Chillin'

I can't tell you how many times I have heard the phrase "You don't need air conditioning in Oregon." M has said this so many times over the years that I have lost count. The thing is, is that she is not the only one I've heard that from. I think that sometime in the 80s or 90s there was some sort of brainwashing campaign that went on in Oregon that made people think this was true. Of course the concept is totally ridiculous and is frankly a load of horse crap. Yet for some reason, it took me all these years to convince M that you do in fact need AC in Oregon. Finally, a few weeks ago we started to solicits bids. We chose a company (which just so happened to be based in the town M grew up in) and set a date for the install. Yesterday, the crew showed up and a few hours later, the temperature reached a comfortable level that we've been enjoying ever since. This was just in time for the 90 to 100 degree heat that we are supposed to have for the next number of days. Even Jr has been enjoying it so much that he tells everyone who comes to the house and shows them the unit. You need AC in Oregon and whoever tells you otherwise, is not in touch with reality.

The Day of Rest

Lest I ever forget what my life was like with two small children.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

3:00 AM After a lengthy discussion, G and I retire to bed.

7:00 AM G gets up and goes to Bishopric Meeting.

7:45 AM M gets up and showers -- gets both kids up and ready (but breakfast is eaten on the fly).

8:55 AM M drops Buddy off at Nicki's house.

9:00 AM M arrives at Ward Council Meeting with Pee-Wee, a bunch of paperwork, and baby gear (which annoys G who is also in attendance at the meeting doing both clerk and ex secretary duties).

9:05 AM M begins feeding Pee-Wee breakfast while participating in meeting.

10:15 AM Meeting ends, so M goes to pick Buddy up and G begins some sort of "membership audit" at the church.

10:45 AM M arrives at home and puts Buddy in the bath. Pee-Wee is tired and needs a nap, so we forgo Sunday bath for him.

11:00 AM M returns a few phone calls including from the primary chorister who is too sick to come (but he found his own replacements!) and in the meantime, Buddy washes himself and gets out of the bath by himself.

11:30 AM G gets home from his meeting and starts making lunch.

11:35 AM M eats a quick lunch and starts defrosting chicken for dinner.

11:50 AM M leaves for a meeting with the bishop to discuss the chaos in Primary/come up with a plan to get high-quality teachers called.

12:30 PM M and the bishop come up with the brilliant idea of calling a high-energy man to "assist the presidency." He won't be in the presidency because the handbook doesn't allow that, but he'll be a Sergeant At Arms, of sorts. His job will be to guard the door, chase kids around the church, check on men teachers without assistants, and fill in wherever necessary. And I tell the bishop that I'd like to call a new woman to be one of the sunbeams teachers. It's a very tough class, but she was the primary president in her last ward and has five primary-aged children. I swear I prayed her into our ward. Bishop agrees even though most other auxiliaries have called dibs on her already and she's only been in the ward 7 days.

1:10 PM M arrives home and starts preparing the chicken for dinner and reminds G that Pee-Wee needed to eat an hour ago, and finishes gathering supplies for church which was a task that began 24 hours ago.

1:20 PM M receives a phone call from a primary teacher who's husband is sick. She needs to "hold down the fort at home," so neither will be there.

1:21 PM M brainstorms who could possibly fill in especially when half the primary is already staffed by hard-to-come by subs. A few phone calls are made but no one answers the phone (probably because they are driving to church or because they have caller ID).

1:24 PM G offers to teach the class and after a few text messages are exchanged, he gets the executive secretary (who just returned home a few minutes earlier from being out of town) to assist.

1:30 PM G gets Buddy corralled and dressed, prints the lesson, and loads the car.

1:45 PM We start driving to church -- approximately 10 minutes later than we usually leave.

2:00 PM Sacrament meeting is pretty uneventful except we had to use a Tide-to-Go pen on Buddy's shirt and G's pants because they both got soiled in the 10 minutes it took to get to church. Oh, and we had to take Pee-Wee out for the first time ever because he wouldn't be quiet.

3:00 PM I go to get set up for Sharing Time.

