A Day In the Life Of The Jorgeys.....

Fourth of July and Swimming in Table Rock Lake

2010-07-28T21:41:00.002-04:00

We watched the fireworks over Table Rock Lake at Grandma and Grandpa's. Even though the fireworks were far away, the boys "needed" their ear protection!

The next day, we went back out to Grandma and Grandpa's and went for a boat ride and went swimming. The boys really enjoyed it....and Abel really enjoyed jumping off the boat!

Mammoth Cave

2010-07-14T22:18:00.003-04:00

On Sunday, we took the boys to Mammoth Cave. I never realized how large it was! We went on the Discovery Tour, which was a self guided tour that just went into the mouth of the cave. We figured that was all that the boys would be able to handle. Unless we wanted to carry them the whole way!

Dane was pretty concerned about bats the whole time, so after this photo he pretty much kept his hood up. But, his daddy assured him that the bats would fly into my hair before they got to his!

Abel had double protection....

This picture was taken by Abel. He was quite the picture taker on this trip. I won't bore you with all the ones he took....just the good ones! I think I know what Santa will be bringing him this year....

Dane trying to hold up the cave...

Dane, Abel, and Eric on their way out of the cave....

Branson, here we come!

2010-07-12T22:46:00.007-04:00

Our July started out with a road trip to Branson to see Grandma & Grandpa Clark. We left on Saturday (July 3), and returned the following Friday. We packed a lot of things into the week, and I have a ton of pictures. I'm sure I won't get this all into one post, so stay tuned!

By Saturday afternoon, we had made it down to Louisville, Kentucky and took the boys to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. We got to tour the factory, which was pretty cool. Dane seemed to really like the museum, especially since he just finished his first season of t-ball.

Here is the outside of the factory & museum with the large bat!

Abel inside the museum..

Dane inside a large rock that was carved into a glove...

Trying to get a good picture of the two monkeys smiling....but instead, I got this!

Dane about to practice his swing.....

Good picture....but I always seem to catch Abe with his eyes closed!

Abe and Daddy....

Abel was watching the pitching machine.....and was so amazed at how fast the balls went by.

Eric and Dane with Babe Ruth. I LOVE Dane's pose....

Dane requested this picture....

Eric holding Derek Jeter's bat...

Dane with Lou Gehrig's bat...

The boys had a great time there, and it was a nice rest stop after a long day in the car. We then headed south an hour to Cave City. We stayed there for the night, and took the boys to Mammoth Cave the next day.

Really....One year already?

2010-06-16T14:07:00.002-04:00

Wow....I'm so sad to see that it has been a whole year since I have written in this blog. I guess that life got in the way . . . .

Our computer has always been downstairs, in the farthest corner of the house. We thought this was a great plan when we moved in, but it turned out not to be for me. If I just needed to look something up on the computer quick (or blog), I would have 4 little feet running after me and it would take me a long time to get them all back upstairs. We just got a laptop that I can use upstairs, so that has made a world of difference. Now I just have another set of hands (Dane) that likes to play games on Nick Jr....

Hopefully having this upstairs will allow me to keep up with my blog. I really enjoyed doing it, and I know there were many people who enjoyed reading about the happenings of our family. I haven't gotten everything installed on this laptop yet (to transfer pictures from my camera, mainly)...so it may be a little longer before I get pictures on here. But, at least I can let everyone know what's going on in our lives!

As everyone knows, we are expecting our third little boy in September. I am in the process of trying to organize and paint this house. Dane and Abel will be moving downstairs, and the new little guy will take over their room. The boys have requested blue walls with green stripes to go with thier surfer bedding. I am going to try to make them happy, although I have never done anything like that before....I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Right now I am working on the upstairs living/dining room. We have a friend that is redoing our table and hutch, so with that gone, I am painting the whole upstairs...tan, chocolate brown, and celery green. I am about half way there. We have a new loveseat and chair picked out for up here after all the painting is done. After we are done up here, I will be working on Dane and Abel's room, and then the baby's. I have so many projects to get done before September, it is crazy! But, I know that what doesn't get done before he gets here, won't get done for a long time.

Dane has graduated from his preschool and is now on to kindergarden in the fall. He has amazed Eric and I with what he has learned these past few years, and is reading very well - amazing. He seems excited to go, especially since he will be riding the bus in the mornings with Maverick and Maddox.

Abel will be starting preschool in the fall (2 days a week) - providing that he does well on the potty this summer. He has been more of a struggle to get potty trained than Dane was, but I am hoping we are almost there. If we have to delay it for a few months, no biggie.

Eric has been out of town the past few weeks, and the boys and I will be glad when this stretch is over. We miss him a ton. Even though he works a lot when he is home, it is nice to have him here every night. I am really proud of him for the work that he does and how hard he works so that I am able to stay home with our boys. That is what we both have always wanted, and we are so lucky that we are able to make it work. When I told Eric that we were expecting, he told me that I just bought myself 6 more years of staying home! I need to stop writing about that....I can feel the tears starting to form....

In other news....a few years ago we sold our Ford Explorer in exchange for a smaller car that was better on gas (a Dodge Avenger). We have loved it, it has been a great car. Eric's truck is starting to wear down, so we have been thinking for the past year or so that we need to replace that. It was going to get replaced by another truck for him, since he really enjoys driving them and they are useful when doing house projects. However, after learning that we will be driving around three little boys instead of two, our thoughts changed. Well, I think Eric would still prefer a truck, but my "out-loud" thinking seemed to have changed his mind as well. I would be hauling around a stroller and baby gear...would i want to be throwing that in the back of a truck all the time? As time goes on, I will probably be driving the new car more often, and I have to say that I really wouldn't mind driving a truck around, it was just more about the logistics. So, after driving numerous things.....we got one. I have to say, as much as I love the Avenger, I didn't realize how much I missed driving something a little bigger.

On Monday, we bought a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. I absolutely love it, and Eric says he does too (although he still loves his truck). Someday I promised him he would be back in a truck. I think this just made the most sense for us now. I told Eric he would have the exclusive driving rights this whole summer, and after that, on the days I don't need to haul all three kiddos around - it's his. With Dane riding the bus, I may actually only need to drive it 2 days out of the week. It's fun to drive and the boys love it. It has a third row of seats, which Dane will eventually be riding in. When we test drove it, he got to ride back there. The smile on his face the whole time we were driving was priceless. We drove it last Saturday, and then spent the weekend thinking about it. On Sunday, Dane said he wanted to go get it..."We just have to go there and give them some dollars, and we'll be all set"....if it were only that easy.

We got it, and couldn't be happier with what we ended up with. Eric is gone this week to St. Louis, so what do you think I have been driving????? The Pathfinder, of course!

This hopefully gets everyone caught up, and I hope that I will be able to keep up with this blog better than I did . . . . .

Grand Rapids Public Museum Visit...

2009-05-01T11:45:00.007-04:00

Last week the boys and I went to Grand Rapids to the Dinosaur Exhibit at the museum. We met Aunt Carole and Andy there, and the boys had a wonderful time. The exhibit was just the right size for the boys, and we ended up there for the whole morning!

Here are Andy and Dane just before we got in to see the dinosaurs. Abel was not being cooperative at this point...

Andy and Dane playing with one of many tables set up for them to play on.

There were some magnetic boards with dinosaur parts, and the kids could create their own dinosaur. The boys were doing better than I was....I couldn't figure out where all the parts should go.
Abel concentrating very hard....

Here is Andy coming down from the tree house...he really liked it up there!

Dane and Andy looking out the treehouse windows...

Here is Andy digging up dinosaur bones....the had a huge sandbox filled with uncooked rice. The kids used paintbrushes to uncover the fossils...what a great idea!

The big dinosaur you see the background was being moved by Abel (the controls were in front of him)...this was his favorite!

Aunt Carole and Andy

Andy doing a dinosaur maze...

Abel with some of the big dinosaurs...they had ones that were animated...very cool...

Here are some of the babies popping out of the eggs...another favorite.

After we were done there, we took the boys to McD's for lunch...where else would the kids want to go? After such a fun filled morning....the ride home was very quiet!

Construction!!!!!

2009-04-22T19:16:00.003-04:00

It's nice to finally see the sun again! After a rainy and dark start to the week, we are finally getting some nice weather again. Hopefully that was the last of the cold weather. I probably shouldn't have just said that...

The developers of this neighborhood (KBH Builders) are starting to build on the two empty lots in our cul-de-sac. There are still seven remaining. Needless to say, there have been a lot of trucks down our street this week. On Monday, they cleared out the lots. The boys loved watching the trucks cut down the trees, another one pick up the lumber, and then it being put into the wood chipper (a big one, I must say!). There was an enormous pile of wood chips Monday night. Despite the misty rain, the boys and I ventured over there to climb the mountain. While the workers were on their lunch break, I was tempted to haul our Christmas tree over there and some of the logs in the back yard...I refrained.

On Tuesday, they finished clearing and leveled the lots out. Today they poured the footings. Dane and Abel have been waving to every truck that goes by, and have occasionally got honks! They have been watching from the window - but it was much nicer to be outside today!

Last night a tree fell on a house right across from the neighborhood. There was a tree service that came today to clean it up, so the boys and I sat and watched them for awhile. Our neighbor from across the street came down in his golf cart and watched for a little while too. We were having a great time until the Bobcat driver hit an overhead line and broke it. The F-bombs started flying and then it was time to go. Mr. Paul gave the boys a ride back up to the house in his golf cart....and they LOVED it. I think he started something.....

The boys are going to have a lot of stuff to watch in the next few months... and hopefully some kids to play with!! Word has it that one house has a buyer and the other one doesn't. Haven't met anyone yet, but we're hoping for a younger family, since we are the youngest ones down here! We can't complain though, everyone is very nice. Now we won't be the newest ones here....

Easter

2009-04-16T15:47:00.005-04:00

Nikki and I took the boys on the train from Battle Creek to Jackson last Thursday, and we stayed until Sunday. They had a great time, and everyone was well behaved....well, except for Abel. He realized he could run around, and was not going to sit down for anything! It was only a 50 minute ride, so we didn't have to fight him for long. Unfortunately, I left my camera at Nikki's house that day, so I don't have any pictures. Once I get them from her, I will post some.

Here is a picture of Dane with the Matchbox car from Nana and Poppy....do you think he liked it? Abel is opening up his Easter basket from Nana and Poppy...with a chick in his pocket that they made the day before.

Dane tried for about a half an hour to blow up a balloon from an egg he found. I thought he was going to pass out! After he gave up, he wanted me to blow it up. It couldn't have been any wetter from all his spit!

Dane and Aunt Nikki after the egg hunt. He was very proud of what he found!

All the kids....Abel, Dane, Cameron, Avary, Maddox, and Maverick afer the hunt. I was surprised we got them to sit!

Abel with one of his eggs....he had to look inside each one before putting it in his bag...

He wasn't afraid to get down on the ground in order to get some! It was a very nice day out, but it had been raining a few days before. The ground was still quite muddy at my parent's house, so they had to wear their boots.

Here is Dane checking out what is in his egg. They all had Easter baskets, but after the "Easter Bunny" (aka Uncle Eric, Aunt Nikki, and Uncle Jason) hid all the eggs outside, we realized that there were too many eggs for their baskets. So, we opted for bags instead!

Abel says, "Farewell"......

Our week...

2009-04-03T08:23:00.002-04:00

Not much has been happening around here lately...just waiting for spring. The boys and I get outside as much as we can when the weather allows - today it is rainy and gloomy.

Dane is still loving preschool, and is doing very well. He is writing his name (I'm trying to teach him how to hold a pencil the right way), and he recognizes most of his numbers and letters. We will be sending him to the same place next year, and the year after that, maybe kindergarten (WHAT????). Lately, when we are outside, he has been telling me that he wants his training wheels off his bike. He rides around on it so well that we may try to take them off and see what happens. I think he'll do great and catch on quick. If he's not ready, we'll just put them back on!

