Big Brother

I should get Aika an extra bone for putting up with Eva’s torture but she’d just steal it from him.  My favorite part of this clip is when it looks like he considers escaping, but realizes it’s futile and accepts his fate.

.

I sure love this dog.

I’m So Glad When

Daddy comes home!



He’s the favorite person in the room when he arrives.



And rightly so.



He's the only one willing to roll around on the floor with two droolers. 

Public Library

I love living in Oregon immensely.  However, coming from a rural town to a sprawling metropolis can be a bit of a shock.  Sometimes I discover things about my new home that make me want to shout, “Are you kidding me?!”

I took Eva to story time at the library.  It was our first excursion there.  The library is close to downtown sandwiched between two busy roads so I wasn’t sure where to park.  I followed the signs toward the “Library Parkade” and was surprised to see every parking spot had a meter.  I figured it must just be the first level so I drove around and around and around again.  All of the spots have meters.  Meters that require money.  Real money.  Let me get this straight:

I have to pay for parking at the public library?  The library that I already pay taxes to support?  The library that is supposed to be a community service?  That library?

That’s the one.

75¢ per hour to park at our local library.  My coin purse was mostly full of pennies but luckily I managed to scrounge up enough change to last through story time.  I was indignant about it but fed the meter it’s extravagant snack anyway.  Paying for parking at the library.  Who ever heard of such a thing?  When the library was being remodeled in Idaho Falls, they provided golf carts so people wouldn’t have to walk an extra hundred feet around the building to the front entrance.  Free rides and free parking.  That’s a real library.
     
It’s a shame Eva had so much fun at story time.  Now I’ve got to budget for an extra 75¢ per week to visit the library. 
























There goes my candy bar fund.  All so my child can learn to read good.

Really?

When you hear your own voice played back do you have a hard time believing that’s what you really sound like?  Do you ever look at a picture of yourself and have a hard time believing that’s what you really look like?  I had this exact experience a few days ago with a picture Myke took.

Do I really have that many wrinkles around my eyes?

Are my teeth really that crooked?

Is my kitchen really that messy?

The answer to each of these questions is a resounding, “YES!”

It’s totally fine that I am a wrinkled, Austin-Powers-toothed slob.  At least my baby is adorable.

Showdown

I stumbled upon Aika and Eva engaged in what appeared to be a very serious staring contest.

Eyeing the competition

Increasing the intensity

And…Eva loses.

Rather sorely, I might add.

Productivity

I went for a 3 mile run and made muffins for Myke’s office all before 8 am.

That’s enough effort for one day.  I don’t think I’ll worry about the laundry that needs to be put away, the fact that Eva’s dresser drawers are out of the dresser and on the kitchen floor, the vacuuming, or the scuzzy bathroom. 

Let’s not get crazy with the productivity.  People might start expecting too much from me.

New Toy

Papa has an exciting new toy to give away. 

Both of our children thinks it’s going to be his or hers.

Too bad one of them was wrong and was told to leave.

Sorry, canine child. 

Hogwash

It’s time to renew my Oregon teaching license.  The way the licensing works is very strange.  I have to keep upgrading the license type every few years which, of course, costs more money with every upgrade.  Actually, now that I think about it, I guess it’s not strange.  It’s the perfect way for the state to receive lots of extra money for nothing.
  
I have to take five tests to prove I am not an idiot.  Here’s the rundown of the tests:

• Protecting Student and Civil Rights in the Educational Environment – $130
• Essential Academic Skills:
• Reading – $35
• Writing – $35
• Mathematics – $30  
• Middle Grades English Language Arts – $95
• English Language Arts – $95

Then there’s the $50 application fee. 

For those of you who are not CPA’s or mathematicians, the state of Oregon is taking me for $470. 

Idiots.

Disgruntled

My customer is dissatisfied with the menu and/or the service. 

Guess she won’t be leaving a good tip. (AGAIN.)

Thief

Since Aika is such a lousy brusher, I bought him a new bone for his plaque.  He was thoroughly enjoying his tasty treat:



Until someone else wanted it too.



I don’t think she feels any remorse for her thievery.



Kids these days have no morals.

Bigwig

Trying to impress the Chief Operations Officer visiting from corporate headquarters today.

Think it’ll work?

To My Dear Friend, Robert

It’s blueberry time.

I picked all of these for free.

I wish you were here to eat them with me.

Feeding Time

We’ve graduated to a booster high chair.  I will now lock myself in my room and cry that my baby is big enough for a high chair.

Patience

Aika exemplifies it. 

Triple-Dog Dare

The most memorable dare I've ever accepted was drinking gutter water.  Thanks, Chris. 

I’d rather do that again than open this surprise.   

