Friday, December 28, 2007

Christmas in Pictures

Christmas at Home

I love my tree!

Ben works nights so Santa brought him a daytime sleepy mask, here he thinks it's his Stevie Wonder mask
Guess who's got what :o)

To the Johnson's:

(L-R) Grandpa Johnny, Rich, Ben, Christina, Vicki, Nana Bev & Grandpa Chuck

Cute Ben

My Father- in- Law and his fancy ribbon tie


To Pink Gramma's:

The boys in my life: Dad, Nick and Ben Nick likes his new Nautica gear

Kaatz House

Megan starting off Guitar Hero...Then Chris

...Then Ben

... And Auntie Jill
Ben likes his gift from Nick

Finally to the Keen's:

The boys play for their gifts


The girls' turn

Papa and his new DVD

Smile Jake

Thursday, December 27, 2007

William is still doing great!


His Daddy calls him the 'Best Present Ever'!

Busy Christmas!

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone! We were quite busy - but very fortunate that Ben's weekend fell right over Christmas this year! (Which is nice because looking at the schedule for 2008 - he works EVERY holiday, both our birthday's and our anniversary)

Christmas Eve:
6:15 am - Ben got home from work and straight to bed
11:15 am - Impromptu lunch with Aunt Cindy at Panera Bread
1:00 pm - Our own little Christmas - just the 2 of us
4:00 pm - Church - followed by dinner with the (Johnson)
8:00 pm - Presents at Pink Gramma's (Kaatz)
10:00 pm - Continued celebration at Dad & Chris' (Kaatz/Baumgartner)
Christmas Day:
2:00 am - Pry Ben & Nick away from Nick's new XBox 360 so we could go home
3:15 am - Finally to bed
7:00 am - Drag myself out of bed
8:00am - Back to the Johnson's house for my Father-in-Law's homemade cinnamon rolls
11:00am - Home to make a veggie tray to take to Aunt Cindy's
12:00 pm - Cat nap :o)
2:15 pm - Aunt Cindy's house (Hart)

See... BUSY! Pictures to come :o)

Monday, December 24, 2007

William Update!



Friday I saw a very tired Harold at work for a few moments when he stopped in to tie up some loose ends. He was in better spirits as they finally saw "The Wizard of Oz" AKA: the electro-cardiologist. They had been hearing about this guy since Will's diagnosis but he'd been so busy that he didn't lay eyes on Will until Friday morning. This was a very uplifting meeting for Harold and Kara. The doctor said that the reason they don't want to even consider doing the procedure to zap the second signal is primarily because, percentage wise, the majority of infants diagnosed - will grow out of it by their first birthday. (We're totally praying for this right now!!)
As of Friday afternoon, Will had been responding to the new dosage of medications and was holding steady. I woke up this morning to find this email from Harold:  

We'll be able to celebrate Christmas at home! William has responded well to the increased dosage of medication, so we were released from Children's on Saturday afternoon. It's been great to pick him up without all of the wires attached to him, and we rested well last night without everyone coming in to check on him throughout the night.

Thank you very much for all of the thoughts and prayers - I know that's why William responded well to the meds and we were released in time for Christmas! We very much appreciate it...

Harold, Kara and William

Will's still not out of the woods and this isn't close to being 'figured' out yet, but we know that God is faithful and we'll continue to pray for their family and for the doctors, that they may keep a better grasp on how (much) to increase Will's meds and when!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Please pray for baby William






One of my co-workers, Harold, and his wife Kara have a 4 week old little boy named William. At William's 2 week check up, they discovered that his heartbeat was 290 (normal is 120-140). They rushed his via ambulance to Children's where they diagnosed him with Wolfe Parkinson White (WPW). A normal heart has one path for the brain to send a signal telling the heart to beat. People affected by WPW have two paths telling their hearts to beat, so their hearts beat twice as fast as they should. Doctors began medicating Will, and were able to silence the second signal to allow his heart to beat normally. After a few days of monitoring, Harold and Kara took him home where he did wonderful and gained almost 2 lbs. The original plan was for Will to get his medicine every 8 hours for at least a year, where they would then run another panel to see if he'd outgrown the signal - if not, this would repeat every year or so until he turned 12-13 and they would do a procedure to zap the second signal. He would have regular visits to adjust the medication as he grew. This syndrome is not terribly uncommon, but IS rather rare in such a young baby. (Affects roughly 3% of the population - 70% of the affected are males, and mostly seen in ages 11-50)
Monday, Will had an appointment to up his meds to accommodate the extra 2 lbs, he did really well with the new dose until early Tuesday morning when Kara took the stethoscope to him (they do this every couple hours to monitor him) and noticed that his heart rate was back up. Will was taken again by ambulance to Children's where they just assumed they didn't increase his dosage enough. Unfortunately Will has had 2 episodes in the last 24 hours and is on a much higher dose of his medicine than they ever intended him being on this soon. Assuming he starts responding to this high dosage, he's got another 3 days minimum at Children's…

