Camping...Babies...Freezing!

So as you may have guessed our Memorial Day camping trip was quite the trip. We headed up with our friend Crystal towards McCubbins at just shy of 7:00pm. Arriving at the campsite just when dusk was upon us. After a quite a while of searching we found the rest of our party way, way back in the forest. Thankfully Jason and Trista had set up our tent for us and unloaded most of our stuff. By the time we got settled Braeden was fast asleep. We put him directly to bed and got Brooklynd ready for bed as well. The first night they slept wonderfully, much better than we did. Darren and I got all of about 3 and a half hours of sleep with nothing and no one to blame but ourselves. Besides staying up late and getting up early we also were FREEZING. I should have followed my own steps in getting the babies dressed and put on several layers, gloves and a hat. The next day the rain continued to hold out, but the temperature was no where near comfortable, in fact the adults were huddled around the campfire for most of the trip. Kody didn't mind the cold and our kids were just fine with it.

Soaking Wet!

So as you can guess by my title, the weather here in Portland has been quite wet lately. We have been having hail in some areas, thunder & lightning and lots and lots of rain. It doesn't look like it is going to clear up anytime soon. As for our camping trip this weekend for Memorial Day we are still planning to leave on Friday late afternoon. The weather where we are going (McCubbins) is looking to remain about the same as it is here. We have gotten a rain poncho, rain boots & a hat for Braeden....I can't wait to get some pictures of him in his get up that's for sure. I was going to get him the boots with the bug faces on the toes, but they were all kind of "girly" so we stuck with a basic striped pair, you'll get to see when I post some pictures later.......It should be fun as long as there isn't any thunderstorms while we are out under the trees and as long as our tent stays dry. Darren's softball game yesterday was cancelled as well, I always remember when I used to play ball this time of year the weather seems to be very inconsistent...rain, cloudy, sunny, thunderstorms, humid, then really cold....we have experienced all of that over the last week. Darren's mom and John will be headed up this way to watch our babies early next week, so it will be great for the kids (and us) to get to see them. We are leaving Wednesday morning on our road trip to Missouri. We hope everyone is doing well and keeping dry. Take care, with love!

The BIG Fish!

As promised here is a picture of Darren & the 74 lb. halibut he caught. We have yet to enjoy any of it. We plan to have some camping over the weekend, we can't wait. It should be delightful.

The Calm Before the Storm :-)

Hey everyone. I just wanted to get another post in before things get hectic, as I anticipate they will, quite possibly starting this weekend. My goal is to post more often as well, since it seems I haven't been managing even one post on average a week, the goal will be blogging a couple of times each week. No promises yet, but we'll see how it goes though.

First off I also forgot to mention that last week I went to my end of the year lunch @ The Outback with my Lunch Buddy. I go to see her once a week and have lunch and play on the playground with her. I really enjoy it and am happy that she does too. This was my 3rd year doing it. I hope to continue it next year with the same student. It is a purely volunteer based program that helps grade school age children that maybe need an outside source to talk with, or just hang out with and mainly be able to rely on. I thoroughly enjoy the time we spend together it is a great time for me to give back and also be a kid all over again!

As for this week it has just flown by. I can't believe it is already Thursday. Darren's job keeps him working until 10:30pm some nights, so me and the babies have barely gotten to see him at all this week. The nice thing about his job is they are very willing to give him overtime if he wants it, but are flexible enough for the upcoming time off he will need, as well as keeping his Tuesday work load lighter so he can make it to his softball commitment. We aren't used to not seeing each other for days on end, but with the trips we plan to take soon it won't be too long before we get some quality time together, thank goodness.

I think it is probably hardest on Braeden since the more time I spend with Brooklynd in my arms, the more he wants my attention. Luckily he doesn't get angry or too upset about it, he just hangs on me, which I adore. He is such a lovey baby. Braeden just loves this time of year because at daycare he gets to spend a lot of his day outside. He plays so hard, when I pick him up he is all red and sweating from being out in the heat. You'd think he would be exhausted, but he pushes on. It is sometimes even a challenge, to say the least, to get him in the car to go home. I swear that boy would live outside if he could.

