Christmas Pictures

We have had a wonderful and busy week so far. I'm just going to put up a few new pictures, seeing as thats about all I have time for today. Hopefully I can fill in details soon! Olivia really didn't want to have her picture taken so this is the only one I have with her not in tears.

Will everything get done????

So too many of you out there 8 weeks may seem like a long time, but to me 8 weeks seems like a very short amount of time. Why you might ask, well in 8 weeks we will be welcoming Isaac. With December almost over and January being a very full month, Olivia's Surgery, Care Group Weekend Away, Our Wedding Anniversary, And Normal Activity's, I'm sure time will fly by. Then in February we have Luke, and Morgan’s birthdays and before you know it my 8 weeks are all done. Now if I could just figure out were we are going to fit in taking down the wall paper and getting our bedroom painted so that we can finally set up our furniture, oh yes and lets not forget getting Isaac's room ready. Do any of you out there ever feel like you are taking 2 steps forward and then 10 steps back? This is how I have been feeling a lot lately, maybe its hormones, or the rush of the holiday season. I'm guessing though I'm not the only person who ever feels this way. Why do we feel the need to have life organized? For me I know that I'm a happier person when I feel like things are getting done, but dose it go deeper than that? Is it a way of keeping control? Is it my way of not handing everything over to God, and knowing that he will help me accomplish things in his timing? I know that this has been a very random post, but tonight I feel random. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend, and have a Merry Christmas.

Care Group Christmas Party

Last night we enjoyed celebrating Christmas with our friends, it was so much fun to get together for the holiday season. Thank you so much to Ryan and Jeanie for hosting! Hope you all enjoy the rest of our holiday season.

Not a word of complaint

Yesterday I opened an e-mail from a friend who I have been thinking/praying about over the last few day of heavy rain. As soon as I read the first few words my heart sank and I started to cry. They live in Vernoina and have lost everything inside their home. They have 3 kids one who is only weeks old. As I read about their home being under 7 feet of water on the outside and 4 feet of water on the inside I could hardly imagine being in her position. But that is not why I'm posting this; I wanted to post about this because of her amazing attitude about things. She could have complained about losing everything, the fact that they have just finished remodeling the entire house, that her family will not be home for Christmas, but she didn't mention any of those things. She said we have lost everything, but I'm thankful that we have family we can stay with and we are all safe, and healthy.

As I head into the Christmas holiday, I have so much to be thankful for. I have no reasons to complain, so what if I can't find the right gift or I have a lot going on. That is not what this season is about. It's about Celebrating Jesus’ Birth. Spending time with love ones and being together as a family. My friend’s attitude made me think, it's never those who have hardly anything or who are asking for help that complain about life's situations. It’s those of us who have so much we have forgotten how little we really go with out, and decide to complain about the mundane things in life.

Bouncy Potato

I thought that this would be a great little thing to post right before thanksgiving. Tonight when dinner was done, both Olivia and Morgan got into the cupboards and each got one red skin potato. Odd I know, but they are my kids and I love them. After about 30 minutes of laughing a playing nicely with each other, I finally decided to interrupt and ask Morgan what they were doing the answer, we are just playing a game called bouncy potato. Okay then I hope that you two enjoy the rest of your game because mommy is really enjoying cleaning up the kitchen and talking to Daddy! I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with you family and find time to truly enjoy the little things we have to be thankful for.

Cleanliness what is the definition?

I know that I said I was taking a posting break, but I had to blog about this. I don't want to offend anyone who reads this so know that my definition of cleanliness is just that my definition. Also know that I think there is a very large difference between houses cleanliness and a house being picked up.

