Home Sweet Home

Why hasn't anyone mentioned before we became homeowners, that home projects simply do not end?!? Well, we have lived in our home for six years now and during that period have managed to repaint (and in some instances to wallpaper) all rooms, tile the kitchen and bathrooms, and put in PERGO floors in the living room and hallways... So, since we just can't be bored, this summer we decided to start another never ending project - landscaping the yard.

The original plan seemed simple enough - we were going to take out old lawn, build a retaining wall and reseed the new lawn... Well, slowly it became a lot more involved - we decided to expand the patio in the back yard, and put in a brick border around our lawn. After talking to our friend and "sprinkler" advisor Jared, decision was made to put in the sprinkler system.

Luckily, our friends and neighbors Jessie and Jared were also very excited about beautifying their yard, so at least we are able to split some of the equipment cost and learn from each other's mistakes (and there is plenty of both!)

Anyway, up to date, we have:

1. Riped up our old lawn (thanks to sod ripper and daddy's muscles)

2. Build a retaining wall in the front yard (our backs are still hurting from carrying the bricks)

3. Expanded a patio in the back yard (thank you Malisa and DeeAnna for all your help)

4.Mostly put in a sprinkler system (thank you Jared and Bob for all your help and ideas)

It has been a very fun project for the entire family with everyone contributing a lot based on their size and abilities...

We ARE hoping to finish our project someday but we'll keep you updated!

END OF YEAR PARTY

Well, it's hard to believe that Lena is five! It has been two years as she started attending preschool. She absolutely loves it and has a hard time staying out of trouble. The teacher gets really upset with her, especially because she can't reprimand her for not listening - Lena has time to do both, pay attention and answer all questions correctly while creating disturbance in the classroom. What can I say - our child is a multitasker like her mom! We are very proud...

So, at the end of the school year there is usually a graduation ceremony, but this year, based on some research that shows that those type of ceremonies hurt child's Psyche, the school decided to have a party instead... Apparently, ice cream sundays in 10 am, are a lot better for children! Needless to say - Lena and Benjamin had a blast...

Say "Ahhhh"

So, I decided it was time to introduce my children to one of my most time consuming and expensive "hobbies" - trips to the dentist. We started by playing "dentist" at home, the game that mainly consisted of me pocking their teeth with a toothpick and asking if that hurts... I figured that if Lena and Benj have any of my genes, chances are they will spend a lot of time in the dentist chair so I wanted to make sure they were prepared for that dramatic event in their young lives...

Well, the anticipated day finally arrived and we went to the new children's dental office in the North part of town. Everything started out ok - with a huge play structure in the waiting room and everything... However, when it came time to take Xrays (the least traumatic of all dental procedures), Benjamin refused to follow his sister into the chair. No amount of begging and promises of treats would help. So, after ten minutes of trying, the dental assistant gave up on him and suggested we move on to "exam" room. Lena was amazing, she opened up wide and let dentist examine her teeth and even clean them. Benjamin, however, was very suspicious of the whole process and would only let the dentist examine him from several feet away... Big sister came to the rescue by sharing the chair with him just so we can let the doctor pick into Benj's mouth...

Fun in the Sun

Sunny San Diego

After spending two days in Disneyland and hanging out with Deda, we headed to San Diego, to visit Manya, Dave & Katya. San Diego Zoo and CA beach were on the agenda. After the excitement of Disneyland, we were looking forward to spending a relaxing afternoon in the sun. However, two days before our arrival, there was a shark attack just a couple of miles from where we were... So much for laid back beach trip...

Since we do not see sun in Oregon very often, we prepared by brining hats and sunblock. However, since we don't use the sunblock very often (since we only get about 10 days of sun in Oregon!), it turned out it was expired, so the entire family got some kind of allergic reaction to the creme... Expired or not, it still did a great job of preventing sunburns, even though we all managed to get random sunburn spots (user application error!)

More Disneyland Fun

Knowing my obsessive personality, it probably doesn't come as a shock that I had a strict agenda for our Disneyland visit. Using a software recommended by a fried "Max Ride for Disneyland", I had developed a schedule for our two day visit, trying to maximing our "riding time" as opposed to "waiting time". So, according to our plan, we were supposed to visit 12 rides the first day of our visit. Those of you who have been to visit Mickey recently, know, that can be pretty challenging, especially if travelling with young children. Well, proud to say that we went on 14 rides and some of them more than once!

Adventures in DISNEYLAND

So, we did it! Our family survived this tax season and we decided to reward ourselves with a trip to Disneyland and San Diego! In order to avoid all the "when are we going?" questions, Lena and mom created a long paper chain, and Lena was faithfully taking off a link a day, until the very day of departure (she did try to speed the time up by taking two a day at first!).

Mom got the kids special luggage sets, hoping that would encourage them to help with the carrying part... (no such luck)! After they were done posing for the pictures, daddy and I got stuck with two "too heavy" backpacks...

Travelling

The kids did really well on the airplane (afterall, two hour flight is NOTHING compare to our Russia trip last year - 30 hours of travel one way). However, Lena was a little suspicious of the whole evacuation process - this is her studying the brochure.

Our double stroller was an absolute life saver... Not only we loaded that thing up with all the supplies that come with children (snacks, change of clothes, entertainment, etc), Benjamin was able to take naps in it as well.

At the Park

Everyone who knows my kids, knows how much Benjamin loves Peter Pan and Captain Hook (read: obsessed with them), so several weeks prior to the trip, daddy got him a Peter Pan costume. Well, the first thing Benjamin demanded we pack, was that costume (complete with a sword!). And that's what he wanted to wear in Disneyland! Luckly, I was informed that there are a lot of "weird" people in Disneyland, so he wouldn't stand out that much... Anyway, the first ride we went on was "The Flight of Peter Pan"...

So, here are my Peter Pan and Fairy, enjoying their very first ride...

More CA fun to come....