2011 in Review

What?  I'm posting again?  I hope this is the start of more blogging in the year to come.

What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Lived through a tsunami, had my husband save some lives, and started a business on Etsy.

Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Not entirely, although I did much better with the exercise program than I usually do.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
My sister-in-law and brother had their sweet baby girl Lorelei, plus some cousins had babies and a few friends too.

Did anyone close to you die?
No, but unfortunately a few people were lost on cases that the Coast Guard responded to at our station.  Those guys did everything they could, but sometimes there's nothing you can do.

What countries did you visit?
Just the US of A

What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Orders to go to A school

What dates from 2011 will remain etched in your memory, and why?
The end of May/early June - Unfortunately I had a miscarriage at that time.

What was your biggest personal achievement of the year?
Learning to be patient with the Coast Guard and the military way of life.

What was your biggest failure?
Not seeing my family enough.  We saw Brett's family in Utah at the end of January and I saw my brother and sister-in-law for roughly 8 hours in May.  We got to see Brett's brother and his family for a few days in September too.  I didn't get to see my parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles at all this year.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing serious.

What was the best thing you bought?
Our new car.  It has so much more space, and we bought it with cash, so we have no car payments.

Whose behavior merited celebration?
Brett and his Coast Guard team.  Even though it feels like they wait around a lot, when they are needed, they do their job extremely well.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Well, I don't think I'm allowed to say on a public forum, so if you have questions, you can ask. :)

Where did most of your money go?
Probably into that car.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Thinking we would be going to A school in January.  Which got pushed to February.  Which has now been pushed to May.

What song will always remind you of 2011?
Dynamite

Compared to this time last year are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
Sadder (but only a little bit), about the same, and about the same

What do you wish you'd done more of?
Getting myself organized

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being on the computer

Did you fall in love in 2011?
I do love the ocean.

What was your favorite TV program?
If you're talking about new programs, I think we probably enjoyed Biggest Loser (new to us), Up All Night, and Once Upon a Time.  I really enjoyed watching some things on Netflix too: Merlin, Sherlock, Downton Abbey, and Robin Hood.  Of course, they're all BBC.  Wouldn't be anything else with me I guess.

What was the best book you read?
See my previous post for a detailed account of the books I read this year.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Kermit Ruffins.  Awesome treme jazz.

What did you want and get?
New pots!  And a 3 bedroom place.

What did you want and not get?
Orders

What was your favorite film of this year?
I didn't see very many, but I definitely enjoyed the last installment of Harry Potter.

What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
I turned 26 and to be honest I don't remember what I did.  Brett was on duty that day, and I think we went out on a combined birthday dinner that weekend.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Orders.  Are we seeing a theme here?  That and being able to see my family.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Well, I've started fixing the dressing like a teenager problem, with a lot of help from Rachel.

What kept you sane?
Brett.  He makes it worth being in such a small, isolated town.

Books Read 2011

I read quite a few books this year.  36 in fact.  I'm pretty proud of that number considering that I have two small kids at home and a husband who has to stay away for a few days for work.  Here's the list of what I read and some thoughts about them.

Baby Wise and Baby Wise II - Baby Wise gave me some good pointers and helped Noah to start sleeping through the night, but I had issues with Baby Wise II, and I'll leave it at that.

The Year of the Flood - Not my favorite by Margaret Atwood.  I felt like some things were left out at the end.  I wasn't satisfied.

The Children of Men - Once again, not satisfying.  It didn't really make a whole lot of sense, and it didn't go into the stuff that could have happened after the main story ended, which I was disappointed with.  It did however make some interesting statements about the thoughts of the world right now about children and families.  I would NOT recommend the movie.  It was about 100 times worse than the book, and the book wasn't that great.

**The Kite Runner - Finally, I got a good book!  I really loved this one.  Although it deals with some rough subjects, I really thought that it felt honest and had a great message.  It was written very well.

The Mortal Instruments Series (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass) - This is a YA fantasy series.  I enjoyed it and want to read the 4th one that just came out, but it didn't take the place of any of my favorite series.

