T minus 4 days until Operation: Haircut

Yes, that's right. Our little boy....who now gets mistaken for a GIRL often (even in VERY boy-ish clothing), is getting his hair lopped off on Saturday. While normally, his hair looks like Einstein stuck a fork in the light socket, when it is "done" (ie: wet down a bit and combed), it is amazing! This kid has little ringlets all over. George and I have some seriously straight hair, so I'm assuming it comes from my dad (who would have a half-fro if he grew it out), my brother Scott when he was little (ringlets very similar), and my brother Eric now...he'll probably be bummed we're cutting it at all! He's went from a little bald kiddo:

Brayden's almost 1 here!

 To a crazy haired cutie:

This is basically how his hair normally looks. Not TOO much like a hobo child, but still pretty wild!

But he cleans up pretty darn well. What a stud. Minus the dirt on his face.

He's even cute when Grandma is a turd and sticks a barette in his hair.

Yes, Grandma....we got the point. He needs a cut!

But even after all that, he can still score with the ladies!

Must have been a pretty good kiss for a reaction like that! :)

While it is definitely time for Brady's hair to make it's exit, I can't help but be a little sad. My little boy won't look like my baby anymore! He'll be a little boy! He's growing up too fast!!!

All dressed up with nowhere to go

George went to work early this morning to get what little work he HAD to do today in, so we'd have the rest of the day together! Brady, Kylee and I woke up around 8am and went to McDonalds for breakfast (well, Brady and I ate there....Kylee got baby cereal...glop as we call it...at home). Brayden played his little heart out before leaving in time to meet George back at home by 10:30.

At 11, we met my parents and Scott at Men's Warehouse. Each flight attendant got a coupon for 75% off the entire purchase up to $1000! I had fun picking out shirts and ties for George (which he promptly rejected....most of my combinations. psh.) and my dad (who trusted me enough not to steer him wrong!). I do have to say....my dad's grey dress shirt with his light pink and grey paisly tie was the best combo. George's blue shirt with an orange striped tie was a close second, though.

We came home, and Scott and Heather dropped their boys off with us so they could eat lunch in peace! George washed the car, the boys had a short-lived water gun fight followed by playing Wipeout on the Wii, and I mainly worked on my math homework. When Scott and Heather got back, they let us know that Michelle, a flight attendant friend who's staying with my parents, also had the 75% off coupon that she wasn't going to use....so we headed back! I think the ladies there thought we were a bit off our rocker. This time George got a suit....and he looked downright sexy in it! :) I jokingly (half-jokingly) told him that now he has to actually wear it. Which means he has to take me out on a nice date. So, I suppose look for a picture on the blog in the future of my hot hubby in his new suit. Unfortunately, it won't be ready (having it tailored) until the 21st, which means no date at least until then.

We ate dinner at my parents house-crab salad-yum! And then played a couple rounds of Nerts. Once Michelle figured out the game, she joined in and with 6 people.....the game was insane! We were all talking about how our ENORMOUS family reunion in 2012 will be even more insane....I think a big Nerts tournament is in store for us there! We'll need at least 10-ish tables of 5 or 6 players each! I just hope that I will be able to actually go! If we end up going to USU (Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, MD), then I'll be at Officer Training during our reunion
:( George and the kids will have to experience the craziness of all the extended family without me. Anyways, time will tell.

My night after we left my parents house: MATH. Only one more week. 4 sections this evening, of stuff I really can't even explain. I can't wait for it to be over so I can half-forget it to make room in my brain for more important things.

Random picture of Memorial Day weekend. One of my favorite memories growing up of my grandparent's house was when Grandpa would take some of my cousins and I out for a drive in the Berkley. Seriously, not much larger than a gocart, but it's street legal and absolutely adorable (not to mention a historic vehicle and collectors car). I loved it! And so does George, Brady, and the twins! I'm sure some cousins can relate :)

G'night All

Today.

