I want to be a Giraffe

A giraffe. My daughter wants to be a giraffe for Halloween. Giraffes are definitely cute. But finding a cute giraffe costume can be a little tricky. Last year Lu told us she wanted to be a giraffe, but Old Navy didn't have giraffes, so she went with a tiger. I think the result was pretty adorable.

(That's Lucy and her friend Bennett the Lumberjack from last Halloween.)

This year though, the giraffe idea resurfaced. Lu just turned 4 and there's only so many more years left where she will actually want to be something fun and silly and I totally want to embrace that, so we started on our search for a giraffe costume. I'm definitely not anti-giraffe. Just anti-ugly-giraffe. 

To start out with, there aren't a lot of options for giraffe costumes. Maybe they're kind of hard to create in proportion with the long neck and all? Who knows. So I got on the computer and headed to Amazon and searched for giraffe costumes. Super cute baby giraffe costumes of course. Then some funky looking ones which I expected and then a winner! No weird plastic face or awkward looking neck. Just this seriously cute little giraffe costume, perfect for Lu. Score! I showed it to Lu and she was sold but we decided to look around at some stores to be sure.

Last night we ventured out to Toys R Us to let Lu spend some of her gift card she got for her birthday. We walked in and her eyes were huge and her jaw dropped. Toys everywhere. I think she was a little overwhelmed, so we walked around a bit and headed to the costumes first. She looked at some of the choices but decided to stick with the giraffe. Then we started looking at toys. We had probably walked around close to half an hour when Jack started getting fussy so I gave Lucy the 5 minute warning. She hadn't found anything to buy yet but was desperate to make a purchase. Then she found it. A $3 kids tape measure. She walked up to the counter and handed them her gift card, so excited. Today she picked up a new placemat and a Responsibilty Chart. The girl is on a practical streak. Tomorrow it will be princess shoes, but today its practical. A giraffe costume counts as practical right?

30 and 4

This past week has been pretty crazy. In a good way. My birthday and Lucy's birthday are three days apart, so we just had our week of birthdays. I have always loved birthdays. Growing up, my parents always made them super special. They even sent my roommate in college decorations for our room to carry on the tradition. So I knew I wanted to do the same for my family someday.

My birthday was last Sunday. I turned 30. That's right, the Dirty Thirty or Thirty, Flirty and Thriving as my Young Life girls would say. I wasn't too worked up about it except there's no denying that I am now a grown-up. I had a great birthday weekend celebrating with lots of great friends.

Last Saturday we did an outdoor movie night with a projector and screen in our backyard and Jordan did great. Decorations, my favorite candies, popcorn boxes. It was awesome. We watched National Lampoon's Family Vacation since it was from 1983 (the year I was born.) It was a lot raunchier then I was expecting and Jordan later realized he had only seen the TV version, but it was still super fun!

On my actual birthday we did a fun family day and I got a sparkly silver pedicure. Then the next night, I got to go out for a girls night to celebrate me and my friend Becca's 30th! Girls nights are so fun. We went to Sinju and I tried sushi. It seems like a really grown-up thing to like and I really wanted to like it, but I just really didn't. So I stuck with my veggie tempura. So far, 30 is awesome.

Wednesday was Lucy's birthday. Her 4th. I have a 4 year old. Crazy. We had a great day together with Starbucks, Jamba Juice, the Play Boutique, and Monsters Inc. Mac and Cheese. When Jordan put her to bed that night, she suggested that maybe next year we could decorate every single room in the house. Today was her party and it was a hoot.  I did a lot more crafting then I usually do so I was pretty proud of myself! We did a Pancakes and Pajamas party so all the kids came in their jammies. It was also a morning party which worked our really well. We made Fruit Loop necklaces, had yummy pancakes, and celebrated with a donut cake. So fun. We seriously have the greatest friends.

Tomorrow we've got one last stop on the Birthday train with a family dessert at our house. Its pretty much been a Birthday extravaganza over here. I love it.

