Lovely Monterey

This past weekend, before Erik flew to Chicago, he and I went on the Home Team Meeting for his company. This is the part where they fly us to a fabulous location and put us up in a nice hotel and pay for all our meals all weekend. It's a pretty sweet deal. Monterey is a beautiful place! We had great weather and especially enjoyed the trip to the aquarium on Saturday.

Could it be any prettier there? If real estate weren't about sixty-seven times higher priced than anywhere else, we could seriously live in Monterey. John Steinbeck wrote there, ya know. I wonder how much his mortgage was...


And here we see the lovely plating of my dessert Saturday night. Granny Smith Apple Crisp Tart Thingy. Seriously yum. It did not look like this for long.

Quick Post

I'm flying solo this week as Erik is in Chicago on business. It has been mildly crazy, but also great to see God's hand of provision and peace. We had a special visitor today with a special gift. My dad brought a beautiful rocking chair for Paul's room. It is exactly what we had been needing. So cool! See the great pics and a smiling Paul below. :-)

I'm posting this picture because this is the chair and I really like my hair. That rhymes. :-)


Here's Paul checking out my dad. I'm not sure who charmed who more. Pretty cute.

Cute Paul wearing a cute sweater smiling his cute smile. Cheers to Aunt Krista for finding this sweater in a local consignment shop last summer when I was pregnant.

Hanging in Sunriver

While the Daddy-Man is working at a convention here in Sunriver, the family is enjoying some time with Grandma and Grandpa at the cabin. Mommy and Luke took a trip to the new Children's Museum in Bend yesterday. Luke's favorite part was the guitar. He even sang a few songs for the crowd including "The Wheels on the Bus." The remodel of the cabin is in full swing and Luke decided that the new copper kitchen sink looked like a good place to sit. Below him you can see the newly laid hardwood floor. Lovely! Paul is getting bigger and bigger. He really enjoys sitting up, so we try to facilitate that as much as possible. He's a happy boy.

Very Cool Dude

Mommy and Paul

Kitchen Sink Sitting

High Chairs and High Heels

Paul has officially started to sit in his high chair. He was feeling really left out at dinner time while the rest of the family sat around the table and he sat in his infant seat on the floor. The view from the high chair is much better and he is also more easily able to join the conversation. You can tell by the picture that he feels quite empowered atop his new perch.

Luke meanwhile decided to pose for a picture today wearing my high heels (okay, they are actually pumps, but I liked the title better with "heels"). He's looking pretty pleased with himself. He seriously spent more than a half hour walking around the kitchen in them. I think he likes the noise. Should I worry about his back? I know mine hurts after walking in them for too long! Maybe he should start doing my core-strengthening exercises with me. Actually it would be humiliating to be outdone by my two-year old son who has WAY better abdominal muscles than I do. Regardless, here are the pics. The first one is the fun face. The second one is a mildly better shot of the shoes.



PS - I just read Ashli's Anecdotes. Her post from Saturday is a pure delight. If you are a lover of Fall, like myself, click and enjoy. http://ashlisanecdotes.blogspot.com/

Visiting G.G.

While we were in P-Town it was a hop, skip and a jump to G.G.'s place for a quick visit. During our time there, Luke impressed his Great Grandma with his four memory verses while Paul delighted her with his cooing. At the end of our visit, we all walked G.G. and Aunt Mae to dinner. Okay, Luke ran while the rest of us walked. Upon entering the dining room, already full of other folks eating, Luke and Paul were an immediate hit. We walked around and said hi to a few more aunties and a few other old friends. Some of these people I have known since early childhood. They are all special and it was such a delight to share my boys with them.

G.G. and her newest great grandson

G.G. and the boys

Four generations...most of whom are cooperating. One of these peeps is not like the others...I think it's the two year old.

I will now finish this post by giving official props to my grandma. She is online and visits our blog regularly. Grandma, when I'm your age, I hope I'm still hip to the technology and able to keep up with my great grand kids too! You rock!

Pumpkin Party

Our Fall Harvest Party in P-Town went very well this past Saturday. We enjoyed the company of good friends and put Paul into a pumpkin. It is a family tradition to put each infant into a pumpkin during its first October celebration. I have no idea from whence this idea originated, but it always cracks me up. With two in diapers, you have to laugh...a lot.

Before the pics, a rare moment in the blogosphere...blog meets blog. Check out Bump's Life for a more complete telling of the afternoon events. http://bumpslife.blogspot.com/2007/10/trucks-and-harmonicas.html

Despite being the English major, Josh, the History Major, out writes me every time. But he left out the part where Luke threw a tantrum and didn't want to share the truck with Jonas. "NO!I'm two years old!" Luke's favorite answer to the question, "How old are you?".

My cousin Angie with Baby Paul. This was their first meeting. It was love at first sight.

Pumpkin Patch

Having arrived in P-Town late last night, our first event this morning was the pumpkin patch. Luke had a great time tromping through the mud with Oma. They had a John Deere tractor decorated with a scarecrow that amazed Luke completely. He even picked his own pumpkin. Our rule is that he has to be able to lift it. He picked a good one! We picked one that we hope will be big enough to put Paul into at the party tomorrow. CRAZY!

Luke loves tractors.

Luke could NOT lift this one.

Tee hee

Our family...sitting on a cow.