5 hours later...

After arriving home (just before 2pm) from the retreat we gathered our "stuff" and headed to the Mazda dealership. Ken did some more negotiating over the weekend and so we were on our way. We did yet another test drive and then began "the paperwork". Nathaniel did pretty good for the first few hours playing on the floor around us. Apparently the office was understaffed and there were two other couples buying cars in front of us so we waited and waited and waited. Around dinner time the Mazda staff ordered pizza. I was thinking it was rather torturous to have to sit there and smell the pizza while we waited, but they actually came out and brought us a piece and offered us Coke too! Have you ever heard of that? Now the pizza was Pineapple and Jalepeno but it was still something to eat. Nathaniel loved the crust. At 5:30 Ken had to leave for a racquetball game, so Nathaniel and I stayed behind to finish the paperwork. We waited and waited and waited some more. Uggh! We finally drove out of there with our new car just after 7pm! Just before I got in the driver seat I said, who wants the money? I hadn't yet paid for the car, and they almost let me drive away. I guess the guy doing the paperwork was frazzled by his busy day and forgot to actually take my money. Sheesh! I'm sure they would have caught up to me since they had all our information. So now we are a Mazda5 owner! It's actually smaller than our Honda Accord and only has 10 miles on it (7 of which I put on it). Zoom Zoom Zoom

Home Sweet Home

I had a fabulous weekend and the boys did too! The weather was beautiful! The company delightful! And the speaker was engaging and insightful! We had a fun scavenger hunt even though we lost, and participated in a murder mystery. I was ready to come home though, I missed my boys. Sounds like they had lots of fun too (visiting with Aunt Bethany and Uncle Stevie, playing at the club, going to the McDs playplace, shopping at Home Depot, visiting friends, eating ice cream (uggh!). Not only did they have fun, but I came home to a clean kitchen and house! The laundry was folded and put away, the beds were made, the office was clean and Nathaniel had a fresh diaper! Oh yes, Nathaniel bought me fresh cut tulips too... how did he know they were my favorite???

Going on a two day vacation

I'm headed to the coast for two nights with my mom! We are going to a retreat at Cannon Beach Conference Center. I'm looking forward to it... I think Ken is looking forward to it too. Nathaniel has no clue. I left lots of instructions and plenty of food but it's like Ken said, "Hey, there is a new sheriff in town for the weekend, no telling what they might do." We had discussed whether I should go to the retreat about a month ago, but somehow Ken didn't hear all the details and was surprised to find out 3 days ago that I was going to be gone for TWO nights! I'm sure they will be just fine.

Deep in thought

Nathaniel is watching his cousin Keely do a handstand and trying to figure out how it all works... maybe someday buddy... but please don't try it too soon. It will give Momma a heartattack.

I'm in love....

With the Mazda5 Touring! We had to say goodbye to my dear friend Benny this week. That little Honda Civic has served me well for 8 years. Wow has it been that long? A good friend of my parents had need of it, and well we have been agonizing over getting a more friendly car so it was a good match for both parties. Poor Nathaniel has had his head bonked several times getting in and out of the Accord. It's also been back breaking to get him in an out for me and Ken. Seriously I was at the chiropractor two times a week for 4 months this last summer/fall! And there are these darn load bearing posts in the middle of our garage that make it difficult to open the doors more than a 25 degree angle unless you park just perfectly and then you get a 40 degree angle to work within. And the passenger side is completely inaccessible so on the weekends, I have to stand outside and wait for Ken to pull the car out before I can get in (quite often in the rain). Any one of these by itself is probably not too much to live with... but add them up and it makes you wonder if it's time to get a new vehicle. What to get, what to get? Something with sliding doors would be nice, something that fits in our garage well. I guess that is our criteria. Now I know that the Honda Odyssey is the fanciest most popular minivan around, but honestly the first time I took it for a test drive I HATED it! Probably had more to do with the totally incompetent salesman who couldn't answer any of my questions and kept telling me it had a cool engine... seriously? You think telling a mom about the engine is going to convince her to buy your car? How about talking about the safety or the ability to carry all your groceries and a stroller at the same time! We test drove the Sienna and I liked it better, but both minivans seems so big and cavernous. Bless my brother and sister in law's heart for having 5 kids (and a pet monkey), but I really don't see us with more than 2 kiddos.... so do we really NEED that big ole minivan? I know everyone who has one loves it, and I'm sure you get used to the size, but I keep asking myself what do I need. Something with sliding doors that fits in the garage. Well guess what Ken found!!! The Mazda5! Even after seeing it in the dark I LOVED it! I love how it drives, it meets my criteria and is significantly cheaper than the minivans we looked at. I could get a brand new one versus a used Odyssey or Sienna and still come out ahead. To make sure I am not just totally running on emotions for this decision, we decided to give a fair shake to the Odyssey and the Sienna one more time (they are probably tired of seeing me again and again). This time I test drove the Odyssey with a friend (who is a salesman there) and I actually thought I like this minivan a lot better than I thought... it must have been Moe's great advice and expertise! And we test drove the Sienna again... another incompetent salesman, and it seemed like it was having issues with the doors not working properly, etc. Then I test drove the Mazda5 again. I LOVE IT! I think it would take a lot to sway me back to either minivan. Ken likes it too. I know it's totally practical, why not splurge a little! Especially if Ken is actually willing to buy the more expensive option for me. I just keep coming back to what do I need. So we are down to one car this week... Nathaniel and I took Ken to work today and maybe will all week... until we can find the right priced Mazda5. We just need to start negotiations. Our phone is ringing off the hook from these Internet salesmen!!!!

