Baking with Mimi

My mom loves to bake! While we were home, she baked at least once a week. At first, Addison didn't show much interest, but once Mimi made Addie her own apron, she was suddenly VERY interested. All of a sudden, Mimi had a helper everytime she baked anything. And of course, Addison was a great help - getting more ingridents on the counter than in the bowl. Mimi didn't mind though - in fact, it was the complete opposite. She even got to the point where she would only bake if her little helper was around. They would bake cookies, banana or zuccini bread, brownies, rice krispie treats, etc. They even got really facny near the end and did chocolate covered pretzels - probably the messiest project, but most likely the most help Mimi got out of Addison during any of their baking adventures.

I think baking is something the two of them will always share - and next time she sees Great-Grandma Edie - another fabulous baker/cook - she will be all ready to lend a helping hand.

Lake Merwin

I have very found memories of going up to Lake Merwin when I was younger. I don't think I had been there since I was a freshman in high school so when cousin Anne called one day this summer and invited us to go up to the lake, we jumped at the chance. It ended up being quite a crew - Anne and her kids - Ellie, Gunnar, and Rex - my cousin Katie and her daughter, Maggie, my aunt, Mimi, my uncle, Gary, a friend of theirs, and Grace. Big group, but lots of fun. The kids had a great time playing in the water, which was way too cold for this mama! (I think I am getting a little spoiled and used to warm water - I don't do cold water. Brrrr!)

I know it sounds dorky, but I truly adored days like this. Being so far away, Addie doesn't get the opportunity to play with her cousins, which is sad to me. I grew up with my cousins and the idea that she won't know hers, even though they are second cousins, is a hard egg for me to swallow at times. This is the reason we were so anxious to spend as much time with these guys as we could. I don't know when we will ever get the chance to spend a whole summer at home like we did this year so I truly wanted to take advantage of every opportunity for Addison - and I think I did a good job.

School Bus

While up in Everett visiting Amy and the boys, Addison became fascinated with school buses. I really think it's because she saw Michael and Matthew getting on and off of them while we were there! She gets so excited when she sees them and tells me she wants to go to school and ride the school bus. (I am sooo not ready for that yet!)

During October, we went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch with the school my mom and dad work at. (Blog about this to come later.) While there, there were several other schools there - most of them coming on school buses. Addie was in hog heaven and so wanted to "ride" one. Mimi took the bull by the horns and asked one of the drivers if we could bring Addison on the bus just to see it. Leave it to Mimi! The bus driver agreed! Addison had a blast and was gulible enough to believe that she indeed was riding on that school bus, even though we were in the same spot the whole time. That bus "ride" was one of the highlights for Addison's trip to Washington!

Even though I didn't get her name, that Camas school district bus driver made my baby's day! Thank you so very much!

Paulsbo

Paulsbo, Washington is a little town up on the Olympic Peninsula. My mom had been there a couple of years ago during one of her "quilt shop hops" and thought it was some place I would really like. She was right. It is such a quaint, charming little town and I fell in love with it immediately. It is modeled after a German town - it may even have German roots, that I don't know for sure. But oh! So very lovely. We didn't spend much time there that day - it was a little dreary and chilly - even though it was August. However, I saw enough that Paulsbo is on the list of places in Washington state that I HAVE to take Charlie to see.

Hey, Charlie! That list of places you need to see in Washington is growing rapidly. So many things for you to see there, there will never be enough time no matter how many visits we make. Maybe we should just MOVE THERE!!! Think they would put Raptors at McChord?

Everett

Addison and I made only one trip up to Everett, just North of Seattle, to see Cousin Amy and her boys. Luckily, it was for Amy's birthday at the end of September and her husband Jim was out of town. We just went up for the night but it was a great time. We got to Amy's house at lunch time, and her boys were all ready at school. So we took Amy out to lunch and then went home to meet the boys' school buses. Once home, the boys took Addison out into the back yard and played for a long time and Amy and I got the chance to sit and visit. Aunt Marion came over for dinner and cake that evening so I got to see her too! The next morning, Amy and I started off with our traditional mochas while we waited to put Michael on the bus. Once he was off, all us girls piled into the car and headed to the outlet mall that was close by. We didn't stay long, but did just enough to wear Addison out. However, she wasn't too tired to ask to see the "Coco's" - aka trains. And being that cousin Amy is so sweet, she drove us down to the railroad tracks in Snohomish to see one. A coco never came along, but it was still a very nice gesture. We headed back to the house to meet the boys again, but by the time we got there, Addison had passed out in the car. I decided at that point, to get on the road back to K-town. When I left I told Amy we would come back for another visit. Unfotunatly, we didn't get a chance to get back up there. Sorry Cousin Amy!