Nothing much exciting today. I woke up at 3:30am to the standard "ma ma....MA MA" until I went to Brady's door, gave him a kiss and a hug and told him it was still night-night time. Since Koda left for Kodiak, I think Brayden wakes up in the middle of the night, realizes he's alone, and wants someone! Breaks my heart. He's so darned cute sometimes. He then woke up when George got up at 6:00am, but George got him back down, and I was able to sleep until 8!!! That's definately the latest I've slept in in a looooong time! I feel like such an old woman saying that. At least I have the knees to back it up :)

We got the news last night that my brother-in-law, Evan (George's younger brother), fell while he was hiking....or climbing...we don't know and was in the hospital. We'd been checking out facebook pics that a few of his friends had taken earlier in the month of them freeclimbing rock walls. And not exactly small rock walls. Seriously....some seriously dangerous (aka-stupid) stuff. Well, it got the better of him, and while they didn't know the extent of his injuries, this morning we find out that it's a broken elbow (OW!), some good bruises and gashes all over, and a chipped hipbone. We're just happy he's alright and that he wasn't hurt worse. But seriously....who in the right mind freeclimbs (ie: climbing without ropes/harnesses/etc)???

My parents came over this morning and the 5 of us (them, my 2 munchkins, and I) went garage sale-ing. Totally struck out. IF we had the space, I would have bought Brady this super cute little play kitchen (he LOVES playing kitchen), but...alas, I have been trying to clear out clutter from the house for the past couple weeks.

When I got the kids down to naps, I was able to go to Target KID-FREE! So nice. My parent were at my place doing some work on the back door my dad and George installed a few weeks ago. When I got back (without the totes I went for, but WITH 10 1L bottles of soda....hey, they were $1 each, and Brady's birthday party is next Saturday!), my dad had not only sanded around the drywall/tape/spackle to get it ready for George to texture, but he also tightened down the sink faucet that has been driving me crazy! It seems to work its way loose every couple months! Seriously, my dad rocks.

The kids and I ran errands after their naps-dropping George's motorcycle pants off to get the zipper replaced, mailing Koda some goodies that included his National Geographic magazine, a book, and a card/letter, and hitting up Partycraft for ideas for Brady's birthday. We also stopped off at Great Harvest Bread Co, which for those of you not in AK, is THE BEST place to get bread! It's to die for. And they give you a huge hunk of bread (not a slice) when you get there. My mom has taught Brayden that it's the "Num Num store", so every time we drive into the parking lot, all I hear is "num num num num num". Too stinkin' adorable! A bit ironic that he won't even eat anything there. Crazy boy.

I'm excited because tomorrow George is only working a few hours....which means a half day off with my sweetie! And I think while he's at work, and if it's a nice day out, I may attempt a 6-8 mile run :) On the coastal trail, of course. And some math. I have 4 sections to do and an extra-credit problem to complete before Monday morning's class. On the upside....only 1 more week of class left! My final is on the 20th, and it couldn't come fast enough! This week includes: getting together on Monday with a friend I've never actually gotten to hang out with (without a group)....but we feel like natural friends. It's kinda fun to have that feeling :)......2 Calc review sessions, test #5, getting Sparky groomed (yay for a handsome little doggie!), making a cake, cupcakes, shopping for food, grilling, making yummy sparkling "slush", etc for Brady's birthday party. And, if there's time on Saturday (ie: if I make the cake Friday), go out to cheer on my brother, Scott, towards the middle and/or finish line of his half-marathon! Busy week, but I'd better enjoy it because come next Monday (the 20th) after my final, I'll feel like I'm bored and doing nothing all the time! 

In other news.....THIS mop of curls will be lopped off in T minus 7 days! His birthday party theme is Operation: Haircut. Oh, and trains.

Old lady knees.

Yep, apparently I have old lay knees. It started when I started running almost 2 months ago. I was fine until I started running over just a couple miles. My 1st 5-mile run almost killed me! I felt like an old, feeble little lady. I had to brace myself going down stairs, and it was incredibly painful to do squats (you know, the things you do when you move laundry in a stackable from the washer to the dryer...psh, I don't do squats just for fun!). I finally broke down and made an appointment to see an orthopedist. This was last week, before the Twilight 12k run. More on that later.

Today was my appointment, and they took x-rays of both knees and both ankles. After a barriage of questions and making me to heel raises, toe raises, walk pigeon toed, normally, etc, we then took a look at the x-rays. Basically, the cartilage between my patella and leg bones is worn down on the outside of both knees. His analogy was that of a tire tread. While I'm not running on bald tires, my tread is wearing a bit thin on one side. Nothing really medically they can do, so I'll be making hamstring stretches and working out the inner part of my quadracep (the vastus medialis...see, learning something new everyday!) more. The more loose the hamstrings are, the less tension in the knee, and the more developed the vastus medialis is (over the vastus lateralis-the outside part of the quad), the more relief I should get!

