2 yr old Bliss

Well I now have a little two year old boy. And he is my best friend during the day! I absolutely LOVE that boy! He is talking so so much now. If asked he’ll repeat any word you say, and with decent clarity too. Granted he doesn’t pronounce any F, L, R, or V sounds. But he will attempt the R sound. And after knowing that the F is pronounced with an S it’s not too hard to decipher what he’s getting at. For example “Was that fun Ephraim?” “Sun” with a nod... I can’t even put into words how much I adore my children. For Ephraim’s birthday we took him on the light rail train to down town Portland. Uncle Samuel was here so he got to party with us. And Ephraim seemed to really enjoy having him around. Along with the train ride Ephraim got to spray mommy down with the hose. Something he’s tried multiple times and I’ve successfully avoided. Which after letting him soak me, I think he probably liked the chase more. So since he likes to chase and I like to stay dry I think we’ll stick to that routine more often. I just figured since I always spray him good he ought to get a fair chance to do the same. Along with the fun festivities Ephraim got a saweet birthday cake that his mother slaved over. Don’t ask why because somehow the last minute decision of letting him have at it won through and my beautiful Thomas the Train was macerated in 1/100 of the time it took to make. Might I say that I’ve always been a fan of watching cake competitions on Food Network, but this experience brought me to a whole new level of appreciation for what they do. Granted I did all my work with a butter knife, and a toothpick dipped into ground up Oreo with milk to try and get black frosting. But nevertheless a cake decorating business is nowhere in my near future. Nor is making a fancy pants cake for any of my succeeding children. :)

So besides being an adorable communicator, and a quite polite one, I might add, Ephraim has some favorites at this stage of life which I’ll list for his amusement 10 years from now.
#1 Favorite game: Pillow fights with the whole family. Yes Emeri included. Daddy usually carries her around helping her grip a pillow and swings with surprising accuracy to put her bigger tougher brother in his place. Anytime Ephraim thinks to have one of these fights he grabs a pillow and says “Set Go!” and proceeds to whollop me in the head.
#1 Favorite Food: Pizza (I think this love surfaced when we were in Nauvoo for Jacob’s wedding and two nights in a row we got Pizza Hut at 10pm and Ephraim ate two whole pieces on his own cause he basically hadn’t eaten all day)
#1 Favorite Movie: Unfortunately none that we own. I rented some Thomas the Train movies from the Library and he was HOOKED! He could watch them over and over again. No really if Mommy wasn’t paying attention the DVD has auto play and would just repeat when it was done. So if I was caught up doing other things he would watch it 3 times in a row, straight through, without making a peep, or blinking an eye.
#1 Favorite Friend: Emeri. Whenever he’s doing something fun he desperately wants Emeri to come join in with him. Whether it’s going down a slide, swinging at the park, or just watching a movie on the couch. He wants her beside him. And he loves pushing his face into hers, and she just squeals and squawks and grabs his hair and cheeks and loves every minute of it. I’m so glad they are such good friends and hope that continues for the years to come.
#1 Toy: His tractor trailer, which he more commonly calles: “Choo Choo” Although I might say he does love his new soccer ball and “BIG Truck” that he got for his birthday.
So that’s my gem of a son in a wrap. He is such a good boy and is very willing to help. He is reverent in prayers, and he always tells baby that we’re gonna say prayers and tries to fold her arms and says “Eyes baby” indicating that she needs to close them. He recently picked up a shooting sound/action from some kids in nursery, which we dislike. And his sound effects quickly mutated into a spray of spit which we wouldn’t allow. So he’s backed off from doing it quite a bit. In fact the other night Adam caught him doing it and said “Are you spitting? Do you need to go in timeout?” and to that Ephraim said “Yes.” So Adam said “K, go to your room” and he dropped his head and walked away quietly to time out. Does it get any cuter? I think not!

My doll Emeri

Just some pics of my lil' lady at her finest!