William is their first baby , and as you can imagine Harold and Kara are worried and exhausted with all of this…
I spoke with Harold today to get specifics for prayer and he said that they really need Will to start responding to the meds and keep him stable on them until he's older. The doctors do not want to do this procedure on him any time soon! Pray for comfort for him and Kara - so that they might be able to rest some, as well as wisdom for the doctors.

Thankfully William is a pretty content, laid back baby. Whether his heart is beating normally or accelerated - his temperament stays the same and displays no signs of pain or discomfort.

Harold asked me to thank all of you in advance for keeping them in your prayers! I'll update with more when I have it.

Thank you!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Ben & My Boss

Thankfully someone at work thought to have a camera at the Christmas Party, unfortunatley the only picture they caught was the one were Ben jumped onto my boss's lap!
(Don't fret... I still have a job, and no complaints or lawsuits have been filed with county against Ben)

So here it is: Steve, Ben and a 'Bumbling Waitress' that entertained us on that incredible evening...


She's lovin' a little too much on my husband... but then again, Ben's a little too close to my boss too.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Colds, anniversary's, birthday's, board meetings... and one great Christmas party!

*Updated with pictures*

So we're finally starting to feel better... Ben's started as a cold and stayed an icky cold for more than a week, I on the other hand had a cold for a week with a sinus and ear infection, just for good measure. Thank goodness for OTC's and antibiotics! Unfortunately with Ben, once he gets a cough, it takes months to get rid of it. In boot camp a few years ago he came down with a case of pneumonia - and for fear of getting held back, or in trouble - it was awful before he was spied on the grounds by the Doc and ordered to sick call. He had quite a bit of lung damage due to the ordeal and because of that he can have a cough from a minor cold last him a good 6 months before it's completely gone. I'm thankful that the lungs heal over time, the last cough he had only trailed out 4ish months... so there's still hope for a healty guy! :o)

Our anniversary fell on Ben's Monday - which means he leaves an hour earlier for roll call at the precinct, which didn't give us a lot of time to do anything by the time I got home... So we 'celebrated' the day prior with a stop at the furniture store, where we've been eyeing a bookcase, and dinner at the Olive Garden. We got home just in time to curl up on the couch with our blankets, tissue, and water bottles to fall asleep from the PM cold meds! I know, I know - we're hopeless romantics... Alright, maybe we're just hopeless.
Ben did surprise me with a bouquet of my favorites: Tulips!

Tuesday my aunt came over to help me make it Christmas at our house, while my uncle was helping me figure out what and how to solve my curtain rod issue in this new place... Funny sized and placed windows are just one of my problems.

Saturday was my company's Holiday Party down at the Waterfront Seafood Grill on Pier 70. It was beautiful down there! ... And COLD! I was responsible for finding the 'entertainment' for the evening . You wouldn't think that 18 CPA's and 9 bookkeeping, audit, and supporting professionals would be that much fun... but you haven't met us! I work with an awesome group of people! Short of the 17 mile=90 minutes (each way) commute - I work at a great place! I found a Seattle company that hires out talent/actors. We had a 'roving' magician come that was totally awesome! I thought it would be a bit cheesy, but this guy rocked! And as a surprise to all but 2 other staff members, I hired actors to play Bumbling Waiters... they were hilarious! Talk about a sore thumb though, this place was the nicest I'd ever been to, and these actors were spilling water and being loud, and then ended up sitting on people's laps... (prompting my husband to jump onto my boss's lap) it was great! One guy was posing as a 'manager' and ended up pulling one of the waiters out by his coat collar. Ben (who was seated right next to the managing partner of the firm) was almost up and trying to break it up. This waiter was actually pretty convincing. He was an older gentleman, with a great face... He played the "I'm old and going senile" role quite well. When he got yanked out and was getting yelled at by he manager, is when people got a bit nervous. The walls at the restaurant were glass so you could see how animated they were. Steve (big boss) and Ben started to discuss the legitimacy of the situation and both were fairly convinced this old guy was getting canned. Ben said, "From a guy who mostly has to scold and yell at people for a living - this looks pretty authentic!" It started to fall apart when they came back in and started this love triangle thing with the 3rd actor/waitress. Once the whole Father/Daughter/boyfriend and butt prints in the asparagus came out they immediately announced themselves as actors and broke into a round of Jingle Bells.
Steve handed out envelopes with a bunch of gift cards and announced the new perks for company: Anywhere, anytime, any event that ANY employee decides they've had maybe one drink too many or doesn't feel safe driving home - call a cab and bring him the bill! Now coming at a group of decent professional people, this shouldn't cost them too much - but is just another way they like to take care of us.