So any of you who read my blog know that we are moving next week to a house that needs a little work, so Luke took a few days off of work this week, my Mom took the kids and our plan was to work, work, work, and we did just that. Thursday my new appliances were being delivered so I worked very hard Wednesday, and Thursday morning to get the laundry room ready. After scrubbing every wall and wiping every surface, I moved on to painting all of the walls. Next I shined up the cabinets with pledge, and mopped the floor for a second time. Ahh yes the laundry room in my definition was clean, but for some reason it smelled just awful. So after running through everything that I had done in my head it hit me I never vacuumed out the heating vent, but this smell couldn't be coming from the heating vent, or could it? So I went out to the garage grabbed the shop vac. a was going to clean it out, but I decided I didn't want to because it might be really gross so I asked Luke to do it for me. He pulled off the heating vent and I head, "you have got to be kidding me, what's wrong with people." Curious I walked into the laundry room and asked what he had found, his response was not something that I can post, but we had identified the smell. Yes the people who had lived in our house before us had been using the heating vent as a place to put what they had scoped out of their cats litter box! At this point I left the room feeling very sick to my stomach, but this is what crosses my mind:
1-I'm so glad that Luke is cleaning that and I'm not.
2-It's a really good thing that the gas has been, and still is turned off and the heat hasn't been on.
3-I can't believe that anyone in their right mind would do something like that.
4-I'm so glad that Luke is cleaning up that mess.
5-I love my husband, he's not complaining about the mess as much as I would.

So the mess has been taken care of, and every vent in the house has been cleaned. My laundry room smells just fine, and I still am very excited to move in to the new house. After this experience though, it got me thinking, I had been told that the house was clean. I have been working on getting the house to my standards of clean for almost a week now, and I still have work to do. So what makes people decide to live in filth? Is it lack of motivation in life, or that the standards were never set, and as an adult they don't really know what clean is? I'm interested to hear what others have to say on this subject. Were do you think each individual persons standards of cleanliness come from?

Posting Break

I just wanted to let all of you know; I'm taking a posting break until after we move! With Morgan having swimming lessons 3 nights a week, a house that needs some remodeling before we move into it, and packing up our family, blogging is going to be put on the back burner. Our move date is set for November 10th, and Luke is taking some time off this week to start some of the work on the house. I'm going to try and take lots of pictures of everything that we do between today and the 10th so that the next post will be more fun and exciting than this one.

But Mommy I Was JUST......

This post happened on Tuesday, but I have not had a chance to put it up. I doing much better with the situation, but I still cringe a little if I look to close.

Well today Morgan played hairstylist. Yes that means exactly what you all are thinking she cut her hair. The hair that I love so much, and always enjoy doing is gone. She now has no bangs, and the right side of her head is missing large chunks of hair, and to top that all off if you move her hair just right, she has a little bit of a Mohawk! The lady at the hair salon said, "She’s half way to a mullet." The word mullet just makes me quiver and that thought that my little girl looks like she has one might just be enough to make me sick. So this afternoon we got a hair cut and her hair looks a little better I'm still trying to get over the fact that she cut it. I have posted a picture of her hair after the at home hair cut gone wrong. I'm sure that most of you are thinking that it's just hair, but for me my kid’s hair is a big deal. I know that it will grow back, but for now I'm still sad and will miss Morgan’s hair.

Happy Birthday Olivia

Today Olivia turns ONE! This is every exciting, but has also been a little emotional for me as well, the thought of her not being a baby anymore is kinda sad. I'm so glad that we have been blessed with two wonderful daughters, and each millstone it a wonderful one. I have posted a few pictures of Miss Olivia, I might add some more latter after she has her first taste of cake.

We're Moving!

I'm writing this blog with so much excitement, I can hardly contain myself. After almost 2 years in a 1200 sq. foot apartment, our family is moving to a 2200 sq. foot HOUSE! I can hardly wait! I don't really know what I will do with all the extra space, but I'm sure we will find ways to use it as our family continues to grow. The house is about 5 minutes from were we are living right now, in a nice neighborhood. It's a ranch with a loft at the end of a cul-de-sac. There is a park very close by, and, to top it all off, the back yard is huge! God has blessed our growing family with the wonderful surprise of a new home at just the right time. I will try to post a few pictures soon. Thank you so much for all of you who prayed for us as we waited to find the right fit for our family.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to the pumpkin patch with friends from our moms group. It was fun to have all the kids together(some were missing). The weather ended up being nice, and the girls had so much fun just being outside.

Morgan trying to take Olivia for a wheel barrel ride, Olivia wasn't so sure about it!

When Sharpies Attack!

Today when I went to get Morgan up from her nap I found a big surprise! I will let the picture do the talking.
After I had excused myself for a few minutes to laugh, I went back in and explained to her that when she is done taking a nap in Mommy and Daddy's room that its not okay for her to get into the desk. She had not only colored on her face, but on every envelope in an almost new box, and her pajamas . I'm so glad that she insisted on putting them on for nap today.