Latest and Greatest

So I think I'm doing a pretty dang good job of embracing this new stage of life, and loving it. There have been plenty of moments where I used to whine or complain whether in my mind or out loud about the drag of the days, the lack of activity or excitement...(cause mind you excitement isn't obsolete in this bumpin town, its just Portland living calls for a budget!)...but I really have wisened up, and am enjoying my simple life of wife, motherhood, and homemaker. Although I will admit, a full day can quickly be consumed by the ongoing cycle of make a meal, feed the children, clean the children, clean up the meal, dump out all the toys in the front room and play with the kids, put them down for a nap, and when they wake up it begins all over again! :)

But I do have a more lagit way out of the house, when Adam takes the car to work cause I got a nice used instep double stroller for only 20 bones! Seriously it glides on air compared to my old stroller, and now it doesn't take 30 min to get to a decent park on foot. It just requires a little physical exertion which I was aching for anyhow. So come rain or shine,(yesterday shine today rain) the kids and I get out for a good jog, and if they're lucky a nice stop at the park.

This past weekend Adam baked the most AMAZING rhubarb pie I've ever tasted. It was rhubarb, strawberry, blackberry and it was divine! Pics to prove it. I was way impressed with his sugar sparkling lattice top as well.


Along with delish pie, we highlighted our weekend with a quick trip to the Columbia beach right down the road. And Ephraim was lovin the sand play and the "big wadda" full of sail boatsEmeri being packed down nice and tight into the cold wet sand

First Encounters

So Ephraim is at such a fun age where he can be so easily entertained, and he can likewise so easily entertain. So here are a couple firsts for him. A first with a hose and back yard, and a first actually getting, opening and applying mom's mascara. :) He's got his grandma's eyelashes!


Oh and we went out to Sovie Island this past week for a family outing. We are late into the berry picking season, so we mostly got blueberries, but we were able to grab a few marionberries, and made some sicklicious home made ice cream with it. We followed Alton Brown's recipe from Good Eats, and it called for eight egg yolks. Weird to think that if prepared differently it could have been marionberry brule. But alas it was...wait, still is, (as I lick my bowl) SOOOO GOOD!

Nauvoo The Beautiful

So we took a family vacation to Nauvoo for my brother Jacob's wedding. It was so fun to be together with family...especially since this is the first time in 5+ years all nine siblings have been together. We had a riot. Plus with Adam being an aspiring church historian, Nauvoo was the perfect place to visit. So besides the 14+ hours on a plane with two children, and 12+ hours in the car driving from Omaha to Nauvoo it was a great trip. Here are some pics to prove it!

The gorgeous Nauvoo Temple
Our family outside Carthage Jail
Poor lil' Emeri zonked out while dancing with Mom at the reception
A fun little 007 pose
Jeremiah learning the basics
Becca as the newest member of our family
Ephraim playing pioneer games
Ephraim loved watching the horses on the carriage ride

Portland Continued

So we have some neighbors right next to us that are all college age kids who have somewhat less than refined language. And since homes in Portland don’t NEED AC, our windows all pop open at night. Which means that our friends just 10 feet to our right get to hear all our doings, and we theirs…including the drum set in the garage. So even though we were dying to have our home where we didn’t have to share walls…this situation is almost worse, because the only thing between our ears and their noise is two mesh screens keeping the mosquitoes out. SAD!
But we have met some really nice neighbors just a few homes down who have a 4yr old and 7yr old girl. Ephraim appreciates them and they adore Emeri. Plus their mom Kimberly was super sweet and gave us an old fisher price trike that is perfect for Ephraim. So we’ve got a decent mix in the neighborhood, but we’re adjusting well, and trying to focus on appreciating the good.
Two nights ago for family home evening Adam gave a wonderful lesson comparing our situation to Adam and Eve being kicked out of the Garden of Eden. I know it may sound a little extreme, since they were living in the presence of God and we were just in good ol’ Provo, but the analogy worked well for an emotionally exhausted me.  And I was never informed of the local gangs just around the corner, or exposed to so many colorful explatives in Provo. So in our own sense… Provo was a Garden of Eden, and Portland is the “Lone and dreary world” But it is becoming more and more evident that this is where the Lord wants us. I will admit just after being here 3 full days Adam and I gave out a BOM pass along card to a man in the park rolling his own cigarettes, and it felt AWESOME! I do love missionary work, and there is LOTS to do here.
The ward has been super welcoming and friendly since the minute we got here. Bishop and his counselor Brother Hyde, and a young couple from the ward all showed up to help us unload the truck. And since then we’ve had the chance to spend some good time with the Brewers. (They are the young couple) We had dinner with them Sunday, and I got to go with Samira and another sister in the ward to the Children’s museum Monday, and she’s offered to babysit Friday night so we can get to the temple. Awesome people! 
So here are some shots of Ephraim enjoying the kiddy size grocery checkout and the water explore area.

