New Routines

I don't think we could have crammed anything else into the last couple of weeks. Between back to school, back to work, back to karate, new routines, and weekend commitments, I'm embracing this Sunday morning of nothin' but football, house chores, and relaxing. Our new routines are finally starting to feel normal. The kids are getting used to being woken up and carted off to various locations during the week. I'm starting to get used to waking up at 5:00 to be in MV by 7:00. Rob and I are mastering the hustle and bustle of getting home, making dinner, cleaning up, getting kids bathed and to bed all by 8:00 pm. By Friday night we were exhausted. In fact we were in bed by 9:00 this Friday after an outing to Milt's with the kids. Here are a few pictures from our busy September.

Jack's first day of Kindergarten!

I was able to take Jack and pick him up since his first day was only a half day, and school hadn't started for me yet.

2nd Annual Cardinal's season opener party. Autumn brownies make the tradition complete!

New jerseys for the kids!

A beautiful bouquet of sunflowers from Rob. I was having a difficult time with things the other day. Sometimes the trials of daily life just seem so much more magnified by the loss of my mom. She would have so loved to see Jack and Ryan on their first days of school. She would have taken them school shopping and made sure they had everything they needed. She was so big on traditions...as I write this post, I feel such an emptiness that I can't share all of these things with her. Rob brought these home to cheer me up. They really brightened my day.

Beans, Jam, Missing Mom

The last couple weeks have been consumed with house chores, getting ready for school and work, and having company. All things I actually really enjoy.

My G&G Van Diest have a great garden, and as long as I can remember they've had tasty corn, green beans, and beautiful dahlias. Also, as long as I can remember my mom has canned green beans for our family of six to eat throughout the coming year. They've always been my favorite. In the last few years my mom taught me how to do this...a skill that I believe to be so valuable. I'm amazed that we can take something so fresh and with just water, a little salt, and pressure make it last months. However, doing this task by myself in the past week though has left me heartbroken. I never thought at 28 I'd be already putting into practice what took years for my mom to teach me. She's always been there to instruct and take care of the really hard parts. Now I have had to learn to do that on my own. I'm not feeling sorry for myself...at least I don't intend for it to be that way. I just miss my mom so much, but I'm proud of myself for doing what she'd be doing right now.

I also had the pleasure of hosting two of my college friends for our annual Jam Fest. This Jam Fest 2010 was so much fun. Last year Sarah's little guy, Justus, was in the hospital about to undergo another surgery, so she obviously couldn't come. This year, Staci and Sarah both were able to make it, and so was little J-man. We had a full house and it was so much fun. Justus and Jovie got to play together, which mostly consisted of Jovie telling him "No" every five seconds. Which by the way all anyone has to do is look at her these days and that's her response. Anyway, we made some amazing jam, as always, and it was so much fun to catch up with these girls.

This week Jack starts Kindergarten and I'm back to work. Believe it or not it's my favorite time of year. Fall is just around the corner (my favorite season) and we're excited to get into our yearly routine. 

Road Trip Pictures

Out of 350+ pictures of our little road trip taken on a brand new camera, you could say I've been having a hard time choosing which ones to share. These are so random, and I'm sorry I can't caption each one. It would take way too much time. We had an amazing road trip just the four of us. After the year we've been through it was much needed for the four of us to spend some time together. It was awesome to be able to hit the road and go wherever we wanted to go. We could stop whenever we wanted and more amazingly, the kids did wonderful in the car! As long as Jack had his DS and Jovie had her Care Bears and Finding Nemo movie, we were set. The whole trip was amazing, but highlights include our two outings to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., seeing the beautiful ocean and Golden Gate Bridge, swimming-Jack was fearless as long as his waterwings were on, Disneyland of course, a visit from Chris Marshall (Rob's great friend from high school who lives in San Diego), and just being together as a family. I hope you enjoy these random pictures. This trip truly was the best end to this summer that I could have asked for.

Lego Man, Sprinkler Girl

Never before would I have thought I would know so much about Legos, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Speed Racer, and many other things that Jack has taken an interest in. I really wanted to post something about Legos because they have been Jack's top interest in the last year or so. He has gotten very good at building them, and I don't want to sound like I'm bragging or anything, but I'm really proud of his Lego building capability. Most of these Lego sets have recommended ages that are 7-9+ years old, and this 4 (almost 5) year old seems to have no problem putting them together. He's always shown an interest in organizing things, putting things together, and taking them apart, and what I really love about Jack is that while he still wants to play with them and blow them up, it's important to him to put them back together and keep them nice and organized. Gotta love that quality in a little boy!

Jovie just toots around as usual. This child has lots of energy and interest in trying everything...at least once. I'm a little scared for the 15 year old Jovie, but I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we get there. How did my parents do it with 4 girls? Rob has been watering at night, and Jovie loves to help him:)

June became July

Without so much as a warning our crazy June is gone and we've welcomed July with what seems to be a very fickle NW summer...(geeze that sounded like a weather reporter). Anyway, June was full of commitments and plans, as you will notice, however July has brought me some refreshment and reprieve from life's demands. I can't hide from my emotions, nor can I explain them right now, and every day wish I could share my thoughts and feelings with the woman who I shared everything with, but at this moment I feel okay.

The following is a long journey of pictures and captions that are so random that I can't place or title them. It just is what it is...so enjoy.

These wonderful culinary masterpieces are from the annual Summer Institute for Educators at BTC (Bellingham Technical College). Translation: a class teachers take for clock hours or professional development. This was 3 days of "American Regional Cuisine" themed around Southwestern, Tex-Mex, Pacific Northwest, and a tour of Wood Stone Co. in Bellingham (manufacturer of the best wood fire ovens west of the Mississippi).

I went straight from my cooking class to Relay for Life. 18 hours of walking to cure cancer. An event I'm usually very inspired and passionate about, however I think it'll take some time to get my inspiration back. After Relay was my 10 year class reunion...it was a busy weekend, but the reunion was a blast and I think my friend Julie has some pictures on her blog if you're interested. Thanks Cathy for taking such great care of the kids, and thanks Rob for coming along to the reunion with me and working the next day on only 3 hours of sleep. You're a trooper.

Jack's new bedroom set arrived a few days ago. Solid pine bunk bed/desk with memory foam mattresses and dresser. The pictures of the bunk bed do not do it justice. It is awesome and full of storage. Jack loves it...he's told us over and over again how much he loves us and how lucky he is. So grateful and appreciative. We're happy he is enjoying it so much. He played Legos for hours at the pull-out desk yesterday and today. His patience and persistence is, in my humble opinion, beyond his age.

My new craft nook, handmade by Rob as a mother's day/birthday gift. He took my vision and made it so much more than I could have hoped for. Love it honey! Also, thanks Betty for the tins...I'm SO ORGANIZED!!!

Joves is 18 months old today! What a fun, energetic, loving, and passionate child. Her current obsessions (and believe me, this child defines the word obsessed) are Dora, Otter Pop popsicles, and her CareBear babies. I don't even want to report how many popsicles she had today.

So, if you're still with me, that pretty much sums up the latter half of June (phew!) and brings us into July. My hope is to turn my July into a "few commitments, spend as much time with the family as possible, get my life organized, cook good food, and relax" kind of month. I think it's possible and so far I'm doing okay.