Abel will still be too young to go to school next year, so he will have another year home with me! I don't think he'll mind. Although, he usually tries to take his coat off when we drop Dane off. I think by the middle of next year, he'll really be wanting to stay. I had to take him for an xray of his tonsils and adenoids on Wednesda. When I took him for his two year appointment in January, the doctor noticed his tonsils were enlarged. We went to an ENT and he didn't seem as concerned about his tonsils, but focused more on his adenoids. He still had fluid in his ear from his last ear infection, so we will go back in 6 weeks and see if the fluid has cleared. If it hasn't, he will probably need tubes. We'll also see what he wants to do about his adenoids.

On Thursday, we had to have someone come out to look at our microwave - it wasn't heating anything up. He tested it, and there was some part that was bad, and he said it would take a week to get it in. We have already been without it for a week! I kind of feel spoiled complaining about it - do I think that no one survived before they were invented?? There are certainly other ways to heat things up (hello, Mr. Stove), but they aren't as convenient.

We bought a new bedroom set back in February, which we love, but it is not "right" yet. After they delivered it, I noticed that one of the dresser drawers was very hard to open (note to self: when having something delivered, check all drawers before they leave...). I called the store the next week, and they said that some screws had probably come loose during delivery, and that they would send someone out to fix it. I would've tried this myself, but we couldn't figure out how to get the drawer out! Besides, you could hear wood scraping on wood, so we thought it was more than that. The guy came out, and told us that something was warped inside, and he couldn't fix it. Well, he said if he had it in the store, he could take it apart and fix it, but he didn't think that was fair to us to pay for a new one that had to be ripped apart. They ordered us a new one, and we waited another 2 weeks.

They called me for delivery, which was last Friday from 1 - 4 pm. At 3:45pm, I got a call from the store saying that they wouldn't be out that day because they found something wrong with the new dresser. They knew in the morning that they wouldn't be out, but the failed to call me. Ugh. So, now we are waiting another 2 weeks for a new dresser (the salesperson informed me that this was the last one they were ordering for us, if this one is bad, he said maybe they could put the three together and make a good one. If he thinks I am paying what we did for a pieced together dresser, he's CRAZY). Anyway, at the end of our conversation, he said they have had issues with this company. WHY THE HECK ARE YOU STILL SELLING IT????? It only causes headaches for the store and the customer. We'll see what happens. I'm starting to wonder. It makes me glad that Eric got the 5 year warranty with it. We normally don't by those things, but they waived the sales tax if we bought it, and it was the same amount of money.

Eric almost has the shed built, which means we can clean out our garage! We are starting the think about landscaping, and putting in the grass. We may have someone come do the front and sides, and we will worry about he back. I think it would take a lot of Eric's time, of which he doesn't have a lot of right now. We have lots of projects that we want to do, but we'll just have to pick and choose what we want to do this year. It will be waiting for us next year too, so no rush!

Flu Bugs....Be Gone!

2009-03-16T19:29:00.002-04:00

Shoo, flu bugs! After a winter of being fairly healthy, March hit us hard. It started out with the cold that everyone was passing around, leading into the nagging two week cough. We were almost done with that, and Dane got pink-eye. Went back to the doctor the next week with Abel for a double ear infection.

Eric and Dane went to the monster truck show in Grand Rapids on March 8, and had something there to eat that didn't agree with them, and you can guess what happened. The next Saturday, Eric got the flu, and I ended up getting it the next day. That Saturday happened to be Nikki's birthday, so we had planned to meet in Battle Creek for dinner. Eric didn't go, and my Dad wasn't there either (you guessed it, the flu). Nikki got it on Sunday just like I did. We all had a little different set of symptoms, but it was unmistakably the FLU.

Eric left today for Madison, WI for the week. I hope that the boys sail through and don't get it, otherwise I'm in for a LONG week!

Happy Birthday Eric!

2009-03-05T19:07:00.005-05:00

A little late, but here are some pictures of Eric's birthday. We met Nikki, Mav, and Maddox at Bennigan's for dinner...

Here is the cake that we made for him. Dane put the decorations on the top.....I think it says something in Chinese. What are they teaching him at pre-school??

Thanks Tommy....

2009-02-25T16:51:00.002-05:00

No surprise, these boys want to be just like their dad.

Eric wears cologne for me, not him. He says he could care less, but I love the way cologne smells. He always wore it when I met him, so maybe it takes me back to being 19....

He has always worn Polo or Tommy Hilfiger (my preferences). Well, Polo is what he wore when we met. Anyway, in a moment of thriftiness, I tried some less expensive stuff that I thought smelled just as nice. But, not long after, the smell wore off. I couldn't smell that college man when he got home from work!!

I recently went back to buying Hilfiger - and it smells so nice! The boys watch Eric get ready in the morning and see what he does. During the day, they are always in his bathroom drawer. Yesterday, Dane saw the bottle and told me that's what Eric puts on his neck. He said he wanted some, and of course, so did Abel. I sprayed some on, and I was in heaven all day....my little guys smelled like my big guy! When Eric got home, Dane told him that he put some on so he could "smell good like you".

Eric thought it was a little weird....

RIP Pico....

2009-02-18T19:15:00.003-05:00

I am beginning to think that maybe I need to tie a rope to my belt and attach the other end to Abel. He is ALWAYS into something - good, bad, or otherwise. Eric and I have nicknamed him "Wild Card" - because we never know what he's going to do....here's an example.

Dane was at preschool this morning, and Abel and I were doing some chores around the house. He was in the laundry room with me, and all of a sudden I see him darting out of there. I caught a glimpse of a green spray bottle, which I thought was the water bottle I use when I'm ironing. The boys love spraying each other, so I thought that is what he had. Boy, was I wrong.

Not more than a minute later, I walked into the next room (the office), and he had pulled a chair over to the fish tank and was spraying Spray 'N Wash in the fish tank - which happened to be in a green bottle! There were bubbles on the top of the water, and I thought "oh, this is not good!". I emptied about a third of the water, and put some fresh water back in. About this time, two of our three fish were acting weird. Our Jack Dempsey - aka Barney - was floating near the top, and our catfish - aka Pico - was at the bottom doing barrell rolls. I didn't know what else to do. I thought that maybe this was the end of them, but I couldn't just stand there and watch them like that.

I filled a bucket with fresh water, and scooped up all the fish and put them in the bucket. I NEVER do this, but I had no choice. Eric always scoops them out when we are cleaning, when one has died, etc. So, it was quite a sight when I was trying to do it. Luckily, they were kind of lethargic from Abe's poison, so I could get them easily. Abel was so interested, but I kept telling him to back up and not touch the fish - why? He's a boy and that's what they do....but mom thinks it's gross!

I then emptied 3/4 of the tank and refilled it. By the time I was done, Pico had passed. Even though it was a little fish and I don't like them, I was sad. Off into a Meijer's bag he went...too big to flush.

As of right now, the other two are back in the tank and trying to survive. Our sucker fish has seemed fine all along, and Barney is still near the top - but swimming around a little bit more.

When Eric called this evening, he asked to talk to Abel. I put him on the phone, and Eric asked him if he killed Pico today. He said "yep".

I hope they can survive the Wild Card's chemical warfare.

Bright sun shiny day!

2009-02-16T19:23:00.005-05:00

It was cold here today, but the sun was shining...the boys were itching to get outside! Here are a few shots of them riding on their bikes in February....

No more pootie!

2009-02-12T22:06:00.003-05:00

Most of you know that Abel was very attached to his pootie (pacifier). Ever since he was a year old, I have been thinking that I need to get rid of it. I thought that maybe he would outgrow it, and then I wouldn't have to be the bad guy that takes it away from him. He really only needed it when he went down for his nap and at bedtime, so I justified it because he wasn't walking around all day with it.

In January, Abel had his two year appointment with the pediatrician. I mentioned that he still used it to get to sleep, and he said that I really should try to get rid of it. He told me a story of how one mom did it, and I was ready for any suggestions. This particular mom told her child that the mama squirrel in their back yard just had some babies, and they were back in the nest needing some pacifiers. She put them all in a bag, set them out on her porch, and left them for the mama squirrel. I listened, but all the while thinking, "There is no way that Abel is going to fall for this....it will be a disaster".

On the way home, I decided that I was just going to bite the bullet and do it. No giving in...take it away and deal with whatever comes. Right in the car, I began telling him about the baby squirrels, and that tonight we were going to give them his pooties. He just listened but didn't say much.

All day long, we talked about giving his pooties away. He started talking more about it, and didn't seem upset. All along I thought that at bedtime, he was going to lose it. We packaged them up, and set them on the deck for the mama squirrel. He seemed excited.

He asked for it once at bedtime, and we told him the story again. That night actually went pretty well. About this same time, he learned to get out of his crib. So that just added a new layer to bedtime. Threatening to take his pootie away was what kept him in his crib, now we had nothing.

The first few weeks were rough at bedtime. He only asked for his pootie a few more times, and then told us that the mama squirrel took them. He was ok with that, but had a hard time settling himself down. He is much better now, but is still quite the staller at bedtime. He always calls for me, and when I go in there, he just says "ummm...", or he wants to play with his trains, or go outside, or go to McDonald's...anything to get me back in there. And there lies our sweet little Dane who goes to bed so well....

Dane is still in his toddler bed, and Eric and I have talked about getting them some bunk beds. We may keep the toddler bed in there and let Abel sleep on that, and Dane can have the bottom bunk for a while. It's time to get rid of the crib....although it saddens me as it's one of the last baby items in the house! The pootie was hard for me to get rid of for the same reason.....

January Randoms...

2009-02-12T21:55:00.002-05:00

Here are a few random pictures from January. We had a birthday party for Abel on January 25th (also Poppy's birthday!). I know we were a month late, but with all the craziness of the holidays, we decided to have it in January. Right now he doesn't know the difference. I'm sure one day soon he will, a we will have to do something special on December 25th...

We had a sock monkey theme, and below is the cake that I made for him. Despite my worries, it turned out pretty well! Dane wanted to make sure I got the red lips on there. I don't have any more pictures from the party on my camera, my Mom and sister took them all. I will get them from them soon, and will post more.

The boys got robes from Nana and Poppy this Christmas, and he they are showing them off!

A Beautiful Weekend...

2009-02-08T20:34:00.004-05:00

It was such a nice weekend here!! The weather was very warm, and although I hate all the mud outside, it was nice to see the sun. The boys got to play outside yesterday and managed to end up in the mud. They had fun riding their bikes on the driveway, and I can see that we will need to buy another bike this summer for Abel - all he wants to do is ride Dane's! They stayed out of the mud for awhile, but eventually it was calling their name. Luckily nobody fell down in it. They ran through it, and then ran through the snow to wash their boots off (something I taught them to do, and Eric thought it was a hoot...).

I had a baby shower to go to today, so the boys spent the day with Dad, and Bumpa and Great Grandpa came over. I had a nice day out with Aunt Grace and Grandma....

The lake looks like it is not frozen over anymore - all the snow that was on top has melted. I hope that it gets cold again this week because we are having our group of friends over from Jackson this weekend for a get together, and I'm sure the guys want to ice fish!! Eric assures me that there is still ice under there. We were out last weekend and there was 8 inches. It still makes me nervous to see standing water though. Dane and Abel are going to Nana and Poppy's for the weekend, so Eric and I can enjoy spending time with our friends - we are looking forward to it! Mav and Maddox will also be with Nana and Poppy (what are they thinking??), so I'm sure the boys will enjoy that...

We have finally started painting in here!! Our first project was the downstairs bathroom. It has been painted, we just need to do some touchups and then hang stuff back up. I will post some pictures when we get it done. It is where Dane and Abel take their baths, so we have decorated it in a cowboy theme. They are excited to see it done!!

Have a great week....will post later. I am determined to quit spending time on Facebook (aka Wastebook) and update my blog!

Back at it...

2009-01-15T19:57:00.002-05:00

I have been absolutely HORRIBLE this past month on keeping up with my blog. I have a few minutes, and so I just wanted to post and say that I should be starting back up soon.