Brooklynd is growing up so fast, right before my eyes. He will be 4 months old on Saturday, I can't even believe it. He is so precious. He recognizes Braeden and smiles at him when he sees him. Their interaction is so priceless. Braeden is definitely always trying to lend a helping hand, giving me or Brooklynd his blanket, binky, toy etc. all of the time.

The heat has been a bit hard on both of the boys bed times. I think Braeden gets a bit confused since it is still light out when he is settling down to go to bed. That along with how hot it is can make bedtime a bit more difficult then it usually is. Luckily Braeden has always gone to bed so well for us that I can tell when things are bothering him. As for Brooklynd sleepy time, he has been getting up at between 3am or 4am the past few nights. Luckily a "binky" seems to calm him, but I am not sure what's really going on. I know that children's sleeping patterns can change from time to time, but I don't know if that is it or if it's something else. With the heat lately our house has been staying fairly warm at night, this may contribute to the sudden change. We have been covering him with a light weight blanket just draped over him, where as he is used to being wrapped so tightly I think this may be the main culprit. I hope it doesn't continue or we will need to figure out what to do since the Summer weather is just beginning and the heat will be around for quite a while.

This weekend, we will be fairly busy. Darren is thinking of working on Saturday. The same day I have a class reunion meeting I was asked to attend on Saturday morning & Terra's bridal shower is later that afternoon. She gets into town Saturday afternoon I believe and will be here through next weekend, flying out on the morning of the 29th. We are so excited to see her. She has yet to meet Brooklynd, so that will be very exciting. She has tons of stuff to do while she is here cake testing, meeting the minister, all of the last minute wedding details. Trista & I are hoping she will be able to go camping with us & some of our friends for Memorial Day weekend, it has been years since we all 3 have been camping together, should be lots of fun fun! We will definitely miss Ryan, but will get to see him soon as well.

That is all for now. Have a great evening! Loves.

The BIG fishing trip!

SO I am a bad girlfriend....I just realized that I had forgotten to tell you all about Darren's fishing trip over the weekend. He left Friday evening to head over towards Astoria & Long Beach at about 10:00pm. It was strange to sleep at home with the 2 babies without Darren, we used to get close on some of the poker playing late nights (they are night owls when it comes to gambling!), but this is the actual 1st time, as far as I can recall that I was all by my lonesome. You'll be glad to know things were fine, no screaming babies or any glitches to report.

So back to the trip.....Darren arrived late Friday night/early Saturday morning in Astoria, got a couple hours of sleep and off they went to fish at about 4am. Apparently Halibut fishing has a 1 fish/person limit a day, so they all eagerly hoped to catch their one. Early on most of the guys had caught something, lastly Darren caught his, it was a whopping 74 lbs....HUGE! Unfortunately he didn't take our camera, but one of the other guys did get a picture of him with it, before it was filleted...when we get it we will post it. He had so much fun with his buddy Zach, they went on a Salmon trip late last summer and plan to try tuna fishing next. Each of the guys reeled in a fish by the end, so all in all it was a success.

Just wanted to share with you.

Happy, Happy Mommy Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful moms out there.

Today was a fabulous day for me. It was my second mothers day and my first with 2 babies. We had a wonderful time. First off Darren made breakfast for us all...how sweet. It was so yummy! Then after naps for the boys and getting them some lunch we left for the rest of the day to visit some family and friends before heading out to dinner.

First we stopped by my Grandmas house and when we dropped by my Uncle Brad, Aunt Tami and their grandaughter were there. We hadn't planned on staying to long as we knew we would be seeing her for dinner; however, when we realized they were there, we decided to stay for a while. Zariha (not so sure about the spelling, but it is pronounced Za-Ry-Ah!) their grandaughter was absolutely adorable. She is about 2 and a half years old (almost an entire year older than Braeden) and very petite, so just about the size of Braeden, but definitely more dainty. They had so much fun. It took them both a while to warm up, but by the time we left, she was trying to leave with us and they were giving eachother hugs at the door. It was definitely a "card picture" moment, but unfortunately none of us had our camera and didn't capture any of it...alas, a lesson learned for next time!

