Mugger and Bug

Perfect Summer Evening

2011-07-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

Sight: Small fire in the pit and 4 happy campers chowing down
Sound: Crackle, pop, mmmm and "This is the best dinner I've ever had!" (Mugger)
Taste: Grilled dogs & brats, s'mores, and in between, their new favorite fruit: grilled peaches. Warm, juicy perfection and liquid sugar pouring down our throats, my new favorite summer taste.
Feel: warmth from the fire, the sun on our backs, smoke-stung eyes, and warm bites of bliss
Smell: woodsmoke, lots of it

The kiddos visited Camp Lutherwood today and are all pumped up for 2 nights of Mini Camp in August, so we had our own mini camp when we got home. Can't wait for another evening like tonight...

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-24T21:43:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas preparations this year have been a little haphazard: our nightly devotions never really happened, the kiddos had to decorate the tree themselves, and I never finished their new Advent calendar. At least the kiddos had my Advent calendar, their countdown chain, and their 2 Nativity playsets. And the sugar cookies and gingerbread cut-outs are done, so there's been no complaining!
Given how different the rest of our Advent had been, we weren't too worried about changing up Christmas Eve. We don't usually give extravagant gifts to our children -- we've always told them "If 3 presents is just right for Baby Jesus, then it's just right for you" -- but this happened to be the year that we had a big one for each of them. So they'll do stockings and some little things tomorrow like books and jammies, but for tonight, we set up a treasure hunt after church. I figured I'd better record it here for posterity, in case this is the one Christmas they remember.

After church, they put on their jammies and received Clue #1: "If you wanted to play Wii, you'd probably find me." This sent them to the Wii drawer in the living room where Bug found a little suitcase I made out of a lunch box and Mugger found a water bottle.

In Bug's bag was Clue #2: "Number 2 really rocks, so look by your blocks." This had them off to the basement and searching in the box of Legos where Mugger found some bike gloves and Bug found some doll clothes and accessories -- which at this point she thought were for her dolls upstairs.

This time Clue #3 was in Mugger's bag" "If it was time for your bedtime drink, you'd find Number 3, I think." This sent them back upstairs, where Bug figured out that 2 gift bags could really only fit under the sink. In their bags, Mugger found a bottle cage for his water bottle and Bug found more doll clothes, a set of jammies (complete with bunny slippers) and a fairy outfit (complete with wings.)

Clue #4, the final clue, was in Bug's bag: "It may be cold, but in Papa's ride Is where big presents like to hide." After getting on coats and boots, we all traipsed out to Papa's Jeep to find their presents in the dark. Mugger spotted his new bike almost right away, and we took Bug into the light to meet her new doll. While Mugger was busy trying to pedal around in his jammies, Bug was exclaiming over her doll: "She's just the doll I asked Santa for!" She also promptly named her new sweetie Emily Sarah and made a special place for her in her bed.
So Christmas this year may not have been all that I envisioned, but judging by the happy kiddos snug in their beds, it's certainly one of our best ones. Mugger can't wait to bike ride with Papa and Bug can't wait to make lots of happy memories with her new doll.

Bug's Riddle

2010-05-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

You can kick it and run,
You can kick it and fall.
Guess what it is,
It's a fun soccer _____

Our Bug is having great fun making up riddles lately! This one not only had rhythm, it rhymed!

So What Have We Been Up To?

2009-08-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

In spite of our deliberate efforts not to put too much on the calendar, we've had a rather whirlwind summer. Mugger finished Kindergarten and celebrated his 6th birthday fishing with much of his family as Nonnie & Gramps, Uncle Bryan, Aunt Jen, Great-Grandma (Harriet), and Aunt Susie were all able to come to Corvallis to celebrate Nonnie and Gramps' 40th anniversary.

Then Mugger was off to a Skyhawks multi-sport camp and had chess camp the week before VBS this last week. In between, he lost tooth #2 and he and his sister entertained Grandma & Grandpa and Great-Grandma (Inga) for the 4th of July. We also managed to squeeze in a family camping trip to our new favorite spot on earth, a riverside campground in old-growth forests less than 2 hours away.

Bug enjoyed her second year of VBS this last week-- she was much more willing to tackle the climbing wall each day. She's also been a great blueberry picker, as I've had her and Mugger out to pick blueberries at least 3 times and marionberries once.

Bug's big news is that she's off to Pre-K this fall. We had intended to keep her home next year, but it looks like she may start Kindergarten in one year, so we wanted her to have some classroom exposure before being at school all day, 5 days a week. Pre-K this fall will just be 3 mornings a week for her, but she's as excited as can be and is waiting for her pink backpack to arrive on the package truck.

As for Mama and Papa, we are currently moving like chickens sans heads as tomorrow marks the beginning of our 3000-mile roadtrip as we attempt to visit both sets of grandparents in one vacation. If you are in OC, our current plan is to picnic at Melinda Park (corner of Melinda and Santa Margarita Parkway in Mission Viejo) on Sunday, Aug. 23 at noon-- hope you can bring a picnic lunch and join us!

Family Photo Session -- May 2009

2009-07-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Mugger our Reader

2009-06-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

I believe we've let you know that Mugger is now reading independently, so I guess we should let you know just how much he is reading...

Mugger started tracking his daily reading minutes for the Scholastic Summer Challenge on May 17. (Yeah, I didn't realize until after I had told him about it that he's technically too young, but you try talking him out of a project once he's excited about it!)

So today, three weeks after starting the challenge, Mugger broke the 1000 minute mark and is officially at 1102 and counting. If you do the math you'll see he's become quite serious about this.

I see many days at the library this summer...

Edited to add: Apparently Mugger is just as intense when it comes to math. Mugger has been doing quite a bit of 2nd grade math with the 1st grade teacher this year (since he tested into 1st grade math in the fall), however, Papa just told me that the 1st grade teacher stopped him on Friday to let him know that she gave him the end of the year test for 2nd grade math and he got a 98. Apparently he's the only kiddo who consistently gets carrying and borrowing...

Backyard Campout

2009-06-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the kiddos spent last Saturday playing in their tent, so when evening came, Papa just couldn't say no when they wanted to sleep outside.

Couldn't leave them alone out there with the... deer. So Papa and Mugger set up another tent.

Such happy little campers!

Unfortunately, we couldn't repeat the experience this weekend: our weather has gone back to springtime in Oregon (rain!) and Mugger woke me this morning with, "Mama, I think I'm gonna throw up." Oh well, I'm sure there will be plenty more backyard campouts this summer...

Mugger, meet Rube Goldberg...

2009-05-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

Well, Mugger officially has a new obsession: Rube Goldberg contraptions. It all started with this month's edition of The Book of Days in which the Imagine section included a poem called The Goodnight Machine-- see it in the excerpt here. That was all he needed! One look at that and we spent the rest of the day on YouTube watching contraption videos...

And of course, knowing Mugger, you didn't think he'd be content to just watch contraptions, did you? No, he became a boy obsessed and would not relent until he and Papa built one in the playroom. So, without further ado, Contraption #1, who's sole purpose was to turn on the CD player:

Another first...

2009-04-30T16:19:00.001-07:00

Did you guess? The hint is in his smile-- or the lump in the pocket of the pillow: Mugger lost his first tooth today! Looks like Nonnie got his favorite shirt converted into a tooth fairy pillow just in time!

Bug is ready for Spring!

2009-04-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

One advantage of having a captive Nonnie and Gramps last week was that Bug got 2 new skirts sewn by Nonnie, one from a pillowcase (below) and the other from cute fabric Mama found. Bug would like to wear them daily, but I refuse to do that much laundry! At least she can see them daily here:

In 6 weeks, he'll be 6!

2009-04-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well, the end of kindergarten is rapidly approaching-- seems like 5 Year Old Mugger has been a blur. He's grown so much in the past year, and not just physically. His thirst for knowledge astounds us daily.

That being said here is the link to his birthday wishlist on Amazon for any of you far-flung family members who might want it (since Nonnie has asked.) You'll notice there are no toys on it-- he doesn't play with them! When he's inside due to the weather (pretty much the only time he is inside) he plays games, makes things, or we spend a lot of time with books as a family-- often 10 to 20 checked out per week at the library. Hence his list is games, story books, some art books, and some CDs. You don't have to shop through Amazon, though if you buy someting on the list elsewhere, give me a heads up so I can remove it and avoid duplicates (like last year.)