On the move

Nathaniel is loving this little toy. Someone actually left it in our front yard about a year and a half ago. It's really helping him learn how to walk. The other day he actually had both feet on the seat and his hands on the handle bars.... I didn't grab the camera... I thought spotting him was the best use of my time :-) He's growing up fast!!!!

Up Up and Away

We visited Papa Jim this week and he was up in the trees trimming them for Spring. Nathaniel got to ride a long for a bit. This was so fun to see, because I remember Dad doing this when I was little.

An overnight guest

We had our niece Keely spend Sunday night with us last week. She played and cuddled with Nathaniel the whole time. He had so much fun with his cousin. She even tried to teach him how to walk... it won't be long now!

18 pounds 3 ounces!

Hooray our little man has finally hit 18 lbs. He was 17.3 at his 6 month and once he started moving it's been hard to keep weight on him. He is still in the 3% but I think once we start getting that whole fat milk in him he is going to keep going up and up. His one year checkup went well... and other than a shot he was mostly very happy at the Dr. office.

Crazy week!

Last week was just crazy for us. Nathaniel had a 105 temperature for 4 days which made for sleepless nights and getting almost nothing done during the days. With laundry piling up, dishes in the sink and no food in the refridgerator, my mom came to the rescue. Thanks MOM! I love you!!!! Thursday we went to the Dr and found out Nate had a virus and that we needed to just wait it out. It was an emotionally draining week, somehow we survived. Nathaniel turned 1 on Friday. Daddy and I sang Happy birthday to him multiple times... He loved it and looked so proud. Mom had got balloons for his party. He loves balloons and enjoyed them quite a bit (I thought they might pop before the party!).

Saturday we had a low-key party... well at least that's what I thought it would be as I hadn't really heard if many people were coming. Besides, for Ken's sake I told him it was going to be low-key... just family and a few friends... sub sandwiches and cake. Well, we were blessed with a huge turn out... everyone must love Nathaniel! I thnk we had almost 50 people here!!!! And mom helped out with the food so we had plenty.

I was a bit nervous Nathaniel wouldn't know what to do if we put a cake infront of him (because he usually likes us to feed him and if I try to put food in his hands he puts his hands behind his back and just opens his mouth). I had purchased a little cake from Safeway (Ken said I was lame because it was carrot cake) and they wrote Happy Birthday Nate on it. We sang to him and I put it on his tray. He dove straight into it and I think he ate all the frosting first. He just went to town on it... and probably would have been there for another 30 minutes if we hadn't finally pulled him out of his chair and cleaned him off. Note to self: Carrot cake has both nuts and raisins... maybe not the best for a little guy. Oops! Glad he's not allergic!





The whole party there were about 10 kids (ages 7 and under) in the living room playing with Nathaniel's toys. It was a busy busy afternoon. Nathaniel also enjoyed opening presents. He had more fun I think than at Christmas time when he was just learning how to unwrap gifts. We were blessed with many toys.


Nathaniel was so overwhelmed and was really ready for his afternoon nap by 2:30. He said goodby to his guests and then immediately crashed in his bed for 3 HOURS!!!! Quite the afternoon nap! It was a fun day.

Today, we are still recovering...

Happy Birthday Little Man!