December was such a crazy month around here. Eric and I went to Vegas for a nice getaway the beginning of the month, and from then on it was busy. We had Eric's mom and stepdad stay with us the week before Christmas. The week of Christmas was busy as usual, and having Abel's birthday in there just tops it off!

I never thought I was much of a routine girl, but I can say that I really missed it! I was so glad to get back into January and get things back to normal. We took the tree down New Year's Day along with all the Christmas decorations. I really feel like it has taken me this long to get things back in order. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but true. The house was so un-organized, and getting all the new stuff put away wasn't easy! I'm still trying to toss things in a box to take to Goodwill that I come across that don't get played with anymore.

Dane is glad to be back at school, and Abel still tries to take his coat off and stay every time we drop Dane off.

So, hopefully I will be putting some new pictures on here of our crazy month. A little late, but I'm sure they will be enjoyed just the same!

Thanksgiving Pictures - My Camera Works!!!

2008-12-05T14:56:00.005-05:00

Well, I got my camera working, so I was able to upload the photos from Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful time, and the food everyone brought was delicious!!

Here is Grandma Joyce getting a smile out of Dane - not hard to do....

Eric, Dane, and his puppet.

Aunt Grace and Teresa

Tammy (we thought she wasn't going to be home from college at Clemson U - she surprised us!) and Grandpa George.

Brianna, Tracy, and Dad.

Abel with his puppet (he's got to do everything his brother does - even naughty things).

The hostesses with the mostest.

Self portrait - not bad!

Eric perusing the ads for the Christmas presents he's going to buy ME.....or maybe he's trying to find something for me to buy HIM...

Maddox and Nikki.

Maverick and Nana.

Maverick enjoying some dessert. I think that was his second brownie (his Mom said no, but Aunt Cassy said yes....I won).

And she didn't even have turkey!!! Well, not at our house....She was gearing up for the 4am sales! Eric decorated her with stuffed animals...

Jorgensen's Pizzeria - Take 2

2008-12-04T22:52:00.003-05:00

The Benn's were over a few weeks ago, and we made pizzas (a favorite over here). Mav had to help Abel "even his cheese".

Here are Maddox and Dane hard at work. Maddox had to put every topping on his pizza, even though he only likes cheese....we had to peel it all off after it got out of the oven.

Everyone patiently waiting for their pizzas - luckily they only took 10 minutes!
Ok, now they aren't as patient!!!

Barbershop Triplets...

2008-12-04T22:32:00.002-05:00

We finally did it - we took the boys to get their first haircuts...

I have always cut their hair myself, and think I did a pretty good job. Dane's hair is so thick that it was getting to hard to cut and shape myself, especially if he didn't sit still. My Dad has been asking for years when we were going to take them. He would always ask the boys if he could take them to the barber. From the time Dane could talk, he was saying "No haircut, Poppy". Poppy was the first person we called after we left!

Abel wasn't too sure about it at first, but after he got in the chair, he did good. He didn't care for the girl after she sprayed water in this hair.

Dane did really well too. We let Eric go first, so the boys could see him getting his cut.

Here they are after their haircuts. They each got a balloon afterwards. And we even took them to get an ice cream sundae because they were so good.

Long time, no post..

2008-12-04T22:28:00.002-05:00

I have been TERRIBLE about posting lately....it has been kind of busy around here, and I know that this month will be even crazier, so I apologize in advance if I am delinquent about posting...

We had Thanksgiving here this year, and it went really well. I have some really cute pictures on my camera, but I just started having problems with it. Not sure if it is the camera or the computer software. Anyway, I can't seem to get them transferred to the computer so I can't post them.

Dinner turned out great (I think), and with all the food everyone else brought, we had a feast!

Our Pinnacle Pad

2008-11-19T22:54:00.005-05:00

Finally, I'm getting some pictures of the house on here. I took them when I had all four boys for the night. How come I can get my house cleaner with four???

This is the upstairs family room. The stairs in the back lead to the front door. There is a beautiful view of Pine Lake from the windows on the left. I couldn't seem to get all the boys out of the way!!

This the the kitchen - I was standing in the family room. It has a very open floor plan, which we really like.

This the the view from the kitchen to the dining room.
And this is the view from the kitchen to the family room. All the boys are lined up watching a movie...

This is Dane and Abel's bedroom.

And a view from the other side of the room.

This is the view from the corner of our bedroom. We have an entrance to the bathroom from our room, and there is one coming in from the hallway as well. The next picture is the view into our bedroom. We plan to get a new bedroom set in the winter, so if anyone is interesed in what we have, let us know. Hold on to your pants...only one person can have it. I don't want everyone calling me at once.

This is the upstairs bathroom.

A view from the kitchen down to the front door.

This is the trashed 2nd bedroom downstairs. It really is just boxes of my decorations, that I won't put up until we paint. I don't even know why I put a picture of it on here.

This is the office.

And this is our small storage room/laundry room/Reesie's room. I love, love, LOVE my new washer and dryer! It almost makes laundry time fun.

This is the family room downstairs. I'm actually standing in the middle of the room looking toward the stairs that go to the front door.

And here's the 2nd family room!

I'm really starting to get tired of all the white on the walls. I have made some decisions on colors, but we probably won't paint until after the holidays. I will post some pictures as we get each room done.

We are so enjoying this house - hope you liked the pictures!

Jorgensen's Pizzeria

2008-11-19T14:03:00.004-05:00

The kids and I made homemade pizza the other night (Daddy's favorite). They really enjoyed helping me, and Abel loved being on the counter, as usual. And tasting all the toppings... Here he is after he licked the spoon from the dough...he takes after his mom!

Such concentration on Dane's face!

They worked together pretty well, but Abel didn't want his own pizza to top - he wanted to do the one that Dane was working on! Big surprise...

And here they are showing me their pepperoni!

All Done - Bon Appetit!

Abel Heinz...the stubborn German...

2008-11-17T19:04:00.003-05:00

The last two nights, we have had an hour long battle with Abel. He wants his snack after dinner, but refuses to eat some fruit. He has always been so good about eating fruit, so this stubborn behavior came as a surprise (we have seen his stubborn behavior elsewhere...). Eric wasn't home for dinner tonight, and I so badly wanted to cave in. But after a few minutes, it becomes more than just eating the last few oranges....it's about who can hold out the longest. I wasn't going to let him win. He screamed, cried, stomped his feet, threw himself down....and then finally decided to eat the last orange after an hour. I then asked him if he wanted a snack, to which he replied, "NO". It was a very long hour. After the performance he gave, he deserved some to replenish his energy. But, he just went about playing like nothing had happened.

Stubborn German. But, oh so cute.

No deer...yet.

2008-11-16T19:59:00.002-05:00

Eric has been hunting since Friday. He has seen a few deer, and one that he had a nice shot at but there was a house to close. I'm sure he will be out again this weekend, and maybe he'll have better luck! Not that I'm excited about cooking it...

Great Weekend.

2008-11-11T23:09:00.002-05:00

My wonderful husband watched the kids this weekend while I had a chance to get away. I went up to Grand Rapids for a scrapbooking retreat with Nikki, Susan, and Kathy - among others. Nikki took the day off work Friday, and my Mom watched the kids. Our intention was to be at the hotel at lunchtime to start scrapbooking. But, we didn't arrive there until 5pm. We hit a scrapbook store in GR, and on our way back to the hotel, we kept finding stores to stop at. I didn't get anything for myself and neither did Nikki (the scrapbook store doesn't count) - we got lots of Christmas presents. It was great to be able to spend time in stores and look around. The rest of the weekend was great too. We had lots of fun, and we got a lot of pages done. Thanks Eric and Mom and Aunt Kay (she helped watch them Friday)!

Not so shy anymore.....

2008-11-05T22:55:00.003-05:00

Today, after naps, we were outside playing in the driveway. Mark, who lives kitty corner from us, was out mowing his front yard. Dane and Abel just stood at the end of our driveway and waved to him every time he came by. After a few passes, he stopped his tractor and came over and talked to them. He was asking Dane about school, Halloween, what he was eating (some of Nana's trail mix). Then he asked Dane if he wanted to go for a tractor ride. Without missing a beat, Dane said yes and then climbed on his tractor, and then onto his knee. I was quite surprised because Dane has only met him one other time. I thought he would just do one pass and then be done, but Mark kept asking him if he wanted to get off and Dane said no. They ended up mowing the whole front yard, and then Dane came running back over to me very excited. It was so great to see him like that - and kind of sad because he doesn't need me as much.

Halloween

2008-11-04T08:05:00.006-05:00

It was beautiful weather on Halloween, so Nikki and I decided to pack up the boys and their costumes, and head to Jackson to trick-or-treat in the old neighborhood. My brother, sister-in-law and their kids were there too, so all the cousins got to trick-or-treat together.

While we were waiting for dinner, we dressed up the kids and tried to get some pictures outside.

Here is Dane spreading his wings!

Below is a good picture of us. Abel didn't have his costume on yet, because he was fighting me all week when I tried to put it on him. I decided that I wasn't going to stuff him in it until I had to!
Does Batman pose like a supermodel?

Below is gunslinger Maddox.

And Maverick the Jedi.

Maddox actually took this picture of Nikki and I. Not bad!

And he took this one of his Mom too. I think she was trying to show him how she wanted him to pose.

Here is Dane with one of many of Nana's Halloween decorations. Look, it's Batman with a skull face! AHHHH!

After Abel saw everyone else in their costumes, he wanted to put his on. So, here is Robin!

It was starting to get dark, and almost time to go! This picture doesn't show off Avary's costume very well, but she was a very cute little butterfly.

And Cameron was Chief Tonto!

Avary and Maddox were ready for their ride through the woods to get to the neighborhood.

Here is Dane getting one last bike ride in before it was time to go.

Below are the kids after we got back. They all sat up at the counter and went through their candy bags.

Dane, Maverick, Cameron, Avary, Maddox, and Abel.

Now everyone was acting goofy after all the candy!

We had a great time, and all the kids slept good that night (parents too!).

Our views

2008-10-30T15:33:00.005-04:00

Here are some exterior pictures of our house. I was going to take some inside pictures today, but I realized there were toys EVERYWHERE. It doesn't look so nice right now. Maybe I'll take some after the boys go to bed, so there is no one that can mess it up. Well, Eric can....
This picture is looking left from our house. On the right is the entrance to the neighborhood, to the left is the back part of the neighborhood. Moose was so good at staying in his yard for the first month. He is now becoming a little too free. You can see him here in the road. We just bought an underground fence, now we just have to put it in.

This is looking right from our house to the cul-de-sac. There are two empty lots there. I hope no one builds soon, because it's nice having the trees there.

And this is looking straight out from our house to Pine Lake. We have a great view. Elaine and Paul's house is right across from us, and there is a lot on the left side of the picture. Someone owns it, but the rumor is that he won't be building for a long time. Even if someone does, it shouldn't obstruct our view at all.

I will try to take some inside pictures soon. We haven't done any painting, so every wall is still white. That will probably be our winter project!

Mommy's Little Helper

2008-10-30T15:21:00.002-04:00

When Dane is in preschool, Abel and I can usually get a lot of things done around the house. He likes to follow me around and help me do things. On Monday, I decided to empty out the shredder. He wanted to help. Do I have to say more?

He had a lot of fun, but it wasn't as fun to clean up!

The Amazing Abel

2008-10-30T15:13:00.002-04:00

Well, here is our Amazing Abel in action. He climbs on everything and everywhere. Seriously, everything and everywhere. This kid has no fear. He will jump off anything and try to land in your arms, even if you are too far away. He just has faith that you are going to move closer and catch him. This kid will be going on all the thrill rides with Daddy...

We have a ledge around all the walls in our lower level. If he can find a way up there, he loves to sit. If there isn't an easy way, he will move something so he can get there. He'll even just climb up the bookcase, even if it wobbles. Amazing.

He loves to be naked, especially after his bath. He HATES it when I capture him and get him dressed. This is his favorite hideout....

What a stinker!

Viva Las Vegas!