When our boy is outside, he's playing any sport he can (usually basketball, soccer, baseball, tracball, or biking) or playing in the dirt or the garden. There isn't really much wishlist fodder in those activities, so it's pretty much all inside stuff on the list. However, the one thing not on his list that he would love would be a gift card to Home Depot-- he really wants to build a fort with Papa this summer and he'd get a kick, too, out of picking out more tools for his tool box or gardening things.

So that's our boy in a nutshell: he doesn't seem to have much need for things and he'd rather be out "doing". I jokingly told him his 6th birthday present from us would be a pile of dirt, but you can bet the party will be outside! If you just made him a card, he'd be thrilled-- he's quite the paper hoarder and still has his classmates' valentines up in his room...

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:23:00.001-07:00

Pajama Ride!

2009-04-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight, in honor of the Jeep being in running condition, we continued a little family tradition we started while we still lived in sunny southern California-- the pajama ride. I don't take credit for this little idea as I first heard about it from Sheri Torelli, a MOPS speaker, whom I've heard speak (twice) on "the importance of mommy." The one thing that I still remember from those talks is her telling about taking her kids on PJ Rides: she and her husband, every once in awhile, would get the kids out of bed, right after tucking them in, yelling, "PJ ride! PJ ride!" and whisk them off for some mystery treat or experience.

Well, in our family, the Jeep plays a very important part of the Pajama Ride, for the very first time we did a Pajama Ride with the kiddos, we piled them in the Jeep and pretended we didn't know where it was taking us! Papa had great fun driving all over the condo complex and the Henry's parking lot until we finally stopped in front of the frozen yogurt place.

So tonight, it seemed as if the stars aligned for a Pajama Ride: the Jeep was running, the kiddos had a great day (and went to bed without fussing), and it was warm enough that I didn't have to worry about them freezing to death if I took them out in their PJs-- I have to think about these things now that we live in Oregon, you know.

As soon as we got into the Jeep, Mugger (rubbing sleep out of his eyes!) asked, "So where is the Jeep taking us?" We, of course, had to continue the game and pretend that we were as surprised as they were when we ended up downtown for gelato.

Yes, it was a busy day, but a good one. The kiddos both couldn't stop at 3 when we asked them to list the 3 good things of their day during their bedtime snuggles...

Painting Eggs

2009-04-04T22:10:00.001-07:00

Mugger and I decided we needed a spring craft project, so we were thrilled to find wooden eggs at the craft store, especially once I told him that we could keep them from year to year and not have to throw them out like dyed ones. I had painted them all white to give them a base to paint on, so today we were finally ready to paint. Here's our progress so far-- I think I'll wait to post the finished masterpieces until Easter...

Spring Soccer Week 1

2009-04-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

Well, the day Mugger has been waiting for has finally arrived: Day 1 of the spring soccer season! He was Mr. Go-Getter as you can see above, but did some great defending, too. We were so glad to finally see the sun today, especially since he wanted to be outside practicing all morning before his 12:00 game.But it was Bug who had the best day of all, I think: she made a new friend. Ava is the younger sister of the new player on Mugger's team-- their family just moved here from Chicago a week and a half ago. Bug had a great time with Ava on the playground and even shared her snack with her. She bawled her eyes out when it was time to go, even with the promises of 6 more weeks of soccer.

Anka Spada

2009-04-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

So, Bug has her own language. And her favorite phrase in Bugspeak is "anka spada." So what does "anka spada" mean? Anything she wants! Yesterday it meant "I love you" and today it meant "Good morning!" She likes to randomly say it throughout the day and is even more tickled to keep you guessing at what it means. Silly Bug!

Mugger's Quote of the Day

2009-04-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

"I have a loose tooth, Mr. Bathroom!"
Yes, Mugger is a bit excited this morning that he can wiggle one of his teeth (bottom left middle). They grow up so fast...

Facebook...

2009-03-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, Papa and I finally joined Facebook after much badgering from many of you. Don't know if we'll be better Facebookers than bloggers, but at least we're there!

Mugger's Reading!

2009-03-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

Normally Papa or I do the before-bed-reading, but last night after tubby time, Mugger got to do the honors. He read all of "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman and was so proud that he asked, "Are you going to put this on the blog, Mama?" What could I say but yes?

We hadn't read this in awhile, so long that Bug forgot about the machine that Baby Bird called a Snort. She thought that was hysterical and kept running around saying, "Snort!" all evening.

You know, our typical quiet evening as we settle down for bed...

March 27, 2009: Last Day of Spring Break

2009-03-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks Nonnie!

2009-03-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, it took Mama forever to take the pix, but we've been enjoying the jammies and robes you sewed for us for awhile now!

Circus Time!

2009-03-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

Well, thanks to the free ticket Mugger received at school, the kiddos took in their first circus this last week. Sorry the pix aren't great, but it was pretty dark inside the Benton County Fairgrounds Arena. I couldn't even attempt a photo of their highlight-- the (3!) motorcycles inside the giant sphere! Anyways, they did like the wild animals:

Bug the Bookworm

2009-03-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Since we've started browsing the stacks at the library after preschool storytime, Bug has become quite the bookworm! Current favorites would have to be the Olivia books, John Lithgow's kids' books, the Polo books, the Harold and the Purple Crayon books, and Nancy Shaw's sheep books. One of these days, I'll have to post a video of her "reading" Tikki Tikki Tembo-- I'm rather impressed that she can already say his whole name: Tikki tikki tembo no sa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo.

And beloved favorites she should check out? Feel free to leave titles in the comments!

100 Days!

2009-03-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

Well, Mugger had his 100th day of kindergarten last week, and boy, is it going fast! They each had to bring in a collection of 100 items and had a grand time sharing them. Mugger was especially happy that his friend, Dalton, brought in 100 Uno cards and they all got to play. So what did Mugger bring? He brought this:It's a mosaic of a photo of Mugger and Bug... made from 100 different photos. This was Mugger's idea, an adaptation of a Christmas gift Papa made this year. You have to double-click on it if you haven't yet...

They had "100" activities all day long, things like seeing how many peanuts they could crack open in 100 seconds-- he can do 6. Mugger's favorite was seeing how many times he could jump in 100 seconds-- he made it to 220. He loved this activity so much that he had to repeat it with Bug after school at home-- good thing I have my stopwatch still from my coaching days. Bug jumped 226 times in 100 seconds and Mugger got past 250. (He would remember the exact number.)

So that evening, I asked him what he likes best about kindergarten so far, and of course, the answer is still the 3 recesses a day. That boy loves playing as hard as he can, as witnessed by his dirty jeans when he comes home... We talked about some of the other things that have made kindergarten memorable: the nature walks, Libbie Mae and the other "friends" they get to take home, and the monthly field trips. Yes, monthly! That still blows my mind. So far they've gone to pick blackberries at the KOA campground (where they also had a teddy bear picnic), out to a local farm to pick pumpkins, to the grocery store to shop for the soup kitchen (with delivery by llama), to the Storybook Village out at the Albany fairgrounds, to a lunchtime outdoor concert at OSU, and to see the new lambs at the OSU sheep barns. This week for their March field trip, they're off to the community college to see a production of Charlotte's Web.

Kindergarten sure is agreeing with our boy...

Cute as a Button...

2009-02-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

...is the title of my review and giveaway over at Northwest Mom Finds! My little Etsy shop got some press! Head on over to this post to check out their kind words (*blush*) and enter for your chance to win.

Bug's 3 Year Old Check-Up

2009-02-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

For you grandparent-types...

Bug finally had her 3 year old check-up this last week (only 3 months late!) She's 31.5 pounds and 39.5 inches tall. I have no idea where that puts her in terms of percentile-- sorry! Her doctor did mention that she's on the slender side but that she seems very healthy, active, smart, and social. None of that was news to us!

Just one concern (aside from her umbilical hernia, which is getting smaller): she seems to have some chewing/swallowing issues still, so we'll be getting a referral for the feeding clinic up in Portland to see if there's a physical cause. We'll be sure to keep you posted...