Could It Be?

We think that the right house might have found our family! Luke and I went through a house today that meets most of our criteria, plus it has more square footage than we had hope to have. There are a few problems, but I think we will find that with most anything. We are now in the possess of negotiating with the owners of the property, if this is meant to be the house for our family we know that the problems will work out. So please pray for us as our next few weeks unfold that Luke and I will be able to accept Gods plan. More me than Luke, but I think that we both would be a little disappointed if things didn't work out.

(this is not the house)

The Funny Things Our Kids Say

I just thought that I would take a minute to tell all of you about something Morgan told Luke and I yesterday. Well more Luke than me, but I was in the room when she said it. Morgan and I were getting ready to leave for BSF Luke asked her to put her shoes on. I guess that he asked her to put on her black shoes, because she quickly looked at her daddy and Said, "What, What, What! Black shoes with pink socks and a brown sweater, they will send me to prison." When Luke stopped laughing he told her that she could wear her brown shoes.

It's A BOY!

Yes, thats right we are having a baby boy! Luke and I are very excited! We can't agree on any boy names, we have a few, but none of them are speaking to us. Any of you that have kids now what I mean. As parents we want their name to be all that we know our children will be. Plus you have to make sure that it will be a name that won't get them ridiculed when they start school! So let us know what your favorite boy names are, we would love some suggestions!

Family Fun Night!!!

Friday night we went to Family Unity Night at Sunset Pres. we had such a wonderful time with the kids. I highly recommend taking you family to the next one(in November) if you didn't get a chance to go on Friday night. Morgan had so much fun playing on the inflatable toys and riding on the plasma cars, Olivia just enjoyed being able to run free!

Were has the time gone?

When I looked at Olivia today a rush of emotions struck me. My baby is not such a baby anymore, she is walking, saying no when she doesn't like something that is happening to her, and most of all she will be one in a few short weeks. I don't know why today was the day that I decided to notice all of these changes in Olivia, I have Posted a picture of Olivia at one day old and now. It really is amazing how much she has changed.

It's Friday

I can hardly believe that today is Friday, this week has seemed to fly by so fast that I'm still taking it all in. I will give you a quick look at what we had going on this week.

Monday- We did errands I knew that I would not be able to fit them in on any other day so we finished them all in one day. For any of you moms out there you know that doing all of your errands in one day can be very challenging with you kiddos. Then at about 12:30 we went to my moms, and I left for a doctors appointment. Finlay arrived home at 3:00pm put my two very tired kiddos down for a nap. After dinner I started to go though the girls draws only to realizes that Olivia had one pair of pants, after I put off of her summer clothing away. Ran up to Old Navy to buy her a few things while the baby sale was still going on.

Tuesday- Arived at Sunset to help with the Gift Kick off child care at 8:45. For anyone who knows me well I'm not the biggest fan of the morning and having to have myself and both of the girls ready to leave the house at 8:30 can be a big challenge. Olivia was filmed for a video clip that is being used at church on Sunday, I can hardly wait to see it. Finished with kick off at 11:15ish, headed to the grocery store, I always forget to get something off of the big list. :) Arrive home at 12:00 feed the girls, manage to do a little bit of clean up around the house, before laying all of us down for a nap. I woke up about 3, managed to do some laundry, and clean the laundry room. At my house the laundry room always manages to get really cluttered. After dinner I was able to go spend a little time with Laura, it was nice to take a break.

Wednesday- My mom arrives at our house to watch Olivia at 8:30, Morgan and I leave for BSF.
This Wednesday is my turn to Volunteer in the 2 class room, so for the second day in a row I happily play with others children while not spending time with my own. It was great to get to see all of the great things the children in the 2's class are learning. 11:15 I 'm done volunteering pick up Morgan from her class, head home to pick up Olivia. On the way home I hear all about what Morgan learned in class, I'm so glad that it sounds like she had a good time. 11:20 arrive home, talk to my Mom for a minute, grab Olivia and a few snacks head to meet Yvonne at Costco. 11:45 Costco trip with Yvonne and Ben, goes great we are able to buy 90% of what we are going to need to do food for MOM's Kick off on Thursday. We stop at the Costco cafe eat some lunch, pack up our cars, then we are off to Sunset to drop off the food for moms kick off. 2:00pm arrive home with two very tired kiddos put them down for naps, think about laying down myself but decide that I have other things that I really should be getting done.