First Day

Yesterday was Lucy's first day of Preschool. She has done the daycare thing before, back when I was working, but has been home with me for a little over a year. So this is the first time she's going just for her. She was super excited and acting giddy at breakfast telling Jacksen, "I'm going to school today!" She got a little nervous as we pulled up but I knew it wouldn't last long. As soon as we walked in her class, she was gone. I'm so excited for her and can't believe what a big girl she is. 3 has been a tough year so I'm hoping that being at preschool will be a good outlet for her. Somewhere all her own, where she can continue becoming the awesome girl God has created her to be.

Pick-up time went just as smoothly. She came running around the corner with a big smile on her face. She wasn't super talkative about her day, but when we looked through the art and projects she brought home  she seemed happy and proud about what she had done. Feeling excited about this year.

I asked her these questions today...
Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite Animal: Giraffe
Favorite Food:  Mac and Cheese
What do you want to be when you grow up? Today, a police-girl. Earlier when I asked her, she said "a giraffe because then I'd have a really long neck," but I think she was thinking of Halloween.

Color Run!

A couple months back my friend and I heard about the Color Run. Neither of us had done it before so we decided to signup. The Color Run is a 5K so a little over 3 miles. I've mentioned before that I have never been a runner. In high school I definitely walked the mile (and maybe even skipped a lap altogether) so the idea of doing a 5K was kind of a stretch. But I really wanted to do it and be able to run the whole thing. So I downloaded this app called"Couch to 5K" or "C25K." The app has you start with a walk-run and then gradually increases your running time each day. "The lady" on the app as we call her is very helpful with her "begin running" and "you are halfway there" encouragements. One morning several weeks in I started up the app ready to go for the morning and saw that it had me running 20 minutes straight, the longest yet by far. I had a mini panic attack and just stared at the screen in shock thinking, you've got to be kidding me. But it wasn't so I went for it. It wasn't pretty but I managed and I kept at it.

This past Saturday was the day. My husband and I carpooled with our friends out to the Portland International Raceway and got ready to go. T-shirts, sweatbands, tattoos, and we were set. These Color Run people definitely know how to plan a run. The place was super high energy and we were pumped!

I really didn't know what to expect other then the fact that at some point we would end up covered in powdery paint. So we started running and we hit our first paint station. There are people on either side of the track with paint bottles, spraying you as you run through. There were four throughout the run, each a different color. Coming up to to the orange station, I got so excited I ran through with my mouth open. Bad idea. I ended up with a mouthful of orange powdery paint. Gross. We made it to the end and turned around to see our friends a few minutes behind and I was just so excited! I had run the whole thing! Silly I know, but I was just so happy!

We got some snacks and waited in line at a Speck cell phone case booth where we got free cases that we splattered with paint! Super fun! Then we headed over to the paint party! We opened our pant packets and starting throwing paint. Craziness!

So. Much. Fun. The whole thing was a total blast and I'm so glad I did it. It was definitely a great first 5K. Not going to lie, I was totally sore on Sunday and felt like an old woman. But that's all part of the fun I guess. Seriously though, that app is gold and if you're wanting to gear up to try the whole running thing, check it out. Totally works. Not sure if running is really for me, but its been fun while its lasted, and who knows how long that will be. At least I tried right?

Family Camp

This past weekend we had the chance to go to Creekside (part of Young Life's Washington Family Ranch) for a family camp. A group of families from Oregon would be there and they needed childcare during their worship and speaker times. So we decided to volunteer with some other friends and headed up. One catch. We had to stay in one big room, all of us together, including kids. Now this might scare some people off right away, and with good reason. But we decided to go for it with the thought that its only two nights and how bad could it really be. Our kids are good sleepers so I felt pretty good about it, but as it got closer I started getting nervous.

Creekside is out in Antelope, Oregon about 4 hours from Portland. The drive went great and we caravanned with some friends. The weather was gorgeous.

We ate and settled into our bunks, Lucy went straight for the top and was so excited. After the session, we headed to the room. Time for bed. One 3 year old, one 12 month old, one 7 month old, and one 4 month old along with 10 adults. We were all set up with fans, noise machines, the works. Aside from a few little peeps here and there (mostly from our kids ha) they all slept really well. Of course I sprung into action in a hot second when either of my kids stirred or made the tiniest noise, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it went. Lu and Jack were ready for the day a little earlier than I hoped, but they were troopers (and so was everyone else in the room.)