Building Art

I know this is a crazy thing to have fallen in love with over the summer, but while home, I became obsessed with building art. (Paintings on the side of buildings.) I am not sure why, but everywhere we would go, it seemed that there was art to choose from. I am posting a few of my favorites on here, but the rest will be on my facebook page. Check them out if you too are interested in it!

Snow!

The week before Thanksgiving, I woke up one morning and looked out the window to find that it was snowing. I can't remember a time growing up in Kelso when it snowed before Christmas, so to say I was a little excited is putting it midly! Addison had never seen or played in the snow, so I was excited for her to expierence that too! So I woke her up. First mistake. Got her dressed in several layers. Second mistake. And took her outside in the falling snow. Third mistake. I thought she would love it and run around like a manic. I couldn't have been more wrong. She stood on the back stoop and looked around. She put her gloved hand out to catch snow flakes, and walked into the back yard. Than asked to go inside. That was it! No excitement from her - although to this day she keeps talking about wanting to build a snowman and make a snow angel. She is truly a beach-baby and likes that warm weather. Lord help us if we ever have to move that kid to Alaska!

Christmas Lights

What Addison wants, Addison gets when it comes to Mimi and Papa. My mom was watching Addison one night for me right before Christmas and they had to go over town for something. It was dark so my mom decided to take Addison to see the lights at the lake in Longview. From then on, Mom's fate was sealed. She and Dad were putting up Christmas lights whether they wanted to or not. Addison talked about the Christmas lights for several days before Mimi and Papa caved and dug out the outdoor Christmas lights. Of course, Addie had to help - she was a HUGE help!

Deception Pass

One of the amazing places I saw for the first time this summer while I was home was Deception Pass. Deception Pass the the strip of water (with a bridge over it) that connects Whidbey Island, Washington the the rest of Washington. What a gorgeous, gorgeous place. We were there are on a beautiful, sunny, warm day in August and the scenery stunning. In fact, the sun was so bright bouncing off the water, my eyes watered! There are a lot of beautiful places in the state of Washington, but Deception Pass should righfully be at the top of the list! AMAZING! I want to go back in the future and take a boat tour, camp, hike, kayak, and all those other fun outdoor things. I can't wait to go back and I know Charlie will love it too.

I took a lot of pictures of the pass and have included some. They are good pictures, but of course they can't do justice to how beautiful of a place Deception Pass actually is. I will say though, if a trip to the state of Washington is in your future, put Deception Pass on the list of places to visit! You WILL NOT be sorry!

Cold and Windy Day at the Beach

Charlie is working on his masters degree. And one of the ways that I can help him with this task is to get Addison out of the house so it is quiet. Today he had two papers due so Addie and I needed to get out and stay out for a while.

We have been back in Florida for almost a month now and have not been to the beach since! Unheard of, I know! We have just been so busy getting unpacked and settled, or on the days we get ourselves set to go, it is rainy and not a good day to go. I decided that even though it was going to be a little chilly and windy today, it would be a great outing for us to kill a large amount of time.

Addison held her bucket and her shovels on her lap the whole ride down to Mexico Beach. She also had her shades on! She kept asking if she could swim today and probably would have had I let her. But she was excited. She talked about the beach the whole way there. Mexico Beach is about 35 minutes from where we are living now, so she had a lot to say. I could tell she was really going to love it this time. In the past, she has only been luke warm about it!

When we got there, it was cold and windy. But the sun was shining bright and there was no one on the beach. We bundled ourselves up and hit the beach! She wasn't to interested in building the "towey" - aka tower" she kept talking about the whole way down, nor was she interested in swimming any more. I think she decided that I was right and that the water would be too cold. She wanted to walk - which is one of my FAVORITE things in the whole wide world to do on the beach. And she wanted to pick up shells - another one of my favs! So that's what we did! We walked and we filled on large bucket full of shells and two small buckets full of white, powdery sand. It was the perfect morning!

These are the things I will cherish the most about our time here in Florida. Being on the beach in January is pretty hard to beat even through the wind!

Pregnancy Insomnia

One of the biggest problems I had while pregnant with Addison - besides the HUGE amounts of swelling - was that I slept terrible, especially the first trimester. I was really hoping this time would be different. I mean, it's hard enough to keep up with a two year old when you do have enough sleep, let along being sleep deprived! However, last night - I DID not sleep most of the night! UGH!!! I guess that is just one of my pregnancy things - I just don't sleep! BOOO, HISS! Needless to say, I am feeling very tired and sluggish today.

