Rain, Rain, Go Away

Having a stand-off with Ashlyn over the bubble lawn mower.

This last week, it has been raining, raining, and raining some more.  And it doesn't let up in the forecast.  I finally saw Hunger Games, and was very pleased with the end result.  Noah turned 2 this week.  How did he get so big?  Here's some other things going on:

I have been checking THIS website almost everyday for hints and cute stuff.

THIS is happening this weekend.  I always love these times.

The above means that some of THESE will be coming out of my kitchen on Sunday morning.  Kennedy has been asking if it's Sunday everyday.

I want one of THESE!  Seriously, how cute are they?

Have you heard about THIS??  I have been waiting for this day all my life.

Update

I realized that amid traveling and baby news I have neglected to give Coast Guard/life updates.  So, here goes.

About a month-ish ago we had a sort of epiphany that Brett was maybe going to the wrong school in trying to be an intelligence specialist.  Instead, he has decided to go to school to be a heavy weather boat driver, or surfman.  In essence, he'll be the one driving the boats in 16 foot waves at night to save people who lost engine power or fell overboard.

This is a big change as far as career goes.  It means that we will be on roughly the same schedule that we have been on for the last two years for the next 20 years, because it does mean a Coast Guard career.  It means that there are only 20 stations that we can actually go to, since they're the only ones who require surfmen.  Mostly they are in small coastal towns in Washington, Oregon, and northern California, with a few on the east coast.  It also means that we will be staying here in Brookings for another 1-4 years.

This is a big shift.  But we have come to realize that this is the best fit for Brett, and he'll be doing what he's always wanted to do.  He has always wanted to work in a capacity that will help people in dire situations and have a lot to do.  At first, he was going to be a nurse practitioner, and he was hoping to work in an ER or somewhere else where he would be in emergency situations.  Now he will be saving people in emergency situations, he'll just be driving a boat in insanely scary conditions to do it.

So that's us right now.

The Bad Guys Did It

I came out of the laundry room yesterday to find this.

Kennedy put herself was put in jail by "the bad guys".  The picture had to be taken, because who knows how long it will be before she doesn't fit perfectly in the laundry basket anymore?



Mom in Brookings

Up until a few weeks ago, I hadn't seen my mom in just about 2 years.  Unacceptable.  But she came out to see us at the end of February, and I've roped her into coming in September too since she'll have another grandchild to see.  We spent 2 days here in Brookings and we did some cool stuff.

Brett was able to get us on a ride on one of the Coast Guard boats.  The gear is less than attractive, but it will keep you warm if you fall overboard.

We rode out to a lighthouse about 12 miles off shore.  I didn't get sick until we stopped near the lighthouse.  Although the sea was calm, you never would have known it by looking at that lighthouse.  The water was swelling so drastically it was scary - and beautiful at the same time.  There was a family of sea lions that were practically swimming on top of each other in the swells too, which was awesome to watch.

Here's Brett and the crew in full gear.  If you ever get stranded and need the Coast Guard to rescue you, this is what they'll look like.  Hard to miss in bright orange.



On the way back home, we got a chance to drive the boat.  Here's mom.

And then me.  I drove for quite a while and was completely paranoid the whole time that I would hit a bunch of crab pots.  They are really hard to see, especially with the wind blowing in your contact-wearing eyes.  We had gone to the beach that morning, so with these two activities we covered one of Brookings' best features: the ocean.  The next day we covered the second one: trees.

We went down to Trees of Mystery in California to walk through the redwoods.  It's a beautiful drive with trees on one side and ocean on the other.  Then, while you're walking through the trees, it's like you could never imagine being only a few miles away from the beach.

Us in the scary gondola that nobody else was scared of.  Those things never seem stable to me and I'm very afraid that it will plunge us to our deaths 100 feet below.  Needless to say, I don't think I'll ever go skiing.

Mom took this awesome picture of Kennedy and Noah sitting on a carved wooden snake.  They are both smiling.  At the same time!!  Next installment will be our trip to Portland that we took with mom.  Stay tuned!

Praying for Patience Pays Off

Brett loves garage sales and rummage sales.  A lot.  When we are driving around and we see one, chances are we will be stopping in to look for treasures.

Our latest stop landed us with a new crown for Kennedy, a CD of musical theatre karaoke (which Brett has already tried his Brian Stokes Mitchell impression on), and one of those impossible puzzles.  It has no edges, and 5 extra pieces, just for kicks.  Ours is full of vegetables, and for the last few days we have spent a few hours going systematically through those vegetables.  We have finished eggplants, garlic, onions, artichokes, and had started on asparagus.  We're very proud of ourselves.

And then.

Showers are so tricky.  I really don't want to get up at 5:30 to shower before the kids wake up, but sometimes, I wish I had.  Thankfully I snapped a picture and laughed, a little bit, instead of getting mad.  I don't know if I have the heart to start the puzzle over.  Very few pieces were still intact.  Maybe sometime in the future, but not if Noah has anything to say about that.

We Must Be Crazy

We just drove home from Portland yesterday.  And it was a crazy trip.

Kennedy threw up twice in the car on the way home.  Noah started dancing and singing to a made up song that went "dip dip dip dip" when we gave him some ketchup on a plate.

We had a great time in Portland (pictures to follow), going to the zoo, hitting up the Nike employee store, playing at the children's museum, eating Cheesecake Factory, and visiting with my mom and my brother and his family.

At the children's museum we kind of had to split up a lot.  The kids each wanted to go in different directions and spend different amounts of time in each spot.  We decided that come September, it will be much harder to go to places like that.  Because when we have 3 we will be outnumbered.  We won't be able to split up as easily.  So maybe we're crazy, but we're also excited to bring the next baby into our family!