Poytress Family

Decorating for chirstmas

2011-12-10T00:11:00.001-08:00

This year we decided not to set up all are Christmas decorations as we are moving home right in the middle of December but I couldn't just do nothing! So we decided to set up the Tree and let the boys decorate it, I mean it is Naters first Christmas after all!

First Dad put up the tree and got the lights on.....

and then it was time for our jammies! I know that a lot of families have the tradition of getting new Christmas jammies on Christmas eve but I have been toying with the idea of getting new jammies on decoration night. Like a little early Christmas and then you get to wear the jammies all through the Christmas season. We gave it a try and I think I am sold!

It would really feel complete, to me, without a batch of Grandma Gerry's famous shortbread kiss cookies! I love these cookies and I always think of my dear Grandma and her love of Christmas when I make them. She was such a loving and caring woman, I learned so much from her and pray that she is proud of me and the mother I have become.

Miles was dying to dive right in and sample each kiss for me, lol.

Nate had his eye on the big one in the middle! Yummie!

And then we decorated by the Fire.....

and had our cookies, Perfect night!

Just one more please Mom???

This is Nate

2011-12-09T12:03:00.001-08:00

So remember back in July I posted about a new little family addition, Nate!?! Well since then you may have been thinking...Did Lacey have another baby? Why don't I ever see or hear much about him? Well here's your update people!

He sleeps on his tummy and sleeps ALL the time! He has great naps and still nurses every 4 hours 24 hours a day. so even midnight and 4AM. we have done no sleep training because we have a teeny house with no place for a crib therefor he sleeps on the ottoman by our bed. We love it and since he eats like 6 ounces in 7 minutes nursing him is no big deal.

Nate loves to chew on his daddys nose, and is now teething. he is so drooly and trys to put everything in his mouth. Isn't he so cute!

Another Murder in our hood!

2011-12-08T20:20:00.001-08:00

Of course I had my annual murder mystery this year. It is always a lot of work but totally worth it and so much fun! This year was Murder under the big top. Thanks to Steve for setting up the photo booth.

Canadian Thanksgiving

2011-12-08T20:17:00.001-08:00

One of the best things about having two little American is that we get to have TWO Thanksgiving dinners every year starting with the traditional Canadian Thanksgiving in October! Looks pretty awesome eh!? We celebrated with the Wagner's and the Lujan's and it was phenomenal!

My first ever baked cheese cake, it was pumpkin spice with Cinnamon whip cream. SO GOOD! I made apple pie as well but.....NO PICTURE!

The kids went with a diffrent desert, WHY ISN'T HE AT THE TABLE?!?! LOL, oh well.

Happy FIRST THANKSGIVING little ones!

Carve those Pumpkins!

2011-12-05T12:42:00.001-08:00

The boys are still a little young to actually carve the pumpkins this year so we decided to let them paint theirs instead. THEY LOVED IT!

AJ was VERY focused on his project, not even miles could distract him.

Miles was VERY focused on the treats, not even his pumpkin could distract him!

MORE TREATS PLEASE!

Later we had the Lujan's and Nana and Papa Spilker over for some yummy popcorn balls and the real pumpkin carving. It was Lukes first carving year, Nate napped right through it!

I love this picture! Seriously they are one in the same, adorable!

AJ's scary face!

Here we are with the pumpkins minus Nana, Lukey, and Dan. It was such a great night, good work team!

This is just a picture from the day that I really love of Aaron, he's so handsome and such a great Husband! Love ya Poy!

Halloween

2011-12-05T11:52:00.001-08:00

We started off the Halloween season with a little sugar cookie making and then out to "BOO" some of our friends and neighours. You "BOO" people by leaving cookies and a note that says, "you have been Boo-ed please put this note on your door so you don't get Boo-ed again. Make sure you Boo at least two other people before Halloween!" THE KIDS LOVE THIS!

Next up was our yearly ward trunk or treat, they do it no matter what day of the week Halloween falls on and this year was no exception. On Saturday we dressed the boys up, decorated the trunk, and went over to the church. This year Nate was the Monkey, Miles was the Cow, and AJ was Jake from Jake and the never land pirates. They looked so cute!

Nate and Clair-bear or bug I guess in this case. They are so cute, they love hanging out and holding hands!

Then it was out to HIllsbouro for Halloween dinner and some REAL trick-or-treating. AWSOME! Holly's sister goes all out for dinner and it was so much fun to be out there with them, plus the food was delicious!!!!

AJ was a little sick, but he didn't let that stop him form staying up WAY to late and having fun!

Family!

They boys were all done after about 30 minutes but they hardly had any candy! I made them stay out for just under two hours even though AJ was like, "I want to go home, my legs can even work anymore! Mom I am just so mad right now that you are making us keep knocking, I DON'T EVEN LIKE CANDY ANYMORE!" lol, what a mean Mom! lol, oh well!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Ihop Breakfast with the Claytons.

2011-12-05T09:22:00.001-08:00

This year I hop gave free breakfast to all kids 10 and under so we decided to take our kids.... because we are crazy and want them to have great memories together. It was actually pretty fun ans of course a little messy!

Pumpkin patch time!

2011-11-30T13:29:00.001-08:00

That's right folks its time to get out to the pumpkin patch and get that perfect pumpkin! This year we went to the Pumpkin Patch out on Sauvie island with the Lujans. It was a cloudy rainy day but the sun came out long enough to find just what we needed, a totally awesome pumpkin! Here's Holly and Luke on their way to see the Chickens and other stinky animals.

The boys and the goose.

Luke taking it all in for the very first time!

and Nate....Kind of taking it in.

Here we are on the wagon out to the Patch, Family pictures are hard with 3 kids, we use to each just grad one and make them sit still and smile but now.....we are out numbered!

So excited to get to the Pumpkins!!!!

Found one!

The little boys and their Dads, so cute.

How about this one?

ummm....Not that one.

I wouldn't sit on that pumpkin..... he might fight back!

I am so in love with this little boy. He has the sweetest smile and the biggest heart.

Like I said, its hard with three kids!

models in the making

Portland Family

Don't we look peaceful and happy?

Here's the whole picture...... HA HA HA!

Cabbage anyone?!?!

Happy Birthday Megan!

2011-11-30T13:25:00.001-08:00

I seriously can't believe that Megan Wagner is already 7 years old! It seems like just the other day she was three years old catching snow flaks on her tongue with little Age. Anyways here we are at the waffle window celebrating another year of our Super sweet BFF!

Disney Trip: Day 6 last day in the park

2011-11-30T11:50:00.001-08:00

My heart was so sad to know that this was our last day at the parks but I knew there would be time to mope later, it was time to play!!!! We really wanted to go to both parks today and just hit up all the boys favorites and everything that we haven't gotten around to yet. We startd by getting our picture in front of the mickey pumpkin and checking for any macaroons at the bakery. Picture:check Macaroon: no check, they weren't making any untill later today! what a bummer!

Back to cal. adventure. We went back to spend a little more time with Mator and McQueen. Miles probably would have stayed there all day but there where other people waiting in line and Aaron ended up having to throw him over his sholder and carry him away kicking and screaming. lol, so we thought we would go back to bugs land, a family favorite. We loved all the rides in bugs land but I think their favorite was the bumper cars.

We had wanted to go to a lot of the diffrent little shows they have but always missed out on the times so we made sure that we made it to Play House Disney live on stage and Turtle talk with Crush. These where both so much fun and the boys LOVED getting to see some of their favorite characters for the disney chanel, this is when AJ told me he wanted to be Jake from Jake and teh Neverland Pirates for Halloween.

After the Show we saw sully again, HURRAY! I wanted to get a family picture with him since he is one of our very favorite cahracters, didn't it turn out cute?

AJ wanted to take our picture..... not bad but I think most people try to get in more of teh cool 3D painting behind them as opposed to the cement on the ground infront of them, oh well! lol.

After lunch it was back to Disney to hit up the river raft ride. This ride is a great way to cool off and so much fun. Everyone in our family loves it, of course Miles can't ride it so we took him over to teh wilderness park to play, which made him super happy!

Grandma and Grandpa after the raft ride.Lookin' good Moje!

Once we where all back together the boys where sworn in as wilderness adventurers and got a picture with Russell. Here's Miles with the Map again.... just checking to make sure we are at the right place, looks good!

Me and Mickey! I missed meeting him in his house because I had to go feed my little Nater so we decided to get our picture with him in his Halloween costum.

Mom had been wanting to go on its a small world ever since we got here but we just hadn't found the time yet and so..... here we are. At the end of day 4 in the parks, with tired and hungry boys, in the dead heat, waiting to ride. Both boys were sick of lines and extra rambunktions trying to wrestle their Dad and we had a little moment but then we made it to the boats and all was well. They loved it and so did we.

