Happy 6th Birthday Cynthia!

My little girl turned 6 years old yesterday- on August 18th! Amazing. Saturday the 15th we had her birthday party- a "Littlest Pet Shop" party (her favorite toys) - - and an outdoor swim party. We had several little girls over and we had a really fun time! We had a few friends from church, one from school, one who's dad works with Jon, and even a couple of friends from Sunnyside!







Tuesday the 18th was her actual birthday. I took the kids to Toys R Us so she could spend her birthday money on - - you guessed it- - more littlest pet shop animals! That night we all celebrated as a family by going out to Ablebee's - - what a treat! We hardly ever go out like that, and the kids did great. We had coupons for free kids meals . . .

I am so glad Cynthia is a part of our family. She brings so much energy to our house. She is a "high highs and low lows" kind of kid- - nothing is ever dull with her around! Friendly and outgoing, and although she is a bit impulsive - - she is able to accomplish so much because of her adventurous and courageous spirit!

Organizing and night waking

Can I say- the best feeling in the word is organizing something that has needed it for a really long time. I spent most of today going through the girls' toys, organizing and getting rid of things they no longer play with . . . I realized that for the past who knows how many months Cynthia has been cleaning by shoving everything in to cupboards, drawers, or even under the dresser (I didn't know that much could fit under there!). It was like someone took a blender to the toys and put the concoction into every crevice of the room! It took a long time to sort through it all to say the least. It sure looks nice now! I will have to supervize future room cleaning. . . .

If anyone is wondering why I am posting in the middle of the night- Lillian is having a rough night (waking up about every 45 minutes since bed-time), Jon is gone, and I am waiting for her to fully fall asleep. Hopefully, this is the last time up and she will fall into a deeper sleep so I can sleep too. I am having a hard time sleeping anyway because my back hurts and there is a nice wind storm going on outside.

Anyway- does anyone have advice on consistent night waking on a child just turning 3? She has always had a problem with waking up a lot at night - - then the last few months seemed to get better (instead of 2 or 3 times EVERY night, she was only waking up once a night a few times a week). Then this last month it got bad again (right as Jon started his FMS rotation- when I have the least amount of help!). She's past the age of letting her cry it out (though we HAVE tried that and it didn't help at all and just kept EVERYONE awake, plus it aggravates her vocal nodules)- - she shouldn't even be waking up in the first place. Sigh- I am most worried about after the baby comes . . . If anyone has any advice or experiences, I would love to hear it!

GI Joe vs. Transformers

In the short- a definite YES to GI Joe and a definite NO to Transformers 2.

If you are like me, a child of the 80's, I grew up with GI Joe and Transfomer cartoons - - though truthfully I was more into My Little Pony and Rainbow Brite and all the boys were into GI Joe and Transformers. Jon- being one of those 80's little boys was practically drooling as the trailers would come on for these movies. I think it is really fun that big blockbuster type movies have been made from some of those 80's cartoons- I am guessing targeting the 30 somethings who grew up with it. (So, where is the My Little Pony or Strawberry Shortcake live action movie??? Ha Ha). Anyway, as a little side note, I wish they marketed these high action movies towards the adults and teens and not towards kids. Way too violent for any little boy - - but of course many want to see it because of the toys. OK- with that side note out of the way, we have gone to see both of these movies in the last little while and here is my review . . .


Transformers 2: TERRIBLE. I have to say that I DID like the sci-fi plot line and some of the romance and drama - - but so much of the movie was devoted to extreme violence and VERY crude humor, I walked out of the theater disgusted. I liked the first Transformers movie (though there was a bit of crude humor, but brief and fast-forward-able, and a little too much skin showing for my taste). Overall the second movie was not something I would let my kids go anywhere near, or could even recommend to my adult friends. I was amazed how gory robot fights could look - - I didn't think that was possible since no blood was involved. Well, somehow they did it. There were also several college scenes that were pretty tasteless and even an decepticon disguised as a girl (I thought they could only copy motor vehicles???) trying to seduce Sam. I also didn't like the amount of cussing- by even the good autobots. Anyway, we were in a theater full of teenagers when we saw it, and it amazed me how much everyone else was laughing at the parts that were in my mind tasteless. Well, I guess I really am an old fogie!



