Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Princess Bed

It's official. Cassie is no longer a baby. She moved out of her crib and into a big girl bed, which she calls her 'princess bed.' We had picked out the furniture and bedding a few months ago, it arrived the weekend before we left on our trip out west. We figured we'd deal with assembling it later. Well, Cassie decided to play escape artist last night and climbed out of her crib, so the assembly project that we had put on the back burner, suddenly became urgent!

Assembly accomplished! And, I'm happy to report going to bed in her big girl bed was smooth sailing tonight. Tomorrow could be a different story.
I'll admit, no surprise, I shed a few tears. How could I not? My lil' girl is growin' up!
Cassie reads books in her new big girl bed!
Who's hidin' in that big bed?
A sleeping beauty! Thank goodness!

Travelin' Jerseys


We headed west earlier this month destined for Oregon to spend the turkey holiday with the Davidson family. As a mother, you always expect the worst when traveling with lil' ones, so you prepare by bringing along new sticker books, coloring books n' crayons, stuffing the latest dvds and the movie player and not forgetting the all important snacks. Lets just say...that on this trip, we didn't need it. Majority of the trip, everyone slept, which made this Jersey mama very happy!

Pauls Portland Farm Trip

Once we arrived to Portland, Oregon we stayed at some friends house in Portland. We burned off the stored energy by takin' full advantage of the Paul's playground equipment. The cool Oregon air didn't stop these Jersey kids from havin' fun. They bundled up and sported grins the entire time.
Friendly and clever Dianne gave Tyler wax paper to make his trips down the slide super fast and now I doubt Tyler will ever go down any slide without it!

Later it was chore time, and although there were no cows to feed...these Jersey kids loved helpin' tend to the horses. Cassie was in heaven and said "giddy up horsey" the entire time.

We can't wait to come back the end of May for Katy's country wedding.
















Portland Children's Museum

I thought it would be fun to have a day just for this Jersey family to enjoy a fun, creative play area together. It was recommended to make a stop at the Portland Children's Museum and I have to say that if you're travelin' to the northwest with small kids, this is a must-stop place! The Jersey kids could of set up camp here for a week with all the hands-on, pint-size fun that allowed them to smile the whole time.
Cassie enjoys the water station.
Tyler spends endless time at the train table.

Cassie enjoys being the bus driver!


Next up, Scott & Cassie make a clay master piece!


Cassie loves grocery shopping!

Scott plays cashier!

Tyler shops!

Tyler makes a friend with Bob the Builder!

Cassie LOVES the make-up station!
...and sports her beauty the rest of the day!

Clatskanie Bound

FINALLY we were able to venture to the northwest corner of Oregon and make a two-night stop in the big loggin' town of Clatskanie! My best girlfriend Megan and her husband Dave built their dream house and gave birth to their adorable baby girl Kelby in June...so what a great excuse to make a long overdue visit!

I'm ashamed I took hardly any photos, the camera was stored in the car the entire time. So no pictures of the baby, of the Jersey kids, of the animals...what was I thinkin'? Updated pics will have to follow at a later date.












The beautiful view!
Megs, K & Corey reunite!

Meeting the triplets

My sister Ginger gave birth to her triplet boys on Sunday, November 16th, nearly eight weeks early. What a true blessing they are and although it might sound overwhelming to most, if anyone can embrace motherhood with triplet newborns, it is Ginger and Gary.

The boys are still in intensive care, will be for another month. They are making great strides and beating all odds. Everyone is healthy and doing well. I'm so thankful that I got to meet them. They are so tiny (esp. compared to my 9 and 10-lb babies) and beautiful! Makes you really appreciate life!

Austin Patrick, 3 lbs, 12 ounces

Brandon Scott, 4 pounds, 12 ounces

Cooper Wayne, 3 lbs, 14 ounces

Genuine Thanks

Obviously, Thanksgiving is a time to be reminded of all the blessings we have in our lives. In my life, I have MUCH to be thankful for. After my mother got sick late this spring, I really wanted to spend a holiday with the Davidson family out in Oregon. I figured Thanksgiving would work better for us because of the weather and Bohnert farm help who wanted to take time off for Christmas. My parents always liked having a full household for the holidays. The children's laughter, food galore, good company from family and friends. And with sister Ginger having the babies...this was going to be THE BEST THANKSGIVING EVER!

Well, not quite. A week after the triplets were born, the day that we arrived in Central Oregon, Saturday November 24th, my father had a massive hemoragic stroke. We rushed him to the ER in Bend and still to this day, he remains in the intensive care unit. The hospital is one of the best on the west coast, the doctors and nurses are top-notched and everyday that we were out there, we spent numerous hours in the hospital visiting both my father and the triplets. For now though, I just pray for my father to recooperate and for my mother to remain strong and healthy.

For those of you that don't know my dad, he is one of a kind. He grew up poor, but always had a strong soul and knew he would build a better life. He did just that. He joined the marines, graduated with a degree in Agricultural Economics from Oregon State University and dairied for nearly 40 years. Of all his successes, he is most proud of his personal ones. He married my mother, an admiral's daughter over 44 years ago. Together they had six children and fifteen grandchildren. He raised us strictly, to behave well, to respect elders, to strive for your dreams, to be honest and loyal and to laugh! We all did just that.