So...I can still run, and apparently it's fine just to try to run through the pain. But the more I do that, the more inflamed it can get, and the more it'll hurt later. Boo :( It's not going to stop me, though...my brother, Scott, is doing a half-marathon on the 18th (next Saturday), and as much as I feel like I want to do it with him, it's Brady's birthday, so I'll be busy making a cake and getting ready for his little get together. SO...the next half-marathon is the Skinny Raven in August, so I'm planning on doing that!

The Twilight 12k was a big success! It was the coldest evening Anchorage had seen in weeks, and was blowing pretty good too! We about froze our buns off before the race started. Speaking of which, we started right at the front of the line. We were right behind the Kenyans, and figured we'd probably get some good pictures, because, hey-everyone always checks the Kenyans out. Plus, it made us feel kinda cool to be running with them...even if it was literally only a minute or two until they were out of our sights!!! Those guys are plan FAST! Scott beat both George and I with a time of just under 58 minutes. I came in at just under an hour an 4 minutes, and George came in at just under an hour and 7 minutes! We all made darned good time, especially since it was George and I's longest race we've ever ran! Bear Tooth pizza, fruit, cookies, drinks (even a beer garden...if we drank!), etc were all waiting at the finish line, and that was a pretty nice dinner after 7.5 miles! George and I can't wait for the next race! I think we're hooked!

That is, if my old lady knees will hold out!

Summa, Summatime!

Yes, I said it. We had about 10 days of absolutely georgeous weather here in Anchorage! Over Memorial Day weekend, we did our annual summer kick-off at the cabin. George and I (with Kylee) went to a friend's wedding at Alyeska (beautiful, by the way!) Friday night, so we weren't at the cabin until Saturday morning. My parents took Brady Friday, and Koda unfortunately left for Kodiak Friday morning also. He'll be down there until the end of July :( Boo. It's only been almost 2 weeks and I miss him to death. So does Brayden. He checks out pictures of Koda on the wall several times a day, points, and says Koda! Memorial weekend at the cabin brought amazing weather! My dad's 4 wheeler wasn't working, so we didn't bring the 4 wheelers (except the kid's one...that one was already up there!), but had a good time relaxing, playing games, letting the kids get horridly grubby, etc. The usual "camping" stuff.

Earlier in May I finished up 3 classes: Trigonometry, Bio 1, and Chemistry 2. End result: 3 A's, including my 2 labs! I had 2 weeks off before I started my intensive 5 week Calculus class. It's seriously hell. Thankfully, I only have to step foot in that class 7 more times (that includes 3...yes THREE...tests in those 7 days!). BUT...then I'll officially be completely done with math! This next semester (in the fall) includes Bio 2,
Physics 1, and  Organic Chemistry! It'll be a brutal semester, but will be my busiest/hardest semester (until Medical School I suppose) for a few years.

In other news, Brayden turns 2 in 9 days!! I can't believe how big he is already! AND....he's seriously the devil. Yesterday consisted of about a half dozen full-on tantrums, slapping me in the face because I told him no (he got a spankin' for that one!), and just generally being a little pill. I think he must have sat in time out a cumulative of about a half hour! Ps-that's really long for an almost 2 year old. While I really, REALLY don't want him to "grow up"...he's my little baby boy....I really, REALLY would like this stage of his attitude to be over!

Kylee, on the other hand, is literally the sweetest, easiest baby every. The boys were easy, too, but not like this!! Both the boys were independent, and they would have rathered you set them in the swing or bouncer and leave them alone. Kylee....well she's good anywhere. She loves attention and being held, and she's pretty darn happy in her swing (that fails to swing anymore, BTW....so it's just a comfy glorified chair), her bouncer, or the floor. She popped 2 teeth in 2 days about 2 weeks ago, without an ounce of crying, crankiness, or any other teething maladies that usually plague babies! She literally, is almost never crying! :) Yay for happy babies!