Sunday was Mom and Grammy's birthday party, where the family finally had a Thanksgiving meal together (minus Aunt Debbie who's not feeling well and lives in Tim-buk-to... near Port Townsend) It was yummy!
Ben got himself into a heap when he became president of or new HOA, so we drug our feet over to the neighbors for a board of directors meet and greet type deal. We were hoping to use our colds to get us out of there early... but ended up having a really good time, and stayed chatting until (too) late!

Monday was an ear infection=no equilibrium day for me! After leaving hand prints all over the hall and a couple near misses with the floor - I crawled my dizzy self back to bed and snuggled back into my boy for the day.

I of course, left my camera in the car - which valet then hid from us Saturday night, so I have no pictures :o( Ben looked so cute though! New shirt and tie - he was mighty handsome! I sported a new, much shorter, do that will significantly decrease our shampoo bill :o)
The pictures I leave you with are of my pretty tulips from my husband! ...And one of our Christmas tree. It was in a corner last year and didn't look quite so bare, this year I'm searching for more decor!




*I know Christmas is not about Santa! However, I love my Santa decorations! If we can all have themed birthday celebrations... So can Jesus. This year Jesus' birthday party is of the Santa theme... and it's mainly just the guy's clothes as you can see from the last picture :o)*


Sunday, December 9, 2007

The best first dance:

Jake and Heather introduced this wedding video to me this evening at Mom and Grammy's birthday party... It's awesome!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

3 Years ago today...

... I married my best friend.



Monday, December 3, 2007

"Our Week in Pictures"


It's been crazy since Thanksgiving so I haven't been much for updating but, I did take pictures!!! Here's the last week or so:


  • Thanksgiving at Dad's
  • Nick stayed over
  • Finally got our new bedroom furniture (special thanks to Jared for helping Ben move it in! And Nick for lugging all the boxes to the recycle bin!)
  • Spent an evening with Jared and Emily using Dad and Chris' house while they were away for their anniversary (Pool table, Foosball, PS2, pizza, beer for the boys, root beer for us girls... and a game of 'cups' that we found in the game wall)
  • A long, very busy week at work
  • A few nights with Aubrey and the kids (and the Miller's!)
  • Ben's Marine Corps Toys for Tots collection (and SNOW!)
  • The Seahawks game from the couch in our jammies
  • A Sonics game complete with a fire in the JumboTron - And a loss - SURPRISE!

Now it's back to work with a cold :(

Dad and Ben


Cute Nick

Guitar Hero's: Ben & Jared
(Don't worry Nick - Ben was very good to your REAL guitar!)



Rock on...

... and on!!


Newlyweds

... And 'Cups'

Cute Kids!!

Fresh from collecting toys!




Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Evening with the Stewart's

Saturday night Mike, Carma and little Nykita came over for dinner. The girls ordered Azteca... and then made the boys go get it! Unfortunately Nykita wasn't feeling too hot and the evening ended a little early... but we still enjoyed their company and are so sad to see them move next week!
Sweet Face...

She had a few happy moments!

I tried for real smiles... but Ben's a punk!

Daddy kisses!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Happy Birthday/Vetrans Day!!!

Ben had Friday and Saturday off this weekend!!! Friday night Ben met me at work and we went into Seattle and had dinner where we ate for our first date: Dicks in the U district. :) We then jumped back into traffic and went to the Sonics game (tickets courtesy of a partner at the firm I work for) It was actually a good game at the end, though we lost by a basket to Utah.
Yesterday morning I had my massage and then we took off for Tacoma, with a quick stop at the Super Mall first! Yesterday was the Marine Corps 232nd birthday and Duke's Chowder House was gracious enough to give a free entree to all the Birthday Marine's with ID. So we had lunch on the Tacoma waterfront and then hit the antique malls downtown... We wrapped up the evening quite early and just lounged on the couch the rest of the night.
... And the reason I'm bad at this: I again, forgot to grab my camera!!! I realized this just past Federal Way as I was admiring the Mountain and loving what a nice day it turned out to be! UGH!