2008-10-23T14:56:00.002-04:00

About two weeks ago, Eric asked me one night "How about you and I go somewhere for a few days?". This came out of the blue - and I loved the idea, and I loved him for coming up with it! We kicked around ideas for a few different places, like Florida, Sedona, AZ - but settled on Las Vegas.

We have been there two times before, and enjoyed every minute of it. Eric said his is kind of anti-Florida, and that's ok. I can't see ourselves sitting on the beach for three days. We love walking around Vegas and seeing everything there is to see.

After checking with my Mom and Nikki, I told him that we could probably work something out for the boys. I happened to be at Nikki's that night (she was out of town), and the next morning when I checked my email, there was a confirmation for our flight and hotel. I have to admit, I was a little upset at first, because we had talked about going Thur-Sun, and the days booked were Wed-Sat. The Thur-Sun scenario would've worked out a little better for my Mom to watch the boys, but I think we can work it out. I quickly got over it when I saw that we were staying at Mandalay Bay! We have never stayed there, but when we see it and walk through it, we wish we had. It will be a great trip, and a nice little getaway after these busy months of moving and getting settled (that's for you, Nikki).

We are excited to go and we are looking at different shows that we could go see. Right now, Rodney Carrington is in the lead...

On another note, I just realized how close Christmas is getting, and I need to start making a list and shopping!

BOO!

2008-10-21T15:35:00.002-04:00

Last week, we went shopping at Wal-Mart, and the boys had a great time in the Halloween section. I think they could've played there all day...

They picked out some masks that were $1 - I just had to say yes...

...and they each got a pirate skeleton. Dane likes to make his dance, so I've had to glue the leg back on....

Boo-lated Birthday

2008-10-21T15:02:00.003-04:00

Dane's boolated birthday party was a success! We had great fall weather (colder than it has been, but very sunny) and a great turnout! Unfortunately, my Mom has most of the pictures on her camera. I was busy trying to run the party, so I didn't get a chance to get many pictures. Eric (aka Wolverine) got a few shots, and was trying to get some on video too. When I get the pictures from my Mom, I'll get those on here too!

The Jorgensens were going to all be superheroes, but only two actually made it. I was going to be WonderWoman, but when I got the costume, I decided it was not appropriate for a 3 year olds party. I could've tweaked it a little, but some of the red dye had rubbed off on some of the white parts of the costume, so that made my decision to not wear it easy. I was a boring witch, and Abel didn't want anything to do with his costume (his is Robin). Anyway, below is a picture of Wolverine grilling hot dogs....hold your hats...it's awesome. My Mom got a really good shot...can't wait to share that one...

Dane's cake was in the shape of a ghost, and it was made of cupcakes. He really liked it!
Below is a shot of the kids playing Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin. It was a tie between Avary(in the picture) and Dane. That's me in the witch costume. As you can see, Abel was festive in his skull shirt, but no costume!
All the kids got to pick a pumpkin from the "Graveyard" and decorate it. Here is Batman with his!
The Graveyard

These are the balloons that Abel and I got for Dane Saturday morning. He saw them at Meijers last week, and really liked them. We thought we would give him a surprise!

Dancing With the Stars

2008-10-21T14:53:00.002-04:00

I admit that I am hooked on this show - I have been since season 1. However, maybe I am a little too much into it. This morning, Dane was coloring and he was saying something to himself, but I couldn't quite understand it. I kept listening - he was saying "Welcome back to Dancing with the Stars". Maybe Mom is watching it too much....

This is the life..

2008-10-21T14:50:00.003-04:00

It is such a nice fall day out (a little cold and brisk, but sunny), I decided to pack a lunch and eat outside with the boys. They were having a great time, and Dane said "Mommy, this is the life". I couldn't contain my chuckles! I asked him where he heard that, and he said "Daddy says that". I must be doing something right!

Party Time...Excellent!

2008-10-17T22:58:00.002-04:00

This weekend we are having a "boo-lated" birthday party for Dane. We were so busy in August moving, so we had a small celebration with him. We decided to have a costume party for him, and he is SO excited. He is going to be Batman, and Abel is going to be Robin (he didn't have a say in the matter, Dane told us what he was going to be). We aren't quite sure where he got this idea - we don't have any Batman toys or movies - he must've seen it somewhere! He looks absolutley adorable in his costume. Abel isn't very fond of his - I don't know if we'll get him into it tomorrow.

I have been decorating for the party all week, and every day that Eric comes home there is something new. Tonight he came home and said "I didn't think there was anything else that we could decorate with". He was wrong! I have been having a great time with it, and I hope all the kids have fun too. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Get A Job!

2008-10-15T12:31:00.002-04:00

Last week, when the boys and I were having dinner with Nik, Mav, and Maddox, Maverick turned to me and said "Aunt Cassy, when are you going to get a job?". Nikki and I just laughed, and I said the two blonde boys sitting at the table were my job. He just looked at us strange, and said "oh". This is a job, Mav!

Four boys...oh my!

2008-10-14T13:58:00.002-04:00

Nikki is off today on a business trip, and I am off to get her boys from school and stay the night at her house. All four boys are very excited to see each other (well, I don't know if Abel actually knows what is going on, but he gets excited when the other ones do!). Dane and Abel are taking naps right now, and when they get up we will go pick up Mav and Maddox from school and head to Augusta. I'm sure they will have a good time together, and hopefully wear themselves out and sleep good! Nikki's got dinner all ready for us, and even the fixings for ice cream sundaes! The boys love that we are so close now.....Nikki and I love it too!

Mr. Paul

2008-10-10T14:10:00.002-04:00

We have met quite a few people in the neighborhood, but the one I've talked to the most is Paul from across the street. He is retired, and his wife works at the Plainwell schools. He does stuff around his yard/house all day, and is always waving and smiling at us. He really is a wonderful old man, always just wanting to talk about anything.

Yesterday, the boys and I were outside, and they found a caterpillar in the driveway. They were entertained by it for quite some time, and they even got Paul over here to check it out. He was telling them what their colors meant. We ended up talking in the driveway for about an hour. We figured out that he grew up in the same town my parents did in Aurora, Illinois, went to the same high school as my Dad, among other things. Small world! He later brought over a big bag of apples and pears from their yard. Today he brought me some recipes for them! What a nice guy..

In my post yesterday about my perfect life, I didn't really say anything about Eric. He is the one that has made my life what it is today, so he deserves a lot of credit. We are lucky to have the option of me staying home with the boys, and I am lucky because that's what Eric and I want.

I guess I would just change one thing though....the amount of hours that Eric works. It is particularly bad right now (budget season), which will hopefully be over in the next few weeks. He works long and hard at his job, and there are certainly days that he comes home frustrated. But, this has been such a good job (I think Eric would agree with me), despite the frustration. It seems like he is always getting "kudos" from people at work, and that is one thing that means a lot in the corporate world. Even though it is frustrating at times, there are people that see all the hard work that he is putting in.

All that to say a big THANK YOU to my wonderful husband. I Love You!

One more thing...

2008-10-09T19:23:00.003-04:00

One more thing about my shopping excursion....

I had the nerve to try to run into Old Navy after the Halloween store. I knew the kids needed to get home and have lunch, but I just wanted to run in Old Navy to see if they had some shirts for the kids' pictures. I thought I could do it quickly, and I was fairly successful. As I scanned the boys clothes, Dane and Abel were riding on the Old Navy dog. They were being kind of loud, but I could deal with it because they were being good (except for the screams from Abel when it was Dane's turn to ride - a normal occurrence in my life..). I found a few things, then we headed up to checkout. We waited in line a few minutes, and the boys had their hands on everything that they display at the checkouts. Then they saw some things on the top shelf they wanted as I was trying to checkout. Both the boys were climbing on the racks trying to get to them and I was pulling them down. But they can climb quicker. Abel started screaming because I kept getting him down. I tried to quickly scan my card, but the lady said "you have to wait until the end to do that. Besides, you may want to open an Old Navy account today. It only takes 5 minutes". Did she really ask me that? Maybe I didn't hear her correctly over all the screaming. I can only figure that she never had kids, or she would've realized that I wanted to get out of there as quick as possible. Did she think I had 5 seconds to spare, let alone 5 minutes. I know they are trained to ask everyone, but seriously.......

My perfect life....

2008-10-09T14:54:00.003-04:00

After reading a blog entry from my friend Katy, I realized that my "perfect life" dreams had come true also. Although it may not be the perfect life that I envisioned years ago, it the perfect life for me now.

At WMU, Katy and I had weekly talks (or daily, depending on how our classes were going) about just wanting to be moms. Why on earth were we spending all this time and energy (and money) on college, when we wanted to be home anyway? We really didn't understand it sometimes. In hindsight, I wouldn't skip college (and I don't think she would either), because I have a good education and a nursing license that I'm sure I will be using in the future. Although, I asked Eric the other day if he wanted me to go back to work after the kids were in school full time. He said, "why, don't you want to?". Without skipping a beat, I said no. I have come to enjoy my time at home, and this household has become my own little business. But, I told him that I wanted to be able to spend an hour cleaning the bathroom, not 5 minutes like it gets now. He didn't have too much to say about that, but I don't think it will take much to convince him. My Mom never worked when we were young, and I loved coming home from school and having her there.

But, there are certainly days when I could use a break. I was at the Halloween store today looking for a costume for myself, and I had the boys with me. The were actually really good for the most part. Dane kept trying to get me to buy a Batgirl costume for myself. He said it was really cool, but it was actually very slutty. Hmmmm.... At the end of the excursion Abel found the jewelry section, and desperately wanted a black Goth leather bracelet with metal spikes on it. He had a meltdown when I pried it out of his little fists. We then headed up to the checkout, and the boys saw some foam tombstones to put in the ground. I decided to get some, and they each had one to carry. That was fine until Abel saw some bigger ones, and decided that he needed those as well. The tombstones went tumbling down like dominoes. Then, I think someone turned up the heat because I was sweating as I was trying to pick them up, while Abel kept knocking them down. Dane was actually being good at this point, because I told him to hold his tombstone and to not move. He listened.

Anyway, there are times like that when I just want 2 hours to myself to do some things. But, I know that sooner than I think, the boys will be off in school and there will be time for me again. These years with them I won't forget, and hopefully they won't either.

My sister does a wonderful job with her boys, while working full time. Donnie works second shift M-F, so she takes care of them every night during the week. She does amazing, and must have great time management skills to get everything done that she does. Sometimes I look at her and think that there is no way I could do that. However, sometimes I think "Well, at least she has 30 minutes every morning and evening driving in the car ALL ALONE". She probably looks at my life and says "Well, at least she has ALL DAY to throw in some laundry instead of 2 hours at night".

All of this just to say that I am living my perfect life right now. I am very happy and content, and I hope that I can make Eric, Dane, and Abel feel that way too. In my little world, things couldn't be any better.

Gull Meadow Farms

2008-09-30T13:57:00.002-04:00

On Monday, Dane's preschool class took a field trip to Gull Meadow Farms. When I first got the permission slip and saw the word "farm", I assumed that is was an animal farm. I told Dane we were going to see some animals on a farm, and he was very excited. As it got closer, I decided to look it up on the internet. That's when I found out that it was an apple/pumpkin farm. It looked really neat, and I tried to prepare Dane for it since he thought we were going to see the animals. He was a little disappointed when we got there, because there were no animals. But, he quickly got over it.

The first thing we did when we got there was going on a wagon ride to pick some apples. The day was kind of cold (well, probably normal for fall, but we have been used to 80 degree weather the past week!) and cloudy, but the rain held off until the afternoon when everyone was tucked in their beds. Dane and Abel got to pick some apples - Honey Gold. They were a cross between Honey Crisp and Jona Gold, and they were delicious! Very sweet and crisp...

After the apple picking, we sat and had some fresh apple cider and some apple cinnamon sugar donuts. Delicious as well! As Dane was eating his donut (and he did NOT put it down until it was gone), he said that he needed to buy Daddy a donut and cider for him to have when he got home from work. Always thinking of his Daddy these days.....
Abel didn't care as much about the donut, but he LOVED the apple. I think he carried that around with him for an hour!
After we walked around a bit, Dane decided he wanted his apple, and Abel started on a fresh one!
We had a great time, and I told Dane that maybe we could take Daddy back there in October. He said that he wanted Daddy to take him to a farm with animals! He didn't forget!