Another group shot while we wait for Mickey Soundsational prade. Since we had to wait for an hour and save good seats we got a little board and started taking pictures . . .. here they are.

Then it was teh Parade. The music stared and the characters came and I just had alittle tear. I think that my two most favorite things about this trip was getting to spend so much time with my Husband and Parents and the other was getting to watch my two older boys experience the magic that truly is Disneyland. I loved seeing everything they way they saw it at watching the joy and excitment cross their faces when saw the rides, characters, and all the delicious treats. Thanks Mom and Dad for making this all possible we love you guys so much and will NEVERVER forget our amasing trip to Disneyland with you!

Disney Trip: Day 5 back to Disney!

2011-11-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

After our relaxing day at the beach it was time to get back to the real fun, DISNEYLAND! The boys were still sleeping in everyday but today was our early day at the park so we tried to hurry and get everything ready for when they got up but that wasn't until 8:30! There was no way they where going to get dressed, feed, and ready in time to get to the park by 9:00, oh well happy boys for the day was more important than getting in an hour early!

So we got to the parking lot and hit up the trams which where so pack! They had never been that busy before but we usually got there just after 10:00 and this time it was about 9:30 so I guess these where the other Lujan's of the world! (Lujan's are people who love Disney so much that they will get up as early as it takes to be the first one's through those gates and on to main street! lol) The boys love riding the tram especially with Grandma and Grandpa, they would just talk and talk while the Grandparents smile and nod.

First on the list: The Tiki room! AJ had not stopped talking about this since day one when we went, he was dying to take Grandma & Grandpa to me all the Birds. The main bird, Jose, was AJ very favorite he wants a bird just like him for Christmas..........YEAH RIGHT! I don't think Santa will be filling that wish from the wish list! Anyways they loved the Tiki room just as much the second time around, in fact they could have stayed there all day. We like it to because it gave Aaron a chance to re-try the Dole whip, YUMMY.

After our fun little trip through the Tiki room we wandered the park making our way to the train that goes around the whole park. That is when we ran into Jack. I am not to sure about your kids but mine have yet to see the nightmare before Christmas and they did NOT want to meet jack. He was just too tall and creepy for them but I though he looked great!

This little girl however was not scared, she was dressed to the 9 in her scary witch costume and ran to give Jack a huge hug! this is after her little time with him she is turning around to say one last good-bye and blow him a kiss.IT WAS SO CUTE!

Nate was awake after our train ride so I let him ride in the double stroller and stretch out. All though he LOVE his time in the sling he enjoyed getting some fresh air and stretching out.

Next up, SPLASH MOUNTAIN!This is not a ride that I would put my little AJ on but Aaron insisted that he would love it. First Mom and Dad went on and the they watched the two little boys while we took AJ on the ride. While we waited for them we found Eeory and had some snuggles with him but he still seemed a little gloomy, oh well! Miles was not into meeting Eeory, we couldn't pri him away from the window of "Poohs bakery" lol.

Okay I know that this is a horrible picture of me now you know why I chose to hide behind the sling most of our trip. ha ha ha. Please remember that my baby was only two months old! This is us getting off splash mountain, I was a little terrified while Aaron and AJ where on cloud nine. They LOVED IT! AJ and I where about to sit on the back bench side by side with Poy just in front of us, I was being so brave for AJ but I was FREAKING out on the inside! I held it together pretty good, but I have to be honest....I did not know you dropped more than once, AH! Three drops was almost more than I could handle especially while trying to put on my happy face fore AJ. lol. He asked all kinds of questions about the characters and the ride and after each drop he was like, "oh that's it? I liked that, I'm not scared of a slide like that!"

we decided to go into the little shop and bakery where Miles found this awesome hat. Of course he had the map with him, I don't think he put it down for more than 5 minutes the whole trip! He loved looking at it, folding and in folding it, and pointing out where he wanted to go. I thought he was a little young to get the concept of a map but eh defiantly knew what was going on, he would freak out if it was upside down, and always knew if we were going somewhere different then where he was pointin. What a little smarty pants!

Here are tehy boys enjoying some delicious green apple mickeyscuckers that the Grandparents got for them. What a happy, sticky mess! lol.

As we wandered we caw Aladdin and Jasmine wandering the streets. We got a wave but tehy can't really stop for pictures or anything but that's okay!

Aside from nursing every4 hours, this pretty much sums up the majority of his days in Disneyland. Isn't he so adorable? I love this little man so much!

The guy who did our tour was so fun, we spent the whole time busting up! The boys absolutely loved this ride, the loved all the animals and I think they thought they where real.

Here's Miles reaction to the crocodiles, lol! This may be my favorite picture from the whole trip! HILARIOUS!

I don't know how it worked out like this but we had ANOTHER one on one run in with woody. They boys loved getting to hang out with woody and show him their new Woody hats.

He's Miles and woody......That's as close as he got.....Must be intimidated by is huge hat?

Me and Nate waiting for the family while they went on a ride and I nursed. Nate wasn't listening very well, "come on Nate look at the camera!" but he had his eye on something else......

THIS AWESOME HAT!! I could tell he wanted to try it on since he wouldn't stop looking at it. Oh my little Nater, how I love you!

Nate also inspired me ad Mom to try on some cute hats, I love this woman so much! It was such a blast to be in Disney with her. Aren't these mad hatter hats so cute?! wish I could have got one but they where $30 buck EACH! to rich for my blood!

It was another great day in Disneyland but the boys were so tired they barly made it home, lol. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Disney Trip: Day 4 Just memax!

2011-10-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

When I was younger I could never say relax it was always, "just memax!" and to this day it's something me and my Mama still say to eachother and I love it! So after one travel day and two long crazy days at the Disney parks we needed a day to just hang out and Memax! Again Nate only woke up once in the night and the boys both sleep in until about 8:30 so we were all feeling pretty good on day 4 our our own little California adventure. After our new tradition of soaking in the hot tub before breakfast we made up some delicious Bacon and Egg breakfast! Thanks Dad for cooking up the good stuff to get the day stare off right.
After breakfast we hung out and got ready for our big beach day at Corona Del Mar. This was the beach given to us by my good friend Sabby as well as the one indicated on our Holly guide so this is where we decided to go. It was about 35 minutes away from our house and well worth the drive! What a beautiful beach and a perfect day to be there. We where on of like 5 families there and we were all spaced out so we had our own room to spread out and play. Plus the house we stayed at had all these great beach toys for us to take with us, and the boys just loved it!

Ocean loving Poytress boys! These two loved being out there in teh water and waves, I was a little nervous about Miles getting knocked over by the waves but Dad was right there and he didn't seem to mind a little water in teh face. Seriously nothing new for Miles!

AJ took a little bit of a dryer approch to the day, prefering to play in the sand and jsut splash in teh water. He loved filling this bucked and bringing the wet sand up to where the rest of us were.

I tried to video the boys covering Aaron with Sand but I had no idea it was on speed recored. Oh well no way to fix it now!

After the boys buried Dad in the Sand AJ agreed to become a sea star...so handsome!!

Here's grandma working on her burn. good work Mom!

Miles is so excited by the 10th sandcastle Grandpa made but this time Grandpa beat him to the punch when it came to destrustions time!

Time to start again!

Another good thing about Corona Del Mar beach is that its only 10 minutes away from sprinkles, a famous cupcake shop which we decided to stop in at. We had no make-up on, our hair was CRAZY, and yes we were still in our swimsuits and cover-ups but that did not matter, Mom and I were going in!!!! Miles also decided to join us on our little adventure and let me tell you we were no disappointed! Those cupcakes were delicious! My favorite was a banana cupcake with Strawberry icing, ummmm!!!!

We spent the rest of teh afternoon playing in the pool and Memaxing in the sun. It was a pretty awsome day jsut hanging with the family and getting ready for our last two fun filled days in Disneyland!

Disney Trip: Day 3 California here we come.......

2011-10-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

I don't know how you would finish that but on day 3 of our trip Grandma Moje taught my kids the naughty ending, THANKS GRANDMA! ha ha ha.

Now that the regular Disney hours are over the park is only open from 10:00AM - 8:00PM which I thought was going to be a major bummer but it actually turned out perfect. The Boys can only last so long each day and it's nice to sleep in a not feel like you're wasting time that you could be spending at the park. This morning the boys slept till 8:45, MIRACLE! So for all you Moms out there that have early risers like me, the trick to getting them to sleep in is to drag them around Disney land for 14 hours, ta-da! Anyways after a great night sleep, Nate only got up once!, we parked our bags ate some cereal and oatmeal and it was off to the Parks!