Our next stop on our happy mommy day mission was Mary & Ron's where they were celebrating Mary for mothers day and Kimberly was celebrating her first Mother's Day. Katie (Kim's sister) had already left...so we missed out on seeing her, as well as Chris & Leann, but got to visit with the rest of the family, including Kelsey...which was so much fun. We love hanging out with them, they make us feel right at home, we are lucky to have such great "extended" family out there!

Then we were off to drop off a card and pictures for my boss Lori. They weren't home, so we dropped it at the door. By this time it was about 6:00pm, Braeden was pooped out from all the visiting, he was fast asleep in the car as was Brooklynd. Out last and final stop before dinner was a quick one at my parents house, just for a few minutes. From there we headed over to the Taco House for dinner. We met up with my parents, Trista & Kody and my Grandma Lorenz. Dinner was very fun and once again very yummy! After dinner we headed home to put the babies to bed and watch a movie. After we actually got home, Brooklynd was having a hard time, really restless with the heat. He finally settled down after his last bottle. By then we had decided to skip the movie because of the wonderfully long day we had. It was a very enjoable day with Darren & my babies and all of the people we got to visit with along the way. I am very lucky! I hope everyone out there mother or not enjoyed their weekend and at least some of the beautiful weather.

Love to all...take care...Trina :-)

Back to the Basics

So not much has been going on with us. The weather this week has been absolutely gorgeous. We got to enjoy some of it at Darren's second softball game on this last Tuesday evening. The guys did great. It is all coming together for them, they are really learning how to play together. (Hahaha! they sounds like kids!). They had one hard inning, came back and scored 9 runs, but it wasn't quite enough they ended up losing 36 to 30. Braeden had so much fun cheering for his daddy. Braeden is quite the character, he was flirting with all the ladies, just like last time...he has them all wrapped around that little, chubby, adorable finger of his. I must admit...me too!

Brooklynd is getting so big, what a happy, healthy, chubby bub he is. I am not sure how much he weighs as of now, he will go to the doctor when he turns 4 months old (on the 20th of this month). He is starting to develop so quickly. He smiles all of the time and recognizes people around him. When I pull him to a sitting position he keeps his head aligned with is body and when we have tummy time, he can life his neck at a 45 degree angle. He goes about 12 hours between feedings at night to the morning. He is still sleeping in a bassinet in our room, but is starting to outgrow it. Soon (but not too soon) he will be in his own room, which I have been working on decorating in firetrucks.

It's amazing how much faster the time goes when you have two. I recall thinking it flew by when we just had Braeden, this is like double speed. Having two definitely keeps us very busy and we love every minute of it! Things will really start to pick up for us starting this weekend and continuing through June. Darren is going on a boat to halibut fish in the ocean with his buddy Zach on Saturday. Sunday is of course Mother's Day and I am sure we will be busy celebrating all of the mother's around us! My friend Hallie will be in town this weekend as well for a quick visit so it proves to be a fast paced weekend for us. Nothing else new is going on. We hope everyone is well. Until next time....

Much Love,
Trina

Bumps and Bruises

Okay so after reading our friends (Kim, Sean and baby Grant's) blog a bit earlier, I realized I had forgot to write about last weekend. First of all because of Darrens job change, I actually got to spend a Saturday with him, it was so nice. By the sounds of things this may be his new schedule Monday - Friday. It will be nice for us as a family. I will miss my one on two time with Braeden & Brooklynd, but am happy he will be home with us. Saturday evening I got to go for a girls night out. Darren watched the sweet boys until bed time and then my mom did. There were 6 of us ladies at dinner and we got down to 3 by the time we actually went "out"! My trusty sisters Kimberly and Katie were there though and it was Kims first time out since she had little (Ronnie) Grant. We all had so much fun. It has been a long time since we have gotten together and laughed like that. We met up with Darren, Trista, Jason, Sammy, Jesse and some more friends at the local watering hole (no I'm not telling you where, not that it is hard to guess, I am sure!!). We all had a great time. Got lots of pictures and lots of stories to laugh about later, as usual!