Her Fearful Symmetry - After the Time Traveler's Wife, I was expecting great things from Audrey Niffinegger.  I wasn't entirely impressed with this book.  The story was interesting enough, and dorky as I am I really loved when they were watching a Doctor Who episode and I knew exactly which one they were talking about, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.  One thing that Audrey Niffinegger does really well though is blend reality and fantasy/science fiction so that it seems that those things could actually happen.

Backseat Saints - I really had a rough start this year.  I didn't really like this one either.  It's about a woman in an abusive marriage who tries to leave.  I wasn't a fan.  Not because of the premise, but because of how it played out.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Will someone please explain to me why this series is so popular?  I HATED this book.  It was just terrible.  I wanted to figure out the mysterym which is the only reason why I finished it.  The ending and explanation came out of absolutely nowhere though, and the book had looooooong stretches of boring.  There was also a whole lot of unnecessary grossness.

**The Happiness Project - Yay!  Another good one!  This is Gretchen Rubin's year spent trying to be happier.  I thought it was funny and had some good ideas and thoughts.  It was really just a pleasant read.

Sapphique (The second in the Incarceron series) - Decent.  Not as good of an ending as I wanted for this series.  I liked Incarceron way better.

Matched - The start of a YA series and an interesting concept.  It's about a girl who lives in a society that chooses your spouse for you.  But she finds out that she could have had a different match than the one she was given.  I really liked it and I'm looking forward to reading the second one.

**The Lost Hero - The beginning of the Heroes of Olympus series which is a follow up to the Percy Jackson series.  I loved Percy Jackson (although not the movie) and this one is shaping up to be just as good.  I love being able to put Greek mythology to use. :)

**The Help - I'm sure most of you have read this, or seen the movie, so I won't go into much detail.  But this was definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

The Journal of Curious Letters - Meh.  It was pretty James Dashner-esque (if you've read The Maze Runner), but it left something wanting.  It was fantastic (in the fantasy sense) and kind of fun, but it wasn't quite complex enough for me.  I'm not really that interested in reading the rest of the series.

The Maze of Bones (The 39 Clues Series) - I enjoyed this one.  It was fast and fun, and even has an interactive website that you can use to play along with the characters.  There are several books in this series (I think around 11) and each of the books is written by a different author.  This particular one was by Rick Riordan and I thought it would probably keep the attention of a lot of young kids.  I'll definitely read the rest of the series.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard - Once again, fast and fun.  I enjoyed having a little bit of background on the Harry Potter series, and I thought that JK Rowling did a pretty good job of creating fairy tales.  They really read like them and present morals and all.

Lunch in Paris - This is a memior with recipes.  The lady who wrote this book met her husband in Paris and then married him and moved there, knowing no one.  It's her life getting used to a new culture and the food that helped her to do it.  It was a nice story, and some of the recipes are just amazingly delicious.  She describes the food so well too, that I feel like I can taste it.

Peter and the Starcatchers - If you know the Peter Pan story (and who doesn't?) this story might be too much for you.  It is the story of how Peter Pan and Neverland came to be.  Although it's interesting, it's a little bit too predictable since we all know how the story ends up.  It doesn't really leave room to be surprised or have any suspense.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - A pleasant little book with a nice story that ends exactly the way you want it to.  It's not life changing, but it is worth a read.

Mansfield Park - All I have to say is that this is most definitely not Jane Austen's best work.  I found it massively boring and slow, except for about 50 pages.  Also, if you have seen the newer movie, it's pretty much nothing like the book.

**The Harry Potter Series - Yes, all of them.  Yes, I've read them all more than once already.  I'm nerdy, what can I say?

**The Infinite Atonement - A lovely book with so many insights about the atonement.  It really gives you a lot to think about.

Eat, Pray, Love - I wasn't sure about this book and I put off reading it for a long time, but I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it.  I don't identify with this woman at all.  Seriously, on almost no points - but I still liked getting to know her, hearing her story, and especially hearing about all of the food she ate in Italy.

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything - This was a true story about a guy who entered the world of competitive memorization.  Very interesting, he lets you in on all of his secrets, and it's definitely funny.

The DaVinci Code - This was a re-read, and I still enjoyed it.  I love when I can use my humanities skills to picture art and places that are being written about.