GI Joe: I went to this movie purely because Jon wanted to see it- I didn't think it would be my type of movie- - I didn't even really watch the cartoon as a kid. As the movie progressed, I found myself enjoying it, to my suprise. Sure, it was filled with high explosions, cars flying through the air, guns blazing, impossible stunts and technology, tons of faceless bystanders tossed to the side, on and on - - but combined with the plot, which had more to it than I expected, it was very entertaining. It still is a bit violent for kids - - I would say at about the x-men level - - but not too terribly bloody, and with very little crude or sexual humor and swearing. In short- if you want to choose between the movies made from cartoons those 80's boys used to watch - - go for GI Joe!

Broken Camera and I miss my husband . . .

First of all- the USB port on my camera is broken, so I can't upload my pictures onto the computer- so I will post some things from the last few weeks in the future. Argh- it was really frustrating me today! I was planning on getting all updated since Jon is on-call until tomorrow.

So- speaking of that- - I just had to write a quick post about how much I love my husband and how proud of him I am, AND how much I miss him when he has to be gone so much. Luckily we are all emotionally handing it A LOT better than earlier this year (see my posts from March and February), so life is still pretty good. I love summer anyway - - except the extreme heat which is hard to handle pregnant. ANYWAY, I still miss him- - and it seems like Sundays are the hardest days for me to have him gone. This weekend he worked Friday 7am to about 2pm on Saturday, then had to go back and do it again today (7am to mid day tommorow). Honestly, I would not want to see a doctor in the hospital that I knew had been up for over 24 hours . . . but, there isn't much I can do about it.

Yesterday Jon amazed me and didn't really sleep when he came home, but spent time with us since he knew he would have to be gone so much. We took the kids to the Hop Festival in Moxee, then went out on a date to see GI Joe(I will post about that later). It actually ended up being a pretty enjoyable day. So-- I should be fine today - - but I still miss him and find myself in a rut and not being my best as a parent (how many Disney movies can three kids watch - - I should be reading, playing, or leading age appropriate gospel discussion on a Sunday like this, instead- right?). . . I AM going to do better with this in the future. I'm not even that tired today, so I really don't have much of an excuse. It was great to see him for a few minutes during the sacrament at church- he popped in as a little 20 minute break from doing his rounds and it was a nice little suprise. Like I said, at least I don't feel as overwhelmed as I did several months ago- and Jon's mood is a thousand times better, so truly, this time FMS (Family Med. service at the hospital- Jon's least favorite and hardest rotation) has been SOOOOOO much better.

So, even though I may sound like I am complaining- it is more that life IS real and not rosy all the time, and I AM grateful that he has the opportunities to be in this program (it is like a 3 year boot camp for doctors- they ALL have to go through it!). Two more years Jon's income will spike and he won't have to work such grueling hours- so it is all worth it to get him towards his goals. I also am super grateful that we have the kind of relationship where we DO miss each other so much when we are apart- it is a very sweet wonderful feeling that I wouldn't give up for the world. I am grateful so much for my life- it truly is blessed, and I recognize it even on the days where I am not at my peak!

Sisters (and their families) are so much fun!

I love having family visit- especially my siblings! My sister Shauna Mosbacker and her family came for a visit July 26th through 30th and we had A BLAST!! Mostly we just hung out at my house swimming and playing (with a few side trips such as McDonald's for 50 cent ice cream cones, and Shauna and I went to a fruit stand in Naches to get peaches, Cherries, Aplets and Cotlets, and Huckleberry jam).

After the kids were in bed we would play games, and even Jon (who was SUPER busy with FMS -the Family Medicine Service at the hospital rotation) would try to join in. Jon had some really long stressful days, and even when he was home had to do a lot of paperwork. So some of those nights he would play games so he could actually feel like he was doing something fun with us too, but then would stay up late into the night working on charts. Poor guy, but that is off the subject.