Miles was so excited! He kept pointing out EVERY SINGLE mickey mouse head on the top of each lamp post we past. Here's Grandpa trying to stay excited 16 mickey heads into our tram trip. ha ha ha *Grandpa helps!*

Today is California adventure, and I had no idea what to expect since I had never been there before. I was thinking it would have a lot to do with California and what the state is about but no, NO, this place was awesome! I have no idea way they called it California adventure, it should have been called Disneyland 2.0 or Pixarmania. It has all the Pixar characters, rides, and more of the newer Disney TV shows stuff. This is what my boys have been dreaming of! After our awesome tram ride, past the Halloween signs we made our way into California adventure:

First on the list was the Phineas and Ferb dance party. It was right out by the water and we got there in plenty of time to be in the front row. AJ was so excited to see Phineas and Ferb but there was no way that he was getting up there and shaking is tail feather, lol. We all know he loves to dance, find the prof Here, but not with all these people watching!

After a while Miles was ready to head out there and show the crowed his moves, that is until he saw....the bubbles! There where bubbles coming out of the front of the Ferb Mobile, it was a dream come true for this little man. Oh and Nate and I were lovin' it too! we are in the top Left of this picture. (by the bubbles!)

After the dance party we went to check out Ariel's undersea adventure. I wasn't sure how AJ would do with Ursala but he was feeling a little braver today so I thought we would give it a go. Since it's only three to a shell we sent AJ with the Grandparents and took Smiles and Nater with us.

SUCCESS! Everyone love the colors and the music, it took me back to when I was a little girl in Grandmas basement watching and singing along. I loved the little mermaid, Erik was defiantly my Disney prince, it was nice to see him again! ha ha ha. I really want to get the DVD now, boys can watch the little Mermaid right? Anyways they didn't get scared of Ursala, in fact they really liked her song. AJ said that this was one of his new favorite rides.

Next up, Lunch! We ate a fisherman's wharf, it was pretty good and the boys just ate chips, cookies, and peanut butter sandwiches, YUMMY! They had the best time feeding our cracker crumbs to all the little birds around the tables. It was perfect weather for wandering the park and feeding the little birds, warm but not to hot, around 75 degrees, with a little cloud coverage. While eating the boys spotted the checker flags that were sure to mean lightening MacQueen was near by so we decided to go investigate.

It was just a few minutes down the was that we came upon......LIGHTNING AND MATER!!!!! The boys could hardly wait to get up and see them but we had another family in front of us so we took a few pictures in front of the cars 2 signs. Miles has officially entered the, "I want to be just like my older brother" phase. He dose everything AJ does, right down to the way he stands for pictures. So cute! At least I think so, AJ gets a little annoyed with it after a while, ha ha ha.

And then it was time........TIME TO MEET THE CARS! They were really excited and wanted to make sure to check out every square of these two. It was a good thing that there wasn't anyone behind us because they really wanted to spend some time with MacQueen and Mater.

Meeting these two was really great but it was nothing compared to A Bugs land. This is from the move a Bugs Life, one of my personal favorites and the boys really like it as well. It is a whole land created to make you feel like tiny ants and full of fun rides for the little kids visiting the park. First up was Himliks Choo-choo train. Holly found a You tube video of a family riding Hymlics train and I swear my boys watched it a hundred times before we left for Cali. Here we are finally getting our turn on the train after all those months of watching!

Later in the day we came back for another ride, while Grandma and Grandpa went on a macaroon hunt. This time the boys wanted to to make our own Video to watch when we got home which I am now please to present to you:

Aaron thought that AJ wouldn't really be into the bumper cars but they were so small and made for little kids so I made him take Age for a ride while I nursed Nate and feed Miles cookies to stop him from freaking out. Turns out AJ LOVED THEM! The Poy took Miles on and he was a big fan too. I think we must have spent about an hour there taking turns riding with the boys on the cars. Grandma and Grandpa came back and took turns riding too. It was relaxing and cool in the shade and Nate had a great time stretching his arms and legs outside of the sling.

This is my favorite picture of the the boys out on the ride, nice face Dad!!!

And look at those enthusiastic parents....Time for a little sugar pick-me up.

!!!!LOVE!!!!

It was getting hot so we decided to let the boys play in the splash park located just beside the bumper cars. This was all fine and dandy until we were ready to leave. You see when I say we I do not mean ALL of us because honestly not ALL of us were ready to leave. Miles decided that he would like to spend the rest of the day splashing around in bugs land and he just didn't want to hear anymore about it. After trying to talk some sense into him we finally just had to pick him up and drag him away. We found a dry little corner to change his cloths and diaper and try to calm him down. I was finally that mom, you now the one sitting in a corner with their screaming child saying: "We are at the happiest place on earth! Do you know how long we saved to be here? Now smarted up and be happy!" ha ha ha, as if that made any difference. It was AJ who finally snapped him out of it by pointing out a new and exciting ride we could go on, thank-you AJ!

This is the ride that saved the day: You go up a spin around in a little box for about 4 minutes. Just long enough to make you feel sice but not actually be sick, ha ha. The boys had fun so I guess that's the important thing right?

As we wandered by down the road we realized it was time for our Pixar pals parade. We were really hoping that it would be the Monsters Inc. parade since Miles is obsessed with it but it ended up being the Incredible. This is another movie I don't own but the boys have defiantly seen it and the Grandparents house so they still really enjoyed it. At one point they had some kids come up and lift these big Styrofoam weights. They did a little magic spell and then let the kids lift them up, AJ's eyes got so big and he was like "Mom that was a miracle! I need to learn that spell!" ha ha ha!

It was time to start thinking about dinner but it seemed like everywhere we turned there were new characters to meet. As you wander you just kind of stumble upon them but there where a few characters that we had been looking out for, some of our very favorites, and then.....THERE THEY WERE!!!!!! First up Sully, from Monsters Inc. Miles loves Sully and was all up for a big Monster hug but AJ was a little intimidated by his size and decided it would be better to say hi from 10 feet back.

Next up BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! I tought AJ was going to pee his pants he was so excited we had to wait for about 10 minutes to get up to him but it was well worht it. Pluse Handy Maney showed up to say hi while we waited. It must feel bad to have to go try and steal kids from Buzz's line but he kept on a happy face, lol.

Buzz was really enthusiastic and AJ was pretty excited to get up there and finally get to give him a high five! It was a dream come true for him and in fact Buzz really brought out the space ranger in all of us. Thanks Buzz!

Today we also rode the Grizzly River Raft, Monsters Inc. ride, and ate at Taste Pilots Grill. While we ate dinner Dad and Aaron when on Soarin' over California and Miles had is afternoon melt down. It was gettin hot, he was hungry, no nap, and then Dad just went a head a left him with the GIRLS! how rude.

He decided to lay face down on the dirty floor (outside) screaming and crying for the whole world to see. I was busy keeping AJ entertaind and bounceing Nate in the sling to crawl down tehre and deal with him so I decided to just ignore him. Mom on the other hand was turning a deeper red with every passing minute, finally after about five minutes she turned to me and said, "Aaren't you going to DO something???" My first responce was, "Like what?" but then I understood taht she is not his mother and not use to a 2 year old embarassing her so I scopped him up and calmed him down until Aaron was back to save the night, Thank goodness!

That night the plan was to play in the fair area of California adventure and then watch the World of Color. We wanted good seats but the boys had gooten their second wind and were ready to run and play so again Mom and Dad stayed to save a seat for the World of Color. Mean while we went off to ride woodys round up, the stupid jelly fish ride that I hated, the marry-go-round, and watch the crazy fairis wheel with mickeys face. You can see how much fun AJ was having while I was just......trying not to freak out.

We were all getting tired so we headed back up to the bridge to settle in for the World of color which turned out to be quite amazing. It consists of light, water shooting up, movies being prjected on spraying water screans, and even setting teh top of the water on fire. Dad and Grandpa help Miles and AJ up so they could get a good veiw while Mom and I snuggled up with the oderus east indian couple and their two girls who insited on watching the show with their heads on our sholders. Good thing we where at the most magical place on earth or I may have flipped my lid! lol, oh well I was still able to enjoy the show and it was wonderful end to another fun filled, EXHASTING day.

It was a little loud for AJ but he got use to it and was right back eating his Trix.

Disney Trip: Day 2

2011-10-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today we were up and ready to go by about 9:00. We had all our bags ready it was just a matter of getting dressed, eating some oatmeal, and getting the boys in the van. THEY WE JUST BUSTING AT THE SEAMS! and honestly I was pretty excited as well. Aaron and I had never been to Disney together, his last trip was 17 years ago and I has only ever been to Disney world.
We parked in the Toy story parking lot and then got on our bus hand headed to the gates! I'm not sure if I was more excited about being there myself or seeing the looks on my boys faces when we arrived.