So Where Have We Been?

2009-01-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

OK, so the Christmas pix aren't up yet and we never formally wished you all a happy new year, but hopefully you at least saw our Christmas card-- better late than never, right?

I'll get some catching up posts in soon, but until then, yes, we are all alive and well! Mugger got his first black eye at school-- no, not a fight but an errant scooter in PE. Bug has now taken to drawing "birthday spiders" on cards (starting with her one for Baby Jesus), but we have no idea where she picked up that idea!

We spent last week in Montana for an unplanned vacation. Papa's Grandma had remarried almost 4 years ago at the ripe old age of 91, but her husband, Guy, has preceded her on the journey Home. The memorial service was Friday, which also happened to be my birthday. Bug decided to make it memorable by puking all over the second we stepped foot in the church for the service! Oh well, at least they were both healthy enough for most of the visit to enjoy their time with their Montana family, especially their new cousin, Rogan. Pics coming soon, I hope...

So what's been keeping Mama from the blog? Well, if you see these posts in an e-mail or feed reader, you may not be aware that my little Etsy shop has been up and running. It's start to take off, so I've been making hair accessories left and right! If you'd like a chance to win some, I'm hosting a giveaway this week over at my shop blog at this post-- and yes, family and friends can enter!

Hope all are well!

Prayers Please!

2008-12-22T10:58:00.000-08:00

Well, the snow is mostly gone here in Corvallis (though more was falling this morning), yet we just talked to friends in the Portland area who have 19 inches on the ground!

So why does this matter to Mugger and Bug? Well, Nonnie and Gramps' flight from Orange County this morning got rerouted -- instead of landing in Portland, they just landed in Yakima, Washington. Given that the major highways around Portland are closed, we're hoping they can get a flight up to Seattle and then down to Eugene.

Please keep their travels in your prayers!

update: After sitting in Yakima on the tarmac for the rest of the morning, they were finally able to land in Portland. With all the snow on the roads, it was almost 7 before they got here tonight, but they're here, safe and sound. You never saw 2 kiddos run so fast out a front door as they did when the car pulled up!

Friday morning: Snow Day #3!

2008-12-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

Well, Mugger had no school Monday or Tuesday due to the snow in the last post, but here's what greeted us this morning!And here's my first attempt at posting a video:

And no, I won't post pictures out our front and back door every time it snows, but for a California girl who never saw it fall from the sky until she went away to college in Nebraska, it's still pretty cool!

PS-- For all of you who read M&B by e-mail or in a reader, I think you'll actually have to visit the live site if you want to see the snow fall in all the pictures...

Snow Day!

2008-12-15T14:41:00.001-08:00

Look what we woke up to this morning!Yes, Greg was very happy to see his Jeep this way-- now it just needs a heater...And I thought this palm tree covered in snow was a fitting image for our family of California transplants...Before lunch, we headed out to play in the snow...
And Jewelpup loved it too!
Look at those pink cheeks!
And they say we're in for more this week-- who knows, Nonnie and Gramps, it may be here when you arrive on Monday!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

2008-12-15T14:27:00.000-08:00

So we took advantage of living in the Pacific Northwest by stopping at a tree farm last week to select our own Christmas tree. Here's the "before" shot next to Mugger and Bug's "perfect" tree. (Thank goodness I talked Bug out of the Charlie Brown tree!)
And here's the "after" shot:
They decorated it themselves (with help from Papa.) I think they did a fantastic job, don't you?

Anybody home?

2008-12-13T17:07:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's not often I write a post (or 3) for Mugger and Bug and don't hear from any of their family or friends. Everybody OK out there?

For those of you who get Mugger and Bug in a reader, just wanted to let you know that I've added a new button to the sidebar. This is the Kiddos' personal blog, so I've never done this before, but I'll leave it up as long as necessary. It's a link to the "Save Handmade" page, in case you're curious. If you missed the earlier post, thanks to the CPSIA (see the Save Handmade page), my fledgling Etsy shop will be closed come February 10. I've even been featured here at Endangered Whimsy, a blog to showcase all the products that will disappear thanks to this legislation. I had a pretty decent local Christmas bazaar season (in spite of the economy), so it'd be a shame to shut down just as I'm getting started...

Leave a comment and let us know how you're doing!

Fall Portraits, Part 2

2008-12-10T14:30:00.000-08:00

For those of you who subscribe to Mugger and Bug by e-mail or in a reader, click on through if you want to see the slide show of all of their fall portraits if the collage in the previous post isn't enough Mugger and Bug for you.

Yeah, there are more pix, and yeah, the slide show in the left sidebar is tiny. But if you click on it, it will take you to my Picasa web album page and then you can see all 28 shots in their regular-size glory. Enjoy!

Mugger and Bug's Fall Portraits...

2008-12-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

Help Save Ladybug Limited...

2008-12-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

I'm guessing that most of Mugger and Bug's family and friends don't know that their Mama has been selling hair accessories for over a year now. I even opened my Etsy shop last week.

However, that may soon be coming to a close. Hop on over to this post at my Ladybug Limited hair accessories blog to see what's up...

Once I'm done with my little grass roots campaign, I'll be back to post some new photos of the Kiddos!

Only 25 Days till Christmas!

2008-12-01T16:29:00.001-08:00

In case you wanted them and missed this post, here are Mugger and Bug's wishlists for Christmas-- just click on their names for the Amazon link...

Yes, many of Bug's items are off of Etsy-- we're going for more handmade holidays in our house, hence Bug's gift of a flannel board for her birthday. If you need a little sampling of why Etsy is so awesome, check out some of the links in this post from Rocks in My Dryer!

If you're new to Etsy, you'll have to sign up for a user name, but you can check out with Paypal without a Paypal account by just clicking to pay by credit card. One of these days I'll get my Ladybug Limited hair accessories in my empty store there!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

2008-11-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

We had quite the excitement at our house this morning when we saw that Mugger's kindergarten class made the front page of our newspaper, the Corvallis Gazette-Times (aka, the GT)!

Mugger spent last week doing extra chores to earn money for yesterday morning's field trip to the grocery store-- he spent his $6 on oranges. As for extra chores, I paid him $4 for folding and putting away 2 loads of laundry (his and his sister's) and $2 more for unloading the dishwasher twice all by himself (with some help from the kitchen stool.) He was excited that Papa got to drive for the field trip and help him with his purchases.

The second part of the field trip was the newsworthy part, though. Rather than having the kindergarteners walk all their groceries the 3 blocks to the soup kitchen, they loaded them up on llamas! Mugger even got to lead one of the llamas for a bit and was so excited to learn about how to pack them.

For all the details, according to the GT, click here. We're saving our paper copy-- the online edition doesn't have the photo that was on the inside where you can see Mugger's back as he learns about llama packing.

UPDATE: Found the inside pic in the GT's online gallery! Mugger is in the red coat:

Back to Corvallis

2008-11-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

We made it home at 10:15 last night-- and no, I don't regret the decision to drive all the way to OC and back! Mugger and Bug are great travelers! So great that we drove almost 9 hours yesterday with only 1 stop. (And yes, Papa got to drive all the way home from the Bay Area since I had done the other 3 legs solo.) Of course, it helped that Bug fell asleep for the last 3 hours of the trip...

We'll post pix of our great California adventure soon, but I know the kiddos are happy to be home and have the whole family together again. Bug is currently dancing around the living room for her Papa!

And Corvallis must be growing on Mugger. As I drove him to school this morning, he gazed wondrously at all the fall colors and said, "Corvallis sure is prettier than where we used to live," and then asked me, "Does Oregon have more trees than anywhere?"

Sure is good to be back in our "tree house" (named because about all we see out any window is trees!)

Bug's Birthday at Disneyland

2008-10-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm backdating posts now as I'm finally getting pix loaded...

California, Here We Come!

2008-10-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

In case we hadn't told you...

Next week, Mugger only has a 3-day school week, due to Parent-Teacher Conferences, so I'm doing the unthinkable (at least in my former-life-as-a-teacher mindset): I'm pulling Mugger out of school for the week so that we can squeeze in a road trip to our former home. It's the only time before Christmas that Nonnie and Gramps' schedule and ours could meet, so off we go.