**Book of a Thousand Days - I cannot express how much I loved this book.  It's simple, but lovely.  It starts with a maid and a lady that have been trapped in a tower for 7 years.  I don't want to say anything else because I really want you all to go out and read it.  Right now.

The Death Cure (The 3rd in the Maze Runner series) - I think this one could have been a little bit better, but it did answer all outstanding questions from the first two books, and I did enjoy it.  The series as a whole was a good one.

Tricks and Thoughts

According to Noah, Brett, Kennedy and I are all called mom.  The funny thing is that he will copy Brett in a string of words up until he hears daddy, which he will always respond with mom.  Except now he doesn't even bother to answer, he just laughs at Brett.

I watched Practical Magic for the first time a couple of days ago.  It was not nearly as good as the hype it has been given over the last I don't know how many years.  I was not impressed.  Sorry if you're a fan.

I'm working like crazy to get bows done and ready for presentation and sale at the local holiday bazaar on Saturday.  I'm really hoping that I will be able to make some money.  Because I really want this.  But a Hufflepuff version, of course.

Noah's first 24 hours in his toddler bed have been hugely successful.  No needing to put him back in bed or anything.  He just fell right asleep, even for his nap.  I'm so relieved.  And Kennedy looks so small in her new twin bed.  She's like a needle in a whole lot of puffy blankets.

We probably won't be moving in 5 weeks now.  Brett's gigantic class that is scheduled to start in January got split, so more than likely we will be going to school in February instead.  Pro: We get to buy a Christmas tree.  Yay!  Con: I don't get to have a mad awesome Doctor Who Christmas party with my sister.  Sad day.

Yes, this has been a weird format for a blog post, but I hope it was informative and served its purpose of making me actually blog again.

And Again....

My cute pirates on Halloween.

Dear Daylight Savings Time,
You are evil.  My kids do not understand and decided to wake up at 5:30.  I have a suggestion.  Don't come back around in April.
Tired mommy

Dear Pottermore,
Step it up please.  The only thing I can do right now is make potions.  I want to duel!  I want to explore Chamber of Secrets!  I want new stuff!
Harry Potter obsessor

Dear Coast Guard.
We have a love/hate relationship right now.  I love that Brett gets to come home almost every night now that he's qualified.  It makes a HUGE difference and we really love having him home so much more.  I hate that you feel like it's not necessary to inform us about whether or not we will be moving yet.  Literally we would want to leave in about 5 weeks.  And we don't know if we're going yet.  Please tell us soon.
Frazzled

Dear Giada de Laurentiis,
You know how men have man crushes?  Well, I've realized that you are my woman crush.  I hope that doesn't make you feel awkward.
Kitchen wench

Dear Brett,
You were the first person that I told about my woman crush.  I hope you know that means that it doesn't change the nature of our relationship and that I still love you as much as ever.  Besides, I've known about your man crush for a long time, and it doesn't bother me.  Russell Crowe is a good actor.  Even if he might not be that nice in real life.
Your wife

Time Really Gets Away From Me

Has it really been a month since my last post?  My goodness.  Here was the highlight of our last month.

And for more, lately I have been...

Obsessed with THIS website.

Wishing/hoping I might be ready in time for THIS.

Really excited to go HERE and shop!

Looking forward to watching THIS next week, and eating cinnamon rolls for the event.

Super ready for fall so I can make THIS and THIS.

Getting ready to move HERE in approximately 3 months!  (Provided Brett gets his orders.)

Thank You Notes

Dear Poison Control,
Thank you for being there.  Thank you for being calm and efficient.  Thank you for being fast and telling me that the Ajax that Noah ate while I was in the shower was not corrosive and would not hurt him.  Thank you for stopping my panic.  And for being right.
Grateful mommy

Dear Disney Channel,
Thank you for giving me time to take a shower every morning (even though apparently Noah thinks that Ajax is more ineteresting).  Thank you for having shows that aren't annoying and that I'm actually ok with my kids watching.  Except Chuggington.  I'd be ok if that show fell off the face of the earth.
Clean lady

Dear Jesse and Kaisa,
Thank you so much for coming to see us next week!  We are so excited to have visitors and to show off our beautiful coast line!
Hostess with the mostess