Me and Mom tried to take a picture of the two of us.......TO CLOSE!That's better!And then we were there! It was awesome!!!! I am not going to lie I almost cried when I walked through those gates and took it all in for the first time. I was just so excited to be there with my parents and my family.

When we walked in all the original characters where in town square dressed to the nines in tehir halloween costumes.The boys where so excited and could stop point out all the diffrent characters, it was so cute! AJ loved goofy and Miles was pretty excited about Donald Duck. We got in line to meet goofy, I was really intrested to see how the boys whould react once it was our turn to actually go up and meet him. The closer we got the more resistant AJ became to the idea of actually meeting Goofy in person. Miles was still excited saying, "goose, goose!!!!"No one else wanted to see Mickey at this point but I wasn't passing up the opportunity!
This also marked the last day of their summer hours so the park was pretty busy. We never had to wait for more than 20 minutes to get on a ride but there where a lot of people around! The boys where excited about all the new things they saw on main street but nothing was quite as exciting as the ducks floating in the mote....REALLY?
This is one of the only group shots we got. One hour in and everyone is still smiling.Next up was the rides. I was sure that Miles would love them just as much as he loved the characters but I wasn't to sure about our little Age. He is not really a fan of the dark or anything remotly scary so.......yeah. We just got in line at the first ride we came to, snow white. Turns out snow white is a little scary and right before it was our turn both boys decided that rides where not such a great idea! lol, we jsut kind of scoped them up and buckled them in, I was sure they would like it if they just gave it a try!?! False, they did not warm up to it!

But it wasn't so much teh ride but what they saw during teh ride so we made them go on Peter Pan next and that went much better! AJ went with grandma and grandpa and loved sorring over the little city. He said he felt like he was one of teh stars. Miles seemed much more impressed with the nan, the dog and the crocodial that was tring to get Hook. In the end they both really enjoyed it.
We hit up a few more rides and tehn decided it was time for Dumbo. Miles love Ell-pints (or as you may call them Elephants) so he was really excited about this one. I went with AJ and let him move us up and down while Miles and Dad had a great time flying high. Miles did not want to come down, ever! It was like pulling teeth to get him off that thing!We tried letting him play on the stationary dumbo but that was'nt good enough!It had been a long morning of riding rides and teh boys were getting sick of standing in line and sitting on rides so we went over to toone town where the boys could run and play. On teh way we stopped to pet the goats and you will never beleive who was hangin' out practicig his magic tricks, WOODY!!!!! He was all alone and no one had really noticed him yet so we took the boys over for a little one on one with their favorite cowboy. I couldn't have asked for a better meeting, they had been asking about him all day and then we found him all alone! They were so excited! This is about as close as Miles got. Right after we snapped this photo Miles melted into a pile of hystarics and had to be help 10 feet away by Dad. Guess full size Woody was just to much for him to take!Of course AJ was over the whole "fear of characters" he was so excited for this opportunity to snuggle up with his idole, it was so cute!This was deffinatly a trip high light for him.
Speaking of trip high lights here's one of mine: TURKEY LEGS!!!!! I get a lot of looks when I have little Nate in the wrap becasue a lot of people haven't seen then befor but I think almost everyone we passed stopped to stare at me with the wrap on and eating this thing. My Mom was laughing so hard at all the looks I was getting but I didn't care. The only thing that matter was me and that Turkey Leg.Aaron had never had one and I must say he was pretty inpressed with it! Yummy!
Eventually we made it to Goofys house and the boys got so run off a little energy.

Whiel they did that me and Aaron kept working on....THE LEG!After meeting goofy (Miles still wasn't into meeting characters) Grandpa gave AJ one of his first driving lessons.
I went to the Mothers room to feed Nate while the rest of the family toured Mickeys house and meet the mouse himself. They boys really liked seeing all sleepy since we skipped his nap and it was about time for our dinner break.

By then it was time to head home for a swim in the pool and some much needed nap time. The boys had done so great but we new that it was going ot be a late night with the fire works and fantasmic so we wanted to at least give Miles and hour or two. It was actually really nice to take some time of our feet and BBQ up some dinner befor heading back to the park at about 5:00.

This time we parked in the Mickey and friends lot and got to take the tram over.AJ and Miles really like the tram ride and so we parked the for the rest of our visits.
When Miles woke up the first thing he said was, "Miles go Di-knee-land?" he was pretty excited to be going back to the parks.*Grandpa Helps*
They boys had a second wind so we headed over to tomorrow land to hit up the Buzz lightyear ride. It was only a 5 minute wait, which was much to short for Miles. He wanted to stop at every poster and point out each character and all the little aliens. He loves those little green aliens almost as much as Buzz and Woody! The best part for him was the big Buzz with the hollagram face. He was in awe as was AJ.

This was the first ride our whole family fit on which was pretty awsome, it was fun to see the boys pointing everything out to eachother. AJ was a little scared of Zurg though. Aaron on the other hand was not afraid, he was actually REALLY INTO IT! see:Smile boys!!
We wanted to get good seats for the fireworks but we didn't want to sit around for 2 hours, but Grandma and Grandpa offered to stay and save seats while we went to explore a little more and see Fantasmic. I felt bad leaving them there to do nothing but the were insistant and we really appriciated it! First thing we did was the Tiki room. Holly has been raving about these Dole whips for YEARS so we thought we better go check them out. You get tehm outside the Tiki room while you wait for the show to start and it was seriously delicious!Can you beleive these things are dairy free????? What the heck is it?
The boys didn't think so but we didn't care that just ment more for us!!!!

We didn't take any pictures in the Tiki room but it was so much fun. AJ had teh biggest smile on his face teh whole time and Miles jsut kept point our all the birds he saw. Since there are hundreds this lasted the entire length of the show, lol.

After consulting our "Holly guide" we thought it would be fun to let teh boys run through Tarzans tree house. STUPID! This basically ended up being a horrable leg work out for me and Aaron after a long day of already walking. I had Nate in the sling and Miles on my hip while Aaron piggy backed AJ for about 200 staris up and the 200 stairs back down. Talk about feeling the burn! top of the tree:

Playing in a gift shop:
Here we are waiting for Fantasmic to start:

I think that Fantasmic was probably our favorite show. There were charactures and hollograms, a gigantic inflatable Dragon that started the water on fire, Peter Pan and Hook fighting on the boat as it sailed by, and then it ended with ALL of the chracters on Mark Twains river boat singing and waving. AJ actually had drool running down his face because he forgot to swallow in his awe stricken state. ha ha ha. here we are watcing:

Then we had 5 minutes to run through the park before the fire works started, so we eah put a boy n our sholders and we quite literally ran through the park. We must have looked hilarious but whatever!

I love the fireworks, we were first row right in front of the castle and it was a blast. I am not affraid to admit that I had a little tear as I watched tiker bell fly around in the night sky. (even knowing that it was a man up there in that fairy outfit didn't wrech it for me) and then it was time to head home. It was 10:30 and we were all happy but exhasted! Grandpa asked AJ if he was tired and he said, "No way Grandpa, I want to stay here all night!!!!"
Here he is 30 seconds later, seriously 30 seconds:
Lol he cracks me up. Anyways our first day was even better than I imagined it would be, tomorrow CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE!

We're going to.....DISNEYLAND!!!!!

2011-10-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

2011 is proving to be a big year for our family. Aaron and I have been married for 5 years, we upgraded from a family of 4 to a family of 5 with the arrival of little Nate, Aaron will be graduation and becoming a Doctor of Chiropractics, we will be moving back to Canada, and we are all healthy and happy. We have been seriously blessed and we decided it was time to CELEBRATE!

My Mom and I started planning back in April for our Disneyland adventure. We were able to get cheap lights with our flex points earned over the last three years paying tuition, hurray! Then we rented a house with Mom and Dad, and Mom got some really great deals on 4 day Disney passes. The plans were made and then we had to wait, and wait, and WAIT! It seemed like forever away and then all of the sudden it was here.So on Saturday September 24th we got up, got ready, and Holly took us to the Airport for our 10:00 flight. The check in went smooth and the boys LOVED watching all the planes come and go while we waited for our flight to board.
I took AJ and Nate while Aaron braced himself for the 2 hour flight with Mr. Crazy pants himself, Miles. It actually went pretty smooth, jet blue will give you all the treats you want and each seat has it's own TV with 37 channels and movies. The last 30 minutes Miles was doing all he could to escape from Aarons arms but with the help of some chocolate chip cookies we made it.
Grandma and Grandpa had flown into Sacramento a few hours earlier and we waiting at the tiny Long beach airport when we arrived.We were hungry so we hit up a little In-and-out burger, found a park to play at and wasted about an hour until it was time to check into our house. The house we rented was about 2 miles from Disneyland and we couldn't' have been more pleased with it. It was spacious, clean, and best of all had a fabulous backyard with a beautiful pool which we made sure to try out immediately! It wasn't heated all the way yet but Aaron and Miles had a great time swimming around and jumping in the deep end. AJ and I chose to stay in the hot tub that day!

