Here's What's Up

I feel like I've been so absent from blogging lately even though I've been slowly catching up on posting Utah pictures. So, here's a little of what we've been up to, and don't hold your breath for any pictures.

A while ago, Grant and I looked at a house that's for sale just about 2 blocks away. We liked it. The more we thought about it, the more we liked it. Darn! We weren't even officially in the market for a house. I even told Grant that if we had been in the market, I would have wanted to make an offer right away. But, we've been casually browsing. We live in a 2 bedroom house, and I used to always tell Grant we would have to find a bigger place when child #2 came along. Since then, I've tried to look at things more realistically and reckon myself to staying here and making it work. And then we had to go and look at that house. But, we were going to have to deal with the decision of remodeling, refinancing, or finding a bigger place sooner or later. So, we're going tomorrow to look at the place again, and if we still feel good about it, we'll make an offer. It's not quite in our price range, so we have to hope they'll come down. After we look at that house, our realtor is going to walk through our house to give us an idea of how much she thinks we can get for it. Now you know what I've been doing all week: cleaning. We have so much clutter and I'm not the best organizer, so there's a bunch of junk that's been sitting around, waiting for me to figure out some place to put it. It doesn't help much that Grant and I are both pack rats.

I've made a dent in some of our worst messes (meanwhile, Eleanor has trashed any rooms in which I am not currently working). I guess however it looks tomorrow will just have to be good enough. It's going to be hard to convince people that this place can be a roomy, welcoming environment to live in if we have so much clutter everywhere. Anyways, wish me luck.

Of course, this is the week that Grant is working late 3 nights out of the week, so he has helped me whenever he's been able to, but it's pretty hectic. Add to that the fact that he was going to mow lawns last night to make the place look more presentable (with our lawn mower that I think is only 2 years old), and of course, he tried and tried, but couldn't get the lawn mower to start. Oh goodie! We might have to replace it already! (If you can't smell the sarcasm there's something wrong. . .)

I'm obviously way behind on blogging. I actually have Easter egg hunt pictures I want to post, but I keep telling myself I'll get through all the Utah pictures soon. There are several things slowing me down. One of them is our old internet router that crashes like crazy. It never had much problem with blogger before (except maybe some of my friends' blogs that have all kinds of stuff on their sidebar that overloads it-- Shalyse, your blog is guilty, guilty, guilty, on that one), but now, I can't even upload pictures without the router crashing. So, if I want to load pictures onto a post, I have to sit on the floor next to the cords and hook my lappy directly up to the modem (ouch! my back and pregnant, spreading hips!). Grant has had his eye on this super-duper mega mondo router that would supposedly solve all our problems, but he was waiting for it to be released. Then, it was released, but really, really expensive. Now, we're looking at a house and not buying anything because we might be buying a house, so we're stuck with our dumpy, old, semi-functioning router. And, don't ask me what kind of router it is that Grant wants because I really believe that super-duper mega mondo router is the technical term for it.

The other thing slowing me down is the fact that Eleanor, who at some times even preferred her daddy putting her to bed, but at least would let us switch off from night to night, has recently decided it's all about Mommy. She throws major fits when we try to make her let Daddy put her to bed, and I don't like doing that to him. While she's going to bed is one of the few great times to have to myself, but now, I can't even do that every other night unless I want to torture Grant and listen to the fit. This bodes well for having a second child, doesn't it?

The other thing stopping me from blogging as much is that I've really gotten into reading again. Right now, I'm reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. My sister loaned me a book while I was in Utah, and though I was never interested in it, I promised her I would give it a shot (more about the book when I actually start it). She has been pressing me to start it so we can girl talk about it every day like she does with my sister-in-law, Lia, who got her into it. Since I can't bring myself to start another book when I'm in the middle of one, I've been trying to get through Mansfield Park so I can finally appease my sister. That takes up the majority of naptime, another opportune time that I might be blogging. And, if I'm not reading, I'm probably napping. I just feel like hibernating lately. If I don't stay in bed most of the morning (find something to entertain Eleanor, listen to make sure she is content and safe, fall back asleep, repeat), I tend to want to nap when Eleanor does. I LOVE sleep!

Oh, and one of the reasons Grant works evenings lately is because he's teaching a class this term. He's teaching an ABE math class (enter his mother's laughter here) on Wednesday nights. Luckily, the class goes from 5-8 instead of from 6-9 like most evening classes, and it's only the one night. This gets him teaching experience, which is looked for in almost all college administrative positions, and it helps us with money, which can never hurt with a baby on the way and a house in our hopes.

I'm trying to think if there's anything else swimming around in my head that I've been wanting to share. . .

Can't think of anything else, but I'll leave you with this. I've been wanting to write this down because it's one of my favorite Eleanorisms. Instead of saying "broke" or "broken," she says, "bork" or "borken." I love it!

And now, back to Mansfield Park. I'm trying, Beth, I'm trying. I'm a slow reader, and it's not a quick read.

I have something better to do, but am I doing it?

