon... stay tuned. :)

Our Little Superhero

To be a kid again...

Love you Little Kid.

Healing

I wish there was a stronger phrase or word than "thank you" that I could use to let you all know how much your support and love has meant to me. I have been overwhelmed this week - wondering how I have been so blessed to have such wonderful, caring women in my life. The calls, cards, gifts, text messages and emails have helped me to go through this grieving process - reminding me that I am not alone.
I have learned so much this past week. There have been so many times that my heart has gone out to a friend in need but I was so concerned about doing the wrong thing that it just paralyzed me and I didn't do anything. I am so sorry if I have not been there for one of you. I've had so many examples this week that sometimes a hug or an "I'm so sorry" is enough. Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for loving me and helping me through this. I appreciate you all and feel blessed to have you in my life.

Today I am Grateful for...

Today I am grateful for
1. A caring doctor who was understanding, loving, provided lots of tissues and reassured me it wasn't my fault
2. My cell phone so I could talk to my husband right away
3. A wonderful husband who answered the phone and is one of the most amazing husbands in the world
4. A side door so the ultrasound technician could get me back to my room without having to go past the waiting room
5. A loving mother who listened to me cry
6. A car parked in a dark parking garage so I could sob openly without worrying I was making anyone else sad
7. A 20+ minute drive home so I could try to gain some composure before I walked in the door
8. An amazing son who came bounding up to me right as I walked in the door - showing me immediately just how truly blessed I am
9. Prayer and the comfort it gives me even though I am sad - I know things will be okay
10. Thoughtful family and friends who support us when we need it
11. The opportunity I will have to try to conceive again
12. This pregnancy - even though I am sad we lost our baby - I am still grateful for the time that I had with this baby.

Lincoln City Family Vacation

My parents are great and brave and decided that our whole family should drive down to Lincoln City and spend an entire week in one house by the beach. I say great because they love us and want to spend time with us and brave because that is a lot of people and personality in one place for a fairly long stretch of time. But we were all up for it and packed our cars to the rim and took off the last week of August.

After an 8 hour drive (which was only supposed to be 6 but we decided to caravan - why?!) we were anxious to get out of our overstuffed cars and settled in at the house. All three cars pull off the main road, onto the drive and as we approach the AMAZING beach house we saw cars in the driveway. Hmmm...wait a second...we were all following each other yet there are cars parked where ours should be... Come to find out my sweet mother made a mistake. We were supposed to check in the following day... So what do a group of tired, cranky travelers do out of shear desperation? We check into a seedy hotel for the night.

The beach house...

Our scary hotel.

The rooms were a little creepy and I didn't want to walk around without my shoes on but it wasn't too bad... It could have been worse. It did have a pool...that was freezing cold. :)

Lydia and I were the only ones brave enough to go all the way in. It looks like we are smiling but it was through clenched chattering teeth. :)
The boys only put their feet in but tried their best to splash us :)

After one night in at the hotel we were ready to check in to the house. If anyone is interested in going to Lincoln City with a group - I would definitely recommend this place!!! It was roomy and gorgeous and had a huge playroom for the kids to go wild (which they did). There was a third floor which was perfect for when the kids went to sleep - we could play games and be as loud as our hearts desired.

No trip to Oregon is complete without a trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory (especially on a rainy day when you can't go to the beach...)

Terah, Mac and my mom - Mac looks like he's in heaven.
My pretty pretty princess Lydia.

After one day of rain we were so excited to wake up to sunshine and headed straight for the beach. The kids were pumped and the parents were armed with cameras, sand toys and towels. Glad we had those towels because within ten minutes of wading in the waves both Kade and Mac fell in. After making sure they were okay I couldn't resist taking this pic of Kade.
Don't let these tears fool you. He was fine a moment later and enjoyed the rest of the day playing in the sand and water with his cousins. Here are some of my favorite beach pics.

Sarah and Mac
My mom was soooo proud of her sand castle. This is her posing by her masterpiece moments before the kids destroyed it. :)

This is a pic of my parents, sisters and the kiddos at Devil's Punch Bowl outside our favorite clam chowder place. It isn't that great of a picture but it was the only we took with all of us in it.

One afternoon my dad and Logan took the boys to the Air Museum so we could do a little shopping. They had a great time.
A couple minutes drive away was this huge playground. I don't know who was more excited - the kids or the adults. We didn't want to leave.
This is the lake right next to the park.
The weather was gorgeous, the house was amazing and we all survived the week together under one roof without killing each other. It was a fantastic vacation and I can't wait to go again! :)

And the Gold Medal for Worst Morning Ever Goes To...