Ben was supposed to have tonight off but wants some new toy for his guns so he took an overtime shift... Gun 'toys' come from overtime :) Not that I'm stingy, but if they came from the bank account, he'd have way too many! (As opposed to the just 'too many" now) Last Saturday we found out the the training class County was sending him to last Sunday was cancelled and rescheduled for today... So Ben's essentially working all day, on his holiday too no less... "Happy Vetran's Day honey, thank you for your service!!... Now go to work for 17 hours!" :) Don't feel too bad for him, before leaving he showed me what toys are going to be on there way soon, so he's pretty excited.

He's in Kirkland tonight so hopefully they all behave up there or they'll be sorry! Tired Ben = Grumpy Ben... The boy doesn't really like giving tickets as much as he like catching people... It's like me fishing - I like to catch them, but I really like to let them go more than keeping it and cleaning it, and then figuring out how to cook it, or if it's really edible??? I'm not a seafood person, can you tell?
For him it's all in the hunt! Though there are plenty of fools out there who just love to talk their way INTO a ticket... He has fun with them too :)

Sorry...

So the reason there aren't any pictures up from the ball is because i just don't have any!
I forgot my camera and then it turned out that no one from Ben's unit stayed for dinner, they all headed out right after the ceremony. Last year Ben's unit started to 'piggy-back' onto the other unit's ball so things aren't quite the same. We missed last year's ball becasue Ben was training for County, or we would have realized that paying for dinner was just a waste. The other unit didn't even acknowledge that anyone else was there. They had a guest speaker and gave him a gift and it was just from them... This other unit really bugs me anyway: They all have 'red tags', actual peices of red tape on their uniforms and tht signifies that they joined the Marine Corps ONLY if they never see combat! WHAT?!? I have to say that I was far from thrilled that Ben went to Iraq, but I am incredibly proud of him... and his courage to do so. Why join? I know that not everyone can go out into the field, but to join in complete refusal is just kind of cowardly to me.

And due to the fact that this unit's never been anywhere - some only have a few medals and ribbons, so they photographer they brought in was taking the pictures from far away... Ben's uniform is far more impressive with 6 medals and a ribbon to show off - and you can hardly see them with how far back the picture was, not to mention poor quality photography. I think what will end up happenning is that soon we'll stage another photo op.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Left to do...

It just occured to me that I'm not ready for the ball! When did I become so bad at being a girl!?!

Things to do before Saturday afternoon:
  • Figure out what to do with my hair! (The last cut I had was really bad, so this probably means that I'll need to go to a salon and see if they can fix it)
  • Get a pedicure
  • Find nylons
  • Wax/pluck my eyebrows
  • Find a clutch/purse to go with my dress

Not to mention:

  • Pester Ben into going to get his hair cut. An absolute must before tomorrow night as the sides are too long for a Marine to show up at drill with... And make the man part again this month with his side burns. Every month he has this sad week without the side burns :)
  • Pluck or convince him to wax the two, thankfully blonde, caterpillars above his eyes - They're about to merge.
  • Iron his Dress Blues
  • Find his shiny dress uniform shoes since the move (and the white gloves)
And still 'manage' to have fun tomorrow night with Mike, Carma and baby Nykita at the new South Center Cheesecake Factory. I'm thinking this will be the easiest part of my to do's!!!

In the meantime (bored at work), I'll just sit and enjoy the cute picture sent to me from Moses Lake:



Monday, October 29, 2007

Ball

This weekend is the Marine Corps Ball. I spent 4 hours in the mall yesterday trying to find a dress that didn't look like a high school prom dress... It was tough! I wore the wrong shoes for shopping and my feet were killing me by the time I found the dress. I'd actually seen this same dress at 2 other places (with very minimal difference) but I have such a hard time spending a ton of money on a dress that I'll be in for only a few hours... I did this with my wedding dress too. Gotta love off the rack bridal sales!
This however is not a wedding, it's the annual ball. I used to get really excited to get dressed up with Ben and go to the ball, but it's totally not his thing. He's usually a bit of a grump for these: It's mandatory! No if's, or and's - your 'but(t)' better be there - which if you've met my husband you know he surprisingly for his occupations doesn't love to be ordered around... Then he must be there by this time and no later and Dress Blues better be perfect, medals alligned properly and in the correct order... and blah, blah... It really takes the fun out of it!


Anyway, I got a dress... On SALE! My mission for the weekend was accomplished :)


This is him going to drill a few months ago... He really doesn't like his picture taken and he's being a total pain here, but it turned out much better in the photo - and I think he's pretty cute. (Even when he's being a punk... well sometimes!)

Monday, October 22, 2007

Because I miss him...

This is the last picture I have with my Papa. It was taken this July 4th at his home on the lake. Though he was sick and exhausted from his cancer and treatment, he managed to keep his great smile all day long!




A few years back my grandparents started hosting what became the largest, most incredible fireworks display ever by just normal people (without hiring it out)... I use this term 'normal' lightly, the amount of time and money into these fireworks would make any 'normal' person crazy and broke!

My Papa loved his family and loved his country, therefore the 4th of July was just the perfect holiday to combine and celebrate them both! Not to mention his (sometimes not so secret) love for taking a great fireworks display from the neighbors, and after praising them and making them feel really good about it... Walk over to the boys and say, "Show 'em what it's supposed to look like!" My Dad described this attitude in relation to the entire Baumgartner family as, "Anything worth doing, is worth over-doing"... Let's just say there isn't another motto out there that yet fits this group as perfectly.

Is there anything better than spending the day with family and friends, great fellowship and conversation with a beautiful lake to swim, canoe or paddle through... Reciting the flag salute, "under God", before dinner and then bundling up and enjoying the fireworks over the dock? Don't even waste your time trying to answer, there isn't. ;)

Papa went home a bit more than a month after this picture. It's often so much easier to still just think that our schedules don't allow visits or that he's away on an extended fishing trip... but I'm not that great at convincing myself of this anymore.

I just miss him.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Tiger Who??


My aunt Cindy sent me an email of this little boy... he is seriously the coolest kid ever! It's such a great story... you have to watch it!

(I tried to embed the video but it's not working so you have to click on the links below to watch... It's a few minutes long, but very worth it!)

Part One

Part Two

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

All Aboard!

Aubrey jumped on the blog boat and now has one of her very own... She just posted pictures of our painting project this weekend (and of her little cuties). You can click here to see!

Monday, October 15, 2007

No more tax returns!

Today was the deadline for personal income tax returns on extension... Thank goodness!
I know I'll still see them trickle on to my desk occasionally for those who don't mind filing late, but for now until February - I'm going to work & coming home on time! During the last April busy season it wasn't so bad working late because Ben was on second shift working 2pm-10pm, but with him walking in 10 minutes before I leave and me getting home 3 hours before he goes... doesn't give us as much time as we'd like. This upcoming tax season will, I'm sure, prove to be a bit more difficult.

This weekend I drove out to Moses Lake to visit with Aubrey. We had lots of fun! Brandon worked, the girls were in Idaho with Grandparents and Brady was a sweet boy for us as we walked the Farmer's market, shopped and PAINTED!! It was quite a productive Saturday! Now all Aubrey needs to do is post pictures on her new blog to show off her beautiful house!

Oh and another thing that happend this weekend: my sweet little brother turned ELEVEN!!! He's not so little anymore... So sad! At least I can still get some really good hugs (when his friends aren't around) and he doesn't think I'm totally lame yet, which is really quite nice! I remember the day a few years back that I walked out to say goodbye to the boy who had to sleep with "Sissy" every time I stayed the night ~ he was playing with his buddies outside and ran up to give me a hug and kiss, only to turn around and be heckled. "HA! You kissed you're sister..." Poor Nick! I've never wanter to ring the neck of a little kid before that moment, but Christian almost got a beaten... had I been able to catch the little booger!

Monday, October 8, 2007

The weekend rundown

Friday was kind of scary: Ben and Rich moving an 800 pound safe from our front porch into the utility room! (gotta love 'curb side delivery') They managed to move it without breaking it, themselves/eachother, AND all my walls are in tact and scratch free!! I really wanted to take pictures but was afraid that the flash from the camera, or the irritation that I was documenting this event, would destract the boys and then it would be my fault if something happend... Sorry. I made them dinner and then Rich left so Ben could focus on getting ready for work.
My Grandma came over after Ben left and we watched Narnia. I love that movie! I definitely get my nightowl traits from Pink Gramma. The movie ended at midnight and then we chatted for a while before she left.

On Saturday morning I got a massage, but not the good relaxing kind - this is the kind that is trying to stop spasms in my back from after the accident, the kind that leaves bruises - not fun... Then Aubrey, Brady and I ran errands and I finally got our bedroom furniture ordered and paid for!! Sadly, Aubrey took the kids and went back home after our 'date'... 5 more days until I get to see them again...
Ben and I made dinner and watched football until he had to leave for work... It's such a bummer when his weekends don't jive with mine!

Sunday I was awoken by a cheerful Ben at 6:10, because he got to finally use his mace at work :) He's been whining for a year about how it just takes up space on his belt and he never needs it - now he can stop. Don't worry, the maced individual completely deserved it! Kicking a cop is never a good idea (Ben's partner was on the receiving end of that foot)
After the story, he climbed into bed and I slept in a little, just so I could snuggle up to him for once this week! Tried a new chinese place for lunch with my Grandma, got an overdue oil change, got my hair done, and then went bowling and to dinner with Jared and Emily!

(And... um, with the hair thing... I'm kind of a brunette now - we'll see how long this lasts)

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

They're here....

Unfortunately for Brandon - his job is in another big push to complete a project. Which means anywhere from 60-80+ hours in a single WEEK. Poor Guy!

Thankfully for all of us on the western side of the state, this means that Aubrey and the kids are back hanging out over here!!!

So if you can't find me - don't worry, I'm just out playing with these cuties:

Yes, do believe your eyes... That is a picture of Aubrey with Lexi! Take it in, she doesn't give us too many :o)

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Grrrr!

So I'm dealing with something right now that is so incredibly frustrating and I can't let it go... Which unfortunatley, only adds to my frustration.

If you say you're going to do something, you do it! Right?

Vague, I know... but I wonder if the awareness is just gone. Do people not realize when they're essentially making promises?
I'm really not talking about Ben saying he'll take the trash out and then he runs out for work and forgets it in the kitchen...
I'm talking about saying something that impacts the way people proceed in their lives. Changing their plans, you know real altering implications.

"Think before you speak!" I'm contimplating making a neck sign that says this and wearing it as my new favorite piece of jewelry.

Don't get me wrong - it's not new... Growing up, I've dealt with disappointment. We all do; it's how we learn, grow, build up a healthy defense system, and hopefully learn to gauge just how far you'll let the people you encounter in and still be able to protect yourself. (ya know, 'just in case').... Like I said it's not new, I just seem to be running into it a lot lately!

I wish the "My word is my bond" days were here again! Or was that only in the movies?

Friday, September 28, 2007

This is great!

So, I just read my last post... I 'm not quite sure what possesed me to share that, so very sorry!

I'm feeling better now and thanks to Chris, I have something better to share today :)



* FYI: There is one naughty word at the end... but don't worry, it's not the 'truck' one! *

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Too Much Info???

Ben's in a 3 day AR class this week and therefore, he gets to be home at night... YAY, right?

Wrong! Instead he gets to be home and tend to his sick wife at night...

Last night we fell asleep on the couch before all of our new shows started (a little disappointing) and then I woke this morning around 3 with the flu! He was very sweet while trying to hide the "EEEWWWW" look on his face. To make matters worse: The road work on our street has temporarily suspended our water service for the entire afternoon... Thankfully we have a brand new case of bottled water to drink, but try having the flu and no bathroom!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

A Great Day

Today I had Aubrey all to myself! Grandpa and Grandma took the girls to the fair and Gamma & Gampa had little Brady boy. Ben worked last night and slept into the late afternoon, leaving us girls to do what we love to do best: Shopping and lunch at Olive Garden!

From Folkart Gatherings to the Supermall, Old Navy to South Center... Like all days with my dearest friend, it was a blast!

Ended it with dinner and and some long awaited snuggle time on the couch with my husband (watching the Discovery channel of course)... Made for a wonderful Saturday!

County is on minimums for the time being so Ben's not really getting his days off, which makes for a lot of long nights... It's been so nice having Aubrey home!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Seriously???

Alright, I know I should be thankful for the idiots! It is after all, job security for my husband... but this guy's too much!

http://www.komotv.com/news/local/9851481.html

Oh and PS: For the record I am not from Federal Way... I just lived for a while.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Happy 90th Birthday Great Grandma Sally!




Today was Ben's Great Grandmother's 90th birthday and therefore cause for some major celebrations! We all met at Nana Bev and Papa Chuck's house and enjoyed the company of Ben's family from in, and out of town.

Papa Van approves!!



They couldn't possibly be cuter!



Does he know he's bigger than me?????



Ben and his Dad making the same face!



Ben look out.. Your pink arms are about to pick your nose!!!