Greenbluff 2008

Cousin Anthony the Skeleton, Cousin Janie the Pumpkin, and Grace the Cat




That sweet little skeleton, Anthony, belongs to Jeff's cousin Angela and her husband Ryan, and Janie The Pumpkin is the daughter of Jeff's cousin Jen and her husband Kevin.

We've been wanting to get a picture of the cousins and thought that Greenbluff would be the perfect background during this time of year. We had fun seeing the bluff with the family, hitting all of our favorite spots: Walter's Fruit Ranch (where Janie got to ride a pony!), Knapp's Farm (home of Punkin' Chunkin'), and of course Hanson's (best applesauce on the bluff).

G'ma Joan

We've gotten to see G'ma Joan and G'ma Caroline TWICE in the last five days! G'ma Caroline had an eye appointment here in Spokane last week and then my mom had an appointment on Wednesday this week. So we've gotten some good quality time in. I do have a picture of G'ma Caroline with her Cousin Millie--we met her for lunch last week--but Millie, who is beautifully 88 years-old, said she doesn't EVER want to see that picture, and though I don't think she is an Internet blogger, she's scared me enough to keep the picture on my camera. Ha! :)

Just for Uncle Drew...

...Baby Einstein likes DOGS, too. Although Grace likes to flip back to the cat page and GRIN, as if she can imagine Uncle Drew flipping out somewhere across the state...

Longview Weekend

We went to Longview two weekends ago to visit Drew and Annie--Jeff's brother and his wife. We took an extra day to drive over through Seattle, where we had a short overnight stay with our friends Troy and Lauren and their 13-month-old son, Caleb. We didn't have much time with them, but it was nice to visit for a few hours. :) Troy had night class, but we got to eat with Lauren and play a little Wii MarioKart until he got home.


Caleb loves Jeff! By the end of the evening there, Caleb was wanting to be carried around by Jeff and kept raising his arms to him. And then when we left Caleb cried when he had to let go of Jeff. It was so sweet and it REALLY made Jeff's day... :)


I realize we didn't take any pictures of Drew and Annie's house, but we took some at the farm that we visited on our way to Portland for the day.

Ducky Towel

I'm pretty sure it's impossible to have a baby that is NOT cute in a ducky towel.She's finally longer than the kitchen canisters!

Dad's Helper, Too!

She likes to help Dad enter grades on the weekends.

Mom's Helper

I think I should make a blog titled: "All-the-places-you-can-stick-a-baby-while-trying-to-get-something-done." This will be the laundry room installment...

Goodbye Office, Hello Nursery!

Four months after her arrival, Gracie's nursery is ready!


Sheeeeesh! We're pretty sure the crib bedding sat in its packaging longer in our basement than it did in the store. But now, after lots of thought and narrowing down room arrangement options, we have a room that is all Grace's.


Well, maybe a room that is 80% Grace's...our office has been scrunched down to fit on one wall. So in the pictures you'll see the forest-themed office scooched over so that the ladybugs could take over. We were able to borrow my sister's family crib--until they decide to have more beautiful children, right, Katie?--and Colleen came over a few weeks ago to help Grace and I arrange the furniture and put up the pink and red wall squares.


We think it looks great! Now, if we could only have Grace SLEEP in her room...she's so snuggly-comfy in her bassinet in our room...or is it that her parents are too snuggly-comfy in their own bed to go all the way downstairs in the middle of the night to put a binky back in their sweet baby's mouth?? :) Whoa, slow down there, Lochheads. One step at a time--we wouldn't want to move too fast and make a rash decision... :) :)

Buyer's Remorse?

I purchased this saucer on a whim at a consignment sale--Baby Einstein for $30?!? What a steal!--and started the second thoughts the moment I stepped into the checkout lane. The line was WAY too long, and I fretted over the decision all the way to the cash register. And all the way home... (I wasn't going to spend that much money!) But the moment I put Grace in her toy, she wiped away every ounce of regret--look at that face! :)




She played in her new saucer for 20 minutes before she wimpered to be picked up. At which point she had a surprise for me...poop all the way up her back! :) This next picture was taken moments later as I got her bath ready...OxyClean stain remover waiting in the wings...

New Shoes...

I suppose the new SHOES are hypothetical. But it feels as if Jeff and I SHOULD be wearing new shoes with the new ROLES we’ve taken on this fall. Jeff has changed teaching positions within Rogers HS and is adjusting to a different room, curriculum, and group of students…AND, he’s taken on the role of Assistant Girls Soccer Coach. The job keeps him busy—practice and games everyday after school, not to mention going to school early to get his planning done—but he’s really enjoying his time coaching the girls who have turned out this year. Coaching has been one of the highlights of his day… “AWAY from home,” he adds. Sweet husband. He told me that I couldn’t put the team on the blog unless I wanted to get Internet permission from all of their parents. So, here’s some pictures of Jeff coaching, and the picture at the top is of SOME soccer feet that belong to some RANDOM soccer players that MAY have been playing on the Rogers soccer team…but I’m not sure. ☺













I am LOVING working part-time. On the days I work, I find myself thinking: “Hey, I really love this! I should work full-time!” And on the days I’m home I find myself thinking: “Hey, I really love this! I should stay home full-time!” I’ve taken this as assurance that I have the best working arrangement possible. ☺

Being at home for ½ the week has given me a chance to do things that I haven’t been able to do in the last seven years of working full-time… Believe it or not, the sun comes through the living room window at 10AM (it’s done this for the last few years and no one has been here to appreciate it!)…I get to see kids walk to and from school past our house…I’ve found that the aisles at Safeway aren’t as crowded in the middle of the day…Wahoo—I’ve gotten to dust the house and mop the floor (don’t get too excited—it hadn’t been done in over a YEAR and it may wait that long again—it’s EXTREMELY overrated)…I’ve even brought lunch to Jeff at work for fun…not to mention that alongside all of these adventures I get to have a sweet, smiling (and now giggling!) 4-month old sidekick!

One of my new favorite roles COULD deem me as Soccer Mom—I’ve loved making cookies for Jeff’s team on their game days…and taking pictures (with my “paparazzi” lens) at their events. The photography isn’t that far of a stretch for me, as I’ve played around with it over the past few years—but the cookie-making sounds kind of Betty-Crocker-ish, even as I write it—and I have NEVER claimed to love the kitchen (except to decorate it!). It’s kind of exciting for this old dog to learn new tricks—who knew making cookies each week for the girls could be so fun?!? They’re so appreciative and seem to look forward to them each game—some have been guessing what kind I’ll bring next—and I have found that you CAN’T beat the smell of cookies in the house! My friend Amy found the phrase, “Give what is yours to give,” and I have decided that I get to give little bits of chewy, caloric-rich goodness!


…Jeff wouldn’t mind these HYPOTHETICAL new shoes turning into ACTUAL new shoes…he may have to wait for Christmas. But I’ve already told him that just because I am having fun baking, doesn’t mean that he gets to start giving me kitchen-oriented gifts at Christmas! (My mom can get me new flour and sugar canisters…) ☺