After we left, we had lunch at McDonald's, and then headed home. The boys had a big morning, and they took wonderful naps during the gloomy, rainy, afternoon!

Fishing off the dock and paddleboat rides...

2008-09-24T15:22:00.003-04:00

On Monday evening, Eric got home from work early so he could take Dane fishing. Dane and Eric bought a new Hot Wheels fishing pole on Sunday, so he couldn't wait to try it out.

We all went down to the lake, and what a wonderful spot for a kid to fish! You could see all the fish from the dock, and they were just patiently waiting for Dane to drop his worm in. They were even trying to bite at the line! Dane caught a bunch of fish. Eric let him hold one to throw it back in, and it flipped out of his hands and hit him in the face! He didn't want to hold one after that...

Meanwhile, Abel and I walked back up to the house to get their lifevests so we could take them on a paddleboat ride. Everyone in the neighborhood has donated stuff to put down at the beach - toys, rafts, tables, chairs, etc. The boys had a ball, and I think Abel giggled the whole time we were out there. It was a beautiful night for it.

Shortcut

2008-09-24T15:17:00.002-04:00

On Monday afternoon, Dane and I were making cupcakes for Maverick to take to school for his birthday. Nikki came over after she got out of work and picked them up to frost and decorate. She left some here, and Dane said that he wanted to take them to his party. We are going to have a belated birthday party for him, and I thought that was what he was talking about. I said, "Your party is too far away to save these, we'll get some new ones". To which he replied, "It's not too far away if we take the shortcut". I wish we could, buddy!

A few random photos...

2008-09-16T22:12:00.003-04:00

Here are just a few random photos that I think are cute that I thought I would share.

Dane and Abel love these chairs, and this particular day they enjoyed sitting together. Usually, they each get a chair, but I guess they felt like sharing that day.

I would love to say that Abel is potty trained, but he isn't. Although, he does occasionally like to sit on the potty like his big brother. I'm waiting to hear that tinkling sound....
In this picture, the boys were trying on their winter coats, and had a great time doing it.
Here is a picture of me and the boys on my birthday. This was the cake that daddy made (that's what Dane kept on telling me).
This picture is just adorable! Dane happened to be sitting in his underwear, so Abel went and got a pair of underwear and brought them to me. I took off his diaper and put them on.

The Ark

2008-09-16T15:10:00.004-04:00

The title of this post has a couple meanings...

We are so glad to see the sun!! We had three full days of CONSTANT rain, as did many people, and we are glad to finally get outside. Yesterday it had stopped raining, but it was just cloudy and dreary most of the day. Today it is almost 70 degrees and sunny. We were outside for most of the morning, and Dane was asking to go down to the lake. I told him we couldn't get in the water because it was too cold. He said, "Mom, it's warm out, don't you see?". We haven't made it down to the lake yet, but maybe after their naps. Things are drying out here, and we're glad the rain is over! Sorry Lowell homeowners - your back yard is probably flooded!

The second meaning of "The Ark" title...that is the name of Dane's new preschool. He started on Monday, and seemed to really enjoy it. This is actually the preschool that Eric went to. He goes on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9am to 1pm. I stayed for about an hour on Monday, and he did fine with me leaving. There was a little girl there that WAS NOT letting her mom go. She was in control, the mom wasn't. The teachers said that the mom stayed for 2 days last week, and now she was having a terrible time. I was hoping that this wouldn't rub off on Dane, and it didn't. She was screaming, kicking, running from the teachers, etc. The mom just needed to leave, but didn't.

Here is Dane ready to go on the first day! He took his Buzz Lightyear backpack, and Spiderman lunchbox. When we talked about going to school last week, I told him that we could go get a lunchbox for him to take. He asked if Daddy was going to take him to the store. I told him he could, but could I take him? He said "No, Daddy's taking me". Eric and Dane went to the store on Saturday and got Spiderman. Dane said he wanted a SpongeBob one, but when they got to the store they didn't have any. Eric said he picked out the Spiderman one and was happy with it. Then, when they got to the checkout, Dane said "Is the SpongeBob lunchbox inside the Spiderman lunchbox?". He seems happy with it now!
Abel had to get in on a picture too. I'm not quite sure what was going on with his hair.
Here are some pictures of Dane at their first circle time looking at insects through a magnifying glass. That is his teacher, Miss Joy.

Right before I left, they lined up to wash their hands for snack. I was proud of him at how well he listened to everyone.
He got to make a name tag for his cubby right away. Miss Joy made a baseball for him to put on it. He enjoyed putting the stickers on it, and the number three!
Here is Dane next to his cubby. He looks so big.

Moving Day

2008-09-08T15:03:00.004-04:00

I just want to say sorry to all my "fans" out there. I have not been as good about posting pictures and updates as I would like to be. As you can imagine, I've been busy getting things in order in our new house. Also, my computer isn't as accessible as it once was. It is now on the lower level, and the kids and I spend most of our day upstairs. It is good that it's down here, because there are too many things that little hands get a hold of. It was so easy to jump on here for 5 minutes before we moved, and the little ones wouldn't even know I was doing it. But now, they hear me go downstairs and they are right on my tail like little baby bears following their mama! Anyway, I will try to be better now that I have a little bit of order back in this new house.

We are loving it, and still can't quite believe we are here. We have so much more room, although we have filled it up quite nicely. I am now starting to think of painting walls - everything is white. I will tackle one room at a time, but probably will start with the boys' room, since that is the one I'm most sure of. The toughest one will be the kitchen/dining area/sitting area/front entryway. It all kind of flows together, so I have to put more thought into the colors there. I have some ideas, but I have to think them out!

We had lots of help on moving day - and the only one I didn't get a picture of is Nikki. Everyone was such a help, and we couldn't have done it without each of them.

Well, I take that back. Here is a picture of Nikki and I waving at our shadows, and the taking a picture to see if it would turn out. Were we supposed to be helping the guys move?

This is a picture of Eric and I with the Ryder truck taking our first load down to Plainwell.
Here are Dad, Eric, and Uncle Jerry a the new house. It looks like we were working Dad to the bone, Eric looks thrilled to be in a house that has central air, and Uncle Jerry has no idea that in a few hours Dad is taking him to his surprise 50th birthday party.
Here is Eric in the very cool Ryder truck.
The day started out with just Kevin, Eric, and I. We got the first load in the truck, and then Dad, Uncle Jerry, and Nikki met us down in Plainwell to unload. Eric was not thrilled that I was taking pictures. I have to have something to scrapbook, right?
This is the "SOLD" sign at Pinnacle Court. We found out at closing that the realtor actually went to school (a few years behind) Eric's dad, aunt, and uncle. Small world here in Allegan County!

Ahhh, Jason Shanafelt helping with the unloading duties. I think here he was enjoying a ride on the liftgate.
Here is Donnie raising (or lowering?) the liftgate. Jason doesn't have anything in his hands, which would lead you to believe that he is being lifted to the truck to get something out. But, Jason is sneaky. With the fury of people in and out, he could've just been standing there all day riding up and down, and no one would have known.
Hmm, now here is Donnie working, Eric and Kevin working, but what is Jason doing?
Here is the house. I will get better pictures later, but this gives you and idea of what it looks like.

After the first load, Eric, Kevin, Uncle Jerry, Dad, Nikki and I headed back up to Lowell for the 2nd load. Nikki was amazing helping me clean up the house. I'm sure Yumi thanks you Nik (the pregnant new owner). The guys were trying to rush, because Dad and Uncle Jerry were on a time frame (but only Dad knew), and Uncle Jerry wouldn't leave until we were loaded up. When we got back to Plainwell, Jason and Donnie met us to help unload. When we finished, we sat in the driveway on our picnic table and had some pizza.

After that, everyone left, and Eric and I headed back up to Lowell for Moose, Reesie, and the fish. We left the fish tank until last, because it is such a PAIN to move. We are glad to say that all the fish survived the trip. We had possession of the house until 10 pm that evening, and we pulled out of there at 9:35 pm with the last load. Eric and I were exhausted from the day, and we spent 45 LONG minutes on our final drive down to Plainwell listening to Reesie howl and the fish slosh around in the back. I got driving duty, because we had Nikki's van, and Eric refused to drive that! When we got home, we still had to set up the fish tank. Luckily that all went well, and we CRASHED.

Again, thanks to everyone who helped us out - even you Jason (I'm sure he did something....). Seriously, he really did help us out, along with Kevin, Dad, Uncle Jerry, Nikki and Donnie. My Mom and Dad came up the next day and delivered some things that had been stored at their house. We appreciate all the help we got that hot sunny day.

It's great to be home.

Hello, Pinnacle Court!

2008-09-04T14:57:00.002-04:00

We are finally here!!! August sure was a LONG month for us, but all the hurdles we had to jump over were worth it. The house is wonderful, has tons more room, and the nice neighborhood that I wanted.

The boys are adjusting very well to the new house. Dane often asks about our old house, but he understands that some other people are living there now.

We have met some of the people on our street, and apparently we didn't move to Pinnacle Court, we moved to Old Fart's Lane (that's what they named it, not us!). Right next door is Roxanne (a.k.a. Rocky) - a middle aged single woman who works at the hospital as a child life specialist (social work). She is very friendly, but wanted to know right away if we got a water softener yet, because she had to get treatments for her hair because it turned orange from the bad water. We'll get right on that Rocky - thanks! Hopefully you won't see me with orange hair. If you do, remind me that we need to get a water softener ASAP.

Across the street are Paul and Elaine. Elaine works as an aide in the before/after school program for the Plainwell School District. Paul is retired, and spends most of the days working on his lawn -which is very nice. Eric has met him, but I have just waved to him while he was mowing his lawn - shirtless. I don't think I've ever seen him with a shirt on. I guess that's what you do when you live by a lake and are retired. Ride shirtless all you want, Paul - we don't mind!!

I had my first gossip session with Rocky and Elaine last night in the driveway. I was putting toys away, and two fawns were wandering through the yards. They have apparently been around all summer. That started the conversation, and then it took off from there. They were trying to tell me who lives where, who's got kids, etc. Even who the "trouble people" are. Only one house all the way around the block that the cops have visited a few times. I think I'm in with Rocky and Elaine, so I may get more information. Elaine and her neighbor have a great view of the beach, so they make sure that no one is down there that shouldn't be, or no one docks their boat there if they aren't supposed to. It sounds like there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood, so that will be good. We met another neighbor down at the lake the other night, who seemed really cool. I think we are really going to like it here.

Goodbye, good ole' Lowell....

2008-08-27T23:04:00.003-04:00

We closed on our house in Lowell today. We were so glad to finally get this done. We now can focus all of our attention on Pinnacle Court.

We met the buyers - a very nice couple with their first baby due in November. The moment that I saw she was pregnant, it brought back all the memories of this house. They sounded a lot like us when we were buying this house...they knew they wanted to be in Lowell, and there weren't many choices - the same position we were in. This was our first house, and we put a lot of our time into it. Well, Eric did. Not that I didn't help out, but he deserves all the credit for all the renovations around here - totally remodeled bathroom, ceramic tile, decks, new siding, new roof, and many other things.

This is where we brought Scout to after we got her. She spent 6 months with us in the apartment, and then she got lots more room here. She loved the backyard, especially after Eric put in the huge fence for her. Shortly after we moved in, we got our 2nd dog, Duke. He was such a good puppy, and we were heartbroken that he passed away at 6 months old. This is where we celebrated when all of our nephews and neice were born. And where we got our 3rd dog, good ole' Moose.

This is where we spent two long years wishing to become parents. We were finally blessed with Dane. This is where we got up in the wee hours of the night to change, rock, and feed him. This is where we were shocked to find out that I was pregnant with Abel when Dane was only 6 months old.

And who can forget, December 25, 2006? This is where we left in the early hours of Christmas morning, thinking that we were going to have Abel at the hospital, only to be sent home to "precipitously deliver" (that's what my chart says) our little Christmas present.

