"I Heart NY" Family Pics

We got these T shirts a little after Christmas from Sam's parents, they had requested that each of their children and their families take pictures. They have been serving in New York on their mission. I tucked them away, I had Rowan, and totally forgot that I needed to take these pictures. So finally! We have a gate in our backyard that opens up into this nice grassy area with big trees, and what a perfect place to take the pictures.
Of course, a side from just simply putting these "I heart NY" shirts on and taking a family picture, New York actually does have a special place in my heart.
My first visit to New York was with my girlfriends, it was a few years into college, and we had wanted to take this big trip. The first night we got in we stayed at hotel in Brooklyn, and took the subway the next morning, when we walked out of the subway I looked up in the middle of Times Square and fell in love with the big city. There was something about it. I loved the hustle and bustle, I loved that Broadway was right beside, I loved the crispness of the air, and I loved that I was with my friends. It was unlike any trip even to this day.
The second time I was there I went with my parents as a college graduation celebration. I was a little concerned that the second time would not measure up to the first time, however, it was just as great. The company of my parents, who are two awesome people to have a fun time with, in New York City was an amazing combination. We had so many laughs, and great conversations, with great scenery. I have never been disappointed visiting.
Then, of course, to live in New York for a couple of years, and though we were living in Long Island we were still in New York. I truly do "heart" NY.

Happy Fathers Day 2014

Another Father's Day celebration with yet, another child to celebrate with. We tried to spell out "I heart dad" on the little feet in our house to then take a cute picture, and give that to Sam for Father's day, and needless to say, it was the hardest picture to ever capture in the history of photography. Rowan runs in place like he is training for a marathon constantly, and with his movement, and the attention spans I was working with I only had a couple a pictures that even close to turned out, and this was one of them. It was actually really fun, because these boys are fun and so cute, but still difficult to capture. 

But, I just wanted to write a little about Sam today.  Sam… he is a unique man. There are many sides to him, and he can be the fun, funny, and playful dad, and other times he is quiet and patient, and really intent on teaching the boys lessons. 

We got out the boys bikes the other day that we got for each of their birthdays so they could practice more. They are getting better at balancing them, and it helped a lot when our neighbor boys who are twin 4 year olds ride on their bikes all the time. Sam said one night, "maybe now was not the time to get them bikes." Disappointed that they didn't ride them more often, and I suggested, "Well, if you rode your bike around with them, I guarantee they would ride with you." One evening we got their bikes out again, and Sam took a moment, and then got his bike out, the moment he was riding with them they exclaimed, "You are riding with us, dad!" I think that he still realizing how much the boys really admire and love him, and want to learn things to be more like him. I think once he realizes this, it will be a game changer.

 I talked with a mother who had 4 kids whose ages ranged from 7 to 13, and she reminisced on how difficult this time is with small children, and that is very true. I sometimes don't know how I get through each day still smiling, well, probably because some days I am not smiling, but I am still sane. It is nice to have Sam not only reiterate to me how hard it is,  but what a good job he thinks I am doing, and that he will support me any time I need a night away. Being a good husband, and a good dad go hand in hand. We love our boys. Rowan is now 5 and 1/2 months so I can also say with confidence that Sam also really loves him now too. Ha!

 This is an adventure, and an adventure I couldn't do without Sam. 

Not Running Away From Home

 A few days ago I was at the peak of frustration, and it was only 8 in the morning, and I just couldn't believe I had to get through the rest of the day. Josh was not even close to behaving, and with Rowan screaming and crying in the background while dealing with Josh amped everything up. I gave myself a time out first just for a moment to see if I could breathe, calm down, and deal better with the tantrums surrounding my life. It did not work. Josh was continuing his craziness, and then it was his turn for a time out-keeping in mind-Rowan was still going ballistic. I sat outside the boys room and just bawled up. I wanted to cry, and scream, and mostly I wanted to run away from home. Kaj sat with me and said, "Mom, it will be OK." I didn't say anything. "What's wrong, Mom? Are you sad, Mom?" Kaj asked. I told him that, yes, I was indeed sad. I mumbled "I just want to run away from home." Not so loud that Kaj could hear me, and frankly it surprises if I am listened to the first I say something at a normal decibel let alone a whisper. But, Kaj had heard me, his big brown eyes filled with tears as he said "Mom we be so sad if you run away from home. Dad would be so sad, we all would be so sad. We love you." And, I looked at him, and suddenly I didn't want to run away from  home anymore. Kaj really is so tender hearted, and sweet. He has all those very sensitive qualities I saw in myself as a kid. And with that, it has both negative and positives sides. But, if I could teach him to pay more attention to what is going on around him I feel like he will be able to uplift others around him also. I learned a lot from Kaj in that moment. I was so thankful that I have such a sweet boy to realize that even Mom can be sad, but it quickly turned my day around all because of him.

Summer Time in Bend

We moved to Bend last fall in mid September. I was also very pregnant at the time, and we were mostly in transition-hybernation mode with intermittent appearances in the social setting, but summer time in Bend is whole new story! I love it. It is the most pleasant of temperatures every day mid 70s to 80s with a breeze. So amazing! We are frequenters to the river, and the pool, we recently took a ride around the old mill area on a group bicycle called a surrey-I have wanted to do this since I first set eyes on the wonderful invention and is now a must for anyone who comes to visit us. It is so fun, and the boys absolutely loved it! I will say that it confused me a little at first-no not the having to pedal obviously I was doing that-but there are two steering wheels, and as I was steering us around the first loop making sure that Sam and my steering was perfectly in sync with each other so we didn't hit passers by, or run in to any poles, I then realized his steering wheel was the only one with actual control, so duly noted. I have started trail running the loop by the river in the evening, and I couldn't ask for a more scenic run. It actually makes me want to run it-which is saying something. I like to take the boys to walk around by the bridge, and we usually get an ice-cream cone, and look at fish or the ducks, and all the people who float the river. The point is- visitors-come in and visit in the summer. 

The one down side is that there was a wildfire a few days ago. I first smelled it, before I noticed that the whole sky was a dust cloud, and the smoke coming from it was humungous! There was ashes falling from the sky for a day, and it ended up burning 600,000 acres. It has now been contained, but it was a little close for comfort for a day. 

But, because that it not an every day occurrence it should not deter anyone. So it took me a good 8 months to really enjoy it here, but I can say now, I am really loving Bend.