It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!!

Not totally, but we are well on our way. Especially here, with temperatures well below freezing, and we have already had our first dusting of snow. I know it is not even Halloween yet, and yes, I do maintain that Christmas decorations are NOT allowed until after Thanksgiving, but we are packing and I just couldn't help getting excited when we found the decoations. Someone else got really excited too...

Cade kept getting really upset when the lights would turn off, and wanted to carry them around the house with him.

And just cause this is hilarious, he has been sticking his tongue out like a lizzard

How big a boy are you?

Luke had his two month check up yesterday, and apparently we aint raisin no slouch. The kid is in the 97th percentile for BOTH height and weight, coming in at 14 pounds even and 25 inches long. We'll see if he continues on the high curve or if he evens out a little.

In other news, we are trying to pack and get moved, but it is kinda hard with babies and school and job. Basically, we have yet to bring a single box over to the new place. We'll get there eventually. Or definately by the end of the month.

The AWESOME hunting pictures

So this weekend we are having a moving/garage sale, which is exciting and crazy all at once. My friend Shawna came over last night to help set up and organize the junk--I mean awesome stuff--that we are getting rid of. I have been posting ads on Craigslist and hoping for a huge response.
While that has been consuming my time, Chad has evidently still been thinking about hunting and elk and deer and blood in general. He asked why I hadn't posted hunting pictures yet (he said yet, as in he thought that I just forgot or hadn't got around to it...) Anyways, here they are, hope you enjoy!


Spence (Chad's Dad) with the bull (man elk)

All of the boys with the animal head

Chad and Spence with Spence's deer

Shawn and Chad with Spence's deer

Our Modeling Careers

Actually, it's just Cade's. At this point.

Tomorrow afternoon we are getting family pictures taken again. We sure are making up for lost time in this department...it has been years since either one of our families have had family pictures, and I guess we are determined to buck the trend, or at least start out strong before we taper off. Chad and I had family pictures about a year ago, we gave pictures of the boy wonder for Christmas presents last year and a family photo was supposed to have been included in last year's Christmas letter that never got sent. Or written. Then, we got family pictures about 6 months ago with my parents, and now we are getting some with Luke. We got a newborn package gifted to us by some generous philanthropists, so we will go again in six months and then again in a year to see how the boys grow.

Anyways, all that to say that when I was making the appointment with the photographer I spent some time checking out their new website. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but the cutest little guy in the world! I have always known that Cade (and now Luke too) is the cutest boy around, and for me this just confirms that fact. I know people say that all moms think their kids are the cutest, but I ask you, are their kids featured on a website somewhere? Granted, there are a lot of other cuties on there...but let me have my moment.

I always imagined that we would at least get paid for Cade's good looks--and once Baby Gap discovers him in their new little photo contest I am sure this will be a moot point--but we are starting somewhere!

Go to http://www.fusionphotography.com/ click on the website link, then wait to find out who is kissable. He is like the 8th or 10th picture, so it takes a bit, but well worth the wait :). You can also find him in their portfolio under 'families'. And I will post pictures of the Luke man as soon as she can get them back to us.

The Trifecta!

So today I managed (with superhuman ability) to pull off something amazing. I took a nap, a shower, and a walk all in the same day.

If you don't think this is blog-worthy, then you try it.

Granted, I didn't get to put on makeup--if I made it that far I would have had to title this something far more noteworthy, like something that would rival Michael Phelp's gold medal count.

My friend came over to help me go through things for our moving/garage sale and we came across a photo album from the good ol Miss Oregon pageant. She is lookng at pictures of me and exclaimed that I looked so grown up in these photos. Nevermind that they were taken roughly 10 YEARS ago, but I guess I shouldn't complain that I look younger now than I did at 17. Maybe.

My favorite story about those pictures though is from college. My roomie pulled up some photos that were posted online and this guy that was over says "if you COULD look like this everyday, why don't you?"

Remembering that feels especially good on days like today when I got out of the shower and put my PJs BACK ON. At least I went on a walk. And tried to do something about the bags under my eyes.

Aint it Grand?

So it has been a while and I have been really busy with this life of ours. I think my biggest fantasy for my life is cruise control. Seriously. I think that if only we could live in the same house for 30 years, have the same job for 30 years, and have "Taco Tuesday" we would be set.
We have been looking for a new place to live, since with any luck our house will close at the end of the month, and I have been reflecting on the last five years...they have been a little bit of a whirlwind. The next few years too don't look particularly promising on the 'feeling settled' front either, but hopefully they will at least go quickly.
Chad is in his third week of class, and I have a countdown going on the wall of how many weeks until he is done. He officially quit his job a few weeks ago to become a full time student and then he got a job as a part time ambulance driver. So, he has been really busy too, (although I would like to think that I am busier :)) The boys and I are adjusting to his crazy schedule, but I will be SOOO glad once he is able to be around a little more again. It is the simple things that really make me miss his help.
So I go into a property management place this week to turn in a rental application and Cade is running around the office, I am embarrassed that he won't listen to me and trying to chase him while weilding Luke in his carseat carrier--which by the way weighs at least 45 lbs, the kid is huge--and the lady asks if I have any pets, besides these two. Ha ha. At any rate, I renewed my vow to not go to public places alone, and then un-did it again when I realized I needed to go to the grocery store. I feel like I have become the lady that everyone feels sorry for, or at least the one that everyone rolls their eyes at and wonders "why does she have kids if she can't control them". Honestly though, it is a little hectic taking the boys anywhere.
We had to go to the doctors office last week for an emergency visit because I was just certain that Cade had a hernia in his little man parts. I was changing his diaper, and I have done this around a thousand times by now, and things looked a little irregular, so the doctor told me to come on in to make sure that everything was ok. I tried like crazy to call Chad, he is usually the more medically-minded one and I figured he had a little more expertise on the particular subject, but he was stuck at class so he couldn't help out. I drug the two kids accross town in the middle of nap time, sat in the office for an hour while Luke cried and Cade rolled on the floor (disgusting, but it kept him quiet) all to get one AWESOME anatomy lesson. The doctor finally comes in, asks me what I was looking at, and once I show him what I have seen he nods understandingly. It turns out that Cade has something called a testicle down there, nothing else. I felt like such a dweeb, but I like to think that I gave the doctor and his nurses something to chuckle about.
At any rate, this whole going it alone business is not for the faint of heart, it sure helps to have a man around!