On Sunday we were invited to go to Rudy (Ron) and Lou's (Mary) house for brunch, and we gladly accepted. We had a lot of fun. Rudy manned the grill (stove top). The food was beyond delicious and the company was wonderful and entertaining. Sweet little Braeden had a bit of a rough day he was being a bit of a cranky crab. Where do I start? First he whined and whined and whined to go outside until Darren took him for a couple of walks through the neighborhood. Next he got himself up on a chair all by himself (which he now does regularly) he was so proud of himself, upon trying to get himself down he got stuck 1/2 on, 1/2 off of the chair and started screaming. Then in an attempt to cure his ongoing outside curiousity we took him on their upstairs deck he got to pet the dog a little and before we knew it he was trying to put a leg through the slats on the railing (his escape plan was foiled....I caught him before he jumped!!) Finally the icing on the cake (if you can call it that) was him sliding down their hardwood stairs on a baby gate.....our little surfer didn't suffer any major injuries thank goodness just some bumps and bruises. Let me tell you it scared him though (almost as much as it scared us and everyone there) and that was the grand finale to our brunch with my 2nd family!! More stories to tell....I digress! Just thought I would share.

Hope everyone has a fantastic and safe weekend. We are off to dinner for a friends birthday this evening after Kody's baseball game that is. Enjoy the sun!
Take care and TTFN Trina!

Changes

Well some things are changing...

Okay so most of you may already know that Darren has had a sudden, but desired and somewhat needed career change. As of now he is temporarily driving for a door delivery company until one of the union jobs he has applied for finishes tying up all of the loose ends and gets him in the door. Which we anticipate will be just a little over a month. It has been a bit stressful for the past week for him I am sure as well as for myself but it looks as if things will be turning around for us soon enough. He has decided to head in the sheet metal direction or the elevator repair direction...both union jobs, which will be nice and with more stability and growth that he is very much looking forward to.

As for the boys they are sweet as pie...(most of the time). Brooklynd started daycare just last week. I am sure it was harder on me than it was on him, but I know he's in good hands. I get updates on both the babies all of the time and pictures too :) They are both getting so big. Brooklynd will be 4 months old in a couple of weeks and Braeden will be 20 months old. They are so darn cute together. Braeden likes to squeeze Brooklynd and he kneels down next to him and rubs his head. It is very precious.

We have been very busy lately. I feel like we haven't been home in ages and with summer coming up on us it seems it might stay this way. Darren and I took a baby sign language class a couple of weeks ago and have started incorporating that into Braeden's language skills, it seems the hardest part for us is to incorporate it into our own language skills. Hopefully as Brooklynd gets a little older we will be more versed in it. In the evenings we have had many baseball/softball games to attend lately and unfortunately missed one for Kody tonight due to Darren's first day (12 hours) at his new job. Looks like he may be working lots of overtime for now. Last night was Darren's first softball game and they won! Darren wasn't too happy with how he played (Braeden was clapping for him, he thought his daddy was great!) I am sure he just had a case of the first game jitters. He played left center and right center field. Had several base hits and overall did great, at least me and the boys think so. The night games are a bit hard on Braeden he doesn't get to play around too much, and with the beautiful weather that is all he wants to do. It gets very chilly as the wind picks up, will be nice once it is warmer, but nonetheless we very much enjoy it.

We are looking forward to a camping trip later this month and traveling to Missouri early in June to see Terra graduate from Medical School. Then comes Terra and Ryan's wedding, in Forest Grove at the Elk Cove Vineyards. For details view their wedding website in our links on the right hand side!

We hope everyone is well and getting a chance to enjoy all of the sunshine!! It never is around
long enough. Take care....Love Trina...