Thursday- MOM's kick off I'm so excited! My mom arrives at our house to watch both of the girls at 7:30 I'm out the door to go to Kick off, but not with a quick trip though Starbucks. Arrive at Sunset at 8:00am. Yvonne arrives at the church as well we get started making food and setting up the room. 8:30 our helpers arrive and things really start to take form, its all coming together. 9:15 MOM's kick off beings, the room is packed with mom's some that I haven't meet and a few from last year. 11:30 start to clean up kick off was awesome, I'm so glad that I was able to be apart of it this year. 12:30 head for home, my kids are so happy to have me home I'm so happy to be home with them.

All of that brings us to today we have done nothing at the Jenison house, I have been able to sit on the floor and play with my kids. I think that the best part of my day so far was being able to sit at the table and enjoy breakfast with my kids, I have really missed being able to do that this week. I enjoy all of the things that I Volunteer in, but this week with all of them happening at the same time it was a little heck-tick and crazy, I'm so glad that we have nothing going on today. Whats up for tomorrow? We are helping my sister move! I hope that you all enjoy your weekend.

The Wedding

This week was a very busy, very fun, but most of all a very happy week. Morgan was the flower girl in our good friends wedding. It was not only wonderful to watch them join their lives in marriage, it was also wonderful that Morgan was able to be a part of their very special day. I'm so proud of her I didn't know that my child could behave so well! The wedding was at 7:00pm on Friday night, I think that we were at the reception until 10:30. Morgan was very determined to have cake, I think she thinks that is what a wedding is all about. I have posted two pictures that I received from the groom. Yes on this big day I forgot my camera, so I have no pictures of my own of Morgans first wedding. I hope that I will be able to post more of what is going on with the family in the next few weeks as we are settling in to normal life it gets easier every day Luke is back at work.

Its Good to be Home

I know that it has been a very long time since my last post. We got busy our last few weeks in Michigan, and then the whole family got sick! We have been home for about 2 weeks, but the time has flown bye. Today is Luke's first day back at work, and my first day alone with the girls. We have enjoyed the summer and I wouldn't have traded the time with family, friends, and just getting to spend so much time with Luke for anything. I have posted a few pictures that have been taken over the last few weeks I think that they are going to be able to fill you all in on what we have been doing much better that I can do! I hope that you all had a wonderful and safe Labor Day Weekend.


Luke took me to University of Michigan's Campus, it was really fun to see were he went to collage, that evening we also meet his collage roommates for dinner. It was a great weekend without our kids! Thank you so much grandma and grandpa for watching the girls!
















Our trip would not have been complete with out a trip to the Grand Rapids Zoo! They have a really cool exhibit were the kids can pet Sting Rays and Sharks, Morgan was really excited to just look at them I don't think that we could have gotten her to stick her hands in the water to pet them















The day after we got back to Portland we decided to take the girls to the Oregon Zoo. I wanted to take them before the summer train was done for the season.


This weekend we spent time with my Parents, but we also were able to go to our good friends Chris and Andreas Wedding! It was so much fun to be there to celebrate with them on their day! It was also great to see Luke all dressed up I don't think he has been dressed this nice since our wedding!

The Cottage

Yesterday we spent a wonderful day at the cottage with family. It was about 93degrees and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen in the sky. Morgan was so excited to go up to the cottage for a day, and she really play hard all day long. Olivia slept the best she has the whole trip, so I guess that everyone had a wonderful day. Some highlight of the day were:

Morgan took her very first tube ride, she wanted to be in the tube all by herself. This was a stretch for me, but she did really well and the second time she went out on the lake it was all kids on the back of the boat. Morgan also has a new love boats she road in the boat as much as possible with Uncle Dale it was cute. She also played with her cousins all day she didn’t take a nap( I didn’t even lay her down) it’s a good thing that we put both of the girls in their p.j.'s for the ride home.

