Adults only day

Today, Dane and I had a much needed adults only day. We headed up to Seattle and had a wonderful lunch out in West Seattle with Neil and Holly and then the four of us headed to the Mariner's game for the afternoon. The game sucked (we lost and it was a really boring game) however, we had a wonderful time! We had rockin' seats in the "Terrace Club" which is on the 2nd level and made us feel like V.I.P. I found them on Craigslist and we bought all four for $100...$25 per ticket, not bad. These regularly sell for $65 per ticket! We were greeted by this nice gentleman opening the glass doors for us to enter and to check our tickets. Just looking around, you could tell we were in a whole other league! There was classy restaurant type food to order (from your seats if you wished), an attendant in the bathroom, and a hoodie sweatshirt for sale in the Mariner's shop for $110! We found our seats which couldn't have been any better and enjoyed the company and just being at Safeco Field. What a wonderful afternoon!

My mom came up to spend then day with Anna and it sounds like the two of them had a blast. Anna was such a good girl, my mom said she didn't cry or whine once...for a second I was wondering if she had accidently switched kids with someone else while at Fred Meyer! No whining?? What was your trick Grandma?! They had a shopping excursion to Freddy's to buy bubbles and play-dough and somehow Anna managed to get a giant cookie the size of her head from Starbucks. They came home and played outside with buckets of water, sidewalk chalk, bubbles and shot baskets. What more does a girl need in an afternoon? :)

Not only did my mom watch Anna all day for us, she did all sorts of "little" (and not so little) things around the house that I rarely have time to get to. Don't think I didn't notice all this stuff Mom...sweeping our laundry room and straightening our shoes, wiping out our garbarge can (some questionable stuff was starting to grow in there) and recycling can in our house, trimming my roses in the backyard and cutting two pretty roses and putting them in a vase on my kitchen window, folding two loads of laundry that I hadn't gotten to yet and washing and folding a load of Anna's clothes, and vaccumed rugs in our living room. Oh, did I mention preparing a delicious beef stew dinner with a side of cornbread that was ready when I got home? My favorite!! A million thanks to you mom...we really appreciate you coming and spending the day with Anna and then to do so many thoughtful things that make such a huge difference in my day...you are an angel! We love you!

I can't leave my dad out while I'm bragging about what wonderful parents I have. While we were on vacation, my car was at my parent's house for a week. I had asked my dad if he would be kind enough to re-align my headlights. What did I return to? Not only re-aligned headlights, but a fully detailed car. When I say detailed, I mean DETAILED. He worked on it every night we were gone and had washed, waxed, vacummed, interior completely wiped down, my leather seats had been treated, engine pressure washed, new wiper blades, some sort of treatment to take oxidizing (is that right, Dad?) materials off my car, he buffed out some scratches on the rear bumper...I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I'll tell you what...it was like a brand new car sitting out there! I'm still slipping and sliding all over my seats because they're so clean! It was such a thoughtful thing for him to do...thank you Daddy! What did I do to deserve such wonderful, caring, giving and loving parents? I'm truely blessed. I only hope that we make our kids thoughout life feel as loved as we feel.

Dane is in Oregon tonight so that he can attend his grandpa's funeral tomorrow morning. Grandpa Bud passed away a little over a week ago and thankfully we were able to get in our goodbye's on our way home from vacation. It was going to be such a quick trip, that I decided to stay home with Anna. She wouldn't have sat through the funeral anyways, and Dane has to be back by tomorrow afternoon so he can go to work, so it was just easiest for us girls to stay here. Dane drove with his brother and Holly so at least he wasn't alone. Dane's grandpa was a wonderful man and we will miss him dearly. Thankfully, there are many special memories to cherish.

Feet update

Last week we FINALLY got Anna in to see a specialist from Children's Hospital (they have a great clinic here in Olympia) to see what they thought about her crooked little feet. The doctor we saw was wonderful. He was an older man with a thick accent and bushy eyebrows...enough to scare any young child (Anna wouldn't want Elmo (her favorite) to come too close though, so she's not a very good judge) but he was very knowledgeable and made us feel very informed and confident with our decisions.

A pretty sure-fire way to correct crooked feet is to cast them. The doctor explained what that would look like and consist of...something I was NOT excited about. He also gave us his opinion on casting kids her age, which is that it is not his first choice. He explained that casting a 6 month old is much less invasive because they barely know where their feet are anyways. They aren't walking yet and they don't have that sense of independence. To cast a 20 month old is much different. She would still be able to walk and get around but it would be very limiting. The doctor said that he has seen so many instances that their little personalities are affected by it. They are exploring and learning so intensely at this age, that the restriction really has an effect on them. So why didn't we cast her at 6 months? Because the doctor said that more times than not, it is over diagnosing them that early. So many kids have feet that are turned in when they are babies but most of the time, once they start walking on them for 6 months to a year, they straighten out on their own. No need for casts. However, in Anna's case, she is still really pulling her toes in (especially the big ones) when she walks and we just aren't seeing any improvement.