Dear Sun,
Thank you for shining through the fog today!  The fog has been so dense and so present for so long that I was wondering if I would ever see the sun before 1:00 again.
Light lover

Dear Harry Potter,
Thank you for being so awesome that even though I started reading the whole series again for the umpteenth time, I still have a hard time putting the books down.
Nerdy woman

Dear Cindy,
Thanks for hooking me up with so much cheap and amazing fruit lately!  I got 6 cups of blackberries for free by picking them myself, and now I'm getting 10 pounds of peaches for a whopping $1 because you're willing to drive to Harry & David to get them.  Jam, here I come!
Scone maker

Most. Amazing. Photo. Ever.

Creativity

Kennedy is always very thoughtful of her stuffed animals.

Climber

Kennedy tends to not finish meals and not push in her chair afterward.  Hence, we often see scenes like this one.



And this one.

What can I say?  He's a boy.  Boys make messes.  But they're cute messes.

Rock Star

Kennedy is currently obsessed with sunglasses.  We've gone through 3 pair in the last 6 weeks.  She says she's a rock star.

In fact, she pretty much never takes them off.

I hope she stays obsessed a little bit longer.

Questions

When did this boy get so big?  When did he start playing with puzzles and sitting in chairs?

Where did the time go?  I have two kids?  They're both big enough to sit still at the library (for about 5 seconds)?

How did I get lucky enough to have the smartest, cutest, sweetest kids in the whole world?

Red Handed

This boy has gotten sneaky.

It beats me how that huge bag of chocolate chips got on the floor in the first place, but he took advantage of it.

I don't blame him.  Sometimes I take advantage of it too when I'm in the pantry.

Patch Wars

Noah has issues wearing his patch.  Daddy has issues with Noah's issues.  Daddy decided to act.



He's an awfully happy prisoner.



Much to Brett's dismay, I made him release Noah's arms.  But the headgear stayed on for a couple of hours.

Driving Home

On the way home we drove on the coast so we could see as much of Oregon as possible before we leave (we'll probably be leaving in December).  We started by driving to Tillamook, where, I HAD to go to the cheese factory.

We have fun being dorks.  Especially if it includes free cheese samples.

Kennedy complained the whole time we were in the factory because all she wanted to do was drive this car.

Brett got mad because he had to be in the picture and I didn't.

Things we discovered about Tillamook:

1. It truly smells like cow manure.  It's slightly gross.

2. The cheese factory is hopping because there's nothing else to do in town.

3. The cheese at the Tillamook factory is more expensive than the cheese at our grocery store 7 hours away.

*Brett wrote a complaint about the price of the cheese and popped it in the suggestion box.  They then proceeded to send us a "thank you for your comment" in the form of coupons for cheese.

We then made a small stop in Newport for lunch and a trip to the aquarium.

Swimming with pirahnas.

How Brett got that stroller in that tiny tunnel on the floor that I could barely fit through is beyond me.

Kismet

Completely by accident we found a public fountain park in Portland.  Somehow we happened to have the kids' bathing suits in the car.  It was kismet.



Kennedy stole another girl's barbies while cousin Wyatt fended off any kids who thought they might be able to play with the same fountain as them.

Since Wyatt was in Noah's bathng suit, Noah was the only one not making trouble.

We love cousins.  We love random water play time.  And mostly, we love our darling kids (and cute Wyatt too).

Grilled Cheese Grill

Yes, this is where we ate dinner the first night we were in Portland.  It's a double decker bus and they serve grilled cheese.  Only grilled cheese.  Kennedy was so excited to eat on the bus she could hardly contain herself. 

The tables inside the bus were decorated with old yearbook pictures.  Classic.  And while we waited for our meals, we answered questions from the deck of Trivial Pursuit cards conveniently on the table.

I got a sandwich on sourdough with mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and artichokes.  It was yummy yummy yummy.  Kennedy had the preschooler, which was just a normal sandwich with no crust.  And Brett had this behemoth.