The next day was a blast. After the morning session, we had the whole afternoon. Lu was a big fan of the watersides. As soon as she flew off into the water she was ready to head back to the top to do it again. We also had lots of fun mini-golfing and trying out the different climbing walls. The food was great. Lu is definitely a fan of the sweets and was beyond excited that there was juice at every meal and desserts after lunch and dinner. Totally living it up.

The next night of sleep went even better then the first. Seriously shocked. The 12 month old slept like a champ for a good 12 hours, even with everyone packing and getting ready in the room. Unreal! The next day we had one more session, a hot dog lunch, and a last bit of pool time. So much fun. Would definitely do it again, kids, bunk-beds, and all.

One thing that was really cool was to see our kids up at a Young Life camp. I took Junior High kids to Creekside last summer when I was pregnant with Jacksen, but just to get to see Lu running around, participating in all the activities and just loving it there was such a cool experience. That's one part of Young Life they never get to see so that was super special. So glad we took the chance and went for it! Totally worth it.

I Do

Our wedding day was a great day. Friends and family had all come together to help us celebrate and we were so excited. We were in Spokane, WA where I had spent the most of my growing up years and where my parents lived. It was Sunday, July 23, 2006.

The night before the wedding, I stayed with my bridesmaids in a hotel and we had a great night being goofy and laughing. I didn't get a lot of sleep and was up early the next morning. One of my bridesmaids and I went down and got some breakfast. Then she took me to get my car washed, since it was having a big day too and needed to look its best as me and Jordan drove off that night.

A few hours later me and my girls were at this great salon, getting our hair and makeup done and getting ready to head out for pictures. We piled into two cars and headed to make a pit-stop at the hotel before driving over to the wedding venue. I was driving my own car, which in hindsight probably wasn't the best idea since I had other things on my mind, but what can you do. So we were cruising into downtown hitting all green lights. Assuming the last of the lights would be in rhythm with the others, I continued driving into the intersection. That's when I saw the red light and all the cars coming towards me from my right. I swerved but it was too late and we crashed.

None of us were hurt and thank goodness the other car with the rest of the bridesmaids wasn't involved. We all got out and surveyed the damage. Its still kind of a blur, but actually like slow motion when I remember it.  I know there were fire trucks and an ambulance involved. Let's just say my parents weren't thrilled but understandably so given what we had going on. I remember Jordan and the groomsmen running down the street with their tuxes on making sure we were all ok. And we were.

I don't know who took care of the car, but someone did and we all made it over to the wedding site. At some point before all that, Jordan's car had broken down and something in the engine had exploded so his car was dunzo too. But like I said, we all made it, surprisingly only a little behind schedule, and got right to pictures. Our photographer was awesome. He even signed our picture frame guestbook "The Flashmaster."

During the ceremony, everyone was sweaty. Super sweaty. Like puddles on the ground sweaty. It was a beautiful, sunny, Spokane evening, and it happened to be 108 degrees. So it was hot. At least that's what people tell me. I don't really remember that as much as I remember just being ridiculously excited. But that's how it should be.

Everything else was awesome. My Grandpa started out the ceremony and my Dad took over after we made it down the aisle. There was lots of dancing and lots of laughing and it was fantastic. Beautiful flowers, yummy food, and a cake that tasted much better then it looked. We had disposable cameras on every table for people to take pictures. I remember we grabbed one and circled up some of our bridesmaids and groomsmen. We had someone lay down in the middle of circle and take a silly picture of us. I still love that photo. I remember being so happy to be sharing that day with so many of the people that I loved the most. I remember trying to soak it all in. Faces, friends, love, just everything. It was a great day. The beginning of our life together. Now its 7 years later, and we are still going strong.

We left that night running through a tunnel of noisemakers and headed to my parents car, decked and decorated for our exit. We were off to Cancun the next day. Our wedding day was a great day. A little crazy sure, but so good. Kind of like us.