We had a very fun Saturday. We went hiking and for a picnic out at Shevlin Park. It was a fun time and perfect weather. Then I went to pick up our trampoline. Ryan spent the afternoon putting it together. We also had 3 pools set up with the slide. We had some friends over for dinner and the kids had a blast swimming, sliding, and jumping. It was a perfect summer Saturday.

Thats right, we got 2 cats. Last Friday, on our way to dinner we stopped at Fred Meyer. As we were walking up we noticed this woman with 2 cats in a kennel. She was giving the cats away to a good home. They came with all the stuff. Her daughter had them in Alaska and just moved here but could not have cats at her new place. The mom couldn't keep them b/c she already had a cat and a dog. So instead of giving them to a shelter (where they might be put to sleep) she was trying to give them away. I had actually been thinking about getting a cat for some time. Remember the whole kitten ringworm fiasco last year? Well my kids still talk about those kittens. They are constantly begging me for a pet. Then right before we went to disneyland my neighbor came over with a cat and asked if we wanted it. We said yes, but she would have to keep it until we came back from Disney. Then when we got back she said nevermind, she wanted to keep the cat. So it has been in the back of my mind that we want a cat but I just haven't done anything about it. When we saw these cats iI felt it was meant to be. They have been excellent pets. The white cat, Bella, loves Ellie. She sleeps on Ellie's bed everynight. And Mimi, the gray cat is very social and lets Caden play with her. Its been great for the kids and I am just really glad we ended up with some good cats, as opposed to some naughty kittens.

Ryan was in Austin all last week at a HiTech conference. His company was there as a vendor at the tradeshow. He left Sunday and got back Friday afternoon. I've decided I can do 3 days with him gone but by the 4th night I have ran out of paitence with the kids. Somehow though we all survived. Friday evening we went out to dinner at our favorite mexican restraunt El Rodeo. Yummy! I love the mole enchiladas. Saturday we did a Costco run and then Ryan took Ellie to see Kung Foo Panda. Ellie and Ryan both loved the movie. Sunday, Max decided he didn't want to be at church. We couldn't even make it through the opening song without him screaming. I ended up in the hall with him until after the sacrament. He kept screaming for me to put him down then he would scoot to the door and say go go go. Eventually I just took him out to the car because he was being so loud. Ryan had meetings all afternoon so the kids and I just hung out and took naps. Monday, we cleaned and did laundry then had some friends over for dinner. Tuesday, I had a dental appointment. I have been putting off getting my last 2 fillings for over 4 months now. I really don't like the dentist anymore. (Sorry, Chad, nothing personal). I just hate that numb feeling in my mouth and the drilling. Afterward we ventured up to Super Walmart. I picked up some prizes for a Bunko party (beach towels and sunscreen, aloe, chapsticks and popsicles). Tuesday, night Ryan had more meetings (yes, I do think all these meetings are ridiculous). Wednesday, I took the kids to the park. They had tons of fun. It was difficult with Maxwell though b/c he still can't walk and the rubber playmats were too hot for him to scoot on. So basically I just had to hold him or walk him and he didn't like that too much. Afterwards we had friends over for lunch. We had a good time and Ellie always enjoys having girls to play with. Thursday I mostly cleaned and got ready for a Bunko party I was hosting. We had a good turn out and had some good food. Ryan took the kids for Slurpees and to the park during the party. I think it was a sucess.

Now, I feel the need to add a couple of rants to this blog:
1. Costco changed their milk containers and I really don't like the new ones. The mouth is so big and the milk comes out too fast.
2. I can't find Red, White, and Blue m&m's anywhere. Did they just not make them this year? Come on people, 4th of July is just a week away.
3. I am trying to grow my hair out and I just can't stand it. I can only get it to my chin and then I feel the need to cut it. Its just so boring like this.

To add to a previous post, US Air has done it again. Ryan left today to fly to Austin for a conference for the week. He gets to Portland to find out US Air has mechanical problems and the flight is delayed (again, this happened 2 weeks ago too). Of course he will miss his connection in Vegas so they have to book him into a hotel and now he won't get to Austin til tomorrow afternoon. The annoying part is he is stuck in Portland for the night when he could of been home with us. It is father's day and all.

Caden decided for his birthday he wanted to go bowling with his best bud Will. We had a bbq with hotdogs and corn on the cob (his favorites) and then went over to Sun Mountain Fun Center for a game of bowling. Afterwards I gave them $5 to spend in the "arcade". They won lots of tickets playing games and redeemed them for some prizes. We all had a great time. Later that night as I was snuggling him in bed I asked him what was his favorite part of his birthday. He said the painting on the walls (meaning his Happy Birthday banner). I'm glad Ryan and I stayed up late decorating so when he came downstairs in the morning he felt special. I have always felt birthdays should be a big deal and it makes me feel good Caden liked his banner as much as I did. Because after the cake is gone and the presents opened all is pretty much forgoten except for the memories.