3:10 PM All four of my presidency members are there! And there is much less chaos because we've tweaked a few procedures. (Unlike last week when one lady was out of town and another one who had a baby 2 weeks earlier had to leave church midway through because she was getting a migraine from being up all night, recovering, and trying to come to church to help me out.) Class Presentation by my friend Nicki goes very well and my Sharing Time in senior primary goes well too. The best it's gone for me so far!

5:30 PM Finally leave church after cleaning up and talking to about 3/4 of the ward about primary-related matters.

5:45 PM Resume dinner that was started this morning and G reads an Ensign article for family scripture study.

7:00 PM Finally eat dinner.

7:30 PM Have FHE on earning money/saving money/and tithing. We've been meaning to do this for the past two weeks -- ever since Buddy earned $3.00 pulling weeds. Buddy is ecstatic to have earned his first money ever and finally learned how to pay tithing.

8:00 PM Start cleaning up dinner. While talking to a friend on the phone, look around and realize Buddy is nowhere to be found.

8:20 PM G informs me that Buddy was extremely hyper because he was exhausted, so he put him to bed early.

8:21 PM I sigh a huge sigh of relief because Buddy was testing my patience as well.

8:25 PM Field another primary phone call.

8:30 PM Good friend drops her two kids off at our house so she can go to a meeting.

9:00 PM Kids watch Christmas movie while G feeds Pee-Wee cereal and calls his parents and sisters, and takes out the trash. And I start an email to Pee-Wee's birth mom.

10:15 PM Finally finish the email and by now G is just finishing his evening tasks. Oh, and I finish the last of about 6 loads of laundry I've been washing all day. They are yet to be folded, though.

10:20 PM Friend comes to get her boys. They were so good I hardly even knew they were here. I wish Buddy had been like that today.

10:30 PM Finally collapse on the couch to feed Pee-Wee and get him to bed. While watching The Mole. (It's not nearly as wonderful as it was when An.der.son Cooper was the host.)

11:15 PM Start getting ready for bed while watching the news.

Midnight Lay down to go to sleep.

And to think, this Sunday was actually much, much less stressful than last, when I had to chase a child all around the church while I was supposed to be teaching sharing time AND when I had to clean up after a sunbeam puked in his classroom, AND when it was Father's Day so I let G have a nap while I prepared a big salad for dinner and got everyone ready for church by myself.

And this was after a long, long week where we both had something going on every day and every evening. And I had been in charge of and spoken at an adoption conference all day Saturday and G had spoken at a work forum that his firm hosted Saturday as well. I've never been so glad to see the light of Monday. A new week. Phew.

~He's Ours~

We absolutely adore our little baby. He has added so much joy to our family. I swear, there has never been more loved children born to a family -- ever. Apparently everyone feels that way about their children, but we are so happy these boys are ours.
Buddy adores his baby brother and the feeling is definitely mutual. Pee-Wee stares at Buddy, smiles at him, laughs at him, and rolls toward him more often than I could ever have expected. I didn't know infants were capable of loving that much.

And quite frankly, I've surprised myself. I knew I wanted him and I knew I loved him even before he was born, but wow. I can't imagine my life without him. I think about how lonely for him I was a year ago and now I can understand why those feelings were so strong. He is my boy and I want him to be my little sweetheart forever. Too bad his time as an infant is going by quickly and soon he won't want to snuggle with me as much as he does now. And soon he won't want me to call him my little sweetheart. But I have a feeling we'll always have a strong mother-son bond.

We worked hard to get his adoption finalized quickly for a variety of reasons, and thankfully it was done after only 4.5 months! And he was finally sealed to us on May 10th. We had the great blessing of having all of our parents, siblings and all but one spouse there for the great occasion. And we had wonderful friends support us too. He was blessed on Mother's Day, which added a lot of happy emotions to an already emotional day for me. It was a very memorable weekend and I am so happy that Buddy was old enough to take an interest in the sealing ceremony. He has asked lots of questions since and I hope this will be an experience from his life that he holds close to his heart forever. Knowing how much he loves his brother, I bet he will.
I had a dream about a week before the sealing that Pee-Wee was sick with RSV during the sealing, and wouldn't you know he was. He was sick as a dog, but the show had to go on, even if he was a little fussy and very tired all weekend. He wasn't himself at all and in fact, he cried the entire ceremony, but oh well. He buried his face in my shoulder and just nuzzled me as soon as it was over and I picked him up. His little show of love made the experience even more tender.