Of course, it also helped that our godson is being baptized in the Bay area on November 2nd (the day on which I can technically start referring to him as my godson!), so it's actually a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone trip. Papa gets to meet us at the Maschke's, and I'm sure that I will be more than happy to let him drive all the way home!

Ask me in 2 weeks if I was totally insane to think that I could drive 2 kids by myself to CA and halfway back to Corvallis...

Bug's Birthday...

2008-10-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

... will be here in 3 weeks! And since Grandma asked for it, here is her wishlist. (Just click on the word "here.") I used the universal wishlist from Amazon for the first time, so it has things from Etsy (my new favorite site-- it's the handmade version of eBay, more or less) as well as some gear from Lands' End. I'll keep updating it for Christmas, too, so this will be her all-occasion list. (I'll get Mugger's updated and posted soon for you early shoppers...) Let me know if you need help with Etsy-- if you have a PayPal account, you only need to register your e-mail to create an ID.

If you get her something that is similar to something on the list, you could leave a comment on this post so she doesn't get duplicate items. I don't know if the list will show purchases from Etsy or Lands' End-- I think it will if you click through from the list.

And in other news, today is her first day in Big Girl underwear-- hooray!

UPDATE: I haven't added the winter gear Mugger needs yet, but here is his list, too...

Bug the "Big One"

2008-09-26T13:23:00.001-07:00

For as long as we can remember, Bug's definition of a "big girl" has been one who is potty-trained. She's said, more than once, "I don't go in the potty, so I'm not a big one." Well, almost overnight it seems, she's a big one! On Tuesday morning when she got up, Papa told her that there were no more diapers, and for once, she agreed. (This isn't the first time we've tried potty training...)

She had a few accidents on Tuesday, but since then, she's made it to the potty every time. Hopefully next week, we'll be reporting that she's in her big girl underwear as she knows that she can have it as soon as she goes a week without accidents. And yes, her big girl underwear has ladybugs on it!

By the way, being a "big one" has its perks as Bug now uses markers and scissors (with supervision, of course!) Apparently being a "big one" also brings other changes as Bug has told us that now that she's a big one she likes butter on her bread and whipped cream on her waffles!

And doesn't she look old with those ponytails? Her hair is long enough that she asks for them all the time now. How is it that she'll be 3 next month already?

Mugger our Sports Maniac

2008-09-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

Mugger started AYSO soccer this fall and LOVES it! He's already had 2 games and 1 goal! (The Flyers haven't had any wins yet, but that doesn't seem to bother him.) As you can see, 5 year olds take their soccer very seriously:
Elsewhere in the wide world of sports... last night was the big OSU vs. USC game and we just had to let the little sports nut stay up when the Beavers were ahead 21 - 0 at the half. He was ecstatic when the Beavers held on to win it and had to talk football with his kindergarten teacher first thing this morning, since he knew she had been lucky enough to attend. Don't worry-- he's had his Beaver fix as he got to go to the Hawaii game the week before!

We're now convinced there must be a sports nut gene, as this thirst for sports certainly isn't anything he learned from us. It extends to school, too, by the way-- every day he comes home and talks about nothing other than what sports he played at each recess!

Mugger's First Day of Kindergarten (sniff-sniff)

2008-09-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

OK, first a little note... yes, I know I've basically missed the entire summer-- I was downloading pictures from MAY tonight! BUT... I promise to catch up soon, so brace yourself for a bunch of back-dated posts when I do. Now back to the topic of this post...

Yesterday was Mugger's first day as a "Zion Lion" and he LOVED kindergarten. Of course, being the outdoor kiddo that he is, when I asked him how his day went, the first thing he said was, "We had THREE recesses!" Trying to get further details out of him didn't get me much more, as the next thing he had to tell me was that he went across the playground rings 6 times!

Anyways, here's some Day One pix, the first two taken before school and the last one after with his teacher and the beloved rings:It sure was hard to leave him that morning as our good-bye felt like I was putting him on a bus to summer camp: at the end of the opening chapel, they called the kids up to their classes, one by one. No hug, no wave good-bye, just a scamper up the aisle to join the other kindergarteners. With as crazy as our life has been in OC the last couple years, it was hard to see him go-- part of me wishes I could keep him home, yet I also know he's more than ready and will have a ball. Now if we can just get them to let him into the 5th to 8th grade Chess Club... (Yeah, our little Mugger has become a bit of a chess fiend over the summer, but that's a whole post of its own!)

So what did Bug do with Mama all to herself all day? Well, once we walked home, we decided to bike to the post office to mail Gramps his cookies-of-the-month. Bug loves her bike seat!After the post office, we stopped by Riverfront Park for a picnic lunch (thanks for the lunchbox, Nonnie!) since Bug had decided we should go to a park while we were out.
She definitely loved being out and about: she told me she wants to ride the bike to a park and walk to school (a mile away!) everyday! The morning walk and bike ride wore her out-- luckily Papa was home so she could keep sleeping when it was time for me to walk Mugger home.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

2008-07-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

Well, Mugger and Bug went to their first baseball game this weekend to see the hometown Corvallis Knights defeat the Kitsap Bluejackets 6 to 0. Mugger's favorite part was either the score (since he loves it when "his" team wins) or the border collies that ran out in between innings to catch frisbees. Bug's favorite part was the metal bleachers: she was able to jump up and down and make all the noise she wanted! They both liked getting to run the bases at the end, too, so I'd say a good time was had by all.
Update: We saw one more Knights game this summer, one of the Knights last regular season games while Nonnie and Gramps were here in August. They again won in a landslide, so we weren't actually all that surprised when they ended up as the post-season champs!

Move-In Mayhem

2008-07-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a little update for all who are curious:
-- The bedrooms have all been painted and have their new hardwood floors-- yay! (No more ugly purple carpet!) There's a bit of trim to finish, but then we can move into the bedrooms, hopefully tomorrow.
-- The floors will be done once the stairs are done, either today or tomorrow.
-- Projects that remain: replacing the roof and some of the siding and figuring out this battle over having no natural gas!

Hopefully my next update will have pix of all the hard work so many have contributed! (Gotta find that camera cable...)

Moving Day...

2008-07-09T08:45:00.001-07:00

... is here at last! The truck has arrived in Corvallis and will start unloading any second now!

Sorry there have been virtually no updates from us in this process, but yes, we did finally get our dream home that we had found back in May and it's been officially ours for one week now. There's the little matter of no gas line to get settled, but other than that, we are looking forward to all the projects. Thanks to lots of help from Shepherd members, we've already laid the vinyl flooring in the basement and the whole interior of the house has been repainted! One of these days we'll get pix up...

Thanks for all your prayers-- please keep them coming as we deal with things like a new roof and siding!

We're also looking forward to Greg's installation this Sunday afternoon and the visiting friends and family that occasion will bring!

Happy Birthday Mugger!

2008-06-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

Today our Mugger is 5-- how can it have been 5 years already? I asked Mugger tonight as I tucked him in (after his big day playing at Disneyland and California Adventure) if his first day of being 5 felt any different than his last day of being 4 and he said...

"Well, now that I'm 5, I think my bed feels smaller."

Mugger's Quote of the Day-- Sunday, June 8

2008-06-08T11:52:00.001-07:00

Mugger's question in Sunday school this morning...

"If God has the whole world in His hands, how does He keep all the people on the bottom from getting squished?"

Dear Mugger...

2008-06-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight was your preschool graduation. I don't think you wanted preschool to end. That's OK, we didn't either! You and Jackson and Allen and Colleen were the only graduates in your mixed-ages class since John had already moved. The 4 of you walked in as a proud little line between Mrs. Howard and Ms. Clements. We wondered if you were going to sing any of the 4 songs with the other kids and realized you couldn't concentrate on singing until you saw where we were sitting. Once you found all of us (Papa, Mama, Bug, Nonnie, Gramps, Great-Grandma, and Aunt Susie), you finally smiled and relaxed and enjoyed the singing.
You got to be part of Papa's message by holding up the first S in JESUS up front and you came up again when Mrs. Bradley wanted to thank Papa and bid us farewell. However, the most precious moment for me was when I saw you sitting on Mrs. Howard's lap-- you told me that you had told her that you didn't have enough room in the pew. I know she was pretty glad to hold you though. I think she's going to miss you lots-- and miss being Bug's teacher, too. I was so glad to hear that she'll be coming to your birthday party in the park.