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Utah Trip: Days 5&6

Saturday night, my nephews, Zac and Mason, stayed the night at my dad's while James, Lia, and the other two boys stayed in a hotel. Zac and Mason just couldn't stand to not stay the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house. So, Austin, Kenzie, Zac, and Mason all slept on the living room floor, just above where Eleanor and we were sleeping. At first, I was worried it would be impossible to get Eleanor to bed with the added excitement of two more boys to play with (and the fact that those two boys are total night owls), but since she had barely napped and there was plenty of excitement at the birthday party to wear her out, it wasn't so bad. Sheila had told the kids that they could stay up as late as they wanted to, but if someone had to ask them to be quiet one time, they had to go straight to bed. I made several trips to the bathroom during the beginning hours of the night (naturally, in my delicate state), and it was so funny to see all their worried eyes on me as soon as I reached the top of the stairs. One of them always asked if they were being too loud. They were so afraid I was coming up to scold them, and they would have to go to bed. They actually were really quiet. I don't think I heard their voices at all when I was downstairs. The only thing that even reminded me they were there was the occasional thud on the floor as they moved around.

The next morning, Sunday, we woke up to snow on the ground. So, naturally, the kids (and Grant) suited up in warm clothes and went out for a snowball fight. Isn't that what everyone does Sunday morning before church? Eleanor and I observed and took pictures from the safety of the window.

Mason and Zac.
Grant in Austin's coveralls.

Austin. And Kenzie said she wasn't going out at first, knowing the boys would show no mercy, but she couldn't resist.

And here are a few of the videos I got. . .

Listen at the first of this video. Kenzie comes out and Austin claims her on their team, saying they need help getting Grant. Kenzie says, "I thought it was all against all." And as soon as people are ready to go along with that, she cries, "I'm on Grant's team!" She cracks me up! Her legs are so skinny sticking out under that big, puffy coat, and I love her kamikaze charge.

And I can't quite remember what Zac did to deserve this. . .

. . . but I think this had something to do with it.

Eleanor gets Austin.

They all wanted Mason to come to the window because he was the first to go inside. He didn't go in crying or anything, he just was done being cold. When he went to the window, all the others did the chicken dance for him since he was the first to go inside.

Eleanor got her daddy, too. I really regretted not bringing the snowsuit a friend had loaned me for the trip, but when it all came down to it, we just didn't have room to pack something so bulky for the airplane ride. Besides, she was still getting over her cold anyway. One thing we did do during the first few days was go get her a pair of galoshes or "mucky mucks" as we called them for her to wear while tromping around in the mud. She loved them and wanted to wear them everywhere. I'll have to get a picture of her in them sometime.

After the snowball fight, we played a few games until it was time to get ready for church. A day or two earlier, we learned how to play a game called "Slamwich" that apparently, they had bought a long time ago, but Dad had tried to go over the directions and decided they were too complicated. So, they had never learned how to play it until I came and read the directions and taught them. Of course, I had to tease my dad for not being as smart as I was.

Eleanor trying to be just like Austin.

Mason all cleaned up.

We went to church at my dad's ward, and Aunt Kathleen sang a beautiful song in sacrament meeting. After church, we ate and packed up to ride back to Salt Lake with Aunt Kathleen.

Grant flew out of Utah early Monday morning to get back to work. Eleanor and I stayed the rest of the trip at Aunt Kathleen's house, and she took such good care of us. I took Monday as a day to just take things slow and try to recover from that nasty cold that was still bothering me. We didn't go anywhere or do anything. I was so sick of being sick! Let's just say that my pregnant bladder + a really bad cough = well, that's too much information, but it was unpleasant.

Utah Trip: Days 3&4

This might be getting boring for some of you, but I want to remember all of it. Skip over it if you aren't interested.

On Friday, we let Sheila's mom watch Eleanor with the help of Austin and Kenzie while Grant, Dad, Sheila, and I went to the Vernal temple. Aunt Kathleen was just getting into town, and she met us there. We got to do some family names since Kathleen is so dedicated to genealogy, and the temple was just as beautiful as I remembered it from the open house and baptisms for the dead. Eleanor had a great time and didn't have any problems with us leaving her since she had her good friends, Austin and Kenzie there. For any of you who don't know, they are my little brother and sister, born to my dad and Sheila. They were so good to her and made her feel so comfortable from the start. Kenzie was like having a built in babysitter the whole time-- that's what I call a vacation!

Saturday was the day of the big party. While Grant's cold was slowly getting better and Eleanor was only coughing at night, my cold had gone into my chest and was getting worse each day. I knew it must be because of the dryness compared to Oregon, and I just needed my chest to open up so I could cough out some of the gunk that was making it so hard for me to breathe. I tried calling a doctor back here in Oregon, hoping I could just get a prescription for an inhaler so that I wouldn't have to go to some urgent care or ER and cost us a bunch of money when I already knew what I needed. Well, I didn't get my usual doctor; I spoke with some guy who had never even met me who scared me to death, telling me I could have asthma problems for the rest of my pregnancy. He said I was going to have to take an inhaled steroid as a preventative measure for the rest of my pregnancy. Then he told me to go to an urgent care center. If you know me, you know I'm not so big on taking a bunch of drugs while I'm pregnant, so the thought of needing that kind of inhaler for the rest of my pregnancy was not my ideal. I would take it if I absolutely needed it, but I knew my current breathing problems were only because of my cold and the dry climate. After that conversation, I decided I felt better already and didn't need to go to urgent care where they were possibly going to try to push a bunch of drugs on me I didn't want.