The kids had so much fun playing together- especially Adam who just turned two and Lillian who is 2 1/2. They are both super social kids and very verbal for their age with their playmates, so it was fun to watch them interact. Hannah had fun with her older cousins - - mostly Cynthia! We went to Mt. Rainier on Tuesday the 28th for a little day trip and had a great time, despite the 100 degree weather. It was a great few days and was hard to say goodbye when they had to leave.

Adam and Lillian enjoying some play time together:


Swimming in our pool (it was HOT- had to beat the heat!):


Our hike at Mt. Rainier National Park- "Grove of the Patriarchs"- was beautiful but HOT. It was 100 degrees in the forested valley and the forest was HEAVY feeling and no breeze. I made it on the 1 mile or so hike, but it about killed me! I don't handle the heat well pregnant. I was toast for the rest of the day. Luckily afterward we headed up to Sunrise and it was only 79 degrees up there with a nice breeze, and a rain storm blew in and cooled everything down even more. Ahhhhh. NOW I can enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery!

On the hike . . . .
All the kids:


Hannah and a huge tree:


Thanks to my brother-in-law Pat who took care of the littler kids - -including Lillian who got pretty tired and hot on the hike and wanted to be carried, which NO WAY was I going to be able to do. Uncle Pat helped her walk a lot of the way even when she would just lay down in the middle of the path and refuse to go on! What a patient guy.


Cynthia and Adam and the GORGEOUS wildflowers that were in full bloom at Sunrise:


A great view . . . . AND two pregnant women who happen to be best friends and sisters. It is so fun that Shauna is due only 7 weeks or so after me- also with a boy!


The Mosbacker family, with the Wilson kids at Mt. Rainier!

Another weekend in Spokane- July 17-19

Wow- it has been a long time since I have posted- I better get caught up! We made another trip to Spokane because my brother Steve and his family were visiting. It was wonderful to see Steve and Natalie's baby boy Joshua. He is ADORABLE! We had fun at the lake again - - it's the summer thing to do . . .
Natalie and baby Joshua at the lake:




Jon ended up staying home because of some things for work he needed to take care of (he had an OB patient who might deliver, and he needed to do a lot of paperwork), so this was a solo trip. Worth it- but exhausting. The heat has really been pouring in all over the state - - and boy it wipes me out! It was wonderful to see Steve and Natalie though. Jon DID take a break with me on Monday when we were back home and we went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It was GREAT!! I think this is the first Harry Potter movie that I really liked the very first time I saw it. The other ones I had to get used to how they interpret the story. This one had a much better "feel"- - more light hearted moments and the heavier subjects were handled so much better than the previous movie or two which felt very depressing to me. Sure things were taken out or added as with any book made into a movie, but I think they did a good job. I am ready to go see it again!



Since Jon is back on his hard rotations, life has taken a stressful turn - - especially with the kids out for school - - but I really feel like we are handling it better as a family. The LONG grueling hours Jon has to work, and the pressure for him to perform well still is stressful on all of us, and having to be on my own a lot more to take care of things at home is exhausting, but emotionally we are OK. One great little mercy I found was a free day camp for Marcus and Cynthia in town. I could drop them off and pick them up whenever I wanted - - so I was actually able to get some errands done with just Lillian, and they had a really fun time. Sadly, it ended the end of July, but at least we got a couple of weeks in where they went for the afternoon several times a week.

So- here we go into the month of August, trying to keep the kids entertained, and I have several projects (including potty training Lillian) to get done around the house to make room for baby stuff - - and it is ROASTING HOT! Thank goodness for central air conditioning and our swimming pool. My energy level is REALLY low when I am outside, but inside, or in the pool I am OK. I am praying that I will be strong during Jon's hard rotations, and that I can support him in a way that will relieve his stress. I am determined to be stronger than in the past, and although I do tire easily, I feel like I am handling things better. I have already climbed this mountain- I can do it again!