And where we lost our dear Scout.

My memories certainly aren't limited to those I mentioned. But, now it's time for us to move on and make memories in our new house. And, for another family to make memories of their own at 1120 E. Main Street. I can only hope for them that they make memories here that are as great as mine. And, I hope that she doesn't get sent home from the hospital with a baby still in her belly. She doesn't know our story of Abel's birth - that's a story that would freak out any first-time mother-to-be.

We close on the Plainwell house on Friday, and have that night and Saturday to move. Our internet will be shut off Friday, and we probably won't have it back up until next week. So, goodbye for now. I'll post more from my new location on Pinnacle Court.

Signatures please.....

2008-08-26T23:08:00.002-04:00

Finally, finally, finally!! We are closing on the house in Lowell Wednesday at 4 pm. We were beginning to think that we would never see this day! We are scheduled to close on the Plainwell house Friday at 10am. We get possession at close, and we have Friday night and Saturday to move, the buyers are getting the house on Sunday. All of our appliances are getting delivered on Saturday too. It is going to be a very busy week for us, but we are so excited.

More later!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our Blonde Bomber!

2008-08-26T22:26:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe that our firstborn is already 3 years old! We did not have a party for him, because our house is so crazy right now. We will have one for him once we get into the new house.

For the past few weeks, he's been saying that he wanted a "big yellow Transformer" for his birthday. I have no idea where he got that. He got a little transformer from McDonald's a while back, and he loves playing with that. I sent Eric on the hunt for the yellow one that Dane wanted, and he found it. Dane was very excited when he got it! It's a little complex for him at the moment, so Eric and I end up "transforming" it for him, but I'm sure he'll get it in no time.

He also got a Hot Wheels Big Wheel. I saw in a Target ad that they had the old school Big Wheels, so I sent Eric to get one. I have such good memories of those..tying my brother's Big Wheel to our Powder Puff's and racing around the neighborhood. Anyway, they didn't have any, so Eric got the Hot Wheels version, which is basically the same, except this one has some cool graphic stickers (which Abel will probably try to tear off in the next couple of weeks). Dane probably likes this one better anyway, since he is so into his Hot Wheels cars right now. I didn't get any pictures of him on it yet, but I'm sure I will soon. He now has a brand new driveway to ride it in!He blew out all the candles himself!
Abel was trying to get up or down, I don't remember which. He is such a monkey that he is constantly hanging or climbing on something.
Kevin, Cami, and Bridget came over and we had Mexican food for dinner and then some yummy cake!

Grand Rapids Children's Museum

2008-08-26T22:01:00.002-04:00

I have been so busy lately, on the phone constantly trying to get everything in order for the old house and the new, that I feel like the kids haven't gotten very much of my attention. I have been trying to just get out of the house and take them to the park, playground, or whatever we feel like doing.

A few weeks ago, we went to the Grand Rapids Children't Museum. The boys had such a wonderful time just running around and playing with all the toys and exhibits. They had my full attention, and I enjoyed not having to worry about the laundry, dishes, or the many phone calls that need to be made.

Here are some cool pictures I got of the boys.

Kent County Youth Fair

2008-08-26T21:48:00.003-04:00

Well, all of my postings lately have been about the trials and tribulations of selling our house, and I haven't put any pictures up of the boys, which was my main reason for blogging.

At the beginning of August, the boys and I went to the Kent County Youth Fair. It's not a big fair, mostly 4-H things, animals, etc. The boys enjoyed it, and I decided we had to go to this "small town" fair once more before we moved.

Dane and Abel loved petting the bunnies, as you can see by their faces!

WHAT???? Not closing????

2008-08-22T15:57:00.002-04:00

Well, we are once again delayed. We didn't get our final paperwork from the Health Department signed until Thursday (due to the water situation), so the buyers' lender needs 2-3 days to process the loan after that. We are scheduled to close on this house next Wednesday, and the new house Friday.

SERENITY NOW.

We are in the clear!

2008-08-20T16:39:00.002-04:00

We finally got all our results back, and we are in the clear! We will close on this house on Friday, and close on the new house next Friday. We are glad that we are done with everything on this house and can finally move on. It's weird to think that we only have a week and a half left here. We will miss Lowell, but NOT the noisy road. We are looking forward to some peace and quiet.

Well, it didn't start peaceful..

2008-08-18T14:55:00.004-04:00

After packing up Friday morning, we headed out to go camping. Fifteen minutes into the trip, we got a call that the second water test from the well place came back positive. Ugh! We turned around and headed home. They came and pulled the pump again, blasted air into the well and through the lines, and rechlorinated. The chlorine had a chance to sit all weekend, as we took off right after they left (after a little meltdown from me).

We had a great time once we were there. It was nice to put this out of our minds for a little while. Another sample was taken this morning, so everyone keep good thoughts in their minds for us!!

A Peaceful Weekend

2008-08-14T13:52:00.001-04:00

Well, we think we finally have all our issues with the well behind us. The day after we learned we needed a new furnace, the Health Department called and said that they found bacteria in the water sample they took from our house. He assured Eric that this bacteria wasn't harmful, but needed to be taken care of before the Health Department could pass the inspection of our house. He told us to have our well chlorinated, and then he would retest the water.

The next day, some wonderful guys from Seese Well Drilling (seriously, they have been nothing short of wonderful through this whole thing....the guys from Canfield Heating and Plumbing too....) came out and pulled up our well pump from 100 feet down, cleaned it, and filled the well with chlorine. We couldn't use the water for 8 hours, then we had to run the hose for 2 hours to get all the chlorine out. The water from the faucets was nasty for the next two days...fun. The Health Department came out and tested, and called us back after two days with the wonderful news that it still tested positive for bacteria. Starting to get frustrated, I started asking him questions which he didn't know the answers to, only fueling my fire. He wasn't the most "customer service" oriented individual I ever met (who is these days?...that could be a whole other blog....I have run into many in the past month). As I was giving our realtor an update (I thought that should be the other way around...again, a whole other blog..) I told her my frustration with him, and she immediately went to his defense - "you have to understand that he is the only one in the whole county who takes water samples". Sounds tough. I'm sorry he is so "overwhelmed" with his job, but that doesn't mean he can't answer my questions, or direct me to someone who can. And that only fueled our fire towards our realtor.

Anyway, he suggested re-chlorination, and then another test. The well guys came out again, and this time shed some new light on the situation. He informed me that if this test came back positive, we should have them take the sample to another lab and have it tested. He said that 9 times out of 10 when the sample comes back bad twice - it's because the State has done it. We went through the whole chlorination process again, and waited for our test results. Can you guess? Positive.

The Health Department suggested two options: re-chlorinate, or have the well guys do the test and send it to a different lab. At this point, we were frustrated and confused. If one lab says there is bacteria, and another one doesn't, who is right? How would I feel if I were the buyer? What results would I trust? And why is the Health Department telling us to have a different test - do they think something is wrong with theirs? Hmmm...

Eric talked to the well guys, and it was decided that they would come out and take a sample and send it to another lab. They said if this one came back bad, they could take a sample directly from the well, to determine if that was bad, or it was bad somewhere in the house. Well, our realtor wasn't too happy with that - "why don't they just do that all at once and save us some time?". It was coming down to the wire, so getting this done quickly was important. But, this isn't her money we are talking about. The results take less than 24 hours, so we told her that we were going with the recommendations of the well guys, since they knew more about this. Anyway, the next day the sample came back - negative.

Now, the question we ask is, was our water fine to begin with? Did we need to spend the money to have it chlorinated twice? No one will ever know. Apparently, the Health Department uses a test that turns the water yellow if there is bacteria in it. Some water will turn yellow even if there is no bacteria in it. You would think if that State knows this (why would they tell us to get it tested somewhere else if they didn't?), they would change their test, or at least let the homeowner know that after the first postive test, they may want to spend the $15 to get it tested somewhere else, before spending $150 to have the well chlorinated. That's the lovely government at work.

They came out and took another sample this morning, so we should have that back tomorrow. We were going to close on this house tomorrow, but now it has been pushed back to next week. So, we are going camping with our Jackson friends this weekend. This has been planned for months now, but we were thinking that we wouldn't be able to go because of the closing. But now, we are outta here!!

Hopefully we won't have to deal with any house issues over the weekend. We have been looking forward to this trip, and are very excited that it worked out for us to go.

Yes Susan, this is the curse of the Jorgensen False Positive....

Quick update...

2008-08-11T22:30:00.002-04:00

I have not been very good about keeping up with this lately, but I will try to be better, even if my posts are short. We had a tentative closing date on the Lowell house for this Friday, but I don't think the buyers have completed thier loan process, and we have some issues with our well that we have to take care of - so it will probably be pushed back a week or so.

Everything seems to be going well with the new house. They have not put in the driveway yet, and the listing agent made a "typo" when listing the house, saying that there is a garage door opener, and there really isn't. Other than ironing that out, things are progressing there. We hope to close on August 29 or sooner.

Eric and I are SO ready to be done with all of this. It can really wear on us at times, but we have to stop and remember what we are leaving, and what we are getting. In a month, hopefully this will all be behind us, and we will be enjoying the fall on Pinnacle Court.

The furnace is on - and it's August...

2008-08-05T17:36:00.002-04:00

We got our new furnace installed today. We did have to turn in on briefly, now at least we can say that we got some use out of it before we are out of here in 4 weeks!

I took Eric to the airport today - he's headed for St. Louis until Thursday. Dane and Abel are with Nana, Poppy, and Maddox until Thursday too. So, it's just Moose, Reesie, and me!! I got a lot accomplished today - getting things packed and ready for the yard sale. I didn't think I would have that much to sell. But, it seems as though since I know we are having a sale, I am getting rid of things that I probably just would have moved with us, and then decided I didn't want.

After I dropped Eric off, I went to Linen's and Things, JCPenney, Burlington, Target, and a few other places I can't remember. I was looking for shower curtains for the new place. I kind of know what colors I want to do, and I didn't find any shower curtains that really won me over. I think I am being too picky, but I really want to like it. Oh well, I can always get some plastic shower curtains for now until I find what I really want. I don't think I'll be buying a lot to decorate with until I get in and decide what I want.

Boy, this moving thing is a chore.

972 Pinnacle Court

2008-08-03T13:45:00.002-04:00

Well, we our on our way to getting into the new house! We've had a couple glitches with our house in Lowell, but I think everything is set now. We have a tentative closing date for the house in Lowell August 15, and then we have to be out by September 1. Our closing date for the new house is the end of August, but hopefully we can do it sooner if everything is ready. They still need to put in a driveway, but everything else is ready. We just ordered our appliances yesterday, and they will be delivered when we get in. Boy, can that add up in a hurry!

We learned that we need a new furnace in our current home. We knew that we needed to have someone come out and hook up our new condensation pump, but when they got here, they discovered a crack on the inside of the furnace. The buyers already had their inspection, and apparently their inspector didn't see that (you could see some black soot on one of the pipes coming out of the furnace, which was caused by water dripping into the crack). We are having the furnace replaced on Tuesday, and the buyers are helping us out with the cost, which we appreciate. I told Eric that we may need to run it a few times before we leave just to say that we got some use out of it! Nevermind that it is August.

Hopefully everything goes well from here. We had the inspection of the new house on Friday, and that went very well. We are very excited to move, and it is all becoming much more real to me now that August is here, and we only have 4 more weeks to live here! We are planning on having a yard sale on Saturday, so I am determined to sell as much as we can. We know what we want to take, and what we will have room for. There will probably be plenty of things that we move that we probably won't want once we get there. The boys are going to Jackson for a few days this week, and Eric will be gone to St. Louis Tuesday - Thursday, so I should be able to get a TON of stuff packed and sorted for the yard sale. I hope that the weather is nice for us, and we get plenty of traffic. Lowell is having their fair this week (ends Saturday), so we should get a ton of traffic from that.

We don't have any pictures yet, and the house is not listed anymore so I can't post a link. We will get some soon, and post when we can!!