We also did our grocery shopping, cooked up some hot dogs and packed our bags for our first day in Disneyland the next day. We we all so excited but also tired so it was early to bed, Goodnight!

Read me.

2011-10-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

So much has changed over the last eight weeks I am still having a hard time wrapping my mind around it! We have lost a lot of sleep, gained a lot of snuggles, and are still searching for the moment we get to stop and catch our breath. Going from one to two kids was definitely an adjustment and took some time to figure out but it wasn't long before we were back on our feet and in control. However going from two to three was a whole other story! We are out number now and there's just no going back! lol, I don't think that I will ever be fully in control again!

Just wanted to give you all a little update on me and Poy. Aaron has now officially completed his last classes and tests that he will ever write at the University of Western States! Didn't he just get his acceptance letter in the mail like, yesterday!?!3 years, two kids, and a million memories later here we are! Aaron has worked his tail off in school so that he was eligible for the preceptor ship program. He will be working in Doctor Harden's office with him for the next 2 1/2 months under his licence. This will give him the opportunity to treat "real" patients and get the feel for office life. He is so excited about this experience and I am so proud of him for all the hard work that he has put in to become such a fantastic Chiropractor. He passed part A of the Canadian boards in Toronto this summer and will be flying to Calgary in October to write parts B & C.

He is still serving as the 1st concealer in the Young Mens presidency and assistant Scout master, the boys love him and he loves serving them. He drives our old blazer which is somehow still running and dreams of being back in Fort Mac playing Hockey. We take shifts at night with Nate and he often gives Nate two bottles instead of waking me for the second feeding so that I can get more sleep. Poy loves his boys and takes them out to do grown up things like play tennis or Golf. That's right everyone, he gave Miles a tennis racket! lol, no one was hurt.They cry when he leave and so do I, what a great husband and Dad!

I also am doing and feeling great. Little Nate has wrapped me around his finger just like his big brothers. The transition to three children came with some major changes for me but I have finally accepted them and am now feeling happier than ever! I have a tendency to over due. I like to bake two or more times a weeks, make dinner every night, go to the pool everyday, keep the house completely clean, go to the Zoo every week or two, and take a lot of outings. I always have these long To-Do lists on my white board at the start of each day and I just LOVE crossing things off as I get then done. However three kids really slows things down, it's not as easy to get out of the house with three little boys or to keep them all under control once we are out. You need to have more supplies, a defiantly plan of where you are going and what you want to get done, and then you have to be ready for a million twists, turns, and tantrums along the way. I now understand why some Moms Grocery shop at night, WITHOUT THEIR CHILDREN! lol.

My lists have gotten simpler, my house a little messier, and my time has been more focused on the important things: AJ, Miles, Nate, & Aaron. I have learned to leave the dishes in the sink or the laundry in the dryer and sit down to paint with AJ while the little boys nap or play trains with Miles while AJ is out and Nate is sleeping. I enjoy my time nursing and take a few extra minutes to snuggle Nate up while he'll still let me. We go on walks, paint, play cars/Lego/toy story/cowboys/ect., swim, wrestle, watch movies, make forts, read books, and just hang out. And you know what? None of them seem to care that the carpets aren't vacuumed yet or that we had Mac and cheese for dinner. They actually seem happier to have gotten a little bit more of my undivided attention.

I still find myself following them around cleaning up or wanting to get get the chores done first but I just have to take a minute and refocus or make it a fun project we can do together. Two is not to young to match sox or set the table, AJ love to help with ANYTHING and stickers are a great reward system.

Anyways this was a hard transition and I am still working on it but I love that I have learned to let those things slide. My boys come first and once they are in bed I can spend 30 minutes reorganizing the house and its all caught up, perfect! I really do love my life. My kids mean everything to me and I am lucky enough to have an incredible husband who feels the same way. We are growing as a family and we are happy and isn't that the whole point?

cookies AKA Happiness

2011-09-25T06:28:00.000-07:00

I love to bake and do my boys. I wish I had more pictures of us together in teh kitchen but we usually do it when no one else is around and so....no photots! Anyways the other day Aaron went camping with the boys so we made them some Giant S'more cookies but some how a few got left behind. Here's the boys taking care of them for me!

Theses are deffinatly my tow favorite pictures I took today. AJ hiding the evidence of his cookie bing and Miles giving me the sideways stare, LOVE YOU TWO!

How to get a good half hour to yourself:

2011-09-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

Hummmm... What's that??? A box?

Nope! Awsome theater room for the boys! You can have one too. All you need is a box, some tape, and ipod with a movie or netflix, some power bars, and two small children. Ta-Da!

Enjoy the since with your own treat and show on the big people TV!

sunday walks

2011-09-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

We have really been enjoying our whole family of five now that we are a little more in the swing of things. This is one of our favorite places to go look for crawfish and walk in the "woods" Here we are enjoying our Sunday walk!

jamison

2011-09-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

It is September and still beautiful! We may have gotten a late start on summer but it is lasting into fall and we are lovin' it! We decided to take our kids and head out to Jamison park.we really have only been there once this year and trust me I am NOT going back!!!! Look at this place! One Mom and three kids, I could lose one so easy!!!! I was so nervous the whole time just pacing back and forth watching the boys with Nate in the sling, gave me a tummy ache. The boys on the other hand had a blast!

I call him Charle.

2011-09-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

This is AJ:

But I call him Charlie. I am the only one who dose it and I love that it is MY own special nick name for him. I think people think I am crazy when I am at the park and calling him AJ half the time and Charlie the other half but I don't care. They probably think I'm crazy for a million other reasons anyways! Ha ha ha.

AJ is 4 and a half now and measuring 43 inches tall and right around 40 pounds. He is right in the 50% for his age so he is pretty average in size but not much else! AJ can already spell multiple words, and yes he spells them right! Don't worry I am letting Aaron help him learn to spell instead of me for OBVIOUS reasons! He can count to 50, paint a good picture, and read simple words. His teacher says that he is already doing what they do at the end of kindergarden so I think he is one the right track. Such a little smarite pants.

AJ also loved sports. I would say that his favorite is still baseball but he loves playing anything especially if its with his Dad. They love to go hit a bucket of balls together and all though I would loved to be there to watch AJ and teh driving range it is guys bonding time so....I am NOT invited! I don't know if swimming is considered a sport by all but if it was AJ could be in the junior olympics! We is a little fish and I can't keep him out of that pool! As soon as we get there he drops his towle, which must mean, "can't you please go put this on my chair Mom." and dives straight in the deep end. He always wears his goggles and prefers to swim under water but is working on his over hand stroke as well.

Although AJ has lots of friends he can still be a little shy when he is put in a big crowed of kids he isn't familiar with. He dosen't really get scared he is just a little quiet and prefers to watch. Yesterday we went to Megans birthday partyand she had 6 other 7 year old kids from school there and AJ was a little quieter than normal. He didn't get up and run around like a crazy person with the other boys, or get his face painted but he did the craft and watched thekids paint their faces and played under the table when they were being puppies. I talked to them all one on one but just not the whole group at once. He said he had a great time!

AJ is a picky eater and we really have to fight to enforce the, "you have to try everything at least once rule." because if it was up yo him we would eat nothing but cereal, nuggets, mac'n'cheese, noodle soup, cheese strings, apples, carrotts, peanut butter sandwiched, power bars, or cinnimon toast. Oh and lots of milk and juice!

I love AJ so much he's my little helper man by day and my snuggle bug at night, love you!

Melting my heart and greying my hair.

2011-09-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

This is Miles:
I swear I have hundreds of picture of him just like this, I seriously can't take enough close ups of his adorable little face. I love those big hazel eyes and those chubby little cheeks, when he smiles at me my heart just melts! Of course he isn't always smiling at me, sometimes he is smirking, yelling, frowning, or even giving me his Gollum face. This is the face he makes when things aren't going he way and he decided that screaming is the best way to deal with it:
Pretty scary eh!? ha ha. Miles is now 27 months old, he weighs 32 pounds and is 35 inches tall (just under 3 feet!)and he has become quite the little character. Anyone who knows Miles pretty much loves him, he is such a little stinker but in the most endearing way possible. Miles is a man of action, he likes to get out there and experiance life first hand good or bad he does it all!

Must know about Miles at age two:

He LOVES having FREZZING cold water dumped, splashed, or sprayed Directly lin his face. If no one else is willing to do it for him he just dose it himself and for Miles it brings utter Joy!

