A good one

The boys, ready for a play date at the park


Jason loves to swing.


Jacob learned that there is nothing quite as good as playing in the dirt.

Cute baby.

Look mom, I am taller than you.

WOW!!! That spins fast!

This year the long holiday weekend was soooo much fun. There was a lot of good food and we had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with all of our family. We spent Thanksgiving day at Jennifer's house and then that night with Colin's parents. It was a blast. Jason really likes hanging out with his cousins and his Uncle Brian. Overall it was an excellent time of eating and visiting... with an emphasis on relaxation. Now we are just getting all excited for closing on the house and hosting our first Christmas dinner.... CAN'T WAIT!!! I have a huge menu planned, something for everyone. I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving. Take care!!!

Jake having his first chocolate.... an Oreo (did you know they are vegan?)

Jason showing his musical side.

Getting cleaned up.

I like Oreos too.

Clicks and giggles

This morning I slept in just like every other weekend morning. I get up with the boys (last night they really didn't want to sleep) in the middle of the night and Colin gets up with them early in the morning (they rise around 5 am). Needless to say, we were all very tired today since by sleeping in I mean 7:30 at the latest. I just can't sleep any later than that. On with the story.

Seeing the boys and Colin had accomplished a lot this morning, I felt like I had to get the garage cleaned out enough so that we could fit both cars in it. So I went to work. By the time I was done I was feeling pretty good about myself and was pretty excited that both cars were indoors. But, I was still pretty tired. I decided I had better vacuum before taking a shower so I ran through that project. Thinking that a shower would help me wake up a little bit I made it pretty high on my list this morning. Just as I was getting ready to get in the shower I heard a sound. It kind of sounded like a series of clicks... almost like a cricket, but a little different. Flashbacks of the cricket hunt in Casper flashed through my head. Then I heard the sound again. So, I postponed my shower for a few minutes to try to find the source of the sound. Despite my efforts I couldn't find where the sound was coming from so I got in the shower. While I was washing my hair I wondered...... Could I have imagined the noise? I am pretty tired........ By the time I was clean I convinced myself that must be it... I must be tired. But, when I got out I heard the noise again. So I got dressed and began to look. But, whatever was making the sound must have stopped. Forgetting about the wild chase I went into the livingroom to play with the boys.

Then Colin went down the hall toward the bedrooms. After he had been gone for a while I saw him in the hallway staring blindly at a wall. When I asked him what he was doing, he said "You will think I am crazy." Finally he admitted that he heard a strange noise.... possibly a cricket. But, he was sure that he was just really tired and hearing things. He was just so thankful that I heard it too. Colin was a little worried that his next stop would be the funny farm.

After a good bit of laughing we decided that we had better find out where the noise was coming from. So we went to every room and waited for the cricket noise to start. If you can picture ears on doors, floors and walls........ you are beginning to get the idea of how crazy we looked. Jason got right in on the hunt. We both kind of expected to find a little bug. The closets were emptied out and we couldn't find a thing. After quite a bit of time passed and we were just about ready to give in and just live with the annoyance, we realized it was in the hallway. Could it be in one of the light fixtures? Just as Colin was removing a globe from one of the lights, the sound went off again. It was the smoke detector. Not only was the battery dead, but the alarm was worn out. It actually sounded like a cricket.

The moral of the story is, if you think you have a cricket in your house, check the smoke detectors. Have a good one.

Adjusting

The little men trying to get the camera. They think they are sooooo funny!!

Things are really beginning to fall into place for us. Jason is getting used to his glasses. He even asks to put them on. This new world is pretty exciting for him. One thing that has really surprised us is his lack of attention span now. He used to read books for hours and his eyes would never leave the pages. Now that he can see, he gets distracted very easily. He loves to look around at everything that is going on. What a difference those glasses have made in his development.

Jake is wild. I really mean that. His favorite room is the bathroom (the toilet is basically the coolest thing since sliced bread). Crawling is definitely the way to get around as well. He is beginning to discover that if you take the big Tonka dump truck, you can push it around the house without having your knees touch the floor. I think walking is in his near future.

We really are enjoying the house we are living in. It is beautiful here. Story time is so much fun as well. Jason gets into it and knows all of the songs now. Jacob even likes to dance with the songs. The only catch is that his head is so large that it throws off his balance and he usually takes a pretty drastic digger. Thank goodness for carpet. The inspections will be done on the house next Monday and I can't wait to get past that hurdle. Colin is still loving his job. I thought he liked it in Casper, but he is so much happier here. He goes to the gym every day and is really interested in every aspect of his job. Since there is so much to learn, he will not have a chance to get bored. It is pretty exciting. It is also a wonderful thing that he doesn't have to drive every day. He doesn't leave the house until just before 8am and gets home just after 5pm. It ROCKS!!!!

It has been a while since I have shared a funny story with all of you so here goes. The boys really do get along well. Jacob is mobile enough that him and Jason can actually play a little. The only catch is that Jason loves to play football. Even baseball (his version) involves some contact. It is the tackling that he really enjoys. So he will throw a football or baseball, Jake and Mae will get to it as fast as possible and just as one of them reaches for the ball, BAM!!!! Jason tackles. He isn't gentle about it either. He goes all out. It is a full dog or baby body slam, usually with a dive at the end. There are also some pretty wild sound effects... something like a lion going in for a kill, followed by a lot of laughing. When Jason gets up, Jacob gets his chase on. This is when things really balance out. You see, Jake got a third tooth in last week. It is one of his top front teeth. He also discovered that biting is more effective now. Those little teeth sure are sharp. You can see where this is going. Jacob chases his big brother down (he crawls fast) and proceeds to bite, HARD!!! Jason's only chance is to jump on something high like the couch or chair and remain there for a little while while Jake gets distracted. Thank goodness this doesn't take long. They are definitely brothers and sure do love each other...... this is just the beginning of many wild times to come.