We will NOT be homeless....hopefully

2008-07-29T15:33:00.004-04:00

Well, after seeing eight houses last week, we have found one. This happened to be the last one we saw, and it was nice that it was. We don't have plans to be in this house forever, so Eric did some compromising. I really wanted somewhat of a neighborhood for the boys. Dane is LOVING riding his bike now, and in Lowell we just don't have anywhere for him to ride it (except around the living room, which he actually enjoys!). We can take the kids for walks, but they have to be in the wagon because all the roads are quite busy. I would love some neighbor kids for them to play with, and also for us to become friends with. We have hopes of building in Allegan/Otsego someday, so Eric is perfectly fine with a neighborhood for now. Grandpa Jorgensen will only be about 10 minutes away, and he has 40 acres, so we can always go over there if we need to stretch our legs.

Of the first six houses, some were nice, and some not so nice. There was a foreclosure that we saw, and we were VERY TEMPTED. I mean really tempted. The layout was very cute, and the whole basement could be finished to double the square footage of the house. It wasn't in terrible shape, but it would certainly need some work and improvments. If we were at a different point in our lives, we probably would've done it. But after Eric has totally redone the house that we are in right now, we just didn't think that it would be right for us. We would constanly feel like we should be doing something to the house rather than just relaxing and enjoying the kids.

The few houses that we saw after that were not for us. We were getting kind of frustrated, partly because we wanted the foreclosure, but knew it wasn't the right time. All the houses we looked at were fairly close to busy roads, althought they were in subdivisions. The first thing we noticed when we walked outside of all of them was the road noise. We live on a busy street now, and so that is something that we didn't want no matter what.

Then we arrived at Pinnacle Court. We had looked at this house online, and kind of thought is was too good to be true. So, we prepared ourselves for something worse than what we saw. It is in a quiet 30 house neighborhood across from Pine lake in Plainwell. It is new construction, with a beautiful view of the lake from the front room and kitchen. Very quiet and peaceful. The lot sizes are pretty nice, and the back of the house is wooded. There is deeded lake access with a cute little beach. After the realtor left, Eric and I walked around the neighborhood, and we felt like we were in the movie Funny Farm when they were trying to sell their house and they said "cue the deer". The houses were all very nice, and we saw a ton of "Big Sweeties" (our term for big lovable dogs - labs, golden retrievers, Saint Bernards, etc.). It felt like it was meant to be.

They have accepted our offer, and we have an inspection on Friday. If that goes well, we are good to go. We will be much closer to the Benn family, the VanDuine's, and probaly even the Oliver's. Not to mention much of Eric's family. We are very excited, and thankful that it all went as well as it did. We will keep you updated and post pictures when we can.

My brain looks good!

2008-07-24T14:20:00.002-04:00

I had a MRI a few weeks ago (every two years I have one) and went to see WONDERFUL Dr. Rawal in Jackson. Per his report and the radiologists report, everything looks the same as my previous MRI. It has now been 13 years since my brain tumor, so hopefully I will never have a problem again. Although I get nervous each time I have to go, I am so glad when it's over and I get the good news. Dr. Rawal wants me to have another MRI in 2 years (which I have been doing for the past 10 years). I will be happy to oblige!

Good Inspection....

2008-07-23T12:19:00.003-04:00

The buyers had their inspection of our house yesterday, and everything went well! We were hopeful that it would, but you never know. Today I had to order well and septic inspections as well as a termite inspection. The well inspection will probably take a few weeks to get back, but it sounds like we are going ahead and making plans with the title company for closing on this house.

Eric and I are going down to Plainwell/Otsego tonight to look at 7 houses. Hopefully we will find one or two that we really like, and go from there.

I forgot what it was like to move - cancelling this and that, changing addresses (well, once we know where we are going!!). I know that there is a lot of work ahead, but we are excited. Dane said he is very happy about a new house. He has told Daddy that he should get a new yellow tractor and a new TV. He didn't say anything about me getting something new. I guess the house is my new gift. I'll take it!

The beach and Old Fort Erie

2008-07-20T22:39:00.004-04:00

On our last day of vacation, we went to the beach and to Old Fort Erie. Dane didn't have much to do with the water at first, he was more interested in playing in the sand. Then he kept filling buckets with sand and dumping them in the water. All of a sudden, he was running and splashing around! We were very glad to see that, because last year he was very scared of the water. He was a big ham for the camera too!

I could not get Abel to look at me, this was the best shot I was going to get!
He was much happier in the stroller than he was in the water!

After the beach, we found a park and had a picnic lunch. We let the boys play on the playground for a while, and then we headed to Old Fort Erie. It was neat to see, and Dane seemed to enjoy it. We were in the fort where the soldiers slept, and Eric found this old wool vest hanging on one of the beds. We had Dane put it on and sit on the bed for a great photo op.

Abel rode in the backpack the whole time. It was really his naptime, so he was much happier being carried.
I love how Abel was peering over Eric's shoulder!
Here is Dane in another part of the fort - the supply room.
We were all alone in the room, and Dane was having a great time looking around. Then, somone who works there (all dressed up in period garb) came in and asked if he wanted to get dressed up. He very shyly said yes, which surprised me. He got dressed, with lots of my help, and then turned VERY shy. This was the picture I got of him after a minute of trying to get him to smile!

Maid of the Mist

2008-07-20T22:10:00.005-04:00

Here we are on the Maid of the Mist. On the first day there, Dane kept seeing the "blue boats" going towards the falls, and he said he wanted to ride on one. We kept telling him how fun it would be, so he wouldn't change his mind when we got there. He was all about putting the raincoat on as we waited in line. I put mine on a little too early, and was VERY HOT!! We went towards the back of the boat, hoping we wouldn't get too wet. Abel was asleep in his backpack, and we didn't want to wake the beast!

You can see that Abel didn't really care if he saw the Falls close up or not, he was tired!

We hadn't gotten wet at this point. The falls you see behind Eric and Dane are the American Falls, and we were headed to the Canadian, or Horseshoe Falls.

Here is a very excited Dane after we got misted by the Falls.
Below is a view looking back after we left the Falls. The black spot at the base of the Falls is another Maid of the Mist boat.
Isn't he adorable?
And the monkey on my back is too!

Journey Behind the Falls

2008-07-19T22:58:00.002-04:00

We went on a tour called Journey Behind the Falls. There was a viewing platform that was literally right next to the bottom of the falls. If you went out there, you got wet. Eric and Dane went out and had a good time. Although I would've, Abel didn't want anything to do with the poncho. He screamed when I tried to put it on him, so we just stayed by the doors. I had a pretty good view from there, so I didn't really miss anything. I was surprised at how well Dane did. I thought he would be more scared, but he was very brave!

Below is a picture of Eric, Dane, and Abel looking through one of the portals. It is right behind them in the picture. You could see the water rushing down through these. Where we were standing was actually right behind the falls. That was pretty cool.

This is just a very cute picture of Dane in his poncho. He has been such a ham for pictures lately.

White Water Walk

2008-07-19T22:51:00.002-04:00

Next we went on the White Water Walk. It was a boardwalk that was downriver from the falls where the class 6 rapids are. You can't really see them in the picture, but they were crazy!
I guess you can see them better in this picture. I can't imagine anyone wanting to go through these rapids!

Butterfly Conservatory

2008-07-19T22:45:00.003-04:00

Dane loves to watch the butterflies in the backyard, so we thought he would enjoy the butterfly conservatory. He really did, and so did Abel. Apparently I did too, because I don't have that many pictures. Below is a good one of a butterfly.

If you look on Abel's hat, you can see that a butterfly landed on there. It stayed there for quite a while. He never even knew it was there.
Here is another one of the butterfly on the bill of his hat. One landed on Eric's shoulder later on, but I wasn't quick enough to capture it!

Our first day at Niagara

2008-07-19T22:35:00.006-04:00

Here are a few pictures of our first day at Niagara Falls. We spent the morning just walking around and checking everything out. Dane didn't like the falls at first, but soon he enjoyed watching them. He didn't want to leave!

Niagara Falls

2008-07-18T14:44:00.002-04:00

We had a wonderful time camping in Niagara Falls. The boys loved being outdoors 24/7. There was a train that went by our campground several times a day (and at night too) - and Dane loved seeing "Thomas" go by. One night he even sat up in bed and said "Daddy, it's Thomas".

We saw lots of stuff - the Falls, Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind the Falls, White Water Walk and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. We went to the pool and to the beach - Dane is getting much braver in the water this year. Abel was a little timid at first, but seemed to warm up to it. We also saw lots of "Gentlemen's Clubs", bingo halls, and lots of guys wearing capris. Kind of weird. Eric did have to "run out" once for milk and firewood. He did return with those things, and I don't think he was gone long enough to visit a club or play bingo. He didn't return with capris on either.

Among all this action, there was some action going on back in Lowell. Pending the buyers inspection (which is next week) - WE SOLD OUR HOUSE! We were on the phone everyday with our realtor, who happened to be on vacation too! She warned us that if we both went away at the same time, something would probably happen. We are so excited that it did, but we were certainly not prepared for it to happen this soon. The buyers wanted to take possession the middle of August, but we got that pushed back to September 1. Needless to say, we will probably be "homeless" for a few weeks, if not more. We hope to find a house in the next few weeks, but by the time we offer, have inspections, and the sellers can vacate we are probably not going to be able to move until mid September, if that. We will probably stay in Jackson (I'm coming back home, Mom and Dad!) - at least me and the boys. Eric will probably be in the middle of moving his office down to Kalamazoo, or still working up here in GR, so he will probably be staying multiple places. We aren't worried, it will all work out. The hardest part was selling the house, and hopefully everything goes well with that.

I will post some pictures of our vacation later - I just had a free moment while the boys were sleeping, so I thought I would give everyone a quick update!

Vacation

2008-07-12T06:53:00.001-04:00

Today we are leaving for Niagara Falls for a week of camping. It's taken a lot to get everything packed up, but we are headed out this morning. I will post pictures when we get back!

Brains

2008-07-08T15:20:00.002-04:00

Dane was taking a nap in our bed today, and I was at the computer in our room. He was sleeping, and then I heard his sweet little voice say "Mommy" - as I turned around, he was pointing to his head and said "my brain's in there". Then he asked if my brain was in my head, if Moose's brain was in his head, and if Abel's brain was in his head. I told him yes to all three.

Then he asked, "Mommy, does Daddy have a brain?".

Our Little Firecrackers - Literally!

2008-07-07T22:00:00.006-04:00

On the Fourth of July, Eric surprised us with tickets to the Grand Rapids Whitecaps game (minor league baseball) which had fireworks afterward. We were going to see the fireworks somewhere, and we had been talking about going to a Whitecaps game sometime. We thought this would be a fun thing to do.

We got lawn seats, thinking that would be better for the boys. We found a spot, and the boys were pretty good for about 20 minutes. Abel was just quietly sitting on the blanket checking out everyone around him. Then they got brave, and braver, and braver. They kept trying to see how far they could get away from us before we came to get them. We let Daddy watch a few minutes of the game while I tried to take them to the play area for a few minutes, but that just stressed me out. There were tons of kids playing there, and there was no way I could watch both of them. So, off we went back to our lawn seats.

Abel and I went to get some popcorn and a Melting Moments (two cookies that aren't fully baked with ice cream in between -AWESOME - one of the reasons I like to go to the games). We thought that this would occupy them for a little bit. It worked for a few minutes.

After I took this picture, I realized that's when Eric was ready to go.

Eric and I then saw some parents set up their kids with sidewalk chalk on the sidewalk behind me. The parents left, who knows where they were sitting. People were trying to walk around them while the kids were oblivious to them. I then realized that someone had spilled their juice box all over the blanket, and I was sitting in it. That's when I had enough. We were there long enough for Daddy to have a beer and Mommy to have her ice cream. We were done.

I think it was in the fifth inning, and we packed up the kids and headed home. As I was giving the boys a quick bath, Eric went to Meijers to get some fireworks, and set up chairs in the backyard. Here they are after their baths and ready to see fireworks!