The Black Household!! If I was ever to start drinking - this would be the morning to put me over the edge. :) Okay - so it wasn't that bad, but it was pretty ugly. Sometimes you have to just throw your hands up and have a good laugh but I haven't been able to do that yet with what happened this morning. :)

Here's what happened...
Around 8:30 I decided to give Kade a bath while I got myself ready in his bathroom for a meeting that was at 9:30. While getting ready my mind started drifting back to the Olympics (I have been TIVOing it like crazy) and noticing that my belly was hanging over my jeans more then usual, I decided that I'd hit the gym after my meeting. I decided to run downstairs quickly and grab my MP3 charger to put in my gym bag. As I ran back up the stairs I heard Kade crying and whining about something. I went into the bathroom and as I got closer I realized that within the minute that it took me to snag my charger - Kade had pooped (A LOT) in the tub and was clearly freaking out.

So I quickly pulled him out and ran to my bathroom to stick in him the tub (telling him it was okay but trying my hardest not to gag as it was all over him) while he proceeds to PEE everywhere. Lovely. I get him all washed off and clothed and happy and then face the dreaded poopy bath tub. yuck. After a couple deep breaths in the hall I went to work. Okay it gets worse. I try to get most of it out and flush it in the toilet next to the tub and just because things weren't bad enough - the toilet gets clogged. Picture me with a plugger now close to swearing as Kade is practically sticking his head in the bowl to see what I am doing and toilet water is splashing all over us. Gross!!

By the time I head down stairs (cleaned up and changed from the nastiness that was my morning) - I am already about 15 minutes late. The toilet isn't unclogged but I need to head out the door. Kade by this point is losing it because he has been ready to go outside since the minute his clothes were on. As he is pulling on my legs and whining I realize that I can't find my keys. So I proceed to dump out every bag and purse I own in a hot pursuit of finding those stupid keys!!! I've gone through them all twice and decide that I need to take a deep breath and say a prayer. After doing so (and hearing Kade say his own - something to do with trains and blessings) I go back to my black purse which I have searched multiple times and yup - they are in the pocket. So I guess the morning ended on a good note. Although I was almost a half an hour late to my meeting and my toilet is STILL clogged...The Joys of Motherhood.

Here are a couple pics of the culpruit that started the whole unfortunate chain of events... Here he looks so cute and innocent (skinny but sweet)...

But this next one is more like the boy I saw this morning... :)

Back to Nature at Last - Ocean Shores or Bust!!

When we were first married, Logan and I went camping a lot. We loved being outside by the fire and snuggling in our sleeping bags in our cozy tent at night...then Kade came into our lives and we stopped our summer camping adventures. What a travesty. Why stop going you ask? I don't know. Maybe because I pictured Kade covered from head to toe in dirt during the day and crying in the tent all night waking up at the butt crack of dawn ready for another round - of dirt... I've gotten over my fears however and resolved to take him camping this summer. But not until Logan and I had our own Adults Only Camping Trip. Sounds so racey doesn't it? Hate to dissapoint but it was pretty tame - although it did involve a lot of wetsuit wearing...

The Camping Crew - Eric, Sarah (my sis), Logan, Me, Eve, and Micah all clean, well rested and ready for our trip. And yes, my younger sister Sarah is taller then me - not fair but I've come to terms with it. Sort of. :)
Gotta love road trips - minus the traffic on the way there... Eric was feeling a little woosy and it looks like I have a pig nose. Sarah looks cute though. :)
Nighttime was fun with a lot of food and chit chat by the fire... Pretty harmless until we started playing the game Would You Rather. I'll spare you the details but I almost peed my pants laughing (more then once)...come to think of it, maybe I should get that checked out...
(just kidding).
The girls in the morning... notice the bags under my eyes? Thanks to our lovely air mattress that decided to crap out and completely deflate, Logan and I slept on the lovely rocks under our tent the first night. Love it.
One thing I like about camping is that the guys usually do all the cooking. Why? Maybe its that they feel more manly over a grill or camp fire. Who knows. Either way I'm a fan.
Now to the real reason for our trip. The wetsuits. We always wear a wetsuit when we camp. I love it - it makes me feel like dancing. Okay - only half of that is true. I do feel like dancing when wearing a wetsuit but our reason for our trip was to surf. As a side note - could there be anything more unflattering then a wetsuit? My guess is no but I'm open to a debate.
Surfing! I love it!! There is a reason my parents would call me their lil fishy - I could live in the water. Logan managed to catch this shot but missed the time the board flew up in the air and smacked my head...that would have been a good one. There is always next time.
Exhausted and hungry after a couple hours trying to catch some waves. I had sand in my eyebrows and swallowed too much sea water but it was worth it. :) P.S. do not enlarge this photo as I am sure it is scary and might cause you to lose some sleep.
A post-camping/surfing pic trying to capture just how nasty and gross we were. I think it does a pretty good job.
Lastlly - this picture is dedicated to my sister. There is no one else in the world who could pull off the socks in flip flops look. You are amazing.