That's a grilled cheese on top of a burger with another grilled cheese on the bottom.  That's right.  No bun.  Grilled cheeses instead.  And he ate the whole thing.  Crazy!  We also had a grilled cheese for dessert which was AMAZING.  It was nutella, bananas, and mascarpone cheese grilled on cinnamon raisin bread.  It was suggested that you eat it alone.  I understand why now.

Our first night in Portland was definitely a success.

Ashley Doesn't Know I Am Doing This On Her Blog Part #2.

In a tribute to Mothers Day, I tried to butter up a little bit by showing my appreciation for Ashley.  It might be worth the read if you are my wife.  If not, I make no guarantees......But it will help you get to know Ashley a bit better, which is always worthwhile. 

 

Happy Mothers Day Wife

An Ode to the Mother of My Kids

By: Brett

May, 2011

One night while getting ready to put myself to bed,

I said something to Ashley I knew I might regret.

Not that I didn’t mean it; more that I should have known,

By passing to her this compliment, a question in her mind had already grown.

So to all fellow husbands and friends who are yet to be,

I pass this word of strict advice, IN THIS, don’t be like me.

If you want to say anything to your girl, be sure to think it through

And have ready a few things in mind in case she turns the question to YOU.

 “So what is that you said to her?” as you read I feel you implore.

All I really said to her was “Honey, You deserve so much more!”

It wasn’t my intent to say that I thought her husband was a bum,

Or that the house we’re living in was knee deep in the slums.

More so what I meant to say was furthermore implied,

Because I didn’t have the words to save my not-so-little hide.

When I said those words the response I got was “Nah, not really...Now Why?”

Now a couple months later, on Mother’s Day, this is my reply:

Rather than the “Why?” we will start with the “What” and the “Who?”

I think that you deserve.  On my word what follows is true:

Ashley you deserve a man with the face of perhaps Brad Pitt,

But let’s make him sweet and tender: Let’s teach him how to knit.

The body we will give him shall be from none other than the Rock,

Now mix that with Captain Kirk’s Courage and the Brains of our dear friend Spock.

He’ll get you a gigantic kitchen with lots of nifty gizmos and gadgets.

He’ll stand at the sink and do dishes and handle the kids when they get into their fits.

He’ll take you to India and Paris, perhaps to the Taj Mahal,

Get ready for this, cause here it comes: He'll even be happy to go the the MALL!

He won’t be too weird or too quirky.  His odd habits he’ll keep all in check.

He’ll put the toilet seat down, and not find great joy from putting ice on the back of your neck.

He’ll always be sensitive to feelings, especially when watching the Big Game!

Cut Your Hair?  Had a Bad Day?  He fails to notice?  Of himself  he’ll be right ashamed

He’ll watch all your British TV Shows, and love them as much as do you.

The biggest perk of all this, he’ll understand their accents too!

My dear all this you deserve, and finally I am prepared

With the question that made me stunned and stare:

WHY?

Ashley, it’s all that you give me whether present or far out of sight.

It’s exactly just what made me love you, and propose to you on that cold snowy night.

On a basis that’s daily you help me to see,

All the potential that you see in me.

Your smile pushes sunshine through torrents of rain

Your touch heals a heart overflowing with disdain.

Your presence can calm the most angry of children

And man, do you know how to cook a scrumptious chicken!

A large understatement it is to say how amazing it is to behold

Your strength to maintain a functioning household

While I am at work through those long days and nights,

Your patience is long-lasting, despite hyper tykes!

Your passion for life and the joys that in it abound,

Makes me want to live it with you, and with you make them found.

Your will to support me in the most ridiculous of my dreams

cannot be fully understood.  I appreciate it more than it seems.

Your love for our children is obvious and clear.

It is present and admirable.  It’ll be remembered for years.

I couldn’t have found an example of a woman that’s better

For my daughter to follow.  I couldn’t be gladder.

 It might be a start to what you deserve by having poetry written by a husband

And maybe I’ll exercise a bit more in attempts to shrink the size of my bum,

I can’t say I will ever be satisfied with my answers,

Nor will I ever have a face like Ashton Kutcher.

Now the answer to just why exactly you deserve more

Is actually shown in how you responded, now that’s just for sure

I came up with answers, and decent ones a plenty,

Using my fingers and toes I stopped counting at twenty.

You interrupted me and told me I’ve given you all you want and you need.

