Mo's New Do!

He's a handsome little guy, that's for sure. On Wednesday, it was haircut day. First Dana got his hair cut nice and short. Then it was Mo's turn. I was just going to trim the sides and back up, but figured with the heat why not go all the way. So I gave him a buzz cut. It's short all over, looks really cute when I add some got2be pomade to it, and is very blonde! It's always had a reddish color to it (although it is sometimes hard to tell in the photos), but it is red no more. Pictures to come.

Kaia of course is not one to miss out on all the fun. So she had her bangs cut. It tooks some insistence on my part to convince her that I should not, and would not use the clippers on her hair. She settled for scissors and a comb.

Now the whole house has great hair, but me. I have yet to figure out how to cut my own hair, so the shaggy look will have to do for now.

Kaia Turns 4!

Kaia's 4th birthday has come and gone. She recieved everything she's "always wanted," whether she had ever seen the item before or not. The Princess got a princess crown to wear with her princess nightgown, Aquasaurs (remember sea monkeys?), a new hat and sunglasses, a new bathing suit for our trip to Silverware, a bubble bucket and lots of markers and things to color on. We followed the birthday with a crab dinner, her favorite. She slept hard that night, and I had quite the time waking her for church Sunday morning (where she wore her new dress and her crown).

Sunday was not a day of rest at our house though. When we got home the guys (Dana, Jeff and Charlie) were busy using the ditch witch to trench the backyard. One of the things this house needs to make it sellable is a sprinkler system that actually waters the yard. So Sunday was spent putting in the new pipe. I was more the official gopher. I made lunch, took water, powerade and beer out, watched Mo to keep him out of what he shouldn't be in (like a trench) and watching Charlie and Kaia ride the dump truck and push bike down the driveway. I did help with filling in the trenches, and still have a ton of rocks to pull out of the yard so grass can grow again. Despite the 3 or more popsicles Kaia consumed she crashed even harder Sunday with all that play. It was a great weekend, even if we did go to work (and Grammy's) exhausted on Monday.

Days Go By...

Once again time has completely escaped me. I think it does for most of us. Unless you are in that 2 week wait before you can find out if your pregnant, or in the last 4 weeks of pregnancy time just flies by.

We went camping for Fathers' Day and on the way home I put in a Matchbox Twenty CD. Now it feels like just a few years ago that I first heard that cd. But I realized that it was Fourth of July weekend in 97. 10 years ago! How did that happen? We were camped right across from a highschool friend. We had reconnected at our 10 year reunion (last year) and our kids had such a great time we swore we would schedule a playdate for them. Well we never did, but the kids found each other and had a blast the entire time.

Kaia will be 4 (going on 14) Saturday. She will start preschool in September, and school a year after that. Right now that seems so far off, as I can't wait for her to start school. But I know it will sneak up on me and I won't believe she's old enough.

A big event we are looking forward to right now is (if you ask Kaia) we are going to "Silverware" in August. She can't wait to go to Silverwood and although Mo is going to be too small for many of the rides, I know he will have a blast at Boulder Beach. Mo is still teething, all 4 molars and now 2 more. That time honestly can't go by fast enough! He was up screaming for at least a half hour last night, in what I believe was teething pain. Luckily we are both getting experienced at sleeping on the couch, and Kaia even woke up and joined us last night. 3 beds in the house, 4 people, and Dana is the only one in a bed at night unless you count the cats.

We are making great strides in our efforts to clean-up and make the outside of our house presentable. Our backyard is clean and clear, as much as can be with a dog that drags out and chews anything he can find. The front garden is full of weeds, and no matter how much digging and preening I do, they keep coming back. At least the lilies, day lilies, and violets are doing well and come back too. We still have 11 tomato plants and 4 jalapeno plants all with fruit. This is a record for me, and I cannot wait to enjoy them. It will be soon enough though, and then I will be overwhelmed with all the ripe ones. Luckily we have family, co-workers and church family that will be happy to help eat what doesn't fit in the freezer.

Once again time has escaped me and there are more pressing things to be done. I hope it won't pass by before I can post again.

Success!

Today Mo made his first sign all by himself, with no prompting!!!!!!! Dana had finished his cereal that Mo was eating with him. He told him "all gone buddy," and Mo got upset. I looked at him as I started to take the bowl away and he brought his hands together, one under the other. I thought maybe he was making the "more" sign, so I asked him if he wanted more. Sure enough he did the sign again and perfectly this time. He kept doing the sign until I brought him more cereal! I'm so proud of him. I gave him a ton of praise and smooches for being a big boy and using his sign.

The Newest Family Member

We have a new member to our family. He arrived on June 2nd. He is adorable, big and has bad breath. His name is Sampson and he's an Alaskan Malamute.

We did some serious scrambling last week to prepare for the new arrival. But on Saturday we had our fence finished and when Dana finished work we were on our way to Hermiston to get him. We picked him up at the shelter in Hermiston that was filled with cats, kittens, german shepherds (??), one ferret and an oppossum. He was immediately happy to have met us and played with the kids on the lawn there for a bit.

We drove home in the Tahoe with all the windows down on a 100 degree day because the AC had gone out. It was probably a good thing, though, as Sampson smelled terrible. We arrived home just before 7 p.m. Kaia and Dana bathed Sampson while Mo and I took the Tahoe back. By 8 we were at Jeff and Tammy's for dinner with kids and dog in tow. Sampson took Bear's barking at him in stride (Bear is a chihuahua/terrier mix). Chico their other dog was scared to death and hid. So we ate dinner and relaxed while the kids played and Sampson slept on the ground.

Sunday is when we learned that Sampson is an escape artist. When he knew that Dana was out front and he had been left in the back yard, he promptly climbed right over the fence. Monday night we put up an electric pet fence all the way around the yard. We walked out front to test it. We heard him get zapped once. We waited for him to try the other side. But neither of us saw him, so I walked back to the gate I was guarding, while Dana continued to watch the other side. I couldn't see Sampson anywhere. I told Dana this and he began walking toward me. That's when Sampson came waltzing out of the garage. We put him out and watched again. He was going through a gap that put him up on the neighbors retaining wall. Then climbing down, going through their yard, and back up into ours. (He had gone in the garage while I was at the gate, and Dana was watching the other gate) Dana ran more electric fence. Sampson got out. Dana ran even more electric fence at this gap. Sampson got out. We put a piece of lattice over the gap that is covered in electric fence. Sampson doesn't escape anymore!

Despite the hassle we are enjoying him. Kaia goes out to play with him every evening. With the exception of Monday when we were busy putting up the fence we've all gone for an evening walk. So life is busy, but good at our house.

On the tooth side: Mo still doesn't have his molars in, but he is sleeping at night. Thank you Lord!