Miels also likes playing with Friends. He loves running with the big kids, danceing around the house, raceing his cars around the big couch in the living room, riding bikes, and just plain running wild. He dosen't really get organized sports yet so if the kids are playing it and he's not sure how to get involved he just steals the ball and runs away. Thus creating a new game, come get miles!

He is full of energy and I love all the crazy things he dose, even though he is turning my hair grey with all his mischife!

It's Nate, not Nathan.

2011-09-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

This is my baby:

He is just too cute and I am so in love with him I can't even put it into words! When he arrived eight weeks ago we had a really tuff time picking a name for him we loved Nate but felt like he needed a proper or more traditional name so in the end we went with Nathan but we call him Nate. Nathans a great name but for our little man Nate or Nater is just a better fit.

Nate is a great baby, he LOVES to sleep and sleep and sleep and sleep! He went to a 4 hour feeding schedule in the first two weeks and has basically stuck to it ever since. He usually nurses at 12:00, 4:00, and 8:00. during the day and then like 11:00 and 5:00 at night. I know that we could be doing some sleep training but we are doing pretty good with our routine. We decided that we will sleep train him after our trip to California. He has no bedtime routine, sleeps in the sling, his chair, on the couch, my bed, and occasionally on his daddy's chest.

I know that we are creating all kinds of bad habits and many Moms out there will tell me to ESTABLISH A ROUTINE and put him to sleep in the crib starting right now but I say "FORGET IT!" We did all that with Miles and you know what? we missed out on way to many snuggles and loves and I regret it! I don't think it will take that long to brake the habits when we decide to, with AJ he was 8 months and it took three nights. They were long crappy nights but so worth the 8 months of snuggly love!!!

Aside from sleep Nate is a great nurser and likes being in the water as much as possible. He likes listening to music and LOVES reading books. He has rolled over about 10 times in the past three weeks and is okay with tummy time. He had silent reflux so he can't be on his tummy to much after eating but before he eats he is happy to be on his tummy and sucking his fists. He even sleeps on his tummy half the time! (shhhhhh.... that is our secret since it is now a major no no to sleep your babies on the tummies!)

At 8 weeks he is still a Major bobble head but I think its just because he spends about 19 hours a day sleeping and just seems to lazy to look around and everything when he is awake. He just stares at who ever is closes to him, which is usually me or Age. He weighs about 11 and a half pounds and is just moving out of newborn and into 0-3 month clothing. He has also upgraded to the size 1 diapers. He coo's occasionally but is more of a listener, maybe just because I talk so much!!! ha ha ha. Anyways I have got a few little smiles out of him but boy did he make me work for them and he mostly smiles in the middle of the night. I think this is because during the day it is usually so crazy around here he is to busy trying to figure out what is going on all around him to waste time smiling.

He is so cute I wish that I had a million more pictures of him to share but I will keep snapping what I can in between the caious that is my life! Love you Nate.

AJ and Nate

2011-09-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

AJ just can't get enough of his little brothers. Over the past three months AJ and Miles have really started enjoying their time together. They are no longer two boys playing on their own in the same house but they are actually playing together....and enjoying it. Don't get me wrong they still bug each other, hit, wrestle, and fight but between the time outs, sorrys, and yelling at one another there is actually a little fun happening. I love it!! Siblings really are the best gift you can give your kids, even though you feel bad when you are about to have another baby because you are going to have to divide your time between them and one more person it is so worth it in the end.

Anyways AJ loves playing with Miles be he is also OBSESSED with our little Nater. I wants to hold him all the time and doesn't even get flustered when he is fussing. He will help with diapers, give him the soother, feed him the bottle, but his very favorite is to just plain snuggs him up! Sometimes he will even go get Nate while hes sleeping and pick him up to just snuggle and relax. SO CUTE. You are a great big brother Age, thanks for helping out so much with Nate.

"Mom I think Nate is wishing he could snuggle with me."
"No AJ, I want him to stay in his chair right now so I can make dinner."

10 Minutes later when I peeked in to check on everyone......."What mom? he's still in his chair!"

HaPpY 30tH bIrThDaY!!!

2011-09-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

Just in case you haven't gotten the message, I think my husband is the most amazing man, Husband, Friend, Chiropracter, and FATHER in the whole wide world! And this year is his golden birthday, he turns 30 on the 30th of August. I know that 30 is kind of a big deal but I think Aaron is taking it all in strid. He is married, has three fantastic little boys who absoulutly love him, he is about to graduate from chiropractic school, and is about to move home and start a whole new adventure!

You are the hottest 30 year old I have ever seen and I am so proud of all the you are. You have made a lot of sacrifices for our family and your selflessness is unparalle. Thank-you for being the head of our home, you are an amasing man. Happy Birthday Poy! Enjoy "THE WHO!"

Love you Poy!

Brothers!

2011-09-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

Boys are the best! I may seem a little bias since I only have boys and they happen to be the three cutest little boys ever born but I happen to know that my BFF and sister in law also agrees with me so...... we must be right. Boys are the best!

I feel so blessed to be AJ, Miles, and Nates Mom. It is A LOT of work and they definitely keep me on my toes but I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING. I can't think of anything better then snuggling my boys and feeling my heart melt every time I hear "I YU YOU MOMMY!" from Miles, or "You my best girl!" from AJ. What could make me happier than having someone hand an inconsolable baby Nate back to me and seeing him calm down right away just because he's in MY arms!

Motherhood is happiness and these handsome little men are the light of my crazy, exhausting, and oh so blessed life. Love you boys!

There's nothing better than family and I am turely blessed in mine.

Grandpas here!

2011-09-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

Of course Grandma Poytress moved it for a few weeks when we brought little Nate home but what about Grandpa? He was so busy with the Fort Macleoud Triathalon hw jsut couldn't get away but the day it was over him and Grandma jumped in the Corvett and headed straight for Portland!!

Like everyone else Papa fell in love with Nate the minute he saw him. We spent the weekend at the pool, park, and Saturday market but alas I seem to have forgoten that I owned a camera during all these events and so there are none. I will try to get some from Lorranie and then post them. Until then here's our little man with his Papa and Grandma Poytress:
Look at those yummy Voodoo's in the background! New baby to snuggle and delicious Voodoo??? sounds like a perfect night!

Close enough!

2011-09-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

My boys may not have sisters but the Wagner girls are close enough! We love the Wagners and our boys just can't seem to get enough of their girls, they could play togetehr all day everyday and lots of days they do just that! They will be together from 8:00AM until story tiem at night just running between the houses, playing at the park, riding horses (aka their bikes), swimming, playing out back, they just love being together!

Some times I have to get a little creative to keep them busy and stop them from messing up my freshly cleaned house. They other day I had cleaned and feed Nate and came up with the idea of having a bike cleaning and fixing workshop. THEY LOVED IT! they must have washed and worked on their bikes for over and hour, it was great!

They worked so hard they needed a picnic to help refule them, MAN I LOVE THESE KIDS!

Last Peterson trip to P-town!

2011-09-10T10:02:00.001-07:00

As Aaron's schooling draws to a close so do the Grandparent trips to beautiful P-town. When my parents made their was down to Portland this time it not only marked their first time meeting Nate but also their last trip to Portland to see and play with our little family. They will be back for Graduation and to help us move but there won't be a lot of time for play.

Anyways we did our very best to fit it all in shopping, swimming, Saturday market, Mexican restaurant, Mt. Saint Helen's, Voodoo, Park time, we did it all!!!! And the best part??? My sister Mandy was able to make it down with my parents and join us for the whole thing!

Odiously meeting little Nater was number one on every ones list. He arrived just under one month ago and Skype just isn't enough! Grandma and Grandpa where just itching to get little Nate in their arms.

Mandy is new to tiny tine babies but she did great! Her and Nate has a nice long snuggle one day so I could FINALLY straighten my hair, Thanks Mand!
We love hitting up the troutdale outlet mall, it may not be huge but it has all the stores we like and is nice and close to home. Plus Mom had some major shopping to do with baby Nate, little Milo, and sweet little Gema all just arriving. 47 and already they've got 7 grand kids under their belts, good work team! The boys don't love shopping but they do enjoy running a muck and playing on the quarter rides, well most of them. Miles was not a fan of this one when it started moving, wonder how he'll do in Disneyland!?!
It was pretty hot while the Family was here so we hit up the pool a few time, we really wanted to try and get grandma a tan, but it doesn't work if she hides under a blanket!

Mandy Loved Saturday market as we all do!

we love this place but my Dad LOVES this place!
And a first for everyone was a trip to Mt. Saint Helens. Mandy loves Mt. Saint Helens and it was just to close to not go see. I was not up for the trip with little Nate so me and Mom stayed home while everyone else headed to the Mountain. They had a great time and Mandy was in heaven!