It is summer, of course, which means we don't see much of George. This summer he's out at Trunk Rd. in Palmer/Wasilla "babysitting" the contractors redoing the road. While he *does* do some occasional "real work", most of the time is spent in the truck watching the contractors and making sure they're doing what they say they're doing. With the addition of Netflix on his phone, however, he keeps pretty "busy".
ie: unbored. The past 3 days have been expecially brutal, as he's out of the house no later than 6:30am, and he hasn't gotten home until between 9:30 and 11:00pm!! Great for the paycheck, not so great for being able to enjoy the summer and spend time with my sweetie!

In all, I'm just looking forward to MY summer, which starts when Calculus ends on the 20th! Then I get a break for a couple months! Oh yeah, and my next post might/should be Kylee's 6 month pics...we had them done last month just a few days before my photog friend left for a 2 week vacation (to Hawaii, the bum!!), so they haven't been edited yet! :) When I get them, I'll be sure to post some!!
Here's a quick sneak peek....Kylee was the "covergirl" for R&P Photography's newsletter this summer....don't you just want to squish her??!!

Happy summer everyone!

The BIG family pictures!

A bit late, but here goes:

My WHOLE family!

Scott, Heather, Tristan, and Curran

All the grandkids....with none crying or throwing a fit!

The boys showing off their ENORMOUS muscles!

Eric, Kelley, Cole, and Sage

We haven't had a picture like this in 10 whole years-before we were all married and with kids!

Of course, one of them has to be a turd for pictures. I think it's a tradition that has been passed down from when I was a kid!

My bros and I

In March, my brother, Eric, my sis-in-law, Kelley, and their two kiddos, Cole and Sage flew up from Ohio to visit for a couple weeks. The ONE AND ONLY thing my mom insisted on was pictures of all the grandkids together. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but seriously....I think we agonized over it for far too long. With 7 kids under 7, we knew it would be a challenge! Cole really, REALLY hates to get his picture taken, Brady is kinda hit-and-miss when it comes to being cooperative, Sage just turned one and is pretty attached to momma, and Kylee is just 4 months, so who knows whether she'd even be awake. We took a few "picture worthy" toys (aka-the wooden train set) in the hopes that the kids might just be cute playing with it and not notice that their picture was being taken! In all, I'd say it was a success! We also got big group shots (my parents, my family, Scott's family, and Eric's family all together), as well as individual family shots, grandparents with grandkids, and a few others. When we got the pictures, I called my mom. She was in the car and over here immediately to grab her CD! When I talked to my dad the next day, he informed me that she already got prints done and her "brag book" updated!! Mind you, she picked up the CD around 4:30 pm, and she had to report at the airport by 5am for her flight! She was like a kid on Christmas!

OOPS....I did it again. (Not the Britany Spears version)

A quick random preview of pictures:

our little princess....fingers in her mouth pretty much constantly!

Seriously, I have no clue where this kid gets his curls! His hair is crazy, and he looks like a hobo orphan kid sometimes, but George won't let me cut it until Brady's 2nd birthday. I'm counting down.

"All Done"

Since Kylee has started sitting in the Bumbo, it's now Brady's chair of choice now. Nevermind the fact that his chubby little legs are almost stuck every time he gets out!

Yes, it seem like virtually every post starts out with "so I haven't blogged in a while". So I'll just skip that part. And this time I hve PICTURES! :) Here's an update:

*Koda's been such a great wrestler. He really loves it. So far, he's had 2 tournaments (4 actually, but we've had to sit out of 2 of them because of illness). Of the 6 matches, he's won 2, and only been pinned once! Not bad for his rookie year :) One of his wins, he beat the other kid 12-0!!! And then his very next match was the on where he was pinned...and he became  bit more humble again!