You were pretty excited afterwards when Jackson told you that he'd be coming to your birthday party, too-- it was all you could talk about all the way home, at least until you remembered that strawberry shortcake was waiting for you for dessert. (You and Bug ran into the house chanting "Strawberry shortcake! Strawberry shortcake!)
Jackson sure has been a good friend to you these 2 years of preschool. I got some great pictures of the 2 of you hugging after the service because there were so many hugs.

We're proud of you, Mugger. You're a big kindergartener now, and as Coach K told me on Monday after your last Amazing Athletes, God has big things in store for you!

Moving Update...

2008-06-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I promise that sometime soon I will update all of Mugger and Bug's doings for the month of May. It's been a busy one and I've got pix to upload! Mugger's birthday is coming soon, so I've put the Amazon wishlist button up for those who wanted it!

Anyways, the latest with the move... our condo here in Rancho is peachy! The buyers had very few repair requests after last Sunday's inspection and we've pretty much taken care of them already. Things look on track to close escrow on June 20th, although we'll have to see if we have any movers to move us on that date! We requested estimates from 3 companies last Tuesday, and so far only have an appointment with 1 tomorrow for a physical estimate. And the move is in less than 3 weeks! Can you tell that this is stressing us out right now?

Our other source of stress would be the inspection report that came back on our new house in Corvallis. We've learned that the sellers weren't big on home maintenance! Not only are there "little" things like a non-functioning toilet, a non-functioning garage door and a garbage disposal on its last legs, there are a couple of big things like roof and siding issues! Our realtor is arranging for an estimate to see if this can be dealt with by closing...

Anyways, here's a pic of the place since I haven't posted one yet...
We're just trying to keep trusting that all is in God's hands, so please pray that all goes according to His will!

Prayer Requests... ANSWERED! (updates in all caps!)

2008-05-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

Here's the big three:

Please pray for our stamina as we finish work (this weekend, hopefully) to get our condo ready to list this next week. WE LISTED OUR HOME ON FRIDAY...
Please pray that God sends a buyer quickly in this awful housing market. 3 BUYERS MADE OFFERS OVER THE WEEKEND AND, AFTER COUNTERS, WE ACCEPTED ONE & WENT INTO ESCROW, WITH THE CLOSING SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 20TH...
Please pray for safe travel for all 4 of us as we fly up to Corvallis next week to find Mugger and Bug's new home! FOUND ONE! OUR OFFER WAS ACCEPTED AND OUR NEW HOME WILL CLOSE ON JUNE 25TH.

We'll keep you posted... GOD IS AMAZING!!!!

Happy Half-Birthday to Bug!

2008-04-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Bug is now officially 30 months old! To mark the occasion, I cut her hair! No, actually, she needed a trim as her fine hair gets into scraggly knots rather easily, so she's back to a bob. We also measured her today and she's now passed the 3-foot mark. (We measured Mugger, too, and he's just past 43 inches.)

She's quite the independent two-and-a-half year old-- of course. She always wants to do EVERYTHING on her timetable and if you start to count to 3 to hurry her along, she'll scream that she doesn't want you to count! So for now, what seems to work best is me asking her if I have to count. Usually she'll say no and take that bite of dinner or finally put down her toys to get in the van or whatever is requested.

Last night she was prancing around in her brother's superhero cape, her unicorn slippers, and her pop beads proclaiming, "I'm a princess!" Not sure where she got that one, so I told her that she could dress up and still be Bug. I was awfully proud of Mugger for adding, "Yeah, 'cuz God made you special." Of course, he then had to add, "And He loves you very much. Bye-bye!" Can't tell they're Veggie Tales fans, can you?

A First for Mugger and Bug

2008-04-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the kiddos and I went to their first concert. It was only 30 minutes long and they spent most of it playing with Aunt Jen who met us there, but fun was had by all. So yes, it was worth the 3.5 hour total drive time!

So who did they see? Only their favorite "kindie" (kiddie + indie) artist, Justin Roberts. Mugger was a little disappointed that Justin and the band only did one song off of "Meltdown", the only Justin Roberts CD that we have, but it was great to hear some of his new songs off of "Pop Fly" and some others to see what we've been missing.

Aunt Jen, if you need a birthday idea for Mugger, there you go! I'm pretty sure he'll be getting this from us since "Imaginary Rhino" is his favorite song (as witnessed by the fact that he and Bug kept yelling for Justin to play it in between songs. OK, Mama was yelling, too...)

Big News!

2008-04-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

In case we haven't told you yet, Mugger and Bug (along with their Papa and Mama) are moving to Corvallis, Oregon! We weren't looking to move at all (being that Nonnie and Gramps are here and not there), but when we visited the church there last weekend, we knew it was God telling us it was time to move. So... sometime this summer, late June perhaps, Mugger and Bug will be residents of the Pacific Northwest.

I don't think Bug has any idea what's going on, but when we told Mugger that we'd be moving, he was quite excited. We had told him that we were visiting Corvallis last weekend in hopes that God would give us the answer as to whether we should move, so when he saw us Monday morning, he asked, "Did you get the answer?" When we told him, he said, "Yes! That's the answer I was praying for!"

Anyway, here's a sample of the record-breaking weather during our visit to Corvallis:
Yes, that's snow and Papa went mountain biking in it immediately after this pic. We could have taken our picture in hail as well since Corvallis was experiencing some very unusual April weather. There was sleet, rain, and sunshine, too, so it was a bit of everything.

Mugger and Bug did not join us for this trip, though hopefully they will for the house-hunting one. They stayed with Nonnie and Gramps and insisted sleeping on the floor together the night we returned-- Bug thought she should get to sleep on the floor, too, if Mugger got a sleeping bag. Such precious kiddos!

And not nearly so earth-shattering, but their Spring Portraits are in the slideshow now! Enjoy!

Mugger's Quote of the Day

2008-04-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

"I'm so happy I bet I'm gonna fall on my head!"

said by our Mugger when I told him, yes, he could give Gramps the whole batch of Oatmeal Raisin cookies we made this morning. I guess his reaction was because they're Gramps' favorite...

Or perhaps he was just anticipating his afternoon bike ride-- he and Papa have been pedaling home on their tandem every Tuesday after preschool. If you missed that pic, click here.

Busy Boys updated

2008-04-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

I wasn't home today to catch it on camera, but Mugger is now a proficient painter as well-- he and Papa decided to tackle the bathroom and should have it finished up tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get pix then and post them here!

Updated 4/23: OK, so I finally got the pic off the camera-- here's our busy painter:

Mugger our Busy Boy

2008-04-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

For being sick twice in the past 2 weeks (a strep throat diagnosis on Good Friday and a Fifths disease diagnosis on Sunday), Mugger sure was a busy boy over his Easter break!First on his project list was inventing a game! Here he is playing "Tossbox" with Nonnie and Gramps on Easter. He came up with very elaborate rules, which he had me type up to paste in the lid of the box. Basically you get to toss a bead into the little boxes (the smaller boxes are worth more points), but how many tosses you get is determined by which card you draw-- he even came up with a "lose a toss" card!
Because the kiddos got a bucket of bulbs from Grandma and Grandpa for Easter, we spent Easter Monday weeding and planting most of the bulbs (all we had room for, at least.) Project #2 took the entire morning, but he was quite pleased with the results and is looking forward to seeing the growth that will come.
Project #3 was an alphabet book-- above is the cover shot which we almost used for the "x" page (for Xtra Goofy Kiddos.) My personal favorite was the "p" page for Papa since we got such a good picture of him.
Mugger's final project of Easter Break is an ongoing one. He's become quite the puzzle master! Now that he's almost 5, we've decided that he can have an hour of Quiet Time every afternoon instead of a nap, and the option he almost always picks for that hour is puzzles. Thanks to Nonnie's eBay sleuthing, he now has 2 drawers full of puzzles in his room to choose from. So far he's up to doing 100-piece puzzles by himself.
Such a happy, busy boy our Mugger is!