FIREWORKS!!!!
Daddy's little helper

After everyone was tucked into bed that night, we realized that it was probably a good thing that we left the game and just did our own fireworks in the backyard. I'm sure the boys had a much better time watching Daddy light the fireworks and then run from them before they went off!

Waterfront house, anyone?

2008-07-07T18:35:00.002-04:00

We did it!! We put our house up for sale last week and now it's just a waiting game. It hasn't been listed online yet because of the holiday, but hopefully this week it will be. The night after we had the realtor come over and put the sign up, she called me with 5 minutes notice that she was bringing someone by from out of town. I was in the middle of cooking dinner, it was pouring rain outside, and the boys were wound up. Moose had to endure the rain for 10 minutes while they were here, otherwise they would have gotten his kisses and wiggling tail! I was frantically trying to light candles and put things away in the 5 minutes I had to prepare. Luckily, the house was pretty clean from the night before, and we had been gone all afternoon so there wasn't much of a mess. I don't think anything will come of these people seeing the house, it didn't seem like their cup of tea - and yes, I was here the whole time.

So now, we'll just wait and see what happens. We are hopeful that it will sell in a few months, but we know that the housing market isn't that great right now for sellers. We'll keep you posted!

We have looked at a bunch of houses online, and there are some we are interested in seeing. We have a few busy weeks ahead of us, so we probably won't start looking until August. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Abel, aka Aunt Erin

2008-07-04T14:08:00.002-04:00

The other night, Abel saw our camera and just started saying "cheese, cheese, cheese". So, I just had to take a bunch of pictures of him. I can totally see his Aunt Erin in him, especially his mouth.

Out in the back yard...

2008-07-04T14:01:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures of the boys out in the backyard taking a break and walking down by the river.

Trucks

2008-07-04T13:52:00.002-04:00

When Grandma and Grandpa Clark (Eric's mom and stepdad) came to visit in May, they brought some cool wooden trucks for the boys that Grandpa TC made and Grandma painted. The boys love playing with them. As you can see in the pictures below, Dane likes to drive them normal, and Abel likes to ride on the semi truck and push himself with his feet. These two are all boy, but they sure are different than each other!

Abel also likes to hide things in the semi.

The itsy bitsy spider

2008-07-03T21:34:00.005-04:00

Dane, Abel, and I were playing outside yesterday, and somehow made it over to the water faucet. Dane had fun turning it on and off, and then he said to me "Look at the spider Mommy". I went over thinking there really was a spider. When it got there, he was sticking his face as close as he could to the faucet, and started singing "the itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout". I really don't think there was a spider, he was just re-enacting the song. How cute!

I'm Back.

2008-06-30T22:54:00.003-04:00

Hello again! I am back from my WONDERFUL weekend away with my sister and girlfriends. We had a great time, and plan to do it again. The boys had a great time with Daddy, and Daddy enjoyed himself too! He said they were very good for him.

We scrapped, shopped, and ate good food. Even though we all said we didn't need anything at the scrapbook store, I think everyone made two trips there. The second time there I really said I didn't need anything at all, but once you get in there, you find something you didn't see the day before. It is crazy.

The time went way too fast. I had such a good time with these girls, and it was so refreshing to me as a mom. Just to have 4 days to myself did a world of good.

Here are some pictures of us up at Houghton Lake.

Nikki very proud of her page.

Kathy and Susan

Kendi and Corrie

Corrie, Susan, Kathy, Nikki, Cassy, and Kendi

You did WHAT with the tent stakes??

2008-06-24T16:35:00.003-04:00

After Eric's weekend fishing and camping, we set up the tent in our back yard to dry out. The boys had a ball playing in it, which they did most of Monday morning. They were hot and sweaty from running around in that hot box, and they wanted something to drink. They were being so good, I thought I could run into the house quickly and get them some juice boxes. Mistake #1.

As I was coming back out, I saw Dane hitting the tent with something and heard Abel laughing hysterically. I quickly realized that it was a tent stake. There was a bag with extra tent stakes in it that I left in the tent. Mistake #2.

I told Dane to stop, which he did. And then he just stood there, which made me wonder...what did he do? When I got to the tent, my brain understood what he had done, but I couldn't say a word. I was dumbfounded. This is what I saw.....

I don't know if you can really tell what happened, but he poked holes (yes, that's plural) in one of the windows of the tent. Some of them were just punctures, others looked like he punctured the screen, and then pulled down to make a long slit in the screen. All together, there were probably 15 holes. All in a matter of minutes. The picture doesn't do it justice.

And Dane would like to point out that he made only 1 hole in the tent itself. That was nice.

This following picture shows my nice sewing work. I recalled my days at Dermatology Associates of West Michigan, where I did some work putting sutures in skin excisions (I'd like to give a shout out to Dr. Lamberts - the best dermatologist in Grand Rapids -for the fine teaching he did!). I have to say, they turned out pretty well. It took me about an hour to fix all the holes.

All done!!!

This is the face I saw as I was sewing it up. He looks so innocent, he couldn't possibly had anything to do with this...

Hopefully Dane learned his lesson and won't do anything like that again. Yea right....

Yummy yummy chocolate shakes!

2008-06-21T21:41:00.003-04:00

We went for a walk tonight to the playground, and on the way home we stopped and got some chocolate shakes. It's right on our way home, so we had to stop, right???

Anytime I took the shake away from Abel, this is what he did. I had to have some too!

Dane and Abel so happy to have their shakes
This is the look I got when I asked Abel if I could have a sip....
Our Dane - always smiling!
Abel hardly came up for air when he had the shake in his hands!

Power Outage

2008-06-21T14:50:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, we had some pretty heavy storms that caused the power to go out for a few hours. Dane decided to make a train with our barstools. I didn't get any pictures of him with his conductor hat on, and of course, when I asked him to put it back on for a picture he wouldn't. They had quite a good time.

Fallasburg Park

2008-06-20T21:14:00.003-04:00

Today was a beautiful day, so we decided to go to Fallasburg Park near our home and have a picnic. We had never been there before (to the playground), although I have driven through it, and we have had a picnic there last year by the river. The playground was very nice, and there were lots of new things for the boys to play on. They had a climbing wall that Dane was very fond of. I must say, he was doing pretty well at it. There were tireswings that kind of resembled a merry-go-round, and Abel liked riding that. Dane doesn't care that much for things that swing around in circles, but Abel does. Eric thinks he's going to be the one wanting to go on the thrill rides. He's probably right.

We had PB&J's and juice boxes, played a little longer, and then headed home. The boys took good naps, and I hung some curtains and a plant over our kitchen window. They had so much fun, and I had fun watching them.

When Daddy's Away....

2008-06-20T15:35:00.003-04:00

Eric left yesterday to go up north to camp and fish with his Jackson buddies. Dane has been saying that "Daddy is going to catch a big fish and it's wiggly". I just talked to Eric a few minutes ago, and he said that they had a big lunch of fried fish and french fries, and they are headed back out to fish again. It is a beautiful weekend for it - in the 70's and breezy. Wish I were camping - perfect weather!!

A little background on the Jackson buddies - these are actually all the husbands of my girlfriends from high school - Susan, Kathy, Corrie and Kendi. There are some other guys going with too, but when I refer to Jackson buddies, that's who I'm talking about. All of us girls have made a great effort to stay in touch since high school, with some of us seeing more of each other due to the places that we live. I am so glad that we have stayed in touch so well, although I don't see near as much of them as I'd like! We always have such a great time together - sharing memories, new gossip, marraige and parenting stories and advice, and much more. I hope these ladies are in my life forever. I am also so glad that all of our husbands get along SO WELL. They have a great time together as well, maybe sometimes too great! Whenever we all get together, it seems as though all the guys disappear rather quickly and do who knows what. The girls are always eager to hear stories of their times together, although sometimes there are things that maybe we didn't want to hear about. Oh well, they have a great time and it seems as though all their worries and stresses from their daily lives seem to go away when they are together, and I think everyone needs that from time to time.

The guys have seemed to get away a few times every year and return with stories of their great times and fun adventures. Although the girls always say we are going plan a girls trip, it just never seems to happen. Finally this year, we are going on our own 4 day getaway, and leaving the kids with our husbands!!! All of us love to scrapbook - although with kids now, everyone is very far behind. We are going up to a house on Houghton Lake to scrapbook, relax, shop, and maybe just sit and do nothing next Thursday through Sunday. We are all very excited to go and I think we will have a wonderful time relaxing a just talking - oh, and scrapbooking too. We have to get a little bit done to show our husbands when we get home! Us girls love to talk, and I think that has been hard lately with all of our little ones running around when we are trying to have a good conversation. It's always right at the good part in the story when your child is tugging at you yelling "Mommy, Mommy". The 14 little voices (that's right 14 kids between the 6 of us going) will miracuously go away next weekend for our much needed ladies weekend. My sister will be joining us, and I think she will have a great time with my awesome friends. Love you guys!

Dane and Abel in a bag....

2008-06-19T13:43:00.000-04:00

I went to the Shipshewana Flea Market on Tuesday and got Eric a new camo bag to put all his hunting stuff in. Every year it seems as though he gets something else for hunting, so his old bag is getting quite small (10 pounds of stuff in a 5 pound bag....). He opened it up, and Dane instantly wanted to get in it. They both had a great time in there..it kept them entertained for quite some time.

After 13 years in the Jorgensen Family, I realize that in a few years these boys will probably need hunting bags of their own......

A Very Productive Weekend

2008-06-15T22:13:00.000-04:00

As most of you know, we are hoping to move to the Plainwell/Otsego area sometime this year. We have an unfinished basement that became a collection of Eric's tools, our camping equipment, holiday decorations, empty boxes (LOTS of them that I have collected in preparation for moving - Eric says too many - can there ever be enough boxes?), fitness equipment, and many other things that we don't want upstairs anymore. We needed to get down there and sort things, throw things away, and pack. So, my wonderful sister and Mom (thanks guys!) took the kids for the weekend to give us time to tackle this project.

We worked hard, and finally got things in order. We had fun going through old pictures (someone in a speedo, I'm not saying who), things from Eric's childhood and many "collections". I kept coming across baseball hats and asking Eric "how many dirty hats do you need?". "They are part of my collection" was his response. Ok.

Then I came across two bags of clothes hangers. Do I really need all these? If they have been down in the basement for years, untouched, do I really need to save them? Eric said he has been asking himself that question for years. So, all the hats stayed, and half the hangers stayed. I just couldn't part with them all. They were nice hangers, and what if I needed them? Are you with me. ladies?

We threw a bunch of stuff out, packed up a bunch for goodwill/garage sale, took some things to our storage building, and even hauled some things out by the road with a "Free" sign. Most of it is gone.

We really got a lot accomplished, and we even treated ourselves by going out to a late dinner. Thanks Mom and Nik (and Poppy, Mav, and Maddox) - we're one step closer to moving!

Cowboy Party

2008-06-13T13:23:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, Maddox turned four and had a cowboy party. The boys had a great time digging for gold, tossing snakes, and going for hayrides. Of course, amongst all the cowboys, there HAD to be an Indian. Here is a picture of us!

An evening at the playground

2008-06-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

It was such a nice night out. After dinner, I packed the boys in the wagon and we went for a ride to the playground. They love the wagon. Tonight, Dane loved waving at the cars passing by, which he normally doesn't do. He had Abel cracking up. We made it to the playground, where they always have a ball. I could hardly keep up with Dane as he was running around on all the equipment. Meanwhile, I had to keep a close eye on Abel. He loves to hang on things....hence his nickname "The Howler Monkey". He certainly kept me on my toes. We had a nice evening, and we even got honked at by Daddy when he passed us on the wagon ride home.

About our blog....

2008-06-12T14:11:00.000-04:00

After receiving a blog from one of my friends (thanks, Kate!), I have decided that writing a blog would be such a wonderful idea. I can keep family and friends updated on what is going on with us. Although I wish I had time to call everyone personally with updates, Dane and Abel keep me very busy (Eric and Moose too!). I will try my best to keep this updated fairly frequently with important events, and happenings from our everyday lives as well. Enjoy!