Rock of Love

Leelee brought this rock home from Vacation Bible School a while ago but I never flipped it over to see that he had "Mom + Dad + Baby" written. Obviously he didn't write it himself, but I guess he narrated it. (We still call Olin "baby" even though he, and his tantrums, have far outgrown baby status!)

Lists & Lists

Only list format will accommodate all the items of business here:

1) We've set out pitted cherries and apple slices to dry in this heat wave. The apple slices are delicious and the cherries should take another day or two to dry out. Here is progress...

Leelee aka Vanna White

2) We met up with Connor and Kaylee at Badger Mountain Water Park today. Olin is still sick (diarrhea) and didn't want much to do with the water park, but Leelee had a good time.

This is what Olin did the whole time...nothing.

3) Olin is saying a lot more words now. He says mom and baba, and can repeat most things we say. He tries to talk which is really cute.

4) Olin still loves singing.

5) Olin walks pigeon-toed and is slightly bowlegged :) I was reading back to how Leelee was duck-toed and flat-footed so it looks like I got one of each! (Leelee is now normal so I suppose I worry for nothing)

6) We put in an offer on a house in North Richland, and they have accepted! We anticipate closing in 2 months. Woohoo!

The house is on Shaw Street (or the 'fancy street' from way back in the day). It's not so fancy anymore, especially since North Richland is in no way fancy, but the house is nice and we are anticipating doing some renovating before we move in. I'm nervous/dreading the remodel but I've been using every spare moment to try to get in the know about remodeling. I know it's a lot to take on but it's definitely exciting, especially since we can kind of customize things to how we want it. We are definitely lucky!

Nauseous Hedgehog and Bill's Berry Farm

Poor Olin got sick last night. He woke up at 12:30 and 1:30 throwing up. Halmoni sleeps in the room right next door so she got to him first both times and we worked together to clean up the mess and hold him. Poor little thing! It got me thinking that in his two years, I can't remember him ever throwing up. Could that be right? Come to think of it, I do not remember him being truly sick at all, besides a runny nose.

Well I had big plans to take the kids to Bill's Berry Farm in Grandview, Washington, which is about 30 miles west of here. I love Bill's Berry Farm! It is so cute and local and I don't feel like they nickel and dime you.  There are donuts for each season (cherry donuts right now, blueberry donuts next week, pumpkin donuts in the fall), little picnic and play areas for the kids, hay rides, corn mazes, and the list goes on. Everything is free except the 1) actual fruit you pick, which is cheap 2) food that you purchase, 3) the little kids' train rides and 4) $5 parking which they just started and which they did not charge me for since they didn't have change. Funny because I was a tiny bit surprised and put-off that they charge $2 for the train rides and I just saw on their sign today that 100% of the proceeds from the train rides go toward a cause in Haiti. So I was back to loving Bill's Berry Farm after that :)

Anyway, I definitely felt it would be risky taking Olin there because he had thrown up at 7:30am again this morning. But I needed to find an activity for me and kids to do or I was going to go nuts this weekend with no Dae (working) and nothing on the calendar.  So I packed up Christian and we went, just the two of us. Halmoni and Haraboji stayed at home and watched Olin (along with their soaps). We had a great time. Over the course of today I ate probably 6 donuts and we picked one bucket of cherries. More like I picked one bucket of Cherries and Leelee sat in the wagon eating them and asking for "just one more".

These suckers were delish. And very easy to pick. No ladders needed.

Um...Are you Serious?

This is the projected weather forecast for next week.

Seriously? I was a young tyke when I last lived here but I never remembered the temps
Hitting 110+

We've been making do with water activities.  I got this $12 hose attachment from Amazon that the kids really enjoyed today. This weekend I plan to take them to the badger mountain water park. Halmoni and Haraboji are holed up in their room watching Korean soaps and golf, respectively, so they're happy I think.

Just another summer in Eastern Washington!!!

Leelee has got a serious overbite. I was trying to showcase it.

Random Randomness

A compilation of photos:

Hedgehog in my visor

When Olin tantrums, he runs somewhere and lays on the floor by himself. Often, he will go underneath a bed to have himself a nice long cry (tantrum).

Playing his 'accordian' and singing

Elbow updates. 2 months post-op and healing great. I just have to straighten it a little more.  I still can't lift weights well or do push-ups very well with that arm.

Reunion pic

Another reunion pic...

and another...

...and another. Poor resolution since these photos were sent by somebody else. 

This photo makes me laugh. These two guys are our dental instructors and some of the students must have photoshopped the faces into this photo. 

Oral Hygiene

I snagged a few Kids' Sonicares at the Dental Convention last week at the 'professional price' of $29.95. The kids like to use them (themselves) although Olin still screams bloody murder when I come near him with a toothbrush. Dae either has to hold his arms down or I have to actually sit on his arms. It's so unpleasant.

Olin likes to run around naked so the other day he plopped his little booty on the couch and I snapped a few photos. Dae thinks this photo is like a little modeling photo with strategically covered up parts!

Weekend Update

The weekend was action-packed. We attended the Cool Desert Nights Parade on Friday and Saturday (old car show) in Richland. Also, Ev and fam came into town to camp at Hood Park for the weekend so we visited their campsite a couple of times.

First, I found this photo on Halmoni's phone today and forwarded it to myself (Olin brought her phone over to me, so nicely). It's me and the kids at Atlanta airport in December and it's the only physical evidence of the day where I single-parented the kids across the country of two flights and awkward carry-ons. Dae had missed the flight after being so sure that he had time to drive home to get his phone. The drive, round trip, is 40 minutes, and our flight was literally taking off in 40 minutes. Speaking of, since moving to Richland he has missed two flights. It would be nice to say I am surprised but I am not.

I don't know why I was smiling. Probably in relief. I was not happy.

The following photo was taken today when the kids were outside painting. Olin had more fun stacking the paint cans than actual painting. He does not seem to like drawing! Unrelated, but he loves singing right now. If you give him anything (a DVD, a book) he holds it against his stomach and pretends to play it like the accordian at music class. He'll walk around playing his instrument and singing his one-five tune (like a C note and a G note, that's it).

The remainder of the photos were from the weekend...

Me and Leelee chillin' on the bed with my arm straightener. It's this medieval looking device that I crank in order to straighten my arm, since it's still not totally straight. I'm supposed to wear it 30 minutes, 3 x per day, but I've been averaging an hour total. A couple of times Leelee has asked me if I would do something for him and I've had to tell him no, that I have to go straighten my arm! haha!

Garnishments cooking class we took tonight.

Puo Puo, Leelee and the Woodland Park Zoo

My mom watched Leelee for a full 48 hours and then added on a little tyke named Olin for the remaining 24 hours in Seattle. Thank you very much, Mom! She and Leelee had a really good time hitting the zoo, McDonald's, and the Boeing store for a couple of toy airplanes. I am sure he loved the extra one-on-one attention...

Lucky guy.

Captivated by penguins

Cheese-o-rama

Elephants!

Feeding elephants!

Piano Man

Olin absolutely loves playing the piano. A few times a day he ambles over to the piano, pulls himself onto the bench and opens up the cover to begin banging out a tune. Little piano man of ours...

I took the kids out Sunday for a little run. It was 92 degrees and I was pushing that wretched double stroller, so I made it all of one mile before heading over to the track at Enterprise Middle School for some leisure walking without stroller. Leelee had fallen asleep in the stroller and Olin walked around by himself while I jogged very, very slowly.