Easter Monday at the Beach

2008-04-02T18:40:00.001-07:00

Resurrection Sunday

2008-04-02T18:23:00.001-07:00

Easter Eve had ended with a very sad Bug being sent to bed... she didn't quite understand the Resurrection Cookies and why she had to leave them in the oven overnight. She was quite happy to discover them this morning as we finished our Easter devotion.Both kiddos were happy to open their Easter baskets from Grandma and Grandpa first thing. See how nicely Bug smiled when I told her the picture was for Grandma? (Yeah, none of the rest are worth posting!)Then it was time to get dressed for church. Such cheesy grins to go with their Easter outfits!
Once Papa got home from doing five church services, it was time to head to Nonnie and Gramps for a late Easter lunch. Mugger's favorite part of the meal was helping Aunt Jen make the whipped cream for dessert. Such a pro in the kitchen already!
Besides doing their egg hunt at Nonnie and Gramps' house, the kiddos also got Easter baskets from Nonnie and Gramps. (Can you see why Mama and Papa saved theirs until Monday morning?) Both Mugger and Bug enjoyed Bug's pop beads from Nonnie-- Mugger helped decorate Bug as well as himself!And here's our silly little Bug, in pop beads from head to toe! Happy Easter, everyone!

"Happy Easter Eve!"

2008-03-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

...was Mugger's greeting to Bug this morning. Happy Easter Eve, indeed. Usually, we would have spent the morning at the church Easter Egg hunt, but since Mugger hadn't been on his antibiotic for strep throat for 24 hours, that option was out of the picture.

Plans for this evening's devotion time include our annual making of Resurrection Cookies, but this morning we made Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs, thanks to Family Fun.
First we put the eggs in a colander in the sink and sprayed them with vinegar. Then we dripped a drop of food coloring on to each egg and swished the eggs around in the colander. After letting the first color dry for 30 seconds, we did the same with the second color.
So here are Mugger and Bug with their yellow & green eggs and their red & blue eggs. And nobody has blue hands for church tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday-- Biker Boys' Bliss!

2008-03-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

One More Rose Parade Picture...

2008-03-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Just got this today from a friend of Nonnie's, so here at last is a good shot of Mugger and Bug's Papa as Joseph on the Lutheran Hour float in this year's Rose Parade:

What a Day at Disneyland!

2008-03-17T20:09:00.001-07:00

Last week the kiddos and I went to Disneyland with Nonnie and Gramps (gotta love those annual passes for a few hours at a time with preschoolers...) Boy, what a day to forget my camera! It was the perfect day as we seemed to just breeze through all the rides and we learned that Mugger is a Roller Coaster Boy-- he LOVED his first time on the Matterhorn and Big Thunder. When we came off of Big Thunder, some Disneyland "cast members" even handed us a pair of Mouse ears (with the Year of a Million Dreams logo on them.) You can see Mugger, Nonnie, and I modeling ours in this pic:
So why are we standing in front of the Mark Twain riverboat? Because Mugger was invited up to the pilot house by the captain to "drive" it (which he will forever think he did, so don't ruin it for him!) He did a great job steering all the way around Tom Sawyer's island, and he and Bug both had fun blowing the whistle and ringing the bell.
The captain was fantastic and it was an experience none of us will ever forget! Nonnie told Mugger she had been coming to Disneyland since 1956 and she had never been up in the pilot house! Good thing Gramps had a camera on his cell phone!

Welcome family and friends!

2008-03-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

Hi and thanks for visiting! Mugger and Bug will be so excited when I read them your comments (hint, hint!)

In case you're new to this blogging thing, let me point out a few things for you. On the left side of this page, if you click on either "Click here to have Mugger and Bug updates sent by email" or the "Subscribe in a reader" button, Mugger and Bug updates will be sent to you automatically.

If you see any pix you like, just double click and you'll see them full size. If you see any words in blue in a post, that means it's a link to tell you what I'm talking about.

The Old News and Labels columns on the lower left are just to help you find past posts, especially if you want to find the ones where we talk about you!

And, most important (to the kiddos at least), at the end of each post, it will say something like "0 Comments." If you click on that, you can post a little message to the kiddos. You can't post anonymously, so if you sign in with any e-mail account, it should let you post. I moderate all comments (to make sure you haven't slipped and used their real names, for one), so don't worry if your comment doesn't show up right away.

Enjoy! Feel free to post a comment here if you have any questions :)

Spring Fling (or how the secular world does Easter...)

2008-03-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

This Little Light of Mine...

2008-03-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

It sure is neat to watch Mugger and Bug grow in faith. Bug's new bedtime routine is to pray for everyone she knows! Usually she repeats after me line by line, but tonight, she prayed by herself: "Dear God, please be with Papa. Keep him safe and help him have good rest. In Your name we pray, amen."

Mugger has been excited to see our Resurrection Eggs make their reappearance as we prepare for Easter and has been teaching Bug what all the items inside the eggs mean. He has even gotten her just as excited as he is when he shouts, "The empty egg reminds us of the empty tomb!" Bug even tried to share this lesson with her fellow two year old buddies in Sunday School this morning when they had an "egg hunt" in class with a bunch of empty eggs.

Tuesday Night at Costco...

2008-03-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

To set the scene: when we go through the check-out line at Costco, the kids (riding in the cart) go through on one side of the register, while Papa goes through the other side to pay. I go wherever the kiddos need me to-- they sometimes don't like sitting on the register side without one of us.

Mugger: Mama, we don't need you. You can go stand with Papa.
Bug: Mama, Papa doesn't need you. You can come stand with me!

Goofy girl!

Mugger's middle name? Perseverance!

2008-03-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

OK, our little Mugger just blows me away sometimes... He's been out shooting baskets with his tennis ball on the patio. He started at 9:19 (he told me so!) and had me set the timer for 10:00. His final tally after 41 minutes of shooting? 500 -- on the nose!

Mugger's Big Week

2008-02-23T23:09:00.001-08:00

Well, Mugger ended up having quite a big week! Monday was Potty Training Boot Camp Day for Bug, so Mugger got to have a day out with Mama at the Discovery Science Center. His favorite exhibit upstairs was this magnetic wall with ramps and balls:However, the exhibit he spent a solid 30 minutes at was this "audio-kinetic sculpture" that I think reminded him an awful lot of his Mousetrap game! He was mesmerized!
So, if Monday wasn't enough excitement, on Wednesday, he braved the drizzly weather for his first trip to Disney's California Adventure with Papa and Gramps. He couldn't stop talking about the Mulholland Madness roller coaster when he got home!

To cap it all off, on Friday he and Bug spent the night with Nonnie and Gramps so Mama and Papa could finally have a Date Night. Such excitement for a 4-year old!

Book #2!

2008-02-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

Mugger just read his second book, Ten Little Ladybugs, which I think was actually one of Bug's birthday presents. (His first was Green Eggs and Ham.) He remembered quite a few words, sounded out most of the others, and figured out a few from the pictures or rhyming patterns. Woo hoo! Could this be the birth of a bookworm?

Birthdays at Disneyland

2008-02-10T15:59:00.001-08:00

The best thing about my dad and I having our birthdays 2 days apart is the excuse to celebrate together! Though this year, with the Great Pneumonia Battle, we celebrated a week late. It was still worth it, as you can see:
Bug's favorite part of the day was bouncing with Tigger-- she's still talking about it over a week later!

And with that, grandparents, I am caught up. Sorry February isn't chronological, but it will have to do! I'll try to do better next time and not wait until the whole 2GB card is full!

Uncle Bryan! Aunt Elisha!

2008-02-10T15:49:00.001-08:00

January meant lots of family visits, as Uncle Bryan and Aunt Elisha were able to come out from Nebraska. The kiddos loved having their aunt and uncle all to themselves-- and they were certainly happy to take them to Disneyland as well!