So the doctor gave us some options: 1. Cast her feet. 2. Do nothing. It would have no effect on her in any other ways, she would just have crooked feet her whole life. 3. (our choice) Orthotic shoes worn 12 hours a day (at night) for 6 months. This is not a 100% sure fire way to correct them, but it's worth a try. So this week we took her in to get fitted for her new shoes (her special shoes...I wonder if they'll make her run fast, like Forrest?) and they are open toed, hard soul shoes that are white and kind of like a little leather high tops. They lace up and have a strap that goes over the tongue to hopefully keep her from pulling them off. The office said many kids can be little Houdini's and find a way to yank them off, so I'm praying we won't struggle with that. The shoes are meant to be worn on the wrong feet so it will force them in the opposite direction of what they are conditioned to go in. We should be getting them by the end of the week or by Monday, so next week we should be able to see how it goes.

I'll keep everyone posted on what we find out. We are to go back and see the doctor after 6 weeks of her wearing the shoes so he can assess how things are going. Wish us good luck!!

Vacation bliss...

Last week was our wonderful vacation on the Oregon coast, and it was so relaxing and just what we all needed! We stayed at a place called Westlake Resort (the term "resort" was used loosely) and it is just past Florence which is pretty much central Oregon on the coast. Our "cabin" was on a beautiful lake, yet we were also only a 15 minute car ride from the beach. Dane brought his boat so he got some fishing in and Anna experience her first boat rides. She liked it as long as daddy didn't go too fast. She was more in love with her life vest (see pictures below)! Our good friends joined us for four days which made it that much more fun! Ramone, Brianna and their two kids Nyla (3) and Niko (4 months) are such a fun family and it worked out great that Anna had a playmate for several days. Anna and Nyla were like two peas in a pod and it was so adorable to watch them play. They spend the fall/winter months in Hawaii which is where Ramone is from and then the summers they spend in California with Brianna's family, so they drove and met us from Northern California...it was great to catch up with them!
It was a week full of eating great food, taking a nap every day, wearing no makeup, no blow dryers, playing in the water, sitting and doing nothing but visiting, eating more good food...you get the picture. :) I will say I was greatly disappointed about one thing...Anna HATES the sand! Who would have thought! We went to a state campground that had a wonderful sandy beach and swim area and the instant I put Anna down she started wailing and wanted me to pick her up. I thought if I tried getting her in the water maybe that would work since she usually loves the water. Wrong. She climbed her way up my legs and firmly gripped around my neck. She basically sat on the beach towel the whole time and didn't budge. Same story when we tried visiting the actual beach. The second I stepped foot on the beach she started whining and saying "No no, no no" "bye bye" "bye bye", like she couldn't get out of there fast enough! So we clicked a couple pictures just to prove we were there and then bailed. So sad. I was hoping for some wonderful beach shots of Anna frolicking in the water and the sand, getting it lodged in every crack imaginable...but nope. My girl apparently prefers gravel, dirt and grass. Let's hope a fondness for sand grows over time!
We felt rested, relaxed, and rejuvenated when we returned and now it's back to work. :( I told Dane I don't know how I'm going to function without my daily nap...and let me tell you, it's been tough. Enjoy the pictures from our lovely vacation...beware, I went overboard adding pictures!















We were okay as long as we stayed right firmly planted on the rocks and did not get near the yucky sand

Kind of a goofy picture, but it's the only one of all three of us!

BFF's playing teather ball together

One happy girl!

The Mullens...a beautiful family!

Daddy teaching daughter how to fish...so adorable. :)

So peaceful.

Frolicking in the field

Mmmm...ice cream!

Future fashion guru...life vest and a strainer hat!

Refused to take the life vest off...until she realized just how hard it is to bend over and pick up the gravel to throw. Then she wanted it off. :)

Anna giving loves to little Niko.

Anna taking Daddy for a spin in the boat. She LOVED bossing the wheel!

Anna giving Daddy a lesson in teather ball

Just some pictures

I don't have too much time to write up a new blog, or that much to say for that matter, but I thought I'd update with some pictures at least!

These are from the past couple weekends...two weekends ago we were in Yakima for my family reunion and had a BLAST! We had a full weekend of family events planned, from bbq's, swimming, brunch and just catching up with one another...nothing better! We even managed to squeeze in a visit with Sara and her fam as well as Brittany and hers. As always it was so great to see all of them and got me all hyped up for our girls weekend in October! Sadly, my camera was acting up while at Sara's house so I don't have photos to document it...I dropped it in water a few weeks ago and it's never been the same. :(

I've also included a few pictures from this weekend. Dane and I took Anna to a great little creek at a local park that is shallow and clean and Anna had a blast playing in the water. It was a great find! We are getting geared up to take off on Friday for our weeks vacation to the central Oregon coast and are really looking forward to a week away as a family.

Anna loved this little baby pool (brought for an infant!)

Cousins...Anna, Savannah, and Sammi

Our family

Just us girls

Mmmm...mac and cheese...one of her favorites!

Me and my man

Grandpa, me and Anna...that lifejacket lasted about .2 seconds...she hated it.

Daddy and daughter in the creek

So pretty there

Capturing a quick pic