We spent last Friday to Tuesday at the Oregon Coast. We stayed in a friends condo at Otter Crest, just north of Newport. It was so nice to hang out as a family without any distractions. A much need vacation after all the time that Ryan has been traveling. We only got one day of sun but that was o.k. We spent time exploring tide pools, going to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, visiting a lighthouse and mostly just relaxing. We were lucky enough to be at the coast during a negative 2.7 tide. It was amazing to see the beach like that with the tide out so far. We were able to explore the inside of the devils punchbowl which is usually filled with water. The tide pools were amazing. We saw tons of starfish, crabs, anemones, mussels, and other sea life. The tide only gets that low a couple of days out of the year. You can see from the pics when we were inside the punchbowl and then a pic from the top view when it was filled with water. The aquarium has a new exhibit "Oddwater". It was amazing. The aquariums were filled with colorful hand blown glass and all the "odd" creatures of the sea. Definitely my favorite part of the aquarium. We had a great time and are anxious to go back this fall when we have some nicer weather.

So I am doing laundry and I found something disturbing. Ryan has 8 pairs of kahki pants in his closet. Plus one pair in his suitcase plus he called and told me he just bought a new pair because he got gum on the one's he was wearing. That is TEN pairs of kakhi pants. I think he is secretly obsessed with clothes now. I don't even have ten pairs of pants, short, capris combined. Since when can a man have more clothes than his wife???

If any of you have travelled lately you would know how messed up the airlines are right now. They are cancelling flights and rerouting people. It is a mess. I think Ryan's last five trips he has had issues. Like today he was supposed to be home at 2 pm but when I woke up this morning there was an email saying he now won't be in til 10 pm. He had to take 5 flights to get home! Charleston, SC to Charlotte, NC to Atlanta, to Phoenix to Salt Lake to Bend. That is ridiculous. Plus he had to be at the airport at 4 am EST to make his 5:45 am flight. That is 21 hour travel time!

All day I have been cursing the airlines partly b/c I feel bad for Ryan and partly b/c I feel bad for me. I was looking forward to a break and not having to get the kids to bed myself tonight. Luckily my friend came to my rescue today so I could just get out of the house for an hour and a half and run some errands. We got some lunch and let the kids play so it was a nice break. Then ironically this afternoon I get an email from Alaska Airlines concerning a flight I booked for July to D.C. They changed my outgoing flight to a more direct route which gets me in 4 hours earlier then they changed my return flight to a whole day earlier. Same route, same flights, just a day earlier. Now I am going to have to call them and find out what is going on.

That is my rant for the day. I'm just kind of crabby. At dinner caden peed all over his chair and while I was busy cleaning that up max dumped his entire bowl of macaroni and tomato juice and his entire cup of milk all over and started mixing and smearing it with his hands. Fun times!!!! The house is trashed and I don't feel like cleaning before ryan gets home. Oh well . . sigh . . .
Only two more days til we go to the coast!

I don't know why I am having such a hard time blogging lately. I guess there haven't been too many hours of free time in the evening. And when Ryan is home, I want to hang out with him. He was gone the week of my last post, home for the weekend, gone the next week, home for memorial weekend and that week and flew out again tonight. Needless to say the weekends have been busy catching up on errands I can't get done with 3 kids. I also had to reread Twilight (a must after finishing the "Host"). I seriously just can't get enough. So between reading and G.H. (I'm on level medium!) I guess I just haven't had time to blog. I do start to feel bad though when family starts calling and asking if everything is o.k b/c I haven't blogged in a while. Sorry! So here are the updates:

Ellie gave a talk in church today. She did so well. She did it all by herself. She read her talk and I just held up the pictures she colored. Yes she can READ! And I'm not just talking about small words and short sentences. She can read at least 95% of any book in her room (she has tons). It is amazing. After reading me three books tonight she said, "reading is the funnest thing in the whole wide world". Its crazy, this girl reads everything from signs to labels, mail, anything she can get her hands on. She has also started "spelling". She has been writing these stories and she doesn't even ask me how to spell anything. Of course, most words are misspelled but I can actually read what she has written. I seriously don't know what to do with her. Her kindergarten teacher is going to have a hard time keeping her busy.

Ellie's last day of preschool was on Friday. Miss Mindy had a pizza and ice cream party for the families. It was really fun. Miss Mindy made scrapbooks of the year for all the kids. I can't believe how much time and effort she put into it. The book had samples of her writing and artwork as well as lots of pictures. So cute! Ellie loves it! Ellie is really going to miss all her friends and is concerned she won't see them again. Hopefully we can set up a couple playdates this summer though. Miss Mindy was a great teacher. Luckily, Caden gets to have her as a teacher next year.

Afterwards we went by her new elementery school to register her for Kindergarten. We went on a little tour of the school. We even ran into a couple of people we knew. She seemed a little overwhelmed and shy while we were there but afterwards was totally excited.

Here are some pics from the day:

We spent Memorial day working in our yard. We got a new lawn mower (our old one died at the end of last summer). Ryan decided to go with an electric. I was skeptical at first but once I saw it in action and how easy it was to start, stop and adjust I was impressed. No more gas, oil, or pulling on a cord for hours and not having it start. It was a great day for working outside. 60s and partly cloudy. Afterward we to our friends for a bbq. It was fun, the kids ran around and we played Guitar Hero (yes, we are obsessed). It was nice to have Ryan home for 3 days in a row. :)