Fiddletown, Jan. 2008

2008-02-10T15:32:00.001-08:00

Right after New Years, we were blessed to be able to get away for a few days to Northern California, to the tiny town of Fiddletown, to visit my Grandma and Uncle Harry. As you can see, Bug LOVES her Great-Grandma!Of course, she also loves Uncle Harry, her birthday buddy, and took great delight in asking him to read her the same Dora book over and over again!
As you can see, Bug has no problem making her own fun when cooped up inside, as here she rolls around on the floor with her beloved pillow and her favorite blanket:
Mugger's idea of entertainment is tackling Papa! We brought games and toys, but horseplay is Mugger's favorite.
The last day we were there, we had plenty of time to entertain ourselves as the power was out all day during a very blustery rainstorm. Here's Mugger mastering our new favorite medium, the pipe cleaner. They were fun in the car and while housebound!
Every trip to Fiddletown is always an adventure-- can't wait for the next one!

New Year's Day 2008: Papa as "Joseph"

2008-02-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

Had you asked us in November, we never could have told you that this was how we'd be starting 2008:That's Papa on the Lutheran Hour Rose Parade float as Joseph, waving to the opposite side of the street. I got to sit in the bleachers (3rd row!) but had to leave the hotel just after 4 am to do so, so Mugger and Bug got to spend New Years with Gramps and Nonnie this year. They didn't get to tour the float barn before the parade, so here's the part of the back of the float that Papa got to help decorate! (Mugger wanted the pic for posterity.)

Christmas afternoon, 2007

2008-02-10T15:02:00.001-08:00

So after a morning of opening family presents and going to church, it was time to head to Nonnie and Gramps for a Christmas dinner of roast duck-- thanks, Aunt Jen! Both Mugger and Bug loved it to our surprise-- we never know what they're going to love from one day to the next.

When it was time to open presents, Mugger was very excited for Gramps to open his Cookie of the Month Club. We delivered the first batch: train-shaped sugar cookies. Mugger is looking forward to our monthly baking adventures... and to sharing with Gramps.I think Bug was a little confused by the present I made for Aunt Jen: a felted bag made out of an old wool sweater. As purse-crazy as she is, I guess I should be glad she didn't try to take it from her!

Christmas morning, 2007

2008-02-10T14:59:00.001-08:00

Christmas Trains- -the long-awaited Part 2...

2008-02-10T14:39:00.001-08:00

So, at long last, here is Gramps' masterpiece for Christmas 2007. Notice that there are not one, not two, but THREE trains running simulateously! Is it any wonder that Mugger is mesmerized by it all?Here's another shot with the completed village...
Yet trains for Mugger and Bug are not a once-a-year affair, for the back room at Nonnie and Gramps' house is covered with them 365 days of the year. I love the S curves under the elevated bridge!
And as you can see, it's never the same layout twice. Here Bug is admiring Mugger's handiwork in a shot 3 weeks after the one above...
Goodness it's nice Nonnie and Gramps have so much space for playing trains so the kiddos can get their weekly fix!

Clean Bill of Health

2008-02-01T16:16:00.001-08:00

So Bug went to Dr. Chu this morning and was given a clean bill of health. No signs of pneumonia or the double ear infection after 10 days of Augmentin. Hopefully this will go down as THE illness of 2008 and we'll all be healthier from here on out.

At least I have no guilt now about Wednesday's trip to Disneyland!

"Futprens"

2008-02-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

OK, grandparents, I know I didn't even post in January of 2008 (what a great start to the new year, huh?), but I'll get those Christmas posts up sometime. I just finally put the pix on the computer last night, so maybe this weekend.

To tide you over: "futprens." That would be "footprints" or what Mugger just sounded out and spelled with his magnetic letters on the garage door! Mugger is diving into phonics lately, and I think we can officially say he's reading. Last week, we got out "Green Eggs and Ham" and he started sounding it out. I had to help with the sight words, but he's doing great!

Not only is he an eager learner, but he's a willing teacher. Bug can count up to 12, but gets mixed up in the teens. Last week in the car, Mugger announced that he was going to teach his little sister her teen numbers and the teaching session went something like this:

Mugger: Can you say 13?
Bug: 13
Mugger: Can you say 14?
Bug: 14
Mugger: Can you say 15?
Bug: 15
Mugger: OK, now say them with me... 13, 14, 15. Very good!

Next he'll be teaching her in Spanish, I'm sure!

A Spirit of Giving...

2007-12-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

First, the back story to this post: Mugger's preschool has asked each of the children to bring in $4.00 to buy a "Jesus Loves Me" lamb from the Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog. Here's an excerpt from the Director's Note in Mugger's ECC (Early Childhood Center) newsletter this week:

"I want to extend a great BIG thank you for the MANY lambs we will be able to purchase for children in need. One of our ECC children came into my office last week with his teacher to ask me if there were enough lambs for children. Then he proceeded to give me an envelope with $20.00, and it was enough to purchase five little lambs. This child, who is only four, gave from his savings and from money given to him for Christmas. He chose to spend his own money to help others instead of purchasing something for himself. He also needed one more dollar to make it $20.00, so he helped his dad straighten out the garage to get the additional dollar. What a heart!"

We're awfully proud of you, Mugger, and I know Grandma and Grandpa will be thrilled to hear what you did with their Christmas money. By the way, as of last Friday, the preschoolers have brought in enough money to purchase 83 lambs!

Mugger's Joke of the Week

2007-12-14T12:19:00.000-08:00

"Hey Mama/Papa-- I can count to 900! 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900!"

This is the height of silliness to a 4-year old, and Mugger has told this joke to EVERYONE this week!

Bug our Singer Girl

2007-12-14T11:23:00.001-08:00

Bug is turning into quite the little jukebox lately! She seems to be singing all the time-- often with most of the right words. Some songs which she has been singing excerpts from this week:

The Alphabet song
Jingle Bells
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
The Wheels on the Bus
Down by the Station

An Early Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa

2007-12-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

Last week, the kiddos had the best Christmas present they could have hoped for, a visit from Grandma and Grandpa! Mugger got to bake cookies with Grandma, Bug got lots of storytime with Grandma, and we all got to celebrate Grandpa's 60th birthday at Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel.
Mugger was very concerned that Grandma get to hang the first ornament on the Christmas tree, since we had saved the decorating for their arrival. He did a great job decorating the rest of the Christmas tree, though. He even made a paper angel to help hold up the star and added a whole box of candy canes to the decorations.
After the decorating, they were ready for presents. Mugger (being the Hugger Mugger that he is) loved his zebra pillow, which he declared his new best friend (along with Bunny.)
Mugger also loved his Jeep Adventure Set and makes new tracks daily!
Bug was totally in love with her new stroller for her doll...
...and then she saw her new doll!
After all the excitement, they were ready to head for bed in their Christmas jammies. So cute! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

Santa Claus & Snow Come to Town

2007-12-14T10:38:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday was the day a local realtor trucks snow down to a parking lot here in town so California kiddies can experience snow! Montana-born Papa thinks this is hysterical, but I never want to miss it since it's all the fun of snow without the 2-hour drive to the mountains! I must admit that it's pretty funny to see the snow corralled in a chain-link fence though. Anyways, Mugger had a great time playing "Snow Fight" (as he called it) with Papa, and Bug enjoyed her first experience (in her memory) of playing in the snow.
We also had the seasonal sleigh ride with Santa (in his California sleigh on wheels), though I must say we still don't know exactly what to do with the whole Santa issue. Mugger knows that Christmas is about Baby Jesus and has even asked me if Santa is just a character like Caillou (from his favorite TV show), but I think it confused him to be asked what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas! Oh well, we'll just let his mind sort it all out until he has more questions. For now we'll keep our focus on counting down the days until Baby Jesus' birthday.

Christmas Trains!

2007-12-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday Nonnie & Gramps took me and the kiddos to the Nixon library to see the holiday train display. Mugger liked lots of the trains, but Bug was more interested in laying on the benches! (All those pix turned out blurry as she was too busy!)As many trains as there were there, Mugger was most excited to help Nonnie and Gramps get their train set up once we got back to their house. He even helped move and clean furniture to get the train running sooner.
And of course, once we got home, he was all excited to get our Christmas train set up too. Those pix will come in another post...

"Mama, what's heaven like?"

2007-11-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

Exerpts from a conversation with Mugger in the car yesterday...

Mama, are there toys in heaven? We'll have everything we need to be happy, Mugger.
But will there be enough trains for every kid to play with? Yes...
Does God have a really big, big backyard? I'm sure He does.
With frisbees? (laugh)

All because he was concerned that he would be as happy in heaven as his great-grandpa is...