My Sealing Day

Portland, Oregon Temple

May 10, 2008

The Rest -- Part Two

And the long-anticipated finish to the story!

Buddy trying to climb the trees like the Samoans (you should have seen him practicing on our door frame this morning...)

Pee-Wee hanging out in his home-away-from home

Saturday we finally made it to the waterfall at Waimea. We had tried for days to go, but for whatever reason, they are really paranoid there and won't let you swim if the waterfall is too big or too small. (No problem that we've all been swimming in the ocean all week, but what do I know about water safety). Anyway, the walk to the falls is spectacular. It's a lush botanical garden and it was just amazing to see most of our houseplants growing in their native soils. We got to the falls and swam around for awhile. The water was deep and relatively cold (maybe that's why they're so careful??), so we only swam for about an hour. Still, I had the idea that you just can't go to Hawaii without swimming to a waterfall, so I'm so glad we went!

The Family at Waimea Falls

G swimming out to the falls

After Waimea, we went to Pupukea and hung out on the beach and did some more snorkeling. We were searching high and low for sea turtles so Buddy could say he saw one, but the surf was rough and we didn't swim out far enough. Although lots of people told us you an always see them from the sand, we weren't that lucky. Still, we saw some amazing fish. I am a little claustrophobic, but the awe of seeing life under the water trumps my fear of suffocation. So fun! While I was in the water, I kept thinking, "If I die, at least I'll die watching the sea life in Hawaii..." When we were done lounging, we went back to Haleiwa for more $1 shave ice. And we finished off the day in Waikiki for a late dinner at the hotel. G and Buddy had been looking forward to that meal all week: all-you-can eat crab legs and prime rib. Buddy's meal was free and I have a feeling they changed that policy after we left.

Enjoying $1 shave ice!

Pigging out royally!

Sunday we got up early and went down to the beach in Waikiki to watch a surfing competition. G was sorely disappointed he wasn't participating. But a local lady saw how enthusiastic Buddy was about the water and offered to give him a ride on her surfboard. Then after we showered, we sadly checked out of our home-away-from home and went back to the swap meet where we loaded up on dried fruit, cheap shirts and shorts, and a coral necklace for me. We had lunch, then took our science museum pass and got in free at the museum in Honolulu, which wasn't nearly as impressive as they made themselves out to be in their advertising.

Lucky boy got to borrow a surfboard!

Our last day in Waikiki. So sad!

After the museum we went back to Waikiki and spent the evening people-watching along the beach. Our flight wasn't until almost 11:00PM, so we walked around, drank slurpees, and watched a lot of interesting people. I decided that if I ever find myself homeless, I'd love to be homeless in Waikiki.

Precious Boys

I should add that we spent every evening walking around Waikiki. We'd browse the shops, walk out to the pier, people watch, and eat at yummy restaurants. And I can hardly believe that we spent over a week in a nice hotel and we never once used the pool.

And to think that we ended our vacation in-style waiting in line forever at the Honolulu airport, with a mix-up about going through the agriculture screening, and forgetting that G's beloved leathe.rman was stowed in our carry-on and having to hand that over to security (what do they do with all that stuff?), not to mention a red-eye home in very cramped seats. Oh, and listening to the annoying nasally flight attendant shout "Coffee? Coffee? Coffee? Coffee? Coffee? Coffee?" As she wandered row-by-row up the isle. I still can't figure out why anyone was trying to STAY awake. Why would anyone want coffee at 3:00 AM? On a flight? When there are enough annoying sounds to keep you awake for days?????

The Rest of Hawaii - Part One

I'm using my oft-repeated "I haven't had time" excuse...

Even though we've now been home for a few weeks, I have to post all this so you can see how attractive our family is -- and so I can document the first ever G&M family vacation in it's absolute entirety.