But my coughing and wheezing just weren't getting better, and by the time I gave in and decided we should go to urgent care, they were closed. I couldn't stand to cost us the money it would have required for an ER visit in a place not covered by our insurance, so I decided I would just have to suck it up. My dad started thinking of anyone and everyone he knew with asthma from whom he could maybe borrow an inhaler. The first people he tried in his ward loaned us a nebulizer and several doses of Albuterol. I had a breathing treatment before the birthday party, and it made a huge difference. I ended up having one more breathing treatment during the trip, and once I got back to Oregon, my lungs got better every day. I'm fine now and still think it would have been absurd if I had listened to that doctor.

And now, for the main event: the birthday party. My dad turned 60 this year. There was a ton of good food, and we all ate first. During dinner, my Uncle John read memories and anecdotes about my dad, written by all the family. Then, we gave him gifts. After the festivities, some of the family played tornado. Here's a little video from that:

Eleanor got to play along with help from her daddy. My sister looks like she swallowed a basketball, but, I assure you, there were only the two balls at the start (tee hee).

(A few game shots.)

And here's the birthday guy, himself. My dad is in the middle, with his brother, Will, on the left and Grandma B, Sheila's grandma, on the right. She is such a dear, sweet lady, and I have so many fun memories of her! She loves Oregon because she served a mission out here along the coast.
The kids had fun playing in the nursery. I thought it was so fun that they had these in a nursery. What a fun toy! Here, Connor was spinning along with Eleanor, but he's giving up his seat for the lady (Grace). What a gentleman!

This shows some more of the grandkids. There are 11 in total, Eleanor ranking at #10.

During dessert, Dad read some of his favorite stories aloud to the kids.

The cake had dark blue icing in some places, and it dyed everyone's mouths. There was no mistaking who came to my dad's party.

Ethan with Aunt Kathleen, enjoying some cake and ice cream. Kathleen is my dad's sister, and Ethan is #11 of the grandkids.

I had to get a picture of Hayden's blue mouth. He didn't want to smile for the camera, so I had to catch him unaware.

Ethan is such a cutie! He was happy to sit and roll the ball with a partner.

Utah Trip: Day 2

First thing Thursday morning, my dad ran out and got a job. See, he had thrown a kink in things when he quit his job a few weeks before we were to arrive. They were doing some rotten things like trying to make him switch to salary instead of hourly pay, and he wasn't going to put up with it. Sheila had already secretly arranged with his boss before he quit for him to have time off when we were in town. After he quit, it was even more difficult for Sheila to communicate with me about plans without him knowing. Plus, she had to try to stall him every time he said he thought he would go look for a job. She knew it wouldn't be as easy for her to get him time off with a brand new boss. So, as soon as there were no more secrets, he went out and got a job, effective Monday after we left.



While I was in the shower, Grant, Dad, and Austin took Eleanor over to a nearby neighbor's house to show her some sheep. Apparently, she got a bit overwhelmed by being surrounded by all those sheep. But they did find a friendly goat to pet.

It's evident that she was under her daddy's supervision because her hair is totally in her face. I just don't know how she can stand it.

And later, we visited Annabell again. This was a repeat occurrence throughout the trip, but don't worry, I didn't take pictures every time. Sometimes, Eleanor would ask to hold Annabell, but would back out every time we got her close because she was just too wiggly.

Later in the day, we went to Jensen to Dana and Cleo's house (some family friends who have sheep) to feed a bum lamb. It's mother had 3 babies, and could only feed 2, so this one was being bottle fed. Isn't it cute? Get ready for a bunch of pictures of Eleanor and this little bugger-- I liked them all!

Eleanor petting the lamb. She enjoyed seeing this lamb more than she had the ones in the morning since this one was separated from the others. It's sucking my thumb-- SO hungry!

Eleanor thought it was so cool to hold the bottle and feed the baby sheepy.

She also liked holding it.

After she was done with the sheep, Kenzie showed Eleanor their nice old dog. Eleanor got to brush him. This is her "cheese" face. You ask the girl to say, "cheese," and this is what you get.
This is the face you get when you ask for a big smile. Much different.

They also have quite a few peacocks that just wander around the property.

Kenzie and Eleanor. They were looking for a peacock feather Eleanor could take home, but they were having trouble finding a very pretty one.

And what's more fun than standing on a huge bale of hay in the back of a pick up?

Bedtime, and Eleanor and Kenzie are bonding over fish faces.

. . . And stories.

When we first got to Vernal, we had my dad sit on the couch and read Eleanor a few books. From that moment on, she was quite comfortable with her Grandpa Jim.

If Eleanor didn't already consider Kenzie a best friend, this certainly sealed the deal. One of Eleanor's favorite things to do is to hide with a willing participant.

Kenzie helping Eleanor see through all that hair after hiding under the blanket.