Olivia played in the sand for the very first time, yes I know we live in the Pacific Northwest and my child has never been to the beach. She loved the beach and was very determined to taste a little bit of it too.

I was able to relax, this may sound very strange seeing as how I had two very small children at the lake all day but I was very relaxed. I have gotten used to Morgan being around the water, and feel like she know what she is not supposed to do. It was wonderful to be able to sit in the sun and talk with the other mommy’s(Luke’s cousins).

Luke also had a wonderful time, but it a sore(really sore) this morning. He learned to wake board yesterday. I think that he did very well once he let the boat pull him up, he kept trying to do that himself. On the drive home last night he told me that was really fun, but I’m so tired and I can already tell that I am going to hurt in the morning. I’m very proud of him for trying something new.

Well I know that it has been awhile in between post, but I have been feeling really awful and just haven’t wanted to do much blogging. Luke and I are taking off to Detroit tomorrow just the two of us. It should be a fun, he is going to take me to the University of Michigan Campus, and then we are going out to meet up with some of Luke's old college friends. I hope that you are all having a wonderful week, we are missing all of you and are looking forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks.

We are having a BABY

Well I know that this is a surprise to most of you out there. Trust me Luke and I were shocked when we found out. I had an ultra sound a few weeks ago, and everything looked good, my due date is February 24th. We are still having a wonderful time on our trip, but I have been sick and a little tried. We have been sticking closer to his parents house than planed, but that has been just fine with me to have the extra help with the kids while I have been feeling sick. I'm hoping and praying that I get to feeling better by the time we have to drive home. I will keep all of you updated on what is going on with our newest little development.

Welcome Baby Ava Isabella

This week has been very busy and filled with lots of activity. Luke has started a major redecoration project for his parents. About 20 years ago they put a wonderful addition on to their home. As most of us know wallpaper was the in thing to decorate with in the 1980's, but seeing as how it is no longer the era of wallpaper Luke's parents(mom) have decided it is time to take it down. This week he started, he finished today taking the wall paper out of the family room and kitchen, now he has to prep the walls for primer and paint. I'm very thankful that he has this project to keep him busy. I will try and post before, during, and after pictures soon.

Now moving on to more exciting news, on Friday I became and auntie again. Ava Isabella was welcomed into the world at about 7:45am she was 5lbs. 11.5oz and 16 inches long. She is a very tiny, but very cute gift from God! I have posted a picture of Ava with her big brother Adain, Ava also has a big sister who is very excited to welcome her, but I really liked this picture. Hope that you have all had a wonderful week. Keep reading the best is yet to come in the next few weeks as our trip continues.

Lets go Swimming

Morgan's cousin Taya came over to play today the girls had so much fun in the pool!

4th of July

We are having a wonderful time in Michigan, so far. We arrived on July 3rd at about 4:00pm, local time. Yesterday was a wonderful day, spent with family. We started the day off with a parade Morgan had so much fun with her cousins. She also loved all the candy and necklaces that she got at the parade. The rest of the day we enjoyed some much-needed relaxation. Morgan loves the pool. With her life jacket on, she can swim by herself (something she prefers). She has even jumped off the diving board a few time. Olivia also is loving being able to be outside and play in the water. I'm going to try and get some pictures up soon, but we are having some issues with getting the pictures off of our camera. I hope that you all had a wonderful and relaxing 4th of July.

What do you get when you mix......

I'm going to start by saying I'm sorry if any of you readers out there are Rockstar fans. I tried the stuff for the first time today I think that it is one of the worst drinks on the market I don't know why any one would pay for the stuff. I guess that I should back up and tell the story of what happened on day 3 of our cross country trip.
After a wonderful night's rest, we started out and the weather was beautiful. There wasn't that much to look at, as far as scenery goes, but it was shaping up to be a nice drive. About 2 hours into our 9 hour day, Luke looks at me and says he would really like a Rockstar. Morgan then piped up that she would like to use the potty, so, after that comment, we pulled into the nearest gas station. About 10 minutes later, we were all settled. I was just about to back out of our parking space(it was my turn to drive for a bit), when Luke opened his Rockstar. Let me warn you, this is the beginning to the end. He looked at me and asked if I would you like to try some. I had never had Rockstar, but heard good things about it so I gave it a try. What the heck was I thinking? I suddenly had two well-known, yucky flavors in my mouth. What were they, you ask? Cherry Robitusin and Beer. Thats right, folks, mix the two of those together and you get a Rockstar. Well, I'm sure that the ingredients are different, but, I assure you, the taste is exactly the same. As I look over at Luke I'm sure I had a what did you just give me look on my face. He chuckles and asks, "What? You don't like it?" I responded with a quick no and told him what I thought it tasted like. He laughed, and said, "Well, I thinks its good."
Other than our Rockstar story our day went well. We reach Michigan tomorrow and our day should be short! Luke and I are feeling pretty good. I'm mean things are not perfect, but they are far form anything that I feel like I can complain about.

