My how fast they grow...

So, I realize I am a little (or maybe a lot) behind on the blogging. My life has been consumed by mad chaos (aka teaching), and I have neglecting this little guy (among other things). Over the next day or two I will post some new entries in order to fill you in on the last month or so...

November 26: Jack's first birthday. It was a big deal. Had we been in Portland, I would've thrown a puppy party with all of my friends and their subsequent dogs (Merissa-Jack, Mo-Capone, Julie-Ogden, Jessie-Puggles, etc.) However, we were in Seattle, so we had a quaint and intimate "family" birthday party. Here are some pics, which explain the joy felt by Jack far better than I can...








P.S. It took him approximately 12 minutes to open 5 presents and turn our room into this.

One PROUD lady...

I made a last minute decision to go back to Portland this weekend... The soccer team I used to coach, at Philomath High School, made it to the state championships after FIVE YEARS of making it to the quarter or semi-finals, only to come up short. Well, THIS year, they were undefeated the whole season and on Saturday night they took home the state title! The current seniors were just little freshmen when I first started coaching, and I was in awe of how much they've grown! They played awesome and I am SO PROUD of my girls... Even though taking Saturday off to drive down to see the game meant my Sunday really sucked (worked the entire day), it was worth it to be there to support them and give them big hugs after the game! Congrats to all of my lady Warriors :)

Things I am grateful for...

Well, I was going to start this blog by speaking of the things I currently miss due to the time constraints my new job. However, in my attempts to be an eternal optimist, I decided it would be better to first start with the things I am grateful for, and then speak of the things I miss.

Things I am GRATEFUL for: my marriage, Jack, our family, friends, my (exhausting) job, and my health.

Things I have been missing A LOT the past month or so: exercising, sleep, spending QT with Jack, spending QT with the husband, being able to relax at night, cleaning (weird, I know), the flexibility to do what I want, whenever I want, and the peace that comes without having teenagers who are the "good" students in school bitch about... well, anything really.

All in all, things are OK. I am just tired, and miss spending time with my husband and dog. I also miss my friends. Hope to see you all soon :)

Busy weeks, and even busier weekends!

So we just finished weekend #4 of a 5 week stretch of busy plans... One of my oldest friends Merissa, her boyfriend Brandon, and their dog Oscar came to visit. The weather was bad,and the Seahawks were even worse... However, the company was great, the monumental amounts of food we ate was good, and we even had a break of sun on Sunday just long enough for a walk with the dogs....

And finally a couple more...

Let's just say dance party + friends + 80's music= FUN

More pics from the crazy weekend....

A birthday and a baby!

I thought that title would get ya... not OUR baby of course, but the teacher I am filling in for had her baby last Monday (as in a week and a half ago). The baby came two weeks early, which means I've been teaching for a little over a week now and things have been crazy... The transition has been rough, with a lot of long days (we're talking 12+ hour days on a regular basis), but eventually it will get better. Maybe after Thanksgiving?

Given this news, here is a brief rundown of what has been going on in our lives the last week:
-Joe turned 25 last Wednesday and we had a relaxing, but nice birthday celebration at our place... just the two of us, with Jack of course, and we ate a nice meal in (sometimes those relaxing nights are the best)
-Friday 5 of our best friends came up to stay with us for the weekend. It was a crazy, but super fun time. We rocked out playing "Rock Band" on Friday, watched the Beavers STOMP the Huskies at UW, and went out dancing Saturday night. Let's just say it was bananas!! A good time all around, but my weekend might've actually been more exhausting than my weeks are (which is hard to imagine). Here are some fun pics from the weekend...