YMCA

I’ve joined the YMCA.  It’s apparently the “cool” thing among my new circle of friends.  What can I say?  I’d rather be cool than lonely.

I have taken two classes so far.  The first was step aerobics.  It was fun but I mostly just flailed around like I was having a seizure while swatting a bee.  The nice girl next to me, who was covered in tattoos, said I would get better with time.  I had a difficult time looking her in the eyes while she talked.  She has half of her hair shaved off with spots tattooed on her head to look like a leopard.  Let’s hope she doesn’t try to convince me to follow her lead and get my own spots; I might be easily persuaded.

The second class was weight-lifting and strength exercises.  The participants were a 50/50 split of old people and chubby moms so I fit right in.  (Because I’m old.)  I’m incredibly sore today and it’s making me nervous to sit on the toilet in case I can’t get back up.  I could use the towel bar for leverage but I’m afraid of tearing it out of the wall.  

Guess it’s time for a catheter.  It’s tough being cool.

Fashion Faux-Pas?

Is this look too Una-Bomber?

I Win

There is a street at the end of my running route called Ptarmigan.  It’s a stupid name and it’s a stupid street.  It’s a pretty steep hill and everyday when I get to Ptarmigan, I have to stop and walk while I dry heave.  It’s stupid. 

Today I decided I’m sick of that hill getting the best of me.  The approach to Ptarmigan is downhill.  While I was enjoying the leisurely downhill portion, I gathered up my energy and talked myself into conquering the uphill.  I had myself convinced I could do it, and just as I turned the corner to become king of the hill, Aika decided it was the perfect opportunity to stop and take a whiz.  I yanked on his leash but he didn't budge; he just planted himself further and did his business.  I could feel the power leaking out through the bottoms of my feet.  Stupid dog, stupid Ptarmigan.

But I didn’t admit defeat.  I waited for Aika to finish then I started up the hill.  I kept going.  And going.  And going.  Until…I was at the top!  No walking, no dry heaving, no defeat.  Take that, Ptarmigan.

Best of all, I shaved a whole minute off my time.  It’s going to be a good day. 

Independence Day

Our first 4th of July in Oregon was a success.  I was feeling kind of sad about being away from family and the traditions of home, but we ended up having a really nice day and are building new traditions.  I will say that I did miss the Menan fireworks.  We didn’t see any fireworks and that’s a bit of a bummer.  We didn’t really know the best place to see them and we were worried about being stuck in traffic for hours when Myke had to work today so we abandoned the idea.  We’ll try again next year.

The events in review.

Mini-marathon race:

2.6 miles along the parade route from Monmouth to Independence.  It didn’t start until 11:30 and it was HOT.  The entire route was in the middle of the road and the asphalt was radiating heat.  I usually run early in the morning so I struggled with the heat.  But I made it and I didn’t even have to stop to walk!  The whole route was lined with people waiting for the parade so it was a little weird to have an audience.  I think if I hadn’t been dying, I would have enjoyed the cheers more.  Mostly it just made me self-conscious that all these people were staring at me.   I was hoping to finish in 26 minutes and ended up with a time of 28:08.  I’ll take it.

Silver Falls State Park:

We met up with some friends (I think I can safely call them that) for a small hike to one of the waterfalls then had a picnic while the kids played in the swimming hole.  It was the perfect temperature in the shade and it felt good to be outside.  After sweating like a horse during the race, the bag of Fritos I brought tasted divine.  Eva enjoyed crawling around in the grass and discovered that she likes eating pinecones.  Yum.  Thanks, Grandpa for the Chukars hat!  It was perfect for protecting her little head from the sun.

Backyard BBQ:

One of the women I work with in Young Women at church has an annual BBQ and she invited us this year.  It was very casual and we all sat around in the backyard in our camp chairs eating delicious food and talking.  We had a great time.  Myke’s boss, who is also our neighbor, was there and I spent a lot of time talking with him and his wife.  I felt really comfortable and made the rounds talking to various people.  It was nice to feel like we are finally making some friends and that we belong.  Eva just roamed around and smiled at whoever would talk to her.  She also discovered she likes to eat dirt.  Yum.

Not a bad day at all.  Happy 4th of July!

Her Father’s Daughter

Eva has a favorite new toy.  It’s not any of the thousands of toys we have spread out on her blanket.  Oh, no.  Her favorite thing to play with and suck on is an HDMI cable.  Did you hear me, people?  I said, “AN HDMI CABLE!”

Michael couldn’t be prouder.  He also promptly corrected me by saying, “Well, it’s really an HDMI adapter cable.  That would be a more accurate description.”

Here’s a more accurate description for you.  I’m being overrun by nerds.

Cinderella

It’s laundry day.  Sigh.