Heyburn ID to Cheyenne WY

Our day has gone well, again, but we are exasted. I think that we will all sleep better as we are in a much nicer hotel with amenities like AC, cribs, and beds that aren’t tacoed. Oh yes the simple plesures of civilazation. This hotel has very nice grounds, that are set up more like a small resort. We were able to walk around, play at the park, go swimming, and now I am able to stay up and blog while the girls work on falling asleep. Tomorrow will be the longest day of our trip, we will be driving almost 700 miles. I don’t know if we are crazy or not. Ask me tomorrow? Well I better get going Olivia is still awake and playing in her bed. I think its time for some Mom intervention.

One car, Two kids, 600 miles Oh My!

Day one was wonderful. I don’t think I could have asked for a better start to our trip. The girls were good and traffic wasn’t too bad. Except, in Idaho, I think there is only one lane open on the highway for most of the state! The only thing I think that Luke and I would change is SLEEP! I’m writing this at 5:30(Portland time) on Sunday morning. Both the girls are up and I have been showered and dressed for about 45 mins. Luke and I are awake and ready to keep going. Looks like we are getting an early start on day two! I don’t know when I will be able to post this, but I will try to get it posted today!

What will tomorrow bring?

I can’t really describe how I’m feeling at the Moment, but it’s a mixture of a lot of different emotions. I’m excited, we are leaving to be gone for 6 weeks, taking a cross county car trip, getting to see friends and family, and Luke will be home with us the whole time. On the other hand I’m feeling nervous, anxious, scared, and a little overwhelmed for all the reasons that I’m also feeling excited. So what will tomorrow bring for our family, well here is what that day is supposed to look like:

6:00are Katie and Luke out of bed and getting ready

6:45 wake up Morgan and Olivia (my kids normally get up about 8:00)

7:15 meet my parents for breakfast and say good buy

8:15 on the road (I’m driving the first part of the day tomorrow)

12:00 Arrive in La Grande for lunch

6:30 Arrive in Heyburn ID (it’s one hour off from Portland time so 5:30 for all of you)

Play with the kids, swim, eat dinner, and bed for everyone!

This is what our day should look like for tomorrow it will be interesting to see what the day actually brings, I’m hoping to blog about it tomorrow night. Well I have to get back to all the fun things that still need to be done, I have to clean my bathroom, finish a little bit of packing, clean out the fridge and do one load of laundry(Luke insisted on going for a run this morning instead of last night). My goal is to have everything done by 3:00 today when Luke arrives home so that we can enjoy our evening (we have some friends coming over for dinner). That’s it for now I hope that you all enjoy your weekend.

Fountian With Friends

This morning I decided to take a break from all the packing and meet some friends to play at the fountain. I'm so glad that I did it was great to see all the moms and kiddos from play group and both of the girls had fun being outside and getting to play with mommy. Olivia loved the water and Morgan was just happy to be outside running around in a swimming suit. I must say it was a wonderful morning. I have posted some pictures. We are leaving in 4 days, I'm going crazy with all the little things that I still have to do, but its great to know by this time next week we will be in Michigan. I'm still a little nervous about getting everything that we will need for the next 6 weeks of life packed, but I know I will manage. Hope that you are all having a wonderful week.