You don’t need a life so full of glimmer and speed.

You just want a husband to love and grow old with

The adventure is having someone to share all life’s surprises.

So although the rhythm and rhymes might be off and perhaps cheesy,

These words almost half reflect how living with you makes living easy.

I Love You

Happy Mothers Day!

FYI-I will likely be taking lessons shortly from Ashley on how to put pictures in posts without messing the entire post up...in case you were wondering.

Happy Feet

The quality is bad, but you get the picture (pun intended).

Noah has finally gotten to the point where it is worth it to buy shoes because he's walking so well.  We got them yesterday and he loved them!  This morning, while still in his jammies, I caught him trying to jam them on his feet.  So I helped out a little.  And we said the new shoes rhyme.

New shoes in the winter, new shoes in the fall,

When we see your new shoes, we will start to call,

Happy happy new shoes!

Princess Kate? Princess Kennedy!

Princess Kate ain't got nothin' on this sweet princess.

The highlights of the royal wedding came on while we were eating breakfast here on the west coast, so I took my cereal to the couch instead of the table.  This is unusual, so Kennedy asked me what was going on.  I told her that a real prince and princess were getting married and she immediately left the table and came to watch.  She kept yelling at the screen, "Is that Princess Kate?!"  "Is she wearing a big dress?!"  "Are they getting married?!"

At this point the excitement was too much and she ran into her room yelling that she was getting her crown, tutu and princess shoes.  She couldn't find them in her room, so she came careening down the hall into the front room and started throwing things out of the toy boxes in there.  She then put on all of her gear and announced that she was Princess Kennedy.

Someone was excited.

Bugs and Bows

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in forever.  And I missed some important events like Kennedy's birthday and Easter.  I'll get to it at some point.  But I really wanted to share with you that I opened an Etsy shop today!  It's still in the building stages, but it's up and running, and I even have a few listings up.  Take a look!

My Etsy Shop - Brilliant Sunshine

My Brookings

As I was looking for a post to link to another one, I found this post that I did a few years ago.  I thought that since I don't live in Provo anymore, I should do this post again about Brookings.  You can learn a little bit more about where I live!

My Brookings

Age: 25

Occupation: Mom

I've lived here for: 11 months

I live here because: Brett has orders at the Coast Guard station here until he gets into his specialty school.

My neighborhood: Just across the street from the local high school and a few blocks from a huge park that I hate because you can't see your kids while they play.

My favorite restaurant: Probably Pancho's because they have really good fajitas.  And if you know me, you know that I hardly ever order anything else at a Mexican restaurant.

If you go to this restaurant, be sure to order: See above.  Must have the fajitas.

My favorite museum: I actually don't know of any local museums.  Sad.

My favorite tourist destination: Whaleshead Beach at very, very low tide.  There are tons of starfish and anenomes all around the big rocks that are fun to see.

Best insider spot: Hungry Clam.  It looks like a total hole in the wall, which it is, but it has the best bacon cheeseburgers and patty melts ever.

My favorite area: All along the highways, because they are all spectacularly beautiful.  Going north or south you have amazing beach views, and going east you have the wonderful redwood forests.

Best place to go shopping: If you think there's shopping in Brookings, you have obviously never been here.  Honestly, the best place to go is Fred Meyer, which is like a not as good version of Target.

When you visit, don’t forget to pack: An umbrella.

But leave room in your suitcase for: All the pictures you'll take of the beautiful landscape.

The one local cuisine you should try when you’re in town is: Really there aren't very many restaurants here.  If you like seafood though, it's very fresh around here, so that's probably what I'd pick.

The best way to get around: Car.

If I had to describe this city in one word, it would be: Isolated.  The nearest towns to us are Gold Beach to the north, and Crescent City, CA to the south.  They are both 30 minutes away.  The closest mall/decent shopping center is 2 hours south or 2.5 hours east.

I tell my friends to stay at: Best Western.  All the rooms are ocean view.  We lived there for about a week after we got here while we waited for our stuff to arrive.

The one thing most outsiders don’t know about this city is: They really love their Coast Guard!  Which is good for us. :)

They say “Virginia is for lovers.” So fill in the blank: Brookings is for retirees.  No joke.  More than half the people here seem to be 65 or older.