Jason baking sugar cookies with his dad. Too bad the football player and the basketball players lose their arms and legs when you try to pick them up... The ravaged cookies tasted good though.

As we approach the big week of thanksgiving and the season of eating..... GO TURKEY!!!!! Take care and if you are traveling this weekend be careful. Have a wonderful week and I will have more to report soon. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! (a little early, but I can already taste the turkey)

A new world

Our big kid in his new specs (he gets to wear his pj's as long as he would like as long as he keeps his glasses on).

We had our hopes up that when Jason got his glasses it would be a smooth transition. It turns out this is going to be a very tough road. For nearly 3 years he has seen the world one way. It was his normal. His toys looked a certain way; everything looked perfect in his eyes. Then yesterday I brought him to get his glasses. The instant he put them on, nothing would ever be the same. He was instantly introduced to a new reality. In a way it was sensory overload. He has headaches, gets nausia, and is very tired. It is really hard to see him go through this. But, in the end it will be for the best. We can see a difference in his vision too. He doesn't hold things all of the way against his face trying to make out what it is anymore. I just wish I could help him get through this transition quicker and without pain. Things should get better though.

Raking leaves

Jake chasing me down.

I promised to share pictures so here they are. I will send more updates your way when things calm down a little. Take care and enjoy.

A buck out our kitchen window.

A little spike going down for a rest in front of our livingroom window.

So much in so little time

The title of this post says it all. The last two weeks have been so full of ups and downs. It began on Halloween when we packed up our stuff in Casper into a large truck and headed for Thermopolis. Thanks to Dad, Dave (my brother in law) and Colin, we got done very fast. Then we started the unpacking process. Our rental is very nice. It has 3 very large bedrooms and 1 full bath and two half baths. It is a little dated (complete with an automated lazy susan on the island), but is beautiful and has a lot of space for the kids to play and run. We have a few herds of deer that call our yard home. We live in the middle of town too. But, deer still press their noses against our front window and bed down in our lawn at night. It is refreshing and wonderful. We could never have predicted that we would have these experiences living in town.

One of our first stops when we got into Thermopolis was the library. Jason started to go to story time there and it has been quite a treat. They read books, sing, dance, play and do art work. It is so much fun to watch Jason playing with the other kids. One day when we got back from story time we arrived at the house to find a large buck in the lawn. When I got out of the car to scare it away it proceeded to chase me. I quickly jumped back in the car and pondered what I could do next. So, after giving him a minute to cool down, I finally succeeded at scaring the creature away. Deer are crazy when they are in the rut.

Last Friday we took a break from unpacking and went to Cody so that Jason could see the eye doctor. Normally two year olds don't have to go in to get their eyes checked, but an eye test at his developmental screening found problems. He then had to go in for two different appointments at the optometrist. In the first they found he was far sited but couldn't tell the exact prescription until they dilated his eyes. So that is why we went in last Friday. Jason was just the best kid through all of the trauma. We found out that our precious little man is nearly blind. His eyes are very bad and he has to have glasses (They will distort his face quite a bit too). They will be in this week sometime. Jason was pretty excited over the idea of glasses while all I could do was wonder, how do you keep glasses on a two year old and how do you keep him from breaking them. I guess we will find out sooner than later. It will be exciting when he first puts them on, because it will be the first time he has ever seen anything clear. It turns out he has only been able to see blurs of color for his entire life. The optometrist said that it is a true miracle that he isn't cross eyed or have other problems because his eyes are just that bad. One thing I have learned from this experience is please bring your children in for developmental screenings, it is very important. You might find something out that could save your child from a whole lot of grief and pain in the future. They are free and worth more than words can describe.

After the eye drama, we started to hear rumors that people were seriously looking at our house again. This wasn't all that big of a surprise and I didn't take it to heart since we have heared this many times. Then Monday I was told that there were two, possibly three couples considering puting offers in within two days. I was still skeptical and wouldn't believe it until I saw it. This was followed by an offer, day before yesterday. The price was right, but the terms were funky. So, Colin and I countered with new terms and a new closing date. I wasn't holding my breath, but they accepted it and our house is now UNDER CONTRACT!!!!! YEAH!!!! Now we have to make it through inspections. If everything goes well, we will close on the 22nd of December!!! The best part is that it is a young family. Our house will have a family in it for Christmas. There will be giggles running up and down the hallway and a little one to sled down the hill in the back yard. This brings me so much comfort since I care for our house very much and want someone to love it as much as we have.

So, as you can see the last two weeks have been somewhat of a roller coaster. But, we just keep on trucking and taking things as they come. I hope all of you are doing well and I will post more pictures when I get a chance. Hopefully I will have some of Jason in his new glasses too. Take care everyone........

UNDER CONTRACT!!!!!!!

It is true... after all of the wait... the moment has come!!!! We accepted an offer on the house!!!!! WOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A day that we have been praying for!!! Thank You!!!! I will post pics now that I have Internet again and report on the move later. Bye