WE MADE IT TO PORTLAND

Well it’s been over a month I’m sure since I last wrote. And much has transpired!!! Who knows what was written last but currently I am sitting in my living room at 7103 N Swift Ave, Portland OR 97203. Has it been a ride or what. Just a couple weeks ago Adam finished up his Masters Project at BYU culminating his college experience. I was able to attend his presentation and it was a funny one cause they are doing construction on the Clyde building this summer, and during his speech the whole building begins to vibrate violently. So violently that the text on the projector screen is anything but legible and when a professor sitting 15 feet away tries to ask a question it has to be repeated three times before his voice has been raised to an audible level above the racket. I tried to get a video clip of it on his phone but it doesn’t do the experience justice. It was quite entertaining. So with that completed on July 6th we had just four days till we were out of Provo for good.

Packing wasn’t bad at all. In fact it was a little enjoyable for me at times, cause it required organization and planning. But as always the day of the move was a BEAST. Not cause we weren’t ready, but cause then there were still all the RANDOM odds and ends that don’t have a home and have to be thrown in a box together only to be labeled STUFF. Yeah and unpacking those here is the worst! I have like 5 open and I’m sifting through them still. So when we hoped to be out by noon, we didn’t actually get to leave till two. It just drug on, and all the cleaning that you never think to do appears out of nowhere!
We did get to have a night out with our dear friends the Draschils at Indian Palace. (Absolutely DIVINE Food!) And they treated us, which was SO generous. They are some of the most generous people I know, and it’s not like they are 60… retired and rollin in it, but it don’t matter! They still give kindly to all around them.
I will miss Provo. I had made some really good friends there, like Melinda, Meredith, Rachel, Amy, etc. It was a great place to live and I doubt we will ever live in such a convenient location. Here is the list of things that were within walking distance (Church, tennis courts, racquetball courts, a couple of grocery stores, our banks, the library, BYU campus, 4 different playgrounds/parks for Ephraim to play at, Provo bakery….with dangerously good doughnuts, taco bell, little caesars, redbox, the list doesn’t end.) And any shopping we could want within 15 min max drive.
Not only that, but more sentimental things too, like my whole life as I now know it found its place in Provo. I met and fell in love with Adam there; I carried and bore two children there; I prepared to go on, and returned and adjusted from my mission there. I got my college education there, and served in 6+ different church callings during my stay. So needless to say there will be lots to miss, and even more fond memories for years to come.

But now I’m an Oregonian! Well I take that back, I don’t know that I’m ready after just one week to take on such a strong title. Because I think such a title would include accepting and appreciating that the trash service here provides you with a large recycling can, a compost can, and a glass recycling bin, but no trash can. Seriously! And I can recycle my yogurt container but not its lid, same with the milk. Sorry but I doubt a mother with a mind as frazzled as mine is will find the will or the time to sort through things so meticulously!
But on a more chipper note we really are settling in quite well here in Portland. When we first arrived I felt like crying. Adam wanted to cry when we left Provo, but I didn’t feel the urge till we got to our new home. It is a perfect home for our family. I love the layout, how open and roomy it is. The neighborhood is something else though, and our yard is less than desirable. Worst part of all though is that our home smells like a rental unit of a past smoker. I don’t know that the home itself was ever smoked in, since it’s forbidden in the lease, but the smell is definitely still here. NASTY! But we’ve done our best to mask it with air fresheners. And I can abide knowing that we’re here only for one year max. The rent is super good for the location and what we’re getting so I can’t expect everything to be perfect.