Brady feeding the giraffe :)

*We went to Phoenix over Spring Break for 9 days, and we LOVED it! Unfortunately, Koda was in Kodiak for spring break, so it was just George and I with the 2 little ones. We stayed at our friend's Jared and Mogan's house with their two little guys (the oldest is 2.5, and the youngest is 10 days older than Kylee, so Brady had a built in buddy for a week!). We had a blast hanging out with them (we hadn't seen them since they left Alaska 2 years ago!!), and spent a lot of time visiting George's brother, Alvin, and his family. Also, we got our first peek at my parent's new house in Surprise! They closed on it in October, and this was the first time we were down to see it! We alo went to the World Zoo in Surprise, and the hilite was when Brady got to feed the giraffes. I think the hilite for the adults was probably the tortises doing the deed. I never knew that tortises made noise! :) Seriously, I think EVERYONE at the zoo had to notice them! It was downright hilarious. We also made it to a sping training baseball game- Colorado Rockies vs. Anaheim Angels. And I got a game ball! I didn't catch it, but it bounced back onto the field, and George said I just looked cute, so the field guy tossed it up to me  :) Brady loved the game too, and his hilite was probably getting an italian ice in the mini helmet! Seriously, that kid is obsessed with ice, slushies, snow cones, popsicles...pretty much anything with ice and virtually no nutrition. In all, I think we just enjoyed being in warm weather. It'll be a hard choice (assuming I get accepted to both) between USU (military med school) in Bethesda, MD, or Univ. of Arizona in Phoenix or Tuscon in a couple years. We just really love Arizona! 

Proof that George and Jared really DO change diapers!

*When we got back from Phoenix, my brother, Eric, and his family were in Anchorage (from Ohio!). We got to spend a few days with them before they had to head back home, and it was great to see our nephew, Cole, again, and meet our only neice (on my side!), Sage who turned 1 when she was here! We had a little birthday party for her at Scott and Heather's house. In the works was also a big family picture, which my mom and I had been planning for some time. With 7 kids all 6 and under, we knew that it wouldn't be the easiest thing to get them all to be "ok" with pictures and stand or sit in the same place! But, it went better than expected, as you can see below! :)

The twins 

Sage and Cole

The boys showing off their "muscles"

The whole family!

Pretty much Cole's biggest smile you can get on camera!

*Also, since getting back from Phoenix, we've had nothing but sickness here! First was a flareup for me of a bacterial eye infection, which required a trip to the doctor and prescription eye drops. The going joke is that I must have gotten some kind of animal poop in my eye at the zoo since it was so windy! Then Brady was "sick". It didn't really get him down, but he was coughing and had the NASTIEST snotty nose that required a kleenex every 10.4 seconds. Koda, too, had a bit of a cough. Then I started feeling it, and I went as long as I could before going back to the doctor, finding out that I had a bad case of bacterial laryngitis. I'm almost never sick to the point of almost bedrest, but this knocked me on my butt! And the cherry on top was when Koda woke up last Thursday complaining his ear hurt. I checked it with the otoscope, and sure enough, his right eardrum was cloudy, bulging, and bright red. We spent the whole next day (Thursday) waiting for it to burst and drain for some relief. We went into his pediatrician about an hour after it burst and she gave us some ear drops. It must be one heck of an ear infection, because that hasn't cleared it up in the last few days, so now we're on to an oral antibiotic. Here's to hoping that the "sick season" is officially over in this house! 

*THE BED!!! Yes, George finished the boy's bunk bed he's been working on for the past 2 months! He built it from scratch, and it looks AMAZING! After fnding out that it wouldn't go up the stairs, we figured out the only way to get it into the boy's room was taking out their window and doing it that way. Mind you their room is on the 2nd floor. An the bed is made of solid oak. So.....George rented a forklift yesterday and drove it home! Once we got the large unit in the room, we put it together, and it's awesome! The boys love it, and George and I were joking that if we ever lived in a really small place, we could sleep 6 people in it! (Once he builds the trundle for underneath!). They're only twins, but the rails on the top bunk make it feel pretty spacious (plus, you can't fall off!).  And I'm loving all the storage in the bed. The steps are drawers, and I unloaded all of Brady and Koda's clothes from the large and small dressers we had and STILL had one drawer left to fill! I'm in heaven! Some pictures....both of the bed, and HOW it got into their room!

The boys vegging out on their new bed!

So the next ones are in reverse order....I've been fighting moving these pictures for a while now, and am not wasting any more time on it!

That's where it stayed until the guys got upstairs to lift it the rest of the way in!

just a *little* bit more!

up, up, and away!

Brady's not too happy that dad's down there and he's up here!

Can't wait!!

George removing the window!

The boys loved sitting in the forklift and pretending!

Check out that craftsmanship! Yep, my hubby's awesome!