Monday we went to Hanauma Bay and loved it so much we tried to go back later in the week. Trouble is, it's a really popular beach, so the second time we went, the parking lot was full. It's a well-known beach for snorkeling and spotting sea turtles, although we didn't swim out far enough to see any. We took a short but steep walk down to the beach and enjoyed a full day in the sun. We took turns snorkeling and it was on this day that Buddy became very proficient at watching sea life.

Practicing the starfish float

Snorkeling

Cute little beach bum

Check out that view! If you look closely (not at us), you can see all that coral under the water. Which is why it's such a great place to snorkel.

Tuesday we did the PCC, which you've already read all about.

Wednesday we went back up to the north shore. We drove all around the temple grounds and BYU-Hawaii, and that's when we determined we *have* to move to Hawaii. We intended to go to a waterfall, but as we drove into the parking lot it started to rain. And it rained and rained and rained that day. We had a lot of fun, though. We ended up spending the day driving all over the north shore. We stopped briefly at the Dole Plantation. And we spent the afternoon wandering around Haleiwa, "Surf Town, USA." We browsed some surf shops, met an artist who introduced us to his studio and several of his eight kids, and discovered the BEST shave ice -- and it was only a dollar! We were soaked by the end of our walk, but that didn't stop us from having dinner at a popular restaurant. I had read a review about it earlier that said "sandy feet welcome," so I figured that soaked hair and drenched clothes would be fine too! It was a really fun and memorable impromptu day. We must be Oregonians if we can have that much fun in the rain! (Except we never got our our camera, which is really a shame because we must have been a sight).

Thursday we became convinced that Buddy is an outdoorsman in the making. Look out Boy Scouts of America! We did a hike up through the crater of Diamond Head volcano. The weather was cool (70's) and extremely humid, but still it was perfect hiking weather. The hike was only 1.6 miles, but it was straight uphill. I had Pee-Wee strapped to my front in a baby carrier, so I was really happy about all the squats and lunges I've been doing in my weights class. I figured G would be able to help Buddy if he got tired. But I quickly remembered that Buddy doesn't get tired. He scrambled up the trail like it was nothing. Ever since we've been home he's been asking me why we don't have any volcanoes in Oregon to climb. He can hardly wait to take another hike, but I haven't had the heart to tell him we actually have several hills around here. I'm not in the mood for the constant begging I'm sure he'll do if only he knew. The view of Waikiki and the ocean once at the top was gorgeous and that morning ended up being one of my favorites.

The view of Waikiki at the top of the crater

One of the few family shots we got, unfortunately. Don't feel sorry for Pee-Wee. He might look uncomfortable, but he didn't just climb up the inside of a volcano in 100% humidity with a child strapped to his front.

He seemed to enjoy the hike too! Enjoyed it so well, he fell asleep on the way down.

That afternoon we went to the beach down at the base of the volcano. The waves were really rough that day, and Buddy and G played in the water until they had sand in every nook and cranny. I think the pictures of that afternoon are priceless and show how much joy Buddy got from playing in the ocean. There was hardly anyone on the beach since apparently 70-something is too cold for most people -- but it was great for us!

These pictures are my favorites!

The waves were so strong they knocked both of them down. They kept this game up for an hour or so!

Little baby was a champ to travel with! Happy, happy baby.

Friday we set out to go to Hanauma Bay again, but that didn't work out because it was too crowded. Instead we just drove along the coast until we found another fun spot to hang out. We stumbled upon Kailua Bay, apparently one of the best swimming beaches in the USA. It was another cool-ish day, so the water felt especially warm. We swam for hours, until the tide got so high, it soaked all of our towels and gear we packed. Just as we were leaving, Pee-Wee had his first ever blowout! How exciting to have poop all over creation when you're at the beach and have no way to clean everyone up (and all your gear is soaked from the ocean).

Buddy and mommy enjoying a swim

My favorite boys

Check out the color of that water. This is why this beach is such a popular swimming spot -- calm and beautiful.

And stay tuned for more... With any luck maybe I'll get the rest posted before we go again next time.