As my mother said the blessing this Thanksgiving holiday, she nearly swelled up with tears, as we all did, because she was thankful for us to all be home and to be with her during this difficult time. All my sisters and our families smile--because through our family's tragedies and triumphs, through mountains and miles, we've remained close. Because of this closeness, we will be able to stick together, pray together and hope for a recovery for our father.

The good side of it all is the children. Don't they always put things into perspective? During what might of been one of the most shocking disarray in our lives, the kids never skipped a beat. The older ones understood that grandpa was sick; the little ones not so much. But, all the kids played hard, smile often and made us grown-ups appreciate all our blessings in our lives.

For those of you that have shown your sympathy, prayed for my family and been there for me and my family; thank you!
Tyler makes a new BFF with cousin Colby!
Tyler had his first sleepover at Cade & Colby's house!

Lynn's kids all grown-up! Trenton, Emily & Rebecca
Mary & Maggie...cute as can be!
K & Emily pose for a quick snapshot!
Josiah (far left) brought his newest b-day gift, Nitando WII, which was a crowd favorite.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Birthday Blessings

Yes, it’s true, I'm a year older and really couldn't be happier. Tyler informed me that I was getting "very old mom" and when I told him I was 32, he was responded with "thirty-two, what?, that's a high number." It just makes me smile! My life is very blessed and it was refreshing on my birthday to get the simple reminders of how blessed I am.

Thank you to all my friends & family for the friendly calls, emails, cards and gifts on my birthday. Yes, I'll admit it, it feels GREAT to have a lil' pampering and self indulgence!

I didn't do anything extra special today, but it made me reflect on past years and what all I have. Of course, teary-eye K broke down. How could I not? The love that I'm surrounded with can be overwhelming. I have everything I've ever wanted, plus more! My heart is full and that feeling on any day, but especially on your birthday makes you feel like your life is um, complete!

This Veteran's Day baby celebrated in-doors with a delish dinner. An ol' fave (love the smoked-alder rigatoni chicken recipe Megs!) graced our dinner plates tonight, along with some of K's favorite things....strawberry shortcake and I couldn't resist chillin' the wine. Loved the Octoberfest wine from Galena. No worries, the Jersey kids clinged their milk glasses along as we toasted mom's birthday. We said grace, all four of us ate at the same time (can't remember the last time this has happened); Cassie sang happy birthday; Scott gave tubs to the Jersey kids and this ol' mama got to soak in a bubbly tub with the rest of the wine. Kids went to bed extra early tonight. All in all what a wonderful day...I'm one HAPPY girl and it feels gooooood to be the birthday girl!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Hard Working Boy

The last couple days, Tyler has been clockin' in early and clockin' out late because its FINALLY time to harvest for Bohnert Farms. Tyler has been waiting patiently for this day to arrive and thankfully the weather cooperated and the weekend arrived, so he could spend all the time he wanted riding in the combine and helping haul loads. I have to remind myself that he is only 4! His farm knowledge, drive and passion far exceeds his age!
Since dad had to go milk, Tyler got to finish cutting beans with uncle Brian.
When dark settled in (quicker than I prefer now!), we headed to the farm to eat Halloween candy! Tyler begged & since he was such a good boy, I gave in. I asked where he wanted to eat his candy...and he insisted by grandpa Jim's truck.
Next up, the farmer boy wanted to give every Bohnert Farm employee a piece of his candy! They all greatly appreciated his generosity.
...and he saved one piece for his sissy! "Only one piece Cassie." Ha!

The Care Taker

Cassie shows her mothering instincts at a young age. She loves to pack babies around, covering them up with blankets, feeding them bottles or reading them books. She is very bossy to them too....not sure where she gets that from. :)
Yesterday, we were at the farm and we had a sick cow that couldn't get up. Cassie was very concerned about this cow, Giggles (which the kids loved her name and then laughed hysterically every time I mentioned her name). Cassie helped bring her water, hay and even when Giggles accidentally tipped her water all over Cassie...she still wanted to be around Giggles...giving her love.

Later on...Miss Cassie Ann was found redistributing the baby calves feed!
Babies have a special place in Cassie's heart!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Batman & Robin

This last month, the Jersey pair have been so excited about dressing up for Halloween! Tyler easily picked his choice, which I quickly learned that it was the MOST popular outfit in the Midwest because the search was on to find a Batman costume for him! No fear, mom came through in flying colors..and we learned that five of his classmates sported the same Batman attire. Cassie was easier to please...thankfully my adorable, lovin' Oklahoma girlfriend lent us an adorable Lady Bug outfit for the youngest Bohnert member to wear!

My flights from Nashville from a business trip earlier in the week were smooth sailing, so I could join the Jersey pair for classroom parties and trick-or-treating around the Quad Cites. Highlights included king-size candy bars from uncle Brian, as we trick-or-treated at the farm...and in the milk house, while the boys were milking...of course grandma & grandpa spoiled the kids with goodies galore and livin' on a dead-end court, filled with retires, well...its a added bonus for Tyler & Cassie, as there Halloween buckets easily overfilled!

Happy Halloween!
Who's hidin' under that mask? A Scott look alike?!
I have to say that she is the cutest lil' lady bug I've ever set eyes on!