We're still here....

Well, I haven't had much to say the last couple of weeks. And really, I don't have a whole lot new to say right now. But life does go on. So here are some pictures of life in the last few weeks...

First, Aiden got a much needed hair cut.

This is before:

And this is after!!! There WAS a boy hiding under all that hair...

We caught some ants to put in the ant habitat Aiden got for his birthday. It took them about three days, but the ants are finally digging tunnels. We're going to catch more to help with the work tomorrow.

Finn decided that mixing mud for mud pies in my flower pot was great fun.


And then, Mama gave him part of a leftover brownie with whipped cream on it. He smiled after the picture was taken, of course....

I guess we need to move the kids' watercolors to a higher shelf. Or feed Finn more...

The weather finally warmed up enough to get out the requisite three-ring inflatable kiddie pool for summer. I love this pic of the kids jumping:

Along with warm weather and "swimming" comes picnics in the backyard. Good times.

Check the little one's curly hair. Every now and then, we get actual ringlets.

Then there's always time for a silly self-portrait with mom. We had a couple pics of dad, too, but they were from the kids' photography stock....

In the next couple weeks, we're looking forward to a trip to LaGrande to hang with some good friends for a couple days, swimming lessons, and more sunshine.

I'll have more blood work and another doctor's appointment, but hopefully nothing too exciting comes from that.

*Sigh* part II

I'm avoiding my blog. And I think it's avoiding me. We'll give it through the weekend.... Maybe next week I'll feel like sharing our lives again.

Our (crazy busy) week in review...

Well, if I had been a good blogger, I would have captured the adventures of this past week day-by-day. Hmmmmm.... Guess I'm not a good blogger.


So much has happened this week that I barely know where to start. So, in the name of brevity (and mommy brain), I'm only going to hit the highlights. But there are still plenty of those!!!

1.) Our wonderful IFs (intended fathers, for those of you who do not speak the language of surrogacy) traveled from their home in Europe here to our little town to meet me, Chris, and the family in person. They were here for three short (but packed) days. We all had a great time getting to know each other, and were sad the visit had to end so soon. For more on what we did, visit my other blog. The pic below is Finn enjoying his first corn on the cob during dinner with our IFs.

2.) While our IFs were here, we celebrated Aiden's 7th birthday. Goodness, where does the time go??? He is getting SO big! Aiden had a How to Train Your Dragon bday party this year, so my assignment was a dragon cake. It actually turned out pretty well. We went to the farmer's market in town that morning, then had a small party at the house that afternoon. Chris pointed out that Aiden's "over halfway to being a teenager"......

3.) During Aiden's birthday party, my mom and dad arrived to spend the better part of the week with us. Our original plan was to fly to Boston this last Tuesday for my medical screening appt. My parents were going to watch the kids for us while Chris and I were gone. Unfortunately, that trip was postponed, but we were happy to have the visit with my parents instead. They met our IFs, celebrated Aiden's bday with us and his kindergarten graduation, we watched Avatar for the first time (awesome!), and we caught up on the last couple of months.



4.) We said goodbye to our IFs after 3 days, then I worked 2 nights. Crazy to stick the work nights into a week that already had us running.... Last Tuesday morning, I checked into the hospital for some tests. They were a follow up to everything that happened after my gallbladder surgery last summer. Some of my lab values are still high, so my doc decided to do a little further testing. I had to have an MRI, and a liver biopsy. But I was home again and happy after just a few hours. Now I'm just waiting on the results. *sigh* I hate waiting....

5.) Aiden is officially a Kindergarten graduate.... So, next year will bring first grade, and all day school. I'm still trying to figure out what we are going to do about school lunches. The kid is so picky!!! New Horizons is finally getting its own dedicated building, so he will have to move schools. But the building is brand new and gorgeous, so that shouldn't be a hardship at all; and it doesn't hurt that the new building is just a tad closer to the house. Aiden's report card reflected what we already knew- we have a very smart kid on our hands. And learning in two languages does not seem to be slowing him down at all. Below is Aiden with his teacher. She was awesome, and we'll miss her!




6.) Paige also celebrated her last day of school this week. She will move on to the "4 year old class", as she calls it, next year at her school. I tried to get a picture with Paige and our all time favorite preschool teacher, but Paige though it was more important to be photographed with her new purple bucket...... Lol.... Lucky for us, we have the same teacher next year. We'll get the obligatory pic then.

7.) Did I tell everyone that Chris got a job??? Well, he did. It's working with a marketing research firm that he hoped to work with (woo hoo)! So, on top of all this, he had to try to find time to squeeze in hours with his trainer. It's so strange to ask what time he has to be to work in the morning..... ;)

Well, I'm sure I've left things out.... When you're that busy, some things are guaranteed to fall through the cracks. As of today, we are going to settle into our summer schedule. I think we'll still be busy, but not like it's been for the last week and a half or so. Oh yeah, the other good thing that happened this week- my schedule flipped back to normal. I'll be working 3 out of four weekends again, with a schedule that is predictable and perfect for us.

If that's not enough, then I don't know what is!