It was so much fun to have the family down here. I had a great day with my Mom at home just the two of us, we may not have any pictures of our girls day but it was a blast and it made me even more excited to move back to my home and native land!

Helping hands

2011-09-08T13:59:00.001-07:00

It was so nice to have the Wolff girls here for a few days to meet baby Nate and keep the boys busy while I settled in a home with little Nate. They were able to stay just long enough to spend one night with Grandma Poytress and then they where off to visit more friends up in Powlle river. Thanks Girls we love you!

GRANDMAS HERE!!!!! I seriously have no idea where I would be without this wonderful woman. I actually tried for a summer babies because I know she has summer off work. She came to clean my house and bake me lasagnas after AJ was born and then with my last two babies she has come down to Portland and stayed for 10 days to take care of our little family. She does it all, cooks, cleans, MAKES me nap, swims with the boys, goes to the park, sews blankets, feeds baby, changes diapers, sleeps on the couch, runs to the store, and even stays up all night with our babies so that we can get a full night sleep. W-O-W! I know you are all asking yourselves, "does this woman rent out because I need her at my house!!!" but alas she does not. Lorraine was just the amazing icing on the cake of my marriage to Aaron, sorry ladies!

Grandma and AJ 2007

Grandma and Miles 2009

Grandma and Nate 2011

The days flew by and I was in shock where it was ALREADY time for Grandma to head back home. My heart always breaks when she leaves as does her's, she really hates saying goodbye to the boys. She gets all watery eyed when she has to leave these adorable little men but we knew she would be back in a few weeks to introduce Grandpa to our newest Baby boy, Nate. Love you Lorraine, thank-you for helping our family adjust to our new status of, Family of FIVE!

Thanks for everything Lorraine I don't like to think of where I would be without you! Love you!

Fresh from the oven, or at least somewhere warm!

2011-08-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

My good friend Becki Brallier came up to the hospital right after little Nate was born to get a few shots of our newest little addition. It's such a special time with your spouce when you meet your child for the first time, these pictures mean a lot to me, thank-you so much for being there Bex! Check out here other work

http://www.beckimayphoto.blogspot.com

Enjoy little Nate and sorry I have no shirt on!If it offends you DON'T SCROLL DOWN!!!! LOL.

Give 'em to the Wolff's

2011-08-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

The day after little Nate arrived aunt Chelsie and the girls showed up. They where planning on being here to stay with the boys while we where in the hospital but little Nate beat them to the punch. Still they made it just one day after he was born and where a HUGE help to us.

After coming up to the hospital to meet our newest little man the Wolff's adopted AJ and Miles into their pack and set off on their Portland adventures. They wanted to make sure to see everything they could while they where here and really experience Portland the way we have over the past 3 years.

Starting with the Park:

The Pool:

The Zoo:

OMSI:

Saturday Market:

They also found a little time for bed jumping, nail painting, and Nate snuggling.

LOOKS LIKE THE BOYS REALLY TUCKERED TEHM OUT! LOL, goodnight Syd!

The time has come, THE TIME IS NOW!

2011-07-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

At 3:30AM on July 26th I woke up and told Aaron, "Sweetie, this baby is coming today or tomorrow. I just know it!" He asked if I was contracting or having and signs of labour, which I wasn't but I still felt sure that this was the day.

After a few more hours sleep I was up and at'em. I showered, did my hair, and quickly packed the boys to get out and do our errands. First off was target to get a pay as you go phone, so we could call Canada from the hospital. Stopped for Milk and Cheese and then back for a little house cleaning. After all that we spent the morning riding bikes around the complex and then it was time for lunch. I feed the boys, packed my hospital bag, send AJ to the Wagners to play and then decided to have a little wrestle with Miles before sending him for his nap. He crawled up on the sofa, I reached behind me to pull him over my head and onto the floor and.....POP!!!! My water broke! (12:00pm)

Oh crap! First things first CALL AARON! by the time I got Kevin on the phone and told him to get Aaron away from his patient and send him home, the contractions where coming on hard and fast! Next up call holly over, tell Nicole to please keep AJ, and get Miles down for his nap. 10 minutes later Aaron was home and we were on our way. Seriously that was the LONGEST drive to the hospital but we made it!

Once we got to labour and delivery it was pretty evident that I was ready to go. My pants we're soaked again and I was barley able to talk through my contractions. (12:35ish) They quickly got me to my room, hooked up the monitor and checked me, 7 CM & 90% effaced, woo hoo! it didn't feel great but it was great to know that we were getting close. They called Dr.Drake and he headed straight over, I guess he remembered that Miles came just 1 hour and 45 minutes after my water broke!

By this time the pain was so intense the minute I heard the word epidural I was all over it. Although I was pretty quiet about the whole thing I felt like this baby was just about ready to make his big debue. Dr. Drake arrived just as they were inserting the epidural and I told him, "I am ready to push!" He wanted to check me first but when he went to he could already see our little man head and so he gave me the OK. Well 10 minutes and 3 contractions later Nathan Richard Poytress was born!!!! (1:22pm)

He was so tiny and perfect I just couldn't take my eyes off him. Aaron was such a proud Dad snuggling us up and taking it all in, what a perfect moment. I can only think of about two others in my life so far that compare, there is just no greater feeling that meeting your child for the first time. Beautiful! Please keep in mind I had JUST had him so......not lookin' so hot!Looks like he's already got Dad wrapped around his finger!!I thought he was going to be my biggest baby so far but with AJ at 7'1, MIles at 7'3, Nate came in as the smallest at only 6'11!
First picture with Mom and Dad!
Happy under the warming lights
Sad that he's not snuggled up in my arms!
It took us a while to name him, in fact we didn't give him a name until the next morning at 10:00am. I was really stuck on Desmond and Aaron loved Thomas but neither of us like the others enough to use. In the end we both loved Robert after his great grandpa Bob and Nate after.....no one. It's hard because we love family names and wanted to give his name meaning but Nate seemed to suit him better. Finally we called AJ and asked if he like Nate and he said, "OH YEAH THAT'S AN AWESOME NAME!" what about Robby or Rob? "Um, no that is not a good name for my brother only Nate or Spike!" and so we went with what we all liked best: Nate!

In the end we wanted him to have a full name so we called Him Nathan and then Richard after my amazing Grandfather who I love, Miss, and Respect more than I can ever express! I know that Nate will do his Name proud and that he would love knowing that two of his grandsons (Nate and Becks) will carry his name and memory with them as they journey through this life.Love you grandpa Dick!!!!!!

I seriously caouldn't put him down, JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE!
Later that afternoon Aaron went and got the boys so they could meet little Nate. AJ was immediatlt obsessed with our newest addtion. He was all smiles and once he had Nate in his arms there was no letting go.
Miles on the other hand hardly noticed that Nate was i the room. He came over and gave hime a little smooch and then it was on to exploring. "Just because I'm two doesn't mean I can't still be the baby right!?!"
I get it, he needs a hair cut, but I jsut can't bring myself to cut that cute bleached out hair. I love it!Me and my three little men.HUmmmm....what about our heads?Our attempt at a family picture, with a grumpy Miles and self timer, Nice! Um......Miles, it's not all about you buddy.
Finally we got this......GUess it will have to do until someone else is around to take one.
Having a little fun in the Hospital while the Wolff girls have a turn snuggling baby Nate
We also had a visit from our Portland Family,the Lujans. Little Luke lost his little feel after laying next to baby Nate, you're a growing machein LUKE!Here's a few more pictures I took at the hospital that I could help but post. I love you Nate you are just what our family needed and we are blessed and honered to have you as a part of our family. LOVE

SURPRISE!!!!!! They must really love me!

2011-07-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

As you know by now I am about to have my third baby Boy and we are over the moon about it. I did think it was going to be a girl at first but when we found out it was a boy we were both so excited, a boy just felt right, like that is just what our family needed another perfect baby boy. Also we have boy stuff already so we wouldn't have to put out a bunch of money on new baby girl stuff while still in school.

I really wanted to get a few new things for this baby but we really can't afford it while we are finishing up school. Well no need to worry, my girlfriends decided to take over our Monday night girls night a throw me a SURPRISE SHOWER! Aren't they so sweet??? It was so unexpected. They came with a banner and all these treats and a beautiful diaper cake done up by Holly and Dan!

The girls went in on a gift card for us to Target and then got me a few other little things as well! Thanks so much everyone I loved it all!

I also had my eye on teis GORGEOUS new diaper bag. I have never had a real diaper bag, I have just used totes or whatever Ihad but Nicole wouldn't allow that, she got me this bag that I had been dreaming about and I was so surprised! I love it so much!!!!!! THANKS COLE, you are so sweet for getting this for me. I am going to use it until I die!
I know that I am Spoiled, you can say it to my face but either way I love these Portland girls and I am so sad that they won't be over every Monday for the rest of my life! I never want to live away from any of you!