What do you want to do that you haven't done in your city yet? Eat at the Art City Grill.

Is there anything else within an hour or two that's a "Don't miss it?": Go to Bandon, about 1.5 hours north.  Cute, cute, cute little town with amazing chocolate and Thai food.  It's a fun place to spend a day.

Happy First Birthday Noah!

Noah's birthday was on Wednesday, and we decided to just have a nice party at home for him.  He opened a few presents, but his favorite part by far was the cupcake.  I made Banana Caramel Cakes for him that looked like this before they were totally destroyed.



He was hesitant at first.  He opened it up and ate the banana pieces because it was something he recognized.  But then he realized what the cake tasted like and he totally went for it.

A year ago, Brett was in boot camp in New Jersey and I was in Texas having a baby.  It was a little bit rough, but we are so happy to have Noah in our lives.  He's just the sweetest and smiliest baby there is.  He gives us such joy, and I love watching him grow up.  We've loved this last year with him and can't wait to see what he has in store!

Hack Job

Before



Middle

After

We have, in the past few months, discovered that neither I nor Brett have any inherent hair cutting skills.  I didn't have any illusions of this beforehand, but Brett assured me it wouldn't be that hard and went out and bought hair clippers.  Twice now (once my fault, once Brett's) Brett has had to shave his head entirely because the cut looked so bad.  Now, poor Noah is the victim.  Up until now, Brett's actually been very good with Noah's hair.  But this time was not the same.  It looked so terrible after only a few strokes that we really had no choice but to shave his head and let it grow back in.  But Brett, as you saw in this post from a few years ago, likes to play around while he's cutting/shaving hair.  Thus, the mohawk incident in the second picture.  The worst part is that Noah's birthday is on Wednesday, so all of his pictures will be bald.  Sad.

Tsunami

This is the port that we live near. The red roofed building that you see and the buildings immediately surrounding it make up the Coast Guard station where Brett works. He's there right now, and he's been out on the boats today helping out with all the aftermath of the tsunami. You can see the damage done to our ports. Thankfully, it seems that damage was less than what was expected, and I don't think anyone was majorly hurt. Brett will be there until Monday morning helping out. We are all safe, thank goodness. Thanks to Brett and all the other Coasties for saving people and boats!

Small Joys

Sometimes I wonder how it is that kids find wonder in such small things.  I like some simple things - like sitting on my couch reading while a breeze blows on me from the open window, or drinking a cherry limeade, or seeing duck bums in the air.  Every once in a while I will think that I'm seeing through the eyes of a child.  I do that a lot when I go to the aquarium.  Some of those creatures are amazing, and I am always in awe of how beautiful the little jellyfish can be.  Sometimes I giggle like a little girl at things that I think are cute, which I will admit that I did when we watched The Land Before Time as a family a few days ago.  There are still some things that baffle me though.  And although I don't always understand, I'm glad that I get to be part of that wonder and joy for my daughter.

Rise and Shine!

Breakfast around the Lee house is usually a simple affair, but I think the kids enjoy it all the same.



Snow Day (For Everyone Else)

While the rest of the United States is buried in 19 feet of snow and sheets of ice are covering the roads and causing school to be cancelled, here in my little corner of Oregon we have been enjoying the weather, which has been 65 and sunny for the last several days.  So what do we do during that time?  The only thing there is to do arond here: go to the beach.

Noah hasn't been to the beach before at any point when he was mobile, so this was a new experience for all of us.  I assumed that he would get some sand in his mouth, but I didn't expect him to be shoveling it in by the handful.



I guess dad needed to let his inner child play a little too because he needed to do a little bit of digging.  He lost something in the hole though.

Of course, Noah didn't mind one bit.  He was loving being dirty and being buried.  On the other hand, Kennedy was telling Brett, "Don't bury Noah!" or "Don't get sand on me!"  She was also squatting down to avoid actually putting her behind in the sand.  She sounds a lot like me as a kid, wearing pearls to the beach and playing in the sand from a chair.

Although it does seem like the beach is the only outing we ever really have around here, I have to say, it really can be a beautiful one.