And to make matters worse, I decided to cancel the little playdate we had with Sam and Cameron Huet this morning because I am so sluggish! Normally, I would just press through and go to bed early tonight, but we have hired a sitter so we could go to a squadron function tonight. I figured I should probably take it easy today so I would be able to go tonight since we hardly ever, ever hire a babysitter!

Oh boy! Thank goodness it's Friday! I am going to need a lot of coffee to get through this day. Wish me luck!

Gymnastics

Addison started gymnastics this week. She is going twice a week - Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings. And she LOVES it! It is a mommy/daddy and me class for little ones three and younger - so Charlie and I get to partake too! I have been so impressed with her too! She minds the teacher, she waits patiently in line while waiting for her turn. So unlike her when she is with me! :) We are still working on her "skills" - but I even noticed her skills were even better on Thursday than they had been on Tuesday. We aren't taking this too seriously - I mean she is only 2 1/2 - but are so proud of her. She loves it and it is great to have something to look forward to with her.

Here are some pictures that I took on my phone last night. They aren't the greatest, but since I have to participate with her, I can't really take pictures with my camera. Charlie is taking her next week, so I am planning on taking the camera with us and taking some great pictures to share.

Scentsy Mama!

While at home I started a new venture. I was beginning to feel the need to go back to work and bring home some extra cash. However, I was not at all ready to give up my time at home with Addison and with Chuck's schedule as random as it is working a job in the evenings was pretty much not an option. So at one of my mom's many, many bazaars this fall, I met Janis! Janis wasn't the first Scentsy consultant I had ever met, but she really took sometime and chatted Scentsy up! After 20 minutes of talking to her, I knew two things. The first is that she and I would become buddies. The second was that I wanted to become a Scentsy consultant. After talking to Chuck about it, we decided I should just wait until we got back to Florida. But after sending out "feelers" on facebook and getting such a great response, I decided to jump in head first and started my Scentsy career the week before Thanksgiving! The month of December for me was AWESOME! December was exactly what I needed to gain confidence and fall even further in love with Scentsy. And while I haven't done much in January because we are focused on getting into our new house, February is looking like it is going to be busy!

If you don't know what Scentsy is, you are seriously missing out. They are "wickless" candles. Sounds crazy, yes, but here is how they work. Essentially the warmer looks like a potpourri pot. It plugs into the wall and a light bulb heats scented wax. (80 different scents to choose from.) There are two GREAT characteristics of Scentsy candles. The first is that the wax never gets hot, so if it spills on someone it isn't going to burn them. (Great for us with little ones in the house.) The second is that there are no chemicals used in the wax - which means you aren't breathing in nasty fumes, nor will you have that yucky black soot on your walls from the candle. There are other products to choose from. But truly a great line of stuff. Lovely to look at too! Try one out and you will be totally addicted!

Check out my website - you can order from it right there, pay with a credit/debit card and have it shipped directly to you!

http://raptorwife.scentsy.us

NEWS...

I am writing this blog on January 20th, however I have no plans to post it - JUST yet. But I am dead set on keeping a really good blog through this journey of SCHUCK BABY NUMBER TWO! Yes, we are expecting another baby! Little one is due at the end of September.

Anyway, I only recorded about half of our pregnancy with Addie, but this time - I am blogging through the WHOLE thing. So we are starting here.

We are a little gun shy about sharing the news after our first attempt in 2006 ended with a miscarriage. But as soon as we have our first official doctor's appointment, this post will be on our blog and we will be public. I will probably be doing the same thing with any baby blogs that I write before we actually go public. So once we go public, all of our readers will have some serious reading to do!

Really, September?

I am not really sure where the last six months have gone. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that we were packing up our base house, driving across the country, leaving Chuck in Vegas along the way and getting settled back into Kelso. Our time in Kelso slipped by so fast and YES, I did a terrible, terrible job keeping you all up to date with what was happening with us. We were so incredibly busy the whole time we were there - much more than I could have ever anticipated! I guess keeping up the blog fell to the back burner as it often does. And since most of the people who read this blog are in Kelso and are family, there isn't much that we did in Kelso that you all didn't know about or better yet, weren't apart of. However, since we are back in Florida now and our families can't be apart of Addison's life everyday, I guess I better get back on the stick and start keeping better tabs on this blog of ours - or else what purpose does it serve? I also was very bad about sending out ALL the pictures that I have taken over the last six months - and yes, those are coming soon as well! Be patient with me - we are still moving in but I do know how important it is to keep up with this. And I do know that someday when my baby is all grown up, I will be so glad I have kept this.