Back to Portland!

2011-07-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

With two busy boys and a 36 1/2 week pregnant belly Grandma Poytress decided that driving home alone might not be the best choice, so she offered to ride back to Portland with us. Isn't she the best????

Once we got here Grandma stayed for a few days to help get everything ready for our new baby. She got him a few new outfits, some diapers, soothers, and then we decided to make some new blankets. THEY ARE SO CUTE! We found this great fabric and some giant Rickrack that looks so great, I LOVE IT! Grandma worked so hard to get these done before flying home and teaching me was not easy I am sure! Thanks Grandma Baby Poytress is going to be so stylin!

An Afternoon with Grandpa T

2011-07-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Since Grandpa and Grandma Tolman live up in Edmonton we never have anywhere to hang out when they come down to visit. Which means we always end up going out for dinner or somethign like that, SO EXPENSIVE! Plus it doesn't really give us a chance to PLAY!!!!!

So we decided to meet Grandpa and Alaina at the Raymond pool for the afternoon, what a blast. We snacked, swam, wrestled, and of course did the slides it was the perfect afternoon for everyone to hang out and enjoy the sun. We really missed Grandma, who had to stay in Edmonton for YW camp, but we were so glad we go to see Grandpa and Alaina for atleast a little bit. Love you guys!

BROTHERS! I love you boys so much, can't wait to add another little man to the crew.

Fort Mac with the Wolffs!

2011-07-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend in Fort Mac with the Wolff girls, and Grandma & Papa as well. It was so fun to all hang out with some nice weather instead of just at Christmas, not that we don't LOVE Christmas as well. Anyways we spent our time playing outside, watching movies, and Celebrating Miles and Aby's Birthdays!

I forgot to take pictures along the way but I did get some of teh joint party, so fun to have birthdays close together.

Licking the beaters, always the best part!

PIZZA PARTY!

Miles can't wait for the Cake! We tried putta a shit on him but..... we lost that battle!

YEAH! They love them some birthday cake! We had to do the candles twice, lol.

OOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fire is one of Miles favorite things int he whole world, don't touch!

Cowboy Ben

2011-07-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Ben Hill, one of Lyndseys cousins, is just a big kid at heart. He has three little kids of his own and loves playing with any kid that is ready and willing. After the July 1st parade we were having dinner at his parents house which is when he realized that AJ's greatest ambition in life is to become a real Cowboy. He loved his Cowboy boots and his obsession with the bigger boys practicing their roping skills.

Ben asked AJ is he had ever ridden on a horse before, AJ sadly reported that he never had and that is when Ben made, THE OFFER.
"AJ if you come to the rodeo this afternoon I will take you for a ride on my horse, Padro." and that was that. I wasn't sure if we were going to go to the Rodeo but that all changed right then and there. AJ would never forgive me if I made him miss a real horse ride so after naps we went straight to the rodeo.

Ben was so great with AJ! I thought AJ would get shy and maybe not even go but that was not at all the case. He walked right to Cowboy Ben and asked if he could go for a ride and off they went, SO CUTE! Age was in heaven, THANKS SO MUCH BEN!!!!!!

Ben's horse will follow him without a lead so he taught AJ how to use the reins and then let him"ride by himself, while the horse followed Ben. He was so proud of himself, he spent the next few days teaching me how to properly use the reins on a horse.

This is AJ's face of pure happiness!After a little watching from the fench Beckam decided he would like a little ride with AJ as well.

Miles and Mddox also had a go on padro, Mads loved it, Miles.....Not so much!

July 1st and Raymond time

2011-07-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

Since the Poytress and My parents where out of town from Thursday to Sunday we ended up spending a lot of time out in Raymond with the Tolmans and Hills. Also because we wanted to get in as much Tolman time as possible while we had teh chance! Mostly we spent our time playing out back and catching some sun.

We also got to spend July first out in Raymond which I have never done before, what a hoot! We started teh day off at the Raymond Parade. The boys loved all teh floats, horses, and of course CANDY!

After that we went over to Lynz aunt and Uncles house for a potluck dinner. It was so good, there must have been 20 diffrent salads, and so many treats!!!! I think the best part was the pulled pork, when you get so hungry out in the sun there is nothing better than pork on a bun! By that time the boys where all so tired we had to head home for naps. (I will admit I was in need of a little nap myself, even AJ napped, Yippie!!!!) Next it was off to the rodeo, honnestly the boys LOVED watching the mini horse chuckwagon races but Cowboy Ben really made it speciall for my little man Age. (see next post!)

What a great July 1st! No wonder Lynz never wants to miss one, they are so fun out in Raymond, maybe we will impose on the HIll Family again next year!

Our stay in Stirling

2011-07-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

After surprising Grandma and Grandpa we spent the week playing out in Stirling with them. It was so fun to be there in the summer with their finished yard to play in and take care of:

the dogs to play with:

the water table and toys on the deck:

and all the other fun stuff you can find to do in a small town.

Love you Mom and Dad, you truly are the best parents in the whole world! (in my extreamly bias opinion!)

Home again Home again

2011-07-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

After our 4 days of Portland living it was time to head home and surprise our families. Everyone thought that the tolmans would be arriving the end of July boy where they going to be SHOCKED to see then a whole month early! But that would all come later, first we had to get there. So once again we packed the car with all our lugage, 4 boys, 3 bags of treats, 2 DVD players, 1 37 weeks pregnant driver, and eachother to keep our spirits up if things got bad and we headed out!

AJ was pretty emotinal when it came time to say good-bye to Aaron, as was I, but once we were out on the road with the DVD's going it was all good. Until Mad dog lost his lunch that is! He seemed to be fine before and after, he certainly seemed less concerned about the whole situations than him Mom anyways. GOOD WORK LYNZ! oh the things Mom's have to do!

On we went and it was pretty smooth after that. The big boys watched movies and shared treats in the back while Miles Zoned out in the front. He sat like this for about and hour with our moving, just watching Bolt out of the corner of his eye. SO CUTE!
We stopped for the night in Sandpoint, we didn't want to push our luck with the kids and we didn't want to show up to surprise our Moms in the middle of the night. We got some microwave Mac'n'cheese from Wal-mart for the kids, I know it sounds sick but they loved it and we feed them all for like $2.00 woo hoo! lol. By 8:15 we were all in bed and to our great surprise everyone went right to sleep and stayed that way until about 6:30AM!!!! It was a mirical! Of course it was not the best sleep for the Mom's with squirmy kids, and the fe little wake up cries and peed brakes but it was better than we could have imagined. We deffinatly counted that night as a blessing, so smooth!

After breakfast we were back on the road it was still another 5 and a half ours to home and the kids were ready to get there. After crossing the into Canada at this HILARIOUS border crossing......I guess they are redoing the real one so right now you just pull up to this little outhouse and talk to the lady. Lynds and I were cracking up about it! Also this is not the best picture to show it but, did you know that they actually clear the boarder to you can see it all the way across the country? See where there are no trees??? that is no mans land between Canada and the USA, cool eh?Anyways the last hour was BRUTAL! Miles was so done I think he cried all the way from Fort Mac to Lethbridge but he was really sick and did so good the rest of the way I couldn't blame him. Everyone was done and I think Lynz and I would have been in tears but since we had eachother we turned on the camera and sang Zombies by the Cranberries and just smiled throught it all, HA HA HA. so great to have eachother thanks Lynz!

Portland pool

2011-07-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot to add these pictures from our swim's in POrtland. I loved being back out there with Lynz and seeing how much better all the kids are at swimming. There is a huge diffrence in all of them from last year to this year. Good job little fish!

Back and Better than ever!

2011-07-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

That's right Folks the Tolmans are BACK! Well Lynz and the boys are anyways. All though we are missing Dust while he is back in the Caribbean working his tail off at med school we are loving having the rest of the Poytreman family right back here where they belong. Sure it may only be 4 days but we are going to make it the best 4 days ever!

First up ZOO trip with all the friends we could muster up!

The whole crewThe Poytremans (sans Husbands)We ate out, shopped, played with the girls, made pancakes and cookies, and had a blast! It was so busy and crazy but it was awesome and I am so sad that it is all over! Here we are at the park and this is a little section I like to call: DEAR BECKAM, I LOVE YOU!

and of course who can forget this handsome man?

It was such a great trip, Best Friends back together again and loving every minute of it! Again me and Lynz took NO PICTURES TOGETHER, nice work!

Utensils? who needs utensils?

2011-07-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Miles is more of a hands on type fella, if you know what I mean. If not, here's a little visual: