Alright so here we go on to 2019!! This was a year of change for us... some big changes, some small.. but it seemed like constant change.
Change is hard for me. I don't really like, and it takes me awhile to really wrap my head around it, so this entire year I've felt "unsettled." I am looking forward to 2020 and for things to be a bit more constant (or at least consistent) for us.
Here's the quick(ish) version of what happened this year!
2019 started out way more casual than 2018... we had a few friends over to celebrate and let the kids run amok. After our trip last New Years up to Seattle, it was nice to just chill and ring in the new year in our cozies (or PJ Masks costumes, whatever) and prepare for the busyness to come.
2019 was the year BOTH boys played sports and that was a game changer. Instead of being at the gym for an hour for a basketball game, we were now there for 3-5 hours, depending on how far apart their games were scheduled.
Parenthood constantly reminds you to be selfless. Over and over.. because they loved it, they had fun and they were always so excited to go play basketball. Was it how I wanted to spend the majority of my Saturday? Welllllllll……. not always. :-) But it's not about me, and this year was a humble reminder of that!
Austin turned 7!!! We celebrated with family and then with his friends... he wanted his friends party at our house and we are never doing that again. People must not have much going on in January because EVERY SINGLE PERSON we invited came. Plus siblings. Plus parents. Our house can not comfortably fit 50 people. So hopefully he enjoyed his last "home" party!
My new job started on January 2nd. It's hard to explain to most people but here is the short version: I'm a retail broker. So I help broker deals between manufacturers/companies and retailers. We work only with Kroger/Fred Meyer, and with about 25 companies including 3M, Coleman, Graco, Physicians Formula, NUK, Hoover, Crayola, Elmers, Tuscany Candle, and others. So I do paperwork, schedule meetings, fix problems, and keep the relationships strong between the Kroger/Fred Meyer buyers and the company sales reps. So I basically help get stuff into Kroger/Fred Meyer stores for people to buy.
My office is small (just 4 of us here! More at the office in Ohio) and casual. So Henry gets to be an office dog once and awhile! I also get to bring the boys in, and there is a warehouse where we keep all our samples which is like a wonderland to them. :-) #SoManyCrayons
Its such a huge change from being in the corporate world and in an office of 600-some people. I like the casual atmosphere and homey feeling our office has. My coworkers are now like family to me.
Sometimes the boys get to go to work with Daddy too! (sidenote- WHY do kids have so many no school days??? I swear every month there are 3-4 no school days...) and if Neal can swing it, he'll take the boys with him and they get to play in the big gym!
They kept calling for snow in 2019 but we really didn't get any. Just a dusting again.... maybe 2" total? Just enough for more no school days... at least these usually mean no school for Neal too, and working from home for me, so we all get to stay cozy inside. After the obligatory 20 mins of goofing around outside, of course.
Like I said, one of the HUGE perks of my new job is the casual atmosphere. Since there are 1,485 No School days every school year, it's REALLY nice to just be able to bring Austin in with me. He helps around the office, we bring Legos and books and activities, and there is a TV in the back room with Netflix for some movies. Oh, and lunch out is a must!
2019 was the last year I had a kid in daycare... so for 6 months I tried to enjoy my commutes with Owen. Sometimes it was hard because I just needed to decompress after a long day and he wanted to talk and talk and talk and talk.
One day we pull into daycare and he was SO PROUD to show me his picture of "Daddy"... Daddy has a gumdrop shaped body, reallllllyyyyyy long skinny legs, a reallllyyyyyy long skinny neck, and a tiny head. And looks suspiciously like something a little more dirty.
I DIED. And told Owen how proud I was of him, and then after dropping him off proceeded to text Neal and cry laughing.
I went out to lunch a lot in 2019... from January till June, I tried to take Owen out to lunch as often as I could since we were winding down on daycare and soon he wouldn't be just a few feet from me during the day. He was always so excited to be a lunch that he didn't usually eat much, and just wanted to goof around.
#Typical
Two boys played baseball in the Spring, so we had practice M/T/W/Th (because why would they have practice on the same days of the week????) and on days Owen had practice, Austin got to run around like mad and rule the playground. Other than this one time he went down the slide and landed on his back in a pile of dog poop some evil person didn't pick up. Then the playground kinda ruled him.
I made him take off his poop-shirt and he got to be Tarzan for the rest of practice.
Since the theme of the year was #DoAllTheThings we put the kids both in Spring Break camps! Owen did a Zoo camp and got to be a giraffe for the day! Cutest giraffe I ever did see.
I can still get the boys to play Beauty Parlor sometimes, which is my favorite. They kinda destroy my hair since they like to spray it with water, but oh well. It never really looks great to begin with. I know the days of them being little are fleeting, so we're trying to soak up those moments.
Baseball in Spring in Oregon. Sigh.... lots of rain and mud and puddles. I need to just carry around a change of clothes all the time, apparently. I do feel lucky to raise my kids in the NW though, and toughen them up with rain and cold and puddles and mud and all the wonderfully dirty childhood things.
#ChannelingPeppaPig
The Easter Bunny came! And might have brought a lot of goodies found in Mom's work warehouse... weird. Crayola chalk and other little samples that were laying around..... One day they'll wise up to my antics, but not today!
After a rainy cold practice season, baseball games began!!! The intensity of our busyness didn't get better though, since we still had practice throughout the week, and then games on certain days or sometimes on weekends. Owen LOVED every second of playing, picked up really quickly on the rules and the game overall. He forgot to run home a few times when he was on 3rd though, and sometimes had "home runs" when he should have just made it to 1st... but oh well.
#DetailsShmeatails
Baseball was a bit tougher for our big guy... at the 1st grade level they suddenly get very competitive. It's a huge leap from T-ball where they didn't keep score, they didn't enforce rules, to suddenly playing by the real rules of striking out, getting out on a base, making errors, etc. Austin struggled the first part of his season for sure. He struck out a lot, and was getting really frustrated.
However... I see why sports are so good at life lessons. We had a lot of chats about persistence, how no one starts something and is instantly amazing at it, practicing making better (not perfect!) and how to not let things get you down. By the time the end of the season tournament came around, he was confident, was hitting like a BOSS and helped his team win with a few awesome plays (including a home run!) So proud of this kiddo.
Don't worry, in between all the sports and busyness, we still had time for play, and trips to the big slide at the library!
Mostly because I had books on hold to pick up. But still. :-)
Who Austin has become at 7 years old really surprises me. I did not expect him to grow into a more serious, sometimes introverted reader, lover of science and logic, and quirky to boot. I thought he'd be a sports kid all day long... but he is really becoming more drawn to quiet things, and LOVES to read. Which just makes me so happy.
Yes his shirt says "always hungry" and yes it's 100% accurate.
So I got this "brilliant" idea to go to a Ducks baseball game in May. The tickets were cheap so I treated my whole family! I texted everyone! This will be fun!!! Let's go watch some baseball!!! Well, THANKS A LOT OREGON but it was a downpour on the day of the game. We get to the stadium and sneak into seats that aren't ours because they are under cover, get some beers and popcorn and hear the announcement that the game was canceled.
Thanks anyways fans! Thanks for coming! Enjoy your day! Bye Bye now!
#Ugh
At least we got a picture under the better Oregon college sign... can you tell by Neal's face that he's grimacing here????
(Neal's thought bubble... GoBeavsGoBeavsDarnDucksWhyDoIHaveToBeHereGoBeavs)…..
In true "second kid who wants to keep up with the first kid" style... Owen mastered riding a bike without training wheels!!! He really adapted quickly and just took off one day. It's cute because of how enclosed our neighborhood is and it having a lot of cul-de-sacs, we can just send the boys out to ride bikes on their own and they rip around. Having older kids has it's advantages!!
So June brought the LAST month and LAST payment to daycare!!! We paid for daycare for over 7 years... in some years when they were both in there, paying more than our mortgage. It was crippling at times. Being done with that huge monthly payment was a BIG DEAL. So what did we do? We bought a new car! Granted this was something on our "wish" list for a long time.. we really wanted 3rd row seating to be able to drive family around. Hopefully our new Honda Pilot will be our family car for a long time coming!
The end of an era.... our baby graduated Preschool/Daycare. He was SO excited leading up to his graduation day he was bursting at the seams (and chattering nonstop about it). His class had a little countdown in their room, and a graduation ceremony. He was SO PROUD that day of graduating.
A few weeks after his graduation ceremony (which was in early June) Owen had his last day at daycare! Again, he was bursting with excitement. He might have been one of the youngest kids in the class but he was SO READY for Kindergarten. We let him punch in the door code on his last day, and he wore his Ducks jersey in honor of Miss Kaley (his very favorite teacher ever, who's a Ducks fan) and we dropped him off as a family.
We did some work to our backyard this year and took out a dying/ugly bush and put down pea gravel. Half of the gravel area is the kids' with their dump trucks and shovels, and the other half is all for Mommy (and sometimes Daddy and sometimes the kids). If it's sunny and we are outside Neal is usually hitting golf balls in the yard so now I have a nice place to lounge and read and be part of the fun outside.
Sometimes the relaxing rocking motion gets the best of you though... gently swaying on a warm Summer's night.... ahhhhhhh…..
We discovered a new favorite restaurant in 2019! It's at the Oregon City train station, and how convenient..... Auntie Lori travels down from Seattle on the train! So one time we had dinner and waited for her 6:30 train to arrive!
#ChugThatDrinkAfterALongDay
#ItsRootBeer
Another job perk! A day away from the office playing golf! Ok, well I didn't play (come on now.. .you didn't think I was really PLAYING did you???) but I got Neal a spot on my team! So this is a big tournament for the March of Dimes. Vendors pay for teams and invite their sales reps, brokers (that's me!) and the Kroger/Fred Meyer buyers to play. So there were hundreds of people out at the golf course and we were representing our vendor Crayola!!! It was fun to drive the cart around and watch Neal charm everyone like he usually does. Plus our team came in 3rd and Neal won some prizes!
For the 4th of July we went on a little road trip to Pendleton!!! My sweet Valerie (hi Val!!!!) and her family moved there so we went to visit! What a cute little town it is. There was a parade, and they live so close to downtown and some parks that we stayed busy and had an awesome time. One of these years we will head back for the Round Up in September!
We spent several weekends down in Springfield over the summer. The boys LOVE Uncle Brian. Especially when he brings his cool muscle car over and lets them rattle around inside it!
2019 was kind of a banner year for me... it was my 20th High School reunion. I wavered for months on whether I wanted to go or not... high school was ok for me, but not awesome. I wasn't sure I wanted to see most of those people again. haha. In the end I went, mostly because my friend Jodi came from Idaho for it, and I just love her dearly. It ended up being a fun night.
Action shots of running through the sprinklers will always be some of my favorites. Summer days at Gramma and Grampa's will always be some of their favorites. :-)
We celebrated Owen's 5th (!!!!!!) birthday during one of our weekends down in Springfield. How he's 5, is unknown to me. He is still a total sweetheart... but goodness he is a PEST. Just the epitome of the "obnoxious little brother" and the "child who gives you gray hair"
We love him to death though... because how could you not??
The boys got to go on their first fishing trip with Neal and my Dad this summer. They loved it so much, they still talk about it. My Dad will be thrilled that he's gained two new little fishing buddies!
The whole family was big enough to go on the log ride at Enchanted Forest this year! This is still one of my favorite days of summer....
So the "big" thing in 2019 was some home renovations. We've lived in our house for almost 4 years, and we always had plans to redo some things- the granite (it was ugly and the previous homeowner installed it himself and did a not-good job), the cupboards (another DIY by Stu... badly installed glass front doors), the floors (we didn't love the color)... etc. So in early July we started!
Little did we know that as I type this on 12/31, we are still NOT DONE because things TAKE FOREVER. Someday, maybe in the year 2023 I'll post about the completion.
We didn't travel as much in 2019, so we made our coast trip a bit "bigger" by renting a bigger house and staying for a week! A week was a bit too long we decided... the kids were asking what else there was to do when we still had about 2 days left of our trip... Austin wanted to "go to town" every day and look in the same shops over and over (we ended up going twice), so if we do a longer trip again, we'll stick to 4-5 days.
My parents came and spent a day with us and went to the Aquarium and lunch, so that was a fun treat!!!
Little BoBo played soccer for the first time this Fall! Austin didn't feel like playing and took a break, and it was nice having just one kid in a sport!! Owen was a beast and just ran like mad all over the field, kicking constantly and bull-dozing every kid out there.
#FacePalm
Austin started 2nd grade!! That seems so "old" and so "big"... that part of me is sad.... but only a little part. I really do like having older kids (they are fun and you can do so much more with them!) plus it's fun to see his personality emerge. He loves owls, science, building, creating, imagining, and bossing people around. :-)
It's official, we have two kids in school!!! Owen started Kindergarten the day after Austin started school and he was BEYOND pumped. He got placed with Mrs. Davis, who Austin had for Kindergarten so we were happy about that.
I am on bus duty in the mornings and it's so fun to see them both get on the bus. Austin has been his usual "take charge" self and helped Owen navigate the first few weeks of being a bus rider. He made sure Owen got a seat, got off when he was supposed to, and was safe.
My Aunt gets the boys twice a week off the bus in the afternoons and snapped this pic... Austin's leadership side is one I love the most about him. If he loves you, he wants to take care of you.
No Fall would be complete without the pumpkin patch! Somehow we've lucked out the last few years and have gone on a super sunny day... so my goal of getting a "kids squinting in the sun picture" has remained fulfilled.
#Goals
Austin started wearing his glasses mostly full time this year. I think he just realized on his own that he can see, and that seeing things is kinda nice. We hardly ever have to remind him to put them on, and sometimes have to force them off him when he goes to bed. He tends to wear them low on his nose (a bit like Grampa Warren used to!) and looks like a little old man and it's the cutest.
He also ate breadsticks with a knife and fork... we'll explore his odd quirks in another post.
#He'sABitOfAWeirdo
Halloween!!!! Welcome to Jurassic World!!!! Neal looks hot and handsome. My skirt was way too tight and lasted maybe an hour before I had to ditch it. The boys couldn't really see out of their masks so didn't wear them Trick or Treating. Henry couldn't pee in his shirt and Neal had to cut a little hole in it... Henry still hated the shirt. Despite all the "cons" (well, other than Neal looked awesome, that was a "pro") this was my favorite family costume so far!
The boys continued to come to work with me on no-school days.. in November we had the first day where they BOTH came in to work. Shockingly, they were awesome and behaved all day. I know... weird... right? Something must have been wrong with them. :-)
We had a pretty merry Christmas season... we went to Silver Falls with Poppa and Karen for their Holiday Festival and got to hike one of the falls, and make our own wreath!
After our first disastrous trip to Zoo Lights in 2013, we finally felt brave enough to go back! Unlike our first time, we did not go on a Saturday, we did not have an active stroller-hating 23 month old, and I wasn't 5 weeks pregnant.
We went on a Tuesday and the crowds were small, and it was perfect! Aunt Patty came with us and the boys thought it was just the coolest to see all the lights!
We had to check out the big tree in downtown Oregon City one rainy night... we walked downtown a bit and Austin found his new favorite store (it's a Halloween-year-round store, so right up his alley!)
We celebrated Christmas Eve at our house with Poppa, Karen, and Auntie Lori... and then Christmas Day down at Gramma and Grampa's. The boys were good, Santa was good to them, and it was a pretty great Christmas!
Well, that's it. Bye 2019... you were full of change (a bit too much for my taste) so I am ready for 2020 and for things to settle down a bit more (at least in the change department).
Here's to the next year!