Thanksgiving '07

2007-11-25T21:40:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was one of our quieter ones, just the 4 of us and my sister, Jen. The kiddos were more than happy to have Aunt Jen all to themselves, though. She came early to play games with Mugger and help us cook-- though with some interesting logic Mugger tried to convince all of us he had made most of the meal since he had helped me shop for all the dishes!After our feast, we headed down to the beach. The kiddos and Papa did some sandcastle-building (the only reason the beach exists, as far as they're concerned) until Jen & I came to get them to check out all the wildlife in the tidepools. Mugger had fun rock-scrambling with Aunt Jen, spotting the little fish and hermit crabs, and both he and Bug liked watching the "sea enemies" (sea anenomes), as he called them.
At dark we headed home for pumpkin pie. Mugger seems to be as crazy for pumpkin pie as his parents, so the 4 pies I made Wednesday were gone by Sunday. (Well, one went home with Jen...) Good thing the kiddos were such good help at making them!

Halloween '07

2007-11-25T21:30:00.001-08:00

Halloween was a great excuse to make Mugger a superhero cape! Papa sewed him a cape for his "Super Mugger" costume. (No, his t-shirt doesn't say "Super Mugger"-- we did use his real first name!) Mugger had a great time "flying" around the living room. Bug got to wear her brother's Tigger costume. Being that she's such a bouncer, it was the perfect choice. She was happy to bounce for anyone who asked her all night long. And no, we didn't head out to go trick-or-treating-- this picture was taken right before we went to the Harvest Festival at church. I may be an evil mom, but so far, Mugger has the impression that trick-or-treating is only something kids used to do. Since we don't get any trick-or-treaters on our doorstep, I haven't felt the need to correct him!

Bug's 2nd Birthday Party

2007-11-25T21:15:00.000-08:00

Bug's birthday party was at "green park" (as the kiddos call it) again this year. Bug wasn't too sure about a crowd of people all arriving to greet her-- she spent the first 20 minutes hiding under the playground equipment! She was eventually coaxed out though, and really warmed up once Papa drew her a picture of her beloved Jeep with some of the chalk we brought to play with. Mugger did great in his party planner role, as all our guests had handwritten nametags that he presented the moment they arrived.
Bug did great at blowing out the candles on her Old MacDonald cake, but she was not at all interested in opening presents. She opened hardly any that day or the next day (which was her actual birthday.) Here she is in a sweater from her godparents that she finally opened 2 days later. Being that it was very cozy-- and pink (uh oh!)-- she was happy to model it for the camera.

Pumpkin Patch!

2007-11-25T20:59:00.001-08:00

Well, the kiddos were giddy to go to the pumpkin patch this year, at least Mugger was. Besides picking out the biggest pumpkin he could lift, his favorite part was the corn maze.
Bug liked that some of the pumpkins were little enough for her to hold, but her favorite part was the tractor ride all around the farm. She was not a happy camper when we had to leave, but it was too windy to stay and ride again.

Laguna Beach, Oct. 10, late afternoon:

2007-11-25T20:55:00.000-08:00

Bug the Goof

2007-11-17T22:46:00.000-08:00

Bug has only just this fall discovered school-like settings and she LOVES them! Highlights of the week for her are Sunday School and the Monday nights she has MOPS. She's pictured here with a MOPS craft that she was so attached to that she screamed when Papa made her let go of it to go to sleep.
Bug is also getting pretty good at playing with Mugger. Play to her can be as simple as sitting in the recliner-- or as rambunctious as Mugger launching her off the leg rest as she slides down!
Bug is also quite the master of Found Toys, especially the Empty Box. The empty case of diapers can keep her busy all morning!

Mugger the Fisherman

2007-11-17T22:17:00.002-08:00

One of Mugger's summer highlights would have to be fishing. In Montana, Grampa gave him his very own pole and took him fishing. He managed to catch his first rainbow trout.
While camping (right after the infamous Road Trip!) at Green Valley Lake (perhaps no more, thanks to the October fires), Mugger caught 2 more rainbow trout. Or, as he put it, "I caught 2, but Papa only caught 1." Hey, that was 3 more than anyone else around them caught, so he must have some good fishing genes somewhere...

Road Trip 2007

2007-11-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

Since Mama ran away to Europe, Papa figured the best thing would be to get the kiddos out of the house. His mom flew down from Montana and they took a two-week road trip to Montana and Oregon. Here's Papa's family gathered at Uncle Tim and Aunt Nicole's place. Notice Grampa's wonderful Eeyore impersonation!
After time in Montana, it was off to Oregon to stay with Bug's godparents. Mugger's godfather came down from Washington to have some time with the kiddos. He managed to catch them for a moment while they were tearing around the yard with Ben and Abbie.

Papa! Papa!

2007-11-17T21:50:00.001-08:00

Mugger and Bug are as crazy about their Papa as two kiddos could be. I don't know whether to call him a hero or a saint, especially since he took the kiddos on a road trip to Montana this summer while I ran away to Europe with Mom. Can you tell he has fun with the kiddos?
I happen to think he looked a bit more relaxed when he and I had our getaway weekend on the Central Coast. Kudos to the Kaleidoscope Inn in Nipomo for this tip for a beautiful walk...

Welcome!

2007-11-17T20:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Mugger and Bug!

Mugger is our son, aka "Hugger Mugger." He's a busy preschooler, but he also loves to stop for a snuggle. I plan to enjoy it while it lasts...

Bug is our daughter, aka "Little Bug." She, too, is one busy little girl, who just turned 2, but doesn't seem to think there's anything too terrible about it...

I've chosen to write about them using these pseudonyms to spare them any embarrassment when they're older and realize what I've been up to!

Post #1 has to include my all-time favorite pic of them, taken last spring.

Mugger and Bug

Perfect Summer Evening

Christmas Eve 2010

Bug's Riddle

So What Have We Been Up To?

Family Photo Session -- May 2009

Mugger our Reader

Backyard Campout

Mugger, meet Rube Goldberg...

Another first...

Bug is ready for Spring!

In 6 weeks, he'll be 6!

Happy Easter!

Pajama Ride!

Painting Eggs

Spring Soccer Week 1

Anka Spada

Mugger's Quote of the Day

Facebook...

Mugger's Reading!

March 27, 2009: Last Day of Spring Break

Thanks Nonnie!

Circus Time!

Bug the Bookworm

100 Days!

Cute as a Button...

Bug's 3 Year Old Check-Up

So Where Have We Been?

Prayers Please!

Friday morning: Snow Day #3!

Snow Day!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Anybody home?

Fall Portraits, Part 2

Mugger and Bug's Fall Portraits...

Help Save Ladybug Limited...

Only 25 Days till Christmas!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Back to Corvallis

Bug's Birthday at Disneyland

California, Here We Come!

Bug's Birthday...

Bug the "Big One"

Mugger our Sports Maniac

Mugger's First Day of Kindergarten (*sniff-sniff*)

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

Move-In Mayhem

Moving Day...

Happy Birthday Mugger!

Mugger's Quote of the Day-- Sunday, June 8

Dear Mugger...

Moving Update...

Prayer Requests... ANSWERED! (updates in all caps!)

Happy Half-Birthday to Bug!

A First for Mugger and Bug

Big News!

Mugger's Quote of the Day

Busy Boys *updated*

Mugger our Busy Boy

Easter Monday at the Beach

Resurrection Sunday

"Happy Easter Eve!"

Wordless Wednesday-- Biker Boys' Bliss!

One More Rose Parade Picture...

What a Day at Disneyland!

Welcome family and friends!

Spring Fling (or how the secular world does Easter...)

This Little Light of Mine...

Tuesday Night at Costco...

Mugger's middle name? Perseverance!

Mugger's Big Week

Book #2!

Birthdays at Disneyland

Uncle Bryan! Aunt Elisha!

Fiddletown, Jan. 2008

New Year's Day 2008: Papa as "Joseph"

Christmas afternoon, 2007

Christmas morning, 2007

Christmas Trains- -the long-awaited Part 2...

Clean Bill of Health

Mugger's First Day of Kindergarten (sniff-sniff)

Busy Boys updated