Morgan’s Big Adventure

Last weekend Morgan went on Vacation, with out Luke and me. My sister took Morgan with her to visit friends in Seattle. Morgan had so much fun, she is still talking about all the fun things that she did on her trip. I have posted a few pictures, but the highlights of the weekend were:

Seattle Zoo

Marysvill Strawberry Festival

Watching her First parade (I know we are horrible parents)

Getting to spend time with Aunt Diane

I have to say I’m very happy she went, Luke and I missed her so much, but we both ended up sick over the weekend. It was nice that we only had one little one to watch as we recuperated. Morgan is now gearing up for her next big adventure, that’s right we are leaving in 9 days. I don’t know if she is more excited about the trip or that Daddy doesn’t have to go to work for a really long time. I will leave you with a thought of the day:

What’s another word for “thesaurus”?

Its Been Too Long!

Sorry all readers, life at our house has been full. I haven’t had time to sit down and catch up the blog. So while I sit in the ER with Morgan at St. V's I'm going to try.

To start off, I guess I will tell you all what is going on now and work back to what has happened in past weeks. Last night Morgan started to throw-up and she never stopped.

Luke and I took turns with her, but let’s just say a 3 year old with the stomach flu is one of the worst things ever. After a very long night Luke left for work and I was on my own for the morning shift. She was not getting better. Its been almost 12 hours since Morgan has been able to keep fluids in her body. After a call to the pediatrician, we ended up at the ER. I think that biggest concern at this point is that she is dehydrated, I'm sure that something is wrong because she fell asleep with daddy holding her which doesn’t ever happen. Yes, Morgan is too sick to talk, move or fight sleep.

The first weekend in June is Rose festival. Morgan really wanted to go see the pirate ships, so we all went as a family. It was a very fun day. As we walked around the pirate ships (tall sail ships) Morgan was very excited. I think Olivia liked it too. There was a lot to look at. I think that we went everywhere you could on those ships. Morgan would have been happy playing there all day. After the ships we walked around inside Waterfront Village (it's were most of the activities are). Morgan quickly zoomed in on a face painting both and asked very nicely if she could have a turn. After face painting, it was off to the rock climbing/bungee jump booth. It was very fun to watch her fly into the air. She laughed and giggled. The first thing that she told us when she done was that it was a lot fun to fly into the air. After the bungee jumping, she was so excited to find something else to do. She found ponies to ride. She told the people putting her on the horse that she needed to have the black pony, because it was her favorite. After the pony ride, we went and did some of the normal carnival rides. I even did a small tiger roller coaster with her. It was a very fun family day, even though Morgan was the one running around all crazy. Olivia fell asleep in the back pack.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we were able to spend time with family. It was so much fun to meet baby Ava for the first time. It was also really nice to spend time with Kathy and Allen. Over the weekend, we were also able to spend some time with the Backer family. It was great to see all five of them. Morgan had so much fun playing with her cousins. I wish that they lived closer, but Idaho has been a wonderful place for their family. Maybe they don't need to be closer, we just need to be better about visiting. Over the weekend, we also spent some time with Grandma Sexton to celebrate her birthday. Everyone thought that it was going be a surprise, nut she had it all figured out before she got to the party. We also were able to spend time with friends from our care group. It’s also fun to get together with all of those families.

What other updates do I have to add, I think that the biggest change is that Olivia is now crawling! She has also started to pull her self up on the furniture, and saying Mama, Dada, and buba (bottle). I'm so glad that Luke is going to be home this summer to get to see some of the fun mile stones that Olivia is making. We are counting down the days until our trip. We are leaving in 13 days! I have started to make lists of things that I need to do in the next 3 weeks. I always try to be organized when we travel as a family. I'm not one for over packing. On this trip, I really have to be on my game to have everything that we will need for 8 weeks. I have already had to make some hard choices like Pack and Play VS. Stroller (the stroller was victorious). I figure that I can bring Morgan’s sleeping bag. It’s much smaller and she thinks its lots of fun to sleep on the floor (Oh to be 3 again). The next big thing battle that we are battling out is will Luke let me drive. Luke is under the impression that he should be the only one driving. I think that it would be better if we took turns, 4 days across county is a long time for one person to drive. I think that, if we each did 4 hours a day, life would be much better. Feel free to add your comments on this subject.

Well I think that is all Morgan is starting to perk up now that she has an IV, and her fever is down. I hope that this is the worst of it and that she is feeling much better by this weekend. Luke and I could really use a week with both of our children healthy.

Katie