Trip to Washington: Day One

February 24

Landed in Portland, OR

Emily picked me up and took me to these amazing falls.

We match!

Emily's next door neighbors, including Juan, the donkey,

who I had heard a lot about, but was not so hospitable on my visit.

Quant little house in the secluded woods of Vancouver.

Valentine's Day

The kids got mini pillow pets to match the ones they got for Christmas. They were excstatic!

And of course, the heart shaped pizza for dinner

And cakes for dessert.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Sweethearts Race

Josh decided to sign us all up for the Sweethearts Race. The plan was for Josh & I to run the 5K and the kids to run the 1K. Well, I hadn't run for a few months and we didn't want to have to worry about finding someone to watch the kids while we ran, so we decided to all run the 1K together. The kids had a blast. They all keep asking when we are gonna run another race. I guess we'll have to make a tradition of it!

"I dunno ..."

I was hesitant to post this, but since this is essentially my journal, I decided it is one of those things that should go down in history. At the very least, it will help you realized that your life is pretty normal! We received a phone call from the school a couple weeks ago saying that Landon had hit another student in the face, and that by all accounts, it was totally unprovoked. Now, if you know Landon, you know this is TOTALLY uncharacteristic of him. Landon is my mello, caring, sweet, carefree kid. Well, something happened that day. The punishment? Suspension from school for one day!! HELLO!!! I figured there must be something else behind this mysterious punch. So when Landon got home, we had a "talk". All he could say when asked why he did it was, "I dunno." "Where you mad?" "no". "Did someone tell you to do it?" "no." "Was he teasing you?" "no". Uggghhh! At least have a reason! So, Landon hung out at home, in his room for the better part of 3 days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). Still really has nothing to say ... And not to make light of the matter, the research I am doing on Aspergers Syndrome says that these kids just do things sometimes, not understanding the social unacceptability. OK, but hitting someone?

Ice Fishing

Josh took the kids to an Ice Fishing Festival at Pineview Reservoir.

Of course I want it!

When you try to download a game on a phone, it asks you, "you will be charged (x amount) for this app. Do you want to proceed?" Well, Landon answered "yes" to 14 games and 3 ring tones ... equalling $74.34 plus $25.87 in megabyte usage. That is a grand total of $100.21!!! These charges were incurred Jan 4th from 2:30-5:30am, while Josh and I were cruising back from the Mexican Riviera. Landon is very good at swiping phones/electronics and hiding them to play later. Cullen and Grandma & Grandpa Hansen had NO idea! The games varied from every PacMan imaginable, Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, and Sponge bob. Needless to say, Landon is working it all off .. poop patrol, dishes, laundry, all sorts of miscellaneous duties! GO LANDON!

Izzy

Izzy is our near 13-year-old chocolate lab. She was my "first baby." She helped me heal after having a miscarriage. She is an amazing dog! No dog will ever compare. Well, today, I called home from work to check on how everyone was surviving. Josh said, "Izzy is dying." I first yelled, "and why didn't you tell me this earlier??" Then I started crying. My work day was almost done, so I hurried and finished up and drove home as quick as the law would allow. By the time I got home, she was doing better, but I was still convinced that it was the "end". I decided to get some pictures of the kids with her so we could always remember. At this point, the kids noticed I was crying and they all started crying. She didn't die ... Izzy rallied. But she is almost 13 and I'm not sure how much longer she'll hold out. Apparently she had an episode like this while we were on our cruise. I dread the day ... but for now ... WE LOVE YOU IZZY!